Duplica Voiceover : Okay, after we beat off Muu's goons, we decided to head to 8000 BC to try and stop him. It was a simple enough plan, but a time storm sent us spiraling into the End of Time. Here, Gaspar warned us that our actions could possibly have another effect on time. He also built us a Time Machine and Speekio, the Master of War, gave us Magic! With all our goodbye's said and done, we decided to head off to 8000 BC! (Opening theme : Chrono Cross Scars Left By Time) We see a book that slowly flips open, then a page lands to settle on the pages below. Then, a voice starts to speak. A deep voice: When was the start of this? When did the cogs of fate begin to turn? Perhaps it is impossible to grasp that answer now, For deep within the flow of time... But, for a certainty, back then We loved so many, and hated so much, We hurt others and were hurt ourselves... But even then, we ran like the wind Whilst our laughter echoed under Cerulean Skies. We see Ash, his hair being blown in the wind as he stands at the front of the Highwind deck. Then we see the Eight Dragon Gods floating in the skies. We see a beam of light lance out in the middle of the ocean, Muu's palace floating in the middle of it. We see Misty slash two monsters and cast a bolt of blue ice at another. We see the Digidestined from left to right. We see Tenchi and Kagato fighting one on one. We see the Lunar Senshi fighting monsters. We see Serge, Leena, Kid, Crono, Lucca, Marle. We see hordes of monsters. We see the Transformed Dragon Armors. We see Tai and the others. We see Ash standing atop a tall tower, looking outwards. We see a giant eye opening. We see the Masamune before it. We see the Digidestined Digitizing. We see the Digimon. We see the Pokemon. We see the Monsters. We see...FATE. We see Lavos. We see Muu. We see Two worlds spiraling as one, with a golden figure overlooking it. We see a strange golden object in the middle of the screen. We see Ken and Muu's face overlapping his own. We see darkness enshrouding the world. We see a shot of Misty on the beach, then she turns towards the screen, holding her hands out, the picture going into the depths of her blue eyes. We see shots of Ash, Misty, Brock, Ranma, Genki, Duplica, Mike and Leena turning around, flames in the background. We see the Highwind entering the light and Ash collapsing, the brilliant white light encircling the Highwind as the picture goes to the Pokemon Cross logo. Magic Tech Productions BKN Network 4Kids and Fox Corporation the creators of Tenchi Muyo and Ranma 1/2 and Squaresoft Incorperated Proudly Presents Pokemon Cross the direct sequel to the series Pokemon 152 - ? 2000 written by Shaun Garin co-written by WarChild Episode 5 : Lina Inverse's Bogus Journey In the tall observatory in the middle of Atlas City, a man dressed in a sorcerers robe watched the skies through the newest telescope. To his side, an aid charted out the stars in the skies. The aid sighed and took a sip of his coffee. "Quiet night." The man in sorcerer's garb grunted in agreement. It had been quiet since they observed black lightning from the direction of Sairaag a few weeks ago. Suddenly, his eyes widened as a thunderclap was heard, accompanied by a streak of silver light. "My goodness!" "What is it professor?" the younger man asked. "I saw a silver streak in the skies!" Then, as he looked through the telescope, the silver streak zoomed back into view from the other side of the world. "There it is!" The aid moved to the telescope and looked through. His eyes widened. "It is a sign! The ancient prophecy must be unfolding!" "Hogwash," the sorcerer snorted, "we're scientists, not philosophers. As much as I rely on magic, I don't like relying on ancient texts." The aid nodded and turned his attention back on the section of sky... to discover that it wasn't there anymore. "Master, it's gone!" <><><> "So, where are we now?" Ranma asked curiously. "The dial says 8000 BC. It's dark now. Let's get some rest and head out to the city over there in the morning." Misty keyed the controls to anti-theft and sealed the door. "I've got dibs on the shower!" Duplica announced, shucking her jacket as she went. "That's a problem," Brock noted, "there's two shower heads, an ever full supply of freshwater but there's only one bathroom here in the Epoch. We'd better put a sign on the door." Soon, Ash had found and synthesized a plaque with blue on one side and pink on the other side and hung it up on the door as Misty squeezed past him. Mike looked over the stove. "Man, Gaspar really made this place a fully working travel vehicle." Mike reached out and grasped the handle of the fridge, opening it with a jerk. "Hey, he stocked the fridge!" "Is there any Pepsi?" Ranma asked. Mike nodded and came out with two Pepsi's, a Mountain Dew and a Creme Soda for himself, tossing the bottles to the three men who sighed and relaxed into the plush chairs of the living area. "How do you think Gaspar made all this and fit everything in here?" Genki said, "it looks only as large as the Phoenix back home." "Probably he found a way to make space bigger inside the Epoch," Ash said. "Hey, I guess he was expecting that we would spend some time in the Epoch." Mike nodded. His stomach then growled. "Hey, I'm hungry." Brock got up and found the stove. "I'll cook up my Lazy Boy No Chew Stew." "Great!" Ranma exclaimed. "I'm hungry!" Ash tossed a pillow at his cousin. "You're ALWAYS hungry." Soon, the girls had come out of the shower, and Brock had gotten all the food cooked. As they ate, Pokemon included thanks to Brock's endless supply of Pokechow, they soon had consumed the whole pot. "Aaaahhhh, that was great Brock!" Ash said, patting his stomach. "Want help with the dishes Brock?" Duplica asked, getting up and gathering the dishes on her side of the table. "Sure." The pair retreated into the small kitchenette that somehow was able to fit into the high ceilinged ship. For that matter, everything seemed to be bigger than it seemed than it from the outside. As Brock scrubbed, Duplica dried the sparkling clean dishes. During the course of their work, Duplica looked Brock over. Brock had gotten really mature looking, very tall, muscled his hair still up in the spikes he wore them during the time she had met him a long time ago. Duplica had to admit, he had become really handsome. Being the oldest of the group with Ranma, they were both 20 years old and had most of the seniority. "Hey Brock," she ventured, placing a dish in the stasis field, "have you found anyone yet?" Brock jerked a bit before he looked at the girl, surprised. "Yeah, I have. I'm seeing the local Nurse Joy in Viridian. Why'd ya ask?" "Then as a girl to a guy, I have to ask you something." Brock shrugged. "Shoot." Duplica sighed and looked out the door to where Mike was standing, fighting with Ash over the top bunk. "Do you think Mike has a real crush on me?" Brock made a low sound as he rubbed his chin. "Perhaps. It'll take time to tell." Duplica nodded, then her face split into a grin. "Hey, exactly when did Ash and Misty get together?" Brock laughed. "It was four years ago, the day before the final battle between us and Muu." His face darkened. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not keen on taking on Muu again. Dying once was harsh enough on your psyche. I'm not terribly happy at the prospect of doing it again." "We won't die," Duplica said. "How do you know that?" Brock said seriously. "No one lives and dies without a cause or a control over your lives. This is not a game anymore. The past Digidestined had their abilities because they had partners. Digimon Partners. Us? We have to fall back on our Pokemon to help us through, AND the magical abilities Speekio has given us." Duplica nodded in understanding as she dried the remaining dishes. "I guess it won't be as easy as we think, ne?" Brock looked at the girl straight in the eye, and cracked an eye open revealing slitted purple orbs. She swallowed hard. Brock's eyes were evil looking as he opened the other, revealing the same hard evil orb. "You have no idea what you're getting into, do you?" Then, he closed his eyes once again. Duplica's racing heartbeat slowly regained its pace as she stacked the dishes into the cupboards and closed it. <><><> Two hours later, everyone had found the hallway and their bunks, including even more showers and bathrooms. An hour later and they were all asleep. Back up at the front pilots seat, the monitor flickered to life as a form appeared in the middle of the living space. She was young looking, at least fourteen but had a figure that rivaled Amelia's. She wore a white dress with white stockings that were low enough that showed a flash of bare leg, and heels. She also wore her green hair in twinned braids. Placing her hands on her hips, she frowned in distaste as she started to pick up several small pieces of litter, hanging up jackets and started to straighten out the messed up couches. "Can't these people keep the Epoch Clean for once?" she grumbled to herself as she plucked out a vacuum cleaner from a closet, set it to quiet running mode and started to clean the room. In one of the rooms, Brock slept in a pair of silk pj's that he found in his closet. It seemed that Gaspar had thought of everything when he constructed the Epoch, even with it's weird smallish look from the outside, he could have sworn that it was five times larger than the Phoenix back home. Hell, there even was a training center and gym in the back of the Epoch itself! In any case, his finely tuned senses to the sounds of house cleaning awoke him as he sat up. "Someone's vacuuming." Padding down the hallway, he opened the door to the kitchen. He snuck through the kitchen, peeked around the corner to see heaven. A girl, dressed nearly scandalously, was bending over, her skirt nearly uncovering her behind. Brock started to drool but then slapped himself a few times. "Baka baka baka! You're seeing Nurse Joy!" After regaining his composure, he walked out, cleared his throat and said, "Um... who're you?" The girl stood up straight and turned around, surprised. "Oh you're awake! I thought everyone was asleep by now so I'd do some cleaning. My name's Canal. Canal Vorfeed, the Epoch's Operating System. Nice to meet you Mr....?" "Brock. Brock Stone. Tell me Canal, why didn't you show yourself to us back when we were awake?" Canal seemed to blush, even for a hologram. "I was a little embarrassed and afraid. It's not everyday you poof into existence at the End of Time." "And the way you look?" Brock questioned, having fixed two cups of tea. He gave one to Canal who amazingly sipped at it, and not have the liquid pour through her body like he'd expect it to happen with a hologram. "There were many preset looks in the computer, so I slapped together this one. Am I cute?" Canal gave Brock a cute look and the man blushed and stuttered as Canal smiled. "I'll take that as a yes." "What's going on here?" Ash asked sleepily, Pikachu riding on his shoulders, looking bleary as well. Then, his eyes focused as he looked at Canal and Brock questioningly. "Oh. Ash, this is Canal Vorfeed, the ships OS." "OS?" Ash asked, clearly confused. "Operating System. I'm the main computer of the Epoch." "I'm Ash, and this is Pikachu." Pikachu, still sleepy, let out a tired sounding, "Chuuuuu....." "Well if nothing's wrong, we'd better get some sleep Brock. We're going into town tomorrow." With that, Ash stumbled back to his room. "He's much more friendlier when he's awake," Brock clarified. "I see. Well, no sense keeping you awake. I'll clean up here before shutting down for tonight." "Alright." Brock stood and took Canal's tea cup. Placing both items in the sink, he said "night," and headed to his room. Canal blushed as the man left. "I think I'm in love....." <><><> "So, have you dug up any information about this Time Era Canal?" Brock asked. When everyone had awoke, expecting one of Brock's famous Morning Breakfasts, they were surprised to find Canal fixing the last pieces of breakfast. Luckily, Brock had awoke earlier than the others and had told Canal of Ash and Ranma's eating habits. To this end, there was a large amount of food just waiting for them. After the crazed eating feast, Brock and Canal had retired to the cockpit and now were pouring over the data Canal had on the Era itself. "Well, it's mostly medieval take, swords, knives, blunt objects, magic. With your guys's magic and weapons, you'll fit right in except for Mike. But that can't be helped. But you need clothing fitting this era, signifying your types. I think I have some things in the synthesizer for this era..." she trailed off, walking over to the synthesizer and placing a hand on the computer board. In a few minutes, several sets of clothing and armor appeared as Canal loaded Brock with the slightly heavy items. "Here's clothing for everyone, plus armor and stuff." Genki looked up at Brock who was carrying in the clothing and placing it on the table. "What's all this?" "Disguises, so we blend in more easily." He handed several packages out. Soon, everyone had changed into their new clothing. And were laughing at Ranma-Chan. Ranma, had found out the hard way, that because of the high magical index in this timeline, it was harder to change back to a guy. In fact, she needed to boil herself for fifteen minutes. Trust us, she tried. And due to the cold water cleaning before getting into her own personal Furo, she was stuck as a girl. To get OUT, the easiest way was to jump to a whole other epoch. Outside the old barriers influence, she could change back and forth with ease. But inside the Barrier, it was extremely hard to change back to a guy. So, female Ranma just took it in stride. After all, four or so years of a curse was enough to make her comfortable in girl form. She didn't despise her form anymore, agreed on the way female garments were made, but didn't like staying a girl for too long. It was due to a program her mother had done to let her get used to her female side (Author : *cough*GirlDays*cough*) that she rather enjoyed dressing hot sometimes. But any how, all of them were dressed differently now. Ash, was dressed in a black t-shirt, amulet around his neck with a gray and brown leather and mesh overshirt, belt, brown gloves, his Pokeballs around his waist as with his Digivice, blue embroidered shorts, red socks, leather shoes and a red bandanna covered his head. His Stone Swallow hung on a strap over his shoulder. Pikachu was still draped over his shoulder. Misty was dressed in a white short-sleeved t-shirt and a blood red jacket and skirt combo, brown leather gloves and shoes, her Rapier strapped to her back. The outfit was distractingly sparse, showing a lot of skin. She had tied her loose hair back in a ponytail with the red ribbon. Her Pokeballs were slung low over her hips. Her Digivice hung on the Pokeball belt, not much room to hide anything with her outfit. Mike was dressed in a slight military uniform, black leather jacket over a blue bodysuit with two criss crossing leather belts, his gun hung low on a holster, leather gloves and boots added to the mix. His Pokeball with Eevee was on one his belts and his Digivice was tucked away in his inner jacket pockets. Duplica had on a blue-green tunic with matching pants, leather boots and a long white bandana around her head. Added to the mix were her Digivice, cleverly hidden underneath her tunic's folds, and had on brown leather bracers. She had her Katana at her side as with Ditto in his Pokeball. Ranma-Chan, found that she was as sparsely dressed as Misty, to both of their embarrassment, dressed in a white short sleeved top, leather skirt, and small armored elbow plates. Her gloves adorned her fists and had suspenders keeping up the short skirt, and her Pokeball belt was around her waist. Brock was dressed in a tight blue tunic with extremely baggy pants, held up by a very wide belt. His Pokeballs were tucked underneath the belt as he slung his hammer over his shoulder, his Spiky hair adding to the effect. He also wore armored gloves and boots to go with the effect. Genki was dressed in jean shorts that went to his calves, sneakers, and a black and red shirt, his Digivice at his side. Canal applauded them, giggling. "You guys look great!" "I dunno," Misty said, looking herself over, still beet red. "You sure this won't make us stand out?" "It could be worse," Ranma-Chan muttered, "she could have stuck us in matching Lina Inverse and Naga the Serpent costumes." Misty blushed even deeper if that was possible. "Enough talk you guys," Canal said. "There's some things you should know about this place first. All week is the Sword and Sorcery Festival. Sorcerers, Swordsmen, Magical Creatures and the like come for this festival and this year, they're unveiling the famous Sword of Destiny. It's said that this sword can predict the future, and has a mind of its own. Whoever deems to wield it, must prove his or her's worthiness. It's going to be a battle royal in the tournaments, AND there's a Magic Casting Contest as well. Here's some money..." Canal made a HUGE bag of Gold appear and divided it between them. It was easily 50,000 G's between everyone. "and go and have some fun!" <><><> "Okay, we'll meet back here in three hours." Ranma-Chan found herself paired up with Misty and Brock as Ash and Genki went off one direction, Mike and Duplica another. The trio walked down the road, amidst the festivals. Soon, they came across a Spell Tournament in the middle of Atlas City. Proper precautions had been set up, magical barriers, people standing at a FAR distance as spell casters were judged one by one as they blew up, disintegrated, melted, electrocuted and froze practice dummies. As they watched, one Sorcerer, this one pale and gaunt with a robe clinging to his thin frame, charged up a spell and fired with blinding accuracy. The dummy melted under extreme heat as judges held up, 9.9, 9.9, 9.9, 7.9. The Judge from Justicova always scored low. Aids quickly cleaned up the mess and replaced it with a new dummy. This time, a strong looking man stepped up, and started to weave a spell. Then, suddenly, the dummy frosted over with an unbreakable sheet of ice. Applause rang out as the judges scored 9.9, 9.9, 9.9, 5.5. Again, the Justicova judge. "Hey, isn't that Lina Inverse?" Brock asked, pointing. "Yeah, you're right! Wow, we might be able to meet her... um... Brock? Isn't she casting the..." "Dragon Slave?" Brock nodded. "Yup." "DRAGON SLAVE!" Boom. What was left of the dummy was unrecognizable. After the last Atlas City S&S Festival, they had FIFTEEN Sorcerers on either side maintaining a magical Anti-Dragon Slave barrier. It apparently worked this time, as less buildings were damaged by the explosion. 10.0, 10.0, 10.0, 9.9. Lina's jaw dropped. "9.9?! What the hell's wrong with you?! That was a DRAGON SLAVE for Cephieed's sake!" The Justicova judge just grinned weakly as they gave her the winner's trophy. As Lina celebrated happily with her trophy and the Fire barrier died down in front of Brock, Misty started to pull on the arms of the pair. "C'mon! We've got to meet her!" Ranma felt a sensation of impending doom as she was dragged to the celebrating girl. <><><> "Who can beat the monstrous Dragon? Could it be you?" Ash and Genki watched as swordsmen and other such mercenaries were systematically eliminated by the puny looking dragon with a staff. It didn't look too hard to beat but some of the biggest men and attackers were tossed right and left. "Wow, this is crazy," Genki remarked as he passed a man. Then, he blinked and patted himself down. "Uh oh...." Ash looked at him, then started to pat down his clothing. Pikachu did the same, even though he didn't carry anything. "Oh NO!" They turned to face each other in horror. "OUR DIGIVICES!" "YOU! FREEZE!" Pikachu bellowed at the top of his lungs at the retreating man who definitely looked like a pickpocket. "Come back here!" Ash took chase, followed close by Genki and Pikachu. The chase was close as the man darted underneath the iron Portcullis of the battle arena. "Ash, we can't go in there!" Genki shouted. "I'm not leaving without my Digivice!" Ash ran into the arena, closely followed by the others. "Heheheh, he can't catch me...OOF!" The pickpocket went down hard as the Digivices landed in the small dragons outstretched hand. The three skidded to a halt as the Dragon looked at them with interest. Then, he spoke in a voice that sounded remarkably like Sean Connery. "Laddie, you be looking for this wee device?" he asked, holding the two Digivices up in his clawed hand. "Yeah, could you possibly... ya know, give it back?" Pikachu asked cautiously. The Dragon thought for a second before saying, "Fight me, win or lose and you'll get yiur Digivices back. Ye win, and I'll give you yiur devices plus a wee bit extra. Fair enough?" "One moment sir Dragon." The trio huddled together and started to converse in low tones. "We can't beat him!" Genki protested. "Not unless we use strategy," Ash said. "I have an idea...." Pikachu added as the continued. Soon, amidst cheers of the crowd, Ash unhooked his weapon and took a stance. Genki stretched out, touching his toes for a second before taking another stance and Pikachu stanced before them, his cheek pouches sparking. The Dragon smiled a toothy grin as he charged, his spear spinning in the wind. He slashed downwards as Ash brought up his Swallow to block. The pair of weapons clashed together as they traded bladed blows. Ash leapt backwards as Pikachu came in, blazing with lightning. Taken by surprise by the electrical attack, the Dragon took a few thousand volts before he rolled away, and opened his mouth. "FireBreath!" Pikachu gasped and leapt up high to avoid the flaming attack. It was even hotter than a Charizard's Flamethrower! Genki hung back as he stanced, clasping his right hand on the wrist of his left hand that was curled into a fist, knuckles out. Blue energy blazed up from his feet as he pushed out with his hands. "Water!" A globe of water formed above his head and bounced towards the Dragon. It splashed atop the Dragon's head, steam rising from the howling Dragon. "That HURT! FireyBreath!" He spat forth a long flaming tongue of fire that made everyone hit the ground. Ash reached for his belt and threw out his Pokeballs. "Totodile, use your Water Gun! Squirtle, Hydro Pump attack!" "Squirtle Squirt!" Squirtle leapt into the air, and withdrew, water spraying everywhere. Totodile inhaled and spit a long blast of water. Soon, the Dragon was wobbling on his feet as he held up his Spear, and slammed it into the ground. "I give!" The Dragon laughed as he walked forwards, and gave them their Digivices back. "What a fine fight ye gave me. As proof of my fight with ye, I give you my Red Relic." Ash was given an item that was about the size of a glass. It was red, shaped like tongues of flame rising up. "Thank you." "Kinda like getting Gym Badges, ne, Ash?" Pikachu noted. "Sonny, if ye come across me companions, the Black, Blue, Green, Yellow, White, Grey and Silver Dragons, ask em for their Relics. It'll do ye some good later." <><><> "Mike, don't you think it's odd that a city like this exists?" Duplica wondered out loud. "What do you mean?" Mike asked. "Well... I may not be good at history, but I doubt there were medieval style cities 10,000 years in our past. Most people know that the medieval era was around 1000 AD in Europe," Duplica explained. "Hmmm... you know Ranma did look kinda nervous upon hearing we are going to visit this particular time period. I wonder why," Mike added. "Maybe he knows something about this time period and we don't. After all..." Duplica didn't finish her statement as she ran into a wall, or what felt like one. "Um Miss? You're in my way." Then again, walls don't talk. Mike and Duplica looked up to see a stone grey teen with wiry looking hair, wearing a white cloak and a sword in his sheath. "Oh... um... sorry... it's just..." Duplica stuttered, trying to figure out what exactly is she seeing in front of her. "Mr. Zelgadis! There you are!" The voice came from a young teen of fourteen wearing white sorceress clothing, as she ran up to the stone grey teen. 'Mr. Zelgadis?!' Mike and Duplcia thought to themselves. No, these people can't be real. Can they? <><><> "Hi, I'm Misty, and this is Brock and Ranma." For a second, Lina looked around wildly in panic for a certain green haired witch she called Martina, but finding only two teens in mercenary garb, she calmed down. "Sorry, I thought you were someone else for a second." "That was some nice spell casting you just did back there Lina," Brock said. Lina's jaw dropped as she stared at Brock. "Gourry?! That you? What happened?" "Hey Lina!" This voice was from behind her as the REAL Gourry came up. "Gourry?" Lina looked back and forth at Gourry and Brock before saying, "Weird. You two sound exactly the same." "Wow, someone sounds like me?" Gourry said, scratching his head. <><><> "So, you guys are just new in town? For the S&S Festivals?" "Yeah, I guess you may say that." Brock, Ash and Ranma felt a sense of discomfort as they eyed their Dream World counterparts. For a cover story, they had said that they were from one of the Islands of El Nido, outside the barrier. Lina and Gourry were sitting at one end of the table, battling out over the food, Amelia was rapidly questioning Misty and Ash about what life was like on the El Nido Archepalgo. Zelgadis was indifferent to the whole thing as Ranma and Brock parried questions with reletive ease. Mike and Duplica had just sat there, eyes wide, still haven't gotten over the shock that the Slayers were real. Genki was just smirking. As the eating/questioning conversation continued, a particularly familiar laugh to both groups was heard. "Hahahahahaha! So you are here Lina Inverse! My, my, still holding the same company, ne?" "Jessie?" Misty asked, turning around, the same time Lina growled darkly. "Martina." Martina, the recently married Self-proclaimed High Priestess of the Order of Zomel Gustav, posed dramatically, still in her evil sorceress outfit, Zangulus embarrassedly standing behind her, still in his brown, green and yellow outfit, a new sword at his side. "My my, you sure have gotten some new Company Lina." Martina smirked. "Feeling lucky enough to enter the Sword of Destiny Tournament?" "You're going to enter the Sword of Destiny Tournament?" Lina asked skeptically. Martina laughed again, a sound that reminded everyone from Home World, of Jessie. "Of course! A powerful woman like me with the protection of Zomel Gustav would conquer all threats in the world! Getting the sword will be a piece of cake!" "Your funeral." Lina returned to eating. "Lina," Zel then said, "this year, the Sword itself is going to allow someone to use it for a year. You may want this priceless treasure." Lina blinked. "A dumb old sword? How much could it be worth?" "Seyruun has priced it's value at a million and a half gold. AND, it's said to grant wishes." Amelia said. Lina was instantly sold. So was Ranma. "OKAY MARTINA!" Lina exclaimed loudly, "you're going down!" 'A sword that grants wishes? It could be the Wishgiver sword!' <><><> "You sure about this Ranma?" Mike asked. "There's been fatalities in this fight as far as I can tell." Ranma looked at him, surprised. "How can you tell?" Mike jabbed a thumb towards the people who was towing a few battered, bruised and even some dead bodies out of the fighters ring. "That's how." "Besides Ranma, you need a rep to get in. You don't have it back in this age." Genki shrugged. "I'm not even sure I exist now. How would you get in?" Ranma looked at the sign up booth and her expression turned grim. "Any way I can. This sword may be able to cure me." She then stalked up to the sign up booth and said sweetly, "Can I sign up please?" The boy looked up, his preteen libido shift tempo. "Of course! Name?" "Miss Ranma Saotome." "Rep?" "Um......" Ranma was in a panic. She didn't even think that she really needed a rep. She then looked around and spotted a man. He was big, he was carrying a sword, he looked arrogant, he was perfect. She ran over, grabbed his arm and pulled him over. "He's my sidekick. We've defeated several dragons in the Atlas to... Seyruun in the past four months." The boy nodded, still dumb, his mouth leaking drool. "Okay, you're in as with your partner." She thanked him, and retreated from the group, only to be followed by the man. "You are a warrior?" the man asked. "Then let my sword protect you! For I am Balloon! The greatest swordsman ever lived! I defeated Shabernigdo a half a year ago!" Ranma just blinked. "Okay." Then, she smirked. "Okay sidekick, lets go for it in the Tournament!" <><><> "Ladies and Gentlemen, are you ready? The S&S Festival Tournament is about to begin! Warriors, to the line!" Warriors after warriors lined up. To the left of Ranma and Balloon was Gourry and Lina, Gourry freaking out at the close proximity of his one time suitor. Martina and Zangulus was at the other side, Zangulus looking like he would want to beat on Gourry more than the forcoming monster. Martina and Lina looked like they wanted to beat on each other. So far, so good. "You can do it Miss Lina!" Amelia shouted. "Go Ranma!" Ash and Misty shouted together. Soon, the iron protucals rose up, and two people in squire outfits started to push a sword out into view. It was imbedded in a large piece of stone. The sword itself had a golden hilt with a large blade that was shining in the sunlight. As soon as the aids retreated into the depths of the walls, the sword shimmered and a little green haired kid in a red tunic walked out, and he gaped. "Not again!" "THAT'S the spirit of the sword?" Lina gaped in shock. "This won't even be a challenge!" The kid just ignored the mass of warriors, all unsheathing their weapons as he called out, "Hey Masa! Where are you big brother?" Soon, another kid came out, slightly taller than the other. "What is it Mune? NOT AGAIN!" "Geez, it's not who owns the sword that's important, it's how you use it!" Mune just sighed and said, "Shall we test them Masa?" "Yes, but this time, for real! We can't afford to be used by someone that isn't strong enough!" The pair uplifted and spun around, becoming a pair of golden skinned monsters in long white matching robes. Then, they struck a pose as Masa said, "With Masa's bravery and..." "Mune's strength," then, the pair slammed together and shimmered. "Two become one!" In an instant, the pair fused and became a huge golden monster with horns. He roared loudly as many of the duo's in the crowd screamed and ran. Balloon on the other hand, unsheathed his sword and started to run towards Masa and Mune. "You will fall before the power of the great Balloon! HAH!" "You idiot." Ranma muttered as she powered up her battle aura, and cracked her knuckles. "Gourry, you distract it." Surprisingly, Martina said the same thing as Zangulus rushed forwards. "Leave it alone Gourry, it's mine!" Zangulus shouted, his sword out in front of him. "No way! It's gonna be mine!" "I'll fight you for it! Howling Sword!" "Light Come Forth!" In an instant, the pair were embroiled in a fierce duel, old temperaments flaring. Lina just sighed as she gathered flames. "Fireball!" After pounding the Great Balloon into the ground with a single hammer of his fists, Masa and Mune started to charge up energies and let it loose with a shout of "Tornado!" A spiraling twister rose from his thrusts of his arms as the trio of women dodged it. "This is crazy!" Misty said. "Lina can handle herself," Zelgadis said, confident in the young girl's skills. "Fireball!" "Freeze Arrow!" Lina looked admiringly at the other redhead. "You're not so bad." "Better. Mouko Takabisha!" She leapt up and fired the ball of blue energy at Masa and Mune who took the impact, the force driving them backwards. "Flare Arrow!" Lina snapped off the spell, the impact driving Masa and Mune backwards. "Lets finish this." "Not yet," Masa and Mune grunted. "ULTRA NOVA!" "Wha..?" Everyone on the battlefield had no time to react as a ball of light started to condence in the middle of the battlefield. The forms of the combatants seemed to be sucked into the powerful spell as it exploded with tremendous force. When it was all over, Lina, Ranma and surprisingly Martina were still standing. "What a powerful spell!" Zelgadis said, impressed. Ranma got her feet, and spat to the ground. "Not bad." She raised her arms and rose a good foot from the ground, chanting, "Lightning 2!" A blast of electrical energies roared out from her body as Lina added her own powers to it. "Giga Volt!" After the impending explosion of energy, Masa and Mune were still standing. "Say, they're really good," Masa said. "Do you think we should help them?" Mune asked. "No, lets test them even further. Ultimate Level!" A flash of energy was seen as the monster grew in size, encompassing the already strained to limit, colesseum. Lina grit her teeth as the monster let loose a barrage of flaming arrows at her and the others. "This is not good." "Do something Lina!" Martina shouted in panic as arrows rained down around her. "What can I do?" Lina snapped. "Wait...." She stood still, clasping both hands in fists before her stomach, lining up the talismans sitting there. "Sword of darkness... free yourself from the heavens bonds..." Ranma felt a pull as her own lips started to chant on it's own violation. "... become one with my power, one with my body...." "And let us walk the path of destruction together!" The pair chanted, black energy rising from their feet, and sparkling into their hands, shaping into a blade like form. "Power that can smash even the souls of the gods themselves!" The pair flared with Chaotomic energies as everyone watched. "That's the Ragna Blade, but how is Miss Ranma casting it?" Amelia asked. "In Celphied's name, she even sounds like Lina," Zelgadis added. "What? How can Ranma even cast that?" Duplica noted. "She knows the Ragna Blade? What gives?" added Mike. Ash and Genki blinked. "Genki... that spell. He used it to defeat Machinedramon." "You're right Ash. I just can't believe I forgot where I heard about it before." *Flashback* Ranma closed his eyes, clenched his hands and started a slow chant. "Shikai no yami o suberu ou, nanji no kakera no enishi ni shitagai, nanjira subete no chikara mote," "What's he doing?" Ash asked. "I dunno....wait....." Genki paused to translate Ranma's uttering words. "Sword of Darkness, freezing nothingness, free yourself from the heavens bonds." "Ware ni sarenaru chikara o atae yo, sora no imashime toki hanaterashi kohreru, kuroki utsuro no yaiba yo," "Become one with my power, one with my body, and let us walk the path of... HOLY SHIT!" Genki's eyes widened and he leapt behind a pile of debris. "Get down!" Everyone followed his example as the heavens began a tremendous dance of dark chaotic energy. "waga chikara, waga mi to narite, tomo ni horobi no michi o ayaman!" Ranma's hands flared with dark chaotic energy as it shaped itself into a dark trowel like blade that he turned upside down. "Lights out Machinedramon. RAGNA BLADE!" With that, he slammed it into Machinedramon's skull. Machinedramon screamed in pain as the chaotic energies wracked his body. Then, in a blink of an eye, he dissolved into nothing. Ranma sank to his knees, the sword easily imbedding itself into the scorched battle field as he heaved. Slowly, the blade dissipated as he collapsed forwards falling unconscious. Jenette was at his side, cradling his head in her lap. "Ranma.... Ranma, can you hear me? Can you speak?" Ranma's eyes flittered open, a small tired smile on his face. "I'm alright. Jus' need ta' rest. I'll be fine.... don't know where da sword came from tho....." He then lapsed into unconsciousness from the stress of withstanding a tremendous attack and then using one. *End Flashback* "Lina?" Gourry asked from his prone position on the ground. With a twin cry of "Ragna Blade X-Strike!" The pair flashed forwards in a Black X-shaped pattern, slicing right through the combined pair, scant inches away from hitting each other with the same spell. Masa and Mune howled as they shrunk back down to normal size, and then seperated. It was then that Lina actually took notice what happened. 'Nani?' Lina closedly examined Ranma-chan, as also the chaotic blade faded away. 'That's the Ragna Blade... but I created that spell... and... wait a minute. No talismans?' A grunt from Mune brought her back to reality as the sword twins looked at the two. "Say, you two are really good," Masa said in approval. "I think we found a new master," Mune added. "Alright!" Lina crowed happily. "BUT!" Masa said, waggling a finger. "Only one of you can wield us. Choose carefully." With that, they became kids again and melded into the sword which glowed and extracted itself from the stone. It floated in between them as Lina and Ranma eyed each other. "So, who gets it?" Lina asked. She was already thinking about all the money she could get from selling it. "Only one way. Rock Paper Scissors." The pair squared off and then in a rapid movement, displayed their choices. Lina was paper. Ranma was scissors. Lina looked terribly crestfallen as she whined, "But... all that money...." "Look on the bright side Lina," Gourry said, "you still can beat on bandits in the area, right?" "But a million and a half...." Ranma took the sword as it glowed in his hands. "Wow, so this is the Masamune. It's beautiful." She then patted Lina on the shoulder and then left to join her friends. <><><> "Cheer up Miss Lina, at least you won the spellcasting trophy." Lina seemed to brighten up at the thought of her wonderful trophy sitting in the subspace pocket she carried all her stuff in. "Yeah, that's true." "I just wonder about Miss Ranma. She was able to cast the Ragna Blade, a spell you created." "And the scary thing is, she didn't have any talismans on her, none that I could actually detect." "I wonder, how powerful is she?" Zelgadis thought out loud. With that, Zelgadis turned away to walk in his own direction. "See ya Lina." he said to the group. "Hey Zel, where are you going?" Lina asked. "Where else?" Zelgadis said over his shoulder, "To find her and see if she could cure my... AAAUGH!" Zelgadis suddenly tripped over an object in the side of the road where he was walking and his voice then floated up once again. "What in the world?" The group ran up to him and all gaped. There, sitting at the side of the road, crudely hidden was a large metal machine that was shaped vaguely like a bird. "What is this?" Gourry asked. "Nothing I've ever seen before." Lina walked up to the machine and placed a hand on its smooth surface. Suddenly, a mechanical chime was heard as a door was opened up in the side of the large object. "Whoa! It opened! I'll bet there's some neat treasures in there!" "Welcome back, Ranma Saotome," stated a synthesized voice. "Wha... who's speaking?" Amelia asked. "And what does Ranma Saotome have to do with it?" added Zelgadis. Without hesitating, Lina rushed in, dragging Gourry behind her. "Come on Gourry, there's got to be a priceless treasure in here!" Sighing, Zelgadis and Amelia followed behind them. <><><> "Wow, this is really nice." Gourry noted as he picked up a few things such as lamps and books in the main living area. Amelia was prowling over the kitchen items as she touched an indicator on the stove. "350 Celcius? What does that mean? Mmm, something smells good." Then, her hand touched the stove. "Ow! It's hot!" Lina was scouring through the living quarters, having found how to access the rooms. She soon came to a small washroom that was far beyond anything she had seen before. "What's this?" she asked herself, stepping into the booth and shutting the door behind herself. Suddenly, Brock's preset shower turned on as she shrieked, and bolted out of the shower stall, the blowers immediately turning on. After she had calmed down, miraculously not blowing anything up, she soon found out exactly HOW the showers worked and was happily having the first shower of her life. Baths not included. Soon, Amelia had found the cockpit and was entranced by the pretty glowing buttons. "Ooh, what does this do?" She pressed a red button. Suddenly, the whole thing started to shake as the Epoch's engines revved up, flames belching out of the thrusters as it rose into the air <><><> Two minutes later.... "AAAHHH!" That was the general reaction upon reaching where the Neo Epoch was located, emphasize on the was. "The Neo Epoch..." "is..." "gone..." For a couple of minutes the group just stood there, starting at the space where the Neo Epoch once occupied. "How... how could this happen?" went Ash. "Okay think... how can one huge time machine just disappear like that?" Ranma muttered. An explosion in the sky answered his question. Everyone turned up to see the flying ship. "What the hell?!" exclaimed Mike. "This doesn't make sense... if someone's in there... how did they get in there?" Brock noted. "I know. I set the security lock to identify our bio signatures. There is no way to break in there." Misty added. <><><> "AAHH! Amelia! What did you DO?!" "I don't know Miss Lina, I just touched a shiny button!" Zelgadis pushed past the pair, Lina throttling Amelia and sat down at the front pilot chair. "Hmmm...." he pressed a button. Suddenly, the ship rocketed forwards, Lina, Gourry and Amelia getting thrown backwards. Zelgadis forced his arm though the intence g-forces and slapped the same button, letting it stop and hover in an erratic course. Just then, the screens flashed to life as Canal appeared. She yawned and asked, "Who's flying this thing... huh? Hey. you're not Ranma! Where's the others?" Canal looked out the window. "AAAH! We're gonna crash!" Zelgadis grabbed the stick and wrenched it to the side, the Epoch making a dizzying loop away from the mountian. "How do we set this thing down?!" he grunted, punching buttons at random. In is half hazarded punching of buttons, he rapped in a time sequence and destination. The time accelerators started to whine to full capacity as Canal panicked. "NO! Don't touch those buttons!" "This should do it!" Lina announced, "Stop ye powers of thine energies, let this vessel slow to infinity..." "NO! Don't mix magic with science!" Too late. In a dizzying blast of speed, the Epoch made a world rotation, and disappeared from view. <><><> "AAAAAHHHHHH!" "Now..." "it's..." "really..." "gone..." All stood in shock as they watched the time machine disappear from the air, now in another time and place. "I can't believe this is happening!" "Neither can I." "Now we're stuck here!" "Come on guys, I bet there has got to be worse situations than this." "Like what?" Upon that statement, a huge bandit gang came out of nowhere. "Okay you kids... you you don't want to get hurt, hand over everything!" said the man who look like the boss of the gang. "You got to be kidding us. You think we would hand over our... AUGH!" Ranma stopped, as another 'dream' flooded her head. <><><> "Hmm... sis is gone.... she won't mind." A young 13 year old Lina pushed open a book and started to read. Then, carefully closing the book, she stepped outside onto the veranda and started to chant in a cute little voice. "Darkness beyond twilight... crimson beyond blood that flows..." Suddenly, the words seemed to flow through her lips, escaping before she could finish. The raw power hummed from her hands, seeking escape. Frantically, she aimed for the distant Mt. Sasurai. In a flash of light and a shockwave, it was no more. "Sis is gonna kill me..." <><><> Ranma groaned. Why must these visions keep tormenting her. Why? Why? Not when there is an enemy to defeat. Suddenly the seizures stopped. "Ranma, you okay man?" Brock stood to the side of the martial artist. A change in Ranma's face appeared, as she stood up and faced the enemy, eye to eye. "Darkness beyond twlight, crimson from blood that flows..." A glow surrounded Ranma, one they never seen before. Ash blinked. "Is he doing what I think he's doing?" "Buried in the flow of time. In thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness!" "No way... he doesn't know THAT spell... does he?" Genki sputtered, not believing what he is hearing. The bandit leader frowned. A red haired girl. Powerful magic in her hands... it couldn't be... "Those who oppose us shall be destroyed by the power you and I possess!" This was it. "OH HELL! IT'S THE BANDIT KILLER LINA INVERSE! RUN FOR IT!" With that the army of bandits started running. "Ash... don't tell me Ranma's really casting the..." Misty muttered. "DRAGON SLAVE!" "DUCK AND COVER!" yelled Mike as Ranma mercilessly fired the Dragon Slave at the retreating bandits. In an instant, anything in a 100 meter radius was instantly reduced to a smoldering crater, including the Bandits who didn't get up. Ranma stopped, lowered her arms and her eyes cleared up as he blinked in surprise. "Wow, what just happened?" Genki just groaned as he sat up. "What else could possibly go wrong?" In a whimsical ironic sense of celestial humor, a Time Gate opened up right underneath all of them, allowing them to drop right out of sight with a chorus of "Genki no BAKA!" <><><> The judges were discussing amongst each other when suddenly they saw the explosion outside the city. The judge from Justicova blinked. "Now, that is what I call a 10!" The other judges did a collective facefault. <><><> Ryoga blinked. After all this traveling and wandering, because he got lost a lot, he ended up back here. Jusenkyo. This is where it all happened. That's where everything started. He smiled as he knew he and Ranma parted on better terms. Well since he's here now, he should take the chance to get cured. He started to walk towards the pools when suddenly black lightning knocked him back. "WHAT THE?!" he exclaimed. "You boy! You not be here. Pools closed under further notice." The spring guide ran up to the eternal lost boy. "Closed? What do you mean closed?" Ryoga demanded. The guide waved his hand towards the pools, as the black lightning began to intensify, accompanied by the cries of a young girl. "Springs not do this before. Only recently it do this frequently." the guide explained. Ryoga blinked. "Does the old ghoul know about this?" The guide nodded. "It happen four years before. Amazon Matriarch still not know what going on. She nervous too. Musk Dynasty demanding answers. With springs doing this more often, me worry what could happen." "I can see that," Ryoga answered, as the cries began to die down. Soon the dark flashes of lightning faded away, as all were back to normal. End Episode 5 : To Be Continued. (Ending Credits : Chrono Cross - Magical Dreamers : Wind, Stars and Waves) A shot of a person playing a guitar as the credits roll beside him, a trail of footprints running down the black background. (Shot of a beach, footprints in the sand. Ash and Misty walking down the path.) Directed by Shaun Garin and WarChild Writers : Shaun Garin and WarChild. (A shot of Genki and Mocchi playing. Duplica and Mike having tea.) Music Provided by : Squaresoft, Fox Kids and Kids WB (A shot of Misty, hair waving in the wind.) Concept created by : Shaun and WarChild (A close up of her face, a tear flying off into the distance.) Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi Tenchi Muyo! belongs to Masaki Kajishima (A shot of the night sky as Ash smiles up, a finger upraised. The five Lunar Senshi look up into the sky from atop a hill.) Pokemon belongs to WB. Digimon belongs to Fox. Monster Rancher belongs to BKN Network. (A slow shot of all eight Digidestined and Lunar Senshi, panning from left to right.) The authors would like to thank Squaresoft for creating Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross. (A shot of the Digidestined walking across the beach. A shot of Mike and Duplica sitting on a hilltop, facing out into the sunset.) (C) Shaun Garin and WarChild 2000-2001 (Everyone sticks their fingers out in a Vee pose) The player is revealed to be Ranma who's guitar playing slowly fades out. (Fade out.) (A Magic Tech Production. A Shaun Garin and WarChild Story.)