New Neighbors
By Madcat
Author's Notes: I don't have any right to use Gold Digger,
Ranma 1/2 characters or Jade in my stories. But I swear, I'm not
making any money off this. So please don't sue.
If you don't know the Gold Digger series (GD) check the net. There are some nifty sites on the series with summaries of the issues.
I'm droping this fanfic so I can work on other projects.
I can't bring myself to work on this anymore, so its free
if anyone wishes to take up the story do so.
************
JADE: CH. 4
Ranma quickly found the only tavern in Keysville and entered the main room. He ignored the curious glances of several patrons and made his way to the bar.
"What can I do for ye," the dwarven barkeep asked?
"How much for dinner and for a room for the night," Ranma asked as he stretched a cramp in his leg.
"Four silver pieces," the barkeep replied.
"A little steep, but I agree. How about one gold for the room and all the food I can eat?" With that Ranma drew a gold coin and flicked it to the barkeep. "Well at least I'm putting the bandit's money to good use," Ranma said to himself.
The barkeep weighed the coin with an experienced eye and said, "agreed." With that Ranma left the bar and found an empty table near the hearth. The barkeep looked at the coin and back at Ranma. "With his dress and the way he throws around money, he's got to be some minor noble," the dwarf said to himself.
The barkeep stopped the serving girl and pulled her to one side. "The young lord dressed in red near the hearth is likely some minor noble. Make sure he gets good service."
Unnoticed by Ranma or the barkeep a merchant quietly left the tavern and ran into the night.
Several minutes later, elsewhere in town...
The merchant from the tavern entered an old barn on the edge of town. He cautiously entered the dark interior of the rotting structure.
"Report," a harsh voice said from the darkness of the barn.
The merchant hastily dropped to one knee. "He's arrived milord. A young noble entered the tavern and he's dressed in colors of house...."
The merchant's report was ended as a barbed whip erupted from the shadow and ripped out his throat.
"Tonight," a voice from the darkness said and several shadows moved in the darkness of the barn.
Back at the tavern....
"Any news from the North, Trish," Ranma asked the eleven serving girl.
"Just the rumblings of a war," the girl said as she smiled at Ranma.
"Umm... What's this about a war," Ranma asked?
"I'm sure someone like you would know more about such things than myself," she said as she winked at Ranma.
"I haven't heard any news for awhile, so please tell me," Ranma replied.
"Well it seems House Hansburg and the Barbarian clans may be going to war soon. It's some old territorial disputes combined with some skirmishes on the borders. The interesting things are House Morrow allying with the Barbarians and the Rahaska tribes allying with the Brandonburgs. The Northlands would probably be ablaze with war by now, except for Warmaster's attempts to get those stubborn men to talk to one another. Rumor has it, that she's had to crack some other Warmaster skulls to get them to listen to her. But I got other customers to attend to," Trish said. "Talk to me later if you need me to warm your bed tonight," she whispered to him before walking off.
Ranma had to catch his jaw to prevent it from hitting the table as he watched her retreating form.
Back in Nerima at the Saotome home.......
"Good day miss I am the black knight representing the forces of darkness &
evil. My records indicated this is the house of the Dragon reborn, may I..."
slam
"Sigh, some people have no sense of the dramatic."
Bam! Bam!
"I'm not leaving until I do battle with the Dragon or his champion," the dark knight
said as Nodoka opened the door for the second time.
"In about three minutes you'll be doing battle with the cops if you don't beat it," Nodoka
replied.
slam
"Maybe she is his champion," the figure in black armor sighed.
Back in Jade.......
Ranma was sound asleep in his room at the Tavern, when he heard the
creak of a floor board in the hallway. Ranma silently rolled out of bed
and watched the door. A soft creak from the roof also fluttered down to
Ranma. "If it was just the hall, I'd write it off. But with the roof, it
means trouble. The door burst open with a deafing boom revealing the hallway beyond. Ranma watched as a figure recovered from his kick and dodged out of the doorway. Ranma was rolling as a crossbow bolt from
a black clad figure charged through the open doorway. Ranma bounced to his feet and
fired a chi-blast catching the attacker by suprise. A second assassin in the hallway was suprised, when
his companion came flying out of the room and impacted into him. The second attacker absorbed
most of the damage as the two figures hit the wall on the far side of the hallway.
On the roof above a third assassin had tied a rope to a chimney at
the end of the Tavern. He leaped from the roof holding the rope. The rope quickly became taunt and the rope pulled the assassin into an arc ending in the window to Ranma's room.
Inside Ranma heard a crash and a thud. He then smiled to himself.
The dresser, he put in front of his window, shook violently as something impacted into it. "They didn't expect that did they," he thought to himself.
Ranma quickly check the two figures and found both unconscious.
"What the hell is going on here," the tavern owner said. The
enraged dwarf stood in the doorway in a tattered nightshirt armed with a battleaxe.
"These men attacked me," Ranma replied.
"I don't care about that," the dwarf said jumping up and down in rage. "You didn't save one for me. Do you know, how long it's been since I had a decent fight," he roared.
The next afternoon....
Ranma was strolling down a road as he traveled ever northward. The business at the Tavern had taken several hours to clear up. Ranma
had finally been able to leave after the watch cleared him of any wrong
doing. All three assassins were now dead. The two men from hallway had poisoned themselves somehow after capture. The third had
broken his neck hitting the cobblestones below Ranma's window. "At least things are looking up now," Ranma said.
A pair of hands clapping broke Ranma from his thoughts. A tall
humanoid figure dressed in a dark green clapped from his position near
by a large oak tree. "I must say you handled my masters fighters nicely, Mage."
Ranma lowered his pack to the ground and took up a loose stance.
"You mean the morons from last night. Right...."
"Yes, but let's not waste time by going over details," the figure said. The figure jumped down and produced a scroll. The figure smiled an opened the scroll. A rune of black energy flared for a moment before disappearing.
Ranma dived to one side and was suprised when no bolts of energy flew at him.
"No, you fool. I cast an anti-magic field on you. Now you won't be able to use magic or any artifacts you're carrying."
Ranma blinked and muttered, "what's your point."
"The point is, I'm planning on ripping you apart bare handed."
With that the figure form wavered and grew before Ranma. Even Ranma
was able to recognize the large hairy form as a minotaur. The creature
rushed Ranma. Ranma was suprised by his opponent's speed as was quickly pinned to a tree. "Any last words, human."
Ranma rotated the palms of his hands in the minataur's grip till
they faced his opponent. "Yeah, I'm not a mage."
The minataur was still processing the information, when twin chi blasts exploded into its' chest. The hairy gaint was sent sailing into
a nearby tree reducing it to a broken stump. One fragment of the stump
protruded through the remains of the minataur's heart. Ranma slowly picked himself off the ground. The chi blast going off that close to him had destroyed
his shirt and charred his eyebrows. He stumbled over to his opponent and found no pulse from the minataur. Ranma sighed and bowed to the broken body of the minataur. He clapped his hand together and said a short prayer before turning away from the body.
Several minutes later Ranma had replaced his shirt from one in his pack and continued his walk down the road. After Ranma left the minataur's body slowly pulled itself off the tree stump.
That evening........
Ranma trudged into yet another town. This town was actually the
free city of Aiken.
"Killer," a voice shrieked behind Ranma. Ranma turned and found himself facing a short merchant dressed in bright clothing.
"Do you have something to add, merchant Tulan," the city watch captain asked?
"I saw this scoundrel, kill Squire Heward" he yelled pointing at Ranma.
Ranma was immediately grabbed by two of the guardsmen. The other two guards loosened the bindings on their swords.
"Do you have any proof of this, merchant," the captain asked?
"Yes!" With that the merchant pulled a small boy from behind him and presented him to the captain. He also witnessed the attack.
"Is he the killer, boy," the captain asked? The small boy looked up at the captain with large eyes and slowly nodded. "Right. We'll be taking him to the castle prision." The captain turned to the merchant and said, "I'll need a signed testimony from you, so come along."
"Shit! I'm screwed this time," Ranma thought to himself. Ranma was already moving before the guards could chain him. He broke out of the grip of his two captors and jumped. The gathered crowd gasped as he landed on a second story balcony on a nearby building. Ranma ran into the building, disturbing a family preparing for dinner. The family watched in
astonishment as he ran into their house and dived through the kitchen window. Ranma landed with a roll in a road and came up running. He never noticed the astonished family staring at him through the broken window. Ranma ducked into an alley two blocks later and caught his breath.
"Well this is your lucky day," a voice said. "I only want your money."
Ranma turned and found a man approaching with a dagger. Ranma smiled before rushing the thief.
Several minutes later...
A female Ranma exited the alley in his new disguise. Rainwater in a barrel had provided the means for the change and the thief had been the source for new clothes. He packed his normal clothes in his pack and headed towards the city walls.
"Now to find out what's going on here," Ranma said as he marched towards the keep. He ran into the city watch captain leading a small party through the town. Ranma gaze focused on Merchant Tulan, who was in the middle of the party.
Ranma carefully trailed the group to the keep in sight. After several minutes the small party arrived at the castle overlooking the city. Ranma stared at the castle several seconds before deciding on a course of action. He watched the single visible guard on the section of wall. Ranma waited for the correct time and took a jump to the top of the castle wall. Ranma quickly scanned the adjacent walls and the courtyard below. He immediately noticed them merchant entering a long grey building along one castle wall with the watch captain and the boy.
Ranma landed softly in the courtyard and casually made his way across the courtyard. Luckly for Ranma the courtyard was almost empty as the majority of the castle was in the great hall for the evening meal. As Ranma approached the building, he noticed two guards near the buildings door. "I need a way in," Ranma said to himself.
Fortunately for Ranma two women exited the keep carrying baskets of laundry and disappeared into another building along the castle wall. Ranma smiled to himself as he followed the ladies.
Several minutes later....
He noticed the watch captain leaving the building and march to the keep. Giving him a minute Ranma approached the building that he had tentatively identified as the barracks. A smile, big eyes, and an excuse of delivering laundry for the captain got Ranma into the building and direction to the captain's room. Ranma laughed to himself as he thought about one of the perks of his cursed form. A quick journey through the almost empty barracks brought him to the captain's room on the second floor. Ranma knocked and waited several seconds. Ranma was waiting for a reply when, he noticed a thin stream of blood between in the grout between the two floor tiles. Ranma always a person of
action dropped the laundry basket as he kicked the door. The door exploded inward revealing a scene of carnage. The shredded bodies of the captain and the small boy, who had accompanied the merchant, lay in the room.
Ranma quickly grabbed his pack from its hiding place in the pile of laundry as he fled the room with a growing dread. He tore open the door to the barracks and stepped outside. One guard hadn't finished turning around before he found himself suspended in the air.
"Listen closely," the red head began. "The captain's dead. And
something is impersonating him," she said. The guard stopped struggling as Ranma's words sunk in. He barely caught himself, when Ranma released his grip. The other guard ran into the barracks. Ranma ignored the remaining
guard as she raced to the keep.
The two guards at the keep crossed their pikes at the approaching
figure. "What business do you have here wench," a guard asked?
"Where was the Captain headed," Ranma yelled?
"I have no reason to...," the guard managed before Ranma slapped him.
"Your captain is dead. We just found his body in the barracks," Ranma said. "Something impersonating him just walked past you morons."
"You expect us to believe that, dribble," the other guard said.
Ranma grabbed the closest guard and threw him into his suprised companion. Ranma then bolted through the door as the two guards attempted
to disentangle themselves. Ranma entered the keep and found a room with two
doors to his left and right and a winding staircase ahead of him. Ranma took the stairs two at a time and prayed to himself, he chosen the correct path.
Ranma reached the second floor and suprised a page. "Have you
seen the Captain," Ranma asked the boy. The boy pointed to his right and Ranma raced in that direction. Ranma noticed a guard dash into a room down
the hallway as he followed the boy's directions. Cries of pain and breaking
furniture drifted from the room as Ranma closed on it.
Ranma skidded to a stop in front of the open door. He watched as a guard was disembowded by a slash to his lower chest. Ranma lept over the guard, who was still thrashing in a growing pool of blood. Ranma stared at
his humanoid opponent. His opponent was about seven feet tall and vaguely human with enormous clawed hands. Ranma ran into the room jumping over the
dying guard. The creature smiled cruelly and its form sifted. The form quickly became a minataur. "Remember me," it said before charging Ranma. Ranma had barely landed before he was forced to dive from a massive fist.
The figure pointed an open palm at Ranma. Ranma dodged in time enough to catch a deep scratch in his shoulder from a volley of short spikes. Another guard entered the room with a sword draw and made a valiant charged at the creature only to have his chest shredded by a burst of spikes. Ranma took the opportunity to hit the creature broadside with a chi blast. The thing quickly healed the place in it's side as it turned to face Ranma and it's form shifted. Two spiked tentacles several meters long grew from it's back. Ranma dodged one tentacle only to be caught by another around his right foot. Ranma destroyed the tentacle with a chi blast in time to avoid a swipe by a clawed hand. Ranma ducked behind an overturned table to avoid a burst of spikes from
his opponent. Ranma smiled as he picked up a oil lamp from the contents of the overturned table from besides a prone form in a robe.
The dopplenganger saw Ranma throw something and easily blocked the object with a tentacle. It ignored the sound of breaking glass as it fired another volley of spikes at Ranma. Ranma dodged and hit the creature with another chi blast. The creature was distracted from another attack as it's
right side was engulfed in flames. The creature caught Ranma with a backhand
blow, that slammed Ranma into the far wall of the room.
The creature was blind sided as a guard charged through the open door. The guard's halberd dug into the creature's chest driving it back
towards the fireplace. The creature braced itself with its' arms and attempted to stand back up. The guard slowly pushed the halberd deeper
into the thrashing flesh of the monster. The creature was almost pinned against the fireplace, when it managed to snap the shaft of the halberd. The creature lashed out with a taloned hand shredding the guard's arm. The
creature staggered to its feet and charged towards a wall. A glowing tear
of energy created itself in the wall before the speeding monster.
Ranma dashed after the burning figure intent on stopping it before
the portal. The creature staggered and fell when two crossbow bolts blossomed
in it's chest. Ranma slid to a stop before the portal. Ranma turned quickly
and caught sight of a man in silver armor drop a double shot crossbow and
charge at the monster. The man drew a slim silver sword and leapt at the monster. The monster was attempting to stand, when the sword pierced it's skull and continued into the stone floor. Ranma was focused on the stranger,
that he missed a flaying arm of the dying monster. The blow knocked Ranma
off balance and into the portal.
Author's Suggestion:
Check out www.sluggy.com for a great online comic strip. The comic strip has many character with complex relationships formed since the beginning of the strip. But not to worry. The website has issues going back to the start of the series in 1998.
Another good online comic strip. www.brunothebandit.com
Also there's a good fic called 'Neko Can't' floating around the web, which is a Ranma/Gold Digger crossover.
By Madcat
Author's Notes: I don't have any right to use Gold Digger,
Ranma 1/2 characters or Jade in my stories. But I swear, I'm not
making any money off this. So please don't sue.
If you don't know the Gold Digger series (GD) check the net. There are some nifty sites on the series with summaries of the issues.
I'm droping this fanfic so I can work on other projects.
I can't bring myself to work on this anymore, so its free
if anyone wishes to take up the story do so.
************
JADE: CH. 4
Ranma quickly found the only tavern in Keysville and entered the main room. He ignored the curious glances of several patrons and made his way to the bar.
"What can I do for ye," the dwarven barkeep asked?
"How much for dinner and for a room for the night," Ranma asked as he stretched a cramp in his leg.
"Four silver pieces," the barkeep replied.
"A little steep, but I agree. How about one gold for the room and all the food I can eat?" With that Ranma drew a gold coin and flicked it to the barkeep. "Well at least I'm putting the bandit's money to good use," Ranma said to himself.
The barkeep weighed the coin with an experienced eye and said, "agreed." With that Ranma left the bar and found an empty table near the hearth. The barkeep looked at the coin and back at Ranma. "With his dress and the way he throws around money, he's got to be some minor noble," the dwarf said to himself.
The barkeep stopped the serving girl and pulled her to one side. "The young lord dressed in red near the hearth is likely some minor noble. Make sure he gets good service."
Unnoticed by Ranma or the barkeep a merchant quietly left the tavern and ran into the night.
Several minutes later, elsewhere in town...
The merchant from the tavern entered an old barn on the edge of town. He cautiously entered the dark interior of the rotting structure.
"Report," a harsh voice said from the darkness of the barn.
The merchant hastily dropped to one knee. "He's arrived milord. A young noble entered the tavern and he's dressed in colors of house...."
The merchant's report was ended as a barbed whip erupted from the shadow and ripped out his throat.
"Tonight," a voice from the darkness said and several shadows moved in the darkness of the barn.
Back at the tavern....
"Any news from the North, Trish," Ranma asked the eleven serving girl.
"Just the rumblings of a war," the girl said as she smiled at Ranma.
"Umm... What's this about a war," Ranma asked?
"I'm sure someone like you would know more about such things than myself," she said as she winked at Ranma.
"I haven't heard any news for awhile, so please tell me," Ranma replied.
"Well it seems House Hansburg and the Barbarian clans may be going to war soon. It's some old territorial disputes combined with some skirmishes on the borders. The interesting things are House Morrow allying with the Barbarians and the Rahaska tribes allying with the Brandonburgs. The Northlands would probably be ablaze with war by now, except for Warmaster's attempts to get those stubborn men to talk to one another. Rumor has it, that she's had to crack some other Warmaster skulls to get them to listen to her. But I got other customers to attend to," Trish said. "Talk to me later if you need me to warm your bed tonight," she whispered to him before walking off.
Ranma had to catch his jaw to prevent it from hitting the table as he watched her retreating form.
Back in Nerima at the Saotome home.......
"Good day miss I am the black knight representing the forces of darkness &
evil. My records indicated this is the house of the Dragon reborn, may I..."
slam
"Sigh, some people have no sense of the dramatic."
Bam! Bam!
"I'm not leaving until I do battle with the Dragon or his champion," the dark knight
said as Nodoka opened the door for the second time.
"In about three minutes you'll be doing battle with the cops if you don't beat it," Nodoka
replied.
slam
"Maybe she is his champion," the figure in black armor sighed.
Back in Jade.......
Ranma was sound asleep in his room at the Tavern, when he heard the
creak of a floor board in the hallway. Ranma silently rolled out of bed
and watched the door. A soft creak from the roof also fluttered down to
Ranma. "If it was just the hall, I'd write it off. But with the roof, it
means trouble. The door burst open with a deafing boom revealing the hallway beyond. Ranma watched as a figure recovered from his kick and dodged out of the doorway. Ranma was rolling as a crossbow bolt from
a black clad figure charged through the open doorway. Ranma bounced to his feet and
fired a chi-blast catching the attacker by suprise. A second assassin in the hallway was suprised, when
his companion came flying out of the room and impacted into him. The second attacker absorbed
most of the damage as the two figures hit the wall on the far side of the hallway.
On the roof above a third assassin had tied a rope to a chimney at
the end of the Tavern. He leaped from the roof holding the rope. The rope quickly became taunt and the rope pulled the assassin into an arc ending in the window to Ranma's room.
Inside Ranma heard a crash and a thud. He then smiled to himself.
The dresser, he put in front of his window, shook violently as something impacted into it. "They didn't expect that did they," he thought to himself.
Ranma quickly check the two figures and found both unconscious.
"What the hell is going on here," the tavern owner said. The
enraged dwarf stood in the doorway in a tattered nightshirt armed with a battleaxe.
"These men attacked me," Ranma replied.
"I don't care about that," the dwarf said jumping up and down in rage. "You didn't save one for me. Do you know, how long it's been since I had a decent fight," he roared.
The next afternoon....
Ranma was strolling down a road as he traveled ever northward. The business at the Tavern had taken several hours to clear up. Ranma
had finally been able to leave after the watch cleared him of any wrong
doing. All three assassins were now dead. The two men from hallway had poisoned themselves somehow after capture. The third had
broken his neck hitting the cobblestones below Ranma's window. "At least things are looking up now," Ranma said.
A pair of hands clapping broke Ranma from his thoughts. A tall
humanoid figure dressed in a dark green clapped from his position near
by a large oak tree. "I must say you handled my masters fighters nicely, Mage."
Ranma lowered his pack to the ground and took up a loose stance.
"You mean the morons from last night. Right...."
"Yes, but let's not waste time by going over details," the figure said. The figure jumped down and produced a scroll. The figure smiled an opened the scroll. A rune of black energy flared for a moment before disappearing.
Ranma dived to one side and was suprised when no bolts of energy flew at him.
"No, you fool. I cast an anti-magic field on you. Now you won't be able to use magic or any artifacts you're carrying."
Ranma blinked and muttered, "what's your point."
"The point is, I'm planning on ripping you apart bare handed."
With that the figure form wavered and grew before Ranma. Even Ranma
was able to recognize the large hairy form as a minotaur. The creature
rushed Ranma. Ranma was suprised by his opponent's speed as was quickly pinned to a tree. "Any last words, human."
Ranma rotated the palms of his hands in the minataur's grip till
they faced his opponent. "Yeah, I'm not a mage."
The minataur was still processing the information, when twin chi blasts exploded into its' chest. The hairy gaint was sent sailing into
a nearby tree reducing it to a broken stump. One fragment of the stump
protruded through the remains of the minataur's heart. Ranma slowly picked himself off the ground. The chi blast going off that close to him had destroyed
his shirt and charred his eyebrows. He stumbled over to his opponent and found no pulse from the minataur. Ranma sighed and bowed to the broken body of the minataur. He clapped his hand together and said a short prayer before turning away from the body.
Several minutes later Ranma had replaced his shirt from one in his pack and continued his walk down the road. After Ranma left the minataur's body slowly pulled itself off the tree stump.
That evening........
Ranma trudged into yet another town. This town was actually the
free city of Aiken.
"Killer," a voice shrieked behind Ranma. Ranma turned and found himself facing a short merchant dressed in bright clothing.
"Do you have something to add, merchant Tulan," the city watch captain asked?
"I saw this scoundrel, kill Squire Heward" he yelled pointing at Ranma.
Ranma was immediately grabbed by two of the guardsmen. The other two guards loosened the bindings on their swords.
"Do you have any proof of this, merchant," the captain asked?
"Yes!" With that the merchant pulled a small boy from behind him and presented him to the captain. He also witnessed the attack.
"Is he the killer, boy," the captain asked? The small boy looked up at the captain with large eyes and slowly nodded. "Right. We'll be taking him to the castle prision." The captain turned to the merchant and said, "I'll need a signed testimony from you, so come along."
"Shit! I'm screwed this time," Ranma thought to himself. Ranma was already moving before the guards could chain him. He broke out of the grip of his two captors and jumped. The gathered crowd gasped as he landed on a second story balcony on a nearby building. Ranma ran into the building, disturbing a family preparing for dinner. The family watched in
astonishment as he ran into their house and dived through the kitchen window. Ranma landed with a roll in a road and came up running. He never noticed the astonished family staring at him through the broken window. Ranma ducked into an alley two blocks later and caught his breath.
"Well this is your lucky day," a voice said. "I only want your money."
Ranma turned and found a man approaching with a dagger. Ranma smiled before rushing the thief.
Several minutes later...
A female Ranma exited the alley in his new disguise. Rainwater in a barrel had provided the means for the change and the thief had been the source for new clothes. He packed his normal clothes in his pack and headed towards the city walls.
"Now to find out what's going on here," Ranma said as he marched towards the keep. He ran into the city watch captain leading a small party through the town. Ranma gaze focused on Merchant Tulan, who was in the middle of the party.
Ranma carefully trailed the group to the keep in sight. After several minutes the small party arrived at the castle overlooking the city. Ranma stared at the castle several seconds before deciding on a course of action. He watched the single visible guard on the section of wall. Ranma waited for the correct time and took a jump to the top of the castle wall. Ranma quickly scanned the adjacent walls and the courtyard below. He immediately noticed them merchant entering a long grey building along one castle wall with the watch captain and the boy.
Ranma landed softly in the courtyard and casually made his way across the courtyard. Luckly for Ranma the courtyard was almost empty as the majority of the castle was in the great hall for the evening meal. As Ranma approached the building, he noticed two guards near the buildings door. "I need a way in," Ranma said to himself.
Fortunately for Ranma two women exited the keep carrying baskets of laundry and disappeared into another building along the castle wall. Ranma smiled to himself as he followed the ladies.
Several minutes later....
He noticed the watch captain leaving the building and march to the keep. Giving him a minute Ranma approached the building that he had tentatively identified as the barracks. A smile, big eyes, and an excuse of delivering laundry for the captain got Ranma into the building and direction to the captain's room. Ranma laughed to himself as he thought about one of the perks of his cursed form. A quick journey through the almost empty barracks brought him to the captain's room on the second floor. Ranma knocked and waited several seconds. Ranma was waiting for a reply when, he noticed a thin stream of blood between in the grout between the two floor tiles. Ranma always a person of
action dropped the laundry basket as he kicked the door. The door exploded inward revealing a scene of carnage. The shredded bodies of the captain and the small boy, who had accompanied the merchant, lay in the room.
Ranma quickly grabbed his pack from its hiding place in the pile of laundry as he fled the room with a growing dread. He tore open the door to the barracks and stepped outside. One guard hadn't finished turning around before he found himself suspended in the air.
"Listen closely," the red head began. "The captain's dead. And
something is impersonating him," she said. The guard stopped struggling as Ranma's words sunk in. He barely caught himself, when Ranma released his grip. The other guard ran into the barracks. Ranma ignored the remaining
guard as she raced to the keep.
The two guards at the keep crossed their pikes at the approaching
figure. "What business do you have here wench," a guard asked?
"Where was the Captain headed," Ranma yelled?
"I have no reason to...," the guard managed before Ranma slapped him.
"Your captain is dead. We just found his body in the barracks," Ranma said. "Something impersonating him just walked past you morons."
"You expect us to believe that, dribble," the other guard said.
Ranma grabbed the closest guard and threw him into his suprised companion. Ranma then bolted through the door as the two guards attempted
to disentangle themselves. Ranma entered the keep and found a room with two
doors to his left and right and a winding staircase ahead of him. Ranma took the stairs two at a time and prayed to himself, he chosen the correct path.
Ranma reached the second floor and suprised a page. "Have you
seen the Captain," Ranma asked the boy. The boy pointed to his right and Ranma raced in that direction. Ranma noticed a guard dash into a room down
the hallway as he followed the boy's directions. Cries of pain and breaking
furniture drifted from the room as Ranma closed on it.
Ranma skidded to a stop in front of the open door. He watched as a guard was disembowded by a slash to his lower chest. Ranma lept over the guard, who was still thrashing in a growing pool of blood. Ranma stared at
his humanoid opponent. His opponent was about seven feet tall and vaguely human with enormous clawed hands. Ranma ran into the room jumping over the
dying guard. The creature smiled cruelly and its form sifted. The form quickly became a minataur. "Remember me," it said before charging Ranma. Ranma had barely landed before he was forced to dive from a massive fist.
The figure pointed an open palm at Ranma. Ranma dodged in time enough to catch a deep scratch in his shoulder from a volley of short spikes. Another guard entered the room with a sword draw and made a valiant charged at the creature only to have his chest shredded by a burst of spikes. Ranma took the opportunity to hit the creature broadside with a chi blast. The thing quickly healed the place in it's side as it turned to face Ranma and it's form shifted. Two spiked tentacles several meters long grew from it's back. Ranma dodged one tentacle only to be caught by another around his right foot. Ranma destroyed the tentacle with a chi blast in time to avoid a swipe by a clawed hand. Ranma ducked behind an overturned table to avoid a burst of spikes from
his opponent. Ranma smiled as he picked up a oil lamp from the contents of the overturned table from besides a prone form in a robe.
The dopplenganger saw Ranma throw something and easily blocked the object with a tentacle. It ignored the sound of breaking glass as it fired another volley of spikes at Ranma. Ranma dodged and hit the creature with another chi blast. The creature was distracted from another attack as it's
right side was engulfed in flames. The creature caught Ranma with a backhand
blow, that slammed Ranma into the far wall of the room.
The creature was blind sided as a guard charged through the open door. The guard's halberd dug into the creature's chest driving it back
towards the fireplace. The creature braced itself with its' arms and attempted to stand back up. The guard slowly pushed the halberd deeper
into the thrashing flesh of the monster. The creature was almost pinned against the fireplace, when it managed to snap the shaft of the halberd. The creature lashed out with a taloned hand shredding the guard's arm. The
creature staggered to its feet and charged towards a wall. A glowing tear
of energy created itself in the wall before the speeding monster.
Ranma dashed after the burning figure intent on stopping it before
the portal. The creature staggered and fell when two crossbow bolts blossomed
in it's chest. Ranma slid to a stop before the portal. Ranma turned quickly
and caught sight of a man in silver armor drop a double shot crossbow and
charge at the monster. The man drew a slim silver sword and leapt at the monster. The monster was attempting to stand, when the sword pierced it's skull and continued into the stone floor. Ranma was focused on the stranger,
that he missed a flaying arm of the dying monster. The blow knocked Ranma
off balance and into the portal.
Author's Suggestion:
Check out www.sluggy.com for a great online comic strip. The comic strip has many character with complex relationships formed since the beginning of the strip. But not to worry. The website has issues going back to the start of the series in 1998.
Another good online comic strip. www.brunothebandit.com
Also there's a good fic called 'Neko Can't' floating around the web, which is a Ranma/Gold Digger crossover.