Chapter Two: Two Princesses Too Many!
by Shade
Disclaimer: Do not adjust your screen.
I control the font.
I control the type.
I control the spellcheck.
You are about to enter a world where sanity has no place...
You are about to enter...the Fanfic Limits.
~~~~~~
A ship was heading toward a small insignificant
planet that orbited a run of the mill yellow star.
While this event had absolutely no repercussions
for the normal people that inhabited this dull little
mudball, for one Ranma Masaki this night would
change his life forever.
For a spaceship this one was rather unusual. It had no
visible means of propulsion and bore a faint resemblence
to the old Viking warships that had dominated the Earth's seas
a few centuries earlier. In fact the entire ship looked like it
had been carved from a tree. This astounding blend of
science and nature was a Royal Juraian Battlecruiser, one of the
the most powerful vessels in the renowned Jurai Space Fleet.
Possessing enough firepower to reduce a small city to ash
in the span of a few moments, it was a work of art. The lines
of the vessel had been carefully designed to give anyone who
viewed it the impression of a great dragon or sea monster
when they first beheld it. It seemed to fairly radiate an aura of
quiet authority and subtle menace, a impression that the Juraians
had used many times in their negotiations with others.
This particular ship's name was the Ryuu-O, the personal flagship
of Crown Princess Ayeka of Jurai. Though technically her mother
Queen Misaki was in control of Jurai's military, as the eldest
remaining heir to the throne the princess was expected to prepare
for her future role as ruler of the vast Jurai Empire by learning the
future responsibilities she would have bear *before* she was coronated.
As the seventh most powerful class of ship in the known universe
(eighth if you counted cabbits) there was practically no need for an
escort of smaller vessels to protect the Ryuu-O. So when the majestic
craft approached the third planet of the star known as Sol, it came alone.
And given Princess Ayeka's formidable natural abilities and two loyal
Guardians it was of little surprise that aside from herself and her sister
there were no other people on board.
As she came out of stasis the crown princess had only the utmost
confidence in her mighty tree-ship. It would take her to her
long lost brother Yosho and finally allow her to take revenge
against the evil space pirate Ryoko. The possibility of losing
and getting stranded on this third rate backwater planet never
even crossed Ayeka's mind for a moment, it was simply inconceivable.
Ah, the innocence of youth.
~~~~~~~~~~
-On the dull mudball
"YOU!!!"
He was quite ready to wake up
from this nightmare now.
Any second now...
Any second...
Wake up already!!!
"Mmm hmm."
Ryoko sat up and gave him a long leisurely look
normally associated with big *hungry* cats and
thick juicy hunks of steak. The fact that she already
had a rather feline quality to her helped convey the
illusion quite nicely. Ranma actually patted himself to
make sure his clothes were still on, so unnerved was
he by the smouldering sultry gleam in her golden irises.
Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. End result...
{I'm screwed.}
Well, it might not be such a bad way to go.
That traitorous thought was subsequently lynched
by the calm reasoning side of his mind.
"Time to put that sword of yours to some good use."
{Eep!}
The sultry double meaning left the poor Masaki boy
stunned and helpless as the wicked space pirate
started to advance on her cornered prey.
"Oh Ranma..."
Then the Ryuu-O's energy signature came within her detection range.
{Damn! Why now of all times?! I was just getting to the good part!!}
So much for a little fun first, it was time
to get her jewels back and make tracks
before *she* arrived.
"I want your balls please."
The sounds of the crickets chirping
outside could be heard for a long moment.
"...OVER MY DEAD BODY!!!"
"You numbskull! I meant the gems in your sword."
"Oh. In that case...wait a second,
what do you want those for?"
"I need to call Ryo-ohki."
"Ryu-ohki?"
"The other demon in the legend."
"Wait a second, you want to call
*another* demon?!!"
"Got it in one schoolboy."
Ryoko gave him a saucy wink.
"Forget it! One of you is trouble enough,
two is absolutely out of the question!!"
"Are you sure? Because the one
coming here is a lot worse."
He gave her a blank look, not
understanding what the heck she
was talking about.
"Who's coming here?"
A serious look appeared on
her exotic face.
"She's the devil."
"What?!"
Ranma found himself distracted by the finger that
the shockingly sexy demon was running along his chest,
somehow she'd managed to corner him on the bed again.
"She's mean like a devil, she'll fire on us
without even giving you a chance to talk."
He opened his mouth to make an intelligent reply.
"Uh..."
~~~~~~~
-High Earth orbit
The Crown Princess of Jurai sneezed.
"Haven't you found her yet?"
"Um...there appears to be a problem."
Azaka wished that he could be anywhere else
in the Universe at that moment. Princess Ayeka
tended to react violently to bad news and being
the one who brought it to her wasn't very
conductive to one's health, even if that someone
happened to be an advanced artificial construct
designed to serve as both an assistant and personal
defense system.
"What?"
"Well...it seems that..*mumble**mumble*..."
"Speak up!"
"Yes Ma'am! According to Interstellar Law the
Galaxy Police file of the Space Pirate Ryoko
will expire on stardate 00432. Which will be
in about five seconds."
"WHAT?!"
A screen showing a picture of a smirking Ryoko
along with her long criminal record popped up on
the main viewer. A large red digital readout
accompanied it.
'5'
"How can this be?! Why is that demon not chased and
hunted for all eternity?!"
'4'
"The statue of limitations is set by the Holy Council of Planet Jurai..."
'3'
"That's not what I'm asking!! I want to
know why that pirate hasn't received the
maximum measure of justice!!"
'2'
"The statue of limitations..."
'1'
Ayeka stared helplessly at the
smug picture of her hated adversary
as the lines of text that recorded each and
every crime that Ryoko had commited in
the past 5,000 years were erased in the blink
of an eye.
'File Deleted'
"What are your orders Princess?"
For a long moment she said nothing, her royal
head hanging in defeat. Ryoko was a free woman
now, her record as clean as a new born babe. By
the Goddess, it was just so unfair! To have come so
close and only to find that her quarry had slipped through
her fingers. Now she would have to return in failure,
while the pirate would no doubt be celebrating her
good fortune.
Well it would be a cold day in the Nether-hells before
a member of the Royal House gave up that easily!
"Azaka! Kamidake!"
"Yes, Ma'am!"
"Take us down, We're going to question
Ryoko about my brother's whereabouts."
"But contact with this planet is strictly
forbidden by Jurai's High Council."
"Are you questioning my orders?"
The two Guardians shivered. They did
not want to end up as royal lawn ornaments.
"No Ma'am!"
"Then begin Ryuu-O's descent."
"Right away!"
~~~~~~~~
"C'mon, give them to me."
He held a hand up to block her advance.
"Wait! Let me think about it."
It proved to be a less then stellar
idea when she kept on coming anyway.
"Gimme!"
Ryoko knocked him back onto the bed and
reached over for the sword hilt, in the
process she wound up straddling Ranma's
hips as she stretched out. It was quite
a compromising situation, but the poor sap
(much to the horror of Ryoko fans everywhere)
was in no mood to appreciate it.
"Hey! Get off of me!!"
This was starting to get frustating
for the space pirate. What was she doing wrong?
Wasn't this how Earth people got together?
"You know, a lot of guys would love to be in
your position right now. So just lie back and
enjoy the ride."
"No! Let go!! Help!!!"
Ryoko paused for a moment as
a sudden thought hit her.
"Say, you wouldn't happen to be..."
Ranma's face reddened angrily as he
figured out what she was asking.
"I AM NOT GAY!!!"
~~~~~~~~
-Outside the window
Noboyuki perched precariously on
a stepladder as he prepared to record
his son's entry into manhood (among other
things).
"Oh glorious day! My wife in heaven, you'd
be so proud of our boy. Ranma's finally
brought a girl up into his room!"
And lo, there was light!
"Achika? Is that you?!"
The response blew him away. Literally.
"RYOKO!! RYOKO!! COME OUT AT ONCE!!"
~~~~~~
The crown princess was feeling rather
silly since nobody was responding.
Had her guardians made a mistake?
"Is this thing on?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Oh, never mind! Fire a warning shot."
Matching sweatdrops materialized on
the backs of Azaka and Kamidake.
"But you said we weren't going to..."
"That's an order!!"
"Ye-yes ma'am!"
Oh well, what was the worst
that could happen anyway?
~~~~~~
Although the actual energy discharge
dissipated harmlessly a few meters
above the planet's surface, the
resulting shockwave from several
cubic meters of air being vaporized
was enough to shatter windows for
six blocks in every direction.
*BOOM*
It also sent Ranma flying straight
toward Ryoko. Fortunately for him,
his landing was well cushioned.
He was so shaken by the explosion
that for once he didn't notice at
all that he'd landed in yet another
compromising position with her.
"She's shooting at us!!"
The demon's devious smile now stretched from ear to ear.
"I told you so."
Even Ranma wasn't crazy enough to think
he could take on a Giant Alien Spaceship
With Really Big Guns(tm).
"We've gotta get out of here!!"
"If I had my gems we could escape on Ryo-ohki."
Decision time. The Evil he knew or...
With a small sound the rest of what had once
been his bedroom window fell to the floor
and shattered.
Decision made!
"Okay! You win!! Just get us out of here!!"
Victory!
Her excitement temporarily getting the
better of her, she glomped onto him.
"Arrggghh!!!"
Oopsie.
~~~~~~~
"You've got a twisted sense of humor, old man."
The greatest wizard in the Forgotten Realms smiled
and blew a circle of blue smoke from his pipe.
"Age does have its advantages."
Rowan turned back to the pool.
"I wasn't complaining."
~~~~~~~
As soon as Ryoko released him he was
able to still the reflexive panic that
her impulsive action had sparked. He
would have time to freak out later.
Assuming of course that there *was*
a later...
"So what am I supposed to do again?"
"Just point the sword towards
me and wish for my gems back."
"That's it?"
Somehow he thought there should be
more to it then that. After all in
"Lost Neon Saber Successer Tenchi 1/2"
the ritual to restore the magical
grav-cores to the Evastalis units
had taken a long and complicated
ritual of chanting and dancing in
formal kimonos while the Happo-dolls
were cermonially sacrificed to appease
the Four Goddesses of Feminity.
"Yup."
Then again, never look a gift horse in the mouth.
He did as directed, aiming the gem end
of the sword toward the cyan haired demoness
and closing his eyes in concentration.
Ryoko clasped her hands together in front of her.
She felt the beginnings of a familar tingle,
one that signaled her long lost power was
finally being returned.
A wave of sheer pleasure swept over her
as the first gem materialized on the bottom
of her left wrist.
Then it stopped.
She was puzzled at first,
then concerned, and finally
the anger hit.
"HEY! You only gave me back one gem!"
"I know."
Ranma gave her a look that seemed to say
"How stupid do you think I am?".
The demoness at least had the grace to look a little sheepish.
"Oh. Well that's okay."
Deciding to make the best
of things she began to call
her long lost partner to her.
"Come Ryo-ohki! Come!!"
~~~~~~~
In the Masaki Valley, a slumbering
presence long submerged beneath
the lake started to stir itself
to full wakefulness.
{MiiiyyaaAAA!!}
Scattered crystals inside the
heart of the ship arose from the
floor and swiveled into place as
the main systems came back online.
The surface of the lake began to
churn and froth as the ancient
ship arose from its watery grave
to serve its mistress once more.
Ryo-ohki was resurrected.
"MiiiYYyaaAA!!"
~~~~~~
-Run Away! Run Away!
"We are picking up another ship
headed toward this area. It's Ryo-ohki."
A screen popped up showing the approaching vessel.
"There you are, you heinious criminal battleship!"
Needless to say, Ayeka was less then pleased to see it.
"Open Fire!!"
You might even say she was *royally* pissed off.
~~~~~
-B-A-K-A
{Why is this happening to me?!}
That one despairing thought kept
echoing over and over in his head.
{I always wanted a little excitement
in my life, but not like this!!}
He was in a spaceship that "meowed".
He was with a girl that had just
tried her best to kill him a few
hours earlier.
And to top it all off, some lunatic
with some kind of score to settle
with his companion was chasing after
both of them and apparently trying
her very best to make them both very,
*very* dead!!
"I'd like to wake up now!"
A distracted Ryoko tossed
something square and flat
at him.
"Could you hold this for a sec?"
"Uh, sure."
Ranma looked at the object in question.
Two seconds later he realized exactly what it was.
"MY HOUSE?!!"
"Sorry about that, didn't have
any time so I just shrank it and
brought it along. You don't mind,
do you?"
There was even a tiny squished 2D
figure lying on the front yard.
"Dad?!!"
Desperately trying not to break down into
a gibbering wreck from the multiple shocks
to his system, the naive Masaki broke the
first rule of the "Anime Laws Of Stupid Things
Not To Think About In A Crisis".
{Well, at least things can't
get any worse then this.}
~~~~~~
-Things Get Worse
The running battle between the
two warships continued as Ryo-ohki
climbed through the upper atmosphere
in its quest to reach the safety of
deep space.
The Ryuu-O bombarded the smaller battleship
with hundreds of brilliant blue laser blasts
from multiple log turrets that sprang out
of the vessel's outer hull.
This destructive volley was wasted on
Ryo-ohki's advanced armor, in return
the pirate ship unleashed a powerful
strike of six enormous red energy beams
from its central core at the Juraian
Battlecruiser.
The resulting explosion nearly
knocked the First Princess off
her feet.
"Why you...!"
That did it, the gloves were off now!
Focusing her ire on the pirate vessel
they were chasing, Ayeka activated her
magical forcefield, the one that looked
a lot like a bunch of silly logs floating
in midair. It looked pathetic, but it did
bring Ryo-ohki to a complete halt.
{VENGENCE IS MINE AT LAST!!}
"Go Azaka, Kamidake! Capture the Demon!!"
"Yes, Ma'am!"
"Yes, Ma'am!!"
The two wooden Guardians arose
from the floor and teleported out.
~~~~~~
-You Rang?
Ryoko swore silently as her ship came
to a sudden and complete stop.
{Damn! Stupid Power of Jurai!!}
The space pirate angrily gritted her fangs and
began concentrating her energy, trying to break
Ryu-ohki through the barrier that was holding
them both captive. Her efforts were in vain, and
a powerful field of electromagnetic force began
to develop around Ryoko's body.
When Ranma reached out a hand to her
she screamed a warning at him.
"Stay back!!"
He froze, his fingers
inches away from her
hand.
It was just as well that
he did, as an instant later
she was surrounded by a barrier
of blue energy with more then
enough power to render him extra
crispy.
Drums started beating.
{Oh that's just great.}
"Guardians...of...Jurai..."
She was in real trouble now.
Those logs had her but good
this time. With only one gem
the pirate lacked the energy
to defeat their combined power.
{I'm in trouble!}
The blue symboled one began pulling
her into its subspace interior.
"Hey! Let her go!!"
She turned her head to see
Ranma charge at the Guardian
imprisoning her. It was a
touching gesture, but futile.
A second Guardian with a red symbol
on its front intercepted the boy
before he took more then a few
steps and sucked him into a stasis
field.
Ryoko grimaced as she watched him
get captured. Things had not gone
at all according to her plans today.
{Heh, guess I've lost some of my
edge after 700 years, never would
have fallen for something like this
before...}
Darkness descended.
~~~~~~
-Hello! I Must Be Going!!
Ranma awoke to find himself imprisoned
inside a small clearing. Surrounding him
on all sides were alien trees that formed
an effective organic prison.
"Where am I?"
Then he noticed someone was missing.
"Ryoko? Ryoko! Where are you?!"
Frantically he looked all around him.
Funny how things changed so quickly, an
hour earlier Ranma would have been happy
to have been rid of the violent pirate
demon. But now her absence was enough to
send him into a fit of worry.
{Is she alright? Where could she be?
And most importantly, how am I supposed
to get back home without her help?}
~~~~~
A pair of unseen eyes twinkled with innocent
mischief as they watched the young man begin
to panic.
This promised to be so much fun!
-To be continued
by Shade
Disclaimer: Do not adjust your screen.
I control the font.
I control the type.
I control the spellcheck.
You are about to enter a world where sanity has no place...
You are about to enter...the Fanfic Limits.
~~~~~~
A ship was heading toward a small insignificant
planet that orbited a run of the mill yellow star.
While this event had absolutely no repercussions
for the normal people that inhabited this dull little
mudball, for one Ranma Masaki this night would
change his life forever.
For a spaceship this one was rather unusual. It had no
visible means of propulsion and bore a faint resemblence
to the old Viking warships that had dominated the Earth's seas
a few centuries earlier. In fact the entire ship looked like it
had been carved from a tree. This astounding blend of
science and nature was a Royal Juraian Battlecruiser, one of the
the most powerful vessels in the renowned Jurai Space Fleet.
Possessing enough firepower to reduce a small city to ash
in the span of a few moments, it was a work of art. The lines
of the vessel had been carefully designed to give anyone who
viewed it the impression of a great dragon or sea monster
when they first beheld it. It seemed to fairly radiate an aura of
quiet authority and subtle menace, a impression that the Juraians
had used many times in their negotiations with others.
This particular ship's name was the Ryuu-O, the personal flagship
of Crown Princess Ayeka of Jurai. Though technically her mother
Queen Misaki was in control of Jurai's military, as the eldest
remaining heir to the throne the princess was expected to prepare
for her future role as ruler of the vast Jurai Empire by learning the
future responsibilities she would have bear *before* she was coronated.
As the seventh most powerful class of ship in the known universe
(eighth if you counted cabbits) there was practically no need for an
escort of smaller vessels to protect the Ryuu-O. So when the majestic
craft approached the third planet of the star known as Sol, it came alone.
And given Princess Ayeka's formidable natural abilities and two loyal
Guardians it was of little surprise that aside from herself and her sister
there were no other people on board.
As she came out of stasis the crown princess had only the utmost
confidence in her mighty tree-ship. It would take her to her
long lost brother Yosho and finally allow her to take revenge
against the evil space pirate Ryoko. The possibility of losing
and getting stranded on this third rate backwater planet never
even crossed Ayeka's mind for a moment, it was simply inconceivable.
Ah, the innocence of youth.
~~~~~~~~~~
-On the dull mudball
"YOU!!!"
He was quite ready to wake up
from this nightmare now.
Any second now...
Any second...
Wake up already!!!
"Mmm hmm."
Ryoko sat up and gave him a long leisurely look
normally associated with big *hungry* cats and
thick juicy hunks of steak. The fact that she already
had a rather feline quality to her helped convey the
illusion quite nicely. Ranma actually patted himself to
make sure his clothes were still on, so unnerved was
he by the smouldering sultry gleam in her golden irises.
Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. End result...
{I'm screwed.}
Well, it might not be such a bad way to go.
That traitorous thought was subsequently lynched
by the calm reasoning side of his mind.
"Time to put that sword of yours to some good use."
{Eep!}
The sultry double meaning left the poor Masaki boy
stunned and helpless as the wicked space pirate
started to advance on her cornered prey.
"Oh Ranma..."
Then the Ryuu-O's energy signature came within her detection range.
{Damn! Why now of all times?! I was just getting to the good part!!}
So much for a little fun first, it was time
to get her jewels back and make tracks
before *she* arrived.
"I want your balls please."
The sounds of the crickets chirping
outside could be heard for a long moment.
"...OVER MY DEAD BODY!!!"
"You numbskull! I meant the gems in your sword."
"Oh. In that case...wait a second,
what do you want those for?"
"I need to call Ryo-ohki."
"Ryu-ohki?"
"The other demon in the legend."
"Wait a second, you want to call
*another* demon?!!"
"Got it in one schoolboy."
Ryoko gave him a saucy wink.
"Forget it! One of you is trouble enough,
two is absolutely out of the question!!"
"Are you sure? Because the one
coming here is a lot worse."
He gave her a blank look, not
understanding what the heck she
was talking about.
"Who's coming here?"
A serious look appeared on
her exotic face.
"She's the devil."
"What?!"
Ranma found himself distracted by the finger that
the shockingly sexy demon was running along his chest,
somehow she'd managed to corner him on the bed again.
"She's mean like a devil, she'll fire on us
without even giving you a chance to talk."
He opened his mouth to make an intelligent reply.
"Uh..."
~~~~~~~
-High Earth orbit
The Crown Princess of Jurai sneezed.
"Haven't you found her yet?"
"Um...there appears to be a problem."
Azaka wished that he could be anywhere else
in the Universe at that moment. Princess Ayeka
tended to react violently to bad news and being
the one who brought it to her wasn't very
conductive to one's health, even if that someone
happened to be an advanced artificial construct
designed to serve as both an assistant and personal
defense system.
"What?"
"Well...it seems that..*mumble**mumble*..."
"Speak up!"
"Yes Ma'am! According to Interstellar Law the
Galaxy Police file of the Space Pirate Ryoko
will expire on stardate 00432. Which will be
in about five seconds."
"WHAT?!"
A screen showing a picture of a smirking Ryoko
along with her long criminal record popped up on
the main viewer. A large red digital readout
accompanied it.
'5'
"How can this be?! Why is that demon not chased and
hunted for all eternity?!"
'4'
"The statue of limitations is set by the Holy Council of Planet Jurai..."
'3'
"That's not what I'm asking!! I want to
know why that pirate hasn't received the
maximum measure of justice!!"
'2'
"The statue of limitations..."
'1'
Ayeka stared helplessly at the
smug picture of her hated adversary
as the lines of text that recorded each and
every crime that Ryoko had commited in
the past 5,000 years were erased in the blink
of an eye.
'File Deleted'
"What are your orders Princess?"
For a long moment she said nothing, her royal
head hanging in defeat. Ryoko was a free woman
now, her record as clean as a new born babe. By
the Goddess, it was just so unfair! To have come so
close and only to find that her quarry had slipped through
her fingers. Now she would have to return in failure,
while the pirate would no doubt be celebrating her
good fortune.
Well it would be a cold day in the Nether-hells before
a member of the Royal House gave up that easily!
"Azaka! Kamidake!"
"Yes, Ma'am!"
"Take us down, We're going to question
Ryoko about my brother's whereabouts."
"But contact with this planet is strictly
forbidden by Jurai's High Council."
"Are you questioning my orders?"
The two Guardians shivered. They did
not want to end up as royal lawn ornaments.
"No Ma'am!"
"Then begin Ryuu-O's descent."
"Right away!"
~~~~~~~~
"C'mon, give them to me."
He held a hand up to block her advance.
"Wait! Let me think about it."
It proved to be a less then stellar
idea when she kept on coming anyway.
"Gimme!"
Ryoko knocked him back onto the bed and
reached over for the sword hilt, in the
process she wound up straddling Ranma's
hips as she stretched out. It was quite
a compromising situation, but the poor sap
(much to the horror of Ryoko fans everywhere)
was in no mood to appreciate it.
"Hey! Get off of me!!"
This was starting to get frustating
for the space pirate. What was she doing wrong?
Wasn't this how Earth people got together?
"You know, a lot of guys would love to be in
your position right now. So just lie back and
enjoy the ride."
"No! Let go!! Help!!!"
Ryoko paused for a moment as
a sudden thought hit her.
"Say, you wouldn't happen to be..."
Ranma's face reddened angrily as he
figured out what she was asking.
"I AM NOT GAY!!!"
~~~~~~~~
-Outside the window
Noboyuki perched precariously on
a stepladder as he prepared to record
his son's entry into manhood (among other
things).
"Oh glorious day! My wife in heaven, you'd
be so proud of our boy. Ranma's finally
brought a girl up into his room!"
And lo, there was light!
"Achika? Is that you?!"
The response blew him away. Literally.
"RYOKO!! RYOKO!! COME OUT AT ONCE!!"
~~~~~~
The crown princess was feeling rather
silly since nobody was responding.
Had her guardians made a mistake?
"Is this thing on?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Oh, never mind! Fire a warning shot."
Matching sweatdrops materialized on
the backs of Azaka and Kamidake.
"But you said we weren't going to..."
"That's an order!!"
"Ye-yes ma'am!"
Oh well, what was the worst
that could happen anyway?
~~~~~~
Although the actual energy discharge
dissipated harmlessly a few meters
above the planet's surface, the
resulting shockwave from several
cubic meters of air being vaporized
was enough to shatter windows for
six blocks in every direction.
*BOOM*
It also sent Ranma flying straight
toward Ryoko. Fortunately for him,
his landing was well cushioned.
He was so shaken by the explosion
that for once he didn't notice at
all that he'd landed in yet another
compromising position with her.
"She's shooting at us!!"
The demon's devious smile now stretched from ear to ear.
"I told you so."
Even Ranma wasn't crazy enough to think
he could take on a Giant Alien Spaceship
With Really Big Guns(tm).
"We've gotta get out of here!!"
"If I had my gems we could escape on Ryo-ohki."
Decision time. The Evil he knew or...
With a small sound the rest of what had once
been his bedroom window fell to the floor
and shattered.
Decision made!
"Okay! You win!! Just get us out of here!!"
Victory!
Her excitement temporarily getting the
better of her, she glomped onto him.
"Arrggghh!!!"
Oopsie.
~~~~~~~
"You've got a twisted sense of humor, old man."
The greatest wizard in the Forgotten Realms smiled
and blew a circle of blue smoke from his pipe.
"Age does have its advantages."
Rowan turned back to the pool.
"I wasn't complaining."
~~~~~~~
As soon as Ryoko released him he was
able to still the reflexive panic that
her impulsive action had sparked. He
would have time to freak out later.
Assuming of course that there *was*
a later...
"So what am I supposed to do again?"
"Just point the sword towards
me and wish for my gems back."
"That's it?"
Somehow he thought there should be
more to it then that. After all in
"Lost Neon Saber Successer Tenchi 1/2"
the ritual to restore the magical
grav-cores to the Evastalis units
had taken a long and complicated
ritual of chanting and dancing in
formal kimonos while the Happo-dolls
were cermonially sacrificed to appease
the Four Goddesses of Feminity.
"Yup."
Then again, never look a gift horse in the mouth.
He did as directed, aiming the gem end
of the sword toward the cyan haired demoness
and closing his eyes in concentration.
Ryoko clasped her hands together in front of her.
She felt the beginnings of a familar tingle,
one that signaled her long lost power was
finally being returned.
A wave of sheer pleasure swept over her
as the first gem materialized on the bottom
of her left wrist.
Then it stopped.
She was puzzled at first,
then concerned, and finally
the anger hit.
"HEY! You only gave me back one gem!"
"I know."
Ranma gave her a look that seemed to say
"How stupid do you think I am?".
The demoness at least had the grace to look a little sheepish.
"Oh. Well that's okay."
Deciding to make the best
of things she began to call
her long lost partner to her.
"Come Ryo-ohki! Come!!"
~~~~~~~
In the Masaki Valley, a slumbering
presence long submerged beneath
the lake started to stir itself
to full wakefulness.
{MiiiyyaaAAA!!}
Scattered crystals inside the
heart of the ship arose from the
floor and swiveled into place as
the main systems came back online.
The surface of the lake began to
churn and froth as the ancient
ship arose from its watery grave
to serve its mistress once more.
Ryo-ohki was resurrected.
"MiiiYYyaaAA!!"
~~~~~~
-Run Away! Run Away!
"We are picking up another ship
headed toward this area. It's Ryo-ohki."
A screen popped up showing the approaching vessel.
"There you are, you heinious criminal battleship!"
Needless to say, Ayeka was less then pleased to see it.
"Open Fire!!"
You might even say she was *royally* pissed off.
~~~~~
-B-A-K-A
{Why is this happening to me?!}
That one despairing thought kept
echoing over and over in his head.
{I always wanted a little excitement
in my life, but not like this!!}
He was in a spaceship that "meowed".
He was with a girl that had just
tried her best to kill him a few
hours earlier.
And to top it all off, some lunatic
with some kind of score to settle
with his companion was chasing after
both of them and apparently trying
her very best to make them both very,
*very* dead!!
"I'd like to wake up now!"
A distracted Ryoko tossed
something square and flat
at him.
"Could you hold this for a sec?"
"Uh, sure."
Ranma looked at the object in question.
Two seconds later he realized exactly what it was.
"MY HOUSE?!!"
"Sorry about that, didn't have
any time so I just shrank it and
brought it along. You don't mind,
do you?"
There was even a tiny squished 2D
figure lying on the front yard.
"Dad?!!"
Desperately trying not to break down into
a gibbering wreck from the multiple shocks
to his system, the naive Masaki broke the
first rule of the "Anime Laws Of Stupid Things
Not To Think About In A Crisis".
{Well, at least things can't
get any worse then this.}
~~~~~~
-Things Get Worse
The running battle between the
two warships continued as Ryo-ohki
climbed through the upper atmosphere
in its quest to reach the safety of
deep space.
The Ryuu-O bombarded the smaller battleship
with hundreds of brilliant blue laser blasts
from multiple log turrets that sprang out
of the vessel's outer hull.
This destructive volley was wasted on
Ryo-ohki's advanced armor, in return
the pirate ship unleashed a powerful
strike of six enormous red energy beams
from its central core at the Juraian
Battlecruiser.
The resulting explosion nearly
knocked the First Princess off
her feet.
"Why you...!"
That did it, the gloves were off now!
Focusing her ire on the pirate vessel
they were chasing, Ayeka activated her
magical forcefield, the one that looked
a lot like a bunch of silly logs floating
in midair. It looked pathetic, but it did
bring Ryo-ohki to a complete halt.
{VENGENCE IS MINE AT LAST!!}
"Go Azaka, Kamidake! Capture the Demon!!"
"Yes, Ma'am!"
"Yes, Ma'am!!"
The two wooden Guardians arose
from the floor and teleported out.
~~~~~~
-You Rang?
Ryoko swore silently as her ship came
to a sudden and complete stop.
{Damn! Stupid Power of Jurai!!}
The space pirate angrily gritted her fangs and
began concentrating her energy, trying to break
Ryu-ohki through the barrier that was holding
them both captive. Her efforts were in vain, and
a powerful field of electromagnetic force began
to develop around Ryoko's body.
When Ranma reached out a hand to her
she screamed a warning at him.
"Stay back!!"
He froze, his fingers
inches away from her
hand.
It was just as well that
he did, as an instant later
she was surrounded by a barrier
of blue energy with more then
enough power to render him extra
crispy.
Drums started beating.
{Oh that's just great.}
"Guardians...of...Jurai..."
She was in real trouble now.
Those logs had her but good
this time. With only one gem
the pirate lacked the energy
to defeat their combined power.
{I'm in trouble!}
The blue symboled one began pulling
her into its subspace interior.
"Hey! Let her go!!"
She turned her head to see
Ranma charge at the Guardian
imprisoning her. It was a
touching gesture, but futile.
A second Guardian with a red symbol
on its front intercepted the boy
before he took more then a few
steps and sucked him into a stasis
field.
Ryoko grimaced as she watched him
get captured. Things had not gone
at all according to her plans today.
{Heh, guess I've lost some of my
edge after 700 years, never would
have fallen for something like this
before...}
Darkness descended.
~~~~~~
-Hello! I Must Be Going!!
Ranma awoke to find himself imprisoned
inside a small clearing. Surrounding him
on all sides were alien trees that formed
an effective organic prison.
"Where am I?"
Then he noticed someone was missing.
"Ryoko? Ryoko! Where are you?!"
Frantically he looked all around him.
Funny how things changed so quickly, an
hour earlier Ranma would have been happy
to have been rid of the violent pirate
demon. But now her absence was enough to
send him into a fit of worry.
{Is she alright? Where could she be?
And most importantly, how am I supposed
to get back home without her help?}
~~~~~
A pair of unseen eyes twinkled with innocent
mischief as they watched the young man begin
to panic.
This promised to be so much fun!
-To be continued
