[Ranma/Xover][FanFic] The Bet: Reluctant Bet segment 12 "Road to Terratwo"
Gregg Sharp
Reluctant bet, segment 12: "Shan & Sakyo in 'On The Road To
Terratwo'."
Disclaimer: y'all know this stuff already.
----------
Imperial Labs, Japoness, Terratwo:
"Well, Doctor Lorelei?"
"You say he just appeared out of nowhere?" The doctor took
a moment to look at the figure whose parts were scattered
about on four seperate tables. "Pretty heavily damaged.
Looks like he was in a major battle. And that sack of
equipment produced a few surprises too."
Lime looked at some of the equipment lying about and got
curious.
Otaru Mamiya stared at the odd devices. "Looks like you've
been busy."
"Could I borrow Cherry? Her scanning equipment might be of
use. I have more sophisticated scanners, but they aren't
capable of investigating things on their own."
"I'd be happy to," the nearly prepubescent looking girl
shot a glance at her master then relaxed when he gave a
barely perceptible nod. "I was reading organic material. So
he's not a marionette, is he?"
"No. I believe the operative term is cyborg. The internal
systems were heavily damaged in whatever fight he was in,
and we're looking at a transfer of much of the lifesupport
and the human parts to a marionette chassis." Lorelei
sighed. "There's just so much we don't understand about
this. Some of the devices here are *completely* unfamiliar,
some systems are actually less advanced or efficient than a
Sabre class marionette."
"So you're looking to remove the parts you do understand
and moving them to a marionette while you try to figure out
what can be repaired in the meantime?" Otaru understood but
felt a little funny about the concept. "I dunno, Doc. I know
that if I woke up as a marionette, I'd probably be a bit
freaked."
"Well, it's a thought." Lorelei didn't mention that they
had already begun preparing a stock chassis from a Jin-Goro
model. "There aren't that many scientists internationally we
can trust implicitly with the sort of technology this
represents."
"What about Lynx? Can this help you repair her Maiden
Circuit?" Bloodberry, surprisingly, was the one who thought
of that angle.
"Possibly. Some of the technology here is *extremely*
advanced. Our marionette factories use self-replicating
nanites that were designed on a computer that was itself
third generation of designs by other computers. This looks
even more advanced, and in a direction we haven't explored."
"A hodgepodge," guessed Cherry. "Look, this device here is
a cylinder and has english lettering on the side. This
cylinder has lettering, but of an unfamiliar language. This
tetrahedron has yet another alien script on it, while this
sealed box has what looks like Ionic Greek..."
"Exactly. Both the cyborg and his equipment appear to be
much like a modern factory. Where the conveyor belts are
built in New Texas, the extruders in Geltland, the design
specs are from Japoness, and so on. No single source for
either, which suggests a commercial model. Which is why we
threw out the idea of this being an invader or some advance
scout for a military force like in some 'anime'. Otherwise
he'd be similar to Baiko and Tamasaburo in that only
specially crafted parts would be used- and all of an 'in
house' manufacture."
"Oh, Otaru. Ohayo." An old man with a bald head and a beard
looked up from a tech magazine as he entered the lab.
"Gennai ojichan! What are you doing here?" Other than
ogling Bloodberry again, silently added Otaru.
"Hmmmph, when I heard that Doctor Lorelai was short
staffed, I took it upon myself to offer my services. I *am*
one of the greatest experts in manufacture processes of my
day... LIME! What are you doing?!"
Lime looked up. "What? I was just looking at this..."
Doctor Lorelei gently pushed Lime aside from the computer.
"How did you break the passcode? We tried everything we
could think of!"
"I didn't break anything!"
"No, Lime. You did good," Doctor Lorelei said with a smile.
"Look at this."
"I can't read it, it's in English, isn't it?" Otaru felt
frustrated.
PLANEWALKER'S GUIDE TO THE CONTINUUA
>Yggdrasil Backup Version 2.5<
Licensed to: Grey, Troubleshooter, Rival Relief Office
[Scan] [Encyclopedia] [Log] [Email] [Help]
"This just might be the answers we were looking for."
Lorelei smiled at Lime. "Thank you Lime. Let's check his
e-mail, that might give us why he's here and how he got
damaged." Lorelei toggled her choice and hit the Enter key.
>New Message.
TO: MrF...@RRO.org FROM: Sm...@Olympus.com
RE: Emergency Beacon.
Message Begins:
Grey, you idiot, what have you gotten yourself into now?
Part of your new upgrade (and the upgrades to Shan and
Sakyo) is that you have an emergency beacon placed in your
chest housing. The signal flared up in that Sailorjin
timeline and was lost shortly thereafter. You have
apparently leapt to a shielded timeline. Shan and Sakyo will
be hunting you down.
Have put an extra enchantment on this e-mail. Hit reply and
I'll relay your dimensional coordinates to those two. Try
not to mess up my work TOO much, will you?
-Hephaestus
>End file
Lorelei was careful to close the file without hitting reply
after translating for the Japoness-only speakers. "Let's see
if we get anything useful from the Log."
Another password box came up, so Lorelei escaped out.
"What's a troubleshooter, Otaru?" Lime was puzzled by some
of the message. Okay, the vast majority of this was over her
head. Her role in life was a lovable ditz and she played
that part quite well.
"It's someone who finds problems that other people created,
and fixes them." Gennai answered when Otaru seemed to be
trying to figure out how to explain it in terms Lime could
understand.
"Wai! I wanna be a troubleshooter too!"
"You already are, Lime, you already are."
---\-------
Sailorjin Timeline:
Haruka got tired of chasing around the strange girl with
the odd staff. She was agile, quick, and clearly no
pushover. Putting her open hand in front of her, she built
her chi up before pointing the palm at the girl in Chinese
clothing and tucking her thumb in against that palm. "BIG
BANG ATTACK!"
Shan partially dodged the blast, and blocked the rest with
her whirling staff. "Technique acquired: Big Bang Attack.
High level chi attack. Adding to file. Estimate ability to
duplicate currently at 25%."
"What are you talking about?!" Haruka snarled at the
stranger. Was she being mocked?!
"Shan going to need more than 25%, Shan thinks." ~Initiate
Emergency Override. Boost energy levels to maximum.~
#Warning: Estimate Emergency Shutdown Within 10 Minutes Of
Activation. Proceed?# ~Do it.~
"Haaaaaa!" Haruka began to form a sphere of energy in her
hands.
Shan vanished.
"What?!" Haruka's eyes widened. "How did her power rating
just triple?!"
"BIG BANG ATTACK!"
As the smoke cleared, Haruka held one arm and glared at her
opponent. "That is MY attack! You..."
Son Usagi, Ami Mercury, Hotaru Saturn, and Michiru Neptune
slowly rose up to renew their battle.
Shan winced and wondered if she'd survive long enough to
absorb a useful technique.
-------------
Morisato Residence:
Jared Saotome blinked. "FOUR Belldandies, THREE Urds, TWO
Megumi? It's a good thing nobody else showed up. One can
just imagine the problems with five Peorths or Sayokos."
Keiichi shuddered. Five Skulds. Five Marllers. Five
Aoshima. Five Tamiya. The mind boggled.
"Be that as it may, we've come up with a solution." Urd
exchanged a nod with Urd. "We rock-paper-scissors to see who
stays and who goes. When we're done, one of us stays on THIS
Earth and retains the Goddess classification."
"What about Megumi?" Keiichi said, raising a hand.
"Yeah! What about me?!" The Megumi Morisatos chorused.
"One of you has your memories blanked of this whole fiasco
and remains here," explained Urd. "The other one goes off
and joins the Rival Relief Office as an operative."
"What kind of solution is that?!" Megumi chorused and eyed
herself uncertainly.
"The only one we've got that doesn't involve turning you
into smurfette and throwing you into one of THOSE
timelines." Urd was feeling a bit snippish at present.
Megumi shut up.
"The remaining Belldandys and Urds will go on and find
other things to do."
"Such as?" Keiichi was a bit concerned, as one might well
understand.
"We've actually got placement offers coming in," Urd rolled
her eyes. "Senshi identities, alternate spheres of
influence, Divine Intervention, even one offer to turn us
into Eternals. That was Sif's suggestion by the way. Toltiir
suggested a few other ideas, you really DON'T want details."
"Well, I'm looking for Grey, so if any of you need a lift
off this plane..." Jared felt a little uncomfortable with
the grins turned on him.
-----------------
Target Timeline:
Night had drawn her cloak of stillness over Nerima, though
the stillness was broken by those whose jobs *were* the
night. Nonetheless, overall the enfolding calm and shadow
was broken only by hints of light and movement within its
embrace.
In a crowded room over a newly refurbished restaurant
slept: four women, a man, and a panda whose weight would
cause the floor to creak periodically. Four women who wore
bracers that glimmered from an internal light that
occasionally shifted. And in the darkness of that room, one
could occasionally get a glimpse of figures sitting near
their mistresses, regarding them with a degree of affection
and longing that seemed to transcend their inhuman nature.
One of those girls smiled a little smile and dreamed of
vast amounts of wealth flowing through her fingers, of
sending her shadow to ferret out secrets, and of a tea party
attended by Winnie the Pooh and Tigger too. One of the girls
dreamed of vengeance, her Ranchan, and okonomiyaki.
Sometimes she would dream dreams that involved all three at
once. Another girl dreamed of being a Jedi Knight that was
stalked by the black armored figure of Dark Mousse, rescuing
her handsome prince, and joining in the Rebellion against an
evil Empire. Another girl dreamed of riding a tiger through
the streets of Nerima, only to have the tiger turn into a
handsomely dressed groom who swept her up for a kiss... only
to have her entire family come dragging her off to fix
breakfast rather than let HER have the romantic spotlight.
The panda merely dreamed of food. The man dreamed of his
deceased wife, of his darling daughters, and something very
odd dealing with handcuffs and chocolate syrup.
In a lonely room a little over a mile away, a darkhaired
girl who still smelled of lemons was mainly sleeping. Though
at any creak of the house would startle to full wakefulness
as if expecting an attack at any moment. In between these
times of wakefulness and sleep, she was convincing herself
of the need to strike and kill an inhuman being. Surprising
herself with how difficult it was to actually INTEND to hurt
something and plan its execution.
In a manor house that was a poor man's Addams Family
Mansion, a boy of samurai descent dreamed of winning his One
True Love and claiming her in a night of heated passion. One
floor away, a girl with a gymnastic fixation dreamed of at
last finding a True Love and poisoning him to ensure
constancy.
Not that far away as things went, a functionally blind
martial artist slept and dreamed of winning his One True
Love and claiming her in a night of heated passion.
In a small village in China, a certain boy left his two
wives to try and find the bathroom, only to end up somewhere
unexpected.
In another small village in China, another boy dreamed of
getting vengeance on the person who had given him such an
awful name. He also dreamed of getting a more prominent role
but as this is the only scene Pantyhose Tarou appears in,
well he can dream can't he?
Tsubasa Kurenai dreamed of Ukyo Kuonji, trading clothing
with her, hot kisses and cold mountain streams, and of sour
cream and wasabi nachos. But then you knew Tsubasa was a bit
weird, didn't you?
A certain mallet hidden under a certain paranoid girl's bed
dreamed as well, but one can't go into detail on THOSE
without putting all sorts of Dark and Mature tags up to warn
off the unwary. Therefore they are not detailed, save to say
that if Akane had known that some of her jumping at shadows
was related to the close proximity of Soul Corrupting Evil,
she might not have had the weapon under her bed after all.
Amaterasu Omikami, not that far away from a room with four
girls and a panda, dreamt of actually having a romantic
subplot in her life. Of not being linked with such ladies as
Artemis and Athena. It had been an awfully long time, and
she'd have to decide whether or not to dispel the love
arrow. Certainly, she knew she could have done worse. That
Ataru kid over in that timeline over there, for example.
Though, considering their relative power levels, there was
the additional danger of accidently frying him on a regular
basis.
Ares, who actually was far away, dreamed of chaos and death
and destruction. Of people dying and suffering and lamenting
their actions and their losses. He smiled in his sleep.
Toltiir didn't dream and didn't sleep. He caught
(appropriately enough) catnaps and otherwise continued to
meddle with various lives, trying to get them to lighten up
and see the humor in the situations around them. On viewing
that nice young Pheonix Mage running about, he decided to
pay EXTRA attention to the boy this time.
All in all, a relatively quiet and peaceful schoolnight in
Nerima.
------------
Imperial Labs, Japoness, Terratwo.
"No, we're using an electronic pulse to keep her asleep."
Cherry smiled as the Doctor continued explaining exactly
WHAT was going on to the various concerned parties over the
videoconference. That the other nations had heard of this
development THIS quickly indicated some serious intelligence
leaks in the castle. Cherry continued to read through text
files as she half listened, and tried NOT to consider what
was going on with the marionette on the table.
"No, you will NOT be allowed in. This is definitely a case
of too many cooks would spoil the broth. Instead, we've got
some remote stations here that will allow you to scan and
research from your labs in your own countries. Let me show
you what we've got so far."
Lorelei flicked an image of Cherry and the odd computer
onto their screens. "Cherry, whom some of you know, is
currently going through the log, e-mail, and encyclopedia
functions of the stranger's computer. From this we know
certain details.
"The stranger's name is Grey, alternatively Ranma Saotome,
sometimes known as 'Mister Fixit'. She works for a
transdimensional organization known as the Rival Relief
Office which apparently has the task of attempting to trying
to make things turn out for the better in various timelines.
She's a low level operative, mainly concerned with repair
and construction.
"She's some kind of cyborg. Organic brain and spinal
column, everything else was artificial and fairly advanced.
We've removed the organic components and placed them in the
marionette you see behind me. The sleep device is one method
to prevent her activation, but we've added other
precautions."
Lorelei listened to one of the scientists briefly. "For
example? Regulators will keep this marionette's strength and
speed well below normal human levels. Plus we've added a
sort of 'hindbrain' that is a normally functional marionette
AI. Any command given by the organic brain is processed
through the marionette's AI. This way, all it requires is
the proper command phrase and the organic brain will be
'locked out' of command functions."
Lorelei listened to another scientist. "Yes, it is fairly
harsh, but we ARE dealing with a number of unknown
quantities. You DO raise a valid point, and it is possible
that we could accidently or on purpose override the organic
brain with the marionette brain. While this would lose
valuable information, essentially erasing the original
personality and memories of the individual who arrived here,
the potential dangers here require we take as many
precautions as possible."
Cherry glanced, a little alarmed, at the displays
surrounding Lorelei. She understood there might be some
dangers, but if what she was seeing on one of the displays
was correct, there were verbal cues that could produce a
number of hazardous effects. Was the danger THAT great or
were the various humans just reacting emotionally to the
unknown?
A pinball-sized sphere on one table, unnoticed by anyone in
the room, clicked and briefly vibrated.
-------------
Another Pokemon World & Another Fanfic Crossover:
She didn't remember the trip. She didn't remember Grey or
Kiyone or Sasami. She didn't remember Ishtar. Her pokemon
might have, had he ever left his pokeball.
Cadet Jenny was one of a large family of absolutely
identical girls who were all in law enforcement. All of
whom, through some caprice of fate or other factor, were
named Jenny.
CADET Jenny had graduated from Police Academy and gotten
her own pokemon shortly thereafter - a Haunter. However,
instead of joining her sisters and cousins and second
cousins and all the other Officer Jennies, Cadet Jenny had
decided on a different path.
DETECTIVE Jenny. Yes, Jenny was going to be something other
than a clone. Even if her Haunter was a bit of a weirdo and
insisted on calling her "Watson" for some odd reason. Jenny
was going to be a great detective and find out WHO Team
Rocket was working for.
There were a LOT of Team Rockets. Not only was there the
trio of Jesse, James, and Meowth, but there was Butch and
Cassidy. Doc Holly and Day. Billi and Kidd. To suspect a
connection was natural, but no investigation had ever been
conducted. Why?
"Are you okay, Jenny?"
"Yes, Jenny." The Cadet smiled at her elder sister. "So you
caught Butch and Cassidy?"
"Not me, a young pokemon trainer and his pikachu." Jenny
placed a photo of the two out on her counter. "His name is "
"Ranma Saotome." Cadet Jenny stared at the photo. There was
a familiar feeling about him as if she'd met him before.
"You know him? Well, I'm not surprised. He's run into two
Team Rockets apparently."
"He has?" Cadet Jenny smiled. "Do you remember that report
of that Ash Ketchum? How his path always seems to intersect
with Team Rocket?"
"Yeah. Like the priests say, it looks like the threads of
their karma are intertwined." Officer Jenny shrugged.
"Something isn't complete between the two, so they'll
continue to lock horns until they do. We thought there might
be something more sinister involved but our investigations
didn't turn up anything."
"Well, if Ash and HIS pikachu are 'karma-tangled' with one
Team Rocket, maybe this 'Ranma' and HIS pikachu are likewise
bound to tangle with Team Rocket. In which case..."
Officer Jenny smiled at Cadet Jenny, suspecting other
motives. She'd have to tell the other Jennies so they could
help young romance develop. "I think I heard where they were
going."
--------------
Sailorjin Timeline:
"Is he cute?!" Makoto Jupiter asked brightly.
"Is he single?!" Minako Venus chimed in a moment later.
"You two back off, he's mine!" Haruka Uranus snarled.
"Ours," corrected Michiru Neptune. "If we can find him
again."
"Guys..." Son Usagi couldn't believe her friends were like
this. Okay, maybe guys who could put up with their
affections were kind of rare. Tuxedo Kamen (Mamoru Earth)
being staked out by Rei Mars who'd stated her unwillingness
to share.
The guy had been able to take a combined attack from
Haruka, Usagi, and Hotaru. It wasn't until the tug of war
that he'd started coming apart, and it had been pointed out
by Ami that Mamoru wouldn't have done very well either.
"Well, *I* think so," said Sakyo, "but I'm biased. And yes,
he's single, but I *know* he isn't that fond of arguments or
people fighting around him."
"Unnnn," groaned Shan from her impact crater.
"Dimensional disturbance," noted Ami Mercury, "located
about three klicks away."
The various sailorjin glanced off to the west.
"That guy has some serious chi," Makoto said with a smile.
"I saw him first!" Minako was already leaping into the air.
----------
Target Timeline:
Kasumi swung open the door of her own home with a wary
sniff. Faint traces of the Odor Of Evil remained but it
looked like Naiad and Sylph had gotten the worst of it.
She gestured to her remaining family who slowly followed
her.
"AHHHHH! DON'T BURN! DON'T BURN!"
"Well, that establishes Akane's location," was Nabiki's dry
remark.
"Oh my. Oh my. Oh my." Kasumi held one arm up. "Sylph, a
breeze would be nice!"
Sylph formed and bowed to her mistress before standing near
the door and gently fluttering her wings to start a breeze.
"Too bad Shampoo stayed with Ukyo at their restaurant, it
looks like our bracerites haven't quite got the hang of
cleaning up after themselves." Nabiki frowned at evidence of
dampness in the hallway. "Well, *I* have to get ready for
school. Good luck, Kasumi."
"I suppose..." A glance towards Genma and Soun confirmed
there would be no help coming from that corner. "Hmmm."
Nabiki saw the pokeball that Kasumi had found near the
foyer. "That isn't Pepe is it?"
"Come out, come out, whoever you are." Kasumi thought it
was a bit undignified but she'd been wanting to use that
line for awhile.
"Raaaauuuuh, raaaaa. Hmmmm?" A Tasmanian Devil formed out
of the glowing light and seemed a bit put off that there was
neither food nor an opponent handy.
"Oh, how cute!"
Taz tried to withstand the full power of the dreaded Cute
Look that Kasumi turned on him. He made it up to the point
where she cuddled his densely packed fuzzy form before he
conceded defeat. "Bwa ouuu bleh ook."
"I think he wants to know what you want him to do," Nabiki
pointed out, wondering at the fact that something so furry
could still blush. Not to mention how she could understand
him.
"Oh?" Kasumi considered. "Taz, could you please clean up
the mess?"
Taz considered then nodded, quickly spinning into a
whirlwind that swept through the foyer and into the kitchen.
"WHAT?! AAAHHHHHHH! THAT'S *MY* BREAKFAST! TAKE THAT! NO!
STOP!"
Kasumi and Nabiki rushed into the kitchen to find that Taz
was standing there with two struggling house slippers
sticking up out of his mouth.
"MMMMMMMPHHHHH!" The slippers kicked, one falling off,
revealing that they were still attached to their owner.
"MMMMMMMMM!" Taz was clearly savoring the flavor of what
was in his mouth.
"No, Taz, you may not eat my sister!" Kasumi was quite firm
on that point. Some behavior was just NOT proper.
"Bwak bru globble glek!" Taz showed off perfect diction for
someone who had a five foot Japanese girl somehow stuffed
into his mouth.
"Well, as long as you don't hurt her," Kasumi said
thoughtfully.
"MMMF! MMMMMRFFF!" The feet kicked in great agitation.
"Once you pop, you can't stop," smirked Nabiki. "Or like
'Tick Tock' the crocodile in 'Peter Pan' once he's tasted
her, he won't be able to resist going back for another lick.
Right, Tasmanian Devil?"
Taz nodded. Food was good here and they'd provided an
after-dinner mint. He'd stay.
-----------
Ukyo and Shampoo had sat down in front of the tape player.
They had a lot to do, but this one had practically *begged*
to be played.
The misty mountains of Japan started the opening sequence,
the lyrics somehow fitting as the camera's view tightened in
closer and closer to one of the pale "rivers" of a dirt road
that meandered down from the heights.
"Many times I've been alone
And many times I've cried
Anyway you'll never know
The many ways I've tried
But still they lead me back
To the long and winding road
You left me standing here
A long, long time ago
Don't leave me waiting here
Lead me to you door"
Ukyo sniffled, eyes sparkling as she watched her
screen-self being helped up onto a boulder by her Ranchan.
The two looking out over a valley as the credits ended and
the song faded.
Shampoo decided not to spoil the moment for her
co-conspirator and busied herself around the restaurant. One
hour and twenty five minutes later, she stuck her head in
the room, vanished again briefly, then returned with a box
of Kleenex that she wordlessly handed to Ukyo.
Ukyo's eyes were brimming and she sniffled again.
Ranma: "Why not? It'll be a chance to make a fresh start.
There'll be lots of people around, and plenty of work for
someone with my skills. And I'd imagine that you could make
a killing with your okonomiyaki..."
Ukyou (studying the map, nods): "You're on, Ran-chan. Let's
go!"
Ukyo sniffled, sobbed, and as the "To Be Continued" kanji
appeared, gave a flood of tears that Soun Tendo would have
been proud of.
Shampoo waited for the flood to subside. "Was good?"
"You felt that the writer almost KNEW me, he captured me so
well," sniffled Ukyo. "And the bit with his mother... The
conflicts of honor and love and the desire to try to keep
one's sanity while madness swirls about you. It was just..."
"Was good?"
"You didn't get any lines at all. Sorry, Shampoo."
"Shampoo figured. She not even on box."
-----------------
On a small boat, someone travelled. This person had gone by
many names over the past few years.
"The greatest pervert in all China," some called her. Some
called her the Scourge or the Disgrace of the Amazons. Some
called her by her Amazon name of Starch. Urd referred to her
as a "Princess Fatora clone." Mousse called her cousin. Many
others called her things less repeatable in polite company.
Not that girl+girl was unknown within the Amazons. It was
the way Starch went about it that had given her the title
"Happosai's Disciple." (Among the Amazons this was
considered quite the shameful thing.)
Starch resembled, if one did not know the evil of her
heart, an attractive young lady of Chinese ancestry. She
kept herself fairly fit and taut, and liked to show it off
by wearing outfits that were quite revealing where they
weren't simply tight. Once one got closer, one could
determine a more worn look hidden behind the makeup, as one
can't put one's body through THAT much abuse without leaving
traces.
Starch was also the master (mistress?) of Dirty Tricks
style martial arts. As well as the corresponding school of
*marital* arts.
Had the Japanese government any idea of what was piloting a
fishing boat across the Sea of Japan, there would have been
barricades and an armed presence beyond anything that even
Madame Lao would have merited. After all, the Chinese
government had seriously considered nuking the Amazon
village the LAST time Starch had set foot outside her
village.
Once Starch was dealing with Outsiders, such terms as
restraint and subtlety became conspicuous by absence.
As it was, most people who were at all sensitive to psychic
energies were having premonitions.
"Most ominous," pronounced Cherry.
"Screw ominous, I'm outta here!" Cherry's cousin, a cousin
named Aisha, started packing. "When I get a fire reading
that looks like THAT, and an ominous voice saying 'you're
screwed' it's time for a VACATION!"
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to Disneyland!"
"Most ominous," repeated Cherry.
-------------
Japoness, Terra Two
A worldgate briefly flared into existence and out stepped a
redhaired young man, who looked about himself with
deliberate casualness, then made way to be followed out of
the portal by a gaggle... well, actually they got along
surprisingly well with each other, a group of Belldandies
and Urds. And two androids and a girl in a gym suit with
brown hair in a ponytail.
"Now remember," said one Belldandy to the ponytailed girl,
"he's still in mourning so trying to seduce him just isn't
proper yet."
Makoto Jupiter nodded but continued to smile. She'd reached
the target first and counted dibbs on Minako. This was her
BIG CHANCE!
The young man studied the sky. "Well, the 'Locate Person'
spell now tells me we're on the same plane of existance. Any
idea of where we are? The constellations aren't Earth's."
One of the Urds glanced between the youth and the afternoon
sun, but neglected to ask how he could see star
constellations in midday. The other Urd was hearing the
words, but she'd think about them later. The young man was
wearing a practically shapeless set of tunic and leggings
that could've fit into any number of cultures - which was
the point. But in spite of the bagginess of his garments his
face was well featured and quite easy to look upon. So she
did. Of course, he might as well not have bothered with the
attire. The five goddesses were garbed as usual, and stuck
out pretty handily.
Two Belldandies answered at the same time - the same
answer. "I'm afraid that we lost Yggdrassil access when we
determined who got to stay with Keiichi. Father says that we
can get back online when wešve found new positions, assuming
we do, but for the time being Išm afraid we donšt have any
power."
Sakyo frowned but didn't say anything. Her sensors
indicated a fair amount of power in the goddesses. Perhaps
this was more human interaction that she didn't understand
despite borrowed memories. Analysis indicated that this
might be a strategic move, keeping one's strengths in
reserve.
Little alarm bells were ringing in the young man's mind.
He'd been assuming more effective assistance when he'd
invited them along. He mentally switched his mind into more
of a bodyguard role, and his informational priorities crept
up a notch.
"Okaaay," he tried not to sound disappointed. Well, chi
senses read nothing near for now, so at least they werenšt
in any immediate danger. He lifted an arm and whispered a
command word, sending a brief ripple of blue light out in a
ring from his hand.
Sakyo scanned the alleyway and the park it opened out into.
"Architecture suggests Edo period Japan, though materials
are incorrect for such. High degree of dust particles in
midair, noted plasma-energy charge in dust. G-class sun,
spectroanalysis indicates three billion years older than
Earth's sun. Low level scanning reveals multiple energy
sources of approximately Tech Level 6."
"Which means?" Urd raised an eyebrow as if *daring* the
cyberoid to continue.
"Not sure," said Sakyo, ignoring the resultant facefault
from Urd.
"What was that spell, anyway?" Three godesses of mixed type
responded.
Makoto merely relaxed. She didn't sense enough chi to
trouble HER from anyone on the planet, save one. And she was
MORE than happy to be keeping an eye on him anyway.
Soon the air was full of small birds landing on arms and
branches. The Urd who'd been staring became aware of small
avians landing on her shoulders and hair and asked. "Animal
Summoning? What for?"
The other Urd stifled a small stab of jealosy at her
companion's spell knowledge. She hadnšt caught that one.
The redhaired youth didnšt notice, stifling as he was a
stab of grief. "I'm recreating the Sparrow Squadron." He
took a long breath. ~Calm, deliberately calm.~ "When my base
universe was destroyed I also lost my animal friends. I'll
charm some of these and implant the training with a memory
spell. Some of these types fly at over two hundred miles per
hour. They'll be able to seek out over a wider area and
cover a great deal more ground than we do."
~Okay,~ both Urds conceded at the same time. ~Nice guy.
Hell of a bod, and he's got a brain too.~ Thoughts ran
immediately into the same barricade. ~Still, he doesn't
drink and doesn't approve of it in others. So there goes my
recharge. Then again, I haven't *got* any powers to speak of
and who's to say next time the limits will be the same?~
Both platinum haired goddesses ended with an identical
smirk. The thought was shelved for later as the young
druid/mage/really awesome martial artist went on casting
spells over the birds he'd selected.
Two Belldandies were busily playing with the unselected
avians and one was spreading out a small picnic lunch on a
towel. As they hadn't left with this sort of equipment, it
was a fair indication that SOME things remained. It was a
good fifteen minutes before the mage ceased murmuring spells
and joined them, releasing his chosen birds who went flying
every which way.
One Belldandy was handling tea, another had produced small
cakes, and the other had somehow convinced the unclaimed
small birds to bring them a selection of nuts and berries.
Jared took his seat and accepted a steaming mug of hot
cocoa, saying. "I put them to work. I'll get to the rest of
the enchantments later, but for now theyšre equipped with
the basics of magical location and their own protection.
Time enough to get fancy when we need them to be upgraded.
For right now I have them seeking out the nearest local, who
I'll hunt down and use a Know Customs spell on, which will
give us a more sure footing to deal with, and then we'll
use them to hunt down Grey. My 'Locate Person' spell will
tell me 'left' or 'down' or things like that, but swifter
and safer to get the right location and close with magic.
That way we donšt wind up walking three hundred miles or
whatever."
~And, with any good fortune,~ Jared thought to himself.
~Within that time one or two of my little birds will've run
across a conveniently large bunch of great cats so I can
recreate the Furball Brigade so I can leave you all defended
while I pull Grey out of whatever mess he's in.~
Sakyo opened her mouth to speak but held back. Grey was
approximately 12.1275 miles from their current location, in
a NNE direction. There was also indication of some jamming
fields, so her reading might not be accurate. Should she
speak or would the mage resent it?
Makoto shrugged. Whatever there was on this dirtball, she
wasn't sure it was ready to face HER.
Shan merely let her batteries recharge. She'd seen entirely
too much combat recently, and her internal repair systems
could use some downtime.
-------------
A gate swirled open and a woman stepped forth.
She'd never admit it, but she liked Grey. In some ways he
reminded her of a tough old mouse that was so amusing to
watch one never got around to killing it. Besides, he'd done
her a good turn or two, and Bast kept track of such things.
Now here was this Pheonix Mage, and SHE remembered HIM,
remembered him quite well, in fact. He'd had a few cats,
kept them as friends and companions, and had respected their
needs to go out and do cat-things on occasion. More
important to her, she knew of occasion where cat-enemies had
suffered at the hands of this mage. So, even if he DID use a
bird motif, she counted him as an intriguing catspaw to try
to save this all from catastrophe.
Besides, she would also be addressing a problem with this
world.
When the Bulbun shuttle from the arcship Mesopotamia had
landed on Terra Two, it had carried genetic samples of
hundreds of Earth species. Domestic cats, squirrels, dogs,
birds, ferrets, and others. MANY species had NOT been
represented, or had been fried when the AI of the
Mesopotamia had gone rogue.
There were perhaps twelve cats on Terratwo. All male
clones, comfortably employed with grain warehouses. But only
twelve cats on the planet.
This was not the sort of situation that Bast liked to see.
So, as that RRO operative had already stirred things up,
Bast felt free to meddle. She was, after all, a cat.
Meddling was a preferred option.
She opened a gate and materialized a pod such as might have
been dropped off an arcship. It was actually off of the very
Mesopotamia that was lying in wreckage up above. Instead of
dead embryos, however, what was being brought forth...
Prey animals, of course. Everything from birds to zebras. A
fertility spell to ensure a quick increase in numbers. A cat
understood that nature had balances. But also she produced
the cats that could hunt those prey. A few more than would
be prudent if they were staying.
And, just to tweak a few noses, Bast put a few cats in the
mix that were not what would have been originally packed
back on Earth. She was a cat, such gestures were
irresistable.
----------
Sailorjin world:
Ami Mercury, Scientist caste, considered carefully.
Rei Mars would be Rae Earth shortly, having decided to take
HIS name as they were living on Earth now anyway.
"Got anything yet?" Usagi asked her old friend. Who would
have thought that when Ami had come riding up on Usagi's hut
seeking dragonballs, all those years ago, that they'd have
come so far?
Ami nodded. "Look, are you sure about this? He's a cyborg
that just looks human, like some of Doctor Zero's
creations."
"I think you should drop out now," Haruka said with Michiru
nodding agreement. "Leave this to a REAL warrior. Errr.
Warriors."
"Besides, who will defend your homeworld if YOU leave,"
Michiru added coyly.
"Ahhhh!" Usagi sweatdropped. "Well, we could ALL use a
vacation, couldn't we?"
"Makoto's after that Mage fellow, but if he's unavailable
as he said, won't she switch to Grey?"
"AHHHH!" Usagi repeated. "HURRY AMI!"
"I *think* I can open a dimensional warp," Ami said slowly.
"But I don't have the equipment here. I'd have to go back to
my lab at hooooooommmme!"
Usagi, having plucked her dear old friend up under one arm,
was in danger of breaking the sound barrier.
--------------------
Rei took one good look at the video feed and squeaked.
"What's up?" Mamoru asked drowsily from the couch.
"The wedding's off."
"Huh?!" This managed to cut through Mamoru's exhausted
haze.
"This Jared Saotome guy is SO fine! Usagi can have you
after all, THIS guy is exactly what's needed!"
"Huh?!" Mamoru repeated. "B-b-but what about..."
"When your old buddies referred to you as 'old one-two
Mamoru' I had *thought* they were referring to your fighting
skills. If I had known stamina was the reason you always
showed up and left during your brief appearances in those
fights, I'd have let Usagi or Makoto have you."
"Makoto?" He'd known that Rei was getting bored. That she
was talking on the phone while they were making love had
indicated that perhaps their romance wasn't getting along
well.
"Yeah, she used to say you were cute. Mind you, if you can
prove you're somehow studlier than THAT guy, I'll change my
mind."
"But I?!" Mamoru wondered if he should try that Viagra
stuff. Or maybe he'd just been stressed out a bit.
"I gotta run. They're going to Ami's lab to go pursue that
Grey-schmuck. Don't see what they see in HIM, but no way
I'll let Makoto or Minako have some guy who's more man than
MINE." Rei leapt out the window and was gone in a blaze of
fire.
"Eeeple," said Mamoru feeling rather small at the moment.
Indignation, jealousy, and rage would come later.
----------------
Weird ideas i couldn't fit anywhere else but in this muddle.
Segment 12
What would happen to Ifurita in a Dragonball Z world?
A chance to crossover with "Fist of the Pikachu"!
Why wouldn't the good guys be paranoid?
A Jin-Goro model marionette is seen briefly in episode 8
of Sabre Marionette J.
Starch is coming, the advocate of the "all love is good
love" and "all religion and morality is bad" philosophies!
Hide your women, your children, your farm animals and pets!
Taz the Tasmanian Devil, pokemon version. Knows the
attacks of Slurp, Lick, Spin, etc. And finally someone in
the Ranmaverse who has worse eating habits than Genma.
"Long & Winding Road" as a miniseries on TV?
An alternate explanation for why Mamoru Chiba never
sticks around very long.
============================
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and there will be enough overflowing
to fill yours to the brim."
Rose Pastor Stokes