Mathew Gilman slowly stood up from his old chair. It had been in his study for nearly fifty years, thanks in no small part to constant alchemy care.
But the time for the chair was past. He did wish he could have passed away quietly in that chair. But it appeared as if his newly arriving guests would not permit such a thing.
At least he had a legacy left behind now; a legacy in those two wonderful students who had arrived in his lands but two years ago. Because of them, he had learned the Truth, seen the Doors. How many alchemists could say such?
And to have done it without a human sacrifice or a newborn baby? None could say such, and yet he could as those two could attest, because they had performed a wonderful accident.
Smiling, he withdrew a small green stone from his pocket, and placed it on the center of his desk. He was uncertain if the green stones created by the ‘chi attack’ of the young man—when combined with the Red Stones—was a true Philosopher's Stone, or something more. But it worked as perfectly as one, without the need for a human sacrifice. That in itself made them very valuable.
It was especially valuable to those that were currently breaking into his home. But their paths would soon end; his last act upon this world.
Hearing his door shatter, he slowly looked up, cursing his old body, and hoping it would hold together a while longer, give him the performance he needed to do one last bit of good for this cursed world.
“You’re a hard man to find, Mr. Gilman,” said the first figure who stepped into the room, followed by three others.
Mathew gave a small glare at them, disguising his anguish that it was only this small few, and not the lot he had sought to kill. But this would have to do; waiting any longer was not an option. “I have always been here; it is you I’m afraid that had the poor luck in being unable to find me. Or was it your Master’s whim that I be free this long?” he asked with a smile.
The figure growled. “Either way, our dear esteemed leader wishes to speak with you.”
“They wish for my knowledge of the Stones?” he asked. He figured it would be the only reason to seek him out, no doubt having some inkling of what wondrous matters that had occurred there. It was most likely the lack of any recent activity that got their attention. And as such, they wanted his information before he passed away. Vultures, the lot of them.
But maybe my two students are not known to them, one can hope that they never saw the two leave.
“Come along easy, Old Man,” smirked the figure. “I’m sure you’d rather your last few moments on this world not to be filled with excruciating pain.”
“Speak for yourself, Envy,” smirked the largest figure there. “I’m hoping the corpse resists.”
“You know,” said Mathew, feeling a bit of happiness in his final seconds, “there is a third option I had in mind.”
“Oh?” asked Envy. “Do tell, what is this vaunted option an old geezer like yourself has available?”
Clapping his hands lightly, he held them above his desk. “I TAKE US ALL TO THE AFTERLIFE!” he yelled, as he slammed his hands upon the desk, and activated the key on his desk, bringing to life a complex transmutation circle that encompassed a good bit of his immediate property.
And with that, the five disappeared in a burst of light.
Ranma’s eyes snapped open, drifting about, trying to discover what had brought him from his slumber. The train they were on hadn’t been stopped. Nabiki was still asleep, a book in her lap, and a bit of drool on his shoulder which had become her impromptu pillow. No one else in the cabin seemed to be putting out any ill-will.
What woke me up? he wondered.
It had been two years since that damned magic box had dumped them on this world. Two years spent not only studying and improving, becoming strong in this world, but spent waiting for any sign that those in Nerima would not leave them behind.
No sign ever came.
And thus when their Sensei had asked them to move on and learn of this world, they had done so. Sure, the small house had been a home, but it hadn’t been their home.
And if they were doomed to spend eternity on this version of Earth, then it was only fitting that they made a small part of it their home.
This was all assuming Nabiki’s plan to ‘invent’ a few things they had in their world that didn’t exist here didn’t go horribly wrong.
Blinking, he looked out the window, and saw a reflection he hadn’t been expecting.
It was Sensei … smiling at them and nodding.
Quickly turning to his side, Ranma discovered that there was no one there. Looking back to the window, he saw that there was no reflection anymore.
“Waa is it,” muttered Nabiki, as his motions brought her out of her sleep.
“… Nothing,” he said, leaning back into his seat.
“K,” she murmured, as she cuddled into his side once more. “Stop movin’, tryin’ to sleep here,” she finished, as she drifted back off to sleep.
Smirking, Ranma just kissed her forehead, and looked back out the window. He didn’t know why, but for some reason, he just knew sleep wasn’t going to come back to him, not until he figured out why he woke up in the first place.
He was asleep again in under five minutes.
Envy slowly pulled himself from the ground, his form shimmering back into a human appearance, shrugging off the shell that had been the only thing to protect him from the same fate as his associates and the Old Man.
Looking around, he noted the area was destroyed, fragments strewn about as if they had been at the central point of an explosion, even a large pit where he had been formerly standing.
“How’d the bastard pull this off?” he muttered, trying to determine if he had enough power to get out of there. Oh sure, he’d be in trouble for the deaths of the homunculi and the Old Man, as well as the lost research.
But that didn’t mean shit if he couldn’t make it back to report it.
“Who knew the codger had enough energy to pull off an array like that,” he muttered, as he began to try and climb up the side of the pit. If he hadn’t wasted so much energy surviving the explosion, he’d have changed his form.
“Someone’s going to pay for the bad intelligence,” he finished, as he began to make progress towards the top.
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by The Demented Redhead
(Posted Thu, 28 Feb 2008 08:11)
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.