Adrian's notes: Ok guys! First off, I'm NOT on the FFML. Please sent
replies to this address.
This may very well be my last story on R2096, and it MIGHT or might not
make it into the R2096 continuity. And even if it does, certain . . .
mordifications will have to be made. But PLEASE! Answer the question that
Chris had posed below, or this will NEVER make it into the main continuity.
<Special Alert: The Licky and Sicky presented in this fic are MY take on
characters orginally created by the ever gracious Jeff and Chris . . . thus
why this might not make into the R2096 continuity to begin with.>
Editor's (Chris's) Introduction:
I think that if Adrian Wong and Jeff Hosmer ever shook hands, they'd
disappear in a mutual annihilation. Adrian told me, in fact, that whenever
he reads a Hosmer story (particularly in R2096 continuity), he feels
compelled to write a counter-story. The argument between the two over the
portrayal of Shampoo and Cologne is epic, so you can imagine what happened
when Wong read the recent 'Kagami'.
In just a few days, I had essentially the entirety of what follows mailed
to me - far more editing than the usual was needed, indicative of just how
much of the tale must have been written in a passionate frenzy.
When Adrian first told me of the plot he was using, I told him to send me
what he had, but that I could in no way use it in continuity. Then I
read the story. The writing was gorgeous, and poetic (if a tad rough) at
times, and the mood he set up was excellent. Shampoo and Nikumi both
got the character development I think they deserved (as if Shampoo hadn't
had enough already!), and... well, I think I'd better stop now.
What I want to say is that I'm not so sure that I *can't* fit it into
continuity. I need your help in deciding whether to make it official or not.
I know that Jeff will be tearing his hair out and sending me mail bombs as
soon as he reads that I'm considering this, since his pet character doesn't
fare too well... To him, I point out that the ending IS open-ended enough to
allow for a fix, and as for the one PERMANENT change... What's one more
mutiliation in this series, more or less? ^_^
So, PLEASE send in your comments, especially regarding as to whether you
wish to see this (or a version of this) in the official continuity.
-CW
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| | \ \ | | \ \ .| | | |.| | | | \ \ / \ \ /
| | / / | |__\ | | | \| | | |\ /| |.| |__\ |/ /\ \/
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|_|. \__\ |_|. .|_|.|_|...\/..|_|.|_|.|_|.|_|. \|_| \
/\ \ /
Created by Christopher Willmore. / \ \ /
<4cw6@qlink.queensu.ca> / / \/
Based on a story by Rumiko Takahashi and /
Developed by C. Michael Schumacher / /
\ /
R2096 pages: http://qlink.queensu.ca/~4cw6/ \/(Logo:Armakuni)
============================================================================
Glamour, Entanglement and Pain *ALPHA DRAFT*
============================================================================
by Adrian Wong
<7ahw@qlink.queensu.ca>
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============================================================================
Part 1: Glamour
============================================================================
I am looking into a mirror, and enjoying it too.
Deep-set, heavily lashed dark eyes framed by straight, matching brows, a
delicately curved nose ridge, rosy lips pursing with crimson allure, a
small, sharp-chinned face framed by a dark fountain of midnight tresses ...
And yet, for too long in the past, I had loathed the mirror . . . and
with good reason, too.
I'd hated the mirror ever since I lost my beauty, after the effects of
the youth potion backfired on my body centuries ago. Those of my village
had seen my wrinkled, aged form as a testament to my heroic sacrifice in the
war against the invading Japanese during WWII, holding me with high respect
because of it... Before all hell broke lose through of the work of a
vengeful spirit, of course.
I might have been a Matriarch, but I am also a woman, and a woman would
much rather be admired than respected, if you know what I mean.
I had neither of them after Shampoo plucked out my eyes; not after
Mousse gleefully told his one-sided story to the Council.
And now, I have it all. What a change . What a change ...
Is this Heaven's way of compensating me for the years of pain I've
suffered at its hands?
Standing in front of the full-length mirror, naked as the day I was
born, I look over the slender, leggy form greedily, savoring every moment of
it. After all, once I touch hot water again -
Wait a minute . . . how silly of me. How could I forgot about the
age-determinant mushroom that I've just ingested? Heh, some good came from
the Hibiki boy's sense of misdirection, after all. Who would have thought
that those adorable little puddles of lives would still be blooming at that
same countryside after all these years? Compared to them, the youth that
Jusenkyo had provided me with seemed inferior, and burdensome. Ah ...
Yesterday's hot spring bath proved to be most satisfying.
And the priceless moss of life that I had gathered during a little
'vacation' some time ago ... that dragon reminded me so much of a man I
hated, that I would have killed it outrightt, were it not for the fact it
WAS the origin of the moss. Even though I should no longer have any use for
it, it might come in handy later, considering the constant danger this
position has put me in. Right now, I'll simply let it grow in that little
aquarium in the basement.
I'm finally free. Free from old age, free from blindness ... if not
from that cursed spirit of youth that still dwells within my body.
Oh well, I'll worry about that later. For right not, I'm seduction
given human form. I'm perfection.
Sweet Tanaro ...
Bitter Sakuin ...
You can both drool over this body like dogs for I care. Neither of you
are going to get any of it. Nothing personal, of course. It's just that I
find you both to be physically and mentally repulsive, despite the
delightfully useful pawns that you've proven yourselves to be.
Sorry about the worms, Kyoofu-ojisama, but this renewed body of mine has
taken a strong dislike towards ugly men who had forgot to examnine
themselves in the mirror before trying to rape it - especially if they
are Japanese. I am, after all, a Chinese Amazon.
The screen on my mini-computer flashes to life, and a storm of red
letters spills onto it like a long, mechanical trail of blood. Hmmm ...
let's see if those incompetent men at the Intelligence section have anything
worthwhile to report this time.
... oh?
... hmmm ...
... ahhh, interesting.
So, the puppet has finally started its feisty dance of rebellion after
all. How ... very expected.
Very well then, this will call for a little pain, spiced up with a
little pleasure for the little one. After all, even though I'm no
Mommy-Dearest, in a way, I'm still her creator. I'm responsible for keeping
her in line.
I pick up a loose, skin-toned, deceivingly harmless-looking body suit
given to me as a gift by that Chinese scientist who happened to be working
in Tokyo under a rivaling company. I hold it close to my body and marvel
at its thinness. Really, the thought that something THIS skimpy could have
the strength of a metallic armor once being slipped onto my body sounds
incredible to me even after all the new scientific knowledge I've absorbed.
It goes on loose, then snaps to fit with the press of a button on my upper
arm. It is temperature-controlled, and can act as thermoptic camouflage if
needed. Trillions of hair-fine wires run across this nylon-like suit,
allowing for quite a number of little options for my amusement, like
magnifying my speed and strength, among other things ...
And the best thing of all is that this delightfully paper-thin armor can
remain utterly, flawlessly concealed under my long-sleeved, high collared
Chinese gown save for the leggings from under my skirt and my hands. But
even that may be masked by gloves and stockings.
And the KF high-tech department actually thinks that their clumsy,
blatant body suit is at the peak of the technological world ...
< Arrogant imbeciles. >
I put on two sharp, metallic oriental nails on the ends of the fourth
and fifth fingers of my gloved hands to complete the 'Chinese mystic' that
everyone in this country seemed to be lusting after.
And finally, I'm now putting on the last part of my getup: a dramatic,
stylish use of eye-pencil to lengthen my eyes, giving them the appearance
of a pair of bejeweled daggers.
What need have I of makeup, you might ask? Even freshly out of the
shower, my this is a face to launch a thousand cooperation executives and
burn the topless towers of Tokyo ... should I use it wisely, of course.
There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
But back to the point: why stain my natural elegance with earthy
glamour?
Because I believe my puppet likes it that way, that's why. If her
lover's painted face was any indication, then I probably should use
even more eyeshadow for her visual pleasure . . .
Which I won't. A temptress must always know how to keep her
dignity and individuality in the eyes of the seduced, or her scheme won't
last through the end of one night before she is discarded.
Besides, my target for the night has been a bad little girl lately,
keeping things from me like that ...
Oh, I'm going to make her enjoy the first half of this night immensely,
for if KF Intelligence is right, if she truly is up to what I think she's up
to, then this would very likely be the last night of happiness in her
existence.
* * * * *
"Nikumi-sama, what a . . . pleasant surprise to see you here, of all
places."
Leaning against the doorway to her dark-unlit room, the rather inelegant
adaptation of that Tendo woman hissed, a tense serpent waiting to uncoil
and strike. Her hair, of course, was still a tangle of hellish fuzz,
which, when combined with her dark-eyeliners, the piercing on her flicking
tongue, as well as her black, all-too eye-catching body suit made her look
like a reject from a B-grade horror movie. Really, does she need to
proclaim to the world that she's a villainous bitch-queen? Does she really
want to alert potential oppositions of her evil intent? Doesn't she know
that a wolf needs to hide behind a sheep's skin, lest it be shot by a
shepherd girl at first sight?
Doesn't she know that her Mommy-Dearest was so successful in her schemes
only because of her subtlety and secretiveness?
Heh, she's a failure all right . . . just not the way Sakuin thinks. Oh
well, I suppose the open-booked woman was a failure of a role model after
all. Hmm ... maybe I should thank her for that sometime, for making my
upcoming match so ridiculously easy. Now, back to the problem at hand ...
"I'm here to see how my favorite girl is doing ... Autolyca-chan." I
say, maternal gentleness mixed with a slight undertone of eroticism.
Despite the youth of my body, she still thinks that I am supposed to be
older than her. "Won't you invite me in?"
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Autolyca chuckled in a rather
intimidating fashion. Such insolence ... perhaps a result of my overdone
attempts at hiding my more threatening side to even my own puppet? "As you
can see, my room is dark ... and BAD things tend to lurk in the dark."
< Very good . . . and what color is the sky again? >
Even without her telling me, I can already sense an eerie, unstable
aura of cold perversity within the unnaturally dark room. So, her lover is
with her now? Okay ... then this shall speed things up, making it all the
more interesting.
"Oh, don't you worry about Nikumi-sama, Autolyca-chan." I smiled and
walked in past her without waiting for her consent. "After all, there is
a soothing, seductive quality to darkness, don't you think, my dear girl?"
With that, I seat myself upon the couch and elegantly cross my legs
in such a way as to allow the most to be shown off through the slit on my
skirt. The girl's eyes become a little more intense as they caress my
thigh, totally missing the layer of protective armor under my stocking.
"What brings you here?" she asks breathlessly.
Giving her a sultry, sideways glance, I reply in my own husky, well-
controlled voice.
"What do you think, dear girl? A woman of my age has ... certain needs,
you know."
The shadows within the dark room shift slightly, as if in silent anger.
I hide the look of amusement from my face. Very good; now I know EXACTLY
where the child of darkness is lurking. She was pasted against the far
corner of the wall like a bat, her dark art generating layer upon layer of
shadows to conceal her dramatic, eye-catching form. I move my gaze away
before she learns she's been discovered. As a distraction, I undo the
button of my high Chinese collar, revealing a little stretch of my ivory
white neck to the gaping medusa.
"I've been lonely ..." I sigh melancholically. "All these years, I've
been pestered by one lecherous man after another. Who could have known that
all this time, I'd have eyes for none but a fiery, determined young woman
with to power to take on both heaven and hell at the same time?"
"Oh?" An eerie glint of deranged lust shines in the eyes of the Nabiki
replica as she advances upon my frail, vulnerable-looking form. "And what
do want me to do about that?"
Looking up at her with a sedated looking of sensual yearning despite my
hidden revulsion, I whisper:
"Allow me ... allow me to realize my dreams with you ... right here,
right now. You know that's the main reason that I've supported the project
to begin with-"
With a speed that is no doubt the product of her body-suit, the
ferocious girl pounces on me. I subtly shift my body to make sure the
unprotected back of my head will not get seriously harmed as I am thrown
backwards onto the hard, cold floor.
"So ... " she growls imperiously, "do you like it rough, or do you like
it gentle?"
"Whatever you want," I whimper, forcing some tears into my eyes as I
play the submissive victim of lust. "As long as it's you ... Poor,
unimaginative Sakuin. She doesn't know what she's missing ..."
The shadows within the room begin to shift in a more restless, obvious
manner as Autolyca smiles like a lioness and flicks her pierced tongue
across her fangs.
"Open your mouth."
I gladly comply.
She begins to assault me with her 'armed' tongue, trying to rape my
mouth with its sheer hardness. I, on the other hand, simply allow the
act to make me salivate into the little one's eager mouth, knowing what has
been in my mouth all this time, while staying alert to the swirling
darkness within the room. Feeling a little sick from the oral attention of
the far-from-attractive woman, I decide to speed things up a little by
cupping her scrawny rear-end in my hands and squeezing. I know the one in
the shadows is at the perfect angle to see the indecent movement on my part
...
A splash of liquid shadows combined with a flash of metal are all the
warning that I get ... and all that I need, for me to aim my little finger
at the source of the sound, and shoot out the sharp, metallic nail adorning
it like a dart. A shrill scream confirms that I've hit my target. Autolyca
stops dead with a frozen look on her face as I allow an amused smile to
grace my face.
"Naughty girl," I chide her, "should have told Nikumi-sama that your
little friend was watching in the dark. Now look what you make me do ..."
With a wild look on her already unattractive face, the crazed girl
growls as she tries to smash my face in with her fist. My own palm,
a hundredfold stronger than hers with the combination of my actual skill and
the suit's enhancement, stops it with pathetic ease. A prick by my metallic
nail through the so-called protected layer of black, and the fist literally
crumples within my hand as she lets out a hideous scream. Casually flinging
her head-first against a wall with minimal strength (she was too vain to
wear a helmet, and I still have questions to ask before cracking that
skull), I rise from the ground and delicately smooth out the wrinkles from
my skirt while studying the scene in front of me.
The girl of the shadows ... Sic-something I think her name is? She
holds a snapped blade in her hand, stunned. Too stunned to even seem
to notice the metallic nail embedded into her right eye.
As for my amusing little Autolyca-chan, she struggles to get up from
the ground, with the first expression of fear I'm ever seen on that smug,
Nabiki-ish face of hers. Twirling a piece of long hair lazily between my
fingers, I make a request with the first threatening smile either of them
had ever seen upon this usually gentle, reserved face:
"Now, are you two willing to act civil and talk this over like adults?"
Both glower at me, Autolyca with outward, animated hostility, while
Sicarii (I think that's her name) wears a subtle, dramatic hatred as she
shivers with self-loathing at her own defeat. Tossing my long tresses
behind my shoulder, I continue nonchalantly:
"You know what? There are rumors around town that someone from Onocorp
had been secretly using our company's ... facilities with neither the
permission of the Executress nor of the Chief Tactician, myself. Naturally,
I became rather curious, so I asked those nice, capable men from the
Intelligence section to check out this case on my behalf. Apparently,
that someone from our corporation had been carrying on a secret project of
some type without me knowing it. So, my dear Autolyca-chan ..." Nailing
them with a sideways glance, I continue on as my blood-colored lips begin
to curl unpleasantly, "would you happen to have anything to say to that?"
Both of them begin to sweat, but as expected by me, the hell-haired
child gives in and speaks on impulse:
"Yeah, so we've been doing our own little creation. So what?"
I smiled at the looks of shocks on both their faces. Even after all
these centuries, the truth remedy made by my mother is still as trustworthy
as ever ... even on one such as her. Best of all, I am the only one alive
to have the antidote to it, thus making me immune to its power even after
spraying loads of it upon my tongue.
"Really," I giggle in the 'kawaii' Japanese manner, just for the mocking
value of it, "how interesting. Tell Nikumi-sama all about it."
* * * * *
Deity ...
What she revealed was not what I expected at all. In fact, had it not
been for my centuries of training in masking my outward emotions, I would
have looked suspiciously, unreasonably outraged at hearing about their new
game. As it was, I simply smiled a chiding, maternal smile after all the
gory details of their hideous acts had been revealed by the unwilling
speaker, now with steaks of eye-liner running down her pale cheeks.
"'Licky', you've been a very ... very bad girl." I said, fighting to
keep my voice cool and in control, "Oh, something is going to be set on
fire alright . . . I'm just not sure if you'd be delighted by the caresses
of its heat."
Both of them began to panic, much to my satisfaction, as the temperature
of the room began to rise at a phenomenonal rate . . .
============================================================================
Part 2: Entanglement
============================================================================
I hate Jusenkyo.
I hate Japan.
I hate those perverse, ugly women who changed me into what I am now;
a tightly controlled puppet, made hideous for the sake of their amusement
The only thing they've left of ME is my soul, but not without modification,
oh, no, not them - they've locked it within the body of a kitten which they
threaten to kill, should I disobey.
Technological monsters ... cursed, twisted Japanese women ...
< Caliban; our cute, obedient Caliban, you won't ever disobey us, will
you? >
The door to my cell is sliding open. It's probably them again, waiting
to take their perverse pleasure from my body.
< You've such a lovely bosom remaining on your left side . . . I wonder
if we should stuff something inside to make it more entertaining? >
... I'M SCARED!!!!
Whatever is left to my dignity gives way, as I pass out while the door
opens fully, revealing the silhouette of a slender, shapely form.
[SHAMPOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
Funny, I didn't knew that either of my tormentors could speak Mandarin
quite this well. Oh well, time to embrace the soothing darkness once more.
* * * * *
In a realm of gentle, illusory nostalgia that I've been cruelly cast out
of for over a century ...
[Shampoo . . . Shampoo!]
[Wai!!!! Hiba-chan! It hurts . . . IT HURTS!!]
[Silly girl, I told you never to play near that sliding cliff again!
You're lucky that you survived in one piece. Here; let Hiba-chan look at
that wound on your shoulder . . .]
[I ... I'm sorry for disobeying you, Hiba-chan . . . please don't hate
me!]
[What are you saying, little one? I'm your Hiba-chan. I'll be mad at
you when you do stupid things, but I'll never hate you!]
[ ... really?]
[If I hated you, would I be here rubbing medicine on you now? You're
such a silly little girl sometimes ...]
[YAY! Hiba-chan still love Shampoo!]
[Hold still, hold still ...] the gentle voice, crackling with age, began
to soften with youthful smoothness as the sentence went on. [... hold still
and allow me to heal you up properly.]
Blinking, my eyes came into focus, and I find that I am sitting naked
in a large, luxurious bathtub decorated in the grand Chinese style. A
beautiful, dark-haired woman who can't be more than twenty-five leans beside
the tub, her stunning, beautiful eyes teary with heartache as she uses a
sponge to rub a cool, green moss all over my right ribcage.
[It's alright, it's -]
[Who are you?!] I scream and back away from her frantically. [What're
you doing to me?]
[Don't move,] she pleaded. [I'm healing you with the Moss of Life, and
it won't work properly unless you allow the flesh time to seal up and the
skin to regenerate.]
[What-] Staring down at my body, I gasp with surprise as I see that
my right arm, my crushed toes ... in fact, even my right breast have healed
up to become almost a match to the left side again. Save for a spider-web
of fading scars dividing a thousand fields of pale, fresh skin, of course.
I am stunned by the feeling of smooth skin under my now slender and pale
fingertips as I touch my right cheek.
[Mirror!] I cry, [I need a mirror!!]
[It's here! It's here!] she holds a classical style Chinese bronze
mirror before me. Tears of shock and joy run down my now ivory-smooth right
cheek as I realize that on my face at least, all of the damage has been
undone.
[See? It's alright, it's alright,] she says, soothingly maternal
despite the fact that I'm way older than her in reality. [I've been trying
to heal you for the last little while, and the results are better than
expected.]
I am no longer Caliban.
I have the face that I once had back in the year 1996: the
porcelain-skinned, star-eyed face that had seduced all of Furinkan High
without even trying, yet was unable to change the heart of the one man
that could fill the gap in my soul ...
... MY SOUL!!
[Tamashii!!] I bark, and grab the girl by her frail shoulders. [A-A
cat! A pink little cat ... have you seen a pink-little cat that ... oh ...]
Smiling, the woman picks up that pink ball of fur from seemingly out of
nowhere and hands it to me, where I immediately cradle it to my chest
as if it were my life ... which it is. For without it, I'll souless,
incomplete. To my wild delight, the collar around her neck has been
removed, meaning that it suffers no immediate threat. As it licks my face,
I begin to sob, remembering that I am still a monster ... a beautiful
monster, but a monster, none the less.
I'm quite sure that Ranma, who unwittingly gained all of my hatred
and love through that studious pride of his, couldn't agree more, now that
he knows ...
... and he's right. Even before this incident, my soul had already
been dead for a century.
But my child-like, childish Ranma ... don't you know that you were the
very one who killed my soul? Don't you know that half of my soul died the
day you rejected me after realizing that you'd already received all that
which you needed from me? After your death at Hiba ... Cologne's hand
before our reconciliation, is it any wonder that I was transformed into a
zombie right that instant?
Poor Hiba-chan ... poor ambitious Hiba-chan ... perhaps I've
redirected my hatred for Ranma towards you all this time ... perhaps I
should have hated him, instead of you ...
But I can't help it, for ever since I fell in love with him a century
ago, I haven't been able to make a right choice or decision regarding you,
regarding him ... regarding everything.
A slender hand pats me on the shoulder, making me realize that I am not
alone. I put down Tamashii and turn slowly towards the strange, peculiar
woman sitting at the edge of the tub.
[Who are you?] I ask. [Why are you helping me? What is it that you
want?]
[I'm just one of the many Chinese immigrants working here at Onocorp.]
Her reply is gentle, as if I were made of glass and she were afraid to
shatter me. [The only thing that is unique about me is that unlike the
others, I've been pretending to be a full-blooded Japanese in order to avoid
the all-too severe social prejudices in this country. It works. I'm now
holding a rather significant position in this profitable hellhole.]
I raise a skeptical eyebrow.
[Significant enough to interfere with the plans of that ... that woman?]
Damn it! I've grown to be so fearful of that wretch that I can't even
voice out an insult against her. But this could be the right attitude for
the time being. After all, I still don't know if this 'Chinese' woman is
really on my side or not. And skillful as I might be in this youthful,
healing body, I am still much of a stranger to the almost mystical
technological devices spawned by this cursed organization.
If the woman realizes my embarrassment, she doesn't let it show.
Instead, she simply smiles with a tiny hint of arrogance on her face, never
losing her endearing gentleness.
[If you're talking about a coarse-haired woman with a metal stud on her
tongue, then I assure you that it was of minimal difficulty to alter her
actions. Despite what she might think, she's not all that important to our
organization. Don't worry yourself over her: both she and her friend had
been arrested and dealt with, as our company has noticed her ... infidelity
towards its upper-level executives.]
[Like you?] I ask. Her smile deepens.
[Yes, like me.]
[So, why are you helping me? What good will that get you?]
Her smile lessens as she hears that. She replies, her stunning dark
eyes matte with melancholy:
[We're both Chinese, stranded here in this sinful Japanese city in
pursuit of our dreams. I'm a high-ranking executive in this organization,
and yet, those among us who admitted to be Chinese could hardly move up
beyond the desk-jobs at the bottom of this pyramid of power. And now, a ...
subject under me has dared to kidnap a young Chinese girl off the streets
and torture her with our company's tools for their own amusement. All this
oppression upon our race ... isn't that enough of a reason for me to help
you?]
So ... despite the position that she claims to hold, she still doesn't
seem to know as much about me as that hellish woman and her lesbian
sidekick. Stupid woman ... stupid, noble woman, you have no idea what kind
of mess you have gotten yourself into by saving me from my fate. The
downward spiral centred on the object of my desire has barely begun, and
now that you've stepped into it, there'll be no way for you to swim back out
in time before the apocalypse begins.
But still ...
[Thank you.] I switch tactics and attempt a girlish, youthful smile to
hide my more worldly demeanor, since I'd rather not drag her further into
this mess by allowing my history to be revealed. She did, for better or
for worse, save me from a fate that even I have to dread, and it's the least
I can do repay her. [Wow! I'm amazed, Miss. A person willing to go
through so much to stand up to her fellow race is a rarity these days.]
Accepting my abrupt change of attitude and personality with surprising
ease, the woman smiles as she held up her moss-covered sponge, indicating
for me to raise my right arm. I do as I'm told, like the grateful, fragile
girl that I'm supposed to be.
[Your wounds are still in the healing stage, and I would advise that you
stay here and complete the moss treatment before leaving ... if you don't
mind, of course.]
[Sure I don't!] I replied, adding a bit of a perk to further convince
her of my girlishness. [By the way, what is this that you'e putting over
me?] I ask, knowing full well the answer to my own question.
[It's a very rare moss found in a remote Japanese mountains. The
natives around those parts called it the Moss of Life due to its stunning
prowess in healing wounds and sores. As a medical corporation, we have been
studying this moss for a while, hoping that it can launch our company into
an even higher level than it at which it already is, by making an effective
medical salve out of it. We're still in the experimental stages, of
course ...]
Hmmm ... She appears to be trustworthy, after all. A little TOO
trustworthy, perhaps. But that's for the best for all concerned: I do not
wish to go against someone who has just helped me out of that hideous hell.
[By the way, Miss, I still don't know your name ...]
[I've long since lost the privilege of using my real Chinese name, being
the impostor that I am,] she said, looking a lot older for a split second
as melancholic clouded over her face. [Right now, those around me know me
as Mayako ... Nikumi Mayako.]
Strangely affected by her sadness, I reach out and clasped her small,
slender hand in mine. Looking greatly comforted ... no, even excited by my
gesture, she smiles the first truly happy smile that I've seen on her face
and continues to press the sponge onto my scarred skin with her other hand.
[Thank you,] she says, in a voice sofly charged with emotion. I smile
back at her, suddenly feeling very sorry for the poor woman.
To be so touched by something this trivial ... she must have been
lonely.
After all, she has to wear a psychological mask all the time ... much
like I did with Ranma. Not any worse, and not any better.
Deity; after a century of perversity, I find myself no longer
knowing how to deal with genuine emotional scenes like these ... so I do
the only thing I can: I changed the subject.
[So, Mayako, what's going to happen to those two horrible women, now
that they're both held up by the company?] I ask, with a fearful, child-like
expression. Her smile turned vengeful and harsh for a split-second before
returning to its warm, gentle mode.
[Don't worry about them. They'll get whatever that they've brought down
upon themselves. For now, let's just stay here and heal properly, okay?]
[Um!!] I beam at her kindness, as well as at the opening that she has
given me in understanding more about this monstrous system created by Tofu
in his madness. In this new body, I might be the best human martial artist
of this day and age, But without the aid of modern technology, my chances
will be slim when going against those hidden within this organization.
And go against it I shall: I haven't let myself gone insane for a
century just to lose Ranma to some other mad women - or men. After all that
I've gone through, after all that I've endured, there's simply no possible
way for me to back out of the spiral at this stage.
Saotome Ranma.
For all the grief that you've caused me with your air-headedness, for
all the stupendous things that you've lead me to do, for never realizing how
your rejection of me after forcing me to proclaim my love for you all those
years ago was the true cause of my destruction ...
... I shall make you mine.
This I do swear.
============================================================================
Part 3: Pain
============================================================================
"Arr . . . RRRGGGG!!!!! Waahhhhhhhh!!!!!!! WAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"
Wails after wails of sheer agony echoed within the dark, dimly lit hall:
the ecstasy of hell confined within a sound proofed lab room. Smiling to
herself, Mayako stretched sensuously over the sofa as she took in the
beautiful sight beneath the bulletproof glass cage in front of her.
A naked woman wailed in deranged terror as thousands of exotic,
dark-blue centipedes crawled over her. She was tied up within a spider web
of thin, industrial strength metallic wire that were cutting deeper and
deeper into her flesh with her every struggle, making her give the
impression of a struggling, maggot-ridden corpse freshly dug from the ground
and reanimated against its will.
Or perhaps not. Fresh zombies were more dignified in their movements.
Mayako rose from the sofa and walked up to the glass screen, smiling.
"You look terrible now, Autolyca-chan. You see? Sakuin-san was right
after all: what's the point of wearing a body-suit without a helmet? If
only you weren't so vain, your face and hair would have been spared from the
heat. But no ... you were so pretty that you just couldn't bear to put on
the most crucial part of the heat insulation. Oh well, guess that's no
longer the case after all. But don't worry, none of the others get to see
you like this. After all, you're not getting out of here alive ... if ever.
Onocorp has no need of infidels - least of all infidel clones."
"WAHHHHHH!!!! ARGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"What was that? You don't want to die? But why is that, 'Licky'?
Didn't your exorcist girlfriend tell you how much fun it was to be rid of
the burden of an earthy body, to allow your soul to be immersed within the
light ... oh dear, I'm sorry, I almost forgot!" She chuckled in a delicate,
feminine manner, "You don't really have a soul, do you? You're merely an
unbalanced copy of Nabiki Tendo, after all."
"NAYYYYYY!!!! ARGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!"
"Poor Autolyca-chan. Poor, poor Autolyca-chan, then I suppose you'll
simply fade away into nothing after this amusing game. But at least people
will mourn you, won't they? They'll keep you in their memories because of
all the nice things that you did for them, won't they? Or ... have you been
doing any nice things for anyone ... ever? Will anyone feel even remotely
sad over your destruction?"
"ARRRGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!"
" ... hmmm, guess not. Oh well, then you truly do not matter. You're
merely a pile of flesh and bone that could do nothing but to serve as
centipede food, aren't you? Sakuin was right: you ARE pathetic."
"SSSIC-SSSSIC- "
"What was that? You're calling for your little girlfriend?" A smirk
curled up on the crimson lips, making the cold eyes all the more chilling
as she pressed a button on her remote control, "Well, let's bring her out,
shall we?"
One of the boards on the ceiling lowered itself, revealing a rectangular
glass tank filled with a sickeningly pickish liquid. The ooze reached all
the way up to the neck of a disheveled, dazed woman with a gaping hole where
her left eye should have been. Dozens of sharp pins were sticking out of
her head, blood trickling from them. Smiling at what appeared to be a
look of despair on Autolyca's charred face, Mayako spoke up again:
"As you can see, she was a little different from you. This one actually
has a soul: a witch's soul, to be exact. To keep her powers leashed, I have
applied an ancient acupuncture technique on the woman - nothing that
children of your generation would believe in, of course, but the result was
marvelous, all the same. I even modified the technique in such a way that
she is now forced to remain conscious indefinitely. It would have been a
shame if the slow-acting base that I've immersed her in lost its purpose
simply because she'd escaped into la-la-land. Quite clever on Nikumi-sama's
part, don't you think, 'Licky'?"
The beautiful torturer laughed in wild, sensual abandonment as Autolyca
spat through her burnt, bloated tongue:
"GURRR . . . TEEEHHHHH . . . HELLLLLLLLLLL!!!!"
Stopping her laughter, Mayako smiled with dark amusement as she stared
straight into the deranged woman's green eyes.
"Been there, done that." She looked at the classical, stylish Chinese
watch that served as a pendant on her golden necklace, and her eyes widened
in surprise. Had she really spent that much time in here? Time flies by so
quickly when one is happy.
"Well, I'm off. Onocorp is a busy organization, after all, and I have
more important things to tend to than a pair of naughty girls. Have fun!"
The Chief Tactician walked out of the lab and laughed a beautiful,
silvery laugh that echoed through the darkness like a taunting ghost. But
even that was cut off as the heavy automatic gates snapped shut behind her.
All that was left in the room were the wild, pain-filled shouts of a mad
woman's descent into even darker territories.
============================================================================
The end?
============================================================================
_________________________________________________________________
Christopher Willmore http://qlink.queensu.ca/~4cw6/2096a.htm
"The world isn't just a spherical cow." - Prof. Gooding
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Bistro/2653/index.htm