Okay, here's the draft of the next chapter of CMD, C&C away.
=======================================================================
Childhood of a Modern Dynasty
Chapter 10: Burning of the Past, The Wedding Before the Storm

Ranma 1/2 characters/situations created and copyright by Rumiko
Takahashi/Shogakukan/Kitty/Fuji/Viz - Used without permission

Childhood of a Modern Dynasty series created, written, and
copyright 1998-1999 by Jim Lazar

An ongoing series set after the end of the Ranma 1/2 manga and anime.

<Speech text in angle brackets is thought by character.>
"Speech text in double quotes is spoken as Japanese."

E-mail comments and/or criticisms to: mailto:jimlazar@earthlink.net

Make sure to check out my Modern Dynasty website for
all released CMD stories, graphics files, and other information:
http://home.earthlink.net/~jimlazar/anime/md
=======================================================================
This chapter has some darker moments.
=======================================================================
>From the personal journal of James Davidson:


FFML DRAFT
PLEASE DO NOT REDISTRIBUTE

July 19th, 2057

     I awoke with a naked goddess draped over my chest and smiled. I slowly
ran my hand through Hanaki's hair and realized that she was right, ceremony or
not, we were married. Not legally, but emotionally. This was what mattered
most to us. I realized now that I should have never left after my research was
finished for my first book about Ranma and Akane's early years. What was it?
Almost a year ago? I had known Hanaki for a year before that. Well, if you
want to get technical it was back in 2050, but we never got to know each other
back then. I should have asked her out last year. My stupid 'can't become
involved, have to remain objective for the book' refrain cost me at least a
year of happiness with Hanaki.

     What was worse, I did end up getting too friendly with Akane and the
other Tendo family members anyway. My editor kept having to force me to remain
objective. Therefore, in the finished book I think Akane came off as being
much angrier and more violent that she really was in real life, but it's hard
to tell for sure since I didn't know her back then. I do know that she had
softened during her second year with Ranma, I've seen the medical bills for
Ranma and they dropped off considerably once Ranma and Akane returned from
their first training trip together. Although they didn't list who injured
Ranma, the occurrences of 'mallet wound' entries vanished. Well... almost vanished.

     I decided I was going to have to live so I could enjoy more nights with
Hanaki. There was no way I could miss more of that.

     I then heard an angel say, "Morning, James."

     "Morning, Wife."

     Hanaki smiled. Then lifted herself from my chest. I blushed as I saw her
in the morning light.

     "You are beautiful."

     "I bet you say that to all your fiancees."

     "Just you."

     "Well, enough about that, let me get my gear together so I can get going
before it gets too hot."

     "All business, as usual," I quipped, earning a sweet smile from Hanaki.
"Are you sure you have to go for help?"

     "Yes," she said simply. She dressed and began to collect her gear.

     I slid over to the flight controls, not an easy task with my broken leg.
I pulled out my palmcard and plugged it into the spacejet's dataport. I keyed
in a few commands.

     "What are you doing?"

     "Downloading my palmcard's data to the spacejet's system. Might as well
review my notes and work on writing the chapters while you're gone," I explained.

     Hanaki smiled. "All business again." She leaned down and kissed me.
"Well, I expect the first four chapters to be done by the time I get back."

     "Yes, dear," I agreed, since the first four chapters were in draft form
already. If not for this little trip, I'd have sent them to my editor already.
I pulled the palmcard out from the dataport and handed it to Hanaki. She'd
need the GPS in it for her trek across the Utah desert our spacejet had
crashed in.

     "Good. Now take it easy and get some rest," she said, then kissed me
again. She grabbed her pack and opened the door. She paused, then looked back
at me. "I love you."

     "Me too, don't take any chances out there," I replied.

     "I won't. Um... by the way... I couldn't turn my implant on without my
wristpad. I thought you should know," Hanaki informed me, then closed the door
behind her.

     I looked at the door for the longest time. Her implant was off. I guess
that made me feel better. At least part of me would continue on, even if it
was just my child.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     It was mid-day before I felt like looking at my notes; even then, my
heart was only half in the task. I reviewed what Hanaki had gone over the day
before. After their first battle with the Buyierfei, Ranma, Akane, and Ukyo
had stopped a hijacking on the way back to Japan. Akane had to kill one of the
hijackers and, after already losing Ranko and Sanma inside of the monolith,
she had some trouble coping. She even blasted Kuno and Kodachi with a powerful
blast that Ranma thought was fueled by anger and depression.

     I'm almost glad I got this information from Hanaki, since there was one
item that she had mentioned that Akane had never admitted to me.


*********************************************************************** 
March 1999 - Nerima, Japan


     "And that's what happened... I killed the hijacker... no big deal."

     "I think I know you better than that, Akane. You are quite upset over it."

     "I'm a martial artist. Sometimes a martial artist has to take life to
preserve life."

     "That's Ranma talking, not you."

     "What's one more killing on my hands?"

     "We've been over this before, Akane. Shampoo's death was not your fault.
She made the decision to fight you and she decided to let go."

     "And Ranko, Sanma, and Cologne? They sacrificed themselves for me too.
What does it matter if they die by my hands or sacrifice themselves for me?
I'm still a killer."

     "No you're not."

     "Then why can't I get this blood off my hands?" Akane asked, desperately
rubbing her hands. They looked to be quite raw, as if from repeated washings
and rubbing.

     "Your hands are clean. You just won't admit it to yourself."

     "Five people have died."

     "Yes. That's life. People die."

     "Why?"

     "Why what? Why do people die? We're only human."

     "Why do so many have to die for me?"

     "Don't you want to live?"

     "At the cost of six other lives? No!"

     "Six?"

     Akane looked downward and corrected herself. "Five. I meant five."

     "Shampoo, Ranko, Sanma, Cologne, the hijacker... who else, Akane?"

     "I meant five. Just five."

     "Could the sixth have been your mother?"

     "No. She died, but that was a long time ago."

     "How did your mother die, Akane?"

     "I told you that already... a long time ago."

     "Yes, but I want to hear you say it yourself again."

     "No."

     "Tell me."

     "Damn you," Akane hissed, pulling out her mallet.

     "Put down the mallet. It doesn't solve anything. It's just a release for
your anger. Release you anger by talking about it instead."

     Akane slowly put the mallet down. She looked down at her hands, then said
softly, "She... died."

     "Please describe what happened, Akane. It's the only way you'll get better."

     "Mother and I were out shopping when I was just a kid. I was admiring
some flowers across the street..." Akane explained softly, then stopped and
looked at her hands.

     "Continue, Akane. All of it."

     Akane sniffled, then said, "I wanted to pick one for my mother... and..."

     "And..."

     "I... ran across the street to the flowerbed, but I tripped," Akane said,
wiped the tears out of her eyes, then continued, "The next thing I remembered
was that I was thrown out of the road. I looked back and saw..."

     "And you saw your mother..."

     "And I saw my mother struck down by the car that was going to hit me!"
Akane screamed. "The first death of many... all so that I can live!"

     "Why do you think she did that?"

     "So that I could live and cause more deaths! It would be better that I
died back then! What's one life compared to five others!"

     "Five? Good, you've accepted that at least one of them wasn't your
fault... why not the others?"

     "You're a bastard... you know that?"

     "Yes, you've told me several times. Now then... five. So which one wasn't
your fault?"

     "The... hijacker. He would have killed Ranma, Ukyo, and everyone else on
that plane."

     "Good. That's a good first step, Akane. You've realized that not
everything is your fault."

     "Maybe."

     "Now, let's look at your mother's death. She was struck by a car, saving
your life, correct?"

     "Yes. All so others could die for me as well."

     "Akane, it was an accident. Your mother saw her child in danger and
reacted like any parent would."

     "That's what I'm saying! She gave her life for me!"

     "Yes... she did. Because?"

     "She loved me..."

     "Yes."

     "So loving me is a death sentence."

     "No, it's not."

     "Three deaths for my love already. How many more?"

     "Down to three now... good."

     "Well I doubt Shampoo or Cologne loved me."
     
     "No, but didn't they die for your love too?"

     "Huh? No... Cologne died because she felt guilty for splitting Ranma into
three people and Shampoo died because of her stupid Amazon honor."

     "Let's look at Shampoo first. She let go of your hand so that you and
Ranma would live. Correct?"

     "Yes."

     "So that you and Ranma could continue your love. Correct?'

     "Well... yes, but I'm sure that wasn't her intent. It was for her honor."

     "But in the end she died for you and Ranma to continue loving each other."

     "Maybe. Just another death for my love."

     "And Cologne too. She died for your love."

     "That old hag? Never."

     "She took Ranma's place so that you could keep one of your lovers."

     Akane flinched. "No, she just felt guilty about splitting them."

     "You told me that she said 'At least one of the Ranmas must survive'."

     "Yes."

     "Sounds like she wanted you to be able to keep loving Ranma."

     "Well..."

     "Don't you see... people have died, true. They have died for you to live
and love. If you stop living then they died for nothing."

     "You sound like Mousse. 'If you don't live your life to the fullest,
you'll dishonor Shampoo's memory'."

     "He sounds like a nice guy."

     "He's a jerk actually, but he did sometimes make sense. Just like you."

     "Hmmmm, so how many deaths were your fault?"

     "None of them and all of them. I'll have to live with it... won't I?"

     "Yes, otherwise..."

     "I'll dishonor their memories."

     "And..."

     "I'll never forgive myself if I dishonor their memories."

     "Well, I think you've made great progress today. I'll see you again in
three days."

     Akane wiped the tears out of her eyes and said, "Thank you, Doctor."

     "No problem. You've come a long way since we first talked after the
destroyed wedding," Doctor Higawa said.

     "Yes... but at what cost?"

     "Hmmm, you'd better think about the good things that have happened in the
past year on your way home... and you know there have been some good things."

     "Okay, Doctor," Akane said. She made her way out of the office.

     "Good luck, Akane," Doctor Higawa said, making some notes in Akane's
file. Then she called for someone to replace the roof that Akane had blown off
earlier in the session. <Damn, I used to think it was bad when she just
smashed holes in the walls with her mallet,> she thought, sadly shaking her head.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     <Good things... good things. Ranma and me finally admitted our love, both
to ourselves and to each other. Ranma started taking me serious as a martial
artist. He proposed to me. I accepted,> Akane thought. She fingered the
engagement ring on her finger as she walked, smiled, and then looked up at the
blue sky. <We got most of our fiancee problems off our backs. We had our early
honeymoon... >

     A frown crossed her face. <I'll never see Ranma's girl side again... or
kiss those female lips or... > Akane shook her head. "I still have the man I
fell in love with," she declared aloud. <But he's just half of the person I
fell in love with.> She sighed. <Or is that a third now?>

     Akane stopped walking as she reached the canal and stared off into the
distance. After several seconds, she hit a streetlight hard, knocking it over.
A sign reading "Don't knock over this streetlight-Call Streetlight Anonymous
for help" fell off as the streetlight crashed to the ground.

     "I LOVE RANMA!" Akane screamed at the top of her lungs.

     "I love you too, Akane."

     Akane started and looked around for the source of the voice. She spotted
a figure sitting by the canal with his arms wrapped around his legs. "Ranma?"
She slid down the embankment towards him.

     Ranma looked up and smiled as Akane sat down next to him. He slid his arm
around her and gave her a kiss. "What brings you down here?"

     Akane paused for a second. Not wanting to tell him she was just at her
therapist, since only Nodoka knew she was going to one, Akane just said,
"Coming to terms with myself and my life."

     "Oh, deep. I'm part of that life, right?"

     Akane smiled. "You, my sweet perverted idiot, ARE my life."

     "I've been thinking..." Ranma trailed off, as he wasn't sure he wanted to
bring this up.

     "What?"

     "Err... I want you to be happy."

     "I'm happy, with you. I may have lost two people I loved dearly, but when
it comes down to it I still have them all within you." Akane patted Ranma's
chest and cuddled up to it.

     "Akane, I'm going find out if there's any spring of drowned girl water
left anywhere and use it so you can have Ranko and Sanma again." Akane's eyes
went wide at hearing this and she looked up at Ranma. "I don't think we can
spilt without Cologne, but at least..."

     Akane cut off Ranma's offer with a long kiss. She smiled after breaking
the kiss. "That's okay. I appreciate the offer, but it wouldn't be the same."

     "No, I want you to be happy... if I have to be cursed for your happiness,
it's okay."

     Akane snuggled into his arms again as tears started to flow from her
eyes. "I am happy. I'll miss your female side, separate or not, but Ranko and
Sanma were unique people when they... died. I can't, and won't, replace them
with copies. It'll take me time, but I won't let their sacrifice be in vain."

     "Okay, but it wasn't just for you... I sort of miss having Ranko around.
Even Sanma, despite the fact that she was only around for a couple days."

     Akane grinned. "I guess I can understand that, you miss your 'sisters'."

     Ranma nodded. "We didn't get along that well, but I had gotten used to
having Ranko around."

     "Well, Nabiki and I used to fight all the time when we were growing up.
That's what siblings do."

     "Not Kasumi?"

     Akane giggled. "Nope, never could get mad at Kasumi for anything. Not
even when Dr. Tofu liked her more than me."

     "The good Doctor doesn't know what he missed out on," Ranma said, pulling
her into a deep kiss. The two lovers held each other and watched the sun set
in the distance.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     In the weeks that followed, Akane slowly got better with the help of
Doctor Higawa and with the love of her family and friends. The Tendo and
Saotome families had a small wake for Ranko and Sanma and added their names to
the Saotome family grave. Dr. Tofu and Ukyo, being the only other people who
knew about the split, also attended.

     A couple weeks after they returned from Australia, Akane, Ukyo, and Ranma
were studying in Ranma's room. Ukyo suddenly hit Ranma over the head with a
book. "Pay attention or you'll fail your finals!" she yelled.

     "Geezzzzz... all right already," Ranma muttered. "Adolf Hitler's dog."

     Akane checked her book. "Correct."

     "Only a week till our finals, Ranma. With all the time we lost in China
and Australia we have to cram as much of this stuff into our brains as we
can!" Ukyo insisted.

     "Yes. I'm not going to marry a high school dropout," Akane informed Ranma.

     "I'm working as hard as I can!" Ranma said, then dropped the martial arts
manga he had hidden behind the textbook he was holding.

      "Baka!"

      Ukyo and Akane chased him around the garden before they managed to
tackle him and force him to learn the entire history of World War II by heart.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     That night, Ranma stared up at the ceiling trying to fall asleep.
Something about the reminders that Kasumi or his mother kept writing on the
ceiling panels kept tugging at the back of his mind. <What is it? The
anniversary of my meeting Akane is still two months away. All the other
reminders were further off than that, including Akane's birthday which is
almost a year away... > Ranma sat bolt upright, then exclaimed, "Akane's
eighteenth birthday! We missed it while we were inside the monolith. Shit!"

     He jumped to his feet, ran up the stairs, and tapped on Akane's door.
There was no answer. He tapped again. Still no answer, so he opened the door
and went over to the sleeping Akane. He looked down at her and debated if he
should wake her or not, but finally decided to let her sleep. He brushed some
red hair out of her eyes, then sat down next to the bed and fell asleep
holding her hand.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     Akane woke up and stretched. She slipped out of her bed and tripped over
the still sleeping Ranma. "Huh?" she muttered as she looked around and saw
Ranma. "Ranma? Ranma, wake up," she said while shaking him.
 
     Ranma opened his eyes, saw Akane, and smiled. "Happy birthday, Akane!"

     "Birthday? That was back in February... it's March."

     "Nope. Today is February seventeenth! You deserve a happy day!"

     Akane smiled weekly. "That's sweet, but we missed my birthday... no big deal."

     "Yes, it is," Ranma insisted, then pulled Akane into a big kiss. "That's
one. You get seventeen more kisses today."

     "Thank you, Ranma." Akane smiled, then glanced at her calendar. <March
fourteenth,> she thought, pondered the date a second, then said aloud, "March
fourteenth is YOUR birthday."

     "That can wait, ladies first."

     Akane smiled and then gave Ranma a deep kiss. "That's one for you. You
also get seventeen more kisses today."

     "Thirty-four total, huh? Sounds good," Ranma declared.

     "Need to work on your math homework some more. It would be thirty-six
total," Akane smugly corrected him.

     "Um... I meant thirty-four more to go," Ranma insisted, trying to cover
up his blunder.

     "Right. Well then, today is both our birthdays. Time to wash our birthday
suits," Akane said, winked, then dragged Ranma downstairs to the bathroom. He
didn't resist.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     Ranma scratched his head. He looked at all of the jewelry in front of
him. "Ummm... which one do you think Akane would like?" he asked.

     Nabiki looked at the case Ranma was examining and said, "None of that
cheap garbage. I'm lending you the money for this gift, it should at least be
something good."

     "Thanks again, Nabiki."

     "Well, just be glad that the reward from the airline for you dealing with
those hijackers covered your old debt with me."

     "Yeah, but I never saw any of it," Ranma muttered.

     "You still have the free plane tickets," Nabiki reminded him, as she
guided Ranma over to the real diamonds.

     "Yeah, whatever. Hmmmm, what about that bracelet?" Ranma asked, pointing
out an elaborate diamond studded bracelet.

     "Your credit with me isn't that good," Nabiki commented, looking at the
extremely high price tag. <Even with the discount I'll force out of the
saleswoman, that is way too much for him ever to repay. Unless he ends up
saving twenty more planeloads of passengers, that is.>

     "Oh. Um.. Wait... that one." Ranma pointed to a simple, but beautiful,
bracelet with four small diamonds on it.

     <Well, it's not cheap, but I think he'll be able to repay that one...
eventually,> Nabiki thought. "Looks nice. Miss, can we see that bracelet with
the four diamonds?" Nabiki said. The saleswoman took the bracelet out and
handed it to Nabiki. Nabiki took out a jeweler's eyepiece and examined the
bracelet closely. The saleswoman scowled. "Why this one?" she asked.

     "Four diamonds. One for Akane and one each for her three lovers," Ranma
replied. The saleswoman looked confused.

     "You're getting pretty good at this sappy romance stuff, you know?"

     "Really? Well, I know she'll miss Ranko and Sanma," Ranma said, looking
sadly at the ground.

     "Doesn't it bother you that she's so upset about losing two girls when
she still has you?" Nabiki asked. The saleswoman looked really confused now.

     "Nope. I know she loves me and I miss my girl side, too."

     "Really?"

     "Yes. I never thought I could, but a part of me misses her, err... them."

     "Well, big brother, I have some great nude photos of her," Nabiki
commented, winking. The saleswoman's head was spinning trying to keep up with
the conversation.

     "I wish we had a group shot of the four of us, but there was never time
before..." Ranma said, trailing off before mentioning the monolith.

      Nabiki nodded her understanding, then started to haggle with the dizzy
saleswoman over the price of the bracelet. In the end, she got it for half price.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     The table was on fire.

     Well, that was what it looked like. There were two cakes on the table,
each had eighteen lit candles on them. Akane and Ranma looked at the two cakes
and smiled. Then as one, they blew the candles out. It looked like they got
them all, but then the candles flared back to life. They blew them out again.
They lit up again.

     After a couple more tries, Ranma grabbed the edge of his rectangular cake
and spun it around. "Hiryu Shoten Ha!" he yelled and trust a cool arm into the
swirling hot air surrounding the cake. The cake was smashed by a small
whirlwind and sent into orbit. The candles were still lit when the cake landed
on the Kuno mansion and set the roof on fire.

     At the same time, Akane pulled out her mallet and smashed her cake flat.

     The assembled Tendo and Saotome family members all looked around confused
and then wiped off the frosting that had spattered over them.

     "Um... who's idea was it to use trick candles?" Ukyo asked, glaring
around the table.

     "That would be my brilliant husband," Nodoka informed them all.

     Seconds latter, a panda was seen soaring through the skies of Nerima.

     Akane and Ranma looked at each other and started laughing. They playfully
wiped the frosting off each other, ignoring the other people at the table.

     Nodoka smiled. She was glad to see Akane in such high spirits. She had
been very worried about Akane's condition for the first two weeks after they
had returned from their trip to Australia. The therapy was helping Akane cope immensely.

     Kasumi had gone to the kitchen and returned with another cake. "Here we go."

     Ranma finished licking the frosting off Akane's lips then looked at the
new cake. "Why did you have another cake?"

     Nabiki answered for Kasumi. "Are you kidding? With this family something
was bound to happen to at least one of them."

     Everyone laughed, then dug into the cake. 

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     "Here, Akane," Ranma said, handing a small gift bag to Akane. They both
sat on the roof of the Tendo house, enjoying the night air.

     "Thank you, Ranma," Akane said, then opened the bag. She gasped, then
smiled as she pulled the bracelet out. "It's beautiful." She kissed Ranma deeply.

     After the kiss, Ranma adjusted the new Chinese shirt that Akane had
gotten him. It was a very fancy silk shirt with a red background and a
three-headed dragon on it. Ranma didn't have to ask what the three-headed
dragon represented.

     They spent an hour or so making out on the roof before they made their
way down into the house and to their respective rooms.

     Akane looked at the bracelet again and smiled, then she glanced at the
picture that Nabiki had given to her. It showed Ranma and Akane posing
together. Ranko and Sanma were at their sides as well. Akane was shocked when
Nabiki had given it to her, because there is no way for that photo to exist.
Nabiki explained that it was a computer composite of various photos. The pain
was still there, but Akane now had a picture of all three of her lovers to
remember them by. She touched the photo softly, then smiled as another thought
crossed her mind.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     Ranma took of his shirt and pants then lay out the futon on the floor. He
was about to lay down, when Akane opened the door to his room. Ranma looked
over to the doorway. "Akane?"

     Akane smiled, seductively. "I thought we could practice for the
honeymoon," Akane said. She let her robe slip of her shoulders, revealing the
skimpy black lace teddie that she had borrowed from Nabiki's collection.

     Ranma gasped as he saw the teddie that Akane was wearing, barely. He
smiled and drew Akane into his arms and kissed her deeply. "Our parents will
freak if they find out," he said after they broke the kiss.

     "Let them. They are the ones who pushed us together in the first place."

     "No. We found our love despite their pushing."

     Akane smiled then slipped her hands under Ranma's T-shirt. She rubbed his
chest for a moment, then pulled the T-shirt off. She stroked and nibbled his
chest for a while and then slid her hands down his stomach.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     Akane awoke in her lover's arms; how she had missed this feeling. After
the incident with the monolith, they had slept in the same bed several times,
but had never made love. At first, it was too painful for Akane to even
consider being intimate with Ranma, but she knew she couldn't close off her
heart to the man she loved forever. She missed Ranko and Sanma, but in a
certain way were still a part of Ranma. So, when she was making love to Ranma,
she was making love to all three of them. Without the breasts and other bits,
of course. "Good morning, Ranma," she said to him, as he awoke.

     "Morning, Akane," Ranma replied and gave Akane a long kiss.

     Akane got up and collected her discarded teddie, then slipped her robe
on. She kissed Ranma again, and slipped out to go to the bathroom. She wasn't
paying attention and walked right into Nodoka. "Err... um..."

     "Good morning, Akane. Nice to see you're so energetic this morning,"
Nodoka commented, then walked into the kitchen.

     Akane looked at Nodoka's back. <She must have seen me come out of Ranma's
room... why isn't she upset?> she thought, walking to the bathroom.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     When she finished cleaning up, Akane walked upstairs and into her room.
She was shocked to find it almost empty. "Huh? Where did my stuff go to?" she
asked to no one in particular.

     "We moved it all downstairs to your new room," Nodoka's voice said from
behind Akane.

     Akane turned around. "Huh?"

     "I can't say I approve of you spending the night with Ranma before you
are married, but I can't say it's a surprise," Nodoka said. "If the wedding
wasn't already planned for next Saturday, I'd insist you get married today."

     "I'm sorry if my actions have caused my family any shame," Akane said,
bowing her head.

     "Not at all, but there is no need to sneak around anymore. You and my son
are in love. No need to hide anything from the family that loves you."

     "Yes, Auntie."

     "Akane, I'll understand if you don't want to, but could you call me Mother?"

     Akane smiled, "I would be honored... Mother."

     "Good," Nodoka said, then lowered her voice and whispered to Akane, "And,
Akane dear? You might want to try being a little more quiet. My husband and I
are right above Ranma's room you know."

     Akane blushed from head to toe. "Yes, Mom." Up until then, Akane had
assumed that Nodoka had found out when she bumped into her earlier. She
exhaled in relief, at the calm conclusion to the confrontation over last night
and at being able to call Nodoka 'Mother'. It had taken several sessions with
Doctor Higawa for Akane to prepare herself for that step.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     The final day of Ranma and Akane's Junior year had arrived, although they
were more nervous about their wedding that was to take place the next day than
about their classes. Ranma had done well so far on his finals, but they
wouldn't know the final results for a few days.

     The final bell rang and the students all swarmed out of the classrooms
and then out of the school. Ranma and Akane strolled slowly out of the school
and were sharing a quick kiss when they were suddenly doused with cold water.
"C... c... cold," Ranma said, a shiver flowing down his spine.

     "Pigtailed girl! I must talk to you!" Kuno cried out and separated Ranma
and Akane. He pulled Ranma into a tight embrace. Suddenly, he frowned and
pushed Ranma back from his embrace. "What has thou done with my lovely
pigtailed goddess?" He felt Ranma's chest with his palm to make sure there
were no breasts there. He was very disappointed to find none.

     Akane twitched, holding back the scream that was forming in her throat.

     "Kuno! You are supposed to keep your distance! Get the hell away from
us!" Ranma shouted, swatting Kuno's hand away.

     "I only wanted to gaze upon my pigtailed goddess once more before I went
to university. What has thou done with her?" Kuno punctuated his question by
putting his bokken to Ranma's throat.

     Ranma shook his head sadly. "She's gone forever and you should have
realized that after Akane blasted you a few weeks ago that you will never be a
match for us. If you value your life, go now!!"

     "So all this time it was a trick to keep me from my pigtailed goddess!
This so called 'curse' you deceived us with was a clever ruse to part us from
our wealth. Agreement or not, I shall smite thee for your misdeeds!"

     Ranma prepared for the bokken strike, but it never came. Before he could
react, Akane shouted, "Aikizuna Mokoutsu!!!" She held her hands in front of
her forming an upside down heart with her fingers.

    <Love Bond Ferocious Tiger Strike?> Ranma thought.

     A blast of red chi energy flowed from Akane's outstretched hands in an
oscillating wave pattern. The wave of energy hit Kuno in the chest.

     And nothing happened.

     "What?" Akane and Ranma gasped at the same time.

     Akane followed her gasp by muttering, "Knew I shouldn't have gotten over
my depression."

     "Ha! Nothing can hurt the mighty Blue Thunder of Waseda University!" Kuno declared.

     Nabiki walked up from behind Kuno and smacked him on the back of the head
with her bag, he crumpled to the ground. "Damn, I was afraid he might end up
going to the same college as me," she said.

     "What did you hit him with?" Ranma asked, kicking Kuno to make sure he
was unconscious.

     "A wad of cash that I picked up from his lawyers this morning."

     "What for?"

     "For breaking the agreement to stay away from you two. This incident will
cost them some more," Nabiki informed them, then she turned and made her way
out of the schoolyard. Before leaving their earshot, she turned around and
said, "Don't forget the bonfire tonight."

     "We wouldn't miss it, we'll be back after we have dinner with the gang,"
Ranma said, putting his arm around Akane's shoulders and leading her away from
the fallen Kuno. "You okay, Akane?"

     "Why didn't it work?" Akane asked softly.

     "Huh? You mean that Alkaseltzer Mokosake thing? That was pretty neat."

     "Aikizuna Mokoutsu. But it didn't hurt him. I practiced that after Doc...
I decided not to use anger or depression as attacks anymore."

     "That's good, it isn't good to draw on those feelings. We'll work on that
attack some more, you should have told me you were trying to develop a new chi blast."

     "I wanted to surprise you. When I blasted Kuno and Kodachi, I felt
something click in my mind. I did some practicing and found that concentrating
on my love for you-not just my confidence in the love, but my actual feelings
of love-allowed me to focus my chi better than before with the Moko Takabisha.
It seemed to cause damage when I tried it on some dummies."

     "When did you try it on me?" Ranma quipped.

     Akane smiled at the joke. "Silly."

     "We'll work on it. Have all that time in Hawaii for our honeymoon, don't we?"

     "I'm not planning on doing too much training on that trip," Akane
insisted, then pulled Ranma down into a kiss.

     "Break it up you two, your wedding is tomorrow," Ukyo's voice interrupted
their kiss.

     Ranma and Akane looked up to see Ukyo and the gang from school standing
in front of the restaurant they had picked to have their celebration dinner
at. "Hi guys, give us a second," Ranma said and returned to the interrupted kiss.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     A fierce bonfire blazed away in the Furinkan High schoolyard. The
students all gathered around it and watched it burn. Every now and then, a
student would throw his or her Hawaiian school uniform into the fire. The
cheep uniforms that they had been forced to wear for the past year turned out
to be VERY flammable and had caused the bonfire to burn hot and bright.

     Gosunkugi was dressed only in his underwear since he had forgotten to
bring a spare set of clothes like most of the other students had. He was
roasting marshmallows on the fire. Actually, upon closer inspection they were
actually straw dolls of Ranma. The impending marriage of Ranma and Akane was
common knowledge now; some were taking it better than others.

     Ukyo tossed her Hawaiian girl's uniform into the fire along with a
picture of her and her 'Ran-chan' as kids. <Time to let that dream go,> she
thought, shivering despite the hot fire in front of her.

      "Here you go, Ukyo," Ranma said, offering a blanket to Ukyo.

     "Thanks Ran... ma," Ukyo said, avoiding using 'Ran-chan'. She had decided
it was too painful to keep calling him that. After she finally gave up on
Ranma after she and Ryoga tried to break them up that last time in the
mountains, she had come to terms with the fact that she would never be more
than friend to him. Then after the split, she had gone right back to her old
ways and tired to convince herself that she'd end up with one of the Ranmas.
Despite her insistence to Akane that she would abide by her decision, she was
devastated when Akane announced she would marry both Ranma and Ranko. It had
taken all her willpower not to challenge Akane at that moment. Only the
Buyierfei attack and then Ranko and Sanma's deaths stopped another
confrontation about a third Ranma being available. She was determined not to
repeat her past mistakes, so Ranma was her friend. Nothing more.

     "No problem," Ranma said.

     A well suntanned man in an incredibly ugly Hawaiian shirt drove a fire
truck into the schoolyard. "No... no! Bad boys and girls must not burn
beautiful Hawaiian uniforms I bought for them to study hard in!" the Principal
yelled. He turned on the water and then aimed a high-pressure water cannon at
the bonfire.
 
     "Oh... no you don't!" Ranma cried out. He jumped in front of the water
and deflected it away from the fire. He advanced against the pressure of the
water and grabbed the end of the water cannon. He squeezed and the end was
sealed up.

     The Principal tried to turn on another water cannon, but Ukyo intercepted
him with a well-timed swing of her spatula. The Principal was squashed between
the rungs of a ladder. "Jerk! The school board promised us new uniforms next
year that don't make us want to throw up!" Ukyo yelled.

     The Principal yelled, "Bad, very bad! Now you all fail your finals!"

     Ranma sighed, considered tossing the Principal into the bonfire, then
thought better of it and asked, "Unless we find or do what?"

     "Ah, smart boy...  unless you can knock me off the top of dis here fire
truck!" the Principal declared, then handcuffed himself to the truck's ladder.

     "Oh, is that all?" Ranma said, smiling. He turned around and walked away.
He pulled Ukyo and Akane with him.

     "What ta' matter, bad student? Scared to take me on?" the Principal
taunted Ranma.

     Ranma smiled and turned around. "Nope. Three... two... one."

     The fire truck suddenly exploded as the water feeding into the clogged
water cannon reached critical pressure and all the hoses and pipes in the
truck broke. The Principal was thrown off the fire truck and landed in the
bonfire. The truck was reduced to a pile of scrap metal.

     Fortunately, the Principal was water logged so he burned slowly. He
hopped out of the fire and went screaming away into the night. He left a trail
of smoke and burned uniforms, since he had tried to save some of the uniforms
by dragging them out of the fire. This guy REALLY liked Hawaiian clothing.

     The students all cheered at the retreating figure.

     Ranma smiled and then tossed his Chinese shirt with the Hawaiian pattern
on it into the fire. He sighed, then tossed a paper figure representing his
girl side into the fire. 

     Akane watched it burn with Ranma. She added her own Hawaiian uniform and
five paper figures representing her mother, Ranko, Sanma, Shampoo, and
Cologne. She cried softly as the figures burned... as her past burned.

     Ranma put his arm around her, and held her tight. "Ranko and Sanma will
be at the wedding, Akane... in spirit," he commented.

     "Yes, because they are within you," Akane said, looking up at her
soon-to-be husband. They kissed.

    They stepped apart, nodded, and then performed the tribute they had
thought-up after dinner. In unison they thrust their arms upward, spread them
wide, formed a chi ball in each hand, and both called out, "Aikizuna
Mokoutsu!!" They twisted their hands quickly and four beams of wavy red chi
blasted upwards, one from each of their hands. The beams spiraled upwards and
circled each other until they slowly formed one single beam.

     "Four hearts, beating as one." Ranma said, softly.

     "Maybe that's the best use for that technique. Not as an attack, but as a
symbol of our love," Akane said, as she cuddled into Ranma's arms again and
watched the red beam continue, unaided, up into the night sky.

     Ranma and Akane held each other until the fire burned itself out. The
other students had gone home long ago, but they didn't care. They had each
other. That was all they needed.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     Ranma tried for the tenth time to get the tie on straight. "Damn it! Why
can I use a clip on!" he shouted.

     "Oh, that would look great next to Akane's beautiful gown," Nabiki said
from his doorway. She was dressed in a very beautiful kimono.

     "Well, I know what she looked like in it. Remember?"

     "Yes, well... no interruptions this time. The Kuno's are under
surveillance, so we'll know if they are up to anything."

     "Why didn't you use that back-up plan and have them institutionalized?"
Ranma asked, remembering the psychologist that Nabiki had on hand when the
Kuno's agreed to stay away from him and Akane.

     "Well, the doctor I have on retainer said Akane's little blast could be
used to show that she attacked them. So, we'll bide our time and keep an eye
on them. Hopefully they'll do something so crazy that we'll be able to send
them to the funny farm forever," Nabiki explained.

     "That LITTLE blast destroyed the back wall and several nearby roofs,"
Ranma dryly commented.

     "Yes, and our neighbors are starting to get really pissed at all the
property damage. Anyway... hopefully Happosai is still at the South Pole. Ukyo
is a bridesmaid. Ryoga is... lost somewhere. And of course..."

     "Yes, the Amazons...  I'm sorry about Mousse, Nabiki," Ranma said, as
Nabiki helped him with his bow tie.

     "Well, maybe it wasn't meant to be. There will be lots of cute guys at
college," Nabiki said, trying to sound happy.

     Ranma could hear the sadness behind the words. "The other women at that
college will be have to be content with the mighty Nabiki Tendo's leftovers,"
Ranma declared.

     "Thanks, Ranma. Maybe I shouldn't have pushed you off on Akane," Nabiki
said, then kissed Ranma on his cheek.

     "You never stood a chance against Akane in the race for my heart. None of
them did," Ranma said.

     "Damn, you've matured in the past two years. Just take good care of my
little sister or you'll feel my wrath."

     "I will."

     "That goes double for me, Ranma."

      Ranma and Nabiki looked around to see Kasumi in the doorway. She looked
radiant in her kimono.

     "Is it time?" Nabiki asked. Kasumi nodded. Nabiki took one last look at
the groom. "Well, let's get our little brother into the dojo so he can marry
the woman who he's been sleeping with for the past few months."

     "Nabiki! That's not proper talk," Kasumi scolded.

     "Sorry."

     "'The woman who he has been making love to' would be more proper," Kasumi
informed Nabiki, then turned and made her way to the dojo.

     Ranma and Nabiki's jaws dropped. "Well, that was unexpected," Ranma
commented. 

     "What was?" Nabiki replied, after picking up her jaw.

     "Hearing that from Kasumi. Do you think that she and Dr. Tofu..."

     "They did go out last night, but I doubt..." Nabiki tailed off then
smirked. <No, not Kasumi. She wouldn't do that before marriage. Would she?
It's bad enough my little sister is ahead of me in that department, but Kasumi too?>

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     "Akane, stop crying or I'll never get this makeup on cleanly," Ukyo
insisted, dabbing the tears out of Akane's eyes.

     "I'm sorry. They won't stop," Akane said, sniffling. "Worse thing is I'm
not sure if they are tears of joy or tears of sadness."

     "Probably both, sadness over what it took to get to this point and
happiness over the wonderful future you'll have with Ranma," Ukyo explained,
applying some more mascara to Akane's eyelid.

     "Thank you, Ukyo."

     "I'm just glad I didn't mess up our friendship and could be by your side
for this event," Ukyo said, while touching up Akane's lipstick.

     "Am I supposed to be this nervous?" Akane asked.

     "Beats me... I've never been married," Ukyo said. "Blot." Akane placed
her lips on the offered tissue.

     "Yes, you are," a voice said from behind Akane.

     Akane looked around and saw Nodoka standing in the doorway. "Au... Mother."

     "Akane, it's natural to be nervous and scared on your wedding day. It's a
big step, but you love my son and he loves you," Nodoka said, helping Ukyo put
the veil on Akane.

     "Thanks... Mom."

     "Now then, your groom is waiting in the dojo. The Kunos and assorted
other problems are under surveillance and accounted for, so let's hit the dojo
and get you married already," Nodoka declared.

     "My wedding sounds like a military operation," Akane said, smiling.

     "It is."

                    -C-           -M-           -D-
 
     "Kuno One, report," Nabiki commanded into the headset she wore.

     "Kuno One reporting. Kuno and Kodachi are confirmed at their mansion. No
activity, although there was talk earlier that they would stop the wedding
tomorrow," a voice reported over her headset.

     "Good, the fake invite worked," Nabiki said. She made sure Ranma's bow
tie was still on straight then positioned him next to Dr. Tofu, who was the
best man since Ryoga was missing in action.

     "Okay, father and mother of the groom: Check. Father of the groom not a
panda: Check. Groom and best man: Check. Both insane Kuno's are at their
mansion: Check. Minister: Check." Nabiki looked around at the assembled
guests. A lot of school kids, some Tendo and Saotome family friends, and a
duck. <A duck?> Nabiki tore a path to the little white duck sitting next to an
old woman. "Mousse!" she cried out and started kissing the duck.

     "Excuse me, but what are you doing with my purse?" the old woman asked.

     "What?" Nabiki gasped, then looked closely at the duck. It was indeed a
duck shaped purse. "Sorry."

     Ranma came up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. "Sorry,
Nabiki. I'll save a dance for you at the reception... you can pretend I'm
Mousse," Ranma said.

     "Thanks, Ranma. Try not to step on my feet," Nabiki quipped.

     "No promises," Ranma said, walking her back to the front of the dojo.

     Nabiki made sure everything in the dojo was all set, then walked to the
back. "Okay, final sentry check. Count off," she said into the headset. The
sentries all returned 'go' conditions. Nabiki gave Ranma a thumbs-up signal,
then left the dojo to get the bride.

     Ranma swallowed hard. This was it. He knew it was going to happen this
time. <I hope.>

     The music started.

     Ranma swallowed hard.

     Kasumi appeared in the dojo's doors and started walking down the aisle.
She dropped carnation petals along the aisle. Since carnations were the Tendo
Mother's favorite flowers, it was a way to have her here for the wedding.

     Ranma swallowed hard.

     Ukyo was next. She was wearing her giant spatula on her back... just in case.

     Ranma swallowed hard.

     Nabiki came in, looked around for problems one last time, and then made
her way down the aisle.

     Ranma swallowed hard.

     Akane, on Soun's arm, appeared in the doorway.

     Ranma swallowed hard and choked on his tongue.

     Dr. Tofu applied a finger to Ranma's neck and Ranma's tongue relaxed. He
handed Ranma a glass of water, which Ranma gulped down.

     Akane smiled at Ranma's nervousness. She knew the feeling, since her
stomach was doing cartwheels at that moment. She looked at her father, who for
some reason was not crying. "Thanks, Dad," she said softly, then continued walking.

     The doors were closed by two big guys. They locked the doors, nailed two
big boards over them, and strung some chains over them. A padlock completed
the barricade.

     As she approached the front, Kasumi smiled sweetly at Ranma, then smiled
lovingly at Dr. Tofu and blew him a kiss. She took her place by the altar.

     Ukyo smiled at Ranma, mouthed 'congratulations' with her lips, and then
took her place.

     Nabiki finished her walk down the aisle and took her place. Her headset
crackled and she said softly, "Keep me posted, Air One."

     Ukyo leaned over to Nabiki and whispered, "Anything wrong?"

     "No... just an explosion over in Shinjuku. Probably nothing," Nabiki
whispered back. She gave the thumbs-up signal again.

     Akane was almost to the front of the dojo, when her shoe caught the helm
of her gown and she toppled over and ended up falling on a female guest, in
the process she heard the woman's dress rip. "Oh my... I'm sorry," Akane said
while trying to get up.

     "How dare you!" the woman Akane fell on said, jumping to her feet. "Tis a
crime that you have forsaken me, but then to ruin my lovely dress! Akane
Tendo, I shall smite the cur Ranma Saotome and marry you so we may both know
true happiness!"

     "Kuno!" Ranma shouted, he jumped into the aisle and landed a hard kick to
the disguised Kuno's stomach. He followed this with a series of fast chestnut
punches. Then as one, he and Akane punched Kuno in the chin and he was sent
soaring into the sky through a newly created skylight.

     The new skylight let in a beam of light that enveloped Akane and Ranma
and bathed them in a heavenly glow.

     Kasumi went into action and had the roof debris cleaned up in less than
five seconds. She brushed Akane's gown off, then asked, "Are you okay, Akane?"

     "Yes, I guess I'm just a klutz," Akane said.

     Ranma breathed a sigh of relief, then had to open his big mouth. "You are
as graceful as an angel, Akane." Ranma was amazed at not screwing up when
saying that. So were all the guests, who gasped in surprise. "How did Kuno get
in here, anyway?" he asked, ignoring the amazed gasps and snide comments from
the peanut gallery.

     "Someone must have slipped up at the security checkpoint," Nabiki cursed,
then spoke into her headset, "Kuno One, confirm that Kodachi is actually at
the mansion. The Kuno there is a fake."

     After several seconds, a weak female voice replied over her headset,
"Kuno... Unit One reporting. Urk... it really is Kodachi. The Kuno here was
Sasuke. Argh!!! No... don't do that!" Then static filled the headset.

     <How on earth could she have mistaken Sasuke for Kuno?> Nabiki thought,
then cursed, "Damn, what a time to screw up." Then she again addressed her
headset, "Air One, report of location of airborne Kuno."

     "Air One reporting. Kuno landed in alligator pit at the zoo. He appears
to be unconscious. Alligators appear hungry."

     "Okay, Air One, return to air patrol. All other units report status,"
Nabiki said, listened to the reports, then said, "We're clear again. Let's
continue." She took lingering looks at all the other guests, but didn't see
anyone she didn't recognize from the pre-wedding security interviews. She
considered checking their wedding ID cards, but decided it was better to get
the wedding moving again.

     "Are you okay, Akane?" Ranma said.

     Akane smiled. "I'm fine. Let's do this," Akane said, taking her place at
the front of the dojo.

     Her father kissed her on her cheek and put her arm on Ranma's. He sat
down next to Ms. Hinako in her adult form and her fishbowl. <She sure does
love her fish. I wonder why she takes them everywhere?>

     Akane looked into Ranma's eyes and smiled. He smiled back.

     The minister looked at the couple, then said, "We are gathered here today
to join this man, and this woman, in holy matrimony. Marriage is not to be
taken lightly, obstacles must be overcome to find the one you love and arrive
at this point."

     "You have no idea," Ranma muttered.

     Akane chuckled, suppressing the pain of losing Ranko and Sanma. She had
promised herself that she wouldn't let the sadness of losing them ruin her
wedding to Ranma. Deep down she knew she was actually marrying all three of
them today, but the loss still hurt.

     The minister cleared his throat, then continued, "Two hearts come here
today to join into one by the strength of their love for each other. If there
is anyone present here today who knows why..."

      "Skip that part. We don't have all day," Akane said.

     Ranma chuckled.

      "Err... of course. Ranma Saotome, do you take this woman, Akane Tendo,
to be your lawfully wedded wife; to love, honor, and cherish till death do you pa-"

     Nabiki's headset cracked, then she snapped her head towards the doors.
"Incoming! Ten to twenty targets, through the doors!!!!" she yelled, pointing
at the barricaded doors.

     "Shit!" Ranma cursed. He spun around quickly, extended his arms out in
front of him, and built up a chi ball.

     Akane did likewise, holding her hands in an upside down heart. Sparks of
wavy red chi flickered between her fingers.

     Ms. Hinako, Soun, Genma, and Dr. Tofu all snapped into their ready
positions. Ukyo drew her spatula and stood by Akane's side.

     Suddenly, the doors exploded, taking most of the back wall with them and
knocking out the two big guards Nabiki had hired. Everyone looked away and
ducked the flying debris. Two figures flew through the smoke and tackled Ranma
and Akane. The two blasts that Ranma and Akane were building up went off and
blasted two large holes in the roof.

     Akane punched the figure that had fallen on her in the side, rolled over,
and pinned her attacker under her body. She looked down to see who her
attacker was. Akane gasped.

     Ranma punched the figure that had fallen on him in the side, rolled over,
and pinned his attacker under his body. He looked down to see who his attacker
was. Ranma gasped.

     As one, Ranma and Akane said, "Ranko? Sanma?"

     "Hi, Akane! Miss me?" the red headed girl under Akane said.

     "Hi, big brother! Could you do us a favor and blast the horde of Amazons
who are after us? Ranko and me are kind of out of juice right now," the red
headed girl under Ranma said.

     Ranma and Akane looked behind them and saw about twenty angry Amazon
women standing in the remains of the doorway. At their center was Shampoo's
father, Aftershave. He was not bearing a gift for the wedding. Unless he was
planning to give the large sword he was carrying as a gift.

     "Shit."


***********************************************************************
>From the personal journal of James Davidson:


July 21, 2057

     I finished reviewing the last of the information Hanaki had given me; I
still couldn't believe all the problems Akane had whenever she tried to get
married. This time she was even thwarted by two people she loved deeply, but
she was happy to see them, nonetheless. Come to think of it... from what I
know about it, her next wedding attempt didn't go that well either.

     I had watched the sun come up twice since Hanaki left. I knew that it
would probably take her at least two or three more days to find help and get
back here. Unfortunately, I didn't think my leg was going to last that long.
It wasn't getting darker, so the internal bleeding had stopped, but gangrene
would probably set in soon. Ah well, I hear they are doing wonders with
prosthetics these days. My only wish was to see my beautiful Hanaki again.

     "Hi, honey, I'm home!"

     I looked around to see that my wish had been granted. "Hanaki?"

     "Ran into a little trouble, so we're going to plan 'B'."

     I noticed her torn blouse and asked, "What happened?"

     "Ran into a nest of Buyierfei... very persistent Buyierfei, since they
are climbing up the mesa behind me. We have about fifteen minutes to jury-rig
the spacejet."

     "Did they hurt you?"

     "One torn blouse, some scrapes, and bruises versus a nest of dead
shadows. Let's just say they messed with the wrong Ono," Hanaki quickly
explained, then smiled.

     These Tendo women do get headstrong when they fight. "So what do we do now?"

     "Well, there is a way to get the ramjets started, but it's risky. We
don't have any other choice with the Buyierfei on their way. I'll need your help."

     "I'll do whatever I can."

     "Good, let's get you in the co-pilot's seat." She helped me into the seat
and then handed me a checklist. "Go over each item listed and make sure the
screen displays a green condition. If you get a red, stop and wait for me.
Stop at the 'Ignition Primer Power Cycle' item. Don't do that one," she
explained, paused, then finished, "or you'll kill me."

     I grinned at her joke. "Okay. What are you going to do?"

     "I've got to finish rigging the quad-aerodyne ramjets for an air start."

     "I thought you said the primers were shot."

    Hanaki ran her hands over the controls and made some adjustments, then
said, "They are, but if we can get enough air pressure into the manifolds we
can force them to start. We can do that by driving off the top of the mesa."
Then she grabbed a tool bag and left the spacejet.

     I gulped. Drive off the top of the mesa? She was kidding, right? "You're
kidding, right?!" I yelled out.

     "Nope," Hanaki yelled back from outside.

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     I finished the checklist, which was all voice controlled. A monkey could
have done it. Well... a talking monkey. Guess I was the closest one available.

     Hanaki came in, covered with grease and dirt. "They are getting close to
the top. I sent a couple more Moko Takabisha blasts down at them to slow them
down, but we only have a few minutes."

     "The checklist is done. Everything showed green."

     "Good," Hanaki said, then sat down in the pilot's chair. I was amazed at
how deftly she handled the controls. She had a good teacher apparently.

     "You're really going to drive us off the top of the mesa?"

     "Yup, the air flowing into the manifolds should start the ramjets and
hopefully we can pull up in time."

     "Anything I can do?"

     "I'm glad you asked." She smiled, then hit a button next to her control
stick. Another stick rose to my right. "When I tell you, I need you to push
that stick all the way to the front. Hold it until you feel the wheels leave
the mesa, then pull it all the way back."

     I gulped. "Are you sure you want me to do this?"

     "Yes, I'll be busy trying to get the ramjets started and trying to
balance them if they do... once they do."

     "Okay." She was being unusually blunt. She was as scared as I was.

     She referred to my palmcard's map display to make sure we had enough room
to drop once we left the mesa.

     She scanned all the controls once more, then said, "Okay, here we go. I'm
going to shout 'forward' when I want you to push the stick forward." She hit
some switches and I heard some hydraulics from the back of the spacejet. What
I wanted to hear was the engines, but I didn't.

     She pushed her stick forward a bit and we started to move forward,
gaining speed as we headed towards the edge of the mesa.

     I gulped.

     She yelled, "Forward!"

     I pushed my stick full forward as she ran her hands over the controls.
The spacejet was moving extremely fast now. I felt a lurch, which must have
been the wheels leaving the mesa. I pulled my stick back hard. I still heard
no engines.

     "Come on... start already!" Hanaki screamed.

     Whether it was her scream or just chance, the engines whined to life.
Then Hanaki really went into action and adjusted controls in a frenzy of
action. I looked at the canyon floor we were about to hit.

     Hanki screamed, "Let go!!!!"

     I let go of the stick, then saw her trying to pull us out of our dive
with her stick. Just as it appeared that we would hit the floor of the canyon,
the engines strained louder, and we skimmed the bottom of the canyon floor.
Hanaki still wrestled with the stick and adjusted some slider controls.

     "Come on already! Climb!"

     I knew better than to interrupt her. The view out the window showed us
skimming the floor of the canyon, Hanaki moving us back and forth to avoid
tree and rock outcroppings.

     "What am I forgetting?"

     "Landing gear?" I suggested.

     "Damn," Hanaki swore and hit a button. We slowly started to climb, but
not much.

     We shot over the edge of the canyon, just barely missing it. Suddenly, we
were racing across open land. Hanaki wrestled with the controls for several
minutes. I gasped when I saw that we seemed to be headed right for a large
rock formation. "Hanaki!"

     "I see it. She's not handling right..."

     Now I could see than the rock formation had a hole in it. It was an arch.

     "RETRACT WINGS!" Hanaki shouted to the onboard systems.

     I heard some hydraulics come to life, most probably the spacejet's
swept-back wings retracting. Then we shot right through, yes through, the arch.

     "Damn!" Hanaki swore and yanked her stick hard to the left.

     I felt the whole spacejet tilt to the left and then noticed another arch
ahead of us, but it was tall and narrow. Hanaki couldn't be thinking of going
through it at an angle, could she?

     She was and she did.

     "Remind me to thank your flight instructor," I said, gasping for breath.

     "Sure. Can you look back at the engines and see what you can see? I'm
still not getting enough power..."

     I looked out the window towards the back of the spacejet. "Huh? Um..."

     "What is it?"

     "I'm not sure... I thought I saw a person... or something, on the engine
cowling for a second, but there isn't anything there," I said, trying to see
it again.
 
     "Damn, a Buyierfei!" Hanaki snapped. Then she reached over and moved some
thrust controls, causing the engine noise to increase in pitch. Suddenly the
spacejet shook and we started to rise.

     "It's dead," I said, trying not to vomit. As soon as the Buyierfei had
hit the intake manifold it became visible and I saw my first Buyierfei, well
bits of one at least. The engine was still covered by a think black liquid.

     "That was too close," Hanaki said, then zoomed the map display on my
palmcard out. "Let's see... we're headed West, so the best place to head for
is Las Vegas."

     "Shouldn't we just set down near the closest city?"

     "I want someplace with crash facilities. One of the landing gears didn't
retract fully... It may not support another landing."

     "I love you," I felt the urge to say.

     "You're just saying that because I saved your life."

     "You are my life."

     "Remind me to kiss you after I land this flying pile of crap."

     "I will. By the way, your language has gotten very colorful."

     "I guess I'm a potty mouth when I'm under stress."

     "Understandable, under the circumstances."

     "Did you see those tourists scramble when we went through those arches?"
Hanaki asked, now that she had us level and bound for Las Vegas.

     "Yeah, you scared the shit out of them."

     "Now who's the potty mouth?"

                    -C-           -M-           -D-

     After a half-hour, Hanaki had managed to raise someone on the radio and
get a direct flight path into the Las Vegas airport. As we neared the city, we
could see all the tacky casinos in the distance.

     "Hanaki, want to get married?" I asked, coming to a decision. Remembering
our declaration in the desert, I added, "I mean legally?"

     "Yes, silly... I already said yes to you in San Francisco." She gave me
that beautiful smile of hers that just made my legs go numb.

     "No, I mean in Las Vegas after we land. It may be a bit tacky to get
married there, but..."

     Hanki interrupted me by leaning over and giving me a deep kiss. The kiss
had 'yes' written all over it. "My grandmother and aunt will be mad at missing
the wedding."

     "Considering how Akane's weddings went, I'm sure they'll understand if we
want to avoid anything else getting in our way."

     "Then, of course, I'll marry you as soon as we get your leg fixed up,"
Hanaki said with a big grin on her face.

     I smiled back. Suddenly, the cabin erupted in a torrent of wind. I looked
back and saw that the cabin door had been ripped out of the hull, along with a
large section of the hull. "Shit."

     Hanaki held the control stick tightly and then followed my gaze. In the
opening where the door used to be, there stood a figure. It was hard to make
out clearly, but what you could see was covered with a black oily substance.
Normally you can't see them directly, but when they bled you can see the black
blood as it flowed across their bodies.

      "Buyierfei," both of us said at the same time.    

FFML DRAFT
PLEASE DO NOT REDISTRIBUTE

[End - Chapter 10]

Coming soon: Chapter 11: Battle for the Amazon Way
=======================================================================

The real author's (Jim Lazar) notes/ramblings:

How about that? Two cliffhangers for the price of one. Then again, this didn't
cost you anything. I'll send Nabiki around to collect.

Shame on anyone who thought I'd go though the trouble of splitting Ranma into
three people and then sacrificing them in the monolith. As for the Ranma on
the cliff top from chapter 8, you'll have to wait a little longer to find out
more about what he/she/it is.

Akane's therapy session was mostly common sense mixed with watching some old
Bob Newheart and Fraiser shows. I'm not a psychiatrist, although some people
have said I could use therapy. I doubt she'd have been able to come through
this sane without some professional help. The fact that she had been seeing
Doctor Higawa since the failed manga wedding, also helps explain why she
started to control her anger and accept Ranma's girl side. Although I didn't
have her therapy sessions in mind from the very start, by the time I was
writing chapter 3 it became obvious to me that she had to be receiving help.
She just never mentioned it to James.

Akane's 'Aikizuna Mokoutsu' technique is translated as follows: AI=love,
KIZUNA=bond (tie between people), MOKO=ferocious tiger, UTSU=strike. Utsu can
also mean to touch the heart, so it works for both the attack and the tribute
use of the Aikizuna Mokoutsu.

If anyone thinks that Nodoka would be more upset at Ranma and Akane having a
little premarital fun, then I have to refer you to volume 34, part 8 of the
manga. In it, Nodoka comments that since Ranma and Akane are engaged they can
do anything they want and it's okay with her.

Although, modern ramjets require you to be moving at mach one to work, the
quad-aerodyne ramjets in use in 2057 use a combination jet engine that allow
for slower speeds as well as super sonic speeds. Ain't 21st century technology great?

The arches described actually exist in Arches National Park in Utah. Onsite
research for a fanfic, am I dedicated or what? And I swear I wrote the arch
scene before seeing the trailer for the new Star Wars movie (which has some
landspeeders zooming through arches). My arch scene was actually written back
in June of 1998 in Arches National Park.

I'd like to thank my pre-readers Jonathan Ng, Arnold Callwood, and David
Johnson for helping me find and fix problems with this story. C&C given from
FFML members xxx and xxx was also helpful in fine tuning this story. Thank you
all. Of course in the end, any mistakes and botched characters are my fault.


Revision 0.0 - Rough draft (July 22,  1998)
Revision 0.2 - Pre-reader draft (November 27, 1998)
Revision 0.3 - FFML draft (December 30, 1998)