Ranma 1/2: Ranma of Grayskull Crossover: Masters of the Universe By: Dani Yanega yanega@mindspring.com (please respond to this e-mail address) http://www.mindspring.com/~yanega/index.htm Mirror Site at: http://www.ranko.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/index.htm Chapter Ten Ranma wakes her head feels like it is going to explode. She is alone in the middle of the quartz castle inside the valley of the mist. She looks round with surprise as she tries to stand but stumbles back to the ground her legs weak from what ever happen to her. She slowly sits up and takes the lotus position and begins to sort out her newly crammed mind. Her eyes open when she feels the presence of others. In front of her stands Jagar and a beautiful female spirit, the fact she is wearing an outfit that makes her look like a dragon is not lost on her. Ranma stands shakily and bows deeply to the woman, who smiles proudly at her. "Greetings honored ancestor and ancient guardian of Grayskull." Ranma stands and sees the shock of the specters faces, she grins cockily at them "Only sorceresses of Grayskull where outfits like that. Besides I have been in the 'Hall of the Sorceress' at Grayskull and I recognize you from your painting Karamer." The female spirit laughs her eyes twinkling with long gone life. Karamer stands at six feet, she is very shapely and can give Ranma's female body a run for the money. Her eyes are large but because she is a spirit the color is long gone. Her face has a gentle quality very much like the present sorceress and is oval in shape and very beautiful. She wears a headdress of the upper portion of a dragons head it reaches to her shoulders and hangs open under her chin. Her body suit is of dragon scales and when she raises her arms there are wings attached to them and to the body suit. She is wearing two-inch heel boots that come about three inches above the knee. "Does the fact that I am in the castle mean the spirits of the mist will allow me to live here?" Ranma asks hopefully. {Yes it does, but they are wondering if you will allow them to remain in the mist. Many fear you will force them back to the spirit plane.} Karamer tells the still reeling redhead. "Actually I was hoping they would stay and continue to keep people out of the valley. As Mystic Warrior I will be under attack from my enemies and if there are people other then myself living here they will be in danger. I also will be using the valley and mountains as a training ground and some of my attacks can destroy mountains." Ranma tells them with sincere worry for those she might accidentally hurt. {What about your friends? Surely you would want them to have access to your home?} Jagar asks her an eyebrow raising as she shakes her head no. "Not complete access no, I have learned from the sorceress that Skeletor can create a fake copy of He-Man. So if they have free access to the valley, this fake He-Man could come in and cause trouble. I think I would like to bring them in on a per visit basis. They must be allowed by the spirits for each visit and only if I want visitors." Ranma finishes looking up at the two spirits before her, hoping they will agree. Ranma watches as they each get a haze over their colorless eyes as if daydreaming but she is sure it is because they are talking to the other spirits. Ranma closes her eyes and stretches out her senses using her martial arts senses she can feel the presence of the spirits in the valley. She gasps when the Spirit Weaver power joins with her martial art senses and she can not only feel their combined presence but she can now pick out individual spirits. She pushes her new senses farther and can just make out the conversation between Jagar, Karamer, and the other spirits. The two spirits watch Ranma use her new powers and smile at how quickly she can use them. Even with the onslaughts of knowledge most Spirit Weavers still need time to learn their powers. It seems this girl chosen as the Mystic Warrior is a prodigy when it comes to skills such as these. {They agree Ranma. How will you go about claiming the valley?} Karamer asks her. Ranma opens her eyes and looks toward the two spirits. She smiles at them she moves toward them but stumbles slightly. She rights herself then stretches to remove the kinks. She looks back at the two liaisons with the spirits around her home. She smiles with true happiness at them. "The sorceress is going to help me talk with King Randor about buying the valley." She tells them, they each quirk an eyebrow. {So Randor is the name of Eternia's king now.} Jagar asks as he rubs his ghostly chin. "I have a question?" Ranma asks the two spirits look at her, waiting for her to ask. "If one of my parents is a Spirit Weaver how come they and I have not been able to use our powers?" The two spirits look at each other with surprise then back at the young girl. {Spirit Weavers must have their powers activated by access to a rift such as this. Your planet must not have any type rifts or they may be too small to give the access needed to trigger the powers.} Ranma nods understanding as she beings to look around her new home. "I just hope it wasn't pop I get them from. Not much damage in here is there." The spirits watch her with a small amount of confusion then respect her attempt to change the subject. {No although some of the quartz will need to be replaced in the walls of the castle it has held up well. You will find at the base of the mountains there is a quartz mind. The rose quartz is all but gone but there are other colors there you can use to repair the castle.} Jagar tells her as he points in the direction of the mountains that is the north wall of the valley. {Are you going to rebuild the wall around the castle?} Karamer asks her, Ranma turns to and shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know, I might leave a short wall maybe two feet high. I really don't want to obstruct the view to the valley." The spirits nod knowingly. Ranma looks around the large room she estimates it must be about thirty foot square. The rose quartz walls letting off a pink glow as the sun passes through them. There is no furniture left in the room as it decayed long ago. The room has no windows so she believes it must be an interior room. At the south end of the room is an opening where doors use to hang. The north end has a raised dais of rose quartz with a pile of decaying wood. She walks over to it and finds mixed in with the wood is a gold filigree crown that must have been a decoration for the throne. "This was the throne room?" She turns to Jagar with a questioning look, he nods yes. "I really won't need a throne room, can I turn this into a sitting room? Maybe use it for entreating or maybe a war room I have a feeling I will need one." She tells the two spirits. {There is a war room already and a sitting room would work this is your home now.} Karamer tells her with a warm smile. {I think however you should save that for another day it is getting late and the sorceress will be worried.} Karamer finishes as she walks up to the warrior placing her ghostly hand on Ranma's shoulder. "Yes I better hurry then." Ranma turns to leave then turns to face the two spirits she bows deeply to them. "Thank you honored spirits for allowing me my own home and a place to restart my life." With that she turns and walks from the room. /*\*/*\ Kasumi has been talking for hours with the owner of the manor. She is already a tenant as Elisa and she had come to an agreement an hour after Kasumi's arrival. Kasumi likes the older woman she thinks her mother would have been like this woman. After the signing of the lease, they have continued talking about each other's lives and Kasumi is just finishing with her story. "Well I must say this Ranma does seem to have a fast mouth but he is right, you need to have a life of your own. You can not be your families mother any longer it is time to leave the nest and let your father do what he should have done when your mother died and that is take responsibility for his family." She tells the elder Tendo with a stern gaze. "Now the house is empty at the moment but that is because the college is on break but it will be filling up again in at the end of next month as the students start looking for rooms." Elisa continues while she pours Kasumi some more tea. "I don't usually rent my suites out on a permanent basis but you're a special case, I think." Elisa smiles at Kasumi who blushes slightly. "Now these sisters of your I won't have them coming to my home and destroying it or bugging it will I? She asks, Kasumi shakes her head no. "I do not plan on telling them where I am. I will visit them but they will not come here. Well at least not till Nabiki finds out she has spies everywhere. I will deal with _her_ if and when she finds me." Elisa nods then rises and motions for Kasumi to follow. The two women leave the large family room which for its size is quite cozy. There are several couches set up as a 'u' against the north wall at the open end of the 'u' sits a large television. There is a sliding door on the east wall that goes out to the garden which house cherry trees and roses and many other varieties of flowering plants. The south wall of the room has another set of 'u' shaped sofas but this one has bookshelves which have many different types of books for reading or reference. On the west wall are the front door and a hallway that goes to Elisa's office, kitchen and private suite of rooms. On the other side of the front door is another hallway which goes to the bathroom, laundry room, and stairs to the basement where there are storage bins set up for each of the apartments. The two women go upstairs and at the top of the stairs Elisa show Kasumi the house furo, though each sweet of rooms has a small bath and shower. She then take Kasumi back toward the south end of the house past the first couple of suite of rooms on that side of the house and down a matching hallway. They get to the end and Elisa opens the door to the suite just above her own. The two-woman step inside and Kasumi's eyes widen. They enter the living/dinning room first which is about twenty five-foot square and looks like it use to be two separate rooms. The south wall has three sets of bay windows each with window seats. On the west wall are more windows but they are not bays and are one of the walls in the small kitchenette. In the north west corner of that wall is a closet. On the east wall are two doors the southern door leads to the bedroom while the northern door leads to the small bathroom and shower. The living area is painted in white there are no drapes but the carpet in the room is soft blue. Kasumi enters the room and looks around, she goes to the windows and can look out onto the street she came on. She opens some of the windows and finds the room gets a wonderful breeze. She then checks the window seats and finds they are storage units. She then goes to the door leading to her new bedroom. It is also painted white and needs curtains, but with her trust fund from Ranma she will have no problems making these rooms her home. The room has a large walk-in closet and has windows on both the south and east walls. They are the same style of windows as in the living rooms. She turns to Elisa her eyes truly filled with happiness for the first time in years, she bows to the woman deeply. "Thank you Tanaka-san these rooms are beautiful!" She rises tears fill her eyes yet do not fall. "You will call me Elisa, Kasumi. Now you can start moving in any time you want if you want to do it slowly that is fine. I suggest you start by furnishing your new home then when your ready it is a simple matter of bringing your clothes. You will also want to check out the colleges in the area and get your entrance exams going." Elisa leads Kasumi from her rooms handing Kasumi the keys once she locks the door. "If you like I can help you go shopping for furniture I know all the best stores around here where you can get good quality furniture at reasonable prices." She tells the older Tendo as they head back down stairs. "May I use your telephone to let my family know I won't be back till later tomorrow night?" Kasumi asks thinking she wants to spend one night in her new home before she returns to the mad house of the Tendo Dojo. "Of course dear, that is another thing we will need to get the telephone company out here to put in a phone. I usually let my tenants use the house phone but since you will be a permanent residence I am sure you will want your own telephone." Elisa asks her Kasumi responds with a quick nod. Kasumi calls home then she and Elisa leave and head for the furniture stores to furnish her rooms. She decides she will get a futon to bring back with her so she will have some place to sleep. Elisa agreed to let the delivery people in when the furnishing arrive, but she had to drag the woman's promise out of her not to set them up because Kasumi wants that honor herself. /*\*/*\ "DIE! DIE!" *POUND CRASH BASH!* Akane pounds her dinner back into the pot, while her family cringes in fear. "I will get it!" Akane tells everyone as she heads to the telephone. "Moshi, Moshi?" Akane listens her eyes brighten with excitement. "Take all the time you need Kasumi everything is fine here. I promise it will be even cleaner then when you left, uh huh, I'll tell them. Bye, bye!" Akane hangs up the telephone then heads back into the kitchen. "That was Kasumi she is going to be a day longer she will be back tomorrow night maybe the next day in the morning, her friend is not feeling to well." Akane tells her dumbstruck family totally ignoring their looks of terror. "HEY! GET BACK IN THAT POT!" The others cringe but are unable to move since Akane _persuaded_ them to eat her dinner. “You will _Saotome_!” Growls Nabiki, Genma looking at her in fear, Nabiki snears at him with a look of disgust. “_NOT_ you, you stupid panda! Ranma! This is all his fault!” Nabiki snaps at him, Genma nods his head in agreement. The three members of the household are sitting at the dinning room table their eyes wide with fear as their nostril flare and the grimace at the stench coming from the kitchen. They try to sneak out but the bruises on their bodies prove to be more then just surface discoloration, for when the three try to push off the table their legs give out and they fall back into a heap at the table. Each of them moans loudly. Akane peeks her head out the kitchen when she sees her family still there, she smiles and goes back in to finish with dinner. /*\*/*\ Mousse walks up to the Saotome home a stern scowl on his face. He is unhappy with the turn of events. He pauses at the door adjusting his glasses, he is a little guilty coming to _Saotome's_ family home after his attempts to kill him. He sighs heavily and knocks on the door. He stands there waiting for the door to open. He looks around the yard and notices it is a lot smaller then the Tendo's yard. He sees a dojo but it is half the size of the one at the Tendo house. Which is probably why Mr. Saotome wants to control it by forcing Ranma to honor the agreement to marry a Tendo. The yard is nice though and more tranquil with the small garden and the walking bridge over the pond at one side. Mousse turns at the sound of the door opening. "Greetings grandson! Come in and join us we are just sitting down to dinner." Mousse looks and sees his grandmother's smiling face. [Uh oh, that can't be good!] He thinks as he enters the house. Mousse walks into the homey atmosphere that is Nodoka Saotome's home, his new aunt if he is to believe Shampoo. A glint of metal catches his eye and he turns to see the katana Ranma gave his mother before Happosai sent him away. It is on the mantle over the fireplace in the place that is reserved for the Saotome honor blade. He watches the matriarch of the Saotome clan as she lovingly caresses the blade. Mousse feels guilty at the fact that Ranma is gone, because of the pain it has brought to this woman. "Grandson this is your new aunt Nodoka, my dear this is my grandson Mousse." She introduces them formally for the first time, they bow to each other. "Greetings Saotome-san, I am sorry for your lose." Mousse tells her and he hopes with some sincerity. "Yes I am sure you are young man." He shivers at the chill in her voice, he looks to his grandmother and sees a sly grin on her face. "Why am I here grandmother?" He asks knowing that grin can only mean trouble for him. "Why grandson to have dinner with me and your aunt." She looks at him with a mock wounded look, he turns quickly at Nodoka's giggle. Mousse shivers as he now knows he is in for a hard time tonight. He knew it would come from Nodoka because of his attacks on her son but now he sees it will be coming from his grandmother as well. He will have to write his sister and chide her for letting their grandmother talk her into this. Mousse sits at the table his hands folded neatly in his lap his gaze straight-ahead. Nodoka brings in the meal and serves her guests first starting with Lily then Mousse and finally herself. They all eat quietly for a few moments until Lily breaks the silence. "So grandson what were you told by Cologne and Shampoo this afternoon?" Lily watches her grandson's shrugging of his shoulders. "That you were staying with Mrs. Saotome, but no reason why you were here or why you were staying with Saotome's mother." He tells her while pushing the food on his plate around with his chopsticks. "I see, well grandson, the most important thing to know is that as long as Cologne remains in _Japan or outside_ the village she does not have Elder status. She is still the Matriarch of her family but she carries the same authority as a warrior." Lily watches as Mousse snaps his chopsticks in half, Nodoka picks up one of the spare sets Lily recommended she keep handy and gives it to him. "The second is since Ranma found a way around the outsider law the counsel agreed to his terms he is now an Amazon warrior because of his female side and has all the rights and privileges of that rank." Mousse's hands clench into tight fists breaking the new pair of chopsticks as well, Nodoka decides to wait until Lily is done talking to him. "We also had Cologne and Shampoo sign in blood that Ranma is an Amazon and Shampoo's sister which means Shampoo can not marry Ranma." The words slowly sink into Mousse's haze and a large smile spreads across his face, Nodoka feels it is safe to hand the blind boy another set of chopsticks. "I am here as an Elder while your sister Orchid has taken my place on the counsel so that I may come and claim my new family members. Ranma and his mother." Nodoka shakes her head in resignation as Mousse snaps another set of chopsticks. "Mousse will you answer me a question honestly and think before you answer?" Nodoka asks her new nephew. "I..I guess." Mousse has an uneasy feeling about this new member of his family. "You saw Ranma and Akane's relationship first hand what did you really think of it?" She asks him seriousness oozing from every fiber of her being. Mousse opens his mouth to say they were in love but remembering his promise he shut it just as quickly. Mousse looks down at his hands concentrating on the blur where he knew they were. His mind going over Ranma and Akane's live since he first came to Nerima. "I believe they were in love, Ranma proved that time and again by his efforts to save her. He even killed for her." Mousse tells the mother but he does not look at her. "However, after the failed wedding I think things were different. I didn't notice it then but thinking about it I can see where things were starting to change *SIGH*." Mousse pushes his plate from him and tucks his arms in his sleeves. "How so young man?" Nodoka asks him her eyebrow quirking with curiosity. "Well I think the first problem was Akane knew about the Nanniichuan and her not telling him before the wedding hurt him. He thought she was not like the others wanting him as a prize but as a person." Mousse's gaze falls upon the open doors to the back yard his look goes blank while he watches the setting sun reflect of the small pond. "That is very insightful grandson how do you even know this for I am sure grandchild Ranma would not tell you." Lily asks proud of her grandson for his ability to truly read others; this trait will be helpful to his sister. "I..I um spied on them. Most people don't notice me when I am duck and quiet, the same goes for Shampoo and Ryoga." Mousse slaps his hands over his mouth as he was ordered not to tell anyone. "Ryoga has a curse?" Nodoka asks the blind cursed boy; resignedly Mousse nods his head. "He is P-chan, Akane's pet pig and she doesn't know. That is why Ranma is always picking on the black piglet." Mousse tells them his shoulders slumped. "Why did my son not just tell her?" Nodoka asks her eyes sparking with the beginning embers of anger. "The one thing I can say I respect most about your son is his honor. Ryoga made him promise when he first found out not to tell anyone, because it is a weakness in a fight. Ranma agreed since he is the one who accidentally knocked Ryoga into the springs. After that Ryoga became P-chan for Akane to get even with Ranma for all the imagined slights Ranma did to him. Ranma tried to drop hints, and they were big enough to drive a train through but Akane never caught on. I do believe though that Ryoga truly loves Akane he just doesn't know how to tell her." Mousse quickly explains watching the fire of rage fizzle out in the woman's eye then flare up again. "That means Akane has been unfaithful to my son and this Ryoga has dishonored the girl. I will need to call Soun and tell him he must put a stop to this.' Nodoka tells her guests as she rises from the table. "He already _knows_." Mousse says quietly kind of glad the subject about him has been sidetracked. Nodoka stops her back to the two Amazons. They watch as she gets ramrod straight. They would almost swear she is glowing. Nodoka turns and faces the blind boy a cold and fierce smile on her face one Nabiki would even cringe from. She walks up to the young Hidden Weapons Master her eyes a raging inferno. "Did Genma know of this situation?" Nodoka asks him her voice chilling him to his very core; he decides she is even scarier then the entire village's counsel. "Y..Yes. Everyone did but Akane and the two Kuno's but they're just nuts so they don't really count." Mousse backs away from the glowing Saotome matriarch. "I see, it seems that no one in that house is trustworthy." Nodoka tells them looking off into space, she suddenly turns to Mousse. "Did Kasumi know?" Mousse gulps at the intensity of the woman's rage. Mousse looks to his grandmother uncertainty on his face. Lily's gaze was down looking at her clenching fists. She looks up to see Mousse staring at her asking her for help. She nods her head and he turns back to his new aunt. "I honestly believe that she did not know about it. I don't think she would allow it even if their fathers wanted to use Ryoga to make Ranma jealous enough to marry Akane." Mousse watches as some of the anger fades. "Then I will be paying one final visit to my husband and the Tendos. They will not be happy with the outcome." Nodoka leaves the room and heads to the dojo to meditate on what she has learned tonight. She stops halfway out the door when she turns with a wry grin. She returns to her seat a Cheshire cat grin on her face Mousse gulps as he realizes that his luck just run out. "Please Mousse continue your analysis of Ranma and Akane's relationship." Nodoka tells him her head resting on the palms of her hands as she bats her eyelashes at him. Lily laughs heartily and gives her grandson a warm loving smile. Mousse's danger sense goes off but he does not know why or from where the danger is coming. Something in the back of his mind tells him he should leave or his whole life will take a one hundred and eighty-degree turn and for him it won't be good.