[Ranma][Fanfic] Ranma 2096: A Winter's Tale

[Christopher Willmore]

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Written by Christopher 'Ratiko' Willmore. / \ \ /
4c...@qlink.queensu.ca / / \/
Based on a story by Rumiko Takahashi and /
Developed by C. Michael Schumacher / /
[Kensu: csch...@waun.tdsnet.com], \ /
R2096 page: http://qlink.queensu.ca/~4cw6/ \/(Logo:Armakuni)

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A WINTER'S TALE
=======================================================================

Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Charles K. Hurst, Chris Davies
and Wayne Pillion for their extensive, helpful and accurate C&C, Marisa
Price for her moral support and enthusiasm, Mike Koos for his input and
FANTASTIC illustrations, and the rest of the Ranma 2096 ML for letting
me stuff their mailboxes with unfinished products.

NOTE: To avoid spoilers, full acknowledgements for specific scenes,
quotes, plot twists, etc. will be given at the end of the story.

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"I wear the chains I forged in life; I made them, link by link."
-Charles Dickens, "A Christmas Carol"

"Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are the pearls that were his eyes;
Nothing of him that doth fade
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange."
-William Shakespeare, "The Tempest", Act I Scene 2

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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tokyo: The Kunou Foundation - December 14, 2095 - Friday
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Nabiki Tendo awoke, or so she thought... The world around her
half-closed eyes was puzzling, a swirling eddy of blurred and
unfamiliar images, in which she floated stationarily. She tried to
turn, to gather more of where she was, but none of her limbs would
recognise her mind's authority. Even her eyelids would not wander from
their current state, but chose instead to stay ajar, and taunt her
with the fragments of that she would have whole.

"Sire; the subject is awake."
"Already? Very well. Sedate her, and then prep her for
interrogation."
"As you will, sire."

Sounds... Voices? She couldn't be sure... What had happened?
How had she come to... Where? Nabiki strained herself, and tried to
think, and to remember. In this, at least, she did not fail. Recall
Nabiki did, and wished that she had not. <Deity>; she thought. <Not
this>.
Before a tear could form, the chemicals took hold, and 'the
subject' once again lapsed into darkness.

"You've checked the brain?"
"Aye, Sire."
"Enough of the original so that we may say this is THE Nabiki
Tendo?"
"Over ninety-five percent, Sire, and none of the lost areas are
in the mnemonic regions."
"Good. How are her muscles? She hasn't moved in a few decades,
after all..."
"They're rather weak; I doubt she can use them without help.
Once we initialise the bionics, though, she should be fully operational."
"Perfect. Drain the tank, dress her, and have her in my office
by 2100. Leave the dampers on. I want her revived only at the
beginning of our interview."
"As you will, Sire."

With rehearsed motions, three men in identical white uniforms
moved to the tank where the reconstructed body of Nabiki Tendo was
floating in an electrolytic soup. One pressed a button, and a harness
wrapped itself around her. A flip of a switch, and the fluid oozed
out through a grate. Then, the tank's clear plastic walls came down,
and the functionaries took the woman to the room where she'd be
clothed.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tokyo: Kunou Hall December 15, 2095 - Saturday, 5:32 PM
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Childra Jansen checked herself over once more in the
washroom mirror. Her dyed blonde hair had been put back in a bun,
her eyelids were done in a faint purple, and the only lipstick she'd
dared put on was a dull red. Apart from that, only a little blush.
Overall, the effect was rather... proper... She hoped she'd done it right.
This wasn't how she usually went out.
She looked at the clothes. They should be sombre enough. A prudish
black dress covered her from neck to heels, and an equally dark cloak was
over her shoulders to protect her from the cold. It would do.
She always felt awkward doing this... Never mind that all her
friends EXPECTED her at these events; Childra always felt out-of-place,
like a self-invited guest at a private party. Oh, well. No more time
for whining. Someone was waiting for her, and it wouldn't be polite to
delay her departure any longer.
Smacking her lips together one last time to make sure the gloss
held, she closed her cosmetics bag and opened the door into the hallway.
Kim Thompson was there, reclining against a wall and poring over what
looked like some dreadfully difficult mathematical work.
Kim looked up from her studies as she noticed her neighbour's
emergence.
"Going somewhere?" she asked. Childra just smiled at her.
Thompson smacked herself on the forehead. "Silly me. Saturday night. Of
COURSE you're going out. Who is it this time?"
"You don't know her."
Kim blinked.
"HER? Childra, I never knew you..."
Jansen sighed.
"I CAN do something other than a rendezvous with my nights, you
know."
"Sorry..."
Childra grinned.
"But TOMORROW night, it'll be that guy from Archaeology."
"I knew it! Anyway, have fun!"
"I will..." With that, she stepped into her room to pick up her
purse and drop off her make-up, then left for the main entrance to Kunou
Hall.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tokyo: The Kunou Foundation December 14, 2095 - Friday
------------------------------------------------------------------------

At 20:59:59, Nabiki was seated in a chair opposite the desk of
the director of the Kunou Foundation. A second later, she came back to
consciousness.

"Nabiki Tendo?" The voice was gruff, but cultured.
"Where am I?"
"First, you will answer me. Your name?"
"Ten... Tendo Nabiki... You just said it... Why..."
"Good. Now, to answer your question, I am the director
of the Kunou Foundation, of whom you are a 'guest', at present."
"Kunou Foundation? But..."
The director waved a hand to silence her.
"That's all you need to know, for now. But _I_ still need to
know a few more things... You've gone through some rather interesting...
experiences... I need to ascertain that all is well. Let's start with
your memories. What do you last remember?"
"I... I..." Nabiki began to cry. The memories were painful.
And the last ones... She had finished all of this, had she not? Then
why? She started, and looked wide-eyed at the director. "I killed
myself. That's the last thing I remember." The man smiled.
"Not quite. You can't get away THAT easily, you know."
"I don't..."
"Oh, but you DO. We know all about your crime, Ms. Tendo. And
you DO realise, that if you ARE guilty, something of that magnitude
demands the death penalty."
<They KNEW? But then, why wasn't she... It made no sense.>
"H-hai... But... I thought I had destroyed myself. Why am I
still alive?"
"We couldn't let you get away THAT easily! The guilty MUST be
punished. Granted, your little bomb made it a nightmare for our squad
to put you back together, but we managed it." Another smile.
"Eventually."
"You mean... I _did_ die?"
"Clinically, yes. But we got to your brain before it had a
chance to even begin to decompose. Well, we got to ninety-five percent
of it, in any case."
"Ninety-five? I'm not understanding much of this..."
"The other five percent has been replaced by microcomputers."
Nabiki blinked. This was surreal... The director sighed. "I suppose
I'll have to spell it out for you. It's too bad, in a way... With your
reputation for intelligence, I felt sure you would figure it out."
Before Nabiki could protest, he continued. "I am sure I have no reason
to go over your crime. You know it well enough, and the Consistency
Trial will be sure to extract all the gruesome details... I've been
following your case for decades..." Nab raised an eyebrow. "Yes.
Decades. It's 2095. December, 2095." The other eyebrow. "Don't look
so surprised! You think we could have brought you back with your own
time's technology?"
"Why bring me back? If I'm guilty, and the crime has the
death penalty, why couldn't you just let me be?"
"My dear Ms. Tendo," smiled the director, "we are not
barbarians, who simply dole out merits and demerits according
impersonal behavioural codes set down in a book... Our 'laws' are now
much more humane... Even in your time, I am sure, you would have heard
of the 'Consistency Movement'?" Nabiki's face, already grim, sank even
lower.
"Not that... Anything but that..." Written rules she could deal
with. She'd always gotten ahead in life by twisting, bending and re-
interpreting the legal codes to suit her purposes. That was easy.
They were generalisations, meant to cover many misdoings by many people,
making it easy for a single person to weasel her way out of a single
crime. But THESE - These were different.
" That is how we deal with criminals in 2095. You are only guilty
of a crime if your actions violate your own behavioural ethic." Individual
rules, tailored for and by the accused. There was nowhere to hide, no way
to modify or capitalise on ambiguity when the rules were the ones that you
had written in your heart. And right now, those rules screamed out her guilt.
"I am guilty... I am..." 'Ms. Tendo' said softly, tears streaming
down her cheeks.
"To establish that is beyond my jurisdiction. The Consistency
Trial will deal with it... Even if you _are_ guilty, we do not have
'set' punishments... We apply use what YOU believe to be an
appropriate reprisal... Now, far more than in Dickens's time, 'You wear
the chains you forged in life'."
"But I TOLD YOU! I KILLED MYSELF!" She HAD inflicted her own
punishment upon herself. An eye for an eye, that's what she'd always
thought, and when the time came, that'd been what she'd applied. "I'll
even tell you how I did it! I..."
"Oh, we know all about the bomb, Ms. Tendo. One cannot work on
you for so many years and not know what it was that caused the trouble
in the first place."
"Isn't it OBVIOUS? I KNEW what I'd done, and I KNEW that the
only appropriate penalty was DEATH! Why didn't you just let me BE?"
"It seems you would prefer to be stone-cold right now, instead
of facing me." A smile, and twinkle of his eyes.
"Oh, deity, yes!" That much she couldn't deny. ANYTHING was
better than to have to face... THIS again. Cripes. Even in her THOUGHTS,
she couldn't bring herself to think directly of it. Yes, death was
certainly better than a living hell.
"Then, clearly, it is not half the punishment you are trying
to convince me that it is. If you are guilty, Ms. Tendo, you deserve
to suffer. And suffer A LOT. I will be frank, and tell you that I
find you utterly despicable. Were you another person, with a different
history, I would have long ago stopped the project short and left you
dead. But, as the saying goes, 'Death is too good for you'. You will
pay for what you did, Nabiki Tendo. And, what is more, you will be put
through pain that only you yourself can contrive the likes of. Once
THAT is done, I'll think well-spent the years and funds that went into
your reconstruction. The guilty WILL be punished." Halfway through
the speech, Nabiki had lost whatever control she had, and had become a
sobbing, pulsing mass.
"Why do you hate me?" she asked through salty lips. "I know what
I've done, and I hate MYSELF for it, but why do THIS? Why take me from
the GRAVE, when I don't even KNOW you?"
The director looked at his watch.
"Only four minutes before the trial. Very well, I will humour
you." A pause. "I am not only the Director of the Kunou Foundation."
Nabiki arched an eyebrow. "I am also Ono Tanaro, president of Onocorp."
"Ono... You are..." Wide eyes from her, a nod from him.
"For having destroyed the life of Tendo Kasumi, you will pay."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tokyo: Nerima Graveyard December 15, 2095 - Saturday, 6:11 PM
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Akane sat on a bench and looked at the setting sun. Childra
should be here soon. She was looking forward to that. She still didn't
know why she had asked her to come... It wasn't like anything was going
to HAPPEN... Still, it made her feel better to have company tonight.
It made her feel better to have company ANY night, but particularly on
this one. It was so FRUSTRATING, to be able to wander around at leisure,
see what happened to everything and everyone, but not be able to interact
with it. She could rant, or laugh, or cry, or scream, and it would have
less of an effect on those surrounding her than the falling of a leaf.
Of course, there were the other spirits, but they were all so
melancholy... So was she, when she thought about it. It's a wonder Childra
spent any time with her at ALL, the way she whined, and even more of one
that she usually came for at least an hour a day. Not only that, but
she'd given her something of a home. She was always welcome to visit
Jansen in her room, <Well, except, perhaps, on certain Saturday nights...>
and even ENCOURAGED to follow her around to all her lectures... She used
to go to a lot more of those. They were nice; it was pleasant to hear all
those stories from history... Unfortunately, she'd had to give up on
quite a few of them when Gosunkugi Skeride showed up. Imagine, having a
descendant of Hikaru's actually being able to do magic that WORKED. That
idea was enough to send chills down the spine of anyone who knew the
original five-inch, but the worst part was that she was dead-set on
putting ghosts 'to rest'... Her current state might not be much, but it
was certainly better than the nothingness she felt that heaven had in
store for her, should she be exorcised.
Exorcised. She'd never thought that'd she'd be frightened of the word.
Things change.
A lot.
The sun had fallen to a mere sliver above the horizon, and the
red and orange hues of sunset were giving way to twilight's blue and
purple haze, the darkness driving Akane back into reality from her
meditations. She looked in front of her. Two collective tombs: the
Tendos and Saotomes, side by side. Somewhere under the memorial on
the right, her own ashes were buried in a ceramic urn, while the one
on the left...
"Oh, Ranma..." She cried as fully as a ghost can cry, with
luminous tears of pure vital essence replacing the salt water of the
living.
"Started without me?" A voice from behind her. A familiar one.
"Childra?"
"Who else, lass? Unless Nutkin's showed up, I doubt anyone else
would be addressing you."
They smiled.
"Hai," said Akane. "Thank you for coming."
"I wouldn't miss it," said Childra softly. She pulled a
white tube from under her cloak.
"What's that?" asked Akane.
"A memorial for you, on your death-day."
"Childra... I..."
Jansen took the top off the cardboard cylinder, and pulled out
a single, perfect black rose.
"It's a Hampton clone. I thought that..." Akane shuddered. "What
is it, girl? Is something wrong?"
The ghost smiled weakly.
"No... It's just... I... I've had bad experiences with black
roses."
"I'm sorry... I had no idea..."
"It's all right. I'm glad you thought of it. Really."
"Well... If you're SURE it's all right... Shall we?" Childra
offered her arm.
"Just a minute," grinned Akane. "I've got to change into something
more appropriate." She closed her eyes and shimmered slightly, then her
blue-and-yellow pastel dress turned into black mourning clothes, complete
with veil. "Now." She took Childra's arm - very slowly, to make sure she
didn't go through it - and the two walked carefully together to the
Tendo monument. They knelt in front of the obelisk, and Jansen placed the
rose in front of Akane's name.
The sun finished setting, and the sky grew black.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tokyo: The Kunou Foundation December 14, 2095 - Friday
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nabiki examined Director Ono. He had Dr. Tofu's eyes, now that
she thought of it, and Kasumi's general features. She probably hadn't
noticed it before because she had been too busy trying to make sense of
his grandiloquent speeches. Being the director of the Kunou Foundation
seems to have taken its toll...
They continued to look at each other, motionless and silent.
The lack of conversation was not due to want of content, but rather, to
its excess... How could she possibly explain to this man why she had
acted as she did? How could she summarise and cram into some scant
four minutes thoughts, debates, and judgements that'd been swimming
in her mind for what were relatively aeons? How could she justify
herself to him when she had not yet done that for herself? There were
far too many questions for one answer to be made...
A buzzer rang, and then a voice came from a hidden speaker.
"Sire, the trial room is ready."
"Excellent. We will be there shortly." He turned to Nabiki.
"Get up, Ms. Tendo, and follow me."
Nabiki tried to stand, but couldn't.
"My legs..."
"Oh, dear! I'd QUITE forgotten! Tsk, tsk... Such an
oversight...." He pressed a button on the desk. "Activate the bionics
for Ms. Tendo."
"Aye Sire," came the reply.
"Bionics?"
"Come, now, you don't think we reconstructed you with ORGANICS,
do you? We might have made a lot of progress in the last seventy years,
but we still can't regenerate nerve tissue, and cloned eyes are EVER
so unreliable..."
"How much?"
"The monetary figures would mean nothing to you, but let's just
say you couldn't have afforded it even in your prime."
Nabiki scowled. Would her reputation follow her even HERE?
"I MEANT, how extensive are the replacements?"
"I wouldn't worry about it. If all goes as planned, you won't
be using them for long."
<I hope not,> she said to herself. <To live in a world where
Kasumi is...> She put away the thought. She had already shown far too
much weakness. The only thing left to do was confess, get this over
with as quickly as possible, and go back to her eternal rest. If she
was going to die a second time, it was going to be with dignity, not
tears.
"But, to answer your question..." The director smiled. "As I've
already mentioned, five percent of your brain has been replaced by
microcomputers. Not to worry, it's mostly the primordial areas having
to do with simple motions, habitual actions, and the like... THOSE we
replace quite routinely now, actually, thanks to the research we've
done on you... You've been quite a boon to medical science, Ms. Tendo."
Nabiki arched an eyebrow. "Yes... I wouldn't expect a ruthless
entrepreneur like yourself to think we'd let all that R&D go to waste...
Onocorp is now one of the three largest prosthetics companies
in the world."
Nabiki snorted.
"It'd better be, with the amount of cash it must've taken to
gather me up and stitch me together. Who DID it, anyway? The consistency
movement wasn't THAT big seventy years ago..."
Tanaro smiled.
"Your antics made my grandfather quite angry, Ms. Tendo. Dr. Ono
Tofu paid for all the expenses himself, after his wife's death... It sent
him into debt and penury, but assured my mother and myself the places in
high society which we now enjoy. Of course, he couldn't do it ALL on his
own.. When Kunou-sensei first became politically prominent, my honourable
ancestor was quite influential in establishing the Kunou Foundation, as
well as laying the basis for what would become Onocorp. Ironic, that all
this should come about from hatred of yourself."
Another one of those disconcerting grins.
<Like a fox playing with a chicken,> thought Nabiki. <But DOCTOR
TOFU?> He just didn't seem like the type...
"The Dr. Tofu _I_ knew was sweet... Rather crazy at times, but
certainly not the kind of person to help found a thing like this... I...
I just find it hard to believe that..."
Tanaro's face hardened.
"Ono Kasumi's death was an incredible blow to him, and changed him
utterly..." he said. "You KNEW him, and presumably were aware of his
infatuation." He raised a questioning eyebrow. Nabiki nodded in assent.
"After the death he became a changed man... I remember him only as
bitter, cold, silent, and determined...."
"Determined?"
"To make you pay for your crime. He LOVED Kasumi. She
was the most important thing in his life. Together with my mother, they
WERE his life. And YOU.. YOU took that away from him."
Nabiki turned away.
"So you understand... The only mention I have of ojiisan being
warm is from old-timers, like yourself. Anyone who met him AFTER the
incident would never use that word in the same sentence as his name." The
director chuckled. "Other children's grandparents taught them how to fish;
mine taught me how to hate. Both he and my mother would drill me, day
after day, in the need to have you punished, to make you FEEL their pain,
and that of Kasumi-sama."

A ring from the intercom. "Yes?"
"Sire, bionics will be operational in two minutes. I apologise
for the delay."
"Quite all right; quite all right... I've waited all my life;
a few more minutes won't hurt. Carry on."
"Aye, Sire."
"Now, where were we?"
"Hate," said Nabiki. She still couldn't believe it. The Doctor -
cold and bitter? And all due to her... For the first time in her life,
she was experiencing true regret, and she wasn't enjoying it.
"That will be MORE than aptly covered at your trial, I am sure,"
said the director. "I would LOVE to go on," <I'll bet he would,> thought
Nabiki, "but we don't have much time. I suggest we focus on the technical
aspects of the situations. Do you have any questions about the implants?"
"The brain," said Nabiki. She had to know exactly how much they'd
tampered with her. "What have you changed in my brain?"
"Oh, yes... THAT... There's no reason to complain about it.
You wouldn't BELIEVE how many people come to us to have that kind of
surgery... Pilots, surgeons, anyone who needs to do things accurately
and precisely, in fact... The new habitual motion areas allow for the
creation of what we like to call 'physical macros', and the others let
one do wonderful things with speed reading, and... Oh, but I haven't the
time to go into that... Maybe I'll have one of our sales reps explain it
to you before your execution."
"What happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'?"
"That only applies if you are innocent, ne, Mademoiselle
Tendo?"
"Touche." A weak smile. "Anything ELSE I should know about?"
"Not much. Your eyes, nervous system, most bones, right arm,
left leg, and heart have all been replaced. Your innards have been
cloned from your genetic material, and engineered to be in sync with
your prosthetics... Oh, yes! Your biochem's synthetic... Apart from
that, nothing I can think of."
"I see..." A red light blinked to life next to the desk.
"They're ready for us. Get up, Ms. Tendo."

She did, and was mildly surprised not to hear the sounds of
whizzing gears and expanding pistons. Tanaro Ono also stood, and
motioned to the door. They left.
The corridors looked like a hospitals'. White. Antiseptic.
Cold. Nabiki had a fundamental distrust of things that seemed this
clean and pure, but she had to admit it was an appropriate setting for
her final judgement.
"How far?" she asked.
"Just a few more doors."

When they finally arrived, the dreaded portal ended up being
just another innocuous-looking standard-make door. The only thing
that distinguished it from any other was its number: 416. The director
pulled a key-card out of his breast pocket and slipped it into the
appropriate spot. The door slid open with a soft hiss.
The interior of the room was nothing like what Nabiki had
expected. There were no juror's benches, no audience chairs, no
television cameras, advocate's boxes... In fact, all there was,
was a desk, a computer terminal, two old wooden chairs and one
plastic-and-metal chair-like contraption. As for people, only one
young man in a white lab-coat stood in a corner, holding a medical bag.
"Is this IT?"
"I'm afraid so, Ms. Tendo."
"I don't understand... Where are the lawyers? Jurors? JUDGE?"
The director's eyes twinkled as he smiled.
"Have you been paying attention? We ARE a consistency court.
You are your own advocate, prosecutor and judge. I am merely here
as... Court stenographer. Yes, that is quite the proper analogy."
"Sire," the man in the lab coat spoke up. "Is she ready to be
prepped?"
"Go ahead." The underling nodded.
"What? 'Prepped'? I don't..."
"You may explain, Jonathan. I'm sure you'll do a better job
than I could."
"Thank-you, Sire." A bow. Then, to Nabiki. "It used to be that
consistency trials took a long time... A speciality team would spend
months, or years doing research into every aspect of the accused's life
to come up with an accurate picture of his or her moral code, and would then
determine in an old-fashioned trial whether the plaintiff was guilty
according to said code." <Even Kunou-baby's speeches were better than
this freak's...> thought Nabiki to herself. <I suppose it _is_ part of
my punishment...> "Thanks to the technology developed for your
reconstruction, we can now do away with the Consistency Squads. We
merely put the appropriate machinery into the accused's head, and link
them directly to a computer. As the subjects speak, their thoughts are
displayed in visual format on the monitor, as seen by 'the mind's
eye'."
"You've rehearsed this, haven't you?" Nabiki asked.
"Many times, Ms. Tendo." he answered.
"You frighten me..." She took a deep breath. The sooner they
started... "Plug me in, then. I want this finished."
The attendant motioned to the metallic chair, and Nabiki sat on
it. Straps were tightened over her wrists and ankles, and then...
"A syringe? What's that for?" She grimaced. "Don't tell me they
give the lethal injection BEFORE the verdict's out, now."
"Lethal injection?" The director looked at her. "We wouldn't be
that lenient. That would cause at most a moment's pain, after all...
No, Ms. Tendo, this is just some valium and Demerol... To loosen the
tongue."
"I'll talk anyway. No need to prick me." The attendant paused.
"We want to make sure. Proceed, Jonathan." Jonathan nodded
and began to inject the serum into Nabiki's left arm. The needle bent.
"That's her prosthetic, Jonathan. I'm sorry. I should have
warned you."
"It's quite all right, Sire. I have replacements." He tossed
the used syringe into a nearby waste-bin, and took a new one from his
bag. This time, the solution went into Nabiki's left arm without
incident. It was only a short time before she began to feel
disoriented and light-headed.
"The drugs are quite strong, so I doubt you'll be able to keep
track of the outside world. Don't worry about it... Just concentrate
on my questions, and your memories." Nabiki nodded. Her vision was
beginning to blur... "Jonathan?"
"Yes, Sire?"
"She seems to be going under. Connect her."
"Yes, Sire." He reached for the back of Nabiki's head and
pulled loose a hair-covered panel. To the now-exposed circuitry, he
hooked up one end of the cable, and connected the other end to the
computer. "Done, Sire."
"Good." Nabiki frowned. The voices were sounding...
Strange... More or less like when she woke up from a Saturday
afternoon nap, in the early evening, and heard her sisters speaking
around her... Her sisters...
"Sire? The subject is crying."
"She must be thinking about the crime in question. On-screen."
Jonathan flipped a switch. The monitor flickered for a few seconds,
then showed shifting pictures of Akane, Nabiki and Kasumi... All
three of them at the beach, three young girls with their mother... The
screen zoomed into Mrs. Tendo's face, which morphed into that of
Kasumi. "Interesting... This puts quite a new slant on the case..."
Then, a sudden shift to a graveyard scene. The Tendo family was
standing in the rain around a freshly-dug grave. The perspective
moved to the front of the memorial stone, where the name of Nabiki's
mother was clearly visible. Another pan-out from the tombstone, to
a changed scene. It was still a burial, but this time, it was the
youngest Tendo.. Akane? Who was being laid to rest. Nabiki was
beside the coffin, crying... She lifted the lid, and inside was
Kasumi Tendo's body.

Nabiki screamed. She screamed, as on the screen her elder
sister's corpse reached out to hug her... Always forgiving her... Even
for THIS... The screams grew louder.

"Sire? What shall I do?"
"Direct mike, please."
"As you will, sire." Jonathan handed Director Ono a microphone
which was also connected to the computer.
"Is it on?"
"Hai." Jonathan blushed. "I mean... Yes, Director Ono." Tanaro
smiled.
"No need to be so formal when it's only the two of us." He
winced as another scream erupted from the chair. Clutching the mike,
he spoke: "Nabiki? Can you hear me, Tendo Nabiki?" Silence. Then, a
nod from 'Ms. Tendo'. "Good. I will guide you, Nabiki. I will ask
you questions, and you will answer me. Do you understand?" Nod.
"Very well." The director opened a manila folder on a nearby monitor-top,
and leafed through its contents until he found the information he was
looking for. "First, I will ask you to remember something. Think back
to just after the death of your younger sister's fiance... The death of
Ranma."

The director's voice transported Nabiki, sending her back
through the years, back to the dismal winter following Ranma's death.
THAT is what had started it all. Her mother's passing had been traumatic,
but at least she had been left with FAMILY. Kasumi, Daddy, and Akane...
But after that BAKA got himself killed... What business of his was it
anyway, to go to China on some macho 'training trip'? If it wasn't for
that curse of his, Chia would've never come back looking for his mate, and
then... Nabiki STILL couldn't believe here sister had LOVED that pile
of muscle. Sure, they'd joked about it often enough, but no one actually
believed it. Except perhaps for Daddy. And then, she up and threw herself
off that bridge when Ranma died. Always picking a fight. That's what had
gotten him into trouble. Men... As if it wasn't enough to get HIMSELF
killed, he had to drag OTHERS down into the abyss with him! Typical male
reaction. Selfish. Unthinking.
Nabiki laughed to herself. MALE reaction? Even as a WOMAN, he
caused trouble...

Jonathan stared at the pictures forming n the screen.
"Sire? That boy... He's... Turning into a girl... Isn't he?"
The director nodded.
"Jusenkyo curse. We have references for it."
"The legends are TRUE?"
"Only within these walls, if you want to stay alive."
"H-hai.."

She'd finally found SOMEONE she had a chance with - a man who
actually CARED for her, FAWNED on her... Sure, he was a bit... dense...
but that was a minor fault when put against his other charms. But, of
COURSE Kunou-baby had to fall in love with the 'pig-tailed goddess'. Feh.
Some goddess. More like a demon in disguise. When he heard of his
beloved's disappearance, and of Akane's death, his other little quirk
kicked into place. When he wasn't drooling over some girl or another,
he tended to slobber over HIMSELF. Naturally, he assumed the two had
killed themselves independently of each other, so he wouldn't have to
choose between them. And of COURSE his Samurai code just HAD to point
out to him that the honourable thing to do was to become a monk, and live
in quiet reflection of the 'nobility' of those two. Darn those vows of
chastity. She'd been so close, until that baka got himself slaughtered...
"Sire, who IS this? I thought she was just some criminal, but...
She was Tatewaki Kunou's GIRLFRIEND? I don't see how we can still go
on, if that's the case."
Director Ono frowned.
"Why not?"
"Permission to speak freely, Sire?"
Tanaro nodded.
"Granted."
"Kunou-sensei is a hero! He brought peace, started the consistency
courts... And we ARE the Kunou Foundation. How can we kill one whom he
cared for? With all due respect, sire, should we really go on with
this?"
"We WILL go on, Jonathan. With you, or without you. If you value
your job, and your well-being, you will stay mum and follow orders."
The assistant trembled.
"As... As you will, Sire."

The next big blow was Daddy's death. He didn't last too long,
with both heirs to the 'Anything-Goes' school gone. With all those
passings, and Kasumi's marriage to Dr. Tofu, Nabiki was once again left
alone. Of course, 'oneechan' would never turn her away, and would always
be ready with a tray of cookies and a listening ear when she needed one,
but it wasn't the same... Nabiki had lost her home. She'd tried to
replace family life with entrepeneuring, but even THAT couldn't fill the
gap she felt inside... She'd lost her family to death, and the only member
who remained had started one of her own. Kasumi had a daughter,
already. It always cheered Nabiki to see her... Little Bell was so
sweet... The perfect combination of her older sister's tenderness and
Dr. Tofu's rugged handsomeness... Not that she was so little, anymore.
Bell had turned into quite the young woman... Quite a fortunate one,
too, with a set of caring parents and a stable home.

"Hmm... She seems to be slipping back INTO the time, rather than
just remembering it..." Ono stroked his chin. "Good. We can probably get
more information that way."

Having the doctor's household so close to her only served to
remind Nabiki of her loss, and she devoted herself heart and soul to her
enterprises.

"Yes, Nabiki." spoke the director into the mike. "That's it...
Tell us about your business..."

Business... The money she had made over the years, selling
pictures of her sister to Kunou and blackmailing others had allowed
her to buy some very profitable stocks. In just a few years, she had
risen to the ownership of a large Security company. She always found
that amusing... Her securities were what had allowed her to take
control of Universal Security Equipment, Inc...

The director twisted a few knobs on the computer's controls.
He'd better log this. They were getting close to the target.
"And how did that company do?" <Prod gently,> he thought to
himself. <Don't want to overshoot the mark.>

The company did well... For a time... While it was expanding,
taking care of it filled Nabiki's vacant hours, and occupied her
thoughts, which would otherwise be filled with depression and loss...
Once it stabilised, however (and it stabilised SOON. Nabiki was too
adept at business for her own good), it ceased to keep her busy, and
she needed another project. Real estate...

"Real estate? What real estate?" In response to the question,
a fuzzy picture of about twenty Tokyo city blocks appeared on the
computer screen.

Nabiki held the deeds to all the land around the abandoned
Tendo Dojo for a radius of two kilometres. She had bought these
while the property was worthless, but as Nerima grew, it had
transformed (as she had predicted all along, of course) into prime
real estate. Even the Ono clinic/residence belonged to her, at least
technically... When the doctor had run into some monetary
difficulties, she had 'bought' the property off of him and covered its
mortgage, leaving him with live-in rights, and everything, in fact,
but actual ownership.

"My, my... That was unusually kind of you, Ms. Tendo. You
took control of his property, and didn't even kick him out on the
street? Most kind." The comment made Nabiki frown, even in her
delirious state. <Better be careful,> thought Tanaro. <Don't want
to break the link...> "I apologise for the interruption. Go on... You
had plans for that land, did you not? Tell me about them..."

Plans... Of course she had plans! Great ones... Nerima had
a lot now. Lawyers, doctors, dentists and such found it an optimal
area to set up their practices, but as of yet there wasn't much in
the way of shopping malls, or recreational complexes... With the land
she had, and the money from USE, she could build one... It would help
everyone, make life more pleasant... But...

"But?"

Most of the land was no problem. Only Nabiki ever used the
dojo, so demolishing it would not present a difficulty. As for the
rest, in planning this she had allowed her tenants' leases to expire,
then had refused to renew the contracts... No one lived there now,
except...

"Jonathan, take secondary notes. We're almost there."
"Aye, Sire."

The Tofu clinic, still booming, was right in the middle of the
property. She had approached the couple (subtly, of course) about
moving to a more luxurious location she would pay for, but they had
refused, arguing that the clinic had always been their married home...
It looked like the plan would have to be given up, but if she gave
up...

<If she'd given up,> thought Tanaro, <then she'd have had to face
and deal with her pathetic life. I see...>

If she could find an excuse to demolish the place while they
were gone, and then relocate them... It wouldn't harm them; she'd set
them up in a beautiful condo... There wasn't a way, though. She
couldn't destroy the property without their consent, or knowledge.

"But you DID, didn't you? How, Nabiki? How did you do it?"
In the chair, Nabiki shifted uncomfortably. "Tell me, Nabiki. It is
important."

She had... She had gotten an idea when she went to visit Ukyou
in the Sanatorium... The poor girl had gone mad after giving birth
to Ryouga's son... He reminded her too much of Ranma, and the fact
that they'd been rivals... The nurse had been telling Nabiki about
how the ex-okonomiyaki chef had demolished half the town in her
insanity, using only a spatula... Then, she had commented on how they
were fortunate it was the wife that had gone crazy, and not the
husband... If Ryouga was ever _that_ depressed, his Shishi Houkodan
or the 'Blasting Point Technique' would have probably inflicted a lot
more damage. But Ryouga was still sane, wasn't he?

"And the Shishi Houkodan reminded you of something
at USE, did it not?" Ono hated to prompt, but the drugs would begin
to wear off soon, and they had to be through by then...

The Shishi Houkodan... At the security company, they
would test new equipment by detonating small, government-approved
bombs next to them in a desert area... Whenever she was present at
one of those trials, Nabiki couldn't help but think of Ryouga's
special attacks... The effects were nearly identical...

On the screen, a picture of a bomb exploding, and the smoke
clearing to reveal a spent Ryouga.
"I see..." said the Director. "You intended to frame Ryouga
for the destruction of the clinic?"
Nabiki nodded.

She would frame him, yes, but it was for the better good of
Nerima... Besides, she could pay him back for any legal fees or bail
charges after the profits started rolling in, and maybe even add a
generous compensation bonus...

"And how, exactly, did you manage this?"
On the chair, Nabiki began to sweat.

It had been all too easy... With his wife incarcerated, Ryouga
had been an easy target for seduction. Nabiki smiled. The poor boy
had been no match for her, when she tried to be appealing... One
night was all she needed... She had the... 'genetic material' she
had gathered cloned at the USE labs, until she had enough to legally
place Hibiki at the blast site. The final touch was to fake a note,
purportedly from Akane, blaming her suicide on her hatred of Ryouga.

The director turned his eyes away from the monitor. These
were pictures he did NOT want to see...
"Oh, deity..." he muttered. He had known she was sick, but
THIS...

Nabiki had waited until a day when Dr. Tofu and Kasumi had
scheduled a trip to the beach, then she had set the cloned material,
bomb and letter in Akane's old room at the dojo. In the early
afternoon, she detonated the explosive... But... She hadn't known...
She hadn't... WHY? WHY? WHY did Kasumi have to come back?

On the monitor, Kasumi returning for a forgotten item. Picnic
basket? Beach towel? No one knew, and after the incident she was in
no condition to tell... Then, a cycle of imagined pictures of
'oneechan' dying a thousand horrible deaths, as the walls of the
clinic collapsed onto her, and the shock-wave burnt her flesh...

Oh, deity. She hadn't known... When she found out, it was
too much... To lose KASUMI. To lose her MOTHER, her FAMILY... She'd
killed her... She'd...

Nabiki began to cry.

After doing such a thing, she could not allow herself to live.
How would she, after destroying everything that she lived FOR? She
settled on a suicide - via bomb; it was the only proper way. Before
that, of course, she left her affairs in order. All outstanding debts
were paid, a luxury condominium was signed over to Dr. Tofu and Bell,
and ownership of USE was transferred to Hibiki Ryouga. Hopefully,
its wealth would be enough of a compensation for having put him
in his present unfortunate position...

The director looked at the monitor. She HAD been thorough in
settling her accounts, spiritually and otherwise... That was a
problem... She had paid Ryouga back to the best of her ability, and
submitted herself to the same fate she had put her sister through...
"Sire, the drug are wearing off."
Tanaro turned to face the attendant.
"It doesn't matter. We have enough. In point of fact, wake
her up completely. There's been a... development..."
"Aye, Sire." He pulled another syringe out of the bag, and
injected the sobbing Nabiki. She promptly stiffened up, and tried to
mask her tears.

"You know?" she asked. Ono nodded.
"We know."
"When is the execution? I would like it done as soon as
possible, please."
"Execution?" The director smiled. "I'm afraid not, Ms. Tendo.
There will be no execution."
"WHAT? But you said..."
"We can't kill an innocent person, Ms. Tendo, no matter how
vile they may be."
"Innocent?!? I thought you'd seen... What I just... Didn't
you say you could see what I was thinking?" Another nod.
"We can. We did. You passed. You are not guilty, by your
own moral code."
"I don't understand..."
"The crimes you were accused of were the incapacitation of
Kasumi Tendo, and..."
"Incapacitation?" Nabiki smirked. "I haven't heard THAT
used as euphemism for death before. Just say I killed her."
"Oh, but you didn't..."
"WHAT?!?"
"Not quite." Ono smiled. "She lived. For six moths, she lived.
She was paralysed, blind, and mute, but her mind still worked, and she
was kept alive through intravenous feeding."
"Oh, deity..." She looked at herself, then Tanaro. "If that
happened to Kasumi, why didn't you just bring HER back? Rebuild her, like
you rebuilt ME. Why put me through all this, and let her die?"
"Oh, we TRIED, my dear Ms. Tendo," said the director. "But thanks to
her daughter, that was QUITE impossible."
"Her daughter? Bell-chan?"
"Yes. She couldn't stand seeing her mother in that position, so
after half a year of visiting her every day, and seeing her just LIE
there, she... Pulled the plug. Quite literally. Disconnected her from
all the life-support equipment..."
"Deity..." Nabiki cried. "I'm so sorry..."
The director looked amused.
"There seems to be an uncharacteristic amount of compassion in
your voice," he said. "Could it be that you're actually WORRIED that the
incident might have hurt her?" The woman nodded. "Don't worry. She got
over THAT pretty quickly. Now, the cleaning fluid was another matter
entirely..."
"Cleaning fluid?"
"To make sure no one would try to reconnect her, or keep her alive
artificially, she injected her mother with a strong basic solution while
the heart was still beating. I'm afraid the organs were QUITE
unsalvageable after that... I suppose we could have duplicated most of the
body, but as you well know, 'The brain cannot be cloned'..."
"That can't be true!"
"But it is, and I have photocopies of the psychiatrist's bills,
and the court stenographer's notes to prove it." Tanaro noticed Nabiki's
arched eyebrow. "Don't look so surprised! Of COURSE there had to be a
trial. Fortunately, she opted for consistency, and was found completely
innocent. In her pure heart, she found death to be a preferable fate
for Kasumi than the living hell you'd sent her to."
"I didn't know..."
"Precisely. You didn't know. Invincible ignorance has been
your saviour. By your own moral code, you took all necessary
precautions, and would provide the Onos with ample compensation...
You wronged Ryouga, yes, but transferring the ownership of USE paid
him back in full, since it covered his bail and legal costs, AND left
him and his descendants... How does the phrase go? 'Set for life'..."
"What happens now?"
"You live."
"You realise, I'll only kill myself. I can't live in this
world...Wouldn't YOU rather have the pleasure?"
Director Ono's eyes twinkled.
"Oh, so you'll kill yourself?"
"Yes. As soon as you let me go, I will kill myself. If you
try to rebuild me again, I will simply commit suicide a third time."
Without warning, Tanaro slipped a small dagger out of his
jacket and threw it straight at Nabiki's head. Unthinkingly, she
plucked it out of the air with her thumb and forefinger.
"What?!?" She could not understand...
"I'm afraid, Ms. Tendo, that we can't afford to let you
die... You will find that you now have a very well-developed self-
preservation instinct... This, combined with your mechanical reflexes,
leads to some interesting effects, as you have so kindly demonstrated."
"If you were ready to kill me anyway, why do this?"
"Come now, Ms. Tendo! If you'd been guilty, we'd have wanted to
kill you OURSELVES, via the most painful, torturous mean your own
imagination could devise. If you ended it all with just a relatively
painless thrust of a knife, or something akin to it, that wouldn't do at
ALL, now, would it? Never mind that, though. It still applies now that
you've been found innocent. If you destroy yourself, how will you ever
pay us back?"
"PAY YOU BACK?!?!?!?"
"Of course! You may be innocent of the crimes, but this is
still a consistency court... In your first life, you never gave
anything for free..." Nabiki glared at him. "Well.... Seldom... In
any case, why should you expect US to give you a second chance, and
not charge for it?" The woman sighed.
"I admit I might have been a bit... persuasive at times," she
said, "but I never sold anyone ANYTHING without their having asked for it,
first. I _know_ I didn't ask for a resurrection, and my setting off that
bomb should have made that abundantly clear, in any case."
"Oh, no?"
"No."
"What if I told you that we could prove it otherwise?"
"Huh?"
The director reached into his jacket and pulled out a minidisk,
then handed it to his assistant.
"Jonathan? Play track 4730." He turned to Nabiki. "That disc has
the mnemonic information we recorded while you were unconscious."
Jonathan took the disc, and slipped it into the appropriate slot
on the main computer terminal.
"You're bluffing," said Nabiki.
"Wait and see."

The screen came to life once more. This time, a red-haired girl
wearing a yellow shirt and a bow-tie was sailing through the air. As soon
as she landed, a young Nabiki poured hot water onto her from a tin kettle,
promptly turning the girl into a black-haired, pig-tailed boy.
"Hey, watch it!" said Ranma.
"I figure two thousand yen should cover it," said Nabiki.

"Stop the recording, Jonathan. That's all we need."
"Yes, Sire. That morph... was that?"
"We have already discussed this. If you value your safety and your
solvency, you will keep quiet."
"Hai."
"What do you say NOW, Ms Tendo?" said Tanaro, once again turning
towards her.
"If I hadn't done that, Shampoo would've killed him," she said.
"It was pretty clear that he would've asked for the water, if he could've.
Besides, he paid me for it voluntarily. Eventually."
"Well, then," smiled the director. "We seem to be in agreement.
If WE hadn't done what WE did, you would have remained dead, and you
clearly want to live..."
"Just a minute!" exclaimed the woman. "I think that my suicide
kind of shows that I DON'T want to live. I STILL didn't ask for this, and
you STILL don't have a legal claim. There is no WAY you can hold me here.
Good day!" She turned to leave.
"You're absolutely right, Ms Tendo," said the director.
"Huh? I... I am???"
"If it is clear that you indeed wished to die, then we cannot keep
you here against your will. However, I don't think you'll want to leave
without your WALLET."
"My wallet?"
"We found it at the blast site, and kept it for you."
"Thanks. I think."
Tanaro pulled a small leather item from his trouser pocket, and
deliberately dropped a slip of paper from it onto the floor as he handed
it to Nabiki.
"Oh, dear," he said. "How clumsy of me. Now, I wonder what THAT
could be?" He picked up the paper. "Hmm... Seems to be a life preservation
card..."
"What?!?" No. It couldn't be. Could it? Nabiki snatched the piece
of cardboard from the man.
It was.
"All right, I suppose you can keep it, if you like. We have plenty
of copies, and I have the main text memorised, in any case. Let's see...
How did it go?" A pause. "I, Tendo Nabiki, hereby declare that if there
should come a time when I am unable to use my reasoning faculties, I am
to be kept alive for as long as is medically possible, using whatever
means are necessary. I forget the exact date and place of signing, I'm
afraid. Am I right?"
Nabiki nodded. That was it, verbatim. With the organ-donation
queues as long as they were, it was five to one against that the medical
ghouls would pull the plug on you too soon, just to recycle your body.
She'd thought it best to fill this out, just in case... Deity, what irony.
"So, you see, Ms. Tendo, the evidence closest to the time of your
'accident' suggests that you wished to live, regardless of what you may
now believe, and hence you are in debt to us for services rendered."
Nabiki sighed.
"Point taken," she said. "How, exactly, am I supposed to pay?
I _did_ sign over my company to Ryouga, after all..."
"That you did. In fact, the Hibikis are now one of the
richest, and most respected, families in Japan... But, don't worry...
We've found a way... You will work for us."
"Work? What kind of work?"
"Not the kind you'll enjoy, I'm afraid... Onocorp has
no need for financiers, deity knows we have enough of them... Instead,
you'll be working for the Kunou foundation, as part of the government
of Nerima."
"Which part?"
"The computer control centre."
"But... I don't really know how to handle a computer..."
"I don't think you understand, Ms. Tendo. You will BE the
computer control centre."
"WHAT?!?!?"
"Your cerebral bionics, added to your natural intelligence,
make you perfect for the job. You'll be hooked up to the main
computer system, just like you were hooked up to this computer," he
waved at the monitor, "and with a little conscious effort, you'll
take care of everything from traffic lights to food supplies."
"That's insane! How will I keep track of it? And I'll need
time to eat, and sleep, and..." The director interrupted.
"Don't worry. We have others in roughly the same position, and
they all do an admirable job... As for eating and sleeping, well,
you'll get the minimum government requirement, but that's only to
comply with regulations... Thanks to your modifications, you don't
really need to sleep, though you can, if you like, and eating
shouldn't take up more than half an hour a day."
"Minimum government requirement?"
"You'll work for us sixteen hours a day, six days a week."
"I take it there's nothing I can do about it."
"Absolutely nothing."
"When do I start?"
"Today is Friday, so we will give you tomorrow off. Let
Saturday be your rest day."
"What about accommodations? Lodging?"
"Don't worry... All that was taken care of long ago." Nabiki
raised an eyebrow. "We _did_ prepare for this eventuality, Ms. Tendo.
Remember; none of us alive now knew you personally; we had no idea
what your moral code was like... Congratulations. You're sicker than
I gave you credit for."
"Thanks. I think..."
"Oh, yes... One more thing before I let you go."
"Hm?"
"Your name."
"Tendo Nabiki."
"Exactly. You can't use that anymore."
"Why not?"
"To the world at large, she's been dead for seventy years. Plus,
your little antics left quite a stain on that name..."
"Then what..."
"You will now be known as Perdita."
"Perdita?"
"Latin. Feminine for 'Lost One'." Nabiki gave him one of her
patented 'looks'.
"You _must_ be joking. There is _no_ way I am being called
'Lost One' in Latin. I'm a TENDO, not a HIBIKI."
"Too late. You're already registered." He turned to the
attendant. "Jonathan? Take Perdita to her quarters."
"Aye, Sire."
"And, brief her on her new stats, will you? Birth date,
parentage, and so on..."
"As you will, Sire." With that, Jonathan unhooked Nabiki from
the terminal, replaced her head panel, unstrapped her and led her out
the door.

Tanaro Ono was satisfied. Perhaps, he thought, perhaps it was
BETTER, after all, that she had been found innocent. It seemed to him
that she CRAVED death; that she couldn't stand to face the
consequences of her actions. To Live... Now, THERE was her worst
nightmare. To be alive in a world where she had killed her sister...
Not only that, but one she thought of as a second mother... He shook
his head. It was poetic justice that she would now know more about
that very part of the world that so concerned her, thanks to her new-
found employment... A smile. Nabiki Tendo... Pardon. PERDITA had
paid in full. Whistling airs from Beethoven's ninth, the director
smoothed his jacket and went out the door.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Epilogue: Nerima Graveyard December 15, 2095 - Saturday, 6:42 PM
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Nabiki walked up the dirt path to the hilltop, dressed in black,
and with a thick veil hiding her face. Soon, she was in sight of the
marble slab that marked the Tendo tomb. The cemetery's artificial lights
were designed to be discrete, but their pinpoints of blue gave an eerie
effect, and made it difficult for even her mechanical eyes to read the
inscriptions on the plaque before the marker. Nabiki shivered, and it
wasn't from the evening winter breeze.
<Just as well,> she thought. She'd checked the records
beforehand, so she knew what to expect, but her mind wasn't quite strong
enough yet to face the fact concretely. Not strong enough, by far.
Besides... Someone else was at the graveside. A woman? Yes... That much
she could tell from the chest... But the black, and the dark, made little
else distinguishable. Probably some descendant of Kasumi's... <I'm not
going to think about that.> She was fooling herself. Of course she was
going to. She thought of little else. Her crime, her family, and death
were all that occupied her mind, roughly in that order.
The figure stood, then turned and walked towards the exit gate.
<Well. No more putting it off...> With a deep breath of cold air, she
gathered resolution and went towards the memorial.

Once there, she knelt before the stone, and looked at the names
inscribed on it. She ran her fingers lightly over the indentations in
the marble. The fingers of her organic hand. The first name was her
mother's. Then came Akane's, Daddy's, and before Kasumi's... Her own. She
had no right to be there, next to them. No right at all. She'd outlived
them, though they were the ones who deserved life; not she. It wasn't
fair! They'd left, and she'd stayed. Now she was alone, confused, and
lost.
Lost. Nabiki laughed bitterly. Perhaps the name the foundation
had chosen for her wasn't THAT inappropriate, after all. Perdita. "Lost
one". Fitting. She might not scrap it QUITE as soon as she'd first
planned...

The night birds were beginning to sing their songs, and the
barking of dogs and noise of cat-fights was gradually replacing the whirr
of the hovercars. The sky was dark; thick clouds made sure that even
the full moon could not be seen. It was time to leave. The atmosphere
and memories were getting to her. Better do what she'd come for, and go
back to the hospice.
She reached into her robe, pulling out a bundle of incense
sticks and a minilight. Hands shaking, she separated one of them
from the rest, then carefully heated it. In seconds, the dull red rod
began to glow, letting off grey-blue smoke which curled upwards, fading
abruptly into the surrounding darkness. Even when one could tell the
chemical composition of the soot at a glance, or the temperature of the
flame, it was still a touching sight.
<Happy anniversary, sis.>
Tears flowing liberally, she set the offering down next to
Akane's name. It was with some surprise that she noticed the
flower left by an earlier visitor. A cloned rose - in black, and still
fresh. <Must've been that woman...> She allowed herself to smile. At
least SOMEONE in this future world still remembered...
No more. She had to stop living in the past, and begin to
think of her future. Nabiki was dead and buried; she had been reborn,
whether she liked it or not, and it was best that she remember that hers
was now a different life from the one she'd left.
With a sigh, Perdita stood and trudged back to the main path
through the neatly-cut grass, pausing only briefly to note with disgust
that the Saotome tomb was mere inches away from her family's. <Even in
death, Ranma, you can't leave us alone...>
She started on the trail, and headed home.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
END SIDE STORY
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTES:

A while ago, someone else did this... I thought it was a neat idea,
so here goes...

This is a list of the music I listened to while writing the gamma:
(along with some extra quotes... They seemed so influential to my
writing, that I couldn't bear to leave them out...)

* Alan Menken's musical version of "A Christmas Carol"
RoboNabs: ["Lead me to the future, / I don't know what hells await me,
/ but I know I have to go there to return! / Tear me into shreds and
re-create me! / Tell me that it's not too late to learn! / I can feel
the shiver / of a shadow passing over / And I have a premonition it's
for me! / Lead me to the future! / Show me everything I'm terrified
to see!"]
* Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" and "Night on Bald Mountain"
* Danny Elfman's "The Nightmare Before Christmas"
* Highlights from Mussorgsky's opera, "Boris Gudonov" (If you haven't
heard it, do so! It's dark, but beautiful...)
* Tchaikovsky's "Queen of Spades"
* Philip Glass's opera, "La Belle et la Bete" (this might as well be
the R2096 soundtrack... I listen to it continuously while I write
the eps...)
* Philip Glass's "Itaipu"
* Prokofiev's "Alexander Nevsky"
* "Classics from the Crypt", an RCA Victor anthology
* "The Secret Garden" - Original Broadway Cast Album
Tofu:["Someone's died, and someone's left alone, and can't abide
it..."]
Tofu:["Where in the world, tell me, where in the world, / can I live
without your love? / Where on the earth, tell me where on the earth,
/ can I stay now that you are gone?"]
RoboNabs: ["And then I longed to join them / Know the peace they feel,
/ Then I woke once more / Without them / Knew I must wander on and
on."]
* "Les Miserables" - Original Broadway cast Recording

Hopefully, this will help explain the tone of the story... ^_^

And now, for the full acknowledgements...

Credit goes to Charles K. Hurst for raising the question of why Kasumi
wasn't recreated, instead of Nabiki. This led to having the situation
she was in be so painful that Bell-chan, their daughter, decided on
definitive euthanasia rather than see her mother stay in that state.
(Remember, even in 2096, nerve tissue can't be regenerated, so she would
have been at LEAST slightly crippled, even with all the medical
advancements...)

Wayne Pillion inquired as to the how and whys of Nabiki's resurrection,
asking who would have had the interest, means, and money in 2025 to
put her back together again (or keep her in storage until the appropriate
technology was developed).

He also asked about Kunou-sensei. To clear this up, YES, Kunou is a
national hero. In fact, he's a GLOBAL hero. His efforts brought world
peace, standardised Consistency trials as the method of justice favoured
internationally, and renovated the Japanese government.
Thanks to him, I inserted that minor change, clearing up the fact that
Onocorp and the KF are two separate entities, though they ARE run by the
same person (a fact which, it'll be revealed, is known to very few...)

Many others contributed with minor corrections, and I am indebted to
Mike Koos and Marisa Price for their constant encouragement. In addition,
Monsieur Koos has also been kind enough to create, scan, and e-mail to
me what have become the definitive character sketches for Childra, Kim
and Ratiko. Many thanks!

=========================================================================
I may be reached at either will...@mail.idt.net or 4c...@qlink.queensu.ca
The Ranma 2096 pages are found at http://qlink.queensu.ca/~4cw6/
and include many full-colour pictures of the characters, biographies
and a fanfic archive, among other things.
=========================================================================