BG1/2: Chaos In Amn
By Dragonsey
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and it's characters are the property of Rumiko
Takahashi, Viz Communications, and Shogakukan. Baldur's Gate and it's
characters are the property of Bioware, Black Isle Studios, Interplay,
and Wizards of the Coast. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 1 - A Rude Awakening
--------------------------------------------------------------------
...Pain...
...Pain, and memories of pain...
Slowly, ever so slowly, the fleeting memories gained enough coherence
to be recognizable.
...a peaceful valley full of springs...
...three girls looking at him with varying expressions of shock and
anger...
...a panda throwing him into a pond...
...a lavender-haired girl turning into a c-c-cat...
...a cute girl serving him okonomiyaki...
...a forest filled with giant animals...
The memories were coming faster now, as they approach the more recent
past.
...a winged man, wreathed in flame, fighting him on a mountain top...
...feeling frustration as attack after attack was shrugged off, either
completely ineffective or, if it did manage to injure his foe,
watching as his opponent effortlessly regenerated, healing his wounds
in seconds...
...knowing that time was running out. Reaching within himself for all
his remaining energy, desperately hoping that somehow he would find a
way to prevail...
...and then the shock as -something-, some barrier in his soul, seemed
to give way. Feeling seemingly endless power flow into his body,
permeating his very being. Suddenly he knew exactly what to do to
bring the fight to an end. Bloodlust filled him as he focused on
Saffron. Surprise and terror filled his enemy's face as he unleashed
the power...
...sadness as he felt the life slip from the girl in his arms.
Confused as his emotions to her were, her impending death filled him
with sorrow. As her life slipped away, the power within him responded
to his desire. With senses he never even knew existed, he watched the
power catch her spirit and return it to her body. With a final surge,
it reestablished the ties between body and soul, and healed the damage
her body had suffered...
The next set of memories were interwoven with heartache and pain.
...looking on the remains of Saffron and remembering with horror how
much he had _enjoyed_ killing him. Remembering that, at the end, he
had not even given a thought to sparing Saffron, but instead had hit
him with blow after blow, until he was sure his enemy was completely
destroyed...
...seeing the Phoenix people regard him with fear and horror as they
came for the body of their lord...
...though she tried to hide it, catching that same fear mirrored in
Akane's eyes when she thought he wasn't looking...
...the failed wedding. Furious at the unprovoked attacks endangering
all those present, he felt the power again swell up within him. All
action stopped as, just for a moment, he let the power and bloodlust
show...
The final memories came fast and furious.
...feeling the _desire_ to kill those before him, as the power within
struggled to break free. Glancing down and noting with surprise that
he held his mother's katana unsheathed in his hands...
...seeing the fear on the faces of those present; Ukyou, Shampoo,
Ryouga, Kuno; even Nabiki and Kasumi drew away from his wrath. Worse,
seeing the fear and horror appear on his mother's face...
...most heart-wrenching, the way Akane shrank away from him, a look of
sheer terror reflected in her eyes...
...running from the dojo, shivering with horror at the thought of what
he had nearly done, what he might be becoming...
...sitting in his favorite spot under the bridge, unable to face the
disgust of those he loved, the horror of _wanting_ to kill all who
opposed him, even those he counted as friends, as family...
...feeling a sense of danger as a mist suddenly blanketed the area.
Sensing attackers in the mist but being unable to effectively fight,
as something touched his mind, interfering with his thoughts...
...disjointed images of captivity and torture. Of sights too
disgusting to think of and of pain nearly too overwhelming to bear.
Through it all, a face, the face of one who watches all these things
with an inhumanly calm interest...
"Aagh!" As he finally struggled his way to consciousness, Ranma
renewed his acquaintance with his bruised and battered body. Gritting
his teeth against the pain, he struggled to his feet and looked
around.
The first thing he noticed was the cage around him. Barely three feet
wide and just tall enough to let him stand, it had an elusive
familiarity, as if he had been in it for a while. Beyond the bars of
his enclosure there stretched a room that looked like a cross between
a dungeon and a chemical factory. The walls were lined with pipes of
various sizes, here and there strange machines were tucked into deep
alcoves, but the other features of the room demanded more attention.
Cages, similar to the one holding him except empty or, worse, filled
with the decaying corpse of their previous occupant, filled the room.
From the ceiling hung chains that ended in manacles or sharp devices
of a more sinister nature.
"Ahhh, the child of Bhaal has awoken."
Ranma jerked in surprise. He must be more out of it than he realized.
Standing in front of his cage, studying him with calm detachment,
was...HIM.
Even with the difficulty he was having thinking straight, he
recognized the one before him. Ranma didn't know his name, but he
knew that this was the one responsible for bringing him here. Was the
one responsible for the wounds covering his body.
"It is time for more... experiments." The man's voice was cold, oh so
very cold. It filled Ranma's mind with half-remembered memories of
endless hours of pain.
Ranma still wasn't thinking clearly, but he instinctively braced
himself, preparing to attack as soon as the man opened the cage door.
The man seemed to notice this, and smiled derisively. Instead of
opening the cage, he began chanting and making a series of gestures
with his hands. Any questions Ranma may have had over what he was
doing were answered when a bolt of energy shot from his hands,
impacting painfully on Ranma's chest and driving him to his knees.
"The pain will only be passing, you should survive the process."
The next few minutes were ones Ranma would just as soon forget as
spell after spell was directed at him. Fire, lightning, cold, and
bolts of pure energy brought an unending string of pain. It was all
Ranma could do to keep from crying out, but he was determined not to
give his tormenter that satisfaction. When the wizard (as Ranma now
rightly labeled him) paused for a moment, Ranma drew himself painfully
up and stared defiantly.
"Interesting. You have much untapped power." He seemed amused at
Ranma's defiance. "Do you even realize your potential?"
Heavy footsteps approached, attracting the mage's attention.
Breathing heavily, Ranma used the brief respite to gather his
strength. Again, he attempted to clear his mind of the fog that
seemed to cover it.
"More intruders have entered the complex, Master." A deep voice said.
Ranma looked up at the speaker, and his mouth dropped open in shock.
Standing beside the wizard was a giant. Over eight feet tall and
massively built, it loomed over its master. 'It' because, even at a
glance, Ranma doubted that this was a living thing. While it was
human shaped, it bore more resemblance to a child's mud sculpture
than to a man. Its features were crude and simple and it seemed
to be made entirely out of mud.
"They act sooner than we had anticipated! No matter, they will prove
only a slight delay."
With a gesture, the wizard dismissed the creature. As it trundled
off, the mage began another spell. Braced for further pain, Ranma was
relieved, and a bit surprised, when the wizard instead vanished before
his eyes.
Alone again, Ranma dropped to his knees, his strength nearly spent.
Slowly, he took stock of his situation. Escape was the obvious goal,
but at the moment he was in no condition to walk, much less break the
lock on his cage door. In order to successfully escape, he needed to
clear his mind and gather his strength. Wincing with pain, he assumed
a lotus position. Meditation wasn't something he excelled at, his
father had dismissed it as a tool for beginners, but he had been
trained at various monasteries in his youth, and he still remembered
those lessons. And it was the fastest way to clear the mind.
Following the lessons taught him years before, Ranma slipped into a
meditative trance, focusing on clearing his mind and gathering his
energy. Had anyone been watching, they would have seen a faint blue
glow surround the wounded martial artist.
------
The sound of battle and rapidly approaching footsteps pulled him from
his trance. The fog covering his thoughts was all but gone, and Ranma
thought the sounds were coming from a darkened doorway on the far end
of the room. Sure enough, moments later a man came running in. One
glance was enough to determine that this was not his captor and that
whoever the stranger was, he was running as if a horde of demons
were after him. Before the man could make it halfway across the
chamber, a sphere of multi-colored energy shot from the darkened
doorway and hit him squarely in the back. Upon impact it expanded in
size until it completely engulfed its target.
"Aghhh--!" The cry cut off suddenly. With a flash, the sphere
vanished, leaving nothing behind but a handful of dust. Blinking,
Ranma felt a cold chill as he realized that, whoever his captor was,
he was playing for keeps.
Quickly assessing himself, Ranma was pleased with the results of the
meditation. For the first time since he was brought to this place,
the fog was gone from his thoughts and his body was in decent shape.
Okay, so it felt like he had just had a marathon fight with Ryouga,
Kuno, Mousse, _and_ Herb, but still, it would do. Ranma pulled back
his fist to shatter the lock, and paused for a moment.
While he was known for occasionally (some would say often) acting
without thought, Ranma did have a finely honed tactical sense.
Whoever had disintegrated that man had to have been close by. If it
was the wizard (and who else could it be?), he would surely hear the
noise of Ranma's escape. Ranma was confident that he could best
anyone in a straight-up fight, but he didn't like magic and this
wizard had already shown that he didn't fight fair. He wanted to face
the wizard on his own terms, not get caught by surprise while breaking
out of a cage.
Ranma already wasn't in the best of shape, so a more prudent course
was called for. Best to wait a few minutes. From the sound of it,
the fight was moving away from this area, and soon it would be far
enough away for Ranma to escape without alerting the participants.
Five minutes. He would meditate for five more minutes and then
escape. Sinking back into a lotus position, he closed his eyes once
more.
Four minutes later, he caught the sound of someone approaching.
Thinking quickly, he didn't move. This was his only chance. As soon
as the person moved on, he would escape. If it turned out to be the
wizard or another jailer, he would attack. Mentally he planned an
attack, one that would shatter the lock and have him out of the cage
and on his opponents before they even realized he had moved. With
every muscle ready for immediate action, he tracked the person's
footsteps until they came to a stop just outside his cage.
'This is it' he thought and started to move.
"Wake up you! Wake up! Come on, we have to get out of here!"
The voice came just as he started to rise. It was so unexpected that
he managed to trip himself up and found himself sprawled on the floor
of his cage.
"Oww." Opening his eyes he saw a girl about his own age. She had
reddish hair cut about the same length as Nabiki's and a cute face
marred only slightly by a scar over one eye ...and by the haunted look
in her eyes.
"Who... who are you?"
------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's Notes:
For those wondering about the Nerima crew's reactions, remember that
this was how Ranma perceived it. Sometime in the next few chapters
I'll switch back to Nerima and show their side of it, plus what
happens in the aftermath of Ranma's kidnapping.
I'm still debating on bringing members of the Nerima crew over to Amn.
Sooner or later Nodoka will show up (when she figures out where he is)
but I am undecided on whether I want anyone else to accompany her.
My main problem with using the Nerima crew is fitting the girls into
the storyline while remaining (mostly) true to the Baldur's Gate
story. The only one that I have so far been able to work in is
Shampoo, and I'm not sure if I really want to include her.
By Dragonsey
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and it's characters are the property of Rumiko
Takahashi, Viz Communications, and Shogakukan. Baldur's Gate and it's
characters are the property of Bioware, Black Isle Studios, Interplay,
and Wizards of the Coast. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 1 - A Rude Awakening
--------------------------------------------------------------------
...Pain...
...Pain, and memories of pain...
Slowly, ever so slowly, the fleeting memories gained enough coherence
to be recognizable.
...a peaceful valley full of springs...
...three girls looking at him with varying expressions of shock and
anger...
...a panda throwing him into a pond...
...a lavender-haired girl turning into a c-c-cat...
...a cute girl serving him okonomiyaki...
...a forest filled with giant animals...
The memories were coming faster now, as they approach the more recent
past.
...a winged man, wreathed in flame, fighting him on a mountain top...
...feeling frustration as attack after attack was shrugged off, either
completely ineffective or, if it did manage to injure his foe,
watching as his opponent effortlessly regenerated, healing his wounds
in seconds...
...knowing that time was running out. Reaching within himself for all
his remaining energy, desperately hoping that somehow he would find a
way to prevail...
...and then the shock as -something-, some barrier in his soul, seemed
to give way. Feeling seemingly endless power flow into his body,
permeating his very being. Suddenly he knew exactly what to do to
bring the fight to an end. Bloodlust filled him as he focused on
Saffron. Surprise and terror filled his enemy's face as he unleashed
the power...
...sadness as he felt the life slip from the girl in his arms.
Confused as his emotions to her were, her impending death filled him
with sorrow. As her life slipped away, the power within him responded
to his desire. With senses he never even knew existed, he watched the
power catch her spirit and return it to her body. With a final surge,
it reestablished the ties between body and soul, and healed the damage
her body had suffered...
The next set of memories were interwoven with heartache and pain.
...looking on the remains of Saffron and remembering with horror how
much he had _enjoyed_ killing him. Remembering that, at the end, he
had not even given a thought to sparing Saffron, but instead had hit
him with blow after blow, until he was sure his enemy was completely
destroyed...
...seeing the Phoenix people regard him with fear and horror as they
came for the body of their lord...
...though she tried to hide it, catching that same fear mirrored in
Akane's eyes when she thought he wasn't looking...
...the failed wedding. Furious at the unprovoked attacks endangering
all those present, he felt the power again swell up within him. All
action stopped as, just for a moment, he let the power and bloodlust
show...
The final memories came fast and furious.
...feeling the _desire_ to kill those before him, as the power within
struggled to break free. Glancing down and noting with surprise that
he held his mother's katana unsheathed in his hands...
...seeing the fear on the faces of those present; Ukyou, Shampoo,
Ryouga, Kuno; even Nabiki and Kasumi drew away from his wrath. Worse,
seeing the fear and horror appear on his mother's face...
...most heart-wrenching, the way Akane shrank away from him, a look of
sheer terror reflected in her eyes...
...running from the dojo, shivering with horror at the thought of what
he had nearly done, what he might be becoming...
...sitting in his favorite spot under the bridge, unable to face the
disgust of those he loved, the horror of _wanting_ to kill all who
opposed him, even those he counted as friends, as family...
...feeling a sense of danger as a mist suddenly blanketed the area.
Sensing attackers in the mist but being unable to effectively fight,
as something touched his mind, interfering with his thoughts...
...disjointed images of captivity and torture. Of sights too
disgusting to think of and of pain nearly too overwhelming to bear.
Through it all, a face, the face of one who watches all these things
with an inhumanly calm interest...
"Aagh!" As he finally struggled his way to consciousness, Ranma
renewed his acquaintance with his bruised and battered body. Gritting
his teeth against the pain, he struggled to his feet and looked
around.
The first thing he noticed was the cage around him. Barely three feet
wide and just tall enough to let him stand, it had an elusive
familiarity, as if he had been in it for a while. Beyond the bars of
his enclosure there stretched a room that looked like a cross between
a dungeon and a chemical factory. The walls were lined with pipes of
various sizes, here and there strange machines were tucked into deep
alcoves, but the other features of the room demanded more attention.
Cages, similar to the one holding him except empty or, worse, filled
with the decaying corpse of their previous occupant, filled the room.
From the ceiling hung chains that ended in manacles or sharp devices
of a more sinister nature.
"Ahhh, the child of Bhaal has awoken."
Ranma jerked in surprise. He must be more out of it than he realized.
Standing in front of his cage, studying him with calm detachment,
was...HIM.
Even with the difficulty he was having thinking straight, he
recognized the one before him. Ranma didn't know his name, but he
knew that this was the one responsible for bringing him here. Was the
one responsible for the wounds covering his body.
"It is time for more... experiments." The man's voice was cold, oh so
very cold. It filled Ranma's mind with half-remembered memories of
endless hours of pain.
Ranma still wasn't thinking clearly, but he instinctively braced
himself, preparing to attack as soon as the man opened the cage door.
The man seemed to notice this, and smiled derisively. Instead of
opening the cage, he began chanting and making a series of gestures
with his hands. Any questions Ranma may have had over what he was
doing were answered when a bolt of energy shot from his hands,
impacting painfully on Ranma's chest and driving him to his knees.
"The pain will only be passing, you should survive the process."
The next few minutes were ones Ranma would just as soon forget as
spell after spell was directed at him. Fire, lightning, cold, and
bolts of pure energy brought an unending string of pain. It was all
Ranma could do to keep from crying out, but he was determined not to
give his tormenter that satisfaction. When the wizard (as Ranma now
rightly labeled him) paused for a moment, Ranma drew himself painfully
up and stared defiantly.
"Interesting. You have much untapped power." He seemed amused at
Ranma's defiance. "Do you even realize your potential?"
Heavy footsteps approached, attracting the mage's attention.
Breathing heavily, Ranma used the brief respite to gather his
strength. Again, he attempted to clear his mind of the fog that
seemed to cover it.
"More intruders have entered the complex, Master." A deep voice said.
Ranma looked up at the speaker, and his mouth dropped open in shock.
Standing beside the wizard was a giant. Over eight feet tall and
massively built, it loomed over its master. 'It' because, even at a
glance, Ranma doubted that this was a living thing. While it was
human shaped, it bore more resemblance to a child's mud sculpture
than to a man. Its features were crude and simple and it seemed
to be made entirely out of mud.
"They act sooner than we had anticipated! No matter, they will prove
only a slight delay."
With a gesture, the wizard dismissed the creature. As it trundled
off, the mage began another spell. Braced for further pain, Ranma was
relieved, and a bit surprised, when the wizard instead vanished before
his eyes.
Alone again, Ranma dropped to his knees, his strength nearly spent.
Slowly, he took stock of his situation. Escape was the obvious goal,
but at the moment he was in no condition to walk, much less break the
lock on his cage door. In order to successfully escape, he needed to
clear his mind and gather his strength. Wincing with pain, he assumed
a lotus position. Meditation wasn't something he excelled at, his
father had dismissed it as a tool for beginners, but he had been
trained at various monasteries in his youth, and he still remembered
those lessons. And it was the fastest way to clear the mind.
Following the lessons taught him years before, Ranma slipped into a
meditative trance, focusing on clearing his mind and gathering his
energy. Had anyone been watching, they would have seen a faint blue
glow surround the wounded martial artist.
------
The sound of battle and rapidly approaching footsteps pulled him from
his trance. The fog covering his thoughts was all but gone, and Ranma
thought the sounds were coming from a darkened doorway on the far end
of the room. Sure enough, moments later a man came running in. One
glance was enough to determine that this was not his captor and that
whoever the stranger was, he was running as if a horde of demons
were after him. Before the man could make it halfway across the
chamber, a sphere of multi-colored energy shot from the darkened
doorway and hit him squarely in the back. Upon impact it expanded in
size until it completely engulfed its target.
"Aghhh--!" The cry cut off suddenly. With a flash, the sphere
vanished, leaving nothing behind but a handful of dust. Blinking,
Ranma felt a cold chill as he realized that, whoever his captor was,
he was playing for keeps.
Quickly assessing himself, Ranma was pleased with the results of the
meditation. For the first time since he was brought to this place,
the fog was gone from his thoughts and his body was in decent shape.
Okay, so it felt like he had just had a marathon fight with Ryouga,
Kuno, Mousse, _and_ Herb, but still, it would do. Ranma pulled back
his fist to shatter the lock, and paused for a moment.
While he was known for occasionally (some would say often) acting
without thought, Ranma did have a finely honed tactical sense.
Whoever had disintegrated that man had to have been close by. If it
was the wizard (and who else could it be?), he would surely hear the
noise of Ranma's escape. Ranma was confident that he could best
anyone in a straight-up fight, but he didn't like magic and this
wizard had already shown that he didn't fight fair. He wanted to face
the wizard on his own terms, not get caught by surprise while breaking
out of a cage.
Ranma already wasn't in the best of shape, so a more prudent course
was called for. Best to wait a few minutes. From the sound of it,
the fight was moving away from this area, and soon it would be far
enough away for Ranma to escape without alerting the participants.
Five minutes. He would meditate for five more minutes and then
escape. Sinking back into a lotus position, he closed his eyes once
more.
Four minutes later, he caught the sound of someone approaching.
Thinking quickly, he didn't move. This was his only chance. As soon
as the person moved on, he would escape. If it turned out to be the
wizard or another jailer, he would attack. Mentally he planned an
attack, one that would shatter the lock and have him out of the cage
and on his opponents before they even realized he had moved. With
every muscle ready for immediate action, he tracked the person's
footsteps until they came to a stop just outside his cage.
'This is it' he thought and started to move.
"Wake up you! Wake up! Come on, we have to get out of here!"
The voice came just as he started to rise. It was so unexpected that
he managed to trip himself up and found himself sprawled on the floor
of his cage.
"Oww." Opening his eyes he saw a girl about his own age. She had
reddish hair cut about the same length as Nabiki's and a cute face
marred only slightly by a scar over one eye ...and by the haunted look
in her eyes.
"Who... who are you?"
------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's Notes:
For those wondering about the Nerima crew's reactions, remember that
this was how Ranma perceived it. Sometime in the next few chapters
I'll switch back to Nerima and show their side of it, plus what
happens in the aftermath of Ranma's kidnapping.
I'm still debating on bringing members of the Nerima crew over to Amn.
Sooner or later Nodoka will show up (when she figures out where he is)
but I am undecided on whether I want anyone else to accompany her.
My main problem with using the Nerima crew is fitting the girls into
the storyline while remaining (mostly) true to the Baldur's Gate
story. The only one that I have so far been able to work in is
Shampoo, and I'm not sure if I really want to include her.