This is not meant to be a Great Literature, to
quote Metroanime. I'm not going to continue this. All
characters belong to whoever lucky enough to own them.
The grass is always greener if you use fertilizers.

	In The Bet, there were two points on which I
found frustrating:
		1. No MKR.
		2. Akane usually treated Ranma as a scum.
	So I decided to write a fic to satisfy myself.
Don't laugh at me, because I will laugh back. Much of
the opening is based on "A Different Art", one of the
entrys in The Bet.



	"Nice to see you again, Toltiir."

	"Loki? What do you want?"

	"Oh, just a late entry in your competition..."

	"The Bet's been over for a long time."

	"Do you think I care?"

	"Is my fur white?"

	"Exactly. Now, I want to make a change here..."

#######################################################

	He dived deeper. Time, gravity, air... All of
those were trivial in this place. Crawling, for the lack
of better word, through the dark space, he eventually
reached the sphere of light he sought for.

	It was not unlike looking at a mirror, except
what he saw was definitely not himself. Rather, it was
a mountain range he had never seen before. Zooming into
one of the faint trails, he saw a man in white clothing
with a handkerchief wrapped around his head and spectacles
on his eyes. He was being followed by a six-year old
boy; his younger self.

	He watched as the little boy got curious about
odd symbols in a cave, and snuck away from his father.
He watched the pentagram activating, throwing the boy
away from the world. Ground of an another world met
the boy head-first, depriving him of consciousness and
memories.

#######################################################

	Clef saw his deciple coming out of the trance
he had put himself into. "Do you remember now, Loto?"

	The magic swordman in training replied, "My
name is Ranma. Ranma Saotome."

	"Very well then, Ranma. What did you see?"

	"I was journeying with my father; for what
reason, I couldn't recall. We were in a mountain, when
I encountered an enchanted cave of sorts. With childish
curiosity, I activated the runes. That was how I
arrived here in Cephiro."

	The short sage nodded thoughtfully. That had
been his suspiscion from the beginning. "Wait here.
I have something for you."

	Clef returned shortly with an item that was
immedeately recognizable.

	"Orb of Quest."

	"Exactly. This should aid you greatly to find
your families." Clef's face turned somewhat worried.
"What will you be doing once you find them?"

	The young man spoke in clear, firm tones. "I
will return in a few years, if not earlier. My home
is here at Cephiro, and I owe my loyalty to both you
and Princess Emeraude." He didn't mention others:
High Priest Zagat, whom he held a great respect for;
Prince Ferio, his friend regardless of the class;
Alcione, his collague he held an intense rivalry with;
Lafarga, the swordmaster he dreamed of surpassing;
Weapon-mistress Precia, whom he also respected greatly;
Caldina, who gave him a few sleepless nights;
and Ascot, the troublemaker he had grown fond of.

	Ranma, also known as Loto, had no intention of
leaving Cephiro parmanently.

	Clef smiled and hid his relief. "Very well then,
I will make some arrangements..."

#######################################################

	Ranma stepped out of the cave, and was rewarded
by the sight of breathtaking canyons. He enjoyed the
view and crisp air for a few moments before taking out
his teacher's gift.

	The mystic orb had an inner light that would
point at the direction of one's quarry. It pointed
to east.

#######################################################

	Ranma would have cursed, but it went against
the code of chivalry. None of the locals seemed to
understand his language, whether it be Japanese or
Cephirian. This was bad, because his supplies had run
out.

	He hated to do it, but he had no choice. He had
to steal some food.

	Unfortunately, he chose the worst village to do
that...

#######################################################

	Okay, my patience just about run out at this
point, so please use your imagination in the following
scenes:

	<Shampoo chasing the outsider who dared to steal
HER prize. She manages to catch up with him, only to be
knocked out by a blunt end of the sword.>

	<Ranma, trying to throw off Shampoo's persuit,
not knowing her altered intention, decides to dive into
a convinient spring to hide. Three guesses to which one
that is, and the first two don't count.>

	<Ranma being reunited with his family (Genma,
Nodoka, and his sister Ranko). Teary, happy-go Walt
Disney scenes, but then Genma takes them to a certain
old friend's house...>

	<Ranma demonstrating what he learned in Cephiro
in front of Tendos and Saotomes. Nabiki is intrigued,
but before she can stake the claim, Akane is hoisted
into being the fiancee by Soun. Akane isn't happy at
all, but her fascination with magic and reluctant
attraction to Ranma gradually makes her friendly. Ranma
in turn fails to mention that he has to leave sooner
or later, and starts liking Akane.>

	And so on. Eventually the first-season MKR
plotline develops, with Magic Knights appearing, of
course. Ranma (a la Loto) is called back as well. It
would be interesting to see how the story could
deviate, I think.

	Ranma's power level? In terms of using Ranma 1/2
reference, around Herb of Musk Dynasty. In terms of MKR,
he's not as powerful as Zagat or Clef, but can easily
rival other characters.

	Well, that's it. I just wanted to write a Bet
fic that somehow involved MKR. If anyone is bored
enough to want to continue this, feel free to do so.
===
V       V   GGGG       A    PPPP
 V     V   G          A A   P   P	Contact at:
  V   V    G  GGG    AAAAA  PPPP	vg_ap@hotmail.com
   V V     G   G     A   A  P		vg_ap@yahoo.com
    V       GGGG     A   A  P
_________________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com