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The FFML Refugee List


    A foreward.

    Just, you know... to let you know. First off, this was... oh... the
first _ever_ work of fanfiction that I wrote, and was probably
Durandall's second. We're working on it together, so... Aaanyway.

    I've been told not to discredit my own work, and I figure that this
work does a pretty good job of doing it itself. I'm still working on
this, and the later chapters, I feel, show vast improvement. The earlier
chapters... well... you'll see.

    And no, it isn't in script format. Just the first half of the intro.

    Because I thought it was neat, gall-durn it!

    End foreward.





The Unbroken Circle: Intro

Durandall: Inspiration struck. Don't kill me.

Seriously, though, someone suggested I needed a 'hook,' and this came to
me.

Disclaimer: The paints are Takahashi's, with some tinting added by
myself. The easel is mine, too.


Play music here. Something soft and dramatic that builds, with ominous
overtones, preferably industrial without vocals. If you have it, I
suggest track #8, 'No More Mr. Quick,' from the Dark City soundtrack...
unless you have the Fifth Element soundtrack in which case you want
track number #23, 'Lakta Ligunai'.


[The screen starts off black. As the first notes begin to play, it
lightens to a white screen, then pans down  to reveal a clouded sky. As
the intense music begins, we see a field of flowers stretching into the
distance. Ranma, dressed in his standard Chinese clothing and a flowing
cloak, floats above the ground as a sinister shadow crosses his face.]

(Ranma): We're all young once.

[The field of flowers is torn asunder, and flame begins to rain down as
the sky darkens. Ranma smiles widely, and the scene fades out.]

(Older Ranma) sounds very tired: And youths make mistakes.

[The scene reveals an older Ranma, probably aged thirty. He is wearing a
black trenchcoat, which is open and billows behind him. Underneath the
coat, he is wearing loose fitting jeans, and a black silk shirt with a
gold dragon embroidered on the chest. His expression is grim, and behind
him, we can see Tokyo at night, fading in the distance.]

(Older Ranma) bitterly: And history repeats itself.

[The city shimmers, and is replaced by the day-lit Tokyo of four hundred
years ago. Older Ranma glances back at it and sighs, then turns forward
and begins walking again.]

(Chame) neutral: But... not all mistakes need to be repeated.
Sometimes...

[The scene fades away, and we see a young redhead with two braids,
standing between her parents. Her mother can be seen dimly, but her face
is obscured, and nothing can be seen of the father.]

(Chame) sounding hopeful: Sometimes, we get a second chance.

[The scene changes to the younger Ranma, facing off against something
off-screen. He shouts something, raises a staff to strike, and then
there is a flash of light. The light fades, and Ranma is pulled,
screaming, into a black vortex.]

(Younger Ranma) wistful: Sometimes, you find a blessing where you expect
a curse.

[Young Ranma falls out of a hole in the sky, and floats over a spire of
stone, confused. Screen fades to black.]

(Ryouga) tired: Sometimes we see curses where there are blessings.

[A muddy field, with a farmhouse in the distance appears. Ryouga snarls
defiantly, and wields his umbrella against an opponent that cannot be
seen. Akari stands in the background, hands clasped together. She looks
both confused and hopeful.]

(Akari) neutral: Sometimes, you miss that. Sometimes, bitterness blinds
you.

[The camera zooms out, to reveal Ryouga's opponent. He is fighting a
mirror image of himself. The scene flashes bright red for a moment, then
the red dribbles away like blood, leaving a black screen.]

(Older Ranma) determined: But this doesn't mean we give up. We have to
keep trying, to stop making those mistakes again.

[Younger Ranma is holding a quarterstaff in both hands, and grins.
Behind him is a field of yellow. For a brief moment, a dragon appears in
silhouette behind him, looking away. Ranma spins the quarterstaff,
tracing a flaming circle in the air in front of him.]

(Younger Ranma) amused: But is this any reason to worry? We can always
try again.

[Everything but Ranma and the flaming circle fade out.]

(Older Ranma) neutral: And more mistakes are made, in the course of
trying to resolve the old.

[Older Ranma appears on the screen next to younger Ranma, and glares at
him. Younger Ranma laughs, oblivious. The screen flashes, and younger
Ranma disappears, taking the circle with him. Older Ranma turns to face
the screen, and a dragon appears behind him, placing a claw on each
shoulder and looking forward. The screen fades to black again.]

(Older Ranma): And the circle does not break.

[Herb appears, and glances at younger onna-Ranma, looking guilty.
Onna-Ranma glares at him. Lime and Mint appear briefly, then the Musk
fade, leaving onna-Ranma alone. She sinks to her knees and stares
downwards. The scene fades away, leaving only a field of black.]

(Akane) concerned: But... suppose, just suppose... that the circle _can_
be broken.

[Akane appears, wearing silk pants and shirt. She fights off hordes of
blurry opponents, an aura of bloodlust radiating from her. A spinning
silver hammer flies across from one edge of the screen, leaving
blackness behind.]

(Shampoo) confident: And if the circle _can_ be broken...

[Shampoo appears, in chains, standing before a jury. They all look at
her disdainfully, then shun her. She sinks to her knees, and pleads for
mercy, but is ignored. She fades away, and a golden quill pen shoots
across the scene, bringing blackness with it again.]

(Ukyou) grim: _What_ must be done to break it?

[Ukyou stands on a rocky outcropping, facing a huge demonic figure. She
grins, and raises her empty hands over her head. A wave of fire pours
forth, and engulfs the figure. The wave then sweeps across the screen,
returning us to the familiar blackness.]

(Akane Shampoo and Ukyou) in unison: And _who_ can break it?

[The screen flashes white suddenly, and we see Ukyou and another woman
who looks familiar standing on either side of Shampoo. Behind them is a
circle of nine white lights. Each light forms a silhouette of a face for
a moment, then fades.]

(Older Ranma): And when _you_ cannot break the circle, but it _must-_ be
broken, who can help you?

[The uppermost light in the circle expands, as the three women watch it
warily. After a flash, a young woman descends from it, and stands near
the others. Each of the first eight lights does this in sequence, until
the last, which simply fades. All of the women stare at it with
disappointment.]

[The first woman to descend from the lights steps forward, smiling
softly. She appears kind and gentle. She makes a gesture, and her hands
glow with a silver light for a few moments. The glow runs off her hands,
and spells the kanji for her name, 'Megumi.' An invisible breeze blows
around her hair and she steps back, still smiling.]

[The second woman is short, with dark hair. She smiles wickedly,
revealing a small set of fangs, and whips a sword from its scabbard,
carving her name over Megumi's. Megumi's name fades, leaving 'Yoiko'
behind. She smirks, and gives the screen an arrogant look. Her hair is
close cropped, but rustles in the breeze, and she steps back to join
Megumi.]

[The third woman is tall, with long brown hair. She seems serene, and
floats a few inches above the ground. With a soothing gesture, she wipes
away Yoiko's name, and her own forms in its place, 'Akemi.' Smiling, she
drifts to the other women before the breeze touches her.]

[The fourth woman appears, medium height, with average length brown
hair. She gives a predatory smile, and holds out a hand, palm up, in a
familiar gesture. After a moment, a ball of flame appears over her hand,
and she casually tosses it at Akemi's name. She turns her back to the
screen as 'Noriko' is burnt into it.]

[With a look of irritation, the fifth woman steps forward. She is of
average height, and has long black hair. She wipes away Noriko's name,
and produces a brush. Painting carefully, she signs, 'Kyoko.' After
that, she smiles, bows to the screen, and backs away to join the other
women.]

[A fair woman with green hair follows the others, then smiles brightly
at the screen. She produces a fencing sword, and removes Kyoko's name
before carving, in a series of strange symbols over it. The hiragana for
'Raimi' appear next to the symbols after a moment. She smiles
pleasantly, then saunters over to the other women.]

[The seventh and eighth women arrive together. Identical twins, they
wear purple Chinese dresses, and wield bonbori and Chinese swords. The
two stand back to back, and juggle the weapons around. It's difficult to
tell who is wielding what. Raimi's name disappears, and a yin-yan symbol
appears between the two. One half is labeled 'Li-Yin,' and the other
half is labeled 'Li-Yan.' It spins, as though uncertain which of them is
which. They smirk at each other, and rejoin the other women. The screen
flashes through the spectrum, then settles on black.]

(Younger Ranma) : But then, it may not matter, since we can always try
again...

[Older Ranma faces off against a large shadowed figure. He carries a
quarter-staff in his right hand, which he holds crosswise in front of
him. His left hand holds a tachi, as he glares at his enemy. Motes of
light begin to rise from the ground around him. The eight young woman
surround Ranma, arms raised, but he shakes his head, looking at a gap in
the circle where a ninth woman could stand. The screen fades to black,
as the women fall, one-by-one, to an unseen force, while Ranma rails
against his enemy.]

(Older Ranma) angry: Eternity isn't long enough, if you're searching for
something that doesn't exist.

[Chame stands still, then looks over her shoulder, confused. She fades,
to be replaced by younger Ranma, walking down a road and searching for
something. He fades, revealing older Ranma looking into a mirror for
something he cannot see.]

(Older and Younger Ranma together): And until then, the circle remains
unbroken.

[In a flash, the title appears at the top of the screen. Younger Ranma
is in the foreground on the left, and older Ranma is on the right. They
slowly shrink to the background, as Ukyou, Shampoo, and Akane appear in
the center. The Ranmas glance at each other, and scowl, as the eight
young women appear behind Akane, Ukyou, and Shampoo. The fiancees all
stare at the young women behind them. Ryouga and Akari stand together
near younger Ranma, and Chame stands in the middle, looking at older
Ranma. Dr. Tofu appears, wearing a billowing gray cloak, and places one
hand on the shoulder of Kasumi, who carries a gleaming, white-bladed
Katana. Dr. Tofu produces a matching black blade, and then they stand on
either side of older Ranma.]

[The title shapes itself into a circle, which hangs above the cast as
the remainder filter in. Nodoka stands above Kuno, who shies away.
Nabiki stares at the young women apprehensively. Kodachi stares at her
feet, while Cologne shakes her head sadly. Tarou stands next to the
younger Ranma, staring at Akane with concern. Mousse opens his eyes
slowly, and turns his back to everyone, to face younger Ranma. Herb and
the Musk look between the two Ranmas, uncertain. Genma and Soun turn to
face the younger Ranma, while Happosai stares at Cologne.]

[As the final notes of the song die out, the screen fades to black for
the final time.]

***

On the outskirts of Tokyo, a train glides across the rails towards an
outer ward. It is late, and there are few passengers. One of them, a man
of about thirty years of age, lets his eyes drift closed.

He wears finger-less gloves, with holes to reveal his knuckles. After a
moment, he folds his arms, and puts his hands in the opposing sleeves of
his trench coat. It's black, and ends just below his knees. Underneath
the coat, a pair of jeans can be seen, and lower, a pair of sturdy
boots.

The boots, however, have an odd strap running around each of them, for
no readily apparent purpose. Opening his eyes, the man glances out of
the window. The ward he was headed towards lay beyond the pane of glass
he gazed through.

A flash of light erupts from the ward. Then another.

The man stands. He knows what is happening. He knows he is about to make
a mistake.

But he leaves the train when it stops, and walks forward, ready to make
the mistake anyway.

As he steps into the rain, he blurs, shifts, and shrinks slightly. Yes,
you know this one. She gives a grim look, and brushes a damp lock of red
hair out of her face as she marches forward. "It is time." The straps on
the boots tighten, shifting to fit correctly on the now smaller feet,
and elastic bands in the rest of the clothing kept them from slipping.

She stalks off into the night, reflecting on the events that brought her
here. In the distance, the eruptions of light are coming faster, and
more brightly.

This, then, is his/her story. The story of the Unbroken Circle.

----------
Author's notes:

The Unbroken Circle is hosted at: http://ranma.stassen.com/uc/

Send any questions or C&C to brian@azurite.org or bauhamut@softhome.net


--
Haiku of my lament:

Forgive my spelling,
my U.S. education,
is the source of blame.



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