Come on, something, come on in,
don't be shy;
Meet a guy;
Pull up a chair;
The air is humming;
And something great is coming;
Who knows;
It's only just out of reach;
Down the block, on a beach;
Maybe tonight...;
Jim Bryant, Something's Coming
Veeken stared in awe at the old man. "You're saying", she said finally, "that I'm Ratigan's daughter?!"
"Yes", he stated in reply.
"Listen", she started in a argument to that statement. "If the R.D.C.S. knew about the child, i.e. me, they would have told me."
"This is a good point, but, as you might or mightn't know, Basil back then turned his attentions to punishing Ratigan for escaping in the first place, he left tracking you in the hands of Dawson. But, while he eventually forgot, I did not. I knew you were coming, Veeken, though I didn't know your name."
"But how?", Veeken asked.
"Earlier this morning, the sacred Lotus Blade broke out of its case, to stick into the ground in front of this very tapestry." Sure enough, there was a small notch in the floor near the tapestry that looked like it was made with a sword.
"But… But how can Ratigan be my father-?", Veeken started to ask.
"Search your feelings, Veeken-san. They, above all, know the truth."
Veeken sighed.
Suddenly a student dashed into the room. "Master Sensei!", he cried. "The Lotus blade's gone!"
Sensei frowned. "It is time…"
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Ratigan stepped out of the hot spring, wringing the water out of his cape. Suddenly-.
"Um, Ratigan?", Basil asked.
"What?", Ratigan snapped. Falling into a pool of hot water didn't improve his mood, which had drastically dropped since Veeken disappeared.
"We've got a problem."
"What kind of problem?", Ratigan asked testily.
"A monkey ninja kind of problem!"
Sure enough, the trio was surrounded a pack of monkey ninjas, all ready to kick serious butt.
"Aw, smeg", Ratigan said, finally. The monkeys pressed in, but Ratigan and the others were equal to that, matching punch for punch. However, after a few minutes, they were backed into a corner.
"Yes", Ratigan said. "We're really dead." To himself, he thought "Come on, Ratigan. There has to be a way out of this", not knowing that, at that very moment, the Lotus Blade crashed out of its display case, zooming towards their location.
Meanwhile, a slow breeze had picked up back at the battlefield. "What's going on?", Olivia asked.
"It's probably nothing", Basil mused. "Mountainous areas like this usually get random breezes."
But it wasn't that. "No", Ratigan said. "This isn't an ordinary breeze. It's a sign. Something is coming."
Suddenly, the sword flew past, sticking itself into the snow. The only downside was that it removed Ratigan's jacket as well. "Well… This is interesting…." He grabbed the sword, and pulled it out. The monkey ninjas ran off like he pulled out a gun. (AN: Anti-climactic, I know)
There was a moment of tense silence. "Ratigan", Basil said finally, "What is that?"
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Back at the school, everyone was getting ready to search for the sword. However, Ron noticed that one of the students from last time wasn't there. "Say", he asked, "Where's Fukushima?"
"He was exiled", Sensei replied, "for his treachery in revealing the location of the Lotus Blade to Monkey Fist. But I doubt that the sword is in Fist's hands."
"But who…", Veeken said, pausing, before asking "Ratigan?"
"No way", Ron said firmly. "We all know that Ratigan hasn't been exposed to mystical monkey powers recently… has he?"
"Apparently", Sensei mused, "the Lotus Blade can be used by anyone with supernatural powers, which rules out Monkey Fist."
"So you're saying it was Ratigan?", Veeken asked.
"Undoubtedly."
Meanwhile, Ron was in conversation with Yori. "So, Stoppable-san", she said, "How's life back in Middleton?"
"Oh,
y'know", Ron replied, "Still the distraction. Still. But I have been practicing
at home", he added. Pulling Rufus out of his pocket and handing him to Veeken,
he took on the body posture required for the Dragon Course. He closed his eyes
in concentration. The next second, his shirt and pants were gone. He quickly
covered himself up, asking "Does this always happen to me?"
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Meanwhile, some distance from the school and the search-and-rescue party, the monkey ninjas reported their findings to their leader, Monkey Fist. "What do you mean, 'We were attacked on the way to the school'?!", Fist screamed at his minions. The leader of the group replied in a series of hoots and grunts that only the former nobleman could understand. "So", he said when the leader finished his report, "You were attacked by two mouse/dæmon hybrids and one rat/dæmon hybrid." He frowned. "I don't know of many mouse/dæmon hybrids, but there is only one rat/dæmon hybrid that I know of who could summon the Lotus Blade so easily." His eyes narrowed. "Professor. James. Antonius. Ratigan."
Fukushima, who was sitting on a rock close by. "This is not good", he mused. "If Ratigan is powerful enough to wield the Lotus Blade, he could prove more dangerous to you in the future."
"Precisely, my young apprentice", Monkey Fist replied. "And there is no way of destroying him, unlike Stoppable, for dæmons are immortal and invincible. We will have to take the sword for ourselves…"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Will Ratigan find out the truth about Veeken? And where the heck is Kim in all of this?! Find out in the next chapter of Confusion! But first, a preview of one of the chapters in KP College: Secret Origins:
(Ratigan, Syd, Des, Veeken, jedigirl, Kim, Ron, Rufus, and rons_gurl are at the entrance to a tunnel that leads to the sacred dæmon shrine. There is a plaque next to the entrance that has writing that looks like Elvish.)
Kim: Uh… What does it say?
Ron: It says China, 30,000,000 miles (pointing down) that way.
jedi: Looks like Elvish to me.
Ratigan: (looking at it) Actually it's Dæmonic.
Syd: Can't argue with that. I can't make heads or tails out of-.
Ratigan: No, it's the writings that dæmons use in place of English sometimes.
Des: What does it say?
Ratigan: It says "The way is shut, and the dead keep it. The way is shut."
(A blast of wind blows through the entrance, and Ratigan takes a step back, but Veeken glances at him, and he stops.)
jedi: We should go on.
Des: Right.
(A beat.)
Ratigan: Do you think whoever wrote that was serious about the whole "dead" part of it?
Ron: (pointing off-camera) Why don't you ask that skeleton over there?
(Ratigan quickly and nervously looks in that direction, but Ron laughs.)
Ron: (cont) Gotcha.
Ratigan: (sarcastically) Very funny, ha, ha, ha.
To Be Continued…