It was yet another beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky. The sun twinkled on the many small pools in a quiet valley. Trudging through the valley came a portly man with a white bandanna covering his head and round glasses on his face. Behind him was a black-haired, pony-tailed boy with sparkling gray-blue eyes who was looking around with interest. Both had on white martial artist gi.

"Is this it, pops?" the boy asked.

"Yes. This is the legendary training ground of Jusenkyou. Are you ready?" the man replied, hopping onto one of the many bamboo poles. "I won't go easy on you."

"That's the way I like it," the boy smirked as he too leapt into the air.

"Oh no, sirs!" came a cry from nearby. The guide's words went unheeded. "Very bad you fall in!" he tried again, but gave up as the two faced off.

Genma Saotome stood on one of the poles while his son Ranma Saotome stood a little ways away on another pole. The pools below sparkled maliciously in the sunlight.

At an unspoken signal, both leapt into the air and began to fight. After a few minutes of furious blows, Ranma ducked a kick from his father and struck an opening, managing to knock him into one of the pools.

Landing lightly, he called out tauntingly, "Are we done already, pops?"

Before Genma got a chance to even get out of the pool, Ranma's danger sense went off. Leaping nimbly out of the way, he watched as another boy went barreling past him.

<What the?> he thought as he jumped a few more poles away. The other boy had landed on the ground between two pools, creating a sizable crater.

"Who're you?" Ranma called out to him, getting into a ready stance atop the pole he still stood on. The boy straightened up and turned, baring his fanged teeth.

"Forgotten me already, Ranma?" the boy growled. Ranma studied him. He had on a yellow bandana, and a dark blue gi that also seemed to serve as traveling clothes. Ranma screwed up his face, trying to remember. Fangs, bandana, fangs...

"Hey! I remember you! Your Ryoga Hibiki! Long time no see, pal!" Ranma said smiling happily. Off to the side he noticed the weird guide talking with a panda, but ignored that as Ryoga leapt onto a nearby pole.

"Why did you run away from our duel?" Ryoga growled.

"What? What do you mean? I waited for three days before pops managed to drag me away." Ranma replied, confused.

"But when I arrived on the fourth day, you had fled!" Ryoga yelled.

Ranma didn't know exactly how that was supposed to work, but he did understand one thing.

"So you want ta finish it now?" Ranma asked with a smirk.

"Yes," Ryoga replied simply, and grinned. They ignored the frantic waving of a panda and the shouts of the guide and attacked.

Back in middle school, Ranma had always been able to beat Ryoga at lunchtime. Being faster, it had been quite easy to out maneuver the slower boy into getting the last bread. It was not without its price, though, as Ryoga always had managed to get some sort of hit in at the same time, which had been quite painful. They'd kept up the rivalry, not only in school, but outside as well, having actual sparing matches. Most these fights ended in a draw as Ryoga and Ranma seemed well balanced.

Now as they fought again, older and more experienced, they found that this was still true. Ranma, master of aerial attacks, bounced around from pole to pole, throwing attack after attack at Ryoga. Ryoga did his own fair share of leaps, but generally waited until Ranma came at him to strike out. Ryoga was slowly being worn down as Ranma got more and more hits it, but Ranma himself was slowing down, having to move twice as much as the other boy.

'I can't lose! This is my revenge! This time, I've -got- to win!' Ryoga screamed at himself as he met Ranma mid air, taking yet another punch from them blue-eyed boy. It was time for desperate measures. If he could just get Ranma on the ground...

The panda and the guide were now heating up a kettle full of water. Ryoga landed on one of the poles and leapt again at a just landing Ranma. Unprepared, Ranma was bowled over as Ryoga body-slammed him, and they both plummeted toward the pool below.

The panda had just restored itself to Genma and he shouted, "Ranma! Don't hit the--" but it was too late as both boys landed with a splash.

There was a moment of perfect silence. Genma was too busy seeing his life flash before his eyes as his son, his heir, his meal ticket, all his dreams of an easy retirement vanish under the water to react. Oddly enough, there was also a katana in these visions, and that just made the fat martial artist feel even more faint.

The water frothed and bubbled, and a moment later two girls broke the surface. One had flaming red hair tied in a ponytail, the other had short blonde hair held back by a bandana. Both were screaming loudly, holding their heads in pain.

Ranma felt like he was being ripped apart. Memories not his own flashed through his mind, there and gone in an instant. He heard another voice screaming so close by, that it seemed to be right inside his head. The pain slowly faded and he could make out the out the words of this other person.

<Damn damn -damn!- That wasn't supposed to happen!>

His mind raced as it cleared further from the pain.

His first thought was, 'Who said that?', but before he could voice the thought, he got an answer.

<Who...Who're you? Owww...> and the voice seemed to fade into nothing.

"Wha...?" Ranma mumbled. Realizing he was lying on the ground, he sat up. A strange girl was sitting up across from him as well.

"Was that you?" both asked at the same time.

"No," both answered in unison again.

"Ranma?" an uncertain voice said behind him. He turned, still not feeling right.

"What pop?" he asked upon seeing his father. But his voice sounded strange to his ears. Then the guide came up.

"Oh, I very sorry Mr. Customers, but you fall in Nyuannichuan, spring of drown girl. Very tragic tale of girl what drown there 1500 year ago."

Both newly cursed martial artists looked down at themselves, and let out an even louder scream than before.

"Oyaji! This is all your fault! What's the big idea draggin' us to a place like this, huh?!" the red head screamed, leaping to her feet.

"Now, Ranma, no need to get angry," Genma began, sweating. He had three ways of handling this potentially dangerous situation; blame it all on Ranma, which, judging by the way the girl was advancing, was not a good idea, admit he was wrong and take his punishment, which was never an option for Genma anyways, or try to slime out of blame all together. Gee, I wonder which one he chose?

"No...need...to...get...-angry?!-." Ranma said, spacing each word slowly as if to be sure he got them all correct.

"Uh, well, perhaps being a little angry is understandable. But you did want to become the best martial artist, didn't you boy? Well, this is a training ground. You have to expect risks." Genma said as gravely as he could.

"...You can't speak Chinese, can you pops? What did you expect with such a name as -Cursed Springs- anyways?!" Ranma demanded, advancing a few more steps.

"Now Ranma, weren't you willing to risk you life for the sake of the Art?" Genma asked.

"My life, yes! My manhood is another thing! Look at me! I'm a girl, damn it!" Ranma shrieked, pointing at her chest for emphasis.

"Well, if you'd had been a better martial artist, you would never have let that boy knock you into the water in the first place." Genma said, forgetting for a moment that he was trying to calm Ranma down. Glancing at his son...daughter...whatever, he saw Ranma's eye give an involuntary twitch, and her hands curl into white-knuckled fists.

"Oyaji...DIE!!!" Ranma screamed, charging her parent. Genma needed no further incentive to leave, all too reminded of his wife and that wonderful contract, and he took off sprinting. He was glad he wasn't in that panda form at the moment, because he needed all the speed he could get as his heir began chasing after him.

Ryoga was sitting where he'd landed, still trying to wrap his mind around the startling change.

As Ranma began sprinting away, his mind finally began processing again, "I'm a...girl." and of course came to a conclusion. "Ranma! This is all your fault!" Ryoga screamed as she leapt to her feet and began chasing after the retreating figure. Surprisingly, Ranma seemed to hear him, as she came to a stop, thought Genma still ran as if all the hounds of Hell were on his heels.

Whirling to face the brown eyed girl, Ranma said incredulously, "-My fault?- How is this my fault?! You knocked us it that pool!"

"You're the one who came here in the first place, after running away from our duel!" Ryoga shot back, also stopping a few feet away from Ranma.

"I didn't come here 'cause I wanted to! It was stupid pops who dragged me here. Besides, I waited three days for you to show up, and would still be waiting if it wasn't for stupid oyaji!"

"What do you mean still?" Ryoga asked suspiciously. "Why would you wait four days? Why wait even three?"

"'Cause it was an honor duel, 'cause you're my friend, and 'cause I -never- run away from fights!" Ranma said furiously.

"So what happened then if you're so high and mighty as all that?" Ryoga demanded.

Ranma looked at her feet, flushing a little, which surprised Ryoga.

"I told pops I had ta wait for you 'cause it was a fight, but he was in too much of a hurry I guess. I was dead on my feet when he found me, so he just snuck up behind me and knocked me out. Next thing I know I'm on a boat to China." Ranma muttered, embarrassed.

"Really?" Ryoga asked, anger deflating.

"Yeah. Why does it matter anyways? I can't go on like this!" Ranma said, also deflating, gesturing at his-now-her body. "I'm a weak girl! No one will ever take me seriously again!"

Ryoga opened his mouth to reply, but a new voice interrupted him, and both cursed boys turned their attention to the guide.

"Oh, Mr. Customers, there is reverse for curse. Did you no see father? He was panda, but now he man again. Hot water turn you back into boys." the guide explained, and poured the almost-ever-at-the-ready kettle over both girls. The change took place rapidly as both boys expanded back into their true forms.

"Oh thank god! I thought I'd be stuck like that forever!" Ranma exclaimed, patting his now flat chest just to make sure there wasn't anything extra there.

"For once Ranma, I have to agree with you." Ryoga said, almost faint with relief.

"But sirs, is only temporary cure. When you splash next with cold water, you turn girl again." the guide said. As if to confirm this, the skies began to pour, drenching the two disgruntled boys. As one they turned in the direction a certain panda-man had taken, and began chasing after the long gone figure.

"COME BACK HERE YOU STUPID PANDA!!!"

* * *

"It is really too bad your dad ran off like that." Ryoga said later that night, tossing another stick into the fire and watching the sparks rise into the air.

"Yeah. I would have like to pound the idiot for this." Ranma agreed sullenly. "Its one of the stupidest things he's ever done so far."

"Yeah? Well, you're lucky you know where your dad is." Ryoga muttered.

"Oh? Why's that?" Ranma asked.

"Last I saw my dad was a couple years ago. I think we were somewhere in Kyoto. Anyway, he wandered off a little later, and I ended up in Okinawa." Ryoga explained.

"You always did have a problem with directions." Ranma said, chuckling.

"Shut up." Ryoga snapped. Silence fell once again on the small camp, only broken by the normal night sounds and the crackling of the fire. Finally Ranma couldn't bear it any longer.

"You've gotten better ya know." he said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ryoga asked, glancing at the pony tailed boy in confusion.

"I mean at martial arts. You've gotten better." Ranma explained.

"Oh, thanks. So have you. I guess your old man has some use." Ryoga said with a shrug.

"Unfortunately." Ranma agreed with a snort. "So what're you gonna do now?"

"Do? I never really thought about that." Ryoga said, bringing his light-brown gaze back to the fire.

<Hide from Myria> a double voice said, making both boys jump.

"Who's there?" Ranma demanded, leaping to his feet, Ryoga not a heartbeat behind.

"Show yourselves!" Ryoga said, searching the bushes around for any sign of movement. There was no reply, no movement, despite the fact that Ryoga seemed to be able to see remarkably clear in the darkness.

"...I don't think I want to know." Ranma said finally, flopping back onto the ground.

"Yeah. I guess it was just our imagination." Ryoga agreed, thoroughly unconvinced, also sinking to the ground.

"So you wanna come with me and pops, whenever he finds us?" Ranma asked, continuing the previous conversation with barely a pause.

"Why would I do that?" Ryoga asked, staring at Ranma in surprise.

"Well, you said you didn't know what you were gonna do, and if you went off by yourself you'd just end up gettin' lost." Ranma said logically, ignoring Ryoga's angry growl at the reference to his sense of direction. "Besides, you a much better sparring partner than pops is."

Ryoga thought about it. If he did go off by himself, Ranma was probably right, that he would just wander around, maybe trying to find his house. Thought no one would probably be home.... And for some reason, the thought of being able to travel with Ranma to train in the Art seemed...fun. A chance to fight someone near his own skill, making it much easier to improve too.

"Sure, why not. It might be fun." Ryoga said, smiling mischievously at Ranma, who grinned back. "At the very least I can 'thank' Genma for this stupid curse when ever I feel like it."

"Only if I can help." Ranma said, laughing, and held out a hand which Ryoga took happily enough, sealing the bargain. And, of course, the skies opened, leaving two soaked and sour girls.

* * *

Ryoga sighed as he lay down in his tent, thankful for that small barrier between him and the rain. It was nice having a waterproof shelter in normal times, but now it seemed more of a necessity.

'So now I travel with Ranma of all people.' he thought to himself, staring at the ceiling of his tent. Ranma had pitched his own tent nearby, so Ryoga still had his to himself. 'Who woulda thought. I was acting like a real idiot before, though, chasing Ranma to China when it -was- my own fault.' He sighed again.

'I wonder what changed. Was it the curse? This morning I was all set on making Ranma pay, but now...I guess I'm his friend. Or rival. Which ever.' The rain steadily drummed on the roof of the tent as he thought about the events of earlier. When it became apparent they wouldn't find Genma due to the rain, the two cursed martial artists had retrieved their packs and had gotten as far away from Jusenkyou as fast as was possible in what remained of the day. Luckily it had stopped raining before night fell, and they had been able to set up a relatively dry camp.

'Its funny. I kept thinking there was someone else around then. Like someone was watching, or listening from nearby. But there was no sign of anyone whenever I looked. And those voices we heard around the campfire. Shortly after that, the presence, or whatever, vanished. What could it have -been?-' Ryoga thought furiously, not liking the mysteries of the day. Whatever it was, it hadn't returned. Ryoga hadn't asked Ranma if he sensed anything, fearing it was just his own overtaxed mind playing tricks on him. Still....

Ryoga closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep. Strangely, instead of becoming more tired, he just became more awake. Finally giving up, Ryoga opened his eyes and sat up. Maybe a light workout would help....

But all thoughts of sleep vanished from his mind as he noticed something very strange. The tent, all his surroundings seemed to be draining of color, turning to a uniform gray. Leaping to his feet, Ryoga stared around in growing panic as the world began fading away. The last thing he saw as he glanced down, was his own body, still lying peacefully in his sleeping bag. Then the world went gray.

He seemed to be standing on something solid, but other than that there was no way to tell up from down. He didn't have much more time to panic as shapes began appearing. They slowly took on a more solid form and color. Ryoga stared around as he finally realized where he was: Jusenkyou.

"Wha...?"

It was Jusenkyou, but not as he remembered it. There weren't as many odd dips and valleys as before, and the vegetation looked younger and more sparse. The valley was covered in mist, but morning didn't seem too far away. A movement caught his attention, and he saw a cloaked figure making its way across the valley via the bamboo poles.

"Hey!" Ryoga called out, trying to catch the figures attention. But the figure just continued on, not even glancing in Ryoga's direction. He was about to follow and maybe get some answers when a voice behind him made him jump.

"She won't answer. She's not really here, you see. Just a memory."

Ryoga whirled around to come face to face with a familiar figure. He stared, jaw falling open. His cursed form stared right back at him from atop the rock she sat cross legged on. She was dressed in a smaller version of his own blue traveling gi, one that fit her better.

Pulling himself together, Ryoga shook his head. "This is one of the weirdest dreams I've ever had. I must be more stressed out than I thought. Hearing voices, and now this."

"Well, I don't really know if its a dream or not, but I do assure you that -I- am quite real. And it was me who you heard earlier. I didn't know you'd hear me, though." his curse said. "But look over there. That's who I used to be, before I was killed." she said, pointing back across Jusenkyou.

The sun had risen without Ryoga noticing, and now he noticed the cloaked figure had stopped, and seemed to be talking with a flying woman. Just then the figure tugged back the hood of its cloak, tossing it aside to reveal a blue haired girl.

"I was trying to find a safe place to hide from Myria, so she wouldn't find me. Of course, I wasn't fast enough." she said bitterly.

"Myria? I've heard that name before." Ryoga said, frowning as he tried to remember. "She was the savior or something, during some war. I didn't know she knew magic though. No one I know knows any."

"Really? Well, its not exactly magic she knows. She's a goddess." she said simply, shrugging diffidently.

"...Now I know I'm dreaming. A goddess? Come on." Ryoga said in disbelief.

"It's true. A very meddling goddess, but a goddess all the same." Ryoga-chan said. "She destroyed my race, for no reason that I can really see."

"Huh? What do you mean? Aren't you human?" he asked warily.

"Nope. Brood." she replied. "You know, a race of dragons...?"

"Dragons? I read some stories about them. I heard if you collect all the Dragon Balls, you can call this big dragon to grant...a wish...oops that was a comic book." Ryoga said, blushing and rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "But I'm sure I read other stories too. I heard that the Brood were all terrible, though."

She snorted, "Yeah, really terrible. How dare we defend ourselves from being slaughtered? We didn't start the stupid war..."

"Hmmmm. So, what is this place anyways? Aside from Jusenkyou, that is." Ryoga asked, glancing around again.

"I have no idea." Ryoga-chan answered truthfully. "All I know is I fell asleep, then found myself in that gray limbo. A little later the other me showed up-"

"Hang on. The other you?" he interrupted.

"Ranma's cursed form. I'm not sure what happened there, but the best I can guess is that our soul, which was trapped in that pool, was split, and one half merged with each of you." she replied, sliding down off the rock to stand next to him. He was silent as he tried to digest this, so she continued. "Anyways, we found that we could control the limbo or whatever, and change it as we pleased. It just took a bit of concentration." she explained. He opened his mouth to reply, but just then Jusenkyou seemed to darken, as if a cloud had passed over the sun, though the sky was still clear. He turned back to the forgotten figures across the valley, only to see a horror towering over the girl.

"What the heck is -that?!-" he said, startled.

"That's Myria. I guess it's her fighting form." she replied, staring critically at the fight.

"Whadja do that for?" he asked, pointing as the girl cut herself on each arm, seeming to shout up at the goddess. It was strange seeing all this happen in total silence, but apparently there was no sound here except for what they produced.

"A blood vow. I swore revenge on her. I wasn't thinking very clearly at the time." she said, blushing a little.

"Um, I guess I can understand that. Hey, what?...Oh, you changed as well. Is that what you meant by being a dragon?" he asked, indicating the white figure launching itself skyward.

"Yep. That's a hybrid form. We can do a bunch of others, but I, uh, forgot most of them." she said uncertainly.

"Forgot? Dare I ask why?" he asked dryly.

"Well, I sat around in a pool for over a thousand years, got rudely awakened by being split in two, then got a whole bunch of other memories when we fused." she said, ticking off each point on her fingers. "It totally overtaxed my mind, so I forgot most of what I know, and a bunch of what I got from you."

"Whoa. Back up a minute. Fuse? My memories? So what, that means I'm half you?" he asked.

"Mhmm. At least, that's the only explanation I've been able to come up with. If you think of anything else, feel free to let me know." she said, smirking at him. He grinned back. Even if this was a dream, which he was now beginning to seriously doubt, he found he liked this girl.

"Alright, let me see if I got all this straight. You fought a goddess, died and was trapped in the spring, then was released when we fell in the pool. Right?" At her nod, he continued. "I wonder if all the springs work like that..."

"You can always ask panda-man." she interjected, still grinning.

"Not if I can avoid it. I don't want to know -that- much, to go looking for him." he countered. "Okay, so you split in two, and fused with me, while the other half fused with Ranma. Makes sense. I guess."

"Oh yeah. Lots." she said sarcastically.

"Anyway, we fall asleep, and end up in this strange place, and get front row tickets to your death."

"Real sensitive there."

"Hush. And finally, you're not even human. Does that about sum it up?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Well, except for the fact that you're Brood too, yeah." she replied casually. He stared blankly at her.

"Repeat that."

"You're Brood too." she said slowly, grinning as she watched his face.

Ryoga took this information as any rational person would. He FREAKED out, jaw hitting the floor, MULTIPLE face faults, oyakusoku pozus, knees all wobbly.

Once he'd collected his wits, which had scattered all over the ground, he said "...Okay, I can live with that I guess." Now it was Ryoga-chan's turn to face fault.

"Just like that. You find out you're not even human anymore, and that's all you have to say?" she demanded.

"Well, what good would worrying do. I can't change it, and it's probably a side effect from the spring." he replied logically. "I don't know magic, so I couldn't cure it even if it -was- an ordinary curse."

"...Whatever." she said with a sigh. They were both silent for a minute, watching the fight which still raged on overhead.

"You know, I just thought of something." he said suddenly.

"What's that?"

"Well, Jusenkyou is 1500 years old, I read that in the guide." he said. "So it must have been created when you fought Myria. See how all your magic attacks keep flying off. Some hit the ground, and some go else where."

"I never noticed that." she said, staring critically at the fight.

"And your spring is 1500 years old. It makes perfect sense. It also might explain the clans." he said excitedly.

"What are clans?" she asked, curious.

"They're kinda like you. They're half animal and half human. Some can change like you between forms, while others just have a combined sort of look. For example, the Manillos (they're traders) are all half fish. But the point is that they only appeared about 1500 years ago!"

"Wow. I didn't know that happened." she said, wide eyed. "Maybe that's what Myria meant...but her magic was no more controlled than mine, so that can't be the reason she killed us."

"Well, I don-" he began, but was cut off by a familiar voice.

<-WHAT?!?->

"Owww..." Ryoga-chan said, holding her head in pain. His own head was ringing with the strength of the mental shout.

"Whoa. What was that? It was Ranma, but I heard him in my mind." Ryoga said, shaking his head a bit to clear it.

"I have no idea. Wait, do you hear that?" she asked, indicating a rhythmic beating sound. They could feel the ground underneath them tremble from the blows of whatever it was.

"Let's go check it out." he replied, taking off in the direction he thought the sound was coming from.

Elsewhere:

Ranma was having a nightmare. He had to be having a nightmare. A girl? He was now part girl? A weak little girl?! I mean, his form might have changed, but he had thought he was still Ranma Saotome. Now he learned he ACTUALLY was REALLY part...GIRL!!!! It HAD to be a nightmare.

"Stupid baka won't even listen any more," an irate Ranma-chan grumbled watching Ranma repeatedly bash his head into a nearby rock. She sighed as the rock crumbled, and Ranma turned to a new target. This was going to be a looong night.

A Short Distance Away:

"I think we're getting closer." Ryoga said, pausing as the pounding ceased for a moment, only to pick up again.

"Yeah, but what -is- it?" Ryoga-chan asked. "The only thing it could possibly be is one of the other two, but what are they doing?"

"Dunno." he replied. They continued walking for a couple minutes, and rounding a hill, they were greeted with an unusual sight. Ranma was pounding his head against a rock while muttering under his breath, and, judging by the piles of rubble near by, he'd been the source of the mysterious sound. Ranma-chan was sitting a short distance away looking disgruntled, but brightened at the sight of the others.

"Hi! It's about time you got here!" she said, standing up and brushing her white martial arts gi off.

"Yeah, hi. Um, what's his problem?" Ryoga-chan asked, jerking her thumb at Ranma.

"Oh, I got around to telling him that's we're fused, so to speak." Ranma-chan said, scowling again. "Then he freaked out, and he's been like this since."

"...I'll take care of it." Ryoga said, and walked up to the distraught boy. "Hey man, cut it out!" Ranma didn't answer, but just kept up his pounding.

Ryoga was now close enough to hear Ranma muttering, "A weak little girl? Anything but that! Not a girl!" Rolling his eyes a bit, Ryoga tried again.

"Ranma, snap out of it already!" Still the other boy didn't answer. Ryoga began getting mad. How dare Ranma ignore him! Since Ranma was still not paying attention, Ryoga decided to take more direct measures. "CUT THAT OUT ALREADY!" he shouted, accompanying his words with a punch that sent Ranma sprawling.

"Gaah. Whadja do -that- for?" Ranma demanded, sitting up and rubbing his face where Ryoga had punched him.

"Now that you've decided to listen again..." Ranma-chan said dryly.

"What do you--Oh, hey Ryoga. I take it you've been having your life turned inside out too?" Ranma asked dryly, getting back to his feet.

"More or less." he replied with a shrug.

"I still haven't decided if I'm dreaming or not. Though I'm not so sure now..." Ranma said, still rubbing his cheek.

"Yeah, well, that's for ignoring me. It's what you get for being so inattentive." Ryoga said with a smirk.

"Hmph." was all Ranma deigned to reply.

"Besides, you were being rude." Ryoga added, pointing back at the girls.

"I didn't think I was -that- bad." Ranma-chan added, arching an eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry 'bout that. It was kinda a shock, along with everything else." Ranma said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it. I have a pretty good idea why you reacted that way anyways. Oyaji was an idiot." she said, grinning. It had the desired effect.

With a laugh, Ranma said, "No doubt about that! All right, I believe ya. What about you, Ryoga?"

"Its not really that hard to believe when you're faced with the facts." Ryoga replied, shrugging. Then a sudden thought struck him. "Uh, you know, I just realized I don't know your guy's names." he said, embarrassed, turning back to the two girls.

"Konara." they replied in unison.

"Well that's not helpful." Ranma muttered. "You can't both be Konara. That's too confusin'." The two girls exchanged a glance.

"So what would you suggest?" Ranma-chan asked, crossing her arms. "I don't want some cutesy name or nothin' like that!"

"Why not Ranko and Ryoko?" Ryoga said. "It uses some of your old name, and since you -are- our cursed forms, and look like us..." he said, trailing off with a shrug. "It's just a thought."

"...Why not? I like it." Ryoko said, mirroring his shrug.

"'K." Ranko said, uncrossing her arms to give a tug at her red pony tail.

"Well then, now what?" Ranma asked, glancing again at the towering figure above the valley.

"How do we get out of this place?" Ryoga asked, looking at the two girls expectantly.

"Oh, that's easy." Ryoko said, waving a hand at the valley. The figures froze mid strike, and everything faded away. The four were once again standing in the gray limbo.

"That's not exactly what I meant." Ryoga said, sweat dropping. "I -meant- how do we get out of -here- and get back to the real world." he said. Dead silence.

"Huston, we have a problem." Ranma said with a sigh.

* * *

The next morning dawned brightly, promising a day of sunshine, heat, and dryness.

Yaright.

Still, it was sunny now, and soon two tents were illuminated in the soft light. After a few minutes, sounds could be distinguished coming from one of the tents.

Ranma burst out of his tent, staring wildly around. When he saw the camp as he'd left it the day before, he gave a happy whoop and dashed over to the other tent.

"Ryoga! Hey Ryoga! Wake up man!" he said, shaking the occupant roughly.

"What the--Ranma? What's going on?" Ryoga asked, sitting up and staring around in confusion. "You just disappeared. Hey, we're back!" he exclaimed, scrambling out of his tent.

"Yeah! I don't think we ever really left." Ranma said, smiling in relief. "Just our minds or something."

"But what about the girls?" Ryoga asked, looking around as if he somehow expected them to magically appear.

<We're here.> Ryoko's voice said, startling both boys.

<Perhaps not in the flesh, but you had better watch what you say about us!> Ranko said mischievously.

"Cool! We can still talk to you here too!" Ranma said excitedly. A moment later he frowned. "But does that mean you're trapped inside us or somethin'?"

"Seems like it. Damn, that blows my idea for a cure." Ryoga said disgruntledly.

"Cure?" Ranma asked, eagerly.

"It wouldn't work, anyways." Ryoga replied. "Not now."

<Why?> Ranko asked impatiently. <If it's a cure, we should try it!>

"Would jumping into the spring of drown man suit you guys?" he asked pointedly. The silence from the two girls was answer enough.

<Anyways, I wanna try something.> Ryoko said after a moment. <It's all well and good that we can be heard, but bein' the passenger isn't what I'd call a good time.>

"So...what?" Ryoga asked.

<Well, see if I can't take control for a bit.> Ryoko replied.

"Um, I guess. But how?" Ranma asked, curious.

<I don't know. I guess Ryoga needs to just, I dunno, give me control or something.> she said uncertainly.

"Let's try it." Ryoga said decisively, then concentrated. He 'stepped' to one side, and immediately felt another presence rush to fill in the place he vacated.

"Cool! It worked!" Ryoko said, examining his/her hand.

<This is so weird.> Ryoga 'said', trying to orient himself. He now knew why Ryoko had said passenger...

"I can still hear Ryoga." Ranma said, cocking his head to one side.

"So, now that we know we can share bodies, how do we divide the time up?" Ryoko asked.

<Easy enough. When in girl form, the girls take over. And vice versa.> Ranko said.

"Perfect." Ranma said, happy enough.

"Find with me." Ryoga said, taking over again.

<What ever works.> Ryoko said indifferently.

"So what do we do now. Look for Genma or go exploring? Or stay here?" Ryoga asked, stirring up the fire to cook a little breakfast.

"I wouldn't go looking for pops if you paid me, staying here makes it easier to be found, and exploring is a lot more interesting." Ranma replied promptly, digging out some supplies. They'd need to supplement the general rations with whatever they could catch, but that shouldn't be too difficult. "Besides, we can train while we travel."

"Good. Then let's go as soon as we're done here." Ryoga said, busying himself with packing up the small camp.

<Training, huh. Well, do you guys want to learn magic if you're gonna train?> Ryoko asked.

"You know magic? Wait, stupid question." Ranma said, waving a hand absently as he took down his tent.

<Yeah, well. We forgot a lot, but nothing that can't be improvised.> Ranko said. <We know how to use magic, and it doesn't take a lot ta make up new spells.>

"Sounds good to me. But only if we can teach you martial arts." Ryoga replied.

"Yeah. But it shouldn't be too hard for you to learn. I mean, you already knew how to fight with weapons, so you had to know something." Ranma agreed.

<Why do you want us to learn?> Ryoko asked, curious, though not displeased.

"It would look bad if we could fight one minute, then not the next." Ranma replied, picking up his water bottle to take a drink while Ryoga nodded in agreement. There was a moment of silence.

<I don't know whether to be insulted or not.> Ryoko said in bemusement to Ranko.

"Well, do you want us to teach you or not?" Ryoga asked.

<Sure.> the girls chorused.

"Well then, it's decide-" Ranma began, but cut off as he tripped on an invisible rock. He, and the still open water bottle he'd been carrying, went flying. The bottle, still half full, spilled unerringly on Ryoga.

"..."

"Um, oops?" Ranma said sheepishly, sitting up from his impressive sprawl. "I guess I'm not really awake yet."

"...Then allow me to wake you up." Ryoga replied, and upended the rest of the water over Ranma's head before giving control over to Ryoko.

"..."

* * *

It was night yet again. The embers of a dying campfire glowed softly, barely illuminating two sleeping figures. It was not raining, but one never knows, does one? ^_^

Though the two figures seemed to be sleeping, their consciences were far from it. Once again in the strange gray limbo, the four Brood teens sat, discussing important matters.

"I'm telling you, I didn't touch you! You slipped by yourself into that stream! You're the one who dragged me in!"

"Yeah right! You knocked me off balance! It was only fair that you got wet too!"

...Well, matters important to them, at least.

"Hey guys, you gonna argue all night, or are we gonna train?" Ryoko asked of the two bickering boys.

"Train?" That stopped them cold.

"But we were training all day. Why should we train here?" Ranma asked.

"What's the matter Ranma, tired?" Ryoga said, smirking.

"Of course not!"

"Then you're afraid you'll lose!" Ranko shot at him.

"Hey! I'm Ranma Saotome! I'm not afraid of nothin'!" Ranma said, charging the other two.

"Ignore me, will you?" Ryoko murmured, gathering her magic. "Jolt!" Three separate lightning bolts came out of nowhere to strike the three brawling martial artists.

"Owie." Ranko said, sitting up from where she'd been blown. Ranma was already engaging Ryoko, so she turned her attention to the just rising Ryoga. "Frost strike!" she said, charging the startled boy, the magic glowing around her fist. When she struck him, the spell released a blast of ice further devastated by the punch. Ryoga staggered back a few steps, and then smirked at her.

"That was weak. C'mon, you can do better than that. Try this!" 'This' was Ryoga's foot in her gut. She went flying backwards to impact with the other two, sending all three sprawling. "Hmph. That was easy." Ryoga said, turning and brushing his hands off. He froze as three figures loomed over his head. "Uh oh."

* * *

<You guys are gettin' pretty good at magic.> Ranko complimented. They were in a fair sized clearing, taking a quick break before they began their wanderings again.

"Heh. It's not like it's hard or nothin." Ranma replied with a smirk.

"Just tiring." Ryoga agreed.

<Well, everyone has some magic in them, though most people don't have enough to do anything with it. Only unless you practice a lot can you use magic for spells.> Ryoko explained.

"Really? So the more we practice, the better we get?" Ryoga asked.

<Yep.> Ranko replied.

"Well, we really should practice some more then." Ranma said, grinning evily. Giving no more warning, he gathered the now familiar power, and released it. "Ice blast!"

Ice immediately formed around Ryoga's feet, and swiftly spread upwards. Before he could blink, Ryoga was completely encased in ice. A moment later, the ice shattered.

"R-R-Ranma! How d-d-dare you a-a-ttack me like t-t-that!" Ryoga yelled, shivering. That had been COLD!

"Nyah! What's the matter? Can't take a bit of magic!" Ranma teased as he leapt nimbly out of reach.

Not bothering to answer, Ryoga also gathered his power. "Jolt!" he cried, and a lightning bolt came out of the clear sky to strike Ranma. Smoking a bit, Ranma took his favorite stance. Ryoga, still shivering a bit, mirrored him in his own stance. Both were grinning like idiots.

* * *

<Sleepyhead! Wake up!>

Ryoga stirred a little, pushed aside the voice and went back to sleep.

<Ryoga! Get up! C'mon, times a wasting!> Ryoko shouted, failing to rouse him again. She sighed.

<Why'd the two idiots have to stay and train anyways.> Ranko complained.

<It's not all their fault. I just forgot they were in control when we fell asleep.> Ryoko replied with a shrug.

<Well, Ryoga's a little easier to wake up than Ranma, so you gotta get him up.> Ranko said grumpily.

<Only slightly.> Ryoko said with a sigh. <But still...> The girls had been about to teach the boys a new spell, but realizing how long they'd been in the Training Ground, the boys had wanted to practice what they knew a little more first. So the girls had woken up, only to find that they couldn't move while the boys were in control, sleeping or no.

<Try yelling.> Ranko suggested.

<Why don't you?> Ryoko asked sourly.

<We're trying to get Ryoga up, remember?>

<Yeah yeah, I know. Fine.> Ryoko grumbled. She took a deep 'breath' and...<RYOGA!!!!>...yelled. Then 'blinked' as much as one can without a physical body. Where did the tent go? How come they were standing up? Oh, Ryoga was awake.

"You'll never beat me, Ranma!" Ryoga cried, then looked around. Ranma was still sleeping like a log. "Huh?"

<That worked.> Ranko said weakly, ears still ringing from Ryoko's yell.

"What happened?" Ryoga asked, scratching the back of his head in confusion. "What happened to the Training Ground?"

<Well, I was trying to wake you up. You guys fell asleep while in control, and remember we can't do anything unless you give us control.> Ryoko said in a tired voice.

"Oh. Right. Sorry." Ryoga said sheepishly. "Since I'm up, I should probably get sleeping beauty up as well." he added, grinning evily. He began to head for the sound of rushing water, but stopped and rethought. Might as well.

"Okay, let me think. Water, water, water. Umm...all I know is ice blast." Ryoga muttered to himself, going over his spells in his mind. Then an idea came to him.

"Heh heh, Ranma, prepare to get wet." he said with an evil grin.

<What are you up to?> Ranko asked, curious.

"Hold on, I need to think." he replied. "Let's see, flare and ice blast. If I can just combine the two..." Concentrating for a minute, he decided for a name for the new spell.

"Aqua burst." he said simply as he pointed his hand, palm out, toward Ranma. A stream of water obediently shot toward the sleeping martial artist and...

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! COLD! Whadja do that for?!" Ranma yelled, leaping to his feet. He glared at Ryoga.

"Oh quite whining like a girl!" Ryoga shot out, then immediately regretted it.

<WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN EXACTLY!?>

"Urk! Alright! I'm sorry! Didn't mean it! It was just habit!" Ryoga said, waving his arms wildly about.

<I'll make you pay for that later.> Ryoko promised vengefully.

"Oooooo...Ryoga. I should really pound you into the ground for that." Ranko said angrily as Ranma gave her control.

"Ahe. Right. Sorry." Ryoga said weakly. "Um, weren't we supposed to learn something today?" he asked nervously, hoping to distract them.

"/<...Baka.>/" they chorused, giving up.

"Ahe."

* * *

And so it went. By day the group would travel the wilds of China. By night, they would train in the gray limbo, which they began referring to as the 'Training Ground'. Surprisingly, any wounds they sustained in the Training Ground were transferred over to their physical bodies, as well as the benefits of the training. Despite the fact they seemed to be awake during their 'training,' their physical bodies slept. Their solitary wanderings were almost at and end, however...