Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Two Wallets ❯ Pearly Gates ( Chapter 75 )

A Tale of Two Wallets

(An Altered Destiny)

Written by Jim Robert Bader

Proofread by Shiva Barnwell

It was a bright and cheerful afternoon that found two young girls, both aged fifteen, inline skating across the boardwalk with perfect freedom and abandon, enjoying the warmth of the sun on their bikini-clad bodies as the wind whipped through their hair and provided a cooling breeze against their faces.

Kimomoto Sakura and Daidojo Tomoyo had been friends for as long as either girl could remember, and they had shared many strange and interesting times in their youth, though little of it was known to the general public. What marked them as unusual was the secret they each shared, a secret made stronger by the bonds of their lifelong friendship, for Sakura was in that special category commonly known as a magical girl, but unlike most such members of that order, she tended to be a bit shy on the matter of public relations.

What made this even more unusual was the fact that Tomoyo was her self-designated Publicist and Promotional advisor, a role she relished only slightly less than her other tasks as part-time fashion designer and emotional consultant for the often reluctant Sakura. She had made it a point to videotape every one of her friend's heroic exploits and kept them all tucked away in a private vault, vowing one day to chronolog Sakura's escapades in a public forum so that other people living in Japan who appreciate the bravery of her beautiful friend, who was Tomoyo's personal idol.

Something else that distinguished the pair of inline skating teenagers, however, was the entourage that followed them, always at a discrete distance. Many heads chanced to turn in amazement at the sight of five fairly attractive women all dressed in matching black attire with dark sunglasses concealing their ever watchful eyes as they skated after the two young girls, their charges. In point of fact they were Tomoyo's personal bodyguards whose salaries were paid for by the dark-haired girl's industrialist mother. They were highly trained and dedicated fighters who had experienced much and told little of what they witnessed. Though they were presently dressed in light, fashionable garb suitable to inline skating, they were also armed to the teeth with concealed weaponry, in addition to which they also carried such equipment vital to the happiness of their Mistress such as her portable video camera, extra pouches of film and batteries that always needed changing.

Though Sakura and Tomoyo knew about their escort neither one paid any mind to being followed. Tomoyo's bodyguards were professionals who never interfered in the personal affairs of their Mistress. They could be trusted for discretion, and besides, after years of having them around, it was almost like having a second shadow.

At length both girls paused at the edge of the boardwalk and caught their breath against the rail, having at last found a spot that afforded them a good view of the beach, which they intended to enjoy like any other perfectly normal teenager. Of the two of them Tomoyo was slightly more out of breath, being far less athletically inclined than Sakura, but it was a good kind of fatigue that made her feel happy to be spending time with her favorite superhero. She leaned against the rail and admired Sakura's lovely profile and was about to say something to her shorthaired companion when both girls heard the sounds of a disturbance on the beachfront.

Or rather that should have been clarified to say that they heard and saw a LOT of disturbances, to which Sakura was first to remark, "What the heck is going on out there? Is it some kind of rumble?"

In response to that question they saw a fleet-footed young girl whose hair was done up in a pair of circular braids running at top-speed with a shorter girl in hot pursuit. From where they both of them passed by Sakura and Tomoyo could just barely make out the words spoken in passing.

"Cut it out, Azusa! I may be hard up for a boyfriend, but I'm not this desperate!"

"But Miss Yohko!" the other girl protested, "You're not being fair! I only want to show you how much I appreciate being your sidekick!"

"Oh dear," Tomoyo said, "People don't usually behave like that in this part of Japan, do they?"

"You're asking me that?" Sakura replied, only to start again as they saw two more girls running in the opposite direction, a tall girl with brown hair and a lithe beauty with a black ponytail, the latter girl being the one who cried out, "Faster, Kasumi, he's gaining on us!"

"Ohmyohmyohlyohmyohmy!" the other girl said aloud, and seconds later a tall boy with short black came surging up the beach behind them crying, "Wait up for me, my loves! I wish only to dote on you and show thee why thou shouldst not give up on the male gender!"

Sakura and Tomoyo blinked their eyes on this, then gripped the rail tightly as a series of explosions sent people scurrying in all directions.

"COME BACK HERE, YOU TWO!" cried a blue haired woman who was levitating in the air in pursuit of a young man carrying a dark haired woman in his arms, "I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS!"

"But Ryoko!" the boy called out over his shoulders, "It's not Kiyone's fault!"

"LIKE I CARE?" Ryoko cried, hurling more blasts that kicked up huge craters in the sand at the one boy's ankles.

"WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME???" wailed an anguished Kiyone, who clung to the boy tightly though her expression was anything but romantic.

"KIYONE, WAIT UP FOR ME!" cried a brown skinned girl with golden hair, who in turn was followed by two more girls, one with purple hair, the other much younger and with pale blue a shade lighter than her peculiar face markings.

"Ah…" Tomoyo said after a moment, "Sakura-chan…do you think maybe…?"

"I don't know," Sakura drew a portable cell phone from her belt-pouch and hit the speed dial. After a moment of pause she said, "Kero…sorry if I woke you up from your nap, old buddy, but I was wondering if you could put in a personal appearance ASAP?"

"What is it?" asked the tired voice over the phone, sounding very much like a griffin who had just been awaken from a pleasant nap about meeting a female of his kind and having some hatchlings together, which was only fitting.

"Do you know of any Cards that could maybe explain a sudden outbreak of manic behavior in a large group of people."

"Could you be a little more specific?"

"Symptoms are strange, curious sexual attractions that appear to cross genders and include a wide range of hentai-like behavior," Sakura replied, "There are a lot of fights we're witnessing, but not everyone is fighting. In fact…I'd say quite a few people are getting along unusually well, and no one seems to be minding the dress code…"

"Oh," there was a slight pause before the griffin said, "It's probably the Lust Card."

"Excuse me?" Sakura blinked, "Did you say a Lust Card?"

"Yes," the guardian beast responded, "It tends to cause people to develop wild and uncontrollable impulses that run outside the normal conventions of society. If people are being affected by that it could explain what you're witnessing now. It's a very tumultuous Clow Card and dangerous to leave loose in the general public."

"Ah-huh," Sakura said with a slight frown, "Is there any reason why you never mentioned to me before that there was such a thing as a Lust Card if it could do this much damage?"

"Ah…well…" there was a long pause on the other end of the line, "You started out in the Card Captor business when you were very young…"

"Six years ago," Sakura agreed, "What about it?"

"Well…" another pause, "At the time it didn't seem like the sort of thing one should be bringing up with a girl who had not even experienced puberty…do you follow me?"

There was a long pause on Sakura's end before she replied to that one, "Oh."

"Well, now there definitely does seem to be a Clow Card inspiring lust in a great many people," Tomoyo turned to Sakura with a serious expression, "And you know what that means?"

"Uhuh," Sakura fingered her ever-present pendant, which to mundane eyes seemed no more than a harmless painted wood birds head, "It means I've got to go out there and capture it before it does any more damage."

"That's right," Tomoyo grinned triumphantly, holding up her own cell phone, into which she typed a coded number, "And that means we get to try out that new costume that I added to your wardrobe!"

"Urk!" Sakura reacted, never ceasing to be amazed at the limitless propensity for her friend to want to turn her into a superheroic dress dummy. Bad enough Sakura was turning into a teenaged fashion model in her civilian life, and thus following in the footsteps of her sainted late mother, but with Tomoyo turning out to be quite the talented artist and photojournalist with her ever-handy camera, it left Sakura feeling like a character out of some anime rather than a normal high school student who just happened to be charged with capturing magical cards before they could threaten the public's safety.

It was with no surprise that she saw the truck containing her make up and wardrobe already being wheeled up to where they were standing, and with a sigh Sakura resigned herself to the inevitable, hoping that there really was a Clow Card behind this mess or she was really and truly going to feel foolish…or rather more foolish than was usual for her average workday adventure.

The life of some magical girls ran anything but smooth, but if one of her powers had tended to be Instant Costume Change it would have left Tomoyo with much less to do, which would not have pleased her friend very much, and the one thing that truly mattered to Sakura was keeping her friend happy. She just hoped that this one time their adventure wouldn't come with any unforeseen complications…

Silk pushed on ahead past barrier and illusions, seeking to penetrate the web of glamour woven by Hibiki Atsuko to conceal her and Soun from the world at large and all outside interested parties. Even for a trained Lore Master it was an uphill struggle, the nature of Atsuko's illusions being so very different from Silk's own abilities, which largely centered upon Truth, while Illusion was the artful bending of the truth for purposes of deception.

At present Silk was struggling with the illusion that she was crossing a great sandy desert with wind whipping against her face, hair and body. Though Silk knew that it was an illusion its effectiveness was difficult to deny, for the half-Oni's powers were quite formidable, and she had learned at the feet of a true Master of the art, her demonic mother. Such illusions could not only take on the aspect of real life but have a substance and solidity that could conceivably kill if employed at full level.

It was a battle of wills as well as personalities, for even a love-besotted Atsuko was still a real terror in any situation involving combat. Silk had never truly fought with the Oni on the same level or frequency as Comb, and never as a Lore Master matching wits and the manipulation of forces against even a young Hibiki Atsuko, and her illusions were sublime. In order to defeat them one had to go farther into their makeup to pluck the vital essence of their hold on life, which was the basis of all perception.

In many ways Silk counted it as a favor that she had basically gotten along with Atsuko and had no real animosity from their prior past associations. If anything she had often been amused by the antics of the perpetually directionless Hibiki, counting her as a sometime ally if not almost a friend, and certainly a much better person than her mother, which arguably would not be that much of a stretch. Atsuko was often clueless, prone to swift and certain anger and even occasional berserk rages, but there was also kindness in her heart and a basic understanding of right and wrong behavior. Though relentless as an enemy, as a friend she had great loyalty and had even demonstrated a capacity for self-sacrifice, and through no fault of her own she had fallen for that fat-headed slob, Genma, for which she had Silk's sincere pity, but other than this there were no issues that stood between them.

Until that errant pearl had caused Atsuko to set her eye on Silk's man, which under even ordinary circumstances would have been reason enough to earn the wrath of Amazon justice.

Of course Silk was of a more reasonable temperament than Comb and not as prone to rash behavior, so she was able to analyze the situation and come to the reasonable conclusion that the benefit of the doubt should be extended. Atsuko had never evidenced even once an interest in Soun before this occasion, nor had Silk's man ever given the slightest hint of straying in his affections from either Silk or the memory of his late wife, Kimiko. Whatever faint recognition the pair of them had for each other as man and woman was probably so faint and indistinct as to barely warrant attention, and thus it was the power of the pearls that had enflamed mere embers into a raging passion that demanded consummation. It was for that reason alone that Silk would forbear harsh judgement and refrain from imprudent action, such as to roast the errant Oni over a low bed of coals, which had been her first inclination.

The desert setting faded away as Silk prevailed against this illusion, and suddenly her surroundings changed into a jungle setting, one glamour melding smoothly into the other like one of those computerized morphing images that she had seen demonstrated at an Expo that she had once visited in the Shanghai. Vines flowed across the sands and grass appeared from barren patches, shoots sprang up and grew leaves before spreading their branches out to form a canopy of greenery all around her, and suddenly she was in a sweltering hothouse, a rain forest into which the sun barely shone through the space between foliage. The transformation was startling, and even knowing that it was all an illusion still left Silk to ponder in amazement the craftsmanship and detail with which the Oni had fashioned this progressive change in their surroundings.

Of course the really telling brushstroke came when Silk heard a deep-throated rumble in the distance, and the thunderous tremble underfoot that spoke of something massive in full motion, which seemingly was approaching with a relentless ferocity that threatened to trample everything in its wake. Sure enough the looming shadow soon arrived as a head poked from around one corner at the level of a three-story building, rows of lethal teeth bared in a snarl of bestial hunger.

"Oh please," Silk murmured aloud, "Don't tell me someone's seen Jurassic Park one too many times?"

The creature came rushing towards her at a full run, but even as it was about to gobble her whole, Silk raised her hands and made rapid finger-slashes that cut the air with blue-white fires, and with a single word of power the Tyrannosaurus melted into shadow, as did much of the forest veldt itself. What replaced it was a grayish void that resembled nothing on the earth or heavens, resembling nothing so much as the formless void of Limbo, which Atsuko had visited on rate occasions.

"Well now," Silk murmured to herself, "This is an interesting variation…"

Her instincts warned her of the bending of shadow taking place directly behind her, but Silk was too slow to react and so found both of her arms being gripped by limbs that formed from seeming nothing, and then a pair of minor demons manifested, denizens who dwelled beyond the Outer Darkness that surrounded the worlds of light, and Silk had a brief moment of concern that Atsuko might have summoned up actual allies to do her bidding, much as her shadow-beast Shirokuro.

"Ah…" Silk murmured as she struggled against the creatures, seeking the form behind the illusion and finding only shadows that blocked her perceptions, "Help?"

"FOOLISH MORTAL!" came the booming echo of a creature that suddenly appeared before her, a type four demon by the look of is makeup, "YOU DARE TRESPASS WITHIN OUR REALM? NOW YOU WILL SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR IMPRUDENT TRESPASS!"

Atsuko had to admit that this illusion was much more effective than the last one, especially when the two demons holding her arms were joined by two others, who lifted her up and stretched her out across a convenient stone slab that materialized out of nothing. Like a bad movie misrepresentation of an occult ritual, the chief demon loomed over her with a convincingly wicked looking knife, and the gleam in his eyes plainly showed what he intended to do with it in regards to his prospective victim.

"I don't think so!" Silk said aloud, summoning her inner power and weaving it into a counter spell, which same she released with a thought, causing the demons surrounding her to clutch their heads before their leader could carve his initials within her vitals.

The illusion unwound itself into its component threads, and Silk regained her footing, surrounded by the flames of what looked like a volcano, or one of the Hells of the abyss. The fires did not sear her flesh and she ignored them, casting her gaze about in search of the ebb and flow of the energy currents.

"There!" she cried, reaching out to seize hold of a pair of strands that her instincts warned her were the central-most key to controlling this particular illusion. Crafting her art to blend with the flow of these strands she transformed them into a pair of handles, and with them employed leverage to rip the canopy of illusion wide open.

It was cracking the outer shell of a massive egg, and with the parting of two hemispheres the object of her pursuit was at last revealed. A cozy looking love-nest made to look like the interior of the master bedroom of a Japanese-style castle was revealed, complete with a western-style canopied bed that certainly was not period but did provide two lovers all the comforts of modern living. On the bed itself were the guilty parties in question, one of whom stared in blank-eyed surprise from his portion of the bed, but the other one got up with a most indignant expression, and her naked body was as impressively well muscled as it was the epitome of womanly perfection.

"YOU!" Atsuko cried, "Don't you at least believe in knocking?"

"I thought I just did," Silk replied as she assumed a defensive stance, "Nice illusions, by the way, but I thought you would at least reveal the real you to dear Soun-chan."

The Oni woman snarled and the currents began to flow around her nude body, encasing her in stylish armor as a sword appeared in hand and she prepared to strike like a samurai in an ultra-modern high-tech raiment. It struck Silk as nothing so much as one of those anime-style costumes that served no practical value but to give young girls a fashionable outlet for their aggressions, while young boys could experience heart palpitations and adolescent fantasies of magical girls fighting evil.

Of course the fact that she was presently in the act of trying to take Silk's head off discouraged the Lore Master from offering the commentary about the Oni's viewing habits. Rather Silk flowed with the currents and side-stepped the wicked thrust aimed her way, knowing full well that such illusions had more than sufficient substance to be deadly. There was no sense disbelieving in an illusion that had more convincing effect than the average glamour.

Silk knew she had a problem, being that she was no match for the Oni in a straight out catfight. Against an ordinary martial artist she would have the distinct advantage of bending the currents to her advantage, but Atsuko was in that highly refined class of fighter who was worthy of the title War Master, and her perceptions were far beyond the ordinary, and her reflexes were lightning fast, backed by the raw physical power that was her father's birthright. In her prime she had been a match for Comb, and unlike the Warrior-turned Healer she had apparently not slacked at all in her training. Even at her prime as a fighter Silk would never have been her equal. Contrasting her powers against the Oni's illusions just made the fight more interesting, provided Silk could survive the next several seconds of battle.

Of course the one thing in her favor was that the underlying basis of Atsuko's current battle rage was the influence of a pearl that was diminishing her already limited span of attention. That very focus made the Oni a dangerous customer but one who could be out-foxed by her own specialization.

As Silk prepared to dodge the second thrust of the Oni's weapon she slowed the rate of time and allowed herself to slide in and out of nominal "realspace," phasing in and out of material existence to appear behind Atsuko, only to fade out again as the Oni inevitably reacted to the perceived threat from her rear position. As the Oni turned to meet the threat, Silk attacked from her blind side, hitting hard and fast with a single finger-point touch attack aimed for the "sleep spot" that would be located beneath the armor, and backed by the power of Silk's Chi, the attack penetrated the illusion with the unerring aim of her highly refined intuition.

The results were immediate as Atsuko staggered forward then collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been rudely cut. Silk heaved a sigh of relief that the Oni was human enough to conform to the usual rules of anatomy, but now she had the more difficult task to attend to, turning to regard the man in the bed, who had risen to his feet at the sight of the perceived threat to his supposed "lover."

"Who are you?" he demanded, "And how dare you attack my beloved!"

"Soun-chan?" Silk was surprised not to be recognized, but then the glamour cast by Atsuko was so strong that they tended to remain even after she lost consciousness. No doubt the Oni had clouded Soun's eyes so that he did not see her as she was but rather as Atsuko wanted her to be seen, which meant that waking him up from this illusion would be a complex affair. She braced herself to fight yet another battle on more than one level.

"Whoever you are, you have made a grave mistake in disturbing us," Soun assumed a fighting posture as if preparing to launch an attack, "As a master of the Tendo school of Anything Goes martial arts I am sworn to defend those whom I love from any and all attackers."

Silk had to marvel at herself for taking the time to admire her man even as he threatened her with violence, but she could not help it really…he looked so many without anything on but a pair of old worn boxer shorts. She was rather disappointed not to catch him in the altogether, but perhaps he had taken the time to pull them up during her fight with the Oni.

"I know you do, Soun-chan," Silk replied, making eye-contact with the man to try and penetrate the illusion around his thoughts, "And I love you all the more for that, but you need not fear, no one has been hurt, and you need not fear from me…"

Even as she spoke those words he launched his assault, and Silk intuitively dodged the kick he launched her way, flowing around him like a ghost while searching out a place to disable him without harm to his pride or his body. To her surprise Soun twisted in mid-leap and avoided any potential counter-attack on her part, coming about for another assault, which same he launched with great ferocity and unexpected speed and power. Silk's attempt to dodge this time was far less successful than her first efforts and he managed to make contact with a blow that caught her just below her rib cage. If Silk had not instinctively rolled with the punch she knew that it could well have broken bones and possibly caused internal injuries, but as it was she was nearly driven without breath and staggering badly, too disoriented to avoid the roundhouse kick that he aimed for her face in the follow-up.

Silk staggered backwards and found her head was spinning from the combination of blows, which hurt more to her pride and from their source than any physical damage she might have taken, but as a consequence she found she could not concentrate or draw upon her Lore Master talents.

As an Amazon, however, she was not so easily beaten, and when he launched a powerful sidekick her way her arms rose up to intercept his foot, and with a sharp twist of both arms she flipped him over, earning his cooperation in this as the alternative for him was to suffer either a broken leg or a twisted ankle.

This maneuver bought her time to reorient her thoughts, though the thought that she was being pressed this hard by a man she cared for was more disturbing than that he had landed two good blows through her defenses. She wanted to call out to him, to protest this treatment, but she could not spare the breath and it was plain enough that he would not hear her words or attempts at reason. She marveled that he could not see past the illusions on his own power to see that it was someone he loved that he was attacking. If he knew she had no doubt that he would desist, but instead he was coming at her once again with every intent of doing her bodily harm.

They were going to have some words about this when this was over, she avowed, but in the meantime she had to treat this fight seriously or she would lose in earnest, and not in the way that she would have preferred to accept as a proposal of marriage!

"Soun-chan," she growled as she prepared to meet his next onslaught, "You're going to owe me a lot more than dinner for this one…"

Nabiki's Journal Resumes:

I stood and watched as the old woman raised her staff and called up the power that she would need for her summoning spell, and I swear that I could actually see the light swirling around that wooden stick like it was a special effect in a movie, and when she bought it down again I actually saw some kind of symbol-ridden circle appear all around us, what I think they call a magic circle, and let me tell you my skin felt like electric current was flowing all around us. It was like having a bunch of ants crawl over your skin, only it wasn't all that unpleasant, other than my hair standing on end, especially around the back of my neck and both of my forearms. This huge bolt of light then shot right up into the sky, like my mentor had fired off a guided missile or something. It disappeared over the horizon, and I'm pretty sure that the directed it headed in was west towards China.

Lotion sighed and leaned on her staff again, and the circle of light faded out all around us. After a moment of silence I said, "Now what?"

"Now we wait," Lotion replied, "It's up to her to decide to acknowledge my summons, and whether or not to answer."

"But if she's a thousand miles away in China…" I started to reason.

"Time and distance does not matter with such a one," Lotion cut me off, "Siren can cross oceans with a thought and appear anywhere in time and space that she cares to visit. Her power is much greater than our own, for she is an Archmage, an entirely different class of spell user."

"I don't understand," I admitted, "How is being an Archmage different from what we do?"

"We are Lore Masters," Lotion turned to regard me with a serious expression, "We shape the power that we perceive all around us, but principally we are Keepers of the Lore and guardians of the Knowledge. A Mage IS Power personified, and the stronger they become the more at one they are with the power."

"I still don't get it," I replied, thinking that this old woman was a whole lot more powerful than anyone I had ever before encountered. How much more powerful was this Siren if Lotion herself regarded her as a potential danger?

"You'll understand in time," the old woman said in a kindly voice, "If you maintain the disciplines that I have been teaching you, then you will learn to tap into the flow of power that circulates all around us. This power will serve you as you need…but a Mage instinctively taps into that same power flow, and their capacity is greater than our own. Where we devote ourselves to understanding and knowledge, it is power itself that becomes the aim of a true Mage, for they are as one with the power and walk always within its shadow."

"So you're saying that a Mage is more powerful than a Lore Master," I summarized with some trepidation.

"In a way," Lotion replied, "Power is not our primary obsession…and our power comes from knowledge. A Mage works by intuition, grasping the power and shaping it with their will. We work with the forces of nature, they command those same forces, and they can summon the Powers that Be through ceremony and ritual invocations that transcend the Earthly bonds that we must work within."

"So you're saying she's a lot more dangerous than we are," I said, feeling more than a bit slow in grasping the finer points of what she was attempting to explain for my benefit, "But I still don't get it."

"What we do through study they do from instinct," Lotion began again, "It is second nature for them to shape the power through the strength of their will. Their only limit is their imagination, which in some ways means that it is both easier and more difficult to train in their system. We are limited by the powers of our perceptions…but they have no such limits, the power working through them perceiving itself and bridging the distance between object and desire..."

"You're losing me," I scratched behind one ear and felt incredibly foolish, "If we know more than they do, then why are they better at using the power?"

"Consider that what we do could be compared to a software technician who is part consultant, part research analyst," Lotion replied, "We handle the raw codes and commands that make up the complex chain of subroutines that go into the operation of basic software…but a Mage doesn't trifle with the mere nitty gritty of details…they are the Master Hackers and Technicians who take what we generate and shape it into powerful performance operations. A Mage can create and shape in wondrous detail because they have an elementary grasp of the workings of power, but unlike our order they are not overly concerned with the secondary and tertiary effects often generated by the use of their powers. As such they enjoy considerable latitude and freedom in their actions."

"Come again?" I asked, "You're saying that they can do what they like and we can't?"

"We are different in that we can sense the consequences of our actions and know before we act that we can have a beneficial or negative outcome," Lotion explained, then sighed, "At least that's how it works in theory…my granddaughter being the exception. At times I almost wish that I had heeded Siren's advice and allowed her to be trained as a Mage rather than a Lore Master, but my granddaughter was so convinced that she could be a greater service to our people…"

"And I could have told the both of you different," a voice suddenly echoed from all around us, and then I gasped as I saw a figure step sideways out of a fold in time and space, manifesting on the sands in full regalia, not dressed in Amazon attire but rather an outfit that made her look like that character from the American show, "I Dream of Jeanie."

"Surprise," said a cheerful blonde figure in a pair of pale blue baggy pants whose lavender halter top left both her shoulders and midriff exposed to view, and the dainty little vest that she wore over that completed the picture nicely. I found myself looking her up and down, impressed by her beauty and the perfection of her womanly figure. She saw my patented look and at once posed her body fetchingly and smiled, giving me a jaunty little greeting, "See anything you like, Dearie? I do try and keep in shape, and you won't find a bit of me that's in any way sagging."

"So pleased to see you responded quickly to my summons," Lotion began without preamble.

"Well of course I came in person," the blonde flashed a smile at the old woman and said, "It was worth it alone to hear you admit that I was right twenty years ago. So…this is your new apprentice…not too shabby."

She began to walk around me as if doing a careful study, and then I yelped as I felt her hand pat me on the butt, and without thinking about it I lashed out with a backfist, which same she easily deflected.

"Nice reflexes," the blonde stepped back, "I can see she's already learning to tap into the power, but you've got a long way to go before you could take me on in a fair fight. So…what's the scoop, and why did you call me? I've got an apprentice of my own to look after, and you know that Frost can be such a handful…"

"My sympathies," Lotion replied, then held up the bracelet.

The blonde at once reacted like a Magpie spotting something glittery and she snatched up the bracelet to examine it with a cooing noise of delight, "OOOOHHH! You found it! You found my mother's bracelet!"

"Your mother's…?" I responded with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, didn't she tell you?" the blonde asked, "It's been in my family for generations. It was created by one of the greatest magical Artificers our tribe has ever known at a time when she was experiencing…ahem…marital difficulties…"

"In other words Tao-Chi was trying to land herself a husband," Lotion clarified, "And the fellow who defeated her was not cooperating."

"Exactly," the blonde smiled, "Certainly a useful item when the object of your affections is playing hard to get. The last I saw of this lovely piece of jewelry was when I gave it to Cologne as a present."

"You…gave it…?" I paused, "How long ago was that?"

"Oh, about three hundred years ago," she replied, "Give or take a decade."

"And you gave it to Cologne?" I continued, resizing my estimation of the blonde's age accordingly.

To my surprise I saw a fond look cross the blonde's face, and with no little amazement I recognized a far-away and star-struck expression, "Oh yes…you should have seen her back then when we were both young and innocent to the ways of the world. She was such a cutie, and so warm-hearted…not like that bitter old crone she pretends to be…as if I didn't know what she really looks like…" she added with a sly expression.

"She's changed recently," Lotion replied dryly, "I think even you might not recognize her at first glance."

"Somehow I doubt that," the blonde turned and regarded us with a sly look, "Is that what you called me to tell me? Has Cologne finally seen the light and decided to let it all hang out, like I've said she should do about a thousand times already?"

"Actually I called you on account of the bracelet," Lotion pointed out, "It was recently found in the possession of Happosai."

"That dirty old Leech is still around?" the blonde sniffed, "Cologne must be disappointed."

"She's not the only one," Lotion replied, "Unfortunately we are experiencing something of a crisis due to the absence of the pearls from the item in question."

"Oh?" the blonde-Siren I by now realized-examined the bracelet more closely and then exclaimed in surprise, "Why, you're right! They are missing…but that's odd. The bracelet is supposed to grow them back at least once in every generation…"

"It did," Lotion replied, "But note that I say this in the past tense."

"You're lecturing me about Japanese grammar?" Siren replied with a sarcastic lilt, only to blink before saying, "Oh…you mean somebody swallowed the little darlings. Well, that could be a problem. Only one of them is the Lifetime pearl, though, so if you wait a day…"

"It's a bit more complicated than that," Lotion explained, "Uncle Happosai aimed one of the pearls at my granddaughter and she blocked it with a spell…only it seems to have backfired, as often is the case when Silk acts without thinking."

"Wait a second here," Siren pointed at Lotion, "You're telling me Silk cast a spell to block one of my ancestor's magic love spells? What is wrong with that girl? Doesn't she have any idea that such magics can be additive with a huge multiplicative factor?"

"She does now," I replied wryly, "We've got a bunch of pearls littered all over the beach and people keep swallowing them up. It's a real mess back there, let me tell you…"

"It's true, Siren," Lotion replied to the blonde's disbelieving expression, "We've had an outbreak of lust running rampant over a section of beachfront with many victims behaving in ways atypical to their usual nature."

The blonde stared for a moment, then a smile crossed her face, followed by outright laughter, and then she cried, "MARVELOUS!!! I have got to go see this for myself! It must be a real riot!"

"Just about," I replied with a frown, "So glad you find it amusing."

"But of course, Darling," Siren leered, "You Japanese can be so stodgy and reserved with your emotions that anything that shakes you out of your shells is to be well applauded."

"Nevertheless," Lotion replied, "We need your help to reestablish order on the beachfront."

"You can't be serious?" Siren regarded her in surprise, "Dozens of people running about acting like love-struck fools…and you call that a problem?"

"It is when one of the victims is my father!" I snapped, finally losing my temper.

"My, my," Siren regarded me with mild surprise, "That's quite a temperament you have there, Dearie. Are you sure she's up to the task of becoming your successor?"

"Her…successor?" I blinked, momentarily shaken out of my anger.

"My apprentice is up to the challenges that she must inevitably face," Lotion said firmly, "And she is not subject to negotiation. Besides, you already have an apprentice."

"What a pity," Siren inclined her head as she regarded me, "I bet you'd make one heck of a Mage, Dearie. Ah well…so, why exactly do you think I should lift a finger to change the outcome of what's going on with the Love Pearls? Sounds more like the sort of thing I'd be causing if I'd had a mind to."

"Apart from the fact that the Matriarch herself wills this," Lotion began, "There is the danger these pearls pose to several committed relationships that I would rather have stand as they are at the present. As you are more familiar with the creation of artifacts than am I, it is logical and necessary that you should undo the harm that may befall Comb, Silk and many others whom I could name…"

"You think these pearls might mess things up for those two?" the lovely blonde raised an eyebrow, "As I understand it they already had one brush with the pearls…you mean they were foolish enough to swallow them a second time?"

"Foolishness is only a part of the problem," Lotion replied, "I suspect the bracelet itself is behind at least part of the phenomenon of pearls actually seeking out their victims…"

"And you want me to confirm this?" Siren considered, chewing on a fingernail, "Well…I suppose it is possible…after all, Magic items have a life of their own, and cursed items especially want for you to use them, so given an opportunity to seek potential targets…"

"You're saying the pearls are deliberately jumping into the mouths of innocent people?" I asked, appalled at the concept.

"Got it in one, Kid," Siren frowned, "Of course I haven't heard of many cases like what you've described, not unless there's some external influence that's adding fuel to the fire and maybe altering the nature of the pearls on a subliminal level. Must be a lust-demon or some kami with a sense of humor. My guess would be Urd, if she's in the neighborhood…she always was a fun one to hang around with when I was still cruising college scene a few generations back…"

Lotion heave a sigh and said, "What will it take to convince you to help us out, Siren? Can I at least appeal to you as a fellow Amazon to just for once take seriously the consequences of wild magic?"

"Don't be such a grump," Siren chided, "And don't talk back to your Elders. From you it just doesn't seem fitting. I already agreed to help you out, or at least to see what-if anything-I can do to rectify the situation. Besides, I understand that my granddaughter, Perfume, is visiting with her new girlfriend, and I'd love to check her out to see how much your namesake has grown since I last set eyes on her. Imagine Cologne hiding a thing like her continued survival from the rest of the Council…"

"Right this way," Lotion urged with her staff, "I will show you where they all are gathered."

"Lead the way, Pink-stuff," Siren waved a hand, "I can't wait to see what everyone's been up to."

I won't describe exactly what it felt like to be in the presence of two such powerful individuals, but the ease with which we suddenly found ourselves back on the crowded section of the beach made me realize just how much out of my depth I am with the ease with which they wield their incredible powers. We arrived just in time to see several more perfect strangers acting out frantic chase scenes or classic love triangles like a massive overdose of daytime Soaps all played together. I was only mildly dismayed to take notice of the fact that some of the individuals in question were flying, apparently on their own power, but I was a bit disturbed to notice that a couple of them were riding broomsticks. There were also the continuing sounds of fireworks going off in the background, but for the moment the worst of the action appeared to be taking place at another location.

"Well now," Siren grinned hugely as she scanned what looked like a battlefield of bodies in full motion, "I haven't seen this much action since Woodstock!"

"Nabiki?" I turned around to see Ranma standing there, along with Shampoo and the others, all wearing surgical masks, which reminded me to re-don mine as a precaution.

I couldn't help noticing that Cologne took one look at Siren and suddenly pulled a fast fade, placing herself behind the massive bulk of Uncle Genma. The wide-eyed expression I had briefly caught upon my features inclined me to believe that she was somewhat less than eager to be spotted by the Archmage, especially under the current setting.

"Great Grandmother," Kachu acknowledged Lotion, then bowed respectfully towards Siren, "Elder."

"Well now?" Siren inclined her head with a pleasant expression, "Is this a young man I see standing beside you, Kachu-chan? Could it be that I dare to think that you have finally found yourself a boyfriend?"

"My husband," Kachu took Tofu's hand for emphasis, "His name is Tofu-sensei."

"A doctor!" Siren declared in delight as she turned to Lotion and added, "You must be very proud of her, and I'll bet he's quite the catch without that mask on."

"Elder," Shampoo spoke up, taking Ranma by the hand and saying, "This Shampoo husband, he named Ranma…only he no boy at moment…"

"I can certainly see that, Dearie," Siren leered as she looked my iinazuke over, ignoring the glare I gave her for that, "Bet he's quite the stud when he's not in his cursed form. Well now, everything seems to be in order, nothing I would want to displace, so where is my granddaughter and her girlfriend? And for that matter, where is the Matriarch? I so much want to pay my respects while I'm in the neighborhood…"

"Help!" a voice cried out, "Itoumochan, Nabiki!"

I whirled about in time to see Kasumi and Kodachi come rushing up to join us, both looking as out of breath as though they had been running for quite a distance. I was about to ask what was the matter when Kuno suddenly appeared, hot on their tail, and without preamble he seized my older sister and tried to molest her.

"Kasumi, you gem among ladies, my dearest love and sweetest of obsessions…!"

"HAH?" we collectively gasped as Kasumi struggled in vain to shrug off Tatewaki's advances.

"TA-TE-WAKI!!!" Kodachi growled between clenched teeth, and then she drove her elbow to the back of his skull and knocked him sprawling at the feet of my sister. The Black Rose stood glaring at him with the sound of her breath coming hoarse and ragged, but like the evil Phoenix that he is, Kuno shrugged off assault and started to push himself off the sand to renew his protestations of affection.

"Bray though thou might, sister, dear, I shall not be denied," Kuno declared as he tried to get back on his feet, only to be pushed back into the sand as Kodachi planted a foot between his shoulderblades and did a little tap-dance.

"What's with him?" Ranma asked, "Why is he acting like the old Kuno all of a sudden, not that I mind him going after someone else for a change…but Kasumi?"

"And why not Kasumi?" Kodachi shot a venomous look his way that caused Ranma to recoil as if slapped, "She is indeed a treasure among all the ladies of the Earth, but she happens to be MY treasure, and I'm not sharing her with you, darling brother."

The way she said the last two words, heavily laced with dark sarcasm, told me a lot about how much these two had fallen out with one another of late. Of course Tatewaki was in the process of recovering again when Lotion reached out with her staff and touched the boy on the back of his neck, rendering him instantly unconscious.

"Well now," Siren remarked, "He certain is a persistent one, and you say that he is your brother?"

"Not something I would like to admit to," Kodachi said darkly, climbing off his back as she sighed and turned a timid smile towards Kasumi, "I most certainly do hope the pearl he swallows wears off soon. I don't think I could stand to put up with a whole day of this sort of behavior."

"I'm sure he means well," Kasumi said as she adjusted her bikini top, "It's not really his fault that the magic is so effective."

"How right you are," Siren mused as she gave my sister a VERY thorough study, one I did not very much like or approve of as it reminded me a little too much of Kodachi, "But the pearls have a short lifespan, all except the one that is eternal, and if I may assume that he did not ingest that one, then the best that you can do is restrain him until he returns to relative normal."

"A good idea," I admitted, "What we need is something to bind him up so he can't get away. I know Tatewaki pretty well and he's as relentless as they come, so whatever we use had better be pretty damned effective."

Kasumi blinked her eyes, and then she started rummaging through her belt-pouch until she found what she was looking for, and then she pulled them out and said, "Will these do for now? I've found they can be quite effective."

I took a long hard moment to react to that one, or rather to the sight of the things that I saw dangling from the hand of my older sister. There are lot or word-associations that just don't fit with Kasumi, and these were pretty near the top of the list. I wanted to ask where she had come upon a pair of steel handcuffs, and what such things could possibly be doing in her possession, only a quick glance towards Kodachi, who seemed to be taking a sudden interest in some passing cloud formations.

I very firmly took the proffered handcuffs from her hand, looked my sister square in the eyes and said, "Never tell me."

As I bent down to cuff Kuno's wrists behind his back, like I'd seen done in plenty of movies and television programs, I was gently but decisively corrected by Kasumi, who insisted on showing me the correct way to do it. Much to my dismay her technique proved most effective, and I rather doubted that Kuno would even dare to move his wrists, let alone try some Samurai trick to work himself free of such restraints.

"Better do something about his legs," Ranma suggested, "I don't trust Kuno as long as he can work his way upright."

"Good idea, Airen," Shampoo agreed, "Maybe also put something in mouth to keep stupid boy from reciting poetry, hurt Shampoo ears he do that."

"I have a second pair of cuffs and a ball gag," Kasumi offered, earning another long stare from me and the rest of our party.

I shot a more severe glare at Kodachi and silently vowed to myself that we were going to have words on the subject of her relationship with my sister. Obviously there was a lot more going on between these two than I had even dared to suspect, which I count it as a minor blessing. I don't even care if it earns me another spanking session from my normally modest and well-behaved oneechan, there are just some things you don't pull with my sister!

"Well now," I heard Siren grin, "I can see you two have an interesting sex life. Now then, about the rest of our missing kinfolk…"

"Speaking," Silk replied as she appeared without warning with my father draped across one shoulder, Atsuko sprawled in the sand and quite naked at her feet, "I see you've called for reinforcements, and about time in my opinion."

"Ah," Siren grinned, "Your wayward granddaughter, and I take it she's been busy having fun. You really should learn more from following her example."

"I try not to," Lotion noted.

Much to my surprise I saw the panda go to Atsuko's side and bend down to check on her pulse. For once I didn't suspect Uncle Genma of any ulterior motives, mainly because there was no way he could pick the Oni's non-existent pockets.

Of course his unexpected act of compassion also came at the surprise of the Matriarch, who was suddenly without a handy object of concealment. Siren was quick to take notice of her, and then with an astonished expression she cried, "Cologne? Matriarch? Is that…you?"

"Ah…" I saw Shampoo's great grandmother edge away from the Archmage, and in a less than steady voice she said, "It's not quite as it appears…"

"Genma-chan!" declared the unmistakable bellow of Kuonji Yumi, who came rushing up to embrace him, much to the alarm of the panda in question, "Why do you keep trying to avoid me, my darling lover-boy? Come to me and I'll bundle up in that great big fur carpet of yours, my little snuggle teddy!"

"You're on your own for this one, Pop," Ranma smirked from beneath his mask.

"Now that he had coming," agreed Hairbrush.

"Oh my," Siren grinned, "This just gets better and better…!"

"You not know half of it, grandmother," Perfume called out as she and the rest of our wayward party approached, Akane flanked by Ukyo AND Ryoga,, who were glaring daggers at one another. I could not help but notice that my younger sister was presently in her cursed form and sporting a pair of wings that were drawing more than a little attention.

"Well now," Siren mused as she caught sight of my sister, "I didn't know we had a Spring of the Drowned Angel. If I had, I might have been tempted to try that one out for myself."

"Grandmother," Perfume sounded more than slightly wary, "You help remove curse before we have real big trouble…" she paused at the sound of a minor explosion before adding, "Worse than is now?"

"It get worse?" Lotion flinched as a lightning bolt approached a bit too close to our position.

"Are you the one who can help?" Akane asked as she pressed the palms of her hands against the bared chests of the two boys struggling to get at one another, "Please-do something!"

"You mean you actually object to having these Bo-hunks fighting over you?" Siren mused, cocking her head as she added, "Not that I can blame them…you are a pretty little thing. You must be very popular with the boys where you come from."

"Too much!" Akane winced, though whether she was answering the question or making comment about being pressed in the middle of an angry male sandwich was open to opinion.

"Elder," Hairbrush spoke up, "I know it's not my place to say this…"

"Never stopped you in the past, Handsome," Siren leered at him as if making pleasant conversation.

"But having these pearls running loose causing all this trouble," Shampoo's father continued, "It's upsetting the balance of nature…"

"Nanami, think of what you're doing!" cried a swift moving girl whose salt-pepper hair was a mixture of both white and red patches, "This isn't like you!"

"Who cares if it's like me, Stomu-!" another pretty girl replied as she chased after her.

"Birdy!" the other girl called back.

"Whatever!" the second girl replied as they went charging down the beat, the one girl barely keeping ahead of the other.

"Hmm…" Siren mused, "You may have a point there…"

"Grandmother!" Perfume pleaded.

"Oh, very well," Siren replied, making motions with her hands, "Everyone stand back and give me room enough to work. You're about to see a Master Mage in action."

We did as we were bidden, and then the blonde haired Archmage raised her hand and held the bracelet high, humming a strange sound that echoed from the bottom of her throat, and then she began to chant in a low sing-song manner…

Continued

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