[FFML] [xover][Ranma][MKR] Fire in the Water, Act 3 (draft complete)

[The Eternal Lost Lurker]

> First off, thank you for releasing this chapter.... it's like an Oasis
> in the desert of today's bad fanfiction releases.

O.o;;; Ouch! Um...thanks? ^^; (That's one of the more unusual compliments
I've ever gotten, I'll admit...)

>  I am wondering
> exactly how Ranma will be able to help out.  If it's anything like
> what happened in Onna Red Side

Aside from the core crossover premise--Hikaru dying and coming back to life
as part of Ranma's curse--absolutely nothing about FitW is "anything like"
O:RS. That is literally the only surviving remnant of the original plot. So
when you read this, don't expect to read an "upgraded" O:RS. Forget O:RS
ever existed. It is a non-entity.

That having been said, Ranma isn't entirely useless in his current
predicament. However, at least for the time being, the sum total of his
effectiveness on Cephiro amounts to being a Force-ghost. This may or may not
change in the immediate foreseeable future.

> I do like the bell.

Thanks. The whole bell/Caller thing arose from my wanting to give Akane a
non-standard weapon, avoid all the fanon cliches about her, and lay the
basis for a running joke involving a lot of good-natured, non-author-bashing
Akane abuse. (Because I'm not among those who dislike Akane. She has issues,
but she's not the evil abusive freak a lot of fanfic authors want her to be.
Still, SOMEONE has to be the cosmic buttmonkey....)

> You also do a good job of portraying the enemy as well.  I find myself
> both liking and hating them at the same time.  I have sympathy for
> your bad guy, excellent.

Oh, you ain't seen NOTHIN' yet. And I'm sure by now, at least 80% of my
readers have figured out something VERY important. >:)

> Although, I must question, is this the same enemy from MKR2?  (I only
> ask because I haven't actually read MKR in any of its forms save for a
> couple chapters of both manga found in bookstores.)

No, it is most DEFINITELY not the enemy from MKR2. The enemy from MKR2 does
not exist in this altered universe, because the Pillar was never killed.

I will only say these things, for now, to avoid giving too much away (again,
I've already given more than enough clues for many to have figured out
what's going on here):

- There is more than one main villain.
- Neither Debonair nor Nova will appear in this story.
- A lot of you are going to want to kill me when I reveal everything. ^_^

(Seriously, though, HAS anyone figured it out yet? I know there have to be
at least a few of you who worked it out already. Come on, don't be
shy--speak up, but if you throw out a guess/deduction, do it by private
e-mail so as not to spam the list/spoil it for people who don't see it yet.
^_^)

Thanks for reading!

================================
"Sheik Protein? He's a mean ol' ass, Cid."
              ~~*~~
The Eternal Lost Lurker
www.lurkerdrome.com