Dreams and Distress

Ranma gasped as the cold, icy cold blade pierced his skin and drove itself into his flesh. In horror he looked at the knife embedded in his stomach and toppled over. As he lay staring at the sky he could faintly hear a choked voice call his name. He realized it was Akane. She entered his sight. Her tear streaked face was almost too much for him to bear. Her shoulders shook and fresh tears streamed down her face as she walked toward him and softly spoke his name. Then she sat down next to him, bent over him and gave him just one final kiss....

"Noooo!!!" Ranma shot up in bed, gasping and drenched in sweat. Pale morning sunlight spilled into the room through the curtained windows. For a moment he forgot what woke him. Then the vivid images of his nightmare flooded back to him in a rush. The knife in his gut, the blood on the ground, and Akane's crying face. He was not sure why, but that one image seemed the worst. It had seemed so real, so much more real than any other dream he had ever had.

Suddenly there was a crash and the whole household was at his door. Genma, a panda at the time, held up a sign: What's going on? We heard a scream. "Oh," said Ranma. "Just a bad dream. But if you'll excuse me I really need to use the restroom." He got up and walked swiftly to his bathroom. He spashed some cold water on his face to wake him up, and then some hot to make him a guy. He ran his hands down his face and shook his head to get rid of the water. Putting his hands on the sink, he looked straight into the mirror. He could still see Akane's sad face in his head. He could almost see it in the mirror, it was so real. Every time he thought about it, it almost tore his heart in half. I can't be falling for her, can I? thought Ranma. He thought of his dream again. He replayed all over in his mind. By the time he was done, he was on the verge of tears himself. He finally felt one roll down his cheek. "There's no doubt about it," he said softly to himself. "I'm in love with Akane. I guess I always was, I just didn't want to acknowledge it. But now I can't do anything but let her know. How do I tell her?'' Ranma thought this over for a moment. "I guess I should talk to pop," he said finally. "He'll probably know what to do."

After dressing, he went to the breakfast table. "My, you're certainly late!" exclaimed Soun. "You're always early to mealtimes. What's up?" Ranma did not want to look up and see anyone there yet, so he kept his head down and said, "Um, actually, I need to talk to my dad about that." Everyone exchanged glances. Genma stood and walked over to Ranma, who led him to their meditating room. After they both sat down, Ranma took a deep breath and started the conversation. "Dad," he said, "Have you ever had a dream that was so real, you thought it was real even after you woke up?" "Yes," replied his father, "Once I dreamt I ate a fish but when I woke up I found I was hungry!" "Dad!" "Oh, you're serious. Ok, once or twice." "Did anything happen later that was similar to your dream?" "No. Ranma, where are you going with this? What are you not telling me?" Ranma sighed, and told his dream to his father. "And the worst part is," Ranma said when he was done, "Is that I keep seeing Akane's crying face in my head. And it makes me want to cry." Genma sat a while in thought. "Anything else?" he asked.

Ranma bit his lip, but couldn't resist blurting out, "Dad, I think I'm actually in love with Akane!" He flushed and cast his face downward. "Well!" said Genma, and brought his hands down on his knees. "Well, that could explain the dream. How long have you felt this way?" Ranma thought before he spoke. "I guess," he said, "I guess I always did, ever since I met her, but didn't acknowledge it 'til now." "Hm," said Genma. "Well, it could mean that because you have been repressing your true feelings and acting like a jerk towards her, your conscience has made this dream to show you that life can be cut short, and if you don't tell her you love her soon, you might not get to. Your conscience may also be tired of repressing these feelings, and is forcing you to acknowledge your desire. However," he said in a very serious tone, "It could be a real event that is going to happen in the future, in which case you had better be careful! If you have it again, try to remember all the details. In any case, however, you have acknowledged your true feelings for Akane. That is good. Repressing feelings can be harmful and dangerous, in physical and emotional ways." Ranma thought over all this. "Thank you," he said at last. "When should I tell her, and how?" Genma stood up. "Whenever you are ready, son," he said, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "I cannot tell you when or how. You can handle that yourself." With that, Genma left the room, leaving Ranma to think.

For nearly a week now, Ranma had not said a word to Akane, and little to anyone else, either. But by chance, fate, or Akane's will, Ranma would soon confess his secrets.

Ranma was sitting on his bed in the middle of his room when there came a soft knock at the door. "Ranma?" Akane slipped through his door and shut it softly. It was evening in winter and she wore her short skirt, but with thick black stockings. "Ranma," she said to his back, "What's wrong?" She walked over to him and sat down on his left side. "I know you've been avoiding me since last Monday," she said to him. "What happened?" She looked at Ranma, who seemed catatonic. She stood up and sat down directly in front of him. She lifted his head up to look at her and said, "Ranma! What's wrong?" As if noticing her for the first time, his eyes moved and stared into Akane's. Her eyes held all the compassion and concern her voice was wrought with. He sighed and closed his eyes. "Akane," he said, "There's something I need to share with you." With that he recounted his nightmare. "I have had it every night since then, and I think I will have it again until I tell you..." He trailed off. "Tell me what?" she asked."Akane," he said after a moment, "do you know what was the worst part of the dream?" She shook her head. "It was your face. Your sad, sad face has haunted me for every night and day I have had since that night. And it's because, because I've never told you, I always repressed, I just..."

He sighed once more and looked into her eyes. "Because I love you, Akane." "Wha-What?" Akane stammered, caught off guard. "Yes," said Ranma, "no matter what I've done or said to you,. I've always loved you. Since the day we met I have never laid eyes on a more beautiful woman." Akane stared at him, completely unprepared and unsure of what to do. "Ranma, I, I," she began. "I don't know what to say! This is so sudden, I-" Ranma interrupted her and leaned forward. "Say what's in your heart." She looked deep into his eyes, and she felt her irresistable love for him swell in her heart. "I love you too," she whispered. Ranma smiled and wiped her eyes. "No more crying," he said. "I've seen too much of that." He grasped her shoulders and pulled her into his arms and kissed her tender lips. They seperated, but spoke no words. He held her in his strong arms and she rested her head against his chest. She felt his warmth, and heard his heartbeat, and she knew he was the man she would marry, the only man for her. And so she nodded off, a smile upon her face. Ranma smiled in turn as he held his love like a trusting child. He ran his hand through her dark locks and said, "Goodnight, my sweet love goddess." Then he too fell asleep with Akane in his arms, and had no dreams. It seemed that this was the perfect ending.

But then, nothing is ever perfect.

It was five in the morning at the Tendo/Saotome residence. All was quiet. At first, it was just a rattle of a cup on a table. But soon the tremors increased. Akane's eyes fluttered open. Ranma was still asleep, so she elbowed him in the stomach. His eyes sprung open. "What's goin' on?!" he exclaimed. It was dark outside, but soon there was a light growing outside; too fast for the sun, and too dim. "Let's go outside and see," she suggested. They saw Nabiki running in the halls to her room. "What's going on?" asked Akane. "Go outside!" she said. "I have to get something." With a shrug they raced to the front door and found it open. Everyone else was already outside. "What's happening, guys?" asked Ranma. "Look!" said Kasumi, and pointed towards the sky. An orange streak was hurtling fast across the sky.. It looked like a large shooting star, but it was gradually turning towards them. They gasped as they realized that it might hit them. They were about to run when they saw that the object was too far overhead to hit them at its angle of descent. Suddenly Nabiki appeared with a telescope. She hurriedly set it up, and when it was done she aimed it at the object and peered through the eyepiece. "Huh," she said. "It looks like some sort of airplane." "Lemme see," said Ranma, and pushed her out of the way. Nabiki glared at him. "Yeah, it does," said Ranma, "Except I've never seen any model like that before." The object roared over their heads at about four thousand feet, nearly knocking them off their feet. Genma and his son leapt onto the roof. They watched the craft as it descended slowly on its collision course with the ground. It finally plunged into the forest many miles from the city, so far that the shock was not even felt in the city.

Later that morning the news covered the event, but dismissed it as a meteorite, and was of no concern anymore. However, Genma and Ranma didn't get to hear it. They packed and left for the forest immediately, taking Akane with them.

Meanwhile, in the forest...

Out of the burning wreckage emerged a battered figure. He cast himself, panting, onto the ground, just as the fuel cell detonated. A shard of shrapnel managed to pierce his armor between his knee and his calf plate. He let a groan out as he dragged himself over to a tree and propped himself up against it. He braced himself and grasped the metal. Then, clenching his teeth, he gripped the shard tighter and pulled it out. He gasped in pain and cast the bloody metal away from him. Fortunately for him a medpack landed near him. It was charred and some of the items were unusable, but all the things he needed to patch up his leg seemed to be intact. Then, setting his guns aside, which he managed to save from the wreck, he set to work on his injury. He wouldn't go far with a bad leg giving him pain all the time. He had seen a town go away behind him before he crashed. The fighter was facing due north, so he needed to head south. After he fixed his leg he sat back against the tree. He was amazed at how tired he was. He yawned. Maybe I'll just take a short nap while my leg heals, he thought sleepily. I mean, walking around tired can be almost as dangerous as walking around with a bad.... His helmeted head drooped, and he was soon fast asleep. He assumed he was going to have to find help on his own. Little did he know that help was already on the way!