"Hmmmmm.. Definitely not from Telarus…" Mihoshi poked and prodded the T-Rex a few times. Now, under most circumstances poking a T-Rex is pretty high on the list of 'stupid things to do,' right up there with walking towards a helicopter while wearing stilts and trying to play catch with a sphere of annihilation. On the other hand, most Tyrannosaurs Rexes are not sprawled out on the ground with their eyes crossed, a three foot tall lump forming on their head, and little baby pterodactyls flying around in circles over their abused noggins.
"We have to be SOMEWHERE…" Mihoshi complained, once again playing with her light cube. "The Galaxy Police Standard Issue Galactic Mapping and Locator System Mark Five can find an officer no matter where in the known universe they might be!" She quoted confidently. "Or.. Or was that the mark SIX locator? Mark six and a half maybe?" she whimpered and continued turning the cube this way and that, shaking it occasionally.
Ryoga just crossed his arms and sighed, depression creeping up on him. Things had all seemed so simple not so long ago. This is all Ranma's fault! tended to cover just about any problem he ran into, from getting lost to sudden rainstorms to that rock he stubbed his toe on the week before last. (Sure, the rock fared worse than his foot, but that wasn't the point! It was obviously Ranma's fault!) But now thing had gotten complicated. He was increasingly certain that all of this couldn't ONLY be Ranma's fault.
It all started so simply.
Ryoga wasn't lost. Things just weren't where they were supposed to be. He had been heading north out of Hokkaido (Though he didn't remember Hokkaido having so many signs in English, or a big 'Shea Stadium' last time he was there.) And he was fairly certain he was on the right track to get back to Nerima. In the meantime, while he feet wandered, his mind did so as well.
Currently he was considering what to say to Ranma when next he met him.
"Ranma Saotome, you have plagued me for the last time! Now I shall finally destroy you for all the horrors you have put me through!" Nah. Too long winded. "Ranma Saotome you foul fiend! Now I shall smite you and send you back to the Hell you were spawned from!" No way. Sounded too much like Kuno. Ranma Saotome, in the name of love and justice, I shall punish yo… Where did THAT one come from??
Ryoga sighed and shook his head. Nothing else seemed to fit. Ranma Saotome, Prepare to DIE! was just so.. .so… so perfect. Short. Simple. To the point. It couldn't be improved upon!
The young martial artist's attention was pulled back to reality by the sound of a loud warbling alarm.
"Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!" It blared. Red lights began flashing, and for the first time Ryoga began to pay attention to his surroundings. Everything around him looked high tech and expensive. Lots of machinery and blinking lights and power cables and conduits hanging from the ceiling. And… Did a giant fish just swim past in that big tube of water over there?
"Wonderful? Where am I now?" The part time porker sighed. He had barely taken another step then something odd, even by Nerima standard, happened.
With a dull WHUMP a giant hand descended from the ceiling holding a giant drinking glass, trapping him beneath it like a fly. Moment later a door of light opened up in front of him, and a red headed form stepped out.
"Ah HA! THIS time I've got you Mihoshi! Hey! You're not Mihoshi! Who are you?" Washu demanded, staring at her new guinea pig, er… 'guest'
"My name is Ryoga Hibiki. Who are YOU?" Ryoga demanded, his mind waffling between getting angry at his treatment, or even more depressed at this unfortunate turn of events.
"I am Washu! The greatest scientific genius in the Universe!" The diminutive female stated proudly. Two puppets appeared on Washu's shoulders, sporting victory fans.
"Yay Washu!"
"Washu is the greatest!"
Ryoga stared and sweat dropped.
"Now then." Washu's face turned cool and serious. "What are you doing here and how did you get into my lab?" She demanded.
"I don't know. I guess I got a little lost." Ryoga looked at the floor in embarrassment, one hand behind his head.
"You… you got lost and ended up in my lab?" Now I was Washu's turn to sweat drop.
"Um, yeah."
"How did you get part the DNA scanners and palm print authenticators at every entrance?"
"Get past the what?"
"You.. you didn't see them?" Washu began to pale a bit. "How about the force fields in each of the outer sections? And the anti Mihoshi sticky cannons?"
"I'm pretty sure I didn't see any of those…" Ryoga replied, thinking hard. He hadn't paid much attention at the time, but he would surely have noticed things like that, right?
"The pit traps? The sub atomic phase shift detection array? The big table covered with food, with a sign saying 'Free Eats' and a big box over it hovering over it?" Washu asked desperately, more and more blood draining out of her face.
"Um… No. Wait… No. No, I don't think I came across any of that stuff…"
"You.. you just wandered by ALL of it? I even installed a door with mechanical locks! Old spring loaded tumbler type locks! And I sealed it with duct tape and anti-Mihoshi wards! " she muttered to herself, trailing off.
There was only one possible explanation. Either this Ryoga was some sort of brilliant scientist and incredibly talented infiltrator… A second glance at him killed THAT theory. Or... Or…. OR…
"Kami save me, there's another Mihoshi out there!" The red headed scientist sobbed.
"Enough of this. Let me out of here! I need to find Ranma so I can defeat him with my latest technique!"
"You're not going anywhere till I've run some tests buster!" Washu replied sternly.
"Oh yeah? We'll see about that!" Ryoga smirked, having finally sensed a weak spot in his transparent prison to use one of his favorite techniques on. The Breaking Point Technique was created to work on rock and stone, but apparently thick glass was close enough. Most rocks were made of silica anyway, just like the walls surrounding him.
"Bakusai Tenketsu!" He called out as he struck with his finger.
The results were impressive enough that even Washu raised an eyebrow in surprise. With a thundering blast the wandering martial artist blew a huge hole in the side of the glass holding him captive, bits of his prison flying through the air, bouncing off walls, severing cables and conduits, and sparkling in the artificial lighting.
It would have been more impressive still if one of those slivers hadn't struck a high pressure water pipe right over Ryoga's head as he stepped out of the blast.
"Bwwwweeee?" The small black bandana wearing piglet asked in confusion as he scampered out of the remains of the clothing pooled around him. He looked up as a large shadow fell across him, and saw the terrifying sight of a (comparatively) huge red headed mad scientist looking down at him with a huge grin on her face.
"Well well well… I've never had a guinea pig do that to THEMSELVES before…" She chortled happily. "This could be fun!" She laughed merrily as she picked up the helpless porcine, carrying him off deeper into the lab…
Ryoga shuddered at the memory, shaking his head to clear it of such thoughts. As he returned to the present, he realized something was nagging at the back of his mind. Something was going on… But what?
"Mr. Hibiki sir!" Mihoshi's voice called out from a few dozen feet away from beneath a large leafy tree. She waves at him urgently. "Shouldn't you get under some cover before the rain starts?" She asked cheerfully.
"Rain?" Ryoga glanced upwards, and it suddenly struck him what had been tickling the back of his mind. While he had been wool gathering, the skies had turned dark and stormy with startling suddenness. Unfortunately, this fact struck him at the same time as the first raindrops..
A mournful cry of "Bwwwwwwwwweeeeeeee!" split the dense tropical air.
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(Posted Tue, 26 Apr 2005 06:09)
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