Two weeks later:

The sounds of combat echoed around the river clearing as two martial artists battled it out early one clear summer morning.

It was summer vacation for the Saotome children and that meant one thing and one thing alone.

Training trip!

Twice a year the family as a whole packed up shop and came here, a small out of the way patch of woodlands in the middle of nowhere. It had everything they needed, a slow moving fairly deep river, clearings and solid ground. It was perfect. They stayed in a small cabin that Ranma had built himself and spent the entire day doing anything and everything training.

Unsurprisingly, the kids adored every second of it.

That particular morning Nabiki and Ranma were sparring on the training log, suspended a few feet above the middle of the river. One wrong move and splash.

This of course had more effect on Ranma and Chiharu than the others, a fact that went tactfully unsaid.

Away a bit from the river on a patch of clear ground Saotome Chiharu was taking her two siblings through a set of middling Anything Goes kata while keeping an eye on the spectacle of her parents practicing the Art.

Both were simply incredible. They were so far above where Chiharu herself was it wasn't even funny but that was to be expected.

Off the top of her head she could name the top five martial artists in the world. In no particular order, Matriarch Ku-Lon, Happosai, Saotome Ranma, Prince Herb of the Musk, and her Aunt Xian Pu.

In term of raw power Saffron of the Phoenix Tribe should have featured but he was technically a demigod. That was cheating and Chiharu didn't think it counted. He wasn't even a martial artist!

The newest addition to that elite group was easily her Auntie Xian Pu. She'd spent the last eight years training with Ranma and Matriarch Ku-Lon as hard as she could and it had showed. She'd always had a level of potential for martial arts that was simply incredible. Winning the village championship at sixteen was nearly unheard of, before her unfortunate detour in chasing her father.

But she'd finally tapped that potential and the results were staggering.

Saotome Nabiki was placed firmly in the top twenty five, but she was gaining fast. And you wouldn't know that by looking at the husband and wife sparring right then. The two moved at a speed that Chiharu could only just keep track of much less match. Blows were thrown and countered so smoothly it was hard to tell when one combo began and another ended. It was beautiful.

That was even before they busted out the ki specials. But there was no call for those in an early morning warmup match.

"Chi-nee! You're supposed to be helping us!" an indignant voice dragged her attention from her sparring parents. She turned back to be confronted by the crossed arms and frowning faces of her two younger siblings.

Saotome Shizuka was the middle child, the spitting image of her father's female form and anything but what her name implied. At seven years of age she had bright red hair, small frame and a temper to go along with it. She was of course the one who had scolded Chiharu for her inattention.

The youngest, Saotome Sora, stood quietly behind his more assertive sibling and nodded his head in solidarity, more doing what Shizuka did than actually agreeing. But then again, what more could you expect of a five year old. Black haired Sora was the quiet one of the family and took after his Aunt Kasumi more and more every day.

She remembered her father muttering something about an order generator when he thought no one could hear him. What that meant she had no idea. What she did know was that even though he was only five he had a way of curbing most of Shizuka's more hot headed tendencies, a blessing if there ever was one.

"We're done! What now?" Shizuka demanded.

Chiharu chuckled. "Now do that again. Ten more times."

She laughed a little harder at Shizuka's groan.

"You said that last time!" She complained.

"And I'll say it again and again until you've got it." Chiharu smirked. She glanced to her side. "Unless you want Sora to leave you behind…?"

Instead of complaining Sora had simply taken his mark and was running through the Kata again.

"Fine…" Shizuka groaned before taking up the Kata as well.

Chuckling to herself, Chiharu took her own place a few meters away and began a kata of her own.

The day passed like nearly every other on their trips. Kata, sparring, with the occasional trip to the training log with her father and subsequent swim in the river when she got knocked off.

Which of course was turned into even more training. Ranma had decided to train both of her forms equally as she'd grown up. As a woman she was faster, more flexible and dexterous. Her male form was stronger and had the reach advantage. "I'm not letting you make the same mistakes I did when I was your age." He'd explained.

What the time spent as Saotome Haru also did was keep the water magnet part of her curse at bay. Ranma had discovered as she spent more time as a woman the curse left her basically alone. The more time she spent as a woman the more freedom she was given when he wanted to be a man.

So for at least half the day Haru trained with Ranko while Nabiki stayed with the younger pair. It was a good a chance as any to train him on the much more advanced portions of Anything Goes that the kids weren't ready for.

Then near the end of the evening Haru changed back to Chiharu and her parents went to do their own training, going far enough that their really powerful attacks wouldn't hurt anyone when unleashed. You could see the fight from kilometres away if they really cut loose.

The Saotome children did whatever they wanted to for then. Extra practice, games of tag, going for runs in the forest you name it.

That particular evening Chiharu was getting a head start on the evening meal, a hearty stew cooked over an outdoor fire. Shizuka and Sora had gone exploring a little while ago leaving her alone.

She didn't mind. It was a warm summer evening, the sky was clear and even the dull sounds explosions or tornados from her parents in the distance was calming.

She placed the lid over the pot and stepped away with a sigh. Cooking for the Saotome family was a herculean effort.

They each ate easily their own body weight a day. Cooking that much food was such a hassle.

It had been a hard day's training, but a good one. She was just about to go relax with her violin when she suddenly stilled.

She stood frozen in place, listening with all her might. It couldn't have been…

Her worst fears were confirmed when the sound came again. A distant child's panicked scream.

She was off instantly, sprinting into the tree line after her siblings.

Five minutes had never seemed so long to Chiharu's panicked mind as she ran as fast as she could, following her siblings yelling. All kinds of horrible scenarios played themselves out in her head as she dashed through the forest.

When found them, it was worse.

The Ussuri brown bear is one of the largest bear species in the world, ranging from 160 to 600 kilograms in weight.

The one that had trapped her two siblings in a gap between two rocky outcrops was one of the bigger ones.

The kids had managed to find some sort of shelter, but it wasn't quite enough. Just as she arrived as the bear managed to get a claw in and scratch a long furrow across Shizuka's cheek.

Righteous anger pulsed through her, blotting out nearly everything else. No one, but no one hurt her siblings.

This beast was going down, and going down hard.

She bellowed a warcry and launched herself forward. Deep within herself, she felt something click into place.

Energy surged within her very being, filling her with a sense of power like she'd never known before. She felt strong, she felt incredible. She felt like a part of herself that she'd been missing was suddenly there and it was intoxicating.

She powered into the bear's side like a freight train, tackling it with a wordless bellow of fury. She knocked several hundred kilograms of angry ursine completely over as they went down with a tumble.

She was on her feet and between the bear and her siblings instantly. "Stay there." She ordered the two.

By then the bear had gotten back to its feet. It bellowed a challenge at her for taking its food and charged.

Normally five hundred kilograms of angry bear running at you as fast as it could would be a cause for concern but right that second, with this new force she'd found inside herself, there was no scenario Chiharu could imagine where she could possibly lose.

She bellowed in return and met its charge with one of her own.

They slammed together, pure natural strength matching off against ki enhanced human. They fought mono-e-mono for dominance for a few seconds before Chiharu simply let go.

The bear toppled forward without the support, Chiharu slipping out from under it. She jumped onto its back before it could recover, latching both arms around the bear's neck with a grip like iron. It rose with another bellow, trying desperately to throw her off.

But it wasn't to be. She grabbed the things massive head and with every last drop of strength she had left, yanked.

The bear's growl was cut off sharply as its neck snapped. It went down hard with a final thud.

Chiharu panted for a moment, not entirely sure it was over, before she stood. She was breathing hard and the adrenalin was making itself felt. Her siblings were safe.

All at once that miraculous energy drained out of her and she slumped to her knees in exhaustion.

"Chi-nee!" Shizuka yelled as the two kids scrambled out of their makeshift hiding place and over to her, diving into her arms.

"Are you two alright?" Chiharu forced out in between heavy pants. Kami above was she light headed.

"We're fine, but how did you do that!" Shizuka cried. "That was awesome!"

"I… I'm not sure. I just did." Chiharu panted. "You two were-"

She froze as the sound of something large and heavy-sounding met her ears.

"We need to leave, now!" She gasped rising to her feet only to collapse. She couldn't make her body move despite her best efforts.

"Not without you!" The brave stupid seven year old shouted back. Both her and her brother grabbed a hold of her shoulders and started trying to drag her nearly dead weight away.

But it was too late. From the trees plodded the second Ussuri bear. This one was much smaller, half the weight of the last. Unfortunately, Chiharu was in no state to do anything about it.

"Run, now!" Chiharu screamed at her siblings, using the very last of her energy to push the two away from her.

Both stumbled away but were immediately at her side, grabbing on again.

"Go, get out of here!" Chiharu begged. These two idiots were going to get themselves killed!

They ignored her, still trying desperately to drag her away. But they were children, martial artist children, but still children. They didn't have the strength to pull her fast enough.

The second bear had finished investigating the corpse of her mate and turned her head towards them, bellowing in anger.

Out of nowhere a man's voice yelled something from nearby, that sent Chiharu's spirits soaring.

"Where am I now!"

"Uncle Ryoga!" Chiharu screamed at the top of her lungs, just as the bear began to charge.

Her exhaustion overcame her at last just as a familiar form jumped between them and the roaring bear, pulling an umbrella from his pack as he did so. Her eyes closed and she knew no more.

Chiharu woke up slowly, her dreams reluctant to free her from their grasp. Fractured images of children, friends, pain, loneliness and heartache all mixed up in a disorientating swirl that by the time she opened her eyes she could only vaguely remember.

She sat up, finding herself in the familiar surroundings of her and her sibling's room in the Saotome cabin. Night had clearly fallen while she slept. She stretched with a wide yawn before trying to get up.

Trying being the operative word. Her legs nearly collapsed as they took her weight and Chiharu swayed violently in a sudden wave of dizziness. It took her nearly five minutes to actually stand without wanting to vomit, another five before she could make it to the doorway.

The rest of the family were sitting around the fire when she opened the door, all turning with surprise on their faces to look at her.

"Heh, Heya." She panted, slumped against the doorframe. "Sorry 'bout that."

"Chi-nee!" The kids both shouted at the exact same time, immediately bull-rushing her, knocking her to the ground in a pile of limbs and curses.

"Oww… Hi you two. You alright?" She asked.

"Were fine, thanks to you and Uncle Ryoga!" Shizuka explained.

"I thought that was him. I'm so glad." Chiharu sighed with a relieved smile.

"All right now, up you two come." The voice of their father cut into their conversation. A hand grabbed the shirts of both younger children, lifting them up as if they weighed nothing at all.

"What did I tell you not to do when Chiharu woke up?" Ranma asked the two hanging children.

"Tackle her…" Shizuka muttered eyes downcast. Sora mirrored the motion in his father's other hand.

"Are you alright Chiharu?"

The girl in question met her mother's eyes and grabbed on to her offered hand.

"Yea, I'm alright. Mostly." She said wryly as Nabiki pulled her to her feet.

"I'm glad. When P-chan dragged you three into camp with two dead Bears I didn't know what to think. I should cut your allowance for making me worry like that!" Nabiki lightly scolded.

"Heh, sorry 'bout that. How long was I out for?"

"Three days, roughly." Ranma cut in. Amusingly he still had the two children held up like grocery bags. "I was out for a week the first time I tapped my Ki. Your mother was only out for a day."

Nabiki flashed Ranma a smirk. "And never expect any less. So, what happened exactly?"

"She was awesome is what happened!" Shizuka couldn't contain her enthusiasm any longer. "That bear had us trapped but Chi-nee came to the rescue!" She finished with a massive grin.

Ranma lifted the girl to his eye level and shot her a look.

"We got your side of things already. Now I forget, what did I say I'd do if you were too enthusiastic when your sister woke up?" He asked pointedly.

The young girl paled, eyes widening. "Not throw us in the river?" She asked hopefully with a nervous chuckle.

"Nice try. Time for a swim!"

"Sora run!"

The two children started struggling desperately to get away from their hilarious, precarious situation. It was all for nought though, for quick as a flash Ranma had opened the door with a foot and with ease tossed the two out of the cabin.

They flew in perfect arcs, screaming the whole way down, until they splashed down in one of the deeper parts of the river. Ranma watched just long enough for the two to surface, spluttering and indignant.

"Kata, start from the beginning, repeat if you finish. You can stop when I come and get you and don't even think of wandering off. I'll know. See you later!" And with a shit eating grin Ranma turned away and closed the door behind him.

Chiharu meanwhile was leaning heavily against her mother, laughing her head off. Nabiki was shaking her head in mock exasperation, looking fondly at her husband.

Another sudden wave of dizziness hit the teen, making her sway heavily before her mother's comforting arms latched on firmly again.

"Let's get you sat down. Your father and I need to talk with you." She said, guiding her daughter over to one of the comfortable chairs.

"Thanks. Where's Uncle P-Chan?" Chiharu asked once she sat down.

Ranma and Nabiki took seats opposite her, Ranma chuckling as he did so. "Wandered off yesterday. He'll turn up at some point. You know what he's like. He did say to congratulate you though."

Chiharu nodded, it's basically what she expected. Uncle Ryoga could never manage to stay in one place for very long. She didn't know how Aunt Akari put up with it.

"I'll have to thank him. So, what do ya need?"

Both of her parents paused for a moment, shooting each other a Look.

"First of all, I gotta say how proud I am of you right now. My little girl, taking down an Ussuri! With her bare hands! Well done Chiharu!" He beamed, glowing with pride.

The girl preened under her father's praise. She did deserve it after all.

"While I am just happy you're alive. You saved your brother and sister, I hope you realize that." Nabiki added.

"Well, wasn't like I was going to do anything else." Chiharu muttered.

"Of course. You've proven to us that you can look after yourself and we think it's time to tell you some things that we have kept from you." Nabiki said seriously.

Chiharu looked questioningly between the uncharacteristically serious looks on her parent's faces and waited for them to continue.

"You know you're adopted. We've never hid that from you. Your father fished you out of the Springs and we've been looking after you ever since. You know all this. But what you don't know is what we promised ourselves we'd do, when we didn't have to look after you anymore."

"Where are you two going with this?" Chiharu asked.

"We're getting there, cool ya jets." Ranma cut in.

"Anyway. When we got back to Japan I spent six months pulling every string I had to find out as much about who you were as I could. That's when I told you what your name was, of course."

"Helga Pataki, I know. And I thought you did. It's what I'd do." Chiharu said with a wry smile.

Nabiki laughed at that. "Yea, I suppose I've taught you well. The problem is what I didn't tell you. Now we had our reasons for this, ones I hope you will understand. The most important was your curse."

"There's a reason Jusenkyo curses are used as a serious punishment among the Joketzuko. For most who are cursed, it's a death sentence. Chaos has a way of following those affected, and it never stops. Ask your father."

"She's right. It sucks."

Nabiki flashed a sidelong glare at her husband. "Not what I was looking for. But anyway, we didn't want you away from us until you could look after yourself in any situation. And now that you've tapped your Ki, we know you can. Know that your father and I love you with all our hearts, just as much as we love Shizuka and Sora. You are our daughter and always will be. So, now's the time."

Nabiki took a deep and fortifying breath before launching into the tale.

"You were born Helga Geraldine Pataki just over seventeen years ago in Hillwood City Washington to third generation European-Americans immigrants. Your biological father's name was Robert Pataki, an electronics salesman, and your biological mother's name was Miriam. You were a second child, born much later on after your elder sister Olga."

"When you were ten your sister won an award here in Japan and your family flew out to see her receive it, or at least I assume. Now I don't know how or why but you, your father and your mother were on a flight from Kazakhstan to Hong Kong. You all just so happened to be on the same flight as a very controversial CEO of a major oil company. Eco-terrorists managed to sneak explosives onto the flight and detonated them in air. The plane went down over the Bayankalas, you were thrown from the plane and landed in the Springs. You've been with us ever since." Nabiki explained.

Chiharu took it all in as best she could. It was a lot of information to have dumped on her at once. "Wait, what happened to the sister, Olga right?" She asked.

When both of her parents flinched, she knew something was bad. "What, what? What happened to her?" She asked, more forcefully.

Nabiki sighed. "Olga… is still alive. She's living in Hillwood now."

"Holy shit…" Chiharu whispered, reeling. Helga's sister was still alive? Kami, she couldn't imagine what it must be like for her. The thought of losing anyone in her family made her heart ache but to lose them all…

It would be hell on earth.

But a thought struck her. She didn't know her sister actually survived that crash. This Olga had been living for the last seven years thinking her sister dead and gone.

A darker thought occurred. She wasn't far off. To all intents and purposes, Helga was dead. While Chiharu empathised with this Olga, she didn't feel any personal attachment to the woman.

She wasn't Helga Pataki anymore. She tried to think of what would be worse, to be left to grieve for a sister that technically wasn't dead yet, or to have a stranger arrive wearing her face?

Her mother continued, breaking her from her thoughts. "One other thing. Helga Pataki is officially dead, but is one of the three people on board whose bodies were never found. From what my contact in Hillwood told me, she never gave up hoping you survived."

Chiharu frowned. "I'll be honest; I'm not sure how I feel about that. I don't think she did." She sighed.

"What do ya mean? Ya did survive. You're right here. How could ya not?" Ranma asked, completely puzzled.

Both Chiharu and Nabiki shared a look before sighing wearily. Ranma may be a lot more intelligent than he looked, but feelings never were his thing.

"Well, think about it pop. This Olga has been waiting for her sister to come back. Problem, I'm not that person anymore. How would you feel if Shizuka disappeared for three years, the suddenly showed back up with no memory of you?"

Ranma blinked, then frowned heavily. "Horrible. It would be torture." He said after a moment.

"Exactly. That's why-"

"But it would be worth it to know that she was still alive, or whatever was left of her." Her father interrupted.

Both women shot surprised looks at him. Where had that come from?

Ranma sighed, then smiled ruefully. "What? I did it with Ma. I thought she was dead for ten years, and then she came back into my life. Problem, she was an actual crazy woman. And even though I spent years on a literal knife-edge around her, I was still happy to have her there."

"Huh." Chiharu said after a moment, clicking her tongue. "I'd never have guessed."

"Oh trust me; she's much better than she used to be. Having grandbabies to spoil mellowed her out a lot." Nabiki said with a small laugh." She smiled softly at her husband, taking his hand in hers. Chiharu couldn't help but smile slightly. It was pretty obvious that her parents were still totally and completely in love with each other.

She could only hope she had someone like that someday.

Suddenly, Nabiki's smile turned sly. "Then again, if she knew some of the stuff we got up to…"

Ranma flinched, instantly turning a burning red. "Not in front of Chiharu!" He managed to say in a voice strangled by embarrassment.

"Oh, kami please not now!" Chiharu cried, her own cheeks lightly dusted with red. She couldn't stand it when her parent's got all flirty in front of her.

Nabiki just smirked. "Oh all right. Ruin my fun." She snarked, before turning serious again.

"But now the question needs to be asked, what do you want to do now?"

Chiharu blinked. She actually hadn't thought about that. What did she want to do?

Olga wasn't anything to her really. She was just a name attached to a hypothetical person. She'd meant something to Helga. What that something had been could have been anything. She could have loved her, she could have despised her, maybe a strange mixture of the two.

But Helga was gone. Chiharu was who she was now and she wouldn't trade the life she'd been given for anything.

But despite this, at the back of her mind, there was a question. A question that she'd been asking herself for so long but hadn't really given it all that much thought.

Who had she been? Just who was Helga Geraldine Pataki?

Seeing the conflict on her face, her mother spoke up, draping a comforting arm across her shoulders. "You don't have to decide right now. Kami knows I couldn't. Give it a few days. We'll support you in whatever direction you want to go." She assured.

"You're still our daughter, kiddo. We'll always love you. And your brother and sister do too." Her father added, moving over and latching on to her other side.

Chiharu's heart nearly burst. Truly Kami had blessed her by giving her these two. She snuggled into their embrace, latching on to her parents as hard as she could. Come whatever may, she'd have the love of this wonderful, eccentric family.

It was all she would ever need.

Shizuka means Giftfor people who were wondering.

Chiharu means thousand springs, roughly.

Author's Note:

Hey again guys!

Have another chapter!

I'll be honest, the fact that I got two reviews within like two days kinda reminded me that this story existed... heh. Ah well, i'm here now!

I feel as though I should just state this now, just get it out of the way so that people aren't misled or anything.

Helga will never get her memories back. They're gone. Gone and done. It's more fun that way.

Hope you all like it!

Fractal.