It was a dark and stormy night....
Nabiki waited patiently for the past 14-odd minutes outside a locked warehouse underneath an umbrella and a single overhead light over the warehouse door for her contact to show up.
In the distance, down the street, she could see a single headlight approaching her through the rain. A bit later, a large, futuristic looking red motorcycle pulled up next to her and stopped. A young, dark-haired man wearing a leather biker jacket seated on the motorcycle switched off the engine, lifted up the steering console and got off.
"Good evening, Nabiki." said the man, "Sorry if I was a bit late." He pulled a key out of his pocket and held it in the light for Nabiki to see. "Are you sure you want to do this? The reprocussions could be *quite* dire."
"I am *quite* sure." Nabiki replied confidently. "I spared no expense on this project....*Nobody* gets the last laugh on Nabiki Tendo and gets away with it...*nobody!*"
"Whatever you say, Nabiki--let me get the door for you...." offered the man. He unlocked the door and allowed Nabiki to enter first before entering himself and closing the door afterward.
It was completely dark inside the warehouse.
"Did you forget to pay the electricity bill, perchance?" asked Nabiki archly.
"Sorry, lemme get the light for you." apologized the man sheepishly, switching on the inside light.
Lit by a single overhead light, Nabiki gasped in wonder and amazement at the large object before her....
"Well, there it is, Nabiki...it's built to Hartdegen's specs from information handed down through the generations for nearly a century. The operating instructions are on the seat in an envelope. It's been a *pleasure* doing business with you, Nabiki. Bye, bye." The young man gave Nabiki a duplicate key to the warehouse door and then left the warehouse and locked the door behind him....
Nabiki faintly heard the man's motorcycle roar off in the distance as she was transfixed at the sight of the large gleaming object of shiny polished brass, glass, wood, leather, and asorted bits of wiring. She pocketed the the key the young man had given her and walked up to the object. Sure enough, there was a business-sized envelope with OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS written on it underneath a small brass rod with a large, faceted crystal on one end. *This must be the key to this thing.* she thought to herself. She removed the envelope, opened it, and pulled out the object's operating instructions which were printed on one side of a sheet of paper....
After reading the instructions for a few minutes, she put the instructions back in the envelope and pocketed it. "Seems simple enough to operate." remarked Nabiki with a smirk as she climbed up some steps and sat down in the padded, leather chair mounted on the object. She reached down to fold up and secure the hinged steps attached to the base of the object. Per the instructions, Nabiki put the object in 'warmup mode' for the prerequisite minute or two. She was fascinated at the way the two large round, glass and brass counterweights rotated slowly in opposite directions above and below her....
She took hold of the crystal-headed rod in one hand, gave it a serious look for a moment, and promised ominously: "You're gonna get it now, Ranma." She gave the rod a twist in one direction and pushed the rod forward slowly. 'Petals' on the couterweights flared open as they spun faster and faster. Suddenly, they began to give off a bright blue glow that encompassed the entire object like a giant soap bubble as the four 'feet' on the object retracted inside the 'bubble'. Nabiki watched the numbered reels of an odometer-like device mounted in front of her spin rapidly as the object took her on her trip through time....
(Posted Mon, 10 Jan 2005 18:34)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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