Chapter 2
Atop the orb of the temple, a beautiful young woman. Her purple eyes looked down into the flood of colours with distaste. No matter how much she wished it, there was no going into those flood waters for her. As the last of it was drained into the pit leaving a wet marble floor, it was clear her captives had escaped. Five cats suddenly approached her on all sides of the orb; which floated down to become a plug to the hole. The woman looked at the five around her. One bright orange tabby, a creamy-yellow Siamese, a Russian blue, a lilac Himalayan, and a white short-hair pointed breed who's dark colouring was actually a deep green.
"Where is Kohaku?" the woman demanded.
"The one named Ranma Saotome killed him before our transformation was complete," answered the Himalayan she-cat. The woman sneered as she looked to the red pool. The pool itself sat calm in it's pillar. Behind it was the the transfixed stone cat, froze in the same place it had been when struck during it's transformation. The woman growled and clenched her fist. The next moment she calmed and bowed her head.
"We will remember him for the great warrior he was," she sighed. The five cats bowed their heads as well for their fallen comrade.
"With your permission, Kimiko-sama, I want to hunt down this Ranma and make him pay," growled the orange tabby tom. His claws subconsciously flexing.
"Calm yourself, Ryuu," the woman answered. "We will get our revenge."
The woman looked up the ceiling. The moon was already vanishing over the other side. "We must get them back," she announced. "Until the ritual is completed, I remain trapped in this temple without my spiritual powers." Her eyes returned to the cats. "I need you five to find them and bring them back… alive. Do not fail me. Our dynasty has long awaited this opportunity and it will not slip away because of clumsy paws!"
"We will not fail you again, Kimiko-sama," the Russian blue tom stood proud and determined.
"See to it that you don't," the woman stood. She looked at each of the cats again, saying each name as her eyes passed them. "Ryuu." The orange tabby tom.
"Shinju." The cream-yellow Siamese female.
"Aya." The white and green she-cat.
"Aoi." The Russian blue.
"Sora." The lilac Himalayan female. "Go forth, my faithful servants. Find the warriors before the moon becomes whole again," the woman ordered. The five cats moved so fast it looked like they had merely vanished. The empress continued to look on to where they had been. She could feel the moon's light fading with the passage of time.
~Neko, Nya!~
The first rays of the morning sun began to sparkle over the horizon. Birds twittered as they went about their busy morning. The fresh smell of dew was on the breeze. It was peaceful as slumbering creatures rose from their dens.
"AHHHHHHHHH!" The noise disturbed the tranquil setting sending birds a flight and creatures running for shelter. Somewhere near the centre of the forest, next to a large river was the one that had made such an early morning racket. There, a young feline stared at her reflection in the river water. "This can't be happening!" she continued to shout to no one. She looked down at her brown paws in disbelief. She tried standing on two legs to get a better view of her feline form but tumbled backwards. Her tail swished with her annoyance which resulted in a self slap. The cat huffed as she laid there for a moment. Then she held out her fore paws. She inspected them with great interest before rolling back onto her feet. Standing on all fours this time she looked over her striped coat. She gave her tail another twitch almost to be sure it was apart of her. Finally she crawled back to the water's edge. "I-I'm a cat! Nya!" she meowed. She slapped her paws over her mouth after the meow slipped out. She realized too late she should not have used both front paws as she fell forward. Her little brown ears lay flat with her mood.
Not far, two crows snickered at the cat's strange display. One of her ears perked at hearing the noise. She hopped back to her paws and turned to face the spying birds. "What are you looking at?" She hissed.
"Beg ya pard'n, Miss. Just thought this was a show 'r somethin'," one of the crows cawed.
The cat's mouth dropped, "You can talk?!"
"Course," the crows stopped snickering. "You predators think y'ur the only ones that talk?"
"We're smart too!"
"No, no," the cat answered. "I-I mean that I can actually understand you!" The two crows exchanged looks.
"Rude cat," said the first.
"Just as strange as that other one," agreed the second.
"Other cat?" the she-cat muttered. Thoughts raced through her head. Another cat meant someone who could help. They might know where she was, and maybe even how to get back to Nerima. Even if they could not help there was a chance they might have seen Ranma and the others. Heck! It could be Ranma or the others! After all, she'd been turned into a cat. Maybe so had they.
"Could you take me to this other cat? Please?" she asked. The crows only cackled.
"She wants us to take 'er to the other cat," the second mocked.
"Maybe she's looking for a good time?"
"Like we need more cats around 'ere!"
"Don' think I'm wantin' to help 'er then," Then the pair took flight.
"Hey! Wait! what about this other cat?" She did her best to run after them. Her feline agility surprised her as she ran along side the river following the cackling crows. It was almost exhilarating were she not thinking about her situation. She looked up to be sure she was still following them when a shout rose.
"Look out!" someone yelled. The cat looked down just in time to realize she was dashing headlong into another creature. Before she could register what, the two slammed together. The crow's laughter rang through the cat's dizzy mind.
"Looks like she found 'im 'erself!" one crow cawed. They laughed some more as they flew off. The little cat quickly untangled herself from the other creature; also a cat.
"Sorry about that," he said. "Are you alright?" The she-cat looked over the chocolate coloured tom with a mix of disbelief and confusion. It couldn't be... could it? Then she spotted the black-spotted yellow bandana around his neck. "Ryoga?" she asked. His ears perked up at the call of his name.
"Do I... know you?" he answered looking at her carefully.
"It's me, Ukyo."
"Ukyo!" He looked her over quickly before adding, "So you've been turned into a cat too?"
"Looks like it." There was a pause. "You haven't seen anyone else have you?" Ryoga shook his head. "Oh... then... would you have any idea where we are?" Ukyo continued to ask.
"Of course!"
"Really?!"
"Where in a forest." Ukyo's eye twitched. She raised a paw and swatted Ryoga over the head as hard as she could. In the form of a cat, her power had been sloppy, but the claws still made a mark. "Ouch! What was that for?!" Ryoga hissed.
"For being an idiot," Ukyo hissed back.
She took a moment to observe around herself at the fresh green surroundings. Her eyes rested on the gently flowing river. "Come on," she ordered. Her little paws began to race in the direction she had just come from. The same direction as the river was flowing. Ryoga was quickly following beside her but still a little back for her to lead. "Where are we going?" he asked.
"We're gonna see where this leads," Ukyo answered. "If we're lucky we might find Ranma-honey along the way."
"How is that lucky?" Ryoga muttered. Fortunately, Ukyo had not heard him, or did and chose to ignore him. Either way, they continued running as fast as their paws would carry them.
~Neko, Nya~
I'm glad to see this story does have a bit of a following going. I hope to make this fun and unique as I can.
I did, however, get a review that confused me. Someone said that the first chapter mentioned Sailor Moon and was hoping I would involve the moon cats. I just want to point out that if there was anything Sailor Moon related or similar in this story, it was not done on purpose. I only remember a bit about the show from when I watched it as a kid back when it first aired in Canada. I know there are several more seasons after, but I've never seen them. So, not to disappoint the kind person that took the time to review, but there won't be anything Sailor Moon or moon cats in this story (not on purpose anyway).
Thank you all for reading,
~Nemarra