This is my first post as well as my first fic.  First I must say as I am
relient on the Viz translations I have only read up to volume 6, an
issue or two up to 9 and all of ten.  I�ve probably made a lot of 
mistakes so please be gentle.  Comments, criticism, corrections and
suggestions are welcome.  Just remember that this is the prolouge
and more is on the way but I want some comments first.  Thanks

Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction
Merging Forces
Prologue: Death

	The sun rose over the cursed springs as a new day dawned. 
A young man wearing Chinese clothes and sporting a pigtail walked
towards the training grounds.  He had a look of longing on his face,
as if he was in need of companionship, friendship, or maybe even
love.  But this young man had a greater need.
	
	He needed a cure.  
	
	For he is one of the unlucky few to have gone to Jusenkyo
before.  Even worse he is one of those few to have gained an
aquatic curse from the visit.  This was Ranma Saotome.  
	
	"Maybe I'll actually find the spring this time." he mused,
"It'll be nice to go swimming as a guy again.  Hmm, maybe I can get
Mousse and Ryouga off my back for a while.  Nah, they'll still want
to kill me for something or other.  Seems that everyone I know
wants to kiss me or kill me, sometimes both."  He stopped and
pulled a worn picture out of his pocket.  "Wish me luck Akane," he
said smiling "if this works I'll be the man you want me to be when I
come back.  Instead of a cursed pervert."  He jerked his head up as
he heard voices around the bend.  He rounded the corner to see the
guide and a young American being held at gun point by a girl whose
clothes didn't seem to fit right.  "What the hell..."
	
	The girl snapped the gun around to bear on Ranma and
shouted "Stay back, "
	
	"Okay, but what's the gun for?" Ranma replied
		
	"This bastard ruined my life and now I'm gonna ruin his, get
over there with the other two."  Ranma following the obviously
unstable girl's orders placed his pack on the ground and walked
over to where the American boy and the guide were standing.  He
was unusually calm for the situation.
	
	"Can anyone tell me what's going on?"
	
	"Well," the American boy said in perfect Japanese. 
"Andrew there, well, she's extremely psychotic right now and..."
	
	"I'M NOT A GIRL GARY!!" Andrew screamed at the top
of her lungs.

	And the reason she looked like hers clothes were overlarge
suddenly dawned on Ranma, "You fell in the spring of drowned
girl, didn't you?"

	"YES!  This bastard pushed me in!" 

	"Andrew," Gary yelled "I tried to stop you from falling and
you know it!  You're paranoid!"

	"LIAR!" she screamed, tears forming in his... er... her eyes. 
"You've hated me since I was made leader of this expedition."  She
dashed the tears from her eyes and continued to talk.  "You see,
last year our government found out about the so called "Cursed
Springs" and decided to send a team to study the pools and find if
and how they worked, I was made team leader and he hated it!"

	Gary leaned over to Ranma whispering "The fall into the
pool has snapped her mind,  she's become paranoid delusion.  We're
here because it's a training ground, we're game coders.  We wanted
to get as many martial artists as possible to let us study their styles
for a game we're working on."  He chuckled.  "Too bad we didn't
know the pools were cursed and the ground was abandoned."

	"Game coders?" Ranma replied "She _has_ snapped."

	"He's lying!  We were sent here by our government. He was
jealous of me and pushed me into the pool to get rid of me.  He's
been jealous of me since I stole his girlfriend in high school."  she
accused.

	"See what I mean, we didn't go to high school together.  We
only met this past summer.  What happened was some kid wearing
a bandana mumbling about Furinkan something or other ran by and
bumped into Andrew, when I tried to steady him he pushed me
away and fell into the pool."

	"Stop lying Gary, YOU GOD DAMN PUSHED ME!!"
with that she raised her gun to bear on Gary's head.  "You know, I
think it's time for you to die now Gary.  See you on the other side!"

	It was then that Ranma's impulsive nature and sense of
protection got the better of him.  He decided to go for the gun.  But
while he was the larger of the two, she had a strength born of
madness.  "Let go, he has to die!" she screamed.

	"No way," he shot back, " he doesn't...."  Time moved
slowly as the gun flared.  Pain rivaled only by the first
transformation ran through his body.  Suddenly his grip went weak
as he fell to the ground.

	"You shot me, what did you do that for?" he said as the life
ran out of him.  He then fell on his face, lifeless.

	Andrew fell to her knees, suddenly sobbing as the
realization of what she had done shocked her to the core and
brought her out of the madness.  She kneeled there shaking, the gun
forgotten as it fell from her fingers.  Gary picked it up and gave it
to the guide.

	"Here, take this." he said as he walked to Ranma's body. 
"Oh, god.  He's just a kid."  He stated as he got a better look at
Ranma's body.  "He's younger than I am.  Sorry to get you involved
in this kid."  He sighed and sat as he looked at the boys body,
depressed and angry at the same time.

	"Excuse me sir," the guide began.

	"What?"  Gary responded, his head in his hands.

	"There is still a way to revive him."

	"How?  He was shot trough the heart!"

	"Well, this young sir has the curse from the 'Spring of
drowned girl', and he has had it for quite a while now."

	"That's nice, he was killed by someone in the same EXACT
SITUATION AS HE WAS IN!"

	"There is an old legend, that if someone cursed was to be
placed back in the pool they were cursed in with another person of
the same gender, they may be brought back.  but..."

	"But what?" Gary asked as he began to get up.

	"I have never seen it happen," the guide respond.  "I do not
know how it works exactly."

	"Well,"  he started as he picked up Ranma's corpse.  "I'll
have to risk it."  

	"But sir.."

	"No buts!  This kid saved my life, I'd never forgive myself if
I didn't try to do the same.  Now, where's the pool?" he asked.

	"It is this way sir."  The guide responded as he walked
towards the pools.  "But what about the other sir?"

	"She'll be in shock for a good while, I'll figure something
out later."

	"If you say so."  The guide suddenly stopped at one of the
identical looking pools.  "Here is the 'Spring of drowned girl', very
tragic legend of girl who drowned in spring 1500 years ago.  Now,
whoever fall in spring take body of girl."

	"If this works, will I be cursed as well?"  Gary asked,
looking at the pool with apprehension.

	"I do not know.  Like I said, I have never seen this done."

	"Well, I guess I'll find out for myself.  BANSAI!"

	Gary jumped into the spring, thinking "I really hope this
works"  With that, he fell into blackness.

Hope you liked it.  As I said anything you want to say is welcome.
I don't have this posted toi my page yet but it and anything else will
be posted at http://members.tripod.com/~ryogahibiki.  If it is recieved
well I will post part one soon.

VidWizard

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