Chapter 1
"Are you sure you're going to be okay with this?" The girl asked, more curious than concerned. She was sat opposite a young man in the newly redecorated college cafeteria of Tokyo's most prestigious University. The girl in question was wearing a figure hugging white halter-top and navy-blue hot pant combination that seemed designed to distract, as indeed it was. The boy on the other hand was wearing an outfit designed for pure practicality. The clothes however did little to hide his physique, the boy had the body of a hardened athlete, toned and solid. Between the two of them they had the attention of nearly every other diner. A situation that only got more pronounced as Nabiki 'accidentally' dropped a chopstick and was 'forced' to lean over to fetch it.
"Nabs" Ranma chided, ignoring the twin thumps as two jocks fell off their chairs in an attempt to get a better view. Not that he wasn't more than a little distracted himself but this was an old game between the two of them.
When Ranma came to Tokyo U Nabiki had already been there for a whole year. She saw his arrival as a godsend, a way to top up her diminishing funds. She had not expected to find him so changed. At sometime during the ending of the 'Nerima Situation' something in the irrepressible martial artist had died. The boy that she had expected had been replaced by a harder, darker young man. Sitting here opposite him Nabiki was all too aware that smiles didn't come naturally to him anymore.
"And no, I don't think that I'm gonna be ok with this," he added. "Don't even know why I bleedin' well agreed" he grumped.
"Be-cause" Nabiki began slowly, "you miss the action."
"Hah" he laughed sarcastically, but a real smile crept through. Both of the flicked a glance at the new wall, one which only a few days ago Ranma had been thrown through by a marauding 'project' from Nekomi Tech. Far from quieting down Ranma's university life had been just as chaotic as his Neriman existence, but the violence had seemed to go up a notch.
"Are you saying that you aren't looking forward to seeing them all again?" Nabiki asked in mock surprise.
"If anyone else had asked…" Ranma grumbled.
"Gos" Nabiki said, as if it explained it all, and indeed it all but did. Hikaru Gosunki had been the final catalyst, the last straw for Nerima. After his 'accident' nothing was ever the same again. So the crew had broken up and Gos was left facing life in a chair.
"com'on then hunk" Nabiki ordered with mock severity, "places to go, wounds to open." Ranma just grunted… and obeyed.
O
O
O
"Done" Gos said to himself. The room was empty but for him, a few wooden chairs and a large oaken table. He had spent the last few weeks getting the place ready and had just now put the final touch to the lighting. "Just dark enough" he muttered, checking his designs were invisble. Everything was coming together, at last.
Gos sat there in his chair, waiting for them. It wasn't just that he was eager for the off, although he really was, but being early had become a habit. The problem wasn't being late, the problem was never being late. Anyone else, everyone else, got trouble for being late, but not him, not the poor feeb in the chair. It was the same everywhere, wherever he was whatever he did wrong, nobody cared, criticisms died with one look at his chair.
So Gos was early. Early to lectures, early with assignments early to lunch. Anything to pretend that…..
"Hey Gos" called a voice. It was Konatsu, the one person that broke the rules, that still treated Gos as more than the chair. "What's happening?"
"Oh you know," Gos replied, smile on his scarred face, "rolling along."
"So you haven't been 'getting up' to anything new?"
"A little tap dance, some football, you know, nothing special" Gos said, wheeling his chair back so he could reach into his bag. Konastsu took the opportunity to sit, carefully folding his American style dress as he did. He was dressed in a lovely blue number, demure and sexy at the same time. As Gos placed the final items on the table Konatsu was already touching up his lipstick.
"Stunning!" Gos said.
"Thank you" Konatsu replied, fluttering his lashes.
"I meant the fact that you can't go ten without checking your reflection out"
"Hey!" Konatsu replied, throwing a cushion. "I'm not That vain." Gos just raised his good eyebrow.
"Okay maybe I am" Konatsu replied, "but don't tell anyone" he added in a stage whisper. "Any idea when the wrecking crew will start getting here?"
"Another ten minutes or so," Gos replied, "Ryoga may take a little longer but he did set out a week ago and he has been getting better."
"really?" Konatsu replied, "Didn't you hear about the phone box?"
"The open one?" Gos replied wincing.
"Five days" Konatsu mouthed. Gos just shook his head, but deep down he knew that the fanged boy would be here. Things were just too important to be missing that piece, tonight destinies would be rewritten. Fate would bring the lost boy. Fate and Akane.
O
O
O
"Yes I'm sure this is the right door!" Akane snapped, irritation evident in every syllable. The assembled Nerimans all turned to look towards the door, and more than one rolled their eyes.
"Ah the dulcet tones of Nerima's own princess" Nabiki mocked. Beside her Ranma grunted in what had become for him a standard expression of mirth.
"And her porky companion" Ukyo added, missing the wince that crossed more than one face. "hey Nabs a hundred says Porky and Ranma are fighting inside ten"
"He had better not!" ordered the now appeared Akane, "Or so help me I'll…."
"IF I may interrupt" Gos interjected, seeing violence looming, "I Have brought you here for a reason."
"Yeah sis" Nabiki agreed, "shut it and seat it!"
"Oneesan!" Akane bubbled in surprise, rushing around the table to greet her sister with an affectionate hug..
"Whoa air.." Nabiki gasped, while trying to push her over-enthusiastic sister away.
"Sorry oneesan" Akane quickly apologised, "It's been ages how are you?" she continued, pulling up a chair next to the mercenary girl.
"Touching as this is" sneered Ukyo, "some of us do actually have things to do and would really appreciate some sleep tonight."
"Thank you Ukyo" Gos agreed, ignoring the dark look on Ranma's face, "Now if we could just get on with things-"
"What about Xian and Mousse?" Ryoga asked from the door, "I would have expected them to be included" So intent was he on finding his way to the chair in front of him he missed the sudden icy silence that descended. "I mean they were-" finally he caught on.
"Sugar" Ukyo offered, more softly than the gang were used to from the new her, "They won't be making it"
"China ain't that far" Ryoga objected, confused at the shift in tone.
"That isn't exactly the problem Hun" Ukyo added, looking directly at the lowered head of the pig tailed martial artist.
"Well what is?" Ryoga demanded, anger replacing confusion, "why won't anyone tell me anything?"
"They are dead!" Answered Ranma's voice, cold, level and final.
"What?" Ryoga gasped, suddenly deflating. He looked around the room, only nobody was meeting his eyes but Ranma, and there was something distinctly off about him. "Who? When? Did you get 'em?" he asked, only silence greeted the question.
"Me. Just before I left Nerima" Ranma answered in a dangerous tone.
"Anyway…" Nabiki interrupted, trying to break the staring contest, "You were saying Gos."
"Er Yes" Gos replied, "Where was… Ah yes. If I can just have your attention for a moment I have an announcement." Slowly all eyes moved to fix on him, some open and interested, most still reflecting the darkness the questions had brought.
"A month ago I came across an item of great power-" Gos continued, only to be interrupted by Ranma standing. The pig-tailed martial artist had clearly heard enough but as he moved past Nabiki's chair she stopped him with a gentle touch on his arm, a fact that was not missed by her sister.
Ranma looked at Nabiki and she looked back, for a few moments everyone else watched the two talk without words. Then Ranma broke the silence.
"Look Gos" he began, "I ain't ungrateful but magic is nothing but trouble."
"Ranma-" Gos began but was interrupted.
"Sorry Gos" Ranma offered, real feeling in his voice, "I know you like all this stuff but…"
"Ranma" Nabiki interjected quietly and the young man turned back to look at her. Again silence ruled, again the two of them spoke without words.
"Fine," he agreed reluctantly, "I'll stay but when this all goes to hell…."
"Thank
you Ranma" Gos said.
"Humph" Grumbled Akane, "You should
have gone into drama" she added under her breath, just loud enough
for it to carry. She received a mixed bag of smirks and glares, but
mostly glares.
"Now the Orb of Moons, as I was saying" Gos started again, "is a very powerful artefact of mysterious origins blessed with the powers of temporal translocation. Long long ago it was used by a powerful young writer to travel to other planes but we have another use for it…"
"Gosunki I didn't understand a word of that," Ryoga admitted, "Whats it going to do?"
"It will take us back in time to a point where we can prevent-" Nabiki began only to be interrupted by Gos.
"All
sorts of things that have gone wrong for us" he finished. "All
opf us here have regrets, things we would rather not have had to
experience. It is my firm intention to do something about
that."
"Haven't we been here before sugar?" Ukyo
interrupted. "You know the mirror.."
"And we all remember how well that turned out" Akane groused.
"Ah but the orb is different" Gos began.
"Bull!" interjected Ranma quietly.
"No really " Gos asserted.
"Bull!" Ranma repeated. "I'll tell ya all what'll happen right now. He" Ranma said pointing at Gos "will start the thing up and for a while everything will seem right. Then someone else will try something and it'll start going wrong. From there it'll all go downhill, and downhill so fast we'll be lucky if any of us walk away…"
"It doesn't have to be like that" Gos argued.
"NO but
it always is" Ranma disagreed, and by now several heads were
nodding in agreement. "Look I really am sorry Gos but I left all
this shit behind in Nerima and my life's better for it."
"That's
not what I heard" interjected Akane.
"Sure it ain't all a bed of roses, but on the flip side none of my new friends have been so much as scratched in the last year," Ranma continued.
"Like you got friends" Akane argued with heavy irony.
"What the fuck would you know sis" Nabiki retorted. "And just for once I think muscle boy might have the right answer. Lets face it boys and girls none of us have a good record with magic." Silence reigned, each Neriaman recalling magical events that had messed up their lives, from dolls to swords everyone knew at least one item that had screwed up.
"So that's it?" Gos asked, "We don't try anymore? We just accept the shit hand we've been dealt and suck it up. Sorry if I have a REALLY hard time accepting that!" he finished waving a hand at his scars and chair. In the small room the sound seemed to take forever to die.
"Guys I need your help here" he added in a quieter voice and looked up with a silent appeal written across every fibre of his being. Ranma met those eyes and knew that there really never was a choice, even if he owed Gos nothing there was still enough of the boy from Nerima left in him that he would have helped sooner or later.
"Fine" he whispered, sitting back down. Nabiki looked at him, and nodded.
"Okay" she agreed, "But we do this right. No hasty wishes, no going off half cocked, and no fighting!" she added the last just a little louder and looked all the way around the room as she said it. There were several nods of assent.
"Now Gos," she continued, "Not that we don't trust you but what do you know about this thing in the first place."
Gos swallowed, gathered himself and started. "As I said it's called the Orb of the Moons. It is powered with temporal-"
"Hey in Japanese" Ukyo interjected.
"It has the power to shift matter, sorry, things and people, through time and space. It itself is not native to this world, instead coming from a very different pace where magic is far more commonplace. With it I hope-"
"Wait a mo sugar" Ukyo interrupted, "Just where did you get this information from and for that matter where did you get your snowglobe?"
"Ah that's a long story but suffice to say I have it on the very best authority, namely my own Master of magical arts, that this is gospel truth; and I have double checked the reputed powers of the Orb through several other sources." Gos offered.
The discussion went on for nearly an hour as the crew all but interrogated Gos on every aspect of the artefact and how it was going to be used. Towards the end tiredness began to mingle with frustration and the conversation started to become heated then:
"Guys!" Konatsu interrupted, "Enough! What it comes down to is do you trust Gos?" Silence ruled. "Well?" he demanded.
"Yes sure we do" Akane agreed, naturally one of the most heated arguers.
"Then sooner or later we're going to do this right? Right?" he argued. Nods answered. "Then guys how about we move on?"
"But what about-" Akane began, only to be interrupted by Ranma's stomach. Which in turn caused a round of guffaws and an agreement to break for food.
O
O
O
An hour later they were all sat around the table once more, the lights were dimmed, all clutter cleared, and all attention focussed on the glowing ball floating and rotating slowly in front of them. In the background Gosunki was slowly chanting in a language that none could understand and that seemed to slip away before it could be properly heard.
"Orb Of the Moons we invoke thee! Open up for us, surrender your power!"
Suddenly a gut wrenching spasm went through everyone of them and the orb changed colour to a deep red.
"Not good," Ranma muttered "definitely-
Everything went dark.
The world slipped away
A/N
in response to the many folk who have been bringing this up...
yes I have taken a certain amount of writer's licence about power levels. The Nerimites will not be at full god-like power in this story, they just would not be able to interact with the people they need to, and it doesn't fit the genre in the slighhtest.
You can rationalise this anyway you like, drop in Ki powers due to temporal relocation... Magic working differently there, or just an Au where their powers were less OTT.
Simply put they are less Superhuman than the manga would have you believe, it fits better this way, like it or lump it.