I've never been much of a dragon ball fan... But then I watched the movie
remake of the first series and I was hooked.  I then proceeded to watch all
the movies, as much of the Cell battle and Majinn-Bu series as I could and
finally, watched the first 40 episodes of GT.  Now I get up at 7AM every 
Saturday and watch the English dub of DBZ. After all that, I decided to
write this story.  (the fact there have been a flurry of DBZ cross overs
lately might have had some effect as well) This takes place at
the end of Ranma 1/2 manga and after episode 40 of DragonBall GT.  
Well, here we go!

************************************************

"RANMA NO BAKA!"  

Then up swung the mallet.  It connected perfectly with the bottom of Ranma's
chin.  
It usually did, but then, Akane had lots of practice.  The minute Ranma started
soaring into the sky, he completely forgot what had caused this last bout
of violence.  *Let's see...* Ranma said to himself, *Cuteness?  No.  Martial
arts
ability? NO.  Acting ability? NO.*  Just before Ranma could continue this train
of thought, he landed.  Hard.  In a park water fountain, somewhere in Tokyo.

Ranma-chan picked herself out of the fountain and shook off the excess water
from her clothes and body.  

"Man, I hope Akane never plays golf, she'll nail the water trap *every* time."

Ranma-chan winced as she rubbed her chin.  *Damn, that hurt* She checked the
rest
of her body to make sure that she was not injured any place else.  She
rarely ever
got permenantly damaged from these "flights", but one couldn't be too careful.


Ranma-chan looked around, trying to get her bearings straight.  Sometimes,
she discovered
new parts of Tokyo because of Akane.  After a few moments, Ranma-chan
smiled, she
knew where she was; apparently, Akane had sent her to this fountain before.
As she 
started walking down the street back towards the dojo, she noticed a little boy
sitting on the sidewalk with both hands on his stomache.  He looked weak,
and Ranma-chan
thought he was going to start crying.  She walked over to the little boy and
said,

"Excuse me?  Is anything wrong?  Do you need a Doctor or something?"

As Ranma-chan got a closer look at the boy, she noticed that he had rather spiky
disheveled hair, and he was sporting a long, brown, furry... tail.  Ranma-chan
guessed that the tail was part of some costume.  He never did keep track of
children's fads, even as he was growing up.  

The little boy looked up and said, "Huh?  Oh, I thinking I'm dying!  If I don't
eat something soon, I'll starve to death!"

"That's it!" Ranma-chan exclaimed suddenly, "She was trying to *feed* me again!"

The boy gave her a blank look and Ranma-chan scratched her head and laughed.

"Never mind... Well, I'm hungry too, so we might as well get something to eat,
then I'll walk you home, OK?"

The little boy was beaming.  He stood up, bowed and said, "I know just the
place."

			****************************


Ranma-chan stared in astonishment as the little boy, who had introduced
himself as Goku,
finished off a fifth bowl of Ramen.  For the sixth time, Ranma-chan checked
the contents
of her wallet and winced.  *Man, and I thought Pops ate a lot*  Of course,
she completely
disregarded the fact that she had eaten half-a-dozen bowls herself.  After a
few moments,
Goku put the bowl down and wiped his month with the back of his hand.  

"So, you're a fighter, right?"  Goku asked.

Ranma looked inquiringly at Goku.  "How could you tell?"  

"Oh, I sensed your power level... You'll be pretty strong one day, if you
keep training."

"Really."  Ranma answered.  For some reason, the boy's comments irritated
her.  *Who
does he think he is anyway*  

"I think its about time for me to take you home, your parents must be
worried by now."

Goku laughed merrily but didn't say anything.  

After the pair had walked for about forty minutes, Goku finally led Ranma-chan
to the front of his home.  Goku looked expectantly at Ranma as she knocked on
the door.  A middle aged woman with thinning black hair answered the door.
Ranma
though that she might be a little bit older that her mother.  Not wanting to
jump
to the wrong conclusion too quickly, Ranma hestantly asked, "Hello, is this
your son?"

The woman looked down at Goku, then back at Ranma-chan.  Her face showed open
hostility.  "My son?!", she shrieked.

Ranma involuntarily stepped back and weakly replied, "Uh, Grandson?"

"GRAND SON!" The woman screamed then ran into the house, bursting into tears.

Goku smiled sheepishly at Ranma.  "That's my wife, Chi Chi."

"Your... wife?"  Ranma-chan looked shocked.  

"Yeah, come inside Ranma, I'll explain everything."

As they walked inside, they found Chi Chi sitting by a window, crying.  Goku 
ignored her and sat down on a sofa, motioning for Ranma-chan to do the same.
Ranma-chan glanced at Chi Chi before sitting down.  

"Don't worry about her,"  Goku said in a whisper, "She gets like this
sometimes."

Ranma-chan looked skeptical, but didn't say anything.  She sat down in a big
soft chair, across from Goku.  Goku looked at her for a moment and then
said, "It all started many years ago when I met this girl named Bulma..."

				*****************

When Goku finished his story, it was already nightfall.  (Chi Chi was still
crying).
Ranma-chan sat, motionless, staring at Goku for a long time.  She was trying 
to absorb everything that she had heard.

"Let me get this straight," she finally said, "You were a kid, then you grew
up, died,
came back, and then became a kid again?"

"Yep"

" Heh, and I thought *my* life was complicated. "

Goku looked questioningly at Ranma.  "Never mind."  Ranma answered to the
unspoken
question, "It would take too long to explain."  

"Your story is a bit hard to believe, Goku.  I mean, I've seen ghosts and 
demons, but aliens?"

Goku smiled and said, 'Where _were_ you when Majin-Buu was ravaging the earth,
or even more recently, when Baby was trying to control everyone a few weeks
ago?"

Ranma-chan's face darkened. "I was in China a few weeks ago, there was something
important I needed to take care of."  Ranma relaxed then sighed, "As for
Majin-Buu,
I was probably travelling when he was attacking earth.  I've spent my life
going to
remote places on training trips.  I didn't really get a chance to keep up to
date
on current events."  

Goku nodded to Ranma understandingly.  Suddenly, the full impact of what
Goku had
said hit Ranma-chan.  She quickly stood up and gave Goku an intense look. 

"Those Dragon Balls can grant you ANY wish?"  (She's a bit slow today, eh?)

Goku nodded.  He was not suprised at Ranma's reaction, after all, he had seen
it before on the faces on many friends and enemies.  

"Goku, I could REALLY use a wish right now.  Let's go find the Dragon Balls
together
and we could each make a wish.  You could get back to the right age, and I could
get rid of my curse! Whaddya say?"

Goku looked reluctant. "I don't know Ranma, I just got back from finding
them once
already..."

Ranma glanced again at the STILL crying Chi Chi then said, "I'm sure your WIFE
would appreciate it if you changed back to normal."

Chi Chi stopped crying and gave Goku a stern look. "Goku-san.  You WILL go
after the Dragon Balls, RIGHT?"

"Uh, yeah, Chi Chi. Whatever you say." Goku answered then turned towards
Ranma again.  

"Now, What is this about you being cursed?"

"Well, I guess I should explain.  Can I have a glass of hot water please?" 

"Certainly, Ranma-san."  Chi Chi anwsered and walked into the kitchen.

"She seems much better now." Ranma noted.

"Yeah..." Goku answered.  He looked thoughtful for a moment and said, "Maybe
it _would_
be a good idea to go after the Dragon Balls again"

Chi Chi came back with a glass of steaming hot water and handed it to Ranma.  

"Thanks." Ranma said, and without further preamble over-turned the glass of
water on her head.  The change was immediate.  Chi Chi yelled out in shock
and Goku
just stared, speechless, at the now male Ranma.  Ranma gave Goku a smug
look.  After
all the surprises he had given Ranma that day, it was good to return the favor.

Goku finally found his voice. "H-how.. who.."

"Let me explain,  _My_ story started a couple of years ago, while on a
training trip
to China..."

				*****************

"Wow.  I see what you mean by complicated."

"Yeah.  But I never died."

"But you _did_ revert to a younger age at one time."

"True."

Goku laughed, stood up and held his hand out to Ranma.  "We have a lot in common
Ranma-kun.  This is going to be a fun adventure."

Then Ranma laughed too and took Goku's hand.  "I could use a "fun" adventure
for 
a change."  

Goku yawned and said, "Well, It's getting late Ranma-kun.  You can spend the
night
here then we'll get ready in the morning."

The next morning Ranma met the rest of Goku's family.  Chi Chi had called
everyone
earlier that morning and they all had met for breakfast.  Ranma was, at
first, slightly 
apprehensive about being surrounding by all these 'Meta-beings'.  It was a
little
disconcerting to know that even little Pan could easily beat him in a fight.
But,
after a while, Ranma felt more at ease. They were a normal family, like
anyone else.
He got along well with Gohan and Bideru. They were very kind and offered lots of
advice on what to expect on this journey.  He didn't get a chance to talk to 
Goten because he spent all morning on his cell phone.  Pan was the only
problem; 
she started sulking when she found out that Goku was going on another trip, 
and this time, without her.  Her parents had been QUITE clear on that.  Because 
of her mood, she refused to even acknowledge Ranma's presence.  

"Well, " Goku said after everyone had finished eating, "We are almost ready to
get started Ranma-kun.  After we teach you how to fly, we'll head over to
Bulma's and-"

Ranma interrupted at this point.  "Hold on, Goku.  Did you say fly?!" 

Goku smiled and said, "Yeah, fly.  This would be a VERY long trip if we walked.
As I was saying, we'll go over to Bulma's and get a Dragon Ball detector, then 
you'll probably want to go home and explain things to your family."

Ranma still looked bewildered.  "Fly?"  

The others laughed and Goku said, "Come on Ranma-kun, let's get started."

***********************************************
End of Part 1

In only a short time, I have come to REALLY like 
Dragon ball.  I hope to make this story into
a grand adventure, with Ranma and Goku (and others????)
travelling all over the world looking for the sacred
Dragon Balls.  At least that's the theory.  I seem to have
a problem with detail and story length... *sigh*  well,
I'm bound to get the hang of it sooner or later!  
I have always been an avid Ranma fan and first I was planning
on putting in a plot twist or two that would eventually make Ranma
stronger than Goku.  (The thought of the potential flame mail
kept that misguided story from happening.) Please C&C to anandr@earthlink.net
Thanks for reading.