JAGEN
"All Become One"

By Marc Weinstein

Legal stuff: Ranma 1/2 is not mine, nor do I make any pretenses of it. The characters from that particular Japanese Manga/anime belong to Rumiko Takahashi. Jagen (Pronounced Jag-En), Marc Weinstein, and any other characters not of that manga are copyrighted to me. Any references to or appearances by Marvel and/or DC and/or any other comic book companies characters is intended solely as fan appreciation, and their characters are soleley their property. The WCWF is the World Championship Wrestling Federation. A fictional merger of the WWF and WCW. The characters mentioned from either promotion are copyright to the respective promotion.


AUTHOR'S NOTES: this is my first Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction. I was originally considering a crossover with a decided fan made version of the Ghost Rider. But decided on a semi-original kind of SI. A few notes here. I have seen a few stories already which deal with the Neko-ken and with Ranma's two forms splitting. This kind of brings those ideas together. Kind of. You will also note, that as far as this fic goes, professional wrestling is real. Being in the business myself in a small indy fed, I couldn't resist including the profession that I love into the fic. However even Wrestling is a bit warped in this fic. For example, Vampiro *is* actually a vampiric character of sorts. Kane and The Undertaker are supernatural beings, etc. You might also believe I have drawn a bit from White Wolf Games. But there is no relation at all to any of their games, unless you count the fact that Gangrel may show up.
When seen in rapid succession the * symbol indicates changes in scenes or in dealing with a specific character. A * followed by text with out qoutes and followed by another * indicates thoughts. When the * symbol is seen in qoutes with text in any way, in indicates emphasis on the word or sentence. symbols indicate foreign Languages. (Generally, that will be english or anything other than Japanese unless otherwise stated.)
Also, This fic is about 3 years in the future of the characters. That would make Ranma and Akane about 19.


"What did you say?!" Yelled Akane as she prepared to mallet Ranma over the head.
"I said I'd rather go on a date with a squid!"
Genma, Soun, Nabiki, and Kasumiall sighed in resignation as Ranma was mercilessly bashed over the head and out the doorway into the Koi pond by his fiancee.
"There they go again." Nabiki said, somewhat exasperatedly. Ranma, now in his female form clambered out of the pond, soaking wet and severely pissed. But, instead of pushing the battle with Akane, as she often did when it ended up with her curse being invoked rather forcefully, she stormed off to the dojo. That surprised everyone, including Akane, who wasexpecting a fight.
"Hey! Get back here, Ranma Saotome! I went to a lot of trouble to make this food!"

* * * *

Ranma snorted as she shut the door to the Dojo as Akane's demand for her to return rang out and was silenced about halfway through.
*Yeah, right. Dream on, Akane. I'm not in the mood to get food poisoning.* she thought to herself, but quickly put such preoccupations aside. She had more important things to do. After quickly removing her outer clothing, the redhead was left in boxers and a tank top, which did little to hide her well-rounded chest. Once wringing her water-heavy clothes, she put them aside, waiting for them to dry. After a half hour waiting on them to dry completely, she put them back on, and began to do her daily katas. These had been drilled into her by her father. To him, and to her, there was nothing more important than the Martial Arts. That was probably one of the few things she had in common with her fiancee. But Akane wasn't nearly as dedicated to the Arts as she was. Continuing her Katas, she reflected on some of the things happening around the world. While she'd never let on that she did it, she -DID- read newspapers and on occasion watch the news. Everyone felt she was a dimwit. Particularly Akane. And the fact that it hurt to know that Akane felt she was stupid was more surprising than the fact that it hurt. She'd never admit to it, but she loved the short, blackhaired Tomboy.
*Enough with the soul searching. time to go get ready.*

"Hello, Ranma." Kasumi said as he passed her in the hallway about twenty minutes later. "Ready to go?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." Ranma said with a grimace. He didn't like Professional Wrestling. It was- to put it mildly- Insane. Particularly the newly created WCWF. The promotion had just announced the beginnings of a tour of Japan. Nerima would play host to one of the 'B' shows. The main event pitted Vampiro against a man named Bad Ass Billy Gunn. He hated the idea of actually going to see the event, live. But his father had insisted that the entire family go. For two reasons. The first was so that they could spend some time together outside the house in a fun setting. The second, which was known only to Ranma and Genma, was that Genma believed that components of the Art of Wrestling could be incorporated into their own Arts. Particularly the PowerBomb, which, Ranma had to admit, he had a grudging respect for. Personally, the one move in Wrestling that he had any desire to learn was the ChokeSlam. It looked easier to pull off, and less time consuming to learn. Let his father work on the PowerBomb. If he could find anyone to teach them.
"You gonna get off your ass and get out here, Oyaji? We gotta hoof it if we want to get there before the show starts."
Genma rolled his eyes as he walked out of their room. "I've been waiting for you, boy. Now let's get everyone rounded up and get going."
With that, they headed out.

* * * *

Ranma had never been so goddamned bored in his life.
These matches were, he admitted, amazing in that these Wrestlers truly knew their craft. but it was not that which had nearly bored him out of his skull.
It was the glaring fact that he couldn't be part of it as a combatant.
Crowbar and Seargeant A-Wall continued their battle against Edge and Christian. tables, chairs, Trashcans....everything but the kitchen sink seemed to be coming into play during this -as it was known as by fans and the promotion- 'Hardcore' match. Ranma winced as a Bokken-like weapon, which he would later learn from a fellow patron that night was called simply a Kendo Stick, was smashed into the head of Seargeant A-Wall. The fact that the nearly 7 foot member of the Misfits In Action didn't even go off his feet sent a surge of the newfound respect Ranma was beginning to feel for these people.
After another hour, it had come about. The main event. Vampiro, who many said was a distant relative of Vlad Dracula, came to the ring. The music of Bad ass Billy Gunn hit. The fans erupted. Ranma then took note of how the crowd itself seemedto help the ebband flow of the Wrestlers. As though their Art took into account the fact that people enjoyed seeing these bouts, and made use of it. The match was jumpstarted by both men. Vampiro, who was already taken into the Jackhammer, and then set for a DDT, began mounting a comeback. It was then that Ranma's hair began to stand up on the back of his neck. Something was close by, something he knew only too well. Something that haunted his nightmares.
A cat.
"Ranma? What is it?" Kasumi said, noticing that Ranma had gone slightly pale.
"C-c-c-c-c-c....."

Akane knew that sound. Only one thing could scare Ranma to the point that all he could do was stutter. But she knew that pets weren't allowed in the arena, and that nobody could have brought a cat in here. She turned and searched through the crowd. But didn't find any trace of a feline. She shrugged, turning back to the match. Bad enough Ranma was slightly schitzophrenic and turned into a girl when hit by cold water.
Now he was seeing things that weren't there.

But there WAS something there. Just not where anyone expected it to be. A young man of perhaps 5' 7" in height, decked out in an Undertaker t-shirt and black sweatpants was not far from the Tendos and Saotomes. He smirked, adjusting his mirrored wrap around sunglasses, as Vampiro launched an attack off the ropes, even as his body twisted in air before landing on Billy Gunn, known as the Corkscrew Plancha. He smiled. He had been involved in only a handful of wrestling matches in the WCWF, and had then been almost immediately banned from the promotion. The Rage had gripped him in those bouts. Vampiro himself still bore marks of his battle with him a year and a half before. Still, he did enjoy the matches. And ever since he had come to Japan to be a cage-fighter, he found himself missing the Wrestling ring. He also noticed something. The black haired boy with the pig-tail seemed to be scared stiff of something. He didn't know what. But then a wave of energy washed over him as Vampiro moved away from the side of the ring near them. He blinked behind those mirrored glasses. How he had missed it before, he didn't know. But now he did, and he was stunned. That boy, somehow, had been trained in the Neko-Ken! Or at least some variation of it. It felt....corrupted. Wrong. It held a *lot* of power. But was nowhere near what it should be. He made note of the feel of the Neko-Ken emanating from the boy. He also smiled, as he reached into the Neko-Ken within himself, and used his now enhanced senses to memorize the boy's scent. He wanted to make sure he could find this kid again. He didn't seem much younger than himself. The girl had to be about 18 or so. Maybe 19 tops. The pig-tailed boy around the same. This bore a *LOT* of looking into.

Vampiro grinned.Gunn was good, he freely admitted to himself. But he was better. He could have SWORN he felt the presence of a foe he hadn't seen in almost 17 months. A possibility, he realized, since he had been banned from the WCWF and even ECW was wary of him. He knew FMW, AJPW, and NJPW hadn't signed him on. They were known for being crazy, but not to THAT degree. Of all the people in the Wrestling world, only a few people could tell him apart from other Wrestlers because of what he was. He was one. Kane, Paul Bearer, and The Undertaker were the remaining three. Had Papa Shango or The Ultimate Warrior not gone Missing In Action 7 years ago, they would have known as well. Hulk Hogan might have known. But if he did, he had never indicated that he had that knowledge. But he wouldn't have put it past him. Hogan had a way of knowing things.

Vampiro was so lost in thought, he didn't even realize until almost a split-second too late that he had been set up for the standing legbuster which had come to be called the Fame-Asser. Sometimes Vampiro marveled at how people could consider *him* sick knowing that guys like Gunn had such disgusting names for their finishers. Unfortunately, by the time that thought went through his head, his face smashed into the ring canvas, knocking him out, and giving Billy Gunn the victory by pinfall.

* * * *
Ranma shivered again. He didn't understand it. He had developed his danger senses so well, that his fear of cats had begun to piggyback on it, sending him into a shuddering fit if he got so much as within ten feet of a cat. It had taken ten minutes after the end of the Vampiro/Gunn match to stop shuddering. And even then only with help from Kasumi and Akane. Nabiki left immediately to meet with someone nearby. Genma simply rolled his eyes. He still felt disgusted by the fear Ranma had of cats. The fact that he himself was responsible for that fear still was a point he denied vehemently. But, eventually, the family headed out of the arena, and began the walk back home.
Akane watched her fiance warily out of the corner of her eye. She was still worried about that episode in the arena. The Neko-Ken, a nightly source of terror for Ranma, which she had been unfortunate enough to experience firsthand during a short trip to Hokkaido, was nothing to be laughed at.
She remembered all to well that night when he had woken up, screaming in abject terror, and had then hugged his legs to his chest, staring out at nothing as she tried to comfort him, all while he kept repeating that he wanted the cats to go away and stop hurting him. They had spent most of the night like that. She still couldn't get over how bad this fear was. She'd had childhood fears when she was a child, and had outgrown them. Mostly her fears centered around things that went bump in the night, or the overused cliche of the 'boogeyman'. But for Ranma, his fear was nothing to which she could compare her own minute fears. This was a phobia that would probably haunt him for the rest of his life. And the sad thing was, she knew that before Genma had exposed him to the horror of the Neko-Ken 'training', Ranma had probably been a very friendly child with felines. His mother may or may not have owned a cat. So the true depth of the psychological damage was probably far deeper than she could fathom.
She considered the idea of suggesting to Ranma that he seek professional help to overcome his Ailurophobia. Of course, she realized that his ego would never let him admit he needed help, or else it would direct him to insult her again. That was what really got to her about Ranma. How much of those insults were really directed by his pride and ego? She'd never really been fair to him from the very beginning of their relationship. Did he hate her now because of all the fights and arguments? She didn't know. What she felt was worse, was that she was too scared of the answer she might get, if she tried to find out.
Watching the group from the arena, and then silently following, the young man followed. He didn't have any fights in the next week or so, and his yen was squared away, in no danger of depleting or being stolen. He had time to find out what the hell was going on. For a moment he stopped, hearing something on the wind. But then passed it off as his adrenaline conjuring up things that weren't there. Leaping to a nearby rooftop, with leg power thought to be impossible for any but a few great Martial Artists, he began to silently trail the Tendos and Saotomes. The boy was a curiosity. The cat in him wanted to know more.

* * * *
To say that Koh Lon, known in Nerima as Cologne, was upset would be understating the fact by about fifty times that of saying that the Atomic Bomb was just a pea shooter. The arrival of the WCWF brought with it many individuals whose power she feared. First and foremost, was Ian Hodgkinson. A distant relative to Vlad Dracula himself. Vampiro, as he called himself, was a day walker. He could walk the daytime and nighttime. His power was nothing to be trifled with. Dale Torborg -The Demon- was here as well. And while she knew The Demon was strong, she was confident that she was stronger. But that could change at anytime. She also felt that something was coming. And that something portended the defeat of her schemes to get Ranma to wed her great-Granddaughter.
Something was here, and it could not be allowed to stand in her way. It was time to begin preperations for the removal of this problem. The first thing to do, was to localize it. That in itself should be easy.
Koh Lon smirked. This new plan would get Ranma to marry Shampoo. Now all she needed to do was remove this object of interference.

* * * *

Ranma smiled, collapsing onto his futon and settling down for the night.The day had been physically and emotionally draining.
He'd nearly gone Neko when he felt the presence of a cat in the arena. Yet Akane had sworn no cats were ever allowed in that building. That made him nervous. Akane was notorious for pulling stuff on him. She also knew of his fear of cats. He didn't think even she would stoop so low as to use that against him.
Would she?
Ranma snorted in disdain as the answer to that question refused to come to him. He quickly dismissed that line of thought however. He had bigger things to deal with, though. Kuno had- yet again- challenged him to a duel over the right to marry Akane. There were times when Ranma wondered why in God's name he even bothered fighting Kuno. After all, when he had first come to the Tendo household, he'd wanted absolutely nothing to do with the engagement, and looking back on it, he probably could have ended the whole mess by just letting Kuno have the uncute tomboy. Of course, that was back before he had begun to develop feelings for Akane. He wasn't sure which disgusted him more. Kuno's insane fixation on Akane, or the fact that he had developed his own attachment to Akane in a romantic fashion. He could easily have seen them being friends, had they not been engaged by their parents. The fights between the two however, almost seemed to be a defensive reaction on both their parts these days. A way of trying to deny the fact that they obviously had feelings for one another. A way to....
*Stop thinking, Ranma, and go to sleep before you drive yourself crazy.*

* * * *

The young man who had followed Ranma to his home smirked just a bit. He'd heard that a lot of strange things had a tendancy to happen in the Nerima ward from a few friends who'd passed through here. Most of the strangeness, it seemed, was connected to the Tendo School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts, and a young man named Ranma Saotome, who had taken residence there three years ago. Now that he got a chance to look the place over for himself, he felt like laughing out loud to the heavens. The place was so Goddamned normal looking! *This* was the source of a wel of insanity? There must have been some kind of mistake. The fact that the boy was 'trained' and he used that term very loosely, in the Neko-Ken was about the only strange thing he could think of about the boy. But that was neither here nor there. Still, this would need to be looked into as well. Best to learn what he could about this Ranma Saotome, which he figured had to be the boy he'd followed, before revealing himself, and thus risking the secret of his continued existence to the rest of the world.

* * * *

Ranma awoke the next morning, and for some reason felt an irresistable urge to begin singing 'We Are the World', a song which he'd heard a few years ago after being on the recieving end of one of Akane's malletings. He rarely sang it, feeling his father would call him unmanly, or worse, that Akane would begin teasing him over it. But it was a song he loved. Though he never could understand why. He had, without realizing it, given in to that urge and was walking past a stunned Akane and Nabiki, whom he hadn't even noticed he had been walking towards, and then past. Nabiki just stood there, brain completely locked up at such a sight. Akane had fainted dead away.....

* * * *

Soun's eyes were practically bugging out of his head. Ranma was coming down the stairs, and *singing*! And amazingly, despite such a deep toned voice, seemed to be good at it. Genma stared for a moment, and then seemed to turn ashen white. He'd never even *known* his son was capable of it. Kasumi, however, joined in the singing, turning it into a duet. The two seemed to vocally compliment each other. Ranma still hadn't noticed he'd aquired an audience. He was just too wrapped up in enjoying his singing. Even if he knew what anyone else was thinking, he didn't seem likely to have cared. He had never really thought he had a talent for singing or anything else other than the Arts. But maybe his friends and family would have a reason to argue that point now.
Of course, first he'd have to realize he was even doing this with an audience.

* * * *

Akane had finally had one shock too many. That was more than likely the reason Kasumi and Nabiki were staring over her worriedly while she lay in bed, with a cold washcloth on her forehead. She blinked a few times, wondering where she was for a minute.
"Oh...what a weird dream...I need to lay off the late night pizzas. Ranma singing..." here she began snickering a bit. "That's the WEIRDEST dream I've *Ever* had!"
"Uh, Akane, that wasn't a dream." Nabiki answered, still a little shell shocked about it herself. She proceeded to tell Akane that she had seen the same thing, and had immediately rushed her to her room after she collapsed. She also explained Kasumi singing the same song alongside Ranma for about five minutes before she could finally get her upstairs to attend to her because it wasn't until that point that Ranma had left the Tendo House, still singing, and not a word from him had been uttered as to when he'd be back.
"You mean, he actually knows *how* to *sing*? Why hasn't he ever done it before now, then, if he knew how to?"
"I have *NO* idea. But I wish I'd known before now myself. Can you imagine the money I could make off of that? He's got great tone in his voice! He obviously knew the music he was singing to in his head, and never once seemed off-key."
"Nabiki! Give it a rest for once with the mercenary streak, will you? I've never seen him do that before, and I think I might know WHY."

* * * *

Ranma was a hard man to follow, the white haired person had to admit to himself. Particularly since he was singing, so either Ranma knew he was being followed, or else just didn't care where he was going. His pursuer had a hard time sorting him from the various sounds, sights, and scents of the crowded areas of the ward he had begun to travel into. It took a solid four minutes to even regain visual contact with Ranma again.
By now Ranma had stopped singing, but still seemed to just be wandering. He wasn't even aware of the fact he was being tailed. Eventually, he found himself in fron of Ucchan's, causing him to shrug. He wasn't entirely hungry, and Ukyo wasn't even around, since she had gone out for a week-long vacation.
"Yer a hell of a hassle to track, ya know that, kid?"

To be continued.......