When they finally reached Macalania Woods, Rikku was relieved that they were finally out of that thunderstorm. In fascination, Tidus and the Nerimians looked around. This forest truly was something else.
"Only through these woods, and we've reached Macalania Temple," Yuna explained. "About time," Nabiki muttered.
Suddenly, Ranma smelled something. Something umistakable...
His face lit up. "FOOD! Come on, it's this way."
Akane groaned. "That's Ranma, always thinking with his tummy..."
They entered a small clearing, in which the Chocobo Knights were sitting around a small camping fire, eating their rations. Behind them, the chocobos were waiting... three of them!
"Hey, you guys," Ranma shouted excitedly. "Good to see you again. Hey, where's Ucchan?"
"Well..." Elma began.
"About Sergeant Kuonji..." the captain continued.
Clasko just took a careful glance at one of the chocobos.
Ranma followed his glance. "Hey, those are Ukyo's things, right? You're letting that poor chocobo carry all of it?"
"Kweeeh," the chocobo said in an unhappy voice.
Ranma grinned. "Hey, that's even the same type of bow she wears. You know, with all these things, the bird really looks like Ucchan."
Now the bird was fuming. "KWEEEEEEH!!"
Ranma held his ears. "Ouch... you should train it to be a little less loud..."
Clasko sighed. "Ranma... this IS Ukyo."
Ranma took another glance at the chocobo. "Oh! Well... that could be one reason why it's wearing her spatula bandoleer."
Akane stood next to him. "You think it's something like a Jusenkyo curse?" she asked.
Ranma shrugged. "Dunno. But I thought there was no such thing around here. Hey, you tried splashing her with hot water?"
Lucil looked at him in bewilderment. "Why would we do THAT?"
"All right, I'll try it..." He took the tea kettle that was hanging over the fireplace and poured its contents over the chocobo. Almost instantly, Ukyo appeared in its place.
Wearing nothing but her white bow and a bandoleer with spatulas.
Ranma made a small 'Eeep' and turned around. The other guys quickly did the same.
Ukyo tried to cover herself. "Do you guys... have anything for me to wear?"
----
After Elma gave Ukyo another spare crusader uniform, they were sitting around the campfire.
Akane had to snicker. True, she felt sorry about Ukyo... But thinking of her ex-rival how she turned into a big, yellow, chicken-like bird whenever splashed with cold water... it was hilarious.
"It's this huge, blob-like fiend that is haunting the woods," Ukyo explained. "Somehow, it has the ability to inflict people, animals and fiends with Jusenkyo curses. It absorbed Elma's chocobo... and passed it's curse to me."
"I bet it's the work of the same one that transformed Shampoo," Akane said.
"You think it somehow turned into something like a 'floating spring of drowned chocobo'? Nabiki wondered.
At that moment, a cactuar came running by. It was running on all fours, and the strange sounds it made curiously sounded similar to those of a lizard fiend. It only glanced at the humans for a short time, then heard something rustling in the bushes. The little cactus-creature snarled (or tried to) and leapt after its prey.
"I'd guess there are more of these curses going around," Tidus commented.
"If this thing continues its rampage, the region around Macalania Woods will never be the same." Lucil sounded upset.
"Well, we just have to smash it up, then," Tidus said.
"Really?" Auron asked. "Why us?"
"It's the right thing to do," Tidus confidently said.
For some reason, Auron began chuckling. "It's the right thing to do..."
"Hey, what's the problem?"
Auron shook his head. "Jecht always used to say that... and usually, it meant trouble for Braska and me."
"But he's right," Ranma said. "That thing means business, and we can't let it roam this area freely. It's bad enough how Jusenkyo screwed up life in China... and Nerima."
"It's not gonna be that easy," Ukyo pointed out. "It also has the ability to absorb fiends, and it can turn its natural element into any of the four elements of Spira. So it's practically immune to them."
"The four elements of Spira?" Akane asked curiously.
Yuna nodded. "Fire, Ice, Thunder and Water. Those are also the main spells every black mage can learn."
"Only those four?" Ranma asked with a grin. "Well, that's reeaaally interesting..."
----
While Ukyo and the Chocobo Knights stayed behind, the pilgrimage group advances towards the forest lake.
"This place seems familiar..." Auron mumbled. "Isn't this where I...?
"Save it for later," Tidus whispered. "We have a fiend to take out."
Silently, they sneaked towards the little pond.
Then, Ranma yelled loudly: "HEY! You stupid blob of Jusenkyo-slime! Come out and get your flabby butt kicked!"
"Great job, Ranma," Akane sighed. "So much for a sneak attack..."
The Jusenkyomorph was upset for this disturbance. After all, it was just getting ready for its beauty sleep.
Kimahri used his Scan ability. "Jusenkyomorph," he explained. "Able to absorb almost every kind of living being. Can curse living beings to transform into one of the cursed forms by splashing them with cold water. Also can change between four elemental states of being. Physical attacks will be almost worthless."
"Well, and what are its weaknesses?" Wakka wanted to know.
Kimahri shrugged. "Depends. It has fire state, is weak against ice. It has lightning state, is weak against water."
Ranma grinned. "Well, I've just got the thing for it. Come, Griever, it's time to play!"
Within a small tornado, the Aeon of storms appeared and grasped his two curved blades.
"He can absorb Fire, Ice, Lightning and Water, right? But let's see how he reacts to Wind damage."
The Jusenkyomorph hadn't really a big mind, it was solely acting on instinct and survival. But at this moment, some unusual words invaded his usual thought pattern:
'I'm screwed!'
----
The floating blob of Jusenkyo matter shivered one last time, afterwards, it seemed to melt into the ground, and afterwards, disintegrated into pyreflies.
"No problem," Ranma snickered after calling Griever back.
Unluckily, during the battle someone of the little travel group got too close to the fiend and instantly got sucked inside its body. The others were able to pull him/her out, but now this person was inflicted with some kind of curse.
Which one is it?
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Fri, 28 Jul 2006 09:47)
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.