[Ranma][Slayers][Fanfic] Redheads Chapter one

[Rob]

While I'm waiting for my main computer to be fixed (which is slowing me up
on the remainder of Girl Days) I offer the first chapter of the sequel.

Enjoy?

Redheads

A Ranma 1/2-Slayers crossover

(Ranma belongs to the Ranma people, and Slayers to the Slayers
people. Of course.)

Chapter One-- In which a noted Martial Artist is found in two
predicaments, of which one is unfamiliar and the other is all too
familiar. Also in which a certain Sorceress finds a possible hint to
the realisation of certain dreams, both of potential wealth and
avarice and of finally looking REALLY good in a bikini.

####

(A note-- the following story takes place in the same somewhat
altered universe as my "Girl Days" series, and can be considered a
sort of peculiar sequel.)

####

"That would look good on you, Ranma," mused Akane, as the two
girls windowshopped.

Girls? Yup. It was what Ranma referred to as a "Girl Day"-- a
day set aside for practice in being feminine. About six months back
she'd undergone extensive training in being female, and still
regularly practiced. As evinced by the blue minidress and black
tights she was wearing now under her winter coat.

"I dunno. Looks kinda frumpy to me," the redhead mused. "I like
a little more attitude when I'm picking out my clothes, not like Mom
keeps trying to choose. And you saw what she tried to get me to wear
to that party the other day."

Akane giggled. It had been a peculiar thing, that the female
training had caused the two to get along better no matter which
gender Ranma was. He or she was more careful in speaking, less
insulting, and understood girls a lot better.

Then again, Akane had learned a lot about Ranma, and didn't leap
to conclusions the way she once had (at least not as often), and was
willing to listen to her. She'd learned that Ranma really DID have
things happen to her that just didn't happen to anyone else.

"Hey, look there-- at that shop. That's new, isn't it?"

"Sorobadens's Magical Costume Shop? What kind of store is that?
And you're right, it is new. Don't look it, though."

For some reason the store made Ranma nervous. Nothing she could
put a finger on, mind you, just generally nervous. Before she could
mention that to Akane, or add the fact that when things made her
nervous for no apparent reason really really bad things tended to
happen, the dark-haired girl had gone inside.

As Ranma entered the shop herself, the hairs at the back of her
neck practically screamed "This Bad Place, We Go NOW". She knew that
SOMETHING was really wrong here.

"May I assist you, Miss." Not a question. A flat statement of
intent disguised as a question. Ranma turned. And sighed. Wrong
was, she suspected, no longer exactly adequate.

The shopkeeper-- if that was what he was-- stood nearly seven
feet tall and probably weighed less than Ranma. Gaunt was another no
longer adequate word that leapt to mind. Emaciated came closer to
the case. His skin was almost papery in appearance, his hair long,
tangled, and gray. He looked like something out of a Universal
horror flick. You know, as in dead.

Only the eyes remained alive. And they were fixing Ranma with a
actinic glare.

"Um... I'm looking for my friend. She just came in here, and--"

"Ah, the other young lady. She is in back seeing our fine
selection of masquerade apparel. Why don't you try something on
yourself." The voice remained flat as a laser.

"Um, well, I dunno..."

"And it may interest you to know that this is no mere costume
shop. Rather, we offer the opportunity to visit strange lands of
adventure and wonder. I can see you are a fighter, and perhaps
something of a heroine. Surely you desire excitement."

"Mister, I got WAY more than enough excitement in MY life for a
hundred people. I knew there was something screwy about this place.
Akane, come on, we got to get out of here!"

The gaunt man blinked. "Um... excuse me. I said strange lands
of adventure and wonder. People usually leap at the chance. It's
exciting."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard. Me, I'd like a shot at dull for once.
AKANE!"

The shopkeeper's voice began to lose it's flatness. "Are you
saying that you DON'T want a magical and thrilling adventure?"

"You got it right on the head, mister. I definitely don't.
AKANE!!"

"This isn't right. You're supposed to leap into this heedlessly,
following your innate heroic nature."

"Yeah, right, and the rabbit in the moon delivers mochi to your
door every morning too. A-KA-NE!!!"

It was becoming apparent that Akane was not responding to her
cries. Ranma set off in search of her. The shopkeeper stood
somewhat baffled. His own mystical senses (and if, dear reader, you
hadn't figured out by now that this was one of THOSE kind of shops,
you're slipping) indicated that the girl with the red hair was a
heroine, indeed something of a paladin. It hadn't occurred to him
that she might be a reluctant one.

Ranma returned, dragging Akane behind her. "Thanks for your
offer, but no thanks. Ja ne."

As the two girls left the store, neither noticed the small
glimmer of a chain that had accidentally fallen into Akane's purse.
The shopkeeper did, however, and smiled. Then he went to prepare two
costumes.

He LOVED his job.

Which was to be the right hand of Destiny.

And that hand had always been set firmly on the shoulder of Ranma
Saotome.

####

"This isn't mine, Ranma," Akane mused in confusion at the chain
with the simple red stone at the end. It wasn't a necklace-- the
chain wasn't a circle. It was just a chain with a rock on the end.
Neither could think of what purpose it could serve.

And it was giving Ranma the willies.

"Akane, I got a REAL bad feeling about this thing. I just KNOW
it was in that creepy joint. We got to get it back to that guy right
away."

"It's late, and the store's probably closed. We'll do it
tomorrow. Besides, what could possibly happen?"

The stone began to glow.

Ranma shot Akane a very very accusatory look, as the world
vanished.

####

It was a perfectly ordinary inn. There were the perfectly
ordinary farmers, wanderers, and hedge mages in the common room
drinking perfectly ordinary ales, wines, and the occasional substance
that could eat right through battleplate. Ordinary carousing,
arguing, and brawling would break out from time to time in a
perfectly ordinary way.

And at a table in the corner, something was happening that was
not quite so perfectly ordinary.

Namely a short, slender, and not very curvaceous girl was
apparently in an eating contest with a tall, muscular, and rugged
man. And winning.

During a short pause while the pair waited for their sixth plate
of ribs, chicken, beef, fish, rice, potatoes, soup, spinach, carrots,
and avocados, the girl took on a somewhat depressed expression.

"Gourry, I'm bored."

"Huh?" the man said, who we can only suppose is Gourry. Which
strongly suggests that his companion is You Know Who.

"Nothing's happening. No quests, no great adventures, nothing.
Just bandits, bandits, bandits. I'm falling into a rut."

Gourry nodded. Personally, he was fine with things the way they
were at the moment. But he didn't like to see Lina bored, partly
because he liked her better when she was happy and partly because a
bored Lina could be a dangerous Lina because she would try to do
something about being bored.

"I wish something would happen to liven things up."

"We could go to Sailoon and see if Amelia has heard of some new
questy type thing for Justice?" suggested Gourry.

"I'm not that desperate. I just want a little quest to break up
the monotony, a touch of new adventure."

"Maybe you could visit your family?"

Lina paled. "Um... no, not at all, they are REALLY REALLY
boring, trust me, nothing interesting there."

"Oh." Gourry was feeling rather pleased with himself. So far
he'd managed to say nothing really stupid, as far as he could tell.

Lina calmed down-- with some effort-- from the suggestion that
Gourry had made. "Anyhow, I hope this dull streak will break soon.
I hate being bored."

Gourry sighed, and then began to eat as the tavern girl bought
platter number six.

####

Ranma woke up to find that certain things had definitely changed.

She was in a forest.

Akane was in the forest with her.

Neither of them were wearing any clothes.

She had no idea how she'd gotten to a for-- wait. back up a sec.

No clothes.

"YAHHHHHHHHH!" said Ranma. Waking Akane up.

"Ranma, what happ-- EEEEEEEEEEEEKKKK!!"

"It's not my fault! I don't know what happened! I really
don't!" Ranma was in a state of mixed confusion, panic, and
embarrassment.

"Where are my CLOTHES?" screamed Akane.

"I don't know! I don't know where mine are either! It must have
been that stupid chain! I KNEW it wasn't safe!"

"Then why didn't you SAY so?"

"I DID! I told you I had a bad feeling about it! Where is it?
Maybe we can get back with it."

"Where are we?" wondered Akane.

"I don't know. Right now I'm as lost at Ryoga. Maybe-- Ouch."

"Where's Ouch?" asked Akane (who was still somewhat disoriented).
Then she saw that Ranma had been referring not to a location, but
rather to a large wooden chest that had dropped from nowhere onto her
head.

Picking the chest up off of Ranma, Akane found it to be unlocked.
Opening it, she saw two bundles, some other things, and a long red
envelope.

Well, envelopes are for opening, she reasoned, and did so.
Extracting the contents, she read. And paled.

"R-Ranma... I think you should read this..."

"After the birdies go away, Akane..."

"Now. Read this NOW."

And Ranma read. And began to sweat.

[Miss-- or is that Mister?-- Saotome and Miss Tendo--

I apologize for you recent transferal, but it really could not be
helped. Destiny requires that you take this adventure.
Unfortunately I cannot explain the nature of the adventure to you,
but rest assured it is important.

Right now you are probably going half mad wondering where you
are. That I can tell you. But you are going to have some difficulty
believing it.

You are both familiar with the animated series and manga volumes
of a fantasy adventure known as Slayers. Well, that's where you are.

What you must understand is that there are many many levels of
reality, and that somewhere in the quantum flux of the multiverse
every possibility exists. To some extent your experiences with the
Nanban Mirror will suggest the truth of this.

Do not make the mistake of assuming that you are in a mere
cartoon. This is a real universe, a real world, where events much
alike to that of the animated series you know have occurred. There
is real danger, but I have little doubt of your abilities to handle
it.,, as long as you keep in mind that this IS real.

Clothing, some money, and useful gear is enclosed in the chest.
Also food for a meal-- you will both be hungry-- and water.

I do apologize for the interruption in your normal lives, but it
couldn't be helped. Try to have fun.

Oh-- and if you DO find another Reality Chain, it's your ticket
back home. Think of that as your quest. I'd suggest finding a
skilled magician to help. The chain that sent you here is still in
Miss Tendo's room, and will stay there.

Sincerely yours,

Sorobaden, Minion of Destiny.

P.S.-- if and when you DO get back, I will reward you. And
before you ask, not with a cure for the curse, that has parts to play
yet in the destiny of your home reality. But how about a nice
discount at my establishment? ]

Ranma looked up. "Let's get dressed. We're going to find
another chain and discount HIM."

Akane nodded. And opened the parcel that was marked for her...

####

"You didn't have to make me wear it all, Akane."

"Well, if it was all there, maybe there's a reason for it. This
isn't quite like any adventure we've had before, Ranma." Inside,
Akane was laughing her ass off.

Ranma wasn't. Akane's clothing was apparently designed for her--
yellow tunic over gray hose, bracers like the ones she wore with her
fighting uniform, a yellow headband, and a sword. Akane wasn't
planning to USE the sword, but she knew that people carried them a
lot anyhow.

Ranma, however, was dressed--

Exactly like Lina Inverse.

"Just because I have red hair... When we get half a chance we
find some boy clothes and some hot water."

"Aw, Ranma, you look just like her."

"No, I don't. I have blue eyes, her's are more red..."

"That's true."

"And I'm probably a bit taller, and not as thin..."

"True enough."

"And I have MUCH bigger--"

"Egotist. **snicker** Well, it's not like we'll meet her, is it?"

Ranma had a BAD feeling about that.

"Why should I carry this stupid sword, anyhow?" complained Ranma.

"Well, it completes the look. I think a sword is more of a
fashion statement than anything else here."

"Hmmph."

They walked along the trail they had stumbled on, silently for a
while, until they heard a voice. The voice was saying something
indistinct.

Ranma looked up to see six men in ragged clothing and armor,
holding very large swords, clubs, and things like that there, all of
who were ugly as sin and leering. Thinking back to the anime, she
realized that the two had just ran into a pack of classic
stereotypical bandits.

"You know, if you unwrapped that scarf from your face, we could
understand what you were saying. Although I suppose it was something
threatening and moderately lecherous and had something to do with our
giving you all our valuables," Ranma sighed.

Akane shrugged. "Just like muggers back home, ne?"

"Yeah. You'd think they'd figure out why Nerima has such a low
crime rate, but--"

"Excuse me," the lead bandit said in an exasperated tone, having
freed himself of the scarf that he'd thought was such a cool looking
accessory. "This IS A robbery, you know."

Ranma was not in a good mood. Not at all. She looked at the
bandit leader. She thought about how she was dressed. She thought
about how these jerks were threatening her. And mostly she thought
about how NICE it would be to work out some frustrations.

"No it isn't. It's a party. We're going to play Pin The Tail On
The Bandit."

Akane paused, and grinned. She knew where THIS was going. Akane
also had frustrations to work out.

And Ranma began to gather chi in her hands. The bandit's eyes
widened.

Now, let's look into the mind of the bandit, shall we?

Red hair.

Short.

Dressed, he now realized, like a sorceress.

And there was a ball of light in her hands.

Conclusion inevitable.

"OH SHIT! IT'S LINA INVERSE!"

"Nope. I'm not Lina Inverse. Not that that's a good thing for
you-- MOUKO TAKABISHA!"

The chi ball was intentionally weak. Ranma didn't think these
guys could handle a full one like the martial artists of Nerima. So
it only slammed the lead bandit fifty feet into a tree, which
splintered.

Akane leapt forwards to put her training under Ranma to good use.
Ranma did the same, casually critiquing her student while she idly
beat the living daylights out of the bandits.

As the last bandit fell unconscious, Akane paused, and then began
rifling their pouches.

"Akane, what are you doing?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I think we'll need money
soon-- more than we have. I guess we're bandit hunters now. Until
we can find a reality chain. Besides, they deserve it. Did you hear
what that jerk called me?"

Ranma thought back to the short fight. "Well, one called you a
demon from hell before you punched him. But the other one? What did
HE call you?"

"He called me an UNCUTE demon from hell!"

Ranma nodded. That was never a good thing to call Akane.

"Anyhow-- oooh, this is pretty, wonder who he stole it from?--
we'll need the money to hire a magician to help us find the reality
chain. And it's part of the martial artist's code to protect the
weak, we're just doing it ahead of time with these bandit types. If
we're in a fantasy world, we probably should try to play by it's
rules."

"Can't we just call the cops like we do with muggers at hime?"
To Ranma, this seemed too much like being a mugger herself.

"And how do we do that? We're in the middle of a fantasy world
where the nearest telephone is a five hundred years away at least.
Besides, there's no real police that I remember from teh series
except in big cities... and we have to have funds."

"I guess you're right, Akane... I don't like it, but I don't see
much way around it."

"I'm not happy about it, but we have to eat and find a way to get
home. And that's going to take money."

Ranma nodded. And the latest members of the occupation of Bandit
Hunter left six living but not at all happy men behind...

Watching the pretty birdies.

####

Lina Inverse, Sorceress, Bandit Hunter, and Very Pretty Girl Even
If She Was A Bit On The Underdeveloped Side So There, was no longer
bored. Not exactly.

She was bored Stiff. She was megabored. She was super duper
industrial strength giant economy size bored. She was so insanely
bored that a snail race would have increased her pulse rate
noticeably.

That was about to change.

Two people entered the tavern.

One was a fairly pretty girl in yellow and gray, bearing a sword.
Probably just another adventurer. The other--

Caused Lina to choke on the side of ribs that she had been eating
whole.

For once, Lina Inverse was distracted enough to actually stop
eating.

The clothing was familiar. After all, it was the exact same as
hers.

The face was similar to hers-- but not exactly. The hair also--
but somehow sleeker. The body-- whoa.

Taller. Curvier. Sexier.

Lina Inverse had always dreamed of having the perfect body.
She'd never expected someone else wearing it to walk in the door of a
tavern.

"Gourry-- do you see that girl?"

Gourry looked. "Hai... Hey, she looks familiar. Think we've met
her before?"

"She looks like me!"

Gourry frowned. "Well, a little. But she's got blue eyes, where
your's are more reddish..."

"Maybe, but--"

"And she's a bit taller, and not as skinny..."

"All right Gourry, but the point is--"

"And she has MUCH bigger-- OWIE! Why'd you hit me?"

"Because if you'd finished that sentence I would have had to kill
you. This can't be a coincidence. We're going to have to arrange
for a meeting with this girl..."

"Okay."

Before Lina could stop the swordsman, Gourry stood, walked over
to the two, and said, "My friend Lina wants to talk with you. Are
you hungry? Because if you are we can buy you dinner."

The dark haired girl stared. So did the redhead. "Did you say
Lina? As in Lina Inverse?" asked Red.

"You've heard of her?"

Red turned to Dark. "Akane, talk about a lucky break! ONLY the
most skilled sorceress in the world and we stumble onto her! It's
great! It's perfect! It's--- we're screwed. We are SO screwed."

Akane nodded. "No way is this a coincidence. We're being set
up, just like you said."

"But it's still our best chance to get home."

"That's true... I guess we don't have a lot of a choice. And I'm
hungry."

"Same here, Ranma. Okay, Gabriev-san, we're accepting your
invitation."

Lina just stared. This wasn't QUITE what she had meant by
arranging a meeting, but...

####

"Another world?"

"Yep. 'Course, you've seen weirder things."

"And... I'm a character in a series of stories there?"

"Yep. Popular one too."

"And you're really a boy?"

"As soon as I can get some hot water and male clothes, I'll show
you."

"Follow me. THIS I have to see." Lina had heard of a LOT of
strange magics, but changing sex with water was something new.

As they entered the room that Lina had rented, she gave Ranma a
robe and sent Gourry for a kettle of hot water. Ranma quickly
undressed and slipped into the robe. Lina found it odd that a
so-called male was so unself-conscious, and said so.

"Ranma's sort of both male and female... mostly a guy, but she
can deal with being a girl. She's had special training," Akane
explained.

There was a knock at the door.

"If that's you, Gourry, come in," called Lina.

Gourry entered, handing over the kettle, which he hadn't quite
understood the reason for. The explanation of the curse had more or
less slipped over his head at an altitude of roughly 6500 meters.

Ranma took the kettle, raised it, and poured.

Nothing happened except that Ranma got wet.

"You see? Hot water turns... me... back... into... Aw, crap, not
AGAIN!"

Akane stared in shock. "R-Ranma... you ... you didn't change?"

"I know! I KNOW! But WHY?"

Lina had, for a moment, thought that the girl had for some insane
reason been lying. But the obvious agitation of the two suggested
otherwise. "Hmm... mind if I examine you? Magically, that is?"

"Go ahead. I HATE when I get locked..." grumbled Ranma.

An hour later of incantations, scryings, and various minor spells
designed to analyze obscure magics, and Lina had the answer.

"Well, it's actually fairly simple. Apparently our world has a
much higher magical index than yours. That is to say, magic is more
of an active force than it is on your plane of reality. This has
caused your curse to strengthen, in a way, on a purely physical
level. Changing back to your native male state-- and your innate
aura DOES show you to be, for the most part, spiritually male-- is
therefore difficult."

"Meaning I can't change back."

"Well, you can, but you probably don't want to."

"And why don't I want to?" asked Ranma.

"Because the trigger for your curse hasn't changed-- only it's
application."

"Meaning?" asked Akane.

"Meaning that instead of the simple application of warm water
you'll have to sit in rapidly boiling water for at least fifteen
minutes. Which would probably not be a very good idea."

Gourry had been thinking. "So, she's really a guy except that
she's a girl and if she wants to be a guy she has to be cooked and
that's not a good idea so she's got to be a girl for a while?"

Lina blinked. "That's... essentially it."

"Okay." Gourry peered at Ranma. "So, you're a guy? But a girl
also? That's neat. I never knew a girl that I could talk to about
Guy things before."

Ranma sweatdropped. "Um... thanks?"

"Are you a sorceress too? You're dressed like one."

"No... Akane and I are martial artists."

Lina blinked. "What's a martial artist?"

Ranma blinked back. "You've never heard of Martial Arts?"

"Not me. Gourry?"

Gourry paused. "Oh, right. Long lost legendary unarmed fighting
techniques. They don't really exist, you know."

Ranma and Akane looked at each other... and smiled. "Maybe not
HERE, they don't..."

"Anyhow, how did you get this curse?" asked Lina.

Ranma sighed. By now she could tell the tale of Jusenkyo in her
sleep. While gagged.

Lina listened.

And a plan came to her.

"Well, it's only right that we help you two find your way back to
your own world. So, why don't you come with us? We'll see what we
can find out. Gourry, looks like we're going to Sailoon after all,
to check the library there."

Ranma paused. "You seem rather eager to help us all of a sudden.
The ani-- the stories suggest that you usually have your own
reasons..."

Lina looked shocked. "Oh, but I'm the most selfless person
alive! I'm a living paragon of charity to the lost and oppressed!"

"But didn't you charge that guy last month ten gold to find his
lost cat-- OW!" commented Gourry.

Ranma frowned. She was certain that Inverse had some ulterior
motive.

She did. Lina had put the tale of Jusenkyo together and had come
to a really interesting conclusion. Help these two get back to their
world. Tag along. Have a little dip in that Nyannichuan and get the
figure that she'd always desired and deserved. Maybe take back a few
samples so she could figure out the enchantment and make tons of
money helping other poor unfortunate girls who lacked a little...
something. "Trust me, everything will be perfect!"

Akane sighed. "Yeah, perfect. TOO perfect. Trust US-- it's
never that easy."

"Hey, of COURSE it's that easy!" Lina countered. "After all, you
only have the great Lina Inverse to help! Ranma... say, you never
DID tell me your last name."

"Saotome."

Lina blinked. So did Gourry. And they both broke out in
laughter.

"You're... you're kidding! That CAN'T be your name!"

Ranma blinked again. (Lot of blinking going around.) "Why not?"

"It's a phrase in Old Saileese that's in common use... it's not
nice," snickered Lina.

"My name isn't nice? Why?"

Lina explained, blushing.

Ranma boggled. "It means all THAT? INCLUDING the melon?"

Akane was trying very hard not to laugh herself. The part about
the donkey in lingerie almost killed her.

"Old Saileese was very compact," giggled Lina. "You probably
want to pick a new name while you're here..."

"Well, I'm just glad that there's nothing wrong with Akane
Tendo," Akane said-- and froze as Lina and Gourry looked sick.

"Don't tell me..."

"That's not a nice thing to call anyone..." Gourry said.

"I don't want to know, do I?" Akane muttered.

Lina replied, "No. You do NOT. That word is... you have to get
a new name too. FAST."

Gourry nodded. "I wouldn't call my worst enemy... I mean, it's
not nice at all and if I said it my mom would wash my mouth out with
soap ten times even if she isn't here because mothers know when you
say things like that."

Lina looked even sicker. "What kind of lunatic would pick...
THAT word as a family name?"

"I get the idea, already!" snarled Akane
Not-Tendo-If-It-Was-All-THAT-Offensive.

"Um... Lina, since Ranma looks kinda like you, we could say she's
your cousin or something, and call her an Inverse?" Gourry said.

Lina paused. "That's... actually, that's not a bad idea. Okay,
from now on, you're my cousin Ranma Inverse. Sound okay to you?"

"Guess so," said Ranma. "It's no weirder than the rest of this."

"And you can be my cousin," added Gourry to Akane. "So we both
get cousins and you don't have to call yourself-- well, that."

Akane fumed for a moment, wondering what the hell was wrong with
Tendo. "Akane Gabriev. I guess I can live with that for the
moment."

"Great!" chirped Lina, already having visions of both the end of
boredom and possible future C-cups dancing in her head.

What could go wrong?

####

The keep was forboding. Of course.

Tall, dark stone, with bats flying around it by night and crows
by day-- not that it was exactly easy to tell when it WAS day, what
with the constantly overcast sky and the eerie recurrence of overly
dramatic thunderstorms all the damn time. The peasants in the area
usually read in the morning papers something to the effect of the
weather being cloudy with a ninety percent chance of omens and
ominous happenings.

The heath that the keep sat on was of the variety usually known
as blasted. Well, that part that was heath and not swamp or bog,
anyhow.

And of course the moat was muddy, algae covered, and had things
in it that were vicious, vaguely reptilian, and highly carnivorous.

This suggests that the inhabitant wasn't exactly the sort to
offer a warm friendly drink to passersby, but rather something
bubbling, fuming, and invariably toxic, metamorphic, or both.

Pass through the halls. See the sputtering smoky torches that
create more smog than light. The ancient suits of armor that all
look subtly and disturbingly misshapen. The crossed axes upon the
wall that have stains that you just KNOW isn't rust.

Then enter the main hall. The dark throne. The evil tapestries
depicting all manner of vileness and perversion. And on that
throne--

Well, let's say that if you called him a tendo he'd be flattered.
Mazoku are like that.

He wasn't impressive to look at. Kinda geeky, in fact. Ranma
would have said that he bore a strong resemblance to Hikaru
Gosunkugi, except that Gosunkugi didn't have white hair that flowed
down to his ankles or burning red eyes. Gosunkugi also didn't dress
in black robes with arcane detailing (although he might like to).

His name was Melvin. Oddly enough, for Mazoku, Melvin is a very
very frightening name.

Melvin stood, frowning. He sensed something... odd. A new
force, something other than the three magics that were dominant in
the world. He couldn't tell what or where, but he could tell that
something new walked upon the earth.

How... amusing.

####

And, one supposes that that's the first of many many things that
CAN go wrong. Of course, since we are talking about not Ranma Sao--
Ah, Inverse, or her "cousin' Lina alone, but rather the both of them,
well, nothing will go wrong after all.

With these two teamed up, "go wrong" is yet another inadaqaute
term.

####

To Be Continued.

####

Author's Notes--

I like Slayers, I like Ranma. I always wanted to play around
with a Slayers/Ranma Xover. I'm planning here to inject a bit more
Ranmaesque lunacy than is normal for Slayers while being a little
more dramatic that is usual for Ranma. I also want to have fun with
many silly bits of mistaken ID between Lina and Ranma. I also want a
cookie. A chocolate chip cookie with sprinkles. And beer (but not
on the cookie).