FF7: A New World

Ranma Fanfic by Seras4545

A/N: Yeah, yeah. I know already. I do this kind of thing far too often. Sorry for starting a new fic yet again, but it is one of those ideas that just won't leave you alone. Anyway, as you can tell from the title, this is a Ranma fanfic with a crossover with Final Fantasy Seven. Just so you know, I will be putting a new spin on the story of FF7 in order to cross it with the Ranmaverse.

Chapter 1: Rift In Time

o0o

Ranma was flying in the skies, courtesy of Akane Air, contemplating what he could have done wrong this time. Was it the ice cream thing? No. Was it when he had fought with Ryoga? No, not this time. Maybe it was because Shampoo glomped me again. Bingo.

Figuring out why Akane had sent him flying, Ranma adjusted his trajectory and landed lightly in the nearby Juuban ward. Well, at least I don't have far to go. Guess I should go back and apologize...

He jumped up to a nearby roof, ignoring the stares of passerby, and started to roof hop back to Nerima. He was about halfway there when he felt it.

The world seemed to scream at him and he screwed up his landing and lost his balance, falling into pool in the backyard of someones house. Ranma didn't seem to notice as the world continued to scream at her, as if in agony. Then she felt a mighty release of energy and the world seemed to 'ripple' around her, leaving her feeling out of place somehow. What in the world was that? She thought in confusion.

It took her awhile to notice the fact that everything had frozen in place. She could see the drops of water in the air from her splashing down in the pool, floating without motion.

Then she heard an earsplitting explosion and the 'ripple' came roaring back and Ranma was terrified to see that it left nothing but darkness behind.

Crap. This can't be nothin' good. Was Ranma's thought as she was swallowed up in the darkness.

o0o

An elderly man looked out his window at the pool in his backyard and saw only a few ripples that could have been caused by the wind. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary he went back to watching his movie. Strange, I could have sworn I heard something fall into my pool. Ah, well, must be my old age catchin' up to me.

He didn't see the water of his pool turn an unearthly green color and begin to glow, pulsing with energy. A small part of that energy looked as if it was being funneled into the air and through an invisible hole, like a giant straw was sucking it up.

o0o

Cologne raised her head as she felt the huge pulse of energy ripple out from a point not so distant from here. She was startled to find Ranma's ki right in the middle of it and was even more surprised when it came back and disappeared, taking Ranma's ki signature with it.

"Oh, this can't be good." She said aloud as she went to get Shampoo and Mousse.

o0o

A young man resembling Ranma stopped as he felt the disturbance in the earth's ki. When he focused his senses, he felt Ranma's ki in the middle of everything and was about to check it out when he felt both the disturbance and Ranma disappear completely.

"This bodes ill. Nothing good can come of this." He said as he felt ominous backlashes from the power expended.

o0o

Happosai stopped in middle of his raid to pay attention to the sudden flash of energy and the energy of his student caught in it. He was about to drop everything to go and help Ranma, he was his student after all, when the energy vanished, along with Ranma's. Pilfering the last of the panties from the drawer, Happosai jumped out the open window and bounded toward the Tendo dojo. Oh, they aren't going to like this one bit. He thought as he sped toward his self proclaimed home.

o0o

Herb leapt to awareness as the pain of the planet washed over him, deluging him in the screams of anguish of the earth. He immediately located the source of the disturbance and was surprised to find that Ranma was already there. As he watched with his minds eye, however, Ranma's ki seemed to be siphoned out of this world. The pain continued to hound him however and he knew that something was horribly wrong.

"Mint! Lime! Come! We are going to Japan right now!" Herb roared, determined to find out what had happened to the planet and what had happened to Ranma. His two servants were up immediately and were stumbling in their haste to do Prince Herbs bidding. Seeing that the preparations were under way, Herb again focused his senses, searching for the ki of Ranma Saotome...

o0o

Genma and Soun were playing a game of shogi when Kasumi came in with some tea and handed it to them.

"Why, thank you Kasumi."

"Yes, thank you, daughter."

Kasumi smiled and left into the kitchen. Soun poured the tea into the two cups Kasumi had brought and Genma eagerly picked his up to drink. Suddenly the handle broke off and the teacup fell and shattered, splashing tea everywhere. A picture with the Saotome family and the Tendo family together in it fell from it's shelf.

"A bad omen." Genma said.

"A very bad omen indeed." Soun agreed.

Genma got up and picked up the picture and looked at it. There was only a tiny little crack centered on the smiling face of Ranma.

"The boy's in trouble. This is a very bad omen." Genma said, replacing the picture. Soun went to call a family meeting.

o0o

"So, what's going on?" Nabiki asked, ever curious. She looked over the assembled family members and noticed that the two fathers looked very apprehensive.

Soun looked at his daughter solemnly. "We think something's happened to Ranma. We were witness to many bad omens and had a dark premonition."

Kasumi looked at her father in worry as Nabiki rolled her eyes at the superstitions of her father and Genma.

"But what could have happened to him, father?" Kasumi asked, worried about the young man who had been part of their lives for so long.

Before Soun could answer a small blur came down the stairs and revealed itself to be Happosai.

"He's gone." He said nonchalantly.

"What!?" Akane burst out after her long period of uncharacteristic silence.

"I was out in the park when…"

"Oh, yeah, is that why you have a pair of panties on your head?" Nabiki asked coolly.

Happosai reached up and yanked the offending garment off the top of his head.

"All right! So I was gathering my pretties! Big deal. Anyway, as I was about to say. I was out, minding my own business when I felt this tremendous release of energy. I also found Ranma's energy in it as well, right at the center of it. Before I could even move though, it all disappeared, taking Ranma with it."

"Yeah, and we're supposed to believe you why? You could just be covering for him." Nabiki said, hiding the anxiousness that she felt. I don't like him. I'm not in love. The Ice Queen of Furinkan High doesn't fall in love. I'm just worried over my biggest source of income, that's all. Nabiki convinced herself.

Happosai was about to retort when he felt a presence make itself known behind him. He turned to find Cologne standing behind him.

"I can assure you, Tendo-san, that Happi is not lying. What he tells is the truth, and whats more the energy smacks of magic, though it is very unfamiliar. I suggest we go and investigate the area where he had disappeared."

Everyone nodded in agreement for lack of any better ideas. They all walked out to find Shampoo and Mousse carrying large and very heavy packs full of supplies and strange devices. They shrugged, guessing correctly that they were for determining what kind of magic was used and what the intention of the spell was.

They traveled the short distance to where Happosai and Cologne told them their senses found Ranma last. They walked up to the larger than normal house and rang the doorbell, letting Nabiki take the lead to do the talking.

The old man got up off his sofa to answer the door and was surprised to find the strange gathering of people on his doorstep.

"Yes, can I help you?" He managed to ask after getting over his surprise.

"Please excuse us, sir, but we have reason to believe that highly dangerous magic is operating in your backyard." Nabiki said, figuring that shock may work well here.

"Say what?"

"Have you noticed anything strange in your backyard lately?"

"Well, I coulda' sworn something fell in my pool a little earlier, but when I looked nothing was there. Why, whats going on?"

"Sir, may we have your permission to take a look in your backyard? We believe it may be connected with the disappearance of one of our friends."

The old man's eyes opened a bit in shock, then nodded his permission. "Sure, sure. Anything to help your investigation. Come this way."

The old man led them around to a gate and opened to reveal a shocking scene. There were plants rampaging everywhere and growing visibly before their eyes. At the center of this mess of vegetation there was a green glow that, after plowing their way through the thriving plants, turned out to be the pool, though it was starting to become choked with roots eagerly sucking up the substance. In the middle of the pool a spire of the substance was flowing up into the air and swirling around one spot, as if there was a drain there that targeted only the green energy.

"What in the world is this?" Cologne asked of nobody in particular while the old man ran away in fright.

"The lifestream." A voice from behind some trees said. They all turned to see prince Herb and his two henchmen, Mint and Lime, emerge.

"What, is everyone Ranma knew going to show up? What's the lifestream, anyway?" Nabiki asked.

Cologne answered, a shocked and pale look on her face. "The lifestream is basically the blood of our planet, the place where our souls converge to become one with creation. They are then used over time to create new souls, that of birds, beasts, trees and flowers. It is what allows everything on this planet to live and give birth to new life. Are you sure about this, Herb?" The Amazon elder asked, forgetting the enmity between her tribe and his in the moment.

"Yes, quite sure. We have many writings on this and also of a magic long lost to us. Magic that is used with spheres made of concentrated mako, or lifestream. They were called materia and often had several purposes, their abilities brought forth when they align themselves to a user and that user pours effort and experience into them, along with some of their spirits power, effectively causing them to grow and become even stronger. This hole that is consuming the lifeforce of our planet is a product of that magic, siphoning off the lifestream to someplace and sometime elsewhere. This is where Ranma disappeared, he must have gotten caught here right when the spell hit, sucking him to the other side before it closed to this size." He demonstrated by throwing a rock at the hole, hitting it square on and causing it to ripple, showing that the hole was only about the size of a baseball, before the hole consumed the rock as well.

"So, what do we do about it and how do we get Ranma back?" Nabiki asked, wondering what would happen if someone was to travel through that hole.

Everyone looked at each other, unsure of what to do and who would be brave enough to follow Ranma in order to get him back.

"Well, geeze, don't everyone step forward at once. C'mon, this is Ranma we're talking about! After all he has done for us we should at least do this for him!" Nabiki yelled, suddenly enraged at the entire lot of them. They all looked guiltily at each other, not wanting to dare that hole. They barely even acknowledged the outburst from Nabiki, not commenting on how un-Nabiki like she was being.

Finally angered beyond reason, something that hasn't happened in years, Nabiki threw her hands up and flashed an angry glare at the lot of them, with the exception of Kasumi.

"Well, fine! I'll go. I'll help him, at least." She started walking toward the hole, not thinking about what the consequences would be, when a hand grabbed her shoulder. She turned and was about to dress down whoever had the nerve to stop her when she was confronted with black unruly hair and piercing blue eyes.

"Ranma?" Nabiki whispered, then shook herself. It wasn't Ranma, he was just a bit too tall and lean to be him, though the likeness was striking. It was Ryu Kumon, martial artist of the Yama-Senken form, and one of Ranma's most powerful rivals.

"That would not be a good idea, Tendo-san." He said in a calm voice.

Nabiki had had it with being calm however. "What the hell do you mean? If you think you can stop me from going after Ranma then think again."

She attempted to break away but his grip was far too strong. She looked up to give him a glare and saw him shake his head. He picked up a large rock, about the size of his head, and hurled it at the hole. The rock flew right through the area and landed on the other side of the pool. They could clearly see the hole cut clean through it.

Nabiki looked at it blankly, then began to feel despair well up within her. "So what do we do?" She asked, looking at Ryu Kumon.

"Peace, Tendo-san. I thought of this before I got here. First though, I want everyone who wishes to stay on this side to leave now, no telling what will happen when I try my idea."

The only ones to step back were Genma and Mousse. Realizing that Kasumi hadn't backed down, Genma grumbled and came back to stand among the group along with Mousse who had noticed Shampoo was still there as well.

"No one, huh? Well, don't blame me later." Saying this, he closed his eyes and everyone could clearly see him train his intense focus upon his task. Slowly they saw a circular wedge shape form around his arm which he extended, the ki coming into the visible spectrum, so focused was it. It continued to solidify until Ryu's hand seemed to be replaced with a spear made of an intense blue flame.

When he finished focusing his energy he thrust the ki spear into the hole and everyone was instantly blasted to the ground by the resulting force. Nabiki opened her eyes just in time to see the fabric of space and time itself ripple, and saw that ripple come back at them, leaving nothing behind but darkness.

The ripple came back and engulfed their party. To the spectator they just seemed to vanish, a mighty explosion that shredded the vegetation the only sign of their leaving.

The hole, now five times it's original size, finally attracted the full attention of the planet and with a minor exertion of ki, it sealed the wound closed, along with the leak of lifestream. The hole closed with a sense of finality and the green substance stopped oozing into the pool, the waters eventually clearing with the exception of the roots.

From that day forward, the Tendo house has stood abandoned, along with the Nekohanten, no one ever finding what had happened to their owners...

A/N: Well, except for the short chapter length, I think I did a good job. Please Review and tell me what you think. Oh, and just so you know, I have little knowledge of either Herb or Ryu Kumon, so I'm writing them as I wish. Hope you liked this first chapter, Now I can really start on The Dragon Within, Chapter Seven!