All the characters in this story are the creation of Akahori Satoru,
Kotobuki Tsukasa, and Rumiko Takahashi... or practically all of them,
anyway.The title is stolen from Heinlein... with one letter s added.

        Strangers in a Strange Land
         Chapter 16

The next morning Nabiki didn't arrive for her lesson, and Akane fretted all
the way through breakfast about it.

"Why isn't she here by now?" The youngest Tendo asked Ranma for the fifth
time that morning. "Do you think something's happened to her?"

Otaru blinked at something he was reading in the paper. "Maybe this has
something to do with it. Look at this headline." He held out the paper,
pointing at the bold print. "Whirlwind Bandit strikes again." He looked at
the paper again. "It says here that this notorious bandit has been all
across the world, and he infiltrated Castle Japoness last night!"

Bloodberry took the paper from Otaru in interest. "Let's have a look at
that." She started reading aloud from the paper. "For the past several days
a mysterious thief has been sweeping through the city of Japoness like a
storm pilfering food and valuables. People have named him the Whirlwind
Bandit." They were all sitting around in the restaurant, save Lime, who had
left to go play in the mountains right after breakfast.

Sitting by herself, Panther slammed her hand into one of the restaurants
tables. "Damn you, Whirlwind Bandit! You'll pay for this!"

"Calm down, Panther." Otaru said reassuringly.

"How can you expect me to calm down?!?" Panther exclaimed angrily. "I was
one of the victimized! He stole the dirk of pure gold that Lord Faust gave
specially to me... as well as all of my poems!"

"My poems?" Bloodberry said incredulously.

"I didn't know you wrote poetry, Panther." Otaru said in interest.

"Who would have guessed it?" Bloodberry replied, not looking very
interested.

Lynx spoke up from behind the counter. "She may not look it, but Panther is
actually quite lyrical."

Akane looked anxious. "What's that got to do with Nabiki? Do you think this
Whirlwind Bandit person might have hurt her or something?"

Otaru shook his head. "The paper doesn't say anything about anyone being
hurt. She probably just has to stay at the palace right now so she can
protect Lorelei, what with a break there and all."

Ranma nodded, trying to reassure Akane. "Sure, it's her job, after all. I'm
sure she's fine. We're going to be going to see her later today anyway, and
you can see for yourself."

Akane sighed. "I'm sure you're right. We'd have heard if anything bad
happened at the palace, right?" Otaru and Ranma were quick to agree with
her, and Cherry and Bloodberry added their support a moment later.

Panther, on the other hand, had barely noticed the other conversation,
holding up a fist angrily as she made a declaration. "I don't care if he has
hurt anyone or not. Once I get my hands on that damned Whirlwind Bandit...
I'll ram a napalm bomb down his throat... and stuff him down the mouth of
the Japoness Fuji!"

Bloodberry couldn't help but chuckle. "Now there's poetry in motion."

Otaru laughed. "Well, I'll take Bloodberry with me and start looking around.
If we have any trouble, we can always come back here and get help."

Akane looked worried. "Ranma and I could come along and help, Otaru-san. It
might be dangerous if you go by yourself."

Otaru shrugged. "I'm not worried. Bloodberry should be able to handle any
problems we run into."

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, Bloodberry can handle things, Akane. She's strong
enough to handle some dumb bandit."

Otaru nodded back. "Yeah, we'll be fine. Someone has to run the restaurant,
and you two have a lot to do today, don't you?"

Akane nodded, trying not to blush. "Yes, we were going back to that bread
shop I was at yesterday and talk to the owner... you said his name was
Chodo, Cherry?" She glanced at Cherry, who nodded in understanding. "When
we're done there we're planning on going to go over to the palace and have
Lorelei update some of our sensory programs."

Cherry nodded. "That's right, Chodo Kounji is the owner of the bread shop
that has been supplying our restaurant. From what you've told me you both
recognized him?"

Akane shrugged slightly. "He looks just like an old friend of ours... Ukyo
Kounji. The name can't be a coincidence. I guess Ukyo must be one of
Ieyasu's ancestors as well as Kuno."

Cherry nodded. "That is most likely the case. I believe Ieyasu was able to
tease out the familial genotypes of almost two hundred different families
when he started the process of creating clones. It's possible that there
will be other family names that will be familiar to you here in Japoness as
well."

Ranma laughed wryly. "I wouldn't be half surprised."

*******************

A bit later, Ranma and Akane stopped outside of the modest looking bakery
and peered inside. "Is this the place?" Ranma asked quietly.

"Yes." Akane said with a nod. "He was in here."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Ranma replied impatiently, leading the way
in through the front door. Akane followed the shorter girl closely, visibly
nervous.

The effeminate looking man at the counter blinked in surprise at seeing
them."You again?" He peered at Akane in concern. "You're not going to break
down again, are you?"

Akane flushed bright red in embarrassment and indignation. "I did not break
down!" She insisted sharply. "I was just... shocked." She finished lamely.
"It's a little hard to explain."

The man behind the counter raised an eyebrow. "Hard to explain, huh?" He
turned to Ranma. "And what are you two doing here then?"

Ranma blinked. "Well... we wanted to talk to Uk... I mean the guy that came
by to deliver bread to Otaru's restaurant the other day."

The effeminate man blinked. "You want to speak to Chodo?"

As they were speaking the individual in question came out from the back.
"Hey, what's going on out here?" Chodo blinked in shock at the sight of
Ranma and Akane. "You two?" He waved his hands calmingly, looking alarmed.
"Don't break down, don't break down!"

Ranma and Akane both looked at him and sighed. "We aren't going to break
down, OK?" Ranma explained. "We were both just shocked before... it's kind
of hard to explain." The petite red head frowned slightly. "Can we talk
privately? It's a long story."

Chodo blinked again. "You sure you're not going to break down on me again?"

The two marionettes both sighed again. "We're not going to break down."
Ranma answered tersely. "Now can we talk?"

Chodo hesitated, then nodded. "Alright, let's go in the back." He nodded to
the man behind the counter. "Satsuma, you mind things while I'm in back,
right?"

Satsuma chuckled. "Don't I always?"

Chodo led Ranma and Akane back through the bakery itself to a small office
behind it. "Alright." Chodo said, turning around to face them. "What's all
this about?"

"Why don't you explain, Akane." Ranma said. "You're better at this sort of
thing."

"You mean talking?" Akane quipped sarcastically. "Alright." She faced Chodo
squarely, turning serious. "I'm sorry about yesterday. Both Ranma and I were
shocked when we saw you, because you look exactly like someone you used to
know a long time ago."

Chodo blinked. "A long time ago? I don't understand."

Akane glanced uncomfortably at Ranma, then back at the baker. "Like Ranma
said, it's a long story. When we were built, we were given the memories of
Akane Tendo and Ranma Saotome. As far as we're concerned, we are them,
although we realize that the original Ranma and Akane must be long dead by
now." Ranma looked decidedly uncomfortable at what Akane was saying, and
Akane herself squirmed a little at saying it out loud.

Chodo frowned in confusion. "You were given memories? You mean the memories
of real people?"

Akane nodded patiently. "Yes. The real Akane and Ranma lived five hundred
years ago, on Earth."

"And right here and now." Ranma insisted. "I am Ranma, and if I'm a copy, I
can't tell the difference."

Chodo looked amazed. "That's incredible!" He exclaimed excitedly. "You two
remember being on Earth? Is that where you knew this person that looks like
me?"

Akane nodded, smiling in relief at being believed. "Yes, Ukyo Kounji was a
friend of ours... back then."

Chodo nodded in interest. "Kounji is my family name. The Kounji's were one
of Ieyasu's ancestors, and I carry on their name."

Ranma grinned. "Hey, that's great! Do you know the Kounji style of martial
arts too?"

Chodo's face lit up as well. "As a matter of fact, I have been working on
recreating that style from the notes left by my ancestors. My father's
father put together a great deal of the style, and I have been trying to
follow in his footsteps... when I'm not being a baker, that is."

Ranma nodded thoughtfully. "I guess there wasn't anyone around to teach you
all, huh?" She shrugged. "I could probably help you out with it. Ucchan and
me used to fight all the time when we were kids, and I probably know as much
as anyone about it."

Chodo's eyes went wide. "You know my family's school?"

Ranma shrugged. "Well, I ain't ever been "officially" taught it or nothin,
but ya fight someone as often as I have ya pick up some stuff. I can piece
it together for you, see what you're doing wrong and stuff, if you like."

Akane nodded proudly. "Ranma can do it. She's the grand master of the
Anything Goes school, and she can learn a new style of martial arts in three
days or less, and has. If she says she can teach you the Kounji school, I'd
believe her."

Chodo shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know what to believe. This is
all so strange. Are you really girls from five hundred years ago?"

Akane nodded. "As much as we are anything else. We are marionettes, after
all, not humans, but aside from that, I really am Akane Tendo. I lived five
hundred years ago, and right now."

Chodo smiled slightly. "I don't know why, but I believe you. You certainly
seem to know about my ancestor. How did it happen, though? How did you come
to be here and now?"

Akane hesitated, then began telling the attentive baker about their first
experiences on Terra Two, and how they had been brought forward to the
present time. It was a long story, and over an hour passed before she
finished it. Ranma listened in some interest as well, as much of the story
she had not been present for, and it was fascinating to hear Akane's
perspective, even on matters they had both been present for. Ranma found
herself chiming in with details from time to time, explaining events that
Akane had not been present for.

When their tale came up to their present circumstances, Chodo nodded. "Now I
understand why you came here yesterday. Are you still looking for a job,
Akane?"

Akane hesitated, then nodded back. "Yes, actually, I am."

Chodo shrugged. "Well, I do need someone to handle deliveries. My last
deliveryman just left for another job, and I could use the help."

Akane smiled. "Then I can have the job?"

Chodo nodded firmly. "Absolutely, sugar. You can start tomorrow if you
like."

"I sure would!" Akane nodded back vigorously. "When do you want me to come
in?"

Chodo laughed. "I'm glad you're so enthusiastic. We start making deliveries
around seven in the morning, so if you could come in a little before then?"

Akane nodded again. "I'll be here."

"Alright then." Chodo looked satisfied. "We can talk about salary now if you
like, although I'm not sure I can pay you what you're worth."

Akane shook her head. "Why don't we see how the first day goes before you
decide how much to pay me. You don't even know if I can handle the job yet."


Chodo grinned. "Deal. I'm not worried though. I'm sure you'll do fine." He
hesitated. "I'd love to talk to you two some more, but I really need to get
back to work. We have several large orders for tomorrow."

Akane nodded. "That's OK, we've got to get going as well. Lorelei's
expecting us today."

Chodo looked impressed. "Well then, you had better not keep Lorelei-san
waiting." He hesitated. "Ranma, about my family's school...."

Ranma nodded. "I've been doing some teaching over at Otaru's place in the
mornings... you can join us there if you like, or we could work something
out if we need too."

Chodo hesitated. "Well, let me think about it. What time do you usually
start?"

Ranma shrugged. "I'm used to getting started by dawn, but with Nabiki living
at the palace it'll probably be a bit later than that."

Chodo wrinkled his nose. "Well, I'll have to see when I have some time, but
I really would appreciate all the help you could give me with perfecting my
family's school of martial arts."

Ranma shrugged. "Sure, anything for one of Ukyo's decendents."

Chodo smiled again, shaking his head. "If someone told me yesterday that I'd
be meeting someone who know my ancestor from five hundred years ago, I'd
have thought they were crazy."

Ranma laughed. "Then you probably can guess how crazy I feel sometimes."

Chodo blinked. "I guess I can."

**************************

Ranma and Akane arrived at the palace only a few minutes later, having taken
the high road over the rooftops to get there. Tamasaburo and Baiko had met
them at the front gates and had led them to Lorelei's laboratory, where the
willowy scientist was working, then left them.

Nabiki was standing by Lorelei's shoulder when they came in and was the
first to greet them. "Hey guys, we've been expecting you for awhile now.
Come
in for your upgrades?"

Lorelei turned to face them with a smile. "It's a simple procedure. We can
get you done in a few minutes."

Akane bowed to Lorelei formally. "We really appreciate you doing this for
us, Lorelei-san."

Lorelei blushed, bowing back automatically. "You don't have to bow to me,
Akane-san. I was glad to do it." She looked up. "So, who would like to go
first?"

Akane and Ranma glanced at each other uncomfortably. "Er..." Akane glanced
at her sister, suddenly remembering. "Oh, big sister, we heard about the
breakin here. What happened?"

Nabiki frowned "We had did have intruder in the palace last night. She
managed to get all the way down to the lab."

"She?" Akane asked inquisitively.

"Yes, she." Nabiki answered. "From the security tapes it definitely appeared
to be a marionette. A Saber Marionette." She paused for effect. "It also
appeared that she has a maiden circuit."

Ranma looked confused. "Do you think it was one of Otaru's bunch?"

Nabiki shook her head. "This was someone new. Blue hair, dark skin, wearing
a cloak.... I was hoping you two might have seen something." Ranma and Akane
both shook their heads.

"We haven't see anyone like that." Akane confirmed. "Do you think she's
dangerous, Nabiki?"

"Probably." Nabiki said grimly. "Especially if she could break through the
security here so easily." She sighed. "Still, she ran pretty quickly when I
tried to confront her, so maybe I won't have to worry about her coming
back."

Akane put a hand on her sister's shoulder reassuringly. "We'll keep an eye
out, Nabiki."

Ranma spoke up. "Hey, how come this new marionette has a maiden circuit?
Aren't they supposed to be really rare? I thought there was only nine of
us?"

Nabiki shrugged. "That's got us puzzled too. Lorelei thinks it might be
something a neighboring government built, as no one outside of a government
or a government contractor should be able to build a Saber Marionette, much
less one with a maiden circuit."

Ranma looked surprised. "Wow, I didn't really think about it like that
before. I guess we must have been really expensive, huh?"

Nabiki nodded. "I imagine so. I'm glad we don't have to pay that bill. It
would probably take most of our lives to pay off." She chuckled. "Well, not
on my current salary, I guess." She rolled her eyes. "Just ten years or so."


Ranma winced. "Ouch. No wonder the Kunos were mad."

Akane frowned at Ranma in disapproval. "It shouldn't matter how much we cost
to build. That didn't give them the right to make us their slaves."

Nabiki frowned thoughtfully. "Didn't it? Remember, we currently have no
actual rights. It's just lucky that Godai and Yusaku aren't in any position
to claim us anymore."

Akane looked worried. "Do you think Yusaku will try to get us back after all
this?"

Nabiki snorted. "Last I heard he was on trail for treason. He's going away
for life at the least. He's not going to be bothering us again."

Akane nodded, looking a bit better. "I hope you're right. Do you think
they'll need us to testify?"

Nabiki blinked. "I have no idea. I'll see what I can find out."

Before long the conversation came back around to getting the new chips
installed, and it wasn't too long before the procedure was done, much to
Ranma and Akane's relief.

"Whew." Ranma said, looking relieved. "I thought that was going to be a lot
tougher. It didn't take any time at all, just open a panel an in it went."

Akane shivered. "I don't think I'm ever going to get used to being able to
open my own chest up...."

Nabiki shrugged. "Well, you shouldn't have to do that very often. Besides,
it's a lot easier than having to undergo surgery, isn't it?"

Akane sighed. "I suppose." She took a deep breath and gathered herself. "I
guess we should get going. We should let Otaru know that the Whirlwind
Bandit is really a marionette. We said we'd be back it time for lunch,
anyway."

Nabiki nodded. "See you tomorrow morning, you two."

Akane blinked. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I got a job, Nabiki! I start
tomorrow morning. If you come by early enough you can see me off to my first
day at work."

Nabiki smiled genuinely. "That's great, Sis. What are you doing?"

"Deliveries for a bakery." Akane answered. "And you'll never guess who I'm
working for!"

Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Akane winked. "I'll leave it for a surprise. See you tomorrow!" She grabbed
Ranma's hand and pulled the smaller girl off. "Bye bye, Nabiki. Take good
care of Lorelei!"

Nabiki watched her sister disappear, then went back into the lab. "Lorelei."
She approached the scientist with a thoughtful expression. "What have you
heard about Yusaku's trial? Will we be needed to testify?"

Lorelei looked up from her work. "Hmm? I'm not sure. I've already given my
deposition, and the prosecutor seemed to think that it was an open and shut
case. They won't be "subjecting me" to any more "trauma" by asking me to
testify directly." She said a bit wryly. "Not that I really mind, but
sometimes I think they think that I'm some sort of glass figurine, too
fragile to touch and only to be looked at from afar. I think they'd prefer
if I was kept in a display case somewhere."

Nabiki considered that for a moment. "You ARE precious to me, Lorelei. More
precious than anything else on this planet... but I don't think of you as a
glass figurine, not to be touched. I certainly don't want you in a display
case. I want you right here with me." She smiled warmly at the scientist.
"And while I do enjoy looking at you, I don't wish to do so from afar."

Lorelei blushed. "Have you ever considered writing poetry?" She finally
asked.

It was Nabiki's turn to blush. "There I go, sounding like Kuno-chan...." She
shook her head. "I'm not usually this... lyrical... being around you is
doing strange things to me, Lorelei."

Lorelei sighed. "Love usually does that." She looked a bit confused. "I
wasn't aware that General Kuno liked poetry... and why... chan?"

Nabiki laughed. "Oh right. No, I was thinking about my Kuno, in the past. He
was a classmate of mine... and liked to sound like a Shakespearean actor
most of the time. Quite the character, Kuno-chan. He kept things
interesting,
I can say that much for him."

Lorelei nodded in understanding. "Ah, I remember, he was the one that had
your memories recorded. He must have been a man of impressive foresight."

Nabiki nearly choked. "I wouldn't say that, exactly. Kuno-chan was a bit
moreof the obsessive variety. He couldn't make up his mind between Ranma and
my younger sister, so he had them both saved for posterity. I guess he added
me into the bargain just in case. We did date once or twice, so I guess he
thought there might be a chance for more."

Lorelei looked interested. "Did you return his feelings? You seem to be a
bit fond of him."

Nabiki looked surprised at her question. "Me and Kuno? No way. He was rich,
I admit, and I wasn't above letting him buy me lunch, or a present or two,
but he was definitely NOT my boyfriend. He was a two timing jerk, really,
although he was too slow to realize that he was doing anything wrong by
trying to date both Ranma and my sister at the same time. He thought his
social status and "personal charm" gave him the right to do whatever he
wanted. I could never like an idiot like that, no matter how rich he was."

"I see!" Lorelei's eyes were wide at the outburst, and Nabiki flushed
slightly. The willowy scientist smiled reassuringly. "It seems that your
Kuno had much in common with the ones we have today, don't you think?"

Nabiki nodded. "I'll say. Godai and Yusaku were even worse than that idiot.
Actually, Yusaku looks just like Kuno did back then, and he's just as full
of himself. At least my Kuno never tried to makes slaves of all of us...
although he probably would have tried it if he thought he could get away
with it." She frowned. "I can't believe I used to help that idiot out."

Lorelei patted Nabiki's hand where the agitated marionette was gripping the
desktop tightly. "He was your friend, even if he behaved badly at times.
General Kuno and Yusaku are not the same as him. You shouldn't let them
tarnish any good memories you might have of the past."

Nabiki look a deep breath. "I know. I wouldn't really have called Tatewaki
Kuno my friend, really, I just kinda made fun of him by calling him "chan"
all the time. He was always so pretentious about it." She giggled. "Kind of
like Hanagata, actually, although not even Kuno-chan was that prissy." She
shrugged. "He did have his good moments, occasionally."

Lorelei nodded. "All people do, from time to time."

Nabiki nodded back in acceptance, then remembered her original subject. "On
another subject, do you think they'll need our depositions? On the case
against Yusaku, I mean. Or is the case already so tight that they don't need
any other witnesses?"

Lorelei looked uncomfortable at that. "Well... the prosecuting attorney
wanted to know if it would be possible to get a download of you, Akane and
Ranma's memories from that time. I didn't think you'd appreciate that very
much, so I suggested he use the Kuno's other household marionettes instead."


Nabiki had gone still at hearing the prosecutor's request. "Download our
memories? Of course, that makes perfect sense."

She spoke distantly, no emotion in her voice, and Lorelei quickly took
Nabiki's hand in hers. "I would never ask you to do that, Nabiki. It
wouldn't be right."

Nabiki sighed, loosing her unemotional mask. "I know that YOU wouldn't,
Lorelei." She sighed again. "And if it was the only way to make sure
Yusaku's put away for good, I'd do it in an instant, but I don't like the
idea of having my memories... downloaded like that. My memories are mine,
and
I wouldn't appreciate anyone peering through them like some sort of home
movie."

Lorelei nodded firmly. "It would be a terrible violation of your privacy. I
won't let them do that to you."

Nabiki looked worried. "If you can help it, you mean. I guess that they
haven't asked for our depositions because they don't consider us human
enough to testify."

Lorelei sighed and nodded. "I believe so."

Nabiki took a deep breath, then shrugged. "Well, hopefully it won't matter."

Lorelei looked at Nabiki fondly. "You know that I consider you to be every
bit as human as myself. At least where it counts."

"I know." Nabiki answered, smiling slightly once again. "And why should I
care what anyone else thinks? As for my legal status, it'll probably never
even come up, so why worry?"

There was a long silence before Lorelei spoke up. "You're scared, aren't
you?"

Nabiki nodded matter-of-factly. "Petrified, actually."

****************

When Ranma and Akane got back to Otaru's place, they met Bloodberry and
Panther coming up the street in the opposite direction just before they got
to the front door.

"Hey you guys." Bloodberry greeted them with a raised hand. "Have either of
you two seen Yumeji around?"

Akane glanced at Ranma, then shook her head. "Hanagata's little brother? No
Bloodberry, I'm afraid we haven't seen him. Has anything happened to him?"

Bloodberry shrugged. "Who knows? He's been missing for a while now, and
Cherry asked us to check around for him, but...." Bloodberry shrugged again.
"Maybe he's come back on his own." She opened the door to Otaru's
restaurant,and they all walked inside.

"Oh, any luck?" Cherry asked from behind the counter. "Did you find Yumeji?"

Panther closed the door to the restaurant behind them, a rare look of
concern on her face, and Bloodberry opened her arms wide with another shrug.
"Nope. He's outta here."

Cherry looked worried. "Which means... he went to Mt. Kamuna all by
himself...?"

Otaru, who had been sitting at the front counter, listening to their
conversation, broke in, turning to Cherry anxiously. "Mt. Kamuna!? What do
you mean, Cherry?"

"Before, Yume came in looking all unhappy, asking where Lime was." Cherry
explained. "So, I told him that she had gone off to Mt. Kamuna to play." The
purple haired marionette's eyes had a guilty look. "But I never imagined he
would go alone."

"Oh crap!" Otaru stood up immediately, shoving back his stool. "We gotta go
find him, quick! The Whirlwind Bandit investigation can wait!" He glanced
towards the corner of the restaurant, where a miserable looking young man
was surrounded by empty sake jars, looking decidedly unwell. "Hey, Hanagata!
This is no time to be getting plastered!"

Hanagata looked away from Otaru with a drunken sniff. "Hmph. Any little
brother who happily forks over the one treasure more dear to me than life
itself to the friggin' Whirlwind Bandit is no little brother of mine!" He
angrily declared.

Otaru roared in anger and lurched in Hanagata's direction, but Akane held
him back. "He's not worth it, Otaru-san. Let's just go find Yumeji-chan,
alright?"

Otaru gave the drunken Hanagata one final frown, then nodded. "Fine. Lets
split up into teams and get moving. Yumeji is too young to be out in the
woods by himself. He glanced back at Cherry. "Cherry, why don't you stay
here, just in case he comes home. The rest of us can comb the woods quickly
enough." The young man led the others out the front door, a determined look
on his face.

As they were leaving, closing the door behind them, Cherry could hear Akane
speak up. "Oh Otaru, about the Whirlwind Bandit...."

*********************

At around the same time, miles away at the last stop of the Mt. Kamuna line,
a blond little boy got off the train. "Stupid big brother!" Yumeji mumbled
to himself, trying his best not to cry. He was eight years old after all,
and
crying was for little kids, not big kids like himself. The boy started
walking into the woods, finally managing to control his tears, and started
calling out over and over for his friend. "Lime! Lime!" Yumeji kept walking
and calling for Lime, getting farther and farther into the woods, when a
rustling in a patch of tall grass ahead of him caught his attention.

"Lime?" The little boy looked curiously in the direction of the sound. "Is
that you, Lime?" Yumeji started walking in the direction of the tall grass.
"Hey Lime! You know what? Big brother is being real mean to me!" Before he
reached the grass, however, a shadowy form burst from the grass, jumping
straight at the small child. Yumeji screamed in terror and fell backward,
and Ponta cub that had leaped out at him landed in his lap with a happy
mewing sound.

Yumeji looked down in surprise at the foot long red furred Ponta that was
currently occupying his lap and trying to look cute and blinked. "You're a
little Ponta!" He exclaimed in relief. "Did you get separated from the
others?" The small animal mewed again ingratiatingly, and Yumeji smiled,
happy at least to have found someone to talk to. "OK. I'll help you get back
to them!" He looked down at his new friend in interest. "Oh yeah! Did you
see Lime anywhere?" The small animal suddenly turned it's head back the way
it had come, mewing in distress, and Yumeji blinked in confusion. "Huh? What
is it?" A moment later, in answer, a shadow fell over the small boy,
blocking out what little sunlight that had made it through the trees. A tall
figure in a dark cloak loomed over him and once again the small boy screamed
in fright, even as the mysterious person reached for him.

************************

Off in another part of the woods, Lime was heading home after spending the
better part of the day playing with the baby Pontas. Something caused her to
come to a stop, and she turned, looking off to her left in concern.

A patch of bright red berries caught her attention a moment later and she
bent down with a happy smile. "Those look good!" She was about to pick
herself a handful of berries when her attention was again distracted,
glancing up and to the left again. "Huh? Whassat?" Off in the distance she
spotted a trail of smoke rising into the sky, coming from a clearing not too
far away. Her curiosity peeked, Lime decided to head in that direction and
see what was causing the smoke.

Soon Lime came to the edge of the clearing, spotting her friend Yumeji tied
to a tree. "Oh! Hey. Yume! Whatcha doin?" The young boy was crying, and as
Lime came further into the clearing she saw a Ponta cub tied to a spit over
an open campfire, crying out in fear as the air around it got hotter and
hotter. With a startled cry of alarm, Lime rushed forward to save the small
animal.

Yumeji opened his eyes in relief at his friend's voice, then went wide in
shock. "Lime, look out!!" He yelled in warning as his would be rescuer
rushed towards him.

Lime came to a halt in confusion, then caught a hint of movement from her
right a moment too late as a dark cloaked figure leaped out of the woods
with incredible speed, slamming into the marionette from behind with a
shoulder rush. The momentum of the stranger's attack knocked Lime off her
feet and threw her into a tree on the far side of the clearing with stunning
force. Lime cried out in surprise and pain as she hit the tree, then slumped
to the ground at it's base. She recovered from the impact in under a second,
looking up just in time to see her attacker launching a fist directly at her
face. Lime leaped to the side even as a dark skinned hand cracked into the
surface of the tree hard enough to shatter the bark, right where Lime's head
had been a moment before.

Lime slipped into a loose fighting stance, facing her attacker confidently,
while the cloaked figure stared at the fist it had imbedded into the tree
almost in disbelief. The cloaked individual straightened up and turned to
face it's target, and Lime's eyes went wide in surprise as she got her first
good look at her attacker.

"Hey, you're..." Lime paused, looking at the attractive face and long blue
hair of the person in front of her in shock. "... a marionette!" The
marionette standing in front of Lime charged her with a incoherent battle
cry an instant later, not giving her any more time to talk, but it was
alreadyquite evident that she was, indeed, a marionette. The strange
marionette had chocolate brown skin, and several colorful strings of beads
braided into her long, light blue hair. Lime staggered back in surprise as
the strange marionette charged her, but managed to pull herself together in
time to duck under the first punch that the aggressive marionette sent her
way. Getting her equilibrium quickly, Lime back flipped deftly over the
second wild but vicious swing, and leapt quickly backwards and up as her
opponent swung at her a third time with a powerful hay maker, getting clear
just in time.

Lime landed on a tree branch forty or so feet above and away. "Hey! You quit
that!" She scolded the other marionette from her branch, looking rather like
an oversized cat as she perched there on all fours.

"Shut up!!" The cloaked marionette yelled, gathering herself to leap with a
scream of rage. Lime blinked in confusion as her attacker leapt toward her,
leaping clear of her branch just as the angry marionette attacking her
severed it from the tree with a downward chop.

Lime's leap took her even higher into the treetops, and she looked back in
wonder as her attacker fell back down to earth. "Wait a second! Could it
be?"  She wondered aloud. The strange marionette landed on the forest floor
a
moment later, already bracing herself to leap again, and throwing off her
cloak to give herself more freedom of movement, launched herself after Lime
like a guided missile. High in the trees now, Lime noticed the stranger
quickly catching up to her, not having been able to get as much velocity off
her branch as the other marionette had gotten off the ground. Lime turned in
mid flight, landing high up the trunk of an huge old tree like a squirrel,
legs first, bracing to leap again, but her attacker was too close, slamming
into Lime before she could take off, and grabbing her by the shoulders to
throw both of them at the forest floor, now far below.

Momentarily shocked by the impact, Lime found herself hurtling toward the
ground at high speed, the dusky skinned marionette, her hands on Lime's
shoulders, riding her down toward the forest floor. As the ground sped
towards them with dizzying speed, time seemed to slow down for the normally
cheerful marionette. Only moments before impact, Lime acted, pulling the
other marionette in towards her with a sudden jerk, then reversing the hold
in a lightingly like move that put Lime on top. The extremely surprised look
on the other marionette's face was the last thing Lime saw before impact,
the two marionettes crashing into the forest floor hard enough to throw up a
large cloud of dust.

The dust settled and several long moments passed before Lime staggered to
her feet, looking a bit shaky. "Heh." She grinned happily. "I win." She
glanced down at the other marionette and noted that her opponent had
apparently shut down from the shock of impact. Shrugging in confusion, Lime
headed back to the clearing to untie Yumeji and the baby Ponta.

After rescuing her friend and the young Ponta, Lime went back to the strange
marionette, followed by a curious Yumeji and Ponta. Now that Lime was with
him, the young boy quickly lost his fear. Lime had saved him, as she had
done years before when his house had burned down, and as she had saved so
many others. Yumeji was privately of the belief that Lime could do just
about
anything, and seeing her smiling face took away all of his fear. The Ponta
cub too calmed down quickly once it was away from the fire, and followed
after Lime and Yumeji with cat like curiosity.

Yumeji looked at the strange marionette intently, able to get a good look at
it for the first time, now that it had taken it's cloak off. The dark
skinned marionette was quite pretty when it wasn't tying people up to trees,
he thought to himself, although no where near as beautiful as Lime, he
thought loyally. While the strange marionette was as ascetically pleasing as
any marionette he had previously seen, it was dressed strangely, it's
forearms from elbow to wrist, and it's lower legs from knee to foot wrapped
up in long strips of white cloth, like they were bandaged, although she
didn't appear to be injured in any way. She wore a short white piece of
cloth around her waist, tied off at one hip to form an extremely short
skirt,
and she work yet another strip of cloth across her breasts, like an
improvised bikini top. Besides the beads in her hair, she had a thumb sized
red glass bead on a string around her neck, and wore simple black sandals
over the bandages on her feet.

It was several minutes later when the strange marionette's systems finally
came back online. When the dark skinned marionette opened her eyes, the
first thing she saw was the faces of Lime, Yumeji and the Ponta. Yumeji and
the Ponta both looked worried while Lime on the other hand beamed pleasantly
at her. Startled, the marionette scrabbled backwards and away from them in a
panic, coming to rest several feet away.

Lime looked apologetically at the other marionette. "Are you OK? I'm
sorry...." The dark skinned marionette crouched, ready to leap, and Lime
threw her arms wide in a welcoming gesture. "I won't do anything." She
assured the skittish girl. The other marionette cowered away from the sudden
movement, mewing suddenly in fear andcurling up behind her knees
defensively.Lime sighed in disappointment and closed her eyes for a moment
inthought. When she opened them again she was again smiling. "Hoh!" Lime
saidcheerfully, putting up one hand in a
high five gesture. The dark skinned marionette blinked at Lime in wonder as
the cheery marionette tried again, this time using her friend as an example.
"Yume-chan, Hoh!" She said cheerfully, throwing out her palm towards the
blond eight year old boy."

"Hoh!" Yumeji cried back with a smile, slapping his palm against Lime's for
ahigh five.

Lime smiled down at the Ponta cub and did it again, throwing out her hand
once more. "Ponta-kun, Hoh!" The young Ponta got the idea almost immediately
and placed it's paw against Lime's palm with a friendly mew. Lime smiled and
stood, once again turning to the strange marionette and throwing her arms
out in welcome. "There you see? Here comes!" Lime threw her palm out towards
the other marionette again, smiling. "Hoh!" The dark skinned marionette
growled and got to her feet defensively, ready for an attack, and Lime
stepped back, tilting her head to one side in confusion. "No, not like
that..." She explained, taking hold of the other marionette's left hand her
hers. "...like this." Lime then placed it palm to palm against her right
hand. "Hoh." Lime said quietly, beaming as a look of wonder crossed the face
of the stranger. "See?"

Lime stepped back again, raising a finger. "OK, let's try it again! All
right? One, and two... Hoh!" Lime thrust out her right palm one final time
at the other marionette, who was standing there looking rather stunned.
Slowly, the stranger lifted her left hand towards Lime's right, hesitating
when her palm was only inches away. "That's right, that's right." Lime said
encouragingly, then took the initiative once again, closing the gap to slap
palms lightly. Lime beamed at the other marionette, and laughed happily.
"Now we're friends!" She announced brightly, no doubt in her mind that it
was
so.

Lime's new friend looked at the palm of her left hand in confusion, as if
wondering if there would be some sort of strange mark, then looked up at
Lime. "Friends?" She asked, still bewildered.

"Yup!" Lime said with a nod. Suddenly her stomach rumbled at her and Lime
glanced down in surprise. "Oh yeah. I forgot I was hungry. I have to go
home." She blinked. "That reminds me...." Lime leaned down, picking up the
Ponta cub and holding the small animal up to show to her new friend. "He's
not food. Don't eat him, OK?" The small Ponta nodded vigorously in
agreement,and Lime put him back down on the ground gently, then turned to
the eight year old standing behind her. "Well, let's go home, Yume!" She and
Yumeji turned to go, and Lime glanced back to hold out her palm once last
time before leaving. "Hoh!"

Lime started walking away with her eight year old companion when she was
unexpectedly jerked to a halt. "Huh?" Lime said in surprise, turning around
to see that the other marionette had grabbed hold of the back of one of her
poofy wing like sleeves and was holding on to it in a non-threatening way.
"What?" Lime asked politely. "Did you forget something?" The dark skinned
marionette's expressive purple eyes were wide, and she trembled slightly, as
if she wasn't certain what she wanted to say. Lime turned fully back to face
her, not really understanding. "Listen, I'm in a hurry." She explained. "I
gotta get home to eat...."

The dark skinned marionette continued to stare at her for another long
moment before closing her eyes and lowering in fright. "M-Master!" She
exclaimed with a stutter, continuing to hold onto Lime's sleeve and leaving
her eyes closed and her head lowered as if awaiting a blow.

Lime just stared back at the other marionette in complete bewilderment.
"Huh?"

Several minutes later, up in a tree house that the dark skinned marionette
had been taking shelter in, several dozen meters away from the clearing and
in the cover of the trees, Lime and Yumeji both cried out in pleasure as
Marine brought out a large platter covered by various kinds of fruit, native
to both Terra Two and Earth, and set it down in front of them.

"Let's eat!" Lime exclaimed happily, grabbing an Earth pear for herself.
Yumeji helped himself to a round purple piece of fruit as well, and they
both dug in, enthusing happily about how good the fruit was as they ate.
Both
Lime and Yumeji were kneeling comfortably in front of the platter, and the
other marionette knelt on the other side of it, hands on her knees as if
waiting to see if there was anything else she could get them.

She had a small smile on her face as she watched her guests eat, but after a
moment the smile faded slightly she remembered what she had wanted to ask.
"Hey, Lime... Are you sure you can't?"

Lime blinked, then swallowed the bite of pair she was chewing. "Can't what?"

"Be my master." The dark skinned marionette explained.

"Of course I can't" Lime said in surprise. "I'm a marionette, just like
you."She blinked. "Hey, wait. How do you know my name?"

"He just called you that." The other marionette answered, looking at Yumeji
matter-of-factly.

"Oh yeah." Lime blinked in understanding. "What's your name?"

"I'm NSM-X1" The dark skinned marionette explained patiently.

"Huh?" Lime said in confusion. "Nessmuh-what?"

"Are you sure that's not just a serial number?" Yumeji asked, a bit quicker
on the uptake. "That's not a name!"

"Don't you have a name?" Lime asked curiously. NSM-X1 just looked down at
her knees in embarrassment. "Oh." Lime said in quietly, then brightened.
"But
that's OK! If you don't have a name, you can just make one up!"

"Make one up?" The nameless marionette looked interested, then smiled at her
new friend hopefully. "Will you make me a name, Lime?"

"Sure!" Lime nodded cheerfully, putting a finger up to her nose as she
thought. "Let's see now... what would be a good name?" She looked back at
NSM-X1 curiously. "Say, where did you come from?"

"The sea!" The nameless marionette told them with a smile.

"The sea?" Lime asked wide eyed. "What's "the sea"?" She turned to her eight
year old companion. "Do you know, Yume?"

Yumeji looked back uncertainly. "I've never actually seen it...."

NSM-X1 closed her eyes, as if seeing it in her minds eye as she explained.
"The sea is like a very, very big puddle. The water is really salty, but it
smells really nice! When the sky is blue, the sea turns a deep
emerald-green,and in the emerald water, there are many many fish swimming
around... with all the colors of the rainbow! But the prettiest thing of all
are the waves sparkling in the shining sun." NSM-X1 had tilted her head back
as she spoke, her eyes still closed and a soft smile on her face as she
remembered her place of birth.

"I want to go to the sea!" Lime exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Me too!" Yumeji chimed in excitedly. "Me too!" NSM-X1 couldn't help but
laugh quietly at their enthusiasm.

"That's it!" Lime exclaimed. "I have it!" NSM-X1 glanced at Lime in
interest, and she explained. "Your name, I have your name!"

"My name?" NSM-X1 beamed back at her. "You do!? What is it, Lime? What's my
name?"

"Sea-man!" Lime announced proudly, causing Yumeji to stare at her in shock,
and the newly christened "Sea-man"'s look of joy to falter slightly. "You
like the sea, so you're Sea-man!" Lime explained, looking quite pleased with
her idea.

Yumeji rolled his eyes. "Lime... just a minute...."

Lime didn't pay attention to her young companion's protest, raising a finger
in triumph. "Sea-man it is!!" She announced, giggling in satisfaction.

"Sea-man" just stared at Lime in disbelief, but recovered quickly, smiling
inacceptance. "All right. Sea-man is my name!" Yumeji's jaw dropped as he
stared at Sea-man incredulously, but the marionette was undisturbed. "From
this day on, I'm Sea-man!" She announced once again with conviction."

"Yup!" Lime agreed with a nod. "Aren't you glad to have a name?" Yumeji just
looked back from one marionette to the other in shock, his mouth hanging
open in amazement at the two obviously insane marionettes.

The newly chrisened "Sea-man" stood up and walked over to a wooden crate in
the corner which was covered by a blanket.  Removing the blanket she perused
the contents, then reached in and pulled out a ornate looking crystal ball
with a gold inlaid base. 
"Whatcha doing, Sea-man?"  Lime asked curiously.   The dark skinned
marionette turned toward her new friend with a smile.  "Lime, I want to give
you this to thank you for giving me a name."  As she held the crystal ball
out it lit up on the inside, a three dimensional image of a familiar looking
young man, standing in a heroic pose, suspended within.   "Otaru!"  Lime
exclaimed with a gasp, staring at the ball in surprise.  Next to her,
Yumeji's mouth dropped wide open in shock.   "Isn't it pretty?"  Sea-man
asked happily.   Yumeji got quickly to his feet.  "That's big brother's
really important treasure!"  The young boy exclaimed, then ran over to the
crate the dark skinned marionette had pulled it from.  "Hey!  This is the
other stuff that was stolen!  This is too!  This is too!"  The blond haired
youth turned to Sea-man in sudden realization.  "That means...."  
"...you'rethe Whirlwind Bandit?"  Ranma completed Yumeji's sentence for him,
pushing aside the flap of cloth that served as a door to the tree house and
causing everyone to turn towards her in shock.           End Chapter 16  
Please C&C, it's why I write!   You can find almost all the previous
Chaptersto this at:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/1449/ssl.html[1]

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--- Links ---
   1 http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/1449/ssl.html
   2 'http://g.msn.com/1HM505401/44'

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