Prologue


It all started at a construction site.

A man in a hard hat directed a power shoveler to dig a particular spot
when a flash suddenly caught his eye. Puzzled, he glanced at its direction,
and picked up a strange object. It didn't seem to be important, but curiosity
was tickled when he noticed the strange sign engraved upon it surface. He was
then caught up in a crossroad of decisions. Will he, or will he not throw it
away? Such a simple Question, but with enormous repercussions.

The World was never the same again...



===*===*===



A Ranma 0.5/DUAL! crossover



By Kijin


*Disclaimer*
I don't any of characters you might be familiar with. Please
don't sue me. I'm just poor bystander with a penchant for fanfics.




=====*====*====



The End of the Beginning of an End...




He was falling at an incredible rate of speed, towards the floor of
an enormous, hollow mountain. The Gekkaja clutched in hand. The winged man
at the bottom was preparing to fire off another one of those monstrous fireballs,
laughing maniacally. It was only through the sheer power of his will and his
incredible stamina that he survived the winged man's earlier attacks.

'Geez, if Pig boy knew how tough I really was, he'd be depressed enough
to throw a Ki Blast strong enough to actually hurt me!'

It was no time for idle thoughts, though, as another fireball blazed
towards him, turning the air into a blazing inferno.

'I can't take anymore of this! I must strike back with all I've got!'

He bounced off the mountain walls and propelled himself A hundred feet
into air, in the center of the hellish conflagration. He only had one shot. To
fail meant not only possible death, but the demise of his friends as well.

'I can do this! I must do this!'

He began gathering the remains of his Ki in preparation of one final
attack, one that would surely slay the Phoenix.

'My soul is as cold as Ice, my heart will be my fire.'

His body became freezing, and ice grew on his arm. He glowed like a
white-hot star, only his aura was cold as the artic wind.

'This is it! The Final Blow!'

But he was caught up in indecision. He screamed in mental agony. He
was a Martial artist! He was charged with the duty to protect, not Kill!
Time froze as something flashed in his mind. He began to see a picture within
his subconscious, and he knew he was being shown a glimpse of the future.
In one, He slew his opponent, and there were no further casualties for the
moment. In the other, he stopped his attack, and his opponent lived. And
that meant the death of those who dared call him friend. It made his decision
clear, but painful still.

He gazed one last time at his target, frozen tears nearly obscuring
his sight.

'Forgive me...'

"Go, Ice Dragon!"

The ice covering his arm shattered, as did his tears.

"HIRYUU HYOU TOPPA!!!"


====*====*====


With a scream, Ranma woke up, gasping for breath. He inhaled great
gulps of air, as if he couldn't get enough of the gaseous ambrosia. He
shuddered for a moment, and regained control in a while. He stood and
walked into the kitchen, getting a drink of water. He felt tense as he
instinctively looked for a mallet, an iron umbrella, any of the weapons
usually hurled at him at the most inopportune of times. He sighed. That
chapter of his life was closed now.

He thought for a moment on his nightmare. Why had it come back? It
was nearly half a year since he had that nightmare. 'Could my mind be
telling me something?'. He shook his head at the absurdness of the question.
He was no Psychologist, but the Idea seemed too farfetched, even for
someone whose life use to embody the phrase "May you live in interesting
Times."

He glanced up at the wall clock hanging on his apartment wall. Damn,
it was almost morning. He cursed for a while on his loss of sleep. Well,
he sobered, at least I'll have time to work on my Homework.

Ranma contemplated the time when he had lived in Nerima. He lived
in that hellhole of a town for almost a Year, Silently taking things as
they were, not bothering to make an active effort to change the flow of
events. In all that time, he had hidden his true abilities, both mental
and physical, from the deranged residents of the Tokyo ward. He actually
had no trouble with school, but had to keep up the 'dumb jock' image for
the benefit of the public, and his true skill level, so his rivals would
keep on underestimating him, and protect himself better from the schemes
of the local blackmailers. He kept on the facade for the entire duration
of his stay, absorbing the influx of knowledge and skills that led to the
growth of his already impressive abilities. It all changed after the
Incident in China. He had done again what was previously thought
impossible. He had killed a god. All of a sudden, everybody had a true
inkling of his power, and coveted it all the more. His rivals grew more
jealous, The Fiancées, more fanatical in their quest to possess him, and
Akane grew more violent and short- tempered. So he decided on a
course of action.

Surprisingly, Nabiki and his Mother were the most supportive. He
first went to China to collect the favor from the dragon prince,
Herb, to borrow the chisiuiton, eliminating his curse. Regrettably, he
had to have himself disowned to clear all engagements without a loss of
honor, with Nodoka threatening the fathers with seppuku. The girls were
politely but firmly rebuffed, claming the impossibility of fulfilling all
obligations. The Kuno siblings were sent to a mental Hospital. He gave
Ryouga the last bit of pure Nannichuan and then beat him bodily for a few
hours, threatening to kill him if he ever bothered him again with his
usual spiel of "Ranma, prepare to Die!". And Cologne was taken care of
by the threat of scattering the entire Joketsozuko tribe to four the winds.
After all that, he had a long talk with Akane. He explained that he
didn't love her, but would like to remain her friend. As usual, Akane
only heard what she wanted to hear, and then attempted to brain him
with her hammer. He fled before things could degenerate even further.

But that was not the end. Oh no, they just HAD to be stubborn.
And that was when he blew up. He didn't remember most of what happened.
All he knew was that when he gained coherence, the park he had visited
was replaced with a smoldering wasteland, and people were lying unconscious
everywhere. He had not stayed longer in Nerima after that.

He looked all over Japan for a relatively normal town, then
settled in a nondescript apartment. His Mother had given a sizable bank
account, her moneyed background was something she had hidden from her
husband. He changed his last name to Kazeno, and loosened his hair to a
ponytail reaching his lower back. Ranma then enrolled at a nearby High
school, and thought he'd finally have a semblance of a normal life.
But stranger things began happening. Ranma became subject to peculiar
'Visions'. In It, he would see gigantic, metal war machines duking it
out within the school grounds, but with no apparent effects on the
landscape. He even gave the white Mecha he often saw a nickname.
Often, students would find him staring through empty space, seemingly
zoned out, and a with grimace of apprehension. This earned him the
nickname "Paranoia-san", and was the subject of jokes by the student
body. Ranma of course paid no heed to these, but he often wondered
what would happen if he wasn't plagued by such visions.

After eating a hearty breakfast, he hastily put on his school uniform
and ran out of his apartment. He waved absently to Fujita-san, the
apartment owner, and proceeded towards his school. Normally (for him, at
least) he would've started to roof-hop to his destination, but early in
the beginning he resolved to stick within the confines of mundanity to
prevent unnecessary attention. That ruled out roof-hopping. So he ran to
school at what he considered low speeds (30 miles/hour). In minutes
Ranma arrived at school with plenty of time to spare. Then the whispering
began.

"Hey, here comes Paranoia-san!"

"Look at him, acting all so cool."

"Yeah, like he's some kind of Idol."

"Why do crazy loons always think they're at the top of the world?"

"Any second now, he's gonna start a trance!"

"Who does he think he is, blowing off Kimiko-san?"

"What!? The second most sexiest girl asked him out?"

"HE turned HER down?!"

"He IS a nerd, after all."

"Probably thought she'd stick a knife to him when he'd turned his back."

"Mr. Paranoia would deserve it too!"

"He's probably gay or something."

Ranma tried not to pay any attention to their speculations, and walked
stoically towards his Homeroom. But it was really hard when their whispers
seemed like Screaming to his heightened senses. Besides, some of the things
they said really grated on his nerves. Besides, he preferred the guys' comments,
in a manner of speaking. Animosity, he could stand. Guys usually treated him
like he was the 'enemy of all women' anyway. The women, on the other hand...

"There he is, there he is!"

"[sigh] Those ice-blue eyes just gives me the shivers."

"Oh Ranma-sama, to be your arms for even one night..."

"Forget one night, how about a week!"

"Do you think he'd last that long?"

"I know he would! Just look at that body..."

"They say he's not quite right in the head, you know."

"Then I'd take the time give him some...private examinations."

"Did you hear? Kimiko-sempai asked to a date, and he turned her down!"

"He's not...homosexual, isn't he?"

"NO! The last guy who said that to him still has a broken arm.
Ranma-san lifted him with one arm and tossed him 10 feet away!"

"He is rather strong, isn't he?"

"[sigh] Ranma-sama..."

Ranma reddened, his ears attempting to spontaneously combust. He
walked hurriedly to his classroom an took out his homework. His "Dumb
Jock" image was gone now, replaced with Ranma, the A+ student. The Student
Government once wanted him as an official, but ruled that out in view of
his "mental instability". Sighing, Ranma looked at his homework and stared
inspecting it for mistakes.


====*====*====


"...Ieyasu was a clever politician as well a brilliant general.
He was known for his patience and sense of justice. After defeating all
of his opponents in battle in 1600, he established a military government
that lasted until the 19th century..."

Ranma tuned out the droning voice of the Teacher and lay his head
on the desk, closing his eyes. In spite of his "Nerd" status (at least,
according to the guys), Sleeping during class was still one of his favorite
pastimes. It was of one the things he never bothered to erase from his
past life. That, and his Chinese shirts. Besides, He already knew about
the topic beforehand. He'd just ace it in the next test. 'Heh.' he
thought. 'Wouldn't Nabiki, and everyone be surprised to know that "Mr.
Macho-Martial Artist" is now "The god of Nerds". I bet Pop's frothing in
the mouth right now.'

"Psst. Hey, Ranma!" came an urgent whisper from his left.

Ranma turned his head on the desk and faced Ichiro, one of his two
hang-around buddies.

"What now?" Ranma asked with half-lidded eyes.

"Hey, I heard from the grapevine that Matsuoka Kimiko asked you out
on a Date! And YOU turned HER down! What gives?!"

"Yeah, Kimiko-san is soooo hot! Why didn't you accept, man?" Exclaimed
Hyuga, the second of the Duo. "If I were you, I'd have jumped on the chance
in an Instant!"

'And jumped on her, too, given the chance' Ranma snorted. "Right. But
you aren't me, and I don't think about girls all the time. So why don't you
guys just control your hormones and leave me alone for the moment."

"Man, that was a chance of lifetime! She was at your absolute control
at the moment, she'd have done Anything you'd asked her to!" Drool began
leaking out of the corner of Hyuga's mouth.

"Ranma! You sly dog, you!" Ribbed Ichiro.

Annoyed, Ranma raised his head AND voice. "Look you, morons,
I don't have to jump on every girl I meet just because she's..." he
paused. His hand flashed out in a blinding blur, and came up holding
three pieces of chalk between his digits.

"Damn..." He mumbled.

"Kazeno-san!" the Teacher screamed, angry that justice had been
thwarted again by the Bane of his Existence, Kazeno Ranma. "While you
may be this school's finest scholar, and the Principal's own Pet, this
does not give exclusive rights to disturb my Class!"

"Huh? But I didn't do..."

"In the Hall, NOW!"

Sighing, Ranma did as he was told. "Hai, Sensei"



====*====*====



Finally, School ended. Ichiro and Hyuga left early, claiming to
have prior commitments, no doubt to scope out and 'attempt' to pick up
some girls. He had to hand it to them, If they didn't succeed the first
time, they'd try, and try, and try, and try again. Until the girl grew so
irritated she slapped them and leave in a huff. Ichiro and Hyuga wore
them proudly, like badges of honor. He stayed late at the Library, needing
to research something, so the only people left were the sports club
fanatics who worked out till they dropped dead to impress the chicks.
Gathering his books, he left the library and headed to the nearest phone.
Taking out his palmtop (beats the hell out of having a paper notebook,
Especially when on is able to type with Amaguriken speed), he check his
mail to see if the application he'd sent to Tokyo University concerning an Investigatory Project was received. He noticed someone coming, but paid
her no heed. The said person stopped at the phone booth, apparently waiting
to use the phone.

"I'll be finished in a moment. Just wait a second, willya?" Ranma
said, not even turning around to face her.

"Kazeno Ranma, I presume." It was a statement, not a question.

"Huh?" Puzzled, he turned around and looked at the speaker. He saw
a beautiful girl standing in front of him, a slight smile on her face.
That smile usually reminded him of Shampoo or Nabiki, and no good ever came
out of it. She looked vaguely...catlike with that expression on her face.
With some trepidation he addressed the girl. "Yes?"

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Sanada Mitsuki." said the girl said, her
face clearly showing her amusement as she waited for some sort of reaction.
She was met with blank looks and a puzzled frown.

She waited for an acknowledgement.

Ranma continued to stare at her. She was quite pretty, now that
he thought about it. But after Nerima, he tried to stay away from things
that would possibly complicate his life. And girls (especially pretty
girls) were definitely the chief sources of trouble.

She twitched, silently prompting him to speak.

"And?" Ranma waited for her to continue.

"Doesn't the name seem familiar?" Mitsuki said, a little miffed.

"No. Should it?" Mitsuki's eyebrows twitched. He didn't recognize
the most popular girl in School?

Suddenly, Ranma's eyes widened. " You're not some sort of Super Martial
Artist out for revenge, are you?" he backed away a bit.

"Huh?" Now it was Mitsuki's turn to be Puzzled.

"Or a..." Ranma tried to swallow a big lump on his throat. 'I thought
I'd left it all behind! Damn you, you stupid Panda!' Once again, he tried
to get it the words out. "A...a...Fiancee?" He gasped the words out fearfully.

"Nani?" At this point, Mitsuki was seriously beginning to believe the
rumors circulating around campus.

Seeing the blank looks of incomprehension on her visage, Ranma relaxed,
tugging at his collar. "Whew! And here I thought you were another...never
mind." he trailed sheepishly. "So, what can I do for you?" 'Please, not a
date, not a date...'

"I'm very interested..." She began.

'Oh, NO!'

"...In your Visions, Kazeno-san." She finished.

"What?!" This was the farthest thing he had in mind. Most students
actually knew him well enough not to mention his periodic 'Episodes' in
his face. "What do you mean, My Visions?" his stance became vaguely
aggressive.

"Your Visions. You see things most of us cannot. That makes you
very interesting, Kazeno-san."

His expression became rather abrupt, almost downright rude. "If you
will excuse me, Sanada-san, I have some things to attend to." He turned
his heels, and walked away from the booth.

"Wait, Ranma!" She called out, walking after him. "I'm not trying to
make fun of You!"

"Look, Sanada-san, I have no time to entertain your flights of
imagi..." He trailed of, his eyes glued to the scene unfolding before his
eyes.

Mitsuki noticed this, an quickly grabbed the phone on the side.
"...Yes, he's here. I'm speaking to him right now, while he's currently
having one of 'Them'..."

Ranma was frozen by the apparitions that danced in front of his
eyes. Its happening again! He couldn't move a muscle, seemingly motionless.
The two apparitions resolved into shapes, and before him, stood two
mechanical behemoths locked in battle.

"You see them, don't you? These Visions, what do they show you,
Ranma?" Mitsuki intoned besides him.

"Two Huge Robots are fighting in front of the school." Ranma answered,
in spite of himself, his voice a deep monotone echoing in the halls. "The
white, humaniform one which I dubbed 'Halzeenen' just stumbled after a
volley of artillery shells hitting its armor. The bigger, bestial Mecha
keeps on attacking the Halzeenen, is advancing as if preparing to fire
its main weapon." Ranma felt oddly detached from the experience, as if an
observer of his own body.

Suddenly, the Beast-like mecha turned, facing the direction of the
school, and incidentally, Ranma. It gazed at him with a massive, cyclopean
eye, and suddenly launched a huge missile at him. Ingrained battle instincts
took over his lethargy, and immediately he raised an open palm in front of
him. An intense aura flared around him, invisible to all but the strongest
of martial artists, but the azure energy gathering at his palm would
surely be felt even by the blind. Mitsuki's eyes widened at sight of
the blue radiance collecting at his extended arm, instinctively warding
her face at the glare.

Ranma prepared to release the gathered Ki into a spherical shield
around them. If it was just him, he'd just gather enough Ki for protection,
and let it hit him. He needed to keep a low profile after all. But with
an innocent near him, that was not an option. Before he could enact
his plan, the Vision stopped, and he was once again inside the confines
of the school hallway. He blinked, then lowered his arm. He inhaled
deeply, and exhaled noisily. Suddenly he remembered something. He was
not alone. Oh no! Sanada-san!

Mitsuki took a shaky breath, and turned her wide eyes to his face.

"So its true, You really do see things."

Ranma stepped away, gathering the bag he had dropped. He stared at
Mitsuki for a second, and she felt naked at his glance. "I saw nothing.
If I were you, I'd forget everything that happened today. Good Day,
Sanada-san." And without further ado, walked out of the hall.

Mitsuki stood for a moment, taking everything she knew into account
to explain what had just happened. When she saw her quarry walking out,
she decided to figure it all out later.

"Ranma, wait!"



====*====*====


The sports club were not truly a registered school organization,
per se. They were just a collection of athletically inclined high school
students who considered sports to be all there is to life, with the
exclusion of everything else (they were dumb jocks who knew how to toss
a ball). Most students generally ignored them, even their fellow athletes.
All they did the whole afternoon were practice their respective sports,
and scope out the female half of the school population. And of course,
make fun of the local 'Head case'.

"Hey look, its the weirdo!"

"Ha! look at him go, like he owns this school."

"Like, totally, he's a real nut!"

"Maybe, the..." the soccer player stared at something he'd never
thought he'd see.

"He's...he's...touching Miss Sanada!" He nearly screamed.

"WHAT!?" exclaimed a dozen more.

They saw Ranma, apparently walking away from the field, bag in hand,
when Mitsuki suddenly came at his side, taking his arm. The horde saw
him shake off her hand , and walk away faster.

"How...DARE he do that!"

"Attempting to sully Miss Sanada's Honor!"

"Unforgivable!"

"He must be punished!"

"The vengeance of heaven is slow but sure..." Lightning crackled
in the distance.

The Horde began to assemble, and attempt to formulate a plan,
one that was sure to put the Weirdo back to his proper place-at the
bottom of the food chain.



====*====*====



"Ranma! Stop for a minute, will ya?"

Ranma didn't even glance at her direction. "Go home, Sanada-san."

"Please, call me Mitsuki."

"Very well. Go home, Mitsuki."

Mitsuki was becoming a little frustrated. Most of the guys she
knew would have given an arm just to talk to her, and here was one
that didn't pay her any attention! She tried again. " Ranma, listen to
me awhile, that's all I ask."

Ranma kept walking, but stared at her with the same intense gaze
of his Azure orbs. Mitsuki idly noted that this was the first Japanese
male she'd seen with blue eyes.

Ranma finally answered. "No tricks."

She frowned, but said, "Yes, no tricks." What had turned him so
suspicious?

"One, two, three, four! One, two, three, four..."

The Sports Club came out of nowhere and as nonchalantly as
possible grabbed him in their arms and jogged away in the same heartbeat.
They carried Ranma to a secluded place inside an Alley.

"Hey, Kazeno! We don't you talking to Miss Sanada anymore, ya
hear?"

"Yeah, she's ours, you know!"

"Only the exalted, top specimens of the School Athletics
Department are allowed to date Miss Sanada!"

"We don't want any nerd or weirdo associating with her."

"She's probably scared that you'd be stalking her!"

Ranma forced himself to close his jaw and answered back. "I wasn't
asking her for a date!" He hollered. "And for your information, I can
speak with whoever I want! Why don't you idiots bother somebody else, or
better yet, get a real life!"

They only laughed at him. "You're getting a little uppity, Kazeno."
The group sniggered. "Hey, Guys, why don't we reach Mental-boy here a
lesson?"

That remark was met with a chorus of agreements and positive replies.
Ranma grew disgusted at their display.

"I don't have time for this." He pushed the swimmer who was blocking
his way, but the rest of them began to cover the exit of the alley.

"Why don't you make time, Nerd." the Baseball player sneered.

Ranma's eyes narrowed, and the Fanboys could feel the air grow cold,
especially the swimmer. Some of them started to think that this was a Bad
thing to do.

The Soccer player cheered them onwards. "Guys! This is for Miss
Mitsuki! We can't let This nobody have his way with her, can we? We have
to teach him a lesson that he'll never forget! Who's with me?"

The Hentais, Their hearts lightened by the Inspirational speech,
shouted their individual battlecries, then shouted all as one-

"CHAAAAAARGE!!!"

Ranma grinned, a facial contortion that would provoke nightmares
from the idiots who dared attack him. That was the screams of pain and
terror started.



====*====*====


Mitsuki gasped as she rested from her exertions. When the group
of morons who pestered in school came by and grabbed Ranma, She was
so perplexed by the strange events that had happened since this afternoon
that she lost a precious few seconds gathering her wits together. By
the time she had regained her faculties. they were already gone for a
minute.

'Those idiots! Why did they do that? The hentais probably plan on
beating him for daring to even talk to her. No wonder she didn't have
much of a social life! I can't get one lousy date because they keep scaring
my prospects!' Her eyes began to lose focus, as she thought about the true
unfairness of life. 'Oh, kami-sama. Will I forever remain the beautiful,
unplucked flower? Where is my Handsome Gardener, who seeks to claim my
wondrous scent for himself?'

Pedestrians stared at the Zoned-out girl, who ran like demons
were chasing her, and wondered at the general condition of her sanity.



====*====*====



After 45 minutes of searching, Mitsuki finally saw Ranma walking
out of an alley, some sort of stain covering a sleeve. Immediately, she
glomped him fiercely, crying out with relief.

"Oh, Ranma! I thought they'd hurt you."

He laughed. "Them, hurt me? They couldn't even lay a finger on me."

Mitsuki sighed. "I'm so glad."

"Um, Mitsuki, you can let go now."

Blushing, she released him from her grip. She'd just felt so warm
and comfortable in his embrace that she'd forgotten all about her original
purpose. "Oh, right." She was sure her face was crimson from embarrassment.
"Ranma, about what I said..."

"What did you want me for, Mitsuki?"

"About these Visions? I believe my father can help you."

He stopped in his tracks. "What?!"

Mitsuki repeated. "I think my Father..."

"I heard you the first time." Ranma tried to scope it out at all
angles. This guy could be one serious headcase, and his daughter could
only be humoring him for her father's benefit, or even exploit him for
some sort of weird lab experiment. On the other hand, there was one girl
who sought to understand him (unlike an uncute tomboy he used to remember),
and her Father night even be able to help him understand the cause of
these Mental flashes. It was a long shot, but stranger things had happened
to him. Besides, he'd make sure he'd be getting something out of this.
He turned back to Mitsuki.

"Alright."

Mitsuki smiled widely, and then grab his arm like she did earlier.
"Well, come on. Let's go to my house!"

"What? Right now?"

"Of course!"

He sounded a bit annoyed. "In case you haven't noticed, my sleeve's
covered in milk(1). I can't go meeting people like this."

"But we have to meet him today!"

"Look, it'll just take me 20 minutes to go home, change my clothes,
and then come back. Why don't you wait in that cafe over there?"

"Oh, alright." she was mollified.

"And Mitsuki?" He turned back.

"Yes?" There was a hungry look in his face. Mitsuki recoiled a bit.
He wasn't a Deviant, was he?

"I expect a free meal from you."

Mitsuki had never facefaulted before, but Ranma observed that she
was pretty good at it.



====*====*====


"So, is this your house?" Ranma wore a pair of baggy black cargo
pants, black low cut street sneakers, and his standard red long-sleeved
Chinese shirts. It made quite a nice combination, he'd found out. He
had tied his hair in usual pigtail, something he hadn't done for nearly
half a year. Mitsuki had a strange look as she glanced at his hair, but
just shrugged it off as one his eccentricities. They were in front of
the large, two story house's front gates

"Yep," Mitsuki replied cheerfully. She pressed the intercom's
button. "Father, we're here!"

She called her companion. "Come on inside, Ranma."

Just as they walked past the gates, A middle aged man dressed
tackily in a lab coat came barreling out of the front door, crying
out, "There you are!"

He grabbed him in a hug that put Tendo Soun's to shame, rubbing
his cheek against the pigtailed boy's, exclaiming, "Ahh, so this is the
wonderboy, is he?" and ground his unshaved face against Ranma's once
again.

Ranma had frozen. Scenes of Kuno, Mikado, and Happosai played frame
by frame in his mind. Finally his brain caught up, and his reflexes made
themselves known.


====*====*====


The town was suddenly startled by a high-pitched scream of 'Pervert!'
and were puzzled by its intensity. An old man sitting at an engawa idly
remarked. "Whoever said that must have had one hell of a pair of lungs."



====*====*====


'This cannot be happening to me...'

For the life of him, Ranma didn't have a clue on how he ended up
on a lab chair, trussed and restrained, with monitors and machines of
unknown purposes blinking and beeping all around him. The Weird-looking
professor with the strange hairstyle kept scanning him with an electronic
oddity that resembled a supermarket's bar-code reader, turning it this
way and that, in an effort to capture what still eluded him.

'This cannot be happening to me...'

"This is really quite exciting." Declared the lab-coated man. "I've
been working on my field for some time now, and I've never seen anything
like it before! Why, I'm certain..."

"Excuse, but just who are you?" Ranma interrupted.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Allow me to introduce myself." The 'Scientist'
drew himself up. "I am Sanada Ken, 49 years old, Genius extraordinaire.
I've been waiting to meet someone like you for a long time, Ranma."

Professor Sanada then launched himself into an impassioned
speech about topics that the pig-tailed boy hadn't even heard about, much
less understand (He was smarter and more knowledgeable, but he tended to
stay away from higher physics). After a few minutes, the topics had
unexplainably shifted to his wife, showing him a picture, proclaiming
her beauty and intelligence, then sobbingly confessed their estrangement.
By now, Mitsuki grew exasperated at her father and tore the said picture
to pieces.

A bead of sweat had grown on Ranma's forehead as he contemplated
the remarkable similarities between the professor and a certain emotional
martial artist.

"Yeah, well this is all well and interesting, but Mitsuki here
claimed that you could help me. So, could you tell me why I keep having
these periodic episodes that seems right out of the Twilight Zone?"

Professor Sanada straightened, putting his hands behind his back,
and adopted a Lecturers tone. "Are you familiar with the theory of
parallel worlds?"

'Oh great, he's one of those Weird science fanatics.' He thought
morbidly. "Not really. Perhaps you could enlighten me."

The Professor smiled, as prepared to discuss a subject he was very
familiar with.

Before he could start into his diatribe, a monitor beeped, and
printed a out a set of results. Professor Sanada scurried to examine it,
squinting at it this way and that.

Ranma was curious, as well as irritated by the fact that he was
still tied to the lab chair. "So, what does it say?"

Professor Sanada looked at him with a serious expression, as if
about to deliver news of dire events.

"Well, it says here..." He began.

"Yes..."

"...That you're completely normal!"

Ranma would have facefaulted, if he could.

Mitsuki buried her face in her hands. "Oh, Father, Father..."

"Hmm, I must have missed some important variable..."

The pigtailed-boy rolled his eyes. 'Your Stupid machine doesn't
know jack, old man.'

"Well, The field of Parallel Dimensions isn't quite an exact
science, yet." He explained. "In theory, there exists a parallel Dimension,
one that mirrors our very own, except there are a few minor differences.
It is virtually identical to this world, and everyone that exists here
should, in theory, have a counter-part in this 'mirror world'." He shook
his fist into a righteous pose. "I've been studying in this field since I
was a young man, creating several hypotheses about its existence. I've
been arguing about its validity to the Scientific community for a while,
now."

'Let me guess, they threatened to stone you for hypocrisy.' Ranma
thought snidely. "But what does it have to do with me?"

Professor smiled. "Some people are said to have such extra ordinary
senses that they can actually 'see' the distortion of space itself," He
explained. "They sometimes, these 'gifted' people could observe events
that are totally different what exactly happens in real-time. Hence,
the 'Visions'. To this extent, I've actually come up with a device that
could, hypothetically, allow a test subject to travel to this 'Parallel
World' and observe the differences between to the two Dimensions."

Mitsuki was slightly shaking his her head, brown locks swaying
with her head.

"Really?" Ranma's curiosity was hooked. No matter how thin-
brained an idea it may be, with an actual device to tinker with,
it did seem very possible at the moment.

"Of course!" The Professor puffed his chest in pride. "In fact,
your sitting on it right now!"

"What!?" Ranma grew very nervous at this point. He didn't like the
idea of being on an untested machine commandeered by a slightly deranged
Lab-coat. Only common courtesy prevented him from tearing his seat apart
and causing unnecessary damage to his Hosts' property.

"Don't worry, I won't use it yet. Until I've figured out all the
bugs, I won't be sending any live subjects with it for now."

'Whew!'

Mitsuki tried not to sigh with resignation at her Father. She
sat on a fairly comfortable contraption behind her.

"If I had my way, you won't be sending anyone through it at all!
Honestly, the very..." She trailed off, noticing her Father looking
at her with horror.

"Huh?"

"Mi...Mits...Mitsuki!" Sanada stuttered.

Ranma suddenly had weird feeling, one that strangely familiar.
Whenever he felt like this, Akane had always been kidnapped, or another
fiancee showed up, or one of his rival came up with another 'invincible'
Technique to defeat him. He broke into cold sweat.

"Mi..Mitsuki," Sanada tried to swallow a lump on his throat.
"Y..you just turned my Machine on!"

"Nani?!" Quickly, she turned around to look at her impromptu seat.
Behind her, one of the levers that comprised a crude control panel had
been depressed.

Alarms and other assorted klaxons had begun to shriek, signaling
the activation of his alleged Dimensional Transporter.

"Wha...what's happening to me?!" Ranma stammered in a combination
of fear and puzzled anxiety. He found that he had suddenly lost all
strength to control even the most superficial muscle group in his body.
Bright lights had started to surround his sight. Strange shapes and
symbols circled in front of him, cavorting in an erratic dance that
seemed to have no particular tune. Finally, a hauntingly familiar
shadow began to emerge behind it all. A vaguely human form that he
could have sworn he'd seen somewhere. All through it all, the background
had become a chaotic tangle of frantic limbs and clanking switches.

"Father, we have to do something!"

"I'm trying!"

"Well, try harder!"

"Maybe this will do it..."

"Hurry up!"

"I can't! These are very sensitive instruments you know. A little
miscalculation and..."

"There's no time to explain! Just stop this thing!"

"Theoretically, I could disconnect the external power conduit
that controls the field generators, and accelerates the speed of
sub-atomic..."

"Huh?"

"...I could unplug it. Turn it off, you might say."

Mitsuki resisted the urge to brain him right there and then.

"Then do it!"

But it was too late. The Machine had reached it critical level,
and Ranma now knew the curious sensation of having your body atomized
into its component particles, and transported through a tear in space-
time. All he could do was scream soundlessly and become a silent observer
to his own fate. Then everything turned white, and he knew no more.



====*====*====


Mitsuki could only stare at the space that used to be occupied
by a reluctant High School student who had unwittingly become the
first passenger of the supposedly untested device, created by none
other than the eccentric Professor Sanada Kensuke. She had never
wanted any of this to happen. She only sought to help her Father
in his research, and possibly provide assistance to a pig-tailed
boy who had been plagued by justifiably traumatic episodes that
could shatter his fragile mentality. Instead, she had condemned
Ranma to a World that he knew nothing about. A place, quite
possibly, where the normal rules of Physics might not hold sway.
She knelt to the floor, tears running down her flawless cheeks,
asking silent forgiveness to any passing kami that would deem
her worthy of absolution.

Sanada could only bow his head in shame. "Mitsuki, I..."

Mitsuki's continued unabated. Ranma was such a nice boy. He
didn't act like the typical hormone-controlled guys that pestered
her at the campus. Most of the males she knew tended to treat her
like a Prize to be won at any cost, to be possessed and paraded
like a possession. She couldn't even hold a decent conversation
with any of them, since they usually stared at her breasts instead
of her face (not that her face wasn't attractive enough.

But Ranma was...different. Not in a strange way, but as if
he was something...special. Someone that was one-in-a-million, a
one of a kind person that she would be lucky to know. He didn't
stare at her like a lecher, but talked like a *Man* that considered
her a person, that a sexual object. She promised a solution to
his curse, while Ranma looked at her with trust and hope. And then
she...

...Let him down.

Suddenly, an idea sprouted in her mind. It would be dangerous,
she knew. Coherent thought seemed far from her consciousness, though.
She made a mistake, and she would have it corrected, even at a high
price. The theory seemed sound, yet with its inherent dangers.

But it would send her to her destination.

"Father..."

Sanada answered softly. "Yes...?"

Mitsuki didn't beat around the bush.

"Send me after him."

The Professor took a step back. She had actually considered this?

"But...it could be dangerous!" A parent's protective instinct
surfaced. "Who know what could happen? You could..."

"There is no time to argue about this! Its our fault for dragging
him into this mess! We have to do something!"

"Mitsuki..."

"No! We have to do this!"

"Mitsuki..."

"He could need serious help! He probably didn't bring enough money!
Who knows what might..."

"Mitsuki..."

"Father, we just have to do this!"

"Mitsuki..."

"WHAT!"

Professor Sanada sighed. His daughter was remarkably stubborn and
strong-willed. Once she wanted something, she didn't stop until she got
what she wanted.

'Just like her Mother,' He thought, 'but without the not-so-nice
traits.' He motioned for her to sit down at one of the stools.

"I was going to suggest to prepare for a day, before going after
him." He said. "With some preparation, we could make this trip safer,
with a much greater chance of success."

He stood up wearily, feeling more like an old man than he'd ever been
his entire life. His daughter stood up with him.

"Come on. The sooner we begin with packing, the sooner we can start
the 'rescue mission'."


====*====*====


Blinking slowly, as if just waking up from a most restful sleep,
Ranma opened his eyes, mentally whisking the cobwebs from his brain.
The smell of musty, stagnant air assaulted his olfactory organs. He
flinched a bit from the odor. Gradually, his eyes started to adjust
to the darkness of the room. Having a bit of information on his
general location, he attempted to stand, tearing the straps from his
chair. Only to find out that all his considerable strength had left
his body. He fell down on the dusty floor, gasping a bit as a wave of
sudden weakness rendered him temporarily paralyzed.

'What the hell?! I didn't even feel nearly as weak after
fighting Saffron, or after Miss Hinako *disciplines* me. What in
the world is going on?!'

He was puzzled, and a little bit frightened by this situation.
It was as if somebody had drained every bit of his monstrous reservoir
of Ki, which was quite a feat actually. Leaving only enough for him to
survive, barely. To drain that much Ki meant that someone had the
equivalent of a nuclear reactor's energy supply stored, or _used_,
somewhere.

Finding his dilemma somewhat annoying, Ranma started to gather
ambient Ki from environment. Painstakingly, the trickle of energy
was collected and absorbed into his body. He slowly started to regain
some of his strength. He stopped the gestalt after a few minutes. He
really was too weak. In his weakened state, the technique would do more
harm than good. At least he would be up and walking.

Standing on rubbery legs, he stood and looked around. He was
in a familiar room.

Of course! The Machine! Mitsuki!

'Wait a minute. I'm the only one here!'

Ranma remembered about the last things that happened. First, the
Doc. Then Mitsuki turning the darn machine on. Then, bright lights
flashing. Finally, lying on the floor, weak as a baby. Now, no one in
the room but him, and it looked like everything's been covered in dust,
as if no one had ever lived here for some time.

'Oh, man. This looks like a nightmare straight from one of the
episodes of the "X-files"!'

He paced a bit, his feet gouging furrows in the dust-covered
floor of the lab. 'Okay, lets be rational about this. There's obviously
no way I'd get any information staying inside this dump. I'd better go
outside and see what happened.'

As he walked out of the house, he took the time to check the things
he'd carried with the Hidden Weapons technique (It pays to have a bag
of weapons always hidden with you, after all).

'Lets see now. Palmtop computer, some duct tape, a spare change of
clothes (better safe than sorry), a spare battery pack. A couple of
thousand in assorted bills, The book of the Five Rings, and Sun Tsu's
'The Art of War'. Mother's Katana (hey, it was here all this time!),
and finally, some martial arts scrolls. Not quite what I had in mind,
but better than nothing.'

Finally, making sure he didn't leave a mess, Ranma stepped out
of the house. The sight of the outside world made his jaw drop to the
ground in disbelief.



====*====*====


Ranma had been walking for some time now. Yet still, there was
no signs of life anywhere. The city had become a virtual Ghost Town.
Everywhere, there was an absence of any sort of human activity. This
fact was enough to make him shiver.

'This city should have been sprawling with people! What happened
here?!' Feeling like Ryouga often did, he felt it appropriate to do
what he the Eternally Lost Boy usually did whenever he found himself
geographically disoriented.

"WHERE IN THE WORLD AM I NOW!!!!!"



====*====*=====


Bereft of any other ideas, Ranma finally hit upon the idea of
using the payphone to jack his Palmtop and hook up with the Net. Normally,
or if he was feeling a bit better about the whole 'Parallel World'
thing, he'd logically decide to open a News site and inspect the Current
Events section. But the situation could be excused to the general
detachment he usually felt whenever encountering something that most
people described among the lines of 'Eerie' to 'the Epitome of Weirdness'.
What he did was type the URL of his homepage, in the faint hope of
making sense of things. After entering the address, he pressed Enter.

'What the Heck?! [error 404. Not found]?! What IS the matter with
this thing!?!'

Ranma could no longer stand still, and paced nervously beside
the phone booth. Sure, he' seen some weird things. But for the entire
population of a city to disappear-its was downright scary!

'Calm down, fool. Everything's cool. There has got to be rational
explanation for all of this. You left Nerima a long time ago. Things
SHOULD be rational...right?"

It started only as a flicker in his senses. For Ranma though, it
was jarringly loud. A...shockwave. 'No, a series of shockwaves. Around 15
kilometers from my current location. Regular, almost rhythmic, impacts,
like a Giant, two-legged Robot walking...'

He needed no other prompting than that. Ignoring a feeling of dread
in his heart, he sprinted at sub-sonic speeds towards the source of the
disturbance.



====*====*====



A few minutes later, he stopped at the location he thought the
'thing' would be. He glanced around.

Nothing. There was nothing here that could have produced the
disturbance that he felt earlier. Exhaling noisily, he prepared to turn
back.

Without warning, his danger sense flared. He leapt high into air,
the remains of half a building landing where he used to be. Still in
the air, he kicked off another falling piece of a skyscraper, and another,
until he had landed clear from the danger zone. A two ton boulder was
casually shattered with a backfist before it could hit him. He frowned.
Something had hit the building, causing it collapse. From where he was
standing, he surmised that the 'something' was Really Big.

Ranma walked around the crumbling remains of a crushed bank,
and jumped a hundred feet into the air, to land on an artificial mountain
and gain a better viewpoint. What he saw made him rub his eyes, for
fear of dispelling the illusion. Blinking a few times, jumping nearer,
he made sure what he saw was real and tangible. He touched 'It' a few
more times. finally he could only mumble in disbelief.

"Halzeenen...?"


====*====*====



She had had been fighting for nearly an hour. Like a massive
prize-fighter, the Core Robot had wrestled its enemy amidst the ruins
of the once lively city. After exhausting its Ammunitions supply, the
Core Robot settled into hand-to-hand tactics, attempting to overpower
the other Machine through sheer force. But it was a doomed endeavor
from the very beginning.

It wasn't that she was an inexperienced pilot. She was the
first of the UN's premier officers, with multiple credentials in the
field of Aeronautics and Military Science. She had been the top
student when the War had started. Hours of training lent her familiarity
with the controls of Core Robot 1. All in all, she really was the ideal
Pilot for this mechanical construct. But despite all that, she would
lose.

The U.N.'s Core Units were Humanoid Mechanical frames, giving
them incredible maneuverability and control. The U.N. had decided to
opt for the design since the beginning, with the approval of the Chief
Commander. A standardized form and construction was cost-productive.
Parts could easily be replaced, and with it Humaniform design, the
Core Robot had the ability to grasp and use most UN. weaponry. So
in effect, It relied on precision, tactics, adaptability, and some
heavy weaponry to defeat its opponent. But that gave it one serious
disadvantage : once its weapons systems were depleted, It could only
resort to its ineffective melee weapon, the Tonfa. And with enemies
the size of buildings, it was unlikely that it would make a significant
difference in the course of the battle.

Rara Corps, on the other hand, settled for the Power approach.
Most of their machines had massive frames, heavy armor, and destructive,
built-in weaponry. All if its Core Robots had no standardized shape,
to them the advantage of unpredictability in battle. They lacked real
speed in battle, but they could outlast the somewhat 'inferior' machines
of the UN. Further more, Rara had incredible resources at their
disposal, ranging for some illegal weapon's manufacturers, to its
almost unlimited monetary coffers. But their true advantage came from
Ruins that Rara had discovered years ago; the real reason for the
commencement of the war...

So the UN's Core Robot took a severe pounding from the Rara unit,
finally culminating its attack by firing a massive missile from its
underbelly. The resulting explosion drove the white Mecha to its knees,
before stumbling back and landing against a building.

The Core Robot had taken too much punishment. While the cockpit
was heavily padded, the attacks had been too strong for the pilot not
to feel its effects. She was thrown like a rag doll around the pilot
seat, and shrapnel had struck her several time in a row. Her vacuum-suit,
padded and insulated for maximum protection, gave no defense against her
foe's relentless attacks. After a few minutes, her helmet had shattered,
and she was bleeding from a dozen wounds.

She had to get out. Opening the hatch, she groped for something to
support her. Stumbling a bit, the pilot managed to walk to the edge of
the hatch and glance around.

The pilot couldn't believe her eyes. There was a Man out here!
Why wasn't he at the shelters? What was he doing here? Didn't he know
it was dangerous to run around when there were two Robots creating
destruction among the streets of the city? She had to warn him!

She struggled to get the words out. But her throat hurt to much.

"Are you okay?" the Boy -or was it Man?- spoke. Everything seemed
to hurt for her.

Finally, she managed to get her message sent.

"R...ru..Run...a...away..."

Then, the pain and injuries became to much for her. Slowly, she
toppled forwards, the ground coming up to meet her.



====*====*====



Ranma couldn't believe it. First, the buildings around him crumbled
into pieces, nearly burying him. Then, 'Halzeenen' had crashed in front
of him, making him think about his mental condition at the moment. Yet
the real cattle prod in the butt was the realization that 'Halzeenen's
pilot, was in fact, a Girl!

He watched the hatch open, and the pilot walk out unsteadily,
clearly injured. Ranma fumed.

'What kind of monster would send out *Girls* to fight in his own
Bloody battles?!' He snarled silently.

It was then that the girl mumbled something to him, then
fainting as her injuries took its toll. Before she could hit the
unmerciful pavement, Ranma leapt into the hatch and caught her in his
arms. The helmet shattered, its transparent pieces dissolving into a
couple of curious, silvery puddles. A wealth of platinum blonde tresses
streamed out of the broken facemask, freed from the constraints of its
prison.

He sweated. The pig-tailed boy couldn't help but think that
he had often found himself in big trouble in this position than
anything else. Needless to say, holding damsels in distress became
something he specifically avoided whenever possible [or, to state
it clearly, he usually kept the holding part as short as possible].

'Damn, she out cold.'

Despite the urge to vacate the premises at the speed of light,
Ranma's code of honor wouldn't let him leave someone who obviously
needed his help. With some trepidation, he carried her inside the
cockpit, where she'd be more comfortable. Gingerly, as if afraid that
the slightest movement would hurt her, he eased himself beneath her.
Settling himself on the floor, he took off his red, long-sleeved,
Chinese shirt and wrapped it around the unconscious girl. After a bit
of mental debate, he lifted her in his arms positioned himself at the
pilot's seat.

It came as a total surprise, then, when the cockpit closed, and
he found himself enclosed in darkness, with only a few blinking monitors
to provide illumination.

"He...hey! What gives?" Ranma shivered as nervousness settled in
his stomach.

If only he didn't have a girl to protect, he'd have simply blasted
his way out and be done with it. As it is, he found himself in quandary,
devoid of any ideas at the time.

"Great, just great! What am I supposed to do here? Wear the hula
and sing the Kumbaya?"

Silence greeted his inquiry.

"Kami, I wish something would happen..."

No sooner than he uttered the words, he had the strangest feeling
he'd said one the 'Words you should never say just because you're Bored'.

The cockpit's hatch a brilliant green, then transmogrified into
a futuristic View screen. It showed broken buildings and the crumbling
City pavements. Then, it happened.

The steady, rhythmic pounding he had heard earlier had come
back in full force. The sound echoed inside the cockpit via the
external mikes, in full, 3-D sound. And the sound kept getting stronger
and stronger, as if its source was getting nearer to his current
location.

Finally, 'It' showed itself. It was a Gigantic Mechanical
Warmachine, resembling a sort of bipedal toad. It had extended
arms hanging from its torso, one of which was an enormous Artillery
piece, that could fire powerful, explosive projectiles.

It stopped, scanning the area for anything it considered a
threat. Then, it noticed the fallen white Mecha lying on its back.

The huge, Cyclopean eyes settled on their direction, cameras
within focusing at its target.

Ranma buried his face in his left hand (the other was presently
occupied at the moment). The feeling of dread had returned full force,
now.

"Why does this happen to meeee?!" He cried plaintively.


End chapter.



====*====*====



(1) The basketball player wasn't being given any attention for the
moment, so he threw a half-empty carton of milk he found at a
dumpster at Ranma. Turns out that it was REALLY bad idea.

The Hiryu Hyuotoppa [flying dragon ice breakthrough] was the Hiryu
Shoten Ha variation Ranma used against Saffron in the battle of Jusendo.
Instead of a Whirlwind, it was an extremely concentrated Ice Tornado.

Notes:

Alright, this fic was made in response to a challenge. In case
you haven't noticed, This is a Ranma/DUAL! Parallel Trouble Adventure
crossover. The only difference in this fic from the series is that
Yotsuga Kazuki does not exist. Instead, Ranma replaces him. It chapter
was rushed, especially the part where Ranma leaves Nerima, but it
will all be explained in the succeeding chapters. I've been reading
fanfiction for quite a while now, and I've never found any Fics about
DUAL!. So I decided to put my writing skills to the test and create
my own Fanfiction. If you decide to Flame me, do be gentle. This is my
first fic written.

Send all C&C to carlopim@yahoo.com . Flames will be used to
fuel the Steam locomotive I keep in my backyard.