Dual Destinies
 
The characters depicted in this story are not mine. Ranma 1/2 and all 
other characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I have written 
Dual Destinies purely for entertainment.
 
 Chapter 2
 The Twins of Destiny
 
 Ranma felt a brief feeling of nausea as he witnessed a bright flash of 
light after taking Taron's hand. After it had faded, Ranma found himself 
standing on what appeared to be a stone platform that was floating in 
midair in a white void. Immediately, he took a ready stance as he took 
in his surroundings. He could not see Taron anywhere. 
 He looked around him and saw several other stone formations 
floating around. The void of nothingness seemed to go on forever in all 
directions. Multicolored lights darted about the void, leaving sparkling 
trails behind them as they danced around each platform in random 
patterns. There was a distinctive, yet quiet hum in the air. It seemed to 
have a soothing effect on Ranma. The longer he listened to it, the more 
relaxed he became.
 Ranma began to wonder where Taron was. Suddenly, he heard a 
noise. The sound was a soft pulsating beat, almost like a heartbeat. 
Zeroing in on the sound, Ranma looked up and saw a large blue sphere 
of energy coming down toward him. Thinking that he was under attack, 
he quickly began focusing his chi. As soon as he formed his energy 
ball, he then launched it at the blue orb.
 "MOKO TAKABISHA!"
 The yellow ball of chi energy shot upward, but then to Ranma's 
surprise, it suddenly slowed down and then dispersed into nothingness. 
The blue orb continued on its way downward.
 Ranma once again tried his chi attack.
 "MOKO TAKABISHA!"
 Once again, the chi energy dispersed without any effect.
 Realizing that his chi technique was useless, Ranma took a battle 
stance and prepared to fight whatever threat this blue energy 
represented. 
 "Now, now Ranma. There's no need for that!"
 When Ranma heard Taron's familiar voice, he began looking around 
for him. He then stared at the blue sphere of light, which had stopped 
its descent and hovered a few feet above his position.
 "Taron?" Ranma asked toward the sphere.
 "That's right." The energy ball answered. "Sorry to have startled you. I 
forgot that you've never seen me in my energy form before. Hold on a 
moment."
 The sphere stopped and then began to increase its brightness. 
Suddenly, it flared and was then gone. Within an instant, Ranma found 
himself staring at Taron, who gently floated down to the platform. 
However, this Taron was translucent, and his entire body was bathed in a 
blue tint, which emitted a soft glow. Ranma could make out his clothes, 
hair, facial features and other outward details. However, he could also 
see the background right though him. It was if he was… a ghost!
 "Are… you a ghost?" Ranma said fearfully. Then another fearful 
thought hit him. "Am… am… I … dead?"
 Taron smiled and gentle shook his head. He then addressed the 
martial artist in a gentle, yet firm tone, "No Ranma. I am not a ghost and 
you are most certainly not dead!" Taron then gestured to the 
background. "You are in the Realm of Infinity." Taron then pointed to 
himself. "What you see is my natural form. The person you saw before 
was the physical embodiment of my being." 
 Taron looked back at Ranma, who was still in his battle stance and 
watching him with a wary eye. Taron's expression softened as he gave 
the teenager another gentle smile. "Please Ranma, I mean you no harm. 
I meant what I said when I told you that I'm here to help you." This 
statement relaxed Ranma somewhat, but he still remained in his stance. 
Taron nodded at Ranma's unspoken question. "I understand that you 
have many questions and I assure you, they will be answered. We just 
need to wait for someone." 
 It was then that they heard another sound. They both looked up and 
saw another orb of light coming toward them. This one made the same 
pulsating noise, but it was red in color. As it approached their platform, 
it also flared, then disappeared. Within an instant, the sphere of light 
had become an exact replica of Taron, except that it was red, instead of 
blue. The newcomer smiled at Ranma as he landed. He then gazed 
intensely at Ranma, as if he was looking into his soul. He smiled at 
Taron. "You were right brother. He'll do fine."
 "I told you so." Taron said with a smug look before turning his 
attention back on Ranma. "This is my twin brother Soren. He is also 
here to help you. Now that we have all the introductions out of the way, 
why don't you sit down, while we explain why we have brought you 
here?" Taron gestured toward a space to Ranma's right. Instantly, the 
surface of the platform became fluid and a mass of rock rose up and 
shaped itself into a chair.
 Ranma stepped back, more than a little skittish at what had just 
occurred. He looked back at the twins, trying to discern any evil 
purpose they may have toward him. He could find none in their 
expressions, and they seemed to radiate an aura of serenity. Cautiously, 
Ranma sat down. When nothing catastrophic happened, he began to 
relax.
 Taron nodded as he began his explanations. "Hmm… where to start? 
Okay… how about this way?" Taron made a gesture with his right hand 
and a disk of energy appeared before Ranma. The disk became 
translucent as it depicted scenes of ancient Earth like a television 
screen. Ranma became interested as looked at the scenes unfold before 
him as Taron continued with his narrative. "Our story began about ten 
thousand years ago. During a great cataclysm, there was a dimensional 
tear in the fabric of reality. From this gateway, beings from a realm 
known as the Dark World landed on the Earth. These supernatural 
creatures were from a race that enslaved lesser beings. They possessed 
awesome powers of destruction and had laid waste to many civilizations."
 Taron nodded to his brother Soren, who took up the narration. "The 
deities of Earth could not permit this to happen. Since reasoning with 
these beings from the Dark World had proven to be ineffective, the 
gods were forced to wage a long and terrible war to drive them off the 
Earth. Gods, goddesses and Dark Worlders fell by the thousands. The 
war soon came to a point when both Earth and the Dark World would be 
destroyed. The two factions had reached a stalemate." The scenes on the 
disk changed as Ranma observed the gods wage long and bloody battles 
against hideous monsters and demons.
 Taron soon took over. "In order to settle their differences and end 
the conflict, Kami-sama himself proposed that the two sides choose 
champions. Each side would choose the best representatives of their 
own respective worlds. Because of the terrible destruction that would 
be wrought to the Earth if the gods themselves competed, Kami-sama 
chose to use mortals, who happened to be the best representatives of 
the Earth. He found his champions in two brothers. Twins actually. 
Their names were Taron and Soren."
 The disk then showed Ranma of an image of the twins before him.
 "They were you?" Ranma asked.
 Soren nodded. "Yes. Kami-sama knew that as twins, we shared a 
special bond, which allowed us to work effectively as a team. He 
summoned us and trained us in martial arts, elemental power and magic. 
The training made us strong enough to fight the demons of the Dark 
World. It also strengthened the bond between us, making us almost a 
single being."
 "After a long and desperate series of battles, we emerged victorious. 
Thus the Earth was spared its destruction." Taron continued. "However, 
a contract was made afterwards between the two nations. Every 
thousand years, the gateway between both worlds would open and the 
Dark World will again invade the Earth. However, to avoid mass 
destruction of both sides, the contest would be repeated. Champions 
would be selected among the human population and they would fight for 
the survival of the human race. Thus a balance was made." With these 
words, the disk disappeared.
 "So you guys have been fighting this Dark World for ten thousand 
years?" Ranma inquired.
 "Yes." Soren replied. "Ever since we had won that first contest, the 
Kami had decided to make us immortal, so that we may choose 
successive champions in the future. For the last ten millennia, we have 
chosen and trained our representatives. In each case, we have used 
identical twins, because of the empathic bond they shared. It is because 
of that bond that we have been able to prevent the Earth from being 
overrun."
 "Now wait a minute!" Ranma said in a confused voice. "What's all 
this got to do with me? You said I was the chosen one. But you also said 
that you used identical twins. I don't have a twin brother!"
 Taron looked at Ranma intently for a long time before saying, 
"Actually… you do have one."
 "Huh?"
 Soren nodded in agreement. "About sixteen years ago, Taron and I 
began searching for our next representatives. As we probed the Earth, 
we detected that Nodoka Saotome was pregnant, and had conceived 
twins, although she didn't know that at the time. These twins had the 
right attributes that we needed to combat the Dark World. However, the 
rulers of the Dark World had also discovered this fact and used their 
arcane arts to prevent this."
 Taron picked up the where Soren had left off. "Using their mystical 
powers, they cast a spell on Nodoka and destroyed one of the fertilized 
eggs. However, due to the intervention of Kami-sama, your brother's 
spirit was saved. His soul was secretly merged with yours. When you 
were born, your brother was also brought into the world. We have kept 
an eye on you since then"
 Ranma was more than stunned by this revelation. He simply could 
not believe what he was hearing. He had the soul of a brother he never 
knew? "No way!"
 Soren nodded at Ranma's confused face. "Yes Ranma. Within you, is 
the soul of your twin sibling. He has lived with you and shared all of 
your knowledge and experiences. Your joys, your pains, your sorrows 
and your life, were also his to know. You two are closer than Siamese 
twins. Finally, when you came to Jusenkyo, your brother had a chance 
to experience life on a physical level."
 "You mean…"
 Taron nodded. "As soon as you fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl, 
the soul of your brother was transferred to your cursed form. Since he 
only had your memories and experiences to use, he acted exactly as 
you would act."
 Soren then interrupted, "That's right. You see, when the waters of 
Jusenkyo curse people, their souls alternate between forms. When cold 
water hits them, their souls are transferred to their cursed forms, while 
their original bodies are put into a dimension known as Limbo. It may 
look like the body itself is changing, but it is really replacing one body 
for another. Hot water will simply reverse the process."
 "Hold on! " Ranma interrupted. "I still can't believe that I have a twin 
brother, let alone what you're telling me now! You're saying that he 
comes to life in my girl form, whenever I get splashed with cold water!" 
Both beings nodded. "Okay. But now, let me ask you. If my brother's 
soul comes to life when I get splashed by cold water, then how come I 
remember everything that I experienced as a girl, if my soul only 
inhabits the guy side?"
 Taron decided to answer. "It's very simple. As we said before, 
identical twins have a very strong empathic bond. The magic of 
Jusenkyo had strengthened that connection between the two of you 
even further. Whenever cold water hits you, your brother's soul 
becomes dominant. However, the bond allows him to share his 
experiences with you. Since he acts exactly like you, and you were 
unaware of his existence, you simply assumed that it was you who was 
inhabiting the cursed form at the time."
 "Hold on again." Ranma said. "At one time, I got the boy side of me 
separated from the girl side of me. How do you explain that?"
 "We remember that incident." Soren said. "The magic used to split 
your two forms had been corrupted by the curse of Jusenkyo. Your soul 
and that of your brother, was left inside the boy half. The girl half was 
left with only the dark impressions of your personality, or your bad 
side. After the spell had ended, your two forms rejoined and the two 
souls were also put back into place."
 "I still don't believe it!"
 "Regardless whether you believe it or not, it's true!" Soren insisted.
 "That's right Ranma!" Taron added.
 " Ranma became silent for a long time before finally asking in a 
quiet voice, "If all that you've told me is true, then what are you going 
to do now?"
 Taron and Soren approached Ranma looked at him with an intense 
gaze. Taron then spoke up.
 "As I promised Ranma, we are going to end your curse."
 Before Ranma could react, the two brothers raised their right hands 
and fired twin blasts of white energy into Ranma's body. The sudden 
appearance of the energies blinded Ranma as his form was enveloped in 
a flash of brilliance. Ranma felt no pain as he felt his body tingle and a 
feeling of displacement came over him. Ranma soon felt himself losing 
consciousness. Before he blacked out, the last image in his mind was of 
himself.
 
To be continued…
 
 
AUTHOR'S NOTES
 The second chapter of this story deals with a secret, in which Ranma 
had never known he had. A sort of hidden past if you will. This is the 
basis in which I created the Dual Destinies idea. What if Ranma had a 
twin brother? Now I know this does sound like a bizarre concept, but 
then again, a boy who becomes a girl when splashed with cold water 
also sounds off the wall. That's what I like about fan fictions. They're so 
flexible!
 While reading several other fan fictions on the Internet, I have come 
across several stories which toy around with this concept. My story 
will deal with this idea with a little more twist to it.
 The revision done to this chapter is relatively minor, mostly because 
I didn't have much to change.