Disclaimer: I did not create Ranma 1/2 or Dragonball or any other mentioned copyrighted shows. The characters and other such things belong to their respective owners.
Ranma 1/2 Z Neo: part 10
*...* -actions (...) -thoughts ~....~ -emphasis on word {....} -other languages ^ -notes from me! **x***x***~***x***~***x***~***x***~***x***~***x**
*Ryouga keeps his head down as the group walks back to the village. Beside him, Akane smiles and excitedly bounces a little, unable to wait to see Ranma. Ryouga can’t bring himself to meet her in eye. Ukyou notices his quiet, but thinks nothing of it.*
Ukyou: Hey, cheer up, Sugar! We’ll be back at the village in no time!
Akane: (he must be worried about Ranma. Those two really are such good friends when they’re not fighting.) Don’t worry Ryouga! I’m sure the spring granted your wish!
Ryouga: *mumbling* I know it did. (I can’t believe I did that. Now the chance is gone forever...) *The village comes in sight. Suddenly, a figure on all fours comes running out to meet them*
Akane: *gasps* Ranma! You-you’re still...
Ranma: *looks up at her* mew?
Ukyou: You mean it didn’t work?
Ryouga: Yes it did. *reaches over to Ranma and grabs what looks like his hairline. Ranma lets out a yowl as he pulls, ripping off what looks like a jellyfish. He holds it out at arms’ length.* This is what caused him to act like that.
Ukyou: Yuck. Look at that thing.
Akane: Gross. *shudders* throw it away, Ryouga.
Amazon girl: {Look! They hold something gross...}
Shampoo: Ryouga, would you give that to us? We should be able to do something or another with it.
Ryouga: Sure. *hands it over. A girl takes it back to the village*
Akane: I guess we just need to splash him now.
Ukyou: Got that covered. *splash*
Ranma-chan: Huh? what happened? *quickly looks all around* There’s no c-c-c-c-cats around, are there???
Ukyou: Nope. None at all. *Ranma-chan breathes a sigh of relief*
Ranma-chan: *noticing Shampoo* Cologne?!?!?!?
Shampoo: No, I’m Shampoo. Great-grandmother died a long time ago.
Ranma-chan: *eyes widening even more* Shampoo?! You... got older....
Shampoo: Yes, I did, didn’t I? Time does seem to do that to a person.
Ranma-chan: Oh, yeah... I forgot about that. *everybody sweatdrops* So, what happened to me? *Ukyou fills him in as the group heads into the village.*
Ukyou: ...and that’s what happened.
Ranma: *looks at Ryouga.* Ryouga.... Thanks.
Ryouga: *grunts something that might have been a ‘you’re welcome’... or a death threat, or just about anything...* (I’ll never be a real man now. Never have a chance like that again.)
Ranma: *sympathizes with what Ryouga has done for him, knowing what it must have cost the lost boy* Next time I make a wish, I’ll return the favor.
Ryouga: *uncomforted* Sure, whatever.
Akane: *confused* What? Anyway, why don’t we get back to Cap Corp?
Ukyou: Good idea. We have to prepare, after all... tomorrow we leave.
*The group says goodbye to the Amazons, and fly back to Cap Corp, where Trunks and Bulma await them.*
Trunks: How’d it go?
Ranma: *sarcastically* me-ow. How does it look like it went?
Bulma: Oh, good, you’re back to normal. *a pause* Then again, it was kinda fun having a pet... Maybe you could go Neko again after then battle? *puppy eyes*
Ranma: *stares* You’re kidding... right?
Trunks: *sweatdrop* I’ll get you a pet later, mom.
Bulma: *giggling* I ~was~ joking, but now that you’ve offered...
Trunks: *bigger sweatdrop* Anyway, we need to prepare for tomorrow. You all know the plan, right?
Team Akane: You’ve drilled us a hundred times! Yes!!!!
Trunks: *hair blown backwards from the force of the reply* Just checking... All right, then. We shouldn’t train today, or we’ll still be worn out tomorrow.
Ranma: *starts pacing* can’t we do something, at least? I’m already getting anxious....
Akane: Ranma no Baka. We can still walk around and see the city, ne, Trunks?
Trunks: Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure. In fact, that’s a good idea. Familiarize yourselves with the area. I’ll come too, and give you a tour.
Bulma: Oh no you won’t. You’ll stay here. Don’t you have something that you bunch are working on? Some secret plan or something? Read over that and see if you can memorize it. Or do something useful.
Trunks: *sweatdrop* All right, Okasan.
Bulma: *hands a map to Ryouga* Here, something to help you.
Ryouga: *promptly turns map upside down* Wow, thanks!
Akane: *grabs map from Ryouga* Why don’t I carry that?
Ryouga: Uh, sure.
Ukyou: Oh, dear, the city is so big... Ryouga, won’t you be my escort so I don’t get lost? *big eyed, fake innocent look*
Ryouga: *blush* Sure... *Ukyou quickly grabs his arm*
Ukyou: great. Are we ready now?
Ranma: *admiring Ukyou’s tactics, until Akane’s elbow catches his gut* Right. Let’s go.
Trunks: *reluctantly* Um, just a sec. Ukyou, I think you’d better stay here... we have to review the plans.
Ukyou: *looks worriedly at Ryouga* Ummm...
Akane: *sighs* Ryouga, why don’t you be ~my~ escort instead?
Ryouga: *image of little hearts rising, screen becomes outlined in roses* I’d be honored, Akane... *Akane grabs his hand*
Akane: Well, then, I guess we’re ready. (I was hoping Ranma could be ~my~ escort... but we sure don’t want to loose Ryouga.)
Ranma: Right. Lead the way, Ms. Map-Holder. *suffers a glare from Akane, and follows as she leads through the window.*
Ukyou: Okay, so, what do we need to go over?
Trunks: *taking a small hand-held computer out of his pocket* This...
*outside on the streets*
Akane: To our left is a movie theater... I guess Trunks goes here pretty often.
Ranma: Why do you say that?
Akane: It’s circled, starred, outlined, and has little rays shooting out from it.
Ryouga: *looking over Akane’s shoulder* Wow, he must ~really~ like this place... it even has a heart around it....
Ranma: *snickers* (Guess he’s as bad as Ryouga at finding places...)
Ryouga: *dangerously* What was that, Ranma?
Ranma: Nothing, nothing... (I don’t think I said that out loud.... Did I?)
Akane: Stop that, guys. Let’s keep on going.
Ryouga: Whatever you say, Akane.
Ranma: *rolls his eyes*
*back at Cap Corp*
Ukyou: Wow. You got that much more new info?
Trunks: Yeah. I guess it’s a good thing I can’t come, because now I can guide you on your mission.
Ukyou: *giggles* What, am I going on Mission Impossible here?
Trunks: *laughs* Yeah, guess you are.
Ukyou: Well, what shall we do now?
Trunks: *shrugs* Why don’t you go catch up with everyone else?
Ukyou: And leave you here all alone? You’re kidding, right? (I’d much rather spend time with you, here alone, than escort Ryouga around all day again...)
Trunks: *blushes slightly* Well... (I certainly can’t protest that... I don’t exactly ~want~ to be left alone again...)
Ukyou: Have any bored games?
Trunks: You mean board games?
Ukyou: No, bored games. Stuff you play when you’re bored.
Trunks: *laughs* Isn’t it the same thing?
Ukyou: ... Well, usually, yeah. Not all the time though.
*Trunks gets up and retrieves a game from a closet. The two play for a while, until dinner.*
Akane: *calling out* We’re baaaa-aaack!
Bulma: Just in time for dinner. *puts down boxes of take out Chinese*
Trunks: *sarcastically* Gee, ‘kasan, you shouldn’t have taken so much trouble....
Bulma: *pretending to not hear the sarcasm* I know, but what could I do? After all, tomorrow they’re gonna save the world. I owe them a little something.... *Ranma and Trunks both sweatdrop. Ukyou, Akane, and Ryouga politely refrain from showing theirs.*
Akane: Ranma, that’s rude. *gets out a pin from hammerspace. She reaches over and pops both of the boys’ sweatdrops*
Ranma-chan: *splutter splutter*
Trunks: Ack!
Ryouga: (There is some benefit in chivalry...) *grins*
*The boys, er... boy and girl dry themselves off using their napkins. Bulma brings in a kettle of hot water for Ranma-chan, who becomes Ranma-kun again.*
Ranma: Sheesh, Akane. Don’t you think that was kind of harsh?
Akane: You need to learn to be polite. Or would you rather me hammer you instead?
Ranma: *pretends to consider it* hmmm....
Akane: *rolls her eyes* Pass the rice please, Ukyou.
*The group finishes dinner. Tired, they head to bed. Little do they realize the pair of eyes watching them from above*
Piccolo: They haven’t improved much... I can only hope they have the strength in them naturally... Regardless, I can’t help them unless it’s absolutely needed. *resides back to meditating*
*in Kami’s lookout*
Dende: Thanks Piccolo. I know how much you want to help them, but it just can’t be. They have to solve this problem themselves. Only a human can destroy this evil...
*at the beach*
Videl: *laying in her sleeping bag, looking up at the stars* Gohan... I wish you were here... I wish I could help you be here... *Pan stirs beside her, and wakes up crying*
Pan: Okasan... Okasan...
Videl: *leaning over her daughter* What is it?
Pan: When’s ‘tousan getting home?
Videl: Soon. We just have to wait a little longer. *As she says this, her nails dig into her palm, leaving five crescent moons.*
Ox-King: Don’t worry, Videl. Your husband is a tough man.
Videl: *looks at him* That doesn’t make it any easier, you know. I want to fight... to bring him back to me...
Ox-king: I know, I know. *turns to Pan* Go back to sleep, sweetie.
Pan: Yes, Grampa. *lays back down*
*further down the beach*
Chichi: *walking along the edge of the water* Goku... look where you got your son now... I told you not to let him fight... *sighs* Why can’t I stay mad at you? Even when I’m mad at you?
*in a dark room*
Gohan: Dad! Get off me!
Goku: Gomen.... *moves*
Vegita: *voice dripping in warning* Kakarot....
Goku: *moves again* Sorry, Vegita...
Goten: *groans* Dad...
Goku: Ahhhh! There’s just not enough room in here!!!!
Treble: *just outside the room* Bwahahahahhahaha!!!!! *doubles over with laughter*
Everyone in the small room: *sweatdrop* SHUT UP!!!! *multiple beams of energy shoot towards the door... and bounce off, back at their origins*
Goten: Ite!
Vegita: *growls* *beep* reflective door...
Treble: *starts crying with laughter; finds he can’t breathe anymore...*
Gohan: *buries his head under his hands* When will it end??? Trunks, hurry up, PLEASE!!!!
*in the cockpit*
Syme: Argos, the boy has recovered from the hallucination stage...
Argos: What??? *growls* How did they figure it out? *Suddenly, he laughs* Well, I guess we underestimated them. Jet, Tempo, be careful... I wouldn’t want to loose you to a bunch of little babies....
Tempo: *confidently* Don’t worry, Argos! We can take them.
Jet Stream: *throws a ~look~ at his sister* Don’t overdo it, Temp.
Tempo: *rolls her eyes* Whatever.
Argos: Not so confident, Jet? Perhaps I should just let her and Treble take care of our little friends?
Jet Stream: No sir! Errr... I just don’t want her to ruin it for us by making a careless error...
Argos: *more-evil-than-Kodachi laugh* Good, good! Just make sure you defeat them... utterly.
Syme: (Be careful, you two... I may be a doctor, but I ~can’t~ revive the dead...)
*The moon rises high into the night. The world sleeps peacefully, as if the troubles of the people who live on it mattered about as much as the gender of the mosquito biting you^. One would never know the trouble just ahead... until it hit, of course....*
^Female... male mosquitoes don’t bite.
Bulma: *sitting up, thinking* (It’s so peaceful now... If only it could stay this way. But it never does, does it? I wish it could be night forever... with the stars and the crickets, with my husband and son asleep nearby, without the chaos that morning brings...) *She lets out a sigh, and stands up. Walking to her room, she pauses to gaze at a picture of everyone, from the newborn Pan to even Vegita and Piccolo, dragged in by her and Gohan, respectively. She smiles at the joy she sees.* (But then, the day also brings us all together... people don’t smile like this when they sleep. I guess life is best like it is.) *She sets the picture down and heads into her room, pulling on a long, silvery nightgown to wear, since she has no husband in bed to hug to keep her warm. She drifts to sleep, dreaming of that afternoon when they all were together, dreaming of the day.*
*The sun rises inevitably, and one by one, the people follow*
Akane: *squinting against a ray of sunshine* Why does it have to be so bright first thing? *gets up* I wonder if Ranma’s up yet...
Ranma: *in his bed* zzzzZZZZzzzzZZZZzzzzZZZZzzzz.......
Akane: *coming in* Ranma... .... grr.... still asleep... *takes a deep breath* RANMA NO BAKA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ranma: *sitting up quickly, looking around and getting ready to dodge* Wha... wha... huh? *wakes up a little more, and yawns* Oh, good morning, Akane.
Akane: Good morning, Ranma.
Trunks: *blinking sleepily, sticks his head in* What happened?
Akane: What do you mean, Trunks?
Ranma: *sweatdrops a little, but refrains from wisecracking* Akane just woke me up, that’s all.
Ryouga: *breaking through the wall* Yeah, it takes a lot of noise to wake him up. His head is as dense as a brick, so it’s hard to penetrate.
Ranma: Look who’s talking, P-chan!
Ryouga: *eyes narrowing* Ranma.....
Ukyou: *coming in* Don’t waste your energy fighting now, guys. We still have the fight today.
Akane: *suddenly remembering* Oh, yeah...
Ranma: Alright, Ukyou. *turns to Ryouga* Hear that, P-chan? You’re lucky... I can’t beat up on you today...
Ryouga: Ranma!!!! Prepar--
Akane: *snaps* Ranma! Ryouga! Stop that!
Ranma: *startled at her tone* yeah, sure, Akane...
Ryouga: Is something wrong?
Akane: NO! I’m just sick of you two fighting when we need to get ready.
Ukyou: *puts a hand on her shoulder* Relax, Sugar. The boys are playing again.
Akane: Well, they can play later!
Ukyou: *murmurs to her* I’m nervous too... but calm down, we can do this. *louder, to everyone* Let’s go get breakfast, okay?
Ranma/Ryouga: Yeah!!!! *They dash out the door. Ranma goes to left, and Ryouga to the right. Ranma dashes back to the right, grabs Ryouga, and heads to the left again*
Ranma: This way, baka!
Ryouga: Why you... *the two race to the table*
Ukyou: *heading to the kitchen* I’ll make breakfast.
Ranma: *as Akane quietly sits down* Great!
Trunks: *coming into the room* Did someone mention food?
Bulma: *sticking her head into the room* Mmmm... I smell something good...
Ukyou: *from the kitchen* Sit down! I’ll be out soon!
Trunks: Great!
*Five minutes later*
Ukyou: *coming out with a ~huge~ tray full of food* Here ya go!
Ranma: I-it’s not okonomiyaki... That’s for sure...
Ukyou: *rolling her eyes* It’s pancakes. They’re American. Syrup?
Ryouga: Sure... *Pours on syrup and starts eating* Hey, this is great!
Bulma: *notices Akane’s plate empty* Akane-chan, you’ll have to eat something.
Akane: I know... But I’m not very hungry...
Bulma: *pours her a glass of bright red cranberry juice* At least drink this. It’s filling, and has a lot nutrients in it. (Thanks to bioengineering, that is... Dad, you’re a genius. Just like me.*
Akane: Thanks. *takes the glass and sips*
Ranma: *noticing Akane* (Maybe I’ll take some extra food, in case she gets hungry later...) *stuffs a pancake into napkin, folding it several times, and puts it in his shirt pocket* (Good thing I wore my blue one today. The red one doesn’t have pockets.)
Ryouga: *sitting back, with many plates in front of him* Yumm... Thanks, Ukyou.
Ukyou: No problem, Sugar. *everyone finishes, even Akane and her red glass of cranberry juice.*
Ranma: We ready?
Team Akane: Yeah!
Trunks: I’ll go wait in my room.
Ukyou: And I’ll go get ready. *both leave*
Ranma: Well, that means we better go now. See you later, Bulma-san.
Bulma: Good luck. *the group flies out the window.* And I mean that...
Ukyou: *coming back out from her room, dressed like a boy, as Ranma had first seen her, chest bound and hair tied back, the only difference being the lack of a giant spatula* Don’t worry, Bulma-san. They’re strong. *looks on her back* Man, this is weird... I’m so used to having my spatula...
Bulma: Oh, yeah, that reminds me... *hands her a capsule* Here.
Ukyou: Huh? *pops it open* A spatula! Thanks! *she puts it back into capsule form* Great! Now I can take it along!
Bulma: Trunks asked me to make it for you. Good luck.
Ukyou: Thanks. *takes her pendent out from under her shirt* Ready, Trunks?
Trunks: *through the pendent* Yeah. Fly low, okay?
Ukyou: I was thinking more along the lines of roof hopping...
Trunks: That’ll work even better...
Ukyou: *jumps out the window* ’Bye, Bulma-san!
*At the site where the ship first landed*
Akane: Where are they?
Ranma: Here they come, now! *points up*
Ryouga: Wow, look at that ship!
Crash! *The ship lands, flattening a building in the process. A thin line appears in its side, and opens up, revealing a rectangle of light, with three forms outlined across it. They glide down, ignoring the ramp. Tempo, Jet Stream, and Treble stand nonchalantly in front of the group of teens. In the rectangle above, a large form and a slender one outline the door to watch, taking in the scene. Jet Stream smirks at the group, Tempo, grins, and Treble shows something that could be either a scowl or a smile. Jet steps forward*
Jet Stream: Well, they weren’t too scared to show up after all. You loose the bet, Tempo.
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Author’s notes:
Well, the action is about to begin! It’s time for the big fight. And what do Ukyou and Trunks have up their sleeves? What about Ryouga and Ranma’s secret? [Insert “Tune in next time” here]. Well, you’ll find out in the next chapter... I think... ;^] Hope you enjoyed!
Feel free to send all C&C to: Fanime_Lynn@hotmail.com