All glories and praises to Takashi-sama!
May she ignore this lowly speck and not use her power of 
attorney against him!
    Translation: Please don't sue me. All the known characters
here belong to Rumiko Takashi. Most of the unknowns probably
do too.

  "How dare you Saotome!" 
  "Oh great. What is it now P-Chan?" Just another lunch
 at Furinkan High...
  "STOP CALLING ME P-CHAN!!"
  Ranma sidestepped Ryoga's kick and blocked the following
 punch. Casually, he asks again.
  "So what blew ya up this time Ryoga?"
  "Akane spent a full day on that lunch! How DARE you not
 eat it!"
  "Hey, when something starts quoting Shakespeare and waving
a toothpick at me, I don't eat it P-Chan."
  "I SAID STOP CALLING ME THAT!!!" Ryoga jabs at the
ground, using the breaking point to send shards of pavement flying
at Ranma. Ranma jumps over Ryoga and looks at the school.
  "Yo, Ryoga. Did you hear that?"
  Ryoga stops in mid-punch, his face shocked. "No... not 
 here. There's no way that could've been." The sound bursts
 out again. "gunfire..." Without another word, Ryoga runs 
 to the building.
  "Ryoga! Wait! You're gonna get lost again!" Ranma runs 
 after Ryoga.
  Inside, Furinkan is a mess. Students running every way, 
trying to find any exit. Some leaping through windows and
doing  very high dives to the pool. A few teachers are
trying to control the panic and get everyone out. Of course 
there are those who try to stop the delinquents.
    "Put down the guns now, delinquents! Don't make me use this!"
Hinako raises the 5 yen piece and begins to glow. One of the 
gunmen glares at her. 
  "Even if you did, what would it matter to me? I've got nothing
left." He raises his pistol and shoots her. It's a bad shot, not
really much more than a nick in the arm, but he shoots again. And
again, and again, until she is very dead.
  The other two never even looked in her direction, instead
casually picking off students and teachers like targets in
a shooting gallery.
  Eventually, they reach the third floor. Two of them, a girl
with black hair and an exhausted look and a boy with a defeated
expression look to the third, a scrawny boy with a hollow 
appearance and pale face. 
  "What do we do now?" whispers the girl.
 The defeated looking boy looks at her. "What do you think
Mishka? We lose. The police are sure to be here soon and then
we're trapped up here."
  "We could run for it," says the pale faced boy, his eyes 
dancing nervously.
  "And go where? Besides, it's not like any of us can outrun a
police car."
  "Then what do we do?"
   The tired boy sighs and looks at the other two. Even in his
last hour, it seemed, he would have to lead. Surrender came 
immediately to his mind, but was pushed aside. He had lain low
for the lion long enough. This mouse would go down fighting. 
That left one other option... "Start gathering hostages. We
can try to stall for an escape," he stopped and thought for
a moment, then continued, "Take them and meet me at room 302.
we can dive for the pool if we get stormed."
  The other two nod then run off in different directions. The
leader goes back down to the first floor. He makes a beeline 
for the Kendo Club's training area, namely the gym. He walks
in, and as he expected, there's Kuno, rallying the troops.
  He shoots a few rounds into the air. Immediately the Kendoists
face him. "You," he points the gun at Kuno, "come with me."
   Kuno glares at him. "Impudent Brigand! You dare think that
I Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High-" Kuno is 
cut short by a gunshot. One of the Kendoists falls over
clutching his arm.
  "Shut up. Either you come, or they die."
  "The Blue Thunder of Furinkan High-" another gunshot. Another
wounded Kendoist. Kuno brings out his sword and raises it high.
"Attack the Brigand!" Before any one can, the boy shoots
Kuno's bokken in two, leaving Kuno holding a broken stick.
  "Last chance. Then I shoot everyone here." Kuno silently walks
to the gunman. No one makes any attempt to stop him.
  The two leave in silence, save for the groans of the two wounded
Kendoists.

 [Or maybe...]

  I look and see a sign that I've seen only a few times before.
Furinkan High School. Where I found Ranma, where I fought that
coward who destroyed my life, and where I first saw Akane. 
 Oh Akane. What Gods cursed us both, you to have been ensnared
in a betrothal to Saotome, and I to be unable to speak my love
of you. I look away from the sign and see her. My heart threatens
to explode from the joy. Then I see the tears.
  "Akane? What's wrong?" 
  "Ranma, why couldn't you at least try to taste it?" she looks at
me as though just realizing that I was here. She sniffles, before
greeting me. "Hi, Ryoga. What did you say?" 
  I run from her, anger and disgust for Saotome burning through my
mind. How DARE he! How COULD he! Akane's food is like Manna from 
heaven! He will PAY!
  Somehow, when ever my anger gets the best of me, my sense of
direction is vastly improved. I see Saotome and run at him screaming,
"HOW DARE YOU SAOTOME!"
  He dodges my kick, and sidesteps my punch before saying in that 
maddening tone of his, "Oh great. What did I do now P-Chan?"
 My anger just shoots up. For a moment, all I see is red. "STOP
CALLING ME P-CHAN!!!" I attack again. Very sloppy, even through
my rage I can tell. Sometimes, I wonder if this is a technique
of Ranma's.
  He dodges effortlessly, then repeats his question. "So what blew ya
up this time Ryoga?"
  I swing with my umbrella while shouting, "Akane spent a full day on
that lunch! How dare you not eat it!" At least, I think it was a full
day. 
  He makes a sick face. "Hey, when something starts quoting 
Shakespeare and waving a toothpick at me, I don't eat it, P-Chan."
And of course, I see red again.
  "I SAID STOP CALLING ME THAT!!!" This time, the hallucination is
more pronounced. Ranma seems to be all around, taunting me from every
side. I scream bloody murder and jab at the ground, unconsciously using
the breaking point. Oddly enough, it seems to work. Then a sound that
I have heard often before breaks my rage. I find that I'm in mid-swing
at Saotome, but this stops me like a... well, like nothing has.
   A gunshot. Here, in Japan. In Nermia. In Furinkan High. One thought 
immediately grabs my attention. AKANE IS HERE! I take off in what I hope
is the direction I came from, trying to get to Akane, to keep her from
harm.
  Behind me I hear Ranma shout that I'll get lost, but I don't care. If
I can find Akane, and get her to safety, then I can end up in the 
Bermuda Triangle again. Just as long as she's safe.
  I stop and look at my surroundings. Walls? Students? Teachers? Akane
wasn't... "rrrRAGH!" I punch a locker, leaving a rather large hole 
where it used to be. Fine. The gunshots seemed to be coming from
inside the school, anyway. So I just find the shooters, beat them,
and take them to jail. A little voice then pipes up, then Akane will
be proud of you and Ranma will have to admit that you're the better 
man for her and... I push it away. Focus. Heroics first, good stuff 
later. 
  I feel an arm on my shoulder, and hear Ranma's voice. 
  "Ryoga," he says, "I know that you're still mad about Akane's lunch,
but this is more important. Some students have guns here and are
shootin' everything they see! I need your help to stop 'em."
  Visions of that utopia I just saw shatter like glass. I want to
say; No Ranma. I'll handle this. You go run away. Or even; Make 
sure Akane is safe Saotome. And then go run off in search of the bad 
guys. But I need his help. With out him to help me, I'll probably get
lost in the bathroom again. Okay, so I adjust my plan slightly. Ranma
will lead me to the shooters, and then I save his life and get Akane.
Yeah. That'll work. Then I remember Kirin.
  I look Ranma in the eye, say, "Fine, Ranma." and think, you'd better
not use me as a springboard again, Ranma...
  He smiles. Funny how that makes his eyes seem smaller. I turn away 
and grab a student. "Where are they?"
  He takes the hint and points down the hall. I set him down and run
after Saotome. How like him to try and take all the credit. Well not
this time!
  As we reach the corner, we turn to see a small girl in a yellow 
dress. Ranma kneels down next to her, checks her pulse and closes
her eyes. I clench my fists. How could someone do this! They would
pay!
  Saotome looks up toward the stairs and runs up to them. The second
I hear the next rounds go off I know why, they're up a floor. I 
race after him. Damn you Ranma! You won't keep me from my dreams
this time!
  We run up the stairs as hordes of students come running down them.
I loose sight of Ranma. I eventually push my way up to the third
floor. Damn you Ranma! Where are you? I need you so I can get
Akane!
  I look up at a door sign. 310. Remember, the stairs are in front
of Room 310. I look around. Now, where is Ranma? Damn! No gunshots
means I can't find the shooters! And if I can't find the shooters...
Suddenly I feel like breaking something. Instead, I run around the
floor trying to find anyone. I end up running into Ranma, some girl
with a Spatula... Ukyou?, and Akane!
  I begin to yell at Ranma for bringing Akane here to, most likely 
keep me from succeeding in some way, but then I hear him say, "Akane,
I still think you should go back down. Let Ryoga, Uk-chan and me 
handle it."
  "No way, Ranma! I'm a martial artist too. I'm not going to stand 
on the sidelines while you do all the work. It's my duty to help
others!"
  "Akane, I agree with Ranma," Who said that? Me? How did 
that happen? "All the martial arts in the world won't stop a bullet
and I'd hate to-" she cuts me off.
  "No. I'm staying to help and that's final." she looks at us with
that look that says 'I don't care. I'm going to do it.' Even Ranma
isn't dumb enough to argue with THAT look.
  We hear gunshots from a room in the southeast side. Quickly,
we run to it. We hear voices from room 302, and quietly sneak in.
I'm amazed Ukyou can move so quietly with all those spatulas. The
three shooters have seven hostages. One I recognize as Tatwaki 
Kuno, who's crazy even for Nermia. Then there's one of Ranma's
friends, some nutcase in a Hawaiian shirt, a girl I've seen Akane 
talk to a lot, and three others  I don't recognize.
  Our plan is simple. Get to the gunmen, get their guns away from them
and throw them to the police. We split up, to surround them. Then
one of the gunmen, actually a gunwomen, begins to turn. Akane is nearly
in her sight! A hostage sees this and acts before I can. He finishes
a sentence for them. Quickly all three turn to face him and nearly 
jump out of their pants. Ukyou is right behind the hostage.
  Almost immediately they begin to fire. Then the gas canisters fly in
and release the blinding gas. This fight would've been over a lot 
quicker if the police had waited. I shove a few people out the window
and into the pool below. I don't know if they have guns or not, but 
it cleared out the room a bit. 
  A new sound is heard. A hissing, like a snake or... a gas pipe!
Four more people are out. I hear gunshots again, and the gas 
lights. A great force, like a giant flaming hand punches me out
the window. I sail over the pool and into the tree. It's branches
claw at me as though the thing was alive and wanted me dead.
  Then I hit the ground. Oddly enough, there is no pain... 
only... I'm so tired...

----------

    Wow. Look, a line. How original.
    As I promised, Lost has returned, although changed a bit.
Seeing as how I now have absolutely no time, the next chapter
should be out in, oh... say, August? If I work really hard...
    For those of you who are wondering just why I posted
two versions of the same fic, the reason is because I simply
don't know which is better. If you enjoyed this, please tell 
me which one you preferred. And, if not... well, I'd like 
it if you'd tell me why, but since no one has yet...
    For any MSTers out there, please, PLEASE send me a
copy of you guys MSTing this! I love it when people poke
fun at my work! It makes my job so much easier knowing 
that SOMEONE read it...
    Finally, I'd like to thank my few but very skilled prereaders,
who have helped me to actually make this story approach decent.
    Thanks for reading, and I apologize for offending anyone.
    Kama-sama knows I did last time...
        Lone Wolf
        latin_wolf@hotmail.com