Deep in the Caribbean...
Despite his rather disasterous attempts at getting a crew together, Ranma was
not deterred. He knew there was one last place he hadn't tried yet; a house on
an isle just off the main coastline of Melee Island....
Ranma stood upon the shore, looking across the twelve yard stretch of water
that stood between him and the mysterious house. A neon sign a few feet to his
left pointed directly at the house, proudly displaying the words "Visit fabulous
Hook Isle : Restrooms : Souvenirs". Ranma took the time to read it, and then
again just to make sure it said what he thought it said.
Wondering if this was exactly the kind of place he thought he might find a
crew, Ranma started to search for a way across. His eyes fell upon the long
line of wire that stretched across the water, attached on each side to a sturdy
platform.
He took another look around, and then checked what he had on him. A plan
started to form in his mind.
--**************--
Ranma marched up to the door of the self-proclaimed tourist site, and
knocked. While he waited for an answer, he tried to imagine who the owner of
the house could be. Obviously some sort of recluse judging by the difficulty in
getting here. Or perhaps it was a guy with too many enemies, and the way across
had been made difficult just to keep them at bay. Either way, it was obvious
that the owner didn't like visitors, even if the sign did say otherwise.
The sound of bolts being drawn back brought Ranma to attention. The door
opened slightly, and a well-built bespectacled man wearing a bandanna on top of
his bald head. "What do you wan..." he started gruffly, before his eyes fully
took in Ranma's face.
Ranma himself was also stricken by the shock that affected the man. He
looked him over, scarcely believing his eyes.
"R-Ranma?" asked the man, almost incredulously.
"Pop?" asked Ranma, equally incredulously.
The door slammed shut in Ranma's face, but it succumbed to his snap kick
moments later. He ran inside to catch his father already trying to flee out of
the second storey window. "Pop! Get down here!" he shouted. Shamefaced, Genma
Saotome descended to face his son.
"Okay, Pop, you've got about one minute to explain. Starting now."
"Um, what do you want me to explain?" Genma replied, trying to delay the
inevitable.
"Why you left me behind, of course!" stated Ranma angrily.
"Um, ah, er, how did you get over here anyway?" said Genma, trying to
change the subject.
Ranma met him with an icy stare, but Genma was not deterred. "Oh, lemme
guess," he said. "It was one of those rubber chickens with a pulley in the
middle, wasn't it. I always said that one of these days I'd have to pull down
that wire, but I never got around to it. Damn those rubber chickens! I suppose
that's how you got across, isn't it."
Ranma hesitated, stunned. "Um, no, actually I took the back way. There's a
footbridge about five hundred yards north of the platform."
"Oh," said Genma, nonplussed. "That was, er, that was going to be my
second guess. Right."
Ranma's expression hardened. "No more stalling, Pop. Explanations, now." For
a brief moment, Genma slumped in resignation. But then, a light
gleamed in his eye as an idea occured to him. "Not unless you prove
yourself, boy."
"What?!"
"Just what I said. Walk this way."
Genma led a suspicious Ranma to a large wooden door set in the wall of rock
that made up the back of the house. "There's something in here I want to show
you, boy. Something horrible," he started, trying not to smile.
"Something so horrible," he continued, playing it to the hilt, "that I stay
awake at night just thinking about it... But I don't mean to scare you."
Ranma just looked bored.
"I'm sure you'll have no problem facing this monster, boy," Genma said,
glancing at the novice pirate. "After all, it's much smaller than the beast I
faced so many years ago." With that tantalising remark, Genma pulled a lever
which lifted the wooden door away, revealing a large safe just a little bit
smaller than the door that had concealed it.
There was a slight pause as Genma tried to increase the dramatic tension.
Unforunately, it was spoiled by Ranma's yawn.
"Let's just hope you're quicker than I was," Genma told his son as he spun the
safe handle, opening it up to reveal a slightly smaller razor gate.
"Oh, I just remembered something," he continued, walking over to a long
pull cord attached to the ceiling. "I never did get around to feeding him
this week. Silly me."
Ranma agreed wholeheartedly with the last remark.
Genma pulled the cord, allowing the razor gate to open to reveal a wooden
door, similar to the first one, except that it was only a foot square. "I'll
let you open this last door yourself," he said to Ranma. "Just let me get out
of your way." He fought hard to hide a smirk.
"Hey Pop. Wait up," Ranma said as his father fled for the safety of the
upper floor.
"Getting cold feet?" Genma asked tactfully.
Ranma rolled his eyes. "Of course not! Just what's the point of this
challenge?"
"Oh, I thought I mentioned. You're supposed to open that little door, and, if
you're brave enough..."
"Yes?"
"...touch the beast inside."
There was another pause.
"Is that all?!" Ranma asked incredulously.
"Yes," replied his father, this time keeping a straight face. He reached the
top of the ladder and took his position. "Okay. Go ahead, if you've got the
guts." He snickered to himself.
Ranma shook his head in exasperation and approached the door. Stupid
father. What was the point of going through all this? Ranma took hold of
the handle and threw open the door.
He gazed inside. The beast gazed back. And then it hissed.
--**************--
A wet Ranma crawled out on the other side of the channel, back on Mêl,e
Island. Where Pop had found such a monster, Ranma could only guess. Cold,
unreasoning fear had sent him fleeing for his life, forsaking the safety of the
footbridge and plunging into the water instead.
He had half a mind to go back over to Hook Isle and drag out the
explanation he wanted from his father. He deserved as much. But Ranma
slowly realised that Akane was more important right now. Who knew what the
Ghost Pirate Kuno was doing to her at this minute?
Hell, even though he had no crew at all, he would man that ship all by
himself and track down the Ghost Pirate Kuno and rescue Akane. He thought. The
details of that plan had yet to be decided on.
But, it was _a_ plan, so with that, Ranma headed back for the dock.
--**************--
Genma watched as the figure turned and retreated into the depths of the
main island of Mêl,e. Then, ever so carefully, he descended into the main
living space and made his way to the larder. Retrieving a small bowl and a tin
of food, he emptied the food into the bowl and placed it on the floor.
The black beast leapt from its confinement, hungrily devouring the chunks of
meat. As it did so, Genma simply smiled with amusement and petted it. It
purred with contentment.
Genma looked once more into his larder, and noticed with horror that it was
empty. All that had been in there was that last tin of cat food. Now where was
he going to get food?
And then his thoughts turned to Ranma....
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Coming soon....
"The Curse of Monkey Island"
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Fifth teaser so far. Is anyone following these by the way? Or should I stuff a
Ranma / Zak Macracken crossover in here to see if anyone notices the difference?
I'm reposting this due to the shutdown of the FFML on Monday... Sorry, but I
can't post Wednesday, or anytime during this week because of halfterm.
Hope many of you get it.
Either way, ciao,
Terence Fergusson
-- Stranded in an Anime-free College
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It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems
just with potatoes.
-- Life, the Universe and Everything
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