"Yes, you are," agreed the dragon, using a claw to page through some holographic display. "Oh, now this might be of great use."
"What?" asked Akane.
"It's a Ranmaverse that has an opening," said the dragon, sounding pleased. "How nice."
"A 'Ranmaverse'?" asked Akane.
"Universes seperate and join all the time," said the dragon. "They only stay apart as long as there are measurable differences. There are a number of universes with variants in which there is a 'Ranma Saotome'."
"He's got entire UNIVERSES revolving around him?" asked Akane, looking fairly upset at this.
"Well, yes actually," said the dragon. "Sorry about that."
"Don't tell him, he's got enough of an ego," said Akane.
"Well, this might work out," said the dragon. "You're dead in this world too. However, this is how that world played out normally."
"How did I die?" asked Akane.
"Fight with Ryoga," said the dragon. "Angle of the attack that cut your hair was slightly different. Decapitation."
"Ugh," said Akane. "This is good how?"
"Because that world is scheduled to end soon anyway," said the dragon. "Because of that, there's a little more leeway involved with that sort of timeline. You have universes like this where the signs and portents are already there - indicating the doom of the world, yeah - that'll work."
"The world is doomed? How can that be a good thing?" demanded Akane.
"Because you can go to THAT world," said the dragon. "Not as you were, not as the you that was in that world was, but you can go there. Looks like less than a 1% variance. I'm getting the details now."
"I don't understand," said Akane, sulking in midair.
"There's no Akane there, they've already had a funeral," said the dragon.
"No, the dead part I get," said Akane.
"Oh," said the dragon. "A small variance. The only difference I can see from your own timeline is that Shampoo and you get along better."
"...we what?" asked Akane.
"You get along better with Shampoo," said the dragon. "See this? She got jostled by Ranma while trying to give you the Kiss Of Death. Ended up giving you the Kiss Of Marriage."
"She what?" asked Akane. "Waitaminute. Didn't Ryoga show up BEFORE Shampoo?"
"Okay, that's two differences," admitted the dragon. "Hmmm. Yeah. Shampoo showed up earlier than Ryoga did. Well, he gets lost all the time, that's not too unexpected. Looks like that's what led to your death. You were more skilled at the martial arts here."
"That led to me DYING?" asked Akane, getting more intrigued despite herself.
"Yes, weird isn't it?" said the dragon. "Oh, there was still friction between you and Shampoo - don't get me wrong. For one thing she's been riding you like a drill sergeant on a raw recruit."
"Eewwwwww, I do NOT go that way!" insisted Akane.
"Huh, no no no no NO," said the dragon, looking pained. "Look, she eventually decided to train you up to be a decent Amazon. That this got her extra time around Ranma was just enticement for her to go this route. Even your father didn't object to the Amazon presence once she started using the windows to get in as opposed to making her own doors. Well, not too much anyway."
"WHAT?!" asked Akane, staring at a picture of Shampoo grinning wickedly as she applied a submission hold to a still-long-haired Akane with Ranma staring in the background.
"What what?" asked the dragon.
"What do you mean about me going back but 'not as I was'?" asked Akane.
"Oh, well, as to that, I'm having to borrow the power for the transfer and setup," said the dragon. "That means there are strings attached. There are also apparently an awful lot of rules and such about inserting someone back in a timeline. Especially when the original body has been cremated."
"...so that explains the why," said Akane, thinking that there was an awful lot left unsaid but that wasn't the point she wanted addressed anyway. "That leaves the-"
"How you get reinserted?" asked the dragon. "Well, I'm afraid that you're going to be-"
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(Posted Wed, 29 Aug 2007 21:59)
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