Deep in the Caribbean...

  It wasn't going to be easy, thought Ranma as he dwelt on the tasks
ahead.  It seemed that even to become a pirate, you already needed a
source of income.  For how else would he be able to afford a sword,
training, treasure maps, digging equipment and so forth?
  Wandering the isle, Ranma kept on the lookout for money-making
oppurtunities.  And it was then that he noticed the large colourful
tent.
  Approaching the gigantic tent, he noticed a poster tacked on to the
side.  Nothing much, just a plain message saying "Help wanted.  Please
enquire within."  And so he did.
  It wasn't what he'd expected though.

  It was indeed a large tent.  A big top in fact.  Ranma recognised
all the hallmarks of a circus; he'd even performed in one once.  For
food and lodgings of course.  Life had been difficult back then.  But
soon all that would change.
  As he entered, he became aware of a heated argument near the back of
the tent.  One of them was a young girl in a pink frilly leotard, with
dark brown hair and a pink bow adorning her cute face.  The other was
a tall dark-haired lad who stood proud, looking like a film star and
knowing it too.  Ranma got close enough to finally make out the words
of their animated conversation.
  "I'd get in the cannon, but the gunpowder makes Azusa sneeze,"
whined the girl.
  "Well, I can't do it, I hurt my hand taming the lions last week,"
replied the young man.
  "But it's just a little scratch, not like Azusa's allergy.  You get
in the cannon."
  "You don't have any allergies!  YOU get in the cannon."
  "No, YOU get in the cannon!"
  "No, YOU get in the cannon!"
  "Slacker!"
  "Loser!"
  "Ruffian!"
  "Fop!"
  "Weasel!"
  "Weevil!"
  Ranma felt that it had gone on for long enough.  He coughed
politely, and then continued in a sarcastic tone of voice.  "Hey,
there's a sign outside asking for help.  I was wondering if...."
  He never got any further as the two of them were at his side before
he could blink.  The wheeled skates on their boots might have
explained it.  But, before he could make any sort of comment on it,
the two artists interrupted him.
  "Say there, how'd you like a chance--" started the dark-haired boy.
  "--A once in a lifetime chance--" followed up the girl, cheerfully.
  "--To perform an amazing feat--"
  "--A death-defying feat--"
  "--Well, not so death-defying, really--" the boy said, a little
nervously.
  "--A dangerous feat--"
  "--No, not dangerous at all--" asserted the lad, even more
nervously.
  "--An easy feat--" said the girl in obvious frustration.
  "--But exciting!--"
  "--With the Amazing--"
  "--Adventurous, Acrobatic--"
  "--And Exceedingly Well-Known--"
  "--Fabulous, Flying--"
  "--Golden Pair!"
  "That's us," said the young man.
  "My partner Mikado...."
  "...and my partner Azusa."
  "Sound good?" asked Azusa.
  "Good," confirmed Mikado.  During all this time, Ranma hadn't had a
chance to make himself heard.  And it continued that way as the
Golden Pair carried on.    
  "It's very simple really," said Azusa.
  "See that cannon over there?"
  Ranma looked over at a large colourful cannon at the other end of
the tent.  It was pointing vaguely towards a soft pile of hay that
was situated just next to the central tent support.  He turned back
to Mikado and motioned him to continue.
  "All you have to do--" Mikado indeed continued.
  "--Is get in the cannon--" cheered Azusa.
  "--And we'll shoot you out of it--"
  "--Across the room--"
  "--Quite safe, actually--" Mikado assured him.
  "--So, what do you say?"
  Ranma hesitated.  But if there was one thing he learnt from his
life on the road, it was that the more dangerous the task you're
asked to undertake, the more money (or food, in Ranma's case) you
actually got for it.
  "How much will you pay me?" asked Ranma, relieved to actually get
a word in edgeways.
  Azusa ummed and ahhed for a few seconds before replying.  "How
about 478 pieces of eight?"
  Ranma considered this for a moment.  Then he realised that any
amount of money would be a start considering he was broke.  "OK," he
ventured, "sounds good."
  "Have you got a helmet?" asked Mikado.
  That caught Ranma out.  "Er... no, I don't.  Will I need one?"
  Azusa seemed disappointed.  "No helmet?"
  "Oh, you've got to have a helmet--" said Mikado, nodding.
  "--Can't do the cannon trick without a helmet--" affirmed Azusa.
  "--Nosiree!"  Mikado patted the wannabe-pirate on the back.  "Go get
a helmet, and then we can do the trick."  The Golden Pair started to
skate away, and Ranma could feel the oppurtunity slipping away.
  "Um, hang on a sec!"  Ranma rummaged through his belongings and
retrieved the saucepot he had `borrowed' from the Scumm Bar.  "What
about this?"
  "Michelle!  Michelle!"  Azusa moved faster than light and snatched
the pot out of his hands.  Mikado reacted equally quickly, retrieving
the pot and holding it out of her reach.  "Ah, that will work as a
helmet!" he said.
  Azusa looked less than pleased.  "Give it back!  Give it back!" she
cried as she started bashing Mikado over the head with a bowling pin.
  "Now we can do the trick--" Mikado said, ignoring Azusa.
  "--Give it back!  Give it back!--" cried the spoilt girl, swapping
her bowling pin for a lion stand.
  "--If you'd step over her--" continued Mikado, _trying_ to ignore
Azusa.
  "--Give it back!  Give it back!--" Azusa cried, exchanging her
lion stand for the cannon in question.
  "Ugh," said Mikado, failing to ignore Azusa this time.  Placing the
cannon back in its original position, Azusa retrieved her `Michelle'
and started cuddling it.
  "Excuse me a moment," Mikado told Ranma as he got shakily to his
feet.  Flourishing a bright red handkerchief, Mikado threw it into
the air.
  "Paulette!  Paulette!" cried the momentarily distracted girl.
Mikado, with expert agility, grabbed the pot as it hung for a moment
in midair, forgotten.  He handed it to Ranma.
  Azusa came back after a short while, having caught the
handkerchief.  She diligently took her place on the other side of the
cannon, while Mikado stood by the fuse.
  Mikado turned to Ranma.  "Now put on your helmet--"
  "--and get in the cannon--" said Azusa, back to normal.
  "--and we'll take care of the rest."
  Ranma looked into the gaping mouth of the cannon.  It seemed safe
enough.  Besides, hadn't Pop gotten him into crazier stuff than this?
And 478 pieces of eight _was_ 478 pieces of eight....
  He put on the helmet, and got in the cannon.


                          **** BOOOOOOOM ****


  "It works!" cried an astonished Azusa.
  "I'm so relieved!" said Mikado.
  Azusa looked over at where Ranma had landed.  "Hey...," she started.
  "Are you OK?" Mikado finished.
  Ranma hadn't quite landed in the hay.  In fact, the trajectory of
his flight had ended with a faceplant in the middle of the support
beam.  The fact that his makeshift helmet had fallen off during his
flight hadn't helped.  Ranma lay, unmoving, upside-down, right against
the centre post.
  Azusa skated over to him and started shaking him.  "Are you gonna
get up, are you gonna get up, are you gonna get up," she chanted in an
annoying way.
  Ranma groggily opened his eyes.  Admittedly, he was still a bit out
of it - his eyes couldn't agree what to focus on, and were rolling in
different directions - but he seemed all right.
  "I'm Bobbin," he said.  "Are you my mother?"
  "He's all right!" Mikado cried, having made his way over.
  "Hooray!  Azusa is spared an embarassing and financially
debilitating lawsuit!"
  Mikado handed a small pouch to an unresisting Ranma.  "Here's your
money," he said.  "Just recompense for aiding us," he explained.  He
glanced over at the cannon, and followed Ranma's trajectory with his
eyes.  "We just need to change the aim a bit," he concluded.
  "I'll try it next!" announced Azusa excitedly.
  "No, I'LL do it next!" Mikado said, not wanting to be outdone.
  "No, me!" argued Azusa.
  "No, ME!" yelled Mikado.
  "Slacker!"
  "Loser!"
  "Ruffian!"
  "Fop!"

  Ranma staggered out of the big top, leaving the Golden Pair to their
bickering.  478 pieces of eight richer.  He wondered if it was worth
the headache though.
  But now, it was time for spending.  And that meant going right back
into town.  Maybe life would be less strange there....


----------------------------------------------------------------
Coming soon....
     "The Curse of Monkey Island"
----------------------------------------------------------------


There it is, the last teaser.  That's not to say I don't have
more ideas for "The Curse of Monkey Island", but I'd like
to leave something for the story....

Speaking of which, I'm in quite a quandry.  I'm running out
of ideas.  True, the main plot has already been (mainly)
thought out, but it's the little things that are stumping me.
For example, I only have one "Important Looking Pirate",
Happosai.  And Soun and Genma already have other roles.

Anyway, this is a quick petition for help with this
project.  Anyone who thinks they know "Monkey
Island" backwards and is willing to fill out what I can't,
then reply back to me.  Otherwise, there's a good chance
that this idea is just gonna be shelved.

Hope you enjoyed all the teasers.  And thanks for reading.

Ciao,
                   Terence Fergusson
                -- Student of Advanced Murphodynamics
                -- Stranded in an Anime-free College


-----------------------------------------------------------
"I don't need parents.  All I need is a recording
that says, 'Go play outside!'"
                                 -- Calvin
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