I died and fell off the face of the earth.

Well, actually, I've been very busy with my job, whose description now 
includes the term 'Web Designer'. As a result, my writing has suffered. 
When faced with the tradeoff of write or eat however, I had to make the 
right choice, and try to overwork myself and do both.

Really, I have found more time to write lately. 'Ranma's Apartment' #4 is 
coming along hideously slowly. 'Chaos and Destiny' is kinda in a holding 
pattern. 'Sailor Moon: Reversal' is circling the airfield as well.

What I have been working on is what I've been having the most fun with:

Namely, 'THE CLAN'. For those of you who don't remember, (Or weren't 
subscribed to the list at the time of my last posting...) It's a vampire 
story featuring our favorite cast of Neriman Martial Artists.

It's also rapidly approacing 300k.

The story will, of course, be going out to my usual prereaders, Dave Eddy 
and Bob Barnes. I did have a list of other people who liked to preread my 
stories, but in the months since I've posted, I've lost it.

If you would like to pre-read upcoming chapters of 'THE CLAN', please 
respond to this mail PRIVATELY. Don't respond if you don't like at least 
some lemony material, as 'THE CLAN' gets pretty citrusy in places.

Once Chapter 15 is in any kind of shape, I'll mail the whole shebang to you 
for feedback and proofing, cause I'm planning on posting the whole shooting 
match pretty durn quick...

And now, just to whet your whistles, a teaser:

* * *

	Ukyou sent a spray of spatulas at the creature. She had no clue as to what 
it was, but only knew that it smelled horrible. Konatsu, following his 
love's lead, let lose with a handful of shuriken.

	Three spatulas and four shuriken hit the monster in various places. What 
was really terrifying was that it didn't slow the thing down an inch.

	"Ukyou--" Nabiki's voice breathed from behind her.

	Konatsu was thrown back as he attacked the beast. Ukyou never saw the blow.

	"You're a virgin, right?" Nabiki asked as Ukyou readied her battle spatula.

	Ukyou nodded, taking a few practice swings in the monster's direction. Out 
of the corner of her eye she could see that Nodoka had bared her katana and 
the blonde woman was standing over Shampoo's limp body with a celtic 
broadsword. A low chanting seemed to fill the clearing.

	"So?" she asked, tensing to lunge in at the monster.

	"That thing eats virgins for breakfast," Nabiki informed her. For the 
first time, Ukyou realized that she could not actually see the girl. 
Undaunted, she pressed her attack.

	The creature was quite naked, but Ukyou had no illusions that it was in 
anyway human. It's hands and feet were distended into claws and what organs 
would grace a normal man were grossly swollen and horn-like.

	It was some kind of demon, Ukyou thought, as she took her first swing. The 
monster dodged under the swing with apparently no effort and--

	"GET AWAY FROM IT, UKYOU!!!" Kasumi yelled in terror.

	The monster tore the spatula out of her hands and grabbed her around the 
throat in one motion. With a second swipe, it dug it's claws into the 
jacket of her school uniform, and ripped it away from her. Ukyou screamed 
in pain as the fabric tore around her arms. The monster tightened it's grip 
on her throat and dug it's claws into her chest bindings. She could feel 
them dig into her skin slightly.

	*THUMP*

	And Ukyou was lying on the ground, dazed. Her hands went to cover her bare 
chest, but as she turned, she could see Ranma standing over her.

	The beast was pinned to the ground. Ranma had driven a branch through its 
chest.

	Still, the monster was scrabbling at the branch.

	"Does it feel no pain?" She wondered hazily, her head beginning to spin.

	"Damnitt, Ukyou! I told you to stay put!" Ranma scolded as he picked up 
another branch and drove it through the monster at waist level. A third 
went through it just between the legs. He seemed to be taking special care 
to try to destroy its monstrous genetalia.
	
	The monster screamed out in inhuman rage, rather than agony.

	Dazed, terrified, and feeling mortal for the first time, Ukyou scrambled 
away from the monster.

	"Do what you gotta," Ranma addressed his mother.

	Nodoka nodded, and pulled a wicked looking butcher knife out of her 
kimono. She laid it next to the monster, and began chanting.

	Ukyou's vision was hazy, and she was trying to keep from passing out, but 
she could swear that Nabiki *appeared* next to her and took up the same 
chant. Behind her, she could hear Kasumi's voice begin to chant as well, at 
a slightly different tempo. The blonde woman began chanting in a strange 
language.

	Suprisingly, Nodoka and Nabiki made no move to back away as the monster 
picked up the knife. Instead, they intensified their chanting.

	Just before she passed out, she saw another figure drop from the trees. 
Ukyou couldn't make out her features, as the blackness began to creep in 
around the corners of her vision. She could hear the girl begin chanting as 
well. The voice was so familiar... It was almost as if she could understand 
what was being said if only she could concentrate hard enough.

	The last thing she saw was the monster driving the knife down... down into 
its own belly.


- - -


* * *
Chris Jones - guilty@arn.net
The Ranma 1/2 Gallery - http://cyberwheel.simplenet.com/ranma

It's 1999. Do you know what your children are?