   Here's the third installment of 'Halftime'. I still wouldn't
advise starting to read the thing here, but it will, admittedly,
make a little more sense than starting at, say Chapter 17.

Halftime
By Aaron Ziegler
alziegle@norcia.cs.csbsju.edu
http://bingen.cs.csbsju.edu/~alziegle

Chapter 3: Time Change

   "Excuse me, sir, but do you speak my language?"
   Ryoga turned his head in surprise. Ryoga was a youth used to
travel. Such was indicated by his clothes: sturdy boots, rugged
yellow shirt, and a well-stocked backpack. Strapped to the top of
his backpack was a bamboo umbrella, indicating Ryoga's readiness
for any kind of weather (though few realized at first that the
umbrella was also Ryoga's primary weapon in combat). Completing
the wanderer's attire was a yellow and black striped bandana
(which few realized was Ryoga's secondary weapon in combat), tied
around his black-haired head. A youth used to travel, and also
(to his anguish) to solitude. This was the first voice he had
heard for two days. After he, in the shape of Akane's little pet
P-Chan, had leapt from Akane's arms, his only thought had been to
find hot water, and to get back in time to protect her from
whatever evil had been represented by that silver object in the
sky. He had found the water, and one of his many caches of
clothes, but he had been totally unable to find his way back to
Akane. After once again cursing his poor sense of direction, he
had begun his journey to find his way back. Ranma had better be
able to protect Akane, Ryoga thought fiercely, or else he'll rue
the day he was born!
   Ryoga's mind returned to the present. The person addressing
him was a tall, pretty, young woman, perhaps slightly younger
than himself. She had short, blue hair, large, steady, green
eyes, and was dressed in ill-fitting Chinese clothes. She looked
rather desperate, in spite of her calm tone. "Er, yes?" Ryoga
replied.
   "Oh, wonderful!" the woman exclaimed, her voice wavering
slightly from it's calmness, "I was hoping that there would be
someone else who did! Can you help me? I seem to be lost."
   The irony of this statement caught Ryoga totally off guard,
and he was unable to suppress a short laugh, exposing for a
moment his slightly elongated canines. The woman looked slightly
miffed, "There is no need to laugh, sir."
   "I'm sorry," Ryoga apologized. "It's just that I'm the last
person to be asking directions from."
   "Oh, so you are lost as well?" she asked, a sympathetic look
on her face. "Perhaps we should travel together, until we can
discover where we are."
   Ryoga shrugged, and warned, "I travel fast..."
   "I believe that I can keep up," answered the woman,
confidently.
   Ryoga held out his hand, and said, "My name's Ryoga Hibiki."
   The woman shook the proffered hand, and answered, "My name is
Robo."
   The two of them began walking together, Robo's long legs
easily keeping pace with Ryoga's rapid steps. "Robo, huh?" said
Ryoga, "That's an interesting name. What's your last name?"
   Robo shook her head, "Just Robo. I have no last name. However,
I have also been called Prometheus, as well as R66-Y."
   Ryoga raised an eyebrow at the odd array of names. Robo
changed the subject, "By the way, could you tell me what year it
is?"
   The young woman was full of surprises. Ryoga replied "1995."
   "Ah, excellent," beamed Robo. "Are you familiar with Geno
Dome? That is my place of origin."
   Ryoga thought a moment. He had traveled extensively, but could
not remember anyplace by that name. He shook his head.
   "Well, then, have you heard of Proto Dome?" Again, the answer
was no. "Arris Dome?" Nope. "Well, someone should know. All of
those cities were in place by 1995."
   A strange comment. Ryoga decided to see if she knew of his
destination. "Are any of those places near Nerima?" he asked.
   Robo concentrated a moment, "I don't recall having heard of a
dome called 'Nerima'. But then, my memory isn't what it used to
be."
   "What do you mean?" asked Ryoga, "Do you have amnesia?"
   Robo sighed, "Perhaps I should explain. You see, I am not what
I appear to be."
   A chill rolled up and down Ryoga's spine. "Jusenkyo?" he
whispered.
   Robo looked at him, surprised. "You have heard of it?"
   "I've...been there," admitted Ryoga. Then, excitedly, he
asked, "Where is it? I need to get back there."
   Robo shook her head, sorrowfully, "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying
any attention when I was running. That's why I'm lost."
   Disappointed, Ryoga asked her to tell him her story. "Well, it
will be rather hard to believe..." she said. Ryoga shrugged, and
urged her to continue. "Well, I am a time-traveler. I come from
the year 2300. I was walking with my companion Atropos, when a
time Gate suddenly appeared in front of me. I started to fall in,
and Atropos grabbed me, but she could not keep her grip. The
other end of the Gate opened, and I found myself in mid air above
a pool with bamboo poles sticking out of it. I splashed into it,
and crawled out in the shape that you now see. I looked up, but
the gate had closed already, giving Atropos no chance to follow
me. In retrospect, I suppose that that was for the best. I would
not want to doom her to my fate. At any rate, after I had noticed
that the gate was gone, I heard a voice talking to me. I looked
up to see a man, dressed much like I am now. He mumbled something
about the Jusenkyo curse, and a tragic drowned girl. He offered
me some clothes, and I took them without thinking. Only then did
I look at myself and fully realize what had happened to me." She
looked embarrassed, "I am afraid that I must have panicked,
because I just started running. When I finally stopped, I was
nowhere near Jusenkyo, and I had no idea how to get back.
Finally, I had calmed down enough to realize that I was in a
strange land, and in a strange body, and that I did not have any
clothes on."
   Ryoga was confused, "Huh? Didn't you have any clothes on
before you fell in?"
   Robo threw him an odd glance, "Of course not! Why would I?"
   This answer baffled Ryoga even more, "Don't people wear
clothes in 2300?"
   "Of course! But I, naturally, did not."
   This exchange, plus the fact that Robo produced all of her
statements in the same calm tone of voice, led Ryoga to wonder if
he was walking with some kind of pervert. Robo continued with her
story, "As I was saying, I was lost in a strange land, so I put
on the clothes that the man at Jusenkyo had given me, and started
walking. The fact that I could not remember where I had been was
really bothering me. In my old body, I had a perfect memory, and
I rarely became lost. I did discover that I was still nearly as
strong as before." She demonstrated by walking up to a nearby
boulder and punching it hard with her fist. There was a dull thud
and the rock shuddered. A lattice of hairline cracks appeared
around the point of impact.
   Ryoga was impressed. He walked up to the same boulder, chose a
side that was still unmarked, and gave it a punch of his own.
Again the rock shuddered, and another lattice of cracks appeared,
perhaps slightly larger than the ones produced by Robo. "I see
that you are strong as well," she noted. "Anyway, I kept walking
until I came to a town. I tried to communicate, but everyone
there was speaking a strange language. So, I kept traveling until
I met you."
   Ryoga nodded, "That is a strange story, but not unbelievable."
   "So, why are you lost?" asked Robo.
   "Well, I was in Nerima when I saw this silver streak in the
sky-"
   "What?!" interrupted Robo, definitely losing her calm tone.
She grabbed Ryoga's shoulders. "Did you say silver streak? Did it
appear out of nowhere, and fly away at great speed? With the
sound of a thunderclap?"
   Ryoga nodded, shaken, and more than a little uncomfortable in
Robo's iron grip, "Please let go of me." Somewhat sheepishly,
Robo did so. "Why? What do you know of this streak?"
   "It is my friends!" exclaimed Robo happily. "You have just
described their time machine. I am definitely coming with you
now! I have to get to Nerima."
   Rubbing his shoulders, Ryoga continued, "Well, when I saw the
streak, I tried to run to Akane, the woman that I love. I thought
that she might be in danger." He looked at Robo imploringly.
   Robo caught his meaning, "Do not worry. My friends would not
hurt your friends. At least, as long as your friends did not
attack them first." Robo suddenly got a wistful look, "I
understand your desire to aid the one that you love. I have only
recently had much experience with the emotion called love. I
think that I love Atropos. I do wish that I could see her again.
What force prevented you from reaching your loved one?"
   Ryoga looked uncomfortable, "I got lost." Robo looked at him,
questioningly. Defensively, Ryoga added, "I get lost very easily.
I continued walking, and eventually I found myself here. I think
that we're in China."
   Robo nodded. Then she looked frustrated. "If only we had a
map, or something!"
   "Wait, I have a map," said Ryoga, pulling off his backpack.
   "Why have you not been using it?" asked Robo, incredulously.
   "They don't usually help me much," answered Ryoga, pulling out
the map. He opened it and started to study it intently.
   "I think that I can see why," said Robo, gently turning the
map right-side up. She looked over Ryoga's shoulder. "So that is
China? It is a big place, and I do not recognize this part of the
world. Jusenkyo is not on the map? Too bad."
   "Here's Nerima," said Ryoga, jabbing at a part of Japan.
"That's funny. I don't remember crossing a large body of water.
Oh, well, not the first time that's happened."
   "You really do get lost easily," noted Robo with an awed
expression. Then she took on a serious cast, "Like I said, China
is a big place, so we need to figure out where we are, and which
way is north. So we will keep following this road until we find a
town, and hopefully, someone there will speak our language."
   "Actually," said Ryoga, "I do know a little bit of Chinese.
It's not much, but it might be enough to get us oriented. One
tends to learn a little of a lot of languages when one travels as
much as I."
   The two traveled onward in silence for a while. Suddenly a
thought occurred to Ryoga. "Do you know how to change back to
your normal form?"
   Robo stopped dead in her tracks. "You know a cure for this
curse?" she asked with a hopeful look.
   "Only a temporary one," replied Ryoga. "The way that the
curses work is that you change into your cursed form when
splashed with cold water, and your regular form when splashed
with hot water."
   "Really?" said Robo, looking somewhat disappointed. Then she
brightened, "Still, it is better than staying stuck in this body.
How hot and how cold does the water have to be, exactly?"
   "I don't really think that anyone knows for sure. It has to be
fairly warm, though, to be considered hot water."
   "How do you know so much about the Jusenkyo curse, Ryoga?"
asked Robo suddenly.
   "Er, I know a lot of people with curses," Ryoga answered.
   Robo gave Ryoga a long glance. Then she asked, "Do you have
any hot water with you?"
   "Actually, I do," said Ryoga, once more removing his backpack.
He lifted out a thermos, being careful to cover the tiny pig
tooth marks on the cap with his hand. He unscrewed the cap and
handed the thermos to Robo.
   "Wonderful!" she said. Then she walked behind some bushes.
   "What are you doing?" asked Ryoga.
   "I am removing these clothes, Ryoga" Robo answered.
   Ryoga's eyes widened, "Er, are you sure that that's
necessary?"
   Robo gave no response. Moments later, a new voice was heard,
"That is much better." The voice was male, but it had an odd,
tinny sound to it. Then Robo stepped out from behind the bushes.
Instead of a naked man, Ryoga was surprised to see a bulky
mechanical man. Robo's body had a barrel shape and seemed to be
made of some brass-coloured metal. He had short, stocky legs, and
thin arms, one of which was holding the clothes Robo had been
wearing. His head was a neckless hemisphere, with two glowing
eyes of the same green shade Robo had possessed as a girl, and a
large mouth. There was some sort of cylinder mounted horizontally
on his back.
   The robot stretched. The metal skin of his torso split into
two sections, and slid apart with a pneumatic hiss, revealing a
small, glowing green sphere surrounded by circuitry, gears, and
other bits of Robo's internal workings. Having vented the excess
steam, Robo closed his shell again and observed the shocked look
on Ryoga's face. "What is the matter?" he asked.
   "Y-you're a machine!" Ryoga accused.
   The robot seemed puzzled. "Well, yes, of course. Did you not
know?" Robo thought for a moment, "It seems not. Memory banks,
though erratic for the period of time spent as a human, indicate
that the actual nature of my true form never came up. I
apologize, friend Ryoga, for any discomfort I have caused you."
   Ryoga, recovering from the initial shock, realized that many
of the things Robo had said now made sense. His other names, his
claim not to wear clothes, his perfect memory... He looked at
Robo in wonder. "I didn't know that Jusenkyo changed machines,"
he admitted.
   "Doubtless, it does not change most machines. But unlike most
machines, I am alive. The magic of Jusenkyo probably affects all
living things, rather than just organic life forms."
   "Alive?" Ryoga asked, doubtfully.
   "I am an artificial intelligence, and I am no less and no more
alive than you, or anyone else." Robo seemed somewhat miffed at
Ryoga's doubtful expression.
   "I suppose," conceded Ryoga.
   Robo thought carefully for a moment, "My internal compass
indicates that north is...that way!" Robo pointed north. "That
means that we should go east, in order to reach the coast." Robo
triumphantly pointed east.
   "Great!" exclaimed Ryoga, and promptly started off in a
southwesterly direction.
   "Er, where are you going, Ryoga?" asked Robo.
   "East," Ryoga responded.
   "But east is that way," corrected Robo, pointing again.
   "Er, of course," said Ryoga, and headed north.
   Robo sighed, "Ryoga, perhaps you should follow me."
   Ryoga once again cursed his poor sense of direction, and
followed Robo.

Afterword:
   What kind of a crossover would it be without cursing one of
the guests, hmmm? And if you say 'a decent one', I'll give you a
virtual slap.
   Regarding Cologne's age, I really have no idea exactly how old
she is. For the purposes of this story, I've set her age at about
400 years.

Chrono Trigger Tip #3:
   What's the best way to distribute Magic, Power, and Speed
Tabs?
   It depends on several factors, the main of which is, of
course, how Mindlessly Obsessive you are. If you intend to play
through the game just once, then the answer is simple. Distribute
all of the Magic Tabs to Lucca, Marle, and Magus, and all of the
Power Tabs to the rest. You'll be augmenting the abilities that
they already excel at, making them able to kick butt and take
names. Give the Speed Tabs to the slow characters, like Robo and
Magus.
   Now, as you may have discovered, once you win, you are given
the option to play through a second time--except with all of the
characters possessing the strength, experience, items, and
weapons from the previous game. This is your opportunity to see
all of the various endings that you can get by beating Lavos at
various stages of the game. If you intend to play through just a
second time and then quit, then you probably still want to
distribute Tabs as I've suggested above.
   However, for the truly obsessive, for those who are willing to
play through the game half a dozen times or more, just to get all
of the characters up to level 99, and equip them all with Prism
Helms, Prism Dresses, and such, Tab distribution is almost
totally reversed. Give all the Power Tabs to Lucca and Marle.
Those two are really poor physical fighters, great as they are
with Magic, and can use the boost. Give the Magic Tabs to Robo
and Ayla, despite the fact that neither uses magic. Hey, it
doesn't have to make sense, so long as it maxes out their stats!
If that's just too much for you, give 'em to Frog and Crono, you
wimp. As for Speed Tabs, give them to whoever is slowest--except
for Robo. Under no circumstances give Speed Tabs to Robo. Each
time through the game, Robo will get a Ribbon from Atropos after
beating her, and the Ribbon gives him three Speed points all by
itself. Robo'll be up to the max speed of sixteen in no time at
all. Only if you heed this advice will you follow the One True
Path to Mindless Obsession.
