Been way behind on my commenting, sorry.  I'm sending this to the list to 
help bolster the public C&C level.

On Sat, 5 Sep 1998, Jurai-Knight wrote:

Quantum Destinies
A Ranma fanfic
by Steven Thesken (jurai-knight@home.com)

Chapter 7 - Lies and Revelations

But are some of the revelations lies?

    *Oh, Akane,* thought Nabiki with a tolerant look.  *You take 
after mother more than any of us.  I think she would be proud of 

geeble.  As opposed to the MainVerse, where Kasumi apparently takes after 
Mom most.  Oh, and Mother should be capitalized.

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

wasn't sure.  He knew that his body possessed the seeds of the 
skills from the other Ranma in his brain, in his nerves, and in his 
reflexes.  It was now clamoring for him to bring those skills to full 
bloom within himself.

	Considering all the wackos that are due to show up soon, good 
idea. 

    When Nodoka came downstairs to fix breakfast, she heard 
strange sounds coming from the backyard.  Curious, she looked 
out the kitchen window to see her son doing the most amazing 
performance.  She watched in surprise as Ranma did flips and 
tumbles like an acrobat.  His movements lacked complete grace, 
like he was practicing skills that had grown rusty.  *What did 
Genma teach Ranma while they were gone?*

	Well, secondhand, more martial arts than is really good for his 
health. 

    "I guess I have been acting rather strange the last few days, 
pop," he said as he caught the towel.  Ranma dried his face, and 

Pop should be capitalized.

laid the towel across the back of his neck.  Genma was watching 
him with a thoughtful expression.  He gestured for Ranma to join 
him in the chair next to him.

    "The sudden change in your manner of speech is one of the 
things that has your mother concerned," observed Genma as he 
watched a flock of birds that suddenly flew overhead.

    "My speech?"  Ranma paused as he went over what he had just 
said.  "Oh," he said quietly.  He sat down in the chair and rubbed 
the towel against the back of his neck.  "There's actually a very 
good explanation for that, as well as the other changes."  Ranma 
looked at his father.

    "Go on," said Genma.

Unbelievable!  A world where people actually *listen* to Ranma's 
explanations!

    "I want to start off by telling you the good news, father."  
Ranma broke out into a large grin.  "I did it."

    "Did what," asked Genma in a puzzled tone.  He pushed his 
glasses up the bridge of his nose from where they had slipped 
down to.

Will have to introduce the concept of earloops...

    "I've proven your theory of parallel worlds," said Ranma a little 
more excitedly.  "I've _seen_ them!  Pop, you were right."

A first for Genma...

    "Yes," said Ranma happily.  "I was finally able to work out the 
last bugs in the system earlier this week.  It's still pretty crude.  I 
think I can only tune into the most probable worlds of the 
potential worlds that exist on each quantum band."  Genma sat 

Thus, "Half Moon" or "Thy Outward Part" aren't going to make guest 
appearances...

    "There were some unexpected side effects," said Ranma in a 
muffled voice.  Genma didn't hear him at first.  Visions of the 
honors that he and his son would earn in the Ministry of Science 
for this accomplishment filled his mind.  Ranma began to 
struggle.  Genma let him go with a smile.

    "Pop!  I said that there were some unexpected side effects."  
Ranma backed up a step as Genma blinked.

    "Side effects?  What sort of side effects, son?"  His tone of voice 
was filled with concern.

	"Well, I now have a expert knowledge of how to dress in women's 
clothing... "

    "So you got into a fight the other day," asked Genma quietly.  
"To test your new abilities?"  His eyes studied the ground.

    Ranma blinked, and stopped what he was doing.  "No, pop, it 
wasn't like that at all.  The fight was an accident.  I was doing 
better at sparring in physical education, and A... one of my fellow 
students decided to challenge me after school."

Sounds about right.

    "I did have a capacitor set up for emergencies, but... it was 
discharged when I had visitors at my lab.  I had to wait in my 
other self for the trickle charger to rebuild the charge in the 
capacitor.  I'm afraid that I was so distracted that I simply forgot 
to recharge it before activating the experiment."  Ranma stared 
miserably at the ground.  His father was always a careful man, 
and Ranma could feel his disappointment.

Foreshadowing...

    "Does your counterpart have a Genma Saotome for a father?"

    "Yes," replied Ranma with a sudden grin.  "I think you might 
find him to be... interesting."

	"Do you have a taste for bamboo?"

    "I think I will go with you to the Academy today," said Genma 
as he nodded in thought.  "I confess that you've awakened an 
unexpected curiosity in me, son."  Genma got up and walked with 
his son into the house.  *A chance to see how my life could have 
been if circumstances had been different.  I wonder if I'm a good 
father in this other world that Ranma spent so much time in?*

	Hehehehheehh.

    She noticed Akane and her sister Nabiki step out of a side street 
in front of her.  Akane hadn't noticed her, but Nabiki sent a cool 
look in her direction before turning to walk with her sister.  The 
two of them slowly drifted ahead of her as she slowed her pace a 
little bit.  Kodachi's mission today was to try and get some time 
alone to talk with Ranma.

	Well, maybe.

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

    Nabiki strolled along next to Akane.  Her thoughts weren't on 
her sister though.  Nabiki found herself wondering about Ranma 
Saotome.  It was strange to her, since she's never given him much 

"she'd"

thought before.  The last couple of days had changed that opinion.  
*There's something strange going on with you lately, Mister 
Saotome.  My sources have told me that you were in your lab all 
day, despite a full power failure on the lower levels yesterday.  I 
think it's about time I found out what you've been hiding down 
there.*

	Should be fun...

    Nabiki fingered the small lockpick set she habitually carried 
around in her pocket.  *You represent a mystery to me, Ranma 
Saotome.  The fighting skills you suddenly demonstrated against 
the new girl, Kodachi Kuno, aren't recorded in your file.  That 
level of ability doesn't just spring out of thin air.  I intend to find 
out what you could be hiding.*

	A new virtual fighting game!

    "I did," he replied.  His thoughts were on the few schematics 
that his son had show him over the last several months.  "Ranma 
is just going through a phase of sorts.  He'll be fine.  I'm going to 
be at the school with him for the day if you need me."

	From what we learn later, "phase" is a worrisome word...

    "Good morning, Mrs. Mituma," said Nodoka as a smile broke 
out on her face.  "I assume you have some good news for me?"

	"Yes, we've found forty more women to engage to Ranma..."

    "Yes, I do," Otsu replied.  "I have been in contact with the 
Kuonji family, and they are overjoyed at the prospect of their 
daughter meeting Ranma.  I sent them the information on your 
family, and Mr. Kuonji was on the phone to me within the hour to 
confirm a date for the meeting.  Would tomorrow be too soon?"

Whee!

    *Tomorrow?*  Nodoka thought about it for a moment.  "I 
suppose that will be all right.  My son is a little nervous about 
this, but he's agreed to meet all of the girls.  What time should I 
expect Mr. Kuonji and his family?"

    "Mr. and Mrs. Kuonji will be bringing Ukyou by bullet train 
tomorrow, so you should expect them by six for dinner and the 
preliminary discussions.  I'll tell them that you've agreed.  Bye 
now."

	"Be sure to bring okonomiyaki."

the Academy grounds were in front of them, and Ranma was 
starting to feel a little nervous.  He kept a wary eye out for Akane 
and Nabiki, especially Akane, in case they showed up early before 
he could get to his lab.  Fortune smiled on him for once lately, and 
neither were to be seen.

	Nabiki's probably *in* the lab...

    Genma sat there in amazement.  "You used a device like this 
while you were alone?  That was very careless, son."  Genma 

	Well, yes.

    "Would you like to try it, father?"  Genma thought for a 
moment, then nodded.  Ranma began powering up his system, and 
he watched the checklist as it scrolled by.  Genma occupied 
himself by picking up Ranma's notebook and flipping through it.  
The applications of his theories that Ranma had used were 
nothing less than brilliant.  Genma lost himself in reading.  *My 
son is even more brilliant that I dared hope.*

	"Truly a man among men!"

    "Why don't I try band sixteen, son?"  Genma looked over at his 
son.

    Ranma looked at his father in surprise.  "Are you sure about 
that, father?  It's a rather significant change from our world since 
it's so distant on the quantum bands."

    "I'm curious to see what sort of father I would have been on this 
other Ranma's world," replied Genma with a smile.

	Sense of impending doom...

    "Set it for fifteen minutes," replied Genma.  "That should be 
safe enough to avoid personality contamination like you have 
experienced."

	
	Well, major personality contamination...

    There was a moment of dislocation.  Genma suddenly found 
himself seated at a breakfast table.  People he didn't know were 
seated around him.  He blinked his eyes, and noticed Ranma 
seated next to him, eating like a starving man.  He openly stared 
at the strange Ranma next to him.

    Ranma paused in his eating when he noticed his father 
suddenly staring at him in a creepy sort of way.  "What's the 
matter, pop?"

	"This is *my* food, and I'm not falling for the "my mind was 
taken over by my parallel world duplicate" trick again."

    Genma shook his head for a moment to clear it.  The situation 
was actually exhilarating.  *Fascinating,* he thought, as the 
identities of the people around him began to surface in his 
awareness.  He looked at the short-haired girl across the table 
from him, who he suddenly knew was his son's fiancee here in 
this world.  She looked up when his eyes paused on her.

    "Something wrong, Mr. Saotome?"  Nabiki paused in eating 
her breakfast.

	Umm, this is a little confusing, unless this is a world where 
Nabiki is the primary fiancee.  Remember, she's short-haired too.

    *This Genma is not as I pictured myself as ever being like,* he 
thought sadly.  He cringed mentally as he saw in his mind's eye 
the Cat Fist training inflicted on Ranma, again and again.  The 
feelings of sheer determination to make Ranma the best washed 
over him with that memory.  The terror from his promise to 
Nodoka to make Ranma a 'man among men' followed.  He also 
witnessed the fate of himself and his son at Jusenkyo.

	Eek,  This is not a happy moment.

    Genma looked into the heart of his quantum alternate, and he 
was seized with remorse.  He had been so stupid, so focused on 
making Ranma a supreme martial artist that he had lost his honor.  
Ranma had been the one good thing he had done with this life, 
and he had almost destroyed it.  It made Genma feel sad.  *Oh, 
my quantum brother,* he thought.  *What have you done?*

	Do you want a list?
	This is a very nice scene, by the way.

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

    Ranma watched the timer count down to zero.  He kept his eyes 
on his father's face as the computer-modulated voice spoke, 
"Activating recall pulse."

    Genma suddenly took a deep, shuddering breath.  He opened 
his eyes to see the plain ceiling of his son's lab space over his 
head.  *That was amazingly unpleasant,* he thought.

And MainGenma woke up crying for no apparent reason...

  He 

    Ranma looked into his father's eyes and saw pain there.  "Yes, 
father," he said softly while he nodded.  "You were always a good 
father to me."

Wow.

    "I can't believe that somewhere out there across the quantum 
barrier is a man wearing my face who could be so unutterably 
stupid and reckless with his own son," Genma said with another 
sigh.  "The man sold his own son for food, repeatedly.  He threw a 

Oh, anime version then.

    "Nonsense, my boy," said Genma.  "The potential for learning 
that you've already shown from your other self is staggering.  In a 
couple of sessions, you picked up a lifetime of fighting skills.  I 
can only imagine what else might be available through this 
device."

	Picking up entirely new phobias, for starters.

    Ranma grinned at his father.  He didn't notice the door opening 
behind him, but his father did.  Genma looked past him in 
surprise.  "Nabiki," Genma asked in surprise.  "What are you 
doing here?"

    Ranma whirled around.  Nabiki Tendo stood there with a cool 
smile on her lips.  She put something away in her pants pocket.  "I 
came down to see what you were working on down here, Ranma.  
My curiosity got the better of me, I'm afraid.  Despite his knowing 
my name, I don't believe the gentleman with you is anyone I've 
ever met though."

	Oops.

    "It's a virtual reality generator," Ranma lied smoothly before 

	You used it!  Cool!

    "I'm volunteering to try it out," she said in a cool tone.  "Aren't 
you curious to see how it reacts with a woman?"

	Actually, that's not the only thing he wants to see how it reacts 
with a woman :-)

*SELECT QUANTUM BAND FOR SCAN:  002

    *That should give a world near enough to our own to match the 
lie I just told her,* Ranma thought with a smile.  *It should also 
be far enough away that she shouldn't encounter an alternate who 
might know the truth about what I'm really doing.*

	Yeah, band One would be really really bad...

    "I have no problems with skipping my morning class," replied 
Nabiki.  "Why don't you set me up for thirty minutes?"  She 
smiled at Ranma sweetly.  "Unless you think that there might be a 
problem with that?"

	Only mild personality corruption...

    "I'm sorry, Nabiki," moaned the boy from where he lay.  "I'll 
have the information you want by tomorrow.  Please don't hit me 
again."

	More physical Nabiki then...

    She was so engrossed in the realism of what she thought was a 
simulation that she walked into the back of another student 
wearing gray like herself.  She stumbled back, and the other 
student whirled to face her.  A name suddenly surfaced in her 
memory, Tatewaki Kuno.  *Nice effect, Ranma,* she thought 
sincerely.  *This machine of yours is impressive.*

	Apparently AltNabs hasn't met him yet...wonder what this will do 
when she meets him back in AltVerse?

    Nabiki suddenly paused as a flash of memories went across her 
mind's eye.  She was Nabiki Tendo, only daughter of the Tendo 
family.  Her mother, now a widow, was a former Arena fighter 

That's different, all right.

before she met Soun Tendo.  The barehanded fighting skills that 
her mother had learned in the Arena were taught to Nabiki since 
she was a child.  She had used them like a tool to advance herself 
for her whole life.  Her nemesis at the Academy was Tatewaki 
Kuno, and they had been rivals for supremacy for over a year.  
She hated his guts as much as he hated hers.

    "I don't think so," she said with a haughty flip of her hair as she 
walked past him.

    "Do _not_ turn your back on me, woman!"  Kuno was beside 
himself with rage.  The arrogance of this woman constantly 
astonished him.  He screamed a battle cry, and leaped for her 
back.

    Nabiki let a smile cross her lips.  *This should be fun,* she 
thought.

	Depends on just how good this Kunou is...

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

    *I wonder where Nabiki wandered off to,* wondered Akane as 
she made her way to her class.  All that she had told Akane was 
that she had a mystery to solve, and that it might take her part of 
the morning.  The teacher began his lecture.  *Wherever she is, I 
hope that it's more fun than this.*

	Probably, unless she loses.

	Random thought:  Should AltRanma land in a world where "he" was 
born female, his/her first objective will be getting hot water, much to 
everyone's confusion....

Keep up the good work,
SKJAM!