Ranma was surprised, to say the least. The creature in front of him was the last thing he expected to see, here of all places. It seemed a curious mingling of various animals, with the face of a lion, the body of a horse, and the feet and legs of a tiger. It smiled at him in a manner that Ranma might have considered kind, were it not for the creature's sharp teeth and decidedly feline countenance.         "Wh...what the hell are you?" he managed, not relaxing a bit from his protective ready stance.         "Baku," it replied softly. Dream Eater.         Devour, oh Baku, my evil dream! The common cry of many Japanese as they awoke from a terrible nightmare. Ranma had heard stories about this creature from various people while he was growing up on the road, although he'd never taken them seriously until this moment.         So. The Devourer of Nightmares. It wasn't so bad then, right? Ranma eyed the beast curiously. "What do you want? It's not like we're even asleep or nothing. You don't got any reason to be here."         The golden lion's eyes blinked at him placidly, and Ranma swallowed hard against the faint stirrings of feline fear within him.         "Ah," the Baku whispered. "But... your life is a nightmare, is it not?"         Ranma blinked. Then again, this didn't sound so good after all. "Uh... did I say that?" The creature stepped towards him, a hidden intent gleaming brightly in its eyes as its jaws opened wide. Ranma held up his hands. "Hey, now, wait just a min--"         Then, from deep within the beast, out of its gaping maw, a bright light flashed.         And Ranma screamed.   A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic by Krista Perry         Dream Eater         Part I                    The flower arrangement on Akane's dresser was about three weeks dead, Nabiki noted as she entered the room without knocking. The roses were limp, dry and brittle, and the daisies were nearly black with decay. A few days earlier, when she had casually enquired if Akane was ever going to throw them away, her sister had nearly bitten her head off.         "Never," she had replied vehemently.         Nabiki wisely didn't broach the subject again. At least, she mused wryly, the engagement ring on her sister's finger wouldn't rot away.         Not that it made any difference anyway. The ring was about as useless as the flowers. Just a visual reminder of something that would never happen.         After all, if Ranma was anywhere to be found, at least in Nerima, she would have tracked him down by now. On top of that, she had called every police district in Japan, it seemed, as well as made inquiries at every single port and airstrip, large or puny, that she could find. No one matching Ranma's distinctive description, in either form, had been seen. Anywhere.         Everyone -- friends, family and even casual acquaintances at school -- had helped in the search. Even Ukyo and Shampoo had helped, which was surprising, considering their initial volatile reaction to the gleaming band of silver that adorned Akane's finger. But their reasons for finding Ranma were probably less than magnanimous. After all, when they went to confront him, seething with anger at the audacity he had to finally grow a spine and make a choice, it was too late. He was gone.         Near as anyone could tell, he had disappeared on the way to his mother's house - only recently rebuilt from the fiancee fiasco that had destroyed it a year earlier. He had gone to visit Nodoka, Akane said, because his mother was still distraught over his decision to stay with the Tendos when she moved back home. Genma had stayed behind as well, but that apparently didn't bother her nearly as much as losing her son yet again. So, after the joyous announcement that left Daddy weeping copiously all over the dining table, Ranma left to visit with her and tell her the good news. And no one had seen him since.         It had been a long month of searching. Nabiki was tired.         "I'm throwing in the towel," she said.         Akane looked up from her desk, which was strewn with maps, scraps of paper with hastily scribbled notes, phone numbers and contact names, and set the phone receiver back into its cradle. Her eyes were red -- from crying again, no doubt, even though they were dry now. "What?" she asked.         "I quit," Nabiki repeated. "I've done everything I can. I'm not omniscient, you know. I don't have unlimited resources. There's nothing more I can do."         "Fine," Akane said wearily. "Thanks for your help."         Nabiki blinked. "That's it? You're not going to try and talk me into continuing?"         "Why? Like you said, you've done everything you can. I believe you. And I appreciate what you have been able to do."         Nabiki eyed her narrowly. "And what are you going to do? I can tell you've got something planned."         "I'm leaving tomorrow."         "I knew it." Nabiki sighed. "And where do you think you can look that hasn't already been scoured by someone else?"         "Everywhere. Anywhere. I'm going to start with China."         Oh jeeze. "You think he would run off and look for a cure without telling you? On the very night he finally proposed?"         "Well, it's a hell of a lot better than the alternative," she snapped.         Damn. She didn't want to go there, but... "Akane, he didn't even pack. All of his belongings are here."         Akane stood abruptly, toppling her chair to the floor, and glared at her sister. "Are you saying I should give up, Nabiki?" Her voice was tight and determined. "Because I won't. Not until I find him, or at least until I find out what happened to him."         Ah, thought Nabiki. That last qualifier at the end was new. It eased her mind a bit to know that at least Akane was finally being realistic.         But China... However unlikely it was that Ranma had run off to China without notice, it was still someplace to look, she supposed. After all, checking all the ports in the world didn't help a whit if the guy decided to just swim.         "So, what plans have you made?"         "Cologne has agreed to help. She's staying here in Japan to take care of the Nekohanten, but she's going to see what she can find out through her channels of influence. Shampoo is going to be the guide, and Ukyo is going to take care of supplies. I've already bought the passports and tickets for our passage."         "I see." Nabiki folded her arms across her chest. "Sounds like you've got everything taken care of, although I'm not sure how comfortable I am with you traipsing off on an expedition with the Former Fiancee Brigade."         "We've called a truce," Akane said shortly. "Whatever rivalries we may have had mean nothing until we find Ranma."         Nabiki wondered silently if Akane would be so willing to call a truce if she weren't so secure in her knowledge that Ranma had chosen her. She certainly hadn't showed such unwavering confidence in the face of her rivals before now.         "Oh, and Uncle Saotome's coming too."         Nabiki blinked. Well, that wasn't much of a surprise -- or comfort, for that matter. But then Nodoka hadn't allowed the man within fifty meters of her since Ranma's disappearance, insisting that he spend every waking moment trying to find their son. Nabiki got the impression that she blamed him, somehow, which was probably just her way of dealing with the fact that Ranma had vanished on his way to see her.         Ah well. If she knew Genma, he would probably ditch the girls as soon as they cut back on his food rations. And the girls probably wouldn't have any complaints.         "Does Daddy know?" she asked.         "No. And you won't tell him, either, until I'm gone."         "Of course not." Nabiki's indignance was genuine. "What do you take me for?"         Akane's eyes softened. "Thanks, oneechan."         "No problem. Just be careful, okay? And call if you need help. Collect."         "On an international call?" Akane's mouth quirked up at the corner. "My, how generous."         Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "Come on, sis. This is you we're talking about. This is you and Ranma. I don't charge for family emergencies."         Which was the wrong thing to say, because Akane's firm resolve suddenly crumbled under the onset of tears. "Hey... hey, come on, Akane." Nabiki awkwardly put one hand on Akane's shoulder. "It will be okay."         "I've got to find him, Nabiki," she said hoarsely, as the tears once again streaked down her face. "I didn't even have him for an entire evening, and he promised... he..."         "You'll find him." An easy, convenient lie. But, as she had once read, sometimes when someone tells a lie, and both people know it's a lie, it can be more powerful than the truth. ~*~         Genma looked at his wife solemnly. She stood in the doorway like a barricade, her slender kimono-clad figure backlit from the warm light inside the house, leaving her face in shadow.         "So... I'm, uh, leaving for China tomorrow..."         "Good."         Genma winced at her curt tone. She had never sounded so cold, so harsh, in all the time he had known her. Even when he feared the threat of her katana, and had hidden in plain sight before her, he had seen the gleam of innocence in her eyes -- the same innocence that drew him to her in the beginning -- and he knew that her actions were based on honor. The very code of honor that he himself had taught her to respect. Hence, the irony, for he knew that it was only her trust in him, and her belief in the honor that he had taught her, that gave her the ability to act beyond the supreme gentleness and childlike naivete of her nature. That belief in honor alone allowed her to have the strength to take the life of her husband and son, should honor dictate. Not because she desired it -- for he knew that her son's life, at least, was most precious to her above all other things -- but because he had convinced her so thoroughly that he desired it.         Death before dishonor, he had told her. You can trust me. You can allow me to take our son away, because I am honorable, and will raise him to be a man among men...         And she had believed him.         But then, he mused ruefully, there are only so many deceptions you can feed even the most gullible child before they stop believing in you.         "I'll... I'll find him, dearest," he croaked.         He couldn't see the expression on her shadowed face, but her voice softened, and the sudden warmth of her tone gave him a bit of hope, in spite of the words she spoke. "Don't come back unless you do."         "If..." He swallowed. "When... I find him. Do you think that perhaps I might..."         "If you find him, you will be more than welcome to return home."         A burst of elated warmth spread through him. There was hope then. He could make amends... perhaps, for everything...         He bowed to her. "Then I will see you soon."         She did not return the bow.         And as he turned to leave, he thought he heard her whisper something in parting, but it was so faint, it was probably just the wind...         "Sayonara..." ~*~         The eyes of the beast swirled with rainbow colors, like oil on the surface of water. Like light glinting off a soap bubble.         Pretty, Ranma thought.         And then he looked deep into those eyes, and to his surprise, he saw himself in the left eye, looking out, pressed against the inner curve of the eye like a child pressed up against the window of a candy store, only there was a wild desperation on his face. And he saw himself beat on the inside of the eye with his fists until his knuckles bled. And he saw himself collapse from weariness and despair, and he saw himself slowly raise his own head and he saw his own mouth move, but couldn't hear anything because the mouth was inside the eye. But he could see what he was saying anyway.         And the words that he saw scared him.         The beast smiled then, showing lots of teeth.         Ranma cringed away in fear. Don't eat me, he said, and the beast laughed and bent its huge head down and licked his face with a warm, rough tongue.         Don't be afraid, little one. I'm already full.         And Ranma was less afraid, because the voice of the beast was gentle and kind.         But will you eat me when you are hungry again? he asked.         Oh no, the beast said with a chuckle. You do not suit my tastes at all.         And then Ranma felt safe. But only when he didn't look at the beast's left eye, where he could see himself. That frightened him. More than anything. More, even, than the beast's sharp teeth and claws.         Do you want me to close my left eye, little one? the beast asked.         No! screamed Ranma within the eye, silently.         Yes, said Ranma on the outside. I'm scared...         And the beast slowly closed its left eye, and Ranma could see himself screaming and screaming until the eye finally closed.         Then he felt better. And the beast licked him again, and he laughed and bravely entwined his fingers in the beast's shaggy mane.         Where am I? he asked, for now that the eye was closed, he noticed that there were buildings, tall and silver, and endless marble streets, and grass, and rock gardens, and koi ponds with large fish colored pearl-white and orange, and scarlet bridges stretching over rushing streams, and he had seen them all before, but he didn't recognize anything.         You are with me, the beast answered.         Oh, said Ranma, as if he understood how that explained everything, though he didn't understand at all.         And the winking beast smiled.          ~*~

To be continued...