[Episode 152322] [Episode 152322]She had been present, the day he vanished, due to the final actions of the then-Grandmaster of Anything Goes.
Ranma, standing over the broken form of Happosai, glared into the dimming eyes of his foe. "You're finished, letch," he growled. "You have been defeated. I am now the grandmaster."
The shrunken terror coughed, spraying blood on the young warrior's legs, then began to chuckle low in his throat. "You w... won't be a... ble to enjoy it," he whispered. Then the wizened old man began to chant in a language that caused the watchers to grasp at their throats in sympathy at the wrenching sounds of the syllables that ripped into the air. All but one of the watchers, that is.
"Son-in-Law! RUN!" the Elder screamed out in a ki-enhanced voice, cutting through the rising chant. "That is a Blood Rite!"
Alas, her warning came to late; with a screetch, Happosai ended his chant, along with his life, by driving a black iron dagger into his own heart. In a flash of eldrich darkness, the tableau was torn apart. When everyone's vision returned, all that was left was the mummified corpse of Happosai, surrounded by a disk of blighted ground.
Of Ranma, there was no sign.
She shook her head, returning to the present. Her husband, in what she had later learned was his usual M.O., had claimed the title of Grandmaster, stating that he had made the final thrust to destroy the ancient evil. With that action, she had divorced him, siting his abandonment as the reason.
He didn't bother to return, instead taking up permanent residence in the Tendo Dojo.
His son's fiancees had cried for his loss, then began the process of moving on. She couldn't fault them for that; after the Elder had explained that the spell that He-Who-Perished used was nearly impossible to counteract. So far, they were coping.
His rivals? They had celebrated... for about two minutes. She had heard that the young Chinese boy would be released from the hospital within the next week.
Her further musing was cut off, as a tearing sound split the quiet morning. She rushed to the back yard and threw the doors open.
Floating just above the grass was an irregular opening, from which stepped six people, all of which were covered with thick, pitch-black cloaks which only allowed the barest information to be discerned.
The tallest, standing easily at around eight and a half foot tall, appeared to be male from the outline. From the hood, a pair of tusks protruded, which began to move as the being spoke in a British accent. "It appears we're close, fellow travelers. Yon is what appears to be an Analouge to His Knobs."
The female beside him cuffed the tall male in the back, surprisingly causing the large male to slam, face-first, into the turf. "Cut it, Little Brother," she growled good-naturedly in a silky contralto. "We knew we were close already. We used the D-Hopper, remember?"
A second male, this one only around three feet tall, chuckled from the depths of his hood. "Time out," he managed in a surprisingly resounding baritone. "From the eminations I sense, she is not just an Analouge."
The second female form's hands slid from the volumous depths of her sleeves, revealing flesh that was far darker than what the Saotome woman had seen before. With a quick hand gesture, she traced a design in the air that left strands of light behind. Once the sigil was completed, it flashed once in a violet color, then faded away. "The Dwarf is right," she sighed in a soft soprano. "This is my husband's home." Beside her, a near-identical female shape bobbed her head in agreement.
The dark woman's pronouncement broke Nodoka's daze. "Ranma's home?" she squeaked.
The final figure strode forward, pulling the hood from his head, revealing the older features of the wayward martial artist. He smiled at her, his sapphire-blue eyes shining. "Hi, Mom," he greeted her. "Miss me?"
Her response was to engulf him in a hug, as his four companions watched, chuckling.
Around an hour later, the sextet were sitting around the low table, Nodoka quivering in anticipation of asking the question that was highest on her list.
One of the females anticipated her biggest one. Tilting her covered head to one side, she looked at the elder Saotome. "Yes, your son is married."
Ranma chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Looooooong story," he added, drawing the attention of his mother.
She screwed her face into a scowl. "Aren't you going to introduce me, son?"
The woman who sat to the right of him stood, drawing her hood back, as her husband cleared his throat. "Mom, this is my wife. I'd like to introduce you to
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(Posted Sat, 12 Nov 2005 00:37)
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