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Process of Elimination -- Chapter Eleven -- Part Two
Disclaimer: The primary colors in this story are from Takahashi, Viz
(Ranma 1/2), Pioneer (Tenchi Muyo!), and Kitty Films, Naoko Takeuchi
(Sailor Moon).
Additional tinting provided by: Takada Yuuzou, and Kodansha (3x3
Eyes), and Takada Yuuzou, and A.D.Vision (Bannou Bunka Nekomusume
Nuku-Nuku). The easel is mine. That's all.
Notes: Diverges from Ranma after volume 24, continuation for OAV 2
in the Tenchi universe (well, one of them). Nuku Nuku is from the OAVs,
not TV. Sailor Moon occurs, well, at some point in the series, but it's
something of an alt anyway. 3x3 Eyes diverges before OAV2. This fic uses
the bizarrely vague 'Pick One!' scenario. Enjoy.
-----------------------------
"She achieved a great many unlikely and unexpected results, but
we've grown used to that from her. Her new partner, however, was like a
rising nova among glow-lights -- I don't know that I've seen a finer
Galaxy Police officer in all my time."
Commander in Chief, Galaxy Police, further identification withheld
-- Mentioned at a munitions conference in New Terran year 005.
Washuu thanked Ranma quietly as he set her down, a few steps away
from the Galaxy Police cruiser. Mihoshi jumped when the pair appeared,
and Oe nodded from where he was, leaning against the side of the craft
and looking more than a little winded. "Good to see you again, Mihoshi,"
she said, managing a weak smile. "I hope you're not going to have any
more trouble with piloting your ship?"
She shook her head, pointing at Kintaro. "Nope!" she exclaimed
brightly, her surprise at Ranma's appearance dismissed instantly. "He's
flying for me, now! He's pretty good at it!"
The scientist took a moment to appraise the young man, now staring
at the red craft. "It kind of reminds me of my bicycle," he said after a
moment. "But I had to leave that behind when I got on a ship."
"Um, right. Mihoshi, where is the rest of the fleet?"
Mihoshi put her finger to her lips thoughtfully, and said, "Well,
the extra troops are being dropped off in Australia like you said, and
we're going to leave a few ships there so that we can defend the entire
place because we don't want anything bad to happen, but the rest of the
ships won't be here until tomorrow."
"Hyperspace, and me without a relay," Washuu grumbled. That meant
that they couldn't be contacted very easily until they arrived. "Okay,
Mihoshi, we're headed a few hundred kilometers west of here, we're going
to establish a resistance point, and try to defend it while luring all
the reavers there so that places like Australia will be safe. What we
need for the fleet to do as soon as they arrive is grab everyone that
they can in a spiral pattern branching outward from about six hundred
kilometers from.... Actually, I have the coordinates, will you remember
them?"
Oe pulled a book that was tucked into his belt out, and snapped it
open, setting pen to paper instantly. "Where is it?" he asked.
"Right, you remember where we're going, Oe. The Galaxy Police should
avoid coming within a hundred kilometers of the area, because the
reavers might find a way to take down the ships. However, we need all
the people from this radius outward evacuated. In the navigational
computer that's going to translate into a hundred kilometer sphere
around this point." Closing her eyes, she rattled off the number, which
Oe studiously recorded before snapping his book shut and tucking it back
into his belt.
"Okay!" he said cheerfully, glancing at Mihoshi. "What next?"
"The rat says about a dozen reavers are headed this way," Ranma said
suddenly, breaking the silence. "I think they can detect the ship, or
something. You should probably leave."
Mihoshi yelped, backing away nervously. "Scary!" she said. "Who are
you?"
"Higurashi Ranma," he said tersely. "Washuu?"
Washuu sighed, turning back to Ranma. "Of course," she mumbled. "I'm
sorry, Mihoshi, you and Oe should join the rest of your fleet. I can
contact you later. Be careful, okay?"
"Okay, Washuu-chan!" the blonde chirped, waving goodbye as Kintaro
climbed back into the craft.
Ranma gathered her into his arms and teleported them again, moments
before the ship lifted off, climbing upwards swiftly. Back at the
caravan, Eric and Norris were already poring over the instruction
manuals to the kinetic displacement beams, with Yosho translating. Both
of the Marines looked up when she arrived, saluting sharply.
After Ranma set her down again, she asked, "Where are they now?"
"Backing off," he replied, one hand on the hilt of his sword, eyes
distant. "I guess they decided it's not worth it. I think they know
exactly what the decoy is, and they just don't care."
"A possibility," Yakumo replied, coming back into sight from around
one of the busses. "Are we ready to go?"
"Once these are loaded up," Washuu said, indicating the weapon
crates. "Norris, your men should use these, Fuji-san, you might want one
too. They work a little bit like the positronic laser rifles, but
they've got slightly better power-sources. Cologne says we should reach
her village later today, and that means that we'll have a base soon.
Okay, everybody get ready to move out!"
***
Back aboard the vehicle, once the convoy was moving again, Rei
studied the sheathed weapon sitting on her lap. Mamoru had showed her
the basic forms, but they seemed to echo against some older memory, and
she had slipped into a slightly modified stance, almost as though her
body knew how to use the weapon instinctively.
Unbidden, another of the submerged memories arose, a sword in her
hand cleaving the air before her, rending a foe and reducing it beyond
ash. She shivered, banishing the weapon to that pocket of space it
generally resided in.
Usagi sat by Mamoru's side on the opposite side of the bus, leaning
against him, eyes curiously distant. She had been unnaturally quiet the
entire day, though Rei couldn't imagine why. Hotaru sat at Rei's side,
her glaive vanished to the same place as Rei's sword while she stared
out the window tiredly. "I slept through the stop," she said quietly. "I
wanted to see Ranma-san."
Rei felt her face grow slightly warm, remembering how he had carried
her about the moon to retrieve the sword. She could have stepped away
from him without worry for the atmosphere, but something felt...
right... about being close to him. At the same time, even if Hotaru's
infatuation was little more than a crush, she felt guilty about making
an attempt at Ranma. He was so strange, so alien.... So driven.
And he'd saved her life, of course, when she got struck by a reaver.
Simply being close to him and feeling that strange healing power....
Stranger still that he became a girl to do it. Still, Hotaru didn't seem
put off in the slightest. "You can see him next time, Hotaru-chan," she
assured the girl.
Hotaru turned to regard Rei curiously, then smiled brightly,
nodding. "Okay," she said quietly. "I need to remind him that he's my
boyfriend, after all."
Rei couldn't help but chuckle at that. "You know, Hotaru-chan,
that's not normally the way it works," she chastised.
"We're not normal people," Hotaru countered.
Rei's laughter died in her throat with a small strangling noise, as
she stared at Hotaru. The smaller girl turned to look out the window
again, apparently oblivious to Rei's discomfort at the remark. It may
have been true, but it didn't feel pleasant to consider. "Maybe you're
right," Rei managed after a minute, frowning unhappily. "But we're still
people."
"Of course," Hotaru said, smiling as she glanced back to Rei. "We
just need to do things differently."
Staring at the smaller girl in front of her, Rei couldn't help but
laugh again. "You sure have an odd way of seeing things," she said after
a moment.
Hotaru merely nodded, turning to stare out the window once more.
***
Tapping at her terminal quietly, Washuu sat near the front of the
large bus as it trundled down the road, Ranma at her side, though he
seemed uncomfortable and confined in his seat. Norris was behind her,
speaking with Pavel and Patterson quietly. Yosho had disappeared --
Washuu wasn't certain where yet, but likely nearby.
The man had a knack for disappearing when he felt like doing so.
Banishing her terminal for the moment, Washuu turned to regard Ranma,
fidgeting with the armrest of his seat. "Ranma?" she asked carefully.
"Are you okay?"
He nodded quickly, turning to regard her. "Of course," he said
levelly. "What would be wrong?"
"Nearly getting run down by Mihoshi's ship, maybe?" Washuu asked,
narrowing her eyes and dropping her voice. "I'm not asking if you're
wounded, Ranma, I'm asking you if you're okay."
Blinking a few times, he managed a slow nod in understanding. "Oh,"
he said quietly. "Um. I guess so. Just... tired. Just a little tired is
all."
"Well, we're going to be reaching Cologne's village soon, right,
Ranma? Once we get there it's pretty much all over. We'll be able to
hold out there until everyone can be evacuated."
"I guess," he responded quietly. "I don't know. I'm fine." He shook
his head, staring away moodily, and offering a weak smile towards Nuku's
dozing form. "Just trying to make sure we can stay ahead of the reavers."
"That's everyone's problem, not just yours," she chastised him.
"You've done almost nothing but fight and train nonstop since I've met
you. Don't you ever relax?"
"I read manga," he said quietly. "Sometimes, anyway. We don't get a
lot of money but they're pretty cheap, Pops would usually give me a
couple hundred yen once or twice a month when we were staying with the
Tendos."
Washuu stared at him, while he refused to meet her gaze. "That's
it?" she asked quietly. "You read manga and train? That's all you ever did?"
"Well, mostly," he mumbled. "I like Caravan Kidd." He shook his
head, turning to regard Washuu curiously. "I thought you knew."
"We've hardly gotten a chance to know each other as well as I would
have liked, Ranma," she informed him wryly. "Tell me."
"Not much to tell. Pops trained me to be a martial artist since I
was a little kid, and we went to China a couple years ago for the
training trip. I told you the part about the curse." Ranma's face
darkened, and he looked away moodily. "And you remember the rest, don't
you?"
"Or can infer it from what Cologne's told me," Washuu said quietly.
"But that's not what I asked, Ranma. I wanted you to tell me."
"Oh. Well, okay, I guess," Ranma mumbled, scratching his head as he
considered what to say.
Ran-oh-ki made a quiet noise, curling up comfortably in Washuu's
lap. The scientist absently scratched the creature's ears, watching
Ranma expectantly.
***
It was a few hours before sunset that the makeshift and ragtag
caravan found the first signs of trouble. The convoy of busses came to a
halt, drivers stumbling out and chattering over the radio to communicate
their discoveries.
Washuu sighed, while Ranma cast about curiously. At the very least,
she'd gotten him to relax a little, if his stories were all quite
strange. Still there were more pressing matters to attend. She rose,
stepping off of the bus and attended immediately by Ranma and Nuku.
Ran-oh-ki had roused and transferred himself to Ranma's shoulder, as
Washuu glanced around the area.
In a somewhat more mountainous region, the road was narrower, lined
on both sides by steep and thickly wooded slopes. The hills gave Washuu
an uncertain and nervous sensation, though she did her best to ignore
it. There were no reavers too close, or Ranma wouldn't have been as
relaxed as he was. "What's the problem?" she asked Norris, curious.
He stood a short distance away, radio to his ear, and scowling.
"Okay," he said after a moment. "I'll pass it on to her. Over." Dropping
the radio to his side, he shook his head, offering, "The bridge ahead is
out. There's a river just around the bend." Gesturing, he indicated the
road where it curved out of sight a few dozen meters away. "You might
want to check it out. What are your orders?"
Washuu shrugged, glancing at the sun and squinting for a moment. "We
can freeze the river," she stated confidently, turning to face Norris.
"But I want to look at the bridge and see how it was destroyed."
So saying, she strode forward, while Norris nodded his
understanding. "Dew's team is checking it out at the moment," he said,
trotting ahead.
Passing around the bulk of the hill revealed the river to view, some
other Marines and defenders already staring towards it. The bridge was
long gone, its remnants swept away by the rushing torrent of water. Late
spring snowmelt had flooded the river to much more than its normal
depth, or possibly a dam upstream had been burst. That possibility
didn't please Washuu, but the scientist ignored it for the moment,
walking to the edge of the bridge, where the concrete cut off abruptly.
The remnants of the bridge were still a few meters higher than the
rushing flow, and by Washuu's estimates, should have withstood the tide
easily. Ranma shifted about uncomfortably, peering into the rushing
torrent of water as it tore carelessly through the narrow divide. Washuu
spared him a glance before kneeling to examine the broken and crumbling
concrete near the edge.
"Interesting," she remarked, noting the burn marks on the structure.
"I thought maybe the reavers had destroyed this intentionally."
"Oh, we're lucky, and someone else destroyed it intentionally?"
Norris asked, not as willing to approach the edge as she.
"Probably," Ranma said, pointing into the water. "You see that?"
Washuu raised an eyebrow, leaning forward to see what Ranma had
indicated. It was hidden from her view by the turgid flow, and she
grimaced, shaking her head. "Is it important?" she asked. "I can't make
anything out."
Ranma snorted, cracking his knuckles and diving into the water
without as much as a ripple.
Gesturing the others back, Washuu rose, allowing Ranma room for
whatever he thought was so important. Nuku crouched on the very edge of
the bridge, peering down, her ear-like sensors upright as she frowned.
"Ranma-papa-san will need help," she deduced, turning her attention to
the asphalt at her side and driving her hand through it effortlessly.
Brushing aside a few stray flakes of shattered concrete, the girl
wrapped her hand about a bundle of the deeply imbedded steel rods
underneath the surface, and leant out across the river. Washuu frowned,
but trusted her judgement -- aside from which, Nuku was completely
waterproof, should anything go wrong.
From Washuu's vantage, she couldn't see anything until the surface
parted awkwardly around something -- and it was something massive from
the way the water moved. Eventually it heaved upwards, and some part of
it -- something metal -- found its way into Nuku's extended hand. She
clamped her hand about it, tempered steel creaking in protest, and grit
her teeth, hauling upward with all her might.
The large metallic object rose ponderously, shedding water
liberally, as a pair of treads came into sight. Nuku gave a frustrated
yell, and yanked upward, inadvertently snapping through the rods that
provided her an anchor. The girl blinked in surprise for a heartbeat,
before a hand grabbed onto hers, hauling her away from the edge before
she could slip.
Having moved in at the last possible moment, Ryouga was braced
against the road, the concrete slowly giving beneath his feet as it
resisted. Nuku flashed him a smile, cheering as the river finally
released its victim. Flipping up over Ryouga's head, and slamming into
the asphalt of the road segment before the bridge, a full-size, largely
undamaged People's Republic of China tank wobbled unsteadily on one side
before simply staying put, water sloughing off it still.
Ranma reappeared, rubbing at his shoulder and grimacing. "Current
was nasty," he mumbled, eyeing the tank, and nodding his thanks to
Ryouga. The lost boy grinned, releasing Nuku's hand and scratching at
the back of his head nervously before his smile faded, and he turned to
stare at the tank.
"What the heck is going on here?" he asked in confusion.
Washuu frowned, examining the tank closely. There was no real damage
to the frame outside of the section that was buckled from Nuku's clumsy
grip, and again from where it had been smashed to the road. "I would
guess that the bridge was destroyed while the tank was attempting to
cross it," she suggested. "Anyone inside?"
Ranma shook his head quickly.
Norris eyed the damaged vehicle, as though considering, and opened
his mouth, only to be cut off by Washuu, "No. It's of no real use to us.
Okay, Ranma, I'm going to need to think about things for a minute here
-- can you and someone else check the opposite side of the river to see
if there's anything suspicious there while I work on how to get us across?"
"I'll go," Ryouga volunteered quickly.
Shaking her head, Washuu explained, "I'll need your strength,
actually. Take Mousse, Ranma." The Masu boy shrugged, glancing around
for Mousse. Adjusting his spectacles as he stared at the tank, Mousse
was crouched against the side of the bus, appearing a little pale.
"Okay," Ranma said, alighting on the bridge and shaking himself
once. The water flowed from his robes to pool about his feet, before he
strode towards the Chinese boy. Mousse nodded at him, some color seeping
back into his face as Ranma hefted him, and the pair disappeared.
Washuu pursed her lips thoughtfully, then turned her attention to
Ryouga and Nuku. "Okay, I'll need you two to get that back in the river
-- it's just blocking the road here."
Ryouga grunted, standing behind the tank and pushing it towards the
river slowly. Nuku skipped to his side, and threw her own strength into
the effort. In short order the mass of ruined steel toppled over the
edge of the bridge again.
The resultant splash washed up over the bridge, leaving Nuku soaked,
and rendering Ryouga.... Gone. In his place, a small black piglet
wrapped in Ryouga's clothes sat, staring at the river in annoyance.
Nuku scratched her head, turning to look at Washuu expectantly. For
her part, Washuu merely snorted. "Norris-san, we're going to need some
hot water," she advised.
The man nodded unquestioningly, scurrying off to find what she had
requested.
"Atsuko, pick up Ryouga and his clothes, please? We don't need
anyone near the edge of the bridge at the moment." The girl nodded,
frowning as she grabbed the unresisting pig and accompanying clothes. "I
can see now that we've had a run of phenomenal luck as far as cold water
is concerned," Washuu commented, staring at the pig intently as Nuku
brought it to her. "I'd like a chance to study you later."
"Mama-san?" Nuku asked, cocking her head to one side. "What do you
mean?"
"Nothing at the moment," Washuu mumbled. Raising her voice, she
turned to the next nearest Marine, ordering, "Eric, if you can, please
have the convoy tightened up, and we should take this opportunity to
refuel again. We'll call a break here while we wait for Ranma to finish
scouting, so everyone can eat and stretch their legs a bit."
The swarthy man nodded, answering in his terse English, "Yes,
Ma'am." Spinning on his heel, he charged away to relay the commands she
had given.
***
Teleporting to a point one hundred meters upstream of the destroyed
bridge, Ranma lit upon the bank of the river, setting Mousse down.
The Chinese boy immediately collapsed to his knees and retched
violently. Ranma winced, looking away for a moment so that Mousse could
regain his dignity. After a long minute of being physically ill, the
other boy staggered away to the river to rinse his mouth out.
With Mousse's back to him, Ranma turned to watch closely, should
Mousse's curse be activated. The boy fished a cup from one sleeve, and
swished the water in his mouth for a few seconds before spitting it out,
pocketing the cup and turning to face Ranma. His face was pale, and he
looked haggard, worn.
"You okay?" Ranma asked cautiously.
Mousse nodded, taking a deep breath, and looking towards the trees
that carpeted the area. "I'm okay," he said after a short pause. "I
don't like cars."
"Yeah," Ranma mumbled. "I guess. The whole teleporting thing seems
to throw some people off."
The Chinese boy grimaced, shuddering, and wiped the back of one
sleeve across his mouth. "Let's check the area out," he mumbled.
Ranma nodded turning his attention back to the shore. "Think we'll
find more tanks?" he asked.
Mousse shot Ranma an odd look, and shrugged. "I hope not," he
muttered, trudging towards the road.
***
Rousing herself from her depression induced bout of weeping, Tsunami
raised her head at the sound of a heavy, echoing knock on the doorway.
She sniffled, wiping away a stray tear, and gathered her willpower to
make herself presentable.
"What now?" she wondered, climbing off the large bed, and frowning.
Never, that she could remember, had anyone knocked on that door. Was it
taboo to the people who worshiped her? Perhaps that was the answer.
Sighing, she stepped gingerly towards the barrier of tightly woven
branches and leaves, the First obligingly separating them to allow her
to see her guest.
Though Misaki was no where to be seen, both Funaho and Ayeka stood
by. Her theoretical sister regarded her with curiosity, where Funaho
appeared the slightest bit guilty. "I hope I'm not interrupting
something?" Funaho asked cautiously.
Tsunami shook her head, stepping into the corridor rather than
allowing the women to enter her quarters. The First resealed the
entrance behind her. "No, Funaho-san. What can I help you with?"
Funaho smiled graciously, and offered, "You can call me Funaho,
Tsunami."
"I know that, Funaho-san," she replied levelly.
Ayeka's eyes widened slightly, and she turned to look at Funaho, who
paled. "Um, yes," Funaho mumbled, maintaining her demeanor without
pause. "Tsunami-sama, do you have a moment to speak about a Terran with us?"
Tsunami frowned thoughtfully. "Nonoko?" she asked. "The girl I
brought back from Earth?"
"She's being taken care of," Funaho assured her. "But I wanted to
ask you about a 'Ranma'."
Startled, Tsunami let her guard down, and asked worriedly, "Is he okay?"
Funaho gave a small, victorious smile, and answered, "I don't know
yet. However, I know that you are not enjoying your stay here. Emperor
Tenchi has scheduled another bout of emergency transport tomorrow, to
coincide with the next wave of Galaxy Police cruisers."
"Oh?" Tsunami asked, furrowing her brows. If they were to return to
Earth, she could go along, and that meant she could see Ranma.
"Indeed," Funaho continued. "But, before you go, we were wondering
what you could tell us about Ranma."
"What do you need to know?" Tsunami asked, her expression relaxing
slightly.
Ayeka spoke up before Funaho could. "I would assume that Funaho
wishes to ally Ranma with Tenchi to help his... somewhat waning support."
Funaho shot Ayeka an annoyed glare before returning her attention to
Tsunami. "Something in that vein, but this is also partially to
apologize for--"
"Why does Tenchi-san want Ranma-dono's support?" Tsunami asked,
ignoring Funaho.
Funaho bit her tongue, frowning, and stepped back to watch the pair
discuss. "I would imagine it would serve the purpose of adding your
support to Tenchi, if you could demonstrate that you favored, ah,
Ranma-san, and he were to support Tenchi's endeavors. It would be unlike
the people of Jurai to deny your wishes and favors," she offered.
"I can't make Ranma-dono support Tenchi-san, Ayeka-san," she said
softly. "Who he follows is his choice."
"But, while you're visiting him, you could ask, could you not?"
Ayeka smiled, nodding hopefully, and added, "Surely Ranma-san would
respect a fellow Terran who wishes nothing more than what was best for
his people, and his empire."
"I don't like being used," Tsunami said flatly.
Ayeka began to apologize nervously, "I, that is--"
"But for Tenchi-san, and for you, Ayeka, I will ask Ranma-dono what
he thinks." She quirked her lips in a smile, seeing how both Ayeka and
Funaho had guided her into going to Earth without asking her opinion.
"When I see him," she said softly.
Ayeka's face lit up, and she bowed, murmuring, "I hope all goes well
for you, Tsunami...." She let her speech trail off there.
Tsunami nodded, approving the lack of an honorific. Reaching into
one fold of her robe, she concentrated for a moment, pulling something
across the distance between her tree-self and her true-self. "When you
next see Tenchi-san, can you give him this?" she asked quietly, holding
a hand towards Ayeka. The princess gingerly extended her hand, and
Tsunami placed a seed in it gently. "This is to be Tenchi-san's. But now
I must prepare for tomorrow," she said quietly, bowing to the women. "By
your leave."
"As you will it," they responded by rote.
Retreating to her room for the moment, Tsunami allowed a small smile
to come to her lips. If she were lucky, Ranma, at least, wouldn't judge
her or try to use her, as the others had. And, of course, even if he
would, Washuu was there, too....
***
"That was well managed," Funaho allowed.
Ayeka nodded, staring at the small seed as it lay in the palm of her
hands. "Some small bit of symmetry, perhaps," she murmured. Turning to
look at Funaho, she asked, "Why did you not tell me more of your plans
concerning Ranma?"
Regarding Ayeka cautiously, Funaho explained, "I was not aware that
you knew him."
She shook her head, carefully tucking the seed into a pocket and
turning to walk down the corridor. "I know of him, but I do not know him."
"How do you know of him?" Funaho pressed. "This is somewhat
important to us -- it will benefit us all the more to know who we're
dealing with beforehand."
"Ryouko has met with him," Ayeka answered distantly. "Tsunami knows
him better, likely -- I understand that she spoke with him at some point
before the Home Fleet made its brief journey to Earth."
"Ryouko, hmm? Well, it looks like we'll be stopping by to chat with
her, then, won't we?"
Ayeka raised an eyebrow curiously. "Indeed?"
"Indeed. Wherever Tenchi is, Misaki and Ryouko should also be. Let
us find them."
"He should be in the Council chambers right now," she offered.
***
Ranma stopped suddenly, and Mousse was hard pressed to keep from
stumbling into him, as the hovering boy sneezed quietly, muffling the
sound with his hands, then shaking his head quickly. "You okay?" Mousse
asked quietly. The other boy nodded silently, and Mousse joked,
"Somebody must be talking about you."
Snorting, Ranma shook his head, turning his attention to the wooded
area surrounding the opposite end of the collapsed bridge. "I don't see
or hear anything," he admitted.
Mousse shrugged, closing his eyes and concentrating. "I can't hear
anything," he said quietly.
Ranma stared at long moment, his eyes focused at the road intently.
"Ranma?" Mousse noised quietly, looking across the river, where
Washuu was visible talking with some of the girls, though he couldn't
hear what was being said over the river. "You see something?"
"Footprints," Ranma said quietly. "I mean, heat, I guess. I can see
where someone stepped. And then they left, walking away."
Mousse turned back to regard Ranma, impressed. "You can see
residual heat from people's footsteps?"
"I guess," Ranma allowed, closing his eyes, and shaking his head. "I
don't know how old they are, though. They're kind of faint. I think a
few people blew up the bridge and left, walking."
"What else can you tell?" Mousse pressed.
Ranma glanced around, opening his eyes, staring at the other end of
the bridge. "That end shows burn-marks, and this end doesn't. Something
blew up that end, but this one was still cold when it was knocked in."
"Wow," the Chinese boy allowed. "So, we can guess that the tank fell
in when the bridge was destroyed, and then something or someone else
knocked this end down?"
"I guess. Whoever did it is gone now. We might as well go back."
Mousse felt his stomach churn at the prospect of teleporting again.
"Maybe we could scout more thoroughly," he suggested. "Some other clue
could turn up."
Ranma shrugged, motioning Mousse to lead the way.
***
Ryouga -- human again, thanks to Washuu -- sat at the side of the
road, face darkened from the embarrassment of the situation. Yakumo sat
a short distance away, and Ryu much closer, finally free of the clinging
girl that habitually clung to him.
"I think we forgot to spar with Ranma," Ryouga said, breaking the
silence.
Ryu grunted, chewing on a hard bread ration. "Don't want to break
the bus," he mumbled around a mouthful of the stuff. Swallowing, he made
a face, then continued, "We'll try again later. It's not a big deal, is it?"
"He's planning on trying to ask Herb for help," Ryouga grumbled. "I
don't know if that's going to work. We're also going to be meeting up
with the Amazons."
"What are they like?" Ryu asked.
Ryouga scowled, shaking his head. "I don't know," he admitted.
"Mousse does, though. He's one of them."
"We'll see," Ryu said. "They're pretty good martial artists, right?"
"Cologne's one of them, too," Ryouga allowed. "She taught me the
breaking point. She taught Ranma a few things."
Ranma chose that moment to reappear, setting Mousse down and
settling to the surface of the road. Nuku and Ran-oh-ki raced from
Washuu's side to greet him, while Norris and Washuu walked towards him
at a slightly more dignified pace.
Ryu looked as though he was about to say something, but bit his
tongue, watching Ranma instead.
"Ranma-papa-san!" Nuku greeted, tackling him affectionately. Ranma
grunted, ruffling her hair absently, as Ran-oh-ki climbed to her shoulder.
"Hey," Ranma greeted, glancing at Mousse, who was now wobbling
unsteadily, his face a slightly more pale cast. "Sit down, and look at
something far away," Ranma advised.
The Chinese boy nodded, drifting to sit next to Ryouga.
Ranma disentangled himself from Nuku, and turned to regard Washuu
and Norris as they drew near. "We checked everything out, but there's no
one there right now," he offered. "A few people on foot left further
west, but I don't know how long ago."
"Good enough," Washuu said. "If there's no one there now, they
probably assumed that the bridge is impassable."
Ranma shrugged, staring at the water. "How do we get across the
river, anyway?"
"I was thinking that Ami and Michiru could take care of that,
actually," she said. "If not, there are other ways of taking care of the
situation -- just that they could take care of it faster."
"Okay," he said frowning. "The reavers are still avoiding us. I
think they're waiting for something."
"Perhaps," Washuu said, studying Ranma intently. "But we have a lot
more on them than we had, Ranma. We've got backup from the Galaxy
Police, at least one shot from the Halcyon array, and more Galaxy Police
craft should be reaching us within a day or so. We're going to be
reaching the Joketsuzoku village today, if all goes well. Waiting can't
possibly benefit them as much as it does us."
"I guess," he said quietly. "I still get the feeling there's more to
this."
"You worry too much," she chastised. "Go get something to eat."
Ranma nodded, drifting towards Ryouga, who offered him a solemn nod.
"Hey," Ryu said by way of greeting, tossing a sealed packet towards
Ranma. He caught it, sinking to the ground to open it. "You know what's
going to happen next?"
"Not really," Ranma answered, grimacing at his meal. "These taste
awful," he grumped.
Ryu snickered, "Tell me about it."
Ryouga shot the pair an indignant look, scoffing, "I think they
taste just fine."
"Then again," Ranma drawled, "you like Akane's cooking."
Ryouga resisted the urge to yell at Ranma -- he hadn't displayed
that much life in those regards in longer than he could remember.
Managing a faint smile, he allowed, "I got a stomach of steel, I guess.
I can probably eat anything."
As though to punctuate his comment, Ran-oh-ki began eating the
discarded packaging.
Ranma rolled his eyes, adding, "You got better taste than the rat."
Ran-oh-ki pointedly ignored Ranma, munching away on the wrappers
contentedly. "How much does he need to eat, anyway?" Ryouga asked,
frowning. "Didn't he turn into a ship, once?"
Nodding, Ranma explained, "He says tells me that he wants some
things to add to himself before he does it. He wants to make come kind
of crystal thing to make it easier for him to do, and he needs to eat
special stuff to get the things he wants."
"So he's some kind of weapon?" Ryu asked, frowning.
"Yeah," Ranma said very quietly, setting the remains of his meal
within Ran-oh-ki's reach. "Just like me."
A stunned silence fell across the group, Ryu obviously unsure of
what to say.
"You're not just a weapon, Ranma-san!" a cheerful voice informed him.
He glanced up, seeing Hotaru smiling at him brightly, one hand on
the massive polearm she carried about with her. "What else am I?" he
asked curiously.
"You're my boyfriend. And you're a real person, just like me," she
stated calmly.
"How would you know?" he pressed, suddenly suspicious.
"Because I was made to destroy the world," she delivered in the same
calm tone.
***
With Ami and Michiru working together, a makeshift bridge was
manufactured from the flow of the rushing water itself, and the convoy
quickly moved across, thankfully without incident. Washuu returned to
her seat to find Ranma at her side once more, brooding silently again.
Prodding his shoulder after she settled down, she asked, "What are
you thinking about?"
Raising his head, be blinked at her, then shook his head. "Nothing
much," he said, relaxing somewhat. "Just about what you said yesterday."
She touched a finger to her lips thoughtfully, casting back. "Which
thing?" she asked. "There were a lot of things discussed yesterday."
"About what I'll be once this is all over," he said quietly.
Washuu was silent for a long moment, simply allowing the drone of
the engine, and the chatter of the other passengers on the bus to filter
through. She raised a hand, invoking one of her more minor powers, and
that sound cut off, affording them a small measure of privacy. "And what
did you find out?" she asked gently.
"I still don't know," Ranma admitted. "I... it's like there are
people who are telling me what I'll be. Hotaru says that I'm hers, but
she's just a kid. Tsunami says I'm a guardian, a protector. Cologne says
that I'm her son. You tell me I have to decide what I'm going to be for
myself."
She nodded, dropping her hand to her lap, though the silence was
still maintained. "What are you right now, Ranma?"
Hands raised before him, he flexed them, grasping onto some ethereal
thing, and sighed, allowing the black gloves of his battle-suit to
vanish, revealing the skin beneath. "I thought.... I think I'm not human
anymore," he said slowly, as though only putting it together in his
mind. "I'm a fighter, I guess. That's what I do."
"And you're a defender," she encouraged him. "You alone have leant
considerable strength to the cause, here. Without you, we wouldn't have
done nearly as well as we have already." Smiling, she reached an arm
behind him, pulling him towards her in a semi-hug. "Besides," she chided
him, "now you don't need to try so hard -- we've got more weapons and
tools to help us fight."
His face fell instantly, though he didn't meet her eyes. "So am I a
weapon or a tool after all?" he asked quietly.
Washuu rolled her eyes, patting him gently on the back. "Now you're
just being silly. Weapons aren't given choices, Ranma. If you are a
tool, who's trying to use you?"
Ranma furrowed his brow in thought, then sighed, finally meeting
Washuu's eyes, and managing a weak smile. "I guess you haven't been
trying to use me -- you tried to get me to leave, after all."
Smirking, she pulled her arm back, and waggled a finger at him. "And
now I'm trying to get you to relax."
"I'll relax," he promised. "You said this whole thing was very close
to being finished -- we've got more people, more equipment, and the
reavers are losing. So once it's all over, I'll relax, and find out who
I still am."
Washuu bit her lip, frowning. "That's not what I wanted," she
countered. "I want you to stop being so hard on yourself and relax now."
Not meeting her eyes, he shrugged. "If I can convince Herb to help
us, then it'll be over even sooner," he said quietly.
The scientist allowed her small bubble of silence to collapse,
sighing softly, and looking out the window.
***
Norris stood at the front of the bus, steadying himself with a grip
on a handrail, and squinted his eyes to see forward. The driver ignored
him for the moment, concentrating on the road, until Norris called out,
"Dew, stop right here -- I see something that needs to be investigated."
The officer began to slow the massive vehicle, nodding curtly.
"Anything else, Sir?" he asked.
"No," Norris answered, shouldering a positronic rifle after the bus
stopped. "Eric, Ray, you're with me, everyone else, stay here. This
should only take a minute. Pavel, if something goes wrong, you're the
next in charge. Miss Hakubi, we should be right back."
The redheaded scientist shook her head, asking, "What's all this about?"
"I see something ahead I'd like to check out," he answered. "It's
more of a military matter than anything involving reavers."
She frowned, then shrugged, folding her arms across her chest.
"Don't take too long," she advised. "We should be almost there."
He nodded, climbing off of the bus, attended by his Marines.
"What did you see, Sir?" Eric asked, checking over his positronic
rifle briefly once they were out of earshot.
"It looks like there's a tank hidden in the trees there," Norris
answered quietly. "If there are any military forces left from China, we
might be able to add their strength to our own -- I don't think they
would want to keep fighting without access to what tools we already have."
"Assuming it's not an ambush," Ray added sourly. "Er-- Sir."
Norris snorted. "If it was, they would have taken a shot at us
before we ever stopped. Keep your hands off your weapons, but keep them
visible," he commanded. "If they can see that we're armed but not
aggressive, we have a much better chance of this working."
The men nodded silently, slinging their rifles higher, and dropping
their hands to their sides as they marched towards the low stand of
bushes that Norris had seen the tank's gun-barrel protruding from.
Curiously, they elicited no reaction, the closer they drew, even
when Norris called his men to a halt some twenty meters away. "Hello?"
he called out cautiously. "Anyone there?"
There was no response. Ray produced a small handbook, and flipped
through it. "Chinese phrases," he offered. Norris nodded, and Ray read
scanned through the book. "We mean you no harm," he muttered, stumbling
through the Chinese words for a minute before he thought he got them
right, and called them more loudly towards the bushes.
Still, there was no response.
"Let's go ahead and see what's going on here," Norris muttered,
striding forward once more.
Once the small group passed the shrubs that concealed the tank, the
reason there was no response was immediately evident. The entire rear
portion of the tank had exploded, scattering scrap metal across the
area. "What the hell happened here?" Norris grumbled.
"Stupid mens attacked," a voice answered in rough English to their
left. Norris jerked his head around, spying another desiccated hulk of
metal -- once a tank -- with a leggy redheaded woman in flowing Chinese
clothing lounging atop it. She carried a spear in her left hand that was
easily as long as she was tall, a white silk ribbon fluttering just
beneath a wickedly barbed head. "Strong womens destroy stupid mens," she
offered, smiling.
Norris blinked, a memory dislodged from the back of his head. "Are
you with Cologne?" he asked.
"Elder?" she asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Yes, we know
she. Why?"
Norris raised his arms, palms towards the woman in a gesture of
peace. "We've brought her here, actually -- we're here to.... This might
be easier if I go get her, really. Ray, can you bring her here?" The man
nodded, and dashed off as he was ordered. The woman atop the tank rose
to a standing position, her spear standing at her side like a staff, and
held in one hand. "So, um, we're supposed to be allies, I think."
She stared at him, unblinking, and he scratched the back of his
head, in confusion. "So, what happened to these tanks?" he asked
nervously. He hoped it would break the ice between them, somewhat,
unsure of how to speak to Cologne's people.
The woman grinned fiercely, teeth showing as she offered, "Us. We be
good with fist, spear, big hammer, and sub-machine gun." Norris blinked
at the woman, and she added, "We be a handful."
"I think I'm in love," Eric mumbled.
Another woman dropped from the trees to land atop the tank at the
side of the first woman, a long mane of green hair trailing her descent.
She smiled wickedly, a submachine gun at her side, and bearing a large
pair of mace-like weapons. Clicking her tongue, she shook her head and
said, "Kura-Wan is taken."
From behind Norris and Eric, causing the pair to whirl, another
female voice announced, "Very taken." Though they hadn't seen a sign of
her before, or heard her moving into position, she was leaning idly
against the first ruined tank, a large curved sword at each hip. Her
reddish eyes nearly seemed to glow behind the faint veil of blue hair
that covered them. "I speak better English," she noted. "I am Jian-Di,
that," she pointed at the redhead, "Kura-Wan, and that," she pointed at
the mace-bearing woman, "Pei-Lin. You think you help warrior women?" Her
eyes narrowed, and she made a show of looking down at Norris and Eric.
"I think we should let them meet Ranma," Eric suggested.
"Ranma?" Kura-Wan asked suddenly. "Girl-boy that Shan-Pu chase?"
Norris stared blankly, then sighed, hanging his head. "Is there
anyone who hasn't heard of him?" he grumped.
"Is there any girl that hasn't chased him?" Eric returned.
***
Cologne hopped towards the thinly wooded area ahead of the parked
convoy. If the Marine who had summoned her was correct, then they had
just stumbled across a border guard, and that meant that they were very
close to home. She came into range in time to see a trio of Joketsuzoku
women studying Norris and Eric thoughtfully. "Oh, lovely," she muttered.
"You three."
All three of the girls blinked, turning to regard her in unison.
"It's good to see you again, Elder," Jian-Di greeted in Chinese,
brushing a strand of blue hair from her eyes. "Why have you come back so
soon?"
"I have answers," Cologne muttered. "But I also have questions, and
I am your superior. What happened here?"
Kura-Wan grinned brightly, holding her spear aloft. "Stupid Chinese
men thought that they controlled us, and attacked."
Cologne narrowed her eyes. Why would the Chinese government chose to
do that now, of all possible times? They could have attempted it at any
point in the past, after all. "Do you know why?" she asked.
Pei-Lin answered swiftly, "They said that they were looking for a
power. I think they were looking for...." She shivered uncomfortably,
and uttered a quiet prayer. "I think they were looking for Saffron."
Heart skipping a beat, Cologne shook her head. "They wouldn't be
that foolish, would they?" she mused. "Bah, it's not important -- do you
know what's been happening in the world?"
Kura-Wan looked offended as she answered, "We're not stupid, Elder.
That's why we're on guard here."
"So you know about the reavers?" Cologne asked.
The girls stared at her blankly.
Sighing, she shook her head. "Never mind. How far are we from the
village?"
Jian-Di answered quietly, "We're quite near, Elder, though you would
have to walk fifteen kilometers through forest to reach it. This road
doesn't go any closer than this unless you take a much longer route."
"Good," Cologne responded. Switching back to English, she notified
Norris, "To make things faster, we're going to need to proceed on foot."
The man frowned, crossing his arms. "If you say so," he answered
dubiously.
"Is something wrong, Elder?" Jian-Di asked, still using Chinese.
Responding in the same tongue, Cologne answered, "Very wrong. We're
going to be meeting up with a force that we brought with us to combat
the reavers. I expect you to respect them, even if many are just
children, and many more are men." Narrowing her eyes slightly, she
warned, "Don't fight with any of them, either."
***
Ranma stretched, working out a kink in a muscle from the long and
tense periods of simply sitting about idly. The Marines scurried about
the caravan, hurriedly assembling what supplies they had brought, and
sorting out what could be kept, and what could be discarded. Nuku sat on
the side of the embankment next to the bus they had just gotten off of,
holding Ran-oh-ki in her lap. "Nuku-Nuku is bored," she announced.
"It's better to be bored than dealing with the reavers," Cologne
opined, as she drew near.
Ranma spared her a glance, nodding.
The three merely watched the Marines work in silence for a moment,
before Cologne sighed, looking towards a distant mountain.
"What's wrong?" Ranma asked, cocking his head to one side.
Cologne shook her head, looking away again. "The enormity of the
situation is staggering, Son," she said quietly. "Things I had thought
locked away and no worry to anyone are being touched on again, and that
worries me."
"Like what?" Ranma asked, scratching his head.
"Legends, myths.... Old stories that mean nothing," the woman
answered. "People are desperate, and cling to anything to carry them
through hard times, so they chase after dreams in the face of danger,
hoping that a dream will be real, and lend them some help from what they
are scared of."
Ranma blinked, frowning. "Legends? Like, uh, long forgotten princes
of rival tribes that are supposed to be extinct?" he asked.
Cologne choked, and swung her staff about, knocking Ranma sharply
over the head. In a grave voice she announced, "Maybe, and maybe not.
Some dreams are nightmares, and best left sleeping."
Rubbing his head, Ranma grimaced. "I guess," he mumbled.
Nuku yawned tiredly, scratching Ran-oh-ki behind the ears.
"Nuku-Nuku dreams about Ryunosuke," she mumbled. "And Mama-san, and
Papa-san." After a moment, she added, "And mice."
Cologne smirked, shaking her head. "And what do you dream of,
Ranma?" she asked.
Dropping his hands to his sides, Ranma considered. "I don't think
I've had a dream since I woke up in Washuu's lab," he admitted after a
moment. "Maybe I can't, anymore."
Turning to regard Ranma curiously, Nuku frowned, still scratching
behind Ran-oh-ki's ears. "Papa-san said everyone dreams, even if they
don't remember them, because dreams are important," she said.
"I guess," he mumbled, plucking Ran-oh-ki from Nuku's lap by the
nape of his neck. "Come on, rat. I want to find Herb today, and that's
not going to happen if we don't hurry. Why don't you grab all the
supplies, huh?"
Ran-oh-ki mewled indignantly, until Ranma lobbed the creature
upwards forcefully, where it once more burst into the spiny and
protrusion covered craft that Ranma had seen last destroying the
incoming nuclear missiles. He squinted at it, narrowing his eyes, and
measuring it in his mind. Smaller than he had seen Ryo-oh-ki's form to
be, probably only a hundred and ten meters from one end to another, and
shaped differently, too.
Where Ryo-oh-ki's other form was mostly symmetrical, Ran-oh-ki's was
not, the spines and vanes all arcing backwards as though to suggest a
greater speed. Ranma shrugged, striding towards the Marines, who all
stared upwards in stunned surprise. "Hey, Norris, Washuu," he called,
getting the attention of the pair as they argued logistics with Pavel.
"Ran-oh-ki can load up everything and take it so you don't slow
yourselves down," he suggested. "I want to hurry things up."
The scientist frowned, but nodded after a moment. "Very well. We'll
use Ran-oh-ki to transport the beacon and supplies over to the village
-- we should probably go as well. His presence might scare them, if
they're not expecting it."
Ranma shrugged, as Cologne caught up to him. "As long as you
remember to take me with you," she noted.
"Okay," the boy replied, relaxed. "Ran-oh-ki, go ahead and start
picking up stuff." The ship responded swiftly, a beam of light sweeping
out from beneath and taking up all of the supply crates. Ranma was
silent for a moment, as his partner relayed information to him, and
finally said, "Okay, there's room for a few people. Who's going with us,
and who's going the long way?"
"I'd like to stay by your side if you're going to meet this 'Herb',"
Yosho announced quietly.
Norris shrugged, glancing at the Marines. "I'll stay with the men,"
he said. "We'll need to follow those other girls to the village, but
without having to haul any supplies, that shouldn't take too long."
Washuu nodded, and turned to Ranma. "Me, Cologne, and Yosho," she
said. "Is there room?"
Ranma nodded, rising slightly off the ground. "Yeah," he mumbled.
"Atsuko, do you want to come?" he asked, raising his voice. The girl
nodded, bounding to his side and hugging him tightly. "Okay, Ran-oh-ki,
let's go," he concluded, as Ran-oh-ki collected Washuu, Cologne, and Yosho.
"Why aren't we with Ran-oh-ki-niichan?" Nuku asked, as Ranma shifted
her to his back. "Standing room only," he grunted. "Ran-oh-ki says that
he can't control a larger shape until he gets a crystal or something."
He rose higher, until he was level with his partner, and smirked at the
craft. "Race you there," he yelled, as Nuku tightened her grip about his
shoulders.
And with that, the two tore away, the remaining forces on the ground
quickly organizing themselves and marching after. Ranma spared no time
for them, instead enjoying the rush of the wind against him as he
charged through the air, Nuku nestled comfortably against him. Ran-oh-ki
bobbed next to him, keeping pace.
Nuku broke away suddenly, one arm releasing Ranma to gesture towards
a distant spot. "What's that?" she asked over the roaring wind.
Ranma narrowed his eyes, allowing them to focus on the place she had
indicated. "That's where we're going," he replied. He glanced at
Ran-oh-ki, knowing that his partner could easily outpace him, but chose
not to. "Let's pick up the pace, okay, Atsuko?"
"Okay, Ranma-papa-san!"
Ran-oh-ki set his passengers down first, freeing them from the
somewhat cramped interior, loaded up with crates, and surrounding them
with the piles of equipment. Cologne reeled for a moment from the
effects of being transported, but caught herself swiftly, as a number of
armed women rushed from the houses surrounding the square, crying in alarm.
Ranma lowered himself to the ground at her side, Nuku still clinging
to his back, and looking around with bright, inquisitive eyes.
Recognizing Cologne, the charge was disrupted, the women staring in
confusion at her sudden arrival. Cologne smirked, hopping atop a crate
to be more visible. "Spear-sisters!" she announced. "I bring news, both
good and bad...."
Ignoring the conversations for the moment, Ranma glanced upward,
catching Ran-oh-ki as the creature reverted to his smaller form, and
tumbled from the air to land in his hands. "Good work," he said
encouragingly, before handing the tired creature to Nuku.
Cologne broke off to regard him, frowning slightly, then asked, "I
don't suppose I can dissuade you from seeking him out?"
He shook his head, kneeling so that Nuku could climb off of his
back. "Nope," he answered. "I want to find him and get this done with.
Do you know where he is?"
Cologne scowled, and shook her head. In Chinese, she addressed the
women of her tribe, and the translation from the gem on Ranma's ear only
took a moment to follow, "Spear-sisters, this child, this adopted son of
mine, seeks the Musk that he can try and add their strength to ours."
The crowd swayed and muttered angrily, and Cologne raised her arms
to silence them. "Among the news that I bring you is the unhappy news
that not only would such an addition to our ranks strengthen us, it
might be the only thing that can strengthen us enough." Dead silence
filled the area, all of the women staring at Cologne in disbelief. "You
must believe me," Cologne insisted. "Doesn't the manner that I arrived
warn you? Or the fact that my adopted son can fly like Herb make you
wonder?"
Nodding slowly, but obviously still unhappy with the idea, the women
nodded. Sighing, Cologne continued, "My son insists that he must find
Herb, and for all that he's brash, and reckless, he's also stronger than
nearly any other warrior I've known." Ranma smirked at that, relaxing
slightly. "So please tell me where the Musk were last seen so that he
can find Herb."
One of the women stepped forward, and grumbled, "For all of his
vaunted skill, he's still a man. Is there no other way to achieve this
goal that you haven't completely explained to us?"
Another woman shouted, "What scourge could possibly be dangerous to
warrant your trust so fully in a man, Elder?"
Ranma stepped forward, hovering a slight distance from the ground,
and shifted forms. "What does shape really matter in the end?" she
asked. "Strength is strength, and power is power." Her gem echoed her
words in Chinese, and the crowd stared at her, surprised. She summoned a
ball of blue light into her hands to punctuate the point, not yet
clenching her fist about it to make it a blade. "What comes is a swarm
of monsters that are powerful enough to destroy most of a country like
America -- I haven't been there in a few days, but I bet Japan's mostly
gone, too."
Yosho spoke up, his Chinese accented as he joined the verbal fray,
"Ranma is right. Shanghai fell yesterday, both to the reavers, and the
inept Chinese military. No one person can hope to stand against the
reavers. There's only one way through this, and it's going to be working
together. Will you help us, or will you become another reminder as to
the cost of pride?"
Cologne shrugged towards the crowd, offering, "There you have it. I
won't demand that you tell me, or help us, though I could as your elder
-- I simply want you to agree to help us so that we can survive, and
become stronger."
Expressions of anger melted slowly to confusion, and a few instances
of worry. Finally, the woman who stepped forward nodded, saying, "I can
not speak for any others, but it is as your... son... says, Elder. Power
is power. I wish to know more of these monsters, but if Ranma wishes to
battle with the Musk, they should be some kilometers to the west of
Jusenkyou, in a mountainous area of rocky spires. You'll know it by the
shattered trees that surround their stronghold."
Ranma nodded curtly, allowing the summoned sphere of energy to
vanish, then turned to regard Washuu and Nuku, both of whom were
watching her curiously. "Okay, I know where Jusenkyou is from here -- it
took me and Pops...." She cleared her throat at that. "It took about a
half a day to walk there before." She paused, considering, then added,
"I could just teleport there, and fly the rest of the way, though.
Washuu, I'll be back--"
"No you won't," she informed the smaller girl. "You'll take me with
you."
Ranma growled, shifting back into male form. "Fine," he muttered.
"Who else is coming?"
Nuku gleefully leapt onto Ranma's back, wrapping her arms about him,
and still carefully carrying Ran-oh-ki. "I want to go with
Ranma-papa-san!" she exclaimed.
Yosho raised an eyebrow, but Ranma spoke before the older man could.
"Fine," he said, sighing in resignation. "I'll teleport everyone near
Jusenkyou one at a time, and we'll move out from there. Let's hurry --
sunset is in about an hour."
***
Nuku leapt from Ranma's back as he dropped her off, and peered
around curiously. Ranma waved a hand at her in warning, and advised,
"Stay away from the springs down there, Atsuko."
She nodded, looking at them curiously without drawing closer. Ranma
rose from the ground and disappeared. The pools didn't seem dangerous to
her, but if Ranma-papa-san said to avoid them....
A rustling sound alerted her, and her sensors snapped up instantly,
reporting the direction of the noise, as she turned towards it
curiously. A large rock sat in that direction, a boulder at least three
meters high, and just as wide.
Ranma returned at that moment, and set Washuu down carefully,
repeating his warning about the springs to her before vanishing once
more. Making a face, Washuu took a seat on a smaller rock, and summoned
her terminal to her, tapping at it quickly.
"Ooh! A girl!" a voice shouted triumphantly from behind the boulder.
Washuu glanced up in time to see a massive form rise from the boulder,
leaping towards her. Nuku didn't wait for the woman to react, instead
tossing Ran-oh-ki towards her, then racing to block the assailant's charge.
The hulking behemoth of a man that had lunged from behind the
boulder impacted with her, sending the pair sprawling, Nuku momentarily
pinned beneath the larger one's weight. She had been trapped under
heavier things before, among them buildings, so readily shoved him away,
bounding back to her feet.
Flying away from her, the man -- boy, really -- slammed into the
boulder he had hidden behind, crushing it instantly as it soaked the
impact. He sat up, dazed, and growled, "That was not nice!"
Nuku countered, "Stay away from Washuu-mama-san!"
He rose to his feet, as Ranma reappeared, setting Yosho down. Ranma
took the scene in instantly, and rolled his eyes. "Lime," he groaned.
"What are you doing here?"
The large boy sprang to his feet, suddenly nervous at Ranma's
presence. "Me and Mint are here because Herb-sama said we had to be," he
mumbled. "He didn't say nothing about any pretty girls, though." He
blinked, scratching his massive head, and added, "Maybe he sent us here
because he knew that there were girls here?"
"Where's--" Ranma began, cutting off instantly. A blur of motion
shot towards Washuu, only to be caught as Yosho kicked out suddenly,
tripping Mint, and sending the smaller boy tumbling across the ground
towards the springs. He yelped, as a stray rock in his path caused him
to vault upwards, towards the water. Ranma wasted no time, remembering
well enough his own curse, and teleported to intercept the boy's path,
catching the dazed Mint before he could fall in. Hefting Mint by the
nape of his neck, he drifted back up the hill towards Lime. "Hi, Mint,"
he offered, dropping the boy in an unceremonious heap before Lime.
Lime swiftly gathered his fallen friend, frowning darkly. "What are
you here for?"
Ranma snorted, shaking his head. "I'm here to ask Herb for a favor."
Lime paled, and shook his head quickly. "Herb-sama doesn't like
people who ask him favors," he warned.
"Yeah, well, you probably ask him for really stupid things, like to
touch his cursed form," Ranma grumbled. "So he probably kicks your ass
for it. Now that you're here, you can save us a bit of time -- we need
to talk to Herb. Can you take us to him?"
Mint shook his head, rousing himself from the daze, and answered as
Lime set him down, "Okay, but if we do, can we have tea with those girls?"
Ranma growled, his eyes glowing faintly blue with anger.
"Or, you know, not," Mint suggested, scurrying away. "Follow me."
Lime trundled after Mint, rubbing at his head where it had shattered
the boulder.
Yosho and Washuu both blinked, then gave Ranma a hard glance. "I
really wish you'd tell us more about things like this, Ranma," the
scientist chastised him.
Ranma shrugged uncomfortably, saying, "I didn't think they'd be
here. Maybe Herb knew we were coming."
"Is that a good sign, or a bad sign?" Yosho asked, relaxing his
stance slightly.
"I don't know," Ranma muttered, stretching, and drifting towards the
two boys as they marched away.
***
Ranma sank to the ground shortly after the march began, mentally
preparing himself for the battle. The sword at his side would not figure
into the fight -- too many of his fights lately had been so much more
reckless and with so much more at stake than pride, or the name of a
school. They had been for greater causes, and been fought much more
savagely.
Herb would not be an easy opponent by any stretch of the
imagination, and it would take cleverness and a good deal of strength to
deal with him. Ranma was much stronger than he had been, but then, he
had only beaten Herb through a clever trick the last time they had
fought, and Ranma didn't have any idea how the other cursed boy would
think of him. Ranma had done what he could to make restitution, sending
Herb back home with his magical ladle and kettle, but had no idea how
that would be perceived by him.
Mint and Lime would likely be useless to offer clues in that regard,
though the suggestion that they were at least wary of crossing Ranma
offered a hopeful hint. Then again, they might just be afraid of
associating with someone who had upset their prince.
His thoughts continued in a circular fashion for some time, till he
banished them darkly. They weren't helping much, and he thought best on
his feet. If he had to fight Herb, he'd make it up as he went along.
That generally served him better anyway.
Shaking his head in an attempt to banish the thoughts, he regarded
the territory around him. Shattered trees and countless rocky spires
filled the area, exactly as the woman from Cologne's village said they
would. "How close are we?" Ranma asked irritably.
"Close," Lime answered, pointing to a much larger spire. "There's a
valley past that spire, and Herb-sama's palace is on the other side."
Ranma lapsed into silence again, Washuu, Yosho, and Nuku having
remained silent since the walk began. They paused as they crested a
short rise after the spire that Lime had indicated, which led into a
wide, lush valley, lined with small rivulets and splashing waterfalls.
The floor was carpeted in thick grass, a stand of small trees standing
to the north, and Ranma made out a few small figures moving about
beneath the foliage. Across the valley, a few hundred meters away, a
massive stone structure sat atop the opposite slope, without windows or
doors -- merely massive open archways leading into a darkened interior.
"That's the palace?" he asked, pointing.
Lime nodded. "Yeah. There's a library, too, in the trees," he said,
pointing towards the copse that Ranma had seen before.
"Interesting," Washuu remarked, glancing about. The trees lay to the
north, while the southern edge was much more barren and rocky, blasted
by some force in places, with large boulders scattered about numerous
craters.
Silence descended on the group for a time, as they reached the
bottom of the valley, and walked across.
Finally drawing near to a set of stone stairs in the side of the
valley that lead up to the palace, Washuu broke the silence, asking,
"Who, exactly, is Herb, Ranma? I've not been able to get a clear answer
yet."
Ranma hedged for a moment, then said, "Who do you think he is?"
Washuu snorted, as the group began to descend a winding path to the
floor of the valley. "From what I can tell, you martial artists are like
gangsters of some sort, and your gang is you, Ryouga, and Mousse. For
some reason, Herb leads a rival gang with these two, and you got into a
fight over something that you managed to win -- though no one's been
very eager to offer a clear explanation yet."
Lime and Mint joined Ranma's incredulous stare. "Gangsters?" Mint
asked. "We went to Japan because Herb-sama wanted to get his kettle
back. Herb-sama used the ladle on Ranma, and he needed the kettle, too,
so they fought over who got it."
"And after Ranma beat Herb-sama, Ranma gave him the kettle back,"
Lime concluded.
"That doesn't sound so bad," Washuu said, relaxing slightly.
"Remember the part where they blew up the mountain?" Mint asked,
turning to look up at his swarthy companion.
Lime nodded softly. "Yeah, that was pretty neat," Lime allowed.
"Oh, great," Washuu muttered sourly.
Ranma ignored her complaints, already taking the first step on the
stone staircase that led up to the palace. He paused at the top of the
first switchback, looking across the valley they had just traversed. The
sun was drawing close to the horizon, though he could only see that by
the shadow of the valley's walls across the floor. "Man, I never really
knew what Herb's home was like," he mumbled. Shaking his head, he
allowed Washuu and Yosho a moment to catch their breath, Mint and Lime
turning to regard them expectantly. Nuku seemed -- if anything -- bored
at the moment, and Ran-oh-ki perched comfortably atop Washuu's shoulder.
Yosho seemed as indifferent to the pause as Mint and Lime.
Shaking his head, again, Ranma took another step up the staircase,
Lime and Mint pacing ahead of him, the smaller of the pair quickly
vanishing. Silence ruled until they topped the stairs, which opened out
onto a stone floor, leading into a massive, darkened hall. Large columns
of stone supported a massive stone roof, though the entire area was
largely open to the elements. An aged, but well maintained red carpet
led into the darkened interior, curiously marked by blackened footsteps
that looked to have been burnt into the carpet ages ago.
Lime stopped at the edge of the carpet, and motioned Ranma forward.
"Go on," he mumbled.
Frowning, Ranma shifted his shoulders uncomfortably, and handed his
sword to Nuku. "Hang on to this for me," he said quietly, phasing
through his robes to stand in his skin-tight battle-suit. Nuku
wordlessly gathered his robes and sword, cocking her head to one side,
and looking at him askance.
"Ranma?" Yosho asked. "What's this about?"
"Nothing," he muttered, turning back towards the darkness leading
into the palace.
Shrugging, Ranma paced out onto the carpet, walking alongside the
burnt footsteps in the carpet, marching resolutely forward. His eyes
adjusted nearly instantly, but as he strode forward, flames burst from
the columns on either side of him, large torches shedding light across a
small area. A few more tentative steps rewarded him with another pair of
lights, and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the melodramatics.
Herb was royalty, he reminded himself.
At the very end of the carpet, Ranma came to an abrupt stop, as a
trio of columns behind an ornate throne suddenly lit, illuminating the
entire hall, and shedding ample light across Herb. The Prince of the
Musk lounged across his throne, his chin resting on one fist, elbow on
the arm of his chair, and one eyebrow raised to regard Ranma coolly.
"Ranma," he said quietly. "Saotome Ranma. We meet again."
Ranma snorted, crossing his arms across his chest. "It's Higurashi
Ranma, now," he warned. "Do you know why I'm here?"
"I haven't a clue," he answered. "I merely sent those idiots," he
gestured to Mint and Lime, "away so they wouldn't bother me for a
while." He straightened in his chair, frowning. "Your mode of dress and
appearance are changed, I see. I rather suspect you're here to ask me
for a favor, yes?"
Ranma nodded quickly, dropping his arms to hand at his side. "Herb,
do you know what a reaver is?"
Herb shook his head, shifting his robes about him slightly.
Rolling his eyes, Ranma muttered, "Great." Clearing his throat, he
spoke up, explaining, "They're really big and ugly monsters that have
destroyed most of the world already, and are coming towards the
Joketsuzoku next. There are only a few hundred left, but they're nasty,
and I want your help to fight them."
Blinking, Herb drummed the fingers of one hand atop the arm of his
throne. "And I should abandon my home and my people to help you in this
cause?" he asked, frowning.
"Not really -- you should bring your people to fight at our side,
and if you don't abandon your home for a while, you'll probably lose it
forever anyway," Ranma returned.
Herb frowned. "And why should I do this?"
Growling, Ranma snapped, "In order to save this planet, Herb. If we
don't, we're probably gonna lose it. Maybe I'm wrong, and maybe we'll
just kill all of them without your help. But even I think that gambling
with the entire planet is pretty damn stupid."
Herb nodded. "I understand," he stated quietly. "And I refuse to help."
Ranma cracked his knuckles, glaring intently. "Why not?" he asked --
nearly an angry shout.
The Prince of the Musk shook his head, frowning. "You may ask any
favor of me, Ranma. I am in your debt. But I am not so much in your debt
as to help every single person you bring along with you. I have no
dealings with them -- no obligations. I will not have anything to do
with them."
Seething, and throwing out a hand to forestall Yosho before he could
speak, Ranma challenged, "What if I fight you? This is what it's about,
right? I beat you once, you owe me? What if I beat you again? Then
you'll owe me more, right? Enough to help?"
Herb frowned disdainfully, as though the thought alone was too dirty
for him to soil himself with. "You fail to grasp the point, Saotome--"
"MY NAME IS HIGURASHI RANMA!" he snapped furiously. "I have nothing
to do with that name now."
Falling silent, Herb studied Ranma. A long moment, laden with
tension passed, Ranma trembling with rage barely held in check, Herb
simply staring, much of his superior air suspiciously absent. "Very
well," he said curtly. "If -- and only if -- you defeat me in personal
combat, then I will agree to add my own support, and the support of my
people to whatever forces you've assembled. Know this, however...
Higurashi... Ranma. If I defeat you, then my debt to you is vanished,
and you may not call for a boon from me at any time in the future."
Ranma shrugged, stepping towards Herb menacingly. "Suits me just
fine," he grumbled. "I don't plan on losing." His aura expanded about
him -- something Washuu had not seen often before. Again, it was the
same lambent blue glow, shot through with streaks of angry nacreous
power, making the very air about him crackle, as Ranma growled menacingly.
Herb raised an eyebrow, rising from his throne to step towards
Ranma, then sinking to a careful stance and allowing his own aura,
golden and shimmering iridescent streaks of green sparkling bright --
nearly bright enough to challenge the glow of the sun itself. "I see
you've practiced," Herb said uneasily.
"Maybe," Ranma hedged. "One way or another, I got a lot better than
I used to be."
The two were silent then, studying one another and considering,
before Herb spoke again. "I think this fight could be very destructive."
"Yeah, a lot more violent than the last one. Let's clear out of here
-- I don't want anyone near us gettin' hurt," Ranma muttered.
Herb nodded, and tensed briefly. A half-heartbeat later, he was
bounding away, impossibly long leaps taking him out of the hall, and out
of sight.
***
Washuu's jaw dropped at the sight, as Ranma effortlessly paced Herb,
and the two leapt from the hall. She dashed back across the hall, Yosho
and Nuku racing ahead of her. They froze at the top of the stairs,
looking towards the blasted and ruined area to the south that Washuu had
seen before. There, on the far ridge, Herb squared off with Ranma,
easily a kilometer away, but both visible thanks to their blindingly
bright auras.
"What's going on?" Nuku asked, confused.
Uneasily, Washuu collected herself, and explained, "Ranma... Ranma's
fighting someone who might be stronger than him."
"I don't like it," Yosho grumbled. "I don't understand how his help
is so valuable that Ranma needs to fight him."
"I'd like to simply stop him," Washuu murmured unhappily. "But I
have to trust his judgement on this one, since I don't know 'Herb' as
well as he does."
***
"Sa.... Higurashi. Are you prepared for this battle?"
The boy nodded at his counterpart quickly, his hair rustling in the
ebb and flow of his own power about himself. "I'm ready. Are you?"
"Yes."
And the battle was joined.
[End, Process of Elimination, Chapter Eleven]
-----------------------------
Author's Notes:
Aaaaand my long break is over. Chapters 1-5 are RAAC ready, 6-10 to
follow shortly, thanks to everyone who pre-read, and/or C&Ced!