Ranma ½
A Scary Thought:
What happened last time: Frost headed off for her training.
Chapter 64
XXXXX
Devlin turned off the main road and quickly spotted his destination ahead. He looked behind him to see the people walking by blissfully ignorant to not only the lich walking down their street, but also apparently unfazed by the happenings at that destination. 'Must be nice,' he thought before turning his attention back ahead and stopping at the gateway to the residence.
From the outside, it looked pretty normal for a smaller mansion in an older European city. Nice landscaping, well maintained brick and windows. Nice and upscale without drawing too much attention. "Hmm," Devlin remarked before passing through the illusionary barrier to the truth within.
The building was the same, but the state of the place was wholly different. No, this mansion looked more at home in the middle of a war zone. Windows were shattered. Several holes were blasted through the wall, and bullet holes were plentiful. One whole corner of the structure had apparently collapsed and was now nothing but rubble. "Well damn," Devlin said before walking up to the man waiting at the front. "Devlin, 10th circle, I'm with the investigation branch," he introduced himself and produced an official badge.
"Right, Grenda requested you. She's waiting down below," the man said. Devlin nodded and walked by into the entryway but paused and looked about. Looking back he frowned slightly. 'Looks like most of it was focused right where I'm standing,' he thought before looking down to see the flooring conspicuously undamaged, 'and something blocked it all.'
Dropping that matter for the moment he proceeded on, passing by another man and descending some stairs before arriving in the basement. There he found a seeming wine cellar, thoroughly wrecked, with a steel door at the far end. He approached, noting how the steel must have been a foot thick, and was now cleanly sliced into several pieces, rendering it useless at blocking the path into the next room. He paused at the door, leaning down and chanting lightly, prompting a set of circular inscriptions to come to life on the door's fragments before flicking and going out. Once more he frowned before seeing Grenda within and joined her.
"Hey," he greeted and received a silent nod in reply. "I see clean up is hard at work."
"Yeah, investigations too, although that's not why I called you specifically," Grenda replied.
"I get the feeling that's not a good thing," Devlin replied with a slight smile to which Grenda sadly nodded. "This is quite the scene," he said before looking back. "That door was magically reinforced and it might as well have been cardboard."
"Yeah," Grenda agreed.
"So what happened?" he asked as he looked about. "Haven't seen any blood or bodies."
"All cleaned up by the attackers by the looks of it. Check out the surveillance video," she directed, pointing to a station within the room with several monitors, now mostly displaying static save the room they were currently in. She moved over to the station before adjusting a few controls and beginning the playback as Devlin stood by and watched.
There was no audio on the feeds, but they told a tale nonetheless. First an outside camera caught the arrival of a rather nondescript car which had a man and woman exit. The woman was dark haired, slight in build, and was dressed in a business suit with sunglasses, smiling the whole time. Her partner was more distinctive, likewise dressed sharply with a pair of glasses and looked all business. The pair came to a guard situated at the front and spoke with him before being allowed entry within.
The tale continued with a pair of angles from within the main room. Here the pair was greeted by another man who spoke with the woman then headed off. Devlin tracked this man head on back onto another feed where he entered a study and spoke to another well-to-do Asian gentleman who immediately became alarmed once spoken to. He quickly pressed a button and made some proclamations and began rushing for the stairs.
Back in the main room feed, guards all about the room suddenly drew weapons on the pair waiting at the doorway. This seemed to not faze either in the slightest, not even when they opened fire.
Devlin glanced slightly at Grenda and she motioned for him to refocus on the screen and he saw why. In an instant a globe of black goo had enveloped the pair and all the weapons' fire was absorbed by it. However, the guards were far from done. Devlin watched as they began adding magic and explosives into the mix, and soon the destruction wrought knocked out one of the cameras. Devlin focused on the other as the guards were forced to reload and the globe quickly retracted. In a flash the man was moving about the room, striking down guard after guard in a single bloodless stroke. The remaining guards desperately attempted to refocus their fire on him, and this quickly knocked out the other camera.
By now, the man from the study had reached the room they were now in. He shouted to two particularly tough looking men standing at either side of the room, pointing back at the stairs before closing the door.
Devlin watched the various other feeds seeing desperate guards retreating into other rooms to attempt to assume better positions, but their efforts apparently were in vain as their attackers penetrated the rooms with ease. Again Devlin noted the black goo used as a shield, absorbing all the attacks coming their way, and whether by explosive, or stray bullet, or other attack, the cameras were knocked out in each case. Although there was no camera that caught the actual attack, Devlin noted from those remaining as a large explosion shook the building, knocking out all the remaining cameras above ground.
Back in the outer room, the sole other place with a camera left beside the safe room, the two final guards prepared themselves. One transformed his body to solid stone, while the other grew ghost-like. As expected it wasn't long before the woman and man descended the stairs, the woman still smiling and the man still all business. Unlike the other guards, this pair put up a decent fight. The woman mostly stood back as the man engaged them both, but their coordination was enough to force him back repeatedly. The stone guard took every blow on his body, apparently unfazed by any of it. His partner's ghostly body was appropriately intangible and every attack coming at him passed harmlessly through. Still, neither could seem to land an attack on their opponent.
Finally though, the man smiled slightly and removed his glasses. Before he acted the woman spoke, but the guards simply scoffed in response. The ghostly one was the first to go back on the attack, but this was painfully brief. The man stabbed his hand directly into him and withdrew, and unlike before the attack seemed to have an immediate effect. The guard returned to normal and collapsed. His partner was briefly in shock and the woman once more spoke. This apparently enraged him and he charged only to be suddenly snagged from seeming nowhere by black chains.
The chains wrapped around his arms, legs, neck and torso, suspending him in the air. Defiantly, he strained against them to no effect as the woman spoke. His response was to spit at her. She shrugged and the chains began to move. They didn't release or move their victim. No, instead they began to rapidly spin, like chainsaws, and began ripping through the man's body. Devlin grimaced at the sight as the guard screamed out in pain as he was slowly torn apart. Fortunately for Devlin's mental health, early in the attack, a chunk of the man's body apparently flew off at the right angle to destroy the camera in the room.
Only the final camera remained and Devlin turned to it. He could see the man had somehow armed himself with what appeared to be an RPG. Despite his weapon, the man appeared absolutely terrified. Only a few moments later the door to the safe room was slashed through by some unknown force and it collapsed under its own weight. The man waited but an instant before firing his weapon into the opening. However, much like the attacks upstairs, a black goo shield appeared and absorbed it before disappearing.
The woman walked, smiling, into the room and addressed the man. He didn't even bother replying, instead pulling out a small gun and placing the barrel to his temple. That was as far as he got as his hand, and the weapon was suddenly encompassed in the black goo. He screamed as the goo disappeared, along with his weapon and hand. He held his stump as he collapsed to the ground in pain as the woman walked calmly forward, her smile unchanged and she kneeled down to speak with him. They exchanged some words before he was completely swallowed up by the black goo that once more appeared from seemingly nowhere. The goo returned to wherever it had come, and with it the man likewise disappeared.
The woman stood back up and looked around the room before more goo appeared swallowing up the contents of the room as her companion joined her, once more in his glasses. He seemed bored now, and talked with her. She looked up at the camera, still smiling and as the last of the equipment in the room was collected, simply headed out with the man following close behind. And thus the incident came to an end.
"Who the bloody hell were those two?" Devlin finally asked.
"Don't know, but I have a couple good guesses," Grenda replied. "Already tried to extract dialog, but it was a no go. Some scrabbling magic in place I'm guessing. Nothing but gibberish from lip reading when it was possible," she explained.
"I can reasonably guess at the conversations." Devlin replied to which Grenda nodded in agreement. "I assume this place is Organization, right?" he asked and she nodded again. "So any idea who the main fella was, the one they were after?"
"Yeah," she replied and looked back at the broken door. She pulled out a small device that Devlin recognized as a magical tool used to prevent eavesdropping and set it on the desk in front of the security monitors before activating it. "His name isn't really important. What is important is until just a few years ago he worked out of Tokyo."
"Oh, now I'm seeing why you called me," Devlin said with a sigh. However, after a second he grew alarmed.
"Don't worry," Grenda interrupted. "I considered it might be a trap already and had the site thoroughly inspected and cleared before calling you."
Devlin frowned. "Good call."
Grend smiled. "I've dealt with the Organization enough to know all their tricks... well, till now. Anyway, I'm guessing this guy was the one in charge of that location before the owner we encountered, and he's the bozo that F'ed up and didn't report the security breach with Ken's mother."
"Well, he's as good as dead," Devlin commented.
"If he's lucky," Grenda replied.
Devlin thought on this for a second then grimly nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. So those two?"
"The woman I'm not sure of. I have a guess, but I'll get to that in a sec. As for the guy, I think that's the Assassin. The profile matches what we know of him."
Devlin frowned. "Great name. I'm sure he's a very upstanding citizen," he weakly joked.
"The Assassin we've heard of a few times, but no one has ever seen him and lived to tell the tale. I can see why. We've only had some general info on him till now. From what we now know of the Organization, it is divided into sections, and those sections answer to some central authority. The Assassin is clearly a central authority asset," the gorgon explained. "As for the woman, my guess is she's the Inquisitor."
"That sounds ominous."
Grenda nodded. "For good reason. She's mentioned a few times in the documents we've cracked from that place. She answers directly to their central command, and no one else. Clearly even the boss of that place we were at feared her."
"Well... yeah... makes sense. She seems pretty nasty," Devlin replied. "She's clearly not human," Devlin said.
"Yeah, that smile of hers... didn't waver even for an instant. Creepy, but also rather telling that this is a fake body. The goo I think was hers and looks like she can shape it as she pleases... assuming she's even a she," Grenda said with a shake of her head. "I have no idea what the heck she is. Thought at first she was another of those Dark Kingdom demons, but nope. Her abilities aren't a match. Several times you can catch her using her goo remotely with no connection to her body. No portals... I have no idea how she's doing it, but however it is, it isn't something I'm familiar with."
Devlin likewise shook his head. "Yeah, me neither. Noticed the guy's missing hand wasn't spewing blood either. She somehow sealed that wound instantly."
Grenda nodded. "And get this, that rocket he used. I recognize it. They call those things God Slayers. A bit over-sold, but I couldn't take a hit from one, that's for sure, and she tanked that thing like it was nothing."
"Yeah," Devlin said with a grim nod.
"And the rest of the stuff they were using wasn't normal either. Lots of magical ordnance. None of it made a lick of difference."
Devlin nodded once more and looked about the room. "She take everything?"
"Everything of substance. You saw, not even a drop of blood left behind," Genda answered.
"Why leave the video?" he asked, turning back to the gorgon. "She definitely saw it."
"That I don't know. I find that weird too."
Devlin leaned back slightly and crossed his arms. "Well, if I were to guess, it is a message to us. Intimidation. Hey, we're coming for you next. Consider me intimidated."
"Why bother though? If they want us dead, why give us any info on these two?" Grenda pointed out. "Just send them out for us and do it. It doesn't fit the organization's tactics."
Devlin pondered. "Hmm... maybe it is more of a warning. Maybe they are satisfied with taking this bozo out and are just telling us, next time it will be you."
"Hmm," Grenda replied as she too crossed her arms. "Maybe. Still, like you say, I'm intimidated. Have no idea how I'd fight these two. If that damn Dark Kingdom demon was scared of her, I'm nothing against her."
"I wouldn't be quite that pessimistic, but yeah, she's not something to be fooled with. Her partner is no better. I recognized that one demon they were fighting, the ghost like one. You normally need to bind those damned things to corporeal form to do any real damage to him, and he one shot it without doing so. That's some trick."
Grenda nodded. "So how would we fight these two?"
"You don't. You run," Devlin replied. "Should we mention this to them? If they do interrogate this guy and he spills his guts, which you know he will, they'll figure out a kitsune was involved and that is a very valuable bread crumb."
Grenda frowned. "Yeah... still, what good would it do?"
Devlin sadly nodded. "Not much," he replied.
"Yeah, and if this is some kind of trap, it may be trying to get us to do just that, contact them in warning while they track us," Grenda warned and Devlin sighed and nodded. "Best to leave things I'm thinking."
Devlin considered. "We do have at least some nice timing. I'm heading by Jasmine's next to pick up and drop off Frost. I was already going to do so before I even became aware of this. I can mention it to her."
"Oh, finished her challenge match?"
"Apparently," Devlin replied, relaxing his arms.
"Yeah, brief her. I'll see what other info I can scare up and keep a close eye on things. Your idea is a good one. I know someone heading by the kitsune village and can relay a warning to them too," she said and Devlin nodded. "Hopefully this is where it ends."
"Hopefully," Devlin replied and said his goodbyes before heading out.
XXXXX
"Have a wonderful day!" Tofu said as he escorted his latest patient through the front door, a necessary task in this particular case due to said patient's age and the monstrous weight of the front door. As the old woman waved her goodbye and set off, Tofu looked at the door to his clinic with a mix of emotions.
'How long has Frost been gone now?' Tofu thought as he returned inside, closing the door behind him with a loud clang. He chuckled as he remembered when Frost had first created the door out of the remnants of his former one. It had become a bit of a talking piece in the neighborhood since then, although of late the novelty was fading in favor of the inconvenience.
With a sigh, Tofu headed into the backroom to prepare some tea. He had no scheduled appointments left in the day and was soon to close up, but formality required he remain available for walk-ins. He finished his prep and sat to enjoy his cup, continuing his thoughts. 'She'd be pretty handy right now. Getting worried.'
Half a cup later he heard the door chime and sighed and stood up, setting aside his cup before pausing in puzzlement. "I haven't had that chime since..." he openly remarked before hastily heading to the front room.
There he found the castle door replaced once more with his old sliding glass version, complete with door chime. Standing within the reception room was a familiar figure, although her cloak was completely new, and even her hair appeared to have been remade some, and longer. "Frost!" Tofu greeted with a smile.
"Why didn't you remind me to fix that?" Frost asked in mild annoyance as she turned to the doctor.
"Well... uh... it was fine..." Tofu replied as Frost gave him a frown before shaking her head to dismiss the subject. "You're back!"
"Of course I'm back," she replied before wincing and looking away much to Tofu's confusion. "Sorry, still annoyed," she muttered.
'Sorry? From Frost?' Tofu thought in surprise but decided not to question things for now as Frost went back to her usual room and looked within.
"Is it okay if I come back here, under the old terms?" Frost asked as she confirmed little had changed.
"Of course. You're staying then, I assume?"
"Yes," Frost replied before looking back in consideration.
"You look a bit different."
"Oh, the cloak?" Frost asked, looking down at herself. "Graduation gift from Jasmine. It has a bunch of enchantments on it."
"That and you look... uh different too," Tofu replied and Frost started to scratch her cheek with a single finger nail.
"Uh... yeah... probably... how long have I been gone?"
Tofu blinked at the strange question. "Uh, it has been quite a few months."
"Months eh," she echoed before sighing.
Tofu didn't know how to take that so remained silent in puzzlement as Frost turned and entered the room and immediately set to work. Tofu followed her in, finding her already tracing out a door on an open wall that logically should lead into one of the examination rooms if such a door existed. Initially this puzzled him, but as she spoke some words and a new door formed in the wall, a realization hit him. "Is that a pocket dimension door?" he asked.
Frost nodded and opened the door, revealing a large room within. "Nothing fancy or big like the castle," she explained as she stepped within and Tofu followed in wonder. "Just a small library and amenities to live and such. Jasmine insisted I make one saying any Archmage worth anything had at least a few pocket dimensions. Have to admit it is super useful."
"I bet. Is this where all your luggage is?" he asked as he looked about.
"Yeah, easier to transport in the closed pocket than personally," Frost answered before confirming everything was fine and returning outside. Tofu soon joined her and she closed the door. "I'll leave it open for you most the time, since this is your place, but for everyone else it will remain sealed. Okay?"
"Huh? Oh, yes, that's perfectly fine," the doctor replied. 'Surprised she's giving me access.'
"Where's your mom?" Frost asked.
"Oh she finally headed back home shortly after you headed out. She said... well, she said..." Tofu tried to explain but looked increasingly nervous.
"I can just imagine. Your mom has some weird ideas," Frost replied before turning straight to face him. "So, uh, what I miss? Everyone alright?"
Tofu was about to impulsively say yes but stopped himself and reconsidered. Frost noted his odd reaction and frowned. "It's... well, there is a bit of a problem."
XXXXX
"WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THE SECOND I GOT HERE!" Frost yelled as she came out into the open street and was already chanting a spell.
"I was a bit overwhelmed," Tofu tried to explain as he quickly followed her outside.
"Wings of steel, ride the breeze, invade the land, the air, the seas," Frost completed and just as Tofu joined her he was shocked to see a metallic claw seemingly tear through the street. In shock, he stepped back as this steel monstrosity continued to dig itself clean through the road and to the surface. In the end, he found a giant metallic skeletal dragon now waiting patiently.
"What is that?" Tofu asked in shock.
"Transport," Frost replied and gestured, causing the ribs of the beast to bend away, and a staircase to appear allowing entry within. Quickly she began walking up the stairs. Tofu hesitated but a second before rushing forward and joining her. Frost looked back at him with a frown.
"They may need medical attention," he pointed out, and Frost quickly relented.
Once within the creature's torso, the stairs retracted and the ribs reformed, and Frost once more gestured, producing a pair of seats, taking one herself. Tofu quickly took the other, looking down at the street to notice, much to his surprise, it showed no damage from the creature's exit. "The road..."
"Jasmine insisted I fix anything I break, so I set it to automatically do so," Frost explained as she gestured and the great beast began flapping its wings. "It also has a barrier magic on it to prevent people from noticing it."
Tofu nodded in wonder as they began to rise, strangely feeling no effect from the motion. Such was fortunate as the dragon quickly began accelerating and twisting sharply as it began its skyward ascent.
"Woah," Tofu couldn't help but comment as he watched the buildings rapidly shrink below them.
Frost, by this point, had pulled out what looked like a compass and was examining it. "Reading is strong at least, so Shampoo at least is still alive," she said and looking forward, gestured and the beast took off like a bullet, quickly leaving the city behind. "Tell me everything!" she commanded as they continued to fly.
"Uh... right. So, like I said, they were all off on a boat trip with Tatewaki. That's when that storm hit. They seem to have been caught right in it from the sounds of it," Tofu explained as he looked back to see the coast of Japan growing distant. He refocused ahead when Frost glared at him. "Right... a few days ago search and rescue did find their ship on a small island, and some signs they were there since the storm, but they were no longer present. That's about all we know."
"Any other bad weather since that storm?" Frost asked and Tofu shook his head.
"No. It has been very clear since then."
Frost pondered that. "Hmm... who all went?"
"Let's see... Kasumi, Shampoo, Ranma, Herb, Tatewaki, Kodachi, Ryoga, Akane, Ranko, Nabiki and her boyfriend... Tsubasas, yeah, I think that is his name... oh yes, Mousse, and Lemon were along for the ride too," Tofu answered.
Frost frowned. "No Ukyo?"
"No, she stayed behind."
"Bet she's not happy," Frost remarked.
"So far we've managed to avoid telling her," Tofu replied. "She's off at some temple... she's been gone the whole while."
Frost considered this then shook her head. "Whatever. Probably that dumb kitsune probably upto something," Frost muttered.
"Actually she's been pretty well behaved from what I've heard," the doctor argued, although Frost was skeptical. "Akane has been friendly with her and seems she's been making herself useful at the restaurant."
"Hmm..."
"Besides, Kasumi has that necklace, Herb's immune, as is Ranko, and Shampoo has built up a resistance to enchantment," Tofu continued.
"Oh..." Frost said with some annoyance at having her theory debunked, before noticing a shift in her compass. "We're getting close."
"Already?!" Tofu said in shock.
"We're going well past the speed of sound here," Frost replied to Tofu's immense shock. "Looks like there is a mild concealment enchantment present."
"Is that bad?" Tofu asked and Frost tilted her head in thought.
"I don't know. It definitely isn't blocking the trace much at all, so I don't think so, but means wherever they are, it is trying to go unnoticed," she replied before looking ahead. "Look there."
Tofu did as bidden and before them he could see a bank of mist on the horizon. "Odd."
"That's probably the enchantment. Bet you it is an illusion hiding something within," Frost explained.
"Hopefully everyone is alright," Tofu commented as they approached.
"Jasmine didn't mention anything before I left, and she has a pack with Kasumi. I'm sure she'd be aware if Kasumi at least was dead," Frost said, although this did little to relieve Tofu's worry.
After only another moment the dragon passed through the mist and almost immediately came into another open area. "I knew it, illusion," Frost declared and pointed again. "There!"
"I see it," Tofu agreed, a tree one could only describe as the size of a skyscraper in the distance. "It is enormous."
"That's where they are, Shampoo at least," Frost said and Tofu noticed the dragon already slowing its approach. "She's near the base, so we'll find an opening and land then search on foot."
"Right," Tofu said and tensed in readiness for anything as they descended.
Their descent and landing was uneventful. The base of the tree could almost be mistaken for an overgrown jungle floor, but having seen it from above it was clear much of the ground was just the great roots of the tree spreading out in all directions. The dragon landed in a particularly large clearing and the pair exited as they entered, the dragon going dormant as Frost examined her compass. "She's not far."
"HALT!" a call came, gaining the pair's attention. They turned just in time to see a squad of guardsmen come out from the overgrown section and quickly move to surround them, spears held at the ready toward them. "Surrender yourselves!" the one in charge ordered.
"No," Frost replied sharply and before anyone could respond a staff appeared in her hand. "How about you all sleep instead," she replied. She swept her staff above the guards in show and as she did they indeed quickly weakened and collapsed.
"Are they okay?" Tofu asked in shock.
"They'll be fine," Frost replied. "But I'm guessing those bozos may be the reason Shampoo is here," she said and refocused on her compass. "Come on," she directed and started off, Tofu following, although looking back at the sleeping guards.
XXXXX
Not that far away, Kasumi was resting against a tree in its shade. Beside her, Shampoo was asleep, her head leaning on Kasumi's shoulder. Her expression was one of slight puzzlement as she had noticed a change in the feel around her, but couldn't nail down exactly what.
Somewhat confirming her suspicion that something was up, Herb approached and she looked up at him curiously. "I do believe Frost may have come," he said to Kasumi's surprise.
"Frost?" she repeated, and just as she did, the magus in question came into view down a path. "Oh, and I think that's Dr. Tofu as well."
Herb nodded and simply waited as the two quickened their pace to get to them.
"Frost, it is wonderful to see you again," Kasumi greeted with a smile.
Frost paused, apparently not expecting such a greeting, but quickly reset. "Why are you being so casual? You've been missing without a trace you know!"
"Oh... yes, I suppose so. We've all been rather distracted so haven't had much chance to consider it I suppose," Kasumi replied and looked at Tofu. "Doctor, you came too?"
"Yes. Is everyone alright?" he asked.
Herb answered. "Everyone is fine. They are just down that way enjoying the sun as it were."
"That's good. What happened?" Tofu asked, but before anyone could answer Frost interjected.
"And why is Shampoo asleep?" Frost asked
Kasumi reflexively looked at Shampoo. "Oh, she's trying to... speak I suppose you call it with the Great Tree."
"Great... oh," Frost said, looking up at the monstrous tree that apparently constituted the bulk of the island.
"I was just keeping her company while she attempted such," Kasumi explained and as she did Shampoo stirred, prompting everyone to turn to her.
Soon the amazon opened her eyes, stretched quickly and jumped to her feet with a smile. "Frost!" she greeted and hugged her fellow amazon. "You just get back?"
"Uh, yeah," Frost replied as Shampoo withdrew, still smiling.
Kasumi rose to her feet. "Let's go talk with the others," she prompted and with Herb leading they started to walk off. "How did you get here, or find us for that matter?"
"I learned a new magic that lets me make artificial constructs and used one of those," Frost explained before growing slightly nervous. "And... I just traced you."
Herb glanced at her with a slight frown but everyone else seemed to let the matter go by without question.
After only a moment they arrived at another clearing where the rest of Kasumi's group were situated. On seeing the newcomers, everyone took notice and moved to greet them.
"It is good to see everyone is alright," Tofu said with a pleasant smile before growing more serious. "What happened... oh, and we encountered some guards earlier..."
"They alright?" Ranma asked.
"I put them asleep. They should be rousing about now I'd guess," Frost replied.
"We're probably going to hear about that soon enough," Ranma said with a sigh and Herb nodded in agreement. "Worry about it when they come calling. Shouldn't be serious."
Kasumi nodded then moved to answer the initial question. "I'm sure you heard about the storm?"
"Yes. Sounds like you got beached?" Tofu replied and Tatewaki crossed his arms and nodded.
"Yes, sadly so. There was no other option at the time. My poor lady was struck and taking on water. It was the only chance to save her," Tatewaki explained.
"Lady?" Frost asked in confusion.
"The boat," Ranma quickly explained. "Once we were on the island and things calmed down, we made some shelter and were starting to make repairs... our radio equipment got knocked out in the storm... anyway, that's when the girls started disappearing."
"Yes," Kasumi took back over. "First Kodachi, then Lemon and Nabiki, and then Akane... we were getting a sense something else was on the island with us taking them, but couldn't trace what, so we ended up setting a trap."
Herb nodded. "Yes, Kasumi volunteered to be bait, and it wasn't long before the kidnappers made themselves known. They were the prince of this island and his chief retainers, using various illusionary magics to hide themselves. Seeing that they already had several of our number, Kasumi suggested simply letting them take them and follow. The plan nearly went awry as they proved capable of flight, but fortunately the next morning this island had appeared and we made our way over."
"What the hell were they kidnapping you all for?" Frost asked with an intense frown.
"It seems the former ruler of their island, Toma's father, recently passed away in an untimely fashion. He requires a bride to ascend fully to the throne so they were rushing a bridal ceremony," Kasumi explained.
"Bridal?"
"They were kidnapping a bunch of girls from all the neighboring islands to be candidates for his bride," Ranma said in some annoyance. "Seems they can't have female children here, so it's pretty much all guys, save the few women taken from other islands."
"It isn't quite as bad as it sounds," Kasumi quickly amended. "It is an old tradition, as we found. Usually the other islands willingly have their younger maids cooperate as it is a very... uh..."
"Pampered atmosphere," Kodachi said with a wide grin. "Seriously, they were treating us like queens or something. It was... quite flattering for a time."
"For a time," Akane said with a sigh. "Then the whole bridal nonsense started."
"Yes... there was that," Kodachi said with a tired look. "But, to be fair, as Kasumi said, this is abnormal. From what we've gathered most women are glad to join the island's inhabitants, and actually are excited for the opportunity. The few that don't take to it are usually respectfully returned unharmed from whence they came and since the schedule is fairly well known on all the islands, it isn't a big surprise for them. For us on the other hand..."
"Still sounds highly degenerate to me," Frost said, crossing her arms.
As she said this Herb perked up and looked down the path. "He's coming. Frost, for everyone's sake, hold your tongue and let us handle it."
Frown scowled but reluctantly nodded and turned to the path to see a young man approach, surrounded by 3 others, all of rather unusual appearance.
Kasumi stepped forward to greet them. "Prince Toma, I'm sure you're here about our friends?"
"Your friends?" Toma asked as he came to a halt and looked over Tofu and Frost. "Yes. My men confronted them as they landed, but were... incapacitated."
"Yes, but they are alright now, yes?" Kasumi asked and Toma nodded. "My apologies for the incident. They were simply worried for us and came looking. They mean no harm. I suppose I should introduce them. This is Frost and Doctor Tofu."
Toma looked them over, considered, and then finally nodded. "Very well, if you vouch for them, and no harm was done. What of this creature you have brought to my island?"
Kasumi looked back at Frost in puzzlement. Frost's face contorted but finally she settled on a slight smile and responded. "Just some transport. It is harmless. I was hoping to return with everyone."
"Oh? Then you will be departing soon?" Toma asked.
Kasumi turned back to him. "I suppose so, if possible."
"Then we should discuss matters at dinner before you depart. Akane, you can give me your answer then," Toma replied with a sudden smile and promptly turned to leave, his men bowing slightly and quickly following.
As they left view and earshot, Herb shook his head. "He's not one for much formality."
"Fortunately so," Kodachi said.
"What's this about an answer?" Frost asked, looking at Akane who hung her head.
"He... kinda wants to marry me," Akane replied. Frost and Tofu both blinked in surprise at this. "I've been kinda stalling for time."
"Well, I believe you're out of time," Kodachi said with a teasing grin.
"Why you?" Frost asked.
Ranma sounded off in response. "The kid's weird. Like assertive women or something," he said.
"Are you implying I'm weird?" Akane asked with a frown. "You can't tell me the way he was treating everyone was okay!"
"I didn't say that!" Ranma complained. "But you have to admit, the moment you slapped him was the moment he had eyes only for you. That's the weird part."
Akane opened her mouth then closed it quickly with a frown, unable to argue.
Frost and Tofu looked about in some puzzlement at this.
"It was the whole bridal thing. They put all the girls through a set of challenges to prove their worthiness or some crap," Ranko said. "And we're not talking some normal stuff either. We're talking seriously nutty stuff like fighting off giant killer plants."
"Yes, they did seem a little extreme," Kasumi said.
"You and Shampoo got lucky, getting an exemption for being married already," Nabiki pointed out.
Kasumi simply smiled innocently at this.
"Anyway, once we all showed up and caused a scene, Akane felt the need to take the opportunity to give him a piece of her mind," Ranma said. "Then everything turned a bit chaotic and we all got separated as it turned into a 'grab a wife' free-for-all."
Frost once more scowled as Tofu took over. "I assume things worked out, somehow?"
"Oh yes," Kasumi replied. "Those of us free set out to recover those who were taken. Ranma recovered Lemon from one of Toma's retainers... the bird-like fellow."
"Didn't just charm him?" Frost asked with a frown, looking at the kitsune in question but Shampoo interjected.
"I tell her to no use her charm unless matter of life and death," Shampoo explained.
"I see," Frost said with a nod before looking at Shampoo curiously.
Shampoo noticed the attention and smiled. "I been practicing my Japanese... still need work but much better."
"He wasn't much trouble, honestly," Ranma said dismissively. "Slippery, but his only real gimmick was those throwing feather needles," he explained and let out a dismissive puff of air. "Hardly a challenge at all."
"Tsubasa recovered Nabiki-" Kasumi started
"More like Nabiki recovered herself and I just happened to be there," Tsubasa said with a deflated look, but Nabiki simply smiled.
"Yes, well, uh... and Ryoga and Kodachi managed to make their escape as well," Kasumi continued.
Kodachi hugged the boy in question. "My darling was very brave, enduring that annoying monkey man's illusion."
"I hardly did anything," Ryoga replied with a downcast look.
"Nonsense, you were an excellent distraction. He was so focused on you, he had no clue I was about to clock him," Kodachi argued but this seemed only to deflate Ryoga more.
"Those were the big ones, those retainers of his," Ranma explained. "Rest of us pretty much checked to ensure all the other girls were safe while we also looked for Akane. Herb got to her and Toma first, and they had it out."
Frost looked at Herb in true confusion. "What?" he responded. "It was nothing romantic if that is what you are implying, although I believe he may have gotten that impression. He was simply in possession of the gourd of mystic water I wished to test."
"So you beat him?" Frost asked.
"In truth, no. Our battle never truly resolved. Ranko and Mousse both arrived shortly after I did and he was forced to stand down as his illusions were useless on two of us and while he was a formidable fighter, he was no match for all 3 of us at once," Herb explained.
"And I stepped in to cool things off," Akane added.
"Yes. After that we all came to a bit of an understanding. We were allowed to stay on the island until we ventured close enough to Japan to be taken ashore," Kasumi concluded.
"Sounds like you didn't do much," Frost said with a frown directed at Kasumi.
Kasumi pondered this then smiled. "I suppose not. It just sorta turned out that way," she said before holding her chin in thought. "Wait, will not Ranko be a problem for using your... creature?"
"That depends," Frost replied and opened a small portal, reached in and extracted two long ribbons. "Let's do a little experiment. Light!" With the command, both ribbons started to glow. Frost turned to Ranko and offered one end of each ribbon to Ranko. "Hold these." Ranko did as instructed and while one ribbon immediately went dark, the other only partially darkened. Frost nodded and started stepping back, stretching the ribbons out.
Herb stepped forward to examine them as the magus reached full extension. "Two different magics?" he asked, noting the difference.
"Kinda. One spell is a light magic over the whole ribbon. The other is a series of light magics at regular intervals," Frost explained. "As expected, Ranko's effect can disrupt any spell it comes into contact with, but not ones that are too distant, even with a solid connection."
Ranko looked down the ribbon of the partially lit one. "Looks to be about one foot."
"Yep, and I can easily work with that. Flight back will have to be more gentle as she won't be affected by the momentum canceling magic but I can keep her a foot away from the primary magics without much issue," Frost explained as she took back the ribbons and returned them whence they came.
"That's good," Kasumi said and the others nodded.
"I don't suppose we could just... quietly leave?" Akane asked before getting curious looks.
"Trying to ghost the Prince?" Kodachi asked. "Bit rude."
Akane hung her head.
"It would be best to resolve things now. No telling what trouble that may be caused down the line if you just disappear on him," Herb advised.
"Yeah," Akane moaned. "I just know this is going to be troublesome anyway."
"We're all together now and know their tricks," Ranma replied. "You got nothing to worry about."
Akane looked back up and nodded. "I suppose. Guess we should get this over with," she said and headed off, the others soon following suit, Herb motioning for Shampoo to lag behind to briefly talk, something noticed by Frost but she said nothing as they soon followed as well.
XXXXX
Tofu looked about the table as he finished off his meal. Dinner had been an interesting yet uneventful affair so far. The whole group was gathered around a huge dining table with abundant food served of various varieties. Only Toma from the island's people sat at the table, at its head naturally, as his retainers served and observed everything. So far the topic of the proposal had been avoided as the rest of the group did what they could to keep small talk going so Akane had time to strategize.
What Tofu found most interesting, though, was the odd reactions from Ranko, Herb, and even Shampoo. Unlike everyone else who seemed to greatly enjoy their meals, they ate minimally. It took a while to piece together a hypothesis, but finally Tofu had one. 'It's an illusion,' he pondered as he examined his own plate. 'Tasted and felt real enough though, but I guess not. Do I want to know what I really ate?' he wondered, looking back at the three in question. 'Guess it doesn't really matter as they're not making a big deal of it. I wonder what else is an illusion here?'
Tofu glanced across the table to where Frost was sitting, seeing her likewise now eyeing her own food suspiciously, apparently having discovered the same thing. Noticing his look she looked between him and the plate in front of her several times in silent question and Tofu could only shrug prompting her to sigh.
Tofu looked to the prince, deciding to change topics as a distraction. "Your majesty, I heard earlier about you only having male children here?"
"Yes, that is correct," Toma replied with a slight sadness. "Although women may reside on our island unharmed, only males result from any union."
"I see," Tofu said as he held his chin in thought, noticing Herb cross his arms and look away slightly. "Was this some kind of curse applied to your people?"
"Truthfully, we're not sure. It only afflicts those on the island or recently departed though, so there is no cause for alarm. Once you leave any lingering effect will be gone within but a short while."
"Shampoo, did you learn anything?" Kasumi asked and Shampoo shook her head.
"No, Great Tree not very talkative, even as spirit," Shampoo replied.
"The water produced by the Great Tree is likewise able to transform any living creature to males," Kasumi added. "I would assume there is some connection there."
Herb huffed but nodded, and said no more.
'Hmm,' Tofu thought before making a realization. "Did you try-"
"Yes," Herb cut him off. "Although the magics are similar, the water here does not override Jusenkyo's."
"You mixed two cursed magics?! Are you nuts!" Frost exclaimed, causing Herb to simply roll his eyes.
"No, I was not that reckless. I have been studying, as you no doubt have, in some measure of magic, and was able to analyze their potential interactions without actual experimentation. The result was fairly obvious. Although, if you wish to confirm..." Herb suggested.
Frost crossed her arms. "I'll take your word for it, but from what I know of Jusenkyo, that's probably right. It is a seriously overpowered curse."
"Yes, the difference in power was quite obvious," Herb agreed.
"That's too bad. I'm sure Uncle Saotome would like to be rid of his curse," Kasumi commented.
"From what I've seen it would at best have turned him into a pandaman," Ranma replied dismissively to which Herb nodded in agreement, but Kasumi smiled in amusement at the thought.
As the table went quiet for a moment, Toma finally took this as the opportunity to speak on the main topic on his mind. "Akane, have you-"
"I'm sorry, I can't," Akane quickly interjected, causing the tension in the room to rise slightly but noticeable in the room. Akane nervously tapped her knuckles together but continued. "It... I... I mean this place is nice and all, but I have... other plans. I can't marry you."
"Other plans?" Toma asked in some surprise.
"Yes," she said, her eyes darting to Tofu in thought. However on seeing his puzzled look back she looked down and then up again quickly scanning the table before settling on Ranko. She considered for just a second then turned back to Toma. "I already have someone... special to me."
"Who would this be?" Toma asked intently.
"Well... actually it is... Ranko," Akane replied and slightly cringed as everyone else at the table, save the person named, all looked surprised. Ranko, by contrast, who had only been half paying attention, suddenly became aware.
"Hmh, what?" Ranko asked as she noticed the looks she was suddenly getting.
"Just play along," Akane whispered as she rubbed her lips.
"Oh... right, yeah," Ranko replied quickly.
Toma, to no one's surprise, was quite confused by this revelation and was staring at Ranko for several seconds as he tried to process what he had just heard. "So, you and Akane-"
"Yeah, we're totally dating. I know, you islander folks probably aren't used to that sort of thing, especially all male and all, but you know it is a thing," Ranko explained quickly.
"I... see," Toma replied, glancing back at Akane who was putting on her best forced smile. At this, Toma's expression grew more suspicious though. "If that is the way it is, then I assume you are willing to prove yourself worthy of her hand," Toma said, now fixing Ranko in his hard gaze.
"Oh dear," Kasumi commented, but this went unnoticed by the parties in question.
"Yeah, more than willing," Ranko replied with a challenging grin.
"Wait..." Akane tried to interject, but Toma already sharply rose to his feet.
"Very well. Prepare the main hall! We shall have a contest to see who is truly the one that would be Akane's partner!" Toma commanded and quickly exited the room.
"Now you did it," Ranma muttered.
"Ranko! Why did you accept a challenge?!" Akane asked in a bit of panic.
"Relax. I got this. He's practically all magic. He's got nothing on me," Ranko replied casually as she stood up.
"Don't be so sure," Herb responded, gaining the other's attention. "He knows well of your ability, and he isn't that foolish. He has an angle, although what I cannot say."
Ranko huffed and shrugged. "Angle smangle. If he needs a little beat down to back off, I'll give him one." Akane hung her head but Ranko quickly reassured her. "Don't worry about it."
XXXXX
Indeed it was only a short while before the main hall within the tree was prepared with a simple open circle where Ranko and Toma could have their duel. Kasumi's group sat themselves at the perimeter on one side, while Toma's retainers and some other guards and islanders took a similar position opposite them. Ranko jumped down onto the battle floor confidently as Toma floated down onto his side.
Akane came to the edge of the ring before Ranko advanced. "You don't have to do this," Akane said quietly.
"I said it is fine," Ranko replied.
"Herb may be right, you know. He may have a trick."
"I'm sure he does, and I'll show him I got plenty of tricks too," Ranko replied. "He won't know what hit him." Akane frowned, causing Ranko to sigh. "Stop worrying. If you're feeling guilty... if I win you can take me on a real date," Ranko teased.
"I..." Akane tried to reply in shock but at that moment Toma started advancing to the center and Ranko did likewise. Whatever Akane's reply would be was thus silenced and she sat down with the others to observe.
Ranko and Toma stood off against each other but a few meters apart. "You ready?" Ranko asked confidently.
"Are you?" Toma asked and his reply came as Ranko smiled and fell back into a fighting posture. Toma nodded and did likewise.
"He didn't bring his sword," Ranma noted.
"He uses it as a focus of his magic, so it would largely be useless," Herb concluded.
Sure enough the duel soon began and the two exchanged various attacks to test the other's defenses and abilities. Kicks and punches were exchanged and likewise deflected. In the early going, neither was pushing themselves, but neither was making significant progress either.
"He's not bad even without his magic," Ranma said and the others nodded.
"Yes, but from what I've seen of his skills, Ranko should still have an edge," Herb replied. "He might simply have underestimated Ranko, but he seems too confident even now for that."
As Herb gave his analysis, Ranko started to amp things up, and although she was fending off all of Toma's attacks, she was slowly pushing him back. Yet, despite this, Toma seemed unshaken.
Just as the fight started to seem as if it would be a slow but inevitable victory for Ranko there was a flash and Ranko flew back, tumbling across the floor as she hit it.
"What was that!" Akane asked in shock.
"I'm not sure, it happened so fast," Kasumi said in her own surprise. She looked to the others but they all seemed equally puzzled.
Ranko got up painfully as Toma slowly advanced on her. "Ow, damn that hurt," she muttered as stood up straight. 'Alright, let's try that again,' she thought as she went on the attack again.
Just as before their exchange was close, but Ranko seemed just that bit better and was pushing the prince onto the defense. However, just as before there was a flash and Ranko was sent flying.
"Whatever it is, it is so fast I can't perceive it," Kasumi said with a frown.
"It's mana," Herb said to everyone's surprise.
"Magic?"
Herb shook his head, watching as Ranko once more rose up in pain. "No, not magic. The feel is far simpler. It is raw mana."
"Would that work on Ranko?" Kasumi asked.
"Evidently. I don't know exactly how her magic immunity works. If it scrambles magical fields rather than destroying the mana, it might explain it," Frost analyzed but shook her head. "But raw mana itself should do basically nothing."
"Unless you mix it appropriately with Ki," Herb replied just as a third exchange between Ranko and Toma ended the same way. "I believe this technique is known as the Kankaho, an almost explosive mixing of raw ki and mana."
"That sounds bad," Kodachi commented.
"Yes, and quite powerful," Herb agreed but then frowned and brought his fist to his chin in thought.
"This isn't looking good," Ranma commented as they continued watching.
Indeed out in the ring, Ranko's latest knock back had taken its toll and she was struggling to get up. 'Okay, Ranko, time to change strategy,' she thought as she noticed Toma approaching and frowned, pondering the situation. She looked down at her open palm in consideration but then shook her head. 'Nah... I think I got you pegged. Whatever it is, it is a nice trick, but why aren't you pressing your advantage?' she wondered and smiled.
"Do you give up?" Toma asked.
"Hardly. A couple love taps like that are nothing," Ranko replied and reset. "Let's go!" she said and once more rushed onto the attack, in what seemed to be a repeat of the last round.
Everyone was puzzled as that is indeed exactly what happened, as Ranko was once more blasted away by the flash, much to Akane's tension. This time Ranko struggled up, wiping away a bit of blood from her lips but smiled and once more went on the attack. Those observing were tense, but many were also sitting back slightly to study the exchange. Akane took note of this, turning away just a moment before another flash came, and she sharply looked back. However, to her surprise while Ranko had been knocked back, she landed easily on her feet. "What..."
"I see," Kasumi commented. "Yes, it is the timing..."
"Timing?" Akane asked but Ranko went back on the attack. This time Akane watched intently as Ranko and Toma's exchange started and then there was another flash. However, this time Akane saw it, Ranko pre-emptively moving to shield herself from the attack, blunting its force with her ki shield. Still, she was forced back, and Toma now looked a bit worried. "She's reading him?"
"Yes, but timing is more important. Toma doesn't seem to have mastered this technique and is taking a fair while to charge it. Ranko is locking in that timing I think, trying to find his lower limit," Kasumi analyzed and sure enough Ranko was immediately back on the attack.
Two more blunted exchanges passed with Ranko becoming more aggressive each time and recovering that much faster. Finally though, Ranko seemed to have her answer as she slipped through several punches before Toma could blast her away, but even this was blunted and Ranko was quickly back on the attack.
Now the exchanges shifted, Ranko pressing hard initially but as soon as Toma's window of opportunity to use the blast arrived, she gave herself more room while still keeping up the pressure. While Toma could delay his attack, he could not speed it up any more, so steadily he was now taking blows, and his trump card was doing little but giving him a small gap that Ranko quickly closed to only dial up the offense once again.
It wasn't long before Toma finally abandoned the technique and simply tried to fight conventionally, but this was too little too late, as Ranko had him figured out thoroughly by that point and was consistently bypassing his guard until it was his turn to be dropped to the floor, much to his retainer's shock and dismay.
Ranko decided to not press, instead simply standing back. "Do you give up?" she echoed Toma's earlier question, causing the boy to scowl before rising up once again. "You're pretty good, great even, but you're several years too early to take me down," Ranko continued.
Toma glared but then calmed and stood up straight and took in several calming breaths with his eyes closed. "Yes, it would seem so," he said before reopening his eyes and turning away. "Very well. I recognize your strength," he said and returned to his retainers.
Ranko smiled triumphantly and likewise returned to his own group. However as she reached them, Kasumi said, "it is a good thing that ended when it did. Broken ribs are not good to be fighting with."
"I thought I was hiding it pretty good," Ranko replied.
"Broken ribs!" Akane nearly exclaimed but kept herself to a loud whisper.
"It's fine," Ranko assured her. "I'm... pretty sure I didn't puncture a lung."
"We better heal those," Kasumi said as the group helped Ranko up into the seating area.
XXXXX
Shortly later, the group was gathered at the dragon and already boarding as Frost was modifying the interior. Toma and his retainers were seeing them off and Kasumi took the initiative to thank him and wish him well for their group.
Frost finished her modification and motioned for Ranko to enter, taking a forward seat specially prepared for her. "You sure this is okay?" Ranko asked as she eyed the dragon around her.
"Sure I'm sure. We'll just have to take it a bit slow on the way back is all," Frost replied.
As Frost said this, Kasumi joined them, and Frost closed up the beast and took a seat herself.
"Let's get out of here," Ranma commented quietly and Frost nodded, commanding the beast into the air slowly. "How are the ribs?"
"Still stinging, but much better," Ranko replied.
"I'm really sorry," Akane commented as the island began to slowly shrink beneath them.
"Nothing for you to be sorry about," Ranko said dismissively.
Frost looked down and seeing the island far enough away quickly asked, "Okay, what did we actually eat?"
"Don't worry about it," Herb replied.
"Huh?" Ranma asked. "What do you mean?"
"Just don't worry about it. It was perfectly healthy," Herb said.
"Better have been," Frost said with a frown.
Ranma sighed. "Wonderful, now you will have me thinking about that for weeks."
"It really wasn't that bad," Ranko assured him. "More look than anything. I've had far worse."
Frost huffed before switching topics. "So, what all did I miss?"
Kasumi pondered that for a moment. "Surprisingly, not that much of interest, honestly. It has been pretty quiet for the most part, and what excitement there was we were able to deal with easily enough. Still, it is good to have you back."
Frost huffed. "I guess we can chat later about matters in more detail," she hinted. Kasumi smiled and nodded.
"It's been a long day. I'm sure everyone will be glad to get home," Kasumi said and gained universal agreement from the statement.
XXXXX
The conference room of puppets was once more gathered and with the same participants. The man at the head set down a large booklet and nodded slightly. "Excellent work as usual, Inquisitor."
"Thank you, master," the woman replied from the opposite end of the table.
"What a screw up! All this damage caused by one idiot who couldn't report a security breach!" the fourth section commander commented in irritation.
The man sadly nodded. "A deficiency in our security protocols. I'll be reviewing those protocols and attempting to improve them," he said as he removed a picture from his briefcase and tossed it on the table to approximately the center. "As for the individual involved, I have had him dealt with."
All the puppets looked at the picture. Several withdrew in slight shock, while a few merely grunted. The first sector huffed and commented, "He got off easy."
"As for section 7, I have decided to dissolve it. Too little remains to salvage. What remains I'm reassigning to section 8," the man said.
"What about-" Section 8 started to ask.
"That closes this matter," the man interrupted.
"What?"
"You can't be serious."
The man leaned forward onto his interlace fingers and repeated slowly, "This matter is closed." He scanned the puppets, getting a few grumbles but no one spoke. "I know you all suffered losses, but central rules exist for a reason. This organization would collapse without them, and violation of them, even unintentional, cannot be tolerated. The destruction of Section 7 could even be said to be due to this violation. The Inquisitor has concluded the violation was unintentional, but regardless there was a violation." The man's gaze turned to section 8. "Section 7 followed all existing protocols and perhaps they would have discovered and resolved the issue. We'll never know. Regardless, that closes the matter."
Once more the section commanders shifted in disquiet. "Is there any other business?" the man asked.
Section 5, the puppet with its feet upon the table the table spoke. "Hmph... no compensation then... whatever. What about the violation?"
"I'll be reviewing those protocols as well. Until those reviews are complete, I leave it to all section heads to devise their own temporary protocols for both increased security and to avoid a repeat violation. I will be issuing new protocols within the month. Anything else?" the man said and his answer came in the room's silence. "Very well. We are adjourned." He rang the bell at his side and the puppets stiffened and returned to their default positions, leaving only the man and the Inquisitor in the room. "Inquisitor."
"Yes master?"
"I have further work for you."
XXXXX
End Chapter 64
Next time in A Scary Thought: Frost catches up while Saki learns of her past.
So as a quick aside, yeah decided to skip some time here. The main issue was nothing in the coming anime really is all that interesting for the crew here. A good chunk circumstances have changed enough to not to allow to occur, and the majority is just rather uninteresting activities. What little would be interesting in theory is actually now pretty weak by AST standards and would be more a minor nuisance to them. That and the need to give character some time to realistically process and improve and I decided to skip basically to the end of the anime.
For those a bit confused on the crossovers: Usagi, Rei, Minako, Makoto, Ami, Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru, Setsuna, Luna, and Artemis are all from Sailor Moon. Kitsune has her ties to the X-files, but only in that she's a fanatic of similar interests rather than appearing in said show. Saki and Sampei are from Sukeban Deka. You may also notice Frost borrowing a spell from here or there; in particular Gargoyles and Illusionaries are two prime targets. Speaking of Gargoyles, if you're a fan of the series you may have already figured this out, but La Bac is Cabal spelt backwards. Also Gen-U-Tech is also a business from Gargoyles. Does that mean this is a Gargoyles crossover? At this point, probably not. I have tried to square the circle of Gargoyles time travel mechanics with my story and it just isn't working and unfortunately they are too key to Gargoyles continuity to just ignore so most likely Gargoyles will remain just a shout out kinda crossover but not official. Anyway, besides that we have Chun Li, Rose, Shadow Lady, Shadow, Gill and the previously shown Karin and Sakura which come from Street Fighter series (Rose, Karin and Sakura from Street Fighter Alpha 3, Shadow and Shadow Lady from Marvel vs Capcom, Chun Li from much of the Street Fighter series, and now Gill from Street Fighter III). As for Ranko, well she's from my other major fanfic, Most Unlikely of Friends, although you can largely consider her standard Ranma trapped in female form for most purposes. And lastly comes dear old Siren who is from Dreiser's story 'Black Rose Blue Thunder'. I won't be using her much but she fits a temporary need. Be Dea comes from D B. Sommers fic Shampoo ½, and if you haven't read it, do so, now! I've also previously mentioned Perfume from same fic (although this story has two Perfumes being mentioned, the other being from my own Most Unlikely of Friends). Garnet was first mentioned by Jim Bader in A Very Scary thought I believe, but whatever the case I don't believe he ever actually appeared in any of Jim's stories, although I could be wrong. As already mentioned, Miku, Neru and Haku are vocaloid character, but just cameo's for them.
On a side note for those crossovers, it recently came to my attention that some believe I am crossed with Negima. I'm actually not, but out of curiosity I checked out Negima and could certainly see the similarities (a lot of them in fact, and was quite surprised seeing as I had never even heard of Negima until it was mentioned). That got the proverbial wheels in my head turning about potential crossovers so... maybe, but don't count on it. As Uq Holder, Negima's continuation, is still in progress and throwing in all kinds of new curve balls, I'll probably be forced to steer clear.
Speaking of things I'm not crossed with, two notable ones are Ah My Goddess and Tenchi! Jim liked to use the latter a great deal, and I believe he might have used the former too, although less sure on that, but either way I have decided both are ultimately incompatible with my vision of my story world.
Oh, something new cross over wise to speak about this chapter, and that is Miyuki. Not long ago I discovered there is a Sukaban Deka manga and it has a LOT more content than the anime covered. Now, for the most part I'm ignoring the manga canon particulars as they already contradict the anime canon which I used for the basis of the cross over. However, I will be taking some inspiration from it. The first bits being for Saki's backstory and the existence of her sister Miyuki. While there is obviously nothing in the manga about the mother being an Amazon, it actually fits reasonably well with what is there, so with a bit of a massage that is what we have here.
Website... does my website even exist anymore? Well, I have it on my hard drive still, but that hardly counts. Needless to say, if you do stumble on it, it's hopelessly out of date.
XXXXX
It's time for another installment of Kitsune's Corner! And who do we have here today? Ah yes, Teesha is it?
"That's me!"
The resident homunculus expert.
"I don't know if I'd go that far, but I do study the field."
And that there is Mittens... that's quite the name.
"What's wrong with Mittens?"
...Nothing really I guess. Does he talk?
"He can, but only to me."
So what is he exactly?
"I made him, so... nothing really. It isn't like he's a species or anything."
Oh, so kinda like a homunculus, just not human.
"Exactly."
I'm getting the impression creating things is your specialty.
"Pretty much. Don't do animals that much, but plants and such I'm big into."
What, are you a magical landscaper?
"Hahaha... well, sometimes. A lot of magi want a very particular look, you know, and you just can't find natural species that fit, so that's where I come in."
That's pretty weird stuff. I'm guessing you're pretty tough though, seeing you fought those kitsunes.
"I can hold my own. Mittens and I make a great team. Don't think I'd want to go head to head with the likes of Devlin or Grenda though. I could probably make them work for it, but I don't see me coming out on top. Jasmine is a pretty demanding overseer from what I hear."
Yeah... I have so many more questions for her... like, how can you be both Fae and human?
"Got me. I never did get a good understanding of that spiritual stuff."
Spiritual... hmm, that reminds me, I still haven't dragged So Pu in. Yes... yes... oh right, uh, well, thanks for coming on in.
"No problem."
Just out of last second curiosity, you have any more like Mittens there?
"Mittens specifically? No, he's pretty much top of the line. If you mean creatures in general, oh yes. I have a whole farm full of all kinds of beasties, most naturally occurring, others not so much."
Sounds like a hell of a farm.
"Not the kind of place you want to visit without a guide."
I bet. Well, thanks again!