"Uh-huh. Right. Okay, okay. Geez, palace feels like a boarding house now," Garret muttered.
"Glad someone gets the feelings," Zee commented before clearing her throat. "Anyway,where's your girlfriend--"
"--Fiance--"
"--Fiance at? Need to talk to her about Sydney and Fabian's accomodations. Don't worry you two, they have the nicest food here." Garret sighed.
"Yeah, sure, just go right ahead, do whatever you want, I'm not married to the woman of the house anyway."
"My, my, somebody's not getting any sugar!" Zee said, slinging her arm around Garret's shoulder, who promptly removed it. "Just marry her in Vegas and make lots of fire-spewing, sword-brandishing babies already."
"Ugh, gross. But--hmm. That's actually not such a bad--waitaminute, just get outta here Zee and go sort out your business on your own!" Garret stormed off.
"Such a baby," Zee muttered, shaking her head. "Now come along everybody, I'm hungry and I bet you all want some proper five-star-hotel food." She then grabbed Ranma's arm. "Isn't it romantic? So many couples around here now, and a possible love triangle. Wanna add to the list? Before you panic and punch me, I'm kidding. But, seriously, you ever notice if Gavin's doing anything about, you know, Shinta and all that? Because I seriously think I need to screw his head on straight, and you know how complicated relationships are." Zee snickered.

**

"I'm allright..ooooww!" Gavin tried--and failed--to appear like the pain from his cuts was nothing. "Uh okay yeah think I'll hold still." He watched as she pulled out the bandages and started on his injuries. "Funny thing, that Zyrna, teleporting us separately like that huh?" He felt doubly awkward now, seeing her minister to him, especially since he had a tinge of guilt. "I'm always giving you headaches, aren't I?" he muttered, not looking at her. He chuckled, trying to play it off (and failing again). ugh God you can just kill me now. "I think we're around several kilometers from the Palace premises."

**

Akira grinned. "Yeah. But I'll feel even more guilty if she doesn't get mad at me for everything that I did. She must be really really worried. I'm--uhh can I not see her yet? I don't feel like facing her now." She touched his cheek with her gloved hand, then pinched it playfully. "I'll just get a change of clothes. I'll probably turn the insides of my tshirts silver anyway but still."

Garret was on his way up to Akire's room when he saw somebody sneak past him. Hey wait a minute, that's Akira! Why's she sneaking around like that? Making sure Akira was too preoccupied to see him, he followed.

Ugh, damn, most of my stuff's back in Zee's apartment! "Before you say anything, don't laugh at me, I can't find anything else in my room." She cringed, looking at the skirt she had on. "You remember that school prom thing I was forced to go to a long time ago? Thought I'd never wear this dress again after that." She sighed. "Could you take us someplace else? Anywhere. I know all I've done for the past month was hide, but, I just need some more time."

Fabian was unsure of what to make of the situation so he remained quite as it was in his nature to do so, while Sydney more or less hid behind him. She was pretty quite around strangers and people she didn't know too well so it was understandbale.

Ranma as usual, broke the ice with good humor and his trademark phrase:

"Ranma Saotome, sorry bout this."

* *

Shinta was observing their sorroundings; she didn't see anything she was used too so more then likely she was at some place she hadn't been. Before she could think on the matter further, Gavin came to her attention.

A look of concern came about her as she crouched down. "Hold still." Her voice was firm, it wasn't a request, it was a command. Moving her hand into her pocket, she retrieved some bandages neatly wrapped, prepared to get to work. "I'm fine and the thugs are a non-factor right now, I'm more worried about you right now."

* *

"I think she'll be more concerned about you then that, at least for now." Rolan was about to touch her but wasn't sure of the effects so he held himself back. Why did he had to fall in love with the stubborn ones? Of course he knew the answer, it was annoying at time and endearing at the same time.

"Did somebody call me?" Zyrna called out sweetly after teleporting Gavin and Akira out of harm's way.
"Let me go, they need me out there!" Akira seethed.
"Nope. Sorry, kiddo, if you can't control yourself yet, well, you'll just have to accept the fact that you'll need to sit this one out." Akira pouted. "And no, this time I won't let you storm off and go sulk in some other obscure corner of the universe, mm'kay? Just watch Gavin for awhile."
"But--I don't know how to--oh hell." As much as she was worried about Gavin's wounds, she was equally worried about making them worse. What am I supposed to do with this?
"Akira?" Gavin muttered. "Hey, uh, I have to talk to-oww!" he cringed as he felt the extent of his injuries.
"You be quiet, or Shinta will get mad at me," Akira teased.
"Uh, yeah, about that--never mind. Wait, where are you going?"
"To go get help, Gavin, I don't know what to do with you."
"Could you, uhh, just stay here for a sec? Till they're done?" Akira chewed her lip.
"What the hell, they're busy anyway. Sure."

"Wow, you two seem to have everything pretty much down pat already," Zyrna said, observing the aftermath. "Okay, time for everybody to get back to Amria so we can deal with, well, with whatever. And I miss the nice plush beds at the Palace. First we need to remove traces of us being here in the first place." Zee rubbed her hands together and uttered an incantation. "Actually, I haven't tried this before, but if it works those thugs won't remember tangling with us. Now we better split."
"Wait, Zee, promise me when I master my powers, you have to bring me back here. This gang is my unfinished business," Akira said.
"Sure thing, honey," Zyrna replied. She muttered the spell for teleportation, smirking.

**

Garret was trying to relax. After the mess they've all been through he'd been helping Akire restabilize her kingdom, set up ties with the fickle Gemini clan, and pretty much trying to get things back to normal. Akire still won't say where she disappeared off to before, saying she'll explain when Akira gets home. "That kid," he muttered, trying to sound annoyed, but he really was concerned for her. And he had entirely forgotten about arranging a wedding! Akire seemed to have forgotten too, which made him feel crappy, but he knew it probably wasn't the time to talk about that yet. So there he was in the balcony trying to clear his head with a good old reliable can of beer when he looked up and saw two dots turn into two people plummeting down towards him. "Ohhh great."

"Hmm...so my teleportation isn't as fine-tuned as I thought it was," Zyrna said as they began falling to the ground.
"ZEE!" Gavin yelled; it wasn't hard to ignore his injuries when he was plummeting to the ground from a great distance. Zyrna did a quick head count: Let me see, Sydney and Faby aren't here so I must've teleported them properly in Amria palace, Shinta, Ranma and Gavin are with me but we're just off by a coupla hundred feet, and Rolana and Akira aren't here either so I did teleport them together. Good job, Zyrna.
"ZEE! TELEPORT US NOW!"
"Oh, right! Sorry." They could already see Garret from the balcony from their unintentional vantage point; Zee immediately teleported them properly this time, and they materialized in front of Garret. That is, Ranma and Zyrna did; Shinta and Gavin didn't materialize with them.
"Do you mind explaining this?" Garret said, arms crossed. Sydney and Faby were behind him. Zee shrugged.
"Uhh...it's really hard teleporting a large number of people?"

Gavin slowly opened one eye, then another. He realized he was lying down on grass. He looked at the horizon and Amria Palace was a kilometer or two away. "I'm going to strangle that witch when I see her," he muttered. He was about to assess the injuries he sustained in the gunfight when he looked sideways and saw Shinta was with him too. "You okay? What happened? Did you get the thugs?"

Akira screamed a string of curses as she landed on a pond in the palace gardens. "Ugh, gross!" She removed the moss that clung to her hair. Then she realized that the moss she pulled out had turned into silver already, and the water around her had solidified into silver as well. "Shit. Akire's going to kill me."

(OCC: Seriously, where are gang bangers getting stuff like gattling guns? This city must be more messed up then I thought lol)

It was sort of like a deadly dance for Ranma. He kept two steps ahead of his opponents, they were like slow statues to the young man. Or in this case, living and breathing balloons which he could pop at his leisure. He still hated guns even if he was too fast for them to hit or even react and see. Shinta wasn't as fast as him, she was fast, granted, but her durability and strength made up for it. Ranma was more of a speed and skill kind of guy.

He glanced at Shinta, and after giving the silent signal pulled out a small black ball and threw it downwards. The resulted impact caused smoke to surround the area, it didn't make anyone choke or gag, but it made the thugs that much easier to pick off the remaining stragglers.

'Where the hell are GANG members getting these kinds of weapons?' Ranma thought, just as his fist collided with another's skull. It was pure and blind panic for the rest and he heard sirens in the distance, which made it their cue for both to retreat. When the smoke cleared, the remaining gang members were either knocked out or a few were hung upside down, a metal street pole wrapped around their legs. That was all curteousy of Shinta of course.

"We better scatter." Ranma said simply when they came back. "Yo Z, work your magic or something."

Rolan was concerned about Akira but decided a talk could wait until they could get settled.

Wow, I'm actually keeping this up better than I hoped, Akira thought, concentrating on protecting herself and Gavin from the bullets and whatnot that keep getting shot their way. "Hey, Gavin, don't stray too far, I can't protect you beyond a certain limit."
"OK," Gavin hollered back, dismantling a gatling gun and mowing down a bunch of gangsters on the way, a bit glad he had something to distract himself with. Too, distracted, in fact, to notice a particularly big shell heading his way.
"Gavin!" Despite Akira's efforts, the shell exploded, knocking Gavin back. In anger, Akiraa retaliated, sending the bullets back towards them. "Oh God, shrapnel, Gavin you're such an idiot!" Using the guns they wielded against them, Akira pushed them all back mentally. "Someone get Gavin up, I'll just--well, I'm just going to kill these losers."
"No you won't. This is pointless, let's go!" Zyrna had appeared immediately beside her, touching her sleeve then teleporting both injured Gavin and irate Akira away. "Let 'em handle this."
"Let's just go back to Amria,' AKira said before her temper could get the best of her.

Ranma just shook his head. "I gotta go and make sure Gavin doesn't get a cap busted in his ass. Make sure the kid stays out of trouble." It was mutually decided that Rolan would stay by where Sydney was just in case, while Shinta and Ranma jumped in the fray to get things over with. The demoness didn't Have to really dodge the bullets, since even when they hit her, they seemed to bounce off her like hitting metal. Ranma, wasn't so lucky and had to constantly move.

'Geez, why does she have to be more durable then me?' He was faster and more skilled then Shinta, which is why he always won their spars but she was a lot stronger and had durability that would have made pig-boy jealous.

((hi, sorry took so long, i've been pretty busy lately, light reply sporadically))

"Well, Amrian-time is slower than most other universes, but if I concentrate I could teleport you back to the exact time you need to be," Zyrna said.
"Shh, quiet let's figure that out later. What do we do, Akira?" Gavin asked. Akira paused.
"We could still teleport away. But...I don't know...for the past month this was the gang I had been monitoring extensively. I still feel obligated to, you know, demolish them. So I guess they followed me here."
"Demolish then," Gavin said, joining the fray immediately. Akira was about to stop him when she sighed.
"Guy has a death wish," she mumbled, following him.

What the hell was I thinking? Gavin thought, facing the initial wave of gansters as they pointed all their artillery his way. Stop being so distracted, Gavin you sod, ignore the fact that the two girls you like--wait, why'd I say two??
"Be careful, Gavin, dammit!" came Akira's shout, as she used her powers to block the bullets that came their way. "I keep the shield, you kick their asses, come on!"

"Yeah. but I'm your cheeseball." Rolan corrected a bit as took her hands within his, completely ignoring Zyrna rantings outside, in fact he found the whole thing amusing. When they did go outside he was a bit surprised to see Ranma; he came and went where he pleased. Usually that was where ever there was bound to be a fight or a new technique he could learn. He didn't much about the little girl and the very tall man, they seemed to be new.

Ranma shook his head. "Naw, not really. Been boring without ya guys around, to be honest."

In response to Zyrna's question, Fabian gave a long, deep answer.

"No."

Then after a moment of making sure Sydney was secure he spoke up again. "Is this place dangerous? And does time pass differently there? I was put in charge with Sydney's safety so I need to know these things. I also need to know if time passes slower or faster there, it wouldn't be responsible for me to run off for months without telling Lady Garnet or young master Espen anything."

Before that conversation could continue the building shook slightly.

"Since when did normal gang members get explosives?" Shinta said exasperated to no one in particular. "Gangs are the bottom of the food chain as far as organized crime goes so where would they get the resources for it?"

"Worry bout that later." Ranma cracked his knuckles.

Akira had started feeling defensive already, and as is usually the case she started shooting her mouth off. "But I wanted to see if I can stand on my own, but hell obviously that was a bad idea, and I just , just..." When Rolan asked the question, Akira finally lost composure, laughing and crying at the same time. "Ohgod, you're such a...such a....cheeseball!" She was really laughing now, wiping the tears off her face. "I hate it when I cry, I look like such a baby. If by hugging me you mean hugging my clothes,then go ahead. I don't know if you're safe yet. And, honestly," she paused, tugging at her gloves, "I...don't want these powers removed. If I can master them I will. And I will master them. And then you can hug me all you want, and then some. Shit I look terrible!" She dabbed away the last of the tears (she'd call them 'allergic reactions') and cleared her throat as she stood up and fixed herself. Then, slowly, she took his hand in hers and squeezed them tight. "Tsk. I can't feel you through the gloves," she said, trying to make it sound like a minor inconvenience.

On the other side of the door, Zyrna was listening suspiciously. "Hey, you two! That's my bed, don't do any funny business! hey! Are you two listening!" Gavin slapped his forehead.
"Zee, leave it. And you're putting pictures in my head."
"Now that, dear Gavin, is your fault and not mine." The door slammed open and Akira was eyeing them all evilly.
"Okay, I guess I should get my ass back home now," she began, "and Zee, don't joke about that; I'm already frustrated with hugging as it is."
Zyrna shrugged, grinning. "Back to Amria now, eh? I kinda miss the place."
"Meaning you miss the boys. And the girls." Zee winked as Gavin scowled at her. "Just take us back there, Zee."
"Yessir. Hey Faby, grab hold of Sid wilya? And is there any place you don't take that damned thing with you?"
"Would everybody please just shut up for awhile?" Akira said, both annoyed and amused. "Oy, Ranma! Kicked somebody's ass lately? Boy I swear I wish all I had to do was that and I wouldn't feel so stressed." Zyrna was about to teleport everybody when an explosion nearby made the whole building shake. "Now whatthef--"
"--there's a kid here, Akira, watch your tongue," Zee snapped as she ran to the nearest window. "Aww hell. The gangs followed us home." She then looked at the group and said, "Poor, poor silly idiots, they have such bad timing. They're so going to get clobbered."
"Zee, watch your language," Akira said, already on her way out the window. "I'm in the mood to kill something...what? I meant kill some time. Zee don't look at me like that."

Rolan was silent for the whole story and then when it finished; he was still silent. "I..don't blame you Akira but I wish you would have told me before.." He wanted to hug her but he wasn't sure if it was safe for him to do so without turning him to silver. He might be immune to it thanks to his hertiage but he didn't want to take chances. "But that doesn't matter right now." He said with a slow shake of his head. "I'm not going anywhere unless you want me too, if you must know anything about dragons like us, is that we're stubbornly loyal to those close to us. We'll find a way to fix this..and if needed, get rid of the powers. That would be up to you of course, but I don't think all the power in the world is worth that."

"..I can still hug you right?"

* *

Ranma half shrugged. "Dunno man, I just go where ever. Saw my fat-ass pops trying to chase me back to bring me to the dojo but he nearly had a stroke trying to run ten feet after me."

"Ranma, there's a kid." Shinta reminded him, but she did her best not to laugh.

"Yeah, yeah sorry." Ranma looked a but sheepish. Being with his mother had taken the harder edge of his worse manner habits but they did pop up from time to time.

"That's fine." Fabian said simply, regarding the newcomer briefly then went back to his own business; adjusting the giant cello case. It seemed like he took that thing Everywhere.

Akira, for the sake of decency, controlled herself, waiting a few moments to clear her head before formulating an answer. "I was very angry," she started, and it surprised her how calmly she said it. "At first I was very angry at the Council, understandably. For chrissakes, they threw me around like a ragdoll and now they're done with their plaything and discarded me. And then right after that I guess...I--" she stopped, feeling herself choke back that uncomfortable feeling in your throat that comes before crying. She coughed, then continued. "It's funny; I even literally threw the Ring away and got stranded somewhere; good thing Zyrna came for me. When she found me I was trying to save somebody, but the minute I touched him he turned to solid silver. The entire body. Irreversible. If Zyrna hadn't protected herself with a spell I would've done the same to her. It's these new powers!" She looked at her hands which still had their gloves on; the cloth lining its insides was woven using silver already, courtesy of Zyrna, who 'found' the pair somewhere. "The first few days trying to master it were the worst. Had trouble eating; had to eat fast or I'll be swallowing metal. I think that's when I started shutting myself up in my room. And then the Council sent me a notice, demanded that I find a replacement once I vacated my position. And then everybody was just asking me who it's gonna be, the poor losers, some people from the other dimensions tried to convince me to elect them or something, and Akire and Garret and everybody else was telling me how worried they are of me, how it pains them to see me helpless, how they feel sorry for me, etcetera etcetera etcetera." She balled her hands into fists unconsciously. "In short, I couldn't take it. It's a lame defense but I felt impulsive. Zyrna was there and invited me to crash with her at some party near her apartment, and I just couldn't stand being in everybody's scrutiny, not until I got my head cleared, so I told her I was coming with her. Indefinitely. I thought it'd only be awhile, at least until I learned to master this metal thing. But it refuses to be mastered, no matter what I do. And I killed an innocent man." She paused to catch her breath, then laughed at a thought. "And, silly enough as it is, I couldn't stand the thought of telling you that I couldn't touch you."

**

"Ranma!" Gavin and Zyrna exclaimed; the martial artist seemed to be a nice foil to everybody, and both were relieved to see him here, if only to take their mind off the present problem. "There's soda in here somewhere for ya," the witch muttered, sifting through the bag of beer, juice and softdrinks she brought along.
"Haven't seen you in awhile," Gavin remarked, since he had to practically go straight here after his visit to his clan.
Zyrna found what she was looking for and handed the soda to Ranma. "She reminds you of you? Say, didn't somebody tell me you once turned into a g--" This time it was Gavin who elbowed Zyrna on the ribs. "Oww! Warn me first!"
"Uhh, so anyway Ranma where'd you come from?" Gavin asked, while Zyrna turned to Fabian.
"You know, while we figure out how to get you two back to Garnet's, you can bunk with me. Not like I've got any privacy as it is anyway, what with Akira staying with me. Besides, from the look of things, she won't be staying with me for long."

Rolan didn't yell, didn't even seem to get mad even as everyone left. When Akira said she felt like she was going to throw up, he simply went to the wall and leaned against it. Again, he didn't speak for the longest time, then he managed to find his voice. Starting with one simple word:

"Why did you leave without saying anything?" There was no anger or accusation just a betrayed hurt tone to it. Of course the 'why' was simple to figure out. Why had she left without saying anything had bothered him the most. He wouldn't have minded if she said she needed some alone time, he knew how that was. But to simply leave without as much as a goodbye was like a slap in the face after all they had been through together.

* *

Shinta kept her face controlled when Zyrna made a 'make your own' comment, going back to being quite. She didn't have anything to say right now.

"I have no idea." Fabian said simply, though making sure Sydney was taken care was his top priority since she was a child and not to mention, at the moment, knocked out. Zyrna was no doubt found of the girl, but she seemed to lack common sense at times when it came to handling children; the beer being such a example. "As for how we got there, I can't be sure of that either. All I recall is minding our own business when we were..teleported for lack of a better word to that area. I have not a clue how, or even why."

"Heya, this the drama club?"

It was the ever cheerful voice of Ranma Saotome. "Geez you guys are so down right now. Let me guess, Akira?"

Shinta merely looked at him. "And how did you know?"

He shrugged. "That girl reminds me of me. Trouble comes to her and everyone jus' falls apart whenever she gets issues."