Matrix Dragon presents....

        Gateway Between Paterns 1b

***

        The trip down the mountain continued well into the night, but
the group was able to take it - after all, for them, it was still
like morning. After about four hours, Matrix called a halt. He knelt
down in front of a set of tracks. "Ranma, come here for a nano could
you?"

        "What's wrong Matrix?" The young man stood next to the
guardian.

        "Take a look at these tracks. What do you make of them?"

        Ranma looked at the tracks. "All sorts of creatures. Goats,
horses, men, these ones seem to be some kind of giant bird claws,
that one looks like a bear track. Weird. Why would all these tracks
be in the same place?"

***

        The sun had risen two hours earlier as the travelers finally
made it to the base of the mountain. They decided that they would
rest for a few hours before continuing on. Akane suggested trying to
catch a rabbit. Ranma said that 1) They didn't have what was needed
to cook one and 2) Akane would probably bring it back to life if she
cooked it. Akane malleted him.

        Matrix stared in wonder at the mallet as it disappeared into
nowhere. "How do you do that Akane?" Akane stared at him then stormed
off. "What's with her?"

        Ranma pulled himself up. "I just said the truth about her
cooking. She gets real grumpy when that happens."

        The guardian looked at the young man. "You're joking right?"

        The pig-tailed youth shook his head. "Afraid not. Some of her
cooking has attacked people. Well that's what Kasumi said, and I'm
not one to doubt her."

        A rather large sweatdrop ran down the back of Matrix's head.

***

        As Akane and AndrAIa fell asleep, Ranma and Matrix decided to
have a bit of practice, no special moves or anything, just some
practice.

        "So how will we keep score?" Ranma asked.

        Matrix looked around for a second. "First one knocked in the
stream loses." With that he charged Ranma.

        "Whoa! Hey wait a minute!" Unfortunately for Ranma, Matrix
wasn't going to wait. Caught off guard with surprise and worrying
about his curse, Ranma had no time to react. He was already heading
towards the stream. "OH SHIT!!" He hit the icy cold water and went
under.

        Matrix stood on the bank and laughed. "What's the matter Ranma? 
Scared of a littl - " His voice trailed off as Ranma stood up. She watched 
as the guardians face went through the usual motions of
shock, disbelief and confusion. Then he passed out.

        "I hate when this happens," she complaned to herself as she
began to wring out her pigtail. "Now I'll have to explain the curse
to him. And where can I get hot water in a place like this?"

***

        The mysterious figure grinned to herself as she watched the
change. <Jusenkyo. I don't believe it. I thought that place was
destroyed 800 years ago. This is going to be very interesting.>

***

        AndrAIa opened her eyes, hoping that she hadn't been
transported into User-knows-where and it had all been a horrible
dream. No such luck. Akane was lying nearby, still asleep, Matrix was
sprawled out on the ground, and there was a short red-headed girl
around Akane and Ranma's age and wearing the same clothes as Ranma
sitting on a nearby rock. Ranma must be off somewhere....

        Wait. Go back a bit. There was a short red-headed girl around
Akane and Ranma's age and wearing the same clothes as Ranma sitting
on a nearby rock. <That's new.> "Who are you?"

        The girl blushed and played with her pig-tail. "Uh, it's a long 
story. I'll tell it when the others wake up." The girl tossed a rock at the 
stream, sending it skimming across the water. AndrAIa looked at her. She 
didn't know why, but something about her seemed familar.

        Matrix groaned. "What hit me?"

        The girl bent over him. "You passed out a few minutes back."

        "I did?" Matrix's eyes narrowed. "Wait a nano, you're-"

        "Yeah, I'm Ranma. It's a long story." She began explaining the
curse. Due to the fact that everyone reading knows about it, we'll
jump to the end of the explanation.

        Matrix shook his head in disbelief. "So whenever you get
splashed by cold water, you turn into a girl? Must be tough."

        "You don't know the half of it," Ranma-chan replied. "That
curse causes nothing but trouble."

        "And yet in the days to come, it shall save your life time and
time again," a voice stated. The four of them turned to see the
mystery woman standing there. "I am known as Gateway. I have brought
you here for a reason, warriors."

        Matrix crossed his arms. "I'm listening. If I don't like the
answer, you'll regret it."

        "Soon you shall arrive at the village you have been walking to
all night. It is called Emond's Field. I advise you not to use any of
your... unique abilities while there. They are considered using the
One Power, a force that when used by-"

        "What's the One Power?" Ranma-chan interupted.

        "The One Power is the force that turns the Wheel of Time. There are 
two halves, a male and female part. The male half is tainted by the Dark 
One, as it has been since the end of the last age, when
he was trapped in his prison." She stopped and looked at the others,
who simply stood there, confused. "This is too hard to explain to
someone who has no prior knowledge of it. How to do this... I've got
it!" Suddenly the small group felt something pressing on their minds.

        <Do not worry,> Gateways mental voice reassured them. <All I'm
doing is placing some knowledge in your head. It's easier this way.>
Less then a second later the touch vanished. Gateway grinned. "Those
damn authors would say that the technique I just used is nothing more
then a plot device. Personally I don't see anything wrong with it.
Let's see how it worked. Ranma, what is the Dragon Reborn?"

        Ranma thought for a second. "He's that Lews Therin guy brought
back to life, right? The one who went insane in the Breaking and
killed all his family?"

        Gateway nodded. "Correct. Just remember that the knowledge in
your head may not be true. It is what is known of it at the current
time. It is what people believe to be true, and people are not always
right."

        "You did the same thing when you brought us here, didn't you?"
Akane said. "That's why Ranma and I can speak English."

        Gateway nodded. "I should have realised that you'd need more
help then that. You do realise you are not on Earth or the Net?"

        "We thought so," AndrAIa said. "So, why are we here?"

        "The end of time is near, the days when the Dark One shall
finally win and all realities are destroyed - if this world fights
alone. The only hope is for the heroes of the past to fight once
more. That is why I brought you here. I can not help you as much as I
would like, but I can at least give you these." A brief flash of
light covered the four, and when it faded they had on them a number
of objects on them.

        Ranma looked at the sword on his back with distaste. "I don't
need a wimpy sword."

        "Trust me Ranma, it will come in useful. You have a few other
items as well. You can't get them yet, but the time will come soon."

        Matrix grinned at the small device that was now attached to his left 
arm bracer. "A keytool! This is great!" Then he looked at the
small balls on his belt. "Pokeballs?"

        Gateway raised an eyebrow. "You know about them?"

        "Played some emulator games once. So what are they?"

        "Pikachu, Pidgey, Squirtle, Bulbasur and Charmander. I suspect
you know of them. Oh and the keytools name is Chip. She's slightly
modified. She'll recharge on her own, but it will take some time."

        Akane shaked a small bag that had appeared in her hand.
"Money?"

        "It should last you a while. Both you and AndrAIa will get
other objects soon. Be patient. And good luck." With that she simply 
vanished.

        Matrix shrugged. "Well, let's get going." He set off down the
trail, followed by the others. But as they walked, Ranma's mind was
elsewhere. He was sure he had seen Gateway somewhere before. But
where?

                           End Part 1
                              ***

        Part two will be out one day, just not too soon. What does it
have? Look at the first few chapters of 'Eye of the World' and
include our four heroes into it. And a few other suprises.....

        If you liked this, tell me. If you didn't like it, tell me. Send all 
messages to Matrix-Dragon@Usa.net

        Till next time!

        Matrix Dragon
        "We shall fight them on the beaches, we shall collect pretty
seashells.... wait, that's not it.."

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