Wow. My second post in as many days. ^_^ This might become a habit. :)
Anyway, here's my own, personal contribution to the R2096 world (at
least, part of it. :)
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|A Taste Of His Own Medicine|
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A Ranma 2096 side-story
by Kevin Eav
Ranma 2096 and associated characters, stories, and events are Chris
Willmore's work. Don't blame me, I just work here, bub. :)
Ranma and associated characters, copyrights, etc. belong to
Shogakukan, Viz, Kitty, Rumiko Takahashi.. (basically, just about
anyone *but* me.)
This story originally based on REVENGE [Alpha Draft]
Gomurr borrowed without permission from Marvel Comics
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Something burned in the back of his head. A voice spoke to him,
but he couldn't understand what it was saying. He shook his head, (or
did he? Sometimes, it was so hard to tell...) willing the voice to
either speak louder or shut up. He wandered, as he had for centuries,
searching for the end to the pain and suffering that was his life..
or rather, his unlife. Something told him that perhaps, perhaps, this
voice held a key to it.
Ryouga did a most unusual thing for him; he sat down, in full
moonlight, contemplating his situation. This wasn't, in and of
itself, unusual. What made it unusual was the lack of the depression,
heartache, and general angst that followed the young(?) ghost,
whereever he went. Tonight, his concentration and thoughts were
focused inward, on the voice buzzing at the back of his head.
<Louder.. I must understand you.. I know it's important..>
The buzz finally increased, and he understood. He *knew*! He
*knew* what was responsible for the pain and suffering.. and now.. he
would destroy it. But how? It was, as it were, as unreachable to him
as Akane's heart had been when they were all alive.
<I...... I... will help you.... and.. there is another.... many
others.. who wish their pain ended...>
Ryouga continued the mental communication, putting his
stubbornness to work as he ignored the inferno raging in his head,
growing with each word. <Who? Who? I will need.... I will need help.>
The buzz hissed and popped, like water tossed in a vat of hot
oil. <Ones you know.. it willll be hard........ but for all sakes, you
must...>
Ryouga nodded, the burning in his head growing to unignorable
proportions, even for one of his pain tolerance. <Lead me to
them....> was his last thought, before he lost his hold on coherence.
The night, rather, the dawn, was the last thing in his eyes as he
blanked out.
* * * * *
Skeride awoke, from a very, very, disconcerting dream. So
disconcerting, in fact, that she rushed over to Childra's. She was
surprised (and that didn't happen often) to see Childra up--and alone.
She wondered briefly what could have happened that Childra would be
*alone*. But that thought was shoved from her head when she recalled
the dream. "Childra... *Childra*!!" she hissed, not daring to raise
her voice above a whisper.
Childra blinked, having just woken up before Skeride had gotten
there. "Wha--Nutkin? What's up?" It was a surprise, of course--Nutkin
*never* got up at this time of day and came down to Childra's room.
The blonde girl put her hands behind her, to support her, and
remembered the empty bed with a pang of loneliness. <Where *are*
you, 'shi?>
Skeride scowled, rather uncommonly, and sat down cross-legged to
explain. "I had this dream...." The light of the dawning sun lessened
the impact of fear as she recalled and told the story to Childra.
* * * * *
Ryouga sat up (Or, did he? It was so hard to tell... he thought
he did..) and, as the first light of the sun struck him full in the
eyes, he remembered what he had to do. The information had been placed
in his head, he knew exactly where to go.
Ryouga set off--this time, he wouldn't get lost.
He hoped.
* * * * *
Childra looked around nervously. "Nutkin, are you sure about
this?"
Skeride just nodded quietly, sitting, again cross-legged, the
P'ur-bu lying on her legs as though it were a guardian. "He'll be
here.. I know it. He has to be here. A Geis has been placed upon
him."
Childra nodded, gripping her bo staff and twirling it idly. She
wasn't really scared, just worried, as she always was, for Nutkin's
state of mind.
Skeride's voice intoned, "First... I was told to go to this
place...."
* * * * *
Ryouga glowed yellow. He couldn't believe it. The map was right
in front of him. His path lit up for him, a ghostly incandecence, so
clear to his vision.. and *HE* *STILL* *GOT* *LOST*!!! He resisted
the urge to shout his outrage and target it at Saotome.. that...
that.. Anyway, he knew it wasn't Saotome's fault, but that long-time
habit was a hard one to break. He forced himself to get back on
track, and walked off, this time in the right direction.
* * * * *
Skeride fidgeted. "He's late."
Childra frowned. "Who? Who's late?"
Skeride looked off in the distance, at the setting sun. "I don't
know. Someone I was told to help." She frowned, grasping the P'ur-bu
almost unconciously.
At that moment, Ryouga broke through the trees surrounding the
glade that the two women occupied.
Skeride looked up, grasping the P'ur-bu in a firm, controlled
grip. "YOU!!!"
Ryouga looked up, his yellow aura glowing anew. "YOU!" There was
a moment's silence. "Am I still in Antarctica?"
*thud*
Skeride shouted, "No, you're not!!" after she had picked herself
up off the ground. Childra just stared, mouth hanging open. <That's..
That's.. Ryouga Hibiki! I haven't seen him since...> Skeride advanced
on Ryouga. "Now.. now I'll finish what I started.."
Ryouga grinned, none too kawaii'ly, at the real, tangible threat.
"You're more than welcome to try." His fangs glinted, his aura
gathering itself between his hands.
Skeride rushed at Ryouga, fully intending to pierce him through
the heart. He gathered his ki-blast further, confident in his ability
to destroy her quickly, unlike their last meeting.
Suddenly, both combatants were struck by a green beam of energy.
The buzzing voice reverberated throughout the glade, "NO!! You cannot
fight now!" The beam of energy held the two in place. Suddenly, Kim
was transported in, and Akane wasn't far behind, nor Ranma.
The energy disappeared, but Skeride and Ryouga faltered, stopping
and staring at each other. Then Ryouga noticed Ranma.. and Akane. He
turned to run, but found that he couldn't escape. He tried for
several more minutes, but eventually, shamefully, turned back and
joined the group in the middle of the clearing.
Ranma and Akane took it very well, actually. "R-ryouga?" and "Yo,
pig-boy, glad to see you made it!" were Akane and Ranma's respective
greetings. Ryouga just stood there, all the old memories, the old
shames, flooding over him.
This was going to be a long morning.
That self-same buzzing voice boomed out, "Please, sit around the
campfire. I have things to tell you."
Everyone looked puzzled. "What campfire?"
There was an almost audible 'piku' and 'd'oh!' from the ghost,
then a green beam of energy slammed down into the middle of the
clearing and created a nicely burning campfire, marshmallows included.
Everyone "ohh'ed". "*That* campfire." They arranged themselves
around it, and waited expectantly.
Suddenly, a wizened old man, wearing a traditional kimono in
two-tone dark and light greys, with his arms and ankles tape-wrapped,
and a wide-brimmed 'wok' hat perched atop his head approached, his
staff jingling in his hand as he stepped.
Ryouga 'gyaaaaaaah'ed. "Gomurr??????"
Gomurr *grinned*. "Well, hello there, Wanderer."
Everyone peered at Ryouga. "Wanderer?"
Ryouga 'hehehehehe'ed. "Er.. yeah.. you know.. since my poor
sense of direction..."
Ranma muttered, "Poor sense of direction, he says.. takes him
years just to say it..."
Ryouga frowned. "Shut up, Ranma."
Ranma smirked back. "Think you can make me, P-Chan?"
Gomurr shouted, more than a bit frustrated, "SHUT UP!!!!!!!"
His voice reverberated throughout the clearing, and the two ghost boys
sat down, clearly shamed.
"Right then. *Shall* we get started, then?" Gomurr minced no
words. "I, being the greatest, most wise in the ways of the occult
and strange, have discovered the source of all your pain and
suffering." Okay, so he minced a few words. "Well..." he said,
noticing the various yawns, glares, etc. from the group, "To make a
long story short.."
Ranma and Ryouga chimed in with "Too late."
Gomurr glared. "I'm getting there!! *hmph* Anyways, I know who is
the cause of all your troubles. Allow me to introduce you to him."
Gomurr conjured up a large, green-tinted viewing globe. It was empty..
no.. it was filled with snow-static. Ranma looked sarcastic. He
sounded it, too. "Ooooh, great reception, jiji." Gomurr grabbed his
hammerspace staff out of nowhere and whacked Ranma upside the head.
Akane clapped. "Oooh, nice form!" Gomurr grinned, an uneven row of
teeth in his mouth. "Thank you, young lady. Anyways..." he gave
sideways glances to Ranma and Ryouga, "No more interruptions, and I
can show you."
Gomurr tapped the globe with his staff, and immediately it
cleared up. The most interesting sight greeted them.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris tapped away at his keyboard, hunched over in front of his
screen. A low-level maniacal chuckle drifted past his lips as he
typed, Mozart's "Requiem" playing from a boom box next to his desk.
"Yes.. and after this.. then.... Yes.. it's perfect! It'll drive the
readers batty!" He paused for a moment. <Why do I feel like I'm being
watched...?> He looked around the room, then shrugged as he got back
to his writing. "After I get this done, I have to study Physics and
Calculus.. then I can get some sleep." He started typing furiously
away at his keyboard.
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Ranma howled with laughter. "That... that.. *boy*.. is supposed
to be the guy who's done all this to us??"
Gomurr nodded, suddenly dead serious. "That is Chris Willmore.
Note his shirt. 'Anime Liberation Front'." He paused, to let this sink
in. After a long, uncomfortable silence, they all went, "Yeah.. so?"
"Nothing special about it. I just like the shirt." <Picture
massive facefaulting. The earth shakes.> "Get to the POINT
already!!!!" hollered the group as one.
Gomurr looked frustrated. "I'm *getting* there!! I'm going to
arrange to send over three of you to eliminate him. Once this is
done, your lives will all return to what they were *supposed* to be
like. Comprende? Right then. Skeride, Ryouga.. you two will be the
strike force. Ranma, you'll be along to coordinate and handle the
backup. There's no time to waste--every second he has, is another
second he can use to twist your lives around his finger."
With a wave of the n-dimensional staff, the ancient wizard
created the portal. "Go on, go! And hurry up... I don't belong here
any more than you do." The chosen four didn't argue;they didn't even
ask how. This was, in part, due to some careful manipulation on
Gomurr's behalf.
With a flash of amber-green light.... they were gone.
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Ranma whispered to Ryouga and Skeride, "Be careful, you two. We
have no idea what he's capable of. Make it quick, you can't afford to
linger." The two attackers nodded, and Ryouga took up his position in
front of Chris's door. Skeride faded away, to make her appearance
later. Dorm tenants walked by, noting the group at Chris's door, but
he was the center of so much chaos that no one took especial note of
them. In fact, if you could have seen their thoughts, it would have
been <Man.. *Another* costume night at Willmore's? Geez....>
After a final check with the two, Ranma nodded.. and silently
gave the 'go' signal.
Chris was putting the final touches on another side-story, as of
yet unnamed, when he saw a green flash out of the corner of his eye.
<What the..?> He ignored it, however. <Must be the four nubile young
chemists next door.> Then he heard someone whisper his name. "....
Willmore ...." He was busy, so he just called out, "Yes, what is it?"
".... Willmore ...." A bit louder this time, but still breathy.
*cough cough *ahem* cough* And coughing.
"Yeah?? I'm sorta busy, you know."
"... you must pay for your sins ..." This time, it was a
full-volume sound. Chris *jerked*. "That.. voice. No. It can't be.
This isn't "Sauce". It *can't* be. He looked up to see a ghostly
Ryouga striding determinedly towards him.
Ryouga said, "Get away from the keyboard, Willmore. Now." He
punctuated this with a ki-buildup that shone from between his hands.
Chris thought about it, thought about it some more, and decided
that he really couldn't argue with it. <Besides, if I'm just
hallucinating, I'll figure it out soon.> He stepped away from the
computer. "Thank you," said Ryouga. Then he promptly pointed his
hands at Chris and shouted "Shi-shi Houkoudan!!!" and ki-burned Chris
to a crisp.
He found this most interesting. He didn't feel any pain when
Ryouga blasted his body, just sort of a lot of pressure. He was still
in shock, though, seeing how as an anime character he thought (and
still did think) was not real just killed him. "What is going *on*
here?"
A soft whisper answered him. "When I'm done, you'll have all your
answers... Creator." Chris's spirit *whirled* around, and stared down
his new nemesis. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. Not you.... anyone but
you..."
Skeride smiled her soft, spooky smile. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
Even as you created me.. I must destroy you." She lunged forward with
her P'ur-bu, easily striking her stunned target in the temple. It
hit; it definitely hit. She could feel the resistance in his
anti-flesh. But it didn't kill him. Something about Chris, or maybe
it was the laws of the universe they were in, didn't allow the P'ur-bu
to kill him. She'd have to figure it out later. Maybe it was the
changing religious climate.. No. Figure it out *later*. Right now, she
had a job to finish, and one sure-fire way of doing it.
Chris stood there, unable to do a thing as Skeride started to
glow lavender. He recognized the attack for what it was... he should,
he created it. Chris forced the words out of his mouth, a mere
whisper. "The.. soul.. trap... bubble...."
Skeride favored him with another one of her smiles. "That's
right. The soul-trap bubble. And yes.. it's every bit as effective as
you created it to be. As you will soon find out."
For Chris, the world turned lavender. And then, darkness.
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The members of the group greeted the returning 'strike force'
tensely. "How did it go?" Ryouga, Ranma, and Skeride simply nodded,
exhausted. "It worked? You got him?" The three dimension-travelers
nodded again.
Everyone cheered.. until Childra thought to say, "Well.. if you
guys succeeded.. then why are we still here, all of us?"
A sudden sense of dread washed through the group. Gomurr sighed
quietly, "Well.. nothing to be done about it now. We'll just have to
deal with things as they happen. *grumblegrumble* I wanna get back to
my own universe.."
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THE END (of this part)
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Chris woke up, with a terrible headache.. "Ohhhh..... what
happened...? I must've had too much mocha last night...." He got
up woozily and looked around. "Doesn't *look* like my dorm..." After
walking around a bit, he found the front door. He didn't have his
glasses, so he had to peer at it to read it right. "K-U-N-O-U H-A-L-L.
Kunou Hall." Normally.. this would have had an impact of some
significance on him, had he not felt like he had run a marathon
simultaneously wired on caffeine and drunk at the same time. As a
result, it hit him about five minutes later. "Kunou Hall?????
Ohmygod...."
Chris might be unpredictable as a writer, but as a person, he's
only human. He did what any good author-turned-character would do. He
fainted.
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To Be Continued(?)
K-chan -- known in her spare time as Kevin Eav
First Deacon of the Church of Ryouga, Keeper of the Sacred Compass
Victim of the 'Sauce' revengefic phenomenon
Author, musician, and otaku
Member of Okonomiyaki Addicts Anonymous -- Long live Ukyou
email:geist@holly.colostate.edu hikaru@humbug.org.au
Ishido@RanmaMUCK Wan@FT Wan@PikuMUCK Shidou_Hikaru@AnimeMUCK Kevin@RL