Twins of Flame Slayers and respective properties are possessions of H. Kanzaka and R. Araizumi. Ranma 1/2 and respective properties are possessions of R. Takahashi. The Kaotarian People and respective properties are possessions of R.C. McFadden. What relationship they have with this story, I have no idea. Chapter 03 The lights swirled before her eyes, illuminating the darkness. She stood as she stared at the lights as they began to coalesce into a feminine figure that stood before her. That figure looked very familiar, and for good reason. It was the body she wore a lifetime ago. "So, now you remember." The figure drifted toward the younger form. "It can't be. I remember it, but it just can't be..." "How? I was a gu... I am a guy... aren't I?" "We weren't before." "Then... we really were a girl?" "Of course. Unfortunately, we... I think we died. When that spell blew up, it killed us. Something brought us back." "Then why were we born a guy? Huh?" "Please stop that. It won't do either of us any good. Seriously, it may have been the spell that killed us did it." "I don't want to be a girl." "Why? Is it because you're afraid of being a girl?" "I ain't afraid of nothin'!" "You can't lie to me." A pause, then "You're afraid I'll take over your mind?" The smaller figure broke into laughter. "Stop laughing! It's not funny!" "I can't take over your mind! I'm you! You're me! We're we! If it helps, just think of me as your memories of our old life." The taller figure paused. "But..." "But nothing. If you want, be Ranma. Be Lana. Be whatever you want. But you've a sister out there, even if it was just the sister of your old life. Try explaining it to her. You won't be alone anymore. Maybe she'll even help you make your own life. Not be crammed in any box that Genma or Soun or anyone else wanted you in." "A sister..." "Yeah! Remember, the old letch did say that you were missing something. This is it. Not just a sister, but control over your life. There's probably only one thing wrong with the whole thing." "Yeah..." Simultaneously, both figures said, "Owing the old pervert something." Both figures laughed in their own way, the younger in a light giggle, the elder in a soft chuckle. Finally the elder spoke, "Ok, I'll give Nee-chan a chance. Man, that's weird. Having a sister..." "I know you've always wanted one. Sister, brother, whatever." "Yeah. I just... Wha?" The lights brightened to almost painful intensity as a voice called. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Lana? Lana, wake up, please?" Lina's voice was filled with worry. "Ugh... could you dim the lights, please?" The awakening figure pled. Lina extinguished a few of the candles and looked at the figure. "Lana, are you ok?" "Lina... we have to talk." Lina poured two mugs of tea and listened. "Lina, I remember some things, but there's some things I have to tell you too." She took one of the mugs and sighed. "After I- I died or whatever, I went to another world. I've lived a whole other life." Lina blinked a little. "Other life?" She sat up and took a sip of the tea. "Hey, this is go... used to be my favorite, didn't it?" Lina nodded, as the other continued to speak. "I... well, can you hand me that kettle?" Lina looked confused, but handed the kettle over, and squeeked in surprise as she saw her sister pour the hot water pour over her head. Nothing happened for a moment, then ever so slowly, the altered mirror of herself began to change. Hair darkened, those ample breasts shrinking, and her body growing. The figure's expression displayed no pain, but an astonishment at the very slow pace of the transformation. Lina's own astonishment was merely because the figure of her sister began to transform. "What are you? What's going on!?" Lina said, eyes filled with horror and anger. "Whoa, hold on, sis.. just a moment." Ranma said, still looking disturbed at the transformation. "I'll explain." Lina barely relaxed as she stared at the figure. "When I was the other world, I was born to a family..." Over the next couple of hours, Ranma began to explain his seventeen years. Lina's expression turned from scepticism to horror as Ranma's life was rent asunder by things such as the Neko-Ken, the insane training methods inflicted upon Ranma, and the culmination of the trip, dealing with Jusenkyou and the fateful trip through Joketsuzoku. He then described his day to day life which included brawls, arguments, malletings and other conflicts. Lina hugged him tightly as he finished the story. "Oh sis. I'm sorry." Ranma blinked a little, trying to fight tears. It, at first, felt uncomfortable, calling his male form a sister, but another part of him cried out in a profound relief. Ranma finally reached for the now cooled kettle, before pouring it over himself. Unlike the other transformation, this one happened instantly. And just as instantly, Ranma held her sister and sobbed into her shoulder. The years of hell she had gone through had left deep gaping wounds that festered within her. The tears oozed out of her as though the boils left behind were lanced, letting her start to heal from the emotional savaging her life had caused. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- A half hour later, Ranma finally sat up, wiping her face. "Feel any better?" Lina asked. Ranma nodded. "I'm sorry, sis. I didn't mean to be a jerk. I guess I just didn't want to believe it. I didn't mean to get you all wet... I didn't mean to leave you." Lina nodded, wiping her own tears away. "It's ok, si... bro... What do you want me to call you?" Ranma sighed. "I don't know. I've spent so long just being called Ranma, or Boy, or Pervert. I don't even know who Lana is anymore." She replies, fighting her `native' accent to speak her name properly. Lina nodded softly. "Well, this curse should be the first thing we should deal with. I mean, if you're a guy, then I don't want to for-" Ranma placed a hand up. "Sis, I don't know. I've been a guy for so long, but I... you know, it's weird. For the longest time I hated my curse, hated being a girl. Especially since my pop tried to make me his idea of a man among men. But now I find out I was a girl. I don't know what to think anymore." Lina shuddered and nodded. "I don't know what I'd do if I turned into a guy and then got cursed to turn into a girl either." She sighed and hugged her sister softly. "I... don't care, sis. If you have to stay a guy, I'll see if I can remove the curse. If you want to keep the curse, I'll understand..." She stopped before saying the last, not wanting to upset her sister. Ranma read the unspoken remark from her sister and sighed. "I understand." She replied softly and sighed. She didn't know what to think. Then a sound echoed through the room. Both were embarrassed by the sounds of two very ravenous stomachs grumbling. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Philia looked up as she saw the Inverse sisters step down the stairs. "Uncanny," She remarked as she looked at them. Lina smiled gently. "Ranma, this is my friend, Philia ul Copt. Philia, this I my sister, Ranma Sa..." She was then interrupted, "Inverse. I.. Ranma Inverse." Ranma replied softly. "I don't think I want to have anything to do with Pop," she explained simply. Philia seemed lost but shrugged a bit as she moved to the kitchen, returning with large amounts of food. And a few moments later, she seemed almost exasperated. Great... Lina was bad enough, but two of her? This is frightening. One could lose an arm between Lina and Ranma. Lina somehow ate faster than Ranma, but the other was sneakier. Philia merely sat back, sipping some tea and trying not to flinch as a hand moved near her every so often. Perhaps it was just some irrational fear that she, herself, would become part of the menu. Eventually the two Inverse siblings sat back, relaxing. "Thank you," Ranma said, rubbing her face. The dragon priestess nodded weakly. Ranma stood up. "I'm going to work out a bit. Coming with me?" She asked Lina. The latter nodded, and Ranma went to the kitchen to see about some hot water. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A few minutes ago in a dimension far, far away... Four figures sat in the Neko-hanten. Each had various expressions of shock and horror. Cologne shook her head softly. "I am not too surprised," She said softly with a sigh. "I should have seen the signs." Ukyou looked at the other two girls in her own age group, fury blending with her dose of horror. "I can't believe you two drove him away." She hissed. Akane looked up, her expression haunted. "I didn't think it was that bad... Ranma always seemed to bounce back." Shampoo muttered, "Akane not think at all," but before Akane could reply, she sighed as she slipped her tear-stained face into her hands. "Shampoo not think either." Cologne sighed. "I had warned you months ago that he was becoming more and more intractable, Shampoo. As a matriarch, I said my piece. As a teacher? I think I've lost my best student. He was perhaps the most brilliant student I've ever had." A figure shook his head from the shadows, chuckling a little. The girls were shocked, but Cologne was utterly stunned. How did the old letch sneak up on her? The diminutive figure stepped near the quartet and chuckled softly. "You think /you/ drove him away? How arrogant of you." He sneered as the fiancees stood up, wanting desperately to make pate' au hentai, before the ancient letcher spoke up again. "He had more than your squabbles on his mind." Cologne shook herself out of her state, and fumed, "What is your part in this, Happousai? He used your mirror after all." Happousai perched on the cat statue on the counter before lighting up his pipe. "My part in her disappearance? That's a secret..." He cackled, as if finishing the punchline to the world's most hilarious joke. Oh, thought the mazoku in pervert's clothing, how fun it is to watch them fumble with half-truths and missing information. He reveled in evading the attacks from the three former fiancees, before leaping out the window. "Good riddance to bad rubbish," Ukyou muttered as she holstered her combat spat. Cologne seemed very troubled at the letcher's last words, however. So troubled, she said them aloud, though the girls did not hear her. "In /her/ disappearance?" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lina watched in awe as her sister (brother? This was becoming quite confusing to the sorceress) performed motions and feats that seemed... well, impossible outside of magic. And she couldn't feel a trace of magic on him except the lingering chaos and the odd spell keeping her as a him, as she saw it. Ranma flowed through one of the more advanced kata he had picked up, floating through every motion as if a ghost. Every movement seemed supernaturally accurate, as if guided by a master hand, yet the only mastery at work was Ranma's own. Philia watched the two, still amazed at the similarities and differences between the two siblings. Even after watching this 'Jusenkyou curse' Ranma talked about at work, it was still amazing how someone could switch between the two genders at such a trigger. His high leaps and movements, however, made her wonder if Lina or Ranma had dragon ancestors. His adeptness at reaching the sky, she thought to herself wryly, was definitely not a human trait. The martial artist blushed at the applause as he finished the kata. "Oh come on... It's not like I'm an actor." Lina shook her head. "No. You're better than that. I've never seen anyone move like that. This is what the old... what did you call him, panda? taught you? Maybe he wasn't as bad as I though." She joked, though a soft grin crossed her face to disarm Ranma's protest. "Ranma, would you be willing to teach me that? I can teach you magic in return." Ranma nodded softly. "I think I could teach you, yes... I'm not sure if I want to learn magic though. I'm remembering a bit of black magic, and I don't think I want to learn that." Philia interrupted then. "Ranma, Lina, if you want, I could teach him white magic or shamanistic magic? Either or both would fit Ranma better. Who knows, maybe he can even use it to handle a few problems he has?" Ranma blinked eagerly, but then became introspective. "I don't know. I'm not sure if it'd be right to remove the curse now... but maybe if the Neko-Ken could be gotten rid of..." Lina smiled gently, trying to conceal a shout of delight at her sibling's reluctance to remove the curse. "That's the spirit! I know two people who could teach you if you want." She looked to Philia. "Do you know where Zelgadis is lately? I figure he'd be the best one to teach the Shamanism. He's probably the best I've met in a while." Philia gave an amused glance to Lina as she replied, "You mean you just want to see him freak when he sees two of you, don't you?" Lina chuckled. "Ok, that too." She replied, before looking to Ranma. "So what do you think?" Ranma shrugged gently. "Ok, sis. You win." He then grinned a little. "The S... No... the Inverse School of Anything Goes Magic?" He smirked, to Lina's and Philia's confusion. "Long story. I'll have to tell ya later... first, I need something to eat. What?" Ranma asked as the dragon and sorceress landed face first. This time it was two people watching one person eat. "Ranma, how can you still be hungry?" Of all people, this came from Lina. "I mean come on, you ate that big breakfast, and you're still hungry? Where in the name of L-sama are you putting it all?" Ranma grinned around a mouthfull of food before swallowing and saying, "Don't worry. I'll burn it off. So'll you, trust me." This did not inspire confidence in the sorceress. Philia merely groaned. "Two of them... I definitely can believe they're twins. Nobody could eat that much... And yet there's two of them." After about fifteen minutes of Ranma's voracious appetite, the two departed, as Ranma began Lina's education in the Martial Arts, and Lina went to find Zelgadis... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author's Note of the Day: I had figured Black Magic would not be Ranma's style anyway, but both white and shamanistic magic would be the best things for Ranma to learn. it would also be a hook to bring Zelgadis in. The Nerima section was mostly as a fallback position. I do not know if Ranma and family will return to Earth, but plan to set events leading toward that if necessary. And if all else fails, our Happousai impersonator is still having his fun there anyway. Why begrudge him a little entertainment?