Okay everyone...this is it! The absolute final revision of the 
currently existing chapters of Onna: Red Side. I should hopefully 
finish all seven by the end of the day (5 through 7 need extensive 
work, but 1-4 will be done long before noon). 

Here's Chapter 1! Enjoy! C&C is always welcome!

The Eternal Lost Lurker (squn29a@prodigy.com)

Author's Foreword:
This is the first of two stories which combined make up the rewrite 
of my longest work ever, "Her". Note, this is a REWRITE, not a 
REVISION, of "Her", which means the story is completely changed. It 
has some of the same elements but takes them in a completely 
different direction.

That having been said...
1) The two sections of "Onna" will not be related to one another. Red 
Side is a crossover, Yellow Side will be a straight Ranma fic.
2) Red Side is a cross between Ranma 1/2 and an alternate reality of 
Magic Knight RayEarth. The RayEarth material used contains drastic 
changes to the original storyline. In this alternate timeline, the 
events of MKR1 change about halfway through, MKR2 does not occur at 
all, and the timeline is two years after the altered MKR1.
3) I'm using the anime continuum of Ranma 1/2, and the manga 
continuum of RayEarth.
4) Warning: this tends to get DARK in some places.

   *hajime*

   The thin, cool mist he'd encountered at every step of his journey 
so far suddenly thickened. He had to tread more carefully as 
visibility was reduced to nil. Ahead of him, he heard the sound of 
water dripping. He continued onward.
   A little farther down the trail, he heard faint voices. Straining 
to hear, he could make out two: one was laughing cruelly. The other 
was...a girl crying?
   Gritting his teeth, he strode into the mist, unmindful of the 
trail. The mist began to part, and a spectacle from hell unfolded 
before him.
   Tied to a roughly hewn wooden stake was a young girl, with long, 
braided red hair. She was filthy, naked, covered with welts and 
bruises, and crying. Dark rings circled her watery crimson eyes.
   Her tormentor stood before her, his posture arrogant and his 
laughter cold and mocking. Beside the tormentor sat a rack of torture 
implements...all quite obviously recently used.
   Suddenly, he found himself no longer able to move. Rooted to his 
spot on the trail, he could only watch in horror as the cruel man 
raped his young prisoner. Her screams rent deep gashes in his soul. 
He struggled to no avail against the paralysis which had taken him.
   Her tormentor then turned to face him. An arrogant sneer darkened 
the all too familiar features...the ones he saw in the mirror every 
day.
   Saotome Ranma awoke screaming.

   Ranma 1/2
    "ONNA" Red Side vs. Yellow Side
   Red Side: Honou no Onna

Legal:
Ranma 1/2 property of Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan, Weekly Shonen, 
VIZ Communications.
Magic Knight RayEarth property of CLAMP
Anything else used, I'll deal with in the author's notes at the end. 
^_^

   Chapter One: Zankoku no Yume

   Genma lazily whapped Ranma over the head with a sign that said 
"Shut up, boy" before rolling over and going back to sleep. The 
Tendou family came charging into the room, Akane at the head of the 
pack. "Ranma!" 
   Ranma rubbed his head. His hand came away drenched in sweat. "Kuso.
.." he gasped, breathing raggedly.
   "Ara! Ranma-kun, are you alright?" Kasumi knelt beside his futon. 
Akane knelt on the other side.
   Ranma took a moment to compose himself, then softly said, "Yeah...
I'm okay. Just...just a bad dream." Assuming his usual cavalier 
demeanor, he said, in a still somewhat shaky voice. "Ah, it ain't 
nothin'. I musta just ate too much of your cookin' last night Akane.
"
   Akane's expression went from concerned, to embarrassed, to 
outraged. "RANMA NO BAKA!" she screamed, and stalked out of the room. 

   "Ara..." Kasumi said. Then she started. "Ara! I need to finish 
making breakfast!" With that, she hurried daintily from the room.
   Nabiki clucked her tongue at Ranma. "Good one Saotome," she 
snickered, and made her way back to her own room.
   Soun just bawled for a few minutes. Genma slept on unperturbed.

   A few minutes later, Ranma staggered into the bathroom. "Oh man...
I feel like hell..." Stepping in front of the mirror, he groaned. His 
reflection revealed a respectable amount of stubble, bleary eyes, 
dissheveled hair, and bags under his eyes. "Oh man...I look like hell 
too," he muttered. Stripping off his tank top, but leaving his boxers 
on, he picked up a washbucket, and filled it with cold water. Bracing 
himself, he dumped it over his head. "BBbbrrrr....cold..." Shaking 
off the excess droplets, Ranma was about to commence with the morning 
toilette, when her gaze locked on her reflection.
   Slowly, the image in the mirror changed. No longer was she looking 
at her drowsy, damp, bleary face. She was now staring into watery 
auburn eyes which gazed back at her from a bleeding, tear-streaked, 
bruised face. The girl in the mirror was covered in welts and bruises 
and grime. Her eyes held a pleading in them. Ranma could do little 
more than stare back at her.
   Until the girl in the mirror spoke.
   <Help me. Please...help me. Rescue me. Set me free. Please. Help 
me.>
   With a shriek, Ranma leapt away from the mirror.
   Once again, the rest of the household tore into the room. Akane 
looked worried again, but slightly annoyed. Kasumi looked genuinely 
concerned. Soun was bawling again. Genma wore no expression. Nabiki 
smirked.
   "Really, Ranma. Twice in one morning?" Nabiki chided.
   "That...the mirror...girl...my dream..."
   Akane frowned. "Ranma...what are you talking about?"
   Ranma pointed at the mirror...and froze. All it revealed was her 
own panicked visage.
   She blinked. "What in the...?"
   Kasumi prompted, "Ranma? Are you alright?" 
   Ranma stepped back shakily from the mirror. "Ah...yeah. I think so.
 Yeah."
   With that, the Tendous and Genma retreated from the bathroom. 
Akane glanced back at Ranma with worry evident on her face, before 
closing the door behind her.
 
   ***Interlude: China***

   :Be careful down there, daughter. It's dangerous.:
   :I'm alright, Father. Don't worry about me.:
   Plum searched the small crevice at the base of the cliff 
overlooking the west side of Jyusenkyou. Her father had spotted 
something down there, and she was the only one small enough to check 
it out. 
   :There doesn't seem to be anything down here, Father...:
   Suddenly, a bright red light flared from the corner of the crevice.
 Plum frowned, and made her way over to it.
   :How odd...:
   Wedged between two rocks was a slightly dingy white gauntlet with 
a red jewel set into the back of the handguard. As she examined it, 
the jewel begin pulsing brightly. With a shriek, Plum dropped it.
   :Daughter! Are you alright?:
   :Yes, Father. It just startled me. What is it?:
   :I don't know, Daughter. I have seen nothing of this sort before.
:
   The jewel abruptly stopped flashing. Plum picked up the gauntlet 
and examined it more closely, frowning. She could have sworn it was 
dirty a minute ago; now, it was pristine white. It also seemed a 
slight bit larger. :This thing is too strange,: Plum commented. 
Tucking it into the knapsack slung over her shoulder, she made her 
way out of the crevice.

____
------------------------------------------------------------
"If it looks like a duck, and walks like a duck, and quacks like a 
duck...pour hot water on it."
Ryodachi Kouma
"The Eternal Lost Lurker"
squn29a@prodigy.com
http://pages.prodigy.com/EtLostLurker

no da.