Just a really strange idea I got today while I was supposed to
be programming. ^_^  Anyway--is it worth writing this?  Comments?

				-*-

	A flicker ran through the three-dimensional, pale grey image
of the young boy, and his words were interrupted by a burst of static.
His features twisted briefly into a grimace as sound returned.
"...Got to hold it together, Mirai!" he called, obviously speaking to
a companion in his frame.

	"I'm trying!" came the response; the girl's voice was tight
with strain.  "It was never made for this, and we're running out of
time.  The limiter is..."

	Her voice, faint through the link, was drowned out as the
boy continued.  "There will be a problem in the past--your future.
Our records indicate that you won't see it, yet it was prevented.
That must mean that this message--"  Another distortion brought
another burst of static.  "--As we planned.  There is a--"

	The watcher cursed as a burst of static drowned out the words.
The image nearly dissolved then, but the boy's hand moved, frantically
twisting, and it steadied.

	"Hurry, Nozomu," pleaded the girl from the future frame.

	The boy's image simply continued to speak.  "--Find the nexus.
Then use the key to open the--"

	He was cut off by the girl's scream; then, suddenly, the image
blinked out of existence.

			MOLDIVER

	"Oh, come on.  You expect me to believe that?"

	"What?"  His voice was indignant.  "You've seen guys turn
into ducks, p--uh, pandas, and girls, and you can't believe this?"

	"Ranma, that's ridiculous."  She rolled her eyes dramatically.
"It's just another one of her stupid schemes to get you to marry
Shampoo."

	He frantically motioned for silence, but it was too late.  The
very word 'marry' drew their respective fathers in an instant.  Moths
to a flame, she thought, and sighed.

	"How could you desert your fiancee, boy?" growled his father,
striking a pose of righteous anger.  "Why don't you just accept your
commitment like a man?"

	It might have been more impressive had her father not been
loudly wailing in the background.  Or it might not.

	While Ranma sputtered, trying to formulate a coherent
response, she spoke up.  "I'm NOT going to marry that PERVERT!"

	"Hey!"  That 'pervert' spun to face her.  "Who are you calling
a pervert, you tomboy?"

	It was, all in all, a fairly ordinary day at the Tendou dojo.

			RANMA 1/2

	"...So you see," the redheaded scientist droned, "The chronal
energy left traces that could e detected by a second-order Fenander
scan, which, when input into the Fawcett equation..."

	"But, Washuu-chan," he interrupted desperately, "What does it
mean?"

	"I was getting to that."  She frowned slightly at the
interruption, but decided to continue.  The matter at hand was urgent;
besides, she could make them all listen later.  She paused, ensuring
that she had everyone's attention.  Including Mihoshi's, which was no
mean feat, and entailed a rather lengthy pause.  Then, with a
secretive smile, she explained, "We can reconstruct the transmission."

			TENCHI MUYOU!

	Ranma's jaw dropped in shock.  She'd... won.

	Ukyou lay sprawled on the floor, unconscious.  Her spatula was
bent at nearly a 90 degree angle.  One of the woman's weapons was
buried in Ukyou's flesh, no more than an inch above her right eye, and
her left arm was probably broken.

	The woman had beaten Ukyou.

	It shouldn't have been possible.  Every judgment he'd been
able to make about the two had given Ukyou the edge.  Indeed, the
other woman had had a hard battle.  Her face and arms were covered
with a multitude of small cuts and bruises, her left leg hung limp,
and Ukyou's earlier blow to her side had probably cracked several
ribs.  It almost seemed she was in worse shape than her fallen
opponent.  Yet... she had won.

	His attention snapped back to the present as he noticed the
young man glaring at him while he tried to support the victor.  No
threat, Ranma decided--the other man was obviously untrained, and,
more importantly, seemed to be keeping to his promise.

	The promise... he'd almost forgotten.  With a reluctant nod,
he stepped aside, moving to kneel next to Ukyou.  "Ucchan..." he
murmured.  It seemed she would open her eyes, but they remained
closed.

	The other man spoke to his partner in the same low tone,
unintentionally echoing Ranma.  "Ayukawa..."

			KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD

	The man frowned as he regarded the empty space where his
partner--or benefactor--had stood, moments before.  This, it seemed,
would require some action.  Pity; he had become used to his current
situation.  Perhaps he could return, when this was over.

	He donned his coat, picked up his hat, walked to the door, and
paused.  In the hallway, he heard another door close.  Footsteps
slowly approached.  With careful patience, he counted slowly to seven,
then abruptly slammed the door open.

	He was rewarded, not with a sound thump, but with an
incoherent exclamation.  Followed by an angry cry, "Yotsuya-san!"

	Not bad, he decided.  Affecting an expression of surprise, he
turned to greet his neighbor.  "Why, Godai-kun.  Were you going out as
well?"

	The day was looking up.

			MAISON IKKOKU

	She kept close to the wall as she moved, as stealthily as she
could, along the dark hallway.  She wondered, not for the first time,
what she was doing here.

	When he'd left their home earlier, she'd assumed he was going
to meet -her- again.  He'd been spending a lot of time with -her-
lately, and, although she knew she shouldn't feel guilty, she
couldn't help it.  Too much had happened recently for her to feel
secure.

	She'd seen him later, by accident.  He had indeed been talking
to -her-, but he soon broke away with a smile and a shake of the head.
He'd been on his way here.  Why?  What was here that was more
important to him than -her-?

	She walked around the corner and came face to face with him.
She gasped as he grabbed her shoulders.  A look of surprise crossed
his face, and he asked, "Miki?"

	She found she was unable to answer.  His eyes fascinated her.
Before, they had always seemed so warm, even when he was distant.  But
now--

	Now, his eyes were as cold as his voice.  "You shouldn't have
come here, Miki."  Even his hands, on her shoulders, felt cold.

	"Yuu..."

	"No.  There isn't time for this now."  Releasing her, he
turned away.  "It would be better if you left.  If I could spare the
time, I'd take you myself..."

	"Yuu..."  Her throat was dry.  She licked her lips nervously,
and managed to ask, "What's going on?"

	"I don't know," he admitted wearily, and some of the coldness
drained away.  "But it just might be... the end of the world."

			MARMALADE BOY

	The wound burned, but she grit her teeth and tried to focus
through the pain.  Her knuckles were white as she clasped her sword in
both hands with a desperate strength.

	There was a suggestion of movement from the darkness.  She
waited for the attack to come, waited for the interplay of strike and
counterstrike that would follow.

	She waited and gathered her strength.  And she feared that it
wouldn't be enough.

	"Your line ends here," the harsh voice called.  She spun to
her left, the direction from which it had come.  The next phrase came
from directly behind her, however.  Mocking her.  "Devil Hunter."

	Yohko turned and swung her sword, hoping against hope to
deflect the blow--and knowing that she was too late.

			DEVIL HUNTER YOHKO

	"So," Nozomu mused.  "The players are assembled."

	"Will they be in time?" Mirai asked.

	"Maybe.  They have a chance, which is more than I can say for
us."

	"We've got to get out of here, Nozomu.  I can use the
Metamorforce, and..."

	"It's too late, Mirai."  He glanced toward the sealed door.
"They're already here."

	She stared at him in undisguised horror.

			FUTURE PERFECT



Scott Schimmel                http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~schimmel/
Ex ignorantia ad sapientium;  "You really aren't normal, are you?"
ex luce ad tenebras.              -- Miki Koishikawa