these are "not ready for primetime" versions, but
if i can send these off, at least they won't be lost, ne?
computer problems continuing to snowball... haven't
given up yet, though.
A Very Scary Bet, Rough
part 4a: Limedrops keep fallin' on my head.
by greggsharp, metroanime@mindspring.com
http://metroanime.home.mindspring.com
various people own the various char. no
trademark infringement is intended.
much thanks for my pre-readers who have
helped enormously.
this is written for enjoyment, distributed for
others to enjoy, and has accomplished its
purpose if it has a few fun moments.
----------------------------------------------------
A small four-wheel drive vehicle
moved through the streets of Nerima. This
was unusual in a number of respects. First,
because this was Nerima and automobile
traffic in the residential sections was pretty
rare. Second, it was unusual because this
wasn't a sedan, coupe, or similar vehicle
but an SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) in
Tokyo.
While both of these factors
were unusual, they were not so out of the
ordinary as to draw any particular attention.
That there were two women and a cat in the
car was also not particularly noteworthy.
That the driver was a quite
attractive seventeen year old, while the
other was an equally attractive woman
of perhaps nineteen might have turned
a few heads but still not especially worthy
of note.
But then, if you were to identify
the passengers, then things got decidedly
more interesting.
"I still don't trust this guy. How
do you know that HE wasn't the one who
showed up with magical food!"
"So we go in cautiously. Besides,
it looked to me as if he were heavy into the
high-tech sorta thing, not..." Makoto slammed
the brakes, and three set of eyes tracked the
commuter that ran through the intersection.
"Ami," said Makoto in a small
voice a few moments later. "Did you see
what I just saw?"
Ami was frantically pressing
buttons on her computer keypad and didn't
answer.
"A unicorn? In Nerima? In Japan?
Why and how is there a unicorn in Japan?!"
Luna stopped when she realized that nobody
else would know either. "It's GOTTA be one
of the Dark Kingdom generals."
"I'm detecting the same sort of
energy that Sailor Moon's attacks emit. The
same sort of healing energies." Ami found
herself twitching and tried a deep breathing
exercise to calm herself. Well, why not a
unicorn? Was that any less hard to believe
than reincarnated soldiers of an ancient Moon
Kingdom? To hear stories was one thing,
to actually SEE the unicorn another.
"Let's just get going and see if
we can find the Tendo dojo. Now remember,
if there's trouble DON'T transform, Ami."
"I remember," Ami said meekly,
remembering what had happened when she
and Makoto had tried transforming to their
Senshi identities. Jupiter had powered up
with her sudden aging, while Ami hadn't
transformed into Sailor Mercury at all.
She blushed again, remembering
the odd sensations she'd gotten.
--------------------------------------
Somewhere near Okayama, the
greatest genius mad scientist of the universe
monitored her flying crab remote probe and
decided she needed more of them immediately.
That vehicle had very interesting
power readings, the unicorn was itself quite
an interesting phenomena, and the strangeness
all seemed to either head towards or away from
that odd house with all the odd energy signatures.
Wasshu sat back and smirked, only
to nearly fall off her chair when an alarm buzzed
at her.
There in a monitor, was Kiyone?!
Accessing the instant clothing machine. She'd
put it away from her lab as she'd figured that
Mihoshi would be drawn to the device. But
Kiyone?
In the monitor, Wasshu watched the
Galaxy Police detective shrug into...a sailor fuku?
Wasshu stroked a control lightly and
then nodded in satisfaction. Kiyone was at least
going out well-equipped. Forcefield generator in
the belt, laser in the tiara, electroshock knuckles
in the gloves, a contragrav device built into the
suit itself. A somewhat tasteful blue-grey coloration
to the ensemble.
Another control was stroked and Kiyone's
muttering was loud enough to hear.
"...dang it. Got to help 'em if they're like
the Warrior Blades, but couldn't they have a less
embarrassing uniform? I mean, seriously..."
Wasshu's smirk returned. So that was it.
She'd have to upgrade the systems on that fuku.
Kiyone was entirely too useful and too competent
to allow her to go into battle without the proper
equipment.
Wasshu flicked to the other rooms in
the house, seeking whatever had caused Kiyone
to act tonight instead of spending more time
gathering data. What she saw made Wasshu
begin to laugh.
Oh yes, she'd have to record this for
posterity. Then, thousands of years later, she
could play this all back and still laugh herself
silly with it.
"Begin recording and tracking. Mihoshi.
Ryoko. Aeka. Sasami. Poor Tenchi, maybe I ought
to get you a tuxedo..."
---------------------------------------------------------
A large recreational vehicle shot through
the night at a fairly good speed.
Ranma clicked a status report for the
workbots and smiled. Tunnel and first chamber
already excavated and sealed. Slight drop in the
power efficiency of Larry. He'd have to check that
out later when he did the planned upgrades.
Ranma's eyes flicked back to his cargo.
Furinkan hadn't been the only location struck by
these hit-n-run life-energy draining attacks. As near
as he could see, Furinkan had been attacked by
Panther Zora who usually attacked Bluebird Senior
High School. Bluebird had been attacked by some
really nasty creatures who had just abruptly left.
Saint Hebereke's School for Girls had
been attacked (no one was quite sure why) by
creatures that had been an odd mix of human and
animal parts. They suffered less damage than was
usual due to the presence of some paramilitary force
with fairly old combat rifles. It was a pity that the
Saint Hebereke computer lab got trashed by a stray
missile, but these things happen. At least the school
had been evacuated by that point.
"Gurk."
"Don't try to draw unnecessary power,"
Ranma advised. "Whoever you ran into did a really
nasty job. It may take me a few days to put together
the necessary parts but bionic systems ARE my
specialty."
"Gek."
"I'd suggest shutting down to your
maintenence mode. Though, yeah, I should be
able to put you back together by the end of the
week. At least minimal functionality at that point."
Ranma paused. "I think you managed to
hold them off long enough for the students to
escape but the school's a wreck."
The android's eyes closed. She'd
failed to win, but still succeeded in saving lives.
It would do, for now.
Ranma noted the telltale that indicated
that the android had shut down to a rest mode.
Adjusting course slightly for the river, he made sure
his stealth systems were active.
--------------------------------------
Nabiki added the kairaishi mushroom bits
to the stew, just "helping out" Ukyou. She silently
chuckled at the double meaning to her offer of
assistance.
Besides, if this worked out, she could
get HUGE sums the next day and satisfy her own
insatiable curiosity at the same time.
Ukyou didn't notice, once again lost
in the gulf that had developed between her fiance
and herself. It was familiar ground, she kept coming
back to the same ideas over and over again.
Fortunately, she _was_ the master of
Okonomiyaki, and a lot of attention was not really
necessary.
Therefore she missed the lemon drops
being added to the tea, the bits of mushroom
added to one particular okonomiyaki, the little
eyedropper of fluid that went poof into the cabbage
of another okonomiyaki.
Nabiki looked at Ukyou, back at this
last okonomiyaki, back to Ukyou, and added another
eyedropper of "honeymoon sweet." Some things
were more difficult than others.
Nabiki didn't particularly notice Vanilla
come in, stir the pot briefly as if idly curious as to what
was for dinner, then exit. She definitely didn't notice
Vanilla give a subtle nod to Shampoo.
If she had seen Shampoo's grin and
thumbs up to Vanilla, she most likely would have
become concerned.
If she had known what Kasumi had
added to the soup earlier in the day, she would
have become far more concerned. But you already
knew that.
-------------------------------
Ranma finished connecting fluid and
energy connectors to the head on his workbench.
His scan of internal systems was interrupted
by a sound he hadn't expected. His phone was ringing.
"It's always the shower or when you're just
getting into an intriguing bit of work, you know," Ranma
explained to the android. "Just a minute. Computer, use
ident routine, basic level. Origin of call?"
A voice that sounded vaguely familiar
spoke. "Call originates from London. Call is scrambled,
using standard UNIT cipher four. Video and audio
components."
"UNIT? Now why would the Doctor's
associates with the United Nations be contacting
me?" Ranma shrugged. "Accept transmission, use
monitor two."
"Well, Ranma Saotome, back in your
home territory are you?" An elderly fellow with
a certain roguish charm smiled from the monitor.
"Q?! Using a UNIT cipher? How _did_
you get my number?" To say Ranma was surprised
was mildly understating it. He'd left on good terms
with Her Majesty's Secret Service, but hadn't
exactly expected their paths to cross again.
"Oh, those chaps over at UNIT found
your location yesterday. When you called that
older sister of yours to explain you'd be late for
dinner they backtracked it."
"And naturally you dug into their
computer files."
"Ranma!" Q looked mildly indignant.
"We've had trapdoors through UNIT's computer
systems for decades. After all, we had to close up
all the ones that OTHER nations went and put in."
"Of course," agreed Ranma, acknowledging
the other's point. "So why did you call? Not that I'm
complaining if it's just a social call."
"Well, it's that too. According to the
seismic records you're digging some pretty large
chambers into the earth and rock below Tokyo."
"Ah, and you wanted to caution me
about using or developing too much high tech."
Q actually looked shocked. "Heavens, no.
Actually, I wanted to schedule a visit, once you have
some gadgetry to play with."
Ranma nodded after a moment. "Just don't
bring HIM."
"Turn Sir James loose with all the girls you
have there? I understand your concern. Oh, and just
so I can charge this call as a business expense, you
WILL engage in a mutual backscratch when the
opportunity arises and no previous loyalties are
compromised?"
"Confirm that, Q. Hey, in three days, I'm
planning a labwarming party. Can do?"
"Will there be gratuitous sex & violence?"
"Not my cup of tea, as you well know."
"Well, pencil me in, then. No promises, though."
"Understood. Ranma out."
---------------------------------------
Shampoo took off for her pre-dinner run, wanting
to check on Kasumi and work off some additional tension
in the joy of flying.
Lavender tresses billowing behind her, the
Amazon twisted the throttle and sent her hovercycle past
a startled looking group in a four-wheel drive vehicle before
gaining altitude and sailing above the houses.
She'd been introduced to a number of musical
styles during her travels, and to the horror of both Ranma
and the Doctor, Shampoo had gotten addicted to karaoke.
So it was with Steppenwolf's "Born to be wild"
blaring out of speakers on a hightech hovercycle, being
sung along to by a Chinese Amazon as she raced a little
under one hundred feet above the road.
Shampoo was not aware of a moon cat in the
car she'd just passed, currently swearing off Tender
Vittles for life. Shampoo was also not aware of Makoto
exclaiming repeatedly "I want one of those!"
Shampoo was not even aware five minutes
later that a combat helicopter was closing.
-------------------------------
Ukyou opened the door, wondering who
could be here at this hour.
A tall girl with a pony tail, and a smaller
girl with short hair who had a superficial resemblence
to Akane. Both of whom were holding up "Fiancee to
Ranma" membership cards.
"Hi, is Ranma in? My name's Makoto Kino and
this is my good friend Ami Mizuno. May we come in?"
Ukyou paused as she considered how to handle
this, but decided to just be herself and maybe they were just
here to chat? Ukyou silently prayed, then smiled. "Of course.
Numbers five and seven? I think I remember you. Ami, you're the one
who helped out in that Flatulence Phantom caper, weren't you?"
Ami blinked. "You're the one who was trapped in
the well with Ranma? Your spatula isn't the only thing that's
grown."
Makoto winced. "Ami. You didn't say that you'd
gone off on one of their adventures."
"Sorry. It's been a few years." Ami paused. "I
remember now, that was one of the things you did to train
in the martial arts. You went to investigate these hauntings
and such, travelling across the country with your okonomiyaki
cart 'the Meal Machine' solving mysterious events."
Ukyou and Ami shared a mischievous look, though
Ami was a little shy about it.
"Oh come in, you two. Ami, you've got to tell me
how you've been doing."
Ami humphed as she nodded. "Is Akane still as
danger-prone as ever? Is Nabiki still running scams and
'accidently' leaving with part of the treasure? Is Kasumi
still patching up..."
"Is Ranma still as cute as ever," put in Makoto
then clapped a hand over her mouth as if she couldn't
believe she had said that.
"Yes, yes, yes, and I'm not going to say. Come on,
I'll get you some tea while we talk." Ukyou shook her head.
"I'll fill you in on some of the details."
-------------------------------
Shampoo said something in her native tongue,
it was not flattering.
Smoke pouring from a hole in the side of her
vehicle from the first missile strike, Shampoo guided her
hovercycle into brushing the ground and cornering
buildings like a shadow.
Poison One responded with machine guns
blazing and a spread of missiles.
Shampoo knew full well that her airen hadn't
installed any weapons systems beyond her vibro-spear.
That didn't do her any good with the readout telling her
she was at 79% structural capacity and 45% power
output.
Shampoo thumbed a button. "Airen. Airen?!
Shampoo really could use help now. Someone please to
bring Shampoo ranged weapon?"
Another missle exploded near enough to throw
Shampoo off her hovercycle. She watched in dismay as
another two missles exploded on the vehicle, reducing it
to scrap.
Gritting her teeth, Shampoo faced the copter
as it circled for a shot. "FLAME ARROW!"
There was a clang as the chi blast bounced
off Poison One's armor. There was a dent, there was a burn
mark, and that was about it.
Shampoo realized that she was about to be
hit with hundred of rounds of ammunition and managed
what she imagined would be her last act of defiance.
-----------------------------------------------
and for those who wanted to update the char guide i
posted (no, still not finished adding to it.)
Kiyone. Galaxy Police detective 1st class.
Quite competent. After hearing that the Senshi are
the equivelant of the Warrior Blades, determines that
she has to help them protect this planet from what are
essentially extradimensional criminals. Uses Washu
built gadgets in an ersatz Senshi fuku as Sailor Cop.
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Mihoshi. Galaxy Police detective 1st class.
She's...lucky. Mihoshi uses a Washu designed fuku
that turns her into a version of the "Greatest American
Hero" - including the skill with landings. aka Sailor
Galaxy. Series: Tenchi Muyo
Ryoko. Space Pirate capable of phasing,
teleporting, projecting energy blasts and a psi sword.
In RIFTS terms a fair level Mind Melter. Is one of the
girls pursuing Tenchi. Uses Sailor Pirate as her "Senshi"
name. Series: Tenchi Muyo
Aeka. Princess of planet Jurai. Has some
fair powers due to the tiara that is all but grafted onto
her forehead and her descent from the Royal House.
Mainly forceshield and electrical generation abilities.
Rumored to be skilled with the whip. Uses Sailor
Princess as her "Senshi" identity. Series: Tenchi Muyo
Sasami. Aeka's little sister. Bonded with
THE tree of Jurai, Tsunami. By agreement with
Tsunami, Sasami can transform into the magical
princess Pretty Sammi. From this form she can
power up further into manifesting Tsunami herself.
Series: Tenchi Muyo, Pretty Sammy
Tenchi Masaki. Doesn't feel so bad about
his own lot in life when he watches Ranma's problems.
Descended from the Royal House Of Jurai himself, and
can manifest some power. Also carries the Tenchi-ken,
a sword of power. Series: Tenchi Muyo
Wasshu. Number one genius mad scientist
in the universe. Has a thing for a crustacean motif.
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Yosho. Would much rather stay at his shrine
than get involved in all that Tokyo craziness, thank you.
Series: Tenchi Muyo
Yohko Mano. A professional Devilhunter
who finds herself in a love triangle with Akira Fudoh
and Minako Aino. Series: Devil Hunter Yohko.
Serjeant Benton. UNIT squad soldier who
gets a lot of the dirty assignments, because despite his
complaints, he somehow manages to slog through where
others might go the way of Ensign Extra. Series: Doctor
Who.
Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart. One of the
founding forces in UNIT. Considers himself a good friend of
the Doctor in at least two incarnations.
Ryo Saeba. City Hunter. A professional
shootist with ties to the Yakuza, other ties to the police,
and a penchant for pretty ladies. SLIGHTLY more
controlled than Happosai or Ataru Moroboshi. Series:
City Hunter.
Umibozu aka Falcon. BIG gaijin who is in
at least semi-retirement from the Yakuza in order to
work a small coffee shop with his wife Miki. Partially
blind but still an excellent shot. Unlike Ryo's surgeon
approach, Falcon is more likely to use MASSIVE amounts
of firepower. After Ranma's offer to build him a bionic
eye, becomes VERY protective of the "little guy." Series:
City Hunter.
Major Misato Katsuragi. Major of NERV
rescued from certain death by Ranma attempting to
send Rei back to her own timeline, and snagging a
bullet-wounded Katsuragi just before the bombs or
going "splut" would have occurred.
Gina Diggers. Genius mecha designer in
Atlanta Georgia. Discovers that both Seance and
Ryan Talbot are interested in her and drops her interest
in Ranma (he's kinda young anyway) though the two
start exchanging technology and resources. Series:
Gold Digger by Antarctic Press.
Brittany Diggers. Werecheetah married to
Prince Stripe of the K'ryn city of Eldorado. Is dragged
into an adventure by Gina, makes a Senshi costume
and kicks some serious butt in an adventure, though
she has her own adventures to keep her busy most of
the time. Series: Gold Digger.
Brianna Diggers. "Sister" to Brianna and Brittany
created through an attempt to free them of a curse. Instead
they created a clone with a combination of their traits. Brianna
is a weapons otaku who will immediately discover a soul
sister in Shampoo. Series: Gold Digger.
UNIT. United Nations Intelligence Taskforce
a group of paramilitary specialists under UN semi-autonomous
control that are charged with saving the world from time-
travellers, aliens, ancient evils, and are hopelessly outgunned
and underbudgeted for this task. Still, they make do with a
stiff upper lip, determination, and a little help from their friends.
Series: Doctor Who.
K-9 IV. Robot developed with Gina Digger's help
that resembles a bionic doberman. K-9 is planned as a plucky
nonhuman android to whom various characters can explain
a number of things to. Series: Gold Digger/Doctor Who/????
OPENING ANIMATION:
characters walk in and stand next to Ranma as their lines come up.
background is a yellow stage with logo in background.
Ranma (curious): What would you do if I sang out of tune?
Ukyou (pleading no): Would you stand up and walk out on us?
Kasumi (politely): Lend us your ears and we'll sing you a song,
Nabiki (smirking): And we'll try not sing out of key.
ALL: Oh, we get by with a little help from our friends,
Oh, we get high with a little help from our friends,
We're gonna try with a little help from our friends.
Shampoo (watches Ranma): What do I do when my love is away?
Rei/Vanilla (calm): Does it worry you to be alone?
Sash (softly): hai...
Akane (confident): How does it feel by the end of the day?
Ryouga (turned wrong way): Are you sad because you're all alone?
ALL: No, we get by with a little help from our friends,
Oh, we get high with a little help from our friends,
We're gonna try with a little help from our friends.
Kodachi (as if lecturing the camera): Do you need anybody?
Makoto Kino (sadly nods): I need somebody to love.
Ami Mizuno (consulting computer): Could it be anybody?
Minako Aino (sulking): I want somebody to love.
Nuku Nuku (bouncing): Would you believe in a love at first sight?
Akira Fudoh (grim): Yes, I'm certain that it happens all the time.
Kiima (ominously): What do you see when you turn out the light?
Happosai (grinning): I can't tell you, but I know it's mine.
other characters begin filing in. Misato Katsuragi, Nodoka, Genma,
the Doctor, Pantyhose Tarou, Sash, Serjeant Benton, Alistair Lethbridge-
Stewart, Cutey Honey & John Talbain are carrying the logo.
ALL: Oh, we get by with a little help from our friends,
Oh, we get high with a little help from our friends,
We're gonna try with a little help from our friends...
A Very Scary Bet, Rough
part 4b: Limedrops keep fallin' on my head.
by greggsharp, metroanime@mindspring.com
http://metroanime.home.mindspring.com
various people own the various char. no
trademark infringement is intended.
much thanks for my pre-readers who have
helped enormously.
this is written for enjoyment, distributed for
others to enjoy, and has accomplished its
purpose if it has a few fun moments.
------------------------------------
The radio's squeal cut through
the pleasant conversation.
"Airen. Airen?! Shampoo really
could use help now. Someone please to bring
Shampoo ranged weapon?" This was followed
immediately by a neutral sounding voice stating
"Warning. Carrier dead."
Akane stood. "That chi attack of hers
is roughly half the power of my Hadoken, but it
takes less power. If she's run into something that
she can't handle..."
"I will be along a moment behind you,
Akane. I may be able to contact reinforcements."
"Right," Akane ran for the doorway,
then looked for the smoke trail that marked Shampoo's
location.
Vanilla's gaze swept over the two guests
and their cat. "I realize that you don't particularly
owe us anything. But would one of you be of
assistance now?"
"W-What do you mean?" Ami
stuttered as she met that emotionless unblinking
stare.
Rei shrugged. "Someone who can
fight demonic entities in Juuban might well be
of assistance. Shampoo was just making a
pleasure ride, after all, and did not take weapons."
"I don't know what..."
Makoto glanced from Ami to this
pale girl and thought about old stories dealing
with baby birds who made the mistake of looking
into a serpent's eyes.
Rei frowned ever so slightly and
was gone out the door in a less than a heartbeat.
Makoto quietly went to the door and
looked out to see the columns of smoke twisting
their way up from a few miles away. "They're gonna
run that far?"
"Nope," said Ukyou flashing a set of
keys as she ran past them. "Nabiki, keep an eye
on the food!"
------------------------------------------
Ranma monitored the transmission,
noted that the energy signature corresponding to
the hovercycle engine had stopped, and considered
the possibilities.
Another energy signature appeared.
Ukyou's little moped was no doubt quite useful
for making market runs and picking up the groceries
she used in keeping her lunchtime okonomiyaki
stand going. Ranma doubted its capabilities if
it were carrying more than one person.
"Shampoo can you read me?" Ranma
pressed a button. Shampoo didn't want it known,
but there had been some problems with restoring
her from that transport accident.
Shampoo was an Amazon, and looked
natural, but some of her had needed to be rebuilt.
This was what had motivated Ranma to become a
cybersurgeon in the first place. Of course, once he
had access to cloning technology, he had run with
that! He didn't know how to do full scale clones,
but regenerating limbs and a few assorted body
parts was child's play with the right equipment.
"Airen? I hurt, airen..." Shampoo's voice
was weak even with the subvocal transmitter. "No
think much be left for you to put together. Sorry."
Ranma popped the hatch, and went
for the river access. He knew a way to get there.
------------------------------------
A moped swept in, scooting around a
corner, and showing definite signs of strain.
"Arisa, mark that.Three more of them.
On a moped."
"Where's the first one? We had her
dead to rights and she just vanished!"
"Lady Atsuko wants a status report."
One of the windshields blew in from
a chi-fireball.
"More androids? RETURN FIRE!"
"Missles launched. Got 'em, that building
fell on 'em. Now we can continue scanning for the
original target."
------------------------------------
Hiroshi and Daisuke were doing something
they did quite often nowadays. They were praying.
They were also fishing, sort of. After all the explosions
they had left their poles unattended and turned their
attention to that, but it was quickly becoming a nonevent.
Just as much as the fishing, actually.
Though after hours in powerless power
armor, both of them wanted to feel the breeze and breathe
relatively fresh air for awhile.
"Oh kami-sama. Send me a sign. If we are
not to pursue Akane or Ukyou anymore."
Daisuke nodded, then noticed the line on
his fishing rod was playing out fast. "HEY! I got one!"
Hiroshi looked over. "Wow. Maybe it's the
sign."
"Nah," Daisuke chided as he held onto his rod.
"For such an important decision, it'd have to be a MUCH
more impressive sign."
The pole shot from Daisuke's hands, nearly
pulling him over the railing as it went.
A moment later the river erupted and a serpentine
dragon roared in rage as it headed towards the fires.
The sound of dripping water continued for
a few moments.
"Daisuke."
"Yes, Hiroshi."
"I think we ought to resign from Kuno's
Strike Team."
"You might be right."
There was another pause broken only
by the dripping water and sloshing from the river.
"Hiroshi?"
"Yes, Daisuke?"
"You think Ranma ever gives rides?"
"Do YOU want to ask him?"
"Good point."
-----------------------------
A section of rubble shifted, then exploded
upward.
"Hah! It'll take more than that to put Akane
Tendo down! Compared to Ryu's chained 37 hit combo,
a wood and plaster wall is as nothing!" Akane began
the circular arm motions of a Hadoken, then noticed
another geyser of building materials.
Vanilla staggered a little bit, then noticed
that there was no sign of the okonomiyaki chef. She'd
known the chef was the weakest fighter of the house,
being overly reliant on her weapons and just not having
the dedication to fighting skills that the others had.
Poison one began repositioning itself,
gun tracking to their position.
Ranma arrived.
Akane quickly helped Vanilla to find
Ukyou, as it wouldn't be safe here with the control
problem Ranma's dragonform had.
The serpentine form shredded the armor
plating of the chopper, popping out what was left of
the windshield and reaching with claws for the
annoying insects within.
The insects weren't cooperating, shrieking and
firing a handgun at the "Godzilla reject" that was coming
for them.
Akane looked around and noted that Vanilla
had vanished. When she checked, she found the albino
kicking two women out of the helicopter and running them
down the road, keeping in between them and the dragon
which quite apparently wanted to swallow them whole.
Vanilla returned shortly, motioning to the
dragon to lower his head, then speaking earnestly to
him. After a few moments of this, Vanilla came jogging
up to Akane to let her in on the plan.
---------------------------------
Makoto and Ami were catching up on
old times with Nabiki, listening to her tales of life in
a village of Amazons, when people started filing in.
The albino girl and the short haired girl
from earlier were first, carrying the moped driver in
between them. They were followed by the boy from
the hovervehicle a moment later.
"How's Shampoo?" Nabiki asked, stopping
Ranma before he could go further.
"She's resting. When her life signs are more
stable, I'll be able to do more. I really wish I could get
my hands on some cloning equipment."
Vanilla finished laying Ukyou down and
regarded Ranma with an unblinking stare. "Why?"
"With the right equipment, I could set up
a healing chamber, encouraging tissue to regrow. I've
done it before. With Shampoo, to be precise. When
she was injured in that teleporter accident, well it
wasn't smooth."
Catching his look, Ami swallowed.
"What happened?"
"Internal organs damaged, one of her
arms imploded, legs fused. Oh, and technically it
wasn't an accident. The Cybermen had left a
booby trap. I had to learn cybersurgery and
FAST, that meant utilizing that teaching machine
again, and modifying it further.
"I was able to access cloning technology
later and Shampoo was glad to lose her mechanical
parts and return to being 100% human when I put together
the first healing chamber. Of course, I was rather
clumsy back then with bionics, I would have done a
much better job with the right parts."
"Oh dear."
"You're a doctor?" Ami blinked. At his
age? An inventor, a martial artist, AND a doctor?
"I don't have a license here. I applied
for one in the Barony of Hope, but couldn't stick
around long enough for the results of the test to
be posted."
"Here we go!" Nabiki brought in the
first tray. "Sit down, Ranma. You're going to have
a busy night so you'll need to eat plenty."
------------------------------
Ukyou stared at how thoroughly out
of character everyone was, and considered going
to bed. She had no idea what was going on, but
this hadn't been a very good night for her.
Six times, Ranma had gotten up
to check on Shampoo, answer the phone, or
go switch on his scanners.
Six times, dishes had been exchanged
at a frantic pace the moment he left.
Makoto and Ami had remembered
the food stealing between Ranma and Genma
during the "old days" and had assumed this
was their current tradition. So, after declaring
that they understood this, had gleefully joined
in on the food switching.
Ranma had noticed this last time
back to the table that only Makoto and Ami
were eating, and had inquired if something
were wrong. Naturally, everyone had assured
him that there was _nothing_ wrong and had
started eating.
Sometime after that Ami had pulled
her "hentai pen" out of thin air, called out some
sort of command phrase "Magical Harem Princess
Make UP!" and was wearing an outfit that
was more than a little scandalous.
Dancing on the table in a cloud of
swirling veils was a bit improper, too.
Ranma was looking a little panicked.
Makoto was sitting in Ranma's lap, passed out
from where she'd kissed Ranma and those
programmed reflexes had kicked in. Vanilla had
gotten this determined look, grabbed Ranma,
kissed him, and a very similar event had taken
place.
Ukyou watched with a certain amount
of horror as Nabiki grabbed Ranma, took her own
kiss from him, and started singing!
"Ah, sweet mystery of life at last I've found you!
Ah, I know at last the secret of it all!
All the longing, seeking, stressing, waiting, yearning,
The burning hopes, the joy, the idle tears that fall!
It's love (of money among other things) the world is seeking!
And it's love and love alone that can repay.
It's the answer, the end and all of living!
For 'tis love and money and love that rules for me..."
As Vanilla decided this would be a good
time to show off her own skills, Ukyou got up to fix
Kasumi a plate for the morning. After running around
all night, Kasumi was usually quite tired and hungry
by the time she got in. Besides, she wanted to see how
much sake was missing...
"Fly me to the moon,
And let me sail among the stars,
Let me see what spring is like,
on Jupiter and Mars!"
Makoto stuck her head up, interrupting
Vanilla's song. "Spring has arrived for Jupiter!" She
decided to snuggle where she was while Vanilla
finished singing.
This was a battle after all, and Vanilla
was an Amazon. Mere interruptions would not
allow her to admit defeat.
"In other words, hold my hand,
In other words, kiss me...
Fill my heart with love,
And let me sing forever more.
You are all I long for,
All I worship and adore.
In other words, please be true,
In other words, I love you..."
Ranma had somehow vanished sometime
after Makoto's interruption and before Ami could
wrap another of those veils around him.
Shampoo hobbled in a few minutes later,
stating that merely being shot a few times by
a high calibre fully automatic weapon was not
enough to overcome 3000 years of Chinese
Amazon tradition. Oh, and were those pork
okonomiyaki?!
-------------------------------------------
Hours passed. Ranma was found by Ukyou
but he wasn't letting ANYONE in at that point,
and had sealed his vehicle against all environmental
conditions. He did give care instructions for
Shampoo, and would someone please call him
when the nightmare was over?
He ended up coming out anyway, when it
was obvious that everyone was busy doing
karaoke. It was also discovered that Ami's
Magical Harem Princess form had some special
attacks that were... not the sort of thing you'd
expect from the quiet studious girl everyone
remembered her as being.
Ranma dragged Shampoo (who'd fallen
unconscious) and Ukyou (who seemed as confused
and frightened as he was) back into his heavily
armored Recreational Vehicle and tried to patch
Shampoo back together again. She'd apparently
opened up her stitches during the third verse of
"Love is all you need."
Just out of curiosity, Ukyou switched on
the speaker at the door to the elevator. It was
worse. They were ALL singing now.
"...Darling, just for me, can't I wait for you?
In your heart, I wanna make you feel so brand new!
When you beckon, love comes at your call,
It's a love that's meant to be.
It's in the stars above. . .
Why don't we fall in love?
"You give me nothing to hold on to,
It's nothing but kindness,
So painful, my heart,
Love is always loneliness,
But within your arms. . . AH!"
Ukyou shook her head. "They sound better with
practice. Must have used a lot of the good sake." She
switched off the pickups, then on an impulse set them
to record.
Nabiki might actually pay to have these erased.
============================
clip to AVSB 4c. no telling when that will be with the
current computer problems.
gregg