Note: Inspiration from Gregg Sharp's Bet storyline and the Mirrors Multiplied series. Alternative childhood that diverges even further when he encounters a dimensional portal with a random jump factor. Ranma: The Wandering Saotome Prelude Fanfiction by Dr. Suekeichi Kaiton It started off as a normal day for Genma Saotome, one which would escalate from crummy to just damn God-awful. It was raining, that by itself was not a bad thing-just the natural order of the world right? Well, let's see you appreciate it when your sleeping in an open field...in a valley. Genma was awoken by gout s of clay mud pushing the tent down stream like some kind of canvas canoe and onc e it stopped he was attacked by wolves. Well that was actually helpful because i t provided breakfast for Ranma and some leftovers for jerky. Ranma was six, a tall six, but still six; Genma wished his heir was born full grown. Day in and day out he would train Ranma until it became too dark to spar , then they would sleep and Genma would be forced to listen to his son cry like a baby for his mother. Genma had hoped to instill such honorable values as stealing, lying and treachery on this trip but his weak little son wouldn't eve n leave camp. He thought it was due to that _friend_ he had allowed Ranma to play with in Hokkaido. Somehow they found themselves in China now, with so many training grounds that Genma himself was dizzy with anticipation, but that would have to wait until he broke his son of motherly control. The gentle breezes after a storm blew through his hair and a fish leaped out of the nearby stream, and suddenly Genma had an epiphany (They didn't happen that often)! "Boy!" Genma called. "Yeah Pops?" A small head with a tangled mop of black hair poked out of the tent. "Come on! We have some serious training to do!" --- That was it, Ranma had fled. Genma had thrown some mangy cats at him and the damn boy had run off! Genma chased in the general direction but lost sight of him after about a mile. "Ranma!!!! Come here boy!!!!" Genma screamed for an hour and ran another mile until the only thing he could do was walk away. He had lost his son, his heir, and now Nodoka was gonna kill him! Not to mention all the fiancˇes _and_ his only friend Soun. Genma gave up that train of though t and made camp for the night. Ranma was here, and he would not leave until he found his son. --- Ranma was running for his life from the most frightening thing on earth...cats. Cats were normally domestic creatures found in every house and also a favorite pet of small children, not for this six-year old however, cats were the most evil things set on God's green earth in this boy's mind. Now as w e begin to explain this bear in mind Genma is...well really, really stupid...a dunce really. It happened when Ranma was five, Genma had sought to teach him the cat- fist: a method of manipulating one's chi into razor sharp invisible hand blade s two feet long. The procedure was unique and banned in most civilized countries and tribes, it involved wrapping the trainee in fish sausage and tossing him into a pit of hungry cats, raising the man's phobia to such extreme lengths tha t he had to revert to a cat not to go mad. The chi blades came naturally to thos e trained in the technique, like using a litter box is inherent in a kitten; the problems arose when the victim reverted because then he would be unstoppable an d could injure innocent people-that was the reason the technique was banned. Genma tried it anyway. As a result he also took Ranma away the next year because of the danger training would pose on those living nearby. Genma was a stupid idiot but even idiots can come up with some good ideas, this was not one of them. The only thing this trip did was alienate Ranma from society and sacrifice his social skills for martial art skills. Regardless of the repercussions, Ranma was indeed advancing in the art, already beating Genma frequently (although Genma was not about to allow this to become a habit). An imposing mountain lay before him, one which swarmed with flying shadows and the calls of birds. Ranma stood in awe as two mountain guards of the Phoenix tribe approached. Now the Phoenix may have bad blood with humans but t o them all children were precious gifts, even those of a different species. The men held each one of Ranma's hands and lead him into the fortress. --- "Lord Choiler! We have an urgent situation! Come out!" Ghode called out for the aging shaman. Ranma was next to him and thoroughly scared for his life. He was in a strange place, with strange people that weren't even human, and now he couldn't remember his way out! The room they were standing in was more like a hall, with great floor-to-ceiling bookcases and shelves filled with bottles of herbs and poisons, the whole place gave off an air of antiquity and mystery. Next to him, Ranma saw the guard, Ghode he thought his name was, smash his staff into the stone floor and call out again. "Ooh! Why can't you deal with this yourself? I'm a very busy man you know..." A aged voice floated down from the stacks, followed quickly by the floating body of Lord Choiler, shaman of the Phoenix tribe. His wizened face was comforting to see, at least to Ranma. With a quick flutter of his dusty, speckled wings, Choiler stood before Ghode and a head shorter as well. "Lord Choiler! We found this young boy outside, he looked malnourished so we fed him, but King Saffron ordered him before you!" Ghode clashed the gold carapaces that were covering his wings and let the sound echo off the ancient walls. "You know more about humans than even King Saffron, so he deferred to you." The old man scoffed, then coughed, then hacked. Finally regaining vocal control he told the guard to leave and to return in an hour with food and drink . Choiler was old, two-hundred and forty-five next week, but still had the agilit y of men half his age, as well as an eye for magic. The sharp clang of gold heralded Ghode's exit. He then took a good look at the boy, especially the flows of chi, ki, and magic. "Well, well, well, you look strong in the flow of chi my boy." The phoenix clicked his tongue and raised a finger to his chin, this boy had the energy flows of a mage, and perhaps someone fit to inherit his position. "Tell m e boy, what is your name and heritage." Ranma frowned, his name he could tell, but what was heritage? "Uh...well...I'm Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome school of Musubetsu Kakuto Ryu...uh what does 'heritage' mean?" "Well, it means who your mother and father are and where they live." The old phoenix smiled down at the na•vetˇ of the boy and also at his respect for his elders. "Oh! My Pops is Genma Saotome and my Mom's Nodoka Saotome, they live in Tokyo, Japan." "Did your father or mother ever exhibit any powers of healing or telling the future?" "No." "None?" "None." "Ranma? Would you like to stay here for awhile? I could teach you new techniques and new powers..." He let the offer stand. "I...I..." Ranma was torn between loyalty to his father and the chance for new techniques. Thinking back on the few years of life he could remember Ranma foun d not but two positive memories of his father: one when he fell from a tree when he was four, the other when he was five and got sick with cat-scratch fever. But then again, Genma had told him to climb that tree, and had thrown him into that pit of cats, so right now Ranma could care less for his dad. "...I accept your offer." An hour later Ghode came in with a tray of food and a pitcher of water, only to have it lifted out of his hands by Ranma's spell. "That's m'boy! He'd just seen it half an hour ago and already he's mastered it ! Ha, ha, ha!" Astonished at the rapid development of Ranma's powers he spent th e next week training the boy in the powers of a mage. After a few weeks he began to train the now seven-year old boy to become his successor. One year later... "Ranma, today you will take your fist step into a world that will astound and tantalize your brain! I will personally take you there and introduce you, but after that you will have to fend for yourself." Choiler wore an embroidere d ornamental tunic and was welding his gold bo-staff, both only used for special occasions such as this. "Yes, sir! I am prepared for the initiation and the dangers that I may face!" Ranma was dressed in a red silk shirt with wooden ties and the Dragon of the Phoenix tribe emblazoned on the chest, and a pair of black silk pants with dueling Phoenixes on each leg. "Prepare yourself Ranma! We are going into the land of mystery and legend, Teh Sthlhu!" With that Choiler whirled his staff in the air and Ranma attuned his chi to his sensei's. In a mighty burst of flame and lightning they were gone, leaving Ghode in charge of the vault and the young healers classes. --- Ranma awoke to the sight of a naked girl with pale-green skin bouncing on him (Don't even go there! He's only eight!). The girl was smiling and obviousl y enjoying herself (I said don't go there!) but stopped as he began to rise. She toppled off and drew a hand to her mouth in embarrassment and fear. Ranma looked at his surroundings, a soft forest glen with a crystal clear lake beside him, green grass as far as the eye could see, and a naked girl with pointed ear s and green skin cringing away from him. "Wait! Can you tell me where I am?" Ranma grabbed the girl's slender wrist and gently pulled her back. She ceased her struggles after he assured her he meant no harm. "Why were you doing that?" "Merac told me it was fun, so I did it." The girl stretched out on the grass. "And who's Merac?" He raised an eyebrow. "The nymph that lives in that lake over there. She's my best friend. She told me that you were squishy. Who are you anyway?" She smiled as she asked, th e picture of naivete. "Oh! I'm Ranma Saotome, apprentice to Lord Choiler of Mt. Phoenix," and the heir to the Anything Goes Martial Arts school he mentally added, "and you are?" "I'm Ceoeff, dryad of this small forest." She got up and began to walk away into the glade. "Wait! Can you tell me where I am?" Ranma chased after her, but only ended up running smack into a tree as she merged with the forest. "Why you silly man, this is Teh Sthlhu, land of the enchanted!" --- "Good work Ranma! And you actually made friends with some natives! I must say boy I'm very impressed!" Choiler stood in the marble lined hall of Maximillion the Great, Emperor of Teh Sthlhu, his personal friend. "It took me several years to befriend old Max here!" Choiler looked down the stairs at a waterlogged Ranma wearing clothes that were more that a little grass stained. "I know what your thinking 'how did he get so wet and dirty?' but lets see you stay dry and clean with a water nymph and forest dryad chasing you through town!" Ranma wrung out the last vestiges of water from his shirt. "You've double impressed me now boy! Your mind-reading powers have risen greatly, I'm not that easy to read y'know." "Well, could you tell me what we're doing here?" "We're here to visit my old friend Maximillion then proceed with your training. Besides, didn't you say you liked working with machines?" The room was filled now with cleaning robots and floating platters of food destined for the main audience chamber. "Maybe you can learn a little mechanics while we're here, hmm?" One year later... "Ranma come here." Choiler sat in a bamboo chair in his room high above the vault. "Yes sensei?" Ranma opened the door and poked his head in. Choiler gestured for him to sit, so he sat. "If I were to offer you a chance to train in the Phoenix style of Martial Arts would you like that?" Choiler already knew the answer. "Sure!" Ranma's eyes perked up. "You do realize that our Martial Arts are practiced in flight with our wings playing an essential role don't you?" "Yeah, but I think I can come up with something..." Ranma became lost in thought at that point so Choiler dismissed him. He was still thinking about it when he reached the ground floor of the vault, so involved was he that he didn' t realize he wasn't alone until he felt a tap on the shoulder. "YYEEEEAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!" Ranma leaped up at least ten feet straight in the air. "Don't do that! You know I hate that!" The only response he got was beautiful laughter, and a playful pinch on the nose. Soon, even he started to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. "Your so silly Ranma! That's what I like about you." "Uh...are you feeling alright?" "Hmm? Oh! Yeah...um...are you going to be in our Martial Arts classes?" "I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Ranma pulled out a gnarled oak staff and a wallet of passcards and gildouns, the type of identification and currency in Teh Sthlhu respectively from his desk. "But you can't fly! You don't have wings!" "Oh, I'm working on that. I'm off!" Two whirling spins with the staff and he was gone leaving his cream winged friend behind. --- "Ranma? Ranma!" Ceoeff morphed out of a tree and ran naked into the arms of her only human friend, one that hadn't been seen in about three breems. For some strange reason he always appeared here, he was beginning to wonder whether this was one of sensei's cruel jokes. "Hey! Don't squeeze _too_ hard or I'll turn mushy, not squishy!" He hugged her back and pulled her to his arms-length. She was getting tall-almost his height, and her body was filling out nicely, when he first met her she looked about five but now she resembled a short ten-year old. "So what have you been up to?" "Merac, Hiwt, and I went to Stupar city last breem and bought some new clothes, it was really exciting!" Ranma remembered Hiwt as the rock fairy that he had met a month after coming here, all three of them lived in these woods so he always saw them when he came. "Would you like to see them?" "Sure. I'm just on my way to Stupar city now, why don't you guys come with me?" "Yay! We get to go twice in a month! Wait a minute and I'll just go get them!" She dashed off towards the lake and the large boulder on its banks. --- "Apprentice Ranma Saotome here to study anti-gravity technology." He stared at the young officer several years his senior and almost laughed at the situation. Here he was, a nine-year old mage and tech wiz with his three multicolored friends ordering around a twenty-year old. The aforementioned friends were giggling behind him. "Go on in." He was handed back his passbook. "Thank you, sir." Ranma walked into the workshop closely followed by Ceoeff, Hiwt, and Merac. It was more of a hanger bay with mechanical refuse lying about, there were technicians servicing the enormous flying 'CHEPHAROS' fleets that kept the Stupar peace and others refueling the larger craft. This was exactly what he wanted, to see the anti-grav units and how they work. You see Ranma had an idea, and it was a doozy... Three days later... "I've done it!" Choiler looked up from his casting book as the exclamation sounded through the hall. With a cloud of dust he shut the tome and shuffled to the balcony. Choiler chuckled at the memory of his apprentice shocking poor Ghod e with his little 'tazer' then having it backfire in his face. Nothing he was thinking could have prepared him for the shock that awaited him on the balcony. Ranma was flying...with wings!? No...those wings were metal, but they were flapping and were keeping him aloft. A grin was plastered all over his face. "My boy! What...how?" Choiler grabbed the balcony railing to keep from falling over in shock. Finally he leaped over and examined the 'wings.' They were actually metal skeletons with aluminum darts shaped into feathers, an d there were gyros flapping the wings on smooth ball bearings. He looked closely at the vest Ranma was wearing and found that the harness had controls for fligh t and offence. He reached out to touch the wings and found they were smooth as silk and unyielding like stone. "What on Earth do you call this Ranma? And what are the wings made of?" Choiler and his pupil landed on the floor and he sat while his charge demonstrated the apparatus. "I call it an anti-gravity vest. See the wings? There just for ornamentation..." He depressed the belt buckle and the wings melted and melded with the back of the pack, then he rose in the air just as easy as before, low gusts of wind not even budging the artist from his new discovery. "I figure that I've got enough crystals to make several hundred 'PAKs,' one for each phoenix that can't fly." Now that was something Choiler had not thought, why not use these devices to give the power of flight back to those who were denied it? It made perfect sense, and it was all thanks to Ranma that the mountain would have this boon. "Well boy I guess this solves the problem of your wings for training, doesn't it? But tell me one thing: what are they made of?" "Ah! My friend Hiwt, used her powers to take most of the mass out of this granite, making it weightless _and_ durable." Ranma was indeed proud of himself , he was finally able to repay these fine people that had taken him in. He had a better life here that he would have with Genma he thought bitterly. But it was the undeniable truth because he had grown in a nurturing environment with peopl e that cared for him, he even considered Choiler he surrogate 'father.' Neither Choiler nor Ghode noticed a stranger enter the hall because of Ranma's theatrics, but Ranma noticed, and flew over to the doors, spreading his wings as he did. The stranger took to the air and met Ranma halfway, marveling at the mechanical harness and the smooth finish of the wings. Choiler bid them away and they flew out for aerial play above the Bayankala range. Eleven months, twenty-seven days later... It was Ranma's birthday. In Japan this would have been a matter of supreme indifference to most of the populace save his mother and father _if_ they knew he was alive, but on Phoenix Mountain it was a time of great celebration. Every resident of the fortress, from King Saffron, to the nobles, to the lowest worker acknowledged this day as time for jubilation and thanksgiving. Since his arrival he had been nothing but a boon from the Gods t o the Mountain and its people, solving minor domestic problems such as plumbing and heating, to major plagues like the flightless, the lame and the sick. The celebration was held in the vaulted hall of antiquity starting at eight in the morning (the time Ranma appeared to the guards), until eight the next morning, and was blessed by King Saffron himself who was quite pleased wit h the improvements Ranma had made on the age-old fortress. The wine flowed like water, and even Lord Choiler and Saffron got roaring drunk and had to be put to bed. Ranma was the guest of honor so the party was moved to the great audience hall where all the members of the tribe could revel in the jubilation of such a n auspicious day. Towards five the next morning the party was still going strong and Choiler and Saffron were awakened for the last few hours of drinking and singing. Ranma sat with his friends and they too drank, since there were no age law the tribe just let them get drunk, and eventually the gong sounded to end the party, but most nobles and peasants dismissed it and continued in the gaiety and laughter of this holiday. It was at this time that Lord Choiler, as guardian for Ranma, and Lord Thearsus a high ranking noble discussed a matter that had great impact on the future of the Phoenix. --- "What is this about Lord Thearsus?" A noisy uproar from the crowd outside. "I must speak with you...its about your charge, its about Ranma." A responsive cry from others in the next room. "What about him?" Choiler drank a heavy belt of liquor. "Are there any agreements as to who his bride will be?" Thearsus twitched nervously. "No...not yet." This piqued his interest. "Well, I would like my daughter to marry him." "Really..." "Yes, well I realize they are not of age yet but I would like him to meet her tomorrow. Please think on it Lord of Antiquities." "I will, _if_..." He trailed off. "If?" Thearsus looked around expectantly. "...if we can find them tomorrow! God only knows where they'll show up come tomorrow!" Choiler finished his mug of wine then pat Thearsus on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I want what is best for Ranma and the Tribe, and I believe that they are thoroughly intertwined together." He walked with the Lor d back to the hall and continued with the party, one that would go down in the history of the Phoenix as one of the greatest bashes ever! The next morning...(Actually the next, NEXT morning since all of them were drunk...) Ranma awoke with a splitting headache and decided that the next thing he would invent would be a cure for hangovers. He viewed his surroundings with half-veiled eyes and found that he was in his quarters, next to Choiler's office. As he moved to rise his stomach ordered him to lie down lest he incur its wrath and it was at that time he realized that he was not alone. Looking around he saw Ceoeff sleeping on the wooden dresser, Hiwt on the stone floor, Merac in the furo, and someone was on his bed. Finally getting his eyes open enough for reasonable sight to be enabled he recognized his best friend and the n lay back down on the bed within close proximity to said friend. Using his chi and the ki of the room he began to rid himself of the hangover when Choiler and Lord Thearsus came in. "Ranma?" "Ugh...y-yeah..." "I don't suppose you've...oh." Choiler grew a mischievous grin. "Thearsus? I don't think we need any introductions." He made a path for the highest lord. Said lord came barreling in at the call of his name and leapt back immediately after seeing the bed and it's occupants. The unfortunate lord s eyes bugged out and his jaw fell to the floor, tying to gather his wits proved difficult especially with Ranma in bed with his daughter! "K-K-K-KKKKIIIIIMMMMMAAA!!!!!!!!!" The father screamed then broke down into tears. "Hmm...Dad!?" Kima awoke to the sounds of her father weeping, Choiler laughing in the corner, and Ranma's heartbeat. Extricating herself from Ranma' s legs she straightened her cream tunic and went to her father's side. It was certainly an odd scene: a short nine-year old comforting a fifty-six-year old and definitely was one that Choiler might never see again, so he took a picture . "Oh Kima...^sob^...why?" "Why what?" Kima flipped her dark ponytail off her shoulder. "Why ruin yourself before marriage!!!! BWAAAAA!!!!!" Thearsus then went into another of his characteristic weeping fits. Ranma sat transfixed by the odd occurrence while Choiler had already left. Finally Kima helped her father back to their quarters and waved a fond goodbye to Ranma. Ranma stretched and yawned then rose out of bed. Choiler left him to his morning ablutions and glided down to his study. Ranma woke Ceoeff, Hiwt, and Merac and bid them farewell as he sent them back to Teh Sthlhu. He dressed in his casual clothes, a red tunic and black silk pants, and left for his workshop . The workshop was down in the lower-levels of the mountain, so if an accident were to happen no one would be injured. Ranma glided with a PAK down a vertical shaft until he saw the metal doors carved with the kanji for 'Musubets u Kakuto Ryu.' Withdrawing one of the duel crystals embedded in his vest he pressed it to the strangely warm metal which melted away before him, only to reform once he was inside. His black shoes touched the circuitry strewn floor of the lab and he removed the harness, placing it on a stone table. Turning to the next shelf h e picked out a staff of black metal, receptors glittering on its shiny surface. The rest of that morning and long into the afternoon Ranma worked in the lab perfecting a defensive weapon that would play a major role in the battles t o come. He worked feverishly with the colored crystals he had brought back from his last trip, ones that were stripped of all impurities by Hiwt, eventually achieving success! The black rod now pulsed with blue light and hummed softly in his palm, a weapon that would forever change the way of war for the Phoenix. He drew the rod with perfect grace, hearing the swish of the air as power charged the air. On either end was a glowing red jewel that crackled with electricity, as he lightly touched the end to the table a great burst of anti- gravity bored through the table, leaving a perfect circle with edges as smooth as glass. Ranma donned his harness and took the weapon up with him, he had to show his sensei. --- "You say that this rod can repel an enemy? How is that so?" Saffron sat on a throne of gold and ruby in the audience hall of Phoenix mountain. Choiler immediately brought his apprentice before the King, this weapon could ensure victory against the Musk Warriors and Joketsuzoku Amazon Tribe. Many people do not realize that all three of these tribes were once one, and that the division caused a rivalry countless centuries old. Phoenix Mountain was first built as a fortress against marauding Musk warriors and had since become the center of the Phoenix tribes society. "This is not magic is it? If it is, it is useless, fo r too many cannot fathom magic." "No King Saffron! This is science! Ranma, why don't you explain?" Choiler knelt before the King then moved aside for the King to see Ranma, holding his metal rod. "This could be the weapon that could stop the Musk forever!" "Ranma. We have just celebrated your glorious achievements yesterday, and already you bring another before me?" Saffron rose from the throne and gestured to the meeting chamber. The chamber was the size of a boardroom with a heavy stone conference table, and chairs to seat all twenty-seven ruling lords of the mount. Saffron took a seat at the head of the table. "So what is this great weapon?" "Well...this rod can discharge an enormous amount of anti-gravity power focused out the jewel on either end. There are two switches, one on either sid e so if you twirl the baton you don't mistakenly impale yourself." Ranma twirled the rod like nunchaku then depressed the switch. The water pitcher it was pointed at exploded in a hail of shards. "See? The power is variable, so you can just knock out an opponent or seriously hurt them. That was stun," he twisted the grip, "and this is damage!" Ranma thrust the rod down at the table and a perfect hole with edges of mirrored glass appeared from the impact. Saffron's eyes bugged out at the power and possibilities inherent to welding such a weapon. "How many do you have?" "Only one now, but I've got enough power crystals to make a few hundred." "How soon can they be made, and the welders trained?" "A few days at most King." Ranma waved his hand over the gaping hole in the table, and it reformed under his spell. "The training will take a month I think." "Very well Ranma, you have done the tribe a great service, we will finally be able to crush the Musk!" Saffron rose from the table and was about to open the door when Ranma asked a question that would lead to his destiny. "King?" "Yes?" "Is...Is it really necessary that we wipe them out? I mean we've got an unfair advantage with the force rods, can't we make a truce?" Ranma hung the rod from his belt. "Ranma...you know how vicious the Musk are..." "I know...but their living people! You came from the same roots!" "I'm well aware of that." Saffron winced as memories of those distant days returned. "But they are our enemy, and they must be crushed!" "Please King, please would you just _try_ to mediate with them?" Saffron looked at the intelligent youth before him and realized that within that diminutive frame beat the heat of a scholar, and a warrior with a compassionate heart. The child knew things many years ahead of him, and believed in war only as a last resort, the King thought on the great deeds Ranm a had done for the tribe. "Very well, as a request from you Ranma, I will meet with them. But first let me tell you of my youth." Saffron sat back in his gold and ruby adorned throne and placed his index and middle fingers to his brow. Ranma held in a gasp as the king removed his crown, a thick band of solid gold tempered to a steel under frame, his holy sea l of office. Saffron placed in on the table and brushed a hand through his dark, rich hair-a brash and arrogant gesture. Ranma idolized him. "Ranma, when I first awoke to this plane my life was full of light and happiness. I was born in the Empire of Dust, the most prosperous in history bu t forgotten now and long since destroyed. There was a palace of glittering gold and sapphire with spires rising tall into the heavens, it rivaled God's own workmanship in its beauty and intricacies." Saffron sat now as a man, neither king nor god but a lonesome man grown strong on years of hardship and warfare. "But it was not to last, just as the biblical tower of Babel fell, so was this doomed to destruction. The progenitors of the Musk, The Phoenix, and the Amazo n tribes lived in harmony-free from social constraints and limitations, but the nation crumbled in the face of unfounded rumor. The tribes split and there was dissention among the commoners for barriers, as it was the Musk and Phoenix fought hard and lost many in baseless battles over land little bigger than a foot. That is the history of our rivalry with the Musk, my mother and father were killed before I could even speak and I grew in the wake of the Musk killin g parties, I grew out of the blood of millions and the hatred then shared by ever y Phoenix member." He paused in speaking and held his head for a long time. "Just remember Ranma, you may feel mercy now, but even those you consider friends may betray you..." He replaced the headband and strode out leaving Ranma to his thoughts, and his own inner turmoil. Three years later... Ranma looked out on the land of the Phoenix. From the gently sloping valleys to the swiftly rushing streams and the tallest stone spires of power would soon be joined with even greater lands. The Musk citadel sat on a sheer mountain face and had dominion over the desert of dust, the lands surrounding the steppe and the farmland near the Bayankala range and soon the two tribes would unite for the first time in four centuries. Ranma grinned to himself as he realized that without him and his 'persuasive' tool, the Musk would never have agreed to the union. He was dressed in ornate silk reignments, a red shirt and loose-fitting black slacks, holding the unique title "Traveler of the Mount." His features were mature, sharp, and undeniably masculine with piercing deep blue eyes and a heav y voice. Due to his extensive dimensional travels he looked far older than his natural age, around seventeen by now but this too was beneficial as members of the Phoenix aged faster than normal humans. Lived longer as well... Saffron had held a peace talk soon after their conversation and the Musk had refused the terms, that was until Ranma came in with his skilled student Ghode. Ghode whipped out an electrorod and snapped it into two halves, a new innovation allowing the one double-sided baton to become two one-sided clubs. Twirling them like nunchaku, Ghode cut half the table into polished pebbles wit h two swift strokes. The Musk agreed to the terms soon after that. Ranma was still quite amazed at the active role he played in the politics of the mountain now, the Musk would only agree if Ranma married their king's daughter, Spice. This development made Ranma heir to both the most powerful Phoenix tribe family and the prince of the Musk! The Musk's heir was Herb, but Ranma was assured the throne after Herb's death or retirement. This arrangemen t was satisfactory to the nobles because Ranma as King would result in a permanen t alliance. The tribes had parted on amicable terms and Ranma was now betrothed to Kima and Spice, which he really didn't mind either way. Kima had been his best friend since childhood, while Spice _seemed_ nice enough. The thirteen-year old stood tall on the highest spire of the mount, his personal PAK strapped and secured, his stone wings fluttering gently in the breeze. The future lay before him as never before, a pleasant daydream that stood just out of arms reach. He stretched his arms then sank to the winds and the reassuring lift of the eddies that whipped around the mountain. Kima approached at the twentieth level and they sat and talked about the future of the Phoenix and the Musk long into the day. Kima was a stunningly beautiful woman with cream wings and an infectious smile, her feathers covered most of her body sans her hands, feet, breasts, and nethe r regions; with a smoothness akin to human skin. One inch shorter than her fiancˇe, her was nevertheless tall with a regal air about her. Ranma always stared at her eyes, crimson red with flecks of white, and a doorway into her soul perhaps? She laughed a warbling tone that made Ranma's heart skip a beat. When they finally broke away Ranma began work on his latest project, a companion that mixed both magic and technology, when he finished his chuckle could be heard in the lower levels of the fortress. Later that evening... "What do you call this m'boy? Some kind of joke?" Choiler backed away from the silvery automaton that waddled it's way down the stairs, it's onyx claws scraping hideously against the stone steps. The head was flattened at th e top and the lower jaw dropped to reveal sanded down metal teeth for grinding. The back was a silver shell with gold scales that glittered in the last dying rays of the sun. "What is it?" "A 'pan-go-lin,' its a kind of anteater, I've been doing some reading on them, apparently they have prehensile tails and long claws for tearing tree bark." Ranma affectionately petted the beast's head. It in turn nuzzled back. "He's made of titanium, steel, and diamond." "But why make one here? And what does it do?" Choiler bent over to more closely examine the machine and traced a welding line along its nose. "You sai d something about magic before, does this have something to do with it?" "Well yeah! You know how you once said that mages have to have a 'familiar?" "Yes..." "Well, I thought I'd build my own! And I made numerous defensive and offensive capabilities to the model. For example:" Ranma depressed the pangolin's nose and it shifted and folded into itself to become Ranma's customized PAK. "This is built for comfort and practicality, it can be mobile when needed as well as carried around for emergencies. Sensei? Watch this!" Before Choiler's awe-struck eyes the harness sprouted a Vulcan gattling gun and an arms launcher that shot 'Greek fire.' Then the vest once again changed, this time into a sword and shield set with platinum crests embossed into the surface. Ranma swung the enormous rapier with unnatural ease and suddenly it morphed into a masamune blade, then a bon-bori, then twin katana, a tanto, a broadsword, cleavers, scimitars, and finally two semi-automatic assaul t rifles. "My boy you are a fully equipped army by yourself! By Saffron sometimes you still amaze me!" Choiler sat down in a bamboo chair by his desk as Ranma allowed the vest to morph into pangolin form. "What do you intend to do with this power?" "You haven't seen the grand finale yet! This will really knock you for a loop!" Ranma opened the beast's shell and a shimmering pool of black and red greeted the astonished face of the aging Phoenix shaman. "My word! You have a dimensional portal in a machine?" "Yeah, that's how it can morph into those weapons. The dimensions close in on each other and switch to different settings that contain varying weapon sets. In fact I even have a portal to Teh Sthlhu," he turned a knob on the underbelly of the mech and Ceoeff popped out of the impossibly tiny opening. "This could be invaluable to us, we could store limitless amounts of food or weapons without cluttering the storage rooms!" "Uh, Ranma?" "Yeah? What is it Ceoeff?" "Why am I here?" "I did an experiment that brought you here through a new portal! Now you can come here any old time! Bye-bye!" "Bye!" Ranma turned the knob again and Ceoeff disappeared unceremoniously into the shell of the thing. Choiler applauded his student's achievement and thanke d the Gods that Ranma appeared to them and not the Musk. He patted the familiar' s head then chuckled softly, "Ranma?" "Yeah?" He was busy closing the hatch and securing the bolts. He looked up from his knees at his mentor/sensei/surrogate father/best friend. "You know that your weddings will be in a few years correct?" "Yes, Kima has already decided on a gown and uniform. I still hafta talk to Spice about how a Musk wedding goes though." "Ranma sit down next to me, I have to discuss something very important." Ranma rose and sauntered over to the stone bench. "Ranma, you are thirteen now and I think you should leave the mountain for awhile." "Why?" "Ranma...I think you should attempt to find your birthfather and try to make amends, it's been seven years! No parent should believe their son dead fo r seven years when it simply isn't so." Choiler laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You may deny it, but I know you still care about your father, and you have to see your mother anyway, she should attend your wedding! So go! I will inform King Saffron that you will leave us for awhile. Say your good-byes then set off." He patted Ranma's shoulder then rose and hobbled off into the darkening corridors of the castle. Ranma sat there for many hours, contemplating his situation. Kima arrived shortly and they talked about his departure, promising to meet again. Ranma finally decided that he would search China for his father, then travel back to Japan and seek out his mother, eventually bringing her back to Phoenix Mountain . Late in the night, a balmy evening when the moon shone blue, he leapt off the ledges of his home and began his quest. And so ends the prologue. I had this idea rattling around for awhile so I thought I'd test the waters a bit. The next chapter will see Ranma heading ove r to Japan and meeting the Tendos, expect to see a relationship grow with the Tendo sisters (especially Kasumi). If anyone has questions, comments, or stories to pre-read you can e-mail me at vze2jcwc@verizon.net.