Ranma had barely recovered from the shock of becoming a Keeper when a dark, highly amused laugh echoed throughout the small dungeon. Recognizing the voice, Horny could only growl deeply.
"Hey," Ranma snapped at his new henchman, "You said we were alone in here..."
"Oh, but you were," replied a highly amused voice.
Ranma blinked and looked about. The voice seemed to be coming from in front of him, yet at the same time everywhere. Very odd...
"Where are you?" Ranma growled.
"Stop playing with the human and get to the point," Horny growled rolling his two glowing eyes.
"My, my, Horny, it is quite clear to me that you have not lost your patience... though I must say I am disappointed. Binding yourself to the first warm body to find its way mysteriously thrust into your prison? How... droll. You used to be so much more... selective about those you serve. Has your long captivity subdued some of that infamously foul temperament?"
"So how did you know where to find me," the Reaper hissed in response.
"I have known where you were for quite the while," the voice absently remarked.
"And you left me here to ROT?!" the Reaper roared hefting his scythe menacingly.
"Basically," the strange voice sighed, "I thought you might want to use the time for some quiet contemplation... maybe find enlightenment and all that rot."
"One day spirit," Horny hissed, "I will find a way to kill you."
"You've said that many a time, Reaper..." the voice sighed. "But you have yet to deliver."
"Okay!" Ranma interrupted, "What the hell is going on here?"
"Horny." Ranma could almost here the voice smirk. "Your pet human is very poorly trained. Why you'd willingly submit yourself to such a pitiful specimen, I'll never know..."
"He has potential," the Reaper remarked in all honesty. "He's strong, he's fast, and he hit me with some spell. Sent me flying and it actually hurt."
"Oh really..."
Ranma could feel the spirit's gaze scrutinizing every inch of him. It was kind of creepy.
"Well, then you have always had a good eye for Keepers. If you say he has potential, then there just might be some value in this boy besides the pure amusement value..."
"Okay," Ranma snarled, starting to get rather pissed off. He could feel that there was something here in his, for lack of a better name, 'Keeper Sense', but he could not pinpoint it at all. "Where the hell are you and what the hell do you want?"
"Right in front of you my dear boy!"
Ranma suppressed a shutter as a ghostly figure popped into view in front of him. It was rather formless, with only the most vague hints of a humanoid form present.
"Now, as you seem to be impatient, I will introduce myself. I am..." The ghost dramatically paused for a moment, before finishing with a flourish. "The Mentor!"
Ranma blinked. "That's it? The Mentor?"
The ghost seemed to shrug. "In my mortal days I had a name, just like any other, but those are long gone and past, and the span of millennia has been so great that no one would recognize it anyways. Needless to say, I was once a Dungeon Keeper, and a highly successful one at that... but like all things, my reign of terror came to an end. Unlike most Dungeon Keepers though, I made backup plans that should my Dungeon Heart and my mortal form be destroyed, that my essence would carry on. Of course, I never quite took into account the fact that my essence and only my essence would carry on... leaving me a disembodied," he spared Horny a glance, "And utterly indestructible spirit. Now, as you have probably deduced from my stunningly original name, I mentor advise aspiring Dungeon Keepers like yourself, blessing them with my absolutely boundless knowledge and experience, to occupy my time. So here I am, the Advisor."
Ranma blinked. "Ah... okay. Though couldn't I also call you the Advisor, or Teacher, or Sensei?"
"Well, yes, I suppose you can... but it doesn't exactly have the same ring to it, now does it. Really though, you can call me whatever makes you comfortable. But now then," The Advisor grinned. "You haven't even told me your name..."
"Saotome Ranma of the Saotome School of Anything Goes of Martial Arts..."
"That's all?" the Mentor remarked, disappointed.
"Hey! What do you mean 'That's all'?!"
"I mean just that," the spirit chided. "A proper Keeper needs a name that will invoke dread in those who hear it, that will strip them of their courage and loosen the bowels of even the most stalwart of heroes at slightest mention. How about The Indomitable Dungeon Keeper, Keeper Saotome..."
"My name's Ranma. Saotome is my family name," Ranma corrected.
"Yes... right... The Indomitable Dungeon Keeper, Keeper Ranma the Indefatigable! Invincible Master of the Anything Goes School of Marital Arts... "
Ranma blanched. "I'm not the master... and what does 'indefatigable' mean?"
The Advisor sighed. "Fine. Whatever. Most truly impressive titles are created with time and experience anyways. We can figure this out later, but you WILL need a proper title if you're ever to present yourself as a proper Keeper and not just some surface brat who was bound to a Dungeon Heart by a desperate demon." The Advisor looked over. "Where is that horned psychopath anyways?"
"He's in the other room," Ranma remarked.
"Yes... you're using your senses as a Keeper, good..."
"Actually," Ranma admitted. "Since he's not in this room, he has to be in the other..."
"Yes, well, there is that..."
Ranma smirked in response.
The ghost glowered at him. "Don't get snippy with me, kid. Now, there is one other thing you must do before we begin..."
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(Posted Sun, 17 Dec 2006 07:31)
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