The Nekohanten was empty, except for four teenagers.  "Ryo, did 
you do that?"  Tachi asked from across the room.
	"I think so," the pig-tailed boy replied.  "I wanted to go, and I 
wanted the rest of you to come with me.  That seems to be what happened, 
so I'll take credit for it."
	"That's good."  Tachi looked around.  "What happened to that Shutaro 
Kamen guy?  I know he was from the future, like us.  Why isn't he here?"  
	"Kodachi's son vanished when I grabbed the locket."  Ryo shrugged.  
"I assume he went back to whatever world he came from."
	"That's even better."  The short-haired girl tugged at the ropes 
around her wrists.  They were still tied tight.  "Can you cut me loose?"
	"Let me deal with my half-sisters first.  If I don't stop them, 
Ranko and Spring won't have any hair left."  Stopping a catfight between 
two highly trained martial artists was no easy task, though, and Ryo's 
ethics prevented him from using pressure-point techniques when there was 
no medical need.  Finally, after a bit of three-way wrestling, he managed 
to separate the two girls.
	"Hey, where'd everybody go?" Ranko asked.
	"Nowhere," Ryo answered.  "We're the ones who left."
	Ranko scratched her head.  "Does that mean we won?"
	"Yes, we won."  Tachi slid across the floor the best she could.  "Now 
will _someone_ please untie me?"
	Ranko went to help her cousin, while Spring confronted Ryo.  
"Pig-tail boy beat Great-great-grandmother?"
	"Yes, I did."
	"But pig-tail boy is not strong fighter.  Pig-tail boy think too 
much.  How pig-tail boy win?"
	Tachi stood up and rubbed her hands together, trying to restore 
circulation.  "He won _because_ he thinks so much."
	"Thinker beat fighter?"
	Ryo nodded.
	Spring pondered that for a moment.  "Then Spring no need to find strong 
fighter to marry.  Spring need find strong thinker."
	"Or a strong dreamer, or a man with a strong heart," Ryo 
suggested.  He swept his arms wide.  "The world is open to you.  Find a 
man you love, one who loves you back.  He's bound to be good at something."
	The Amazon smiled.  "Spring like that idea."  She kissed her 
half-brother on the cheek.  "Spring like that idea lots.  Thank you."
	"You're welcome," Ryo whispered, but the girl was already 
half-out the door.
	"Bye-bye, nosey cousin," she called, her voice light and cheerful.  
"Bye-bye hair-pulling girl.  Maybe we fight again some day?"
	"Uh, sure," Ranko said.  "Any time you want.  I'm ready for it."  
The titian-haired girl held her hand in front of her chest, palm up.  A 
glowing ball of energy appeared.  "I'm always ready."
	"Good," Spring said.  And then she was gone.
	"Is it a good idea to let her loose like that?" Tachi asked Ryo.
	The pig-tailed boy shrugged.  "It's her world."  He held up the 
locket.  "And I have this.  She won't be doing any real harm, especially 
if she's decided she likes brainy types."
	The locket glowed blue, and the world dissolved in frozen fire.

* * * * *

	Ryo, Tachi, and Ranko stepped out of thin air and into the middle 
of a dimly-lit restaurant.  "I think this is where you  want to be," Ryo 
said as he looked around.  "I'm not sure; I've never  been here before.  
Knowing what you want seems to be the key, but the Nekohanten doesn't 
exist in my world."
	Tachi nodded.  "This is the place.  And the century.  My Mom 
made my father take us here two weeks ago.  They still haven't changed 
the decorations."
	"Lucky you," grumbled Ranko.  "Pop's idea of eating out is goin' 
to  Ucchan's."  Ryo frowned at his transdimensional half-sister.  "D'oh, 
sorry," she apologized.
	"What do you plan to do now?" Tachi asked, nodding at the locket 
Ryo held tight in his fist.  "You can go anywhere with that.  Anywhen.  
The possibilities are endless."
	Ryo stared at the battered piece of heart-shaped silver.  "Knowing 
what you know, having spent a day in the past, what would you do?"
	Tachi made a face.  "I'd throw it in the deepest well I could find."
	"That sounds like a good idea to me."
	"Three for dinner?" asked an elderly Chinese man.  He held out menus.
	"That," said Ryo, "is my signal to go home.  Bell-chan is waiting."
	Ranko took a menu from the man and studied it, trying to puzzle 
out the Chinese writing.  "Well, it's been cool knowing you, Ryo."  She 
punched the boy in the shoulder with her free hand.  "Keep practicing; 
you've got some good moves hidden in there."
	"Don't listen to her," Tachi advised.  "When you start thinking 
with your muscles, you stop thinking with your head.  It was nice meeting 
a boy my age with a brain, Ryo.  I almost wish you had a counterpart in 
my world."
	Ryo stared at her in surprise.  "I'm teasing," she told him.  "I 
mean, you're an almost-married man, and Bell-chan is my friend."
	"Oh."  Ryo shook his head.  "You did have me spooked for a bit.  
Remember, the Tachi Kuno I know is a boy."
	Tachi laughed, and patted Ryo on the cheek.  "Go on, get out of here."
	Ryo held up the locket, and vanished in a flash of azure flame.

* * * * *

	Ranma blinked.  Ranko and the others were gone.  "Did you do 
something, you old ghoul?" he accused Cologne.
	"No, Son-in-law.  Your son did this by himself."
	"So, we won?"
	"Yes, Ranma," Nabiki said.  "We won."  She looked down at Kuno's 
prone form.  _Will he remember?_ she wondered.
	Cologne sensed the Tendo girl's question.  "Those of us who were 
conscious when the second generation vanished will retain all of our 
memories."  She let her gaze wander across Ryoga, Shampoo, Kuno, and 
Kodachi.  "For the others, it will be as if today never happened."
	"Oh," Nabiki said softly.
	Ukyou, ever practical, stared at Cologne.  "Now what?  This is 
all your fault, after all."
	The Amazon held her hands up.  "Fate is to blame.  I merely 
seized the opportunity I was presented.  You can not fault me for that.  
In my place, you would have done the same."  Nabiki frowned, and Ukyou 
looked away, but both knew Cologne was right.  "Besides," the old woman 
continued, "if you blamed me for everything that went wrong in your 
lives, you would never have the time to live them."
	Ranma's stomach grumbled.  Philosophy made him hungry.
	"I believe I have enough ramen for everyone," Cologne suggested, "but 
I would need to have someone clean up the restaurant while I cook it."
	Ranma licked his lips.  "I've got nothin' better to do."
	"Ranma, what are you thinking!" Akane accused.
	"Ranchan, what are you doing?" Ukyou echoed.
	"Hey, I'm hungry," he said, as if his fiancees would accept that 
as a valid excuse.
	Cologne smiled to herself as Ranma was thoroughly pummeled.  Things 
were back to normal already.

* * * * *

	Nabiki stared at the small pile of artifacts she'd gathered from 
the floor of the Nekohanten.  Most of them were unremarkable; ballpoint 
pen technology was destined to remain static over the next twenty years.  
The sonic knife was the only intriguing piece, but it was a self-contained 
unit, and she couldn't figure out how to get the case open.
	There was a knock at the door.  Nabiki swept everything into a 
desk drawer, turned off the lamp, and called, "Come in."
	Akane walked over to her sister.  "Hi," she said.
	"'Hi,' back.  What's up, sis?"  Nabiki spun her chair around.  "Has 
Dad been bugging you and Ranma to get married again?"
	Akane shook her head violently.  "Like I'd ever marry that 
pervert.  Even in other worlds he's chasing after other women."
	Nabiki smiled secretly.  Akane was blushing, although she did her best 
to hide it.  _Silly girl, you can't lie to_ me.
	"No," Akane said, a trifle rushed.  "I was wondering how _you_ 
were doing, Nabiki.  I mean, it seems pretty clear that you're going to be 
marrying Kuno in the near future, but when he woke up after the fight, he 
was chasing me all around the restaurant."  She sat down on her sister's 
bed.  "And then when Ukyou and Ranma got in a water fight when they were 
washing dishes, well, you saw what happened."
	Nabiki pursed her lips.  "Why should I care?  It's not like I 
believe in destiny or anything."
	"But you seemed so sad."
	"I was," the mercenary girl agreed.  "Tachi left for the future, 
and she didn't tell me anything about the stock market.  Do you realize 
how much money I could have made?"
	Akane frowned.  "And that's all you were upset about?"
	Nabiki pressed her hand to her chest.  "Please!  This is _me_ 
we're talking about.  What do you think?"
	"You're right," Akane agreed.  She stood up.  "Good night, Nabiki."
	"G'night, Akane."  The middle Tendo girl picked up an account 
book and started flipping pages.
	Akane smiled as she closed her sister's door.  _I know I can't lie 
to you, Nabiki, but you can't lie to me, either._

* * * * *

	Ranma leaned back.  The stars were the same as they ever were.  
_I wonder why I thought they'd be different.  Everything's back to 
normal, or, at least, that's what Cologne and Nabiki say._
	Ranma closed his eyes.  _I can't believe I'd ever let Shampoo marry  
me._  He shuddered in the cold night air.  _Or Kodachi.  That's even 
worse.  Ukyou, maybe, I guess, and Ak-_  He derailed that train of 
thought.
	_My kids seemed nice enough, even Spring, when she wasn't trying to 
kill anyone... well, Shutaro was whacked, but he sure could fight.  Ranko 
had my spunk, and she was cute, just like her mo-_
	Ranma sat up.  That was more than enough introspection for him.
	A shooting star traced a path of fire across the sky.  Ranma 
blinked, then instinctively looked to Akane's window.  She was leaning on 
her windowsill, making a wish.  _In the starlight, she sure looks cute.  
If Ranko's any indication, she must look that good in the future, too_
	Akane opened her eyes and saw her fiance staring at her.  "What 
are you looking at, pervert?" she yelled as she tugged her nightgown close.
	"Huh?" said Ranma.  "You didn't think I-"
	"Huh" was, of course, the wrong answer.  A dumbbell caught Ranma 
square in the face, knocking him off the roof and into the pond below.  "Who 
ever said you were cute?" she yelled, but Akane's window was closed, and 
the drapes were shut.
	"Bah," Ranma said as she dragged herself out of the water.  "I 
bet she's a tomboy in every future."
 ______
{B-{=__

	Well, that's it for Descents and Inversions.  I will concatenate 
the whole thing and edit a beta version, correcting my mistakes and 
making sure the whole thing is internally consistent.  That's a project 
for next quarter, though.
	There's a reason why Ryo Saotome's story ends with Tachi and 
Ranko.   It's a tale for another day, though.  If you must know, he does 
make it home safely, but that's all I'm going to say now.
	Oh, and for anyone who wondered, descents and inversions come 
from the field of combinatorics.  If you take an ordered set of numbers, 
and look at all the times a smaller number comes after a bigger one... 
well, I doubt you want the details.  E-mail me if you do.
	I can't believe such a big story came out of random net discussion.

Ross John McKenzie Jr.