I decided to be a bastard and send this out now, despite the fact I won't be
working on it for a couple of months most likely (but you never know with
the muse). But I couldn't resist writing it out now, so anxious I am to get
working on it. So here we go...


The Things We Wish For...

Prologue

Any and all C+C is appreciated. You can contact me at
sommer@3rdm.net

All of my fics are stored at the following:

Larry F's new address at:
http://www.rakhal.com/florestica/

Or R+C books at:
http://dbsommer.rcbooks.org

And also Angcobra is now storing all of my fics, at
http://dbsommer.web1000.com/dbsommer.html

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to any of the Ranma 1/2
characters. They belong to Takahashi and whomever she sold the rights to.


Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ancient parchment crackled and filled the air with a musty odor as the
scroll was unrolled for the first time in over two centuries. Over the
decades since its creation it had been subjected to every physical
punishment imaginable: Rain, fire, cold, and even five-year old children
armed with crayons. Being entombed in a damp cave for nearly a decade had
worn away the edges, and only a careful grip, along with a special
preservative oil, kept the scroll from disintegrating as it was forced from
the rolled up tube its form had carried since the day it had been completed.

A pair of eyes half the scroll's age widened. An astonished smile broadened
across Happosai's features as he read the ancient characters contained on
the scroll. "Why, this isn't a recipe for an aphrodisiac at all. It's a wish
scroll."

Tears filled the ancient master's eyes as the full impact of what he held in
his withered hands struck him. Back when he had first come across the scroll
during a tour of the Middle East some fifty years ago, he had been certain
he had overheard that sheik say the parchment held a recipe for some sort of
potion to increase one's amorous prowess. On the spot, Happosai decided it
was his responsibility to take such a powerful item away from one so
lascivious, lest the fat man used it on himself and unleashed his ill-gotten
adoration on the beautiful and vast harem he owned. A bevy of the most
attractive women made up the composition of the harem, representing a
veritable mountain of breasts. And the panties, certainly the sheik had
spared no expense in outfitting the women in his palace of pleasure. Even
Happosai had been hard pressed to liberate them all, but he had. That
success was one of the proudest accomplishments in his long life.

Several drops of drool fell from Happosai's mouth and splattered on the
scroll. The sounds of the liquid hitting the parchment shook him out of his
reverie. A wish he most certainly deserved. All that was left was what to
wish for. So much potential. So many things. He doubted he could wish for
more wishes; that just wasn't the way these things worked. That meant he had
to make this single shot at eternal happiness count. What was the one thing
he wished for more than anything else? The one thing that would be eternally
out of his reach no matter how hard he tried?

The answer struck him all at once, like a woman's slap when he tried to show
them his appreciation by embracing their chest. He stared down at the
parchment and said, "I wish everyone else in the world were nubile young
girls with large breasts, that they had an unlimited supply of panties, and
that they'll let a venerable old man like me grope them so that he can enjoy
his twilight years in peace and comfort."

Nothing happened.

Happosai read the scroll more closely. "Oh, I have to summon the genie and
tell him my wish so he can make it on my behalf. Now let me see. How does
this go?" It took the old man a moment to sift through his memory and recall
how to read the ancient symbols of power. Once satisfied he knew how to
pronounce them correctly, he invoked the spell.

"Klatuu. Barada. Necktie."

A humming filled the air as the symbols themselves gave off an eerie green
mist, each symbol disappearing as the emerald ether filled the air. Slowly
the cloud rose until it hung in a solid mass above the parchment.

"Ha cha!" Happosai exclaimed. This was it. For living the life he had, he
was finally being rewarded the way he deserved. He could barely wait to go
hopping about, snuggling ample bosoms and drawing the unlimited power that
could conceivably keep him alive forever, or at least let him die the
happiest man on the planet. He could almost feel the breasts in his grasp,
the soft, pliable flesh pillowing under his cheeks as he rubbed his face up
and down. In fact, he could see a pair approaching now. There were bound in
a white gi. The front was slightly open at the neck, 'v'ing downward and
showing the white line of an athletic bra. Sweat lined the flesh beneath it,
and lungs that still drank deeply of the air caused the breasts to move
forward ever so slightly, giving them a slight jiggling motion independent
of the one created by walking.

"Sweeto!" Happosai declared and leaped for the first in what would be a long
line of women to fondle.

"Get away from me, you pervert!" Akane yelled as her fist met Happosai's jaw
right before he could land in the valley, or at least relatively large
ditch, that her cleavage created.

"That's not what was supposed to happen!" Happosai declared as he flew off
into the distance from the force of the blow.

Akane tightened up her gi so she didn't show quite so much skin. She hadn't
realized the little pervert was home, or she would have been more careful.

Feeling dirtier than ever, even if Happosai had failed to reach her, Akane
headed for the bathroom until she spotted the green pillar of mist that
hovered above the scroll that had been left on the ground. "Now what did the
little creep do? Set something on fire?"

Irate, she approached the parchment, intent on putting it out, when the
mists shifted. The upper half of the column coalesced, solidifying until it
formed the upper torso of a powerful looking man-like thing. It wasn't quite
human, at least none that Akane had ever seen. Its emerald chest was
inhumanly broad, even moreso than Lime's impressive physique. It was
hairless, and had yellow slanted eyes that lacked pupils. Even its ears were
alien, being incredibly long and with tips that tapered off into sharp
points. What should have been the lower torso remained a green mist that
seemed intent on hovering in place.

"If you're looking for Happosai, he already left," Akane told the being,
pointing in the direction the little pervert and flown and hoping the weirdo
in front of her wasn't going to cause any problems.

The yellow slits that served as the genie's eyes turned to Akane. In a voice
that was surprisingly melodious given its powerful form, the it asked, "What
is your wish?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I have been summoned. You have one wish. What is it?"

"I didn't summon you," Akane explained.

Unmoved, the genie repeated, "I have been summoned. You are the only one
present. The wish will be yours. What is it you wish for?"

Akane looked around, convinced it was some sort of trick. "What's going on
here? Who are you?"

"Do you wish to know my name?"

"Ye..." Akane stopped herself. Suddenly she reconsidered her original line
of thinking. Perhaps this wasn't some prank. After all, why would the
creature try to make finding out its name a wish instead of just telling
her? It was like he was trying to make her squander it, instead of having
her make some public statement about her desires and then have someone like
Happosai or Shampoo pop up and laugh at her for believing she could make a
wish.

"Is that your wish?"

"No," Akane said quickly.

Small wisps of vapor began to peel away from the genie's form and hung in
the air. "My time on this plane of existence is short. If you do not make
your wish within the next five minutes, it will be lost to you forever, as
you measure time. Make your wish."

Akane began to panic. It was real. She knew it. This being could grant her
any wish, but she had to make it quickly. Immediately her mind was flooded
with dozens of possibilities all vying for control. So many ideas and so
little time to consider them. She could wish to be a better cook or better
martial artist. She could wish to have better grades or to make it to a good
school or take care of any future money problems she or her family could
have. What about more personal things? Good health? To be more attractive?
To lead a less stressful life? Have a successful career? Wish for everyone
to be cured of their Jusenkyou curses? Never having her or Ranma's life
placed in danger again, like at Mount Phoenix?

Akane pulled at her hair in frustration. This was too important for her to
screw up. If she made the wrong wish, she'd regret it for the rest of her
life, and there were too many things to wish for. Never before had she been
aware of the importance of a second as they raced by, one after another
inexorably. A minute full of indecision was forever lost.

"I can't decide," she said helplessly. The opportunity would be squandered,
and there was nothing she could do about it. And then a solution to her
problem came to her, speeding past the mass of choices before her. But she
had to move quickly. She dashed through the living room and into the
kitchen. Luck was with her as she spotted Kasumi dicing vegetables in
anticipation of dinner.

"Kasumi, I need help!" Akane said in a gasp.

Kasumi placed the knife down on the cutting board. "What is it?"

"If you could wish for anything in the world, and I do mean anything, what
would you wish for?"

"Oh, well that's an odd question. Let me think about it." She placed her
hand to her chin in thought.

"There's no time!" Akane blurted out. "I can't decide. Give me an idea of
what I can do."

Not quite understanding, but sensing the urgency in Akane's request, Kasumi
quickly pondered the dilemma. Almost unbidden, one desire rose above all the
others.

Head tilted to the heavens, Kasumi said in almost reverent tones, "If I had
one wish, I would wish that mother hadn't been taken from us in that
accident."

"That's it!" Akane shouted, kicking herself for not having thought of it
sooner. Of all the things she could wish for that lay beyond her grasp, that
was the one that she wanted more than anything in the world.

The kitchen was behind her in an instant as she raced twice as quickly to
the living room where the genie remained floating in the exact spot she had
left him. There was twice as much mist in the room, and his form was
becoming less discernible. Only those yellow slits that served as his eyes
remained unchanged.

"Time grows short," the genie warned.

"I have my wish!" Akane gasped. It took her a moment to figure out how to
phrase the question so that it was simple enough to not be misinterpreted.
Satisfied with the phrasing and unwilling to waste another second lest she
lose this chance, Akane said, "I wish my mother had never been in a car
accident."

As the last words left her mouth, a sudden memory filled her of a story her
English language class had to read to show their comprehension skills. She
remembered it all too well, knowing that with her luck the same thing
probably would have happened to her had she been in that situation. Now she
found herself in hauntingly familiar surroundings, and fearful events would
occur just as they had in the tale of the Monkey's Paw.

"So that she can be with us today," Akane quickly added, hoping the being
didn't refuse the last second addition to the request. She didn't want her
mother to not die in a car wreck, only to have her life end because of some
lingering disease or equally premature death three months after the crash
had been avoided. If the genie protested the addition, Akane could claim she
had merely paused for breath. Less than a second had passed between
"accident" and "so", and he would almost certainly have to accept that as an
explanation.

The genie remained silent only for a second before bringing its hands
together with a deafening clap and declaring, "DONE!"

Kasumi entered the room just in time to see the figure completely lose
cohesion and turn into an emerald mist. The cloud rose to the ceiling and
billowed across it before merging completely with the air, as though it had
never been there at all.

"I'm glad Mr. Mist didn't leave a stain on the ceiling," Kasumi said as she
looked at the plaster with a careful eye.

Akane looked all around. She didn't feel any different. Why didn't she
remember her mother not dying in a wreck? Had she just magically appeared
upstairs in their father's bedroom and everything else remained the same?
Perhaps she had appeared somewhere else, but Akane had specifically
requested that her mother "be with us (meaning her family) today." Even if
the woman popped up next to Nabiki, wherever she was, they should still have
proof of their mother's continued survival within a couple of hours. At
least that was what Akane hoped.

Turning to her sister, Akane was about to quiz Kasumi on her memory of their
mother, to see if their memories corroborated, when the screeching sound of
a car's tires came from the street just in front of the house. Both of the
Tendou girls turned to the noise, eyes widening.

Hot on the heels of the tire screech, a feminine voice shouted out, "Watch
it, you jerk! You nearly ran me down! Are you blind, or is Alzeimers
affecting you so badly you forgot your glasses? Hey! You wave that finger at
me again, and I'll break it off and shove it so far up your butt you won't
be able to crap right for the rest of your life!" There was the sound of a
car moving off at an accelerated speed, and then the voice said, "Yeah,
that's right! You take that piece of !@#$ car outta here before the rust
that's holding it together gives out and it falls apart! Loser!"

Both of the girls looked at each other, their eyes twice as wide as before.
Neither dared to speak, maintaining an aura of silence even as they heard a
key turn in the lock to the front door. There was the sound of shoes being
removed, and then the thump of someone moving through the house. As the
sound drew near, a high-pitched feminine voice declared, "I'm home! What's
for din-"

The speaker stopped abruptly as she entered the living room and spotted
Akane and Kasumi sitting in the middle of it.

The sisters looked closely at the stranger and drew in deep breaths. The
newcomer's black hair was a familiar short cut, nearly identical to Akane's.
Deep brown eyes were guarded closely by short eyelashes. She wore a simple
white blouse and pleated skirt. Her body was slender, though one look at her
arms and legs showed that she possessed a sort of wiry strength. Her chest
was somewhat demure, though at the same time there could be no doubts
concerning her femininity. She was on the attractive side, Kasumi comparing
her closely to Akane in appearance, though she could see some of Nabiki in
the face as well. Akane's observations noted the same thing. The close
resemblance was made all the more uncanny by one simple fact:

The girl was seventeen years old.

Kachinko Tendou looked strangely around the room, then leveled an accusatory
finger at the gaping girls. "All right! You two got about three seconds to
explain what you did to my house, or else there's going to be some ass
kicking going on, and from the looks of things, you two got more than enough
butt to last me a while!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yes, the words are a parody from 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' just like
from Army of Darkness. How can you go wrong referring to those two classics
of the film industry? ^_^

Honestly, I came up with this idea long before I saw the Battle Athletes TV
series. As soon as it hit those last few episodes, I said to myself, "Well,
looks like I'm not the only one that thought such an idea has a great deal
of mischievous potential." Things will not take quite the same course
obviously, but there might be a handful of similarities as well. Hopefully
I'll be right, though only future chapters will be able to see if I can
execute things in an enjoyable manner.

This is the next 'sizable' project I have planned once I'm done with the cur
rent arc of Avenging. Tenative schedule has me doing a two part Dual! fic
next (didn't have enough time to properly start it today or I would have)
and then the conclusion of the Herb arc in Avenging, then working on this.
I've had it in my mind for quite some time, and discussed it with the gang
on FFIRC a while back. It seemed to meet with favorable responses there, so
hopefully the same will happen here.

Thanks for reading.

D.B. Sommer















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