Assassin Drones: The original saga
Silent Invasion Arc. De Arimasu!
By Alex Young
The Tendo dojo, 12:00 pm. July 18, 2002
Ranma had been especially hard in training with Genma ever since Jirara's Assassin unit X1 moved in to the Tendo residence. {Man, what the fuck did I ever get myself into between Kuno, the rat pack, this damned girly curse, and all the rest of the shit that I had ta fuck with?} Ranma pondered as he landed a mean uppercut on his father, who in turn, staggered his way into a pail of cold water. Panda Genma wasn't the least bit appreciative of this, but it helped Ranma in terms of stress relief. "That's it fer today, I suppose." Ranma breezed as he walked out the dojo door all way into his room. Ranma shuddered at the thought of falling into that cursed spring of drowned girl. He drifted into sleep still deep in thought about the curse that changed his life for the better part of his teenage years.
Flashback: the springs of Jusenkyo, 10:00 am. Labor day, 2001
Ranma had been traveling the world with his father, Genma Saotome on a rite of passage for a young man of his stature. At last they found the legendary Jusenkyo training grounds. "Nihao, visitor! I, Jusenkyo guide, walk you through..." "Screw that, wait up, pops!" Ranma cried as he jumped on one of several hundred bamboo poles dotting the springs. Ranma knocked the then uncursed Genma into a spring, out from which emerged Panda Genma! "Aiya! You fall in Shonmaonīchuan! Spring of drowned panda! Once, there was tragic legend of panda who drown in spring 2000 year ago! Now, anyone who fall in spring take on body of Panda! Spring very cursed!" The Jusenkyo guide admonished as Panda Genma knocked Ranma into another cursed spring.
"What the!? Now young man fall in spring of drowned girl! Nyannīchuan! Tragic legend of girl who drown in spring 1500 year ago!" "Y-YOU COULDA TOLD ME THAT EARLIER!" Ranko spat as she, too emerged from the spring. "Yes, yes, but you no listen! Now you suffer consequence." The Jusenkyo guide chuckled as he tried to help Ranko out of the spring, only to find that she was more than capable of getting, or better yet jumping herself out. "YOU ARE SO DEAD, POPS!" She screeched upon stepping on a dwarf man's head, and launching herself onto Panda Genma. The dwarf man, eventually revealed to be the frog hermit, fell into still another cursed spring. A giant frog man emerged from the spring dubbed, fittingly enough, "Chiwanīchuan," also known as the spring of drowned frog. The frog man so happened to be the frog hermit. "I won't forget this, whoever you are!" The now cursed frog hermit spat in loathing as he lumbered out of the spring.
Ranko and Panda Genma have been chasing each other around in the forest adjacent to the Jusenkyo springs as Ryoga emerged from a thicket onto the cliff overlooking the Jusenkyo springs. "So, this is YAAAAGH!" Ryoga yelped as Panda Genma leapt onto the lost boy's back with Ranko in hot pursuit. "Come back here you!" She screeched upon bounding off of Ryoga's head causing him to crash into the spring of drowned black piglet, also known as Heitowennīchuan. Ryoga would ultimately emerge from the spring as, wouldn't you know it; P-Chan! Then of course, Panda Genma, along with the Jusenkyo guide decided to cook and eat the cute little black piglet for breakfast. Big mistake! Ryoga emerged from the pot redder than a corn dog without the breading, not to mention angrier than ever. Hey, at least the Jusenkyo guide had the decency to get Ryoga dressed up so he can resume his pursuit of Ranma.
The day afterward would see Panda Genma in the Joketsuzoku village chowing down on the Amazons' prize meal. The problem began as soon as Ranko sighted the panda as she came flying in to knock him down to get back at him. Temporarily satisfied, Ranko made short work of the rest of the prize meal, to the ire of one Amazon by the name of Shampoo. "Hey, you! Panda and young girl! Why you eat my prize meal!?" Shampoo inquired in her native tongue glowering at the both of them for their "intrusion" on her prize. "I, Xian Pu, challenge young girl to duel!" Shampoo then challenged also in native tongue, to which Ranko reluctantly accepted, and won without giving so much as an iota's worth of effort. This angered the young Amazon to the point of delivering a kiss of death to Ranko's left cheek. The mere sight of this caused Panda Genma to immediately evacuate Ranko from the village and out of China altogether, with a vindictive Shampoo in hot pursuit.
Present day: still in Ranma's room, 6:00 pm
Ranma had just emerged from his dreamscape to witness Panda Genma sitting right beside him. "Wow, pop. You really are sumpin else, you know. I'dve been dead if you hadn'tve gotten me out of dodge back there with Shampoo on our tails, though I could just as easily have done so myself. I mean, as much as I hate you at times, you made me into who I am as a martial artist, and I can't thank you enough fer that." Ranma mused to the Panda who replied with an [I'm only playing my part as a father to ensure that you become a man among men,] to which Ranma respectfully nodded and took his leave to enjoy some of Kasumi's home cooked dinner.
Just outside the Cat Cafe, 4:00 pm. July 19, 2002
Haru Hinata had just arrived in Nerima in taking the scenic route towards the upcoming anniversary for the marriage of him and Aki. After parking his Harley-Davidson motorcycle along the sidewalk outside the amazon owned and operated Chinese restaurant, Haru decided that he was hungry and needed to take a pit stop. This was when he stepped inside to be greeted by a cold glare from Mousse. "Well Ranma, if you're going to make love with Xian Pu, you'd best be quick about it lest you end up like chop suey." Mousse threatened subtly as Haru took his seat confused and not knowing what the bespectacled hidden weapons master was talking about. That of course, earned Mousse a good thwack on the head from Cologne's staff. "You idiot! That's not my son in law! That's our customer!" The old crone rasped reprimanding Mousse for his part in what amounted to a case of mistaken identity. Mousse would come to realize this upon flicking his glasses back on. "Oh, sorry about that, thought you were Ranma." "No offense taken, I've gotten used to threats such as that." Haru and Mousse conversed as they returned to their respective tasks at hand.
"Well, I haven't seen you around these parts before. You can just call me Kow Lohn, manager of the Cat Cafe. So what's your name, stranger?" Cologne queried with a friendly smile. "I'm Haru Hinata, and I've come back to Japan from the U.S. upon having heard from my wife that she was harboring frog aliens from outer space, so I had to take a look for myself." Haru replied to Cologne's apparent surprise. "Can this be!?" The old ghoul croaked gaping at this as she dragged Haru over to her private quarters hopping around on her grisled staff like a pogo stick. This was when she pulled out a manuscript hidden in a very specific location segregated from all the other manuscripts. "It is prophesied that a young boy who harbors five celestial beings from the heavens shall save us all from the impending apocalypse in roughly two years time!" She recited to Haru reminding him of Aki's story back when he was in the United States of America. "Remember, no one else is to know of this prophecy." She warned as Haru returned to his seat, had his meal, and rode off into the distance leaving his tip behind.
At Gial's moon camp, 4:20 am. July 20, 2002
The final few barrel pieces, some fire control mechanisms, as well as some ammunition, had just arrived from the Rapier which had already gotten past Pluto and was hovering just outside of Neptune. Gial was more than a little eager to give the Gerald Bull super gun a shakedown on the Attack pack aliens: Galactibite, Venus Flycraft Cozmo Clam, Space Sucker, Lunar invader, and Maggot Mouth. Both Galactibite and Maggot Mouth had forged an uneasy alliance with each other to ensure that the assassin drones at Alpha 134 do not have their way with planet Earth. Gial's super gun made short work of their subordinates after a few shots. Maggot Mouth transformed from his speed form Alpha, to his attack form Beta, as he and Galactibite closed in to destroy the super gun. The aliens closing in was exactly what Gial wanted them to do as he opened fire once more and destroyed them both. This meant one thing as Kululu leered at the results; all six of the Attack pack aliens were just the first victims of Aoryuzen's apparent ambition for planet Earth.