Up in outer space, floating close of the headquarters of all Espers, Eden contemplated his last actions.
"Hmm, now, how did that happen?" the enormous, floating creature muttered. "My spell was supposed to only bring Ranma and his companions to Spira... now how could it spread across his home town like this?"
Suddenly, in midair, a floating figure appeared. It looked like an old man with a long beard, who was holding a long, gnarled staff. He also had a stern look on his face. "Eden!" he shouted. "What did you do? You were only supposed to bring the new champion and his companions to Spira. What in the name of the creator were you thinking?"
"I... can't imagine either how it could have happened, Lord Ramuh," Eden murmured. "I wanted to concentrate my magic on the close space around Ranma, but my radius of influence somehow expanded, engulfing all of his home country. I was lucky enough that it only affected a couple of individuals..."
"This is a disaster..." Ramuh sighed. "Normally, I would have asked Bahamut for his assistance, but now that he's bound to Spira..."
"I should go and make things right," Eden insisted. "I was the one who messed up in the first place."
"No, your place is here, we need to send someone else," Ramuh protested. "You are right about one thing, we Espers have made a mistake and sent people to another world, a world they know nothing about. It is our duty to make sure they return to their home world." He sighed. "How many individuals were affected, and where did your magic bring them to?"
"I... I think four or five people, Lord Ramuh," Eden said. "And I think they all were brought to Gaia."
"Well, at least it's a world that is within our area of influence," Ramuh sighed. "Although, ever since the extinction of the Summoner race, not many residents of Gaia still know about us..."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Ramuh," Eden said. "Remember the crown princess of Alexandria?"
"How could I have forgotten...?" Ramuh murmured. "Oh well, I guess I have no choice... I will have to appoint a lesser Esper to serve as their guide. We can't bring them out of there until they aren't all in one place."
"But which Esper is available, now that Carbuncle is on his mission to help Ranma?" Eden wondered. "Siren is out of the question, since she's currently working in the boss' office. And who will they appear to first?"
"I already have an Esper in mind," Ramuh said. "Or rather, a group of Espers... but I don't think you will like my choice."
Eden thought about the elder Esper's words, before realization dawned. "Oh no..." he groaned. "No, you can't possibly mean those scatter-brained girls... they are gonna make everything even worse!"
"We have no other choice," Ramuh said. "They are the only available Espers suitable for such a mission. And that accident was years ago, I'm sure they will try hard not to repeat such a mistake."
"You're calling that a mistake?" Eden groaned. "Because they lost those important papers, Alexander was forced to go to Spira, even though his destiny was lying in Gaia..."
"They know that they will be demoted to regular earth spirits when they let something similar happen again," Ramuh said with a deep frown on their face. "Siren herself, who is their mother, is certain that they will look out for each other."
"Very well..." Eden sighed. "And who is the lucky human who will have to work together with them?"
"Well, I figured it would be best to make the strongest warrior of the lost mortals the responsible leader, who will be charged with retrieving the other, scattered persons from his world..."
"I can't believe this..." Ryoga groaned as he aimlessly walked through the dark forest. "It's worse enough that I'm completely lost - once again - but I'm also in a place that is populated with many aggressive creatures. I can understand that those wolves wanted to defend their territory... but what was the big deal with those goblin creatures I met? I just wanted to ask for the way, why did they have to attack me?"
He gritted his teeth. But the worst happened when he ran into those fuzzy, little teddy bears with the purple wings and the red pompoms on their heads... not only couldn't they tell him how to go back to Nerima, they also asked him again and again to deliver some stupid letters to their cousins that lived somewhere in this forest... and while he was trying to find those other 'Moogles', he had gotten himself even more lost - if that was even possible.
"Damn you, Ranma..." the bandana-clad martial artist grumbled. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
"There he is," a high voice suddenly shouted. "See, I told you all we had to do was to follow his voice."
"Get real, sis," another, similar voice huffed. "It's not like you knew that he was the kind of boy who yells out loud whenever he's in trouble."
"Let's not start this again, please," a third voice intervened. "We are here to do our job, and rather than get lost in senseless squabbles again, we should concentrate on the task at hand."
Ryoga looked around, but saw nothing but the dark forest and the mist. "Hello?" he asked. "Who's there?"
Without any warning, three sparkly shapes came flying in front of his face. Ryoga blinked in surprise when he recognized the bodies of three doll-sized girls with fairy wings.
"See, that has to be him," one of the girls, a feisty redhead with a ponytail shouted. "No other human living on Gaia would be dressed like this."
"I agree, this time we could actually finish an assignment," the short-haired girl flying next to her nodded.
"Wh-who are you?" Ryoga muttered.
The third girl, who had long, unbound hair, bowed in midair. She also seemed to be the oldest of the three girls. "Greeting, oh wanderer! Please excuse my sisters for not introducing ourselves as every Esper normally should... we are called Sylph."
Ryoga blinked. "Sylph? Wait a minute, are you related to that green imp Ranma brought to the Tendo house?"
"Related? To Carbuncle? Get real!" the short-haired fairy snapped.
"I don't know, he might become our father in the near future..." the fairy with the unbound hair murmured. "You know that he and Mom had been on several dates together..."
"That's why I was trying to SABOTAGE every single one of those dates," her sister replied. "Do you want to have a green, floating rat as your father-in-law?"
"Excuse me, but could we PLEASE get back on topic?" the third sister asked. She cleared her throat. "Well, we are sent here on behalf of the Esper HQ to express our deepest apologies for what happened to you and several other residents of your homeworld. It was not intended to send you to this world."
"Wait a minute... YOU are the ones that brought me here?" Ryoga shouted angrily.
"Wow, now don't you jump to conclusions here!" the redhead shouted. "It was one of our co-workers who messed this up. We are merely messengers, here to help you out."
"Well, okay... then what are you waiting for? Send me back!"
"I'm afraid that is not quite as easy as you might think. See, you are not the only one that was accidentally brought to Gaia."
"Gaia...?"
"Yes, that's the name of this world," the oldest sister nodded. "And since you and the others were brought here at once, we can only bring you back if you manage to find all the other ones. When you're in one group, we can bring you back to Nerima."
"But I don't have any idea where those guys could be," Ryoga protested. "Such a search could take weeks."
"Or maybe even months," the Sylph nodded. "I'm really sorry, but this is the only way we can do this. But to make it easier for you, we were appointed to be your guides in this new, unfamiliar world. Besides, you will be granted the powers to summon us in case you need us in battle. Congratulations, you are now a Summoner!"
"I'm a good martial artist, why would I need the help of three fairies that are even smaller than my pig form?"
"You're a big jerk, you know that?" the pony-tailed Sylph shouted. "To your information, there are many monsters in this world that could wipe the floor with any unexpected adventurers. With our powers, you can at least heal your wounds if you are injured... and you can try to acquire more Espers that can help you on your journey."
"Oh, all right, I guess it's better than just aimlessly walking through this forest, with no way to get out... say, can't you tell me your names if we're supposed to be travelling with each other? My name's Ryoga, by the way."
The Sylph looked at each other. Then the oldest chuckled. "I already told you: We are the Sylph."
"Yeah, maybe, but I can't possible call all three of you the same," Ryoga protested. "Didn't your parents give you separate names?"
"Well, Mom always called me 'little rascal'..." the red-haired Sylph spoke up.
Ryoga groaned. "Never mind... I guess I'll just give you names, or else I'm just gonna be confused as heck."
"New names?" The Sylph looked at each other, then smiled. "Hey, why not? Sounds fun!"
"Yeah, but don't give us any stupid names, okay?" the short-haired one told him.
"Okay, let's see..." Ryoga scratched his head. He then grinned. "You know, you remind me of some guys I know from back home. I guess I'll name you after them."
He pointed at the redhead. "Your name will be Ran."
"Ran. Sweet! I like it!" the Sylph grinned.
"And you I will call Kane," Ryoga told the short-haired fairy.
"I can live with it, I guess," she shrugged.
"And what about me?" the oldest sister smiled.
Ryoga thought about it. Her sweet way almost reminded him of Kasumi, but unlike her sisters, she didn't really look the part. Then he got reminded of another girl he liked.
"Well, you... your name will be Kari," he smiled, thinking of Akari.
"I like the name," Kari smiled. "Thanks, Ryoga!"
"Look out world, here come Ran, Kane and Kari!" Ran cheered as she did a small loop in mid-air. "Oops, I totally forgot to tell you: In case you need us, just take the jade stone and call us - either with your voice or your mind."
"Jade stone?" Ryoga wondered. "Which jade stone?"
Kane smirked. "THIS jade stone!" And the three sisters took each others hands and vanished in a green flash. In their place, a small stone of green jade appeared and fell down on the soft grass.
Ryoga picked it up. "Um... guys? Sylph?"
'Don't worry, we are still in here,' he heard Kari's voice in his head. 'Any time you have a question, just ask. We will be staying in your mind for the rest of your journey. To summon us in battle, just use the jade stone.'
"Well, okay... but what am I supposed to do now? Where should I go?" He looked around. "Where am I, anyways?"
'Well, from the looks of it, I think you are in the Evil Forest,' Kane said. 'A dark forest in the valley south of Alexandria, only inhabited by monsters and Moogles.'
'Yeah, as long as you're in the mist, you have to watch out for monster attacks,' Ran added. 'The mist is their source and regularly spawns new monsters.'
"Well, if those wolves and goblins are the most dangerous monsters in this forest, then I know I'll be fine," Ryoga shrugged. "So, which way should I go?"
'I think the only way out of this valley is a cavern north of here,' Kari said. 'So I'd suggest heading north.'
"Well, okay," Ryoga nodded and started walking.
All three Sylphs sweatdropped at once. 'Ryoga, that's south,' Kane pointed out.
Ryoga scratched his head. "Um, really? Well, okay..." And he walked in another direction.
'THAT'S EAST!' the Sylph shouted simultaneously.
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Sun, 06 Jul 2008 14:44)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.