Jjz_Ranma@Hotmail.com
(Jesus "Jesse" Zamora)

     {} Words in other languages [Chinese unless otherwise noted]
     () Soundtrack information.
     [] Special notes.
     "" Quotes and signs
     <> Thoughts.
_________________________________________________________________

                    --THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS--
                        --CHAPTER THREE:WAR--

Ranma and Dark Ranma wait for their attacker in the backyard. 
Seeing the wrangled trees in the distance worries Ranma slightly.

RANMA:<Gods, this one's very strong, perhaps stronger than even
my counterpart.  This is going to be a tough fight.>

A figure emerges in the distance, covered from head to toe in
black ninja garb save for a long mane of hair from behind her
head, only the curves of her figure letting on that she is indeed
a woman.  Among the pouches of her belt rests a wicked katana
sword in a shadow-black sheath.

D. RANMA[getting into fighting stance, a black aura surrounding
him]:Heads up!  Our enemy makes her appearance!

RANMA[getting into fighting stance]:You ain't gotta tell me
twice!

The woman stalks slowly toward them, pulling out eight throwing
spatulas from her belt, four in each hand.

WOMAN:It's good to see you haven't run away, Ranma!  I was 
starting to think I'd have to chase you around the city!  [The
spatulas burst aflame].  I've been waiting for this for a long
time.  [Throws the flaring metal at the two Ranmas, who both leap
in unison over them]

The two Ranmas fall back to the floor.  D. Ranma merely smirks in
discontent, while Ranma looks back at the spatulas, now imbedded
into the wall of the house, which now has an intricate network of
cracks on it.

RANMA:Okay... This could be a problem.

D. RANMA:Only if you let it!  [His arms suddenly catch black
fire].  Now, it's MY turn!  [Thrusts his arms into the air]. 
BLACK SHADOW!!!

A beam of pure dark energy shoots out from D. Ranma's arms and
into the sky, where it is lost.  A dome of blackness suddenly
envelops the woman, lightning bolts shooting out from the walls
of the dome and slamming into her.

D. RANMA:Break outta that one, baby!

The woman suddenly produces a white fireball in her hands and
thrusts it at the dome wall.  Upon impact, the dome shatters and
disappears.

WOMAN[cooley]:Careful what you wish for.

D. Ranma rushes toward the woman, who intern runs toward him. 
Ranma himself follows D. Ranma apprehensively.

RANMA:<I wonder how I'm gonna get out of this without the people
in the basement getting hurt.>

The woman and the two Ranma, meet in front of the pool.

WOMAN[to D. Ranma]:Weak people can join forces, Ranma, but your
little friend won't help you.  [Spares a glance at Ranma, and
immediately steps back in shock].  [Faintly]... Two Ranmas...?

D. Ranma immediately takes advantage of the woman's shock and
delivers a right hook to her gut, followed by a left uppercut to
the chin, which sends her to the ground, flat on her back.  D.
Ranma then leaps on top of the woman and wraps his hands around
her neck.

D. RANMA[lost in a sudden rush of adrenaline as he tightens his
hold]:You always had a bad habit of letting your guard down,
Kasumi!

RANMA[wide-eyed shock]:<K-Kasumi!?>

D. RANMA:Do you regret coming after me now!?  [Quickly turns his
face to Ranma.]  Make yourself useful and get her sword!  [Turns
back to D. Kasumi and with a wicked grin, brings his face to
her's licking her cheeks like an animal].  Now, what shall I do
with you once you're dead?

Ranma carefully, pulls D. Kasumi's katana from it's sheath and
tosses it into the pool, then stands back, shocked and mournful.

D. RANMA[whispering into D. Kasumi's ear]:How about my friend and
I fuck your corpse the rest of the night?

D. Kasumi, unable to get anything out of her lips save a pathetic
squeal, tries to pry her captor's hands with her own, but to no
avail.

D. RANMA[aloud]:Oh yes, my dear, you're as helpless as you were
behind the clinic!  All your moves can't do shit now!

With a sudden burst of energy, D. Kasumi lands a right hook to
Ranma's cheekbone, which sends him spinning away from her.

D. KASUMI[getting to her feet, breathing heavily]:You won't...
Rape me again...

RANMA[To D. Ranma while getting back into fighting stance]:What
does she mean by "again?"

D. RANMA[smiling sickly as he regains his bearings]:I had a
little fun with her a few weeks after I tore Akane apart.  She
seemed to enjoy it as much as I did at the time.  [To D. Kasumi]
You made the cutest little gasps as I ravaged that wonderful
flesh of yours.  I'd love to do it again, Kasumi-oneesan.

D. KASUMI:Don't you DARE call me "oneesan!"  [Leaps at D. Ranma
and lets out a forceful kick which heads for D. Ranma's head,
only to be blocked by his arm]

D. RANMA:You're as pitiful as ever, Kasumi!  [Grabs her calf and
tosses her into the pool].

D. Kasumi lands into the pool with a tremendous splash that sends
water everywhere, including on the two Ranmas, who instantly turn
female.  They watch the pool for a few seconds, but nothing comes
up except for a few bubbles.

RANMA-CHAN:You don't think she's...

D. RANMA-CHAN:I think so; I did toss her in pretty hard. 
Honestly, though, I didn't expect her to be so easy to deal with.

Ranma-chan looks at her counterpart in disgust.

RANMA-CHAN[angrily]:You really are a sick shit, you know.

D. RANMA-CHAN:Not my fault.  Trust me, if I could be how I was
before, I'd go for--.

Suddenly, a hand emerges from the pool, grabbing the rockface
around the pool for support.

RANMA-CHAN:SHIT!

D. RANMA-CHAN:C'mon, we'd better get over there quick!

The two of them run toward the pool, prepared to fight, but D.
Kasumi, katana in hand, jumps out of the pool before they get
close enough, hovering high above her opponents.

D. KASUMI:Now we begin!  SHISHI HOUKOUDAN!!  [Fires a huge bright
green fireball at the Ranma-chans, who narrowly sidestep away
from it] 

RANMA-CHAN:Ryoga's move...?

D. RANMA-CHAN:You think THAT's strange, you should see some of
the OTHER shit she's learned.

RANMA-CHAN:I'd rather take your word for it.

D. Kasumi lands in front of her enemies, her sword ready to use.

D. KASUMI:Now, where WERE we, Ranma!?  [Charging at D. Ranma]
LIGHTNING STRIKE!!

D. Kasumi's sword becomes a blur as she executes hundreds of
stabs at D. Ranma-chan's face.  D. Ranma-chan dodges by slim
margins while trying to find an opening.

RANMA-CHAN:<If I help him, he gets away.  If I help her, she may
well turn on me.  And heaven knows how she'll react seeing a
'normal' household, where Akane's okay.  DAMMIT!>

Ranma-chan leaps into the fray, getting D. Kasumi in a choke hold
from behind her back.  D. Kasumi drops her sword and tries to pry
Ranma-chan's arms from her.

D. RANMA-CHAN:An opening!  [Drives her left foot into D. Kasumi's
gut, knocking whatever little air escaping Ranma-chan's choke
hold out of her lungs].

RANMA-CHAN:So, how can we neutralize her?

D. RANMA-CHAN:Like this!  [Grabs the Katana on the ground and
readies herself to slice D. Kasumi in half]

                      (BGM:"Searchin' 4 Peace.")

RANMA-CHAN:NO!!

D. Ranma-chan raises the sword for the strike.

D. RANMA-CHAN:Oh, yes!

Ranma-chan tosses D. Kasumi aside as D. Ranma-chan sends the
sword speeding down.  The blade narrowly misses Ranma-chan.

D. RANMA-CHAN:Don't you dare stop me!  You know as well as I do
that she's dangerous!

RANMA-CHAN:Only because of YOU!

D. Kasumi gets up off the ground and extends her left arm at the
two Ranma-chans.

D. RANMA-CHAN:Bullshit.  I haven't taught her ONE move!

RANMA-CHAN:You made her into that raving psychopath.

D. KASUMI[calmly]:How rude of you to call me names behind my
back.  [A white column of energy shoots from her arm, heading for
the Ranma-chans]

RANMA-CHAN[Getting in front of D. Ranma-chan and extending her
left arm]:HIRYU SHOTENHA!

A column of blue-green energy shoots out of Ranma-chan's arm and
meets the white one halfway.

RANMA-CHAN:What's going on here!?  Why are you doing this?

D. KASUMI:How would you feel, eh?  How would you feel if the one
person you allowed to get close to you turned around and violated
you like that bastard did to me!!?

RANMA-CHAN[a tinge of pity in her voice]:I... Don't know... Don't
think I'll ever be able to answer that without experiencing it.

D. KASUMI:Then you'll never know why I do this, and why I won't
stop until you and he both die...

RANMA-CHAN:Maybe... [sternly] But know THIS; I'm not going to let
you run amuck here.  There are people I love dearly hiding in the
basement below... Pops... Soun... [softly] Akane... [sternness
returning]  I've too much to lose.  I tried to help you before,
but I see now that there is no other way than that which my
counterpart proposes.

D. KASUMI[angry]:What are you saying!?

RANMA-CHAN[cold as ice]:I say this; _I_ won't stop fighting you,
EVER, until YOU die!  [Focuses all her chi into her column]

D. KASUMI:So be it!  [Focuses her chi into her column].

D. Ranma-chan, looking at the spectacle from Ranma-chan's back,
hefts the katana up, ready for one last hurrah.

D. RANMA-CHAN:<If I go in there, I die for sure.  But I'll die
anyway if Kasumi wins this.  Which death would be better...?>

With incredible strength and prowess, D. Ranma-chan jumps over
Ranma-chan and the two conflicting beams, sword ready for and
hungering bloodshed.

D. RANMA-CHAN[a demented grin on her face]:KASUMI!!  I'll be sure
to fuck you when we get to hell!  [With lightning quick movement,
she slices Kasumi's head clean off of her body as she sails past
it, landing behind the lifeless form]

Kasumi's white column disappears instantly, and Ranma-chan's
blue-green energy rips through the space in front of it, ravaging
everything in it's path, including Kasumi's head and body... And
D. Ranma-chan.

D. RANMA-CHAN[as her body is torn asunder]:<I'm sorry...
Akane...>

                         (BGM fades away)

The bodies of Kasumi and D. Ranma-chan are vaporized in seconds,
and the blast dissipates.  Ranma-chan falls to her hands and
knees, exhausted.

RANMA-CHAN[gasping for air]:Why... Why did he...

Stricken with grief, Ranma-chan lets out a beastly scream, her
tears flowing freely.  Fade to black.

                         --END CHAPTER THREE--
_________________________________________________________________

     "Searchin' 4 Peace." By Poetic Hustla'z.  From the
     cd\cassette "Mo Thugs Family Scriptures."  Mo
     Thugs/Relativity Records.
_________________________________________________________________

                   --THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS--
                      --CHAPTER FOUR:MOURNING--

Open on the way to school the day after.  Ranma is walking next
to Akane, who is wearing a neck brace, as opposed to on the
fence.  He has a grim look on his face.

AKANE:What are you thinking about, Ranma?

RANMA:Do you need to ask?

Akane simply nods in agreement.

RANMA:I've never... Killed anyone before.  Damn, I wish I never
had to do that.

AKANE[concerned]:Why did you?

RANMA:Eh?

AKANE:You couldn't have found another way?

Ranma shakes his head.

RANMA:No, I don't think so.  Had I relinquished that blast, I'd
have surely been killed, and those two would tear the dojo apart
fighting eachother, which would have certainly put you all in
danger.

AKANE:If it was to defend us, then what's so wrong?

RANMA[shaking his head ruefully]:You don't get it, do you? 
They... They had people to come home to.  Kasumi still had people
who she cared about, people who cared about her, in that hellish
world.  Even that monstrous other me must have been loved by
someone.  I had no right to take them away, no right to kill
them.  Especially with the hand they had been dealt.

AKANE[suddenly curious, but still careful]:What do you... What
ever made Kasumi into that monster you described to us last
night...?

RANMA[grinning smugly]:Oh, I forgot to tell you?  She had been
raped by her Ranma days after the incident with "you".  I feel
sorry for her.  If that other me is to be believed, if everything
was the same before Shampoo twisted his mind with that spell, she
deserved her fate least of all... She and his Akane.

They walk silently for a few moments, then Akane stops and turns
her body to Ranma.

AKANE:...Ranma...

RANMA[stopping]:Hm?

AKANE:What would you do if that were you?

RANMA:... I... I wouldn't let that happen...

AKANE:But if Shampoo did alter your mind with some sort of magic,
or Kodachi had drugged you, and you went of a rampage like that,
what would you do?  To try and fix it, I mean.

RANMA[at a loss for words]:I...

AKANE:You surely wouldn't let it go on.

RANMA[shrugging]:I don't know.  The only thing I could really do
is try to get away.

AKANE:Yeah...?  Maybe... Maybe that's what that other Ranma was
trying to do, get away from the few people he hadn't hurt. 
Surely he would have fought Kasumi, so why risk his life going to
a whole other world?

RANMA:Yeah... But still, I--.

AKANE:But nothing.  They were fighting eachother because they
chose to, even though that other you tried to keep it from his
loved ones.  Regardless of what happened to them before, you did
the right thing by keeping us from their harm.

RANMA:Still, it just isn't right...

AKANE:Ranma.  Stop beating yourself over the head with this. 
Please...

RANMA:I wish I could... I wish so much I could...

                    (Ending theme:"For You I Will.")

AKANE:Listen to me.  You're... [Inhales deeply, then lets it
out]... You're the one I care about, and whatever you have to do,
I approve of.  I know you'll never be like that monster, because
I'll never let anyone do that to you.

RANMA[shocked]:Akane...

AKANE:I love you, and no matter what it takes, I'll stand by you. 
If it had been a version of me from a world where I brought
misery, I'd do the same for you.  Please, stop blaming yourself
for them; I love you regardless.

RANMA:Akane, I... I... [Walks over to Akane and puts his arms
gently around her waist]... I love you... [Kisses her on the lips
softly, careful not to upset her neckbrace].

Fade to black.

                         --END CHAPTER FOUR--
                  --END THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS--
_________________________________________________________________

     "For You I Will." By Monica.  From the "Space Jam" motion
     picture soundtrack.  Warner Sunset/Atlantic Records.
_________________________________________________________________

Thanks go out to those who deserve it.  C&C is always welcome at
my address.  Until next time, may your loves be passionate and
your Street Fighter scores high.

     Through the Looking Glass was brought to you by:
     Nine Inch Nails.
     Cypress Hill.
     Mo Thugs' Family.

     Special mention to:
     The Zamora family.
     Megane 6.7.
     Andre the Giant.
     Danny Finego.
     Henry "Ho-Sung Pak" Lee.
     Michael D. Parker a.k.a "rTeker."
     The Flashman.
     Abbas Family.



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