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Anime/Manga » Ranma » Dragons, Mages and Martial Artists font: B s : A A A . width: full 3/4 1/2
Author: Jerry Unipeg
Fiction Rated: M - English - Adventure/Fantasy - Reviews: 27 - Published: 04-02-08 - Updated: 04-05-08 - id:4172365
Ranma 1/2:
Dragons, Mages, & Martial Artists Crossover: DragonLance By: Dani Yanega (please respond to this e-mail address)
/yanega/index.htm or Visit my Mirror site at:
www.ranko.pwp./index.htm

Chapter Fourteen

Raistlin woke as the sun began to stream through the window. He looked over to the bed where Ranma should have been to find it empty. He shot up but relaxed when he found her sitting by the window her legs crossed and her back straight,
a book of some kind in her lap. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was shallow, but he knew she was not a sleep.

He rose and walked toward her. He stopped and stretched loosening up his tight muscles. A slight snort behind him caused him to turn and see his brother buried under the blanket still sleeping. He turned his attention back toward Ranma who had not moved since he rose, but he was sure she knew he was up.

Ranma sensed Raistlin as he began to awake but her mind was occupied with other things as she continued to manipulate the Jusenkyo magic now a part of her. As she dug deeper she had realized sometime in the night that even if her curse was unlocked she would never now be able to be cured completely. The addition of the pig and duck curse made that impossible.

She had also felt her true form in the magic and tried several time to reach out to it and bring it back into use. After a couple of hours of intense struggle she gave up. The magic she absorbed had removed any access to her old form.
She sensed it as well as the pig and the duck in magic but because they were combined the shape had become undefined as far as the curse was concerned.

Her knowledge of Jusenkyo had steadily increased over the past two years. First by she herself exploring it through her meditations and secondly when she disappeared on her training trips to learn more of what Dr. Tofu had learned.
She knew she would never have the knowledge the Amazons had of the place but she had enough. Now she felt she had too much.

Sometime during the night she tried to use the magic as Raistlin used his but found that Jusenkyo magic did not work like regular magic. When she tried she found herself in extreme pain as it fought against her attempts to cast spells.
She did hit on something though but had not yet had a chance to check it out.

She was brought out of her meditations when she felt Raistlin's hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. His face was filled with worry and it surprised her that she could see it was an emotion that was strange to the mage. She smiled and picked up her book. She put it back into hyper storage then stood and stretched you tight muscles loose.

"Were you at that all night?" Raistlin asked the petite martial artist as her joints popped and shifted slightly to ease the tension.

"I got some sleep, besides when I meditate I seem to get more rest in less time." She shrugged as she looked over at Caramon's sleeping form.

"How do you sleep with all his snoring? He is worse then the old man?" Ranma asked the golden skinned man with a wry grin.

"You get use to it after a while." Raistlin told her with a slight chuckle.

The two growing friends headed for the door when Raistlin reached out with his staff and pushed Caramon out of the bed. It wasn't really that hard to do since the big man had hung himself half off the bed. All he needed was one little bush and a loud THUD was heard through out the inn.

"HEY!" Caramon shouted as he sat up rubbing his head.

"Come brother it is time we ate and prepared to leave this place." Caramon nodded at his brother and rose to his feet.

Caramon collected his and Raistlin's things then followed his brother and Ranma out. They entered the main room under the collected stares of their friends.
Tika's face a slight scowl as she looked from Ranma to Caramon. The trio took their seats Raistlin sitting between Caramon and Ranma.

Ranma ignored the others while she ate and stared around the room. She noticed many people in robes similar to Raistlin's just different in color. There were several white which Ranma took to mean a mage aligned with good. There were two other mages in red and two black mages. Ranma's eyes narrowed as she stared at the two men in black robes.

She decided they weren't Dargus nor where they mages. Their robes were similar but the feel of them were all wrong. She watched them as she absentmindedly ate, fending off Ryoga who thought to have some fun in stealing the redhead's food.

The companions watched as a totally distracted Ranma successfully defended her meal from Ryoga's incursion. Finally Goldmoon having enough slammed her fork down tines first in front of Ryoga's hand. He looked up at the yellow and white haired woman and gulped at the cold hard stare she was giving him.

"What? Ranma does it all the time with her father back home" Ryoga tried to explain but Goldmoon would not relent.

"This is all Ranma's fault!" Ryoga growled quietly to himself and mousse as he stared at the distracted martial artist across from him.

"Raistlin who are they? I mean their not mages even though they wear the black robes." Ranma asked the red mage without taking her eyes off the two men in black robes.

"How can you tell they are not mages?" Raistlin asked as his and to the others turned to observe the two men.

"Their power signatures are wrong. They use magic but it is not the same as what you and Dargus used. It is very powerful though and where Dargus exuded evil these two reek of it." Ranma finished her nose wrinkling as if she could smell the evil.

"They must be clerics of the Dark Queen then." Sturm put in his eyes narrowing as the men made their way around the room looking at the other patrons.

"OOO! I'll go ask!" Tasslehoff was up and running but didn't get far as Flint's strong grasp held tightly to his top knot.

"Aaawww, com'on Flint I wanna go see 'em!" Ranma snickered as Tasslehoff had seemed to pick up his less then stellar vocabulary.

The clerics moved slowly past their table Goldmoon hiding her staff under the table. The clerics stared at her with narrowed eyes then their gazes moved to the others with her. Sturm not liking the sizing up they were getting made a show of placing his hand on his sword.

The two men snorted as if they had nothing to fear. Their looks of superiority changed to one of fear when they turned at the sound of Raistlin's staff tapping just once on the floor. His golden skin and eyes seemed to hold their attention the longest.

They started to move past when they moved their eyes to land on Ranma. Fear filled them when they saw Raistlin, complete mind numbing terror struck them when they looked at Ranma. She stared back at them her sapphire blue eyes shimmering in the light of the fire that filled the hearth. The dark clerics quickly moved on glancing over their shoulders as they went. They would run into chairs and tables in an effort to leave the inn.

"What was that about?" Ranma asked as she followed their progression out of the inn.

"I don't know but it seems they were terrified of you!" Tanis noticed as he also watched them leave.

The sound of Strum and Caramon drawing their weapons brought Tanis, Raistlin and Ranma's attention to the approach of the three people in white robes and two in red.

There were two men and one woman in white and a man and woman in red. Their eyes as they approached were fixed on Ranma and the other Nerimaians. They would occasionally move their gaze to Raistlin. Ranma watched them her senses reaching out to touch them. In passing she noticed Ryoga and Mousse doing the same.

They group paused at about a foot from the table the three men keeping watchful eyes on Strum and Caramon as they were the only ones to have drawn their swords.
They kept them lowered but made no point in hiding the fact they were ready for use. It seemed the two women would be the ones to do the talking, as the men stayed around them protectively.

The woman in white had short ebony black hair. Her eyes shone in the fire light turning their emerald green color to a soft copper. She smiled at Raistlin with recognition. Her features were soft with high cheek bones and she wore her hair tucked behind her elfin ears. She was tall and willowy 5' 11" and carried a six foot staff, carved smooth of blond ash. At the top of the staff was a carved griffin in a sitting position with one front claw raised. Its eyes were one caret blood red rubies.

Her companion was almost the complete opposite of her. She stood 5' 8" tall and instead of willowy she was voluptuous. Her red silk robes clinging to every curve. Her hair was long just past her shoulder blades and was the color of golden honey. Her eyes were deep midnight blue which was set in a round face of smooth skin. Her lips unlike the white mage was full and red and instead of the haughtiness of the high elves in her eyes. Her eyes shone with a friendly mischief. She also carried a staff but it was made of dark oak. It was also six feet long maybe just a smidgen longer. It was roughly carved and had runes over its entire length. At the top of the staff was a carved coiled serpent of jade, with dragon features. In the center of the coil sat a sphere of slivery white.

"Greetings Raistlin, you seem to be doing better then when you life the tower"
The white elf mage said her smile frozen with insincerity.

"Greetings Sherika, I doing quite well. What brings you to Kadesh?" Sherika's left eye brow shot up.

"Oh, same as every other mage Raistie! A somewhat acceptance of us. Hi!
Cariepoo!" The blond glares at Sherika then smiles lustfully at the two brothers her gaze lingering the longest on Caramon.

A wry smile tugs at Raistlin's lips as he looks at the honey blond. It widens slightly more at the blush of his brothers cheeks and the glare he is receiving from Tika. A small chuckle escapes him when Tika grabs his arm and glares at the female red mage.

"Hello Ryja, since when did you start associating with Sherika. You two don't seem the friends type." Raistlin asked her as she pouts at Caramon and Tika.

"It was necessity. Brother." Ryja told him amidst the shocked looks of the others.

Ranma looked between the three mages her eyes wide with shock and shining with curiosity. She stared at the male companions with the two women. The two male white mages where also elves and like Sherika hand black hair. Though one had a more purple black then the ebony black of the other two. Both men carried matching staffs to Sherika's only a few inches longer. They were both just at or a little over six feet tall. One had dark brown eyes while the other and hazel. Neither of the men seemed to be enjoying the nearness of the three red mages especially the girl Ryja and her friend.

Ryja's friend, Ranma guessed actually must have been her brother he looked almost just like her except for the fact he was male and was 6' 2" tall. He had the same honey blond hair cut short but his eyes were a lighter shade of blue. His build was very muscular almost as large as Caramon's build. He also carried a dark oak staff. Engraved with runes but his staff was topped with an opal panther with emerald eyes. Ranma shuddered slightly but continued to examine the new comers with all her senses.

"And what would that be Ryja?" Raistlin continued as he watched Ranma out of the corner of his eyes.

He didn't notice that Mousse and Ryoga were also watching the cursed girl. Nor did he notice they were getting angry at their perceived betrayal of the girls they loved and Ranma was engaged too. Flint, Laurana and Tanis watched them all three not liking what they were seeing. The others were listening in stunned silence at Raistlin's sister.

"Well we got into to town yesterday when we heard about a fight between a red mage and a black mage. We also sensed some strange magic near where the battle had supposedly taken place." Ryja told him her gaze landing on the other men at the table.

"Oh my, brother you sure do hang around some delicious men!" Ryja commented causing a myriad of blushes around the table followed by angry scowls.

"Uh, hum, well yes, so why the partnership?" Ryja seemed distracted by the men at the table so her male counterpart answered.

"For protection brother, we heard they were powerful mages and fought viscously." They young man told them.

Ranma's physical examination completed she reached out with her senses. She found what she expected weaker chi and ki lines with the strong and more powerful third line. She studied the alignment of the their magic source her brow furrowing as she read and re-read the magic lines of the three white mages.
The red mages she expected and found them similar to Raistlin's but her friend's was more powerful.

"Yes, yes that is all very interesting. Tell me Raistlin why were those two clerics of the Dark Queen so terrified of you?" Sherika's voice dripped honey sweetness.

"Not many gold men walking around the Staff of Magius, Sherika." Raistlin answered, watching her gaze fall on Ranma.

"My such a lovely young girl, is she your student?" Sherika asked her hand glowing as she reached for Ranma.

No one at the table even saw Ranma move. Their only warning she had, was the gasp of pain from Sherika. The other two white mages looked stunned then started to move forward only to be stopped by the rising of Sturm and Caramon.

Ranma stared up at the white mage her hand tightly around the wrist of the elfin woman a scowl on her pixyish face. Ryja didn't know whether to stare in shock or laugh her ass of. She decided on a dignified giggle. Ryoga and Mousse are on their feet their eyes flashing with rage as they glared at the redhead.

"I am afraid Sherika that my friend has had some very bad experiences with magic and magic users and prefers they not touch her." Raistlin told her a deep frown on his face.

With a nod to Ranma she lightly throws Sherika's arm back at her. The elf woman grabbing her wrist and rubbed it. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at Ranma anger and fear flashing threw them.

"You had better watch yourself mage your friend here is attracting the attentions of some very powerful beings. If what I felt at her touch is accurate then you are in for some unpleasant adventures." The white mage's eyes narrowed as she stared at the scowling face of the redhead.

"OOO, boy do you really think so?" Sherika jumped back with a small shriek.

"EEEK!" Sherika looked down to see the childlike face of Tasslehoff staring up at her his hoopak tightly in his hand.

"YOU STAY AWAY FROM ME YOU LITTLE THIEVING RODENT!" Sherika shouted pointing at the kinder while backing up into the two white mages.

"I think pause you will want to apologize to my friend. There are many at this table that care for him and don't like outsiders hurting him!" Raistlin told Sherika his eyes narrowed and restraining hand on Ranma.

"I always thought they made a mistake giving you that staff. Now I know I was right. You're weak and emotional Raistlin you have changed much since your test! I thought there might have been the chance of an alliance but I see I was wrong." Sherika stared at the gold man while keeping a wary eye on the confused face of the kinder.

"HAHAHAHA! Explain to me Sherika why I would want to trade in a group of people I know I can trust and who I call friend for the likes of you?" Sherika's eyes widened and a chuckle could be heard coming from Ryja and her friend.

"YOU SIDE WITH HIM!" Sherika's head snapped toward the two red mages.

"Well he is our brother Sherika!" Ryja told her with a shrug of her soft shoulders.

"You will rue the day you let chaos into your mists, Raistlin!" Sherika told him and turned and left the two male white mages following her.

The group watched her as she stormed out of the inn, her male companions close behind her. Ryja friend watched with his eyes narrowed. The emerald eyes of the opal panther on top of his staffed glowed an eerie green.

"Well Baric I guess we're on our own now." Ryja said a little dejectedly.

"Don't worry about sister, we ended up doing most of the work. They are all flash and no real skill." The scorn in his voice was obvious.

"What did she mean by 'Chaos being in our midst" Laurana asked as she looked at Ranma.

"The dark clerics were looking for a boy, they say he was blessed by chaos. The Dark Queen is looking for him in the hopes to use his powers to win." Ryja said as she also looked at Ranma.

"But it seems they aren't looking for a boy at all." The companions all looked to Ranma who stared back with eyes wide in shock.

"Ranma I knew this had to be all your fault! Prepare to DIE!" Ryoga snarled his voice more of a growl.

Ryoga jumped at the redhead his umbrella pulled and in a downward arch. Ranma slipped to the floor under the table and when the umbrella hit the seat where she had just been. Ranma's hand shot out and grabbed Ryoga by the throat. Her hand glowing a dark blue tinged with white.

Ranma came out from under the table a tight grip on Ryoga's throat. Ryoga tried to beat Ranma from him, as he brought down his umbrella, Ranma's other hand shot out and pressed several of Ryoga's pressure points. This caused Ryoga to loose the use of his arms and his grip on the umbrella. Ranma pulled Ryoga's face to hers, her eyes glowed dark blue.

"I have every right to kill you for destroying the honor of my fianc? and her family. She however was a willing participant in your little affair. If you however show me your dishonor again by breaking the pact you made to me and Mousse. I will boil you from the inside out!" Ranma snarled low her eyes narrowed to nothing more then slits.

Ryoga looked into eyes that showed more rage then he had ever seen even in himself or his beloved Akane. For the first time in his life he regretted making Ranma his rival. Ryoga gulped and nodded slightly. Ranma tossed him back over the table and onto the floor next to Mousse.

The entire inn turned at the shout and stared in shock as they never saw the little redhead move. They watched in stunned horror as the small girl disappeared then came out from under the table her hand firmly around the larger boy's neck.

Even the mages in the room gasped as her hand began to glow a dark blue tinged with white. Then watched as the boy raised some strange red weapon in an attempt to beat the redhead. They watched as the girls hand blurred to invisibility. The crash of the boy's weapon hitting the floor caused the room to look down.

The eyes of all in the inn stared at the weapon as it laid on the flow in a small crater. The room was so quiet that when Ranma initiated her threat it echoed through the entire room. They watched as the boy nodded and then flew over the table to land roughly in a heap next to the long haired boy mage.

"I apologize for that, but in a way he is right. If the this Dark Queen is gunning for me then it will be best if I left." Ranma turned to leave only to find her path blocked by the female red mage and her companion.

"If you leave the company of your friends the Dark Queen will get you and use you to cause not only their deaths but the deaths of millions!" Ranma stared into the mage's blank staring eyes.

"Ryja speaks the truth, young one. She is not only a very powerful mage she has always had the gift of a seer." Ranma looked at the woman her head tilted to one side.

"But, I..!" Ranma's protest was cut off by an unexpected voice.

"She is correct Ranma. You can not leave and give the Dark Queen her chance.
With us you have a chance to help end this war and save the lives of the people of this world." Ranma turned and stared into the eyes of the man who spoke.

Her sapphire blue eyes met the steel blue eyes of Strum the Knight of the Rose.
A man of few words but one of a rigid code of honor. She looked at the other companions and saw them all nod their assent. She lowered her head then nodded her head slightly in agreement.

"YYYEEAAAHH! Ranma's gonna stay!" The shout caught Ranma off guard as she hit the ground under a light weight.

Ranma turned over under the body on top of her and stared into the sparkling brown eyes of Tasslehoff Burrfoot. His face a light with a bright smile. Ranma smiled up at the kender, as she watched a large calloused hand reaching for his long ponytail on the top of his head.

"Fool kender! Going to get someone killed one of these days and most likely be me!" Flint's gruff voice filled the room as he grabbed the kender's ponytail and dragged him off the downed martial artist.

A golden hand appeared in front of Ranma. She looked up into the golden eyes of her new friend to see a tinkle as he tried to hide a smile. She reached up and allowed him to help her to her feet. She brushed off her pants then stared at the group before her. A small tentative smile on her face.

"Thank you." Was all she whispered as the crashing of bodies hitting the floor could be heard.

The group turned and found both Ryoga and Mousse out cold on the floor. They looked down at the unconscious boys confusion on their faces. Ranma smiled knowingly at the two but shrugged her shoulders when the rest of the group looked toward her for an explanation.



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