Eric: ahh another freezing night in Philadelphia

Sarah: *wrapped in blankets* its freezing here!  Its only October and
its so cold that you have frost.

Eric: yeah imagine what its like in State College.

Sarah: I'd rather not.

Eric: well lets take a look at some more fics.

Sarah: all right but keep those damned ferrets of yours locked up.

Eric: no promises, now lets go.

Andrew Dynon wrote:

Well, I got this done a little earlier than expected, and it looks like
Lightsphere (my Iczelion/Teknoman crossover) will be a little later than
expected.

Also, this is my first experiment with any real non-linear storytelling -
some events in the story occur after those that will be revealed in later
chapters.  All will be revealed in time.  Do you think this experiment is
working out all right so far?

Sarah: i'll be sure to let you know.
 

As always, any C&C appreciated.

Eric: yes but how about us two? 
                                                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Dark clouds covered the sky, blotting out the light from
the moon and the stars.  The only light to be seen was the
lightning that flashed across the sky,  accompanied by thunder
louder than a dragon's roar.  An unearthly wind blew, echoing

Sarah: and how loud DOES a dragon roar?

the screams of pain that the people of this land had undergone
for a thousand years.

Eric: an evilly frightening beginning.

Sarah: looks like the place i grew up.
 

     A flash of lightning appeared again, lighting the deserted
landscape, a mountain valley with hundreds of springs in it.

Eric: hey i thought you said people lived here.

Had anybody been watching, they would have seen two figures
silhouetted against the brief`flash of lightning.  One was a
twelve-foot tall creature that was some bizarre combination of a
wolf and a crocodile.  Grey-streaked black fur ran along its
back, while its underbelly, tail, and clawed arms and legs were
covered in yellow-green scales.  Drool ran from its mouth, and
its three glowing red eyes were fixed upon the other figure.

Sarah: i've fought scarier things.

Eric: i've coughed up scarier hairballs.
 

     The other figure was a mere human girl, apparently fifteen
or sixteen. Her red hair was tied in a ponytail and she wore an
ornately embroidered shirt and pants, which were now torn and
dirty from fighting.  She would have been wearing armor once,
but now all that remained of it were the plates on her left
elbow and right lower leg.  Her body was coated in sweat as she
turned, sword in hand, to face the demon.

Sarah: go ranma go!

Eric: my guess is that this is a flashback perhaps to a past time.
 

     The two launched themselves at each other, demonic claws
clashing against the young girl's sword.  Both fell to the
ground, and lay there.  After what seemed an eternity, the girl

Sarah: oh my god the claws and the sword have fallen away!

Eric: wait i think the claws are still twitching.

rose to her feet, blood freely flowing from a gash on her left

Sarah: freedom! horrible freedom!

side that reached from her shoulder to her knee.

Eric: that has to hurt

Sarah: she's going to feel that in the morning.
 

     Then, some kind of dark, ghostly vapor arose from the
demon's corpse.  The girl stood, unable to move as the vapor

Sarah: it was warned against eating those beans.

flowed into her body.  Then, she fell over, her body siezed by
convulsions.  Rising to her knees, she crawled towards the
nearest spring.

Eric: see i told you flashback, its the girl who died in the spring.

Sarah: yes yes you were right.

Eric: *looks at her curiously* you're much calmer than normal.

Sarah: i havent had my caffeine fix in days, you're broke again.

Eric: oh yeah.
 

     {Masaka!}.  The voice came from inside her mind.  {How can
a human spirit be this strong?  How can it resist my control?}

Sarah: she's using the force.

Eric: its so obvious.

She edged closer to the spring.  {Why do you refuse to obey my
orders?}  Fighting off her wounds and the demon's commands, with
the last of her strength, the girl threw herself into the
spring. Swallowing, she felt the water enter her lungs.

Sarah: that is NOT a pleasant way to die.

Eric: very brave.  makes feel very sorry for her.
 

     {You have plagued this world for a millenium, demon.}  the

Sarah: the time is near.

girl thought.  {I will give up my life a thousand times over to
ensure that you never do so again.}  As the spring's water's
washed her spirit away from her body, her final thought echoed
in her mind:  "Never again."

Eric: oh oh words soon to be regretted.  You should be careful when
making statements like that.  They never work out.
 

***********************************

Eric: oooo stars, they may not be underscores but i like'em!
 

My Past, My Future

A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by Andrew Dynon.

***********************************

PRESENT DAY

Sarah: sort of like christmas then?
 

        Ranma strolled along the top of the fence on his way home from
school.  Today had been a fairly peaceful day - Kuno had only
twice tried to reclaim the pigtailed girl from him, Akane hadn't
hit him *too* many times, Ryoga was nowhere to be found, and
Ukyo and Shampoo were taking a break from vying for his
affections ... for the moment.  He wondered how long it would
last.  Jumping down as he reached the end of the fence, he

Eric: this being Nerima i give it another two paragraphs.

continued walking, enjoying the warmth of the sun that was
shining.

Sarah: the sun always shines... it wouldnt be the sun if it didnt shine.
 

        "I said, get out of my face!" Ranma's thoughts were interrupted

Eric: ahh i was wrong one paragraph.

when his keen hearing picked up a teenaged girl's yell from
around a street corner about a hundred meters ahead of him.

Sarah: humm... and this is unusual for what reason.
 

        "Heh, is a pretty thing like you gonna hurt us?" The voice
sounded like the leader of a juvenile gang.  Sounds of a scuffle

Eric: a group of five year olds surrounded the girl and waved their
lollipops in her face.

Sarah: You juevinile delinquints!  *builds energy up to powerblast the
delinquints*

broke out, and Ranma sprinted towards the street corner.  As he
rounded the corner, the noise from the fight ceased, and Ranma
abruptly stopped.

Eric: did he do this on a dime?

Sarah: five yen piece you mean?

Eric: whatever.
 

        The entire gang lay, beaten, on the footpath.  Standing over

Sarah: beating up on five year olds how shameful.

Eric: what about the lollipops.

the cowed forms of the couple that were beginning to get up was

Eric: and they were young lovers none the less!

a girl, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with short, straight
red hair, wearing a blue-and-white tracksuit and baseball cap.
She looked up at Ranma and smiled.

        Ranma felt a wave of confusion rush through his body. {What's
this?} he thought {a new martial artist shows up, and doesn't
immediately attack me for one reason or another?} he began

Eric: a bit self centered isn't he?

Sarah: you'd be too if every Hikaru, Kaneda, and Toshi attacked you.

sweating slightly. {Uh oh. Maybe she's another of my fiancees.}
"Uh, hi." he said nervously. "My name's Saotome Ranma."

        "Yoroshiku*!" the girl replied. "Boku wa Saotome Kaede!"

Sarah: what?

Eric: *directs her yes to the sentence below*

* Yoroshiku = Pleased to meet you

Sarah: oh...

Eric: did she say Saotome?
 

        Ranma's jaw dropped to the ground. "SAOTOME???"

Sarah: stop drooling ranma.
 

*       *       *       *       *

FUTURE # 1

Sarah: like sand through an hourglass

Eric: so are the days of our lives.
 

        In the orange glow of sunset, the silhouettes of ancient trees
cast dark shadows across the forest floor.  The trees were
gigantic guardians, silently warning interlopers not to proceed
into their domain.  But nevertheless, there was one who did.

Eric: there's always one who never listens.

Sarah: i wonder why that copse of trees seems so familiar.
 

        He was a man in his mid-thirties, strongly built, with
ponytailed black hair, and a scar on his right cheek.  His

Sarah: boy Ranma never gets rid of the ponytail.

clothing consisted of a black chinese shirt and light grey
pants.  He stopped for a moment, a tear appearing to almost, but
not quite, form in his eye, and, as he briefly spoke quietly to
himself, his voice was warm yet firm.

        "I'm here with you again now, my love.  As always.  As I've
promised."

Eric: humm how sad, i wonder if he means Akane or that Kaede girl.

Sarah: my guess is that its Kaede.
 

        Arrows suddenly flew at him, but he plucked them out of the air
with ease.  Casually dropping them on the ground, he turned to
face the five young women who had fired them. rolling underneath
another volley, he kicked one in the stomach, and grabbed the
arm of another, throwing her into the third.  The two remaining
drew swords and charged at him.  Ranma grabbed and twisted the
arm of the first, ducked, and swept his foot, tripping the
other.  He hooked his elbow around the first one's neck, and
placed his foot on the other's back.  One of the others rose to
her knees.

Sarah: and now he abuses women!  *gathers her energy about her* lemme
teach him a lesson.

Eric: well they did attack him

Sarah: not an excuse.
 

        "Welcome to Niichieju, Saotome Ranma."

Eric: see they welcomed him

Sarah: *still holding a green glow* even so.
 

        Ranma was nonplussed. "Yeah, whatever.  I hope the village has
some better fighters than you five.  I didn't even break a
sweat."

Sarah: *getting angrier* and he's cocky now!

Eric: sit down and read.
 

        The five amazons escorted him along the dirt path that led
towards the village.  As he came into view of the       first huts,
something else also caught his eye - a large, catlike figure,
sitting in one of the trees.  The figure jumped down from the
tree, and its full form could be seen - a girl with cat ears and
tail, and white fur covering her body.  She had lavender-colored
hair which was cut close to her head and eventually merged with
her body fur, and the only thing she wore wsa a harness with two
curved swords in it.  She rushed to Ranma and hugged him.

Sarah: i take it his cat phobia has been conquered?
 

        "Daddy! You're home! Yokatta!"

Sarah: oi how eerie.
 

        "Yes, Shabon, I'm home.  I promised you I'd always be here at
this time of year."

Eric: spring harvest is such fun.
 

        Another figure, with long purple hair, rushed toward Ranma and
buried his head in her breasts. "Ai ren! Shampoo so glad you

Sarah: SHE WHAT?!

Eric:*eyes bulging incredously* now either Shampoo doesnt get enough, 
*ahem* or this is some odd little Amazon tradition.

back from travelling! Ah, wo ai ni, wo ai ni!" As Ranma's wife

Sarah: i see she's matured.

had matured, she had grown from being merely cute to truly
beautiful - a perfect figure, waist-length, straight, dark
purple hair... Ranma embraced her and they kissed.      Unseen,
another figure watched from the trees - a great, shadowy bird
with four serrated horns on its head.  If its face could have
shown emotions, it would have been grinning with dark
anticipation.

Sarah: well sometimes dark anticipation can be tons more exciting that
the lame old happy anticipation.
 

*       *       *       *       *

PRESENT DAY

Eric: oh i see we're back to christmas day again.

Sarah: it could be Ranma's birthday.
 

        "So, Kaede-san... you're related to me?" Ranma asked curiously.

        "You could say that." Kaede replied, smiling. "I was just
heading to the Tendo dojo, but what do you say we get something
to eat first?"

Sarah: that little girl knows something that she's not letting on

Eric: you think?
 

        A mallet suddenly crashed down on Ranma's head. "RANMA! How
DARE you get yourself yet ANOTHER fiancee!" Akane yelled. "Your
flirting with Shampoo and Ukyo is bad enough, but..."

Sarah: ouch...
 

        "Geez, Akane, get a clue!  She's a relative of mine, okay?"

Eric: its a little odd that Ranma just accepted his relationship tothe
girl so easily.
 

        "Yeah, why don't you think before you just go and hit someone?"
Kaede yelled at Akane.

Sarah: standing up to Akane, bravo.
 

        Akane turned and walked away. "I guess being an obnoxious jerk
runs in the family."

Sarah: which family is that?
 

        Kaede laughed to herself.  "Now, where were we?  Oh, yeah,we
were talking about getting something to eat!"

Eric: mmm food.

*

        "Well, I guess we could stop off at Ucchan's on the way back to
the dojo."

Sarah: Ranma seems awfully accepting.

Eric: you need some sort of transition here btw.
 

        "Ranchan! Come in!" Ukyo exclaimed joyfully as Ranma arrived at
the door of Ucchan's okinomiyaki shop.  Her face fell as she
caught sight of Kaede.  "Ano, Ranchan, who's this girl?"

Eric: does everyone just ignore the simliarities?

Sarah: maybe Ranma should transform.
 

        "I'm a relative of Ranma's." Kaede replied.  "I'll be staying
at the Tendo household for some time." she noticed Ranma's
expression. "Did I forget to tell you that?"

Eric: his expression was what?  shock, surprise, fear?
 

        "I shoulda guessed."

Sarah: what what what?
 

*       *       *       *       *

FUTURE #1

        Shabon lay awake on her bed - something was wrong, she could
feel it in her bones.  Siliently getting up, careful not to wake

Eric: those little ones she keeps in a jar, the ones she uses when she
wants to read the future?

her father and mother, she crept outside into the moonless
night, searching for whatever it was that caused her nervousness.

        Her feline eyes picked up a form camoflaged against the dark
night, making the hair on her back stand on end.

Sarah: its kinda disconcerting how Ranma ended up with a cat like
daughter like that.  

Eric: maybe it has something to do with that evil Sandborn story a while
back.

Sarah: what story?

Eric: uhh never mind... *remembering he deleted it for good reason*
 

        "Ah, how nice to meet you, my feline friend.  Yours will be an
excellent body." the thing's eerie voice commented.

Sarah: Its Happosai!
 

        Shabon hissed and charged at the demon, clawing at it, but the

Eric: >myrow<

demon turned into smoke which her claw-strokes passed harmlessly
through.  Then, the smoke surrounded her body, clinging to her,
entering her bloodstream.  The cat-girl collapsed onto the

Eric: quick suggestion you might want to mention how it got into her
bloodstream.

ground.  She lay there for a few seconds, and then stood up and
opened her eyes.  Eyes which were now glazed over.

Sarah: you mean they dont glow red?

 

*       *       *       *       *

THE PRESENT

Sarah: maybe it IS his birthday.
 

        "Ara! Saotome-san, Ranma's back, and one of his relatives is
with him!" Kasumi cried out, cheerful as always.

Eric: now either Kasumi caught a bigger clue than anyone else or 

Sarah: this is a mistake.
 

        Genma held up a sign [I didn't know guests were coming].
Nabiki sighed.  "Ranma, you do realise that we're going to have
a hard time budgeting for another freeloader, don't you? Perhaps
you'd better pay her expenses."

Sarah: if they cant even pay for themselves...

Eric: should be two paragraphs here btw.
 

        "Daijobu! I'll only be here a few weeks, and I've brought money
with me." Kaede smiled. "I was forewarned." she said under her

Sarah: did Nabiki sell you one her little pamphlets in advance?

breath. "Anyway, Ranma-kun, do you wanna practice with me in the
dojo?"

        "You're a girl! Why not spar with Akane?"

        "She's YOUR 'relative', Ranma!" Akane yelled. "YOU can damn
well spar with her!"

Sarah: Akane is being awfully mean in this one.

Eric: more mean than she normally is.
 

        "Sheesh, okay, Akane, I'll do it!"

*

        Ranma dodged and blocked Kaede's punches and kicks. {I guess
it's lucky that Akane didn't spar with her, Kaede's far better

Eric: Akane has good manners when it comes to women.

than she is} He jumped to avoid a foot sweep, and had to
backflip as his opponent's leg circled around and up. {In fact,
at the moment she seems better than Shampoo or Ukyo, and I get
the feeling that she's not using her full strength}

        "Come on! Attack me back!" Kaede yelled.

        "I don't attack girls!"

Sarah: you get the odd feeling she's here to train him for something
later on?

Eric: humm..
 

        Ranma blocked a roundhouse kick to the left side of his head,
but Kaede swung her left leg around and connected with his
sshoulder, knocking him over.

        "Don't worry about hurting me! There's nobody I can't beat!"

        "Hey, that's my line! Okay, you're on!"

        The two charged each other, and Kaede punched.  Ranma grabbed
her by the arm, and flipped her over his shoulder, sending her,
airborne, out of the window and into the pond.  Ranma rushed
out, concerned, then stopped.

        Getting out of the pond was a black-haired, teenaged boy.

Eric: ohhhkay.
 

* END CHAPTER ONE *

Sarah: not a bad beginning and the flashback/forward sequences were well
done.

Eric: it is a fairly interesting story that will hopefully only grow
better with time.

Sarah: good job.

Eric: later!
 
 
 
-- 
"I always hated stories that ended poorly. I
always felt cheated.  But you can't feel cheated
forever.  And then she woke up...
I suppose there are worse endings."
--Rose Walker, Lost Hearts
http://www.erols.com/eda104/