Here's another fic of mine, neatened up and placed on the FFML just in time.
Enjoy!
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-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
-- File: Newworld.txt
Matrix Dragon Presents....
A NERV Production. This fic caused mental instability in the
writer....
A New World
Part One
(Disclaimer.)
Be warned, Spoilers are everywhere in this fic. Don't come
crying to me if you find out something you didn't want to know.
***
For centuries in the land of Hyrule, there has been a story
told to children and adults alike. The story tells of a young boy and
his guardian fairy, chosen by destiny. A boy who, in order to protect
the sacred Triforce, the essence of the Gods, from the evil king of
thieves, opened the Door of Time to get to it before the thief.
But instead, he found his spirit trapped, while the evil king
Gannondorf stole the Triforce. In seven years, Hyrule was his. The
various races faced destruction, in order to ensure that Gannondorf
would never have his power threatened. Soon, only a few problems
remained.
One was Princess Zelda, the heir to the throne. She had gone
into hiding just before Gannondorf seized the Triforce. Zelda was a
danger to the kings power as long as she lived.
The other problem was the young boy known as Link. His spirit
had been freed from the Sacred Realm, and was already on his way to
finish the task set to him seven years ago. He now weided the blade
known as the Master Sword, a weapon evil could not touch. He was now
the Hero of Time, chosen by destiny to battle the evil king.
But there was also another, one who, in time, would become as
great a legend as the Princess and the Hero.....
***
On another world, a world referred to by its natives as Earth,
a young man was brooding. To those that knew him, this would come as
a surprise to them.
Ranma Saotome was supposedly an extrovert with an ego the size
of the sun. Nothing ever seemed to keep him down for long. But the
truth was, it was the sheer number of problems that pulled him down.
Life had just gotten so crazy. If he'd thought the adventures
before the failed wedding attempt had been bad, the month since then
had taught him what bad really was.
After the fun and excitement of having all the usual
troublemakers in his life show up at the same time and destroy his
best chance at a cure, things had managed to calm down. For about a
day.
Then it all started again. Shampoo, distressed from not having
seen Ranma ever since she destroyed his wedding, came to visit him at
school. She glomped him, Ukyo started to usual "Ranchan is MY
fiancee!" speach, and Akane got angry at Ranma. Then Mousse showed up
after Shampoo, Kuno attacked Ranma, Ryouga wandered in and blamed
Ranma for something, and as a perfect finish, another arangement of
Genma's turned up.
Trying to figure out a way to get out of this mess, the young
martial artist fell asleep. Because of this, he didn't notice a
figure appear in the room.
There was now a young man standing there. His face and most of
his blond hair were hidden by a white hood and mask, and there was a
strange symbol on his chest.
The man made no sound. Instead, he raised his hand, and Ranma
was bathed in a pale yellow glow...
***
Navi gave Link a look. "Shut up," the elf told her.
"Okay, okay, you don't have to grouch. But-"
"If you say I told you so one more time, I'm putting you in a
bottle." The fairy shut her mouth. He walked towards the exit of the
Temple of Time, thinking over what the sage had told him. Behind him
stood the mysterious figure of Shiek, watching him walk out. Nearby
lay a young woman, seemingly asleep... "Huh? Where'd she come from?"
Link knelt next to her, checking her breathing. She was only asleep,
he concluded.
The girl's eyes opened, and she shook her head to clear it.
"Where... where am I?"
"Um, you're in the Temple of Time miss," Link said. "I'm Link,
this is Navi, that's Shiek, and you are...?"
"Ranma. Ranma Saotome."
"I do not know how you came to be here child, but perhaps you
can help us." Shiek stepped forward, his red eyes looking over Ranma.
"I can see you are a warrior. Link will need help in his quest to
destroy the Evil King."
Ranma blinked. "Evil King? This guy's gonna fight an evil
king? Where the hell am I?"
"As Link said, you are in the Temple of Time, in the country of
Hyrule."
"Never heard of the place. But if it's got some Evil King,
guess it's pretty messed up." She stood up, and looked around her, at
the cold stone walls of the Temple. "Well, I'm in some weird place I
have no idea about, no idea of how to get home, and no idea of where
to start looking." She shruged. "Okay, I'm in."
***
Ranma, Link and Navi stood at the entrance to the Temple of
Time, looking down at what was once a busy marketplace. Now, it was
nothing more then a barren space. The building lay in ruins, guttered
by fires. The decomposing bodies of the Redead staggered about the
streets, bumping into things. When they touched something living,
like a rat, they grabbed it and devoured it.
"Woah," Link said.
"What you said. How did this happen?" Ranma asked.
"I was in the Sacred Realm for seven years," Link said,
scratching his chin in thought. Navi listened to his voice, and noted
that even though he was still really a little kid, he sounded like a
normal seventeen-year-old. "Gannon must have attacked the palace. The
market would have been hit as well, because it's so close."
"Figures." Ranma turned around at looked at the Temple. "Now
that is impressive. It looks like one of those Christian Churches. I
wonder why it ain't been levelled." She shrugged. "C'mon, we've got
to get through the marketplace... or what's left of it." The trio ran
down the stairs and into action.
The Redead were slow, but they worked together, beginning to
form a circle around the group. Link worried about what the screams,
capable of stunning them. Then the first scream came, cutting through
to his bones as they always did, but to his surprise he found he
could still move. He took full advantage of it, bringing the Master
Sword down through the face of one of them, following it through by
cutting it's legs out from underneath it.
Ranma, who had never faced Redead before, cut loose, taking
down two at once with a roundhouse kick. Another one ambled up behind
her, but she flipped over it, slamming her fist into the back of it's
neck. The last one then found itself overwelmed by attacks by both of
the warriors. It fell without a whimper.
Link kicked the body, then walked towards the drawbridge. Ranma
followed, but stopped at the door that led to the room full of pots.
"Wait. There's someone in there."
"Are you sure?" Link asked.
"Yeah." Link twisted the handle, and pushed the door open. The
small room had changed a bit in seven years. There were a lot less
pots, for starters, which Link had often smashed for loose change.
And at the other end of the room, someone had set up a bed and a cage
full of Poes. The person in question was siting on his bed, waving a
staff and tapping the cage occasionly. His head was covered by a
large purple cloak. As Link stepped forward he noticed that there was
a red glow coming from the darkness where the mans head should be.
"Oh... You are quite an handsome young man. You're brave and
energetic too. And what a pretty girl." Link didn't notice Ranma
grinding her teeth at that. "Heh heh heh... Your name is Link, isn't
it?"
"How did you know that?"
"Heh heh he... don't be suprised. I can read minds." Ranma
shook her head slowly.
"Yeah right mister. If you could read minds..."
"...I'd know you, wouldn't I Ranma?" Ranma stepped back in
surprise. "But who and what are you Ranma Saotome? I doubt that even
you know."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Ranma demanded.
"Ranma, calm down!" Link said. He turned back to the telepath.
"What's with the ghosts?"
"My shop is the only ghost shop in Hyrule," the man said
proudly.
"Ghost shop?" Link, Ranma and Navi said.
"Because of the great Gannondorf, it is a fine time for a
business like this... heh heh heh... Oh, I can only hope the world
gets even worse!"
"I don't understand," Ranma said. "Why would you want that?"
"You see child... The ghosts, called Poes, are spirits of
concentrated hatred that appear in the fields and graveyards of
Hyrule. The hate the world! Because of Gannondorf's works, Poes are
much more common now. Young man, dear lady, if you catch a Poe, I
would be willing to pay a lot of money for it." The trio left the
room.
"That guy gave me the creeps," Ranma said, rubbing her arms.
"Same here. But if we need money, we know where to go," Link
said. "Let's get moving. We'll have to walk to Kakariko Villiage, and
it's almost nightfall. Poes or not, I'm not eager about staying near
this place." He walked over the broken drawbridge.
"Is he always so commanding?" Ranma asked.
"Yeah," Navi replied. "But we're a team, and we work together
pretty well if you ask me."
***
Kakariko Village looked mostly the same as it did seven years
ago. The buildings under construction then had been finished, and
several buildings converted into shops. There were many more people
then there used to be here, and Ranma suggested that many of them
were refugees from Hyrule Town.
After haggling with the innkeeper over the price of two rooms,
Link managed to buy some food. He brought some bread and soup to
their table.
"So, this Shiek guy says that there's some item in this town
that will let you into the Forest Temple?" Ranma asked, chowing down
on the bread with her usual speed.
"Yes. I'm not sure what it is exactly though. Uh, will you slow
down a bit? Watching someone eat that fast is disturbing."
"Sorry, habit." Ranma slowed down a fraction. "So, this temple
has one of the sages that will save the world in it somewhere?"
"That's what Raru and Shiek say, and they're the best info we
have. I just hope the temple isn't too big."
"Yeah." Ranma resumed eating, and Link joined her.
***
Ranma entered her room, which she had to herself, and sat down
on the bed. In her hand she held a small kettle filled with hot
water. Then, she tipped the hot water over her head. Nothing
happened. She didn't return to her orginal male body. She looked at
the kettle, keeping her emotions in check. "I'm sure it was hot
enough. So that means I'm stuck again." She held her head in her
hands. "Why me?"
"Destiny, Ranma Saotome." Ranma looked up to see Shiek standing
there. "While I did not want to tell Link, I brought you here. He
will need your help to defeat Gannondorf. And you could only help him
as a woman."
"So you locked me in this form? What right do you have to do
that?" Ranma snapped.
"It was either this, or let thousands of people die. Is your
manhood worth more then an innocent life?"
Ranma's anger ground to a halt as she understood the odds.
"N-no. But when this if over, I'll be changed back, right?"
"Indeed. But a word of warning. Don't try to rush this. If you
do that, we could all be destroyed." Shiek leapt out the window,
leaving Ranma to her thoughts.
***
The next morning began the way it normally does in Hyrule. The
rooster crows, someone attacks the rooster, all the chickens attack
the attacker.
Link was out of bed almost before the rooster began to crow.
Slipping his tunic on, and picking up his sword and shield, he walked
down the hall to wake up Ranma.
He opened the door. "Hey Ranma, you ready to...." He trailed
off at the sight of the topless Ranma, who grabbed the bedsheet and
covered herself.
"PERVERT!" Link ducked into the hallway, barely avoiding the
flying kettle.
"Well," Navi said, "Once again, you really screwed up Link."
***
Ranma shut the door and reached for her shirt. Inside though,
her thoughts were a mess. <That hentai! Walking in on me like that!
What was he thinking?> Ranma had never been so embarrased in her
life.
Then she realised that similar things had happened before. She
had never had a problem with going topless in the past. But now that
she considered it, it seemed... wrong somehow? <Why am I thinking
like that?> She shrugged, putting it down to being sick of people
choking at the sight of her walking around with no top on.
***
Link smiled as Ranma sat down at the table. "Uh, sorry 'bout
before Ranma."
"Don't worry," Ranma said. "It wasn't your fault, you didn't
know." She began to eat. "Where's this item we have to find?"
"No idea," Link said. "But maybe someone in town knows about
it."
***
Link and Ranma spent the entire days walking around the
village, buying equipment and listening to gossip. Link was told of
a naughty boy seven years ago that dried up the well. Ranma was told
of how a man who could always see the truth once lived in the
village.
After several hours, they met in front of Impa's house.
"Anything?" Link asked.
"Nothing useful. The Cucco lady gave me an egg to raise for
some reason."
"Cucco's are pretty useful. It might be able to help us," Navi
said.
"One this small?" Ranma replied, holding out the smallest Cucco
egg Link had ever seen.
"Hold on to it, just in case," Link said. "You never know."
Ranma put the egg away in the backpack Link had brought for
her. "What'd you find?"
"Apparantly the ghost of the gravekeeper has been seen lately.
And the villages guardian was in the graveyard to deal with some
monster when she vanished."
"The guardian's that Impa lady you told me about, right?" Ranma
asked. Link nodded. "If she's taken care of this village for more
then seven years, she should be able to deal with it, right?"
"I guess, but still-"
"Hah ha ha! You are such a coward!" Ranma, Link and Navi turned
to see two young men walking along. One of them was laughing, the
other was trying to get a word in.
"I'm telling you the truth!" the second man said. "Two nights
ago I saw the ghostly figure of Dampe the Gravekeeper decending into
his grave!" He paused to avoid his friends laughter. "It looked like
he had some sort of treasure."
Link looked at Ranma. "You don't think-"
"I'd put money on it being the object we're looking for. At the
very least it's worth a try."
"I guess."
***
The graveyard looked like it hadn't changed at first. Then when
Link looked a bit closer, he noticed the grass was slightly longer,
the graves not as tidy as they used to be.
Ranma looked at a sign. "The Graveyard tour has been closed
until a new gravekeeper can be found." She looked at Link. "Graveyard
tour?"
"Don't ask." He checked the door to Dampe's hut. Unlocked.
Pushing the door open, he coughed as a large amount of dust flew into
his face.
"Guess Dampe's been dead for a few years," Ranma said, standing
well clear of the dust cloud.
Link recovered from his coughing fit. "Not really. Dampe never
cleaned his hut." He looked around in the dim light. The diary caught
his attention. Opening it to the last few entries, he smiled at what
he saw.
"Dampe's waiting for us. Come on."
Link exited the hut, heading for Dampe's grave. Ranma chased
after him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I've seen the entrance to the Forest Temple before," Link
said. "It's higher then we could reach." He looked at the names on
the tombstones. "But Dampes treasure- ah, here it is- stretches and
retracts. I remember hearing about it years ago." He dragged the
tombstone back, revealing a deep hole, decending into the Earth. "All
we have to do is get it."
Ranma looked down the hole. "Tomb robbing. Just great. This
gets better and better."
Link shrugged. "It is for a good cause. Besides, his diary
invited us in."
"It could be a trick, so he can get us for reading it," Ranma
said.
"We'll never find out if we stay here," Link replied. "What's
the matter, you chicken?"
Ranmas eyes flashed with anger. "I ain't no chicken! Let's go!"
And with that she leapt down the hole, followed closely by Link. As
they fell, Link heard her whisper, "Please don't curse me again."
<What's she mean by that?> he thought to himself.
Suddenly they began to slow down, coming to a stop on one of
those weird platforms Link had seen before. Stepping off it, he
examined the tomb. It was larger then the others he had seen. And
near the entrance to a tunnel nearby, was Dampe the ghost.
"Dampe, your diary said you'd be-"
"You look like a fast pair," the ghost chuckled. "How about a
little race? I'm quite fast on my feet too. If you can keep up with
me, I'll give you something cool!" And with that he was off and
racing, his ghostly body hovering a few metres above the ground.
"Damn! C'mon, we gotta follow him!" Ranma yelled, running past
Link, who followed as fast as he could.
Ranma leapt around the corner, dodging flames the Dampe threw
out. She noticed a trail of rupees down a side corridor, but
dismissed it. <That's something Kuno wouldn't fall for,> she thought
to herself. Dampe began to move further ahead, and she kicked in
extra speed to keep up. The pair of them raced under an arch without
even noticing.
<How can she move so fast?> Link asked himself. Running around
a corner, he saw the arch the two ahead of him had just raced under.
A large slab was beginning to drop. He threw himself under it,
sliding to safety by the barest of margins. The slab slammed into the
ground, barely missing his heels. "That was too close," he muttered,
jumping to his feet and continuing the chase.
Ranma and Dampe were running side by side now. Ranma jumped
over another fireball, and they ran through another arch.
Link was starting to catch up to the pair, narrowly dodging
another falling slab. Coming to a stop, he looked at the new cavern.
He was standing on a ledge over what seemed like a bottomless pit.
The ledge made its way along the side of the cavern. Spotting Ranma
and Dampe halfway along the ledge already, he ran to catch up.
Dampe floated into a small room, dominated by a large platform
in the center. Ranma ducked under the arch at the entrance, leaving
Link and Navi to nearly get crushed by a falling slab again.
"Heh heh heh, you were quite fast," Dampe said. "As a reward,
I'm going to give you my treasure. It's called the Hookshot. You can
use it to get into all sorts of places." As he said this, a large
treasure chest appeared near Ranma. "Oh, be careful on the way out,"
he chuckled as he vanished in a cloud of smoke.
"Strange man," Ranma commented.
"Always has been," Link replied, opening the chest. Inside was
a single object. "I've seen this before," he said, pulling it up for
Ranma to see. It was basically a hook, spring and chain attached to a
handle. "We can use this alright. Let's get going."
"Great idea," Ranma said, "but how do we get out?"
"Back the way we came." Then he saw what Ranma was pointing at.
The way they came was blocked off by a large and very heavy block of
stone. "Oh no."
"Maybe there's a switch or something, some way to raise it,"
Ranma said.
"Guys?" Navi said.
"A secret passage maybe," Link suggested, both he and Ranma
ignoring the fairy.
"HEY! GUYS!" Navi yelled.
"What?" they snapped. Navi pointed at the tunnel behind her.
"Maybe we could leave that way." Link and Ranma looked
sheepish.
As they entered the tunnel, they heard another click, and leapt
forward in time to avoid yet another slab.
"Bloody hell Dampe!" Link growled.
"That jerk has a sick sense of humor," Ranma added. They
climbed to their feet again and examined the small room they were now
in. Most of it was taken up by a large blue block with strange
symbols on it.
"Hey Link," Navi said, "isn't that the same symbol that was on
the Door of Time?"
"You're right, it is," Link replied. On a hunch, he pulled the
Ocarina off his belt and played a quick tune. As he finshed the Song
of Time, the block was covered in a blue light before disappearing.
"Nice trick," Ranma commented.
"Thanks," Link replied, pulling himself into the tunnel beyond.
The two girls followed him.
Jogging up the staircase, they soon found themselves emerging
into the interior of the towns windwill. Link glanced down off the
ledge to see the man with the music box still there, even after seven
years. Jumping onto the upper platform in the middle of the room, he
found himself spinning over to a ledge on the other side. Ranma and
Navi followed him, finding him holding a small heart shaped object.
"What's that?" Ranma asked.
He glanced at her in surprise. "You've never seen a Piece of
Heart before?" he asked. Ranma shook her head. "Well, you get four
fragments and they increase your energy levels. No-one's quite sure
where they came from."
Ranma took the Piece of Heart from Link for a quick look, then
blinked in surprise. There was a Piece of Heart in her hand, but
there was also a piece in Links hand! "What the hell?" she muttered.
Link shrugged. "Almost like it wants to go to as many people as
possible," he said. "Well, we got everything here, let's get to the
Forest Temple!"
"You are eager, ain't you?" Ranma asked.
"Saria's in the somewhere," Link replied. "She's the best
friend I've ever had, and there's no way I'm going to let her be in
danger any longer then I have to."
The pair jumped to the ground, Navi holding onto Links hat. As
they hit the revolving platform at the bottom, Links Ocarina came
loose from his belt and bounced away. "Damn!" Link said, chasing
after it. The instrument landed near the feet of the man with the
music man, who glanced at it in surprise.
"You have an Ocarina," the man said. "I remember the last time
I saw an Ocarina like that. It was seven years ago, back before
Gannon came into power. Some kid used a song to make the windwill
speed up. Before I knew it, the well was dry. And the villiage has
been short of water ever since."
"A song?" Ranma said. "How could a song do that?"
"Ah, you're one of those who don't believe the power music
has," the man said. "The right tunes are very powerful. The song that
boy played was called the Song of Storms. If used by a magical
intrument, it can bring rain or drought. I've even heard of songs
that can change the flow of time."
"Remember what Link did to that block back there?" Navi added.
Ranma nodded in understanding.
"So, what was this song like?" Link said.
"A rather simple one actually," the man said. He played a quick
tune on his music box. Link followed on his Ocarina. Ranma and Navi
backed off several feet as a column of wind appeared around him. As
he finished the tune, Ranma noticed that it was starting to rain.
INDOORS! The music man saw this as well. "That Ocarina's enchanted,
isn't it?" he growled. "You've done just what that kid did seven
years ago! Wait a minute. Green clothes, fairy... It was you!"
"Huh?" Link replied. Ranma, having seen that look before,
grabbed the young man by the collar and ran like mad.
"Get back here! I'm going to make you pay!" the music man
yelled. By this time the trio were already out of sight down a side
street.
***
After buying a few more supplies, they set off on the trip to
Kokiri Village. "If we follow the roads, we should get there tommorow
morning," Link said. Ranma remained quiet. "Aw, what's wrong?"
"That guy with the music box," Ranma said. "Was it you that
dried up the well seven years ago?"
"No way," Link said. "The well was full when I was trapped in
the Sacred Realm. Besides, I've never heard that song before today."
Ranma looked at him for a moment before shrugging and turning
her attention back to the road. For an experienced traveller like
herself, too much seemed out of place here. For one, there were no
animals whatsoever. Not even birds. Then there was the fact that she
had a strange feeling that they were being watched. He mentioned the
feeling to Link.
"You always get that feeling around here. Back when I was a kid
there were always Stalchilds hiding underground. Maybe the monsters
have changed since then, but they're still watching."
Ranma blinked. That was different. Sure, she'd seen those
Redead back in the Hyrule Market, but monsters everywhere?
As far as she could tell, it was like that Slayers show. There
were bits of humanity scattered around, but between the cities and
towns it was mostly given over to the monsters and bandits.
Her suspicions were confirmed when a Poe appeared out of
nowhere. She'd seen one earlier, but it had just flown off. This one
seemed to be enjoying itself by flying in circles around them,
staying out of reach and dropping the occasional fireball from it's
lamp. "This guy's really starting to annoy me," she commented.
"You said it. Navi, target him." The fairy flew behind the Poe,
and Link pulled out the hookshot. The strange bond he shared with his
fairy partner allowed him to aim at enemies much more easily. He'd
never been able to work out why. <Not that it matters,> he thought,
firing the hookshot.
With to Link's surprise, the Poe dodged. The adventurer swore.
That wasn't meant to happen! Then again, Poes usually dissappeared
when Navi went near them, this one didn't. But still, he normally
could hit them with his slingsh-
<Of course! The hookshot's nowhere near as fast as my old
slingshot,> he thought with a bit of surprise. He'd have to modify
his usual techniques. "My only ranged weapon's too slow," he muttered
to Ranma.
"I'll distract him," the redhead replied. "That'll stop him
from dodging." She leapt over the Poe and attacked it from the other
side. The Poe moved to avoid her lightning fast attacks, keeping out
of reach. Behind the ghost, Link lined up the hookshot and blasted
the Poe in the back. The creature screamed, pausing for a moment.
That was all Ranma needed. Her fist, glowing with ki, impacted
with the area where its nose should have been. The Poe shrieked and
faded away, its lamp falling to the ground and shattering. The Poes
true form, a type of ghostly flame, hovered around until Link caught
it in a jar.
"We'll dump him at that Ghost Salesman next time we pass by
there," he said. "Otherwise he'll simply make himself a new body and
cause more trouble. Besides, at least then he's good for something."
"You'd sell a ghost?" Ranma asked, a look of surprise on her
face.
"My wallet isn't bottomless. The guy's willing to pay, and
besides, the ghost is a spirit of concentrated hatred and evil!
Letting it go free is too dangerous. I get to do something good and
make some money. Which equals food, something I know is very
important to you, considering how much you ate last night and this
morning."
"Hey, a girl's gotta eat," Ranma said as they started walking
down the road again. "With all this 'good for a profit' talk you
sound like Lina Inverse."
"Is this Lina a friend of yours?" Navi asked.
"No, but I've heard of her," Ranma replied. That was sort
of true, but Ranma doubted that her new companions could understand
tv or anime. Shame really. Although Link did look like someone she'd
seen from another show or something...
"What was she like?" Link asked.
"Very powerful. She could take out entire cities if she felt
like it. Short-tempered, big appetite, and had an obsession with
money. Lots of it."
"Maybe we should try and find her," Navi thought. "Gannondorf
is the king of thieves, so he'd had plenty of treasure stashed away,
and we could really use power like that on our side."
Ranma shook her head. "These days Lina Inverse is nothing more
then a story. It's a good story, but it's still only a story."
***
An hour later, the pair stopped at the side of the road for
lunch. This meal was rather small compared to what Link had seen from
Ranma, mostly because they only had some bread and meat from their
bags, as well as some fruit they'd picked off a few trees.
Ranma watched her travelling companions as they ate. Navi was
something new, even to someone experienced in weirdness like she was.
The fact that everyone here accepted the fairy so easily was extra
proof that she was nowhere near Tokyo. The low technology level
didn't seem too weird, she'd been to similar places before. The
monsters, Navi, and the fact that the people here weren't completely
human told her that this wasn't Earth. This was like all those manga
Hiroshi had, where some normal person was sent to another dimension
where they saved the world somehow.
<Or not so normal,> Ranma thought with a smirk. In the stories,
the hero was almost always some school kid thrown in over his or her
head. <Well, this time thing's are different,> she thought. <I'm used
to weird stuff, so I can handle this.>
"Hey Ranma."
"Hmm?" Ranma replied, turning her attention to the elf.
"I was wondering, where are you from? I haven't seen ears like
that before."
"I'm... not really from anywhere really," Ranma replied. "I
travel around a lot. Must have gotten on the wrong side of a wizard
to end up here. With the bits and pieces you've told me, I've figured
that I'm nowhere near anywhere I've travelled to before."
Link nodded, then glanced back in the direction of the market
ruins, far beyond range of sight. "Someone's coming," he muttered.
"You sure?" the red-head asked.
"These ears aren't for show. Lots of horses coming towards us."
"Then let's hide," Ranma said, grabbing her backpack.
"Considering who's in charge these days, a group that size have got
to be the bad guys."
The group hid in a small group of bushes, watching and waiting.
After a minute, Ranma could hear the sound of approaching horses.
Soon after that, about twenty women on horseback rode past, heading
for a fork in the path, not far south of them.
"Gerudo," Link muttered.
"Who?" Ranma asked.
"Thieves. They live east of here. Every generation, only one
male is born to them. That male becomes their king. They get their
husbands from elsewhere. They used to have a strict sense of honor,
but I get the feeling that these days, that's the exception, not the
rule."
"Oh, why's that?" Ranma asked as they climbed out of the
bushes, the Gerudo almost out of sight.
"Their current king is Gannondorf," Navi answered.
"Oh." The group set off on their journey again. When they came
to the fork in the road, they were grateful that the Gerudo had taken
a different path to the one they were taking.
***
That night, they set up camp near the edge of the road. Ranma
went off to get some water from a nearby creek, while Link and Navi
used a few sticks to start a fire.
"There's something about her," Navi said. "Something
different..."
"Yeah, she's in a situation where she doesn't understand all of
the problems. Can you blame her for being a little confused?"
Navi nodded, but still looked a little uncertain. "It's not
that, it's something to do with how she talks."
"What?" Link looked at the fairy strangely. "Are you feeling
all right?"
"I'm serious!" Navi said. "It just at the edge of my mind."
"Whatever." Link turned his attention back to the fire. A few
sparks of heat were beginning to appear. "Finally, we're gettig
somehere."
A few minutes later, Ranma returned to the campsite to find
Link already cooking dinner. "Got the water."
"Great. Stick it over there could ya? You run into any
trouble?"
"Nah. What's for dinner?"
"Steak."
***
Ranma tore into her meal. One thing she liked about westeners
was their methods of cooking meat. Seemed that here they followed the
same method.
"I'll stand watch first," Link said. "I'll do that for three
hours, then we'll swap. Let's us both have a decent amount of sleep."
Ranma muttered her acknowledgements around a mouthful of food.
After the meal, Ranma made herself comfortable and dozed off
almost instantly. Link smiled. It seemed she was used to travelling
in the countryside, and had taught herself to sleep easily.
Three hours and one dead bat later, he was revising that idea.
Now it seemed that Ranma could fall asleep at the drop of a hat, and
stay asleep, no matter what.
<How to wake her up?> he thought. <Hmmm...>
***
Ranma watched as Akane walked down the aisle. It had been a
long time coming, but they'd finally made it. They'd even managed to
convince their traditional parents to agree to a western style
wedding.
Soon, they were preparing to run through the vows. Ranma passed
a quick glance at Ryouga. Who would have thought that he'd be the
best man? Weird.
"Do you, Ranma Saotome, take this man to be lawfully wedded
husband, to love and to cherish, for richer or poorer, until death do
you part?"
"I do," Ranma said. Then the words penetrated. <Husband?> She
glanced to her right. There, wearing a tuxedo, was Link. <What the
hell?> She looked down. Sure enough, she was wearing the dress.
<What's going on here?>
"You may now kiss the bride," the priest said, pulling Ranma
out of her thoughts. She pulled away from Link.
Or she tried to at least. She was no longer in control of her
body. She found her moving towards Link, who pulled her veil back.
<No, no, no, no, nonononono->
SPLASH!
"COLD!" Ranma screamed, before glaring at Link. "What'd you do
that for?"
"You wouldn't wake up," Link replied, "and it's your turn to be
on watch."
"Fine," Ranma grumped. "Just gimme one of your tunics would
ya?"
Ranma pulled a green shirt out of his backpack. "What do you
want that for?"
"I am not spending all night in a wet shirt," Ranma growled.
"Now turn around."
"Why?" Link asked.
"Because I'm not gonna let you look at me naked you pervert,"
Ranma snapped.
"It's not like I haven't seen it before," Link said, just
before getting a backpack to the face.
"Turn around," Ranma growled.
"I'd do it," Navi suggested. <I guess I'll have to explain a
few things to him later. I keep forgetting he's really only a ten-
year-old.>
***
"Don't be mad with him," Navi said after Link dozed off.
"Why shouldn't I be?" Ranma replied, still angry at the elf.
"Well, he's only a kid."
"He's as old as I am," Ranma replied. "Just because he's male
doesn't give him an excuse not to control his hormones."
"No, he really is a kid. You see, we spent the seven years in
the Sacred Realm asleep. He's really only ten, although he's holding
out really well."
Ranma considered that. "Well, I guess he sort of has an excuse.
Just keep him in line," she mock-growled.
Navi laughed. "I'll try. It won't be easy though. Damn he's
stubborn."
"What'd you expect?" Ranma replied. Navi grinned and floated
over to Link's cap. Pulling the green cloth over her, she soon fell
asleep, leaving Ranma to her thoughts.
<What's wrong with me?> she thought to herself. Embarrassed
about Link seeing her topless? That was twice today. Then there was
that dream! She hadn't had a dream like that since Kuno first
decleared he loved her.
Ranma blinked in surprise, then touched her cheeks. She was
blushing! Just thinking about the dream was doing that to her. She
was kinda thankful that Link had splashed her when he did, as a few
seconds later and she would have kissed a dream version of him.
<Although it would have been interesting. I wonder if it'd be
the same as the real Link.... ARGH!! What's going on here?>
Ranma held her head in her hands. Something weird was going on.
She should have expected that, but this wasn't the normal mayhem she
was used to.
***
Morning came as it usually does. After dousing the fire, the
group set off down the road again. By now, the Lost Woods were
visible in the distance. To pass the time, Ranma was telling her
friends about the Amazons.
"Lemme see if I've got this right," Navi said. "If a female
Amazon is beaten by an outsider female, they then give them the 'kiss
of death' and then spend a large amount of time tracking them down
and killing them?"
Ranma nodded.
"That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard," Link
decided. "Where's the sense in tracking down someone to kill them if
they're a better fighter then you?"
Ranma shrugged. "I didn't write their laws. They're supposed to
be good fighters, but I could easily defeat their villiage champion."
"The laws would encourage them to be good fighters," Link said.
Then he turned to Ranma. "Hang on, if you defeated the villiage
champion...." Ranma nodded. "That sucks," Link muttered. "How'd you
solve it?"
"Long story, very stupid. Get me drunk sometime and I just
might tell you."
Link laughed. "I'll remember that."
The group walked along for another hour, before coming to the
edge of the Lost Woods. Ranma wasn't that impressed. Most of it was
thick bushland that would be a pain to get through. Thankfully, there
was a rather wide path that made its way through the forest, making a sharp
left turn a short way in. "You ready?" she asked Link.
"No, but that hasn't stopped me before," the elf replied,
leading the way. Ranma followed close behind.
Turning left and walking through a large hollow log, Ranma got
her first look at the interior of the Lost Woods. Nice little forest
really.
As they walked over a well built rope bridge, Link smiled.
"It's good to be home," he said. "Ranma, allow me to be the first to
welcome you to Kokiri Village. Then the group walked through another
hollow log, and the village came into view. Link stopped instantly.
"Oh Gods!"
The village was still the same, except for the monsters that were currently
in the process of overunning it. Everywhere they
looked, there was Mad Scrubs and Deku Babas everywhere.
A Deku Baba turned and hissed at Link. A second later, the mutant plant was
dead, the Master Sword having sliced through the
stem.
The plants dying scream got the attention of other monsters.
Link, Ranma and Navi found themseves surrounded. "Outnumbered and
outgunned," Navi muttered.
Ranma grinned. "Outnumbered, yes. Outgunned, maybe. Outclassed,
NEVER!" she yelled, leaping into the battle. Link was right behind
her, sword in hand.
***
End Part One
***