CHAPTER 25
-"HE WANTED TO BE ALONE WITH HIS THOUGHTS…; R VS. BASS! CAN'T THOSE TWO JUST GET ALONG?"-
At lunchtime, we see R sitting under a tree outside the school, looking like he's meditating. He has a LOT on his mind. He's frustrated because he hasn't killed Ranma yet, nervous about dating with Kodachi, and curious about that pig-tailed girl, Ran. But one thing seems to bother him more so than anything else – why Dr. Wily didn't want R to see Ran again….
R remembers Dr. Wily warning him, "R. Listen to me carefully. You must NEVER see that girl again. NEVER, you hear?"
"Hi!" Ran cheerfully says as R remembers the first day they met, around lunchtime.
Dr. Wily;s voice warns, "Because if you do, bad things will happen. Trust me on this, my boy."
R thinks, That girl…she's not so bad, really. I still don't know why Wily got so upset when I told him about her. There's something he's not telling me. But, I kinda feel sorry for her, though…
Then he hears Ran's voice again, sadly saying, "Folks…parents…a mother and a father.... I never had either. I've been all alone."
R continues thinking, 'Cause like me, she's got no parents. Hearing her say that, something inside me wanted to reach out to her, to comfort her, tell her it's going to be okay, to make her smile again. That smile…Her smile…" Aloud, he asks himself, " HUH? Hey, what am I thinking here? I'm a warrior, not some caring older brother type! Geez! It's this kind of nonsense that's getting in the way of me killing Ranma Saotome! ARGH! It's not like I care about her or anything, 'cause I don't! She means NOTHING to me!" R stands up, now angry! "NOTHING, YOU HEAR!!"
R didn't know that some of his classmates had seen him during his little outburst. They look at him like he's crazy.
"Hey, who's he talking to?" one student asks.
"Dunno. Let's leave him alone," another student replies.
It was then that R notices them. "HEY! What are YOU looking at, huh?"
Fearful, the students reply, "OH! Uhh…. nothing! Nothing at all! Really!"
"What, you've never seen a man thinking out loud before? Get outta here, or I'll REALLY get angry!!" R then fires up his raging battle aura!
The students flee in terror! "AAAHHH!! RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!"
R laughs as the poor students run away, afraid to face him lest they get beat up! "Heh, I still got it! For a moment there, I thought I was getting soft. Now then…"
R sits back down under the tree. He's reassuring himself, "Yep, she means nothing to me. That's right, nothing! Yeah… Besides, I've got a mission to carry out; I can't let my feelings get in the way. Warriors have no need of such things."
Poor R. No matter how much he tries to convince himself that Ran doesn't mean anything to him, deep down he feels otherwise. And yet… I can't seem to get her out of my head… Just who is she, anyway?
R leans back against the tree. As he closes his eyes, a strange vision takes over his mind….
-(BEGIN DREAM SEQUENCE)-
Mountains. Heavy are the mountains,
Something that changes through ages.
Sky. Blue sky. Something visible, something invisible.
Sun. Something unique.
Water. Something agreeable. That girl.
Flowers. Many of them alike, many of them useless. And yet, so beautiful…
Sky. Red, red sky. Red color. A color that I like.
Water flow. Blood. The smell of blood.
Made from the red soil are humans.
Made by man and woman are humans.
Town. Something that humans made.
Machines. Something that humans made.
Humans are what? Something that God made.
Humans are things that humans made.
The things I possess are my life and my mind.
The vessel of a mind. The heart, the very throne of the soul.
Who is this? This is me. Who am I? What am I? What am I? What am I? What am I?
I am myself. This object is me, the figure which forms me.
This is the me that is visible, though it feels as if this is not me.
Hmm… a strange feeling.
My body seems as if it is melting.
I cannot see myself. My figure is fading away.
I am aware of someone else.
Who is there before me?
My enemy, Saotome.
I know this person. Kodachi, my girlfriend.
That weird priest, Erick.
Bass.
People, my classmates.
That girl again.
Doctor Wily.
Who are you? Who are you? Who are you?
-(END DREAM SEQUENCE)-
R wakes up. "ACK! Huh? What…? Ah, geez…"
And here comes the object of R's curiosity…
Ran happily calls him, "R! R!"
R sees Ran coming toward him….again. In his current frame of mind, he's in NO mood for her cheerful, perky personality. So he just decides to retreat within himself, turning cold and antisocial. In other words, his usual self. Sarcastically, he replies, "Well, well, if it isn't "Little Miss Sunshine". You've come to annoy me again, I presume?"
Ran blinks. "R…?" She sighs,"You're in a foul mood today, aren't you? Oh, well…" She's sad, but apologizes anyway, "I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone. I was kinda hoping we'd have lunch together again. Maybe next time, huh?"
Looking at her, something breaks down within R's heart. How can he act like a jerk around someone so innocent, honest, and pretty?
R's thinking, Pretty? Her? Well…she is, in a perky, cute, sort of way. But I've already got a girlfriend – Kodachi. Huh? Since when did Kodachi become my girlfriend? I'm just using her so I can learn her secrets, yet I'm attracted to her at the same time. Man, relationships are just too complicated! Fighting's my thing, not trying to express my feelings to a girl. It's too much to deal with right now! And I still haven't killed Ranma yet! ARGH!
As Ran's about to leave…
"Hey, wait!"
Ran turns back in R's direction. "Yes?"
R gives up, sighing, "You…don't have to leave. You're here anyway, so go ahead. Do whatever you want."
Yet, in his heart, R really wanted to say, Please, stay with me. I…I enjoy your company…I don't mean to be rude, but it's just that I've got some stuff on my mind and it's really bothering me. And I don't know if I can or even if I want to talk to you about it.
Ran comes back and sits down beside R. R sees that she has two lunches with her. "Two lunches? Must be really hungry, aren't you?"
Ran laughs, "Oh no, silly!" She takes her lunch out and gives R his. "I made this one for you."
R's surprised. "For me?"
"Well, yes…"
Ah geez… Here I am wrestling with this stuff, and she's being extra nice to me today. Why me? R sighs aloud, then says, "Thanks, kid, but…I'm not hungry."
Concerned, Ran asks, "Are you okay?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Well, I noticed earlier that you looked sort of depressed about something, so I didn't want to bother you at first. But I was just wondering…. R, is something wrong? Maybe I could help. I don't know if I'd be of much help solving a guy's problems, but I'm told it helps to talk things out, so …is there something you want to talk about?"
"Ah geez… Let's NOT talk about it."
"Are you sure?"
"Kid, I'd REALLY rather not talk about this…"
"Does it have to do with Ranma?"
R explodes, "LOOK, DROP IT, OK?! My grudge against Ranma Saotome is NONE of your business! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, WILL YA!"
Both R and Ran are shocked. Ran, because she'd never seen R like this before and she doesn't know how to react. R, because he just blew up on her and she looks like she's going to cry now. "Kid, look, I'm…I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. It's just…"
Ran's teary-eyed. "It's me, isn't it? It's about me, and you can't tell me what it is, and now you're angry with me, and…" OK, here come the tears…
R thinks, Actually, it is you, but… Out loud, he says, exasperated, "Ah, geez! Look, stop crying, will ya?"
What R fails to realize is that Ran has a girl's heart and a girl's feelings. And now he has hurt those feelings. What should R do now? How should he react?
R doesn't say anything else. He just hands Ran his handkerchief, and lets her dry her tears. As she calms down, R takes the lunch she made for him and puts it in his briefcase, perhaps saving it for later. Once he sees she's not crying anymore, he gets up, as if he's about to leave.
With his back turned to her, R finally says, "So you want to know why I've got a grudge against Ranma, eh?"
Ran, her eyes red from crying earlier, replies, "Well, yes, I did. But…"
"OK. Meet me Sunday at the park. Wear something nice."
With that, R walks off to his next class.
After school, Ranma, Akane, and Ran are walking home. As they're walking Ranma notices that Ran looks sad, so he decides to talk to her.
"Hey Ran, you okay?"
Ranma's voice gets Ran's attention, taking her mind off what happened today with R. "Hm? Oh, fine. I'm fine. Really…"
Akane asks her, "So how did things go between you and R today?"
Ran looks away from them sadly, not wanting to tell them what happened. "……………"
Ranma's worried now. "He hurt you didn't he?" He gets upset. "Ah, I knew it! I knew I couldn't leave you with that guy! I'm gonna…!"
"No! R…. he wants me to meet him…," Ran confesses.
Ranma & Akane both shout, "WHAT!?"
"Sunday, at the park. He said he'd tell me why he's after you."
Ranma's a little relived. "OK, well then, what's the problem?"
"I'm not sure. I mean, I'm going to see R. Part of me wants to go, to find out my past. The other part is scared, afraid of what might happen…. What should I do? What do you think I should say to him?"
Akane assures, "Don't worry about it. After all, Sunday's only a couple of days away."
Ranma adds, "Akane's right, Ran. You shouldn't worry about it. Once you get there, you'll know what to do."
Ran is touched by the support her friends are lending her. "Thanks, guys…. I knew I could count on you."
TENDO DOJO, SATURDAY NIGHT…
The whole family (Ran included) is having dinner. Everyone enjoys the meal, of course, but what did not escape any of them was that Ran doesn't eat that much, and Ranma isn't noisily wolfing down his food, but rather munching quietly. He doesn't even fight with Genma over dinner tonight, either.
Akane turns to Ran, whispering, "Are you OK?"
"Uhh…yeah, why?"
"Well, because you're not eating like you usually do."
"Oh…I didn't realize that. Maybe I'm not hungry as I thought." Out loud Ran says to everyone, "May I be excused?" She gets up, bows, and then leaves the dinner table.
Kasumi says sadly, "Oh my, poor Ran."
Soun observes, "Hmm… Ran seems very depressed today."
Nabiki tells her father, "It's because of tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Now, Soun remembers. "Ah yes…. tomorrow…."
Later that night, Ran is in her room, lying on her bed. She's unable to sleep, wondering why R wanted to meet her. Then, she hears a knock at the door.
It's Kasumi's voice Ran hears outside. "Ran, I'm coming in." She then opens the door.
Obviously concerned for her, Kasumi asks, "Ran, are you all right?"
Ran weakly replies, "Y-yes, I'm fine Kasumi…" But then, she truthfully admits, "No, that's not true. Right now I… I really don't know how I feel."
"Would you like to talk about it?"
"Thanks Kasumi, but I'm not sure if I want to talk about this."
"But Ran, I know that something's bothering you." Kasumi grasps Ran's shoulders gently. "Are you afraid of what might happen if you go with R? You must step forward. Otherwise nothing will change."
"I know, Kasumi, but…"
"Anyhow, I think you should go there with your chin up tomorrow, since you'll be dealing with your past." Kasumi beams her signature gentle smile and walks toward the door. "Well, good night, Ran. I hope you find what you're looking for. Just remember, if you ever decide you do want to talk about it, I'll be there for you. We'll all here for you." She leaves, closing the door behind her.
Now alone, Ran softly whispers, "Thank you, Kasumi. Thank you, everyone."
SUNDAY, AT A PARK IN NERIMA ….
Ran waits patiently for R at the park, wearing a simple white dress with a matching hat and shoes. Then, she hears someone's footsteps …
"Hey. You look good."
Ran gasps and turns around to see R! He's wearing a dark gray suit, white shirt, black tie, and dark sunglasses. Ran can see that he's carrying two long black boxes under his left arm.
"Here, take this." R gives one of the boxes to Ran. "Don't open it till I tell you, OK?"
"R…what is this? What's going on?"
"Let's go." R points to his S2000 parked outside. "Get in."
They walk over to R's car. Being a gentleman, R opens the passenger-side door for Ran and lets her get in first. Then he gets behind the wheel, and starts the engine. They ride through the city in silence. Ran tries talking to R, but he doesn't say anything to her. She begins to worry.
After driving for a good while, R's S2000 pulls up to the front entrance of the cemetery from Chapter 17, the one where R's parents are supposedly laid to rest. "A cemetery? R, what are we doing here?"
Mildly irritated, R just calmly says, "Do you want to know or not? If you're scared, then give me your box and stay in the car. I'll go alone."
"R, wait! Wait for me!" Ran gets out of the car and walks with R into the cemetery. We see them walking through the graveyard, carrying their long black boxes. All those tombstones and stuff there make Ran a little scared but it doesn't seem to bother R at all. They walk until they reach another tombstone, the gravesite of R's parents. In memory of the parents who I never had the honor and privilege to know, it reads. R stands there, hands folded, head lowered, and draws his coat closer around him as a chill breeze cuts through him.
R speaks to the graves. "Hello, mother, father. I've brought someone with me…."
Ran thinks, These must be his parents! Aloud, she breathes sadly, "Oh, R…."
R didn't turn to look at Ran one bit. She moves closer to him, putting her arm around his elbow. "R…you must miss them so much."
"Yeah…." is all R says.
They stand there for a short time, and then R tugs gently on her arm, indicating with a nod of his head that they could open their boxes. Each box has two long-stemmed white roses, just like before in Chapter 17. They each lay one rose on each grave. R turns around and notices the tears coming down Ran's cheeks. "Hey. What are you crying for?"
"…………………" Finally Ran says, "You're very lucky, R."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"At least you had parents. I can't even remember who mine are, or even if I have any. But if I lost my parents like you did, I know that'd I'd feel sad. You…you're not even crying?"
Seeing her like this almost makes R lose his composure. He feels his own eyes starting to get misty. Good thing he's wearing those dark sunglasses; they do a pretty good job of hiding his eyes.
R's surprised. "What?" He holds back his own tears by talking briskly. "No, no, never! Besides, I… I have no need for such things. A true warrior fights on, in spite of whatever he might be feeling."
"Okay, so you're not crying, but you're still sad…." Ran then changes the subject. "So, your parents…. What were they like?"
"I have no idea."
"No idea?"
"They died when I was little. I know that my father was a great martial artist and that my mother was very beautiful and kind. Other than that, I don't really remember anything about them. I don't feel like they sleep here, you know?"
"Don't you have a photo of them or something?"
"Nothing is left." R then points to the gravesite. "See this grave? It's nothing but a decoration. There were no remains."
"Surely you have something that they left you to remember them by?"
"Everything I have left of them, I keep in my heart. I am satisfied with that now. Nevertheless, they left me something that I must not forget to do. To confirm that, I come here."
"What was it? What did they leave you?" Ran asks R, wanting to know more.
R explains, "Not too long ago, I came here by myself. On that day, I made a vow to my parents. I swore that I would kill Ranma Saotome and become the new master of Anything-Goes Martial Arts." He turns back to the gravesite. "His death will bring us some much-needed closure."
Ran is shocked. "What? But why, R? Ranma's never done anything to you. Why…do you hate him so much?"
"I have my reasons. I've just given you one of them. That's all you'll get."
Ran's not satisfied with that explanation. "No, really! Please, just tell me the real reason you hate Ranma."
"Because…. well, because I just do, OK!"
"But…that doesn't make any sense!"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"To hate someone for no reason at all, that's…. that's just stupid!"
"Stupid?" R then turns to face Ran and assumes a fighting stance, murderous intent in his voice. "Them's fighting words, kid." But he stops, and drops his stance, calming down. "No…not here…" R turns to look again at his parents' graves. "Not in front of them."
Ran pities R at this point. "R…"
R hmph's, "So, you think what I'm doing is stupid, eh? I'll tell you something that's REALLY stupid – liking somebody for no reason at all! Now, THAT's stupid."
Ran objects, "No it isn't! I…I like you."
R's like, "You WHAT? You're joking, right?"
"No, I'm not. I like you, R."
"But, how can you do that? I mean, you don't know me at all. We've never met before!"
Ran tries to explain, " I don't know how, but I keep getting this weird feeling whenever you're around. I feel like I know you, and yet I don't. So that's why I came to see you. I was wondering if you knew anything about me. And even if you didn't… well, I was hoping we could at least be friends."
" Friends?" R bitterly laughs, "Kid, you don't want ME for a friend, trust me."
"But…R, don't you get ever get lonely sometimes? How can you stand it?"
"There ARE some people who prefer being alone, you know. Anyway, let's go. We're done here." R then bows respectfully to his parents' graves. "Goodbye mother, goodbye father. It was good to see you again. I will not forget. I will keep my vow to you."
Ran sadly whispers, "R…."
They leave the cemetery and get in R's car. They ride back to the park in silence, neither one speaking to the other. When they arrive at the park, R drops Ran off in front of the park entrance. But before he leaves…
"About what you said earlier about us being friends? I'll…. I'll think about it. But…"
Ran brightens up, hope evident in her voice when she asks, "But what?"
"I'm still going to fight Ranma. I WILL kill him. You can do whatever you want, but please don't try to stop me, unless…. you want to share his fate."
And with that, R drives off, leaving Ran standing at the gate. She now knew the reason for R's hatred of Ranma Saotome, but she feels like she's failed somehow. After all that, R still wants to kill Ranma, her best friend. She'd hoped to learn something more about her past from him, but instead found only more questions. Questions like, why did she shed tears over R's parents? Who really is R? And for that matter, who was she, really? And yet strangely enough, she feels happy. The fact that R might consider being friends with her gives her some hope.
She smiles at that, turns and walks back home, back to the Tendo Dojo, to the people she cares about – especially Ranma.
RED CAT GANG'S HIDEOUT – INSIDE ERICK'S DARK CHAMBER…
We're inside the control room from Chapter 20, the one where Erick first tested his DVL Cells. He is standing in front of the control panel, and we can still see the large one-sided panoramic window. On the other side of that window is yet another room, different from the one Erick used before when he tested the prototype version of his Cells. In THIS room, we see Ryoga Hibiki lying flat on his back, and strapped to a table. All sorts of equipment either lie around him, or come down from the ceiling.
"WHERE ON EARTH AM I NOW!?"
At the control panel, Erick pushes the intercom button and picks up the microphone. "I knew you were going to say that. Welcome, Ryoga Hibiki."
"PLEASE! WHOEVER YOU ARE, JUST LET ME GO!"
"Let you go? You wouldn't be trying to back out of the deal you just made with Bison now, are you? As for who I am…let's just say that I'm a close associate of Bison's. My name is Erick."
"But what do you want with me?"
Erick says genuinely, "Why…to help you."
Ryoga's confused. "To help me? How? Why?"
"Why not…? You want to destroy Ranma Saotome, because he stole your beloved away from you and it's his fault you are cursed …am I right?"
Surprised, Ryoga replies, "Well…yes! But…how, how can you help me?"
"Easy… My job is to oversee your initiation into Shadowloo and to "reassure" you that you've made the right choice in joining Bison. You'll have a great job and, the means to get your revenge on Ranma! With my guidance, you will NEVER get lost or have to worry about changing into a pig again! So …what do you say? Are you in, or are you out?"
Ryoga thinks for a moment. Something inside him said not to trust Erick. But the part of him that longed for Akane Tendo and hated Ranma Saotome still prevailed, clouding his judgment. He makes his choice. He finally says, "Alright, Erick, I'm in. What do I have to do?"
"Nothing. Just relax, and I'll handle the rest." Erick then presses a glowing red button on the control panel. In the room, vents on the walls open up. A thick red mist pours out of the vents. Ryoga's room is being flooded with Erick's DVL Cells!
Ryoga panics, "Wh-What's that?"
Erick then speaks in a low, hypnotic voice, "Relax, Ryoga. Pay no attention to what's happening in this room. Focus on the sound of my voice…Focus on who your enemy is…you are a warrior for Shadowloo…you will obey Bison's orders…"
As Ryoga begins to fall under Erick's spell, the Cells continue to pour out from the vents. "Ranma….!"
And all the while, Erick's voice commands, Focus on who your enemy is…
"You have made my life a living hell. You took away my happiness, my love…"
Focus on who your enemy is…
"It was you who cursed me at Jusenkyo…"
Focus on who your enemy is…
"You who took Akane away from me…"
Focus on who your enemy is…
"You…You are my enemy! You…must die! No…YOU WILL DIE! RANMA! PREPARE TO DIE!! I'LL SEND YOU TO HELL!!"
The Cells, as if sensing the pent-up rage within Ryoga, quickly made their way towards him. Erick notices this. He thinks, Hmm…it would seem my Cells are attracted to your hatred of Ranma Saotome, Ryoga. Interesting. Let's continue this experiment, shall we?
And so Erick continues to brainwash Ryoga by infecting him with the Cells! He turns a dial on the control panel, increasing the flow of Cells pouring out the vents! They swarm over Ryoga like angry bees, feeding off his hatred, his fear, his depression. Ryoga's body shakes and twitches like he's having a seizure as the Cells take over his mind. He hears Erick's voice again.
Focus on who your enemy is…
As the Cells do their thing, Ryoga begins to hallucinate. He sees another person in his vision – Akane! "Akane? What's she doing here?"
Akane says, "Ryoga, I do love you…but only as a friend, nothing more…"
Ryoga's beginning to cry, "No…. No, Akane…!"
Akane sadly says, "I'm so sorry Ryoga, but, it's for the best, I don't want to give you any false hopes, my heart belongs to Ranma, but… we can still be friends, what do you say Ryoga?"
"That's right. Akane rejected me. She…loves Ranma more than me!"
Focus on who your enemy is…
"Wait a minute! Akane…she's not an enemy! True, I was hurt by what she said, but…."
She is the enemy, too. Focus, Ryoga! Focus! You must focus!
"She should have been mine, not Ranma's! He doesn't deserve to have her!"
Focus on who your enemy is…
"Akane…why do you even love a jerk like Ranma? He's worthless, dishonorable, and a coward!"
Focus on who your enemy is…
"And she knows…knows that I'm her pet P-Chan….she'll never love me again….It's all Ranma's fault! If I can't have you, Akane, then NO ONE will! You…are also my enemy!"
Erick is pleased. Ryoga's slowly succumbing to the Cells' influence. It won't be long now. "Soon… soon, Ryoga you will be a warrior for Shadowloo….and the first of my mind-controlled slaves! Heh heh heh!"
The brainwashing continues. Ryoga sees yet another face in his visions….yes, that girl…the one who looks like his hated foe Ranma! Ran!
He remembers Ran defending Ranma. "Hey Ryoga, please stop this! You don't want to do this; Ranma hasn't done anything to you!"
"Nothing…NOTHING? THAT MISERABLE BASTARD STOLE AKANE FROM ME! HE GOT ME CURSED! HE MADE MY LIFE A LIVING HELL…HE WILL DIE!!"
"Ryoga, you don't have that right to take away a life! If you're an honorable man, you know this is wrong!"
"WHY SHOULD I LISTEN TO A STUPID CLONE OF THAT JERK…"
"Yeah…why should I listen to you, you stupid clone! Now I remember! You tried to stop me from killing Ranma before!"
Focus on who your enemy is…
"And you were there when Akane found out I was P-Chan! I don't know who or what you really are, but to side with Ranma is to choose death! You too, are my enemy!"
As the brainwashing continued, Ryoga's body shakes violently from the Cells' power.
Heh heh heh, Ryoga, it's time… Erick's voice finally intones.
At this point, Ryoga's now totally under Erick's dark influence. "Is it time already? Yes…"
The time is coming....
"Maybe it is time…"
Yes. Now is the time....
"Yes. It is time...."
By now the Cells have covered Ryoga almost completely.
"Time....."
They wrap around his head, now completely covering Ryoga Hibiki's body.
"It's time... to kill them all...!!"
But something goes wrong…Erick checks his monitoring equipment. There's an irregularity in Ryoga's brainwave readings as if he were… "Is he trying to resist now? No matter, the Cells are just about done devouring him. He'll be my servant anyway."
But for one brief moment, Ryoga finds himself thinking about Akane again. Her soft features fill his mind, the few close times they shared making him feel less afraid of what is about to happen. A cold sensation courses through his body, the final effects of the Cells beginning to show. His vision blurrs, a dull throb beating at his temples, but Ryoga continues to think about Akane.
Ryoga, I love you.
He wished he could hear Akane say that to him. It was too late for him to tell her how much he loved her now, regretting never having told her the truth all those many chances before. As the Cells begin to take hold, Ryoga makes one final defiant gesture before finally going all the way under.
"Akane, I love you!!"
With that, Ryoga loses consciousness. And then everything went black, or rather a deep shade of red….
The Ryoga Hibiki they all knew was gone.
Now, there was only Ryoga Hibiki, warrior of Shadowloo, and servant of the RED CAT GANG.
BACK AT R's MANSION / RED CAT GANG'S HIDEOUT….
R has just come home from visiting his parents. He walks with a heavier step as he sets foot into his estate. He stands there in the main hallway, wondering, thinking about everything that's happened today. But his thoughts wander back towards that girl, Ran. That girl again…
He thinks back to when they were at his parents' grave…
-(BEGIN FLASHBACK)-
R speaks to the graves. "Hello, mother, father. I've brought someone with me. It's the girl I told you about. " He points to Ran. "She's here because she wants to know why I'm after Ranma. Is that okay with you? " He waits for a moment. "Good."
Ran breathes sadly, "Oh, R…."
R doesn't turn to look at Ran one bit. So focused is he on chatting with his late parents that he doesn't notice her coming toward him. The next thing he knows, she's right beside him, holding him closely, tenderly.
Huh? This catches R totally by surprise. He's never been this close to a girl before, not even with Kodachi. At this range, R gets a faint whiff of Ran's scent. He wonders if she's wearing perfume or if that's the way she naturally smelled. Either way, she smells nice. For a moment, R couldn't move, couldn't speak, his mind too shocked at their current position to consider his reaction.
"R…you must miss them so much."
Still shaken by how close she is to him at this very moment, the sound of her voice snaps R back to reality. All he can say is…
"Yeah…"
-(END FLASHBACK)-
Still standing there, R is lost in thought.
She has a nice smell…like flowers in springtime, spring water, and sweet honey all rolled up in one. And she's not bad looking, either. But it's more than that. She's more than that. Somehow, when I was with her at my parents' grave, I felt a little relieved. The weight of everything I was dealing with in my mind and heart seemed lighter.
In a brief flashback R remembers Ran asking him, "But…R, don't you get ever get lonely sometimes? How can you stand it?"
Lonely? Am I lonely? I've never even thought about that. I mean, for a while after my parents' death, I was alone, yeah, but I don't remember feeling lonely at all. Perhaps it's because I've devoted myself to the warrior's path, training to defeat Ranma. Still, this path I walk is a hard one, and a lonely one. And besides, Dr. Wily was there. He took me in, raised me as if I were his own son. Funny, I remember him, but I don't remember anything about my parents, except what he told me about them.
R then remembers something else Ran said to him, "I was hoping we could at least be friends."
Friends? Just what is a friend, really? The opposite of an enemy, of course. But I've seen that girl hanging around Ranma, and he's my enemy, which would also make her my enemy too. And she wants to be friends with me? It could be a trick, but something tells me otherwise.
And at that moment, Dr. Wily's words come back to R's mind. R. Listen to me carefully. You must NEVER see that girl again. NEVER, you hear? Because if you do, bad things will happen. Trust me on this, my boy.
Feh, Wily got all worried for nothing. Besides, I saw her again today, and nothing bad happened. But I wonder. I'm starting to get the feeling that I know her, too. Just who is she?
He is interrupted from his musing by sounds coming from the living room. R figured it was the TV, but he didn't recall leaving it on when he left earlier today. Someone was inside the house. But who could it be? Nobody knows the location of the estate, except R, Dr. Wily and the RED CATS. Nevertheless, there was an intruder on the mansion grounds, and R was about to make that person pay!
R clenches his fists and quickly makes his way to the living room, ready to beat the crap out of whoever dared to break into his home. He didn't find an intruder, but he found something worse – Bass! Bass was sitting on the sofa, watching the TV. His wolf companion, Treble, was curled up on the rug.
Bass says with fake cheerfulness in his voice, "Hey, Dog-Boy, where were you? You left without telling anybody. Me, I could care less what you do, but the Doc was really worried about you…"
-(BEGIN FLASHBACK)-
Early this morning, around 7:00 AM….
At the RED CATS's hideout, Bass is in his room sleeping. Then, he hears Dr. Wily shouting…
"HE'S GONE! R! OH, WHERE ARE YOU, BOY? WAAAHH!!"
Bass wakes up, upset. Gritting his teeth, he angrily hisses, "If he doesn't shut up, I'm gonna….!"
Then Wily bursts into Bass's room. "BASS! BASS!!"
"Doc, would you mind not making so much noise? There are people trying to sleep, namely ME!"
Treble growls, "GRRRR!!"
Dr. Wily wails, "HE'S GONE, BASS! HE'S GONE, I TELL YOU!"
Bass asks, wanting to know why the loony geezer's making so much noise, "WHO'S GONE?"
"MY BOY! R! OH, MY SON, MY SON!!" Dr. Wily starts his Soun Tendo impression, bursting into a flood of tears, "WWAAAAAHHHH!!"
"What, Dog-Boy?"
"WILL YOU STOP CALLING HIM THAT? THIS IS SERIOUS! NOW GET OUT THERE AND FIND HIM!!
"Doc, get a grip! Besides, you know Dog-Boy; he's always making lame excuses. I'll bet you he's got a good one for leaving like he did. He was probably trying to get away from YOU."
Dr. Wily gasps, "YOU MEAN HE'S RUN AWAY?" Now he REALLY gets emotional! "OH NO! HE'S RUN AWAY FROM HOME! HE'S PROBABLY OUT THERE ALL ALONE, BY HIMSELF, LOST AND SCARED!! WWAAAAAHHHH!! OH BASS, BASS, I'M A TERRIBLE FATHER! WHERE DID I GO WRONG? WWAAAAAHHHH!!"
Bass replies sarcastically, "Well, let's see, Doc… You've failed to take over the world so many times it's not even funny, you keep getting beat by Megaman every single time, you're obsessed with trying to kill Ranma, you've got a "daughter" (Ran) who's turned traitor, and a "son" (R, a.k.a, Dog-Boy) who's a total loser! OH! And let's not forget that you're a rotten, no-good, useless, blundering, idiotic, dumb-as-fungus, mean, ugly, psychotic, and downright evil old man! I'd think that pretty much sums it up. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going back to sleep. Good night."
And Bass goes right back to sleep!
The next thing he knows, he's being tossed out into the yard of R's mansion! "AAAAHHH!!"
SPLAT!!
Bass lands flat on his face. Dr. Wily stomps outside, upset that Bass has insulted him. This time, Bass went a little too far. Wily yells, "YOU LAZY ROBOT! NOW GET OUT THERE AND FIND MY BOY!!"
Before Bass can even get up, something else lands on top of him!
BONK! SPLAT!!
It's Bubbleman! He's out cold, with little dizzy swirls in his eyes. (No surprise there, folks!)
"AND TAKE BUBBLEMAN WITH YOU!" Dr. Wily then goes back inside, leaving the two unconscious robots.
-(END FLASHBACK)-
Bass finishes his story. "…And so he sent us to look for you. Eventually, Bubbles and I got tired from all that searching, so we decided to crash at your place until the Doc calms down. Hope you don't mind."
R straight up tells Bass, "Bass, take your mutt and get out of my house!"
Treble gets up, and growls at R. "RRRRRGH!!"
But R's not afraid. He simply fires up his dark purple battle aura, and growls back at Treble!
"RRF? YIPE!" Treble cowers in fear, covering his face with his paws!
R snorts, "Feh. Looks like your pal's all bark and no bite, huh, Bass?"
"Hmph. Don't push him, Dog-Boy. When Treble's serious, you're dog chow, and that's WITHOUT my help. You seem to forget that YOUR fancy house is on OUR property. Now, I'll ask you again. Where were you?"
"That's none of your business. You just tell Wily that I had something "personal" to attend to. He'll know what it is."
What R DOESN'T know is that Bass now knows what that something "personal" is, thanks to that talk he had with Wily a while back in Chapter 20!
"Personal, huh? OK, Dog-Boy, I understand…" Bass's thinking, Fool, he doesn't know the Doc's playing him for a sap! If I tell him the truth about his parents, he'll be crushed! But it's not enough for me to just crush his spirit, no! I want to crush him body and soul! Sigh…I guess I should be patient –I'll get my chance to waste him eventually. As Erick would say, "In order to attack your enemies, you must wait for the right time. When they come for you, that's when you can attack." Or something like that.
And that's when Bass hears Erick's voice – even though Erick's nowhere in sight! Very good, Bass. I see someone's been taking my advice.
Bass gasps, thinking, Huh? Erick? Did he just read my thoughts?
No, I'm an imaginary voice inside your head. Of course, I read your thoughts!
"ACK!"
"So, Bass, are you gonna leave now, or am I gonna have to make you leave?" R threatens, igniting a purple flame in his right hand.
At that point, Bass decides to keep what he knows a secret for now and instead play with his prey. "Heh. You think you're so tough, don't you? But I'll bet that deep down you're just soft."
"What?"
Bass taunts, "You heard me! My, my, Dog-Boy, I didn't know you were such a mama's boy!"
R's angry now! "WHY YOU…! TAKE THAT BACK!" He swings a fist at Bass, but Bass dodges the incoming blow.
"Ooh, guess I touched a nerve there, didn't I? What's the matter Dog-Boy? You missing your mommy? You REALLY miss her, don't you? Heh, you must have one of those complexes…what was it called? Oh yeah, an Oedipus! Tell me, how do you REALLY feel about your mother?" Bass REALLY knows how to get under R's skin with his sarcastic remarks, doesn't he?
"GRRR….THAT DOES IT! YOU'RE SCRAP METAL, BASS! LIGHTNING YELLOW PEARL!!" R shoots a blast of electricity at Bass. Bass dodges out of the way.
"OH YEAH? TAKE THIS! BUSTER SHOT!!" Bass shoots a charged blast of purple-white energy back at R. R jumps over it, charging up a sphere of blue energy around him, and counters with an air attack!
"DIAMOND BLUE PEARL!!" R dives down from the sky toward Bass with a large blast of energy! The force of the blow knocks Bass down! He gets up, furious, and leaps at R for another attack!
As R and Bass fight, Bubbleman enters the living room, holding a large triple-decker sandwich filled with every edible thing possible and a can of cherry cola. The two fighters are so busy trying to beat each other senseless they don't even notice him! "Hey, Bass! What's going on? I heard a lot of noise from the kitchen, and…." Bubbleman then freaks out when he sees R. "ACK, R'S HERE! OH NO! WHEN DID HE GET HOME?"
At that moment Bass fires another Buster Shot at R, who leaps out of the way. The blast hits Bubbleman instead, burning up his sandwich, and blows up the can, spilling soda all over Bubbleman, shorting out his circuits! "ACK! MY SANDWICH! WAAAHHH!!" He falls over, defeated!
Bass finally notices the slain Bubbleman. "BUBBLES!!" Then, he yells at R, "WHY YOU, DODGING LIKE THAT! YOU KILLED BUBBLEMAN! YOU BASTARD!!"
Bubbleman wakes up, groaning, "Uhh…I'm not quite dead, Bass!"
Bass is a bit deflated upon finding out that Bubbleman is not yet dead. "Err..well, uh…" He yells at R again, "YOU MORTALLY WOUNDED BUBBLEMAN! YOU BASTARD!!"
"No, really, I'm OK!" Bubbleman insists.
"Oh, I see." Damn it!
As he's getting up, Bubbleman says, "Actually, I think I'm all right to come help you…"
Just then, a piece of the ceiling weakened by the battle cracks apart and falls on Bubbleman, clocking him in the head!
CRACK! WHUNK!
"OW!… Ugh….!" Bubbleman falls over unconscious, little dizzy swirls in his eyes again.
R sweatdrops. "OK, that was pointless. So, Bass, shall we get back to fighting?"
Bass replies, "For once, I agree. I think we left off with me about to rip you apart…limb…from…limb!"
"YOU WISH!"
And so they continue fighting, throwing and blocking punches and kicks at each other instead of blowing themselves up with energy blasts. It's an intense struggle; neither opponent is letting up or holding back. Then R and Bass leap into the air, about to unleash aerial raves on each other. Time seems to move in slow motion as the scenery rotates around them MATRIX-style. But before they can even hit each other, an invisible force knocks them out of the air and down to the floor! OUCH!
When they come to, they see Erick standing before them. "Are you two done now? Good." He sees R. "Ah, there you are, Lord R. I'm sure that Dr. Wily will be relieved when I tell him you're here. He was very distraught over your apparent disappearance."
This makes R pause for a moment. He could have just told Wily where he went today instead of going off on his own, and none of this mess would have happened. And the way Bass and Erick were putting it, it sounded like Wily was actually worried about him, like a real parent would if his or her child was missing. And Wily was a friend of his father, so… Disrespecting Wily would be like disrespecting his own father. And R had too much respect for the memory of his father's supposed martial arts legacy to do a thing like that. He feels he should apologize to Wily as soon as possible. "Uh, look, I can explain…"
Bass, on the other hand, is furious! Highly upset, he yells, HEY! WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA, ERICK! I WAS ABOUT TO GIVE DOG-BOY A LESSON IN RESPECT!"
R snorts, "As if, Bass! One hit from me and there wouldn't have been enough of you left to sweep up with a broom!"
Ooh, Bass's really angry now! "WHAT?! WHY YOU…!!"
Erick has had it! Putting a stop to Bass and R's arguing, he shouts, "ENOUGH! Your childish bickering is NOT helping our cause right now. We need to step up our efforts to get the Phoenix Stone. Now, I've called a meeting at the Cat Ghost King's shrine tonight. Everyone is to be there." Looking in R's direction, Erick says, "R, I'll see you at tonight's meeting. You and Wily can make up then." Then, to Bass, "Let's go, Bass. I don't need to tell you what you should do next?"
Bass grumbles, "Yeah, yeah, I know."
Bass goes over to pick up the unconscious Bubbleman, slings him over his shoulder, and whistles for Treble to come to him. Then they join Erick and leave the room. But before Bass leaves, he turns around and looks back at R angrily. "Dog-Boy, don't think for a moment this is over between you and me! One day, you and I are gonna finish this! Count on it!"
"BASS!!" Erick yells from outside.
"OK, OK! I'M COMING ALREADY! GEEZ!"
With Erick and Bass finally gone, R is by himself, alone again. He looks around the living room to see if any damage was done. Surprisingly, everything was mostly intact, aside from some damaged furniture and that piece of ceiling that fell on Bubbleman. He'd worry about fixing all that stuff later. R had a few hours to rest before tonight's meeting, so he sits down on the sofa to relax. As he's sitting there, R hears his stomach rumbling. Man, I'm hungry! I must have worked up an appetite fighting that hotheaded tin can Bass! What's his beef with me, anyway? Ah, well… If he gets in my way again, I'll crush him, just like I'll do to Ranma! HA! Now, let's eat!
He gets up and goes to the kitchen to get a snack. Opening the refrigerator, he sees lots of food inside, but nothing that he really wants. Then his eyes spotted a lunch that was sitting on a shelf by itself in the fridge. This is the lunch that girl made for me.
It was sitting in the fridge for a couple of days, untouched, unopened. R takes it out and goes over to a table. He sits down, opens the lunch, and prepares to eat it. When he takes his first bite, though…
Surprised, R gasps, "It's…. still good. No, this…this is delicious!!"
But with the delicious taste of Ran's cooking comes the memories of everything that happened before, from the time R met Ran at school up to today. It kinda sours R's excitement rendering the whole experience rather bittersweet. This mellows his thoughts, and he begins to think about her. R knows that Wily doesn't want him to see Ran again, and yet every time he did see her, his curiosity about her grew.
Then, R gets an idea…
"That girl…I must find out more about her. Since she hangs around Ranma, I might be able to use her to get to him! The prospect of me being "friends" with her sounds even more interesting to me now, especially if it means I can destroy Ranma in the process! Oh yeah, this is gonna be good… Hm hm hm hm, heh heh heh heh, HA HA HA HA HAAAAA!!!"
As he's plotting and scheming, R's thoughts wander back to Ran. And yet, there's something else… I feel something, a strong positive emotion, towards her. Could it be…? He shrugs it off. Naaah! No way! It can't be that. A warrior especially has no need for THAT!
But R changes his mind. An evil smile appears on his lips. Then again, I could use that too. The very thing that people write songs, poems, and stories about is no more than a means to achieve my goal – to see Ranma Saotome die by my hands! Even if I have to use "her" to do it! Heh heh heh!
He takes another bite of Ran's lunch. "WOW! This is good! Oh man, what kind of seasonings does she use? I tell you, that girl might be a lot of things, but she's DEFINITELY a good cook! Mmmm….!!"
R sits alone, eating, enjoying every bite.
BACK AT R's MANSION / RED CAT GANG'S HIDEOUT….
Bass, Treble and Erick are on their way back to the secret hideout. As they're walking Bass confronts Erick about the fight he had earlier with R. "Hey, Erick! You know a lot of wise sayings! Isn't there one that says it's bad form to interrupt a battle between men?"
Erick turns around and gives Bass an icy stare that makes Bass's blood run cold.
Bass steps back in fear. "ACK!"
Erick, though he's upset, calmly says, "There is one, Bass. And YOU would call your little quarrel with R a "battle between men"? Seems more like a schoolyard fight between two unruly kids to me. I'm disappointed in you. And here I thought you'd started to use that unused space between your head called a BRAIN, for once, and yet you still do not understand. Have you learned NOTHING from me at all?"
"HEY! You WERE reading my thoughts back there at Dog-Boy's!
"As the popular expression goes, "Well, DUH!" I'm beginning to wonder if I shouldn't have offered to be your royal advisor in the first place…."
Bass panics, and starts begging, "ACK! OH NO! Oh, c'mon, Erick! Don't cut me off now, man! You said so yourself! I'm strong, but I lack the skill and the smarts! I've got the firepower, but you got the brains! You're even smarter than Doc Wily! Without you I won't get my kingdom! I need your help! So help me!" He gets on his hands and knees, bowing, "Please, I'm begging you! Tell me what I got to do to be king and get rid of Dog-Boy for good! Please!"
Erick watches with amusement at Bass' attempts at begging. Treble is embarrassed by his master's actions, and covers his face with his paws. Bubbleman, well…is still unconscious.
Erick's amused. "Why, Bass, I didn't know you knew how to perform the "Crouch of the Wild Tiger"."
"HUH?"
"Never mind. As a wise man once said, "Keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer"."
Bass is confused. "But what does that mean?
Erick thinks, "Ugh…still as dense as ever! Dense, but trainable." Aloud, he says, "Let me spell it out for you so you can understand. You don't like R, and neither do I. But we're stuck with him because the Cat Ghost King and Dr. Wily need him for their master plan." And I need him for mine, as well! "Had I not stopped you from fighting R today, you most certainly would have killed him. He's useless to us if he's dead." Then again.... "And do you REALLY want to be the one to tell Wily you killed the only thing close to a son he ever had?"
Bass doesn't like where this is going. "WHAT? Hey, now…"
"To conclude, my advice to you Bass is to put aside your jealousy for now and stay focused on your mission, which is to get the Phoenix Stone back for us. Furthermore, do NOT pick any more fights with R. So don't worry; you'll get your chance to fight him, but not here, not now. And by the time that happens, R will have outlived his usefulness to us, and you can have him."
"Yeah, yeah, I think I understand now!" But then, Bass realizes, "HEY! What do you mean by "jealousy"?"
"Exactly what I mean. Your intense jealousy of R borders on insanity."
Bass scoffs at that idea. "ME? Jealous of Dog-Boy? BAH! Nonsense!"
"Deny it all you want, Bass, but it's true. Before R started working for us, you were the greatest of Dr. Wily's creations. So now he shows up on the scene, and you feel threatened. You're afraid that he'll replace you as Wily's top warrior. You get upset every time Wily refers to R as his "son" and shows him attention. You see? Jealousy!"
Obviously, Bass thinks that what Erick just said now is a bunch of baloney.
Erick says in response to Bass's thoughts, "Baloney, eh? Think whatever you want, but you know I'm right about this. Now then, regarding tonight's meeting. I'm going to publicly reveal my creation to the Cat Ghost King, Dr. Wily, and M. Bison."
"You mean your "DVL Cells"? But you said you needed to do more tests before you could mass-produce them!"
"I've already conducted the tests, and production has already begun. In fact, you'll get to meet one of the test subjects tonight. He'll be at the meeting, too."
Of course, Erick's referring to Shadowloo's newest recruit, Ryoga Hibiki!
Bass's like, "He? Well, who is it?"
"Ah, but….," Erick does his Xelloss schtick again. "That is a secret. Well, I'll see you later at the meeting, Bass. Don't be late!"
Erick then vanishes from sight.
Bass says to himself, "Y'know, I gotta figure out how he does that disappearing trick of his sometime." He looks down at Treble. "Well, Treble, let's drop old Bubblehead off at the Doc's lab and head on over to the shrine for that meeting. Things just keep on getting interesting around here, don't they?"
Treble barks in agreement, "RRF! GRRRR….! (Yeah! Tell me about it!)"
And so Bass (still carrying the unconscious Bubbleman) and Treble head for Dr. Wily's lab.
Things ARE getting interesting indeed! Stay tuned!!
TO BE CONTINUED…