"Wow," I can hear you say, "He's actually DELIVERING on a Teaser he
posted way back when?!" You betcha.
This is being posted now, placing everything else on hold (Yes,
TGACFH!!! Ep. 7 is currently in production) due to the time of year. It
should (hopefully) be completed by 8:00PM Mountain Standard Time on
Oct. 31.
And having said that, to quote the Narrator from the "Atmosfear" video
tape:
"Turn the lights down, the volume up, and welcome to the Other Side."
====
RANMA 1/2:
ATMOSFEAR
by Erin Mills
based on characters created by Rumiko Takahashi
and a boardgame by "A Couple of Cowboys, LTD."
There exists, in the greats strands of time and space that hold our
universe together, a place where all of mankind's fears have taken on a
frightening existence. A place where vampires, werewolves, zombis,
witches, undead mummies, and ghosts walk the night. A place where
Soul Rangers, demonic scavengers, prey on those brave or foolhardy
enough to enter their subterrainian Sewers. A place where good and evil
have no meaning and life may not exist beyond the next throw of the
dice.
Call this place the Other Side. It's as good a name as any.
The half moon rose over the blighted landscape, illuminating the dank
castles, impeneterable forests and twisted roads of the Provinces. It also
illuminated a hexagonal fortress that imposed it's will on it's surroundings.
The fortress was not a tall building, a mere three stories. It was
composed of black brick that seemed to suck the light into the walls and
crushing it into submission. Each of the walls of the fortress were
barren save for a small window near the top of each face and a large
gate that lead out to one of the six Provinces. It was this archetechtural
quirk which made most of the denziens of the Other Side believe it to be
the center of their world.
The moonlight slid through one of the small windows near the top of
the fortress. It creeped along the floor of a dark hallway. It crawled
under the crack of a large wooden door intricately carved with images of
the inhabitants of the realm. The light came to rest at the base of a large
throne, occupied by a figure in a tattered monk's robe and cowl.
He sat staring at the small fire in front of him. From beneath the cowl
two green glowing eyes stared out, predatory eyes that knew fresh
game was on it's way.
And well he should. For this was the Gatekeeper, Lord of the Other
Side, Master of the Provinces, Overseer of the Game.
"Show me," he barked in his raspy voice.
The fire in front of him erupted into a green pillar of flame ten feet in
height. The pillar split, curved and reformed into a ring of fire. The center
of the the ring was black. The black of total darkness.
At a gesture from the Gatekeeper, the blackness cleared to show a
medium sized blue-green planet spinning amongst the stars.
The Earth.
The Gatekeeper loved the inhabitants of Earth. The human race had
been a constant source of amusement for him for countless millenia, but
only once every thousand years did he have a chance to deal with them
directly.
In the Game. And soon the Game was going to have some new
Players.
The image of the Earth focused on an archipelago of islands off the
east coast of Asia. It then zoomed in on a city on the main island and
finaly stopped on an aerial view of a specifict district of the city.
A little district known to the inhabitants as "Nerima."
The Gatekeeper smiled.
On your marks...
Ukyou Kuonji stepped off the platform of the Nerima train station,
exhausted after a long day of shopping. She sighed, hoisted her tote
bag, made sure her combat spatula was secure, and set off for home.
She had gone only a few blocks when she heard the engine. She
scanned the street. It was late and the street was barren. Ukyou
frowned, and continued on her way, withdrawing three of her throwing
spatulas from the bandolier across her chest.
She gone three steps when the engine roared again. Expecting it,
Ukyou quickly tried to determine what it was. It was a powerful engine
from the sound of it, but too loud to be from a car.
<A motorcycle then,> she thought. <A big one, from the sound of
it.>
The engine roared again. Odd, it sounded strained...almost muffled.
Ukyou began to walk again when the space fifty yards in front of her
suddenly twisted and ripped. She closed her eyes and turned away, her
senses unable to cope with the sight of a dimensional rift opening in front
of her.
When she turned back, she was greeted with a sight straight from
the bowels of Hell...or a Meat Loaf album cover.
The motorcycle was there, belching smoke from it's exhaust. The
cycle was a mammoth pile of chrome and black gloss that would make
any Harley-Davidson owner drool with lust. The three headlights
mounted on the front targeted the okonomiyaki chef in their sights. The
light blinded her so she couldn't make any details out on the rider, save
the long coat and cowboy hat that it wore.
The driver revved the engine again. The sheer power coming from
the bike and the rider make Ukyou drop her tote bag and spatulas without
realizing it. She stared, eyes wide at the apparition.
When the bike started coming toward her, she did the only thing
possible in the circumstances.
She ran.
She scrambled down the road, the bike gaining on her heels. She had
no destination in mind, just an overwhelming sense of self-preservation.
Suddenly, there was an explosion and a glowing green projectile shot
past her. It embedded into the wall of a nearby building, which then
exploded.
Firey chunks of debris rained down upon her. She sheilded her face
with her arms as she ran past. Another explosion and another projectile
flew past her. She risked a look back and saw the figure holding what
had the unmistakeable outline of a pistol.
"The hell with this," Ukyou muttered. She spotted a canopy hanging
over a nearby shop entrance some worker had forgotten to take down.
She leaped up to the cloth covering and, using it like a trampoline,
bounced up to the roof of the building. From her vantage point, she
withdrew a couple of throwing spatulas and hurled them at the front tire
of the motorcycle.
She stared as the spatulas bounced off the tire with a clanging
sound. The driver, his face still in shadow, turned the bike towards the
building and proceeded to drive UP the front of the building, through the
canopy and onto the roof.
Ukyou's shock at this flagrant disregard for the laws of physics
lasted about five seconds, before she unslinged her combat spatula and
retreated to the far edge of the roof.
The motorcycle roared onto the roof. The rider scanned the roof,
found his prey, and gunned the engine. Ukyou took a deep breath and
began running toward her pursuer. She swung the spatula with all her
might and smiled inwardly as the blade impacted solidly with the rider,
sending him flying over one edge of the roof, while the bike continued off
the opposite edge.
She leaped down into the alley her attacker had fallen into. He lay
sprawled face down in pile of garbage. He had long stringy gray hair,
that matched the shade of the duster that he wore. He was also dressed
in tattered black jeans and scuffed boots.
"Mister," Ukyou said, catching her breath. "I don't know who you
are, or what you want with me, but you've got a hell of a lot of explaining
to do."
She leveled the blade of the combat spatula, intending to slide it
under the rider and take him to the police.
Well, you know what they say about the road to Hell...
The rider suddenly flipped over, grabbed the handle of the combat
spatula just above the blande and, using his leg for leverage, flipped
Ukyou into the wall of the alley. She crashed to the ground, dazed.
Then the rider was on top of her, his weight crushing the air from
her lungs. Ukyou fought to get out from under him.
<Oh, please God, don't let him--> Her thoughts were interrupted
when she finally got a good look at the face of her assailent. Then she
began to scream. Scream until blackness overtook her.
Screamed at the skull grinning at her from underneath the brim of
the hat.
----
C&C Accepted.
---Erin 2.5