Dreamscape -Ranma

Ranma was not having a good time. There was a C-c-c-c… a C-c-c…. a feline right next to him. A big one. Really big. And really big felines have really big claws and really big teeth. He hadn't blacked out, like he normally would, and that scared him more. His mind was in a state of almost near shutdown,. His legs couldn't work, he couldn't get away. It was just like then.

'No daddy I don't wanna!' a young Ranma cried as his father spread fish-paste all over him. 'the kitties are mean and they hurt me.'

'Boy, you'll get back in there and learn that technique.' The tall and imposing figure of Genma demanded.

'But I don't wanna!' Ranma said

'Fine Ranma. Be weak and don't learn the technique. Take the coward's way out.' Genma appeared to grow bigger as he spoke.

'B-b-but I-I-' Ranma tried to speak.

'Your mother would be so disappointed in you Ranma. Do you want to disappoint your mother?'

'N-no.'

'Do you know what would make your mother proud and happy? If you were be a man amongst men! Do you want to be a man amongst men Ranma and make your mother proud? Or do you want to be a Coward?'

'I w-wanna make mom p-proud.'

'THEN GET BACK IN THAT PIT!' So saying Genma kicked Ranma into the pit and shoved a cover over the hole.

Ranma fell through the dark hole into the pit. Tumbling, Ranma took the fall awkward and landed on his tailbone. His legs were numb and refused to work when he tried to stand on them. He had to get up. They were in here. He knew his legs were just numb from the shock of the fall, and they would be fine in a few minutes, but he didn't have a few minutes. He had to get his legs to work right, and get out of the pit now. They would get him, and they weren't nice like the ones back home. He still remembered that one. He was a nice white fluff ball called Pamiu, and was fun to play with. He loved Pamiu, and played games with him every day. He even remembered having pretend conversations with him. Dad said that Pamiu made him weak, and took Ranma away. The ones here were not nice like Pamiu, they scratched and hurt him. Ranma tried to stand-up again, but his legs wouldn't hold him, limp as they were.

Suddenly, they were there. Lots of them. He could hear them come closer He could see some of the closest, and they all had that hungry look in their eyes. They were all thin and half starved. Ranma had learnt to recognize that look. His own face turned to fear as the closest one leapt. He tried to curl up in a ball as best he could, but he couldn't help but whimper a little as he felt the claws dig in. He felt more claws on his body, and tried not to twitch. Twitching only made it worse. He covered his face, trying to protect his eyes. The cats would tear at him some more, and then he would pass out. He could feel the darkness building inside already.

Dreamscape – Tio

Tio was young for a guardian, and didn't have much experience in how to deal with some of the more esoteric situations. So she was at a loss at why Ranma, her charge, reacted to her form, and not a little bit hurt. The large-cat form was her natural one, and although she could understand how a normal person may have reacted with fear, because the fact was she was a big predator, she didn't understand why Ranma completely panicked when she was around. He should have been happy and comfortable in her presence.

Tio watched as Ranma locked up and regressed into memory. The featureless grey landscape around them began shift into something out of Ranma's memories. She quickly made herself insubstantial and invisible; it wasn't good to interfere with someone's memories. She saw Ranma shrink down to a child version of himself and a large figure appear. Tio could only guess that the figure was Ranma's father. Her guess was confirmed as the memory started playing. She watched in mounting horror as the events started to unfold and it became apparent exactly what was going on.

Ranma was being trained in the Neko-Ken using the monstrous Forbidden Way. Her goddess had forbidden that kind of teaching the moment it was created all those years ago. All the manuals describing this teaching method should have been destroyed. It was purely a short cut, and only offered a few of the benefits of the Neko-Ken that pertained to fighting while at the same time driving the trainee insane and giving them an intense fear of all cats.

This was a disaster. Her goddess was pleased when one of her chosen had learnt the Neko-ken, but she had not been able to learn the method of teaching. Ohh how that horrible man would pay. This was a crime, and had to be corrected. But the fault clearly was not Ranma's. He was innocent, like all the others that had suffered from this technique before. It was a testament to his character, as only the good and innocent use her goddess power without dieing. But first, she needed to try and help Ranma.

Messing with someone's memories was dangerous, not only for the person that was receiving help, but for the one that was trying to help as well. To change someone's memories, you had to put yourself inside that memory, and become vulnerable to it. It also only changed that particular memory, and no others before or after it. But she was more then willing to risk herself and try and help Ranma, she had been with him in spirit since he was born, helping him as much as she could, and knew that he was a good person. It was normally forbidden to change or alter someone's memories, but she was sure that her goddess would forgive her for breaking that rule this one time.

Taking a mental deep-breath, Tio plunged herself into Ranma's memories. She materialized herself inside the pit where Ranma was, mentally tweaking it so that the hole was big enough to hold her full form. Looking around her, she saw that the cats were already attacking Ranma, and suddenly felt the compulsion to do the same. She recognized the completion for what it was; Ranma's mind trying to make her fit with the memory of the other cats. Gently but firmly she threw the compulsion off and went to help Ranma.

Not pausing for a second, Tio swept forward and carefully but quickly knocked all the cats attacking Ranma away and mentally making them disappear. After clearing all the little beasts off her charge, she examined him carefully. He was pretty beat up, scratches and bleeding everywhere. She couldn't just make him better, that would cause more problems then it would solve, and she cursed herself for not learning to make a human form properly, hybrid form would probably still scare him, but it was better then her full form.

Dreamscape -Ranma

Ranma was shivering on the cold ground, keeping his face hidden. The scratches he had hurt, but the cats had stopped clawing at him. That wasn't really a good sign. It usually meant that they were waiting for him to look up so they could try and get his eyes. He resisted the urge to look up, he knew better. He would just stay on the ground in a ball, and eventually the cats would go away. His father may come and get him sometime tomorrow if he was lucky. They were just waiting there to get him. He knew it.

"It's ok young one, they won't botherr you any more." Ranma heard a voice say. It was strangely comforting. He wasn't fooled. The felines had probably found a monster or something to finally get him. "It's ok, I won't hurt you, I promise." As much as Ranma didn't want to believe the voice, he found a part of him doing so. But he still didn't move. "It will all be all right, little one." In his chest, he wanted to believe the voice, but it was the same feeling remembered having around his mother, what few memories he had of her. But used to be the same way with his father, and look what he had done to him. "Rremember your old friend Ranma? Pamiu?" Ranma twitched a little. "Rrremember how you used to play with Pamiu, how you both had such fun together?" He had tried to forget about Pamiu. Ranma's eyes started to water. "Both you grrew up from kittens together." Ranma remembered. And he sniffled a little. "You used to talk with him. Ranma, when you talked with Pamiu, you weren't pretending. You were really talking to him." Ranma's eyes started to water up. He stayed curled in his small little ball. He remembered his talks. He remembered having one with Pamiu in front of his father, and then leaving home on the training trip shortly after. "Do you know what I'm talking about?" Ranma nodded, and started to cry a little. Dangit. Men weren't supposed to cry. "You have a special gift... I want you to make me a prromise, can you make me a prrromise Ranma?" Ranma nodded again. He didn't know why he was going to make a promise to this nice person, just that it felt right. "Your going to go to sleep, and most-likely forget all about this, or lock the memory away. But what I want you to do, is everry time you get scared like you arre now, I want you to think of your friend Pamiu. Can you prromise me that?" Ranma thought for a second the gave a short nod of his head. "Thank you Ranma."

Ranma heard whoever it was turn, and start to leave. He just couldn't let them go. But he couldn't uncover his eyes to look, the cats could still get them if he showed them. "W-wait," he had to know who he was talking to "W-who are you?"

"I'm Tio, your guardian. Get some sleep, kitten."