(scene: a darkened room. Lights slowly come on to reveal a cluttered, 
messy dorm room with tiny TV and VCR in front, worn couch and coffee 
table in back. Sitting on the couch are our hosts Noriko and Raphael, 
with their respective refreshments of choice.)

Raphael: Welcome yet again to another Mystery C&C Theater 1/2!

Noriko: Tonight we're going to be viewing Part Sixteen of Hearts of Ice, 
by Krista Perry.

Raphael: The conclusion, huh? I've been waiting for this part to be 
coming out...

Noriko: Well... that's what it says here on the box. (adjusts her 
notepad) By the way, how come we're still going by our old title of 
Mystery C&C Theater 1/2? I thought we were going to change it because it 
was too close to the title of Biles-san's series.

Raphael: Well, I was going to, actually, but after we finished airing 
last episode, Greg Sandborn wrote the station saying that it would 
probably be okay if I still kept the title. So.

Noriko: Really? That will certainly save us a bit of hassle... 
Incidentally, did the Mailing List respond at all to your announcement?

Raphael: Ya know, I never bothered to check. But I can check now real 
quick before we start the fic... (pushes a button on the remote, changing 
the TV to the FFML channel. Camera allows audience to see the TV screen 
as well.)

(On screen appear to be a multitude of individuals, arguing rather heatedly.)

Member 1: That character's OOC! Don't write fics!

Member 2: She is too IC! I say she is!

Member 3: We'll write fics if we want to!

Member 1: Oh yeah??

Member 2: Yeah!

(Argument increases in magnitude. The TV screen begins to glow red, and 
tongues of fire suddenly begin to leap out of the screen at our hosts.)

Raphael: (eyes wide with horror) Oh, _CRAP_! It's a FLAME WAR! LOOK OUT!

(Raphael immediately overturns the coffeetable, creating an impromptu 
shield against the flames shooting from the TV screen. Noriko and Raphael 
quickly dive from the couch and hide behind the shield.)

(Noriko tries to ease her way around the coffee table to get to the TV 
and VCR, but is quickly sent back behind the shield by a vehement burst 
of flame, nearly scorching her) 

Noriko: The remote! Change the channel, quick!

(Raphael sees the remote on the other side of the shield, near the TV. 
He hesitatingly reaches out a hand, but quickly pulls his hand back due to 
the heat being generated by the FFML channel) 

Raphael: I... I can't reach it! And the coffee table looks like it's 
gonna catch fire at any moment!
 
(Thinking quickly, Noriko darts her fountain pen at the VCR. The pen cuts 
through the flames and exactly hits a button on the front of the VCR, 
changing the channel. The flames immediately disappear.)

Raphael: Whew. That was a close one. (rights the coffee table and begins 
to retrieve scattered items, which miraculously survived the flames)

Noriko: What in the world was _that_ all about?

Raphael: Who knows? I guess the FFML has dissenting opinions as to what 
should and shouldn't get written... (eyes the now-charred coffee table 
ruefully) How'm I gonna explain _this_ to Tony?

Noriko: (uneasily) You could always say that you had an accident with the 
ramen cooker... Maybe we should just get to the fic, before anything else 
happens.

Raphael: (sitting down on the couch) Heh. Probably a good idea. Geez. 
These intros are getting longer and longer, aren't they? (pushes "play" 
on the remote.)

10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...

One thing I did predict correctly, however, was that finishing 
this story would take me about 70-80 more pages.  I've written 
about half that and, due to certain <*ahem*> persuasion, I have 
decided to release what I've got and save the rest for Part 17.

Raphael: (a bit disappointed) So this isn't the conclusion? Aw, man...

Noriko: Look at it this way. That means we'll get to watch one more 
episode of this before it's done for good.

------------------------------------------------
Hearts of Ice
Part 16: Dreams and Dragon Fire, Part One
by Krista Perry
------------------------------------------------

     His head snapped up fearfully to see Akane's own brown eyes
widening at the sight of his transformed body, only to narrow a
moment later, her nose wrinkling in aversion.  "Ughh," she said. 
"A pervert."

     Ranma's heart shriveled within his chest.  "No...  Akane,"
he pleaded, his mezzo-soprano voice grating in his ears.  "I'm
not..."

     "Jerk.  Insensitive pervert," she said.

Raphael: Gah. Probably Ranma's wost nightmare; that he'll find Akane 
again, only to find that she doesn't want him anymore.

Noriko: This isn't actually happening, is it? It seems kind of like a 
dream, but I can never be sure...

     But, as the tengu stepped towards him, five gaping, bleeding
wounds opened up in the creature's feathered chest.  The tengu
looked down at himself for a moment, almost surprised,  then
collapsed lifelessly onto the forest grass...

Noriko: Okay. This is just a twisted memory of what happened in the 
previous chapters, then.

Raphael: Whew. Had me going there for a moment, though. I thought for a 
second that the Snow Woman had put her mitts on Akane again, but good.

     But his feline mind had not been focused on her.

     Ranma had spent almost every waking moment in Akane's room. 
And Ukyo had stayed with him, taking care of him, trying to
comfort him, to hush his mewing even as he cried constantly for
the missing girl...

Noriko: Oooh. That must have been awful for Ukyo. Poor thing; she really 
gets the short end in these stories, hm?

Raphael: Poor Ukyo? How 'bout Poor Ranma? _Nothing's_ been going right 
for him for the whole fic! 

     "Well then," she said.  And to her surprise, her voice did
not crack.  "Everyone's packed and ready to go.  We're ready to
leave when you are."

     And the haunted look on Ranma's face faded slightly, to be
replaced by eagerness, anxiousness...

     "I'm ready now," he said.

     Ukyo's smiled.  But the smile could not reach her eyes...

Raphael: And another momentous decision for Ukyo, to allow Ranma to chase 
after the one he loves instead of herself. 

Noriko: Well, if you think about it, she really didn't have much of a 
choice. I don't think anything short of death is going to stop Ranma from 
going after Akane now. He's been through so much already.

     Nabiki glanced at Ukyo, her expression carefully neutral. 
"Ukyo... have you not given up on Ranma?" she asked quietly.

Noriko: (frowning slightly) That's... sounds a bit formal, I think.

Raphael: Oh yeah? And what do you think should be done about it?

Noriko: (slightly frustrated) I don't know. I just... don't like that 
sentence. It sounds... too formal, with the "have you not" phrase in 
there. Maybe Krista-san could take out the "not," or turn it into a 
contraction, but...

Raphael: I think you're making too big a deal over nothing. S'fine as it is.

Noriko: Well, maybe. I just don't like it...

     Nabiki's hands clenched at her sides.  "I don't like anyone
or anything messing with my mind.  Or my family.  And this blood
spell has done both.  So, even though I know it might be... too
late... I hope Ranma can break the blood spell and get Akane
back.  But... if he can't... if worse come to worse and something
goes wrong..."  

Raphael: Very nice. Nabiki's explanation behind her motives is portrayed 
just perfectly here. 

Noriko: This must be tough for Nabiki, too. She _did_ have some feelings 
for Ranma, and going to these lengths is something else indeed. 

     "OH, MY PIGTAILED GODDESS!!  THOU HAST AWAKENED FROM THY
SLUMBER AND COMETH TO GREET ME LIKE THE BREAKING RAYS OF DAWN
DISPELLING THE DARKEST NIGHT!!"

     "GYAAAAA!!   KUNO, GET OFFA ME, YOU PERVERT!!"

Raphael: What the...? (Noriko shudders)

     She suppressed a smirk.  Yes, Ranma was back.  "He's paying
our way to China," she answered matter-of-factly.  "He's flying
everyone there in a private jet.  So before you go breaking any
more of his teeth, you might want to remember that without him,
we'd all be taking the slow boat, so to speak."

Raphael: Even if he was paying, they might be taking the "slow boat." 
Remember the first movie? And that was to rescue an Akane he remembered, too!

Noriko: Well, maybe Nabiki applied some extra weight getting this one 
done. After all, the circumstances are a bit more dire than they were 
with Kirin. We're dealing with an ancient dragon this time instead of 
some royal egoist armed with chopsticks.

     Ranma frowned, but before he could respond, the screen door
slid open, and Ryoga stepped through.  Shampoo and Mousse
followed close behind.  They were holding hands... to Ranma's
astonishment.

Raphael:(gaping somewhat) No kidding. They're holding _hands_?

Noriko: Maybe the past week or so did their relationship a bit of good. 
Times of crisis can sometimes do that. 

     Ryoga's eyes widened as he saw his friend, still in cursed
form, but standing upright for the first time in a week.  "Uh...
hi, Ranma," said Ryoga awkwardly.  "Welcome back."  He
immediately wanted to kick himself as soon as the words came out
of his mouth. *Welcome back?!* he thought. *Oh that's just great. 
I might as well have just said 'Welcome back from being a cat.' 
What kind of stupid thing is that to say after what he's been
through?*

Raphael: Heh heh heh. I love that. The thought process is just about 
right, too.

     Ryoga listened a moment, then shook his head.  "Nothing
unusual.  Why?"

     The tall, bespectacled Chinese boy looked troubled for a
moment, but then he shrugged it off.  "I guess it was nothing,"
he said, then walked over to the larger tent to pack it up for
the trip.

Raphael: Heh. And I'll bet Cologne swiped something _really_ important 
that won't come into play until the last part...

Noriko: Well, it would be really silly if she came and went and _didn't_ 
do anything like that, wouldn't it?

the creature who had cast the cold spell on Ranma and then
delivered him up to the Shadowcat demon; the Shadowcat demon that
had gone on to kill Masakazu... and that had nearly killed her... 


     "You!"  Akane's voice was a dry rasp; her throat felt like
sandpaper.  She tried to sit up, to push herself away, but
searing pain tore through her shoulder and leg, making her gasp

Noriko: There's an extra line there. It almost looks like there was a 
change in section.

Raphael: Aw, geez. Can't you just sit back and watch the fic? 

     Akane's head snapped up, her brown eyes blazing in spite of
the pain flaring through her body.  "Don't you *touch* me, you
witch!" she hissed through clenched teeth.

     The Snow Woman's eyes widened, stunned, and her hand fell to
her side.  "But... Akane..."

Raphael: That's it! Sock it to her! Give her all you've got!

     And that realization was followed closely by another.  The
Snow Woman's eyes widened.  *She... still remembers Ranma.  The
Kami Plane's spell of Forgetfulness has failed...*

     *It cannot be.  I... have failed..?  Everything for
nothing...*

Raphael: Heh. Darned right it was. How do you feel now, Ice Queen?

Noriko: Shhh! I'm trying to watch! (with an edge of sarcasm) Can't you 
just sit back and watch the fic?

Raphael: .....

     "Are you looking for this?"  She looked over at Kazuo.  He
held the comb in his hand, the two pieces still bound together
with a strip of blood-stained leather.  Akane narrowed her eyes
suspiciously as she held out her shaking hand, half expecting him
to pull it out of reach...

Raphael: Leather? I thought she bound the thing together with a strip of 
her clothing. 

Noriko: Well... she could have been wearing a leather cloak at the time 
of the battle...

Raphael: And she tore off a strip of _leather_? I have a hard time 
tearing _cloth_!

Noriko: This is Akane we're talking about, remember? The girl who used to 
beat up about fifty boys each morning? And besides, you're _hardly_ Mr. 
Fitness yourself.

     Unless...

     She felt the weakness throughout her body, the searing pain
that, even know ate away at her concentration...  Just how close
to death had she come? 

Noriko: I think that should be "now" instead of "know." Also, that comma 
before the word "even" could probably be left out. 

     "Why?" she asked.  "Why did everyone leave?"

     "I would think that you of all people would know," Kazuo
replied.  "You obviously are aware of what Mistress Yuki-onna did
right after you left.  How she summoned that... dreadful
Shadowcat demon."

Raphael: Wow. Her servants all deserted her? Leaving only Kazuo? Geez...

Noriko: You have to feel a little bit of sympathy for the Snow Woman now, 
hm? First Akane leaves her, and then all her servants... The Snow Woman 
had always been so lonely, even in the happiest of circumstances.

Raphael: Still, I think she had it coming to her. It's not like she 
didn't deseve it. 

Noriko: Maybe... But that doesn't make her situation any more bearable. 

     Yuki-onna stood in front of her mirror.  It was still
covered by the thick cloth she had thrown over it, in a fit of
grief and guilt, after peering into the mortal plane over two and
a half years ago, to see what had caused the horrible feeling of
loss that had touched her, penetrated her to the bone, while she
had been working on her calligraphy...

Noriko: That last sentence is _really_ awkward. I can't even figure out 
where the subject and the predicate are supposed to be. 

Raphael: Hey, maybe Krista's pulling another stream-of-consciousness 
thing over us again.

Noriko: (slightly doubtful) I don't know... I think Krista-san would have 
made it more clear that it was stream-of-consciousness if that was what 
it was supposed to be...

     Yuki-onna startled at the mental voice inside her head, and
turned to see...

     **Masakazu!**  Her own mental response was filled more with
embarrassment than anger. **How dare you follow me here?!**

Raphael: Huh? Masakazu's alive again? Where is this?

Noriko: Honestly. Haven't you ever heard of a flashback before?

     The tengu's black eyes glittered with silent laughter.
**With the way you've been moping about your domain the past few
weeks, how could I resist?  I had to see for myself the mortal
man who has managed to melt your heart of ice, Yuki-chan.**

Raphael: (pointing) Hey, look! It's the title!

Noriko: That's just one heart, though. I wonder who the other heart 
belongs to? It's "_Hearts_ of Ice," remember?

Raphael: Could be a lot of people. Like Nabiki, who turns out to be a 
softy. Or Akane, who used to deny her feelings for Ranma. Or even 
Cologne. Now _that's_ a heart of ice.

Noriko: "Ice" doesn't seem to be strong enough in Cologne's case.

Raphael: True. It's debatable whether or not in this fic she actually 
_has_ a heart to be composed of anything, let alone ice...

     "Who are you?" he asked suddenly.  "I... I mean what are you
doing out here, so far from the village?  That is, if you're from
the village...  Are you lost?"  The young man looked slightly
panicky as the words tumbled out his mouth.

     Yuki-onna looked up at him, relief flooding through her.  He
didn't recognize her.  He thought she was lost, and that was just
as good as thinking she was human.  Then why had her appearance
sent him into stuttering fear?

Raphael: Yeah, why? 

Noriko: Good grief. You can be such a _male_ at times, can't you?

Raphael: And just what is _that_ supposed to mean?

Noriko: (sweetly) Oh, I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out. (Raphael 
silently glowers)

     "And my name," said the Snow Woman, smiling happily, "is
Yuki."

     Shin looked into her face with his summer sea-blue eyes. 
"What a beautiful name..."

Noriko: (sighs happily) That was sweet. A very nice scene of first love, 
with all of its foibles and uncertainties. Kudos, Krista-san.

Raphael: Heh. Don't get too starry-eyed yet. Remember, the Ice Queen was 
back in the Kami plane by the time Akane arrived. _Something_ must have 
convinced her to return.

     The door flew open, and two giggling, snow-covered bundles
of cloth and fur came tumbling through the doorway.  The smaller
one stood and, without prelude, ran straight for Yuki-onna, who
barely had enough time to set her sewing aside to catch the
little girl in her arms.  
     "Mommy, you should see what we made!"

Noriko: There's a carriage return missing in between those two paragraphs.

     The little girl laughed as Yuki-onna set her down by the
door and patiently began to unbundle her winter clothing.  "Me
an' Natsu made a snow woman," she said.

     Yuki-onna froze a moment, her eyes widening slightly, before
continuing to unwrap her youngest daughter.  "Did you really,"
she said hesitantly.

     "You should see it, Mother," said Natsu excitedly,
forgetting for a moment that she was the mature older sister. 
"We packed the snow tight and solid, just like you showed us, and
she's bigger than me!"  She held her hand above her head to show
how tall her creation was.  "Will you come see?"

     "It's getting dark out," said Yuki-onna distractedly. 
"Perhaps tomorrow."

(Raphael and Noriko shiver)

Raphael: Another one of those cold foreshadows, I reckon... (Noriko nods)

     "In my dream, the storm raging outside quieted.  The door to
the hovel opened, and... a woman stood in the doorway.  Her skin
and hair were white as the snow around her, and she was tall and
beautiful in a way that I knew immediately she could not be
human..."

     *No...* Helpless tears filled Yuki-onna's eyes, slipping
down her cheeks, her face contorting in grief as she felt the
warm rivulets turn suddenly cold against her skin...

Noriko: (softly) Oh, dear. So _that's_ how it happened. Poor thing...

Raphael: Which one are you referring to? The Snow Woman, or Shin?

Noriko: (nods sadly) Mmm-hmm.

     *Don't leave me...*

     As the image faded from the mirror's surface, Yuki-onna felt
tears of ice slipping down her face once again.  

     "Oh Shin..."  

     Though her voice was a whisper, it was penetrating, as if
trying to reach back across the centuries, across the planes, to
reach the ears of a long-dead mortal man...

     "Shin... my beloved husband...  Forgive me..."

Raphael: (a bit subdued) So _that's_ why she's been so against mortal 
love all these years. Wow... I never knew... What a bummer. Noriko?

Noriko: <sniff> (wipes a tear) 

Raphael: Oh, heck. (Raphael fetches a box of Kleenex and offers it to 
his partner, who readily accepts)

     Ryoga clenched his teeth in frustration.  "Come on, Ranma,
knock it off.  Moping about like this...  It isn't like you."

     "Yeah, well, I guess you could say I haven't been myself
lately."

     Ryoga scowled.  "That's not funny, Ranma."

     "Don't I know it."

Noriko: Oooh. That was a nice little exchange. In just those few lines, 
you manage to send across the bitterness and determination welling inside 
of Ranma. Kudos, Krista-san.

Raphael: Do they have Lost Boy on a leash? Because in any other 
situation, he would have disappeared long, long ago.

Noriko: I'm sure they're keeping a careful eye on him. Against the 
Ancient One, they're going to need every advantage they can get, and 
Ryoga's strength and skill are indispensable.

     Ryoga blinked, surprised that Ranma had spoken, unpromted by
a question.  "What?"

     Ranma's fists were clenched at his sides.  "It's still
inside me, Ryoga.  The... Nekoken.  The cat soul.  Whatever it is
that the Shadowcat put it in me when I was just a kid.  It's been
there inside me all this time, just waiting for me to... to freak
out..."

Raphael: Huh? It's _still_ there? But didn't Akane _kill_ the Shadowcat? 
Shouldn't it have disappeared with his death?

Noriko: Maybe, but then again, maybe not. Maybe the cat soul is separate 
from the Shadowcat himself, so even if the Shadowcat died, it would still 
remain.

Raphael: But there'd be no one there to receive Ranma chi anymore. Would 
it still function? It would be like a telephone without anything on the 
other end.

Noriko: But the phone can still ring even when no one's home, right?

Raphael: Oh, great. "Hello, you've reached the Shadowcat. I'm afraid I'm 
not availble to accept my chi right now, but if you'll leave your name 
and location within the mortal realm at the tone, I'll be sure to get to 
you as soon as possible."

Noriko: (eyes narrowed) Okay, that's quite enough now, thank you very 
much. Can we get back to watching the fic now?

     Ranma turned and looked down the hill towards the camp, lit
by the flickering light of the campfire.  There were four tents
pitched; one for Kuno, one shared by Nabiki and Ukyo, one shared
by him and Ryoga... and one shared by Shampoo and Mousse.  "I
still can barely believe that she actually married him," he
muttered.

Raphael: Okay, just wait one moment! Shampoo _married_ Mousse?? In the 
span of two weeks or so? I don't know about this...

Noriko: Well, not just two weeks or so. They've known each other almost 
their whole lives, right? So maybe they finally got talking after this 
whole thing started.

Raphael: Yeah, they've known each other a long time. But when ninety-five 
percent of that time consisted of Shampoo treating Mousse just below so 
many horse droppings, hearing that Shampoo suddenly married Mousse is a 
bit much for me to handle at once. Besides, when did they have time to 
get married during those two weeks, anyway?

Noriko: Well, maybe they're just engaged, then.

Raphael: But Ranma said they were _married_.

Noriko: Hmmmm...

     Snow?

     Ryoga looked up at the clear sky.  Strange...  Where had
that come from?

Raphael: (dryly) Where, indeed.

Noriko: Shhh!

     And he felt a familiar warning tingle...

     He turned, dropping the unconscious Ryoga to the ground,
crouching into a fighting stance...

     The Snow Woman looked down at him, her cold, cracked white
face expressionless.

     "Hello Ranma," she said softly.  "We meet again."

Raphael: Aha! Come back for a fight now, huh?

Noriko: Somehow, I doubt she's here to fight again... Maybe she's here to 
apologize for all she's done, now that she's seen now much it hurt Akane.

Raphael: Or maybe do something about that blasted cold spell of hers.

Noriko: (hopefully) Maybe...

--------------------

End of Part 16

Raphael: (sighs) Another Krista Perry cliffhanger...

Author's notes:  So... what do you think?  Was it intense enough?  
Emotional enough?  Do you want more?  Less?  Did it pull you in 
or leave you cold (excuse the pun)?  How about the 
characterizations?  Please, let me know!  I can take it...  ^_^

Raphael: What do I think? 

Noriko: You always say the same thing. "You'd better get to writing the 
rest of this before I go and do something drastic." Can't you come up 
with anything different this time?

Raphael: Hey, but it's true!

FYI, in regards to Yuki-onna's daughters:
Natsu = Summer
Haru = Spring

Noriko: A nice touch.

Raphael: Yeah, cool!

(tape ends)

Raphael: Well, that's Part Sixteen. Pretty good, even though the flavor 
was a lot different than action-packed Part Fifteen.

Noriko: Yes, I liked this part for the insights into the different 
characters we get to see. I get the feeling that these characterizations 
might become important in the final struggle. And the story of Yuki-onna 
and Shin was _so_ sad...

Raphael: This chapter looks to be like the "calm before the storm," huh? 
And it looks like we're in for some stormy weather coming up in the final 
chapter...

Noriko: Stormy or no, I'll definitely be looking forward to seeing the 
next part of this wonderful tale. Well done, Krista-san.

Raphael: I'll second that. Keep cranking! On behalf of both of us here at 
Mystery C&C Theater 1/2, good night. Stay tuned for our next project -- a 
viewing of Chris Davies's fic "Together Again."

Noriko: (smiles pleasantly) Good night.

(fade to black)


end C&C


    That's it. Another episode. Chris, I promise to get to your fic 
next. But I saw HoI in my box, and just couldn't resist... *_*

    And I apologize to anyone I might have offended with the little 
"flame war" scene at the very beginning. But come on... it's just a 
flipping show, after all. Can't we just all get along and write fics in 
peace? ;^)

    Anyway, thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this, Krista, and maybe 
found a useful tidbit or two in there (although this one was hard. I was 
really grasping at straws to find things to criticize)...

---
Raphael See