Title: Ancestors
Part: One
Author: Rann Aridorn
Props: Ranma 1/2 and all its characters belong to large, faceless
corporations who no doubt use them, abuse them, and keep them locked in
tiny little portapotty-sized cells just because they're mean bastards. Oh,
and they were created by Rumiko Takahashi. All other characters, unless
otherwise stated, are created by and property of Rann Aridorn. Hey, that's
me. ^^
Comments: Unbetaed, barely reread, and written on a lack of sleep sometime
between 4:30am and 8:30am. Isn't it wonderful when your muses only decide
to let you get work done if you're abusing your body in some way? x.x
*ching*
Teritha twitched lightly in her sleep. No, no, not again. It
couldn't be trying to get her attention AGAIN. It had gone off twice today
already. The part of her that was awake felt like shrieking in frustration.
Not again.
*ching*
She rolled over, pressing her face and the front of her nude body
against the large, warm, furry form nestled in beside her, her long blue
hair falling down to rest against the white sheets. The chalice was not
making noise at her with its incessant little chirpy perky goddamn ANNOYING
"ching" sound, and she would not cater to its whims again, not even if-
*CHINGCHINGCHINGCHING-*
Almost yelping as she sat up abruptly, Teritha clapped both hands
over the long, backswept expanses of her elven ears, then winced mightily
at the pain that brought. The Chalice of True Earth in the next room was
still going like mad, like some sort of demented school bell trying to goad
her into class.
"Alright, ALRIGHT!" the elven woman shrieked in the direction of
the door, even though she knew it would neither shut the chalice up nor
really improve her mood. Scooting over to the edge of the broad, wall-nook
bed, she grabbed one of the topsheets and wrapped it around herself, more
out of long-ago-garnered habit than any real modesty. Grumbling, she
traipsed towards the door to the living room, feeling the tile and stone of
the floor suck the pleasant, relaxed warmth out of her feet with every step.
A rumbling, but almost plaintive growl came from the bed behind
her. "Eh? Tear? Is that damn thing going off again?"
"Yeeeees," the elven woman hissed in exasperation, whirling to
face towards the bed. "And if you were any kind of husband, you'd get up too!"
"I'm getting, I'm getting." The giant grey and white wolf yawned
wide, pink tongue lolling out as it raised its hindquarters and splayed its
front feet out in front of it in a stretch. Despite the rude awakening, its
bushy tail swayed lightly behind it as it hopped off the bed and padded
across the floor, nudging a head three-quarters her size against Teritha's
side.
"I'm not in the mood for affection," the elf groused, long ears
angled low as she stormed into the living room where the chalice was still
clamoring for attention.
The living room was large and circular, one wall devoted to
tapestries and paintings of battles, negotiations, kings, and other such
historical innovations, as well as a very large mirror hung above a
respectable fireplace, in which embers were slowly dying. Along the
opposite curve of the wall were tall arcs of windows, displaying the high,
snow-covered mountains outside. The room led into a depression in the
middle, the walls of it lined with couches, chairs, and large pillows. And
in the very center of the depression was what very much looked like a
fairly cheap, rather plain cement birdbath. and it was this that was
raising such a ruckus.
"Alright! I'm HERE, already!" Teritha shouted down at the surface
of the water once she'd moved over to the Chalice of True Earth. "What the
hell is it now?!"
The annoying *ching* sound quickly stopped, the waters in the
basin clouding dark, and then clearing into a glass like texture. Within,
it showed a pair of boys, one with black hair in a pigtail and wearing silk
Chinese clothes, the other sporting a yellow bandanna with black spots and
rather ragged travel gear; both were jumping around a fairly open area,
trading amazingly quick punches and kicks. Meanwhile, in the background, a
black-haired girl in a leotard bounded in pursuit, also apparently
shouting, though with a much cheerier expression. Her fellows didn't look
so cheery, including the handsome girl with the overlarge spatula, the
purple-haired girl on the bicycle, and the exceedingly angry short-haired girl.
"You little bastards WOKE ME UP AGAIN FOR THIS CRAP?!!?!" the elf
shouted down at the image, despite knowing full well that none of them
could hear her.
"Dear, do watch your stress." The giant wolf settled down on its
haunches across the chalice from her. "You're not as young as you used to be."
"I am too. You shut up," Teritha ordered solemnly, leveling a
finger the wolf's way. "Shel, one more word out of you, and you sleep
outside for a fortnight."
"Cruel woman," Shel murmured sulkily, ears laying back against his
head.
"I have had *enough*," Teritha huffed, glowering down at the image
of the battle and pursuit again. "Enough of being disturbed in the middle
of the day, woken in the middle of the night, and most of all, INTERRUPTED
IN THE MIDDLE OF SEX!"
"I'm not so crazy about that last one, either," Shel muttered,
scratching at an ear lightly.
"It's a pain in the ass, but there's only one way to go about
this. Go get Zek, tell him we're leaving for Lebodala!" Teritha tossed the
sheet aside, turning and storming back towards the bedroom. "It's time to
put an end to this!" And, just to punctuate that, she slammed the door. Hard.
Shel let out a long huff of breath, standing and giving himself a
shake to try and wake up fully. Tossing one last glance down at the fading
image, he murmured, "Sure do feel sorry for you lot, when she lays into
you." Then he turned and padded off in the opposite direction his wife had
gone, intent on finding his best friend to inform him that they were all,
apparently, going on a journey.
Ranma Saotome slumped forward where he sat on a rock on the rim of
the Tendos' koi pond, holding a bag of ice against his latest mallet-bump.
It would be gone soon enough, but more than likely there would be another
to take its place fairly soon. His (by protest) fiancee, Akane Tendo,
garbed in her training gi, stood nearby, dark eyes narrowed in annoyance as
she took the ice bag away from him and handed him a fresh one.
"You dummy. I've told you again and again not to insult and hurt
poor Ryoga!"
"How is him showin' up and shoutin' 'Ranma, prepare to die!' me
insulting him?!" Ranma demanded, applying the ice to his already-fading
bump with a wince.
"I'm sure it was SOMEthing you did, it always is," Akane asserted
in a reasonable tone, flopping herself down on an adjacent rock, legs
folded and arms crossed over her chest.
"Well if you're so big on Ryoga why doncha maaarryyy hiiiim?"
Ranma said in a snotty tone.
"Maybe I will!" Akane snapped back, glowering at the pigtailed
boy. "It might be nice to be engaged to someone who can behave like a human
being!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
Both of them turned their heads away with simultaneous "Hmph!"s,
glaring at opposite corners of the yard. After a moment, and almost in
unison, their expressions softened, heads tentatively turning back towards
the other, only to notice the other person looking and jerk their heads
sharply away again.
What was sure to have been some sickeningly adorable little
standoff (for the 163rd time) was cut short by a rather innocuous tear in
reality opening nearby. Innocuous as tears in reality went, anyway. The air
simply seemed to part, letting a cold wind rush through the yard and
catching both teens' attention. From out of a darker area in midair bounded
what looked a great deal like a twenty foot husky with a woman with long,
backswept pointed ears and wearing a black leather bustier and black
leather pants riding on its back. Close behind the woman on the giant
canine's back was a wild-looking man with long, tousled crimson hair and
bright yellow eyes, wearing what looked like a bomber jacket and black
jeans. The woman was carrying a long staff in one hand, and the man seemed
to have several coils of rope on one shoulder.
"Don't be alarmed," the woman said calmly as her mount padded
around to face Ranma and Akane. "We're just here to kidnap you, that's all."
"Oh, not again," Akane groaned, slapping a hand to her forehead
and drawing it down her face.
Ranma leapt to his feet, intent on placing himself between Akane
and danger, a demand for an explanation already on his lips. But the woman
was muttering something, or at least her lips were moving, and then she
made a throwing motion with her right hand. Ranma oofed as he felt
something hit his chest, lifting him off his feet and throwing him
backwards into the water.
"Ranma!" Akane shouted in concern, jumping up and whipping around
towards the water, intending to jump in and save him in case he was
unconscious and drowning. It wasn't like she'd actually have to SWIM, it
was only a few feet deep. But those thoughts ended with a loud yelp as a
lasso settled around her arms and just under her breasts, closing tight and
yanking her up through the air to land on the wolf's furry back, where the
redheaded man quickly wrapped the rope around her a few more times.
"Woo, first try!" the man crowed, clapping his hands and holding
them up in celebration.
"Well that's really nice for you," Teritha said sardonically over
her shoulder. "Now would you get the other one before he drowns, please,
Zek...?"
"Er, right, sorry." Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, Zek
hopped off Shel's back and unslung another of the lassos, whirling it
lightly a few times before tossing it into the water. With a good yank, a
waterlogged onna-Ranma came flying through the air to land in his arms.
Ranma seemed a bit stunned and half-unconscious, giving no protest as she
too was tied up and slung next to Akane over the wolf's back, Zek
scrambling up after. "Where to next, O beautiful and scary one?"
"The ribbon-wielder's place." Smirking, Teritha lightly thumped
her boot heels against the wolf's side. "Ya, steed!"
"Oof. It's only fun when you do that in private," Shel muttered,
turning and bounding across the yard, and leaping easily over the brick
wall surrounding the property.
Kasumi, who had arrived just in time to see them depart, put a
hand to her mouth. "Oh my." She blinked a few times, then smiled lightly.
"I'm glad Ranma's afraid of cats instead of dogs." She began sweeping off
the porch as she'd intended to do when she came out, humming quietly to
herself, then blinked again. "Oh. I should probably tell someone that Ranma
and Akane have been kidnapped. Silly me." Shaking her head in bemusement,
Kasumi turned and briskly marched back into the house. "Oh, father...!"
Tatewaki Kuno continued his precision kendo drills, doing his best
to ignore his mad sister babbling away in the background as she posed in
front of the full-length mirror she'd had Sasuke drag out into the yard.
"Aren't I perfect?" Kodachi cooed to her reflection, bending and
twisting to show off her lithe form to... well... herself. "The perfect
beauty, the perfect gymnast, the perfect homemaker?" She rested her hands
on her hips, giving a curt nod. "Of course I am!" Then, fire blazing in her
dark purple eyes, she raised both hands in front of herself, clenching her
fists. "Then why, WHY do all those other foolish girls keep my Ranma-sama
from reveling in my perfection?! Why, why, WHY?!"
'Because you are quite irrevocably mad, my dear sister,' Kuno
thought with solemn dignity, not bothering to look as Kodachi moved from
Preen to Rant.
Both, however, took notice as a giant wolf leapt over the high
wall around their home and landed in a light crouch. Kuno took one look and
brandished his bokken threateningly. "You will unhand the pigtailed girl
IMMEDIATELY, foul wretches, or face the wrath of the Blue Th-!" His
building tirade was cut short by a whistling through the air and the back
of his bokken suddenly hurrying to meet his nose with a loud *crunch*,
before being followed a half-second later by a successive *thud* as the
hard rubber balls of the bola thudded against his ears, the chord having
wrapped around his head. Kuno fell backwards like a cut tree.
"Oooo, ten out of ten!" Zek whistled. "Bonus points for getting
him before he could even finish introducing himself!"
Kodachi stared for a moment, then cleared her throat. "While you
have my gratitude for shutting up my dear brother, as well as apparently
intending to make a meal for your pet of the redheaded harridan and Akane
Tendo, I must ask you your business here."
Teritha's lips moved silently again, before she thrust a hand out
towards Kodachi, fingers splayed. Kodachi blinked several times before her
eyes drooped, legs wobbling unsteadily. "You know... all this being
perfect... really tires one out." Then, without another word, she slumped
bonelessly to the ground, Zek hopping down to retrieve her.
"What's going on?!" Akane demanded loudly, doing her best to
struggle and winding up only squirming. "What happened to Kuno?! Who are
you people?! ACK!! Don't put Kodachi on top of me!"
"Calm down," Teritha said, twisting back some and patting Akane on
the head. "Your friend there will be fine, his face might just have some
added character, that's all. As to the rest, I hate repeating myself, so
just wait until we're done. Okay, Shel, let's head to the spatula girl's
place next."
"Ranma!" Akane hissed, squirming even more from the feel of
Kodachi pressing down against her back. "Ranma, wake up!"
"Dun' wanna go to school," the redheaded girl murmured, blue eyes
only open the tiniest of bits.
"What'd you do to RanmaAAAAAA!" Akane demanded, voice rising
considerably as Shel leapt back over the wall.
"It's just a light stun spell, it'll wear off fairly soon,"
Teritha replied casually, looking around as the wolf loped through back
alleys and the streets where the scent of human travel was weakest. Japan
had changed more than she could have imagined since she'd last been there.
Even seeing it in the Chalice of True Earth hadn't compared to really being
here, among the houses and streets, seeing the signs and the occasional
(very shocked) person.
Things had changed a lot in the past 2000 years or so, that was
for sure.
Ukyo Kuonji busily scraped the griddle clean after the lunch rush,
glad that her restaurant was empty for the moment so that she could get
things a little more ordered for the afternoon regulars. She'd decided to
wear her male garb today, boys' school uniform and ponytail tied in the
masculine style; sometimes she just felt like it, it was how she'd dressed
for ten years, and old habits were hard to break.
She heard the bell hung above the door jingle, and looked up with
a smile. "Hi, welcome to Ucchan's Okonomiyaki!" Then, after a moment, the
sight of the very large wolf's head poking into the cloth opening and
almost filling the doorway registered in her mind. With a loud yelp, she
jumped backwards, one of the several teapots hanging behind her colliding
squarely with the back of her head. Ukyo thumped to the floor without
another sound.
Shel blinked his dark eyes several times, then chuckled
rumblingly. He started to open his mouth, then closed it and tilted his
head. "... If I say 'I have that effect on women', you're going to hit me
on the head with your staff, aren't you, dear?"
"Got it in one, darling."
Shampoo pedaled her bicycle along the sidewalk (for the moment),
humming brightly to herself, a delivery box perched easily on one hand.
Today was a good day, the sun was out, the sky was clear, and after she
made this delivery, she could go and see her darling husband. Life was,
indeed, good.
Her brain clicked over into defense mode in less than a second as
she heard the distinct sound of a loop of rope moving through the air. The
Amazon launched herself up off her bike, narrowly avoiding the lasso that
went through the space above the seat where she'd been a moment before.
Shampoo twisted and spun in midair, landing in a light crouch facing her
attacker, one hand resting splayed fingertips on the concrete, the other
still holding the undisturbed delivery box.
"Ooooo, she's good," Zek cooed approvingly, reeling in his lasso
and tugging at the rope to set up for another throw. "Really cute, too." He
grinned broadly, showing a fang on one side of his mouth.
"Keep it in your pants," Teritha snorted, before turning and
addressing Shampoo. "<Come with us, child, we're not going to hurt you.>"
Shampoo blinked a few times, the Chinese words sounding familiar,
but garbled and foreign at the same time. "<What? And why do you have this
one's husband tied up, as well as this one's rivals?!>"
"Your Chinese is 2000 years out of date, isn't it?" Zek chuckled,
smirking even wider.
"There's never anything really good on the Chinese castings, it's
just a bunch of dragons complaining about industry and the corruption of
the trade system," Teritha groused. "Would you just catch her, please?"
Zek nodded, lifting the lasso above his head and giving it a few
swings. Shampoo immediately darted off to one side, making for the cover of
a nearby fence. She was surprised when she felt the rope snug up around her
arms and yank them together; he'd anticipated her move! But rather than
waist time with surprise, Shampoo turned and braced her feet, refusing to
be pulled.
"DAMN, she's a strong one!" Zek grunted, his arms straining at the
rope. "Shel, gimme a hand here!"
The oversized wolf braced his paws against the pavement and began
sidestepping, giving a quiet woof of surprise when he found that he was
having difficulty moving against the strain of the rope as well. "If she
weren't so fair-skinned, I'd say she had ogre blood."
Shampoo gritted her teeth, her feet dragging across the pavement
slowly but surely. She cast a quick glance around for anything that could
help her, her gaze quickly settling on a bucket of water sitting beside a
gate, a ladel still in it. Taking the chance, the Amazon quickly darted one
foot out and hooked her toe into the handle of the bucket, kicking it
upward in an arc as she felt herself pulled now that both feet weren't on
the ground.
Shel gave a loud yelp, almost falling over as the rope suddenly
went slack, Shampoo's waitress garb falling to the ground, apparently
empty. But almost immediately, a small white and lavender cat burst from
the uniform's shirt and scampered quickly down the street.
"Okay, Zek, time it," Teritha murmured as Shel loped down the
street after the fleeing feline, the elf's lips already beginning to move
silently as the redheaded man began swinging the lariat again.
Shampoo abruptly found herself back in human form and stumbled,
since she was now attempting to run on all fours. Before she could really
hit the ground, though, she felt the rope settle around her again, and was
this time yanked through the air to thud solidly atop Ranma and Ukyo.
Before she could lash out with a kick, her legs were being tied, and the
Amazon gave a loud yelp as she felt a pinch to her rear. She turned her
head up and glared murder at Zek, who was trying to look innocent and
failing miserably. With a huff, Shampoo looked down and to one side.
"Shampoo see violent girl no have better luck fighting back."
"At least *I* still have my clothes," Akane snapped back,
glowering at the other girl.
"Okay, final roundup time," Zek said over the girls' rising
voices. "Where's the last one?"
"We're definitely gonna need a... er, need a... a... WOULD YOU TWO
SHUT UP?!" Teritha screamed, turning to glower down at the shocked-silent
Shampoo and Akane, who had been arguing at the top of their lungs a moment
before. "Christ, you'd think you two would have something better to do than
argue when you're being kidnapped, but nooooo. See, this is exactly the
problem!" With an annoyed huff, she turned back around and rested her staff
across her legs, putting her hands together. "We'll need a locator spell."
After a moment, she spread her hands again, peering at the
swirling lights and lines between them. A large sweatdrop rolled down the
back of her head. "Check that. We'll be needing a travel spell too."
Ryoga Hibiki was lost, and it was all Ranma Saotome's fault. That
was what allowed him to get up in the morning and face that daily march of
a few hundred miles, that it could all be blamed on Ranma. Maybe not
directly, or even really indirectly, but it was still all his fault.
At the moment, his blame of Ranma and the fact that the snow
swirling lightly down around him hadn't triggered his curse were really all
he had to be thankful for as he lugged his huge pack across a mountainous
expanse of land. He really hoped they were Japanese mountains. He'd been in
all sorts of mountains, and to him, they all looked the same.
"Oh, Akane," Ryoga breathed, looking up at the grey sky. "Why
can't I find my way back to you even after a few hours?!"
"Ryoooooogaaaaaaa...!"
"Akane... I can even hear your voice," the lost boy murmured,
closing his eyes and clenching one fist.
"YEEEEEHA!"
Ryoga blinked, stopping in his tracks. That certainly hadn't been
Akane.
The object of his affection was briefly driven from his mind as a
pair of rope loops settled around his body, one around his ankles and one
around his arms, and he was abruptly dragged off of his feet by a very
fast-moving giant... husky?! He thudded over rocks and hard earth without
really noticing, though it was quite noticeable when the huge dog jumped
over a tree, the ropes settling over branches before the apparent steed
stopped, leaving Ryoga swaying lightly back and forth upside-down from the
branches.
"What's going on?!" he demanded wildly, fangs showing quite
clearly in his outrage.
"Where do you want everyone, Tear?" Zek said without responding to
Ryoga, jumping down and starting to pull the pile of girls off Shel's back.
"All the actual girls, to one side there, aaand little miss
gender-shift next to her friend in the tree. Go ahead and untie 'em, I'll
wake up the ones who're asleep," Tear added, sliding off Shel's back
herself and giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Thanks, honey. Oh, leave the
lost one up there in the tree, he's feisty."
"Hey!"
"Y'sure he'll be okay hanging upside-down for so long?" Zek said,
tilting his head as he untied Ranma.
"Yeah, sure. He did it when that old woman was training him to
break rocks with his finger."
"HEY! How'd you know about that?!"
"Oh, hush, you."
"Gah! Cold!" Ranma shouted, scrambling to her feet as the waking
spell took effect.
"Now everyone just SHUT UP for a minute and listen," Teritha
shouted, somehow managing to gain the actual attention of a group of very
angry and dangerous teenage martial artists. "I know you're probably all
extremely pissed off right now, but I'm going to explain why I'M pissed,
too, so just listen up."
Shampoo glowered at the elf-woman, hugging herself and shivering a
little. She was used to cold weather, having grown up in the mountains
herself, but she usually wore at least a little more than nothing when she
went traipsing around in the snow. She blinked as she felt a jacket settle
around her shoulders, and looked in surprise at the now t-shirted Ukyo, who
just shrugged and started rubbing her bare arms. Shampoo nodded once in
thanks, but left it at that.
"First off, introductions. My name is Teritha. I'm an elf, if you
hadn't figured it out." She gestured to the now-sitting wolf with her
staff. "This is my husband, Shel. The one whom you're all probably the MOST
pissed with is our mixed-breed of a vagabond of a friend, Zek."
"Hey," the redheaded man called cheerfully, raising a hand.
Everyone, including Ryoga, looked at Teritha for a long moment.
Then, they swiveled their heads, eerily in unison, to look at Shel. Then
back to Teritha. Then to Shel. The wolf blinked a few times, then shrugged.
"Hey, appearances are deceiving, hm?"
"So. You're all wondering why I kidnapped you. It's because, due
to the lot of you, I can't get a moment's peace!" Teritha glared around
lightly, then sighed. "Okay, from the beginning. About 2000 years ago,
magic in this world started to be on the serious outs. Magical beings
needed someplace to go, so a bunch of mages got together and scouted around
to find another place. They found another dimension, which was dubbed
Second Earth. Gradually, over time, every magical being, except for a few
here and there who just refused to leave, migrated over to Second Earth,
which was pretty much identical, except that it was unpopulated.
"But because they didn't want us to forget our roots, the mages
created the Chalices of True Earth, and decreed that each home had to have
one. The Chalice would watch this Earth through magic, and anytime
something that was connected to the homeowner personally happened here, the
Chalice would get their attention and show them the images. Y'know, not
everyday, tiny little things... just when it was something significant like
a battle or a birth or whatever."
Teritha scowled, folding her arms over her chest. "The only
problem was, the mages figured a bunch of people would just ignore the damn
things. So they made it so that you HAD to come and look, or the Chalice
would just keep going on and on making this damn little CHING sound!" She
gritted her teeth, unfolding her arms so that she could grasp her staff
with both hands in a white-knuckled grip. "And mine will NOT. Shut. UP!"
The group of teenagers traded glances. After a few moments, Akane
cleared her throat. "Um, okay... I guess I can see how that'd be really
annoying, like a phone ringing all the time or something... but how's that
our fault?"
"Oh, it's all of you's fault!" Teritha growled. "But mostly...!"
She marched forward, and jabbed the end of her staff against first Ranma's
stomach, and then Ryoga's, making both 'oof' in turn. "It's the fault of my
idiot descendants here!"
There was a pure, sweet silence for a moment, broken only by the
soft rush of a mountain wind blowing through the area. Then, as one, the
entire group of acquaintances shouted, "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"
Zek blinked, then looked up at Shel. "I love it when they do that.
Do we ever do that?" Shel rolled his eyes, placing a paw on Zek's head and
shoving him down into the snow.
"Thaaat's right," Teritha continued, smirking a bit now.
"Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Doo here..." She rapped her staff against the top
of Ranma's head and the side of Ryoga's in time with the application of
nicknames, earning a pair of annoyed and pained protests. "Share a gene or
two with me. In fact, they're both currently the only two branches of my
little family tree left, other than a parent on each side, of course."
"Are you saying THAT'S my ancestor?!" Ranma shrieked in
near-hysterics, pointing frantically at a startled Shel.
Teritha sighed, hanging her head, then grabbed Ranma's ear.
"Noooo, you little twit."
"Owowowowowowowlemmego!" Ranma protested, flailing her arms, but
somehow finding herself unable to effectively resist.
Teritha released Ranma, then gave the snickering Ryoga a whap on
the side of the head. "Quit laughing, you. No, kid, your ancestor was
human. My husband at the time, actually. But whereas I'm so long-lived I
might as well be immortal, he was just plain human, so after he died, I
went ahead and made the move to Second Earth. Now, out of all the branches
and families that branched out from the son we had together, you... er,
Saotome and Hideki, right?"
"Hibiki," Ryoga corrected, finding himself oddly calm.
"Saotome and Hibiki," Teritha continued, as if she hadn't needed
to check the names. "Are the only two family lines that are left. And yet
you two generate more notices from my Chalice than the hundreds of
descendants of anyone else I know!"
Both Ranma and Ryoga hung their heads sheepishly. Well, Ranma hung
her head, Ryoga had to incline his.
"You expect us to believe all this?" Kodachi snorted, doing a good
job of looking like she wasn't cold wearing just a leotard in the snow,
despite a pair of very obvious signs that she was.
"I'd ask how often something like this happens if it's not true,
but God help me, I actually know," Teritha muttered, bringing a hand up to
pinch the bridge of her nose. "Look, kids, it's like this. You four..." She
gestured to the girls. "Want him. Her. Whatever." She poked at Ranma with
her staff again.
"Stop that, please."
"Want her? *I* only want my Ranma-sama, I don't know about the
perverted desires of these other girls," Kodachi sniffed, putting her nose
in the air.
Everyone just looked at Kodachi for a moment, before Teritha shook
her head. "Riiight. Okay, listen up. If I bring these two to Second Earth,
my Chalice will stop bugging me about 'em. I got the rest of you together
'cause I know you'd probably find some way to follow anyway if I didn't."
She turned to look at Ryoga and Ranma. "You two would have lots of
opportunities to train, you could look for cures to your curses, if you
wanted them, and have a lot better luck finding 'em..."
Both Ranma and Ryoga immediately seemed thoughtful. Akane leaned
over to look at Ukyo, mouthing 'CurseS?' to her, to which Ukyo simply shook
her head.
Teritha turned towards the girls. "And you four. You'd still get
to chase Ranma all you wanted, but without what I know are VERY meddlesome
family members getting in the way, among other things. You could still
write your families, though, let them know where you were, that you were
okay. It's a good deal, girls. I've got a nice big house that you'd all be
welcome in."
"What, you expect us to buy into this?!" Akane cried.
"Shampoo will go if Ranma goes."
Akane whipped to the side, staring at the purple-haired girl. "WHAT?!"
Shampoo shrugged under Ukyo's uniform jacket. "Shampoo go where
airen go. Already go to strange place Japan to seek airen, stay here, learn
much. No mind go to other Earth place if it means be with airen."
"Er... I'd hafta say that goes for me too, sugar," Ukyo said,
voice a little shaky due to her shivering. She cast a shy glance over at
Ranma, before looking back at her friend. "I mean, maybe there's a place
for okonomiyaki in this other world, especially if they don't have it
already. I started one shop from scratch, I can do it again. Even if it's
in some other world."
"You're BOTH crazy!" Akane cried.
"If my Ranma-sama will be there, then I INSIST on being allowed to
go," Kodachi said smoothly.
"You, I knew about," Akane muttered, looking askance at the
gymnast. Finally, she threw up her hands. "Fine! If you three are gonna be
insane and go traipsing off into some weird magical world you know nothing
about, I can't let you do it alone! Someone sane's gotta be there!"
"Well, sounds like it's up to you, boys." Teritha turned back to
regard Ranma and Ryoga. "What'll it be?"
"Hey, if it means training, a cure for my curse, and no more oyaji
stealing my food, count me in," Ranma said after only a moment's hesitation.
'There's no way I'm letting you take Akane a whole world away from
me, Ranma!' Ryoga thought with a growl. "Okay! I'll go too!"
"Great!" Teritha cried, her baby blue eyes lighting up with
pleasure as she clasped her hands together. "I'll finally be able to get on
with my life without that damn CHING!" She paused for a second to clench
her fists and glower at the very thought, then resumed her jubilant pose
and expression. "Nagging me at the worst moments!"
"And trust me, they were the worst," Shel murmured behind a paw to
Zek.
"I live at your house half the time, I was there for a lot of
them," the redhead reminded his friend, smirking.
Teritha swiped her staff at the ropes holding Ryoga so fast that
the blunt wood sliced clean through, sending the lost boy thudding to the
ground. Unharmed, Ryoga scrambled to his feet. He started to look over
towards the girls, but Ranma, having seen Shampoo's state of undress, held
a hand up to block Ryoga's gaze.
"No questions. Just gimme a spare pair of pants out of your pack."
"What?!"
"Shampoo doesn't have any," Ranma clarified.
"Would be very gra~ateful!" the Chinese girl sing-songed, hopping
from foot to foot in the snow.
A little trickle of blood slowly seeped out from under where
Ranma's hand was hiding Ryoga's upper face. Without a word, he reached one
hand back into his pack, rummaging around for a moment, then tossing the
pants in Shampoo's general direction.
While the Amazon donned the slightly oversized pants, Teritha
patted at her hips and legs. "Now... where did I put that recall portal
focus? Zek, did I give that to you?"
"Nope."
"Oh, I remember now." The elf dipped a hand down the front of her
bodice, causing several eyes to bug as she fished around for a moment
inside her rather full cleavage, before pulling out a small red gem,
rounded on one end and coming to a point at the other. "Here we go."
"How can you forget that you have something nestled between your
ti-" Zek started, only to have the gem ricochet off his forehead and send
him stumbling back. The stone flew upwards almost ninety degrees from where
it had struck the redheaded man, rising to about seven feet up, before a
long line of light slid down from it, then spread apart, showing something
that looked like an opening into some sort of temple.
"Everyone through, next stop, Lebodala!" Teritha called, gesturing
to the rip with her staff.
One by one, Kodachi, Shampoo, Ukyo, Akane, Ranma, and Ryoga sidled
forward, each taking one last look at what would be their last memory of
the Earth where they'd been born for some time. And then, one by one, they
stepped through the portal into an entirely new world.
~End Part One~
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