All the characters in this story are the creation of Akahori Satoru,
Kotobuki Tsukasa, and Rumiko Takahashi... or practically all of them,
anyway. The title is stolen from Heinlein... with one letter s added.
Strangers in a Strange Land
Chapter 3
Minutes passed in the dark alleyway, seeming like hours. With
nothing to do but wait, Nabiki quickly started to wish she had gone with
Ranma and her younger sister. Her growing boredom was broken when she
heard the sound of a door behind her opening. Nabiki whirled around as
the open doorway lit up the shadowed alley with light from inside what
sounded and smelled like a large kitchen. A middle-aged man in a white
apron walked out of the door carrying some boxes before Nabiki could
figure out where to hide. He looked at her quizzically for a few
seconds while Nabiki hesitated in indecision.
Finally he spoke. �What are you doing back here?�
Nabiki hesitated a bit more before answering. �I�m waiting for my�
master.�
The man looked dubious. �In the alley?� He shook his head and
muttered under his breath. �Must have gotten lost.�
Nodding to himself, he waved Nabiki towards him. �Come with me,
we�ll contact your master inside and tell him where you are.�
Nabiki blinked, taking time to formulate a response. �No, I must
wait here.� She spoke with no inflection, keeping her face as
emotionless as the other marionettes she had seen in the Kuno mansion.
The man looked surprised. �No?� His brow wrinkled and he put his
boxes down next to the door. �Huh.� He peered at her, scratching his
head. �Maybe I wasn�t clear enough. That was a direct order. You�re
lost. No one�s going to be meeting you here. Come inside, and I�ll
call your master for you.� He shook his head muttering to himself
again. �Dressed like that, must be lost.� Nabiki involuntarily glanced
down at the elegant kimono she was wearing, which did, in fact, look
quite out of place in the dark alley.
Glancing back up at the man, she came to a decision. <I�m not going
in there with him. I might not be able to leave.> She turned away. �I
have to leave now.� The man started to protest, but Nabiki hurried
around the corner before he could say much. <Don�t mess this up,
girl!> Nabiki angrily told herself. <One slip in the wrong place and
who know what will happen?> She forced herself to keep to a fast
walking pace. <Don�t run� you�ll just look suspicious if you run.>
She faintly heard the door slamming shut in the alley behind her and
breathed a sigh of relief. <Good, I guess he didn�t feel curious enough
to bother chasing me down. Still, I can�t go back there. If he sees me
waiting around in his alley again, he�s sure to figure out that
something�s up.> Nabiki started walking down the street in a random
direction. <Now what? Akane and Ranma will be expecting me to be
waiting for them there. How am I going to meet up with them if I can�t
stay in that alley?> She tried to think as she walked. <I need to be
able to stick around somewhere nearby until they get back, but what can
I use for an excuse?>
Nabiki frowned. <I don�t know enough about marionettes to know how
to act, or what a lone marionette might be doing�.> She found herself
walking onto a busy street and forced herself to keep going. <Just keep
calm and walk like you�ve got some place to go and everyone will assume
you do.> It seemed to be working. No one questioned the lone
marionette as she moved down the street. Nabiki used the opportunity to
look around until she noticed the puzzled looks she was starting to
get. She automatically schooled her expression. <OK, obviously
marionettes don�t normally go gawking around at the scenery. I should
keep my head still and just observe unobtrusively.>
It was getting dark now, but the street she was on was still busy
with pedestrians. Most everyone dressed as they would in feudal era
Japan, although there were the occasional exceptions. The one constant
was men, men everywhere. Marionettes seemed to be few and far between.
<Makes sense.> Nabiki mused. <Not everyone would be able to afford
his own personal robot. I wonder how common marionettes are around
here?> Nabiki spotted a pair of marionettes after several blocks. They
were walking on either side of an older looking man in a richly
embroidered robe. The two marionettes were both tall and attractive
looking, and wearing rather provocative clothing, although not so much
so to be tacky. Nabiki was mildly impressed, in spite of herself. I
wonder how I�d look in that? She smirked slightly as she passed the
small group. Status symbols eh? That makes sense, servants, bodyguards
and decoration all rolled into one.
Nabiki schooled her expression and went back to quietly observing
the crowd as she walked down the street. She noticed several more
marionettes as she wandered, slowly coming back around to the alleyway
she was to meet Ranma and Akane at. A few men had a single marionette
walking behind them, a variety of different types. They were modestly
dressed in kimonos, for the most part, although, like the men, there was
some variation. There was a marionette outside of what appeared to be a
particularly successful bar of some sort, inviting people inside, and
another sitting motionless in the window of what appeared to be a pawn
shop, although she seemed a bit dusty. What all the marionettes had in
common was a general standard of beauty and equally vacant expressions.
Some seemed cheerful, others calm, but none of them seemed to have
anything in the way of real emotion.
<They�re all dolls. That�s about all I can see.> Nabiki shook her
head slightly. <At least it won�t be too hard to fake those vacant
expressions. I just have to keep from reacting to anything, and who
could be better at that then me, the �Ice Queen�, Nabiki Tendo?>
Nabiki nearly lost her composure just moments later. Coming down
the street toward her was a large group of marionettes. The largest, at
least, that she had yet seen up to that point. Five marionettes were
walking in a group clustered around one unremarkable young man. Nabiki
had to force herself not to stare. She slowed down slightly and took as
good as look as she could without appearing too obvious about it. The
marionettes in that group were as varied a bunch as Nabiki had yet seen.
The shortest of the five was around Ranma�s height, just over five
feet. She had purple hair elegantly gathered into two long braids
hanging down on either side of her head, and wore a formal looking pink
and white robe that looked like a cross between a kimono and a dress.
On her head she wore an elaborate but heavy looking pair of red hair
ornaments. Despite the formality and elegance of her clothing, she had
the appearance of a prepubescent teen
The second marionette Nabiki noticed seemed a bit older, perhaps
around sixteen to eighteen years old in appearance. Her clothing was as
playful, however, as her demeanor. She appeared to be wearing a
form-fitting, one piece, black, spandex outfit under a flowing white
shirt with long billowing sleeves that flapped about in an entertaining
fashion as the lively marionette bounced around. That, primarily, was
what drew Nabiki�s eyes to her. It wasn�t the bright blue hair peeking
out playfully from underneath her jaunty yellow hat (which, incidentally
had a shiny red ball attached to the left side of it, quite similar to
one of the hair ornaments the first marionette was wearing) and
cascading haphazardly down her back. It was the animation of her
movements and the bright, cheerful smile on her face that made her
vividly different from the others.
Nabiki blinked in confusion. <She�s acting like a kid out on a
family trip.> The other three were less unusual, at least in comparison
to the majority of the marionettes Nabiki had seen. All three were
tall, although not quite as statuesque as the two palace guards had
been. Two of them looked particularly fierce. One had long red hair
gathered up in a topknot and held back from her forehead with a white
headband and falling down to her waist. She was more handsome in
appearance than beautiful, with a proud look in her eyes. She wore a
tight fitting pair of black bicycle shorts that left her midriff bare
and a tight red and black, spandex halter top with a high collar that
showed off her impressive cleavage through a diamond shape cut out in
the center. The white athletic socks and shoes and the fingerless
gloves she wore with the large blunt spikes over the knuckles gave
Nabiki the impression that she was spoiling for a fight. The other of
the more warlike pair had short, spiky blond hair, and wore a red, star
shaped eyepatch over her right eye. She was dressed relatively
casually, in a blue muscle tee under a red high collared vest and cut
off jeans, which gave her a punkish look.
The last of the five marionettes had short dark bluish hair in a
pageboy cut, a bit like Nabiki�s own hairstyle. She was dressed in a
white collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a red tie, and a
knee-length blue skirt with slits up the sides give her legs full
mobility, as well as pleased the male observer�s eye. She had a
serious, thoughtful expression and was the only one in the group to
notice Nabiki�s gaze. She looked back for several long seconds and
Nabiki forced herself not to react, although the searching intelligence
in those eyes was frightening.
Nabiki forced herself not to react and to keep moving at a steady
pace. <Does she suspect?> The group passed on, leaving Nabiki behind,
and she breathed a heartfelt sigh of relief. Her relief was heavily
mixed with an almost overwhelming curiosity, but there was no way that
she wanted to risk that last marionette�s gaze again. <Those
marionettes were alive! Like Ranma, Akane and me. I knew that it was
possible, because we exist, but�. Godai described the Maiden circuits
as if they were a very special piece of technology. If I�m not badly
mistaken, however, five of them just went by, in those five
marionettes!>
Nabiki went over the scene in her mind once more. <Why did that guy
have five marionettes? He didn�t look like anything special, his
clothes looked ordinary enough, he seemed like any other man I saw on
the street. He�s young, maybe my age� or at least the age I remember
being.> Nabiki hesitated. <Wait, there was another young man walking
with them� rich clothing, permed hair, slightly effeminate. A rich
man�s son if I�ve ever seen one, and I�ve seen plenty.> She shook her
head. <No, the marionettes were with the first guy. The rich kid was a
hanger on� which makes me even more curious about the first guy.>
Nabiki stopped, glancing behind her to where the group in question
was almost getting out of sight. <Should I follow them? If they spot
me, they�ll probably be able to catch me, and I�m currently wanted by
the authorities. They aren�t cops, but� they do look like they could be
dangerous, especially those last three. Still, they�re the only
marionettes I�ve seen besides Ranma, Akane and myself that were more
than robots. What should I do, play it safe or take the risk?> Nabiki
had never been one to shy away from risk, but the situation had never
had such dire consequences before. <It�s not worth it. There�s no
telling if I could find out anything useful by following them and
equally possible that I�ll get caught. Ranma and Akane would never know
what had happened to me.>
Nabiki sighed and turned the corner, letting the group go. She
started moving back in the direction of the alleyway she was to meet
Ranma and Akane at. Before long she reached it, and after only a
moments hesitation slipped into the alley again. She looked around at
the darkened alley once for hiding spots, then looked up, coming to a
decision.
<OK, I�ve done this already today. There�s no reason I have to have
Ranma and my little sister around to do it.> Eyes firmly on the edge of
the rooftop, Nabiki gathered herself and before she could change her
mind, leaped. She found herself overshooting her target by half a dozen
feet. Nabiki panicked and landed awkwardly, almost skidding back off
the roof when she landed. One flailing hand dug into the roofing
tiles, tearing a couple off before finding a purchase and stopping her
from plummeting from the roof.
Nabiki sighed in relief and pulled herself fully onto the rooftop,
then gazed down at her handhold in amazement. <Wow� I can hardly
believe how strong I am in this body.> She took her hand away from the
series of inch deep grooves her fingers had carved into the roof�s
surface and shook her head. <Clumsy, someone is going to notice that.
I�d better hide.> Nabiki looked around and spotted an overhang she
could crouch under that would provide good cover if anyone happened to
pass by on any of the nearby rooftops. <From what I�ve seen, it�s a
real possibility.> She went to the overhang and sat down, preparing to
wait. <You know... being bored would be a nice change about now.>
***********************************
Ranma and Akane had reached the palace uneventfully, and had
immediately attempted to sneak in. They had been dodging patrols of
guards ever since. Hiding on the rooftop of one of the outriding
buildings of the imperial palace, Akane and Ranma watched yet another
groups of guards go by. The guards were off two types. Groups of men
with staves, and groups of identical marionettes with bisento spears.
The group that was currently going by was of marionettes. They all had
identical features, short black hair done up in the formal fashion of
ancient Japanese female nobility, in buns held together with long pins.
They all wore orange and green kimonos and carried long bisentos. Each
patrol they had seen had been a group of eight at least.
As the latest group hurried by, Ranma shook her head in
frustration. �They know we�re here, Akane, there must have been some
sort of silent alarm when we hopped the fence. These patrols didn�t
start running around until we came in.�
Akane nodded. �You�re right, Ranma, but what can we do about it?
How are we going to get past them and into the palace?�
Ranma hesitated. �I�m working on it.� She glanced left then
pushed Akane down flat on the rooftop. �Stay down, here comes another
patrol.� Several long moments passed until the coast was clear again,
and Ranma sat up. �I�ve got it. Since they know we�re here, we just
have to make sure they know we�ve left!�
Akane looked slightly puzzled. �And how are we going to do that?�
Ranma winked. �You�ll see.�
*********************************
Lorelei waited in the imperial throne room for Otaru and company.
When the internal alarms had gone off, she had been evacuated to one of
the most secure locations in the palace until the palace was confirmed
to be secure. Her location wasn�t particularly reassuring. It had been
here, in fact that the latest incarnation of the emperor, Ieyasu and his
chancellor had been murdered, by two of the five marionettes that she
was waiting to see along with Otaru.
The fact that Faust had ordered them to do it, orders that, at the
time, they had been incapable of disobeying, made Faust the one
responsible. Faust had been driven insane by generations of memories
forced upon him and he had been pardoned by the very men he had slain,
living on inside their best marionettes. The pardon had been given in
order to stop the war, and so that Faust could use his influence and
resources in an attempt to save the planet, an effort that had
succeeded, although killing Ieyasu and his chancellor for the final time
in the process. The pardon still held, although it was unlikely Faust
would be very welcome in Japoness any time soon.
Lorelei, in fact, held no fear of Faust�s �Saber Dolls� as he called
them. They had finally gained enough consciousness to have a will of
their own, not to mention the fact that Faust would never want her hurt
in any way. Beside herself, perhaps, and Otaru, in fact, there were few
that would even consider the �Saber Dolls� guilty of any crime. They
were machines after all. No laws existed to punish someone else�s
property.
Lorelei shook her head slightly, chiding herself for her negative
thoughts. Despite the precautions that were being taken to assure her
safety, she felt no fear. The Saber Dolls had vindicated their
existence by helping to save her and in the process, the whole planet.
Their first acts as free intelligences had been ones of peace, and they
had shown no signs of dangerous intent since then. In repairing Tiger,
she had discovered nothing but a gentle nature in the original
programming of Faust�s marionettes. They had originally been the child
Faust�s guardians and their violent actions since had been at his
maddened command.
Before too much time passed, Tamasaburo and Baiko came into the
room, kneeling before her to report. (Despite Lorelei�s protests, the
two head sentries insisted on a great deal of formality when dealing
with her, especially in the throne room.) �We have summoned Otaru and
his marionettes to the palace. We have been informed of a pair of
intruders in the palace, but they apparently fled before we could return
from our mission. We have searched thoroughly, but there is no sign of
them.� Baiko reported calmly.
Lorelei nodded. �I see. And Otaru?�
Tamasaburo spoke next. �At his rate of travel, he should be
arriving any time now. We proceeded him here by several minutes, but
our search took precedence over reporting back. In fact, if he noticed
the alarm outside, he will probably be�.� Otaru and his three
marionettes burst into the room at a run, followed closely by Faust�s
two, and last, by a panting Hanagata, Otaru�s aristocratic neighbor and
friend.
Otaru came to a halt, looking relieved. �Lorelei, we heard that
there were some intruders looking for you. I�m glad you�re alright.�
Lorelei blushed slightly, glancing at the floor in front of her
rather than meet his gaze. �Yes, I�m fine. Whoever they were, they
were apparently driven off by the guards. I don�t think you need to
worry about me here in the palace.� She looked up, having composed
herself. �These intruders, however, are why I asked you here.
Tamasaburo and Baiko informed me earlier today that three marionettes,
apparently ones with maiden circuits, had approached the palace
compound, intending to sneak inside and find me. What their purpose
was, we don�t know.�
Cherry, the short purple haired marionette in the pink and white
robe, spoke up. �Where did these marionettes come from, Lorelei-san?�
Lorelei looked in Cherry�s direction. �The Kuno family apparently
built them. The Kuno�s were some of the first group of clones produced
from Ieyasu�s DNA, 300 years ago. They had much to do with the original
construction of the first marionettes, and had a hand in building the
prototypes of the maiden circuits that were built in order to rescue
me.� She paused. �It isn�t surprising that they were able to build
some of their own. Unfortunately, however, they apparently have been
unsuccessful in their efforts. They reported to the palace guards that
the three prototype Saber marionettes that they had built had
malfunctioned and gone rogue.�
Lorelei hesitated. �The Kuno�s have offered to provide us with
pictures and specs we can use to track down these marionettes, and have
pledged to pay for any damage caused in their capture, as they are
responsible for them getting loose in the first place.� Lorelei frowned
slightly. �Baiko, could you please escort general Kuno in?� Baiko
nodded and got up from her kneeling position to go to the door.
Otaru blinked. �General? You mean that he�s part of the council
that took over leadership after the Emperor�s death?�
He grimaced and was about to go on when Lorelei loudly cleared her
throat. �Oh! General Kuno! Thank you for joining us!�
Otaru glanced back and spotted the man who Baiko was escorting in
the room. <Yeah, I remember this guy. He�s one of the old men that
wanted me to take Lime and the others and assassinate Faust after the
Emperor died. I told them that I wouldn�t kill anybody, but I wonder
what would have happened if Ieyasu hadn�t turned out to be still alive,
sort of, in Baiko. Ever since the war ended and the Emperor died for
the last time, the council has been in charge. At least there hasn�t
been much for them to do since. Nothing major has come up ever since
Lime and the others got Lorelei back, which is lucky. I wonder what
will happen if the council had to make any important decisions� at least
before the new Emperor grows up.>
Otaru went back to paying full attention to Kuno, who had just been
rehashing what Lorelei had already told them. Godai Kuno brought out
some photos and schematics of his �missing� marionettes. He gave them
to Otaru, who immediately passed all of the technical data to Cherry.
The short, purple haired girl poured over the schematics while the other
four marionettes crowded around behind him to get a look at the photos.
There were three photos, obviously taken before the �birth� of the
missing marionettes. All three were close-ups of the three sleeping on
a lab table. Two of the three were pretty normal looking. Both had
short black hair, one with a pageboy cut, the other with more of a
feminine style. The third picture was of a girl with red hair in a
pigtail, quite distinctive.
Most marionettes in Japoness, unlike his own bunch, had black hair
and relatively modest appearances, like the majority of women in the
Japan of the past, which Japoness did its best to imitate. Otaru knew
his bunch, as well as Baiko and Tamasaburo, were the exceptions with
their bright and varied hair colors and styles of dress.
Lynx, one of Faust�s two Saber Dolls that Otaru had been taking care
of for the last few weeks, reached over his shoulder to point at the
photo of the girl with the pageboy cut. �Her. I saw her on the street
earlier today. She was looking us over, examining us pretty thoroughly,
I�d say.� Lynx looked carefully at the photos a while more, then
nodded. �Yes, I�m positive it�s her.� She smiled. �I like her choice
of hairstyles.� Lynx ran a hand through her own blue hair, straightened
her tie, and went over to join Cherry looking over the schematics.
Bloodberry took a careful look at all three photos and swore angrily
to herself. �Damn it, we were only a few feet away from her! I
remember her now. She was wearing that green and white kimono, right?
She just walked right by us! What nerve!� The fierce redheaded
marionette shook her head and slapped one fist into the others, letting
the large metal studs in her glove smack loudly into the leather palm of
its counterpart. �Don�t worry Otaru, she won�t make a fool of me
twice!�
�Yeah!� Enthused Panther, her red translucent eyepatch glinting
with an interior light. �If I catch her, I�ll slam dunk her in the
Japoness Fuji!�
Otaru gave Bloodberry and Panther a frown, but said nothing. <I
sometimes wonder if my trio is rubbing off on Panther and Lynx more, or
if they�re picking up bad habits from them. Bloodberry has been a lot
more threatening sounding since she buddied up with Panther. Not that I
mind her making a friend, but I wish they wouldn�t keep trying to top
each other.>
As Bloodberry and Panther were making their boastful statements,
Lorelei glanced at Godai out of the corner of her eye. <Is it my
imagination, or does he look pleased that they�re planning on destroying
his marionettes?> Otaru took another good look at the pictures before
handing them to Lime, who looked at them with some interest.
�Otaru?� Lime spoke up for the first time since Kuno had arrived in
the room. �Why did they run away? Why would they want to run away from
home? I like it at home. Is something wrong with their home?�
Otaru blinked and turned to the normally playful and cheery
marionette. �Lime?� She had her head cocked to the side in confusion,
causing the red ball on the side of her bright yellow hat to point
downward. Otaru hesitated. �General� Kuno claims that there is
something wrong with his marionettes� but what if Lime�s right? What if
there�s something else going on here?
Lime was the most innocent and friendly person he knew. Sometimes,
her most basic questions hit right to the heart of a matter. �I don�t
know Lime. I guess we�ll have to find out.�
Godai Kuno frowned very slightly. There was a slight chance that
the malfunctioning marionettes would be allowed to escape, or worse, be
treated as if they were real humans, like those owned by that reckless
boy, Otaru. If people started thinking of marionettes as human, then
all sorts of chaos would result.
Godai spoke up, clearing his throat. �As I feel responsible for
this, I must insist that I help with the efforts to rid our city of this
threat. I�ll be happy to send half a dozen of my best combat
marionettes along with you, to make sure nothing unforeseen goes
wrong.� He smiled gracefully. <That way, I can make sure that those
three mistakes don�t talk to this bleeding heart bunch. Who knows what
strange ideas they might come up with?>
Otaru simply shook his head. �No, I�m sure we�ll be fine on our
own. A few extra combatants would just get in the way. The bunch I
have are the best, after all.� As one, the five he was so casually
boasting of glowed with pride. Lime giggled and put her hand behind her
head bashfully. Cherry went off into a vivid fantasy about Otaru-sama
�properly� or rather �improperly�, rewarding her, while Bloodberry,
Panther, and Lynx just grinned to themselves.
Lorelei spoke up. �Thank you Kuno-san. I�m sure Otaru will be able
to handle everything. We appreciate the offer.� The dismissal in her
voice was very subtle, but it was there. Baiko stood to escort Godai
out, and he bowed and left quietly, although with a slightly angry
glimmer in his eye, that again, only Lorelei noticed. When he had gone,
Lorelei turned to Otaru.
�Otaru-san�.� There was considerably more respect in the way she
said his name then she had Godai Kuno�s. �If you can, don�t hurt them.
Just find them, and see what�s going on. I�m not so sure General Kuno
is telling us everything.�
Otaru nodded. �I�m starting to think the same thing, Lorelei.�
*****************************
Looking down at the meeting going on below them, Ranma and Akane
were careful not to make a sound.
After running out into the palace courtyard, making sure they had
been seen, Ranma led Akane out of the palace over the nearest wall, then
back around the opposite side, quickly and quietly. They had hid on a
rooftop and waited for the commotion to die down. Then, as the last
group of guards headed inside, they had slipped over the wall once more.
�This way,� Ranma had confided to Akane, �we�ll blend right into
the crowd, whatever security system they�re using will just see us as
two more guards.� Akane had been impressed. She normally didn�t think
of Ranma as very intelligent, but when it came to tactics, he was always
surprising her. The plan seemed to have worked. They had snuck after
the last group of guards, using every bit of stealth they possessed.
Ranma, especially, was skilled at moving without making noise or being
seen. Akane simply followed the petite redhead, doing her best to
imitate her movements.
As the guards entered the main palace, so did they, slipping inside
before the doors could close, and then quickly hiding. After several
minutes things had quieted down, and Ranma had led Akane toward the
center of the building. When the security had gotten too tight, Ranma
had leapt up and opened a roof panel. They had continued on through the
spaces between the ceiling and the next floor.
After what seemed like hours (but was probably only minutes) of
creeping around in the cramped space, they reached the area above a
large room that Ranma figured to be near the center. Ranma had pulled
up one of the roof tiles slightly, and they had looked down to see a
large and varied group of marionettes, along with two young men, sitting
on the floor of what appeared to be a traditional Japanese throne room.
Ranma and Akane were careful to keep their weight only on the
supports between the tiles, not on the tiles themselves. They exchanged
glances, but made no sound. Ranma pointed down at the room, nodded and
put her hand to her ear. Akane nodded back and they both started
listening intently to the conversation, while seeing as much as they
could through the thin hole Ranma had created by moving the tile.
There was a current of air running through the ceiling, which made
it difficult to hear, but they could make out most of what was being
said. One of the marionettes was talking, a feminine looking one with
long reddish/blond hair and wearing a checkered shirt and a pair of
jeans. Both Akane and Ranma listened intently when they heard her say
something about the Kuno�s. The marionette was apparently saying
something about some prototypes that the Kuno�s had lost. Ranma and
Akane instantly realized that she was talking about them.
Apparently, the Kunos had claimed that they had malfunctioned and
were running rogue somewhere in the city. When Godai Kuno was escorted
in by one of the tall, amazonian palace guards, Ranma and Akane shot
each other a tense look, then went back to paying full attention. Godai
had handed out a bunch of papers and some large photos, which they
couldn�t quite make out due to the angle and distance. While one
marionette went over the paperwork, most of the others gathered around
the photographs.
A blue haired marionette with a hairstyle similar to Nabiki�s
pointed at one of the photos the young man was holding. She identified
the person in it as someone she had seen earlier, and fingered her own
hair as if in example. With the description she gave there was little
doubt.
Ranma and Akane glanced at each other and mouthed the same word.
�Nabiki.�
As two of the more warlike looking marionettes started spouting
boastful threats toward Nabiki, Akane grabbed Ranma by the shoulder.
Ranma glanced up and Akane shook her head toward the way they had come,
looking urgent. Ranma winced and nodded down at the group below. Akane
grimaced and started crawling as quietly as possible away, not sparing
Ranma a second glance. Cursing in her head, Ranma followed her
ex-fiancee.
When they had gotten well out of earshot, Ranma bit out a question.
�What are you doing? We still haven�t found out where Lorelei is, or
what their plan is!�
Akane glared at the redhead. �They know where Nabiki is, and
they�re going to throw her in some volcano! Do you want to let them get
there first?!?�
Ranma made shushing motions with her hands. �Of course not, Akane�
now keep your voice down. I was planning on hearing a bit more about
what they had in mind, then stopping them�. But you�re right, they
might be able to reach Nabiki first if we take too much time getting out
through the palace security.�
Akane blinked incredulously. �Did you just say I was right?�
Ranma rolled her eyes. �I did, didn�t I? Well, don�t let it go to
your head. Now we�ve got to move fast.�
As they hurried out of the palace, Akane wondered. �Do you think
that one of the girls in that room was Lorelei?�
Ranma shrugged. �Nah, unless she dyes her hair. I mean, what
Japanese girl has red or blond hair? Not to mention blue or pink.�
Akane glanced over at her ex-fiancee�s scarlet locks and rolled her
eyes, but said nothing.
End Chapter 3
Please C&C, it's why I write!
You can find all the previous Chapters to this at:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/1449/fanfics.html