[Episode 86753] [Episode 86753]"Geesh.." he grumbled irritably, holding the child at arms length. "Ranma, bad ass martial artist supreme, and I can't get a baby to shut up." he sighed, "Pathetic."
What the hell was he suppose to do now? He had the kid, managed to stop that bastard were-thingamibob before he could finish the child off. The kid was crying loud enough to alert any remaining predators, or survivors of the carnage taking place outside. He also had the distinct horror of being lost -who- knows where, and if Ryoga was here Ranma knew the pig-boy would be laughing his ass off right about now.
"Well.." Ranma thought seriously, shunting these concerns into the back of his mind mostly. It was time to get serious, ".. first I gotta get the hell outta here. Whatever caused the destruction outside sure as heck isn't going to be long in coming back at us, that child killer certainly didn't look none too happy with me stoppin him."
Ranma blinked. The child had stopped crying. Eyeing the little bundle, he had to supress a laugh. The child had grabbed one of his fingers with her little bitty hands, and was sucking one of his claws like a pacifer. Her eyes will still puffy with recently shed tears, but now she held an inquistive look of wonder in her sparkling green eyes. "Cute." he heard himself rumble in a manly voice. This new form was really something else.
***
Theo wasn't happy. Not that this wasn't understandable from his perspective.
He had made a mistake, a simple mistake most apprentices of any OTHER magical order knew not to make by heart. Being an Aura Mage - A Mage that Channeled the wave lengths of the Ethereal Stream through their Aura, there they would fashion the energy into whatever magical paradigm whose effect he desired - his method of learning spells didn't consist of spell books and such. Like a martial artist to a degree, they relied on previously penned scrolls to learn what was required of their feild of magic.
Since he failed to realize that books of magic were 'empty' when closed, all one had to do to regain the spells kept therein was simply open the damn thing. No, he was not happy, and it seemed the Were-cheetahs and Were-wolves were paying the price for his bungling mistake.
So of course, he was far from happy at the moment.
After he had left Gothwrain in a pile of his own blood, he had gone in search of the survivors. He had stumbled upon numerous battle sites, mixed with the fallen blood of cheetah and wolf alike. He could do nothing for the dead, so he shunted the pain and self-loathing that had been growing with each new sight of death and descruction caused in the wake of his mistake.
He found the Were-cheetah elder, Xerves, slain. His jugular had been sliced cleanly from his neck, he died with a look of shocked horror etched permantly on his lifeless face.
Another failure. Another life lost.
He couldn't rest, however. Some where in his weeping greif he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt a fight was continuing, the fate of two entire species had yet to be decided finally. So he pushed on, pushed through the pain of seein how one simple horrible mistake could cause the deaths of so many innocents.
Which is why he found himself before this barn, an old structure belonging to a ghost town. "Please.." he pleaded mentally as he pushed the slightly ajar door open fully, ".. please.. let some one live through this.."
***
Ranma pulled the child to his chest when his danger sense flared. The child let out a small wail in irritation, before she pounced onto an offered claw to suckle.
"Hello?" a male voice, on trembling in fear, agitation, and with a distinct hit at dying hope reached his senses. Jumping high up to the rafters as quietly as he could, Ranma had to surpress a groan when the baby moaned in annoyance before settling back down.
Ranma examined the man from his perch carefully, lest he discover this man is a ally of the child butcher he had just scared off. The man was tall, not obscenely so like himself, but by human standards he was a repsectable six foot two inches in height, with combed back slick blond hair and soft blue eyes. He had a sheen of presperation clearly visible upon his skin, and was dressed in some kind of form fitting black body suit with a similar colored long leather trench coat. He also smelled fearful, agitated to an extreme account and nearly set to go into a panic.
Ranma blinked. How the hell did he know what fear smelled like? He knew he was an observant fellow when it came to the fight, but to this extent even he highly doubted was possible. This new form had some serious advantages in terms of senses, hell.. he could actually SEE the man sweating, and thats not something one could easily identify of a person unless they were up and in their face.
The man seemed to stumble about the room, almost like a lost blind sheep. He eventually stumbled upong the torn sundered body of a woman, where he collapsed on his hands and knees and started weeping. "No.. I'm.. I'm too late!" he roared pathetically, "I couldn't save ANYONE! I failed!"
Ranma sighed in relief internally. At least the man didn't appear to be in cahoots with that were-wolf, which was always a plus in his book.
"Wait.. wheres your baby Cyan?" the man suddenly became frantic, searching all about the body before searching the room, "Brittany! Where are you! Cry out if he can hear me!" the man desperatly cried, his voice thethering on the brink of insanity, held back only by the slim hope of finding the owner of that name.
Ranma frowned, looking at the dead woman torn about the room. "So thats her mother.." he thought, disgusted by what he saw. The womans blood literally caked the room, her entrails spilling out from her decapitated torso and becoming an unsightly mess on the floor, her bowels bringing forth a stench that rivaled the smell of death he had detected when Bast first sent him here. He pushed the sight of the woman out of his mind, there was nothing he could do for her now, then he looked down at the baby in his arms. "So.. your name is Brittany huh?" he groused mentally. The baby seemed to have fallen asleep in his arm, still idly sucking on the point of his claw from time to time.
"BRITTANY! WHERE ARE YOU! ANSWER ME! Please.. god.. " the man sobbed, "Answer me.. let me know your all right.." he continued to wail as he tore about the room, knocking boxes and baskets askance as he looked for the missing youth.
***
A loud thump, the sound of something crashing into the ground from a high height alerted him that he wasn't alone. Theo whipped around, bringing his hands to the ready should his unexpected guest turn violent.
The spells he was ready to let loose slowly slipped from his fingers as he examined the.. creature. Tall, nearly nine towering feet with thick black hair that seemed to cover the creatures entire body, poorly hiding the rippling muscles beneath. Two etheral cat like blue eyes return his stare, and Theo could swear the light of it's eyes was reflecting off its two long sharp canines jutting out it's mouth.
"Who.. who the hell are you!" Theo shouted, fearfully stepping back and away from the creature due to surprise. His eyes widened noticeably when he finally saw what the creature was carrying. He had a baby, he had Cyan's baby.. he had Brittany! "Thank god.. " he breathed mentally, not allowing himself to appear relieved on the outside. While Brittany was currently alive for the time being, who knew what the creature before him could do if aggravated to violence. He was slightly relieved when he discovered the creature seemed to be holding the baby protectivly, like a Father would his own child.
The creature heard his question, "Saotome Ranma." its thick deep voice reverberating about the room, sending a shiver up Theo's spine. Whatever the hell this guy was, he just screamed 'I'm such a badass, I could chew you up and spit you out before you realized it happened to you'. That kind of confidence was to be appreciated generally... but not when its YOU facing the creature down, no, that kind of confidence was to be feared.. feared and if at all possible, used to your advantage. "Who are you?" the thing asked, before growling angrily, "Your not the child-killers ally, are you?" it opened up its free hand threateningly, sharp claws in plain view.
"Theodore Diggers..."
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(Posted Mon, 12 Jan 2004 22:52)
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