DB Sommer wrote:
And returning to this as I said I would:
Happy day!
Sorry for the delay!
Ditto. On the bright side, only 2 more Novermbers to do.
And it's now February. ;)
reavers with a Silence Glaive Surprise, I mistakenly referred to
Ranma's gem as blue, when it should have been green then.
Makes sense. BTW, you might want to consider breaking these larger chapters
into smaller pieces to people can C+C them more easily.
Already implimented.
Only to remember that he wasn't wearing a shirt. He grimaced, but
looking down, found he actually was wearing a shirt. The white
Chinese shirt and the blue pants he was most fond of.
Hmm. Sounds like a dream sequence.
Yep.
stones. "Greetings," the soft voice said again. Not in the manner of
someone who is gentle, but in the manner of someone who was afraid
of breaking whoever it was they were speaking with.
Interesting way of putting it.
Thanks. :)
and he growled, turning to face her. "And what the hell is it with
women walking around me like that, huh? What am I to you -- a piece
of meat, or something?" he snapped abruptly.
Girl: Worth about $5.50 a pound my my reckoning.
Girl: It's how we mark our territory.
Light poured from its point of origin, the single brightly glowing
point,
'point's close together. I'd change one.
Done.
gathered into the point of darkness in swirling eddies and currents.
"That," the woman said, indicating the light, "is the domain of my
youngest sister. She does not concern me, for her realm will enter
mine and be finished. It is of no import."
Then why bring it up? :)
Her grasp of 'reality' is a little skewed.
"Because," the woman explained to him in the same patronizing tone,
"you are mine, to do with as I please."
Ranma: I see, so you must want me to give you the finger like this.
(promptly sticks out his middle finger towards her)
Heh!
"Hmm," she mused. "When they fashioned you they made a mistake. For
each is allowed only one. And in making you, they created you for
anyone... and that one shall be me."
Ranma; Jinkies. It's another woman after me.
Ranma: Who didn't see that one coming?
Tenchi (Raising his hand slowly): Me?
Oh ho. So the Reavers are hers? Interesting.
Now, who is she? ;)
Ranma: Well, a wise fellow once said, 'a man can't choose his destiny, but
he can always fight against it.'
Never heard that one. I like it, though.
herself. Her plans had included avoiding sleep to work on devices
that could make a difference in the battle against the reavers. Not
having Ranma pull her onto the bed and knock her out.
Akane, Ukyou, and Shampoo: Oh, if only our plans had gone awry that way.
Heh!
Had she been planning on it, she could have switched herself for a
doll easily.
A Barbie one with a larger bust, though Ranma would probably never know the
difference.
Ouch.... I meant a Washuu-doll, like in the OAVs. ;)
Washuu winced. "Still loyal? I'm envious, Ranma. Whoever you end up
with is going to be a lucky woman indeed.
Biiko Diamatku: And thus he shall be mine. Ohhohohoho.
Daimatku? You mean Daitokuji?
Ranma twitched once, then bolted upright so strongly that he wrenched
himself free of Nuku, and slammed into the ceiling with a resounding
'whang'. "Ung," he grunted.
"Time to go back to sleep," as his eyes rolled back into his head.
He's more durable than that.
Well, now, anyway.
The smaller one was dangerous.
Nah, they're all dangerous. She's just the most dangerous of the lot.
Hah!
Shaking his head, he rose. He commanded the battle group, let the
captain manage the ship.
Besides, Captain's don't like people trying to command their vessels. They
command the vessels. The will obey commands from their superiors, but the
captain runs the ship.
.... Right.
informational updates, he walked towards his own rooms.
room
Ack!
Washuu's smile disappeared immediately. "Oh," she said in a small
voice. "That's, um, true. Er... I suppose I had it coming to me,
anyway." Wincing, she asked, "You're not upset with me, are you?"
Ranma hesitated, considering that for a long moment. In all truth,
she couldn't have done more in his
probably ought to be 'her' there.
Whoops. >_<
The scientist nodded, absorbed in the task of brushing out the odd
looking spike of hair atop Nuku's head. "I'll tame you yet,"
Good luck.
:)
muttered quietly. Raising her voice, she added, "Okay, Ranma. Try
and relax, for today. I don't think we're in danger, and you've
hardly had a moment to rest since..."
You had your innerds removed and replaced with mass.
Ranma: Oddly, I seem to have lost my appetite.
They had taken refuge aboard one of the last ships to set out,
separated from Ranma as they were. He had said to board the Kitty
Hawk, but the crewmen wouldn't let anyone else board, and they were
forced to fall back on another ship. It was a cargo ship,
originally, though most of the cargo was dumped overboard to make
room for people.
Making it human cargo.
Well, yes....
The end result was that
think you can drop this 'that'
Right.
propped open enough to allow airflow. The young ladies were
especially distraught over the affair, explaining that they had
secret identities to maintain.
That's kind of moot now, since most of their families are probably dead now.
Evacuated, actually.
Mousse answered
after a moment, producing a toothbrush and a small bottle of water
>from his robes, "No... I have a futon in the nekohanten. I sleep in
the storeroom when I'm not locked in a cage."
Yosho: That's 'had' and 'slept. I think you'd better get used to using past
tense verbs.
Mousse: Oh, hush. Grant me my petty delusions.
fresh water and food enough for myself and a few others is something
nearly any martial artist who's familiar with travelling can
accomplish. But all of these people?"
If they're lucky than can scavenge disused crops.
Possibly.
already known of -- and exposed -- Makoto's identity, but the rest
were all
can drop this 'all'
Done.
"It should be interesting," he mused, "to work with rebels as allies."
Eh? He knows something?
Could be.
when the Council convened, their votes were given less weight, and
they considered this to be unjust."
Yeah. I would call it discrimination too.
Right.
was left without recourse, because Masaki and Tatsuki were united in
claiming that the vote of Amatera was valid... and Amaki and Kamiki
were united in denying their vote.
Could always flip a coin.
That'd be too easy!
"Yes. The 'Doom Tree' is a better name for it," the woman spat. "They
wanted nothing more than to kill us!"
Yosho: well, that's not really all that surprising. I find you annoying and
want to kill you as well. I assume this is a common problem you have, people
you've never met coming out of nowhere and trying to kill you?
Setsuna: As a matter of fact, ye-- HEY!
It was fate, he decided. Fate that had led him to the scroll that he
was told would let him build a school.
Not like there's really time to build a school at the moment.
Not really.
He had no idea what to make of the girl, and what had begun for him
as a simple fling to while away the time long ago, was now something
that was apparently very important to her. His brows furrowed,
trying to sort things out.
Heh. It would be kind of amusing to see him as a sort of bastard about it.
Pardon?
First things first, he needed the Umisen-ken, even if he wouldn't
have the opportunity to actually build a school until after all of
the monsters were killed. And then he needed to figure out how to
resolve things with Makoto.
Ryu: Hey, Mako-chan, you know all those romantic thoughts and kisses I
shared with you way back when?
Makoto: Yes, sempai.
Ryu: I didn't mean them. I was just trying to get into your pants.
Makoto: I can respect that.
Ryu: This is tougher than I thought.
*snicker*
Evil man.
Sulking, he continued onward, his thoughts again turning to Ranma and
the scroll. Yosho stopped suddenly, as they reached the bow of the
ship,
A good reason to stop suddenly. Running out of ship, I mean.
.... Well, yes.
Ryouga nodded pensively. "It's a jusenkyou
Jusenkyou
Changed.
When the door opened, Nuku pounced on Ranma immediately,
Better than her pouncing on Mousse.
For his sake, yes.
Nuku pointed to a small door near the back of the room wordlessly.
Nodding, Ranma strode to it, phasing through it without effort.
Through the door lay a small washroom, though all Ranma was able to
make out at the moment was a nearly blinding haze of steam, and a
large reddish blur that he took to be Washuu's hair.
Heh.
Obligitory shower scene.
Nuku had slowly climbed onto the bed, crouched on all fours, and was
staring at the duck closely, while Mousse slowly edged away. Nuku
fell backwards and rolled to a sitting position. "Papa-san, will you
play with me?" she asked plaintively.
That would be an extraordinarily bad thing on a ship. It might sink a
little.
Oh, right. Forgot about that.
Called to attention, he turned to Nuku, whose head was cocked to one
side, and had both ear-like sensors raised. "Yeah?"
"Is that Yosho-san?"
She can't tell with her sensors?
Not over that distance.
Hesitantly, Ryu explained, "It's one half of two schools. The
Yamasen-ken and the Umisen-ken. I've been told that when someone has
both scrolls, they can build a dojo with it."
Ryu: Well, with that and a low interest loan.
Or several.
Yosho nodded, and Ranma tapped the jewel hanging from his ear.
"Washuu? Yosho's here." He remained silent for a moment, eyes
tracking something unseen to the others, then nodded abruptly.
"Okay. Yosho? She's going to send Norris around to show you where
she is.
Oh. Norris is now her butler or something?
As far as she's concerned.
Cologne shrugged, sinking to sit in a cross-legged position, and
ignoring the people who drew close to watch. "Nothing we can do. If
Ranma loses, I'll challenge that 'Ryu' boy myself, and win them
back.
Heh. Cute.
Or the like.
Cologne sighed, shaking her head, and explained, "They're both
holding back. A lot. Ranma's worried because he can't tell how much
Ryu's holding back, but Ryu seems to think that he's sounded out
Ranma pretty well."
Interesting.
At the very least.
Grinning, Ryu drew his hands to his chest, stepping towards Ranma and
yelling, "Oh no! The old woman!"
"I'll save her!" Ranma shouted, grabbing a surprised Ryu by the neck and
throwing him like a javelin in the direction he had indicated.
Ranma vs. Segata Sanshiro. THERE'S a thought....
Shaking his head, Ryu assumed a defensive posture, and beckoned Ranma
closer. Ranma grimaced, but nodded, and set himself, springing
towards Ryu like an unleashed tiger.
In the opposite direction. Apparently 'Fierce Crouching Tiger' was a move
Genma gave to the Yamisenken style as well.
Uh....
Centering himself, Ryu drew his hands towards his chest. "I didn't
want to have to do this," he warned, "but you left me with no
choice. Kijin raiyashu-dan!" As he drew his hands apart, a booming
shockwave of force and vacuum swept out from his outstretched hands,
screaming in a line directly for Ranma.
Luckily for Ranma, he could now stand being in a vacuum, and the attack was
ineffectual.
Actually, he could. But such is the nature of the attack, etc....
We'll call it dramatic license, and hope no one notices. :p
Ryu sneered. "It wins the battle, doesn't it?"
Ranma: Not this one.
Yep.
"Bastard!" Makoto shrieked, losing what control she had, "How could
you?"
Ranma; Well, it has to do with all of those really painful fatal to a normal
human attacks he was hitting me with.
It could be.
While Ryouga fretted nearby, unsure of what to say, Nuku had pulled
Ranma up from the deck and clutched him to herself protectively,
muttering, quietly, "Took mama-san away... took papa-san away...
took Eimi-chan away... took Ryunosuke away..."
Death: Hey, I'm just doing my job.
Nuku-Nuku: Nuku-Nuku doesn't like Death!
Death: Now that's just not fair!
And what a horrible day it had been.
Strike.
Her mother, her father, Soun, and Terry.
All that was in one day? Thought it was longer.
Yep. All of The middle of two to the end of five, one day.
"He... he died yesterday."
Hotaru: Oh. Mine went insane and died. It looks like we have something in
common.
Ranma: Well, I guess.
Ranma blinked, as the girl smiled triumphantly, and swooned, falling
to one side, and off the edge of the ship. It took less time to
think about, than to teleport to her side, catching her carefully
and using his levitation to dampen the landing for her.
Whoops. Tends to be a bit more faint than I remember.
She wore herself out trying to heal him. More on that later....
All of those people above him, he thought, and yet, he was some place
someplace
Whoops.
"Um, Sir, we're missing an F-18."
"Where the hell does an entire _plane_ go, petty officer?"
Yes. That is the question, isn't it?
Ran-oh-ki didn't move, and Ranma ended up picking up his partner atop
his head. He made a soft noise, and Ranma wordlessly encouraged him
to be silent for a moment. Stealing food was one thing, he thought,
but his partner had some fairly expensive taste.
Oh, I see. Boy. Hungery little bugger.
Indeed!
She stared at him for a moment, picking up and fiddling with one of
the devices that lay scattered about the table. "Okay," she said
hesitantly. "Just make yourself comfortable. I'm working on the lure
at the moment, and I'm going to try..." she trailed off, turning
back to the machine intently. "Try," she resumed a heartbeat later,
"to build something to distill sea water to drinking purity.
Something to last a few days, at least."
For a genius of her caliber, she should be able to whip up one in minutes.
Well....
"Yes," she replied absently, tapping a small box on the side of the
cylinder as it lit up. "Aha! This task was a mere nothing for a
genius of my caliber!"
Like I said. :)
Heh.
Shaking her head and staring towards the carrier they were headed
for, Setsuna tried to sort her thoughts out. Firstly, her plans had
been completely destroyed by the arrival of the aliens. Secondly,
her pride had taken a considerable bruising because of the
embarrassment of having some... alien... show up and do the senshi
one better. Thirdly, she _knew_ she had made a mistake in letting
the girl in the past live.
It looks that way, if it had anything to do with this.
It might have. :)
"I had to slow her pet half-demon down with a Dead Scream," Setsuna
muttered. "After that I told her that she couldn't rewrite history
as she saw fit -- no matter how tempting it might be."
Setsuna: That's my job.
"Oh." There was a long, silent moment. "Why not?"
And that was the fourth thing bothering Setsuna. "Because if history
is altered, Crystal Tokyo might not become a reality,"
And in its stead, something better might arise. But she doesn't want to
consider that. :P
Likely.
Once he had done so, Ran-oh-ki collapsed contentedly, sleeping in
Ranma's lap with a contented
Two 'contended's, I'd change one.
Eeeee.... fixed. :)
The rest of the journey became a muted blur for Usagi, until she was
let into the room where Makoto lay.
rested. (Since you use lay in the next sentence)
Oddly enough, I already made that change. But it's a good
suggestion! It must be -- I already used it. :)
seemingly asleep, on a cot. At her side, on a slightly higher and
very clean bed, lay Ryu, though his wrist was secured to a guardrail
with a solid looking
solid-looking (I think)
Okay.
Tsunami wrestled with herself.
Learning Ryouko's self-replication trick had been fun and opened up all
sorts of new possiblities.
Hah!
The stone came to a stop at the base of the pile, and Ranma realized
that it was no stone at all -- it was a grinning skull.
Heh. Knew it.
Phooey. :p
Setsuna was the first to break the silence, placing a hand on
Hotaru's shoulder absently. "Why," the woman mused, "do I have the
feeling that things just got much, much more confusing?"
And worse. But only the future will let us know for sure.
Truly a monster, but you got a lot accomplished. The SM cast are starting to
make their presense known. Reavers didn't appear forthe first time in a
while. Events are unfolding slowly and surely. Hope to get to more soon.
Thanks. :p
The rest of the chapters from here on out should be released in a
part A/part B format for ease of C&Cing -- I know _I_ hate to C&C 100k+
fics in one swell foop.
D.B. Sommer
Thank you VERY much for taking the time to C&C this for me!