Ranma belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. The Bazil Broketail series (I'm not
sure if it has an actual name) belongs to Christopher Rowley.
You don't need to have read the Bazil Broketail series to understand
this, as I'm starting from the very beginning of the story in this
crossover. I should end up explaining everything you need to know
myself, although I don't pretend to think I'll do as good a job of it as
the original author (not that he was a spectacular writer or anything).
In the Ranmaverse this starts just after the Reversal Jewel incident.
Ranma has already learned the Amaguriken, Hiryuu Shoten Ha, and Mouko
Takabisha. His relationship with his mother is a bit different in this
fic, as I'm having the reason for his not telling her start out
differently. Basically when Nodoka showed up Genma made Ranma promise
not to reveal the curse to her before he told Ranma who she was.
Ranma's reasons for not saying anything are because of the promise, not
some cowardly fear of having to disembowel himself. Nodoka has been
visiting pretty regularly and it's been several weeks since she first
showed up, so her and 'Ranko' have seen quite a bit of each other by
now.
The story is placed after the Reversal Jewel incident simply to have
Ranma at a bit of a low point because everybody is beating the crap out
of him. It has no effect on the actual story, it's just the first spot
everybody would be pissed at him AFTER his mother first showed up.
Anyway, here we go!
Ranma's Dragon: Chapter One
by Thermopyle (thermopyle@tds.net)
#####
Two golden beings looked down upon a scene of slaughter, hovering
invisibly above the carnage. Their attention was focused on one of the
corpses, the only human one. It was that of a young boy who had been
only twelve. His name had been Relkin
They had been watching Relkin for years, monitoring his growth and
development as the boy trained with his dragon and best friend, Bazil.
They'd looked on with hopeful expectation, knowing what power had
brought about the birth of Relkin and his dragon and what it had
intended. Only now the plan would not come about. Now there would be
nothing that could stop the coming darkness, with the boy dead and Bazil
soon to join him.
One of the golden creatures turned to the other and asked, "What shall
we do now? They were the only hope for this world and the realms above.
The Enemy will no longer be met with resistance, and his aims will be
fulfilled."
The second was quiet for a moment, its gaze upon the torn carcass of the
boy. He had been ripped almost in half by the powerful claws of the
maroon troll that lay mutilated beside him. Whereas the boy's death had
been brought about by casual drunkenness, the death of the troll had
been deliberate, the perpetrator's rage and hate resulting in extreme
viciousness. The troll had been hacked apart with Bazil's nine-foot,
sixty-pound dragon sword and chunks of its flesh were scattered widely
about the street. Three other trolls lie still as well, having been
with Relkin's killer at the time of his death.
Bazil had not been forgiving, accident or not.
The second being finally replied to its companion, "There may yet be
hope for the dragon. He cannot accomplish his task alone, but perhaps
another could be found to aid him. Someone with similar qualities to
the boy and who would be able to compensate for lacking Relkin's inborn
powers."
"The boy was the only one strong enough who wasn't limited as we are,"
said the other. "None in this world could replace him."
"So we will look elsewhere."
"How would we get such a person here, without their being devoured by
the Thingweights? We cannot oppose them directly and any traveler
strong enough to defeat even one Thingweight would draw too many. They
would be eaten," said the first.
"We would need somebody who was too weak to draw their notice, yet
someone who could grow in power after arriving here," responded the
second.
The first creature snorted. "Such a person would be too weak for the
Enemy. There is not enough time!"
"We must try. There is nothing else that can be done. The Enemy is too
strong for us, we can only direct a champion, and even those small
movements are limited. If He should detect our interference..."
The two considered the consequences of discovery for a few minutes, then
the first creature spoke. "Very well. Where shall we look for a
replacement? We must find one quickly, if the dragon is to remain
alive."
"I already have someone in mind. He will aid us, of that I am sure.
But even if he succeeds he can never return to his home; his strength
would have grown too much for the return voyage to succeed."
"Will we tell him that?"
"Of course," the second replied, "but he will still do it."
#####
Ranma was on the roof, wondering once again how everything had gotten so
bad. Somehow he'd managed yet again to get everybody mad at him. Akane
thought he was a womanizing pervert, Ukyou had declared that he was a
jackass and smacked him into the pavement with her spatula, and Shampoo
had been attaching herself to him while in cat form as punishment for
not 'admitting his love for her'. Both Ryouga and Mousse were attacking
him even more often than usual, enraged at the way they thought he was
treating their respective loves.
And his mother had dropped by earlier in the day.
Having to hide from her was the real problem. He was currently a girl,
had bruises all over his body, a split lip, a black eye, and completely
empty ki reserves-if Ryouga showed up again his only option would be to
splash the pig with water, even though he'd promptly get attacked by
Akane for hurting her P-chan. At least she wouldn't be trying to kill
him. But despite all his injuries the only thing that hurt was the
image of his mother's disappointment when 'Ranko' smiled at her Auntie
Nodoka cheerfully and told her Ranma was on another training trip.
How could he tell her that the son she believed was so manly turned into
a cute little redheaded girl? He was still a skilled martial artist
when in his girl from, better than anybody he knew but the old ghoul and
Happousai, yet he looked like a young woman who should be out trying to
catch a boyfriend. His mother obviously thought the same, always
encouraging 'Ranko' to be a great cook so she could catch a nice young
man and trying to get him to wear dresses and bras and other feminine
clothing.
If she was disappointed at having nothing but her hopes and expectations
of manliness for her son, how would she feel when she found out Ranma
was the girl she'd been trying to teach womanly habits? No doubt she'd
be so ashamed of him that she would follow Ranma and his father in
committing seppuku. He would have killed his own mother.
So Ranma sat quietly on the roof, bruised, battered, and female, and
wondered what else could go wrong.
#####
Nodoka Saotome was unhappy. She'd gone to visit her son but had missed
him yet again. Ranma was always off on a training trip whenever she
went to see him. His dedication to being the best at martial arts was
surely a manly trait, yet she couldn't help getting depressed despite
that. She missed her son.
Ever since Genma had taken him from her ten years before with a promise
to return him as a man-among-men she had dreamed of their reunion. She
had no doubt that his fighting abilities would be impressive, but there
were so many other things she wanted to know about him. She had so many
questions about her son that sometimes she thought she'd go insane if
she didn't get some answers soon.
She'd tried to picture what he would look like, what he would say to
her. Would he seem cultured and intelligent after all the private
schools she'd sent money to Genma for, or would he be rough and brash
like his father? What interests would he have other than martial arts?
He probably didn't play any instruments with as much traveling as he'd
done with Genma, but maybe he'd taken singing lessons? Would he have a
deep, powerful voice, or a smooth, seductive one?
For the first nine years of her wait, she'd constantly been going over
mental images of what her son would look like. She'd pictured different
faces and physiques, wondered what he would sound like and how he would
talk, what his mannerisms and habits were. She'd tried to figure out
what kind of attitudes he would have, if his traveling from place to
place would make him lonely and shy or loud and eager to make friends.
But those dreams and excited imaginations had come to a crashing halt a
year ago when she went to visit her sister Kikoku. Before Ranma and
Genma had left Kikoku had lived within a few miles of their home and
they'd spent a lot of time together. Ranma had gotten along very well
with Kikoku's daughter Shinobu when they played together, since they had
been the same age.
Not long after they left on the training trip, however, she and Kikoku
had become estranged when her sister found out that she had let Genma
take Ranma on a training trip of indefinite length. Kikoku had never
liked Genma and thought he was a dishonorable bastard, and she was sure
that Ranma would come to harm at his hands. They had fought violently
about it and after a while they stopped talking to each other.
Eventually, Kikoku's husband had found a job far enough outside of Tokyo
that their family had needed to move, and because of the distance and
the fighting her and Kikoku hadn't talked for years. It wasn't until a
little over a year previously that they had actually seen each other
again.
When Nodoka had gone to visit Kikoku and her family she'd been greeted
at the door by Shinobu, who'd grown into a lovely looking fifteen year-
old. Shinobu hadn't recognized her at all after the nine-year
separation. Nodoka knew that Kikoku wouldn't have talked much of her
because of their fighting, which explained why Shinobu would have
forgotten about her aunt, not having any reason to hold onto the
memories. She was sure that Ranma had probably forgotten about Kikoku
as well.
She knew that Genma would have talked often of her to Ranma and the
letters she sent with the monthly tuition check would have kept her in
Ranma's mind. But the event had raised some pretty terrifying doubts
for her nonetheless, and internal arguments that the situation with her
and Ranma was completely different were ineffective.
Because for some reason, he'd never written back. Not a single time in
over ten years. And she didn't have a clue why.
So she was terrified that somehow, despite the letters and the memories
of his first six years of life, he had forgotten about her. It didn't
make sense, she knew, but no matter what she did she couldn't convince
herself that everything was all right. If everything was fine he would
have written back; since he didn't, something was very wrong. But she
didn't know what.
After visiting Kikoku she'd found that she could no longer picture an
adult Ranma. Instead, all she could picture was his face as he and
Genma left on the training trip. There had been tears in his eyes and
they were red from rubbing them, the smile that had been a constant upon
his face for almost his entire life was gone, replaced by quiet sadness.
He hadn't said a word against going, but it had been clear that he
didn't want to. At the time she had been proud of how grown-up he was
acting. Now she hated herself for not holding him in her arms and
telling him that he didn't have to leave, that he could stay there with
her.
She wanted her baby back.
Every time she went to the Tendous though, he was gone. She had begun
to suspect that he was avoiding her, the number of times her visits
happened at the same time as a training trip had long since passed mere
coincidence. The idea of Ranma deliberately keeping out of her reach
tore at her, and after every visit she would return home and cry herself
to sleep. The only reason she didn't break down into tears while at the
Tendous was Ranko.
Ranko somehow managed to lift her spirits temporarily, the girl's bright
smile and attentiveness to 'Auntie Nodoka' bringing joy back to her
lonely heart. Ranko dressed like a boy, talked rough and dirty, and
seemed to have absolutely no interest in men, yet her spirit was so
cheerful and energetic that Nodoka couldn't bring herself to do more
than suggest small changes in behavior as befitting a young woman.
There was just something about the girl that reminded her of Ranma,
always smiling and happy to see her. The remembrance hurt when she got
home to an empty house, but when Ranko was there everything felt
perfect, and she felt like a mother again instead of just an abandoned
woman.
Lately though she'd started worrying about the girl. Every time Nodoka
visited Ranko would have bruises in various parts of her body. She'd
started paying more attention after she first noticed that odd
consistency and had been seeing more and more little things that didn't
make sense ever since. Not only was Ranko almost always injured in some
way, but everybody was always watching her for some reason. Nodoka was
never left alone with Ranko, there would always be Akane or Soun present
at the same time, pretending to take part in the conversation but mostly
just watching Ranko carefully. Something else that bothered her was
that whenever Ranko tried talking about Ranma or Nodoka asked about the
girl's family somebody would change the subject for some reason, which
just seemed odd.
Nodoka had started wondering if they beat the poor girl, if they took
out their frustrations on Ranko since she seemed to be staying with them
permanently instead of with her own family where she belonged. Was
Ranko orphaned somehow, with nowhere else to go, and her presence
resented? That didn't really fit since the girl seemed so happy all the
time, but when they'd talked earlier that day her smile had seemed
forced, and her eyes a little too watery and sad. It was only after she
had left the Tendous and was on the way home that Nodoka realized her
eyes had always been sad, and her smile forced.
Once she had, however, she'd turned right back around and headed towards
the Tendous again. Ranko was a wonderful girl and she deserved to be
happy. Having her spend the night at 'Auntie Nodoka's' house would
surely cheer her up and it would give them a chance to get to know each
other better.
And she wasn't going to take no for an answer.
#####
Kasumi was washing the dishes. It was something she enjoyed doing,
because despite the noises the water made and the clanking sounds of
dishes banging together it was a very peaceful task. Sometimes Ranma
would offer to help clean up after dinner but she always refused,
preferring to have some private time to think about things. Auntie
Nodoka tried to help every time but Kasumi used the excuse of not
allowing a guest to dirty their hands in her household to turn her down.
Washing the dishes was very relaxing and it was one of the many tasks
about the house that she enjoyed doing. The only time it wasn't
enjoyable was the infrequent occasions when Akane cooked, and then it
became a bit of a chore to properly disinfect the pots and pans.
Today though, Kasumi wasn't happy. Things around the house had been
incredibly tense after the affair with the reversal jewel and all the
attacks that had occurred since then. Ranma was taking much more abuse
than was usual and he'd been quiet and withdrawn most of the time
because of it. He'd spent as much time as he could up on the roof, even
sleeping up there when the weather permitted, but every time he came
down somebody would appear out of nowhere and start a fight. Today had
been particularly bad and he'd had to fight every one of his usual
rivals and fiancées, then his mother had visited as well and Kasumi knew
that the Saotome matriarch had noticed 'Ranko's' unhappiness also.
But what could she do about it? She'd promised her father that she
wouldn't tell Nodoka about Ranma's curse and Ranma had promised his own
father the same. Nobody else cared except for Akane, who wasn't very
consistent about her feelings anyway. The only way that situation would
resolve itself was if Auntie Nodoka somehow managed to find out about
Jusenkyou on her own or through one of Ranma's many rivals--and they
would only tell if they thought it would result in his death.
The other problems were just as bad, Ranma couldn't honorably do
anything about any of his fiancées and his refusal to do so drove the
girls' various suitors into a murderous rage. The only reason nobody
had gotten killed yet was because of Ranma's skill and the fact that
nobody worked together against him. If they should ever join forces,
however... Kasumi frowned slightly at that thought.
She'd just finished drying and putting away the dishes when she heard a
knock at the door. Waiting a minute to see that nobody else was going
to answer it, she hurried to do so herself, wondering who their visitor
was.
She opened the door and gasped in surprise. "Oh, Auntie Nodoka! I'm
surprised you're here, since you just left after we finished dinner. Is
something wrong?" she asked, noticing the older woman's unhappy face.
Nodoka shook her head, holding her wrapped katana to her chest. "No, of
course not dear. I just wanted to talk to Ranko about something is all.
Is she still here?"
Kasumi thought for a moment, then remembered that Ranma had gone into
the back yard after dinner, probably heading for the roof again. He'd
still been in his girl form at the time, not bothering to change back,
another sign of his depression.
"Yes," she said, "she's in the back yard, on the roof, I think. Would
you like me to go get her?"
Nodoka shook her head again. "Actually, would it be alright if I just
let myself into the back yard? I'd like to talk to her privately for a
few minutes, if I could."
Kasumi smiled then stepped aside, allowing the older woman to enter.
"Of course. I believe the ladder is set up in the back, if you'd like
you could join her on the roof. Nobody goes up there but her so it
would be private."
"Thank you Kasumi, I think I'll do just that."
Nodoka began to walk away and then stopped suddenly. "Kasumi? Is Ranko
a happy girl?"
She was quite for a moment, not sure how to respond, then decided that
Ranma's emotional state wasn't something covered by the promise she'd
made her father. Which meant she could be honest. "No, Auntie Nodoka,
she's not. Ranko is usually miserable. The only time she isn't is when
you visit, and sometimes she cries after you leave."
"I see. Thank you again, Kasumi."
Kasumi watched Nodoka make her way towards the back of the house and
sighed. Hopefully nobody else would notice that she was here and Ranma
would have some time alone with his mother, for once.
"Damn Uncle Genma and his promises," she muttered quietly.
#####
Since the Tendous ate early in the evening it was still light out and
Nodoka could see about the back yard easily. She heard sounds from the
dojo as she made her way towards the ladder, presumably that was Akane
since Soun seemed to have completely quit martial arts. Where he was
she didn't know.
The ladder was made of sturdy wood, and was firmly in place. She held
the Saotome katana in the crook of her elbow as she slowly climbed the
ladder, her caution because of the sword and the soundness of the ladder
making her ascent silent. She was almost to the top and about to call
out to Ranko when she heard a scuffling noise and something that made
her stop in surprise.
#####
Ranma was still trying to relax on the roof, stretching out his bruised
muscles and trying to ignore the crashing sounds coming from the dojo
when he felt two powerful presences appear above and behind him.
Scrambling to his feet he leapt back to the center of the roof and
assumed a defensive position. When he saw what he was facing he backed
up cautiously.
"Ranma Saotome?" asked one of the golden beings floating several feet
above the roof.
"Yeah... Who're you?" he said suspiciously. Whatever these guys were,
they weren't human, and if that golden glow was their aura then they're
probably going to attack. If they could fly and put off an aura like
that it would be a short battle, considering how wiped out he was
currently. That didn't mean he wouldn't put up a fight though.
"We've come to ask for your help," it said.
Ranma gaped at it. "What? I don't know what you guys are but I can
tell you ain't human and that you could take me easily. What do ya need
my help for?"
"We cannot tell you who we are right now, but you are the only one who
can save us. Our Enemy is going to destroy a world and gain the power
to wipe out our race. The one we thought could prevent this has fallen,
and you are all that is left."
Ranma bristled. "Hey, wait a minute! So you're telling me that I'm not
your first choice to take this guy on, that I'm only a fallback? If
that's the case, why don't ya just go find somebody else to beat him up,
cause I ain't playing backup for nobody!"
Despite not being able to focus on the two creatures because of the
intensity with which they were glowing, Ranma had the distinct
impression that they were both looking at him with amusement. It wasn't
a pleasant feeling.
"You are the only one possible," said the one that had been quiet so
far. "The first choice was an Elemental who had taken human form and
mortality, but he died before he could fight the Enemy. Now only a
human can do the job and you are the only one who could succeed."
"So you want me to go and beat up some guy so that he doesn't take over
your world? Then I can come right back? I don't get it. He'd just
wait till I was gone and then start over anyway!"
"No," said the first, "you could not come right back. It would be years
before you fought the Enemy, but you need to come right now for there to
be any hope of your success. Even if you do defeat the Enemy it is
unlikely that you could return here. The trip is dangerous and only
your relatively low power level would allow you to make the voyage
without being harmed; once you have grown strong enough to defeat the
Enemy things in the Void would be drawn to you too strongly for you to
make it back without being killed.
"You would also have to kill the Enemy to ensure that he doesn't rise
again with his dreams of conquest."
"You're saying I gotta go to another world, never to return, and kill
somebody for ya?" Ranma asked incredulously. "Are you nuts? I ain't
gonna do that! Go find somebody else to do your dirty work, I ain't no
killer!"
After a brief pause, the second creature spoke. "Ranma Saotome, what is
your duty as a martial artist?"
Ranma frowned, not liking where this was going. He'd had enough
experience with Nabiki to sense when he was being set up. It was a
simple question though and if he didn't answer these jerks probably
wouldn't ever leave him alone.
"The duty of a martial artist is to help people, to defend the weak.
Beating up bullies is one thing, but I ain't gonna kill nobody!"
"If you do not kill him countless people on billions of worlds will die.
You will have failed in your responsibilities," said the golden being.
"'Countless people on billions of worlds'?" Ranma sneered. "Gimme a
break! If he's that strong I wouldn't even stand a chance!"
"Ranma Saotome, if you do not do this your mother will die when the
Enemy comes here, and it will be too late for you to save her."
He froze. "...what? What're you talking about?!?"
"It's not definite," said the creature, "because the Enemy has many
other worlds to conquer. But if he comes here soon your mother won't
live until her old age, and neither will most of the people you know.
You would certainly die unless you submitted to the Enemy's forces. By
then he would be so strong that you would not even have a chance to
defeat him."
Could he let his mother die? Sure, these guys might be lying or
exaggerating about how strong this Enemy was but what if they weren't?
Then everybody he knew could be killed. Sure, he could start training
harder in case this Enemy did show up, but these weird glowing guys were
putting off an aura that was hundreds of times more powerful than
Happousai's and they said the Enemy was too strong for them...
But what if he did believe them and went to their world? What then?
Akane would be crushed when he left. Despite all the arguments they got
into they did care about each other, and being jilted by him would hurt
her terribly. Not only that, but she'd have to start putting up with
the morning battles at Furinken again and idiot Kuno would probably
start trying to push Soun into arranging a marriage between him and
Akane. She might even be so depressed that she wouldn't put up a fight,
ending up married to the moron. There wouldn't even be anybody to stop
Ryouga from sleeping in her bed all the time.
And what about Ukyou? She'd chased him for ten years just because she
wanted to beat him to a bloody pulp, how would she react to being left
behind now that she loved him? Sure, with his having disappeared
without a trace she could declare that he was dead and move on with her
life, but it was unlikely. No, she'd probably sell her restaurant then
go searching for him once again, living the rest of her life as a lonely
boy.
Shampoo would be just as bad off. If he left she would be unable to
return to ever return to her village. He knew what had to happen for
her to go back; she either had to bring him along as a husband or a
corpse. There were no other options. It might not be his fault that
they had such outdated laws but he'd still have to live with having
Shampoo exiled from her home for the rest of his life. And Shampoo
wouldn't even be able to live that life in peace; instead she would have
Mousse constantly hounding her with demands that she marry him.
He would never be able to see his mother again, to meet her as the man
she dreamed her son to be. She would continue to visit the Tendous
every few days, coming to see her son only to be disappointed. She'd no
longer be able to see 'Cousin Ranko', who she seemed to love so much.
She'd never see the grandchildren she hoped and prayed for.
But she would be alive.
Was his mother's life worth all of that suffering?
Making his decision, he looked up. "Can I see her before we go, or at
least write her a note?"
#####
After Nodoka had heard her son's name spoken on the roof she'd just
about dropped her katana, and her fumbling with it was the only reason
she hadn't thrown herself up the rest of the ladder to meet her baby.
By the time she'd gotten a better grip on it though, she'd heard Ranko's
voice answer in Ranma's place. What was going on?
So Nodoka stayed on the ladder, listening silently, trying to figure out
why Ranko and whoever else was on the roof was talking like she was
Ranma. At first it had been just curiosity that drove her to eavesdrop
but now she was becoming alarmed. These people wanted Ranko to go with
them to another world, never to return?
When she heard the comment about Ranko's mother being killed she was
enraged. How could they use the poor girl's mother against her like
that, knowing that Ranko would never be able to see her again? How
cruel could they be? Nodoka certainly wasn't going to let that
happen... but she'd wait a few more minutes before she announced her
presence, so that she'd know more about what was going on before she
said something.
She heard Ranko's voice again and brushed her thoughts aside, trying to
focus on listening.
"If I don't kill this guy, my momma's gonna die?" asked Ranko.
"It's not definite," said one of the voices, "because the Enemy has many
other worlds to conquer. But if he comes here soon your mother won't
live until her old age, and neither will most of the people you know.
You would certainly die unless you submitted to the Enemies forces. By
then he would be so strong that you would not even have a chance to
defeat him."
Nodoka strained her ears, trying to make out what Ranko was muttering
but was unable to. After a moment, the girl spoke again.
"Can I go see her before we go, or at least write her a note?"
"It would be best if you didn't," said another voice. "We are short on
time and the journey will make things dangerously close. You need to
leave immediately."
Nodoka was frozen in indecision. What should she do, should she try to
keep Ranko from leaving? If the girl really thought she needed to go,
was it Nodoka's place to stop her? Ranko was already having to leave
everybody behind for the sake of her mother, wouldn't refusing 'Auntie
Nodoka's' wishes make her even more miserable?
She heard Ranko's voice again.
"...Okay. I'm ready," said Ranko.
Suddenly feeling a huge burst of power and a loud ripping noise and then
a humming sound from on the roof, Nodoka's thoughts crystallized. If
Ranko had to go, so be it, but she was going to offer to take a message
to the girl's mother before she left! Nobody should have to leave in
such a way, without a word of goodbye.
"Just step through the portal and you will be taken to where you need to
be. You will find a young dragon by the name of Bazil who needs your
help. After this, you are on your own; we cannot help you directly."
Nodoka missed Ranko's reply as she yanked herself up the rest of the
ladder and dragged herself onto the roof, the sound of her movements
masked by the noise of what had to be the portal. Standing up despite
the sharp incline of the surface beneath her, she looked about and saw
that she was behind Ranko and two odd looking creatures that glowed with
golden light. Seeing Ranko step towards the portal, which was the
height of a large man and half as wide with purple light flashing from
the entrance, she dashed forward.
"Ranko, wait!" she yelled.
The redheaded girl whipped about, her mouth gaping open in surprise as
the other two beings looked on calmly. "Momma?" she asked.
Nodoka slowed, intending to stop a few feet short of the girl, when the
end of end of her katana slipped between her legs and she tripped. She
flew forward, knocking into Ranko and sending them both through the
portal. Screaming as they dropped into the empty blackness that lie
behind it, she tried to turn around, to go back.
The last she saw of her world was the two golden creatures looking at
her. The glow surrounding them masked almost all attributes, but it
seemed as if they were...smiling?
*Take care of your child, Nodoka Saotome,* she heard soundlessly. *He
will need your help.*
Turning her attention back to the redheaded girl who was holding onto
her with a fierce grip and wide, startled eyes, she wondered what the
voice was talking about. Then her face went white when she realized
what it had said.
"RANMA!!"
To be continued.
Well, I realize that there are a lot of little spots where things seem
rather awkward but this is the best I could come up with. If you had
any comments, whether you just want to point out something that seems
off or if you have a specific recommendation for how I could improve
something email me at thermopyle@tds.net. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed
it so far.
sure if it has an actual name) belongs to Christopher Rowley.
You don't need to have read the Bazil Broketail series to understand
this, as I'm starting from the very beginning of the story in this
crossover. I should end up explaining everything you need to know
myself, although I don't pretend to think I'll do as good a job of it as
the original author (not that he was a spectacular writer or anything).
In the Ranmaverse this starts just after the Reversal Jewel incident.
Ranma has already learned the Amaguriken, Hiryuu Shoten Ha, and Mouko
Takabisha. His relationship with his mother is a bit different in this
fic, as I'm having the reason for his not telling her start out
differently. Basically when Nodoka showed up Genma made Ranma promise
not to reveal the curse to her before he told Ranma who she was.
Ranma's reasons for not saying anything are because of the promise, not
some cowardly fear of having to disembowel himself. Nodoka has been
visiting pretty regularly and it's been several weeks since she first
showed up, so her and 'Ranko' have seen quite a bit of each other by
now.
The story is placed after the Reversal Jewel incident simply to have
Ranma at a bit of a low point because everybody is beating the crap out
of him. It has no effect on the actual story, it's just the first spot
everybody would be pissed at him AFTER his mother first showed up.
Anyway, here we go!
Ranma's Dragon: Chapter One
by Thermopyle (thermopyle@tds.net)
#####
Two golden beings looked down upon a scene of slaughter, hovering
invisibly above the carnage. Their attention was focused on one of the
corpses, the only human one. It was that of a young boy who had been
only twelve. His name had been Relkin
They had been watching Relkin for years, monitoring his growth and
development as the boy trained with his dragon and best friend, Bazil.
They'd looked on with hopeful expectation, knowing what power had
brought about the birth of Relkin and his dragon and what it had
intended. Only now the plan would not come about. Now there would be
nothing that could stop the coming darkness, with the boy dead and Bazil
soon to join him.
One of the golden creatures turned to the other and asked, "What shall
we do now? They were the only hope for this world and the realms above.
The Enemy will no longer be met with resistance, and his aims will be
fulfilled."
The second was quiet for a moment, its gaze upon the torn carcass of the
boy. He had been ripped almost in half by the powerful claws of the
maroon troll that lay mutilated beside him. Whereas the boy's death had
been brought about by casual drunkenness, the death of the troll had
been deliberate, the perpetrator's rage and hate resulting in extreme
viciousness. The troll had been hacked apart with Bazil's nine-foot,
sixty-pound dragon sword and chunks of its flesh were scattered widely
about the street. Three other trolls lie still as well, having been
with Relkin's killer at the time of his death.
Bazil had not been forgiving, accident or not.
The second being finally replied to its companion, "There may yet be
hope for the dragon. He cannot accomplish his task alone, but perhaps
another could be found to aid him. Someone with similar qualities to
the boy and who would be able to compensate for lacking Relkin's inborn
powers."
"The boy was the only one strong enough who wasn't limited as we are,"
said the other. "None in this world could replace him."
"So we will look elsewhere."
"How would we get such a person here, without their being devoured by
the Thingweights? We cannot oppose them directly and any traveler
strong enough to defeat even one Thingweight would draw too many. They
would be eaten," said the first.
"We would need somebody who was too weak to draw their notice, yet
someone who could grow in power after arriving here," responded the
second.
The first creature snorted. "Such a person would be too weak for the
Enemy. There is not enough time!"
"We must try. There is nothing else that can be done. The Enemy is too
strong for us, we can only direct a champion, and even those small
movements are limited. If He should detect our interference..."
The two considered the consequences of discovery for a few minutes, then
the first creature spoke. "Very well. Where shall we look for a
replacement? We must find one quickly, if the dragon is to remain
alive."
"I already have someone in mind. He will aid us, of that I am sure.
But even if he succeeds he can never return to his home; his strength
would have grown too much for the return voyage to succeed."
"Will we tell him that?"
"Of course," the second replied, "but he will still do it."
#####
Ranma was on the roof, wondering once again how everything had gotten so
bad. Somehow he'd managed yet again to get everybody mad at him. Akane
thought he was a womanizing pervert, Ukyou had declared that he was a
jackass and smacked him into the pavement with her spatula, and Shampoo
had been attaching herself to him while in cat form as punishment for
not 'admitting his love for her'. Both Ryouga and Mousse were attacking
him even more often than usual, enraged at the way they thought he was
treating their respective loves.
And his mother had dropped by earlier in the day.
Having to hide from her was the real problem. He was currently a girl,
had bruises all over his body, a split lip, a black eye, and completely
empty ki reserves-if Ryouga showed up again his only option would be to
splash the pig with water, even though he'd promptly get attacked by
Akane for hurting her P-chan. At least she wouldn't be trying to kill
him. But despite all his injuries the only thing that hurt was the
image of his mother's disappointment when 'Ranko' smiled at her Auntie
Nodoka cheerfully and told her Ranma was on another training trip.
How could he tell her that the son she believed was so manly turned into
a cute little redheaded girl? He was still a skilled martial artist
when in his girl from, better than anybody he knew but the old ghoul and
Happousai, yet he looked like a young woman who should be out trying to
catch a boyfriend. His mother obviously thought the same, always
encouraging 'Ranko' to be a great cook so she could catch a nice young
man and trying to get him to wear dresses and bras and other feminine
clothing.
If she was disappointed at having nothing but her hopes and expectations
of manliness for her son, how would she feel when she found out Ranma
was the girl she'd been trying to teach womanly habits? No doubt she'd
be so ashamed of him that she would follow Ranma and his father in
committing seppuku. He would have killed his own mother.
So Ranma sat quietly on the roof, bruised, battered, and female, and
wondered what else could go wrong.
#####
Nodoka Saotome was unhappy. She'd gone to visit her son but had missed
him yet again. Ranma was always off on a training trip whenever she
went to see him. His dedication to being the best at martial arts was
surely a manly trait, yet she couldn't help getting depressed despite
that. She missed her son.
Ever since Genma had taken him from her ten years before with a promise
to return him as a man-among-men she had dreamed of their reunion. She
had no doubt that his fighting abilities would be impressive, but there
were so many other things she wanted to know about him. She had so many
questions about her son that sometimes she thought she'd go insane if
she didn't get some answers soon.
She'd tried to picture what he would look like, what he would say to
her. Would he seem cultured and intelligent after all the private
schools she'd sent money to Genma for, or would he be rough and brash
like his father? What interests would he have other than martial arts?
He probably didn't play any instruments with as much traveling as he'd
done with Genma, but maybe he'd taken singing lessons? Would he have a
deep, powerful voice, or a smooth, seductive one?
For the first nine years of her wait, she'd constantly been going over
mental images of what her son would look like. She'd pictured different
faces and physiques, wondered what he would sound like and how he would
talk, what his mannerisms and habits were. She'd tried to figure out
what kind of attitudes he would have, if his traveling from place to
place would make him lonely and shy or loud and eager to make friends.
But those dreams and excited imaginations had come to a crashing halt a
year ago when she went to visit her sister Kikoku. Before Ranma and
Genma had left Kikoku had lived within a few miles of their home and
they'd spent a lot of time together. Ranma had gotten along very well
with Kikoku's daughter Shinobu when they played together, since they had
been the same age.
Not long after they left on the training trip, however, she and Kikoku
had become estranged when her sister found out that she had let Genma
take Ranma on a training trip of indefinite length. Kikoku had never
liked Genma and thought he was a dishonorable bastard, and she was sure
that Ranma would come to harm at his hands. They had fought violently
about it and after a while they stopped talking to each other.
Eventually, Kikoku's husband had found a job far enough outside of Tokyo
that their family had needed to move, and because of the distance and
the fighting her and Kikoku hadn't talked for years. It wasn't until a
little over a year previously that they had actually seen each other
again.
When Nodoka had gone to visit Kikoku and her family she'd been greeted
at the door by Shinobu, who'd grown into a lovely looking fifteen year-
old. Shinobu hadn't recognized her at all after the nine-year
separation. Nodoka knew that Kikoku wouldn't have talked much of her
because of their fighting, which explained why Shinobu would have
forgotten about her aunt, not having any reason to hold onto the
memories. She was sure that Ranma had probably forgotten about Kikoku
as well.
She knew that Genma would have talked often of her to Ranma and the
letters she sent with the monthly tuition check would have kept her in
Ranma's mind. But the event had raised some pretty terrifying doubts
for her nonetheless, and internal arguments that the situation with her
and Ranma was completely different were ineffective.
Because for some reason, he'd never written back. Not a single time in
over ten years. And she didn't have a clue why.
So she was terrified that somehow, despite the letters and the memories
of his first six years of life, he had forgotten about her. It didn't
make sense, she knew, but no matter what she did she couldn't convince
herself that everything was all right. If everything was fine he would
have written back; since he didn't, something was very wrong. But she
didn't know what.
After visiting Kikoku she'd found that she could no longer picture an
adult Ranma. Instead, all she could picture was his face as he and
Genma left on the training trip. There had been tears in his eyes and
they were red from rubbing them, the smile that had been a constant upon
his face for almost his entire life was gone, replaced by quiet sadness.
He hadn't said a word against going, but it had been clear that he
didn't want to. At the time she had been proud of how grown-up he was
acting. Now she hated herself for not holding him in her arms and
telling him that he didn't have to leave, that he could stay there with
her.
She wanted her baby back.
Every time she went to the Tendous though, he was gone. She had begun
to suspect that he was avoiding her, the number of times her visits
happened at the same time as a training trip had long since passed mere
coincidence. The idea of Ranma deliberately keeping out of her reach
tore at her, and after every visit she would return home and cry herself
to sleep. The only reason she didn't break down into tears while at the
Tendous was Ranko.
Ranko somehow managed to lift her spirits temporarily, the girl's bright
smile and attentiveness to 'Auntie Nodoka' bringing joy back to her
lonely heart. Ranko dressed like a boy, talked rough and dirty, and
seemed to have absolutely no interest in men, yet her spirit was so
cheerful and energetic that Nodoka couldn't bring herself to do more
than suggest small changes in behavior as befitting a young woman.
There was just something about the girl that reminded her of Ranma,
always smiling and happy to see her. The remembrance hurt when she got
home to an empty house, but when Ranko was there everything felt
perfect, and she felt like a mother again instead of just an abandoned
woman.
Lately though she'd started worrying about the girl. Every time Nodoka
visited Ranko would have bruises in various parts of her body. She'd
started paying more attention after she first noticed that odd
consistency and had been seeing more and more little things that didn't
make sense ever since. Not only was Ranko almost always injured in some
way, but everybody was always watching her for some reason. Nodoka was
never left alone with Ranko, there would always be Akane or Soun present
at the same time, pretending to take part in the conversation but mostly
just watching Ranko carefully. Something else that bothered her was
that whenever Ranko tried talking about Ranma or Nodoka asked about the
girl's family somebody would change the subject for some reason, which
just seemed odd.
Nodoka had started wondering if they beat the poor girl, if they took
out their frustrations on Ranko since she seemed to be staying with them
permanently instead of with her own family where she belonged. Was
Ranko orphaned somehow, with nowhere else to go, and her presence
resented? That didn't really fit since the girl seemed so happy all the
time, but when they'd talked earlier that day her smile had seemed
forced, and her eyes a little too watery and sad. It was only after she
had left the Tendous and was on the way home that Nodoka realized her
eyes had always been sad, and her smile forced.
Once she had, however, she'd turned right back around and headed towards
the Tendous again. Ranko was a wonderful girl and she deserved to be
happy. Having her spend the night at 'Auntie Nodoka's' house would
surely cheer her up and it would give them a chance to get to know each
other better.
And she wasn't going to take no for an answer.
#####
Kasumi was washing the dishes. It was something she enjoyed doing,
because despite the noises the water made and the clanking sounds of
dishes banging together it was a very peaceful task. Sometimes Ranma
would offer to help clean up after dinner but she always refused,
preferring to have some private time to think about things. Auntie
Nodoka tried to help every time but Kasumi used the excuse of not
allowing a guest to dirty their hands in her household to turn her down.
Washing the dishes was very relaxing and it was one of the many tasks
about the house that she enjoyed doing. The only time it wasn't
enjoyable was the infrequent occasions when Akane cooked, and then it
became a bit of a chore to properly disinfect the pots and pans.
Today though, Kasumi wasn't happy. Things around the house had been
incredibly tense after the affair with the reversal jewel and all the
attacks that had occurred since then. Ranma was taking much more abuse
than was usual and he'd been quiet and withdrawn most of the time
because of it. He'd spent as much time as he could up on the roof, even
sleeping up there when the weather permitted, but every time he came
down somebody would appear out of nowhere and start a fight. Today had
been particularly bad and he'd had to fight every one of his usual
rivals and fiancées, then his mother had visited as well and Kasumi knew
that the Saotome matriarch had noticed 'Ranko's' unhappiness also.
But what could she do about it? She'd promised her father that she
wouldn't tell Nodoka about Ranma's curse and Ranma had promised his own
father the same. Nobody else cared except for Akane, who wasn't very
consistent about her feelings anyway. The only way that situation would
resolve itself was if Auntie Nodoka somehow managed to find out about
Jusenkyou on her own or through one of Ranma's many rivals--and they
would only tell if they thought it would result in his death.
The other problems were just as bad, Ranma couldn't honorably do
anything about any of his fiancées and his refusal to do so drove the
girls' various suitors into a murderous rage. The only reason nobody
had gotten killed yet was because of Ranma's skill and the fact that
nobody worked together against him. If they should ever join forces,
however... Kasumi frowned slightly at that thought.
She'd just finished drying and putting away the dishes when she heard a
knock at the door. Waiting a minute to see that nobody else was going
to answer it, she hurried to do so herself, wondering who their visitor
was.
She opened the door and gasped in surprise. "Oh, Auntie Nodoka! I'm
surprised you're here, since you just left after we finished dinner. Is
something wrong?" she asked, noticing the older woman's unhappy face.
Nodoka shook her head, holding her wrapped katana to her chest. "No, of
course not dear. I just wanted to talk to Ranko about something is all.
Is she still here?"
Kasumi thought for a moment, then remembered that Ranma had gone into
the back yard after dinner, probably heading for the roof again. He'd
still been in his girl form at the time, not bothering to change back,
another sign of his depression.
"Yes," she said, "she's in the back yard, on the roof, I think. Would
you like me to go get her?"
Nodoka shook her head again. "Actually, would it be alright if I just
let myself into the back yard? I'd like to talk to her privately for a
few minutes, if I could."
Kasumi smiled then stepped aside, allowing the older woman to enter.
"Of course. I believe the ladder is set up in the back, if you'd like
you could join her on the roof. Nobody goes up there but her so it
would be private."
"Thank you Kasumi, I think I'll do just that."
Nodoka began to walk away and then stopped suddenly. "Kasumi? Is Ranko
a happy girl?"
She was quite for a moment, not sure how to respond, then decided that
Ranma's emotional state wasn't something covered by the promise she'd
made her father. Which meant she could be honest. "No, Auntie Nodoka,
she's not. Ranko is usually miserable. The only time she isn't is when
you visit, and sometimes she cries after you leave."
"I see. Thank you again, Kasumi."
Kasumi watched Nodoka make her way towards the back of the house and
sighed. Hopefully nobody else would notice that she was here and Ranma
would have some time alone with his mother, for once.
"Damn Uncle Genma and his promises," she muttered quietly.
#####
Since the Tendous ate early in the evening it was still light out and
Nodoka could see about the back yard easily. She heard sounds from the
dojo as she made her way towards the ladder, presumably that was Akane
since Soun seemed to have completely quit martial arts. Where he was
she didn't know.
The ladder was made of sturdy wood, and was firmly in place. She held
the Saotome katana in the crook of her elbow as she slowly climbed the
ladder, her caution because of the sword and the soundness of the ladder
making her ascent silent. She was almost to the top and about to call
out to Ranko when she heard a scuffling noise and something that made
her stop in surprise.
#####
Ranma was still trying to relax on the roof, stretching out his bruised
muscles and trying to ignore the crashing sounds coming from the dojo
when he felt two powerful presences appear above and behind him.
Scrambling to his feet he leapt back to the center of the roof and
assumed a defensive position. When he saw what he was facing he backed
up cautiously.
"Ranma Saotome?" asked one of the golden beings floating several feet
above the roof.
"Yeah... Who're you?" he said suspiciously. Whatever these guys were,
they weren't human, and if that golden glow was their aura then they're
probably going to attack. If they could fly and put off an aura like
that it would be a short battle, considering how wiped out he was
currently. That didn't mean he wouldn't put up a fight though.
"We've come to ask for your help," it said.
Ranma gaped at it. "What? I don't know what you guys are but I can
tell you ain't human and that you could take me easily. What do ya need
my help for?"
"We cannot tell you who we are right now, but you are the only one who
can save us. Our Enemy is going to destroy a world and gain the power
to wipe out our race. The one we thought could prevent this has fallen,
and you are all that is left."
Ranma bristled. "Hey, wait a minute! So you're telling me that I'm not
your first choice to take this guy on, that I'm only a fallback? If
that's the case, why don't ya just go find somebody else to beat him up,
cause I ain't playing backup for nobody!"
Despite not being able to focus on the two creatures because of the
intensity with which they were glowing, Ranma had the distinct
impression that they were both looking at him with amusement. It wasn't
a pleasant feeling.
"You are the only one possible," said the one that had been quiet so
far. "The first choice was an Elemental who had taken human form and
mortality, but he died before he could fight the Enemy. Now only a
human can do the job and you are the only one who could succeed."
"So you want me to go and beat up some guy so that he doesn't take over
your world? Then I can come right back? I don't get it. He'd just
wait till I was gone and then start over anyway!"
"No," said the first, "you could not come right back. It would be years
before you fought the Enemy, but you need to come right now for there to
be any hope of your success. Even if you do defeat the Enemy it is
unlikely that you could return here. The trip is dangerous and only
your relatively low power level would allow you to make the voyage
without being harmed; once you have grown strong enough to defeat the
Enemy things in the Void would be drawn to you too strongly for you to
make it back without being killed.
"You would also have to kill the Enemy to ensure that he doesn't rise
again with his dreams of conquest."
"You're saying I gotta go to another world, never to return, and kill
somebody for ya?" Ranma asked incredulously. "Are you nuts? I ain't
gonna do that! Go find somebody else to do your dirty work, I ain't no
killer!"
After a brief pause, the second creature spoke. "Ranma Saotome, what is
your duty as a martial artist?"
Ranma frowned, not liking where this was going. He'd had enough
experience with Nabiki to sense when he was being set up. It was a
simple question though and if he didn't answer these jerks probably
wouldn't ever leave him alone.
"The duty of a martial artist is to help people, to defend the weak.
Beating up bullies is one thing, but I ain't gonna kill nobody!"
"If you do not kill him countless people on billions of worlds will die.
You will have failed in your responsibilities," said the golden being.
"'Countless people on billions of worlds'?" Ranma sneered. "Gimme a
break! If he's that strong I wouldn't even stand a chance!"
"Ranma Saotome, if you do not do this your mother will die when the
Enemy comes here, and it will be too late for you to save her."
He froze. "...what? What're you talking about?!?"
"It's not definite," said the creature, "because the Enemy has many
other worlds to conquer. But if he comes here soon your mother won't
live until her old age, and neither will most of the people you know.
You would certainly die unless you submitted to the Enemy's forces. By
then he would be so strong that you would not even have a chance to
defeat him."
Could he let his mother die? Sure, these guys might be lying or
exaggerating about how strong this Enemy was but what if they weren't?
Then everybody he knew could be killed. Sure, he could start training
harder in case this Enemy did show up, but these weird glowing guys were
putting off an aura that was hundreds of times more powerful than
Happousai's and they said the Enemy was too strong for them...
But what if he did believe them and went to their world? What then?
Akane would be crushed when he left. Despite all the arguments they got
into they did care about each other, and being jilted by him would hurt
her terribly. Not only that, but she'd have to start putting up with
the morning battles at Furinken again and idiot Kuno would probably
start trying to push Soun into arranging a marriage between him and
Akane. She might even be so depressed that she wouldn't put up a fight,
ending up married to the moron. There wouldn't even be anybody to stop
Ryouga from sleeping in her bed all the time.
And what about Ukyou? She'd chased him for ten years just because she
wanted to beat him to a bloody pulp, how would she react to being left
behind now that she loved him? Sure, with his having disappeared
without a trace she could declare that he was dead and move on with her
life, but it was unlikely. No, she'd probably sell her restaurant then
go searching for him once again, living the rest of her life as a lonely
boy.
Shampoo would be just as bad off. If he left she would be unable to
return to ever return to her village. He knew what had to happen for
her to go back; she either had to bring him along as a husband or a
corpse. There were no other options. It might not be his fault that
they had such outdated laws but he'd still have to live with having
Shampoo exiled from her home for the rest of his life. And Shampoo
wouldn't even be able to live that life in peace; instead she would have
Mousse constantly hounding her with demands that she marry him.
He would never be able to see his mother again, to meet her as the man
she dreamed her son to be. She would continue to visit the Tendous
every few days, coming to see her son only to be disappointed. She'd no
longer be able to see 'Cousin Ranko', who she seemed to love so much.
She'd never see the grandchildren she hoped and prayed for.
But she would be alive.
Was his mother's life worth all of that suffering?
Making his decision, he looked up. "Can I see her before we go, or at
least write her a note?"
#####
After Nodoka had heard her son's name spoken on the roof she'd just
about dropped her katana, and her fumbling with it was the only reason
she hadn't thrown herself up the rest of the ladder to meet her baby.
By the time she'd gotten a better grip on it though, she'd heard Ranko's
voice answer in Ranma's place. What was going on?
So Nodoka stayed on the ladder, listening silently, trying to figure out
why Ranko and whoever else was on the roof was talking like she was
Ranma. At first it had been just curiosity that drove her to eavesdrop
but now she was becoming alarmed. These people wanted Ranko to go with
them to another world, never to return?
When she heard the comment about Ranko's mother being killed she was
enraged. How could they use the poor girl's mother against her like
that, knowing that Ranko would never be able to see her again? How
cruel could they be? Nodoka certainly wasn't going to let that
happen... but she'd wait a few more minutes before she announced her
presence, so that she'd know more about what was going on before she
said something.
She heard Ranko's voice again and brushed her thoughts aside, trying to
focus on listening.
"If I don't kill this guy, my momma's gonna die?" asked Ranko.
"It's not definite," said one of the voices, "because the Enemy has many
other worlds to conquer. But if he comes here soon your mother won't
live until her old age, and neither will most of the people you know.
You would certainly die unless you submitted to the Enemies forces. By
then he would be so strong that you would not even have a chance to
defeat him."
Nodoka strained her ears, trying to make out what Ranko was muttering
but was unable to. After a moment, the girl spoke again.
"Can I go see her before we go, or at least write her a note?"
"It would be best if you didn't," said another voice. "We are short on
time and the journey will make things dangerously close. You need to
leave immediately."
Nodoka was frozen in indecision. What should she do, should she try to
keep Ranko from leaving? If the girl really thought she needed to go,
was it Nodoka's place to stop her? Ranko was already having to leave
everybody behind for the sake of her mother, wouldn't refusing 'Auntie
Nodoka's' wishes make her even more miserable?
She heard Ranko's voice again.
"...Okay. I'm ready," said Ranko.
Suddenly feeling a huge burst of power and a loud ripping noise and then
a humming sound from on the roof, Nodoka's thoughts crystallized. If
Ranko had to go, so be it, but she was going to offer to take a message
to the girl's mother before she left! Nobody should have to leave in
such a way, without a word of goodbye.
"Just step through the portal and you will be taken to where you need to
be. You will find a young dragon by the name of Bazil who needs your
help. After this, you are on your own; we cannot help you directly."
Nodoka missed Ranko's reply as she yanked herself up the rest of the
ladder and dragged herself onto the roof, the sound of her movements
masked by the noise of what had to be the portal. Standing up despite
the sharp incline of the surface beneath her, she looked about and saw
that she was behind Ranko and two odd looking creatures that glowed with
golden light. Seeing Ranko step towards the portal, which was the
height of a large man and half as wide with purple light flashing from
the entrance, she dashed forward.
"Ranko, wait!" she yelled.
The redheaded girl whipped about, her mouth gaping open in surprise as
the other two beings looked on calmly. "Momma?" she asked.
Nodoka slowed, intending to stop a few feet short of the girl, when the
end of end of her katana slipped between her legs and she tripped. She
flew forward, knocking into Ranko and sending them both through the
portal. Screaming as they dropped into the empty blackness that lie
behind it, she tried to turn around, to go back.
The last she saw of her world was the two golden creatures looking at
her. The glow surrounding them masked almost all attributes, but it
seemed as if they were...smiling?
*Take care of your child, Nodoka Saotome,* she heard soundlessly. *He
will need your help.*
Turning her attention back to the redheaded girl who was holding onto
her with a fierce grip and wide, startled eyes, she wondered what the
voice was talking about. Then her face went white when she realized
what it had said.
"RANMA!!"
To be continued.
Well, I realize that there are a lot of little spots where things seem
rather awkward but this is the best I could come up with. If you had
any comments, whether you just want to point out something that seems
off or if you have a specific recommendation for how I could improve
something email me at thermopyle@tds.net. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed
it so far.