Twister (Should I say hi? Why not?) Hi! This be my first fanfic posted to this group and as such.... (dramatic pause) I'M A LITTLE NERVOUS!!!!! AGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! *ahem* Pardon me. Anyway, I got into anime last summer( don't look at me that way it's true! :) and I got hooked. Started watching anything I could get but that was it until I started watching Ranma 1/2. I've always had this irritating habit of changing a story I've read or seen in my mind to my liking but when Ranma came along I couldn't resist writing SOMETHING about it. This failure was MAJORLY caused by my reading, re-reading, and thrice reading a fanfic series called Undocumented Features created by Gryphon(now The Shadow I believe), ReBob, and MegaZone( Almighty Moderator of Anime Fanfic) . I really love their series and the way that they keep all the events in their universe straight.(PCHammer's stories in this universe I love as well.) Once I read their story, and watched Ranma 1/2, ideas started coming to me about a character(me sorta) using my usual handle and name kinda like some other people do...*hint hint* B-> Problem was...I overdid it a little. My hands still hurt. Owch. I've been sitting on this thing since the beginning of August and got fed up with it and am finally putting darn thing up. Likely be the usual glips in the story that I've missed but...oh well. Feel free to mail me about them along with any helpful comments that you fell like you just HAVE to tell me. :) Don't be dissappointed that my character gets most of the focus in the story. I have much larger plans for him....(gotta get these ideas outta my head.) Chapters are mostly just markers in the story to help me remember where I was so consider them in the same way. I've re-done Ranma's lines a tad because of the two people's comments who have pre-read this story. Thankx to johnbil@wam.umd.edu, who first gave me his comments and to Draxt of #anime! with whom I mud with (easy since we're both at the same University and anime club. :) and who is an incurible Tenchi fan. :) (Guess who he is at 3k... :) Here it comes..... P.S. Also, I've done a rough second story but I won't go into much detail about it. Attempt to create some characters of me own you might say but still same story....sorta. Anyone who wants to review the rough draft, spelling, grammar, and other errors and all are welcome to help me out. Mail me at umsteff2@cc.umanitoba.ca Thankx. This time for sure. Twisted Path A Story Inspired by Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma 1/2 by Darren Steffler Prologue -------- The Void between universes is not quite the empty nothingness it is believed to be. Forces beyond most beings contend here for supremacy over the others. Some are mindless, some are not, and some are not even able to be described on those terms. Powers from some planes spill out here and are tapped by other universes. The reality-warping forces changing the "normal" ways of those places. Natural or not, in whichever universe, the power behind the throne is located here. Two such forces, well known to mankind, can be found in the Void. The spillage from their planes can be found relatively nearby each other and travellers going from universe to universe witness their mighty clash. For these forces, siblings of a sort if you will, are both attracted and repelled by the other. They collide in an area where they meet and separate, for natural laws are absent in one yet entrenched in the other. The energies stay in that spot before going to other universes where they are tapped or dissipated. Many beings have tried to control this spot when they discovered it, but in vain. When either of the forces can control the controllers it becomes a hopeless task. Experienced races mearly leave this spot alone, knowing what it is and gaze in awe over the power involved. No one has ever actually tried to enter this area. The powerful energies there are random and capricious. Only the insane would attempt such a feat. Or perhaps...someone with no choice at all.... Chapter One ----------- Through the open shutters of a blind, dawn's light shines forth and strikes an immobile figure on a bed. The figure's head is turned to the side, not yet aware of the fact that a new day has arrived and likely not overly concerned about that fact. The digital clock opposite to the face shines a bright red 10:00am and declares it Sunday, The Day to Sleep In. The room in which the bed occupies is in slight disarray as various objects litter the floor. These objects consist of dirty clothes, comic books, sci-fi/fantasy paperbacks, and a few large, university level textbooks that look like whales swimming in an ocean of debris. Muffled noises can be heard on the other side of the mostly closed door that separates this literary landslide from the rest of the apartment the room is connected to. A quiet but hurried departure can be deciphered from the sounds that continue to penetrate the small crack of space that the door allows. The abrupt cessation of noise heralds the fact that the person responsible has left the domicile. Silence. What bright sunlight and mere sound failed to do is successfully accomplished by vacuum. Slowly, the eyes on the face open. And shut. Open. Close. After several minutes, the head emits an audible sigh and keeps its eyes open when it attempts again. Eyes register the time on the clock and ponder this new datum for a second. *Well, looks like Mom's gone to her meeting.* Thinks the person on the bed. *Sigh. Better get up now or I'll fall asleep again and not get up 'till 2pm.* The person slowly takes off the rest of the comforter that covers him, the rest having been flung away during the tossing and turning of sleep. A young, normal-looking, Western man is fully revealed by this action. Brown hair and hazel eyes placed on an average-looking face. The rest of the body, also of an average height, suggests that he doesn't really do much in the way of exercise but is still within a recommended weight range for his size. Both feet are lifted up and moved off the bed, then push down hard so the upper body comes up as nature intended. Pause. *Hmp. Better get your butt in gear or you'll never wake up Darren.* Another sigh and the person known as Darren Steffler stands up off his bed and picks his way carefully through the rare clear spots on the floor. *I think it's past time for another clean-up,* thinks Darren. *When over half the floor is covered I KNOW it's overdue.* Reaching the door, the young man known as Darren widens the crack that allowed the noise of his mother departing to accommodate his passage out of the messy room. Once in the hallway, he makes a left turn in the direction of the kitchen and places his body on auto-drive. *The joys of early morning,* mused Darren. *With the ever popular choice of factory-made, frozen waffles or factory-made, sugar frosted cereal flakes. Happy. Happy. Joy. Joy. I think tomorrow morning I'll dig up a cookbook and make some pancake batter from scratch for a change. Maybe slice some apples and plop them in with some cinnamon.... Haven't done that for a while. Hullo. Body has reached target. Commence mission.* Darren grasps his goal. The freezer door. With a sucking of opening insulation sealer, the door opens and the form of a package of blueberry waffles is revealed. The box is grabbed by Darren and the door closed again, more out of habit than desire to keep the cold air in. *Well, Phase One accomplished. On for the rest of breakfast...* One hour later, and 200% more awake, Darren is at "his" computer. *Mom may lease the thing, but I'm the one who uses it a heck of a lot more,* Darren thought with amusement, *Better me than her. At least she knows not to muck around too much with it* The "thing" in question was a 486 IBM compatible computer running at 25 Mhz with 4 megabytes RAM. And a lousy 100 megabyte hard drive. *Hm. Does well for what I do now. Not that I'm suddenly going to try and crack the secrets of the universe. Great for current games though. Heh.* Typing on said computer, Darren focused again on the problem at hand. The program he was working on was for his mother but a few problems seemed to be cropping up in the program. Programming in Turbo C is not too bad, except for one...well _two_, minor problems Darren always had. "AGGGHHHH!!! Damn pointers!" shouted Darren, "Shoot! I always do this to myself. I never plan ahead and just go straight into programming the bloody thing." Darren sighed."Another thing is that I never can concentrate on this for long," he sighed again, "I work on it for a day then leave it alone for a week! And in the _meantime_...I goof off! I know it's summer but I _would_ like to _finish_ this darn thing!" Darren took his hands off the keyboard, propped his head up with them, and started staring at the screen. "I've finished third year Computer Science and I still don't know what to do for a career... At least once I get this thing done this program I can honestly say I'm a computer programmer. Assignments for homework don't count in MY mind. I want to do something by myself..." Darren stared at the screen for a few more seconds before giving up in disgust. "Sigh. Well, I guess I'll goof off again..." Wandering back to his room, Darren picked up a thick graphic novel from the litter of material on the floor and jumped onto his bed to read it. *Now here's one of the main reasons I've been "goofing off",* mused Darren. *I sure have gotten hooked on this anime stuff this summer. Never looked at it much before...but then, I _like_ science fiction and fantasy. Once I actually started reading it, it got me.* The volume referred to was one of the volumes created from the manga series, Ranma 1/2. Covering the graphic novel was a yellow jacket with the two forms of Ranma on the front. Flipping through the pages to a spot he left before, Darren continued his thinking. *This is the best of the manga series I've seen yet. Too bad I haven't got all of the english-language version releases yet but at least I'm working on it. All the anime releases are good too... The characters sure can be amusing at times, especially when Ranma's "problem" complicates matters and also when he tries to stop Happosei's lecherous behavior from getting him into more trouble......* Chapter Two ----------- "He he he! Panties! Ah, my sweet darlings!" "Happosei!!! Come back here you LECH!!!" Pedestrians walking along the street were startled this morning by two unusual sights though a few recognized the two from previous scenes like this. One was withered, ancient, and very small man was hopping swiftly down the street with a sack larger than himself on his back. The sack had one or two female undergarments streaming out from the stuffed container. Chasing the old man was a handsome young man with black hair tied in a pig-tail in the back. The young man, wearing Chinese clothing, had a fustrated look on his face. *Damn him!* Ranma thought while running after the bouncing Master of the Anything-Goes Martial Arts school. The figure ahead of him may be small but the amount of trouble he stirred up went all out of preportion to his size. *Pop shoulda put weights on his legs and thrown him into the deepest part of the ocean! At least he wouldn't have gotten free and merely irritated the fish!* "Will you STOP! Akane will have a fit if she finds out you've emptied her dresser drawers when she gets back from Dr. Tofu's with Kasumi! I DON'T want her to jump to the wrong conclusion (as par course) and blame ME!" "Ha ha ha! You'll have to catch me first!" As he said so, Happosei turned left down another street as pedestrians stared at the funny, little man with the big sack on his back. Panting with the effort, Ranma followed. *Dammit! This is getting me nowhere! Where would that old lecher _go_ around this part of town? Hmm... That's IT! The women's langerie shop! Four blocks from here. I'll take a short cut and wait for him there.* With that thought in mind, a leap carried him onto the roof of the nearest building and started hurriedly towards the langerie shop in a straight line. *Once I get there, what then? I can't go head-on at the old fart. No time. Old he may be, but no one has told HIM that. Akane won't be long at Tofu's so I gotta be quick...* Five minutes later, Happosei glanced behind him. "Hmm. I must've lost Ranma. Probably couldn't keep up. Ah, this younger generation has no stamina at all. What a pity." Slowing a bit, Happosei made a final turn and saw his goal. The women's langerie shop appeared like a sacred shrine to pantydom in his eyes. Like a magnet, he is drawn to the entrance of the store. "Ah, my precious sweethearts! Soon you will be liberated from your confinement and be with me! This shouldn't take more than a few seconds. Hang on my darlings!" With a bounce, Happosei swiftly leaped into the shop. Right into the horde of angry women waiting for him. "HENTAI!!!" They all shouted at him as they attacked. After five minutes of beating, clawing, broom-swinging punishment, there wasn't much of Happosei recognizable in the bloody blob of flesh that was left on the floor. One of the women took a dustpan, swept Happosei onto it, and threw him out the door, crying, "AND DON'T COME BACK!" Groaning on the street, Happosei tried to gather his scattered wits about him. "They..were..waiting. How..did..they..know..I..was..coming?" From inside the store he could hear voices. "Thanks for letting us know that that hentai was coming." A familiar feminine voice replied amusedly, "No problem. Oh, I'll take these back to where they belong." A female outline appeared in the doorway carring Happosei's beloved bag of bounty. "Well, thanks again! Good-bye! Come on girls, back to work!" The girl holding the sack waved good-bye and stepped out into Happosei's red-eyed sight. Ranma-chan looked at the sorry mess on the street. "Well, well, you old fart. Guess you got what was coming to you." She smirked. "RANMA! I'LL...NOT...FORGIVE...THIS..." "If you only knew how sorry I feel... NOT! Well, I gotta go replace these unmentionables in Akane's room before she gets back. So..." Waving good-bye, Ranma-chan hurried off with Happosei's sack and was soon out of sight. Red faced with rage, Happosei tried to get up. After several tries he finally stood, although unsteadily, erect. Staring in the direction where Ranma-chan was last seen before turning out of sight, he ground out, "Ranma...I...will...have...my...REVENGE!!!" With that last word, Happosei swung out a hand and struck a nearby tree. This tree had been standing for over 40 years on this street. Many children had played in it's branches when it had become strong enough to support their weight. Fierce storms and even an out-of-control car could not defeat this tree's stoic determination It split in half. Both halves fell over. Ranma was in deeeeeeeeep trouble. Twenty minutes later, Ranma-chan reached the entrance to the Tendo home. *I hope Akane hasn't come home yet. I'd better hurry up and change back and then replace her...um...stuff.* With Happosei's sack hanging behind her, Ranma-chan quickly entered the residence she now considered home and headed towards the bathroom. Pop and Mr. Tendo were likely playing Go in their usual spot. A glance at the empty kitchen told her Kasumi and, thankfully, Akane were not yet home. That left Nabiki. "Well hello there, Ranma," a cheerful, yet slightly sarcastic voice, called out. "Run into a little problem? That wouldn't be Happosei's sack, now would it?" As she walked towards Ranma-chan, Nabiki's small smile widened further at Ranma-chan's discomfort. "Nabiki....," Ranma-chan growled slightly. "Now don't tell me.... Happosei lent his prize pupil his favorite... ahem...storage sack to practice some new routine as training?" Nabiki's right eyebrow arched up at the word "training". Ranma sighed, she would find out sooner or later anyway. Nabiki always somehow managed to worm out the truth, and blackmail you later, eventually. "Alright. I saw Happosei sneak into Akane's room 'bout a hour ago. When I followed he had managed to snatch all of her...ah...stuff. I told him to put it all back but he just jumped out the window so I chased after him. I had to change into a female to get all the girls in a langerie store to ambush him so I could get Akane's stuff back in time." Ranma-chan smiled at the memory, "Got him good too." "Hmm... Well, you'd better hurry up and put it all back quick. I don't think Akane and Kasumi will be much longer," Nabiki started to walk away and then turned her head back. "After all...she might get the idea you wanted to borrow her things for a while," Nabiki chuckled at Ranma-chan's reaction to her comment and left. Ranma-chan fumed, "I shouldn't have expected anything different from HER." After some hot tap water, Ranma quickly went to Akane's room to replace her things in hopefully their proper places. "Maybe I should just leave the sack and let Akane sort it all out," Ranma thought about it a bit then shook his head. "Then she'd ask why I let Happosei take her stuff in the first place. Stupid tomboy." With that in mind, Ranma started to re-fill Akane's drawers with their rightful occupants. Unfortunately, Nabiki was in another part of the house when Akane and Kasumi returned and was unable to delay Akane. Akane was feeling a little depressed after seeing Dr. Tofu in his usual state after talking to Kasumi. Akane had thought she was over him but she felt down even so. *It will take some time before I am completely over him I guess,* Akane mentally sighed, *I'll go change into something a little more comfortable. Maybe that will cheer me up a bit.* When Akane entered her room, the sight that greeted her drove all thoughts of Dr. Tofu from her mind all right. Ranma was there, frozen in mid-motion with one of Akane's bras in his right hand. The left was holding open a sack filled with similar items. Needless to say, Akane was not impressed. "Kasumi! When did you get back?" Nabiki asked. "Just a minute ago, why?" Suddenly, sounds from upstairs boomed down. "RANMA NO BAKA!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Crash! Bang! "AKANE! WAIT!" Nabiki smirked. "Oh, no reason." Chapter Three ------------- As Nabiki listened to one of her favorite songs in her room, she could hear Ranma and Akane still shouting at each other. Even muffled by wood and song. *Don't those two know how to have a QUIET argument?* Lying down on her yen-symbol covered sheets on her bed, Nabiki contemplated the two 'lovebirds'. *One of these days, either Ranma or Akane will stop arguing with the other and be in for a big surprise...* Although they weren't exactly fond of each other at the beginning, Nabiki could tell that over time, SOMETHING had grown between her sister and her betrothed. *They would probably die if they ever told each other their true feelings about the other. Both too stubborn to be the first to do so though. Stoneheads.* Nabiki reached out, got her diary, and flipped it open. However, instead of a girl's private life and feelings, it looked more like an accounting ledger for a bookie. *Hmm... Looks like I'm starting to get low on yen. I wonder if Kunou has gotten tired of his current batch of photos.* Sounds of the argument brought her back to the present. *If I EVER get a boyfriend, he'd better not be as boneheaded as Ranma. Smiling she amended to herself, *And rich of course.* A new sound caught Nabiki's attention, it was the low muttering voice of an elderly man. *Happosei,* Nabiki guessed. *Finally managed to crawl home I gather...* Standing up from her bed and heading towards her door, she heard some words in Happosei's muttering. "Mumble....revenge....summon....growl....teach....Ranma..." *Uh oh. Sounds like Ranma REALLY ticked him off this time.* Waiting till Happosei went past her door and entered his own room, Nabiki quietly opened her door, snuck over to Happosei's door and placed her ear on the door. She wondered if this would take long but Happosei's voice caught her attention. "Where did I put that scroll...? Scroll, scroll, bra, scroll. Panty, ah, that's where it went! Scroll, bra, scroll... Here it is! Now according to this, this spell will summon a demon to make life a living Hell for the target of the summoner's ire. Perfect! Just like I remembered! This will teach Ranma not to mess around with a Master of the Art! I'll do it tonight near the lake outside town on that large, flat stone. Midnight of course. Better get ready and gather my strength. Ah, my darling panty come to...." Nabiki left at that point. *Midnight. Hm.* She smiled. *Looks like I won't have to go to Kunou after all....* Around 11:45pm sounds of people moving though the underbrush echoed in the forest outside town. "Nabiki had better be right about this or I'll..." "Ranma! You know she wouldn't lie about something like this." "You're right. Especially after I paid her 2000 yen." Whap! "Ranma!" "Will you two be quiet! We're getting close to the lake." Silence. The forms of Ranma, Akane, Genma, and Soun, appeared at the edge of the forest. The sky was partially clouded over so the moon shone intermittently over the lake which was beyond the edge of the forest. Genma looked at the lake and then to the right, "The stone Nabiki heard Happosei taking about must be that way," He pointed a general direction to the right. "It's a small ways into the forest and we will be able to see it from the edge of the lake. We should be able to hear him soon." Genma shivered. "We had better hurry, it's almost midnight." "Why are YOU so frightened?! I'M the one he's after!" Genma relaxed. "You're right. I'd forgotten." Ranma pushed Genma into the lake. After Genma-panda came out, with Soun restraining him from doing the same to Ranma, the small party continued along the lakeside and soon heard chanting. Looking through the forest's trees, the party saw Happosei cross-legged on the large, flat stone. As they quietly approached the Master they could see a chalk circle with a pentagram in front of him. The Place of Arrival for the soon-to-be summoned demon. "It sounds like he's almost done. What should we do?" Mr. Tendo shifted nervously. "Well, since I'm his target....," Ranma looked around, "Any rocks nearby?" Happosei was pleased. He'd perfectly inscribed the Place of Arrival and was almost ready to release the spell to summon the demon. Most of it was completed. He could feel the complicated spell that could reach beyond this universe, waiting to do it's function. All he had left to do was to describe the demon the spell recommended, and then Ranma would pay! Raising his hands above his head, Happosei intoned, "I cast this spell. I am Happosei. I wish to summon the demon..." BONK! The rock Ranma threw hit it's mark: Happosei's head. Happosei was sightly dazed as a result. *No!* He could feel the spell start to go beyond his control. He gathered his will and focused it upon the spell before it went completely. Happosei didn't have much time. *Bring me a demon!* He directed that thought towards the spell and felt it respond. The spell ripped through dimensional barriers and went beyond this universe searching for it's target. One fragment of the spell split from the main spell and flung off uncontrollably in another direction. The fragment was incomplete without the main body of the spell. It only searched for something that it could easily bring back to it's creator. Thusly, it searched for a mind that was already focused on, and resonated with, its home universe... Chapter Four ------------ Darren was feeling tired but fulfilled. He had gone back to his program and, after a lot of time and effort, found the source of the pointer error. He had then proceeded to add on more of the features that he wanted in the program. What his mother wanted could wait until he had more time. Say a decade or two. Sheesh. Ask someone what they wanted in a program and they want Artificial Intelligence. He was surprised at the time when he checked his watch. *Five minutes to midnight already? Wow. Time sure flies when you're having fun.* Getting up from the computer, Darren stretched. He walked back to his room and picked up that Ranma 1/2 graphic novel, again, while plopping back onto his bed. Now dressed only in a light, white t-shirt and shorts, he wasn't overly concerned about falling asleep while reading. *I'll just finish reading this and then catch some Z's Hm, midnight. 12 o'clock and all's welllll. Heh* Suddenly, the room blurred briefly. *What the...?? I must be a heck of a lot more tired than I think I am if my vision's blurring! I'd better leave off the novel and just go to bed.* Darren dropped the book back amongst it's neighbours on the floor and closed his eyes. *Weird though. That's never happened to me before and I've done plenty of all-nighters for school. I also got a full night's sleep last night. Ah well. Body knows best.* With his eyes closed, Darren failed to notice that his room was continuing to blur on and off now. With increasing rapidity. Starting to feel a little odd and thinking by now that he was coming down with something, Darren opened his eyes. *Aggh. Maybe I'd better get some of Mom's vitamins. Hope I'm not getting something real baaaaaaaaAAAAHHHHH!!!!* "WHAT THE HECK?!!!" Darren viewed a whirlpool of blurred images of his room swirling around him. The speed of the motion was visibly increasing in velocity. Even his bed, a brief island of stability, was starting to blur before his eyes. Voice shaking, Darren muttered, "W-what's g-g-going on h-here?!?" He grabbed at his alarm radio on a nearby nightstand. Instead of the firm, solid material he expected, his fingers _flowed_ through the clock face before Darren jerked his hand back in shock. Then he was falling. "Oh sshhhhhooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Darren dropped down a kaleidoscopic tunnel and was accelerating rapidly from what he could see in his state of panic. Images flashed past him as he flew by. Mountains. Cities. Underwater views. Planets. Suns. Galaxies. All this, and more, went by until he was going to fast to see the images anymore. He was almost getting used to this when suddenly he was launched out the end of the tunnel and into...nothing. That's what it was. An empty space. Nothing. A...Void. Darren stared disbelievingly at this as he floated in the blankness. He had read enough sci-fi and fantasy novels to guess where might be. "The Void. Oh no, I have GOT to be dreaming this. I closed my eyes and I fell asleep. Right. Sure." He wondered abstractly how one survived in the Void, even in a dream. "By whatever brings you here of course. DUH!" Feeling a little better after convincing himself he was dreaming, Darren wondered what was likely to come next. He was sure his mind wouldn't do this to him and just leave him here. He absently noticed that the tunnel was gone. It had moved swiftly away out of sight while he was thinking. That meant two things: either the tunnel or he was still moving at a good rate. Darren was inclined to believe the latter. He looked around and spotted something in the distance. It was opposite of the direction the tunnel had vanished but he was coming up on it very slowly. Darren decided to close his eyes and rest for a bit before he got close to see whatever it was... "Hello mortal! Having a good trip? Hmm?" Startled, Darren opened his eyes and saw the person, or rather being, who had spoken to him. The being must have been the object he had seen from afar but somehow he had suddenly come up right beside it. The being looked like a human male with a few exceptions. One was the pointed ears and eyebrows that made him look like a Star Trek Vulcan. Another was the fact that, instead of a Vulcan green tinge on the skin, _his_ had a crimson hue. As well, the man had to be seven feet tall when standing. For clothing, he had on a blood-red robe that covered most of his body and what looked like gold embroidery sewn into the garment. Very well done too. "Uhhhh, yes. It's been a very weird ride so far. I've never had this sort of dream before though." The man looked disbelieving for a second before talking again. With an amused tone he said, "Dream? I am afraid you are mistaken mortal. This is no dream." While saying this, Darren noticed the pointed fangs the man had in his mouth. A little aggrieved at the man's tone, and also a little frightened that this might not BE a dream, Darren replied, "Then do YOU know how I got here?!" Smiling a bit, the man said, "_Here_ is the Void. _How_ is by some obviously botched summoning spell that has brought you and me here. We are now currently travelling, by means of the spell, towards the place in the Void that will be the entry point to the summoner's universe. The spell apparently wanted a demon and I was the first such it found by chance. Even though I am an Arch-Demon, I go by the name of Malkon by the way, and could have resisted, I was feeling bored and decided to let it take me so I could match wits with the bungler who cast the spell and hopefully have some fun. That you, an obvious mortal, got caught, means that a stray potion of this spell of a 'Happosei' must have been attracted to you somehow. Do you have any idea, hmmm?" After digesting this torrent of information, Darren was confused. "Arch-Demon? _Happosei_? Now I _know_ I must be dreaming." Malkon looked intrigued. "You have heard of this Happosei character? How very strange and unusual." Darren dazedly spoke, "I _hope_ it's not the Happosei I'm thinking about. I was just reading a...um...picture book which has one of the characters as being called 'Happosei'. He's a weird old man who is a Master of the Anything Goes martial arts school in the story. Can't resist girl's... ah...," Looking at the Arch-Demon's interested gaze Darren continued, "Panties. Or bras. Do anything to get them. They call him a hentai or pervert. One of his old pupils has a son called Ranma, which is the main character of the story. Ranma always tries to stop Happosei whenever he can from stealing, ah, unmentionables. Ranma must have really got him mad if Happosei tried to summon a demon. If it _is_ the same Happosei, that is." Malkon looked thoughtful. "It must be. I can think of no better reason why the spell would have grabbed you otherwise. Hmm. Most useful." Downcast, Darren muttered, "Great. I can't even speak Japanese." Malkon slapped him on the back with bone-jarring force. "You have given me some very useful information. If you wish, I will repay you by casting a spell that will give you full knowledge of the language and even how to read and write it." He smiled with a disconcerting flash of his fangs, "I could use the practice in any case." "Great! Go ahead. I just hope it doesn't take too long to get there." Malkon smiled mysteriously, and uttered softly so Darren wouldn't hear, "Not long for me but for you, fool, it will be...very long indeed." He chuckled quietly. "Whoa. New definition for the word _cram_," Darren said as he held his head in his hands. Words, underlying meanings, and symbols were bouncing around in his head. Understanding of them all was rapidly coming to him. "It will take a while for the knowledge to settle in but when it does it will be as if you grew up learning the language," Malkon smiled. "I have not done that in quite some time. It is good to get some practice." "Well it sure makes one's head feel like it's full of cotton balls. Whoo," Shaking his head, Darren looked around at the Void. They were approaching something. Something HUGE. "What is THAT??" "That, little mortal, is the main source for two of the most powerful forces used in most universes. It is called the Event." Malkon looked at the growing display ahead with a slight bit of awe and greed. "Main source? Source of what?" Smiling, due to his pleasure in his obviously superior position of knowledge, Malkon explained the phenomenon that was getting closer, "This started in the very beginning of creation. The two streams of energy you see ahead of us come from two limitless planes of Power. Even though they are different, they have an...odd attraction to each other. This attraction created permanent openings from those planes into the Void where they met each other in the display you now see. The blue stream is from the plane of Mind and the purple one is from the plane of Magic. They meet in that spherical ball of energy but still somehow remain apart from the other. The energy from each side eventually goes into other universes and planes where natural forces or beings tap it." "So this is the source of all psionic and magic powers? Weird. I don't suppose anyone has ever tried controlling it?" Malkon expression was sad, "Unfortunately, the energy is very unstable here and unmanageable. No one able to come here has ever attempted it. It would be an exercise in futility to try." They both glazed at the incredible display for a while. Then Darren shuddered a bit, "Well, cosmic fireworks look great but do you know how soon we get out of this place?" "For me, about an hour." Darren nodded, then did a double-take. "Wait a minute. For you? What about me?" Malkon turned towards him and Darren saw that his expression was a smiling one, but one now suited to a being called an arch-demon. "While your presence as been an amusing and entertaining one during this short trip in the Void, I cannot allow you to accompany me to our mutual destination. _That_ would result in our two material beings appearing in the same place and time and thus, our deaths. The one solution that is most appealing to me is to remove the possibility of you following me. Mearly killing you would not suffice because your body would still be here. Therefore, since I knew we would be passing this place, I plan on throwing you into the Event which is now slightly below and ahead of us. It has an attractive force which should be more than sufficient to drag you in, spell or no spell. Unfortunately for you, I have no doubt in my mind that you will not survive this unique experience." Darren was stunned by this calm statement of his coming death. Malkon glanced ahead, "Hm. I do believe the time has come. Good-bye." Moving with extreme swiftness, the arch-demon's hands quickly trapped Darren's shirt. Darren broke from his stunned trance with this movement, "No! Wait!" An evil chuckle was Malkon's only reply. With a sharp, jerking motion, Malkon launched him with both physical and magical strength into a trajectory that would plunge him into the center of the Event. "YOU BAASSsssstttttaaarrr.....," Darren's voice faded as he flew away from Malkon. The arch-demon watched with the interested eyes of an observer. No one, to his vast knowledge, had ever actually _tried_ to enter the Event. The energies there were just too unpredictable. The mortal might be vaporized even before entering the Event...or not. This appeared to be the _not_ case as Malkon saw the helpless figure plunge head-first into it. *Well, even though I will not actually see what the mortal goes through before he dies, at least that sight was compensation enough.* Now that the worry of mutual annihilation was over. The arch-demon turned his mind to the next immediate problem. Happosei. *However, with the information the late mortal gave me, it should be a simple problem indeed. Hm. I never did ask the mortal for a name. Pity. Not like it would have mattered in the end.* Malkon smiled. Chapter Five ------------ Happosei was not happy. Still dazed from the rock Ranma threw at him, Happosei was not able to mount much of a defence against Ranma and Happosei's two former pupils. And so, after a few minutes, he was held firmly in all three of their grasps. "How much longer you old fart?!" Happosei glared at Ranma, "You whippersnapper! _You_ disrupted the spell before it was completed! I have no idea _what_ kind of demon will appear now! Or, for that matter, how much longer it will take!" "You actually expect me to believe that old fool?!" "You can wait a few more minutes Ranma!" Akane shouted from the forest behind them, "Do you _want_ to see the demon?!" Ranma turned his head towards Akane, "I just want this done and over with. Standing on a stupid rock, at midnight, when it's cold out, is not my idea of a good time." "Well Ranma, why don't you..." WHOOSHHHHH! A gout of red flames appeared in the Place of Arrival with a sound that interrupted Akane's sentence. Brimstone smell filled the air around the stone that held the now-visible demon and the four nervous mortals standing on the rock. Akane froze at the sight of the demon's arrival. The arch-demon looked around and saw what he supposed was Happosei, two nervous mortals and a panda were holding him tightly. Malkon smiled. This would be even easier than he thought. He bowed to Happosei. "Good evening. I do believe one of you by the name of Happosei summoned me?" Happosei, Ranma, Soun, and Genma-panda, gaped at Malkon. The arch-demon sighed and shook his head dramatically, "Ah, no usual demands, bargains, etc. etc.? Wealth? Women?" At that last, Happosei perked up and stood a little straighter. Malkon was inwardly amused. *Yes, _much_ easier....* Ranma, unfortunately, noticed Happosei's change in attitude too. Tightening his grip on the old Master he replied, "Sorry pal. There's been a mistake. So why don't go back where you came from." Turning his head to look at Ranma, the arch-demon chuckled, "You must be Ranma I gather. I had heard you might have been the reason I was summoned, or rather, a demon summoned." Ranma was understandably startled at this. "Oh dear. I must at least tell you _my_ name since I obviously know yours. I am arch-demon Malkon, at your service." He bowed. When the word, ARCH-demon was uttered, Soun and Genma-panda paled. Malkon continued, "When I found out who summoned me, I decided to come prepared for the summoner's desires." Happosei's face brightened. The arch-demon started to conjure women's undergarments. Some with a lace lining, some with sequins. All were of a red, silky material that looked incredibly soft. As a pile formed at the arch-demon's feet, he continued, "But if there's been a mistake then it really is a pity. Especially after bringing all these...items with me." He sighed deeply, "Too bad." When the first of the arch-demon's conjurations appeared, Happosei tried to advance towards the chalk-dust inscribed Place of Arrival. Ranma, Soun, and Genma-panda, immediately held him back. As more of the items appeared however, they found that they were fighting a losing battle. Akane looked on in horror as Happosei suddenly broke free from the hands holding him back. Two feet away from the circle, Ranma tackled him. Happosei fell down scrabbling towards the pile of bounty in front of him. His hands smeared the circle and the conjured pile vanished. Everyone except Malkon froze. "Ah. Thank you very much. Thank you very much indeed." Walking with some resistance, he strode out beyond the now broken Place of Arrival and stretched his arms dramatically.(or perhaps demonically :) "So nice to get out of that restricting circle. Breath of fresh air and all that." Looking around, Malkon spied Akane in the trees. "Hmmm. A vision of loveliness amongst the trees. Come out my dear flower and let us get a better look at you." Akane started backing up instead but suddenly the arch-demon's eyes glowed softly red and she found herself walking into the clearing. "Yeeessss. As I thought, truly a treasure worth _possessing_." Akane mentally struggled against those glowing eyes but still walked towards Malkon. "Strong-willed too. I _am_ impressed." The arch-demon's fanged smile sent shivers up her back. Suddenly, the eyes were gone and she could move again. "Aggghh!" Splash! Underestimating them, Malkon had dismissed Ranma and the others. "Taunt _me_ will you!" Happosei shouted after the arch-demon. He started running towards the lake, with Soun and Genma-panda soon after him. "Akane! Are you all right?" An unguarded moment of concern showed briefly on Ranma's face as he looked at her. "I'm alright...I think" "Good. I wonder what he saw in a tomboy like you anyway." "Grrrr...." Whap! Ranma soon out-distanced Happosei by means of Akane's punch and landed on the lake's shore. "Ow!" Ranma rubbed his chin. "I _wish_ she wasn't so hot-tempered all the time. Uh oh." He looked around at the empty beach. "Now where'd that demon go?" "Enjoying a well deserved dunking at the moment, and it is _arch_-demon not demon." Ranma whirled towards the voice of the Hell-spawn and saw Malkon's head above the level of the water. The rest of him was slowly rising out of the surface of the lake. "That lapse on my part was inexcusable and I certainly left myself wide open for that. Well, as long as I do not allow that to happen again it will be alright. However," Malkon's face reflected his anger, "WHERE IS THAT OLD FOOL?!" "The old fart will be here in a moment. Will I do in the meantime?" That said, Ranma lifted a large rock on the shore and threw with accuracy at the hovering arch-demon. "Not likely." Malkon said mildly as he easily caught the stone. "Since I am already wet, I see no reason why you should not be as well." Magically enlarging the rock to enormous size, Malkon hurled the boulder into the lake. This created a small tsunami which swept Ranma, and the now present Happosei, Genma-panda, and Soun off their feet. Coughing water, Ranma-chan shouted, "Now I'm REALLY mad!" Still levitating above the lake, Malkon witnessed the change. "How unusual!" He eyed the now sopping-wet Ranma-chan. "What a _fascinating_ curse. Now _this_ I must get a closer look at." Suddenly, Ranma-chan was floating helplessly towards the arch-demon and soon came to a halt in mid-air in front of him. Eyes glowing, Malkon questioned her. Ranma-chan couldn't resist. "How did this curse come upon you?" "I fell into the drowned girl spring at the cursed springs of Jusenkyou in China," Ranma-chan tried to stop the words but failed. "How does it work?" "Cold or room-temperature water turns me into a girl. Hot water changes me back." "Hmm. That will do for now." Releasing a furious Ranma-chan from his spell, Malkon levitated her back to shore. Gazing at the land-bound people on the shore, Malkon said, "Now. What _shall_ I do with you all...." Akane was worried. When that demon had trapped her with his eyes she had gotten the feeling that he was _playing_ with them. *If he _is_ an arch-demon, then he likely is. Happosei was VERY lucky to have caught him off-guard like that.* The power she had felt in those eyes was great. Akane shivered. She feared even Ranma would be unable to beat that thing. Then the arch-demon would come back for _her_. She was _very_ certain of that. No one she knew could possibly...well, maybe Cologne might know a way. She did know a lot about magic... WHOOSHH! Akane's thoughts were interrupted suddenly by a roar of flames similar to when the arch-demon appeared. *No! Not another!* She thought frantically. Then she saw the color of the magical fires and was confused. The flames were...blue? *What kind of demon uses _blue_ flame??* When the flames died out, she was even more confused. *That doesn't look like a demon to me. Almost the opposite in fact...* The basis for that thought was the blue aura surrounding the young man that had appeared. He was a little taller than Ranma and a little more muscular with brown hair and...hazel eyes? He didn't look like any race in particular but could probably fit into any without much trouble. He was also handsome looking. He was wearing a frayed, white t-shirt and shorts. Hardly what an angel would wear. His expression was curiously blank. Akane shrugged, why not. "Hello? Are you OK?" The young man turned his head towards Akane and looked straight through her. This was unnerving to say the least. Then he spoke and his voice was as empty as his face. "Is Malkon here?" "Uh, I think he's still at the lake," Akane pointed the direction. The face changed and Akane stepped back a pace in surprise. A cold rage was shown on that mask and his eyes became ice-blue lights. The young man ground out in a now tension-filled voice. "Good. Very good." Chapter Six ----------- Malkon had caused the ground to grab the four martial artists on the shore and still pondering what to do with them with all his concentration, when something else caught his attention. Caught him in the chest actually, driving him back into the lake. "What! Aggh! Glub!" The arch-demon was thrown into the lake again but was far more prompt in returning to the surface this time. That had hurt! *What was that?* He wondered. He then realized that it had been the VERY large, flat stone that he had been summoned on. That was impossible! No mortal could have thrown that! Shouting in anger, Malkon yelled, "WHO THREW THAT! WHO IS OUT THERE?" A visible red aura was starting to show around the arch-demon as he prepared himself. He absently noted that, since his concentration had failed, the four on the beach were free but they were not the problem now. Trees were being shattered and blown out of the way by something, or rather _someone_, coming towards the lake shore. The group on the lake edge dived out of the way just in time as the last few trees between the place where the arch-demon had been summoned and the lake were blown away by an unseen force. The young man Akane had seen appear was standing where the trees once were. He was glowing with an aura of his own and appeared MUCH more angry than Malkon. He replied to Malkon's shout with an angry, ice-water dipped voice. "_I_ threw that stone. Call me Twister." Malkon had regained his calm and regarded the young man standing before him on the shore. He didn't recall ever meeting a powerful being like this! And yet... he looked familiar. He voiced that fact to get more information. "I do not recall meeting you, but you _do_ seem to strike a chord in my memory. Might I inquire where we met?" The man's blue aura blazed at that sentence and he started floating straight up until he was level with Malkon. "You throw me into the Event to die and you forgot!?!? Forget THIS!" Heat fled from the young man while air rushed in to gather near his right fist. "ARCTIC ICEWIND ATTACK!" The fist shot towards Malkon and a compressed blast of freezing air screamed towards the arch-demon. Razor-sharp ice shards formed within the column of air and had reached a respectable size when the blast hit Malkon. "AGGHHH!!!" The heat from the arch-demon's aura had stopped a respectable amount of the shards from reaching his body. However, some got through and the intense cold only heightened the pain inflicted by the ice blades, which melted quickly. "YOU?? How did you survive?!" Malkon could not believe what he was seeing. It was impossible for a mere mortal to have survived the Event, much less escape it. The wounds inflicted upon him were painful so he healed them with his magic. His power was great so he could afford this but the now-powerful mortal, floating above the shore, was an unknown quantity which he had judge capabilities on. Who knew what effects the Event had had on this...Twister. *Better get the next strike in and try to guess his abilities.* While he was still relatively calm, Malkon tried to charm the young man like he had Akane and Ranma-chan. With eyes glowing, the arch-demon attempted to control this potentially useful person. "You do not _really_ wish to fight me, do you?" "No." Malkon relaxed sightly. The spell had... "I want to _KILL_ you!!!" Blue light gathered in each of Twister's hands and started to form something from the air itself. Raising both hands, as if about to throw something, he cried out another attack. "DIAMOND DEATH DAGGERS!" At those words, Twister threw the now-formed, diamond daggers with furious force at the arch-demon. Malkon tried to dodge but the daggers moved with him and buried deep into his lower torso. The arch-demon stared in disbelief at the crystalline hilts painfully in his body. He slowly removed the daggers and examined them in his pain. Suddenly, the force that held them together flared in blue flame and burned his hands while the daggers became carbon dust. "DAMN AND HELLFIRE!" Malkon shouted out loud. He had not been so hurt in ten thousand years! Even in his fury the arch-demon was thinking. *The mortal did not even _notice_ my attempt to charm him. I would expect that kind of resistance from an _arch-demon_, not a mortal! It could be his obvious rage but I doubt it... I'll try a more powerful spell after I heal myself again. I _cannot_ let this go on. I am starting to weaken after these healing spells.* After healing himself again, Malkon tried one of his more powerful spells. Transformation from a distance. It was much easier with skin contact but he had doubts about being able to _get_ that close. "This has gone on for too long. I think it is time for a change...," Malkon cast his spell at Twister. Twister blinked. Shook his head. And then glared even harder at the arch-demon. Malkon was shocked. *He blinked?? That was it???* He started to become afraid but this further resulted in anger. Anger that this impudent mortal should be able to shrug off one of his more powerful transformation spells so easily. *No more defensiveness! It is time to go on the offensive! No mortal will give this much trouble to an arch-demon and LIVE!* With that thought, Malkon threw a projectile of his own. A fireball of immense perportions. Twister icily looked at the fireball coming towards him. He was prepared. A fist was drawn back again and the massive amount of air he had compressed around him gathered around it. With a mighty effort he threw his fist forwards. "HURRICANE WALL!" An almost solid wall of air met with fireball halfway between the two combatants. The blast of air had twice as much velocity as the sphere of plasma and so, when the fireball detonated against it, the wall of air carried the flames ahead of it. Towards Malkon. The magic-tinged flames cared not what they burned and so they hungrily feasted upon the arch-demon treacherously. The wall of air that hit him a half-second later blew out the flame. "AGGGHHH! ENOUGH!" Malkon was beyond mere calculating anger now. With burns over most of his body and robe charred, he was in a pure, blood-red rage. The absolute worst condition to find an arch-demon in. Twister looked at Malkon's obvious emotional state and flew towards him. It was clear that the time for Malkon to cast spells from a distance was over. Malkon summoned the remnants of his concentration to call upon his Black Sword. It shimmered into reality in his burnt, right hand. He wasted no more magic on healing himself. Now it would be a battle of strength. With his veneer of logical superiority gone, his true demonic fighting rage came to the fore. He had over ten thousand years of fighting experience. No limited-lifespan mortal was going to last long against Malkon! Watching his opponent approach, he saw that his foe was creating something to counter his own sword. With two hands outstretched in front of him, another form was coalescing above those hands. When the glow faded, Malkon saw that it was another diamond creation. A sword of equal length and style to his own but of crystal. A blue glow shone though the clear material of it's construction. Grasping it with both hands on the hilt, Twister floated above the lake, about ten feet away from Malkon, and waited. Malkon growled out, "You may have weakened me _slightly_ mortal and I have allowed this to go on as long as it has. But now I have had enough. Prepare to die." He looked for a reaction from his opponent but received nothing. This angered him beyond belief and he launched himself at Twister. Chapter Seven ------------- Malkon launched himself through the air. "Time to end this fight!" The arch-demon shouted this as he took a wide sweep at Twister. Twister avoided it by flying backwards just enough so that the Black Sword missed him by millimeters. Seeing this precise movement, Malkon continued the fight with more caution. He attacked in a more accurate and direct manner, and the mortal countered with the newly created diamond sword. The two blades shrieked at each other when they meet. Blue and red sparks flew from each contact. This continued for several minutes with Malkon always on the offensive and Twister being defensive. While being fustrated at not having scored a single hit yet, Malkon wondered at his opponent's reluctance to mount an offensive. *He is good enough to block all my attacks and yet refuses to attack _me_. Hmm. In fact, he does not appear to know how to use a sword, despite his always blocking with it. It is as if he already _knows_ where I will strike next... And maybe _that_ is the real truth.* Malkon shuddered at that thought. An opponent that knew your own move before you did could maintain an nigh- invincible defence if he was quick and strong enough. Twister apparently was. *I think it is _very_ fortunate indeed he does not know how to use that sword yet.* "MOUKO TAKABISHA!" "What?! AGHH!" Malkon was blasted towards the center of the lake he and Twister had been fighting over. He quickly regained his concentration before he dropped into the lake and narrowed his eyes at the shore. *So the cursed one wants to play too...* Ranma-chan was just lowering her hands as she looked at the effect her ki-blast had had on the arch-demon. The anger she had felt at being made to feel helpless, and then ignored completely as a minor annoyance, was rapidly sinking into hesitation as Ranma-chan saw the lack of results of the attack. She had managed to miss that 'Twister' but now the arch-demon was glaring at Ranma-chan now. *Uh oh...* Malkon was interrupted in his dark thoughts by a close by Twister's icy voice, "You had the right words, Malkon. But _now_ is the time to say them." He started to rise above the arch-demon. "Prepare to die." The wind picked up around them as Twister's aura grew brighter and the sword shone an intense blue. The diamond blade was placed in one hand and thrown straight up as Malkon wondered what the mortal was up to. One hundred feet high in the air the sword stopped dead. It then rotated until it pointed straight down. Twister raised both hands and a stream of blue energy burst forth, racing towards the hovering sword. Twister shouted out an attack that froze Malkon in shock. "TWISTER TORNADO!" The energy filled the sword and it started its work. A torus of wind, twenty feet in diameter, formed around the sword and rapidly expanded vertically towards the ground. Malkon tried to fly away, but from his higher altitude, Twister took steps to occupy his time. Pointing a palm in the arch-demon's direction, Twister summoned some energy towards his hand and let it gain strength there before releasing it. "MINDFIRE PULSE!" A small, curved ball of blue fire streaked towards Malkon and hit him in the back. The burst of fiery pain delayed just long enough for the tornado to snatch him into its grip and he was sucked into flying uncontrollably around the center of the tornado, unable to concentrate much in the tempest. Twister himself was untouched by the winds. Seeing Malkon trapped for the moment brought a faint smile to Twister's lips momentarily, then he executed his final strike against Malkon. Gathering most of his remaining power, saving a bit for escape, Twister let loose his energies into the walls of the tornado. "MINDFIRE TORNADO ENERGIZE!" The blue flame spread along the walls of the tornado, intensifying it. This caused water to start being sucked into the fury of Twister's creation from the lake. Malkon was further distracted by this gout of water that now swirled about him. Before the water reached his altitude, Twister used the last of his power to teleport out. He had not used this before because he wanted to reveal little about his capabilities to Malkon in the beginning. Now, there was no need. A thunderclap signaled his departure and water rushed past his former position. When the water reached the sword, the final phase of the manouver was triggered. The blue mindfire in the tornado walls rushed towards the sword. Malkon briefly thought that his opponent had finally over-extended himself when he noticed the lessing of the confusing swirling of water. That was his last thought for a while. The sword absorbed all the mindfire and the light of the diamond sword grew to sunlight intensity. It then performed its final function. Convert mindfire to heat and direct it straight down. This was released in a stream of energy one centimeter in diameter, all the way down the _water_-filled tornado. This resulted in converting lake-temperature water into ultra-hot plasma. By itself, this would have devastated the landscape, but the now-dying tornado and its content of water absorbed most of the blast. Malkon was inside all this. The result was a tremendous explosion that flung hot water all around the lake with the shockwave. "Yow! Hot! Hot!" Ranma and the others danced around, trying to cool off from that blast of hot water, from the middle of the lake, where the tornado had been. Soun stopped and looked out towards the middle of the lake where the incredible, flaming-blue, tornado had been. Shockwaves on the lake's surface were still spreading out from the explosion. Ranma joined him, "I don't think we'll be seeing that Malkon jerk again for some reason." Akane gazed out with him, "I hope so." She shivered, still remembering Malkon's eyes. Happosei sneaked away before anyone could notice he was gone. He didn't want anyone blaming him for THIS mess. Ranma remembered something and glanced around, "Hey! Where's that old fart! HE'S the one who started this mess!" Everyone looked around but the old Master had disappeared. "Shoot. As long as it's over...what are YOU staring at Pop?" Ranma looked in the direction his father's eyes were looking in and froze. Akane and Soun noticed this and looked too. A weary-looking Twister was standing in the spot where he had first shouted out his anger at the demon. His face was back in the blank expression Akane had seen on him when she had first seen him. His gaze was focused on the lake, just staring. The observers looked at each other and wondered what to do. Akane thought for a moment and then straightened her shoulders. She started walking towards the blank-faced young man. Ranma was surprised but ran up to walk with her. *No way am I gonna let her do something stupid.* Twister turned to look at the pair when he heard footsteps coming towards him. They stopped a pace away from him. Akane spoke softly, with a little tremor in her voice, "Are you OK?" Twister just stared blankly from one to the other. Ranma got impatient, "Yo! You listening to us!?" Akane was shocked, "RANMA! He looks like he's in shock! Don't make it worse!" "He's either dead or too weak for me to sense him." Twister said in a dead voice. Silence. "Well, just who the hell _are_ you buddy?" Ranma aggressively asked him. "Ranma!" Something flickered across Twister's face and he stared at Ranma. "What are you looking at pal?" Ranma was felt a little unnerved by the scrutiny. Twister suddenly moved towards the lake, with Akane and Ranma behind him, wondering what he was doing. When he was by the water and saw Ranma beside him, Twister quickly splashed water on Ranma. Surprised, Ranma-chan shouted, "What'd you do _that_ for??" The blank look faded from Twister's face and was replaced by a more human expression and voice. Deep shock. "Ranma. Oh jeez. Ranma. I hope I'm dreaming this." After that statement, his eyes rolled up and Akane and Ranma-chan caught him as he went limp in a faint. Ranma-chan shook her head. "Oh great. This is just perfect." A hand splashed out of the water of the lake and gripped an old tree root. Its twin joined it and together they dragged the body they shared out of the lake. Malkon was utterly exhausted. *Never...have I...been so...completely...defeated.* He had barely managed to shield himself from that point-blank explosion in the tornado. Malkon's magic was almost totally drained from the strain of that last task. *He was absolutely new to his power and yet he still defeated me.* Malkon tiredly pondered that fact. The arch-demon thought about killing a few locals in the area but dismissed that as foolhardy. *If he can sense my aura, then building my strength in this area would only draw him to me. I do not think I would survive a second encounter like that. I must wait until I am fully healed and then leave. When I am far enough away, _then_ I can build up my magical strength.* Malkon thought about that plan and thought it the best available option. Turning his mind to that of his recent opponent Malkon found not rage but actually intellectual curiousity, *The mortal survived the Event.* He still marvelled at it, *A very unlikely possibility, yet he did. Not without its effects on him though... Very painful ones at that.* Malkon remembered something about Twister's manner during the fight, *He did not seem to be the same person while we were fighting. A cold, blind rage was there that was not present before I had thrown him into the Event... That is it! His rage at me must have allowed him to survive long enough in the Event to get out alive. His mind must have retreated into itself for protection leaving only a purposeful rage against me to shield him. It must have still been in place when he fought me. No restrictions. No morals. All his new power against the enemy. Me.* With a tried smile Malkon continued the thought. *When his true mind comes back he will likely not remember much of what he did to me. He will need to practice. That gives me more time than I thought.* Malkon further continued that theory, *Without a normal personality and only rage in his mind, his mind was likely operating at a highly logical level. That is probably how he was able to attack me with the methods he used.* He thought about the diamond weapons Twister had used. *As an example, the diamond creations he made are easily obtainable from the air. A very logical decision. Likely made by sensing his own abilities.* Malkon chuckled. *That logical mind may affect him when he regains his normal personality.* A new thought struck him. *I sensed _no_ magic upon him. Only psionic power. That is odd. The Event contained both Mind and Magic power yet the magic was not there. It HAD to have given him equal amounts of _both_ kinds of power. So where is it? Or is it merely inaccessible now? How could he access it then?* This brought a new thought. *Yes. That could work. The rage would be useless that way and make him vulnerable in the process.* Malkon slowly smiled. *And _that_ decides my first destination.* He laughed softly. Chapter Eight ------------- Nabiki was impatiently waiting for the party to come back home. She didn't like to admit this to herself but she was worried. *How long are they going to be? It's two am. What could be keeping them?* Hmp. "Likely chasing Happosei all over the forest." She said aloud. "I wish." A familiar voice said behind her. Nabiki turned around and saw a sorry sight indeed. Genma-panda(who had changed to make carring his cargo easier), Soun, Akane, and Ranma-chan were all wet and their clothes were muddy and shredded. She also saw something on Genma-panda's shoulder. "HEL-lo there! Who's that?" Genma-panda gently laid the young man on the floor and Nabiki got a closer look at him. No one she knew and likely not for a lack of trying. "I almost expected Ryouga there. Who's the hunk?" Ranma-chan sat on the floor along with everybody else. "Beats me. That old fool Happosei messed up his summoning after I hit him on the head with a rock and got not just an ordinary demon but an arch-demon. _Then_, he tricked the old fart into releasing him." Nabiki paled slightly. Ranma-chan nodded. "Exactly. We were in deep trouble. Then apparently, from what Akane saw, the spell brought another guy along with the demon." She nodded in the direction of the unconscious young man. "Him. I guess he had a bone to pick with this arch-demon creep, Malkon, and let the demon know it by throwing a _very_ large stone at him. Before they really started going at it, he said his name was Twister. I guess that Malkon creep couldn't seem to affect him directly with any spells. After that they got close and personal. Malkon still couldn't touch him and this Twister seemed to be about the same. Then..." Ranma-chan glanced uneasily at the still form again. "This guy lived up to his name and MADE a small tornado. It sucked up Malkon and soon after it burst into blue flame and exploded. Doused us all in hot water. We thought they both bit it but then we saw this guy standing on the shore." Ranma-chan looked puzzled at this point. "When me and Akane went up to him, he heard my name, splashed water on me, saw the change and fainted. Almost like he expected it but didn't believe it. Weird. He looked really beat." Ranma-chan got up. "And me too. I'm gonna take a hot bath and go to bed. I'm exhausted." Akane stood up angrily, "Ranma! At least help us decide what to do with him!" "What's to decide? Put him in the second guest room and wait till he gets up and ask him yourself." Ranma-chan called back as she quickly walked towards the bathing room. "Ranma! You get back here!" Akane ran after the fleeing figure. Nabiki sighed. "Well, I think Ranma has the right idea. We can't really decide anything until we know who, or _what_, he is." She paused. "This...Malkon. Is he still around?" Soun and Genma looked uncertain. Soun replied, "We're not sure daughter. The final blast was immense but... We don't really know." "That's the best reason I've heard to keep this guy around. Protection. In case the demon did survive." Nabiki looked determined. "I do _not_ care to become the main course for a demon." The two fathers(one a panda) sighed. Soun stood up, "Very well. Help me with him Saotome." They went over to the young man, lifted him up, and went upstairs to the extra guest room. Nabiki sat a moment in silence then sighed and went to bed. *This house just gets weirder every day....* Two days passed, and the visitor slept soundly all the while. Not even Ranma and Akane's periodic arguing woke him up. On Saturday, when Nabiki felt awake enough, she decided to go check up on him. "Kasumi. I'm going to go check on our guest." Kasumi had been told the tale the day after the visitor arrived but accepted it as she always did. "Ok, Nabiki. Be careful not to wake him up." She smiled. "He sleeps though the two 'Lovebird's' arguments and you think _I'm_ going to wake him up?" Nabiki said sarcastically. Kasumi smiled again, "True." After reaching the guest room, Nabiki cautiously opened the door and stepped inside. The guest, *Or I should call him Twister,* was still sleeping though his exhaustion seemed to have passed. Looking over the still form, using sunlight from a window, Nabiki commented to herself, *Nice. Practically no fat on him. Wonder what his secret is.* Having satisfied her curiousity, Nabiki walked back towards the door and stepped on a noisy board. She didn't think much about it until she heard a groan behind her. She quickly turned back around. With eyes shut closed from the sunlight, "Uhhh, lose the lights already," Twister moaned, still half-asleep. Nabiki debated possible responses, then replied, "Sorry handsome, time to rise and shine." Twister opened his eyes, looked at this pretty young woman standing above him, then shut his eyes again. Pause. Then his eyes shot wide open and he propped himself up with his arms rapidly. "What...??? Who are you? Where am I?" Twister looked around wildly. Using soothing tones, Nabiki replied, "Calm down. Calm down. Do _you_ remember how you got here?" Still looking a little wild, Twister thought about it a moment. "Uh, not really. I'm not sure if I'm still dreaming or not and I seem to have a vague memory of fighting someone. I think. Not much else." Nabiki sat down close to him. Noticing this made him a little nervous, she amusedly smiled, "Why don't you tell me what you do remember, and why you think you are dreaming." "Um. Sure." Looking a little apprehensive he continued, "By the way, what's your name?" He seemed to dread the answer. "Nabiki Tendo." He groaned. "It's not _that_ bad a name" She replied crossly. Twister sighed, "Let me tell you my story first and you may understand my reaction." Nabiki nodded. "Okay." Taking a deep breath, Twister started, "Well it's like this..." Half an hour later, Twister finished his explanation. Nabiki looked thoughtful. "So in _your_ universe, this one is a comic book? Hm. Well, I guess it could happen." Looking at Twister's expression, she amended, "Ok. Ok. It _did_ happen. And your memory goes all fuzzy after you hit this Event thing." He nodded, "Yeah, and I have a feeling I don't _want_ to remember. The fight I remember a little bit more but it was like someone else was driving the bus if you get my drift. I remember what I did, but how I did it...no idea." Nabiki smiled, "Well, practice a bit handsome and you may remember." Twister frowned, "Why do you keep calling me that? I know I'm not the worst looking guy around but I've never thought myself as that." She looked startled, "You must have a pretty low opinion of yourself then, or maybe..." "What?" "I think you should see a mirror and tell me if I'm right." Nabiki walked over to the room's desk and found a hand mirror. She walked back and gave him the mirror. Twister glanced at the mirror and then froze in shock. "I gather that Event thing did a little more than give you some fancy tricks." Nabiki smirked. Twister tore his eyes from the mirror and finally registered the changes done to his body. "Holy... Instant fitness by cosmic forces. I wouldn't recommend it to your friends though." He faintly said. *And my face has.... _changed_.* Nabiki snorted. "Right. Being tossed by an arch-demon into something that has apparently existed since the dawn of time is definitely not an attractive tourist attraction." She contemplated something and made a decision, "Feel up to some breakfast? I gather you won't be used to most of it but anything made by my sister should appeal to you." Twister looked alarmed. "No insult intended but I hope you mean Kasumi and not Akane." Nabiki chuckled at that. "Don't worry, it's Kasumi. I think I believe your story quite a bit more if you know about _that_." Chapter Nine ------------ Ranma and Genma were practicing as usual in the pond area. Jumping at each other over the small body of water and each trying to dunk the other into it. Soun was sitting at the table and reading his paper. Kasumi was busily making breakfast and Akane was still jogging around the block. "Better put another place at the table Kasumi." Nabiki called from the stairs. The two practicing outside were too busy to hear this but Kasumi looked out of the kitchen and Soun started at the table. Soun and Kasumi saw Nabiki at the base of the stairs making hand motions at a figure on the top of the stairs. Finally, the figure came down and Soun started again. Instead of the cold-faced warrior he had seen at the lake, there was a lean, muscular, young man, about a little taller than Ranma, dressed in a pair of Ranma's shirt and pants, nervously coming down the stairs. Soun's fears of letting the formidable being he had seen fighting the arch-demon stay here vanished. This was not the actions of an evil, experienced person. Kasumi greeted him, "Hello there. Well, I guess you're right Nabiki. I'd better make room for our handsome guest at the table." She smiled. Twister blushed as Nabiki chuckled. Soun stood up and greeted the young man, "You are welcome at the Tendo home for as long as you wish. I suspect you may be a little disoriented. Soun smiled. "Well, I hope we can help you with that." Twister smiled back, "Thank you, Mr. Tendo. I suspect you're right." Nabiki grabbed his arm and took him to the back. "We'd better show you to these two or you may be attacked at breakfast. I also want to see Ranma's reaction. This should be priceless." Twister glanced at the girl dragging him along, "You're sadistic, you do know that do you?" "And I love every minute of it." She smirked. When they reached the pond area, Nabiki waited until Genma and Ranma had launched themselves at each other again. "Ranma! Guess who's up in the land of the living!" Ranma looked in Nabiki's direction and saw Twister. In his clothing as well. Nabiki and Twister saw his face starting to show surprise when the forgotten Genma, still focused on Ranma, kicked his son into the pond. Nabiki showed the victory sign. "Perfect!" She crowed as Twister smiled and shook his head. Ranma-chan's head came out of the water and glared at Nabiki, "Thanks a lot, Nabiki." "My pleasure Ranma." Ignoring the sarcasm, she continued, "I gather you remember our guest?" "How do you do, Ranma. Name's Twister." He extended his hand to help her out of the water. Ranma-chan ignored the offered hand and jumped out of the pond. "Hi. Sorry about this." She glared at Nabiki who walked back into the house, "I'm not exactly ready for this." Twister smiled slightly, "So I noticed. _That_ is going to take a while to get used to." Pointing at Ranma-chan's obvious condition. "Tell me about it. By the way, just why are you wearing _my_ clothes?" Nabiki called from sitting by the table, "Well what he _had_ wasn't very presentable so I took the liberty of borrowing a few of your things since you're the only one here whose clothing would fit. I didn't think you'd mind," She smiled sweetly, "_Lending_ him some things to wear." Ranma-chan sighed with the air of one who had no choice in the matter, not with Nabiki anyway, "Oh alright." Twister chuckled after a glance in Nabiki's direction, "What's she got on _you_?" Nabiki glared, "Twister..." He held his hands up in surrender, "Just kidding." At that moment, Akane jogged in and saw Twister with a wet Ranma-chan beside him. She said angrily, "Ranma! Fighting with our guest?" Ranma-chan started to say something in reply but Twister beat her to it, "Actually, it was with Nabiki. She won." Akane's face turned comical and Ranma-chan laughed at her. This got her angry again and started chasing Ranma-chan. "What are you laughing at you pervert!" Ranma-chan's reply was lost as they ran into the house. Twister came to the table, sat by Nabiki, and turned his head to her, "Normal day?" "Normal day." Finally, everyone was at the table for breakfast. Twister hadn't realized how hungry he was and devoured as much as Genma did. Kasumi replied to his comment, "Well, you did have a fight and slept for two days after all." This made sense to everyone as Kasumi's comments usually did. After everyone was done, Nabiki got Twister to tell his story again. This was met with some scepticism at first but after Twister started telling everyone what he had read and watched, with some embarrassing moments for some, they quickly believed him and told him to please stop. Nabiki chuckled at that. Ranma was a little disbelieving. "So you don't remember most of your fight?" Twister nodded, "Yeah. I do remember some of what I did but not _how_ I did it." Akane spoke up, "Maybe if you practice, you'll be able to do it normally." "Hmm. Yes, I guess I'd better. Once my strength is back I think I'll basically have to." Twister shuddered. "The level of power I showed tells me I have to be very careful or I might damage something accidentally. I don't care much for that idea." He looked at his hands, "My strength one of those. I've bent some metal without noticing it at first. I'm just not used to this level of strength yet." Nabiki patted him on the leg, "Don't worry. You'll get the hang of it." "I hope so." He sighed contentedly. "And thank _you_ Kasumi for a wonderful meal. I really feel human now." "Thank you." She smiled as she started taking away the dishes. "Do you want..." THUMP!! An angry figure stormed in from outside. "RANMA! I CHALLENGE YOU!" The person shouted. Ranma sighed and stood up, "Ryouga. Still don't know how to announce your challenges quietly yet?" "Do not mock me!" Ryouga glared at Ranma, "Now you die!" Ryouga launched a mighty fist at Ranma, who would have dodged easily, had not someone interposed himself and caught the hand with one of his own. Ryouga stared in disbelief at his trapped hand. The person was unfamiliar to him but to have stopped his blow meant that he was strong indeed. Twister spoke reasonably to Ryouga, "Now I don't want to belittle Ranma's fighting abilities by intervining, I'm quite sure he's capable of handling himself. But, even as a stranger here, I do believe it would be considered polite to fight _outside_?" He nodded his head towards the pond. Ryouga got angry with this person who had interfered his vengeance upon his rival for Akane's affections. He shouted at Twister, showing his pointed teeth. "Who are _you_ to tell Ryouga Hibiki what to do!" A change came over the stranger when he saw the pointed teeth of Ryouga. His face changed to an icy mask of rage and the eyes glowed a faint blue. Ryouga stared at this frightening change. Wind gathered around Twister's free right hand. Everyone saw the change, realized what it meant, and ran for cover. "HURRICANE BLAST!" The right fist rocketed towards a stunned Ryouga and caused the compressed air blast him to create a Ryouga-hole through the wall in the direction of the pond. The people who had seen Twister's power before, noticed this blast was a lot weaker than the stronger 'wall' version they had seen. Likely due to Twister's weakened condition. After the blast, Twister shook himself out of his rage-mask and stared at the new hole in the wall. "Oops." He said with some shock. Nabiki got up and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. That happens all the time." Her face became concerned, "What happened anyway?" Twister shook his head, "An almost instinctive reaction, I think. When I saw Ryouga's pointed teeth, it reminded me of Malkon." He shuddered. "You saw what happened after that. Fortunately, I knew that was Ryouga's natural condition but I couldn't stop most of the blast. Once he was gone, I was able to break out of it." He looked concerned, "I hope I didn't hurt him much." Ranma walked over to the hole nonchalantly, "I wouldn't worry about Ryouga. He's much too hard-headed for this to stop him for long." He smirked. Akane glared at him. "Ranma! He might be hurt! We'd better go see if he's ok." She walked through the new Ryouga-hole outside. Twister walked up to Ranma and whispered to him, "I think we'd better too. I shot him in the direction of the pond." Ranma looked irritated, "Why should that...," Then he remembered. "Right." He looked uncertainly at Twister. "You think you can control that... 'reaction'?" Twister thought about it, "I think so. I know what to expect now." "Better hurry to cover for the idiot again then." Ranma followed Akane's path outside without making sure Twister came along. *What's with him?* Twister wondered as he quickly followed Ranma. Chapter Ten ----------- Out by the pond, Twister and Ranma's fears were confirmed. Akane was holding a little black pig in her arms and was still looking for Ryouga. "Finally came out?" Akane looked around. "I can't seem to find Ryouga anywhere." Ranma and Twister exchanged knowing looks. Ranma said, "You know how bad his sense of direction is, Akane. I bet the jerk is wandering around lost with a headache right now." He casually looked at the pig. "I see P-Chan's finally found his way back." Akane smiled, "Yes, I found him just getting out of the pond. There was a bump on his head. Poor thing must have hit a rock when he fell in. He's fainted, the poor thing." Twister looked faintly embarrassed but asked anyway, "Do you want me to hold him while you look for Ryouga outside?" Akane thought about then smiled and nodded. "Ranma and I will put him in your room." Ranma looked angry but stifled it when Akane glared at him, "Now Ranma, don't pick on P-Chan while I'm gone." She smiled at P-Chan and went outside. Ranma was about to say something but Twister stopped him. "The room." Ranma paused, debated something to himself, and then nodded his affirmative. The two walked to Akane's room and closed the door. Twister put P-Chan on the bed and tried to wake him up. Twister gently shook the still form. "Ryouga. Wake up." P-Chan's eyes flickered, then snapped wide open at the sound of his true name. Ranma smiled widely. "Well, that was a brief challenge Ryouga. Too bad you had to go in a hurry." He smirked. The pig squealed loudly and launched himself at Ranma. Ranma ducked and the pig bounced off the wall behind him. P-Chan started acting like a crazed rubber ball, bouncing from wall to wall trying to hit Ranma, who just dodged with a smile on his face. Twister let this go for a half minute before deciding enough was enough. He waited for the right time and then, with his newly heightened speed and reflexes, caught P-Chan in mid-air. This startled the pig enough for him to get a firm grip on P-Chan. Putting P-Chan's eyes level with his own, Twister calmly but forcefully said, "Settle down already! I _am_ sorry for blasting you into the pond. I didn't expect that reaction when I saw your teeth as you shouted at me." Putting the pig on the bed again and making sure he wouldn't blast off again, Twister continued, "I'll tell you who I am while we wait for Akane to come back." He noticed Ranma's scowl and P-Chan's ears perk up and sighed, "It will occupy the time with something else besides pig ping-pong anyway..." When Akane finally arrived, Twister had just finished his story. She smiled, noticing P-Chan's awake condition, "I see you've behaved yourself Ranma." Ranma shifted slightly. Ryouga had been too busy listening to Twister's story for anything to happen. Twister chuckled. "P-Chan _was_ a little excited when he woke up. Likely from the shock of the blow." Ranma chuckled quietly at this truth, Twister ignored him. "But we calmed him down soon enough." Akane looked around and saw the slightly messed up room. "He sure is energetic for such a little pig." P-Chan snorted. Akane smiled again. "Sorry for any trouble he caused." "My pleasure. It gave us an opportunity to get to know one another." Twister showed a secretive smile at P-Chan. "And when _not_ to fight." P-Chan snorted again before Akane picked him up. He blushed. Twister stood up and Ranma followed suit. "Well, we'll let you two exchange greetings in private." Twister grabbed Ranma's arm and started dragging him along. "I want Ranma to help me judge how much I've changed. Come _on_ Ranma." Akane closed her door when they left, Ranma unwilling to leave but Twister insisting. Twister stopped dragging Ranma and stared at the door. "Quote from a famous poet: 'Lord, what fools these mortals be'." He turned to Ranma. "How _long_ has he gotten away with that again?" He said disbelievingly. Ranma gritted out, "Almost since he got here." Sigh. "I knew that. It's quite another thing to see it though." Ranma glared at the door then turned away. "Well, we might as well do like you suggested and test you." Twister nodded, "Sure." As they walked away, he thought out loud, "I hope he realizes that if she ever finds out on her own there _will_ be Hell to pay." Smiling grimly, Ranma replied, "I hope he doesn't." Twister chuckled, while shaking his head, as they went to the training room. Dressed in practice gi's, Ranma assumed a fighting pose while Twister just stood there. Twister was a little nervous, "Did I mention I've never studied martial arts?" Ranma snorted disbelievingly, "A little late to be saying that isn't it? Besides, I saw how you caught Ryouga, that took impressive reflexes just to grab him while moving that fast." Still nervous, Twister said, "Well, I wasn't sure _I_ could until I did. The Event altered more than I thought." "Well, just how much is what we're gonna find out now. Since you don't know anything right now, just try dodging my attacks." Calming himself, Twister nodded his affirmative. Ranma launched a slow punch first, which Twister dodged easily. Seeing this, Ranma slowly speeded up his punches and then kicks. Twister started having trouble dodging Ranma's blows when Ranma was approaching his fastest speed. *How fast _is_ he?* Ranma thought with disbelief, *I think his only problem is trying to decide where I'm gonna strike next...* When Ranma was going his fastest, he started getting a few punches and kicks in. *Damn! This guy is _good_! And he's just being _defensive_!?* Almost when he was about to stop and call a break, he saw a faint blue aura start shining around Twister who suddenly got a lot better at dodging the blows coming at him. Now only rarely could Ranma get a hit, and those lucky. He stopped attacking. The faint blue aura around Twister slowly faded away. After going over to the wall and grabbing two towels, Ranma threw one at Twister and wiped his forehead. "Hmp. I wouldn't worry about not knowing martial arts. That musta been some number that Event did on you." He frowned at Twister, "But what did you do at the end? I saw that blue aura and you really improved then." Twister was wiping his forehead and looking thoughtful, "When you really started hitting me more often I was wondering how I managed to avoid Malkon hitting me. I concentrated more on trying to speed up and guessing more accurately where you were trying to hit." He paused. "I felt something then, like a soothing wave, and I started getting ideas of where your hits were _going_ to be. I started moving faster too. It felt really weird." Contemplating this, Ranma offered an opinion, "I think you were doing pretty good until the point when I saw that blue glow around you. Then you used that power of yours to enhance yourself." Ranma's brow wrinkled, "But that do you mean _going_ to be? Could you read my mind?" Ranma didn't like that idea much. Twister started, then started thinking about that. After a few seconds, he shook his head, "No, that wasn't it. But there is another possibility." Ranma raised an eyebrow, "There is something called prescience, or rather, future-sight. I could have looked _ahead_ a little in time and accurately choose _which_ path the future, or more precisely, your fist, was going to take." He shook his head, "That's _my_ best guess. It would be more accurate the more power I put into it. That's way you still got hits on me. Ow." Ranma noticed the bruises on Twister's body. "That's gonna hurt in the morning. You should've told me to stop earlier." Shaking his head, Twister replied, "I needed to know." An idea crossed his mind, "Hmm. Maybe that might work..." Puzzled, Ranma asked, "What?" "Did you see how Malkon Healed himself after I hit him the first few times before he stopped doing it?" "Yeah...but what...?" Light dawned and Ranma's eyes widened. "You think _you_ can do that?" "Well if I can't at least I tried." "And hurt a lot less if it works." Ranma snorted. "True." Focusing on the bruised parts of his body, Twister tried to will his body to heal faster. At first nothing happened, then when he concentrated more, Ranma exclaimed with some startlement that the bruises were slowly fading away. Excited by this, Twister tried to feel that wave he described to Ranma again. After a few seconds, he found it. His body flashed in a blue aura that went as soon as it came. Startled and feeling a little tired, he opened his eyes as his concentration was broken. The bruises were gone. "That was weird." Ranma looked at Twister's bruise-free body. "Those bruises were healing fast and were halfway gone when you flashed blue. They were gone along with light from your aura after that." Ruefully, Twister replied, "I got so excited that it was working that I tried to feel that wave again. I succeeded. Unfortunately, it wore me out a bit when I Healed with it." He stretched his arms and grinned, "The good side is that I'll wake easy tomorrow." He looked thoughtful, "I wonder if I can do it to others." Ranma didn't look too pleased for some reason, "Well, _I_ certainly won't need you to do that for me." He walked out of the room before a surprised Twister could say anything. Brow wrinkled in puzzlement, Twister wondered at Ranma's attitude. *Did I do something wrong?* Chapter Eleven -------------- Twister was returning from a bath. It was done a little differently here than what he was used to but he had managed. Nabiki spied him entering the guest room. "Hi there! Have fun with Ranma?" He nodded at Nabiki, "Sort of. I found out a few new things too." When Nabiki inquired what that meant, he explained about the Healing he had done to himself, the enhancement of his body, and the possibility of future-sight. Twister explained further on that, "I don't think the future is fixed but has a infinity of possible paths. This ability likely finds the most likely path it will take at the time and tells me it by feeling." Nabiki was _most_ intrigued by this. "Could you look at a few stock market reports for me?" She smiled attractively. Amused, Twister shook his head, "I don't think I'm _that_ good yet." He smiled at her, "Nice try though." She sighed, "Can't blame a girl for trying." Nabiki remembered the story about his fight with Malkon. "Don't you have more abilities than that? I recall the others mentioning you blowing away trees using nothing at all. I also recall they said you _flew_." Startled, Twister stared at Nabiki. "You're right. I'd been avoiding thinking about that fight but I do recall doing that. Guess I'll have to try those things as well today. Hmm. Telekinesis and levitation is what you've described. Those _would_ explain most of the things I did in that fight." He snapped his fingers, "There was also another thing and the others couldn't have seen that since I was in the tornado. I teleported." He grimaced. "That makes _three_ more things to practice. Great." Nabiki's eyes shone. "Telekinesis, levitation, and teleportation. How fascinating. Mind if I make a few suggestions?" She smiled with a gleam in her eye. *Uh oh.* Twister thought nervously, aloud he said, "What did you have in mind? I've never done those things before. My control and strength are unknown." *With _her_ reputation,* Twister thought, *I'm not sure if I'm going to like this.* Smiling, she replied, "Let's just wait for a bit while you practice on your own. Then, we'll try my ideas." *I have a breather, there is a Lord.* As Nabiki left, he wondered why he was letting her do this to him, *Twister, you've never had much experience with girls. And Nabiki is _definitely_ going to take advantage of that fact. Great. Maybe I can lessen the storm when it comes.* Seeing Nabiki's departing figure, he amended, *Maybe not.* After lunch, Twister went out to the pond area to practice. As he sat down, a bout of homesickness hit him. *Ah, shoot. I wonder what Mom did when she found out I'm gone.* Twister thought about it a bit and shook his head a little. *I can't _do_ anything about it right now, even if I wanted to. The Void is an unknown to me and I can't even imagine trying to cross it without a _lot_ of time and effort. If I do that, then I might as well not try since I think Mom might be long gone by _that_ time.* Eyes brightening, Twister thought of something. *Unless the Void makes it possible to return at the exact same time I left...which may be possible since Time seemed to be pretty unstable in the Void and universes likely have their own separate Times... Gah! I won't be able to find out for a while, if ever. Hopefully, the latter will be true. I'd better just try to survive right now.* With that cheering thought, Twister started practicing, *I guess I'll try telekinesis first. That's a long range power.* He looked around the yard and spied a small rock. *Target lock.* Twister amusedly thought to himself. Trying something easy, he just tried to get it to jump up a little. Not knowing how much effort he needed to use, Twister tried going all out. Concentrating hard, he focused on the rock and willed it to _jump_! WHOOM! Ranma and Akane heard the boom and ran to see what happened. Sitting down and staring at a now vacant spot they saw Twister. Ranma asked him, "What the heck was that?" Still staring, Twister replied, "I was trying to make a rock jump straight up with my mind." "What happened to it?" Akane searched the ground. "Overkill." Now Ranma was staring. "That was the rock? You're kidding." "And going how much past Mach 1 I don't know." Rubbing his temples, Twister stood up. "I think I'd better concentrate a lot less and with either softer or larger things." Ranma was smirking, "How about P-Chan?" "Ranma!" Akane swung her fist at Ranma but he ducked away. She then proceeded to try to run Ranma into the ground, fortunately for Ranma he had lots of experience running. Chuckling at the sight, Twister turned back to practice. *Well _that_ was a little too effective.* He mused. *Let's try something...softer. I've been using air often. That will be a better start. I hope.* This time he started with just a gentle suggestion instead of a command. *Whirl* He thought, at the air in front of him. *Go in circles.* Twister could feel the air starting to rotate in front of him. Dust from the ground made the small tornado visible to his eyes. It was small but that was good for a first time. About two feet tall and a finger length in diameter. It looked cute. *Living up to my new name anyway. I think I'll leave my name like that. I've changed too much for my old name to fit.* Feeling sad for a moment he sighed, *At least I've found friends here.* Hearing Akane and Ranma in the background lightened his spirits. Bringing his attention back to the mini-tornado, he noticed it had wandered over to the pond. Its suction was just enough to pull water into it. *Hmm. Solid. Gas. Time for liquid.* Twister let his attention move from the mini-tornado to the water now contained within it and told it to stay where it was. The mini-tornado dissipated. The water fell. He stared. *Say what?! Now that's odd. Why did _that_ not work?* Walking over to the pond and bending over, he scooped some water with his hands. *Let's try that again.* He gently told the water in his hands to form into a ball. Nothing. Trying harder this time he attempted it again. Not a shimmer. Twister was fustrated. *What is going _on_ here? I can do air and rocks but not water??* He headed towards the kitchen as he dumped the pond water. *Let's see if it's all liquids.* Kasumi looked up as Twister walked into the kitchen and smiled. "Hello Twister. Looking for a snack?" "Actually, no. Looking for confirmation of a theory is more accurate." Kasumi looked puzzled. "Do you mind if I borrow some vegetable oil? I'll explain in a second." Still looking puzzled, Kasumi complied and poured some oil into a bowl. Putting the bottle away she handed the bowl of oil to Twister. "Great. Just be patient a little longer and I'll explain." He proceeded to stare slightly at the oil in the bowl. This confused Kasumi even more. *What is he doing?* She was surprised when she saw the oil move. It shook a bit then rushed towards the center of the bowl and formed a sphere of oil. Kasumi was wide-eyed with wonder and felt a little sorrow when the ball quickly pooled out to fill the bowl again. Twister looked up at Kasumi and smiled, "I don't know if I should happy or fustrated." "Why is that?" Twister explained his inability to move water. Kasumi wondered, "All water or just liquid water?" "Next experiment," Twister grinned. "Ice cubes!" Kasumi was wondering if her kitchen was going to be converted into a laboratory. Seeing her face, Twister grinned again, "Don't worry. This is the last thing I need." Remembering the rock, he continued, "And I'll do this one outside." Kasumi's relieved expression threatened to leave him helpless with laughter. *Well that settles that,* mused Twister as he finally got the knack of getting things to just float in mid-air. The four remaining ice cubes floated in front of him. *I can effect pretty much everything to some degree except liquid water for some odd reason.* Idly, he moved the cubes into a square formation and rotated it. *I'm picking up on this stuff pretty quickly. I wonder if the Event effected my mind in any way.* He slapped his head, *Of course it did. How would I be able to do _this_,* he sped up the cubes rotation, *if it hadn't?* He noticed the cubes melting. *Hm. Maybe I can save my test subjects.* He willed the cubes to "cool off". The melt-off froze on the ice. *Two points! It worked! Now...termination of testing.* Twister willed the ice to heat up. A little too forcefully. The cubes instantly became hot water, which he had no control over. Which then proceeded to spatter all over his legs. Owch. Kasumi's voice called out, "Dinner!" Twister looked at the sky, *Hm, lost track of time.* Walking over to the table from outside he saw that Ranma, Genma and Soun had already made it ahead of him. *Nach,* he smiled inwardly. He had just sat down when Akane and Nabiki came to sit. Twister grinned. "Ah, the runners-up. Too bad. First, second and third place has already been taken." Glares from the guys and smiles from the girls. "Kidding! Kidding!" He waved his arms in surrender. Genma stiffly said, "A martial artist has to keep his strength up." Evidently, this topic of discussion had cropped up before. Twister sighed, "What does a guy have to do to get some yucks around here?" Nabiki smiled, "You _could_ go to the butcher..." "Aggh! Yucks! Not ducks!" Twister dramatically put his hand over his heart. "I hath been vanquished by yon fair lady's wit!" That got a few chuckles around the table. "But I see that mine host desires to, how you say, 'dig in'. Thus, I shall spare thee of mine agony of defeat." Laughter broke out and Twister smiled in victory as they started to eat. Halfway though the meal, Ranma sourly asked how the practice was going. "Well...after the 'rock'et launch." Groans from Akane and Ranma. "Sorry. Apparently, I hit my funny bone today. ANYway, I found out that I can't touch liquid water for some reason. Everything else I tried seemed to work." Soun asked, "Can you demonstrate?" "Um, sure. Let's see..." Looking down at his now-empty bowl for rice he decided on that. Using a little thought, the bowl floated up and started around the table looking like it was on a roller-coaster ride. When it came back to his spot he put it back where he got it from. Nabiki smiled, "Neat." Twister looked embarrassed, "I've mostly been working on control since I tried the 'rock'et." Looking thoughtful, "I wonder where it came down... I also can heat up or cool down objects. How fast depends on material and the force I use, I think. Liquid water is impossible. Ice however is not and likely steam as well." Looking at Twister, Genma said, "Impressive for the first day." "Yeah." Twister frowned, "Either I'm learning darn quick or this is easier than it looks." After a moment, he said, "I think it is because I've been generalizing." Looking at the confused faces he explained, "I've been thinking 'cool' or 'hot' at these objects. Never mind how many quadrillion molecules there are in things, it works." He shrugged. "The large stuff is easy. It only requires power. I think the smaller you work, the harder it gets. That's only a guess." Soun questioned, "Like diamond daggers from air?" "Yeah. That's gonna take a while to figure out. Otherwise, it's just a matter of control with large objects." With an innocent expression, which fooled no one, Nabiki asked, "When are you going to try the next talent?" Everyone except Nabiki turned questioning gazes at Twister. "Next talent?" asked Ranma. Ignoring the last question, Twister replied, "Probably tomorrow, hopefully I'll be able to figure something out to protect me while practicing." "Why not use the air as a shield?" Twister froze then sighed. "All right, that's a good idea. Probably the best to use." Nabiki grinned. Akane was fustrated, "What _are_ you two talking about?" Nabiki hummed, "Flying though the air with the greatest of ease..." Chapter Twelve -------------- Early morning Sunday, Twister woke up before everybody else in the house, including Kasumi. *Now _there's_ a wonder. Must have been those two days I slept.* Putting on the same clothes that he had worn yesterday, he silently walked outside. Once near where he had launched the rock the day before, he started thinking about how he was going to do this. *First thing to do is to see if I _can_ fly, or at least hover.* Closing his eyes, then opening them after thinking better about it, he thought of himself as being weightless at first. He grinned. *Don't want to think 'up' and end up like that rock.* He pushed off from the ground and slowly started rising. *It works! Now let's try 'stop'.* Suddenly, motion stopped and he hung in mid-air two feet off the ground. *Hmm. I feel like Wile E. Coyote before he went splat. Not a comforting thought.* "So _that's_ what you guys were talking about last night!" "Wha...?!" Concentration broken, Twister dropped down from airborne position. "Aggh!" Whomp! "Don't DO that Akane!" Akane was dressed up for her morning jog. She was now also covering a smile behind her hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't think you would fall." Picking himself up from the ground, Twister replied, "Unfortunately, when one does that one needs concentration. That goes rather quickly when one is new at this and is startled by an unexpected audience. Good thing I only went two feet." Looking at Akane with an 'I'll get you later' look, he continued, "Once I get better, that won't bother me but right now..." She giggled. "That should be funny; seeing you hanging in mid-air twenty feet off the ground." Twister growled, "I _plan_ on doing a bit more than that." "I know that. Well, I've got to finish my run before Kasumi does breakfast. Bye!" "Cya!" Twister watched the departing girl go. *Sheesh. Try to get a little practice...ah well. I'd better be prepared for interruptions anyway. Let's see... Hover seems fine and so does stopping. Time to try actual flight. In small distances.* Resuming a hovering position of two feet off the ground, Twister tried moving forward. He slowly advanced forwards and finally stopped over the pond. *Now _here_ I can get motivation for staying aloft! I'd better try to create that shield. If I can manage to fly fast enough I'm going to need it.* He thought of a sphere of air surrounding his entire body. This sphere was immobile but would move with Twister as the center. *Hmm. Can I feel it?* He reached out a hand above him and felt a resistance that seemed soft yet rubbery. *Yup. It's there but I'd better make it firmer.* A little more concentration and the sphere felt like steel. *Whoa! Dramatic change or what!* Looking down he got an idea. *Ranma and Genma should be coming out to practice soon.* He smiled. *Should I do this?* Twister thought a moment, then grinned. Ranma and Genma walked outside and went to opposite sides of the pond. Genma went into fighting stance, "Are you ready son?" In an identical pose, Ranma replied, "I'm always ready." "We'll see." They then proceeded to attack each other as they jumped over the pond. They kept this up for a good twenty minutes and were relieved when they were standing on opposite sides again and heard Kasumi say, "Breakfast!" They bowed to each other and each were surprised that neither had gotten dunked today. They both looked pleased with themselves. WHOOSH! SPLASH! "Breakfast? Oh good, I'm hungry!" Twister exclaimed as he hung a foot above the middle of the pond. The shield that had been around him was gone as he had used it's air molecules to send a carefully directed wave at both Genma and Ranma. He appeared blissfully unaware as he floated to the edge of the pond and landed. Nabiki, Soun, and Kasumi were trying not to laugh as he approached the table and sat. A sudden thought apparently struck him and he turned towards the Saotome pair. "Oops! Did I get you two wet? Sorry about that." The sudden big grin on his face belied the words he had just spoken. The now Ranma-chan and Genma-panda glared at him. Nabiki smothered her grin, "I see you got that air shield working." Still grinning as he turned his head to her, Twister replied, "Yup. Works like a charm and it's waterproof to boot." A female hand and a panda paw each grabbed a shoulder and threw him into the pond. He sputtered to the surface and smiled at the two who had thrown him in. "I gotcha _first_." Ranma-chan snorted as she brushed wet hair from her eyes. "Alright, we deserved it anyway for getting caught like that." The panda nodded. "But that _was_ satisfying." Grinning now, Twister responded, "Not for long." Ranma-chan was puzzled at that last statement. "What'd you mean?" Twister stepped out of the pond and shook water out of his hair. Still smiling, he held his shirt and pants tightly in the belt area and then concentrated. Wind started rushing into his collar and up from his feet. Water sprayed out from his clothing as a wild wind blew around every thread in his clothing, drying them instantly. A final touch was a blast of air that dried his hair. "Because I'm still dry and _you_ are still wet." He laughed. *Glad that idea worked.* Twister thought to himself. Ranma-chan and the panda looked in stunned disbelief as the Tendo family laughed as well. Akane had just walked in the door to see Ranma get splashed. The expression on Ranma-chan's face after Twister's display caused her to laugh as well. "Prepared for this audience did you?" She finally got out. "Yup." Twister said as he passed the still wet Ranma-chan and panda on the way back to the table and sat. "Pass the water if you please..." Nabiki chuckled, "You certainly have a flair. Are you always this amusing?" Twister smiled back, "Not usually but I realized I was going to need practice for a much better target." Ranma-chan broke out of her stunned state and, in spite of feeling a little angry, queried Twister, "And who the heck is that?" Twister chuckled, "Who else but a guy you and Akane see every school morning?" Both Akane and Ranma-chan started. Then Ranma-chan smiled broadly, "Kunou." Signaling that her accuracy was correct with a victory sign, he said loudly, "Batter up!" Nabiki made a sad face and sadly said, "Poor Kunou-baby. He'll never know what hit him." Chapter Thirteen ---------------- Later, Twister was wandering though the Tendo household and found himself entering the kitchen. Kasumi's realm. She appeared to have just started making lunch and looked very efficient doing it too. "Hi Kasumi. Busy with making lunch?" He spoke cheerfully. Smiling quickly at him then resuming what she was doing, she replied "Yes, I am. Did you want anything?" "No, not really. I just thought I'd take a break." He looked around curiously, "Do you mind if I watch you? It looks interesting." "Certainly, as long as you are quiet. I do need to concentrate on several things at the same time usually." Twister pantomimed zipping his lips together, "I'll just fade into the woodwork." He paused. "Funny. I used to have a lousy memory, but now it seems I can remember anything I've done. Maybe I'll try some chocolate chip cookies someday." Kasumi looked up in interest. "You'll have to tell me the recipe someday." "No problem. I'll go mum now." That said, Kasumi resumed the preparations for lunch while Twister quietly observed out of the way, trying to be unnoticeable and not distract Kasumi. He didn't realize how well he was doing it until Nabiki walked in. Looking around the kitchen she asked, "Hey, Kasumi. Have you seen Twister?" Kasumi was startled. "Isn't he here?" Nabiki started when Twister mildly said, "I think I faded in too well with the woodwork." Staring at Twister, Nabiki said, "How did you do _that_??" Scratching his head he replied, "I didn't want to distract Kasumi while I was watching her so I just tried to be as unnoticeable as I could. When you looked around, your eyes passed right by me." Thinking back, Nabiki exclaimed softly, "You're right! I can recall seeing you but you just didn't register in my mind." She grinned. "That can be a useful talent. I bet Ranma wishes he could do it." Laughing at that last remark, Twister smiled. "Well, chalk up another talent to the list." He looked inquiringly at Nabiki. "What did you want to see me for anyway?" "Oh right. I was thinking that if you wanted to practice high flying, being noticed might bring attraction to you." She grinned. "The papers would have a field day. So I thought a disguise might be in order." Twister groaned, "Shades of secret identities, Batman! I hadn't thought of that. Well, actually I did but I didn't know what to do about it." She was still grinning, "Well, my disguise and that new trick of yours should do nicely. It could be useful for _later_." *Dang! She hasn't forgotten that. I was hoping... Ah well.* He sighed and bowed for her to take the lead, "Lead on my lady..." "I don't know whether to laugh or cry." Akane and Nabiki glared. Akane said tartly, "It's not _that_ bad." Twister looked at the clothing again. "Well, I was expecting something more unusual for some reason. They do make sense." The clothing in question was a jean jacket and pants done in the latest bleach fashion making a light blue and white mosaic on the garments. A winter ski-mask that was a matching light blue had cute white patterns sewn into it. "It will match well on a clear or party cloudy day." Nabiki replied. "They are supposed to be baggy on me but they should fit you alright." She grinned slightly, "Ready for a test flight?" He glanced again at the clothing, "As I'll ever be, I guess." "Good! Now get dressed and we'll be waiting in the garden." Nabiki ran out the door as she said that last. Akane and Twister stared after her. In a puzzled voice, Twister asked Akane, "She seems unusually excited by all this doesn't she?" Akane was looked speculative now, "Maybe not." "Huh?" She smiled, "Oh, nothing. Just thinking out loud." She walked out and closed the door before he could comment. Twister started putting on his 'disguise'. *Hmm. I wonder what that was about.* He chuckled. *Thank God they didn't have a cape handy...* Akane caught up to Nabiki at the garden. Ranma was there too. "This oughtta be interesting, considering Akane helped with the disguise that is." He said offhandedly. She flushed at this. "Are you saying I don't have good taste in clothing?" "Well considering your taste in cooking..." "Ranma no baka!" Akane ran after Ranma around the garden. Unfortunately, for Ranma, he tripped over something and Akane caught up to him just as he got back up. Ranma went ballistic. Just as he started falling down and wondering how he was going to land, a blue and white figure launched out of a window from the Tendo house and caught him safely, after a few course corrections. "Trying to bug Akane again I see." Twister's muffled voice was amused. He slowly started a descent back towards the garden. Akane and Nabiki had seen the catch and were waiting for them. When they touched down, Nabiki said, "Nice catch." Akane still looked steamed over Ranma's comment and glared at Ranma, who was now looking carefully at the clouds in the sky. Twister took of the ski-mask and grinned, "For a first time, true. However... Are you two going to do that again? Practice makes perfect." Now Ranma glared at _him_ now while Akane had to smile a little. Twister continued, "At least the clothes fit nicely. I'll likely try flying around town to really test myself." Akane was concerned, "Even with the clothes, you'll be noticed for sure." Nabiki chuckled, "I don't think that will be a problem." She explained the kitchen incident. Twister put the mask back on, "This will be a challenge in any event. I don't think I can be 'unnoticed' and have the shield up at the same time while flying so I won't go fast." He looked up. "No time like the present." In a humor-filled voice he cried. "Up, up, up, and away!" He went straight up, leaving groans behind him as he slowly leveled off. Nabiki stared after at Twister's figure flying away. Akane noticed this and nudged Ranma. "Look at Nabiki." She whispered. "Why?" He said in a bored tone. Akane hit him again. Sitting dazed as Akane stormed angrily away, Ranma asked himself, "What's with _her_? Crazy tomboy." Twister was not very thrilled with flying. *Shoot. I'd forgotten that I've always been a little leery of heights. Having _nothing_ under me at fifty feet in the air does _not_ help.* As a result he was flying slowly over town while making himself unnoticeable. *Still, it _is_ fun once you get used to it and ignore the fact that nothing is supporting you.* Not wishing to get lost, he flew around a bit more but not too far. After twenty minutes he was about to go back when he noticed a disturbance in the street below him. *Hullo. What's going on down there?* Dropping to thirty feet he saw an angry horde of women chasing... an old man? *Now who...who...who...ho ho ho! Happosei! The bugger that started all this!* Anger rushed to the fore and Twister thought about how he could get the old fool. *Great. Now I'm thinking like Ranma.* That realization drained his anger. Humor rushed up instead. Likely the worst of two evils. *Well, I haven't properly introduced myself to him yet.* He grinned and dropped to the street where he guessed Happosei would turn next and took of the mask. *Five. Four. Three. Two. One...* Happosei turned the corner, looking behind him, *Almost lost them!* he thought happily. When he looked ahead, the sight of a person he remembered vividly, leaning casually against a wall and looking straight at _him_, stopped him in his tracks. The person spoke. "Ah! You must be Happosei! I've _so_ been wanting to meet with you." He grinned widely. "If you may recall, my name is Twister. I want to talk to you about a certain _summoning_ spell..." The grin vanished and a blue aura was starting to become visible. Happosei paled. He remembered that this being had defeated an arch-demon and survived. There was _no_ way he was likely to beat this young man. He turned around and ran back the way he came, so frightened he forget one minor detail. One _very_ angry horde of women which had a bone to pick with him. Twister winced at the sounds reaching him from around the corner. When they stopped and the angry voices faded away, he grinned and walked around the corner to see the result. Happosei was not recognizable. Standing close and bending his knees to kneel by the unconscious figure, Twister waited until the old Master opened his eyes. Happosei glanced above him and saw the same young man he had run from a few moments ago grinning widely. Twister chuckled then and said, "Gotcha!" Twister stood up, walked back a bit, put on the mask, and flew away. Indignant rage flared in Happosei's eyes before he passed out again. Chapter Fourteen ---------------- Twister returned just in time for lunch. He mentioned Happosei in town and what he had done to him. Ranma grinned, "Good. The old goat deserves it." "Especially after what he did to you." Akane added. Musing aloud, Twister mentioned, "I wonder if that little incident will make him lose that fear of me I saw. I certainly didn't make myself appear very threatening." To himself he added, *At least, _after_ he got pounded upon...* Nabiki smirked, "If I hear him in his room again, we'll know." "I don't think he will bother you much if he keeps that fight with Malkon in mind," Soun shuddered. "That makes _my_ heart go at ease..." Twister sighed. Suddenly, from the direction of the bathing room, Ryouga appeared. "Ranma! It is time to fight!" He saw Twister looking steadily at him and amended his words, "...outside." Ranma stood up. "Fine with me if it stops you from challenging me all the time." "You will not be so confident after I defeat you!" Ryouga almost launched himself at Ranma but remembered Twister again and merely walked outside to wait. Soun commented, "At least they will not damage the house again." Nabiki snorted, "Not for lack of trying I bet." Shaking his head, Twister followed Ranma outside. He walked over to where the fence was and turned around to watch the two combatants fight as he leaned on the fencepost. They started up and it was apparent that, while Ryouga _was_ stronger, Ranma seemed quicker. Twister was slightly alarmed when one of Ryouga's headbands came right at him but he quickly dodged to the side and it went past him to go through the fence. *Flying bandannas are _not_ nice.* He thought to himself. Then a feeling of doom overcame Twister and he couldn't figure out what it was. A _strong_ urge to jump to the side came and he decided to listen to it...just in time. Wham! A bicycle with a lavender haired girl landed in exactly the same spot he had been a second ago. The girl seemed a little jarred. *Likely because her landings usually have cushions,* Twister thought. *Owch.* She didn't look at him as she dug something out of her container that she held. "Why you move Ranma? Is not Shampoo your fiancee?" Shampoo asked, slightly aggrieved. Eyebrow raised, Twister replied, "If I were Ranma, I would look up the definition of 'fiancee'. I don't believe being a live landing pad is a qualification of one." To himself, he added sarcasticly, *Joy. Ryouga and now Shampoo. The perks in life are many and varied.* Shampoo started and turned around at the voice that was definitely not Ranma's. "You wear Ranma's clothes but you not Ranma!" Akane had walked over after seeing Shampoo land and she said, "I guess your eyesight hasn't gone as bad as Mousse's, Shampoo." Shampoo's eyes narrowed at Akane's words while ignoring Twister, "Where Ranma?" SPLASH! Twister looked in the direction of the splash. "Currently taking a bath in the pond I do believe. Looks like Ryouga has disappeared again too." Turning back to Shampoo, he saw that she had a pile of cookies on a plate in her hand. He groaned softly. *Not another magical recipe. If it's for Ranma then it's likely to be another generic 'love me forever' plot." Twister rolled his eyes. Then an idea hit him. *Well now. Let's see if we can teach Miss Shampoo a lesson in careful magic management.* Shampoo had gotten off the bike by now and was advancing towards a soaking-wet Ranma-chan. "Ranma! Shampoo make good cookies just for you! They very spe..." Twister snuck up and grabbed a cookie, "Hey! Not take that!" Twister ignored the panicky Shampoo and ate the cookie quickly before she could stop him. He looked at Shampoo and blinked. Twister suddenly rushed towards her and kneeled before her, spreading his hands wide. "My love! Where have you been all my life! Please let me take your hand so that I may worship it!" He shouted this devotion loudly. Everyone but an angry Shampoo was shocked at his reaction. "Should not have eaten cookie meant for Ranma!" She threw a fist at the face of the kneeling Twister. With his unexpectedly quick reactions, Twister caught her hand and continued his speal of love. "Ah, such a lovely hand. If I could but hold it forever." Forever was likely true as Shampoo tried in vain to pull her hand away from the very strong grip it was in. Akane meanwhile had gone back to Nabiki and whispered worriedly, "I thought he was immune to magic." Unconcerned, Nabiki chuckled, truly amused, "He's hamming it up to the hilt. I wonder what he plans to do now." Realization dawned in Akane, "You mean..." Then she smiled. Shampoo had meanwhile tried her other hand but it had gotten ensnared as well. Twister went on, "I shall take you away from all this, my dear heart." He released her hands and Shampoo was relieved for a moment. That is, until Twister swept her off her feet and started running swiftly away in the direction of Ranma-chan, who was starting to get it after looking very puzzled for a while. "Stop crazy man!" Shampoo was frantic. This unknown person had intercepted her blows, caught her off guard, and was likely under the influence of the magic in her cookies. Twister stopped. "Why so my love?" "I _not_ your love! Release Shampoo now!" "Are you sure my love?" Twister said in a sad tone. "Shampoo sure!" "Very well my love..." Suddenly the crazy man grinned. He had pretended to run and had floated over the pond. Then, when he had stopped in the middle, he had slowly started increasing his altitude. They were about ten feet up in the air now. Shampoo finally realized that they had somehow reached a formidable height above the ground and her eyes widened. Twister dropped her at that point. "Happy splashdown, my love!" He cried after her. Shampoo had just opened her mouth to scream when she reached the water. SPLOOSH! Twister floated back down to ground level and touchdowned at the edge of the pool. He turned to the laughing Ranma-chan and Akane that were beside him. "Think she'll be mad at me?" He said innocently. "Furious." Ranma-chan laughed. Twister sighed dramatically and put a hand over his heart. "Ah. Farewell my lost love..." Akane giggled, "I really thought you had been affected by that cookie." He winced, "Please. I wouldn't _wish_ that much syrup on anyone who didn't deserve it." Looking in the pond, he continued, "Speaking of just deserts..." Shampoo-cat was almost at the pond's shore. Her little paws were frantically moving to reach the ground ahead. Ranma-chan looked at her with rapidly widening eyes and quickly ducked behind Akane, who rolled her eyes at Ranma's phobia of cats, in fright. Twister took pity and picked Shampoo-cat out of the pond. "I don't believe we've been introduced yet. Name's Twister. Nice day for a swim, no?" The waterlogged feline managed to look angry yet docile in a cute sort of way. He turned around and started towards the kitchen. "Better get her clothes Ranma. I believe she'll need them soon and since you're already wet..." Ranma-chan kept Akane between her and Shampoo-cat as she called out the affirmative in a shaky voice. Twister mused to himself as he walked with Shampoo-cat, *Why do I seem to be dousing everyone with water lately?* Chapter Fifteen --------------- A completely cloaked figure walked up a misty trail hidden in the mountains. A darkness beyond mere shadow prevented anyone from seeing what lay hidden inside the hood. The man who called himself the Guide spotted this strange person approaching him. This was not unusual. Only strange people visited this place it seemed. The place's reputation was such that only that kind of person, or those who did not believe the power here, would visit. The figure silently glided smoothly towards him. Before he could greet this visitor, he was beaten to it by a pleasant voice that originated from within the hood. "" The figure spoke in fluent Chinese. "" "" He bowed. "" The figure replied. A chuckle escaped from the hood. Twister had left to allow the girls to change Shampoo back with the hot water. His contemplation of the pool was shattered by a enraged shout. "WHERE TWISTER?!!" Twister paled. "Urk!" came out of his mouth. *YI! YI! YI! YI! Time to use that 'unnoticeable' trick _big_ time!* And he started doing just that. A now-clothed Shampoo rushed out into the pond area, wielding her maces. *Now _where_ did she get those?! Think 'ignore me' Twister!* On reflection, she wasn't likely to be able to kill him but he wasn't sure about him doing that accidentally to her. That fact didn't help his panic on seeing Shampoo, *Hell hath no fury...* Shampoo glared around the area, eyes passing right over Twister, and noticed nothing. Leaving her cookies that were still on the plate, she got on her bike and shouted, "When Shampoo find Twister she kill!" With that pleasant thought in mind, she biked through the fence and pedaled swiftly away. Ranma, Akane, and Nabiki ran out to try to prevent a fight but found nothing. Nabiki called out worriedly, "Twister?" "Furious?! I'd say 'completely and utterly berserk and hounding for my blood' would have been more accurate." Twister sarcastically said from his unnoticed position beside Ranma. "Yah!" Ranma jumped up five feet into the air. "What did you say anyway? She didn't look _near_ that mad as a cat." "Akane told her you were immune to magic and that you knew about the cookies," Nabiki replied. Thoughtfully, Twister mused, "Maybe I shouldn't have dunked her..." Nabiki smiled, "A bit after the fact now." Ranma glared at Twister for the scare he got, then smirked. "Well, she won't be after me for a while anyway." Akane turned on him, "Ranma! That's not funny!" "Actually it was," Twister grinned, "Shampoo certainly had that coming with that obvious magical cookie ploy." He chuckled at the memory. Spying the abandoned cookies he went over and picked them up. Presenting it to Nabiki he declared, "Cookie, Madam?" "No thanks, I'll pass." Twister grinned, "Ah well. More for me I guess. They _are_ good." So saying, he munched another cookie. Akane had calmed down but was still glaring at Ranma, "Well, Shampoo _has_ had that coming for some time." "Why should you care, Akane?" Ranma jibed. "What makes you think I care about you! You pervert!" "Well, no one would want a tomboy like you!" Ranma and Akane would have continued but Twister passed between the two and called out behind him while heading towards the house, "Be back in a sec, Nabiki! I'm just going to get the popcorn and soft drinks and I'll be right back!" He was halfway to the door before he was thrown, laughing, into the pond by Akane and Ranma. Shampoo returned to her family restaurant still enraged. *I will kill that Twister!* She thought murderously, *Pretending to be enchanted and making a fool of me! In front of Ranma yet!* Cologne saw Shampoo's furious state and wondered at it. Normally, Shampoo was calm most all the time. "" "" Shampoo banged her maces on a countertop, denting it a little. "" Cologne was surprised. "" Shampoo told her about the deception that Twister pulled off and what Akane told her later. "" She looked faintly puzzled in her anger, "" Cologne looked grave. "" She chuckled, "" Looking more thoughtful, "" Shampoo looked depressed from her great-grandmother's words, "" "" Cologne continued, "" Cologne chuckled. "" With new determination, Shampoo replied, "" She straightened and hit the two maces together to punctuate this fact. Hiding behind a wall, Mousse overheard the entire conversation. *Someone humiliated Shampoo? Then he must die at my hands and Shampoo will thank me for revenging her. This Twister will fall to the many hidden weapons of Mousse!* He left the restaurant quietly. Chapter Sixteen --------------- After supper, Twister asked Nabiki to follow him up to the guest room. Wondering what he wanted, Nabiki strode forward past him and sat on the bed. "What did you want to talk about?" Nabiki was curious. Twister leaned on a wall, "I just wanted a little help figuring out what to do tomorrow and I thought your sneaky mind could be of immense help." He grinned. She raised an eyebrow, "You don't know yet?" Twister sighed, "I always _did_ wait till the last minute." Chuckling at that Nabiki thought about the problem. Twister continued, "I thought of tripping him but that's too crude. Spinning him around till he fell over isn't funny enough." He sighed. "A good practical joke is hard to think up even _with_ prime material like Kunou." Twister grinned at that last statement. Nabiki looked up suddenly and smiled. Noticing this, Twister backed away, "Uh oh. I can tell this is gonna be _bad_." He paused, then smiled with Nabiki. "For Kunou that is." Smiling even more, Nabiki asked him, "You only have a problem with _water_ right?" Twister nodded. Now she grinned openly. "I'm going to have to take my camera for this." "I can hear the Bells of Doom ringing for upperclassman Kunou even now." Twister laughingly predicted. The sun was just starting to show on the horizon when Twister woke the next day. He rubbed his eyes and looked out the window, *Huh? I got up even _earlier_ today? Must not need as much sleep anymore. Probably slept as long as I did yesterday because I was still recovering from the fight.* Twister got up and stretched. *I wonder. The Event must not have been a picnic either since it's the only thing I can't _remember_ it. I was likely a little tired before even fighting Malkon, which finished the job of exhausting me. I wonder how long it will be till I'm _fully_ recovered. There's a frightening thought.* Getting off of the bed, Twister regarded the same borrowed clothing Nabiki had taken from Ranma. *I also need a wardrobe. Just can't wear the same clothes every day. I do _not_ want to live off the Tendos like a leech. Hmm. Income.* Since he had time before the rest of the house woke up, he put some thought into it. After a time, an obvious idea flashed in his mind. *But it was only temporary that time.* He worried. Then he shook his head. *And done on purpose and rushed to boot. I think I can remember the pattern but it's still going to be hard. I said it before. It's the small things that are really hard.* Twister sat cross-legged and got ready. *Here we go...* Everyone was gathered for breakfast except Twister. Nabiki was about to go get him when she saw him walking down the stairs. He looked like he had been running for a while because he was sweating. She raised her eyebrow inquiringly at him. "Sorry, I was trying something out and lost track of time." He looked triumphant. Akane asked, "When did you get up?" "Oh, about two hours ago." He sat down. Ranma stared at him. "Two _hours_? What were you trying that took _that_ amount of time or are you just slow?" Ignoring that last, Twister answered him, "Looking for future income possibilities." He looked at the table."You know, every time I do something hard my appetite increases and if I don't for a while I lose any desire to eat. Funny." He shrugged and started eating. Nabiki was still curious, "Income possibilities?" "I'll show you after this morning's...activities. Don't forget your camera." He grinned. She grinned back. Ranma and Akane were both curious but Twister stopped their questions by saying, "It will be _much_ funnier in the aftermath..." Nabiki and Twister left early so they would have time. Walking quickly they got to the school before Kunou and got ready. Ranma and Akane came much later, wondering what the pair were going to do. Once they got to school they didn't have to wonder much longer. Akane and Ranma gaped at the sight when they arrived at the entrance of the school. The school had an extended protective overhang to shield the front doors from rain. Kunou was apparently stuck, at the waistline, onto this overhang. That wasn't all. Twister had borrowed syrup from Kasumi's kitchen and had somehow sprayed it evenly all over Kunou's body and clothes. Then, he had managed to gather enough leaves to cover practically every square inch of his body, except for the face, with green shrubbery. Twister had even hardened the syrup on Kunou's arms so that they stuck straight out like a scarecrow. The result was this leafy, green man that looked like a scarecrow, hanging like a good-luck horseshoe, over the entrance to the school. Several students were gathered below him wondering how he got up there in the first place and how they could get him down. And how to shut him up. "I am the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High! I will not be disgraced like this! I will have my revenge on the persons responsible for this outrage!" He spotted Akane and Ranma below him trying not to laugh and failing miserably. "Ranma Saotome! _You_ are responsible for this! I will flay the living flesh from your body and let it fly towards the sea for the fish to eat!" "Oh, put a sock in it Kunou! How did you think that _I_ could do...," Ranma pointed at Kunou, "That??" "Black magic, you foul fiend! The same that entraps the beautiful, pig-tailed one!" Kunou shouted. Ranma rolled his eyes. Taking another look at the hilarious image of Kunou for something to cheer him up on a bad day, he said to Akane, "Come on, we'd better get to class." He shouted up at Kunou, "I wouldn't hang around all day Kunou!" Laughing, Akane and Ranma entered the school. They could hear Kunou's voice fading as the doors closed, "Get me down from here you ignorant fools! Takewati Kunou will not tolerate being humiliated like this for..." Twister was still laughing softly in Ranma and Akane's classroom when they came in. He just couldn't get that image of Kunou, sticking out like a big, green, piece of moss on the school, out of his mind. No one had realized he was in class because of his 'unnotice me' trick. *Hahahahahaha. Deities, that was funny! Especially after he realized what had been done to him. He'll _never_ figure it out.* Looking at Ranma and Akane's faces, he could tell that they had seen Kunou as well. Mirth like that is hard to hide. Ranma spotted Twister sitting in a desk and sat down in the desk beside him. Still laughing he asked, "How did you manage to hang _up_ that jerk?" Moving his eyebrows up and down, Twister reponded, "Trade secret." Seeing Akane sit down as well he went on, "Also, it wouldn't be funny if I told you." He smirked. "Besides, Nabiki used up a whole roll of film when I was done. You can chortle at the wallet and poster size photos soon. For a price. As always." He sighed, "Nabiki's likely to sell the negatives to Kunou for a hefty price so you'd better get prints soon. I do _good_ work if I do say so myself." Worrying, Akane asked, "Why are you in our class anyway? Aren't you worried about the teacher? You _do_ look young enough to still be in high school you know." Twister didn't look worried, "I told Nabiki that I needed to see your reactions when you got here. After seeing Kunou, she could readily agree with that sentiment." He grinned. "Anyway, I planned on staying for a class just to remember my high school days. I'll just be _unnoticed_. It really doesn't take much to do it." Ranma snorted, "You're gonna have to stand then. This is a full room usually." Twister's face fell. "Miss Hinako would go after anybody who missed class." Recognition lit in Twister's eyes. "Owch. This _is_ the teacher who you have been trying to rid of that nasty battle-aura draining power?" Ranma nodded sourly, "Not much luck I take it. Oh well. Stand I shall do." Twister walked to a back corner and leaned on a wall while Ranma and Akane's classmates asked them why they were talking while facing away from each other. The teacher in question then entered the class. She looked like a kid to Twister but he knew what power she had. Very effective class control. He was still in an 'unnotice me' mode fortunately. Being disciplined by _her_ might not be pleasant. He prepared himself for the typical boring class to start and looked at the floor. "Who are _you_?" A high-pitched, girl's voice asked. Startled, Twister looked up and saw Hinako looking right at him. *Uh oh. Apparently, she can see though the 'unnotice me' trick. Not good Twister.* "Uh..." He noticed the class staring at him as he had only let Akane and Ranma know he was there. "Just an interested observer. I was curious about your teaching and decided to drop in on a class." Twister didn't have much hope of her buying that. "You don't look like an observer. You look like a delinquent." *Strike that. Make that _no_ hope.* Grinning weakly, Twister went towards an open window, "Well, now you see me, now you don't," He jumped outside. Just before he hit he slowed his fall. *Probably didn't need to, but...* THUMP! *Uh oh.* Twister looked behind him and saw Hinako glaring at him. *Great. I have _no_ idea what her power will do to me. Unfortunately, I may be about to find out. Beat retreat feet.* Twister ran like the blazes and Hinako went after him. He heard something behind him but couldn't hear because of the wind going past his ears. Then he knew as he felt an extremely faint tug on him. *She must have tried that power. Must not have worked.* He looked behind and was shocked. Hinako had grown to amazon size and was still chasing him. He was going at a cruising speed and wasn't tired but she was starting to puff. *How much did she drain? I certainly didn't feel much of a loss...* They had been running around the school and were now at their starting point. Twister decided to stop and experience some practice. Hinako saw him stop and smiled slightly. *Think I'm giving up??* Out loud he said, "I wouldn't be so smug lady. I'm not the one who's puffing after draining enough energy to change. Off of me to boot." "Prepare yourself delinquent," The voice had matured and was husky sounding, "My wrath is great." Hinako held up both hands and a crackling bolt of power roared towards Twister, who didn't move fast enough and got caught by it. He was flung onto a tree and slammed into it with bone-jarring force. Shaking his head, Twister quickly recovered his wits. *Owwww.... THAT hurt. That blast is powerful all right. That coin manouver sure is strong and when she uses it...* He blinked as he thought of something. Against a telekinetic. DUH! *Shoot! Idiot! I should've realized that before. She can't drain without a circle. Well, bye bye yen piece.* Focusing lightly, Twister twitched the coin out of the Teacher-From-Hell's two fingers. "You should wash those greasy hands you know." Twister commented offhandedly. Hinako had shrunk down to normal size after her power bolt, "That's not funny, you bad boy!" She reached for another coin. *Hm. I have a feeling she's going to miss her class. Oh well.* After approximately a hundred more tries, with Twister just standing there getting bored, Hinako gave up in frustration. Twister walked up close to her. "You know, you drained only a _very_ small piece of my aura that first time. And I wasn't tired one bit. Imagine what would have happened if I had _let_ you take more than that..." She looked puzzled, "Overload. Over-charge. Meltdown." He pantomimed an explosion. The hint registered and she stared in shock. He nodded. "Not very healthy. Besides, I finished high school three years ago. I just look younger than I am." He looked at the tower clock. "Well I've wasted enough of your time, your class is over by the way. I'll just mosey on." He smiled. "Bye teach." Twister walked away. Looking back, he saw her still in shock with Ranma-chan quietly advancing on her from behind. *Well, that'll teach her not to make assumptions rapidly...I hope.* Chapter Seventeen ----------------- Twister waited outside for lunch hour to go talk with Nabiki. Fortunately, his body had recovered enough so that he was only mildly hungry. "Ah. Don't need to eat right now." He grinned, "The reaction I think I'm going to get from Nabiki will drive away any thoughts of eating." Touching the object in his pocket reassured him. It felt as stable as everything else around him. "This should make her perk up. Heh." Entering the school again while thinking 'unnoticeable', and looking out for Miss Hinako, Twister found the cafeteria. After a bit of searching, he saw Nabiki sitting by herself. Puzzled, he looked around some more and saw Ranma and Akane each with a group of schoolmates. *Hmm. Guess blackmail doesn't make many friends.* He felt depressed for some reason. Walking over to her table and sitting opposite her, he waited till she was drinking some milk, "HEL-lo!" He said happily. He got his wish. Nabiki sprayed milk from her mouth...right onto Twister's face. Nabiki started to shout at him but the sight of his milk covered, rue-filled expression started her laughing instead. Wiping his face, Twister sourly said, "THAT worked well..." "You got what you deserved scaring me like that." She giggled. *Nabiki? Giggle? Hm. She _must_ be amused...* He put on a mock-pouting expression, "Well, maybe I shouldn't show what I worked on this morning." Nabiki's interest was piqued. "Come on," She smiled, "You don't fool me. What is it?" "Wellll...." Grinning, he took the object and placed it on the table in front of her. She looked at it in a questioning manner. Then realization dawned. "That isn't what I think it is???" Nabiki shouted, astonished by the object. The entire cafeteria went silent and stared at her, more surprised by the fact that it was Nabiki who shouted than by the noise itself. Nabiki looked embarrassed while Twister looked on in amusement as he had gone back to 'unnotice me' mode and was missed by everyone. After everyone lost interest, Twister chuckled, "Yup. Took a while to figure out the sucker, and make it, but it's as solid and stable as any natural one. The reason I was sweating this morning was that it's a _hot_ process. Excess oxygen." He scratched his head. "I can make larger ones but the larger it gets the slower it takes. More surface area." He grinned then, "Solves my income problem anyway." Nabiki picked up the object, "A diamond." She shook her head as her eyes checked out the jewel. "Completely flawless too." He shrugged. "If it's examined, people will know it's not a natural one. I made it in a small vacuum and used only carbon from the air so there are _no_ impurities. Some people might question how _that_ neat little trick was done." With an appraising look in her eye, she replied, "Some people would pay quite a lot for something that has no _impurities_, diamond or not. This _looks_ like a perfectly cut diamond and that fact cannot be denied." "Well, its definitely not natural and the cut was how I formed it. I could have made the edges sharp to the molecular level but I don't think that would be easy to explain...or handle for that matter." "No, it would not," Nabiki chuckled, "I think I can ask someone I know in college about how much a perfectly good, flawless, pure carbon diamond would go for." She grinned. "With the way they spend their grants there I think I can find a nice price for this. No questions asked. It will likely fetch a higher price as a research object than as an ordinary diamond." Twister leaned back, "Heh. I _knew_ you would likely have an idea of where to sell it." Nabiki smiled broadly, "Now about my commission..." He groaned. "Uh oh." *Whew! She sure can debate fees!* Twister was walking back to the Tendo home after his little 'talk' with Nabiki. The fact that Kunou had finally managed to get down from their little prank had amused him on the way out from the school. *Anyway, she'll likely have that thing sold by Wednesday. She sure moves fast when she wants too.* He grinned at the memory of her shouting in the cafeteria. *That solves income for a while. The fact that I'm going to pay Mr. Tendo for room and board helped my case against her's. The other reason was that I want some clothes of my own. That Nabiki will get more after this first diamond mollified her.* As he was happily contemplating this, he failed to notice someone landing on the spot which he had walked over a second ago. "Are you the one called 'Twister'?" Someone called out behind Twister, startling him. Turning around, Twister got a look at the person who asked the question. He was a Chinese, black-haired young man. His hands were hidden by the sleeves of his robe as they were folded in front of him. He was wearing glasses. This last fact gave Twister his questioner's identity. Mousse. *Oh boy. Why do I think this has something to do with me making fun of Shampoo? Especially when she herself is not here. Acting on his own then. Great. Two vendettas for the price of one.* Nervously, Twister replied, "Moi? Ah, I think you may be mistaken. Maybe you should check those glasses." "I think I am not." Mousse stated to Twister's dismay, "You must pay for what you did to Shampoo, my future wife." *Ah well. He ain't gonna _not_ fight.* Thinking sourly, he shrugged inwardly, *Engage full sarcasm mode Ensign. Aye aye Captain.* Arching his right eyebrow, Twister chuckled, "Ever ask _her_ permission about that?" _That_ got a reaction. Mousse growled as he prepared himself, "You will die for that fool." Chapter Eighteen ----------------- The two combatants faced each other in the middle of the street. They were unaware of a third person watching them from a rooftop. *Foolish Mousse! This Twister made a fool of me and he thinks he can take _him_?* Shampoo shook her head. *This at least gives Shampoo a chance to study Twister's abilites. I will watch and maybe if Mousse lucky he will win and Shampoo will not have to kill Twister herself.* She looked dubious. *Twister does not look overly worried though. I think Mousse in for bad fight. Teach him right. Shampoo do her revenge on her own.* Meanwhile, on the street, Twister got ready. *Mousse is a master of concealed weapons. Joy. I think a weapons merchant would be delighted with the array of stuff Mousse is going to chuck at me.* He was a little worried. *I don't think I'll be able to catch the stuff by TK. I'm not that good yet. He'll be moving too fast himself. I'll dodge what I can before boosting myself.* He grinned. *_Then_ he'll be in for a shock.* Suddenly, Mousse attacked. The air between them was suddenly filled with eight sharp blades connected to chains. "Oh shit!" Twister cried. He barely managed to dodge four of the blades but there were too many. Three sliced through his clothes at his sides, grazing him, and he got caught in the shoulder by the eighth one. "Damn!" The blade had sliced though muscle like butter and the injury hurt like Hell, disrupting his concentration. His left arm hung uselessly. Mousse regarded Twister, "You do not fight very well. Even Ranma could have avoided that." "Buddy," Twister ground out, holding his bleeding shoulder, "I have never studied martial arts and I am still very green to fighting. What I _can_ do now is the result of the Event. I _was_ planning to go easy on you." He narrowed his eyes. "I have never really been this hurt before and because of that...," The blue aura started shining, "The kid gloves are off." Mousse was surprised at the blue glow that surrounded Twister. It flared brightly and he had to turn his head. When he looked back he stared in shock. The shoulder he had hit had been Healed and Twister was moving it around, testing it. Twister looked at Mousse with a very faint blue glow in his eyes. The look of astonishment in Mousse's eyes took Twister's anger away but the blue aura stayed. "Mousse," He cheerfully called out, "Prepare to become Whipped Cream." This display of power prompted Mousse to launch his chain blades in an attempt to wound Twister again. Unfortunately, with his now power-boosted body, Twister easily avoided all eight blades this time and even managed to catch four of them as he dodged. Moving like lightning, he ran to Mousse and started running like a blue streak around him. The chains wrapped around Mousse like a steel cocoon, pinning his arms to his sides securely. Finishing the impromptu wrapping job, Twister tied one chain to the wrapped ones on Mousse's back, just below the head. Twister regarded the package at his feet, Mousse looked stunned. *Not surprising. I feel a little stunned myself.* He gripped the chain that he had just attached, and talked to Mousse brightly, "I just remembered. I haven't really looked around town yet. I think I'll do that right now." Twister's glow was gone but he was still able to run a good clip as he dragged the now cursing, chained Mousse behind him. "You can be my tour guide..." Twister called out as they went off into town. Shampoo watched as Twister dragged the helpless Mousse away. *Well, Mousse helped me by showing more of Twister's abilities to me.* She stared thoughtfully at the departing pair. *He did not go up in the sky but he did Heal himself. That is not good. It means he can take a lot more hits and still function with an uninjured body.* Worriedly, she pondered a statement Twister had said, *Never studied martial arts? And still he defeated Mousse? Easily, for that matter. That aura is strange as well.* Ponderingly she continued, *He mentioned something called the Event that had given him his abilities. Perhaps great-grandmother would know about that.* She heard something in the alley below her and looked down. She spotted the familiar form of Ryouga, lost as usual. An idea came to Shampoo. *Ryouga was at the Tendo home before I was humiliated. Maybe _he_ knows more about Twister.* She decided and dropped down cautiously in front of Ryouga. "Nihou Ryouga! Shampoo glad to see you." She smiled Ryouga looked a little startled that Shampoo would seek him out. "Why the visit Shampoo?" He asked loudly. Shampoo was unperturbed. "Shampoo have question to ask..." Sighing wearily, Twister made it back to the Tendo residence. *Maybe I shouldn't have run that long. Dragging a load like that for three hours through town is tiring.* He chuckled, *That was old, yet inspired, what I did at the end there.* Flashback:------------------------------------------------------------------- Twister finally stopped in front of Shampoo's restaurant. Quickly, he compressed links in the chain he had used to drag Mousse all over town into a steel bar with his hands. Then, he bent this bar into a classic bow, like those put on Christmas presents, and fixed it on Mousse. Mousse was not in good shape. He would be having bruises from all the times Twister had made a particularly sharp turn, and scratches by being dragged on the ground for three hours, though the imprisoning chains had protected him a lot. He was currently unconscious. Twister looked at him, propped him up on a wall, adjusted Mousse's glasses, which had somehow stayed on, and left. Smiling like a maniac. End Flashback:--------------------------------------------------------------- He savoured that sight. After all, Mousse had been trying to kill him at the time. School had ended an hour ago so Akane, Ranma, and Nabiki were back already. They didn't miss his dusty appearance and the large, bloody tear on his shoulder where Mousse's blade had struck. Nabiki was shocked. "What happened to you?!" Twister sat down tiredly and looked straight up. "Let's summerize today. Hm. Played practical joke on Kunou. Check. Get chased around by a energy-draining, juvenile teacher. Check. Conduct financial affairs with resident of this house. Check. Drag love-crazed Mousse though city in chains after said person tries to kill me for insulting person Mousse is love-crazed for. Check." He paused. "I think that concludes today's events. Now, I shall collapse." Spreading his arms wide, he flopped backwards and closed his eyes. "Any other questions?" Ranma considered Twister's shoulder, "How badly did Mousse get you? The blood on that tear says he tagged you pretty good." Picking himself up, Twister sighed, "I was too cocky and when he threw his first assult I couldn't avoid the last blade and he disabled my arm." They all looked shocked, "This, as you can guess, ticked me off to say the least. I went blue and Healed my arm. Mousse was a _little_ concerned at that and at the few choice words I said to him. He then fired off another volley but I was powered-up by then and dodged it easily. I proceeded to then tie him up with said volley and dragged him all over town for three hours. I left him gift-wrapped at Shampoo's. I was upset, as you can tell." Shaking his head, Ranma replied, "Huh. He won't forgive that." Twister snorted, "He's _already_ wanting to kill me for embarrassing Shampoo. I don't think you can get much worse than that." Akane spoke up, "Well, you'd better get cleaned up." She indicated his dusty state. "Supper won't be much longer." Sitting up, he groaned, "Best thing, I've heard today. Hm. Make that second best." He grinned at Nabiki. She returned the grin, "Don't worry. It won't take long." Nabiki noticed everyone else's stares. "I'll tell you on Wednesday. That ok, Twist?" "Fine with me. Now if you'll excuse me..." He headed for the well deserved bath. Nabiki grinned at the attention on her. "You can wait, it's just some finance." Ranma turned his head to the side and muttered, "Oh great. This I can't _wait_ to find out about." Chapter Nineteen ---------------- Tuesday morning was uneventful, Twister carried Nabiki's books for her to school, making everyone ask what she had on him. He turned a puzzled eye on them and said, "I'm just carrying some books. Sheesh!" Before he left, Nabiki asked him, "What are you doing today, anyway?" Twister scratched his head, "Well, I'm going to _try_ to make some more _friends_ today or else they'll become _enemies_." His expression soured, "Heck knows I've made plenty of those already." He thought a bit. "Likely, Ukyou first. She's only after Ranma. I'm not sure who else though. Maybe.... Nah. Well, you'd better get to class." He looked around. "Where's Kunou?" Nabiki chuckled, "Probably lying in wait for Ranma somewhere so he won't be surprised like yesterday." He shook his head, "Some things never change. Well, see you later." "You too. Good luck." Then she walked in the door. Twister stared after her for a few seconds, then shook his head and left. Wandering around and window shopping a bit, Twister finally found Ukyou's okonomiyaki restaurant. He glanced at the money he had borrowed, sorry, make that _loaned_, from Nabiki. He grinned at that thought. Nabiki definitely knew he was good for it but habit is hard to break. It was enough for something large anyway. He prepared himself and walked in. Walking around the restaurant he finally found a table and waited. It was a nice place inside and the food smelled delicious. Someone came up behind his seat and came around him to take his order. The huge spatula on her back marked her. "What do you care to order?" Ukyou asked. She was looking curiously at Twister's borrowed clothing, cleaned from yesterday's fight. It was likely something she had seen on Ranma before. He smiled at her and said, "Hi. Do you have a house special?" She responded to the friendly response and smiled as well, "Yes we do. Do you want that?" "Sure. I think it was recommended by Ranma but I can't remember." *This from someone with a perfect memory now.* "I wouldn't mind trying it anyway. The smell alone is great." He could see the curiousity building until it burst out. "How do you know Ranma?" Ukyou had never seen this person before. "I just arrived less than a week ago. I'm staying at the Tendo's now." He grimaced. "I came in kinda a rush and didn't bring much in clothing. That's why I'm wearing some of Ranma's clothes since you're wondering about it." Her blush made him grin. "I've had some bad encounters already so I'd thought to meet you in a friendly way. I've had few meetings that could've turned out better." He sighed. Ukyou was curious about that. "With who?" "I think the worst one will be Shampoo. She'll be trying to kill me." Ukyou looked a little shocked at that so he explained. "She was trying some magic cookies on Ranma. I sort of turned the tables on her and dunked her in the Tendo pond." Ukyou looked extremely _pleased_ now. "She made the most nasty threat to kill me. Probably because Ranma saw it all." He shrugged. "Ah well. Ranma at least won't have to deal with her for a while. A _long_ while I hope." Mirth was showing on Ukyou's face but didn't laugh at his predicament. "Who else? Oh." Realization dawned. "Yup. Mousse too. Though after I dragged him though town for about three hours, I don't think I'll worry about him for a while. This 'little' rip on my shoulder _he_ made before I took him sightseeing, was the reason I did it." Ukyou looked at the blood-stained rip and wondered aloud. "How come your arm doesn't look injured?" Twister grinned, "The trip I made had a few fringe benefits." His torso growled. "Oops." Grinning at the sound, Ukyou replied, "I'd better make that order you made. We'll talk some more after." Nodding, he replied, "Sure thing." Ukyou came out of the kitchen with the delightfully smelling dish. On her way to his table, she accidentally tripped and the okonomiyaki flew off the plate. Not wishing to have to wait any longer, Twister hurriedly focused on it and it stopped in mid-air. He grinned. *Nothing like hunger to hone skills for catching flying objects.* Ukyou had regained her balance and was staring at the unsupported okonomiyaki. It slowly went over to her and hovered a second over the dish she still held and dropped on it. She stared at it and then, on a hunch, at Twister. He smiled innocently, "One of those fringe benefits." "_Happosei_ brought you??" Ukyou looked incredulous. He sighed. "Yup. Unintentionally, but yes, he did." His eyes glowed blue so sightly Ukyou wondered if she was seeing things. "Also, another person whom I'd dearly love to forget." Ukyou looked inquiringly at him. "Happosei was _trying_ to summon a demon to forever annoy Ranma. Ranma hit him on the head and he botched the spell. Instead, he got some arch-demon called Malkon, who escaped the wards, and a little while later, me." Looking a little frightened, she asked, "What happened to that arch-demon? I would imagine even Happosei would have found it impossible to beat something like that." "_I_ beat him." Ukyou was surprised at that and looked as if he had gone mad. He explained. "Malkon and I were going to appear together due to the botched spell. That would be _bad_. As a solution, he threw me into something extremely powerful and most likely fatal to get rid of me. I somehow escaped it and appeared where Malkon had. My mind wasn't fully 'here' if you get my drift. All I knew was a cold rage at Malkon. I used the abilities I gained in the Event to defeat him." He shuddered. "I _hope_ he was destroyed." Ukyou was staring in awe at Twister, "You beat an _arch-demon_?" He nodded, "On the downside, I don't remember much of how I did it. Fragments I can recall and more vividly as I practice more." Nodding, she said, "That's understandable. Still, it is impressive." Chuckling, Twister continued, "I have a feeling I'll need all the power I _did_ get just to live around here." He looked at his empty plate and sighed. "Well, I'd better get going. That was a delicious meal and thank you for the conversation, even though I think I did most of the talking." He grinned. Ukyou smiled. "The pleasure was mine. Come any time if you need to talk with someone." "That may be every day then." He smiled at his remark. "Oh well, here's my money for the meal. And thanks again." She bowed. "Come back soon." Feeling pleased with himself, Twister walked along the street. *That went well for a change. Better than having someone trying to beat you up.* He slowed down as he remembered something, *Malkon. I should make sure that he truly was destroyed. Or not.* Twister's face went grim. *Now how can I find out? Who, besides Happosei, would be able...* He stopped. *Of course. I thought of going to her earlier and I _wondered_ why. I'd better make myself _unnoticeable_ to avoid Shampoo while I'm doing it.* Starting in the proper direction, he continued, *A Master like Cologne will likely see though it but that's not who I need it for.* Walking for a while, he eventually neared his destination. *Time to walk the hidden path...* He chuckled and did so. Walking cautiously into the restaurant, he looked around. *Yikes. There's Shampoo.* The femme fatale was working on the tables. *Now... Cologne is likely in the back so I'd better start there.* Keeping an eye on Shampoo, Twister walked into the kitchen, looking for his target. She wasn't there. Then he heard a soap opera on television in another room. Grinning, he went in that direction. Cologne was watching one of her favorite soaps when something caught her attention. She couldn't figure out what it was. She scanned the room and noticed nothing unusual but a feeling the something still wasn't right was there. Then a voice softly called out, "Ahem. Are you Cologne?" Twister knew when he walked in and saw Cologne start to react to his presence that he wouldn't be hidden for long so he revealed himself first. Cologne was sightly startled but hid it well when she suddenly saw a handsome, young man by the side of the television _opposite_ of the door. She realized at once who he was. Not many could sneak up on her like that. "May I presume you are Twister?" The young man sighed, "My name precedes me. I'm honoured." Chuckling, Cologne replied, "My great-granddaughter would not be pleased if she found you here. Do you want me to call her off?" He shook his head, "I'm fairly certain even that would not be enough." Sighing he continued, "I'm here about another matter that I need your help with actually." This intrigued her, "What matter may that be?" Twister thought a moment before he replied, "It's about something Happosei did." She was beginning to get suspicious now, "What did Happy do _this_ time?" "Around a week ago, he tried and botched a summoning spell. It may not be urgent but I need to know if a being he summoned was destroyed or not." A silent sinking feeling came over her, "What exactly did he summon?" "Me, for one," He smiled then grimly frowned, "The other was an arch-demon who called himself Malkon." Cologne paled sightly, "How come you think he _may_ have been destroyed? Those beings are extremely powerful." Twister sighed, "Because I attacked him while my mind wasn't exactly in a sane frame of mind and defeated him. I want to make certain he was destroyed or not." He frowned. "If not, I'll have to be prepared for him." Cologne was sightly shaken at the casual reference of attacking an arch-demon alone, "I don't think I have anything that would help you. Can you not sense him yourself?" "My powers are psionic. I don't think I feel anything threatening but if he moved far enough away then I wouldn't know." He sighed. "I hope he's not still around." He bowed at her. "Thank you for your time." "What do you plan to do about my great-granddaughter?" "Uhh. I'm not sure yet. Running away sounds good." Twister smiled. "Goodbye." And with that he walked out the door. The old Master shook her head, "Run away he says. He says he defeated a arch-demon and he says that." Shampoo entered the room, "Who you talk to great-grandmother?" "No one my child." She sighed. "Did you get anything about that Twister fellow?" "I talk to Ryouga. He mention Twister came from far off place by means of Happosei." She paused, "Also, when I listen to Twister when he fight Mousse he mention he got abilities from Event." Shampoo looked curious. "You know what that mean?" Cologne thought deeply, "Yes, I believe I remember something about that which you mention. It is believed to be the source of all Magic and Mind powers in all the universes. However, it is only found in the Void and no one has ever tried to enter it I believe." She stopped and her eyes widened. "Until now perhaps." Muttering to herself she said, "But he said psionic. Why no magic?" Shampoo looked a little frightened but determined, "Then Twister very powerful, great-grandmother? No matter. Shampoo find way to beat." He left out the door. Deep in thought, Cologne frowned, "Hopefully, that Twister finished the job. Unfortunately, demons can be _very_ hard to kill. I'd better be on the watch for strange happenings." Chapter Twenty -------------- Tuesday passed, and then Wednesday. Nabiki had completed the sale, albit with some raised eyebrows from the people she dealt with and hints that they might be wanting more of the same if she 'found' any more diamonds. Now Twister had quite a bit of money to spend on some clothes, even after insisting that Mr. Tendo take some money to pay for his residence there. Genma and Ranma had looked faintly guilty when he had done that. He waited till Thursday to go shopping with Ranma since he wasn't sure what to get or where to get it. "Thanks for coming along, Ranma. I have no idea where to go to get some clothes around here." He looked at his companion. "Though I think I'll pass on Chinese clothing for a while. I've been wearing this one far too long." Ranma kicked at a stone on the road, "No problem. I don't get out that often from the dojo after school and this is a good day to do it too." The fact that Nabiki had threatened him with some stuff she knew about him that he didn't want Akane to find out about was another, more persuasive, reason. Otherwise, he would preferred to have stayed at the dojo. "Hmm. Your generosity is boundless. Heh." Twister looked around at the stores around them, "Let's see. I've always liked blue, though some people say I look good in purple. Decisions, decisions." He grinned. Ranma did a double-take, "Wait a minute! Blue and purple?? Isn't that what you said the colors of Mind and Magic were?" Twister frowned. "Now there's a weird coincidence. Ah well. That's what I like. Can't do much about that." He shrugged. "I guess not. Well, I've think I've heard that store is good." Ranma pointed in a shop's direction. "Tally-ho then!" They marched off towards the store. As they got closer Ranma wondered out loud to himself, "I'm surprised Kunou hasn't attacked me yet. He thinks _I_ hung him on the school." "Well maybe he..." Twister saw a figure running towards them, "Speak of the devil." Ranma looked where Twister was looking and saw Kunou run up to a stop before them, wooden sword raised high. "HAH! So, you thought the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High would be scared of so easily, Ranma Saotome! Your dark magic cannot defeat those who fly with the gods in the heavens with their skill. I, Takewati Kunou, will defeat you and free the pig-tailed goddess from your clutches." Kunou prepared to attack. Twister and Ranma's eyes were half-closed in resignation. "Is he always like this?" Ranma sighed, "Always." "I pity you. I really do. I don't think I'd better do anything because he'll just think it's you anyway." Twister shrugged in helplessness. "Sorry." "I don't need help with this jerk. You'd better step back." Ranma got ready for Kunou. Stepping back as Ranma requested, Twister saw the fight start and waited for the victor to win. Glancing around, he froze at the sight of Shampoo, with maces in hand, running right at _him_! "Gurk!" was all he could manage. *Dang. Now what do I do? Too many people to do anything that my aura would show. Hmm. Time to see if practicing with catching moving objects has helped me any.* "Twister! Shampoo kill now!" Shampoo shouted. "What is this? Double teaming day? Sheesh!" He ducked the first swings of her maces and dodged away. "First Kunou vrs. Ranma, now Shampoo vrs. Twister. We definitely need a better promotion team." He spun away from her next strike. Lunging at him, she shouted, "Shampoo need no help!" Twister jumped right over Shampoo and landed ten feet behind her. "No. You most definitely do _not_ need more help. Any more help and I'd need a stretcher." He decided to get rid of the maces. "Wave bye-bye to your toys." He focused on the spheres. "What do you talk about dead man? Shampoo not..." She stopped talking as she started fighting her own maces to get them to stay in her hands. It looked like Shampoo was trying use Mexican percussion instruments. Finally, Twister had enough and yanked the maces out of her hands just as she was swinging them up. It looked like _she_ threw the maces herself. Shampoo knew better. She decided that she was still not ready to confront Twister. "Shampoo be back soon Twister! Then you die!" She jumped to a rooftop and bounced off. He sighed. "I wish she'd stop saying that. It's so depressing." "Oh...you get used to it." Ranma said behind him. Apparently, his fight with Kunou was over. Twister looked back and saw Kunou comatose on the sidewalk, people walking over him in their haste. "Riiight. Well, I guess the Master should know," He grinned at Ranma's face. "Shall we continue with what we were about to do? I'm dying for new clothes." The other waved for Twister to follow him, "Yeah. Might as well. Let's go." Happosei was in his room brooding. *What am I going to do? That Twister boy is sure to put a damper on my fun around here. Especially since I'm the one who brought him here.* Happosei was wringing a panty in his hands with worry. *If only he had a weakness I could use but if he got angry he'll treat me like he did that arch-demon.* He sobbed. *What to do. What to do.* It took him a moment to notice but a mist was starting to form in front of him. He quickly backed away, wondering what it could be. The mist formed a squarish outline and slowly solidified. It was a plain, unadorned cardboard box with a lid on top. Peering cautiously forwards, Happosei looked closer at the box's top lid. It had writing on it. Now certain it wasn't likely to be anything bad he got close enough to read the writing. It said: -------------------------------------------------------------- | To: Happosei, Master of the Anything-Goes Martial Arts School| | From: Malkon, Arch-Demon Extraordinare of the Lower Depths of | | Hell. | -------------------------------------------------------------- "So he's alive is he? I wonder why he gave me this? Not to harm me, it could have done so already. Well, I might as well open it." Carefully, like a bomb-disposal officer, Happosei lifted the lid and looked inside. "Now what is this?" He wondered curiously. The inside held a large, familiar looking object. On top of this was a note. Happosei quickly snatched up the note and read it. He started to smile. Then he started to laugh happily. Twister was grinning evilly and rubbing his hands in the spare guest room. "New clothes! New clothes! Bwahahahahahahah!!!" He loomed over the pile of newly bought fashion on his bed. Nabiki put her hand on her face and sighed with great suffering. Ranma looked disgusted. "It's only clothing Twister." "Huh! _You_ haven't been wearing well-ventilated, bloodstained with _my_ blood, clothing for the past few days. I'm getting tired of the reminder." Twister cackled over his booty again. "Hmp. Let 'im put something on or he'll drive us nuts." Ranma said. Twister's voice was muffled as his face was buried in clothing, "The squirrels gather outside. Waiting." He chuckled contentedly. Akane's voice came from outside in the hall, "Can you skate Twister?" Sighing, Twister stopped his joyous festivities, "Last time I checked. Why?" "Nabiki won a bet with someone and got four free passes to the indoor ice rink. We thought of going today since you have something to wear now." Ranma muttered, "Won or lost?" "Sure! Why not! Haven't gone in a while, I'm overdue." Twister grinned. "I'll get myself in gear and be ready in a sec." He paused in thought as he looked at the new pile of clothing. "It's deciding what to wear that's the killer..." After twenty minutes, the three outside were wondering if Twister as still alive. "Maybe Shampoo snuck in through the window..." Ranma suggested. "I think we would notice Ranma." Nabiki smirked. "Being quiet while attacking is not exactly her forte." "Ok ok! I'm ready!" Twister shouted though the door. The door opened. "Yow! The clothes _do_ make the man." Nabiki smiled. "Thank yew. Shall we go?" He extended his arm to Nabiki. "Let's." She wrapped her own arm in his and they walked ahead of Akane and Ranma. Ranma commented to Akane. "Alright. I can see that they sure are acting strangely together." Akane muttered, "Finally." SWISHH! Twister had forgotten how fun it was to race on the ice. Too bad this was a public rink and he couldn't go too fast. His enhanced body was able to handle the ice much better than he used to be able to do. The result was that he was going crazy over what he could do _now_. People were starting to clap at some of the things he was doing but he didn't notice it was for him. He was about to rejoin the others and calm down for a while when he saw they had company. He could see Ranma struggling to stay standing, he still had problems with skating, while Akane faced a golden-haired girl and Nabiki was trying to back away from a tall, handsome young man. This made Twister see a little red as he easily remembered who the pair were, or rather, the Golden Pair were. *Time for action.* He speed-skated towards the Pair and used a little levitation to rapidly increase velocity. Timing it just right, he whistled and called out, "Hey! Golden Pair!" As they turned, he used both skates to rapidly slow him down at such an angle that he scraped ice from the rink and blew it towards the Golden Pair. One skate blade each. When he had used up all forward momentum, he stopped, skated to stand by Nabiki and said rather loudly, "Look! Frosted Flakes! I thought those only came in cereal boxes!" Frosted the Golden Pair were. Head to toe, the front part of their bodies looked like they had been in a deep-freeze too long. Nabiki, Akane, and Ranma laughed at the comment. As well as some of the passer-bys who knew the Pair well. The Pair brushed themselves off slowly and looked at Twister. Mikado Sanzenin calmly regarded him, "So. The one who was skating very well indeed on the ice." He glanced at Ranma and the others. "You are with them?" "Yup. That I am." Twister crossed his arms. "What, pray tell, were you trying to do a moment ago?" Mikado ignored that last question, to Twister's annoyance, and replied, "You think you are better on skates than I?" *For avoiding that last question, Mr. Mikado is going to pay big time.* Twister thought before answering him, "I don't really know. Care to try a test and find out?" The male half of the Pair queriously asked, "What sort of test?" Twister detailed what he had in mind, "A simple one. We both go to one end of the rink and go as fast as we can towards the other end. The first one to swerve away from hitting the wall loses." Thinking about it Mikado agreed, "Very well, we shall wait a few moments for others to get out of the way and then we shall start." He skated away to prepare the rink for the test by clearing people away with Azuka helping. Akane went up to Twister with a question on her face, "Why do you want to see who is better?" "I'm not sure. I just got the strongest urge to do something to him." He glanced at Nabiki, "I don't know why." "Do something to him?" Twister smiled secretively, "Trust me." Chapter Twenty-One ------------------ The race would be short so people gathered on the walls to see the test between the well-known Mikado and that new skater who had done so well before, Twister. The two challengers were positioned at one end of the ice waiting for Azuka to make up her mind when to start. Twister commented to Mikado, "Last chance to admit defeat." Mikado looked faintly contemptuous, "I do not need to. All I have to do is watch you until you swerve away. I am the best." Twister smirked, "Okaayyy. Don't say I didn't warn you." From the middle of the ice and out of the two's path, Azuka finally decided to start. "Okay! Start on the zero!" Mikado and Twister got ready. "Three. Two. One. Zero!" They launched off. Twister slowly increased his speed until Mikado had all his attention on keeping up with him and looking at Twister. *His face is still calm. Well not for long.* Mikado on the other hand, was still confident. *We may be at both our top speeds but the one who swerves first loses and I will _not_ lose!* They were almost at the end of the rink when Mikado's calm was starting to fray. *When will he swerve? No matter, I _will_ defeat him.* Twister counted down, *Face plant manouver in three. Two. One. Gotcha sucker!* With a meter of distance left from the wall, Twister used his levitation and TK to do something impossible. He instantly turned ninety degrees, continued without losing momentum and slowly braked. Mikado did not have that advantage. ****WHAP**** *And we HAVE _FACEPLANT_!! The crowd goes wild!* Twister chuckled and then put on a sad face as he went over by the Mikado-depression in the wall. He bent over the unconscious Mikado and sorrowly sighed, "Well you didn't swerve first. You win." And then he grinned. The crowd watching looked a little stunned but some were laughing at what had obviously been a set-up. Ranma, Akane, and Nabiki, standing where the pair had started, included. "He never lets up...does he?" Ranma gasped when he caught his breath. He was more than happy that Mikado got humiliated by Twister because of that... incident. Ranma still gritted his teeth over that when he thought about it. "That sense of humour..." Nabiki smiled and shook her head. Akane looked at the damaged wall, "Mikado certainly deserved it." She stated firmly. Twister had skated a little distance away and was bowing to the crowd. "Thank you. Thank you. No applause please. Well, maybe a little." Azuka poked Mikado back to awareness. "Are you awake? Are you awake? Are you awake?" "Uhh... Yes, you stupid woman! I'm awake now!" He looked furious. "Where is he?" Azuka pointed in Twister's direction. He collected himself and stood up. Twister's back was to him. He didn't care. With Azuka following, he picked up speed. Nabiki saw Mikado gunning for Twister, "Look out!" Twister was uncomprehending at first, then he started to turn around. Too late. Mikado kneed him in the side in passing and he collapsed. Shouting out, Mikado declared, "I will kiss all the females in your party, fool!" He skated towards the others. Bad move. Recovering, Twister got up. *Wanna bet?* He concentrated. *Ice, be not nice.* The ice before the Golden Pair cracked and they tripped on it. They slid to a stop around the center of the rink. A square ramp of ice suddenly ripped up from the rink between Twister and the Pair. Gaining speed, Twister skated up the ramp. When he was launched into the air, he spun like a top with both legs outstretched, blades out. Mikado spread his arms wide and dodged to the side. One blade sliced through both sleeves and the chest area but missed the skin. His shirt was now falling apart. Twister landed nearby, stopped, and rushed towards Mikado. *Time to use my special move.* Mikado decided and started his Dance of Death. Twister ran into a whirlwind of punches and was caught in the move. *Ya! Jeez!* He was able to block half the blows coming at him but the damage was increasing. *Well then! Let's make things more interesting!* Ranma remembered this move well, "Oh great. Can Twister handle this?" Brow wrinkled in puzzlement as she watched the blur of the spinning manouver, Akane said, "Mikado didn't go this fast when he fought _you_ Ranma. He's still going faster! What is...?" Nabiki understood. "I think doing something like _this_ to someone named after a kind of tornado is _bad_. As Mikado is now realizing." Twister suddenly shot out of the spin on his skates, waving his arms trying to regain his balance. Nabiki rushed over and supported him. He didn't look too steady. "I think I shouldn't have done that so fast." He said shakily. Ranma and Akane looked at the now visible Mikado. As before, when he had done this to Ranma, he was unconscious. However, unlike Ranma's 518 punches, Twister hadn't hit him once. What he did do, was increase the spin so much that Mikado had blacked out and Mikado's skates had started digging a hole in the ice. He was now in a hole that was as deep as his neck. Only his drooping head was visible. Wincing, Twister checked out his injuries. "Owch. That smarts. I'll have to wait until getting back before Healing myself." He shook his head. "He made me so dizzy I had trouble dodging his blows." "Well, I wouldn't worry about it." Ranma was puzzled. "I don't think I've ever seen you physically punch anyone yet, Twister. Why not?" For a reply, Twister sighed, "Remember Ryouga? I'm afraid I might do something a little too hard by accidentally using TK when punching or kicking. If I did..." He shuddered. "There might not be much left or I might hurt someone else by accident." Nodding, Ranma replied, "Huh. I guess you can't learn anything in martial arts until you _know_ you can control it." "Yup." To himself, Twister wondered, *Why does Ranma look happy about that?* Nabiki glaced at the now devastated ice rink. "Well I guess it's time to go. Unless you care for a rematch?" She smirked. He groaned in reply. They returned home later. Twister was just beginning to Heal himself the slower, but less tiring, way and sat down to let it work. He sighed. "Well, I think I've fought almost everyone. Anyone I've missed?" "Kodachi. Principal Kunou. A few others." Ranma ticked off his fingers for each one, offhandedly. "Gah! I hope I don't encounter them in a bad way." Twister was almost done Healing. "Well, it was a nice time while we were skating without interruptions. Thanks Nabiki." He smiled at her, then yawned. "Hm. Must be more tired than I thought. I'd better go to bed. 'Night" Nabiki waved after him. "Good night. And thanks for rescuing me tonight." "Tis but mine duty, fair one." He chuckled and went up the stairs. Reaching his door, Twister stretched. *Whoo. That little fight tired me more than I thought.* Head drooping, Twister entered the room and flopped down on the bed, arms close at his sides and on his back. He fell asleep. SPLASH!! "Blub! WHAT THE...?" Twister woke up in shouting, wide awake with adrenaline in his veins. Happosei was in the doorway, holding a big bucket which he had just emptied on Twister, soaking him everywhere. He looked disappointed. The rest of the household by that time had gathered around the doorway and Ranma, Genma, and Soun were holding the old Master. Unnecessarily. Happosei didn't look like he was in any hurry to leave. "He promised that it would work!" Happosei cried out. Ranma shook him, "What are you talking about, you old lech?" Soaked, Twister sat up on the bed, "_He_ promised?" He asked queriously, "What 'he' are...you...talking...about?" Twister's voice wandered off as realization formed. "Tell me you are _not_ talking about Malkon!" He shouted at Happosei. Then he froze in shock. Twister's blue aura had appeared involuntarily and the others gathered by the doorway were staring at the display occurring before them. The blue aura sprang into blue flame that surrounded Twister. It was not hot, but it consumed the water that Twister was drenched in with an unusual effect. Wherever water evaporated, purple flames started appearing and spreading amongst the blue ones. Even the water on the bed was affected and added to the purple fire. Twister was barely visible at this point, it appeared he had been rendered unconscious and was lying on the bed again. Filling the room now, purple and blue fires warred with each other for domination. The group outside the door backed away fearfully. There was still no heat and now nothing could be seen inside the room. Then, for a brief moment, it seemed that the flames merged together, creating a purple-blue inferno that felt much more powerful, even though the flames stayed the same size. It broke apart again and it appeared the purple flames had won, for the blue ones were starting to vanish. When the flames were all purple, they started dying down. The flames shrank into the visible purple aura of the figure lying on the bed and even that vanished eventually. Everybody slowly gathered by the doorway again. Akane and Nabiki were concerned about the display and what it had done to Twister. The two rushed into the room and checked the bed. They stared in shock at what they saw. Twister came around then. "Uhhh... What the heck happened?" Nabiki paled. Akane swallowed, "Um. Twister. I think you should get ready for a shock." "Why? What happened?" Twister was concerned and a little scared. Nabiki got the room's mirror and gave it to Twister without a word, still pale-faced. Getting more agitated by their reactions, Twister looked into the mirror and froze. Akane sighed. "I guess Malkon found the cursed springs of Jusenkyou and sent some of it to Happosei." Twister stared into the mirror. Twister had seen that face before, except now it didn't have a pig-tail and was a little slimmer. "Oh joy. Twins." She fainted. Chapter Twenty-Two ------------------ Nabiki whirled on Happosei, "Why did you do _this_?!" She pointed at the unconscious, now-female Twister furiously. Looking unrepentant, Happosei replied, "Why not? Now there's another beautiful girl for me!" Happosei smiled gleefully. Uncharacteristically, Nabiki started advancing on Happosei with a very unpleasant look in her eye. Happosei saw this and paled, Master or no Master. Akane saved him by slipping by and grabbing Nabiki. "Calm down Nabiki. There's no point in doing anything to him now. The damage is done. It can't be helped." "But I would feel _so_ much better," Nabiki ground out, still eyeing Happosei. "Come on." Akane walked her over to the prone form of Twister and had her sit down. "You'd better be here when he...er...she wakes up. It should make her feel better." "I'll stay too." Ranma volunteered. "For obvious reasons." Sighing, Nabiki calmed down, "Thanks Ranma." Akane smiled, "You two have gotten close haven't you?" Nabiki stared at the people grouped at the door until they left before talking, "Yeah, I wouldn't have believed it but I think we have sis." She sighed. "Doomed." Then she smiled at Twister, "But at least in a funny sort of way. In this house, something like this was bound to happen sooner or later." Akane smiled, "At least Twister's shown similar signs though I don't think he's realized it yet." She frowned at Ranma who was out of hearing for the moment. "Unlike _some_ people I could name." Ranma sneezed and looked confused. Weird images swam though Twister's head before suddenly jerking awake. The sun was rising in the horizon and the sleeping forms of Ranma and Nabiki were visible close by. Twister wondered why they had slept in the guest room until memory returned in an unpleasant flash. She looked down at herself and groaned. The noise wake up the two guardians. "Are you ok?" Nabiki asked softly as she rubbed sleep from her eyes. Twister just put her head in her hands and groaned again. Ranma snorted, "I don't think that reassured him, Nabiki." Lifting her head up and in a slightly stunned voice, sighed, "Well, I've already had my body changed once already. Well," She glanced down, "Not _this_ dramatically..." Looking back up she continued, "I think I'm ok. Just... give me time to adjust to this. I think you can understand _that_, Ranma." "No kidding." "Where is Happosei?" Twister calmly said. Nabiki wasn't fooled. "I already thought of that Twister. Akane held me back and she was right. Get back at the guy who _gave_ him the water in the first place." Twister's lips tightened, "Malkon. I should have been ready." "How could you have been? You're still adjusting here and you were not even sure he had survived." Nabiki shook her head. "It's not your fault." "Saying that is easy. Feeling that is another." She sighed and then paused, "I can tell I can't use my psionic powers in this form but I can't get rid of this feeling that I'm...whole." Twister looked puzzled. "I wonder what those weird flames were all about." Ranma mused. Standing up in now-loose clothing, Twister shook her head. "I don't know what that was about. What I do need to do is take a walk." She thought for a second. "In this form, I think. I'd better get used to it. There's no point in crying over spilt milk." Glancing at Nabiki, she added, "Alone. I just need to think by myself for a while." "I understand. Just watch out. You look exactly like Ranma-chan now, minus the pig-tail of course." Nabiki tiredly smiled. "We have to get ready for school too." She got up and went with Ranma to the door. "I hope you feel better later." She left with Ranma. Twister sighed after they left. Unused to the different setup of her new body, she took a while to be able to walk around without feeling funny. Leaving the room and walking downstairs she snuck out of the house and just started walking down the street; not thinking much about the new situation and letting her mind go blank for a while. After a lot of walking, she came upon a strange scene that drew her out of her blank state. On the sidewalk ahead of her was a strange guy. He was kneeling and chanting some strange words out of a scroll. He stopped, looked around, and for some strange reason looked disappointed. Curious at this somehow familiar looking person, she walked up to him. On further inspection Twister saw he had...candles on his head?? *Now who has _candles_ on his head?* Twister still couldn't dredge up the memory, *No perfect recall. Great.* Now aware of her scrutiny, the guy stood up and looked embarrassed. Before he could start explaining, Twister queried in her now higher voice, "What are you doing?" Nervous at this strange female in front of him, he sputtered out, "C-casting a s-spell." He looked disappointingly at the scroll, "Or at least trying to." Intrigued, Twister asked, "You know magic?" "Yes! No! Um..." He looked down. "Trying to anyway." Looking down at what he was looking at, Twister saw a book. "What's that?" "Beginner's Guide to Magic." He said sourly. "It hasn't done me much good." "Can I look at it?" Twister tried to look cute. Nervous again, the strange guy nodded. "Sure. Go ahead." Picking up the strange book, Twister flipped though the pages with interest. Spotting a harmless spell that required a only a gesture, she tried it. Nothing happened. Twister looked disappointed. The guy smiled nervously, "You see?" Looking near the beginning, she found another spell. It was a rhyme for a light. Just for fun, not expecting anything this time, she spoke it out loud. "Power beyond imagination, Spell to help with sight, Give me now illumination, Shine _forth_ magic light!" Twister smiled, "Not too bad. It rhymes fairly well at least." She looked at him when no response came. The guy was staring above her head. Puzzled at his reaction, Twister looked up and gaped. Above her head was a ball of light, about a foot in diameter, shining a purple light. "Wha wha wha.... What the heck??" "You did it!" The guy seemed stunned. A little dazed, Twister muttered, "I must have. Now how do I turn it off?" Looking at the light above her gave her an idea, "Maybe if I will it off...?" Doing so, the light vanished. Staring at the now empty space, realizations dawned on her. "The Event. Mind _and_ Magic. Male _and_ female. They are both separate! Rhyme spells for _me_ work! Yes!" She was so excited by this new revelation that she hugged the guy unthinkingly, dropped the book, and ran off back to the Tendo residence, crying, "Thanks a lot!" Hikaru Gosunkugi was left staring after the girl who had made one of the book's spells function. "It _can_ work!" He cried suddenly and grabbed the book with hope restored in his eyes. Chapter Twenty-Two ------------------ Smiling grimly, Twister came back to the Tendo home. *Magic. Now that brings a whole new light on things.* She paused. *That could also be the reason Malkon sent that water. He _must_ have realized that this would happen.* Twister frowned. *Also, he didn't strike me as the wasteful type. No, he was very intelligent. Given time he wouldn't strike in useless anger. Demons have always been told as power-hungry in most stories that I've read and that brings a _nasty_ thought.* She shuddered. *Psionic power would be useless to him; he's a being of magic. If my power in _this_ form is equal, as it must likely be to my male side, then...he'll try to take it for himself. How? Hmm. Not in a very pleasant way I bet. I'd better start preparing myself.* She continued to mull over this as she entered the house. Kasumi saw her enter. "Are you all right Twister?" She looked a little worried. Twister sighed, "If Ranma can handle it so can I." "I made some hot water for you to change back." "Thanks Kasumi, I'll..." A chilling thought came over her. "...do it in an hour. There's something I think I have to do first." Puzzled, Kasumi nodded, "All right." Walking quickly upstairs, Twister went into her room. *I can't _believe_ I forgot that. Practically every magic-based novel I've read has had scrying spells to watch enemies. The only solution was counter-spells. Which I had better make quickly or Malkon will know exactly what I'm doing.* Sitting down, Twister tried to consider all possible methods of spying with magic. One: Normal sight. Two: Normal hearing. Three: Using animals to see with their senses. Four: Magical constructs instead of animals. She finally gave up on specifics. *Hmm. Why not just cast a spell that prevents him from spying _period_. A good all-round shielding spell that would prevent him from extending his senses into the town. That would cover all bases.* Twister had to smile slightly, *Why do I feel like I'm getting too used to this?* After forty-five minutes, she finally came up with a, hopefully, suitable rhyme. *I think visualization is important. Also, how much strength to put into the spell. I guess that light was so weak a spell I didn't even realize I had made any effort.* Twister calmed herself and saw in her mind her spell as a _very_ large, domed shield around the town and called out the rhyme. "Evil magic, stay away, By power strong and cannot fool, Turn around, I now shall say, Within my sphere of rule. Sight be blinded, ears be stuffed, No creatures can be used, Malign power, now handcuffed, Shall not now be abused." Force drained out of Twister in a, now, noticeable flow. Trying to make sure it was strong, she managed to place a lot of her power into the stream. It stopped finally and Twister was surprised that she could sense the now-created dome of protection around the town. *Not bad for an _extremely_ new beginner. I hope it works. It _should_. Most of its form came from what I intended even though that rhyme was needed.* Twister slowly stood up. The spell had drained her more than she thought and she was now a little tired. Not surprising. The spell protected the _entire_ town from scrying eyes. She just hoped Malkon didn't know much, or rather, _anything_, about electronics. _That_ would be fun preventing. *I think it's time to become myself again. Magic promises to be fun though.* She chuckled. *Kuuuuuunou. Nyuk nyuk nyuk.* Twister started to go get that hot water Kasumi talked about, amused by that last thought. Malkon was both pleased and annoyed. He was in a wooded area as human settlements annoyed him. A recently made hole had been filled with water by him and Malkon had been staring at the pond with inhuman patience to get the information he had sought. He chuckled. *Well, that was certainly quick. Only after...what? Two? Three hours of being awake?* Malkon sighed. *At least I saw what I wanted to see. Good to have a theory confirmed.* He considered the purple-tinged barrier that had sprung up to block his magical sight. *Quite strong indeed. Perfect. Twister's magical abilities match in power with the psionic ones. In vastly different ways of course but matched all the same.* The image of the female Twister came up in his mind again. *And very pretty as well. Always a bonus.* Malkon stood up and brushed the leaves off his robe. He shook his head. *I am just surprised Twister realized I must have been watching. Not just formidable in power but in intelligence. This should be quite a struggle to get the magical power I sensed.* He chuckled quietly. *I told _her_ when we were in the Void that I was bored and was looking for some fun. I got that indeed, though 'challenge' likely fits this situation better. 'Existance-threatening' is another.* He paused while considering what to do next. A head-on encounter with Twister would definitely be a Bad Idea. *I had better create a power base first. In this China there _must_ be some formidable warriors I can 'recruit'. I'll also need some low-level demons to back them up. Then, I can plan on getting that which I desire. After I get that, nothing will be able to stop me.* Malkon smiled. *I have not had such an interesting opponent for millennia. Timing is everything. If I wait too long, I may never be able to defeat Twister. Pity it must end fairly soon.* The laugh he released scared off all wildlife for a mile. In the kitchen, Twister asked Kasumi where that hot water was. "It's over on the burner, in the kettle. I kept it hot, not boiling." Picking up the kettle, Twister replied, "Thanks Kasumi. Um." She paused, looking a little fearful. "What's wrong?" "I thought about what happened last time. Flambe. But...that might have been the initial reaction and not what will happen every time." Twister sighed. "Acid test time." She poured the water on herself. The normal change occurred. Twister looked down at himself, "That's a relief." He wiped water from his eyes. Kasumi smiled, "The first flames didn't do anything so I wasn't terribly worried." "It still puts my mind at ease. Speaking of said member, I think I'm going to use it right now. No rest for the weary." He smiled to belie his words and left to go back to his room again. In his room, Twister thought about what he should do. *I think I'll make another diamond just in case I forget and need money later. Then I'll think about what I should try magic-wise since it _is_ new for me to use at the moment.* That decided, he readied himself for making the diamond. Focusing his mind, he created a small vacuum in which to work. Then he commanded only the carbon atoms from the CO2 he knew was in the air to separate and join in the crystal pattern he was creating inside the vacuum. The free oxygen atoms separated by this action quickly found their brothers in flaming glory around the vacuum, making what looked like a ball of fire in mid-air. Twister had done this before but he noticed something obviously different from before. The ball of fire was a LOT bigger now. He checked what he was doing and realized that he was making the diamond a lot faster now. He hadn't noticed because he had used the same amount of effort on his part. For some reason Twister had gotten stronger in his psionic power. He pondered this and found the answer. *I was only Mind before. Now that the Magic is accessible to me now it seems to have increased the power available on both sides. That must have been why I felt whole when I woke up. A new facet of my being had opened, allowing me to use more power in the other facet. My powers are still equal to each other, Mind is just greater than what Mind alone had been. Useful.* As a result, the diamond was now as large as the last one he had made for Nabiki to sell. Twister pondered this diamond. *Magic can be used to enchant items I believe. I'll just form this diamond into a disk and see what I can do with it.* He smiled. *And I think I know what to try first...* Much later, Ranma walked into the Tendo home, backpack on his back. Alone. *Hmp. What does Nabiki need to know that only Akane could tell her?* He threw the backpack into it's usual place when he entered the room he and his father shared. *Not like _she_ would know anything useful. Unless...,* Ranma blinked as he realized something, *Unless...it has something to do with Twister's new _curse_! Great. Nabiki must think Akane's an 'expert' because of me.* He fumed a little at the idea as he left and walked past Twister's room. He stopped. *What the...?* Walking backwards, Ranma came to Twister's open door again and was puzzled at what he saw inside the room. The newly female form of Twister was staring at a crystalline disk as she sat cross-legged on the floor. Not moving. Not expressionless though. Her face showed...grief? Despair? *That's not like the guy...* Pausing for a moment, Ranma decided to find out what was bugging Twister. "Hey Twister. What's with you?" The still form blinked and slowly looked at a slowly becoming worried Ranma. "Oh. Hi, Ranma. Nothing much." The tone in Twister's voice didn't match the words she spoke. "Yeah right. What's bugging _you_ so much?" Twister picked up the disk and started flipping it over and over in her hands. After watching this for half a minute, Twister started talking to Ranma in a hesitant voice, still looking at the disk. "While you might be used to this Ranma...I'm not. '_This_' is not just the cursed water....though that's part of it. Chucked from my universe, my _home_, into another, almost killed by an arch-demon, gaining powers along with a different body, fighting battles like ones I used to _read_ about, and now...this. Even if I find a way home, I can't go back in _either_ form. Too much of my male body has changed. I've handled all this mostly by not thinking about it and just finding out what all I can do now." She paused. "Until...ten minutes ago." Suddenly, Twister's body tensed up and she gripped the disk with a white knuckled hand. Raising the other, she slammed it into the floor, denting it, while shouting... "_WHY_ DID THIS HAPPEN TO ME!?" She slumped loosely over the disk after that, tears forming in her eyes. Shocked, Ranma paused a moment before hesitantly walking over and gently placing a hand on Twister's shoulder, causing her to look up in surprise. "I guess...I haven't seen it that way." Ranma confessed. "You came here and saved Ak...us when _I_ couldn't from that Malkon creep. You were to able to fight well because of something powerful and not through years of training. That made me a little...resentful I guess. I didn't think about your side." Wiping moisture from her eyes, Twister commented, "I'd wondered why you seemed...distant to me." Her spirits started to come back up and she added, "I guess should be grateful that I'm alive and have a good shot at getting back a life." Twister smiled. "Thanks Ranma." "Yeah...well...," Ranma was embarrassed because of his revelation to Twister and took back the hand on Twister's shoulder to rub the back of his head. He tried to get off topic, "How come you look like me when I'm female anyway?" Standing up, Twister blinked at the question, "Well...it wasn't exactly a normal change to begin with. But...it's likely because I know of only one person who changes into a woman, hint hint," Ranma wasn't sure how to react to that comment, "and that thought likely influenced the magic somehow." She shrugged, "That's _my_ best guess and so now we're both in the same boat." "Huh. Yeah, I guess we are at that." "At least we can understand each other pretty well on that point." Twister chuckled and extended a hand to Ranma. "Friends now?" Ranma considered the outstretched hand for a second before slowly bringing up one of his own to complete the handshake. "Sure. Why not?" "Great!" Twister chuckled. "At least you won't have to worry about me attacking you over some girl like most other guys you know." Snorting at first at that truth, Ranma had to smile back when they finished the handshake. "True. That's a definite plus." Remembering about the disk, Twister suddenly walked out of the room saying, "Let me change back and I'll show you and the others something neat!" Blinking, Ranma wondered what Twister was up to as he left the room as well. *What's _he_ got planned?* Twister had changed back and was now heading towards the eating table where he could hear Ranma, and the returned Akane and Nabiki, talking at the moment. He thought about what had happened a few minutes ago. *Jeez. I was _really_ depressed there before _Ranma_, of all people, got me out of that dark mood. Never been that down before. Then again, this isn't like it was back home either.* Trying to get his mind of that train of thought, Twister examined the diamond disk he had made. *Maybe I shouldn't have tried. But I did and at least I finally got it to work. I didn't realize how many tries I would have to make. Tired me out though I didn't realize it while talking to Ranma.* He finally walked into the dining area and the three seated by the table saw him arrive. "You work it out Twister?" Nabiki looked concerned at Twister's tired state. "Yeah. I've had to be flexible for a while, this doesn't exactly change that." He sighed. "I found something to keep me occupied anyway." He pulled out a crystal-looking disk from a pocket and placed it on the table. "What _is_ that thing anyway?" Ranma was curious. Instead of answering, Twister touched the disk and clearly said, "And now for something completely different." At the disk. The three were wondering what he was doing until light gathered above the disk and resolved into a semi-transparent form. It was Twister's new female self. Suddenly, the image spoke as the watchers gaped, "Testing, testing, one two three... Good. This darn thing finally worked." Twister's image gave a victory sign. "Bet this comes as a shock. Apparently, while in female form I can use _magic_ instead of psionics so I can do _this_ now. Wicked, huh? I think the Event gave me the potential to use both in the beginning but I could only use Mind because they don't seem to _work_ together. The cursed water allowed the Magic part to come into play so now my _full_ power has been unlocked. I have an easier time with Mind now as well, this disk is diamond I created today. Well, I think time's up. And I bet you thought I couldn't surprise you any more." The figure smirked, waved, and shimmered out of existence. The three were still gaping and Twister had to laugh at the sight. "Ah, the look on your faces..." He chortled. "W-when did you find _this_ out?" Ranma got out. "I was walking down a street and saw somebody, with _candles_ on his head, trying something magical. Without success. He let me look in some magic book and I read a rhyme aloud. Darn thing put a light on above my head. Literally. I realized what had happened and knew that rhyme was the key to my kind of magic." Akane and Ranma both said together, "Gosunkugi." Twister nodded, "I remembered as soon as I became myself again." Nabiki shook her head, "This should liven things up around here. As if it needed it." "Well, it does put a plus on my new situation." He sighed wearily, "It _is_ tiring. I really need to eat something that gives me more calories so I can do more stuff without draining myself each time. Kasumi's cooking is great but I need something more." Ranma thought for a second then smiled. "Well...if you don't mind doing something; I have an idea. Your treat." Akane looked peeved and crossly said, "Ranma, you _like_ doing that, _don't_ you?!" Eyebrow raised, Twister asked, "Am I not going to like this?" Chapter Twenty-Three -------------------- "I was right. I'm not going to enjoy this." Twister said, embarrassed. "Just follow my lead. It's not _that_ bad." Ranma-chan said beside her. They looked like twins with the exception of Ranma's pig-tail. The two were walking besides each other and people's heads were turning as they passed by. Men's especially. The fact that they looked very attractive, young, and cute together likely had a lot to do with that fact. Despite wearing men's clothing. On the other hand, it could have enhanced the look. "I'm just glad you didn't have us dress up to do this." Looking indignant, Ranma-chan replied, "I don't enjoy it _that_ much. Just the food. Even though I've _had_ to do that on occasion, I don't like it." Smiling, Twister commented, "You've _done_ that? Oh, right." Smirk. "I wouldn't comment. _You_ might have to sooner or later." Ranma growled. "I'm kidding! If you had to, you had to." Twister continued softly, "Sometimes you have no choice..." She shook her head. "Anyway, are we almost there yet?" Ranma-chan stopped before a store open to the street. "Here it is. Start acting cute." Wearing a serious face for a moment, Twister replied, "Yes sir! We shall achieve our objective!" Then she went into cute mode. "Golly! Let's go in!" And practically danced and skipped in. Ranma-chan stared after her before walking in herself. "Should've realized he'd ham it up," she muttered. A little while later, they walked out with some chocolate on their faces. This did not help to diminish the cute factor. Twister was waving inside, "Thank you!" She smiled happily. Ranma-chan was right on her heels. "Thank you!" They then started walking away and waited a minute before wiping the chocolate off. "I like eating sweets like that and this allows me to do it safely but..." Ranma-chan looked incredulously at Twister, "How did you _eat_ that much???" Looking a little bashful, Twister said, "My body looks like yours but my metabolism is the same as my male body. I told you that I don't _need_ to eat if I don't use my powers or exert myself. Apparently, I can also store that energy when I don't need it." Placing a hand over her stomach she went on, "I wanted to eat that high-calorie stuff till I was full so that I wouldn't have to worry about being wasted after I do something special. Unfortunately, I also seem to digest food a _lot_ faster." Twister chuckled. "It helped my wallet that those guys serving us gave us free sundaes. I guess they figured that a hyper-active girl like me needed a lot of food just to keep moving." "Think you'll need to do that again?" "I might have to if Malkon's around." Twister frowned. "Practicing the magic half of me now will take a lot of energy." She grinned. "Know any all-you-can-eat places?" Ranma-chan snorted, "They won't letcha in after the first time." "Not if I alternated between forms and acted _really_ cute in this one." Twister debated. "Ranma!" Cried a familiar voice. Ranma-chan was resigned to it. Twister was wary of it. "Hi Shampoo." Ranma-chan replied cautiously. Shampoo's attention was all on Ranma-chan as she leaped to land in front of Ranma-chan, totally ignoring the almost exactly-looking Twister. The pig-tail had identified Ranma. "Want to go with Shampoo on date?" She smiled. "I thought you were trying to kill Twister." The person mentioned was not pleased with this reminder and made a face at Ranma-chan. "Shampoo have plenty time for that! Now you date Shampoo?" "Well, I'm glad she doesn't _quite_ have a one-track mind." Twister said sourly. Shampoo whirled at this strange female voice which insulted her. "Who you, not nice girl?" What she saw was a mirror image of Ranma-chan's face which understandingly confused Shampoo when she registered the similarity. Twister chuckled because of Shampoo's face, "Two, two, two for the price of one!" "How...two...Ranma?" Shampoo looked back and forth between the faces. Locking on Ranma's pig-tail, she confidently said, "_This_ Ranma!" Whirling to face the other, she continued, "Who you??" Her face mirrored her puzzlement. "I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count," Twister smiled. Still puzzled, Shampoo thought about it. Eventually, realization dawned as she recalled the one person she knew with that kind of humour. "YOU TWISTER???" She looked completely confused now. Twister sighed and nodded, "Yup. Thank Happosei for this." Confusion give way to a smiling, murderous intent. "Then if Shampoo lose _this_ way, I not have to marry you!" "I don't think it works that way Shampoo. I believe you thought that about Ranma once, remember?" Twister started backing away in spite of her words. "Shampoo not care! I still KILL!" Shampoo raised now-present maces and leaped to attack Twister. Dodging and thanking deities that she still had heightened reflexes in this form, Twister shouted, "Shampoo! I've found my power is different in this body! I'd rather not have to use it!" Shampoo replied with a strike that would have driven her into the pavement. "Yikes!" Jumping out of the way, Twister thought of a quick, relatively harmless rhyme and called out, "Have it your way then!" She shouted out, "Maces that care not where they land, Rebel against thine owner's hand!" Twister put a small amount of power into it, not wanting it to last long or seriously harm Shampoo. A purple glow enveloped Shampoo's maces. She paused; puzzled at the strange light coming from her weapons. Suddenly, one of her maces jumped towards _her_ in a strike while she was still holding it. Too stunned to react, Shampoo was unable to protect herself and was knocked unconscious by the mace. Her maces were going to continue the attack but Twister mentally cancelled the hastily made spell quickly. Walking over to the prone Shampoo, Ranma-chan and Twister contemplated the knocked-out figure. "That fight ended in a hurry." Ranma-chan commented. Twister smiled, "So much for her date." Sighing she continued, "I'd better get her home, we can't leave her here and since I'm the one who did it..." Looking dubious, Ranma-chan nodded, "Ok, but you'd better do it quick." Picking up the unconscious girl, Twister sighed. "You don't need to tell me twice. I'll be home soon!" With that, she leaped to a roof-top and bounced away to deliver Shampoo. Ranma-chan rubbed the back of her head after seeing the manner Twister had departed in. "Twister's _gotta_ be getting used to things 'round here." Soon, Twister and her unconscious burden reached Shampoo's restaurant. Knowing that her form wasn't the same, she decided to walk into the building. Telling Cologne about the arch-demon's now-confirmed status was important. Twister walked in and called out, "Cologne! You here?" Coming out, Cologne saw someone who looked like Ranma-chan but not in Chinese clothing and minus a pig-tail holding a limp Shampoo. "Is that you son-in-law? What happened to Shampoo?" Sitting Shampoo on a chair, Twister replied, "I'm not Ranma and Shampoo tried to kill me again." She sighed. "That's a habit I'd really like her to break." "Twister??" Cologne's eyes widened. Twister nodded and said ruefully, "Malkon wasn't killed. He must have gone to the cursed springs in China and sent some water to Happosei. You can guess the rest." Brightening, she continued, "The bonus is that I can use rhyme magic in this form." Still a little stunned that the arch-demon still lived, Cologne nodded, "I had wondered about that. Shampoo told me you had entered the Event but the lack of magic caused me to wonder." Looking at Shampoo again, she went on, "You'd better leave before she comes to." Nodding, Twister stood up, "I came inside to warn you about Malkon but you're right. Wouldn't want to trash the place." She bowed towards Cologne and headed for the door. Unfortunately, Mousse happened to come in at that time. He was still looking a little battered from the last time with Twister but was almost recovered. He spotted Twister leaving, and even without the pig-tail Mousse thought it was Ranma. "Ranma! What are you doing here?" He readied himself for battle. Not wanting to fight again so soon, Twister didn't correct him, "Shampoo there tried to kill Twister again. As you can see she didn't fare too well but she's basically alright. Just unconscious. You'd better check on her just in case." That said, she passed the now running Mousse, who was going to Shampoo, and left. Cologne chuckled to herself, "That one is clever, that is for sure." Going home, Twister decided to stop by Ukyou's and have a chat. And something to eat. She wasn't hungry but having the extra energy couldn't hurt. Stopping at the door, she chuckled, *Another person to surprise.* Then headed in. Ukyou had her back to Twister so she was able to get a seat before Ukyou noticed. When Ukyou turned, she saw Twister and smiled broadly. "Ranma, honey! Did you come to have something to eat?" She saw the absent pig-tail and her face showed shock, "What happened to your hair??" "BUZZZZZ! Incorrect! The correct question was, 'Who the heck are you?!?'" Puzzled by 'Ranma's' behavior, Ukyou was concerned. "Are you alright Ranma?" Twister rolled her eyes and looked to the ceiling, "And here I thought my charming personality would shine though." She said to herself out loud, "I certainly thought the first time we talked you got a pretty good impression of me then." Still confused, Ukyou just gazed at Twister until Twister started pantomiming a tornado. "TWISTER??!! How...did...THIS...??" "Add arch-demon and cursed water with lust-crazed old Master and stir well. You should get a wonderfully confused Twister." She chuckled. Shocked at Twister's predicament, Ukyou said, "You don't look very shocked or angry." "I used up my confusion account a long time ago." Twister paused. "I'm overdrawn in fact. All the things that have happened to me kind of does that to you. I just hope nothing more too serious happens to me. Unluckily, with Malkon about that's not too likely." She looked towards the kitchen, "Mind making another special for me?" Grateful for doing something familiar in her surprise, Ukyou complied with the request and headed towards the kitchen. "Hmm. At least, I'm having fun updating people." "So Shampoo attacked you _twice_ since I last talked with you?" "Yup. Beat her once with magic and once with psionics." Twister shook her head. "I _wish_ she'd get the point!" Ukyou looked incredulous, "After going after Ranma for so long?? I don't think she _can_ take a hint. When she puts her mind on something, she doesn't give up easily." Forlorn, Twister sighed, "You're right. Well, I told Ranma I'd meet him...er...her...er...AGGGHH! Whatever! At home, anyway." She stood up. "Thanks for the wonderful meal again and the talk. It's good to do that." Ukyou smiled, "No problem, it's my pleasure. You certainly talk about interesting events." "Till next time then!" Twister paid for the bill and went back to the Tendos. The reception Twister got when she returned surprised her. "What took you so long? It's almost dinnertime!" Akane was angry. "Whoa! I just talked with Cologne about Malkon for a bit. I thought it better she know he was alive. I also stopped at Ukyou's for a chat and to update her on my status in case she confused me for Ranma in the future." Twister was surprised. "Why are _you_ so angry? I would think Ranma would be more of a worry on your mind." Nabiki spoke up, "We thought something had happened to you. Given the current state of affairs I would think that kind of concern would be understandable." She concluded worriedly, thinking more of Malkon than anything else. Twister sighed, "You're right. I hadn't thought you'd be that concerned though." Ranma spoke from where he was leaning by the wall, "I think we've all gotten to know you enough to consider you a friend." Akane nodded firmly, "And friends look out for each other." Twister looked at Nabiki, "I guess we should at that." Nabiki blushed. Surprised and nervous at this reaction, Twister called out, "Well! Is supper almost ready?" Ranma groaned. "How can you _eat_ after that ice-cream _and_ likely eating at Ukyou's??" He ate a lot but Twister... "I open mouth, insert food, close mouth, and swallow. Simple, no?" Twister grinned at Ranma's green face. "I take it you yourself haven't quite recovered from the dairy delights yet. Ah well, more for me...and Genma." Ranma groaned again. Chapter Twenty-Four ------------------- Early morning sunlight caressed a restless sleeper. The sleep was a troubled one, as the groans issuing from the mouth proclaimed. Head turning back and forth in denial, the body twisted away from whatever vision filled its head. With a final, sharp groan the sleeper awakened and sat up sharply from the bed. *No!* Twister was shocked and dismayed at what he had just woken up from. He rubbed his eyes with his hands. *No. That can't happen. I won't _LET_ that happen!* He shook his head to clear the cobwebs from his mind. Thinking more clearly, he pondered the dream, or rather, nightmare. *I can't afford to think that was a _normal_ dream. I've never remembered dreaming something so vivid in my life. It _has_ to do with my precognitive power.* He smiled grimly. *But like I said to Ranma a while ago, there are likely _infinite_ paths to the future. I just dreamed the most likely path to happen at the moment. Not a pleasant one. But one can _change_ paths. If one knows what is to come if one does nothing.* He stood up determined. *No time for games now, Twister. Malkon is coming. I don't know how soon or how much time I have to prepare for it but unless I am, and also my friends and allies, I see a dark path ahead.* He pondered what to do. *From what I saw, those I recruit will need a lot of help. I think only _I_ can furnish that. Time to work in earnest on magic I believe.* Twister smiled grimly again. Nabiki was worried. Twister had changed, for some unknown reason, a week ago. The night before the change, he was normal. The morning after, a completely different Twister came out of his room. Only for breakfast. He had looked a little frightened but a _lot_ more determined about something. And serious. He never cracked a smart comment or made a joke anymore. *What happened that night?* She wondered. *Something changed him and I'm not sure why.* He had even flew out for a time, even though she now knew about his slight fear of heights, and had returned with a large sack of _something_ extremely heavy by his stance. Twister had refused to comment about it. Happosei hadn't even tried to change Twister into a girl. He too was frightened by the change. Ranma, idiot that he was sometimes, had confronted Twister and had asked what was up. Twister looked like he was going to say something then had changed his mind and merely commented that Ranma would find out soon enough. The look in his eye discouraged even Ranma. Soun and Genma had tried to peek into Twister's room when he was away. They had found out that he had enchanted his room in some way and only he could enter and see into the room. Whatever Twister was doing must be taking a _lot_ of power since he ate for a hour non-stop when he left his room and visited all-you-can-eat restaurants frequently. What was puzzling was the large amounts of hot and cold water he took with him to his room. After two weeks of this, Nabiki spotted Twister looking very tired and staring into the pond. This was unusual. He had been only eating and doing whatever it was in his room lately. "Twister?" She said softly. He started and looked at her, "Oh. Hi, Nabiki." He smiled tiredly at her. This brightened her spirits. "So, you've come out to breathe some air finally have you?" Twister sighed, "I think I've been going at this a little too hard but I don't know how much time we have left." Nabiki knew about Malkon's possible threat to Twister but she still couldn't understand this need for urgency. He continued, "I've done all I can for the others. Now _I_ have to become prepared." He fingered a new necklace around his neck that she had never seen before. It was mearly string with a sphere of some black substance hanging from it. "_This_ is what I've done for myself so far, but I'm still afraid it might not be enough..." "Enough for _what_ Twister?? Why have you been so serious these past two weeks?" Nabiki demanded. Twister sighed, "It will happen soon. I might as well tell you now..." SPLASH!!! Something fell into the pond with the resulting wave drenching Twister and Nabiki. A form rose up from the water and regarded the two humans on the ground. "NO!" Changed into female form, Twister shouted out in horror as she recognized the demonic form before her from her dream. Acting with swiftness, she quickly grabbed the sphere hanging on the necklace and broke it open. Purple fire erupted from the sphere and enveloped Twister. Before the demon could react, she pointed at it. Purple flames spewed forth from Twister's finger, blasting the surprised demon unconscious. Spinning quickly to Nabiki, Twister grabbed her shoulders and spoke rapidly, "I don't have much time. Malkon's attacking _now_! Remember these words. 'The truth shall come out' Go to my room with Ranma and the others. Don't worry about the spell barring the room. Just speak those words and it will collapse. Go to my bed _first_. There is a message disk there like I showed you once before. Touch it and say 'confess' to it. It will tell you the rest." More flying demons were coming rapidly and Twister didn't have much time left. "I like you a lot Nabiki. I may even..." Twister looked depressed. "Maybe I'd better not now. Go and please do as I say. It's my only hope." That said and ignoring Nabiki's protests, Twister shouted a word, pointed at Nabiki, and a field of force surrounded her. She whispered, "Good-bye...for now." Twister turned and ran at the demons. "TWISTER!!!!" Nabiki pounded at the field in futility. Twister's flaming form dodged the demons with dexterity as she knocked more out with her flame. She was aided by the fact that the demons had orders to take Twister alive. Unfortunately, there were too many. One got behind Twister without her knowledge and knocked her unconscious, flames gone. It picked up Twister's limp form and gestured. Mystic bonds wrapped around her arms, legs, and mouth. The demon looked in satisfaction at this and flew off with Twister, the other demons following behind it carrying their unconscious fellows. "NOOO!" Nabiki sobbed inside the sphere. The others inside the house finally rushed to help but they were too late, the demons were gone with their prize. They stared in horror as the demons flew off. Akane and Kasumi ran to Nabiki. When Akane cautiously touched the sphere it collapsed. They rushed to see if their sister was alright. After a while, Nabiki calmed down and stood up. There was a very determined and angry look in her eye. It remined Akane of Twister lately. Nabiki glared at the direction the demons went. "Bastard." She growled. Her family was shocked, Nabiki had never acted this way before. "Akane, Ranma, Father, Mr. Saotome, come with me. Now." She said in a voice that allowed for no argument and went into the house with the others following. When they reached Twister's door, Nabiki shouted out, "The truth shall come out!" With a flash of light, the spell collapsed and the door opened wide. Nabiki strode directly towards the bed while the others filed into the room. They looked around the room and looked in wonder at what Twister had done. Objects with notes attached to them were placed in neat areas around the floor of the room. Vials of clear liquid, some strange equipment, large diamond crystals. These were all glowing with a soft purple glow. Ignoring the objects around her, Nabiki went straight to the bed, touched the promised disk, and shouted, "Confess!" Swirling light formed above the disk as the female Twister's form appeared. It seemed much more solid than the previous message they had seen weeks before. Nabiki choked and Akane put an arm around her in comfort as the image started to speak. "If you all are hearing this, then what I predicted has happened." Those watching were shocked that Twister had _expected_ this, but the image went on. "The change in my behavior was due to a dream I had. This was no normal dream but one that offered a glimpse into the most likely future at that time. It was not...good." She paused for a second. "Through this dream I knew Malkon would attack soon and how. This would happen anyway. I kept silence so that the attack would come when _I_ expected, not just Malkon. Unless he is defeated utterly, we are never safe. I figured that the best chance to do that was to _let_ him catch me. Risky, but the only way to find him. I couldn't find him by spell, he shielded too well. "My plan was this: To create magical means for you all to resist his powers of domination and transformation and to enable you to defeat his forces in his stronghold. Also, a means for the party you have yet to collect to be transported to a place close to his base. _I_ will provide the location hopefully when I am brought there. A spell will do this but it will lie outside his forces." Twister waved around her. "These objects all have their intended owner's name on them as well as their purpose. I haven't had time yet to write down _all_ of their powers but what I did put down will be sufficient. Hopefully." She sighed loudly, "Also, the base's most likely place is Seven Luck mountain but I cannot be sure," Some inhaled loudly at that. "My dream included some of the Seven Lucky Gods martial artists fighting for Malkon as well as minor demons. They are obviously spelled but I created means to break that hopefully within your own protections. No powerful demons are likely to be there other than Malkon, I believe demons are _very_ competitive with each other." Smiling fondly, she added one last thing. "Nabiki." Nabiki started at this. "Don't go with the others. Please. It's important. I'm sorry to have caused you...pain. But...it couldn't be helped. I wish it _had_ been." Twister looked very sad. "I...I..." The figure faded away. Chapter Twenty-Five ------------------- Nabiki stared at where the magical image of Twister had been in silence. Ranma muttered, "Seven Luck mountain. Kirin. Oh just great. Why can't it be _easy_ for once." "I don't think Twister believed he had much choice Ranma." Akane answered as she watched Nabiki. "I certainly couldn't think of a much better way to fight an arch-demon like Malkon." Nabiki snapped out of her trace and had a fierce look on her face, "Well, if he doesn't think I should go," She glaced around the room. "then I'll organize this 'party' he mentioned before you go." Suddenly, she looked sad. "It's the best thing I can do now." Akane grabbed her hands and squeezed them. "If he said not to go then he _must_ have had a very good reason Nabiki. Besides, you're not a fighter. _We_ are." She looked at Ranma, Genma, and Soun, then at all the equipment scattered about the room. "You _are_ better at organizing stuff anyway. He certainly made a lot of stuff didn't he?" Ranma walked around the objects on the floor. "Sure did. I wonder who he wanted in this party anyway?" "Let's check out the sheets on them and see if he mentioned that." Nabiki started looking at each paper. Reading each paper as he walked along each object, Ranma's eyes got bigger and bigger. "Is he _serious_???" Shuffling the papers together, Nabiki found the list Twister had made for the party. "Ranma, Akane, Ukyou, Mousse, Shampoo," She looked a little surprised. "Kunou, and Kodachi?? He _must_ be desperate. Hmm. No mention of Genma, Soun, Happosei, or Cologne. More sense than I thought he had with this crazy scheme." Soun and Genma looked indignant while secretly relieved, "Daughter! Is that any way to speak about your father!" Nabiki smiled, "Likely for protecting the house, Daddy, is what I meant." "Oh." Ranma smirked at that. *Nice cover-up Nabiki.* "I'd better gather the others." Nabiki stood up. "No offence but I think I'll be able to pursuade them better." Ranma smirked again. "Or else." "Ranma!" Akane smacked him. "Just start finding out who gets what. You can explain what it will do when they get here." Nabiki frowned. "Ryoga could be a problem." Flipping though the papers, Akane exclaimed, "Twister thought of that already. Some sort of personal, one-shot teleport for Ryoga. Twister apparently used one of Ryoga's bandannas to focus on him." Laughing, Ranma exclaimed, "I _have_ to see his face when he comes." Nabiki's first visit was Ukyou's restaurant. Ukyou saw her immediately as she came in. Ukyou was surprised. Nabiki practically never came here and from the look of her face something was up. "Hi Ukyou. I have to see you about something." "I don't see you around here often Nabiki. What's up?" "I know Twister has talked to you a few times." Ukyou nodded. "Yes, but the last two weeks he's been here he was very quiet. Something seemed to be bothering him but I didn't pry. Do you know what it is?" Something in Nabiki's expression made her think she wasn't going to like the answer. She was right. "He had a sort of future dream that showed Malkon capturing him. He was preparing himself for the past two weeks." Nabiki's face fell a bit. "Twister was taken early this morning." Ukyou's shock showed plainly on her face, "WHAT? Why? What can I do to help?" Nabiki smiled a bit, "Thanks. Apparently, he created a _lot_ of equipment for a party to rescue him and to get to Malkon. One of the people he had on the list was you, as well as a few others." Smiling at this, Ukyou said, "Gladly! Just let me close the restaurant and I'll go to your house." Ukyou paused and frowned, "What _kind_ of equipment anyway?" Nabiki chuckled for the first time in a while, "Knowing Twister, likely _very_ destructive, considering it's Malkon." The next stop was Shampoo's restaurant. Walking in, she saw Shampoo waiting tables while Mousse was staring at Shampoo from a corner table. Knowing full well of Shampoo's vow to kill Twister, Nabiki looked for Cologne instead. Walking up to a counter she spotted Cologne in the kitchen. "Cologne!" Nabiki called out. Cologne heard her name and walked over to Nabiki. Shampoo wondered what Nabiki wanted with her great-grandmother and walked towards them. Looking up at Nabiki, Cologne figured out the most likely reason she knew of that Nabiki would be here with such a serious face. "Something happen to Twister?" Nodding, Nabiki replied, "Demons surprised him this morning and took Twister away." Cologne paled, "They didn't try to kill him? That's not good. The arch-demon will try to take Twister's magic for his own and since Twister is likely innately more powerful than Malkon..." She shook her head, "Malkon's power will likely more than double. He will be unstoppable." Looking at Cologne, Nabiki replied, "That's right. Twister, however, foresaw this coming with one of his Mind powers. He made a magical arsenal for a party to rescue Twister and get Malkon. A list he made for the party included Mousse and Shampoo." Shampoo started at this. "Shampoo not help Twister!" She looked very angry. Sighing, Nabiki turned to Shampoo, "Shampoo we are going to be facing an arch-demon's forces. For all the help Twister made for us, I believe the party will need everyone to make it successfully." She paused thoughtfully. "Ranma will be going as well you realize. Twister is his friend and without your help Ranma may not make it back." While that point was sinking in, Cologne added, "You _must_ go girl! An arch-demon with that much power will not be satisfied sitting around!" Grudgingly, Shampoo nodded, "I go." "And since Shampoo is coming. You will too, Mousse. Right?" Nabiki asked Mousse where he was still sitting. Calmly, Mousse declared, "Of course. I must go with my future bride." Before Shampoo could debate that point, Nabiki hurriedly said, "Great! Meet at our house. Twister made some stuff you two are going to love I bet." Cologne softly muttered to herself as Nabiki, Shampoo, and Mousse left. "I hope it will suffice..." Reaching her final stop, Nabiki thought to herself, *Now this should be fun. Kunou is easy, but Kodachi...well, I'd better try.* Steeling herself and putting on a cheerful face, which she did not feel herself at the moment, Nabiki entered the Kunou home. After much pompous introductions and such, Nabiki finally got to talk with Kunou and Kodachi together. Nabiki filled them in on Twister's abduction and the means to help him that he had left behind. Kunou paused in thought for a moment and then stood up, waving his bamboo sword above him. "Yes! I shall embark upon this perilous quest to rescue this 'Twister' person from Evil's clutches. Nothing will withstand Tatewaki Kunou's might no matter how powerful it may be. I shall also protect Akane in the midst of the horrors to come. No matter the odds, we will be victorious!" He posed dramatically, "Beware Malkon! The Blue Thunder of Furinkan High will defeat you!" Kunou turned to Kodachi. "Sister! Will you join us on this noble quest?" Kodachi smiled unnervingly at Nabiki, "Why not? It sounds like fun. Nothing the Black Rose cannot handle. But..." She leaned towards Nabiki with a gleam in her eyes. "What sort of 'special' objects did this 'Twister' leave to help us?" Smiling broadly, Nabiki said, "Where Twister's concerned you can bet it's going to be amusing. Not for poor Malkon though." Kodachi's smile grew broader. "Oh good, I just _love_ those sort of surprises..." Ukyou arrived at the Tendo house and noticed Ranma by the pond. He was placing something on the ground that Ukyou couldn't see. "Ranma!" She cried out in greeting. "What are you doing? Something to do with Twister?" "Hi Uc-chan." Ranma looked up and smiled at her bringing a warm glow to her heart. "I'm gonna get Ryoga now. Twister made this thing to bring him here. There's not much chance of finding him otherwise. I was about to activate it." Puzzled, Ukyou asked Ranma, "Why are _you_ doing it? I thought you didn't like Ryoga much." "I _don't_. I wanna see the look on his face when this brings him. It should be very funny." Ranma chuckled and backed away from the crystal. Looking at it, Ukyou wondered, "What is it made of anyway?" "Diamond." Seeing Ukyou's astonished face, Ranma laughed. "I see Twister hasn't told you everything he can do yet." That said, Ranma uttered the phrase he had found to activate the spell. "Come on down!" Purple light slowly grew within the crystal. It intensified until both watchers had to look away. Suddenly, the light flared, died, and a small thunderclap heralded Ryoga's arrival. His expression was all Ranma could've hoped for. Equal amounts of startlement, fear, and confusion were clearly pasted on his frozen face as he stood posed to take another step, holding the straps to his backpack firmly. Ranma took one look at this and collapsed laughing. "You...should...see...your....face...Ryoga!" He gasped out. This released Ryoga from his state of shock. Anger now showed on his face. "How did you do _this_ Ranma!" Ryoga balled his fists and started advancing on the still laughing Ranma. Then he paused as he realized something. "Now I can see Akane again." This halted Ranma's laughter immediately. "Wanna bet?!" He shouted as he jumped back up and faced Ryoga, who got ready himself. Ukyou was wondering what to do when Akane came out and saw the two facing off, about to attack each other. "Ranma!" Startled, Ryoga and Ranma swung their faces towards Akane. "You were _supposed_ to bring Ryoga and tell him what's going on! Not fight him!" Anger showed on her face. "Well _he_...um...he..." Ranma couldn't say why he had about to fight Ryoga to Akane. "Oh never mind! You tell him then! I'll show Ukyou what Twister made for her. Come on Uc-chan." That said, Ranma went into the house with a smiling Ukyou behind. Akane stared after Ranma and Ukyou, anger and something else now warring within her. After a brief struggle, Akane took a deep breath and started talking to a waiting Ryoga. "Do you remember Twister, Ryoga?" When he nodded, she continued, "Well, I've some bad news to tell you." Akane proceeded to tell Ryoga about the abduction and Twister's plan. That said, Akane asked Ryoga pleadingly, "Will you help us?" Ryoga was horrified at the idea of Akane going without him to protect her from all those demons she had talked about. The choice was a simple one to Ryoga. "Of course. I will join your group Akane." The smile she made then lifted his heart. "Thanks Ryoga. Let's go in and see what Twister made for you while we wait for the others to come. They should be here soon. Ryoga nodded and followed Akane into the house as Ukyou had followed Ranma. Chapter Twenty-Six ------------------ Twister woke up, still in the arms of her captor. The smell of the demon threatened to send her back into unconsciousness but she managed to stay awake. They were still flying so that meant Twister's plan would work. Or rather, _could_ work. *I'd better hope I can make plans as well as I can make diamonds.* Twister mused to herself. *I can only pray that the others gather and are prepared in time.* Thinking about the group as a whole, Twister silently groaned in her mind. *I may be doomed. Nabiki, please get them ready in time.* "WILL YOU ALL SETTLE DOWN ALREADY!!" Nabiki shouted. The sight before her nearly drove her insane with rage but she forced that luxury down. The sight before her certainly warranted the rage though. People froze what they had been doing. There were two groups of people who had been shouting at each other. One was Ranma, Ryoga, Mousse and Kunou. The other was Akane, Shampoo, Ukyou, and Kodachi. The arguments had strayed from Twister's problem to their own problems with each other. The groups had formed unconsciously, with the boys arguing about the girls, and the girls arguing about the boys. Typical, but certainly not welcomed by Nabiki who had always been uninvolved with their love troubles. She _was_ involved with this current crisis however, and she certainly sounded like it. Calmly talking in the silence that had followed her shout she continued, "In _case_ you _all_ have forgotten, we have an arch-demon who is about to do something with a friend of some of us here. This will result in said arch-demon's power increasing dramatically enough to likely become unstoppable. If we don't start preparing _now_, then we will be too late and the problems you were so intelligently going about before WILL BE MOOT!" She shouted at that last. "This arch-demon is _male_. We know he was _interested_ in Akane when Malkon saw her. He will likely take Shampoo, Ukyou, Kodachi, and others. The guys he will kill or enslave to his will." Nabiki looked at the faces turned towards her. "So will you _please_ sit down so you can prepare?" The true threat of Malkon finally sunk in the minds of even the most stubborn of those present and they all sat down again, although with some hostile looks between them. *Well, better than nothing. That's for sure.* Nabiki thought, exasperated. "Akane. What did Twister leave to protect the group from Malkon?" Akane left the room and came back with a _very_ large diamond crystal in her hands. She placed it on the table and started talking about it. "This crystal apparently does a number of things." She looked at a piece of paper briefly, then continued, "First of all, when a person puts a hand on the crystal and says 'shields up', then that person will be protected against domination and transformation magics. Secondly, the palm which touched the crystal will, hopefully, break a domination spell for anyone else if the palm is placed on the forehead of the person enchanted. Lastly, Twister has a spell that will teleport anyone who was protected by the crystal to a location viewed by Twister when activated. Twister mentioned that the spell might take a minute to activate in order to prevent Malkon from stopping it." Akane put down the paper and went to the crystal. Placing her hand upon it before anyone could object, she called out, "Shields up!" Purple fire engulfed her hand and with unbelievable swiftness, spread all over her body. She almost panicked at this but the fire seemed to sink harmlessly into her skin and disappeared. Ranma worriedly said, "You ok? How's it feel?" Wonderingly, Akane exclaimed, "Like a warm blanket! I'm fine! It feels like it covers my mind _and_ body. It's comfortable." Not wanting to appear afraid, especially with Akane's positive reaction to the spell, everyone else to go in the party touched the crystal and was prepared as well. Nodding that this important part was done, Nabiki went on to the next topic. "Now that _that_ is done," *Finally* she thought, "let's go on to the things Twister made for you." Flipping through papers, Ranma picked out the paper intended for each person there and gave it to them. "Some of you have seen the objects but these papers describe in a lot more detail of what you will get." Some exclamations were made around the table as they read what was written on the papers. Twister had managed to match his descriptions to the personalities of some of the more...unstable ones, so even they looked happy as well with what he wrote. "Only half will actually _get_ extra items, since Twister thought most would be more happy with your normal weapons enhanced rather than brand-new ones." Nods all around the table with that comment. "Twister also mentions some _extra_ things he did but didn't have time to write those down so be careful and if you find them...point in a demon's direction if you can." Nabiki looked thoughtful. "He also mentioned that some or most of the Seven Lucky Gods martial artists had become enchanted. I very much doubt that Malkon didn't equip his most 'loyal' followers with magical weapons as well so be careful with them. You told me how good they had been last time." Several grim nods there. Nabiki got up and motioned for them all to follow her to Twister's room. "Now you had better get ready. We don't know how long we have before Twister reaches Malkon's stronghold." Surprisingly, they were silent as they followed her but from the look in their eyes, she surmised they were looking forward to this grand melee. Apparently, they hadn't had a large battle for some time and were now eager to begin it. Especially, to play around with the 'extra options'. *You'll need them, I think.* Nabiki thought grimly. The demon saw its destination ahead by the large pillars of hot water coming out of the earth. It started losing altitude to land. Twister felt this and cracked open an eye. *We're here. Joy. Now the fun begins.* She thought as they swooped down. Using the mystic senses she had discovered in this form, Twister felt the protections surrounding the arch-demon's new lair. *Been a busy boy, hasn't he? I would guess the _only_ way in, is through the gates. Those shields feel formidable. He's been preparing.* She thought grimly. *Well, so have I.* The demon landed, finally, before the first gate. Twister could see one of the martial artists Malkon had enchanted but the name eluded her. The lower class demons also swarmed around, eager for battle they felt was sure to come with Twister's abduction. *Sooner than you _think_ guys. When you see the people coming to help me I do _not_ think you will be so eager anymore.* Seeing that she could wait no longer, Twister looked around for a good spot. *There.* She smiled inside. A large flat rock well away from the demons but in sight. Fixing the location in her mind, and praying that it work, Twister activated one of the two dormant spells she had given herself when she had broken open the black sphere. It was merely a location spell and would not be noticed. Only a mental nudge was needed to start it and... *Done!* Twister had felt the magic locate the spot she had specified and was now fixing the _much_ more powerful teleport spell it was attuned to in the big crystal to this location. Slowly. Malkon wouldn't be able to notice this until too late, she hoped. Suddenly, the demon started walking towards the first gate. Twister's sense of humour came to the fore. *Abandon all hope ye who enter here... _Not_ a good thought at this time, Twister. I wish I could be certain this will turn out ok. Get here in time guys...* The group had been gathered around the table for about a half an hour when a vision flashed through their minds. A large flat rock, with the first gate beyond and quite a few demons guarding it. The big crystal on the table started to glow as the teleport spell prepared itself. "This is it! Get ready people!" Nabiki shouted. "I am ready." said Ryoga. "Let's get this show on the road." Ranma was a little nervous at all those demons he had seen at the _first_ gate but calmed down when he remembered the abilities of the group he was with. "I hope we get there in time." Akane said worriedly. "Never fear dear Akane, the gods will be with us in this noble quest!" "Give it a rest elder brother. This should be fun!" Kodachi's eyes burned with a bright fire. "Shampoo always ready!" She exclaimed, looking not at all worried. "And I." Mousse said calmly. The crystal's light was almost to bright to look at now. Suddenly, beams of light streaked to each of the party members since they all had touched the diamond. They froze in place by the beam's magic and purple auras were visible around each one before, with a multiple thunderclap, they disappeared. The diamond had been made large in order to store and handle the powerful magics done with it. However, this final bit of magic was the last straw and the diamond crumbled to carbon ash. Nabiki now sat alone, staring at where the diamond had been. The confident expression she had worn was now gone, along with the need to maintain it. Kasumi came in when she heard the party depart and saw Nabiki. Smiling gently, she went over to her sister and sat down beside her. "They'll bring him back, Nabiki. Don't worry." She softly smiled. Suddenly, Nabiki started crying and Kasumi put an arm around her until she stopped. Calming down, Nabiki looked though swollen eyes at her sister. "I'll deny ever doing that if you say anything." "I know." Twister heard the multiple thunderclaps just as the demon had reached the second gate. *They're here! It worked!* She grinned inwardly. *Now the party _really_ begins!* Chapter Twenty-Seven -------------------- They appeared on the large, flat stone of their vision. A little disoriented at first, they soon steadied themselves as the demons at the first gate saw them with a shriek of glee. Mortals to play with! However, the shrieks of glee turned into shrieks of pain and surprise when the party charged into the ranks of the demons with their Twister- enchanted weapons. Malkon was pleased that he had gotten Twister so easily. Of course, magic requires much more time to cast and practice, so the demons had been instructed to get Twister wet. If Twister had been able to use psionic powers then the demons would have had no chance. *That cursed water proved most useful.* Malkon mused. *Now, I shall have Twister completely in my power and the power the Event has given Twister will be mine as well. The magic part of course.* He chuckled. *Also, I will be able to test another theory of mine. I wonder if that magic immunity works in Twister's _female_ form. Different powers might mean different weaknesses.* Malkon smiled with glee. *It will make things _much_ simpler if it is.* Suddenly, a powerful burst of magic, within the range of his mystic senses, appeared out of nowhere. "What was that?!" He shouted aloud. Closing his eyes, Malkon looked with his mind's eye at the location where the magic had occurred. He was surprised to find a small force of mortals encountering his lower demons at the first gate, and winning. *Who...?* Malkon thought angrily then stopped wondering. *Twister. It must be. Twister must have prepared some mortals with the magic he figured out in case of capture. Which just happened.* Smiling now, Malkon applauded his opponent's foresight. *Very clever. And I wonder if...* He tried to reach out and control one of the fighters that had just appeared and found, with little surprise, that he could not, no matter how hard he tried. *Clever indeed. This must have taken a great amount of time and power. Unfortunately, for him I struck before he could better protect _himself_ or rather _herself_ now.* Malkon chuckled at the normal gender switching confusion. *I wonder how far they will get.* Looking at the fight with no concern in his mind he saw that the fighters were formidable indeed. Half were women was well. *Hmm. Including that flower I saw when I first arrived. If they survive to reach this far then I will have four additions to my new harem I will be starting with Twister.* Thinking about that, Malkon mused over the method he was going to use to get Twister's magic as his own. *Killing her would do no good. I have no idea of the effect of the Event's dual powers will have on me. The safest recourse is...marriage.* He grinned. *Oh, I believe Twister is going to love _that_ when I tell her.* Malkon had started thinking of Twister as an equal in his mind. Her inexperience was a result of mortal life. The power that Twister held placed her in the ranks of arch-demons and indeed, she had defeated Malkon in her male body. A defeated _equal_ made victory more sweet as well. A sudden thought struck him. *I wonder. Mortal though she _was_... Is she mortal _now_? The level of her power might make it possible that she is an Immortal now. If she is, then I will have a source of power practically forever. Time will tell...* He focused his attention on the demon carrying the bound Twister. *Soon, wife-to-be. Very soon.* He laughed with great pleasure. Ranma was fighting hard on the ground along with Akane, Ukyou, Kunou, Shampoo, and Ryoga. Twister's objects had included some things that allowed Kodachi and Mousse to fly, as protection against flying demons. He pitied those demons. Those two could be maniacs when they let loose and fighting demons was certainly going to do that. Since he and Akane were primarily hand-to-hand with no ranged weapons, Twister had created arm-guards and leg-guards that increased the power of their kicks and punches so that the demons were really getting punished. Kunou's sword had been boosted so that the weapon inflicted _much_ more damage as some of the heavier demons were finding out. Shampoo was having a ball with her enchanted maces, pounding demons left and right. At one point, she had to let fly one of them to protect Ranma from a demon sneaking up behind him. The mace created a large BOOM when it hit the demon. The demon went flying, without wings, and demons around it were a little stunned. The mace flew back into a surprised Shampoo's hand. She had just found one of Twister's forgotten features. She grinned. "Shampoo LIKE!" And then proceeded to try it with the other mace with the same devastating result. "Looks like Shampoo's having fun with Twister's party favours." Ranma shouted as he kicked a demon into unconsciousness. "Hmp! I guess so but I wish Twister had left more instructions with these." Akane punched a demon into the atmosphere. "Well, we're doing fine so far." Ranma replied as he attacked another demon. Ukyou flipped a demon with her giant spatula, "I agree, Ranma! These demons aren't much in the fighting department!" She tossed some enchanted throwing spatulas at a rushing demon who started backpedalling when he saw the glowing missiles coming at him. With several small explosions, the demon fell over backwards. "Case in point. Though it _would_ have been almost impossible without Twister's help." Suddenly, a bolt of energy hit the ground where Ukyou had been a second before. The resulting explosion knocked her off-balance and she started losing ground to a demon. Looking up she saw an unfamiliar face some distance away but realized it must be one of the enchanted Seven Lucky Gods martial artists. Ranma recognized the fighter as Bishamonten. The big man, seeing he had missed Ukyou, decided to go after Akane instead and headed in her direction. Ranma couldn't get away from his fight to help her. Ryoga, however, saw this as well. With a cry of rage he ki-blasted a few demons out of the way and went to help Akane. He remembered that touching the fighter's head with the palm that touched the crystal would release the person from Malkon's control. With Bishamonten's attention on Akane only, Ryoga managed to sneak an attack in and touched the fighter's forehead with the hand. Unfortunately, the weapon Bishamonten held glowed brightly and nothing happened. Shocked that the weapon had prevented his success, he failed to counter the blow that came at him. He was thrown back to Akane semi-conscious. "Akane...weapon...prevents...spell...to...free...him." He managed to gasp out. "It...must be...destroyed...first!" Ryoga struggled to collect himself. "Ryoga! Hang on!" Was all Akane was able to get out before _she_ was attacked. Akane was hard pressed by the demon-enchanted polearm in the hands of the burly fighter. She blocked with her arm-guards and leg-guards and sparks flew whenever they made contact. Suddenly, Bishamonten raised his weapon high above his head to smash through her defenses. Akane saw it coming and knew she couldn't stop it in time but she raised her arms and crossed them in a vain attempt to ward of the blow. Ranma, Ryoga and Kunou saw this but all were unable to prevent Akane's fall. Akane's arm-guards and leg-guards thought otherwise. Both sets of armor glowed and a sub-zero blast of cold air blew Bishamonten back, stunned hands dropping his weapon that had mostly protected him from the blast. Quick to take advantage of this, Ryoga went to the dropped weapon and used his umbrella to smash it. Only the fact that his umbrella was the only Twister-enchanted object he had on him, allowed him to break the polearm. In a flash of red and purple light, the weapon was destroyed. Akane went to the stunned fighter and placed her palm on his forehead. She felt a clearing of the mind from Bishamonten and he fell down unconscious as a result of being freed. Ryoga rushed up to her, "Are you alright Akane?" A little shaken at the near defeat, Akane managed, "Yes. I'll have to thank Twister when we get back. That was a close one." *I will too.* Thought Ryoga. Akane thought on. *A defeated look that is an attack. He must have seen something like that coming in his dream and prepared for it.* Then she and Ryoga went on to beat the remaining demons. Soon after, the demons of the first gate had all been defeated. Malkon was not happy at how swiftly his first gate had been taken. *They are _very_ good. Not that it will help them much. The weapons Twister gave them only increase their effectiveness though.* He mused over the fact. *One of my enchanted warriors was not enough. Nor were the amount of demons very distracting. They will also be able to rest as they go from gate to gate. I had not foreseen having the need to block the gates.* Malkon was amused. *You chose your warriors well Twister. But we shall see who wins the playing field.* Malkon thought for a minute and decided. *Yes. That will do nicely, I shall summon _all_ my enchanted warriors and demons. Then I will have them guard this castle. The combined forces of the last four gates will definitely give them a rough time, if not defeat them utterly.* Having thought that, he sent his summons to the four gates and told them to come guard the castle. *Too bad some of the warriors here were away but no matter. I have enough.* "HMMMMPPPTH! GRHP!" Turning at this unexpected sound, Malkon viewed the being who had made the sound and smiled in greeting. "Welcome, Twister, to my humble abode!" Twister was not happy with that statement. "GGRRRHMP!" She was dangling from the hand of a large demon at the moment. It dropped Twister so she could now stand on the floor at a waved signal from Malkon and left. "Ah. I will let you speak in a moment. I must first try something." Malkon stood up from his throne and walked over to the increasingly nervous and angry Twister. He looked at her with glowing eyes for a moment and went back to the throne. Sitting down again, he waved a hand and Twister's gag vanished. "Gah! Finally!" She worked her mouth to get the feel of a gag out of her facial muscles. Malkon looked on with curiousity. "Cast a spell." He commanded. Looking forward to this, Twister tried to but couldn't. Any attempt to make a spell caused the words to slip away. The look of shock brought a smile to Malkon's face. "Hmm. As I thought. You are not completely immune to magic in _this_ form. Only psionics I would imagine. I have planted a magical suggestion that prevents you from casting spells." He chuckled. "That's not fair!" Twister cried angrily. Malkon chuckled even more, "What _else_ did you expect? I _am_ an arch-demon you know." Groaning at this, she rolled her eyes and sighed, "Right. I should have _known_ you would say that." "Don't feel too bad. A future bride will soon better know her husband." Malkon waited for her response in anticipation. This was better than torture. "I'd rather not." Twister said before the words he said registered. The reaction was all he had hoped for. "BRIDE?!?!?!?!?" Her mouth hung open in shock as she paled. "You've GOT to be KIDDING!" "Well, it is likely the only way to tap into your magical power safely." Malkon smiled widely. "And as you can see, I do not see a problem with gender." She paled further at that. Twister sputtered, "You...you...!" "I have heard that amoung the succumbi I _am_ rather a favorite. You should feel honoured. Pity the demon breed cannot reproduce with other races." Twister was speechless with anger and horror by now. He chuckled, "I do wish you could see your face. Well, you had better get ready for the occasion." He clapped and the demon that had brought her in appeared. "Take the lady to the dressing room." Looking at her with glowing eyes again, Malkon crooned, "Be as quick as you can, though I do realize you have not much experience with women's clothing." He waved and the demon carried the still speechless Twister out. *She will not be speechless for long, unless I miss my guess.* He chuckled. Chapter Twenty-Eight -------------------- The party continued past the first gate and were ready for action. However, the second gate was empty. This surprised the team. "Now _why_ is the gate unguarded?" Ranma wondered. "Who cares. Let's go through." With that said, Ryoga entered the second gate safely. Akane looked at Ranma's surprised gaze, "You were _expecting_ something to happen to him!" She looked angry. Unconcerned with Akane's anger, Ranma sighed, "I thought it might have been a trap. I doubt the jerk would have listened anyway." Looking puzzled, he continued, "But if it isn't a trap, why is it empty? This ain't right." Shampoo shrugged, "If not trap then go on." She walked after Ryoga. The rest shrugged and followed. The third and fourth gates were empty as well. This made even Ryoga uneasy and he slowed down so that the others could catch up. "I don't like this." "Oh, _now_ you come to that conclusion." Ranma muttered. Ukyou thought about it, "You don't suppose that..." "...they all went to guard the castle? That may be it." Mousse replied. "Oh great! That would mean instead of doing one gate at a time, we have to do them all at once!" Ranma groaned. Akane was hopeful, "We don't know that yet Ranma." "We will soon and Tatewaki Kunou will be ready!" He swished his sword in practice. They found out the truth when they reached the final gate to the castle. "Oh geez." Ranma stared at the mass of demons surrounding the castle. The enchanted martial artists that Malkon had caught were amoungst the demons. They all looked ready for something. "Or someone." Ryoga finished when Akane voiced that thought. "Well, we've come this far..." Ukyou looked determined even though she looked a little daunted by the enemy. "Come comrades! We will defeat these hordes of Hell with our valor and our skill! Forward!" And he started to walk towards the small army of demons. "Wait for me, elder brother!" Kodachi flew into the air, laughing like a maniac. The rest of the party looked at each other, shrugged, and followed them, ready to fight. "AGGHHH!!! That rotten, slimy, $#!t-eating, etc." Twister raged as she was compelled to dress into the wedding gown that Malkon had made for the occasion. The demon guard outside was used to curses but considering the source of them, one who had defeated his current Master, he was utterly relieved that _he_ was not the target of his charge's swearing. Privately, the demon hoped that Malkon was _very_ careful and not let this powerful being free. Not out of any loyalty but rather for his own hide. "THEN he forces me to wear this damned gown! Damned by its maker _AND_ its construction!" Twister fumed as she struggled with the complex gown which she had to figure out on her own how to wear. *GRRR! If Ranma and the others don't come soon I'll murder him myself! Binding spells or _no_ binding spells!* Twister let loose a howl of frustration along with a shout that echoed throughout the castle with its force, "I'LL KILL THE BASTARD!!!!" Demons shuddered while Malkon chuckled. Kodachi was having the time of her life. The flying belt and pouch that Twister had made for her made her far faster and agile then the flying demons attacking her. Her gymnastic routines were confusing the hell out of the Hell-flock. The ribbon that she used had been enchanted so that it couldn't break and responded to her even better than before. Snagging one demon with it, she would then launch the demon at another, creating a mid-air collision and then both dropping to the ground, stunned. "Hahahahahahahahaha!" Kodachi hadn't had _this_ much fun in a long while. Still, only using a ribbon was starting to become boring and the demons were learning. Thoughtfully, she remembered this Twister person's letter about the belt and pouch. It had said: "Kodachi. You're gonna _love_ this thing while you have it. The belt will only let you fly but with your gymnastic abilities and ribbon, you will be devastating. However, in the interests of your background and a break from using the same thing over again, I made the pouch. Havoc in a small package. To use it, simply reach into the pouch and think about what you want. The options are sneezing, sleeping, paralysis, confusion, and freezing powders. The powders cannot affect the owner of the pouch. Enjoy!" Laughing out loud, she decided to test it. Seeing a demon coming at her she reached into the pouch for sneezing powder, felt something in her hand, and threw it at the demon. It stayed unnaturally together until it hit the demon. Then it burst apart, causing the demon to pause and then start sneezing uncontrollably. It crashed, being unable to fly while sneezing that hard. This widened her eyes and Kodachi smiled broadly. *Time to try the others.* The sleeping and paralysis powders acted like their names. Confusion powder had demons fighting other demons. The last one, freezing powder, didn't paralyse like Kodachi had thought but rather iced up a demon so much it couldn't fly with the extra weight. She patted the pouch fondly. *Lovely thing, and so _many_ applications.* "Hahahahahahahahahahaha!" Mousse wasn't having as much luck as Kodachi. He lacked her grace in the air though, as a duck, he had _some_ experience. He was running out of things to throw at the demons. That said a lot about the amount of demons attacking him. *I'd better save _some_ things for later, just in case.* He took out the gloves that Twister had enchanted for him and quickly put them on. *I hate to use this instead of my own weapons but...* He flicked his hand like he did to reveal another weapon. Instead, a card-shaped field of force snapped into existence. Mousse wondered what Twister had meant by saying that instead of a 'Bloody Card' he'd have a 'Stun Card glove'. He shrugged and threw the Card like any other weapon at a demon. The Card hit the demon, energy flashed, and the demon went unconscious to crash into the ground. A second Stun Card had appeared immediately after Mousse had thrown the first. He was surprised at the swiftness and effectiveness of the glove. Then he smiled. Using both gloves, he rapidly filled the area where he flew with accurately thrown Stun Cards. The sky was suddenly hailing demons. Ukyou was having trouble with the mass of demons attacking her. Kunou had been forced to stand behind her and they were fighting back-to-back. She was starting to get tired and was afraid they'd be overwhelmed. Suddenly, Kunou shouted in frustration. "I am Tatewaki Kunou! I will _not_ be defeated!" He swung at a demon and scored. "For I am the Blue Thunder..." Kunou's sword started glowing and the demons paused in startlement. Ukyou looked quickly back and saw what happened next. "...of Furinkan HIGH!" Without realizing it, Kunou swung his sword in a half-circle in front of him. Along the arc of his swing, blue lightning bolts shot out with multiple cracks of thunder. When he finished the swing, the area before him was temporarily clear of demons. A little stunned, Ukyou muttered, "Twister. You have a _bad_ sense of humour. At least it wasn't purple." She turned back to her own demons. "I wonder if..." She shrugged and swung her giant spatula into the beginning of a swing like Kunou had done. When it started glowing, she knew she was right and swung. No lightning for her. It was heat. LOTS of it. More than even the demons could handle and they were blown back, flaming, by a large shockwave that accompanied it. "YES!" Now she and Kunou were in a complete circle of devastation. *Twister _knew_ Kunou would say that. Must've figured that I would try the same thing.* Ukyou smiled. "I'd say we're cooking now!" Ukyou winced at her own pun. "These demons fall before our might!" Kunou looked as if he had expected that to happen. *Likely did.* Ukyou mentally snorted. Ranma thought things were looking up. All the others were finding the features Twister had talked about. Akane was using her freezing blast when she got in trouble. Kodachi didn't look worried at all, she was flying rings around the demons and laughing like a maniac while knocking them out of the skies. Mousse was finally using Twister's gloves and his portion of the sky was clear so he was launching...cards?...around Shampoo's area. Shampoo was just fine however, and launching her maces occasionally to keep her space clear. Ryoga was just plain berserk and demons were keeping a wary eye on the very strong human who threw deadly bandanas and wielded that incredibly heavy umbrella. However, Ranma knew that this was useless. They had to help free Twister or else the arch-demon would be able to wipe them out with no problem. He didn't think they would be a match for him now. Malkon was playing with them. The enchanted martial artists were starting towards them now but he knew he had to get into the castle now. The problem was that there were too many demons in the way. *What special options did Twister put in my equipment?* He had tried crossing his arms like Akane's but nothing had happened. The only time his armlets glowed was when he punched. *Wait a minute!* Ranma quickly glanced at Akane. *Akane's doesn't glow when she punches! Did Twister try to increase the power of my moves?* He tried a very fast series of punches. During which, his armlets and leg-guards glowed brighter. *That's it! It won't trigger unless I do a whole bunch of punches and there's only one manouver that I can do that would do it.* "Akane! I'm gonna try to get inside the castle! I think I've found my special option! Cover me!" He saw Akane nod. "Alright then!" He faced the direction of the castle doors. "KACHUU TENSHIN AMAGURI-KEN!" He rapidly threw the super-fast punches in the direction of the door. Ranma's arm-guards and leg-guards glowed brightly and a circle of purple light started to form in front of him. Realization dawned. *Twister choose me to be a gate-crasher in case there were too many demons! That means....* "Everybody! Get away from the doors!!!!!" Ranma shouted frantically. The flying pair saw the disk of light and flew out of the way. Demons flew into the space they had been, thinking they were running. The enchanted fighters that were almost upon the party saw the disk as well and ran as best they could out of the way. The path was clear of all humans now. Just in time. The disk suddenly started to move forwards. Ranma stopped punching and ran behind it, just barely keeping up. Anything in front of the giant disk was consumed in its fiery tempest. Ranma's companions threw all they could to keep the demons occupied. When he reached the gates to the castle, the disk merely burned a hole through them. Apparently, the disk had then reached a limit and slowly started to fade. Ranma was happy with that. It had done it's work and he was inside. Now that he was in hallways and rooms he had an advantage since he didn't have to look in all directions. Curiously though, there were no demons yet. *Must have sent almost all outside. Good.* Familiar with the layout of the castle. Ranma headed to where he had gone last time. *I hope you're ready Twister because I _know_ I'm no match for Malkon...* More than ready was Twister. Ready to rip Malkon's head off his body and drop kick it into the Void. *If I get free, I'm going to let him know what True Hell is!* She fumed as she stood there. Malkon was leisurely walking around Twister and commenting on how she looked in the gown. "My dear, you look simply ravishing!" He chuckled at the rage that burned in Twister's eyes. "You must not get too upset. It _is_ true. Considering that I've been around a long time, I am a good judge of these matters." "As if I had a choice!" Grinning, Malkon replied, "I think I _know_ what you would choose." Twister narrowly looked at him with hate-filled eyes. "I must admit. You are remarkably well restrained for a person in your current emotional state." He looked puzzled. She snorted loudly, "And what good would _that_ do?!?! I _know_ you can freeze me in place instantly if you wanted to! You'd likely enjoy that!" Comprehension dawned, "Ah! So you restrain yourself to deny me further pleasure. Intelligently thought out. And correct." Malkon chuckled. "Well I believe it is time. I decided to have the leader of the mortal fighters here perform the ceremony. He reminded me of one of the more self-centered Overseers and it amuses me to use him to perform something like this." Rage sightly down, Twister queried, "Overseers?" Malkon nodded, "Overseers are to arch-demons as arch-demons are demons. Extremely powerful and are the second-highest position a demon can get in Hell." Seeing Twister's dubious face he nodded, "It is true. All arch-demons serve under an Overseer. Mine allowed me to leave for some fun. I am his current favorite this millennium." Malkon shook his head. "Anyway, now we shall proceed with the ceremony. Stand over there my dear." Malkon pointed to a spot on a raised platform and went to stand on a spot opposite. Twister was starting to worry as she walked over to the spot Malkon had indicated. Where _was_ everyone? Would they make it in time? *Oh _please_ make it on time!* When Twister reached the spot, Malkon nodded in satisfaction and turned to the former owner of the castle. "You may beg..." "STOP!!" Someone shouted. Twister tensed but was shouting inside, *Finally!* Twister and Malkon turned to the entrance of the chamber. Looking a little ragged from random encounters with demons in the castle, Ranma stood bravely in the doorway. "I've come to..." His voice faded as he saw Twister in female form and his eyes widened. She looked heart-stopping gorgeous in the gown that Malkon had designed for her. His jaw dropped. Relief turned to major irritation as Twister saw his reaction, "Ranma, if I may remind you, you have the _same_ form when you get wet." She growled. Malkon laughed at this, "Ah, the champion arrives! Now we have to try to see who is the fair damsel and who is the brave hero." He chuckled. Then he smiled confidently, "I _was_ feeling rather disappointed on missing the action happening outside at the moment. Time for a fight, I think." Malkon motioned to the former leader of the castle and calmly said, "Kill him." Ranma groaned, "Kirin..." Twister saw Kirin drop the scroll he was holding and walk over to an opposite position to Ranma. Malkon waved a hand and she felt a shield of force appear between the two about to fight and them. Twister looked over at Malkon. He smiled. "Just in case..." Then the fight started. Kirin was silent because of the enchantment and Ranma was thankful for small miracles. The black chop sticks Kirin held, however, did not look nice at all. Ranma moved swiftly to avoid Kirin's slightly slowed actions. He did _not_ want to touch those things. Afraid of touching them, Ranma didn't even _think_ of trying the same thing he had used to defeat him last time. Realizing this, Twister shouted out, "You can beat him, Ranma! You've done it before already!" Malkon smiled, "But now he fights a foe that has been equipped with magic of my making." "Well, he should still _try_ the same method! Come _on_ Ranma!" *Why is Twister so determined for me to do the same thing? All I did was dig a hot spring.... Oh. OH! That's IT! Twister needs HOT water!* Trying to sound exasperated, Ramna shouted, "Alright already!" He stopped dodging and positioned himself. Kirin stopped as well and readied himself. Suddenly, Ranma moved and punched...straight down. Blowing a hole into the floor and further. Malkon was confused. "How did he defeat his foe before with _that_ move?" Twister just smiled a beatific smile. A rushing noise came from the hole which confused Malkon even further until the hot water rushed up, filling the room. Confusion turned to comprehension on Malkon's face. Then comprehension to horror. He whirled to Twister and stared in total shock. She was glowing with purple flames and smiling widely. "You prevented me from _casting_ spells Malkon. Not triggering ones already cast! This one's for you!" "DISPELL MAGIC!" The second of the spells she had laid upon herself was then triggered fully and rushed out in a wave of purple flame. It consumed the barrier Malkon had cast between her and Ranma, it attacked Malkon's personal protections, and it disrupted his control over Kirin. Running for the hot water, Twister dived in her gown. Malkon saw this through the strain of trying to keep his protections up and started to point a finger in her direction. Kirin, however, had been aware all this time Malkon had enchanted him. His rage at this arch-demon almost matched Twister's. He had luckily had his wife away at the time of the takeover with the twins but that still did not make him any less angry at being used like this. With an iron will, Kirin won enough of his control back to throw the black chopsticks at Malkon. When the sticks hit Malkon's defences, they blew up in a small explosion and staggered him. Twister was momentarily forgotten. This was quickly rectified by Twister's MALE voice shouting loud enough to vibrate the walls. "MALKON! YOU ARE TOAST!" Chapter Twenty-Nine ------------------- Staring in horror, Malkon saw Twister's male body outlined in his blue aura. The gown was in shreds around his body because of his rage and larger body. It no longer looked like a gown of any sort. That did not make him any less formidable-looking to the other three males in the room. His eyes were a completely glowing ice-blue now and looking right at Malkon. With a wave of his hand, Twister teleported Ranma and Kirin down to where the fighting was happening. Out of the _true_ battle zone. They reappeared near their friends who were still fighting. Kodachi was busy with Monron. She was frantically trying to wrap the, now, more than razor sharp strings with her ribbon, which the wire could not cut through. It looked like a stalemate until Shampoo threw a mace at Monron's biwa. It shattered and burst into red flame. Kodachi and Shampoo moved in to free Monron's enchantment Ryoga was shielding Akane from Muu. He had a giant belt on that apparently allowed him to breathe fire and throw fireballs from his hands. The umbrella Ryoga had was enchanted to shield people as its main function. It fulfilled it's task wonderfully. Kunou then suddenly attacked Muu from the side calling out "I am the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" The enchantment in the sword responded and multiple mystic lightning struck the belt. It melted and the thunder blew it off Muu. Ryoga then rushed up and leaped on Muu to free him with his palm. Mousse and Ukyou were busy with Ebiten. They were dodging his fishing line, which was everywhere it seemed and looked electrified. Finally, Ukyou launched her heat wave attack with her giant spatula. The line burnt away and the fishing pole was slightly charred as it protected Ebiten. Mousse immediately launched about twenty Stun Cards. Two hit Ebiten and he want down. The rest finished the job on the fishing pole. Mousse flew down to free Ebiten. All the lower demons appeared to be out cold. Ranma turned to Kirin and put his palm on Kirin's forehead. Kirin staggered a bit but stayed conscious. He smiled. "Kirin thanks you for saving the Seven Lucky Gods martial arts school from that fate." He saw the others of the party freeing the enchanted Seven Lucky Gods martial artists. Ranma looked up at the top floor of the tower. "It's not over yet." Looking up as well, Kirin nodded, "Yes. Who is this Twister that arch-demon seem so afraid of?" About to answer, Ranma was cut off by a large explosion. The top floor of the building had been blown apart by blue flames and a figure in a red aura shot out of control up from it. Another figure in a bright blue aura was right on its tail. Seeing Kirin stare in awe and feeling a bit of the same, Ranma finally said, "Someone he ticked off _big_ time." Malkon was really starting to become worried now. His protections had been largely disrupted by the spell Twister had triggered. He was even more vulnerable now then when he had fought Twister last. To make matters worse, Twister was thinking more than last time and attacking more frequently. "ARCTIC ICEWIND ATTACK!" Malkon groaned as ice pierced his body. He Healed it but he couldn't last much longer. Trying to buy some time to think, Malkon rushed Twister and called his Black Blade into existence. Twister responded by making his diamond sword and getting ready. When their blades clashed, Malkon looked at Twister's eyes and shuddered. His doom lay in those ice-blue orbs. On the ground, the fighters could see the encounter. Twister hadn't tried to learn swordplay but he still blocked every move. The swords moved so fast even Kunou couldn't see them clearly. The combatants locked swords. Malkon was startled when Twister spoke. "I remember this little fight from last time Malkon. However," The diamond sword started to flame blue as Twister talked, "when you opened the Magic to me, the Mind part increased in power as well." With that said, Twister swung at Malkon in an attack for the first time. Desperate, Malkon blocked with his sword. When they met, the diamond sword shone blue flame brightly and Malkon's sword shattered. "Now there is a victor." Malkon threw what was left of his sword at Twister. The release of control allowed the dark forces free and streaked towards Twister. Flying down towards the castle, Malkon gained time while Twister countered the dark force with his own blue flame. Now in a panic, Malkon had but one hope of survival. He didn't want to do it but he had no choice if he wished to survive the hour. Teleporting was useless. Twister would just follow. Transforming himself was no good. His aura was too close to hide. Just one thing could save him. Plea for help. Not with the mortals but with his own Master. Flying into the wreckage of the top floor, he swiftly flew down the inside of the structure until he reached a sub-floor. He entered a heavily shielded room and entered. This was where he had summoned all his lower demons. Malkon had also kept in contact with his Master as was proper. He had seemed amused with Malkon's progress and towards Malkon's respect towards the mortal Twister. Sighing, Malkon calmed his mind and initiated contact. #Well well my current favorite. Something is disturbing you greatly.# %Yes, Master. Twister had planned for his/her escape and is now% %hunting me.% #Why did you call me. Do you wish for a favor?# %Sigh. You see all Master.% #What do you wish from me? I will demand a price you know.# %I know. Better that than non-existence.% #Twister is that strong? Very well. What do you want?# %A trans-dimensional switch with me and kill Twister.% #You think it will require an Overseer?# %Better safe than sorry.% #Very true. I accept. I will collect later.# %Thank you Master. I will not be easy till Twister is dead.% #I will start the procedure now. While it occurs you cannot be harmed# #and I will allow you to see through my eyes as I kill Twister.# %Thank you Master. I am ready.% As the transfer began, Malkon had to sigh. *What a waste.* Twister was about to enter the castle when he felt uneasy. Something terrible was about to happen. Wondering what was up, he extended his senses in the direction Malkon had gone. He sensed Malkon's aura but it was slowly fading away. More alarming was the fact that another aura was appearing in exactly the same place, but much, much more powerful. *What the heck?* Twister was confused. *Malkon is fading and another is coming? Who would...?* Remembering Malkon's conversation with him about Overseers, Twister paled as he hung in mid-air. *He's not... He is! OHHHH SHIIT!* He rocketed down to the people below. Akane wondered what was the matter with Twister, he looked frightened. "What's wrong Twister?" "Apparently, I've scared Malkon out of his wits. Unfortunately, he called for help from his Master. I can sense his aura coming as Malkon leaves. Back to Hell, hopefully." Twister was wondering what to do. "How strong is his Master?" Ranma inquired. The long, hard look he got back was answer enough. "What do we do?" Pausing, Twister appeared to be considering something, then he answered, "Keep him amused for a minute or two. Or I should say 'blast him as hard as you can'. I think I might have a way, if an idea about my nature is correct. I'll be at the final gate." He rose from the ground. "How will we know you're ready?" Ryoga demanded. With a grim face, Twister replied to that question as he flew away. "Oh, you'll _know_." Chapter Thirty -------------- The group standing near the castle watched Twister go to the final gate. "How the heck will we know when this Overseer comes?" Ranma wondered out loud. The earth trembled. "I hadta ask." From the hole in the doors, flames rushed out in a stream. Flame was soon was shooting out of every part of the castle open to the air. Then, the building collapsed in a fiery heap. The watchers looked on as a form struggled effortlessly out of the rubble of the castle. They gasped. He was huge! Thirty feet tall, the Overseer stepped out of the rubble. He was not as human looking as Malkon had been. He looked more like a red, giant minotaur. Flames roared out of his bull-like nostrils and his hooves sizzled the grass. "I understand the 'amused' part now." Ukyou faintly said. The bull-head looked around and then bellowed. "WHERE IS TWISTER?" He spied the mortals on the ground. Ranma shouted, "He's not here at the moment! Did you want to leave a message?" The others stared at him. *Musta been around Twister too long...* "AMUSING. BUT NOT THE ANSWER I SEEK. WHERE IS TWISTER?" "I _said_ he's not here!" The Overseer paused for a second, wondering where to start looking. Meanwhile, the group had gathered together. "We're only gonna get one shot so everybody hit him with your best shot at once." Ranma told them. Nervously looking at the Overseer, Akane said, "Are you sure about this Ranma?" "No. But Twister needs time I think. This will give him it. Let's go!" They positioned themselves around the Hell-creature and at a signal from Ranma, attacked all at once. Akane used her frost blast. Kodachi her freezing powder. Ranma with the advancing, light shield. Ryoga with a powerful ki-blast. Ukyou with her heat wave. Shampoo with both maces. And finally, Kunou with his Blue Thunder move. The heat, cold and energy blasts collided with the Overseer's legs and he stumbled a bit then stood still again. Unharmed, the Overseer looked down at the mortals. "Oboy." Ranma muttered. "YOU SEEK TO GAIN MY ATTENTION? I WILL ASK ONE MORE TIME. WHERE IS TWISTER?" The Overseer sounded mildly annoyed. Ranma was about to speak again when a gigantic voice interrupted him. "YOU WANTED HIM AND NOW YOU GOT HIM! AND BOY! ARE YOU GONNA REGRET IT!" Several minutes earlier, Twister had sat down, wondering how to beat the Overseer, at the final gate. *I've survived the Event! But can I beat this Overseer though?* He pondered that fact for a few seconds. *I wonder. _Can_ I access the Event directly? It _is_ the source of all Magic and Mind but _I_ in a way _am_ it. Or rather, a small representation of it. I am Mind and Magic too as a result of entering the Event. Could a small Event access the much larger Event and tap a very small part of it for a minute or two?* Twister thought about it and decided. *It's my only option left that I can try right now. I'd better start.* Twister gathered his strength and dived deep into his being. He had much more control over his powers than when he had first arrived but nowhere near anything approaching competence yet. A rough ride was ahead. Diving deeper, he could see a strange sight in his mind's eye. It was the junction between his Mind and Magic powers, it looked just like the Event. He could feel that it was a part of him now. Now and forever. And since it was part of him, he could command it to open a very small channel of Power from the larger Event. He did so. Power rushed forth, into both Mind and Magic halves of his being. He felt like he was being torn apart and in opening his eyes saw that he _was_ in a way. She/he saw from two sets of eyes. Disorienting. One faced the other. Separate yet together. An Event. Blue flame covered his/her male form and purple the female form. Yet she/he must be _one_ to _use_ the power. That was obviously the next step. She/he chose the male form to be the end result of the union. She/he then touched palm to palm and concentrated. Her/his forms moved together again but the flames did as well. A male form appeared but with powerful blue/purple flames roaring about it. The strain of Mind/Magic forced together was incredible. Twister could not do this for long. He stood up and found his body glowed a brighter blue/purple than the flames. Twister had also grown to be forty feet tall. Only a minute he sensed could he remain like this so he hurried to the castle. He heard the final query of the Overseer and answered it. "YOU WANTED HIM AND NOW YOU GOT HIM! AND BOY ARE YOU GONNA REGRET IT!" Overseer and mortals alike gaped at the glowing figure rushing towards the Overseer. "WHAT THE...?!" The Overseer was astonished. The power radiating from the glowing figure was immense! That was the last thought he had a chance to form before Twister attacked. Twister made a flying tackle at the smaller figure and thought, *Time to _really_ turn up the heat.* He concentrated almost all his power on the Overseer in his grip. The Overseer screamed. Flames of Mind/Magic consumed his body, his magic, and his mind. The overwhelming power of the Event shattered his defenses and then his life. His form was consumed instantly in Twister's grip as Mind/Magic flame flowed into it. He had not much time left and Twister wanted to do some more. Summoning his power he did two things, he found every demon in the area and flung them home by means he instinctively understood in this form and then, facing the castle, he released the rest of his Event borrowed power to restore the castle to its original, undamaged state. Feeling himself shrinking, Twister sighed in relief that it had worked and fell deeply into unconsciousness. Everyone stared in awe as the glowing, now-forty foot tall figure of Twister tackled the Overseer. They ran away from the titans as they did not want to get trampled by the battle. Which was very brief. They stopped at the Overseer's cry of death and turned to see Twister finishing off the Overseer by consuming him in flames. Then Twister stood for a second and everyone wondered what he was doing now. Suddenly, demons everywhere vanished from where they lay. Twister turned to the pile of rubble. The castle reappeared. Unharmed. They then noticed Twister starting to shrink and sighing. Before they could get to him, he had collapsed on the ground, unconscious. They gazed in awe at the crumpled figure at their feet. Ranma then commented with a little awe, "I have a feeling he's going to feel THAT in the morning..." Kirin stared at his now restored castle in wonder. "Kirin had thought he would have to rebuild again. Now there is no need. Kirin invites you all to stay for the night. You look weary." He looked respectively at Twister's form. "He will recover better in a good bed. Kirin's own. It is the least Kirin could do. For his generousity." Akane smiled, "Thank you Kirin." "The pleasure is Kirin's." Twister woke up to the biggest headache he had ever had in his life. When he tried to move without opening his eyes, he found out that every square inch of his body ached. A lot. Opening his eyes, he saw he was in a wonderfully soft bed with a canopy. He tried to sit up but pain flared and he saw spots before his eyes as unconsciousness threatened again. "Uhhhhhh....." He groaned. A door opened quickly and Akane rushed in. "Twister! You're awake!" She cried with joy. He waved his hand down. "Please... lower the volume. My whole head echoes." Speaking more softly, Akane asked, "How are you?" "Other than I have a headache the size of the Overseer and ache over every part of my body, I'm ok. I won't try sitting up for a few more minutes though." Twister groaned and held his head. "I am _never_ going to do that again. Once is enough and I really don't like pain." His stomach growled out loud. Twister was startled. "I _must_ be tapped out if my stomach is complaining _that_ much." He checked his power. Almost nonexistent. "Yup. Tapped out. How's the food around here Akane?" Twister grinned weakly. "Ok if you don't mind pickles." She grinned. "Right. I forgot. Nevermind, I don't care. I need anything I can get if I want to recover any faster." He sighed. "I sleep long? Hours, days, weeks?" She shook her head. "About a day." Shocked, Twister muttered, "Jeez. I must heal faster than I thought. I ripped myself apart pretty badly." He tried sitting up again and managed to stay up. "Another victory! Now to stand." Ranma then walked in after hearing Akane earlier, "Hi Twister! You ok?" Giving the grinning Ranma the Evil Eye, Twister growled, "Yes, once this echo from your voice goes away." Turning to Akane, Ranma chuckled, "I _said_ he'd have a headache." "Yes, and so does Akane now. Cure? Throw Ranma out of room. Shall I start treatment now or do I kill you later?" Ukyou walked in, "If he's making jokes, he must be ok." Twister sighed with great suffering, "Why me?" Taking something from behind her back, Ukyou placed it in front of Twister. It was a large pile of pickles. "Food!" He immediately started devouring the pickles. Less than two minutes later he finished them all. "Ahh. That's better." Ukyou, Akane, and Ranma stared. Smiling, he told them, "I _said_ I was hungry." Soon, because of the pickles, Twister felt good enough to walk, though he still ached and his headache was only down a little bit. The three escorted him to the hall where Malkon was about to marry Twister. "Brr. That thought still gives me shivers." "What thought?" Ukyou asked. "Malkon marrying me. Now _there's_ a fate worse than death." Akane and Ukyou were shocked, "He was going to _marry_ you??" They exclaimed. Then laughed. Raising an eyebrow, Ranma chuckled, "You should have seen him in that wedding gown Malkon made." "You _did_ as I recall. I had to remind you to pick your jaw off the floor." Twister sarcasticly said. "Even though _you_ have the same damn body after getting wet! Malkon compelled me to dress myself. Damn thing had more buttons than I could count." Akane and Ukyou laughed again. Twister sighed, "No pity. No pity at all." "Well, we do have a lot of sex appeal in that form." Ranma offhandedly said. Akane smashed him into the wall. Chuckling, Twister thanked Akane, "Ah good. That saves me the trouble later." They then entered the hall, with Ranma a little wobbily behind them. Kirin was sitting on his throne with his fellow martial artists standing beside it. The party stood to either side of the hall. "Ah, you are awake at last Twister." Kirin smiled. Twister smiled back, "Pardon me for not bowing. If I did, I might keep going till I hit the floor." Kirin chuckled, "Kirin understands. You did a mighty thing and mighty rest is required after such tasks." "That particular mighty thing I don't care to repeat. It's a little too...hazardous to my health." Twister sighed, "But at least it got the job done." "In any case, the Seven Lucky Gods school of martial arts is thankful for what you have done. Anything you want, within Kirin's powers, is yours." Smiling, Twister replied, "I think what I want, most of all, is just some food and rest. My companions who came at my behest, also deserve a lot of thanks for battling the demons to get here. When I feel recovered enough we can go home. Unless..." A thoughtful look came to Twister's eye. "We _are_ in China. Ranma, Shampoo, Mousse, do you want to? It would be something to do while here and wait for me to regain my strength. Maybe Ryoga too, you're strong, just to help me...in case I have trouble." The three mentioned, straightened as they remembered the cursed springs. Ryoga straightened as well, thankful that Twister hadn't mentioned him as being cursed. "Yes! Shampoo like to go!" "I, Mousse, as well!" "I can't believe we almost forgot again." Ranma shook his head. "Of course I'll help Twister." Suddenly, another thought crossed Twister's mind, "No..." He frowned. Wondering at this, Akane asked, "What Twister?" "Just a bad thought that came to mind." He still looked a little worried. Malkon wasn't too sure of how he felt as he rested after his ordeal in his inner chambers of his dwelling in Hell. His Master was gone. That was bad. Through the link they had shared, he had received some of the Overseer's power. That was good. Before the link ended, he had seen Twister glowing with power. That was bad. Twister had returned Malkon's demons. That was good. The other Overseers were saying he had planned the whole thing but would find out he couldn't have foreseen the result. Mixed good and bad. He was sure Twister wouldn't come after him since Malkon was in Hell again and Twister was likely sorely tired of dealing with demons for a _long_ while. That was very good. He guessed he felt fairly good about the whole deal and had come out a little ahead. The amount of excitement Malkon had had would likely last him ten thousand years. Not that he would be anxious to have _that_ much excitement again. It had been a little too close for comfort. It was a pity though. Twister had looked _very_ nice. Malkon chuckled. Chapter Thirty-One ------------------ Travellers walked up a misty trail hidden in the mountains. Five figures walked upon it. The man who called himself the Guide spotted the five people approaching him. They looked vaguely familiar, except for one. The one that did not look familiar spoke, "Is this Jusenkyou?" "Yes it is, sir. Famous cursed springs of Jusenkyou you have found. I am here to help you understand the many strange and terrible curses that are found in each spring." He bowed. "I believe you may have seen a strange figure come this way earlier?" The One asked. The other four appeared excited. "Oh yes, sir. Very strange that one. He ask about one cursed spring and then asked to be alone. When I came back, he gone!" "Hmm. I hope my fears are unfounded." The One pondered. "What are you talking about Twister? We're here aren't we?" Ranma asked Twister. "You ask this fine gentleman here what you want. I think I'll wait here. I believe it would be useless for me in any case." Twister sighed. "Shampoo not understand. Why not work for Twister?" "It opened and allowed access to my Magic half. I don't think that door can be closed again. By anything. My power came from the source of all magic. It will easily be able to resist. It's my nature now." Ryoga strode forward and started talking to the Guide. Soon, all but Twister followed the Guide. Twister muttered to himself, "I _could_ be wrong about this. Malkon may _not_ have done that." He heard a few splashes in the distance. Silence. Then he heard angry shouts. "Then again, I _could_ have been right." He chuckled. The four people he had come with came back. Bone dry. "How did _you_ know this would happen?!" Ranma shouted. "Malkon likely believed that I could be cured by coming here. I think he's wrong but he likely didn't want to take a chance for me to remove my weakness. He likely cast something so that cursed people couldn't touch the cursed water again." Twister sighed. Ryoga demanded, "Can't you _undo_ it?" "I can't touch water. By Mind _or_ by Magic. I still can't figure it out." He shrugged. "What was clear liquid Shampoo pour over maces to enchant?" "SALT water. I enchanted the SALT and dissolved it into water. It seemed easier to pour onto something. That's the closest I can get to water." They all groaned. "Can't _you_ do something, Twister?" Ranma demanded. Twister chuckled, "Against a WATER-based spell? Not likely. _Resist_ it myself, yes, but on someone else?" He shook his head "Not a chance." Mousse sighed, "I guess we should get home then." "I'll be strong enough to take us all back when we return to Seven Luck mountain." He sighed. "At least I don't need to worry about Malkon any more." "Maybe something else, perhaps." Ranma chuckled quietly to himself. Nabiki was going crazy. Twister had managed to teleport a long letter relating what had happened but neglected to mention _when_ they were going to return. Genma tried to calm Nabiki, "They likely didn't know how long they would be, Nabiki. The cursed springs is a hard place to find." Soun looked curiously at Genma, "I would think you would be upset at not going, Saotome." "That's likely because he knows Twister could teleport him there anytime. Once he's _been_ to a place, he can teleport to it by psionic power." Nabiki acidly replied. Genma looked a little sheepish. She continued. "Ranma's the only person that really _needs_ to be uncursed. Then Mrs. Saotome wouldn't go head-hunting for them." Soun laughed. "You're right, Nabiki. Then Saotome could go at his leisure" Nabiki was about to say something similarly sarcastic to her father when... BOOOM!! The thunder of displaced air blew Soun, Genma and Nabiki away from where they were sitting and scattered them on the floor, looking at the arrivals. "Whoah! Can we make an entrance or what! Cannons roaring at our coming!" Twister grinned. "Have Twister, will travel!" He saw Nabiki glaring at him from where she was rising from the floor and his mood lowered a bit. "Uh... Maybe I should've sent a note first." He said sheepishly. Nabiki advanced on him with a strange gleam in her eye that Twister didn't like. "Uh, Nabiki, are you ok?" He started walking backwards, then ran with Nabiki close behind. "What did I do???" He cried as he ran upstairs towards his vacant room with Nabiki on his heels. The other arrivals looked at their departure and shook their heads. Ranma chuckled, "He faces demons, an arch-demon, an Overseer, and he _runs_ from Nabiki. That tells you something." In a dangerously quiet voice, Akane asked him, "What's that Ranma?" Oblivious to Akane's mood, Ranma went on, "Which is more dangerous: demons or girls. Obvious, from _his_ reaction." He smirked. She threw him _hard_ into a wall and for once, the other girls didn't object. Caught in a corner, Twister was trapped by Nabiki who was advancing on him. "Heh heh. Uh...are you mad at me?" He replied nervously. "Now why should I be angry? You've only been captured by an arch-demon, almost _married_ to him, faced off with a ten-times more powerful being, and couldn't send a letter for almost a _week_ after that! SO WHY DO YOU THINK I'M ANGRY?!" She shouted at him. Twister sighed, and looked her in the eye. "Because you were worried about me?" He softly said. Nabiki glared at him for a few seconds more before breaking down and going into his arms, sobbing. He stroked her hair. "I'm sorry. I've never been much for bringing to mind important things sometimes. But I'm getting better." He chuckled. "Not by much, I'll admit." She stopped sobbing, looked up into his eyes and forcefully said, "Oh shut up and kiss me already." "I haven't had much practice..." He started saying. "On the job training then." She pulled his unresisting head down to her level and kissed him. Twister returned the favor. Kasumi walked away from the door smiling. Ten minutes later, with Nabiki looking like herself again, they went back downstairs. They saw Ranma holding his nose and figured he must have gotten Akane mad again. "Another tiff with Akane?" Twister chuckled. Ranma nodded sourly. "Yesh." Nabiki looked around. "Did they all go home?" Akane walked back in, "Yes. They all wanted to go back to rest in their own homes again. Ryoga just wandered out for a minute." "Lost again, the idiot." Ranma muttered. Twister nodded, "It _has_ been a while. What time is it anyway?" Kasumi came out with food, "It's lunchtime." "No more pickles. That's a relief. They may be good but..." "You wouldn't want to live on them." Akane chuckled. Twister's stomach rumbled. "Geez. That teleport must have taken more than I thought. I'll have to go to some ice-cream parlor or something." "Too bad you don't have that gown. _That_ would get you a lot." Ranma chuckled. Mildly, Twister responded, "Ranma, I've gotten pretty good at teleporting lately." Ranma frowned, "Yes. So?" BANG! "Wahhh!" SPLASH! Calling out to the pond, Twister continued, "Do _not_ mention that gown again, please!" Akane struggled to hold her laughter in while Nabiki sighed, "Well, things look like they're back to normal around here." After lunch, Twister sighed. He pondered on what to do with his time now that Malkon was gone. *I'd better make a diamond for Nabiki to sell. I think I may be getting low on funds.* Mentally going over what he spent on food he nodded. *Yup. Definitely going to have to. Maybe I should go into jewelry making. I have a lot of spare gold I TK'ed from the sea. Or maybe save that for gifts. A telekinetic can make all sorts of goodies.* Twister smiled at that thought and stood up. He was still hungry and he thought of going to a all-you-can eat place. *Time to put thought into deed.* He stopped by Nabiki's room and knocked. "Come in." He opened the door and stuck his head inside. "I'm still drained so I'm going to terrorize an all-you-can-eat place. Then I'll come back to make another diamond since those people you sold it to suggested they might want more. I'm low on cash and you too, I would wager." She nodded. "I haven't had to sell Kunou's negatives yet, though." Twister laughed, "_That_ was a good one. Well, I just thought I'd tell you before I charge myself up again." He smiled, "See you later." She smiled back, "You too." Chapter Thirty-Two ------------------ After seeing the horrified looks of the all-you-can-eat place, Twister left. *Probably wondering how I can humanly eat that much and still live.* He chuckled. Twister suddenly remembered something about his enchantments. *Oh dang! I knew I forgot to tell them something! I'll have to tell them soon.* He started towards Ukyou's. *I'll tell Ukyou, then Shampoo and Mousse.* Reaching Ukyou's, Twister went in and smiled at her. "Hello!" "Hi Twister! Ordering something?" She chuckled. "Nah. But you should've seen the guy's faces in the all-you-can-eat place. Priceless." Laughing now, she queried, "Why are you here then?" He sighed. "I remembered something about the enchantments. They'll wear off in likely another week. I'd just thought I'd tell you." Ukyou nodded, "That's good. I don't want to accidentally fry someone by mistake." A sudden idea flashed in Twister's mind, "Do you allow people to use your restaurant for parties?" Intrigued, Ukyou said, "It depends on the person. Why?" He smiled. "I just got this idea..." After discussing the idea with Ukyou, Twister went to Shampoo's restaurant. *Somewhere along the way in China, Shampoo lost her interest to kill me. That's great but I wonder why.* He shrugged and walked in. He saw Shampoo waiting tables and Mousse in a corner table, again. "Hi Shampoo. Hi Mousse. I just thought I'd tell you something." Shampoo smiled, "Hi Twister. What matter?" "Those enchantments I made will only last for maybe another week. I'm still new at this stuff." He shrugged. "That all right. Shampoo not care much." She'd miss the fun though, Twister read in her eyes. "I did not need it much anyway." Mousse replied from the corner. "By the way... I've been meaning to ask you. What changed your mind about killing me? Not that I mind, but I'm just curious." She smiled, "Shampoo see now that just Twister's way of dealing with thing and not really mean to humiliate Shampoo in bad way." Twister chuckled, "You're right. I didn't understand why you had been so angry at the time. I guess I do now though." A mischievous gleam twinkled in his eye. "Just be careful the next time I get you." "You certainly are the trickster when you want to be," Cologne replied by the counter. "Sometimes. Sometimes." He grinned at Cologne and left waving good-bye. Shampoo got nervous. She called out, "You tell Kodachi about enchantment ending?" From outside she heard, "You think _I'm_ crazy??" Cologne chuckled as Shampoo sighed in relief. Twister soon returned home and started on that diamond. *Let's make the sucker a larger one this time. Same shape though.* He went though the same process as he had made all his other diamonds and the relatively small diamond was ready in half an hour. He stood up, stretched, and went to Nabiki's room again, knocking. "Hello?" "I come bearing gifts." Twister showed the diamond to Nabiki. "That's half again as large as the first one." She commented. "Heck. You saw large the teleport crystal was. It only carboned because of the immense magical power strains on it." He glaced at the one she now held. "The industrial and scientific applications are far less stressful on diamonds." He chuckled. Smiling at the diamond she commented, "Anything else?" Twister grinned, "As a matter of fact..." She sighed, "I should have known." "I asked Ukyou first because I was curious about something and now you, since you I wanted to ask from the beginning for this." Raising her eyebrows, Nabiki asked, "What are you talking about?" "We never really did have a proper celebration for everyone..." The next two weeks Akane and Ranma didn't see much of Twister. He always seemed to be going somewhere and there was a strange smile on his face almost every time they saw him. "At least he's not grim this time, like he was before." Ranma commented after school. "True. But what is he doing? And where? He's not doing anything in his room. Father looked." Akane was puzzled. "Knowing him, it'll be different I bet." Evidently, the next day, which was a Saturday, was the day Twister would reveal his secret. Akane found a envelope with her name on it in her room. She opened it and looked in wonder at the card inside. It was minutely detailed with what looked like gold to Akane and her face was the background for the card. It read: ---------------------------------------------------------------- Twister would like you to come to Ukyou's restaurant to discuss an important matter relating to the recent trip to China. Please do not have lunch as refreshments will be served. Time will be 4:00pm Thank you, Twister. ---------------------------------------------------------------- *What in the world is he up to now?* Wondered Akane. "Ranma!" "Yeah?" She heard faintly. "Have you found a card in your room?" "No. Why...wait. I just found one." Pause. "I guess we'll be finding out what Twister has been up to." "I wonder how he put these...never mind. He's Mr. Invisible when he wants to be." She sighed. "This gives me something to do today now." Ranma commented outside her door. "We'd better get ready then..." At 4:00pm everyone who had gone to help Twister in China was seated at a very large table for the number of people involved. Twister had had to teleport Ryoga again. Twister and Nabiki walked out of the kitchen with Ukyou and seated themselves. Looking very serious, Twister began, "I realized soon after we returned from China that we had forgotten one major detail. I have been working in secret with the help of Nabiki and Ukyou to remedy that problem." He gazed at everyone at the table solemnly. "What we miss Twister?" Shampoo asked nervously. In answer, Twister raised his hands and clapped. The clap became a thunderclap as huge amounts of different sorts of food and drink appeared on the table simultaneously. Twister grinned widely, "We forgot to celebrate getting home in one piece of course!" Everyone was stunned with the amount of food prepared. "H-how did you _get_ all this Twister?" Akane stammered. "I _made_ most of it. With help from Nabiki and Ukyou of course." He grinned. "Most of it?" Ranma looked at the vast amount of food. Twister continued, "Of course, magic spells to keep things fresh helped." "So _this_ is what you've been doing!" Akane accused. "Guilty as charged ma'am. This is just my way of saying thanks." He paused then chuckled, "If your eyes don't convince you then let your noses! Dig in!" Twister started selecting various foods on the table. The rest of the group quickly followed. Several hours later, the group finally became stuffed and had to go home. They had mostly eaten, drank, or talked about what had all happened in China. Surprisingly, no one attacked anyone else though there were a few close calls that Nabiki or Twister managed to defuse before things got out of hand. One of the comments during eating was from Shampoo. "How you know to make most good stuff?" She was curious. Twister laughed. "I've always had an urge to cook every once in a while. Mostly desserts though. Most of the main stuff I learned from watching Kasumi for a few weeks and some help from Ukyou. Having a perfect memory now makes cooking a lot easier." He chuckled and handled a slice of pizza he had made. "Though some main dishes I remembered myself." Ukyou had tried the pizza and liked it. It was very similar to her own specialty. "I declare this meeting a success!" Twister announced, smiling widely. Then he looked at the still massive amounts of food left over. "Of course, I would be grateful if some of you took some of this stuff with you. Not even I could eat _this_ much." Most took quite a bit to Twister's relief. Akane, Ranma, Nabiki, and Ukyou were soon the only ones left. Twister grinned at Nabiki and Ukyou. "Well partners, looks like the operation was a success. Now to divvy up the spoils before they become the spoiled. Anything you want Ukyou, take now, or forever hold your peace." Ukyou took what was left of the pizza. Natch. "That it? Ok." Clapping his hands again, Twister sent all the food to the Tendo home. "I mentioned to Kasumi that I might be bringing a lot of food home. Mr. Saotome and Mr. Tendo should be nicely hungry by now." He grinned. "That takes care of half of the food. Three-quarters, if Happosei is there. Waste not, want not." "This was some surprise Twister." Akane said. "Well, I _was_ kinda glad everyone came to China. I thought this was the best way to show it. I felt the urge to make something anyway, and with my extra talents, this was well within my capabilities." "It sure was great eating it." Ranma commented. "Aren't you a fairly good cook Ranma?" Twister questioned. Nabiki broke in, "Sure. If you can manage to drag him through the kitchen door." "Or necessity? Like when Kasumi was sick?" Twister chuckled. Ranma glanced nervously at Akane at that comment. Akane was angry and also confused that Twister would know about the time she and Ranma had done a cook-off when Ranma's mother was there and Kasumi ill. Then she remembered that in Twister's world this universe was a story. Her look promised impending doom. "Perfect!" Twister said happily for some reason, "Now I can ask another question. Ranma or Akane, would either of you mind teaching me martial arts? I need something else to do or I'm going to go nuts." "Huh?" Ranma said. Akane felt the same way. "I thought you couldn't do that because you were afraid you would lose control." "In my _male_ form, yes, that's true. However, I have to call out a rhyme in order to do anything in _female_ form. To be really safe, all I have to do is not talk during a session." He looked pleadingly from one to the other. "I really would like to learn. It would help in a lot of things and I might as well use that form's advantages for things other than ice-cream." Twister chuckled. "I think Ranma better. He's faster than me and your body is already pretty quick." Akane conceded grudgingly. "And no future sight." sighed Twister. "Alright." Ranma agreed after some thought. Smiling warmly, Twister thanked Ranma. Turning to Ukyou, Twister thanked her again for the use of the restaurant. "No problem. Besides, you _paid_ me for it." Her smile belied the comment. "Well time to boom home. It's raining out so I'll take us to my room." Waving to Ukyou, he did so. BOOM! Appearing in Twister's room, the foursome then went downstairs. They found Soun, Genma, and Happosei still eating the leftover food. "Ah! The appreciative taste-testers. Two thumbs up?" Twister queried. "Excellent Twister! Practically like Kasumi's!" Cried Soun. "I should hope so. I learned most of the main courses watching her." Walking into the kitchen, he saw Kasumi, "Finish already?" "Hello Twister. Yes I did. You did very well." She smiled. "Had a good teacher." He chuckled. "Watching you make it helped a lot." "_That's_ why you wanted to watch!" She exclaimed smiling. "Yup. I don't cook too often though. Just when I have to or the urge hits me." Kasumi smiled again, "Well, thank you for doing supper for me today anyway." "No problem." He bowed and exited the kitchen. A little while later, Twister had changed into female form again and was wearing a gi. Ranma was standing opposite her. "I'll just go over the basics first." Ranma started showing Twister moves and correcting her occasionally. Twister had fairly good judgement in proper movement and she learned fairly quickly. After an hour, Ranma called it quits. "You're pretty good for a beginner. Must be those changes in your body." "Yup. I'd learn faster in the male form but this is safer." She paused for a second. "When we start practicing against each other...will you have a problem with this form or not?" Twister turned an inquisitive face at Ranma. Obviously, he had not thought that far ahead. "Umm. I'm not sure." "It's not like I'm actually a girl but if the form fits... If you have trouble with it then maybe _you_ could change too. That would be interesting." Twister chuckled. "And easier on you." Ranma thought about and sighed, "I think I'd have to change. I just don't feel comfortable hitting a girl but when I'm in the other form it's not as bad." "Ok then. When I get to the point when we can start sparring against each other, _you_ change as well." She paused in thought. "That might be better all round in case someone dropped in. That would compound your problems." Groaning at the thought, Ranma agreed, "If Kunou happened by..." Nodding, Twister agreed, "Exactly. 'Ranma! You fight the pig-tailed one? Die!'" Sighing, Ranma agreed. "Now _that_ will be a sight. Ranko vrs. Ranko. Double vision time." Twister thought of another thing. "Also, I need to do something with my clothes. If I ever change forms accidentally, I do _not_ want to wreck them. Hmmm. I guess that would require some thought and some magic." "You figure _that_ one out, could ya do the same for mine?" "Sure. No problem. Anything for a friend." Twister smiled at the words and reflected that things were definitely looking up in his...um..., *'Her' as well now I guess,* changed life. ---------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------- T H E E N D ------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------- F O R N O W ------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- Author's Note: This story WILL be continued! Stay tuned! :-) Profile on Twister so far: Twister was once an average young man going to university before getting summoned accidentally by Happosei. He was thrown into a powerful phenomenon called the 'Event' which is a meeting of the sources of Mind and Magic in the Void. This act was done by an arch-demon going by the name of Malkon, as true names would give people power over him. The result of this action changed Twister from a normal being into something which even Twister is not fully aware of. Twister has great power now but not very proud that he has it. He doesn't really believe it makes him better than everyone else. Just a little different. Right now when fighting, he is reluctant to use his powers and will only use them if wounded, about to be killed, or angered. Twister is very slow to get angry enough at someone to use his power. He seems to be very attracted to Nabiki and time will tell how that relationship comes out. Twister's Powers: When these appeared first, he had powers of the Mind. These were apparent at first: Telekinesis(which he used to boost his physical abilities), levitation, teleportation, and a curious incarnation of mental power, mindfire. Prescience was also evident in his swordplay with Malkon. Other powers may be his but as yet undiscovered. Further testing showed that he could use some of these powers without calling up his full strength which is visible by the appearance of Twister's blue aura. Direct magical effects seem unable to affect Twister in this form. Twister's body was changed as well. He is much more stronger than he was before and his strength is currently greater than Ryoga's or Shampoo's without enhancing it with his power. Speed, reflexes, stamina, and other things have all been increased as well. He must eat like everyone else but he uses it much more efficiently and can store the energy for future use without much visible effect on his body. Exertion or use of his powers uses that stored energy more quickly. Digestion also seems improved remarkably though he does not need to eat if he has stored enough energy to not become hungry. The arch-demon Malkon viewed Twister's power with some thought and divined that there was more to Twister's power than mere psionics. He sent the same cursed spring water that Ranma had fallen into to Happosei, who proceeded to douse Twister with it. Twister's magic resistance failed dramatically because the water allowed Twister's other form of power to come to the surface. Magic. While in female form, Twister discovered that she was able to cast magic spells through the use of activating rhymes, visualization, and power. Magic is very versatile so only the effects Twister has accomplished so far is listed. Twister has been able to enchant objects with power for both offensive and defensive use. She has yet to discover how to make PERMANENT magical items, for her enchantments will fade if not renewed. Also has made a anti-scrying shield that covered an entire town in order to prevent Malkon from seeing what she was doing. Teleportation, message disk enchantment, personal defenses against domination and transformation, as well as flight spells were also made by Twister. However, the ultimate form of Twister's power is not by either Mind or Magic but rather by a unique combination of the two united by Twister's being. The use of the power was very stressful for Twister's body and incredibly draining. Fortunately, while in use, it is EXTREMELY POWERFUL. The energy of the powerful Event is directly channeled, in a very small amount, into Twister. This causes a separation of Twister's Mind and Magic forms and she/he must unite in order to use the power. Once combined, the power is amplified by the union and Twister's physical form grows accordingly. The actual amount of power is unknown but Twister blasted a fresh Overseer of Hell which was at least ten times more powerful than Malkon into dust in less than five seconds despite its formidable magical defenses. He also banished over a hundred unconscious demons back to Hell and rebuilt a totally destroyed castle. Twister had to rest for a week before being completely recovered. He might have recovered faster if he had eaten more than pickles. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- That's it for this one. Twister. Hope you liked Twister's little description here. :) -- ============================================================================== Darren Steffler a.k.a "Twister"- mail at ==============================================================================