Finally finished the first part of this I think I'll give a big ole'
YEHHHHHHHHAAAAWW'! here.
Great  seeing so much of this new chapter. I'll move right
 onto the C+C, and a bit of humor which hopefully my lighten the heart a
little:

Warning, it gets limey in some spots.

Hello all.  It's been a while since I published the last chapter of
this story, hasn't it?  If anyone was worried, the story is not dead.
It simply went into hibernation for a time

Feh! I would never do something like that in letting any of my stories into
go into hibernation. Really. :)

Now, on with the show...

BTW: I would recommend sending these 161K chapters (Large by even my
standards) in at
least two sections. Makes C+Cing them easier. I'm doing it in two parts, so
as not to overload myself and going braindead towards the end of the fic.
Putting final versions in one part on your website is okay, though.

A mirage sparkled in the distance across the sea of sand, a simple
trick of light caused by light

And so it begins. Two uses of 'light' close together. I'd switch the second
to 'the sun'. Or 'sand, an illusion caused by' either way should work.

reflecting from the rising heat waves in

the air.  A wind blew gently across the sun-scorched sands, rippling
the silvery image as it would have across a pond of real water.  Then,
briefly, the illusion of water was briefly

Two 'briefly's close together. Might want to drop the second.

disturbed by a robed figure

suddenly cresting a high dune, garbed in typical desert nomad fashion,

Meaning he wore nothing but a g-string and a dead animal on his head.

to protect the flesh hidden beneath from the effects of the desiccating
orb slowly lowering in the western sky.  A single waterskin of sturdy
leather swung at the figure's waist, and a simple wooden staff was held
clutched in a firm grip, the skin on the hand holding it the color of
sun-ripened wheat.

Moses Hibiki: I don't see any burning bush out here. I wonder if they gave
me the right directions.

                    ******************************

*** Earth  +1.612,+1.509  (-3,852.74104 Years)

Taking a drink of water from the skin, the hood of the robe fell back
to partially reveal the face of a man of Asian descent.

Ohh. Wonder if I was right. Now that would be ironic.

The strange

emanations of power in the nearby air had faded away to nothingness
mere moments after first being detected,

being first detected (sounds better to me, a little)

*** Earth  0.000,0.000  (-3,852.74104 Years)

There was a lingering smell of ozone in the oddly still air, a mute
counterpoint to the heat of the day scorching the sands.  A smoking
corpse lay sprawled out across a rolling dune, appearing to have been
quite recently struck by lightning despite the cloudless sky above.

Hmm. Looks like someone made a wrong turn here, unlike the last world. :)

few faintly lingering wisps of vapor still trailed upwards into the
air.  Next to it was a second body, this one the naked form of a man
lying facedown in the sand, still alive, if only just barely.

When yaoi orgies go horribly wrong.

The second figure suddenly stirred spasmodically, coughing to clear the
grit and sand from his throat.  He was a man of Asian descent, tall and
muscled like an athlete, with his skin lightly darkened from the sun
and wind.  A look of confusion suddenly

Lots of 'suddenly's here and earlier. I use the same word too much from time
to time as well. I'd cut some of them.

 marred his face when the spasms

finally ceased, and he gazed upon the features of the corpse, a corpse
whose features

I'd drop the first 'features'. Sounds better to me that way.

Still coughing occasionally, feeling random bits of rough sand continue
to grate against the soft tissues within his throat and mouth, he spat
out phlegmy grit and quickly wiped his face with his forearm.  Standing
up on unsteady legs, he moved closer to the corpse, its eyes wide open
and staring.  A few insects had already begun to emerge from the sands
to investigate this new development in their midst, and it would not be
long before other sorts of scavengers emerged as well.

True. Life exists out in the desert, but frequently chooses to stay out of
sight.

Closing his eyes, the man concentrated for a moment upon his breathing,
feeling the dry air filling and evacuating from his lungs.  Before this
moment, his last clear memories were of pain and fear, and a beautiful
girl wielding a naginata seemingly made of energy and light.

Her name was Indiga Montoya, who mistook him for the man with six fingers on
one of his hands, the man who had killed her father.

When the pains and convulsions had finally passed, he shakily rose back
to his feet and eyed the corpse.  Shrugging his shoulders, he began to
strip the body of its clothing and other accoutrements

Save for the red clown nose. That he left behind.

 as he took stock

of the situation he now found himself in, as his fragmented memories

I'd rewrite as 'himself. Fragmented memories

gradually coalesced.  Once he had been far more than this, a being able
to span time and space as easily as one could step from street to curb,

Which led to all sorts of problem when he tried time traveling and
mistakenly ended up walking off the curb and into the middle of a busy
street.

an entity of such raw destructive power that its very name was a hiss

hiss? Not sure if that invokes the right imagery you're going for.

and a byword across a galaxy.

Kain.

Cetainly the mightiest WWF villain of them all. :)

Unless you mean the Tenchi villain, which I assume is the one. Or is it a
different Kain?

Desperation had driven him to attempt something he had never attempted
before,

'attempt/ed's close together. Change one to 'try'

eparating a portion of his essence from his body at the brink

of his own destruction and blindly casting it out across time and space
to escape his own impending death.  He had succeeded, but at a terrible
price,

I think 'cost' sounds better to me.

 losing most of his powers and accidentally destroying his other

self in this time in the process,

Whoops. Got to hate it when that happens.

 forcing him to seek out a suitable

vessel that would be able to contain his remaining might.

But only Smedly Oglethorpe of Akron, Ohio, was powerful enough for that.

 His essence

had scanned this miserable rimworld in the span between moments for any
being of sufficient strength to suit his purposes, but he could find
only one.

A human who would someday entitle himself as the Shogun of the Dark.

Not anymore. :)

Even as he felt his essence losing its remaining cohesion and beginning
to dissipate, he had attempted to possess and assimilate this human,
who had been travelling by foot across the edge of a vast desert
wasteland.

Shogun: Damn! Try to save money by walking instead of taking a cab, and look
what it gets you. Eradicated and assimilated by a guy that goes around as an
inkly black cloud and wears a facemask. Couldn't I have gotten whacked by
someone with style, like Kagato? He even played an organ, just like a cool
villain should.

In an instant, he had absorbed and experienced the temporal

lifepath of the Shogun, from its auspicious beginning to its
ignominious end, when it was snuffed out beneath the wheels of a common
city bus.

Ah, so that was going to be his fate here as well. Interesting.

  But the backlash caused by the commingling of their powers

had proven to be too much for his chosen vessel.  The Shogun of the
Dark was killed almost instantly, and even more of his own precious
energies had been lost.

The Shogun's or Kain's? Not clear there.

His memories were clearer now, and he could now

two 'now's too close together. Get rid of the second.

 recall more of what had

happened afterwards.  Having tried and failed to possess the body of
the Shogun, a daring attempt to cheat death of its victories over them
both in the future,

them? Who is Kain thinking of besides himself?

However, a singularly fortunate side-effect of his momentary
commingling with the spirit of this human had been the reaping of a
rich harvest of energies from its dying body that the Shogun had been
accumulating over centuries.  These energies granted him a more
attractive alternative to submitting meekly to death.

Making a duplicate instead? Interesting.

constructed of magic in a close resemblance to the flesh and blood form
he had sought to inhabit, capable of housing and sustaining him.  But
this action had rendered him into being something not quite dead but
also not quite alive.

Like Jessie Helms. :)

However, having done this thing, he had burned out the remainder of his
energy reserves, possibly permanently, but perhaps the fullness of his
powers would restore themselves in time.

And in any case, it beats being all the way dead.

  Still, being here in the past

gave him a most rare opportunity.  He no longer cared about revenge
against the hated Juraians.

They were nothing but a bunch of annoying treehuggers anyway.

  Survival was all that mattered now to him.

Despite the many annoying gaps existing in their combined memories,
Kain knew he had usurped a most useful identity to exploit in regaining
his once-godlike powers.  It would allow him to move unseen through the
shadows of this world's unrecorded history, a law unto himself alone.

Hmmm. Do I see a hint of foreshadowing in that sentence there? I think the
words chosen are not so random.

Yes, that was what he would become, a shadow law,

Thought so.

stalking down through

the ages and slowly shaping the world into one more to his liking.

With lots of pretty colors, mostly pastels. And everyone would eat brownies,
since they were his favorite food. Oh yes, and he'd cut down all the trees
since they reminded him of Juraians.

  But

until he deemed the time to be right, he would refrain from altering
any significant historical events, instead quietly profiting from his
foreknowledge of them, amassing wealth, political influence, and a
secret army of loyal followers,

Mostly hookers. You could never have a big enough army of loyal
hookers.

timeline he remembered would remain relatively unaltered.  And while he
did so, he would use his foreknowledge of this world's future to build
his forces throughout the many hidden corners of unrecorded history.

Ah. So this explains the wide-spread proliferation of Hare Krishnas
throughout the world. Forces in waiting.

Then, when he deemed it to be the proper time, he could begin slowly
consolidating his control of this world under one nation to form an
empire.  And when its hold over the globe was nearly complete, aided by
his efforts from the shadows, he could then quietly step in and assume
absolute control, enjoying the final steps to the final domination

two 'final's close together. 'total' or 'complete' might be an acceptable
substitute for the second.

of

this tiny rimworld, beginning an immortal reign that would eventually
reach out across the galaxy and would last for an eternity.

Or at least until he got bored and decided to become a Quaker.

 He would

also find a means to regain what he had sacrificed here this day, by
whatever instrumentality

Ohh. You almost never get to see that word.

 was necessary, to once again have a body that

was more suitable to his needs, one that was real and alive, not this
pathetic ectoplasmic puppet he was now forced to inhabit to survive.

Why do I suspect he's still in that body to the current day?

He would become emperor of the galaxy.

No.  Not merely an emperor.  He would become something greater than he
had ever aspired to before, a power that none would ever overcome.

God?

He would ascend from this modest beginning amidst the mire and detritus
of a forgotten rimworld, and he would become God.

Belldandy: But that job's already been taken. Would you settle for Godling
of Sand Fleas? There's a position open there.

 And once he had done

that, he would gather together the infinite reaches of eternity into
his hand and render them all into nothingness, clearing the way for him
to rebuild reality into his own image.

Kain: A man, or whatever I am, has gotta have goals, baby.

After rising back to his feet, he paused a moment and turned back to
briefly gaze at the corpse.  A cold smile lit his features.

Kain: Dinner. Yum.

The Shogun of the Dark was dead.  Long live the Shogun of the Dark.

At least until Ranma gets involved a thousand years later, then you'd better
watch out. All it takes is another 30 chapters, and you'll be toast. :)

Quantum Destinies
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic
By Jurai Knight (sthesken@earthlink.net)

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi.  This story
is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic
authors.  Among these are D.B. Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2",

And isn't that all we really need to know? :)

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:
Earth  0.000,0.000 - The world of Scholar Ranma (Baseline cluster)
Earth  +1.612,+1.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Shampoo 1/2 cluster)

And like everyone else, I just can't get enough of that world. It's just so,
so, so perfect. Why, the man is a literary genius. Just ask him and he'll
tell you.

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over
five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world
and has done so for almost a century.  A young scientist named Ranma
Saotome, through a device of his invention, is now possessed of the
skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself.  Further
changes came to the "Shampoo 1/2" variant timeline that was created by
Ranma's first visit, instigated by an unexpected visitor who was just
passing through.  Secrets of Project Phoenix were unveiled, as well as
some of the ties that bind together the diverse group coming together
in Imperial Earth's version of familiar Nerima.  Finally, this world's
version of Shampoo made her appearance,

Yay! And luckily her prelude is finished, which brings her up to date here,
pretty much.

And I think that's enough gratuitous self-plugging for one day. I'll shut up
now. :)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 17 - That Old Black Magic

          Dare with determined will to burst the portals
          Past which others fain would steal!
          Now is the time, through deeds, to show that mortals
          The calm sublimity of gods can feel.

              --Johann Wolfgang von Goeth's Faust, Part I

"Look, Jo, don't be so melodramatic. Just say you want to go barhopping, and
we'll go, honest."
                                                --Chuck von Fleeglebottom,
Johann Wolfgang von Goeth's roomate in college.

          When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.

                                            -Oscar Wilde

So that means when I pray for lots of money, sex with hot looking women, and
to have oodles of fame, I'm being punished? Cool. Let the punishment
commence.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


*** Netherworld  0.000,0.000

Just south of the Netherlands, BTW.

Hell has been described as a place where hope is dead.

But they would be wrong. Bob Hope is still very much alive.

One can only imagine what a waiting room in Hell would be like.

I imagine the sound of a dental drill and muffled screams of pain is played
over the intercom instead of musak. :)

A sense of despair filled the plain room.  It was a place quite devoid
of any sort of creature comforts, even one so little as some raggedy,
old magazines.  Bare wooden benches sat pushed against the walls.  They
hid a few of the mangy-looking, peeled away patches of the otherwise
monotonous lime-green enamel.

Actually, it sounds like most of the waiting rooms I know.

  A single bulb hung from the ceiling on a

slender wire, casting out a harsh light across the room and its sole
occupant.  It swayed gently in the uncomfortably warm air gusting out
from a crusted grate, the rusty metal noisome with the accumulated funk
of millennia.

Better than accumulated spunk, I suppose. Of course I'm sure that stuff is
accumulated where tentacle demons hang out.

overseer enjoyed any and all chances she was given to lord her superior
position over her and could leave her here to wait for a very long
time.

Until the place froze over, in fact.

  Mara could complain about it, but her rank was presently on thin

ice after her last few, less than successful, missions.  The shadowy
overlords of this place did not tolerate failures in their minions very
well, so it was better to just quietly take all the petty abuses and
strive to remain unnoticed by the higher-ups until her luck improved.

Makes sense, though methinks her luck is about to take a turn for the worse.

Tugging slightly on the front of her tight minidress, she absently felt
the skin-warmed leather slide across her flesh, an almost erotically
sensuous sensation that went all but unnoticed by Mara.

Since this isn't a lemon and we will see no mastuerbation scenes.

Morrigan the Succubus, a beautiful princess of these nether realms,

And a kick ass Fighting Game girl.

reflecting her present dark mood.  She waited as the other demoness
sauntered over, outwardly calm but simmering within, somehow managing
to hold down the urge to rip out Mara's spine and vital organs by sheer
willpower.

And the fact it would leave a mess on the floor and janitorial staff were
out, like they always were, since it was Hell after all.

"Right behind you, Milady," replied Mara with a tight smile.  All the
better to plunge a blade into your back, she continued in the privacy
of her thoughts.  It was a most pleasant fantasy of hers that recurred
from time to time.

Along with the more pleasent ones of a naked Morrigan and a hot tubs of
jello, but we won't go there for now.

With a gesture from the blue-tressed succubus, the scenery around them
shifted to that of Morrigan's private office.  She could have summoned
Mara there without leaving it, but she preferred a more personal touch
in dealing with her assigned lackeys, even one as insufferable as the
present one

two 'one's close together. I'd change 'present demoness' or something.

 >

Mara dropped into a much less comfortable chair on the other side of
the desk.

The hard wooden one with the splinters that you couldn't see until you sat
on them. Sometimes it seemed the chair had an infinite supply of them, since
Mara was fairly certain she had picked several trees worth of wood out of
her butt after every meeting.

She was a bit tempted to put her feet up on Morrigan's desk

but held off.

Since Morrigan would probably remove the offending appendages from her desk
by removing the offending appendages from Mara's body.

"There is a new development now brewing

Think you can drop the 'now'. Flows better w/o it.

"Why not simply destroy them?" came Mara's calm reply.

Morrigan: We are, but we wanted to use someone expendable, since these two
are tough, which is why we summoned you here.

 The solution

seemed obvious to her.  If something bothered you, kill it.  After all,
none of these mortal vermin could ever become a concern.  The human
animal was a weak-willed, pathetic creature of barely-controlled lusts
and passions from the time of its birth into the world, when it first
began loudly squalling its desires

Seems a bit of a run on there.

.  Each one of the miserable beings

was practically begging to finally yield to the dark potential that lay
buried within them all.

Of course that begets the line of thought it they're so easy to persuade why
more of them aren't down below.

face outwards into the great abyss that her office overlooked, the tips
of her fingertips gently tapping against each other.  Beyond the glass,
flying creatures combining both human and bestial forms

Ah. Pokemons.

maneuvered

through darkened depths lit only by vast gouts of flame that rose up
from somewhere far below, a rather soothing image to Morrigan's eyes.

While the succubus mused, Mara grew more and more impatient.

'increasingly' sounds better than 'more and more'

learned enough about them, you are to try turning them to our cause.
They would make useful allies."  Morrigan paused for a moment, before
continuing in a more thoughtful tone.  "However, if they will not be
turned, then they must be neutralized."  A casual gesture caused a
three-dimensional image of Ranma and Nabiki to form in mid-air over the
desk, slowly rotating counter-clockwise.

Mara: I'm stuck in another Ranma crossover? WAHHHHHH!

^_^

Morrigan leaned back in her chair and smirked.  "Hardly.  Events have
already begun to move around them in strange ways, like ripples on a
pond.

As opposed to ripples on fudge.

"Because the Powers of Elysium will be sending at least one emissary of
their own to monitor events up close," replied Morrigan coolly.  She
calmly snapped

really don't think you need 'calmly' to go with the 'snapped'. Sounds
awkward.

 snapped her fingers and a faintly translucent image of Belldandy

appeared in mid-air.  "One that you are quite familiar with, I'm sure."

Mara: Never seen her before. Chipple Elington is the one giving me problems
in this universe. The little ho' keeps sleeping with the men I'm supposed to
seduce first.

Mara stared hatefully at the still image of the Goddess of the Present,
as an evil smile curled her lips.  She nodded.  "I'm your demoness."

"Excellent," said Morrigan, leaning back in her chair and steepling her
fingers.  "But I warn you, Mara.  This is your last chance.  Screw this
one up, and there won't be anyplace in the universe for you to hide."

Morrigan: Although thanks to the doublet system, you won't be anywhere in
the universe at all if you succeed, since Belldandy's your opposite. But the
higher ups have decided that she's more important to take out than you
remaining here. Good luck.

rack.  A smile lit his face, and he turned to see how Kodachi was doing
with the control unit's programming.  Nabiki had lacked the skills to
help them with any of the technical work, but she had seemed content to
simply watch, even though Ranma was certain she spent most of her time
studying him.

Specifically, his butt.

Her hair pulled back tightly into a single ponytail to keep it out of
her way,

Oh? Her hair's not normally that way?

Kodachi had spent the majority of the day refining the subroutines from
the surprisingly snarled piece of coding work that Ranma had used with
his prototype unit's setup.  The changes he had since added to try and
correct the memory backwash problem had made smoothing the software
code even more challenging, but her own skills had fast risen to the
challenge.  She was even adding a few elegant touches of her own here
and there to his admittedly brute force solutions.

Heh. I like the way she's thinking. Shows the difference between the two of
them.

Turning away from looking at Kodachi, Ranma was again struck by the
vast differences between this version of the noblewoman and her analogs
in other timelines.  She was gentler and kinder by nature, a very
different sort of being from the mean-spirited and incredibly spoiled
brats that those other versions of herself had each become.

Although her tits weren't as big as her analog, which was a bit of a downer.

On the serious side, you might want to mention how this one is taller
(thanks to the Phoenix treatment.)

especially with the memory of nearly being killed by a plant monster
while he had been inhabiting one of his analogs still so fresh in his
mind.  But this Kodachi was not a violent, borderline sociopath, far
from it.

No, not that far from it. She does have two other personalities stationed in
her skull. :)

she was possessed of fighting skills roughly equivalent to his own, an
entirely new dimension of complexity had been added to their already
weird relationship, especially since that useless excuse for a human
being now inhabiting his father's brain had gotten him engaged to the
middle Tendo daughter.

Genma; What trials I put you through are only to make you a better man. It's
all for you, son.

Nabiki had become both his rival and his fianc�e practically overnight,
and now the two of them played a rather strange game of dominance and
seduction between themselves.  He refused to humbly submit and be like
the Ranma her analog's memories were used to,

How does he know that, or did he visit her world? I don't remember.

Ranma had defeated Nabiki in a closely-fought

'close-fought' (I think)

Recalling Utena raised another problem rapidly developing in his life.
The list of girls complicating his previously quiet existence seemed to
keep growing by leaps and bounds ever since his first mnemonic download
through the resonator.

Practically growing with each girl he meets, actually. :)

 At first there had been only Akane and Nabiki

Tendo involved in his life, and then Kodachi Kuno, Ukyo Kuonji, and
Utena Tenjou had quickly entered into his orbit.  However, out of the
entire group, the last two girls were the ones he felt most comfortable
with.

Men like sexually androgynous women. They're like bishonen men to the gals.
:)

Then there was the enigmatic Tiger.

The one he screwed.

The memories from his other selves were of little help when it came to
dealing with girls, since those troubled analogs of himself were far
and away more stunted in their awareness of the concepts of sex and
romance than he was, and he

'was. And he' (I'd cut this into two here since the first part is so long. )

adamantly refused to explore whatever help

Ranko's memories might have to offer him.

That would probably be for the best.

letter of challenge that she was planning to give him when he walked
with her to school.  It was a little out of her way, but Nabiki did not
trust Kodachi to keep from pressing her claim.  Picking Ranma up and
chauffeuring him to the Academy in her family's limousine would be just
the sort of thing that the Kuno girl would do to try and impress him.

Yes. She's devious that way.

"I'm finished," announced Ranma, startling Nabiki out of her reverie.
She glanced over to see him

and Kodachi putting their clothes back on.

"Wow! I really was out of it," Nabiki said.

closing up the case to the resonator unit.

Kodachi glanced up from her screen.  "Give me but a moment to finish
compiling my last program build, and I shall be finished as well.

two 'finish/ed' close together. I'd say 'done' for the second.

 > At that moment there was a brief knock at the door.

I'd drop 'brief' as being unneccesary.

"Oh, I had no idea that it had grown so late already," Kodachi stated
in surprise.  She got up from her workstation and smiled at Ranma.  "I
would be most honored if you would join me and be my escort to table,
Saotome-kun."

She turned to Nabiki and said, "I would be honored if you would be my
footstool at the table, since that's about all you're good for."

Ranma and Kodachi exited the room arm in arm, and behind them came a
wrath-filled female figure, her true state of emotions barely concealed
behind a cool-eyed mask.  And so the trio went to join the rest of the
Kuno's at dinner.

That round goes to Kodachi.

"Saotome-san, this is Doctor Tofu Ono," came the voice from the other
end of the line.  There were muffled sounds of some sort of activity
nearby.  "I'm afraid I don't have much time to talk, but I wanted to
pass on the results of the tests I ran."

She's pregnent, I'd wager.

"I'm here."  Nodoka took a deep, quiet breath and calmed herself.

Tofu said, in his best, most professional voice, "As I first suspected
from hearing your symptoms, one of the tests came back positive and
confirmed, Saotome-san.  So let me be the very first person to offer my
congratulations to you on what I hope is pleasant news to you.  You're
pregnant."

Bingo.

Now she was pregnant again.  Perhaps it would be another son, but she
found herself hoping it was a daughter.  She had always wanted a little
girl of her own, a daughter to treasure and to teach how to be a proper
Japanese woman.  And any daughter of Nodoka's would be a proper girl,

Just like she had been growing up. :)

she silently vowed, remembering with dismay her own rambunctious youth.
No, her daughter would be different, and she would grow up to be a
paragon of demure and gentle femininity.

parting her legs for every guy that caught her eye.

Tofu slipped his cellular telephone back into his jacket pocket and
sighed.  The commotion behind him involved two paramedics finishing up
attaching an IV bag of artificial blood replacement to the youth lying
on the gurney, as well as sensors to monitor brain and cardiovascular
functions.  With only a portion of his attention, he listened to them
listing off the vital signs of one Ryu Kumon, whose presence was the
reason why he had been on standby here at the Arena.

Heh. He didn't fare too well. Nope. Not at all. The term 'punching bag'
comes to mind.

Most of his attention was occupied by the two sets of blood tests he
held in his hands, one from Nodoka Saotome, and the other from his own
wife, Kasumi Ono.  Informing Nodoka of her pregnancy had only deepened
and exacerbated his own disappointment that Kasumi's was negative once
again.

Oh I see.

 It was becoming obvious that he had been wrong about the eldest

Tendo daughter's genetic suitability, and he would never be able to
father children upon her.  It was a pity.  His mother had always held
such high hopes for the girl, especially with two of her sisters having
been accepted by the Project,

He knows about it too? How odd. Wouldn't think him old enough for it.

 and her family having such an excellent

political placement in the Empire.

He had chosen Kasumi for those reasons willingly, as she was also quite
lovely and as properly demure as a woman could be.

So, Tofu's a bit of a chauvanist here, eh?

The other two girls

would have been superior choices, if he had chosen a bride purely on
the terms of their genetic compatibility, but neither of them could be
described as demure or properly obsequious to a man's superior station
in the world.

I guess that answers the question.

 And there was also the centuries-old tradition that the

eldest daughter should wed first.  So Tofu Ono had gambled and lost,
and now he had to figure out a way to somehow extricate himself from
the marriage while still retaining his honor.  It was a shame, for in
all other ways Kasumi was a paragon of what was considered a proper
wife in a Japanese woman.  But the Ono line had to continue on, and for
that to happen would require a wife who could give him an heir.

Being a bit premature about not having a kid, isn't he? They've hardly been
at it that long.

If only his father had not exposed him to one of the early batches of
the serum.  If only he had not kept it a secret.  If only he had not
sworn upon his honor to keep his father's secret.  So many "if only's."

Ah, so there may be a problem with him, then. Would explain his obsession
with genetics and having kids.

Akane not so gently shoved and elbowed her way through the press of
people that were queuing up to try and get autographs from tonight's
batch of fighters.

Heh. She's an even bigger Shampooaholic than me. :)

In her hand she held tightly clutched her precious

autograph book,

Awkward. That needs rewording.

hoping to finally get the signature of the one Arena

fighter that she most admired in the world, Shampoo.  The violet-haired
Amazon was her hero, exploding onto the Arena landscape with a strength
and fighting skill that the youngest Tendo had not so secretly envied
for several months.

As do most of the competitors.

  Shampoo personified the martial artist that Akane

had always aspired to be, and she was an icon of female strength that
still remained undefeated to this day, despite over three hundred
Arena-sanctioned matches under her belt.

Hmm. They must have upped the number of people she beats in a night, since
she only had over a hundred wins to her credit before hitting the big league
in Japan.

decided to make the most of it, joining a small throng of Arena fans at
what was commonly known as "Signature Row."  There, the fighters were
separated from the fans by bars wide enough to permit autograph books
and small gifts to pass, and numerous peaceforcers stationed nearby in
the area kept the crowds in relatively good order.

Especially since they were armed with tasers and delighted to use them.

Akane, through

judicious use of her knees and elbows, had managed to get up to the
bars, just in time to see the first of tonight's fighters pass by on
their way to the locker rooms and baths.

It was 'Dead Meat' Ryokubi. No one wanted that loser's autograph. So Akane
spat at him, like everyone else did.

Keeping her eyes open for her idol, Akane kept

Two 'keep's close together. 'Watching intently for her idol' at the start,
perhaps?

"There she is!" suddenly came a

"I'd drop 'suddenly'. Not necessary.

 >

Catching a glimpse of her hero walking with another one of the female
Arena fighters, Akane gazed in adoration.  When Shampoo passed nearby,
she thrust her arm through the bars, her hand still tightly clutching
the autograph book.  "Shampoo!  Can I have your autograph?  I'm a big
fan!"

But not for long, methinks. ^_^

of her own fighting exploits in the Arena.  What set this girl off from
so many other fans, Shampoo could not say.

Maybe it was the pitbull like friendliness she felt radiating from the girl.

"Back off!" shouted Akane, elbowing the ribs of an older boy who tried
to shove her out of place with her free arm.  "She's signing my book
first!"  When that did not dissuade him, she stomped down on his instep
and shoved him back bodily, where he vanished behind her into the press
of bodies.

Nice job.

Shampoo took the proffered book from Akane and scribbled her name into
it,

And signing, 'When confronting one of a set of identical twins, make sure
you beat up the one that offends you rather than her sister,' right after
it, assuring Akane it was good advice.

Deer was doing a brisk business as well, signing autograph books and
even posing for the occasional camera shot from her own small crowd of
fans.  A little ways down the line, Mina Li was practically holding
court, signing books,

Usually with the saying, "My rack is real, while Shampoo's is loaded with
silicone" in most of them.

 posing seductively and even blowing kisses at the

crowd, and generally basking in the raw adulation of her fans.

She even flicked some of the blood from her lastest victim off her fists and
onto them.

Receiving back her book from the Amazon, Akane's eyes shone brightly as
she pulled it in and held it clutched tightly to her chest.  She had
finally gotten her idol's autograph, and Shampoo had even smiled at
her.  There had even been a moment, when their hands brushed against
each other, that the youngest Tendo had felt an odd sort of recognition
towards the Amazon, something she had only felt a few times before,
such as with Sakura or those three girls foolishly pursuing her Ranma.

The soon to be dead ones, she thoughtfully added.

Hikaru Gosunkugi closed the book on the last of his assigned homework
and set the text aside, glad to finally be free from dealing with such
dull material.  He crossed his forearms and rested them on the desk
before lowering his chin atop them, gazing out at the rising moon.  The
window to his room was open, and he could hear the neighbors involved
with their respective dinners.

Must be eating pretty loudly then.

father's last mission for the Mobius Institute, the one that resulted
in his disappearance.  His mother had simply fallen apart at the loss
of her husband, and he had been sent away to live with relatives for a
time.  But she had recovered, and he had returned to live with her less
than a year later.  They now lived on a modest stipend from the Empire.

Imperial Propagandist: Nonsense. The Empire gives out 'generous' stipends,
never mere 'modest' ones. Every paycheck you receive from the Empire is a
fortune. Every food stamp, a banquet. You love the Empire, and it loves you.

The awakening of his esper powers had even been due to his sire.  His
father had been an artifact hunter for the Institute, one of many such
people whose job it was to find lost objects of antiquity from around
the globe.

Never referred to as 'Tomb Raiders' No, no. :)

 One such minor relic had brought his esper powers to life,

although it had taken a few years for them to manifest enough to alert
the Institute.  He had been taken from school and enrolled in classes
there, meeting the girl who would become his friend and nemesis, Manami
Minami.

He still couldn't say it three times fast.

  She had both bullied him and looked out for him ever since,

for reasons she kept to herself.  When they were ten, he had wondered
out loud why she kept hanging around him, and she had slugged him, one

Again separate into two. 'him. It was one'

his future career sifting through piles of information gathered by
other agents with stronger abilities.  He would also likely never see
Minami again after graduation in a couple of years, and that thought
filled him with a mixture of both relief and sadness

Mostly it was sadness that he wasn't more relieved.

.  She had been

such a fixture in his life that he found it difficult to even imagine
existence without her being nearby to boss him around.

Which she would be delighted to hear, right after she kicked him in the
balls for calling her bossy.

Hikaru's gaze drifted to land on one of the many pictures he had of
Akane Tendo, his beautiful dream girl.  He sighed wistfully once, as he
studied her lovely features intently, feeling a sense of longing for
her fill his being.  His hand moved almost of its own accord, arriving
at his lap as he studied her framed image intently,

already said that 'intently' before. I'd drop this one.

 before beginning to

gently fondle there.

fondle there? Not sure what you mean.

Reluctantly tearing his gaze away from a picture of one of Akane's
private training routines, the youngest Tendo's image forever frozen,
split-legged in mid-kick, her foot impacting hard into a dummy, Hikaru
noticed the tome he had removed from the Institute seeming to beckon to
him.

The one with human skin for a cover and all the words written in blood on
the inside.

He had studied the writings contained within its pages from cover

to cover, detailing a ritual that would unlock abilities within himself
that would propel him down the road to becoming a true mage.

And all it would cost was his soul.

A short burst of psychotic-sounding laughter erupted from his throat,
cut off at the end by coughing.

Heh.

                    ******************************

Out of the corner of her eye, Ryoko studied her travelling companion of
the past two days, currently seated on a flat rock on the other side of
the campfire and consuming his meal with gusto.  They had been making
good time hitchhiking, much better than she had been anticipating.  And
today had been a good match for them both, their last before the pair
finally reached Tokyo city proper.  Ryoko felt a surprising pang of
regret that their journey together was ending.

Largely in part because she hadn't slept with him yet.

 The Hibiki boy had

grown on her quite a bit, ever since he had first stumbled into her
camp, and she was starting to realize that she would miss him when
their trek together was over.  But only as a good friend, she quickly
amended, startled to discover a blush briefly rising on her cheeks.

It would be best to bludgeon him once more to ward off the affection she
suspected was creeping up on her.

It was fortunate for Ryoga that he was too engrossed in eating his meal
to spot her momentary discomfiture, or she would have had to pound on
him out of general principles.

See? I called it. :)

 For one thing, her travelling companion

was almost a full year younger than she was, nearer to her brother's
age.

You forgot to make that 'weenie brother' :)

 She had been a bit surprised to find herself feeling attracted to

someone who was younger, but the innocence and naivete he had sometimes
displayed during their time on the road together were oddly appealing.

As was the obvious size of his equipment, which she had sneaked a peek at
when he was taking a wizz in the woods. No wonder the other nickname of the
Hibiki clan was 'The Long Ones' as well as 'The Lost Ones.'

Ryoga's physical strength also rivaled hers, which was an attractive
quality on its own merits.  One of the reasons she had so far resisted
her mother's will about accepting an arranged marriage was that she was
a little afraid of her own freakish strength.  How could she ever be
intimate with a guy when she could unintentionally break his spine with
a hug, let alone anything more passionate?

Yep. Nothing kills romance quicker than broken ribs.

Ryoga's skills were marginally less than hers, and his combat style
still favored a more brute force approach, but he was proving to be a
fair sparring partner despite these flaws.  She absently ran a finger
along a particularly livid bruise on her jaw as she paused in her own
eating, a thoughtful look on her face.  She found herself at random
moments to be oddly envious of his rather intense rivalry with this
Ukyo boy he constantly seemed to rant about.  It gave him a clear focus
for improving himself that she herself

two 'self's close together. I'd change the last to 'she never had'

Ryoko blinked in surprise, not really expecting that.  "You're serious?
You've really never heard the story?  But it's almost mythical!  A tale
of great heroism and the power of true love!"

"It ends in tragedy, just like all such stories do, though." Ryouko added.

Ryoga shook his head in negation.

 Too wordy. 'Ryouga shook his head' will be just fine. Trust me. For simple
actions like that, less is usually better.

The campfire burned brightly between them as the green-haired girl told
the tale in grand fashion, of the original Ryoko's first appearance on
Earth from the realms beyond the sky, the demoness possessed of powers
capable of shattering mountains in twain.  And pursuing her came a
mighty samurai hailing from a far-off land, a clean-limbed warrior of
noblest bearing, his features as handsome as a demigod, and whose sword
skill was the very stuff of legends.

I see Yosho embellished things a bit.

They battled for three days and three nights, neither combatant able to
attain a clear advantage.  Quarter was not asked for, nor was it given.
Strange fires and curious lightnings raged between them.  It seemed as
if their struggle would never end, but, for a single instant, Yosho's
blade came quite near to impaling Ryoko's savage heart.  However, that
precious chance for victory was lost when the samurai hesitated at the
very last moment to deliver the killing blow, to strike the demoness
down.

And thus we get a divergence.

However, their battle had attracted the attention of the spirit realms,
and an entity appeared amidst them in a globe of green fire.  He was a
most cold-hearted and vile beast, a Yama King, possessing strength
enough to rend the entire earth into rubble in his hands.

His name was Kagato.

They'll maul him easy. Yosho's not the wuss Tenchi was. :)

Kagato spoke with Yosho, engaging the samurai in conversation and even
plying him with taunts and jibes.

But mostly riddles which Yosho hated, since he was no good at them.

Yosho lay still, for his strength was all but depleted, but his will
yet remained undaunted.  After a time, he slowly managed to regain his
feet and stumble to a nearby stream, almost falling into it.  He knelt
down, allowing the coolness of the icy water to slake the terrible
thirst racking his body.  And as he drank his fill and rested there, he
plotted a grievous revenge upon Kagato for his crimes.

Mostly involving noogies.

Yosho swore a

mighty oath upon Tenshi-ken, the great sword of his ancestors that he
carried, that he would destroy Kagato and redeem the beautiful Ryoko
from her hellish bondage.

Or just settle down here and duck out of his princely duties. Either one
would suit him fine.

The heavens themselves were moved by Yosho's vow, and the veils of the
spirit realms parted once again to reveal the sparkling, eldritch form
of a goddess, whose beauty was unmatched throughout both heaven and
earth.

"...even though she had no chest. 'Hey!' Lina Inverse cried out, no longer
willing to help Yosho after the grivous insult. So after hitting him with a
fireball. She left, he remained behind and never say Ryouko again. End of
story."

"How depressing. I like it!" Ryouga cried, since he just knew his romantic
life would probably end the same way.

"Tsunami-dono," cried Yosho, his soul aching to destroy the demon lord.

And embrace his half sister, who was way hotter than Ayeka.

The goddess Tsunami was greatly moved by the passions of this valiant
samurai, and so she granted his boon.

since she was also his brother.

She touched him with only the

tip of one finger,

But it was in the right spot, and since he was so randy, he got a reaction.

 for so great was her power that to do the same with

her full hand would have burned him to ashes.

Tsunami was the mistress of handjobs, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

 > Filled with power, Yosho single-handedly stormed the ramparts of the

demon lord's castle.

which was most definitely not a spaceship.

He slew Kagato's soulless guardians by the score,

of 40 to 0, thereby beating the line and pissing off the oddsmakers.

making his way inward to the festering heart of the fortress, where his
true enemy lay.  His heart was filled with only two desires: to avenge
himself upon Kagato, and to rescue the beautiful Ryoko.

"But Yosho became confused and instead avenged himself upon Ryouko and
rescued the beautiful Kagato. And they lived happily ever after in a yaoi
relationship," Ryouko finished.

"How depressing. I like it!" Ryouga cried, since he just knew his romantic
life would probably end the same way.

Fearing Yosho's new strength, Kagato sent Ryoko against her would-be
paramour, her mind still clouded by his power.  Desperate, Yosho loudly
proclaimed his newfound love for the girl, to try and snap her out of
her trance.

After which, she kicked him in the balls. While it was true he had broken
the spell over her with his confession, she was not enough of a slut to go
with him too far on only their second date, and wanted to lay the
groundrules down real quick.

It was at this time that a second goddess chose to act, a trickster and
mischief-maker, imprisoned by Kagato long ago through treachery.  Her
name was Washuu.

Of course.

A slash of Kagato's blade relieved Yosho of his weapon, and even came
near to ending his life.  The demon lord struck Yosho hard in the face,
downing him with a contemptuous blow of his fist, but in his arrogance
could not resist taunting his fallen foe further.

Kagato: I must... yield to the Evil Overlord cliche of... bragging to a
fallen... opponent rather than... finishing him... off. Also must... stop
talking like... Shatner.

"You are beaten," said Kagato with scorn.  "It is useless to resist me,
Yosho.  Ryoko is my creature, my property, to do with as I please.

Kagato: Once Washuu released her soul and gives it back to me.

  And

she will never be more than she is now, a tool of destruction that I
control.  You were a fool to believe otherwise.  Your feelings for her,
your feeble proclamations of love, have no place within her existence.

"Besides, you're too little between the legs to satisfy a sex machine like
her," Kagato taunted.

"With Kagato's death, the dark god's power over the trickster-goddess
was ended," said Ryoko with a smile.  "Ryoko was forever freed of her
geas, and she wasted no time in making her own desires known to Yosho.

She wanted a Jaguar to drive and a mink jacket to wear.

Despite setbacks, the samurai eventually fell victim to her feminine
wiles.  They lived together and had many more adventures together."

drop second 'together' since you have one already.

Despite this, Ryoko settled down with Yosho for a time.  And, although
they never married,

Oh? What a surprise.

Yosho fathered a child upon her, and Ryoko gave

birth to a girl with hair and eyes like her own.  But a settled sort of
life was not her way, for she was a proud warrior and possessed of a
strong wanderlust.  So she left the young infant in Yosho's care and
departed for realms unknown, promising to return someday."

Which means she's due back any day now.

Ryoko nodded a moment and said, "Yosho eventually married Mie

Mie: (dryly)  And I just loved being the second choice, let me tell you.

Ryoga looked up at the stars, his hands tightening into fists.  He was
finally almost to Tokyo, finally nearing his goal, thanks to Ryoko's
help.  A day or two of travelling left, and Ukyo would finally pay for
making him endure the cruel hardships he had suffered on his journey to
find the other boy.

Putting out for Ryoko every night was nearly wearing his winkie off. It was
another thing he owed Ukyou.

Nothing could keep him from exacting his righteous vengeance now.

Except the truth. :)

Will get to the second part when I'm able. Have ending summery in that.

D.B. Sommer

                    ******************************

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