A Ranma 1/2 multi crossover fan fiction

By Dmitri 'Ranshin' Antonov

The Guardians of Earth

Chapter 6: Mountain Madness

Have you ever wondered things like 'How did I get myself into this?' or 'Why the 
heck did I agree to that?'

Those were currently the exact thoughts going through Ryoga Hibiki's mind.
Wouldn't you think the same thing if you were currently hiking up a mountain 
range surrounded by a forest?

*This is nothing but pure stupidity on my part!* He though. *I mean, even though 
I've gotten slightly better with my directional problem doesn't mean that I'll 
suddenly find the damn place. Dammit!* He though the last part as he punched a 
tree in his way. The poor thing didn't stand a chance as it was reduced to 
splinters.

*Whoops. I'm starting to get sad again.* He thought bitterly. He had been a lot 
more cheerful lately. This mess sure brought him down a peg or two, or three.

As he kept walking up the mountain what Ryoga didn't know was that his marks 
were actually leading him to the next Guardian.

As he kept walking, and walking, and walking, he got closer, and closer, and 
closer.

As he walked he didn't even notice that with each step the trees got fewer and 
fewer. After another 20 minutes there were no trees in front of him, or at his 
sides. This confused the poor dense boy.

As he looked around he noticed that he was standing in a small clearing, and 
that a short way in front of him were a lot of stairs. Without giving it another 
thought he started walking up. After going about half way up the stairs he felt 
a slight warmth coming from his forehead. *The mark is reacting!* He realized.

*So, I'm probably close. Very close!* He thought excitedly as he started running 
up the stairs at full speed. As he ran the marks on his hands also started 
giving a slight glow as well as warmth. As he got to the top of the stairs he 
noticed a shrine in front of him. Before he decided to go inside he felt that 
his marks were not dragging him toward the shrine, but another place nearby. 
*Might as well follow it.*

You never know how dense and lost Ryoga is until you see him walking right by a 
house. Which he did at the stairs. As he quickly walked back down he noticed 
that his marks gave off more heat the lower he got. *These things are totally 
unpredictable!*

As he got down the stairs he noticed a sight he didn't noticed before. In front 
of him was an old style house. It was rather big, big enough to house quite a 
few people. Then on the porch of the house he noticed an old man sitting and 
drinking either a cup of tea or sake. 

He decided to ask him where he was.

As he got near him he noticed the old man looking at him. He waved slightly at 
him, and as he got within earshot he asked his question. "Excuse me, I was 
wondering where I am?"

"Oh. Hello young man, you are currently in the mountains in Okayama. This is my 
house and my name is Katsuhito Masaki. I am the Shinto priest of the shrine of 
this forest." The old man said all this with a smile on his face.

"Oh, my name is Ryoga Hibiki. Excuse my rude behaviour." Ryoga said with a bow.

"Don't worry yourself over it young man. You must be tired from travelling. 
Would you like something to eat? And perhaps a bed to sleep in for a night?" 
Offered the old man. *This boy has quite a powerful aura. I can feel it slowly 
grow stronger and stronger.*

"Are you sure it's alright sir? I mean, you've just met me." Ryoga looked unsure 
of himself. Why did people trust him so much these days? He wasn't all that used 
to it yet.

"A young man such as yourself travelling in the mountains alone, tired and 
probably starving? I would feel ashamed of myself if I did not let you stay." 
Said Katsuhito. *Besides, a boy with such a chaotic and unstable aura could be 
dangerous.*

"Thank you very much sir." Said Ryoga, bowing.

"Not at all. Please, come in." The head of the Masaki household said, walking 
inside the house with Ryoga in tow.

"Wow. You have a very modern and beautiful house Mr. Masaki." Said Ryoga as he 
looked around the house. It reminded him of the Tendo dojo a lot. *Sigh...Those 
days are long over now...* Trailed Ryoga's thoughts.

"Excuse me, Ryoga was it? Dinner will actually be ready in only a few minutes. 
You came here at exactly the right time." Said the old man, smiling. "Sasami? 
When will dinner be ready?" He asked loud, focusing his voice at the kitchen.

"In only a few minutes!" Shouted back a young girls' voice, namely Sasami's.

"We will have an extra guest for dinner today." Said Katsuhito loudly again. He 
said it in a surprisingly gentle tone.

"There is more than enough for more people! Please be ready to eat soon!" 
Shouted back Sasami's small and gentle voice.

"Take a seat at the table young man. As you heard we will eat soon." Said 
Katsuhito.

"Thank you again." Said Ryoga as he sat down by the table. He only had to wait a 
few minutes before a lot of people came to the living room. He was very 
surprised at seeing the different looking people. A woman that with long spiky 
Cyan coloured hair especially surprised him when she entered the room by gliding 
through a wall. But he just shrugged it off. *Not the strangest thing I've ever 
seen.* He thought.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Asked a boy about Ryoga's age with black hair and 
a small ponytail hanging loosely in the air. He was obviously worried about what 
Ryoga was doing here.

"Don't worry Tenchi, he's with me. Everyone I would like you to meet Ryoga 
Hibiki. He will be staying here tonight." Said Katsuhito. Quickly explaining 
everything before something bad happened.

"Uh...hi." Was the only thing that could squeeze out of Ryoga's mouth as he had 
quite a few pairs of eyes staring at him. It kind of freaked him out. *Wait a 
sec. Does that girl have cat eyes?* He though as he saw Ryoko's beautiful feline 
orbs. He quickly shook his head as he realized that he was staring.

The people of the house also seemed to shrug him off as if they were used to 
this. Ryoga only had to wait a few more minutes before he was eating Sasami's 
amazing cooking. *This stuff rivals Kasumi's!* He though as he eagerly shoved 
the food down his throat.

After eating himself full Ryoga rubber his stomach in satisfaction. Then he 
turned his attention to the little girl that had cooked the meal. "Thank you so 
much Miss Sasami! That was delicious!" He said with a huge satisfied smile on 
his face.

"Thank you very much Mr. Hibiki. And there's no need to call me Miss. Sasami is 
just fine." She said as she smiled at him.

"Okay then. But you have to call me Ryoga okay?" Ryoga said to the girl.

"Okay! It's a deal!" Sasami smiled brightly as she said that. She just made a 
new friend!

"I'm sorry, Ryoga was it? I was wondering what you were doing up here in the 
mountains." Said a little girl with spiky red hair. Namely Washu. The greatest 
scientific genius in the entire universe.

"Who me? I'm just wandering around." Ryoga answered. He chuckled slightly at 
saying the last part. He remembered how he used to wander around wanting revenge 
on Ranma for something that wasn't his fault. He missed those days, kind of.

Choosing to ignore Ryoga's chuckle and weird look Washu decided to be 
persistent, like she always is. "Why? Are you searching for something? Or is 
wandering around aimlessly one of your hobbies?" She asked with that huge 
annoying cat caught the canary smirk of her face.

Ryoga almost felt annoyed at her persistence and perceptiveness. But she just 
looked like a curious kid, looked being the main word here. "Actually I'm 
searching for someone." He answered truthfully.

"And who might you be searching for?" Asked Washu once again.

"I don't know yet actually" He said, scratching the back of his head. "But I'll 
know when I'll find the person."

"Are you searching for your true love Mr.Ryoga?" Was suddenly blurted out loud 
by Sasami, which had a dreamily look on her face.

Ryoga face-faulted at this. Quickly picking himself back up he answered the 
little blue haired girl. "No Miss Sasami I am searching for this person because 
of..." He couldn't answer his question as he quickly grabbed his forehead in 
pain. *Dammit! It's reacting towards something! Why now dammit?!*

"What's wrong Mr.Ryoga?! Does it hurt somewhere?!" Shouted Sasami in panic at 
seeing her new friend in pain.

"Here....has to be......here..." Was all Ryoga could get out vocally as the 
marks on his forehead and hands burned like nuts. *That person has to be here! 
The next guardian has to be here!*

All of a sudden a slight scream of pain was heard. A female scream. Everyone, 
including Ryoga, looked at the direction of the noise and what they saw was none 
other than Ryoko Hibuki the retired space pirate on her knees, holding her 
forehead in extreme pain.

"What...the...hell..." Was all she could say as she felt the same extremely 
painful sensation that Ryoga was feeling. *The marks! The marks are reacting!* 
She though slightly excited, even through the pain. *They're leading me at, 
him?* She thought as she looked at Ryoga.

Ryoga didn't like the pain very much so he decided to do something about it. He 
quickly somersaulted over the table full of dishes and food and landed next to 
Ryoko. As soon as he landed he quickly lifted the girls head up by her chin and 
brushed the bangs on her forehead away to get a better look.

What he saw was exactly what he was expecting. She had a mark on her forehead. 
It was in that strange language that he and Ranma could read for some weird 
reason. *So...water huh?* "I knew it. You're the one." Ryoga whispered softly. 
Not really realising that the pain was gone and that he was staring at the girl 
in front of him. His verdict? Insanely beautiful.

"Wait a sec...you're the reason I have these stupid marks?!" Shouted Ryoko all 
of a sudden, breaking the lost boy out of his sudden trance.

"H..huh?" Was all he could get out for a few seconds. Then he took a breather 
and tried talking again. "Well, not really. I don't really know how to explain 
all this. All I can say is that to explain, I have to take you somewhere."

"Take me somewhere huh? Can I get rid of these stupid, whatever they are, 
there?" Asked the cyan haired girl impatiently.

"Actually no. They're permanent, sorry." Answered the lost boy apologetically.
Ryoko seemed to want to lash out at the lost boy, but managed to restrain 
herself. *It's not his fault. It's not his fault. It's not his fault.* This was 
the mental mantra that saved Ryoga's life that day.

"Okay then. Why can't you explain this to me here? I want to know why the hell I 
have some stupid tattoo's stuck on my forehead and hands." Keep it up Ryoko and 
you won't be getting a cookie.

"Well, I can't explain because first of all, I don't really understand it 
myself. And second, I'm a bad talker." Yes it took Ryoga indeed a long realize 
this.

Ryoko just sighed and sat down, taking a deep breath. These marks had appeared 
all of a sudden a few weeks ago. They weren't causing her any harm so she 
decided to hide them with some of her energy. Besides, if Ayeka had found out 
she'd make fun of her for it for sure.

"Wait a second. What are you talking about?!" Tenchi was getting so damn 
frustrated at having no lines that it almost killed him. So he decided to let 
out.

"Weren't you listening? I said that I couldn't explain it. All I can say is that 
I have to take Ryoko somewhere so that it can be explained." Answered Ryoga, 
keeping his cool.

"So you have no way what so ever to explain this at all?" Asked the genius and 
guinea pig lover Washu Hibuki.

"Well, not really. All I can say is that because she has her marks her life is 
changed forever." Ryoga said this with a rather tired look.

"What do you mean these stupid tattoos will change my life forever?!" Screamed 
Ryoko. Not at all happy with this new discovery.

"It looks like you guys won't let me go without an explanation. I guess I'll 
give it a shot." *Man, now I know how Ranma feels. This is hell!* A certain 
pigtailed person sneezed.

"There are supposed to be a total of seven people that have these weird marks. 
They're written in some weird language that each of us can read for some reason. 
Anyway on each of them is a name of an element. Mine is Earth, while Ryoko's is 
Water."

He took a nice long breath before going on.

"My friend Ranma also has a mark. His says Lightning. Anyway, when we came in 
touch with each other's marks, we were sent to some weird place. There, two 
really weird people talked to us. They told us about how these marks were our 
fate and stuff. You see, we are the so called Guardians of the Earth. We're 
supposed to protect the world from some kind of Generals of hell." He himself 
had a hard time believing any of this, but he went on anyway.

"So me and my pal Ranma have gotten the duty to round up all of the Guardians. 
That's why I'm here, to take you back to those two people so you can talk to 
them." After finally finishing he took a deep breath, not used to talking so 
much.

"This is too much to take in...besides, how can I trust you?" Ryoko was rather 
pail from all this. As for the trust thing… *I feel that I can trust him for 
some reason. It's like I feel that he's telling the truth.*

"I guess...you can't. You're just gonna have to follow your heart." Answered 
Ryoga. *Okay, what the hell is wrong with me?! When did I turn into a hopeless 
romantic?!*

Quite a few of the other people in house were going to object to the whole 
thing, but Ryoko managed to speak first. "Alright. I'll go with you." *I don't 
know why I'm doing this. I guess I just have to.*

Ryoga let out a huge breath that he didn't even know he was holding. *I thought 
she'd put up more of a fight. Thank god!*

"Ryoko, are you sure?" Asked Tenchi.

"Yeah. I have to figure this thing out you know?" She answered softly. *I feel 
like I'm saying goodbye forever.*

"So, you ready to go?" Asked Ryoga. "You won't need to take any stuff with you. 
We'll get to that later."

"Uh, sure. Where are we going anyway? And how do we get there?" Question after 
question from Ryoko Hibuki ladies and gentlemen!

"Well...I don't know where it is exactly. But we get there by touching each 
others foreheads if I'm not mistaken." Ryoga didn't really seem to like playing 
Questionary.

"Then let's get it over with." She said as she reached for his forehead. "See 
you all later. I'll be back soon." *I hope.*

She said as she looked at her friends and family. They all gave alike answers. 
And you could see the doubt written all over their faces.

There just had to be something to interrupt this. Right? Wish granted!

All of sudden a huge boom sound was heard. Not to mention that Ryoga's and 
Ryoko's marks flared in a blinding light.

Ryoga wasted no time to run out to find out what the heck was going on. Ryoko 
ran quickly after him, and her friends quickly lagged after her.

What they all saw was something that they did not expect. There was someone or 
something standing there, wearing a black robe with dark-red trims. The robe 
covered its entire face and body.

"Who the hell are you?!" Shouted Ryoga. He had been so damn close to getting out 
of here. But no, this 'thing' had to come and interrupt everything.

The being suddenly lifted its face so you could se it's face. You could see a 
very beautiful yet deadly looking female face. The woman had long red hair and 
an extraordinary beautiful face. She also shook her hands out of her robes, to 
reveal beautiful human like hands, except for the one-inch long nails. They 
looked more like claws actually.

Then she spoke. "I am Amanda. Half human. Half-demon sorceress. Servant of the 
Antichrist. You may know me as the second General of hell. I am here to have 
some fun with you, little Guardian." She chuckled to herself as she said the 
last part.

Ryoga paled slightly at this. "So, you're here to kill us?" He asked in an 
extremely dense voice.

At hearing that Amanda burst into laughter like a little girl. "Of course not!" 
She said in a loud voice. Ryoga seemed to lose a huge load at this. "I'm just to 
make you feel immense pain, without killing you." She smiled in a very girlish 
smile. Now that you mention it, she looked only about 13 years old. 14 tops. 
Kids develop fast these days.

Ryoga just gulped at her saying that. *Wait a sec. What the hell am I being 
scared for? Ranma wouldn't act like this! He'd be laughing in her face that's 
what! Not to mention at mine!* This quickly boosted his confidence. Morale can 
be a deadly weapon sometimes. Heck, Ranma has proven that fact many times.

"Whatever." He said. "Bring it on little girl." *Whoa. I'm getting sort of 
excited. This is gonna be fun!* There goes the good old Hibiki fighting spirit. 
All of sudden he quickly rushed the seemingly helpless little girl. Not.

Before he could get within twenty feet of her he bumped into something, which 
completely stopped him in his tracks. *What the hell?!* He then realized that he 
had just bumped into a magic barrier of some sorts. *She's a sorceress, Duh! 
Idiot!* The lost boy quickly stood up again. "What the hell is with the dirty 
tricks?!" Good old thick head Ryoga's back.

"It's not a dirty trick. It's a spell called Invisible Wall, and I'm using it to 
defend myself." Answered the half-demon beauty.

"Defend this!" Was all of sudden heard behind Ryoga. Just before a huge blast of 
energy shot toward the girl, and her wall.

The blast seemed to get closer than Ryoga got, it stopped about 5 feet from the 
girl.

Ryoga looked back at the source of the voice and the blast to find none other 
than Ryoko Hibuki, retired space pirate and current Guardian of Water. "Ryoko!" 
Ryoga shouted with small joy. He was finally getting backup.

"Can't let my team-mate and fellow Guardian do the fighting by himself can I?" 
She emphasized on the guardian bit. Then she quickly turned to her friends. 

"Guys, you back off. We'll handle this." When they started to protest she just 
barked at them. "Back off!" She shouted with a voice which would make a 
hellhound jealous.

"Thanks Ryoko. Really, thanks." Said Ryoga with gratitude as he smiled at her.
She smiled back. "No problem. Partner." She finished with a grin.

"Could we please get on with the show? I don't have all day you know." 
Complained the little half-demon Amanda.

"Firstly, no I don't know. Secondly, I don't give damn!" Shouted Ryoko as she 
once again shot a giant blast of energy at the half-demon girl.

The blast seemed to completely penetrate the girls Invisible Wall spell. But 
just before the blast hit her, her robe glowed blue, and the blast got absorbed 
into it.

*What the heck?!* Were the thoughts of a bandanna clad lost boy and a cat eyed 
space pirate.

"Surprised? My robe can deflect almost all types of energies. Those include raw 
energy, Mystical and Emotional. So don't you go get sad on me pretty boy." She 
said the last part in a seductive voice. Which seemed to really irritate Ryoko 
for some reason.

*Crap! How does she know about the Lion Roar Bullet? Crap, crap, crap. If 
nothing works this may be a losing battle. Unless...*
Who knew Ryoga could really think when he wanted to?

"Ryoko, get over here for a sec!" He quickly shouted to her. Ryoko took a look 
at him questioningly. Then she shrugged her shoulders and teleported next him. 
This kind of shocked him, but he quickly shrugged it off.

"Ryoko, how many of those blasts can you fire off?" He asked her, whispering.
"As many as I want. Why?" She whispered near his ear.

There is a thing that happens to males when a woman blows softly in his ear you 
know? It's called arousal. Doing his best to ignore this, Ryoga laid out his 
plan to Ryoko.

"I'm planning on charging her again, trying to get in. If I do that she'll 
probably put up that wall again. I need you to blast it away as I charge in 
okay?" Simple plan eh? Ryoga. The strategist? Sounds kind of scary. *I'm gonna 
have to swallow my pride and hit a girl. Hoo boy.*

"I'm tired of waiting!" Shouted Amanda all of a sudden, moving her now glowing 
hands in different patterns. "FLAME CIRCLE!!!" She shouted as she shot her hands 
forward. What emerged out of them looked like a huge hoop on fire, heading right 
for Ryoga.

Instincts are a wonderful thing aren't they? Especially survival instincts. 
Which involve reflexes. These instinctual reflexes were what saved Ryoga from 
burning to a crisp. He just barely dodged the flame circle that was hurled at 
him.

The minute that he regained his senses he quickly rushed at the little sorceress 
that almost made him into charcoal. He took a quick glance to the side and saw 
Ryoko starting to lob blasts of energy at Amanda, all which stopped in thin air 
on the way, getting closer and closer to their target.

Ryoga looked forward once again, having to concentrate on the goal at hand. As 
he continued to dash toward Amanda he didn't feel any wall in front of him. As 
long as Ryoko fired blast after blast, Amanda's Invisible Wall would crumble. 
After only a few more seconds he was directly in front of the girl.

"Sorry, it ends here." Said Ryoga as he directed a punch to her stomach. *If I 
hit her face I'd never forgive myself for it.* Too bad that as his arm stretched 
it's full length, it hit nothing but air. Both Ryoga and Ryoko were shocked to 
see that Amanda had just vanished into thin air.

Then they heard a loud female laugh echo through the clearing. The laughe 
continued for a few seconds before the voice spoke. "Fools! Did you actually 
think defeating me would be that easy?!" It was unmistakably Amanda's voice. 

"But I am impressed, you are not too bad as fighters, for a pair of fools that 
is!" She laughed once again. Then the voice slowly faded out and completely 
disappeared.

Ryoga proceeded in taking a long breath. *What is she, a Kodachi clone?! If I 
hear a laugh like that again, I'm gonna kill someone!* We're Ryoga's not so 
relaxing thoughts. He then looked at Ryoko and saw that she had a frown on her 
face. The frown was directed at him. "What is it?" Asked Ryoga.

"What is it?! You let her get away you numbskull! You had her right in front of 
you, and you let her escape!" Ryoko didn't seem too happy.

"Wait a sec. You're blaming this on me?! She disappeared just as I was about to 
knock her lights out! It wasn't my fault!" Yelled Ryoga as he started to walk to 
her, with his fists balled.

"Yes it was! You shouldn't have let her teleport!" Ryoko barked back. She also 
walked to him for some reason.

As they neared each other they continued to bark, yell, shout, and just plain 
scream offensive comments at each other.

Little did they know that their marks were glowing and drawing them toward each 
other.

Off the scenes were the other inhabitants of the Masaki residence. They were 
currently all gaping in shock at what had happened, and at what was going on.

As Ryoga and Ryoko got directly in front of each other they continued to insult 
each other the best they could. But their marks wouldn't let them wait any 
longer as they forced them to reach out with their hands to touch each other 
foreheads. Then they disappeared in a flash of light.


Author's Notes: I finally got this done. From this chapter you've probably 
already figured out one of my planned pairing right? Unless you're extremely 
dense. By the way, after this chapter I'm going to put this story into the 
Anime Crossovers section at ff.net.