Ranma, Desert-Born
Ranma 1/2 and Dark Sun (AD&D) crossover
by Shea McIntee
Disclaimer: You know the drill... sigh... Ranma 1/2 doesn't belong to me, and
neither does Dark Sun. The combination and related insanity thereof... well...
ummm... ITS NOT MY FAULT!!
Ranma panted as he ran in haggard desperation across the seemingly
endless sea of sand. Before him lay a possible escape from certain death.
Behind him, he could sense HIS approach; the one who pursued him with claws
bloody with his friend's blood. The one whom he had desperately hidden from to
grow stronger, and whom had evidently discovered him.
The Dragon. Oh, there were perhaps half a dozen dragons - Sorcerer-
Kings with an inhuman shape and almost unspeakable power, but the was only one
Dragon; the only one with no domain to rule... and the strongest of the lot.
In a desperate attempt at revenge, he and a small group of friends had stumbled
across an ancient scroll that hinted at a transformation to counter that of the
dragons, a winged bird-like form whispered of in legends... the Avangion.
Perhaps a dozen individuals of sufficient power and strength of will had
attempted it. Two had succeeded in the first step, only to be ruthlessly
destroyed by the dragons, who feared such a threat to their power. They had
thought themselves clever; Ranma was the one selected to undergo the long and
tedious process, as he was the one best qualified. The others watched as guards
while he slept.
Ryouga, warrior and master of the body's inborn energies. Ramara, an
elemental priest of almost legendary power. And Korin, able to draw upon
delicate energies to fuel spectacular magics... and his little brother. They had
all watched and warded, keeping any suspicious eyes away from his resting place.
Perhaps they had become too effective, or perhaps the Dragon had merely sensed it
through sheer coincidence. It didn't matter in the end; he had just woken up
when they had been brutally attacked by the inhuman beast. Korin died with a
claw in his throat, and Ramara had self-destructed in a desperate attempt to buy
him time. And Ryouga... Ryouga had held the monster off while he could only flee
for safety. Ryouga's attempt had bought him perhaps half a day... and he still
might not make it.
Sometimes he wondered if he was worth it, whether he should have gone
down fighting with the others. However, they had entrusted him to make sure that
their sacrifices were not in vain; like the other two who had gotten this far, he
was far too weak to face his enemies; he needed time to learn and grow.
Time he didn't have, unless he could make it. They had chosen their
sanctuary's ground with care, with several ways to escape. The Silt Sea was out
of the question; the dragon came at them from there. The others were useless at
present, leaving only their last-ditch effort. They had managed to construct a
gateway that might... MIGHT be able to send one or two people through the Gray
into the worlds that were theoried to be beyond. Once there, it might be
possible for him to take the time needed to learn, and then to come back and
avenge the fallen.
Ahead he could see the faint outline of his destination on top of a hill,
perhaps a quarter-mile away. He could faintly hear the angry roar of his pursuer,
and he redoubled his pace, shifting his form through his honed powers until he
bounded across the sands as a desert cat. It would be still a close match, and
he would need to take a few moments to activate the gateway and the pendant. The
pendant was really what would cause the traveling; the gate was merely to give it
enough power to punch through the ever-present Gray.
He stumbled over a bone half-buried in the sand, and caught himself, still
running as fast as he could. Behind him the ground faintly trembled, and he could
almost feel the Dragon coming close... too close. He threw a barrier of pure will
behind him at the distant dot he knew would be there if he looked, and almost
smiled in satisfaction at the momentary frustration of his enemy by the sudden
collision. It would only hold perhaps half a minute at the most, but it might be
enough.
He skidded to a halt in front of the arch and quickly assumed his new
natural form. No longer was he completely human in appearance, with blue eyes,
black shoulder-length hair, and a desert tan that was far from uncommon. Now he
looked somewhat... finer. Thinner, perhaps, and more bird-like in structure. His
face was, for the most part, the same, albeit with an alien cast to it. The wings
on his back, like the rest of him, appearing vaguely avian, although made clearly
of skin (like a bat's) rather than feathers, caught the eye the most, as did the
slight increase in height.
He shook himself and focused on the portal in front of him and the amulet,
hung around his neck, clasped in his hand. The arch was made of a bluish stone,
appearing mortarless; in fact, no mortar was used, with each of the twenty-pound
blocks so finely micro-engineered through kinetic bursts that they stuck together
as if glued. Across each stone scrawled intricate patterns etched deep inside,
designed to soak up the sun's energy and store it until needed, and the sparkling
of jeweled dust traced more designs. The setting sun caught the large clear gem,
quartz of course, on the top. He called out a long rolling chant that seemed almost
majestic as the patterns caught on fire in response. Raising his arms slowly, he
watched as the empty space inside the arch seemed to glow and then buckle, churning
as if caught in a vicious storm. He clasped the pendant around his neck with one
hand, and with the other reached out to touch the very middle of the disturbance.
As he cleared his mind and focused on the link, he felt his barrier fall
broken and shattered, but it was too late for his foe; the connection was made, and
the rippling air inside the portal snapped open with a thunderous clap of noise.
Quickly, before it could close or something else happen, he stepped through,
blindly.
Author's Note: Just an interesting idea... I'll try to update some of my stuff
soon... I have a research paper (joy, joy...) due Thursday, though. This fic will
be a multi-crossover, with forays into RIFTS, Ranma (canon), Evangelion, Sailor Moon,
and others (each time, there'll be a native Ranma and Avangion-Ranma)
deus_ex_mach42@hotmail.com
Shea McIntee
Ranma 1/2 and Dark Sun (AD&D) crossover
by Shea McIntee
Disclaimer: You know the drill... sigh... Ranma 1/2 doesn't belong to me, and
neither does Dark Sun. The combination and related insanity thereof... well...
ummm... ITS NOT MY FAULT!!
Ranma panted as he ran in haggard desperation across the seemingly
endless sea of sand. Before him lay a possible escape from certain death.
Behind him, he could sense HIS approach; the one who pursued him with claws
bloody with his friend's blood. The one whom he had desperately hidden from to
grow stronger, and whom had evidently discovered him.
The Dragon. Oh, there were perhaps half a dozen dragons - Sorcerer-
Kings with an inhuman shape and almost unspeakable power, but the was only one
Dragon; the only one with no domain to rule... and the strongest of the lot.
In a desperate attempt at revenge, he and a small group of friends had stumbled
across an ancient scroll that hinted at a transformation to counter that of the
dragons, a winged bird-like form whispered of in legends... the Avangion.
Perhaps a dozen individuals of sufficient power and strength of will had
attempted it. Two had succeeded in the first step, only to be ruthlessly
destroyed by the dragons, who feared such a threat to their power. They had
thought themselves clever; Ranma was the one selected to undergo the long and
tedious process, as he was the one best qualified. The others watched as guards
while he slept.
Ryouga, warrior and master of the body's inborn energies. Ramara, an
elemental priest of almost legendary power. And Korin, able to draw upon
delicate energies to fuel spectacular magics... and his little brother. They had
all watched and warded, keeping any suspicious eyes away from his resting place.
Perhaps they had become too effective, or perhaps the Dragon had merely sensed it
through sheer coincidence. It didn't matter in the end; he had just woken up
when they had been brutally attacked by the inhuman beast. Korin died with a
claw in his throat, and Ramara had self-destructed in a desperate attempt to buy
him time. And Ryouga... Ryouga had held the monster off while he could only flee
for safety. Ryouga's attempt had bought him perhaps half a day... and he still
might not make it.
Sometimes he wondered if he was worth it, whether he should have gone
down fighting with the others. However, they had entrusted him to make sure that
their sacrifices were not in vain; like the other two who had gotten this far, he
was far too weak to face his enemies; he needed time to learn and grow.
Time he didn't have, unless he could make it. They had chosen their
sanctuary's ground with care, with several ways to escape. The Silt Sea was out
of the question; the dragon came at them from there. The others were useless at
present, leaving only their last-ditch effort. They had managed to construct a
gateway that might... MIGHT be able to send one or two people through the Gray
into the worlds that were theoried to be beyond. Once there, it might be
possible for him to take the time needed to learn, and then to come back and
avenge the fallen.
Ahead he could see the faint outline of his destination on top of a hill,
perhaps a quarter-mile away. He could faintly hear the angry roar of his pursuer,
and he redoubled his pace, shifting his form through his honed powers until he
bounded across the sands as a desert cat. It would be still a close match, and
he would need to take a few moments to activate the gateway and the pendant. The
pendant was really what would cause the traveling; the gate was merely to give it
enough power to punch through the ever-present Gray.
He stumbled over a bone half-buried in the sand, and caught himself, still
running as fast as he could. Behind him the ground faintly trembled, and he could
almost feel the Dragon coming close... too close. He threw a barrier of pure will
behind him at the distant dot he knew would be there if he looked, and almost
smiled in satisfaction at the momentary frustration of his enemy by the sudden
collision. It would only hold perhaps half a minute at the most, but it might be
enough.
He skidded to a halt in front of the arch and quickly assumed his new
natural form. No longer was he completely human in appearance, with blue eyes,
black shoulder-length hair, and a desert tan that was far from uncommon. Now he
looked somewhat... finer. Thinner, perhaps, and more bird-like in structure. His
face was, for the most part, the same, albeit with an alien cast to it. The wings
on his back, like the rest of him, appearing vaguely avian, although made clearly
of skin (like a bat's) rather than feathers, caught the eye the most, as did the
slight increase in height.
He shook himself and focused on the portal in front of him and the amulet,
hung around his neck, clasped in his hand. The arch was made of a bluish stone,
appearing mortarless; in fact, no mortar was used, with each of the twenty-pound
blocks so finely micro-engineered through kinetic bursts that they stuck together
as if glued. Across each stone scrawled intricate patterns etched deep inside,
designed to soak up the sun's energy and store it until needed, and the sparkling
of jeweled dust traced more designs. The setting sun caught the large clear gem,
quartz of course, on the top. He called out a long rolling chant that seemed almost
majestic as the patterns caught on fire in response. Raising his arms slowly, he
watched as the empty space inside the arch seemed to glow and then buckle, churning
as if caught in a vicious storm. He clasped the pendant around his neck with one
hand, and with the other reached out to touch the very middle of the disturbance.
As he cleared his mind and focused on the link, he felt his barrier fall
broken and shattered, but it was too late for his foe; the connection was made, and
the rippling air inside the portal snapped open with a thunderous clap of noise.
Quickly, before it could close or something else happen, he stepped through,
blindly.
Author's Note: Just an interesting idea... I'll try to update some of my stuff
soon... I have a research paper (joy, joy...) due Thursday, though. This fic will
be a multi-crossover, with forays into RIFTS, Ranma (canon), Evangelion, Sailor Moon,
and others (each time, there'll be a native Ranma and Avangion-Ranma)
deus_ex_mach42@hotmail.com
Shea McIntee