DB Sommer wrote:
And here we go:
ignore -- gently whispered to him, "Close your eyes, and be strong,
Ranma-dono."
I see. Tsunami's pitching in.
Or, you know, any of the other counltess goddess-like beings who
call him 'Ranma-dono'.
Yosho pushed the memories of the dead marine behind him, stumbling
back into action as Setsuna leant
leant or leaned? Not sure which is more appropriate.
I _think_ it's right....
deflecting claws as he slammed into the woman, trapped as she was on
the cruelly barbed hooks of the reaver's claw.
Ouch, but it was bound to happen eventually.
Yosho and Haruka standing before an oncoming reaver, with Yosho
nattering about the sound of inevitability.... Nah.
are already mature. And unlike you, my little friend, I have nothing
to lose."
Oh, he's going to try and control one? That should be interesting.
'interesting', he says.
And they were angry with him.
Heh. he'll be lucky if he can get his mind back out.
Quite.
Ami staggered back, falling down as she watched. The topmost reaver
quivered, unleashing a fierce spasm, and its legs suddenly splayed
out, then contracted, crushing the reaver beneath it, which burst
messily, spraying acidic ichor across the surrounding area.
Well, he's done one in, though I doubt he can control it for long. Lucky his
trick worked on them.
Yeah. Great weapons. The price could probably be done away with, though.
The man lay on the ground, sobbing after vomiting a stream of blood.
I see it did indeed take a lot out of him.
Sympathetic ties with the beast magic.
"Maintain position, and cooperate with the defenders. If Ranma gets
up, and tells you to do something, do it. Have someone retrieve
Ford's gun, over and out." Irate, Norris shook his head. "Ford, you
god-damned idiot, what have you done?"
Screwed up. But he paid for it.
And how!
In the distance, standing before Ami protectively, Yakumo deflected
stray rocks and rubbish from the angry crowd,
Gee, you think it would occur to some of them that without Yakumo and
company, they have no way of killing the reavers.
Well, Yakumo was riding a reaver just a while ago.... One way or
another, that's still kinda freaky.
"They hate us," Yakumo answered swiftly. "They hate all that lives,
and are devoted to some... I don't know. I think... A queen, I
suppose. But she's not a real being -- I guess she's like their
goddess. They call her Tokimi."
So it is her.
Yep.
"I saw some of it. They're afraid of Ranma. And they're afraid of me,
because they think I'm one of their goddess's favored.
Intersting. I wonder that led them to that conclusion.
Yakumo already dropped a hint. ;)
"No," she answered solemnly. "That has always been a part of you. The
gift I give you is a gift I hope you return someday, Ranma-dono. I
gave you, and will always give you..."
And with that, the dream-memory vanished.
Heh. Of course.
So far, only Mr. Roeder was able to figure out what that gift was.
"It broke?" Washuu asked cautiously. "When Ryouko's spare gems break,
they explode.
They do?
Sure, remember when Tenchi knocked the imitation gem from Ryouko's
wrist at his school?
Teams are gathering necessities and bottled water as we speak, while
the fuel trucks are pumping gas out of local gas stations."
They should have done that earlier when they were initially building the
portal. Now they're wasting time.
Wasting time is relative when that many people need to be moved.
faster." As his foot touched on the deck, the entire surface of the
ship gave a single heaving shudder, before collapsing in on itself,
leaving Ranma surveying a swiftly sinking mass of fallen steel.
"Oh," Ranma said quietly.
Heh
:p
"But... But Tenchi, they are family!"
And still will be even if they are not on the council.
I should have had him make that comment....
Ranma answered tiredly, her voice slurred with strain and effort,
though it no longer had the English echo that had once accompanied
it, "Yeah. Ran-oh-ki says they're just waiting for now. They want to
plan something else big."
Which means they need to move the people fast.
Would be good, yes.
"Oh, no, he didn't eat a whole submarine," Washuu said, prompting
Norris to relax. "He ate the entire Kitty Hawk.
Carriers are much bigger than subs
Yes they are.
"Don Hai."
Not related to Don Ho, I assure you.
Ouch....
"Hmm," Don Hai mused, sipping at his tea, and staring into its depths
for a long, silent minute. "Well," he said, once he had pored over
the drink long enough, "if the enemy is there, tell the Americans
they have five minutes to leave the city, and see that Shanghai is
leveled."
Oh? Now this is odd?
Likely. Then again, Shanghai was likely deserted for a reason.
"Short Range Ballistic Missiles," Norris said quickly. "China decided
to nuke the city to take out as many reavers as they could, as far
as I can tell. It looks like they consider us acceptable losses.
Well, since the Chinese are unaware of the fact they can teleport out, it
does look bad. Although Norris could have told them that they are drawing as
many reavers as possible there and to nuke them once they achieve the
maxiumum number that can be driven into the area.
There is a thought. Commodore Wellington might have come up with
that, but he's in the Atlantic fleet, bearing the mysterious title of
Officer Not Appearing In this Story. Norris is just a boomer captain who
got promoted to Commodore.
See, I use THEIR inexperience and ability to miss the obvious to
cover MY inexperience and ability to miss the obvious! :p Sometimes it
even works.
"Less than ten minutes," Norris snapped. "We have rolling airframe
missile launchers back at the Kitty Hawk,
Had, would be the operative term there.
Er.... True, true....
"Yes," Don Hai said mildly after a moment. "But you really should
move, Mr. Norris. You don't have much time."
Now he's just being petty. He knows they can't clear the area in that amount
of time.
Yep.
Ranma returned a half-second later, bearing a large man in a crisply
cleaned Chinese military uniform with him, held aloft by Ranma's
grip on his throat. The boy threw the man to the stone at Norris's
feet hard enough to crack the tile, and growled, "If you don't stop
them, then you die too."
Heh. Now that might work.
Some people are more direct than others. ;)
Tenchi promptly invited Karau and Genoh to dinner at the palace.
"After all," he had said, "things are finally looking up!"
Heh. How little he knows. I'll have to get to that last chapter you put out
soon.
Ah! The ante is upped!
And thank you _very_ much for taking the time to C&C this!
D.B. Sommer