Or rather, HIS impact on the timestream. He was aging. Slowly but he was aging. In the Silver Millenium he'd been perhaps eight years old. In Ancient (Ami had identified it from the figurines as Cycladic Period) Greece, he'd been perhaps fourteen. In what had been a simple hut in ancient Germany (Ami could have mentioned that this was roughly 2600 BC), he had looked to have aged only slightly.
Now he looked especially toughened, sunburnt even.
"Who wants to live forever
Who wants to live forever?
Who dares to love forever?
When love must die."
"Great Pharoah," said the youth, inclining his head.
"Wanderer," said the Pharoah, his eyes narrowing briefly. Noticing the displeasure of his guards, the Pharoah cleared his throat briefly. "Guards, stand down. It's not as if you could do anything against this one anyway."
"Great is the wisdom of Pharoah Wahankh, Intef the Second," said the youth.
"So what brings you to Thebes, 'Ranma'?" asked the Pharoah. "As in the times of my father, when we last met, I wonder what would bring the 'harbinger of weal and woe' to my throne room."
"There is one among the slaves of a minor noble," said Ranma, again inclining his head. "She is one of those whom I seek, and I would take her to my monastery to study certain Arts."
"Ah," said the Pharoah. "If I but crook my finger, no doubt she would be given as a gift. After she has learned what you seek, what then?"
"I seek only to benefit that one," said Ranma, "she will be returned to use the knowledge in your service should she choose at that point."
"And if she does not choose to, would remain with yourself?" asked the Pharoah, sounding bemused. "Done and done. In payment however, dine with me and tell me of your exploits and travels since the time of your visit with my father."
"Pharoah is most generous," said Ranma.
"Pharoah is quite aware," said the bemused Pharoah, "that if you chose to do so, you could merely have stolen away this slave and likely reduce my army considerably should they get in your way. Come now, sit and join with mine own, and let us hear of wonders and adventure from one the gods both curse and favor."
"Very well," said Ranma.
"WAGH! I'm a slavegirl in the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt?!" exclaimed Mercury.
"It looks like you get to study pressure points and herbal medicine and you take that back to Egypt to become a physician to the Pharoahs," pointed out Jupiter. "That's better than you started off."
"Oh," said Mercury. "Royal Physician. That is better."
"Mmmm-hmmm-mmmm-hmmmm," agreed the other Senshi.
But touch my tears with your lips
Touch my world with your fingertips
And we can have forever
And we can love forever
Forever is our today
Who wants to live forever
Who wants to live forever?
Forever is our today
Ranma stroked the head of the dog, who merely closed his eyes as he stood there. "This took some doing, boy."
The dog just opened one rheumy eye to look at his master.
"Fifteen years ago, you were just an ornery little pup that one incarnation of Venus gave me," said Ranma. "She's gone now, and you're almost gone too."
The dog just closed the eye again, listening but not understanding anything more than he was being talked to. Like many dogs, he enjoyed that - perhaps it was an affirmation he was part of a human pack.
"According to Serenity, I had a lot of power in me because that timestorm kinda grounded itself in me when Future Pluto tried to disintegrate me," said Ranma to his dog. "Thing is - this might be enough to kill both of us. If it works though..."
Ranma motioned the dog to heel, and the two went into the fires of the Galaxy Cauldron.
"WAITAMINUTE!" said Venus, holding her hands in a "Time Out" gesture. "Hold da phone. An incarnation of ME gave him a puppy? Can you rewind? Was I engaged or married or what?!"
"Not right now, he's coming out of that," said Saturn, who recognized her sempai perfectly well. Even if he did look a bit different.
The dog though was:
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Wed, 27 Jun 2007 09:51)
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.