[Episode 208930] [Episode 208930]The great-grandmother of Shampoo and one of the matriarchs of the Chinese Amazon tribe Joketsuzoku, she was a powerful warrior despite her three-hundred-years of life. Yet even with all her skills and experiences, Cologne had to wonder how this all came about. She could still remember the day when she came to Nerima to see what this future ‘son-in-law’ was made of but she ended up staying so that she could aid Shampoo in winning Ranma’s heart. Over the course of her time in Japan, keeping an eye on the youth, she would sit in the background and watch the madness around her unfolded. If she had a motive, whether it was to help Shampoo in her efforts or to aid Ranma in his battles, only then would she step into the fray; for example she ended up teaching Ranma both the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken and Hiryuu Shoten Ha, the former to test his mettle and the later to prove him a viable husband for Shampoo when Happosai had stolen his strength with the Strength Moxibustion Point.
It was only with the fiasco at Mount Phoenix did Cologne begin to suspect that there was some greater driving force behind the existence of the man her great-granddaughter was set on making her husband, perhaps something beyond the understanding of humanity. Suspicions she tried to investigate without herself seeming suspicious. While she hadn’t found any concrete evidence to her theories for some time, what had happened a month ago gave the matriarch a stronger conviction to her beliefs.
What happened at the Tendo Dojo could only have been described as an ‘Act of God’.
She hadn’t been there to personally witness the event but there had been others who had; the old men who lived at said dojo and Shampoo who had arrived to deliver a delicious ramen lunch to her Airen. It had been like any other day at the Tendo Dojo, the old men playing shogi on the veranda, the eldest daughter going to bring them snacks from the kitchen, the breadwinner going over her paperwork and the young usurper trying to get into a fight with Cologne’s ‘son-in-law’. Just as Cologne’s great-granddaughter was about to kick down a wall and bring Ranma his meal, it happened.
They froze in place for a moment before looking around in shock. They seemed to MELT like wax dummies in an open oven as they faded from the grips of reality. There was screaming, frantic movements before... they just disappeared completely, gone without a trace.
Word of the disappearance had spread fast, even without the help of the middle Tendo daughter to get the rumor mill turning. Shampoo had come to her for help first thing and ‘Mr. Part Time’ happened to overhear. Cologne sighed to herself; she really should have checked to see what he was up to before leaving but with the possibility of the dangers son-in-law and the Tendo girls were in had put such a responsibility to the backburner.
Well, that’s hindsight for you...
But while Mousse was off and spreading word of the disappearance of Ranma Saotome, Cologne was inspecting the area around Dojo, ignoring the weeping and wailing of the two damned fools about how the schools would never be joined without any heirs around. What she found had her... curious to say the least. She could feel it in the air more-so than usual: magic.
Magic, (sometimes known as sorcery) was a conceptual system that asserted human ability to control the natural world, (including events, objects, people, and physical phenomena) through mystical, paranormal or supernatural means. Yet, while Cologne was familiar with the many practices of aeromancy, geomancy, hydromancy, pyromancy, chiromancy and scapulimancy, hell, even a bit of necromancy, (no pun intended) this sensation was a power unlike anything she’d ever felt before. It was almost ‘alien’ to her, an unknown aspect of magic whose power didn’t fit any of the common practices yet at the same time, somehow familiar. Taking a sample of the ground son-in-law and the youngest Tendo were standing on at the time for research, the matriarch knew this would take time to figure out.
The first week had wielded little results and felt as though it dragged to the elder as she checked through a number of scrolls and grimoire. She was finding nothing on teleportation of transport spells that had to do with the effects that were witnessed and the constant research and minimal sleep was taking its toll on the woman’s patience. There was no telling what exactly had happened to those children; their safety could have been at stake! Fortunately inspiration and the beginning of understanding came to her when her great-granddaughter, ever impatient and becoming more frantic declared that this had to be Happosai’s fault.
And then it struck Cologne, why the power seemed to tickle a memory. It was similar to a possession of hers the thief had stolen, an ancient treasure of the Joketsuzoku. The Nanban mirror; a special artifact made with the powers to bend time itself and allow one to travel through it if they so desired.
Although it would prove they were wrong, it was understandable that she had come to the conclusion that Happosai was involved, he had the means, the motive and no alibi (as he was out of the district on another panty-hunt). This in turn started a manhunt for the Grandmaster of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. Passion and anger burned throughout Shampoo and she and many other rivals for Ranma’s affection hunted down the perverted thief. Even a few of Ranma’s rivals were aiding in the capture of Happosai, although she was pretty certain that the Kuno and Hibiki boys were only after the man as to bring Akane back home safely.
She made certain Mr. Part Time stayed home during this insanity; she wasn’t about to risk him warning Happosai or destroying the Nanban mirror beyond all repair so they could use it to try and retrieve the missing youths. A splash of cold water and locking him inside of a cage before throwing it into the basement would see to that!
It had taken a number of days, and Happosai proved to be an elusive bastard. He’d never had anyone go after him with such fervor before; even his normally cowardly students were showing some semblances of spine as they began to attack him for ruining their ‘retirement plan’. Yet even with many people giving it there all to capture and subdue the aged martial artist, his greater experience, skill and cunning proved to be valuable tools for the pervert. He’d evaded many traps and often sprang them on the people who set them in the first place. Even when Cologne herself caught up with him, he’d manage to simply fight her to a stand-still long enough to get an opening to run away further. After three days of such an inane chase, it seemed that they were destined to fail in having Ranma and the Tendo girls returned...
Until she got involved.
No one had expected Ranma’s mother to get involved in this. After all, the woman seemed to take more to the background, if even that than anything else. She never played much of a role in the insanity that surrounded her son’s life but often when she DID get involved, everything around her would take a new direction and possibly a different type of craziness when she made herself a part of the mess. In this case, it made Happosai lunge himself at the woman to get a firm grope of her ample bosom.
He was still in the hospital but at least they were finally able to prove his place in all this. The Nanban mirror shards were compared to the magical essence that was still within the dirt where Ranma had disappeared and it turned out while similar, they weren’t the same magic power or energy. Really, one couldn’t blame them for jumping to conclusions, (the old goat deserved the beating Nodoka had given him) and it gave Cologne a piece of information she needed to finally pin-point what was going on.
Although there was no proper term for it, the Nanban mirror was what was best described as ‘Time Magic’. After all, time had been a major subject of religion, philosophy, and science for centuries if not millennia. However, defining time in a non-controversial manner applicable to all fields of study had consistently eluded the greatest magicians and modern-day scholars. Without a true fundamental understanding behind this great power, it was understood that very few people tried to deal with the fabric of time and space.
And it was that last thought that hit Cologne like a sack of bricks; understanding instantly set in on why the power that took her son-in-law and the Tendo women it was so similar to the magic of the Nanban mirror yet was of its own thread of energy. Time was just one of two parts that made a greater whole. The other was space.
Space, the boundless extent within which matter was physically extended and objects and events have positions relative to one another on one plane of existence or another. Roughly defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify every point within it, space was absolute! Absolute in the sense that it existed permanently and independently of whether there were any matter in the space.
Understandably, Cologne had to hit the books again, gathering whatever information she could on the principles of time and space; even sending word back to the other matriarchs in Joketsuzoku for aide concerning such matters. During the wait for a response, her research bore fruit as the Matriarch of the Chinese Amazons studied into what had happened now that she had a better understanding. Together time and space were often referred to as the ‘fourth dimension’. It was one way to measure physical change and was perceived differently from the three spatial dimensions in that there was only one of it, that movement in time would occur at the fixed rate of one second per second, and that one could not move freely in time but subjectively move in one direction. Adding onto that was such theories such as string theory and M-theory that predicted physical space and this dimension in general had in fact ten and eleven correlating dimensional planes, respectively. The extra dimensions were very much like the space of origin yet could be changed by random variables and move on different time-tables. A possible explanation to how such could happen that had been suggested by the Matriarch’s reading was that time existed as if it were ‘curled up’ in the extra dimensions on a very small, subatomic scale, possibly at the quark/string level of scale or below. The further one went in to the tightened ‘string’ the slower time would flow, while the further out one got of the string, time would continue on a faster rate.
Boy that Einstein really knew what he was talking about. The man really could have been the greatest mage of his time if he applied his knowledge to the mystic arts rather than all that modern science hooey.
Still thanks to him and the works of others, Cologne had her answer. What happened to the youths who seemingly disappeared were caught in a rare, possibly once-in-a-lifetime anomaly. The barriers of the fourth dimension broke down around them, allowing them to break through what the Matriarch referred to as the ‘fourth wall’ and end up going into another neighboring plane of reality on the fifth or sixth dimension.
“Only Ranma...” Cologne grumbled bitterly to herself as she thought of that. Whether he was a pawn of the gods or not, didn’t matter. What did was the fact the boy seemed to be a magnet for trouble!
Still, once what she felt was the right conclusion had been reached, Cologne had contacted her village once again through correspondence and had gotten a swift reply that brought forth good news! It would seem the village’s pharmacist To-Kah had been contemplating the possibilities of time and space for well over the past one-hundred years. With her experiences and skills with the arts of medicine, magic and lore of their Amazon heritage, she had even managed to craft what she dubbed a ‘life raft’.
While it appeared to be a pendant at first glance, it contained within it a signal that was connected to a specific set coordinates that could be used to specify a point in the dimension of origin. No matter when it was used, it could bring a person back to their world at the specified coordinates if they somehow ended up in another place. In theory it gave them something a rescue party could use to return home if they went after them.
But that meant finding out where the bridegroom and the girls went in the first place! Fortunately, the concept that such an event had taken place had caused the Matriarch To-Kah to come running! The pharmacist of Joketsuzoku had packed her things and taken a short leave until this was sorted out, leaving the village’s needs in the hands of her able assistant and apprentice Myun-Chis and she was on the first flight to Japan... meaning she tied her basket to a bunch of ducks she roped and commandeered their migration pattern.
Although Cologne was pretty sure if To-Kah had known Mao Yin was coming along as well, she would’ve forgone all the ancient Chinese mysticism and sprung for a seat on the plane herself to travel in comfort. Damned annoying otaku! If Cologne found out whom had let word out that To-Kah was coming to Japan and gave the younger Amazon a reason for journeying as well, Cologne herself would’ve seen to it that Amazon was hung up by their pinky-toes!
“Nothing we can do about that though...” Cologne said with a heavy sigh. “All we can do now is get everything together and make plans for a rescue party...” so saying the Amazon Matriarch was walking slowly towards her study; she needed to get the research papers and the pendant To-Kah left in there last night so they could go over their theories and plans during their morning meal.
Yes, they had their major breakthrough yesterday after over a week of deliberation, and oddly enough it came through the use of science. There were the traditional x, y and z axis points when making coordinates to denote a position in space but how to make it so it followed the idea of crossing dimensions and the changes that could happen over time? The answer once again came to the basics of the fourth and even the fifth dimension; why not make coordinates for them specifically? Thus came the idea for the t and c axis: temporal transverse and chance/choice conversion.
The rest of the day had been deciding where to travel on the dimensional axis as well as where to get the necessary power to break through the fourth dimension. Fortunately, the latter was easier to figure out than the former. The shards of the Nanban mirror each contained quite a bit of magical essence; enough for one to power the journey one-way for a few people. The creation of a ceremony would be needed to perform on one end using one shard of glass to make it work while another would be used to power up that pendant; giving it the energy needed to break through the dimensional wall once again and bring everyone home.
Deciding where to go took a lot of debate and some tactics of thinking outside of the box as it were. To-Kah had brought some of her ‘medicinal herbs’ with her from China and... what the woman had to suggest suddenly made a lot more sense. The concept that melting, the breaking down of their bodies showed them going into a world with a greater resistance to time passage while the youths having exploded outwards would have signaled them heading into a dimension of less resistance was more acceptable with a little wacko-tobacco to ease the mind into a state of openness.
Yes, Cologne couldn’t wait to show her new findings to the others. This meant not as much time would have passed for son-in-law and the Tendo girls, making a rescue party a viable option! They could decide as a group what to do and-
“Wait...” the Matriarch said as she narrowed her eyes, staring at the door of her study. She always padlocked the door as the possibilities should someone get into something they should would be catastrophic! The lock was off its place and sitting on the floor by the entrance. Immediately, the matriarch went into action, pushing the door open...
And stared. There on the floor was the specialized ‘map’ they made; a chart with the symbols and magic script to lead the magic to where it wanted them to go. It had a ring of ash around it as if there was a small burst of heat or rippling air effect. She narrowed her eyes she looked up towards her table. The pile of glass shards she kept was significantly smaller and the pendant she had left down there was missing as well.
“SHAMPOOOOO!!”
High.
Yes, Cocooner decided that the consumption of pure human DNA was causing her to have a high. After all, it had been nearly three centuries since the last time she had acquired such a taste, especially of the pure female variety.
It carried a certain … taste, an identifying sensation that denoted no poké-DNA, that reminded her of time long since past, of her early … work.
She had been in such a good mood from the three sources she had taken that night, she didn’t even notice she had taken off away from Buggy Woods, let alone nearly toppled a perimeter wall surrounding the place.
She was in an ecstatic mood. Sure, she missed the earlier humans. But the ones she had gotten minutes ago made it all worth while. And with such fresh and interesting samples, she could do what she enjoyed most now.
Experimenting.
The question now was what to do? Human DNA of that quality could allow her to do just about anything. “Well; perhaps I can use that last one’s odd magical signature and make a new pokégirl. I haven’t done that in a while...”
The Legendary’s musing were cut short as three objects shot into the sky and exploded into light.
“Target has been located, switch to filtering viewers.”
“Acknowledged, target has been confirmed as Cocooner.”
“Initiate plan: Hornet’s Nest. Bring her down, boys!”
“Retreating path has been eliminated; she’s got nowhere to run.”
“Good, keep it that way, or it’ll be our balls when we get back empty-handed.”
As Cocooner came down to the ground after the initial ground-to-air assault, the final command was given to begin the battle.
And with that, the surrounding forest lit up in flashes of red as pokégirl after pokégirl was released to capture the titan before them. They would see to it that Gendo would have his prize!
Crashing down to the ground harshly, the large moth-like creature’s eyes shimmered before her whole body shifting amidst a glow of light similar to that of a pokégirl evolving. How dare they do such to her? She was a Legendary Pokégirl! The first of Sukebe’s second generation! They would PAY for ruining her first real chance at reveling in all-encompassing pleasure for the first and possibly last time in over two-hundred and eighty years!!
Having shifted to her gathering form, teeth glistened with venomous saliva as her carapace was pelted by numerous Fire-type techniques; primarily flame-thrower. Tilting her head back, the living genetics factory let out a roar as she stabbed out with her sickle-claw, impaling the nearest Hottits and standing into the trunk of a tree. It was on!
“You can’t be serious...” Nodoka said with a tightened voice as she looked at the woman sitting across from her. No. This couldn’t be! “You’ve actually found a way of finding my son and the Tendo girls and it was LOST to you!?” Her shaking hands placed the teacup down onto the table-top. It wouldn’t have been polite to shatter the woman’s fine china.
Nodding her head, the Amazon matriarch replied, “Sadly, that is the case. I searched for Shampoo and she is nowhere to be found. Worse, in calling around the city searching for her, I’ve also discovered that Kuonji-san is missing as well; Konatsu was simply frantic.” The elder winced. “And then I received a visit from the retainer of the Kuno clan, their little rat-faced servant searching for his lost mistress. Apparently she skipped dinner last night and she was nowhere to be found come breakfast and he remembered seeing her last in the company of my great-granddaughter.”
The Saotome Matriarch winced. “This is why you wanted me to come over and tell me what happened in person. You think they are the reason that we can’t go after my son?” While it made her proud that so many women were willing to risk their lives to be with her manliest son, they really should’ve waited for him to come home. She wanted to know her grandbabies in THIS dimension, kami damn it!
Again, Cologne gave the auburn-haired woman a firm nod of her head. “Without the shadow of a doubt. I know how frantic Shampoo has been since they disappeared right before her eyes; she’s been pacing around the Nekohanten like a caged tiger. She must have eavesdropped on what To-Kah and I were talking about yesterday and jumped the gun as it were.” She took a hold of her own cup of tea and brought it to her lips for a moment, taking a sip. “Rather than wait for us to figure things out further and make plans, they used the charts and ceremony to send themselves after son-in-law and brought the pendant with them to return home once they found him.”
The younger woman winced. “So there’s nothing we can do? They’ve taken off half-cocked and have possibly screwed up our chance to save my son beyond any chance of salvaging it?” The guilt was really weighing down on her. She finally had a chance to really spend time with her son after spending a decade apart and she’d yet to truly take it. She’d seen him only three times since she found out the secret behind ‘Ranko’ and hadn’t spent ANY time with him since the abysmal failure that was supposed to be his wedding to Akane. In short, she felt like a complete heel.
“I wouldn’t say that,” came a third voice, causing Cologne and Nodoka to turn their heads.
“Matriarch To-Kah,” Cologne greeted. “I believe you know Saotome-san.”
Nodding her head, the other matriarch of three-hundred years replied, “I do, Matriarch Khu-Long. We met earlier this week when I went to inspect the areas where the people had all disappeared.” Walking over to the table, she raised an eyebrow as she looked straight at the auburn haired woman with bundle beside her seat. “I am curious why you look after those two men. Their very presence leaves me feeling violated... and I’ve smoked worse!”
Nodoka frowned a little. “Genma is my husband; it is a wife’s duty to look after their husband’s well being. The other man, his friend Soun Tendo, is the owner of the home we’re all staying at until this matter is resolved. It is only fair that I do my share while I sleep under his roof.”
Turning to look at her fellow Matriarch, To-Kah’s eyes seemed to ask, ‘is she for real’? At the nod from the other woman’s head, the elder in woven hemp clothing sighed. “My dear, you should do what I did with my ex. Castrate the bastard and use his testicle oils to make a fine coating on a pipe.” Yep, that briarwood piece had the shiniest finish of all her ‘medicinal’ paraphernalia.
Seeing the look of disgust on the woman’s face, Cologne decided to change the topic back to Nodoka’s original question before all sense of decency was tossed out the window and a fight took place. “To-Kah,” she spoke up. “You interrupted us earlier. I believe you know something that I don’t about our chances of saving everyone.”
Nodding her head, the pharmacist of Joketsuzoku replied, “Of course. While I did plan to have the rescue team to activate the pendant when necessary and return back home... they aren’t the only one’s that can use its power.”
That caught Cologne’s interest. They might have the option to bring them back home themselves? “What do you mean, To-Kah? Explain yourself.”
Grinning, the elder with blood-shot eyes replied, “We have the coordinates for the pendant linked to this dimension already, right?”
Nodding her head, the owner of the Nekohanten replied, “Yes. We decided to use the spot in the backyard of the Tendo Dojo where Ranma and Akane had disappeared first. What does that have to do with the pendant besides giving the girls a point to return to when they come back to this dimension?”
“We can perform the ceremony ourselves over here,” the other Matriarch said seriously. “Call it a... well... an ‘override’, if you will.” She smile looked a little devious. “We can teach those brats what-for by performing the ritual on our end where the coordinates are linked to. It will travel through the fourth dimension and activate the pendant on the other side.”
That made Nodoka’s eyes widened. “You can do that?” Her voice sounded more hopeful than she wanted to let on. She had already gotten too much bad news over the past month and didn’t want to jinx anything. She just wanted her son back home safe and sound.
“Indeed I can,” elder To-Kah replied to the younger woman. “We’ll need to bring our papers and equipment over to the Dojo but like I said, we can bring that pendant back under our own power.” She took a deep breath and explained, “Once we have the pendant back, we can get back on track and make plans of how to go by this: who to send and what to send with them.”
Watching the woman, Nodoka was happy to hear this... but something about how the woman was talking about the pendant didn’t seem right. It was like the only thing she was concerned with. “What about the girls?” The matriarch of the Saotome household asked. “What about them? Will the ceremony bring them back as well?”
Taking a deep breath, To-Kah sighed. “Well, that depends...” the elder said in a solemn voice. “Whoever is holding it at the time will definitely find themselves returning home abruptly, as would anyone close enough to her.” Her eyes narrowed. “But if either the Kuno or Kuonji girl are out of reach... or if one of them is holding the pendant and Shampoo isn’t close by...”
Cologne caught on immediately. “They will be stranded there as well until we send a real rescue party if the pendant’s range of influence doesn’t catch them on the return trip.”
Nodding her head, To-Kah replied, “Precisely.”
Now it was Cologne’s turn to sigh. “Oh Shampoo...” the Amazon elder thought glumly. “Why did you have to take that pendant?”
Raising his head, a uniformed warrior tried to listen to the inhuman scream off in the distance. That didn’t sound good at all but he wasn’t in any mood to face such a threat any time soon. Searching for the damned thing himself, he’d come across a small group of BuzzBreasts. The black-haired individual figured they had probably freed themselves from Buggy Woods when the Legendary had burst through the main wall encompassing the area. He’d managed to take them out easily enough; he’d been trained to fight against pokégirls and had been infused MAKO energy upon reaching the Second Class ranking but his victory came with a personal cost. His weapon, his broadsword... busted as he impaled that last BuzzBreast into the firm rocky soil of the ground; obviously pushed past its limits its enhanced wielder could send it through.
Yes, enhanced. Although there were many rumors, in truth SOLDIER was a group of skilled combat operatives within SEELE; men who had their Blood Gifts manipulated considerably to put them on par with their pokégirl ancestors. The elite within the group, those strong enough to be deemed SOLDIER First Class were respected and idolized by the throngs of SEELE’s members and the citizenry in the know. Zack Fair was a young SOLDIER Second Class, his greatest aspiration being to become a First Class ranking soldier. To attain this, he’d been spending his days carrying out numerous assignments for various high-tanking SEELE officers, often under the guidance of his First Class mentor, Angeal Hewley.
Still, like any young man he was restless to attain his goal of making First Class. Although today... he just wished he’d stayed in bed or at least passed up this assignment. At the time, it had seemed harmless enough; carried a great weight of importance with it yet without the dangers often associated with this kind of mission. Transport one scientist Makoto Hyuga with his cargo of precious pure human DNA samples to the GEHIRN Research Facility over in Prussian City. Yes, it was two-to-three weeks worth of travel from Viridick to the destination but it was assured to them that no one knew of their mission; they were assigned to protect the cargo just in case there ever came trouble.
And boy did trouble arrive and it came in the form of one the Legendary Pokégirl Cocooner, the Genetics Factory Pokégirl, the madman Sukebe’s most dangerous creation second only to Typhonna. Was this karma kicking Zack in the balls for bitching about a lack of good assignments? For restlessly aspiring to First Class and just wanting to do that one standout action that would get him recognized by his superiors?
If it was, he’d never piss off Murphy’s Law again. At this point, he’d be glad to make it out of this skirmish with his balls intact; Aerith preferred men and had no lesbian tendencies whatsoever as far as he knew.
Feeling a hand touch his shoulder, Zack practically jumped. “Hey? You all right, kid?” came the familiar and gruff voice of his mentor.
Nodding his head, Zack replied, “Y-yeah... just had to deal with a small group of Feral BuzzBreasts and now...” he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. “Shit!” The black-haired SOLDIER cursed. “What do you think it’s going to take out that freak?” He asked, just frustrated at having to go up against such a powerful adversary as a Legendary Pokégirl. Right now he was wishing the higher-ups allowed SOLDIERs to carry their own pokégirls rather than trying to enhance their own bodies to be on par with said biological weapons of war. He did NOT want to have to personally stare down that thing! In his opinion, the further he stayed away from its clutches, the better!
“Zack if it were that easy she’d have been wiped out centuries ago,” Angeal told his protégé in all seriousness. Before he could launch into a long-winded explanation about their duty as SOLDIERs and protecting the world from the continued menace of pokégirls, he noticed Zack’s sword was busted; the grip broken off from the cross-guard. “Your sword...”
Zack sighed. “Yeah... just happened after we set out from Viridick and I broke off to take care of a group of Feral pokégirls that were situated too close to the caravan’s path for comfort. I was planning to pick up a new one in Pewtit but...” he winced. Of course fate would see to it he didn’t have a useable sword when he would NEED it!
The SOLDIER First Class nodded his head to the response he got. This would not do. Angeal reached over his shoulder with his right hand. “Here.” He said as he unsheathed his sword, holding along the cross-guard and offering his protégé the weapon by the hilt. “Take it.”
Zack stared down with wide eyes at the offered blade “But Angeal... this is-”
The mentor to the young SOLDIER cut him off. “Your safety is more important than hanging onto a sword I barely use anyway,” Angeal chuckled. “Use brings about wear, tear and rust. I could never do that to this sword but hopefully it could protect you should things get messy.”
Zack solemnly nodded his head as he accepted the sword from his mentor; the man that acted as his patron and got him into the SOLDIER program. Angeal was man that showed a great sense of responsibility and wisdom, and was considered the third greatest of all the First Class Soldiers; outranked only by Genesis Rhapsodos and the practically legendary SOLDIER Sephiroth, (whom some claimed had a connection to the unique and terrible Calamity Pokégirl, Jenova). That Angeal would trust him with this sword, which was purchased for him by his late father using all the family’s savings...
“I won’t let this blade or you down Angeal,” the black-haired youth replied firmly as he gripped the hilt of the buster sword tightly, accepting it from his mentor.
“Your word is all the assurance I need,” Angeal replied with a grin. He patted his gauntlet-covered hand over the younger warrior’s shoulder pad. “Now then... let’s do our duty as a SOLDIER.”
“Right!” Zack saluted his superior before the two SOLDIERs rushed back to the trailer convoy. Making their way through the short path of wilderness, they stopped as they saw that there were still Turks gathered around the Class C M1 Abrams RV with armored Travel Trailer in defense formation, holding their firearms or various weapons of choice at the ready.
Raising his hand in greeting, Angeal looked around for Makoto. “Greetings!” The older, muscular SOLDIER shouted to the pair of men in black suits when he didn’t see the man this mission revolved around anywhere in pain view. “We could use a status Report!”
While the two SOLDIERs didn’t get a verbal answer from the two suited individuals, they did get one. Coming out of the side of the armored trailer was the man they were assigned to protect. “First Class SOLDIER Hewley!” He greeted, waving his hand at the genetically-altered warrior. “We’re trying to gather all available personnel of this entourage for the defense ring of this vehicle!” Hyuga sighed as he took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his brow. “It’s a good thing you came back. We can’t have the two of the best guards this convoy has going off and sacrificing themselves to get to Cocooner!”
“Who said anything about sacrifice?” The SOLDIER Second Class asked, looking at the scientist with annoyance. “We intend to beat Cocconer and live!” Zack boasted, psyching himself up for what was to come.
Nodding his head to the current head of their assignment, Hewley motioned to his protégé and replied, “What he said.” He took a deep breath and replied, “However, if you want us here, we’ll stick around.” Left unsaid was that Angeal would prefer that. He did not want Zack to have to go up against such a no-win situation if he could help it. The fighter had the potential to be something great and he didn’t want to see it cut short due to an encounter with that monstrous Legendary.
“Good,” Makoto said, relaxing a little at the experienced SOLDIER’s promise. “We have to get these DNA sample to GEHIRN in Prussian City, no excuses!” It would be his ass if this mission failed. He was rather attached to it and had no intention of giving it up, thank you very much!
“Relax Mr. Hyuga,” one of the two Turks spoke up from his post. “Between these SOLDIER chumps and the Turks, you’re in good hands.” The red-haired Turk with a laid back style said, holding his stun baton up and over his shoulder. He wasn’t worried; Gendo’s private soldiers and their pokégirls, along with a number Turk reinforcements and Lostech weaponry would be enough to take that Legendary down.
“Watch who you go calling chumps, Reno!” A female Turk said as she got out from the side door of the RV. Coming to a stop next to the man wearing goggles on his forehead, she frowned. “They’re our back up and vice-versa,” shouted the young suit-wearing, chestnut-haired girl, (who’d managed to evade Threshold) as she poked him in the chest.
Looking down at the young Turk, Reno chuckled. “Listen, Cissnei?” The redheaded bodyguard asked. “You may be the youngest member to join the Turks and I’ll give that you are good with that shuriken of yours...” he smirked. “But you still got a long way to go before you get the experience of either Rude or myself under your belt.”
His arms crossed over his chest, the tall individual in black suit and sunglasses nodded his shaved head. He was the tall and silent type compared to his wise-cracking partner.
Seeing the woman seethe as she glared at her superior, the SOLDIER Second Class decided to derail this fight in the making before anything went bad. “Eh... don’t you mind Reno,” Zack told her as he pat Cissnei on her shoulder with his hand. “He likes to shoot his mouth off but he’s right that he and Rude are good.”
“Still, words of encouragement concerning our skills are appreciated.” Angeal allowed as he checked the area with infrared binoculars, having been given them by one of the RV’s technicians. “I see nothing but that makes me even more worried.” Not to mention the binoculars could cover a serious range. That there was nothing out there, not even common Feral pokégirls was unnerving.
“She’s eluded infrared before. It’s been determined that she can use her chemical properties to alter her body heat.” Rude explained, ever straight to the point and factual.
It was then a technician came rushing out of the RV’s trailer. “Master Hyuga!” The blonde man shouted fearfully. “There’s a confirmed confrontation with Cocooner going on; units Seven, Ten and Eleven have engaged. Biting his lower lip for a moment as he listened to the loud noises coming from the earpiece of his headset, the young man clad in white shouted, “They’re losing fast! Cocooner is slaughtering them and...” he looked green. “Feasting on their remains!” He yelped as there was a suddenly loud bout of static over the headset, causing the tech to pull it off his head and away from his ear. Things weren’t going well to say the least.
Lowering the binoculars, Angeal could only grunt, “Lovely.” Sighing at the bad news, he thrust his hand out to the tall and muscular Turk to take the binoculars. “Zack! Come with me,” he said in a serious voice to his fellow SEELE operative as Rude accepted the equipment from him. “Even if we have orders to protect Hyuga, our unit was dispatched. We can’t allow ourselves to stay in the possible path of this Legendary’s predicted travel path.” Or at least, maybe they could make her continue on and OUT of the way of their caravan’s path.
Nodding his head firmly, Zack asked, “So what’s the plan, Angeal?”
The older soldier was quick to respond, “Either we find a way to get Cocooner to go on her damned merry way and leave us be...” he accepted a Heavy Elemental Projection Pistol from a female technician. “Or we resort to distracting it long enough for Mr. Hyuga, the samples and a couple of guards to get away before we break off from our enemy and follow.” The First Class SOLDIER chuckled to himself. “I admit, it’s not my greatest plan but if we can get them out of Buggy Woods safely, we can then at least get them set up ahead of the area and then get the rest of the convoy to catch up with them.” He cocked the HEPP, seeing to it that it latched in the back and the Heavy Fire Elemental Shells were locked into the chamber
Nodding his head firmly at SOLDIER Hewley’s plan, the younger member firmly unsheathed the weapon his mentor had bestowed upon him. “Well danger’s our job!” He said firmly as he swung the sword a couple of times, trying to get a feel for its weight and balance so he’d be able to use it effectively. “Let’s do it!”
Lowering his goggles down to cover his eyes, the Turk with bright red hair chuckled. “For once I agree you, kid,” Reno said as she turned to look at his partner. “Rude! Cissnei and I will help back up these two SOLDIERs. You and the rest of the group take Hyuga on ahead, the DNA’s top priority...” he smirked at Makoto. “Even if you gotta ditch the carrier.”
“Of course,” was Rude’s simple reply as he gave his partner a nod of his head before turning to look at the man carrying the invaluable cargo.
Staring at the two Turks talking, Makoto sweat-dropped slightly. He didn’t like the sound of that. Unconsciously, he held the handle of the pressurized metal suitcase with a tighter grip.
“All right people!” Angeal shouted to get the attention of those gathered and those still inside the confines of the Class C M1 Abrams RV and its trailer. “LET’S MOVE OUT!” He shouted as he started running. Almost immediately, Zack and Cissnei followed as well, keeping their eyes peeled and their guards up.
Standing up at attention, Reno shouted, “HEY! Wait up!” He started running after the SOLDIERs and the young Turk, keeping a good hold on his stun-prod. Man, those SOLDIER guys and rookies were always so damned gung-ho; meaning he was pretty sure Zack would be the most trouble of the three charging on ahead of him.
Watching the quartet of some of his best bodyguards rushing off to what he felt was to be the jaws of oblivion, the scientist turned to the only one of his major bodyguards to stay behind. “A-are they going to be fine?” Makoto asked Rude curiously, wanting the experienced Turk’s expert opinion.
The tall man was quiet for a long moment. Finally, he answered, “I know better than to boldly say that Cocooner’s met her match, Mr. Hyuga.” He then allowed himself a small grin. “However, they’ll put a hundred and twenty percent of their efforts into this; they’ll do their jobs.” His eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses as he turned towards the scientist suddenly. “Now let’s roll.”
Although he was surprised at the force of the voice, Hyuga regained his composure and nodded his head. “Yes. The sooner we can get into and then out of Buggy Woods, the better...” He shuddered as he thought about the Legendary. “I do not want to come across that thing if I can help it.” He considered himself a man of science, but not even that could give him the courage to face the devastating power of Cocooner.
Ignoring the prattle of the scientist, Rude signaled the other technicians and other guards with the convoy and to get moving. They needed to make the best of the opportunity being afforded to them. “Reno, Cissnei, Angeal and Angeal’s Punk...don’t get killed,” the tall, goateed Turk thought as he looked towards the direction they ran off to.
The backyard of the Tendo Dojo was crowded that night. Many were gathered for the ceremony that would bring the pendant, (and hopefully the girls) back to them. The chart that To-Kah and Cologne had created lay out over the area where Ranma and Akane had broken through into another dimension while both elders were setting up numerous candelabrum, the single candle ceremonial candlesticks being placed around the yard at specific points. They needed to do everything just right... which would be much easier if the two dunderheads weren’t bothering them every step of the way!
“So this is supposed to go here?” Genma asked as he looked the golden candlestick over curiously and with a slightly greedy gleam to his eyes. “And is that real gold?”
“For the last time you fucking fat-ass...” Toh-Kah cursed as she glared at the balding individual. “YES, it’s supposed to be set up here and NO, it’s not gold!” While in truth it was, she wasn’t going to tell him that! She may have been born at night but it wasn’t last night!
It was then that Soun timidly spoke up. “Uh... Miss Toca?” He asked curiously. “I know you’re doing all this hard-work for the benefit of my girls but couldn’t at least one of those big candlesticks be moved over a little?” At the glare he was getting, he started to sweat bullets. “I mean, it IS rather close to the house. I don’t want anything to catch fire, you understand. Someone keeps using up our emergency fire buckers.” He turned to glare at his best friend.
Blinking his eyes once, twice, Genma had to ask, “What?”
To-Kah sighed to herself as she was reminded of why she had been lesbian for the past one-hundred and thirty-one years.
Fortunately for everyone involved, Nodoka spoke up before the elder could. “Soun,” the auburn-haired woman said to the Tendo Patriarch. “We just have to trust what they’re doing. They have a part in this too, you know.” She said in all seriousness. “They lost one of their girls and they just want to see to it that eventually everyone can be saved.”
Blinking his eyes at that, Soun thumbed over his shoulder. “But they still have one of their girls here.”
Waving at the woman as the Saotome matriarch stared at her, Mao Yin greeted, “Hello!” The blue-haired Chinese Amazon with a ponytail over her shoulder was smiling widely as she had a mouse-ears cap on her head and was wearing a ‘Tokyo Disneyland’ t-shirt. Oh yes, she was certainly enjoying her trip to Japan. She waved her right hand at Nodoka while she had her left arm wrapped around a large Goofy-san plushie.
A sweat-drop traveling down the side of her head, Nodoka was unsure of how to respond to that. Tendo wasn’t all that upset about Shampoo having up and left but it was rude of him to do such in front of company... especially when said company would be doing their best to save his daughters!
Fortunately for all, To-Kah just ‘harrumphed’ and continued preparing for the ritual... although Nodoka was curious. She would’ve sworn she heard the woman grumble something about making ‘fresh pipe polish’.
It was then that Nodoka felt a tapping on her shoulder. Turning her head, she saw it was the ‘kunoichi’ retainer of Ukyo’s. “Oh, Konatsu-san,” she greeted. “What do you want?”
The very feminine ninja looked unsure of what to say for a moment. Finally, the teenager took a deep breath and asked, “You’re sure they can bring Kuonji-sama back safely?” He had been devastated when he learned WHY Ukyo was missing. How could she just go off with two of her worst enemies and not take him along to back her up! It was sheer madness! Oooh, that Ranma had better appreciate all that Ukyo was doing for him!
As Cologne continued her preparations for the ceremony, she blinked her eyes as she had a shadow looming over her. “What do you want?” She asked with a sigh, not really wanting to hear what he wanted but she had to save face.
“This had better work,” Tatewaki said seriously. “With all I’ve put into this project, you had better bring back the fair Akane Tendo and the beauteous pigtailed girl.” For some reason, he’d been given the impression that a certain redhead had been taken along for the ‘trip’. Not that he was wrong per se but Cologne wasn’t going to try and get it through his thick skull. She didn’t have a century to waste on that.
But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to get a little dig in another way. “You didn’t give us squat, Kuno.” Her eyes narrowed. “No stand aside before I make you move.”
“I would like to see you-” Kuno was cut off as the woman tapped a point on his forehead, causing him to collapse into unconsciousness.
Eyes going wide, Sasuke shouted, “MASTER KUNO!” He kneeled by his master and tried to pick him up in his arms. While he managed to lift his legs, Sasuke couldn’t take the time to pick him up properly as the woman glared at him so he settled for dragging his master along the grass. Hopefully his master wouldn’t know he would have had to have done that. The woman looked ready to send him flying herself.
It took a good ten minutes more before To-Kah took her place amidst the ritualistic set-up. “Okay everyone, stand back! I’m going to activate the pendant and see if we can bring them back.” She had a serious look on her face. “I want you to all be on your guard. There’s no telling what else might come back with the pendant besides the girls or if we get the girls at all. You need to be prepared to fight if need be. Can I count on you for that?”
“YOU BET!” Ryoga shouted. He’d been holding onto the tree in backyard for a whole two weeks now, not wanting to get lost during a most crucial time. He just hoped they at least got Ranma and Akane back with this try. He really, REALLY needed to use the bathroom!
Nodding his head, Konatsu humbly replied, “You can count on my services, elder.”
“All right! Here we go!” To-Kah said as she held a glass shard out in front of her; a piece of the Nanban mirror. A serious look came to her face. “MEKKA! LEKKA! HIGH! MEKKA! HEINIE! HOOOO!”
Genma just stared in awe at the sight. “What an incredible language...” he said in shock. “Is that the tongue of ‘magic’.”
Taking a deep breath, To-Kah turned to look back at Genma. “No you fat-ass! I was clearing my throat!” She then spit a large glob of phlegm in the direction of the portly martial artist.
Rolling her eyes, Cologne sighed. Men. Why didn’t she take up To-Kah’s offer one-hundred and thirty-one years ago again?
“Ewww...” Reno grumbled as he lifted his foot, a length of purple-toned ooze stretching from the soul of his foot and to the ground. He tried to wipe it off, using the tip of his specialized stun baton. “Man, I’d hate to be part of the team they send in to clean up this mess.” He flicked the switch on the grip, causing the ooze stuck to weapon’s length to sizzle and bubble as electricity flowed.
His broadsword held at the ready, Zack turned in place. The area that was within the last confirmed coordinates of confrontation with Cocooner looked like a scene ripped from one of his greatest nightmares. Body parts were strewn about, blood and other fluids splattered into the area... and the tell-tale sign of the Legendary’s works: a number of purple cocoons all stuck high up into the trees. Oh yes, he was really wishing he’d just skipped over this mission.
It was then the most experienced of the small group lifted his head, eyes narrowing. Holding up his hand, Angeal looked around. “Stop here and be quiet. Something doesn’t feel right.” He could feel a dark presence permeating the area.
“You mean besides the death and mutation?” Reno asked as he watched his surroundings. Admittedly, he felt it too... as if Cocconer was watching them.
Frowning, the SOLDIER Second Class was all the more aware of what was going on. He trusted Angeal’s intuition and even he was feeling something was off. “Man I can feel her but... where is she... all around us?” Zack wondered as his eyes moved back and forth, hands gripping the hilt tighter.
Realizing how serious everyone was becoming, Cissnei held her shuriken before her, keeping her cool as best she could. She may have been a rookie but she’d damned do her job and not embarrass the Turks! The woman’s eyes widened as she realized“...I just saw movement!” Cissnei cried out.
Turning his head, Angeal held up the Heavy Elemental Projection Pistol... and relaxed as he saw it was only a Cutiepie. “It’s only a simply Bug-type, nothing-”
The SOLDIER was cut off as he pushed flat when a huge throax slammed against his back, sending him skidding amongst the carnage. He looked up and saw a very huge and monstrous dark-colored moth with deep cracks of red all about the lightly-furred carapace.
“COCOONER!” Reno shouted as he held his weapon at the ready. Damn, it was about now that he wished his weapon could get some distance. The Legendary was even more terrifying in person especially when she was changing forms into that horrid spider-like thing! He took a couple of steps back as he looked it over. Damned thing was injured, really injured if all the breaks in its exoskeleton meant anything... but still one enraged Legendary was still more than a match for many things including them.
“Angeal!” The Second Class SOLDIER shouted as he saw his mentor just slapped aside like a rag-doll. “SHIT!” Zack cursed as he used his buster sword to block a blade-like limb that came at him! The force of the strike caused his heels to skid against the forest floor.
“Damn it!” Cissnei growled as she used her shuriken to cut and block at one of the long limbs that reached at her. “Can we get to him?"
Getting to his knee, Angeal rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to get his bearings. “That sucked...” he grumbled as he shook his head. Getting back to his senses, he saw the group battling with the large Legendary. “I’m good! Just keep at it!” He said as he looked around for his firearm.
“Aw, hell!” Reno cursed as he tried rushing towards the landing Legendary. He slapped the side of the large arachnid-like creature’s thorax with his stun baton, shocking her with a couple-thousand volts of electricity as he dug the head right into a gaping wound. “Take this you buggy bitch!”
The Legendary roared in pain, but otherwise seemed relatively un-effected. She swiped back with one of her many legs, smashing the Turk and sending him flying back into a tree.
“I guess she’s had years to adapt to electric attacks!” Angeal called out to get the attention of the Turk, (if he were still alive). The SOLDIER meanwhile kept dodging the limbs that come at him. The SOLDIER First Class grunted as he tried to avoid her swipes while he fired blasts of flame at the creature. Without being able to get in close, he was finding it difficult to get through to land one of his shots.
“TAKE THIS!” Cissnei shouted as she threw her shuriken like a boomerang, causing the crimson weapon to scrape along the side of the creature’s upper torso and scrape along an exposed portion of her ribcage before it returned to her; the Turk caught it easily thanks to the time spent practicing with the weapon. Her effort was rewarded by the sound of the Legendary Pokégirl roaring in pain. She turned her attention on the human woman; fangs and talons glistened.
“Cissnei! Down!” Holding up his sword, the SOLDIER Second Class tackled the Turk to the ground. Raising himself up to one knee, he managed to block a powerful blow meant for her just in time. Sparks flew from along the length of the Buster Sword’s edge as the long blade-like talon of Cocooner scraped across with a high-pitched shriek. “Damn it!” He cursed as he pulled his sword back. He’d just gotten the sword from Angeal and it was already getting damaged! Damned Bug-type!
While Zack was more concerned about the state of his sword, the female Turk noticed something out of place. “Hey! What’s that?” Cissnei asked of the man with slicked back spiky hair as she pointed to something that got caught along the blade of the Buster Sword.
“What’s what?” Zack asked as he turned his head to see a ruby pendant, its strap caught within the two hole-slots in his sword. “What the heck?”
Cocooner screeched in anger as she swung at him with a bladed claw, trying to get that pendant back. That was HER trophy from the human females!
Quickly, Zack moved his blade up to block the attack, the force pushing him into the female Turk. When her long limb moved a distance as it finished the motion of its strike, he used one hand to reach for the pendant, freeing it. “What is this?”
“Zack! Throw it away!” Angeal called out as he let another blast of fire off, this time hitting the Legendary’s scorpion-like tail and causing the beast to roar louder and parts of exposed muscle were scorched by the blast of fire. “Whatever it is, she wants it back!” The First Class SOLDIER yelled to his protégé, noticing Cocooner’s behavior went into overdrive upon the younger warrior getting that trinket. She was ignoring being shot with fire and kept attacking the two she had pinned.
Getting pushed further along the ground; the dirt and blood getting into his clothing, Zack was screaming, “I’M TRYING, I’M-what the hell!?” He asked as the gem of the pendant started to glow with a light that was growing in intensity.
A large red light glowing in the center of the Tendo home’s backyard, To-Kah shouted, “THIS IS IT! PREPARE YOURSELVES!”
And then suddenly, the light flashed, revealing...
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(Posted Mon, 18 Aug 2008 03:11)
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