Badasses Of the Multiverse Book 5: “The Gambling Man.”

Volume 2: “Total Badass.”

Chapter 09: “Lee's Folly.”

By Paul Cousins.

Copyright Disclaimer: All copyrighted places, characters, items, and events, within the story, are held by their current owners. No profit is being made on this work of fiction.

(_)

Reality, Akira's reality. Time, last twentieth century. Location, in the middle of Jusenkyo, China. Time, mid-morning.

It was mid-morning, as a light foggy mist surrounded them. Though, the fog was clear enough to allow them to see their surroundings. And the weather was slightly cool, but slowly warming, as the day went on.

The first thing Lee did, was to check to see that both he and Garibaldi were sitting, next to each other, on a large strip of land, in the middle of the curse pools, with bamboo stalks rising from the water, that surrounded them.

Garibaldi was to Lee's left side. Lee still had his reality device in his hands. Also, Lee was in his black suit, with red tie, and black dress suits. While Garibaldi was in his brown suit and brown dress suits, without a tie.

Lee pocked his reality device, into his left pants pocket, as he thought, with relief, “Good. We are both on dry ground. Just as I had planned. Still, that was way too close. But, I better get my bearings. And warn Garibaldi about this place. Before we head out. Also, we have been so busy, I did not have time to find out what shoes Garibaldi wears. And those brown dress shoes look got on him, with his brown suit. He pulled off his CEO look, very well.'

Lee then looked around, he saw the cursed pools around them, and saw the mountains, in the distance, around the valley they were in. And closer to them, he saw bamboo stalks that were coming up from the water of the cursed pools.

Lee then looked up, at the sky.

While it was foggy, Lee could see make out the sun in the sky.

Lee thought, 'Given the weather. I know it is morning. Because fog like this only happens in the morning. And this fog is light enough that I can see the sun through the fog, along with where the pools are. So, I can use the sun as a compass. And taking into account of that. To my left is the west and to my right is the east. Now, to figure out the best way out of here.'

Lee then looked around himself, again. Only this time, he looked as far was he could through the mist.

Fortunately, the mist was not that thick, at ground leave. Though, the sky was cloudy. And Lee could see in the distance.

To Lee's left, in the western distance, he saw mountain walls, and cliffs over looking the cursed springs.

Though, to Lee right, in the eastern direction, Lee saw hills and forests meeting the cursed pools of water.

Behind Lee, to the south, were some mountains that went up in slopes, as they bordered the cursed springs. And in front of him, to his north, Lee saw that the springs bordering a large clearing.

And while the location was dangerous. Taking into the whole view, as a while, with the springs, with the forests, the cliffs, and the mountains in the distance. With the area shrouded in mist. The area was quite a sight to behold.

Lee thought, with mild amusement, 'If it wasn't for these pools being dangerously cursed with magic, I would actually find the sight before me to be very relaxing, peaceful, and beautiful.'

'Now, how to get out of here?... If I remember the Ranma half manga correctly. Especially, the later half. We go to the northeast.'

'When, Ranma and Genma first came here, they came from a forest. Which is to the east. Though, given the Jusenkyo Guide's house, and the path entrance to Jusenkyo, are located in an open space, away from the cliffs. And that open space appears to be in the north. And the forest is to the east. We should head to the northeast, to exit this place.

'Also, from looking around, I would guess Jusenkyo is not that big a place. Likely, a few miles across, in all directions. So, even if we go very slowly, as we carefully navigate around the springs, on dry land. We can still get out of here, within an hour, or so. We just have to be very careful.'

'Now, to check on Garibaldi.'

Lee looked over at Garibaldi, as he asked, “You okay?”

Garibaldi turned to Lee, as he stood up. He then faced Lee, as he looked down a the other man, whom was sitting next to him. He answered, “Yea. Where are we?”

Garibaldi thought, while feeling mild wonder, 'I did not feel a thing, as we jumped through realities. It happened in an instant, and we appear to be fine. That is both interesting, and comforting. Though, my gut tells me that Lee bought us to somewhere very dangerous, so I need to be on my toes... Still, I am sure Lee will eventually warn me of any dangers here. If I am patient... And Lee would not bring us here, unless we could handle this place.'

Lee stood up, as well. When Lee was completely standing, turned to Garibaldi.

Both men looked at each other. Lee used both his hands to reach out, to his sides, as he gestured around them. He smiled, as he stated, with a bit of excitement and wonder in his tone of voice, “Welcome to the cursed springs of Jusenkyo.”

Lee then dropped his hands to his sides, as he continued, in a more serious tone of voice, “And do not let this scenic view full. Do not. I repeat. Do not fall into any of the springs. The springs are cursed. Magic is very real here. And these springs are under a magical curse. Part of the name of each spring, tells which spring has which curse, among the springs of this place.”

Garibaldi thought, 'That name rings a bell. But from where? And I still don't exactly believe in magic.' He requested, “Even after our escape by teleporting. I am not really keen on believing magic. But, after the morning I have spend with you, I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Also, refresh my memory, of where we are?”

Lee looked Garibaldi in the eyes, as he answered, in a direct, and serious tone of voice, “Okay. I know this is hard to swallow. But, you need to take my word at face value. Because I am not going to test this. And you have to be very, very careful. The reason being that anyone that falls into one of the springs, takes the body of the whomever, or whatever first drowned, or at least were immersed, in that specific pool of water.”

“Such as, if you fall into spring of drowned dog. You take the body of a dog. If you fall into spring of drowned girl. You take take the body of a girl. There are also personality curses. If you call into spring of drowned monk, you take the body and personality of a monk. Though, I doubt you take their memories, as well.”

'Also, those cursed with animal forms retained their human mind, and personality.”

“The way to reverse the curse is to be splashed with hot water. And cold water activates that curse.”

Garibaldi then remember where he heard of the cursed springs before, as he commented, “Ah... Ranma Half series?”

Lee replied, “Yes.” He happily thought, 'I am so happy that Garibaldi is so genre savvy that I don't have to explain every little detail to him.'

Garibaldi looked around himself, as he saw he was on dry land, surrounded by pools. He turned back to Lee, as he stated, “I will be sure, to be careful.”

Lee said, “Good.”

Garibaldi looked around, again, for a few seconds. He then turned to Lee, as he commented, “So, this is Jusenkyo. The area looks nice. If the springs were not cursed, this would be a nice place to visit.”

Lee agreed, “My thoughts exactly. Though, this is not just a Ranma Half reality.”

Garibaldi asked, “What do you mean?”

Lee thought, 'I might as well tell him this much, due to us being in this reality.' Lee answered, “This is more crossover reality, of a Ranma Half composite series. A blending of the manga and anime. Birdy Decode anime. Gacha Gacha manga, Kampfer anime She-zow cartoon. The Street Fighter franchise. Futaba Change manga. Though, the ending of the Futaba Change manga does not exist here, due to not being able to fit with the rest of the series for this reality.”

Garibaldi thought, 'Now that is a strange combination of series, to be in one reality. And most of those series dealt with gender bending. One way, or another... Which given the insane mess we are in, and how some of those that are after us have had their genders bent, I am not surprised about... Though, I would like to know how he know this?...'

Garibaldi questioned, “And how would you know all this?”

Lee coyly said, “It is literally a long story.”

Garibaldi inquired, “Okay. We will get to that in a minute. Still, I am sure you didn't plan to just jump to another reality, right away? You planned to come here, for at least a little while. No one just comes here on a lark. Unless, they are an idiot, like Genma. And I retract what I said about you, before. You are clearly no idiot.”

Garibaldi thought, 'Actually, given some of the stunts you pulled. Including, the some of the ones I was present for. I would say quite the contrary. You are a genius. And I believe you already know that. Though, you are smart enough to downplay you intelligence, when you are dealing with others. So, we all underestimate you. Which I am no longer going to do.'

Lee thought, 'Yea. I may have to come clean with Garibaldi. And given where we are, he will not think me insane. And I doubt he will try to dunk me into a spring. He is the type of guy that would kill a person outright. Besides, he will not risk dunking himself in a spring. Plus, during my entire time with him. I have been polite and helpful toward him. Meaning he won't likely harm me, even after I tell him everything. Still, I need to answer his question, before he suspects something is up.'

Lee calmly stated, “Yes. I did plan to head here, a while back. For a few different reasons. Including avoiding my enemies.

Garibaldi said, “Okay. I can see that. While I do not think you are an idiot. You are insane to bring us here. Because only a lunatic would follow us.”

Lee replied, “I admit that was the line of thinking I was using.”

Garibaldi thought, 'And I actually admit that line of thinking. Now, how do you plan to get us out of here?' He calmly inquired, “Fine. And given how much trouble we went through to get here. I have a feeling that the way you plan to get us out of here, is not with you little toy, that brought us here.”

Lee responded, “You are correct. I do have plan to get out of here. That plan being that we will walk out of here. I already know where I plan to jump realities from. And it is not here. This is due to them being able to track us. But, the longer the time, between when we jump, and when they start tracking us, the long it takes for them to find us. And this lag applies to distance in location of reality jumping, as well.”

“And they cannot jump exacting where we arrived. Though, they can come within a few miles of us. Unless, they have a specific place in mind, and they have been to that location before.”

Garibaldi guessed, “So, that is why you went from Babylon Five to Mars. You tried to lose them.” He thought, 'That was not a bad plan. I wonder what went wrong?”

Lee responded, “Yes. It was a good plan. But, they knew me too well. And they correctly guessed where I was going.”

Garibaldi complimented, “Well, I give you an, A, for effort.”

Lee replied, “Thank you.”

Garibaldi inquired, “You're welcome. So, which direction are we going?

Lee stated, “Northeast.” He used his right hand to point towards the northeast, as he continued, “This way.” He dropped his right hand back to his side, as he went onto say, “Until we reach dry land. It should take us an hour, or so, to make it out of here of these cursed springs. Though, we must be careful. And as such, we will do this slowly.”

“Also, keep in mind the dirt near the spring might be lose. So, keep to the middle of these strips of land. And be mindful of any boggy mud, on the land, that we need to avoid. I am not sure if the mud will transfer the curse. So, don't take any chances.”

Garibaldi replied, “Gotcha. I will keep that in mind.”

Lee turned to northeast, as he began to walk, as a slow, but steady pace. Due to him being mindful of staying on dry land, and avoiding the pools around them. As they navigated the cursed springs.

Garibaldi followed behind Lee. With him being just as mindful as Lee. As he followed Lee, he thought, 'I might as well find out where he is leading me, too.' He asked, “So, where are we heading?”

Lee kept his focus on carefully following the dry land in front of him, while avoiding the springs, as he kept in the same general direction. Because the strips of land did not go in a straight direction. Still, the sun and the distant surroundings provided Lee with the general bearings on which direction he needed to take, to keep going northeast.

As Lee did this, he coyly said, “I would prefer to keep our destination secret, for the time being. Though, as long as we obey the rules there, we should be fine. Still, once we are out of this place, I need to find someone, and ask him some questions. Then, we head for the departure location, and find a nice place, time, and reality, in the multiverse, to relax for a day, or so.”

Garibaldi thought, 'I still need to know if you plan to deal with you cancer. Or, if you are going to arrange for me to bury you.' questioned,' Garibaldi inquired, “Fine. But, what about you cancer? Or, do you plan for me to organize your funeral arrangements?”

Lee answered, “Don't worry. I already have that problem worked out.”

Garibaldi kept his eyes on where he was going, and where he stepped on dry land, as he followed Lee. He replied, “Good.” He mentally added, 'At least I don't have to worry about that. Still, I need to know more about about you, Lee. When faced with two sieges at once, with no quick escape. I just watched you use one siege against the other siege, to buy us time to successfully escape. And I will get some answers, for my questions, right now'

Garibaldi requested, “Lee. Since, I am this deep in this mess, with you. And we have the time. You might as well tell me the why and how you originally got into this mess?”

Lee kept his back turned to Garibaldi, as he continued on his way, while he though, 'He is going to keep asking me, until I tell him. But, I need to make it clear, that he is not going to like what I have to say to him.' He commented, “You are not going to like what I have to say.”

Garibaldi responded, calm, yet direct tone of voice, “At this point, it doesn't matter if I like what I am about to hear from you, or not. I still need to know.”

As they continued walking, Lee signed, as thought, 'I might as well tell him. At the very least it will kill some time.'

While Lee had his back turned to Garibaldi, the older man did notice Lee sighing.

Garibaldi thought, 'Oh. Given my experience in dealing with suspects, when they tell me something I am not going to be happy about hearing. I can just tell from Lee's sighing, that this explanation is going to be a big one. And I already know I am not going to like it. I can just tell. Still, I need to know. And I need to remember. That no matter what. Until I figure out how his reality device works.'

'And I cannot dunk him for anything that he says to me, that either makes me angry, or frustrates me, due to his idiocy. And I have learn since learn that geniuses have been known to do some galactic level acts of idiocy.'

Lee calmly began, “Well, if you want to know, I will tell you. How it began was so... Mundane... Yet, like most epic, life altering mistakes, it began with a simple idea...”

And so, as Lee and Garibaldi carefully, and slowly, made their way out of Jusenkyo, Lee then told Garibaldi about his stories, how he came up with his stories, what his stories were about, where he posted them, how his stories effected those after him, how some of those he had wronged came looking for him, what he did in response, and how he ended up with Garibaldi as a traveling companion.

To be honest, as they careful made their way out of the area of the cursed springs, Lee was mild surprised that Garibaldi did not try to dunk him on the spot.

(_)

Reality, Black Lagoon anime reality. Date, A day after the Lagoon family left to originally go after Lee, in Plata Podrido. Location, Lagoon Mansion, on Lagoon Island. Time, one ten PM, local time.

It was a sunny, warm day, on Lagoon Island, with a light breeze coming off the sea.

It had been an hour since Revy's group, and the Knight Sabers had reunited, after all of them had left the Babylon Five Reality, and come to Lagoon Island in the Black Lagoon anime reality.

Given the number of people in attendance, the Lagoon family decided to have their meeting in a clear area, in their large gym, inside the Lagoon mansion.

While most of the visitors came in their usual clothing. The eight members of the Knight Sabers came in their hardsuits, with their helmets on, and visors down, over their faces.

Everyone else did not make it an issue of the Knight Sabers coming into the Lagoon home, while being overdress. Though, they noticed the hardsuits were slightly damaged, from their battle at the Edgars Industries headquarters. But, the hardsuits were clearly otherwise still functioning.

Currently, everyone was gathered around Rock, in a forum style conversation, which was being stated in english. The people were all standing, in a group, as they listened to Rock, whom was standing a few feet away from the group.

At the moment, Rock was reviewing what they knew about Lee, and Garibaldi, and how best to approach the situation in capturing Lee, and retrieving Garibaldi, without harming the older man.

While most of those there, were mixed together, the eight Knight Saber members stood separated from the others, as a group.

Inside her hardsuit, Linna looked around the place with her sensors, as her helmet remained facing Rock. As she scanned the place, she said, over their internal, encrypted radio system, in japanese, “These people sure do have a nice place here.”

Priss commented, on their private channel, in japanese, “No kidding.” She mentally grumbled, with bitterness, 'And Lee is responsible for most of this. While he gave us the shaft. Though, we have achieved our wealth on are own. Still, this is one of the many reason Lee deserves an ass kicking!'

Linna complained, “Though, I don't see why we had to come to meet them like this?”

Kate said, over their private channel, in japanese, “I agree. Coming in a business dress would better in this situation. We need to look as professional as possible. These people are use to dealing with brutes. Not professional business women.”

Linna agreed, “You have a point there.”

Mackie said, on their encrypted channel, in japanese, “As long as it is not a skirt. I could care less.”

Leon mildly complained, on their radio channel, in japanese, “I just want a shower.”

Priss agreed, “That makes two of us.”

Nene commented, on their encrypted channel, in japanese, “Be happy that these upgraded hardsuits are not like the old ones. These have environmental controls, such as AC, and heating. So, we are not sweating a river in these things. Soaked, smelly hair is no fun in these helmets.”

Daley said, on their radio channel, in japanese, “No kidding. Personally, I am not complaining. Though, I am be taking a bath when we get home.”

Mackie agreed, “Same here. And at least the worst we had in that battle were a few bruises.”

Daley replied, “Yea. That is a good thing.”

Mackie questioned, “So, sis. Linna and Kate have a good point. Why are we still in our hardsuits?”

Sylia stated, over their private channel, in japanese, “I don't fully trust the people... Besides, we are still on a mission.”

Kate conceded, “Good point.”

Leon inquired, “I take it that is why you immediately dragged us all from the battlefield, to here?”

Sylia answered, “Yes.”

Nene asked, “So, are we going to bug this place?”

Sylia said, “No. We already know all we can from them. And they clearly could care less about keeping secrets. And being caught planting bugs here would only cause problems for us.”

Daley agreed, “Yes. We are fine for the moment. So, let us not rock the boat.”

Sylia replied, “Exactly.”

Meanwhile, Rock was finishing her summation, in english, “While Lee was able to use the two sieges against each other to escape. We still know where, when, and what reality, he is at. We just need to figure out a safety way to approach that area. Which will not be a problem, with those here.”

Rock turned to the Knight Saber, group. She inquired, in english, “So, Ms. Stingray, do you have anything to add to what I was discussing?”

Sylia had been paying attention to Rock, as she had talked to her subordinates. She thought, 'I am glad I was paying attention to the outside conversation.' She stated, through her suit's speakers, in english, “Yes. I do, Ms. Okajima.”

Rock thought, 'Sylia is one of the few people to call me, Ms. Okajima. Also, it is not surprise she knows my real name. And it is nice to talk with someone who understands how to be formal, and well mannered.'

'Though, she, and her friends, did come... Overdressed for this meeting. Not that I am going to fault them for doing so. They still don't fully trust us. And I don't fully trust them. But, this discussion is a good start to our building trust between each other. And I have dealt with rockier situations than this, and come out on top.'

Sylia continued, “While knowing all this is good. The primary matter is catching Lee. With finding Garibaldi being a secondary matter. Given he is Lee's accomplice. Though, I do not hold Garibaldi's actions against him. And I think we all agree that if we all continue going after these two men, in such a large group, that it would become counterproductive. As such, we need only sent a smaller group after him.”

Janet turned to Sylia, as she inquired, with a hint of sarcasm in her tone of voice, “Are you nominating yourself, and your team?” She thought, 'I would not be surprised if she tried to do so. But, if that is the case. She is not going to get away with it.'

Sylia turned to Janet, as she tactfully replied, “As flattered as I would be for my team to go after Lee. I believe we may need to pair the group down to only a handful of people. Two or three, at the most.”

Janet thought, 'Touche.'

Sylia went onto say, “We need people who are expert trackers, can travel light, that can throw Lee off his game, and won't kill him on sight.”

Benny turned to Sylia, as she commented, “Well, I can say that the maids would fit three out of those four of those qualifications. The problem is, they would likely kill Lee, in a very painful manner, as to capture him.” She then turned to the Roberta, and Fabiola, whom were standing together, as they paid attention to the conversation.

Roberta calmly said, “Perhaps not. I am starting to agree that we all have a right to vengeance against Lee. And I will concede that it would be rude to deprived you of your vengeance, just so I can have my own personal vengeance against Lee.” She thought, 'At the very least, the Knight Sabers deserve as much a chance at revenge, as our master, Garcia.'

There were a few light giggles from Roberta's comments, for a few seconds.

Roberta continued, “As such, there is enough of Lee's ass to go around. So, if you want us to go after him, we promise not to immediately kill him, and instead we will being him back here. So, we can all decide how to deal with him.”

Rock turned to Fabiola, as she inquired, “And what is your opinion in this matter?”

Fabiola looked at Rock, as she answered, in a calm, though slightly annoyed tone of voice, “Like Roberta. I realize that we deserve a shot at that bastard. And if you agree not to cut us out on our revenge, we will deliver him in mostly one piece.”

Revy turned to Fabiola, as she questioned, “Define mostly?”

Roberta turned to Fabiola, as she answered for her student, “Lee will be conscious, when we bring him here. Though, by then, he might be missing a limb, or two.”

Revy looked at Roberta, as she said, “As long as it is not his head, I could care less. And if Lee is missing such body parts, the vat process will regrow, and repair such injuries.”

Roberta pointed out, “Plus, it would make Lee not only a woman, but more durable to the punishment we will in inflict on her.”

Revy commented, “Exactly. I see you are understanding my thoughts on this manner.”

Revy and Roberta then shared wicked grins with each other. Though, most of those that saw the two women grin at each other, were slightly unnerved by the sight.

Benny thought, 'Whenever those two agree, it tends to be an unnerving situation for everyone else, that is present.'

Rock thought, 'This is probably the best promise I am going to get from the maids. Still..' She stated, “Try to bring Lee back in one piece. And don't harm Garibaldi, unless you have too. And if they do surrender to you. Don't harm them. We can punish Lee, when he gets here.”

Roberta replied, “Fine. I will do my best not to harm Garibaldi. And if Lee surrenders, without a fight. I will not harm him, until after we have bought him back here, for all of us to decide his punish.” She turned to look at Fabiola.

Fabiola turned to Roberta, and she understood Roberta's unspoken question. Fabiola stated, “I can live with that.”

Both maids turned back to look at Rock.

Rock replied, “Good.” She thought, 'That is much. better.'

Dutch asked, “So, who will take the two of them to that dangerous location?” She thought, 'When I went there, to buy those instant man packets. I stayed far away from the pools. I would go near those pools even in a hazmat suit.'

Ranma looked over at the maids, as she said, “I will take with them. We will use my reality device to teleport them both to entrance of Jusenkyo, a few hours after Lee and Garibaldi arrive. But, I am will then leave. Not just because I don't want to alter my past. Creating a paradox. But, I am not going anywhere near those springs.” She turned to the maids, as she suggested, “And you should avoid them, as well.”

Nearby, Spike was quietly listening to the conversation, as she thought, 'I am so happy that Chang already told us about Jusenkyo, when he offered those instant man packets to Jet, Faye, and I. And those are packages offer such fun for us three. Though, we do try to keep are friendship platonic. We all agreed we work too well together to risk wrecking that by screwing each other.'

'Still, even Mal, and his crew, know about that place. And I am sure we all would agree that is too dangerously a place for us to go. I may want Lee's hide for what he did to me, but I am not following him there.'

Roberta and Fabiola turned to Ranma. Roberta stated, “We will. We already know how dangerous they are, from learning about your life. If Lee is still in the middle of those springs. We will wait for him, and Garibaldi, outside of the area. And if he and the older man has left. We will follow them. Worst case scenario, we know he will eventually use his reality device. And we will just track him to the next reality he plans to go to.”

Ranma calmly warned, with a touch of seriousness in her tone of voice, “That is all well and good. But, I highly suggest you be careful while there. Do not pick a fight with anyone there.”

Fabiola casually responded, “Yes. We know about the Chinese Amazon, kiss of marriage and kiss of death rules. We saw and read both versions of your series, Ranma. When we first met, I did not realize you had lead that crazy a life. Even before Lee got his hands on you.”

Ranma shrugged, as she said, “Yea. I have lead an interesting life.” She mentally added, 'That gets more interesting by the day. Still, I would like to know. Given she did not know about me, when we met, during our chase front Chang, and those of her Tower.' She asked, “So, when did you see my series?”

Roberta commented, “Soon after we returned home, from Chang's Tower, Garcia brought us copies your anime and manga series. He did so to help explain his curse to us. And that is where we learned those amazon rules from. Among other things.” She mentally asked herself, “Though, I wonder where, and how, the master learned about Ranma's series?'

Ranma thought, 'Interesting... Still, it is good. I wish I had known those laws beforehand I first went there. It would have saved me a lot of trouble. Still, that is not enough. My series is fairly long. And I need to make sure they know of the other dangers, as well.'

Ranma stated, “The amazons are not just the dangerous people there. There are some very powerful people there, than can hurt even you, if you start trouble there.”

Roberta looked at Ranma, as she said, “Don't worry. When we learned of your series. We learned of all of it. Including, the Musk, the bird people, along with various other people in the area. We know what we are walking into. And we will be sure to be on our best behavior, while there.”

Fabiola just nodded once, as she agreed, “Yes. We will.”

Ranma replied, “Okay.”

Rock stated, “Fine. You three can go after Lee and Garibaldi. While we wait for you to bring them back. Though, try to be only gone a few hours for us.” She thought, 'Considering the Bloodhound is legendary in always tracking down her prey. Even Lee. I have no problem with them going after him. As long as they keep their agreement not to kill Lee. And I just hope Lee and Garibaldi have enough sense to surrender to them, and avoid being hurt.'

Fabiola said, “We will keep that in mind.” She then looked back at her teacher, as she inquired, “So, when do we leave?”

Roberta looked Ranma, and then at Fabiola, as she questioned, “Does leaving in a hour, or two, sound good for you?”

Fabiola answered, “Yes.”

Ranma said, “Yes. I good with that.”

Revy said, “Then, that is settled.” Everyone looked over at Revy, as she continued, “Now, we can deal with other matters.” She then turned to Priss, as she went onto say, “Such as kicking your ass.”

Priss noticed Revy was talking to her. Priss turned her helmet towards Revy, as she held up the right gauntlet of her blue hardsuit, in a fist. She challenged, in english, “Bring it on.”

Nearby, Linna thought, with mild annoyance, 'Leave to Priss to ruin a wonderful meeting. Still, this Revy seems to be just as bad at lack of having manners,'

Dutch looked between the two women, as she quickly stated, in a flat, calm tone of voice, “Ladies. Heel.”

Everyone looked at Dutch, including Revy and Priss. With Revy scowling at Dutch.

Dutch mentally noted, 'Oh hell. Revy is giving me a dangerous look. And I bet, under her helmet, Priss is doing the same. I need to make this quick, before someone gets hurt here, and our home is wrecked.'

Dutch calmly pointed out, in a strong, though even tone of voice, “If you kill each other, you will not be able to have your revenge on, Lee. Besides, there are far more civilized way to handle this. Such, as just a simple sparing match, without weapons, on the mats nearby.”

Dutch then used her left hand to point to some blue mats that were put together, in another clear area of the gym. The blues mats were large, three feet by three feet square. Each mat was an inch thick of cushioned padding. And the mats were laid in grid pattern of thirty feet by thirty feet. There was also another set of mats a little further away from the group. With the closed set of mats being around fifty feet away, across the room.

Everyone turned to look at the mats, including Revy and Priss, while Dutch dropped her left hand to her side.

Dutch thought, 'Good. They seem to like the idea.'

Nearby, Balalaika was standing by B, as they looked at the mats.

Balalaika then turned back to look at Dutch, as she thought, 'That is what I have always liked about Dutch. He, and now she, knows how to handle crazy people, whom are prone to violence. And if Priss is as good as I suspect she is, this should be as good as fight, as the four hour fight that Revy had with Roberta. Though, I hope this fight does not last that long.'

Meanwhile, Rock was watching the whole situation, as she thought, 'Dutch has the right idea. Experience had taught us that there is no point in trying to convince those two not to fight. So, we can at least minimize the danger. And a simple sparring match will not get either of them seriously harmed. Though, I will make sure there are some rules before they fight. Still, we got to convince them this is a good idea... Because, it is either that, or we hold back Revy, while the Knight Saber drag Priss away.'

Rock commented, “Dutch is right.” Everyone turned back to look at Rock, as Rock continued, “If you want to fight. Let's keep it civil. Take it to the mats.”

Rock saw Revy's facial expression relax.

Rock thought, 'Good. She is listening to reason. I hope Priss is doing the same.'

Revy shrugged. She casually said, “Works for me.”

Priss replied, “Same here.” She looked over at Revy, as she stated, “Besides, I have been looking forwards to this, long before you have. I am so going to kick you ass for wrecking our city, kidnapping us, and having us impregnated.”

Revy looked at Priss, as she thought, 'I may want this fight. But, she is taking this way too personally.' She defended herself, “We were brainwashed. Besides. When you get down to it. That is all Lee's fault.”

Priss begrudgingly thought, 'She's right. Though...' She stated, “Well, I still want to kick your ass for you part in this mess.'

Revy said, “If that is the way you feel.” She cracked a grin, as she continued, “It's your funeral.”

Rock flatly stated, “Hold it. In this coming sparring match. There will no killing. Nor crippling of each other. Such as no headlocks.”

Revy and Priss then looked back at Rock.

Revy inquired, in a curious tone of voice, “And if we don't?”

Rock looked Revy in her eyes, as she said, in a straightforward manner, “We will hold you down, and tie you up.” She then looked over towards Sylia, and the rest of the Knight Sabers, as she continued, “And Ms Stingray will drag you away from here, Ms. Asagiri, to avoid violence between our groups.”

Sylia warned, in a calm, though warm tone of voice, over their private channel, in japanese, “As much as I sympathize with your feelings, Priss. Rock is correct. We will drag you out of here. The mission is more important than personal vendettas. Even against Lee, Revy, or anyone else.

Everyone saw Priss silently lower her helmet down, in a sign of defeat.

Rock thought, 'Good. What ever Sylia said in on their private communications systems. It is clear that Sylia agrees with me.'

Revy said, “Okay. I will go with you, on this Rock.” She turned to Priss, as she thought, 'Because I really want to see which one of us is better.”

Priss conceded, in an even, though unhappy tone of voice, “Fine. I can live with those rules.”

Akira looked over at Rock, as she asked, “So, are we going to bet on this?”

Rock turned to Akira, as she answered, “No. Because we all use different currencies. And let us not risk any further harder feelings between us.” She mentally added, 'Besides, if there are bets on this, the pride from Revy and Priss will make them drag this battle out. And I don't want to see Revy in another brutal fight, like that four hour match she had with Roberta, that one time. Which ended in a draw. And nobody one their bets.'

Rock saw from the group, some of the people shrug in indifference to her comment.

Akira replied, “Okay.”

Nearby, Balalaika thought, 'I am not going to fault Rock's reasons. She is right. And I realize she is trying to smooth things over with the Knight Sabers. That is a wise decision on her part.'

Revy said, “Let us get this started.” She then started walking towards the mats, about fifty feet way from them, with Priss walking right behind her.

The rest of the group followed behind them.

As they walked Leon said, through her speakers, in english, “This should be good.”

Nearby, Dutch overheard Leon, as she said, “I agree.”

Revy and Priss soon came to a stop in front of the blue mats, with the rest of the group walking around the mats, to get better views of the coming match.

As Revy and Priss stood in front of the mats, Priss removed her helmet, allowing her long brown hair to fall out of her helmet. She then turned to Nene, whom was right beside her, and she handed Nene her helmet.

Nene quietly took Priss' helmet.

Priss then opened up her hardsuit, which evenly split open from the upper chest, back, and shoulders, all the way down to the waist.

Next, Priss climbed out of her blue hardsuit,, with the hardsuit joints locked, in a standing position.

As Priss completely got out of her hardsuit, and stood on the floor, everyone saw she was only dress in her full body pink, softsuit. Which only exposed the head and hands.

Priss then turned to Nene. She picked up her helmet, and set it on her hardsuit.

Finally, Priss turned to face Revy, as she waited for her opponent to get ready for their fight, as well.

Meanwhile, Revy took off her shoulder holsters, with her pistols in them. She set her holstered weapons gently on the floor, besides the mats. She then took off her black fingerless gloves, and set them by the holsters. She thought, 'I don't want to be accused of having my gloves be weapons.'

She then leaned up, as she looked over at Priss. She then noticed the blue haidsuit. She mentally reflected, 'That is a nice hardsuit. And the blue color works for her.'

Revy commented, “I have to admit. Hardsuits are very stylish. But, the only thing I never understood was why the softsuits were pink? I would have preferred red, or black.”

Nearby, Sylia said, in a matter of fact, tone of voice, “Next to white, pink is one of my favorite colors.”

Mackie commented, through her speakers, in english, “At one point, she ran a lingerie shop, as a cover. That says it all.”

There was some laughter among those present, which lasted for a few seconds.

Revy thought, 'Well, that answered my question.'

As everyone calmed down, Sylia said, with her hardsuit's speakers, in english, for the benefit of everyone there, “I will conceded that point to you, Mackie.”

Priss looked at Sylia, then at Revy, as she agreed, “I am with you on that one. Also, you have nice hair.”

Revy responded, “Thank you. You have nice hair, as well.”

Priss ran her right hand ran hand down her hair, as she inquired, “I appreciate that. And I only shampoo, and occasionally use conditioner. How about you?”

Revy answered, “About the same.”

Priss questioned, “I have been thinking about putting my hair into a ponytail, like yours. What are your thoughts?”

Revy commented, “I think it would work for you. But, you are not going to steal my hair style.”

Priss said, “I won't dream of it.” Her lips then curled into a wicked grin, as she stated, “Now, I am going to kick your ass.”

Revy smirked, as she responded, “We'll see.”

Both women then walked onto the blue mats, until they were on opposite corners from each other. With everyone else standing around the mats, and staying at least three feet from the mats. So, they did not risk being hurt by the two women.

As Rock watched both women get into position, she asked, “Are you both ready?”

Revy and Priss continued to looked at each other, as both of them said, in unison, “Ready.”

Rock stated, “Then, begin.”

Revy and Priss then charged at each other, with their friends cheering them on.

As Revy and Priss started fighting, in a bare knuckled brawl, Dutch briskly walked around to Rock. She the gently tapped Rock on her right shoulder.

Rock looked over at Dutch, and she saw the taller, brown haired woman, motion with her shoulders, and head, to follow her.

Rock and Dutch then calmly walked through the crowd, and away from the fight.

But, their actions did not go unnoticed, by someone else in the crowd.

When Rock and Dutch got within twenty feet from the crowd, they came to a stop, Dutch was a few feet from Rock, as both of them looked at each other.

Both their enhanced hearing allowed them to clearly hear such soft spoken words.

Dutch whispered, “You know, we need to to settle things with these women, as soon as possible. Or, this situation could become more explosive, very quickly.”

Rock softly inquired, “I fully agree you, Dutch. Do you have any ideas?”

Dutch quietly said, “From what I saw of Benny and Janet's video collection. They are mercenaries. We might be able to buy them off. At the very least, doing so will help the situation between us.”

Rock softly replied, “That is not a bad idea. But, it will likely cost us.”

Dutch quietly inquired, “I can live it costing us a little. As long as we are fine afterward. So, do you want to take point? Or, do you want me to?”

Rock whispered, “I think I might do a better job. But, you can assist.”

Dutch softly complimented, “I am fine with that.”

As the two women turned around, towards the group, they saw Sylia, in her white hardsuit, and helmet on, standing between them and the crowd around the fight.

Sylia was facing them, with her visor up. This allowed Rock and Dutch to see her brown eyes, and the front tuft of her blue hair, under the faceplate of her helmet.

Dutch and Rock also noted that Sylia's eyes had a cold, though not icy, strength to them.

Sylia calmly requested, “Make your offer.”

Rock thought, 'How did she figure we were talking about her?... Oh right. Enhanced hearing, further enhanced by electronics. I know she heard every word we just said. And she is very sharp.'

'Also, I know I am not going to get the drop on her. She is a genius and a shrewd business woman. And as a mercenary leader, electronics engineer, and legit business woman. I know I am not going to be able to lie to her... She will catch any lie I say to her... And I am not going be able to trick her. So, I might as well be straightforward, and honest with her.'

Rock said, in a normal tone of voice, “For the trouble we have caused you, in our part of this mess. We offer you five, four hundred troy ounce, good delivery, gold bars for each of the eight of you. Forty bars in all.”

Sylia flatly stated, “Sixteen. Not eight. Do not forget our daughters. Also, we could use some reimbursement for our destroyed motoslaves, and repairs to our hardsuits.”

Rock thought, 'She has a point there. And I was stupid to forget her children.' She responded, “I apologize for overlooking your children. And you are right about the motoslaves, and repairs. How about five gold bars for each of your sixteen family members? Plus, another four for repairs and replacements. Eighty-four bars in all. If that is alright with, Dutch, here?”

Sylia said, “That will be a good start. And apology accepted, for the oversight.”

Rock thought, 'Translation. She is forgives me oversight, but not what Revy and the others did to her, and her friends. And she will still want more. But, it will likely be reasonable. Though, before we do anything else on this matter, I need to run this part by Dutch.' She turned to Dutch, as she inquired, “Is this fine with you?”

Dutch looked at Rock. She then turned to Sylia, as she said, in a normal tone of voice, “I can live with that.” She mentally added, 'That is only a minor dent in our wealth in gold and other treasures. Also, I could probably talk to Lotton, to help convince Shenhua and Sawyer to pitch in. Though, I am not going to approach Roberta on this matter. And if it gets these powersuited, mercenary women off our backs on this. It would be well worth the price in gold.”

Rock offered, “Okay. You said that was a start. I will sweeten the deal. I know a few of your members use to be men, like us. We use instant spring of drowned packets to temporally change back to men, with cold water. Hot water reverses it. We are willing to give you a hundred of the packets. And put you in contact for our supplier. If you want more. So, you and your friends can play both ends of the field, if you want.”

Sylia grinned wickedly, as she questioned, “What makes you think we don't already use those packets. And I must say, those are fun to use. Though, one still had to use a condom. So, as to not get pregnant, or make someone pregnant. Among other things.”

Dutch cracked a grin, as she said, “Great minds think alike.”

Sylia happily replied, “Exactly.”

Meanwhile, Rock thought, 'That figures.' She inquired, “Okay. So, what else do you want from us?”

Sylia dropped her smile, as she flatly stated, “We want a measure of revenge on Lee. When he is eventually found. Though, we will make the concessions that we will not leave him killed, nor crippled, when we are finished with him. So, others may have their revenge on him, as well.”

Rock thought, 'Of course. She does not want her members to accidentally kill, or cripple Lee, and risk those seeking revenge on him, to come after her, and her friends, and their families. Still, there is room to negotiation.' Rock said, “Done. On the condition you agree to the same type of revenge that we do to Lee.”

Sylia responded, “Given your imaginations, that will be fine. Also, we heard that Chang opened a casino. Among other things, as compensation for Chang's part. We would all like spend up to a month, free there, once a year, in some quality suites. Along with this, we wish for a measure of monetary compensation from him, as well. Since, next to Lee, he was the mastermind of all this.”

Rock stated, “You will have to take that up with Chang. But, I will come with you, to help you with your meeting with him.”

Sylia replied, “Thank you.” She mentally reflected, 'Rock and Dutch are clearly trying to smooth things over with us. And that is good. It gives me an excuse to convince the others to put the past behind them. We may be on a mission, but that does not mean we cannot do multiple things at once. Besides, I do not want this to cause problems between us, Natsuru, and her family.'

'On that thought. When I go with Rock, to see Chang. I will take Kate's suggestion, and come in a business dress. Chang will not try any tricks with me, due to him knowing better than to cross me, a second time. So, I have little to worry about, from him, and his friends. Also, I would be tempted to take Kate with me, to see Chang. But, everything I have learned about Chang states he prefers a more relaxed environment for a negotiations. While Kate prefers a more ridged business environment, when it comes to negotiations. And their two personalities might clash and cause problems, which I want to avoid.'

Dutch look over at crowd, as she saw the backside of Lotton, Shenhua, and Sawyer, whom stood together. Dutch thought, 'I might as well ask the question.' She then turned back to Sylia, as she inquired, “And what of Lotton, Shenhua, and Sawyer? Especially, Lotton. She was Chang's second in command.”

Sylia flatly stated, “Nothing. While Priss may feel differently. I am willing to acknowledge that the women that kidnapped us were brainwashed.” She turned to looked at Roberta, as she commented, “And we are not going to confront Roberta, concerning this matter.”

Sylia thought, 'Given how dangerous Roberta is. I do not want to confront her, and her student. Doing so, would make me enemies of them, the Garcia Lovelace, and by extension the other people here. It would be a no win situation.'

Dutch complimented, “That would be a wise course to take.”

Sylia turned back to look at Dutch and Rock, as she went onto say, “And as for Lotton... From what we understand, she has served as the assassin and cleaner's maid, for several years. That is punishment enough.”

Dutch and Rock chuckled a little at Sylia's comment, for a few seconds.

As they calmed down, Dutch thought, 'No arguments that. And from that I am sure I will be able to confidence them to help with our payments. Still, I wonder...' Dutch raised an eyebrow, as she inquired, “So, you have seen the Black Lagoon series?”

Sylia returned Dutch's eyebrow raise, as she casually answered, “Of course. Natsuru and her friends brought it to us the day they came to visit us, after we were freed from the tower. That was even stated in those insane stories, which Lee wrote. I believe these matters were discussed at the end of Book Two.”

Rock thought, 'She has read the stories. Given how she and her friends are after Lee. I am not surprised by this.'

Dutch thought, 'So, she has read those stories. Given her intelligence, it would make sense that she would read those stories. And she would make sure her friends read those stories. Before they would confront Lee. And I do vaguely recall the scene she was a part of, at the end of Book Two.'

Dutch conceded, “Yes. It is a long story. And not easy one for us to read. Let alone think about.”

Sylia calmly said, “I fully understand.”

Dutch thought, 'Of course. You, of all people, would understand. Though, I need to know if you, or any of the others are after as much revenge, as Priss.'

Dutch use her right hand to point over at the fight, as she asked, “So, are all of you so hot to trot on revenge, as you brown haired friend over there?” She then turned back to Sylia, as she dropped her right hand, back to her side.

Sylia turned to Priss. She then turned back to look at Dutch and Rock, as she plainly answered, “No. Priss has always been a bit of a hot head. But, motherhood has done much to temper her rage. As I am sure motherhood has had a similar effect your, Revy.”

Rock admitted, “You're right about that.” She thought, 'Dutch seems to have taken over. And she is handling Sylia, better than I have. I think I will let them talk, as I listen for any useful information that came be used to smooth this situation over, even more so.'

Sylia pointed out, “But, we all still want a measure of revenge. The eight of us agreed that we would have our pound of flesh, and then move on. And that is the way I would prefer it to be.”

Dutch politely complimented, “That is a good approach to take. I share such feelings on the matter.”

Sylia replied, “Thank you. And it is a pleasure to know that you agree with me on this.”

Dutch inquired, “Likewise... Though, what of your daughters? Do they want revenge as well?”

Sylia answered, “They could care less about Lee.”

Dutch replied, “Good.” She mentally added, 'That is one less problem for us to worry about.'

Sylia raised an eyebrow, as she asked, “And what of your family? And friends?”

Dutch thought, 'Well, fair is fair.' She honestly answered, “We have mixed feelings on the issue. But, like you, we also want to move on from our revenge, and go back to living our lives.”

Dutch mentally realized, 'This would be a good opportunity to get some information, that I am sure both Rock wants to know, as well.' She questioned, “So, how did you learn about Lee, and his stories?”

Sylia calmly said, “I apologize. But, I am not at liberty to answer that question.”

Dutch thought, 'Meaning she is working for someone that knows about us. Though, there is not much we can do about it, right now. All we can do is let the situation play out for later, and hope the mystery does not burn us, until then. Still, there is another question, I have. ' She commented, “And let me guess. Along with this, you are not at liberty to tell us how many people know about Lee, and his stories?”

Sylia answered, “No. I am not. But, I will say it is a select few.”

Dutch responded, “Alright. I will take what I can get.” She mentally added, 'Well, at least it is a few. And I have a feeling that Sylia's definition of, a few, is likely less than a ten, outside her own personal group. But, that does not mean her boss did not tell others. With her not being informed on such matters. Though, as I said. I will take what I can get.'

Sylia calmly suggested, “Now, let us go return to watching the fight.” She thought, 'I still want to see how Priss handles herself against Revy. It may have a bearing on her future training regiments.'

Rock look at Sylia, agreed, “That is a good idea.” She thought, 'I would like to see how Revy handles Priss. She always likes challenge.'

Dutch thought, 'I agree. Let's head back to the fight, before one of us accidentally says something that ruins this peaceful arrangement.'

Dutch replied, “Yes. Let's do that.”

The three women then turned, and walked back over to rejoin the crowd.

A few seconds later, as Dutch, Rock, and Sylia reached the crowd. They noticed that only a few of the people in the crowd turned their heads towards them, as they approached. And even then, those people quickly turned back to watch the fight, without commented on their presence.

(_)

From the crowd, Lotton had turned her head to see Rock, Dutch, and Sylia rejoin the crowd. As she turned her head back to the fight, to avoid any of the three of them noticed her.

Lotton thought, 'I wonder what those three were talking about?... Thought They were probably trying to smooth things over between our group and the Knights Saber. Which would be good for all of us. I will to Dutch about it, later. She always one to talk to me, about such matters, while we have a few beers. She really is a good person to drink with. Calm, pleasant, easy going. I can see why Benny and Janet like to be with her.'

Lotton turned to Sawyer and Shenhua, as she continued her thoughts, 'Though, I have my own lovers, as well. And we really don't want to mess up what either of us have. So, we keep things platonic Unless, all six of us agree to do something, together.'

Lotton turned her attention back to the fight, as she mentally reflect, 'On another matter. Revy and Priss are really going at it... Though, I could care less. But, the fight is making Shenhua and Sawyer happy, and that is what matters to me.'

'And even with the Bloodhound after Lee. It looks like we won't be seeing Lee, anytime soon. And I am not going to put my life on hold until we catch them. I think tonight, when the three of us are in private, it would be a good time for us to talk about moving forward with our future plans.'

(_)

Meanwhile, Rock, Dutch, and Sylia soon made their way to where they could see the fight taking place on the blue mats.

The three women then saw that Revy and Priss were each giving as good as they could take. They had been mostly punching each other. With a few kicks, knees, elbows thrown in, between the two of them.

And many of the members of the crowd continued to cheer either on Revy, or Priss.

Still, many of the people there noticed that the fight, on the mats, was reminiscent of the fistfight Revy once had with Roberta.

As Dutch watched the fight, she commented, “Damn. If this is like last time. This could last for a few hours.”

Sylia viewed the fight, as she stated, in an dry tone of voice, “I doubt it. I trained Priss not to allow a fight to drag out for too long.”

Dutch inquired, “Then, I wonder how she plans to stop this?”

Sylia lips curled into a slight grin, as she replied, with a bit of mirth in her tone of voice, “Just watch.”

(_)

Nearby, the maids were standing together, as they watched the fight. Roberta whispered into Fabiola's right ear, in spanish, “I will be honest. This is more fun to watch than to participate in.”

Fabiola softly replied, in spanish, “I agree.” She thought, 'Good. This means that Roberta is finally calming down from the previous night's events. And going back to the way she usually is. When she is not the warpath. And while I enjoy our time together, on this hunt. She can be hard to talk to, when she is like that.'

(_)

At that moment, on the mats, Priss and Revy backed away from each other, as both women wanted to get a good look, to size the other up, for a few seconds.

Each noticed the other was not breathing heavily. Also, except for a few mild bruises, they both were uninjured. With most of the mild bruises being to their faces.

Revy thought, 'At this rate. We will be fighting each other until dawn tomorrow.'

Priss thought, 'Damn. We are both too tough to take out in a single blow. And she is giving as good as she is getting. And with the super-soldier serum, we will likely be in this fight for a while.' While continuing to look directly at Revy, from the corner of her right eye, she saw the two maids. She continued her thoughts, 'And from I recall, of the Black Lagoon series. That was before this bitch got the super-soldier serum, she fought the Bloodhound over there, to a standstill, for around four hours straight.'

Priss then turned his fulled attention back towards Revy, as she continued her thoughts, 'I do not even want to think about the type of endurance this redheaded demoness now has. We both may be able to take it, but I really do not want to go through an endurance fight with her.'

'I may want revenge on her, and some of the others. But, I don't want to become a punching bag to do it. And I doubt she wants to take a pounding over her pistol, that I damaged...'

'Besides, Sylia will not allow me to have a fight like this drag on for much longer. Also, it will win me points with Sylia, if I offer her to surrender. Though, I doubt Revy will take my offer. As much as I am loath to admit it, this bitch is too much like me to just roll over and quit... Still, it is worth a try...'

Priss looked at Revy. She smirked, as she asked, “Had enough, yet?”

Revy met Priss' gaze, as she returned the brown haired woman's smirk, while she stated, “I haven't even broken a sweat, yet. Don't tell me you're a lightweight at this?”

Priss held onto her grin, as she responded, “Not at all. I just wanted to spare you a lot of embarrassment.”

Revy kept her smile, as she spat out, “Yea. Right. Let's get this on.”

The two women then charge back at each other.

As they continued to trade blows, Priss thought, with annoyance, 'Looks like I will have to end this the hard way.'

When Revy threw her next punch with her right hand, as her right arm extended, Priss sidestepped to Revy's right. As Priss did so, she gripped Revy's right forearm, with both hands, as she quickly step around Revy, while forcing Revy's to twist her arm, to where it was behind her back, in a lock.

When Priss was completely behind Revy, she continued to grip Revy's right forearm, with her own right hand. While doing so, Priss then quickly, and firmly gripped the top of Revy's left shoulder, as she pressed Revy in a downward motion by her left shoulder.

Between the pain of her right arm being put in a armlock, and the force on her left shoulder, Revy was force down into a kneeling position, with her left knee and right foot, on the mat.

Priss the pressed her advantage, as she forced Revy to lean forced in that position.

While in pain, due to the position her body was in, Revy thought, 'Not, again. This is like that time I fought Bob. And there is no way out of this hold that will not mess up my right arm.'

Priss leaned forward, on top of Revy, as maintained her body lock over Revy. She demanded, “Give up. I have had a broken arm before. It is not worth it.”

Priss then twisted Revy's right forearm arm very slightly, to increase the pain slightly, as a way to physically punctuate what she said.

Revy grunted in pain, as she mentally berated herself, 'She is right. My ego is not worth a broken arm...'

Priss then felt Revy relax her right arm, as Revy said, “I yield.”

Priss let of Revy, as she leaned up, and took a few steps away from her. Priss replied, “Good.”

Revy quickly brought her right arm around to her chest, as she used her left hand to rub her right arm. She thought, with relief, 'I will kick her ass, later. Right now, I am happy to not have a broken arm.'

Revy then stood up, and turned around to face Priss.

As both women stood, looking at each other, everyone could see that both women had minor facial bruises from their fight.

At that moment, Rock was on the side of the mat, with Revy to her right, and Priss to her left. She thought, 'Now, to make sure this is over.'

Rock then walked up to the mats, as she turned to the crowd around her, as she stated, “Okay. The fight is over.” She then turned back to Revy and Priss, as she inquired, “Are we going to have any more problems from you two?”

Priss and Revy looked at Rock, with mild indifference in this expressions.

Priss said, “I will not cause any problems.”

Revy answered, “I can live with the situation, for now.”

Benny looked at Revy and Priss, as she thought, 'That went better than I expected.'

While both women turned, and headed off the blue mats, towards their belongings, Revy looked over at Priss. She smirked, as she said, “Still, this isn't over.”

While they continued to walk towards the edge of the blue mats, Priss looked over at Revy. She returned Revy's smirk, as she responded “Not by along shot.”

Benny thought, 'Spoke too soon. And nothing good can come from this rivalry.'

Meanwhile, Balalaika thought, 'I guess it is a case of, be careful what I wish for. Still, they were not harmed. And there can always be a rematch. And watching those two get into it, now again, should break the monotony, at little...' She then place her right hand over her slight extended, pregnant stomach, as she continued her thoughts, 'At least until I have to deal with more personal matters.'

Nearby, Yurika was standing by her two sisters, as she asked, “So, what now?”

Nodoka looked over at Yurika, as she suggested, “Well, if anyone is hungry, we can have some lunch.”

Nearby, Nene turned the three sisters, as she said, with her hardsuit's speakers, in english, “I was waiting for someone to mention lunch.”

By Nene, Linna thought, 'Nene and her stomach. Some things never change.'

Mikoto turned to her two sisters, as she said, “That is one.” She looked out, around the crowd, as she casually answered, “Anyone else hungry?”

Linna thought, 'To be honest. I could use something to eat, as well. And I don't care what Sylia says. We are going to eat with them. They won't try something this way. It is clearly not their style.' She took off her helmet, as she turn to face the sisters. She said, in english, “I could use a bite to eat.”

Sawyer agreed, “Same here.” She then turned to Rock and Dutch, as she said, “As long as it is okay with our hosts?”

(_)

Nearby, Mackie turned to Sylia, as she asked, in their hardsuits internal communications system, 'Can we, sis?”

Leon commented, in communications system, “I don't think it is going to hurt us to have lunch with them.”

Daley commented, with their hardsuits internal radios, “I think this could be a good experience for everyone.”

Kate stated, with their hardsuit radios, “Daley makes a good point. And I am with them on this.”

In japanese, “Fine. And you can take off you helmet. But, leave you hardsuits on.” She thought, 'Besides. I was wondering what we were going to do for lunch, as well.'

(_)

Meanwhile, Dutch and Rock notice the rest of her family, and the others in crowd looking at them.

Dutch cracked a grin, as she stated, “Hey. I learned a long time ago. That if done properly, food can solve a lot of problems.” She mentally added, 'And it will at least smooth over the situation a little bit more.'

Dutch went onto say, “So, let's get some lunch. Fortunately, we have everyone.” She then saw a number of people smiled at her, as she thought, 'After we haven enough food to feed everyone here, for a month. And I am happy that everyone else is happy, at the moment. And those Lagoon parties are good experience in dealing with feeding a large group of people. And considering most of the people here, barring the Knight Sabers, and have been to those parties, this should not be a problem.'

Yurika turn to Dutch, as she gave the older woman a warm smile, which she saw Dutch notice. She said, “There we have it. Our host says it is okay for us to have some lunch here.”

Nearby, Roberta whispered Fabiola's right ear, in spanish, “We will restart our hunt for Lee, after lunch.”

Fabiola turn to her teacher, as she softly replied, in spanish, “Thanks. I am kind of hungry.” She mentally added, 'Besides. Experience has taught me that Ranma does not travel well when she has an empty stomach.'

Right before Revy and Priss exited the mat, where their shoulder holster, black gloves, hardsuit and helmet, were located, both women turned to those talking about lunch.

At that moment, Revy and Priss reached the end of the mat, as they stood and looked down at their belongings. Though, both of them had been paying attention to the conversation, over lunch.

Revy turned to the group, as she said, “Yea. Let's get some lunch.” She thought, 'We should have enough food and drink in the pantry for everyone.'

Priss looked at the group, as she agreed, “Works for me.”

Revy turned to Priss, as she thought, 'I wonder.' She asked, “Care for a drinking contest?”

Priss turned to Revy. She shrugged, as she commented, “Honestly. I prefer not to get drunk. So no. If you want a rematch. It is not going to be at a bar table.” She thought, 'At least our drinking habits are different. And I would guess so are our sexual tastes.'

Revy returned Priss' shrug, as she replied “It was worth a shot.”

Nearby, Eda heard that exchange, as she thought, 'I am so happy that Priss did not take up on Revy's challenge. Revy was literally asking for trouble.. I am also happy that Yolanda and I wonder researched a number of the very series that are connected to our situation. So, we know who is who... Still, after lunch, I better head back the Plata Podrido, to let Yolanda know what is going on... I think she will be happy that Lee has so far, escape capture by us.'

Meanwhile, Sarah look at sisters, as she inquired, “Do we have enough food for everyone?”

Dutch over heard Sara, as she turned to the tanned skinner, blond woman. Dutch answered, “We should have enough for everyone.”

Kristina held out her reality device, as she said, “That doesn't matter. We can always go for take out, anywhere in the multiverse, we want.”

Everyone who heard Kristina's comment, chuckled at what she said.

As Dutch chuckled a little, she happily thought, 'That's my girl.'

By then, everyone nearby had calmed down. Dutch said, “Come on everyone. The kitchen and dining rooms are this way.”

Dutch then let the others towards the dining room, or kitchen, as Revy collected her holsters, pistols, and gloves. While Priss got back into her blue hardsuit.

Though, Priss did not put on her hardsuit. Fortunately, she could still activate it to where she would move and walk unhindered. She then carried her helmet, as she followed the others to another part of the mansion, to get such lunch.

(_)

Later that day, Dutch was able to talk to Lotton, Shenhua, and Sawyer, privately. And the three lovers agreed with Dutch to help the Lagoon family, in their compensation, With the three lovers paying forty bars of gold, half of the amount of gold, at the agreed upon weight and quality. Considering it helped them get out of trouble with the Knight Sabers, as well.

Though, this was only a drop in the bucket for Shenhua, Sawyer, and Lotton's wealth, as well.

And later that night, Lotton, Sawyer, and Shenhua, privately discussed even more important matters, concerning their future. And they all decided to move forward with their plans.

(_)

Reality, Akira, Ranma, and Natsuru's home reality. Place, Jusenkyo, China. Date, the late twentieth century. Time, the middle of the morning. An hour after Lee and Garibaldi had first arrived in that reality.

For the last hour, the two men had carefully navigated the springs, while Lee continued his story, as he took front in leading Garibaldi out of the springs.

Fortunately, both men displayed their genre savvy to their fullest, as they were very careful, and neither had any trips, nor close calls that would have sent them into a curse spring.

And both men had noticed the fog had mostly clearing, to become a sunny day. With the temperature slowly warming up a bit, into a warm day, with a light breeze coming off from the mountains, and into the valley they were in.

And through all this, Lee had yet to finish his telling Garibaldi, the hows and whys, they both ended up in Jusenkyo, from when Lee began writing his stories, to their present circumstances. Though, to be fair, it was a very long story. Or, several stories. Depending on how one looked at the situation. Or, situations.

Meanwhile, Garibaldi silently paid attention, as Lee was given him the unvarnished truth of Lee's past, while he paid attention to he stepped, while he followed Lee.

And while Garibaldi had problems with handling some of what Lee stated. He stayed quiet.

The reason Garibaldi stayed quiet, was that he figured it was best to let Lee talk. And he could respond, after they were out of immediate danger.

At the moment, the two uncursed men finally reached the edge of the cursed springs, and safely walked out onto fully dry land.

As they exited the spring, they continued walking about twenty feet, forward, further onto dry land, when Lee came to a stop.

Garibaldi stopped six feet from Lee.

Lee turned to face Garibaldi. And he saw the springs behind Garibaldi. He thought, 'This should be far enough from the springs for us to safely stop, and for me to figure out the next part of my plan. But, first I need to finish my story. Lee then finished his story, “And so we jumped to this reality, navigated the cursed spring, and here we are.”

Garibaldi looked at Lee, as he said, in a slightly disbelieving tone of voice, “So, let me get this straight. You wrote a story that effected, and harmed, a number of people across the multiverse, include myself, and my friends? And now some of them found about you, and your stories, and they came after you? And the only reason they did not capture you in the first place was that they did not know your identity? Nor, what you look like? And you were able steal one of their reality devices, out from under them, and skip town a few minutes after they realized who you were? And mere seconds after they confronted you? With you then leading them on a chase from Babylon Five, to Mars Dome One, to my factory, to the police station, to my headquarters, and finally here?”

Lee shrugged, as he casually responded, “That pretty much sums it up.”

Garibaldi ranted, with more annoyance, than anger, in his tone of voice, “Well, I have heard of stupid mistakes, before. But, this takes the cake. How dare you play god with multiverse? And the people living in it?”

Lee took offense, as he thought, 'Well, Garibaldi took the news better than I expect he would. Still, I find his tone of voice annoying. Given, everything I have done to help him.'

Lee sternly stated, “Hey. I honestly thought that I was just playing with characters that didn't really exist. At the time, I did not know I was harming people. And my mistakes have been far less malicious and intentional than some of the actions your close friends have committed?” He thought, with a mix of annoyance, and slight anger, 'If he wants to place this game. So can I.'

Garibaldi growled, “Such as who?”

Lee flatly said, “Delenn.”

Garibaldi demanded, with anger in his tone of voice, “What did she do? And this better be good.”

Lee let out an evil laugh for a few seconds.

Garibaldi's anger quickly turned to worry, due to Lee's sudden laughter. He thought, with concern, 'That type of laugh is never good. And it is also a sign of underlying mental instability. Of course, I have to admit that being crazy is kind of a sane reaction to the situation we find ourselves in.'

Lee then looked into Garibaldi's eyes, as he stated, in a calm tone of voice, that was far too serene for the situation at hand, “She never did tell any of you? Did she? I mean, she told Lennier. But, that man would rather die than reveal such a secret about her.”

Garibaldi thought, 'Whoa. This has to be one juicy secret.'

Lee continued, “Still, I have always found redemption to be meaningless unless one openly admits their mistakes. But, I see that Delenn has not told any human of her secret. That is understandable. And at least she told G'Kar, to his face about her secrets partly causing the Centauri bombing of the Narn homeworld. So, I know she has the courage to reveal this secret, as well. Though, back on track. As you know, she was on the Grey Council?”

Garibaldi thought, 'If he is comparing this secret to the bombing of Narn. Then, it is bad. Still, I have to know.' He calmly replied, “Yes.”

Lee said, “What you do not know was that Delenn was Dukhut's second. Dukhut was the teacher, Delenn was his student, and successor on the Grey Council. When he died, she became a member of the Grey Council. And her first act, as a member of the Grey Council, was to be the deciding vote to go to war with humanity, that started off the Earth-Minbari war. Along with this, she was the one who ordered the Minbari to show no mercy, and order the Minbari to kill every last human.”

There was silence between the two of them, for a few seconds, as Lee allowed Garibaldi to digest the news.

Garibaldi thought, 'Lee would not lie about something like this. It is just to bold to do so. As such, it has to be true. Which means so many bad things that I do not want to contemplate them, right now.'

Garibaldi sadly stated, “Ah no... I always figured there was some dark skeletons in her closet. But, not that dark.”

Lee thought, 'Since you changed your attitude to me, I will soften the blow a little.' He commented, “Well, to be fair. At the time she was grief stricken. And she made that decision right after Dukhut died in her lap. And she soon regretted her vote, and on ordering no mercy towards humanity. To that end, she was instrumental in stopping the war, and having the Minbari surrender at the Battle of the Line.”

Garibaldi agreed, “That does soften the blow... A bit.”

Lee said, “It gets better. After some memory regression, she learned that while Dukhut was laying on her lap, dying, he was trying to tell her that she was one of Valen's descendants. Whom we both know was really, your good friend, Jeffrey Sinclair.”

Garibaldi sarcastically said, “That is just peachy...” He cracked a grin, as he continued, “Still, after I learned what happened to Jeff, from Ivanova. To this day I get a small chuckled whenever I heard a Minbari praise Valen. And the Minbari like to praise Valen, a lot.”

Lee rolled his eyes for a second, before looking back at Garibaldi. He stated, “You probably got miles of laughter from that ironic twist of fate.”

Garibaldi grin widened slightly, as he commented, “Oh, I have. I always knew Jeff would do something great in his life. And while being Commander of Babylon Five was a nice feather in his cap. I always thought he would eventually become president of the Earth Alliance... Though, literally becoming Christ of an alien species is still up there.”

Lee responded, “I agree. Though, back to Delenn. I should state that she soon realized her mistake, and she was instrumental in stopping the war. And she has tried to make amends, since then.”

Garibaldi thought, 'Okay. That was not as bad as I thought it would be. Now, back to a few important questions that I need answered, before I decided what to do with you, Lee.'

Garibaldi inquired, “Okay. Now, I have danced around the important question. So, I need to know more about my series. What is the Babylon Five series about? Is it anything I should be embarrassed about?”

Lee thought, 'Good. He finally directly asked questions about the B Five series, itself.'

Lee answered, “Well, first of all, you have nothing to feel bad about. The Babylon Five series was a very good series. Very political. It was about the first six years of Babylon Five's history. Though, in honestly, the series mostly dealt with years two through six. And there were movies made, and books written, as well.”

Garibaldi stated, “Along with planning to read your stories, Badasses Of the Multiverse. I will have to see that series some time?”

Lee said, “You will probably get the chance to do so. Though. As I said before. Be aware that watching one's own series can depress people, and reopen emotional wounds.”

Garibaldi replied, “Thank you for the reminder.”

Lee asked, “So, when you make it back. And I am sure you will. What are you going to do about Delenn?”

Garibaldi flatly answered, “Nothing. I know there is life after death. And I have a feeling that Delenn will have to face her victims in the next life. Though, I sincerely hope that her actions since then help to balance the scales. Because I do agree that she does have much to answer for.”

Lee thought, 'Yea. During the B Five episode, Day of the Dead, Dodger returned from the dead for a night, in your quarters. Given that, I admire your position on Delenn.' Lee complimented, “That is a very mature way to handle the situation.”

Garibaldi responded, “Thank you. Still, do I have to worry about these women coming after any more of my friends?”

Lee answered, “I doubt it. They don't go after aliens, and they only want badasses. And while your friend, Stephen Franklin is courageous, he is a pacifist.”

Garibaldi said, “That is good to know, Now, onto the matter of this reality traveling. In theory, I could visit the Looney Tunes reality?”

Lee stated, in a serious tone of voice, “Yes. But, don't even think about it. Do you really want to unleash that madness on the multiverse?”

Garibaldi was quiet for a few seconds. He then stated, “No. I guess not. And those realities are too dangerous for humans to visit.”

Lee agreed, “Exactly.”

Garibaldi inquired, “So, did you hear about the planned destruction of Babylon Five?”

Lee answered, “Yes. Sad to see it go.” He thought, 'I even remember seeing it in the series, itself. But, I don't want you to know that. Given the changes that have happened, might mean that B Five might not be destroyed. Though, given those changes are your friends being kidnapped. Which is partly my fault. I do not want to talk about this, and remind you of what happened to your friends.'

Garibaldi mentioned, “You know. I tried to buy Babylon. And I almost did. I had the money for it. I had the reasons. With some minor structure changes, it could be hyperspace worthy. And it would make a great terraformation supply base, for long range missions.”

“The interior green zones of the ship could have been outfitted for agricultural needs. We could have created two different biospheres, with ease, on B Five. Red and Green sectors had enough open area to keep a hundred thousand people fed all year round. The larger Red Sector could have been staple crops. While the smaller Green Sector would converted for growing tropical fruits. We could have even allowed gazing for cattle and other livestock. And the lower levels could have been converted to factories and refineries.”

“And Blue Sector's docking sections were already in place. So, all of this could have been done with little start up capital, in comparison to the scope of the project. Actually, with them decommissioning the station. It would have made it cheaper for us, because they would have gutted everything we don't need. We would have been able to move in, and start renovating the place on our first day there.”

“I even had my company crunch the numbers. Refitting the station for hyperspace and remodeling for our needs would actually been less than the purchase itself.”

Lee complimented, “That would have been a great idea. So, what stopped you?”

Garibaldi answered, “I had most of the alien governments lined up. And even John was on board. But it seems that, barring a few exceptions, the Minbari believe that once a tool has finished its use, it should be destroyed.”

Lee replied, “That figures. And John had to keep his wife happy.”

Garibaldi said, with disappointment in his tone of voice, “Exactly.”

Lee commented, “Still, I find that so hypocritical. I mean they used Babylon Four for their great war. And after your friends stole it for the Earth Alliance.”

Garibaldi replied, “Yea. I know... Hey, what a minute. How did you know about that?... Oh right, you saw that, in the series.”

Lee said, “Yea. And it was a great two part episode.”

Garibaldi asked, “And that was when Jeff went back in time... So, you likely saw Jeff as Valen. What does Jeff looked like as a Minbari?”

Lee answered, “He wears the bone crest quite well.”

Garibaldi shrugged, as he replied, “Okay.”

Lee mentioned, “If it makes you feel better, in the supplemental, book material to the series, it is hinted, through a temporal fluke, that Ms Sakia was reunited with Mister Sinclair... Well, Valen, in the past. And they lived a good life together.”

Garibaldi gave Lee a warm smile, as he kindly responded, “Yea. That does make me feel better. And that explains that note that Marcus mentioned he found, on one adventure.”

Lee thought, 'Oh second thought. I might as well tell him.' He stated, “Yea. That is the one I am talking about. Also, at the very end of your series, which did not happen in your reality, the Babylon Five station was shown being blown up.”

“But, given the history of your reality has been changed, with a number of you missing, for that scene, in watching it get blow up, at the decommissioning ceremony, It is possible, that in your reality, at least, the Babylon Five station might not get destroyed.”

Garibaldi replied, “Let's hope so.”

Lee casually questioned, “Besides, considering your friends did steal Babylon Four, why didn't you think about stealing Babylon Five?”

Michael responded, “Well, to be honest. I did think about it. But, I could never figure out a way to make a clean getaway.”

“Sure, Babylon Five is just a speck of dust, when compared to the size of the galaxy. But, the logistics of evacuating, and moving a five mile long space station. Without anyone else noticing. Is kind of tricky. Especially, when you have the space station, in question, is parked in orbit around one of the most technological advanced spy planets in the known galaxy.”

Lee said, “Yea. Epsilon III. And Draal is a good friend of Delenn's. And he is not going to allow you to steal that station out from under him, and risk politically embarrassing Delenn.”

Garibaldi said, “My point exactly.” His voice then turned serious, as he questioned, “Now, about my friends that were kidnapped?... Were they?”

Lee looked away from Garibaldi, as he quietly said, “More than likely, yes. But, Gomez and that planet's government did help take care of them.”

Garibaldi stated, in a firm tone of voice, “The only reason I am allowing you to continue breathing, is because my friends will likely be relatively fine. But, you still have a lot to answer for.”

Lee then looked at Garibaldi in his eyes, with such intensity, that Garibaldi then realized he had a nerve.

Lee stated, with increasing loudness, with each word, “I didn't know. I didn't know! I DIDN'T KNOW!” He then went into say, in a more normal tone of voice, with sadness and regret in his tone of voice, “Unknowingly, or not. What I have done weights heavily one me, every moment of every single day. And I know that even if I escaped those after me. I can never escape what I have done, and move on with my life. My existence. Because at every turn. EVERY TURN! The multiverse likes to remind me of how horrible, how evil, how sadistic, a person I am, WITHOUT EVER REALIZING IT!”

“I am not even a human being. I realize that now. That I never was a human being. I never was a person. I am just a thing. A thing to be abused by those around me. To know only suffering and pain. Always and forever, a thing to be hurt by everyone else! For eternity. From everyone and everything. From the top, down. From gods to viruses! With no rights of redress.”

Lee went quite for a few seconds, as he then ran his hands from the front to back of his head of hair, while he looked down. While he also shook a little, back and forth with his body.

After which, Lee dropped his hands, and he went still, as he looked back up at Garibaldi's face.

Garibaldi could see from the expression on Lee's face that he was become more upset by the moment, but Garibaldi realized that Lee was not become more upset towards Garibaldi, but towards himself.

Lee said, in a voice that was beginning to break, with him being so upset that his voice was chocking up, “I have thoughts and emotions. I have feelings. Contrary to what everyone else believes. I have a sense of right and wrong. I always have. I have a soul that can be hurt. And continues to be hurt by everyone and everything around me. So, how many times must I say that, I'm sorry, for what I have done? For existing? For being born? How many times must I apologize? I just wanted to write a story to maintain my sanity. Like nearly every other tortured soul that has ever EXISTED!”

Lee give Garibaldi of look of sadness and disgust, as his eyes watered slightly, on the verge of tears. As he continued, in a shaky tone of voice, “It just so happens, that on top of the cancer God afflicted me with, that God hates me enough to have those I wronged come after me. I mean what about the people that create the really sick shit? The twisted lemons. The dark subjects of porn. I could go on, day after day, listing all the horrible things other people have created, that are far, far worse than anything I have ever wrote, imagined, or even dreamed of.”

Lee voice become more upset, as he began to shed tears, while he stated, “At least, as screwed up as my stories are, I tried to create some happy endings. Compared to the downer endings I could list. But, I am the only one called on my actions. I am the only one singled out for what I have done. And nobody else. NEVER ANYBODY ELSE! Such literal god damned hypocrisy. Always me that is judged. Always me. Never thee. Never thee! Why is that?” He brought up his hands, with his palms facing upward. He then lower his face into his hands. After which, he quietly said, “Why is that?”

Garibaldi thought, while feeling pity for Lee, 'I have completely misjudged Lee. I thought he didn't care, about anyone else. Nor, what he had done. Clearly, the case is quite the opposite. Lee can really hide his emotional state from those around. But, he still has them. And they are right under the surface.”

“And he is a real mess on the inside. He is really hurting a whole lot on the inside. This whole situation has been slowly gnawing away at him, from the inside. Internally eating away at him, since he likely first learned that what he did effected real people across the multiverse.'

'And I don't need him to go to pieces on me just yet. After hearing him confess what he had done, to me. I was planning to dump him, and steal his reality devices. But, given his cancer, and he clearly is effected by what he has done. I will dump him where he can get some help. Like one of the better places and times in a Star Trek reality. Though, for right now, I just need to get him to calm down some.'

Garibaldi carefully said, in a comforting tone of voice, “Okay. You have a point there. And my friends are likely alive. Healthy. With a few kids. And they are all strong individuals. They will recover from what happened to them. And they will likely work together, to do so. Like the others you have mentioned. And they will be fine. Also, I am sure I will see them, again. Along with any kids they have. So, I apologize for threatening you like that. It is clear that you feel guilty about what you did. And you likely would have done things differently, if you realize you were playing with real people's lives, before you began your story.”

Lee looked up from his hands, while he used his hands to wipe away his tears. And he blew his nose on the front right side of his coat, as he forced himself to calm down. Garibaldi saw Lee's expression was calmer, as Lee quietly said, “Thank you. And you are right. If I had known that the multiverse was real, before I began my stories. And that real people would be effected. I would have done things differently. I may have even tried to create paradise for everyone. Though, that would have likely been a very boring story.”

Lee then dropped his hands back to his sides.

Garibaldi thought, 'Good. He has calmed down.” He responded, “Even so. It is sometimes the thought that counts... Well... Moving forward. Since you know all this, you wouldn't happen to know what happened to John?”

By then, Lee had mostly calmed down, as he looked at Garibaldi's face, with Garibaldi look back at Lee's face. Lee stated, in a normal tone of voice, “Yes. But, it is kind of complicated. Short answer is, he is elsewhere by now.”

Garibaldi requested, “Try me.”

Lee explained, “Think of what happened to David at the end of the film, Two Thousand One, A Space Odyssey.”

Garibaldi replied, “Oh...”

Lee said, “Yea...”

Garibaldi then looked around them. First at the cursed pools, then at the mountain ranges around them. He said, “But, you know what. I am now pretty far out there, as well.”

Lee joked, “Well, I assure you. My reality device is not full of stars. But, it will get you to the stars.”

Both men laughed at Lee's joke, for a few seconds.

As they calmed down, Garibaldi turned to Lee. He said, “Thanks. I needed that laugh.”

Lee responded, in a reassuring tone of voice, “You're welcome. By the way, you might it interesting, the creators of reality were inspired by the russian ship in the sequel movie, two thousand ten. That is where the design for your Omega class destroyers came from.”

Garibaldi said, “Honestly, I am not surprised by that revelation. I am starting to see how the gears seem to fit. In that, I am beginning to realize which fictional series I have seen, or read, have inspired my own reality.”

Lee stated, “Yea. It can get real screwy when one starts seeing how all the pieces fit together. Just don't let that knowledge drive you crazy. It has nearly done that to me, a couple of times.'

Garibaldi flatly replied, “I won't let that happen to me.”

Lee said, “Good. And as I said before. I am sure you will make it back home, and to your family.”

There was silent for a few seconds, between the two men. Then, Garibaldi commented, “You know. This would be the place where one us would say something foolish, and jinxes our situation.”

Lee calmly replied, “I know. Instead we are just going to continued walking out of this place. Find the person I am looking for, head to the departure destination I have in mind, and then leave this reality.” He mentally reflected, 'Though, the person I am looking for, is here. The person being the Jusenkyo guide. I need to find the Jusenkyo guide here, and ask him a few questions, before I leave this place.'

Garibaldi complimented, “Good idea.” He then thought, 'I wonder who he is looking for?' He then walked a few steps closer to Lee.

Both men turn around, with their backs to the cursed spring. With Garibaldi being to Lee's left side. But, they were about to each take a step, away from the cursed pools, when they heard a splash behind them.

Both men turned and looked at each other. Then, Garibaldi dispassionately commented, “Don't you just hate when you know universe is screwing with you? And there is nothing you can do about it?”

Lee calmly agreed, “Uh huh. And it is the multiverse, now. Not the universe. You have walked into new levels of being screwed over.”

Garibaldi said, “Yes. We both know we cannot live with ourselves, if we don't find out what is happening behind us. So, let us get this over with, and see what is happening behind us.”

Lee replied, “Agreed.”

Both of them turned around and saw a human floating face down in one of the cursed pools that made up the outer ring of the cursed springs, with the person's head facing the two men. With the person being only thirty feet from them, to their left side.

Lee immediately realize who it was, and what spring that was, as he thought, 'Of all the times for this to happen, it would be now. Still, we can save that person. But, we just have to be careful. And I got to come up with a quick plan to do it. Before this person actually drowns.'

'Fortunately, the spring is on the edge of the other springs. So, we have that going for us. And I believe using the bamboo stalks to reel the person to us, to the shore, would be our best bet. It should only take us a couple of minutes, to do this. Far below the six minute barrier for brain death. And we will use our coats to dry her off, to keep the cursed water off of us, as we resuscitate this person.'

Lee then noticed the look of destination forming on Garibaldi face, as he continued his thoughts, 'Oh no. I know about that looked means.'

Lee immediately jumped in front of Garibaldi, as he looked at his friend in the face. Lee quickly grabbed Garibaldi by his upper arms, as he stated, in a strong tone of voice, “Hold it! I know what you are planning to do! Wait! Stop! And give me a couple of seconds! We can just need to think this through! We still have time to rescue this person, while staying dry, and maintaining our safety.”

But, Garibaldi ignored Lee, as he began to struggle with Lee. Garibaldi loudly responded, “Get out of my way, Lee! There is no time!”

Even though Garibaldi was several years older than Lee, he was still in great physical shape. While Lee was severely weakened by the cancer ravaging his body, with Lee being little more than a flesh covered, breathing skeleton.

Within a matter of seconds, Garibaldi was able to overpower Lee, and pushed Lee to the ground.

Though, Lee's quickly recovered and got back to his feet. But, he knew he was too late to stop Garibaldi.

Lee watched as Garibaldi rushed over, towards the spring, with the unconscious person was in.

While Lee scowled from being upset, he thought, with a bit of anger and frustration, 'Damn it! Garibaldi had to just react, without thinking. And decide to rush in, without thinking. So, he could be the hero. And if I am right about a theory I have, he is going to need help pulling that person to shore. Still, I am not taking any chances with my belongings.'

Lee immediately sat up, as he made a pile on the ground beside him, by first kicking his shoes, and socks. Taking off his coat, with his reality device in it. He took off his wrist watch. Undoing his belt and pants. Taking off his pants, and sheathed combat knife. He undid and removed his tie. Quickly unbuttoning, and removing his white dress shirt. And finally, he reached under his t-shirt, and pulled out his ring necklace, with him placing the necklace on top of his clothing.

Lee then jumped back to his feet.

Lee did all this in under ten seconds. With Lee presently only wearing his white t-shirt and underwear.

And at that moment, Lee turned, and he saw Garibaldi reach the spring, then immediately dive into the cursed water, after the person.

As soon as Garibaldi jumped into the cursed water, Lee rush over towards the magical spring in question, with the two people already in it, as he thought, 'Well, I was planning to do this anyway. So, there is no time like the present.'

(_)

Nearby, as Garibaldi dove into the spring, with him hitting the water, and becoming wet, Garibaldi noticed, from looking at the drowning person, whom was floating on their stomach, that the person in trouble had suddenly gotten a lot bigger, along with Garibaldi owe clothing becoming larger, as well.

Just after Garibaldi came back up to the water's surface, Garibaldi starting swimming over to the person. But, while Garibaldi did leg paddles, Garibaldi found the shoes and pants that Garibaldi wore slid off the body, and quickly sunk to the bottom of the spring.

Garibaldi mentally cursed, 'Damn it!... But, I will worry about that, later. My first concern is helping this person. And this person is to big for me to just turn over, and tread water backwards, with one hand keeping the person's head above water, and the other hand being used, with my legs, to paddle us to shore. I will just have to hope I can turn this person over, and drag this person to shore, before brain death sets in.'

'At least, the person's head is facing the direction of the short I came from.'

As Garibaldi got a grip on the person's body, on the person's right shoulder and upper right arm, Garibaldi heard a splash from behind. From the corner of Garibaldi's left eye, Garibaldi saw a person swimming towards them.

But, Garibaldi was so focus on the person whole was drowning, to look at the other person, while thinking, 'That must be Lee. And he is here to help.'

Garibaldi noticed that Lee soon made it to the person, as well, on the person's opposite side, with Lee grabbing the person's left shoulder and upper arm. Lee then pushed the person over, onto the person's back. Garibaldi help.

As soon as the person was floating on their back, Garibaldi grabbed the person's left upper arm and shoulder, with Lee quickly grabbing the person's right upper arm and shoulder.

A second later, both of them paddled the person back to shore.

Less than twenty seconds later, they made it to shore that faced away from the strings. They would dragged the person, head first, onto the dry ground, until the person's feet, which had socks and black boots, was about two yards from the spring they had just come from.

Garibaldi then looked own at the large much bigger person, as Garibaldi swiftly turned the person over, to the person's right, onto their back.

Garibaldi saw that the person lying on their back, was a slender, blond, girl, in her late teens, moderately sized breasts. She wore a yellow turtleneck shirt, under an open, blue denim jacket. She also had on blue jeans, a brown leather belt, and black socks, over black boots.

Garibaldi did not even bother to think much on the matter, are Garibaldi quickly started doing CPR over the girl's shirt, due to Garibaldi not having a knife to cut the shirt, with it taking to long to try to remove the shirt, or rip open the shirt.

From the corning of Garibaldi's eyes, on the other side of the teenage girl Garibaldi was helping, Garibaldi noticed the other person, who Garibaldi guessed was Lee, back off, a few feet, as Garibaldi continued to do a series of chest compressions, and then mouth to mouth, then back to chest compressions. Back and forth, to work the girl's lungs and heart back to starting on their own, while providing oxygen for the brain and other organs.

As Garibaldi did this, Garibaldi noticed the girl was not wearing a bra, but Garibaldi could care less on the matter.

Less than a minute later, the girl coughed, and starting breathing. Though, the girl was clearly out of it, though not unconscious. Garibaldi then girl rolled her to the girl's left, on her belly, so she would not risk drowning on the fluids still in her lungs.

Garibaldi thought, 'I think she was only under for maybe two minutes, at most. Likely less. And I do not see any bruises on her head, so I think she will be fine. Also, after the girl wakes up, we will find out who she is, and get her some help, before we leave this reality. And given the time travel aspects that reality travel clearly has. And those after us are not going to follow us here, any time soon, for us. There should be plenty of time to do so.'

'Unfortunately, it appears that none of us have any spare changes of clothing. Nor, anything to dry ourselves off with. And I lost my shoes and pants. So, it looks we are stuck in these wet clothes. But, at least I have my shirt, coat, underwear, and shock.. Also, it is turning into a warm and sunny day. So, Lee, this girl, and I should be fine, and not catch a cold.'

'Now, to thank Lee for helping to save this girl.'

Though, when Garibaldi looked up and at the person across the teenage girl, Garibaldi did not see Lee. Instead, Garibaldi was looking at a small, young, fair skinned girl, with black hair that went down just below her neckline, whom was wearing an oversize, white t-shirt, that went down to her knees.

As Garibaldi continued to look over the small, young girl. Garibaldi noticed that the girl appeared to be around the same height as Garibaldi was.

Garibaldi asked, in a confused tone of voice, “Who are you?”

The girl calmly said, in a young, female voice, “Keep in mind, Mister Garibaldi. I did warn you about the springs, beforehand. And I tried to stop you from diving in for the kid. If you had given me about thirty seconds, I would have completely figured a much better way to save her, that did not involve us diving in after her.”

Garibaldi replied, in a confused tone of voice, “Huh?”

The girl rolled her eyes for a few seconds. She then looked back at Garibaldi, as she casually suggested, “Look down at yourself.”

Garibaldi did so.

A few seconds later, the resulting girlish scream, with echoed off the mountain sides, in the distance, was loud enough to wake the dead.

(_)

Lee remained standing as she wiped some cursed water from the front of her brow, with the back of her right hand. While she did so, she calmly watched as Garibaldi freaked out.

Garibaldi was pacing back and fourth, away from Lee, and the teenage girl, while Garibaldi said over and over, in a hurried, young, female voice, “I'm a girl! I'm a girl! I'm a girl!”

Lee thought, with slight amusement, 'Of all the gender bending scenes have I ever created. I never wrote lines as cheesy as this...'

Lee then looked down at down the teenage girl, whom had short blond hair, that went almost to the back of her shoulders. She was average height, with a slender build.

Before they had rolled the girl onto her stomach, Lee has seen her face and chest. The blond girl was quite pretty, with respectably sizes breasts, for a teenage girl her age.

The moment Lee had seen the girl's face and hair, Lee immediately had recognized the girl.

Lee continued to look at the teenage girl, lying on her back, as she thought, 'Yep. That is Garcia Lovelace. She looks like her own sister. And she appears only a few years older, than she was in the series, which is not surprising. If my math is correct. From the timeline, she is probably around seventeen, or eighteen, years old.'

'And now that I think about it, this is the exact moment when Garcia got cursed in my stories. Which puts me in my own stories. Which is a mind screwed I really do not want to think about, right now. Because Garcia is going to formally meet me in a few minutes. And this means that Garcia knew about me, for all these years. And she clearly kept it a secret, given the maids clearly did not know I was the person they were looking for, back in Plata Podrido.'

'Then again, Garcia likely won't have the chance to see my male body. So, she would not know what my nature birth form looks like.'

'Though, now that I think about. Garcia would have to keep the secret. And I will still have to use the Lee alias, because that is what Garibaldi refers to me as. So, Garcia kept the secret...'

'Ah hell... I will worry about this, later. I have enough problems, as is.'

'Still, at least her hair is not very long, and in curls, like it was in Black Lagoon Boys and Girls omake.'

'Now, to check something else out, about myself. Or, should I say, new self?...' She smiled, as she happily continued her thoughts, 'I like that term. New self. It just rolls of the tongue. Though, I be check myself, while there are not other immediate problems. Just to make sure my theories were correct.'

Next, Lee held out her arms and hands. As she looked at them, she saw they had a normal flesh tone, and they were sickly, nor boney, like the cancer had made her male body, including her arms and hands. They were also smooth, hairless, young, small harms and arms.

Lee mentally reflected, in a happy state of mind, 'And it appears that I am healthy again. With smooth skin, that has no body hair. The only hair I have, for right now, is on my head. Just as I thought my new body would be. And I don't have to worry about shaving anymore. Neither my face, as a man. Nor, my legs and armpits, later on, like some naturally born women do. And, now that I sure about that, I might as well get the next part done, while I still have the opportunity to do so.'

Lee turned and briskly walked over to her pile of clothing. And from the top of it, she picked up her ring necklace. She quickly undid the knot of the string. As soon as she removed the string from the ring, she held the ring in her left index and thumb.

After that, she held out her right hand, and she used her left fingers to slid the ring down her right fourth finger.

As soon as the ring slid all the way to middle of proximal phalange of her fourth finger, where the ring stop.

As Lee let go of the ring, with her left fingers, she held out her right hand. As she looked at the ring jewel on her finger. The golden ring was encircled with small jewels on the outside, but it felt smooth on the inside. And the ring fit her forth finger like a glove.

Lee continued to look at her right hand, as she thought, 'Just as I expected. My ring fits like a glove. And if I am right, along with a few physical bonus perks, I am now locked in this cursed female form, no matter how much hot water I am exposed to. But, I will test that, later. For now, I still need to check to make sure it will stay where it at. I don't want this to come off accident years later, with me losing it, and being exposed to a splash of hot water splash, with me then likely experience a painful death, within minutes.'

Lee then used her left fingers to try to gently remove the ring. But, it would not move one bit.

Lee thought, while mild exhilaration, 'It is not budging one bit. It is stuck on there. Good. I am now going to live. Even though I am much younger than I planned after being, when I cursed myself. Though, even at this age, as long as I am careful, I will now have a full life ahead of me. In so many ways. And with this form, I can simply disappear, with no one coming after me, and ever finding me, again.'

'Also, the ring is conformable on my finger. It is snug, but not tight. And given this thing is magical, it will likely grow, as my finger goes, so it will never become tight.'

'Along with this, should worse come to worse. And I do need to remove this ring. I can do the Frodo method, with a knife. I can live with losing a finger. But, if I did that, I need to make sure I have a back up plan ready to lock my cursed form, beforehand. So, I would not be splashed with hot water, and die from the cancer I have has been slowly killing.'

'Also, I wonder if my cancer will stop in my other form, now. Though, my aging does not stop in either form. That is unlikely. And I am not going to test that theory to find out. I am healthy, and I am not going to risk going back to dying.'

'Besides, I am going to focus on the good things of this situation. And best of all those things is that I still retain my mind and skills. So, I will be fine.'

She then looked over at Garibaldi, and the sleeping teenage girl, as she frowned slightly. She thought, 'Still... I have to help Garibaldi, and Garcia. But, after that. I am gone to live the life I have only ever previously dreamed of doing.'

Lee then saw Michael stop shouting, as she ran towards to the spring they had pulled the teenager from.

Lee thought, 'I better follow her, before she does something even more foolish.' Lee then quickly followed Garibaldi.

A few seconds later, reached the spring, and came to a stop, near the edge. Garibaldi then leaned down and looked at her reflection, as she said, “I am not just a girl, but a young girl. And I have my hair back.” Michael ran her right hand through her full head of brown hair, that went to her neck line.

Just then, Lee came to a stop, to stand beside the brown haired girl, to Garibaldi's right side.

Lee turned to the other young girl, as she stated, “And if you are lucky, the curse might allow you to keep your hair in your male form.”

Lee thought, 'Though, I am not really sure. But, if the lack of beard, as a man. And the lack of body hair on the female form, save for the pubic area, during puberty and afterward. Due to gender changing back and forth. Is any indication. The answer is, yes. It is clear the magic of these types of gender changes prefer the person effected having hair on their head. So, Garibaldi baldness, as a man, may have just been cured. It might even stay brown, in both forms, and not turn white in his much older, male form.'

'Though, if Garibaldi wants to be bald. Then, Garibaldi will just have to shave his, or her, head. With both forms then being bald. Though, I doubt that Garibaldi will want to do this.'

Garibaldi dropped her right hand back to her side, as she continued to looked at her reflection. She replied, “I hope so. It would be nice to get something out of all this mess.”

Lee leaned down, and looked at both her and Garibaldi's reflections, as she commented, “I agree. And I was afraid this would happen. It looks like we are both around six years old. This is the spring of drowned girl. Not the spring of drown human female. Since we are no longer young in our male forms, not only did our genders change, but our ages got severely reset to where there is no question of being a girl. It is magic, after all. And these springs do have a sense of humor.”

“This is why I wanted to speak to the guide before I took a dip in this spring. But, it appears that at least I am now healthy. And on the bright side, we look to be slender, and in good shape for our age bracket.”

Lee mentally added, 'Also, I still have black hair. Just like before, with the instant girl packets. And just as I thought. The instant packages are a lot weaker than the full curse. So, with the packets, the age difference was less extreme.'

Garibaldi leaned up, as she turned to Lee. She asked, with surprise in her tone of voice, “You were planning to turn yourself into a girl?”

Lee leaned up, as well. She then looked over at Garibaldi. Next, Lee held up her open right hand, with her fingers pointing up. After that, she used her left index finger to point to the ring on her right forth finger.

Lee warmly smiled, as she said, “Yes. And I believe I have also just locked myself in this female form, as well.” She then dropped her hands back to her sides.

Garibaldi questioned, in disbelief, “And you locked yourself in this female form, too?”

Lee pointed out, “Yes. Remember, I have cancer. Or, had cancer. You said it, yourself. I had only a month, or so, to live. This is my hail Mary play. And even with the drawbacks. Due to the extreme youth reset. I am not complaining, because my plan seems to have worked. The good news that you know this series. Along with me reminding you of the rules of these curses. For you, hot water will return you to your natural body. But, cold water will change you back to being a girl. Due to this, the curse is manageable.”

Garibaldi stated, “I realize that. And I admit that there are not many places back on Mars where I can be splashed with water. But, I am sure there are a few that I have not taken into account of.”

Lee commented, “Yes. You are likely going to become a water magnet, in both forms.”

Garibaldi responded, “I know. And I can take precautions. But, that still does not change that fact that I did not want to be a girl, in the first place. Especially, a girl this young. I cannot even have fun in a body that is this age.”

Lee reminded Garibaldi, as Lee said, in a calm tone of voice, “I am in the same boat as you. And I know it sucks that you have a choice of either being an old man, or a very young girl. Still, our female forms will age naturally. And eventually, you will be able to have some real fun in your female form.” She the continued, in a more serious tone of voice, “Though, all in all seriousness. When your female form gets older, be careful not get pregnant.”

Garibaldi conceded, “I will. You make a good point there. Remember, I have a teenage daughter. And I constantly worry about her getting pregnant at her age.”

Lee replied, “Of course.”

Lee thought, 'And I be you do background checks on everyone your daughter meets. Both male and female. Especially, those her age. Because, you are not going to take any chances, when she begins someone home to meet with you. Though, I need to explain to you, that this situation is not that bad. Compared to other possibilities would could have been facing.'

Lee commented, in a comforting tone of voice, “Besides, this situation not that bad for us. It could be a lot worse. At least we are not cursed to have the bodies of animals.”

Garibaldi agreed, “True. But still, this strangest day of my life. And given the life I have lead, that is saying something.”

Lee said, “I know. At one point, you were the chief of security at one of the strangest crossroads in known existence.”

Garibaldi replied, “Exactly.”

Lee suggested, “Still, don't say that too loudly. The day is young. We don't want to jinx ourselves, further.”

Garibaldi shrugged, as she replied, “Good idea. Though, we are still screwed. My pants and shoes went down into the spring. And my gold bars were in my pants”

Lee responded, in a supportive tone of voice, “Don't worry. I am sure we will figure something out.”

Garibaldi asked, “Okay. But, first. What about a cure for these curses? Such as the spring of drowned man.”

Lee said, “Trust me. Do not try to find a cure here. What passes for fate and luck will not let you. Nor I. Nor, our nearby friend. Get cured any time soon. All you might end up mixing curses with another curse. As I stated before, being a cute girl, it not that bad.”

Lee then gave Garibaldi a girlish smile, as she teased, “And right now, we are both clearly cute.”

Garibaldi conceded, “Fine. But, girl or not. If you pout, I will deck you.”

In response, Lee playfully stuck her tongue out at Garibaldi, for a second.

Garibaldi took the gesture in its intended jest, as she happily replied, “If I only had a camera.”

In response, both of them chuckled, instead of giggled, which was an eerie sight, given they were both currently in the bodies of young girls.

As they gradually stopped chuckling, Garibaldi asked, “So, do you know who the girl is?”

Lee answered, “Yes. And you are not going to like the answer.”

Garibaldi guessed, “You caused this, didn't you?”

Lee gave an embarrass express on her face, which made her unintentionally look even more cute, as she sheepishly admitted, “Yes. That is Garcia Lovelace.”

Garibaldi questioned, in a concerned tone of voice, “Of the Black Lagoon reality?”

Lee answered, “Yes. And he is a few years older than he was at the series, because of how events played out in my stories.”

Garibaldi inquired, “Events played out?... How is Garcia tied to this?...” Garibaldi then realized, as she accused, “You wrote this very scene? Didn't you?” She mentally added, 'And I don't even want to think about the implications of what I just said.'

Lee winced, as she said, “Yes. In the stories I created, I vaguely wrote, as in I mentioned the event in passing, in a dialogue scene, at the end of book three of my stories. With the event happening during the events of book two. Years after the event. Where Garcia Lovelace tried to help his friends, and his first reality jump accidentally ended up falling into the spring of drown girl, in Jusenkyo.”

Garibaldi raised an eyebrow, as she flatly commented, “No wonder Roberta and Fabiola are after your ass. Roberta only hinted at that in her phone call to you, at the police station.”

Lee responded, in an exasperated tone of voice, “I know. And I never gave any real details. And I certainly did not intent to endanger Garcia's life, by nearly having him drown.”

Garibaldi sighed, which looked cute on her face. She then calmly replied, “I believe you.”

Lee said, “Thank you. And just so you know. I respect that kid. Garcia has been through a lot. For both himself, and his friends.”

Garibaldi demanded, in an even, though forceful tone of voice, “Then, why did you curse him?” She thought, 'Still, Lee is right that Garcia has been through a lot.'

Lee admitted, in a sad tone of voice, “Because I wanted to Garcia to attend a nice, tropical island, girls only bikini party, with the other members of the cast. Including, Roberta, and Fabiola. And I admit now that was a stupid thing for me to have done.”

Garibaldi thought, with surprise, 'There seems to be no end to Lee's stupidity. She proves Albert Einstein's statement that stupidity is infinite.' She stated, in disbelief, “You bet it was. And you have the most twisted imagination that I know of.”

Lee flatly responded, “I am willing to admit to that.” Her voice then became more relaxed, as she continued, “Still, on the bright, given we saved Garcia's life, I think with her help, I should be able to smooth things over with the maids. Or, at the very least, just work off what I owe them, over this, in trade.”

Lee grimly thought, 'Though, now that I think about it. I could have just had Garcia use some instant girl powder at those Lagoon bikini parties. And if Garcia, or the maids figure that out. I am likely back to square one with them... Still, they like to do things directly. So, if I don't mention it, I should be fine.'

Garibaldi flatly stated, “You better hope so. And you are right. Garcia has been through a lot. You better also hope that she can handle being a girl.”

Lee answered, “Garcia is a strong willed person. I am sure she will be able to handle it. And I wrote it so she does get home. As long as she does not take any unnecessary risks, she will be fine. Also, I wrote that when Garcia makes it home, Roberta and Fabiola will be there to help her.”

Garibaldi responded, “Good... But still, if this is Garcia of the past. Why were you not already captured by now? Even if you look different now, won't the maids know who are you were ahead of time, from what Garcia will likely learn about you, from us, in the next little while?”

Lee complimented, “Those are good questions. I asked them, myself. And the answer to both questions is not necessarily complicated. It is possible that Garcia will keep this all a secret. Or, Garcia will give some other explanation. It depends on how these next few hours play out.”

Garibaldi asked, “Okay. But, are we taking him... Her with us?” She mentally added, 'If the answer is no. You will regret it.'

Lee answered, “Yes. I am not ditching my ticket off of the maids' shit list.”

Garibaldi cracked a smile, as she thought, 'Good. You at least see the logic of the situation.' She agreed, “Yea. I can see the logic in that.”

Lee replied, “I am glad you agree.”

Suddenly, from behind them, both girls then heard the teenage girl scream, in spanish, “Ack! I am a girl!”

Lee though, 'Good. Sleeping beauty is awake. And like I said. Since we saved the blond's life, when the maids find out, they will lay off their revenge against me. I may get the crap beat out of me by them, but I will likely otherwise be fine when it comes to them... The others, I don't know... Still, it is best we deal with the matter at hand.'

Lee said, “Let us go check on, Garcia. And help her calm down.”

Garibaldi nodded a few times, as she agreed, “Good idea.”

The two girls then turned around, Lee to her left, and Garibaldi to her right.

They saw Garcia had rolled onto to her back, and that she was sitting up. The two girls took several steps forward, to where they were standing in front of the blond teenager, looking at Garcia's face.

At the moment, Garcia was looking down at her wet self. With her wet clothing leaving very little to the imagination, as the clothing hugged her figure, including her respectively sized breasts, for a girl her age.

And given how short Lee and Garibaldi had become, they were only around a foot taller, than the teenage girl, at head level, as the blond girl was sitting on the ground. The two younger girls stood side by side, with Garibaldi standing to Lee's right side.

Lee thought, 'I need to calm her down. And the truth, in small measures, will help with that.' She calmly said, in spanish, “Relax Garcia. We will explain everything. And the good news is that your condition is temporary, and easily fixed.”

Lee saw Garcia looked up at here, as Garcia started to visibly calm down.

Lee thought, 'Good. My words got through to her. Now, to find out if she is okay?...' Lee asked, in spanish, “Besides being a girl, are you okay? Are you injured?”

Garcia did a mental check of her body for any injuries, and found she had none. Though, she thought, 'Except for being a girl, I am fine. ' She looked at both young girls, in their oversized, wet, male clothing, as she continued her thoughts, 'I need to find out who these girls are, and help them? Afterward, I will then move on to my mission of helping Roberta and Fabiola. But, first I need to know where I am? Who these girls are? And what has happened to me? And from their clothing. Perhaps us?'

Garcia answered, in spanish, “I am fine.”

Lee thought, 'Good. We won't have to carry Garcia out of here. Now, to make a small request.'

Lee changed to her native tongue of english, as she requested, “Okay. And could you please speak in english. It would be easier for my friend and I.”

Garcia replied, in english, “No problem.”

Garcia then looked around herself, as she immediately realized in thought, 'I am in Jusenkyo.” She then looked down at her chest, as she mentally reflected, 'I have been cursed with spring of drowns girl. That is what this little girl meant. Hot water will temporally change me back to male. Then, cold water will change me to female. Back and forth... What a minutes.'

Garcia looked back at up the two younger girls, in much bigger male clothing. She continued her thoughts, 'These are actually to much older men. And they are cursed with spring of drowns girls... Oh. Now, I remember, I hit the water and blackout. And these to fished me out. I need to thank them for saving my life. Still, I need to figure out how did I wound up here, of all places? And falling into the spring of down girl, pools of water?'

Garcia said, in a humble tone of voice, “Thank you for saving my life.”

Garibaldi replied, “You're welcome.”

Lee commented, “More than happy too.”

Garcia asked, “Now, how did I end up in Jusenkyo?”

Lee thought, 'She knows about Jusenkyo. So, she likely knows about the Ranma Half series, and how the curses works. That saves us a lot of time for explanations. And I now have the opportunity to get some answers to some questions I have for her. I always wondered why Garcia started his journey and how? Considering I was vague and never wrote those parts. This would be a good time to ask. But, I will do so in a minute, or two. First, we need to introduce ourselves, and work from there. Though, I might as well check.'

Lee inquired, “We are not sure. But, just to check. Do you know how the curses work, Garcia?”

Garcia casually answered, “Yes. Hot water, and cold water. I just need some hot water to turn back into a boy. Though, not boiling. And cold water will turned me back into a girl.”

Lee thought, 'Good. That clears up our first problem.' She said, “Good. And at least it is warm enough, that we are not freezing ourselves in wet clothing.”

Garcia shrugged, as she halfheartedly replied, “Yes. At least, there is that.”

Meanwhile, Garibaldi silently stood by, while she listened. She thought, 'I think I will let Lee handle this. Though, I feel I may have to pick up the pieces, later. I am just not sure which of them will go to pieces first. Given some of these things Garcia has been thought. This could push him. Well her, right now. Over the edge. And I almost pushed Lee over the edge, earlier, for calling her on some of her stupidity, which harmed some of my close friends.'

Garcia then realized, as she thought, 'Wait a minute. The black haired girl just called me by my name. How did she know my name? And she talking to me is not acting like a usual young child. Which confirms they are probably older than they look. And from what clothing they have one, they were likely male, before they took a dip in that pool. Just like me. Though, I best ask the more obvious question, first.'

Garcia asked, “How did you know my name?”

Lee answered, “It is literally a long story.” Lee noted Garibaldi mildly groan beside, to her right side, as she continued, “But, long story short. I know who are you. You are Garcia Lovelace. You are here because you were trying to help your friends fight Chang.”

“The good news is that we are from your future. And we know that things will work out on their own, without your involvement. You just need to focus on getting back home. Fabiola and Roberta will both return to you, soon after you get home. With both of them being fine.”

Garcia felt relief, as she responded, “That is nice to know.” She mentally admitted to herself, 'That is one less problem to deal with. And I really didn't have of a plan at this point. It was sort of jump feet first, without looking. And now, due to that, I am a girl. Though, I doubt I have much to worry about, concerning this. Still, there is one thing I need to know.'

Garcia stated, “Okay. So, in the end, who solves this mess, and stops Chang?”

Lee flatly answered, “Rock.”

Garcia stated, “Well, as scummy as his tactics can be, if anyone could stop Chang, it would be Rock.' She thought, 'I just hope this time, that no one ends up shot, like me. Or, maimed like Roberta. Due to Rock's plans. And not to confirm my suspicions about these two people in front of me.'

Garcia inquired, “So, who are you two, little girls? And what are you doing out here?”

Garibaldi calmly answered, “Like you, we are cursed. As you can guess. Since we saved your life. We got cursed dragging you out of the spring of drowned girl. We are actually much older men.”

Garcia thought, 'That confirms that. And I might as well apologize about that.' She said, in a sincere tone of voice, “Oh... Sorry about that. I did not plan on landing here?”

Garibaldi thought, 'I don't want her to blame herself for this. It is not her fault. It is Lee's fault.' She replied, “It is okay. And I don't hold this against you.”

Lee paid attention to Garibaldi. She thought, 'Garibaldi is right. We need to make it clear that we believe her and this is not her fault. It is mine.'

Lee stated, “We believe you. And this is not your fault.” She mentally lamented, 'It is my fault. Not that I am going to tell you that, just yet. But, saving your ass should get me either part way, or all of the way out of the doghouse, with your maids. Though, I will have to still work at getting out of the doghouse with you. Though, I am sure I can, with time and effort. Now, to explain the situation to you, Garcia. Without me actually confessing to anything.'

Lee continued, “We both were forewarned of the dangers, and we still jump into the cursed spring to save your life. And it seems that curse has a rubber band effect. In that older men, and I guess women, are turned into younger girls. While teenagers, such as yourself, are about the same age in both gender forms.”

Garcia agreed, “From looking at you two, right now. That is what I would guess, as well. So, who are you?”

Garibaldi introduced herself, “I am Michael Garibaldi.”

Garcia responded, “The only Michael Garibaldi I know of is Michael Garibaldi of the Babylon Five series.”

Garibaldi shrugged, as she casually commented, “That would me. Michael Garibaldi, CEO of Edgars Industries.”

Garcia thought, 'She must be from right after the series ended.' She said, in a slightly excited tone of voice, “Oh... Wow. I am a big fan of yours, Mister Garibaldi. I am Garcia Lovelace.”

Garibaldi calmly replied, “Nice to meet you, Garcia.” She mentally added, 'And I think we will deal with the whole fictional series issues, in a minute.'

Lee casually stated, “Yes. Garibaldi is from the distant future, of that reality, from when you are thinking of. And I am, Lee. You would not have never heard of me. Yet.” She mentally added, 'Which is a good thing for everyone involved.'

Garibaldi mentally noted, 'So, Lee is now calling me, Garibaldi, instead of Mister Garibaldi. I wonder how much of the manners he displayed back on Mars, was just a front to save his own hide. Still, he did save us, so I guess that is the important part that counts.'

Garcia said, “Nice to meet you, Lee.” She thought, 'I have a feeling that she is tied up in this mess. Somehow. Someway. Still, I can get the full story from Garibaldi, later. I trust Garibaldi. He, or currently, she, is not a liar. And she prefers to do things on the level.'

Lee thought, 'Now, to find out how Garcia got here?' She inquired, “Though, we are from your future, I hope you do mind telling us how you ended up here? Because, we don't know that part.”

Garcia shrugged, as she said, “It's a long story.”

Garibaldi chuckled a little, from Garcia's comment, as she thought, 'More than you know.'

Lee cracked a smile, as she suggested, “Same here. But, we are not going anywhere, anytime soon. So, let us compare notes.”

Garcia responded, “Okay. Fair enough. A few weeks after I sent Fabiola to bring back Roberta, from Roanapur, I had not heard word from Fabiola since she left. And I began to go worried...”

Lee thought, 'If I remember correctly, that would be a few weeks after Rock, Fabiola, Megatron, and Annie, escaped from Chang's Tower.'

Garcia continued, “And considering my two bodyguards, and close friends, had failed, I decided that directly contacting Chang would be a bad idea.”

Lee agreed, “And it would have been.”

Garcia sarcastically thought, 'Thanks for the vote of confidence.' She said, “So, I started doing some research on what had happened, and what as currently going on, in Roanapur. And what I found startled me. It seemed that whatever was happening there, was causing people to flee the city, like rats leaving a sinking ship. And that Chang was in the middle of that mess.”

Lee thought, 'That would be correct.'

Garcia went onto say, “Fortunately, due to so many fleeing people, this allow me all me to some information, piecemeal, from those people. Though, third party contacts. Unfortunately, I was unable to confirm any of this information, because I was unable to reach my contacts in Roanapur.”

Lee inquired, “Lagoon company?”

Garcia answered, “Yes. I found that the phone number to Lagoon Company was disconnected.”

Lee said, “They got captured. But, Rock soon escaped. And in the end, things turned out okay for them.”

Nearby, Lee and Garcia noticed Garibaldi snorting at Lee's comment.

Garibaldi thought, 'That would be a twisted concept of using the term, okay. Given Rock, Dutch, and Benny, ended up being turned into women. But, they along with Revy, and Janet, did ended up rich and they started a family. With no real problems afterward. Except for not catching you, Lee. So, I guess they would be, okay. To quote Obiwan, from the Star Wars movies. From a curtain point of voice.'

Garcia thought, 'Given Garibaldi's reaction to Lee's previous comment, I feel that Lee is not telling the whole truth. But, that will be another thing I ask Garibaldi about it, later.'

Garcia responded, “I guess that makes sense. Chang did show an interest in them. Now, back to my story. When it came to my own adventure. My first big breaks came in a small package, and a name.”

“It seems that before things started take a turn for the weird in that city of sin, someone in Roanapur was selling a special type of weapon, by the dozens, on the streets of that city. I soon got my hands one of those weapons. I believe it was Chang whom was behind the selling of these devices. I have no prove. But, it would be Chang's style. And he would be one of the few people there that could do so, and pull it off, without getting caught.”

“And I acquired the weapon from a person who sold it to me. That person had come from Roanapur, all the way to my home, three weeks after Fabiola left.”

“The man had heard of me, and how my maids liked to use unusual and powerful weaponry. And he believed he could me a quick buck. He told me the reason he was able to get it pass customs, was that the customs officials did not look for such types of weapons. Then, he showed me what it was. It was a metal cylinder. It did not seem like much, until he ignited.”

Lee calmly guessed, “A lightsaber?”

Garibaldi looked over at Lee, as she asked, in a serious tone of voice, “Chang had access to lightsabers?”

Lee looked Garibaldi, as she smirked, as she commented, “And Star Destroyers... Let's just say that Chang took piracy to a whole new level.”

Garibaldi thought, with concern, 'If Chang has access to all that. That means that Lee did not tell me everything. And I have got to read Lee stories, as soon as possible. If for any other reason, than for the safety of my own home reality.'

Meanwhile, Garcia thought, 'Star Destroyers, also?... Okay. It is clear that Lee is connected to this mess. And if I play my cards right, I can find out more about her, and how she fits into this mess. Also, she confirms that Chang was the one behind the selling of these lightsabers.'

Lee and Garibaldi then turned to Garcia. Garcia noticed this, as she stated, “Yes. It was a lightsaber. And its blue blade was quite a sight to behold, in person. The man in question even showed me that it was real. By him using it to cut through large stone, behind my home. The man then showed me how to turn it off and on. Finally, he offered to sell it to me, at a hefty price. I gladly paid the price for it. In gold. And the man then left.”

Lee asked, “What did you do with your lightsaber?”

Garcia answered, “It is in a hidden safe, inside my home.”

Lee complimented, “It is intelligent that you did not take the lightsaber with you. Those weapons are vastly more dangerous than guns. Especially, for those not trained to use them. They can just as easily slice through the wielder, as the intended target of the wielder.”

Garcia said, “I realized that when I saw it cut through stone.”

Lee thought, 'I wonder.' She questioned, “Did Roberta ever teach you how to use a gun?”

Garcia answered, “Yes. She also taught me proper gun safety, and maintenance on weapons. She even taught me how to use a knife in combat, along with some hand to hand techniques. I just prefer not to use a weapon. And I do not care for violence.”

Lee thought, 'That makes sense. I mean, sure. Having Fabiola as a secondary bodyguard is nice. But, also knowing that, if need be, Garcia could defend himself, would likely put Roberta's mind at ease. And while I am not planning on fighting her. For several good reasons.'

'This also means I should not get into a fight with her. Especially, given her physical advantages in size and strength. Also, I am not use to this much small, physically weaker body. Putting me at a disadvantage. The only advantage I still have in a fight, is that I can sense my precognition still working. And that is not one hundred percent fool proof.'

'Still, I need to keep this conversation moving. While I compliment Garcia's prefer approach in her tactics.'

Lee complimented, “There is nothing wrong with that. Guile can get you are far as a gun. If not further. If you know what you are doing.”

Garibaldi chuckled a little, as she commented, “Yea. Lee here would know that.” She thought, 'And that would be an understatement for you, Lee.'

Lee turned to Garibaldi and frowned. She thought, with a bit of sarcasm, 'Thanks for blowing one of my few remaining advantages in this situation.'

Garibaldi noticed that, as she turned and smirked towards Lee. She thought, 'I am not going to let you play your girls with a nice person, like Garcia.'

The two younger girls then turned back to look at Garcia.

Garcia watched all this, as she thought, 'Interesting. So, this girl understands the art of guile, as Rock and I do. Garibaldi even confirms that. And from Lee's reaction to Garibaldi. It is clear that Lee did not want me to know this about herself. This means Lee might try to use me for her own ends. I will have to be wary of her. But, I need to continue with my story, before she grows suspicious of me.'

Garcia stated, “Thank you. And continuing my story. I must say. It is something else to hold such a weapon in my hands, that I suspect came from a fictional reality. But, there was no other explanation. From Roberta, I had contacts with weapons experts. And all of them stated that they knew of no such weapons existing on my world. And even if it was a top secret weapon, why would someone, of all places, be selling them in Roanapur, to people off the street. It did not make sense, unless that person was just doing that as a very twisted joke.”

“And we all know how twisted Chang's humor can be.”

Lee commented, “I know.” She thought, 'First hand.'

Garibaldi said, “You are preaching to the choir.”

Garcia thought, 'So, both of them know about Chang's personality, as well. Interesting.'

Garcia cracked a smile, as she went onto say, “And with that impossibility in my hands, I started to put the pieces together. But, that was only one piece of the puzzle, that I had gotten my hands on.”

Garibaldi guessed, “The name you spoke of?”

Garcia cracked a grin, as she said, “Yes. It seems that that a month after my friends and I left Roanapur, for a second time, a person showed up in Roanapur. The person's name was Akira Hatsushiba. The interesting rumor I heard was that the person changed genders with a sneeze. From a black haired japanese man, to a blond haired caucasian woman. And that was not all. She had somehow got mixed with with Lagoon company, and the mercenaries that Revy hired to help me, during the second time I can to Roanapur.”

Lee confirmed, “That is pretty much all true.”

Garcia thought, 'Lee, you clearly know a lot about this. Though, I do not know if you are unknowingly tipping your hand. Or, if you have an ulterior motive. Either way, I will find out the truth, from Garibaldi, later. In private.'

Garcia said, “Interesting. And with my new lightsaber, on a hunch, I did a search online, for the name, Akira Hatsushiba. And I found a fiction manga titled, Gacha Gacha Secret. The manga is about a japanese teenager, with black hair, that changed from a boy, to a slightly younger girl, caucasian with long hair, due to a technological accident. Though, the manga was in black and white. So, I was not sure the girl has blond hair, or not. But, it was close enough to lead me to believe the Akiras were one in the same.”

Lee thought, 'You have always been an intelligent person, Garcia.' She stated, “They are the same, Akira. Only, Akira was an adult when he came to Roanapur. Long after Akira's series ended.”

Garcia thought, 'Interesting. And I wonder if my theory is correct, on who opened Chang's eyes to the great realities around us? And if you are being so open about this, Lee. I might as well just directly ask you my questions.'

Garcia inquired, “I am correct in assuming that Akira's presence tipped off Chang as to the existence of multiverse?”

Lee answered, “Yes.”

Garcia stated, “That explains a lot. That this is what set Chang on his course to figuring out how to travel between realities in the multiverse.”

Lee replied, “Correct.”

Garcia said, “And I came to that conclusion, as well. While I was still doing my research on Chang. And with that piece of the puzzle in place. I did some research on the gender bending genre, and various fictional series. To see if there were anymore clues to the situation. I learned about the Ranma Half series. Both the anime, and manga. Along with a few other series. But, given where we are, I believe that I delved a little too deeply in my research.”

Lee casually replied, “That happens to the best of us.”

Garibaldi thought, 'Isn't that an understatement, for all three of us.'

Garcia said, “Well, since the rumors are true. I guess it is true that when Akira first came to town, he lived mostly as a man, only to later start living as a woman.”

Garibaldi turned to Lee, as she asked, “Is that going to happen to us?”

Lee turned to Garibaldi, as she answered, “Not unless you want it to.”

Lee then looked between Garibaldi and Garcia, as she continued, “Don't worry about it. You both are very well grounded, sane individuals. You are not going to start to want to live as girls. So relax. Besides, Akira was never that sane to being with. And when Revy, Shenhua, and Sawyer, got their hands on him. They took Akira to places, and had Akira experience things that are best left unsaid.”

Lee thought, 'Even I did not write some of those scenes. I wrote before and after. But, not the scenes themselves.'

Garibaldi commented, “I will take your work for that.” She thought, 'Lee, truly does have a twist imagination. And I will find and read her stories, as soon as possible.'

Garcia thought, 'It sounds like Lee has a hand in these matters. I need to find out how she is tied up in all this.' She replied, “Okay.”

Lee went on to say, “Anyway, beforehand, Akira had experience living as a girl, part time. So, living as a girl most of the time was not that big a stretch, for her. You two, on the other hand, like being male. And I doubt either of you will start living as girls just because you turn female with splashed with cold water.”

Garibaldi thought, 'Lee has a point. And I might as well be polite to her on the matter.' She said, in a warm tone of voice, “Thanks. I really needed to hear that.”

Garcia replied, “Same here.”

Garcia thought, 'That is actually comforting to know. And from what I read of the Gotcha Gotcha manga. Lee is correct about Akira. Finding a spanish translation of that manga was difficult. Though, I am glad I found copies of those manga volumes, translated into english, online.'

Lee responded, “No problem. Besides, Akira lived in Roanapur for a while. That place will play with a person's head.” She thought, 'Even with those that just write about that city.'

Garcia agreed, “Yea. That place could corrupt a saint.”

Lee requested, “No arguments there. Now Garcia. Please continue your story.”

Garibaldi and Lee then turned to Garcia, as the blond teenage girl continued her story, as she said, “Now, as Lee confirmed. From what I learned, Akira was stuck in Roanapur for a few years. And she lived there, until one day, a few years after she first arrived there, she disappeared.”

Lee said, “She went back home.”

Garcia replied, “I thought as much. With that piece of information, I decided I need to see what was happening to Roanapur. While, I did not dare go there, I hired a captain of a Thai fishing boat, sailing in the Gulf of Thailand. On the east coast of that nation. To take some pictures of Roanapur, from a distance. A few days later, he made port, and he sent me the negative of those pictures, via two-day mail service.”

“When, I got the negatives, in the mail, back home. I had them developed by someone I trusted. When I saw the enlarged photos I had made, of those negatives, I quickly noticed why nearly everyone fled that city. Chang had built a blue circular pyramid, with a base that was the size of a small city. It was nearly the size of Roanapur, itself. And the structure was high enough to break through the clouds. It was known only, by the locals, as, the Tower. Or, Chang's Tower.”

Garibaldi realized what Chang's Tower was, as she questioned, in slight shock, “Chang build his own Genom Tower? Where did he find the funds for that kind of operation?”

Lee turned to Garibaldi, as she stated, “I told you that Chang to piracy to a whole different level. He and his allies plundered the multiverse for riches. From there, all it takes is time, effort, and know how.” She then turned to look at Garcia, as she said, in a slightly calmer tone of voice, “Now, please let Garcia continued.”

Garibaldi thought, 'I am really going to have to read Lee's stories. A lot clearly happens in them. Also, that explains why the Knight Sabers are after Lee.'

Garcia thought, 'Given everything else Lee knows. I am not surprised that Lee know this, as well.'

Garcia stated, “You are correct. It took me a while to backtrack to what the tower was. And original origin of the tower. But, given the size and shape, it was the same as Genom Tower, from the Bubblegum Crisis OVA. It was then, I realized that Chang likely had tech from not only the Star Wars reality, but the Bubblegum Crisis OVA reality. And after reviewing the Bubblegum Crisis OVA series, I realized how dangerous Chang had become, due to having access to such technology. Such as boomers, hardsuits, and motoslaves.”

Garcia thought, 'And if we are lucky, that is all what Chang had access to in that reality.'

Garcia continued, “As such. This confirmed my earlier belief that I should not confront Chang directly. Though, I am not really sure how Chang kept that his headquarters off the news for so long. Nor, how he kept the various governments at bay.”

Lee stated, “At that time, Chang gained a lot of wealth, combined with some blackmail, with the right connections, can go a long way in keeping things off the news, and keeping the various governments from knocking on Chang's own door.”

Garcia thought, with concern, 'More and more information from you, Lee. Either Lee worked with Chang. Or, she is somehow deeply connected to Chang's operation, in another way. Either way, she is dangerous, and not to be trusted. Though, I am getting a lot of information from her. While, she clearly already knows most of the information I am giving her.'

Garcia said, “I will take your word on that. Still, that left me with a problem. I could not confront Chang directly. Yet, I could not go around him. Then, a few days, after I received the negatives in the mail. Nearly, four weeks after Fabiola left. I had some unexpected guests show up at my home.”

“I was sitting at a table, having lunch on the patio, when three men, in white lab coats suddenly appeared in front of me.”

“I was alarmed by their presence, until they quickly stated, in english, that they were not there to harm me. They said that we could help each other.”

“I gave them the benefit of the doubt. And I am glad that I did so. They told me that they were part of the large group of researchers and technicians that were hired by Chang, to do research and development on multiverse travel. That Chang has started to institute a policy that would have enslaved them to him. And they use their skills to fake their deaths in a lab explosion, with their prototype reality jumping machine they were working on.”

“One that did not use a portal, and instantly sent someone to another reality.”

Lee thought, 'That is probably one of the prototypes that is a technological bridge between the large portal systems, and the remote sized reality devices. Similar to Megatron and the Hell Saber's teleport devices.'

Garcia continued, “And instead, their machine teleported them to me. Right before they set their lab to explode.”

“I asked them, that even with the explosion, how they planned to fool Chang, into thinking they were death?”

“They answered that they expected that the report on the lab explosion would determine that the reason for lack of body parts after the event, was while being kill in the explosion, they were teleported to another part of the multiverse.”

“And Chang would not have expected them of just teleporting to the other side of the planet.”

“And given the length of the time they were with me, I believe their ruse worked. Because Chang did not sent anyone to come look for them, nor attacking my home.”

Lee thought, 'That is good. And it sounds like those technicians faked their deaths, and escaped, before Chang had all his technicians brainwashed and changed into women, so they would be loyal to him. Well, her, at the time. I believe that fits the timeline of book two of my stories.'

Garcia went onto say, “Then, they told me what was going on in that horror show of a tower. They confirmed my worries to their fullest... And beyond... They told me about the kidnappings. The vats. The brainwashing. The super-soldier serum, which I am guessing that Roberta has been given?”

Lee thought, “So, you know all this. Since that is the case. There is no point in denying, nor sugar coating was Chang had done. And by extension, what I have done. Though, I am not going to confess my crimes to you, yet.' She stated, “Yes. She is going to be young and healthy for a very long time.”

Garcia said, “I will consider that a silver lining in this whole nightmare. Still, worst of all, was when the technicians mentioned the breeding projects.”

Garcia and Lee then noticed Garibaldi flinch at the mention of the breeding project.

Garcia thought, 'I would bet that is why you came here, in the first place. You were running from Chang's forces. And this would be one of the few places I can think of that someone would have to be insane to follow you too. Still, on the matter of Chang...'

Garcia inquired, in a concerned, slightly bewildered tone of voice, “How could Chang be so evil? I met the man once. He didn't seem that evil. Evil. Yes. But, not that evil.”

Lee answered, “It was more of a case that Chang was on evil fanboy powertrip.”

Garcia responded, in a depressed tone of voice, “Oh... Sadly, I can see that when it comes to Chang.”

Garibaldi thought, 'Sadly, so can I. It is canon that Chang was an evil fanboy, in the Black Lagoon series. He just did it with style. And giving him access to the multiverse, as his personal playground, would be like sending a dust fiend on a permanent high. It would be bad trip for everyone involved.'

'And while it is clear that Lee know regrets her actions. I wonder if Lee was on a powertrip of her own, when she wrote those parts of her stories?... I think that is very likely. Considering, while she hides it well. She can be very arrogant. Such as, when we were on Mars. When she talked to Rock on the phone. The way she talked to Rock on the phone, in my office. Before we are attacked by the boomers, that were after me. She acted like she was in complete control of the situation. Which she later learned she was not.'

'I believe she still thinks she is in control of this situation. With her given out information, in small portions, in an attempt to control Garcia's actions. But, I can tell, by Garcia's responses, and reactions, that Garcia is not falling for it. I will talk to Garcia later, in private, over the matter. And we will decide what to do with Lee, then.'

Garcia went onto say, “Also, these three men were very forthcoming with me, on other matters that I wished to learn. And in doing so, they showed a lot of trust towards me.”

“Included in what they told me, they informed me as to what happened to my friends. To my relief, they stated that neither of my maids were part of the breeding projects. And that while Roberta worked for Chang, Fabiola was on the run from them, somewhere in the multiverse.”

“Then, they said they believed I would help them. And they were correct. And though, they did not tell me how they knew about me, to the point of them trusting me as much as they did. To a point that was far beyond just would they should have done from reading reports, and hearing rumors about me, that likely circulated around Roanapur. And I have a feeling that you both have this answer to this question.”

Garibaldi said, “Yes. And we will get to that information in a minute.”

Lee agreed, “Yes. We will.”

Garcia responded, “Thank you. Anyway, they made me an offer. I would hide them, in exchange for their help. This included what they told me. And them building me a reality traveling device. I agreed to their deal, due to the fact I wanted to help save Fabiola, and free Roberta.”

“But, now that I know it all worked out on its own, I now realize my actions were all in folly. And I was on a fool's errand.”

Lee kindly said, “It is the thought that counts.”

Garibaldi smiled at Lee using what she has said to Lee, earlier, to help Garica.

Garcia responded, “I hope so. And so, I gave them funding to building a multiverse device. I set them up in a house, near my home. Due to limited funds, and lack of resources, they could not create a portal system. Though, they were able to build me a teleporter device, like the one they used to escape the tower from.”

“And what surprised me was that it only took them only a week to build. They stated they had been building such technological devices for so long that it was second nature to them.”

Lee thought, 'When skills reach that level, people can do amazing things, very quickly. And when Garcia here gets back, those three will likely be working for him in some other capacity One does not get rid of such helpful people.'

Garcia continued, “But, there was a catch. They warned me that it was a one way trip. They could send me anywhere I wanted to go. But, they could not bring me back. So, I had to wisely chose, beforehand, where I wanted to go. Still, I was sure I would be able to make it through.”

Lee thought, 'So, the device really was similar to Megatron, and Hell Saber's teleport devices. Only, the traveler could not take the device with him, or her.'

Garibaldi mentioned, “Don't worry. We have a reality device that can take us any place, time, and reality, we want to go.”

Lee rolled her eyes, as she thought, 'I will let that one slide. Because I was going to tell her, anyway.' She looked back at Garcia and Garibaldi, as she thought, 'Still, Garibaldi did not tell Garcia where our reality device is. So, there is that.'

Garcia said, “Thank you, again. That is reassuring. And as I thought, I would not be stuck here. Speaking of which, the technicians informed me of the way reality worked. Just think of the reality, time, and place, you want to go, and the use the device.”

Garibaldi smiled as she thought, 'So, that is how to use Lee's reality device.'

Lee saw Garibaldi smile. She did not show any reaction to her friend's smile, as she thought, 'I guess the cat is out of the bag on that one. There is not much I can do about it now. Considering I am not planning on ditched either of these two people. Because, that would only make things worse for me, in the long run.'

Garcia stated, “Also, there was another problem. Due to this being a prototype, while the technicians promised me it would get me to when and where. I wanted to go. The technicians said that they could not guarantee that I would teleport at ground level. That I might appear several feet above my intended location, and fall to the ground. So, they suggested that wherever I think of, that I should focus being over a pool of water. But, not a large body of water, because I might wind up in middle of an ocean. So, that is what I did. I thought of a pool of water to be teleported over.”

“And that is why I traveled light. So, when I hit water, I would not be weighted down. So, I would not immediately sink. I just didn't guess landing in water, at a height that be so painful, and knock me out. Though, I am happy I missed those bamboo stalks.”

Lee commented, “Yes. Count yourself lucky. And anything above ten feet, if you land wrong, you are going to feel it. And, considering you landed, while facing down, it seems you likely did a partial belly flop, which knocking yourself out on landing. But, you appear otherwise unharmed.”

Garcia said, “And I am happy about that. So, when I used the teleporter device, I stepped to the teleporter pad, thought of where, when, and what reality I wanted to go to, and activated the device.”

“Next thing I know. I am over four meters above a pool of water, looking down at the water coming out me. And when I hit, I blacked out. When I woke up, here, on the ground, I found I had been changed into a girl. Then, I sat up, and saw you two had approached me. Then, we are here.”

“But, what I don't understand, is how did I ended up here? I was focusing on my one major lead in the multiverse. Akira. Whom, from what I gathered from his manga. Which I read a complete, english translated version of, was a nice, understanding person. Along with him being reported to be friends with Lagoon company. And I believed she would likely help me. And with Akira's aid, given his access to reality travel. I would not be stuck in his home reality, for long.”

Lee stated, “You would be correct. She and her friends, from her home reality, helped Rock take down Chang, and his organization.”

Garcia thought, 'Lee, you keep referring to Akira, as female. Though, in both the manga, and in Roanapur, Akira lived as both male and female. And Akira was born male. It sounds like you personally know Akira. But, I will deal with that matter, later. Besides, I have other questions, for you.'

Garcia responded, in a slightly confused tone of voice, “Okay. That being said. These is still the matter of that fact that I was thinking of going to Akira's home reality. Not the Ranma Half reality. So, how did Akira wind up in the Ranma Half reality?”

Lee explained, “The Akira you were thinking of existed in a composite reality of a number of other series. Including, the Ranma Half series.”

Garcia responded, “Oh... That explains how I ended up in this reality. But, not how I ended up in Jusenkyo, itself? Over the spring of drowned girl?” She thought, 'Though, I think it best I not ask her how she knows that this reality is a composite reality?... Just another question for Garibaldi.'

Lee stated, “When you visualized where you wanted to go, you thought of a pool of water, and you must have accidentally also been thinking about gender bending aspects of Akira character. And so, when you entered this reality where Jusenkyo existed, you ended up landing in the spring of drowned girl. Also, you are in the past, because in some part of your subconscious, you were thinking about going into past, as some point in time, of your personal future.”

Lee mentally reflected, 'And I had something similar happen to me, as well. Right now. When I used my reality device, to take Garibaldi and I here, in Jusenkyo of the recent past. I must have subconsciously thinking of you, Garcia. And how I cursed you. Also, that is not surprising, give that had happened to a few of the characters in my stories. Though, I make sure to think of landing on dry land, less than an inch off the ground.'

Garcia commented, “I guess that makes sense. And you are right. I was also thinking that maybe later, I would go into the past, to save both my parents. Among fixing a few other things.”

Lee thought, with a bit of sadness, 'I better just tell Garcia the bad news now. Before she learns the truth, the hard way.'

Lee stated, in a sober tone of voice, “As much as I like to say that would be okay. You cannot do that without risk of creating a reality destroying paradox. Though, take heart that there is life after death. And your parents are together. And reincarnation exists in your reality. So, either way, you will likely be re-united with your parents, eventually.”

Garcia thought, 'I doubt Lee would lie about this. It is too depressing for her to lie about this.' She choked back some tears, as she said, in a sad tone of voice, “I will do as you request. And I guess I can live with the fact I will someday see them, again. One way, or another.”

Meanwhile, Garibaldi thought, 'Well, that is a sad thing to say. But, I believe that Lee was only being honest. Considering, I am guessing she wrote the rules, from her stories, on those matters. And I have a feeling that she used that reincarnation rule already. With her likely creating that as an escape clause for anyone that was killed. So, she could to bring them back to life with little effort. I wonder if I have seen any such people? Still, I think we need to tell Garcia about the Black Lagoon series.'

Garibaldi turned to Lee, as she said, “As much as I would prefer not to mention this. We have to tell, Garcia, about her series.”

Lee looked at Garibaldi. She sighed. She then stated, in a slightly depressed tone of voice, “You're right. Do you want to handle giving her the news?”

Garibaldi said, “Yes.” She thought, 'I might as well. You have told her almost everything else.'

Lee replied, “Okay.”

Garcia asked, “What do you two want to tell me, that is so important?”

The two younger girls looked at Garcia.

Garibaldi said, in a calm, sober tone of voice, “I don't know how to put this. But, you know how you know me from that Babylon Five series?”

Garcia calmly replied, “Yes.” She mentally added, with worry, 'I don't like where there is going.'

Garibaldi said, “Well, you are from a reality that is a work of fiction to us. It is titled, Black Lagoon.”

Garcia thought, 'I can just guess what that series is about. Considering, I know of a boat called, Lagoon.' She requested, in a slightly sad tone of voice, “Please, explain.”

Garibaldi then found herself at a loss for words, as she thought, 'Now, that I think about it. I am honestly not sure how to explain this to Garcia, without doing some emotional damage to her. Which I don't want to do, under any circumstances. I best turn to Lee for help. Though, I don't trust her. She clearly has a handle on such matters.'

Garibaldi turned to Lee.

Lee noticed Garibaldi looking at her. She turned to look at Garibaldi, as she offered, “I will take over from here.”

Garibaldi replied, “Okay.” She thought, 'On second thought. I might as well. Considering Lee has done such a good job, so far.'

The two little girls looked back at towards Garcia.

Lee calmly stated, “Well, Garcia. As you probably have guessed. The series centers around Lagoon company and Roanapur, Thailand. There is both a manga and a anime series. Both series begin the same way. Rock is kidnapped by Lagoon company. And it goes all the way to where you and Fabiola bring Roberta back to your home, for a second time, in Venezuela. After your run through the jungle, with Major Caxton, and his men.” She mentally added, 'I will just omit that the manga continued from there, with the Wired Red Wild Card. Considering that storyline does not happen in Garcia's home reality. And has not direct bearing on her life.'

Garcia looked down at Lee and Garibaldi's faces, as she let out a deep breath, while sighing. She then said, “Given what I have already learned. I am not really that surprised. Still, I need to know, what is the difference between the manga and anime? And which one am I from? Or, is it a compose of both series, like this reality?”

Lee complimented, “Good questions. And to answer you, you are from the anime reality. The main difference between the manga and anime is that way Roberta was left at the end. In the manga, she was not that severely injured physically, while in the anime... Well, you already know how badly she was injured. And in both versions, Roberta had mental scarring from her ordeal.”

Garcia sadly admitted, “Yes. I know. That is why I made my deal with Chang, in the first place. He promised to help Roberta.”

Lee said, “I know. And it is a good choice that will reward you and your family, ten fold. And the good news is that Chang kept his promise. Among other things, in his brainwashing, he mentally repaired some of Roberta's mental scarring. And her missing body parts have been replaced. Though, they are now robotic looking. But, I know for a fact she later replaces those parts with more human looking components.”

Lee thought, with pride, and a bit of righteous indignation, 'While the maids are after me. My comments here are for Garcia's benefit. Not my own.'

Garcia retorted, “I could care less what she looks like on the outside.” She mentally added, 'I am more worried about how her mind is. And I know the other servants of the manor will just be happy to have Roberta and Fabiola return home.'

Lee calmly complimented, “I know. And that is what makes you are a good person.”

Garcia responded, “Thank you. And I need to know. When Fabiola and Roberta return, will they be like they were before they left? Do I have to worry about Roberta being brainwashed.”

Lee answered, “Roberta will be deprogrammed by the time you see her again. And her personality will be back to the way she was before your father was murdered. And Fabiola will be a bit more mature. And I know for a fact they feel the same way about you. In that they don't care how you look on the outside. They care about what is on the inside. They will still care about you.”

Garcia said, “Thank you. I find that news, comforting.” She thought, 'Curse, or no curse. At least I know we will continue on with our lives. And as much as I want to cure this curse, right now. I know better than to stay around this place. It is just too dangerous.'

'I fear mixing curses, or getting an animal curse, or personality curse, than being a girl. At least, I am in control of myself in this form. And I am human. That is a plus in anyone's book.'

'Besides, if Roberta and Fabiola can deal with being a girl. So can I. And at least my breasts are still small enough that they are not being pinched by my shirt. Though, they are still a noticeable in size.'

'Though, I do need to know how much they know about us. Which, from what Lee has hinted, is a lot.'

Lee sincerely replied, “You're welcome.”

Garcia inquired, in a concerned tone of voice, “So... I also need to know. How much do you know about me, at a personal level?”

Lee thought, 'I might as well honestly answer her question. Besides, I am coming to enjoy summations.' She answered, in a kind, thought slightly arrogant tone of voice, “I know a lot about you, Garcia. And you probably won't like what I have to say.”

Garibaldi stated, “That would be an understatement.” She mentally reflected, 'Considering Lee, that you have been able to be one step ahead of everyone, throughout your entire ordeal. Though, eventually you will make a mistake, and miscalculate. And in this game, you can win a thousand victories. But still, all it takes is one defeat for you to permanently lose. And I just think you made that mistake and miscalculation with Garcia and I.'

Garcia thought, 'If Garibaldi is agreeing with Lee, then Lee must be telling the truth. And I am starting to see that Lee is wearing a mask with us. But, I can tell there is much arrogance slipping out from underneath that mask. And it is clear that Lee likes to keep her secrets. But, her arrogance causes her to giveaway more than she would like for others to know. I can use that to my advantage. Now, to bait Lee, through his arrogance.' She skeptically questioned, “Okay. Like what?”

Lee casually said, “Well, such as in the past, when you returned to Roanapur. During your hunt for Roberta. When you finally found Major Shane Caxton, and his men, in that alley. You had a mind for murder and revenge then. And that is where you found that corpse in the trash can, whom was holding that pistol you took, and pulled on those men. I believe that deceased person was likely a Malaysian police officer.”

Garcia inquired, “While, I am sure you likely saw that event, from watching that series, I would like to know how you are so sure of the person's origins?”

Lee stated, “That is easy to answer. The pistols you used was a five round, Smith & Wesson, model thirty-six, thirty-eight caliber, Chief's Special, revolver.”

“These pistols were issued to plain clothed detectives belonging Royal Malaysian Police special branch, as intelligence, and the criminal investigation division. From the nineteen seventies, all the way to the turn of the millennium. When Malaysian government replaced the Chief's Special, with a Glock Seventeen. And the events that happened to you are dated in the middle of nineteen ninety-five, AD.”

Lee thought, 'Interesting. The long version of the Glock Seventeen is the model pistol that Eda used. Which is the Glock Seventeen L. Also, there were others side characters in Roanapur that used standard Glock Seventeen pistols. It is possible there were several other undercover agents in Roanapur, than the usual upper level suspects. That place may have actually be a having a small cold war with the various government powers. But, those are thoughts for another. I need to focus on the matter at hand.'

Garibaldi thought, 'So, this Garcia Lovelace is from the turn of the last millennium. Interesting. I know the Black Lagoon series was set in the nineteen nineties. But, I forgot exactly what year.'

Lee continued, “While a few other nations, such as Japan, Norway, and the U.S., used that pistol in the their police department. The Malaysians also issued those pistols to their intelligence officers. And Malaysia is not that far from Thailand.”

“The plain clothed Malaysian officer, whom was likely from the intelligence branch. Considering this happened outside his native country. Likely went Roanapur to investigate a case, there. Or, it could have been a drug, or other smuggling, deal gone bad. You never know, considering the people that go to the city.”

Garcia nodded in agreement, as she commented, “Yes. A city of fools. Most are brought to the city by greed. And whom are more than likely to be soon parted from both their own money, and their lives.”

Lee complimented, “You are quite the poet, Garcia.”

Garcia replied, “Thank you. I do enjoy writing poetry as a hobby.”

Lee replied, with intrigue in her tone of voice, “Interesting.” She thought, 'Oh the irony, considering I am a writer.'

Lee calmly said, “To continue. The officer literally wound up dead in a trash can, after likely fleeing a gunfight. We know this because if he body was dumped, they would have taken his gun. Instead his gun was still handing from his fingers. So, he likely fled those that shoot him, lost those people, before he succumbed to his wounds, and collapsed face forward into the trash case.”

“And it must have been only a couple of people, because there was ammo still in that gun, for you to use... On the other hand, the person have have reloaded, before he died. Which is just as likely...”

“Still, either way, with the trail of logic we have, we know the people after the officer did not find him because the model thirty-six is a nice pistol to have. And to some people, the pistol is a collector's item.”

Garibaldi thought, 'Yea. It would be a nice slugthrower to have.'

Lee went on to say, “And we know the man collapsed face forward, because the gun was hanging from the man's right fingers, with the interior or the right arm facing the inward, against the trash can. If the man had collapse backwards into the trash can, the arms would be outward if the victim had fallen backward.”

“And that is where you found him holding his pistol between his cold, dead fingers.'

Garibaldi thought, while she felt slightly impressed with Lee's deduction skills, 'That is some pretty good detective work by Lee. Not bad. Not bad at all.'

Lee continued, “Which is kind of ironic, considering you pointed that weapon at someone that was in intelligence work.”

Lee thought, 'Though, there were two other people in the Black Lagoon series that did use the Chief's specials. But, one was, Elroy, whom retired, and operated outside of Roanapur.'

'And the another person, whom was a citizen of Roanapur, that did have a Chief's Special revolver, was Torchy. Not Claude, but a drug junkie. And his mind was so wasted from the drugs he took that I highly doubt Garcia got his pistol from him. Because Torchy would have never made it out of a gunfight alive. Let alone escape to the point he still had his pistol in his fingers, before he died from his wounds.'

Garcia pointed out, “It could have been one of the punks that Revy and the others killed. Though, I do not really clearly remember them, myself.”

Lee though, 'Not a bad possibility. But, it is incorrect.' She explained, “Actually, it wasn't one of their weapons. First, the series showed some detailed scenes of those foolish punks. They were using shotguns, automatic rifles, semi-automatic pistols, and a few grenades. They would consider it beneath themselves to use a five round revolver... Which shows they did not have any taste in firearms...”

“And I call them foolish, because after the Lagoon siege debacle, they should have known better than to take freelance work, as a large assault force, in attacking a location.”

“Speaking of which, did Revy, Rock, or the others, ever mention that siege?”

Garcia answered, “Actually, I believe they did. But, it was a comment in passing. And I did not ask for details.”

Lee stated, “That siege is shown in your series as well. Several months before your return to Roanapur, an out of towner, from Florida, tried to pull...”

Then, something occurred to Lee. She looked down at her feet and the ground, as she muttered, “He to be a snow bird. Or, a son of snow birds. Or, an undercover fed. Considering he recognized Eda from a previous formal government function. A redneck, good old boy would know better than to try the crap he attempted to pull.”

Garcia questioned, “What are you saying? You're mumbling.”

Garibaldi thought, with interest, 'She really is. I think Lee hit her own emotional nerve. She is from the southeastern United States of that time period. And Florida is a state of that area. So, she found it annoying that someone from that area, did something foolish, even if that person, and those events happened in another reality.'

Lee caught herself. She looked up at the two other girls, as she answered, “Oh... Nothing...” She mentally berated, with concern, 'How could I be so foolish, and lose myself in my thoughts... Could this young form be effecting my mind. If so, I am in real trouble. Still. Though, I am in trouble, there is nothing I can do about it... I think it is best I ignore my previous actions, and just move forward. While not worrying about what I just did.'

Lee continued, “Anyway, this guy hired a bunch of freelancers to catch a woman. And Lagoon company got mixed up in the mess, and it turned into a seize against Revy, Rock, and a few others... Long story short, the three people that Revy hired were among the handful of known surviving members of the attacking team.” She mentally added, 'Though, I am sure a few of those that went into the water. Or, just missed the boat, beforehand. Likely survived, and they made it back to the shore, in Roanapur.'

Garcia commented, “No wonder she hired them. If they could survive her, they stood a good chance of surviving Roberta.”

Lee responded, with slight excitement in her voice, “Exactly. Second. That alleyway was littered with bodies. The alleyway you confronted that special forces team in, only had you, that team, and the corpse in the trashcan. Besides, the fight you are talking about, is the one where Revy, Shenhua, and Sawyer, were tearing into the punks, and FARC members. Where you and Fabiola ran from, and into another alleyway, where you two were ambushed by another FARC team. You then fled into the building, opposite from where you came, in that alleyway.”

“A few seconds later, Roberta made her way down a hallway, right beside the room you where hiding in. Roberta then walked up some stairs, and looked out the window, with her compact mirror, on the other side of the building, into an alleyway, where she saw the special forces team. That alleyway was opposite from where you came from. Because, no dead bodies were shown in those scenes.”

“You likely got turned around in the building that you fled into. And after what you experienced in that building, you were not thinking clearly for a little while after that. But, you and those cared for made it out alive. And that is the important part.”

Garcia admitted, “You are right. And I was a little spaced out there, for a while. But, I recovered fairly quickly. Though, with your explanation, I am wondering.” Garcia looked over at Garibaldi, as she asked, “Who is this girl? Sherlock Holmes' little sister?”

Lee lightly giggled, as she thought, “I will take that as a compliment.'

Garcia looked at both Garibaldi and Lee, as she thought, 'Clearly this girl, Lee, did not just watch the series I was in. She studied it. And her detective skills are on par with Sherlock Holmes. No wonder Michael Garibaldi is with her. She is likely the one that helped Garibaldi escape, from wherever they had come from. I need to know more about her, and I need to see my own series. Though, I am sure it will be emotionally painful for me to watch.'

Garibaldi looked up at Garcia's face. She shrugged her right shoulder, as she casually answered, “I am starting to wonder that, myself.”

Lee commented, “I just have a good eye for the details.”

Lee saw the two other girls look towards her, more intensely. Lee quickly realized that they were looking passed her. She inquired, in a matter of fact tone of voice, “Let me guess. Right behind me, there is a heavy set, middle-aged, chinese man, whom is wearing an olive drab Mao suit and pants, along with shoes, and a black newsboy cap, on his head, that has an upright yellow five pointed star on the front of it?”

Garibaldi complimented, “Damn. You're good.”

Meanwhile, Garcia stood up, in response to the presence of the stranger.

Lee cracked a smile, with her lips, as she responded, in a relaxed tone of voice, “Relax. It is just the Jusenkyo guide to these cursed springs. And please let me do the talking.” She thought, 'He likely heard Garibaldi's scream reverberate throughout the valley. And he has probably heard that type of scream enough times to know what it means.'

Garcia said, “Go ahead.”

Garibaldi stated, “Yes. Go ahead. Because I wouldn't know where to begin.”

Lee smile widened a bit, in response to the other two girls' statements. She thought, 'All too easy.'

Lee turned around. She saw the chinese man was six feet from her. She continued smiling, in a warm manner, as she said, in chinese, “Hello. First, we know of the springs, and how they work. The reason two of us are cursed is because we had to jump into the spring of drowned girl, to save the third.”

The guide responded, in chinese, “Let me guess. The blond?”

Lee inquired, “Yes. I am correct in assuming you have already guessed that I, and the younger girl with me are older men? And that older men and women that are cursed from the spring of drowned girl, physically become very young girls?”

The guide said, “Yes. Around six years old, to be exact.”

Lee thought, 'So, I was right. While the instant girl powder made me a girl in her late teens, this springs made me, and Garibaldi, around six years old.'

Lee then turned to looked at the Garibaldi, and Garcia, as she thought, 'Also, now that I get a better little look at Garcia, it appears that Garcia is around sixteen, or seventeen... Seventeen and a half... Maybe.'

'That makes sense timeline way. Garcia was between twelve to thirteen during the Black Lagoon series. So, a few years for book one to happen. And few years for book two to get started and going to the point that Roberta and Fabiola went on their adventure, and Garcia went on his adventure. Garcia is not eighteen yet, considering I mentioned his eightieth birthday, after he was cursed. And that is going to be a fun time for all three of them. That being Garcia, Roberta, and Fabiola.'

'And since she, as a he, was around that age, just like Ranma, the age in both her gender forms are parallel. That is both good and bad, depending on how one looks at it. Still, we are going to need this man's help, for the next part of my plan to work.'

Meanwhile, the guide noticed Lee's ring on her right forth finger, though he did not say anything on the matter.

Lee looked back over at the guide, as the guide looked back down at Lee's face. Lee stated, “We are going to need some help, and a guide. But, I do not believe we have much to trade.”

The guide said, “Not to worry. Half the fun of this job is meeting interesting people. Such as yourselves.”

Lee replied, “Thank you?” She mentally added, 'That makes since, considering the guide helped, or more aptly, will help Ranma and Genma. And Genma is the type of person that is just as likely to steal from someone, as pay them for a service.'

The guide stated, “Happy to assist.”

Lee inquired, “By the way, do you know english? Or, spanish?” She thought, 'I am sure he knows japanese, considering Genma and Ranma don't know a word of chinese. Which got them into their mess in the first place.'

The guide answered, “I know enough english to understand what is being told to me. And I can speak some of it. But, I do not know spanish.”

Lee replied, “Okay.”

Lee took a few steps to her right. She then turned to the others, to allow herself to see the three other individuals, at once. She answered, in english, “The guide will help us. Also, he knows enough english to understand you. But, he does not know spanish.”

Garcia said, “That will be fine.” She mentally added, 'And I do know chinese. And a few other languages. Besides spanish, and english. Not that I am going to let you know this, Lee. Though, I will let Garibaldi know, later.'

'And Lee, it is interesting that you have no way to pay the guide. Which is not surprising. Given you have been acting, it is likely you were planning to rely on Garibaldi, and his wealth... Well, her wealth, to see you through. Though, that seems not to be the case, right now.'

Garcia had her right hand, by her right side, across the right side pocket of his blue denim jacket, as she felt the items in that pocket, which she was checking for. She continued her thoughts, 'And at least I still have my gold coins. And my small pistol. Not that I am going to say anything about my coins, nor weapon, until I get to know you and Garibaldi a little better.'

Lee turned to Garibaldi, as she commented, “And Garibaldi, these forms are around six years old.”

Garibaldi looked over at Lee, as she responded, “I figured that out already.” She thought, 'Though, it is not to have that confirmed by an expert.'

The guide said, in slightly broken english, “Please, come to home. For help.”

The three girls turned back to look at the Jusenkyo guide.

Garibaldi said, “Okay.”

Garcia commented, “Just lead the way.”

Lee stated, in chinese, “I need a minute to gather my belongings.”

The Guide replied, in chinese, “No problem.”

Lee turned around. She then briskly walked away from the group, and over to her pile of clothing.

When Lee reached her piled of clothing, she kept her back facing the other three people there, to block their view of what she was doing.

Lee then took of her wet t-shirt and underwear. The three others were polite enough to overt their eyes.

Next, Lee put on the white, button up shirt. After she rolled up the long sleeves. She buttoned up the shirt, which when down to her knees.

After she finished with her shirt, she put on her pants She rolls up the leggings of the pants, to where they were right above her ankles.

Afterward, she buttoned the waist button, and zipped up her pants. But, she did not tuck in her shirt.

Lee's belt was still through the belt loops of the pants, around the pants waistline. She then pulled the belt tight around her waist, to measure her new, much smaller waist size. She then kept track of that place on her belt.

She reached down, and pulled out her knife, and notch a new hole at that place on her belt. She then sheathed her knife.

Lee then slid the belt through the belt buckle and pants loops, until she reached the other end, where the new notch was and buckled the belt there. Afterward, she looped the slack of the belt though the pants looked.

Next, Lee put on her socks, to protect her feet. But, she found that her shoes were way to big for her now much smaller feet. So, for the moment, she let her shoes be.

After that, She even checked and found that the wrist strap on her watch now to big for her hand. Though, Lee considered that a minor inconvenience.

Lee then gathered her items, including her wrist watch, reality device, and lighter. She put the items into the front pockets of her pants. She then tucked the sheath of her combat knife into the back of her pant, under her shirt. Which not go unnoticed by the others.

She then went over and picked up her wet t-shirt, and stuffed her shoes, and underwear into it.

She arranged the holes of her shirt, to where she gripped it by all four openings at once, with her right hand. The waist, neck, and both arm holes.

She then picked up her coat with he left hand.

She turned and briskly walked back to where Garcia, Garibaldi, and the guide were standing.

As she approached the three other individuals, Lee saw the other three people were looking at her.

When Lee reached them, she held out her coat, toward Garibaldi, as she calming stated, in english, “Here, Garibaldi. You need to get out your wet clothing. And this coat should be a good substitute.”

“Now, please take off your clothing, and put this on. It will go down to your knees. And I know without underwear, it will be a bit drafty. Especially, while dealing with different parts down there. But, it will go to down to your knees, and keep you very warm. So, that is a small matter.”

“And don't worry about modesty. The guide raised a daughter. Garcia is going to need to get use to seeing those body parts on her. And I could care less.”

“Also, hand me your clothes. I will put all of our wet clothing into my shirt. I will carry them. Because I don't want to left a trail behind us.”

The guide thought, 'So, this person knows I have a daughter. That is not surprising, given that is not a secret, for those that take the time to learn about these springs, and those that watch over the springs.'

Garcia thought, 'So, they are still worried about someone finding them. I wonder if it is my friends are after her. My friends could even be from the future, like them. With them more likely after Lee, for her connection to Chang and his Tower. With Garibaldi's somehow getting mixed up in this, by accident. That that would make sense. And not leaving anything behind, would be a proper precaution, from being tracked.'

'Though, if it is Roberta, then Lee is doomed. And given what she already admitted to know, she liked already realizes that.'

Lee turned to Garcia, as she said, “I apologize. But, I don't have any dry clothing left that could help you.”

Garcia turned to Lee, as she thought, 'I will give you credit, Lee. At least, you are being nice. And what you are doing for Garibaldi. And what you said to me. Is earning you a few points with me.

Garcia responded, in a kind tone of voice, “It is okay. It is the thought that counts.” She thought, 'And at least Lee is thoughtful enough to help Garibaldi.'

Garibaldi thought, 'She is right. And she is using Lee's words. Like Lee used my words. I need to get out of these wet clothes. And this was one of my favorite suits. Well, at least the upper half of my suit. Which no know longer fits, at the moment. But, neither does this coat. Though, at least the coat is dry.' She took the coat from Lee's left hand, and gently set it on the ground.

Lee, Garcia, and the guide, then politely overted their eyes, away from Garibaldi, as she quickly changed out of her wet clothing, and put on the coat. Though, she left her socks on to protect her feet from the ground.

She then picked up the coat, and put it on. Next, she rolled up the sleeves of the coat.

Garibaldi also took the hologram device that was loosely on the wrist she had on it, and she stuck into her pocket. She thought, 'I will keep this. I think might need it, later'

Next, Garibaldi buttoned up the coat, from the buttons on the bottom of the coat, that were in front of her her upper legs. Fortunately, the buttons allow the entire coat to enclose her body, from her chest, down to her knees.

Garibaldi was finished dressing, as much as she could, with her limited selection. She turned to the three other individuals. She calmly said, “You can look now.”

As the other three people turned to look at her, she bent down and picked up her wet clothing.

Lee realized what Garibaldi was doing, as she opened up the bottom of her wet shirt, to stuff those clothes into it, next her own belongings that were inside the shirt.

As soon as the two young girls were finished, Lee held her wet t-shirt closed completely close, again. Lee then turned to the guide, as she stated, in english, “I believe we are ready to go.”

The guide turned to Garcia and Garibaldi, whom both nodded in agreement, towards him.

The guide looked at all three girls, as he calmly stated, in english, “This way to my home.”

The guide then started calmly walking in a direction that was to the north of the cursed springs.

As Lee, Garibaldi, and Garcia, followed the guide, they soon noticed that the guide was walking on a path, that ran parallel with the magical pools of water, though the path was soon over a hundred feet from the pools. With them slowing going further from the pools, as they continued on their current path.

The three girls did not say anything, as they casually followed behind the Jusenkyo guide. They walked beside each other, while they kept a distance of about ten feet behind the guide.

Garcia was in the middle, with Garibaldi was to her left, and Lee to her right.

They then made the short journey to the Jusenkyo guide's home.

(_)

Ten minutes later, they reached the guide's home.

The three girls followed the guide to the front door to the guide's home.

While the home was not large, it was not too small, either.

The guide used a key and unlocked the door. The guide then opened the door, and walked in, the three girls followed inside, with Lee being last.

After Lee walked inside, she gently shut the door behind her.

Lee looked around, at the moderate sized room, with tables, chairs, shelves with books, and a couch. She thought, 'This must be his living room. While simple, it is clean, and well kept. Now, to deal with the immediate problems. Such, as this shirt filled with clothing, and shoes that no longer fit us.'

She then walked over to a corner, and set the full shirt down.

As she leaned back up, she saw Garcia turn to looked at the guide.

Garcia said, in english, “Thank you very much, for your hospitality.”

The guide turned around to face them, as he cracked a grin. He replied, in english, “It is my job. But, you're welcome. And would you care for some hot water?”

Lee thought, 'I best take over from here.' She politely requested, in english, “Not at the moment. Though, if you could provide some clothing. That will be nice. We are not picky.”

The guide turned to Lee. He said, in chinese, “Fortunately, I kept some of my daughter's older, smaller clothing. But, your blond friend it to big for her current clothing. I will see what I can find some of my own older clothing for her. When I was young, and much slimmer. And I believe I can get you, and your brown haired friend, something for your feet.”

Lee replied, in chinese, “Whatever you can provide, will we would be most grateful for.”

The guide just smiled, as he thought, 'I thought as much.' He then turned, and walked deeper into his home.

Garibaldi turned to Lee, as she asked, “Where is he going?”

Lee turned to Garibaldi, as she answered, in english, “He has gone to see if he find some clothing, and shoes, for us.”

Garcia flatly commented, “I really don't want to wear some hand me downs.”

Garibaldi looked up at Garcia, as she stated, “Beggars cannot be choosers.”

Garcia looked at Garibaldi, as she commented, “Actually, my clothing is over halfway dry. And my clothing still somewhat fits me. As such, I think I will keep my clothing on.” Garcia thought, 'It is at least my clothing.'

Garibaldi said, “Okay. I wish I could do the same.”

Garcia shrugged, as she replied, “I know. Still...” She turned to Lee, as she asked, “Lee, why did you not want the guide to bring us hot water, yet? I would think you would at least want us to change back into guys.”

Lee turned to Garcia, as she calmly stated, “Bad idea. First of all. We have no readily available supply of hot water. And you will likely get hit with cold water by the end of the day. So, you might as well stay as girls.”

Garibaldi looked at Lee, as Garibaldi begrudgingly agreed, “Lee, has a point.”

Garcia said, in a slightly embarrassed tone of voice, “Still... I need to pee.”

Lee picked up on this emotional discomfort in Garcia's voice, as she plainly stated, “There is nothing to be embarrassed about. You need to know how to do this. And the best way want to know, is to ask. And I will tell you how.”

Garibaldi thought, 'And how would you know. Though, I am kind of afraid to ask. And I honestly, don't want to know.'

Lee went onto say, “After you get some fresh clothes, and are dry. Get a paper tissue. Walk outside. Find a private place, that is not windy. Drop your pants, and underwear, to your knees. Do a squat, with nothing between the bottom of your crotch and butt, and the ground. Then, relax the same muscles you do as a guy to pee. When you are finished peeing. Use the tissue to either dap, or wipe front to back, at the wet part of your crotch. Do not wipe back to front, because a habit like that, in the long run, can lead to an infection down there. You don't want that. And I am not sure how such an infection will translate when you change back into a guy.”

Lee thought, 'Even Natsuru's book was kind of vague on the subject. I think because, wisely, none of them wanted to find out.'

Lee continued, “Still, when you are dry down there. Stand up, and pull back up your pants. Discard the tissue, and you are done.”

Lee continued, “Keep in mind that pee is sterile. So, you really don't need to worry about washing your hands.”

“And note, that for a girl, when peeing outside. There is not such thing as down wind. If there is a wind, you will get more wet, if you don't find somewhere to squat that breaks the wind for you.”

Garcia said to Lee, in a suspicious tone of voice, “You clearly know a lot about this subject?”

Lee smirked, as she commented, “I know a lot about everything.”

Garibaldi said, “Well, it sounds about right. I do vaguely remember my wife saying something like that to our daughter, when she was a toddler and we were potty training her.” She thought, 'And Lee is right. That is the kind of information we both now need to know.'

Lee admitted, “Also, I admit that I need to test some hot water on myself. So, I can check to see if I have locked myself in this female.”

Garcia asked, with slight disbelief in her tone of voice, “You locked yourself? Why would you do something like that?”

Lee admitted, “Yes. I liked myself, with my ring, on my right ring finger. Long story short, I was dying of cancer, but this female form is healthy. So, as long as I am locked, I get to live.”

Garcia conceded, “I guess that is understandable.”

Lee said, “Thank you for being considerate, and understanding.”

Garcia smiled in response. She then questioned, “Since, you are so knowledgeable. Do you think I need to wear a bra?”

Lee answered, “Unless the jiggling of your breasts causes your chest, or breasts, to hurt when you run, or move around. Or, there is soreness in that location afterward. Then, the answer is, no. You don't. And it will be a long while before you need to worry about sagging issues.”

“Besides, I doubt you are going to be able to get a bra from the guide. At this point in time, the man's daughter is still fairly young. To the point that you are to big for her daughter’s clothing. He is seeing if anything of his own older clothing may fit you.”

“Also, there would be no point in trying on another woman's bra. Because your breast size, and the guide's daughter’s breast size would be different. A woman's bra size is unique. No two breast sizes are the same size. And the adjustments and fittings for a bra have to be specific for each woman, for said woman to be conformable in wearing her bra. That is one of the reasons why bras tend to be expensive.”

Garcia replied, “Oh...” She thought, 'I guess I won't have to worry about that, right now.
And I really don't know why Lee would learn such information far in advance of being cursed. Unless, her reasons for being cursed were more than just saving me, and curing herself of her cancer. Which is very likely.'

Lee stated, “My best suggestion is to wait on getting a bra until you get back home. Then, have Roberta and Fabiola go shopping with you. They can help pick out some bras for you.”

“And let us be honest. Roberta has a fairly large set of breasts of her own. And I even got a good look at Fabiola, when I met her recently. As an adult. She is not that far behind Roberta, in that department. They would know a thing, or two, about bras.”

Garcia could not help be crack a lecherous smile, which looked cut on her female face, as she agreed, “You would be correct about that.” She thought, 'And so, my friends really are after you. At this point, I am surprised you are not more worried about your situation... Unless by saving me, you plan for me to help you out of your mess. I just might. Depending what I learn about you. Though, I doubt you realized I was hear at the time. Still, I don't want you know that I realize any of this.'

Lee returned Garcia's smile, as she thought, 'Garcia is many things. But, even as a she. She is still a teenage... And now to sweeten her mood some...' Lee commented, “And given how kind those two can be to their friends, when they are not on the warpath, I am sure you will have a great time.”

Garibaldi chucked a little at Lee's comment, as she thought, 'Those two taking Garcia shopping for bras, and other unmentionables. Even if they didn't tease Garcia, that would make for a hilarious scene to read...' Her chuckling died in her throat, as she continued her thought, 'Oh... So, that is how easy it is to think of ways of playing with people's lives. No wonder Lee was able to dig herself into such a deep hole, and not even realize it... And I must become more respectful towards the characters in fiction that I am entertained by. Because, I am beginning to realize I am in the same boat as they are.'

Garibaldi then suddenly when quiet. Though, neither of the other two girl present, noticed this.

Meanwhile, Garcia was silent as well, for a few seconds. Her smile then turned warm, towards Lee, as she stated, “That is a pretty good idea. We three would probably have fun doing that.”

Garibaldi reacted casually towards Garcia's reaction. While, Lee did not react at all.

Garcia happily thought, 'Roberta and Fabiola have always been nice. They would not make fun of me, while we shopped for such items. And that one night with Fabiola was... very pleasant. Not that we are ever going to breath a word of the night to anyone. And we did use condoms... So, no chances of any lasting problems...'

Garcia thoughts became more concerned, as she mentally realized, 'Wait a minute... The way Lee stated that... When she said. When they are not on the warpath... Meaning that they currently are on the warpath... So, I was right. Roberta and Fabiola are after her... She even stated that she recently met Fabiola... And I guess she was able to escape them... For now...'

'But, why are those two wonderful women after her?... Even with Chang's connection. Those two would not be so crazy about coming after her. To be honest, it sounds like Chang didn't do anything to Fabiola. He left me along. And he helped Roberta... Hold on... She said she was from the future... But, still why?... The only reason they would come after someone would be if Lee harmed anyone in my household... Such as myself... Such as me being cursed...'

'Somehow, Lee had a hand in me being cursed... Yet. She saved me. Maybe Lee did plan to be here, to save me. And that was not coincidence. She might have saved me, to help get Fabiola and Roberta back off on their revenge against her. Lee clearly is arrogant enough to try something like that.'

'Though, if they from the future, after Chang is defeated, how would Chang be able to come after Garibaldi?... Of course, time travel, across realities. Chang from my present is after Garibaldi. While Lee, from my future, was fleeing my friends, from the future, when Lee bumped into Garibaldi. And Lee decided to help Garibaldi, due to her own actions being partly responsible for why Chang is after Garibaldi in the first place.'

'But, if Roberta and Fabiola are after Lee, why hasn't she been captured, yet. I would likely tell them of what happen here. And that would surely tip them off as to who Lee is, and they would have already captured Lee?... Unless, I decided not to tell them anything... But, I would have to have a very good reason for not telling them... Of course... To prevent a paradox.'

'I am coming to dislike time travel. Especially, when it is time travel that is applied to the multiverse, itself.'

'Still, I need to confirm all this with Garibaldi, before I decide what to do concerning Lee. And I cannot let Lee realize I know this about her.'

Garcia remained calm, as she patiently waited for the guide to return.

And from the looked Garcia saw in Lee's face, she could tell that Lee was none the wiser.

The three girls then remained silent for about a minute, until the guide returned to them.

As the guide walked into the living room, they saw he was carrying some folded clothing, and other items in his arms.

The guide moved to the couch, where he set the clothing down, and divided them up to three groups.

The guide then picked up one group of clothing, with a pair of small black slippers on top, and handed them to Garibaldi. The clothing comprised of a simple yellow short sleeved t-shirt, and black cloth pants, with a drawstring at the waistline. There was no underwear in the clothes.

Garibaldi took the clothing, as she said, “Thank you.” Then, not even caring, as she got of the Lee's coat, set it on a nearby chair. And she then took off her socks, and she quickly began putting on her new clothing.

Meanwhile, the guide intentionally ignored Garibaldi, as he turn back to the couch, picked up another set of clothing, with a small pair of black slippers, and handed the items to Lee. The clothing was like the clothing Garibaldi was handed, only different colors. The clothes comprised of a simple short sleeved red t-shirt, and a blue set of pants, with a drawstring at the waist.

Lee gently took the clothing, as she said, in chinese, “Thank you. And nice color selection.”

The guide replied, in chinese, “You're welcome.”

The guide then picked up the last set of clothing. Which was a large set of folded clothing, which he held out for Garcia to look at.

Garcia saw that the clothing was a purple shirt, black cloth pants, with a drawstring at the waist. Though, this was made for a man, whom was slimmer than the guide currently was.

Garcia thought, 'I guess the guide was slimmer in his youth. And of course he does not have a bra for me. Just as Lee had predicted. Still, I am going to keep my current clothing on. As it is mostly dry. Though, I might as well be polite about this.'

Garcia said, in a kind tone of voice, “Thank you for the offer. But, I think I will keep what I have on.”

The guide smiled at Garcia, as he stated, in english, “No worries, sir. We all prefer to wear our own clothing, and not the clothing of others.”

Garcia let out a soft laughed. She returned the guide's smile, as she replied, “I know what you mean.”

The guide the put that clothing back on his couch.

Nearby, Lee thought, 'I might as well do as Garibaldi did, and just change out of this clothing. Still, while I can do with out the underwear, the lack of socks concern me. Also, how are my socks holding up?'

Lee looked down at the soles of her socks. After checking the bottoms of both her feet, she saw there were more holes than socks on the soles of her feet.

With both feet planted on the floor, Lee thought, 'The dirt and rocks along the path tore into my socks. But, better the socks, than my feet. Though, I might as well lose them.'

Lee began by taking off her socks. As she did so, from corner of her eye, she saw that Garibaldi had just finished putting on her yellow t-shirt, with her just finish putting on her pants, trying the drawstring on them, and tucking in her shirt. She then saw Garibaldi has already taken off her socks, which were on the floor, by her. And she about to put on her pair of slippers.

Lee mentally reflected, 'I guess Garibaldi has the same problem. Still, I just hope the clothing fits. Especially the shoes. There is nothing worse than ill fitting shoes.'

Lee quickly undressed, and she set her discarded clothing on a nearby chair. While Lee did so, the other three in the room, noticed Lee set her combat knife onto the top of her clothing pile. Though, no one said anything about her knife.

Lee then slipped on her new red t-shirt, and blue pants. She adjusted the drawstring, and tied it, to where her pants would not slip off. She also kept her shirt untucked. Next, she slipped her feet into the black slippers, and took a few steps with them on.

Lee thought, 'Okay. The clothing, and shoes are a little loose. But, not to loose. And the interior lining of the slippers seem to be made for a someone use without socks, nor stockings.'

As this went on, Garibaldi soon finished putting on her new slippers. She found that her new clothing and new slipper fit okay. When Garibaldi was finished getting dressed, she dug out her hologram device, from a pocket in Lee's coat, and she put it in a pocket in her new pants.

Lee noticed that Garibaldi had turned to her coat, and she had pulled her hologram device, from a coat pocket. Garibaldi's then stuff the device into the front right pants pocket, of the black pants that Garibaldi wore.

Lee thought, “So, she did not loose the hologram device. Good. Still, I need to do the same as her.”

Lee then turned to her pile of clothing, and pulled put her belongings, such as her lighter, wrist watch, and reality device. She put them in the side pockets of her pants. She then stuffed the sheath in the back of her pants, under her shirt. As she had done before.

When Lee was finished, she turned to Garibaldi as she asked, in english, “How do the not clothes fit?”

Garibaldi turned to Lee, as she answered, “The clothing and shoes are a little loose, but I can live with it. How about yourself?”

Lee stated, “About the same.”

Garibaldi looked down at herself, as she commented, “At least this clothing is very utilitarian. I can live with wearing it.”

Lee smiled, as she replied, “I am glad to hear it.” She thought, 'I kind of like this style, myself.'

Lee looked over at the guide, whom was looking back at her. She continued smiling, as she mentally reflected, 'Now, to thank our host.'

Lee continued to smile, as she stated, in chinese, “Thank you for the clothing, and shoes. They fit fine, and we are happy that you could provide these items for us.”

The guide replied, in chinese, “You're welcome.”

Lee thought, 'I need to ask if his daughter, Plum, is here? Though, I have to be mindful to continue to not mention, Plum, by name. And Plum's mother is never mentioned. So, I will not even bring up the subject of Plum's mother.'

Lee asked, in chinese, “Please, pardon me for asking. You said you got you clothing from your daughter. Is you daughter here?”

The guide calmly answered, “No. She is with some of her friends, at their home.”

Lee said, “That is nice.”

The guide agreed, “Yes. It is.”

Garcia thought, 'Even though I did not take the guide up on his offer of clothing. We still need to repay this man, for all he had done for us. And I believe I am the only one with anything of value, to give him.' She then used her right to reach into her right side jacket pocket.

After which, Garcia walked up to the guide, as she said, “For your help.”

As the guide look over at Garcia, the teenage girl used her left hand to gently grip, the guides left open hand, and bring it up. She turned the guide's left hand face the palm upward.

Garcia used her right hand hand to palmed a gold coin she had, into the guide's left hand.

As Garcia let go of the guide's left hand, the guide looked down at the gold coin in his left hand. The guide smiled, as he quickly pocket it.

The man turned to look at all three of the girls.

The guide happily said, in broken english, “Thank you very much, honor customers.” He thought, 'Now, this is a payment worth taking.'

Lee noticed what Garcia did for the guide. She thought, 'So, Garcia has some gold coins. That is nice. And now that payment is no longer an issue, we can move forward. Still, I would be surprised if most of the guides pay comes from the government. With him acting as a park ranger of sorts for the Jusenkyo area.'

'Speaking of which. I guess now is the best time to request this. I did need to do this, before I leave this place. And there is no time like this present.'

Lee turned to guide, as she requested, in chinese “I could use some hot water, and some cold water, now. I need to test out something. And do not worry, I will disrobe, before I do so. Though, could you please show me to your bathroom. I will like to do my test there.”

The guide thought, 'If what I suspect is true, then I need to speak with the others. But, I first need to make sure.' He said, “That will be fine. This way.”

Lee turned to Garcia and Garibaldi, as she said, in english, “I will be back in five to ten minutes.”

Garibaldi deadpanned, “Don't worry. We will be waiting here.” She mentally added, 'Considering you have the reality device. It is not like we are going anywhere without you.'

Lee ignored Garibaldi's sarcasm. She looked over at the guide, as the guide then lead Lee though a hallway, and to the interior bathroom of the home.

As Lee walked inside the bathroom, the guide turned to her, while stating, in chinese, “The hot water heater is currently turned off. You can get cold water from the faucet. And it will only take a few minutes for me to warm your water, in the kitchen. And bring it to you. I will be back soon.”

Lee simply nodded once in acknowledgment in what the guide had said.

The guide turned, and left Lee in the bathroom, with the door open.

Lee looked around and saw that it was a simple bathroom, with the floor level, eastern style toilet. With a roll of toilet paper attached to a toilet paper holder, on the wall, beside the toilet. There was a sink, with a faucet, and bar of soap on it. Along with a mirror on top of the sink. Nearby was a tub, with a faucet. And there was a closet, in the room, with the small door open to it, to reveal stacks towels, and other bathroom supplies.

Lee thought, 'This is not a bad set up. Considering this place is so far out in the boonies. Now, to wait for a my water.'

(_)

Five minutes later, the guide walked back to the bathroom, with a kettle full of water.

The guide held the kettle of water by the handle, and he set it beside Lee, on the floor.

The guide then looked over at Lee, as he said, in chinese, “Not to worry. It is not boiling. It is just warm enough to reverse the curse.”

Lee replied, in chinese, “Thank you.”

The guide inquired, “Why do you want to change back, considering you have no clothing for your male form?”

Lee thought, 'I might as well tell him.' Lee held up her right hand, for the guide to see, as she calmly said, “Actually, I believe the ring on my right forth finger is magical. And the ring on my finger has locked my curse. But, do not worry. I intentionally put this ring on, knowing what the ring might do. I just wanted to test to see if that was the case. Or not.” She then dropped her hand back to her side.

The guide asked, in a confused tone of voice, “But sir. Why did you do such a thing?” He thought, 'It might actually be one of those rings.'

Lee flatly answered, “It is a very long, and personal story. I will let you know, if I am locked, in a minute.”

The guide just nodded, and shut the door, to the bathroom, with him waiting outside, behind the door.

Lee quickly disrobed, and set the pile of her clothing to the side. She then went to get one of the towels, and set it by her clothing pile. Afterward, she picked up the kettle by the handle, with her right hand, and she walked over to the tub.

Lee poured a bit of water onto her left hand, and found she that while it was very warm, it was not scalding hot.

Next, she leaned her head over the bathtub, and poured the hot water over her head, with the water draining out of the tub.

Lee immediately noticed that she had not changed in size.

As she set the kettle down, on the floor, beside her, she looked down at her body, to see that she was still had the body of a young girl.

Lee thought, 'Guess I am stuck like this... Oh well. I was planning this from the start. So, no worries there. Now, to dry off, and get dressed.'

Lee walked over and grabbed herself a towel. With only her head wet, it took her less than a minute to dry off. She then set her towel on the lip of the tub.

Next, she grabbed her clothing, and she quickly got dressed. When she finished getting dressed, she slipped her feet into the black slippers.

Given how short she was, her head did not clear the sink, so she could not look in the mirror. Nor, did she have her comb with her. So instead, Lee did her best to part her hair, and set it, with her hands.

After that, she walked to the door, turned the knob, and found the guide there, waiting for her.

The guide looked down at her, as he asked, “So, are you locked in that form.”

Lee looked up at the guide's face, as she answered, “Yes. Now, let's go check on the others.”

The guide did not respond, as he turned and let her back to his living room.

While walking, the guide thought, 'So, it is one of those rings. I am going to have to tell them about this girl, and that ring.'

A few seconds later, they reached the living room. As they came to a stop, Garcia, and Garibaldi turned to them.

Garibaldi asked, “So, are you now locked in that form?”

Lee turned to the two other girls, as she answered, in a casual tone of voice, in english, “Yes. I'm locked. Now, let's get out of here.” She turned to the guide, as she requested, in english, “Will you please take us to the amazon village.”

Garibaldi asked, “Why would we want to head there?”

Garcia agreed, “Yea. Given that whole kiss of death, and kiss of marriage thing for outsiders, I would think we would want to avoid that place.”

The guide listened to them. He thought, 'So, they know about those rules. Good. That will save them a whole lot of trouble.'

Lee looked over at the two girls. She smirked, as she stated, “Those after us would be crazy to follow us.”

Garibaldi conceded, “Good point.

Meanwhile, Garcia did not show it on the outside, as she thought, in anger, 'So, you are planning on trying to get Roberta and Fabiola in trouble with the amazons. Through use of the amazon laws for outsiders. That pisses me off.'

'And I will admit that given some of the abilities and powers of the strong amazon women there, they would be a threat to my friends. Still, two can play at that game. I may not tell Roberta and Fabiola about what happened here. So as to prevent a paradox. But, I can subtly warn them in other ways. Such as when I get back home, I will use my curse an excuse to show Robert and Fabiola the Ranma Half series. Both the anime and manga.'

'That will be a good way to subtly warn them. And being forewarned is being forearmed.'

'And in all honesty. They might actually enjoy that series. It is lighthearted series, for the most part. Along with being absolutely hilarious.'

'Then, when they come here, looking for Lee. They will be forewarned of the knowledge and dangers here. And not just of the amazons, but Jusenkyo, and other possible threats, in this area, to avoid.'

The guide said, in english, “Honored sirs. I would be more than happy to take you there.” He thought, 'It save me a trip there, by myself. And they will be able to see this girl, and that ring, for themselves.”

Garcia asked, “How long will it take?”

The guide answered, “A little over an hour.”

Garcia halfheartedly said, “Fine. Lead the way.” She thought, 'Now that I think about it. I believe it is best that we get moving. There is a risk, that if I meet this Roberta and Fabiola, of my future, it might cause a paradox. Or, at the very least, the meeting will raise questions from them that I am not ready to answer, just yet. Plus, I don't want to risk us imposing anymore on the hospitality of this kind man.'

'Still, I got to pee. But, I will just pee, sometime, while we are making our way to the amazon village.'

As they headed for the door, Garcia saw an open box of paper tissues. Garcia slowed down, so she would be last to the door. Then, with the backs of the others turned to her, she grabbed a couple of the paper tissues, and she pocketed them.

A few seconds later, Garcia rejoined the others at the front door of the guide's home.

Lee was in front. As she reached the door, she gently opened to door, and walked outside, first. Garibaldi followed right behind Lee. Then, the guide. And finally Garcia.

Once outside, the three girls moved away from the door. They stood beside each other, as the guide then turned and shut the door behind him.

After the guide used a key to lock it. After he pocketed his key, he turned around to face the three girls. He said, in english, “This way.”

He then turned, and started walking in a direction that went further away from the cursed springs.

The three girls soon followed behind him.

(_)

A little over an hour later, Lee, Garcia and Garibaldi, has been following the guide. As the guide lead them through arch of a gate, they saw they had now entered a small village. The walls that the gate was attached to were made of stones that were painted white. With the stone walls being around ten feet high.

The three girls walked beside each other, as the followed behind the guide, into the small village.

Lee took note of her surroundings, as they came up to, and pass through one of the gates, into the amazon village.

Lee saw that the arch of the gate itself was a basic wood roof, with a pitch of an equilateral triangle. With the roof line ran parallel with the white stone wall. The sides of the arch was wood that was panted red, with the roof of the archway painted brown. And the ridge and eaves the roof of the arch painted green.

Lee thought, “The size of the gate entry under the arch is not that large. I would estimate that the interior of the rectangular archway is around ten feet high, six feet in depth, and sixteen feet wide. Which would allow someone to easily drive a care through. But, no where near the size to allow a large, semi-tractor-trailer truck to pass through.'

Lee also noticed that there were two, open doors to the interior sides of gate. The hinges of the door were located in the center of the interior sides of the arch. The doors were made of a lattice work of iron bars, with a large latches at the ends that attached together went closed. And the doors swung inward, towards the village, so the hinges of the doors would not be damaged from the outside, when closed and locked.

As they continued walking, further into the village, Lee looked around, while she thought, “So, this is the amazon village. It looks nice.'

Lee saw that the buildings in the village were made of wood, and paint white white on the sides, and brown on the roofs. The homes were also moderately large. With some of the buildings being two, or three, stories high.

Lee also saw that around her, and in the far distance, that the village was enclosed on all sides. Either by the painted white stone walls, or, natural rock walls, that acted as barriers to the outside world.

With the outer stone wall fence of chinese amazon village to to run up, flush, against the natural rock walls.

Throughout the village, Lee also saw women, men, and children, in casual clothing for the time, and area, going about their daily business.

A few of the villagers had turned to look at her, the guide, Garcia, and Garibaldi, for a few seconds, before going back to what they were doing.

Lee happily thought, 'Good. We are not attracting too much attention. And soon, I will get Garcia and Garibaldi, to walk with me, and duck behind a building, out of sight. Then, we will leave this reality, for another reality. Though, I still trying to decide where. Perhaps, I will let Garibaldi and Garcia make some suggestions. They are both intelligent, savvy people.'

Lee then saw, in the distance, a group of four large, vertical log poles, planted in the ground. The four vertical logs were attached by ropes, to a large, long horizontally placed log, which was suspended in the air.

Lee continued her thoughts, 'So, that is where the amazon's hold their annual martial arts contest. With the winner getting to eat a feast, prepared for them, in advance of their victory. And this is where Ranma got himself. Well at the time, herself. Into trouble with Shampoo. Ranma's stomach got him, or her, into a whole lot of trouble, during the run of her series. And when it wasn't Ranma's stomach that got him, or her, into trouble, it was Genma's stomach. And Genma did lead a hand in eating some of that feast, without permission.'

'That being said. Though, since this is the past. I need to make sure to avoid the elders. Especially, Cologne. That old, wise woman is way too sharp for us to risk meeting. She will pick up on something being off about us, almost immediately.'

Then, Garibaldi broke Lee's train of thought, as she stating, “Remember. No fighting.”

Lee halfheartedly said, “Amen to that.”

Garcia replied, “I was never one for fighting, if I can avoid it.” She mentally added, 'I have always preferred guile over violence. That is probably why Roberta and Fabiola put up with me.'

Lee thought, 'I might as well ask them where they want to go. But first, I need to know if they are ready to go.' Lee asked, “So, are you to still up for traveling? Or, are you too tired, after that walk?”

Garcia stated, “I am not tired.”

Garibaldi said, “As much as I hate to admit it. I have more energy now, than I have had in years.”

Lee replied, “Good.” She mentally reflect, 'Then, we won't have to stop here, for either of you two to rest, for a little while.'

Garcia asked, “Do you think it would be a good idea to resupply here?”

Lee answered, “No. For obvious reasons. We can resupply after the jump.” She thought, 'The longer we stay here, the more trouble we will have with the locals here.'

Garibaldi said, “I am with Lee on this.”

Garcia responded, “I have to agree with you. Though, I wanted to check with you first.” She thought, 'While I may not like you, Lee. You are clearly knowledgeable on such matters. And getting a second opinion never hurts.'

Lee replied, “No problem.”

A second later, the guide came to a stop, in the middle of a clearing, in the village. With the three girls immediately stopping behind the guide.

The guide had stopped due to him seeing a couple of middle-aged amazon women, in great shape, standing nearby, as they faced each other, while talking to one another. One woman had brown hair, the other woman had dark blue hair.

As the guide looked at the women, he thought, 'Now is my chance to inform them about this black haired young girl, and her ring.'

The guide then turned around to face the three girls, as he said, in english, “Good luck to you, sirs. I hope you have pleasant journeys. But, business to conduct with locals. And I must then return home.”

Lee kindly said, “Thank you for your help.”

Garibaldi looked at the guide. She used her right hand to lightly pull at the top of her shirt, as she commented, “Yea. The clothes are not that bad. And have a save trip home.” She then dropped her right hand to her waist.

Garcia said, “It was nice to meet you. And have nice day, and a safe trip home.”

The guide said, “Thank you. To you three, as well.” He then turned, and calmly walked away from the three girls, and towards two amazon women. The older amazon had dark blue hair, and the other amazon had brown hair. Both of them wore similar amazon clothing styles, in different color combinations. With the local amazon clothing style being shirt, pants, and slippers.

The guide quickly looked behind him for a second, before looking back in front of himself. He saw the three girls he had just left did not seem to mind what he was currently heading towards the amazon women.

The guide thought, 'Good. They are no alarmed by my actions. And I plan to be gone from here, before any problems can occur.'

When the guide reached the two women, the two women turned to him, as the older woman, the one with dark blue hair, asked, in a kind tone of voice, in chinese, “What do you need guide?”

The guide answered, in chinese, “I have just brought a few people that have been cursed by the springs. They are under the girl curse. Two older men, and one teenage boy. They all speak english. And I believe the black haired girl has one of your rings. And that she knowingly used it to lock herself in her new, young, female form.”

Both women each raised an eyebrow, as the dark blue haired amazon replied, “Really? Please, tell us more.”

The guide then did as requested, and he told the two women his tale of meeting the three girls, just outside of Jusenkyo.

(_)

Meanwhile, among the group of three girls, Garibaldi then commented, “You know what. We forget to ask his name.”

Lee commented, “If he had wanted us to know his name, he would of told us.” She thought, 'And to my knowledge, that man was not given a formal name. Though, give how crazy his life likely is. He probably does not share his name with strangers. And the only reasons we know his daughter's name is Plum. Because, when the guide was kidnapped. She went to Ranma for help, and she introduced herself to Ranma and Ranma's friends.'

Garcia said,“Yes. Let us not look a gift horse in the mouth.”

Garibaldi stated, “When you put it like that, I see your point.”

Lee felt pressure building in her bladder. She turned to Garcia and Garibaldi, as she said, “I apologize for this. But, I now have pee.” She looked around, and she saw a set of outhouses, several feet away, to her left. She used her left hand to point at them, as she continued, “And I will be heading there. I will be back a minute. Then, we will find a place in private to leave.” She then dropped her hand back to her side.

Garcia replied, “Take your time.'

Garcia thought, 'I am glad I went on our way over here. It was different. But, not to much trouble. And I did need those tissues. But, I did as you told me to, and everything was fine. And since you and the others were nice enough to wait for me, so I will wait for you.'

Garibaldi said, “No problem. We will be waiting for you, right here.” She thought, 'I guess is makes sense she would want to leave, as soon as possible. But, bodily functions take priority to traveling... I made sure I didn't need to go. At least for a while. Before I logged some flight time hours in a Star Fury, during my days with Earthforce. And going before one leaves is the best, and least embarrassing option there is.'

Lee turned, and she walked away from the two other girls, at a hurried pace, towards the outhouses.

Garibaldi, and Garcia watched Lee get of earshot, and enter an outhouse, with the door shutting behind the black haired girl.

Garcia thought, 'So, Lee is planning on us leaving as soon as she gets back. Now, is my chance, to speak with Garibaldi. I don't know when we might get another chance to talk, without Lee, nearby.' She turned to Garibaldi, and she looked down at Garibaldi head. She asked, in a gentle tone of voice, “Garibaldi, I have a few questions for you?”

Garibaldi turned to Garcia, and looked up at the blond girl's face. She shrugged her right shoulder, as she casually said, “Sure. Go ahead.”

Garcia inquired, in a direct, even tone of voice, “How is Lee responsible in connection to me being cursed? Along with this, what are her connections to Chang, and his organization? Whom have harmed my friends, and is after you. And who exactly is after her? And do they people after her, include my friends, Roberta and Fabiola?”

Garibaldi grinned wickedly, as she stated, “Oh. You figured that out on your own? I'm impressed.”

Garcia responded, “Yes. And thank you. That is why I waited until Lee was away to ask you for any details you can provide, on the matter.”

Garibaldi stated, “Hey. It is completely reasonable that you don't trust, Lee. Neither do I. The only reason I have gone along with her schemes this far is that she has been helpful to me. Still, to answer your questions. You know how Lee said that her explanation for your questions would literally be a long story?”

Garcia replied, “Yes.”

Garibaldi calmly said, “Lee meant that literally. As in our problems with Chang are part of a long story, that Lee personally wrote.”

Garcia raised an eyebrow, as she calmly requested, with interest in her tone of voice, “Do tell.”

Over the next minute, Garibaldi explained the situation to Garcia, in a brief summary. As she did so, she watched as Garcia's face turned more grim by the second.

As Garibaldi finished, she offered, “I will tell you more, when we have more time. And more privacy.”

Garibaldi could tell that Garcia was holding back her rage, as she commented, in an even tone of voice, “I understand. And I will patiently await you full explanation.”

Garibaldi replied, “And I am more than happy to give it.'

Garibaldi mentally lamented, 'Damn. Lee told me something similar, when I started asking him, well now her, some question. I am starting to sound like Lee. That is not a good thing. Though, it does show that Lee is not so different than us. And that if things had been different. We might have ended up on a path similar to her own. That is why I changed my mind, and decided to go easy on her. That and the fact, she bailed my ass out, and she has tried to save lives, while trying to flee for her own life. So, while she is clearly manipulative, she does value the lives of other people.'

Garibaldi then took a closer looked at Garcia's face and body language, as she continued her thoughts, with concern, 'Though, we do not have time for me to tell her everything. It looks like Garcia wants to kill Lee over what Lee has done to her, and her friends. Not that I hold it against her for wanting to do that. But, this is not the time, nor place for such violent revenge. And I will have to remind Garcia of that... Still, later on, we can steal that reality device Lee has, and ditch Lee in someplace that is nice. But, not too nice. And then we will head off on our own adventures, while we search for a cure for our curses.'

Just then, from the corner of her left eye, Garibaldi saw one of the amazons that the guide was talking to, had turned towards them, and starting walking in their direction. The amazon was a middle-aged women, in great shape, whom had dark blue hair.

Garibaldi did not turn to look the amazon, as she thought, 'It looks like one of the women here wants to talk to us. It is best not to alert her that I have already noticed her coming towards us. And I think as long as we don't have a misunderstanding, and avoid any combat, we should be fine talking to them. Though, we may need a translator. Unless they know english.'

When the amazon reached the two girls, the amazon's said, in very good english, “Excuse me. My sisters and I would like to discuss with you about the other girl you are accompanying. The young raven haired girl with the gold and jeweled ring on her right ring finger.”

Garcia and Garibaldi turned to look at the amazon woman that was calmly standing beside them.

The two girls saw that the amazon was a pretty middle-aged woman, with an athletic build. She dark blue hair. And she wore a bright purple shirt, blue pants, and simple brown slippers.

Garibaldi thought, 'She is not a bad looking woman. And the fact she speaks english solves a lot of our problems in talking with her, and her friends. So, I think I will let Garcia do the talking, because when she looks at us. She likely sees just a six year old girl, and an older teenage girl. And in cultures such as this, with Garcia appearing to be the older person between us, she should be the one that speaks for us.'

Meanwhile, Garcia dropped her facial expression of anger, to a calm, neutral expression. She thought, with concern, 'I need to calm down. This is not the time, nor place for anger. And Roberta taught me how to channel my anger, when I needed too. And even though I want to make Lee suffer. Vengeance can wait until we are alone. For right now, I need to see what this woman wants to know about Lee. And I might be able to use that to my advantage against Lee.'

Garcia took a more calm facial expression, as she inquired, in a polite tone of voice, in english, “What would you like to know?”

The amazon kindly asked, “Do you know where she got her gold ring from?”

Garibaldi shook her head, as Garcia answered, “No.”

The amazon calmly said, “Then, we need to talk about your friend, and that ring she is wearing.”

Garibaldi said, “We are open minded to what you to say on the matter.”

The amazon gave the two girls a warm smile, as she replied, “Good.”

Garibaldi thought, 'Hmm... I have a feeling they are planning to do something to Lee. If that is the case, we might not have to dirty our hands. But, if that is the case, there is one thing they need to know, first.'

Garibaldi commented, “Though, if you plan to do anything to her. Be aware that she is a master escape artist.” She mentally reflected, 'And that is an understatement.'

Garcia looked over at Garibaldi, as she thought, 'Intelligent thinking, Garibaldi. And I believe you are helping to set Lee up, to get her out of our hair. And I am more than happy to aid you.'

Garcia looked over at the amazon woman, as she mentioned, “Yes. From what little time I have spent with her, she clearly likes to think several steps ahead of everyone else. But, I have know people that that. And once one knows what to look for, a person can use those skills against such people.”

The amazon did a simple nod towards Garibaldi and Garcia, as she calmly said, “I believe so, as well. And thank you for informing us.”

Garibaldi thought, 'Also, we need to tell them about Lee's knife.'

Garibaldi stated, “Also, she has a sheathed combat knife hidden in the back of her pants, under his shirt.”

I appreciate that warning. Now, here is what I would like to do with your young friend.”

The amazon then explained the situation to them, about Lee.

When the amazon was finished, Garcia and Garibaldi formed wicked grins on their lips, as they informed the amazon woman of what what they knew of Lee. Though, both wisely did not mention reality travel, nor any details that was connected to reality travel. And they did mention their names, nor Lee's name, to the amazon woman.

(_)

A little over a minute later, Lee exited the outhouse. After gently shutting the outhouse door behind her, she started walking back towards her two friends.

As Lee walked at a casual pace, she thought, 'The one thing about being a girl is that it take a few minutes to pee. Especially, when I had to take a minute just to find a comfortable position to sit down, to pee from. Still, at least they had toilet paper, so I could dry myself down there. And it was a western style outhouse. And not a hole in the ground, where I would have had to squat down at, to pee.'

As Lee continued walking, her precognition warned her of danger, just as she saw two shadows form over, her head, from behind her.

Lee tried to run, but the two amazon women behind her, were too quick. They swiftly grabbed her. And in a matter of a few seconds, they had already tied her up, with one of their ropes binding around her arms and chest together, with her arms being at the her sides of her chest. While they also tied her ankles together.

Lee then found herself, laying on her stomach, on the grass and dirt, with two amazon women gently holding her down, by her back, as they knelt to the ground, to each of Lee's sides.

Though, Lee was not in any paid, she found the position slightly uncomfortable. And it was slightly uncomfortable to look up from that position. Though, Lee was able to look up, and to her right side. And she found that her head was pointed towards Garcia and Garibaldi, whom were looking back at her, from several feet away.

And in the distance, Lee saw the Jusenkyo guide calmly walking away, and toward the gate where they had come into the village from.

Lee thought, with worry, and slight confusion, though with no fear, 'What the hell is going on? I don't think I broke any of their laws. And I am not about to scream, and make a scene. That will only make things worse for myself. Though, I still have to know what is going on?... But, I think the guide has the right idea, in leaving before something happens.'

'And at least, as they jumped me, I saw that it was two amazon women that were capturing me. So, I did not resist. Because, I do not need a pair of amazons after me, over the kiss of death matter... Now, let's see how well they tied me up.'

Lee slightly struggled against the ropes, to check to see how loose they were. Though, Lee did so in a matter that would appear as if she was involuntarily trying to stretch her limbs. So as to not alert her captors, whom were sitting right above her, to her sides. And whose hands she felt on her back.

Lee thought, 'Nope. I am not going to be able to wiggle out of the rope. Though, fortunately these ropes are are not too tight, but tight enough that I won't be able to free myself, any time soon. This means they have likely done this before. With is no surprise.'

'Fortunately, I what the two women looked like, as they were turning me around, to tie me up. One of them is a middle-aged amazon woman with dark blue hair. With the other woman being a slightly younger amazon woman with brown hair. They are not teenagers, so they are likely to act more rational. And because of this, I might still be able to talk my way out of this mess... And if not, at least I have my knife for later.'

Lee then felt as one of the women pulled out her sheathed knife, from where it was hidden, in the back of her pants, along her waist line, under her untucked shirt.

The women then threw the knife away from Lee, to her right side, away from Garibaldi and Garcia.

Lee thought, with even more worried, that bordered on fear, 'Oh no. I did not feel them touch me on my lower back, where I hide the knife. So, the only reason they would know that knife would be there, would be if Garibaldi and Garcia had told them about it. Meaning Garibaldi and Garcia betrayed me...'

Lee felt a mix of slight anger and bitterness, as she continued her thoughts, 'And after saving both their lives... Ungrateful bastards...'

Lee focused on Garibaldi and Garcia, whom were still in their cursed forms. And realized her grammatical mistake, as mentally reflected, 'Well, for right now. They are ungrateful bitches... And they would not be the first such ungrateful bitches that are after me.'

'But, they are the first people to so thoroughly capture me, so quickly, in a way that I do not have an escape plan ready for. So, I need to find out why they betrayed me so quickly? So, I can at least learn where I made my mistakes at, and not repeat them.'

Lee continued her thoughts, while beginning to feel genuine fear, 'If I have the chance not too. With amazons, one never knows.'

Lee looked directly towards the faces of Garibaldi and Garcia, whom were looking back at Lee's face. Garibaldi and Garcia has neutral expressions on their faces. Even though the two girls were several feet away from Lee, given there was no wind, Lee was sure they would hear her voice, as she calm asked, in a disappointed tone of voice, in english, “Why?”

Lee saw both Garcia and Garibaldi smirk towards her, as Garibaldi commented, “Well, if you have to ask that question, that means in all your planning, you didn't see this angle coming.”

Lee forced herself to calm down, and remain calm, as she thought, 'She's right. I should have never gloated to her about my calculations and angles, in manipulating people and situations to my benefit. And I should not have been so detailed in my explanation to her about my stories, and why those people that are after me, want revenge against me... Still, it is best that I remain calm, and for me to try to make the best of this situation.'

Lee calmly requested, with disappoint in her voice, in english, “Could you please explain your actions? And why you are doing this? Starting with when you decided to betray me?”

Garcia answered, in a slight arrogant tone of voice, “Certainly. While you were using the restroom, I got to talking with her?...” She looked over at Garibaldi, as she inquired, “I hope you don't mind me using female pronoun?”

Garibaldi looked over at Garcia, as she casually responded, “None taken. And it is best we don't use our names, anyway. So, we will just use the proper gender pronouns, depending on our gender forms.”

Garcia said, “That will be fine.”

(_)

Meanwhile, the dark blue haired amazon woman was kneeling by Lee's left side, across from her brown haired friend, as they held gently held Lee down. The two women silently listened to the conversation, as the blue haired woman thought, with mild joy, 'I am glad I and my friend here, took foreign language lessons when I was younger. Because, the conversation between these three individuals is becoming very interesting.'

'And I am glad I already sent a runner to go get our leader, before we even tied up this girl. So, she can handle this mess. Because, I am not sure that I can. Due to this, I think it is best I just let this play. Given we are only interested in the black haired girl, and not the other two.'

(_)

Both Garibaldi and Garcia looked back at Lee, as Garcia went onto say, “And Garibaldi mentioned that you are responsible for much of the problems that my friends, and I, are in. Including this curse.” She then used her hands to gesture towards the front of her chest, and down to her stomach, and waist. After which, she left her hands remain relaxed, to her sides.

Lee thought, with mild annoyance, more towards herself, than those that just betrayed her, 'So, Garibaldi told her, behind my back. I should have seen that coming. Well, I might as well be straightforward about this.'

Lee admitted, in a direct tone of voice, “Everything after you, and your two maid friends return from Asia, to South America, with your older friend crippled and maimed, is my fault. Though, I did repair your older friend's mind and body. Along with restoring her youth.”

Garcia complimented, in an insincere tone of voice, “That is nice. But, that nowhere near makes up the rest of what you have done to us.”

Even though Lee realized she was in a really bad situations. Lee thought, with mild amusement, 'It is poetic. And somewhat ironic. That of all the people I have faced. It turns out that the two people that have finally taken me down, is the nonviolent teenage badass, and the much older retired badass.'

'And Roberta and Fabiola that are after me are from the future, when Garcia is an adult. And those two women still feel that Garcia is not mature enough to handle his own affairs. Because they came after me, behind Garcia's back. Without informing Garcia. After this, it is very clear that Garcia can handle his, or her, own problems. Even at the younger age that Garcia is currently at.'

'And it is tempting to mention that I am not responsible for cursing Garibaldi, but I pointing that out, at this time, will only make myself look worse in their eyes. Still...' Lee grumbled, at a normal tone of voice, “I admit that I did not see this coming. Though, I should have seen this coming. I just have one question for both of you. Why didn't you two just wait until I was asleep, and steal my device, and ditch me, then?”

Garcia answered, “Well, the amazons here came over to talk to us, about you.”

Garibaldi commented, “The dark blue haired woman that is holding you can speak very good english.”

To Lee's left, she heard a woman's voice plainly say, in english, “Yes. I know your language. And thank you for the compliment.”

Lee saw Garibaldi look up, and to Lee's left, as Garibaldi responded, “You're welcome.” She then looked back down at Lee's face.

Lee sarcastically thought, 'That is just great. It means that I am going to have to be even more careful about what I say, while I am here... Though, that could work in my favor, later on. If plan A, in getting everyone around me to let me go, does not work.'

Garcia commented, “And the nice lady here stated that they have an interest in you. Something about the ring on your right forth finger, that locked you in your current female form.”

A mixture worry and mild fear broke through Lee's poker face, as she thought, 'Oh no...'

Garibaldi finished for her friend, as she stated, “And well. Since we both realized that you are nothing but trouble. And the fact you now the body of a little girl, with no way to change back. Not that I blame you. It was this, or the cancer killing you. We decided to leave you in the care of some people that are interested in you.”

Lee's voice dripped with sarcasm, as she said, “I am deeply touched.”

Garibaldi and Garcia responded to Lee's sarcastic remark, by lightly laughing, for a few seconds.

As they did so, Lee took a good hard look at them, together, in their cursed forms, as she mentally realized, 'It is them...'

As the two girls stopped laughing, Garibaldi noticed the look on Lee's face. She questioned, “What it is?”

Lee remained silent for a few more seconds.

Garcia inquired, in a slightly arrogant tone of voice, “Nothing to say?”

Lee casually said, “Actually, I was just reflecting on a minor temporal event that happened to me a while back. For me, the event has already happened. For you, it has yet to happen. Basically, as a girl, you beat me up my male past self. With a friend of mine, along with our blond friend here stopping you from your continued attack on me.”

Garibaldi could not help be giggle at the mental image Lee's comments caused her to form in her mind. She then said, “I looked forward to it.”

Lee conceded, “Yea. And I consider that one of the low points of my life.” She then looked over at Garcia, as she stated, “And after this and that, I consider us even.”

Garcia coldly stated, “We are not even close to even.” She then conceded, in her normal tone of voice, “But, this is a start.”

Lee casually responded, “Glad to hear it.”

Garibaldi said, “Now, we must go. But, we need something from you, first?”

Lee thought, 'I already know what it is. And for now, it is best just to let them have it.' She calmly stated, “The item is in my left front pants pocket.”

Garibaldi said, “Thank you.”

Lee coldly stated, “I just don't want you to pat me down, while I am like this.”

Garibaldi replied, with just a hint of warmth in her voice, “I understand.”

Garibaldi then walked over, and in front of Lee's head. Garibaldi turned to her right, as she looked at the dark blue haired woman face, whom was kneeling beside Lee, while keeping her hands on Lee's back.

Garibaldi saw the dark blue haired woman looked at her, as Garibaldi asked permission, in a kind tone of voice, “May I please get the item I need from the girl you are holding down?”

The amazon woman casually replied, in english, “Go ahead.” She thought, 'I have a feeling that it is best we just let these two get what they need, and leave. And it is clear that this girl's manners, she must older than her physical body shows. That is not surprising. The guide did said that this girl, and the one we are holding down, are two older men that have been cursed. Along with the blond teenage girl being a cursed boy as well.'

'And their curses are a reminder as to why, barring special circumstances, we are told not to go to the Jusenkyo. Because it is a dangerous place to go.'

'Though, I do wish the teachers would teach the younger generations about Jusenkyo in more detail. Instead of just saying that it is dangerous place to go too. And that it should be avoided.'

Garibaldi leaned over Lee's head, as she used her right hand to reach into Lee's front left side pants pocket. A second later, she felt the reality device, and she gently pulled the device out of Lee pocket.

Afterward, Lee silently watched as Garibaldi leaned up, turned around, and walked back over to stand with Garcia. Next, Lee saw Garibaldi turn around, to face her, as Garibaldi held the reality device in her hands.

Lee thought, 'I am screwed. And I know it. But, I need to check on how much Garibaldi and Garcia know, on to use that device. Or, they could have a similar situation as I wrote the Lowe siblings to have in book four. It is better they know how to work it, and go where they want. Than to randomly bounce around the multiverse. That is just asking for trouble.'

Lee inquired, “I take it you put two and two together, from Garcia’s story, on how to reality travel?”

Garibaldi turned to Lee, as she plainly answered, “Yes. Think of a time, place, and reality, hold that thought, and press the red button on the device.”

Lee thought, 'Good. Garibaldi understands exactly how to use the reality device. That means they will likely not get lost.' She complimented, “You always did have an eye for details.”

Garibaldi replied, “Yes. I do. And so do you. See you later. And good luck.”

Garcia looked over at Lee, as she said, “I would say this was fun. But, I just want this trip to be over.”

Lee commented, “Don't worry. I already wrote the ending. As I said. You will see your friends again. With all three of you being in good health. And I kept what I wrote vague enough that you should be able to choose how it plays out. By the way, your eighteenth birthday is going to be real fun. Very adult fun. And I was vague with that event, as well.”

Garcia realized the subtext of what Lee was saying. She smirked, as she stated, “I look forward it, then.” She thought, while being happy, 'That means this trip is not going to be very long. Considering my eighteenth birthday is not that far off.'

While Lee did not show it on the outside, inwardly she thought, with a bit of evil, 'Yea. Be happy for the moment, Garcia. For while I am okay with facing this. For betraying me, I am going to let you to find out the hard way that you will now face monthly periods, like natural women... On the other hand, it is going to be a while for Garibaldi, and my, female forms to reach that point...'

'I knew that before I went into the spring of drowned girl, and then locked myself in this form. And given Garibaldi is married, and has a daughter, those matters on rattling in the back of her head, as well. Though, she probably does not want to mentally acknowledge those issues, yet. Let alone mention them out loud...'

'Still, there is one thing I have to ask of them. Especially, Garcia. And I have to keep this vague, for all our sakes.'

Lee calmly stated, “Though. There is one other matter, I need to discuss with you, before you abandon me here. To prevent a paradox from occurring. I need you both to keep all that you know about me, a secret from everyone. Especially, the maids. Until after they return from their hunt for me. You will know when the time is right, with the time periods reaching parallel when you, when they mention my name, and a city called De La Plata Podrido. With them admitting to losing me at Jusenkyo.”

Lee thought, 'Because, after whatever the amazons do to me. There is not way the maids are going to find me. Plus, they will be tracking my reality device, not me, as I am, now.'

Garcia thought, 'A city called, Of The Rotten Silver. I guess it would make sense that Lee would be from such a city. From the name of the city, it sounds like it would be almost as corrupt as Roanapur. Still, I can understand Lee's reasoning for her request. And it seems that from writing her stories, that Lee has gained a firm understanding of temporal mechanics across multiple realities. Which worries me a little. Considering she is trying to manipulate Garibaldi and I. With all three of us knowing that we have to do what Lee wants. Or, it could cause even problems for all of us.'

Garcia coldly stated, “I will do as you ask. But, not for your sake. But, for the sake of my friends. Considering it sound likes everything turns out okay, for them, in the end. I can live with keeping your secrets.”

Lee thought, 'You would be correct... For the most part...'

Garcia questioned, “Though, you still think you can lose them?”

Lee stated, “They are tracking reality jumps. And they would never guess that I would be betrayed and stranded. Especially, by you, of their past. Instead, they will just guess my plan, as you have. And they will just follow you, without knowing you ditched me here.”

Garcia conceded, “I guess that makes sense. And if they find us, we will talk. And they might even call off the hunt for you. Should they learn what happened to you. Though, I believe I will at least tell them that you are taken care of. And leave it at that.”

Garcia thought, 'And because Roberta and Fabiola clearly went behind my back to hunt for you, I believe it would be best not to ask Roberta and Fabiola any uncomfortable questions.'

Lee complimented, “That would likely be best. You truly are better person than most people.”

Garcia remarked, in an even tone of voice, “I know. That is why I am not going to kill you, myself. But instead, I will leave you here, and let the locals deal with you.” She looked above Lee, and to the amazons holder Lee, as she continued, “However they want.”

Lee hear the two amazon women both her, slightly giggling. As the amazons noticed Garcia was talking about them, as Garcia looked at them.

Lee gave Garcia a weak smile, as she said, “Given how all our luck runs. I might be getting the better end of the stick, here.”

Garcia turned back to Lee, as she responded, “Perhaps. Either way. Goodbye.”

Garibaldi looked at Lee, as she said, in a sincere tone of voice, “Nice meeting you. And I do we wish did not have to part this way. But, I believe it is for the best... For all of us. Also, thank you for opening my eyes to much greater realities. No pun intended. I thought that my life had already peaked, but thanks to you, I realize that my life has only just begun.”

Lee responded, “You are welcome. And have a safe trip.” She thought, 'Okay. At least Garibaldi is grateful for what I have done for her.'

Garcia turned to Garibaldi, as she requested, “Please, get us out of here.”

Garibaldi looked over at Garcia, as she said, “With pleasure. Do you have any time, place, and reality, in mind?”

Garcia was quiet for a few seconds. She then suggested, “Star Trek Federation Earth, during the Next Generation period. That that place, time and reality, sounds like a good start to this trek.”

Both of them giggled a little at Garcia's joke, for a few seconds.

Lee held back a giggle of her own, as she thought, 'They look like a couple of giggling school girls, from different grades. That is wrong on so many levels.'

As they calmed down, Garibaldi agreed, “Yes it does. I always wondered why they called the Earth of that reality, paradise?”

Garcia said, “Then, let us find out for ourselves.”

Garibaldi complimented, “Good idea.”

Garcia commented, “I suggest we head to New Orleans, Louisiana, of that reality.”

Garibaldi guessed, “Sisko's Creole Kitchen restaurant?”

Garcia grinned, as she answered, “Exactly.”

Garibaldi returned Garcia's grin. She shrugged, she suggested, “Well, if we are going to New Orleans. We might as well go during Mardi Gras.”

Garcia happily stated, “I like that idea.”

Garibaldi said, “I am glad you do. Besides, I am in the mood for some gumbo, for lunch.”

Garcia commented, “I never had that type of food before.”

Garibaldi explained, “It is a slightly spicy, tomato based soup. You will probably enjoy it.”

Garcia gave Garibaldi a warm smile, as she agreed, “I think I will. Though, we don't have any real money for that reality. I just have some gold coins. And we both know from DS9, that gold is worthless there.”

Garibaldi returned Garcia smile, as she pointed out, “That is a good point. I am sure we will figure something out. Besides, they don't use money on that Earth, at that time.”

Garibaldi thought, 'And while Gold maybe worthless in that reality, at that point in time. I am sure those gold coins will come in handy in other realities. Now, let's get this show on the road.'

Garibaldi requested, “Now, get close to me. So, we can do this together.”

Garcia took a step closer to Garibaldi, to where they were standing side by side. She said, “Okay. And if we do need to barter. I am more than happy to use some of my gold coins to help us. For their historical value.”

Garibaldi complimented, “Now, that is a good point.” She mentally added, 'And Garcia. I don't mind that you were secretly holding on to some gold, just in case. That is not a bad move on your part. Now, to head out of here, and to where, when, and what reality, we want to go to. I need to focus, to do this right.

Garibaldi then thought of the time, place, and reality. She held that thought, as she pressed the red button on the reality device.

A split second later, Lee watched both girls disappear.

Lee looked back down, to her right side, as she place her head in a more comfortable position. She thought, with a bit of sadness, 'Well they're going. With my ticket out of this reality.'

Lee tried to look on the bright side of her situation, as she continued her thoughts, 'Though, at least, I don't have a crick in my neck, from straining my neck in the position I needed to see them with.'

Lee thoughts then turned more grim, 'Still, Garibaldi and Garcia are about to go have a nice gumbo lunch, while I am left to proverbially stew in my own problems here... The party left without me. The story of my life.'

Lee forced herself to calm down, as she continued her thoughts, with more seriousness, 'Okay. Let's review my current situation. I was just betrayed by two people I had risked life and limb to help. I have been captured, and tied up by chinese amazons. For reasons I don't really understand, at the moment. And I just lost my only ride out of this reality.'

'The good news is that it could be worse. I did plan for this happening. I just did not expect it to happen so soon. That when I came to this reality, I made sure this was the composite reality that Ranma, Akira, and Natsuru are from. And this place has the resources to build reality devices. And reality travelers live on this planet. Or, will soon live on this planet. Considering this is the past, before the events of book one. So, I got time to grow up a little. At least physically. And I know where to find these reality traveler's at. Or, at least their friends and relatives. Whom will eventually put me in touch with them.'

'Now, for my more immediate problems.'

'I just have to make it through this capture, to where I will wait for the opportunity to escape, without actually defeating any of these women. So, I avoid the kiss of death. This should not be so hard for someone with my skills, and patience. From there, well...'

Lee then realized a few problems she was going to have, after she escaped. As she mentally reflected, with worry, 'I might have a little trouble. A child in a foreign land. Especially, a girl. With no money, is not a good position to be in. But, as an outsider, my other options, in staying in this village, with these amazons, are likely worse.'

'Still, I need to see how the next few hours are going to play out for me. And from there, I will make my long terms plans.'

'Though, first thing is first. Let's get this ball rolling.'

Lee said, in chinese, “I may look like a child. But, I am a much older person. And I realize you have captured me, with no way to quickly escape. I will not run, but could you please, at least, sit me up. Lying face down in the dirt is no fun, for anyone.”

A moment later, Lee heard a much more mature, female voice, that was not the voice of the dark blue haired woman, state, in a casual, though curious tone of voice, in chinese, “My. My. My. What do we have here? This is no way to treat a guest. Especially, one whom has show such remarkable restraint. No pun intended. So, do as she requests. Sit her up. And turn her around to face me.'

The two amazons women whom had been holding Lee down, picked her up, turned her around, and sat her down on her butt.

Lee then saw whom had ordered the two women to do so.

Lee saw that the woman in front of her was only a few feet tall, and skinny, from the look of her hands. And she appeared to be very, very old in age. She had blue-green eyes, and flowing white hair, that went down her back, and with the hair being long than she was tail.

The woman wore a green shirt that was several times to big inside for her small frame. With the shirt acting as a robe that went below her feet. Her shirt had red trimming, and a yellow encircled cross on the front center of it. She also wore a red headband across her brow, and down the sides of her face, in front of her ears, that pushed her hair away from her face.

The woman was currently holding tightly to a six foot long, brown, wooden cane, with the top foot of the can having gnarled, curled end.

The women tightly held her cane from the upper half of the staff, with her hands and legs, with the can resting along the right, front side of her chest, as the bottom part of the staff was planted in the ground, the woman balancing

While the women did this, she showed remarked balance, as the feet her body was a feet feet above the ground, as she balanced and steadied herself with the bottom, flat end of the cane.

Also, given she showed little effort in have the bottom of the staff on the ground, as she stayed up right, with her feet almost yard above the ground.

This balancing act showed the that the woman's experience was profound, and her strength belied her age.

Lee immediately recognized the woman, as she sarcastically thought, 'Just great. This woman is Cologne. The leader of this amazon village. She is at least three hundred years old, and still a powerful fighter. With immense spiritual power, and wisdom. Which she has gained over the centuries. And even at her advanced age, she is still likely one of the sharpest, and most intelligent people that I know of in the multiverse... Well, at least I am in the hands of someone that not actually evil. She is just very, very crafty. And she has a wicked sense of humor.'

Cologne said, “I am Cologne, the leader of these Amazons.”

Lee thought, 'Now, to see if I can get myself out of this mess.' She responded, in a pleasant tone of voice, in chinese, “Hello Cologne. I already know who you are. If I have done something to unknowingly offend your people. I sincerely apologize. And I am willing to make reasonable amends.”

Cologne said, “You done nothing to offend any of us. It is just that my sisters over did it, a little, when the two other girls mentioned you were an expert escape artist.”

Lee thought, with relief, 'Good. This could be actually turn out to be a misunderstanding. Where I might be able to convince Cologne to let me go. Still, I best be honest with her. She can likely spot a lie, a mile away. I would not be surprised if she is psychic. She can likely read auras. She might even have telepathic and empathic abilities. If she does, I am already screwed. So, I am not going to worry about that possibility.'

'Though, either way, I am not going to tell her everything. I am going to make her work for it. Like any girl would do.'

Lee conceded, “I admit that I have some experience in such endeavors.”

Cologne raised eyebrow, as she smiled. She replied, “Really?”

Lee thought, 'She knows I am older than I look. Though, anyone that would have listened to the recent conversation I had with Garibaldi and Garcia, would realize that. But, I am not going to state that out loud, and confirm that fact in public.'

Lee just shrugged, as she said, “Yes. You could say I have lead an interesting life. Though, I doubt my life has been no where near as interesting as yours.”

Cologne commented, “Perhaps... But, I will learn more from you, soon enough. In private.”

Lee thought, 'I have feeling that a private talk with her will not bode well for me. And my precognition confirms that. Still, there is nothing I can do about that, for right now.'

Cologne turned her attention to the two amazon women to Lee's sides, as she calmly order, “Bring her to my home. But, keep her tied up.”

Lee thought, 'There goes my plan for convincing her to untie me. Though, perhaps I should feel flattered. She does consider me to be an escape artist.'

Lee heard the blue haired amazon woman say, in chinese, “I will take care of it.”

Lee forced herself to remain calm, as she continued her thoughts, in a more logical manner, 'It is best I not fight them on this. Struggling would ruin the wonderful first impression I am having with their leader, Cologne. And I can use that first impression to my advantage.'

Lee felt two hand picks her up, and carried her and carried the woman's over shoulder. From the look of the hair on the woman that carried her, she saw that it was the dark blue haired woman, that was carrying her.

Lee looked behind her, to see the brown haired amazon woman walking away from them, as they made their through the village, while other women and man, they passed by, looked on.

(_)

A few minutes later, Lee heard a door open, behind her. She then watched as the woman carrying her walked into a building.

Soon, the dark blue haired woman stopped, and gently set Lee down, on the floor, in a sitting position.

Lee looked up to see Cologne using her cane, to stand there, in front of her. Lee looked around to see she was in a very nicely furnished living room. And she also saw that the only other person in the room, besides Cologne and herself, was the blue hair amazon woman, to Lee's left side.

Lee then looked back at Cologne.

Cologne turned younger, middle-aged amazon woman, as she calmly ordered, “Leave us.”

The blue haired woman then turned around, left the room, for the outside. With her gently closing outside door behind them.

With only the Cologne and Lee in the room. Cologne looked down at Lee, as she hopped down from her staff, and onto the wood flooring of the home. With Cologne holding the bottom of her staff, with her right hand, while leaning it against her right shoulder.

Lee saw that there were only a few feet between Cologne and herself.

Even while sitting, Lee had to slightly look down at Cologne's smaller form.

Cologne inquired, in a slightly amused tone of voice, “Now, who do I have here?”

Lee plainly answered, “A cursed individual, whom knows she is in a whole lot of trouble.”

Cologne chuckled for, a few seconds. As she calmed down, she smiled, while she said, “I will give you this. You are a lot brighter than most of the guests I meet here.”

Lee calmly replied, “Thank you.”

Cologne responded, “You're welcome. Also, I noticed when you are speaking my native tongue. Though, you have a slight taiwanese accent. Where did you learn chinese from?”

Lee thought, 'There is no point in lying about my language skills.' She answered, “As you have guessed. A taiwanese lady taught me.”

Cologne said, “Well... That island does produce some interesting people.”

Lee thought, 'You don't know the half of it... Or, maybe you do. I don't know how much traveling you have done in your long life. Though, it was likely a lot. Considering you had no problems getting to Japan, in the future. Even at your advanced age.'

Cologne asked, “Besides your speaking skills. How good are you with reading and writing my native language?”

Lee answered, “Cantonese and Mandarin are decent.” She thought, 'Shenhua really knows chinese, and not just her native version.' Lee said, “But, while I can write chinese characters very slowly, my penmanship was never my strong suit. In any language.” She mentally added, 'Which is ironic, considering I am a writer.' Lee verbally continued, “I prefer to type, than to write long hand. I find it much easier. Though, I have little experience in typing chinese. I have mostly typed in english. Which is my native language.”

Cologne questioned, in a calm tone of voice, “We will work on that. Also, I listened to your conversation, from a distance. After I was informed about you. I showed up around the time you were tied up. From what was said, it sounds like none of the three of you are from this place. Also, it seems that your two friends took something from you, and they used that item to suddenly disappear. Please, explain yourself? And where you are from?”

Lee thought, 'I am willing to bet she can tell if I lie. I might as well be honest. I still might be able to talk my way out of this. Since, I am not crazy enough to fight them. Though, I need to keep this as simple an explanation as possible.'

Lee coyly answered, “We used an item, that the other two took off with, to get here. My item is similar to the magical Nanban mirror, only with a wider selection of locations to go to.”

Cologne asked, “And how do you know about that lost relic?... Oh. Time travel.”

Lee said, “Something like that.” Lee sarcastically thought, 'Now, that I think about it. I don't believe it was a good idea mentioning that magical mirror. Still, I may be able to barter my way out of this mess.'

Lee offered, “As you can guess. I am from the future. And I can offer you knowledge of the future, in exchange for my freedom”

Cologne casually responded, “My dear. I prefer not knowing the future. Such surprises, as what the future brings, are one of the few joys I left in my life.”

Lee thought, with disappointment, 'Well, that offer was a bust. Though, it does explain, why most of the time, she just stood back and watch the chaos from a front row seat. Though, I might as well be polite about this. So, I can at least stay in her good graces.'
Lee said, “Then, you have much joy to look forward to in the future.”

Cologne commented, in an amused, and curious tone of voice, “What an interesting response.”

Lee thought, 'Yes. It is. And sense we are talking about time travel. There is a question I need to ask, so I can find out exacting where I am in the timeline.'

Lee inquired, “I have a question for you. While I am from the future. I do not know the exact dates on the events that happen to you, in the future. So, to gauge when in time I am located, at this moment, I was wondering is you could kindly tell me how old is you great-grand daughter, Shampoo?”

Cologne scowled slightly. Her voice took as suspicious tone, as she questioned, “To answer your question. She is fifteen years old. Still, what does my great-grand daughter have to do with the future?”

Lee thought, with worried, 'I hope I didn't get on her bad side, with that question. Though, I got my answer. And I can still smooth things over.' Lee plainly stated, “In several months, to a years time, her life, and your life, are going to become much more interesting.”

Cologne dropped scowl, as she smiled. She said, in a casual tone of voice, “I look forward to it.”

Lee thought, with relief, 'Good. She calmed down some.'

Cologne asked, “So, why did you curse yourself?”

Lee honestly answered, “I was dying of cancer. And this was the only way left for me to cure my cancer.” She mentally added, 'Among other issues that are now solved with the gender change.'

Lee saw look of pity show Cologne's eyes, as the older woman calmly stated, “That is understandable. Also, in addition to locking you in your cursed form. As long as you keep that ring on, you will not change back. Also, that ring will keep you healthy. Along with boasting your physical abilities, and longevity, a bit.”

Lee thought, 'Given how deep I am in, it is best I don't ask Cologne how she knows about my ring. And she just confirmed my hopes of locking my cursed from. Still, I need to know what her plans are for me.'

Lee calmly inquired, “So, what do you have planned for me?”

Cologne calmly said, “Nothing horrible. Though, there are likely a few things about your cursed body that you may not be aware of.”

Lee deadpanned, “I know about monthly periods, sexual intercourse, where babies come from, bras, and having to sit to pee. Though, all but that last one I don't have to worry about for a number of years.”

Cologne chuckled for a few seconds. She conceded, in a casual tone of voice, “Well, at least you know a few things. But, none of those were the subjects I was talking about. While gender change from the cursed springs will not change you mental gender, unless you want it too, the extreme youth your body change has been given you will cause personality changes.”

Lee thought, 'I don't like where this is going. But, I need to remain honest.' She admitted, “That possibility occurred to me. So, could you please explain?”

Cologne stated, “Well, even though the curses, barring the personality curses, do not directly effect the personality of those that are cursed. The body itself can, due to factors of change in hormone levels, and the maturity of one's brain. For those with animals, and those made very young, when a person changes back into their original form, it reset the equilibrium of their personality, back to the way they were.”

“While you have very good reasons in doing so. Because you locked yourself into that six year old, female form, there is no way to reset the equilibrium of your personality. You now have the physical brain, body, and hormone levels, of a six your old girl. And due to these biological changes, which you have undergone, you will soon slowly start to think like a six year girl. Both in lack of judgment and hyperness. But, you will still retain your memories.”

“This will cause problems for you, as you grow up again. The combination of having the memories of an adult, and the personality of a child, will likely lead to extreme social isolation, and possible, eventual insanity.”

Lee mentally grumbled, 'Forget escaping. This is bad. Very bad. This could be the reason I have been off my game since I was cursed. My younger, child brain could already be effecting my mind. I am clearly no longer as sharp as I once was. And looking back, I noticed that Garibaldi was acting a bit more childish than usual, with her sniping remarks. So, we are both effecting. But, Garibaldi will changed back soon, into an old man, for a little while. As such, his mind will eventually find a balance, and be fine. While I am forced to be locked in this form...'

'Though, to be honest. This is the way I planned it. And I have no regrets on cursing myself and locking myself in this from. Barring the very young age, I finally feel comfortable in my own skin and that is such a wonderful feeling.'

'Also, this kind of reminds me of female gender forms of Stan and Lewis Lowe. If they stay female for four days or more. They start acting crazy, like their mother use to be. Until, they changed back.'

'And I realize that as time passes, I am going to become more childish with each passing day. Which does not really scare me, but it does concerning me for several reasons.'

'Also, I see now that I have been to open, and making to many assumptions with Garibaldi and Garcia. And doing so cost me. And being childish, in the situation I am in, will either get me killed, or worse. And I have unwilling gone the isolation route, as I grew up the first time. I do not want to go through with that again.'

'Perhaps Cologne has a solution to my problems. I will just listen, to see if she presents an option, so I do not have to request one.'

Cologne mentioned, “Also, that ring will slow down your age by half. So, you are going to spend twice as long as a child, and teenager, before you reach adulthood.”

Lee stated, the obvious, in a sad tone of voice, “This is not good.” She thought, 'On top of everything else, I did not plan to be a child for that long. I guess, a bit, is a lot longer for a woman that is over three centuries old.'

Cologne said, in a soothing, motherly tone of voice, “Yes. But, not to worry. This is not the first time this has happened. We have experience in dealing with people in your situation. We have even development a method to help people like you.”

Lee thought, 'I don't like the way she is approaching her solution.' She inquired, with worry evident in her voice, and on her face, “Help in what way?”

Cologne calmly explained, “My people have a special type of shampoo, used in conjunction with pressure points located on the scalp, which allows us to sealed the memories of those we use it on. Depending on what pressure points are applied on the scalp, while using the shampoo, we can select what memories are sealed. Sometimes just the memories of specific person, or event, that the user knows, all the way to sealing a person's entire memory.”

Lee thought, 'I remember this from the Ranma Half series. And she clearly plans to do this to me.' She stated, “Formula one one four.” She calmly though, 'And formula one one nine reverses it. Or, extreme stress can reverse the effects. Though, I am not going to say that. Given, you might not like the idea that I know the cure. Even though I won't remember it, after you brainwash me.'

Cologne questioned, with slight interest in her voice, “Ah, you have heard of this technique?”

Lee calmly answered, “Yes. And I can see how that shampoo could also be useful in helping a person deal with, and move on from a traumatic event.”

Lee could tell that Cologne was impressed by her comment. Cologne responded “Yes. It has been used in that way before. And since you know that much. You likely also know the process is painless?”

Lee casually replied, “And the technique will leave my hair feeling silky smooth, for a little while.”

Cologne warmly giggled, for a few seconds. She then mentioned, in a relaxed tone of voice, “That is one of benefits of the technique. And what I will do is seal your memories. Which will leave you as a child, whom has no memory of her past.”

Lee grimly thought, 'And I bet with no memories, for such children, this also allows you to mold their personalities, as they grow older. Though, there are limits to even that. In many cases, a person's likes, dislikes, and reactions to stimuli are inborn. Though, I wonder how I will turn out in this situation?...'

Lee then remembered an event that happened to her in her recent past. She thought, with annoyance, 'Damn it! Due to being on the run from Rock, Revy, the maids, and everyone else, I completely forget, until now, about the chinese amazons, I met, that were from the future... So, this is how that happened. And I am trapped in my on temporal loop. I do not want to create a paradox. And I cannot really disagree with Cologne's logic in doing this. Though, I am not happy about it.'

Lee conceded, “I will admit that I see your logic. But, I am not happy about this.”

Cologne stated, in a kind tone of voice, “Look on the bright side. You will get to experience being a child, again. This is not such a horrible fate.”

Lee countered, “As a female outsider. I know the laws of this village. One stupid fight later, and I get the kiss of death.”

Cologne stated, “No. Because you will have no memories of your past, you will be adopted in to the tribe. As I said, we have done this a few times. Both girls, and boys. And we have figured out how to make it work. Sometimes the person doesn't even originally know our language, and we have to teach it to them. While you do know our language. And not to worry, even with your memories sealed, you will retain all your skills. You will just have no the knowledge on how you gained your skills.”

Lee inquired, “I will admit that does not sound too bad. And what happens when I ask about my birth family, and old memories?”

Cologne answered, “We will say you have been with us since birth, you hit your head, and you no longer remember your past from before the accident.”

Lee stated, “That should work. And I understand what you are saying. I will not fight the process. But, I ask for a minute to remember.”

Cologne asked, “Of what?”

Lee sadly answered, “I want the last memories I know of, as myself, to be about my family, and my friends.”

Cologne replied, “That will be fine.”

In response to Cologne, Lee began recalling everything she knew, and remembered, of her family, and friends. Including her friends in De La Plata Podrido, Pedro, Melvin, Bao, and especially, River.'

As Lee did so, she watched a Cologne hold her staff with her right hand, as she used her left hand to pull out, from her clothing, a small bottle of shampoo, labeled one one four.

Lee thought, 'She likely knows the hidden weapons techniques that Mousse excels out.' She then went back to recalling some of the better times she spent with her family and friends.

Cologne complimented, “Those are very wise thoughts, young one. And you are certainly young, no matter what age you really are. Still, take comfort with the knowledge that this technique is not permanent. It can be easily reversed. And we will usually make the offer to do so when the person affected reaches a level of mental maturity to handle the truth. Usually, when the body is around twenty years old.”

Lee dispassionately said, “That is comforting. Also, I have another question.”

Cologne casually requested, “Please, state it?”

Lee said, “I used one of the village's outhouses before I was captured. I was wondering, do you have indoor plumbing?”

Cologne let out a laugh. She then stated, with joy in her voice, “Given you were once a man, and you are now a girl, I can see how and why you would ask that question. To answer your question. Yes, we have indoor plumbing. Everything for hot and cold running water. To sinks, tubs, showers, and toilets. From towels to toilet paper. Including all the items associated to staying clean. And the toilets we use are western style toilets.”

“Along with those items, we even have access to modern feminine hygiene products. Of which, you will need to use such items, in a few years.”

Lee responded, “Thank you, for being so understanding. I really needed to ask that question.” She mentally added, 'And thank you for answering a few more questions that I didn't feel like asking.'

Cologne requested “That is not a problem. Now, what name do you go by?”

Lee answered, in english, “Lee.”

Cologne walked over behind Lee, as she responded, “Then, you will be named, Dongmei.”

It took Lee a moment to realize what the name meant. She inquired, “Winter plum?”

Cologne said, “Yes. We already have someone nearby named, Plum. Which is what the name, Lee, means in my native language. So, I picked something more fitting. Winter, for your real age. And Plum, for your name.”

Lee though, 'Now, I know where the name came from.' She agreed, in chinese, “It is a fitting name for someone in my situation. And I know of the girl you are talking about, whom is named, Plum. She is a kind girl whom loves her father very dearly, and whom I wish only the best for.” Lee then sadly concluded, “Still, for myself, it is going to be a very long journey here.”

Cologne kindly responded, “Take heart. We will help you make friends. And you will learn much. Including how to become a great fighter. You seem like that type whom does not give up. Even now.”

Cologne's comment caught Lee off guard, as Lee hesitantly inquired, “How did you guess?”

Cologne stated, “You have not done anything to provoke us. I am sure you are were thinking along the lines of being polite, until you saw an opportunity to escape, in a manner that would not appear as a defeat towards my people. Now, that you fully realize the situation you are in, with you new girl form. You also realize that what I am about to do to you will only benefit you.”

Lee halfheartedly admitted, “You are right.”

Cologne was already behind Lee. She had her staff in her right hand and the bottle of formula one one four in her left hand. She set down her staff, against a nearby chair.

Cologne plainly asked, “Now, are you ready, Lee?”

Lee took a deep breath and slowly let it out. A few seconds later, she answered, “Yes. I am ready, Cologne.”

Cologne opened the bottle of shampoo. She then began to apple the formula one one four to Lee's black hair, and scalp. Thus, beginning the memory sealing process, on Lee.

Lee last thoughts were, 'I have to admit, this feels pretty good. River might like this.'

A minute later, Dongmei felt her hair was silky smooth. Dongmei looked over at Cologne, whom was now standing in front of the younger girl.

Cologne could see innocence showing in the young girl's eyes, that were not there before.

Dongmei childishly asked, in english, “Who are you?”

Cologne mentally lamented, 'Now, here comes the hard part.'

The older woman then started untying the younger girl's ropes, as she checked to make sure the Dongmei still knew chinese, which Dongmei did. Cologne then began spinning her tale for the Dongmei. All the while, Cologne was mentally formulating the best ways to integrate Dongmei into her village, as seamlessly as possible.

(_)

Babylon Five Reality. Date, January Twenty-Ninth, Twenty-Two Eighty-One. Location, an upscale residential district in Mars Dome One. Time, around noon.

Inside the bedroom of Matthew McCormick's upscale, highrise condo, Matthew was presently finishing his preparations in getting ready to leave.

Matthew had returned to his home a few hours ago, after his boss, Michael Garibaldi, CEO of Edgars Industries, had given him the vacation time, away from his job, that Matthew had strongly requested.

And while Matthew had not slept in the past thirty hours, or so, he was still wired from what had happened to him the previous night.

Also, even though Matthew was had not slept, when he did get home, he immediately headed for his bathroom to shave, shower, and change his clothing. After which, using a computer in his home, he electronically paid for some first class tickets offworld, to Centauri Prime.

Then, Matthew had gotten ready, by packing to large suitcases, on his bed, in his bedroom. As he packed, he had the TV turned on, in his bedroom. The TV was a viewscreen on a wall, located across from the foot of his bed. He had the TV turned to a local news station.

At first the news was talking about the police station attack, last night, which Matthew almost became a casualty of.

In addition, the news only briefly mentioned incidents dealing with two highway chases, and an attack on a factory on the north end, of the interior of Mars Dome One.

Matthew knew that he was a part of the second chase mentioned. that Matthew was a part of. Though, barring the original live broadcast of the second chase. The news did not go into details of these three incidents. Nor, were any names mentioned in the review news story, and further re-airing of the footage of the chase Matthew was in. And Matthew found out that the only name mentioned by live broadcast of the second chase, was Lee's alias, Ello Gray.

Matthew chalked this up to his boss telling the news stations not to cover those incidents. Of which, Matthew was grateful toward Mister Garibaldi for.

Both, Matthew realized that all these events must have been connected to his most recent, client, and the client he had dumped the quickest, Lee.

But, at the moment, Matthew could care less about Lee, at the moment. Presently, his mental state was in survival mode. And he was leaving as quickly as he could.

Though, a few hours after Matthew had left Edgars Industries Complex, the news then reported that Edgars Industries main headquarters had been attacked, and CEO Garibaldi has gone missing. The police officially stated that they had no leads, and no suspects at the moment. Though, it was reported that Lise and Mary Edgars had been accounted for, elsewhere on Mars Dome One, and they were both completely fine. Though, no details were given of where those two women were currently located.

Also, there was a brief mention of a technician that was found in a safe room, in the main, center building of the Edgars Industries Headquarters. But, the police soon had the journalists keep quiet on that, as well. With the police stated that was an unofficial lead.

And, except for those facts, since the first reports of the attack on Edgars Industries, the news had been doing nothing but repeating what had already been reported. With the news anchors talking mostly about how this would effects of E.I. CEO Michael Garibaldi being missing could have on the planetary economy, galactic politics in Mar gov's dealings with the Interstellar Alliance, and who could possibility had done it.

The irony was that the police had no suspects because it was publicly known that CEO Garibaldi had very powerful, and he had even more powerful friends that went all the way to the top of the Interstellar Alliance on Minbar. Also, it was an open secret Garibaldi had done a thorough job of making sure everyone knew not to mess with him, nor his family, and friends. And for others after him to only challenge his company in the legal, civil ways of capitalism.

As such, everyone knew that to attack him was for that person to practically pick a fight with the galaxy itself.

Though, after the night that Matthew had, Matthew had a vague idea of who was responsible for the Edgars Industries attack. And in Matthew's opinion, anyone insane enough to pick such a fight was to be avoided at all cost.

After Matthew finished packing. Matthew used a remote to turned off his TV. He then toss his TV remote onto his made bed. And he turned his attention back to the two suitcases on his bed.

As he checked both suitcases for what he needed, he thought, with concern, 'It is good that the old man gave me time off. But, in reality, this is my resignation. It is just that no one is going to realize it, including the boss, until I am literally halfway across the galaxy.'

'I am escaping while I still can. And I am not planning leaving a forwarding address. If the chairman cannot handle these people. No one can. So, I have got to get out of here, before whomever is after Lee comes for me, as well. Or, the law catches up to me.'

'Though, I regret I cannot call my family, to let them know what happened. Especially, my younger brother, Ian. Because, I am not going to drag them into this mess.'

'Well, I believe my suitcases are ready. I have my passport and other identifications ready. I have the printed receipts for my first class tickets to Centauri Prime ready. I think when I get to Centauri Prime, I will spend a week, or two on that planet. Relax and decompress some, before I move on.'

'It really is a nice time of the year to visit there. And I have a few friends there that will help me convert my credits to Centauri ducats, for a ten percent fee off the top. And give me false identicard, and other records. So, the law cannot track me with my credit chit record, nor identicard. Fortunately, Centauri ducats are considered currency in many locations, including a number of human colonies on the rim. Because those colonies need alien commerce to survive.'

'After all that is done, I will head for the rim. For a human colony on the edge of known space. That is as far as I can go, with the resources I have. I just hope it is far enough.'

'And even if I don't get a job as a lawyer. I am still young, intelligent, and healthy. If need be, I can get a job doing something else.'

'Fortunately, I have the credits to pull this plan off. And I stuffed these two suitcases with clothing, and everything else I hold dear, because I am not coming back here. All because I want to make sure that who is after Lee does not get to me. And if they don't, the police may try to charge me as a scapegoat for what happened last night.'

'Still, I am so happy, the news and the authorities have yet to identify me from the chopper video, during that chase. I am glad I took Lee's advice, and I did no look directly at the chopper, and its vid-camera. Still, I think my boss had a hand in that. But, with him gone, that is going to change very soon.'

'I know when it is time to leave. And it is an hour passed my time to leave.'

'And if the law doesn't catch me, I am afraid those violent and crazy girls might. As a way to tie up loose ends. Which I am to them.'

'Though, if the law does catch up to me, I can try the same thing that Lee tried. Get a telepath to read my mind about what happened. Because, no one is going to believe me, if I just tell them the truth.'

Matthew looked at a digital clock on his night stand, by his bed, to the right side of the bed. It was twelve ten PM.

Matthew then turned back to look at his suitcases, as he thought, 'It is twelve ten PM. My shuttle flight is not scheduled to leave for close to another two hours. But, it is going to take me an hour to get from here, to the transport tube station. And then take the transport tube to the spaceport. And I want to be in my first class shuttle seat with time to spare.'

'And I do look forward to my first class cabin and amenities, on the luxury liner I booked. It was not cheap, but if I am going to spend a week traveling in hyperspace. I figure I might as well do it in style.'

'It is tempting to charge it all to my company credit card. But, I feel that Garibaldi will come back someday. And he is one of the few people I feel could track me down, no matter where I went. So, I am just paying for all this myself, to prevent a reason for him to come looking for me.'

'Now, to get out of here.'

Matthew closed both he suitcases. He made sure the combination latches were firmly holding on both suitcases.

Then, he used each of his hands to picked up each suitcase by the handle.

Matthew thought, 'Damn. These things are heavier than I expected. But, I am not going to complain.'

Next, Matthew made his way out of his condo, bedroom. With him stopping, and sitting down his right suitcase, so he could turn off the light to his bedroom. Before before picking that suitcase back up, and continuing through his living room.

The sunlight from large windows in his living room provide enough light that there were no interior lights on in that room, for him to turn off.

When Matthew made it to the door to the hallway, he set down the suitcase in his right hand, used his right hand to open the door, walked to into the hallway, picked up, and moved his right suitcase into the hallway, gently closed the door behind him, pulled out a key, used the key to lock the door, put away his key back into the pocket he had it in, picked up his right suitcase with his right hand, turned around, and headed for the nearest bay of elevators on that floor.

As Matthew walked down the hallway, with a heavy suitcase in each hand, he thought, 'Now, to get to my new company car, in the nearby garage, and get out of here.'

(_)

Five minutes later, Matthew made it to the third floor of a multi-level parking garage, that was attached to the back end of the high class apartment and condominium complex he had been living in.

Matthew held both his heavy suitcases, to his sides, by their handles, as he walked towards the company car he drove home in, which he had replaced the company car with, that Lee wrecked, and totaled.

As Matthew made his way towards he new car, which was several car down the row, straight in from of him, nearly to the other side of the garage floor, he thought, 'I am so happy that Garibaldi decided not to charge me for the cost of that car Lee wrecked. That man can be so understanding. And he has a wonderful sense of humor. I just regret that the events beyond both our control have forced me to no longer be able to work with him. And I have to leave under such questionable circumstances. But, a man has to do, what a man has to do.'

While Matthew continued walking, to his left, he passed by a pink motorcycle, with a woman, sitting on the seat of the two wheeled vehicle. The woman wore a brown leather pants, brown leather zipped up jacket, with brown leather boots, brown leather belt, brown motorcycle helmet with the visor down, and the end of a metal chrome cylinder was hooked to the right side of her belt.

Matthew looked at the woman, and the motorcycle for a moment, as he walked by them. He then turned back to his car, which was further down the right row of the parking lane her walking down.

While Matthew walked, he thought, 'You don't see motorcycles like that every day. And that rider cuts a nice figure.'

Just then, Matthew heard a giant footstep hit the ground, right behind him.

Matthew turned around to see a giant, pink robot, whom was barely able to stand up straight, without hitting the ceiling of the parking garage, whose head was looking down at him, and the robot was less than six feet from him.

The women in brown leather, kept her helmet on, as she stood behind, and to the right, of the robot.

Matthew dropped his suitcases, as his mouth went slack jaw at what he saw.

Matthew thought, 'And I thought after last night, that nothing could surprise me any more. Boy was I wrong... I guess I waited too long to escape, and those psychos from last night, sent their friends after me.'

Due to the looked on Matthew's face, the robot started laughing for several seconds. While Matthew could hear the woman slightly giggle under her helmet.

As the robot calmed down, she commented, in english, “You should see the look on your face. Your expression is hilarious. You humans always crack me up.”

Matthew collected himself enough to reply, in a slightly confused tone of voice, “Huh?”

The robot introduced herself, in a pleasant, electronic, tone of voice, “I am, Arcee. I am here to take you someplace else. And I see you are even packed for the occasion. I love with it when someone we are sent after is ready to go, when we meet them.”

Matthew was still slightly in shock from the surreal situation he found himself in, as he flatly questioned, “Are you here to kill me? Like that crazy women tried to kill us, last night?””

Arcee scoffed, “Oh please. I try not to kill those that make me laugh. And I will say, given the events of last night, and this morning, that I agree that you probably needed to ask those questions. And the answer is quite the opposite. I am not here to kill, nor you harm in any way.”

Arcee noticed Matthew relax a bit, as he inquired, “Is this about Lee?”

Arcee answered, “Partly. But, it is mostly about you. We saw the recordings of you during that chase. And for the most part, you held yourself together well. Considering it was likely your first outing in an intense, life or death, situation, you did a good job.”

Matthew cracked a smile, as he replied, “Thank you.”

Arcee happily thought, 'Good. He is now in a pleasant mood. And this is a perfect opportunity to make him the offer Annie and I were sent to give him.' Arcee stated, “I am here to offer you a job, to begin the greatest adventure of your life.”

Matthew responded, with a bit of sarcasm in his tone of voic,e “Let me guess. It is an offer I cannot refuse?”

Arcee smirked, as she said, “It is nice you humans still appreciate the classics of your culture. Now, pick up your suitcases. We have places to go, and people for you to meet.”

Matthew asked, “Before we leave, I have a few questions. First, might I ask where you are taking me?”

Arcee casually responded, “I don't mind answering any of your questions. The trip will only take less than a moment to reach. We are going to another reality, on an alternate Earth. In the early twentieth-first century. On an eastern city island in Mexico, on the Gulf of Mexico, near the U.S. state of Texas.”

“The place we are going to is a casino called, Daiyu Palace Casino. We are going there, you will be assigned a suite, at the casino, to drop off your belongings. Then, you will be lead to meet the owner, and my part time boss, Chang. When we get there, he will figure out what job we can use you for. And you will be paid well for your services.”

Matthew flatly stated, “If this job involves committing violence, I am not interesting.”

Arcee responded, “Fair enough. And not to worry, it will not be a violent job. That is my department...”

The woman with the helmet on, coughed.

Arcee turned her head in the direction of the woman. She turned back to look at Matthew. She stated, “And my partner's department, as well. After which, you can get some sleep in your assigned suite. My sensors tell me you have no slept for a while.”

Matthew stated, “After last night, I am still a bit wired.”

Arcee commented, “That is completely understandable.”

Matthew honestly said, “Yes. And thank you for answering my questions. That is all I wanted to know.”

Arcee happily replied, “Glad I could be of help. Now, pick up your belongings, and take a few steps closer to me, and we will be on our way to your new life.”

Matthew mentally reflected, 'I always thought that wicked burn on B Five was going to be the highlight of my life. I guess I was wrong.'

Behind Arcee, Annie had just stood back and watched. As a master of the force, she did her best not to laugh at some of the events she just saw in front of her. She thought, in a relaxed frame of mind, 'Arcee has just now shown she can pull off a good plan, that she created. With me just here to help, if need be. Though, she wanted to see if she could pull this off on her own.'

'And she has done so. She is really impressing me with the level social skills she is displaying in getting Matthew to willing come with us.'

'She also already shut down the security system to this garage, so there are not records of us being here. And considering I sense no one else here, there are no witnesses, as well. Which is good for everyone.'

'Along with this, Arcee bet me that she could doing this kidnapping with a sense of humor, and style, while still pulling it off. With me just staying back, and watching. I guess I lost this bet. I now owe her five U.S. dollars. Though, to see this, it was well worth it.'

'Now, to head back to the casino.'

Matthew picked up his suitcases, and he walked closer to Arcee and Annie. At the same time, Annie took a few steps closer to Arcee, as well.

Arcee then used her internal reality device to transport all three of them back to Lee's Reality, in back garage of Daiyu Palace Casino. At one PM local time, in Del La Plata Podrido, three days after Lee had originally escaped Lee's home reality.

(_)

Lee's Reality. Location, De La Plata Podrido, Mexico. Time, Three days after Lee left his reality. Place, inside the beach resort of the Devil's Hotel, inside hotel restaurant and bar.

It was the middle of the afternoon, during an off hour for business in the Devil's hotel restaurant and bar. With no one else usually inside in the restaurant of the Devil's Hotel, except for the bartender, Melvin, during this time of day.

Melvin used this time to do some basic cleaning, and other chores around the room.

At that moment, Melvin had his back turned to the bar counter. Melvin was in the section of the bar counter that faced the left wall, with him being near the center of the length of the counter.

Melvin had a rag in his left hand, as he used his right hand to grab a bottle off the wine shelves set against the wall that was designed to hold bottles on their side. He then wiped the dust off the bottle with the rag, and then gently placed bottle back where it was sitting on it's side, on the shelve, before he picked it up.

Melvin then repeated this with other bottles on the shelves in front of him.

While Melvin continued to do this, one bottle at a time, he thought, 'I haven't seen Revy, and the others, since the morning after Lee left. Likely, I will never see them again. And that is fine with me. I have found those crazy women, and I, do not mix.'

Just then, he head a someone move the bar stool to sit down, across the bar counter, right behind him.

With Melvin's back turned, he set the bottle her had in one hand, back on the shelf. He placed the rag on an empty hole on the shelves.

Melvin continued to have his back turned to the new customer, as he calmly stated, in spanish, “I will be with you, in a minute.”

There was no response few seconds, Melvin thought, 'The person must be an english speaker.' He calmly said, “I will be with you, in a minute.”

A second later, from behind him, Melvin heard in a familiar female voice calmly say, in russian, “I did not come here for a drink.”

To Melvin's credit, he did not tense up, as he immediately recognized the voice. He casually lied, in english, “I apologize. I do not speak russian.” He thought, with worry, 'Shit! She found me!... She finally found me... How?... It doesn't matter at the moment. All that matters is getting out of here in one piece...'

The woman complimented, in english, “Not bad. We have been watching you from a distance, since yesterday. You hide your accent well. And dying your hair blond, and growing the goatee were nice touches. You even fooled some of my subordinates. You own friends. That is hard to do. Though, the knife training on the roof was what finally convinced us. Anyone could recognize those moves, if they know what to look for. It is good to see you, Private Yurick.”

Melvin quick turned around, to his left, as he swiftly used his right hand to reach for his loaded, Tokarev, semi-automatic pistol, which was located in a holster, under the bar counter, near him. There was already a bullet in the chamber, with the weapon ready to be fired at a moments notice.

But, when Melvin turned around, he saw a dozen russian women, in causal clothing, including B, standing behind Balalaika. With Balalaika sitting at the counter. Balalaika wore her red dress, and olive color, military greatcoat.

Melvin had immediate stopped reaching for his pistol, when he saw that, except for Balalaika, the women whom were pointing their AK Seventy-four automatic rifles at him, and around Balalaika.

Melvin slowly stood up straight, while he slowly moved his hand to his sides.

Melvin mentally cursed, 'I forgot how damn quiet we can be... And there is a Blues Brothers joke somewhere in this situation. Though, I don't feel like telling it... I have been friends with Pedro for far too long... Will, I might as well say, hello.'

Melvin said, in russian, 'Hello guys. Or, should I say, girls?” He then looked directly at Balalaika's face, as he added, “And hello to you as well, Balalaika.”

Balalaika inquired, with slight amusement, in russian, “Not captain.”

Melvin responded, “Not for five years.”

Balalaika said, in amused tone of voice, “Fair enough, Yurick. Still, I have some questions for you. The first being. When did you know that Lee was the writer?”

Melvin honestly answered, “Not until about five minutes before he left.”

Balalaika questioned, “Why didn't you tell anyone?”

Melvin replied, “I owed Lee. He helped hide me from you, when, as you pointed out, some of our friends here, came looking for me. Also, he helped me with a bit of trouble, in dealing with Revy.”

Balalaika asked, “What kind of trouble?”

Melvin thought, 'I best tell them. Though, I need some assurances, first.' He requested, “You have to keep Revy, and those close to her, from learning this. It could cause all of us, all sorts of problems, if Revy learns about this.”

Balalaika inquired, “How so?”

Melvin explained, “Long story short. The rest of the women took a day long trip to tour some ruins, on the mainland. It was only Revy and I in this bar. I did not want her to get drunk, so early in the day. So, I suggested that I try, on Revy, some past life regression techniques that I had learned, while here.”

“And I found out that in a past life, Revy was Jack Sparrow. Yes. The pirate captain. Jack Sparrow. And when the Jack personality emerged, Jack would not go back into the box.”

Everyone remained silent towards Melvin's pun.

Melvin went onto say, “So, I went to Lee. Lee can be a real miracle worker. I don't know how. I don't want to know how. But, Lee got that genie back into her bottle, and Revy went back to normal, before the others returned. And I owed Lee a big favor for that.”

Balalaika giggled, while her women remained stoic.

Melvin thought, 'Another thing I like about being on my own. I can actually show some emotion in situations like this, within reason, without getting into trouble.'

Balalaika said, “Interesting... I believe I will have to keep that piece of information from them. And yes. That would be a marker worth paying.”

B lowered her AK Seventy-Four, and slung it on her rifle. The others women did the same.

Melvin did not show it on the outside, but inward, he happily thought, 'Good. They stopped pointing their weapons as me. This is a good sign. Not that I am even going to try anything right now. They still out number me. And they are a faster and stronger than I am.'

B inquired, “So, Revy was Jack Sparrow in a previous life?”

Melvin answered, “Yes, B. Or, should I say, Boris?”

B replied, “Either name is fine with me. Besides being a woman is not that bad.”

Melvin noticed some of other women behind Balalaika nodding in agreement.

Melvin replied, “I will take your word for that. I like the way I am. That is why I ran.”

B smirked, as she stated, “You sound like a friend of mine, whom was named, Bob. Of course, once he gained the ability to change back and forth, Bob found that he liked what being a woman has to offer.”

Melvin thought, 'Of course, Bob Lowe. I wonder what happened to him, and his family? Though, it is best that I don't mention that I read those stories, nor seen the Black Lagoon series.'

Melvin responded, “I may have to meet this Bob sometime. Anyway, I considered my silence during Lee's escaped, as my clearing my debt with Lee. I hope you don't mind.”

Balalaika complimented, “We do not. From what we have found out. You have conducted yourself honorably during your stay here.”

Melvin replied, “Thank you.” He mentally added, 'Now, to find out how they found out about myself being here?' He asked, “So, how did you find out about me?”

Balalaika responded, “When it comes to Revy, and her friends, few things escape my attention. And we put the pieces together.”

Melvin agreed, “Yes, those women don't know how to keep their mouths shut.”

Balalaika said, “True.” She thought, 'At this point, I am surprised that this entire world do not publicly know about them.'

Melvin thought, 'Now, to conduct business, over some drinks.' He asked, “So, will you be having your usual, Balalaika?”

Balalaika answered, “None of us will be having anything to drink. Besides, I am pregnant.”

Melvin replied, in an even tone of voice, “Congratulations.” He thought, 'I don't need to know the details. And I don't want to know the details... Still, I need to make myself clear about where I stand with them.'

Melvin calmly stated, “That being said. I am not coming back. I have made a good life, for myself, here. And I have no intention of leaving this wonderful town. I like it here. This town is like Roanapur, only the local police have a bit more backbone. And they are able to keep the violence to a minimum, while allowing the vice. I know this personally, because I am good friends with the chief of police here. By the way, he loathes bribery, and he will take offense to being offered a bribe. Also, the general attitude for the people of this town is more... Practical... Than the more violent portions of the population of Roanapur.”

Balalaika said, with interest in her tone of voice, “That is intriguing. I may have to check this city out, in further detail, at a later date. That being said. I never said that you had to come back to organization. Still, I do have an offer for you.”

Melvin raised an eyebrow, as he calmly responded, “I am listening.”

(_)

At that moment, further into the island town of De La Plata Podrido, inside the police station, Chief of Police Pedro Del Soto sat in his cushioned chair, behind his desk, in his private office. His office door, and blinds to his window, looking out into the main room of the police station, were both closed.

Pedro was looking at his computer screen, on the left side of his desk, as he reviewed the police reports, on his computer, that had been put into station's computer network, during the last few days, in which he had been gone.

Pedro was currently wearing his usual clothing, and he was armed, with his usual holstered pistols. Though, his coat, and hat were on his office coat rack, and shades were folded, and placed on a clear area of his desk, of the right side of his desk.

Though, reviewing the police files did not bring him much comfort. And not because of the report themselves. Not much had happened during his absence, which only seriously harmed, nor killed on his island.

What was bringing down his mood was him mentally reflecting on the events of that last few days of his life. And the actions he had to take during those few days.

While Pedro was unharmed from his ordeal with Roberta, Revy, and Fabiola. He was still a bit stress out over the what happened. But, he quickly recovering. And he would likely be back to himself, by the end of the present day. Though, he was not fully recovered, yet.

As Pedro reviewed the police reports, he sadly thought, 'Well, I am glad my boys that stayed here, during my absence, were able to keep this city in one piece. And the fact that no one was reported killed, nor seriously hurt, during that time, makes me feel better.'

'On that matter, I feel bad that I, and half the force, that were in the know, had to drop everything, and leave like that. But, those that stayed are professional enough not to ask me questions about why we did so.'

'And the reason I came back here, to my job, was that Revy, Roberta, and Fabiola caught me, literally with my pants off, the morning after I ran from town.'

'I should have known better than to think there was anywhere on this planet that I could successfully hide from them. Still, my running did give them time to think on how they would handle me. And they didn't kill me. Nor, maim me. Nor, even harm me. Because I fully cooperated with them. And they were not interested in me. They were solely interested in Lee.'

'Though, I did not like doing so. They wanted information on Lee, and I willingly gave it to them. Because I knew if I did not, they would torture the information out of me. Without me being about to do anything to stop them.'

'I also didn't like secretly recordings my conversations from Lee, without his knowledge, nor permission. But, I knew that if it all went to hell. Like it did. Those recordings on those memory cards would save my ass. And those recordings did.'

'Always have backups. Just in case.'

'I gave them one of my memory cards, while telling them which files on that memory card, that they would most likely be interested in. Doing so kept my ass out of the fire. Still, they also questioned me. And I answered every question they had, with complete honesty.'

'That was the longest four hours of my life. And given my job, and the lift I had lead, that is saying something.'

'After they were through with me, I watched as Revy pulled out a small remote device, I guess her reality device. With the maids standing by her, as she teleport them to somewhere else. With them being gone in the blink of an eye.'

'Then, I spend the next half an hour decompressing from the situation. Next, I got cleaned up, dressed, and left my safe-house, in the car I had, for the nearest town. After that, I made my way back here, to my home town. And that journey took a while.'

'The reason I returned to this town was that since they found me, there was not point in hiding.'

'Even they wanted me, they could find me, no matter where I went on this planet. And we all knew that.'

'So, I felt that it was best that I return to my job.'

'Though, with them looking for information on Lee, lead me to believe that Lee escaped them. Which made my confrontation worth it. Given how creative, savvy, and outright insane, Lee is. Once Lee had a reality device in his hands, the girls are never going to catch him. So, Lee and I still had the last laugh.'

'When I finally got home, early, yesterday afternoon. I took a nap at my home, for a few hours. Afterward, I woke up around three, and I returned to my job here.'

'Just over an hour into my return to the police station, I got a phone call from my superiors on the mainland, and I caught hell on the phone, from them. For leaving on such short notice.'

'The excuse I gave was that I caught wind that there was a hit out on me. With half my force volunteering to be decoys, as I escape town to deal with the matter personally. I then told them that I took care of the problem, and that is why I returned. They bought my lie. Though, there was more truth to my lie than I am comfortable with.'

'And there is probably the fact they have yet to find someone who wants to replace me at my job.'

'After that phone call was over, I talked with my local contacts, to check things out around town, as I started taking stock of the situation I was in. An hour later, I learned everything seem to be okay with the population of the town. Except, that I am now down to half my work force, so my resources are stretched a little thin.'

'Though, that is my fault. And a few of my men that ran with me have finally started trickled back into town, and to their jobs.'

'In a few days, I will start trying to contact the others, to get them to come back to town.'

'But, I feel those that did return are still very scared of the situation. And they would likely bolt at the first sign of trouble from anyone from outside this reality.'

'And I cannot blame them, if they ran again, because I ran in the first place. They say lead by example, and I have tried to do that. But, we had to escape. We were justified in running. If we did not run, the maids might have attacked the station, looking for me. And most, if not all of us, would have been in body bags by now.'

'I am glad that did not happen.'

'And later that afternoon, I started getting some information in. First, I learned that all the women after Lee, at the Devil's Hotel, had checked out of that hotel, and they disappeared the morning after Lee and I left town.'

'I then had some of my men conduct a few interviews with the employees there. And I learned a few things, from the witnesses statements that further proved that Lee escaped.'

'The clerks on duty, that evening, said that Lee checked out stated they saw he left, and the women soon exited after him, into the parking lot. A few minutes later, the women came back, without Lee, and the clerks stated their expressions ranged from angry, to upset, to disappointed, as they headed for the hotel restaurant.'

'So, I think Lee must have finally stolen one of their reality devices, and escaped from them, right after they found out who he was.'

'Given Lee literary talents, that is a poetic way for him to escape.'

'This is further backed up, by reports that two women dressed in maids outfits came into the hotel several minutes after the other women returned. And they immediately headed for the bar. Which means they not only struck out. But, someone told them where the bar was, ahead of time.'

'Which means, that likely one of the women of Revy and Rock's women accidentally spilled the beans on the writer and his stories, that set the maids off after the writer. And when they came to the city, they were heading for the Devil's Hotel, to meet up with the others, to get some answers, as they were looking for the writer.'

'The maids clearly did not count on Lee recognizing them, before they learned who he was. And that one mistake was all Lee needed to be one step ahead of them.'

'And if the maids already knew, ahead of time, they would have showed up with Revy, Rock, and the others. Instead, they showed up later. Meaning, no one told them about the stories, to begin with.'

'I wonder if Rock and Revy's group caught in flack from the maids, over keeping those two in the dark... I doubt it. The maids are close friends with the rest of them. And Rock and Revy's group could have used the very good reason that the two of them would have likely torn this city apart looking for the writer.'

'These are all good signs. It means that both Lee got away. And it confirms that the Rock and Revy's group, that came to the Devil's Hotel, did not tell the maids, because they knew the information would send the maids on the war path. Which it did. Rock and Revy's group did not want unnecessary bloodshed. Further meaning that they wanted to avoid violence.'

' Also, I fully believe that Chang and his group did not tell Roberta and Fabiola either. Nor, did they likely tell Garcia, because he is too close to the maids. As such, Garcia would likely not keep secretes from his close friends.'

'Though, I didn't ask for the hotel video recordings, from the Devil's Hotel, because is Chang and his subordinates are still around. As such, I don't want to dig too deep on this. He might catch wind of my investigation, and I cannot handle him, right now. It is too soon for a confrontation between us. Way, way too soon for me to even come close to handling him, and his organization. And we both know it.'

'It is just that Chang is polite enough not to push the matter, as along as I don't push first.'

'But, all this is enough circumstantial evidence to point that Lee is now escaped somewhere into the multiverse.'

'And I wish him luck. If there is anyone that can escape those women, it is that scoundrel.'

'Yet, there are other questions that concern me.'

'This morning, my officers told me that someone has been spotted driving Lee's pink Cadillac. I ordered my boys to leave the driver of that vehicle alone. But, the details of who that driver is, both worries me, and confuses me.'

'It was reported that a red headed woman was driving that car. And from the pictures my boys took, the person was clearly River. And she was using the keys to the car, instead of hot wiring it.'

“How the hell did she get the keys to the Cadillac? The only one with keys to that car was Lee. And Lee is as scared of approaching River as I am.'

'There is a big, key piece to the puzzle missing in this mess.'

'Speaking of which, Sam is missing. But, if Lee is gone. There is no telling where the redheaded drifter has gone too... Redhead... Nah... It couldn't be... But, she can change genders with a sneeze.'

'And once Chang came to town, Sam had disappeared from time to time. Lee even occasionally complained about that, during our nightly meetings at the Last Resort Diner.'

'Still, Sam had a beard?... Of course. It would be a fake beard. River is that brilliant. A genius. And she had access to a reality device, which included time travel. Meaning she could have shown up in our recent past, to set up set up shop, to wait for Lee. In a similar fashion, to what Lee told me that Yolanda and Eda did.'

'Also, that would explain how Sam and River were in the same place, at once, at the talent contest. And given the way Sam and River were acting. In that situation, Sam was the past self, and River was the future self. With River caught in a minor temporal loop.'

'At least it was not a major temporal loop, like what Lee, and the rest of us, on the planet, got caught in, for several years.'

'But, that would mean that telepathic, genius, redheaded babe was playing Lee and I from minute one... Yes. She is crazy enough to try a stunt like that. And she is clever and intelligent enough to pull it off.'

'And as Sam, River was polite to me and Lee. So, I am going to let her con slide. Besides, this means River likely had everyone else fooled, as well. And I was the only one to figure it out on my own... Damn. I love being genre savvy.'

'Still, I am tempted to speak to Melvin about all this. Since I am sure he could fill in same of the blanks I have. But then, I would have to admit that I knew he was a former member of Hotel Moscow. Give who we are both connected too, that could cause problems for both of us.'

'And given I am not going to ask Chang, River, and their people, all my leads, on Lee, are now exhausted. So, I guess I will just have to hope for the best, for Lee.'

'But, even though my list of leads have run dry, that doesn't mean I should give up. I did put one of my officers on a stake out, in an unmarked car, with heavily tinted windows, in the front parking lot of the Devil's Hotel, near the road, on the other side of the parking lot, from the main hotel entrance. While Revy and Rock's group have left, I figure it might be best to keep an eye on the place.'

'And even with Revy and Rock's group gone, I am going to have to deal with Chang and his crew. And with the casino they started, they are clearly planning on staying here. And with my force is cut in half, I will have to handle them in a wise, and cunning manner. Which I am more than capable of doing.'

'Also, I will have my boys avoid the casino, whenever possible. I ordered them. That if there were problems at the casino. I was to be contacted, and I would handle situation, personally.'

'Still, most of the men and women left here, except for those that have returned, don't have a clue who Chang, River, Revy, Rock, and the others are. And if I try to tell them. They will think I am insane. Then, they lose all respect for me. Next, I will likely lose my job. After which, I would soon be committed to a lunatic asylum. And finally, my replacement would likely do something stupid, to cross Chang, or one of the others, and everyone still working at this station will wind up dead.'

'So, in this case, I will have to handle the situations that arise with delicate care.'

'Though, that old saying really is true. In the land of the blind. The one eyed man is king.'

'But, that is an issue for tomorrow. For now, I just want to get back into my daily routine.'

Just then, there was a knock at Pedro's door to his office.

Pedro said, in spanish, “Come in.”

The door opened, and one of his police officers walked inside. The office stopped three feet in front of Pedro desk. The officer stood there, as he looked at Pedro's face, while he waited to be acknowledged.

Pedro calmly asked, “What is it?”

The officer answered, in spanish, “We have a report that just came in, from our man at the Devil's Hotel.”

Pedro quickly requested, “Give me all the details.” He thought, 'There are too many things that could happen at that hotel, for me to just guess at what this man is talking about.'

The officer stated, “Two minutes ago, a group of women were seen exiting the front of the hotel, and into two unmarked vans, parked beside the front entrance. The bartender, Melvin, was seen leaving with the women.”

“The women were all fair skinned, and appeared to be in their mid-twenties.”

“Most of the women were wearing casual clothing, and carried automatic weapons.”

“We believe the woman with long blond hair, pulled back in a ponytail, was their leader, due to her not visibly carrying a weapon. And the fact she wore a red dress, and olive colored greatcoat, while they others were wearing more casual clothing. And Melvin was seen talking to her, as they got into second van.”

Pedro thought, 'I can already guess who those women where. And who there leader is. But, I need to confirm it.' He asked, “Any distinguishing marks on any of the blond woman?”

The officer said, “Yes, sir. The blond woman had a large scar running down the right side of her face.'

Pedro forced himself to remained calm, as he thought, 'Damn it! Balalaika, and Hotel Moscow have finally come to town. And they found, Melvin. Though, with luck, they will now be leaving town, as well. Still, this confirms what Lee and I suspected, from what Melvin hinted at, towards Lee. That members of Hotel Moscow have undergone the vat process. Turning Balalaika badass army, into a empowered badass army.'

'Now, that is a truly scary thought...'

'And, even though I feel sorry for Melvin, I am so happy I am not on that woman's radar. Though, I need to check on one another thing, dealing with this matter.'

Pedro question, “I take it that we got this report because our man in the field followed my orders?”

The officer responded, “Yes. He did not interfere. No matter what.”

Pedro stated, “Good. Inform him that he is likely alive because he followed my orders.”

The officer inquired, “Yes sir. And are we going to do anything about helping, Melvin?”

Pedro answered, “No. Nothing will be done on our end. He is beyond our help. But, if you feel like praying for him. Go ahead. Either way, thank you for informing me. Tell, the officer currently assigned to that stake out duty, there, that he did a good job. And, barring needed breaks, I want him to remain at his post, until he is relived, at the end of his shift.”

The officer replied, “Yes sir.”

Pedro stated, “You are dismissed. And please shut the door behind you.”

The officer turned around, and exited the room, with the officer gently shutting the office door behind him.

Pedro leaned back in his chair, as he mentally reflected, with a bit of sadness, 'I am going to miss you, Melvin. You were a good friend.'

'But, I have a good idea what is going to happen to you. Still, better you, than me. Though, I would toast you at a bar, with a drink, after my shift is over The problem is that the only two places I like to go for a drink, are from you, and the Rat's Nest.'

'And with you gone. That leaves the Rats Nests. Unfortunately, there is currently no Rats Nest to have a drink at, because the bar was blown up. With witnesses stating the people that exited through the front of that inferno were the two women, in maids uniforms. One had purple hair. The other had green hair.'

'It seems that when those two women come to a new town, they end up destroying at least one bar.'

'Still, why did it have to be one of my favorite bars?.. Though, given the time of day that the Rats Nest bar was destroyed, and when I got that message from Lee, about the maids being in town, that bar was likely where Lee spotted the maids, with those two badasses being none the wiser.'

'Yet. Either way, I am still out of a bar to go to for a drink.'

'But, I am glad I learned yesterday, that the bartender there got out, alright. And from what I understand, she is already working on getting her bar repaired. Knowing her, that will not take long.'

'So instead, tonight I will head home, and open a nice bottle of whiskey, and quietly toast you there, Melvin. My dear friend.'

'Though, I wonder how the Rat's Nest bartender is doing right now?'

(_)

Meanwhile, across town, Bao, the owner of the Rats Nest bar, was in the living room of her home, in one of her cushioned recliner chairs. The chair was not in a reclined position.

At the moment, Bao was wearing a red t-shirt, black pants, and tennis shoes, along with underwear, bra, and socks.

Currently, she on the phone, as she finished up her plans to rebuild her bar.

Bao spoke the wireless phone, in fluent spanish, “Yes. I just got off the phone. My insurance will pay out immediately. The good news the firefighters got their in time to stop the fire from spreading from the main storefront area of the store. And the inspection, after the fire, showed that explosion only took out the main room itself. The structure, and most of the adjacent rooms, and roof itself, are still mostly undamaged.”

“Yes. That is why the building is still standing. Because I had the floor, and walls poured with steel reinforced concrete. The walls were basically concrete blocks with a wooden paneling veneer. Along with this, I included fireproofing materials on the top and sides of the concrete walls.”

“Yes. I like to plan ahead. So, when can I expect you to start work?”

“Yes. We are using the same design the building had before. And I have a spare copy of the engineer approved prints that I can give you.”

“Good. I will see you this Monday.”

Bao then hung up her wireless phone, and set it back on its base, on a small table next to her.

While Bao leaned back in her chair, she thought, 'Well, that is one problem I don't have to worry about. And from what I understand Revy, her friends, and the maids, have left town. Likely for good... I say good riddance. That only leaves Chang, and his organization. I figure I will be fine, as long as I keep my head down.'

Suddenly, there was a knock at the front door.

Bao thought, 'I wonder who is at the door?'

Bao got up from her chair, and walked to the door.

She looked in the peephole.

Bao saw that it was Chang, dressed in his usual black suit, black long coat, and sunglasses, standing on the concrete walkway, in front of the main entrance to her home.

Bao thought, with mild annoyance, 'Speak of the devil. And if I don't open the door, he might break down my door down.'

Bao calmly unlocked and opened the door, to see that Chang was the only standing outside her doorstep. Bao also noticed a nice black, four door sedan car parked in front of her front yard, on the street, by the curb, near her driveway, where she had own her car parked.

Bao thought, with mild amusement, 'At least he came here alone. Maybe he wants a date... Hahahah...'

Bao said, in english, “Hello.”

Chang smiled, as he casually said, in english, “Hi Bao. Long time, no see.”

There was silence between the two adults, for several seconds, as they looked at each other, while deciding what to say next. As they thought over what their reaction should be.

Chang thought, 'This meeting will be good stress relief, after the morning I had at the casino. First, with meeting Sylia Stingray, and Rock. And then the meeting I just concluded with Matthew.'

'For the first meeting, I was given a ten minute warning, ahead of time, by phone, for the meeting, before they would show up. Though, at least when they arrived, Sylia was civil. And she came her a dark blue business suit and skirt. Which matched her hair. And not a hardsuit. And they came through the casino, to my office. Instead of teleporting directly to my office.'

'Those were both good signs.'

'Though, she did request that River and Annie not attend our meeting. Which means she clearly knows who works for me, and what their abilities are. And I would expect nothing less from a genius, such as Ms. Stingray.'

'But, I gave into that request.'

'When I met with them, Rock informed me of their deal. Which amounted to Sylia requesting some compensation over my part in what I did to her, and her friends.'

'Given the amount and terms Sylia requested, I was more than willing to agree to her deal, since was not that much, in that long run.'

'The terms of the deal were a free month at the casino, once a year, including services, for them. For all sixteen of them. In some nice suites. They pick when they will take this vacation, during each year. And they can break that month into small increments over the course of a year.'

'Along with this, I gave them two hundred, four hundred troy ounce, pure gold bars. Which is only a dent in what I now have. And I found this to all be a small price to pay, considering the payment took their bull's eye mark off my back.'

'Though, I did state the casino staff and I would not be responsible for any money they lost when they gambled in my casino. And that they would have to behave themselves, while staying at this casino.'

'Sylia agreed to this, on the concession that Annie and River leave her, her family, and her friend, alone. I said I was okay with that. Because, I was fairly sure that Sylia, and the others in her group, are not planning on taking me up on vacationing at my casino. They just wanted the gold, and other concessions, as a minor form of of revenge against me.'

'With the revenge over the month's stay, once a year, at my casino, as something to hold over me. With Sylia thinking I would worry that she and her friends might show up at any time... Well, I refuse to worry about such matters. And instead, I will focus on the fun I am about to have with my dear old friend, Bao.'

'It is unfortunate, that Sylia and Rock refuse my added monetary offer, for them to stop their revenge on Lee. But, it was worth a try. And they did not take my offer as an insult. They were both very polite concerning their decline of my offer.'

'And right after we reached an agreement, Sylia requested that I pay her. I did so. I called Mal up to my office, and had him escort Sylia to one of my casino vaults. Which, after the two of them left my office, I contact some people guarding one of my treasury vaults, under the casino. And I started them setting out the two hundred gold bars for Sylia, for when she got there.'

'Meanwhile, Rock used her reality device to return to Lagoon Island, to be with her family and friends.'

'Half an hour later, Mal informed me that after Sylia checked the gold over, with a hand held device. Which, from the way Mal described it, I suspect was a tricorder. She then used her reality device to teleport herself, and the gold bars, to wherever in the multiverse she headed for.'

'I suspect Sylia went to a secondary location, with her gold, then she teleported to her primary location, where her headquarters was likely located. So, I could not track her with my equipment.'

'And I am not going to try to track her down. It is not worth it. I have other matters to deal with. And I am not going to risk starting a fight with someone I just paid a fortune towards, to leave me, and mine, alone... Damn. I am starting to sound like, Mal... But, not in a bad way.'

'Though, I was already previously informed on what happened to Lee. Mal and the others, informed me how he escaped those after him, and where he went. And I found Mal and the others took losing them, and my reward for Lee's capture, very well.'

'Also, from what I was told, during Lee and Garibaldi's escape, Lee displayed his skills again. When he faced with two sieges. He used the sieges against each other, to buy time himself to escape. Not bad. Not bad at all. And he even took Garibaldi with him.'

'Still, I don't ever remember sending the orders for Revy and the others to capture human the Babylon Five. It is possible that my boomer double at the time glitched and did that behind my back. Though, if that is the case, I worry what other glitches my boomer doubles have done, during my time at my Tower. As I periodically replaced and disposed of my doubles, when they start to ask squirrelly.'

'But, that is a matter to worry about, for another time.'

'And before Rock left, she let me know the reality where they last tracked Lee to... Jusenkyo, of the same reality Akira, Ranma, and Natsuru are from. In the past, a few months before Ranma was originally cursed to turn into a girl.'

'This merely confirmed what Mal and his friends told me. And it confirmed my suspicions, on how Lee would cure himself. And since I do not want Lee to get caught, I didn't tell any of them that they are now searching for a person of the wrong gender... With Lee likely cursed to turn into, and likely locked into the form of a woman...'

'Though, I will keep this theory to myself. I do not want River to accidentally read my theory, from my mind, and go after Lee, on her own. Because, I already have a plan to send her to help find Lee.'

'I plan to send her to Lagoon Island, to help find Lee.'

'And I have no doubt that River will support my plan. She does enjoy a good plan, as much as Lee and I do. Especially, one that benefits her and those she cares for. Which is the case, here. And I don't mind that she cares for Lee. As long as she continued to care for me, as well.'

'I find jealousy is be such a poor trait for a person to have.'

'And with Lee now a woman. The others will lose track of Lee. And in a month, or so, their time, of them having not luck in finding Lee. I believe Rock and the others will welcome River's help, after losing Lee completely. That way, when they do eventually find Lee. Which I have no doubt they will... That is the way these things happen... River will be there to help protect Lee, and mitigated the situation for Lee.'

'And I have full faith River can handle such a situation on her own. I will request we stay in touch with each other, to help formulate a plan, for when she finds Lee. To help get Lee out trouble with Rock, and the others.'

'And this was only my adventure for this morning.'

'I had another adventure this afternoon. Just after one PM, Arcee and Annie had returned from the B Five Mars. Even though they were planning to do this yesterday, something came up, and they decided to do the mission today. They let me know, about this, yesterday afternoon, and I was okay to put the mission off for a day.'

'Besides, this mission only took a matter of minutes, for me, and those in this reality. Though, they were likely on that Mars for a few hours, to find and capture Matthew. From what I understand, and later saw of him, Matthew was both unharmed, and with his luggage in hand. I don't know how they got him to pack for the occasion... Or, more likely, they caught him on his way out of town.'

'And I am so looking forward to see Annie in a black suit, as the gaming floor pit boss for a shift, in a few days. It will be worth the money. And if it works out, and she likes it. I may hire her on a part time basis as pit boss. Though, I will pay her an saner hourly rate, than her usual fee. And I am doing this as a way to subtly show her, that if she gets tired of her current job with me. There are other jobs she can have at my casino.'

'But, those are plans in the future. Not now.'

Chang became happier, as he continued his thoughts, 'I find that one of the great joys in my life is to have competent, skills, individuals working for me. It makes all the difference in the type of organization I run.'

'With Matthew in hand, when Arcee, and Annie, reported by our internal casino phone system, that Matthew was here, in the back garage. I had Zoe come to the garage, to take him off Arcee and Annie's hands. Zoe then escorted Matthew to a nice suite, that I assigned for him. Where he could drop off his luggage.'

'I picked Zoe to escort Matthew because she is better at handling people, whom are in high stress situations, than Mal, Jayne, or my other subordinates.'

'After Matthew left his luggage in his new suite. Zoe gave him his key card to his suite. Zoe then escorted him up to my personal office.'

'When they got there. I was waiting for them.'

'I sat behind my desk, as Matthew and Zoe stood in front of me. I politely ordered Zoe leave, and head back to her usual duties. After Zoe left, I explained the basics of the situation to Matthew. That he was now in another time, place, and reality, in the multiverse. I told him the basics of who I was. And what my organization was. I even showed him my gender bending abilities. Sneezing on command to change me to a woman, and then back into a man.'

'His reaction was one of mild surprise, which only impressed me further. For him to show such a mild reaction proved that he was the type of person I wanted to work for me.'

'Matthew did ask me why I wanted him? I told him that after the nerves of steel he displayed the night before, that I wanted to hire him on the spot.'

'Then, I told him what I wanted from him. That being I wanted his skills as a lawyer, to draw up contract, and advise me on legal matters.'

'While he was polite during the conversation, I could tell did not like the situation I had forced him into. But, when I quote his monthly salary, in gold. And the benefits and health plan. He quickly came around to liking the idea of working for me.'

'After some small talk, I used my cellphone to contact Zoe, to return to my office, and escort him to the hotel restaurant, to get some lunch. After they left, I left for the garage, got a black sedan, and came here.'

'Also, I am so happy that Ranma came by, during our meeting the morning after Lee left. When we all gathered, as they got ready to go after Lee. She brought that magic lamp with her. And the smoke allowed me to remember all the wonderful things that River and I did while in the time loop.'

'Being a gender bender, with a gender bender lover, is a wonderful thought. Especially, given how creative and imaginative we both are.'

'I think, as a way to return the favor to Ranma, I will give her family a free week, in a few nice suites, in my casino. Along with free use of the spa her family's stay at my casino.'

'And it was wise of me to make sure that River and Annie were not at that meeting. For obvious reasons. They did not trust River. And the others would have all but demanded Annie go, so she could use the force to find Lee more quickly. Which Annie did not want to do.'

'Still, Lee got a way. Though, I will find him. It will just be a while. And this just means that others will likely not find him first. I think after the heat dies down a little, I will allow River to leave and search for Lee. Though, we need to do some talking on our planning on the matter, before she leaves.'

'Now, back to Bao. I bet, she is now worried about me knowing who she really is. But, she is definitely doing a good job of hiding her emotions. I admit that. It always took quite a bit of effort to upset Bao. It was just that Revy had a talent for doing so. I only the other hand, just want to have a little fun with Bao.'

Meanwhile, Bao show not outward emotion, as she thought, with concern, 'Damn. Chang knows it is me. Nothing I can do about it now, but work through the situation. Though, I am glad I did start reading Lee's stories, Black Lagoon manga, and watch the Black Lagoon anime, online.'

'Modern computers, torrents, and high speed internet access, are wonderful inventions.'

'And while it took most of the passed two and half a days, I did finish watching the Black Lagoon anime, and reading the Black Lagoon manga, up to the latest manga issue releases.'

'I must say, the english dub, and the english translation are pretty good. And I found myself, in the anime timeline, and my manga counterpart, were portrayed fairly.'

'Though, I must say in the latest manga storyline that Rock and Revy's counterparts are being their usual foolish selves in helping that chinese spy. But, I am not going to say that out loud. I wonder how that storyline is going to end. But, that is a matter to ponder, later.'

'Still, I have only just finished book two of Lee's stories. And while I am now starting understand why Revy and the others are after his hide. And that the imagination he used to create his stories, only confirms his insanity. Though, Lee had inspiration. Those omakes prove Tex-mex is not a complete pillar of sanity, either.'

'At least now, I have an idea of what Chang, and his new organization are capable of. And with luck, I will be finished reading that book series in the next few days, before I start the remodeling of my bar.'

'Still, I need to deal with Chang, before he starts to cause me problems, like he and the other mafias did in Roanapur.'

Bao calmly inquired, “Hello Chang. How did you figure out it was me?”

Chang answered, “I have my resources, and some people mentioned that the way you ran the Rats Nest bar reminded them of the Yellowflag.”

Bao responded, “Damn. I was worried about that. And you are one of the sharpest people I know. So, it is not surprising you would figure it out.”

Chang replied, “Thank you.”

Bao thought, 'I have already had my bar wrecked this week. I don't want to have my home destroyed, as well. So, I need to take this outside. Just in case there is a fight. Still, I wish I had gotten my gun before answering the door.'

'Though, I am not going to turn my back on this snake. And at this distance I can probably take him, before he and pull his weapons. Not that I am going to gloat about it. I know better than to let my opponents know my skills and abilities. Unless them knowing benefits myself.'

Bao politely requested, “Let's talk outside.”

Chang shrugged, as maintained his slight grin. He casually replied, “Fine with me.”

Bao then shut her front door behind her, as she and Chang walked out onto Bao's front yard.

As they continued walking side by side, as a casual pace, with Chang to Bao's right side.

Bao looked around, as she thought, 'I don't see anyone outside, right now. And doubt I will, at this time of day. Considering, it is a weekday. With children having school, and adults having work. And given the private conversation I am having with Chang, right now, that suits me just fine.'

Chang looked over at Bao, as he complimented, “By the way, you look hot as a woman.”

Bao cracked a grin, as she looked at Chang's face. She said, “And so do you, when you are a woman?”

Chang snorted, as he commented, “I guess my gender forms do look like brother and sister.” Chang thought, 'It is possible that Lee told Bao about his stories. Along, with the Black Lagoon series and omakes. And that I am a gender bender. With Bao already meeting me in my female form, as well. So, she is probably more knowledgeable about the situation than she lets on. Not that it really matters. Though, Bao always was one to know when it was best to keep a secret.'

Bao then came to a stop, and turned to Chang.

With his enhanced hearing, Chang heard Bao's steps stop. He came to a stop, as well, as he turned to look at Bao.

Bao stated, “Yes. Once you know it is possible to completely change gender. It is easy to tell.” She mentally added, 'And I have known since Akira showed me back in Roanapur. Also, that is not all. And fortunately, I have a good excuse for knowing you can change into a woman, that does not involve knowing about the Black Lagoon series, nor Lee's stories.'

Bao continued, “And even I saw you a few times at the Tower, as a woman. I learned from those I served drinks to, that boomers were in many cases designed to look like humans. After that, it didn't take a genius to figure out that, as a security measure, you were pretending to be one of your own female bodyguards, with a boomer double in your place. In your place, I might have done something similar to what you did. At least, on that single issue.”

Bao thought, 'But, I would have likely not changed myself into a woman. Not that I mind presently being a woman, now.”

Chang complimented, “You always were sharp, Bao.” He thought, 'And this does not disprove that you know the truth about Lee, his stories, and the Black Lagoon series. But, it is a good excuse, that might throw someone else off your scene.'

Bao thought, 'Now, to find out why you came to my home?' Bao questioned, “Thank you. So, why you here? I doubt that this is just a social visit.”

Chang answered, “When I learned that it was you that was the one that ran the Rats Nests. I just had to come see you. And I heard the maids blew up your bar... Again.”

Bao flatly responded, “I seems to have become a running gag with them.”

Chang said, “I know.” He mentally added, 'And that, running gag, comment, confirms that you likely know most of what is going on. Now, to make my offer.'

Chang's voice took on a sharp edge, as he continued, “And I just wanted you to know that, if you want, I could help you rebuild your place.”

Bao grimly thought, 'This is how it starts with the mafia. As a way to control someone. Offer the victim the rope to hang herself with. The only reason I didn't do anything in Roanapur, was that there were more of them than me. And that I had nowhere else to go. On the other hand, here I have options, in ways Chang likely does not realize.'

Bao thought, with more aggressiveness, 'And now would be a perfect time and opportunity to teach this man a lesson he won't soon forget.'

Bao smirked, as she commented, “You think you actually scare me.”

Chang returned Bao's smirk, as he casually responded, “Of course.”

Bao offered, “Okay... How about a little sparing match. Just for the hell of it. It will allow us clear the air between each other.”

Chang smile widened slight, as he responded, “Sure. I could use a good workout. And after everything you survived in Roanapur. I knew you were a badass. And I always wondered what you were capable of.”

Bao stated, “Thank you. Now first, a few, reasonable ground rules. This is not to the death. We walk away with no hard feelings. And, before we fight, you lose your coat, glasses, and your two pistols.

Chang said, “I can agree to those terms. And I am going to kick your ass.”

Bao commented, “Let us see what happens.”

Chang then walked over to the hood of his black sedan car. He took off his long coat, and laid his coat, on it's back, onto the top of the hood.

Chang then set his sunglasses onto his coat.

Next, from this holsters, behind his lower back, in double-holsters, on his belt, he pulled out his two Beretta seventy-six semi-automatic pistols. With the pistols' custom golden chinese dragon symbols, and chinese etchings, inlaid into ivory grips of his pistols. He set the pistols on top of his coat.

Finally, he took the left end of his coat, and folded it over the pistols and glasses. So no one would see his items.

Chang turned around to face Bao. He then calmly walked back to Bao.

A few seconds later, Chang came to a stop, about six feet from Bao, whom was facing him, with both adults standing in the middle of the cut grass of Bao's friend lawn.

Chang cracked a grin, as he said, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Bao returned Chang's smile, as she answered, “Absolutely. I have been wanting to do this, since the mafia families first set up shop in Roanapur, and gave me, and my customers nothing but trouble.”

Chang guessed, “I take it that you didn't like us coming Roanapur?”

Bao flatly answered, “No. I originally came to Roanapur because, at the time, it was just a small, out of the way, fishing village, that no one would notice I was in. I planned to live the quiet life. Instead, you criminals turned that town into a madhouse.”

Chang grin turned into a smirk, as he casually joke, “What is life, without a little insanity?”

Bao flatly stated, “This.” She then charged at Chang.

Chang's smile grew wider, as he had planned for Bao to rush at him. He thought, 'Ladies first. Then, I knock on your ass, and we call it a day.'

When Bao reached Chang, with her right fist, she threw a punch at his face.

Chang block it, while returning in kind.

But, to Chang's surprised, Bao block his blow, and went for his stomach, with her left knee.

Chang sidestep, to his left, while going for a shoulder blow to Bao's right shoulder.

Bao duck under the strike, as she circle around to face Chang. While, throwing another punch, and she finally landed the first blow of the fight. Which was a glancing punch to Chang's lower jaw.

Fortunately, at the last second, Chang was able to lean back, to he avoided the worst of the blow.

Chang immediately took several steps back from Bao, as Bao firmly stood her ground, and she did not follow Chang.

Chang thought, 'Bao, clearly knows how to fight... This might actually be fun.' He complimented, “Not bad, Bao. I didn't realize you were this good.”

Bao calmly said, “Only hotheads show off. Now, let me show you what I can really do.”

Bao then rushed at Chang.

As Boa reached Chang, both of them started trading blows, blocks, and dodges, with Bao constantly pressing her attack, forcing Chang to take step, after step, backwards.

Given their enhanced reflexes, their speed, their movements were hard to see with the naked eye.

Both of them mostly using their fists, but neither were afraid to mix some elbow, knee and foot work into their attacks.

Chang hit Bao in the upper side of her left jaw, only to have Bao immediately return with a blow to Chang's stomach.

As both of them started making contact hits with each other, neither show any sign of wearing down.

This went on for a solid minute, before Chang was about to get a quick knee to Bao stomach, which knocked her onto her back.

Instead of landing, on the ground, flat on her back, Bao quickly did a backwards somersault, that allowed her to land on her hands. Bao continued the backwards roll, until she landed on both feet, and jump back up, to stand at her full height.

Chang did not press his advantage, as he watched Bao swiftly get up into a defensive stance.

And for the moment, there was a lull in the fighting, as both adults noted that neither of them were even breathing heavily.

Chang thought, with mild surprise, “She's good. Bao is very good at this. She is much better at this than I expected her to be. But, the good new is the fact she got into the defensive stance. Meaning she not that crazy about continuing the fight. Unfortunately, with the super-soldier serum, both of us have been exposed to. Neither of us are doing any seriously harmed to the other, nor are we close to tiring. Though, there is one question I need to ask her, before we continued fighting.'

Chang inquired, with slight annoyance in his voice, “Is this going to turn into a four hour fight, like Revy and Roberta once did?”

Bao cracked a grin. She shrugged, as she casually said, “Well, you could always give up.” She charged at Chang.

Chang started laughing, as he stated, “Then, take your best shot.” He then rushed at Bao.

As the two of them met again in combat, both of them fought even harder than before.

After another two straight minutes of intense fighting, Bao caught Chang in a blow to his stomach, which temporally knocked the wind out of him. She immediately circled around Chang. As she did so, she did a sweeping kick to the front of Chang's lower legged, forcing him onto his knee, on the soft dirt.

Bao then swiftly moved behind Chang, and put him in a headlock, with her left forearm around the front of Chang's neck, her right hand gripping her left wrist, and her head resting against the back right side of Chang's head. Though, Bao allowed the headlock to be just loose enough to not make Chang pass out.

As Chang got his second wind back, he realize in thought, 'It's over. I am on the ground, Bao has me in a headlock. But, considering she still has me in a headlock, I don't think she is finished, just yet.'

Bao leaned her head, to beside Chang's right ear, as she casually stated, “You know, Chang. As I am sure you guessed, by now, about me. That I have always liked keeping secrets. Because those secrets kept me alive. Such as none of you in Roanapur ever knew the truth about my past. Not you. Not Balalaika. Not Dutch. Not the blonds at the Ripoff Church. And certainly not that redheaded bitch, Revy. And there was a good reason for that.”

“Given Revy, and most of the others crazies, that for some reason decided to be my customers. And you mafia heads forced me to keep on as customers. Almost all of them had competitive natures. If they had learned of my past, one of those lunatics might have challenged me to a fight. A type of fight, where it didn't matter if I won or lost. It would still cause me problems, either way. But, given you are one of the saner people I know of, I am going to level with you.”

“As I am sure you know, I was a veteran of the Vietnam War. I was a member of the ARVN. As in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. I made not secret about that.”

Bao voice took on a measure of pride, as she continued, “But, what you, and everyone else do not know, was that I wasn't just some nobody private. I am a graduate of the steel refinery. A member of the Biet Dong Quan. A ARVN ranger.”

Chang's eyes went wide, as he thought, with worry, 'Wow. That is a surprise. I admit that I have completely underestimated, Bao. She might actually be a tougher badass than me... And I am not talking about her physical abilities. The ARVN rangers were on par with those of Hotel Moscow. She could probably give the bloodhound a workout.'

'I had no idea that Bao was such a badass. No wonder she kept this secret from everyone. If Revy found out about this, she would have wanted to challenge Bao, just on sheer principle. And those of us in the various mafias might have actually tried to forcibly recruit him.'

As Chang composed himself, he said, “So, that is how you survived so many bar fighters in Yellowflag.”

Bao did not relax her arm lock on Chang's throat, as she stated, “Yes. And at the end of the war, I was slightly crippled from some chest wounds, to my sides. So, I was not actually at a hundred percent, when I lived in Roanapur.”

“But, I was still able to survive in that shithole your mafias turned Roanapur into. Also, just so you know, my training and combat experience is on pair with the members of Hotel Moscow. And I would guess the Bloodhound as well. I just preferred to keep that part of my life to myself.”

Chang thought, 'That confirms that. Though, I wonder...' Chang asked, “So Boa, how did you end up in Roanapur? At the end of that war, I read that most of your friends in the vietnamese rangers were either executed, or worked to death in so-called re-education camps, by the communists that overran your nation, after the U.S. tucked its tail between its legs and ran.”

Bao coldly answered, “Most of my friends did die those ways, at the hands of those butchers. After the U.S. abandoned us. But, I did not. I was in Saigon at the time of my country's fall. The only reason I was there was because I had just finished recovering from the very chest wounds that cause me problems later in life. Those wounds required a few surgeries to fully repair, to the point I could report back to duty. But, I recovered. And just in time, too.”

Bao's voice turned sad, as she continued, “As the hammer dropped a day after I checked out of the hospital. Those days were a very hectic time. And while most of my friends wanted to stay and fight, I knew a losing battle when I saw one.”

Chang mentally reflected, 'That is another survival trait that has served you week in both Roanapur, all the way to here, in De La Plara Podrido.'

Bao went onto say, in the same sad tone of voice, “There was no point in dying needlessly. Instead, I planned to escape, and continue with my future plans, of finding a good job, finding a good wife, and starting a family. But, you mafia organizations wrecked my plans... For a while... Still, I might start a family here. Though, I wasn't planning on being the one that got pregnant. But then, you do what you have got to do. Though, have children is still far off in my future plans.”

Chang said, in a supportive tone of voice, “There is nothing to feel bad about that, on that matter.”

Bao casually responded, “I know... Fortunately, as I was looking for a way to escape my collapsing nation, I ran into Caxton, and he bailed my ass out. If he hadn't, I would have likely been killed in that losing battle. Or, imprisoned and worked to death, by those communist bastards... Like so many of my friends in the corps, that did not escape the country.”

Chang thought, 'Lee did mention that Caxton and Bao had a past. I even vaguely recall he rewrote a few comments in his, well now her story. And it would make since, in an insane sort of way. Considering they were both fought on the same side, during that war.'

Bao continued, “And even though I was slightly crippled, which I didn't fully realize, until years later. I made it though, and to my destination. Roanapur Thailand. When I reached there, I was able to deal with my wounds, and I lived a peaceful life. I was even able to start up a business. The Yellowflag bar. Everything was fine, until you mafia members showed up.”

“Then, there were all those crazy adventures. Then, you starting playing with the multiverse. Around that time, I saw the proverbial writing on the wall. So, I escaped into the multiverse, only to be captured, by your forces, and I was dropped into one of those vats of green goo.”

“Though, later on, soon after I ended up here. After I got use to being a woman. I realized that I should be thanking you for that process, that turned me into a woman.”

Chang thought, 'Okay. That was not the reaction I was expecting.' He asked, in a confused tone of voice, “Why? I thought you would hate me for turning you into a woman?”

Bao answered, with amusement in her tone of voice, “No. I don't hate you for doing that to me. You see, that vat process not only turned me into a woman. You also fix all my health problems. You even restored my youth. And even though I am now a woman, I have never felt physically better. And I am back to my old badass self. And I have you to thank for that.”

Chang sarcastically thought, 'I think I did a great job in fixing, Bao. The good news is that she is happy about the situation. And given the way she acts, I have no doubt, that over the years, she has gradually overcome any loyalty brainwashing to me that the vat process provided her. Not that I was planning to test that theory.'

Bao stated, in a happy, and eager tone of voice, “I will tell you another little secret. Thanks to you. Right now, I could take Revy, and most of her bitches, in one on one, combat. Though, I just prefer Revy, and the, others not know that.”

Bao tone of voice turned to ice, as she went onto say, “So, I am going to tell you this, just once, Chang. Play your games. Have your fun. But, this is not Roanapur. And I am no longer old and crippled. If you try to get me under your thumb, I will kill you. And if I do come after you, I doubt you, nor any of your friends could stop me.”

Chang thought, 'Just when you think you know someone. Talk about secrets. And the strangest part is that all fits. I have completely misjudged the situation. Still, Bao is a good bartender, and runs a bar that Revy, and her friends enjoy going too. So, I won't push the matter.'

'I guess she was the one to put me in my place. And not the other way around.'

'Though, I need to defuse this situation.'

Chang calmly said, “Fine. I understand. Your secrets are safe with me.”

Bao cracked a warm smile, as she happily responded, “Good.” She then let go of her headlock on Chang's neck.

Bao took a few steps away, as Chang stood up, and turned around to face her.

Chang cracked a smile, as he stated, “I will admit that if I had known you were this much of a badass, I would have done more with you.”

Bao said, “I know. That is why I kept my past a secret. Besides, I like being a bartender. And I am pretty good at it.”

Chang responded, “Very true. And I can appreciate your choice of jobs. Still, I have to know. You stated you were fine with me turning you into a woman. You are not upset at all, about that?”

Bao shrugged, as she responded, in a casual tone of voice, “No. The trades offs make up for it. Though, Lee did mention that you had magical packets that could temporally turn a woman into a man. It would be nice to have some fun, the other way, for a change.”

Chang inquired, “So, I take it that you figured out Lee was the writer? And Lee didn't just tell you?”

Bao coyly answered, “Something like that. Lee and I had a wonderful chat.” She thought, 'And I see that Lee was correct in what he told me.'

Chang questioned, “So, you are not upset with Lee, either?”

Bao commented, “No. It was clear that Lee did not realize what he was doing, at the time. And he answered all my questions. And I am not upset with him, because he is a good, polite customer, and a wonderful tipper.”

Chang agreed, “That he is. And in a few days, I will sent over someone, to deliver you a box of a few dozen of those packets, to play with. The way the powder works is to mix the powder with cold water and splash yourself for the gender effect. A large cup of water is enough to do the trick. Hot water reverses it. One packet equals one shot.”

“Also, you can get a woman pregnant using that. And in theory, yourself. If you are not careful. Because the packet does not reset your monthly cycle.”

Bao responded, “Thank you. And I appreciate the warning. Also, you are welcome to come by the Rats Nest when it is rebuilt.”

Chang said, in a slightly happy, relaxed tone of voice, “I look forward to it.”

Chang thought, 'If she is willing to put this all under the bridge. Then, so am I. Besides, it was a fun fight. And I rarely get to have a workout like that. Given River and I care too much to go full force. Spike is busy with her daughter, Julia. And the others, at the casino, are not skilled enough to match me like that, at full force.'

'I may have to ask Bao to do this some other time. And I will send Bao some of those instant man packets in a couple of days.'

Chang then turned around, and he walked back to his car.

When he reached the hood of his black car, he unfolded the left side of his coat. He then picked up and holstered his pistols. Next, put on his glasses, and his long coat.

Afterward, Chang walked over to the left driver side door of his car, he pulled out his keys, used his clicker to unlock the door, opened the door, got into his car, and closed the door. He soon started the car, and he drove away, down the street, in the right hand lane.

As Bao watched Chang drive away, in his black sedan, she thought, 'Well, that fight was not that bad. Also, it was fun putting Chang in his place.'

'I will be sore for a little while. But, so will Chang. Though, we will both recover. And it seems he kept with the rules I laid down, before the fight. And he is not upset. So, all in all, I am doing better than I thought I would, than I expected I would, after our meeting, just now.'

Boa grinned, as she continued her thoughts, 'And my love life is going to get more interesting. And I do miss being able to pee while standing up. Now, I am going back inside, and work the arrangements and plans I will need to rebuild my bar.'

Bao turned around, and she headed for her front door. As soon as she made it to the threshold of her front door, to her home. She opened the unlocked door, and walked inside, with her closing and locking the door behind her.

(_)

The end of Badasses Of the Multiverse: Book 5: “The Gambling Man”: Volume 2: “Total Badass.”

To be continued in Badasses Of the Multiverse: Book 5: “The Gambling Man”: Volume 3: “Dynasty.”