Prologue.

Ranma/Baldur's Gate 2 crossover.

Disclaimer: Ranma and Baldur's Gate don't belong to me. Though I wish they did.

Fulcrum; Def: A central pivot point, hinge, axis, nexus, anchor, prop, leverage.

Ranma grit his teeth in pain as his father continued the training, or as he referred to it, 'savage beating.'

"Ungrateful boy! Go back there and learn ther techniques! Are you a man at all? Or just a weak little girl!?"

"B-but, Pop! They're real strong1 I can't get in th-ugh!" The young boy, approximately nine or ten years old, curled around his father's foot in pain from the heavy blow. A slight trickle of blood flowed from the corner of the young martial-artist's mouth, making him cough weakly at the sensation.

"Silence, Boy! You will do as I say, do you hear me? Now get back there and do what I told you!" So saying, Genma Saotome lifted his limp child by the collar of his dirt-stained gi and kicked him out of the small clearing that housed their camp.
Ranma, thudding heavily into a small pile of rocks, cursed his father for a fool under his breath and staggered upright, clutching at his much-abused ribs and stomach as they protested any sign of movement.

"Stupid, Pop! They're gonna kick my ass this time! Ugh!" Retching slightly as his stomach heaved violently, the raven-haired boy struggled upright for a second time and staggered off in the direction his pseudo-landing had propelled him.
After half an hour of painful walking, the young boy came upon the large intimidating black iron gates of the secluded monastery and stopped. Swallowing slightly and wiping away the semi-dried blood at his lips, Ranma skirted the thirty foot walls until he came to the mountainside that the entire construct had been gouged out of.
Probing with his small fingers, the boy frowned and stuck his tongue from the side of his mouth as he consentrated fiercely.
A moment later and he gave a grin of triumph as a small section of the rockface came away in his hands, revealing a shallow depression just barely visible in the twilight.

"Gotcha," Ranma murmured as he worked his index finger with spit before jamming it into the depression. A moment later the sound of stone upon stone, sounding dangerously noisy in the eerie silence, revealed a small passageway in the solid wall next to the child.
Letting out a nervous breath in the ensuing silence, Ranma swallowed and ventured into the revealed passageway, praying all the while that none had heard his entrance.
Fifteen minutes later and he stood before an ornate looking door, the surface covered in strange letters and designs that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, though he knew not why.

What Ranma was unaware of, was the fact that the designs on the door were powerful wards.
Scrubbing his nose with the back of his hand, the young boy pushed with all his might at the door, breaking the central ward in the process.
In another part of the temple compound, the High Priest leapt to his feet, a look of utter horror crawling across his face.

"SOUND THE ALARM!" He screeched as he reached for his ornate staff. "THE INNER SANCTUM HAS BEEN BREACHED!" Immediately bells began to clamour loudly, raising all from their tasks and making them rush to the armoury.

Completely unaware of the panic and chaos outside, Ranma crept down the hallway, trying valiantly to ignore the squishy sensation of the floor beneath his feet. He did not want to know what was on the floor to create such a sensation. Let alone the smell that accompanied it.
Coming to a stop, Ranma eyed the large organic door before him dubiously, steadfastedly ignoring the walls to either side.
This was mainly in part to the fact that the walls looked like the innards of a gutted rabbit, something he had seen far too many times for his liking. It smelled similar too.
Shivering in distaste, Ranma pushed at the door, surprised when it disappeared before his hand could make contact.
Arms flailing widely, Ranma hit the floor and immediately scrambled to his feet, trying frantically to wipe off the disgustingly warm fluid that had deposited itself on his hands.

"Ugh, gross," he muttered, before peering about in the gloom. "Where the hell are these 'Great Secret Scrolls' anyway? Where the heck am I supposed to look?"

"Might you, perhaps, be looking for these, little Boy?"

Goosebumps crawling up and down his spine, Ranma slowly turned around and looked up. Immediately he bit back a scream at the creature floating above him: a gigantic bulbous body with a central eye set into the centre and dozens of smaller eyes on stalks and tentacled sprouting off of the top.

"Wh-what the h-hell are y-you?" Ranma stammered, trying to back away without calling attention to himself.

"I am what you humans call a Beholder, little Boy. I have been here a very long time. Ten thousand years at the last count, though I suspect that was over several thousand years ago anyway. You have no idea how boring it can be." Ranma blinked.

"Uh...r-really?"

"Yes. About the only thing I get to do about here is float and try and count the specks of dust. It gets boring after the fourteen thousandth time, I can assure you." Ranma blinked again, this time with a degree of understanding.

"Uh, yeah. I can understand that. My pop made me sit still for five days without food an' water before. It's really, really BORING." His stomach growled loudly. "Err...And I got real hungry too." The Beholder seemed to chuckle at this and bobbed up and down slightly, as if nodding.

"I see. Well, seeing as you were so kind as to break the seal on this place, I guess that I owe you a favour. Hurry up and tell me what you want, little Boy, and you shall have it. After that, I'll probably go and torture something. It's been far too long since I was able to do that. Quite fun, don't you know." Ranma sweatdropped at this, and smiled weakly, forcibly reminded that the creature wasn't quite what he had been expecting.

"Uh..well, Pops said something about some scrolls? See, I gotta be the best Martial Artist, ever. Or else...uh...I don't know what or else really. Pop never said much after that." He scratched his head in embarassment. The Beholder chuckled.

"The best, hmm? Well...I suppose I can manage that." With that, the large central eye rolled up slightly, as if in concentration, and the bulbous body shook slightly. Suddenly a swirling portal opened behind Ranma, who had barely a scant second before he felt a wall of force slam into him and catapault him through the portal.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhh-" his frenzied screaming was abruptly cut off as the portal closed. The Beholder bobbed itself, a highly satisfied air to it.

"There, that's my one good deed for my life done!" It turned about to face the horde of fully armed warrior priests and gave a mental grin. "Now back to my old favourites, torture and bloody murder!"

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"aaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH-Oof!" Hitting the ground at nearly thirty miles an hour is a good way to stop. As Ranma unfortunately found out.
"Ugh...I'm gonna throw up," Ranma muttered, and soon suited actions to words, benidn over and vomiting out the contents of his stomach. Gritting his teeth, Ranma got to his hands and knees to stand, only to find himself overshadowed. Blinking as he noticed the dim lighting for the first time, he looked up slightly and found a pair of highly polished black boots, the heels raised up around three inches, signifying the owner as being a woman. Licking his dry lips, his eyes travelled up shapely legs of dark blue skin, a studded leather skirt topped by a sturdy black leather belt, followed by a dark blue moulded breastplate, housing amble assets and topped by a dark face framed by white and blonde hair.

"Tell me why I should not kill you now," the woman stated flatly, a positively enormous hammer gripped firmly in her right hand. Swallowing slightly, Ranma essayed a nervous smile at the woman as he attempted to struggle to his feet.
Nearly collapsing, he grimaced and bowed his head.

"Dunno if I wouldn't welcome it," he muttered to himself as he attempted to rise a second time. He was interrupted by the musical sound of laughter, and looked up to see the woman holding a gauntleted hand to her mouth. Evidently she had heard him.
If it was one thing he hated, it was to be laughed at.
"Hey! Stop laughin'! Ugh!" Grimacing in pain, he clutched at his stomach and ribs, once more struggling to rise. After a moment, he noticed that the sound of laughter had stopped.
Looking up, he noticed the woman eyeing him critically and glared at her.

"Interesting. You show no fear of me. Why?" The question was obviously directed to herself, but Ranma didn't care, deciding to answer it anyway.

"Ain't got no reason to. Couldn't hit me with that thing," he gestured weakly to the war hammer, "if ya tried!" The unknown woman's eys narrowed dangerously and, before he could react, had a firm grip on his throat and had hauled him into the air. Grimacing in pain, Ranma glared furiously at her as he simultaneously tried to brace his injured ribs and pry her incredibly strong grip from around his throat.
His actions quickly ceased when the woman squeezed harshy, cutting off his air.

"Say that again, human?" She snarled, bringing her face close to his. He glared at her silently, digging his fingertips into the armoured knuckled of her gauntlet.

"Bite me," he croaked, kicking feebly at her face as his vision swam. He was stunned as the woman broke out into laughter, dropping him on the dirt floor roughly and slipping the haft of her hammer into a loop at her waist.

"Very interesting indeed. You really don't fear me, do you?" She leaned against a nearby pillar, decorated in blue and gold. Coughing violently, he shot her a glare as he pulled himself onto his knees.

"Why'd I gotta fear you for?" He muttered. The woman raised a golden eyebrow and smirked.

"Because I am Drow, why else?" Ranma paused in massaging his ribs and throat and blinked at her in confusion.

"What the heck is a 'Duh-row'?" Ranma asked, his face twisting at the unfamiliar word. Surprise flickered across the woman's face for a moment before a considering look replaced it.

"You do not know of the Dark Elves?" She queried, watching carefully for his reaction. Ranma gave her a strange look.

"What the heck is an...'El-uh-vu'?" Ranma asked, stumbling over his words for a second time. He was quite proud of himself actually, seeing as he hadn't been to school before. His father had promised that he would go sometime soon, but had not indicated when. Ranma thought he had to be the only nine year-old that could read and write without having been to school.
True shock flashed on the woman's face now, and she stared at him for a moment before schooling her face a second time.

"I see. Where are you from, child?" She asked carefully. Ranma grunted as he poked a particularly tender bruise and grimaced. After a moment he looked up at the woman.

"My name's Ranma, not...'child.' An' I'm from Tokyo. What 'bout you?" The woman looked confused for a moment before she blinked.

"I am Viconia, and I have never heard of this...To-kee-o. Where on Faerun is this?" Ranma scratched his head in confusion and looked at her blankly.

"What's 'Fay-roon'?" He asked in confusion. The woman known as Viconia blinked.

"I...see...you are...a planar traveller then?" Ranma persisted with his blank look of incomprehension. "I shall put it this way. How did you come to be here...Ranma?"

"Oh, well...this was this really ugly thing with loadsa eyes, really stinky too, an' he said I did him a favour, but I dunno what I did, an' then he asked me what I wanted an' I told him about me havin' to be the bestest Martial Artist in the world an' he did this really weird thing and rolled up his..uh..eye? An' then there was this huge flashin' tunnel thing an' it spit me out here, an' then I spewed over your floor. Oh...uhm...sorry 'bout that," he muttered sheepishly, scratching the back of his head just beneath his growing ponytail. Blinking for a moment and digesting the information given in a steady stream of hyper-active chatter, Viconia nodded and waved away the apology before starting in surprise.

"A Beholder sent you here?" she asked, standing up straight and eyeing him suspiciously.

"Uh...yeah. He said that was what we called 'im. Said 'e'd been around for a long time an' was really bored. I can understand that 'cause my pop made me sit for four days without food. Called it trainin', but I jus' think it was so he could feed his own belly." The young boy scowled at the dirt floor beneath his knees and took a shakey breath, grimacing as his ribs decided to loudly protest. He was startled when Viconia knelt down in front of him and placed her hands on his head, chanting softly under her breath. He stared wide-eyed as a glow formed around her hands before flying down into his face.
"Gah!" Jerking backwards in an attempt to avoid the bright light, Ranma fell onto his back, knocking what little air remained in his lungs from his body and leavin ghim bug-eyed and gasping for air. A few moments later, after sitting up, Ranma noticed that he was no longer in pain.
Patting himself down, he could find no evidence of bruising or even of his injured ribs. Boggling in astonishment he tugged off his gi-top and inspected his body - both front and back - for any sign at all of bruising. After finding none, he turned back to an amused Viconia, his jaw hanging open.

"How'd you do that!?!?" he yelled exitedly. "Ya gotta teach me ta do that! Pleeeeeeeeease?" Pleading and grovelling, it took a moment fo rhim to realise she was looking at him in disgust.
"What?" He asked, inspecting himself anew.

"I will teach you nothing, human." she spat, turning away and striding down the dark ahllway.

"Hey! There ya go with that human stuff again! What the heck does that mean!?" Ranma yelled after the departing drow woman. Huffing in frustration, Ranma crossed his legs and sat down, folding his arms across his chest.

"It means, human, that I am not one of your kind, and I will not teach one so pathetic as you, ANYTHING." The drow's voice echoed off the walls loudly, but Ranma ignored the ringing in his ears in favour of concentrating on one word.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!?!?!?" He shrieked as he leapt to his feet, his aura blazing to life for the first time in his young life. With his aura burning brightly from his righteous fury, the young martial artist had no trouble navigating along the long and twisting passageway, and tore after the departing woman as if hell itself was on his tail.
Viconia, her sensetive sight registering a rapid change in the brightness of the corridor around her, turned aroudn, expecting some form of magical spell. She was not prepared for nintey-eight pounds of furious martial artist to barrel around the corner, glowing like a miniature star before impacting with a solid flying kick to her breastbone.

"Oof!" She uttered as she skidded across the dirt to slam into the wall. Shaking her long white and gold locks to clear the cobwebs in her mind, she clambered quickly to her feet, unlimbering her war hammer in preparation for battle.
barely giving her a chance to regain her stolen breath, Ranma charged, fists and feet flying in a complicated attack pattern that had taken him years to learn, all the while dodging the deadly blows from Viconia's hammer.
The drow cleric herself was astonished at the prowess of this human child, having from his earlier boast dismissed his skill due to the ease with which she disabled him. She had forgotten that he had been injured at the time. Now, however he was most defenitely healthy, and bouncing around her strikes as if they were not even there. Receiving a hard kick to her right shoulder, followed by a numbing strike to her unguarded wrist that caused her to drop her hammer, she realised abruptly her grave mistake. Suddenly finding the world tilting underneath her, then a hard impact on the back of her skull that dazed her and made her vision blur, the drow found herself respecting the young welp, no matter what pathetic race he belonged to.
Strength was to be respected, after all.

"Think I'm pathetic now!?!" Ranma screeched, his boyish voice cracking angrily.

Is THAT what this is about1? Viconia thought incredulously. Outwardly however, she spoke differently.
"No," she muttered, blinking to clear the flashing lights from her eyes. "No, I do not. You are...very strong, Ranma." Grunting as she sat up, she rubbed the few sore spots where the young boy's strikes had gotten through her armour before looking at him. She blinked in surprise as he wavered on his feet before his eyes rolled up in his head and he collapsed limply on top of her.
"What?" She looked down at the unconscious form in her arms and blinked. He was a child after all, she supposed.
"Oh , very well." She muttered, hauling both herself and the unconscious form in her lap to her feet, before slinging the boy over her shoulder and picking up her fallen hammer and slipping it into her belt. Shifting the load on her shoulder, she turned and resumed her walk down the corridor.
She had work to do.

End Prologue.

Author's Notes: This is something I have been pondering for quite a while. I've still got to work out all of the bugs, but that'll be done soon I hope ^_^
Tell me what you think!!
Send C&C to: strider_richards@hotmail.com Please put the fic title as the mail title, so I know what it is ^_^
Flames will be perused, then laughed at.
Ja!
Strider