[Episode 93624] [Episode 93624]Even if he was too tired to recognize her at present, he knew what to do.
The meteor impacts began to die down. One major hit to the lunar surface would have long term consequences, but those couldn't be accurately measured at present.
The people on the ground had enough problems.
Due to the shape of Hong Kong bay, the tidal wave unleashed there wouldn't hit Japan with any great degree of destruction.
The chunk hitting Kobe was another matter altogether. Though relatively small, it touched off earthquakes and a massive fire.
A chunk roughly three quarters of a mile across slammed into the Bayankala Mountain Range and due to speed and the high density of that chunk - tunnelled fairly deep before setting off an explosion as kinetic energy changed to thermal energy.
Smaller rocks, some as small as golf balls, caused only minor damage. Again - relatively.
Some did as little as smashing in a car window. Others set off fires or otherwise caused problems. Compared to the bigger rocks though - hardly worth mentioning.
Shu Bop adjusted her guitar across her back as she joined the others atop the mountain.
The only home she had known, the only home her people had - somewhere under all that smoke. The Bayankala Mountain Range was limestone, and therefore there was no volcano. Instead there was earthquake and explosions and some pockets of buried gas, but it was the water that was the problem now.
The wells had drained away to nothing after the ground had begun shaking. Combined with the fires now raging along the bits of dry grass and wood, the carefully tended orchards and farms - it meant that their home was no longer.
They'd likely send scouts back after a few days. Because of the shape of the valleys, winds normally didn't stir the air that much. Once the fires and smoke had moved on, they could return and try to make the village livable again. IF the water returned. Even one of the nearby streams had proven to be dry when it was hastily checked.
Hearing others turn from the sight of the pillars of smoke and glowing redness, Shu Bop turned to follow.
"Where the hell am I now?!"
A familiar enough cry, and one could instantly identify the speaker from that single comment. Though it can certainly change in emphasis depending on where the speaker actually was.
Ryoga found himself in Hell. Or at least a pretty good facsimile.
Pillars of smoke were lit from within by dark red glows. Shattered storefronts and the glimpse of bright red splashes that Ryoga knew to be blood. Screams of pain, panic, and anguish could be heard over the crackling flames and snaps and pops of powerlines writhing in the streets.
Ryoga eventually overcame his shock and began moving. He didn't even think about it. It was another part of his nature, not the vengeance obsessive part, to root for the underdog or help the weak.
Rescuing people from a car whose doors had been crushed inward by a collision. Blowing out a wall so that people could get out of a building. Using the Breaking Point to free someone from rubble (after the first one had gotten pelted by debris he'd figured out how to shield them with his own body from the effects). Ryoga was in a daze and helping where he could, stumbling from one disaster to another.
In all of this, he discovered that the hell Ranma had put him through wasn't nearly as nasty as what could happen otherwise. He tried to offer comfort to one person after the little girl had watched her parents bleed to death. He went from one disaster to another and saw all those he was too late to help and could only offer some comfort to those who remained before he turned and stumbled into another scene of horror.
Those he left would carry the image of a different Ryoga Hibiki with them, this sad-faced man with the glazed eyes and impossible strength. The image of Ryoga Hibiki as a hero who was trying to do the best that he could.
Little did Ryoga know:
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(Posted Tue, 25 May 2004 10:10)
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