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Generation Lost

A R.5 alt by Josh Temple
"And so it begins."
	 Babylon 5, Season 5 Intro.

note: in terms of the manga this starts before volume 22 when Ranma has 
never seen his mother, but because it is and alt fic events past events
will 
not follow the cannon precisely.

You know the drill I don�t own Ranma or any of the other shows or movies 
used in reference.  I�m just having some fun.


Prolog - Sins of the Father
"There is a hole in your mind." Babylon 5, Season 5 Intro

	Ukyou was bored. She had just opened up for the day and had yet to get a 
single customer.  It had been three weeks since Genma had died.  Supposedly

the two Saotomes were on a training trip, and Genma had a heart attack. 
Ranma was forced to drag his father�s corpse out of the woods.
	After the funeral Ranma ran off.  No one had seen him, but it was rumored 
that he had been talking to Cologne several times.  People assumed that he 
had gone off to finish the training trip, or that he was grieving in 
private.  Ranma seemed to be in severe shock  Hibiki had is own private 
theory: Ranma killed his father and ran off to evade capture, but the 
coroner had proved that it was a heart attack.
	The front door opened.  "Hi welcome to Uc-" Her greeting cut off when she 
realized who was at the door.
	"Hey, I�ve got to talk to you." Ranma said, standing in the doorway.
	Ukyou was taken back not only was Ranma carrying a large backpack, but he 
also had spoken in English.  Nearly perfect English, from a person that had

slept during all his classes.  "Sure," Ukyou responded in the same
language. 
"Just turn the sign to closed on your way in."
	Ranma sat down on a stool in the front and put his pack next to him.
	"Why are you speaking English?" Ukyou asked.
	"Cologne suggested that I practice," Ranma said, while turning around. He 
was relived to see that Ukyou had yet to open the blinds.
	"What?"
	"I�ll start from the beginning.  You know most of the story. It was on one

of Pop�s moronic trips. We were sparing and he fell to the ground gasping. 

What I didn�t say was that while I was doing CPR( it was the only thing I 
could think of) it started to rain.  I didn�t change."
	"But I saw your curse activate after you got back," Ukyou interrupted.
	"I know. Give me a glass of water," Ranma requested, continuing to talk in

English.  He then poured it on his hand, nothing happened.  "See the curse 
is unstable. Sometimes water works, sometimes the opposite temperature 
works, or sometimes I can change at will."
	"So you went to Cologne to figure out what happened, and she taught you 
English?" Ukyou asked confused.
	"No I requested that." Ranma continued, "After I brought Pop back. This 
lawyer contacted me, about my mother."
	Ukyou interrupted again, "So you�re going to live with her."
	Ranma�s face darkened, "No she�s dead."
	"I�m sorry."
	"No it�s Pops fault. Immediately after I was born, he filed for a divorce.
 
Apparently my mom didn�t approve of Pop�s plans, like a ten year training 
trip or the neko-ken.  He somehow got custody.  The attorney didn�t go into

detail about it, but it seems that Mom had a very questionable history.  It

was all in her past, but he dug it up.  She was forbidden to see me, and
was 
forced to flee the country in shame.  As long as pop lived she couldn�t 
contact me in any way, shape, or form."
	Ukyou would have been in shock but considering Genma�s other plans: the 
neko-ken, the ten year training trip, the multiple fianc�es and Jusenkyo 
what Genma did was by no means a stretch of character. "Then why are you 
learning English, and what about your curse?"
	Ranma continued, barley maintaining his composure, "She moved to America, 
got married, had a daughter, my sister.  Then two years ago she was in a
car 
accident. And by curse: Cologne says it�s a mixture of stress and skill.  A

focused mind can control the it (like Cologne, did you know she�s cursed), 
but a stressed one can mess it up.  I�m both. Cologne says that if I got 
away from Nerima I should be able to gain full control."
	"Is that why you were gone?  And why is she helping you?"
	"Cologne was trying to get on my good side. They�re all more fanatic to
get 
me, except you."
	Ukyou turned away.  She had planned to give Ranma a �special� meal after 
the funeral, in order to �cheer� him up.
	"I�m defiantly going to see Sahara."
	"So your question is whether you should come back or not. How long are you

going to be there?"
	"As long as need be," Ranma said then, paused.
	Ukyou looked down.
	"I�m sorry.  It took me time to realize it, but there�s nothing here for 
me"
	The chef maintained silence.
	"The only real friend I have is you and well. . ." Ranma trailed off.  
"Sarah lives in a small town in  Southern Wyoming.  From the calls they
seem 
like a nice if not odd family."
	"So do they know about the curse?"
	"Kind-of.  As I said before stress makes the curse very random, and I 
changed during a call."
	"Oh."
	"That�s not even half of it the lawyer set up a video conference in his 
office."
	"Why did you do that, if you were at risk?"
	"I wanted to see her, and I couldn�t keep the curse a secret forever." 
Ranma stood up and hefted his pack.  He pulled a piece of paper out of his 
pocket, and left it on the counter. "This is the phone number to the house,

please don�t tell anyone else about this."
	Ukyou watched stunned, as Ranma walked away. "Your English is very good," 
she finally said.
	Ranma nodded and left the restaurant.


Chapter 1 - Lock Ridge
"What do you want?" Babylon 5, Season 5 Intro.

	Ranma looked out his window and saw the odd roof to Denver International 
Airport.  It looked like a giant white tent pulled over a mountain range.  
The plane landed, taxied, and docked. Ranma got out of his seat and took
his 
pack.  It was his only baggage and contained  all of his possessions. 
Ranma 
was never really into materialism, but still to have all your existence 
boiled down to one bag.
	Customs gave a cursory glance at his student visa and passport, and 
welcomed him to the United States.  After customs Ranma went to the men�s 
room
	While using the sink a faucet broke.  Used to this kind of thing Ranma 
managed to dodge most of the water, avoiding getting soaked, but not enough

to prevent the change.
	Some were perplexed when they saw a redheaded Japanese girl exit the Men�s

room, but no one really commented.  Ranma looked around the terminal for 
Sarah�s father.  A tall man in sheriff�s khakis walked up to Ranma.  He had

dark blue eyes and short red hair.  "Are you Ranma?" the Irish cop asked.
	"How did you know?" Ranma asked.
	"Sarah gave me both descriptions.  Come on lets go to the car."
	Ranma shook her head, "Don�t you find this odd."
	"What, that my wife�s first child changed sex in front of my daughter�s 
eyes," the cop smiled. "Sorry to disappoint, but you only rank within my
top 
dozen, not my top ten weird things. Oh by the way My name�s Jack O�Neill."
	Ranma paused at this, that name sounded very familiar.
	O�Neill smiled, "I have the same name as a character in Stargate SG1. You 
know  the circle portal thing."
	Ranma nodded.  She had seen the show a couple of times. "Isn�t that set in

Colorado?"
	"Yup, Cheyenne Mountain, NORAD." O�Neill said. "But its more of a 
documentary, than a cable show."
	Ranma pondered this as they walked out of the airport.  This guy was
weird. 
  He wasn�t even fazed by the curse and claimed some science fiction show 
was real.
	In the parking top. O�Neill led Ranma to a large jeep.  Written on the
side 
was "Lock Ridge Sheriffs Department."   O�Neill put Ranma�s pack in the
back 
and opened the passenger door.  The sheriff got in the driver�s seat and 
drove out of the parking lot.
	"Would you like to learn about your mother, Nodoka?"
	Ranma nodded.

	During the five hour drive Northwest.  O�Neill told about how he found 
Nodoka drifting though town, helped her, and eventually married her. She
was 
a good woman.  But a part of her soul was destroyed by Genma.  Forbidden to

see her first born. He talked about the 15 years of bliss. About Sarah. 
("She looks exactly like you, Ranma.  You both take after your mother.)  
Then the accident.  A drunken driver plowed into a car driven by Jean, 
Jack�s sister, with Nodoka in the passenger seat.  Both were killed 
instantly.  Jack was the apprehending officer.  He noted that the driver
had 
an �accident� of his own.  Some of the stories were fantastic and bizarre. 

Jack was vague but apparently Lock Ridge rivaled Nerima.
	Ranma described her life, the fianc�es the curse. Every time she talked 
about Genma�s stupidity Jack nodded grimly.

	Lock Ridge was a small sized town nestled in a mountain valley.  O�Neill 
had two deputies working under him.  Being mid-spring only the mountain
tops 
had any snow on them. Ranma had seen mountains in China but nothing like 
this.  They were covered with evergreens and huge rocks protruded from the 
ground.  Even the center of town had the feel of the frontier, in fact all 
of Wyoming  felt like this.
	O�Neill turned down a side road and drove up into the mountain. After
going 
only half a mile all singes of human existence were removed, save the road 
and a set of power lines.  O�Neill rounded a corner and stopped, in front
of 
a good sized house.  It looked old but well maintained.  When O�Neill shut 
off the engine, Ranma heard gunfire.  She looked over to O�Neill who 
appeared unconcerned.
	"We�ll drop off you bags and go up to the range," O�Neill said walking up 
the steps and onto the porch.
	Ranma hoisted her pack and followed the sheriff inside.  She walked into a

cluttered living room. with some guy asleep on the couch. He opened his
eyes 
and for a split second Ranma was sure that they were glowing red, but they 
were a dusty brown.  When he stood up Ranma got a good look at him.  He was

a Caucasian that bore a strong resemblance to the sheriff, who appeared to 
have wandered into the kitchen.
	He stood more than a head over Ranma with spiky brown hair.  "Hey Sarah," 
he yawned leaning back.  He looked blank for a second then focused on
Ranma. 
"Wait a minute," he said looking at Ranma�s face and the braided pigtail. 
"You�re not. . .  Oh I see.  Hey Ranma. I�m Dan. Dan Arzish.  Boy she
wasn�t 
kidding when she said you did that."
	"Did what?" Ranma asked.
	"The curse. I mean aren�t you supposed to be a guy." Dan yawned and 
wandered off, going up the stairs.
	Ranma shook her head.  What the hell�s going on around here. Ranma was 
reminded of when she arrived at the Tendous.  Oh well, at least these
people 
seem nice if a little odd.  Ranma walked into the kitchen.  Jack was
staring 
out a side window. His hand had fallen to his sidearm.  He twitched
slightly 
and turned to Ranma. "I was looking for you come on lets go up to the range

and talk to Sarah."
	The living room and the kitchen were  both large rooms and made up half of

the  floor space on the ground floor.  The living room was in the front and

the kitchen was in the back.  There were some other rooms that Ranma had
yet 
to enter.
	Ranma wend out the back door and onto the large porch that encircled the 
house.  The house was build into one of the more gentle regions at the foot

of the mountain.  This meant that there was only a half a flight of steeps 
at the front of the house and that the back was nearly at ground level.
	 Ranma put her pack next to the door and went outside.
	O�Neill led Ranma a hundred yards up the slope, along a well worn path. 
As 
they walked the sound of gunfire increased.  It was in bursts of four or 
five followed by a  pause then another burst.  At the end of the path was a

large clearing.  It was twenty yards wide and went back into the hillside 
over two hundred yards, and was graded level.. This formed  a large bank at

the end of the range and smaller banks among the sides.  A line of stone
had 
been placed flush to the ground running from one side of the range to 
another.
	A girl was standing at this line in a fleece vest and  jeans.  Her bright 
red hair was pulled back in a lose pony tail.  She had a large shotgun 
shouldered. "PULL!" she cried in a voice Ranma knew all too well. It was 
Ranma�s female side, except with an American accent.  Her foot touched down

on a pedal resting on the ground.  The pedal was connected to a trap 
machine.  Four clay disks launched out of the device, each going in a 
different vector.
	She turned the gun precisely, fluidly, and pulled the trigger.  Thunder 
rolled up the mountain.  The lowest burst into a thousand particles.  She 
pumped shotgun and fired again destroying the next disk.  She continued to 
rack the weapon, hitting the targets when their trajectory reached apex. 
It 
was over in seconds.
	She slung the weapon over her shoulder and turned around.
	The video quality during the teleconference was rather low in resolution. 

All Ranma could, honestly, tell from it was that Sarah was a redhead.
	Now Ranma could see her face and aside from having slight traces of 
European heritage she was nearly identical to Ranma.  Something about that 
seemed odd.  "How old are you?  I mean look a us." Ranma said pointing at 
her own body then at Sarah�s.
	O�Neill decided to speak up,  "According to the records you differ by 
nearly a year.  Your birthdays are only a week apart."
	"Remember that body of yours is a curse.  What was it again?" Sarah said.
	"Spring of drowned girl." Ranma said looking at the range.
	"That could be it," Sarah said while she put the trap machine in a small 
shed of to the side well behind the range line. "I mean the curse could
have 
set you age back or something."
	Ranma nodded.  She was looking at a strange wooden tripod-like device. It 
sat in its own little range perpendicular to the main one.  It supported
two 
cut logs.  They were about a foot long and a foot in radius.
	"Like the hawk blocks," Sarah said, closing the shed.
	"Huh," Ranma said. She then walked up to them.  The faces of the logs were

scored with hundreds of lines and cut notches. It then dawned on her. "Oh, 
it�s for knife throwing."
	"And ax or tomahawk." Sarah added.  She was lowering a rope tied to the 
base of a flagpole.  Once the flag was at the base she tied it back.  "The 
flag goes up when the range is occupied," she told Ranma.
	"I�ve got to go back to the station. Be back latter tonight." O�Neill
said. 
He then walked down the path.  A little later a truck started and drove
off.
	"You know he really liked you." Sarah said behind Ranma.
	"Yeah I know. He�s very quiet isn�t he."
	"Yup even when mom was around he never talked much."
	"She really was something wasn�t she. I mean you dad talked nearly the 
whole trip talking about her."
	Sarah started down the path. "Come on lets go inside."
	Ranma followed her.  A month ago he would have never comprehended this. Oh

sure before the Tendou place, he had been constantly on the road moving
from 
one place to another, but this was the furthest.  Out in America, with her 
half sister.
	Finding out that his father had banished his mother.  Sadly it wasn�t even

one of the worst things that Genma had done.  Once again he had ditched all

that he had for a new life.  Although now Ranma was grateful for the
fanatic 
English lessons Cologne had put him through. He managed to carry on 
functional conversations with both Jack and Sarah.
	Ranma followed her sister in the house.  Dan was at the table working on 
some type of mechanical apparatus.  "Dan don�t to that in the kitchen," 
Sarah said.
	"What?  You clean your guns here," Dan said, hitting the catalytic 
converter with a wrench.
	"So do you."
	"Exactly."
	Sarah rubbed her forehead, "Fine.  Could you clean my gun while I show 
Ranma her room?"
	"Okay but it�ll cost you."
	Sarah handed her shotgun over to Dan. "I�ll cook dinner."
	Ranma shook her head and picked up her pack.  As she left the room she 
heard Dan mutter under his breath "Damn twins."  A month ago Ranma would 
have taken offence to that, but that was a different person.  Before Ranma 
was macho and swaggering, hiding behind his ego, a person that was 
frighteningly similar to his father.  All that Ranma had was martial arts. 

He didn�t have family or friends.
	"Hey Ranma?" Sarah asked at the top of the stairs.
	"Huh?" Ranma said.
	"There�s a bathroom at the head of the stairs." Sarah pointed to a door on

the left.
	Ranma walked up the narrow staircase.  Sarah stepped back.  Ranma walked 
into the open bathroom.  Using the sink she tried the hot water first, then

the cold no change.
	"The curse is probably still unstable.  Could be jet lag?"
	Ranma nodded.  She was still really groggy even though she slept during
the 
entire flight.
	"Okay," Sarah continued.  "You said that sometimes you can change at
will."
	"Yeah," Ranma said stepping out of the bathroom.
	"Come on I�ll show you your room."
	Ranma followed Sarah to the guest room at the end of the hall.  Sarah 
opened the door to a nondescript bed room.  Ranma put his pack on the bed.
	"Is this fine?" Sarah asked.
	"Sure.  Why did you ask about the curse?"
	"Oh," Sarah said, glancing out the window.  "It�s just that being in a new

location the curse might have to adapt to local magics."
	"But my curse had been acting up since. . . Wait are there curses and
stuff 
here too."
	"Nope no curses, but weird things do happen so I wouldn�t be surprised.  
You said that a focused mind could control the curse."
	"Do a degree."
	"Then sit here," Sarah said pulling the pack off the bed.
	Ranma complied sitting in the lotus position.
	"Now try to clear you mind.  Reach out, you should be able to tap into a 
energy well."
	Ranma felt a tingling grow inside his skull, like a strong electric 
current.
	"Now link it to your curse.  That�s it.  Use it to revert back."
	Ranma diverted the flux.  It touched his curse and the change happened.  
Ranma felt the familiar shift, and turned.  He opened his eyes and looked
at 
Sarah.  She was nodding. "What?" Ranma asked.
	"You�re good."
	"I am a martial artist, you know." Ranma said stretching his arms.
	"True, come on.  I�ve got to get dinner ready."  Sarah left the room.
	Ranma sat for a second and pondered.  When Cologne tried to teach him to 
change at will, there was no stream, no flux. Maybe this was just the first

time he noticed it, but how did Sarah know?  Ranma remembered that he had
to 
be careful until he gets adjusted.  He had no intention of screwing up like

he did at the Tendous.  Ranma stood up.  Wandering down the hall he noticed

that the lights were recessed in the corners where the walls met the 
ceiling.
	Ranma walked into the kitchen.  Dan�s engine part, or whatever it was, was

gone and in its place was Sarah�s gun.  He had the thing disassembled, and 
was running clean patches through the barrel.  Dan looked up. "Hey.  So
your 
back to your old self. Pull up a chair and we�ll spin a yarn."
	"Shut up," Sarah said from the stove where she had started cooking in some

kind of pot. "We aren�t a bunch of hicks.  Ranma."
	"Okay," Ranma said.  The smell from the pot was very familiar. "Ramen," he

guessed.
	Sarah nodded.  "Yup food�s just about the only thing Mon taught me that
was 
even remotely oriental."
	Ranma sat down, come to think of it there was no trace of anything
Japanese 
in the house, except the food, but Nodoka had no reason to feel obligated
to 
the country of her birth.
	Dan finished cleaning the gun, reassembled it, and walked out of the room.

He came back a couple minutes latter, sans the gun.   He started setting
the 
table for three persons.  "Oh, Sarah Jack called. He�ll be staying late 
tonight, so he won�t be here for dinner."
	Sarah nodded and continued to cook the food.
	Dan turned to Ranma, "So, you gonna tell us about all your zany 
adventures?"
	"What about you guys?" Ranma asked.  "I mean Mr. O�Neill made it seem that

this place had its share of oddities."
	"Please call him Jack everyone does."  Dan continued, "Well some things 
have happened, but Jack is known for embellishment."
	Ranma looked at Sarah who had maintained silence.  He didn�t think Jack
was 
the type to say anything other than the truth, even if he was odd. Then 
again it wasn�t like anyone around here was anything but odd, himself 
included. Ranma decided to give it time, and not rush things.
	Ranma had also come to realize that he was always putting his foot in his 
mouth. If he told about his life, he could prattle on and not risk asking 
the wrong questions.  So when dinner was served.  He gave his life�s 
history.
	Dan and Sarah listened, and they nodded in all the right places, but 
something was off it was almost as if they had heard this story before.
Well 
maybe not this story exactly, but this type of story.  The ramen even
tasted 
identical to what Shampoo would make.  And one thing was still bugging him.
	"Why did mom stop here, in Wyoming?"
	Sarah glanced at Dan. "We were planning on taking you to the place where 
Mom met Dad after school tomorrow, and tell you what brought her here," she

explained
	"School? Yeah I guess I need to go," Ranma muttered to himself, then
aloud, 
"But why don�t you tell the story now, and how come your not surprised at 
all by my life."
	Dan spoke up, "Well we�re kind of in the same situation.  Do you know why 
I�m here in this house?"
	"No."
	"I�m Sarah�s cousin.  My dad died of cancer many years ago."
	It took Ranma a few seconds to get it.  There was another person in the
car 
with Nodoka. "So both  your parents are dead to."
	Dan nodded.
	"Okay Dan.  I cooked you clean," Sarah said.
	"Fine."
	Sarah stood up, "Ranma want to see the rest of the place."
	"Why not," Ranma said.  Having something to relate to with these people, 
made it easier to accept the madness.

	There were two rooms that Ranma had not seen on the first floor. A room 
that used to be a dinning room, now stored a couple server banks, 
miscellaneous computer equipment,  and storage boxes. A cavernous sunken
den 
was set up to be and entertainment center.  A door in the den lead to a two

bay garage.  The rear of the garage held a extensive metal shop. One of the

bays was empty presumably for Jack�s Jeep.
	The other held what used to be a late eighties Suburban.  The huge truck 
had been modified extensively, and according to Sarah all the work had been

done by Dan himself.  The truck had a lift kit, brush guards rear and
front, 
step up running boards, wide all terrain tires, fog lamps, light rack, 
winch, heavy dual exhaust pipes, custom suspension and shocks, tinted 
windows, and god only knew what Dan did to the engine, for the hood had 
multiple intake scoops mounted in it.
	Ranma walked up to the vehicle.  Its semi-gloss black paint seemed to move

and swirl. The truck had overpowering presence.
	Sarah stood next to Ranma, "It�s almost as if its alive."
	Ranma nodded looking at his feint reflection in the inky surface.
	"He calls it �the Beast.� Go ahead you can touch it."
	The pigtailed martial artist placed his palm on the hood.  The metal under

seemed to vibrate and squirm.  Ranma pulled his hand back, unsettled.
	"Cool isn�t it.  Dan spent three years building this thing.  A year longer

than he�s been driving.  He�s spent so much time with it, almost as if part

of his soul is in it."
	Ranma eyed the truck.  It was beautiful, an achievement in precision, 
manufacturing, engineering, and art, but still.  Sarah took Ranma back into

the den and turned off the lights.  Ranma turned to see the truck not fade 
into the darkness, but melt.
	The upstairs held four bedrooms, and two baths.  One of the bathrooms was 
in the master bedroom.  Leaving one bathroom for Ranma, Sarah, and Dan.   
The bedrooms were what Ranma expected them to be.  Dan�s was cluttered with

papers, books, and random metal components.  Sarah�s was reasonably neat, 
and except for the weapons, ammo, and trophy heads was much like a normal 
teenage girl�s room.  Jack�s was pressboard neat, with very minimalist 
furniture.  Each bedroom had its own computer, that seemed homebuilt and
was 
LAN�ed to the servers in what used to be a dinning room.
	After the tour, Sarah went to the server room to fix a broken tower.  As
he 
watched, Ranma was given a lecture on the basics of computers.  Dan 
apparently was in the garage working.  Jack came home said his hellos and  
had some leftover ramen in the den.
	Soon he was joined by Dan.  Ranma then followed Sarah into the room.  The 
TV was on, and Ranma sat himself down next to Sarah on  the big couch.  Dan

and Jack were both sitting on easy chairs that flanked the couch.  They 
watched a strange show where small robots and a big dopey guy from
Wisconsin 
made fun of excruciatingly bad movies.  Some of it was very funny, and
Ranma 
guessed that he would have gotten the rest, but the jokes were rooted 
heavily in Americana.  After a three of the movies. Everyone scattered, and

eventually went to bed.
	While Ranma, prepared for bed, brooded on his new family and eventually 
went to sleep, Dan and Sarah were in their own rooms using Windows Popup to

chat. Jack linked in and out to make occasional observations, but stayed 
silent.
	Eventually the two reached an agreement.  Ranma had the potential and the 
skill. Tomorrow they would show him the standing ring.



If you missed a previous chapter and want a copy just e-mail me for it.
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