Reluctant Bet segment 21: "Reluctant Backup"
Disclaimer: this is one
-------------
Celeste, goddess second class, limited license, woke up
slowly and stretched. She glanced sleepily at the clock to
discover it was 8:49am, still quite early for her normal
shift, and so prepared to turn over and get some more
much-needed downtime.
Her eyes shot open after that, followed by her body hitting
a quick shower, and dressing frantically. Late! Waitaminute,
she'd completely missed the Reset of that timeline, so there
was no need to rush. It would have been handled by the
person on the backup roster, which would have been...
Celeste's face fell. Kitchiri. If you opened an
encyclopedia and looked up Bimbo there would be that face.
Kitchiri: dumb luck personified, disaster in pink tennis
shoes and cutoffs, the very image of the worst archetypical
California blonde.
Celeste RAN all the way to the Goddess Relief Office,
Yggdrasil File Maintenence Division. The question was not
'would there be a disaster waiting for her' but 'how much of
a mess had been made'. With Kitchiri around...
Well, at least she'd never run out of work.
--------------
Jared flipped open the computer with a puzzled frown. For
some reason, the Reset had deposited him HERE with Sakyo and
all of Grey's equipment, in what looked like the
Bayankalas... Takahashi's Bayankalas mountain range - which
was much more picturesque than the real ones. "What the..."
"What is it?" Sakyo flipped and changed to resemble
Shampoo. "Did you figure out why only we appeared?"
"No, it's the time/date caret here," Jared pointed. "It
indicates that we're a year and a half back, July 3rd 1990.
Ranma arrives at the Tendo dojo March 12, 1992 normally.
This doesn't sound right."
"Yes, I see." Sakyo-sh considered briefly then flipped and
switched to Ranko. Unfortunately the wings were too small to
work without some sort of aid.
Jared made an idle note that Sakyo's ability to duplicate
an appearance wasn't exact. Sakyo-ra was the same height as
Ukyo though the figure had become slightly chestier. The
look was of a slightly more mature Ranko, perhaps how she'd
appear at age 20 or so. "I'm going to try a spell."
Jared raised an eyebrow at Sakyo's panic and attempt to put
a boulder between her and the Mage. As he'd figured, she was
frightened at the possibility of becoming disloyal to her
current Master as had happened to Shan.
"'Alihandra's Questing Call' is one of the spells I picked
up courtesy of Grey's intervention in his First Labor. It
apparently originated on Aramar and spread for its general
utility," Jared explained, hoping to calm the cyborg. "There
are priestly versions in fact. And then there is the
slightly higher variety of the spell that serves as a beacon
for seperated members of a party. As there is a cleric
version of 'Alihandra's Gathering Call' that's what I'm
going to use."
Sakyo-ra's eyes were visible from over the top of her
boulder.
"Alihandra questing mage,
Hear my plea to turn the page,
Questing company scattered wide,
Come return here to my side,
Let me know what is their fate,
So I know how long to wait,
Friends I call from distant home,
To gather with me as I roam."
Sakyo-ra relaxed a little as Jared finished the spell
without apparent nasty side effects. Just glowing motes of
light that swirled briefly around him then sped off into the
distance.
Two, Jared felt, hit a mystical barrier and were dissipated
without effect. Nearby too.
He felt one strike a target far away, and reflected that
once again, the laws of magic were *slightly* different in
another universe. Where the Call should have just let him
know if they were alive or dead and how far away, instead a
scene from the target's past crashed in on him.
This one was nearly as close as the two that had vanished.
-------------
"Ranko! Why did you run away from home? Didn't you know how
much I'd worry about you abandoning me too!" Nodoka swept up
the little girl.
The eight year old disengaged herself gently. "Mama? You
said you not my mommy. You say Poppa do something bad. I
sorry, but I hear you cry and thought if I find big brother
and Poppa, you be happy again. I just some half-bre..."
Nodoka all but crushed the child in her embrace, mindful of
the wings that had erupted a few months ago from the girl's
back and had prompted this. "Ranko-chan, I said a lot of
things I deeply regret, and I'm *very* sorry."
After a few minutes someone cleared her throat, breaking
the mood. Even so, Nodoka was reluctant to loose the hold on
her daughter. Born on the wrong side of the sheets or not.
"I take it you have been taking care of my daughter?"
Nodoka asked the figure, not much older than Ranko herself.
"Well, yeah. Sorta mutual actually." The young boy nodded.
"Yer Mrs Saotome, right? My name's Ukyo Kuonji, and we gots
some matters to discuss regarding honor."
---------------
Jared shook his head. Ranko was close and coincidence would
seem to guide the two together, though actually it was the
way the spell usually operated.
"Problem?" Sakyo asked, a bit of distrust still showing.
Thinking for a moment she flipped in midair again, now
coming down as Ukyo with her Baker's Peel held in a guard
position. "We got enemies surrounding us or something?"
"No. Grey, or I should say Ranko, will be rejoining us
soon. She's within a few hours walk, though the spell didn't
give me direction." Jared thought about the scene. "Hang on,
let me try an e-mail. It never worked well for Grey, but
it's been pointed out my luck factor is significantly
different from his."
Sakyo nodded and leapt to the top of another boulder to
scan the area. "Don't see any sign of the Amazons, Musk
Dynasty, Bird warriors, or Mole men."
Jared finished the message and sent it. "You wouldn't. The
Musk Dynasty keep to themselves, even Cologne hadn't been
sure they were more than a myth until they visited her in
Nerima. Phoenix Mountain was even more stand offish."
"And the Mole Men only appear in a series of timelines to
the west of this one."
Jared dropped, rolled, and brought up his hands in a
gesture that would unleash a quick Fireball. Then apologized
with a quick "Sorry. Combat reflexes."
A white haired, dark-skinned, elven woman that could sneak
up on HIM might have merited using the Fireball. Except that
she was wearing a white lace outfit that matched her hair
and contrasted with her skin. That and she had an apron with
the logo 'Heart Of Darkest Chocolate' emblazoned on it.
"One of Grey's friends," she explained simply. "Sakyo. I
was sorry to see your plan fail. I HAD hopes."
"As did I..." mumbled Sakyo-uk.
"In answer to the questions you e-mailed, Mage," the drow
sat back in midair and regarded him with eyes the color of
spun gold, "there was a series of problems with the Reset
and backup. The normal person to perform the operation
overslept and the backup person is... well she's
enthusiastic if not entirely competent."
"Murphy's Law seems to invoke where Grey walks," noted
Jared.
"The Labor is still going on. However this isn't the right
timeline. On the other hand, this timeline originally ended
with Japan being destroyed after China decided to do more
than rattle its saber with the United States over the issue
of Taiwan. Once we stabilize THIS we can reboot the original
Second Labor timeline and move you over."
"What exactly happened to Japan?" Sakyo interrupted.
"Nuclear fallout. A lot of people survived in the short
term only to die in the long term." Edema frowned. "So by
all means, feel free to have some fun here. It isn't likely
to be quite as bad."
Jared repressed a gleam of joy. Free reign to meddle as he
saw fit, to prevent a great disaster in the making?
"Anyway, I've got to get back to my store soon. Business is
SO frantic right now. Skuld just blew in and you wouldn't
*believe* how much that kid can pack away." Edema rolled her
eyes. "Oh yes, you and your compatriots were scattered
through this timeline's near past within their assigned
roles. You'll be able to awaken their memories of a prior
life with a kiss."
Jared winced. It might be his principle method of recharge,
but people could SO get the wrong impression. "So why are
YOU helping me?"
"Light elf, I'm Grey's friend. We have our differences of
opinion, but we like each other and the old 'slave of duty'
is about as reliable a friend you can have." Edema stood up
and dusted her hands. "I'm going back to work, and I can't
keep THAT close a track on him, but I'll try lending him a
hand when I can. Sakyo, you take care!"
Sakyo waved as the dark elf disappeared.
Jared was still thinking about the odd dark elf when the
next flashback hit him.
------------
"Actually, Kuonji-san, my husband had no right to make such
an agreement," Nodoka sat back, seemingly entranced by the
glowing sparks above the campfire.
"Why doesn't this surprise me?" Ukyo grumbled and watched
the Ranko practicing take offs and landings. It was a good
thing the girl healed as quickly as she did.
"There is an ancient agreement to bond two families, which
must take place in this generation. My marriage to Genma is
the result of a similar pledge."
"That REALLY doesn't surprise me," Ukyo continued to
grumble. Then winced as one of Ranko's attempted landings
caused her faceplant into a pine tree.
"Perhaps I ought to go meet her, in fact. It would be best
to ascertain her willingness to meet this tangle." Nodoka
sighed and got up to bandage Ranko. "How did you meet my
daughter, anyway?"
"I met this scared little girl who was crying, and you
gotta admit with that red hair and those wings she looked a
sight." Ukyo relaxed slightly as Ranko instead started
working on homework- a MUCH less dangerous pastime. "There's
also that kinda innocence about her that draws you in."
Nodoka nodded, understanding.
"Anyway she was all upset about Genma," Ukyo paused, still
having trouble thinking of Genma as Ranko's dad,
"*torturing* Ranma when their paths crossed in Kobe."
"Excuse me, 'torturing'? Surely Ranko misunderstood."
"Nope. Naturally, I was a little anxious to make Genma's
acquaintance again after he stole my dowry. I blamed Ranma
too, but when I saw that scene, I realized that if Ranma had
a clue to ANYTHING he would've been trying to escape." Ukyo
paused again, this time because of the vivid memory. "We had
snuck up, and I saw him tie Ranma up and try feeding him to
a bunch of starving cats. We attacked, but that damn
Genma..."
"Kuonji-san!"
"Sorry. He laid out me pretty damn quick. Same with Ranko,
who was heading for the pit of cats. I assume to rescue
Ranchan. We were coming from his blind side but he still
took us out like we was rank amateurs. We coulda waited
but... it was the screams from the pit. Like part of his
soul was being ripped from him. When I finally woke up, we'd
been tossed in some construction pipe and those two were
nowhere to be seen."
"My husband, what have you done?" Nodoka addressed the
night as if it could relay her question to the errant
Saotome.
"Anyway Ranko had apparently gotten into the pit, cause she
had a couple of cat bites turn infected after that. While
she healed we lost the trail."
"Sorry, Ucchan..." pouted Ranko from where she was writing
a letter.
"Who are you writing, Ranko?"
"My bestest friend, next to Ucchan!" Ranko chirped happily.
"Aka-chan!"
"Apparently shortly after she left home, she saved some
girl's life up in a place named Ryugenzawa. She even stayed
with their family briefly until they tried to keep her there
and contact you. Ranko left because she still hadn't found
her big brother. The girl gave Ranko her address and the two
have been writing back-and-forth since then. You should have
seen the size of the letter she wrote while she was
recovering from the bites."
"What's your friend's name, Ranko-chan?" Nodoka inquired
sweetly of her daughter.
"I like Kasumi-oneechan and Nabiki-oneechan, but Aka-chan
say we be bestest of friends forever! Akane Tendo." Ranko
made a show of peering into shadows before confiding to her
other bestest friend and stepmom, "but I just write Aka-chan
'cause she get jealous if I write Kasumi-oneechan and
Nabiki-oneechan. So I write Aka-chan and put in stuff for
big sisters."
Ukyo smirked. "Apparently Akane, after the daring rescue
and being carried back to the Tendo's camp, declared that as
Ranko was her 'knight in shining armor' that she would marry
Ranko someday."
"Oh, how sweet," commented Nodoka, attributing it to an
innocent childish blunder.
-------------
Jared shook his head to clear it. That memory had centered
on Ukyo where the previous had been centered Ranko. Yet it
was as if he were watching it from the outside. "Ukyo is
also nearby. Both flashbacks have also had Nodoka Saotome,
and they were all travelling together in the last one."
"There's some kind of distortion effect 127 feet ahead."
Sakyo pointed. The two had continued walking while Jared was
in his distracted state. "Can't get a precise reading on
composition."
"Well, let's wait till we cross it." Jared pointed out a
somewhat larger than birdsized dot making a spiral search
pattern.
---------------
The shrine maiden finished sweeping the steps as a small
crowd appeared. She bowed to the group, expecting them to
move past her and visit the temple.
"Excuse me," said a woman in kimono, "are you Belldandy?"
"A blonde shrine maiden?" A young man about Belldandy's own
age said, shaking his head. Very bishonen, noted Bell.
"That I am, may I help you?" Belldandy bowed again.
"I am Nodoka Saotome, this is my daughter Ranko, and this
is her friend Ukyo Kuonji."
"Akuryo TAISAN!"
"Miss Belldandy? Why did you slap a spirit ward against my
daughter's forehead?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I saw the wings..."
"..."
"How about that, she's paralyzed." Ukyo said as he waved a
hand in front of the girl's face.
Belldandy frowned ever so slightly and corrected herself.
Ukyo was a girl. The aura had strong masculine elements but
was completely female at the core. A tomboy of sorts, then.
Nodoka spoke up. "I was just wondering if I could get a
couple of those wards. There were times when getting Ranko
to slow down or stop squirming would be handy."
"..."
"She's your daughter?" Belldandy asked, examining Ranko a
little closer.
"She's the daughter of my husband, Genma, who apparently
had an 'affair with issue' and brought the baby home after
one of his training trips." Nodoka paused, then reached out
and pulled the ward away from Ranko's face. "However, I
consider her as my own daughter."
"Ah, an alu-fiend." Belldandy nodded. "Something like my
sister Urd, which would make her and your daughter sisters.
How interesting."
--------------
Jared blinked as the flashback faded. Belldandy was the
"True Fiancee" in this timeline? He could live with that. He
tried to picture Belldandy chasing him around with a mallet
yelling "Die Jared!" but couldn't quite do it.
That would be on the order of...
--------------
"In this corner, in blue, representing Kyoki Kyoku Junior
High, the undefeated champion, KODACHI KUNO!" The announcer
made a gesture as the rest of the Saint Hebereke team
carried in a palanquin on which their champion rode. As the
palanquin reached the ring, Kodachi leapt off to land in
place on the mat.
"In this corner, in pink, representing Gateway Junior High
School, the challenger, Urd Kino!"
Urd casually flipped into place. "Actually, I'm responding
to a challenge from the champion, so the usual terms of this
match are not quite the same. Shall we dance?"
"Improper harlot, you defeated me at the chemistry club
finals, but today the Black Rose is in her element!"
"Yeah, yeah, bring it on, you inbred bimbo."
"'INBRED'?! I'll have you know that the Kuno line is pure
and unsullied, unlike your own. Oh, that's right, you
probably don't even know who your parents are, do you?
Oh-hohohohohoho!"
"Geez, you got the 'crazed noblewoman laugh' down pat,
don't ya?" Urd shook her head. "I carry entirely too much of
my mom's influence in me, as you'll find out if you keep up
with the challenges and crap."
"CRUSH HER LIKE A BUG, URD!"
Urd spared a moment to smirk, though her eyes never left
the opponent. "No sweat, Makoto. Belldandy, you might not
want to watch this. It could get... messy."
"No, let your family of illwashed flotsam witness your
defeat at the hands of the magnificent Black Rose."
"You two cut it out," the announcer glared at the
contestants. "Shake hands, go to your corner, and TRY to cut
down on the number of high explosives this time!"
---------------
Jared came out of the flashback. Urd, Belldandy, and MAKOTO
were sisters? Adopted from the sound of it, but still
awfully odd.
And Urd had a longstanding rivalry with Kodachi Kuno from
the sound of it.
Why could he picture this? Though Urd wearing a "mainly
mesh" leotard seemed a bit much. Half the male audience
could've passed out from nosebleed. Hmmm. Probably had.
As the flier began circling their position, Jared felt the
expected next flashback hit him.
---------------
"YOU! How dare a half-breed enter this sacred place!"
Makoto looked over the boy and decided that he was a *bit*
good looking so she would answer with something besides a
chi blast. "My class is here to see Tokyo Tower. Be a good
fellow and step out of our way."
"Tokyo Tower is sacred?" Belldandy looked the area over but
couldn't detect any sign of it.
"Nay! You shall not enter! I, Tatewaki Kuno, the noble Red
Wind of Kyoki Kyoku Junior High shall bar you cheap gaijin
trash from entering."
Makoto frowned. Urd reached into a sleeve and withdrew a
small vial of something blue.
"Please don't fight, aren't school field trips supposed to
be fun events? Isn't it important to be able to get along?"
Belldandy tried being nice and reasonable.
"HAH! Then turn and flee like the cowardly foreign whores
you are!" Kuno wasn't too sure about the meaning of the term
but noted that it DID seem to score a hit.
Makoto's fists were clenched and she was trembling. Her
teeth were gritted and her bangs hid her eyes.
Urd interpreted this correctly. "Mako-chan, you said you'd
try to avoid getting into fights..."
Tatewaki reached a different interpretation. "Look how she
shakes in fear, this illbred and ungainly wench doth at
least know her betters."
"aaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH" Makoto's feet left the ground
and an aura visible to non martial artists surrounded her.
Her hair turned blonde and her eyes blazed a brilliant blue.
"A monster!" Kuno's bokken sped forward to impale the
beast.
Makoto stopped it, one handed, without apparent effort.
Catching the tip on her palm.
Kuno struggled for a moment to free his bokken, going so
far as to put a foot up against the monster for leverage. It
wasn't budging. Makoto slowly lifted her arm.
"THUNDERBOLT!"
Urd sighed as Makoto turned to normal. "Well HE doesn't
have to wait in line OR use the elevator."
Belldandy shaded her eyes so she could spot the figure.
"Oh, there he is! How do you suppose he'll get down?"
"Who knows? Who cares? I am *so* tired of these Japanese
racial purists though." Makoto walked past the entrance to
find that her own classmates were the only ones in line, the
other schools seemed to have found other things of interest.
How curious.
Gateway Junior High students, on the other hand, merely
shook their heads at ANYONE daring to insult Belldandy Kino
with her two sisters present. One went so far as to
congratulate Makoto on the restraint she'd shown in not
blowing large craters in the landscape.
Urd merely put the vial back in her sleeve pocket. There
would be other times to use it, she was sure.
------------------
Jared blinked himself back to the present as a redhaired
torpedo blurred forward to tackle him.
"ONIICHAN!" *GLOMP!*
"Master?" Sakyo watched the girl and again tried to find a
trace of her Master in there.
"Son, is that you?" Nodoka was still carrying her katana,
plus what looked like a fair amount of trail dust.
"So this is the 'wayward son' whom we have been chasing? I
wonder where the Dad is?" Urd looked Jared over, decided she
liked what she saw and settled against a boulder to wait for
the reunion to settle down some.
Belldandy just smiled and watched the family reunion from
the side. Makoto settled to the ground, as there were no
candidates for immediate destruction in sight.
--------------------
Another Timeline:
"Bell, I *told* you to be careful." The Norn of the past
tsked and finished a containment spell. "NOW look at what's
happened."
"I'm sorry, Urd." Belldandy looked at the floor. "But
when I spotted Senbei..."
"Well, better you than him." Urd shrugged. "As if the
last time wasn't bad enough."
Keiichi kept his hands over his eyes. He would NOT look.
"What were you doing here anyway?"
"Look, a spell that summoned forth retrograde objects at
the moment of merging? INCREDIBLY useful. The universes
merge without any problem, but one of the objects that would
have seamlessly merged with its duplicate is instead HERE.
Mind you, I think the Yggdrasil Admins will cut off this
little fluke, but still..."
The clothed Belldandy hiccupped. Another naked
Belldandy appeared with a startled squeak.
Keiichi tried not to imagine the sight, but the voices
from the hallway as the other Belldandies got dressed in a
variety of clothing borrowed from all sorts of sources
eventually got to him. He got the "mother of all nosebleeds"
and passed out.
Marller attempted to find out what had happened to
Senbei and observed a long line of somewhat miffed
Belldandies stating that harming her Keiichi was NOT aloud.
Marller noted that a number of these Belldandy had
failed to procure clothing. Marller went down with the
second greatest nosebleed-faint seen in Tokyo.
------------------
Target Timeline:
Magical sight and empathy made a change in things quite
apparent to Jared.
"Ranko, I need to talk to Grey."
The little girl nodded. "Okay, I'll get him."
"You know about the ghost? Even Belldandy didn't know
until that pirate had us drugged." Nodoka was slightly
surprised. But why shouldn't a brother know his sister?
The change in Ranko wasn't physical, but posture wasn't
the only change. "Yo, Ranma. Nice to see you again."
"Uhm, Sakyo, you and me and the 'ghost' need to have a
private talk, I think." Jared led the two to the side.
"Okay, Grey what's happening, I noticed the odd duality of
spirit."
"Ranko, it turns out is my innocence and joy of life as a
seperate individual. Things i thought LONG dead. i remain
seperate and buried most of the time. If we merge, i
essentially kill an innocent. Not the sort of thing i want
to do, but if there's a solution it'll be after this test
has run its course." Ranko's shoulders shrugged. "What's up?
i can't keep her under for very long without her getting
uncomfortable with the dark."
"Sakyo, you talk to Grey. I think a solution to Ranko's
problem lies with you, but also tell him of your feelings.
Don't wait for a later that might not come." Jared left the
two alone to join the others, watching out of the corner of
his eyes as Sakyo explained something to Grey with a great
intensity.
"So, son, where IS your father?" Nodoka unconsciously
fingered the hilt of her katana.
"Don't know, I suspect he's around here somewhere."
Jared FELT it. "That boundary over there is the valley of
the Nichieju. I'm not sure if he went to Jusenkyo or is over
in THAT."
"Jusenkyo?" Nodoka puzzled over the term.
"Terrible tragic story. 'Go not to Jusenkyo or forever
it will dominate your destiny.' Not a pleasant thing."
Sakyo's voice lifted to reach them all, raised in song.
The song didn't make any sense to the girls but Jared
recognized it and its appropriateness.
"To protect you, I'm here
To meet you, I was born,
A moment when I awakened,
The prism started running around.
To love you, I'm here,
To hold you, I was born.
The lie and the truth,
Both are inside me.
Against dreary daily life,
I won't lose.
Sweetness and kindness,
Let's get it back.
Live like a marionette every day,
Just back in force between zero and infinite,
The power to break these strangling strings,
That's still sleeping inside you."
Jared smiled slightly and started trying to explain "the
ghost" to his travelling companions. As they were all
familiar (being Japanese raised if not bred) with Buddhist
and Shinto leanings, Jared used references to a past life
knowing they'd interpret that as reincarnation. Out of the
corner of his eye, he saw Sakyo's arguments taking hold and,
just maybe, Grey was allowing himself a thin bit of hope.
-----------------
Another Ranmaverse:
The former god of war, formerly known as Ares The
Conquerer, currently a cute pink plush toy elephant known as
Jean-Paul was aware of his environment. He was able to think
and plan and see and feel and hear.
Thankfully his jailor was not around. Therefore he could
plot revenge. With any luck his plot regarding the
dimensional trap that was to be the Third Labor would not be
determined until it was too late and Grey would never cross
his path again.
Hephaestus was not clever enough to have done this,
therefore it was Athena's doing. Many uncomplimentary terms
followed. One thing was certainly correct though. A lesson
hard learned.
One should NEVER underestimate the power of a Japanese
housewife.
------------
Oddly enough, in the same timeline that one of Azusa's
plushtoys in her shrine to cute was plotting revenge, large
seagoing vessel was being raided by a smaller but much more
heavily armed vessel.
When the sky opened up and several forms came zipping
out.
One with ridiculous looking long twin ponytails looked
around. "Wrong timeline?"
A short haired girl on a jetbike took readings. "Wrong
timeline," she confirmed.
"There's a fair amount of chi down there," noted Haruka.
"Maybe we could stop and get directions."
"It's not like stopping at a gas station..." Ami stopped
as various S Warriors made their way down to the two
vessels. "Waitaminute. How odd." Noting that the barely
heard music had some sort of compulsive effect, Ami quickly
determined the frequency and set up a counter.
Unfortunately, it looked as if her companions were
already being hustled onto the smaller ship. Then the larger
ship, some sort of cruise liner, was quickly and efficiently
sunk.
Ami frowned and engaged full Stealth mode and passive
defenses, before following the smaller vessel. She had
noticed that the vast majority of the male passengers had
been lying about on the big ship, apparently dead. No
females had been present.
Which meant that this was possibly another hentai like
that Princess Diamond.
---------------
Haruka awoke to see a blue haired dominatrix type, as
well as female figures that seemed to be composed of water,
and came to a similar conclusion. "Another Princess Diamond
type, eh?"
"I know not of whom you speak, but you would do well to
curb your tongue before Madame Yowl. You may call me Queen,
or Mistress, but you must always address me with the
greatest respect."
"Where's Michiru?" Haruka looked around her. Spreader
bar between her ankles, check. Hanging from chains from the
ceiling, check. Stripped naked, check. Surgical tray of
various gels, rings, clamps, and various hentai
paraphenalia- check. Yup, just like that Princess Diamond
weirdo.
"Concerned for only one of your companions. Don't
worry. They will all be taught the joys of submission, as
shall you." The pirate held up a rod and began slathering a
gel on it.
Haruka chuckled. "NOBODY but me treats Michiru like
that. aaaaaaaaAAAAAAH HAH!"
Steel popped and flew across the room with enough
force to imbed itself in the walls.
"Undines! Put down this insolent wench!"
Haruka found herself englobed in water for a moment.
Then she went to Super Sailorjin mode and burst the globe.
"You have an impressive amount of chi," admitted
Madame Yowl, "but I have ways of dealing with chi attacks."
"Kiyaahhhhh!" Haruka didn't want to bother with this
and so decided to do without the whole beating on someone
and gradual escalation. Michiru could survive any single
burst, so...
Haruka's hair became living flame as she went from
Super Sailorjin to Super Sailorjin III mode in rapid order.
She stretched her arms out, palms pointed flat in opposite
directions. "World DEVASTATION!"
"But... I've got hostages," Madame Yowl managed as an
epitaph.
"Your point being?" Haruka asked, but shooting first
and asking questions later has never gathered much
information. It was rhetorical anyway.
----
Ami Mercury watched as the small magical ship exploded
for no apparent reason. Well, that wasn't quite true.
"Haruka... one of these days that temper is gonna get you in
trouble."
----------
Meanwhile, back at the ranch (er, Morisato residence):
"Hic!"
"Urd, don't you have that hiccup cure ready yet! Some
of them found the bottles of cola and are..."
"Keiichi! Only OUR original Bell is hiccupping and
producing clones. The others can get as drunk off of Pepsi
as they want."
"Keiichi-san!"
"AAAA!"
Megumi wondered if HER twin was OK and otherwise
ignored the brother trying to hide in her closet.
A quick glance out the window left her with an odd
scene, though expected. There were a couple of Belldandies
hanging wash, another couple of Belldandies had located a
grill and were barbequing fish steaks, there were six
Belldandies altering clothing to fit other Belldandies,
there was a Belldandy looking about her in confusion in the
center of the yard, there were...
Megumi turned back to her technical manual,
automatically taking another Tylenol. What was making it
VERY odd was that all of the Belldandies were a little
different. Some were goddesses, some were human, some were
angels, some were espers, some were white sorceresses, some
were aliens. They all basically looked the same, or at least
most of them did. Then you came to ones like the Goddess of
Time (who was all three sisters rolled into one) that looked
slightly different. And the DRAGON Belldandy who fortunately
was able to shapechange into a near human appearance. And
then there was the HINDU version of Belldandy who had six
arms...
Megumi spared a glance at the closet. No WONDER her
brother was a quivering wreck.
------------
Olympus, The Great Forge:
"I understand your concerns, but ALL of you is a bit
much." Hephaestus was in a good mood, though this wouldn't
be immediately apparent to the casual observer.
"We MUST find Jared-sama," the girl on the vidscreen
argued. "He's out there, in danger, without any of us to
help him. And with what he's facing, we can't possibly hold
our own!"
"True, you're nearly as powerful as Sakyo could make
you. Only the three units she has concealed are potentially
more powerful." Realizing he'd let a certain feline out of
its enclosure, Hephaestus covered. "Okay, I'll make upgrades
in FOUR of you. With two conditions. NONE of you make
programming alterations in those three prototypes. Second,
it'll be JARED who chooses the units. I'll e-mail him and
tell him that you've found a way offplane, but that it'll
only work for four and that you're throwing the decision up
to him. When he chooses the units, I'll decide what upgrades
to make and handle the transport."
The Sabre Marionette K (for Kasumi) conferred briefly
offscreen. "Deal."
-------------
Target Timeline:
Jared led the others through the Mirage spell that gave
the illusion that this was an empty valley. Just in case,
because he certainly didn't remember the Mirage being this
strong or OLD, not because the field was particularly
powerful or dangerous of itself.
The sight of the village of Nichieju drew a few gasps
from his companions. It sparkled, it gleamed, but it still
carried the weight of years somehow. A few areas had been
patched over from the original construction and one of his
towers had vanished, but it was mainly intact.
"A ghost village," murmurred Urd speculatively.
"Not quite," replied a worried Jared. He could do this
with a spell, but knew some of his companions were itching
for something to do. "Sakyo, would you mind running a sweep
of the area?"
The others smiled indulgently, accepting the tale that
the "ghost" was actually Ranko in a previous life and that
Sakyo was the ghost's lover from that time, cruelly
seperated before she could confess that love. And it was all
true in a sense.
Sakyo took point and rotated, still in her "base"
configuration of Ukyo's twin. Her eyes glowed an aquamarine
color as she activated full scanning functions. "Buildings
near the outer walls are empty and have been empty for a
considerable length of time. Two hundred years in some
cases, slightly less in others. Signs of irregular
maintenence. There are two males, lifesigns irregular in a
manner consistent with heavy intoxication, located in a
building 250 feet NNE of current location."
Jared made a face of distaste. Two males who'd gone off
to hide from their women and get drunk without anyone to
interfere. Information might be accessible, though the last
time he'd tried 'Bugman's Truthspeak' on an intoxicated
individual he'd thought it should have been named 'Bugman's
Babble' instead. "Anything else."
"Large concentration of human lifesigns, numbering 254,
near the Easternmost Gate area. Center of town also appears
abandoned though there are signs of more recent use.
Multiple energy signatures of type classed magic." The blue
glow left Sakyo's eyes. "If there's something particular I
should be looking for, let me know, otherwise I'm not sure
what specifically is the problem."
"Two hundred fifty four?" Jared frowned. When he'd
rebuilt the three villages, they'd been home to six hundred.
The sprawling outer city could hold over a thousand
comfortably. Add another seven hundred for the inner city,
not including parks and the enclosed farmland, greenhouses,
and other little 'extras' he'd put in. "Something is
seriously wrong. How old is the village?"
"One thousand years for some of the repairs. Not
getting an accurate readings on the original structures due
to magical energies present in the material."
Jared thought about it. So the village had been here
and occupied for at least a thousand years, mainly isolated
from the rest of the world. That meant... "inbreeding.
Probably not a lot of the answer but that's likely a part of
it."
"I would have thought that the spells would have faded
if they're that old. Certainly all of my potions fade over
time." Urd picked up a coin imbedded into the street, then
broke it in half as the metal had corroded completely
through.
"That's alchemy. This is entirely different. It's
possible to build enchanted items so that they start out
relatively weak but accumulate strength as they get older.
Such was the case here."
A beep from Grey's computer caused Jared to check his
e-mail. "Uh oh. Well, that's only four of them. At least the
others haven't found a way to get here."
On another plane, a small group of marionettes
continued to try to decipher the riddle.
<bookmark>
Amy was all for reading the dictionary to the statue.
--------
Hephestus heard the beep and set down his micro
laz-e-welder to check email, picking up a mug of nectar in
the process. ~Hmm, a message from that Mage fellow, let's
see...~
What he saw nearly caused the smith to spray liquid all
over the inner workings of his latest hardware upgrade to
the Yggdrasil system (fortunately not on line). It *did*
cause him to spit-take for the first time in over eleven
thousand years.
"Dear Hephestus,
Could you please upgrade and send me the following?
Lina Inverse
Naga the White Serpent
Kodachi the Black Rose
and the Dirty Pair
Sincerely, the Pheonix Mage.
P.S. If the dynamic Lovely Angels can't slip by on one
ticket send me an alternate from among the remainder, okay?
I don't want to break up the set. Violent tendencies a must,
crazed noblewoman laughs are preferred."
The smith did a search and router check to see if this mail
was for real. Then he sent a note asking for confirmation.
*****
Jared finished jotting off a confirmation message to
Hephestus and closed the cover on his Warlock Field
Computer.
A second message came back, informing him that
delivery would occur in three hours. Accompanied with hopes
that everything was insured.
--------
Elsewhere:
A small incomprehensible alien device out past the orbit
of Pluto continued to do something completely
incomprehensible. At least to normal humans. It didn't have
anything to do with this story either.
----------
Asgard:
There were a lot of worlds, a lot of different ways
things could have turned out. There were truly evil Nabiki
Tendos, manipulative soap opera Nabikis, somewhat mercenary
Nabikis, a few where Nabiki channelled her intellectual
energies into truly different paths such as magic or
mechanical engineering or Amazon Lore, a few Nabikis who
didn't even have a vaguely materialistic worldview...
And one Nabiki Tendo had passed her own Initiation to
become a goddess.
"You mean it?" Fleece, formerly the mortal named
Nabiki, questioned the goddess. "No fooling?"
"I am a Goddess First Class, we don't lie." ~Mislead,
exaggerate, and talk around the issue but not directly lie.~
Amaterasu smiled at the new kid on the block. One of her
countrywomen made good, after all, so she was inclined to
look kindly upon her.
"A VACATION!" Fleece's eyes glimmered with barely
suppressed joy. Since gaining her goddess qualification last
month she'd worked harder than she ever had in her life. It
wasn't fair. Though the visit she'd done as a courier into
one of the outlying villages of Hell.
Working for Heaven had MUCH more appeal after that.
"In fact, you've been working so hard lately that a
little downtime seemed in order." Amaterasu smiled at the
relief coming off the demigoddess. "Besides, you'll need to
be fresh for this assignment."
"What's the assignment?" Fleece's old alarm bells were
ringing. This was sounding too good.
"A simple one, well suited to your talents." Amaterasu
made a grand gesture. "Observe."
Fleece looked over the image of a crowd of people
walking along a street. "Grey's Second Labor isn't it? I
hear it's gone all kinds of wrong so far, the usual 'Chaos
Multiplied' effect."
"Correct." Amaterasu then made another gesture. "And you
know how various gods and goddesses attempted to get Grey a
romantic subplot and that it has been more challenging than
was originally expected?"
"I hear everyone who has tried has failed abyssmally,
with the exception of Hephaestus."
Amaterasu twitched but let it pass. "Indeed. So we come
to the task I've contracted with the GRO for you to
accomplish."
Fleece frowned for a moment, then her eyes shot wide.
"You want ME to... ?!"
"Take over MY part in this, yes." Amaterasu noted the
sudden relief on Fleece's face. "Was there something wrong?"
"Yeah, I thought you wanted ME to take up with the
loser." Fleece shook her head. "I mean, with a clueless
little twerp like him? Yeeesh. Even that Keiichi guy is less
of a wimp. Shinji Ikari has more of a spine. Ranma had more
of a clue. He's so VERY not my type."
Amaterasu twitched a few times but managed to sound
pleasant. "Now run along, I know your current task is taking
a lot of your time. The official orders from the GRO will be
coming soon."
"Gotcha, Ami!" Fleece threw a sloppy salute and
sauntered out of the office, plans already coming together.
A midair shimmer marked three goddesses and a god
stepping forth from concealment.
"Hubris," said Apollo.
"So many faults, which to choose," debated Aphrodite.
"Maybe she's just like major stressed out," suggested
Kitchiri.
"She called me 'Ami' and she's benefitted from Grey's
assistance, but refers to him in that manner." Amaterasu's
benevolence had been exceded. "Perhaps she has not been
worked hard ENOUGH."
"Nah," countered Brunhilde. "Give her to me for a few
months. That's all she'll need. After being treated like an
einherjar for four months, she'll be either worthy of being
transferred to Valkyrie or she'll be begging for housewife
status."
"Tempting, but I think she deserves a chance before
such strong measures are used." Amaterasu pondered for a
moment.
"Uhm, I've got an idea!" Kitchiri volunteered. "Let me
try something."
--------------
Target Timeline:
The annual Festival was going full swing with the
Tournament Of Champions concluding and the Feast the next
event.
Cologne pushed an errant strand of black hair away and
considered the crowd. Fewer than last year, which had been
fewer the year before that. For three hundred years, the
Amazons that held to the prophesy were fewer and fewer. Most
left the Village, never to return. Outside the valley, one
could grow old. Outside the village, there was the comfort
of that rare male who could court and keep an Amazon's
heart.
Here were the few remaining warriors, the artisans, the
healers and the lorekeepers. Here was what remained of the
Nichieju.
In her mind's eye, Cologne pictured the scene 450 years
ago. Her own mother leading young Cologne around and
pointing out the colorful banners and pennants. The gaily
decorated main square. The Warriors Of Love & Beauty.
Now there were few warriors worthy of the title. Six, to
Cologne's eyes, though more called themselves warriors and
tried to hold on to a fading legacy. The small crop of
children in the village, testament to the dwindling numbers
of males.
Mousse, the nearly blind girl whose hatred of Shampoo
was a local legend. Her family practiced the ancient Hidden
Weapons style and from her robes could be found more items
than the average corner market.
Shampoo, her own Great Granddaughter, was of the
bloodline fated to marry the Sacred One when he returned. As
with the most of the others, she practiced Amazonian Kung
Fu, though she knew the Sacred Fist techniques as well.
Azure, strong but clumsy, the young practitioner of Boar
style Bando. A warrior by skill if not by heart.
Sugar, practitioner of the Lightning Sword Techniques.
Strong and agile. Nearly a match for Shampoo. Nearly.
Willow, staff user who practiced a style of martial arts
known as Hwarang Do. Like her name, long and thin, flexible
and agile. Quickly defeated, but still a considerable
warrior.
There was the pessimistic but tricky Lavender, utilizing
her powerful Wolf style. As with Willow, she had been
quickly eliminated.
Finally came the swift Ke Yen. A fiery redhead who
promised to become a truly powerful warrior when she reached
maturity.
Cologne allowed herself a smile as Shampoo finally
defeated her next to last opponent. Now would come a brief
period of rest before the match, inevitable as the dawn,
between Mousse and Shampoo.
A prayer rippled the crowd. Up next would be the final
match. Would this be the one? Would the Champion be declared
and the Sacred One appear? Would a thousand years of waiting
at last be over?
Cologne joined the prayer that the wait would be ended
and the Sacred One would lead them on to a new age of glory.
"In the final hour comes the Sacred One,
Amazon's waiting at last be done,
Before the light is crushed at last,
He'll come again as in ages past.
To those who follow his banner bright,
Live or die in glorious fight,
Sacred One, return we pray,
Let this be Destiny's Day."
Not far away, Jared sneezed. "This means something."
======================
weird ideas:
yes, as a matter of fact, "Alihandra's Questing Call" *was*
one of mine. Your basic fellowship gathering spell.
For SKJAM or certain others, being engaged to Akane would be
wonderful. My views differ.
Kyoki Kyoku Junior High. Lunacy Melody or Looney Tunes
Junior High. It was irresistable.
Urd having a rivalry with Kodachi. Kodachi completely
overmatched by even a mortal Urd.
Racial purists are frequent in Japan, particularly among the
traditionally minded. You can argue the stats as much as you
like, try wandering around Kobe with a cute native and see
what comments you draw. If *anyone* in the canon cast were
likely to be of this bent, I would suspect Soun and the
Kunos. This is one vice I wouldn't expect of Genma. I
*could* see Akane or Kasumi with it. Nabiki in the canon is
merely contemptuous of everyone.
There's a mortal Belldandy, a junior goddess Belldandy, a
mortal agent of the RRO Belldandy, and a marionette
Belldandy running around. Now with a lot of Belldandies
running around, what does one do with them? Well, that's
what caused Keiichi's nosebleed.
Nabiki/Fleece appeared in various stories, mainly "Rune With
A View"
NAME: Fleece
OTHER ALIASES: Nabiki Tendo, Goddess of the Quick Yen, Hey
You
OCCUPATION: Gopher, Goddess Relief Office
CLASSIFICATION: Fourth Class, Probationary Status, Limited
License
METHOD OF TRAVEL: Yen
RECHARGE: Rice cakes
-------------------------------
"At times like this, I prefer using overwhelming
amounts of force."
-Jared Saotome, Reluctant Bet
metroanime@mindspring.com
http://metroanime.home.mindspring.com/