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TENCHI 1/2 -- Dimensions in Peril
Chapter 2: Where is Everybody? No Need For Reunions
"I just know the others are here," said Tenchi. "All I need to do is
find them."
"I suppose I could show you the sights of the city," offered Ranma.
"Chances are, you'll meet one of your friends there."
"That's a good idea."
"Great," said Ranma. "We should probably start by -" He stopped as
water splashed all over him. Ranma turned to the old lady who was
watering her sidewalk. "Don't you ever watch where you're throwing that
water, lady?"
Ranma turned back to Tenchi, who had shrunk away when Ranma was
splashed. "You - you're a girl!" stammered Tenchi.
Ranma nodded. "Yeah... it's a curse. Cold water turns me into a
girl, and warm water changes me back. The few people around here who
know are all pretty used to it. Just fair warning - if you start poking
at my chest, I'll be forced to hurt you."
"Believe me, I have enough girl trouble as it is."
"Not nearly as much as I have," bragged Ranma. "I've got a fiancee
who hates me and three other girls who want to marry me, but Akane
pounds me every time I so much as look at one of them."
"I thought you said she hated you."
Ranma shrugged. "Who can guess what goes on inside the mind of a
girl?"
Tenchi laughed. "I suppose if you can't figure it out, there's no
hope for anyone else!"
"Hey, just because I have the body of a girl doesn't mean I think
like one!"
Before Tenchi could apologize, a dark figure appeared from a nearby
alley, shrouded in the shadow. "Ranma! I found you at last!"
"Get down, Tenchi!" shouted Ranma, shoving Tenchi behind a crate.
"Here he is!" shouted the ninja as he approached. He was dragging a
rather slim figure behind him, apparently a woman in some kind of
uniform.
"Oh, great," moaned Ranma. "It's Ryoga."
"Here's the friend you've been searching for," panted Ryoga as he
caught his breath.
The female cop stared at Ranma's face, then at her chest, then back
at her face. "Um, you must be confused, Mr. Ryoga. You see, I'm looking
for a boy with black hair. This is a girl with orange hair."
Ryoga grabbed a teakettle from an unseen location and poured its
contents onto Ranma's head. "There. Now do you recognize your friend?"
Mihoshi stared at Ranma all over again. "Oh my gosh, it's a
black-haired boy! But there was a girl there just a few seconds ago! Oh,
wow, you must be a magician or something, because there was a girl and
now all of a sudden there's a boy, or maybe you just kidnapped that
little girl when I wasn't paying attention, in which case you're a
criminal and I'll have to place you under arrest, but I can't really
place you under arrest without evidence, although the girl is gone and
that seems to me to be evidence enough -"
"That's enough, Mihoshi," complained a voice from behind the crate.
Mihoshi's tirade ended abruptly. "Tenchi, is that you?"
"Yes, it's me," said Tenchi, standing up.
"Oh, Tenchi, I'm so glad to see you!" shouted Mihoshi, barreling
over Ryoga and Ranma as she ran to hug Tenchi. "You don't know what it's
like! I was so lost, and this guy wanted to help me, but he was just as
lost as I was!"
"Great," said Tenchi. "It's nice to see you too." He carefully pried
Mihoshi off of himself. "I think Mihoshi's probably the second to last
person I would have wanted to see. The only person worse would have
been -"
"Yoo-hoo! Tenchi!" called a voice from above. "Here I come!" Tenchi
couldn't dodge quickly enough as Ryoko swooped down and grabbed him
around the waist, knocking the air out of him. "How wonderful that I
found you at last!" She cast furtive glances up and down the street.
"Ayeka isn't around here, is she?"
"I haven't seen her," answered Tenchi.
"You VIXEN!" screamed Kodachi as she peeled herself off of the
sidewalk. "How could you drop me like that? Have you no respect for -
Ranma darling!" She quickly composed herself and threw her arms around
Ranma. "How I've longed for an opportunity such as this one to present
itself!"
"Opportunity? What the heck are you talking about?"
"Well, now that Akane's out of the picture, you'll be able to love
only me."
"No way! Not today, not ever!" shouted Ranma, throwing Kodachi over
his shoulder and into the air.
"You'll love me someday, darling!" shouted Kodachi as she flew out
of sight.
"Darn," said Ryoko. "Now I'll never learn the secret."
"Secret?" asked Tenchi. "Why does that sound so unpleasant coming
from you?"
Before Ryoko could come up with a witty retort, a crystal floated
down the street. "What's that?" asked Ryoga.
"It's Ryo-Ohki!" Ryoko held out her arms. "Come to me, Ryo-Ohki!"
"Meow!" Ryo-Ohki changed into cabbit form and landed in Ryoko's
arms.
"What the heck is that thing?" asked Ranma, backing away. "It looks
like a rabbit, but it sounds like a -" Ryo-Ohki jumped onto Ranma's
shoulder and meowed happily. "- c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-CAT!" Ranma screamed
and ran, smacking into a wall in his panicked efforts to escape from the
cabbit.
"Meow?" asked Ryo-Ohki, confused.
"Get it off me!" shouted Ranma, running in circles now. "GET IT OFF
ME!"
"You'd better get it off of him," said Ryoga. "Before he starts
meowing."
"Meow," said Ranma, dropping to all fours.
"Meow!" shouted Ryo-Ohki, jumping onto Mihoshi's shoulder. She
hissed at Ranma, who hissed back. Ryo-Ohki cowered atop Mihoshi's
shoulder, but Ranma quickly lost interest in her and turned away.
"What's he doing?" asked Mihoshi, as Ranma began to lick his hands
and wash behind his ears.
"He's acting like a cat," explained Ryoga. "Allow me." He produced a
bucket of cold water and splashed it on Ranma. Ranma spluttered and
stood up.
"Wow!" shouted Mihoshi. "The girl's back! Did you see which way that
boy who kidnapped you went? He was here just a while ago, ever since you
first disappeared..."
"That's odd," said Ryoko, staring at Ranma. "He just changed into a
girl." She prodded Ranma's chest with a finger. Ranma clenched a fist
and sent Ryoko flying with a powerful punch to the face.
"These are the people you hang out with, Tenchi?" asked Ranma.
"Yeah," answered Tenchi, rubbing the back of his neck. "They can be
really nice, once you get to know them." He turned to Ryo-Ohki, who was
still perched atop Mihoshi's shoulder. "Ryo-Ohki, I think you'd better
stay away from Ranma from now on, OK?"
"Meow," agreed Ryo-Ohki. Ranma cringed.
"That thing's not really some kind of cat, is it?" asked Ranma.
"No, it's really a spaceship," answered Tenchi.
Ranma froze in place. "A spaceship?"
"Meow!" shouted Ryo-Ohki, leaping into the air.
"Ryo-Ohki," began Tenchi, "maybe you'd better not -" He was drowned
out by the sound of crashing masonry as Ryo-Ohki converted to spaceship
mode in the middle of the street, extending arms through the surrounding
walls and deep into the street. "Maybe you should stick to girl form,"
sighed Tenchi. "That'll probably cause the least trouble."
"I wouldn't bet on it," said Ryoga. "Whenever Ranma's around, girl
forms are trouble magnets."
*************************************************
"Are you sure this is the place?" asked Kiyone.
"Hey, I may not be able to see very well, but I'm not Ryoga,"
replied Mousse. "I know exactly where I am. The Cat Cafe."
Kiyone checked the sign. "Well, it is the right place... who's
Ryoga?"
"You're better off not knowing," said Mousse, stepping into the
restaurant. Kiyone shrugged and followed him inside.
"Miss Kiyone!" shouted a voice from one of the back tables. "You
made it!" Mayuka ran to give Kiyone a hug.
"I'm glad to see a familiar face," said Kiyone. "At least this means
I'm not the only one who got sent here by that demon."
"Little Washu says that everyone's here, even Daddy."
"What about Mihoshi?" asked Kiyone, with an edge of hope in her
voice.
"She's here too," replied Washu from the back table. "I can't
pinpoint anyone's location exactly, but all nine of us are definitely in
this city."
Kiyone swore under her breath. "Another opportunity lost!" She
sighed. "Oh well. I suppose we have to figure out how we're all going to
get back."
"I'm one step ahead of you," said Washu. "I've already devoted quite
a bit of time to finding a way back. After countless hours of research
and a great deal of study into the exact nature of the dimensional
anomaly, I have finally discovered the answer!"
"Which is?"
Washu held up a finger. "There's no way back! None at all!" She
beamed proudly.
Kiyone's face fell. "What? How can that be?"
Washu cleared her throat. "I can't access my terminal from this
dimension, and it has everything I'd need for the dimensional
transportation. There's no way I can get us back."
"Just great," said Kiyone. "Things couldn't get much worse."
"I wouldn't say that," replied Washu darkly. "The demon followed us
here."
Kiyone's mouth went dry. "That's worse, all right."
"Apparently, sending us to this dimension was only part of the
demon's true purpose. Maybe there's something it needs to do that
requires us being in this dimension."
"So, we're trapped in this dimension with a huge demon chasing after
us, you can't access your terminal to figure out what to do, and we
still don't know exactly where everyone else is?"
"That's about the size of it," agreed Washu.
"Oh, Miss Kiyone!" enthused Mayuka. "Isn't it great to be back among
friends?"
"Yeah," said Kiyone dryly. "I'm so thrilled."
Cologne approached the table. "Did I hear you three young ladies
discussing a demon?"
"That's right," said Kiyone.
"My son-in-law should be able to help you defeat this demon. He'd
find it a useful training exercise. That is, if you don't mind having
some assistance..."
Kiyone instantly brightened up. "Do you really think he would help
us?"
"Of course," answered the old woman. "He's an experienced demon
fighter who won't back down from a challenge."
"He sounds like a really nice guy," said Mayuka. "Your daughter is
very lucky to be marrying someone like him."
Mousse banged his fist on the table. "No! It's not true! Shampoo is
going to marry me!"
"You big stupid Mousse," said Shampoo. "Shampoo never marry you."
Cologne sighed. "They're sweet kids, really. Mousse will escort you
to the Tendo dojo. You'll be able to find Ranma there."
"Thank you very much, miss," said Kiyone. "We really appreciate your
help."
"It's no trouble at all," replied Cologne. "Anything to get more
training for my future son-in-law."
"I tell you, it's not true!" shouted Mousse. Shampoo groaned and
threw a bucket of cold water on his head. "Quack! Quack!"
Washu and Kiyone leapt to their feet and edged warily away from the
table on which Mousse was now flapping his way out of the overturned
bucket. Mayuka picked him up. "Oh, what a cute duck!"
"Did someone mention something cute?" asked a tiny voice from the
doorway. "Maybe my Carmichael went in here!"
"Come along, Azusa," said a much more mature voice. "We have skating
practice in ten minutes."
"Carmichael! I want my Carmichael!"
Kiyone, Washu, and Mayuka sweatdropped. "Who was that?" asked
Kiyone.
"No one important," answered Cologne. Before she could elaborate, a
loud splash caught the attention of the four women. They turned to see a
very smug looking duck holding an overturned bucket above a wet, fuming
cat.
"It just keeps getting weirder," said Kiyone.
*************************************************
From the upstairs bedroom of the Tendo home, Ayeka heard the front
door open. "That must be Ranma!" said Akane. "Come on downstairs, and
I'll introduce you."
"Perhaps later," said Ayeka. "I'm not in the best of spirits at the
moment. I should wait until I'm more presentable before meeting your
fiance."
"Okay," said Akane. "You can rest here as long as you want." She
left the room.
Ayeka sighed. "What would Sasami say if she knew that I was being so
rude to my hosts? She always insisted that I greeted Tenchi each
morning, whether I felt like it or not." She stood up. "Very well. I
shall keep my sister at heart and say hello despite my mood." She
brushed a tear from her eye. "Perhaps someday I may find her again..."
Ayeka slowly made her way down the stairs, listening to the voices
coming from below. Some of them sounded vaguely familiar, but most of
them were unrecognizable. However, a particular meow stood out against
the rest of the voices. Ayeka nearly ran down the stairs. There in the
foyer was Ryo-Ohki in girl form, as well as Mihoshi and...
"Lord Tenchi!" shouted Ayeka excitedly. She gave him a huge hug.
"I'm so glad to see you! I was worried I would never see you again!"
"Miss Ayeka..." replied Tenchi. "I'm glad to see that you're okay
too."
"Wow!" enthused Mihoshi. "If Princess Ayeka's here too, maybe all of
us got sent to the same place. Do you think so, Tenchi?"
"I sure hope so," said Tenchi. "If we can find the others, I'm sure
Washu will be able to come up with a plan for getting us back home."
"Meow! Meow!" Ryo-Ohki pushed her way between Tenchi and Ayeka,
demanding to be picked up and hugged.
Ranma cringed in the corner. "Could you get her to stop meowing like
that?" she asked. "Even if she looks like a girl, she still sounds like
a cat."
Ryoga put his hand on Ranma's shoulder. "What's the matter, Ranma?
Can't you even stand a little meow now and again?"
Ranma picked Ryoga up and held him over her head. "Let's see how you
like being bundled up in fish sausages and thrown into a pit of starving
cats every day for a few years! Think you'll be laughing then?"
"Did he just call that little girl Ranma?" Ayeka asked Akane. "The
same name as your fiance?"
"That's right. That's Ranma Saotome."
"Is your fiance really a... girl?"
Akane sighed. "No. Let me show you." She turned toward the kitchen
and shouted. "Kasumi!"
"Here I come," answered Kasumi immediately, carrying a teakettle
full of hot water. Akane poured the water on Ranma's head. Ayeka and
Mihoshi gasped as Ranma turned into a boy.
"It's the kidnapper!" shouted Mihoshi.
Ryoga hit Mihoshi on the head. "He's not a kidnapper!" he yelled.
"He turns into a girl when he gets splashed with cold water, and turns
back into a boy when splashed with hot water! What's so hard to
understand about that?"
Mihoshi didn't answer. She was unconscious.
Ryoga stared at his fist. "I didn't think I'd hit her that hard."
"You idiot!" shouted Ranma. "They're not martial artists like we
are! You can't smack them in the head and expect them to just laugh it
off!"
A thud from near the staircase silenced the pair. Everyone turned to
see Ayeka lying on the floor, fainted dead away. "See!" said Ranma. "You
hit Mihoshi so hard that Ayeka went unconscious too!"
"That wasn't my fault!" shouted Ryoga. "She was surprised from
seeing you change, that's all!"
"Hey, you think you might be able to scare Akane the same way?"
asked Ranma, grabbing a bucket of cold water.
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Are they always like this?" Tenchi asked Akane.
Akane nodded slowly. "It's a regular circus act around here."
Tenchi sighed. "It's just like being back home..."
--------------------------------------------------------------------
BURNS: What is this? Some kind of force field around these vegetables!
HOMER: That's the sneeze guard. You have to lean under it to get food or
sneeze on stuff.
JOHNNY BRAVO: *sigh* The only woman I ever really loved... and she's
gone. I wonder if I'll ever get over - Hey! Nuggets!
JACKIE CHAN: Oh, sorry. I broke your spy camera! (pause) SPY CAMERA?!
My webpage: http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~katinamp