When Ranma came to, he opened his eyes to find himself laying on table in what looked like another futuristic science lab. "Just great, another mad scientist's lab. I wonder just what the heck this one's gonna try and do to me?" Ranma complained as he sat up and looked about the place.
Ranma almost jumped in shock when someone cackled at his annoyed complaint. "Kya ha, ha, ha! I must admit dear fellow, that you're probably right about me being a mad scientist. But I doubt that Ms. Washu-chan would be very happy to hear you put her in the same category as myself, young man! Kya ha!" Laughed a blond haired man with a really weird set of glasses on his face.
"You know her?" Ranma asked incredulously, openly skeptical of the news. Even if she'd messed up and sent him someplace other than home, Washu still lived in a whole other dimension from here. This loony couldn't possibly know the same Washu that had sent Ranma here, could he?
"Not very well I'm afraid. But we have recently met, young man," admitted the blond man as he neared where Ranma was sitting on the table. "She managed to communicate with me briefly after your arrival in one of my backup labs. Ms. Washu-chan was most helpful in helping me restore your body. You see, only an approximate tenth, or less, of your total mass made it into this reality, even compensating for the mass you were still missing from the original transfer. I have remedied that problem for you though, with the aid of my expertise with nano-technology," he explained, stopping within arm's reach of Ranma's position.
"Oh, I guess that means I almost died again after all," Ranma replied, slightly annoyed that this guy actually did know Washu. "So um, where exactly am I? I mean, this doesn't look like home, that's for sure," he asked his host as an after thought.
"Well, about that. It seems that you really did get sent home. Or at least three portions of you did, anyway, although only one of them arrived exactly on target. Those portions have apparently made the journey arguably intact and are recovering in a natural fashion. Another portion of you never left Ms. Washu-chan's laboratory at all. Of the remaining portions of you that survived there's you and one other which Ms. Washu-chan has yet to contact, Ranma," explained Ranma's host. The blond man was visibly fascinated with the story he was relating to Ranma.
To be honest, Ranma almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. But then again, after meeting Washu, anything seemed possible now. "So then . . . it's like I've been cloned a bunch of times then?" Ranma asked after mulling it over for a bit.
Ranma's host shook his head vigorously at the question, as if scandalized by the very suggestion of what Ranma had asked. "No, no, no, no! You've merely been divided several times and then regenerated into a new whole. Much like a starfish losing an arm, then growing into two starfishes as both halves heal. Each portion of you is a absolutely authentic, original, and unequivocally alike up to the point of your division," insisted the blond man. Ranma found himself leaning back a bit as the man aimed a finger in Ranma's face as he argued his point.
"Right, divided then. So um, who are you anyway?" Ranma asked, hopping to find a slightly safer topic since this guy seemed to have something against clones. Ranma didn't care how they were made, copies of him were copies of him.
"Why, I thought you'd never ask, dear boy. My name is Professor Desty Nova. I won't go as far as saying that I'm the greatest at anything, but I AM a master of nano-technology, AND the creator of Karmatron Dynamic Theory! And you, my boy, I'm told are Ranma Saotome, am I right?" declared Professor Nova with manic enthusiasm.
"Er, yeah. That's me," Ranma admitted with an uncomfortable air. "So um, what happens now? I mean it would be pointless of me to try and go home now, there's like three of me already there, or will be. And where is here anyway?" Ranma asked after a moment's thought, feeling a bit lost.
"Well, Ranma, my boy. That's entirely up to you! I am, admittedly, VERY interested seeing what choices you will make and the effects those decisions will have!" Nova replied, still a little too excited for Ranma's comfort.
Ranma was really beginning to wonder if this guy was safe to be around. Then again, he had saved Ranma's life, supposedly anyway, so maybe it wouldn't be too bad stick around him a little while longer. "Okay then. Maybe you could give me some idea of what my options are first, and maybe something to eat too while you're at it?" Ranma asked, since he really didn’t have a clue what his options where yet.
The man laughed happily at Ranma's hesitant request. "Kya ha, ha! How inconsiderate of me!" Nova cackled, then leaned down to press a button on a nearby monitor. "Elf! Zwolf! Would you two be kind enough to bring our guest something to eat!" Nova ordered happily at the adjacent screen.
He'd barely released the button when a pair of short girls wearing elevator shoes emerged from a nearby door, both of them carrying a covered platter in each hand. "Ha, ha! Why you naughty girls, you were already waiting outside weren't you!" The professor accused them jovially as the nearly identical girls danced up to them with their covered trays.
"Tee hee! Well, you did warn us that Ranma would be hungry when he finally woke up, Professor!" laughed the one with the number eleven inscribed on her forehead. The girl reminded Ranma a lot of Shampoo with the way she was acting.
"We just thought we'd speed things up by getting something ready as soon as Deckman 100 told us he was waking up! Ha, ha!" laughed the other one, with the twelve on her forehead. Never mind, they both reminded Ranma of Shampoo with the way they were acting.
"Kya ha! It seems that these two have been quite smitten with you since your arrival here, Ranma!" added Nova, also laughing with the girls. "So, what did you girls bring for us to eat?" Nova asked, quickly dismissing the pair's giggling reaction to the accusation.
Instead of getting flustered, or even embarrassed, the two girls just giggled even more. "Well . . . for the main corse we brought roast beef, potatoes, and fried rice!" the girl with the eleven answered back.
"And for desert of course, we brought flan!" finished the other girl as they continued the 'speaking in turns' bit. Ranma tried to ignore the way he could see down their tops as they presented their offerings with a flourish.
"My favorite! How considerate of you, girls!" declared professor Nova, almost literally drooling over the unfamiliar desert. Ranma just hoped that the stuff was as good as this guy was letting on.
"But you have to eat the rest of your meal first, Professor!" warned the girl with the twelve semi-seriously. The professor's manic smile suddenly lost a lot of its intensity, but he didn't argue the point either.
Ranma barely waited to get a hold of his utensils before virtually attacking the offered meal. "So, doc. You were gonna tell me what kind of options I had here," he reminded his host between bites. Although Ranma did make certain that his mouth was clear of food when he spoke, Washu's house mates had made certain that Ranma learned that much courtesy at least.
Professor Nova on the other hand didn't seem to care or notice as he determinedly started his own meal. If anything, he looked a little jealous of the speed Ranma was demolishing his meal with. "Well, while I don't know much, if anything, about your background; from what Ms. Washu-chan's told me about you and your capabilities, I can tell you that individuals with high end combat abilities are always in demand here. You could, for example, work as a hunter for the factory, safeguarding what passes for law and order down here. Or you could play in the Arena as well, if you have a taste for blood sports. You'd certainly outclass most of the competition in either case I'd say. Or if you prefer something a little quieter the factory rail trains are still hiring mercenaries for every run," Nova told him.
So far none of those options sounded too appealing to Ranma. "Anything else? I like fighting, but not anything like what I think you're talking about, doc," he asked his host as unpleasant thoughts forced Ranma to slow his pace a little.
Nova laughed at the question, almost choking on his mashed potatoes in the process. "Kya ha! Very few I'm afraid, unless you have some skill at either cyber-medicine or cyber-maintenance. You could, of course wander around doing whatever you like, but you'd have a hard time bringing in any honest money. I suppose you could join Elf and Zwolf as one of my bodyguards for a while if you like. At least until something else catches your interest. It would certainly make Elf and Zwolf happy if you did join us," he added with another laugh as Ranma licked his plate clean.
From the growing gleam in his eyes, Ranma guessed that Nova had noticed Ranma helping him with his meal, and was grateful for it as well. That gleam turned into a pout as each of the numbered girls used one of the covered desert trays as rest props while giving the two males the puppy dog look. "Ple~ase say you'll come with us. Pretty ple~ase!" begged the two girls in sing-song voices. Nova gave both of them a dirty look but didn't interrupt their attempt at persuasion.
See other episodes by Shadowelf1
(Posted Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:44)
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.