Great Will: Pegasus in Flights of Fancy [Episode 203034]

by Mouse

Ranma watched reality rush ahead at several times normal speed. He saw the white bulk surge out of the pool. He saw the former Lost Boy (now Lost Fantastic Beast) shake out mane and wings, stare at his own reflection in the water, and then stare at the woman running across the valley. He saw those wings spread to their full extent, flap once, and lift the near-equine into the air on a direct interception course.

He saw the winged unicorn close to within a dozen metres or so before veering wildly away. He saw the flying beast turn at the cliff walls and return, swooping in behind the running woman, and swerve violently towards the centre of the valley.

‘Ryoga don’t get lost that easily,’ mused Ranma to himself as he bounded down the trails. The woman was aware of both beasts, and swerved violently herself away onto a path leading away from both of them. The unicorn made another pass, closing to within five metres, jinking and weaving for the last ten, before pulling up in a soaring wingover directly towards the running cat.

It had no difficulty diving directly at Ranma, and the big cat had to flatten himself into the brush to duck under the point of that horn. ‘Well, he don’t have any problem with attacking me,’ thought Ranma before diverting his path into the undergrowth where his sometime friend’s huge wings would be a major disadvantage. Slinking through the bushes at preposterous speeds, Ranma suddenly careened into a tree trunk as an attack of the giggles overcame him. ‘Ryoga’s repelled by dark impulses and emotions! No wonder he can’t get anywhere near Pops… Wonder what he’ll do when he meets Happosai?’

That thought nearly caused the prehistoric feline to split his sides; it was followed by another thought, and Ranma sobered up quickly. Flicking reality to [FASTER FORWARDS], he let the passage of events blur past as he began dealing with the ancient pervert.

A palisade came into view through the heavy rain as Ranma completed his retribution upon the Grandmaster of the Anything Goes School. The guide led a female Genma and a feline Ranma through the gates and into the centre of the rustic village, and the occupants diverted their attention from the feast to stare at the immense (and dangerous-looking) cat.

‘Great, I didn’t need to do anything,’ concluded Ranma, starting to plan for the incident with the stolen Dragon’s Whisker Soup, ‘Shampoo’s already won the tournament. Guess we wasted some more time running around the valley.’ Calmly, he lay down near the banquet tables and observed as the guide went in search of someone in authority. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a large winged shape circling the village, but his own presence seemed to dissuade the Amazons from looking up much.

Idly, he checked the countdown. [2:42:18] ‘Better speed things up a little, or I’ll never get everything done. Maybe that was overkill on the old lech… nahh…’

Suddenly, a commotion arose in the middle of the gathering, and Ranma pricked his ears. A subjective microsecond later, he slipped back to [PLAY] as his father – in male form – was pushed from the circle of celebrating women, a drumstick in one hand and a steaming (but empty) mug in the other. Belatedly, Ranma noticed that only women were admitted to the celebration; the men were congregated across the square, with much less appetising victuals and less evidence of party spirits.

A number of the women surrounded Genma, obviously angry. Listening in on their shouts, Ranma understood that the feast was open to women and the most notable of male Amazon warriors only – few as the latter were – and they were more than a little unhappy with Genma using his curse to trick them like that. Genma, of course, didn’t understand a word of it, and resisted having the drumstick extracted from his grasp. Ranma stood and wandered over; such was the outrage at the interruption by this deceitful outsider male, his approach wasn’t noted on by any of the women.

A proud figure stalked out from the centre of the celebration, purple dress clinging to her curves. The other women, even the older ones, backed away as she approached, leaving the way clear for her to confront the interruption directly.

“{You dare use magic to infiltrate our celebration, outsider male?}” demanded Shampoo angrily. “{You must pay for your disrespect. I am Shampoo, Champion of the Joketsuzoku, and I will punish you.}”

“What? Give me back my chicken leg!”

{The feast is for women only, Pops,} explained Ranma, {an’ your curse don’t count. So she’s going to punish you for sneaking in.}

“What?” Genma snorted magnificently. “What could a little girl like her do to me, even if I let her?”

The Amazons had collectively stared as the huge cat spoke, but their attentions snapped back to the Japanese man when he spoke. While few could understand his statement (a couple of more studious warriors were offering translations), his tone was clear. Shampoo’s eyes narrowed, and she produced her bonbori. “{I challenge you, outsider male!}”

{She says she challenges you, Pops,} translated Ranma, involuntarily letting his fangs show as he grinned. This was entertainment.

“Well, go to it, Boy,” said Genma.

{Beg pardon?}

“Accept the challenge!” demanded his father. “Oh, that my son should be so lost to the paths of honour, refusing a challenge!”

{She ain’t challenging me.}

“You must accept every challenge to the School!”

{She ain’t challenging the School, either,} rumbled the cat. {She’s challenging you. Personally.} He turned to the young Amazon warrior, and told her, {My idiot father accepts your challenge. Might I suggest the Challenge Log, so there’s no chance of damaging the feast?

Shampoo blinked, staring at the big cat. Dragging her courage about herself, and deciding that this must be some sort of cat spirit, to be treated with respect just to be on the safe side, she gave Ranma a polite bow and said, “{Thank you. We will.}” Addressing the women around Genma, she continued, “{Bring him,}” as she strode to the Challenge Log once again.