Here is an expanded version of my fanfic.  I didn't realize how small the
first part was until I got it sent to me by the FFML.  Please send C&C
preferably to bunny@spectra.net 

                    LOST BOY OF AMBER
               A Ranma 1/2/Chronicles of Amber x-over
                       By C.J.

All characters from Ranma 1/2 are property of Rumiko Takahashi.  All
characters from The Chronicles of Amber are property of Roger Zelazny. Any
new characters are mine. Please don't sue me, I have less money than most
college students (if that's possible).

PART1

     The world was a dark and lonely place.
     While that was Hibiki Ryoga's general train of thought most days, for
once he was looking at his environment. Glancing at the dead, blasted trees
and dry, brittle undergrowth, he wondered, 'Did Saotome and I fight here
once?'
    Saotome.  Just thinking that name brought Ryoga back into depression.
The bane of his existence.  The man, no, the half-girl pervert that was
responsible for everything wrong in Ryoga's life.  The bread.  His pig
curse. Akane's horrendous engagement.  He was just about to scream his
frustration to the skies when he felt a pain in his chest.
    Looking up, he saw an unusual sight.  There were six men before him,
half on foot, like himself and the other half on some sort of creatures
that vaguely resembled horses.  The men were wearing a kind of full plate
armor and carrying swords, including the one standing in front of him,
holding his sword to Ryoga's sternum.
     People!  This brightened his day considerably.  Ryoga started with his
standard line.  "Excuse me, but can you tell me how to get to the Tendo Dojo?"
     The man in front of him looked confused, as if he expected Ryoga to
cower in fear from him.  Then he grew angry and drew back his sword to
attack.  'Bandits!' Ryoga thought, pulling his umbrella off of his pack.
'Well, I may not get directions from them, but at least I can get some
exercise.'
     A few moments later, the bandits lay about the site groaning.  Ryoga
pulled his umbrella out of the tree that it was stuck in, and went over to
the one that seemed to be the leader.  Picking him up by the breastplate,
he shouted," Now, do you want to tell me where the Tendo Dojo is, or do I
have to get mad!"  The leader said something to Ryoga in a language he
didn't understand.  When Ryoga shook him again, he merely pointed to the
large bag on the mount he was on.  Ryoga dropped him and walked over,
shaking his head and thinking, 'How could know what I want if he doesn't
speak Japanese?'  Reaching into the bag for a map, he got his hand caught
in what seemed to be strands of silk.
     Curiously, he pulled it out and his blood turned to ice.  These
weren't, bandits, they were much, much worse!  Turning around in a fury,
all he saw of the men in armor were scraps of metal dusting away before his
eyes.  Annoyed, he turned and walked into the trees, not once noticing the
dark trail the men were following.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

     At nightfall, Ryoga stopped and set up camp.  He had finally come out
of the area of woods that spooked him so.  After getting a campfire
started, he looked down at what was in the slavers' bag.  She appeared to
be no older than eight, with dirt, chains and manacles, and her long, brown
hair the only things covering her.  Ryoga got some spare clothes, a pail of
water from the nearby river, and a cloth to clean her up with.  After
heating the water, he went to the unconscious girl's side.  'At least she
too young to give me a nosebleed.' he thought, while breaking the chains
about her neck, arms, and legs.  He cleaned her up the best that he could,
got her dressed, then set about getting some food ready.
     Ryoga was just about finished with that when he heard her stirring.
He turned in time to see her open brilliant green eyes and look at him.
She didn't say anything, so he softly spoke.  "I have some food if you're
hungry." Ryoga flinched when she jumped at the sound of his voice. 'She
must be terrified.' he thought, 'How do you comfort a little girl?  The
only way I've done that is as P-chan...'  He stopped when he realized that
she had cautiously moved closer, and was gazing at him with a look of
adoration.  His shirt hung off her almost like a small dress, with
accompanying belt and pants looking a bit sloppy, but functional.  She said
something in the same language that the men were using, and then said
"A-arigato."
     Ryoga sighed in relief when he heard the word of Japanese.  "It was no
problem.  My name is Ryoga, what's yours?"
     "R-Ryoga?" she stammered.  A moment later she said, "Lara."
     "Well, Lara-chan, would you like some stew?  I made plenty.  It's just
dried beef and vegetables, but it's filling."
     "Hai.  Domo arigato."
     The next few days were quiet as Ryoga got to know Lara better.  Once
the shock of what happened to her wore off, she became an exuberant little
child.  While he was worried that she would be lost if she went too far
away, but she always could find him.  Ryoga had to admit, he enjoyed having
her as company, because she could cheer him up even when he was at his
bleakest.
One day, about a week later, Lara said, "Ryo-chan, how come you walk funny?"
     "What do you mean?  I walk fine."
     "You mean you want to go in circles, even when you're trying to find
that dojo where your girlfriend is?  That seems pretty silly."
     Ryoga sighed and sat down at the side of the road that they had come
across.  "Okay, I'll tell you.  You see, I've got a really bad sense of
direction.  It takes me hours to find a bathroom, and that's in the house
where I used to live.  Both of my parents have the same problem, just not
as bad, but I got it from both sides of my family, and I was kind of
ashamed to tell you..." it was then that he noticed Lara staring at him
with an intense look of concentration.  "Lara, what's wrong?  I hope I
didn't upset you by not telling you sooner but.."
     "Yatta!" Lara shouted, and gave Ryoga a world class arm-glomp. "I knew
it, I was right!"
     "R-right about what, Lara?"
     "I know why you get lost, cousin Ryo-chan."
     "COUSIN!  What are you talking about."
     "Un!  Let's set up and I'll tell you."
     A short distance away, they found a good campsite near a stream and
set up camp in record time.  Once dinner was simmering, Lara began.
     "Ryo-chan, you and me come from a special family where we can use
special powers.  I think you just don't know how to use your powers right,
so you get lost."
     "Huh?"
     "One of the powers is to walk and find anything we want.  You can
walk, but you don't know how to find stuff."
     "Do you think you can teach me how to not get lost?  It gets really
tiring sometimes."
     "No." Lara looked downcast. "I can't do it at all."  She looked
hopeful. "But I know how to get you fixed.  We'll leave in the morning 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

     In the morning, after breakfast and breaking camp, Ryoga expected to
head out immediately.  Instead, Lara just stood there, with an intense look
of concentration screwing her eyes shut.
     "Uh, Lara-chan, which way do we go?"
     "Shush, I'm reaching." was her only reply.
     'Reaching? Reaching for what? She doesn't even have her arms out!'
Ryoga began to despair, losing what little hope he got from believing this
little girl.
     "Okay, got it.  Now hold on real tight.  If you let go, I don't know
what will happen." Lara began to slowly reach her arms out, and seemed to
take hold of something that wasn't there.
     Ryoga put his arms around her holding as firmly as he could without
squeezing the breath out of her.  "Now whaATT..."
     His last words were lost as all around Ryoga when blank.  The only
sensations that he felt were the small body in his arms and a rushing
feeling past his face.
     The next thing he knew, he was lying in a heap, and the scene was
different.  He was on the cold floor of what appeared to be a dungeon!  The
floors, walls, and ceiling were made from rough-hewn stone and the only
source of light was a small lantern hanging to one side.  The only signs of
life other than him and Lara was the unconscious guard he was sitting on...
     "Oops." said Lara.  "I hope that Roger is okay.  This was as close as
I could get."
     Ryoga looked over at her.  She was taller!  Where before she could
easily have passed for seven, maybe eight, Lara looked like a pre-teen!
"Uh, Lara,"
     "Yes, Ryo-chan?" Lara looked to where he was staring at, namely,
herself.  She grinned at him.  "I'm growing up.  Now come on, it's this
way.  And you better hold my hand.  This is the wrong place to get lost.
     Lara half led, half-pulled Ryoga down the semi-natural hallway.  As he
glanced back, he could see the other way led to a staircase that went up
into the ceiling.
     Ryoga was led down the hallway, past several branches, which had doors
along the walls.  Finally, Lara dragged him down a branch that had only one
door, solid wood and at the end of the hall.  She produced a key, put it in
the lock, turned, and pushed the door open.  Within lay the most unusual
sight that Ryoga had ever seen.  The room itself was plain, just a square
stone room with one door.  But on the floor lay something that struck him
to the very core of his being.  There was a...a Pattern on the floor,
almost as if some deific child had come in and scribbled a line with blue
fire.  That ancient god started in the far corner and went around the room
in a spiral pattern, ending up in the exact center of the room.
     "What..." his voice cracked, due to his jaw hanging slack in
amazement.  Moistening them, he went on.  "What is it?"
     "It's the Pattern, silly." was the reply.  "The symbol of Order, the
Manifestation of the Unicorn, the ultimate force for structure in
existence, and a bunch of other stuff.  But more importantly, it's the way
for tapping the powers that the family uses."  Lara led him around to the
far side where the Pattern began.
     "What do we have to do?" 
     "Well, its what you have to do that is important.  First, you get on
here, and then walk the line to the center of the Pattern.  Just remember,
that you can't get off 'til the end, and don't try to back up, or it'll zap
you good." Lara smiled.  "Think of this as one of those training sessions
you told me about.  The only difference is, you only get one try at this.
     Ryoga stared at it for a moment, then took off his pack and set it on
the floor.  Taking a swig from his canteen, he then stepped up to the blue
line.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Ryoga nearly dropped to his knees at the center of the Pattern.  He
made it!  He looked up at Lara across the roaring lines of fire.  "Now
what?" he hollered.
     "Well, now the Pattern can take you anywhere you want.  If you go to
the campsite, I'll meet you there." Lara called back, almost unheard due to
the flames.
     "Okay." Ryoga thought of the campsite, watching his environs shift
almost... casually before blacking out.
     Lara almost fainted in relief when Ryoga made it to the end.  She was
terrified that she was wrong, and that her new cousin was going to pay.
The emotional bond between them was very strong; despite how little time
they've known each other.  She shouldered his pack, and almost made it to
the door before the pounding began.
     'Uh oh' she thought, 'They found Roger.' Glad that she forgot to put
the key back, Lara timed the pounding, and then opened the door.  She
blanched when she saw Gerard and three guards pile in.
     "Hi Unca Gerard, bye Unca Gerard." she shouted as she bolted, running
down the hall and to another branch at random.  Gerard's blood boiled when
he recognized her despite her age.  "After her!" he cried, "She's never up
to any good.  If she wants to be here, we'll throw her in a cell!"  He
leapt up and pursued.
     Lara turned into the first open door she could find.  Looking around,
she started to panic 'I hope he doesn't kill me, I really like him...'
Spotting a drawing on one wall of the cell, she peered at it, and
disappeared just before Gerard kicked in the door.
     The young girl found herself in a cozy study, with books on all four
walls, and a desk with a skull and a globe sitting on it.  A sound issued
from one of the doors, and a man shuffled in.
     The odd looking hunchback peered at Lara absently wiping his hands on
the nightgown he was wearing.  "Shouldn't you be in bed, child?"
     "Great-Grandpa Dworkin!" Lara shrugged off the pack and threw herself
at him for a hug.  "I missed you!"
     He looked down at her in suprise and no small amount of clarity.  Then
his face softened, and he gave a chuckle.  "Been playing with your new
cousin, have we?" 
     She glared at him, and then giggled.  "Yeah, he likes me, and doesn't
want to lock me up like everyone else."
     "They don't hate you, child, they just don't know you.  Give them
time.  Now, I have a present for you and young Ryoga."  Dworkin picked up
the pack with no effort, and led Lara to the desk.  Going through the
drawers, he pulled out two boxes and tucked them in the pack.  "Now, don't
open yours until your cousin has had a chance to rest.  And you had better
be on your way.  Just remember, the road is no easier because you know the
way."
     Lara jumped and gave Dworkin a hug.  "Thanks, Great-Grandpa, I love
you." she said as she faded from view.
     Dworkin seated himself at the desk and picked up his wine.  "Ah, youth
begins the contest anew." he muttered to himself, peering into the swirls
within the glass.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Ryoga drifted in a state of awareness, somewhere between being asleep
and awake.  He could feel the bedroll beneath him, and the warmth of the
sun through the tent.  'Where am I?' he thought.  'I don't remember putting
up the tent last night...  Last night!  Ryoga sat upright when he
remembered the ordeal and it's aftermath.  He gingerly crawled out of the
tent and looked around.
     "Good morning, Ryo-chan, breakfast will be ready in a moment."
     Ryoga stopped looking at the campsite that wasn't set up when he
passed out to see who was making breakfast.  What he saw was a girl his own
age, wearing a yellow shirt, black pants and shoes, and had brown hair that
was pulled back and tied with one of his own bandannas.  It was when she
turned around and peered at him with vivid green eyes that shook his brain
into activity.
     "L-L-Lara?  Is that you?" He stammered.
     She looked at him in confusion, then giggled and led him to the fire.
     "Here, you eat and I'll explain.  I hope you like western foods,
that's all I know how to cook."  The girl handed him a plate of food and
waited for him to start eating before talking.
     "You see, Ryo-chan, I come from a side of the family that has
different powers.  One of the things I can do is change my form.  Those men
who captured me hurt me so badly that my mind retreated from what they had
done.  My powers responded by changing my form to fit my mentality, that of
a small, frightened child."
     "Is this was you normally look like?" was said between mouthfuls.
     "Sort of.  I think I've stopped aging, and I've also picked up a few
traits from being around you, cousin."  Lara smiled, showing off fangs
similar to Ryoga's.
     Ryoga set down his clean plate.  "Do you think I could learn to change
my form, too?" 
     Lara looked at him with expressionless eyes.  "Maybe.  Let me tell you
about the history of Amber and the Courts of Chaos..."


     Night had fallen, leaving the dim embers and the stars as the only
sources of light.  Ryoga was staring at his cousin with disbelief, despite
his recent ordeal with the pattern.  Lara had just finished talking and was
now gazing into the remnants of the campfire.
     "Let me get this straight." Ryoga began.  "There are two worlds at the
ends of the universe, one using the powers of chaos, the other, the one
we're related to, uses the powers of order."  He did not notice his cousin
flinch at his words, "And walking the Pattern gives us the ability to walk
between different Shadows, were you can go out and find any possibility
imaginable?"  Lara just nodded. "And the Pattern was drawn in Amber by our
Great Grandfather, Dworkin Bariman, who is a renegade from the Courts of
Chaos, so the peace between the two kingdoms is uneasy at best?  Did I miss
anything?"
     "Only that the Pattern is the force that keeps the Shadows from
descending back into the Chaos that they were originally formed, and that
the balance between the two forces needs to be kept, or the universe will
be destroyed."  Something in Lara's tone of voice made Ryoga glance over at
her.  She seemed to be drawing into herself, using her arms to hug her
knees to her chest.
     "Lara, what's wrong?  You look upset."
     She looked at him for a moment, then drew a shuddering breath.  "I
guess that I should tell you my story now. Watch."  With that she squinted,
reached out her arms, and concentrated.  A moment later, a pack, much
similar to Ryoga's, fell into her arms.  Lara looked up and caught eyes
with him.  "I don't have the powers of the Pattern, Ryoga, I carry the
Logrus, the power of chaos within me.  You see, my mother is a member of
one of the houses in the Courts of Chaos.  She decided that she wanted to
bear an heir to a royal family.  So, she snuck into Castle Amber one night
when the queen, Vialle, was absent, spiked the drink of King Random,
shapeshifted so the she looked like his husband, and slept with the king."
She ignored Ryoga's gasp.  "That's why I snuck you into the castle last
night.  If they had found us earlier, they would have skewered us on the
spot.  None of the family trusts me because of what my mother did, and my
mother hates me because I refuse to help her seize Amber.  Those men you
saved me from worked for her, and were taking me back for 'punishment."
     "You're scared that I'll leave," Ryoga had a rare burst of insight.
"You're worried that I'll do the same thing everyone else did and leave you
alone.  Well, that's not going to happen.  I trust you, and I'm not going
to leave unless you want me to.  I've been alone most of my life, and I'm
not about to distrust you because of something your mother did...Whoulf"
     The last was said as Lara, not holding back her tears, threw herself
at him, giving him a hug that would have squeezed the life out of an oak.
Ryoga, feeling his ribs groan, hugged back.
     Until the underbrush around the camp exploded.
     "Surrender or die, traitor!" The leader screamed at the pair.
     Ryoga threw Lara beside the fire and dove for his umbrella.  "Run,
Lara!  I'll take care of..." Rolling over, he saw Lara standing in a ready
position, with a quarterstaff in hand.
     "Forget it, cousin!  These bozos may have caught me by surprise
before, but the two of us have them outnumbered."
     Ryoga's reply was lost in the roar of the attacking horde.

To be continued.........