Ok, I have written the first bit of my Ranma 1/2 Zena crossover, and
would like some opinions on it.  Also, since I am posting, a bit of
spam.  the fact that the list is now semi-moderated is something I have
seem coming, I just hope that the list won't suffer because of it. 
Anyway, on with the story/teaser, and as always, C&C is needed!

Slashtooth@EVNet.com

A Ranma 1/2 / Zena Warrior Princess Crossover

All characters protrayed within are the property of whomever holds the
copyright.  This work is in no way an attempt to earn money, claim ownership, or
to otherwise exploit their work.  It is merely a work of fiction done for the
enjoyment of those that read it.

"Differing Opinions"

    Ranma cursed for the Nth time that day.  The small group forced their way
through a bramble patch, Ryoga in the lead.  "So, tell me again, Akane, just WHY
are we following RYOGA of all people?"

    "Because he said a village needed our help, you idiot."  Akane increased her
pace to pull up next to Ryoga.  "You DO know where your going, right?"

    Ryoga blushed and turned his head to the side, stuttering "U-u-uh, sure
Akane, we should be there soon."  Ryoga also sped up, trying for the life of him
to make it there the first time.  He didn't want to be embarrased in fromt of
Akane.

    The three of them forced their way through a thick wall of vines, to find
themselves in front of a cave.  'All right!' thought Ryoga, 'This is the cave i
blasted on my way out!  I finally got the right path!'  "Follow me, this is the
way!" Ryoga said over his shoulder as he entered the cave.

    Ranma looked at the rubble as he entered the cave.  "Breaking point, eh
Ryoga?  Couldn't find the path OVER the mountain?"

    Akane started to bash Ranma, but spurisingly, Ryoga stopped her.  "We don't
have time to fool around, the village is in real danger.  While I would love to
help you beat up Ranma, we have to hurry."

    Akane looked down sheepishly.  "All right Ryoga, I won't hit him now, but
just wait till this is all over!"  She turned to Ranma, her eyes ablaze.  "I
won't forget this, Ranma!"

    As the trio travelled he tunnel, Ranma and Ryoga channeled small amounts of
Ki to light the way.  As they passed the midway point, their Ki seemed to flare
up and die suddenly.  "What the heck was that?" said Ranma.  "That's never
happened before!"

    Ryoga channeled his Ki again, creating another small globe.  "I dunno Ranma.
It happened when I came through here the first time as well.  It's nothing to
worry about."

    They continued down the tunnel, finally reaching the end.  "The village
should be near here, just a couple of miles.  We had better hurry!"  Ryoga ran
off at that, Ranma and Akane following.  As the village started to come into
view, they all stopped, staring in shock.

    "Ranma, look at that!  It looks like something out of the dark ages!"  Akane
said, staring at the village.  "How can they live like this?"

    Ryoga jogged into the village, looking for the headman.  "I'm back, like I
said I would.  I found my friends, and they agreed to help.  How stand things
right now?"

    The headman looked up at Ryoga, hope starting to appear on his face.
"Thank the gods!  I was afraid you wouldn't make it!  Even the lady that came
shortly after you left said that stopping them would be trouble.  He's over
there, in the pub if you want to talk to her."

    Ryoga gestured to Ranma and Akane to follow him.  For some reason, here in
this village, he felt a sense of peace that he never felt anywhere else.  He
found that here his self confidence was assertive instead of passive.  He felt
in control.

    Ranma and Akane entered the tavern on Ryoga's heels.  They saw a woman
sitting at a table and could sense the fighting spirit around her.  Sitting next
to her was a shorter blond haired woman, talking about something.  They both
looked up as the trio entered.

    Silence reigned supreme as the two groups sized each other up.  Ranma could
tell that the dark haired woman was a warrior, and that she could use that sword
she carried well.  He also knew that she could tell how good he was, and that
made him feel a little uncomfortable.

    Ryoga took the lead again, and walked over to the table they were sitting
at.  "I hear that your here to help the village.  I wanna help you.  My name is
Ryoga, and these are my friends, Ranma and Akane."

    The short blond girl was the first of them to speak up.  "Hi.  My name is
Gabrielle, and this is Zena."  When no sign of recognition played across their
faces, Gabrielle seemed to be a little upset.  Secretly, she liked the look that
people got when the recognised Zena.

    Ranma took the lead this time.  "So, what are we up against this time?
Ryoga here seems to think that whatever it is is pretty bad."  Ranma crossed his
arms and sat back, confident of his ability to handle anything.

    "That depends." said Zena.  "Do you consider a rampaging Warlord bent on
killing everone in the village bad?"  She smiled as Ranma's confident air fell.
"Right now, we are facing an army, with only the five of us to stop it."

    A shout arose from outside, and the five of them jumped up to investigate.
Ranma noticed the staff that Gabrielle carried, noting that it had the same
decorations and markings that he had seen in Shampoo's village.  He didn't have
time, however, to ask about it as they ran outside.

    The scene that they saw was gruesome to the new arrivals.  There was a small
band of soldiers working their way into the village, killing anyone that got in
their way.  Ranma lept into the air, intent on stopping them.  Ryoga and Zena
charged forward, drawing their respective weapons as the entered the melee.
Gabrielle held Akane back, a small grin on her face.  "Just watch," she said.
"Zena'll stop them."

    Akane watched the scene unfold in front of her, a look of horror on her
face.  Ranma seemed to be fighting like he was possesed, dropping men with only
one or two blows.  Ryoga and Zena fought side by side, taking out several
soldiers at once.  The fight raged for only a few moments more, the three of
them taking out the soldiers quickly.

    Ranma stopped, breathing heavilly.  This was the most serious fight he had
been in, ever.  The soldiers were trying to kill him, no two ways about it.  He
had a couple of scratches, but had avoided all the blows.  He felt strangly
free, realising that for the first time, he had a real test of his skills and
they served him admirably.  He started to walk to the rest of them, his head
held high, his spirits soaring, his attention elsewhere.  He fell into the water
trough.

    Zena rejoined Gabrielle and Akane, Ryoga following her.  She spun when she
heard the splash, but noticed that it was Ranma.  "For a good fighter, he has
the attention span of a rock."  Ryoga laughed as Zena said that, while Akane
looked embarrased.  As Zena closed with Gabrielle, she saw a look of shock on
her face.  Spinning, she saw it as well, and could only stare in wonder.

    Ranma-chan crawled out of the water, cursing his luck and the trough.  (S)he
could feel everyone's eyes staring as (S)he slowly walked over to Zena.  'I
hate this' thought Ranma.  (S)he looked around, trying to find some hot water.

    Ryoga chuckled slightly.  "Sorry, Ranma.  There's no hot water around here,
unless you boil it yourself.  Sorry, but for right now, your stuck like that.
We have to make some plans for the next assault."

    Gabrielle couldn't stop staring at the woman that crawled out of the trough.
She had never seem anything like that before, and wanted to know everything
about it, but it didn't look like he, no she, no... whomever was not in the mood
to talk.

    "As near as I can figure, there is nothing in this town that the warlord
wants.  However, past this village there is a wealthy town, so all I can figure
is that's where there going, and this village is just in the way.  That means
that they have nothing to lose here, so they will eventually try to overrun it.
The small group we encountered was an exploratory group."  Zena looked across
the table at Ranma, sitting there with her head in her hands.  "So, can you
still fight?"

    Ranma's head snapped up at that.  "Of course I can!  You wanna try me out?"

    "No, just wanted to make sure you were paying attention.  The best approach
I can think of is to attack the main force first, before they are set up.  If
they get entrenched, we will never get them out."  Zena began to draw a rough
map on the table.  "I figure that here will be the best place to hit them."