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Chapter Twelve: Fire of the Gods
Somehow, Shampoo found the strength to turn her head, and whisper one
word, one name, one simple pair of syllables, as tears of impossible joy
freely streamed from her eyes. "Ranko!"
"Hiya, Shampoo!" the other girl said, then looked around at the new
surroundings. "Man, you really pick some weird places to party! I thought
that place in Shibuya was spaz, but this place really sucks!" She then
focused her personality on the demoness. "Look, I said get the hell away
from her. Aren't you listening?"
The demoness was complete at a loss. "B-b-b-bu-but I...I stole your soul!"
"Wrong answer; sorry, you don't get to play the bonus round. The correct
answer is: you only took my ki, a force that came with the gem anyway.
Besides, I 'm my own person now, so I have a new style! *No one* owns my
soul, except *me*. Now back off, wingbrat!"
The demon straightened, raised her chin in defiance. "Make me."
Ranko ran her hand through her hair, putting her fingers to her temple in
a dismaying gesture. She spoke to no one in particular as she commented,
"Some people just never learn....", then went through the motions of
readying a ki blast. "Well, if you say so!" She thrust her arms out,
fingers splayed, and shouted, "Take this! Denshinken!"
The demon easily moved to outmaneuver one of Ranko's red ki beams. But
what bolted towards the hellspawn was no regular ki projectile. A sky-blue
fireball, with tiny arcs of electricity dancing over the fireball's
surface, slammed into the demon, lighting her up like a Christmas tree and
flinging her back, a hellspawn leaf caught in a gale. The demon tumbled
head over heels, collapsing in a pile about thirty feet away from Shampoo,
leaving a plowed trail behind her.
Ran-Chan didn't wait for the demon to get up and counterattack. She
charged in, yanked the sword from her sash belt, and shouted, "Now!" A
second blur flew past as Libby leapt forward, grabbed Shampoo, and bolted
back to where Mousse was. The demoness fired a stream of foxfireballs to
intercept the rescue attempt, but Ran-Chan leapt in front of them and
parried with her blade.
She turned and shouted, "Libby! Can you get them both out of here by
yourself?"
Libby, in turn, was taking the coat off her business suit and throwing it
over Shampoo, who was still paralyzed. "Think so. Why?"
"Get them both out of here, now!" she screamed, as she whacked another
volley of foxfireballs away, using the sword as if she were playing
baseball. "Go! I'll cover you!"
"But, Ran-Chan--"
"'But' nothing! Get your ass out of here now and take them with you!"
"Okay," Libby called back as she picked Mousse up and slung them over her
shoulders, nearly dropping to her knees from the weight. "I just hope you
know what you're doing." She leapt once more, and crossed the portal.
As the portal disappeared behind the trio, Ran-Chan thought, {So do I,
Libby. So do I.} She returned her full attention to the creature and
snarled, "Okay. Playtime's over. Let's finish this."
The pair charged towards each other, the demoness in a charging punch,
while the redhead went into a flying kick.
* * *
The portal exploded in a shower of light and sparks behind Libby as she
and her charges returned to the normal earth plane, on the stairs right
above the empty space where Kuno and Kaguro had done their combat. She
leapt off the stairs with both in hand, landing on the ground in the
darkened room, and crumpling from the extra weight.
Breathing heavily, she muttered, "Whew! Can't believe I got them both on
this side! I knew Mousse was going to be a problem, but Shampoo's
obviously gained a few pounds!"
"I heard that...." a voice at her side murmured.
"Shampoo! Don't try to move. You're injuries are really bad, and...."
Libby never finished her sentence as the Chinese Amazon painfully forced
herself to her feet, grunting and gritting her teeth every inch of the way.
"It'll take more than a servant of the underworld to take me out.
Speaking of taken out, where's Ran-Chan?"
"What I'd like to know, is just what the hell's going on? Where are we?
What happened?"
Shampoo buttoned up the blazer, wincing at the various cuts, burns and
blisters on her front, back, and arms, and giving Libby a dirty look.
"Where's Ranko?"
"She...she stayed behind to protect us from...from whatever the hell that
devil thing was! She said this was more her fight than yours, and hoped
you'd understand."
"No, I don't." Shampoo's voice betrayed her fear and love for her
friend, as well as a seething anger that Libby guessed was directed at that
demon (?) thing. "Where's the portal?"
"She, um, had me do a shindenkyaku to destroy the portal thingie when we
went through. Just in case you decided to follow." The taller girl moved
between the wounded Chinese Amazon and where the portal had been.
"Shampoo, I don't pretend to know a single thing as to what's going on.
But, considering what I've just been through, *I think I damn well deserve
an explanation!*"
"You didn't get one because I didn't tell anyone 'til I could confirm my
suspicions. By then, things had gotten a little out of control."
"Really? And here I thought getting kidnapped was a normal thing,"
Libby replied, her sarcasm mode set to extra-crispy. "So while you're
negotiating for 'The Understatement of the Year' award, you have to rest
yourself, tell me what's going on, and take care of your boyfriend."
{MOUSSE!!!!!} Shampoo's mind went from a volcano to a clear spring at
the image of her love. Ignoring everything but him, she kneeled at his
side, inspecting the damage. Apparently either Libby--she looked up as the
girl shook her head--OK, Ran-Chan took the time to bandage his wounds. "Is
he--" she croaked.
"No. It looks like both of us would be dead right now if it wasn't for
Ran-Chan."
Ranko saved them? How? She was dead. But she wasn't, she was fighting
the demon of the stone! And none of that mattered right now, nothing in
this world mattered to her right now except her and Mao Tse.
She took his head and cradled it in her lap, gently so as not to agitate
his head wound. She then bent over, and caressed his face, feeling a surge
of love, a swooning feeling as strong as she'd ever felt for Ranma. She
looked at her lover, and whispered in Chinese, "Wake up, my love. Let's go
home."
Slowly he responded to her cooing ministrations, as he slowly opened his
eyes and said, "Oh, Shan Fu. I thought I'd never see you again."
"If you were only that lucky, stupid." Throwing all her fears, pain, and
anger away, she leaned down and kissed him, her burnt hair creating a
canopy for the two lovers. They easily remained in this position for an
eternity of peaceful forever, a total Zen state for the two hearts. Or
five minutes, by Libby's watch.
"Um, you know how much I hate to break this tender reunion up," Libby
said, "but we have to get out of here. Wherever here is."
"Uh, yeah. Sorry." Despite all the stuff that covered her face, Libby
could easily tell that Shampoo was blushing. "If we can get to the pier,
we'll get off this island. Tate, Maria, and Ronnie will have thought of
something by now."
Libby did a double take. "Tate's here!?!!?!?! Maria, too?!?!?! Just
where the hell are we? Treasure Island?"
"Alcatraz, actually." Shampoo ignored her looks and said, "What about
Ran-Ch--"
"She said she'd catch up. Leave it at that. You know how she is--death
couldn't stop her if it tried."
Shampoo smiled brightly at that. {Libby, you don't know how right you
are.} "Okay, if you say so...." {Wait 'til I tell Tate! Plus, somebody's
gotta get a hold of Ranma and tell him to calm down, assuming Ranko's not
gotten a hold of him yet.} "Let's go; I'll fill you two in on the details
as we move." She looked at Mousse again, kissed him quickly, and said,
"Can you walk?"
He got up, leaning back on his elbows. "Well enough to carry you; you
look worse than I feel. But you'll have to tell me how you do that."
"Do what?"
"Still look as beautiful to me as always, even during the times you say
you'd least look it." She kissed him once more at that comment, pouring
all the love she had for him into that one grand gesture.
"Still healthy in some areas, I see." She smiled impishly. "So I take
you'll do the walking, then?"
"I'd walk to hell and back for you, Shampoo."
"Oh, sure--*now* you tell me," she said, throwing her arms up in
mock-exasperation. Seeing her friends' puzzled faces, she amended, "Never
mind. Let's get going--we have a boat to catch."
* * *
As the portal disappeared behind the trio, Ran-Chan thought, {So do I,
Libby. So do I.} She returned her full attention to the creature and
snarled, "Okay. Playtime's over. Let's finish this."
The pair charged towards each other, the demoness in a charging punch,
while the redhead went into a flying kick. Ran-Chan, however, landed on
the demon's arm, and powerslid into the demon's face, dragging her blade
along the length of the monster's arm as she did so. As the demon whipped
back, black blood erupting from its damaged right arm, she surged forward
and threw a Chestnut Punch attack for 964 hits, the last punch being an
uppercut, setting up for an air combo. Her opponent still airborne,
Ran-Chan grounded herself, sheathed her blade, did a quick roll, and as the
demon fell to the earth, she commenced a damaging Shoryudan attack that set
her opponent ablaze.
The demoness in turn, lashed out with her tail, but Ran-Chan grabbed it,
and whipped her overhead and into the ground again. She leapt back and
charged up another fireball, holding the projectile as the demoness got up
and turned, exposing her weakness.
There! She announced her attack, threw the denshinken, and it rocketed
away towards its target like greased lightning. The hellspawn moved to
block, but too late; the electric fireball hit its target and tore through,
completely shredding it and detonating what was left.
The demon screamed in agonizing pain and fury as her right wing
disintegrated from the blast.
Ran-Chan raced in, shouting, "No mercy! You were given that by Lao
Jiukiu Tsesao, and you threw it away, and tried to take me with you in the
process! This time, you won't escape!" Just at a point of feet apart, she
formed a fist, called upon her inner well of power. An explosion of
electric-blue ki warped the air as she screamed, "*Saotome School of
Anything Goes Martial Arts Super Attack! Kacchu Tenshin Amaguri Kyaku!!*"
Flaring waves of blue light surrounding them both, Ran-Chan spin-kicked
her opponent, then went into the Chestnut Kick, pushing out a massive 573
hits to the demon, hearing the crunch of ribs breaking and the slap of her
foot against sagging flesh.
She backed out, dashed back, and went into a defensive stance. "Give up
now. I'll make your eternal punishment easier on you." She smirked, a
deadly grin crossing her face. "Not."
"Fool!" The demon screamed. "You don't know the extent of my powers!
After I defeat you, I'll leave this body to die, and possess yours! I
can't have your soul, but I can torment it!"
"Try it." Ran-Chan held her defensive stance, but loosened it just a bit.
The demoness noticed instantly. She spread her arms, thundering, "Now
see what true power is! Behold the power of my unstoppable Ultimate
Technique! Hellscratch!"
Once again, there was a sudden darkness, and the ground around the two
fighters erupted in geysers of red and blue flame. The demoness seemed to
stretch past Ranko in a haze of blue and red, then stopped just behind her.
The land and sky regained its sickly colors, the flames dwindled to
nothingness. Ranko remained in her defensive block, varied only by an arm
and fist thrust out, as if she were flexing her muscles.
The demoness snapped her fingers.
Nothing happened.
Ran-Chan came out of her parrying motion. She brushed the dust off her
clothes, and said to the demon as kawaii as possible, "Oopsie. I blocked
your attack. Silly me." Kawaii as ever, she stuck her cute little pink
tongue at the creature.
As the demoness' face blanched with terror, Ran-Chan formed double fists,
and her blue aura shone with a stellar intensity. Arcs of electricity
danced up and down her body. Her hair floated away from face, her head
simulating a giant plasma ball. Calling upon her ultimate strength, her
echoing voice roared, "Time to pay the piper!"
Halos of electric-blue ki rippled the sky, sending shockwaves out for
miles around as Ranko Saotome screamed words that echoed in demoness' ears:
"SAOTOME SCHOOL OF ANYTHING GOES MARTIAL ARTS FINAL ATTACK, REVISED!!!!!!!
KOUGEKI NO HARESU SURU!!!!!"
Nothing could be seen of the world anymore except the blue warping caused
by Ran-Chan's energy displacement. The look on the hellspawn at this point
was that of a deer in the headlights. Ran-Chan herself became a moving
shadow of red and black as she went into the Burst Attack final. Shorter
than time it takes to blink an eye, she assaulted the demoness with:
A 501 hit Chestnut Punch;
A 57-hit combo using a various amount of punches and kicks
A right hook that crushed the demoness' jaw,
A point-blank denshinken, destroying the left wing, removing
the creature's only chance for escape
A second Chestnut Punch, this time for 738 hits,
A back slice kick to set her up for the coup de grace,
A fully ki charged Chestnut Kick for 972 hits.
All in a matter of ten seconds, she'd thrown close to 2500 blows against
her opponent. A lesser being would've been worm food at this stage;
somehow, the demoness survived. Barely.
The demoness dropped where she stood, a virtual stain on the ground.
Completely, utterly vanquished, she said, through charred lips, "I
will...still...win. You...have a li...mited number of years in...your
life, while...I have eter...ni...ty."
"You will spend it imprisoned within the gem. Should you ever get out,
there will always be a Lao or a Saotome to oppose you. Whether it is
myself, Shan Fu Lao, or our descendants, you will be opposed, and you will
be defeated."
"I...still win, regard...less. You...must...imprison me...within the
Heart of the...Demon. And doing so will...cost you...your...life." The
demon began to laugh.
Ranko formed another final attack level ki charge, channeling it into her
fists. Those fists held a fireball for a second, then that fireball
rapidly evolved into a small star, so bright that Ran-Chan herself couldn't
look at it anymore.
The demoness continued to laugh, and bluffed, "You...wouldn't
throw...that. You care...about li...fe too...much."
To the absolute terror of the demon that had once been Jade Chiang,
Ran-Chan did not back off. "Then I must do what I must do." She had no
sadness in her voice; in fact she sounded completely at peace with her
decision. This time, the same as last, she knew what must be done.
However, this time, there were just more than just Mousse's and Libby's
lives at stake. Now, the entire world was in dire straits--and only she
could stop it. everything hung in the balance; time to even the scales.
Reaching for one last try, she thought to her brother, hoping that
somehow, this one last time, everyone would hear it as well. <Ranma,
Akane, Shan Fu, Mao Tse, Mom, Pop, everyone--I love you all. Owari.>
Ranko Saotome spoke the demon's words of doom. "*Demon, meet your
punishment! Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts Super Attack,
Revised! Denshinkono no Kami-sama!*"
Ranko Saotome released the Denshinkono no Kami-sama--the Fire of the
Gods--at the demon.
There was nothing but an eternal blue.
* * *
Doing a circular pattern in the bay waters a few hundred yards off of the
island, the group watched, waiting for Ran-Chan to come out. As expected,
Kuno was happy to know that "Pigtail" was alive and well, but that changed
when Libby informed him that she'd stayed behind on the island to cover
their escape.
"We're going back!" he screamed, trying to take the wheel away from
Maria. "I came to save Pigtail, and so I shall!"
"No, we're not." Mousse, although in his seat, stood firm. "She's
giving us the chance to escape."
"Do you know what we went through just to save you guys?!?!?!"
"I know what I saw; what they did to her. How's she's still alive, Tate,
I don't know." Mousse leaned back in his chair. "This was her choice.
Besides, what can they do to her that she couldn't return a hundredfold?"
"Mousse's right, Tate," Shampoo said. "I don't like it any more than you
do, but she'll do what ever she'll want to, just like Ranma."
"'Like brother, like sister.' Yeah, I know that old routine," he
muttered. "I suppose I would've done the same if it were Kodachi in
trouble. Maybe." He grunted, then shrugged his shoulders. "Well, at
least she should be out soon; after I defeated the ninja master, those
ninjas took off like rats from a sinking ship. I'll tell you all about it
later." His last comment was said to all, but Shampoo knew he specifically
meant her.
She replied nonchalantly, "I shan't wait to hear it," specifically using
the archaic English term to signal that she understood his hidden meaning.
<Ranma, Akane, Shan Fu, Mao Tse, Mom, Pop, everyone--I love you all.
Owari.> the voice of Ranko Saotome rang in their minds at once.
"What the...?" everybody said at once.
"Did you hear that, too?" Libby said.
"Pigtail?" Tate asked.
Shampoo just nodded dully, trying to make sense of Ran-Chan's words.
"Owari? That's 'sorrow.'" {Oh shit! What the hell's she up to?}
"Oh my God...." Ronnie, who through all this, had been quietly manning
the binoculars, now pointed in shock at the island. "Everybody, look!!!!"
* * *
"This is your captain speaking. We'll be landing at San Francisco
International in five minutes. For those of you on the left side of the
aircraft, you can see the Golden Gate bridge and old Alcatraz island.
Please ensure that your seats and trays are in the upright position."
Ranma didn't bother looking. This was his first time to the States, but
it held no joy for him. His sister was dead, and he may as well join her,
feeling emptier inside than her had ever felt in his life. {If I could
only explain it to Akane, to make her understand. I know she still hurts
after the death of her mother, so long ago, as well as Shinosuke. So she's
more familiar with the concept of death than I am.}
{But this was my sister. No, she's more than a sister. She was my
clone, *she* was *me*. If she had been created as a little girl, she may
have been our daughter. In any event, I've had more impact on her short
life than Mom and Pop; in effect, I've raised her.}
{Oh, sis, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I pushed you away when you needed
my help the most. I only wish I had the chance to tell you that.}
Akane was leaning over him, looking at the beautiful view. "Ranma, this
is gorge--" Seeing the depressed look on her face, she immediately clamed
up. {I'm so stupid. We're here. He's obviously thinking about her.}
She said no more and sat back in her seat.
<Ranma, Akane, Shan Fu, Mao Tse, Mom, Pop, everyone--I love you all.
Owari.>
"Huh?" Ranma and Akane looked at each other. Ranma then went
vacant-eyed as he frantically tried to reach his sister. <Ran-Chan!
Ranko! ANSWER ME! PLEASE!!!>
The woman in seat 22A screamed. "Oh dear Allah, please save us...." She
pointed at the window, shouting, "Alcatraz!"
Ranma and Akane looked out the window and stared in horror at the island.
* * *
The island, indifferent to the plane above and the speedboat in the water
sat there for a second, dark and still. Without warning a light blazed
inside, a bright azure luminescence that lit every window and opening in
the main building. Cracks appeared on the building's surface, outlined in
the same color, becoming a cobweb network of light.
The light continued to expand past the structure of the facility,
beginning to encompass the other buildings as well; slowly but surely
forming the same cobweb of brilliance that covered the main building.
* * *
"FLOOR IT! MARIA, GET US TO SHORE, PRONTO!" Ronnie screamed, knowing
instinctively what was going to happen next.
"Ay, Dios mio!" Maria, unintentionally a genius at physics, as well as a
master of ki-powered marital arts, also had the same idea. Without
requiring any further prompting from the others, she gunned the engines and
raced the speedboat as fast as it would go, spearing for the distant coast
of the mainland.
Libby started to frantically toss overboard everything that wasn't bolted
to the deck, hoping that somehow the lessened weight would translate into
exponentially faster speeds.
Mousse, Kuno, and Shampoo stared at the slowly growing ball of flame, not
knowing how to react. As the building began to break up, there were three
frantic shouts:
"Pigtail!"
"No, Ran-Chan, no!"
"Damn you, Ranko!" Shampoo was too weary and tired to say everything she
wanted to say. "How could you do this to me?" Shampoo grabbed onto
Mousse, holding him close to her, shivering, not wanting to see anymore.
* * *
The cracks in the building began to grow larger as molecular bonds
snapped, the gravity net holding them together neutralized by the energy
that demanded to escape its confines and rush to the many tangents of the
compass. Bit by bit, the solid pieces of Alcatraz prison grew smaller and
smaller as the bricks, cement, dirt and what have you became so much dust.
The energy became an umbra of immense power, a destructive canopy of blue
that slowly consumed the island and no small amount of the surrounding bay.
Still, the light became brighter and brighter, easily illuminating all of
the bay area with light equal to that of a morning sun.
* * *
The plane became chaos, people seeing the apocalypse in the bay below
slowly growing to their size. Over the intercom, the captain told all the
passengers to brace for emergency landing. Those inside the plane began to
scream and shout in panic and fear: "Oh my God...What's going on,
mommy?...We're gonna die!...Somebody save us!...The FAA will hear about
this...You mean if we live that long!...Are we under attack?...Where's the
Air Force when you need them?" Minutes remaining in the lives of the
passengers were counted as the pilot of the Concorde ignored the reminder
of the aircraft's scheduled holding pattern and immediately began landing
procedures.
Ranma and Akane Saotome ignored them all, staring only at the flare in
the ocean below that once was an island.
"Ranma! Could that be?"
"Ranko...." To Akane's shock, he actually smiled for a second. "She took
her killer with her." Ranma Saotome remembered something he said eight
years ago, a world away:
"This is my sister, Ranko. Anybody who has a problem with that will have
to deal with *me.*" He then looked at his sister, and there was no
mistaking the love, joy, and pride he had in his eyes. "You did good, sis.
Thank you."
His mind held no greater emotion as he "said," <Farewell, sister,
daughter, self. I love you, am very proud of you, and will miss you.
Owari.>
* * *
The canopy of light became a bubble, the light it emitted far stronger
than a noonday sun in Arizona.
Then the bubble burst, and a massive shockwave shook the area, nearly
buckled the Golden Gate Bridge, rattled buildings for miles around, and
certainly shook a small speedboat and a much larger Concorde jet.
The final sign that it was all over was the electric blue mushroom cloud
that rose to the sky, arcs of lightning cascading up and down the base and
cap.
Alcatraz, the island, stood for eons, untouchable. Alcatraz, the prison,
stood for decades, impregnable. Now the force and willpower of one small
woman determined to save the world at any cost consigned both to the tomes
of history.
* * *
The inspector gave O'Shaugnessy the letter. "Here. Ye read it an' see
if it ha' any sense o' meaning ta ye." The inspector looked at the crater
in the middle of the park. "Ne'er in all m' years ha' oi e'er seen the
likes o' this...."
Giving his superior an odd look, the constable read the strange missive:
/Gentlemen,
/I find myself honor-bound to apologize for the way that I have entered
your city--and nation--in a different form of transport than what is
considered the norm. My transportation was not expected, nor was my trip,
and I truly apologize for the unintended damage that I have caused. As I
did not intend for this trip, please contact my office, so I may begin
reparations. /My office number is US number (415) 555-7098, which I can
be reached at starting tomorrow evening, or you may leave an EMail at
ykaguro@americamail.com.
/Yours in humblest regards,
/Yujiiro Kaguro
A few meters away, Yujiiro Kaguro stepped off the grounds of Trinity Park
and into the streets of Dublin, Ireland, in search of a travel agent, a
hotel, and new clothing. It was fortunate for him that he carried his
passport out of habit.
{I never thought that love could be this...entertaining; it is
certainly making me a well-traveled person. So my beloved Shan Fu has
cousin Tatewaki as a chaperone, eh? I wasn't aware that she was under
family caveat. I suppose I'll have to get creative in my efforts to win
her heart.}
Kaguro touched his temple in repose, sighing at the thought of his true
love.
Life would get interesting, indeed.
* * *
In the early hours of the morning, dawn broke over the far off
mountains of California. The rays of the rising sun began to alight upon
the cityscape of the Bay Area, illuminating clearly all that had occurred
during the previous night. The Bridge was only slightly damaged; Caltrans
could repair that within a few hours. The shockwave had shattered a few
windows, and rattled a few other things, but most people took it with the
calm of Californians dealing daily with the much more ominous San Andreas
Fault.
The only loss in all this was the island of Alcatraz, as various state
and federal agencies began to investigate.
Elsewhere, a very wet and indignant Jade Chiang pulled herself out of the
waters and on to the shore of Fisherman's Wharf. She was uninjured, but
felt completely sore and exhausted. She got off the immediate pier
grounds, then stopped to rest in the parking lot across the street.
Fortunately, it was fairly early in the morning, so there would be no one
to record her embarrassing emergence from the water, the goddess Aphrodite
rising from the sewers.
She had no idea where she was or how she got in the water. And why was
she wearing a metal bikini, anyway? Where were her ninja togs? What time
was it? A glance at her watch revealed that it was 6:12 in the morning.
She reached up to feel the Heart of Demon--the true Heart of the Demon,
and found the ruby pendant still on its leather thong around her neck. She
held it in both hands and began to channel her chi, feeling the ruby begin
to glow with a carmine aura, as the red battle aura encompassed her once
more...
...which quickly died as the power of the talisman began its thousand-year
slumber once more. Jade Chiang became enveloped once more in her old,
useless, green aura.
As she stood there, dripping on the asphalt, the green aura shimmering as
it was saying "I'm baaaaack!", Jade Chiang hand only one thought in her
anger-filled mind: {This is all Lao's fault!}
She fired one of her blood chi--make that chi bolt, instead--towards the
direction of the California Cat Cafe, screaming, "*You got off easy this
time, Lao! I'll get you yet!*"
Shan Fu Lao would pay for this humiliation, Jade swore. Now, all she had
to do was to get to the Golden Dragon Palace before she either froze to
death or rusted solid.
* * *
Same time, at the Lao/Windham/Saotome household:
"Owww!" Shampoo winced as Libby applied disinfectant to her back wound.
"That hurt!"
"Quit being a baby, Shampoo. You stomp around Alcatraz, level the
island, get sliced and diced by a demon of the netherworld, and you're
bitching about me cleaning your wounds?" she replied, as cheerlessly as
possible. "Would you prefer that the cut would scar and fester? Or would
you prefer that I do your breasts, instead?"
She crossed her arms in mock anger, then winced again from agitating her
arm burns. "Not on your life!" Glancing longingly at Mousse, bandaged
under Tyler's care, she said, "Besides, I think I may have a willing
volunteer for that, later."
"That's assuming you can get Veronica off him." The other girl, leg
completely taken care of, was currently rubbing up and down Mousse's arm
like an animal in heat, much to Mousse's dismay and Tyler's disappointment.
"Call an ambulance later. She may require hospitalization."
"For her wounds? I checked 'em out myself. They weren't *that* bad...."
"They will be when *I'm* done with her."
Tyler and Gil were overjoyed to see that the group had made it back safe,
but were disheartened at the news of Ranko's death. Still, they needed
help, so, it was a good thing that Shampoo had the foresight to keep the
medicine cabinet, earthquake kit, and dojo first aid kits fully stocked.
Gil double-checked Maria's injuries, declaring that Ronnie had done a
better job than the Midwestern girl had initially thought. "I'm really
glad you made it out alive. I was really worried."
She returned his smile, saying, "Worried about what, Gil?"
"Um, never mind."
There was a knock at the door. Since all were busy, except for Kuno (who
had been taken care of first), he replied, "I'll get it." He cradled Mige
in his arm and answered the door. Mige, having that uncanny sense of
prediction that all cats seem to, leapt out of his arm as the door was
slammed in his face, crushing him against the wall.
Ranma Saotome walked into the household as though he were entering a
shrine or temple in his sister's memory.
"He still hasn't mastered finesse, has he?" Nabiki asked Akane as the
pair walked in a split second after.
"It's not like I haven't tried to teach him," she explained by way of
apology. "Besides, I love him just the same. Also, it helps to have a
decent sparring partner."
"In the dojo, or in bed?" Nabiki cooed.
"Nabiki!" Akane flushed, then grinned. "Both."
"RANMA!!!!" Shampoo ripped herself from Tyler's care, and "bounced" on
over (she was topless, having shed Libby's jacket in order to facilitate
Libby's care) easily into his arms, sensually putting her arms around her
old flame and kissing him very tenderly and lovingly...on the side of his
mouth, then turned and stuck her tongue at Akane. "Relax, Akane," she
laughed, then added a hello to Nabiki.
"Well, if I was expecting a welcome like this, I woulda come sooner," he
joked, instinctively ducking Akane's punch.
From behind the door, a newly bruised Kuno said, "She seems to do this
often. *You* just get the special treatment."
Mousse commented, "How come *I* don't get the special treatment?"
Shampoo turned towards Mousse, "You're getting it from her." She glared
at Ronnie, who flipped her off.
"*I don't want it from her!*" Mousse complained.
Ranma countered, pointing at Shampoo, "You think I want it from her?"
Unfortunately, his finger ended up on *her* breast.
"Ranma," she breathed, enjoying the familiar insanity, "I knew all along
that you--"
Ranma ducked another blow, as Kuno shouted, "You *fiend!* How could you
do that to Akane! *And in front of her, no less?!?*"
Akane turned and decked Tate, screaming, "I'll take care of my *own*
marital problems, *thank you!*" She then turned to Ranma and Shampoo,
screaming, "Ranma no baka!" and throwing a charging punch at her loving
husband.
Ranma and Shampoo ducked in tandem, thus allowing Akane's punch to head
straight towards Mousse, who came over to break up Ranma and Shampoo's
"little embrace". Mousse in turn ducked, leaving Ronnie to take the full
brunt of the blow. She flew back and ended up ricocheting off the wall and
landed on the coffee table, breaking it.
Libby, by force of habit, walked over to the phone, and hit one of the
speed dial buttons--the one to the furniture store. Getting the answering
machine, she said, "Hiya. Libby Windham here. Need the usual. Put it on
Shampoo's card this time. Delivery time, usual. Thanks." She hung up the
phone.
Meanwhile, Ranma and Shampoo were still doing synchronized ducking,
chatting along merrily as Akane, Kuno, and Mousse hit *each other* trying
to break up the pair's friendly hug.
"Ten years ago this always used to happen--" he said, laughing.
"--and it *still* happens every time we have family reunions!" she giggled.
Finally, Tyler got fed up with it, and screamed, "HEY, CAN WE GET SOME
ORDER AROUND HERE?!?!?!?!?! PUH-LEASE, PEOPLE!!!!!"
The "Furinkan High Gang" stopped where they were, groaning, throwing
annoyed glances Tyler's way.
"What'd I do?" he asked.
Seated on the couch, playing with Mige, Nabiki answered. "Now you've
gone and done it. You ruined all their fun. This is just the way they
greet each other."
"Oh."
Shampoo stepped out of Ranma's arms as Maria handed her a T-shirt. She
put it on, never once taking her eyes off of Ranma's baby blue eyes.
Playtime was over. Her eyes became downcast, and she knew it was time to
say the hardest words she'd ever have to say to him. "Ranma, dear heart,"
she began, forcing herself not to cry just once more, "I know you already
know this--"
Ranma's eyes began to tear. "I know. I also know she got her killer. I
can see that you did everything to try to prevent it."
She hugged Ranma again, motioning for Akane to join them. "I'm so sorry,
dear heart, Akane-chan. I tried, but I failed. Please forgive me and my
stupidity. Because of my shortcoming's, Ranko's--"
"*Right here!*" a rusty, high spirited female voice boomed.
Everybody snapped their heads at the door to see...
...a very wet and bedraggled Ranko Saotome walking through the door. Her
clothing was complete soaked and smelled of the bay. Her hair was
completely undone, and the Jusenkyo sword was still at her side.
She took off the sword and put it on the coat tree near the door. She
then wandered off to the kitchen saying, "Man, oh man! You won't believe
the time I just had! Ohmigod! Think I'm gonna totally catch a cold, for
sure! Swimming the Bay was hard enough, but--"
"*Swimming the bay?!?!?!*" Gil said, completely stupefied that Ranko was
alive, much less here. "*Nobody* swims the bay!"
Ranko nonchalantly commented as she had her head in the fridge, "I'm a
Saotome. There's no such thing as impossible. Anyway, the swim *really*
sucked, but the jog from the Embarcadero *was worse!* Traffic from all the
cameras checking out 'The Big Alcatraz Incident'--" she popped her head out
of the fridge long enough to grin, roll her eyes and wiggle her fingers in
a quotation-marks motion, "-- and the fact that it's so damn *far!* Didn't
know that there was no bus service near here this early in the morning, or
I woulda taken a taxi!" She popped her head out again, a carton of
Pineapple Juice in her hand. "Hey guys, we're out of tortillas again. Can
we just go out to breakfast this morning? I'll even pa--"
She stopped and noticed the black haired man in Chinese clothing staring
at her. <Ranko?>
<Oniichan!!!!!> Dropping the carton of PJ, she powerleapt over the
countertop to her brother and tackled him in a loving embrace. "Oh Ranma,"
tears of joy streaming from her eyes, "I thought I'd never see you again!"
His joyful tears matched hers. "Same here, sis." He playfully
admonished her. "Don't ever go off and get yourself killed without me again!"
"Never again, I promise." She kissed him on the cheek. "I love you, big
bro."
"I love you too, Ranko."
Akane pounced on the pair, equally crying, "Don't forget about me!" Soon
Tate, Shampoo, and even Nabiki joined the dogpile.
Mousse stood in front of the football play, a joyful smile on his face,
glasses fogging from happy tears. "Nobody get any ideas," he grinned.
"Let the happy little family be."
He didn't have to worry. There wasn't a dry eye in the house.
*****************************************************************