Well, I'll clear up the [info] part first... My name is Matt Katinas, but
in fanfic circles I go by Nidoking (I got my start in Pokemon fanfiction,
and have only recently begun writing Ranma fanfic). I've decided to make
my debut on FFML with the prologue of my complete Ranma fanfic, A Deadly
Choice. I'll probably post a chapter every few days, and C&C of any type
is greatly appreciated, even a private E-mail to let me know how many
people read/are interested in/enjoyed the story. Corrections on my poor
characterization will be noted, but (as you'll probably be able to tell)
some of my characters will be blown a bit OOC over the course of the
story. (I also have always spelled Ukyo's name "Ukkyo," using the Hard
Battle game's spelling, and it's more work than I'm willing to do to
change it.) The complete story, as well as the rest of my fanfic work to
date, can be accessed through my homepage at
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~katinamp
I'm copying and pasting from Word 97, but I haven't used Outlook much and
can't use Netscape over the summer, so... hope it comes out okay!
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In a totally dark room, Ranma Saotome struggled to escape from the
steel bands that firmly secured his legs, arms, and neck to the vertical
table. His ki powers were useless; since the bright flash that was the
last thing he could remember seeing, he had felt totally drained of
energy. He tried to turn his head, but his pigtail was caught between his
neck and the table. Not that there was much to see. Even Shampoo in cat
form couldn�t see anything in a room this dark.
�This is all Akane�s fault!� thought Ranma bitterly. �She�s the one
who trapped me in this freakish body, got herself and the other girls
kidnapped, and left me to be tied up helpless, god knows where. If she isn
�t already dead, the next time I see her, I�ll kill her!�
A voice spoke from the darkness. �Ranma. Choose.�
�What do you mean, choose?� called out Ranma, relieved to hear a voice
beside his own even if it belonged to the one who had imprisoned him here.
�Akane,� replied the voice. A light turned on at the opposite end of
the room, revealing the youngest Tendo sister, strapped to a table similar
to the one that Ranma was attached to. A large spike hanging from an
unseen support dangled just above her head, its sharp point just touching
her scalp.
�Shampoo,� continued the voice. A second light turned on, revealing
the Amazon warrior in a situation that matched Akane�s. Ranma winced as he
realized that were either of the girls to wake up and raise her head
slightly, she would be fatally impaled. He quickly slunk down as best he
could in his own bonds, edging away from the deadly skewer that might be
suspended above his own head in the darkness.
�Ukkyo,� said the voice, and the third light reflected off of the
various cooking implements that adorned the chef�s uniform. She, too, was
unconscious and bound to a table, and Ranma guessed what he would see next
seconds before the fourth light came on.
�Kodachi.� The Black Rose appeared to have already fallen victim to
the spike above her head, but as Ranma continued to stare, he realized
that it was only buried in the knot of hair which spoke of her capture
during her nightly hair-setting session. That had been Ranma�s first
indication...
The voice interrupted his thoughts. �These four women each care deeply
for you, Ranma Saotome. Each one of them has called you fianc�.�
�Akane hasn�t,� retorted Ranma. �The nicest thing she�s ever called me
was an idiot.�
�You have feelings for each one of them, however you may act toward
them, or they toward you. It is time for you to stop denying those
feelings and decide once and for all which one you will wed.�
�Then what�s with the spikes? Why kidnap all of them? You could have
tied me up just as easily and let the rest of them go!�
The voice became tinged with anger. �You have never taken the choice
seriously. You have always known that you could change your mind at
another time when the mood suited you. That will no longer be the case.
You may choose only one of the four. That one will live and be released.
The others... will die.�
�You can�t do this!� shouted Ranma, struggling to escape once again.
�You can�t force me to choose who lives and who dies!�
�On the contrary,� replied the voice, as Ranma felt the tip of a spike
press against his scalp. �You have five minutes. After that time, if you
have not chosen, then you and all of your fianc�es will die.�
Ranma�s mind raced. Which one would he choose? Akane was the one he
cared about the most, but after the events of the past few days, he didn�t
think she�d ever speak to him again. Besides, she didn�t want to marry him
anymore. She had another boyfriend now. And the whole mess was her fault
anyway. Hadn�t he threatened to kill her just a few minutes before?
But what about Shampoo? She had originally tried to marry him because
it was her tribe�s law, but apparently she really did love him. It had
been his own fault that she was involved in this. How could he condemn an
innocent victim to death?
And Ukkyo... she�d been promised his hand in marriage, and even though
he disliked being forced into such an arrangement, he really did like
Ukkyo as a friend and would never leave her to die like this. He knew
that, in time, he could learn to love her, especially without the
distraction of the other girls.
As for Kodachi... well, that narrowed the choices down to three.
�Your choice, now,� said the voice. Ranma was about to argue that the
five minutes weren�t up yet, but the spike began to press into his skull,
and he stifled his protest. Instead, he quickly made his decision.
�I choose ��
RANMA � -- A Deadly Choice
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Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. - Unknown
It is also the cruelest form of mockery. - Matt Katinas
"There's a billion places like home. But only one of them's where you
live." - Granny Weatherwax, "Witches Abroad" by Terry Pratchett
"There's a mathematical reason not to trust Christians... The Buddhists
believe that human lives repeat. The atheists believe that human lives
terminate. That means that the Christians must believe that humans are
irrational."
- Matt Katinas
"Not necessarily... they could think that humans are imaginary."
- Rob Pease, in response to the above