*********************************************************************** Based on Ah! Megami-Sama! All-Purpose Cat-Girl Nuku-Nuku Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Neon Genesis Evangelion Ranma 1/2 Tenchi Muyo! and Urusei Yatsura *********************************************************************** Written by Cyclone *********************************************************************** W H I R L W I N D P R O D U C T I O N S *********************************************************************** presents *********************************************************************** D R E A M S O F D E S T I N Y *********************************************************************** Part One: Just a dream... *********************************************************************** Author's Note: Heh. Saw "It Was All a Dream" and read "Just a Dream?" and "A Rude Awakening" and decided I might as well jump on the dream bandwagon... with a little extra twist... Several series. Several dreams. Several dreamers. And they all know each other. And they are all destined to a greater role than any of them anticipated, greater than even any of their dream-lives... P.S.: I've never watched A!MS!, and I'm only using the characters as plot devices, so if I screw their personalities up, bear with me. And, yes, I do have a Ranma bias. So sue me. (I'm kidding!) Enjoy! *********************************************************************** Ranma Saotome, brown-belt in karate and a grade 'A' student, snapped awake and dressed. A moment later he was out for his morning jog. He wanted to keep in shape and his interest in martial arts increased exponentially ever since the dreams started. The dreams where he wasn't Ranma Saotome, aspiring martial-artist and bookworm, but Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts... He shook his head, *Yeah, right...* he thought. *Besides, four fiancees? That's just a _tad_ ridiculous.* He finished his jog and headed for the shower. Elsewhere... Usagi Tsuniko yawned and stretched sleepily. "Tuxedo Kamen..." she muttered, before reality took hold and brushed away the cobwebs in her mind. "Oh, yeah. That dream again..." She looked to the foot of her bed, where a cute black cat slept. "Good morning, Luna!" she said cheerfully. The cat meowed in protest after being woken up from such a nice dream. Usagi sighed and engulfed the cat in a hug, "You're no moon cat, but you're still my bestest friend!" She got up and prepared for school. If her dreams taught her _anything_ it was to always get an early start. That and it _is_ possible to dream within dreams. Elsewhere... Tenchi Masaki raked the yard. He looked around as he did every morning. No Aeka or Ryouko causing massive property damage. No Washu performing weird experiments. No runaway cabbits. He grinned at that last thought. As he did every morning, Tenchi came to one inescapable conclusion: his life was boring. Especially compared to his dreams, where he was the part-alien heir to an intergalactic empire. Oddly enough, his dreams kept alternating between two vastly different parallel timelines. Odder still, he never got confused which one he was in when he was in it. Elsewhere... Shinji Ikari was gulping down his cereal, muttering something about how cheesy "Absolute Terror Field" sounded when his mother called, "Shinji, have you been having those dreams again?" Yui Ikari was always fascinated, if a tiny bit worried, by her son's dreams. Strangely enough, the dreams portrayed the boy's father pretty accurately. Stone-hearted SOB. "Yeah, Mom. This 'Angel' was really tough. They were gonna drop nine-hundred-and-ninety-two of those N2 mines on it. While I was in it." "IN it?!" "Don't ask. You don't wanna know." "I'll take your word for it." Elsewhere... "Good morning, Father." "Good morning, Atsuko-chan," Kyusaku Natsume greeted his daughter. "Did you play with Arisa again last night... Nuku-Nuku?" "Very funny..." she went and got the milk, "...Papa-san," her father was constantly teasing her about her off-the-wall dreams ever since she mentioned and described them. It was getting annoying. "Maybe I should stick that in the microwave," he grinned, "Make it warm." "Ha. Ha. Ha." Else- ah, you get the idea... Ataru Moroboshi wolfed down his breakfast, some Eggo waffles, before contemplating last night's dream. Lum had gotten kidnapped again, this time by some psychopathic mad scientist interested in alien DNA. "Too weird," he muttered. Later, at Tojuunkan High School... "Hey, guys!" Atsuko was the first to return the class brain's greeting, "Good morning, Ranma. Did Akane get kidnapped again last night?" "Yep. That makes it thirty-eight times I've had to beat the snot out of someone to rescue her. Ataru?" All the brown-haired boy said was, "Number fifty-four." "'Xenophobic, mad scientist with nasty experiments in mind,'" Ranma translated. "How 'bout you, Tenchi?" "Ryouko got kidnapped. Again. Another alien scientist. How did your night go, Usagi?" "The Dark Kingdom was draining people through, get this, _cars_." Ranma blinked, "You're kidding!" Then they all looked at Shinji, who replied, "An 'Angel' ate me and nearly got bombed with nine-hundred-ninety-two N2 mines." Ranma let out a low whistle, "Man, that's rough." "No kidding." The one-minute bell rang and the six dreamers raced to their classrooms. On a greater plane of existence... "The time draws near," announced the first celestine. "Yes," agreed the second celestine, "indeed it does." A darkness pervaded the "room" (using mundane proxies to ease our comprehension) as another "entered" it, "What makes the two of you think you can defeat me and my allies? Your chosen ones have not even been tested." "Ah, but they have," pointed out the first celestine. "In their dreams, they have proven themselves worthy and pure of heart." "That means nothing in combat!" "Agreed. However, they have the Power, and that is more than enough to deal with your minions of darkness." The dark one, enraged, left the "room" in silent fury. The second celestine turned to the first, "He knows we are not as ready as we imply." "It matters not. As I told our adversary, the Dreamers have the Power, and that is all they need." "Perhaps, but they must still learn to properly use it and use it to its full potential; they must unlock its secrets lest it destroy them." "True. So very true." Back on the mortal plane... Agent David Riley scanned at the papers the computer had just printed and frowned. He looked up and entered a command on his computer to extrapolate possible causes of this strange incident using the new information included in the file. He scooted his chair to another computer and typed in another set of commands. His eyes widened as the results came up. He scooted back to the first computer and typed in several more commands. What came up on screen next was all the confirmation he needed before he grabbed his 0.01mm flechette rifle. This whole reality just hit the fan. At Tojuunkan... "All RIGHT! Lunch!" the six simultaneously cheered as they raced out of the building. After they settled into their customary spot under the large oak that, in any of their dreamlands, would not have survived the day, let alone the hundreds of years it took to grow. They began to discuss their dreams further and eventually began psycho-analyzing each other, as they always did. "I still say Usagi's Ami represents Ranma, while Makoto and Minako represent Ataru, with Atsuko being Rei," Shinji stated. "Come off it! Besides, in your case, I think Ayanami is your inner self, the one you hide from, Asuka is your temper, Misato's the big sister you wish you had, and your father a representation of how your real father left you!" was Atsuko's response. Ranma considered and was about to say something when... "WRROOAAARGGH!" The six looked up. It was a huge four-armed monster (think Goro from Mortal Kombat) that was destroying the school. The police had already arrived and was trying desperately to contain it. Handguns, shotguns, and even high-powered rifles seemed to have little effect on the bipedal monstrosity "What the...?" Ranma began. Suddenly, he felt a tremendous surge of energy flowing through him. A sense of exhiliration coursed through his body as he ran toward the monster and leaped into a perfectly-formed jump-kick, striking it in the chest. Pivoting on his foot, Ranma brought his other foot up into the side of the monster's face. It roared as it reached up and grabbed at the brown-belt, who sprung off its chest into a fighting stance. It charged at him and the two fought in earnest, attacking and evading. Somehow, Ranma seemed to be holding his own until he literally slipped under his opponent's defenses and delivered to its chin what would have been a devastating uppercut to a normal human, his fist seeming to glow a pale yellow for a fraction of a second as he struck. However, it was definitely _not_ a normal human. "RRAARRRRHH!" It had no effect. Well, at least it noticed it. It picked up the studious boy and threw him into the wall of the school building. Tenchi grabbed a bokken from the kendo club's shed; he was thankful some of the dreams' skills seemed to carry over into real-life as he charged the monster, striking it with the bokken. Had he not known better, he could've sworn it glowed blue for a split-second as it struck. The creature roared and backhanded the boy, sending him flying. Atsuko ran forward. A small part of her mind was screaming at her, *What are you DOING?!? You may have a black-belt in five different martial-arts, but this is something the authorities should handle!!!* *The authorites don't seem to be having much luck.* *And what can _you_ do that guns can't?!* it persisted, *Well? What?* She ignored it. Her first attack was a low sweep. She hit... and nearly broke her own leg with the force of the blow. The next hit was considerably more effective, as she kicked it "where the sun don't shine." "RRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Unfortunately, it nearly fell on top of her as a result. And would have if Usagi hadn't darted in to tug her out at the last second. "Thanks, Usagi." "Done this a million times. In the dreams." "I see. So've I." "RRRRAAAAARRRRGGHHH!" They all looked up, the creature's roar drawing their attention. They were completely unprepared for what they saw. A man in a trenchcoat was holding what seemed to be a small assault rifle and was peppering the monster with tiny, needle-like rounds. "Flechettes," Ranma concluded, having reacquired his wits. "In a rifle?" The trenchcoater kept spraying the monster, weakening it until it finally collapsed under the combined storm of flechettes and bullets. The man cautiously approached and nudged the corpse with his foot. Apparently satisfied, he turned to the six, "Ataru Moroboshi? Atsuko Natsume? Shinji Ikari? Ranma Saotome? Usagi Tsuniko? Tenchi Masaki?" The six numbly nodded as he said their names. "Good. I'm Agent David Riley, MRA. Please come with me; we have much to discuss." "'MRA'?" "Multidimensional Reality Agency. Our job is to monitor for and deal with any disruptions in the time-space continuum. Apparently, one's happening right now and you guys are the only ones who can stop it." "Us?" asked Ataru. "You're kidding, right?" "I'm very serious. The dimensional fabric is tearing. Weakening to the point where demons like that one," he gestured to the four-armed corpse, "can cross over into this reality. So come on." "No," said Atsuko. "Look-..." "I _said_, 'no.'" "Okay," he shrugged. "Not _my_ reality at stake." *********************************************************************** Based on Ah! Megami-Sama! All-Purpose Cat-Girl Nuku-Nuku Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Neon Genesis Evangelion Ranma 1/2 Tenchi Muyo! and Urusei Yatsura *********************************************************************** Written by Cyclone *********************************************************************** W H I R L W I N D P R O D U C T I O N S *********************************************************************** presents *********************************************************************** D R E A M S O F D E S T I N Y *********************************************************************** Part Two: Realizations... *********************************************************************** Author's Note: Heh. Saw "It Was All a Dream" and read "Just a Dream?" and "A Rude Awakening" and decided I might as well jump on the dream bandwagon... with a little extra twist... Several series. Several dreams. Several dreamers. And they all know each other. And they are all destined to a greater role than any of them anticipated, greater than even any of their dream-lives... P.S.: I've never watched A!MS!, and I'm only using the characters as plot devices, so if I screw their personalities up, bear with me. And, yes, I do have a Ranma bias. So sue me. (I'm kidding!) Enjoy! *********************************************************************** "Nyah-nyah! Come an' get me, ya uncute tomboy!" "Ranma, you JERK!" The heir to the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts dodged Akane's mallet with ease. However, something seemed to nag at his mind. With a flash of insight, he realized what it was... just in time for Akane to clobber him a good one. Later... BAP! "Saotome-kun, perhaps you'd like to answer this question." Ranma looked up... and smiled, "X is 13." The teacher blinked. And blinked again. Somehow, after sleeping through every class and being bribed with grades, Ranma seemed to know this down pat... before she even taught it. "Very... very good, Saotome-kun." For some reason, all his teachers developed an odd twitch in their eyebrows... In gym class... "All right, Ranma. Spill." "Whatever might you be talking about, Hiroshi?" "That show in class," Daisuke helped. "How the heck did you know all that stuff, when they hadn't even taught it yet?" "You wouldn't believe me." "After what I've seen since you arrived," Hiroshi concluded, "I'll believe _anything_." Ranma shook his head, "You wouldn't believe this. Trust me, you wouldn't." Later... "Ranma, you make Xian-Pu very upset. Take this!" Splash! "And this is supposed to mean something?" "Ranma!" Akane cried, "You've cured your fear of cats!" "You _could_ say that, Akane." Later... Ranma grinned as he fought Ryouga. "Hey! We oughtta spar like this more often!" "'Spar'?! 'Spar'?!" the lost boy yelled. "This is a fight to the death and you call it sparring?!? Grr... SHI-SHI-HOKKO-DAN!" As he dodged, Ranma cocked his ear and listened. "An opening!" "Quiet, Ryouga! I thought I heard something." In the distance, they could hear a voice, "Hahaha! Nice try, sailor brats!" Ranma blinked, "C'mon!" The two martial-artists roof-hopped and came to an unusual sight. A guy in a grey uniform was fighting five girls in ridiculously abbreviated sailor fukus. Something clicked in Ranma's head. Things were beginning to fall into place. He charged. "KACHU-TENSHIN-AMAGURIKEN!" Over five hundred punches struck the uniformed guy, sending him flying backwards. "MOUKO-TAKABISHA!" The yellow chi blast knocked the rising general off his feet once more. "SHI-SHI-HOKKO-DAN!" Ryouga's blue-green chi blast hit the general, who fell back again. Ranma began running circles around the general and finally uppercutted thin air as he cried out, "HI-RYU-SHO-TEN-HA!" A tornado formed, lifting the general up into the air until it stopped, and he came crashing down and faded into dust. Ranma turned and studied the five girls. Yep. The Sailor Senshi. Thing is, they were a part of Usagi's dreams, not his... "You okay?" Sailor Moon looked surprised and cautious, "Yeah. We're fine..." curiousity got the best of her. "Ranma? Is that you?" "Well, I'll be. Our dreams merged. That guy Riley'll have a field day." "RANMA! How DARE you flirt with another woman!" "Is this Ryouga?" Ranma nodded. "Good. I always wanted to teach him a lesson. MOON PRINCESS HALATION!" "Hah?" BAM! "Oog." "One way to take care of it. Nice job, Usagi-chan," he blinked. "Oops. Guess the cat's outta the bag, huh? So to speak." "How...?!" "Long story. He found out my identity while I was transforming once. And he's not the only one." "Ranma, Usagi. I see I'm not the only one who realized it." They both turned, "Atsuko!" "Hello," Tenchi said. "I'm here, too." "So'm I," announced Ataru. "I guess that means the whole gang's here," Shinji concluded. "Now, what do we do about this situation, hmm? Any ideas?" Sailor Moon looked at the other Senshi and said, "Umm... could we, like, have some privacy?" The others reluctantly left, dragging the lost boy with them. "This is creepy," Ranma said, after Usagi transformed. "First that monster, then that guy Riley, and now our dreams are merging and we realize they _are_ dreams. What's going on?" "Something that was fated to be... son-in-law." "Kuh-Lon!" "Indeed. I and several others are actually messengers to you from a greater power, so that you may face your destiny." There, in front of them with Kuh-Lon (aka Cologne), stood Cherry, Luna, Yosho (or Katsuhito) Masaki, Ryuunosuke Natsume, and Rei Ayanami. Cherry was the next to speak, "You must let go. You must release this world, for it does not truly exist." Ayanami continued, "You are the Dreamers, defenders of reality. You have the Power, and these dreams have shown you how to unlock it." "You must but find the way," Yosho spoke up. "If you do, you will be prepared enough to succeed in the fight against the great evil that approaches." Luna added, "And you _must_ succeed, for what Agent Riley and his allies do not know is, your world is a nexus." Ryuunosuke finished, "If it falls, all other realms will be destroyed with it." Then, the six wise ones said in unison, "Do not fail. It is your destiny. Do not fail. All of eternity relies upon you. Do not fail. Do not fail. Do not fail..." The voices faded into silence as the world dimmed to darkness... Morning... Ranma bolted upright, gasping for air and sweating profusely. "Man, that was _weird_!" He got up and headed for the shower. Turning on the cold water, he contemplated his dream last night. He was going to have talk to the others about it. Later, at Tojuunkan... "Guys! I got something I need to talk to you about!" "Yeah, we know," Atsuko said. "Our dreams _did_ merge." "What do you make of it?" Ranma asked. "One word," replied Ataru. "_Weird_." "That's what I thought." "What do you think we should do about it?" Usagi asked. "I think its real. The monster was enough proof of that. I think we should try to find out more about this 'Power,' see what it is and how we can utilize it. I'm gonna research Chinese legends; there might really be a Jusenkyo, and if there is, then that's where I'm headed." "That's going to have to be put on hold for now," Atsuko said. She sighed at the looks of confusion she received, "Don't you remember? The class ski trip to Hokkaido starts tomorrow; we won't be back for two weeks!" "Oh, yeah." A week later... It was snowing. And snowing HARD. "Great," Shinji muttered, "All this snow and we can't even get out of this stupid cabin to ski in it!" Somehow, the six had ended up in the same cabin, and the blizzard hit just as they were getting ready to go out skiing. Thankfully, there were plenty of supplies, and, even though the radio, TV, and telephone had all gone out, they still had electricity. They hadn't been having the dreams since that day just before the ski trip. "Let's see if the TV's back," Tenchi said. He picked up the remote and clicked the TV on. Although it was streaked with more static lines than they could count, the transmission _was_ getting through slightly. They cheered until they realized it was the news... and heard what was being said. "...-emons everywhe-...-lice helple-...-fense Fo-...-no good-... -ay in yo-...-omes!...-eep you infor-...-AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!" The transmission died. And with it, all doubt. The dreams' prophecies were real alright. They began to make plans. That night... "I'm going over to the Nekohanten." "Rrrranmaaaa..." "It's very important. I have to go." "I'm coming with you." "Good. You can keep Mu-Tzu and Xian-Pu busy while I talk with the old ghoul." Akane blinked. And blinked again for good measure. She shrugged and followed Ranma. Later... "Hi-yah! You come take Xian-Pu to date?" "I'm here to see your great-grandmother, Xian-Pu. It is of great urgency that I come." Kuh-Lon hopped out of the kitchen, "If it's as important as you imply, son-in-law, we shall talk. Follow me." With that, she turned and re-entered the kitchen. Ranma followed the Amazon Elder. She turned, "They have begun their first wave. The occupation force that is currently attacking Tokyo is only the first step. Thankfully, securing a beach-head is more important to them right now than territorial conquest, but that will change." "What must I do?" "Find Riley, find the path that will allow you to access the Power, and, finally, find allies. The people in this and the other dreams are not conjured from nowhere. Most exist in the real world and have survived the initial occupation. They do not remember the dreams, but if they see you and hear your voice, they will remember. There are also three goddesses living in Japan with a mortal known as Keichii Morisato." "What... what about my parents?" "They are dead, as are the families of the other five. I... am sorry." Ranma considered the facts he has just been provided, then nodded curtly. He spun and left the kitchen. The glaring match between Akane and Xian-Pu suddenly stopped as they felt a powerful aura of anger and depression. Expecting Ryouga, they were shocked to see Ranma striding out of the kitchen glowing a faint blue-green. Ranma had made up his mind. If his parents were dead, at least they were alive here. He was going to see his mother, promise or no promise... Later... Ranma walked up the path to the Saotome household and rang the doorbell. "Hello?" "Mom?" "RANMA!" "Mom, I hafta tell you something." "What is it?" "I'm Ranko. I have a curse which turns me into a girl upon contact with cold water." "oh." "Sorry." "GENNNMAAAAA!!" Later, after sunset... Ranma lay back on the roof. What was he going to do? He liked this world, but the real world needed him. He had to do something... but what? And what was this about letting go? Wait. A thought crept into his mind and he was pretty certain what he had to do to let go of this world. It was a gamble, but if it worked... "Ranma?" "Hmm? Oh, hey, Akane." They both lay there in silence, looking at the stars. "Umm... Ranma?" "Yeah?" "Do... do you... do you love me?" Ranma thought about this, thought long and hard, and finally came to a conclusion, "No, Akane. I'm sorry, but I don't love you." Tears welled up in Akane's eyes. "Y-you don't?" "No. Once I did, but something's come up recently such that I don't, _can't_, love you anymore. You'll understand soon enough." Akane broke into a sobbing fit as she leaned into him. At least she knew he used to love her and still cared for her. Suddenly, a monster appeared. It looked exactly like the one that had attacked in real life. Ranma leaped and attacked, "Akane! Stay back! KACHU-TENSHIN-AMAGURIKEN!" The monster took all five hundred some blows and grinned an evil grin. It smacked Ranma, sending him flying. He and it fought for several minutes, then he yelled, "HI-RYU-SHO-TEN-HA!" "RRRRAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!" It lashed out with a lance of energy, which skewered Ranma's chest. He staggered back and collapsed as the monster faded away. "Ranma! NO! No! No..." Akane sobbed over Ranma's lifeless body... *********************************************************************** Based on Ah! Megami-Sama! All-Purpose Cat-Girl Nuku-Nuku Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Neon Genesis Evangelion Ranma 1/2 Tenchi Muyo! and Urusei Yatsura *********************************************************************** Written by Cyclone *********************************************************************** W H I R L W I N D P R O D U C T I O N S *********************************************************************** presents *********************************************************************** D R E A M S O F D E S T I N Y *********************************************************************** Part Three: The Journey Begins... *********************************************************************** Author's Note: Heh. Saw "It Was All a Dream" and read "Just a Dream?" and "A Rude Awakening" and decided I might as well jump on the dream bandwagon... with a little extra twist... Several series. Several dreams. Several dreamers. And they all know each other. And they are all destined to a greater role than any of them anticipated, greater than even any of their dream-lives... P.S.: I've never watched A!MS!, and I'm only using the characters as plot devices, so if I screw their personalities up, bear with me. And, yes, I do have a Ranma bias. So sue me. (I'm kidding!) Enjoy! *********************************************************************** Ranma jerked awake and looked outside at the now melting snow. That was an even stranger one. At least now he had some direction. "Guys, wake up!" The others yawned and stretched, complaining all the way. "I know what to do." On a higher plane of existence... "They understand and believe now," said the first celestine. "It took enough convincing." The second nodded, "I hope Belldandy, Urd, and Skuld are up to the task of guiding them. Are you _sure_ they were the right choice, Kami-Sama?" Kami-Sama smiled, "Have no worries, Titan. I've been at this for billions of millenia. I know what I'm doing." *I hope.* Titan frowned, "Perhaps, but you've never had to deal with this sort of thing before. I know, I was around as long as you were. Yet something still troubles me. Why them?" "You may match me in age, but most certainly not in wisdom. You will see. 'For when the Dark One's minions seem to overwhelm the world, then shall six heroes rise triumphant.'" "Don't quote prophecy to me! I _wrote_ that prophecy!" Back on the mortal world... Ding-dong! Shinji suddenly found a service pistol shoved in his face as the door opened. "Hello, Misato." "Sh-Shinji?!" Elsewhere... "Who goes there?!" Ranma dodged the knife thrown at him, "Aw jeez, Akane! Quit throwing stuff at me!" "R-Ranma?!" Elsewhere... "You've got two seconds to get out of here." Usagi jumped, "Mako-chan! It's me, Usagi!" "U-Usagi?!" Elsewhere... BANG! "That was a warning shot!" Tenchi leaped back, "Kiyone! Don't shoot! It's me!" "T-Tenchi?!" Much later... Several people gathered together at a shrine outside Tokyo (Which one? Depends. Which would you, the reader, prefer?). Among them were the six, Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi Tendo, Tatewaki and Kodachi Kunou, Xian-Pu and Mu-Tzu, Ukyou Kuonji, Ryouga Hibiki, Ami Mizuno, Makoto Kino, Minako Aino, Rei Hino, Mamoru Chiba, Shutaro Mendo, Shinobu Miyake, Ryuunosuke Fujinami, Detective Kiyone Miyamoto and her partner, Misato Katsuragi, Asuka Langley Soryuu, Dr. Ritsuko Akagi and her brilliant daughter, Washu (scary thought, huh?), Keichii Morisato, and the goddesses, Skuld, Urd, and Belldandy. "All right. Everyone's here," Asuka said. Then she turned to Ranma, "Now, what?" "We're supposed to find the way we can utilize this Power we're supposed to have." Skuld nodded, "Yep! I think I can help you with that, too! Or at least some of you." "How?" asked Shinji. "Well. I can't build anything as big as those Evas you and Asuka pilot in the Dreams, at least, not on such short notice, but I _can_ try and design something like them on a much smaller scale. With your help, of course, Dr. Akagi." Ranma thought for a moment and said, "Well, I think whatever it is I need is somewhere in China. Everything in the dreams indicated that. So that's where I'm heading." The Tendos, the Kunous, the two Chinese, Ryouga, and Ukyou all instantly agreed to accompany him. He shook his head, "I have to do this alone. Except for me and the other five, you should all stay here and help with the first line defense against the demons. Agreed?" The others mumbled and shifted uncomfortably, then finally relented, "Agreed." A few weeks later... Ranma arrived at yet another training ground and sought out the Guide. "Greetings, sir," the Guide spoke in broken Japanese as he left his hut. "Welcome to Jusenkyo, Training Ground of Cursed Springs." "So I've finally found it..." Ranma then switched to Mandarin, "I am looking for Nyannichuan, the Spring of Drowned Young Girl." The Guide spoke again, this time in Mandarin, "Why do you seek out Nyannichuan?" "You may or may not remember me, but have you been having strange dreams for a while now?" An expression of realization dawned on the Guide's face, "You're the boy who fell in Nyannichuan in the dream!" "Correct. There have been demons ravaging the city of Tokyo, and I've been chosen to combat them. I believe cursing myself with the form I had in the dream will help me harness the power I need to stop them."