Well... although I hadn't planned on writing a continuation for this,
the amount of positive feedback and requests for more changed my mind.
^_^

It can be found on my story page at http://www.sbm.org/stories/

I hope you like it.

                     Hero behind the scene: Aftershocks

                           By: Andrew M. Petalik

A middle-aged man walked up to a bar and smiled at the banner displaying
its name. Although not very subtle, "Time out" was an apt description for a
place that served customers at the end of time.

Entering the establishment, he nodded politely to the barkeep/owner who
saluted him formally in return.
Walking over to a table near a window, he sat down and addressed the only
other person sitting there, "greetings."

On the table before the young man wearing a bandana sat a single bottle of
beer, two-thirds empty. The man noted this with dismay. Ryouga never ever
drank. "What's on your mind my friend?"

"Go away! I'm not in the mood for..." Ryouga stopped suddenly when he
recognized the man before him. "My apologies Judge. I didn't realize it was
you. Please forgive me."

Archamedes, a Voyager Judge, just waved the young man back into his seat.
"Take it easy my friend. I'm here to help, not give you a hard time."

Ryouga sat down and took a swig from his beer, finishing it off as he
replied, "I don't think there is much you can do for me sir."
"Why is that?"
"I don't get her. My one and only love."
"So... what's the problem? There will be others. Akane Tendou isn't the
only woman in the Universe."
Ryouga just smiled bitterly. "There will never be another. I'm doomed to
solitude 'till the day I die."

Archamedes sat back in his chair. 'This is not going well.' He ordered a
drink before continuing.
"So... you read your history, even though I told you not to."

Ryouga had the good grace to look embarrassed. "It's so hopeless."
The Judge looked carefully at the young man as he said, "it's never
hopeless. From the moment you became a Voyager, your story ceased to be
written in stone."

Ryouga examined his senior diligently before replying, "you're lying."
"You've gotten a lot more perceptive in your travels. I take it that Ranma
is having a much harder time fooling you know. You used to be so naive"
"He doesn't fool me anymore. I play along just to ensure that his destiny
of making Akane happy is met. Nothing more."
"Although your dedication to that girl is admirable, it isn't very healthy.
You have to move on."
"To what? The book has already told me how everything turns out. I'm
doomed."
"What I said wasn't a complete lie. As for your friends in Nerima, you are
right. There will never be anything between you and them. No Ukyou, no
Shampoo, no Akari and definitely no Akane. As far as they will ever see,
you will always be a lonely wandering friend.

"But the book doesn't know everything since you are literally outside the
standard flow of time. Think about it. Your life and your adventures have
no chronological meaning. Your fate is by no means sealed. It's up to you
to build something for yourself.

The Judge pulled out his Master Omni and opened it up. "This device is your
gateway to a new life. It's up to you to put the past behind you and take
it."

Ryouga retrieved his own simpler looking Omni and opened it up as well. No
light is lit. Ryouga stared at it for a moment before looking up at the man
sitting across from him. "Where should I start?"
Archamedes grins at him. "Does it really matter?"
Ryouga chuckles wryly. "I suppose not. Time is on my side after all."

The two of them laugh at the joke. Suddenly, a feverish light came into
Ryouga's eyes as he pulled his stuff together and flipped the barkeep a gold
coin. "I know where to begin."
The older man remained in his seat as looked inquiringly at Ryouga. "I'll
bite... where/when are you going?"
"I'm going to find out what really happened to my parents."

The Judge stood up. "Are you certain you can handle the truth? This will
not be easy."

Ryouga looked up from setting his Omni and replied, "I haven't seen my
parents since the day my father gave me this. The only thing they told me
was that they were going to take care of something very important. Right
now, I have no one. Why do you think I fell for Ranma's trick when he was
disguised as my sister? I was getting really desperate for anything I could
call family."

He finished entering in the coordinates and closed the lid. "I have to
know... for my own piece of mind."
Archamedes nodded proudly at the young Voyager. "Best of luck to you."

Ryouga pushed the button on the side of his father's device and disappeared
with a "whoosh".

Archamedes sighed to himself. "You're going to need it."

--___________
 / Here lies:\  "Oh my god! They killed Kenny!"
|   Andrew    | http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~ttant/SouthPark/
|             | 
|   I think   |                   Andrew Petalik
| he's hungry | Want to cook a yummy cabbit? Go here:
|             | http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/6808/cookcabbits.html