Ranma watched, listened, unable to move as the Shadowcat
stood before him and bared its razor-sharp teeth in a gruesome
smile.

    **You are mine.**

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

End of Part Nineteen


Comments?  Criticisms?  Flames?  Death threats?  Send 'em all to
1perrykr@mystic.slcc.edu

Author's Notes:  You know, I'm so close to the end, I could have
just finished this whole thing off before submitting it.  But
since 20 is such a nice, rounded number, and I *am* so close to
the end, I thought I'd indulge in one final cliffhanger.  Don't
hurt me. ^_^

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
*WHAM* *CRASH* *WHAP* *CRUNCH*
[Other sounds of Morpheus banging his head against walls]
Okay. I won't hurt you.
But only because if I did, you wouldn't be able to finish.

As to actual C&C:
Nabiki: Cool! Finally someone does something realistic with someone who's
never actually hurt someone, much less come close to killing them. Her
internal dialogue was masterful.
Kuno: Hmmmm. Well, I've always detested the blithering idiot, so it's
something of a relief for him to have been cured of that particular flaw.
OTOH, I'm not sure that he would go *that* far *that* fast. On the other,
other hand (I'm rapidly running out of hands, here) at that point in the
story, Nabiki needed someone with her of the mental capacity that you put
Kuno at, and Kuno is the *only* possible candidate. Not merely for the
reason that he was the only other one conscious, but because having *any* of
the rest of them suddenly develop it would have been even worse. It's much
more plausible for Kuno to have always had a brilliant mind clouded by
self-delusion. Overall, not bad. But then, we all have favorite and
un-favorite characters, and I admit I'm biased about Kuno.
Cologne: Hmmmm. Well, I can certainly see how plot-wise, you can't afford to
kill her yet. And the ghost pulling her fat out of the fire *was* something
of a deus-ex-machina, but it was, at least, a reasonably plausible one, and
you spent enough time on their interactions that I didn't feel cheated.
Cologne is, in case that wasn't obvious, another one of those characters
that I don't really like. But, she *does* have her reasons, and her good
points, and I'm glad she hasn't been portrayed as senselessly evil.
Akane: I love what you've done with Akane. I've always sort of felt that she
has gotten the short end of the stick in so many ways. It's good to see her
come into her own in a plausible and interesting way. She didn't get much
page-time in this chapter, but what was there flowed well. And I can't
*wait* to see how Ranma reacts to the 'new' Akane.
Ranma: Again, not much page-time, so not much to say. I like the way he's
grown and changed over the course of the story. And I can't wait to see how
*Akane* reacts to *him.* I expect she'll make some (pretty obvious)
comparisons to Susa-no-o...

Plot: One word: wow! As so many have said before, the blend of plot elements
is extraordinary and well woven together. With three major hurdles (that I
see) yet to overcome, I'm anxiously awaiting the conclusion to see how
things work out. (They *better* work out. ^_^) The Shadowcat, the Ancient
One, and Cologne and her mind-wiping potion are all formidable obstacles,
and I expect Cologne to be the greatest of them, but I'm getting ahead of
myself (and, more importantly, you).

All in all, I can't wait to see the final installment.

Morpheus the Shaper