The Legend of Ranma

Disclaimer: Ranma and the crew are the property of Rumiko Takahashi.

Nintendo created the Legend of Zelda.

< >: Thoughts

[" "]: Telepathic communication between Ranma and Navi.

Chapter 1

Homecoming

Ranma Saotome appeared in clearing near the foot of some mountains in

China. He was dressed in a forest-green Chinese shirt, black pants and

sandals. Fluttering beside him above his right shoulder was Navi.

"I'm home!" Ranma said simply.

"Yes this is Earth! A bit rougher around the edges than Hyrule, but it has

its good points."

"Where are we?"

"Before the Deku Tree Sprout agreed to let me accompany you, he gave me a

complete lowdown about Earth's histories, its customs and any other

information you might require to get you acquainted with living here.

According to his information, this is China."

"Why were we sent here?" Ranma asked.

"Well, there seems to be a huge amount of magical energies emanating from

this place. When Zelda used the Ocarina of Time to send you back to Earth,

it must have used this place like a homing beacon."

"Okay. And what about the other stuff I got from Hyrule?"

"They're still with us. Zelda had them placed in a small pocket in Limbo.

If you want something, then just focus your power on that item and it will

appear. She also added a spell to certain items, which will cause them to

replenish themselves gradually when you use them."

"Like what?" Ranma inquired.

"The bottles which contain your Magic Replenishing Potion, and the Lon Lon

Milk. Your Giant's Wallet will always be filled with Rupees. Your Bomb Bag,

your supply of Deku Nuts and some other items. I'm afraid that you're going

to have to make your own arrows though."

"That's okay Navi. I'm really glad I got you for a life-friend! Bonding

with you was the smartest thing I ever did!"

"Well... to tell you the truth, I kind of had some selfish reasons for

joining with you. You see... all the other fairies would tease me for not

having a Kokiri partner, even though I have made several attempts to bond

with the others. They all turned me down since I was very inexperienced.

When you showed up, I jumped at the chance to be your friend, never mind

that you weren't a Kokiri. I was just so lonely!"

"That's okay Navi!" Ranma gave the fairy a smile. "The most important thing

is that you're here now. But are you sure you don't mind being here? You

might never get back to Hyrule again."

"It's no problem Ranma. This world has more than enough magical energy to

sustain me and that there are other magical beings in which I can associate

with."

"They have fairies here?"

"Yes, but the people of this world don't believe in fairies or other

creatures of magic. Except for a select few, people can't detect my

presence. Right now, you're the only one who can see and hear me. I'd

suggest that you use your thoughts to communicate with me when someone else

is around. It would be best if I remained a secret."

"So where to now?" Ranma asked as he looked around. "I'd like to see how

the world has changed in eight years."

"Actually, only six years has passed on this world. Zelda wanted to send

you back to the exact time you left and in your younger body, but Earth was

so far away that the best she could do was to send you back two years and

in your current form. You're still eighteen, but people and things have

only undergone six years of change. Speaking of changes, take a look at

your reflection in that stream over there."

Ranma went over and did so. He instantly noticed the changes. His skin was

a little darker and most importantly, his ears were rounded instead of

pointed. He also noted that his hair was black instead of blond. He then

regarded Navi with a curious eye.

"Zelda made all the outward changes so you would appear as you would have,

had you aged eight years on this world. However, the physiological changes

that took place on Hyrule have made a permanent impression on your body."

"What kind of changes?"

"Call out the Biggoron's Sword."

Ranma did so and the weapon appeared in his hands. Its three-foot blade

glinted in the sunlight.

"Now how heavy do you think it is?"

Ranma cocked his head to one side as he tried to gauge its weight. "About

ten pounds or so."

"To you, it may feel like ten pounds, but to a person of this world, it

would be like three hundred pounds! Hyrule materials are much denser and

heavier than stuff on Earth! When you arrived on our world, your body

underwent certain changes in order to adapt. You're much stronger than the

normal human. It's a good thing you practice martial arts to help control

your strength. It wouldn't do for you to break everything you touch!"

"What else has been changed?"

"Well, with all that training and all the adventures we've had, your

reflexes and agility operate at about forty times faster than what the

inhabitants of this world would call normal. Your rate of healing is far

superior and you're immune to all terrestrial diseases. You also happen to

about six inches taller than what you would have normally attained if you

had grown up on Earth."

"Wow!" Ranma commented as he made the Biggoron's Sword disappear. "So where

to now?" It was then that his stomach let out its usual rumbling sound.

"I'd say that it's time to eat!" Navi said as she began leading Ranma

toward a nearby town.

In a place that was nowhere, yet everywhere, the self-appointed

sailor-suited Guardian of Time became a bit agitated as she noticed a

subtle ripple in the flow of the timestream. Sailor Pluto noted that the

slight disturbance had no direct impact on the timeline of the Earth as she

saw that Crystal Tokyo would still exist in the distant future. However,

something new had been added as she saw for just a brief instant, a symbol

of three triangles. Monitoring the timestream was a tricky business in

itself and whatever caused that sudden image was quickly masked and she

could not locate its source for some reason. What was even more intriguing

was that the image was somehow� familiar. She would have to investigate

this anomaly further if it showed up again.

A while later...

"Man! I can't believe how cheap stuff is here! A full meal and some

supplies for a week for one Green Rupee!" Ranma smiled as the two of them

traveled down a dirt path. Ranma was carrying a backpack and was rubbing

his filled belly.

"Looks like the gems of this world are of lesser quality than on Hyrule."

Navi responded. "What they call an emerald, we would call a Green Rupee!

One of their emeralds wouldn't even buy a Deku Seed on Hyrule! I think it

would be best if you were to convert a few of your Rupees into the currency

they use here. Even though your Giant's Wallet will always be full, we

don't want to attract too much attention to ourselves!"

"I'll make a note of it. What I want to check out are the local martial

artists around here! Can't stop training you know."

Navi brightened her glow and said, "Since when have you ever stopped

training?"

Three months later...

"Hiyaaaah!"

Ranma easily tossed a giant of a man as if he was a rag doll. His opponent

hit the ground on his back with a thud and was unconscious. The crowds

cheered on the sidelines as wagers were collected.

The manager of the village champion was most displeased. He did not think

that Ranma could defeat his protege so easily, but Ranma had taken him on

with no problem and didn't even work up a sweat. He shivered a bit when

Ranma approached him.

"I... suppose you wish to collect on your winnings?"

Ranma smiled as he replied, "Nah! You can keep it. I only wanted to fight

your champion to see if he was a strong as people said he was. I also

wanted to see his fighting style."

"You... don't want the money?!" The man said with amazement. "But your take

is more than a hundred thousand yen!"

"I really don't need it! Besides, I'm sure with the other bets you had

going on, my wager would just about let you break even, right? See ya!"

Ranma walked off, leaving the confused manager standing with his mouth

open.

Ranma and Navi traveled along toward their next destination. Within the

last three months, the pigtailed martial artist had mastered fifteen

different fighting styles. What's more, he had also learned every

technique, each style offered, with amazing quickness. Any move or skill

could be learned and improved on within a day, sometimes within hours after

Ranma had observed the technique. It was this ability which made him such a

good fighter and allowed him to easily adapt to any situation. Added to the

weapons and magical skills that he had gained on Hyrule, now made him a

powerful individual indeed.

"I think it was very good of you not to have taken your winnings." Navi

commented.

"Well, it's not like I need the money. My Giant's Wallet is full and I have

more yen than I know what to do with." Ranma replied.

"By the way. I've been meaning to ask you. What was that energy blast that

you did a couple of days ago? I didn't detect any magic."

"That was a ki blast! I remember my... father, (Ranma's expression darkened

at the thought of Genma), telling about the battle aura of a martial

artist. I figured out that I must have been using my ki energy to tap into

the magical fields of Hyrule. I guess that's why I was able to learn magic

so easily. I thought about using the ki energy by itself as an attack. I

can still do all the spells that I learned on Hyrule, but I figured that

there might be some times that I wouldn't be able to use magic. Ki blasts

don't pack nearly as much force, but they don't drain me like magic does

and they're easier to use."

"Makes sense." Navi agreed. "People don't believe in magic and I guess

using Din's Fire would be overdoing it."

"You got it. I found out that projecting my emotions into my ki allows me

to fire it off. The Moko Takabisha is based on my confidence."

"You haven't been using the magic spells that you learned on Hyrule that

often. You also haven't been relying on those other items either."

"Well, magic is nice and all, but I kind of feel more comfortable on

relying on myself. I started out as a martial artist and I really want to

keep training. That doesn't mean that I won't be using magic anymore, but

I'll use it only when I need it, that's all. We don't want to draw too much

attention to ourselves now do we?"

"I have no problems with that Ranma. By the way, it's been three months

since we came here. Don't you think it's time that we went to see your

family?"

Ranma's expression darkened again as he recalled his father Genma. Then it

became saddened as he remembered his mother. With a tired sigh he replied

to his fairy, "No Navi. I don't want to see them."

"Why not? After not seeing you for six years, I would have thought they

would be happy to find you."

"It's not that I don't want to see my mother. I haven't seen her since I

was five. It's my father that I never want to lay eyes on again. Not after

what he did to me."

"What did he do to you? Although I am mind-linked to you, there are certain

parts of your psyche that seemed to be deliberately closed off."

"I guess it's all right to tell you. I mean... who could you tell?"

"You know me Ranma. I'd never betray your thoughts."

Ranma nodded as he began to explain. "When I was five, Pop took me away

from Mom to start my training in the martial arts. Let me tell you,

training with Pop was no picnic. He kept me from making any friends as he

told me that my training in the Art was all that mattered. I never got to

make any long-term friendships with anyone, since we moved around a lot.

With one exception, I can't really call anyone my friend here on Earth."

"Who was this person?"

"His name was Ukyo Kuonji. He and his father ran an okonomiyaki yattai.

When Pop and I stopped by near the place where they had their business,

Ukyo and me became fast friends. I called him Ucchan and he called me

Ran-chan. We were both six years old at the time. We would always play a

game where we would fight for a free okonomiyaki. I would always win. Even

though it bugged him that he lost every time, it really didn't matter much

in those days. He was my best buddy! Then after a few weeks, Pop and I went

back on the road. I really didn't like it when Pop told me to forget about

him. I still don't know how we ended up with his father's cart."

"Huh?"

"Don't ask me. I still don't understand it myself. Anyway, since then, we

spent the next four years hopping from place to place. We never stayed

longer than a few days with each stop. It got really lonely."

"I know the feeling Ranma!" Navi agreed. "I guess you also had a selfish

reason for consenting to bond with me!"

"That's right. You and the Kokiri were the best friends I ever had! But...

a lack of friends isn't the only reason why I don't want to see my father."

"What are the other reasons?"

"Pop was a cheapskate and didn't have much when it came to morals. He...

made me lie and steal things. I'm not proud to admit it."

"What?" Navi said in surprise.

"It's true! He kept on telling me that it was all part of the training, but

somehow, I doubt it! He'd never allow me to eat anything but rice, saying

that it would toughen up my digestion system. We'd always be living

outdoors and in very bad weather. Whenever I was ill, he'd say that I'd

have to bear it. He'd make me steal from others whenever we needed stuff.

Pop would always remind me it was the sake of the Art, but after meeting up

with the Gerudo, I know that it was all for HIS sake, not mine! At least

the Gerudo are honest thieves. They don't hide behind a false wall of

honor, and they'd never steal stuff from people who needed it. They know

where to draw the line! Pop didn't care about anything but his fat belly!

Most I ever stole went to feeding him!"

"How terrible!"

"Yeah, well the final straw was just before I came to Hyrule. Pop decided

to start training me in some so-called Ultimate Attack: the Cat Fist!"

"What's that?" Navi asked.

"The training is simple and stupid! I was wrapped from head to toe with

fish sausage and tossed into a pit of starving cats!"

"Say what?!"

"According to Pop, the cats are supposed to imbue their savagery and

viciousness into the trainee while they tore him apart. I was tossed down

repeatedly into that pit! It was the most horrible experience I ever had.

Heck, facing Queen Gohma, King Dodongo, Barinade and all those other

monsters and bad guys didn't scare me like those cats did."

"I can't believe that your father would actually do such a thing to his

only child!"

"It's true!" Ranma affirmed. "Every time he threw me into that pit, I felt

a little more of my mind slip away as those cats tore at my body. Kami-sama

only knows what would have happened if I had to endure that torment any

longer. Pop always said that a martial artist must suffer for the sake of

the Art."

"I think your father is a few Rupees short of a wallet!"

"No arguments here! In any case, I'm glad that I was sent to Hyrule. I had

things there that I never had before. Friends and a chance to make my own

decisions. Now that I'm back home, I'm going to become the best fighter in

the world, but on my terms. I want nothing to do with my father. My biggest

fear is that I turn out to be like him. No way."

"I can see that you're not very fond of your father, and I understand but

what about your mother? With my magic, it would be easy for me to find

her."

Ranma's expression became thoughtful as he considered it. Finally, he

answered, "No. It's tempting but I can't. If Mom ever knew that I was still

alive, then she'd tell Pop. I don't want him ever to find me again. He's

caused me enough grief."

"All right Ranma. I won't force you to do anything that makes you

uncomfortable. Just remember that my offer to help you find your Mom still

stands if you ever change your mind."

"Thanks Navi."

One month later, Ranma and Navi had decided to make preparations to head

for Japan. They had shared many adventures in China and Ranma's exploits

had started to become the stuff of legends. By now, Ranma had mastered more

than twenty different fighting styles. He tried his best to use his special

talents only when absolutely necessary, but whenever he did use them, those

who observed him were astounded beyond words.

In one village that was suffering from an outbreak of disease, Ranma had

used a healing spell and a few portions of Lon Lon Milk to fully cure its

people. In another village, he had to clear a pathway that was blocked by a

huge boulder that had fallen due to an earthquake. One swing with the

Megaton Hammer had reduced the boulder to gravel. Another village began

worshipping him like a god when he destroyed a band of raiders with Din's

Fire. Some believed he was some kind of wizard when he used the Lens of

Truth to find a missing child. He had also encountered several swordsmen,

who quickly retracted their challenges as soon as he hauled out the

Biggoron's Sword.

Many other fighters, who had heard of his incredible strength and skills,

had also challenged Ranma. Ranma soundly defeated all of them, many of whom

were well-known experts in their fighting styles. As Ranma traveled

throughout China, his fame grew. Ranma was very careful not to reveal his

family name as he still wanted to stay inconspicuous.

One day, on his way to the coast, Ranma came across a small valley that was

secluded in the Bayankala Mountains. As he came to the entrance, a portly

Chinese man greeted him.

"Hello sir! Welcome to famous Training Grounds of Cursed Springs,

Jusenkyo!"

"Jusenkyo? What's that?"

"Oh sir! This place is very dangerous! No one use much now. Over one

hundred springs here and each have own terrible tragedy!"

Listen to him! Navi urged as she floated beside him. There's some really

powerful and raw fairy magic here! I'd advise that you avoid this place!

Ranma nodded as he asked the Guide, "Excuse me, but can you tell me where I

can get some supplies? I'm really hungry." Ranma reached into a pocket and

took out something. He then dropped it into the Guide's hand.

The Guide's eyes widened as he saw the Green Rupee in his hand. He then

brought it up to the light. It was real! The gem alone was worth more than

he made in a year! "Oh yes sir! I know of a place nearby! Follow me!"

A half an hour later, the two had exited the mountains and were following a

trail.

"So where is this place?" Ranma asked.

"Oh sir! We go to Niechieju, rustic village of Amazon womens!"

"Amazon?"

"Yes sir! They very strong fighters! Not many people know of them!"

The two of them soon came to a large village that was surrounded by a huge,

stone wall. As they entered through the gate, they saw a large crowd that

was gathered around what appeared to be a fighting arena.

"Oh very lucky! Today the womens have tournament!" The Guide said as he and

Ranma took a seat.

Ranma looked at the two combatants, both of whom were battling in out on a

thick log that was suspended between two pillars. One of the fighters was

at least twice as large as her opponent and was using a staff that had a

metal, knobbed head on it. She was built like a sumo wrestler and was

trying her best to knock her adversary off the log.

The other fighter was slender and moved with more grace as she wielded two

steel maces. She had long purple hair and was far more attractive than her

opponent. As she continued to battle, Ranma began to sense that someone

else was watching him. Navi also detected the presence of another.

Ranma! That old woman over there! I think she can sense my presence!

Ranma looked out of the corner of one eye in the direction Navi was

pointing. Sure enough, an extremely old woman who was about two feet tall

and balancing on a wooden staff was staring at them. Her eyes narrowed as

she gave the two an appraising gaze.

Cologne was more than surprised to see someone who had such a strong ki and

a mystic aura about him. She was equally surprised to sense the presence of

something else. It seemed to hover near the boy's right shoulder. Although

her senses were far greater than the other Elders of the village were, she

could just barely detect the fairy's presence. She appeared to her eyes as

a faint outline. Could that be one of the Old Ones? If so, could that boy

be a mage? Very interesting!

At this time, the purple-haired girl had finally knocked her opponent off

the log and was standing in triumph. It was then, that dark clouds began to

form overhead. The Amazons looked up and saw the cloud swirl and blanket

their village. There was an ominous silence as the winds blew around the

area where the crowds were gathered.

Ranma began to become uneasy as he started to sense a buildup of dark

magical forces. Navi also became nervous as she too, detected mystic power

at work. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Ranma turned his gaze back

up to the cloud. His eyes widened as he saw the mists swirl and begin to

take the shape of... a face?

Cologne's eyes narrowed in annoyance as she recognized the cloudy visage.

Hopping to the front of the crowd, she addressed the face in a loud voice.

"What do you want, Saffron?"

The face smirked at the diminutive matriarch below it. Then in a booming

voice, it responded. "I have merely come to see if you had accepted my

offer, Cologne. Have you and the other Elders considered it?"

"We have!" Cologne shot back. "We would rather die than submit to be your

slaves!"

"A pity." Saffron replied. "After all the trouble I went through in

destroying the Musk Dynasty for you!"

"We did not ask for any favors!" Cologne yelled. "You only wiped out the

Musk Dynasty because they refused to be your lackeys! It was only by mere

coincidence that they were our hated enemies! We owe you nothing!"

Saffron replied with a grin. "Perhaps I have not given you enough time.

Yes, I think some more time is in order. I will leave for now so that you

may reconsider. To show that there are no hard feelings, I leave you with a

parting gift. Something that I had learned from the Musk before I destroyed

them. Enjoy!"

Saffron's voice trailed off as the cloud began to change shape. The Amazons

began to back away as the cloud descended toward the ground and became more

defined. Both Ranma and Navi became pale as they saw the mists solidify and

take on the image of... scales? The black cloud became larger in size and

finally, its final form was revealed. It was then that all hell broke

loose.

The cloud had become a gigantic, black dragon that measured more than three

hundred feet in length. It had a lizard's body, and batwings mounted behind

the shoulders of its forepaws. Its mouth opened wide and revealed rows of

sharp teeth as it let off a deafening roar. Above its square snout were

long whiskers. The crowd began to scatter as it looked down at them with

solid red eyes. It began to inhale deeply and most people present knew what

was about to occur next.

The dragon did not disappoint them. It let loose huge gouts of flame, which

shot overhead the panicked masses and torched a group of buildings into

cinders. It followed through with another fiery blast, setting more houses

on fire. The people scrambled away from the beast, hoping to find cover

from the attacks.

Ranma was almost trampled in the mob as he too, tried to get out of the

way. He then noticed that the Jusenkyo Guide had deserted him. Looking

toward the front gate, he spotted the fat Chinese man running toward it. He

was not alone however. Several others had also decided that leaving the

immediate area was the best hope of escape. Ranma's blood turned cold as he

noted that the dragon had spotted the fleeing group.

Ranma ducked behind a nearby house and watched with horror. ["Navi! That

dragon's going to roast them alive!"]

["I know Ranma! We have to help these people! However, we can't let them

know about you! I sense many unscrupulous individuals here who would love

to get their hands on the power and items you possess! We have to keep your

abilities a secret!"]

["What can I do?"]

["I was hoping that we wouldn't have to resort to this! Look at the back of

your right hand!"]

Ranma looked down at his hand and his eyes widened as he saw what just

appeared. It was the image of three triangles arranged to from a larger

triangle. The lower right triangle was a solid yellow while the other two

were line images. The images began to glow even brighter.

["The TriForce of Courage?! I still have it?!"] Ranma's eyes took on the

size of dinner plates.

["Yes, Ranma! Ganondorf still retains the TriForce of Power while Princess

Zelda has the TriForce of Wisdom! The Evil King needs all three pieces in

order to break free of his prison in the evil realm! The sages thought that

it would be best that you kept the TriForce of Courage to ensure that

Ganondorf remained sealed away!"]

But what does this mean?

["If you want to help those people and keep your identity a secret, then

focus your power into the TriForce of Courage! Hurry!"]

Ranma nodded as he began to concentrate. His body began to glow with a

white light as the TriForce of Courage floated free from his hand and

enlarged itself. Ranma let off a surprised yelp as his body was enveloped

in a brilliant flash of luminescence. The TriForce of Courage rotated once

and then vanished, leaving Ranma to look down at himself.

The young martial artist's eyes widened as he saw that he had been returned

to his Hyrule form. His ears were pointed and his skin was paler. His hair

had been changed from black to gold and he was once again dressed in his

Kokiri clothes. His Hylian Shield was strapped to his back and his

Biggoron's Sword was in its scabbard. He felt even more power, both

physical and magical coursing through his body.

In the timestream�

Sailor Pluto was suddenly caught off guard at the double influx of power as

she once again glimpsed the image of the three triangles. This time

however, she saw a double image, one with the top triangle filled in, and

the second with one of the lower triangles colored. She could feel the

energy being emitted from the symbols, which made her shiver. The power

being emitted was on a par with the Imperium Silver Crystal and she had the

feeling that whatever was doing this wasn't even emitting a tenth of its

full potential. The energy output was so great and something seemed to be

obscuring the source, as she couldn't focus in on the events of the

present. She also got that familiar feeling again and she decided that the

answer to this anomaly must be somewhere in the distant past of the

long-dead Moon Kingdom. She began looking back down the timestream.

On Earth�

["The glamourie spell has been completed!"] Navi said. ["No one has ever

seen you in your Hyrule body before so they won't recognize you!"]

["Good! Come on Navi!"]

"Ranma! Wait for me!" Navi cried out.

Ranma's Hylian strength came into play as he easily cleared the crowds in a

forty-foot leap. As he was coming down, he silently called forth the

Megaton Hammer from its place in Limbo. Hefting the heavy Goron weapon

aloft, Ranma landed on the nape of the dragon's neck and slammed the hammer

down with tremendous force, just as the beast was about to incinerate a

crowd of villagers.

THOOM!!!

The dragon reared back in pain as the hammer struck. Shaking its head to

clear it of the dizziness, it then again tried to char the people in front

of it.

THOOM!!!

The dragon roared in pain again as second blow hit its head. And then a

third blow hit. Then another and then another. As each blow connected, the

beast thrashed about. Looking above its head, the dragon spotted something

out of the corner of one eye. Something or someone was giving it the worst

migraine in history. Confused that a mere mortal was actually dealing out

massive amounts of pain, despite its thick, scaly hide, the black beast

began thrashing its head about, hoping to shake the annoyance off.

Unfortunately for the dragon, Ranma had his Iron Boots on to keep him

steady as he continued to whack away at his foe's noggin. After the first

few blows had smashed through the scales, Ranma took out the Biggoron's

Sword and began slashing away at the exposed tissue. The dragon roared even

louder as the incessant pounding had been replaced by sharp pain as

something was cutting it. Finally, in desperation, the monster spread its

wings and took off, hoping to get rid of its irritant.

The Amazons watched in awe as the dragon took flight and carried their

mysterious savior with it. They soon became a distant dot in the sky over

the horizon.

Unknown to both Navi and Ranma, one person had seen the transformation.

Cologne watched with interest as the dragon disappeared into the distance.

<Amazing! That boy is in possession of immense magical power! He would be

quite an asset to our tribe! Especially now that he is battling Saffron's

pet! We could use such a warrior in our coming battles with the Lord of

Phoenix Mountain! This bears looking into�>

Three thousand feet about sea level, Ranma was still slashing away with the

Biggoron's Sword. The dragon had twisted, dived, turned and made loops in

its attempts to free itself, but he still hung on and continued to hack

away at the beast. Beside him, Navi desperately tried to keep up with the

monster. She wanted to help her bond-partner, but since the monster's power

outstripped her own, she could do very little against it.

"Ranma! Watch out!" Navi screamed as the dragon suddenly inverted itself.

Ranma was caught off guard as he slipped off the dragon's neck. Knowing

that his Iron Boots would be a hindrance now, he quickly switched to his

Hover Boots, hoping that they would at least slow his descent. The winged

footwear glowed with their golden light as they invoked their limited

levitation powers. Ranma felt himself decelerate. However, that was when

Navi flew down beside him and frantically pointed to his right. His eyes

widened as he saw what was coming at him.

Apparently, the dragon was not content to let him fall to his death. It

intended to fry him on the spot for causing is so much pain. Ranma could

see it prepare to let loose a fiery blast as it dived toward him. With less

than a second away from incineration, Ranma pulled out his Mirror Shield.

The dragon released its incendiary breath at him. The huge blast of flame

and heat impacted with the polished surface of the shield. However, much to

the dragon's surprise, the flames were absorbed into the shield and were

then redirected back at it. The monster howled in pain as it was hit in the

face. Normally, the flames would not have been able to harm it, due to its

protective, scaly hide. However, since Ranma had greatly injured the

dragon, the heat seared the open wounds caused by his weapons

The beast let off a final roar as the flames ravaged its wounds and

penetrated into its skull. Suddenly, the dragon's body burst into a fiery

mass as it streaked past Ranma's free-falling form., leaving a thick trail

of black smoke. It plummeted down towards the sea and caused a great splash

when it hit the water. The sea boiled and churned as the temperatures rose

to unbearable levels. Finally, the waters settled down and the dragon was

no longer seen.

Even though his Hover Boots had slowed down his descent to less than

terminal velocity, Ranma didn't like the idea of landing in boiling

seawater. Calling forth his Fairy Bow, he notched an arrow and began

infusing it with a blue energy. He then released the arrow, which streaked

down and shot into the water. At the point of impact, the Ice Arrow

released a blue flash, instantly forming large chunks of ice. The ice

melted within seconds in the heated water, but it was enough to cool the

temperature to barely tolerable levels.

Just as he was about fifty feet above the surface of the water, Ranma put

away his bow and summoned forth his Zoran Tunic. A gift from King Zora

himself, the cloth of the tunic was made from a material, which simulated

the gills of a fish. Ranma splashed down and disappeared beneath the

surface of the waves. Navi flew down and hovered above the sea, waiting for

Ranma to surface. Four minutes later, Ranma came up.

"Ranma! Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He replied. "Just a little waterlogged. Where are we?"

"Looks like we're more than halfway across the China Sea. Japan is about

3000 miles from here."

"Eeeewwww, this place stinks!"

"I know. When that dragon hit the water, the heat had caused a considerable

fish kill. You're literally swimming in soup."

"Hey! What's that?" Ranma pointed to what appeared to be a long piece of

string.

Navi hovered over it and said, "That's one of the whiskers of the dragon

that you killed. Dragon whiskers have certain magical properties."

"Oh." Ranma then noted that his hair had come loose and the band that he

normally used to tie his hair was gone. He then reached for the whisker and

used it to tie his hair. "I guess I should keep this. Who knows? It might

come in handy. Hey! What's happening?" Ranma was enveloped in another flash

of light and then found himself in his normal-looking body again. Looking

down at his right hand, he saw that the TriForce of Courage was fading back

into his skin.

"The danger has past and the TriForce has returned to its dormant state

until the next time you need it!" Navi explained.

"So where to now?"

"Well, we were heading to Japan, before we got sidetracked to that Amazon

Village, so I guess we'd better go that way."

"Three thousand miles? Even though I'm stronger than average, that's still

a long way to go!"

"Don't worry Ranma. With your Zoran Tunic, even if you stop somewhere along

the way, you won't drown. That tunic allows you to breathe underwater

indefinitely you know."

"I know." Ranma sighed as he began the long swim back to his homeland. "I

just hope Japan isn't as crazy as China!"

Navi bobbed in agreement as she followed her bond-partner.

In the timestream, Sailor Pluto's eyes widened as she saw a scene in the

distant past. The image depicted the events that concerned the Moon

Kingdom; one thousand years before its eventual fall at the hands the

Negaverse. She saw another splendid kingdom, whose people had fair skin,

pointed ears and high magical abilities. She then saw� IT. The three

triangles that seemed to personify that magical realm and she then

remembered the old records. She opened her mouth and uttered a single word.

"Hyrule."

To be continued...

Author's Notes

It's been while since I've looked back at this storyline, and with new

encouragement from my readers to continue this tale, I've decided to give

the previous chapters a bit of an overhaul. My readers will notice some

very definite changes as this goes on, but the general plot will remain the

same. Thanks to all my fans for keeping this story alive.