The Bets That Didn't Make It fic,
     you have been warned...

TM all respective, too many to go into
now. a promised turkey. oh yes, and i know
about the goof in Featherbrite 4c...
oh yeah, metroanime@aol.com until i find
another provider, etc.
char tm R.Takahashi & a lot of other people
              OOPS THERE GOES ANOTHER SPRING
Toltiir, aka Puck, aka Coyote, aka a whole lot of
different names, sometimes personalities and 
abilities, stopped walking as a new deity came
up. His hackles rose, partly because his current
incarnation took the form of a black tomcat, and
partly because he really didn't like Varros.

Varros, god of greed and hoarding, was feeling
whimsical and bored. Therefore he ignored the
protests about the Bet being over and just 
started going over some of the more contested
entries, offering critiques and cynicism as was
his way.
-----------------------1----------------------
	He was a Chinese villain, he was
powerful, and he was more than a little schizoid.

	"Five of my hated enemies down,"
laughed the Mandarin. "My genius lured them
here, my power contained them, and these precious
springs have destroyed them." Lightning crackled
dramatically, prompted by one of the ten magical
rings the Mandarin wore.

	"Now, I think that those villagers should
provide adequate numbers of slaves, and I may 
build my castle here, where the magic of these pools
can be harnessed effectively." The Mandarin started
to laugh at the image. His laugh broke off abruptly
as he realized that someone had thrust a walking 
stick through his midsection.

	"You talk entirely too much," said
Cologne, with a sniff. "Hmph, 'adequate slaves'-
indeed." Her eyes widened at the sight of the 
rings. They would, at least, look nice as "war
booty" in the Vault of Lore.

	Cologne was entirely too old and wise
to go wearing magical rings without investigating
them thoroughly.
----------------------------------------------
	Genma in his panda form had worked
up quite an appetite running away from Ranma.
Upon seeing a burbling in one spring, he 
approached. Maybe it was something good to
eat?

	The water exploded upwards, revealing
a green humanoid figure nearly nine feet in height,
and being composed largely of bulging muscles.

	This huge figure looked at the panda,
whose eyes had gone to the size of dinner plates
upon seeing this mammoth figure appear out of
nowhere.

	"Ryouga....SMASH!" Ryouga's fist
struck the ground where a panda had stood just
a moment ago, causing a large number of bamboo
poles to fall out of a large number of springs.

	Pandas are not known for great speed.
One was currently making a best effort to set
a new speed record for the species.

	Behind Genma, Ryouga looked at his
green skin for a moment before howling his rage
to the heavens. "RANMA! This is all your fault!"
-------------------------------------------------
	Okay, okay, this is just a silly little idea
that came to me. i'd do more with the idea but i'm
not sure WHO the Mandarin's enemies were in
the mid-late '80s. The idea of Hulk/Ryouga was
inspired by the scene of Ryouga using a telephone
pole like a baseball club.

	If i wanted to be really nasty, Ranma's
curse hasn't changed. The fight between Ranma
and Ryouga would have gone a LOT differently,
which Ryouga would enjoy. Of course, one can't
see Akane snuggling up to the Hulk or calling him
"H-chan" quite as easily.

	On the other hand, Ranma could easily
have fallen in Spring Of Drowned Captain America
(sort of a Virtuous Warrior Spring?), Spring Of 
Drowned Technical Genius With A Weak Heart?, 
Spring Of Drowned Thor? Submariner?...
	
	as a later note, it should be said that this
did NOT make it to a full blown teaser.
--------------------------2-----------------------------------
"this is the entry of Astrild, Norse goddess of
love who tutored Urd in love potions." Toltiir
explained to Varros. "It wasn't deemed suitably
creative enough." Mists Of Change
------------------------------
	"What kind of fiancee is this?"
Nabiki demanded.

	"That's enough, Nabiki," Kasumi
stood. "Ranma is a guest, and thedaughter of our
father's friend. Ranma, could you come with 
me? I think you could use a friend too."

	Akane shut her mouth. She'd been
about to offer to take the young girl into the
dojo, but apparently that recent wedding of
one of her schoolfriends had Kasumi a bit more
uptight than usual. There had been the loss of 
a friend who would now move to Wakayama, and
so here was Kasumi trying to make a new friend.

	Akane wished them both luck, but
silently.
-------------------------------
	Kasumi grumbled to herself, though
her pleasant facade remained in place. That
young girl-turned-boy had shown up to be a 
fiancee to one of the Tendo daughters, but that 
hadn't been as much of a shock as the full details 
of her friend's move to Wakayama...

	One of her few friends from high school
who had remained single, had just married. Keiko
Gosunkugi, who had some personal habits that should
have had her remaining single for years, had instead
married- and (how scandalous) the boy she married
was a mere sixteen years old. And they'd been living
together since the boy was fifteen!

	Now all of her friends, associates, and 
classmates had either gotten engaged, were going
steady or were married. Nineteen is a horrible time
to realize that time and money would keep one 
shackled to one's duties until one was an old maid.

	It had certainly brought home to Kasumi
that time was flowing past her while she...maintained.
She was needed, she was depended on, and she
liked to be needed and to be the sort of person one
could depend on. It was just that sometimes, she
could still admit, she wanted MORE.

	She listened to the sound of Akane and
Ranma fighting, disturbing the "wa" of the
household. From the sound of it, Akane had forgotten
to turn the sign around on the door of the furo again
and this time Ranma had walked in on HER.

	Those two were just entirely too much
alike. Couples should compliment each other, not
be in competition...

	Kasumi started slightly as an unusual
idea crossed her mind. During that brief time they 
had been in the kitchen prior to Ranma being sent 
in for the first bath, they had seemed to click somewhat. 
No, no, it could never work.

	Could it?		
------------------------------
	"So, you see, Ranma? You just need to
outlast her. Show more endurance and not be so
quick to counterstrike."

	Ranma fiddled with his pigtail. "Yeah,
okay, I guess. If you think so, Kasumi." It was a
different way to view the friction between himself
and Akane, put in martial arts terms he could easily
grasp what Kasumi was telling him.

	"Just try, Ranma. For me?"

	"Sure," Ranma essayed a smile. "Like
you said in the kitchen, friends help each other."
------------------------------
	Ranma raised his hand, ready to rap
on the door. Akane had done something nice for
him earlier, and he needed to be nice in return.
Maybe they'd started out on the wrong foot and
there was a chance for them to find friendship if
not what their parents were looking for.

	"My life may as well be over if I
have to marry a STUPID JERK like him! Do 
you think I want everyone thinking I'M a 
pervert, TOO! Why don't YOU marry him,
if he's so cool? Face it, Nabiki, I'm engaged 
to my WORST NIGHTMARE!"

	Ranma took a step back. So
that was how she really felt about him.
Looking sadly back at the door, Ranma
shook his head. He felt a sharp retort
come up, but just didn't have the heart.

	He flipped over the bannister,
not realizing that he was retreating, as
something else penetrated the hurt haze.
*Nabiki thinks I'm cool?* The implications
of THAT weighed heavily on his mind.

	"Oh!" Kasumi dropped the 
bucket, suddenly being faced with a
plummeting martial artist who was still
pondering Weighty Things. 

	The bucket clattered to the
side, unnoticed. Kasumi's arms briefly
windmilled but she was kept from falling
by Ranma's arms around her.

	There was a brief moment as
the two looked into each other's eyes
from a few inches apart. 

	Ranma noticed Kasumi was
blushing. He wondered if that meant 
what he thought it did.

	Kasumi noticed Ranma was
blushing. She wondered if that meant
what she thought it did.

	"Uhm," Ranma managed
after one of those eternal moments.
Too bad she thought he was too young,
he tried to get his mind off the sensations
he'd experienced while holding her steady,
the way she'd filled his arms...
  
	"Ah," Kasumi managed in
way of reply. He was entirely too
young, wasn't he? How his arms had
felt around her, though...

	Ranma let go, abruptly, as
he noticed his father and Mr Tendo below.
"Ah. yeah."		
--------------------------
	"I think you should know, that when he
battles a male opponent, Upperclassman Kuno is
VERY skilled."

	"Sheesh, and you got mad at me for
saying that he held back when fighting women
earlier." 

	"Get back there, JERK!" Akane kicked
Ranma back towards the kendoist.

	"The game ends." Kuno stood ready to
deliver his special attack as Ranma flipped towards
him. He raised chi. "Strike! Strike! Strike! Strike!
Strike! Strike! Strike!"

	Ranma avoided these strikes. He yelled
at Akane to avoid the pressure wave from Kuno's
attacks. Akane yelled back. Kuno fell as Ranma
attacked his pressure points.

	Ranma walked off, puzzled by something
that had occurred to him during the fight. When 
Akane had been in danger, he hadn't felt particularly
protective of her.

	He looked at the pictures he'd grabbed from
Kuno. The pictures of his female form he'd burn. The
pictures of Akane he looked at, ignoring the conversation
behind him.

	She was angry. In each and every one of the
pictures, she was angry. Either that or concentrating,
but it looked to him like a scowl in that photo, so Ranma
decided it was probably anger. Ranma considered this. 
Family honor be damned if he'd marry someone who would be
perpetually angry over every little thing. She could be a 
halfway decent fighter if she'd get more control. Of course,
not nearly as good as he was.

	"Ranma! RANMA! Pay attention, you idiot!"
Akane was yelling at the preoccupied martial artist. 

	Ranma tossed a few photos back at Kuno. "I
ain't got no right to take these away from him, I s'pose. 
The photos of me, however, are gonna get burned."

	"You pervert, how come you've..."

	"Actually, I sold those to Kuno." Nabiki
frowned. Something was going on here. There had 
been a spark between the two since they had met,
but it looked as if that spark had gone out. Why,
that was something Nabiki was curious about herself.
--------------------------
	Ranma watched Kasumi, she
seemed so busy with the day-to-day stuff.
It just seemed that she never had any time
for herself. Remembering how friendly the
older girl had been in the kitchen, and trying
not to think about the look of betrayal she'd
shown when her confidante had turned out
to be a younger boy, Ranma took a deep
breath and made a choice.

	He decided that he owed her. For
a Japanese, owing someone without attempting
to repay it is not a good thing.

	Wandering out to the dojo, Ranma
began practicing. "Kasumi, you do so much
around here. I...No. Oneechan, you work so
hard...No. Kasumi, can I do anything to help
you out around here?"

	"Why, yes, Ranma. Thank you."

	Ranma stopped as he realized that
the person in question was right behind him.
-----------------------------
	Akane stopped as something 
finally penetrated. Ranma hadn't been watching
her lately. He'd not been taking her insults to
heart, he'd been quiet, and he hadn't been 
insulting her. 

	She tried to see what it was that
Ranma was studying with that insipid expression
on his face. All smiley-dreamy, like he was having
a pleasant daydream. It certainly wasn't his homework.

	She looked out into the yard. It was pretty
quiet. Kasumi was hanging laundry. There was a light
breeze that seemed to carry the smell of fish being 
grilled.

	Akane nodded. The baka was just hungry
again. What a jerk.
-----------------------------------------
                   Heh. Abandoned because i've been told
this has been done, and done well, many times before.
Otherwise this would have continued with a Kasumi
and Ranma connection. Kasumi constantly challenging
Ranma to be more mature and responsible, putting things
in terms that Ranma can relate to (martial arts mainly),
and causing Ranma to respond. Not with a stick, but with
a smile and kindness acting as the carrot.
	As for when Ranma screws up. A sad and
disappointed look, and a pout? Heck - in RL i've seen 
young ladies use that to more effect than Akane could
EVER get out of that mallet.
	i think we can also see Akane getting more and
more attracted to Ranma as he spends less and less time
paying attention to her, insulting her, getting into fights.
Her reaction to that _might_ be showing more of the nice
girl, or she could get more violent in a bid for attention.
------------------------3-----------------
	a Bet fic, xover.
Minimalist disclaimer: TM appro authors.
--------------------------------------------------------
------a world with a red sun, future-----------
	Daffyd and the others in the tower
put their matrix stones out. This was it, the big
test. With a success, his world would take on
an importance among the other worlds beyond
what others considered their primitive living
conditions.

	They would be too valuable for 
anyone to interfere with them.

	The rogue, a David Whittaker, was
also present. The engineer had explained everything
he knew about hyperspace engines, how one could
twist space and travel faster than the laggard speed
of light. He'd theorized another means of doing the
same thing, using the esper abilities of those present.

	The twelve espers reached out, their potent
abilities seeking out the space of Between. The test 
object, some odds and ends thrown into an old chest,
stood at the center. If successful, the chest would be
thrust from here to another tower leagues distant.
-----------another world-------------------------
	It was the largest dragonflight ever. With
any luck, this was the last time Thread would ever fall.
Everyone wanted to be part of this event.

	It was on the return flight to what promised
to be a BIG party at Harper Hold that something quite
unusual happened.
---------------------Nerima-----------------------------
	"SHISHI HOKOUDAN!"

	"MOUKO TAKABISHA!"

	"Ranma! You no fight now, take
Shampoo to date!"

	"Sweeto!"

	"Oh my."

	"Three to one odds that Ranma and
Ryouga end up trashing the Ucchan's."

	"What?! Ranchan, no!"

	"Hey! Leggo of me, damnit. I'm a 
martial artist too, y'know!"

	"Better cooperate, femboy, or the
tomboy gets it!"

	"Ohohohohohoho! Go right ahead, my
good man, I'm sure you and Akane Tendo will make
a perfect couple. Leaving me and my Ranma-sama..."

	"Brudda's gotta get da buzzcut!"

	Hikaru brought his Ranma voodoo doll
out, and slammed a nail through it quickly. A frown
crossed his face. Why had the noise abruptly stopped?

	Hikaru Gosunkugi looked up. They were gone?
He dropped the hammer. Including Akane. What had he
done wrong?
---------------
	"What's that girl doing!? The eggs won't hatch
for another...week." Miron stopped his forward charge as
he realized that ONE egg was making a noise. THAT noise.
"Oh my shards and shells!"

	"Hang on little one," Kasumi grabbed the crack
on the shell and pulled to the sides, revealing a tiny lizardlike
figure that blinked back golden eyelids to stare at her.

	"It's too soon," one of the Holders complained,
having run out to see what was happening. "Way too soon."

	Kasumi cradled the little body near her and
turned towards the men. She didn't know where she was, or
why, but this child (for all that she wasn't a human child,
she was a child, and Kasumi sensed in a way the little one
was now HER child) needed her. Blinking back tears from
the joy of  rapport, Kasumi realized that for the first time 
since her mother's death, she felt oddly complete. "She says 
her name is K'Nor, and she's hungry!"
-------------------------
	A really really strange crossover concept.
Ranma Saotome, Another Warlock In Spite Of Himself
Kasumi Tendo, Dragonlady of Pern
Ukyou Kuonji, A Witch Of Gramayre
Ryouga Hibiki makes a Darkover Landfall
Nabiki Tendo, Mercenary of Darkover
Kodachi Kuno on the River Of Dancing Gods
Shampoo, Amazon Lensman
Tatewaki Kuno, Swordsman of Gor
Akane's & Mousse's Myth Adventure
Principal Kuno, Barber in the Shire
Happosai at the Well Of Souls

	or some odd combination of these and
other worlds. Hmmm. For that matter, i could see a fusion
with Another Fine Myth/Ranma...
-----------------------------4-----------------------------
	The manipulation this time would be
subtle. Just a destination being different. That
Ranma did NOT fall into the Drowned Girl spring
(which was elsewhere) and instead landed in...
		K9
earlier that fateful day...
	The dog had no idea where or, more
importantly, WHEN it was. Chronotravel was
uncertain. When your ship was under attack by
another ship, and it was YOUR humans that
would likely die... Well, what was a dog to do?

	Unfortunately, during the fight, he
had felt his claws lose purchase, and he had
dropped WITH the Enemy outside the temporal
distortion.

	The Enemy, a genetically engineered
soldier, had proven a tough foe. But the dog,
by name Thor, had proven somewhat tougher.

	Thor massed nearly three hundred pounds
and was not going to win any beauty contests. The
teams of genetic engineers and AIs that had produced 
the Akanar Hound weren't THAT interested in beauty.

	Thor was a guard dog. Loyal, intelligent,
tough, able to heal from almost any wound that wasn't
instantly fatal, with thousands of improvements over
the basic mutt that had been the start. And currently
very, very, lost.

	Looking around, he noted the odd smelling
pools and a hut. It was the latter that drew his interest.
To serve and belong to the Pack was part and parcel
of canine nature. A replacement human was needed,
so he would seek one. He was a defender, a warrior
whose genetic instincts were to protect the nonwarrior.

	He got too close to a pool, having absolutely
NO concept of what they were or that the Springs had a
tendency to draw the unique to one of its pools. That
while the Springs were not sentient, that each pool had
a distinctly different curse from the others around it. 
There was only one Spring Of Drowned Girl, though
there was also a Spring Of Drowned Amazon, a Spring 
of Drowned Bimbo, and a Spring Of Drowned Bishoujo
Bride.

	Being completely different from anything the
Springs had ever been approached by, Thor found 
himself drowning. That he could hold his breath for
nearly an hour or was strong enough to break plasteel
restraints was of no consequence. Thor drowned and
a heroic dog added another tragic story just hours before
a young man was knocked by a panda into that very
pool.
------------------------------------------
	Kasumi scratched the big friendly dog
behind the ears and wondered what was wrong with
the fellow. They'd chased the panda off without problem,
but the dog had been quite friendly and had looked up
at Kasumi with those pleading eyes...

	The only bad moment had been when he
had gone into a pantomime involving the thermos of
(oddly enough) hot water and no one had quite figured
out what he wanted from it. As it was not a suitable toy,
Kasumi had taken it away from the dog and had been
quite surprised when the dog had seemed to be growling
under his breath and banging his head against the wall
several times.

	Kasumi stopped to look back at the dog
who was watching her run the water for washing the
dishes with a cocked head and an eager expression.

	Kasumi watched, amused, as the dog
nudged her away, then put his front paws on the
edge of the sink. He looked at her again, ears going
flat, and with a somehow sad look to his face. 

	Then the dog stuck his head into the 
stream of hot water.

	Kasumi fainted.
--------------------------------------------
	Well, sure, I could have made it Rin Tin Tin
or some other canine hero, but this had some interesting
possibilities.

	Going with the concept of mass being the
reason Genma's change to a panda and back usually 
doesn't mean a nude Genma, Ranma-inu doesn't have
the clothing  problem.

	Too, while he turns into a completely
unfamiliar dog type, this would mean he could be
mistaken for a werewolf among other things.

	The Akanar Hound is something from
my fantasy mileau. Mankind went through a period
where Genetic Engineering went through as much
change and progress as Electronics have done in
the past century. The Akanar design has the 
Smartgene(tm) improvement, where each generation
more fully adapts itself to any environment. Therefore,
the Akanar have survived, though are quite rare due
to a low birthrate and the tendency of each member of
the species to go out in a blaze of heroic glory.

	What kind of advantages? The ones that
Ranma's found out about at this point are the paws
are very clumsy hands (though he's not good at using
them yet) and have retractile claws. The ribs have
vertical bracing. There's also sacs located in various
places around the body that are filled with hyper
oxygenated blood, a form of hyperadrenaline, and
corticosteroids. When he's normal, he's faster than
you'd expect a big massive dog to be. When THOSE
go off... think Tazmanian Devil crossed with the 
Roadrunner. Maybe not breaking the sound barrier,
and when the rush wears off the fatigue level will be
incredible, but this is one of the reasons the Akanar
were used as guard dogs by settlers on planets with
hostile wildlife.

	How would this go? Well, he's gotta
lot of explaining to do, though eventually Genma
will show up and corroborate his story. After all,
he's going to be found in the kitchen with Kasumi
passed out...

	Initially, at least, he's going to be 
helpless in Hound form. Not in a combat situation,
necessarily, the biological equivelant of hard-wired
reflexes...
--------------------------------------
	Kuno raised his bokken. "Do not worry,
Akane Tendo. I shall destroy this monster that 
threatens you."

	"He's not a monster and he's not
threatening me Kuno, he's holding my bookbag
like I asked him to."

	"HAVE AT THEE!" Kuno thrust forward
and then stared goggle-eyed. He hadn't even seen
the dog move, yet there it was, holding his sword
in its jaws and grinning. For some reason his 
repeated jerks on the sword weren't having much
effect. "You...vile...cur...get your jaws off my...
noble...blade..."

	There was a crunching noise as the
hardwood of the bokken was crushed by jaws
that could put out well over three tons of 
crushing force per square inch. The message
in those eyes visible over the jaws was quite
simple. They were saying "imagine this was
your arm or your leg, Kuno-sempai. Don't
mess with me." A section of the bokken fell,
severed as the jaws finally shut.

	"Uhm, well, if this is YOUR dog,
Akane, I shall, of course, tolerate its presence."
Kuno nodded, noting that the dog immediately
spat out a hard roughly flat piece of wood
that had once been a MUCH bigger piece of
a wooden practice sword.

	"Oh no," Akane said slyly, seeing
a way to further distance herself from this
shapeshifting freak. "He's MY SISTER'S
dog. He's just tagging along and looking
for the restroom."

	Kuno watched as the grumbling
dog walked past him, giving Akane back her
schoolbag before going to the wall and 
picking up someone's abandoned schoolbag
there. 

	"Remarkably well trained," Kuno
said with a blink. Not nearly noble enough
in look or demeanor for a samurai, but quite
a remarkable animal all the same. He did not
recognize the breed.
------------------------------------
	no, helpless in EVERYDAY 
situations. You're in a strange city, you're a
dog. The dog catcher is now an enemy.

	Oh boy, is Azusa gonna take
a shine to him. He's got a sort of rough
good looks to his inu form, but only Azusa
(and maybe Kasumi) would think he's cute.

	The indignities of flea powder,
of having to endure Kasumi happily humming
as she's brushing out his fur, of Nabiki trying
to get Ranma-inu jobs as a guard dog, of the
angst of realizing that as tough as he is in
human form- the inu form is a power up. No
speech, though Kasumi might manage the
"Lassie Effect": 
------------------------------------
	"Woof, wuff!"

	"Oh dear, Akane's been attacked by
Kodachi?"

	"Ruff, grrrrr, woof!"

	"Oh, and she's been thrown down
a mineshaft with a young boy named Timmy?"

	"Woof. Woof."

	"Oh my, I guess I better find a rope."

	"Woof."

	"Oh yes, and some hot water."
--------------------------------------------
	Obviously, this could be an Akane-Ranma
love story...or Kasumi as Ranma-inu has those 
loyalty and protective instincts...or Nabiki could 
decide to just treat him as whatever form he's in at
the moment and make a go at it. After all if she gets
into an argument with him, one splash of water and
he's down to growling and barking.

	Not to mention animal trainers can pull
in some pretty big bucks.

	Too powerful? Substitute a chihuahua
and Nabiki has the perfect actor for Taco Bell 
commercials. Substitute a wiener dog and have
Ranma constantly complaining about back trouble.
Substitute Rin Tin Tin or an Akita and Nabiki can 
see a canine hero TV series in her future. Hmmm,
maybe an Akita-Shepherd mix?
why didn't i do it? This is the one that eventually
morphed into Cat Scratch Fever...

	Happy Thanksgiving!
1b follows...