[Ranma][Fanfic] "Wanderer" Part 4
fher...@hotmail.com
Ranma and Ukyou gape at the pile of Japanese yen and Canadian dollars
before them. "How the hell did you manage to save all this money while you
were busy on another planet, Onee-chan?" the former gazes quizzically at
Yumi.
"Quite easily, actually," Yumi smiles. "Swiss bank accounts come in
very handy. The bank in question was given a blood sample from me twenty
years ago, prior to our leaving for Kaemal. I claimed I was Yumi Tachibana's
daughter but I didn't have any other means of identification, so I asked for
a blood test to be done. Once the DNA tests matched up, then I had access to
the funds."
"What type of bank does that sort of thing?" Ukyou wonders.
"Well, as you've seen in the big fight they had with Holocaust
survivors and descendants, you know how tight the Swiss banks are when it
comes to the money stored within them," Yumi muses. "All I did twenty years
ago was make sure that the bank tellers would demand the right means of
identification, means *I* stipulated. Once the criteria was met, the rest
was easy."
"We'll show you how to do it when we go over to deposit the money
from your restaurant over there," Chisato adds. "We never know when we can
come back to Earth, so it's good to have something waiting here in a place
where it can't be stolen. What better place to do that than a bank?"
"Especially a Swiss bank?" Ryou smiles.
"Good point," Ukyou hums. "You know, I never thought actually leaving
for another planet would entail so much work."
"Well, we made lots of mistakes when we went out there," Yumi sighs.
"We just want to help you make the transition easier. For Ranma-chan, it'll
be really no big problem since she's lived on the road for so long. Matter
of fact, that wouldn't be so much of a problem with you either, Ukyou-chan."
"I never camped out on the road like Ran-chan did," Ukyou admits.
"But as for living alone, yeah, that's been my lot in life for quite some
time. Won't be too much of a problem, I think. By the way, what's the food
situation on Kaemal? I don't want to end up accidentally poisoning myself or
Ran-chan."
"Actually, it's not too bad," Ryou smiles. "The food cooked there
doesn't have all the preservatives and other chemicals that're put in foods
here, so it'll be a bit bland unless you take advantage of the local spices.
They're actually very nice once you get used to them. I always find Earth
food leaves me dissatisfied taste-wise whenever I've come back here for a
quick visit."
"We won't have much to worry about there," Ranma smiles. "U-chan's one
of the best cooks in Japan."
"Aw, Ran-chan!!" Ukyou blushes, then hums. "I just thought of
something. Given how horrible Akane cooks at times, I think if she went out
to Kaemal, she'd actually do good."
"Why do you say that?" Ryou wonders.
"When Akane's in the kitchen, she grabs everything she can get her
hands on to throw into the recipe without looking at what she's grabbing,"
Ranma sighs, remembering her ex-fiancee's many culinary disasters. "You
gotta stand over her with a hammer to make sure she doesn't get hold of drain
cleaner or rat poison by mistake."
Silence falls as Ranma leans on her elbows, depression sinking over her
like a shroud. "You miss her, don't you?" Ukyou muses.
"Hai," Ranma nods.
The front doorbell rings. "Well, speak of the devil and you see her
horns," Ukyou hums on seeing who it is.
"Eh?!" Ranma looks up, then turns to see Akane standing by the door.
"Akane...?"
Ryou walks over to open it. "C'mon in, you're missing the party," she
waves Akane inside.
"Um...th-thanks," Akane blinks, staring quizzically at the tall woman,
then notices the two others with Ranma and Ukyou. Her eyes then lock on Yumi.
"Um...I take it you're Yumi, right?"
"You must be Akane," Yumi rises, gently grasping her hand. "A pleasure
to meet you. Ranma's already told us a lot about you."
Akane blinks, then stares suspiciously at her former fiancee. "Oh, what
did she say?"
Seeing her look, Ranma wordlessly rises and heads upstairs. "Nice
going!" Ukyou sighs. "You really know how to hurt someone!"
"What did I say?!" Akane blinks, stunned at the cold shoulder.
"It's what you implied," Chisato hums. "Because you're so used to
Ranma-chan insulting you to other people behind your back, you automatically
suspect she said something bad to us about you, which in your eyes gives you
the 'right' to brain her with a mallet without taking the effort to
understand what Ranma-chan said."
Akane winces. No one had ever made comment on her behaviour towards
Ranma like THAT before. Well, actually, Ukyou and Shampoo strongly questioned
it, but never once had anyone told her right to her face what she did wrong.
*Actually, Ranma did...* she then sighs. *And what did I do? I hit hi-...HER
all the time. No wonder she doesn't trust me anymore! Swift, Tendou, real
swift!*
"Why aren't you doing something about it?" Yumi wonders.
Akane blinks, then sighs before heading upstairs to the small apartment
over the restaurant. There, Ranma relaxes on the floor gazing out the window.
Akane bites her lip. "Ranma?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry," Akane looks down.
"It's okay."
"No, it's NOT okay!" Akane snaps. "Damn it, Ranma, I had no right to
question what you said to them. Personally, after what I've done to you over
the last year, you've got every right to call me a sexless, uncute tomboy..."
"Why are you doing this to yourself?"
Akane stops as Ranma gazes questioningly at her. Tears brim in the
redhead's eyes, causing her heart to scream with rage. "I...because it's my
fault..."
"Is it?"
"Um..."
"No, it isn't," Ranma reaches down to grasp her hand, then draws it
to her cheek, gently kissing the palm. "Believe it or not, Akane, everyone
has a share of the blame in this mess. You do, I do, our fathers do,
everyone else does. But...right now, I'm tired of blame. We've been
poisoning ourselves with blame, you know that? Accusing other people...all
that's done is made everyone shield themselves, wall themselves in. How do
you break the walls down, Akane? How can you finally make people trust each
other again? You can't, not after all we've been through."
"We can try," Akane smiles.
"Maybe," Ranma sighs. "But look what I just did. I was in a
situation which had me so trapped, there was no way out save death or
dishonour. I didn't want to die and my honour was stretched to the limit and
beyond...so what could I do? I wanted to end this so everyone could walk
away knowing their honour was intact...but it hurt them...I hurt them...I
hurt you...I hurt you most of all..."
"Ranma..." Akane shudders, her eyes tearing.
"I could've stayed at the house," Ranma sighs. "I could've tried to
push U-chan and Shampoo away, say that it was you that I really wanted...and
what would that've done? It would've put you and your family in danger
because you were an obstacle in their eyes and obstacles had to be
eliminated. All because of me..."
"Oh, Ranma..."
"So the only way that could've worked for all of us, including
me...was to freeze myself as a woman and stay frozen," Ranma closes her eyes.
"And that broke your heart...and hurt you..."
She doesn't resist as Akane draws her into an embrace, sobs stealing her
voice. Akane closes her eyes, herself crying...
* * *
"Wanderer" a fantasy crossover tale of Ranma Saotome by Fred Herriot
fher...@hotmail.com **** **** **** Based on "Ranma 1/2," created by Rumiko
Takahashi; "NoeL - La Neige," created by Pioneer LDC; and "Major Raeburn,"
created by Fred Herriot **** **** ****
NOTE: The legend relayed here in this story may NOT be the actual legend
surrounding Perseus and Andromeda; in truth, what was used here stems from the
plot of the Harry Hamlin/Lawrence Olivier movie "Clash of the Titans." For
those who know the proper details of Perseus' myth, I apologize if that wasn't
accurately relayed here.
**** **** ****
PART FOUR - TRIALS
"How is she?"
Akane descends from the apartment, then smiles. "She's asleep right
now," she relaxes by the grill as Ukyou starts cooking, then looks down.
"She's a wreck."
"Yeah, I know," Ukyou sighs, then stares at her. "She loves you, you
know that."
Akane blinks, then feels her cheeks redden. "I know. I guess I've
always known. No matter how angry I got at Ranma, she always was there for
me, always ready to protect me. I just wish that our pride didn't always get
in the way of our admitting that...not to mention our fathers and everyone
else."
"There's one thing I've always noticed," Ukyou hums. "You always
stood up to Ran-chan, Akane. You always told her what you thought. Deep
down, Ran-chan admired that. I guess...maybe that's the reason she...she
never could love me like she did you."
"She still cares for you," Akane muses.
"Yeah, I know, but it's not what you've got," Ukyou sighs, then flips
the okonomiyaki onto Akane's plate. "You really got something there, Akane.
Treasure it; you'll never have it again."
"But what happens now?" Akane sighs. "Father won't allow me to see
Ranma if Ranma's turned her back on her family. He knows about this thing
between Ranma and Yumi."
"Then he better start blaming it on the right person for a change,"
Ukyou shakes her head. "You wanna know something, Akane. There are times I
really pitied you. Your father's as much a coward as Ran-chan's. Instant
something happened, he'd turn around and demand you settle it all for family
honour!" She then spits out. "Well, to hell with family honour is all I
say!! Look where it got me; hell, look where it got Ran-chan?! Forced out
of our homes and living on our own, that's where!"
Akane blinks, then sighs. "Yeah, that's true, isn't it?" she starts to
eat her okonomiyaki.
Ukyou gazes at her. "I really wish you could come with us, Akane,"
she smiles. "You're a really good person underneath it all and Ran-chan'd
want you to be with her."
"Come where?!" Akane tenses.
The chef sighs. "Okay, you might as well hear the rest of this story.
There's a lot more going on here, but there's no way that we'd spill it all at
once with that con-artist sister of yours and everyone else in hearing range."
She then fingers the Jewel on her bosom. "You recognize this, Akane?"
Akane blinks, then stares closely at the Jewel. "Yeah, Ranma has a
necklace like that...it looks expensive..." she squints, a spark of memory
flashing in her eyes.
"Remember our history classes?" Ukyou smiles. "When we studied the
Greater East Asian War...?"
Akane blinks, then her eyes widen as the image of something similar
to what Ukyou and Ranma now wear comes back to her. In that case, it was
worn by a pilot from Canada...
"Ukyou, what have you done...?" she gasps.
Ukyou purses her lips. "Akane...about five days ago, my little
friend shows up, telling me he had come here to ask ME to go to this other
planet, a planet named Kaemal. About fifty light-years from here. Right
now, they're being torn apart by critters the likes of which you couldn't
begin to imagine. I'm a martial artist, just like you are, Akane. I know the
code. Help those who can't help themselves. So I accepted. Yumi-chan,
Ryou-chan and Chisato-chan are the other Jewel Warriors for that planet;
they've been fighting these things for TWENTY years, Akane! I had to go.
Staying here longer wouldn't be any good for me, wouldn't get me Ran-chan, so
what did I have to lose? Nothing at all; I've already lost a lot. What I
gained was a lot of my self-respect back."
Silence for a moment as Akane absorbs those words. "So how did Ranma
get chosen?!" she wonders.
"Same deal," Ukyou nods. "On my word of honour, I had nothing to do
with it. In fact, believe it or not, Ran-chan was chosen to become a Jewel
Warrior BEFORE me, even with the fact that she was born a boy! And because
she was chosen, one of us had to be chosen to go with her." She sighs. "We
know what are the qualifications are to get one of these. Ran-chan quoted
them to the class the day we covered this, remember? You've got a family,
Akane. I don't."
Akane sighs. "I...can I still come?"
"And risk your life?" Ukyou stares bleakly at her. "Have Ran-chan
weep over your grave? Akane, please, will you stop trying to justify
yourself all the time? It's okay here, but this isn't like you fighting Herb
or the Seven Lucky Gods. Your martial arts skills won't mean SHIT in this
place! These fuckers won't care who you are. In fact, because you're the
life-mate and soul-mate of a Jewel Warrior, you'd be a legitimate target in
their eyes. Yumi-chan, Ryou-chan and Chisato-chan've had to keep themselves
isolated from the natives because they know what could happen if one of these
things tried to take advantage of them that way."
Akane shudders. "I could try..."
"No, you can't!" Ukyou hisses. "This ain't a game anymore, Akane.
It's real life-and-death! People've died by the HUNDREDS on Kaemal...and
that's just a single raid on one village!! Imagine having to do something
about that day-in-and-out for TWENTY years?! They hit without warning, come
from NOWHERE to destroy everything in their path! No chivalry, no code of
honour, NOTHING!!!! Even after twenty years, Yumi-chan and the others've had
little luck in trying to predict when these jokers're planning to come out!!
Do you REALLY want to risk your neck in a place like that?!!"
She then sighs. "And I know for the fact that Ran-chan wouldn't like
it one damned bit, Akane!! Yeah, you've got a right to be annoyed at her
shielding you like that, but this time, the difference in sheer power between
you and these things CAN'T BE BRIDGED!!!! Fates, Akane, HAPPOUSAI and
COLOGNE wouldn't last ten minutes there!!! Do you think Ran-chan'd risk
having you come when the two best martial artists she's ever known wouldn't
survive?!!"
Silence falls as Akane feels a cold hand grip her heart. "I want to
protect her, too..." she bites her lip.
Ukyou sighs, then smiles. "I know you do. I know you want to pull
your weight, Akane. It says a lot about you, sugar, it really does. But
this time, things're all going against you. Ran-chan ended it between
you...between her and all of us...because she didn't want to hurt us anymore.
After all she's done, do you think she'll let you walk into a warzone all
just to be with her?"
"No..." Akane sighs.
Footsteps. They turn to see Ranma standing there, a sad look on her
face. Akane rises, then walks over to her. They gaze at each other, then
Ranma bows her head. "I have to do it, Akane."
"I know," Akane sniffs, then sighs. "I...I gonna go back home. I need
some time to think about this."
"Un," Ranma nods.
Akane turns to leave, then stares at her. "I'll...do you want me to
tell everyone?"
"No," Ranma shakes her head. "All that'll do is cause a lot of
unnecessary grief for a lot of people, especially if Nabiki or your father
gets wind of it. I'm dangerous for you to know now, Akane-chan. I won't
have what I am endanger you anymore."
"I...I understand," Akane smiles, then opens the door.
"I love you."
Akane blinks, then gazes at her. "I love you, too, Ranma."
The door closes behind her. Ranma sighs, then staggers to the bar,
accepting Ukyou's warm embrace. "I should've told her," she sniffs, rubbing
her eyes.
"You would've fumbled it with her, Ran-chan," Ukyou sighs. "She needed
the truth without it being whitewashed with emotion. We aren't allowed that
sort of luxury anymore."
"I hurt her again..." Ranma sighs, then covers her face...
* * *
Elsewhere...
"Father, we can't allow this to happen."
"And what is wrong with that?"
"Isn't it obvious?! She loves her! She'll move the heavens themselves
to be with her. You insisted that Ranma Saotome was worthy to become a Jewel
Warrior! Can't we do something to give Akane Tendou the same chance?!"
"We cannot. The Seekers were adamant on the matter when they
scattered their Jewels across the universe. I will not ignore their wishes
or desires concerning their heirs, much less desecrate their memory, by
making Akane Tendou a more desirable candidate."
Silence. "And Ranma's heart remains shattered."
"Unfortunate, but unavoidable."
"Not so."
"Oh?"
A bemused snicker. "If Akane Tendou can't become a Jewel
Warrior...what's to stop her from becoming one of us? In the end, it means
the same thing, doesn't it?"
"..."
* * *
Akane sneezes. "Someone's thinking about me!" she rubs her nose as she
steps into the house. "Tadaima!"
"Did you see Ranma-chan?" Kasumi wonders from the kitchen.
"Hai," Akane sighs, relaxing by the table.
"And how is she?"
"She's...hurt," Akane looks down. "She didn't know any other way to
solve this other than killing herself. Too many people were involved. There
was no way to resolve this without destroying what was left of Ranma's honour,
not to mention their own."
"There is!" Souun declares.
"Oh, how?!" Akane stares at her father as he walks in.
"He was to marry you as was agreed to long ago!" Souun sits after
descending from his bedroom. "The others engagements have no relevance in
this case."
"Oh?!!" Akane growls, bolting up as her battle aura flares around
her. "You want to know something, Dad?! Ukyou's right! You ARE as much a
coward as that useless friend of yours!!"
Souun's jaw drops open as Akane storms upstairs, then wails. "Oh, my
daughter hates me!"
Kasumi sighs. Akane steps into her room, then sits on the bed. "Oh,
gods, Ranma, how could you...?"
She tenses, then bolting to her feet, tip-toes to the door, then
sneaks over to peek into Nabiki's room. Sure enough, the middle Tendou
daughter has earphones on, listening intently to her network of microphones
laid through the house. "ONEE-CHAN!!!!"
Nabiki screams as she hits the roof, then collapses to the floor,
rubbing her skull. "Ite...!"
"ARE YOU TRYING TO SPY ON ME?!?!?!" Akane snarls, reaching down to
grab Nabiki by her shirt collar, then yanking her to her feet. "WHAT'S THE
BIG IDEA, ANYWAY?!?!?!"
"What does it look like?!!" Nabiki stammers, shuddering as her
sister's battle aura flares. "I'm trying to find out what the hell happened
between you and Ranma, that's what...!!"
"So you could SELL that to every idiot in sight and really make Ranma's
life hell, right?!!" Akane growls menacingly, then tossing Nabiki aside, grabs
hold of her tape machine and yanks it out of the wall before breaking it over
her knee! "You really are a piece of work, you know that?!" she glares at
Nabiki. "I'm trying to rebuild some trust between Ranma and me and I CAN'T do
that with you trying to cut me off at the knees!! Now, get this through your
head finally: LEAVE...US...ALONE!!!!!!"
Nabiki is blasted down by Akane's shout as the youngest Tendou storms
out of the room. A moment later, Kasumi stares into the room. "Are you
alright?"
"Does it look like it?" Nabiki mutters.
Meanwhile, Akane places herself in the middle of the dojo, sitting
cross-legged as she tries to calm down. "Damn it all, it never stops...!" she
hisses, then her eyes narrow. "You are really pushing it, old man!!" she
growls, her aura flaring.
"He-he-he!" Happousai snickers as he tries to crawl onto her back. "Why
don't you give your master a hug...?"
A hand grabs the aged warrior and yanks him away. "I think not," a
woman softly muses.
"Sweeto!!!" Happousai gapes on seeing the diminutive lavender-haired
beauty with the bright gold eyes who had come to defend Akane, then lunges...
...only to smash face-first into a forcefield around her! "You
really are clumsy, aren't you?" the woman muses, then reaches down to press
two fingers into Happousai's skull. A flash of energy later, she draws her
hand back. "There! That'll make you respect other people's personal space
from now on."
"What did you do?" Akane wonders.
The woman smiles. "Touch him and see for yourself."
Akane blinks, then touches Happousai's head. Smoke billows from the
contact as the skin ignites, yet Akane feels no heat. For Happousai, it is as
if he had been doused with acid; he runs out of the dojo screaming! "That
should be instructive," the woman muses.
"What did you do?!" Akane repeats.
"I created an energy field which is now mated to his life-aura that
would cause his skin to burn every time he comes into contact with any part
of a woman's body," the woman responds, shrugging. "That also includes the
skin fragments and secretions which linger on women's underwear after he
steals them."
Akane pales. "You mean...he can't come into contact with ANY woman at
all, not even their panties...?!" she gasps, then grins. "Oooh, now THAT'S
torture! But what's to stop him from using his pipe or a stick to try to hit
someone's shiatsu points?!"
"That would require me to alter his clothing, but what's to stop him
from buying new clothes?" the woman muses. "Manipulating energy patterns like
that always has its downfall."
"I guess so," Akane sighs. "Um...so, who are you? Why are you here to
see me?"
The woman gently adjusts the ankle-length silver cape draped over her
shoulder, barely covering the full-sleeved button shirt, tuxedo vest and
slacks, all white. "I am Svetlana Vladimirovna Taychesko. If you wish, you
may address me as Lady Ryasan. I am the daughter of Earth's Praetorian
Guardian, Lord Ryasan. As for why I'm here, Akane Tendou, I have come to
help you achieve that which your heart now desires: to spend the rest of
your life fighting at the side of your beloved, Ranma Saotome."
Akane blinks...
* * *
"DAMN THAT WOMAN!!!!!!" Happousai howls as he stares at the burn mark
on his forehead. "Who gave HER the right to do that to me?!! Why, I
aughta...!!!"
"You look in pain, Sensei," Nabiki muses, peeking into the master's
guest room after hearing his screams from her room. "What did you do to piss
Akane-chan off THIS time?!"
"It wasn't Akane, Nabiki, but some other woman!!!" Happousai snarls,
then smiles on seeing his collection of silky delights. "Oh, did my little
babies miss me...?" he gently coos as he draws them into his arms...
...then screams as fire burns across his arms and face as his skin
comes into contact with the lingerie. Nabiki bolts back as Happousai races
out of the house and leaps into the koi pond. "Now, there's something you
don't see every day!" she hums, then savagely grins. "But I'll bet every
girl in the district'll love to hear about THIS little change!!"
With that, she races to the telephone...
* * *
"To be...with Ranma...forever...?"
Akane gapes at the pale-dressed woman before her. "Is that what you
want, Akane? What you REALLY want?"
"I...I..."
"Akane, you may lie all you wish to everyone else, but don't lie to
yourself...especially not when the chances are good that once Ranma and her
fellow Guardians leave for Kaemal, it may be the last time you'll ever see
them in your lifetime."
That did it. "What?!!"
"You may not know this, Akane, but when one becomes a Jewel Warrior,
one becomes practically immortal," Svetlana crosses her arms. "Yumi
Tachibana, Ryou Midorikawa and Chisato Kadokura were all seventeen when they
became Jewel Warriors two decades ago. They haven't aged a day. The same
thing will happen to Ranma and Ukyou Kuonji. Do you want that? Do you want
to grow old and die while Ranma...remains forever young?"
Akane blinks, then looks down. "But I never can be a Jewel Warrior,"
she sighs. "I have a family..."
"That's true," Svetlana nods. "To be fair, the Seekers were wise in
placing that stipulation over the Power Jewels to ensure that the right sort
of person becomes a Jewel Warrior. With the level of power Ranma now
possesses, what's to stop whoever becomes her enemy from targeting those she
loves? The Praetorians, the sponsors of my family, aren't so...strict on
that matter. Look at me. I was born before my father became Earth's
Guardian...and because he became one, I was eligible to become one, too."
Akane gapes as the implications sink in. "Then that'd mean...you'd be
over...5000 years old...oh, gods...!"
"That's right," Svetlana nods. "While my father was busy here
defending Earth, I was with the Praetorians training, improving my abilities
and mastering the powers necessary to assume such a role. The time...is fast
approaching when my father will desire to be relieved from his task. I will
assume his place."
"So how could I learn to be a...Praetorian?!" Akane wonders. "It took
you thousands of years..."
"Agreed," Svetlana nods. "But Father was forced into his role within
a year real-time of gaining the power necessary to be Earth's Praetorian
Guardian. And because of that, he made a lot of mistakes along the way in
the first thousand years he was 'on the job.' He didn't want that for me, so
I spent that time training, moving from planet to planet and learning from
the other Praetorian Guardians protecting other worlds. That is...what will
happen to you if you accept my offer. You will gain the power right away,
much like Ranma gained her Jewel and the power that came with it. But be
warned now, Akane...you will have to spend a LOT of time learning how to use
that power...and learning when NOT to use it. Your greatest moral and
emotional weakness is your tendency to leap to conclusions and you always
expressing your anger when things go against you. In this task, you can't do
that. If you do...the disaster that could follow would be unimaginable."
Akane gulps, feeling the blood drain from her face. To actually gain
the power necessary to be at Ranma's side...as shown by the example of Dean
Raeburn and Vladimir Taychesko, Seeker Jewel Warriors and Praetorian
Guardians seemed destined to work hand-in-hand...would make all her dreams
come true. But to achieve that, she would have to change years of bad
habits, achieve a level of emotional control that had eluded her for so long.
She would have to put a reign on her anger, anger that burst forth at the
death of her mother, sustained her, kept her psychologically shielded from
the insanity of the outside world. She would have to possess, as Ranma was
when she employed the Hiryuu Shooten-ha. A soul of ice.
"That scares me," she admits.
"I was scared when I took my first step, too," Svetlana nods. "You
have the potential, Akane. You have the drive. You have a powerful sense of
what is right and what is wrong. Despite your many mistakes with Ranma, you
do give people a chance to prove themselves. Atop that...you love Ranma.
But right now, Ranma has been elevated to a power level that would force a
chasm between you and her, a chasm you could never breach in your lifetime.
Put simply, Akane, you need a lucky break. I'm here to give it to you...if
you let me."
Akane nods. "But...why are you so concerned about me?" she muses. "I
mean...put simply, I'm nobody special..."
"Oh?" Svetlana hums, her eyebrow rising. "To Ranma, you are special.
The most special person in her whole life. Doesn't that matter more than what
other people say?"
Akane flushes. "I guess so..."
"Besides, my father had a hand in seeing Ranma became a Jewel
Warrior," Svetlana adds. At Akane's shocked look, she sighs. "He noticed
Ranma's potential as early as the time he endured the Neko-ken training. At
the same time, he had a request from Yumi Tachibana to locate a potential
Jewel Warrior candidate. When Ranma's father first learned of Jusenkyou,
Father knew one of two things could happen: Ranma would achieve his full
potential and become one the greatest warriors of the modern era...or he
would be doomed because of his father's many mistakes. So, remembering
Yumi's request, he conceived of a plan that would allow Ranma to achieve that
potential...and much more."
"Who can argue with Lord Ryasan?" Akane whistles.
"But...Father can also be quite emotionless when dealing with people,"
Svetlana adds. "In my eyes, that's wrong. Emotions are as much part of the
human spirit as logic; to ignore them creates as much pain and evil as cold
rational thought. In fact, it creates more. How many wars have been fought
over love, hate, racism or simple jealousy? Father...didn't really care what
would happen to those who were emotionally close to Ranma when her time to
become a Jewel Warrior came. In his eyes, the equation is quite simple. The
needs of a whole planet striving to gain control of their own destiny far
outweigh the needs of a small group of people interested in controlling the
destiny of one."
"He has a right to feel that," Akane then nods. "All of us here in
Nerima never took the time to look at the whole picture when it came to
Ranma. All we wanted was the chance to get what we wanted. The others didn't
matter. If the decision went against us, we'd go over the edge and do who
knows how much damage. Ranma knew that to some extent, which is the reason
she...hesitated on making a decision...until Fate and your father forced her
hand."
"Good," Svetlana nods. "At least you understand it."
Silence falls for a moment, then Akane takes a deep breath. "I'm ready.
What do I have to do?"
"Pass a simple test," the Praetorian warrior winks...
* * *
The phone rings. "Hello, U-chan's Okonomiyaki!" Ukyou picks up the
line, then sighs. "What do you want, Nabiki?!"
Ranma looks up from her dinner as the chef takes the message.
"Someone put a spell on Happousai?!" Ukyou blinks. "He catches fire every
time he comes into contact with female things?! You're kidding me!
Couldn't've happened to a nicer jerk...eh?!" she pauses. "Oh, alright, I'll
tell her. Bye."
"What did she want?" Ranma muses.
"Someone really did a number on the old fool," Ukyou shrugs. "She
wanted to know if you'd be by to get your licks in."
"Nabiki thinks she's so smart at times," Ranma shakes her head, then
sips her tea. "All she wants is to catch me in a corner and demand to know
what's going on! Too bad I'm not biting."
"Good for you," Ukyou nods.
<<She doesn't know the whole story, Ukyou.>>
"Eh?!" Ukyou blinks, then looks at her pulsing Jewel. "What do you
mean?! What's going on?!"
<<There is a Praetorian Guardian at the Tendou home now. At the dojo to
be exact...with Akane Tendou.>>
"You mean like Lord Ryasan?!!" Ranma bolts up, then shudders. "Oh,
shit, what's she getting into now...?!"
* * *
"WHERE ARE WE?!?!?!"
Akane finds herself in the lower side of a cloudbank floating over
some mountainous terrain. "Sorry for the switch of scenery, but I didn't
want us to be interrupted by your sister or anyone else, even Ranma and
Ukyou," Svetlana floats beside her, then points down. "Welcome to Greece."
"Greece?!!" Akane spins on her. "What are we doing here?!!"
"I haven't finished yet! Remember your temper."
"Urk!" Akane tenses, then sighs. "Sorry."
"It's okay," Svetlana nods. "Now, you should've also asked WHEN are
we? I time-slipped us back three thousand years, back when the Greek gods
were pretty much at the peak of their influence in the eastern Mediterranean.
Father was ALWAYS busy down in this part of the world; if there was any race
of 'gods' that needed constant watching over, the Olympians were it!"
"I...don't know much about them," Akane admits.
"Alright, time for a mythology lesson, Praetorian-style," Svetlana
sighs. "First, you have to understand the relationship between a 'deity' and
his or her worshippers. The basis of all religious power is faith. Faith,
Akane, is energy, a specific form of psionic energy not so much different from
the chi energy you use in martial arts. Because it is energy, it can be
manipulated to a certain degree depending on circumstance and environment.
"Now, here's where it gets interesting. If enough people believe in
a certain spiritual concept, the energy they produce through their devotions
coalesces into creating a being that is a reflection of the expressed faith.
A god, a goddess, a divine spirit, call it whatever you will. Synergy then
comes into play. With all that faith energy coming together, it then
magnifies a million-fold into creating a power that under normal
circumstances could never be defeated by normal 'mortal' means."
"Wow!" Akane whistles. "You mean...for me being Japanese, if I believe
in Amaterasu O-Mikami, then my faith gives her power?"
"Exactly," Svetlana nods. "Now, no ONE person can give a god the
power to change the world. But multiply that in the thousands, then
concentrate and focus that faith energy. And make sure there is NO way that
faith energy can be diffused into something that isn't spiritual, like
technical or scientific knowledge. That's why the gods were so powerful in
this age, Akane. People didn't know any better but to give their faith to
the various deities; there was little scientific knowledge about the universe
and those who did understand some things could be counted on your fingers and
toes. Lack of literacy helps out here, too."
"So when knowledge changes, the amount of energy changes, too, right?"
Akane muses.
"Right. Now, change is a part of human nature. But the gods
subconsciously understood that if social or religious change occurred too
fast, had too much of a negative effect...say to the point where the faith of
a whole nation was wiped out...their power would be cut off and they'd cease
to exist. To that end, out of self-preservation most of all, they enforced
some pretty strict rules dealing with their worshippers."
"But change occurred. Look at the evolution from the old shamanist
faiths to the modern religions," Akane muses.
"Exactly. But faith is a powerful force, Akane. It takes CENTURIES
for it to be changed. The Olympians, in both their Greek and Roman
personifications, had influence over the peoples of the Mediterranean basin
for about three thousand years, until the Roman emperor Constantine enforced
Christianity. The Asgardians had control over Scandinavia for two thousand.
Look even now to the modern religions. Christianity is on the wane in this
day and age as people discover new forms of spirituality, so the divine
spirits that drive that faith are now slowly losing power."
"I see," Akane hums, crossing her arms. "So, how does your father fit
into this? What's his exact job?"
"There...come times when the gods tend to overstep their bounds when
it comes to their worshippers," Svetlana sighs. "As I said, the Olympians
were a pretty awful lot. That's because the Greeks who gave them power
wanted their gods to have human faults. Father was on their case a lot;
believe me, he was glad to see them gone finally. We intervene in such a way
that allows the god or goddess to remember that they are most of all the
SERVANTS and CREATIONS of those who worship them. What we cannot do is
directly step into the affairs of the worshippers. We walk a fine line here,
Akane. We don't want to make normal people worship us. That's not what
we're about. We want them to eventually, over the generations, learn where
true spiritual power lies."
She then taps her own heart. "Within ourselves," Akane muses.
"Exactly. I have my faith, Akane. I know there are powers far
greater than me; it's because of those powers that I am the way I am now. I
give them respect, but I don't give them obedience. The Praetorians don't
want that, believe it or not. It happened once in their billions of years of
existence and it's something they don't want to see repeated. That's why we
exist."
"So what's the test?"
"Okay, the test is simple," Svetlana waves as they descend to the
ground. "We're at the time of one of the more interesting stories of ancient
Greece. The Olympians, as I said before, were a pretty wild lot. Biggest
problem with them was their willingness to mate with everything that passed
in front of their eyes...and the biggest perpetrator of that lot was Zeus,
Olympus' king."
"He's Hercules' father, right?" Akane muses.
"'Heracles' as he was called here; Hercules is his Roman name,"
Svetlana nods. "Zeus was also the father of a young fellow by the name of
Perseus. You may have heard of him..."
"Oh, I know him!" Akane nods. "He's the one who slew the girl with the
snakes in her hair and saved another girl..."
"Good! The woman he slew was Medusa, a former priestess of
Aphrodite, the goddess of love. The other girl eventually became his wife,
Andromeda. Now, here's where the story begins. Zeus took notice of Perseus'
mother and decided he wanted to have a son through her. So, he disguised
himself as the woman's husband and seduced her. Guess who her husband was?
The king of his own kingdom. And they had a rule, approved of by the gods
themselves, that stated that adulterers and any children born of such matings
were to be killed, usually put to sea and left to drown."
"So what happened?" Akane urges.
"Zeus, to his benefit and detriment, had one good quality. He cared
very much for ALL his offspring. All the Olympians were like that, in fact.
He arranged for Poseidon, the sea god, to have Perseus and his mother brought
to an isolated island so they could live in peace. Here's where things get
interesting. In punishment over that king hurting his child, Zeus ordered
the destruction of Perseus' home city by unleashing a monster called the
Kraken, a byproduct of the second generation of Olympians, the Titans..."
She looks right. Akane's eyes turn as she realizes that they were
now on the shore near a beautiful classic Greek city...now being wiped out by
a scaly humanoid monster the size of Gojira! "Gods...!!" she gasps. "THAT'S
the Kraken?!!"
"Yes, that's him alright," Svetlana sneers. "Ugly, isn't it?"
"Where're Ranma and Ryouga when you need them?!" Akane sighs.
"Anyhow," Svetlana waves Akane to a nearby boulder, then sits down.
"Let's skip ahead a few years. Perseus grows up, very nice, strong and
athletic. Your typical Greek warrior-type. At the same time, there lived a
fellow named Calibos. He was also a half-god, his mother being the sea
goddess Thetis. Well, one day, Calibos really got Zeus mad...desecrating a
temple, I believe...and Zeus turned around and deformed him to the point
where NO ONE would want anything to do with him. In vengeance over Zeus
hurting her child, Thetis had Perseus teleported into the city of Joppa,
which was one of the centres of her personal faith."
Akane notices that both she and Svetlana were now in the market place of
another city, though the sudden switch of scenery didn't bother her too much.
Clearly, Svetlana knew what she was doing. "Ai-owch!! What next?!"
"Well, Zeus naturally didn't want to leave his son unarmed, so he had
some special arms created for him. No problem there. Then Perseus takes
notice of Andromeda. Look there," she points.
Akane pales on seeing some poor fellow being burned on the stake in the
middle of the square. "What's wrong?!!"
"Calibos decided to put a spell on Andromeda," Svetlana sighs.
"Since she was the daughter of Joppa's queen, Cassiopeia, she was naturally
the target of many would-be suitors. However, Calibos had Andromeda put a
the condition on their winning her hand. They had to answer a puzzle, which
always changed each time the suitors came forth...and if they guessed
wrong..." she nods to the pyre.
"You're kidding me!! How did Perseus get around that?!"
"It turns out that Calibos had Andromeda's spirit whisked away to a
nearby swamp near here every time a new suitor was about to show up,"
Svetlana crosses her arms. "Perseus followed, using an enchanted helmet to
render him invisible and a winged horse named Pegasus, and he overheard the
latest puzzle. Well, he tried to get back, but Calibos caught onto it. They
fought and Perseus sliced off his hand, then made it back to Joppa. Next
morning, he met Andromeda in the court, guessed the right answer for the
puzzle, exposed Calibos' part of it, then they were engaged."
"Calibos was a real jerk!" Akane spits out, then stares at Svetlana.
"But something tells me he didn't want to let this go!"
"In that way, he was like your would-be paramour Kunou," the
Praetorian nods. "Well, the day after that, Cassiopeia announced the
engagement of Perseus and Andromeda...but thanks to a slip of the tongue, the
queen insulted Thetis. Remember, Joppa is in the heart of Thetis' personal
domain...so when she found out, Thetis intervened...and ordered that
Andromeda would be sacrificed to the Kraken in punishment...and if she wasn't
there..."
"Joppa would be destroyed instead," Akane shudders. "What a bitch! I
get insulted all the time! What was her problem?!"
"Vanity...and not respecting who gave her the power she had,"
Svetlana smirks. "Like I said before, the gods tend to forget these things
since normal people don't want to be masters of their own lives, so
they...overstepped their bounds."
"I assume Perseus went out to save Andromeda, right?"
"Right. That's where Medusa became involved. Her gaze could turn
anyone into stone, so he bet on using her to transform the Kraken into stone
and save Andromeda and Joppa both. Since she wouldn't've come willingly, he
had to kill her, then made it back in time to confront the Kraken. Calibos
tried to get in the way and was killed by Perseus just after Perseus killed
Medusa."
A sly smile crosses her lips. "Now, the legends say THAT is what
happened. Legend and history don't ALWAYS coincide, Akane, especially where
we're concerned. Father intervened on that end. Now, you know the situation.
What would you have done?"
Akane shudders, then sighs. "Well, first of all, I'd love to get rid
of the Kraken. If Zeus didn't have enough personal honour to obey his own
laws, he had no right to destroy that city Perseus' mother comes from just
because of what happened to his son. The king had laws the gods agreed to.
Why couldn't Zeus let it go? Perseus was safe a long distance away. Why did
people die?"
"You can't destroy the Kraken yourself," Svetlana cuts in. "Remember,
we can't be too overt in our actions."
"Okay, so I'd have to make a situation where someone else would've
killed that thing," Akane bites her lip. "So that's where Perseus comes
in...but he needed Medusa to pull that off...and that wouldn't be fair to
Medusa! How did she get that power, anyway?"
"She was having some fun with Poseidon in one of Aphrodite's temples and
Poseidon made the mistake of saying Medusa was more beautiful than Aphrodite,"
Svetlana sighs.
"Another one?! What a bunch of thin-skinned idiots!" Akane snarls,
then sighs. "Okay, there's where I'd directly intervene! Change Medusa back
to normal...wait a minute; that isn't going to help Perseus a bit...!" She
crosses her arms, then blinks. "Okay, Thetis was the one who demanded the
Kraken be unleashed, right?!"
"Right."
"So...the threat has to be turned back on Thetis," Akane hums, then
smiles. "Calibos. He started the whole mess in the first place because he
made Andromeda order the deaths of all those guys who wanted to marry her.
So...what I'd do is find Calibos, have him altered to look like
Andromeda...water from Nyannichuan'd definitely work here...then at the last
moment, have him subbed for her. Then..." she grins, "THEN I'd yell up to
Olympus and tell Thetis that the Kraken was about to kill her own son! Once
she found out, she had a choice. Watch her son die before her eyes or
destroy the Kraken. Could she've pulled it off?"
"Yes, she did," Svetlana nods, then looks up. "Well, Father? What do
you think?"
Akane jolts, then spins around as a man's shadow falls over her. "It
appears that she has the potential," the silver-haired and moustached Lord
Ryasan hums.
"S-s-sir," Akane stammers.
"Relax, Akane," Svetlana places a hand on Akane's shoulder. "You passed
the test with flying colours. In fact, believe it or not, what you said
should've happened DID happen."
"So what happened to everyone?"
"Perseus and Andromeda married and were very much left alone by the
Olympians for the rest of their lives," Ryasan sighs. "Thetis was drained in
her battle with the Kraken and those who worshipped her turned their backs on
her over the years. Calibos and Medusa escaped, then because neither would've
lived long if Zeus or Aphrodite had anything to say about it..."
"We went elsewhere."
Akane turns to see a handsome couple standing there. The man has a
chiselled face with brooding eyes and slowly balding hair. The woman is
unbelievably beautiful with long green-tinted black hair. Both of them have
golden eyes, which seemed the norm for Praetorian Guardians.
"Calibos...Medusa?!!" she gapes.
"That's us," Medusa smiles, walking up to gently grasp Akane's hands.
"Welcome to the Cosmic Praetoriate, Akane."
"Th-thank you...!" Akane stammers, then notices their clothes. Like
the Taycheskos, Calibos and Medusa elect to wear a button shirt, vest and
slacks with a cape, though their colours are different (for him, a ruddy
red-brown; for her, a lime green). "I really can't believe this. Um...do
you work here on Earth...?"
"No," Calibos shakes his head. "Like Svetlana here, we had to go to
other worlds to better master our powers."
"That'll be your role, too," Medusa adds. "You'll first go to Kaemal
to fight with Ranma and her friends, then wherever Fate and duty direct you.
It's quite interesting. No one could ever explore all the worlds of the
Universe in a hundred lifetimes, so you won't have to worry about being
bored."
"I guess so," Akane nods, then gazes at Lord Ryasan. "I've been told
you were the one who believed Ranma to be the best suited to become a Jewel
Warrior."
"I recommended that," Ryasan warns. "The choice in the end was Ranma's
Jewel...and Ranma herself."
"Thank you."
"Why do you thank me?"
"For saving Ranma," Akane smiles. "I'm ready now."
"So be it," Svetlana nods...
...as Akane Tendou dies.
* * *
"AKANE!!!!!!" Ranma bolts out of bed.
She pants, patting her chest as Akane's shriek on having her
mortality, all her conceptions of her place in Creation, all her beliefs in
herself and her friends, shredded. Rising, the Jewel Warrior staggers to the
window, gazing out in the direction of the Tendou dojo. "Akane..."
<<You cannot interfere, Ranma,>> her Jewel glows.
"Will she be alright...?"
<<We must wait and see.>>
Ranma shudders, then looks down. "Akane-chan..."
* * *
<<What is this place...?>>
Before the Guardian, galactic spirals fill her vision, stars dancing
around her as they continued their endless journey through the cosmos. Her
vision then focuses, zooming up at transwarp speed to gaze upon lonely flashes
of light and energy in the midst of a black void. Connecting them all, from
every quantum particle to every quantum particle, atom to atom, molecule to
molecule, on through the higher forms of Existence...was energy.
Reaching out, the Guardian feels the energy flow through her, dancing
from one point to another. She then zooms out her vision, watching each atom
form their own strands, then build into larger blocks, each filled with
energy. Energy was everywhere around her, fuelling the tiny bits of matter,
the combination of both forming the fundamental, necessary parts of the great
All called Existence.
Even if something died, a planet was destroyed, a sun gone nova, the
energy lived on, transforming to newer forms as it combined with other
matrixes in fresh patterns. Sometimes, the energy patterns would be right to
create the spark of that which the Guardian knew was Life. From the simple
single-cell beings to multi-cell protein machines. From the seas onto land
and into the air and beyond. Sometimes, the energy would become so complex
that it would not only support Life, but Thought.
And from that remarkable change, there arose the concept of
Sentience. The endless questioning of Who, What, Where, When, Why and How.
At times, the questions have easy answers. Other times, the questions could
only be solved by guesses. And from that came Faith, a belief in something
that couldn't be proven by Thought. And from Faith arose a belief in
something beyond Existence. A power that controlled...and yet was forever
enslaved.
It made such sense now, the Guardian realizes.
Those beings, those deities, she once would've called on to invoke a
prayer, hope or a ripe curse...they were a reflection, a shared dream among
thousands, millions just like her before she was a Guardian. A dream
postulating where Sentience would eventually evolve over time. And time was
counted not just in years, but in centuries, millennia...which in the face of
the All of Existence, was just a blink, a heartbeat, a spark of energy...like
the spark in each atom, in each quantum particle that formed Existence.
And that energy had its own purpose. It could never truly be
directed by Thought. It was BEYOND Thought, beyond the Sentience that sprang
forth from Thought and Life. Yet Faith and Knowledge, the other child of
Sentience, could affect that energy if given the right motive and
opportunity. Her task as a Guardian was to ensure that such opportunities
would not snuff out the Life formed by that energy, so that Life, Thought and
Sentience could, over the aeons, finally combine as one thing...one All...
* * *
"Ran-chan, you can't do anything for her now."
Ranma blinks, then stares at Ukyou. Both now sit by the stove in
U-chan's, draped in nightgowns as they anxiously await the events at the
Tendou dojo. "I guess not..."
A flash of energy at the doorway cuts off her words! Ukyou and Ranma
tense, their Jewels glowing as the flash becomes matter, forming into a
familiar person, now draped in a white shirt and a crimson red vest, slacks
and cape. The only other change with Akane was her eyes, now a beautiful
bright gold instead of their usual sullen blue. "Akane!!!" Ranma screams as
she leaps up, racing over to fiercely embrace the newest Praetorian Guardian.
"Hey...wwwhoulf!!" Akane gasps as the breath is knocked out of her, then
smiles as she cups the shorter woman's chin, gazing deeply into her tearing
eyes. "Were you worried about me?"
"I'm always worried sick about you, you kawaii angel!!!" Ranma sniffs,
then smiles. "How are you?"
"Like...suddenly discovering you were blind all your life and then
getting the chance to really see," Akane shakes her head. "Ranma...oh, my
dearest love, you can't believe what I've seen, what I've come to understand
now..."
Ranma looks down, then gently kisses her. "Teach me."
"Eh?"
"Teach me...teach us," Ranma looks back as Ukyou comes up to add her
embrace, "...everything you know now. These Jewels give us power, but
they...also screen us from what you now find is so easy so we can concentrate
on the here-and-now. If...if we're going to be together as a group, as a
team of EQUALS...we have to understand each other more implicitly than we
ever did before."
Akane blinks, then nods before gazing on Ukyou. "I don't want to fight
over her anymore, Ukyou-chan. If we never had the question of who'd marry
Ranma-chan over our heads, we'd be the best of friends. Please,
Ukyou-chan...U-chan...I want that."
"So do I, Akane-chan...Ka-chan," Ukyou smiles.
Another group hug follows, then the three proceed upstairs...
* * *
"Vladimir?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks."
"My pleasure, Yumi," Lord Ryasan sighs as he watches his latest
student join Yumi's fellow warriors in their bedroom, then gazes at the
beautiful night overhead.
Yumi notices his stare, then sighs. "It's okay to say you miss her, you
know."
"Can I afford to admit that?" he muses...
* * *
To be continued...
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