mabli@idirect.com

This is my first fanfic so don't give me lots of contructive critisism.
Privately if possible. About how the paragraphs are split, I know they
suck, that's what the critisism is for.


Disclaimer: All rights are reserved to their respective owners. Only the
original characters are mine. Don't sue me, please. (I need all my money
for anime!)

Note: I've taken some liberties with some/all of the characters. Sorry,
I couldn't help it. This fic also has small crossovers and references
that usually don't have any big bearing on the fic.
Thoughts are in <>
Normal dialogue is in quotes (duh)


A Different Brand Of Mousse Part One

A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by Mark Ferrer

     It was a rainy day in Nerima. The students in Furinkan High were
cooped up in the school during lunchtime looking out at the never ending
rain. The contractors renovating Ucchan's were taking a break, still
amazed at the damaged it sustained without crumbling to pieces. Soun and
Genma were as usual playing shogi.

     At the Nekohanten, two fighters were squaring off. The lull in
activity had prompted Mousse to try out what his latest training journey
had brought with it. Shampoo was breathing lightly while Mousse was
panting hard and his clothes were in disarray. Mousse couldn't believe
he had gone for a whole half-hour against the one he loved. His training
improved his endurance and he was coming closer and closer to being able
to hit Shampoo before his instincts took over.

     <He's gotten better...> thought Shampoo. <...but not good enough.>
She rushed at Mousse with her bonbori, who was too tired was knocked out
the door, turning into a duck in the pouring rain. Shampoo looked around
at the restaurant and saw that their fight didn't affect the diner at
all. <Good. I won't have to get Mousse to clean anything.> she thought.
A ringing phone called her attention and the promise of more customers
called Shampoo to attention and she ran to the phone.

     Mousse was waddling back into the restaurant when he was grabbed by
a hooded blur. He opened his beak to quack but it was quickly tied up.
He tried to fly away but he was placed in a box. He was slightly
relieved that the box had holes in it but he started thinking the worst.
Out of one of the holes, he could see part of the face of the person who
ducknapped him. "You're a hard person to find, Mousse." he said. Mousse
saw him place something into box through one of the holes. He turned in
the small box to see what it was but blacked out at the smoke coming
from the object. <This kind of thing doesn't happen to me...> he thought
before losing all consciousness. The hooded man looked to see if anyone
was missing and disappeared.

****************************************************************************

     Mousse woke up to the sound of birds chirping. He couldn't hear any
sounds of a city so he jumped up to see where he was. He was in the
middle of a clearing in a forest. He took a deep breath of the sweet
air. <Hmm,> he thought. <the air's too sweet to be Japan. Could it be
China?>

     "Welcome back to China." a voice behind him said.

     Mousse turned to see a masked man approaching him. He dropped into
a defensive position and said, "It's nice to be back but I'd like to
return to Japan if you don't mind." The masked man put up his hands and
said, "I am not asking for a fight young man."

     Mousse lowered his guard. He couldn't believe that he was actually
going to trust the man. "Why did you bring me here?"

     "I want to help you." the masked man answered. "You have been
ignoring your training far too long, you are cursed and you cannot see
without your glasses. I am going to try to solve every one of your
problems."

     "Why would you want to help me?" Mousse asked. Absently, he was
cycling through all the people he knew and tried to match the voice to a
face. <I know that voice!> he screamed mentally.

     "I'm going to help you because you have the potential to be the
most powerful human on earth." he said calmly. He smiled at Mousse's
surprised reaction. "But first, I want to test your current fighting
ability." He seemingly grabbed two swords out of thin air and slashed
them at Mousse.

     <He knows Hidden Weapons...> Mousse thought. He let his chains fly
but they were dodged and got lodged deep into the tree behind the masked
man. "You've always relied too much on your chains Mousse." the man said
sternly.

     <How does this guy know me? Dammit! I know I've heard that voice
before...> Mousse threw some shurikens at the man then took out two huge
battleaxes. He tried getting as close as possible to do the most damage
but just ended up cleaving both swords in two. The masked man then threw
some shurikens of his own at Mousse. He threw them like he had an
endless supply. Mousse ducked, jumped over and batted back as many stars
as he could. He threw both axes at the man. The masked man stood at the
perfect position for both axes to pass by inches past his head. <Love
that sound!> he thought. He snapped out of it just in time to dodge the
potty trainers Mousse threw. "Mousse, try to counter this!" he said.
Again, from thin air, he took out two huge spiked balls and swung them
around his body.

     <How the heck do I get past those?> Mousse thought. He
experimentally threw another potty trainer at the masked man. The spiked
balls smashed the potty trainer into dust. He threw knives but they
deflected off and almost got him instead. He took out the toy duck that
sprays gas but the whirling spiked balls acted like a fan and blew it
all back a Mousse. Mousse fought back the sleep instinct and jumped as
high as he could. He was directly over the masked man when he felt
himself being lifted higher off the ground. <Whoa! He's lifting me up
with the wind coming from the balls!> Mousse started to panic. <Damn, no
choice but to try my final attack.> He got all his weapons ready for the
rarely seen... "HIDDEN WEAPONS FINAL ATTACK. EVERYTHING, INCLUDING THE
KITCHEN SINK!!!" he yelled. The masked man below saw his view of Mousse
blocked by thousands of objects coming at him. All the weapons rushing
at him blocked out the sunlight in the spot he was in.

     "I win Mousse." he yelled and he spun the balls so fast that all
the weapons lost their momentum and were harmlessly blown off to the
side. Mousse stared in shock as all his weapons missed their mark. He
was still in the air when the masked man said, "You have a lot to learn
still." He slowed the spinning balls down to let Mousse land on the
ground.

     "The problem with that attack is that you really do use all your
weapons." he said thoughtfully. "I will teach you that attacks the will
allow you beat any of your rivals. In a while, you may be able to beat
Cologne, or Happosai."

     Mousse, still shaken from the fight asked, "This may sound weird
but, could you help me get them all back?" The masked man closed his
eyes and concentrated. All of Mousse's weapons seemed to fly up and go
into a pile near them. "That is one of the techniques I will teach you.
For now, put all your weapons back, then got to the hut at the end of
the trail." He pointed to a trail going deeper into the forest and
walked to it.

     <Shampoo, I must leave for a while, but when I come back, you will
be mine.> Mousse thought. He started the long and tedious process of
replacing all his weapons back into his robes. <It'll be a while before
I ever use that attack again...> He looked up at the huge pile of
weapons in front of him. Mousse reviewed the fight and the way the
masked man moved. <I know that guy! I know that style!> his mind
screamed. <I wonder if that part about beating anyone is true?>

****************************************************************************

     Mousse made his way to the trail the masked man had pointed to
after about three hours of repacking every weapon he had. Like after
every fight, he felt as if he was missing at least one of his weapons.
<I've gotta start cataloguing my weapons> he thought glumly, he
estimated that he would spend at least an entire 24 hours recording all
his weapons. He looked up at the sun and tried guessing where in China
he was in but came up empty. <I wonder if I'm near Jusenkyo?> he
thought. At the end of the trail, he came upon a small hut. Guessing it
was the masked man's, he made his way inside.

     "Is anybody home?" Mousse called it, opening the door slowly. "Come
in!" he heard, the voice being muffled by the walls. Mousse looked
around the strange hut. Everything looked brand new, except for the hut
itself. He saw a chair and sat down in it. He continued looking at his
new surroundings when a door opened, the masked man exiting from it. He
noticed that the door was flush to the wall and was well hidden. "How do
you like it?" the masked man asked. "It's... nice." he said unsurely,
looking at the multiple weapons on all the walls. The masked man pulled
up a chair and sat down in it. "It's nice to see a fellow artist who
trains in the Hidden Weapons." Mousse said humbly. "It's amazing what
you did out there. Who taught you?" The masked man seemed to think about
it a bit then said, "I trained under the same sensei as you. He trained
me for a while, then I left and travelled the world to test my skill.
Thinking back, I think forgot to tell you my name. I guess I was just
anxious to meet you. My name is Gel." Mousse nodded and asked, "If you
don't mind my asking, how do you know me?" "A valid question, but
unfortunately, I don't think I should answer that for you right now. It
would not be good for you to know who I am at the present moment. You'll
just have to trust me." Gel said, almost pleadingly. <'You'll just have
to trust me.'> Mousse thought. <I shouldn't trust this guy but there's
just something about him...>

     The sound of a kettle boiling interrupted their conversation and
Gel said, "Just wait a sec, I'll be right back." Mousse nodded and
stared as Gel opened the door with a well hidden doorknob. The door
swung back shut, becoming one with the wall. <This place is weird.>
Mousse thought. He looked around, it looked like a weird type of
bachelor pad. He saw some trophies, animal heads, and ornate weapons.
What he couldn't find were photos. There wasn't a single photo in the
house. At least in the living room and dining room which he was
currently in. He walked up to a display case with strange looking
weapons. He carefully scrutinized them with his glasses on. <I can't
believe I can't recognize these weapons.>

     In the kitchen, Gel grabbed two tea kettles and got ready to leave
when, he felt a strong wave of nausea. He managed to save the kettles
from spilling and put them on the counter. He took a couple minutes to
get over it and checked an electronic device on his upper arm. <Damn,
not much left.> he thought. Composing himself, Gel came back in to see
Mousse admiring one of his weapons on display. He smiled and said, "I
won that from a secret tournament for more exotic martial arts." Mousse
admired the sword. It was perfect size and weight for him and had ornate
carvings on the hilt and the blade. Gel went over to the table and
placed two kettles on it. From thin air, he took out two cups. "Would
you like some tea?" he asked. Mousse made his way over to the table and
sat down. "Sure. I haven't had any good tea since I left China." he
said, taking an offered cup. Mousse drank some and said, "This is good
tea, but I don't think I can finish to kettles full." Gel smiled and
said, "One is for drinking. The other is for something else..." Gel
poured more tea for himself. "Mousse," he said, "I know of your curse."
"Would you like to be cured of it?" Gel asked calmly. Mousse almost
choked on the tea. "Yes!" Mousse said anxiously. Gel nodded his head and
from out of nowhere, he took out another glass and splashed Mousse with
cold water.

     "Quack, quack, quack!" Mousse quacked angrily. "Calm down Mousse.
This is how to cure you." Gel soothed. He picked up the second kettle
and dumped its contents onto Mousse. Human Mousse reappeared and said,
"Hey, you could have at least warned me first!" Gel chuckled and said,
"Sorry, it's just been a while since I've seen anyone change with a
Jusenkyo curse. Forgive me." Mousse looked down at himself. He still
couldn't explain it but sometimes, when he turned back, he was naked and
other times he had his clothes on. This time being one of the latter.
"Am I really cured?" Mousse asked. Gel threw the remains of the cold
water at him and then finished his tea. Mousse stood stunned, not only
at the ice cold water, but the fact that he was no longer a duck. "This
is amazing!" he said, dancing around in joy. He yelled at the top of his
lungs, danced the Macarena. He pretty much acted like a complete idiot.
Meanwhile, Gel continued drinking tea.

     After a good five minutes of the craziness, Mousse finally calmed
down and asked, "Gel, can you tell me how to cure others? I need to cure
my beloved Shampoo." Gel put his cup down slowly. He mention of
'Shampoo' seemed to lower his spirits. "The cure for each Jusenkyo curse
is different. It took me a long time to learn of just the cure for you."

     Mousse slumped his shoulders at the fact that he couldn't give
Shampoo the cure. "Don't worry, you'll find a cure for Shampoo." Gel got
up and said, "Let's start with your first lesson." He walked, not
waiting for Mousse and stopped just in front of the house. He waited
until Mousse was beside him. "Look closely at what a true master of the
Hidden Weapons technique can do." Mousse instinctively stepped back. Gel
spread his arms and a black hole formed before him. Mousse had no idea
what was going to happen next. "Unlike you, I do not keep my weapons in
my clothes. I keep them in this, a dimensional closet if you will." Gel
lectured. "Come with me Mousse." Gel said, stepping into the hole.
Mousse cautiously stepped in behind him.

     On the other side of the black hole was a warehouse looking
building. "That is where I keep my weapons." Gel pointed. "But look
around." Mousse saw that they were standing in an open field. It look
untouched by humans. In the sky, he saw three moons. "In the void, you
are like a god, you can create almost anything you desire. Some of the
more complex things require you to know exactly how it operates." Gel
paused when he saw Mousse's confused look. "Please observe." Gel closed
his eyes and in front of him formed a TV. "Another limitation is that to
make energy in here, you need to know how to generate energy. Maybe with
a hydro-electric dam or something. I myself do not know enough to make a
TV. If you open it up, you'll see that it's empty. I just know what it's
like on the outside." Mousse picked up the TV and opened it up with a
sharp tap. There was nothing in it. "This is all amazing but how do you
make your own black hole?" Mousse asked. "That's what the spell is for."
Gel said, taking out an ancient looking manuscript and giving it to
Mousse. "Come back outside, you can't make a black hole in another black
hole." Gel said, leaving Mousse again. Mousse looked over the piece of
paper as he walked back through the hole. He couldn't even to begin to
decipher what it said. <Can a human possibly write this?> he thought. He
gave it back to Gel and asked, "How do you make it?" "Simple," Gel said,
reading over the ancient manuscript. "You stand perfectly still and keep
your mind clear of all thoughts while I read the incantation.
Concentrating on what I say will also help." Mousse nodded and sat down.
Gel read quietly and smoothly, walking around Mousse in a wide circle.
<What the heck is he saying?> Mousse thought. "Keep your mind clear."
Gel whispered before continuing his chanting. Mousse mind cleared as he
listened to Gel chanting softly. The words seemed to evoke strange
memories to him but put them aside, remembering to keep his mind clear.
He felt as if he was in the darkness, floating around aimlessly at the
sound of Gel's words.

     "Mousse. It's done" Gel said, tapping him on the shoulder. Mousse
opened his eyes to see a black hole in front of him. "The next step is
for you to learn to control the void. That is done by you stepping into
it and commanding it to follow you." Gel read off the sheet. He looked
up and said, "This part is completely up to you. If you succeed in
controlling it, you'll have full control. If you fail, you disappear
forever. There is no halfways. Only true masters of Hidden Weapons can
fully control it. Think of this as another test." Mousse took a deep
breath and stepped in.

***************************************************************************

     Time seemed to stand still as Mousse floated in his new toy. He had
no idea which way was down. In other words, he was weightless. He was in
complete darkness and unsure of what to do next. <How the heck do I do
this?> Mousse thought. Seeing no other alternatives, he decided to copy
what Gel showed him with the TV. He thought of a flat, grassy plain like
he saw in Gel's world. He suddenly found himself face to face with the
ground. He got up and looked around. It was still dark but he felt
something solid underneath him. <Now for the light.> He remembered the
sun Gel had and it appeared in the sky. He looked back at his
surroundings and saw that they were in black and white. There were no
clouds in the sky and nothing around for 50 meters. He was on a circular
spot of ground covered with grass. He concentrated again and the
circular spot became larger and spread out onto the horizon, becoming
hills and valleys as it went. Colour came to his surroundings and Mousse
took a good look around. His world now looked exactly like Gel's rolling
hills and valleys except for Gel's obvious enhancements. "All in a day's
work." Mousse said to the wind. He looked back to the opening and
stepped outside. <I can customize it later.>

***************************************************************************

     The outside world had turned dark so he went inside to Gel's hut.
He couldn't help but feel as if his life was finally turning around.
<Now Shampoo will be mine!> he thought. He smelled food cooking. It
smelled like a dish from the Nekohanten. He heard sounds of explosion
and gunfire in another room so he cautiously moved towards the sounds.
He saw Gel watching Macross Plus in the living room. "Dinner will be
ready in a couple minutes." Gel said, not turning his eyes from the TV.
Mousse couldn't completely believe that his new teacher was into anime.
<This guy is full of surprises.> he thought to himself. "I take it
you've made your own world?" Gel asked. "Yes." Mousse said, mesmerized
by the TV. <This is the part I missed when my glasses fell off> he
thought. "Hey, snap out of it!" Gel said, tapping Mousse on the
shoulder. "Sorry, about that." Mousse said. "Time for another
discussion." Gel said, turning the TV and DVD player off. "The Black
Hole technique requires you to make your own world and also to be able
to move things with your mind." "Telekinesis?!" Mousse exclaimed. "Yes,
that's the word." Gel pointed took out a throwing knife and threw it at
a wall where it stuck in halfway to the hilt. Gel raised his hand and it
snapped out of the wall and into his hand handle first. "I'm a natural
at this. I have a good feeling that you're a natural too." he commented.
He put it back into his void and said, "Let me go get dinner."

     Mousse looked at the hole caused by Gel's knife. He took out his
own knife and threw it onto the wall. <If he can do it, I can too.> He
concentrated and tried making it come to his hands. He was snapped out
of his concentration by a crashing sound. Gel came out and asked, "What
happened?" Mousse shook his head and said, "I don't know. I just tried
doing what you did and then crash." Gel looked at the room. It was still
how he left it. "I know what it is." he said with a smirk. He stuck his
head out the window and his thoughts were assured. "You definitely have
the power, you just have to work on your aim." He motioned to Mousse to
look outside. Mousse almost facefaulted at what he saw. A pile of trees
had slammed into the side of Gel's hut. He looked back inside and saw
they were exactly behind the knife. "Damn. I have got to work on my
aim." Mousse commented.

     Dinner was full of talk about the new techniques Mousse was
learning. He found out that when you combine well controlled telekinesis
and the use of the black void, you would become a very formidable
opponent. "You could move the void wherever you want, meaning that if
you stepped inside and made it move somewhere else, you had the power to
teleport. With telekinesis, you could form a barrier to shield yourself
from attacks. A counter to ki attacks or projectiles is letting it go
into your void and turn it around so that it comes back towards the
person who made/threw/launched it." Gel had said. Mousse asked about
being able to beat people up using telekinesis alone. When Gel answered
yes, Mousse immediately thought of the possibilities that were being
opened to him. He could easily take on Ranma and anyone else he wanted
to beat. <A good test would be fighting Cologne or Happosai.> he
thought. Gel meanwhile looked at his excited student. <Mousse... you are
my only hope.>

****************************************************************************

     Back at the Nekohanten, Shampoo slumped tiredly in her chair. She
and Cologne had just closed down the Nekohanten after a record breaking
sales rush. The storm was only the calm before the storm. As soon as it
had stopped, customers flooded in like a tsunami. Maybe the fact that
Ucchan's was closed for temporary renovations had also helped up that
record. Her whole body ached after waiting tables, cooking and making
deliveries all day. The fact that Mousse had left, leaving her alone to
work didn't help the fact either. If she wasn't as fit as she was, she
would have probably fainted from exhaustion hours ago. <Mousse is dead
when he comes back.> she thought fiercely.

****************************************************************************

     Mousse lie awake in Gel's sofa-bed wondering what to do with his
new powers. He was well on his way to mastering his new techniques. In
less than a week's time, he would be able to return to Japan again.
Tomorrow bring in the more advanced techniques of using the Black hole
and telekinesis. Why is Gel so confident about my abilities? Who is he?
How does he know so much about me and my situation? were just some of
the questions he had in his head. He took out a watch and found that it
was 12 o'clock. Seeing that he couldn't sleep, he decided to plan out
his next moves, as he always tried to do. He would go back to Japan and
challenge Ranma as soon as possible. He would send out invitations to
the fight to everyone he knew in Japan so that everyone can see his
final victory. <It was going to be great. When I get Shampoo, I'll
return to the village and we'll get married. I'll be her husband and
then...> He was stunned at what he had finally realized. If he went
back, he would be treated like a lower form of being. He would lose all
the standing he had in Japan. In Japan, he found that both genders were
guaranteed equal rights. He had a say in the matter. His words could
have some impact in the conversation. <What am I thinking? Of course I
want to go home...> He couldn't believe what he was thinking. Still
Japan exposed him to other cultures and opened his eyes to how large the
world really was. He thought back to his time in his native village. It
now seemed smaller compared to Japan. He remembered that when he wasn't
chasing Shampoo, he was treated like an outcast. He could feel people
staring at him as if he didn't belong there. People grew quiet when he
came around. He could still remember the time he challenged Shampoo and
got knocked into the trash.

start flashback

     **<Ohh, that hurt> Mousse thought. His world was spinning so he lay
still in the garbage heap. He was extremely lucky to land in a heap that
didn't smell too bad. He tried recollecting his thoughts to what
happened. <Cologne must have taught that move to Shampoo.>

     "Hey, did you hear? The 'blind bat' challenged Shampoo again."

     <That voice!> Mousse thought. <It could only be Blush and Soap.>
Mousse kept quiet as the voices approached. "That fool tried to win
Shampoo again? How long did it take for her to beat him up again?" Blush
asked. "Only about 10 seconds." Soap answered, "Poor Shampoo. She has to
deal with that guy almost everyday." "I hear ya," Blush agreed. "Ever
wonder why he's still here?" Blush asked. "Cologne instructed everyone
to be quiet about it. I wonder why she did it." Soap trailed off. The
two girls turned the corner and their voices became indistinct. <What
was that all about?> Mousse asked himself.**

end flashback

     <I still haven't found out about what they were talking about.>
Mousse thought. He got up and walked over to the open window. <This is
nice...> he commented, looking at the stars feeling the wind gently blow
into the hut.

***************************************************************************

     Gel walked into the living room where Mousse was sleeping on the
sofa bed. 'Lady-killer' he thought with a smile. He hefted the water
filled bucket he was carrying and splashed the sleeping boy. Mousse was
awakened instantly and tried jumping off the bed to face his attacker.
Unfortunately, he fell off, landing on his head, making a big bump on
his head.

     "Time for more lessons." Gel announced in a loud voice and walked
outside. Mousse groggily dressed up and walked outside. "Is that how you
wake all your students?" he asked, his eyes still not completely open.
"Actually, you're my first student." Gel admitted. He motioned to a
large tree and they sat down underneath it. "This isn't going to be a
physical lesson as much as a spritual lesson." he said, looking at
Mousse as if he was transparent. "Your eyesight is what causes you most
problems, correct?" Mousse nodded. "There's a way to overcome that
weakness but it will involve some pain. Would you still like to
continue?" Gel asked. "What would you have to do?" Mousse asked,
slightly concerned. "I will have to make our minds join for a little
while. It is necessary to give you the Mind's eye to cure your problem."
he said, still staring though Mousse. "Mind's eye?" Mousse asked,
completely confused. "Very few people have that power. It allows you to
see better than anyone in the world. It allows you to see more than a
normal person's eyes. With it, you could be watching something happening
on the other side of the world as if you were really there." Gel said.
"That kinda sounds a lot like what TV's are for." Mousse said, getting
even more confused than before. "It's better than TV, I assure you.
Would you like a demonstration?" he asked. Mousse nodded. Gel moved
closer and touched his hand to Mousse' face in something like a Vulcan
Mind Meld. Mousse jumped back instinctively at what he saw. He saw
images of things happening around the world and beyond. He saw Ranma
getting booted into the koi pond, Shampoo on her delivery, American
astronauts in a space shuttle, people fighting in a war, foreign looking
people having a picnic, people in dark rooms making multibillion dollar
deals, aliens conversing in an alien language, the latest Playboy photo
shoot...

     Gel sat back and looked as Mousse sat, trying to understand what
had just happened. "So, with this power, you can see everything?"
"Practically." Gel said, looking at Mousse normally again. Mousse
silently thought of the possiblities of it all. Gel broke the silence by
asking, "Do you want me to give it to you?" Mousse nodded but asked,
"You mean you can't learn it?" Gel looked grave and said,
"Unfortunately, no. It must be given to you. It has only once happened
that a person was born with it. When I give it to you, I will lose the
power. Would you still like to continue?" Mousse nodded and said, "Why
are you doing this for me?" Without warning, Gel place his hands on
Mousse's temples and closed his eyes. Mousse couldn't even get a
startled gasp when the pain flew through his body. It felt like his head
was being pounded by sledgehammers at amaguriken speed. The pain
subsided and he saw Gel slumped over him, breathing hard. He moved to
put Gel back in his seat when Gel's mask fell off revealing who he
really was.

End Part 1

C&C? Send 'em to mabli@idirect.com

Author's Notes: I know this is the normal 'something happens and someone
solves everything for everyone fic' but there is a twist near the end of
the fic. If I could actually stop putting it off. Mousse is probably my
favourite character and I think it's about time for him to have things
happen to him. Old enemies,fiancees, etc.