Heres three, I'll post the new revised 4 tomarrow morning.  Thanks to WW 
for spellchecking my sig...

Matthew Trotter, Sky Marshal Bill says, "Throw another bug on the Bar-B!"
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I C E   A G E
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  Part Three: Absolute Zero
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  A cat lies awake when it sleeps was she conscious of her own miseries
  will the agony of her pain win her to enlightenment and set conscience free
  do you really wanna know what's happening
  do you really wanna know what's going on
  hey girl you better please take a look around
  explore your heart and find out for yourself
                               -Rancid
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It happened a long time ago.  It wasn't really his fault.  They fought 
all the time back then.  They wanted to grow up to be the best.  He 
promised he would be strong enough for her.  She said he could be hers.  
Back then there was no confusion about gender roles, it was the woman's 
place to choose her mate.  Not like now.  With the men refusing women.  
Except him.  He never refused.

They had been out practicing balance.  He had found a log that was 
caught in the branches on another tree.  He took her to see it.  That was 
how it started.  She had climbed up and told him it wasn't even a 
challenge.  She used to always say things like that.  Great grandmother 
always told her that you couldn't let men become complacent.  So he 
climbed up.  He told he fighting on the log would be good training for 
the contest.  She had to admit, that was probably true.  It was good 
training.  She had gone back and practiced on the log after that.  It was 
just that on that day it probably wasn't a good idea.

It was hard to admit, especially after having been the best for so long, 
but he had been better.  It hadn't been anything for him to knock her 
off.  Even in the tournament she had chosen weapons to aid her balance.  
It was almost humiliating to think back.  She had just sat there and 
cried.  More out of humiliation than pain.  And he had tried to comfort 
her.  That had hurt worse.  Men weren't supposed to tell you they would 
make it all better.  They were inferior to women.  They weren't supposed 
to make it all better.  That was what great grandmother always told her.  
But he always made it all better.  He promised he would never hit her.  
He promised he would always be there.  He promised he would always love 
her.  He promised he would never tell.

 . ... .so many promises.  He had never lied.  He never hit her after that 
day.  He lost every fight they had after that.  He never went away.  He 
was always there.  He even followed her when she left.  He never quit 
loving her.  Even after all her abuse.  Even after the accident.  Even 
though she told him she didn't want him.  The worst part was that he 
never did tell.  He could have used that to force her to marry him.  But 
he never did.  He kept it inside.  She hated him for it.  She had spent 
nights dreaming of the day he would beat her again.  Of the day he would 
tell of his right to marry her.  He never did.  He was a man of his 
word.  And she was too proud to loose.

Great grandmother was glad.  She didn't like him.  She saw him as weak, 
and foolish.  Anyone who would intentionally lose was weak to great 
grandmother.  She thought he was an invalid.  She didn't care who's fault 
it was.  Only the strong could survive.  She didn't know what true 
strength was.  She didn't know that he was keeping promises at the cost 
of his happiness.
  
 .. .. ..... . ... ..At the cost of his sight.  It wasn't fair.  She 
never realized all the things he had done for her.  Now she was alone, 
and she might die without being able to tell him she was sorry... . .that...
that.. . .of how... the nights...of waiting. . ...if she could just see 
him again...

It happened along time ago.  In a home that was now further from the 
heart than it could ever be in terms of geography.  They were fighting 
again.  It was really a rather one sided fight.  She was attacking, and 
he was not being hit.  At the time she hadn't realized what a feat of 
skill that really was.  She wasn't nearly the warrior she had thought 
herself.  His refusal to fight back infuriated her.  He wasn't going to 
get away with this.  She was determined to make him take the fight 
seriously.  She had been stupid then.  Though the more she thought about 
it the more she realized that she had been stupid for quite some time 
after that too.

Shampoo decided to shake the log by jumping up and down, let him try to 
balance on that.  The log bounced up and down and Mousse kept his 
balance.  Watching him was like watching a panther.  He that kind of sleek 
gracefulness.  Shampoo decided to see what he would do if she tried her 
favorite sucker trap.  Mousse was forever falling for the helpless maiden 
trick.  Shampoo rushed halfway down the log as it made its downward 
swing.  She intended to pretend to loose her balance and attack Mousse 
when he got close.  It was perfect.  That was when the branch snapped.  
It had been supporting the log and both of them without much trouble, but 
the added strain of her bouncing the log had been too much.  Shampoo 
watched the world start to twist.  She realized that the log would 
probably fall on her.  Then again, it was her fault.

Mousse moved faster that she'd ever seen him move before.  One minute he 
had the same look of fear that she imagined was on her face, the next he 
was tearing across the log.  When he reached her they were falling.  He 
threw his arms around her and twisted her under him.  Ever through her 
fear she felt a certain thrill.  She had been waiting for the day Mousse 
would make an advance.  Now to be in his arms...it was all . . .. 

She had landed on her back.  It hurt like hell.  When she finally came to 
Mousse was laying on top of her.  He was still out.  The log was laying 
off to the left.  Shampoo gently rolled Mousse off of her.  There was 
something wrong.  He didn't look right.  Shampoo stood up and looked down 
at him.  His left shoulder wasn't even with his right, and his arm was 
bent at an angle that looked all wrong.  He didn't respond when she 
gently shook him...his head just lolled back and forth.

It hurt to remember that day...she had run back to the village.  Great 
grandmother and some of the village men had come.  Soh Lon, Mousse's master 
told them what had probably happened.  Mousse had landed on his hands and 
knees.  When the log landed on his back it had dislocated his left 
shoulder and broken his arm when it rolled off.  He had probably saved 
her from having a broken back, or worse.

That wasn't the worst part.  Mousse had recovered from the shoulder and 
arm...but when he kept walking into walls and talking to animals, it 
became apparent that the log had probably hit him on the head.  Soh Lon 
petitioned the council to let him take Mousse to a city to get him 
checked.  In the end he won, though great grandmother had fought it the 
whole way.  

The glasses only made things worse.  If he wore them they made fun of him 
for being an invalid.  If he didn't wear them he would mistake inanimate 
objects for people.  She hated herself for what had happened to him.  But 
that wasn't the worst part.

One day Mousse told her that he didn't care if everyone thought he was an 
invalid.  He said that he wouldn't let her marry someone who was an 
invalid.  That was why he never wore the glasses.  It hurt to hear him 
say that.  It wasn't even pride that made him do without his eyesight.  
It was her.  She meant more to him than his own pride.  That hurt, but 
that wasn't the worst part.

She was embarrassed that he couldn't see.  She would leave him talking to 
animals and laugh at him behind his back.  She was glad when she left to 
kill Ranma.  It meant she wouldn't have to be embarrassed by Mousse any 
more.  And when Ranma turned out to be a boy it meant she couldn't marry 
Mousse.  It had all been perfect.  That was the worst part.  She had 
betrayed him.  That was what hurt the most.

And even after all of that, he still wanted to be near her.  To be her 
friend...even her husband.  It was probably better for him if she did die 
out in the cold.  At least he would be free to look for someone who might 
care about him.  She only wished that the crazy girl didn't have to die 
with her.

The world lurched.  She tried to open her eyes, but they were stuck.  The 
world began move in a rather unbalanced way.  It had to be the crazy 
girl trying to walk again...maybe there was still hope...the wind howled 
around them, and the crazy girl stumbled.  There was no collision, so 
Shampoo guessed the crazy girl was still on her feet...

A voice came out of the wind.  It was calling to them.  There was a 
sensation of falling, then it stopped.  There was no impact.  The voice 
came again.  This time very close.  It was full of fear.  She could hear 
the voice trembling.  It sounded vaguely familiar.  It was when the voice 
started screaming Ranma's name that she recognized it.  It was the lost 
boy who was always attacking Ranma.  They were dead.