Falling Details After the Anticlimax

There came a knock at the door. "I'll get it," said Akane as she bounded down the stairs. Flinging open the door, Johnny smiled that characteristic lopsided smile. Akane squealed and threw her arms around his neck. "Oh Johnny, you're home!" she exclaimed. Looking over her shoulder, he smiled deviously at Ranma, who stood there looking only a bit angry. Instead of lashing out at Akane, he said, "Welcome home, buddy! Get everything you need?"

Akane let go of him and looked at him eagerly. "Yeah, did you get them?" she asked. Johnny sighed. "In a way, yes," he said hesitantly. Akane's eyes grew serious. "What do you mean?" she asked. Johnny sighed again and walked over to a window. Staring into it, he lost himself for a moment, then finally came back to his senses, and spoke. "I found them, and I got them," he said, "But I'm not going to do anything more." Ranma was confused. "What do you mean?" he asked Johnny. Johnny did not look at him. "I'm not leaving." "But, Johnny, they need you in the future!" exclaimed Akane. "Don't tell me you're going to abandon them, are you?" "They'll be fine without me," he said. "They'll manage; they're Marines, the army, they're tough." Ranma could sense something else behind this all.

"Johnny," he said quietly. "What?" asked Johnny. "Look at me, Johnny." Johnny hesitantly turned to face him, his head down. "Look at my eyes," said Ranma firmly. Johnny rose his head and looked into Ranma's eyes. "What are you not telling us?" asked Ranma gently but firmly. Johnny looked down, then up again, and around the room. He turned his back to Ranma and exhaled a long breath. Turning back to Ranma, he looked him square in the eye, and said, "I can't." "You can't what?" asked Ranma. Johnny pointed in a vague direction behind him. "Go back," he said. "I can't go back to the future. It's not only that I don't want to, it's simply that I can't." Ranma took a step back with a confused expression on his face. "Wh-what?" he said incredulously. "I mean, we built your ship up and it's almost ready to go! What do you mean you can't?! How do you mean?"

Johnny sighed a third time, looked at the ceiling, and said, 'Let's sit down." They went over to the living room and sat down with the rest of the family. "Oh Johnny, you're home!" said Kasumi. "Please, please, let me explain something to everyone," he said, holding up his hands to stop the talking. "Tendos, Saotomes, there's something I realized on my trip. And I found I didn't want to go back to where I belong. Where I used to belong. I realized I wanted to stay here, with you. I've just grown roots too deep to be torn out. But I knew I had a duty to do. I wished that somehow there was a way that there could be two "me"s; one here, one there. I thought about time paradoxes and how I might create one when I went back to the future, because if I happened to arrive there before I came here, then there would be two of me, one that could come back here and one that could go on with the mission. It was when I was thinking over this that I discovered, much to my horror, and delight, that there was less than a shred of hope to get myself home."

"What do you mean?" asked Nabiki. "When I first got transported here," said Johnny, leaning forward, "I did so on accident. It was a fluke that my grav compensator went off and I got transported through that black hole. I have no idea where that black hole is. I got there after a random hyperspace jump in an attempt to flee. Also, it was a fluke I got transported back to Earth. It wasn't planned. I could have wound up anywhere, at anywhen." "Where is this going?" asked Soun. "There is no telling what could happen if I tried to go back," explained Johnny. "If I manage to find a black hole and recreate the accident, there's no way to tell where I'll go. I could to the farthest reaches of the universe a quadrillion millenium from now, or at the center of the universe in its beginning. And then what would I do? Nothing, but die." This struck the group like a lightning bolt. They had never considered all the facts together at once. They realized that Johnny could not go back just as he realized it. "And so, I have to stay," said Johnny. "As it looks, by coming back here I've haven't seemed to mess anything up in time, at least not yet. I'm not going to go and try my luck again."

They all nodded, and they agreed Johnny could stay as long as he wanted. And so stay he did.

And so, Johnny decided to stay with the Tendos. Ranma and Akane told of their love to everyone, as did Ryoga and Nabiki. Shampoo, bereft of Ranma, found happiness with Mousse. To everyone's delight, Happosai suffered a fatal stroke and died. Pantyhose Taro, thus being able to release himself from his name, opted for a new name, Mitsurugi Mokendo (though no one knew where that one came from). Cologne, back from a trip to China, brought back real Spring of Drowned Man water, and thus Mousse, Ryoga, and Ranma were cured. Shampoo also received Spring of Drowned Girl water from Cologne. Kuno wound up going with Kasumi, having lost the two loves of his life to Ranma (and cursed spring water), and decided he would rather go with Akane's sister and be in laws with Ranma than enemies. Ukyo, having also lost Ranma, fell in love with Konatsu after awhile. Most of the other suitors of these fell away and ended up finding other people. Genma and Ranma's mother got back together, and Soun fell in love with Hinako. Johnny remained a bachelor, although it did not stop him from flirting with Kodachi. It seemed as if all had ended well. Almost too well.

Alas, alas, as the old saying goes, "the best laid plans of mice and men, they oft go astray." One night, Johnny, being the restless night owl he was, decided to at least put in the final parts on his ship so he could use it, since he could not sleep anyway. About an hour later, it was finished. Still not sleepy, thought Johnny. I guess I'll do a test run. I hope nobody minds. Starting up the engines, he ran a quick pre-flight check. "All systems go," said Johnny quietly to himself. It hummed, surprisingly quietly, out of the vacant lot where the family had decided to keep it and headed for space. Once clear of the atmosphere, Johnny engaged the hyperdrive. A red light flashed. "Uh oh," said Johnny. The fuel core was going critical. It was collapsing, becoming too dense. Johnny attempted to stabilize it, but it was no use. It just kept crushing itself. Johnny was struck with a premonition.

Could it be? With a sounding of tearing metal, the miniature black hole created by the collapsed element began sucking in the entire craft. In its death throes, the klaxons' noise, the howling wind, and the harsh red light, the ship was a nightmarish death trap. Johnny hung onto the ship but realized it would soon be pulled in too. As Johnny gave up and let go, the last thing he saw was the grav compensator. It screeched and exploded in a splash of blue energy and gravity waves. Johnny flew towards the hole, and everything went black.

Johnny sighed, and rolled out of bed, slapping the alarm clock. Ugh, he thought, tasting the inside of his mouth. Going over to the large carrier's only bathroom, Johnny splashed his face with water. "Hey, Master Chief, what's up?" Johnny turned. "Oh, hey Carl," said Johnny groggily. "You wanna take the Longsword down to the planet or have the dropship take us?" Johnny felt a strange feeling of deja vu. He never ignored his instincts or feelings. "Let's take the dropship," said Johnny.

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 spoke his name. Then she sat down next to him to give him just one final.....YOU JERK!

"Arrgh!" yelled Ranma. He awoke with a start. Stupid macho jock chick, he thought. Can't get away from her, even in my dreams. 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. Stupid Akane, he thought. She is kinda cute though. "When she's not being a stupid dork," he said out loud. WHOK! went the hammer on his head. "Well, sor-ry!" she yelled. Yeah, like right then, he thought.

And so, everything ended normally, as can be expected.

THE END