Much can be said about Genma and Soun, and while they are excellent martial artists, they can also be quite the cowards.
But that sort of cowardice was nothing compared to what the both of them felt that day. Because inside the labyrinth... they learned to know the meaning of fear...
It all started pretty harmless. They followed Ranma's instructions and followed the middle tunnel, walking straight ahead. But at one point, they seemed to have made a mistake... Suddenly they entered an enormous cave, with a total of six tunnels in front of them.
"Which is the right one?" Genma grumbled while scratching his bald head.
"The middle one, he said," Soun replied.
But now, the cave was round, and there was no middle one when the total of exits was six.
"Oh my," Sound quoted his eldest daughter. "You see what I see, Saotome?"
"We must have taken a wrong turn," Genma realized. "I think it's best to get back and ask Ranma again." So they turned around and looked for the way leading back.
But after a while, they had the feeling that they were in a corridor they haven't been in before.
"You know, I think this is the wrong way," Genma said
"Let's try the other one, then," Soun replied.
But the longer they were walking, the longer the feeling of being lost grew inside the two men.
"That's stupid," Sound grumbled. "I have the feeling the maze is bigger than the whole mountain."
"Wait, I think I know where we are," his friend said in an excited tone of voice. "I believe over there is the way leading back to the entrance. Ranma, my boy! We're coming!"
But suddenly, the corridor made a sharp turn... and once again, they were standing inside the big cave with the six additional exits.
Stunned, they stared at the six black holes in front of them.
"We're finished..." Soun whispered. "We'll never get out of here alive..."
"Don't be like that," Genma said angrily. "The master may be an old pervert, but he taught us to be strong in such situations. We have to keep trying."
But he only said that to encourage his old friend. Because he was feeling exactly the same as Soun.
"I know what we'll do," he finally said. "We'll grasp each others hands so we stay together, and then we just run. We run and run until we find the way leading back. You with me?"
"Okay," the Tendo patriarch sighed. "I guess we don't have another choice."
"One... two... three!"
And the two gate guards began running through the corridors and tunnels. They ran and ran and ran. They must have run at least for an hour... or so it seemed to them. During that time, they ran through the massive cave with the six exits at least five times, and every time, they took another exit. But it was no use: They just couldn't find the exit.
When they finally were out of breath, they collapsed on the ground and panted. The torch they had been carrying fell to the ground and went out. Suddenly, everything around them was black... pitch black!
For a while, they heard nothing but their deep breaths.
"Saotome... are you there?" Soun finally asked.
"Yes..." the king's adoptive father replied. "I'm here..." He felt around until he found his old friend. They sat down, with their backs leaning against each other and sighed.
"We'll never find a way out of here," Sound murmured.
Genma was starting to believe the same thing. The master may have made their life terrible... but that was nothing compared to the fear that was riding them by now. They were alone... Alone in the dark!
"Listen," he said weakly to his old friend. "There's one thing we still can do... Let's try calling for Ranma. Maybe the exit is nearby and we just don't know it... Perhaps he will hear us."
"Okay..." Soun said. "Let's give it a try. Let's shout together... One... Two... Three..."
"HEEEEEELLLLLPPP!"
----
Shampoo was still within the treasure room and nibbling on some paper money when she heard Genma's and Soun's shouts. It still sounded far away, and she couldn't make out the words.
"Oh no," she said. "Guards are coming! They are here for Shampoo... I have to get out of here..."
After scooping up as much Nerimian Yen as she could carry while being in her cat form, she hurried out of the treasure room, through the yard and down the spiral stairs, into the labyrinth...
----
Soun and Genma had screamed for help until their voices had gotten raspy and they were out of breath.
"This is the end..." Genma whispered. "We'll die in here..."
Soun didn't respond. He simply stared into the darkness...
But after a while, they could hear quick steps nearby. They were the steps of Shampoo, who was running through the dark corridors.
"Hear that, Tendo?" Genma asked and jumped to his feet. "That's my boy! Ranma!" But with his raspy voice, he didn't manage to shout very loud.
Soun jumped to his feet as well. He grasped his friends hand again. "Hurry, he went that way!"
The footsteps were slowly dying away.
The two men were making haste as they tried to follow the footsteps. They reached another corner, turned around... and were standing in front of the spiral stairs leading up.
For a while, they just stared at the stairs as if they were dreaming. Then, they ran upstairs and entered the circular yard with the treasure room building.
Suddenly, they regained their voices. Yelling in relief and joy, they jumped into the air, rolled around on the floor and laughed again and again.
When they calmed down, Genma took a more serious look at the building. "Tendo, remember what Ranma said? I think this is the treasure room..."
"You think the cat's still in there?" Tendo asked. After that scary experience, getting rid of a cat would be a nice, relaxing job.
"Dunno. Let's take a look..."
They went over to the building, passed the thirteen open doors and looked into the treasure room.
Their first look told them that no cat was inside.
Their second look told them of the shining treasures lying within...
"Would you look at that, Tendo..." Genma murmured.
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Tue, 10 Oct 2006 15:32)
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