Okay, to everyone who (I hope) has been waiting for this update, I apologize for being late. I've been kind of busy with my family lately, with it being vacation time and all. And to make it worse, my muse kept hiding from me half of the time that I wasn't busy, so… yeah, this did come kind of late. But still, be that as it may, please enjoy the chapter.
One day, I would like to be able to publish my own book and/or manga/anime series, or maybe even a game's storyline, write a fan fiction about it, and then rightfully claim it to be completely under my ownership. Unfortunately, for now, I must be content in saying that I do not own anything from either the Negima or Ranma 1/2 franchise, nor do I own anything from any other series that I might appear.
Chapter V: Revelations part 2- Family ties: the good, the bad and the very surprising
"Aunt Nodoka… Ranma's father, his real father… is Negi Springfield isn't he?"
Silence, that was all that was all that was in the room. Not even the chirping of birds or the cliché sounds that grasshoppers are supposed to make was heard in the room. Ranma looked back and forth between Yume and his mother as he digested what the girl had said with a gobsmacked face.
The three members of the biblio trio had varying reactions among them. Nodoka held a face filled with great guilt and regret. Yue possessed a similar expression, a fact that worried Yume. She had a gut feeling that something even bigger was coming, and it was coming her way. Haruna, as usual, being the odd one out among the group, had a smile on her face, "Finally things are starting to get interesting around here! It's about damn time that we got onto this subject. Wonder how their gonna take it? I might just have to work more of my magic if it goes too far"
She didn't have t wait long to find out. Seeing that his mother made no attempts to deny Yume's claims, Ranma's face contorted into a mixture of pain, anger and betrayal as he looked at her. "My father…" he started in a quiet, rage filled voice, "are you telling me that my father is someone who I don't even know!"
"Yep, definitely gonna go too far. Hmm… I'll wait till I really need to get involved. It'd be a bad idea if I got in too early. Though… that was odd, it sounded as if he was angry at Negi rather than at Nodoka. I wonder if she noticed?"
Nodoka guiltily nodded, only making Ranma angrier.
"So… all this time… my real father's been in some sort of other world, while I had to go with that tub of lard and get thrown into all those engagements!" she nodded again, though a little surprised. "Guess she didn't notice after all."
"Oh! And I suppose he's got a good excuse for just up and leaving for good huh! What, did he think having a kid was too much work! I bet he's no better than that fat-ass pan…"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence Ranma!" Nodoka suddenly shouted, causing her son to jump.
Ranma's anger being directed to her husband/former teacher was unexpected, true. But she certainly wasn't going to let him compare her real husband with that sorry excuse for a human being. It would have been fine if he was angry at her, everything that happened was partly her fault anyway, but Negi had no part in what happened to her son.
Nearly all traces of guilt had left her face as she looked at him with a deep frown, her eyes narrowed. It was something that was both familiar and foreign to Ranma; he knew from her scowl that he had said something incredibly wrong, but unlike the times he saw it on Akane's face, hi one held much less anger.
Recovering his composure, Ranma stared right back at his mother, an act that, just yesterday, he would have been too afraid to do. "Why shouldn't I? This guy just threw us out didn't he?" he asked, a little bit of venom slipping into his tone at the latter question.
"He did no such thing, Ranma! He would never do such a thing," Nodoka defended fiercely. "*sigh* Let me tell you this now Ranma. The reason your real father has never been around ever since you were born isn't you were born isn't because he chose to, it's because he couldn't," she explained.
Ranma backed down a bit, but still stared at his mother. "Couldn't be around? What's that supposed to mean," he thought, now a little confused.
"Why then?"
A simple question. One that Ranma could let go unanswered.
"Why couldn't he be here? Why haven't I met him yet? Why did I have to go with that scumbag of a thief? Why didn't you tell me this the first time we met? Why did you have to keep this a secret!" he asked furiously, getting louder and louder with each question.
Deciding that things had gone out of control for long enough, Haruna intervened, intent on preventing any more misunderstandings. "Ranma-kun, you should calm down. You're not giving us a proper chance to explain. I assure you; Negi had no intent in abandoning you or your mother. In fact, last I recall, he was actually very happy when he heard that Nodoka was pregnant,"she explained in a placating tone, a little bit of mirth in her voice at remembering his reaction to the news.
Looking at his godmother, Ranma, hesitant as he may have been, gave in to her suggestion; sitting back down as he turned his gaze expectantly to his mother. Nodoka herself had also turned towards her old friend, sending her a thankful smile.
Heaving out a heavy sigh, she stared directly into her son's eyes, her face having changed to a calm expression. "Perhaps it would be better to show you rather than just tell you. Ranma, Yume, could the two of you please close your eyes and place your hands on the table," she instructed.
Looking at his mother in the face, Ranma reluctantly complied, closing his eyes and moving his hand to the middle of the table where Yume's hand had already been placed. Yue and Haruna soon followed suit, knowing what was to come.
Seeing that all was ready, Nodoka too, placed her hand on the table, right on top of all the others'.
"Recluo, Animus. Anima, Ocula! Nympha Somnii, Regina Maeve! Portam Aperiens ad Se Nos Alliciat!" (1)
As she chanted, a magic circle appeared below them, archaic runes appearing all around it, emitting a soft, blue glow. Ranma and Yume felt a strange sensation as the light surrounded them, as if something were tugging at their minds. And just like that, their minds flew elsewhere.
-X-
As soon as the tugging sensation had ended, Ranma slowly opened his eyes to see what had happened. What he saw was not what he expected. He found himself not in his mother's dining room and instead in what could only be described as a fantasy castle.
They were all in a hallway from what he could tell; the entire length of the passage being lit up by a series of chandeliers that seemed made out of crystals. The walls were coloured a pristine white, while hundreds of banners, bearing what appeared to be a coat of arms, hanging onto them. The ceiling was at least twenty feet above them, being held up by numerous, intricately designed archways.
However, none of these things caught Ranma's attention more than the fact that he was floating twenty feet in the air. Releasing a surprised yell of "what the hell!", as the martial artist jumped… uh, floated back at the sight.
The seniors among the group all chuckled at the sight. "Relax Ranma, you're not going to fall; at least not unless I want you to," reassured the alarmed boy's mother.
"Umm… what exactly do you mean by that?" asked an equally alarmed Yume.
They chuckled again. "Ranma, Yume, right now, you two are inside my memories. That incantation that I chanted earlier was for the memory sharing spell."
That was all it took to change Yume's demeanour. All her life, she had been so interested in magic, so obsessed with the mystic occurrences; and now, here she was, in the middle of an actual, real spell. Magic was quite possibly the only thing that she had ever read about in books. Had she not completely inherited her mother's perpetually cool, calm and collected personality, Yume would have probably gone starry-eyed at the situation… which is exactly what she did.
Ranma, on the contrary, wasn't as excited. In fact, he looked like he was about to voice a question. Unfortunately, he was beaten to the punch by his mother, which also effectively broke Yume from her stupor.
"Save all questions for later, please. I can only hold this spell from playing out for a little while longer."
Finally getting back on track, Nodoka pointed towards one end of the giant corridor, "look over there," she instructed. Obliging, they all turned to see three distinctively female figures, each of which stood frozen like they would be in paused video. Though from how their positions, it was easy to tell that they were walking down to the other side of the long hallway.
"Alright, to make this easier, just relax yourselves and watch the show," she instructed her companions, though only the two teens had needed it. A tugging sensation washed over them as they drew closer to the three women on the ground.
-X-
"So the results turned out positive did they? That's great Honya-chan!" one of the women shouted excitedly. She looked much like a younger Haruna, complete with similar attire, but with shorter sleeves. She even had the same toothy grin.
"Haruna's right Nodoka. You may only be eighteen years old, but still, having a baby with the man you love is still something to be happy about," another said. This one was similar in appearance to Yume, but had her hair divided into two rather than three. She was dressed in a silver and white coloured, high-neck, double breasted suit jacket with gold trimmed, jagged edges at the bottom, and a knee-length white skirtf.
"Yeah, and to make it even better, your husband's the king of a magic kingdom, your practically living a fairytale."
"I know… and really, I do feel happy, I do. Sure… it may be a little… odd being a teenage mother, but I still couldn't be any happier since Ne-kun is the father. Although… I am a… little… worried. I mean… having a child and all… and at our age too... it's not exactly something that's easy to take for most people," said the third, who, apparently, was a younger Nodoka.
Unlike the previous two, she looked nothing at all like her older self. Her hair was untied and loose, falling down all the way to the small of her back. Two bangs fell to the sides of her head while the rest hovered over her forehead, one falling in between her eyes; making her hair look like a helmet. She wore a pure white, strapless gown with a thin, sky-blue ribbon tied in the area between her breasts. On her right hand were two rings: on her index finger was a wicked looking nail-ring, while on her ring finger rested a diamond ring.
"Oh don't worry about it Honya-chan," Haruna assured, "you know Negi better than that. He would never dare get angry at you for this. Hell, if anything, he'll probably feel the same as you are."
"Haruna's right Nodoka. There's no way that he'd get angry. After all, both of you knew that this could have been the result of your actions. It's safe to say that, as a gentleman, he'll understand that he should take responsibility."
Turning her gaze to the floor after their speech, Nodoka found herself unconsciously rubbing her stomach, gaining a smile of confidence as she did so.
"I… suppose you're right… both of you… thank you," she said, still looking down where her soon to be child was growing, her smile getting larger as they continued walking. She whispered down to her stomach in a voice that only she could hear: "Yes… everything's going to be fine."
"Heh… alright, looks like we're here," Haruna announced, stopping in front of a pair of large double doors, a duo of armoured guards saluting them as they neared. "Well… what are you waiting for your highness, his majesty is waiting inside. Go tell him the good news."
The mirth in the mangaka's voice was unmistakable as she said that, almost letting her laughter out of her head.
Nodoka scowled. "Ha-ru-naaa," she whined, stressing every syllable, "I told you before: don't ever call me that, even if you are just joking. I may be a queen now, but you were already my friend before and you still are. You don't need to talk to me like that."
Laughter escaped the tall girl's mouth at her friend's complaints, getting the response that she was looking for.
After much pouting, Nodoka finally entered through the massive double doors.
-X-
Through the entrance of the room, a young man, eighteen years of age could be seen reading an ornate behind a luxurious wooden desk. A small white rodent could be seen reading over his shoulders.
He had deep crimson hair in two layers, the top spiked out, downwards, to the side from the top of his head, while the bottom layer lay hidden behind them, viewable only from the back, where it was tied in a thick, spiky ponytail. A well shaped face holding deep brown eyes that were furrowed in concentration.
He wore a white, button-up shirt under a green suit jacket, matching suit pants, red necktie, black dress-shoes and a beige, hooded robe –the Ostian coat of arms emblazoned on the back of the garment.(3)
"Negi-kun."
Both Negi turned away from the pages of the book towards the door. A smile soon found its way across his previously grim face.
"Ah! Nodo-chan it's you. Is there something that you need?"
Nodoka stopped mid-step, a mock pout forming on her face, "need something?" she asked with a fake hurt voice. "Ne-kun…" she faked a whine, "why would I need something just to see my husband?"
The young king could only smile at the sight. A soft laughter escaped his lips when she pouted even more. "Okay, okay, I get it. So… is there a reason you came to see me?"
The playful pout on the mind reader's disappeared at that, being replaced by a shy smile as she suddenly became interested at the floor.
"Well…" she started, feeling less and less confident as she continued on, "you… do you remember... what we did that night... a week ago?" Nodoka finally asked, her cheeks flush.
She wasn't alone though, Negi sported a deep blush as well, though not as red as his wife. The fact that he could a distinctively perverted giggle coming from his shoulder didn't really help him much. It took all of the young king's restraint to stop him from smacking the tiny rodent with the book in his hands.
"Uhh… yeah… why?" he asked back, equally as shy. That night was definitely one that he would never forget; you only lose your virginity once, after all.
Nodoka's blush deepened. "Umm… well… you see, I… was feeling a little weird after that, so… I went to the doctor to for a check up and… well…" she left off, not having enough courage to go on.
She didn't have too though. The moment that she said the word "doctor", a cold chill suddenly went up his spine.
"Wha… what did they… say?"
He didn't have to ask of course. Negi knew what the result was, it didn't take a genius to figure that out, but he still wanted to hear it from her.
"Ne-kun… I'm… pregnant."
That was all it took. That single announcement was all it took to freeze the redheaded king in place; his face contorting into a mixture of emotions: shock, joy, fear. All these coursed through his mind as he stood, his mind in a jumble of thoughts.
It was a good five minutes later before he finally regained his composure enough to respond; breaking the awkward silence that came upon the room.
"Re… really? Nodo-chan, you… you're really pregnant?"
The shy queen nodded, banishing all doubt in her husband's mind. Silence reigned upon the royal couple as stood stock still. Even the perverted little rodent dared not to make a sound, merely content at watching the two.
Surprisingly enough, it was the shyer of the two that broke the awkward situation. "Ar… are you… upset?" she asked, finally looking him in the face.
It took some time for Negi to process her question, but when he did, it had put the amethyst haired young woman at ease.
"Nodo-chan… if you aren't upset by this, then how could I possibly be?" he asked back, a smile slowly forming on his features.
-X-
The five of them watched as the memory continued to play on. It surprised Ranma to no end when he saw his mother; both by how she looked and how she acted. In the short time that he had known her, his mother had never once acted as shy as she did in her memories.
"Heheheh… this really brings back memories, doesn't it? Honya-chan? Yuechi?" Haruna inquired wistfully. Though both of the teens were too focused on the memory to notice; Ranma because of his real father and Yume because of the romantic interaction (hey, she's still a teenage girl).
"It certainly does. It's been so long since I've seen Nodoka act as shy as that."
The amethyst haired girl laughed softly at that. "Well… that is true. But then again, I'm not the only one that's changed."
She turned her gaze towards the two former ala alba members for a moment. "Yue-chan has become less detached and shows a lot more emotions more often, and you've also become less of a slacker."
"Paru has also changed quite a bit. You're not as outwardly devious as before, though you have gotten scarier whenever you are."
Nodoka and Yue could only try to suppress their laughter at the annoyed look that Nodoka received from the third member of the trio. There were very few things that could make a tick mark appear on the mangaka's forehead, so it was definitely a savoured moment.
With a great huff and a deep scowl, Haruna redirected her two friends' attention towards the still playing memory. The scene that they saw was that of the smiling, younger Nodoka leaving the royal study, with the memory Negi having an equally joyful smile.
"So… that's my real father… right?" Ranma asked, turning to his mother.
"Yes, he is. Negi Springfield, crowned king of the revived kingdom of Ostia."
A silence bore down among the group of five after that, as the blissful memory came to a close. It was only when the entire background disappeared that Yume took notice of a very important fact.
"Wait a second!" she shouted, her head rising up so fast that a crack would've been heard, had it been her real body. "If Ranma-san's father is the king of Ostia, wouldn't that make…"
"Ranma-kun the prince of Ostia?" her mother cut her off, a small, amused smile on her face. "Yume, I'm surprised it took you this long to figure that out."
Ranma's head snapped up in surprise. "Prince! Now you're telling me that I'm a prince!"
"Heheheh… that's right Ranma-kun. As your father was the king, that makes you the prince. Quite a surprise, isn't it?"
Before the pig cursed martial artist could make a retort, he was beaten to the punch by his mother (I seem to enjoy having their respective mother stop them from continuing to talk).
"Alright, that's enough about that topic. We'll discuss that later. For now, I believe I still have one question to answer, right Ranma?"
Said boy took on a contemplative look as he turned to his mother. It took about half a minute to remember what else it was that needed to be answered.
"Oh right! You still haven't told me what happened to keep my real pops away from us," he announced in realization.
Once more, Nodoka let out a soft laugh at her son. "Yes, exactly. And that's precisely what I will show you now."
With a gesture of her right arm, the blank scenery was once again replaced by the castle. But this time, something was very different.
Just like before, the scene was frozen in place; but it definitely didn't look as calm as the last. In fact, it was the opposite of calm. Armoured soldiers were running along the wide hall; weapons poised as though they were going into battle, which was the most likely possibility.
In a space between all these soldiers, the group of five once again spotted the younger library trio of girls, this time accompanied by two more girls of the same age.
The first of the two had smooth, long, chestnut hair and was dressed like an onmyouji; a pair of wooden fans in her hand. She had an aura of kindness about her that was both accentuated and marred by the look of distressed concern on her face.
The second could easily be described as an albino. She had alabaster skin, and almost pure white eyes. Her hair –also white– was tied to a ponytail on one side of her head while bangs framed the other side(4). And as if that wasn't odd enough, she was actually wearing a maid outfit... with black cat ears! And last of all, she was even wearing a cape! And one covered with white feathers of all things!
Just as quickly as the memory appeared, it started to move. The five women on the ground running frantically: darting through halls, climbing up and down staircases and weaving past the rushing soldiers; all this while the tell-tale sounds of a major battle could be heard from outside.
A series of crashes could be heard as all sorts of shadowy, humanoid demons burst through windows and wall alike. Soldiers and demons fought and fell on both sides as swords and spells swung and flew.
The albino woman's cape was soon revealed to be a pair of wings when a swarm of flying demons came down on the group. With a shout of "Adeat!", an odd and beautiful sword appeared in her hand. It was broken into three parts: a double-edged blade and a separated hilt, both of which looked to be connected by glowing orb.
The onlookers of the memory (well, two of them) could hardly take their eyes off of the miniature warzone as they watched the action play out before them.
"Enjoying the show?"
Ranma and Yume both snapped up in surprise as they were broken from their reverie. They saw a smirking Haruna gazing down at the two of them; Nodoka and Yue behind her, hiding amused smiles.
"Ranma, as entertaining as this scene may be, it is also the beginning of something that changed a great deal for not just myself, but all the members of the Ala Alba," Nodoka explained, walking… err, floating forward (did it again huh?).
Ranma looked at her confused… again. "I really have get my hands on that manga that aunty created. Hmm… come to think of it, she isn't really my aunt is she? Ah, who cares, I might as well call both of mom's friends aunty."
"Umm… Ala Alba? Who exactly are those anyway?"
"We'll explain later," the elder three chorused.
"You might want to keep watching sochi. It's about to get to the part where you'll really need to listen."
-X-
"Imperium Graphices!: Majestic beasts- Ohka!(5)" shouted the younger Haruna, as a four red and pink, quadrupedal golems dove out of her artifact and started attacking the surrounding demons; blasting out orbs of light magic from its maw.
"Damn it! These things already managed to take out all ten of my Majestic soldiers!" the mangaka cursed, rubbing her stomach and head.
"Yes well their not exactly easy to deal. Just be glad that these things are weaker than those things used by Cosmo Entelecheia three years ago," a now fully armoured Yue retorted as she used her sword to cut through one demon's mid-section, only to block a strike from a another one.
Close by, a small group of mantis like demon dove towards the onmyoji girl –Konoka– only for each of them to be hacked down by the winged swordswoman.
Another small group attempted to attack Nodoka. The nail ring that she wore shone, quickly growing to encompass her entire right hand, before revealing itself to have transformed into a clawed glove; the ruby that was now found at the back of her hand radiated a malicious aura, the slit in the middle making it appear like the eye of a feral beast.(6)
The tips of the claws emitted their own aura; a foreboding, crimson energy that soon morphed into a foot long extension of the claws. With a series of well placed slashes and a few barrier spells in between, all of the demons coming after her were completely eradicated.
"These things just keep coming! If we don't get some breathing room soon, we'll never make it to the others!" the mind reader shouted in alarm.
"Well we only have two more turns to make and we'll be able to make it outside. Since there aren't any soldiers nearby, I should be able to fend them off. Just give me enough space on the next turn," Konoka instructed, pulling out four paper charms as she did so.
Each of the girls nodded their heads. As they came to where the hallway turned, the airborne swordswoman turned around and came to a halt, charging a large amount of ki into her sword.
"Shinmei-ryu Ougi!: Messatsu Zanku Zanmasen!(7)" she yelled out, thrusting her sword forwards, releasing a huge blast of ki energy; killing all those unfortunate enough not to be able to dodge, leaving only a handful of grounded demons and about two dozen aerial demons.
She continued on to the left corridor, where her four companions were waiting; leaving the remaining demons, and their swarming reinforcements to follow.
As soon as the other four made the turn, Konoka too, stopped in her tracks; throwing the paper seals with expert precision, lining them up evenly on the ground. The moment her guardian got behind the line of charms, the female onmyoji started her chant.
"Charms of conflagration, god of the inferno, Kagutsuchi, aid my escape with a wall of flames."(8)
Just as she commanded, wide towers of flame burst forth from the charms, leaving little to no room for the monstrosities to pass through.
"Those flames won't hold them back for long. Konoka-sama we have to hurry!"
With that, the two remaining women turned around and ran towards the library trio as they finished off the few remaining demons barring their way.
Soon enough, the five made their way to an open gate where a large group of young women were already waiting; some of them fending off even more approaching demons with long range attacks. From behind them, a huge, mechanical… fish?… a huge, mechanical fish could be seen levitating off of the ground.
It was an elegant, blonde haired woman that took notice of them first, "Nodoka! Yue! Haruna! Konoka! Setsuna! Hurry up! We have to get into the airship! Quickly!" she instructed before turning to the rest of the assembly, "Everybody! Get inside the Paru-sama now!"
-X-
With our group of memory watchers…
The two present day teens watched in awe at the entire proceeding. Everything that was happening so far was something that neither of them had ever seen before.
Sure, Ranma had seen a lot of weird techniques in his life a lot of times, but this was at an entirely different level. The battle, if you could call it that, was nowhere near as widely damaging as his own usual fights, and that's precisely what got his attention.
Despite all the power, all the devastation towards the demons, only a little damage was actually done to the surrounding itself; at least on the account of the his mother and her companions. To have that much refined control over such great power was something he wasn't used to seeing. True, most of the attacks were not as strong as many of the things he'd seen before, but most of the things he'd seen before had as much versatility or finesse. Mass destruction, that was the result of the majority of the large-scale attacks he'd seen in the past.
Yume was doubly as awed as he was. Unlike Ranma, she wasn't used to any form of battle, let alone what seemed to be an actual war, a magic war. She didn't even blink as the entire battle continued, her attention completely on what she saw before her.
She watched as her mother's younger self slashed and cut the demons with her sword, all the while in full Ariadne armour, blasting out the occasional lightning and wind spells. As her aunts fought them off with golems and spells. As the winged swordswoman sliced them apart, some without even touching them.
It was only after the entire gathering of women got into the airship did they finally got themselves into the airship that their entire surrounding went blank again. Though it didn't last long. As soon as the scene melted away, all of them felt the tugging sensation in the back of their heads again. And soon enough, they once again found themselves in the kitchen.
-X-
It was Ranma who recovered first. "Whoa… okay, that… was definitely different than from what I expected." He turned towards his mother, "mom, are you really able to do all of that?"
Nodoka stared back at her son, trying to look offended, but the amusement on her face made it obviously fake. "Why Ranma, are you saying that what I just showed you was a lie! I'm hurt. What kind of son would accuse his mother of such a thing."
The amused smiles of all four females only served to deepen Ranma's frown. "The kind who's mother has been keeping the truth about his father a secret, that's what," he retorted; cutting laughter there and then.
Nodoka sighed. "Well… yes… I guess that that would be a big reason to doubt me. But I assure you, this memory has by no means been altered."
"Umm… aunt Nodoka…" Yume called out.
"Yes… what is it Yume-chan"
"What exactly is going on here?"
"Oh right! I've been thinking back too much to this time that I almost forgot."
Nodoka cleared her throat, as if preparing for a long speech… which of course, it was. "Well, this takes place roughly one and a half month after I found out that I was pregnant with Ranma."
"An organization known as Armageddon (if you have better name ideas, then I'm open for suggestion) had unleashed an attack on Ostia. They summoned a large legion of demons known as Infernals in order to storm the castle."
"Unfortunately, the entire organization had remained under everyone's radar up until a around a week prior to the invasion. Needless to say, we had no time to prepare."
Both teens now focused their attention towards the her, letting all the information sink in. "And? How does that relate to my real dad then?" Ranma asked bluntly, eliciting a quiet laugh from his mother.
"You know Ranma, your father may have gotten a lot of his personality from his mother, but it seems to me that you inherited yours straight from your grandfather."
She sighed, once again preparing for a long explanation. "The reason your real father has never met you is simple: He's stuck in Mundus Magicus."
Raising her hand in a 'halt' gesture, stopping any question from both teens. "To answer the question that both of you were obviously going to ask: the reason that he's stuck in the magic world is because the last gateport that connects the two worlds was broken."
"You see, Mundus Magicus, the magic world and Mundus Verus(9), the world we're in now, was once connected by places known as gateports. These are kind of like airports from country to country, complete with similar procedures, that uses high-power mass teleportation magic as a way to get to either worlds. Do you two understand so far?"
The two teens nodded, albeit a bit hesitantly on Ranma's part.
"Good. Now then, roughly twenty one years from now, all but one gateport ended up getting destroyed by a group known as Cosmo Entelecheia. The only gateport being left out being the one from the original Ostia."
"Now, in order for these gateports to work, a two-way stream would need to be made between two corresponding gateports between the two worlds. Unfortunately, while the gateports were repaired, the link between them couldn't; this is because the Earth doesn't naturally have enough magical energy in order to start the process. The link acts similar to a car engine actually; in order for a car to start, it would need more energy that was built into it, in other words, the battery to start, but after that, can use external energy, the fuel. Similarly, if the link is already established, the amount of magic energy needed directly from the earth becomes less, and therefore, can be supplied."
"Umm… huh?" was their intelligent reply, causing the three mages to sweatdrop.
"You know what… just forget about that. The main point is: none of the gateports work anymore because Earth doesn't have enough magical power."
"Oh…" the two teens chorused, with Nodoka's only reply being a heavy sigh. "Well, I guess I really shouldn't expect them to have understood any of that… considering what their main interest is in."
"Okay… but… how did the last gateport get broken?" Yume enquired, though the reaction she got for it was unexpected. The moment the question left her lips, an almost palpable sense of guilt washed over the room as Nodoka's head drooped down in obvious shame, mumbling something too quietly to be coherent.
Her two former classmates were quick to console her as she started to silently weep.
"Uhh… aunt… aunt Nodoka? Is… is something wrong? What did I say?" Yume asked; herself and Ranma now also trying to calm the sobbing woman down.
Releasing a deep breath, Yue asked her mangaka companion to take her other best friend to another room –to which Haruna agreed– so that she could continue where Nodoka left off.
As soon as the door was shut, the bibliophile turned towards the two, noticeably worried teenagers. "Yume, you don't have to worry, you didn't say anything wrong. You too Ranma-kun, you don't have to worry too much. Your mother is just suffering from some… guilt issues."
Not entirely convinced, Ranma's brow furrowed as he sent a glare at her, clearly demanding an explanation. She sighed.
"To put it in simple, a mage that was caught a week prior to the invasion not only let the information about Armageddon's existence slip out, we also found out that they required someone of the royal blood. Given how powerful your father was, it was obviously a bad idea to try and capture him outright. So they turned to the easiest source. In other words, their original target was the, at that time, still unborn child of the king."
"As you've seen, without being able to obtain someone of the royal bloodline of Ostia, the power of their forces weren't exactly all that great, but they did have large numbers. Your father didn't want to take the chance that your mother could have been kidnapped, so he made a plan that would ensure your safety: strand you into Mundus Verus and the forces of Armageddon in Mundus Magicus."
"In the end, it was Nodoka that destroyed the gateport in this world, thus preventing them from coming after you. That's why she feels so guilty about the destruction of the last gateport; she feels that it was her fault that you didn't know your real father. She felt guilty because of what she ended up putting you through, Ranma."
A look of understanding appeared on both of their faces and, in Ranma's case, guilt. "She… feels that guilty because of me? But it was for the best wasn't it? Mom shouldn't have to feel guilty about that."
"Ranma-kun," Yue called, getting his attention, "you are going with us to Wales right?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.
"Uhh… yeah, I mean, I know that mom said that she would decide because she beat me yesterday, but with all this, the least I could do is go with her."
A rare, wide spread itself on the elder Ayase's face. "Good, then that means she'll finally be able to get rid of her guilt then."
"Get rid of her guilt? What do you mean by that?" Yume asked, genuinely curious.
"Well, it's quite simple really, they were finally able to reopen the gates to Mundus Magicus."
"What! But I thought Mom said that they couldn't be opened!"
"Well, normally, yes. However, that's only because the Earth doesn't normally have enough magical energy for the connection to be made… until a week ago."
"And what's so special about last week?" her daughter asked, not finding any logic in it at all.
Again, a smile made itself present on the elder Ayase's face, something that had become more and more common as of late. "You mean you don't remember Yume dear?"
Puzzled, the younger Ayase shook her head. "Fine then, let me remind you. Every twenty one years, starting from twenty one years ago(10), the Sacratus Duodecimus, or 'Sacred Twelve', release a large amount of magical energy that they've gathered over the years. The magical energy gathered up by all these places was apparently used to jumpstart the link between the two worlds. The gateport in Wales is will be the first to transport people to Mundus Magicus in a long time, it's due to happen in three days, which is precisely why we'll be leaving for Britain tonight."
"We're going to Mundus Magicus!" Yume shouted in disbelief.
"Yes, now that the gates have been opened again, we can go back to the magic world."
"But why now aunty? What makes going back there now any different than just staying there before?"
Yue looked at him appraisingly, and then smiled a small smile, "Ranma-kun, other than your age and curse, what is it that's different about you now than when you were born? What have you become first and foremost in your life?"
"Eh? Well… I'm a martial artist now, and one of the best at that," he answered, his voice becoming boastful by the end, and then his expression returned to being confused. "But what does that have to do with anything?"
"*sigh* It has a lot to do with everything Ranma-kun," Yue stated, an almost uncatchable irritation in her tone. "Think about it, even if you live in the castle of Ostia, even if you were constantly guarded as a child, you still could have been kidnapped if someone was determined enough. But now, you know how to defend yourself in case Armageddon or someone else tries to target you. Why else do you think your mother let you go off to be trained by Haruna's retard of a cousin?"
Ranma, for the nth time, just sat there, dumbfounded. Many would say that Ranma was far from being smart, stupid even. The truth though, was quite contradictory, he was smart, just not in areas that most others were. In fact he was actually pretty good at piecing things together, if he set his mind to it; something that he never really bothered with in studying.
When he thought about it, it really didn't make sense for his mother to have let him leave with his 'father' like that; even with the seppuku contract. But if he needed to learn how to defend himself against enemies like those… well… suffice to say it was pretty sensible. But if that were the case, something still didn't make sense.
"Why did mom marry po… eh, Genma, then?" he asked. This was something he didn't get at all. He saw what that swordswoman in his mother's memory could do, he even saw what his mother could do, and he was damn sure that someone else could have thought him, so why?
"Her family," Yue replied simply, though the perplexed expressions that she got in return prompted her to explain. She let out a deep breath, but remained as calm as before.
"Ranma-kun, I won't lie to you and say that your mother's family, or at least her father, was pleased when she first got married. Your maternal grandfather was a very corrupted man, unbearably so. Since he knew nothing about magic, he didn't know of your real father's heritage, and so, he assumed that your father would bring no benefit for him. Because of that, when he heard that your mother was pregnant and that your original father was no longer around, he ended up forcing Nodoka into an arranged marriage."
"Why didn't aunty resist it? She could've just said no right?"
Yue nodded. "Yes, she could have. However, you have to understand: the destruction of the last gateport… she was hit by it the hardest. She was… vulnerable… at that time. Her father took immediate action, saying that it had to be done or else they would take her child from her; not that he could have actually accomplished that. But at that time, we didn't know that the link between the worlds could be recreated, so… she just gave in. 'If only to preserve what little honour my family has left,' she said."
"And then what happened?" Ranma asked, completely engrossed in the tale. How could he not? This was end of the story that changed his life to what it was now.
"Well, before we get to talk about that, let me just say this: your mother did not like the decision one bit. Well, as it turned out, your grandfather, Miyazaki Nagato, was actually an old friend of Haruna's uncle, Saotome Ryuma. Much like what Genma had done with his old friend, Tendo Soun, Ryuma and Nagato had already arranged to have a marriage between the firstborns of both their families."
"What? But… wouldn't that mean that aunty was already supposed to marry Genma?"
"No, she wasn't. Nodoka is the second daughter and third child of her family. It was supposed to be Nodoka's elder sister, Mieko(11), that was to be married off to the Saotome family."
"Then what happened? Why was mom the that ended up getting forced into marriage?"
A silence filled the room as an easily noticeable scowl crossed Yue's face. "Mieko… I only met her once, and she was very willing to follow through with her family duties but…" she started explaining sorrowfully. Her next words however, were filled with a hate that was almost foreign to her.
"…But then they found out that she was barren. A month or so after Nodoka got married, her sister was raped on her way home. When she was taken to the hospital, it was found that she wasn't impregnated by the assault. At first, her parents, especially her father was relieved. That all changed when they found out that she was barren to begin with."
"From what we found out from Nodoka's brother, Masahiro; the moment that their father heard the new, he became furious. And then, a few days after Mieko returned home, she died in an 'accident', or so they said at that time. I don't really think I need to tell either of you what everybody else involved had thought, do I?"
The two teens just sat wide-eyed. Indeed, she didn't have to tell them anything, any idiot, no matter how stupid (not that either of them were) could've figured out what really happened. Ranma felt a burning fury boil up inside of him as he levelled a glance at the woman sitting across from him.
"What ever happened to him?" he asked quietly in subdued anger. "What ever happened to my 'grandfather'?" he repeated, a mixture of anger and sarcasm clearly present when he uttered the title.
A bittersweet smile spread across the elder Ayase's lips. "He got what he deserved, thankfully. Your uncle had been very determined at that point to prove that Mieko's death wasn't an accident, and your mother was just as determined once she found out. Miyazaki Nagato was taken into custody thirteen years ago and was executed the next year. Turns out, he not only killed your now late aunt, but also your grandmother after she enrolled Nodoka to Mahora academy; apparently to get Nodoka away from Nagato."
Once again, a deep silence filled the room as the news sunk in. The three occupants all calming down as they sat. It was Yume that finally broke the quiet atmosphere.
"Heh… serves him right. Killing his wife and his daughter just because things didn't go his way. The guy was nothing but a demon that deserves to rot in hell."
The young, magenta haired girl was quickly silenced by her mother's glare. "Yume," she scolded, "I'll have you know that two of my closest friends were both part demon. And I've also met quite a lot of demons in the past, whether in a good situation or a bad one. I can tell you right now, comparing someone that vile and corrupted to even the mindless types of demons is an insult to their race. Don't ever compare people like that to them."
Yume stared at her mother for a moment, unsure of what to do, before simply deciding to give her a nod.
It was at that moment that the door to the room finally slid open. Haruna stepped into the room and sat down.
"Why did you take so long Haruna?" Yue asked, turning to the green haired mangaka, "surely it couldn't have taken that long to calm Nodoka down?"
Haruna responded by propping her elbows up onto the table, as she rested her head on her hands. "Oh, it didn't. In fact, it didn't even take five minutes. She just decided that since it's getting close to noon that she might as well start preparing some lunch, so I decided to help her out. She should be back any minute now."
True to her word, a few minutes later, a relaxed Nodoka had returned into the dining room… all seven of them. The two teenagers in the room looked on in wonder and confusion as six copies of the house's owner –identified by the ridiculous chef outfits that they wore– set the food, plates, bowls and chopsticks on the table before abruptly vanishing into puffs of smoke.
"Alright everyone. Sorry for that little… interruption… earlier. I guess I'm not as over my little problem as I thought."
She then turned to her best friend. "So… I take it you've continued to explain things to them? Exactly how far have you gotten?"
"Everything down to what happened with your… family."
A pang of depression hit the amethyst haired woman as she heard that. The events surrounding her sister and her father, though she no longer thought of him as such, was a sore point for her; but still, she knew it was necessary for her son to know about the event. It did, after all, involve him just as much, if not, more so than it did her. So with a great sigh, she turned back to the other occupants, putting away her past troubles and smiling as best she could.
"Well… depressing news aside, it's already lunchtime. Let's continue with this after we've eaten. Everybody dig in," she invited wholeheartedly, taking some food for herself.
-X-
Twenty minutes later…
Lunch had been a fairly normal affair. The only thing that was really of interest was the scolding that Ranma had gotten for his eating habits while in front of guests, along with said guests' reactions. All in all, it was a big contrast to the roller-coaster of an event that had taken place before.
All the while, Ranma and Yume had kept processing everything that they'd learned just a few minutes before.
Now that the information had really started to sink in, Ranma had found that he was surprisingly fine with what happened. He was hurt that his mother had lied to him for most of his life, but when he thought about it, he was taken away from her for most of his life as well. Sure, she could've had a reason for not telling him up until now, but she must have had a good reason for doing so right? And why did she let Genma take him if he could have just learned from his mother's old friends? Surely he would've learned a lot if the others were as good as that swordswoman.
"I'll ask about that later."
Yume on the other hand, was thinking in a different direction. This line of thought was mainly focused on the existence of magic. She had never been –to her mother's displeasure– a big fan of books; comics and manga maybe, but not books. But despite that fact, she still loved anything that involved magic. There were even times when she would take an entire day to read about things like mythical lore, despite her dislike of it. Dragons, wizards, demons, it didn't matter what they were, so long as it was connected to magic, she would be interested in it. To go to a magic world, and to learn that magic existed; to her, it was a dream come true.
Five minutes later and their meal was finished. Haruna once again reactivated her pactio, creating a group of golems that proceeded to wash the dishes.
Seeing her aunts action, a fact from said aunt's manga crossed her mind. "Aunt Haruna," she voiced out, grabbing the mangaka's attention. "In the manga you made, didn't you say that a probationary contract will cease to work once the magister ascends to being a full mage?"
Haruna looked at her oddly, wondering where this was going, before nodding her head. "Well… didn't Ranma-san's father already become a full magister magi? How is it that that contract still works? Or is it that that's a permanent pactio?"
"Oh… you noticed that huh? Well… I don't exactly know whether it counts as a permanent one or not. Your mother's the expert when it comes to this sort of thing."
Hearing that, Yume turned to her mother in curiosity, Ranma, having nothing better to do, listened in.
"Well, just to make it clear, it does in fact count as a permanent pactio. However, the one that Haruna possesses, as well as the ones that most of the other members of the Ala Alba, are all very special"
"How so?"
"Simple really. Most people who are aware of magic all believe that there are only three types of pactio cards: a botched pactio, a probationary pactio and a permanent pactio. However, for those that have really studied magic in-depth , they would learn the existence of something called a royal pactio."
Yume eyebrows arched. "Royal… pactio? Okay… other than the obvious, what's so special about it?"
"Again, it's simple. As you've pointed out, a royal pactio is, obviously, an object related to royalty. Normally, this form of pactio is available only to the descendants of the creators of the magic world, those of the royal bloodline of Ostia. Apparently, however, should a prince or princess ascend to the throne while still having active contracts, then they will turn into royal pactio contracts as well. Thus making them permanent."
It took a few seconds, but soon enough, the younger Ayase had nodded in understanding. Ranma on the other hand lost interest halfway through and just stopped listening.
"Hmm… speaking of bloodlines. Yuechi, don't you have something to say to your daughter? Ranma-kun's already learned about his family. Isn't it about time you told Yume-chan about hers?" Haruna voiced out mischievously, prompting a scowl from her long time friend.
The teenage girl turned to her mother, sending her an inquisitive gaze. All the other occupants of the room stared at her now, two with an expression of curiosity, the other two with expectant gazes.
Yue sighed in defeat. She knew this was going to come, she was just hoping that it wouldn't have been this soon. "But then, it wouldn't really be fair if Nodoka was the only one that had to do this. I wonder how they're going to react to this?" she asked herself, hoping that it wouldn't be too extreme.
"Very well then. But seeing as we still have quite a lot to do before we need to head for the airport, plus the fact that you two will probably want a big explanation for this, then I might as well be as blunt as possible."
She took a breath. Her gaze shifting quickly between the two teens. "Yume, Ranma-kun, the two of you are half siblings," she stated in a matter of fact tone.
Said pair of teens sat there dumbfounded, mouths agape as the another bit of surprising news hit them. And then, for the second time that day, the people in the surrounding neighbourhood heard a loud shout.
"EHHHHH!"
"W… wh…wha… what di… did you… just say… mom? Are you serious!" Yume asked incredulously, and, unbeknownst to her, giving a perfect repeat performance of her –as of recently revealed– half brother. But this time, the expression of the mother was neither guilt nor regret. In fact, it was one of amusement. An expression that was shared among the three older women.
"Heheheh… see Yumechi, your mother was telling the truth. You two even reacted to the same type of news in practically the same way. I'm guessing that it's something that the two of you picked up from your father." The three of them attempted to stifle their laughs as the two teens shared a shocked face; a face that they had once seen themselves from said teens' father.
Regaining her bearings quickly, the younger Ayase… or should I say, the youngest Springfield, was swift in her comeback. "That doesn't prove anything aunt Haruna!" then she turned towards her mother, "what the do you mean that the two of us are half-siblings!" she demanded furiously; her mind finally reaching its capacity for unbelievable news, causing her to completely lose her cool.
Although to her credit, Ranma had gone completely stock still. Then again, the news that they had heard earlier was much more taxing on him, so it wasn't much of a surprise that he was the first to break.
"Now, now, calm down Yume-chan. I know that this news must be very shocking, but you have to calm down in order for your mother to explain. You too Ranma, after all, it's rude to keep your mouth open like that."
Finally snapping out of his shocked induced stupor, the cursed martial artist promptly shut his mouth before turning his gaze towards his mother and her two friends. His demeanour making a complete one eighty as he gave them a 'start explaining' look.
Reigning in their amusement, (well… two out of three anyway) the three mages decided to get back into business.
"How many explanations does this make today?" Yue thought idly.
"Well sochi, like Yue-chan had said, you and Yume are half siblings. Ne-kun is both my husband as well as Yue-chan's."
By this point, Ranma could pretty much swear that his face was going to be stuck in disbelief, with how much his expression kept switching back to that one again and again. Though to his comfort, at least his apparent half-sister was in the same boat as he was in their reaction… which just proved the current point even more.
"A… are you… mom are you saying that my real pops has two wives at the same time?"
"Huh? Oh no, Ne-kun doesn't have two wives," she clarified, much to the two teens relief. "No, in fact, Ne-kun has eleven wives. Ten of which, incluing the two of us, have children."
And there goes all their relief as the two teens fell face first onto the wooden floor.
"E… e… ELEVEN!" the two cried out simultaneously after picking themselves up. The three mages simply nodded, causing the other two occupants of the room to gawk.
"Wai… wait a second. Are you telling us that not only are we half siblings, but we also have nine other half siblings as well?" Yume questioned.
"Hmm… actually, it would probably be easier to just say half sisters. Ranma-kun is the only one of the ten of you that was born as a boy, and even then that's only half of the time." The amused tone in Haruna's words as she said that was unmistakeable, she was definitely enjoying this; something that irked the two to no end.
"Uhh… you know what: I'm just going to go and skip the whole moral issue of this thing for later when we actually meet my… our old man, so that he can answer it himself. But you could you at least explain to us how this happened?" Ranma asked irritably.
"Actually Ranma, those two things can be explained at the same time," Nodoka stated before letting her best friend continue. Haruna just watched the entire thing from the proverbial sidelines, enjoying the show as it took place.
"Now, despite what you two may think, your father is, by no means, a pervert," she started off, a bit of a mischievous smirk coming to her lips. "Well… at least not any more perverted than a guy should be, anyway."
"She's right. In fact, he wasn't even planning on invoking his polygamy rights."
"Polygamy rights?" Ranma asked his mother, causing her to let out a sigh. "What the hell was I thinking letting him go off with that asshole like that? I probably could've thought him how to fight better and made him smarter. Tsk… guess I have my work cut out for me then."
"Polygamy basically means to have various spouses at the same time. As a king, your father had legal rights to perform polygamy. However, it wasn't until we pushed him to it that he accepted."
"You… pushed our father to… accept it? How and why did that happen?"Yume questioned, having calmed down some more.
"Well, concerning the why: it was pretty simple really. You see, your father was, for better or worse, a natural at attracting women; something that you, Ranma-kun, had inherited from the looks of it," Yue started explaining. "Out of the class of thirty one girls that he had taught as a teacher, ten of us ended up falling for him. The eleventh person that he married was his childhood friend," she said with a slight blush.
At that point, Nodoka decided to take over. "At first, much to my embarrassment, all of us had been competed to try and get his heart, even when we did find out about his polygamy rights. However, in the end, we decided that we'd had enough. We didn't want to compete each other anymore. As a matter of fact, we didn't really want to compete for him in the first place."
"The Ala Alba… was a very close knit group. To us, going up against each other, getting in the way of the other's happiness; that hurt us as much, if more so than it did the same was done for us. That went on for a little under half a year. But then, in the end, we just told Ne-kun one thing, and that made him decide to invoke his rights."
"Oh? What'd you tell him aunt Nodoka?"
The two let loose another pair of amused and stifled laughter, accompanied by a distinct third. It was Yue that spoke this time. "That's something I don't think any one of us will ever forget. We told Ne-kun that, and I quote : 'All of us would gladly try to beat each other in order to get you to love us, but we hate fighting with each other just as much.' After that, all of us told him that we wanted him to choose soon and that we'd all understand and respect his wishes no matter who he chose. He knew that he could have chosen anyone of us but…"
"But despite knowing that, he went and made the decision that made all of us happy: he chose all of us. Up till that moment, and beyond even that, he always put our wants and our safety before his own. I know that it may seem weird that we'd be happy about sharing like that. But like I said; the Ala Alba was, and still is a tight knit group. In fact, had your father chosen just one of us, I think that whoever he chose would have been too guilty and sad about the rest to actually enjoy it," Nodoka finished. Looks of understanding finally crossing the two teens.
They didn't get it completely, that much she could tell. Having a lot of experience in reading minds, one tends to get some good experience in matching expressions to a person's thoughts. They were still a little unsure about it, but it was enough for now.
She looked at the clock hanging on the wall. "Well, it's already nearing three o'clock. You two rest up, I'm sure that you both have a lot to think about. We'll be leaving in one and a half hour," the head of the house instructed.
The two teens stood up, almost compulsively, before Ranma looked towards his mother. "Where are we going? I thought that we were leaving for Britain tonight?"
She smiled back at her son. "Why… we're going to pick your stuff up from Nerima of course," she explained. Ranma gained a worried look on his face when he heard that; something that Nodoka had easily caught on to. "Don't worry Ranma. There won't be any trouble, just relax and let us handle things okay?" her son nodded, returning her now reassuring smile with a thankful one, before heading back to his room.
He stopped at the door. "So… I guess I'll be meeting all of my other sisters in Britain huh?"
"No, actually you'll meet them on the plain. We're taking a private flight."
With a final sigh, Ranma was out of the room and heading back towards the futon in his room. His mind jumbled with all the things he'd learned in such a short time.
-X-
Whew! Finally I'm finished. Again, sorry for the way over-delayed update, but I hope the huge word count is enough to make up for it. This very nearly doubles my entire story's word count. I'm hoping to be able to write chapters that are just as long as this one in the future, but don't get your hopes up.
Anyway, moving on. Apparently only three people decided to take last chapter's challenge, so I'm going to go ahead and just give them all prizes.
Let me just make this clear first. This story will be a harem story on Ranma's part. I'm currently planning on five girls. One of them is decided, the three winners will decide three more and the last spot will be decided by a poll. Of course, your all going to have to wait till next chapter to cash the chance in. Or if you want, you can just go for a Nerima girl, just not Akane or Kodachi. But then, that would be a bit boring wouldn't you say? Oh well, I leave the decision in your capable hands. Till next time.
(1) The Memory sharing spell used by Negi to show Asuna his... well, memories. Pretty self explainatory, but if you want to read more, just go to the link on my profile.
(2) Modified version of the Ariadne school uniform, just so you know.
(3) Basicaly, it's the outfit that Negi wore while going to the gateport (you can see the OVA if you want) only with a fully repaired and designed robe. By the way, can someone give me an idea for Ostia's royal symbol if it were under Negi's rule
(4) It was once noted by Evangeline that Setsuna might be suffering from albinism. In here, she is, but no longer hides it.
(5) Try to guess where I got this one from
(6) Since the Compnita Deamonia has a demon sealed inside of it, I decided to give it an upgrade. You'll see more of this when the training starts.
(7) This is an actual Shinmei-ryu technique. In fact, it was Aoyama Motoko's strongest technique.
(8) Konoka was noted to be training to be an onmyoji, despite studying under a western mage. She has to know easter magic by now.
(9) Verus means 'actual', in English. Mundus Verus literally means Actual World.
(10) Since the world tree started to shine a year early, I decided to make it permanent. Instead of after 22 years, it's now just 21.
(11) Again, guess where this came from. Hint: You may want to check up on facts about Nodoka.
Remember, Read and review.