Ace Sanchez (email: jsa@fl.net.au | www: http://jsa.users.fl.net.au/) (Standard disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and its associated characters created by Rumiko Takahashi. Insert rest of disclaimers I can't remember ...) __________________ Blonde 1/2 __________________ Part 3 "Ranma And ... Ranma? If It's Not One Thing, It's Nabiki." The crowd whispered among themselves excitedly as they eagerly anticipated the opening of the theatre curtains. It had cost a pretty packet to be even let in, but it was definitely worth it. In fact only the richest, famous and most powerful people in the world had been allowed to attend. The large interior of the expensive looking theatre was filled to it's maximum capacity of people. The rows were made up of plush blue seats, while the floor was similarly carpeted in a like shade, only a hue darker. The front row of the theatre was at the lowest point in the building, then each proceeding row sloped upwards a step at a time, not unlike the inside of a cinema complex. Except it was much, much larger. A girl with short brown hair stepped onto the stand in front of the stage and picked up a microphone. She was dressed in an elegant grey suit which clung to her slim figure. Nabiki smiled as she let her eyes roam around the massive theatre. It was full to nearly bursting with her favourite type of people; the ridiculously rich. Besides the stupid people and easy marks that was. Of course, it would be even better if they were a combination of those traits but the world wasn't always perfect. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for," Nabiki called out to the massive crowd, "The most beautiful girl in the world, Ranma Saotome!" The red curtain atop the center stage slid open slowly revealing an extraordinarily attractive girl hanging prisoner on the titanium steel wall. Matching titanium bracers handcuffed to her slim wrists and ankles spread her arms and legs wide. These were secured firmly to the wall by thick chains. She was dressed in a very revealing two piece black bikini, it's flimsy material and strings just barely covering her. Her light blue eyes were wide open in horror as she stared at the massive audience. She was shaking her head wildly, the blond pigtail at the back of her head swinging from side to side as she struggled with the rattling chains. A clear piece of extra durable masking tape held her lips shut. "Mrrmmmmhgmpt!" she tried to shout. The men in the crowds gasped out loud as they saw her, while most of the women looked on jealously. Most that is, because the rest were also eyeing her with lust. Everyone in the tightly packed theatre had seen photographs of her before, but it wasn't the same as the real thing. Nabiki smiled smugly at the quiet awe of the audience. "Bidding starts at seven billion yen, own the most beautiful female in the world! She can be your wife, your mistress, your love slave, anything!" A hand went up in the front row. "Yes, Mister President of the United States?" "I'd like to put up-" He whispered something about exchange rates to the Attorney General seated next to him. "I'll put up eight billion yen." "We have eight billion yen by the U.S. President, do we have a higher offer?" A loud chuckle reverberated around the theatre. A man with dark skin, in a turban stood up in the center row. "Ha! Cheapskate! For such a prime piece of womanflesh, money is no object. Fourteen billion yen!" "Fourteen billion yen offered by the Sultan of Brunei. Do we have fifteen? Yes you!" She, pointed to another man seated in the back row who had lifted his arm. The bids started coming in fast and furious. Every man in the theatre began to bid even more ridiculously high prices. "Twenty billion you say?" "Thirty billion by Mister Franklin!" "Forty!" Everyone looked at the speaker. It was a woman. The other woman next to her whispered furiously to her, although everyone heard it anyway. "Stop it Ellen, you're embarrassing me! And you can't afford her anyway!" More outrageous bids. Nabiki was in heaven. Ranma was in hell. "Seventy billion yen!" This came from a nerdy looking man with glasses in the third row. Strangely, the blonde girl chained to the wall out on the stage went crazy in fear as she saw who bid on her, rattling the chains so hard, the ground was shaking. She was trying to shout hoarsely within the tight gag, but her voice was muffled and couldn't get out. "Eighty billion yen by Mister Gates, do we have a higher offer?" The audience was silent. Damn! Nabiki thought. "Alright then, going, going-" "One hundred billion yen!" Nabiki's eyes popped out. "Gone! To the guy in the last row!" She gave him the key to the titanium steel alloy locks as he walked up to the stage. "No need to bother paying manually, we have already extracted it from your account. Good day and enjoy yourself!" "Ha ha ha ha! A victory for the blue thunder of Furinkan High! Now I shall be reunited with my Golden Goddess!" The sound of masking tape ripping, then screaming shortly after echoed loudly around in the theatre. ~*~*~*~ Ranma jerked upright atop the futon, eyes wild and breathing hard. The mad beating of his pulse gentled out as reality began to sink in. "It was only a nightmare..." Ranma sighed in relief. Then checking his chest, 'she' sighed in disgust. "Why in the world am I a girl?" she complained out loud to no-one in particular. However, just to make sure she still wasn't dreaming, she pinched herself on the arm hard. Feeling the pain, she sighed in relief. She didn't want to face Kuno again, even if it was just a dream. Nabiki, on the other hand, she'd have to keep a close eye on. She looked around for her father wondering where he was, until she recalled that he didn't sleep with her anymore. Everyone had agreed that it might not be such a good idea to let Genma sleep in the same room. Ranma in his female form was too much of a temptation. After all, when it was just them two in China on rainy nights, the panda would sometimes glomp her in it's sleep. Before she punted him away of course. And it was also agreed that Ranma could not share a room with one of the girls since she was still a boy half the time. So Ranma got her own room, while her father had to bunk down with Soun. Ranma stood up and stretched as she walked over to the dresser to change out of her singlet and shorts. Man, I hate this curse, she thought as parts of her chest threatened to spill out of the scanty top. She stuffed them back in violently, then cursed. Ow! Stupid breasts! ~*~*~*~ Outside the door to Ranma's room, Genma was bending over looking in through the key hole. It was just supposed to be a quick peek to see if Ranma was awake, and if not he would initiate a surprise attack. But Ranma was in female form. His peek didn't want to end. His mouth began to water as Ranma started to step out of her clothes. I know this seems perverse, Genma thought to himself, but boy, with you having a body like that, how can I not look? I'm just too weak. Perhaps the master trained me 'too' well, he thought sadly. "Saotome, what are you doing?" Soun asked curiously. Genma stood up as his face went red. "Nothing, Tendo! N-nothing," he stammered. Soun lightly shoved his friend away from the door and bent over to look in. "Let me just see then ... ah ha! I thought right! You were looking in on Ranma-" he stopped speaking abruptly as he saw Ranma through the keyhole taking her singlet off. A crimson stream of blood trickled out of his nostril. "Tendo! That was my peep hole," Genma tried to whisper furiously. He was about to forcibly regain his spot when a dry coughing came from behind them. "Umm, Dad, Mister Saotome, just what are you two doing?" Nabiki asked them, one brow lifted. Soun stood up at the speed of lightning, wiping his nose with a handkerchief. "Nabiki! Errr, me and your uncle Saotome here were just ... err ... just fixing the lock on the door here, yes that's it. And ... i-it's a new lock as well ... umm ... how could it get broken?" He laughed pathetically. Genma just mumbled something unintelligible. Nabiki smiled at them. "Five thousand yen please. Each." Soun burst into tears. ~*~*~*~ Later on when everyone was seated having breakfast, Akane looked at Ranma, who was still in girl form. She was stuffing food in her mouth as fast as she could get it in. How does she, um, he eat like that and still have that good a body? She looked on enviously. "Ranma, why are you in your girl form? You like being a pervert or something? Ranma looked up, a bit of food hanging down her lip. Despite this she still managed to look cute. "Hey, it's not my fault. For some reason I got wet or something when I was sleeping." Nabiki hid her smile behind a hand. How indeed? She lovingly patted the snapshots of a scantily clad Ranma through her pocket. She also had a couple left of Akane. Maybe Kuno would still want them. "Then when I tried to take a shower," Ranma continued, "There wasn't any hot water left. The kettle's gone walk-about too." Nabiki again hid her smile. The little on-off switch on the hot water heater did wonders. And the kettle was in a safe hiding spot whenever Kasumi didn't need it. "That's ridiculous Ranma. You just like your female form more than your male form. Admit it. How could you get wet when you're sleeping?" "Beats me." Ranma went back to gobbling up her breakfast. Akane's mouth dropped open as she came up with the only likely reason. "Don't tell me you wet the bed Ranma!" "What!?" Ranma spluttered, food flying out of her mouth. "I do 'not' wet the bed!" Genma licked the mashed bits of food off his face with his tongue. "Boy, how can you disgrace yourself like this! I thought I toilet trained you! I guess I'll just have to bring you on another training trip!" "Oh my," Kasumi exclaimed. "The sheets will have to be washed." Ranma clawed her fingers through her hair in exasperation. "Even if I did wet the bed, it wouldn't transform me. That stuff is warm! If anything, it would be the other way around, with me as a girl changing back if I wet myself." She glared at them. "It's harder to keep it in when I'm a girl." Akane recoiled from Ranma, revolted. "That's disgusting Ranma. I bet you found that out from first hand experience." Just then Soun burst into the room interrupting them. "Can someone please explain why there are dozens of boys camping on our front yard?" he called out. "Ummm, that might be because Ranma is registered as a girl in school," Nabiki answered as she got up and peeked through the curtains adorning the front windows. Sure enough, she saw dozens of tents pitched up. It was strange none of them noticed until now. Ranma stood up, food forgotten. "Don't tell me they found out where I've been staying!" She started to panic. "Is that idiot, Kuno, there too?" "I can't see him." Genma also stood up, except he didn't forget the food. "What! *munch munch* Boy, you are blackening the Saotome name to continue to masquerade around as a girl! You were registered as a male! I saw to it myself." Ranma however was not paying attention. She was too busy running around in several directions panicking. "I can't let them catch me here. If they do, they'll be camped out there forever!" Akane was about to say something about Ranma's ego when she stopped herself. He's probably right after all, she thought to herself a little depressed. I still can't believe about Doctor Tofu ... "Well I'm off to school." She dropped her chopsticks into her empty bowl. "I guess Ranma won't be able to walk with me," she continued in a blatantly fake, sad sounding voice. Soun cried in happiness. "Oh Akane, you do love Ranma! You do your father proud!" "Whatever," Akane answered as she picked up her books and stood up. She walked out the back door to avoid Ranma's fan club. "Nabiki!" Ranma called out, desperate now. "Help me here. Money's no object!" Nabiki smiled. Her favourite words. "For you Ranma? Well since you've been increasing my income exponentially ever since you got here, I think you deserve a discount. Only two thousand yen." She walked over to her room and came out holding the kettle. "Just turn yourself into a boy and they won't recognize you." Ranma's mouth dropped open. "You mean, you hid the kettle in your room?" Nabiki shrugged. "All's fair where gaining money's concerned." She looked at her expectantly. "Well? Where's the cash?" ~*~*~*~ Ranma looked right and left as he stepped out the back door. Spotting no-one, he continued around the side of the house quickly. To avoid going around the front, he jumped over the fence leading to the vacant lot next door. Bad mistake. The lot was also filled completely with tents and boys. "Hey! You there!" Ranma cursed inwardly, looking at them. "Yes, you! We haven't seen you around before. You're here to try to get a look at her as well, aren't you?" The entire encampment of boys were looking at him expectantly, even a bit hostile. They didn't want another boy in the competition. And this guy looked pretty handsome. For a second, Ranma froze up not knowing what to say. Then he got an idea that might work. He tried to make himself sound arrogant. "If it's Ranma Saotome that you're after I'm afraid she's taken." "What! Don't tell us Kuno got her already! We came here just so one of us could get her before him!" "Not him you idiots!" Ranma said, disgusted they could even 'think' that Kuno had a chance. "I meant me!" The ground rumbled as dozens upon dozens of feet shifted to face him. Narrowing eyes and the sound of cracking knuckle's lent a sudden dangerous feeling to the air. "And just who are you?" The crowd's eyes began to turn a violent red. Ranma however was unfazed. He had faced a far worse sight than what was before him. A crowd of jealous girls. Several crowds of jealous girls and, he shuddered, amazons while travelling China. "I'm R -" He cut himself off. He couldn't introduce himself to them as Ranma Saotome. His girl side was already known by that name and they might think he was lying, and so, continue to pursue him when he was a female. "Ryoga, ummm ... Hibiki." Where did he get that name from? He must've just made it up. It sounded pretty tough. God, he was good. "Yeah, I'm Ryoga Hibiki. And Ranma is 'my' girlfriend. So you guys are wasting your time." "No way," muttered one of the boys, a short guy with light brown hair. "How do we know you're telling the truth?" "Well Daisuke did see him leave the back door, and Nabiki did say that she was living with them ... maybe he is seeing Ranma..." another guy with black hair dressed in a white gi put in. This statement seemed to enrage all them at once as soon as it was said. "Let's get him!" they all shouted. The crowd of jealous boys grinned in anticipation. This is gonna look ugly, they thought. One guy versus all of them? No contest! ~*~*~*~ Ranma ran along the top of the fence towards school. Damnit! he thought, rubbing his sore knuckles. Those fools have made me late! And the teacher's already annoyed with me for skipping out of the hall when Kuno started chasing me. Then he thought that since he was in male form for once, he might as well tell the teacher the truth. He didn't want to be stuck as a girl at school forever-. His thoughts were cut off when cold water splashed on the back of his head. "Well, that sure put an end to my plans," she said disgustedly, turning around to find a couple of young children running past. They were throwing buckets of water at each other and laughing. Shaking her head in annoyance, she brought out a makeshift disguise from her backpack, a pair of sun glasses and a cap and put them on, before continuing on her way. Maybe the hot water taps at school were fixed, but Ranma didn't bet on it. ~*~*~*~ In a small alleyway, Nabiki slapped five hundred yen into the little girl's hand. "Here you are for a job well done." "Yay! Now we can go get some candy!" The little girl grabbed her brothers hand and ran off, dragging him behind her. Nabiki looked sadly at the departing children. It was always depressing when she spent some money. "The sacrifices I make ..." ~*~*~*~ "Akane, where is Ranma?" the teacher asked. "I think he might be sick, Sensei." Akane smiled smugly as she looked at Ranma's empty seat. With any luck, those boys camped outside would keep Ranma from coming to school. "Don't go into that practical joke about 'he' again, Akane unless you want to stand in the hall," the teacher said sternly. Then she looked around the room, puzzled. "For that matter, where are all the male students?" Kachi, one male student was sitting in the corner, but he didn't really count since he was probably a queer. The rest of the students in the classroom were all female. Most of them looked happy that Ranma wasn't there, but they cursed when they found out it was a waste since none of the guys were here either. Except Kachi, who was trimming his nails and looking in a hand mirror. "Well, we can't wait for them, I'll have to mark them off as absent - What is that noise?" There was a soft shouting coming from outside the window getting steadily and steadily louder. It sounded like a whole bunch of people shouting their heads off and running like crazy. One of the girl's ran up to the window and looked below. "Hey! There's a whole bunch of people carrying papers and stuff chasing somebody into the school!" Akane also got up and looked down to the ground level. Sure enough, there were several crowds of people all chasing someone. That someone was wearing sunglasses and a hat. A blond pigtail flapped suspiciously behind her. She ran full tilt into the double doorways of the school, before slamming them closed and locking it against her pursuers. The massive crowd of people started banging on the school doors loudly. "Oh. It's only Ranma," Akane said boredly. A few moments later, the girl in question opened the door to the classroom and slammed it closed before leaning her back against it in weary relief. She took off her sunglasses and cap. It was Ranma alright. "Who were those people?" the teacher asked, morbidly curious. Ranma sighed and walked over to her desk. "I don't know." She sat down. "They kept shouting at me about signing contracts and stuff ..." Akane looked at her strangely. "Why would they do that?" "Beats me. And I'm no good at modeling anyway. My hands shake too much when I try to glue the little bits together. And this stupid disguise didn't work either, the brown paper bag was better- Hey why did everyone fall over?" ~*~*~*~ In another classroom, it was also strangely empty of most of it's male students. The only ones left there were the female students. Except for one, who was standing in front of Nabiki's table. Nabiki smirked at the tall boy with dark hair. She looked at the overly cute stuffed toy on her desk. It was a soft furry panda with a big 'love me' grin on it's cotton face. "Oh Kuno-baby! A present for me? How thoughtful." "Hah!" Kuno shouted. "A mercenary such as yourself does not deserve such a prize. This is for the golden-haired girl!" Nabiki mock-sighed. "And to think it was my body that ensnared you. Look Kuno, I am not a messenger of love no matter what you seem to think in your deluded mind. I only participate in profitable enterprises. Now as you already know, the golden-haired girl is staying with my family-" "That dreaded Saotome! He said he was staying with you as well! Hah! I am not overly worried about competition from the likes of him. He is no man! What did he do but flee from our duel yesterday! A short nap I was taking." Nabiki blinked. "Whatever. Although you are kind of right about the 'no man' part." She smiled in irony. "As I was saying, you can always count on me for hot tips. In fact, today I have something that you might be interested in ..." Kuno smacked his hands down on the table with a glazed look in his dark eyes. "If it is to do with the Golden One, consider it sold!" Nabiki took out the snapshots of Ranma in girl form. In the pictures, she was lying asleep, half naked and dressed in a singlet and short shorts. Her long slender legs were spread out haphazardly atop the futon, blond hair in sensual disarray. Her ample breasts were almost hanging out of the scanty singlet. On her beautiful face she wore a small cute smile outlining her full lips and causing a dimple on her cheek to stand out. The long dark brown lashes of her closed eyes rested closed in blissful slumber. "Interested? Set of five. Three thousand each. That comes to fifteen thousand." Kuno looked at them as if he had died and gone to heaven. Twin streams of wet drool leaked out of the corners of his mouth. Nabiki hurriedly moved the photo's away in case they got wet. Kuno ripped out his wallet so hard, his pocket tore open. "Sold!" "How about these?" Nabiki showed him a couple of Akane. In them, she was in her light yellow gi and breaking blocks of concrete. "Bah! I do not even know this girl! I do not want to waste my hard earned wealth on one such as that!" Nabiki's eyes narrowed. "This is Akane, my sister, you fool! Have you forgotten already?" "Akane, Akane. The name does sound familiar. But enough of that. I only want the pictures of my beloved Golden One!" Nabiki grew angry. Why that two faced ... How dare he just drop Akane from his affections like that just for a more beautiful girl. Admittedly, Ranma in his female form was very extraordinary and Akane didn't want his misplaced attentions anyway. But it was the principle behind the thing that counted. "I'll sell you your Golden One's pictures but only if you take each of Akane's ones as well. For the price you used to pay for them of course." She might as well get rid of old stock. Kuno smacked a huge amount of money down on to the desk, easily doubling what she had asked for, for the two sets. "You may keep the change! I want but the Golden-haired One's beautiful portraits no matter what!" He snatched the pictures from Nabiki's hand, stuffing the ones of Akane's into his pockets carelessly while he kept Ranma's snapshots outside and gazed at them dreamily. A drop of blood trickled out of his nose. "Such beauty! Such innocence! To think, that I, Tatewaki Kuno, am the lucky man to win her tender heart!" Nabiki stared furiously at him for a moment, before looking down into the wad of yen in her hand. Oh well, she thought. Money is money. "How might this humble warrior express his affections? I must break her free from the cursed presence of that foul Saotome!" Nabiki looked up with a smile on her face. "Why don't you just take the direct route? She is in Akane's class." "There you go again. Who is this Akane?" ~*~*~*~ Within classroom F, the students were all sitting around boredly. There were no guys for the girls to check out, and no guys to check out the girls. The teacher had dropped out of the class for the moment. The door opened slowly. Ranma looked up to see Nabiki poking her head in. "Hey Ranma! Kuno wants to see you." "What? Another fight? I'll be out in a moment." She stood up as Nabiki withdrew herself from the room, closing the door softly. Then she stopped. "Wait a minute," Ranma said out loud. "Me as a guy or me as a girl?" she asked suspiciously. Akane looked at her with a bemused expression on her face. "Who cares? If he wants you as a girl, you can go date him." Ranma gave her an annoyed look, then stomped out of the classroom angrily. "I'm going to put a stop to this. Damn I wish the hot water here was working!" Akane sighed wearily and stood up to follow her. ~*~*~*~ "Okay, Kuno, what's this about?" Ranma swiped her fringe out of her eyes and glared at the tall boy wearing the dark blue kendo garb. He had a malevolent gleam in his dark eyes. "Only that," he threw something so fast at her, it was a white blur. Ranma caught it out of reflex. Heh. He wants to fight me, she thought. "I wanted to give you this!" Kuno continued. "Huh?" Ranma looked down at what she held. She began to blush furiously. It was a toy panda. "I love you Golden One!" Ranma threw the stuffed toy into Akane's hands who was standing nearby with Nabiki, watching. She stepped closer to Kuno. "Look, you've got to give this up. I'm not who you think I am! If I had some hot water, I could disable this curse and show you. I'm the Ranma Saotome you hate and had a fight with yesterday! I'm really a guy!" She continued to glare at him. "Besides, the 'I love you' line is getting a bit old. I've heard it thousands of times." Akane sniffed. "Why that arrogant little ..." Kuno looked blank. "I see ..." "Get it?" Ranma sighed in relief. Kuno's face darkened. "It is still about Saotome! You are right! It is a curse on the earth that he must hound you! After he ran from our fight, no less! He is no man! No man I tell you!" "That's it! Put up your fists! I'm gonna kick your ass!" "Golden One? You desire to spar with me? You do love me! Very well, if you win, I shall allow you to marry me." He unsheathed his bokken from the bundle attached to his back. Ranma grew pale. "M-marry you? No way! I'm a guy, I tell you! If I win, you have to leave me alone!" "You are right! Marriage is too soon! Instead we may try each other out, but I am sure I, and you, will be more than satisfied." "Arrrghhh!" Ranma moved forward so fast, Kuno didn't see how she suddenly appeared right in front of him. Kuno slashed his wooden blade downwards, but Ranma leaped up to catch the blade between the toes of her left foot. With the other, she kicked him in the forehead sending him flying backwards. Various cards seem to flutter out of his pockets as he stumbled and fell over on his back. She is good! Kuno thought. I love her even more if that is possible! Ranma landed softly. "Hey! Don't hold back! You were faster yesterday-" She caught sight of one of the cards fluttering around. She snagged it out of the air with two fingers. "What is this - hey!" It was a photograph of her! In her female form. In it, she was sleeping, half naked in her sleeping clothes, her abundant attributes almost clearly visible! She started grabbing each one as fast as she could and putting them in her pockets. "Who the hell did these? Nabiki!" She looked around at Nabiki standing a little away to the side with Akane. She had an unrepentant smile on her lips. She shrugged her shoulders. "Why you-!" Sensing her inattention, Kuno stood up and leaped forward. "Wha?" Ranma called out in alarm, before she was tightly hugged within his arms. "Golden One! You win! I love you!" Ranma furiously broke out of his embrace by leaning backwards and backflip kicking his chest and somersaulting away. She suddenly thought of an idea, and smiled inwardly. "Kuno, though it pains me to say this," she said in a distraught voice. "But our love can never be ..." "Goddess! Say it isn't so!" "Alas!" Ranma covered her face with her hands. "But I love another." "Who is this fiend! It is that foul wizard, Saotome, is it not? I shall smite him from the face of this earth!" Ranma sniffed loudly. "No it is not him, though he is very handsome to look upon. It is her!" She pointed at Nabiki. Nabiki's eyes widened. She shook her head in confusion. Her mouth began to open and close but no sound came out. Kuno turned to look at her, a wild and furious look in his eyes. He sheathed his wooden sword behind his back slowly and calmly. The calmness only served to make the air ring with more danger. "Nabiki Tendo. I can only believe this of a mercenary such as yourself. How dare you corrupt this innocent beauty with your perverted ways?" Nabiki backed away in panic waving her arms in front of her, palms outspread. "No! Kuno-baby, he's lying!" Kuno rubbed his palms together as he slowly began to approach closer. "Somehow you have been deluded into thinking beautiful young women are of the opposite sex to disguise your lustful and perverted nature! And so you ensorcer this uniquely attractive female to sate your evil appetite! I shall have to exorcise whatever demons have found a home in your black heart! I, Tatewaki Kuno, the blue thunder of Furinkan High, shall punish you!" Thunder boomed as he began to slap one of his palms as if spanking it or in imagination of spanking something else, namely Nabiki's bottom. "Come here, so that I might beat the devil out of you!" Nabiki screamed and ran off as fast as she could. Kuno lunged after her in hot pursuit. "This is the vengeance of Heaven!" He slapped Nabiki's bottom, who squealed in pain. "And this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this - " Kuno's shouting and Nabiki's screams gradually tapered off to silence as they ran further and further away. Akane looked at Ranma. "That wasn't a very nice thing to do." Ranma just grinned from ear to ear. --- end of part 3 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* As always, C&C appreciated... Ace Sanchez (email: jsa@fl.net.au | www: http://jsa.users.fl.net.au/)