[Here is part B, as promised]


Mousse stared at Kodachi as she stood at the bow of the ship, poised next
to the rail and gazing out to sea. She was as far to the front  of the ship
as she could go. Her trademark ponytail was missing as she had allowed her
hair to hang loose; the wind fanned it back in a rippling wave of midnight
darkness. Mousse noted it was unusual of her to let it hang so, though the
effect was pleasing to the eye. 

Slowly he approached her. "Kodachi."

She declined to turn around to answer him. "I have nothing more to say to
you. If you are going to be stubborn and refuse to listen to reason, I
shall not waste my breath. Do as you please." She should have left him
paralyzed in their room to keep him out of trouble, but somehow it was like
all those other times when she had not immobilized him, even when he acted
recklessly. It felt wrong to keep him motionless in such a manner. 

"Kodi-chan," he cooed. That would get her to stop being angry with him. Now
that Shampoo was all but gone, Kodachi was the only one that would be on
his side. Without her there would be no one.

She resisted the urge to throw herself in his arms. He was so transparent.
"Go to that harridan if you wish. I won't stop you."

"I just don't want to see her hurt. I can't let that happen."

She at last turned to look at him. "And if something happens to you, where
does that leave me? I cannot go on without you. There would be nothing
left."

"Don't talk like that."

Was that concern she heard in his voice? Had she at last struck a chord and
made him see what would happen if he should throw his life away? Perhaps
taking it a step farther would show how much he really cared.

"Since you are so determined to throw your life away, I shall throw away my
own as well. Right now." She placed one slender leg over the guardrail,
leaving nothing but a small ledge several inches wide between her and
falling into the ocean.

"STOP!!!" Mousse grabbed onto her arm as she struggled in his grasp to
continue going over the side.

She was delighted at his efforts. At last he was behaving as though she was
his world. She continued to protest while pretending to struggle in his
grasp, enjoying his attention.


About twenty feet away, D'Amour and first mate Kawada were doing an
inventory of the ship, going over what needed to be repaired. In truth, it
was Kawada that was doing all the work while the captain continued to
ponder what he was doing wrong with the women.

"What do you think I should do?" D'Amour asked.

Kawada told him.

"That's not anatomically possible," D'Amour informed his companion,
furrowing his brow in concentration. There had to be something he could do
to get the women in bed, preferably at least half of them.

He was still speculating on what to do when he spotted Kodachi and Mousse
struggling at the bow. "What are those two doing?"

Kawada looked over the duo. Mousse had both of Kodachi's arms and was
trying to pull her back on board the ship. At the moment she was winning
their duel, in that she was now fully over the railing with only Mousse
keeping her from falling. "It looks like they are playing out that scene
from 'Titanic', sir."

"Oh," the captain said nonchalantly, then walked over to where the couple
was struggling. 

Mousse had almost won the struggle and nearly had Kodachi back over the
railing when D'Amour moved up behind them and observed them for a moment.
He gave a soft smile at the duo, then shoved Mousse over the rail, causing
both of the participants to end up in the ocean.

"I HATED THAT MOVIE!!!" D'Amour shouted down into the water.


Minami threw up over the railing again, barely missing Kodachi and
Mousse-panda as they wrapped a ribbon and chain around one of the
guardrails and climbed back onto the ship, a good distance away from the
bow. Minami wondered what the hell was wrong with her? It couldn't be
motion sickness; she'd been in lots of roller coasters, ocean rides, and
rode the back of a rampaging Fragenyyd for three hours and never
encountered a problem. It wasn't a virus; she magically tested for that. It
wasn't food poisoning; her spells would have cured it. She had no
explanation for what was wrong, unless it was magically induced. 

That was why she was walking over the ship, in spite of her state. A
careful examination of the deck revealed something interesting. She had
walked ten more feet when she noticed it again. The deck plates were
different, and it wasn't due to repair. They were all different. It was the
fourth instance of that phenomenon. If what she suspected was true, the
ship itself was an aggregation of several ships. But the magic flows were
uninterrupted on it, meaning the ship was still capable of absorbing parts
of other ships, or, in an ideal situation, an entire ship.

That didn't quite seem right either. Most of TWPOS was just various parts
of other ships, making it more likely that it was scavenging pieces on its
own to replace what was missing. That might explain the ramshackle
appearance of the vessel. Either that or it was a mask to hide its true
power. In either case it was something that would need a closer
examination.

That was for later. At the moment she had to run to over to the railing and
vomit once more. If that kept up she was going to be lucky if she wasn't
bedridden by the time they arrived in China. It was as she finished hurling
up her guts that she sensed something to the north. Looking out over the
horizon she saw nothing more than low fog bank gliding across the ocean.
That alone would not have been so bad, save for the fact Minami sensed a
magical force emanating from the fog that rivaled that of TWPOS. And what
was worse, there was a subtle change in the aura of the vessel she was on,
almost as though it was a buildup of energy. All of that came down to the
last thing they needed: trouble.


D'Amour had returned to the bridge and looked through his spyglass at the
fog bank off to port. "I'd recognize that cloud anywhere. Helm, make a
left," he said with a slowly blossoming smile on his face.

Kawada began to panic. "It might just be a normal fog."

"Moving against the wind?"

"The weather has been behaving oddly."

D'Amour shook his head and repeated the order. Kawada's second protest was
cut off as the captain drew his sword. 

"Do it now. And hook up the speakers while you're at it. I have something
to say." 

Kawada nodded to the helmsman as they turned to the fog bank. This
encounter was the last thing they needed: trouble.


Second Officer Lotus released her hold on her spyglass and stared at the
approaching vessel. It was TWPOS, and that meant the last thing they
needed: trouble. 

The mistress always went ballistic when she and D'Amour crossed paths.
Maybe there was time to change the direction of the ship before the captain
came up to the bridge. 

Lotus was just starting the turn when her partner, the blue-haired Blossom,
and first mate of the POJ, arrived. "<What's going on?>"

Lotus simply pointed to the approaching vessel. 

Blossom recognized it immediately. "<The Worthless Piece of Shit! That's
where that cute Captain D'Amour is.>"

Lotus could have slapped her partner. "<In the name of the gods, don't let
the mistress hear you say that!>"

"<Say what?>"

Lotus turned in fear. The captain had arrived. "<I was just going to send
Blossom to get you. It seems we have-- >"

"<D'AMOUR!!!>"

"< -- a ship off the bow.>" Lotus was afraid of this happening. The long
standing grudge between Madame Lao and the captain of the scow that was
before them was well known. D'Amour had recently upped the ante by saying
some rather rude comments at several ports about the nature of Lao, and
rumor had it, what he would like to do to her if he ever got his hands on
her. Not that others had not said the same thing. Lao herself was a tall
woman with pale sea green hair, very lanky and well built with a frame that
stood just under six feet and was well proportioned. She gave one the
impression of an uncaged predator sizing up its prey as she studied the
face of her subordinate, then slowly turned to regard the mass of the other
ship with loathing.

"<D'Amour,>" she growled like a snarling tigress, a resemblance that was
more than superficial. 

The pink-haired Lotus swallowed thickly as she saw the pleasant features of
her mistress change as her eyes shifted from their normal pink color to the
tawny gold that was diamond slitted. Her mistress was in one of those
moods, and not willing to suffer another harangue from the captain of the
hated rival vessel. Already they could hear D'Amour testing out the volume
on his ship's speakers to see if they were projecting his voice
sufficiently. Lao did not need similar equipment to respond in kind, but at
the moment the last thing she was capable of was coherent banter.

It wasn't as though Lao had not retaliated verbally in the past, promising
all sorts of unpleasantness for D'Amour should she catch him. The whole
situation involving him really was odd. Lao wasn't the sort of woman to
lose her temper, even under the most adverse of conditions. But then there
was D'Amour. Around him she was like an out of control typhoon, and Lotus
couldn't fathom why. There were certainly those that had outmaneuvered Lao
in the past, but she would just bide her time and strike when an
opportunity presented itself. There were those that had said off color
remarks about her --one didn't become an infamous pirate slaver without
receiving criticisms- but she never lost control. Except when it came to
D'Amour. Several times she almost set out with the intention of sinking his
ship, but part of that problem was that she couldn't use the Lens of
Magellan to find TWPOS. To her knowledge it was the only vessel capable of
evading detection, and no one understood why that was either. 

And now Lao was confronted with her longtime enemy on the open seas, where
the ship's full power could be brought to bear. For some odd reason that
made Lotus nervous. She had heard vague rumors about TWPOS. As many people
there were that hated it and its captain, somehow it always escaped its
enemies, or destroyed them. It was an enigma, which Lotus despised.

"<Bring us closer to the wreck,>" Lao ordered as she dissipated the magical
fog around her ship. She wanted D'Amour to see her. "<I want one of the
deck guns aimed at the captain himself. When it's within range, I want a
warning shot fired at D'Amore's head.>"

"<Don't you mean over his head?>" Blossom asked.

"<No. He's a moron, and won't understand the nature of the warning unless
it actually hits him.>"

Lotus felt her dread build at that. She didn't give a damn about D'Amour,
he deserved to be enslaved for the things he said about Lotus's mistress,
but there was another on board that craft that she was concerned for. And
if Lao ever found out about the relationship there was no telling what she
might do. The captain's hatred of D'Amour extended to the whole vessel and
its crew. Even Blossom's comment about D'Amour would get her flogged, or
not, depending on Lao's mood. And given Blossom's...tastes, that refusal of
punishment might be the worse of the two options.

Blossom perked her ears up. "<I think I hear someone saying something from
the ship's speakers, Mistress.>"


D'Amour was standing on the ledge outside of the bridge, making certain Lao
could see him, as he began shouting. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the
Slut of the Seven Seas and her wreck, the Piece of Junk! What an aptly
named vessel!"

"So says the captain of a ship called The Worthless Piece of Shit," Kawada
muttered as he gazed at the innocent looking, if large, Chinese style junk
before them. He knew from personal experience that there was far more to
that craft than met the eye. Far more.

"If I had something as nasty looking as that, I would hide it in a fog
too!" D'Amour shouted.

"Many people say that about our ship too, sir. Mostly the crew."

D'Amour turned on Kawada. "You're not helping things here."

"Can we go now, sir? Or do you want us to end up on the bottom of the ocean
when you anger her enough to attack us?"

"She'll never sink my ship!" D'Amour raged. "My ship is the most powerful
in the world, and so is her captain! I'll show that dyke bitch yet!" He
turned back to the junk, and began yelling some more off-color comments
about it, its activities, and its captain.


On the bridge of  the POJ, a smile broadened on Lao's face. "<Bring us
closer. I want to be near enough that he'll be able to hear me. I have an
idea that'll hurt him much worse than blowing his head off. I'm going down
to the main deck where he'll be sure to see me.>"

As Lao left the bridge an ominous foreboding washed over Lotus. Nothing
good was going to come of all this.


At his position on the bridge, D'Amour saw Lao arrive on her main deck,
decked out in white breeches and matching white shirt with a leather brown
vest. As the sea green-haired beauty came into sight, a chorus of wolf
whistles came from the men on TWPOS.

"Knock it off!" He drew his sword, quieting the men, then returned his
attention to Lao. "Greetings, bitch! I see you're starting to sag! That
really is too bad! You've lost what little skanky appeal you might have
once possessed!"

Lao kept her face from twitching. She would not lose control around HIM! "I
see the barnacles are still all that keeps that ship of yours together. And
from the sound of your voice, I'd say you haven't been laid in a while."

D'Amour lacked the control Lao did. "I don't have to capture people and
turn them into slaves to get my sexual partners!"

"Neither do I, it's just more fun that way. Why don't I tell you about the
women I had last night? The best one was this flexible redhead..."

Most of the male members of the crew began to drool at the
rather...descriptive things Lao talked about, and began discussing among
themselves about how they wouldn't mind being captured by Lao if that was
the way her slaves were treated. Only Kawada remained cool, observing the
blood vessels on D'Amour's forehead that were about to rupture. If only
they could be so lucky. Lao had definitely won that round, which meant it
was time to go before the captain did something foolish, like ram Lao's
junk.

Brunt and Aki quietly came onto the bridge and took over the wheel at the
helm while D'Amour continued with his comments about Lao, her ancestors,
and which farm animals came into the family line. Kawada was delighted the
duo had arrived. He was concerned that the orders he had secretly given,
while the captain was distracted by Lao, for the duo to get up to the
bridge would  be too late. A nod of the head from Kawada and the duo turned
the ship one hundred and eighty degrees. 

"OH MY GOD! WE'RE OUT OF CONTROL!!!" Brunt shouted as he pretended to
struggle with the wheel. 

D'Amour realized his ship was turning away from Lao's and rushed back
inside to the bridge. "What's going on?!"

"The helm's not responding. Even Aki and Brunt can't get the wheel to
turn," Kawada explained.

"Allow me to help." D'Amour tried to shove the wheel back to its proper
course, but was no match for Brunt and Aki's tremendous strength. The
struggle only served to convince him they really were out of control.
"Damn! The same thing happened the last time we confronted her. I know the
ship doesn't like her, but why would it run away?"

Sweatdrops formed behind all of the bridge crew's heads. Every now and then
the captain had a hallucination about the ship saying things to him.
Fortunately he never had those problems more than four times a year. 

D'Amour went back outside to get in one last shot at Lao. "You may have
gotten lucky this time, you pirate whore, but next time I'll have the last
laugh! And I wasn't joking about your boobs! They really are starting to
sag!"

"The next time we meet," Lao threatened as she gnashed her teeth. "I will
have you in chains, groveling before me, while I make love to beautiful
women until you beg me to beat you like the dog that you are for some kind
of sexual release!"

"I'll never marry you!" 

"THAT WASN'T A PROPOSAL, YOU IDIOT!!!" 

"Oh. It sounded like one." He answered seriously, then carefully considered
his next response. "The next time we meet, I swear I'll make you shout out
who your daddy really is!" The pelvic thrusts he added did nothing to calm
Lao's temper.

Lao was about to order a pursuit when her ship changed its heading and went
away from TWPOS. She turned in fury and stormed directly to the bridge.
Upon arriving she tore Lotus from the wheel and held her up in the air by
the throat. "<Why did you turn away from them?!>"

Fortunately for Lotus, Blossom interrupted. "<Mistress. The ship we were
supposed to rendezvous with is approaching.>"

Lao released her hold on Lotus. Every instinct cried out to pursue D'Amour,
send his ship to the bottom of the ocean, and grind the man under her boot
heel. It was with great difficulty she suppressed the urges. There was a
contract to uphold. 

As the ships drifted farther away from one another Lao felt her anger abate
slightly and began to wonder if  the POJ was affecting her emotions. Given
the connection between her and the ship it was far from impossible, but why
would it try to influence her like that? No, it was just as likely her ship
was reflecting her own hatred of D'Amour and magnifying it. That was the
more likely explanation. The idea that one ship could hate another was
absurd.


Somewhere in TWPOS, a pale man who had not seen the sun for over a year,
continued working on a set of engines. At last he had almost figured out a
way to make them work in atmosphere without destroying a large section of
the surrounding area. He had even discovered an odd serial number on the
side, although what series the letters and number  meant was probably long
forgotten. No. There might not have been a man alive that would know what
an SDF-3 was.


Night fell as things began to settle down on TWPOS. Word had passed down
about the close call they had had with Madame Lao, and some of the crew
decided to mutiny later in the evening; not that it would ever work. The
captain had just celebrated the two hundredth failed attempt on his life,
but it was a good way for the crew to blow off some steam. 

In another part of the ship, Ranma prepared to have dinner with his parents
and the Tendos. It was his mother that convinced him that they should have
a nice, quiet dinner together as a family. Ranma had to admit, it was a
good idea. There was no telling when they would actually arrive at China,
and once that happened the chances at having a peaceful meal with his
family were going to be nonexistent.  It would be a moment to be treasured,
especially if it was the last one.

He shook his head clear of such thoughts. He would keep Shampoo from harm
and everything would turn out all right. It had to. He was Ranma Saotome.
He did not lose. He would not lose. He would come out on top no matter what
it took. He always did, and with the stakes as high as they were, he would
not allow himself the luxury of even considering failure. 

As he went to meet his parents, his thoughts turned to Shampoo. She had not
taken well to the idea of him wanting to dine with his parents without her,
but her presence would just serve to disrupt everything, and he wanted a
quiet meal with his family, at least just this once. He offered to eat
lunch with her tomorrow, which convinced her to back off. She still threw
in a comment about turning herself into a guy and dining with her Amazon
sisters, mentioning that she would at least be able to dine with someone
that wanted her around. Shampoo sure wasn't making things easier. The only
thing that went well was that healing technique Cologne had taught him.
Physically he was at one hundred percent.

Meeting with his parents, Akane, and Soun went without a problem. Soun
mentioned to Ranma that Kasumi was feeling better, but chose to eat with
Shampoo, which eased Ranma's conscience a bit. 

As everyone headed towards the mess, Ranma and Akane dropped back a bit to
converse. Only small talk was exchanged, neither really knew what to say
with the tension as thick as it was. 

"We are sitting at the captain's table tonight," Nodoka mentioned as she
looked back to the pair.. "Isn't that nice?" 

It was about as delightful as listening to the principal talk about
coconuts for several hours. Ranma had had more than enough of the
narcissistic lech to last him a lifetime. Ranma also would not have put it
past D'Amour to hit on his mother while she was there. 

The quintet entered the mess and made their way to the captain's table.
D'Amore stood up and met them halfway.

"Tanma." D'Amour nodded to Ranma.

"That's Ranma, you idiot!"

"Whatever," D'Amour smiled broadly as he turned to Akane. "And you must be
Akane Tendo."

"Uh, yeah. So what?" Akane found she wanted to hit the man with the way he
was staring at her.

D'Amour gave a lascivious grin to her, then turned back to Ranma. "Mr.
Sap-to-me."

"That's Saotome! Can't you get anything right?"

D'Amour waved off the protest and turned once more to Akane. "Miss Tendo.
By the power invested in me as lord of this vessel, I now pronounce you man
and wife. Now I get to kiss the bride."

The statement shocked Ranma and Akane so much that D'Amour actually got as
far as sweeping Akane into his embrace before her fist connected with his
face, which was followed by Ranma's elbow striking him in the back of the
head.

"Just what do you think you are doing?!" Akane snarled as she got out of
D'Amour's grasp.

"You two are married!" Soun shouted. 

"It's about time, boy!" Genma clapped Ranma on the back.

Nodoka cleared her throat. "Genma, I thought we agreed that Ranma and
Akane's wedding was to be postponed."

"Did we?"

"Yes, we did."

D'Amour shook his head free of the pain. "They aren't married until I kiss
the bride! I'm the captain of this vessel, damn it!  I make the rules!"

"No way!" Akane shouted. 

"Can't you forego that just this once?" Soun pleaded.

"If I don't kiss the bride then they aren't married."

"If there ain't no groom there's no wedding either." Ranma stormed out of
the mess. 

Akane's first impulse was to follow him, but she resisted the urge and
remained where she was. Ranma was already angry, and either one of them
could say the wrong thing and start a fight. No, it was better to let him
go for now. She would talk to him after he had calmed down.

As she stood there, looking miserably in the direction Ranma had just left,
a hand made its way to her shoulder.

"We can still kiss, babe. We can even pretend we're married if you want."

Akane replied with an elbow to D'Amour's solar plexus. Now thoroughly
disgusted and her appetite destroyed, she left for her cabin.

D'Amour was still catching his breath when a bokken was thrust under his
nose.

"How dare a sea-going serpent such as yourself dare to attempt to touch the
lips of Akane Tendo. I would see justice meted out to one so low." 

D'Amour leaped to a nearby tabletop and drew his sword. "So. It's a fight
you want, eh? You simple-minded dolt! This is my ship, where I am
surrounded by a crew so loyal that they would follow me to Hell itself!
With them at by back I'm in-" D'Amour found the rest of his speech drowned
out by the crew's laughter.

"To Hell. That's a good one, sir!"

"Loyal he says. HAHAHAHA!!!"

"Oh yes, I'll guard the capn's back, just long enough to put me knife in
it!"

A chant of 'KUNOU,  KUNOU, KUNOU!!!' rose from the crew.


Ranma was more than halfway to his room before Nodoka caught up to him. 

"Ranma. Please wait!"

Despite the betrayal he felt, he turned. "What is it, Mom?"

"I just wanted to assure you I had nothing to do with that situation. I
know you want to wait a while before marrying Akane. I intend to respect
your wishes."

He sighed. She still had not listened to what he had said about choosing
who he was going to marry, but at least she was willing to give him some
leeway. "Thanks, Mom." He turned to go once more.

"Can we have breakfast together? Dinner was ruined after all, and I still
want to spend time with you."

Ranma nodded. "Sure, Mom. Only..."

"Yes?"

"Maybe we could leave Pop behind."

Nodoka smiled. "He had you to himself for over ten years. It's been too
long since we spent some quality time together with just the two of us."


Ukyou turned down her covers and prepared for bed. It had been a long day
with much to think about, but at least she had had the time to do it. No
attacking French chefs, lost bats, bi-sexual cheerleaders,
aquatranssexuals, or cross-dressers disguised as dressers had accosted her
for nearly five hours. It was the longest stretch of peace she had had in
the last six months. That wasn't to say the chaos wasn't enjoyable a lot of
the time, it was just that she needed bouts of peace and quiet every once
in a while. Ironically, that serenity was now starting to irritate her, and
she began to feel lonely. She was considering seeking out Ai or Ryouga when
there was a knock on the door.

Ukyou opened it to see a tall man, who was at least a good five inches
taller than her, standing in the doorway. He wore a rather appealing
combination of dark blue pants and white dress shirt with a blue vest. His
hair was tied back, similar to Ukyou's style, and had a dark purple tint to
it that was deeper than Shampoo's. However, the most remarkable thing about
him was his face. He was probably as handsome as Shampoo-kun, which made
him more than a little easy on Ukyou's eyes.

"Excuse me, Miss Kuonji?"

"Uh, yes. I am " He had her at a disadvantage. She was certain she would
remember someone as attractive as him, although he did seem vaguely
familiar. "And you are?"

"Akira Nakajima." He bowed before Ukyou. "I overheard that blonde girl, Ai,
mention your name. That's how I knew yours." He fished something out of the
pocket on his vest. "You dropped this." He held a throwing spatula in his
hand.

Ukyou's hands went reflexively to her bandoleer, seeking a spot for the
missing one. A quick inventory seemed to account for all of them. Still,
she recognized the one in his hand as unquestionably hers. "Thanks," she
said as she accepted the weapon.

"No problem." He began sniffing the air. "Is that okonomiyaki I smell?"

"Yeah. I just made some." She indicated the portable grill that was sitting
on the floor. "The ship's food is rather..." She wondered how one could say
food was rancid without offending.

"You're right. It is," he chuckled. 

She examined him more closely. He had helped her recover her weapon, and he
seemed friendly enough. There was something disarmingly charming about the
man. Politeness called on her to do something in return for the favor. "Sit
down, please. I'll make you some okonomiyaki."

"It's no bother?" he asked as he entered the room.

"Not at all." Ukyou sat down next to her grill and whipped up an
okonomiyaki. She watched his reaction carefully as he bit down into it. 

"Hmmm," he mumbled as he savored the taste in his mouth. "I can honestly
say this is the best okonomiyaki I have ever had."

"Thanks," Ukyou beamed. "It's my specialty."

"How appropriate. The best okonomiyaki in the world is served by the
prettiest okonomiyaki chef there is."

Ukyou felt a blush creep to her face.

"I'm sorry," Akira said. "Did I offend you?"

"Oh no," Ukyou quickly blurted out. "It's just I'm not used to getting
compliments like that. Heck, a lot of people mistake me for a guy."

"That, I find impossible to believe," Akira said soberly. "Forgive me if I
seem a bit forward, but I have to admit, I was glad you dropped your
spatula. It gave me an excuse to meet you." He looked at the ground. "I am
being too forward. I'm sorry. It's just that most women don't find me
attractive."

Ukyou's jaw nearly dropped. "Are you kidding?! You're one of the best
looking guys I've ever met." Her hands darted to her mouth. What had
possessed her to blurt out something like that?

Akira sounded surprised. "Really? Thank you."

"S...sure. No problem." Ukyou hoped Akira did not think she was flirting
with him. Her hands were quite full with Ai, though as she stared at Akira,
she was struck once again by the sense of familiarity about him. It was
something about his eyes.

Akira cleared his throat. "I have a favor to ask. I need a woman's opinion
about something."

Ukyou was not sure what to make of that. "Yes?"

"There's this girl I'm interested in. She's a friend, probably the best one
I've ever had. She's not seeing anyone, and I'm trying to get involved with
her. The only problem is she has reservations about having a relationship
with me."

Something was nagging at Ukyou's memory even as she listened to Akira.
"What's the problem?"

"Well, I think she likes me as a person, but she's hung up on the way I
look."

"She's the one that thinks you're unattractive?"

"Sort of," Akira reluctantly admitted. "I think it's narrow-minded of her,
but no one's perfect. Not even me."

Ukyou took note of the egotistical statement as she became certain he was
holding something back.

"Anyway," Akira continued. "I've been thinking about making a big change in
my life for her."

"Hold on a minute, sugar. If she can't accept you for who you are then
that's her problem. You shouldn't have to change."

His eyes narrowed. "You mean you've never undergone a massive change for a
guy?"

Ukyou was about to answer of course not, but then remembered Ranma and all
of the changes she had undergone involving him. "Maybe I have, but it might
have been wrong to do it."

That seemed to placate Akira. "Compared to losing her, no change is too
great. But I just want to make sure she'd like the change."

Ukyou was about to say something when she at last knew what was familiar
about Akira. It was that narrowing of the eyes. Her guts knotted up in
horror at the suspicion, and she wanted to throw out an accusation, but she
remained calm. She needed to be certain.

She turned partially away, only affording Akira a half glance. "You want to
know something really disgusting? That girl you talked to, Ai. She kissed
me today. It was so gross." She watched Akira's reaction carefully from out
of the corner of her eye. "Like I would ever want to get it on with another
woman. I've only tolerated her this long because I think it's funny." 

Akira's reaction to that was all the confirmation Ukyou needed. He was not
even close to covering up his true emotions. She turned fully to face him.
"Excuse me for being so forward myself, but you really turn me on. Let me
show you how much."

She approached him as seductively as she could. Surprise overcame the pain
that had been evident upon him before. Slowly the okonomiyaki chef slid
into his lap. Her hand strayed to his chest as she leaned forward, blew in
his ear once, and began whispering. "Actually, everything I said about Ai
was a lie. The only thing she could do that would really anger me was if
she turned herself into a guy."

'Akira's' heart skipped a beat as he dared to look directly into Ukyou's
eyes. 

Ukyou's voice of seduction turned into one of anger as she jumped off of
Akira's lap and grabbed him by the collar, shaking him in a powerful grip.
"How could you?! How could you do something like that to yourself?!"

"I...I just thought you'd like it better if I could change into a man,"
Ai-kun stammered. "I  know you still have hang-ups about me being a woman.
So I thought if I was like Shampoo it would work out!"

Ukyou felt her rage practically explode. "Just because you look like a guy
doesn't change anything! You will always be a woman to me! Just like
Shampoo is! How can you think I'm that shallow?!" She stopped shaking him
as some of the anger began to give way to sorrow and her voice dropped to
half of its original volume. "Damn it, Ai! You're the one that told me I
should be proud to be a woman. And I really started to believe I could be
one and still dress and behave like I do. But now you've just thrown it all
away on some whim in the hopes I might like you better. 

"You were my role model, in a weird sort of way. Now look at what you've
done! Do you know what kind of message that sends to me? That you can just
give yourself some kind of curse and be a guy without thinking twice about
it? It means everything you told me was a bunch of lies, and that your own
femininity was so meaningless to you, you'd get rid of it without a second
thought."

Ukyou began sobbing a little. "You don't even understand what I want! If I
get involved in a relationship with you, it's because of who you are, not
what you look like! And now you've ruined everything between us! You never
even asked how I'd feel about you cursing yourself. How can you say you
love me if you won't even consider my feelings?"

Ai-kun was in shock. "I didn't know you felt that strongly about me. I'm
sorry," he said quietly. 

"And now you're stuck as a guy," Ukyou said through sobs. "How could you do
that to yourself?"

Ai-kun looked sadly at her. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for you, but you
don't have to worry about the curse. I didn't use real magic water. It's
just an instant variety that only works once. I talked with that old Amazon
about the magic springs and she said that if I was seriously considering
changing myself into a guy, I should try out the body first. So she let me
use some."

Ukyou just stood there, confused. Her mouth was barely able to form the
words. "Only...once?"

"Yes," Ai-kun reassured her. "Hot water will make me a girl again and I
won't change into a guy anymore. I was considering going to that Jusenkyou
place, but I wanted to see how you would react to the idea. I didn't tell
you who I was at first because I wanted to surprise you." Ai-kun paused a
moment before continuing. "I also wanted to see if you thought I was
attractive. It would have made me feel...good to see you behave like that
to me. I never thought you'd be so against the idea. I'm sorry." 

Much to Ai-kun's surprise, Ukyou embraced him. "Don't you ever scare me
like that again, you jackass." She released him. "Now you have to promise
me you won't ever curse yourself. I won't let you do something like that to
me again."

Ai-kun held up his hand. "I promise." Once he was sure Ukyou calmed down he
got a mischievous idea. "Just out of curiosity, do you think this male body
is appealing?"

Ukyou gave a tired sigh. "Yes. It is attractive, but it's not you."

"I see." Ai-kun nodded his head approvingly. "Since I have this male body
anyway, at least for the moment, don't you think it would be a waste if we
didn't..." he ran his tongue across his lips. "...try it out?"

Ukyou shook her head. "Don't press your luck, Ai. You got me pretty angry
with you."

"Ah, well." Ai-kun shrugged. "You know, this male form of mine is something
of a disappointment"

Ukyou cocked her head her head quizzically. "In what way?"

"Well, since I'm so well endowed as a girl, I just figured I would be the
same way as a guy. But...well, see for yourself." Ai-kun stood up and
dropped his pants and boxers. "See? I'm not big at all. In fact, I'm below
average. It's very disappointing, wouldn't you agre... Ukyou? Why are you
covering up your eyes?"

"Because I don't want to see you naked!" When Ai had stood up and displayed
himself, Ukyou got more than a passing glimpse of Ai-kun, and to her it
appeared he had plenty to offer. However, her conservative nature kicked
in, making her cover her eyes. 

"Oh come on. I can't be the first guy you've ever seen, and you've already
said you don't want to do anything. You know I'll respect your wishes. You
have nothing to fear."

"Just pull up your pants. I don't want to look at you."

Ai-kun thought he knew what her problem was; Ukyou was finding herself
turned on, and she was not the only one. Ai-kun discovered he was becoming
aroused at the idea of Ukyou finding him attractive, and that arousal was
making itself known. Ai-kun took note that there was a slight difference in
the feeling between when men were turned on when compared to women. And it
didn't have entirely to do with the 'equipment' change.

He ignored the urge to take Ukyou up in his arms, and pulled his pants up.
"I'm dressed."

Ukyou slowly peeked through her fingers, saw Ai-kun was telling the truth,
and relaxed. "You'd better go."

For once Ai-kun did not protest. He agreed, but not before giving Ukyou a
peck on the cheek before departing.

Ukyou stared at the door after Ai-kun had exited. Matters were coming to a
head, and she was going to have to make a decision soon. Both for Ai's sake
and her own.


Kasumi decided to go out on the deck and enjoy the night air. Dinner had
been something of a disappointment. Ordinarily she would have loved eating
with Shampoo, but tonight, when she had tried to talk about their morning
conversation, Shampoo changed the subject. Kasumi let it drop, of course
--it would have been rude to press on-- but it had been disappointing.  So
after dinner she found herself unable to sleep and chose to walk on the
deck. It was late enough she believed that she would have the deck to
herself, which was why it was such a surprise to find a ten year old girl
already present and looking out at the nighttime ocean. It took Kasumi a
moment to recall the girl's name: Sparrow.

"<Hello,>" Kasumi greeted gently.

Sparrow's head quickly darted in Kasumi's direction, much like her
namesake. The young girl smiled in return, then gave a sad look and pointed
to her throat.

"<Oh my! That's right. You can't talk.>" Kasumi brought her hands up and
began motioning with them. [Would it make you feel better if I talked like
this?]

Sparrow appeared startled for a moment, then relaxed. [You know the sign
language of the Joketsuzoku!]

Kasumi thought about that for the briefest of moments. When had she learned
that? Shampoo must have taught her. [Yes. I can.]

Sparrow returned that with a joyful smile that only the young could give.
[That's great. Not too many of my people know how to communicate like this.
Just my family, and a couple of others, and all the Elders. But who wants
to talk to Elders? They never have anything interesting to say. They just
want to collect the messages I have and send me on my way.]

Kasumi noticed the girl appeared a little saddened when she mentioned that.
[You sound lonely.]

The girl looked at Kasumi in surprise. [Not exactly. Everyone treats me
nicely,] she signed reluctantly. [Besides, it could be worse. If I didn't
have my curse, I wouldn't be the best messenger in the village.]

[Why would that be worse?]

Sparrow appeared reluctant to answer, but gazed into Kasumi's eyes. There
was a kindness there that made her want to trust the older girl. [My people
look down upon those that are not whole. It is not as though they are
harmed or thrown out, but they are not treated with the same respect others
are given, at least by most.] Her sadness at admitting that was quickly
replaced. [But sometimes, people can overcome their problems, like that
blind dummy, Mu Tse. If he weren't stupidly throwing himself at Xian Pu all
the time, he'd have a lot more respect. And I get a lot of respect because
I am the best and fastest messenger ever. No one else comes close. Even
though I am young, I get more honor than a lot of adults!]

Kasumi was delighted at the girl's happiness in her abilities, but she
detected something else in Sparrow's eyes. Some sort of melancholy. [What
do your friends think of your role as messenger?]

The look of melancholy grew. [I don't have many friends. There are only a
couple of good ones that can use sign language, but most of my people just
say hello and move on.]

Kasumi gave the girl an apologetic stare. [I'm sorry. I didn't mean to
upset you.]

Sparrow shook her head, and perked up a bit. [It's all right. Besides, I
have a gift the others don't.]

[What's that?]

Sparrow gave an elfish grin a leaped atop the railing. [I can fly!] She
spread her arms out and began walking along with exaggerated motions with
her arms as she flitted back and forth.

"<Be careful! You might fall!>" Kasumi said.

Sparrow did a pirouette on one toe, then stopped so she could sign once
more. [I never fall off. My balance is too good. I think it has to do with
my curse. I'm used to perching on things.] To prove her point she went
through an intricate series of leaps and dances along the thin metal rail
that would put Ranma to shame. Satisfied she proved her point, she stopped
to sign once again. [But the best thing in the world is the ability to fly!
That's why I'm not really sad, even though I don't have many friends. None
of them could fly with me.] 

Sparrow's eyes took on a distant cast. [There's nothing in the world that
can match the feeling of the wind running through your wings. You can
practically see the whole world when you fly as high as you can. The
village looks like a speck. It's so tiny you wouldn't know people live
there.] She gave a broad grin. [I've been farther and to more places than
anyone, except maybe Perfume and some of the elders. I love flying!]

Sparrow hopped down to the deck and walked up to Kasumi. [If I had any one
wish in the world, I wouldn't use it to wish for being able to talk. I'd
wish I could fly faster. That way I could see even more places than I can
now and I could get there quicker. It would be wonderful.]

Kasumi admired the young girl. There had been many difficulties for her,
yet she overcame them all and still enjoyed life. If only there was some
way for Kasumi to grant Sparrow that wish. Then it came to her.

[Sparrow, I know a way you can increase your speed. Hold your hands up,
palms flat and pointing up to the sky.]

Sparrow gave Kasumi a curious glance. [How will that make me faster?]

An eye blink later Kasumi disappeared. Sparrow stared at where she had been
but a moment ago. Then felt a tap to her shoulder. Sparrow turned to see
Kasumi, giving her one of the warmest smiles she had ever seen. Sparrow's
hands failed her for a moment before she managed, [How?]

Kasumi began talking. "<Chi manipulation used to enhance speed. I did cheat
a little and use a camouflage shift to hide my after-image, otherwise you
would have seen me blur instead of disappear outright. But don't worry,
you'll be plenty fast enough. Now tell me, can you manipulate your chi?>"

Sparrow shook her head.

"<Then I'll show you how to tap into that first. Then we can move on to a
basic speed technique. You won't see any differences at first, but if you
practice with it a lot you'll get faster.>" Kasumi paused for a moment, her
smile disappearing. "<You must promise me one thing. You must never use
what I teach you to hurt anyone, or show the technique to anyone else. I'm
only showing this to you so you can fly faster, not so you can hurt someone
with it.>"

Sparrow nodded her head solemnly. [I promise. I don't even like to fight.
Even if I could speak I would never have made a good warrior. I can defend
myself, but beyond that, nothing.]

Kasumi smiled at that. On some instinctual level she knew the Amazon would
keep her promise. "<Good. Now let's begin.>"


Soun lay back in his bed and stared at the ceiling. He could just not
understand why Akane was so angry with him. She said she wanted to get
married to Ranma, so why was she so irate at him for trying to get her what
she wanted? It was that way with all of the girls; he never understood
them. If only their mother had still been alive, she always seemed to
understand everything. 

Temporarily overcome with grief, he cried a flood of tears for less than a
minute. It was true: time did heal all wounds, even the memories of his
departed wife. There was a time not so long ago when he would have been
unable to control himself for close to five minutes. He was almost healed,
at least as much as he was ever going to be. A gentle rap on the door
caught his attention.

"Enter."

Silk quietly entered and closed the door behind her. Soun immediately took
note that she was wearing an unusual loose-fitting white jumpsuit. A very
strange sight given her usual preference for more subtle wear. 

"It's nice to see you again," Silk purred in an almost feline manner. "I'm
sorry it took me so long to visit you. There was some Amazon business I had
to take care of. But I have some free time, now."

"That's wonderful!" Soun beamed. "Why don't you sit down and we can talk?"

"Talk. Heh."

Soun became nervous at the smile Silk gave when she said, 'talk'. And then
there was the way she was making her way over to him. He grew even more
apprehensive as he read the body signals she was giving off. It was a
familiar motion, one she had used on him on more than one occasion those
many years ago. She was stalking prey, and not in the conventional sense of
attacking either, though she could certainly play rough when she was in
such a mood.

"Talk is good," she said as she paused in front of him. "There's something
I need to ask you. I need your opinion."

Soun relaxed ever so slightly. So they WERE going to talk. "Of course."

She placed her hands on the jumpsuit, then ripped it easily off, leaving
her wearing nothing more than a smile. "Tear-away clothing. It's amazing
what marvels in attire you Japanese come up with," she explained. "And I
thought having a lingerie shop on a ship was a foolish idea. Go figure."

Soun moved further back on the bed, away from Silk. "Y...you're not wearing
any clothes."

"You always were the more observant of us," she said with a smile. "Since
you've known me for so long, I need to ask you the question. How do I look
now, compared to when I was younger?"

"Y...you're as beautiful as ever," he said with a trace of awe in his
voice.

"What a magnificent liar you are." She gave a soft giggle. "I've worked out
hard to stay in shape, but I know time has taken its toll."

"No. I mean it."

Silk seemed genuinely surprised. "Thank you again." Her surprise
disappeared as she moved onto the bed and next to Soun in one fluid motion.

"Silk," Soun protested, but made no move to stop her.

"Now what shape are you in?" Her hand found its way past his gi and to his
chest. "My, my. You have been keeping in shape." Her hand began to work its
way further down Soun's body. "Yes. All of your muscles are very hard.
Wait. What's this?"

"Silk," Soun softly protested again, but with much less force.

Silk ignored the plea. "This one is soft. How can that be? We used to give
it such good workouts too. Let's start that training regimen again." Silk
cut off the third protest by placing a finger from her free hand  to his
lips and shifting from her playful demeanor to a more serious one. "I think
it's been long enough for both of us, don't you?"

Instinctively he wanted to protest, but realized it was more out of habit
than for any real reason. In answer to her, he nodded his head.


Shampoo quietly sneaked down the passengers' area the Amazon hunt pack was
quartered in. As late as it was, she hoped all of them were asleep.
Subterfuge was called for, and the fewer people that saw her awake at that
late hour, the better. 

The rooms were all quiet, save one from which the sounds of passion were
emanating from. Not the one she desired, fortunately. That cabin was next
to the one the noises were coming from. She knocked on the door with only
the lightest of force. 

Perfume opened the door and stared in surprise at her visitor. "<What is
it?>" she whispered, looking down the corridor to see if anyone had spotted
Shampoo. Perfume was still wearing her normal clothes. With the noises
coming from So Fu next door, there was no way Perfume was going to get any
sleep until her neighbor was finished.

"<I need your help. It doesn't have anything to do with my problem, but
it's important to me.>"

"<Okay, but first I need your opinion on something.>" Perfume went into her
cabin and brought out a dress. 

"<It looks nice,>" Shampoo said.

Perfume smiled. "<Great! I thought it would look really look cute on
Tsubasa.>"

Shampoo just stared. "<You truly scare me sometimes.>"

"<At least the guy I'm after is one all of the time,>" Perfume retorted.

"<It's not that I mean to judge your....tastes, but Tsubasa really is
beneath you. He's a pest. He's been accosting one of my friends for months
and I think you can do much better. I'm sure there are lots of other
cross-dressers out there just waiting for you.>" Shampoo shook her head in
disbelief. "<I can't believe I just said that.>" 

Perfume shrugged. "<When we start going out, I'll be able to judge him for
myself, once I figure out what he's disguised as, anyway. Now what did you
want?>"

Shampoo appeared somewhat nervous. "<I need a lookout I can trust.>"

"<Okay,>" Perfume returned the dress inside and came out with her naginta.

"<I don't think you're going to need that,>" Shampoo warned.

"<With that walking libido they call a captain? Guess again. With the way
he was hitting on me, this might be the only thing to keep him away. Did
you know he even volunteered to wear a dress for me if I'd sleep with him?
What am I watching out for anyway?>"


Ranma was doing a one-armed handstand in an effort to clear his thoughts.
As hard as he tried to come up with a solution, there was still no way he
could think of to keep Shampoo out of danger. The only thing he had going
for him was that the ship was heading in the wrong direction. That was all
that was presently on the bright side. There was also one other thing that
was distracting him. Just one question.

Who do I choose?

Over and over his mind kept returning to that one burning question. No
matter how hard he attempted to keep it out, it would return and call out
to him some more. He decided it was time to stop fighting it and accept an
attempt to figure out the answer. There was no clear cut choice, so it
would probably be best if he compared the two. There were a lot of pros and
cons. Neither girl was perfect, but even he wasn't. He was close, but not
quite flawless.

On the good side the girls were both martial artists. Shampoo was great,
always able to press him hard, though he was still better. On the other
hand, Akane had gotten a lot better in the last few months. On the downside
Tarou was largely responsible for that. But he couldn't hold that against
her. She had to do what was best for herself. As it stood Shampoo was the
better martial artist than Akane. The fight they had the day before proved
that.

Too bad martial arts had nothing to do with love.

The next thing to consider was looks. Why not? Shampoo was gorgeous. She
had a beautiful face and a great body. The purple hair made her seem
exotic. She did have that large scar on her side, courtesy of Perfume, but
he didn't care about that.

Then there was Akane. Yes, he had called her an uncute, unsexy, unfeminine
tomboy in the past, but the truth was Akane was cute. Actually she was very
attractive. Not in the classic way Shampoo was, but in a girl-next-door
sort of way. The names he had called her were reflexes. Whenever he felt
offended or wronged by her, that was how he fought back. But deep down
inside he had never meant them. Never believed in them. Now he could admit
it to himself, if not her. So as far as looks went, they were even.

Now that it really mattered. Looks were never truly important to him. Not
now. Not ever. 

That was two essentially useless categories down. He was about to move on
to which one could cook better, since eating was important to him, when he
realized he was stalling. He was not going to base a decision on who could
be a better 'classic' wife; if he wanted that he would have already run off
with Kasumi. No. He had to consider more important issues.

Curses. Shampoo had one. Akane did not. Yes, Shampoo would turn into a guy,
but he turned into a girl. He was hardly a hypocrite, and would never shun
Shampoo because of her curse. Besides, he had never known her without one,
growing to care for her with the knowledge that water turned her into a
guy. It was irrelevant to him.

There was the problem with children, but he had already covered that, in a
way. He did not want any right away. Period. He was sixteen, going on
seventeen. Children were the last thing on his mind. If he chose Shampoo,
they would adopt when the time came. That was all that mattered about the
curse and children.

Family honor. 

Now that was a problem. He was supposed to marry a Tendo. End of
discussion. That meant Akane. He cared for her. Might have even lo...the
l-word her, but he did not want to feel forced into something he was unsure
about. 

There really wasn't any way around it. If he chose Shampoo, his family
still would not release him from THEIR promise. So unless he turned his
back on them and the obligation, and he wasn't certain if he could do that,
then he could not marry Shampoo.

Ranma cursed his parents for trying to deny him the right to make any
choices in his life.

He gazed at the clock on the wall. Nearly two hours had passed. He had
asked himself every question and weighed every fact he could, save one. 
The most important. And the only one that mattered.

Who did he love?

Through all of the hours and thinking, it all came down to that one
question. And he still didn't know the answer to it.

Ranma gave up and stared at the ceiling, seeing not the mildew encrusted
tiles, but Akane and Shampoo's faces dancing before him. Despite the
tribulations of the last week, he was not the least bit tired. So he just
lay back and pondered how his life had come to the crossroads it was at.

He cursed his lack of experience in matters of the heart. And the more he
thought about who to choose, the worse he felt. He wasn't like Pantyhose,
who he knew would look at it as a no lose situation. To Ranma, it was a no
win situation. One of the girls would end up hurt no matter what, and it
would be all because of him.

A soft knock on the door broke him out of his increasing misery. It was
well past two AM. No one should have been bothering him at that hour. His
muscles tensed as he approached the door. 

"Shampoo, what are you doing here? It's late."

Shampoo brushed past Ranma and closed the door behind her. He felt a shiver
run down his spine as he noticed the familiar predatory gleam in the
Amazon's eyes. 

"Shampoo, why are you here?"

Shampoo moved closer. "I thought you might be having trouble deciding."

Ranma relaxed a tiny fraction. "Yes. I have. So if you came here for an
answer, I don't got one."

Shampoo shrugged. "That's okay. I wouldn't expect you to. You don't have
all of the facts yet."

Ranma scratched his head in confusion. "I don't have all of the facts?"
What was missing that he hadn't considered?

"No." And with that she brought his face to her and gave him a passionate
kiss, not breaking it for close to a full minute. When Shampoo broke off
the kiss she gasped for air. 

"Wow! Ranma sure know how to kiss." It took her a moment to realize she had
become so excited that her command of Japanese had slipped. Composing
herself, she continued. "I mean, you should know how I kiss. That'll make
your decision easier. You're really a good kisser, though," she added. 

At first, Ranma was more than a little weak in the knees. Not the sort of
reaction he would have expected from his first kiss, at least as a guy.
Then what she said kicked in and his defenses went up. "You kissed me!" 

"You kissed back."

It took him a moment to realize that, after the initial shock, he had
indeed kissed her back. He didn't even remember thinking about it; it had
been an automatic reaction. A good one though. 

"Yeah. I did." He began to swagger a little as his confidence began to
build. "And I did it good too." 

Shampoo picked up that, for all of his posturing, he was also asking her if
it had been good. "Hmmm," she purred. "The absolute best. It was much
better, than Mikado or Uk... It was really, really good." She hoped he
hadn't caught the gaffe. Besides, Ukyou had kissed her.

Ranma was so busy feeling proud of himself he missed Shampoo's slip of the
tongue. He had not realized how afraid he was that his kissing technique
was horrible. After all, the only time he had kissed a girl was Akane in
the park, and she had run off screaming. Well, she had pretty much done all
the kissing; he had done nothing other than sit there in shock, but he was
still afraid he had done something wrong. 

He was going to say something else when Shampoo's next action gained all of
his attention. The Amazon took her top off, revealing everything nature had
given her for Ranma to see. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he told
himself he should have remembered to return her lingerie to her.

"Sh...Sh...Shampoo! What are you doing?!"

She latched onto him, pressing herself tight against his body. "I just want
to show you what else you'll have if you choose me." She hooked one leg
around his hip and semi-straddled him. "Think of it as a trial run."

Fear and lust fought for control within Ranma. Instinctively his body
reacted with hers. He wanted to do it, he could feel that, but at the same
time he did not want to. It was a paradox that was almost as difficult as
trying to decide between Akane and Shampoo. What she said made sense...no!
He wasn't that way. "Shampoo. Let go."

She maintained her hold, rubbing her leg across his backside. "You don't
want me to."

He allowed a little more intensity to creep into his voice. "Yes. I do."

This time Shampoo relinquished her hold and stepped back a couple of feet.
She placed her hands on her hips, making certain Ranma had an unrestricted
view of her chest. "What's wrong?" There was more than a hint of irritation
in her voice.

"Cover your chest too."

She did as she asked and crossed her arms in front of her chest, leaving
her top on the floor. Why was he acting so resistant? It wasn't as though
she was forcing him to make a choice. She just wanted to...persuade him a
little. As she thought about it, she began to consider an alternate reason
for his refusal to her advances. "You think I'm ugly, don't you?" It made
sense to her. It would be just her luck to discover the one man in the
world that thought big-chested, purple-haired girls were a turn off.

"NO! Why does it always have to be about looks with you girls? I don't care
what you look like."

That eased her somewhat, but maybe it was something else. "You do like
girls, right?"

"Of course I do! What kind of a stupid question is that?!"

"You're not afraid of me because of my curse?"

"No!"

Shampoo thought she might have the reason at last. "Ranma, you be honest
with me. Do you have problems performing?"

He stared at her in confusion. "No. I'm a good actor. And if I have
problems with my lines, the solution is one electro-shock away."

Shampoo resisted the very powerful urge to strike him. Even Ranma should
have picked up on that. He had to be avoiding the question. "Ranma, just
because you have problems getting it up it's okay. I read in school that
most of the time the problem is psy...psycho...is all in your head. With
the way your father raised you that's not a surprise. And if it is physical
there's plenty of drugs that can overcome it." She took a deep breath. "And
if you can't overcome it, it won't make any difference to me. I'll love you
anyway." She smiled to herself, quite proud of the sacrifice she was
willing to make.

"Are you finished?" Ranma said softly.

"Yes."

"Good." He took a deep breath.

"I'M NOT IMPOTENT!!!" About halfway through the declaration he had finally
understood what she meant by 'performing'.

That confused Shampoo. She was all out of ideas. "Then why won't you sleep
with me?"

Oh how he loathed explaining himself, but if he didn't she was going to be
confused and miserable. "Look. My decision ain't going to be based on how
good the ah, sex is. It's going to be who I love."

"I'm not asking you to make a choice," Shampoo protested.

"For me, sleeping with you or Akane would be a choice. That's the way I am.
It's not like you would sleep around with some guy you thought was
good-looking."

"Ah, no!" She began sweating appreciatively. "I would never sleep with a
man I didn't love or was just really good friends with." That was the
truth, basically.

"Right," Ranma agreed. "If I'm going to sleep with someone, it's going to
be someone I love, and after I'm married. I'd want to do it properly and
all."

Shampoo never really understood how old-fashioned Ranma was about that sort
of thing. It was kind of sweet. It was also inconvenient, annoying, and
frustrating as hell, but sweet. "If you're sure, then I'll back off." She
gave him a coy gaze. "If you're sure."

"I am."

"Then let's kiss some more!" She grabbed him once again.

He tried squirming out of her grasp. "I..it's not that I didn't like it! I
did! But it's not fair to Akane. And I kind of want to make sure whoever I
do that with is the one I choose." Actually he felt he was two-timing
Akane. It wasn't as though someone as conservative as her would ever try
the sort of thing Shampoo was doing.

Shampoo backed off. As much as she wanted to stay, pushing Ranma would only
make him resentful, not compliant.

As Shampoo considered what to do, Perfume's voice came loudly from the
hall. "Oh! Hi there, Akane Tendo! What brings you here this time of
night?!"

Ranma panicked. What was Akane doing out at that time of night? What was
Perfume doing there too?

"That's my early warning system," Shampoo said, answering his unspoken
question. Her original intent was to have Perfume warn her if anyone was
coming, then make a break for it. But now that she considered it, she
should let Akane find out about her presence. If Akane followed her usual
pattern, she would jump to an inaccurate conclusion, not listen to the
explanation, then call off the engagement. A happy ending for all.

Ranma came to the same conclusion, save the last part. "You've got to get
out of here!"

Shampoo gave him a defiant stare. "Why?"

"Because she's going to think we were doing something when we weren't!"

"It's not my fault she's self-centered and won't listen to your
explanations."

Ranma gave her a flat stare. "And like you always listen to what I say.
Just like that time Akari's breasts fell into my face and I had to touch
her to get her off."

Shampoo scowled at Ranma. "It looked to me like you enjoyed groping her
chest! You sure didn't move your hands away from her too quick! You just
squeezed her so you could get a cheap feel!"

Ranma silently wondered if all women sounded like Akane when they were
jealous. He also realized that Akane and Perfume's voices were getting
louder.

"What are you doing here, Perfume?"

"I'm just enjoying the night air, Akane Tendo!"

"Inside?"

"It looked like rain, Akane Tendo!"

"Why do you keep saying my name?"

"I'm showing you respect, Akane Tendo!"

There was a pause before Akane spoke again. "I understand! Shampoo's in
there and you're trying to warn her!"

"I have no idea of what you are talking about."

"Liar! Get out of my way!"

"I'm trying, but, you keep moving into it."

Ranma's panic doubled. There was no way Perfume could keep an angry Akane
out. "Shampoo, please."

She couldn't resist a pleading Ranma. "I'll go out the window." It was then
Shampoo remembered one very important detail she had overlooked when making
her escape plan: ships don't have windows. They have portholes. Small ones.
Very small ones. Very small ones that Shampoo could not possibly fit
through.

"Un oh." She gave a nervous chuckle.

Ranma ran around the room, frantically. "We gotta get you out of sight!" As
though there was any such place in the small, cabin where that would work. 

Shampoo was initially pleased that she would be discovered by Akane. But an
image went through her mind that if Akane rejected Ranma under those
circumstances, he might be tempted to win her back. He might even agree to
marry her to get back in her good graces. That would not do. Shampoo then
considered how to get out of sight. There was no other way out of the cabin
than the door, and in order to use that Akane would have to be distracted
so Shampoo could sneak out. But what to use as a distraction? Then she got
the idea.

The Amazon ran over to the wall next to an adjacent cabin and made one of
her old style 'entrances', making a woman-sized hole in the wall. Instead
of going through it, she backed away and hid next to a dresser against the
wall the  real door was set in. As long as Akane did not move into the
portion of the room opposite the hole, Akane would never know she was
there. Shampoo only needed a moment to get out once Akane was distracted.

Akane burst through the door just as the dust around the hole was settling.
"I knew it! Shampoo was here!"

Ranma stared nervously at Akane. "No! No! She's not here! That wall
collapsed on its own. This is a run down ship and that happens all the
time."

"Liar! She just made that hole and is trying to escape!" To prove her point
Akane went through the hole, giving Shampoo enough time to escape out the
door and run for it. Perfume stopped her long enough to tell Shampoo to
wait at the end of the hall and out of sight long enough for Perfume to
talk to her.

Ranma breathed a sigh of relief, until his eyes fell on Shampoo's top still
lying on the floor. Quickly he tucked it under the covers of his bed.

Akane made an intensive search of the adjacent cabin. Much to her
frustration it was empty, and the door was locked from the outside. She had
been certain the hole had been caused by Shampoo, too. When she returned to
Ranma's cabin she saw Perfume smiling smugly at her. 

"See. I told you."

Akane stared suspiciously. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to try to seduce Ranma away from you and Shampoo. He would look
so good in a dress." Perfume gave a deep sigh and stared longingly at
Ranma.

Akane began to glow blue. "He is not a pervert! Now get out of here!" She
rushed Perfume out the door and slammed it shut behind her. "She's lucky I
don't beat her up for what she did to me and my family," Akane growled.

She calmed herself down and turned to Ranma. "I'm sorry I doubted you. I'm
just on edge." She examined the hole once again. "I guess this ship really
is a piece of...well, you know."

"Yeah." Ranma wiped the sweat from his brow. "What are you doing here
anyway?"

Akane began fidgeting, giving nervous glances throughout the room and
looking at everything but Ranma. "Well, I...umm,"

Ranma just stared at her as she continued stuttering for almost a minute.
"Are you just going to mumble all night?" Ranma rumbled, the series of the
day's events having finally worn his patience down.

Akane scowled at him, then found resolve in her irritation. She forcefully
grabbed his head and brought his lips to hers. It wasn't easy for her to
make the effort to 'win a guy' like that. It wasn't as though she did not
want to kiss Ranma, it was just she had as much  experience as Ranma in
dealing with matters of the heart. 

It was obvious, even to her, that Ranma was confused and trying hard not to
hurt anyone. She was willing to give him a leeway now that she had been
unwilling to in the past. He was being tentative, and under different
circumstances that was the way she would have preferred things, but now
there was an outside force to consider. Akane had to take desperate
measures to influence Ranma, and that meant going to his room and doing
what needed to be done.

Besides, it was exactly what Shampoo would have done if she had not beaten
the Amazon to it.

After a minute Akane came up for air. "Sorry," she gasped. "I don't know
what came over me."

"It's d�j� vu all over again," Ranma said as he felt weak in the knees once
more.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Ranma said quickly. Since it seemed Akane missed the innuendo,
he thought about the kiss he had just received. It was different from
Shampoo's, but felt every bit as good. Maybe it was too bad the girls
didn't get along. Then they could...

He got rid of those sort of thoughts immediately. Even thinking about it
was more than he could handle.

Akane spoke up once more. "I know that was kind of forward of me. But we've
been engaged for almost a year and never really kissed."

"Except for the time in the park and you took off screaming," Ranma said
dryly.

"Err...yeah. Sorry about that." Akane blushed a little. That had seemed
like a million years ago, but the memory did make her want to try
something. Just to make certain she was over that particular problem. She
grabbed a pitcher of water next to Ranma's night stand and proceeded to
dump the contents on his head.

"Hey!" Ranma-chan spluttered as she tried wiping some of the water out of
her hair. "What's the big idea?!"

Akane didn't answer, but rather kissed Ranma-chan once again. The kiss was
much briefer than the first, but tasted just as good to Akane. "I just
wanted to show you I don't care if you're a boy or a girl. I care about you
either way."

"Oh," Ranma-chan  said softly. 

Akane became nervous again. She wasn't certain if she could go through with
the next part, but she did not want to risk losing him. "Ranma, if you want
to do anything else, we can. Anything you want."

Ranma-chan examined Akane closely. Was she implying...she was. That was all
she needed. For two people that were so different, it was amazing how
Akane's mind mirrored Shampoo's sometimes.

"Neither of us is ready for that. You'd better leave." Ranma-chan held open
the door for her.

Akane gave her a hurt look. "You don't...want me?"

Ranma-chan shook her head. "Believe me when I say I would do the exact same
thing if Shampoo threw herself at me. It's not that I don't think you're
attractive. It's just the way I am."

Akane seemed a little reassured, if hurt, by Ranma-chan's refusal. She gave
her a smile and left quietly. Akane touched her lips as she headed towards
her room. That had not gone as she had thought it would, but it wasn't a
bad start. Not at all.

She was more than halfway back when she passed Minami's room and heard the
sounds of retching. Akane wondered how the poor ghost sweeper was doing and
knocked on the door. A weak 'enter' was the response.

Akane examined Minami, who was still laying in her bed, a foul smelling
bucket next to her. Akane tried ignoring the smell as she looked her friend
over. "Has it been like this all day?" Akane asked.

Minami nodded her head weakly. "It's magic. I'm sure of it."

"What is there that could make you magically sick?"

"I don't know," she said. "It doesn't matter. I'll be at your side when the
time comes. I promise you."

"You have no idea how sorry I am to hear you say that."

Akane spun in the direction of the voice behind her. She turned just in
time to see a tall figure shrouded in a black robe with the hood drawn up
over its head wave a hand before her. 

"Sleep," the figure intoned. Akane hit the floor a moment later, in a deep
slumber.

Minami recognized the figure, even if she could not see his face. The voice
and soft pink glint where the figure's left eye should have been was a
giveaway. "Fistandantilus," she barely managed to get out. It made sense
now. He was more than powerful enough to curse her into such a state. And
she was too weak to do anything now.

"Yes. I told you a time of darkness would come and I would see you survive
it. Your friends are most likely marching to their death, but not you. I
owe a favor to the Six Fingered Hand, and they want you alive. Once I have
done that, my debt to them is canceled. So sleep, Neria. And when you
awaken, your world will probably no longer be your own." He cast a spell
before her. It would render her comatose for the next five days, at which
time all would be decided.

Minami managed to say. "Not Neria. Neria...was mother's...name." She could
just barely make out the response as everything went dark.

"Yes. It is."


Shampoo crossed her arms over her chest as she and Perfume walked the
corridors of the ship. She had forgotten her top in her haste. At least no
one had seen her yet.

"<Maybe you'd better change before some sailor comes on to you,>" Perfume
suggested.

Shampoo nodded, and made a 'door' to one of the cabins. It was deserted,
and one splash of cold water later, a male Shampoo-kun left the cabin. As
he walked down the corridor he felt the ship lurch much more than it had in
the past. Something was rocking the boat.

"Let's talk in Japanese," Shampoo-kun suggested. "It'll help people not put
two and two together, not that I believe any of our sisters are awake at
this time of night." 

"Okay." The two walked in silence for a while, only the sound of their
footsteps accompanying them. Eventually Perfume spoke up. "Shampoo, what
would you give for our people?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Perfume's voice dropped several decibels, making it difficult for
Shampoo-kun to hear her. "What would you give for our people? What if there
was something only you could do to save them? Some threat so great that it
would require a sacrifice of something that you held dear? Could you give
up your friends? Your love? Your life?"

Shampoo-kun became concerned at his friend's suddenly odd behavior. Perfume
was always a deep thinker that would ask odd questions, but this was much
stranger than anything Shampoo-kun could remember the girl had asked in the
past. "You're not making any sense." 

"Just answer the question. I need to know." Perfume was almost pleading,
something she had almost never done.

Shampoo-kun tried thinking of how to answer the question. "I would do
anything for them, even give my life. But I have no intention of dying
because of this stupid curse and stupid law! It's wrong. There's nothing
either it or I can do to harm our people. I'm no threat. There's no reason
to die, and I'm not going to let myself be killed!"

Perfume's attitude suddenly changed as she became much happier. "Let's go
spar!"

"At this time of night?" Shampoo-kun said in disbelief. Had Perfume lost
her mind?

"It might be the last chance we get. Besides, no one back home can truly
test me anymore. You're the only one I can go all out with."

Shampoo-kun thought it over. It was late, and he was tired, but the chance
to spar with Perfume was too great to pass up. Sparring with Ranma had
taught Shampoo-kun that he could never be 'good enough'. Being the best was
something one always had to fight for, and that could only be done by
taking on the best and triumphing. The fights with Perfume had always been
close. Now it was time for Shampoo-kun to find out if he could truly call
himself the best of the Amazons.

The two made their way to the deck, the only place on the ship that was big
enough to have a decent match. As they neared their destination they felt
the ship's lurching become more violent. Once they made it to the deck,
they saw the cause of the craft's increase in movement. There was a storm
blowing. From the way the ship was being tossed both thought they were in
the middle of a typhoon. The furious cacophony of waves hitting the ship,
wind howling in their ears, and rain falling in sheets made both Amazons
have to shout to be heard.

"We can't go out in this!" Shampoo-kun protested.

Perfume gave him a wild-eyed look as she placed a leather cover over the
blade of the naginta. "Don't be such a baby! What's life without a little
risk? Nothing but a way of watching yourself wither and die moment by
moment. I choose to live life, and I am going to dance in that mother of a
storm and show the gods what I'm made of! Make up your mind! Are you alive,
or do you wait for death like some old male?!" Without waiting for an
answer, Perfume disappeared into the pouring rain.

Shampoo-kun considered Perfume's words for a moment. It all came down to
one question: Live life safely or on the edge?

Shampoo-kun ran out into the storm.

There was a moment of disorientation as Shampoo-kun found himself blinded
by the rain and the wind. The slick surface of the deck made his footing
unsound. It was during his confusion that Perfume struck. The advantage she
had from adjusting to the harsh conditions first paid off as she connected
with the blunt end of the naginta into Shampoo-kun's right shoulder. A
follow-up fist struck Shampoo-kun in the temple. He barely had enough time
to avoid or parry Perfume's series of attacks. He had to admit, Perfume was
pressing him hard and holding nothing back. If Shampoo-kun had not known
better, he would have sworn his old friend was really trying to hurt him.

The fight began to move from one end of the ship to the other. Shampoo-kun
was put on the defensive for the first part of the combat, but managed to
regain his full senses and began to retaliate. The reach advantage Perfume
had made fighting difficult, and Shampoo-kun's right shoulder continued to
bother him. Perfume landed a second strike into it and made the pain worse,
rendering Shampoo-kun's arm nearly inoperable.

"How does that feel?!" Perfume shouted over the ever increasing storm. 

Shampoo-kun connected with a vicious backfist to Perfume's head. The girl
went sprawling nearly twenty feet on the wet deck. "Pretty damn good!"

Perfume regained her footing and the two fought on more even standing once
again. A second dance of violence erupted between the two. Unlike the last
one, the pair fought not for death, but for pride. For all of the sparring
it was supposed to be, the intensity of the fight could not help escalating
as the storm heightened in watery fury. Wind tore at both fighters, making
the conflict increasingly difficult, yet at the same time adding to it as
each combatant used the battleground to their advantage. Lightning struck
nearby as they went leaping from one side of the roofs on the ship to the
other. Each tried to assault the other in the storm. Twice each warrior
nearly lost their footing and plunged to the deck below, yet all it did was
to add fuel to their duel. 

After several more exchanges, Shampoo-kun at last managed to hurl Perfume's
naginta away from her. The cursed Amazon's hope that the move would give
him an advantage failed as he discovered that Perfume was as much a
mistress of unarmed combat as she was with her weapons. The two exchanged a
rapid succession of blows with one another, each sacrificing defense for
offense. Had there been any observer present, and had he been able to gaze
into the two warriors' eyes, he would have seen a look of near madness upon
each one's features. The combatants' passion matched the savagery of the
storm; both of them were wild in a near orgasmic frenzy of violence.

Nearly twenty more minutes passed as the two fought, until at last
Shampoo-kun connected with a series of fists and kicks concentrated on
Perfume's head. With one final blow he drove her back into a radar dish
with such force it nearly snapped Perfume's spine. The girl lay on the
metal plates, moaning softly while holding her back in pain.

Shampoo-kun roared at the rain filled skies in triumph, then stared at his
opponent and had to suppress the urge to finish her off. The razor's edge
of emotion he had been riding on for the last twenty minutes left him in a
near animalistic state of mind. At some point primal instincts had
overridden his rational mind, and the duel had degenerated into a desperate
fight for dominance. Now he had to bring those emotions under control, lest
they consume him.

It took him nearly a full minute before he could trust himself to not
attack Perfume. And perhaps the most horrifying thing was, he felt no shame
at the loss of control. It had been liberating, in some base way, and he
almost wished he could have maintained that state of mind. But on some deep
level he knew better, and that cutting loose was simply something he had
needed to do for so very long. He ignored the siren's call to release all
of those base urges and reigned in his emotions, even as the storm seemed
to beckon him into raging out of control once again. Slowly he approached
Perfume.

"I cannot think of a more magnificent fight I have ever bee-" 

Shampoo-kun's statement was cut short as Perfume kicked out, sweeping his
leg out from under him, forcing him to land on his injured shoulder. It was
also at that moment that a powerful wave caused the ship to lurch, sending
the sprawling Shampoo-kun and Perfume towards the edge of the roof. Both
went over and landed hard on the deck. When Shampoo-kun tried to stop his
slide into the ocean, his right arm refused to respond with anything other
than pain. The rain-slick deck afforded him no purchase, and with nothing
to grab onto, he slid over the side. It was only at the last moment that he
snagged the deck with his good arm, fingers digging into the deck plate.
The handhold was too perilous and he could not force himself up to the
deck. It took all he had to simply maintain his grip.

Perfume managed to stop her own slide earlier by grabbing onto a pipe that
was sticking out of the deck. As the ship stopped listing and settled onto
a semi-normal position, Perfume regained her feet. She wearily walked over
to where Shampoo-kun hung over the side.

"Help me up!" Shampoo-kun shouted over the crashing sound of the sea.

Perfume remained motionless, staring at Shampoo-kun and the precarious
handhold he had. The seas rolled in the inky blackness, and even Perfume
knew there was no one that could survive that kind of violent surging
unprotected for more than a minute. Then the ocean would claim another
life, swallowing up someone as though they had never existed. One could not
fight the endless waters and win.

"The answer to so many problems," Perfume said softly as she stared at the
ocean, unconcerned with the swaying of the ship, as though somehow knowing
there was no risk to her life.

Shampoo-kun could not make out the words Perfume spoke. All he could see
was that Perfume was suddenly very frightening. It was almost as though he
had ceased to exist in his old friend's eyes. "Are you going to help me up
or let me die?!"

Perfume's mind was racing with the possibilities. If Shampoo died at sea,
the curse would go unrevealed, while her Hunt Pack would have maintained
its honor by fulfilling its objective. No shame would fall on Cologne or
her clan. No shame would be attributed to Shampoo's name, and she would go
down as dying with honor against an opponent one could not hope to best.
Perfume would become leader without Shampoo to bar the way. The Joketsuzoku
would be safe, not dying in ninety years as Mr. Domino predicted, but going
on to fulfill a destiny of rule that would extend across the centuries.
Shampoo had said she was willing to die for her people. Now she could prove
it.

The breaking point of the deck near Shampoo-kun's hand was clear to
Perfume. All it would take was one finger and the deck would shatter and
the black-haired boy would plummet to his death. Or she could just wait
until his grip failed him and he plunged into the dark waters below.
Shampoo-kun could barely hold on, and would fall in at any moment. The
solution to so many problems, and it could be obtained by simply doing
nothing. All she had to do was let her friend die. A lifetime of dreams was
only a moment away.


No.


"Give me your hand, my sister!" Perfume shouted as she reached down and
grabbed onto Shampoo-kun's hand that was just about to slip away from the
deck. Between the two of them they managed to get Shampoo-kun safely back
onboard as the duo moved back from the edge of the ship.

Once he caught his breath Shampoo-kun shot an accusing glare towards
Perfume. "What was that all about?"

"I was lost in thought. My apologies."

"Your timing really stinks!" Shampoo-kun glowered. "And by the way, I won
the fight."

Perfume smiled at her friend. "I think we both did. The only question now
is what price do we pay for our victory?"


It was late morning when So Fu awakened to see her lover had already
dressed and had left the cabin. She had had very little experience with
members of the opposite sex, but even she could tell her lover was
magnificent in bed. She quickly dressed and went outside in the hall, only
to see him talking suggestively with Tablet.

"What go on here?" she asked D'Amour.

"He's trying to hit on me," Tablet explained.

So Fu stared in shock at D'Amour. "Why you do that after what we do last
night?"

D'Amour shrugged. "Well, it was great, but it's time to move on."

So Fu could not believe what she was hearing. "But you say you love So Fu."

"Hey. Love only goes so far, baby."

She nearly facefaulted in shock. "You imply maybe we marry." That was one
of the reasons So Fu had agreed to sleep with him. He had said such words
of caring and affection. She was certain he meant every word.

D'Amour covered his ears, as though someone had shouted at him. "Don't say
the M-word. It's almost as bad as the C-word." 

"C-word?" So Fu asked.

"I think he means commitment," Tablet explained once more.

D'Amour recoiled at the sound. 

So Fu felt her anger grow. "So Fu know C-word too. It called 'castration'."
She pulled out her belt knife and brandished it towards the captain. 

D'Amour backed up in a hurry. "Look. I'm sorry. Why don't we screw some
more? Maybe that will make everything better."

"There only one part of you So Fu want to hold in her hands! And it not as
big as you brag!" She began chasing D'Amour.

D'Amour rounded a corner just in time to see another Amazon come out of her
room. She motioned for him to run into her room. Sensing So Fu about to
come around the corner, he took a chance and agreed. The Amazon remained
outside, but closed the door behind D'Amour.

So Fu paused in front of Julep. "<Have you seen a soon to be dead male run
past?>"

"<I'll take care of him.>"

The smile Julep gave unnerved So Fu to no end. Still, D'Amour deserved
whatever came to him. 

Julep went inside her cabin. D'Amour cut himself a dashing figure as he
tried to romance her "I know why you saved me, you want me. I can see it in
your eyes."

Julep couldn't understand a word he said. Instead she simply said, "<Lay
down,>" and pushed him back onto her bed.

"I like aggressiveness," D'Amour commented as Julep straddled his hips. He
started to undo his shirt.

"<Allow me.>" Julep dug her nails into the shirt and ripped it clean off
his body.

"Feisty," D'Amour noted. "I love that too."

Julep dug her nails into D'Amour's chest, drawing blood. He gave a yell.
"OWW! Watch it! I'm not into pain."

Had Julep understood him, her response would have been, 'here's where you
get to learn.' It wasn't her fault her wolf genes made her
somewhat...frenzied when she was excited like this.


Outside, So Fu listened to the screams of agony coming from D'Amour.
Apparently the rumors about Julep's wild nature were true. She decided the
captain was going to be punished enough and left him to Julep's tender
mercies.


It was an hour later a badly scratched up D'Amour barely made his way out
of Julep's room. Muttering about what an animal she was. It was another
hour before he made it to his quarters, cleaned himself up, then made
himself presentable to his crew. About the only thing that had gone his way
was the defeat of that Kunou person. It would have been a lot easier if his
crew had not been taking cheap shots at him when his back was to them. 

It took him only a few moments to head up to the bridge and take his
position as captain. He looked out over the bridge and observed they were
approaching an island. 

"What island is that?" he asked Kawada

"It's Hawaii, sir."

D'Amour groaned. "Taking the long way again, are we?"

At that moment a wild-eyed man with long red hair ran onto the bridge.
"I've done it! I've finally done it!"

The captain shook the man's hand. "Congratulations!"

"Do you even know what he's done, sir, or who he is?" Kawada asked dryly.

"Haven't the faintest idea," he said as continued to shake the man's hand.
"I was hoping you would tell me."

"Surprisingly, sir, I don't know who he is or what he's done either."

D'Amour looked the man over. "Who are you?"

"Alexander Luthorinski. And who are you?"

"I'm the captain."

Luthorinski looked the man over. It was such a long time ago that he had
met the previous captain he couldn't remember what the man looked like. He
shrugged, what was one captain compared to another? "I have finally figured
out how to make the fold generators work! And in atmosphere no less!" he
shouted excitedly.

"That's great!" D'Amour exclaimed. "Is that fold as in origami?"

"I think he means fold as in time and space, sir."

"Correct!" Luthorinski shouted. "Come over here." He led them to a control
panel that no one was manning. 

"We have no idea what this one does," D'Amour informed the mad scientist.
"It does have lots of pretty blinking lights."

"It's the control panel to the fold generators."

"How do you know that?"

"It says it on the name plate right here." Luthorinski pointed out the name
plate to D'Amour.

The captain nodded sagely. "You're a brilliant man, Luthorinski."

Kawada took the crowbar that the helmsman's was aiming at the back of the
captain's head out of his hands. "Why don't you explain to us how this
works?" Kawada asked.

"Certainly," Luthorinski gave a brief synopsis on how the controls worked,
explaining how to set the coordinates and making certain they understood
the ship had to be targeted in a body of water, or else the craft would be
ruined.

"So we can just suddenly appear somewhere and not have to travel across the
seas at all?" the captain asked.

"Well the number of times you can use it is severely limited," Luthorinski
reluctantly admitted. "It takes an incredible amount of power to run the
generators. There's only enough for two folds per week. No more."

D'Amour practically slavered in anticipation. He could now make a deadline
for the first time in his career as ship's captain. "Get me the coordinates
for the nearest body of water to Joketsuzoku."

Aki was not present on the bridge, so one of the other crewman the quickly
found the coordinates from one of the maps. The nearest body of water they
could find was fifty miles away from the Amazon village. It took but a
moment to set the coordinates into the computer.

"Do we risk it, sir?" Kawada asked.

D'Amour shrugged. "Nothing ventured nothing gained." He pushed the
activation button. "Besides, what could go wrong?"

"We could end up being ejected into deep space," Luthorinski informed them.
"But there's only a ten percent chance per fold of that."

"We're safe then." D'Amour grinned happily. "When do we ever beat the
odds?"

"Flawless logic as ever, sir," Kawada said as he cursed the gods for
delivering him into D'Amour's hands. Then the fold happened.

A moment of disorientation passed on the ship as everyone felt as though
they were turned inside out for a brief second. Then the feeling passed,
and all of those that could had a view outside could see the ship was now
in the middle of a large lake. Mountains were seen in the distance to the
north. One in particular caught the attention of all of those that could
view it. The mountain was surrounded by at least five huge columns of flame
that reached out thousands of feet high to the skies.

Kawada paled as he allowed his sense to stretch out to the area around
them. It took him nearly a moment to piece together what was happening. 

"This whole area is a giant focus," he said in awe. "And the center of it
is there." He pointed to the mountain.

"Do you have any idea what mountain that is?" D'Amour asked.

"It's Mount Phoenix."

The captain turned in surprise to see Cologne standing before him, with
Shampoo at her side. He had not heard their approach. "What does it mean?"

Cologne stared off into the distance towards the mountain. "It means this
is what the Musk have been protecting, and it's up to me to find out what
that is." She hopped to the top of her staff. "It's time to gather up the
children. We're going on a little trip to Mount Phoenix."

Shampoo remained behind, unable to move. One sentence kept going through
her mind, repeating itself like a mantra.

'If you go to Mount Phoenix you will die.'



XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


Madame Lao is a creation Jim Robert Bader (aka Shadowmane) and hails from A
Very Scary Thought (Nabiki 1/2) and is part of the Altered Destinies found
on Wade Tritschler's webpage (the URL eludes me at the moment. but Wade's
email is: 
tritscwa@mala.bc.ca

Special Thanks to:

Ryan Anderson
Jim Robert Bader
Bloodblade
Ben Follis
Gary Kleppe
Jason Liao
Lord Talon
Miashara
Dr. Wade Tritschler