CHAPTER 35
-"EXPLOSIVE COMBAT! RANMA VS. GRENADEMAN!"-
CONSTRUCTION SITE, TOKYO; BACK TO THE BATTLE:
Ranma and Grenademan are facing off.
"Heh heh heh! Now you're gonna get it. YOU think you can pick a fight with me, Grenademan, and come away unharmed?" The scenery begins to blur and does that flying background / speed line effect as Grenademan prepares to attack. "KNUCKLE BOMBERS!!"
Two glove-like devices pop out of concealed panels in Grenademan's arms and slide in place over his fists. The "gloves" (if you can call them that) are decorated with small rounded studs. I have a feeling they're not just there for looks!
Ranma's unimpressed. "Oh great, more of your cheap tricks. What's next? You gonna pull a rabbit out of a hat?"
"Yeah, go ahead! Keep talkin'! Let's see how funny you are when you're DEAD! Taste my explosive fists of rage! GRAAAHHH!!" Grenademan charges at Ranma like a wild boar, throwing a punch with his right. Ranma dodges out of the way to avoid it.
"HA! You missed, Grenade-jerk!"
"Think again, punk!" Grenademan slams him in the stomach with a left!)
THUMP! BOOM!
Ranma was sent flying from the force of Grenademan's explosive punch! He lands hard on the floor, roliing over in pain while clutching his stomach. Those small round studs on Grenademan's Knuckle Bombers are in fact tiny explosive charges that detonate on contact!
Grenademan snickers, "Heh heh heh! How'd you like my Knuckle Bombers? They add explosive power to my punches! OH YEAH!"
Ranma, though hurt by the attack, slowly gets up.
Grenademan is shocked. "NO! How can you still rise?"
Ranma, though hurt, points out, "Ugh…Grenademan. Your power's a joke."
"WHAT!?"
"Even now, you still don't get it. Face it; you're no warrior. You're just a weakling who hides behind his huge ego. It's all smoke and mirrors with your attacks. All style and no substance. Can't you even kill me by yourself?"
"Is that all you got to say to me? Damn you! I'll not tolerate you ridiculing my abilities! YAAHHH!! CRUSH!"
Grenademan charges at Ranma with a tackle attack, but Ranma just leaps over him.
Ranma lands and turns to face Grenademan. "You were saying?"
"I'LL KILL YOU!! GRAAAHHH!!" Grenademan comes out swinging his fists wildly.
As Ranma and Grenademan fight, Protoman continues to observe the battle.
"C'mon, Ranma. You can beat him. All you got to do is figure out Grenademan's weakness, and… huh?" He notices the panda and samurai, a.k.a. Genma and Soun.
Genma and Soun (who by now are back on their feet) are on their way to help Ranma.
"Hurry, Saotome! Ranma needs us!"
[You don't have to tell me twice!] "GROWF!" [Hang on boy, we're coming!]
"Wait!"
The two are stopped in their tracks by a red flash of light teleporting in. The light fades, and in its place, we see a young man wearing gray armor, a red helmet with white trim and dark visor, and carrying a shield. It's Protoman!
Genma-panda panics! [ACK! Another robot!]
Soun pulls out his spear, ready to fight. "Stand aside, or we'll go through you!"
Protoman stops them. "Relax, you two. I'm on your side. At any rate, if you go up there now, you'll be playing right into Grenademan's hands."
Genma-panda is about to object [But Ranma…]
Soun insists, "We have to help him!"
Protoman assures them, "And we will. First things first, we'll disable the bombs that Grenademan's set. The way I figure it, Ranma will beat Grenademan and while he thinks he's won, Grenademan will detonate the bombs, taking him out, and us too for that matter. Won't he be surprised when he presses that button and gets nothing?"
Soun catches on. "Ah! And that's when we strike!"
"Yep. I'd figured you guys would catch on. So whaddya say?"
Genma-panda doesn't hesitate to say [Count me in!]
Soun does likewise. "Me too! Thank you, er…"
Protoman briefly introduces himself. "The name's Protoman. But let's save the introductions for later. So it's agreed then? Let's work together to kick Grenademan's butt!"
Genma & Soun agree, "Right!"
And the three of them go to work on disabling those bombs. Things didn't go so smoothly at first, though…
Soun and Genma managed to open up one of the bombs and looked inside. All they can see was a mess of wires and circuit boards.
[So, Tendo, think you can do it?]
"Of course!" Soun takes another look at the wires, and sweatdrops. "Uh…" Seeing something else inside, he brightens up. "Look, Saotome!"
He points to a group of five wires, each in a different color (i.e. red, yellow, blue, black, and white) "See these wires? If we cut just one of them, we can diffuse the bomb! Quick! Give me something to cut it with!"
Genma reaches into the basket of weapons he'd brought and pulls out a small knife. He gives it to Soun, who proceeds to cut the wire. [Say, Tendo…]
Soun, intent on his work, absently says, "Hmm?"
[Where'd you learn to diffuse a bomb?]
"I didn't."
[So how do you know which wire to cut?]
Soun sweatdrops, "Uh….."
All three of them sweatdrop.
"The panda's got a point," Protoman says. Then, smacking himself in the forehead, he realizes, thinking, I can't believe I just said that. Aloud, he continues, "If you cut the wrong one, we'll all be blown to kingdom come."
At that, Soun and Genma freak out and do their impression of "The Scream" (like that old painting of the same name)! Then Protoman notices something.
"Ah!" Protoman reaches into the bomb, and pulls something out. "It's OK, you two. This bomb's now officially a dud."
Upon hearing THAT, they stop screaming and shaking with fear.
Genma-panda grunts quizzically, "Rrf…?" [Huh…?]
"But…the wire! Which one did you pull?" Soun asks.
"None of 'em. I simply pulled the fuse." Protoman holds up a small fuse in his hand.
Needless to say, Soun and Genma facefault.
"Oooookay…. C'mon you two, let's hurry and snuff out the rest of these bombs!"
Meanwhile…
Ranma continues to fight Grenademan. He had to leap to and fro to get out of the way of Grenademan's ceaseless swings. He finally landed where he could prepare to move in his spiral pattern. Grenademan charged in with a spinning punch, which Ranma dodged with great ease. As he spiraled in, he dodged the rapid succession of punches that were being hurled at him. Grenademan was giving off such an intense battle aura, more than enough energy Ranma would need in order to use the Hiryu Shoten Ha and blast that jerk into orbit! But as he neared the innermost section of the spiral, about to unleash his technique…
"Oh no you don't! HA!"
POW! SHA-BOOM!
Grenademan's punched Ranma HARD and, with the force of the Knuckle Bombers backing the blow, knocks him out of the spiral!
"OH YEAH!"
On the floor, Ranma in pain, grunts, "Ughh…I felt that one."
Grenademan's figured out what Ranma was going to do. "You were about to use one of your techniques on me, weren't you? I THOUGHT something was funny when you started dodging my blows and moving around like that! And you accuse ME of using dirty tricks? What a hypocrite!"
I gotta stop him somehow. But what can I do? Even if I can hit him, his armor will just deflect the blows. I've got to somehow break through his defense. Unless…
And wouldn't you know it, it started to rain. And for Ranma, that means…
"Oh great. THIS had to happen at the worst possible time," says a drenched, and now female, Ranma.
Grenademan is surprised to see a redheaded girl in front of him. "HEY! Where'd this girl come from? And where'd Ranma go?" To Ranma-chan, he asks, "Hey, girl! Did you see where Ranma Saotome went?"
Ranma-chan thinks, This guy's as dense as a brick! Maybe I can use this to my advantage.
Grenademan starts ranting. "Grr…running away in the middle of a battle like that! Come out, Ranma! Come out and face me! I'd heard you were a great martial artist and all, but it seems the only thing you're good at is running away! You coward! Who's afraid now? Do you now realize my power's the real deal! Stop hiding from me like a little scared girl, you girl! OH YEAH!" He turns to the redhead, not even realizing she's Ranma! "Uh, no offense to you, girlie."
Ranma-chan smiles. "None taken." Yeah, keep talking, jerk, cause this "girl" is gonna show you what real power's about!
As Grenademan looks around for Ranma, Ranma sees her opportunity! She leaps at Grenademan about to strike! Grenademan feels someone behind him. At the moment he turns around, before he can even react, Ranma slams into him and unleashes her attack!
"KATCHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!!"
Ranma attacks Grenademan with the Amaguriken again; only THIS time around she focuses her attack on a single spot on Grenademan's so-called "invincible" body!
"HEY! What'd you do THAT for!?" Grenademan then realizes he's been hit. "Ugh..!" He staggers from the attack.
Ranma-chan thinks, YES! Just like I thought!
Desperate to find a way to beat Grenademan, Ranma thought back to the time he'd fought Ryoga when the "Eternal Lost Boy" had first learned the Bakusai Tenketsu technique. (AUTHOR'S NOTE: See RANMA 1/2 Manga Vol. 5 for the whole story. I won't bore you with a recap.) And in doing so, Ranma got an idea. Nothing else was working up until now, so he (or rather, "she" now that he was in his cursed form) had to take a chance and see if it would work again.
"What's the matter, Grenade-jerk? What happened to that "invincible body" of yours?"
"That mocking tone of voice…it sounds familiar. It sounds like… Ranma! NO! HOW!?" But…but Ranma is a boy, not a girl! Yet, he, she, uh "it", used that fast punching move on me again. It has to be Ranma! I haven't seen anyone else use that move! But…but one moment he was a boy, and now he's a girl! Arrghh! My brain hurts! This is confusing! What the hell is going on here!?
As Grenademan tries to process the information, realizing that this redhead and Ranma are the same person, he looks as if his electronic brain is about to blow a microchip! While he's distracted, Ranma takes the opportunity to attack him again!
"Your guard's down! HA!' Ranma-chan attacks with the Amaguriken!)
(Sounds of punches hitting Grenademan's body)
PAPAPAPAPPAPAPAPAPAPAPAPAPPA!!
Over and over Ranma-chan hits the same spot on Grenademan, the sounds of fists against metal like that of a machine gun going off.
"ACK! ARRGH!" Grenademan stumbles and falls down, hurt. "Ugh…!"
Ranma-chan snorts, "Not so tough without your cheap tricks, eh?"
Grenademan thinks while looking as Ranma-chan in shock, A disguise? No, the way his body (uh, her body? D'OH!) moves is too natural, especially the "bounce". That's no disguise. He, uh… she, er… "it", oh FORGET IT! I got a headache! My brain hurts again! This Ranma's some kinda FREAK OF NATURE! And I know how to deal with freaks! OH YEAH!
His confidence growing (just like his ego!) Grenademan gets up ready to destroy his enemy! His right arm changes into a blaster, and he aims it at Ranma! "YOU FREAK! I'll end you with one blow! FLASH BOMB!" He shoots a Flash Bomb at Ranma!
Ranma-chan can't believe Grenademan's stubborn persistence. "Geez! Not THIS again!" Then, she says, "Here's something you haven't seen before! MOKOU TAKABISHA!!" and fires off the chi blast.
Using the Mokou Takabisha as a counterattack, Ranma blasts the Flash Bomb right back at Grenademan! Direct hit!
BOOM!!
"HUAAARRRGHH!!" Grenademan howls in pain.
"YES! Got'em!"
At the same time, Soun, Genma, and Protoman were finishing up with dismantling the bombs Grenademan had set up around the construction site.
Soun pulls out a fuse. "There. That's the last one!"
Genma-panda sighs. [Finally!]
BOOM!!
Soun is startled by the explosion. "WAAAHH! What was that?"
Good. Ranma figured out Grenademan's weakness just in time. Aloud, Protoman says to Soun and Genma, "Okay, guys, now's our chance! Let's GO!"
He dashes over to where Ranma and Grenademan are fighting. Soun and Genma quickly follow after him.
[Charge!]
"Hang on, Ranma! We're coming to help!"
Well, Ranma has just found out Grenademan's weakness. It looks like the battle's over. But…
And here I thought he was actually tough! He can dish it out, but he sure can't take it! Out loud to the beaten Grenademan, Ranma-chan says, "I've figured out the secret of that so-called "invincible body" of yours, Grenademan, so why don't you just give up and get lost!"
Grenademan gets up again(!) and starts to laugh. Oh yes, he's insane, insane with pleasure! What a loony!
He laughs madly, "Heh hehe heheheheh….oh, that feeling of pain! The impact of explosive fury washing over me! OH! What joy! What bliss! HA HA HA! OH YEAH! How I have LONGED for this! C'mon, hit me! HIT ME AGAIN!! Let me feel the pain of an explosion once more!"
Ranma-chan thinks, shocked, No way! I'd thought I'd finally taken him out, and with his own stupid bomb attack, too! What is it gonna take to beat this guy!?
Ranma's fought her share of tough opponents, but never like this! Grenademan, on the other hand, is so caught up in his blast-induced reverie, that he doesn't even notice Ranma, until…
Grenademan then comes to his senses, now angry! "Grrr… why, you…! It'll be a cold day in hell before Grenademan loses to anyone, especially to some half-boy, half-girl freak like YOU!"
Ranma-chan's insulted. "HEY! Where do you get off calling ME a freak!?"
"Oooh! Touched a nerve there, did I? Heh heh heh… I see I'm going to have to change my strategy. It's time I put away my tricks… and fight you for REAL! OH YEAH!"
Then Grenademan does something that surprises Ranma. He retracts his Knuckle Bombers back into the secret compartments in his arms, clenches his fists, and adopts a fighting stance. He starts throwing a few boxing-style punches.
"Gya ha ha! I'll hit you painfully! You ready to go down?"
Ranma-chan gets into her fighting stance. She begs to differ, "Ah ah, it's YOU who's going down!"
And they start fighting again! Grenademan and Ranma charge at each other, throwing and blocking punches and kicks at each other. During the course of the battle Ranma notices that Grenademan tends to rely more on his punches, which are pretty strong even without the Knuckle Bombers. Thus Grenademan, with his aggressive offense, lands some hard blows on her. Fortunately, his attacks tend to leave him wide open when he misses, allowing Ranma to get in some good shots with her Amaguriken, repeatedly hitting him in the same spot over and over. It works, eventually wearing Grenademan down but also wearing Ranma out. Even so, she paces herself so she won't get too tired; one missed strike and she'll get tagged by his punches.
The two enemies break apart and adopt a defensive position:
Grenademan's breathing hard, "Hah hah… not bad. So you got in a few blows. Big whoop! You still can't scratch my "invincible body"! OH YEAH!"
"I told you! I've seen through that nonsense! Looks like I'm gonna have to say it again!" Ranma-chan dashes toward Grenademan.
But Grenademan's prepared, for he's holding a Flash Bomb behind his back! Watch out, Ranma!
Hee hee, that's right, just a little closer, and then I'll blast you! OH YEAH! "Think again, freak! FLASH BOMB!" Grenademan tosses it!
BA-WHOOM!!
"Hee hee! That'll teach that freak not to mess with me! OH YEAH!"
"Guess again, jerk!"
"WHAT!?" Grenademan looks up and sees Ranma coming down from the sky!
"Here's a new twist on an old favorite! TENSHOU AMAGURIKEN (Heaven Soaring Sweet Chestnut Fist)!!"
Attacking with her Amaguriken in mid-air (!), Ranma lands blow after blow on Grenademan's head!
PAPAPAPAPPAPAPAPAPAPAPAPAPPAPAPAPAPAPPAPAPAPAPAPAPAPAPPA!!
After getting hit so many times in the head (Boy is he gonna have a headache when this attack's over!), Grenademan finally falls in defeat!
Extremely dizzy, Grenademan collapses! "……_!!"
Ranma-chan lets out a whoop of victory. "ALL RIGHT!"
It's too soon to celebrate, Ranma. As he loses consciousness, Grenademan raises his blaster one last time and fires a Flash Bomb. It hits Ranma as she lands…
BA-DOOM!!
AT A SHOPPING MALL:
Ran is in a fitting room trying on a cute outfit she'd found. Akane was outside waiting for her.
A lightning bolt chose that moment to strike outside. The sound of thunder startles Ran. Gasping in shock, she gets that same sensation she felt earlier, only now it's MUCH stronger.
Ran whispers, "Ranma… Oh no!"
Ran staggers back, almost falling to her knees. She presses a hand to her heart.
"Something's happened to him. I… I can feel it! OH!"
Hearing Ran's soft cry and a thump to the floor, Akane and one of the salesladies enter the fitting room.
"Ran! What happened?" Akane then gasps, "RAN!"
They find Ran in that fitting room, her eyes wide in shock, her breathing's shallow, and she's trembling.
Ran is whispering weakly, "Ranma…Ranma…no…"
"Ran! Ran!" Akane wraps her arm around Ran's shoulders, and takes her hand. She notices that Ran seems to be in a daze, frightened by some unseen fear.
Ran turns around to see… "A..Akane…?"
"I'm…I'm here, Ran. It's going to be okay. Just hold on!" To the saleslady, Akane urgently says, "She needs help!"
"I'll call a doctor right away!" The saleslady quickly leaves.
CONSTRUCTION SITE, TOKYO; THE AFTERMATH:
Grenademan wakes up, groggy from Ranma's attack. Getting smacked upside the head repeated will do that to you, y'know. Anyway… regaining his senses, he looks over to see Ranma lying on the floor, hurt, clothes burnt and smoking from that last Flash Bomb. Grenademan menacingly strides toward Ranma and grabs her by the throat.
"Heh heh heh. All right, you, you "she-male"! This is the part where I win and you die! OH YEAH!" Grenademan raises his fist. But before can deliver the killing blow, someone whistles a familiar tune.
Grenademan recognizes the tune. "OH NO! Not THAT guy!"
He turns around and sees Protoman, along with Soun and Genma.
Disappointed, Grenademan groans, "Protoman? Aw phooey! I was hoping Megaman would show up, but I guess you and those two losers you've brought along will do. Give me a sec while I finish off this freak here."
Soun then does his best and scariest "Oni-Kubi-Geki" (Demon Head Attack!) yet. "PUT HIM DOWN! NOW!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Grenademan is so scared by Soun's "Demon Head" that he drops Ranma! Genma's fur stands on end while Protoman sweatdrops! Soun calms down and changes back to normal.
Genma-panda's fur is still standing on end. [Now THAT was scary!]
Protoman, shivers, observing, "Yeah, but terribly effective. Brrr!"
They run over to Ranma, who is gasping and wheezing for air while rubbing her throat.
Soun is the first to come to Ranma's side. "Ranma! Are you all right?"
Ranma-chan gasps, catching her breath. "Mr. Tendo…Pops…what took you guys so long?" She notices Protoman. "And who's he?"
Protoman introduces himself to Ranma, "It's Protoman. Sorry we couldn't come sooner, Ranma. But I needed the panda and the samurai's help while you bought us some time."
Soun adds, "That's right, son. It's all part of our plan."
Ranma-chan blinks. "Plan? What kind of plan?"
Genma-panda holds up a sign saying [You'll see!]
Poor Grenademan is still frozen in fear from Soun's demon head trick! "OH! OH! That horrible face! What a terrifying attack!" He shakes off the last of the terror, coming to his senses, and… "Grrr…! How dare you interfere with me!? What do you guys want?"
Soun blurts our, "I want Ranma to marry Akane!"
Genma and Protoman look at him like he's crazy. How can Soun think of THAT at a time like this?
Soun asks innocently, "What?"
"Paho!" [Food would be nice!] Genma-panda says.
Protoman replies, "World peace. But we'll settle for kicking your butt instead."
And with that, the three of them get into fighting stances. Grenademan laughs. "You're kidding, right? Hate to burst your bubble, but I'm afraid you've already lost this fight!"
Ranma-chan asks, "What are you talking about, creep!?"
Grenademan pulls out the remote control. "When I press this button, the bombs I've set all around this area will go off, and we'll all go down together! MWA HA HA HA HA HA!! OH YEAH!"
"Wh-what!?" Ranma-chan notices that Soun, Genma, and Protoman haven't flinched from their fighting stances.
"Did I miss something? Will somebody tell me what's going on here?"
"It's all part of the plan," Soun winks at Ranma, assuring her.
Ranma catches on. "Oh, yeah…" I don't know what Mr. Tendo, Pops and that Protoman guy plan to do, but I hope it works!
"Feh! You haven't got a prayer. Farewell, you fools! OH YEAH!" Grenademan presses the button, but….nothing happens!
"Curses! What is this...?!" Grenademan tries pressing the button over and over again; same thing – nothing happens! "A malfunction?! What's going on!?"
Protoman says matter-of-factly, "Aw, too bad, Grenademan. Y'know, you would have won, that is, if you had these." He holds up the fuses that he, Soun, and Genma have pulled from all of the bombs.
Grenademan is shocked! "NOOOOOOOO!!"
His bombs no longer a threat, the four heroes advance toward Grenademan. Protoman cocks his Buster, Soun brandishes a sword, Genma pulls out a HUGE mallet, and Ranma-chan cracks her knuckles.
No doubt about it, folks. Grenademan is SCREWED, and he knows it. Boy, is he gonna get it now!
Sweating, Grenadema pleads, "Oh, c'mon guys! I was just following an order, that's all! Uh… Can't we talk this over?"
Ranma-chan says, "Let's get him, guys! ALL TOGETHER NOW!"
Soon, a beat down proceeds, with Grenademan as the one being beaten. After they beat seventy times seven types of crap (and that's a LOTTA crap!) out of him, Grenadman is down for the count! Lying on the floor, he looks like a squashed bug.
Exhausted, Ranma-chan says, "Finally…it's over. We've won."
"Not yet. Look!" Protoman points at Grenademan.
Everyone turns to see Grenademan get up, his armor dented, looking like a crushed soda can.
Grenademan is angry, breathing heavily. "No..! NO! I…won't let it end like this! You won't defeat me! YOU CAN'T! I'M INVINCIBLE! I'M THE MIGHTY GRENADEMAN!!"
Soun and Genma jump back in fright!
[ACK! He's supposed to be dead!] Genma-panda says, trembling.
"Yes! It seems he's gotten better already!" Soun comments.
Ranma-chan is surprised. "Man! Doesn't this guy ever quit?"
Protoman shakes his head, "Nah, he's too stupid to just give up."
"And now…" Grenademan starts burning with an explosive battle aura. "I'm going to show you my true power! OH YEAH!" He leaps into the air, and… "AIR RAID!! MULTI-BOMB STRIKE!!"
While in the air, Grenademan starts lobbing many Flash Bombs at the group. Everyone ducks for cover from the blasts. Ranma stands behind Protoman, who blocks most of the incoming bombs with his Proto Shield.
Protoman blocks another blast, yelling over the explosions, "There are too many bombs being thrown at us! There's no way we can blast them all back at him!"
Ranma-chan thinks while watching Grenademan's attack. Great! His battle aura's really hot! Now's my chance! She yells back at Protoman, "No! There's a way! Cover me, will ya!?"
Protoman blinks behind his cool shades. "What!?"
"Just do it!" Ranma-chan leaps out from behind Protoman and runs toward Grenademan!
Soun can't believe it! "What's Ranma thinking!?"
Genma-panda replies [I don't know! But's he gonna get blown to bits!]
Grenademan is laughing madly, "HA HA HA HAHAHA!! In a hurry to die, are we!? I'll be happy to blast you into oblivion!"
Ranma dodges the storm of Flash Bombs while moving in a spiral. "YOU'RE the one who gonna get blasted! Say goodbye, jerk! HIRYU SHOTEN HA!"
Ranma-chan then launches her fist up to heaven, and then a mighty hurricane is made. The hurricane blasts Grenademan full force, sending him and the Flash Bombs flying away into the sky.
Grenademan yells as he's hit, "OH YEAHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhh……!!"
As Grenademan goes flying off in the distance, he becomes a tiny star that can be seen in the sky until it disappears. Then it explodes into multiple bursts, making it look like a fireworks display. Neat!
Ranma-chan hmph's, "And good riddance!"
Protoman watches the explosions. "It's just like the Fourth of July."
Soun comments, "A fitting end for that robot madman, eh Saotome?"
Genma-panda agrees [You said it, Tendo!]
Victorious, they stand back and watch the fireworks.
Later that night, we see Grenademan limping down the street, beaten, bruised, and burnt. He's using a long piece of pipe like a crutch.
Grenademan curses, "Damn that boy! If only Protoman and those two idiots hadn't showed up, I'd have finished him off! Dr. Wily and that stupid cat statue won't like this…"
BUT, ONCE HE RETURNS TO THE RED CATS' HIDEOUT:
Dr. Wily is very upset with Grenademan. "Oh, excellent work. You had a golden opportunity to destroy Ranma Saotome fall right into your lap, and you blew it! Not only that, you got Protoman involved, and that means Megaman will start snooping around for sure!"
Bass puts his two cents in, remarking, "That's IF he hasn't already, Doc."
Wily glares at Bass, who wisely keeps his mouth shut.
Dr. Wily taps his foot impatiently. "So, what are you going to do about it, Grenademan?"
Grenademan grovels, "Dr. Wily, please! I can explain…! Um…"
Bubbleman whispers to Bass, "Uh oh. Looks like Grenademan's gonna get it now."
Bass whispers back, "Looks that way. Well, it's been nice knowing that blast-happy lunatic."
"SILENCE!" Dr. Wily yells, shutting up the two robots. He turns to the Statue of the Cat Ghost King. "Oh Cat Ghost King, would you be so kind as to punish this failure?
"With pleasure, Wily meow!" The Cat Statue charges up and then strikes Grenademan with electricity!
Grenademan screams "YAAAHHHHHRGH!!" As he's being electrocuted!
But surprisingly, it's none other than Erick who says, "Wait!"
Everybody else goes "HUH?"
"Grenademan only had a minor setback, Wily. Are you going to punish him just because he's an idiot?"
Grenademan, looking like he's been cooked till he's well-done, tries to object, "Hey, you…!"
Erick harshly whispers, "Quiet. I'm trying to save your hide." Aloud, he says to Wily and the rest, "Besides, I'm sure Grenademan has planned a counterattack. Right?"
Grenademan, silently grateful to the High Priest for the save, admits, "I underestimated him. I won't fail again. I WON'T!"
Erick smiles. "Excellent. You'll have one week to prepare. I trust that'll be enough time?"
Grenademan nods furiously, "Yes, yes! Of course!"
Dr. Wily, though still upset with Grenademan, says, "You'd better be right. I'll give you another chance. Now GO, Grenademan!"
As Grenademan leaves the shrine, his thoughts burn with revenge against Ranma. Then, he remembers something. He laughs silently. It seems he already has a plan. Uh oh…
TO BE CONTINUED…