Ranma ½ And The Dimensional Mirror
CHAPTER 1
"Ranma!" Akane's voice could be heard on the other side of the Tendo family residence. "Come back here right now."
"Yeah right." Ranma yelled back. "Your gonna have to catch me first." He ran through the front door and bolted up the stairs before Akane even made it through the front gate. Hopposai's room was empty and he didn't think she would ever go in there for anything, so he ran inside and closed the door. As he hid he began snooping around quietly and found Hopposai's proud collection. "What a pervert." He thought in disgust. He could now hear Akane opening doors on the second floor but he figured he'd be safe for the time being. As he searched he found Hopposai's magic mirror. "Alright," he exclaimed out loud forgetting all about Akane, who was making her way down the hallway. "And now for a little time travel." At that moment Akane came crashing through the door .
"I got you now Ranma" The knob struck him in the elbow hitting his funny bone. His eyes watered and a single tear fell and hit the mirror and it began to react immediately.
"What a haul! What a haul!" Hopposai's voice could be heard as he entered his bedroom window just in time to see Ranma and Akane disappear. "My mirror." Hopposai cried in dismay, but it was too late. They were already gone.
"Hey! Whadga do that for!? That hurt!" Ranma grasped his elbow. When he looked at Akane, the look on her face was complete shock.
"Ranma, where are we?"
"The question isn't where but when."
"What are you……" She noticed the mirror in his hand. "Oh this is just great Ranma. Why are you always messing around with stuff.? We could be stuck here. Wherever here is."
"Would you just relax already. I'm sure we can get back the same way we got here. But in the mean time why don't check it out and see where we are."
They were in the middle of a dense forest surrounded by trees that seemed to stretch to the sky.
"Well it's a safe bet we're not in Tokyo anymore." Ranma said in slight awe of his surroundings.
"Thank you captain obvious. I don't think I could've figured that one out on my own." Akane replied sarcastically.
"Shut up. Your not helping any either."
They walked for what seemed like hours. Neither one saying anything to the other.
"Does this forest ever end." Ranma whined, his initial enthusiasm wearing off.
"Oh, stop complaining, This was your idea after all. You just had to go exploring. Now suck it up and keep walking."
They finally reached the end of the forest and came to a small village. They entered a building with a sign over the door depicting a table and chairs. They figured it was a restaurant of some sort, so they sat a table and waited. Just then a group of strange looking kids entered the restaurant. One was dressed in blue and had a club and what appeared to be a boomerang on his back. A girl was behind him also dressed in blue with no distinguishing features except for two loops of hair that started at her forehead and wrapped around to a bun on the back of her head and a necklace with what appeared to be a symbol for water. A young girl who appeared to be even more tomboyish than Akane. She punched the boy in blue and he let out a groan. After a second look they noticed that she was blind yet she moved as though she could see as well as anyone. The last to enter was a boy who was completely bald and had a weird tattoo of a blue arrow that went from the back of his skull all the way to his forehead, and a strange monkey like animal with huge ears on his shoulder. They likewise sat a table.
"Judging by their clothes, I'd say we've been sent pretty far back to the past." Akane deduced as she stared at the strange group.
"We should talk to them and figure out where and when we are." Ranma said.
Just as they were approaching the table of strangers a girl carrying a bucket of water tripped over Ranma's chair, he had forgot to push in. Water splashed all over him and where a man once stood a girl was now in his place.
The strangers looked on in complete disbelief. They didn't know what to think. Ranma stood there for what seemed like an eternity to him. Akane rolling her eyes approached the strangers.
"We're completely lost. Can you tell us where we are."
The boy in blue's jaw almost hit the floor. "Your friend just tuned into a girl and all you can say is "Where are we?".
"Believe it or not this happens all the time to him." Akane replied nonchalantly. This amazed the strangers even more.
Akane asked for some hot water. The hair loopy girl did some strange movement with her hands and water came out of a pouch on her side. The arrow boy made fire come out of his hands to heat the water.
It was Ranma and Akane's turn to be amazed. "What was that!?" Ranma had seen a lot of martial arts but nothing like this.
"It's water bending." the girl replied as if it was no big deal.
After a moment of awe Akane instructed her to pour the water on Ranma. On contact he returned to his former self. Now everyone in the restaurant was completely confused. "Why don't you sit with us so we can talk." The arrow boy said still not sure of what just happened. They pulled up a few extra chairs and Ranma and Akane sat down. "My name is Aang." The boy started. "This is Katara." He pointed to the girl with the hair loopies. "This is her brother Sokka," he pointed to the boy with the boomerang. "And this is Toph." He pointed to the young blind girl. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. This is Momo."
"What kind of strange monkey is that?" Ranma squinted not sure what to make of the strange creature. Momo screeched and shook his fist at Ranma.
"It's OK Momo he didn't mean it. And he's a lemur, not a monkey." Aang seemed annoyed by Ranma's comments about his friend.
Akane tried to change the subject. "I'm Akane Tendo and my gender confused friend is Ranma Saotome."
"Cut it out Akane. Your so uncute when you act that way."
"Now's not the time Ranma."
"You started it."
"Lover's spat?" Sokka interjected making a kissy face.
They both blushed. "IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Ranma exploded which made Akane's expression change greatly. She seemed almost hurt by his words.
"Calm down! I was just messing around with you. You argue like an old married couple." Sokka tried to calm Ranma.
"Anyway." Akane began trying not to let anyone notice her feelings but they all realized her feelings for Ranma. Her reaction to his words made it clear. "Where are we. We were lost in the woods for hours."
"We'll tell you where you are if you tell us why your friend tuned into a girl." Sokka said mischievously.
"SOKKA! Don't be so rude." Katara scolded him.
"It's OK" Ranma sighed. "I've pretty much gotten used to it by now."
"Your in the Earth Kingdom." Toph finally spoke.
"Earth Kingdom!?" Akane was now completely confused. "I'm taking it we're not in Japan anymore."
"Where's Japan." Aang's face scrunched. "Is that in the Fire Nation."
Fire Nation!? Earth Kingdom!? Where were they!? These were not places on any map they had seen. Was it possible they were no longer in their own world anymore? Had the mirror somehow transported them not only through time, but through dimensional barriers as well? Was this another plane of existence no one else knew about?
"Anybody home?" Sokka waved his hand in front of Akane's face. "You were spacing out there."
"Sorry." Akane replied. "I'm still just a little unsure about what's going on here."
"What do you mean?" Aang was curious about these strangers who seemed to have no idea where they were.
"What I mean is, one minute we were in my house and the next we're in a place that doesn't even exist, surrounded by people that can make fire come out their hands and control water. It's just not possible." Akane was almost in denial about the whole situation.
"You mean you don't know what bending is." Toph sounded annoyed. "Unbelievable. Where did you come from anyway?"
"Calm down Toph." Katara seemed to be the voice reason in the group. "I'm sure we'll make sense of this soon enough."
"Yeah yeah!" Sokka seemed only interested in one thing at the moment. "We told you where you are. Now tell us what the whole transforming this is about."
"Oh, that. I was traveling with my old man. We were training in some of the most dangerous parts of Japan and China. My dad had heard about a cursed spring where many warriors trained to hone their martial arts skills. He failed to tell me all the details about the springs. Each was cursed by whatever or whoever drowned there. If you fell in a spring you became whatever had drowned in that spring. My father fell in the spring of drowned panda and as a result, whenever cold water touches him he becomes a giant panda. I on the other hand fell in the spring of drowned girl so you can figure out the rest. Cold water changes me to my cursed form and hot water turns me back to normal."
"That is probably the strangest thing I've ever heard." Sokka was astonished.
"But it can have it's advantages I can use different fighting styles in my girl form and I can get free food."
"I don't even wanna know." Katara was not impressed by the latter remark.
"No, you don't." Akane chimed in.
"Well I think it's a good idea." Sokka was thinking with his stomach again. "I mean if you gotta be cursed ya might as well make the best of it."
"That's what I'm always saying." Ranma agreed whole heartedly.
Akane and Katara both rolled their eyes and sighed accepting the fact they couldn't change either one of them.
"Well, since you don't have any idea about where you are, maybe you should travel with us for a while. Until you figure things out." Aang was always the first one to offer assistance. It was just his nature.
"I don't see any reason to travel alone." Akane accepted the invitation.
"Now lets eat already! I'm starving!" Sokka's stomach was making strange noises.
"I don't think our money will spend here. It's only good in our country."
"I think we can cover you this time." Katara was sympathetic. "But we'll have to find a way for you to make some money eventually."
"That'll be a switch for you Ranma, actually working for your food. Freeloader."
"UNCUTE, UNCUTE, UNCUTE." Ranma was livid at this point.
"We'll figure something out I'm sure." Katara was trying to make peace. Akane was sticking her tongue out at Ranma. "Now let's eat."
They finished their meal and Akane swore they would find some way to pay them back. Katara tried to tell her it was fine but Akane was persistent. They left the restaurant and they went to where Appa was waiting patiently.
"What is that!?" Ranma almost ran up a near by tree to escape the giant monster before him. Akane couldn't help but laugh.
"This is my sky bison, Appa." Aang petted Appa's head. "He wouldn't hurt anyone."
"I've never heard of a sky bison before." Akane's amazement was evident as she admired Appa.
"He's the last of his kind, just like Momo, and just like me." Aang hung his head low his lighthearted attitude now replaced with sadness.
"What do you mean? "Just like you.". Akane wanted to understand Aang.
"The air benders were wiped out by the fire na…."
"SOKKA! Sometimes I really wander if you think before you speak. You know how hard it is for Aang." Katara was more angry now than before.
"It's OK Katara. It's the past and it can't be changed no matter how much it hurts. My tribe, the Air Nomads, were killed by the Fire Nation."
"Why, who could do such a thing?" Akane was appalled at the very idea.
"You really aren't from around here are you?" Katara couldn't understand how it could be that these strangers knew nothing of the fire nation or the war or anything that had happened.
"We have no idea what any of these places are. We've never heard of the Fire Nation, or the Earth Kingdom for that matter. We have this mirror. It's magic I guess. It's supposed to send the user back to any time they choose if a tear touches it."
"Your kidding right?" Sokka didn't believe their story.
"It's true! Only instead of sending us through time, it sent us here. Wherever here is."
"If that is true, can't you just use the mirror to get back home?"
"Maybe, but we're interested in seeing more of this world."
As they talked a group of men approached. They appeared to be bandits. They were wearing red light padded armor with a strange symbol on the chest piece that resembled a flame. "Well what do we have here." The one who spoke seemed to be their leader. "A group of kids? Like taking candy from a baby, literally." He began to laugh and the others joined him.
"What are you talking about." Ranma wasn't the kind to just give in to these kind of people. "If you think we're weak think again."
"Whatever just give us all your belongings and money, and we'll call it a day."
"I don't think so." Before any of them even could think to move, Ranma had taken out four of them. Aang and the others couldn't believe it. "Anybody else wanna try their luck."
"Let's get outta here." The remaining two bandits wasted no time vacating the area.
"How'd you do that!?" Sokka was in complete amazement.
"No time for that now." Katara got on Appa. "We better get out of here before more of them come."
"I can handle them." Ranma was as arrogant as ever.
"That's not the point. We're trying not to draw to much attention to ourselves."
They got on Appa and Aang gave the usual "Yip Yip" and they were off.
"