Ranma
A Scary Thought:
What happened last time: The Palm incident came to a close, but Kasumi, Shampoo and Akane got dragged off to another dimension. Meanwhile trouble is brewing for Ukyo, and Ranma is participating in a tournament
Chapter 71
XXXXX
The tension in the air had risen sharply as the fighters organized themselves. Ranma took up a spot near Herb, but within the fighter area, absently practicing his glyphs. "Going to actually make use of that?" the prince asked, and Ranma shrugged.
"Good a time as any to practice," he replied. "Still, not much use beyond some reinforcement right now."
"Not going to try your little cross wiring trick again?"
"Honestly not sure I can get that off without the magic compulsion, and someone taking me very lightly at the same time. Might try, but thinking I will have to stick to more basics here," Ranma analyzed and Herb nodded in agreement.
"Alright everyone, time is up! Let's have our first 4 in the arena!" the organizer called out from a new position just outside said arena. To his side was an electronic board listing the current participant number, number remaining and a clock showing a countdown for the next entry, currently paused.
Obediently, in short order, four men entered, causing everyone to focus within. Ranma huffed. "This is going to be a blow out," he commented and Herb nodded along.
Of the first four, Ranma set three of them as lost causes. He sensed no serious ki use from them, and while they had well honed bodies and probably had some skills, the fourth was equally capable in those areas. What set him apart though was Ranma sensed a strong aura of ki about him. He was clearly a fighter well above their level. He was still well below Ranma's own capacity in that area, but far enough above his opponents to make his dominance all but certain.
"Refs, fighters, on my mark, start the clock and the elimination round. 3... 2... 1... GO!" The organizer said and right on cue the large clock situated next to him began moving. The fighters on the other hand were a bit slower to start. The three weaker ones were clearly sizing each other up, while the fourth played up a bit of confident stretching before going in.
The fight was, as expected, brief. It actually reminded Ranma of Akane's morning duels so long ago now. The man rushed in, effortlessly exploiting his superior speed to run right by his first opponent's guard, and then his superior strength to collapse him with a single punch to the gut. The other two were in shock as a follow up punch to the chin sent the first man down for the count, and they were next. Only one managed anything, barely blocking a blow that still caused him to tumble back, only to just recover in time to see the dominant fighter had already closed the gap and kicked him with such force he went right over the ring boundary with a foot to spare.
Ranma huffed as the man took in his early victory and played it up to the crowd, pointing out various fighters as if in challenge as he paraded around the arena in display of his momentary dominance. The crowd met his antics with both cheers and jeers. This continued until the next lot was due and the man took up a central position to meet them.
The composition of the next group was basically identical. As before, the current king of the ring quickly eliminated two of the fighters, while the other fighter of note eliminated the last and the two quickly squared up. However, it became quickly apparent that this new fighter, while talented, was outmatched. Still, he held his own for about a minute, while entirely defensive, but at last he too fell.
The third group was even more disappointing, a full group of weaker fighters that he once more disposed of in short order and resumed his antics. Ranma could only smile at this though as with the fourth group came a new fighter who he had no doubt would completely change the nature of this battle.
Apparently the man at the center realized this as well as Rippa danced into the pre-entry area and simply fixed the man with a taunting smile. His overconfidence bleed quickly away and he drew up seriously in preparation. Even the crowd seemed to realize things were about to change.
Sure enough, the instant the bell rang to signal the next patch, Rippa was instantly onto top of the man at the center. He barely had time to give a look of total shock before he was airborne. Rippa finished him off with a quick kick that sent him flying outside the arena. That done, he turned to the other three fighters who entered with him and simply smiled and beckoned them on. None of them was of particular note, and their quick eliminations thereafter proved it. Now with the arena to himself, Rippa mockingly reproduced the previous ring king's antics.
"He's such a jerk," Ranma commented with his own smirk.
XXXXX
"Stupid... Arrogant... Bloody... Jackass..." Ukyo muttered to herself as she lay staring at the ceiling of her room. She had naturally been in a particularly foul mood since the encounter earlier in the day, and knowing this man likely planned to make a nuisance of himself was not helping matters.
Unfortunately, the plan to disarm the threat he posed was a growing nagging worry for her. She did not yet want to admit it, but she was already starting to envision the worst outcomes.
As her mind continued to trend dangerously down the path toward despair, a knock came at her door.
"Yes?" Ukyo asked.
"Ukyo, a man is here to see you. He said Rippa introduced him," Crystal answered from behind the door.
Ukyo frowned. 'Now?' she wondered as she stood up. 'Better not be like that last jerk!' she thought as she opened the door to see the restaurant's manager.
"He's down in the kitchen," she said and Ukyo mutely nodded and headed that direction, Crystal following behind.
The restaurant was closed for the evening, and the staff had already headed home, so it was easy enough to find the man. He smiled on seeing the pair enter and gave them a slight bow. "Hello, Ukyo Kuonji, right? Rippa sent me on over."
"That's right," Ukyo replied, folding her arms over her chest skeptically. "I was told you'd be by tomorrow."
"Yeah, didn't know if my schedule would allow it, but I managed to get over here sooner than I expected," he explained. "Name is Joichiro, by the way. You can just call me Joe if you like."
Ukyo huffed. "You know this... Gin?"
"Yeah, he can be annoying sometimes. I hear you and he had a bit of an encounter?"
"Yes. He called my cooking disgusting slop!" Ukyo exclaimed with renewed anger.
"Oh!" Joichiro replied with a slight cringe. "Taking it a bit far there, Gin..." he mumbled.
"Hmh?"
"Nothing," he quickly dismissed.
"He also implied he'd cause our business some difficulty," Crystal added.
Joichiro nodded. "Yeah, he definitely could do that. Still, he's honorable enough. We beat him in a fair challenge and he'll back down and you got nothing to worry about."
"Yeah... fair challenge," Ukyo echoed but clearly had doubts.
"Don't worry, that's why I'm here. Together we'll give him a good culinary spanking, what do you say?" Ukyo simply huffed once more. "That's not exactly the attitude of a winner of the Tokyo Restaurant Clash."
"That was a long time ago," Ukyo replied, eyes downcast.
Joe nodded in understanding. "Right, heard you were in a bit of a rut, so we'll just have to work out some of that rust. What you say? Up to a bit of get to know you practice cooking?"
Ukyo hesitated but finally nodded.
"Good, then I got just the idea. We'll have our own mini food war here. No stakes, just a bit of a challenge to see each other's talent. Sound good?"
"I suppose so," Ukyo answered.
Joe nodded and smiled before falling into thought. "We need a judge..."
"Oh, I can judge," Crystal offered.
"Perfect," Joichiro said and looked once more at Ukyo. "So then, for our first round, I got just the icebreaker. We'll see who can cook the worst dish."
Ukyo raised an eyebrow while Crystal became suddenly pale. "Actually, I just remembered I have some books to do-"
"Nonsense," Joichiro said and escorted Crystal gently to a stool at the grill. "It will be great. I do this all the time. I find it a great way to stretch those cooking talents to their limits. Half hour, only condition is you must be able to stomach a helping of your own dish, fair?"
"Uh... I suppose," Ukyo conceded just as Lemon came into the dining area.
"LEMON!" Crystal exclaimed and quickly seized the girl, before escorting the confused kitsune to the stool next to her. "You get to be my suffering buddy," she added quietly.
"What?"
"Great, a second judge's opinion is just what we need," Joichiro said with a teasing smile. "Ready to start?"
"I don't want to suffer though..." Lemon replied quietly but made no effort to escape as Ukyo and Joichiro began their contest.
XXXXX
Back at the tournament, things were finally getting messy in the ring, but this was all according to plan, or at least so Ranma assumed.
"Eliminate the weak fighters to deny your opponents easy rest, while also encouraging the stronger fighters into conflict," Herb analyzed from the spectator area, just behind Ranma. "It is a decent enough strategy given his placing."
"Yeah," Ranma agreed, and Rippa was implementing it well. Utilizing his flicker step he could easily jump any of the weak fighters as they entered, taking them out before any of the others had a chance to capitalize, while simultaneously making Rippa himself a hard target as he could easily slip away from the tougher fighters who may target him. As of now the small engagements within had given way to a lasting melee with over a dozen men in conflict. Three of particular note were already in, the sumo, the giant and the Red Cyclone himself, Zangief. The latter was really cleaning house, and was so dominant that everyone else was avoiding him. Fortunately for them, he was no speed demon, but when he did get ahold of someone it was a brief fight.
"About time for you to enter?" Herb asked and looking at the number board Ranma nodded in confirmation.
"Yep. Well, see you around," Ranma said and departed for the waiting area for new entrants. Not long after arriving he noticed Rippa slip out of the ring and join him, taking one of his rest periods in the process. "You're doing pretty well out there. How you holding up?"
"This is nothing so far, but it is getting a bit crowded. Going to have to start engaging, I guess."
"No fun if you keep running all the time," Ranma replied with a smirk.
"Hey, it is strategy," Rippa countered before pointing out across the way another fighter of note entering the waiting area. "I think I know him. Hot shot kick boxer... uh... Adon I think?"
"Not familiar myself, but looks it," Ranma said before noting the group just ahead of his enter. Immediately, one made a bit of a scene by slugging a nearby opponent so hard he was immediately ejected from the arena. "He's going to be feeling that in the morning. Know that guy?" Ranma asked.
"Nope. MMA by the looks of it," Rippa answered. "A bit cocky, but no push over to be sure. Want to try him out?"
Ranma shook his head. "Would prefer to see what he's got one on one if he's MMA. They are heavy into grappling, right."
"They do a bit of everything," Rippa replied and nodded along nonetheless. "Still, the Cyclone there is having no problems. God damn, and there goes another one," he commented as the wrestler in question snagged one of the newcomers and bent him over his shoulders brutally before slamming him into ground and unconsciousness. Both boys could only winch sympathetically as the medical team rushed in to remove the fallen fighter. "I'm truly surprised he hasn't killed anyone."
"He seems to surprisingly know the limits of his opponents," Ranma analyzed. He looked at the clock and slammed his fist into his palm. "Alright, time to get in there."
"Right, I'll join you. Couple of tired ones I think I better cull before someone else gets to them."
"You do you. I'm going big," Ranma replied, his target already in his sights.
Indeed, Ranma and Rippa entered together, Rippa quickly flickering away, while Ranma quickly aimed for the Sumo wrestler. He was no Honda, but his girth was certainly proving troublesome for those who had challenged him, and much like Honda, he was deceptively nibble. Unfortunately for him, he was starting to show his limits and Ranma designed to get a quick run at him before someone else finally did him in.
"Yo, big man! Hope you're ready!" Ranma announced as he rushed at his chosen opponent. It had the effect he desired, causing the Sumo wrestler to square up to him, but the difference in their capabilities became apparent very quickly. Ranma easily dodged by the man's guard and crumbled him to the ground by kicking the back of his knee. He managed to block a follow up kick to the head, but Ranma just used this as a pivot and rolled over the top of his guard to strike him on the top of the head with his other leg. The Sumo was thoroughly stunned by this, giving Ranma an opportunity. He quickly fortified his arms and legs with a great heave tossed the man right out of the arena. 'Might have overdid it a bit,' Ranma thought as he noticed the Sumo had struck a pillar and it had snapped.
His handy work was soon the draw of a lot of attention as several of the bouncers moved to fix the pillar. As they struggled, Ranma turned to see a group of four fighters he'd noticed earlier who apparently had an alliance, and they had marked him. Ranma beckoned them on. "Come on, boys, what you waiting for?"
The apparent leader of the group took this poorly and led the charge. They were no push over, all four capable fighters in their own right, and as a group, they were at least able to keep Ranma busy, but he knew from the moment they engaged he was the real one in control.
As Ranma fended with these he spared some interest to the others. Adon had similarly made his presence known by taking on their resident giant. The man may have had size, but that seemed to mean nothing to this kickboxer as he methodically dismantled his opponent, crumbling him to his knees and battering him until he was barely able to stay upright, only to sneer and push him over, showing how low he regarded him, before moving on.
'Pushing the edge of the rules there pal,' Ranma thought before refocusing on his opponents and swiftly disposing of one who made a bad move and opened himself up. This seemed to be enough for his companions to reconsider their target and they withdrew. Ranma, tired of them, did not pursue, instead regarding the next patch who had just arrived. 'Ah, Squinty arrives,' he thought as the fighter in question calmly entered the arena with his patch. 'Still can't get any kind of read on him.'
Squinty, in fact, became the next target of the now trio that had just disengaged from Ranma. After confirming his own situation was clear, Ranma watched as they engaged him, and all three dropped like sacks of grain. 'Okay, yeah, he's got skills,' Ranma concluded, unsure what even hit the threesome.
Ranma's sense of danger soon demanded his attention and he turned about to see a very intimidating man marching his way. "Hey there, Zief, big fan," Ranma said with a mix of mockery but also nervousness as his new opponent.
"Show me everything you have!" Zangief demanded as he calmly rotated his arm and shoulder.
'Right, go big or go home I guess,' Ranma thought as he squared up. He quickly rushed in and struck dead center with all his might... and did nothing. "Okay, your reputation is deserved," he quickly said as he flickered back out of reach.
"Bff, I am invincible!" Zangief proclaimed before continuing his approach.
'Don't know about that, but definitely no push over.' Ranma considered briefly taking Rippa's route and simply retreating but soon shook his head. 'Screw it. I'm not going to let this bozo intimidate me.' With new determination rotated his own neck and cracked his knuckles before once more squaring up. "Alright, let's see what you really got!"
XXXXX
Ukyo choked and coughed as she tried to take down a single mouthful of her concoction. However it was futile.
"Oh, gods, that's next level," Joichiro said as he too coughed, having taken his own sample. "So got the feel for it?"
Ukyo struggled to regain her composure but nodded. Hers was a loss, her meal inedible, but she could already see where she had gone wrong. 'Too much spice, clashing flavors,' she thought.
"Now for mine," Joichiro said and put a spoonful of his own dish into his mouth, an absurd blend of seafood, mixed with honey and a blend of spices Ukyo didn't even want to process. He struggled before painfully swallowing. "Yep, that's rough, I'm not doing that again. Let's call it a draw."
Ukyo skeptically took a spoonful herself, 'he's probably just-' she thought but the second she placed it in her mouth she spit it out. "Just how?!"
"I know, I know, I'm a bit rusty myself. Usually do this outside challenges so got a bit over excited. Think I overdid it."
"Does that mean we're off the hook?" Crystal asked with a hopeful smile.
"Not yet. Round two?"
"Yes!" Ukyo replied sharply.
"We're going to die, aren't we?" Lemon half joked.
"Only if it is a delayed reaction. We'll have the consolation that they'll die first," Crystal replied.
"I'm not going to serve anything lethal," Joe said with a scowl before brightening. "Disgusting yes, lethal no."
"That's small consolation," Crystal replied.
Ukyo paid this little attention, already plotting her next dish out. 'Making it utterly inedible is easy, but it can't be that bad. It has to be just the right level of awful,' she thought. She cast a look over at Joichiro's abandoned food, comparing it to her own. 'It's gross but everything individually is actually perfectly fine. It's the combination that is terrible. I went overboard on mine. Way too much spice to the point no one could stomach it.'
"Alright, ready to go?" Joe asked and Ukyo nodded and the two both went back to it.
'It's weird, but I actually do feel a bit of my spark,' Ukyo thought as she started her ingredient selection.
XXXXX
"...It said something about power... I didn't really catch it," Makoto attempted to explain over the interdimensional communication.
"It probably means you're cut off from your planet's power and are running off reserves," Frost replied.
"That sounds bad."
"Well, it is but it should automatically reconnect when you return... I think," Frost replied and looked at Ami who had joined her in the conversation.
"I think so," Ami replied, but was clearly uncertain as well. "If I'm not mistaken, the purpose of the Time Space Gateway was to maintain a stable gate between the two dimensions, which allowed transmission of power over that connection."
"Yeah, but doesn't that mean it is a problem?" Makoto asked in growing worry.
"I never read any warning about disconnections causing problems, so I don't think so... but I can't say for sure," Ami answered.
"There isn't really anything we can do about it now. Just have to hope we're right," Frost added.
"Right... right," Makoto said and sighed.
"Anyway, I highly suggest not using your armor over there. While it has a pretty big battery, you use a lot of energy quickly. It could easily run out on you unexpectedly. Use it only if you really have to," Frost instructed.
"Okay, I don't think there'll be any need... hopefully," Makoto replied.
Behind her, Kasumi spoke up. "Is everything alright back there?"
"It's fine. I told them about the situation. They obviously aren't happy about being in the dark, but they didn't raise a big fuss about it," Frost answered. "I assume you're all fine?"
"Oh yes," Kasumi answered. "We just got back from Ukyo's restaurant. We're going to go shopping tomorrow for some clothes and such, but otherwise everything is fine."
"So Ukyo is there too huh," Frost commented.
"Yes, she much less angry," Shampoo, who was beside Kasumi, added. "Date Mousse."
"Mousse?" Frost replied in surprise and Shampoo nodded. "Hmm... I guess weird things happen." Frost considered then asked, "The other you... I'm guessing she was Shan?"
"Yes," Shampoo replied and frowned. "Great grandmother disown her. She adopted by Tendos."
"What?!" Frost exclaimed. "Why?"
"We didn't get the full story," Kasumi explained. "She does have a Jusenkyo curse, the cat curse. That seems to have been part of it at least. Soon Li seemed quite insistent it was unjust."
"Cat... curse?" Frost asked, suddenly wide eyed.
"Yes," Kasumi confirmed. "She and Akane both, although Akane's is shared with Shampoo... it is a bit complicated from what I've heard."
"Oh... hmm... right... hmm..."
"Something wrong?" Kasumi asked.
Frost considered but shook her head. "No... ah... it's fine, was just thinking."
At that moment Usagi came into the room with Frost and Ami. "Makoto!" she greeted as she rushed over.
"Hey. Don't worry, I'm fine. We're all fine," Makoto assured her.
"So, I was wondering, are there other versions of us over there?" Usagi asked.
"I would presume. Probably not the best idea for me to mess with them though, right?" Makoto answered.
Ami nodded. "It is perhaps best to avoid contact as it would complicate the situation."
"But we could tell them all kinds of things... assuming they aren't having the same troubles we are," Usagi said.
"Yes, but I would advise against it," Ami said. "There are too many unknowns. Makoto might even be taken as a threat."
"A threat?" Usagi asked in shock.
"I know what she means. If they suddenly run into what seems like a copycat, they might take me for some demon or something impersonating their version of me. That would be bad," Makoto explained. "I'll... just stay away. Although... I am curious now."
"Right... anything else we should know over here?" Frost asked but the other dimensional travellers all shook their heads. "Okay, then let's call it there. Keeping this magic going isn't so easy."
"Oh, of course. Uh, Usagi. I know you were using the castle to meditate and obviously that's not possible. You can use Shampoo's and my room if you'd like," Kasumi said.
"Right, sure, thanks."
"Okay, we'll contact you tomorrow night to check in?" Kasumi asked and Frost nodded.
"Uh... yeah... might talk with you sooner if something... you going to be up for a while?" Frost asked.
"Probably," Kasumi answered with a curious look.
"Yeah, I'll get back to you tonight if I can," Frost replied and the two groups quickly gave their respective goodbyes before closing the transmission. Frost sighed heavily and turned to her visitors. "Has it been this chaotic the whole time back here?"
"No," Ami and Usagi both replied.
"You sure?"
"Well, we've had our share of little incidents, but nothing on the scale of recent ones," Ami answered.
"There was a big monster guy..." Usagi replied, the memory threatening to make her laugh.
"Ah yes, you told me about him, but as I recall that was resolved fairly easily," Ami said and seeing Frost's confusion explained, "he had a Jusenkyo curse... and an odd name."
"Pantyhose!" Usagi blurted out and started giggling.
Frost looked at the pair skeptically, but ended up simply shaking her head. "Whatever. Don't want to hold you here all night. What did you find?" she asked Ami.
"Yes," Ami said and quickly took out her computer and projected an image. "It is very handy since I found this project function."
"Yeah, what is this?" Frost asked as she examined the projection.
"I believe it is the magical formula to summon the workshop. It is damaged, unfortunately, but I was hoping..."
"Yes, yes," Frost said as she circled the imaging, examining it. "Yeah... yeah, this is very similar to portal magics."
"Can you fix it?" Usagi asked.
Frost examined the portion of the image that was missing. "Couldn't recover it all?"
"No. This was part of the damaged data banks. This is the most I could recover."
Frost nodded as she circled some more. "It looks pretty standard, surprisingly. If so... this is the targeting... right, yeah, I think I can fix it," Frost said, smiling. "It isn't going to be now. I'll need at least a week, and there is one problem. I recognize this bit here. That's a signature lock."
"What's that do?" Usagi asked.
"It is the same sort of lock used in your armors. It means only your energies work to power them," Frost explained. "This one looks more general, probably locked to any Senshi, but that still means I'm out."
"So one of us would have to cast the spell?" Ami asked and Frost nodded. "Hmm... none of us are trained in magic. We all rely on our armors doing the work for us."
"Yeah, that's a bit of a problem. I could do most of the setup, but the actual enchantment will need a Senshi to do it," Frost replied with a shake of her head.
"Maybe Setsuna knows how?" Usagi suggested. "She's like... super old, kinda, in a weird way."
"From what I have been told recently, not actually," Ami said with a sad look but quickly hid it before it was questioned. "Still, she does have extensive knowledge. She may have some magical knowledge. However, assuming for the moment she doesn't, how difficult would it be to teach one of us?"
Frost frowned and looked back at the image. "Depends on your aptitude. You all have mana so you probably have a basic feel for it at least, so that's a leg up, but that's not enough. I mean... I can teach you, but that could take months... years even."
Usagi cringed while Ami went into thought. "I have had real difficulty grasping magical principles from what I have been reading," Ami admitted as she shut down her computer.
"That's probably because you're thinking of them too logically," Frost replied absently.
"Too logically?" Ami echoed in confusion.
Frost nodded. "Don't get me wrong, there is logic in magic, but there is also stuff that defies logic. That's usually where people run into a wall. As my old master used to say, 'Magic is about playing a con job on the universe', and honestly, she's basically right."
"You con the universe?" Ami repeated in shock.
"Sure. For instance, this portal. It defies all physics. It moves you from one spot to another instantly. Breaking all kinds of physical rules there. So, how it works, big picture wise, is you convince the universe that these two spots are actually next to each other and there is nothing special happening."
"And it believes that?!" Usagi exclaimed.
"Well, it isn't an easy con, but yeah. The universe has a whole universe to run. It can't look into every little detail," Frost explained much to the two girl's shock.
After a moment of pondering this, Ami responded, "That does seem a bit... difficult to grasp."
"Yeah, but it can be done, but the timetable is kinda nasty," Frost answered. "So, if Setsuna can, that would be a big help. Even if she's got only basic knowledge it would speed things up a lot."
"I'll ask her," Ami replied. "I should contact Haruka to pick me up."
"Can't stay?" Usagi asked with a sad look.
"Sorry. School tomorrow, remember."
"Right... I wish I was in another dimension and could skip out," Usagi muttered.
Ami smiled but said nothing before getting out her communicator and contacting Haruka.
As she arranged for pick up, Frost turned to Usagi. "How is the mediation going?"
Usagi sighed. "I mean... okay. I can visualize a room, and it does feel like I'm there, but nothing from Queen Serenity."
Frost considered. "Hmm, have you had any issues with your armor?"
"Haven't had any reason to use it," Usagi answered.
"Maybe use it while you're meditating. It does force some energy flows that are a bit odd. It is possible they might be helpful," Frost offered.
"That is not a bad idea," Ami added as she returned her attention to them. "Although, if so, you might want to do it here, is that possible? Don't want someone walking in on her."
Frost shrugged. "Sure, but I can give you a privacy seal for Shampoo's room. It's a simple enough barrier that should do just as well," Frost replied.
"Maybe that is more convenient," Ami conceded and Usagi nodded. "Haruka is on her way," she added. "I'll keep looking for any more info."
"Right, show me that again," Frost directed and Ami obliged. After a quick spell, she copied the image and sealed it away for later. "Thanks."
The two Senshi gave their goodbyes and headed outside to wait while Frost went into thought. After a moment, she exited to Tofu's clinic and looked about, soon finding her target. "Mousse! We have to talk!"
XXXXX
Ranma panted heavily as he was once more forced to keep his distance. 'God damn! Body of iron my ass, more like hardened steel!' His engagement with Zangief has been nonstop since their first encounter and while Ranma had landed numerous blows, Zangief was as indomitable as ever. So far, Ranma's own nimbleness had seen him safe, but he was beginning to tire badly.
The one fortunate thing about their duel was apparently no one else wanted in. Every other fighter, new or old, had given the pair a wide berth in the arena since their contest had begun. Still, Ranma couldn't fully concentrate on Zangief alone as all it would take is one fighter taking a cheap shot to potentially eliminate him. 'Trouble is, that means I can't fully commit,' Ranma realized. 'This is no good. I can't take this guy half baked. Heck, I'm not sure I can take him with everything I got, but watching my back all the time is not helping.'
Ranma looked at the sign setup to announce the incoming fighters and saw exactly what he expected. 'Not many left,' he thought as he refocused on Zangief. 'Damn it, even if I manage to take this guy, I'm going to be totally spent.' Remembering an old lesson of Soun's, Ranma sighed and buried his ego, flickering away to the far side of the arena and quickly taking his rest break. 'Damn it all!' he thought in annoyance but there was nothing to be done about it. Zangief snorted at him, before refocusing on a new target.
Shaking his head to clear it, Ranma reexamined the field of fighters. No easy marks remained in the arena itself, and he could easily see the morale low on those that had yet to enter. Within, Adon was proving particularly dominant, being both powerful and fast, leaping about the arena like it was nothing, and his kicks devastating any they connected with. Even Rippa had a brief engagement with him that had forced him onto the retreat, although the martial arts dancer was clearly feeling the wear of the event having entered so early. The MMA fighter was also proving quite something with a no nonsense approach to combat that was overwhelming his various opponents. A bit to Ranma's surprise, he had committed to grappling as well, despite it opening him up to third party attack, but so far he had balanced it to stay in without issue.
Newly entered was another fighter Ranma didn't recognize, but his style was easy to figure out. A variant of drunken boxing, he was proving himself more than a match for his opponents. He and the MMA had actually crossed paths briefly and exchanged harsh words before both ended up otherwise engaged. 'Must have history.'
While far less flashy, but still a threat was another new fighter. He was clearly a karate expert but on a very high level. His expertise had already awarded him numerous eliminations, generally as he crushed a clumsy attack from his opponents. He was definitely one to watch out for.
Another new entrant was the clown, or as Ranma now more accurately realized was the mime. He was a surprisingly interesting one. His miming was apparently a conduit to manifest invisible tools made of pure ki. Needless to say, this was throwing off many an opponent. He was another of the hard to gauge ones, so Ranma still didn't have a good feel for his threat level.
As he thought about that, he searched the field and found the original question mark of the event, Squinty. He had a particularly laid back approach. Few seemed to have realized just how dangerous he was, and many were thus taking him as one of the easier marks. They didn't do so well. At this moment though, another group of fighters had apparently taken an interest in him. This was another alliance of three fighters, although this one appeared to be a much more organized group than the last. Ranma had seen them focus fire down numerous tough opponents and they were serious. Each one could give Ranma pause to fight, and together they would have taken his full attention. Right now their focus was Squinty.
Squinty, for his part, apparently was taking this new trio seriously as his guard noticeably tightened up. Unlike the previous group, this one had strong coordination and attacked him from multiple angles at once forcing him onto the defensive.
'You're not packing it in to this bunch, are you?' Ranma asked in thought as Squinty retreated a few paces and nodded as if approving of his opponents. It was then that Ranma took real notice of the fight as he saw his closed eyed friend making rapid tracing on the ground before going on the attack. 'Was that-' Ranma thought but was startled to see Squinty seemingly vanish and reappear in several spots at once. 'Flickerstep like move? No, all of them are real, not after images,' he thought as he watched Squinty simultaneously engage all three men with his clones and take them down. The clones vanished, leaving only one Squinty remaining who seemed to take notice of Ranma across the arena and simply smiled at him.
'Was that...' Ranma thought before scanning around and finding Herb. He rushed over to the edge of his zone and called out to the transformed prince. "Hey, Herb, did you see that? Was he using magic?"
"I saw it, but no, there was no mana sensation," Herb replied.
Ranma's eyes went wide. 'I'm not the only one,' he thought with new found excitement. 'Okay, Squinty, you're going to tell me everything you know,' he thought with determination, and forgetting himself rushed back into the arena. However, whatever plans he had for Squinty were instantly derailed as a wall of shear muscle blocked his path.
"There you are, little man!"
"Oh, hey Zief," Ranma greeted with newfound nervousness. "Don't suppose we can take a raincheck? I got-" Ranma started to ask, but narrowly avoided a drop kick. "I take that as a no." Ranma sighed and squared back up. 'Alright, I can't take this guy playing it safe, so enough with the conservative approach. Time for total commitment.' Pushing aside all concerns with the other combatants, Ranma focused his all on the man in front of him now.
Ranma renewed his assault on the Russian wrestler, but as before, it was having little effect. Every angle, every strike, it was all proving useless and minutes were ticking by. As Ranma's exhaustion was starting to threaten once more, he even considered another retreat but discarded such. The last combatants were soon to enter and this was not the time to be cheesing it out, so he decided to gamble. 'Okay, time to take it up a notch,' he thought as he dodged away and quickly reinforced his muscles. With a massive burst of speed, Ranma rushed in, dodged under a grab and smashed the wrestler under the chin with a rising kick. Satisfyingly, the Russian did not simply throw off his strike and staggered back with a groan. Just as Ranma was letting a bit of confidence take hold, Zangief suddenly refocused. It was such a shock that Ranma hesitated and that was all the opportunity Zangief needed.
"Siberian Express!" Zangief called out as he rushed and seized Ranma. Before he could react, Ranma found himself flipped over. He could barely process what was happening before the pair were airborne and he found himself as Zangief's human pogo stick. Naturally, he made a poor one.
Ranma crashed face first into the pavement, Zangief's full weight upon him. Even his incredible endurance could not shield him from an intense sense of pain and fading consciousness. 'Oh hell!' He thought as he tried to collect himself, but Zangief was not about to let him.
"Time to get serious!" Zangief called out as Ranma recovered.
'That doesn't sound good at all!' he thought but could do little as Zangief seized him once more and clotheslined him. Ranma crumbled, stunned, the stars in his head still preventing him from mounting any serious defense.
"This is your last ride!" Zangief proclaimed before giving Ranma a swift kick in the gut, doubling him over and seizing him once more.
'Oh Shit! I know what's coming now!' Ranma thought as he and Zangief were once more airborne, this time spinning. With desperate energy, Ranma knew he could not escape, so his only option was to endure and right now his natural endurance just wasn't going to cover it. So, he rapidly redirected his own energies to every bit of physical armament he could muster in the scant second or so he had before impact.
Zangief crashed to the ground, Ranma's head and shoulders taking the full force of the impact. He pushed Ranma off like dead weight and stood up, examining his handiwork. Ranma lay, unmoving on the ground and with a huff of satisfaction, Zangief turned to the crowd, loudly roaring in his triumph.
Such was short lived though as Ranma suddenly grabbed him from behind and put his head and neck into a lock. "Aren't you getting ahead of yourself?" Ranma said as he mustered all his strength to cut off the flow of blood to the wrestler's head.
"Gah! You... little..." Zangief strained as he tried to get a hold of Ranma, but he had situated himself well, and the wrestler couldn't get a firm grip. As Ranma redoubled his efforts, Zangief switched tactics and jumped up, leaned back and crashed to the ground, forcing Ranma to take the hit. Despite this, the boy held fast, only letting out a pained cry but it did nothing to stop him.
Zangief struggled back to his feet and repeated the crushing attack, but this one had little strength to it and Ranma easily endured it. As the Red Cyclone struggled back to his feet once more his consciousness finally started to fade and he crashed to the ground face first, Ranma panting, still holding on. After confirming all fight was out of the man, Ranma released him and rolled over to look at the ceiling. "God damn," he muttered.
Only in that moment did Ranma realize he was still in the arena, and there were other fighters to concern himself with. However, his strength was minimal at that moment and even sitting up was proving difficult.
"Damn, you still alive, Saotome?" Rippa jokingly asked as he offered him a hand. Ranma took it and with some aid got back to his feet, surprised to see the arena largely empty.
"Wha..."
"You were fighting him for a while. Guess you got overly focused. Basically done here," Rippa said, gesturing to the last two fights still underway.
One was Adon, who was busy beating down a particularly stubborn man in camouflage pants. He finished the job soon enough, tossing the man out of the arena like a bag of trash. Not far off was the second, their resident mime, who apparently was playing around with another fighter who seemed so out of it he probably wasn't even aware he was in a fight anymore. With an invisible spray bottle, the mime shot his opponent knocking him over the rope and out of the arena. With that came the buzzer sounding the end.
"Alright!" The organizer said loudly, gaining the attention of everyone. "Looks like we have our final eight fighters! Come on, gentlemen, step forward and be recognized." The final eight did just that, gathering around the organizer who reentered the ring, looked them over and nodded approvingly. "We got some real talent here."
Ranma looked over his opponents. Beyond the mime, Adon, and Rippa, the drunken boxer, MMA fighter, and the Karate fighter were there. Finally, the man that gave Ranma the most excitement, Squinty was also among them. He smiled at Ranma, eyes still closed.
"Alright then, let's get the tournament brackets declared. Refs, what do we got?" the organizer asked and a ref entered with a large board and stand which he set up. "Right, okay gentlemen, he's your placements. Get ready for tomorrow night as that is when the one on one matches begin. Hope you are all ready."
Ranma examined the board. "X?" he said aloud, looking about. "What kind of a name is X?!"
Rippa joined him and pointed out the Mime. "That's him. He doesn't talk apparently," Rippa explained. "Guess he fully lives that lifestyle."
"Yeah... okay, interesting, looks like you got... Luke?"
"Yeah, MMA, should be interesting," Rippa replied.
"And Squinty's got... Jamie," Ranma read off, noting Rippa pointing out the drunken boxer who was currently sharing words with Luke. "Alright." Ranma shook his head in mild amusement before noticing Squinty had already departed. "Damn it. Where'd Squinty slip off to?"
"Didn't see. What's up?"
"I think he was using just what we've been trying to figure out."
Rippa perked up at hearing this. "Really, magic technique with ki you mean?"
Ranma nodded. "Drat, I don't see him."
"You'll see him tomorrow night for sure if nothing else."
Ranma frowned but nodded.
XXXXX
"I don't... know... what do you think?" Crystal struggled to ask
"They're both terrible," Lemon said as she lay her head on the counter, trying to recover. "They are an affront to good taste!"
"Round four, and we're still tied," Joichiro said with a bit of a frown.
"No more, I can't take it," Crystal begged.
Joe turned to Ukyo. "You're doing pretty good I say."
"This is dumb," Ukyo replied, but there was little actual ridicule behind the words.
"Yeah, but you're feeling a bit better?"
Ukyo huffed, but reluctantly nodded.
"That's just the thing I find with this exercise. You get to taking it all too seriously. Nothing is ever good enough. So sometimes you just need to unwind and fool around. And, sometimes, just sometimes, you find an unusual flavor you never expected," Joe explained. Ukyo continued to frown but didn't argue. "How about a change in pace then, for our poor judges here? Let's make something legit, but something with surprise. Presents poorly but tastes heavenly."
Ukyo considered, but after a moment nodded.
"It better taste heavenly after this torture," Crystal said with a frown and Lemon nodded in agreement.
Joe chuckled. "Alright, either way, last round, so let's say we do some dessert?"
"Right!" Ukyo agreed.
XXXXX
"You sure you're good there, Saotome? Looking a bit unsteady," Rippa asked, in a mixture of jest but also some concern.
"I'll live. Would have definitely been lights out if I hadn't put everything into shielding myself."
"Yeah. Looked painful," Rippa replied as they came to an intersection. "Alright, seeya tomorrow at the tournament. My guy said he'd contact you guys soon."
"Right, yeah, that... he better live up to it as I don't want to report to Kasumi when she gets back that her business is ruined," Ranma said with a deep frown and behind him Herb nodded along.
"It'll be fine... I hope or I'm so dead," Rippa replied before heading off home.
Ranma sighed and joined Herb as they continued to their home together with Mint and Lime. "Any advice from you?" Ranma asked.
"None at this moment save to not underestimate your opponent, but that is something I shouldn't really need to say," Herb answered.
"Right," Ranma said with a nod as they passed the next intersection. However, he caught a familiar sight of a trio of fighters. 'Those guys. What are they up to?' he wondered. It was the same trio that Squinty had eliminated and they seemed to be peering down a side street. Ranma frowned and stopped.
"Something wrong?" Herb asked.
"Nothing. You go on ahead. Just a hunch," Ranma replied and diverted course.
Herb watched after him for a moment before heading off.
The trio were focused on whatever they were watching, so Ranma easily evaded detection, jumping to the rooftops and scouting around. Sure enough, down the street from them was a late night fast food shop, and it seemed to have their full focus. Ranma jumped across the roofs to get a better vantage within and saw exactly what they were waiting for, Squinty.
'Feeling a little bitter, boys?' Ranma wondered and watched as Squinty exited, a bag of food in hand, and headed down the street, apparently unaware of his stalkers. Ranma silently pursued for about one block before the trio closed in, Squinty making no moves to defend himself. Deciding to not take the risk, Ranma dropped right between them.
"What the-" one managed to get out before Ranma grabbed him in a headlock and whipped him around to use as a shield against the others.
"Trying to jump someone outside the arena?"
"Why you-" one started, and immediately went on the attack. Ranma kicked him back, before spinning around and pushing the man he was holding into the third.
The rush interrupted, Ranma set himself and beckoned them on. "Try me!" he said in challenge.
"It's no good, let's get out of here," one declared and together with his companions walked off.
"You know, you are not supposed to fight other fighters yourself, right? Technically you just broke the rules," Squinity commented, causing Ranma to pale in realization. Squinity laughed. "Don't worry about it. If it comes up, I know the organizer. I'll give you the good word and you'll be fine. It was those morons really breaking the rules. They're honestly lucky you stopped them."
"You didn't seem like you noticed them," Ranma said.
"Oh I did. I was just looking to see how far they were actually going to go. Never know now I guess, unless they're stupid enough to try it again." Squinty shrugged and smiled. "So what brings you by?"
"Questions actually. I think you may know how to pull off something I've been struggling with."
"Yeah, you were messing with it a bit too in there," Squinity replied and gestured for Ranma to follow as he walked.
"You always go for late night fast food?" Ranma asked.
Squinity chuckled and raised the bag. "For my roommate. She eats nothing but junk food and fast food. She demands I get her some every night."
"Not healthy," Ranma commented.
"Not in the slightest, but she won't hear it," he said with a sigh before changing topics. "So, why you trying to mess with magical technique?"
"Versatility, external energy manipulation," Ranma answered.
Squinty nodded. "Right, but what's the cost?"
Ranma frowned. "It's slow, and precise."
"Right, not something you generally would use against someone of your level or higher, unless you're gambling."
"Yeah," Ranma agreed.
"Still, right circumstances it can make all the difference, as you showed tonight. Fast work, by the way. Simple, but effective."
"Didn't have any real options in that moment."
Squinity nodded. "Yep. I can tell you, to really weaponize it, though, you got to get into the external stuff. You're going to find most fighters at your level have solid enough control of their energy that even if you put it on them, it will only work as a surprise at best before they reassert control and they'll never let you pull a stunt like that again. On yourself, well, that's just inefficient. Anything you can do with this you can do more directly. That, more than anything, is why they tell you to only switch training when you hit a total roadblock in your current side, be it ki manipulation or mana manipulation. A mage practicing martial arts is a waste of time they could be spending on magical study, and same works in reverse."
"Right, so I heard, but it does have its use."
"Externally, yeah. Internally, I see it as more a training aid at best, helps you to figure out your own energy manipulation. Externally though, that's when you can get into the fun stuff."
"Like those clones of yours?"
Squinty smiled. "Yeah. Fully autonomous, fully functional... there are some techs that can give you one or the other, but not nearly the same effect, not without external energy and the complexity of the glyphs. Doesn't mean it is a silver bullet though. Even I take time to set it up. I mostly used it to conserve my own strength honestly."
Ranma nodded.
"Still interested?"
"Damn straight I am."
Squinty smiled. "Alright. You seem to have gotten the internal stuff down well enough. I take it the external is the roadblock?" he asked and Ranma nodded in confirmation. "Right, not surprising. It is a total pain to pull off. Tell you what. For every round you win, I'll give you a lesson. Win it all, and I'll give you just what you need to put it all together. Deal?"
"Deal," Ranma answered.
"Don't get too excited. You got some tough opponents, not least of which is me."
"Yeah, well, I'm stubborn and have every intention of winning it all," Ranma replied, causing Squinty to laugh.
"Think I like you. Well, see you tomorrow, hopefully, and we'll have our first lesson, assuming you win. Given the brackets, you'll have to beat me in the finals to get the final lesson."
"Assuming you win your bouts to get there," Ranma countered.
Squinity laughed once more. "True enough." He turned down another side street and waved behind him as he departed.
Ranma nodded and redirected back to home.
XXXXX
By the time Ranma arrived at the restaurant, it was already dark, only the nighttime lights on. "Damn, getting late," he muttered as he went to the rear entrance. No more than two steps inside and he heard Crystal calling out to him from the restaurant.
"Is that you, Ranma?" she asked, walking out into view down the hall.
"Yeah," he replied before noticing the manager looking rather weary. "I miss something?"
"Sorta," she replied as another figure appeared, that of a man Ranma didn't recognize.
"Hey, we need a tiebreaker judge. You game?"
Ranma raised an eyebrow at this and decided to join them. He was invited into the kitchen where Ukyo and Lemon were also gathered, two dishes set out on a counter before them. Both had been sampled several times already which gave Ranma particular pause as neither looked in the least appetizing. 'What the heck is going on here?' he wondered.
"Oh, name is Joichiro, nice to meet you," the man said with a slight bow. "Rippa sent me over."
"Right, and what's this?" Ranma asked.
"Just our latest round. We're all tied up," Joichiro explained and gestured to the dishes.
Ranma looked at the others skeptically, but Ukyo was unreadable, and both Lemon and Crystal simply looked exhausted but he could tell little more. "Okay," he said cautiously."
"First, bit late, but which looks worse?" Joichiro asked, causing Ranma to raise an eyebrow.
"Worse?"
"Yes."
Ranma frowned and studied both dishes. The first was some kind of pastry, but it looked burned, misshapen and just plain messy as if someone had just tossed a mess of ingredients together haphazardly. The other was little better, cake of some kind, or at least that looked to be the intent, but was a similar mess of uneven icing, poorly done layering, and a mixture of various additives that just made it look sketchy as heck.
"Off hand... uh..." Ranma started but struggled. "I guess the pastry. It looks burned. The other one is a mess but at least looks sorta properly done."
"Fair enough," Joichiro said and handed Ranma a spoon. "And how about the taste?"
Ranma once more frowned but steeled himself and took a chunk out of the cake first. Such proved difficult as it was much harder than he expected but with some effort he took out an ample sampling. Reluctantly he put the helping in his mouth and paused in surprise. 'Damn, this is actually good,' he thought before noticing the smile of Joichiro's face get wider.
"Right... not bad," Ranma said before switching to the pastry. Its texture was more like what he expected, although getting a good mix of the various toppings and sides proved difficult. However once done he quickly tasted it, already having figured the general nature of the contest. As expected, it too had an unexpectedly wonderful taste.
After letting himself absorb it for a moment, Ranma placed down the spoon and thought. "It's tough... but I think... got to go with the pastry."
Ukyo brightened at hearing this. "Really?"
Ranma nodded. "Yeah. It's very close, but yeah. Didn't even taste burned now that I think on it."
"I singed it just a little, just to give the appearance..." Ukyo explained.
"Yeah, should have thought of that," Joichiro said, holding his chin. "Either way, it's your win, Ukyo."
Ranma looked about the kitchen to see quite a bit had been recently used. "You guys been at this all night?"
"For several hours, yes... and we've been judging," Crystal answered.
"Why you look so worn out?" Ranma asked.
"Don't ask," Lemon replied. "We done now?"
"Yes, I think that's good for the night. Sorry to keep you both," Joichiro said and with sighs both women headed out.
"So, uh, you think you can win this match of yours?" Ranma asked as they departed.
"Potentially. Still need some practice working as a team, but I think we got a good shot at it. Gin's not going to be an easy opponent though."
Ukyo nodded, frowning once more. "Right."
"We'll go deliver the challenge tomorrow, together. I'll make sure he doesn't set any crazy conditions, but he's honorable so I don't think we have any worries there," Joichiro plotted and Ukyo agreed. The pair set to work cleaning up after that, Ranma helping out.
At a particular moment, with Ukyo out of earshot, Ranma turned to Joichiro. "Be honest now, do you really think you can win?"
Joichiro smiled. "It won't be easy, not by a long shot. I've challenged him numerous times and while I have my share of victories, his record is definitely stronger. He's the number one for a reason."
Ranma frowned. "Ukyo is not exactly at the top of her game."
"So I heard," he replied, considered, then continued on. "I don't know if Rippa told you, but his game plan was to match Ukyo's low confidence with someone who is overflowing with such."
Ranma thought about it. "To have you compensate for what she lacks," he said and got a nod. "Not sure that is how it works."
Joichiro shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. I know that priest myself and his taste is... remarkable, but I can't really explain it. There is this other bunch I know who have some remarkable taste buds as well, but even they can't taste people's aura. Still, the theory is sound at least."
Ranma sighed and nodded. "Not like we have many options. You better give it your all."
"Wouldn't dream otherwise. Besides, Gin's been getting a bit full of himself lately. Taking him down a notch or two is what I live for."
XXXXX
End Chapter 71
Next time in A Scary Thought: The first round of the tournament proper awaits, while Ukyo makes her challenge and prepares.
Oh, and for those interested in Kasumi's side of things. MUOF will be temporarily revived for that side of the tale starting with chapter 33.
For other general crossover info:
Full Crossovers:
Sailor Moon (original anime) - Usagi, Rei, Minako, Makoto, Ami, Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru, Setsuna, Luna, Artemis, Seiya, and Mamoru
Sailor Moon (manga) - The idea of Sailor Cosmos although heavily altered.
Sukeban Deka (anime) - Saki, Sampei, Remi, Jin, and the dark detective.
Street Fighter - Shadow Lady, Shadow, Rose, Chun Li, Sakura, Gill, Karin, Jamie, Zangief, Luke and Adon, plus mention of E. Honda. (Hot damn, SF6 is out and on season 2... when I started SF4 wasn't even out. Damn SF has evolved a lot since I first used it. A whole bunch of stuff is out of date or inaccurate, so not really compatible with any continuity anymore, but it is what it is. Already tossed in a few retcons so probably do some more down the road if it comes up. On the plus side, Shadow Lady kinda appeared in SF6 so she's semi canon now (she was exclusive to the vs series before). Don't know if they gave her any story in the game, but yeah, small wins.)
Other author FFs:
Shampoo 1/2 (DB Sommer): Be Bea and Perfume (one version that is although only mentioned)
A Very Scary Thought (Jim Bader): Garnet
Black Rose Blue Thunder (Dreiser): Siren
My own FFs:
Most Unlikely of Friends: Ranko, Kane (Akane), Shan (Shampoo) and various minor others. Perfume (my version, I know it is confusing, deliberately so) kinda but she's this world's version but she did first appear in Most Unlikely of Friends. As an aside here, I am attempting to keep the shared continuity between these two consistent so... yeah.
References/Cameos:
X-files - Kitsune is inspired by Mulder and some of his acquaintances.
Gargoyles - various spells, Gen-U-Tech and the La Bac.
Vocaloid - Miku, Neru, and Haku
Sleeping Beauty (Disney) - a spell
Fate Stay Night - Saber's weird naming... we'll leave it at that. Also Tamamo No Mae (kinda) and Osakabehime (named only and again only kinda). Everything with Fate is complicated, even the Cameos.
Food Wars - Gin and Joichiro.
King of Fighters - Ryo... don't expect much, I don't know KOF worth a damn. Needed someone to fill the brackets.
Not Crossed with:
Ah My Goddess - Some other 'Scary Thoughts' stories use this crossover but I do not.
Negima/UQ Holder - A lot of similar ideas, but ultimately no.
Love Note - My other active fanfic, but it uses a different continuity and rules so no cross over here.
So, new anime... I mentioned last time I wasn't really excited for it, but I think there was some misunderstanding of such. The reason I'm not excited is because I know the manga and much of the 'oo, I want to see that animated' desire was, well, already satisfied as the vast majority of the stuff I want to see animated has been animated already. Being more true to the manga doesn't really help my interest at all as that's not new or interesting.
I'll compare this to another franchise, One Piece. Unlike Ranma 1/2, I prefer the manga for such over the anime, but I've enjoyed both. So you'd think the new anime in the works, The One Piece, would excite me, but it doesn't. It has exactly the same issue. The whole promise of it is to be truer to the manga which is not interesting to me. If I wanted the manga I'd just read the manga. and the original anime covered the little gained interest from animating it. By contrast, the live action actually does excite me as it is a clear departure with new content and a new take. I don't expect it to beat the manga by any stretch, but seeing how they adapt the story is of interest to me.
Now, that's not to be misunderstood that I dislike or hate the new anime. I'm very neutral on it. At the least it is serving to reinvigorate the fandom, although that's been a mixed bag, but hey that was only to be expected. For newcomers to the franchise I think it may well be a great entry point. It is just kinda shrug-worthy for me, and yes I still say if they don't at least get as far as animating the Musk arc, the one real arc I want to see animated and currently is not, to me it was a giant waste of time. So far, rating wise, indications are good, but don't know how they'll hold when we set into the more sitcom like stories that predominate the middle segment of Ranma.
Lastly, thinking of echoing this on Archive of our own. It is a lot of annoying work, but they do have some interesting options over there that I like and ff net has had some weird issues now and then that concern me. Less an issue of late though which has downed my probability of doing so, and I can just guess if I do so I'll probably be dragged into a bunch of editing again. Apparently there is some interest in such though so might experiment a bit with it in the near future.
XXXXX
It's time for another installment of Kitsune's Corner! And today we have a special guest interviewer... me... other me. You ready me?.
What kind of an intro is that?! And Kitsune's Corner?! Seriously?!
Yes seriously. Just admit it, you're jealous.
grumble, grumble* Fine, just shut up and go away. I'm taking over temporarily. Ahem, yeah... so, I'm Kitsune from the other universe... this is just temp duty. Being treated like a gloried... never mind. Ahem, so let's see here, I press this button apparently... and poof? Yes poof, there you are... ah... Tae-il is it?
"Uh... yeah, and you are?"
Kitsune... don't worry about it. The other me was being annoying, so I agreed to this gig... just play along. She's got a bunch of questions... gotta admit, some do interest me to... so uh, yeah.
"Okay, so fire away."
Okay... so start with small talk... what the devil does that mean? You got anything you want to say?
"Not really."
Good then we're skipping that part. I mean, you're from my universe, which means we're both pretty irrelevant in this universe, so what difference does it make, right.
"Right, fully agree."
Good, now that that is settled... ahem, let's see here... okay, you're supposedly an expert in dimensional travel, right?
"Ah, yes, I have a pretty good working knowledge of the topic."
Right, so I'm supposed to get you to explain things... so... um... explain.
"You'll have to be a bit more specific. It is a pretty big topic."
Fine, fine, she gave me some detailed instructions. I was hoping... hmm, okay... so, first, Dimensions and Planes... those the same thing?
"Well, technically yes, but in common parlance, no. Planes usually refers to dimensions that are adjacent to our own, whereas Dimensions is usually used to speak about other timelines or alternate worlds."
I'm lost already.
"It's okay, I'll take it slow. So, broadly speaking, when it comes to other... spaces, we refer to a number of different things. First, is extra dimensional space. This is where you generally see your pocket dimensions plus that common technique of... I believe the common lingo is 'hammer space'."
Right, yeah. Weird that it got that name.
"Yeah, weird, but whatever. In any respect, while it is placed in another physical dimension outside our typical three, and thus is probably most accurately called a dimension, sci fi lingo has basically taken over and it generally just gets either the technical name or that other one."
Right.
"It is also the easiest by far to access. So easy in fact, as I already said it is a common technique for storing equipment and such, although the techniques are bit more complex than just simply using the space, but that's another topic. Let's stick to the dimension talk.
"So, moving on, the next easiest to get to are the Planes. Shadow Plane, Energy Plane, the Void... on and on they go. If we think of our own world as a city, these are your districts. Each is very close and often geared to a particular function of the greater world. Energy Planes serves as the conduit of all energy for the planet. Shadow Plane is the decaying remnants of time, etcetera."
Demons come from planes, right?
"Yes, usually the more hospitable planes. Some planes are kind of like mirrors of our own world. I've even heard of them referred to as dreams of the planet. Whatever the cause they can be accessed through the appropriate magics. Most, though, are pretty weird. Not places you'd want to vacation."
Hmm... like burning hell scapes?
"Yeah, some of them. Others are fragments of land floating in the clouds, or worlds entirely underwater. It varies a lot, and the rules there are often quite different from our own worlds."
So demons come and go from these places?
"Yes, but not commonly. While they are relatively easy to access, that doesn't make them truly easy. In particular, beings from these worlds are often ill-suited to life on earth, so they can only come here with some magical life support, which isn't cheap by any means."
Ah, yeah, that would explain why we aren't getting constantly invaded.
"Partly, yes, but let's move on. Our next level, and what we're dealing with currently, are alternate histories. These are worlds essentially indistinguishable from our own, save some time in the past they had a divergence leading to two different expressions of this same world."
Right, right, so I choose to go to the store today, or stay home, each choice makes its own world.
"Mmm... in simple terms, yes, but it isn't quite that simple. The common thought is that every possibility plays out, but this isn't true. Only a small number actually do. There is a lot of debate as to why. Some say that the 'possibilities' are illusions. They seem possible but they aren't in truth. Others say there is a bit of guidance going on at some... karmic level, and it keeps certain possibilities from playing out. Hard to say what the truth is."
Hmm, interesting. Okay, so what about... umm... temporal dimensions?
"Ah, yes, similar idea, but slightly different. Temporal dimensions are those worlds that resemble our own, but in the past or future. However, the very act of contacting these worlds automatically causes them to diverge from our own world."
So, they look like our past, but really aren't. It is like a copy?
"Basically. Simply put if you change things in these other dimensions, nothing in our world really changes, past or future."
Okay, I get it. Any others?
"Oh yes. At least two others. Next we have the alternate realities. These are weird ones, even more distant and harder to reach than the timeline ones. Here, they still fundamentally are similar to our world, but there is no obvious point of divergence, and usually couldn't be. Think of a world where everyone is the opposite sex. If you think about it even for a few minutes you'll realize such a world couldn't possibly exist. There is just too many changes that would result from such a shift, but inexplicably, it does."
Wait, it does?
"Yep, personally been there... interesting times."
Oh... okay.
"There is a whole bunch of these types. Thing is though, fundamentally they still resemble our world, follow our rules of reality."
Hmm, I'm guessing the next doesn't?
"Yep, this is when we get into the most distant worlds, worlds that much like the planes break our rules, but in ways that are more... logical shall we say. They still resemble our world to a degree, but are much like jumping planes, we can't visit these without some serious magical life support... basically keeping a bubble of our own reality with us."
But.. they aren't planes?
"No, there is a fundamental difference between the two. It would get into deep magic and world theory to explain, but yes, they aren't the same. I should note, all these other worlds have their own planes, and their own timeline alternates, and so forth. It gets very complicated."
Wow... that sounds like a lot.
"Yep."
So... um... curious... why doesn't... Evil Earth invade us? Surely there is an evil earth or two out there.
"Yeah, you bet there is. That's a complex question. Like our demon plane invaders, the first answer is just expense. Yeah, it is possible, but too expensive to be practical most of the time. Still, where there is a maniac there is a way. That leads us to the next few safeguards.
"First is just proximity. As I mentioned earlier, planes are like a town's districts, but other dimensions are like other towns completely, and the less they resemble our own, the further they are away, requiring more effort to reach. So, Evil Earth is busy invading its neighbor, other Evil Earth, and they are basically infighting all the time."
Serves them right!
"Yes. Plus, sure there are Evil Earths, there are also Good Earths, and they are often acting as police, ensuring these crazy dimensions don't cause too much damage. Then, there are higher powers. They too seem to intervene when things get out of hand, but exactly when and why is often a mystery there."
So, several safeguards protecting us.
"That and just plain probability. For every Evil Earth there are literally trillions of Neutral Earths. The odds of seeing a coordinated invasion is pretty damn low."
Thank god for that.
"Yeah, and even that is not all. You may have heard of it, but dimensionally displaced spirits are actually vulnerable to spiritual attack. I'm not a spiritualist myself, but from what I know, every world has a sort of pull on its denizens. By attacking one outside their normal world with a spiritual attack you can magnify that pull, often triggering them to be dragged back to their original world very... painfully."
Ooo..
"This is actually not something Ranko has to worry about though. Her home dimension is gone and she's a rogue spirit essentially. Spiritual attacks won't work on her for that reason. That said, she's probably in the process of being claimed by their world, so that immunity won't last forever."
Hmm, interesting... who's Ranko?
"Oh right, you haven't met her. That's the other you."
Oh yeah... let's see here, I think I saw that name in the notes... umm... hmm... ah here it is. Right, right. Bah, whatever. So, one last question. Seems dimensional travel is normally a magic thing?
"Yes, it is the usual method, but not the only one."
Oh, that partly answers it then. So... Shamne? Yes Shamne, she can do this without magic.
"Partly, yes. She still needs to use magic to start the process, but once she accesses the interdimensional space, she can move things more conventionally between the worlds. It is actually something even I can't do."
So, I got a note here about some sort of matter exchange?
"Yes, that's one of the big limits on magical dimension jumping. You need to normally maintain a balance between the universes so have to counterbalance any move between the worlds. That said, it is only a limitation of that particular method. It is not a general limitation, but one that is pretty much standard in all your normal dimension hop methods. Another reason invasions aren't common as what good is it to invade if you have to give as much as you take, which actually may be why that restriction is in place, an added discouragement."
So one of those higher powers has rigged it with that rule you think?
"Just a guess, but yeah."
Okay... think that is about... yep. So... uh, I'm supposed to thank you and all.
"No problem."
Okay, back to limbo for me. You have fun with your... whatever you're doing. Just... ah, try not to blow up our world. I live here.
"I'll try."