============ PART XII FALLOUT ============ [December 3] Gosunkugi walked along, minding his own business. Life was pretty okay nowadays. He was no longer mugged or harrassed, which was great. He started to get over Akane, which was good. He was finally getting some sleep, which got rid of some of those dark ridges under his eyes, which helped with his social life alot. The most drastic change was that he had given up on magic. This pleased his parents very much. He strode by the waterway, taking in the sights, and thought of the mantra for the day (one of them, anyways, he had randomly selected from a book). "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and people like me!" he said to himself. He believed none of it. Then he heard a sniffle. And then another one. He followed the sound to a bridge under construction nearby and found a long haired girl with a titanic spatula sitting by the waters and looking sad. Tears was streaming down her face. "H-hey, need this?" he said, holding out a tissue. "Hm?" "This," he said, holding it up again, "you've, er, got some tears." Ukyou looked to the person who was talking to her and shrieked. {It's him! It's Ryo! He's ... he's...} "C-calm down, I'm not going to hurt you, y'know. Just offering a hankerchief." {No... wait... Ryo is dead. This guy... this guy... isn't he...} "Say, you're Hikaru Gosunkugi, aren't you?" "Um, yeah. Have we met?" "No, not really," she said, taking the hankerchief, "it's just that I've been told about you by my friends. Their description was kinda right." "Oh...," said Gosunkugi. He wasn't sure if that was a compliment or an insult. What did the books say to do in a case like this? Oh yeah, smile. "Who are you?" he asked. "Ukyou Kuonji." Gosunkugi was feeling pretty good. All those self-help books on the art of conversation were working great so far! "Say, you're a friend of Ranma Saotome's, right? I've seen you hang around the Tendou place now and then." "Oh? Funny, I've never seen you..." "Well," he said, looking somewhat embarrased, "I used to spy on the Tendou house alot. Well, I used to have a crush on Akane Tendou." "Who didn't." muttered Ukyou bitterly, wiping her eyes. "And so I used to hover around there alot, trying to ask her out. It never worked out right." "Yeah, tell me about it," muttered Ukyou. "So how did you end up hanging around there?" "I was Ranma's fiancee." Ukyou muttered. "Oh. Sorry to bring it up." "Don't worry about it. Water under the bridge, as they say. Life goes on." Ukyou said, but didn't look too enthusiastic saying it. "Life sucks." she added. "So..." he asked, still not quite comfortable talking with girls, "um... what's got you down?" "Just... just thinking of a friend that left recently. Guess I kinda feel lost without him." She smiled a bit through her tears and gave a little laugh. "Hah. It was usually the other way around." They stayed out there for a while, with her just staring out into the waters and him standing next to her looking concerned. "Um, it's cold out here. I'll buy you a coffee." He held out his hand. She turned, looked at it for a while, then took it and stood up. *** Somewhere else in town, three youths were speeding across town in a brand new and incredibly expensive sports car. A short haird girl looking melancholy, a young boy with long, messy bangs of hair, and a little girl that was giggling (and safely strapped in) the back seat. The car was going at somewhat hazzardous speeds, through intersections at ridiculous speeds. The one in glasses nervously adressed the short-haired girl. "Say, Ryoko, since when did you learn how to drive?" "I didn't, Megs." "Ah." Meanwhile, the kid in the backseat was having a blast. "Wai! Faster! Faster! Faster!" "Hey, is somethin'bugging you?" asked Megane. "You're way too depressed, considering who died." "I... I dunno. Shut up and lemme drive." *ZOOM* "WAI! Faster! Faster!" "Redlightredlightredlightohshiiiiiiii-yeow.... close one." "Relax, will you? I know what I'm doing." "Say... we DID rent this on Ryo's card, right?" "Of course!" "Just makin'sure." *** [Days later] Ranma and Akane walked along the river carrying bags filled with Christmas shopping items they had just bought from the stores. They enjoyed the sights and sounds of the Christmas holiday. The night lights were sparkling, the crowds were all happy, and the stars were somewhat visible, making this night almost perfect for the two. "Ranma," Akane asked, holding onto his arm, "you're really sure?" Ranma sighed. "Hey, I told you already. Yes, we are going to get married, yes I want to do this, and yes," he stopped, and kissed her, "I want to marry _you_." Ranma wondered what was bothering Akane so much. Ever since a couple of weeks ago she was becoming nervous about their relationship and was repeatedly asking if he really loved her. "Hey," he said, "_you_ aren't having any second thoughts, are you?" "Um.. no, of course not, don't be silly." She sighed and they resumed their walk. "I guess I'm still having a hard time believing we're... well..." She blushed. What was on Akane's mind, still, was Mousse's words. She was still too nervous to confront Mousse about it directly, but couldn't forget the implications of what she had overheard. But... it did feel right. And she was, she had to admit happy. With him. On a whim, she gave him a peck on the cheek. "What was that for?" he asked. "Oh... nothing." As they passed a bridge that was under repairs they both stopped and looked solemly at the ragged red umbrella planted upright into the ground in honor of their fallen comrade. "Believe it or not," Ranma said, "I actually miss the guy." "Yeah, me too." Akane wiped a tear from her eye. "C'mon, we're gonna miss dinner." "At least... at least he didn't go down without a fight. I think he would've been proud about that." *** [Thursday] It was poker night once more, and Akane, Ranma, Ukyou, Gosunkugi, Nabiki, Mousse, Shampoo, and Kasumi were sitting around a table. Nearby, a television was on. For once, Nabiki had joined in on the games. She couldn't resist the lure of easy money. Kasumi had merely asked to join in. Nobody asked her why. She was well-liked by everyone, so nobody objected. Shampoo joined in because Mousse had persuaded her to go. She wasn't pounding Mousse as much as she used to anymore, and they were actually beginning to get along, at least once a week. She still looked longingly at Ranma now and then, but did nothing more. Gosunkugi was there accompanying Ukyou. They seemed to hang around together more often nowadays. Ranma was clueless, but Akane had guessed that it was probably something like a "rebound affair", when one dates just about anybody right after they break up or loose someone they loved. Ranma thought that Ukyou couldn't be that stupid. Ukyou shuffled the deck expertly and dealt them out. Everyone noticed that she was still using one of Ryouga's headbands to tie her hair into a ponytail. Everyone looked at their cards. Then Ukyou started crying. Ranma and Akane reached out to comfort her, Gosunkugi offered a box of tissue to her, Kasumi offered some tea, and Nabiki shook her head looking at the messy scene before her. "I'm sorry, guys." she said, stopping her sniffles. "Hey, it's alright." said Akane. "We used to play poker every night, y'know? It was one of the few things that cheered him up when he was down." She sighed and looked at her cards. "Okay, I'm okay. Just lost it for a moment." "Okay then," Nabiki said, hoping to get things back on track, "everybody ready? Show what you've got!" Gosunkugi had a three of a kind, Shampoo had a pair, Mousse had a straight, Ranma had junk, Akane had a pair, Nabiki had a full house, and Kasumi had a royal straight flush. "Oh my. I won again!" Kasumi giggled. She dragged the pile of chips to her already large stack of winnnings. *** "How much credit does that thing have left?" asked Megane, looking over some interesting and highly expensive footwear. "Hm... probably two thousand more," guessed Ryoko, idly looking over a few dresses a few feet away. "How'd he manage to get a card like this anyways?" asked Megane. "Who knows," said Ryoko, "he's always had connections in interesting places." "And on another note, you sure nothing's botherin'ya?" asked Megane. "What? I'm fine. Why do you ask?" "Dunno... y'just seem... I dunno... kinda moody, lately." Kyoko raced towards Ryoko, holding on to a large, uber-kawaii panda plushie. "Can I have this? Pleeeeease?" Ryoko smiled, patting the smaller girl on the head. "Hey, no problem." "YAAAY!" "And after that," said she, "there's this penthouse suite I've always wanted to try out." She smiled a little, and tucked the dead man's credit card in her purse. "Hope the room service is cool." *** Somewhere, deep in a jungle area, a man wandered. He was badly injured, sporting many bruises, cuts, and had one hell of a headache. He had been wandering for so long looking for something that he couldn't remember. He remembered a fight... an explosion... but nothing earlier than that. With all his injuries his travel was painful but he felt that he had to keep on wandering, as if it was a basic need, and he had to look for... look for... look for what? He would have loved some hotel service right about then. *** [Friday] Ranma answered the knock at the door to reveal Mousse with a handy-cam. "Er... hi?" Ranma said. "Hello Ranma. I'm just here to take care of a minor technicality. Where is your dojo?" "Follow me," he said. They entered the dojo and Mousse set up his equipment. "What's all this for?" asked Ranma. "Cologne's getting desperate. She's going to try and get you married to Shampoo soon, despite your earlier threats." "Oh? Is that so!" Ranma said angrily. "No need to panic. We just need to clear one minor detail." Mousse hit the record button. "What's that?" "Oh my! Akane put on some clothes!" Mousse yelled, pointing dramatically behind Ranma with one hand while trying to cover his eyes with the other. "What the? AKANE!" Ranma yelled, turning around quickly. *WHAM* Mousse flattened Ranma with the Mallet of Justice. "Well now," Mousse said, slapping his hands together, "that's that!" "GET THIS THING OFF ME!" Mousse went over to the camera and turned it off while Ranma slowly pushed the Mallet of Justice off of himself. "Wha'd you do that for?" Ranma yelled, angrily stomping towards Mousse. "Somebody called?" Akane asked, entering the dojo. "You're no longer engaged to Shampoo by Amazon law." Mousse said, smiling brightly. "Oh?" Ranma said, frozen in mid-step. "So we don't have to worry about Cologne any more?" Akane said, smiling. "That's right!" Mousse said. Ranma smiled and shook his hand. "Congrats!" Ranma said, and then slammed him against the wall, upside down. "What... did... you do ... that for?" Mousse weakly muttered. "That was for the mallet." said Ranma as he went back to the house. *** At a rather relaxed and modern tea house, Gosunkugi and Ukyou sat and relaxed, enjoying moderately pricey drinks and a good view of the city. "I used to go to your restaurant every now and then. Best okonomiyaki in town, really." "Really? Thanks." Ukyou said, smiling while examining her cup of tea. "So why'd you shut the place down?" She sighed. "I don't know. I just... I just don't feel much like going to work. I don't think I'm ready, really." "Because of Ryouga?" Ukyou frowned. "You know," said Gosunkugi, "you just can't hide in there forever." Ukyou looked like she was thinking of something for a moment. "Yeah," she said, "Ryouga told me something like that once." "So... what are you going to do?" "Well," said Ukyou, "y'know, I've got alot of savings from running the restaurant. Lots. And I know Nabiki Tendou has this knack for handling money, so... I was thinking of jumping into the market, the stock market, y'know?" "Good idea." "Yeah, it would be nice not to work so hard anymore..." "Well, take your time anyways." said Gosunkugi. Gosunkugi paused, unsure of what to say next. "I guess it would be rough to have your boyfriend pass away like that." he said. "Boyfriend?" said Ukyou. "Well... no. He wasn't really that. I guess he became my best friend, really. Kept me company during the rough times when Ranma broke off our engagement." "Oh. I see." Gosunkugi had mixed feelings. Ukyou was available, which was good. She was sweet, kind, and easy to talk to. But she _seemed_ to be in love with a dead man. He knew what she said, but that didn't change what he observed. She loved that Ryouga alot, or so he thought, and as strange as it may sound, it was hard to compete with a dead man. After all, the dead are captured in perfect memory. They are flawless, made that way by the mind of the one that remembers them. Live people make mistakes, break hearts, fumble for the right words but use the wrong ones, have streaks of stupidity, do all the wrong things. Like Gosunkugi. "Hey," said Ukyou, "thanks for picking up the bill. That was sweet of you." "A-anytime." said Gosunkugi. He smiled to himself. Hope springs eternal, no? *** [Saturday] "Shampoo still not sure about this." "Please? Just one date?" Mousse was begging Shampoo one more time. This, he felt, was the final hurdle. After the apparent death of Ryouga, Mousse was the sole candidate for Shampoo's hand. The Amazon Legal council couldn't argue at all, and so the obstinate roadblock known as Cologne was finally rendered ineffective. Since there was nothing keeping them there except for the business, Cologne had decided that she would leave for China at the end of the month. Only Shampoo's heart stood in the way. "Shampoo, we're going to get married anyways. I don't want you to hate me. Please? Come on, we'll go anywhere you want to go." Shampoo sighed. She knew there was no way out now. Her great-grandmother could do nothing. The law was on Mousse's side. Ryouga was no longer there to prevent Mousse from marrying her (although she didn't like Ryouga that much either) and Mousse had _legally_ taken Ranma out of consideration as well. Cologne and Shampoo strongly believed their fight was staged, but technically it counted. Might as well try to find something good about the blind idiot. Anyways, after the clear rejection she had recieved from Ranma, she was finally feeling a certain kind of inner numbness. The fire within her that drove her to recklessly pursue Ranma was gone, replaced by emptiness and a certain I-don't-care mentality. "Fine. We go later. Now leave Shampoo alone." "YEEESSS!!!" "If Mousse does not shut up, Shampoo change her mind!" "Sorry!" *** Shutaro Mendou, heir to the largest fortune in Japan, decendent of noble blood, stood outside of his house, umbrella overhead to keep out the sleet and snow, and surveyed the neighborhood. He did this every now and then to unwind from all the stresses that living in Tomobiki came with, like that pervert Ataru and those idiotic Lum Stormtroopers. The beautiful sight of this town during night time was something he enjoyed looking at. Suddenly, his senses warned him of danger. He readied his sword. Two red eyes appeared in the shadows. "SHOW YOURSELF!" he yelled *BWEE* he wondered, just before getting pounded violently into the pavement. *** "Hey! Hey! Over here!" the reporters yelled as a man in a suit, flanked by lawyers and police was escorted to a police car. "C'mon, Answer some questions!" They yelled. The man stopped, faced the cameras, and began a short speech on the unfairness of the U.S. govornment and the sureness of his innocence. Unfortunately, someone wandered right into the heart of the crowd, past all the security, reporters, and poilce. The photographers got restless when this happened. Finally, one of the cameramen yelled. "HEY! You! Yeah, you with the bandana! Get outta the way kid!, you're ruining our shots!" *** [Sunday Morning] Ukyou sat in her room, slowly waking up. It was time for the weekend cleanup, which she hated doing. "Ryouga!" She yelled. There was no way she was going to handle this mess alone. After all, wasn't that why she let him stay here? "Ryouga!" She called again. Then she remembered. Ryouga wouldn't be helping her anymore. She was alone in the restaurant. All alone. She sighed, got up, and went to the kitchen to eat breakfast. She opened the door, picked up the morning paper, and set it on the table. Ukyou cooked okonomyaki, set it on a plate, turned on the television, and sat down. While chewing on some okonomyaki she unfolded the newspaper. She spat out her food. The headline read "VIOLENT PIG ATTACKS AGAIN: MILLIONARE MENDOU STRUCK DOWN!" She read the story. {Standing in the rain... felt danger... beady little eyes... fast blur... pig noises... It can't be. It CAN'T BE.} She put the paper away and resumed eating. And then she spat out again. The all-news network was on. The newsman was broadcasting live from America about some story that she didn't care about. Ukyou ran up to the television to get a better look. In the background, a ragged figure limped. He had many scratches and cuts, as if he had been in a fight. Most importantly, he was wearing a yellow and black bandana. *** [Sunday night] The night was late, the stars were out, and Akane and Ranma were walking home from one of the more trendy dance clubs. They were both muttering all the way down the street and didn't look like a happy couple at all. Akane was walking angrily, looking away from Ranma, while he was hobbling slightly and looking not too happy himself. "Stupid clumsy tomboy... uncute brute... foot masher..." Ranma muttered. "I said I'm sorry already!" She yelled back. "Whatever." He muttered. Then Akane stopped walking. Ranma hobbled a step or two ahead before noticing that she had stopped. Then he hobbled back a few steps. She turned her back to him and sniffled. "Aw, come on! Don't start crying!" he yelled. She seemed so quick to sob lately, alot like her father. "I'M sorry, okay? I should have let it go by now, and now I am, okay?" He reached out and she took a step back. "Akane, please." he said. He hobbled towards her again but this time she didn't move. Then she put her head on his shoulder. {Hey} he wondered, {why am I always the one apologizing in the end anyways?} Akane was wondering if this was the way things between Ranma and her would always be. Naturally. Without any spice helping things out. "Y'know," she said, between sniffles, "I hoped we'd stop fighting like this." "Yeah, I know, me too. Maybe I overreacted. Maybe you overreacted." Akane was about to argue when Ranma interrupted her, "but that doesn't mean we should just fall apart or nothin' like that. I still wanna marry you, even if you are a clumsy tomboy." He smiled. "You know, I still want to marry you too, you jerk." she said, smiling a bit, and put her arms around him. What Ranma didn't know, still, was the 'passion spice factor', as Akane thought of it. She'd tried to put it out of her mind and just accept things as they were, but it was always on the edge of her mind whenever she was with Ranma. As the couple walked on, they sensed something odd. A presence. They looked around and saw a figure hobbling in the far distance, a bandanna on his head. "It can't..." Ranma muttered. "Ryouga!" Akane yelled. The man turned a corner into a busy street. Akane and Ranma looked at each other as if to see if each was thinking the same thing, then they chased after the mysterious figure, but the crowds on the street were too many. "Hey, Akane, it couldn't have been... could it?" *** [Monday] Jeanette Smith was sent off to another news story to cover for the Seattle Post. It wasn't your typical 3-bodies-found-and-no-suspects kind of story that's so common nowadays, so she was curious. Especially because it happened in one of the more popular nightclubs, and she'd been stuck getting assigned to covering the kind of stories that get buried waaaay in the back of the paper. This time, she sensed, this story would get attention. It was strange. She entered a nightclub. It was your typical "generation-x" type of dive, with an industrial look and dark lighting. She waded past the police officers at the scene and looked at the damage. It looked like there was a bomb detonated right in the middle of the dance floor because there was a considerably big crater occupying that space. Something was wrong, though. No burn marks, no scorches, no smoke. There should have been something like that if a bomb had gone off. She grabbed a passing officer. "Hey," she asked, "any injuries?" "About a dozen people. Got hit by flying debris." "That's it? Nobody killed?" "Nobody even burned. Strange, isn't it?" the officer said, and walked off. She went looking for a witness. She found Eno Donnovan, lead singer of the 'Screaching Monkeys' who was playing on stage during the incident. "Hey!" she said, grabbing his shoulder, "I'm Jeanette Smith from the Post, what happened here?" "Well, um, we were doing our music thing and stuff y'know when suddenly there's this Japanese dude, been working as a waiter or janitor or somethin' like that, well he was getting really pissed off when he got stuck in the middle of the mosh pit. Guess he didn't know that's how they usually dance *huh* anyways they were bumpin' him and he was bumpin' back an then I guess he was packin' a bomb or somethin 'cause this gigantic explosion happens BOOM!. Cement flyin' everywhere! Me an' the band duck, and when I look up, there's this huuuuge crater in the middle of the dance floor and the Japanese dude is gone!" *** Kodachi was ready. She had spent endless hours in the lab trying to recreate the formula which was lost in her first run-in with Ryouga Hibiki. She knew that the original batch was effective because she was living proof of it (She didn't mind being under the spell of the formula, though, 'cause it felt goooood) and now was hoping to spread her happiness around a bit. There was a problem. The chemicals weren't reacting like the original mix was. There was something she did the first time... something different that made all the difference, and it frustrated her greatly. There was one outcome that she wanted, the everlasting love effect. Unfortunately it wasn't, according to her research, the most likely effect with this new batch of the formula. There were, however, two effects that were most likely to occur. One was that the subject would become overwhelmed with passion for a _brief_ moment, being unbelievably overwhelmed with desire. The other was a mild skin rash. She held up a vial filled with clear liquid. This was the closest that she'd been able to get to the original creation. This was it. She didn't know if it would work properly, but there was only one way to find out, right? Kodachi quickly put on her Ranma-chan disguise and bounded out to her only surviving beloved. She sighed sadly for a moment, thinking of the other one. {Alas, my beloved Ryouga, I miss you much, but life goes on!} *** Ranma sat in the park, feeling the breeze under the shade of a large tree, looking doubtfully at the curry dish before him. He and Akane were having a picnic in the park because she felt they weren't having enough "quality time" lately. She seemed overly-worried about their relationship. He didn't see any emergency coming up, but if it made her happy, he figured it shouldn't hurt too much. He forgot about the part of a picnic that involved lunch. "Um, Akane..." he hesitatingly said. "Hm?" said she, turning to him with a hopefull look. {Aw heck, can't argue with a girl when they use the Cute Stare} he grudgingly thought. "Akane, I need a spoon." "Oh! Here you go!" High above them Kodachi lurked. She had spotted them enter the park and hurriedly followed them. She would have gotten out of her disguise but in the thrill of the pursuit she had entirely forgotten that she was wearing it. After observing the layout of the area, she had her plan all figured out. In one smooth motion, she would descend from the tree, pour the potion into the curry (it seemed like curry anyways but Kodachi knew that with Akane's cooking one never could be sure of anything) with her left hand, hammer Akane with a mallet using her right hand, kick the bowl into Ranma's face with the left foot (assuming his mouth would be gaping in surprise at her arrival as it usually seemed to be) and landing neatly in front of him just in time for the potion to take effect and *presto* love slave for eternity! She leapt from the tree. "AKANE TENDO PREPARE TO DIE!!!!" Yes, Kodachi Kuno does indeed suffer the same inability to quietly surprise her opponents as her brother. She had shown more control over it, but in about 80% of her attacks she would not resist the urge to yell out. Ranma and Akane both looked up. They were both surprised to see Kodachi in a really bad Ranma-chan disguise. "What the?" Ranma muttered, too surprised by Kodachi's appearance to notice the splash of liquid diving into his curry. Akane was pissed. She cocked her fists in a ready position and as Kodachi swung her mallet, Akane caught it with one hand and slugged her out of the park with the other, hitting her so hard that her wig came off. Akane noticed the wig. She looked to where Kodachi was flying off. Ranma shrugged and absentmindedly had some curry. His face turned green. He discretely turned away and washed off the taste with some megavolt cola. Akane suddenly figured it all out. {Of course! It was Kodachi that kissed Ryouga, not Ranma! Hm... too bad he never lived to find out the truth.} Suddenly, Akane's hand was grabbed and she was yanked down to the grass next to Ranma. "Ranma! What-" She was cut off, mainly because he was giving her one of the most passionate kisses that they ever had. For both of them, bells were ringing, violins were striking up a romatic and dramatic number, doves were flying everywhere, the sky was a romantic shade of pink, all the clouds were shaped like clouds, and roses were blooming all around them. It was that kind of a kiss. Then it stopped. Ranma sat up, slightly dazed. "Wow. Wonder what brought that on." Akane grabbed him by the ear, yanked him back down, and the violins resumed. ;^) *** [Tuesday] "But Gosunkugi, I'm telling you he's alive! He's out there, lost, beaten up, but alive!" "Ukyou," Gosunkugi said, "i-it was just your imagination. Please, calm down." "I'M TELLING YOU HE'S ALIVE!" She yelled. He looked sadly at Ukyou. {That's it} he thought, {she's snapped}. She called him on the phone, sounding so panic-stricken, and said it was an emergency. He ran over immediately only to find her ranting like a madwoman about Ryouga being alive. "Listen, Ukyou, you're been stressed out, depressed, and maybe you should go see somebody..." "You think I'm crazy?" Ukyou glared at Gosunkugi. "Ukyou, let's go on a date!" Tsubasa cheerily said as he revealed himself to be a potted plant in the room. "Tsubaaasaaaa!" Ukyou growled. She whipped out not one, but two titanic killer spatulas and proceeded to thrash Tsubasa far more violently than she had ever done before. Finally, she hammered him from both sides with the spatulas, tossed him up, and hit him like a baseball, right through the roof. She was beginning to look a bit psychotic to Gosunkugi. "Well, you're looking a bit stressed out." Gosunkugi timidly said. Ukyou calmed down. Gosunkugi observed the conditions of Ucchan's. It was very much unkept, and dust was beginning to build up. Ukyou's personal quarters were a bit messy too, with lots of wet tissue paper and othe items lying around on the floor. He noticed that the attic was locked up. "Ukyou, when's the last time you cleaned up this place?" "Not... not in a while." "C'mon, I'll help you clean up." Reluctantly, she accepted his help and they went about the business of restoring the resaurant. *** The young man was extremely confused. He was wandering around some damn swamp area, full of mosquitos, and suddenly he found himself in some small metal compartment, and to add insult to injury he was locked in. "Hey!" he yelled, banging on the door, "Let me out!" Meanwhile, outside, something was happening. "TEN... NINE... EIGHT... SEVEN....HOLD COUNTDOWN... REPEAT HOLD THE COUNTDOWN... INTERNAL SENSORS INDICATE A PROBLEM, DO YOU READ?" *** Somewhere, deep within a mountain, a man in a red military outfit was looking at several monitoring screens. A scrawny scientist stood next to him. "As you can see, sir," the scientist began, "the readings on this one are quite high. We think that maybe you should consider recruiting him." "If you think so, go ahead. I have higher matters to concentrate on." "Um.. we'll be needing some tracking equipment and some transport. Our target seems to be wandering around alot lately and at amazing distances." "Very well. Go and find him." "Er..." the scientist said. "What is it?" the dark man rumbled. "I am sorry my lord, but I have lost track of things. Is your title curretly Bison or Vega?" *FWOOSH* *** [Sunday] From the balcony view, the city was sprawled out below, a sight of jewels in the night for them to view. It was a perfect night, many would say, for blossoming love. Manami Hinako looked at the young man sitting next to her. She wondered if he felt the same way that she felt. Tonight... tonight she would find out. It was several days ago when this mysterious man came into her life. Being an Asian in San Francisco wasn't bad, but she had just recently moved there with her family from Japan. Her father had been promoted to overseeing their foreign branch in California. She was feeling sad, missing the few friends she had back in Okinawa. Her current residence was a rather nice apartment, the fourth floor of a renovated and very beautiful apartment, complete with balcony, on the top of one of San Francisco's many hills. As she overlooked San Francisco at sunset from her balcony, she sighed, wishing that she wasn't so shy. Meanwhile, down below, a young person of Japanese origin was staggering, slowly, to the top of the hill. He was exhausted, more so than he'd been in a while. On top of that, he hadn't had a proper meal for days. He was still a man without an identity. And he still couldn't get to where he wanted to go... which his hazed memory told him was Japan, for some reason. And there was this primal fear of cold water that he'd had... for some reason it just terrified him. It wasn't fair, he thought. What did he do to deserve being in this situation? He felt a wave of angst hit and angrily smashed his fist into a nearby building. "WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?!" Far above, Manami was sitting on the railing, enjoying the breeze. Her parents had often told her it wasn't a safe thing to do, but to her there was no better way to enjoy the view and the breeze. Then the building shuddered, catching her entirely by surprise. She wanted to scream, feeling panic rush through her as she felt herself slip off of the railing, and tumble through the air. She screamed, panic taking over her mind... The young man sighed, looking at the rather big dent he'd put in the building's side. He realized that he shouldn't have done it, but he just needed some sort of release for his frustrations. He hoped nobody noticed. Then he blinked. Seemed that there was something loud approaching. Sounded kind of like... a scream? He raised his weary head and his eyes grew wide in surprise as he saw somebody falling right towards him. Suddenly, Manami's downward fall halted in a non-painful way. Was death that sudden? How odd. She stopped screaming and opened her eyes slowly... and found herself in the arms of a hansome (although slightly ragged, and very surprised looking) Japanese boy. "Ah..." was all she could bring herself to say. "Um... hello," he said, unsure of what else to say. He seemed to try to think of the appropriate thing, and carefully, too. Finally, he looked into her eyes. "Excuse me," he said, "can you tell me where I am?" "You... don't know where you are?" asked she. "Ah... no. I'm not in Hong Kong anymore, am I?" "Well... no." She blushed as she realized exactly what kind of position she was in. He noticed her blush, and asked, "Um, is something wrong?" "You... can put me down now," said she. His eyes went wide with shock, finally realizing that he'd been holding her close and in his arms for a while now, and gently set her down, then laughed nervously while scratching his head. His look of slight confusion and embarrasment seemed genuine, and somewhat cute. His being from Japan as well certainly appealed to her, and although they were both laughing nervously at the start, somehow she found the courage to ask him to come in, as a show of gratitude for saving her. And so, from there, they talked, and talked, and talked more. She found out he was indeed a native of Japan, but for some reason, had no memory until a few weeks ago. Anything beyond that was a collection of unclear images, names, and thoughts. A mystery man, wandering the world trying to find his identity. The whole concept, she thought, was almost too romantic. And he was cute too, especially with those little fangs of his. When she found out he had nowhere to go, she couldn't allow him to fend for himself on the streets. She insisted that he stay at her house for as long as he needed to. For once she was very much glad that the work that her parents do often keep them away from home for stretches of days, sometimes weeks. With the help of her credit card (actually, owned by her parents), she proceeded to take him out for the next several days, fixing or (if they couldn't be fixed) replacing his ragged clothes, taking him out to eat, and having fun in general. She found herself able to talk to him easily, although he still seemed nervous about things. She even cooked for him, which was the first time she cooked for any man. Maybe pancakes were too easy to be proud of, but he still enjoyed them, and that made her feel good. Days passed, and he still couldn't remember his name. And so it came to this time, with them alone on a romantic night, sitting there so close to each other. She decided to go for it. She brushed her long hair to one side and faced him. Touching his chin to turn his face to her, she moved in close for the kiss. Their eyes locked unto each other's, Then he stuttered a name, but not hers. She stopped, shocked. "W-what? Who?" she asked. He looked dazed. "I... I'm sorry. I've got to go. I think... I think I remember somewhere I need to be." *** [Monday] "Ranma, did you invite Ukyou to dinner yet?" Akane asked. The couple was worried about her since she had kept her store closed for several days now and hadn't talked much to either of them at all. Akane was hoping to tell her about her run-in with Kodachi in disguise. "Yeah," he answered, "but Gosunkugi said she was busy." "Gosunkugi was there?" "Yup. Said she was busy cleaning up the place." "Oh." Ranma looked disturbed. "What else did he say?" Akane asked. "Oh? Um, well, he said Ukyou thought she saw Ryouga on television and she was getting hysterical about it." "I guess she really loved him." Akane replied. She went over and hugged Ranma. "Don't you ever dissapear on me, you got that?" "Hey," he said, smiling, "of course not." Akane tensed up for a moment and then let go. "Something wrong?" wondered Ranma. "Oh, no." While hugging Ranma, Akane was facing the television. They were doing a story on the Great Wall of China. She thought she saw someone familiar in the background. Could that have been him? No, impossible. "Um, nothing's wrong. Nevermind." Inside, Ranma was having lingering doubts about Ryouga's demise himself. No, they never did find Ryouga's body. But he was in pig form then, and Ranma saw the bridge destroyed in the massive explosion afterwards. If the shishi houkou-dan didn't kill Ryouga, the concrete certainly would have. And then there was the river, which was high that night and flowing very fast. Ryouga was either incinerated, crushed, or drowned. {But they never found the body} He thought. That fact tugged at his brain for the rest of the night. *** On an outside market in China, a ragged figure wobbled through the streets. He still couldn't remember his name. All he knew was that he had traveled a long way and had to keep traveling. He was still angry about that insanely long wall that somebody put in there. He walked left. He walked right. The damn thing seemed endless. This infuriated him, and so he started punching it, which made a crack but nothing more. Then, seized by memory, he pointed a finger and yelled "bakusaitenketsu!" while poking the wall. It cracked, then exploded, leaving a nice open walkway inbetween. At a marketplace he stopped. Something caught his eye. He reached down and picked up a traditional Chinese umbrella that was for sale. It had a straight wooden shaft and red cloth. It seemed very heavy. He held it in one hand, examining it carefully. He twirled it. He swung it. He opened it up and flung it into the sky, where it zoomed high. "Hey!" the shopkeeper yelled. "What the hell are you doing?" The umbrella did a figure-8 in the sky and returned to ragged figure's hand. He grinned. The shopkeeper was speechless. *** [Friday] Ukyou and Gosunkugi were playing poker late one night. He was happy about this, since Ukyou was the first girl to actually be his friend. She had invited him over for poker several nights in a row now. With a little bit more effort, maybe she'd be more than a friend? Ukyou was looking at the hand she had to work with. A two, a three, a jack, an ace, and a six. Junk. She looked up for a moment to think and so looked briefly at the television which was left on. She gasped. "Ukyou? What's wrong?" Gosunkugi asked. She shook her head as if to clear it. "Nothing, nothing." On the television, a newsman was doing a report on the economic summit in Korea. The reporter was speaking live from outside a rather important looking building. Behind him, a rather confused looking figure was holding a map, upside down. *** [Days later] In a park somewhere, a young couple was testing the waters of romance. They were in a park, high up atop a flight of many stairs on top of a hill, where they first met. They were both looking nervous. The boy was determined to tell the girl how he felt once and for all, without annoying distractions like pervert friends, annoying siblings, or the girl who _thought_ she was his girlfriend. None of that. Just the two of them. "Ayukawa, I..." the young man stuttered, and then suddenly held his head, as if getting a headache. "What's wrong? You look so sad all of the sudden." the girl said, looking genuinely concerned. She took hold of his hand. "The world..." the young man muttered, suddenly looking very glum, "is a cold and lonely place." "What?" Meanwhile, a bandana-clad figure walked away down some nearby stairs, idly counting "94... 95... 96... 97...98..." *** [More days pass] Deep in a forest area, a bandana-clad young man strode through, searching for something but not quite not knowing what. He had traveled endlessly, and his endurance had finally run out. He collapsed. "Young man, are you alright?" an old voice asked. He looked up. "Help... me..." The old man dragged him into his house, where two others were in training. "Ken! Straighten your leg on that form! That's better." the old man snapped. "Just because you win a couple of American tournaments does not mean you become lax in your technique." "Yes, sensei!" the blond young man yelled. {Jeez} he thought {just came in for a friendly visit and the old man turns it into boot camp!} "Ryu, help me bring this young man in!" "Yes sensei!" the other man said. *** The sun set in Tokyo, with stormclouds rolling over the city quickly. The sign said, in big letters, "ABSOLUTELY NO WOMEN ALLOWED." Hitomi wasn't amused. She'd just returned from her vacation from work only to find this absurd and sexist little signboard blocking the way to the rest of the sublevel. She was in charge of this sublevel, it was her duty to check on the whole area, supplies, patients, and any other things that need attention. She would have asked someone why on earth such a stupid sign was put up, but today there were very few people on duty and she just didn't have the patience to listen to an explanation. She tore the sign down and walked in. *** "Tell me, have you found this young man that you had targeted yet?" "Yes, my lord." the scientist nervously said. "He was in Seoul, Korea a week ago. We're sending in a retrieval team to investigate now." "No." "No, master?" "I'll find him myself. We've just lost our agent in Japan, and I wish him to be our replacement. It's become more important to obtain him now." "Yes master." The large figure of the commander glided out the door, his form glowing with red, blue, and purple swirls of ki-power. *** It was a Dark and Stormy Night... As it was standard practice in any Dark and Stormy Night, this one had some trouble brewing. Lightning flared and snaked it's way down to earth. Of all the places it could have struck, this surge of energy struck one particular spot and... Deep in an underground chamber, something stirred. Monitor equipment, warning systems, and other security devices long dormant sprung to life. Red lights and loud horns activated, indicating an incident of the utmost emergency. Staff scrambled everywhere in their white medical coats manning their stations. The head administrator, Shiro Fujimoto, stormed into the control room. He looked at all the monitors. "Give me a status report!" he yelled. "Sir! We lost power temporarily but the backup generators will be on line in two minutes!" "That's good." the administrator relaxed. Then one of his staff yelled in panic. "Sir! Subject H has somehow escaped from his bonds and the ki-dampeners have been overloaded! He's still in his room but we don't know how much longer we can hold him back!" "What? Dammit!" Shiro didn't want to deal with Subject H. It was a worst case scenario. The kind of situation that ruins careers. "How? How did he get out? We took all precautions! What's going on in there?" "Sorry sir, but he knocked out all surveilence cameras in the room." "Damn! Are the priests on their way?" "Yes sir! But they're stuck in traffic!" "Damn it all! Why now?!" "Sir! He's broken out of his room! Our forces are trying to hold him in the corridor!" "Shit! Close all the ventilation shafts! Have guards posted around the elevator shaft at all floors! Secure the stairwells!" "Sir! He's breached the corridor and is heading for the elevator!" Shiro paled. "GET ALL THE WOMEN OUT OF THE BUILDING! NOW!!!" In the distance the sound of exploding bombs sang alongside the thunder, and the laughter of lechery echoed eerily into the night. *** [days later] The old man looked upon his newest student with a bit of worry. "Ryu, tell me, what do you think of this new one?" he asked. The young asian man next to him answered, "He had been in a tremendous battle. That much is obvious, since it would explain why he bears such scars and has even lost memory of his past." "Indeed." "Fighting seems to come natural to him, as he executes basic attacks with ease, and has surprised me by already learning the Shoryuken even though he has been here only for a few days." "Go on." "He is abnormally depressed and contains much anger as well..." "You noticed this too, eh?" "I took him to the waterfall to train, but he seems to have a great fear of water, especially cold water." "Oh? I did not know this." The old man wrinked his brow. "He says he does not know why." "Hm." "And furthermore, he has no sense of direction." "Yes, I noticed that too. Must be brain damage from a past battle." Meanwhile, nearby, the topic of the conversation continued to practice his martial arts, trying to sort things out in his mind. *** The Shoryuken, the rising dragon punch, was easy for him to master. He still spun out of control a little bit on the ascent, but it was still effective as a weapon in combat. {Heh, a new technique to use against Ranma!} he thought. Then he stopped. {Who's Ranma?} he wondered. He got conflicting memories. An image of a young man with a pigtail stealing bread came to mind. Then the image of a redhead with a torn shirt sprung up. Then the memory of the girl giving him a deep kiss unveiled itself and he shivered in disgust for some reason. {Must be an old girlfriend I hated or something like that.} he thought. He couldn't seem to master the other special techniques of this school, such as the whirlwind kick or the Hadouken. He did surprise everyone when on a particularly trying day he concentrated and yelled "Full Shishi Houkou-dan!", blowing up major parts of the forest in the process. The sensei seemed saddened at the fact that he displayed such power. The blond student asked him, "why do you seem upset? It seems to be a strong technique." The old man replied, "to master the Shishi houkou-dan, one must be dark, empty, or shattered in spirit. For a young man of his age to already master it would mean that his life is tragic indeed. He must be getting parts of his memory back, and they must not be very good ones at all." *** The young man stopped in his exercises once more. He stared at a pond nearby, mesmerized by the ripples on it's surface. Something was nagging at him. Something just on the tip of his tongue... June... Junk... Junko... "JUSENKYO!" The two observers looked at him oddly. "I must go to Jusenkyo!" He yelled. He ran up to the old man. "Sensei! Do you know where Jusenkyo is?" "The cursed training grounds? I do not think that this is wise!" The old man realised that this may explain his great aversion to water. "I must go there! My past is there!" "Hm. No wonder your ki is tainted with tragedy. That place is never a good place to visit. If you feel you must go.... it is 200 miles east of here. I strongly suggest that you take a bus." "Thank you sensei!" he yelled. The young man ran off. "He left," the young man said. He seemed surprised. "You are surprised?" "You knew he would leave?" the young man asked. "I suspect he is linked to another student that used to attend here. Do you remember Dan Hibiki?" "Yes. Come to think of it, they are much alike. I wonder if they are related in some way." The old man and his student stood there, watching the sun set. "Nah." both said, and went off to attend to other business. *** [Another week goes by...] Someone knocked at the door of Ucchan's. Ukyou went to the front door to answer, and opened the door to what appeared to be a large bush. "Tsubasaaa!" She growled, grabbing her spatula. "FTD delivery m'am!" The bush said in a panic. Ukyou took another look. It wasn't exactly a bush. It was a bouquet. A rather big one. Nice looking too. "Oh, sorry." She said. The overwhelmed delivery man brought the flowers in. "Put it by the window please?" Ukyou asked. "Um... who's it from?" "There's a card that came with it, m'am." The man said, setting the floral arrangement down. After the delivery man left, Ukyou looked at the card that came with the jumbo-FTD arrangement. *** Dear Ukyou, How's things at the restaurant? I wonder if you've finally opened it to the public again, since you do make the best okonomiyaki in town. Anyways, I'm just writing because I'm already out of town and will be stuck in California visiting relatives for the holidays. I'll be back at the start of next month, hopefully. I guess I was just worried since you always seemed so depressed. Cheer up, okay? Here's your Christmas gift! - Hikaru Gosunkugi *** "Well," she said, smiling a bit, "that was sweet." She looked at the flowers some more, and then moved them next to the front door. Then she flipped a sign on the door. Ucchan's was back in business. *** A tired figure scrambled through the bush. "Where is it... where is it... *whack* stupid grass... *whack* stupid trees... I could swear it was around heeeeAAAAAAAAAARGH!!" *** The Jusenkyo guide looked up from his recliner chair and put down his magazine. He reached over and turned off his CD player. He looked around. "Someone there? Hello? Anyone? Nihao?" He could have sworn he heard something. He resumed his reclined position looking over several of the glimmering acursed pools, looked sadly at the remaining devastation, and resumed reading his magazine. *** A figure sat on the roof of the Tendo home, staring absently at the night sky. This was usual, normally. However, on this night, it wasn't Ranma. Tonight, it was Akane's turn to use the Tendo roof for contemplation. The current topic on her mind was her relationship with Ranma. And finally, she could smile about it. Things, she thought, were finally looking up. Until recently, a very disturbing thought kept on nagging at her. That thought was that her relationship with Ranma was just a product of passion spice and Mousse's schemes. From the moment she overheard him until now, she'd pushed the doubts to the back of her mind, trying to forget what she'd overheard from Mousse. But when she'd heard Mousse was leaving, it was a now or never situation. If she didn't ask now, then she would never know the truth. She'd managed to catch them at the pier, just before they left. Cologne and Shampoo were already on board, but Mousse had, fortunately for Akane, lingered for a while longer, wishing to view Tokyo one last time before leaving. It was while he was turning around to take his last glance at the city that his view was obscured by Enraged Akane Tendo. He was no fool. He'd seen enough of Ranma being abused to know he was in trouble. "Ah... Akane! What a surprise!" "C'mere, you," she growled in reply, grabbing him by the shirt, and dragged him off to the side of a building, where things were more private. Mousse's mind was in a panic. What could have happened? Why was she THIS mad? She couldn't have found out... that was impossible. "What have you DONE to me!" she hissed. "What... ah... what are you talking about, Akane Tendo?" "Thanks to you, my life is a LIE!" she barked. "What have I done to-" "The spice." Mousse turned pale, then looked around anxiously. "Shh!" "Don't you shh me!" "You don't want the old ghoul to hear this!" he hissed. "If she does, we're all in trouble again! Do you want Shampoo chasing Saotome again?" That bit of logic sobered Akane up quickly. She calmed down, but still had a death-inducing look in her eyes. "Why did you do this? WHY?" "Didn't everything work out for the best?" argued Mousse. "The old monkey and Shampoo are leaving, I got Shampoo, you got Ranma..." "But he doesn't love me! I don't love him! This is all just because of the passion spice!" Mousse looked straight into her eyes. "So... you never loved him before?" "I... I..." Akane's anger weakened even more under Mousse's calm gaze. Did she love him before? Akane wondered about that. "Can you honestly tell me you did not have feelings for Saotome in the past?" said Mousse. "I... I think I did..." "And do you think he did not care about you before?" "N-no... he never treated me like..."" "How many times did he come to your rescue? How many times has he risked his life, just for you?" All traces of anger melted away from Akane's face, replaced by a strange expression of bittersweet emotions. "Remember Togenkyou Island? He destroyed our cure, just for you. I don't think he would do that for someone he hates." "But... what about the spice..." Mousse smiled. "The spice? It's been a long while since you ate the spice. It wore off already. Do you deny that you still love Saotome?" "Well... no." "Then all I did," said Mousse, "was make you and Ranma be honest." Mousse smiled. Akane couldn't help but smile as well. The sound of the ship horn blowing reminded Mousse of pressing matters. "Well, Akane Tendo," said Mousse with a smile, "I must go now. It was... an interesting time here, but now I must go home. I wish you and your fiancee the best." "Thanks, and good luck with Shampoo," replied Akane. "Thank you. And I think it's for the best if you don't tell anyone about this conversation," he said with a wink. Mousse walked away from Akane, into the ship, and dissapeared into the crowd, leaving the Tendo girl alone with her thoughts... *** At the penthouse of the Tokyo Hilton, three people were throwing a small celebration of sorts. Megane, Kyoko, and Ryoko, recent visitors of Nerima. The celebration had been going on for a few weeks now, which was how long the credit card they found in the rubble beloning to Ryo Muhoshin was lasting. This was the climax of several weeks of reckless spending by the trio. Anyone else would call this cold hearted. Had they known more about who these three were, and whose death they were celebrating, people would reconsider the 'cold-hearted' judgement. The three of them were, at the moment, coming down from a sugar high resulting from downing several cases of soda and an incredibly heavy dinner. Megane was feeling happy, and Kyoko was her usual bubbly self, but Ryoko couldnt' shake that mellow feeling that was haunting her. She knew why. She lingered out to the balcony, champagne glass (filled with the best cola Ryo's credit could buy) and looked out across the night. Ryo's death was earlier than expected... much earlier... but still, it wasn't an extreme surprise. Especially given the amount of people he'd made enemies of in his life. But Ryouga... "I didn't even get a chance to say hello again," she whispered sadly. She wondered. Did he remember her? How would he have reacted? It was too late for that now. All far too late. A falling star streaked across the night sky. She saw it and made a wish. "I wish... I wish Ryouga was alive." As the falling star winked out of existence, she added absently, "oh yeah, Ryo too." *** Cologne was busy packing away things on the ship cabin they had obtained as part of their return to China. She looked a bit tired, and felt older than she was. Shampoo, helping her with the luggage, noticed something was wrong. "Great-grandmother, what wrong?" "I just feel like I need a vacation. Being stuck with Mousse as a son-in-law is trying on the nerves and I do not wish to deal with any more strangeness. Not for a while anyways. I guess it is good that we are returning home at last." Shampoo looked sadly at her great-grandmother. "We really give up on Ranma, great-grandmother?" "No choice anymore. I don't believe Mousse outschemed me. Even though we are returning home with a husband for you, I still feel dishonored. If he's to be my son-in-law, I'll make life hell for him." Shampoo nodded, then left the cabin. On the deck, Mousse looked out over the waters to the slowly dissapearing sight of Tokyo. "Goodbye, my friends," he murmered. As to the matter of Akane Tendo, Ranma Saotome, and the passion spice, he was relieved that his plan worked so very well. As for the truth of the matter on the lingering effects of the passion spice, he had no idea. Small dosages of passion spice create temporary feelings of love. That much is known. Mousse used quite a lot of it, and there was no telling what effect it would have. He certainly wasn't going to tell that to an enraged Akane, and was proud of the way in which he talked himself out of that mess. Was Saotome's relationship a lie? Was it artificial happiness that they felt? As long as they were happy, thought Mousse, it doesn't matter. It didn't matter to him, anyways. Just as long as he had a better chance with Shampoo now. Granted, she was still pounding him into the ground on a regular basis, but she wasn't chasing after anyone either. "Mousse? You here?" Shampoo called. "Shampoo?" Mousse was surprised. She was _looking_ for him? "What are you doing up here?" she said, in Chinese. She stared out into the city lights. he said. He turned back to look at the city as well. asked Shampoo. said Mousse. she said quietly. said Mousse. Mousse frowned and look at Shampoo. To his surpise, there was a slight hint of a smile on her face. she said quietly, looking out into the horizon. *** The young man angrily stomped through the thick foliage of the jungle, limping and looking very much on the edge of madness. Damn this green... green... stuff! He swore he'd join the "Pave the Earth" foundation if he ever got out of there. And if he'd ever get his memory straight. He was getting hurt, alot, because of some of the hazzards that the plants sometimes covered up. He almost fell off of a cliff once. Then there were the unexpected nuisances. He was stomping around minding his own business when a group of gaijin lunatics pop out of the bush and start yelling at him about getting in the way of their cameras and the pandas. A film about pandas! How mundane! He muttered a silent curse against all gaijins as he stomped through the wilderness. He swatted some tall grass with the red umbrellla (he picked it up in China) angrily and stomped onward. Suddenly, he felt a chill and turned around. A large figure, clad in a black military outfit and matching cape stood there. No, that wasn't quite right. The dark figure _hovered_ there. He also was surrounded by a fiery energy that pulsed blue, purple, and deep red. "You," the dark man rumbled, "have great potential. I extend to you an invitation to join my ranks." "Why should I?" "Join me, and I will give you wealth, prestige, and show you true power. The dark powers of the soul. Psycho power." "Psycho Power?" the young man sneered, "It's nothing I've heard of." "Oh?" The dark man began to flare. He grinned evily. "But then, in your current state, you've heard of very little. Isn't that true?" He had to admit, that was true. The Shadoloo Lord considered the boy before him carefully. "Perhaps I am being too generous... but I shall aid you. I sense a kindrid spirit in you. It pleases me to see such a thing." "What... kinda of aid do you offer?" "Come closer, and I will show you." The Shadoloo Lord's armored hands began to glow with an unnatural purple, red, and black flame. The boy felt compelled to step forward, despite the fear he felt. The military man reached forward quick as lightining and grabbed him by the skull. Dark flames flared around them. Two voices were heard in the deep of the jungle. One was laughing The other was screaming. - end part 12 -