[FFML] [Crossover: R1/2 & Slayers][Revised]The Slayers: Wild: One

Preamble:
The changes from the original text vary from minor to major. Should anyone wish to see the original text, it's located here: http://ca.geocities.com/therealsilentnova/tsw/tsw01.txt

I doubt anyone would want to experience that kind of pain, however.

This version is better. Though if that says anything of the story's quality, then I can only guess (it's not awful, anymore, at least... I think). It's simply better in that I've tried to clear up mistakes and confusion readers have brought to my attention. Of course, it's likely I've made even more in the revision.

Anyway, Author's Notes follow the chapter, giving some detail of the changes I've made.

Revisions are also planned for the other four chapters I've yet released.

Also, if I've forgotten to mention you for having previously given c&c for this story in one of its earlier incarnations, please give me a shout.
Homer:
I think Mr. Smithers picked me for my motivational skills. Everyone always says they have to work twice as hard when I'm around!
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http://ca.geocities.com/therealsilentnova/
Silentnova@go.co
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-- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis --
-- File: tsw01d.txt

The Slayers: Wild
By Troy Thomas

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are the creations and property
of Rumiko Takahashi. The Slayers and its characters are the
creations and properties of Hajime Kanzaka and Rui
Araizumi.

Excepting flames, if you have any comments or criticisms,
feel free to send them my way.

Thanks to Allyn Yonge, Xellos, David Johnston, Benjamin
Goldberg, Steffen, Steven A. Pirrone, Epsilon, and Brett W.
Hall, and others who've I've unfortunately forgotten, for
helpful and in-depth advice and comments.

***

http://ca.geocities.com/therealsilentnova/tsw/index.html
Silentnova@go.com

***

Chapter One

"It's raining," said Ranma Saotome, as he casually looked
out his home's kitchen window. He sighed, disliking the
rain, as it was always to him trouble.

"Yes, dear," said his mother, Nodoka, as she dried off a
just washed dinner plate, placing it away. Ranma watched
her glance outside. She said, as she seemingly watched the
falling drops of water, "If you're going out there,
remember to bring an umbrella."

Lightning suddenly broke the sky, and then boomed its
thunder.

The house for a moment shook, as though filled with fear of
the weather.

"On second thought, don't go outside at all," Nodoka said,
smiling nervously at Ranma.

Lightning again lit the dark sky out doors.

As though in reverence of the newly born rain storm, Ranma
remained quiet, wondering of its coming passing.

"Ranma," Nodoka started to say, her voice worried, "I just
remembered. Your father phoned, saying was leaving Mister
Tendo's... The weather was fine then, so I don't think he
brought anything to keep him dry. You should find him, and
bring him his rain jacket."

Ranma replied, his voice dry as he personally hoped to
remain, "A little rain wouldn't hurt Pop." He placed his
arms behind his head, and then leaned back against the
wall, as though physically expressing his desire to not go
out into the rain. "He'll be fine. After all, he's the
Master of the Saotome School of Indiscriminate Grappling."

Ranma studied the stubborn expression now covering his
mother's face. He then said, in an effort to convince her
he shouldn't have to go outside, "Peril's the life of the
martial artist, he's always saying. I'm pretty sure he'd
actually be a bit mad if I..." He noticed his mother was
definitely not smiling. His words did not delight nor
convince her. In fact, it now seemed to him she was instead
reverting to an old reflex, the one where she weighed a
sword in her hands. "You know, I think I'll go find Pop!"
he said, suddenly inspired to take a walk in the rain.
"He'd really appreciate this, wouldn't he?" he said,
holding out for his mother to see, his father's rain
jacket, which was adjustable so it fit even a large panda
should the need arise. He then wondered where he had got
the jacket, but upon realising he'd have to think very
deeply about it, he shrugged it off, deciding it was really
unimportant.

A short moment later, Ranma was outside, underneath a thick
and heavy rain jacket of his own. Despite his foul mood,
which he showed by muttering, "Stupid Pop... had to get
caught out in the rain... it would do him some good,
really..." Ranma couldn't help but love his jacket, as it
kept him completely dry.

"I won't be changing into a girl tonight!" he happily said,
after completely cussing his father totally out. He was
referring to his curse, where if he was splashed by cold
water, he'd instantly transform into a girl. His father
also had such a curse. However, Ranma's old man rather than
a girl turned into a panda, which was why the adjustable
jacket for Mister Saotome was necessary.

Stopping, Ranma then thought, 'You know, I don't even know
where the old fool is! All Mother told me was that he was
coming from Mister Tendo's. He could be coming from any
direction.' Placing his hands on his hips, he then realised
he could return home, and then say to his mother, "You
know, I just couldn't find Pop, Mom! The poor guy's just
gonna have to get soaked, I guess!"

On his way home, a bright, eerie lightning bolt began a
series of thunderclaps, which drowned out any noise,
silencing the pitch-dark sky. There was then suddenly no
longer any rain. The lightning and thunder also stopped.

Stopping, he slowly looked around, and saw there was no
indication of life in the air. The clouds had stopped
moving. There was no wind and no sound. "This doesn't look
too good," he said.

Wet, furry sounding footsteps attracted his attention.
Turning to see who was running at him, he saw it was a
large, agitated-looking panda. "Pop? You seem a bit worried
there," he loudly said to the panda, secretly hoping his
father didn't have bad news about the sudden odd stopping
of the storm.

Upon reaching Ranma, the panda stopped and then intently
looked down on him. He held out a sign with hastily written
words, the look of which filled Ranma with a slight worry.
Ranma slowly read the panda's strange forbidding words,
"Boy! You didn't dare touch my dinner, did you?"

Thrusting out his father's rain jacket, Ranma waited for
the panda to grab it before then suddenly kicking the
animal high into the air, in the direction of the Saotome
residence. "You probably already ate at the Tendos', you
dork!" he called out to the panda, who was holding a new
sign, which read, "Lousy son!"

"Lousy Dad!" Ranma quietly said. "And here I thought he
knew something about this weather!" Intently, he turned
back from the direction of his own home towards the Tendo's
residence, his old home, the residence of of his fiancee,
Akane Tendo.

"I don't trust this weather. It's too ominous. And it's
those kind of storms I hate the most! He looked back up at
the unmoving sky. "Something bad always happens." He
thought about the word he had used, 'Storm... there's no
lightning and thunder, yet I can't help but think of this
as anything but a storm!'

He quickly realised he was out alone in the silent,
unmoving world. An empty feeling emerged, which he quickly
discarded with the thought, 'I gotta see Akane!' He didn't
know why such was the first instinct he had. It certainly
wasn't worry, as he knew such a tomboyish girl like Akane
didn't need to worry about anything, being strong as an
ox... Still, he felt seeing her was of the utmost
importance.

There was then a vague and odd radiance in the air. It
instantly caught Ranma's attention, and he found its
source, far above his head. 'That's odd,' he thought,
looking at it, a small sphere of light. 'Where did it come
from? Does it have something to do with that weird
lightning from earlier, before when everything in the air
stopped?'

He didn't allow the sphere of light to deter his pace
though, despite its curious nature. It did weigh on his
mind, nevertheless. However, he felt it would be better to
worry about the light only when it became important,
because he already had something important to do.

He saw the gate to the Tendo property was ahead, now only a
few seconds away. Outside the open gate, stood Akane and
her whole family, as well as others from around the
neighbourhood. All were staring at the light.

Akane quickly noticed him, and then quickly walked to him.
She asked, "Ranma, do you know what's happening?"

"No," Ranma said. He shrugged. "Can't be anything too bad
though. I mean, what can be so bad that I can't beat it
when it happens?"

"Gee, your confidence really sets my worry at ease," Akane
said, her voice sarcastic, her facial expression wearied.

"You saying something?" Ranma asked Akane. However, Akane
didn't answer him, because she instead asked Ranma, "Why
are you here?"

Although nervous, since Akane had edged a bit closer to him
when asking her question, Ranma answered, skillfully hiding
his apprehension from knowing of how close Akane was to
him, "Oh, I was just looking for the panda..." He wished
his voice sounded honest, since he certainly didn't want
Akane to get any strange ideas from his answer, because he
felt his answer had been dishonest. 'Why did I come here?'
he wondered. He didn't answer though, despite knowing deep
inside himself he had an response.

"Is that really true?" Akane asked.

Deciding he really didn't want to answer, as he didn't have
an explanation he felt comfortable with, Ranma tried to
steer the conversation away by inquiring of Akane, "You
were worried?" However, seeing Akane's irritated
expression, he immediately knew he asked too quickly, and
with just the wrong tense of voice. He hastily then added a
compliment, "I mean, you're such a tomboy, that I thought
you'd never do anything cute like actually be worried..."

Crossing his arms, and even his legs, as he found suddenly
himself sailing through the air, Ranma then thought of
Akane's temper, 'Uncute is what it is!' He ignored the new
swelling bruise growing on his cheek, instead deciding to
concentrate on what he'd land on when his flight ended.

Luckily, he found something soft right away. 'I only hope
the idiot doesn't move,' he thought, readying his landing
feet.

"Hi ya, Pop!" he shouted, perfectly alighting on his
father's head, sending his old man sprawling head first
into the dirt. He himself landed with on his feet firmly
planted on the ground.

"Ranma!" he heard his mother call out to him. Looking, he
saw her standing at the back entrance to the Saotome home,
which he was surprised to have landed near. She was
watching him with a worried curiosity. "Do you know what
that light is?" she asked.

"Uh, no," he replied. "It suddenly appeared, just right
before I found Pop," he said, wishing there was more he
could say. However, even if he could say anything more, he
found himself suddenly interrupted from behind by a hard
blow to the to of his head, which knocked him down.

"Hmm, I wonder is this strange occurrence in the air
tonight is related to the story of an odd man that the
neighbourhood watch representative brought to Tendo and
me?" Ranma heard Genma say, after his father stepped over
and on him.

His curiosity piqued, Ranma, despite having just been
laying on the ground, instantly pounced on top of Genma's
head. Bending over, he looked face to face with his father.
He said, "Do say more, Pop, cause you actually sound like
you've figured something out for once!" Avoiding a punch
from his father, Ranma then kicked off his dad's head,
landing right in front of Nodoka. To his satisfaction, he
heard behind him his old man flop hard onto the ground.

"Ranma, do you think everything will be alright?" Nodoka
slowly asked. She paused. Ranma saw on her face an
expression of deep unease. "I get the strangest and oddest
feeling from that light, as though it's an omen of terrible
danger."

Ranma noticed resolve to solve and sort out the mess
growing in his chest, to his surprise. He wouldn't wanted
to have done so before, but the urgency now in his mother's
voice...

He soon found himself running atop a fence, his father
trailing behind.

"I don't see why I had to come..." Genma muttered.

"Martial artist's duty, old man," Ranma responded.

"Don't see why it had to be this martial artist..." Ranma
heard his father grumpily mumble. He suddenly had to stop,
when noticing his father had stopped running after him.
"Tendo, old friend!" he heard Genma call out.

Turning, he saw Genma walk up to Soun Tendo, Akane's
father. Aside Soun stood Akane, who he did not expect to
see. He wasn't disappointed to see her though, and he
almost wanted to admit he was glad to see her, as he felt
his last meeting with her had been... incomplete, as though
he was to have done something important.

"Yes, Tendo, my old friend! I also had the same idea as you
to search out the strange man who is rumoured to be in the
area!" said Genma, loudly, in reply to a question from Soun
that Ranma hadn't heard. "It's a martial artist's duty,
after all!" Ranma grit his teeth, but restrained himself
from pouncing on and then throttling his father.

"Well said, Tendo," said Genma, replying again to Soun, who
Ranma had again not heard. "Anyway, if we want to be sure
to find the stranger, we should set off immediately!"

Ranma watched the two fathers leave, both in the direction
of the Tendo dojo. He groaned, feeling bothered, placing
his hands behind in head. "Where they gonna go look? In a
bottle?" he said, his voice resigned. "I guess then that we
gotta do this alone..." He looked at Akane. "So, you got
any idea where he could be, that stranger they were talking
about?"

"Dad said something about him being spotted mostly around
the school," Akane replied. He watched as an expression of
unease settled across her face, as though she had just
realised or sensed something awful. He dutifully yet
worriedly waited for her enivitable words, "Now, just
because we've been left alone, it doesn't mean you're free
to do whatever you want!"

Inwardly, Ranma groaned, and outwardly, he growled. "What
kind of a man do you take me for?" he said. "I'm not that
desperate!" He then knew he said something wrong. The fist
suddenly imbedded in his face was his strongest clue.

"You can be such a jerk!" said Akane, her voice edged with
anger, but its colour tinted with hurt. Ranma was relieved
when Akane removed her hand from his face, but found he was
more uncomfortable with the silence now hanging around
Akane. Even the annoyance from two bruises, one on each
cheek, couldn't compare with the irritation he felt for the
silence.

He noticed it wasn't leaving as the two walked to the
school, its prescense intruding into his mind, as though
daring him to reach out and... and... break it, like it was
made of glass!

'Damn! How the hell can I stop this?' Ranma wondered. He
could apologise, of course, but he didn't want to, because
he knew if he apologised it would make Akane get ideas.

He opened his mouth, thinking something might pour out.
However, he shut it right away. 'Can't say that!' he
realised, only at the last moment. 'I don't know if she
wants to called uncute right now...' He opened his mouth
again, but again he closed it shut right away. 'I can bet
that she doesn't want to hear how she's a macho chick
either!'

'What can I do?' Ranma wondered. He hated the silence, but
he didn't want to do what he had to do to dispell it,
without completely complicating for the worse his whole
life. 'Is there anything I can do that won't make her mad?
Or, um... get the wrong idea?' he thought, inwardly
despairing. He glimpsed at his fiancee, hoping to not see
her not being angry, as such a lack of emotion on Akane
usually meant she was by far angrier than raging bonfire.
'There isn't anything I can do, is there?' he thought,
seeing her not being angry. 'I hate it when she gets this
mad. She's just so uncute!'

He again glanced at her, not noticing any change in her
features. 'There isn't anything I can do,' he realised, his
whole mood resigned.

He opened his mouth, and slowly began to speak, "Yo, Akane,
I'm, um... I'm, uh..." He just couldn't say the words! He
knew the words would present two possible situations, and
neither to him were favourable!

Akane said, breaking him out of his concentration, "Ranma,
you've been opening and closing your mouth for the past
five minutes like you were a fish. Are you going to say
something or not?"

Instantly opening his mouth, Ranma had to restrain what was
trying to escape, as being called a fish was somthing he
usually wouldn't take lightly. Handcuffing his tongue by
gritting his teeth, he then began to speak, his voice
forced and careful, as he didn't want the rebuttal for the
fish comment to be released, "I am... just trying to...
uh... pologise."

Akane stopped walking, and because of her sudden reaction
his apology, Ranma felt his heart try to stop beating. She
looked at him. Ranma's heart beat once, and then tried to
wilt, not knowing it wasn't a flower. The stunned
expression on Akane's face told Ranma his persuasive words
had made the wrong impression, and had convinced Akane it
was time she started being a proper gi...

She placed a hand on his forehead, and asked, "Are you
feeling alright?" Ranma noted her face showed both concern
and a disturbing curiosity. "Maybe you ate something weird
that's making you act odd..." she said to him, her voice
quiet and inquisitive.

"I don't remember eating any of your cooking," Ranma
replied, hiding in his voice his disappointment, and
emphasising his annoyance. "Uncute!" he muttered, a moment
later, after Akane's palm of concern which she had been
holding against his forehead had instantly transformed into
the fist of vengeance.

He trailed behind her, holding his hand to the top of his
head, rubbing a growing bruise. "Man, she's just so
violent, like a gurilla on steroids or something!" he
quietly growled.

"I heard that!" Akane said, her voice irratated.

Ranma looked up from Akane, having noticed a strange, dark
figure ahead. Jumping protectively in front of Akane, he
called out to the stranger, "Hey you! Are you the one who's
making people nervous?"

"Great question, Ranma. Maybe he'll actually say yes,"
Akane whispered, her voice sarcastic.

"Well, what else we s'posed to ask him?" Ranma questioned.
However, before Akane could answer, the figure approached.

"Yes, I am the one who makes people nervous," said the
stranger.

When the stranger was closer, Ranma saw the man was
seemingly draped in darkness. He instantly didn't like the
strange man's vicious, hungry smile, which didn't agree
with the man's cold and lifeless eyes.

"Is that yours?" Ranma slowly asked, pointing up to the
unliving light, hovering gently in the air.

The man looked up. "It isn't, but it is most curious, no?"
The man looked back at Ranma, his grin still on his face.
"You must be curious as to who I am? Even if you aren't,
I'll still share with you my identity, as I am quite
boastful!" The man gestured upwards to the sky.

Ranma looked, and saw not the still storm clouds or even
the sky, but a humongous head of a grinning monster, which
had at least a hundred thousand rotten yet sharp teeth, and
eyes which didn't see but showed, and what Ranma saw in
them was everything that was opposite of life... death and
destruction, emptiness and suffering.

"You both must be impressed with my true form?" said the
stranger. "I can eat this tiny world with only one bite!"

Ranma felt Akane grab onto his hand. She began to drag
Ranma away from the stranger, and Ranma didn't resist. Who
was the man, who seemed to not create fear in his spine,
but be the fear?

Ranma noticed his fear, and growled. He didn't like the
unfamiliar feeling. He asked, his voice hard and angry,
"Are you saying you're going to eat the world?"

"Yes, but only after a certain somebody shows. I speak of
the one for whom this world is a heart," replied the man,
in his cheerful, yet violent voice. "I want him or her to
watch me eat this heart, because it brings me joy to see
pain and fear!"

'The world is a heart?' Ranma wondered. 'What is he talking
about?'

"Look, she is here!" said the stranger. He again pointed
upwards.

Ranma didn't want to look up again, because he didn't want
to see the monster's head. However, realising he was
scared, he then looked up in defiance.

He had never before been frightened of anything except a
few rare and secret things. The stranger though, filled him
with a fear he couldn't understand. He didn't want to
understand, nor be afraid, so he became angry. With his
anger, he would fight against the stranger and the fear the
stranger inspired. He stopped allowing Akane to drag him
away from the stranger.

"Lady, I have come to make a meal of this world," said the
stranger to the sky.

Ranma saw in the sky a lady. She was truly undefinable,
without any features, yet he felt she was beautiful. He
didn't know how he decided the lady was beautiful, but he
felt she could be nothing else.

He felt Akane's hold on his hand tighten, yett not in a
timid nor frightened manner, but in a gesture of
confidence. He returned the strange and wonderful strength
he felt from her hand. He then knew she would face the
stranger with him, even despite the quiet and hollering
prostestations in his heart, calling for him to bring Akane
to safety.

"Lady, you pay me no attention," said the stranger. "You
wish to incur my wrath?"

The lady knowingly smiled on Ranma and Akane, and then
faded away from sight.

The stranger turned to face Akane, about to say something,
when the sphere of light, which Ranma had forgotten, began
to glow. He watched the stranger look up to the light,
transfixed.

The lady then appeared beside Ranma. He looked at her, and
wondered why she now looked like his mother... She gently
took into her hands his head, and drew it close. She then
planted a kiss onto his forehead. She then walked to Akane,
where she did the same exact thing.

She then disappeared.

Ranma heard Akane say, "She looked my mother. How I
remember her to be, before she died."

"She looked like mine too," Ranma replied. "I wonder who
she was?" He looked at the stranger, who was still watching
the light. "I wonder what this all means?" A question then
occured to Ranma, which summed up all his confused
feelings, "What the hell is happening?"

The sphere light suddenly yet gently flashed.

Ranma heard thunder, despite there being no lightning. He
looked to the sphere of light, and saw it was expanding. He
then watched a beam shoot from the sphere at the stranger,
who seemed surprised by the sphere's sudden and odd new
activity, so much so that he didn't move even when the beam
of light hit and went right through him!

"Ahh! What is this?" the stranger cried out, his voice
filled with fear and anger. He began to thrash about, but
Ranma saw the light was not going to quit its duty,
whatever it was. "Argh!" howled the stranger, looking up
into the sky, his eyes filled with madness and design.

Ranma looked up, and he saw the monster opening its mouth,
as though preparing to swallow the earth. He looked back
down at the stranger, who began to stagger towards him and
Akane. "I want what that bitch gave you both when she
kissed you two! I need it, now!"

The light still shone through the stranger, Ranma noticed.
It also seemed to have started narrowing, as though
transforming into a string, or a fishing line.

Whoever was at the other end of the line then yanked,
pulling the stranger off his feet.

Almost at once, strong winds forced Ranma to find something
to hold on to, yet he couldn't remove his attention from
the light sphere, seemingly the disturbance's source.
"That's gotta be big trouble!" he said to Akane.

Far above the light, Ranma was certain the storm clouds
were in a descent towards the sphere. "What's happening
now?" he asked. He looked to the stranger, who was
struggling with the line of light, as though trying to pull
back against whoever was pulling it. However, Ranma knew
the stranger would lose, as the stranger was being lifted
off the ground, and the line didn't loosen even a bit from
stranger resisting.

The stranger then cried out, his voice rising loud and
clear, painful to Ranma's ear. Ranma looked at the
stranger, and saw the line had pulled out of the stranger a
strange, black gem. It was lifted into the air, to the
sphere of light, out of sight.

Panting, the stranger looked at Ranma and Akane. "I'll kill
you both personally!" He struggled to his feet, and began
walking towards the two, who were both clinging to the
school fence. "I'll still eat this world, even without my
full power! But I'll eat your hearts first!" However, a
terribly powerful wind knocked the stranger off his feet,
and carried him up to the sphere.

"What the hell's with this wind? It's trying to pull us
up!" Ranma grabbed hold of Akane. "Don't let go!"

"I won't!" Akane replied, taking hold around Ranma's waist
with both her arms. Ranma then wrapped his arm around
Akane, and with the other took tight hold of the nearby
school fence.

In the corner of his eyes, he could see the ends of the
fence tearing from the ground.

'Akane, I was supposed to see you 'bout something
important,' Ranma thought. 'It was a feeling I had...' He
looked up, and saw the monster bringing his entire mouth
with its hundreds of thousands of sharp, rotting teeth to
the whole world. 'We can't stay here,' he realised. 'Cause
there won't be a here in a minute...'

The whole fence finally tore from the ground, but Ranma had
already let go. He noticed he and Akane weren't the only
two heading to the light, seeing his parents, Akane's
family, and so many others... then he was in the light, and
he saw nothing more.

***

The tower was tall. It extended far into the sky, but was
short of Heaven by a hair.

At the foot of the tower was a girl. Her name was Lina
Inverse. She stood with her hand shielding her red eyes
from the overhead sun, straining to see if there was an end
to the building. She looked over to her companion. "Are you
sure you want to go up there?" she asked him, as he walked
past.

Her companion, Zelgadis Greywords, nodded. She noted his
face was covered by a cloth, which revealed only his eyes.

"Okay then, but I have to tell you, it doesn't look right,"
Lina said, standing with hands on hips, looking back to the
tower, which she then noticed to seemingly have tree bark
as its exterior.

Zelgadis didn't bother to respond, instead continuing on
towards the tower.

"It doesn't feel right either," Lina said, her expression
contemplative.

"There you are, Lina!" a cheerful young man exclaimed,
bounding over to Lina's side.

"Gourry, it's a good thing you're here!" Lina said.

"Why's that, Lina?" Gourry Gabriev questioned, looking down
at her.

"Because there might be a trap right inside the entrance to
that tower, so I'll need someone to go ahead of me when we
go inside so I don't get hit by it, if it's there!" Lina
replied, looking up at Gourry, who towered over her,
despite being only average height.

"There's a trap?" Gourry asked.

"No, I said there might be a trap," Lina responded.
"Honestly Gourry, don't you ever listen?"

"But what if there is, and I get hit by it?" Gourry asked.

"Then I'll remember you forever in my memory!" Lina swiftly
slapped Gourry on the back, forcing the blonde swordsman to
stumble forward. She enthusiastically said, "Now lets go!"

She then scowled. Gourry had somehow wormed his behind her.
"I said, let's go!"

"Uh, no!" replied Gourry. "Ladies first..." Although she
would've normally been pleased or surprised from Gourry
finally treating her as a lady, Lina wasn't at the moment
going to put up with the blonde swordsman's sudden gallant
behavior. There were traps to be tripped, after all.

"Come one, Gourry!" Lina growled, encouraging the swordsman
to proceed to the tower ahead of her with her subtle art of
headlocking her opponent. "Braves knights don't allow
respectable young ladies to walk into traps!" She squeezed
hard so Gourry wouldn't be able to reply, as Lina instantly
knew when she had said 'respectable lady', she had
basically asked Gourry to comment. 'Even I almost feel like
I have to say something about it!' she thought.

After arriving at the tower's front doors, with Gourry
still trapped in and struggling against her unbreakable
headlock, Lina found Zelgadis staring at the doors with a
curious expression on his face. "You sense anything
strange?" she asked him. She tightened her hold around
Gourry's head, trying to subdue him, as he flailed against
Lina's hold.

"If you ask me, this whole tower's strange," said Gourry,
standing up straight so suddenly that he released himself
from Lina's headlock, dropping the sorceress to the ground.

"But I didn't ask you, did I?" Lina growled, quickly
jumping off the ground, pulling at Gourry's mouth,
stretching apart his cheeks. "Now don't interrupt!" She
turned her attention back to Zelgadis. "Anyway, what's up?
You're pretty being quiet today... Well, more so than
usual."

Zelgadis opened his mouth as though to speak, but then
shook his head, indicating to Lina he wasn't certain about
what he wanted to say. He then pushed open one of the
doors, and then walked inside.

"Oh, no trap!" Gourry said, intensely interested in the
silence following Zelgadis entering the tower. "Not even a
boom!"

"Wow, go figure that!" Lina began to push Gourry in front
of her through the same door Zel had entered through.
"You're still going in ahead of me though!" She gave Gourry
a good strong shove, so he wouldn't have time to shove
back.

Inside the tower, Lina found there was a ceiling. "This
isn't right," she quickly complained. "If there's a
ceiling, then we can't just fly up to the top floor where
all the good stuff is!"

Footsteps attracted Lina's attention to a flight of stairs
at the tower entrance room's other side.

"Yes, Lina," Zelgadis said, walking down the stairs. "You
have to climb to the next floor, where you'll find that
there's also a ceiling, and then I assume another in the
room above that one..."

"Meaning I can't just blow a hole through the ceiling, and
hope there's a lot of free space between the next floor and
the last floor," groaned Lina, clutching her head. "I hate
stairs!" She quickly looked back to Zelgadis. "Hey! You
said something!"

"Maybe it's a good thing, about the stairs, I mean!" Gourry
exclaimed, smiling a little too happily for Lina's taste.

"Stairs are never a good thing, Gourry!" Lina growled,
knowing Gourry hated not having ground beneath his feet.

"Well, what I'm just trying to say, Lina, is that lately
you've been eating so much, and I think you need the
exercise!" Gourry pointed to Lina's stomach. "You know," he
started to say, oblivious to Lina's growing embarrassment
and rage, "you sort of look like a bug, now that I think
about it, with your skinny little arms and legs, and your
fat little stomach..."

Lina was then fascintated by her own speed, because she
seemed to teleport from the spot where she had been
standing to the spot just before Gourry, smashing a
conveniently located vase over the swordsman's head.

A long moment after the swordsman's collapse, Lina dusted
off her hands. "Now Zel, when you were upstairs, did you
happen to notice anything interesting?" she asked, putting
her hands on her hips.

"See for yourself," Zelgadis replied, turning around to
walk back up the stairs.

"Sometimes, I just don't know about him..." said Lina. She
followed Zelgadis up the stairs anyway, despite her disgust
at having to use stairs in the first place. "And I hate
this! The tower's going to be too tall if this is the way
it's going to be all the way to the top!"

"And with your luck, it will be ceilings all the way up
there," Gourry said, his voice still gratingly cheerful to
Lina's ears.

Lina slumped a little bit. Gourry was probably right... The
tower had looked good on the outside, but when inside...
There were stairs, with ceilings for every floor! 'And now,
with that bad news, I bet there's going to be even worse to
come! Monsters! Bad guys! Mysteries!' she thought, inwardly
groaning, outwardly growling. 'Wait a minute, that's not me
growling at all! It's my...' She placed her hand over her
stomach, which again growled, possibly at her. "Oh! I hate
this! I hate this!"

"Wow, you usually don't start throwing tantrums until we're
actually in danger!" Gourry commented.

"I'll do whatever I want, whenever I want, okay Gourry?"
Lina asked, snatching Gourry by his collar, bringing him
face to face.

"Okay, sounds good to me!" Gourry said, beaming with
absolute sincerity at Lina, upsetting her even more. In
fact, she was irritated enough to not want to let go of
Gourry, because she knew he was about to say something
which would excuse her for any doing she wanted to do. "But
now that I think about it, Lina. Maybe I said something
wrong..."

Lina dropped Gourry. She hadn't expected to hear that!

"I was just thinking, I was wrong to say that you threw
tantrums only when we're in danger! What was I saying?"
Gourry cheerfully smiled at Lina, as though expecting her
to agree with him. "You throw tantrums whenever you want!"

Lina had to belt Gourry a good blow to the top of the head.
She reasoned he asked for it, by opening his mouth.

Lina watched Gourry rub a growing bump on the top of his
head. He said, obviously not knowing the bump on his head
was the result of his having previously opened his mouth,
"See! I was right!"

Lina grabbed her stomach. It was now not only empty, but
also starting to feel uncomfortably acidic.

"In here," said Zelgadis, to left of Lina, who hadn't until
Zelgadis spoke, noticed an open door to a giant room,
filled with shelves. She presumed Zelgadis was already in
the room, somewhere behind one of the shelves, as she
couldn't see him.

Lina ran into the room. "This is incredible!" she stated,
marvelling at countless shelves of magical and mysterious
artefacts. "Zel, you said every floor is like this?" She
quickly found Zelgadis, sitting at the base of a bookshelf.

"No," Zelgadis replied, as he flipped through a book,
frowning as though the book was so far useless. "After the
fifth floor, there are strange designs on the floors and
walls, and nothing else."

"You mean like over there?" Gourry asked, leaning against a
shelf, obviously uninterested in anything the room had to
offer as Lina noticed he did nothing except watch the wall
opposite, which was alight in a strange bluish glow. "It
just lit up, all of a sudden."

"You think someone's home? I thought we were told that
nobody worked here anymore." Lina asked. "Maybe it's some
kind of alarm system that somebody forgot to turn off?"

"Humph, as if anything you get involved with is ever that
simple," Zelgadis muttered, replacing the text on the
shelf, before leaving the room to the stairway. A moment
later, he returned, a worried frown darkening his face.
"The glow seems like it's being sucked up through the
designs, like through a straw."

Lina shrugged, a puzzled look on her face. "That's pretty
suspicious. Maybe we ought to go poke our noses in
somebody's business!" She looked at Gourry. "Remember, you
go first when the fireballs start getting tossed!"

"Why me?"

"Because I'm a lady, and like all gentlemen, you must
protect me," responded Lina, smiling as though she was
enjoying the deepening mystery of the tower.

Seemingly a long time afterwards, Lina was beginning to
hate mysteries. "Did I mention I hate stairs?" Lina asked,
collapsing against a wall, panting and sweating. She didn't
even want to think of how long she'd been running up the
stairs. 'Feels like hours!' she thought.

Gourry ran down the stairs to stand beside Lina. "This is
great!" he jubilantly exclaimed, wiping away a single bead
of sweat on his forehead. "We've only been climbing for
five minutes, and I feel like I've just warmed up!"

"Gourry! Cut that cheerful act out, or I'll cut it out of
ya!" Lina growled at the blonde swordsman, who ran further
ahead, past Zelgadis, out of sight.

The wall, which Lina was resting her face against,
underwent a strange change. "It's just gotten warm!" She
looked ahead, past where Zelgadis impatiently waited for
Gourry and her to resume climbing. "Something's building
up! We've got to hurry, or else we'll miss the show!"

"Do you need a breather first?" Zelgadis asked after a
minute, clearly irritated, since Lina didn't move from the
wall, still panting as though out of breath. "Or would you
rather we walk up?"

"May as well walk up! We're near the top anyway," Gourry
said, bounding back down the stairs. "Lina? You're still
out of breath? Then coming to this tower has been a really
good idea!"

Lina walked up the stairs past Gourry and Zelgadis. When
she finally encountered a wall and not stairs, she turned,
and walked into an empty room.

"This is the top floor?" Lina exclaimed, her voice a
mixture of frustration, disappointment, and curiosity. She
looked around the room, seeing nothing, except her comrades
behind her, who wore the same expression as her on their
faces, and the same strange glowing designs, which
dominated every floor of the tower.

"You'd think there'd be someone here, or maybe even
something," said Gourry, looking about, his face filled
with bewilderment.

"There's nothing to hint about any sort of trapdoor, but I
get the feeling there's more to this room than we can see.
Maybe something bad," Zelgadis offered, relaxing before
walking over to the wall opposite the stairwell entrance.
"This blue glow also suggests that something incredible is
happening."

"Wait! Do you hear that?" Lina asked. "Isn't that thunder?"

The ceiling was slammed down hard from above, giving way
for an object to crash through to the floor.

Soon, dust and dirt from the collapsed ceiling slowly sank
to the floor, allowing a semblance of clarity to return to
the room.

"Lina!" Gourry shouted. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Lina replied. She then asked Zelgadis, as
she began standing up, brushing herself off of dirt and
dust, "Did you see what that was?"

"No, and now I think we're owed an explanation as to what's
been happening," Zelgadis said, looking to the hole in the
ceiling. "Let's go up. There's a room above that we can to
through this hole."

"No, stay down there," a voice commanded. A second later, a
young man in black priestly robes jumped down through the
hole. "Welcome to Maria's Defeat. I am Golbez Undover, the
master of the tower." He faced Zelgadis, and then asked,
"What brings you here?"

"We're each here for personal reasons, Master Golbez,"
answered Zelgadis. "I hope you don't mind if we seem
hesitant to share them with you." Lina watched Zelgadis fit
the cloth covering his face snugly on. "We came up here
when all the walls started glowing," Zelgadis said, his
voice edged with suspiscion.

"I don't mind your suspiscion, actually. It does however
sadden me, reminding me of how truly despicable this world
truly is," replied Golbez. Lina watched the priest look
about, a strange smirk on his face. "The glowing has
stopped, it appears," Golbez said, looking at the walls.
"Anyway, the spell I had cast, which had caused the walls
to glow, is also complete, so I am almost ready to answer
any questions you are certain to have, just after I
discover what it was that crashed into my tower." He
pointed to a hole in the floor, directly below the hole in
the ceiling. "I suggest we take the stairs to the next
floor, rather than trying to jump down through that."

Lina asked, looking at Golbez, "What kind of spell did you
just cast?"

In delighted surprise and a sweeping bow, Golbez brought
his hand to meet Lina's. "Hello, young lady. I'll be quick
to deliver an answer as soon as you allow me the pleasure
of knowing your name."

"Lina Inverse!" was the answer, coming strongly and
proudly, from Lina. She looked at Gourry crossing her arms.
"See! This is how I should be treated! You could stand to
learn a thing or two from Golbez here!" She then stuck out
her tongue at the swordsman.

"Lina Inverse?" Golbez smiled, his expression calm and
collected. "The surprise is even greater than I first
believed. Out here, even in this land, your reputation
preceded you. In fact, up here, in this out of the way
tower, I have heard of you."

Zelgadis said, "Golbez, what was the spell you just cast?
All those symbols..."

"A revolutionary spell, when I think about it, is the one
way I can describe it," Golbez replied, walking towards the
stairwell. He said loudly, not to anyone currently in the
room, "Maria, if you would, please bring me my staff."

Lina, and her two comrades, followed Golbez to the
stairway, where she was met by a young lady, whose hair
instantly attracted Lina's attention, as it was a dark
green colour.

The girl, Lina presumed her name to be Maria, intently
stared at the trio of adventurers.

"Damn! I didn't think there was a secret passage here!"
groaned Lina, looking up the stairs, which hadn't before
been there.

After taking his staff, which was adorned with a silvery
crescent moon and a jewel in the moon's centre, from Maria,
who walked back up the stairs, Golbez said, "That was
Maria, my employer, in a way, but more my equal." After
starting to walk down the stairs, he continued to speak,
"She's the one who suggested I develop and cast the very
spell you were witness to."

"But we didn't see anything, really," Lina, who was
following close behind Golbez, said. "Just clues that
something happened..."

"We're here," Golbez stated, stopping at a closed door. He
pushed it open. "Incidentally, I'm glad you three are here.
If there's trouble, I alone may be not able not defend
myself against whatever it could be."

"Now you say that?" Lina asked, shouting.

After casting a light spell, Zelgadis walked forward into
the room. "It's a person," he said, walking up to a prone
body of a young boy, who looked no older than Lina. He
stooped down, and placed his hand on the boy's side. "He's
only asleep."

"There's no trouble here, it seems," Golbez said, walking
into the room. He walked to the boy, and placed his hand
over the boy's forehead. A glow overflowed the boy's body,
and then a moment later, the boy opened his eyes. "Hello,
young sir. I am Golbez, and you've managed to crash into my
tower."

"What?" the boy asked, slowly sitting up.

"What is your name?" Golbez asked.

"Name?" The boy looked at Golbez, and blinked at the
priest. "Am I... dead?"

"No," said Golbez, helping the boy to stand. "You're in my
tower."

"I'm not dead? That's good..." The boy walked away from
Golbez, trying to even the space between himself and
everyone in the room. "I didn't think this is where we went
when we died anyway..." He looked at the walls. "No
windows, huh?" He then looked around, as though looking for
something peculiar, which he might recognise. "Did you find
just me? Wasn't there anyone else?" he asked.

"Only you," replied Golbez.

"Oh, okay," said the boy, sounding disappointed. "I...
think I'd like to go outside."

"You would like some air?" Golbez asked. "We are just about
at the roof, if you'd like to get a view of the surrounding
area..."

"You know, I'm getting a little sick of not knowing your
name," Lina said, her voice tired.

"My name? It's Ranma Saotome," the boy answered, who then
began following Golbez, who was walking to the room's exit,
to the stairway.

When Golbez and Ranma had left the room, Lina turned to
Zelgadis and asked, "Well, what do you think? Can we trust
them?" She quickly looked up, seeing a flash of light. "The
hole's gone."

"He's powerful, if he can use that spell," Zelgadis said.
"I don't trust him already."

Lina walked to the stairway. "I don't trust him either! We
should follow them, then!"

"And I'll just do whatever you two tell me to do!" said
Gourry, chipping in to the conversation.

However, when reaching the next floor, Lina again
discovered the wall blocking her from going up further. "I
don't think Golbez trusts us!" she said, shaking her head.
She looked into the room, and saw a golem. "He left a
present for us."

"There's something wrong with that golem, Lina!" Zelgadis
said. "It feels like it has a soul!" He drew out his sword.
"Let's approach it with caution."

The golem looked at Lina, and she felt Zelgadis was right.
The golem seemed to not be a machine, but something alive.
She drew her own sword. "I say hit it with everything we've
got!"

"I see more than one! Two to the sides!" Gourry shouted,
charging at the golem, which was in the room's centre. He
dragged his sword along the stone floor, sparks flying in
all directions.

Lina, with Zelgadis at her side, charged at the same golem.
However, she had to dodge Gourry, who been punched back at
her. "What are you doing?" she asked, stopping.

"It's faster than I thought!" Gourry replied, standing back
up.

Lina stood with her back to Zelgadis and Gourry, as the
golems surrounded them all. "We take 'em all down at once
then, I guess!" She quickly listened to Zelgadis say,
"Lina, we can't use our powerful magic, unless we want to
bring this tower down! So, if one was fast enough to
deflect Gourry's strike, then be careful!" She nodded, and
then struck out at her golem, which was quickly closing in
on her. She wasn't surprised when the golem deflected away
her sword.

She backed away, out of its reach. Quietly, she chanted,
"Holy wind, wind which flows gently across the land, let
all things be filled with your pure breath." She swung at
the golem, which had again covered the distance her and
itself, and again had her sword delfected. She was pleased
to note though, the golem wasn't prepared for her reaching
down to the floor with her other hand. When she touched the
floor, she shouted, "Van Rehl!"

"Gourry! Zel! Let's get out of here!" she shouted, after
the spell began covering the floor with ice. "And don't let
the ice touch you!"

The ice transferred from the floor to the golem, and began
freezing it.

She thankfully noted the other golems had also been caught
in the spell.

Outside, away from the golems, she smiled dangerously at
Gourry and Zelgadis. "Now we need to get upstairs!"

***

The world was already different. The air, for starters,
seemed cleaner.

'The air's always cleaner,' Ranma thought, looking into the
distance, hoping to see... 'What do I want to see?'

He knew he was in a new world. He didn't know how he knew
though. He also knew his old world was gone, eaten by the
stranger in one bite.

He looked at his rain coat. He impassively dropped it down
by his feet. 'I wonder how... where everyone is?' He had
arrived in this new world alone. He thought he'd end up
somewhere with Akane, since he had been with her when he
had been caught in the strange light, but she wasn't with
him when he woke up.

Turning around, Ranma saw the girl with the strange green
hair, Maria, holding a mask, which she seemed to like very
much, since she was wearing on her face a large and cold
grin.

"You're a very strange person," Maria said. "From some
strange world, with stranger clothes..." She threw the mask
at Ranma, and the mask seemed to alter its flight, as
though it was trying to land on his face.

"What the hell?" Ranma asked, batting away the mask, which
spun out of sight over the tower railing, down towards the
ground. Couldn't he be left alone for five minutes? Why was
he being attacked by someone he never met?

"You're mine, puppet!" Maria shouted, her finger glowing
with a curious glow.

Ducking, Ranma watched the mask he earlier bat away fly
over top of him. A second mask joined the first in a
strange dance, as though each was ready to strike out
towards him.

"What are you doing?" Ranma asked, glaring at Maria,
guessing the girl's finger had something to do with
controlling the masks.

"You're not of this world, and I feel a strange power
coming from you..." Maria snapped her fingers, and in
response, the masks in unison seemed to attack Ranma's
head. "I want you as a puppet, so I can use you, and
discover your secrets!"

However, Ranma quickly heel-kicked one mask, and then
uppercut the other. A moment later, both masks fell to the
roof, still and cracked.

"Ha, ha!" Maria threw her head back in laughter. "You're
strange and full of surprises. I never knew anyone could
use their bodies in such a fashion..."

"Maria, the Hecatoncheires are attacking the three
intruders," said Golbez, who had just appeared on the tower
roof. "I get the feeling that you have something to do with
that." He shook his head. "You shouldn't have done that."

"Damn you, Golbez! We have the power now! We should use
it!" shouted Maria. "Those three intruders will eventually
stand in our way, so why not take them out before that
happens?"

Golbez acted as though he had ignored Maria, and instead
looked at the masks laying dormant on the roof. "Leave the
boy alone too. I hate mind control, so I will not allow you
to take away his will."

"Fine!" said Maria. "Have it your way for now!"

Ranma wondered about Golbez and Maria. The girl seemed to
smile at the priest as though if she had even a minute
chance to capture him with one of her masks, she would take
it. The priest seemed to know this, yet he seemed to be
working with her.

"Those three will finish with the guardians soon," said
Golbez, ruefully. "I wish you never attacked them. Now we
will be their enemies." Ranma watched Golbez, who turned to
him to say, "Please be careful." He then beckoned to Maria.
"We will go now. We have the crystal that we wanted. But
our spell has more than likely attracted too much unwanted
attention." He walked back downstairs.

Maria turned to Ranma, cruelly smiling, "Yes, boy. Be
careful!" She then followed Golbez, coldly laughing.

"Brr... There's something seriously wrong with her," Ranma
said, shaking his head. He looked at the masks. "Mind
control. How awful." He crushed and further broke the masks
with his foot.

He was then grabbed by the collar, and brough level to a
pair of red angry eyes. "Alright, buster! Where the hell is
that Golbez!?" shouted the girl, who had earlier been
growling at him, when he woke up.

"Another crazy girl," quietly said Ranma, a bit depressed.
"And yet I get the feeling that's how it is, everywhere, no
matter where you go."

"What are you talking about?" the girl growled. She pulled
him closer, so close, Ranma could see fire in the red
haired girl's eyes. "You better hope that what you said
wasn't what I heard!"

"What?" Ranma heard a young man behind the girl say. "What
did you say, Lina?" Ranma noticed a twitch on the girl's
face. "What did she say, Zelgadis?"

After releasing Ranma, the girl named Lina turned to look
at the young man named Gourry, who Ranma saw to be tall
with long blonde hair. He also in the process couldn't help
noticing Lina's height, or lack of it. 'But I'm not that
much taller, myself, compared with that Gourry guy,' he
thought. The other young man, who he assumed was Zelgadis,
stood on the roof's other side, was turned away, looking at
a town far in the distance.

"Gourry! You totally ruined the mood that I was trying to
set up!" The girl Lina then returned her attention to
Ranma. "Now, where is Golbez?" she asked, growling.

"I don't know. He went downstairs." Ranma asked, "Didn't
you see him?"

"Damn! He ran off!," Lina said. However, to Ranma's
annoyance, she poked his chest, looking distrustingly into
his eyes. "But that doesn't mean I'll cut you any slack!"
She poked his chest again, a bit harder. "Now, what's your
story, buster? And you better be honest, or else!"

Putting his arms lazily behind his head, Ranma shrugged. He
wasn't going to share anything! Who'd believe him? He said,
"Don't have anything to say, really. I'm just lost.

"No one here is here by accident, mister! Now you're going
to tell me why you're here!" The girl tried to grab him in
a headlock, but Ranma quickly jumped over top of her,
landing in the centre of the roof.

'I am here by accident though!' he thought. He then said,
worriedly smiling, "Ah, maybe I'll be going too."

"You're not going anywhere til you tell us what you're
doing here!" shouted the girl Lina. "There's something
going on, because no one ever attacks me for no reason at
all, and I have the feeling that you're involved somehow!"
She said to the young man named Gourry, who Ranma knew was
behind him, "Don't let him get away!"

Ranma heard behind him a sword being unsheathed, probably
Gourry's. 'Damn! They're serious, aren't they?'

"Hey, look mister," said the young man, Gourry, his voice
not at all serious, but instead lazy. "You don't want to
get Lina mad. She's really dangerous then. More so than
usual, anyway. So I suggest you don't fight back, or you
could get hurt!"

"Never said anything 'bout fighting!" Ranma said,
backflipping over Gourry, landing near the entrance. "I
just said I want to leave is all!" he said, before turning
to the exit. "Besides, there isn't anything I can tell ya'
anyway!"

He was ready to run down the stairs, when he heard a voice
he didn't recognise shout, "Shadow Snap!" He then couldn't
move anywhere! He turned his head and saw a sword impaled
in his shadow, which he assumed to be the reason he
couldn't move his legs.

"What the hell happened?" he shouted, before feeling an arm
wrap around his neck, locking his head.

"You just hit by a Shadow Snap! You can't go anywhere now!"
said Lina, who was the one using the headlock on him.
"Thanks Zel!" she said, to the man who Ranma had forgotten
about. "Now tell us what you know!"

"I don't know nothing!" Ranma shouted. "Can't you get that?
I don't know how I got here. I just am, okay?" He muttered,
"Probably has something to do with those other two...
Golbez and Maria."

"He crashed into Golbez's tower," said the man named
Zelgadis. "Right before we met Golbez, who said he had just
casted a spell."

"That's right!" said Lina. "And I remember that Golbez was
really surprised about that too!" She weakly smirked at
Ranma. "So that means you're just an innocent victim here!
Someone caught up in a mysterious spell, and accidently
brought to this place." She reassuringly patted him on the
back, at which Ranma bristled.

"Now you trust me?" Ranma asked.

"No, but I don't think you're lying, now!" Lina replied.
She chanted, but Ranma didn't hear what she was saying, til
she said, "Lighting!"

Ranma could move again. He quickly jumped away so he could
see all three strangers. 'Is that magic?' he wondered. 'I'm
definitely in another world then!'

He watched Lina look at Gourry, to whom she said, "Well,
looks like if we want answers, then we should go after
those two weirdoes!"

"Why?"

"They sent golems after us, that's why!" Lina replied. "And
if there's one thing I enjoy, it's revenge!"

Gourry then asked, "What are you going to do, Ranma?" He
turned to Ranma, freely smiling.

"Uh, I don't know," Ranma said. He shrugged. There probably
wasn't much he could do anyway.

"You've got some pretty good moves there, Ranma!" said
Lina. "You should come with us!"

Ranma looked at Lina. He then looked at the roof beneath
his feet. "I might as well," he said.

End Chapter One

***

Author's Notes:
Changes to the text include the extension, reshuffling,
rewriting, and removal of scenes. Also, an attempt was made
to take under control problems with perspective; I've done
my best to have only one perspective per scene.

Notable extensions include Ranma's time in Nerima, with the
inclusion of Akane and Genma, as well as two other as yet
unnamed characters, who will play parts later in the story.

Reshuffling the scenes has brought about the biggest change
in the chapter. I brought together all of the early scenes
with Ranma, seperating them from the others. This hopefully
also solved a lot of the problems with perspective.

Notable removals include all of Golbez and Maria's scenes
where they cast the spell, which brings Ranma into the
Slayers universe.

I've rewritten parts of the ending, mainly the meeting
between Ranma and Lina.

Hopefully, the changes have improved the story.