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.