Subject: [PMFFML] The Great ones - Prolog through Charpter 2 [Ranma/Magician:Master] Crossover
From: "Kenneth Payne" <kpjam@worldnet.att.net>
Date: 4/30/2001, 3:26 AM
To: <ffml@patchmonkey.net>

Disclaimer:  I own nothing.  Ranma and characters used are the creation of
Rumiko Takahashi and owned by her and  Shogagukan, Kitty and Viz
Communications.  Magician is the work of Raymond Feist published by Bantam.
I will not make a penny of any of this.

C&C much wanted especial story structure, spelling and punctuation.  Did I
leave anything out?


The Great One's

Prolog :


It started out as normal as any day for Ranma. He had fought with Akane,
Ryoga, his father, and mouse.  The ony one that bothered him was Akane.  She
had barely talked to him at school and had gone off with her friends.  He
was currently walking with Nabiki, thinking it was a fitting punishment for
his actions.  He didn't know what he done to deserve this.  He had only said
her lunch was better than the usual junk she made him.

"Saotome"

"Saotome"

He flinched as Nabiki hit his shoulder.

"What?"

"I asked you if you would like a surefire way to not make Akane mad?"

"ya, like that's possible"

"It is"

"ok, how?"

"10,000 yen"

"WHAT! no way"

"Come on, she'll never get mad at you again, and  because you going to be my
brother in law I'll also throw in how to get her to stop being angry if you
screw up my advice.  All for only 12,000 yen,  it's a real deal."

"Wait! A second ago you said 10,000"

"That was just to keep her from getting mad, I'm also throwing in how to
diffuse her anger."

"never mind Nabiki"

"you're funeral"

Ranma just snorted and turned the last corner for home. He spotted Kaumi
coming from the other way with some groceries.  He had already forgot the
exchange with Nabiki when a shimering appeared in road.  It was at first
about six hfeet high and about 6 feet wide and slowly expanted until it was
about 12 feet wide and 8 and ten feet tall.  It was shimmering grayish color
and obscured the view behind it.

A small whistle came from besides him and he remembered Nabiki being there.

He heard footsteps coming from the othet side and a scream that broke him
from his slight trance and he ran forward.  That sounded like Kasumi was all
the info he needed to know this was not a good thing.

As he was nearing the, whatever that was, he saw about ten gaudily dressed
soilders heading towards him from his side of the window.  They were all
short and muscular the tallest about 5'4" runing at him with what resembled
a short curved sword.

There was no friendliness in their eyes or manner so he didn't even slow
down as he engaged the first two.  No have measures to gague their skill.
No teasing or feinting to gleam a new manuver or technique.  They were
wearing some outrageously colored armor and helmets with feathers sticking
out of the top so that cut down on where her could attack. The armor didn't
appear metallic but it looked sturdier than leather.  A quick jab to a jaw
and sidekick while ducking under a swing at his chest sent the first two
down.  One crumbled where he was hit the other went a few meters to his
right.  The other eight went down quickly as he wasted no time running past
the window.

Once past he saw Kasumi lying on the ground with two of those sodiers
apparently checking her pulse.  Another fifeteen to twenty were fannig out
away from.

"Hey, leave her alone" he shouted at the men who looked up.

His attention was immeadiate averted as duck under a swing at his neck.  He
jumped back for spacing after his duck and saw a couple more soldiers
heading his way.  He also saw the other side of the portal.  It was also
that same gray color as the other side but on this side he saw more of those
soldiers rushing out.  And a couple stationed as if guarding the portal.

He had determind that the armor was some type of hardened leather and the
swords while not metal were harder than wood and could also cut as a lucky
strike had shown him earlier.  The we're not very skilled swordsmen but they
were skilled enough and they looked tough.

This could quickly get out of hand, Ranma though to himself.   He started
attacking as quickly as  he could.  Angling towards Kasumi hoping to get her
to safety.

He discovered a problem quickly.  He didn't know haw many soldiers were on
the other side of that thing but they were coming out almost as fast as he
could put them down.

He stole a glance over to where Kasumi was and then cursed to himself as he
saw her being carried to that portal. The distraction cost him as a blade
sliced into his shoulder. Returning his attention to his immeadiate worries
he spun with the blow for a very satisfying cruch of the soldiers jaw.
After righting himself he saw the soldier enter the portal with Kasumi.
Soldiers were still coming out but no he noticed they only use part of the
portal.  The last three feet apparently went back to wherever they cam from.
He put down two more soldiers as efficiently as he could, took a step back
and leaped into the portal after Kasumi.

He was momentarily dissoriented as he passed through.  One second he was on
the street in front of the Dojo, the next he was in a field.  It looked like
a pasture with trees off in the distance.  After he quickly checked his
bearings he saw the soldier bearing Kasumi's limp form away towards some
tents set up a couple hundred yards away.  He saw a column of men to left
but didn't pay much attention focused on his goal.  He was about ten to
fiftenn yards behind when he heard the cries to his left as about the
soldiers in the line closests to him broke from their ranks to attack.

Momentarily breaking from his pursuit he engaged the soldiers.  They were
the same as he fought before, challenge only in numbers.  He did a quick
scan to guage the numbers.

"kuso"  there must be three or four hundred of them.  He didn't have time
for this.  He was barely winded but knew a prolonged battle could finally
overwhelm him.

He then for the first time wished he had learne the breaking point.  It
wasn't as draining as his other chi enhanced attacks and more controllable
than the hiryo shoten ha.

The kid gloves came off. His father and some of his other teachers had
instructd him on many killing moves and he knew from his strength and
quickness some off his other moves could prove leathal.  It also took more
energy and concentration for him to subdue oppents this far below his skill
than many of the outright lethal moves he had.  In all his fights he had
never wanted to kill any of his opponents.  The one's that had come closests
where also closests in skill and when he had won those fights he the slight
blood lust he had felt had subsided.

Broken necks were very easily accomplished.  He had cringed after the first
soldier crumpled to the groubnd going for his own throat.  Soul of ice.  It
wasn't just to control anger or embarrasment, it was to control all feelings
even guilt.

5, 10 15, 20 soldiers now lay on the ground not all of them dead or dying.
This had turned grim and they were still coming.  He noticed some trying to
flank him.  He had taken out those trying to slip behind him earlieir
suprising them with his speed and quickness. He was letting them push him
back to keep avoiding being encircled.  He wasn't that worried he just knew
that if they did he'd have to spent too much time dodging and he knew time
was not a luxury he had.

As if in answer to his worry he noticed the other side of the portal for the
first time.  Soldiers were still going through to Nerima but what he saw
coming back caused him to falter for a second and recieve a small gash on
his arm.

"Nabiki, shit"

His fiancee's other sister was just carried through the portal into view.
He also noticed the no soldires for the first time.  There were 4 of them,
all wearing black  robes.  Two appeared to be placing a tall pl\ole at one
side of the portal whie the other two sitting on the grass concentrating on
something.

A flip a way and a moko tobashi later 30 more soldiers now littlered the
field.  He sped off after Kasumi's captor just avoiding what appeared to be
a fireball.  He turned to the source and saw another on heading his way from
the figure in black.

A return fire of his moko tobashi and he sprinted back towards the portal.

He smilled with glee as the Ki blast struct true and knocked all those
around the portal down.

"DAMN," his smile faded as the portal shimmered once then faded from view.
He looked and saw thw soldier carrying Nabiki had fallen and she was lying
motionless next to him.  He reached her in record tim, just as the remaining
soldiers had broken out of thier stupor and converged on him.  He had just
enough time to notice she was breathing scoop her up before he leapt away
towads the forest.  He wanted to get her to safety and then return for
Kasumi.



Chapter one:  Rescue and escape

After rushing into the forest with his burden, Ranma changed direction a
couple times in the outer foliage. When he hit the denser part he took to
the trees.  Once safetly a ways into the trees he stopped on a large branch
and sat with his passenger.  He laid Nabiki onlong the brach with her head
on his lap and proceeded to check her for injuries.  He found a small bruise
on the back of her head and a few scratches.  Probably from the fall.

"Nabiki"   Hew gentle shook her shoulder.
"Come on Nabiki, we don't have time"

"what, what"  she softly mumbeld as she started to wake.

"shush, they might still be around"

"Ranma?"

"ya it's me, you okay"

"I think so"  She sakes her head and looks around

"Last I remember you we're fighting those soilders and something hit me over
the head"

She sits up and takes in her surrounds.  The brach was wide but being 20 or
so feet off the ground gave her a little pause.

"listen, I have to go get Kasumi, sit tight, it might take a while"

He starts to get up when she reaches out to stop him.

"Wait"  He stopped and turned back to her.

"What?"

"What do you mean what?  Where are we? what's going on?  Where's Kasumi? I'm
sure I'll think of more later."
Her voice, while not as steady as she would like, it took on the same
authoritarian tone she always used with Ranma when she wanted answers.

" I dunno what's going on, I just have to go get your sister. I still think
I know where she is."

"Just wait here until morning if I'm not back," He paused a second and then
added"oh ya, and be quiet and stay away from people with swords, " with
those words he got up and leapt to another tree while looking at the ground.

"avoid people with swords he says."  Nabiki was not happy.  Getting involved
in Ranma's adventures was not something she was enjoying so far.   Sure they
made fantastic stories and the ones she witnessed where always exciting if
not damn amusing.  She  started to go over her mental checklist. I'm twenty
or so feet up a tree on it's lowest real branch.  I'm alone and I don't know
how I got here,  I don't know where here is.  Ranma apparently just recued
me from some wanna be samuri and took off to rescue Kasumi.  Not good.  She
thought what Akane would do. She's used to this crap.  She'd probably go
after the baka and get in the way. He'd have to save her again and make
everything else a lot tougher. Besides she thought, Ranma is the hero.  So
far this adventure was boring.  She settled in tree wondering when they
would get back.  This should sell for a lot, especcially to the fiancess. If
Ranma got them back at a decent hour she might not make the story reflect
badly on him.

***********

Ranma moved as swiftly and quietly through the branches as he could.  He had
purposly said little to Nabiki.  He didn't have time and he definitely
didn't want to tell her he blew up the portal that had come through.  This
was not fun.  He loved fighting. Out of all the things people said about him
that was the most true.  He wasn't a complete idiot.  So what if he prefered
to fight than discuss things.  When he did try, most people he knew just
reacted with violence anyway.  He realy did try with Akane sometimes.  Ryoga
also.  He had given up on Kuno and his father a long time ago. But telling
Nabiki she might never see the rest of her family again was something to be
delayed at all cost.  He just wished he had a different excuse to use to
avoid it.  He paused for a second remember his sword wounds, finding them
superficial at best he continued on.

If they were going to kill her they would have done it already, so he felt
pretty confident that she was ok.  The problem was if they moved her out of
the camp he might never be able to find her.  He couldn't understand any of
the orders spoken during the fight, he was pretty sure they were orders.

He worked his way slowly through the forest, avoiding a couple patrols.  He
made it to the clearing and just as he thought he had come out about twenty
yards from the tents.  The sun was getting ready to set, he figured it would
be dusk in another 30 minutes at the most.

There were about 5 large britely colored tents with hundreds of smaller ones
strecthed out for what looked like forever. He looked over to the fields and
saw soldiers placing bodies into wagons.

He said a silent prayer for those he had killed.  Momentarily worring about
what he had done. Soul of ice he said to himself..  He'd worry about it
after the girls were safe.  He saw a commotion from the other side of the
camp.  He made his way around the camp al little bit staying just inside the
forest.

When he had gotten closer he saw what looked like a break in the background.
The twilight was making it difficult to see but it appeared to be another
portal.  He took a moment to calm himself as he saw what appeared to be a
wagon appear from nowhere.  It was pulled by a couple strang looking
creaters.  The appeared to be a cross between bettles and horses. Six legs
about the height of a pony bu very wide.  Whatever that creature was it has
showed him a way home.

He decide it was close enough to dusk as he invoked the Umi-Sen Ken.  Thanks
old man he thought as he made his way to the large tents.

Getting in was easier than he thought.  He ducked into the first tent and
saw a few men sitting at a table eating and talking.  They were all dressed
in those black robes that he had seen earlier.  They were what appeared to
be servants standing along the wall.  No one was saying much, but the little
bits of conversation he picked up he couldn't understand.  They spoke in
tonal manner, that if he was more musically or linquistically inclined he
might realize had a lot of qualities similar to chinese or japenese.

After slipping past the two guards at the top of the tent he was grateful
for the fact that the flap was open.  He made his way to the next tent and
saw it was just a storage tent for equipment.  Before moving along he went
in and grabbed some rope and a couple empty sacks.  On his way out he found
some water skins and a knife that would come in handy if they couldn't make
it to the portal tonight.   The knife was more a dagger made out of some
hardened material he couldn't identify.  It wasn't metalic but it was sharpe
and strong.

He crept slowly along to the next tent.  It was now dark, a bright moon
providing all the light he needed.  The second tent hadn't been guarded and
he was puzzling over that as he saw that this one was. The flap was also
closed so he didn't attempt the entrance opting to make his own. Making his
way around the side he dropped down an slowly removed a peg. He peered in
and not seeing anything he was about to withdraw when movement in front of
him made him stay.  He noticed nmotion and realized ha had been staring at
someones back.  The person in question had shifted slightly and he could
tell the person was laying down.  He made his way further down the tent and
looked again.  In the center of the room there was a torch and about five
people.  He finally noticed Kasumi laying on some straw on the other near
the center of the tent.  She, like the others, had her feet bound to what
looked like a wooden peg fastened to the ground.  She wasn't moving so he
made his way inside the tent.

When he got to her side he noticed her breathing and released the breathe he
didn't know he was keeping.  He look a little more closely at the other
prisoners.  They must be prisoners they had there feet bound to there own
wooden posts.  They were dressed strangely. Like he would assume peasants
would dress a couple hunded years ago.

First things first he thought to himself.  He quickly checked her over and
to his relief he found only bruise on her forehead and some scratches.  He
next checked her bindings.  The materieal around her feet had a strong
leather feel to it. It appeared to allow for slight movement but no real
flexability. He tested their strength as quietly as he could, he didn't want
to alert anyone he was there.  They were pretty strong, he was glad he
brought that knife.  He looked around and saw the other prisoners hadn't
noticed him.  Here goes nothing he thought to himself. He lowered the
umi-sen-ken and became visible.  He quickle turned left and right making a
shushing movement with his fingers at his mouth.  The prisoners that noticed
him looked on in shock as he just appeared before them.  The three that
noticed him got the attention of the last one and he saw the look of suprise
fall across the last one's face.  They were all male, three appeared to be
teen-agers maybe twenty at the oldest and the last maybe a few years older
than the others.  They looked to be in decent shape.

He went back to Kasumi's bindings to concentrate on the problem at hand.
The long cord was attached to both ankles looping throught the a hole in the
wooden post in the ground. One swift stroke should do it. Grasping the hilt
tightly he swung down hard on the binding, severing it as close to the
middle of the cord as possible.  The cord snapped with what sounded like a
thunderclap in the silent room.  He looked quickly towards the door
expecting company any second.

He had intended to just leave, but he glanced at the others before he made a
move to lift up Kaumi and knew he couldn't leave them.  He had no idea how
he would escape with the men but he knew he could get Kasumi away if he had
too.  He made his away around the tent and similary release the others.

He went and collected Kasumi as the others stretched their legs and followed
him.  He moved to where he had removed the pegs and peered under the tent
after setting Kasumi at the edge.  He rolled under the flap into the dark.
Pulling Kasumi after him he scanned the area for soldiers as the other
prisoners followed him.  One of the younger ones whispered something and the
oldest rounded on him with a angry scowl and shushed him, pointing at Ranma
with his finger.

Ranma new he was in charge and motioned for them to follow him.  He noticed
with a little sadness the soldiers in the field.  He could make out torches
and the appeared to be digging graves.  He was pretty sure he could find
Nabiki, assuming she didn't leave the tree.  The problem was these new
people.  He could silently navigate the forest, even with Kasumi as a
burden.  He could only hope these others wouldn't make too much noise.

After they reached the edge of the forest Kasumi started to stir.  He took a
couple of quick strides to go a little deeper in and placed her down.  The
moon was bright enough that he could see Kasumi's face.  He put a hnad over
her mouth so she wouldn't speak out.

"Shh.  everythings ok, just don't talk now."  He whispered as quietly as he
could.

She opened her eyes and Ranma could see the confusion in them.

"Long story, but you have to keep quiet until we get out of here.  Don't say
anything unless u have to," He started to rise and then added, "you ok"

She nodded and he rose followed by her.  He saw her staring quizically at
the other prisoners,  He whispered, "They were prisoners with you, so I
sorta had to free them also."

She graced him a smile and mouthed "That was very kind of you"

He didn't quite make out what she said and shrugged it off.  He mmotioned
for them to follow.

He was impressed with how little noise they all made.  It sounded like the
marching of 100's to him in the night but he'd heard worse.

**************

He found the tree and motioned for everyone to be quiet.

"Nabiki"

"Nabiki!"  He heard Kasumi gasp. He looked at her and hoped the annoyance
wasn't shown on his face.  He nodded yes as he heard Nabiki shout down to
him.

"Quiet, I'll be up to get you in a sec."

He leapt up to her branch via a couple others.

"Kasumi's safe" he said in way of greeting and before she could talk scooped
her up and jumped down to the clearing.  Kasumi rushed to her sister as the
the others looked on with shock at what they had just seen.  Kasumi hugged
Nabiki as Nabiki actually hugged her back.  "Oh my, Nabiki.  You were
kidnapped also?"

"Yes.  So how does it feel to be rescued by Ranma?"  Nabiki asked with a
twinkle in her eyes.

"Well I don't know.  Those strange men knocked me out and the next thing I
know Ranma's waking me up in these woods.  The walk here was exciting."

"Thank you Ranma, You're my hero."  Nabiki cood while fluttering her
eyelashes.

"Nabiki, Kasumi"  Ranma hissed, "We might not be alone."
"Nabiki, don't tease Ranma,"  Kasumi admonished, " He did a very nice
thing."

Nabiki winked at Ranma and then chuckled noticing the other prisoners.

"Friends of yours, Saotome"

Ranma just muttered under his breathe and started walking away. motioning
for them to follow him.

"They were other prisoners, Nabiki,"  Kasumi answered for the pigtailed
martial artist as the followed along after Ranma.


**************

The made there way to the clearing in relative silence.  Well mostly
silence. Nabiki seemed to have a lack of appreciation for the seriousness of
the situation.  All Ranma's repeated shushing did was silence her for a few
moments before she started grumbling about this or that.  Her chattering had
the unfortunate effect of causing Kasumi to chatter.  He tried to explain
the seriousness of the situation and she had replied, "but Ranma, you're
here to protect us right." She said it with a coy smile and his only
response was to be quiet.  Nabiki tried talking to the prisoners once.  When
one of the youngers one responded in a foreign language, the eldest barked
something and he immediately shut up.  It gave Ranma the impression that he
was the oldest brother but there wasn't any real resemblance.  They looked
sort of European although Ranma wasn't sure.  The language was different
from the soldiers and for the first time he wondered where they came from.
Maybe foriegnors in Japan or something. He knew they didn't speak english.
Admittedly his english stunk ,but he was sure he'd at least recognize it.
He did that time he and Akane ran into those tourists in Nerima. Akane even
tried talking to them.  He remembered laughing at her when he realized they
couldn't understand her at all.  It gave him further reason not to try in
Hinako's stupid class.  Akane got good grades and she couldn't speak with
Americans, what was the point.

After a little waliking they made it to the clearing and he heard Nabiki's
low whistle from slightly behind him.

He turned to see the shock on her face. Neither her nor Kasumi had realized
they had been captured by an army.  Maybe not quite an army but Ranma had
earlier realised that the 200-300 soldiers he had seen, were maybe a third
to half the soldiers that were in the clearing.  He absently wondered if
there were any on the other side of that portal.

He motioned for silence and he was satisfied and a little surprised to see
Nabiki nod in agreement.  The camp and soldiers all seemed to be on one side
of the portal,  If they could sneak around they might be able to get trough
without fighting and putting the girls or prisoners in danger.

The so called security was extremely lax.  They easily made there way around
the camp towards the portal.  Ranma noticed a couple guards at the portal.
They made there way to about 5 yards away.  The guards seemed to discount
anyone approaching from any direction other than from straight ahead.  Two
were discussing something while the third was gazing over the camp, adding
the occasional comment to the discussion.

Ranma motioned for the others to wait as he invoked his invisibility
technique again.  He thought he knew the sleep pressure point but he was
silently cursing the fact he had never tested that assumption 10 feet.  He
moved silently fighting the adrenelaine rush washing over him. 5 feet.  He
knew now he would hate to be a ninja, patience just wasn't his forte. 3
feet.  Damn I want to cut loose he thought to himself, he really hated this
sneaking around. 1 foot.  The guars had quieted and all looked out towards
the camp.  NOW, his mental shout spurring him to the action that he savored.

He darted forward striking the first in the requisite spot. The guard
crupled as he struck the second before the first was down. As he lashed out
at the third only to miss the spot as the guard turned just in time for
Ranma's strike to miss.  The third soldier moved pretty quickly turning to
face the unseen assailant as his sword  came around to strike. Ranma was
faster. A strike to the throat crushing the laranx in a moment and his other
hand to cover the scream as he thrust his elbow out block the strike.
Luckily the guard hadn't seen him and the swing was wide.  Ranma caught the
soldiers armwith his shoulder instead of the blade.  He lowered the body to
the ground as to not alert any of the soldiers in the camp and turned for
the others.

To his slight annoyance they were already only a couple feet away.  The men
rushed up and three of them took swords.  Ranma noted the older one was
definitely in charge as he handed out two swords to the younger men and kept
a third for himself. Ranma whispered to the girls  "Nabiki, Kasumi, I'm
going through to check the other side.  Wait here for me till I  get back"
Both nodded in responce.

He then motioned for the four men to wait with the girls.  The three younger
ones looked at the third who nodded.

Ranma invoked the umi-sen-ken and stepped through the portal.

Once he had stepped through he took a look around.  Soul of Ice he thought
as felt a sharp pang of dissapointment at what he saw.  He had been
expecting civilization when what he saw was a clearing in the middle of the
forest.  He noticed another camp that was smaller than the first. There
weren't any guards at the protal but the camp looked more military than the
first. Luckily it was still night, but he could make out a couple different
groups along the perimiter acting like proper sentries.  For not the first
time he realized how easy this would all be if it was just him, or he only
had one of the girls.

He dropped the technique and stepped through the portal motioning them all
to follow.  He checked the other side of the portal.  He happily noted that
like at the other camp the rear of the portal was not populated.  In fact
the clearing only went about twenty or twenty five feet until it hit the
forest. He noticed sentries along the perimiter on this side also.  Luckily
again they were all looking towards the forest not expecting an attack from
behind. He montioned the others to follow as he headed towards the closests
sentries.  He didn't wait for the others as he could move silently much more
rapidly and they need to be out of the clearing as quickly as possible. In a
matter of moments the sentries were down.  He motioned the others to follow
and as they entered the forest Ranma felt the tension he was feeling fade
away.



End Chapter One


Chapter 2:  To Safety?


Mark walked along the forest trying to fight his growing fatigue.  He could
tell dawn was approaching and he wasn't sure how  long they had been
walking.  He was tired, he was sore, and he felt useless.  He was the first
son of a merchant from Yabon.  Five years ago had been the day of his
choosing.  He had been chosen as a recruit into Duke Brucal's guard and he
had shined.  He had learned swordmanship and horseback riding as fast as
any.  He was distinguishing himself as a member of the guard,  his
Swordmaster and the Duke himself had commented on his abilities.

When the war started he remember his intense and unquenchable excitement.
They had joined the forces of the West under Duke Borric.  It had been two
years of the bloody war.  His excitemnet and enthusiasm had been crushed,
replace with a righteous idgination and anger at the invaders that had
attacked his Kingdom.  He had seen friends and his younger brother fall
under the strange bloody swords of the Tsurani.  The Tsurani had outnumbered
the Kingdom forces but the Tsurani had three fronts, some suspected a fourth
front to fight along.  The bulk of the invaders was placed against Duke
Borric's forces.  They also opposed the elves of Elvander and Crydee on two
other fronts. The possible fourth front was the goblins and Moredhal or
Brotherhood of the Dark Path as they were sometimes referred to. Even with
fighting on at least three fronts the Tsurani were slowly carving out more
land pushing the defenders back.

Three days ago, what now seemed like a lifetime ago, he had been on patrol
under Andrew. His horse was cut out from under him and he could't clear the
stirrups in time.  Next thing he remembered he was with Andrew and two
others being lead through the forest.  He later learned the other two were
Nikoli and Patrick,  they had been with the contingent of men under Duke
Borric from Crydee.  They had been in another patrol that had engaged the
enemy. He learned from Nikoli that there had been other prisoners that had
been left behind because of injuries and those that were two badly hurt or
apparently lame had been executed.

The day had passed uneventfully.  There captors were quite humane as long as
they kept up and didn't cause problems.  He had a couple welts to show what
disobedience brought.  Yesterday morning they had crossed through the rift
machine and had been detained in that tent.  He had exchanged stories with
Nikoli and Patrick during the day. There talk was subdued and was filled
with a little dread.  A couple tries throughout the day had proven the bonds
were too tight.  At least they had given food and water.

Some time much later that girl had been brought in.  She look about Mark's
age and was wearing extremely strange clothing.  He had seen dresses before
but hers just looked strange.  Some material he had never seen before and
colors like paint that no dye he knew about could create.  The others were
just as confused as he was.

Then the boy showed up.  They're rescuer.  He remembered tensing up when he
first heard the boy speak.  It had sounded like the Tsurani tongue.  Then
when they got the other girl.  He was about to suggest to Andrew that they
part with the boy because he knew the rift was the other direction back by
the camp.  The boy couldn't be man, maybe an elf or a dragon in disguise.
He remembered his shock when the boy had jumped, jumped up into the trees to
retrieve the other girl. He himself could jump a good two to three feet of
the ground, but the boy had jumped ten or fifteen feet from a standstill.
It was just not possinble. And then he had jumped at least twenty feet down
with the other girl in his arms. Later he had turned himself invisible and
he had
taken out those guards and sentries with a speed and swiftness that would
make his Swordmaster envious.  He couldn't be human, and none of the stories
he had heard about the elves suggest such abilities.

The boy called a halt and that brought Mark back to the present.  The girls
looked exhausted and Mark didn't feel none to fresh himself.  He took the
water skin from the boy gratefully and wetted his mouth before he sunk down
to the forest floor.  The
shorter girl walked up to him.  She carried herself nobly like she was a
Duke's Daughter.  He had begun to suspect the boy was some kind of nobility
from his clothing.  Silk wasn't worn by anyone else and he had silently led
them with a self assurance he didn't think he could match.

"Na-bi-ki", the girl said pointing to herself.  He looked at her dumbly and
she shook her head disparagingly.  "Na-bi-ki," She repeated.

"Na-bi-ki",  Mark repeated slowly pointing at her. He was rewarded with a
curt nod as the others joined around.  The boy said something to the girl in
a that strange sing-song language and the taller girl responded.  He looked
satisfied with her answer and he wondered again if maybe the boy was related
to the two girls or some kind of vassal.  He just couldn't understand the
relationship between the three.  The taller girl appeared to be the oldest
and the younger seemed to defer to her,  even if it was apparent that she
didn't always comply.

"Nabiki," Mark tried out again.

The taller girl smiled and Mark noticed how pretty she was.  Actually they
were both quite pretty.

"Ka-su-mi," Nabiki said as she pointed to the other girl.  Mark decided it
would be nice knowing there names if nothing else.

After a little while they had exchanged names.  Nabiki, Kasumi, and Ranma.
Mark noted how strange the names sounded.  After the introductions Ranma
darted into the forest after a few words to Nabiki and Kasumi.  The four of
us sat around chatting while the two girls chatted amongst themselves
waiting for Ranma to return.  They seemed unconcerned with his absense and
that gave gave Mark a small measure of comfort.

Mark and the other men were pretty certain that we were heading towards the
elves.  Mark was certain once they made it over
the river we would find the elves no problem and that would send the men
back to the army.  Mark wondered what would happen to the three kids.

Ranma came back carrying a rabbit and some fish.  Just them Marks's stomach
growled and realized it had been at least half a day since he had eaten.
Nikoli mentioned that Ranma must have found the river and asked Andrew if
maybe we should skip the food and head for safety.  Andrew vetoed the idea
and went to help set up a small fire while Ranma cleaned the food.  Kasumi
stepped up and started helping with breakfast as the rest sat and watched.


******************

"There's a river about a half mile from here. I think we should cross it."

"Why?" replied Nabiki. "Do you have any Idea where your dragging us.?"

"No, not really"

"Then why?"

"I dunno Nabiki, but we can't just stay here.  Maybe we can find some help
getting home or somethin?"

"Why didn't we just go through the other portal?  The one that we came
through?"

"I ..ah... blewitup,"  Ranma muttered quickly under his breathe.

"YOU WHAT????" She screamed.  Ranma had been dreading this moment and was
surprised that this conversation had been delayed as long as it had.

"I DIDN'T KNOW IT WOULD DO THAT,  THEY WERE THROWING FIREBALLS AT ME"

"I'm sure you did your best Ranma.  Isn't that right Nabiki?"

"Ranma, Nabiki  shhhh,"  came from Andrew.  They both turned to him to see
Andrew glaring at them.

Nabiki took a deep breathe and the anger disappeared from her face as she
turned back to Ranma.
"Maybe you should tell us what exactly happened from we were knocked out
till  you woke us up? OK."

"Not much, after I saw them take Kasumi, I went after them.  There were a
couple hundred on the other side of the portal.  After fighting for a few
minutes I noticed these guys on the other side wearing these black robes.
They fired a couple of their fireball things at me after I saw them bring
you through. Fired a couple Moko Tobashi at them and when they went down so
did the portal.  I got you out of there and then went back for Kasumi.  I
thought that the portal we went through would take us back. "  He hung his
head as he finished.  He wasn't happy about this at all and Nabiki was the
only person other than his mother that he was actually afraid off.  He
wouldn't admit it anyone else and he only occasionly admitted it to himself.
He couldn't refuse his  other and he had no idea how to fight Nabiki.  That
just left him feeling hopeless.

Nabiki looked at the pigtailed martial artist and admitted to herself he
wasn't at fault.  She had lost control a little and she wasn't happy about
that at all.  I must be tired she thought.  "Allright, let's find this river
of yours."

They had just taken there first step when all hell broke loose. Ranma rolled
forward as an arrow buzzed by the vacated space. "Get down" he yelled as he
heard Nabiki cry out as soldiers burst out of the woods.  Taking a quick
glance behind he sees Kasumi going to knee over Nabiki.  While the other men
were moving up to protect the two girls.  He notices Mark limping as he
joins the men to form a loose semi-circle around the girls.  He knocks two
arrows out of the air before the attackers hit.  He was having no problem
taking care of the soldiers as they approach him.  The formation was
hampering him and he had to be more direct than he's used to.  He notices
Nikoli and Andrew are right next to him and hard pressed by two enemies
each.  He
sees more soldiers coming out of the forest and he knows some are making
their way around the sides of there circle. For the first time he can
remember feels a sense of dread and powerless in a fight.

He increased his speed and took out the two soldiers facing him, followed by
one of each of Nikoli's and Andrew's attackers before returning to dispatch
the two more that advanced on him.  He heard Kasumi let out a gasp and a
cold fear griped his stomach.  He kicks his current adversaries into the
other approaching soldiers and turns to see Mark double over a sword to his
gut.  He jump kicks the bastard before he could remove his sword.  He heard
a satisfying snap as he connects with the attackers head.

He turns to check the space he just vacated when he sees the soldiers that
were struggling to regain their balance go down with arrows protruding from
their chests.  He turns to the sound of men rushing from the other side of
the clearing  He instinctively moves in front of the girls as two men slow
in front of him as the others rush by either side of him to engage the
attackers.

When they don't attack he bends down, "You OK Nabiki?"

"NO!" her voice though harsh was week and Ranma felt his pulse quicken again
as he turned to the middle Tendo Sister.  She was laying on her back with an
arrow protruding from the side of her chest just below her shoulder.

He hears one of the men that had come to their aid say something and then
Andrew responded.  Apparently they could understand each other although he
paid scant attention as he examined Nabiki. He broke off the shaft just
above where it was protruding from her flesh. He took a short breathe and
started unbuttoning her school blouse. He worked quickly removing the blouse
and then arrow and then helping Kasumi dress the wounds as best they could
they could.  Nabiki only screamed once when he started digging out the arrow
before passing out.

"I think she'll be OK" he said when they were done.

Kasumi just smiled tightly at him as he turned his attention to the others.
He focused his attention to the new men for the first time.  They were tall
and lanky with dark hair.  They were wearing loose pants brown pants and
either green or brown shirts.  There faces were skinning showing strong
jawbones.  There hair was almost unerringly brown or reddish brown.  He then
noticed the strangest thing,  It was so subtle he almost missed it, none of
them had earlobes.

He stood and walked the couple feet over to were Mark lie.  Yesterday was
the first time he had actually ever seen a dead body.  He couldn't remember
ever knowing anyone that had died.  Patrick looked up from kneeling over him
with a look of sadness. He approached the body and saw the look of agony
still etched into Mark's face.  He saw all he need to see and walked back
over to Nabiki.

The men that had followed the soldiers into the forest had started coming
back.  There were about fifty of them.  They were talking to Andrew and
occasionally looking at him and the girls. Finally Andrew came over and
started motioning to Ranma.  After a moments confusion he decided that
Andrew meant for them to go with the new men.  Ranma easily lifted up
Nabiki.  "Come on Kasumi,  let's see if they can help."

"Ok Ranma,"  she said it wearily.

*****

They had walked for a good 20 minutes before they came to the river.  Ranma
silently cursed to himself as he eyed the water that he would have to cross.
"Maybe they have a boat?"  He muttered to himself.  The river was too far
for him to leap across even if he wasn't carrying Nabiki.  He was walking
near the front of the group and was conscience of the fact that he and
Kasumi were surrounded.  He got the impression that he was both being
protected and guarded at the dame time. They were actually pretty  discreet
about it.  Andrew and the other boys were walking up nearer to the lead.
Chatting with some of the men.  On further inspection he didn't believe they
were men.  Their chi was all wrong and if he didn't know any better he would
swear they were elves.

They walked along the rivers edge for another ten minutes before the first
men plunged in.  They were wading across what Ranma assumed was a ford. He
bowed his head as he plunged into the river.  He was right behind Kasumi who
was being steadied by one of the elves.  He felt the familiar tingle as he
adjusted his balance and the load he was carrying.  The water went up to his
chest as he lifted Nabiki to keep her as dry as possible.

The first elves were exiting the river now as he could hear one of the elves
yelling from behind him.  He had no idea if he was being addressed and
wouldn't have stopped even if he was.  He stopped as he almost ran into
Kasumi when she and the rest of their companions stopped.  Someone grabbed
his forearm and tried to turn him.  Ranma didn't budge as he felt his anger
grow noticing those who were in front all turn to look at him.  "Oh my
Ranma, you're a girl again."  He heard Kasumi's exclamation and he snorted
as he shrugged of the hand that had grabbed him and continues to move past
Kasumi.  He sensed another attempted grab as he shifted his shoulders to
prevent the elf from getting a handhold as one of the elves who had already
made the other bank shouted something.  He fixed his gaze on the elf who he
assumed to be the leader as he waded the rest of the way out of the river.
He heard talking around him especially from the men he had saved yesterday.

Swords and bows were readied and trained on him as he again wished he didn't
have the girls to worry about.  He had no doubts about his ability to
survive himself.  The core of his code was to protect others.  He hadn't
always followed it as well as he would have like but he realized know that
the girls had no one else. He did his best to bury his cocky bravado and
accept that for the moment he was at their mercy.  As long as they didn't
attack, he'd try diplomacy.

He exited the river and placed Nabiki down as the elven leader faced him.
He looked curious.  Not the fear or anger he had expected.  Andrew came up
and said "Ranma".  Taking a chance he smiled and nodded yes. He then
replied, "Andrew I'm Ranma."  Not realizing that all Andrew could understand
were the two proper names.  Andrew then spoke to the elf and a discussion
ensued.  Ranma was very conscious of the elves that had surrounded him and
the girls.  The lead elf considered for a minute before barking out some
orders.

He bent down to extend a hand to Nabiki's forehead and frowned.  He motioned
to Nabiki and said a few words to one of the elves.  The elf bent down and
looked about ready to pick up the still unconscious Nabiki when Ranma
stopped his movement and quickly lifted the light girl himself.  Ranma
checked her head and realized she had a fever.  This can't get any better he
thought to himself.

The were brought to a small shelter about a half mile into the forest.
Ranma was shown a straw pallet to place Nabiki.  Her fewer was getting worse
at same pace as Ranma's patience.  He didn't have any aspirin and Kasumi
wasn't helping.  One of the elves came forward and handed him a water skin
motioning for him to try and get her to drink.  He tried gentle rousing her
but to no avail.  He quickly shredded the bags he had stolen from the camp
earlier and wet the cloth and applied some to her head.

"Ranma,"  he heard Nikoli speak to him.  He lookup up to see the Nikoli he
was making hand motions and couldn't tell what was going on.  Letting the
confusion show on his face Nikoli smiled and waved before turning and
walking away.  The elves were moving out and taking the men with them  He
then corrected that assessment and realized that the elven leader and three
others remained.

"Kasumi, there's another pallet.  Why don't you get some sleep?"

Kasumi just mumbled something as she shambled towards one of the pallets and
lay down.  She was sleeping in moments.
Ranma looked at her for a moment hoping sleep would bring her back from the
shell of a person she had slowly become.  He realized the fatigue he felt
but wouldn't succumb until one of the girls would wake.

************

It was the middle of the second day that they had been in the little
shelter.  Nabiki's fever had finally broken earlier that morning.  Her fever
had been incredibly high.  Ranma wasn't an expert but he knew enough to be
extremely worried for the girl without adequate medicine.  Kasumi had
recovered slightly after her nap but had nothing to add about Nabiki's
condition.  Saying that a fever usually indicated the body was fighting some
infection.  Ranma had double checked her wounds especially the arrow and
found her cuts all looked clean no signs of infection, only the minor
irritation associated with cuts and scratches
form walking thorough the woods.

He had also spent the day and a half studying the elves. They were
surprising creatures.  After the initial shock and demonstrating the curse
without words they had acted like nothing was out of the ordinary.  He was
wondering about the water magnet part of the curse because except for when
they crossed the river and demonstrating for the elves he had stayed male.
He hadn't even changed during that short rain storm,  he had been able to
ride it out inside the shelter.  He had determined the elves were named
Calin, Galain, Algavins, and Talin. They had even made an attempt at
language learning simple words for food, water, tree and a few others. He
was at the point where he almost trusted them.  He was contemplating
sleeping tonight instead of only sleeping when Kasumi was awake.

"Uggg,"  he heard and moved towards Nabiki's pallet. "Kasumi I think she's
waking up."  He called over to Kasumi who was cooking some meat the elves
had brought.

The girl eyes we're open and she was trying to rise.

"How do you feel little sister?" Kasumi says as she comes over to the bed.

Nabiki paused a second to focus on Kasumi.  "I feel OK.  Very hungry
though."

"Lunch is almost ready, I'll bring some over to you."

"Thanks big sister."

Ranma helped prop her up as she regarded him.

"So are we home yet."  she said by means of greeting.

"No we're not. You been out for the last day and a half"

"We went across the river to this shelter.  The elves except for a few left
with Andrew, Nikoli, and Patrick.  We waited here for you to get better, you
got really sick."

"Elves!"  Nabiki almost shouted.  He shout alerted Calin to her
consciousness and he came over.  "I think that's what they are," glancing at
Calin as he approached. Calin had a small smile as he appraised her before
calling out.  Talin appeared and they exchanged words while Ranma Continued.

"They came and saved us right after the aliens attacked.  Not that I needed
any help."  He added quickly.

Nabiki just gave him a look that said she didn't believe him at all.  "What
about Mark, you didn't mention him as going with the other elves" She said
the last with a bit of amusement.

Ranma sat a for a second but before he could respond Kasumi said, "He died
Nabiki, right before the elves came"  Nabiki's expression went blank before
she laid back down.  Ranma watched as Talin ran off and he looked at Nabiki
hopelessly as Kasumi brought food over to feed them.

They left the next morning when it was determined Nabiki could walk.  The
Nerimites were enthralled with the beauty of the forest.  Ranma commented
that it felt alive.  The aura off the forest was different, as if it were
somehow sentient.  The girls looked at him quizzically when he made his
comment but they agreed it was the weirdest forest they'd ever encountered.
It seemed to interfere with Ranma's senses which bothered him a great deal
especial with the fact that the elves moved completely silently through it
at times.  He was very proud of his abilities and it was a huge blow to his
ego that he could lose sight of any of the
elves so easily.

In the middle of the second day of travel they came upon a huge clearing.
He saw the largest trees he had ever seen.  He thought that some of the
animals from Ryugenzawa wouldn't look out of place among those trees.  The
clearing seemed to be at least a mile long surrounds the groupings of trees.
He thought he could see people and some structures in the trees themselves.

The walked up to the trees and he noticed the looks of wonder on the girls
faces.  Even Nabiki seemed impressed with immense beauty the were confronted
with.  "How beautiful" he heard Kasumi state.

They found some steps built into the base of the tree and ascended into the
elven home.  They walked along branches and different walkways occasionally
seeing an elf here or there and noticing the strange looks they were seeing.
They were 40 to fifty feet up at least and Ranma kept along the edge of the
path look down and around.  The girls showed even greater wonder in their
surroundings although no straying as close to the edge as Ranma.  Calin and
their two other escorts silently lead them along showing amusement at there
guests wonder.

Finally Galain and Algavins turned off before the kids were lead into a
clearing in the trees.  It was a wide open space surrounded by the largest
of the huge trees with interwoven branches in the center.  There he noticed
a strikingly beautiful woman sitting upon a throne.  She was sitting but her
height was readily apparent.  Here lobeless ears, large eyes, strong jawline
entrapped the attention of the pigtailed martial artist until he felt a
slight poke in the ribs.  "Don't stare Ranma, " Nabiki chided him with a
note of anger in her voice.

He recovered quickly and noticed the others in the room as Calin moved
forward to talk with the regal elf.  He noticed The humans he had rescued
along with another young man in golden armor.  He appeared human but his
features had a decidedly elven cast to them. There were two short squat
human like people standing next to the boy.  He had come to accept that the
elves really were elves and suspected that the two short people might be
dwarves.  They appeared to be in their early thirties.  There were other
elves around include one in robes who looked elderly.  He noted that all the
other elves he had seen before
appeared to be from their early twenties to early thirties except for that
one man.

Calin finished talking to the older woman and stood aside as she said
something to the older man.  Who in turn returned his attention to the Ranma
and started mumbling something before inclining his head to the woman.

"Welcome to Elvandar, I am Aglaranna, Queen of the elves."



End Chapter Two




Author's notes:  Idea I was kicking around and sat down seriously when I
heard about the second bet.  Enter it yourselves.  It should be fun.  Also I
hate the title but I can't think of better please help.  Thanks for reading,
Ken. :-)
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