The Darkness Within
Prologue
By Slacker

[Mount Phoenix]

"Akane!" Ranma screamed. I have to finish this! She won't last much longer!

Ranma reached deep inside himself, deeper than he had ever managed before. He reached down until he found the power he needed. Power different than chi, power he had never felt before, power he had never needed before. But Akane's life was in the balance, and he would do anything necessary to save her. He touched the power. And used it.

"Hiryu Shoten Ha Revised! Flying Dragon Ice Breakthrough!"

Saffron felt the power Ranma raised, just before it froze him and shattered him to pieces. Two others felt it, as well. One was a large black man who was about to enter a nightclub in downtown Chicago. He looked up and scanned the night.

"Hey. You've stopped. Is there a problem?" His partner asked over the com-set.

"No. I just had a weird feeling. I think something bad just happened. I can feel something. It almost feels like what I got from Frost. I've got a hunt to organize after we're done here." He replied. "We'll talk more later. I need to concentrate on the job now."

That said, he pulled out a custom-modified assault rifle, shot the doorman (who crumbled into ash), and kicked the door of the nightclub in.

"Hey, bloodsuckers! Guess who's here!" He yelled as he opened fire.

The other person to feel the power was in the Carpathians. He was a tall, pale man with long brown hair. He was dressed in a black hat with a red gem on the hatband, a deep blue cloak which had black trim with red triangles on it, black gloves and boots, and a large, thin, curving blade strapped across his back.

He looked up, and said, "Blast! He has awoken! I had hoped that it would not go that far! Now I have to deal with it." He then proceeded to his destination, a large foreboding castle.

[Tendo Dojo]

Ranma woke up gasping. Ever since Saffron, he had been having dreams. Nightmares, really. Visions of fangs, and glowing red eyes. A dark presence that seemed to beckon. He hadn't been able to get a decent amount of sleep in weeks. It was the reason his BAKA father and Mr. Tendo had managed to get the drop on him and shove him into a tuxedo for that "wedding." Ha! More like a battleground. The only good part about the whole thing was that he had managed to get some rest when he was out cold.

Ranma slowly got up and went to the window. It was just barely dawn. He looked out the window at the horizon. The sun seemed to hit his eyes like a brick. Aargh! That's BRIGHT! Kami-sama, what's with my eyes lately? They've been really friggin' sensitive!

Ranma stood up, and moved to the bathroom. When he got there, he went over to brush his teeth to get rid of the "three- days-dead" taste in his mouth. He picked up his toothbrush, put toothpaste on it, looked in the mirror, and his toothbrush hit the floor. He stared at his reflection. Fangs?

Indeed, they were. Both his upper and lower canines were noticeably longer and thinner. Oh, Kami-sami! I look like a Hibiki! This has to be a bad dream.

Ranma closed his eyes and rubbed them hard. When he opened them, the fangs were still there. He pinched himself. Nope, not a dream.

Come on, come on, come on! Go away! COME ON! As Ranma concentrated, the fangs slowly shrank back down to his normal canines. Oh, thank the kamis!

Just as Ranma was beginning to relax and was leaning over to pick up his toothbrush, the door to the bathroom opened. He sniffed. Nabiki.

She stumbled across the room, heading for the furo, stripping off her pajamas as she went. Ranma froze. I'mgonnadie.

Nabiki opened the door to the furo, turned on the light, and closed the door.

Ranma just stayed where he was for a few seconds. When he determined that Nabiki wasn't going to kill him, he tried to figure out what had just happened.

Ok, I'm about to brush my teeth, Nabiki comes in, strips, and walks right past me. This is really freaky. I'm getting out of here. NOW!

Ranma went to the door and silently opened it. He winced at the light in the hallway. As he went through, he started to shut off the light out of habit. He stopped. The lights were already off. He flipped the switch just to make sure. Yep, they were on now. He flipped the switch back to the off position and shut the door. He was walking down the hallway when he realized something.

Wait. If the light was off, how could I see?

[ Furinkan High, the soccer field.]

"...OOOOOOMMMMMMMBBBBBOOOOOYYYYY!!!"

*CRASH!!!!*

Enter Ranma, via the standard method.

"Oh, man. Why'd she have to hit me so hard? I just complimented Kasumi on how good the food was." Ranma muttered as he rubbed his head. (Of course, then he added that someone else's was toxic waste.)

"Hello." A deep voice said from behind Ranma.

Ranma whirled around. He looked at the man. He was a tall, pale man with long brown hair. He was dressed in a black hat with a red gem on the hatband, a deep blue cloak which had black trim with red triangles on it, black gloves and boots, and a long, thin, curving blade strapped across his back.

The sword made Ranma pause. The man was at least six feet tall. The sword hilt started several inches above his head on his left side and the scabbard was visible poking out by his calf on the right. That made the sword at least six feet long, maybe longer. You needed a lot of skill to use a weapon like that.

Ranma jumped to an obvious conclusion, at least for his life. He sank into his usual 'non- stance' ready stance.

"So, you here to kill me?"

The man sighed. His voice was very tired as he spoke.

"You know, I had truly hoped I would not have to do this."

"Whadda mean?" Ranma asked, confused.

In response, the man simply drew his sword.

Ranma smirked. Thought so. This ought to be quick. "Well, before we fight, you should know something. I'm Ranma Saotome, of the Saotome school of Anything Goes Martial Arts. I'm the best fighter of my generation. You ain't got a chance of beating me."

The man said nothing as he sank into a ready stance. Ranma analyzed his movements as they began to circle.

Hmmm. Don't recognize the style. Emphasis upon the sword. No surprise, there. Looks like a bit of kendo, some European fencing, and a few others. This might be fun. I wonder...

Ranma's thoughts were interrupted when the man rushed at him. Ranma quickly dodged or blocked all of the strikes. The man ended his rush facing away from Ranma.

"That the best you got?" Ranma asked arrogantly.

The man turned to face Ranma. His voice was calm when he spoke.

"Three things. First, I am called D. Second, while you are possible the best fighter of your generation, I am not of your generation. And third...." D stopped speaking.

"What? What's number three?" Ranma demanded.

D just smiled and pointed at Ranma's clothes.

"Huh?" Suddenly Ranma became aware of a multitude of sharp pains all over his body. He looked down and saw that his clothing had small cuts all over it. Then D spoke again.

"Three. I know pressure points."

Ranma looked up just in time to lose feeling from his neck down. He collapsed on his back. As he was lying on the ground trying to get his non-responsive muscles to move, he heard footsteps coming closer. A shadow fell over his face. He looked up at D. D had a look of great sadness on his face as he raised his sword and spoke.

"I am truly sorry about this."

Then the sword flashed, and Ranma felt a great pain, and then...he felt nothing.

Author's Big-Mouth Piece:

Yes, I know that's another evil cliffhanger. Yes, I know some of you hate them. *shrugs* Sorry.

I've had this thing sitting half-finished on my hard drive for the last six months.

Then Andrew Wilson started to talk about a Ranma/Nightbane crossover. Then he wrote it. And that provided the motivation for me to finish this baby.

So blame Andrew for this. (Joking, joking!) Thanks man!

I hope to have some more of this out fairly soon. Other things I'm working on will dictate how soon, though. So, no promises.

Ja Ne!
Slacker

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