At that noise, Sir Ranma stepped back and held up a hand - signalling the end of the sparring match.
Ranma Saotome didn't know much about motorized vehicles. When he'd needed to get somewhere in a hurry, he'd used a train. Despite his lack of expertise there, he knew this vehicle didn't look likely to have fit on a proper Japanese street.
"An Armored Personnel Carrier?" asked Yuka-nerima.
"It's the Mystery Machine," said Ku Lon. "It's quite useful actually."
"How many guns does that thing have?" asked Nabiki-nerima, looking askance at it.
"Two," said Ku Lon.
Nabiki-nerima raised her eyebrow at that.
"In the front," continued Ku Lon. "The turret on top has only one gun and a missile launcher, while each side has a gun and the rear has a mine-dropper."
"That many guns?" asked Nabiki-nerima.
"For some areas, we would be considered quite underdressed," Ku Lon informed the teenager. "There are places where you'd want MUCH bigger guns."
"I think I don't want to go there," said Nabiki-nerima.
"Still, with the Mystery Machine here, we can cover a lot more possibilities," said Yuka-tech. "We need to check the next two doors. Who goes to what?"
Door #6:
"So you're some kind of mystical type?" asked Ranma, more to make conversation than anything else. He was just glad that they'd managed to convince Akane that she'd be needed at the base camp in case THAT was attacked.
"Yes," said the Shampoo-analogue. "Mystic warrior. You're a martial artist?"
"Yeah," said Ranma, noting the similarities to Shampoo, but also all the differences. Shampoo wouldn't be carrying a pair of twin pistols - even if they looked kind of funny- looking.
Konatsu slid across the doorway without a sound, followed by Ranma, with Xian Pu bringing up the rear.
Ranma reached the end of a tunnel just after Konatsu, and knew exactly where they were. "Eh? How the heck did we get here?!"
Door #5
"Actually, I'm glad to be coming along," said Ukyo as she ducked under a low point in the tunnel. "Definitely feeling like a fifth wheel since we left Nerima."
"I'd imagine so," said Ku Lon. "Our own situation differs from your own. You are simply locked into a struggle for survival. My own group has a wide variety of skills. Yuka, here, for example - is at her best while dealing with electronics and machines. I myself am a spellcaster."
"Yeah, I noticed-"
"Hang on," interrupted Yuka. "Entry is ahead. I'm sending a probe."
Ukyo watched as something resembling a remote-control toy aircraft was put together and then sent off by the odd Yuka-analogue.
"Hmmm, looks all clear right outside, reminds me of the American Southwest in fact," said Yuka. "Hey, I'm getting GPS feeds!"
"Oh, so this is a place where you can utilize your skills, eh?" asked Ku Lon, who then formed a sphere of light over one palm. "Magic works normally here too."
"If you say so, sugar," responded Ukyo as she moved past the exit and noted the sort of landscape she'd seen in that American cartoon with the really fast bird. "Though I got to ask what the heck THAT is."
Ku Lon considered it briefly as the thing strode through the desert. "Tall, green, and with four arms? I'd say an Alien Intelligence, but somehow I don't think that's really it."
"It's radioactive, whatever it is," said Yuka as she piloted her probe around the being. "About four stories tall. Density's pretty high too."
"Radioactive?" asked Ukyo, taking a step back. "That doesn't sound good."
"Wherever we are, everything around here has a higher-than-normal rad count," said Yuka. "That guy though - he's a major source."
The figure roared something in English.
"GPS confirms, we're in what used to be New Mexico," said Yuka. "I'm getting some comm traffic too. It'll take awhile to make sense of it though."
"I take it that it's name is 'Grond,'" said Ku Lon, understanding what it had yelled at the sky. "I don't recall anything by that name. Other than the battering ram in Lord Of The Rings, that is."
(Posted Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:14)
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