A Long Journey

A rather well dressed man waited in a large, dimly lit room. The room was dominated by a large table in the center. Above the table a softly glowing sphere hung without support. This light was enough to illuminate the table but the corners of the room remained shadowed. At the table he sat as was arranged several piles of doc.u.ment he seemed to be perusing. Despite this an observer would easily note he seemed to be waiting for something else, only giving cursory attention to what lay before him.

A flash of light came from the corner, briefly seeming to trace out a circle before dimming. The man knew he was no longer alone. "Greetings, my King. It's been too long."

"It has. Good to see you again. What are you going by these days and who is your guest?"

"People know me by 'Grayson'. Really, don't you read the reports I send? Why do I bother?" Grayson sighed obviously teasing.

"Ah, here it is! I know I should have read it before you arrived," returned the man in good humor, after playfully shuffling the doc.u.ments. "Seriously, who is our guest?"

"I have the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to introduce the Master of our local Monastary, Master Reteife. Master Reteife, this is my liege and friend, King Monfrey."

"I am honored to meet you my liege," Master Reteife quietly said.

"I am pleased to meet you. I hear you have been 'blessed' with a most unusual guest yourself."

"Yes, I discover more things than I ever knew of the world before. Some though, I suppose I could have lived without."

"So tell us a bit about him. I hear he stirred up quite a nest of bees over in the Western Empire."

"He is...powerful. Our order focuses our spirit or as our guest says 'chi'. By this we enhance our blows in some small manner. Our guest, Ranma, focuses an immense amount of 'chi' to accomplish things I believe many a magic user would be hard pressed to duplicate."

"So his powers are merely skills? I heard he was human, but if he isn't using magic..."

"Oh he's quite human, and while mere may not describe his abilities, yes they are learnable skills. Chi is not magic. Magic as you know is the excess energy from living creatures. Mages can collect, store and use this for various spells. Think of chi as magic energy that has been processed and turned into spiritual energy. Already my brothers and I have learned the simpler channeling, our sister Jess is even further along."

"What makes him so formidable? From what I hear nothing he does can't be done by some type of magician or another."

"It not actually what he does, but how quickly he does it. Never have I seen such speed. Even mages using that speed spell..."

"Fleet Feet," supplied Grayson.

"Yes, that one. Even they can't come near his speed. A mage may toss off a fireball once about every eight seconds. Ranma can do ten chi blasts in that time, while avoiding attacks. I don't even think I've seen him put his full energy in one yet."

"Still a mage can, in fact usually does, use talismans to store spells for quicker casting, and he usually has defensive spells as well."

"I mentioned his dodging before. He's...very hard to hit. Also very durable, not only does the 'battle aura' he emit reduce damage, but through a lifetime of channeling and exercises he has shaped his body into a very durable weapon. Heh, heh...in fact right now he's probably training by being slammed by a few 5 ton boulders he had a few brothers set up in some kind of swing. It looks very painful, but the mere fact that he survives such training is a testament to his present durability."

Monfrey was silent a moment, "If he's truly that dangerous..."

The monk quickly interjected, "I wouldn't be afraid. He's powerful, but certainly not invincible. If he got out of hand a carefully coordinated attack, using large amounts of magic of course, could stop him. Besides he has a good heart. Considering his incredible arrogance and freely moving tongue, it's probably all that's kept someone from killing him already," the monk finished with a dry chuckle.

"Irritating?" the King asked with the beginning of amus.e.m.e.nt.

"Oh very, very irritating. But he means well. During every lesson he'll go over what he considers the duty of a martial artist."

"What sort of duties are these?" Grayson asked curiously.

"It's odd, some of it seems to come straight from those Paladins you people rave about. Helping those weaker than yourself, don't bully those who can't defend themselves, risking their lives at the drop of the copper. It's actually very appealing. You'd be quite the hero if you followed it."

"Did you read the report I sent on his activities in the Western Empire?" Grayson asked the King.

"Yes. It seemed that he does indeed have a strict moral code. A good thing I suppose."

"If he was only one of the many martial artists in his world then it would need a strong code to survive."

"From what he's said there were quite a few people of skill where he lived. Of course in his next sentence he always mentions that he was the best," the monk said with a smile.

"Have you been able to help with his d.e.s.i.r.e to go home?"

"No. We have no lore of that type. He would do better consulting a Summoner."

"I told him that too," mentioned Grayson. "I don't see why he's so reluctant. I mean most of them are sane."

"Hmm. Thank you for your support in this matter Master Reteife. You may go back to Monastery. Just step through that circle there. No, the other one," with a flash the monk was gone.

"Well, Grayson, do you agree with the good monk? Is our friend harmless?"

"I think harmless is an overstatement, but I generally agree. So does Kahil, and if you can't trust a Mind Mage in judging someone's character who can you trust?"

"Well...Kahil is one of the best."

"With his code of honor he would be a very impressive ally to his friends. I think we should encourage good relations with him. If I could get access to the Royal Summoner it would help him and make a favorable impression"

"The Royal Summoner? You mean Old 'Zar. Ye gods man! I thought you wanted his friendship. The man's a certified loon. He's only Royal Summoner because he's too dangerous to let out in public," the King exclaimed in a shocked tone.

"Well he's none too stable I'll give you. He is the best in the kingdom, if he can't help in a question dealing with other planes, I don't think anyone can."

"All right. I give you permission to ask for his aid. Convincing him is your problem. Talking to him gives me headaches, and if it isn't an emergency he ignores me anyway," the King stated in disgust.

"You're just mad because he made a pass at your daughter," Grayson said smugly.

"He's not allowed anywhere near my daughter! He's a pervert and a dirty old man," shouted the King.

"Yes, but he's a very useful pervert. And mostly harmless," pointed out Grayson.

Ranma was just limping back to the bathing area. He was grateful that the Monastery he was staying at wasn't so dedicated to poverty that it didn't have hot water. Of course this world didn't have much in the way of technology but with all the magic flying around he wasn't overly surprised when he saw how common hot water was. Most of the larger cities even had running water and a working sewer system.

The structure only had one hot water tub so Ranma shouldn't have been surprised when he walked in on a woman who was quite n.a.k.e.d. Stuttering apologies, with his eyes closed, he quickly backed away and closed the door behind him. Once outside, he breathed a sigh and leaned against the door for support.

Jess was right, the woman inside thought while stifling a giggle, he is cute when he's like that.

Ranma was about to head back to his room, when he noticed Grayson approaching him.

"I'm glad I found you. Have you had any luck finding a way home?"

"Well, no. I went to the mage's guild but they just laughed at me. I don't think they believed me. I challenged one of the obnoxious jerks to fight, but they just kept laughing. I was tempted to chi blast them, but it wouldn't have been right picking on weakling like that," Ranma stated with more than a hint of resentment.

"Just as well, in their own guild they have very adequate defenses. Most mages are in their middle or late twenties before they're even out of apprenticeship. They probably believed you were too young to be taken seriously. I have some contacts inside that guild, we'll see if we can get a private interview with one of the more open minded members."

"Hey thanks! That would be great!"

"No guarantees but we'll see. Anyway since you're temporarily at a dead end perhaps you would be interested in a lead I've managed to uncover?"

"Sure! I mean, it's nice and all here, but it's kind of weird too. The guys hang on every word, and there's this one guy who follows me around with a big book, writing down everything I say. It's creepin' me out bigtime. I mean I can't really blame them. After all I am the best they'll ever see, but all this talkin is not really my thing."

"Didn't you mention that you eventually wanted to become a teacher of your arts?"

"Yeah, but not for years. And they really pay attention to what I say. I guess I'm just used to bein' ignored when I explain stuff."

"From what I hear, you're doing amazing things, advancing their skills. It's only to be expected."

"Yeah, whatever," Ranma replied morosely.

"Anyway I've managed to get permission from the king to talk to the Royal Summoner. He's the most knowledgeable person in the Kingdom, maybe the continent, when it comes to other planes. Well among humans anyway."

"Are there a lot of non-humans around?" Ranma asked, curiosity aroused.

"Yes quite a few. You probably haven't seen too many yet since we just came from the Western Empire. Well, at least non-humans who aren't slaves. They tend to be very humancentric, although elves and dwarves are accepted in most cities. Unless you're one of their allied Cyclops you better stay out of there unless you want to end up part of their Arena bloodsports. We're not perfect here, but non-humans are tolerated and have the normal legal rights."

"On the way here I saw lots of big Neanderthal type guys. Strong, but lousy fighters. Arcadia also seemed to have a few as slaves and arena fighters."

"Those were most likely Ogres. They are very violent when in the wild. We have had serious problems at the borders involving them. Still they are not a real problem as long as they stay disorganized."

"I also saw a really short, stocky guy in the marketplace the other day. I've seen a lot of those kind of people, mostly here but even in the Western Empire."

"Probably a dwarf. One of the ancient races, along with elves and dragons. The route we used from the Western Empire to here passed through the Old Kingdom. It's not much today but used to be a very powerful dwarven kingdom, before the Elf-Dwarf War. Now it just has some minor dwarven kingdoms, a few kobold tribes, and of course the Ogres and Trolls. It acts as a buffer zone between Timiro and the Western Empire," Grayson lectured.

"Hey, can I fight some dragons?" Ranma ignored most of the speech, focusing in on the interesting parts.

"That would be a bad idea. The young hatchlings are mostly harmless, the older ones might be a bit more than even you could comfortably swallow. Besides, as long as they obey the laws of the kingdom they are protected like any other citizen."

"So...there aren't any ravaging monsters to beat up?" Ranma asked hopefully.

"If I hear about any you'll be the first to know," Grayson said while repeating a calming mantra in his mind. "Getting back to the point. I made an appointment with the Royal Summoner for tomorrow. Are you interested?"

"He's not one of the insane ones you were talking about before, is he?" Ranma asked warily.

Grayson started to walk away at a rapid pace seeming not to hear him.

"Hey, wait a minute, I'm not sure I want to talk to him if he's some sorta freak," Ranma exclaimed, getting ready to follow the retreating form. Unfortunately, at that moment the door he had been leaning against opened unexpectedly, removing his sole support. Ranma fell backwards, grabbing hold of anything that might stop his fall. A sense of dread filled him when he noticed his were full of a towel…and something yielding.

He instantly dropped the towel, falling the rest of the way to the ground. A second later the towel fluttered down on top of him. With his eyes closed he blindly grabbing the towel and held it up to where the girl last was while babbling apologies.

With a shrug the woman took the towel and walked down the hall toward her cell. "He is soo cute when he does that," she muttered to herself.

It was several minutes before Ranma noticed that the girl was gone. Sighing he shook his head, and stumbled into the bathing chamber. He just had to remember that this world wasn't filled with Violent Tomboys. He wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not.

Walking through the city to meet Grayson, Ranma was lost in thoughts of home. He was starting to really miss it. He wasn't as used to extended trips as he once was, and was thinking of Nerima more and more. He was respected here but didn't have any friends except maybe Jess. He was completely lost in thought when he heard a familiar cry.

"Where in the world am I now!"

Ranma stopped, not even breathing, before tearing off in the direction of the voice. He always joked about Ryouga's ability to get lost, but if he was actually here it meant 'pig boy' was weirder than he thought. He leaped to nearest rooftops, glancing warily around. The last time he was up here he was given a stern warning by some flying mage wearing a guard's uniform about respecting other people's roofs. Seeing the way was clear he leaped from rooftop to rooftop toward the voice.

Finally reaching the source of the voice he looked down to see a familiar bandana clad boy, looking around the streets in a bewildered fashion. Leaping down he came up behind and gave him a big hug. "Howya doin' Ryouga. Am I glad to see you. It's been months. Is everyone OK. How's Mom? Is Akane alright, that Tomboy didn't do anything stupid did she?" Ranma babbled on, oblivious to a large aura developing around the other boy!"

"Ranma, how dare you hug me! Bad enough you trick me while you're a girl, but now when we're both guys? Prepare to die!" Letting loose with a huge chi blast he threw Ranma off him. Ranma's finely tuned danger sense had belatedly kicked in, allowing him to avoid the chi blast. While flipping out of the way Ranma noted in horror that it had blown by him and demolished a large portion of a strangely familiar looking mansion.

"Hey watch where you're throwing those things! You might hurt someone!" Ranma shouted with the beginnings of anger. Here he was lost in another dimension for months and all pig boy could think about was fighting. Besides, he didn't want to be thrown out of the city or nothin'.

Ryouga was lost in a fit of rage, he would dispense justice on his rival and then Akane...er Akiri would be his. So absorbed was he that he didn't notice that Ranma was standing in front of an attractive, well dressed girl, who was surrounded by hard eyed men in armor who could be mistaken for nothing else but bodyguards. Ranma noticed though, and he noticed with something verging on panic that if he dodged, there would be little chance of the people behind him surviving. Calling on his reserves he pumped up his battle aura and started a return chi blast. He would be too late to counter Ryouga's chi blast, but should be able to end this fight before anyone was injured.

Ranma's pumped up aura was able to lessen the damage enough that Ranma was still standing afterwards. Long skid marks on the cobblestones spoke of the force he had absorbed while being pushed back. Still Ranma hurt, really hurt. Smoke rose from his clothes, and black smudges covered his face where bruises didn't. Ranma idly thought, still in analytical mode, Ryouga must have been doing some very intensive training, that was much larger than his usual, almost as large as his 'Perfect' Depression Blast. Despite his training in the Breaking Point Ranma had a difficult time keeping focused. Through a monumental effort of will he was able to keep the chi he had been gathering from dissipating and loosed it towards Ryouga. Or rather the trough of water next to Ryouga. The bursting trough splattered water on everyone in the area including the two cursed boys. Instant P-chan.

Ranma looked behind him to find he had been pushed directly in front of the girl by the blast. She was wet and more bedraggled than when he last saw her and had a wild, confused look in her eyes. "Are you alright?" he asked hurriedly. At her hesitant nod he ran forward picked up P-chan and leaped to a nearby rooftop. Time to leave before guards arrived. This wasn't Nerima and he didn't want to explain what was happening. Heck, he didn't know what was happening.

Jumping down to a narrow alleyway he collapsed against the wall and started berating Ryouga. "What were you thinking! Didn't you see that girl behind me. She might have been killed. You could have become a murderer today P-Chan. This is serious this time," Ryouga was subdued, Ranma for once had a point.

"Here I am lost in another dimension and the first thing you do is attack me. I have a half a mind to give you to the guards." Ryouga shook his head frantically. "Well then you're going to sit there quietly and listen, and do as I say. This time you screwed up big time pig boy, and one way or another you're going to pay," Ryouga nodded sadly.

Ranma recapped the last couple of months, ending with how he had been on the way to talk to a powerful mage when he had run into Ryouga. "Here's the deal. I have a cure for your curse," Ryouga's attention was instantly riveted on Ranma. "I'll give it to you under the following conditions. First no more sneaking into Akane's bed, it's just wrong. I know you got a sense of honor in there somewhere, and once I give you this cure you won't have any excuse. If you accept this deal I'll consider my promise not to tell Akane void, and inform her of the truth of P-chan the first time I see you try it. I don't mind," well I do mind, but no one needs to know that, "If you shout your love to the world and try to woo Akane an stuff, but no sneaky stuff, OK pig boy," said Ranma watching for Ryouga's answering nod.

"Alright then, second no more random fights. I mean I really enjoy our fights, but it's just too dangerous. At our power level innocent people can too easily get hurt or killed. If you ever want to fight me, pick a time and a place and I'll even lead you to it so you don't miss it. OK?" he again waited for an answering nod.

"Finally, I don't know how you got here but if you did, you're eventually going back. And if I have anything to say about it, I'm going with you. I'm going to stick to you like glue until we're both home," Ryouga seemed to think about his for a moment and then nod.

"Okay then let's go find some hot water, since you made a spectacle of yourself I gotta hide you. So I'll put you in subspace for a few minutes." Saying this he stuffed the pig into subspace, commanded his robe into more presentable, less blackened shape and walked out of the alley to find hot water. He had the odd feeling he was forgetting about something.

Stepping out of the alley he went to a small café a few minutes away. Asking for a mug of tea he paid for both the mug and tea and went to find a nearby alley. Slipping inside he quickly grabbed a twitching P-chan and poured the liquid onto him. In the place of a piglet stood a dazed looking Ryouga, his hair in disarray and smelling lemony fresh.

"Ranma what kind of perverted Hell did you put me in?" shouted the lost boy.

Oblivious to Ryouga's distress Ranma shushed him. "Quiet, you got people looking for you. Put your clothes on and these Bracers. They're what locks the curse. While you're wearing them you can't be changed," after a moment Ranma added, "By any means."

Ryouga shrugged, he was more interested in the cure for his curse than deciphering what Ranma was saying. He was also trying to think of anything except the strange and humiliating last few minutes. Once he was dressed, he walked off, assuming Ranma was following. After a moment he turned around to give Ranma a piece of his mind when he noticed something. He appeared to be in some dessert, around him were high sweeping dunes. There were no building or people in sight. There was also no Ranma.

"Where in the world am I now?" a despairing Ryouga Hibiki shouted. "Ranma this is all your fault!" followed a moment later.

Ranma saw Ryouga disappear around the corner and gave chase. When he reached the area he had last seen Ryouga he looked frantically around. After an hour of furious effort he finally admitted defeat. Despite his best effort Ryouga had gotten lost without bringing Ranma along for the ride. What a loser.