Genma was having a nice day having a relaxing time with his old friend that day, currently playing a game of shogi while reminiscing about old times. Soun at the moment was laughing.
"No way, it had to be something else."
"I saw it with my own eyes Tendo. It was an akkorokamui terrorizing those girls in Korea. It looked like one of those weird tentacle hentais come to life."
"You sure it wasn't just a friendly octopus?" Soun asked.
"Octopi don't have human bodies attached. And no it wasn't a second girl caught by one octopus. This one had red skin. It was the Japanese scylla for sure."
"Scylla?" Soun asked, confused.
"Oh sorry, scylla is the name given these days to the cryptid that you would know best as the octopus version of a mermaid. Part of the anthroctopoda order. Originally the name belonged to a creature of Greek myth that looks nothing like the cryptid, but somewhere along the line the name got attached and stuck."
"I don't know how you handle your line of work old friend. I mean, I still remember how shocked I was the day you showed me a real life kappa. Again, thanks for the help. You literally saved my ass."
"No need to keep thanking me Soun. Though that doesn't mean I'm not glad the offer to stay here is still good."
"You were attacked by a kappa Father?" Kasumi asked from the couch. At the moment Fisk was washing the dishes for her to be polite, giving her a moment to relax. She chose to do so by watching some daytime tv.
"Not a time I like to remember dear, and there's no way I'm going to tell you what it was like." Soun claimed.
"Alright Father." Kasumi agreed.
'I have no idea whether or not kappa can in fact steal a person's soul through their anus, but whatever that kappa was trying to do, I'm glad it never got that chance.' The Tendo patriarch thought to himself, feeling a bit uncomfortable sitting down at the moment.
A door was heard banging open. "Pop!"
"Boy's back." Genma said then got up. "You deal with the cryptids at the school?" He asked when his son came into view.
"Yeah but we've got bigger problems." Ranma said. "Argost has Mom."
The only sound heard after that was a shogi piece snapping in two in Genma's hands.
"Hey you know how hard it is to replace a single game piece? They're not sold individually you know." Soun criticized.
Genma ignored his friend and went upstairs, followed by Ranma. Fisk came out of the kitchen with a dish and washcloth in hand, making a sound that sounded like he was asking a question. Soun could only shrug.
Genma went into the room the two Saotomes shared and went through one of his bags. "Got it." He pulled out a strange gadget that looked like circular laptop and opened it. Turning it on he typed in a command while Ranma watched over his shoulder.
"What are you two doing?" Akane asked, leaning against the doorway and catching her breath. She was surprised by how fast Ranma could run.
"Good, her signal is still working." Genma said, ignoring the girl. "We can find her."
"Wait, why would Argost let her keep her tracker on? Wouldn't he get rid of it?" Ranma asked.
"Maybe he doesn't know about it." Genma suggested, but he was already thinking the same thing his son was.
"Could somebody please explain this to me?" Akane asked angrily.
Ranma looked to her. "An old enemy of my family has my mom prisoner, so we have to get her back."
Akane lost her anger. "Oh Kami-sama."
Ranma then looked back to his father. "How soon can you get the Truck ready?"
"Faster than you can gather the cryptids."
"We'll see." Ranma said before dashing out of the room.
"Anything I can do?" Akane offered.
"Can you use a weapon or fight either large unknown animals or armed men?" Genma asked rhetorically.
Akane smiled. "As a matter of fact, I can. And have."
Genma blinked, not expecting that. "No matter, you're not trained for this kind of ordeal."
Akane blinked then frowned. "Hey give me one good reason for this!"
"I'll give you two. You're completely inexperienced when it comes to fighting cryptids. And our enemy here is leagues above some high school martial artist you might deal with. The guy's basically a monster."
"How tough can he be?" Akane remarked skeptically.
Genma narrowed his eyes. "You know what? Go ahead, come along. You and your sister. Just so you two can see just what it is my son and I do for a living. Maybe then you'll realize that what we do is serious business. Any girl wanting to be a part of his life should see what his life is all about."
Akane lost some of her moxie then and there. To her, Genma had seemed a bit... dull during the brief time he'd been here. Just lounging around talking with her father about good old times, not really doing anything. He easily came across as someone who took little to nothing seriously. Here, this was a man on a mission and he was not taking any crap in the process.
All Akane could do was nod, then she left to go find Nabiki. As expected, the mercenary girl was laying on her bed reading a manga. "Nabiki, you want to go on a trip?"
"Where?"
"No idea, but apparently Ranma and his dad have to go rescue his mother and Mr. Saotome said we should go along to see just what they deal with in their jobs. He also said there'd be fighting and more of these weird animals involved."
Nabiki looked like she was thinking about it, then went back to her manga. "No thanks. We know I'm no fighter, and I never said I wanted to see what they deal with on their jobs."
"Maybe you didn't hear the part where I said Ranma's mom has to be rescued." Akane stressed.
"Oh I did. But what do you expect me to do about it? Pay a ransom? They're the one with the golden egg goose, they can do that part."
Dragoon the flying lizard came up and perched on Akane's shoulder, making these chirping hisses. Akane got the feeling it was telling her to hurry up. "Fine, then stay here."
"Bring me back a golden egg or two." Nabiki said as her sister rushed downstairs.
Once she was downstairs Akane was surprised to see Ranma and Genma, along with Fisk and Fu, standing in the middle of the yard. Ranma was holding a clawed staff looking eager for a fight, and Genma was sporting a yellow glove on his right hand.
"Just don't get in my way." Ranma told her.
Akane frowned, but she couldn't be mad at him. His mother was in danger, he did have the right to be testy. "What are you doing now?"
"Getting our ride." Genma said, tapping a few buttons on the laptop. The next thing Akane knew, they were all covered in a weird magenta light and she was overcome with vertigo. The light faded, and she was inside some kind of large vehicle, collapsing on her rear while the others landed on their feet.
"What the hell was that?" Akane asked, sitting up and rubbing her head since she felt dizzy.
"Teleportation, courtesy of the secret scientists working in particle acceleration." Ranma explained, helping her up. "After about three times you get used to it."
Genma went to a steel door and opened it. On the other side was a pilot's cockpit, but one that seemed more suited for a spaceship than an airplane. He pushed a button that activated a few screens and went to work typing something in.
"Alright, her signal is still working. Either Argost can't block it... or he wants us to know where he's keeping Nodoka."
"Where is she?"
"Where are we?" Akane asked, looking out a broad window and seeing a large forest and more imposing, Mt. Fuji itself. And it was rather close by.
"This is our primary base, or the closest thing we have to our own home." Ranma answered, looking at the screen with Genma.
"Wait, if you have your own house, why are you-?"
"You want to help find my mom? Or do you want our life story?" Ranma all but yelled at her. Akane silenced herself, annoyed but not angry.
"Ah, she's not far. I think she's in Domino. Figures Argost would choose one of the most westernized places in Japan." Genma grunted.
"Where in Domino? Wouldn't Odaiba have more places to hide someone?" Ranma asked.
"If he can hide a cryptid he can hide a person. I can't seem to get an exact lock on your mother, best I can do is teleport us to the general area and we search the hard way."
"Remember to find an empty spot this time Pop." Ranma warned.
Genma rolled his eyes. "Hey if you think you can do a better job finding a clear spot in London be my guest next time. For now, we're going for this. Get to the platform in forty seconds."
Ranma nodded as Genma finished typing in the commands then followed. Fisk, Fu, and Dragoon followed, with Akane not knowing what to do. It was simply the desire to not be left behind that compelled her to follow them, rather than be left in this strange place.
The Saotomes and the cryptids came to a stop atop a large red circle surrounded by a metal rim, and Akane stepped inside the circle as well. "What are you doing?"
"You know Star Trek?" Ranma asked.
"No."
"Good, because this is nothing like that."
Before the youngest Tendo daughter could follow up, a buzz was heard then she was blinded by pink light again. This time she felt like she couldn't tell you which direction was up even if her life depended on it, and like last time it was over very quickly. The scenery was now back in civilization, but with Tokyo skyscrapers in view that she couldn't see in Nerima.
"Where are we now?" Akane asked, looking around. All she could really see was a simply two-story building they were behind and the trees and shrubs surrounding it.
"Domino." Genma answered, looking at his laptop again. "Alright, now the signal is a little clearer."
Akane blinked. "Domino? The other side of Tokyo? We just teleported right here?"
Ranma nodded. "You got another way of explaining it? Look, I'll tell you all about it, but right now there's a bigger problem than your confusion."
"Got it, she's in the main district. Argost has her in one of the buildings." Genma said.
"Holding her hostage in an office building? What, did Argost watch Die Hard before doing this?" Ranma asked sarcastically.
"I'm more concerned about what he's using to keep her in there." Genma thought out loud, aware that Nodoka would not go down without a fight. "C'mon, we're going in, as stealthy as possible."
Fisk made a sound and mimed pouring a bottle on his head.
"Yeah yeah, we'll find you some water." Genma told the cryptid. He would have grabbed some back at the base, but his wife was on his mind. "Let's go."
The group left, never aware that from the other side of the store an old man who had been sweeping the sidewalk saw them.
"That sake must have gone bad." He said to himself before going inside.
"Are you quite comfortable Nodoka? I can call you Nodoka right?"
An auburn-haired woman held in shackles frowned. "Would you stop if I said no?" She asked in English.
"Probably not, but mostly because I don't want to call you something else." A lanky man with white hair and a mask resembling a pale smiling face said. He wore grey robes and his hands looked rather albino. "I must admit it was quite a surprise about how easy it was to catch you. You've proven rather difficult in the past. But that's what happens when you don't have that rather bothersome sword of yours on hand."
"Knowing Nodoka from personal experience, it would be wise to be careful around her. After all, sword or no sword, she is a feisty one." A tall muscular man with a thick Russian accent next to Argost said in English. He was wearing a mask similar to a classical iron man mask, but other than that he looked normal.
"From what you both told me about her, I was expecting a woman who would carry a sword with her at all times so her kid and husband can commit seppuku in case they weren't manly enough." The third and final man in the room said, also in English. He was a tall fair-skinned Japanese man with gray hair and mustache, wearing a red business suit, a black tie and a white inner long-sleeved dress shirt.
"What do you want from me?" Nodoka asked.
"I think you know what I want Nodoka. The same thing I wanted the last time we clashed." Argost answered.
Nodoka narrowed her eyes. "I will never give you the Kur Stone."
"Did you really think we'd give up if you denied us." The business man asked. "We will make you talk, and if you don't, I'm sure putting your son at risk will loosen your lips."
Nodoka smirked but kept her frown. "You thinking you can threaten my son? I actually want to see you try."
"You'll get your wish soon. He should be on his way." Argost said before looking to the masked man. "Van Rook, go deal with them. Gozabora, do what you wish."
"It's pronounced Gozoboro." The business man corrected, looking annoyed.
"Pardon me, I'm not that good with Japanese." Argost said before slinking away.
Van Rook pulled out what looked like a gun but was clearly something else, then looked to Nodoka. "Nothing personal old friend."
"Of course, just like how it wasn't personal when you tricked me in the Congo."
"Get over it already." He remarked before leaving. Gozoboro left too, but he made sure some security guards stayed to make sure Nodoka didn't take the chance to escape.
"Okay, she should be in here." Genma said, having tracked his wife to a specific office building. Along the way they found and used some water to make Fisk look human.
"Hey, this is a gaming company. Why would they be here?" Akane asked, recognizing the logo.
"Don't know, not that important right now." Genma replied, then headed to the main entrance.
"Hold it old man, you can't go in that way." Ranma warned. "They'll spot you right away."
"Son, they'll be expecting us to sneak in another way. They won't be expecting the direction approach." Genma claimed, then went about his way like any normal visitor to the building.
"Is this a good idea?" Akane whispered.
Ranma shrugged. "Pop's an expert at being sneaky." He then followed his father, and Akane and Fisk chose to follow him.
To their surprise, Genma's approach was actually working. The employees in the entrance hall were minding their own business, paying no mind to what looked like some ordinary visitors. Genma led them into an elevator, and they proceeded up towards the seventh floor. Akane couldn't help but notice how tense the men were getting. It was like they expected a fight as soon as the doors opened.
The doors opened, and to both Akane and Ranma's surprise, there was no one there to fight. And no Nodoka in sight.
"What gives Pop?" Ranma asked.
"You didn't really think I'd take us directly to the floor they know we're going to show up on did you? Argost probably has feral cryptids or guns aimed at the elevators as we speak. The stairs will be safer from this point on." Genma argued.
With nothing to argue back with, Ranma accepted this and followed his father to find another way up. Normally stairs are located right next to elevators for convenience, but Genma felt the stairs right next to the elevator they had taken would be just as compromised. So they needed a different set.
"This is too quiet for an office building in the afternoon." Genma noted, eyes shifting left and right.
A door to one of the rooms opened and out scrambled a set of bizarre-looking quadrapeds. They at first looked like black wolves with some light gray around the face and neck, but the fur was sleeker, almost oily, and the face was more like an angry seal. The feet were orange and webbed, looking more like flippers, and the legs were bent awkwardly like a reptile. Both made disturbing hissing growls and showed their sharp teeth.
"Dobhar-chu, the Irish otter-hound." Genma told the two teens. "Faster than they look, so-"
The two dobhar-chu rushed at them before he could finish, forcing them all to react by sheer instinct. Genma and Ranma braced themselves while Akane stepped back guarding herself, Fisk and the other cryptids moving to shield her. The ferocious otter-like animals clawed at the two Saotome and tried to bite at them, their flippers not suited for gripping the two humans. It didn't take much for experienced martial artists like these two to get the creatures off them.
'I don't want to just take up the rear, I can handle a few animals.' Akane thought, not liking how it felt like she was just along for the ride. It was clear the Saotomes would have been just as fine, heck, they would have been better off if she hadn't come along, and since she was there they were trying to keep her fro making things worse. She needed to prove that she could handle herself, even against these bizarre crypt-things Ranma fussed over so much.
Akane snuck around the cryptids, primarily Fisk. Dragoon noticed and stayed close, figuring she was just trying to get a better view point. But instead she came up and slugged one of them right in the jaw. It went down and rolled, whining a bit like a hit dog as it did.
The other noticed and immediately went over to check on its partner, who was laying on the floor whimpering a little.
"They're not so tough." Akane said.
"Akane, they're most likely a mated pair. You just pissed them off." Genma warned.
The mobile dobhar-chu growled and bared its fangs at Akane, who got a little uncomfortable again. Fortunately for her Ranma ensnared the cryptid from behind with his tether, with his eyes glowing.
"Hold them off, we'll keep going." Genma said, to which Ranma nodded, trying to subdue the angered animal.
Genma went towards the stairs, with Akane and the friendly cryptids following him. "What is with Ranma's eyes?" Akane asked.
"Now is not the time and place to tell you." Genma told her.
On the next floor there were no cryptids, but they were still cautious.
"This is not normal. Creatures lurking around like that and no people. What gives?" Akane asked.
"The owner of the building is in on the plan then. There's no other explanation." Genma told her.
All of a sudden Genma ,Akane, and Fisk felt sharp impacts on their backs, like someone had just shot them, followed by strong electric surges that hurt like a bitch despite lasting maybe two seconds. When it faded, all three collapsed. Dragoon and Fuu were spared and turned around, seeing a man in armor holding a strange gun.
"Well that was easy. Kind of boring in fact." He remarked. "But where's the other one?"
"This better be the right way." Ranma said to the dobhar-chu as they led him into another part of the building. The cryptids had been hesitant, but they obeyed him and took him to one of the higher floors and on the other side of the building. He had noticed the lack of humans here, which did not make him feel better about this.
After a while, the otter-hounds led him to a closed door and just stood there looking at it.
"This better be it." Ranma said, reaching for the door, expecting it to be locked.
It wasn't.
"This could be good or bad." He whispered to himself, opening the door. The other side looked like a large white lab with an observation deck near the ceiling. The room for the most part was devoid of anything, save for someone hanging from the ceiling.
"Mom!"
Nodoka looked down. "Ranma?"
"Hold on, I'll get you down somehow!" He declared before looking for a means to make that happen.
"Maybe you should ask nicely." A voice boomed in from a speaker. A familiar baritone voice.
Ranma glared and looked towards the observation deck, seeing a silhouette behind the glass now. He didn't need to see more to know who it was. "Argost! What do you want?"
"Why, the Kur Stone of course. What else?"
Ranma arched an eyebrow. "What's a Kur Stone?"
"Ranma, no matter what, Argost cannot have that relic!" Nodoka warned. "If he has it, he could take over the world!"
"Of course my dear Saotome." Argost commented. "But on the other hand, if I don't have it, Ranma will soon be without a mother. So tell me my boy, what can you live without? Your mother or a rock?"
"How can a rock give him the power to take over the world in the first place?" Ranma asked his mom.
"It's a long story, but either way he must not get it!"
"I don't even know where it is!" Ranma argued.
"Oh yes you do. After all, aren't you related to someone who keeps ahold of your things while you travel?" Argost asked.
Ranma was silent. While he and his father traditionally did the field work of their job, Nodoka preferred to stay at the bases and do the lab work. This meant if they had to take a cryptid away from where they found it, they brought it to her until they could return it or find it a new home. Did she hold onto other things too?
"What, do you think I'm going to just walk out of here and bring you this stone?" He challenged.
"Well my boy, you could stay and fight, but before you say yes, let me show you what you'll be fighting."
A door opened on the other side, revealing a man with a green mask and a sleeveless shirt, with black leather straps forming a X on his torso. A sword handle was visible behind him, and on his right shoulder was a green tattoo of a skull with a snake wrapped around it.
"Can you stand up to an opponent your eyes can't control?" Argost asked.
Ranma grinned and took a stance. "You're an idiot if you think I was never taught how to fight humans."
"But were you taught to kill?" The masked man asked, taking out his sword before he rushed forward attempting to skewer the teen. Ranma blocked with his claw staff then attempted a sweep kick to knock him down, but it was like all he did was kick him normally. The masked man tried another strike quickly with Ranma blocking again, and this time it was the swordsman who tried a sweep kick. Not expecting his opponent to do the exact same thing he did right after him, Ranma was caught off guard and fell down. Before he could get up, he felt the sword against his neck.
"The stone boy. Where is it?"
"I honestly don't know where it is."
"But you know where it might be." Argost said over the mic. "So, go there and bring it to me. And if you don't, it won't be just your mother that suffers."
A wall opened and Ranma could see Genma, Akane, and Fisk strapped to upright tables like they were being prepared for torture. Dragoon and Fu were locked up in cages with electric prods sticking in, limiting their attempts to break free.
The masked man withdrew the sword and let Ranma get back to his feet.
"One hour my boy. Or else they all die. Then you'll be next. One stone to save several lives. What will it be?" Argost declared with a sinister snicker, enjoying the looks of concern the pigtailed martial artist showed the captives as well as the hateful expression he himself was given. Then he raised the walls and silenced the mic.
"Better hurry boy." The masked man warned.
Ranma left the room but hid behind a corner. 'Like hell I'm going to get some rock. I've got to get them out, but how?'