Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or any of the characters. This is simply a what-if situation. What if this had happened? Also, I would like to apologize to those that are waiting on me to work on "Evil Kasumi Returns" or "Ranma and the Outers" and "Primal Ranma." Although I've had many ideas for them lately. I'm just taking a slight break from them to work on some other ideas that won't get outta my head until I write them down.

They were standing at the gravesite… of Saotome Ranma, and on the headstone, it simply said… "Ranma Saotome. My precious child," but what shook him was the dates that showed he was born as well as died on the same day.

"What the… how…"

It took some time for Nodoka to compose herself and while she was glad that Ranma had not run away, she was worried about him because he seemed to be going into shock. "Genma had gone on another one of his damnable training trips with Soün shortly before Ranma was to be born. That was when I went into labor. I got to the hospital as best as I could, but I knew something was wrong…" As she spoke, her body began to tremble, but before she could succumb to the grief, she felt her son, no she felt Ranma embrace her in a hug. "When he was born I was so happy, but… there were no sounds… no crying… and then the doctor… he… he told me…" even in his arms, the memories were too much to bear and she began to cry again as Ranma held her close as though he were her real son.

As she cried, Ranma's mind was running in circles. 'Nabiki was right… I'm not pop's kid… not mom's either… but the training, the contracts… and everything… what the hell's going on? If I'm not their son… then who's am I?' Even as he thought these things, he continued to comfort the woman he'd thought was his mother.

Calming down again, Nodoka continued her tale. "When I leaned what happened… I spent several days crying, and even the funeral didn't help. Your father was still away on his trip and there was no else to help me. I… I didn't know I was going to tell your father this. He was so looking forward to you being born."

Ranma sighed. "Yea I bet he was looking forward to it."

"Several days before he was supposed to return… something happed though."

His ears perked up at that. 'Maybe she'll tell me who my real parents are?'

Not realizing what he was thinking, Nodoka kept talking. "Things were bad then… and I was scared of what your father was going to say when he got back. So I had gone into the forest some distance south of here, to my families ancestral shrine."

"We have a shrine?"

Though she was still crying softly, that receded some after hearing him still consider himself a part of the clan. "Yes… and while there, I… I felt something calling me. You see, close to the grounds there are a series of caves. We're not supposed go into them, as they are prone to cave-ins. But this time… this time I didn't care."

"But… why?"

She smiled at him, "Because I felt something… or someone calling to me."

"Calling to you?"

Nodding her head, she continued. "Yes and deep inside one of the caves… One I had never noticed before, there were several large crystal fragments."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well…" she dithered then sighed. "Most of the family never went in, but I used to explore them all the time. But this time… I found a new tunnel. I guess there must've been a tremor or something that opened the passage."

As she began to wander off the topic, Ranma quickly asked her, "What'd ya find in there?"

"Oh… that's easy. I found you, or rather you as a child."

This caused him to blink. "What?"

"There on the ground, around all these small broken crystals… was a baby… some clothes… and this…" As she spoke, she pulled out a few small crystal fragments from the basket she had carried with them. But what really got his attention, was the gold colored bracer that she handed him.

The bracer, while seemingly plain looking was gold in color and had an engraving of a horse reared back on its hind legs. Ranma's first thought was 'Wild Horse,' but then he noticed that the eyes of the horse were glowing as though the horse was mad… or possessed. "Demon Horse…"

"Demon horse?"

Ranma smiled as he looked at it, and it seemed as though memories of long ago began to filter through his mind. "Demon Horse… or Ryo-ma is what I've been called. I… I was… what was I doing… how'd I get here?" he said softly and then slipped the bracer on his arm. However, upon the bracer made contact with his skin, Ranma's body seized up and after convulsing for a moment, he fell over unconscious.

"RANMA!" Nodoka cried out as she pulled her 'son's' head into her lap.

Images, or rather long lost memories began filtering though his mind. Images of a young girl maybe five or six years old with blue hair that seemed to be in spikes, but was rather soft to the touch. There was a fondness or closeness to her even though she was almost ten years younger than he was. But before he could recall her name, it shifted to an attack, things being destroyed and him being separated from her. Then he was alone again.

He grew up, and joined a police academy at a young age. Training hard, he became a detective, and though he tried to become the partner of one special lady, he was instead transferred to another department. Before he could get very far as a detective, his partner was killed. He then made his decision to leave the police, but before he left, he gave this girl, this young lady a special gift… an orange headband after they had shared a night together. A night he promised never to forget, nor would he forget her, and yet it seems as though he had forgotten everything. Though she was slightly younger that him by maybe two years, he still cared for her deeply.

As a bounty hunter, he tracked down those responsible for making him loose that little girl… that… sister…

Despite his training, and determination, it seemed that those responsible for him loosing her, and being forced away from the one girl he loved, were going to get away. Seemingly slipping though his fingers. Desperate he contacted another bounty hunter, and she introduced him to her partner. The little creature made such an impression that he had to find one of his own. She took him to a remote part of the system and while looking for one of these strange creatures, one found him.

While it could be called a cat, or a rabbit, it was actually called a cabbit, as it appeared to be a mix of the two. But its ability to transform blew him away. Especially this one. This one was quite different from the others. While the others were brown, or grey, and even a few that were white… this one was completely black with blue eyes. He and the cabbit had an immediate connection and a lifelong friendship was born. With the help of the two cabbits and the bounty hunter, he was finally able to get his vengeance on all but one of those responsible. And that one nearly provided his death.

During the battle, he was able to severely cripple his opponents' ship, but then again, his was sent spiraling as well. Satisfied that a part of his plan worked, he didn't realize the true peril he was in. By crippling the other ship, the discharge of energy created a sub-space rift that pulled him and his cabbit ship though, while his partner and the other ship were able to get to safety.

It was here, that events began to get cloudy and confusing. He remembered spiraling out of control, and falling towards a planet and about to crash into a mountain. His cabbit was severely injured, and he tried to stave off any more injuries to himself by getting into one of the regeneration tanks. But the crash activated not only the regeneration, but the suspended animation as well. He barely knew what had happened other than crashing and then everything was black for so long.

"Ugh…"

"Ranma, are you ok?" his mother asked worriedly.

"Uh yea I…" Ranma sat up and looked around. They were still in the cemetery and he was wearing that bracer again. "It wasn't a dream…"

"No... I'm sorry. You… you're not really a Saotome."

"Huh? Oh no… It's… you see I just regained my memories."

"You lost your memory? But you were just a child when I found you."

"Well, actually… you see…" Ranma said as he tried to find a way to tell her the truth.

"Yes?" she asked expectantly.

'Oh man… how am I gonna tell her that I'm an alien and on top of that… I'm… I'm… how old am I? lets see… I was um… fifteen or so when sis an I were separated. And then I was 18 when I joined the academy. And twenty-one when I made detective and met her… and then a year later I lost my partner and became a bounty hunter.' He grinned as he thought of his love, 'an how do I tell mom that I promised her that I'd marry her when I…' When he thought of that, Ranma could not help but to laugh.

"Ranma… are you ok?"

Still chuckling he told her, "Yea I'm fine… but… oh man… Nabiki was right."

"Right about what?"

"Well, she found my birth certificate that said I was... um… well. That Ranma was one blood type, and then my blood type was on the marriage certificate… and the blood type was different."

"Oh… I... I never noticed."

"Yea, and she was wondering if we could use that to help me get rid of a few fiancées."

"Oh I see… but wouldn't that just end the Tendo and Kuonji agreements only?"

Ranma sighed, "Yea, I still have the Amazons and the nutcases after me…"

"I… I'm sorry Ranma."

"Hay, it's not your fault."

"But… but I could have told them before now… and…"

"Naw… it wouldn't of done any good. Besides, ya think they'd believe it anyway if ya told them ya found me in a cave?"

"Oh… well…"

"Come on," He said as he stood up and stretched. "Let's go back, maybe with this Nabiki'll be able to find out more."

Nodoka didn't look happy about it, but she agreed. "Very well, though I would have been proud to call you my son."

"Thanks… an I don't really remember my mom… but I know you'd be a great mom… that is if ya didn't have pops messing things up."

Nodoka just smiled as much as she could. Sadly, she knew Ranma was right. "So… what now?" she asked as she looked at the sky to see that is was getting later in the day and by the time they got home it was going to be near dark and neither one of them had eaten yet.

"Well... I think that we should…" he paused as his stomach growled, loudly. "Um… I think we should get something to eat," he said sheepishly.

She couldn't help it; Nodoka began to laugh as they left the graveyard and all the way to a food cart, especially after Ranma was splashed and became Ranma-chan. For the next several hours the two of them laughed, and ate and made their way back first to her home where Ranma saw his 'mother' to the door after Ranma got some hot water.

"Son… I mean Ranma… you can come in…"

"Naw, it'll be dark soon and I need to get back to the Tendo's. But I'll be back before ya know it. We need to go to that shrine and see if I can find more than just a few shards."

"Ok, in that case, good night, son…"

"Night… mom…" Ranma said and then left feeling a lot better than he had in a long time. Smiling, he took to the roofs and roof hopped back to the Tendo Dojo. For a few moments, he just stood along the wall as he looked at the house. "They're the first family I've had in… lets see… I was in my 20's when I joined the academy… and was an officer for a while… then a bounty hunter… and then that damn wormhole … ah hell with it…. The first family I've had in a few thousand years at least." He mumbled wryly since his ship had been buried for a long time, yet he wasn't sure how long.

Jumping down into the yard, Ranma made his way inside. "I'm back!" he called out.

"Nice of you to return Saotome," Nabiki said drolly.

"Oh my, welcome back," Kasumi said with a smile.

"Where've you been out all day? With one of your bimbo's!" Akane shouted and attacked with a mallet. However, Ranma just stepped past her as she swung without even acknowledging her accusation. Unfortunately, this meant to Akane that she missed and instead of stopping, she ended up tumbling out of the home though the door.

"BOY! You should treat your fiancée better than that! You apologize right now!"

"Oh my poor baby! Ranma how dare you hurt her like that!"

The last two things were said by the fathers as they leaped at Ranma, but when he effortlessly dodged them, causing first Genma then Soün to Land on Akane, Nabiki knew something was up. When Ranma did not even give them a backwards glance, she tried not to smirk. Especially when Akane threw her father one-way, and uncle the other way.

"So Saotome, what happened?" She asked and watched as Akane stalked up behind him as he sat down at the table. "Your -mom- said you'd be gone for most of the day."

Akane stopped suddenly and realized that she did somewhat remember Nodoka saying that earlier. Yet even remembering this, she did not sit back down.

"Well, we talked about a number of things. Oh and you were right."

"Aren't I usually, but really what am I right about this time?"

He chuckled. "About my blood tests."

Nabiki blinked and sat up straight. "What?"

"Yea, you're right, but it don't help a lot. But I'll tell ya all about that junk later."

"Oh, I see." This really got her interest, and she was definitely going to be asking him about this tonight.

Akane just fumed, but when asked to sit down by her sisters, she just growled angrily and stomped upstairs. Genma tried to attack Ranma for not apologizing to Akane, but it seemed that Ranma effortlessly tossed him… one handedly… back the way he came… which included the fat marital artist colliding with Soün, and with enough force to still make them both hit the koi pond.

Ranma, Nabiki and Kasumi looked at this in surprise. For the pig-tailed martial artist though, he just looked at his arm and smirked. "Cool… its all coming back…"

"What is?" Kasumi asked as she looked at the fathers.

"Ah nothing much, I'm just remembering the past better now."

To say the least, Nabiki was curious. "I see Saotome, is this one of those things you will tell me later?"

"Um…"

"Consider it a payment on your dept," she said with a wry grin.

"Ok, sure." He said and began eating. However, to eat as he normally did seemed wrong somehow suddenly. So taking his time, Ranma enjoyed his meal causing the two elder Tendo daughters to look at him strangely.

Later that evening when everyone else had gone to sleep, Ranma slipped out of his room though the window and made his way over to Nabiki's open window. Stepping inside he was surprised to see her sitting in her chair by the desk glaring at him.

"Normal people tend to use doors, why do you insist on the window?"

Ranma gave her a sheepish look, "Um, 'cause I'm not normal."

Nabiki grinned at that. "That's an understatement, so what's going on?"

"I'm not a Saotome," he told her simply and with a grin.

"What?"

"Mom took me to this graveyard and showed me my tombstone."

Nabiki eyes were wide at hearing this. "You mean she's going to make you go though with the contract? She already has your grave and tombstone picked out?" She couldn't believe it; this was just too much.

"Naw," Ranma told her with a wave of his hand. "You see, mom told me that Ranma Saotome died at birth." He picked up his birth certificate from her desk. "This is the real Ranma Saotome, but he died the day he was born."

"But…" Nabiki was surprised, Ranma dead… then who was talking to her?

"Our fathers… um… well your father and pops were out on one of their training trips when mom had to get to the hospital…"

"On the day you were born?"

"On the day Ranma was born. She said something about something being wrong and then when they told her that Ranma was dead she got real depressed." Ranma was trying to hold back his own tears as he recalled how hurt his mom looked as she told this.

"But… how… and…"

"After Ranma's funeral and all… oh yea…" he stopped and picked up a piece of paper and wrote some directions on it.

"What's this?"

"Ranma's tombstone…"

Nabiki's eyes got wide at that and she looked at the directions before her. "You're serious… really serious…"

"Yea, and after my funeral since pop's wasn't home yet, she went to a family shrine in the mountains."

"Ranma…"

"Yea?"

"Do you know how creepy it is listening to you talk about your own grave and burial?"

"That's nothing… you know how weird it is to be looking at your own headstone and finding out that you died at birth?"

"Oh…"

"Yea, it was really weird." Nabiki could only imagine what it much have been like so she just stared at him as he spoke. "Anyway, mom told me that while at the shrine she felt something calling to her so she went into the caves nearby, and that's when she found me."

"Found you?"

"Yea, she found me surrounded by these crystals…" he said and handed her a few of them.

Nabiki's eyes opened wide as she looked at them, they looked like rubies, but they were much too big, and the wrong color for quartz.

Letting her look over the crystal fragments, he told her softly, "Here's where things get weird."

"Sao… Um Ranma I'm not sure it can get weirder than this."

"Believe me, it does. You see, when she found me, even though I looked like an infant, I was really well over twenty." Even as he told her this he had a grin and could not help but think that he was well over the age of the old letch.

Nabiki though just looked at him and raised one of her eyebrows. "Oh really?"

"Yea, you see this…" he then showed her the golden bracer on his left arm. Of course, with showing her that, her eyes nearly fell out of her head.

"That… that… that's real gold…" she said as she began appraising the bracer. She could tell that the bracer was gold, or gold plated, as it looked tougher than gold. The engraving of the horse was very intricate as well, which must have been done by a master. And to top it off, the eyes of the horse she knew for a fact were rubies. This little trinket would be worth millions of yen.

"Yea, the bracer is a construct of Titanium, platinum and two other metals not found on this world. After the image had been engraved, I dipped it into molten gold and then polished it to a fine gloss. The eyes are close to rubies, but they hold much more than that. They are data crystals that I used for backup storage of my memories as well as for my computer system."

Nabiki blinked and looked at him as though he had grown eight heads. "Riiight… there's no way that this could hold a computer, and there's no way that…"

After her first remark, Ranma touched one of the eyes on the bracer and a micro thin laptop appeared to hover just a little in front of him. When Ranma began typing on it Nabiki's eyes grew larger as she could see the 'keys' light up with each press, but the thing was so thin it was transparent. The screen was as thin as the keyboard, which allowed her to see what was on it just as easily. Shakily she asked, "H-how?"

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised, after everything I've gone though… I'm not even completely human…"

"Then what are you?"

"Best I can tell is that I am humanoid in appearance, but I can't remember what planet I'm from."

"Planet?"

"Yea, I'm not even from earth." He chuckled at her wide-eyed look. "Those crystals in your hand were a part of my ship that crashed here a long time ago."

"How long?"

"Near as I can tell, my ship put me in suspended animation when we were about to crash, and that created the caves that mom found me in."

"But to make a cave in a mountain that would have to be some crash and the trees around would have been destroyed, not only that but with a crash that big it would have been on the news!" She tried to think of as many things as she could as to why this was impossible.

"Yea, but I think I've been there a lot longer than that. Mom said that she used to play in the caves as a kid and never found me… and if the caves were there when she was a kid and never knew what caused it, then it must've been a lot longer than that."

"How old are you?"

"Near as I can tell I was in my twenties when I crashed, and have been asleep for who knows how long and then I got to relive my first sixteen years again." He then shrugged. "I'd actually have to find the rest of my ship to tell for sure."

Nabiki sat back in her chair. "Then this is it… you're not Ranma Saotome… your mom never filed the adoption paperwork so Ranma does not even exist… all the promises your father made were for his son… so the only ones you have to worry about are the Kunö's and the Amazons. But if you have a ship, you can just fly off this rock and never look back." Now that she said it, she didn't like the thought of him leaving.

"Yea… I guess. Though I'll miss this place."

"So when are you going to go to this shrine?"

"Haven't decided… but tomorrow don't sound bad. If I can find the place."

"Why not just ask Auntie where it is?"

Ranma nodded his head and grinned. "Sounds good, I'll leave for her place in the morning and then go from there."

Nabiki smiled then turned contemplative. "Ranma…"

"Yea?"

"Can I go with you?"

"What?"

"I… I have to see this, it's too amazing t think about and I need proof that this is real."

Ranma thought about it and then nodded his head. "Ok, but I'm gonna leave early in the mornin', so you better be ready to go."

"I'll be ready!" She said with a grin. She couldn't wait… a real live spaceship! If she could get some pictures of this when Ranma leaves, she could be very rich! When she noticed Ranma leaving her room she then realized, that if this was real, then he would be leaving, and she'd never see him again. 'Damn…'