C&C welcomed and needed.

Legal:Ranma 1/2 property of Takahashi.

Author's notes: I was inspired to this by a book I read recently. Could 
anyone tell me what year it would be if Ranma were around 30 years old? 
Time seemed to stop as the show progressed. Thanks!


August 10

	Ranma ascended the steps of Jusenkyo tower as the sun slowly sank into 
the horizon.

	The tower was one of the 'modern' improvements made in the village 
during the last decade. Its location allowed villagers to see the fabled 
cursed springs, the Amazonian village, Phenoix mountain, and the lands 
of the musk dynasty.

	Ranma had become a regular patron of the tower during the last year. He 
loved coming here at this time of day. The top level of the tower 
allowed him to see the spectacular summer sunset and the night lights of 
the Amazonian village.

	Akane! I wish you could see this. A year, how time flys!

	Ranma took a long sip of his wine as the last of the sun's rays 
disappeared into the earth.

	He felt a sense of loss as another day slipped by. Recently it seemed 
that all of his days flashed by. The Amazonians went about their 
business as he sank into the grips of depression and alcoholism. At 
least that was how most of the new Amazons perceived things to be.

	The Amazonians were no longer the backward, non-conforming people that 
they used to be. Their power and influence had reached far the last ten 
years. Under the guidance of Cologne, Mousse, Shampoo, and Ranma, they 
were now one of the three 'powers' of China.

	Ranma sat down at a table and ordered some more wine. The villagers 
that worked up here all knew him by heart and let him keep his distance 
and privacy.

	Ranma frowned as he thought about the so called 'powers.' The seemingly 
undefeatable Amazons, the ever-expanding Musk dynasty, and the revived 
followers of Saffron had all made names for themselves over the past 
decade.

	It was rumored that China would be under their influence if these three 
were ever united. While they still had miles to go before they could 
stand toe to toe with the great army, the number of government officials 
and businesses they'd gained control over could safely put control of 
China into their hands. 

	This would only be feasible if they were united. And therein lies the 
problem.

	The three 'powers' had held an interesting balance as they mutually 
grew and expanded. They were so closely matched in power that no one 
'power' could control any other 'power.' 

	The musk dyansty's Herb, Mint, and Lime; Phenoix tower's child god 
Saffron; the Amazonian quartet of Ranma, Mousse, Shampoo, and Cologne; 
these were the leaders of the three 'powers.' Their names were whispered 
around Asia as being the top martial artists of their time.

	Ranma, Cologne, Herb, and Saffron were all on top ten list of China's 
martial artists.

	With these great leaders and enthusiastic followers, all three clans 
had developed at an amazing pace. All three clans had lived in peace as 
they mutually flourished and rose to power. The three 'powers' knew they 
were evenly matched and was willing to keep it that way. The leaders 
knew that if two of the 'powers' were to fight, the true victor would be 
the third 'power.' 
	
	With the passing of Cologne two years ago, that intricate balance had 
been shattered.

	Cologne, why did you have to go? Akane, why did you have to go?

	A tear fell onto the table as Ranma felt the sting in his heart. The 
almost-full moon appeared as night descended upon the triangle of power, 
as people have come to refer to this area.

	August 15th, five more days. One year gone past. Akane left on a night 
like this, full moon, clear sky, shining stars. 

	Ranma recalled every detail of that night. She was in his arms as they 
sat alone amisdt the cursed pools of water. His was unable to stop his 
tears as she laughed and gently petted his head. 
	
	Nearly inaudible footsteps alerted Ranma to the presence of a martial 
arts master. He smiled sadly when he saw the top level to be empty. He 
didn't even notice when the workers left.

	Ranma knew by the famaliar footsteps that it was Mousse. Mousse, Once 
his sworn enemy and now his best friend; No, 'friends' was not enough to 
describe their relationship, 'brothers' was a better word. Mousse, the 
underappreciated genius general who the Amazons could not have succeeded 
without. Mousse, or Mu Tsu, who was slowly being pushed out of power by 
the new generation of Amazons.

	Ranma smiled warmly as Mousse entered the top level. 

	Mousse was closing in on thirty years of age now. He had an air of 
command and confidence that could have only been developed with 
experience and age. The hidden weapons master still wore his long, 
flowing robes. But his heavy glasses were replaced with contact lenses, 
another sign of the changing of the times.

	"So Mousse, come to have a farewell drink with your old friend?" Ranma 
asked as he poured wine for himself and Mousse.

	"I'm surprised you knew I was going Ranma. And here I thought you were 
in a world of your own." Mousse said with heavy sarcasm. 

	Ranma indicated for his old friend to sit down. He noticed that 
Mousse's look turned from anger to pity when he looked at Ranma. He felt 
guilt because he would not have known about Mousse's departure if not 
for the bits and pieces of conversation he'd just overheard. "You don't 
have to worry about home my friend. No harm will come to Shampoo and 
Wuqing as long as I'm still alive." This was a rule to protect against 
traitors. When someone was sent out on a mission, their spouse and 
children had to remain at home.

	"Forgive my words friend, you know that I've been under some stress 
lately. Lon Qing.....that little.....he finally managed to do it Ranma! 
He finally managed destroy ten years of hard work with one single 
stroke!" Mousse grew angrier and angrier as he spoke, slapping the table 
and downing his drink with one sip.

	Ranma signed himself, Lon Qing was the successor to Cologne's throne, 
the new elder of the Amazons. The position should have been Shampoo's, 
but her marriage had disqualified her, leaving Cologne's other 
grandaughter to take over as the new leader of the Amazons.

	Ever since Cologne's death two years ago, the Amazons have split into 
two factions. One faction supported Lon Qing, the rightful ruler. The 
other backed Mousse, Ranma, and Shampoo. If there was an actual civil 
war two years ago, Ranma's side would have won in less than a day. But 
no one actually challenged for the throne: Ranma and Mousse couldn't be 
rulers because they were men; Shampoo believed in tradition and 
tradition said that she gave up the right to rule when she married. 
Besides, Lon Qing was Cologne's choice and no one wanted to go against 
Cologne's wishes.

	Even though no one undermined her authority, Lon Qing still couldn't 
stand having Ranma's gang around. Over the last two years, she gradually 
demoted or transfered Mousse's supporters and replaced them with younger 
Amazons who were loyal to her. Today the Amazon village was almost 
completely filled with her younger warriors. Yesterday She'd finally 
sent orders to have Mousse transfered to Beijing.

	These thoughts flashed through Ranma's head as he shared the silence 
with Mousse. Over the last ten years, they'd had come to know each other 
inside and out. Ranma knew the exact reason why Mousse had come to see 
him.

	He waved Mousse off as the Amazon started to speak. "No Mousse, Cologne 
did a lot for me and Akane. I won't go against her appointed heir. I 
don't even want to hear it." 

	Mousse's face flared red as the fire in his eyes grew. "Sorry Ranma, I 
have to disagree with you this time. I doubt we'll see each other again 
after tomorrow. I have to get this off my chest now!"

	Ranma's heart softened as he watched his old friend in such anger. "Go 
ahead Mousse, I'm listening."

	"Over the last two years, Lon Qing has replaced all our proven veteran 
warriors with useless fool like Zhu Ge, Shanu, and Spice. She keeps on 
sending our friends and comrades into missions that have no chance of 
succeeding. I'm a perfect example: my mission in Beijing leaves me with 
little chance to come back in one piece. If I refuse to go, I'll become 
a traitor to the Amazons and she'll still get her way!" Mousse took a 
deep breath before continuing.

	"You know that I'm not afraid of death Ranma. I overcame that fear a 
long time ago. But I can't bear to see her do this to our village! She 
actually agreed to an arranged marriage with Herb! While she's stupid 
enough to think that this union could bring the defeat of Saffron, I 
know that this is the perfect opportunity for Herb to take over our 
village! How could that little girl be a match for someone like Herb?!" 
Mousse's tone grew colder as  he released his pent up anger.

	"Please Ranma, you can't just stand by and let her give our village to 
Herb like this!"

	Mousse knew that with the current division in power, he had one way of 
winning a war with Lon Qing: He would have a chance if the lengendary 
Ranma Saotome was on his side.

	"Ranma, the people here still hold you in awe. We could have this 
village if you just say the word!" Mousse said with hope in his voice. 
"Herb is supposed to be here two days from now, we don't have much time 
to act."

	Ranma seemed to consider as he drained his glass and opened another 
bottle.

	"Please stop doing this Ranma." Mousse said with concern as he 
prevented Ranma from drinking. "No one can beat the desease of 
alcoholism. Not even great martial artists. You'll hurt your body this 
way." 

	Mousse signed heavily as Ranma shook him off and downed another glass. 
Lon Qing would not have rose to complete power so quickly if Ranma was 
around. Herb and Saffron would have thought twice about invading the 
village if Ranma was still his old self. 

	But ever since that horrible day nearly a year ago, Ranma had never 
taken another look at the affairs of the Amazons. The only thing he 
seemed to care about was the bottle.

	Ranma ignored Mousse's advise and finished the bottle. He turned the 
glass upside down, stating that this was the last bottle for the day. 
His eyes shifted to Mousse's for the first time.

	"I'm sorry Mousse, I can't do what you want me to do. Cologne, you know 
I can never go against any of her wishes because of what she did for 
me." Mousse's disappointed expression said it all.

	"How about this my friend. I'll help you, Shampoo and the old gang 
leave the village tonight. We can go somewhere else and start a new 
life. Maybe even back to Nerima." 

	Mousse stood up and smiled sadly. "I'm not worried about myself Ranma. 
Even Saffron would have to pay a heavy price if he tried anything 
against me. I'm more worried about you. You'll be alone here after I 
leave, and you know that Herb and Saffron have you marked."

	Ranma also stood up and clapped his friend on the shoulder. They looked 
at the moon standing side by side, perhaps for the last time. "Go home 
Mousse, I'm sure that Shampoo and little Wuqing have a lot to say to 
you."

	Mousse knew that there was no hope of getting Ranma to agree. He signed 
again before turning to go. "If you want to leave Ranma, just go to our 
old spot and clap three times. I guarantee your safety. Goodbye old 
friend!"

------

	The cool night wind allowed Mousse to regain his calm and composure. A 
figure hurried to meet him when he stepped out of Jusenkyo tower. Mousse 
turned to Xujen, his friend and right hand man.

	"All the preparations are ready General. I have changed your route to 
Beijing with care. No one knows about the new route except me and Xiao 
Chun." Xujen was in his late twenties. The scars on his face and hands 
suggested that his life had been filled with danger. 
	
	Mousse hummphed at the mention of Chun, his other confidant. "Did She 
send any scouts?" Mousse asked.

	"We stopped all of Lon Qing's scouts sir. This is the first time we 
actually disobeyed her orders. She'll be more difficult to deal with 
now." Xujen's tone sounded anything but worried.

	"It's going to happened eventually. I've taken it easy on her because 
of Cologne, but I can't let this madness with Herb to go on. It's time 
to strike back my friend!" Mousse said coldly.

	"Any word on Phenoix mountain? I can't think that Saffron would allow 
Herb to take the village." 

	"None sir, but I'm sure that Saffron will launch an aerial strike 
before Herb arrives."

	"All right then, everything is going according to plan. Now we'll have 
to wait and see what Chun does. He can't blame anyone for his own 
actions." Mousse gave a chilling laugh.

	Xujen watched his superior with admiration. Herb, Saffron, and Lon Qing 
should have known that Mousse was not an easy opponent to deal with!

	The pair disappeared into the darkness and peace descended upon the 
Jusenkyo tower. 
	
	But was this the calm before the storm? Will the tower still stand 
after tomorrow? What will happen to the 'three powers' after the 
unification of the musk dynasty and the Amazons?

	Five days, Five days until the one year anniversary of Akane's passing. 
What will happee in these five days?

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