Author's Note:  I am officially dropping all works that I previously
began, aside from those listed here: Eugenics, How to Love Another,
Being A Child, The Dawn Before Night, and The One Word Series (for fun).
These are the only fanfics I will be working on, plus the one to be
started here.  I think that is fair to myself and anyone awaiting
continuations.  If and when I make a page, I will most likely post
everything else I ever began in a bin for anyone to take... if anyone
out there has a request at this time, I'd like to hear it.  I have
started way too many fics, and have had no success in completing any one
of them.  I'm aware that many people out there have most likely chose to
ignore me due to this fact.  Well, I'm turing over a new leaf, so to
speak, and forcing myself to stick with a set of fics until their
completion.  I picked the ones I did due to a mix of popularity and how
much I enjoy writing them.  
Thanks, and I hope you enjoy this new piece.

Warning: Darkfic Ahead
PM Productions Presents
A Phillip Masters Fanfic
A Key to the Soul
Chapter One: Future Tidings

     Normally, when I see someone walking down the street, I see their
chi.  It's not particularly interesting in most cases, it just comes
with being a martial artist.  After so many years of studying that which
life draws its energy from, within and without, one gains a special eye
for it.  Feeling the "aura" of an opponent means the difference between
winning an losing.  Those who are masters hide it well, those who are
novices strive to achive what their greaters can do.  
     I was once that way, cocky and arrogant, my mind only on improving.
Getting better and better at the Art, for a reason that, at the time, I
never even questioned.  After over a decade of practice, fighting, and
trying to become the best there ever was, it happened.  I suddenly found
myself with a reason, a reason to succeed.  Some might have said I had
finally come to terms with myself... with what I truly am.  Perhaps,
perhaps not... all that mattered was that I protected *her*.  
     She was a kindred spirit, and it seemed destiny that we come
together.  From her firey compassion, to her uncomparable wrath, she was
a reflection of myself.  Our chi resonated, and from that came a love
that could only be described as transcendental.  It was a love so deep
that neither of us needed to vocalize it in the two short years that we
were together.  Two years, that we spent making the best out of life
that we could possibly manage.  
     It wasn't long enough.  Eternity wouldn't have been long enough.
She was ripped from my clawing grasp as quickly as she had been placed
there.  The true irony of the tale lies in the fact that both times it
was the fault of our parents.  Though hers could claim innocense as
usual, for as in most cases, it was my father's idea to begin with.  My
old man never was the brightest person, but he could be the most
coniving son of a bitch the world had to offer when he put his mind to
it.  
     He once threw me, his only son, into a pit of starved cats wrapped
in fish sausage.  I was too young to understand why, he just said it was
for the Art, and that's all I needed to know.  However, I digress, as
his past actions are not the concern here... what he did that day is.
     
o--`-`-   o--`-`-   o--`-`-   o--`-`-

     "Tendou!  Today is the day!" Genma cried, slapping his old friend
on the back.
     Soun nodded, his long dark hair flapping slightly.  "Yes, Saotome,
our families will finally be united once and for all!"  
     Genma held up a parchment which had ancient Japanese inscribed upon
it.  The words were dark and graphically descriptive of a time once
thought legend.  Of demonic wars, and the burning of flesh.  One would
have not thought the mood jovial when reading the text.  "This old scrap
of paper is going to change our lives!" Genma laughed.
     "How exactly?" came a voice form behind them both.
     The men did a good impression of deer caught in headlights before
Soun coughed and turned to his middle daughter, Nabiki.  "Well, that is
something between Genma and I.  You need not concern yourself about it."
     Maintaing her usual calm demeanor, Nabiki simply shrugged.  She
knew she would find out what was going on sooner or later.  Most likely,
sooner than later, given the rather volitile nature of Nerima.  When it
did finally hit the fan, she was certain to rake in the dough per usual.
She sat herself down at the table to await lunch.
     Bickering announced the arrival of the two the father's were trying
to get together.  Ranma and Akane entered the room in the middle of a
fight which had apparently begun due to Ranma's mistreatment of P-chan,
Akane's oh-so-cute pet piglet.  It was a regular source of contention
between the two, and no one thought anything of it.  Though, if one were
paying attention, one could see a pair of grins sprout up on the faces
of the two fathers.  
     "Boy," Genma bellowed, in order to hide his sudden amusement, "you
shouldn't argue with your future wife!"  
     "Shut up, Oyaji!" Ranma shot back without a hitch.
     "Don't ignore me when I'm yelling at you!" Akane screamed.
     "Uncute tomboys can wait!" Ranma retorted, his eyes never leaving
her for an instant.  
     "I swear," Nabiki commented, "you two argue like that because you
like staring at each other for extended periods, and feel you need an
excuse to do so."
     The fight stopped dead, as if someone had just smacked both
antagonists.  Bright blushes came to life upon their cheeks.  Finding a
new enemy in their midsts, they quickly pooled their strength and turned
to counter the new foe.  "We do not!" they denied simultaneously.
     Nabiki just nodded in response, though she wore a very knowing
look.  
     Kasumi came in at that moment, as if cued, with lunch on a tray.
She laid the food on the table and sat down herself, quickly moving her
person away from ground zero.
     Almost all at once the platters were attacked.  Food made its way
around the table at a frightening speed.  
     "Damn it, Ranma!  Slow down, it isn't going run off on you!" Akane
yelled as she was almost floored by the rice bowl.  
     "If I don't get to it now, Oyaji'll eat all of it first!" he
protested while quickly snatching the plate of pot stickers from his
father's now greasy fingers.
     "Show some respect, Boy!" Genma said, then made from Ranma's pickle
with a well placed chop stick technique.  He frowned as he was paried by
his son's with little effort.
     After the initial attack died down, those who had sat patiently
throughout began to serve themselves with what was left.  Fortunately,
long ago Kasumi had learned that much food was required for everyone in
her household to eat properly.  Though she didn't particularly approve
of her guest's eating habits, she put up with it, as neither father nor
Nabiki seemed to care much... and Akane seemed to even enjoy it from
time to time.  She sighed and lowered her own chopsticks.  They clinked
against her plate, and she blinked in confusion.  Staring at the spot,
she was sure there had been a pickle there a few moments ago.  
     "So, what are you two doing today?" Soun asked, trying to bring
some semblance of order to his dining area.  
     Akane glanced up from her plate, which seemed a blur of chopsticks.
Then, she winced as she heard Ranma's cry of victory and a pot sticker
forever vanished from her meal.  Suddenly irate, she replied, "Me...
doing something with him?"  She glared at the content Ranma sitting
beside her, and for the briefest instant her gaze softened.  When she
turned back to her father, one would have never guessed.  "You must be
joking!"
     This caught Ranma's attention.  "Hey!  I thought.... ooof!"
     Pulling her elbow back, Akane plastered a fake smile onto her face.
"*I* am going out with my friends... I don't care what he does."
     When lunch was finally over, and the battlefield had been cleared
of debris, everyone scattered to the seven winds.  Nabiki headed for her
room, and Kasumi began to do the dishes.  Ranma and Akane left together,
doing their best to make themselves look utterly disinterested in one
another.  
     Genma and Soun, for their part, made their way ninja-like to a
place where they figured no one would bother them.  This ended up being
Soun's bedroom, for lack of a better place.  
     Genma pulled the parchment from his Gi and spread it out on Soun's
futon, which they were sitting upon.  "This time, I made sure there was
nothing that could go wrong, Tendou.  I read the script five times, and
I'm sure this is our answer."
     "What does it do?" Soun asked, rather curious as to what his old
friend had up his baggy sleeves this time.  
     "It calls upon a spirit of love to forever join together two
hearts." Genma explained.  "All we have to do is recite the passage I
circled."
     "It doesn't sound like something that would bring love, Saotome...
are you sure about this?" he returned sceptically.
     "Of course, I'm sure, Tendou!  I told you, I read it five times!
Here, just help me read this passage, and it'll all be over."  He
pointed at a section of kanji circled in red ink.  
     Soun began to read outloud.  Genma joined him, "Please, oh Great
Overlord, come to light upon earth with your majesty.  We, your ignorant
disciples beg of you, and call to you to bring your unmatched power to
our aid."  Soun cut off, being unable to understand the rest of the
passage.  "Um, Saotome...?"
     Genma had continued, seemingly possessed as the uninteligable words
streamed from him with ease.  In but a few seconds he was done, and the
light seemed to come back to his eyes.  
     "Are you okay, Saotome?" Soun asked after a moment of silence
passed between them.
     Genma nodded slowly.  "I'm not sure what happened there for a
minute... I guess reading it so many times helped me do it better."
     "You're not joking... I couldn't...." Sound suddenly stopped as a
light rumbling began in the floor below them.  "Wha...?"
     "About time," Genma commented, seemingly relieved, "I was worried
it wasn't going to work!"
     Soun just nodded in response, though he still wasn't sure about the
whole business.  The rumbling was getting stronger.  "Perhaps we
should...."
     Once again, Soun was never able to complete his sentence.  Though
this time, he was cut off forever.  The floor exploded upward in a
fountain of splintered wood.  Both men were almost instantly torn to
shreds.  The ceiling was lined with wood shards, bone, and flesh.  A
sudden bright light was cast from below upon the morose mosaic, and a
ball of pure white energy arose from the ground.  It stopped, hovering
for a few moments as if to gain its bearings.
     Nabiki, having heard the noise, ran toward her father's room and
threw the door open.  Kasumi was only moments behind.  Both girls froze
at the sight which greeted them.  They were mesmerized by the light,
which seemed to pulsate like a slowly beating heart.  
     Then, Nabiki's gaze went upward, and she gasped.  Kasumi followed
suit, and had to move to one side of the doorway to throw up.  
     A soft, soothing voice came from the light.  "Welcome to my
presence, young ones.  I appologize for my entrance, but those who
summon me must be destroyed."
     Nabiki, though shock still tried desperately to grasp her, managed
to croak out, "Why?"
     "Tradition," the light replied, then began to move toward the
doorway.  "No need to damage any more of the structure.  Kindly move, or
a similar fate that greeted the summoners will be met by you."  
     Nabiki pushed Kasumi out of the way and removed herself from the
doorway.  She was finding it increasingly difficult to breath, and her
thoughts seemed a simple jumble of chaos.  "Why?" she asked again,
almost a whisper this time.
     Ranma and Akane ran into the hallway.  "What the hell was that
explosion?" Ranma yelled.
     They both stopped dead, as they watched the intense light float out
of Soun's room.  Nabiki was just standing there, staring at it as though
she were hypnotized.  "Nabiki!" Akane screamed, "Get away from that
thing!"  
     She began to turn around, only to be engulfed by light.  They could
still see Kasumi cowering on the other side of the phenomenon, shaking
and frightened.  
     "I told her to remove herself from my path," the ball said casually
as it continued toward the end of the hall.  "I am getting tired of
repeating myself, but I will say this one more time... please move from
my path."  
     Ranma blinked, the thing had just killed Nabiki.  Just like that...
without any preamble or warning.  She was there... then she was gone.
He felt his blood begin to boil.  "What the hell are you?!" he bellowed
at the light.  
     The ball stopped.  "Ah, someone who wishes knowledge... a wonderous
endeavor.  Very well, I shall answer.  I am all things past, and all
things future.  I am something dreamed about, but rarely remembered.  I
am the spark that began it all."
     "Are you God?" Akane asked, finding herself clinging to Ranma's
arm.  Tears steamed from her eyes, burning a trail down her cheeks.
     "God?" the ball said, as if rolling it around.  "I haven't been
called that in quite a time... I suppose that would be a good definition
of me, though that is not my name.  I am what you might call Evil...
Apathy... your language is very wonderful, you know that?"  
     "What do you want with us?" Ranma continued.  He couldn't think of
a way to attack the creature, so he would have to keep it occupied until
he figured something out.
     "Want with you?  I want nothing with you... I was summoned here.  I
was rather hoping you might have a request of me."
     "Bring my sister back, you son of a bitch!" Akane screamed.
     "Such words from one so innocent," the ball said almost humorously.
"I gave her ample warning to remove herself from my way, and yet she
stayed there.  I'm afraid I have no remorse, and no pity for those who
are ignorant.  Make a relevant request, please."
     "Die!" Akane spat.
     "I'm afraid I cannot do that... and I'm afraid your attitude cannot
be forgiven."  The ball brightened for a brief moment, and Akane fell
lifelessly to the floor.
     Ranma looked down at Akane's prone form, the look of hatred still
etched on her face.  He kneeled down and shook her slightly, though he
knew already that she would not respond.  His battle aura flared into
existance, scorching the walls around him.  
     "Oh, I see you have some power within you," the light commented.
"Have I angered you?  I am sorry for that, but I simply could not
forgive her ignorance."  
     "Ignorance!" Ranma yelled, standing up and facing the monster.
"Ignorance?!"  He could feel his teeth grinding in his mouth, and the
hatred filled him completely.  "Kasumi!" he commanded, "Leave!"
     Though she was still deeply in shock, the order was given in such a
tone that could not be ignored.  Kasumi slowly pulled herself up and ran
for the nearest window, which she opened and scrambled out of.
Fortunately, they were on the first floor, because that was most likely
not considered before hand.  
     "What is this?  Do you wish to fight me?  How do you suppose you're
going to do that?" the light asked with what seemed to be a chuckle.
     Ranma was barely visible as the blue light surrounding him
intensified.  The walls around him began to buckle under the forces
being put upon them.  "I'm not going to fight you," Ranma answered
calmly, "I'm going to destroy you."
     Kasumi was running down the street, when a flash more powerful than
anything she had ever experienced came from behind her.  She was then
thrown into the air by a shockwave, and tossed down the block.  She
landed with a crunch as both her arms snapped under the pressure.
Managing to roll over onto her back, she concentrated on inhaling and
exhaling.  She knew that if she lost consciousness she would most likely
never regain it.  Out of the bottom corner of her eyes she could see a
pillar of smoke where she knew the Tendou Dojo once stood.  The thought
that her entire family was now gone began to make her think joining them
would be best.  Her eyelids began to close for the last time.  
     At the last second, something stopped her.  The feeling of arms
being placed under her neck and legs.  Her arms were crossed over her
chest, and fortunately she could no longer feel the pain from them.  She
forced her eyes to reopen.  There, holding her to his chest, was Ranma.
His shirt was gone, and his face was covered in blisters.  Patches of
his hair were burned away, leaving only charred flesh underneath.  In
short, he looked worse off than she did herself.  "You made it," she
said softly, though talking did hurt.
     He neither looked down nor replied, he simply began to walk, and
didn't stop until reaching Dr. Tofu's office.

o--`-`-   o--`-`-   o--`-`-   o--`-`-

     It's been five years since it happened.  I'm almost twenty-four
now, and my life has yet to begin again.  I left after leaving Kasumi
with Ono, his frantic questions dying before they could reach my ears.
I left Nerima, I left Tokyo, and finally, I left Japan.  I did not know
where to go, or what to do... I think I was in a state of waking death.
I responded to being talked to as a robot might, dispondant and
uncaring.  
     America took me in, with its flashy cars and loud people.  In order
to not go insane I focuse on my Art... the one true contant in my life.
As long as I had it, nothing could truly hurt me.  As long as I
concentrated on it, I didn't have to remember.  Time went by... and,
perhaps ironically, I became a sensei at a downtown Los Angeles Kempo
Acadamy.  At first they were wary of my style, never having seen it
before.  They soon embraced it though, as they saw its advantages and
mystery.  
     I took up at a nearby apartment complex, and spent the next few
years paying rent regularly and working on the Art.  Nothing happened,
and I liked it that way.  It was quiet, soothing, and what some might
call boring.  I reveled in the utter stagnancy of my life.
     That was to be my future, or so I thought.  I was content, and
quite possibly I was actually gaining new friends... though at the time
I didn't care.  My students and fellow teachers liked me, even if I was
usually hard on them.  My compassion was somewhat lacking, and it
translated to my teaching style.  However, I was the best they had ever
seen, and that was worth more than anything to them.  
     I was walking down the street one day, just having finished with a
class.  It was my advanced course, and the students were coming along
nicely.  That day had only seen two broken bones, and one busted lip...
a good count, and nothing serious.  
     The people passing me by were numerous.  Downtown LA was full of
people of all shapes and sizes.  It was glorious, that feeling of never
really being alone.  Who could possibly feel that way in this sea of
humanity?  The many meriad colors of chi flowed from everyone around me.
They merged and flashed, like a convection of air currents on the
weather man's computer generated map.
     Sometimes I like to watch this flowing of energies.  It's calming
to see all the life around me from a first hand perspective.  I could
dampen it out, of course, but that would leave the world dull and
artless.  
     That's when I saw it coming toward me.  A bubble, an empty space,
pushing its way forcefully through the mass of chi.  It seemed to be
absorbing the very life around it, though at such a slow rate no one
would even feel drowsy due to its passing.  As I saw there was no clear
and present danger, I pressed forward to see what the phenomenon was.
Brief flashes of the light came to mind, but I banished them without a
second thought.  It was gone, in the past.
     When I finally came to what I saw to be the cause of the
disturbance, my jaw fell.  It was a woman.  She was shorter than I am,
with brow hair growing down her back and gray eyes that pierced the
soul.  Her skin seemed slightly pale, though it was obvious that she was
Japanese.  My gaze came back to her eyes, they were deep and enchanting.
I recognized them, however... they were a reflection of my own.
     She stopped in front of me, as I barred her path, and stared up
into my face with those eyes.  The people continued on around us,
ignoring the obstruction we presented as though we weren't even there.
We stood, staring at one another, in the bubble she formed.
     "Hello," I greeted, in English.  Just because she looked Japanese
didn't mean she knew the language after all.  
     "Hi," she returned.  Her face was unreadable, as I knew mine must
be.
     "What's your name?"  I found myself intrigued by this girl, in the
middle of LA, with what seemed to be a strange ability to reverse chi.  
     "Mima," she answered, "Tokiko Mima."
     I extended a hand to her.  "My name's Ranma, pleased to meet you,
Tokiko."
     "Please, call me Key," she replied, a small smile beginning to form
on her lips.  
     
     Looking back, I can truly say this is when my life started anew.

END Chapter One
Please send comments, it took me a little while to finish this.  This is
the setup... the real story will start in Chapter Two... I may make this
the Prologue in revision, but for now it shall remain One.  I know most
people have seen Ranma, not as many have watched Key to its conclusion.
This will have spoilers for the show, but it is not necessary to watch
the entire show to understand this story.                  

"I'm only holding back the rain.  So many raindrops, so many pains.  I
want to find my train someday.  As seasons go past the station." - Tokyo
Babylon OVA 1
/ E-mail: PhilMasters@webtv.net /
"...has anyone ever used something alive for a coat of arms?" - The
Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea (Mishima Yukio, 1965) / 
"You see, what you call a cat, we use as armor." - Rune (El-Hazard,
1994)