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 4
Godai Kuno reached his personal car, a �motor-palanquin� complete
with all the latest features, still fuming about his abrupt dismissal
from the palace hall.
A grim but determined look came over his features as he started the
engine. �Hmph� that marionette said that my Nabiki had walked right
past them. If that�s right, then�.� He switched on the car�s automatic
pilot and located Otaru Mamiya�s apartment, then plotted the shortest
course to it. He let the autopilot take over and start driving him
along that route while his picked up his portable phone and dialed home.
When the line was picked up, Godai spoke up immediately. �Yusaku?
How are the repairs on the computer coming?�
Yusaku�s voice came back. �The main�s unsalvageable, I�m afraid. I
have managed to cobble together a memory and processing upgrade for the
backup. We should be able to run at least eight of the Cherry Blossoms
at once.�
Godai grunted his acknowledgment. �Good, send them out to my
location. I�ve gotten a possible fix on one of the rogues.�
Yusaku answered after a slight pause. �Are you sure that�s wise? You
said before that�.�
Godai interrupted. �Just do it. Hopefully we�ll be able to deal
with them separately. If we don�t handle this soon, the matter may well
be out of out hands.� He gritted his teeth. One way or another, I am
getting my property back!� Godai Kuno grinned slightly, reaching into
his kimono and patting a small box he had there. �And I just may have
what I need to get it.�
************************
Nabiki watched from her rooftop perch as the traffic on the street
died to nothing as the last bit of light from the setting sun slowly
disappeared and darkness fell. As night came, and the streetlights
started to come on, Nabiki looked up at the stars. With a gasp, the
girl nearly slipped from her spot beneath the overhang.
What in the world? Nabiki�s expression turned to wonder. Three
moons? Three moons?!? Nabiki got out from under the overhang to get a
better look at the sky. �We�ll, there�s no doubt about it� I�m not on
Earth anymore.�
Nabiki spotted a fourth moon on the horizon and shook her head.
How many moons does this planet have, anyway? I wonder� how far away
are we from Earth? Not only five hundred years, but on a planet I never
knew existed before I woke up here. She stepped over to the roof�s
edge, glancing down into the alleyway below. I�m starting to get
worried. When will Akane and Ranma get back? I hope nothing has
happened to them. Nabiki noticed a vehicle pull up at the end of the
alleyway and stop, and moved back from the edge quickly. Why did that
car stop? Did someone spot me?
In his motor-palanquin below, a box on his belt started to beep and
he hit the brakes, glancing at the buildings around him. Somewhere
close�. Quickly he called Yusaku again. �My detector is picking up the
emanations from one of the rogue Sabers� modified maiden circuits. If
it�s working, then one or more of the rogues should be within a few
dozen yards.�
Yusaku replied at once. �The Cherry Blossoms are in the area, I�ll
have them begin a standard search pattern. I�ve imputed the specs of
the escaped prototypes, so they shouldn�t have any problem identifying
them.�
Godai spoke quickly. �Good, find them, but observe and do not
attack, unless it is just one of them alone.� He patted the device on
his belt. �If the Cherry Blossoms can drive one of them to me, I should
be able to deal with it.�
Back on the roof Nabiki heard the faint sounds of running feet
across a nearby rooftop and dropped back into the small concealment
beneath the roof overhang. Seconds after she did so, a pair of tall
marionettes with identical red kimonos and long bisentos ran past, then
stopped for a second to look around. Nabiki froze in near panic for a
second too long, and one of them spotted her. Its eyes glowed red and
the other marionette turned toward Nabiki as well, both of them lowering
their spears in her direction.
Nabiki needed no one to tell her it was time to go. She skittered
out from under the overhang and started to run to the left, trying to
get away. Another pair of red clad marionettes appeared in her path,
jumping up from the alley below, and Nabiki turned again, only to see a
third pair coming from that direction as well. Nabiki yelped and ran in
the only direction left open to her, toward the street. Nabiki just
managed to dodge the Cherry Blossoms coming at her from both sides as
she jumped off the roof, bracing herself for a landing in the street
below.
Nabiki landed and was about to run off when she noticed two more
Cherry Blossom marionettes standing protectively in front of the vehicle
she had spotted earlier. A man was standing next to the vehicle�s open
door, and she recognized him as Godai Kuno. He pointed a small box at
her that looked vaguely like a TV remote control, and Nabiki suddenly
found herself dropping to the ground in agony. She screamed as
electricity shot through her system and her limbs refused to respond to
her wish to run.
Godai Kuno walked slowly up to her, giving orders to his troops.
�Do not approach her until I tell you, or you will be incapacitated as
well.� He kept pointing the device at Nabiki as he stood over her,
watching as Nabiki jerked from the energy randomly emitting from her
systems. �Now� where are the others?�
Nabiki gritted her teeth, barely able to speak. �Don�t� know�.�
She glanced up at him, trying to focus past the pain. �How�?�
Godai snorted, amused by her question. �A simple device, although
quite specialized in its use. I built you. I know all of your
weaknesses. This is an electromagnetic pulse gun. While your systems
are shielded from most EM radiation, you are susceptible to a directed
burst.� Nabiki felt her eyes closing, and felt incredibly sleepy.
Godai noticed and commented. �Ah yes, your self preservation circuit is
kicking in, shutting you down before you suffer permanent damage. Next
time we met, my dear, you�ll be much improved� I will not make the same
mistake again.�
Nabiki growled deep in her throat and fought against the
encroaching blackness with every bit of her will. Placing a hand
shakily against the ground, she forced herself to her feet.
<All I have to do is reach him� and take out that device.> Nabiki
took a staggering step towards Godai, then another, picking up speed.
The older man stepped back, looking alarmed. �What? Impossible!
Quickly! Protect me!� Nabiki�s vision was almost gone, and she missed
the Cherry Blossoms coming at her in her focus on Godai. She felt a
sudden shock to her system, then another, and found herself on the
ground suddenly. Nabiki tried to get up again, and noticed that one
hand seemed not to be able to find the ground to help her get up.
Nabiki brought the offending hand in front of her eyes to see what was
wrong. The sight of wires and metal sticking out of the stump of her
wrist� and no hand, was her last conscious sight. As everything faded,
she could hear the faint sound of Godai yelling in rage.
Godai looked down in disgust. Two of his Cherry Blossoms had been
deactivated when they attacked Nabiki before he could shut off his EMP
device. They weren�t as well shielded as the Saber models he had
constructed Nabiki and the other two from, and now were overloaded. He
moved forward, inspecting the damage to the Nabiki marionette. He
frowned, and nodded to himself, the damage wasn�t too bad, a few hours
of work to do the repairs.
�All right.� He stood up, gesturing to two of his Cherry
Blossoms. �Put them into the back of my motor-palanquin, and we�ll head
back to the estate. Hurry!� The combat marionettes obeyed quickly,
placing all three fallen marionettes into his vehicle. Godai got in and
started the engine, then quickly gunned it, spinning the wheel and
driving back in the direction of the Kuno mansion manually.
***************************
As they jogged along back toward where they had last seen the
marionette from the photos, Cherry came to a sudden stop, causing Otaru
to pause as well. �Cherry? What is it?� Otaru walked up to the short
purple haired marionette, who was staring blankly off to the right. At
his words, Bloodberry, Lynx and Panther came to a stop as well, glancing
back at them in curiosity. Lime kept going, obvious to the other�s
halt, until Bloodberry yelled at her to stop.
Cherry looked at Otaru, then pointed off in the direction she had
been looking. �Otaru-sama� I�m getting a strong electromagnetic signal
from that direction. Should we investigate?�
Lynx gazed in the direction Cherry had pointed, letting her own
onboard combat sensors scan for the signal Cherry had detected. She
picked it up almost immediately, noticing it fade a few seconds later.
�I read it too, It may be something important.�
Otaru nodded, and waved in the direction Cherry had pointed. �All
right, lets go!� The group ran off again, just as the panting Hanagata
managed to run into sight.
The effeminate blond haired young man who was Otaru�s self
professed �true love� (not that Otaru, or any of Otaru�s marionettes
would agree with him) yelled and waved as he tried to catch up.
�Otaru-san! Wait for me! Otaru!�
In the Kuno mansion�s underground facility, Yusaku remotely
commanded his house sentries. Since two of the sentries that had gone
out to Godai had been disabled, he had the computer activate two more,
sending them out to join the group with Godai. Before they got very
far, however, he changed his mind, sending them instead to the rooftop
that the Cherry Blossoms had first spotted the Nabiki marionette on.
Yusaku had the picture from one of the two marionettes� cameras fed onto
his computer screen and he watched though the Cherry Blossom�s eyes as
it hurried back to the sight of the rogue�s capture.
************************
Ranma swore silently to himself as he and Akane ran, jumping from
rooftop to rooftop towards the alley that they had left Nabiki to wait
at. Damn it. It took too long to sneak out of the palace. If we don�t
hurry, those other marionettes are going to reach Nabiki before we do!
The red haired girl didn�t have to look back at Akane to know that her
ex-fiancee was every bit as worried as she was. The two of them ran on
in silence, stopping on the roof of a building across the street from
the alley they were headed for. Ranma and Akane both dropped flat on
the rooftops, looking down at the group of marionettes that stood there
in the street in front of the alley.
Ranma and Akane both instantly recognized them. �It�s them.�
Ranma muttered quietly. �They beat us here.�
Akane sounded worried. �But where�s Nabiki?� The two girls
watched the group of marionettes, until Akane spotted one of them, the
short one with purple hair, pick something off the street. It was a
scrap of green and white cloth, attached too�. �A hand!� Akane
whispered in horror. �That�s someone�s hand!� She shook her head in
denial as Ranma took a closer look. �No� it can�t be� Nabiki?�
Ranma shivered in rage. �That�s part of her kimono� its
Nabiki�s�.� Her eyes narrowed and she stood abruptly. �That�s it. I�m
not letting them get away with this.� The petite red head took a step
forward to the edge of the roof and tensed to leap down. �I�ve had
enough! All of you� ARE DEAD!!!� With an incoherent scream Akane
jumped up and followed Ranma, revenge the only thing left in her mind,
blocking out her grief with anger.
***********************
In their laboratory, Yusaku and Godai sat in front of their backup
computer�s monitor as Yusaku replayed the footage of the battle the two
Cherry Blossoms had witnessed between Otaru Mamiya and his marionettes
and Ranma and Akane.
�A disappointing outcome.� Godai commented soberly as the tape
finished.
�Indeed.� Yusaku nodded sagely. �Never-the-less, I do believe we
have something to work with here.� He tapped a few keys. �Why don�t we
watch it again, and have the computer do a full analysis of the data?�
Godai nodded, looking interested. �That is an excellent
suggestion. Proceed.�
Yusaku typed a few more commands in, then started the recording
again, pausing it appropriately as the computer compiled its data for
him to interpret. �Here we have Otaru Mamiya�s group of marionettes.
They came to the site where you recaptured the Nabiki model just a
minute or so after you had left. The marionette called �Cherry� was
first on the scene, and was first to discover the remains of your brief
skirmish with the Nabiki model.� The computer zoomed in on a close-up
of Cherry holding up the severed hand of Nabiki, still trailing a piece
of her green and white kimono. �It is at this point that the Ranma and
Akane models attacked Otaru�s marionettes.� The computer sped the tape
to where they could see Ranma and Akane leaping down from the rooftops
towards the larger group of marionettes, then focused in on them.
Yusaku�s voice sounded concerned as he went on. �I was not as
confident as you in the combat ability of our prototype Sabers, but it
seems you were correct. From what we�ve been able to determine on this
tape, our group of Cherry Blossoms would be insufficient to contain
them. Attempting to approach them to use the EMP device would seem to
also be quite risky, given what you have told me about the Nabiki
model�s resistance to the device.�
Godai nodded. �The maiden circuit technology enabled her to
override her shutdown safety� at least temporarily� and our Nabiki here
is not anywhere as lethal as our other two prototypes. But we already
have a great deal of data on their capacities. Show me what we have on
the others� Ieyasu and Faust created them to be the most advanced on the
planet, correct?�
Yusaku looked back to the screen and typed in a few more commands.
�As you like. This is Lime, Otaru Mamiya�s first marionette, and
Ieyasu�s prototype.� The screen focused on a medium sized marionette
with long bright blue hair. She wore a black body suit under a white
shirt with long sleeves that had a lot of extra material, hanging off
her arms a bit like small wings. Her yellow hat with its cheerful red
ball decoration, and her oversized yellow and red shoes gave her a
cheerful, almost childlike appearance. The scene she was in, however,
stole all humor from the picture. Lime had her arms up defensively as
Ranma charged her.
�Lime is the original model, and the simplest of Ieyasu�s
creations. She is physically slightly stronger than either Cherry or
Lynx, but slightly weaker than Bloodberry or Panther. Her personality
is that of a precocious child� crossed with a puppy. She is probably
the least dangerous of the group, unless someone threatens her master,
Otaru.�
Yusaku pressed a few more keys, causing another picture to come
up. �This is Cherry.� The picture of the short, purple haired
marionette was of her being attacked by Akane. Cherry looked like a
young girl in her pink and white robe, and her large red hair ornaments,
and while Akane only looked a few years older in her kimono, the
murderous look of rage on her face made her appear a great deal more
threatening.
�Cherry was Ieyasu�s second creation, and coincidentally the second
marionette that Otaru Mamiya awakened. She was designed with a very
sophisticated combat computer and an extremely powerful group of sensors
for data collection. While she is slightly smaller and weaker than the
others, her battlefield capacity is� was, only second to Bloodberry,
because of her ability to anticipate battlefield possibilities and act
on those predictions. While her personality is that of a modest
housewife, she is most efficient in a combat situation, regardless.�
Godai nodded in understanding, and Yusaku went on.
�Bloodberry is probably the most dangerous of Ieyasu�s three
marionettes. Her strength and speed is the highest of the three, and
her combat program is excellent.� The monitor changed to a picture of
the tall red haired marionette, clad in her red and black halter top
(with a large diamond shape cut out of the front to show off her
impressive cleavage) and bicycle pants. Her spiked gloves and the way
her hair was tied back by a headband gave her a martial appearance, not
to mention the fierce look on her face as she swung a ripped up street
sign at Ranma�s back. Yusaku took a deep breath. �As you can see,
Bloodberry is quite innovative in combat. Her personality is quite
aggressive and she has shown little restraint in the past when
fighting. My advice is to avoid her if possible.�
He tapped some more keys and brought up a new picture. �Lynx is
Faust�s second prototype, and Cherry�s counterpart.� The two men took
in the picture for a few moments. Lynx was around the same size as
Lime, and had dark blue hair in a pageboy cut. She wore a white
collared shirt with a red tie, and a short blue skirt slit up the sides
for ease of movement. The computer showed her in the middle of throwing
a brace of knives at an unseen opponent. �She has a combat computer and
sensor suite very comparable with Cherry�s, and is programmed with a
serious, if suspicious, personality. Her current combat ability I would
place lowest of the group, although her potential should not be
underestimated. She is quite dangerous at range, and her intelligence
gathering ability is not to be discounted.�
Yusaku brought up a new picture, of a tall, short-haired blond with
a star-shaped, red, glass eyepatch. �Panther is Faust�s final model,
and is very similar to Bloodberry in potential. She is the most violent
in personality, but like Lynx, has not reached her full potential. I
place her just behind Lime in combat ability, although she can be
considerably dangerous, due to her violent nature.� Panther was shown
in mid leap, her right eye (the one covered by the eyepatch) glowing
bright red, in preparation for her eye laser to fire. She wore a blue
halter-top, covered by an orange vest, as well as a pair of blue jeans.
Yusaku shrugged and turned to Godai. �Lime�s counterpart among
Faust�s Sabers is Tiger, who is, to all reports, still undergoing
repairs by Lorelei. She is not likely to be operable for some time.�
Godai nodded. �A very concise report. And what is your opinion of
our two rogue Sabers?�
Yusaku frowned, going over the battle again, slowing the tape down
in parts to catch details. �Frightening. Their physical capacities
should be comparable to Otaru�s Sabers at the most� but it appears that
they are superior to them in almost every way.�
He went silent as they watched the battle a third time, this time in
slow motion. Ranma and Akane had charged into battle with great speed,
and their surprise attack had Otaru�s Saber marionettes on the ropes
from the beginning. Despite their greater numbers, the five marionettes
could not seem to hit either Ranma or Akane� at least at first. Ranma
was an unstoppable whirlwind. Everywhere she went she sent her
opponents flying. When they tried to retaliate, the petite red head
wasn�t there to hit, dodging with incredible speed and agility. Akane
seemed to be slower, but was nearly as difficult to hit. She had
crashed into Cherry at the beginning of the fight and had begun beating
the smaller marionette around like a punching bag, while Ranma kept the
other four busy with her hit and run tactics.
Cherry had been driven into the pavement, while Akane repeatedly hit
her with her fists, until there was a flash of electricity and Akane had
apparently frozen for several seconds. Panther had taken the
opportunity to hit Akane with her eye laser. Ranma had tackled Akane
out of the beam before too much damage had been done, and the two of
them had retreated. The lone human on the scene, Otaru Mamiya, had been
almost ignored. He had tried to knock Akane off of Cherry, but on the
way over Ranma had knocked him to the side and into a nearby building.
After Ranma and Akane had disappeared unto the rooftops, Yusaku noted
with some surprise that Otaru had gotten up and ran back unto the
street.
�That�s interesting.� Yusaku pointed to the screen. �I�m surprised
Otaru is still able to walk after Ranma hit him. She�s certainly strong
enough to have killed him.�
Godai nodded. �Good point. It seems that Ranma did almost no real
damage in that fight. A psychological weakness perhaps?� He pointed at
the screen. �The marionette �Cherry�, did suffer quite a bit of damage,
I see.� On the monitor Cherry could be seen, sparks coming from a hole
in her chest, one of her arms lying at an odd angle. Otaru ran to her
side to check on her and Yusaku turned off the monitor.
�That was the last of the footage. I sent our Cherry Blossoms after
them to see if they could find out where they went, but Ranma and Akane
moved too quickly. As for Otaru Mamiya�s group, they retreated back to
the palace for repairs.�
Godai stood and turned toward the center of the laboratory. �Speaking
of repairs�.�
Yusaku followed his line of sight, fixing on the worktable in the
center of the room. �Yes� I suppose we should get started.� They
walked over to the table together and took a good look. Nabiki lay
naked on the table. There was a hole through the lower part of her
chest where a Cherry Blossom had impaled her. Luckily none of her vital
systems had been destroyed. The worst damage was to her left hand,
which had been taken off at the wrist. It would have to be replaced
from scratch, a job that would take a day at the least, probably more.
Godai nodded to himself. �I�ll get to work on her new programming,
if you think you can handle the external repairs?�
Yusaku grimaced. �I suppose I can manage. Did you want me to do
anything specific, besides repairs?�
Godai nodded slowly. �Yes� while you�re at it, you might as well
put in that new improvement we designed.�
Yusaku smiled slightly. �I�ll be happy to. I can�t wait to see how
well it works in the field� once you finish properly reprogramming her
that is.� He yawned. �I hope you don�t mind if I start in the morning,
Godai-san. It has been a long night.�
Godai shook his head. �No, that�s fine, get some sleep. I�ll see
you in the morning.�
***************************
*An hour earlier*
Otaru looked over at Cherry. �What did you find?�
Cherry gingerly held up the severed hand of a marionette, still
trailing a scrap of green and white cloth. �This�.� Everyone went
silent in dismay at the sight. Lime looked particularly upset, while
Cherry did a good impression of having an upset stomach. �There isn�t
anything else, I�m afraid, Otaru-sama�.�
Cherry was interrupted by a shout from the rooftops. �All of you�
ARE DEAD!!!� Everyone turned to see a pair of marionettes hit the
street and charge at them at high velocity. One of the two barreled
into Cherry like a freight train, while the other, a petite red head,
ran interference. Lime and Bloodberry jumped to Cherry�s defense almost
immediately, only to be met by the small but angry looking girl with her
hair in a pigtail.
Ranma had sidestepped Bloodberry�s powerful forward punch, tapping
the aggressive marionette�s fist to the side with her palm and
accelerating Bloodberry along her path with the other hand, sending
Bloodberry flying into a nearby wall. Lime came in swinging, and Ranma
was forced to block, parrying Lime�s attacks with almost effortless
grace. Otaru hadn�t really been able to follow the short red head�s
defense. It had been a bit too fast for him to see properly, but Lime�s
punches were obviously going wide by a good margin, bringing Lime badly
off balance after a short series of exchanges.
Otaru barely had time to even think about shouting a warning before
Lime was blown back by a powerful side kick from the shorter girl,
throwing her into Lynx and Panther even as they ran up to help.
Otaru heard Cherry�s panicked scream for help and headed for her,
just before hearing a loud �Crack!� which sent him into a worried
sprint. Cherry�s right arm fell limp and Akane was poised to finish her
off. Otaru felt time slow as he rushed to Cherry�s side. Panther, Lynx
and Lime were busy getting untangled, while Bloodberry was just starting
to climb free of the wall that had collapsed on her when she had hit
it. He was the only one who could act in time.
Ranma had belted him with a casual backhand before he could take two
steps, Otaru had seen it coming but couldn�t block fast enough and found
himself flying through the air to slam into the front wall of a nearby
restaurant. He shook off the pain even as another horrible cracking
sound was followed by a crackle of electricity and a sharp flash. Otaru
rose to his feet, seeing Ranma being attacked by Bloodberry, Panther and
Lynx simultaneously and somehow dodging their every blow.
Lime was standing frozen, staring at Akane who was sitting also frozen,
straddled on top of Cherry. Otaru realized that the short-haired
marionette, Akane, had most of her hand stuck into Cherry�s chest while
arcs of electricity jumped from the hole and raced up and down her arm.
�CHERRY!!!� Otaru screamed and drew his Jitte, (a parrying weapon
with a round blade only good for stabbing with an extended hilt meant to
catch weapons and break them) and raced towards Cherry.
Akane started to withdraw her hand, looking like she was in shock,
when Panther�s trademark laser came down, lancing into her shoulder.
Ranma jumped in an instant later and knocked Akane out of the beam�s
path, carrying Akane twenty feet away before setting her down, just
moments later. Ranma turned back to face off with Panther, Bloodberry
and Lynx, but suddenly Akane turned and ran, jumping for the rooftops
with an incoherent cry. Ranma had turned and followed her.
Bloodberry and Panther would have followed as well, but Lynx stopped
them. �Wait� don�t go after them alone. We need to protect master
Otaru.� With that, she turned back to Otaru, who had reached Cherry�s
side.
Otaru dropped to his knees next to Cherry in shock. �Cherry?
Cherry? Can you hear me? Cherry� you�ve got to be all right!�
Lime came up quietly behind him, her voice very small and
frightened. �Otaru� is Cherry going to be all right? You can fix her�
can�t you?�
Otaru blinked away his tears and swallowed, not knowing how to
answer her. Lime was extremely sensitive about death. She still
refused to accept the fact that things died, going into hysterics or
running away when the subject was brought up. It had been a touchy
subject for her, for all of his marionettes in fact, when Otaru had
informed them that living things, including himself, could not simply be
repaired if they were damaged. While most of them had at least
partially accepted the reality of life, Lime was still not over it.
Otaru forced himself to take a close look at Cherry, hoping with all
his heart that he could give her a positive report. Oh god� let Cherry
be OK. He inspected the damage to the chest first, letting the broken
arm go as superficial damage. As long as her maiden circuit isn�t
damaged�. Closing his eyes, Otaru breathed a long sigh of relief.
�It�s OK, Lime. Cherry will be fine. Lorelei can fix her as good as
new, you�ll see.�
Bloodberry came up and knelt down on the other side of Cherry,
looking concerned. �How bad is it?�
Otaru tried to smile reassuringly. �Her maiden circuit is intact.
Nothing that can�t be fixed.�
The tall red head�s shoulders sagged gratefully. �Great! Can we
move her? I�ll take her back to the palace myself.� She frowned
angrily. �And then I�m going to find the bitch that did this and twist
her head off like a rootbeer.�
Panther growled savagely behind her. �I almost got her! Damn it! If
it wasn�t for that little red haired girl I�d have cut her in half!�
Lynx was watching the rooftops carefully. �She was good� too good.
I�ve never seen anything like that before. I�m not sure exactly how she
was doing it.� She shook her head. �She didn�t seem all that much
faster than any of us� but I couldn�t touch her� none of us could hit
her at all.� She turned towards Otaru. �She moved a little like you
do, Otaru Mamiya. I�ve always found it amazing how you could survive
time and time again back when we were trying to kill you�.� She
flushed. �I mean� as a human, you�re strength and speed is only a
fraction of� um�.� She broke off, looking sheepish.
Otaru shook his head. �Never mind, Lynx, that�s all in the past.
Bloodberry, go ahead and pick Cherry up� carefully, and take her back to
the palace. Everyone, we�re sticking together, OK? Panther, no going
off on your own looking for them.�
He winced. �We had enough trouble with them when everyone was at
full strength. Lets not start another fight while Cherry�s out of
action.� He moved over to Lime, who was looking like she was about to
start crying. �Don�t worry Lime, Cherry will be fine! Come on, you can
help Bloodberry carry her, all right?�
Lime nodded slowly and sniffed to herself. �OK, Otaru.� The small
group started back toward the palace at a walk.
Hanagata ran up panting as they turned the first corner. �Otaru!
What happened? Did I miss something?�
*************************
Ranma chased after her ex-fiancee as Akane ran from rooftop to
rooftop in a blind attempt to escape some invisible horror. Seeing the
damage that Akane had done to that small marionette, Ranma had a good
idea of what exactly Akane was fleeing. Namely, herself. The petite
red head poured on the speed, trying to catch up to Akane before the
short-haired girl ran into any more trouble.
By the time Ranma was within arms reach, they had almost reached the
city walls. The walls were an impressive structure nearly fifty feet in
height, and they appeared to surround the entire city. Only the sheer
size of the place had kept them from having seen the walls earlier.
Akane stopped in indecision on the nearest rooftop to the walls, long
enough for Ranma to grab hold of her.
Akane spun around, breaking the smaller girl�s grip on her
shoulder. �Don�t touch me!� Akane backed away, fear and pain shrouding
her face.
Ranma hesitated, wanting nothing more than to grab hold of Akane and
tell her that everything would be all right. �Akane�.�
The youngest of Soun Tendo�s three daughters turned away, facing the
city wall again. �Don�t� just� just leave me alone� I� I� how could I
have�.� Akane sank to her knees, head down. �I killed her� it� that
marionette. I� I didn�t mean too� I just kept seeing Nabiki� I don�t
know� torn apart� dead� and I kept hitting her� I kept hitting her and I
couldn�t stop!�
Ranma moved up behind her ex-fiancee silently, kneeling down behind
her. �It was an accident� you just didn�t know your own strength,
right? And� and we don�t know for sure that she�s� broken� or dead or
nothin� I mean, she�s a marionette� a robot like us, right? I bet they
can fix her right up� like a toaster or somethin.� Ranma paused,
looking thoughtful. �Hey, there�s no reason for us to think that Nabiki
is dead either�. I mean, we didn�t see any other pieces, right?� The
red haired girl winced. �It looked bad, sure� but maybe she�s not hurt
too bad. I mean� they built us in the first place� so it makes sense
that they can fix us too.�
Akane turned slightly to face Ranma. �Do you think its possible?
I� what should I do, Ranma? I� even if they can fix her� that
marionette� I did a lot of damage. Maybe� maybe I should just turn
myself in.�
Ranma hesitated for only a moment, then shook her head firmly. �No
way. We don�t know anything about anyone here yet. We gotta learn more
before you go and do something like that. Anyway� I�m not going to let
you turn yourself in alone. I�m going with ya wherever you go, so if
you want to get arrested, then you�re taken me down with ya, OK?�
Akane looked away again. �Maybe� maybe it�s for the best. Don�t
you always say I�m too violent? I� I broke her arm� I knew I did� but I
kept hitting her.� Akane hung her head, bringing one arm up to her
forehead. �Ranma� I�m no good� I�m dangerous. What if� what if I hurt
you? I�m so strong now� I could kill someone by mistake! I� I don�t
know what to think.�
Ranma noted with concern that Akane�s left arm was still hanging
limply at her side, and leaned forward to investigate more fully. �You
aren�t going to hurt me, Akane� or anyone else with this arm�.� Akane�s
Kimono had a blackened hole in it near the shoulder, and was cut as if
by a torch almost all the way around, leaving the sleeve hanging by only
a quarter of the material. Ranma pushed the rent open carefully, so she
could examine Akane�s arm. �Ah man� this looks pretty bad.�
Akane glanced at her shoulder, seeing the hole in the front of it,
with the edges of her skin melted outwards. �Oh� yeah� whatever hit me�
I guess it burned right through?�
Ranma nodded. �Yeah, there�s a hole the size of a pencil all the
way through your shoulder, and a burn from the hole halfway around your
arm. Can you move your arm at all?�
Akane gritted her teeth and her left shoulder shifted up and around,
but her arm didn�t move. �I don�t think so.� She stared at the small
hole in fascinated horror. �I guess I�m broken too�.� She shook her
head. �It hardly seems real. I felt whatever it was hit me� it hurt a
lot. But now my arm just seems numb. I can�t feel it. I guess� I
guess that whatever wiring I have that passes for a nervous system must
have gotten hit.� Akane turned away. �There�s no way I�m getting
fixed, anyway. Not unless I do turn myself in. Maybe I should.�
Ranma shook her head again. �No� we�ll think of something, Akane.
Maybe we can find somebody who knows how to fix marionettes� and get him
to fix you up. We gotta try, so don�t you go giving up on me. I need
your help if we�re going to find Nabiki and rescue her. I�m sure now�
she�s not dead� we would have seen more evidence. They�ve got her� all
we have to do now is find out who has her� and where.�
Akane nodded slowly. �OK� we find Nabiki� I can�t let my sister
down.� She nodded again more firmly. And then I�m turning myself in� I
couldn�t live with myself if I really killed� destroyed� that
marionette. One way or another, I�ll atone for my crime.
Ranma stood up, looking around. �It�s really late, Akane. Maybe we
should find some place to hole up for awhile, at least until morning.�
Akane yawned and nodded. �I am a little sleepy, but where can we
find to rest?�
Ranma shrugged and looked around. �What about outside the city
somewhere? I�d bet we could find someplace out there�.� She glanced at
Akane. �Wait a sec� why are we tired? Do robots have to sleep?�
Akane blinked, then started to look panicked. �Maybe it means we
need to recharge? What kind of energy do we need? Do we need a power
outlet? I don�t think I saw a plug�.�
Ranma blinked. �No, Nabiki said we�ve got a� matter conversion unit
or something� we just have to eat. I guess we should look for some
food.�
Akane looked relieved. �That�s right. But why are we tired? I�d
have guessed we might get hungry, if we need to eat, but tired?�
Ranma shrugged. �Well, we feel pain, can taste stuff� heck, I can
barely tell I�m not in my old body. Maybe we�re programmed to feel
sleepy too? It makes sense, I think.�
Akane nodded. �I suppose so. That means we have to find some place
to sleep, and some food� and someone who can repair my arm.� She
frowned. �All while we�re on the run from the law. This couldn�t be
any worse could it?�
Ranma winced. �Akane� don�t ask, OK? Anyway, we�ve had tougher
problems than this, right? Pop and me had to scavenge whatever we could
when we were going about on our training journey. This isn�t all that
different. I bet I can find something to eat out there, and someplace
to camp out too.�
Akane sighed and nodded. �Alright, lead the way, master woodsman.�
Ranma shrugged. �Make fun all you like� but that does look like a
forest there, outside the city.� She pointed off to the right. �Those
trees look familiar. What do you bet they were transplanted from
Earth?�
Akane shook her head. �No bet. Let's get moving then?�
Hours later, they were a mile into the woods. Ranma had gotten a
roaring fire going with her robotic strength, speed, and a couple
sticks. Neither of them felt cold, particularly, but the fire did make
the darkness much more bearable. Ranma had even been fortunate enough
to find a few fruit trees in season, and had picked off a few handfuls
of fruit off of each one. The fruit didn�t really resemble anything
either of them had seen before. One was slightly like a pear, except it
came in red and blue, and the other two trees had fruit even less
familiar. They were staring at the fruit Ranma had gathered while they
sat by the fire.
Ranma shrugged. �Well� it�s not like any of these can actually
poison us, right? Nabiki said it really doesn�t matter what we eat.�
Akane looked doubtful. �We still get to taste it, you know.�
Ranma chuckled. �It can�t be any worse than your cooking.�
Akane�s eyes flashed and she raised a hand to hit Ranma, then
stopped, looking shocked. �I�. Ranma! I nearly hit you! What if I�
broke you� too.� Akane lowered her hand, looking ashamed.
Ranma shook her head. �But you didn�t.� The red head looked
slightly embarrassed. �Sorry about what I said. I always am saying
something to get you mad.�
Akane sighed. �That isn�t any excuse for me hitting you. Ranma�
I�m sorry. I�ve never stopped to listen to you did I? I just got mad.�
Ranma smiled softly. �You never really hurt me, Akane. You
wouldn�t have hurt that marionette either if you had known your own
strength.� She lifted one of the strange looking pears. �Anyway� might
as well see what this tastes like.� She took a bite, chewed, then blew
out a breath. �Whoa� hot! Really hot!� She glanced around. �Damn�
never any water when you need it.� Ranma fanned her mouth. �Whoa� stay
away from the blue ones, Akane.� She quickly grabbed another of the
fruit and tried it. �Ah� that�s better.� She took another bite and
chewed. �Try one of these, Akane. This one isn�t half bad!�
After finishing off all of the fruit, (except for the blue pears) Ranma
settled back against a tree, watching the fire slowly die. Akane sat
hunched over the fire, staring into it, and occasionally glancing back
at her ex-fiancee furtively.
Ranma let this go on for half an hour before building up the will to
say anything. �Akane� what is it? Is something wrong?�
Akane swallowed then shook her head. Ranma chewed on her lip. �Are
you sure? I� if you just want to talk� or something� I�m always here
for you Akane. You know that.�
Akane nodded, but kept staring into the fire. Hours seemed to pass,
but it was probably only minutes later when Akane stood up, crossed over
to Ranma, then sat down in front of her, close enough to touch. Ranma
remained silent, to frightened to make a move that would shatter the
moment. Slowly, Akane let herself fall backwards, until Ranma�s body
supported her. Hesitantly, Ranma slowly put her arms around Akane,
holding her from behind, and resting her chin on the top of Akane�s
head. They stayed that way for what seemed like hours, until they both
fell asleep.
***********************
The next morning, back at the imperial Palace of Japoness, Lorelei,
Otaru, and Lynx were going over the data that Lynx had recorded in the
fight with Ranma and Akane. Cherry lay in a capsule behind them in
Lorelei�s lab, her external damage repaired. Her systems were
undergoing a reboot to clear any minor glitches she might have picked up
from the overload.
They had watched it through twice already, and Lynx was playing it
again, this time in slow motion. �Something still bothers me about that
fight.� The blue haired marionette said, frowning. Something about how
that short red head moved was strange.�
Otaru watched the screen. �I don�t see anything odd. She�s doing a
classic Aikido style evasion right here� now she�s switched to a Tai Chi
block� See? When she blocked you and threw you into Bloodberry here?
And here� that�s kenpo� I think� when she�s doing that jump kick.�
Otaru shrugged again. �She�s a really good martial artist, that makes
sense. That�s how she was able to beat all of you.� Otaru nodded to
himself. �You know, looking at this tape, I can see you all could use a
little time learning some refinements on your martial arts yourselves.
I never saw you fighting in slow motion before, or I might have noticed
it earlier. You�re all really fast, but your form could use some work.�
Lynx looked interested. �What would you recommend?�
Otaru scratched his chin. �I suppose I could teach you� but my
Sensei, Master Soemon is really the guy that could help.
He�s the best martial artist in all Japoness.�
Lynx frowned. �Didn�t Lime knock him out once?�
Otaru shrugged. �Hey� he�s really good, but you are all six times
faster than any normal human. Form and technique only goes so far.�
Lorelei listened politely while the two of them talked. Something
was bothering her, however, something that Otaru had said had struck a
bell, but she couldn�t think of it.
She yawned hugely. �We�ve been at this all night. Now that
Cherry�s repairs are finished, I think we could all use some sleep.�
Otaru nodded, yawning in response. �Yeah� now that you mention it,
I haven�t slept in almost thirty hours. I�ll go check on the others,
and hit the hay. Goodnight Lorelei.�
Lorelei nodded sleepily. �Goodnight� or rather good morning,
Otaru-san. I will see you in eight hours or so� after we have both
gotten a few more hours sleep. We can puzzle this all out when we�re
all a little more awake.� She stretched.
�Tamasaburo and Baiko can take you to the guest quarters. The
others are all there, and you�re welcome to stay for as long as you
wish.�
Otaru stood to go followed by Lynx. �Thank you, Lorelei.
Goodnight.�
Lorelei watched them go, then got up herself, heading for her own
bed. <It was all so very strange.> The only living human female on the
planet mused. <Cherry finds the severed hand of a marionette� and then
those two attacked. They sounded� furious. Why? Why did they attack?
Did they know Otaru and his marionettes were searching for them? How
could they?> Lorelei continued to think as she got to her room and
started to get undressed. <That hand� it was of quite high quality
manufacture. Probably a Saber marionette. Perhaps it belonged to the
third of the Kuno�s three rogue marionettes? But why was it there, and
why did those two marionettes attack?>
Lorelei finished undressing and pulled on a nightgown. <Bloodberry
seemed to think that they were attacking out of vengeance. It�s
possible they thought Lime and the others had destroyed one of them� but
that would indicate conscious thought, a rational decision making
process. Godai Kuno said that they were malfunctioning, gone rogue.
What if they�re actually functioning perfectly? Rage is a very human
emotion after all. Their maiden circuit may be working perfectly�.
What haven�t the Kuno�s told us?> Lorelei�s eyes closed as her head hit
the pillow, and she fell asleep instantly.
End Chapter 4
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http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/1449/fanfics.html