Ranma: Xero
Part 2
Ranma's Secret.
On the planet Mars, a great shadow crossed the surface as if an eclipse were happening in the skies above. The source of the darkness floated in orbit miles above the planet sending pride into the hearts of the people who lived there. The great starship Judicator floated overhead sending chills down the spines of all who gazed upon it. The gray and black hull of the massive cruiser seemed to glow with a surreal light as it gleamed in the sunlight moving by high above the citizens who resided on the planet. It was the flagship of the emperor, and the most feared battleship in the galaxy.
The bridge of the Judicator bustled with an amazing silence as its blue skinned inhabitants moved about in their work. The room itself was nearly three stories tall with massive screens taking up most of the wall that displayed the planet below at the moment. Several tiered balconies housed numerous technicians and officers as they went about their work. On the top tier a single throne like chair rose near to the ceiling, a lone figure sat brooding with a glass of alcohol resting in his palm. He surveyed the scene with an air of absolute power about him and smiled darkly to himself.
Almost lazily he flipped a switch on a control panel that rested on the arm of the throne and smirked. "What is your report?"
A woman with long white hair dressed in a bright orange flight suit appeared on a small screen in front of him. She became rigid suddenly and put her fist up under her chin in an odd salute. "I have nothing, our forces are still not enough to penetrate through the planets defenses. I don't understand it."
"I see, come see me when you return, I want those puny humans crushed."
"Then why not simply stage a large scale attack?" said the woman curtly.
"If you recall, we tried that once before. The result was less than satisfactory, the humans stole our technology and that makes them more formidable than ever. We must weaken their ability to retaliate first. I will not repeat that old fool's mistakes. Once we have removed the defenses they have against us we will attack. That is something our strike forces have failed to do. That tells me that risking a full-scale assault would be foolish. If two little girls are giving you this much trouble..."
"Those children are exceptions! The units the military forces use here are inferior! I know this for a fact!"
"Be quiet you hotheaded fool. They have numbers we cannot hope to match, we may have a formidable military indeed; but we are opposing an entire planet." The shadowy figure placed his drink on the small table that rested beside his chair. He leaned towards her and frowned.
"Sir, I will destroy them," said the woman with a hard look in her eyes.
"See to it that you do Siore. Blackheart should be more than enough for you to destroy those outdated modes they are forced to pilot. Yet somehow you continue to fail me."
The woman growled in anger and bowed her head as the man ended the transmission.
He sat in silence for a moment and took a sip of his drink before sitting back in the chair. His peace did not last long though.
The screen in front of him flashed on again revealing a dangerous looking shadow with two glowing red eyes. It spoke in a raspy, almost hissing voice. "Hello Grand Admiral."
"Highness, it has been some time," said the man casually.
"It has indeed. Your pilots are as charming as ever I see," said the shadowy figure with a small chuckle.
"Indeed, they have passion. Much more useful to me than those puppets your general likes to call soldiers."
"Leave Moore out of this, I wanted to speak with you concerning the planet."
"What is it that you want sire?" asked the Admiral placidly.
"The Xero unit is still out there, I want it found. I don't care if you have to bring back the pieces of it."
"Yes sire, I realize that. It is difficult thought. The area where it crashed is one of the most heavily defended areas on the planet. That probably isn't coincidental either. It is were we concentrate most of our operations."
"Do not fail me," said the shadow in a warning tone. Its eyes narrowed down to slits just before the transmission ended.
"Huh, have I ever before?" He shifted back into his chair and flipped a switch on the console again. "Fei, get ready. I have a job for you."
A shock of red hair on a masculine form appeared on the screen. He merely looked surprised at the intrusion and nodded his head. "As you wish."
Soun Tendo jumped to his feet as the alarm sounded inside the complex. He grit his teeth in anger and looked towards Genma. "That's the interior alarm!"
"Indeed," muttered the other man with a thoughtful look about him. "You don't suppose..."
"Your son?" said Soun with a hint of worry in his voice.
"Nodoka will not be pleased with this, it's too early yet. Come on, we've got to find him."
Ranma found himself on the defensive rather quickly. He grit his teeth in frustration as a large group of guards charged into the room. Fortunately they were only armed with clubs and a rather large number of their comrades were laid out on the ground around him. He ducked under another swipe from one of the men near him and jumped up onto his head using it as a springboard to propel himself towards the exit.
"No you don't" screamed Akane as she jumped after him and extended her foot in a kick.
The boy twisted in midair and pushed himself up higher by springing off the extended limb with his hands. He landed roughly a few yards away and rolled back onto his feet. "What the heck are you doing you tomboy?!"
"Stay still and die!" screamed the girl in a rage as she charged forward again and slammed her fist into a nearby wall. A gaping hole appeared where she connected and the pigtailed boy dashed away almost faster than she could follow.
"Are you nuts!? You're tryin to kill me!" he cried as another wave of guards appeared in the room and slowly began to circle around him. The attempted to crush him under a dog pile and the boy merely ducked and rolled away.
"All right, that's it! I'm tired of tryin to be nice!" screamed the boy in rage. He scrambled away just in time and the men fell into a heap missing him by inches. When he turned around again his hair was red and he had a strangely calm look in his eyes.
"Shit, it's turned female again," growled Akane under her breath. She was hoping to get to it before that happened. She calmed herself considerably and stepped back into a ready stance.
"I was just tryin to be nice, and this is how you thank me?" snarled the redhead.
"After what you did to my mother! I will destroy all of you!" screamed the girl as she charged again.
Ranma didn't back down this time. She stood her ground and blocked every strike easily. Akane pushed herself harder and harder but it didn't seem to matter. With a final heave, Ranma grabbed the angry girl by her arm and tossed her over her shoulder and into a wall.
Akane screamed in pain and anger as she dropped to the ground after leaving a sizable crater in the wall. She slowly struggled to her knees and glared up at her opponent. "Damn you!"
"What the hell is your problem?!" screamed the redhead.
Akane rose to her feet and let loose a battle cry as she charged towards her opponent again. Ranma stepped back into an offensive stance and stared at her dead in the eyes.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!"
Both combatants froze in place with the pigtailed girl's fist inches away from Akane's exposed neck. She stared the Akane directly in the eyes and saw fear there.
Soun walked into the room surrounded by security guards and looked at the mess around him disapprovingly. "Akane, I am severely disappointed in you."
"Dad! Get away! She's one of them!" screamed the girl in panic as she jumped between her father and the girl. She held her arms out wide and glared at her with an angry stare.
Soun pushed her aside rather roughly and walked up to Ranma before bowing to her deeply. "Please accept my apology Saotome. My daughter does not yet understand."
The girl looked over at the completely shocked Akane and nodded slowly. "Forget about it."
The man stood upright with a smile on his face and waved his arm. "Please feel free to rest. You and your father have been assigned a room here at our facilities. I'm sure you are in need of a good hot bath, or perhaps a meal. One of my men will escort you to your room."
"Dad?" Gasped Akane with a look of betrayed pain in her eyes.
"Come with me Akane, we have a lot to discuss. This is my old friend Genma Saotome. That boy you were just trying to kill is his son, Ranma."
"You mean that thing?!" cried the girl in a moment of anger.
Soun stopped and whirled around to face her. "That is not a thing Akane, it is a man. I will explain everything, please come with me, your sisters are waiting."
Genma sat opposite of the gathered family and sighed. "It all started two months ago, in China. My son and I were traveling across the country in order to train ourselves in the art. We happened upon a valley with an ancient training ground. It was called 'Jusenkyo, the cursed springs'."
"The pools of sorrow?" said Nabiki with a slightly raised eyebrow.
"Yes, we didn't know any better. We decided to train there not knowing the horrors of the cursed place. After a few moments of sparring my son knocked me into one of the pools, when I emerged I was changed."
Akane didn't like the way this story was going. "What the hell do you mean changed?"
"I fell into a pool called 'The Spring of Drowned Panda'. You see the curse of Jusenkyo is a terrible one indeed. There are more than one hundred cursed pools there, each more tragic than the last. Whomever falls into one of the pools, takes the form of the last being to drown there, be it man or animal. My son had the misfortune of falling into the 'Spring of Drowned Girl'." He watched the room carefully and frowned. The looks he was getting from the girls were skeptical to say the least.
"Allow me to demonstrate." Soun stood from his chair and poured a glass of water he had prepared for the event over his old friend's head. The man shifted in form into a giant panda and growled slightly.
"You mean..." Akane suddenly had a horrified look on her face.
"Yes, that boy was not a Xoenthropie." Soun gave a sagely nod and turned towards his youngest. "You should go and apologize Akane, after all, he is your new fiancee." He poured a cup of hot water for his old friend from the teakettle that was placed on the table.
The youngest girl fell out of her chair in shock. The elder sisters jumped from their seats and looked at their father in shock.
"Daddy! You mean Akane has to marry this boy? What about us? You can't expect him too..." Kasumi fell silent as she realized what she was saying.
"I have made my decision. This is not a punishment Akane. My old friend and I have discussed it at length. He will be helping you train in the arts, that is one reason why he is here. My old friend and his son will train all of the pilots here in the Anything Goes style."
Akane felt her head grow lighter as she struggled back into her seat. "But...I can't..."
"My decision is final." The man turned away with tears in his eyes as he left the room.
Genma followed him out, pausing only for a moment to give the three another quick glance.
Nabiki was the first to speak. "Boy sis, you've really screwed up this time."
"How was I supposed to know about that?!" screamed the girl in an angry retort.
"Oh my," was all Kasumi could say.
The three girls turned to face the door as their father's cry echoed through the hallways. "Waaaaah! My baby girl is going to be married!"
Akane simply glared hatefully at the door and turned away from her sisters.
"In any case Akane, you really do owe him an apology," said Kasumi with a resigned sigh.
The two girls left Akane alone with her thoughts.
Ranma walked out of the shower in the small apartment they had supplied him and wrapped a towel around his waist. After a moment he sat down on the bed and began to rummage through his bag for a spare set of clothes, his traveling clothes were currently in the washing machine that was inside of a closet area. The room was spacious, it had a small kitchen area, a shower and bath, and a single room with a television set that doubled as living room and bedroom. He idly flicked on a light and began to dress himself.
"Pop, what the hell have you gotten me into now?"
A tentative knock on the door broke his chain of thought and he put on his undershirt before opening the door. He narrowed his eyes at the girl who stood before him with a heavy blush on her face. "What do you want?"
"I uhh, came to apologize," stammered the girl nervously as she bowed quickly. She sucked in a breath of surprise as a foot stopped a hair's length before her nose.
"Never take your eyes off your opponent. You had no idea how hostile I might have been after what you pulled," said the boy with a smirk on his face as he lowered his foot and walked across the room. "I suppose I'll have to let you live, seeing as we're engaged and all."
"You already know?" said the girl with a shocked look on her face.
"Pop called me and told me on that weird screen in the wall," Ranma jerked his thumb over his shoulder and pointed to the com unit. It was just beside the door.
"I see, look..." she straightened herself up and glared at him with a hard gaze.
"Don't worry you tomboy, I like this about as much as you do," said the boy as he flipped his pigtail over his shoulder and put on a kettle of hot water. "You want some tea or something?"
"Hey you jerk! Where do you get off calling me a tomboy?" snapped the girl as a sudden anger welled up inside her.
"What does it matter you little psycho? I'm stuck here until you get good at martial arts anyway. I'll probably be here for years."
A few moments later Akane stormed out the door of the room and snorted. She put her nose up in the air as Genma walked by towards the room and he blinked as she brushed past him. He walked into the room and raised his eyebrow as he found his son with what appeared to be the remains of a vase shattered around his head, the boy was lying on the floor unconscious.
Ranma muttered something and he bent down and poked him with a finger. "Are you all right boy?"
"Uncute," grumbled the boy halfheartedly.
Meanwhile, on Mainland China...
"Shampoo, are you prepared?" said Cologne. Various elders inside a smoke filled hut surrounded the old woman. There was very little light in the room and she stared at them with a determined look in her eyes.
"Of course, I'll hunt her down," snapped the girl with an almost wild anger in her eyes.
"No, you will not," said the old woman.
"What?! But I must, I gave her the kiss!" cried the girl in shock.
"They have escaped us, by going to their own country they are beyond our reach. In times such as these, you are needed here in the village. The war makes traveling abroad much too dangerous to both us, and yourself."
"I understand," said the girl as she hung her head in defeat.
"Without you, our village has no protection against these invaders. They are indeed rare in this region, but hardly absent."
"Then what am I preparing for?" asked the girl with a slightly frightened look on her face.
Another one of the elders spoke up. She was slightly larger than Cologne and had a long pipe hanging from her mouth that almost touched the ground at its base. "The psychic, Fe Shal, has had another vision. We are in need of your skills again young one."
The violet tressed Amazon nodded slowly in understanding. "Then I am to fight again?"
"Yes, please be cautious. We cannot repair the sleeping giant if it is further damaged. That would leave us defenseless."
"I shall not disappoint you honored elders," said the girl with a final bow. She turned and walked out the door.
After she left one of the elders turned towards Cologne and smirked to herself. "Mousse is quite adept at repairing the beast. I do realize that he can not fix any major damage, but it would be unwise to make her overly cautious."
"True, but if she is killed, or the beast rendered inoperable..." said another of the old women cautiously.
"That is enough, my great granddaughter will not fail. She has never done so in the past," snapped Cologne in an irritated tone.
"Yes it would seem that luck is on our side. One of our scouts happened upon the beast while bringing supplies back from near the shores, deep in communist territory. I am amazed we managed to transport it here without it getting confiscated. Something like this will not remain a secret from them long Cologne. I am surprised they have not already tried to steal our little secret from us." Most of the women in the room agreed with the elder as she pulled the pipe away from her lips and smiled darkly.
"Yes I know." Cologne hopped into the center of the meeting. "We must remain cautious, the giant was already damaged when we found it. A small portion of the ship separated from the main body when it fell from the sky. That the government didn't notice that is a blessing in itself. We cannot risk asking for help in keeping it up. That would draw attention to us."
"Even though we sent young Mousse away to learn about outsider technology, it is still not enough. The beast will not survive more than a few battles," said the second elder sagely.
"Have faith, Shampoo will not fail us. I only wish one of us could control that damn demon," consoled Cologne.
"My faith is growing thin. It is true that your granddaughter is the greatest of her generation Cologne, but how much longer until she grows too much for the beast to listen. Only girls in her age group even have the hope of commanding that thing. Young teens forced to do the work that only a full and experienced warrior should be doing." The first old woman took another puff of her pipe and sat back with a dissatisfied scowl.
"Hoping will not accomplish anything, nor will this useless squabbling. There is nothing we can do about this situation at the moment. It is beyond even our control." Cologne tapped the head of her staff on the ground signaling the end of the meeting. She turned and walked out the door towards her home.
"Shampoo, what are you doing here?" Mousse dropped a wrench into the rather high tech box that housed his tools. He was covered in grease and had a smear running down the right lens of his glasses.
"Great Grandmother said that another one is coming soon. We have to be ready."
"Easy for her to say. This thing is far beyond anything they taught me at those schools in Japan. You have no idea how long it took me to convince them I needed these expensive tools to fix the damn thing. I guess they expected me to do it with rocks or something. Backwards old fools." He pat the mech on the chest plate before jumping down to look at his work.
The armor plating was a dark lavender color. Its body was human looking and covered in armor plating. Half of the chest was covered by what was salvaged tank armor; it was an unpainted gray with flecks of green paint still dotting the aged metal.
Its head was almost insectoid in appearance. A large lens with several smaller sensors nestled around it sat in the center and a large flat protrusion jutted from the right side of its head, looking almost like a rabbit ear. Unfortunately half of the armor was missing from the cranium leaving the left side exposed; wires and electronics could be seen easily from the scar. Several small places on the torso, arms, and legs were the same.
Mousse was not the only Amazon male who was charged with learning the technology they needed to maintain the great beast. He did spend more time than the rest of them working on the beast. His specialization was with basic maintenance; while others had more specialized fields, such as radar, or computer systems.
"Is it fixed yet?" she asked him without paying much attention.
"It wasn't broken, I was just making sure of a few things," replied the boy with a shrug; he slipped the toolbox inside his sleeve and it seemed to vanish, as if by magic. "Say Shampoo, since I'm done for the day...why don't we go out on a date! I know this really great restaurant..."
He didn't get any farther than that as a rock slammed into his head. He groaned in pain and struggled back to his feet.
"Stupid Mousse! There's only one restaurant in the entire village! I'd rather go out with a cabbage!" snorted the girl as she climbed up to the chest and placed her hand inside the space that ran down the center. After a moment there was a beeping sound and the chestplate opened revealing the cockpit. She climbed inside and slipped her arms and legs into the large tube like protrusions inside. Various displays lit up around her and the chestplate folded back into place, closing her inside. "Get out of here now, I have to practice!"
Mousse jumped away as the foot came down almost crushing him where he stood. He grabbed a monkey that was sitting on a rock and shook with fear for a moment before looking at what was in his arms. He pulled his glasses down and looked at it for a moment. "Elder Cologne, when did you get here?"
The monkey screamed and scratched him repeatedly in the face before jumping away into the forest. "Ouch, she must be in a good mood today. I'm still conscious."
TBC...
Next time, I promise some cool giant robot action.
C&C to: Carrotglace@juno.com
URL: Http://www.geocities.com/misatira/
Part 2
Ranma's Secret.
On the planet Mars, a great shadow crossed the surface as if an eclipse were happening in the skies above. The source of the darkness floated in orbit miles above the planet sending pride into the hearts of the people who lived there. The great starship Judicator floated overhead sending chills down the spines of all who gazed upon it. The gray and black hull of the massive cruiser seemed to glow with a surreal light as it gleamed in the sunlight moving by high above the citizens who resided on the planet. It was the flagship of the emperor, and the most feared battleship in the galaxy.
The bridge of the Judicator bustled with an amazing silence as its blue skinned inhabitants moved about in their work. The room itself was nearly three stories tall with massive screens taking up most of the wall that displayed the planet below at the moment. Several tiered balconies housed numerous technicians and officers as they went about their work. On the top tier a single throne like chair rose near to the ceiling, a lone figure sat brooding with a glass of alcohol resting in his palm. He surveyed the scene with an air of absolute power about him and smiled darkly to himself.
Almost lazily he flipped a switch on a control panel that rested on the arm of the throne and smirked. "What is your report?"
A woman with long white hair dressed in a bright orange flight suit appeared on a small screen in front of him. She became rigid suddenly and put her fist up under her chin in an odd salute. "I have nothing, our forces are still not enough to penetrate through the planets defenses. I don't understand it."
"I see, come see me when you return, I want those puny humans crushed."
"Then why not simply stage a large scale attack?" said the woman curtly.
"If you recall, we tried that once before. The result was less than satisfactory, the humans stole our technology and that makes them more formidable than ever. We must weaken their ability to retaliate first. I will not repeat that old fool's mistakes. Once we have removed the defenses they have against us we will attack. That is something our strike forces have failed to do. That tells me that risking a full-scale assault would be foolish. If two little girls are giving you this much trouble..."
"Those children are exceptions! The units the military forces use here are inferior! I know this for a fact!"
"Be quiet you hotheaded fool. They have numbers we cannot hope to match, we may have a formidable military indeed; but we are opposing an entire planet." The shadowy figure placed his drink on the small table that rested beside his chair. He leaned towards her and frowned.
"Sir, I will destroy them," said the woman with a hard look in her eyes.
"See to it that you do Siore. Blackheart should be more than enough for you to destroy those outdated modes they are forced to pilot. Yet somehow you continue to fail me."
The woman growled in anger and bowed her head as the man ended the transmission.
He sat in silence for a moment and took a sip of his drink before sitting back in the chair. His peace did not last long though.
The screen in front of him flashed on again revealing a dangerous looking shadow with two glowing red eyes. It spoke in a raspy, almost hissing voice. "Hello Grand Admiral."
"Highness, it has been some time," said the man casually.
"It has indeed. Your pilots are as charming as ever I see," said the shadowy figure with a small chuckle.
"Indeed, they have passion. Much more useful to me than those puppets your general likes to call soldiers."
"Leave Moore out of this, I wanted to speak with you concerning the planet."
"What is it that you want sire?" asked the Admiral placidly.
"The Xero unit is still out there, I want it found. I don't care if you have to bring back the pieces of it."
"Yes sire, I realize that. It is difficult thought. The area where it crashed is one of the most heavily defended areas on the planet. That probably isn't coincidental either. It is were we concentrate most of our operations."
"Do not fail me," said the shadow in a warning tone. Its eyes narrowed down to slits just before the transmission ended.
"Huh, have I ever before?" He shifted back into his chair and flipped a switch on the console again. "Fei, get ready. I have a job for you."
A shock of red hair on a masculine form appeared on the screen. He merely looked surprised at the intrusion and nodded his head. "As you wish."
Soun Tendo jumped to his feet as the alarm sounded inside the complex. He grit his teeth in anger and looked towards Genma. "That's the interior alarm!"
"Indeed," muttered the other man with a thoughtful look about him. "You don't suppose..."
"Your son?" said Soun with a hint of worry in his voice.
"Nodoka will not be pleased with this, it's too early yet. Come on, we've got to find him."
Ranma found himself on the defensive rather quickly. He grit his teeth in frustration as a large group of guards charged into the room. Fortunately they were only armed with clubs and a rather large number of their comrades were laid out on the ground around him. He ducked under another swipe from one of the men near him and jumped up onto his head using it as a springboard to propel himself towards the exit.
"No you don't" screamed Akane as she jumped after him and extended her foot in a kick.
The boy twisted in midair and pushed himself up higher by springing off the extended limb with his hands. He landed roughly a few yards away and rolled back onto his feet. "What the heck are you doing you tomboy?!"
"Stay still and die!" screamed the girl in a rage as she charged forward again and slammed her fist into a nearby wall. A gaping hole appeared where she connected and the pigtailed boy dashed away almost faster than she could follow.
"Are you nuts!? You're tryin to kill me!" he cried as another wave of guards appeared in the room and slowly began to circle around him. The attempted to crush him under a dog pile and the boy merely ducked and rolled away.
"All right, that's it! I'm tired of tryin to be nice!" screamed the boy in rage. He scrambled away just in time and the men fell into a heap missing him by inches. When he turned around again his hair was red and he had a strangely calm look in his eyes.
"Shit, it's turned female again," growled Akane under her breath. She was hoping to get to it before that happened. She calmed herself considerably and stepped back into a ready stance.
"I was just tryin to be nice, and this is how you thank me?" snarled the redhead.
"After what you did to my mother! I will destroy all of you!" screamed the girl as she charged again.
Ranma didn't back down this time. She stood her ground and blocked every strike easily. Akane pushed herself harder and harder but it didn't seem to matter. With a final heave, Ranma grabbed the angry girl by her arm and tossed her over her shoulder and into a wall.
Akane screamed in pain and anger as she dropped to the ground after leaving a sizable crater in the wall. She slowly struggled to her knees and glared up at her opponent. "Damn you!"
"What the hell is your problem?!" screamed the redhead.
Akane rose to her feet and let loose a battle cry as she charged towards her opponent again. Ranma stepped back into an offensive stance and stared at her dead in the eyes.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!"
Both combatants froze in place with the pigtailed girl's fist inches away from Akane's exposed neck. She stared the Akane directly in the eyes and saw fear there.
Soun walked into the room surrounded by security guards and looked at the mess around him disapprovingly. "Akane, I am severely disappointed in you."
"Dad! Get away! She's one of them!" screamed the girl in panic as she jumped between her father and the girl. She held her arms out wide and glared at her with an angry stare.
Soun pushed her aside rather roughly and walked up to Ranma before bowing to her deeply. "Please accept my apology Saotome. My daughter does not yet understand."
The girl looked over at the completely shocked Akane and nodded slowly. "Forget about it."
The man stood upright with a smile on his face and waved his arm. "Please feel free to rest. You and your father have been assigned a room here at our facilities. I'm sure you are in need of a good hot bath, or perhaps a meal. One of my men will escort you to your room."
"Dad?" Gasped Akane with a look of betrayed pain in her eyes.
"Come with me Akane, we have a lot to discuss. This is my old friend Genma Saotome. That boy you were just trying to kill is his son, Ranma."
"You mean that thing?!" cried the girl in a moment of anger.
Soun stopped and whirled around to face her. "That is not a thing Akane, it is a man. I will explain everything, please come with me, your sisters are waiting."
Genma sat opposite of the gathered family and sighed. "It all started two months ago, in China. My son and I were traveling across the country in order to train ourselves in the art. We happened upon a valley with an ancient training ground. It was called 'Jusenkyo, the cursed springs'."
"The pools of sorrow?" said Nabiki with a slightly raised eyebrow.
"Yes, we didn't know any better. We decided to train there not knowing the horrors of the cursed place. After a few moments of sparring my son knocked me into one of the pools, when I emerged I was changed."
Akane didn't like the way this story was going. "What the hell do you mean changed?"
"I fell into a pool called 'The Spring of Drowned Panda'. You see the curse of Jusenkyo is a terrible one indeed. There are more than one hundred cursed pools there, each more tragic than the last. Whomever falls into one of the pools, takes the form of the last being to drown there, be it man or animal. My son had the misfortune of falling into the 'Spring of Drowned Girl'." He watched the room carefully and frowned. The looks he was getting from the girls were skeptical to say the least.
"Allow me to demonstrate." Soun stood from his chair and poured a glass of water he had prepared for the event over his old friend's head. The man shifted in form into a giant panda and growled slightly.
"You mean..." Akane suddenly had a horrified look on her face.
"Yes, that boy was not a Xoenthropie." Soun gave a sagely nod and turned towards his youngest. "You should go and apologize Akane, after all, he is your new fiancee." He poured a cup of hot water for his old friend from the teakettle that was placed on the table.
The youngest girl fell out of her chair in shock. The elder sisters jumped from their seats and looked at their father in shock.
"Daddy! You mean Akane has to marry this boy? What about us? You can't expect him too..." Kasumi fell silent as she realized what she was saying.
"I have made my decision. This is not a punishment Akane. My old friend and I have discussed it at length. He will be helping you train in the arts, that is one reason why he is here. My old friend and his son will train all of the pilots here in the Anything Goes style."
Akane felt her head grow lighter as she struggled back into her seat. "But...I can't..."
"My decision is final." The man turned away with tears in his eyes as he left the room.
Genma followed him out, pausing only for a moment to give the three another quick glance.
Nabiki was the first to speak. "Boy sis, you've really screwed up this time."
"How was I supposed to know about that?!" screamed the girl in an angry retort.
"Oh my," was all Kasumi could say.
The three girls turned to face the door as their father's cry echoed through the hallways. "Waaaaah! My baby girl is going to be married!"
Akane simply glared hatefully at the door and turned away from her sisters.
"In any case Akane, you really do owe him an apology," said Kasumi with a resigned sigh.
The two girls left Akane alone with her thoughts.
Ranma walked out of the shower in the small apartment they had supplied him and wrapped a towel around his waist. After a moment he sat down on the bed and began to rummage through his bag for a spare set of clothes, his traveling clothes were currently in the washing machine that was inside of a closet area. The room was spacious, it had a small kitchen area, a shower and bath, and a single room with a television set that doubled as living room and bedroom. He idly flicked on a light and began to dress himself.
"Pop, what the hell have you gotten me into now?"
A tentative knock on the door broke his chain of thought and he put on his undershirt before opening the door. He narrowed his eyes at the girl who stood before him with a heavy blush on her face. "What do you want?"
"I uhh, came to apologize," stammered the girl nervously as she bowed quickly. She sucked in a breath of surprise as a foot stopped a hair's length before her nose.
"Never take your eyes off your opponent. You had no idea how hostile I might have been after what you pulled," said the boy with a smirk on his face as he lowered his foot and walked across the room. "I suppose I'll have to let you live, seeing as we're engaged and all."
"You already know?" said the girl with a shocked look on her face.
"Pop called me and told me on that weird screen in the wall," Ranma jerked his thumb over his shoulder and pointed to the com unit. It was just beside the door.
"I see, look..." she straightened herself up and glared at him with a hard gaze.
"Don't worry you tomboy, I like this about as much as you do," said the boy as he flipped his pigtail over his shoulder and put on a kettle of hot water. "You want some tea or something?"
"Hey you jerk! Where do you get off calling me a tomboy?" snapped the girl as a sudden anger welled up inside her.
"What does it matter you little psycho? I'm stuck here until you get good at martial arts anyway. I'll probably be here for years."
A few moments later Akane stormed out the door of the room and snorted. She put her nose up in the air as Genma walked by towards the room and he blinked as she brushed past him. He walked into the room and raised his eyebrow as he found his son with what appeared to be the remains of a vase shattered around his head, the boy was lying on the floor unconscious.
Ranma muttered something and he bent down and poked him with a finger. "Are you all right boy?"
"Uncute," grumbled the boy halfheartedly.
Meanwhile, on Mainland China...
"Shampoo, are you prepared?" said Cologne. Various elders inside a smoke filled hut surrounded the old woman. There was very little light in the room and she stared at them with a determined look in her eyes.
"Of course, I'll hunt her down," snapped the girl with an almost wild anger in her eyes.
"No, you will not," said the old woman.
"What?! But I must, I gave her the kiss!" cried the girl in shock.
"They have escaped us, by going to their own country they are beyond our reach. In times such as these, you are needed here in the village. The war makes traveling abroad much too dangerous to both us, and yourself."
"I understand," said the girl as she hung her head in defeat.
"Without you, our village has no protection against these invaders. They are indeed rare in this region, but hardly absent."
"Then what am I preparing for?" asked the girl with a slightly frightened look on her face.
Another one of the elders spoke up. She was slightly larger than Cologne and had a long pipe hanging from her mouth that almost touched the ground at its base. "The psychic, Fe Shal, has had another vision. We are in need of your skills again young one."
The violet tressed Amazon nodded slowly in understanding. "Then I am to fight again?"
"Yes, please be cautious. We cannot repair the sleeping giant if it is further damaged. That would leave us defenseless."
"I shall not disappoint you honored elders," said the girl with a final bow. She turned and walked out the door.
After she left one of the elders turned towards Cologne and smirked to herself. "Mousse is quite adept at repairing the beast. I do realize that he can not fix any major damage, but it would be unwise to make her overly cautious."
"True, but if she is killed, or the beast rendered inoperable..." said another of the old women cautiously.
"That is enough, my great granddaughter will not fail. She has never done so in the past," snapped Cologne in an irritated tone.
"Yes it would seem that luck is on our side. One of our scouts happened upon the beast while bringing supplies back from near the shores, deep in communist territory. I am amazed we managed to transport it here without it getting confiscated. Something like this will not remain a secret from them long Cologne. I am surprised they have not already tried to steal our little secret from us." Most of the women in the room agreed with the elder as she pulled the pipe away from her lips and smiled darkly.
"Yes I know." Cologne hopped into the center of the meeting. "We must remain cautious, the giant was already damaged when we found it. A small portion of the ship separated from the main body when it fell from the sky. That the government didn't notice that is a blessing in itself. We cannot risk asking for help in keeping it up. That would draw attention to us."
"Even though we sent young Mousse away to learn about outsider technology, it is still not enough. The beast will not survive more than a few battles," said the second elder sagely.
"Have faith, Shampoo will not fail us. I only wish one of us could control that damn demon," consoled Cologne.
"My faith is growing thin. It is true that your granddaughter is the greatest of her generation Cologne, but how much longer until she grows too much for the beast to listen. Only girls in her age group even have the hope of commanding that thing. Young teens forced to do the work that only a full and experienced warrior should be doing." The first old woman took another puff of her pipe and sat back with a dissatisfied scowl.
"Hoping will not accomplish anything, nor will this useless squabbling. There is nothing we can do about this situation at the moment. It is beyond even our control." Cologne tapped the head of her staff on the ground signaling the end of the meeting. She turned and walked out the door towards her home.
"Shampoo, what are you doing here?" Mousse dropped a wrench into the rather high tech box that housed his tools. He was covered in grease and had a smear running down the right lens of his glasses.
"Great Grandmother said that another one is coming soon. We have to be ready."
"Easy for her to say. This thing is far beyond anything they taught me at those schools in Japan. You have no idea how long it took me to convince them I needed these expensive tools to fix the damn thing. I guess they expected me to do it with rocks or something. Backwards old fools." He pat the mech on the chest plate before jumping down to look at his work.
The armor plating was a dark lavender color. Its body was human looking and covered in armor plating. Half of the chest was covered by what was salvaged tank armor; it was an unpainted gray with flecks of green paint still dotting the aged metal.
Its head was almost insectoid in appearance. A large lens with several smaller sensors nestled around it sat in the center and a large flat protrusion jutted from the right side of its head, looking almost like a rabbit ear. Unfortunately half of the armor was missing from the cranium leaving the left side exposed; wires and electronics could be seen easily from the scar. Several small places on the torso, arms, and legs were the same.
Mousse was not the only Amazon male who was charged with learning the technology they needed to maintain the great beast. He did spend more time than the rest of them working on the beast. His specialization was with basic maintenance; while others had more specialized fields, such as radar, or computer systems.
"Is it fixed yet?" she asked him without paying much attention.
"It wasn't broken, I was just making sure of a few things," replied the boy with a shrug; he slipped the toolbox inside his sleeve and it seemed to vanish, as if by magic. "Say Shampoo, since I'm done for the day...why don't we go out on a date! I know this really great restaurant..."
He didn't get any farther than that as a rock slammed into his head. He groaned in pain and struggled back to his feet.
"Stupid Mousse! There's only one restaurant in the entire village! I'd rather go out with a cabbage!" snorted the girl as she climbed up to the chest and placed her hand inside the space that ran down the center. After a moment there was a beeping sound and the chestplate opened revealing the cockpit. She climbed inside and slipped her arms and legs into the large tube like protrusions inside. Various displays lit up around her and the chestplate folded back into place, closing her inside. "Get out of here now, I have to practice!"
Mousse jumped away as the foot came down almost crushing him where he stood. He grabbed a monkey that was sitting on a rock and shook with fear for a moment before looking at what was in his arms. He pulled his glasses down and looked at it for a moment. "Elder Cologne, when did you get here?"
The monkey screamed and scratched him repeatedly in the face before jumping away into the forest. "Ouch, she must be in a good mood today. I'm still conscious."
TBC...
Next time, I promise some cool giant robot action.
C&C to: Carrotglace@juno.com
URL: Http://www.geocities.com/misatira/