ok, i had this idea. Amazons & the Musk are
bitter enemies in the canon. But who is the source
of all the information on the Musk in those stories?
Cologne, Matriarch of the Amazons. Could she be
a teensy bit prejudiced?
Umm...actually...no, they're not. That's just a fanfic convention (so
is, for instance, the Musk vs. the Phoenix Tribe). In the manga, the
only thing Cologne says about the Musk is that she thought they were
extinct. Not that they DON'T necessarily have a rivalry (altho if so,
why would Herb come consult with Cologne in the first place?).
-------------March 12, 1992-------------------------
"He's a couple all by himself! Pervert!
Peeping tom!" Akane turned away from the (ugh)
BOY. "And if you ever--"
"Goodbye!" Ranma spun on her heel
and started stalking off. Her father had hid the
backpack to keep her here, but this was just
intolerable.
"Where are you going, boy?" Genma
glared at his son-turned-daughter. Ungrateful
whelp spoiling this beautiful moment where both
Genma and Soun's dreams of uniting the schools
were being realized.
"Back to CHINA!" Ranma growled.
"I have to find a way to change back for good.
This is no time for 'fiancees.'"
Ranma partially turned, saw the blank
look on Akane's face and wondered why she had
ever thought she was cute. She saw the two sisters
who had thrown him to the lion, and felt her own
anger surge a bit.
"By the way, YOU took a pretty good
look at me, too. Besides, if I were to look at anyone,
I'm better built, Nabiki's sexier, and Kasumi there is
better looking and is a HELL of a lot more feminine!"
Ranma barely even knows them at this point...plus, this is RANMA.
Explicit female-comparing commentary isn't exactly his forte, ne? ;p
Ranma stepped down the hall, just one
step ahead of a thrown table. He was pursued by
a number of hurled heavy objects all the way outside.
When Akane got back, Ranma's father
was chuckling.
"He'll be back, Tendo. I hid his backpack.
Besides, I've spent years manipulating him, teaching
him to be dependent on me, discouraging any hint of
being able to actually think about situations. Why,
just his social skills alone are abyssmal."
^^;;;
"So that he'll be dependent on Akane
when they're married, very clever Saotome!"
If he's dependant on Akane for any of THOSE things, he's in DEEP
trouble. ;p
"I WILL NOT MARRY THAT JERK!"
Kasumi blinked, turned to her middle
sister and asked for help with the dishes.
------------April 1, 1992-----------------------
How'd he get to China?
Lime and Mint led the stranger
into Herb's presence.
"Who are you, and what do you
seek here?"
Good question. How'd he get to the MUSK?
The youth met Herb's eyes briefly,
then bowed clumsily. "The Guide said that if
anyone knew how to cure a Jusenkyo curse,
Umm...what happened to jumping in the Nannichuan? ^^;;;
it would be the Musk Dynasty or Phoenix
Mountain. I sought your advice first as the
closer of the two, and because we both have
an enemy in common."
Actually, the Phoenix are considerably closer. Plus, if Cologne didn't
know the Musk still existed, why would the guide? I assume they take
pains to hide themselves...then again, maybe he would know (they do go
to Jyusenkyou on occasion, after all). But I assume he'd at least be
sworn to secrecy...
"The enemy of my enemy is not
always my friend," corrected Herb. Still, he
was slightly more interested now. "And who
is this common enemy?"
"I am pursued by one of the
Amazons, their tribal Champion in fact.
Sooner or later, she shall track me to here
and will attack."
"Why would she be chasing after
you?"
"You're bringing a GIRL here?"
"Can we see her breasts, Herb-sama? Can we? Can we?"
"I was Jusenkyo cursed and
defeated the Amazon in combat. She then gave
me the Kiss of Death and pursued me."
"Nyaanichuan," Herb said, nodding.
"I'm due to go there in a couple of months."
"What do you know of the Musk Dynasty?"
He had to go to Japan anyway, and here the
Why? Herb only went to Japan because he got Jyusenkyou-cursed, which he
can't be already, 'cause otherwise his immediate reaction to Ranma would
be to slice his head off (plus, he probably wouldn't be here).
gods had provided a Japanese with reason to
hate the Amazons...
"Well..uh..actually, I'm just me."
"You mean you are not the supreme ruler of your race? Out, peasent
wretch!"
"Next to nothing," admitted Ranma.
"The Jusenkyo Guide said only that you knew
much of the curses and were longtime enemies
of the Amazons."
Mint knew his part, and sat in a corner
of the room, taking a small drum and tapping out
a slow soft beat on it.
Oh, yay! Story time! ^_^
Herb stood, the shadows still mainly
concealing his form. "Ages ago, the Amazons
came to this valley from the plains of ancient
Scythia. They had been nomadic herdsmen. Now
"Or herdwomen, as the case may be. Herdspersons, perhaps? But I
digress."
displaced from their lands they brought everything
they could with them and settled in this remote and
largely inaccessible region. They brought their
spears and their bows, the secrets of what the
Greeks would later turn into pankration -the basis
for modern martial arts, their magic and one other
thing.
Wow, that WAS awhile ago. However, modern Asian martial arts were based
off of Shaolin Kung Fu, not Greek styles. Altho I guess you could
postulate for the fic's sake that they were derived off the same root,
to a limited extent. or something. ;p
"They also brought their slaves."
Mint hit the drum a little harder after
that one word. Herb was giving a familiar speech,
one that was given to those boys about to turn
into men. Mint knew the cues by heart.
(Why would this be Mint? Mint can't be more than fourteen at most, and
he's NOT a man; or at least, I assume once one becomes a "man", one is
allowed to meet women...)
"Over four thousand years ago, a
group of slaves had been beaten, and whipped,
and had seen many of their number gutted for
daring to speak back to a woman. These men
Gee, i wonder who these people could be. ;p
found the courage to escape, to flee their bondage
one cold night and seek a new life away from their
oppressors.
"Thereby to become oppressors themselves. And damn, it's much more fun
this way."
"They only went a short distance, from
one Valley to another, when they came across the
Cursed Springs. One of their number fell within, and
a moment later a crow flew out of the spring. The
others quickly realized to avoid the Springs, but also
that if they went to the other side of the Springs that
these cursed waters would form a natural defense.
Just imagining their former masters riding a calvary
charge through the valley was enough to lift their
spirits.
"So they came to a defensible cliffside and
built the first crude Citadel. In time a few warriors of
the Amazons came looking for them. There was a brief
fight. The Amazons had the better armor and better
weapons. Lemon was the Musk who thought of
"This was before I was around, of course."
scooping up buckets of the cursed waters and hurling
them on the attackers. The results were gratifying.
"Now the former slaves had slaves themselves.
Some councilled against this, others argued that it was
only fair to turn the tables on their former masters. The
decision eventually went to the majority, who wanted
vengeance.
Herb would approve of that. ;p
"The Amazons howled and screamed, but
as Spring Of Drowned Carp had been used on them,
it was well understood that for them to go outside was
certain death.
"And so, from these new slaves, was born
the next generation of Musk.
Actually, that's backwards...the Musk were born from ANIMALS tossed into
various Jyusenkyou springs.
"One thousand three hundred years ago,
a spring was created. Spring Of Drowned Girl, and
the Musk no longer had to capture Amazons in order
to have concubines or slaves. Criminals, animals, all
could be converted to young girls. A way of locking
someone in their cursed form was developed. A way
of unlocking was also developed. Many disagreed
with the ritual, but tradition and plenty of examples
have taught us that no woman can be trusted not to
put her own interests over those of others. The
changing of animals to brides, to breed for those
qualities best able to stand against the Amazons
and their trickery was eventually implemented.
Ah, alright. I gotcha.
"Then in the Second World War, one of
our own, a daughter of the Badger tribe named Cheddar,
stole the unlocking device and took it to Japan. It is my
personal crusade to seek the Unlocking Kettle and return
it to the Musk.
Call it the Kaisuifuu. It sounds SO much cooler. ^^;;;
"For your courage and cooperation,
I offer you our assistance. Will you grant us yours
that we may recover the kettle?"
Umm...what, precisely, did Ranma courageously cooperate in? Herb isn't
exactly the generous, people-oriented monarch. Speaking of which, who
IS the monarch? Herb isn't the absolute ruler of the Musk, or at least
we ASSUME he isn't...
Ranma nodded. "Then I can get a cure?"
"Yes. As long as you are not
locked in your cursed form, it can be cured. Will
you swear loyalty to me, to the Musk Dynasty?
Will you help me attain the Unlocking Kettle, then
go on to avenge ourselves?"
Wow, he CAN hold a grudge.
"They disgraced my ancestors! Even if my ancestors were weak pathetic
fools that I myself would like to eviscerate for daring to live in
slavery!"
Ranma glanced at the two powerful
warriors and the frescoes of martial arts battles
(And Mint, who was still beating the drum ;p)
that decorated the walls. "Throw in martial arts
training, food and board, and ya gotta deal."
"Good. Now head off with Lime, and we'll fit you with your new
manacles."
------------------January 9, 1993---------------------
Shampoo ignored as much of the
pain as possible and struggled to her hands
and knees. This was not going nearly the way
she had envisaged it.
Just sneak in and kill the girl, maybe
a little death and destruction since it WAS the
Musk Citadel.
Pity Amazon tradition refused to acknowledge the fact that the enhanced
Musk warriors could peel her like a grape. Literally, in Mint's case.
Shampoo started to rise to her feet,
only to have a blow to her temple, and then another
to her knees cause her to buckle.
"Thought you'd just come in and kill
me, eh? That's how you Amazons do business,
isn't it? Well, guess what, Shampoo. You lose."
Whoa. Granted, Ranma's been living with Herb for awhile, but beating
the crap out of women-even ones trying to kill him-is a MAJOR departure
from character for him. What gives?
Shampoo's eyes swam as she tried to
see the figure in front of her. The redhaired girl
known as Ranma was standing in a ready position.
Her Chinese still needed work, though. Shampoo
would have protested the concept of Amazons as
assassins, but there had been times when it had
been true.
Besides, doing that would involve using a lot of big words, and her head
hurt enough already. ;p
"Enough," another voice could be
clearly heard. "Will you kill her? She most
certainly would kill you were your positions
reversed."
"Uhm. No." Ranma frowned as she
looked at the fallen Amazon. "But what else
can I do? If I let her go, she'll just try to kill me
again."
"We could use some cursewater
and she could be your pet. Maybe a nice
songbird in a cage? Mint is good with animals,
perhaps changing her into a dog, and Mint
could train her to be obedient? Concubine,
Gods, no. Let Mint be in charge of "training" Shampoo? The entire
Musk'd be up on sexual harrassment charges.
perhaps? We have ways of making her...pliable.
It would not be the first time we have dealt
with Amazon assassins in such a manner."
(Incidentally, has Herb gotten used to breasts by now? If so, you
should do some scenes with that. Could be funny.)
"Whatever..."
Shampoo lost whatever else was
being said as that roaring noise grew louder
and the darkness seemed to sweep in on her.
"Damn, Lime broke the floodgates again!"
-------------January 10, 1993-----------------------
"Was that really necessary?" Ranma
sat near the throne and just held his head in his
hands.
Herb looked coldly at his subordinate.
"She was an Amazon and an assassin. Worse, she
had targetted you to be her next victim. You
didn't want her transformed into something small
and helpless. You didn't want her killed. There's
just Mint, Lime, you and myself. Imprisoning her
indefinitely wouldn't work without a transformation."
"Well, she's definitely not the same as
the assassin NOW. Does she remember anything?"
How, precisely, did Herb do this?
"Not much. You'll basically have to
raise her as an infant. I don't have much sympathy
for Amazons OR assassins, and she only remains
alive at your bequest." Herb stood up from his
throne. "She's YOUR responsibility. You have
a few days to train her before we travel to
Japan."
Ranma: Uhh...okay. Shampoo...sit! Fetch! Roll over!'
Herb: -_- <blast> Play dead.
"Yeah, I suppose."
---------------March 12, 1993-----------------
Ranma heard Herb approach
and sent Xian on into their room.
"You dote on that slave." Herb,
restored to male form and loving it, favored
When did he get into female form in the first place?
his star pupil with a grin. "I certainly don't
understand your ways. From what I see,
it is almost as if she were your child instead
of the killer who tried to stalk you in these
halls before our little trip."
Ranma grunted an agreement.
Wow, he's really getting in touch with his animal side. ;p
"Certainly she seems loyal to
you. Do not be too torn, Ranma, when she
betrays you later. It is something inherent
in the gender to repay kindness with
hostility."
Well, THAT'S more like the Herb we all know and love.
"Uhh...and you know this through your vast experience with women?"
"And monkeys. NEVER trust the monkeys, Ranma."
Thinking back to his visit to
the Tendo dojo, Ranma couldn't help but
see something to that. Still..."Make you
"Oh no, wait, maybe I gotta BE kind before they're kind back! As
opposed to telling them, say, that their sisters are sexier! Damn, I
got a lot to learn about
this women thing."
a bet. If Xian truly betrays me, I'll join your
cause wholeheartedly. If she proves herself,
then you stop believing that all women are
inherently evil."
Herb nodded his agreement.
O_O HERB, accepting orders-even implicitly-from an inferior tagalong?
Uh-uh, can't see it. Herb would probably blast Ranma just for presuming
to say that he MIGHT be wrong.
"Didn't you say that this was about the
time that you were humiliated and attacked
by that group in Japan? The 'Tendo Dojo'
or something?"
Eh? "This was about the time"?
"Yeah, they did." Ranma had
gone over the events of that day several
times, and Herb was right.
That girl had been just like an
Amazon, kind to him when she thought
him a girl, mean and hateful when dealing
with a male. And the two sisters hadn't
been much better, one had fondled him
in girl form, the other had just been
anxious to dump him like stale bread.
Like HE had wanted to get married to
a stranger himself, but no they had to
blame him. Or at least the youngest
Kasumi blamed him? ^^;;;
one did, he suspected the other two had
the same attitude.
Ah-ha, NOW we're showing Herb's delightful influence.
Vengeance just wasn't his
style, though.
Unless, of course, he got beaten by anybody.
"Tomorrow we get you your
cure." Herb looked out into the night. "Then,
get ready for some of the most intensive
training of your life."
You've never fully explained WHY Herb wants Ranma around so badly. He
seems the sort that would be rather interested in racial purity to begin
with...
Ranma grinned back. "Now THAT
I'm always ready for."
Provided, of course, it doesn't last past dinnertime.
-------------March 12, 1994-----------------
The doctor took the cup of
tea and faced the odd pair. The boy was
around eighteen, quite tough looking, with
a sad air that seemed to fit him like a cloak.
Black hair, tied back in a ponytail, the leather
tie having a pair of yellow-brown fangs hanging
>from it.
The girl was quite different,
something almost childish-innocent about
her, with a smile that seemed to light up the
room. Her purple hair was the same length
and style as the boy's but on her merely
enhanced the child-woman image.
"The Tendo dojo. Well,
yes I did know of it." The doctor stopped
the shaking of his hands by effort of will.
"Let's see, a little over a year and a half ago
a dojo destroyer came through the area and
the Heir to the dojo, Akane, was rather badly
hurt.
You sure she would be? There's no reason for her hand to be injured in
this continuity, and if she was in good shape (she'd still be beating
legions of boys every day, too) she'd have a decent chance of taking the
Dojo Destroyer, given what we saw of them fighting in the manga.
"The Tendo School was
eliminated, joining the other dojos that
failed to meet the test. Things continued on
I'm sure all of Soun's legions of students were crushed. ;p
for a little while, but with Happosai in the
area the Anything Goes style was pretty
much considered not worth the hassle.
Especially after seeing Happosai kiss Akane
in that 'Romeo & Juliet' play." Doctor Tofu
Gwah? ^^;;; Akane seemed able to handle Happy pretty well...and
besides, would things really have clung this close to continuity?
Ono shuddered briefly. "Then they got their
heads shaved when the new principal arrived,
though Akane had start shaving after that
bit with the Supersoba until Happosai used
that weakness Moxibuxtion point on her.
My point. Why would all of this have happened the same? Since
Happpousai got quickly bored without Ranma around to torment in the
manga, it's debateable whether Akane could've provided enough
entertainment to keep him around. Plus, stuff like Akane eating the
soba depending heavily on coincidences involving Ranma to happen in the
first place...
(Finally, why didn't Akane just take the cure when she found out about
the side effects?)
"Then Akane left on some
quest to Ryugenzawa and never came back.
Hope her and Shin-kun have a happy life. ;p
Then Kasumi...got married to someone named
Picolette Chardin III by some arranged marriage."
The II, actually. But I can see this. He'll love her dearly. Or her
cooking, anyway.
(Altho wouldn't Nabiki be more likely? After all, good 'ol Picolette IS
filthy rich...)
Doctor Tofu had to pause a few moments to
get his trembling under control.
Wooee! The doc's gonna go psycho...
"Soun Tendo died a few
months ago. Without the dojo, without the
school, without his daughters, there was
nothing for him."
Guess Nabiki wasn't helping much. Still, wouldn't he have stuck with
Kasumi?
"What of the third daughter,"
asked the boy in his oddly accented voice.
"What of Nabiki Tendo?"
"She moved out of the area
after her father died. Haven't heard from
her since then."
Hmm...what happened to Genma?
Ranma thanked the doctor
and gestured for his companion to follow
him as he left the clinic.
"You are satisfied, Ranma?"
Xian looked over at her "father" with some
curiosity. She knew, of course, that Ranma
wasn't her real father. Ranma was the only
parent she remembered though, and he had
always treated her with patience, kindness,
and affection. Though that sad look still
passed over his face regularly.
"Yes and no. I can't
exactly stop by and forgive them for
treating me so shabbily back then, can I?"
"Is just as well," Xian
noted. "Now we not have to spend much
time here. Prince say problems soon, need
all help he can get."
"Yeah," Ranma agreed
after a few moments. He gave a wry smile
to his "daughter" who beamed back at
him. "I guess there really isn't anything
here for me. Most likely there never was."
Giggling, the little girl
in the older body led her father back to
China and the Musk Citadel. They had
to go see about many many things, after
all.
=================================
well, just one of those pieces i woke up
with. wanted to jot out the notes and ended
up writing the thing.
As to how it ends, i see Herb vs
Saffron, The Dragon Vs The Phoenix in a
really massive fight sequence.
I figured as much. There's a few problems with that scenario, tho.
1) Why would they fight? Saffron's been transforming regularly for
however many thousand years now; he never leaves his mountain when he
does so, and I assume it isn't a Musk tradition to suicidally attack
him...
2) Which leads to the other problem. Herb vs. Saffron would last maybe
30 seconds. Herb's powerful all right, definite upper echelon Ranma
martial artist...but Saffy's a GOD. Even in his weakened form from the
manga, Saffy was an absolute order of magnitude more powerful than Herb
could ever hope to be. He could annihilate the entire Musk, plus Ranma,
at once with no difficulty whatsoever.
Perhaps some similarity, with Xian
coming to Ranma's rescue as Akane did in
the canon. And likewise suffering for it.
Ryouga and Ukyou? Ryouga
never finds a home at the Tendo dojo,
he was looking for Furinkan specifically
to find Ranma. Ukyou was essentially the
He wouldn't be in this cointinuity, tho...Ranma never went to Furinkan.
same. With Ranma dropping off everyone's
radar and leaving no forwarding address,
they face a cold trail.
Yeah, but how much colder could it get than suddenly deciding to go
search for him after ten years in the first place? Of course, I suppose
she might have heard about him somehow and THEN decided to go after him,
in the manga...
Semi-dark, i suppose. Some
people are better off without Ranma.
Others aren't. Picolette Chardin III is in
the canon, as is the Dojo Destroyer.
The second. Picolette Chardin II. ;p
Hmm...overall, Ranma as a Musk Warrior is not really a bad idea, but
there's a few problems. First, you ought to brush up on your
canon...while you obviously know some things ABOUT Herb and Co., and
other manga events, some of the things that happened in the fic (like
when and how Herb got his curse, or what others know about the Musk)
came off really fuzzy.
Second, you ought to take some more time to develop things. At the time
Ranma came to the Musk Dynasty, Herb has almost certainly never left it,
and he can't have his curse yet (for reasons I mentioned earlier). Take
some time to work with the situation of them getting used to
Ranma...particularly Ranma's curse. Play it for humour! Even in the
manga, Herb&Co. were far from totally serious. Also, indications are
that Ranma is emulating Herb somewhat (he's more vengeful and uncaring
than his manga counterpart); if so, try to work this in more slowly.
This fic has some potential; you should take some more time to develop
it.
IMO...
Blade
********
World's #1 Fanboy of Ukyou Kuonji, Pantyhose Tarou, Kiima, Toguro Ani,
Alys Brangwin, Ibuki Yagami, Vega, Mian Toris, Sessho-maru, Brad
Kilsten, and that psycho soldier with the glasses in Windaria. ;p
"All I wanted to do was kill a few people, maybe a little torture on the
side! Was that too much to ask?"-Toguro Ani
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