There was no 'Turtle Egg' to be found.
"Is it not supposed to be here?" he asked.
Belloq scowled at him but kept his voice light. "Why would you think that? Do happen to believe all the information that I spent paistakingly compiling for so long? Or perhaps the fact that we are in a grand chamber that could only have been the place for something of great value has made you think that? Then again, have you happened to deduce that this is a place that fool Seta has not reached has allowed you some insight? Hmmm?"
"Umm... All of that?"
His boss took off his hat and smacked Beni with it. "I was being sarcastic you fool. Of course it's supposed to be here! The questions that you should be asking are about what could have happened to it!"
"Really? Well then, where could it be?"
"You really are an idiot. We can't know until we find some clues. Something to tell us what happened. It could be a change in placement, treasure hunters, earlier searchers... Anything! But we can not know how this happened until we search every inch of this place for evidence of who was here last."
"Like those tire tracks in the dust over there?"
"What?"
The lackey pointed to what he had spotted. "Over there it looks like someone rode by that giant rock."
"I knew that there was a reason that I kept you around. Come. Once we figure out who was here, we can go after them and get my treasure."
Soun placed a commiserating look on his friend. "So what you're telling me is that you had just saved your son from a bunch of homicidal women when you fell into a cursed pool and wound up getting seperated from him. When you tried to return to him, you got chased around by a crazy boy who blames his own curse on your panda side. And to save your life, you've had to come here?"
"Yes," Genma sobbed, "It is terrible, but he left me no choice but to run. But that leaves my weak boy all on his own..."
"Surely he must have learned something from you..."
"I tried to teach him all that I could, but he insists on keeping his pets and taking care of them even when I find places that will take them in and would be the best for us all. And now he's probably too concerned about his animals to watch over himself."
"It is truely tragic!" weeped the Tendo Patriarch.
"My poor boy is probably lost without the guiding hand of his father, and unable to do anything on his own!"
Ranma scowled at the rather large baby turtle and sighed heavily. "Listen here, I'm not the 'mama'!"
"Not the mama?" went the baby.
"Yes, not the mama."
"Not the mama?"
"'Xactly," he told it and smirked at Seta. "See? I can teach it."
"I suppose..."
"'Suppose' nothin'. It's got the idea right now. Right?"
"Perhaps."
"I'll show ya," the younger man told him and looked to the turtle. "Not the mama, right?"
"Not the mama?" said the baby.
"That's right. But who am I? The turtle frowned for a moment, seeming to ponder something before coming to a revelation. "Mama!"
"Ack!"
"Guess you didn't change its mind," Seta told the teenager.
"I can see that!"
"Well, let's try something."
"Go ahead."
"Certainly," the archeologist replied and bent down to peer at the turtle. "Am I a 'mama'?"
"Not the mama!" declared the baby.
"Then who is this next to me?"
"Mama!"
"I am not the mama!" the pigtailed boy insisted.
"Hu?"
"Who am I?"
"Mama!"
Brow twitching, the pigtailed boy tried to figure out what to do while:
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(Posted Wed, 24 Dec 2003 19:15)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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