"So, what can you tell me about the… Amazons, was it?
"5,000 yen." Nabiki answered without looking away from her computer, automatically sticking her hand out to accept the payment without even thinking about who it was asking for said information.
A soft chuckle was not the response Nabiki was expecting, looking up in confusion, taking a few moments to register that the one gracing her room with their presence was the least problematic Saotome. "Cute, I'll have to remember that." The older woman said, a hint of amusement in her voice and a smirk on her face.
For a brief moment, Nabiki had half a mind to be royally offended at being called 'cute'. She was the Ice Queen of Furinkan! She was not cute! Nabiki Tendo was intimidating, awe inspiring, brilliant, sharp witted, humble, and most importantly, sexy! Not cute! Opening her mouth to give the android a piece of her mind, she was stopped by 18 continuing to speak. "I like the way you think, Nabiki. Unfortunately, as you're well aware, I'm a bit strapped for cash. It's a good thing your family owes me for teaching your little sister and stopping her from getting herself killed huh?" The blonde said, giving a grin to the Ice Queen that didn't quite reach her eyes.
Closing her mouth such that her teeth audibly clacked together, she gave the older woman an appraising look. She'd thought it before in the week since her arrival, but they were really far too alike for her tastes. She was crafty, and more than willing to use her brains. There was no manipulating her for large monetary gains like she had with Ranma. Something told her that she wouldn't be as easy going about it as Ranma.
Turning away, she popped open a drawer on her desk, digging around for the file she kept on hand of the Amazons, silently acknowledging that 18 had won this round. As she rooted around for the folder, she happened across a file she had nearly forgotten about. It was something she'd been trying to convince Ranma to agree to, with little avail. Perhaps his half sister would be more receptive? It was worth a shot.
"You know, if you're looking to solve your money issue, I do have some contacts in the modeling industry. If you're interested, for a cut of the pay, I will gladly act as your agent." Nabiki broached the topic, procuring two folders, the aforementioned one on the Amazons, and a second one detailing her portfolio as an agent/manager.
Accepting both folders, 18 went and sat on Nabiki's bed, surprising the teen by opening the portfolio first instead of the dossier on the Chinese Amazons she had actually requested. Briefly turning her attention back to her computer, Nabiki crunched a few more numbers before closing the spreadsheet, spinning around in her chair to give 18 her full attention.
This was a proper negotiation, if she was reading the room correctly. It wasn't one of her usual shakedowns where she held all the cards. And rule one of negotiation was to never make the first offer.
Her patience was eventually rewarded a few minutes later, the blonde bombshell speaking her terms. "No nude modeling. Swimsuit and lingerie modeling is on the table, but I always get veto rights if I find something too risque. I'm also open to doing commercials, but no long term work. And you can never book me without first consulting me. 90/10 pay split."
Nabiki's expression didn't change, one of the first things she had learned is to never give away your cards at the negotiation table. She was a bit miffed by how thorough 18 was with her conditions, acknowledging that by setting the conditions and then setting a bad pay split, Nabiki would be forced to choose one or the other to argue over. "70/30 pay split, I will need to arrange for transportation and accommodation, and as I'm an independent agent instead of working under a brand, I will be paying for that by myself." The wannabe agent made her decision. The conditions 18 set forth were all reasonable, and ultimately, she cared more about the money than she did about the control. Like Ranma, 18 was an undeniably gorgeous human being. She was simply going to make way too much money for Nabiki to not insure she got her fair share.
"85/15. I can handle transportation, and accommodations are unnecessary."
"75/25. Your driver's license is not valid here if you have one, and even if it was, you don't have a car."
"80/20, final offer. I don't need a car. I have other means of transportation, one that even takes you as my agent into account."
"Such as?"
"I can fly."
Nabiki certainly hadn't expected that. She was thoroughly thrown for a loop. Ranma had mentioned that Herb had been able to glide through the air, but they had chalked that up to his weird draconian lineage. But she mentally recovered quickly, narrowing her eyes at 18, looking for some body language to show she was lying. But either she was telling the truth, or she didn't inherit Ranma's terrible lying ability.
"Prove it."
With a small shrug, 18 did just that, crossing her legs and slowly ascending into the air. Ignoring the teen's gawking, she carried on the conversation. "So, 80/20, like I said. Final offer."
The Ice Queen's carefully crafted exterior cracked slightly, unable to hide the childlike awe from sparkling in her eyes for just a second. Being able to fly was the stuff of fantasy, things you imagined doing as a kid. While she always preferred the idea of mind reading in those suddenly-gain-a-superpower hypotheticals, flight was also incredibly appealing. Being shown this in any other place in Nerima, she might have written it off as being some fancy wire work or something. But this was her room. Nobody could sneak a wire rigging system like that in here without her knowing about it.
Shaking herself out of her brief awe, Nabiki had to admit that there wasn't much more she could do in this negotiation. She didn't have the deck stacked in her favor, having no dirt on the older woman that she could use to leverage for a better outcome. Though, even if she did, she wasn't sure if she would have done so. 18 was right, her family owed her a great debt for saving Akane from herself, if she was to be believed. And Nabiki did believe her. Sure, it could have been coincidence, but they hadn't had to get repairs done on the house at all this week, something that hadn't happened since before the Saotomes came! And that could all be attributed to the fact that Akane, while still an angry person, wasn't hitting Ranma in those same blinding rages that she used to.
So with a small sigh of defeat, Nabiki stuck out her hand at the floating woman. That rate wasn't what she wanted, but it was the industry standard, so she could begrudgingly accept it. After all, she was still going to be profiting, just not to an absurd degree. "As long as you're fine with me using the entire first paycheck to pay who I need to in order to set up your identity, you've got a deal. I'll get a contract written up in a few days. If you want to work as soon as possible, we can get you in a studio for a shoot within a week."
Snapping the folder shut, Android 18 descended back down to where she had been sitting on the bed, giving Nabiki a thoughtful look before grasping her hand and shaking on it. "Works for me." The blonde agreed, handing over Nabiki's portfolio, waiting for the teen to put it away while she mulled over what to say. "Before I look at this," She began, waving the folder on the Amazons around haphazardly, "I want you to tell me what you think about them. I want to know how you perceive them, how others perceive them, how they perceive themselves, and then how they actually are."
The Android just kept on finding ways to surprise Nabiki, and begrudgingly earn her respect too. All of her files included simple truths and unbiased facts that anyone could find out with just a little bit of digging, lacking any testimonies on the subjects within them. Anything beyond that cost extra typically. Without even peering into that folder, 18 had understood that would be the case.
She was good.
Nabiki was glad she hadn't crossed the line with her.
"There are three Chinese Amazon's that you can expect to encounter here, their actual names being Khu Long, Xian Pu, and Mu Tsu. They don't translate very well to Japanese though, so they all answer to Cologne, Shampoo, and Mousse as well. Cologne is old, if she's to be believed, around 300 years old or so, and Shampoo - the one who gave you the Kiss of Death - is her heiress and Great Granddaughter. As for Mousse, he fancies himself as Shampoo's love, though she certainly doesn't agree. Inside there," The information broker paused, gesturing to the folder, "You'll find a more thorough explanation on their relationships with each other. Cologne is the most important figure of the three, and the only one who can potentially release you from the Kiss of Death, as she's an Elder of their tribe."
"Originally, Shampoo had chased Ranma here from China due to the Kiss of Death, though when it was revealed Ranma was a boy with a girl curse, she returned to her home. Receiving a punishment in the form of her own Jusenkyo curse for failing to finish the job, she returned with Cologne and Mousse in tow. Cologne, because she was there to assess Ranma's capabilities and to see if he was fit to marry Shampoo, and Mousse, because he is hopelessly in love with Shampoo, and saw Ranma as a threat to his one sided relationship. Long story short, Cologne established herself as a sort of mentor slash antagonist of Ranma. One week, she would try to entice him by teaching him some new techniques. The next, she would lock him in his cursed form, holding the cure hostage either for him to win via competition, or if he agreed to marry Shampoo. This continued until about a year ago, when some events happened in China that led to Ranma being freed from both Kisses, and becoming an ally of the tribe instead. He was officially deemed too dangerous and stubborn to fit into the life at the village, and would be more likely to bring ruin to their traditions and way of life."
At this point, Nabiki leaned back into her chair, rolling her neck as she thought over what to say. "And that's the primer, all the information you need to know before I can really give testimonials. There's more in depth and detailed information in the packet about all the events involving them. So which one do you want to know about first?"
"Just go ahead and tell me about Cologne. I already have a grasp of who Shampoo is as a person. And I think you've already painted a decent picture of what to expect from this Mousse fellow." 18 decided with little fanfare. "Oh, and for the record, Shampoo's Ki is also tainted with pride. Is this going to be a common issue here?"
The brunette blinked a few times at that information, feeling like that should be more surprising to learn than it actually was. "Yeah, it's probably going to be a thing. Lord knows every martial artist that rolls through this ward has more pride and ego than common sense. I would be surprised if anyone around here has ever heard of pure Ki before. I think we all just assumed emotional Ki was all there was." She admitted, drumming her fingers against her thigh for a moment before shaking her head.
"Anyways, Cologne. I think she's a very contradictory person personally. How she treats you changes wildly based on if she likes or respects you. Their way of life is a warrior's one, but with gender roles twisted around from what the rest of the world traditionally held. So she inherently has a better first impression of strong women, and tends to look down on males, no matter how much she might claim otherwise. She's a schemer, crafty with her plans with a deep bag of tricks backed up by 300 years of martial arts and magic usage. But at the same time, she's incredibly honest and straightforward once her plans are in motion. I don't know what exactly you're planning, but from Cologne, you'll get what you give."
18 hummed softly in response. "So, what would you say her order of priorities in life are then?"
Nabiki's expression turned thoughtful, actually having to think on that for a second. "You really don't think like anyone else in this ward huh?" She mused.
Unwilling to explain herself, 18 simply gave Nabiki a small smirk, gesturing for her to continue.
"The good of the tribe is almost certainly her top priority. If she thinks something is beneficial for the tribe, she will do it, even if it screws someone else over. I think this is most obvious in the way she treats Ranma. When he was a husband to be brought back, she had no qualms about resorting to any means necessary to get him to agree. On the flipside, now that he's considered an ally, she has backed off almost entirely, taking on a role of an observer and mentor instead of an instigator. Her next priority, I would say, is upholding the tradition, history and honor of her people. And then…" She trailed off, considering the answer for a question nobody had ever thought to ask her before. "I think when they first arrived in Nerima, it was Shampoo, and then her personal entertainment. But lately, and mind you I have no proof beyond my personal intuition, I think those might have switched. She definitely loves and cares for Shampoo, but I think that their time in Nerima was also a test for Shampoo to see if she was ready to begin training as a future leader of their tribe. And my hunch is that Shampoo has unknowingly failed that test."
18 pursed her lips as Nabiki wrapped up her thoughts, generally speaking not a fan of what she had heard about Cologne, though she would readily admit that she was a little bit biased against manipulative old bastards. She would need to read the file to understand it more, though she wasn't worried it would be lacking in information. Nabiki seemed to be very organized and meticulous, so she was certain the file would illuminate any further questions she had. "Interesting. I'll have this back to you before you go to bed."
Nabiki blinked a few times, tilting her head and peering at 18 curiously. "You sure? You can hold onto it for as long as you need."
18 simply gave her a cold smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Ah, don't worry about it. I have a good memory. And I won't need this after tonight. This little affair will be over and done with before you know it."
Omens were an interesting thing. They came in all shapes, sizes and forms. Often, it was difficult to tell if something was an omen, or if it was just a natural force of the world. Cologne was young when she encountered her first omen, and her failure to interpret and listen to it was what led to her first broken heart. And the loss of many magical items and various undergarments around the village, though to young Cologne, that mattered far less than a wounded heart. At that moment, she couldn't help but feel regret, not for the losses the village as a whole had taken, but for the loss of love. If she had simply paid attention and listened to what the world was trying to tell her, those awful things wouldn't have happened.
It was precisely that event which kickstarted her interest in magic. She studied hard when she wasn't physically training, learning everything from potion making and ritual casting, to divination, the last of which being where she finally learned to read and interpret omens. She might have gotten a little bit obsessed with divination and omen reading in all honesty. But it paid off eventually! Her obsession with omens had helped prevent a disaster in the last Amazon-Musk war over 200 years ago. The skills in divination she had garnered had let her interpret that which seemed like a daily occurrence for the omen of doom it actually was, foretelling her of an impending disaster that she was thankfully able to prevent. Without that warning, the elite squad of soldiers would have been wiped out in a mudslide, vastly changing the trajectory of the war for the worse. Instead, their being alive allowed the war to fall to a standstill, until eventually both tribes agreed to a truce.
In hindsight, it was that moment that birthed her political career. She had made an overwhelming contribution to the good of the village, and one of the elders was so impressed they took her under her wing, immediately raising her family's status in the village to what it was now.
Omen reading became a specialty of hers, many great successes foreseen through them and many great disasters averted as well. They were rare, and often it was possible to go years between them. But never before had she received conflicting omens in such a short time frame of each other. Eight days ago, she had risen like any other morning, only to find a dead raven on her windowsill. A very dangerous and scary sign, that left her feeling worried as she was unable to be certain where the danger would come from. But try as she might, she couldn't figure out what such a foreboding omen was about. When Shampoo had returned that afternoon and informed her that she had fought with the Tendo and Kuonji girls, her mind went to the omen, thinking that perhaps it was a sign of the death of any lingering feelings Son-in-law may hold toward Shampoo. So in an attempt to avoid the meltdown, she had decided to take her heiress on a bit of a training trip.
And on the very first day, arriving at the remote location in the Japanese wilderness that would be the place they stayed to train, she encountered another omen. One that was near the opposite, one of the most overwhelmingly positive omens you could encounter. Rainbow's were auspicious things, signs of great fortune. And this wasn't just any normal rainbow, somehow, there were two of them! On a clear, cloudless morning, when there hadn't been any rain in well over a week.
If that wasn't an omen as well, she'd eat her staff.
"A dead raven… A double rainbow… What does it mean?"
She spent the entire week-long training trip mulling over that issue. A sign of death, immediately followed by a sign of prospering life. Cologne was more than a little worried about what she would find on their return to Nerima, unable to make heads or tails about what it could possibly mean. If Saffron had not already been dealt with, she may have thought it was a reference to him. But he had barely just begun his cycle of rebirth, so it couldn't possibly be referring to the royal Phoenix. And as far as her vast swaths of knowledge was aware, there was no threat to the world that could match Saffron's power. Perhaps Happosai had unleashed some great evil on the world? It was impossible to tell without returning, so return they did, with Shampoo's confidence growing as she thought about showing off the fruits of her training to her Airen.
Nerima wasn't in tatters when they returned. There were no epic fights, no kidnappings, no shotgun weddings that had happened. She hadn't had much time to investigate unfortunately, as she did have a restaurant to run. All she could do was probe the customers for information, which came up with little. Even Mr. Part Time said that things had been quiet while they were gone. But Cologne knew something was up, and was proven correct when Shampoo returned late from her delivery run. The slightly ill and haggard expression on her face made it obvious that something was wrong, but what really made Cologne concerned was that her heir refused to look her in the eye or explain what was wrong. It was tempting to flex her authority as an elder of the village to force her to speak, but all that would accomplish was to drive her away.
So, respecting her great granddaughters privacy, she simply used her Ki sensing abilities to get a more accurate reading on her emotional state. And what she saw concerned her greatly. Shampoo's Ki was wildly fluctuating, reminding her of young Ryoga's intense depression laced Ki. Depression, anger, guilt, regret, despair, hurt, indignation and fear warred within her heiress, each taking turns being the primary emotion she was feeling.
Cologne sighed, recognizing it for what it was. It seemed that her family line was cursed to have their hearts broken by future grandmasters of Anything Goes.
Closing the shop early, Cologne took to the roofs as she headed toward the Tendo Dojo, wishing to satisfy her curiosity on who Son-in-law, no, Ranma picked.
In no time at all, Cologne found herself perched on the wall surrounding the property, opening her Ki senses to detect who was home. The easiest one to discern was Kasumi, whose peaceful and calm emotional state always made it quite easy to track her. Nabiki was the next one she identified, who seemed to be oddly feeling an interesting mix of fascination, admiration, wonder, and annoyance. An unusual mix of emotions for the money hungry girl that gave her a slight pause, but it was ultimately not what she was looking for. The rest of the home seemed empty, no sign of any of the parents or of Ranma and the youngest Tendo.
Shifting her attention to the dojo, she pogo'd along the wall, already sensing the familiar Ki signatures of Ranma and Akane. Though there was something odd about it that she couldn't quite put her finger on. And it wasn't until she was standing in the entryway of the dojo, with the two teens in plain sight, that she figured out what it was. The both of them felt flat to her senses. Ranma far more so than Akane, whose Ki still seemed to have that deep seeded anger. But now, it seemed a bit more contained, closer to a dormant volcano than an actively erupting one. It seemed that the girl was finally reigning in her anger. That could only be considered good, as all that anger was highly unhealthy for one so young. Idly, Cologne wondered what emotion she would choose to focus on. The girl certainly had a high amount of pride herself, though much of it had been pushed aside in favor of anger after the madness of the last few years. It was a good base for building up your Ki, which is why her village hammered home to their younglings to take pride in their heritage. Or perhaps she would take a page out of Happosai's book. Goodness knows that girl was sexually repressed as all hell. An issue such as that could only crop up in this society where women were treated as lesser beings. Had the poor girl grown up in Amazon society, she almost certainly would have been allowed to explore her bisexuality in a judgment free environment.
But, as interesting as that was to think about, it wasn't what held her attention. No, it was Ranma's Ki that truly gripped Cologne's thoughts. The currently red headed martial artist still had a tremendous amount of Ki, it wasn't any weaker than usual. In fact, if anything, she seemed to have more than she did a week ago. What was alarming though, was the feel. Ranma's Ki had always been vibrant and bright, her confidence and pride acting like a bit of a beacon to the senses. But now it was so… Dull. Or perhaps muted was the better descriptor. There were still notes of that brash cockiness and pride in her Ki after all. Was she trying to change the emotional foundation of her Ki? But why would she do that? That would set her back in the Ki development department by a lot. Or perhaps there was something else going on that Cologne wasn't aware of. Whatever was going on, her curiosity was certainly piqued.
Clearing her throat in preparation to announce her presence, she hopped off her staff only for her old bones to attempt to flee her body as an unfamiliar voice spoke up from behind her, somehow evading her Ki senses. Spinning and lashing out with her staff at breakneck speeds, she struck out at the unknown threat, only to be shocked when her attack was halted. Attempting to wrench it back, she found that she was unable to, as it was stuck in a worryingly strong grip.
"Well, isn't this a surprise? It seems you have decided to save me from making a trip to your little restaurant. How nice of you." Android 18 spoke as she released her hold on the Ki infused staff, mildly amused as she compared the visage of Cologne in front of her to the one that was recently stored in her database. She almost hadn't believed it when Nabiki had handed over the picture of a tiny old woman, but here she was, in the flesh. And she had thought Krillin was a short man, he was positively a giant in comparison.
To her credit, Cologne didn't stumble upon suddenly regaining control over her staff. She immediately took a defensive stance, placing herself between the unknown woman and the two meditating youngsters. The fact that Cologne couldn't sense her Ki was causing alarm bells to blare in her head. This woman was dangerous, and her intentions were unclear. But she did know one thing, Genma had wronged a great many people in his life. It was possible she was here for revenge, and was going to take it out on young Ranma while he was deep in meditation.
She would not allow that to happen.
"Who are you? What are your intentions toward these children?" Cologne barked loudly, hoping her voice would be enough to stir Ranma and Akane out of their meditations.
18 was tempted to sigh in exasperation. She had gotten used to the oddly accepting nature of the people on this planet. While it may be technologically and socially a bit behind, the people here had treated her far better than the ones in her previous world. Most of her early memories were still buried deep in the recesses of her mind, but she remembered general feelings and attitudes well enough. And she had almost always been met with distrust and wariness. Even after she had awoken in the lab for the final time, the Z Fighters - people she had never even met before - had all been looking at her and 17 as if they were monsters to be feared. Well, besides Vegeta, but he was too busy stroking his own ego to feel any other emotion.
It wasn't like Cologne was wrong to look at her with distrust. Android 18 was a monster masquerading as a human after all. But it was the fact that she had no way of knowing that, yet still reacted in that manner, that hurt. They never noticed how hard she was trying to be better, how much she had lost. They never noticed the pain and suffering she had been through. All they saw was Gero's Monster.
She stamped down that bitter line of thinking with practiced ease.
Not allowing even a hint of her true feelings to show, she just rolled her eyes at the small elder. "You know, Nabiki made it sound like you were some meticulous planner and master schemer. But I guess failing to do your research is something that runs in the family huh?" She lashed out verbally, perhaps not quite as in control over her pain as she pretended to be. This earned her a hot glare from Cologne, whose mind was going to the omens she'd observed.
The stranger had all but admitted that she was the cause of Shampoo's distress. Was that what was going on? Were the omens showing that there were two paths going forward? One would lead to disaster, while the other would bring good fortune?
"What did you do to my great granddaughter?" She questioned hotly, noting with some relief that Ranma seemed to be stirring.
The blonde clicked her tongue, her icy blues showing her disdain for the elder clearly. "Yes, yes. Clearly I'm the one at fault. Your precious descendant couldn't possibly have bitten off more than she can chew." Android 18 replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. "There's no way she could have foolishly issued a challenge against someone she didn't know anything about. She couldn't possibly have let her pride and unearned sense of superiority get the better of her. No, that couldn't possibly be true, she's a proud Amazon warrior after all. They must be the strongest people in the world. After all, if they weren't, they wouldn't be ruled by sore loser laws demanding they kill or forcefully assimilate anyone that even remotely appears to be a better fighter than them."
Cologne bristled at the level of vitriol being spat at her from the total stranger. It was only through centuries of being alive that allowed her to keep a cool enough head to read between the lines. And with the things she'd noticed already, it wasn't hard to connect the dots. Shampoo had challenged this woman to a fight, and lost, possibly in a humiliating fashion. And because it was a formal challenge, she was obligated to give the woman the Kiss of Death. She cursed her foolish descendant for once more refusing to think things through before acting. Why, it was her thoughtless actions that brought them to Nerima in the first place! Not that that was a bad thing. She'd had more fun in the time they'd spent here than in the previous three decades combined! But more importantly than her great granddaughter's foolish decisions, she needed to teach this young whelp that a Joketsuzoku warrior was not to be slandered!
"You watch your mouth girl! You know not what you speak about! For 3000 years we have flourished, our ways are absolute! Watch your tongue, or I'll be forced to personally show you why we are the strongest warriors in all the lands!" Cologne raised her voice, igniting her aura in an attempt to cow the other woman. But shockingly enough, she didn't even seem phased by the blue aura blazing to life around Cologne.
"3000 years huh? And you've only amounted to this? Pathetic." 18 sneered.
"You dare to look down on the pride of an Amazon warrior! Allow me to show you the error of your ways!" Cologne bristled in a rare showing of a loss of emotional control, bracing herself to attack.
And it was at this moment, that the annoyed soprano voice of Ranma Saotome spoke up, irritated to be disturbed from her meditation. "Ugh… What's going on?" She groused as she opened her eyes, blinking a few times as she processed what was going on. "Huh? Old Ghoul? 18? What's goin' on?"
Neither woman turned to look at Ranma, one too busy sending a heated glare, while the other met it with an icy disdain. The standoff was baffling, causing Ranma's eyes to widen in shock. Just what on earth was going on?! "Get Akane up, Ranma. It would seem I've found a willing partner to demonstrate some of my capabilities on. Meet us at the empty lot where we met if you want to watch." 18 declared, leaving no room for questions as she turned and left, leaping to the roofs with Cologne on her tail.
"Nngh… Huh? Ranma, what's going on?" Akane asked, finally stirred out of her own meditation, only just opening her eyes in time to spot the figures of 18 and Cologne dashing away.
"I wish I knew 'Kane." The redhead admitted, scratching at the base of her pigtail before she jumped to her feet. "All I know is 18 said she was gonna fight the Old Ghoul, and I wanna see that for myself! Let's go!"
Two figures stood a dozen feet apart, one towering over the other, each preparing for the battle to come. Though only the taller figure was aware that their preparations were probably a bit different from the smaller one.
Their battleground of choice? A large empty patch of land in the middle of Tokyo. Normally, such a place would have buildings, or been converted into a park. But being in Nerima, there was a desperate need for martial artists to have battlegrounds where they could duke it out without ruining public property.
The smaller figure was Cologne, who had taken the few minutes of time it had taken to travel here to calm down and think more rationally. She had allowed this unknown variable to get in her head, made all the easier by her being upset over learning that Shampoo had hidden that she had given the Kiss of Death out. Her disappointment in her descendant combined with the disdain shown by the one called 18 had triggered her long buried indignation. Even now, it was difficult to swallow her pride. 3000 years of Amazon history could not be dismissed so casually!
Conversely, the larger figure was inwardly berating herself for letting her emotions take control. She knew already from talking with Nabiki and from reading the file over that she wasn't going to like Cologne one bit. She was sure that if she had time to prepare for the confrontation she planned on having instead of the unexpected meeting they actually had, that she would have handled this in a more diplomatic manner. Because her personal distaste for the woman aside, Ranma clearly liked and respected her despite how many times she had wronged the aquatic shapeshifter. Now that 18 had cooled her head, she could think about it more calmly.
She'd need to hold back, for her own sake as much as it was for her little sister.
Her attention was briefly drawn to the visage of Ranma, who was carrying Akane in her arms, arriving. Giving the two teens a nod of acknowledgement, she turned her attention back to Cologne. "C'mon already. Weren't you going to demonstrate the superiority of 3000 years of Amazon history?" She taunted as she crossed her arms underneath her chest - vaguely noticing the small blush that formed on Akane's face when she did so - allowing her sadistic side to come to light for the first time since the battle with Vegeta.
Of course, this wasn't going to be nearly as entertaining as the fight against the prince of Saiyans, but it would still be fun in its own right. Shampoo had been arrogant, sure, but she was also a foolish little girl. Cologne though, was older than Gero. Knocking her arrogance down several pegs would be quite fun.
"Fine, don't say I didn't warn you though, whelp!" Cologne yelled, allowing her Ki to burn brightly, knowing that the longer this went, the more of a disadvantage she would be. She would go at full force right from the start.
Launching forward at speeds that Akane struggled to follow, the old ghoul lashed out with her staff in a barrage of thrusts, wielding it much like a rapier. For a brief moment, before the blonde had moved, the diminutive elder was concerned that she had just attacked someone at full force that couldn't handle it. That worry was quashed when the blonde matched the speed of her strikes, bobbing and weaving around the hits with the minimal amount of movement required. Kicking it up a notch, she flooded her arms full of her pride Ki. "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!"
The burst of speed was tremendous, and Ranma knew that as she watched from the sides, she would've been forced to use the same technique in order to match Cologne's speed. She could still follow the blindingly fast stabs of Cologne's cane, but she knew her body would not have been able to keep up without the aid of the technique. However, to the shock of everyone else, 18 simply kicked up her own speed, backpedaling in a steady pace as she continued to bob and weave around the hits. The most stunning thing though, was that she wasn't blocking and parrying. She was simply dodging, as if she could see each individual strike and had plenty of time to react to each one.
After a long few seconds, Cologne finally had to end the technique, or risk burning herself out completely. It clearly wasn't working anyway, the young woman had greater speed and agility than her, which both was and wasn't a surprise to Cologne. She'd been expecting the girl to be strong, she'd beaten Shampoo after all, but this level was above what she anticipated.
"What's wrong old timer, getting tired?" 18 taunted as Cologne leaped back, switching tactics. Reigning in her Ki, she exhaled, centering herself before shifting all her pride Ki from her arms to her legs.
Not falling for the bait of the taunt, Cologne suddenly seemed to split herself in two! And then, two became four. Four became eight, and finally, eight became sixteen. "Splitting Cat Hairs!" All sixteen Cologne's announced at the same time, circling around the Android and taking various martial arts stances. "Let's see if you can deal with this girl!" The voices of each Cologne yelled, before charging her from all directions.
Yet, 18 remained unphased by this sudden development. Instead, her hands began to glow in a bright pink light. Launching herself in the air, she twisted around such that her body was upside down, with her outstretched arms pointing at the ground, causing the pink light to illuminate her face. "Infinity Bullet!" She announced, releasing more Ki blasts than any of the present martial artists thought possible in quick succession. Each pink ball of Ki fired off made a bee line for a Cologne of their own, flashing through each illusion and dispelling them as they exploded against the ground. All except for the real Cologne, who was forced to abandon the attack and leap backwards, showing her shock on her face.
Ki blasts were highly draining things, and yet this woman had just unleashed more than a dozen in one single move! Not only that, but each individual ball of Ki held just as much, if not more, destructive power as a single Moko Takabisha! The amount of power and control necessary to pull off this maneuver boggled her mind. And 18 didn't seem any worse for it!
But perhaps even more shocking than any of that, was that she couldn't sense any emotion in the woman's Ki at all! There were records of warriors of old that were able to harness their Ki without the use of emotion, but the actual art of how it was done was lost to the annals of time. Hell, whether or not there was any truth to the claim was a point of contention amongst the Elders of the tribe, with herself firmly in the camp that it wasn't possible.
And yet, here was proof it was.
So lost in her shock, it was only via instinct that Cologne raised her staff to block the incoming roundhouse kick, grunting in surprise at the weight of the blow. There was so much power in that kick that it forced Cologne on the defensive. She had lost the offensive momentum anyway when she stopped to gawk at seeing a legend in real time.
Being put on the defensive suited her situation just fine though. She couldn't allow this fight to go on for long anymore. If the legends were true about the warriors that practiced the use of Pure Ki, then she was at a severe disadvantage, and needed to end this with her next move anyway. It was a final gambit, and she would be forced to show an advanced, Elder only variation of the technique.
Ducking a kick, Cologne began to lead Android 18 in a spiral.
18 quickly realized just what was going on, though why Cologne was doing this, she couldn't possibly ascertain. For as much information was within Nabiki's folder, it had nothing in it about fighting techniques. Not that she would have really needed it given the power differential. Judging by her Ki levels, the old ghoul was nearly spent anyway. So for now, she would play along with the technique, curious to see just what she had in her bag of tricks.
"I wonder what the Old Ghoul's planning…" Ranma couldn't help but ask out loud.
Akane, who had been watching the fight and feeling a mixture of awe and fear, turned to look at her currently female fiance with confusion. "Isn't she doing the Hiryu Shoten Ha?"
But Ranma simply shook her head. "She is, but it shouldn't work. The Hiryu Shoten Ha requires one source of hot ki, and another source of cold ki. And 18 isn't letting off either of those. Usually, you goad the opponent into being the source of hot, while you use the Soul of Ice to produce the cold."
Akane gained a look of understanding. "But because 18 uses Pure Ki, she won't generate any hot or cold Ki!" She exclaimed in shock.
Nodding, the redhead narrowed her eyes as the two drew tighter and tighter in the spiral, nearing the center. And it was a few steps before getting there that Ranma's eyes widened in shock. "Don't tell me the Old Ghoul's doing what I think-" She began to exclaim, watching in awe as the Amazon released the twisting mass of hot and cold Ki she had been building within herself.
"Hiryu Shoten Ha!" The aged voice of Cologne echoed out as she stepped into 18's guard, unleashing an uppercut that was never intended to hit.
There was a brief pause, during which Android 18 raised her eyebrow. Was that all? Opening her mouth to taunt her opponent on failing to execute the technique, her words failed her as a tornado suddenly sprang to life, carrying her up into the air. She couldn't help but feel a bit of awe at the ingenuity of such a technique. For people that didn't practice Pure Ki, and were thus unable to grasp the ability to fly, this kind of technique was surely quite devastating.
"Give it up girl! The Hiryu Shoten Ha will drain you of your Ki and use it to fuel the tornado even longer! Only when you run out of Ki will it dissipate, and you will fall to the earth, devoid of any Ki at all!" Cologne's voice called out over the howling winds, satisfied in thinking that she had won this fight. It had taken the rest of her Ki reserves to provide the fuel for this attack, so this fight was over now no matter what. 18 put up a hard battle, and if she were a hundred years younger, Cologne would have gladly dragged this fight out longer. But, her old age demanded that she end it now. Her pride satisfied, she couldn't help but consider that perhaps she would release this aggravating woman from the Kiss of Death after this. She was far too strong for Shampoo to actually kill in her current state.
Pulled out of her thoughts by some unusual movement, her eyes widened in horror as her opponent righted herself in midair, seemingly wrenching back control of her body from the howling winds as she hovered in the air. The blonde's icy blue eyes looked around curiously at the tornado, unminding of the fact that the 3 below her were gawking in shock.
And then the unthinkable happened. The winds died down, and the tornado dissipated completely on its own! Cologne had never seen such a phenomenon in any of her 300 years. The Hiryu Shoten Ha was the ultimate Amazon technique, unrivaled in its ability to defeat even the hardest of opponents. Never before had she seen it completely fail to even do anything to an opponent.
"An interesting trick, but it doesn't seem all that useful to me." Android 18 hummed, glancing down at Cologne, amused at all of the ground bound martial artists' reactions to her flying. Cologne was completely horrified. Akane was still giving off that odd mix of fear and awe towards 18 that she had felt earlier. But it was Ranma who pleasantly surprised her. Ranma was looking at her in awe, eyes practically sparkling in excitement that made her chuckle fondly. Her little sister certainly had a sort of childish excitement in her attitude of the Art. The pure joy she was probably feeling over the idea of learning to fly soothed 18's emotions, calming her enough that she no longer felt the need to act on her more sadistic urges.
Raising higher in the air, just to prove that she could, the Android's form blurred from existence, reappearing in front of the stunned elder, floating a few inches off the ground. "I'd say we're done here, wouldn't you agree Elder?"
Stupefied, Cologne could only just give her a small nod. "Great! While we're at it, you should go ahead and dissolve that Kiss of Death that Shampoo gave me." 18 declared with her usual bluntness, turning to Akane and Ranma. "I'll let Kasumi know that you two will be a little late for dinner, okay? And yes Ranma, I'll teach you how to fly as soon as you're done purifying your Ki." The android preemptively cut off her little sister, who was practically bouncing in excitement at the thought. Floating toward the redhead, she ruffled her hair fondly, chuckling softly at the groan of indignation and the swipe at her hand. Floating back up in the air, 18 shot one last look at Cologne, before twisting and shooting off into the sky.
The old woman just fell back on her butt, exhausted physically and mentally. Her old mind tried to wrap around what had happened today, going back to the omens. It was clear now in her mind. To choose to continue to antagonize that woman would lead to the path of destruction. The dead raven represented Shampoo, if she allowed the Kiss of Death to stand. Or, for a fear filled second, it could represent the entire Amazon tribe. But by getting in her good graces, their way of life would continue, and perhaps even grow! If she was willing to teach them the ways of Pure Ki despite their current poor standing, the tribe would grow significantly in power.
"Just who is that woman? And where did she come from?" Cologne muttered out loud, turning to Ranma who just had an excited grin on her face.
"Wow, you really didn't do your research huh Old Ghoul? If you must know…" She teased playfully, turning her gaze back to the form of a flying Android 18, jutting her chest out in pride that she had never felt before.
"That's my big sister! And I'm gonna catch up to her one day, mark my words!"
Author's Notes:
Hope you enjoy the chapter! This one was a struggle, but not for the usual reasons. This time, the chapter was a struggle because my keyboard was fighting me. It had been on the fritz, double typing letters and just generally being a nuisance. It made getting any writing done almost impossible, as I spent more time going through fixing words than actually writing. So a majority of the actual writing of this chapter has been done in the last few days, when I finally got my replacement.
I personally really enjoyed writing the Nabiki/18 scene, as 18 is shown in canon to care a lot about money, much like Nabiki does. I tend to think of 18 and Nabiki as being pretty similar in personality, allowing them to bounce off each other very well. Nabiki would also be the most genuinely interested about the world 18 is from, and their various technology if only to attempt to recreate it for herself. That said, Ranma would also be interested, but mostly cause of all the strong fighters. I'm kind of setting Ranma up to be very Goku like in all honesty, but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing?
I think the fight scene in this chapter was the best one I've written yet, though they've all been a struggle to a varying degree as I'm just inexperienced. But I really enjoyed this one, as 18 actually got to show off a little bit. It ended up going far differently from my original plan, but I figured this way was better than my original plan, which was 18 threatening to wipe out all of China. I think that would only happen if this was a fic about Future Android 18, and that would be a whole different fic entirely.
Also, may as well get it out of the way here as I touched on it in this chapter some already. Akane, Ukyo, Shampoo and Kodachi are all bisexual disasters, and I will die on this hill. Ranma being who he is practically demands it, as I am of the opinion that without the curse, Ranma loses a lot of what makes it interesting. Akane is sexually repressed as hell, Ukyo went to an all boys school and definitely dated girls as a 'cover' when she got caught checking out the guys in the locker room, Shampoo's tribe has a reverse Spartan thing going on in my headcanon, and Kodachi goes to a catholic all girls school.
Those are my headcanons and I'm sticking to it.
Speaking of bisexual disasters, it's not a Ranma fic without some one sided infatuation. I'd love to hear some suggestions on who'd you like to see develop a crush on 18, while keeping in mind that I currently have no plans on any romance actually developing. Kuno is a given in my opinion (and I could really use some suggestions on what he would call her when I inevitably have to write that scene) . But what other characters do you think would be fun/funny to have them crush on her? I'm currently considering Ukyo and Konatsu, as I think it'd be funny for them to meet her, and as soon as she leaves the restaurant, they have a panic attack together over their mutual attraction to her. Another I'm considering is Herb, who would be interested in her after learning about him from a letter from Ranma, though it's still up in the air if he'll even get screen time in this fic or not.
Anyways, hope you all enjoyed the chapter! As always, I appreciate all the support, and any and all comments, questions and criticisms are welcome! Next chapter will involve Ranma learning to fly, and either bokken boy or bacon breath will get their first bit of screen time.