*slish* *slish*
Waves gently lap against the sandy beaches on the island with an almost hypnotic, but soothing sound. A salty breeze blows in towards the island, providing a pleasantly chilly night, perfect for a walk.
Akane is walking along the beach with Sekki, looking out towards the horizon. She is dressed in her "normal" (All too revealing) clothing, minus the wings, as is Sekki. The slight tingling feeling from the kiss earlier on is still on her lips and she refuses to let go of the feeling as she thinks about recent developments. Twiddling her fingers nervously, Akane looks up at Sekki.
Akane : "Sekki, you think I overdid it?"
Sekki, arms behind her back, looks at Akane as she poses the question. She shakes her head ruefully, smiling to herself with more than just a trace of amusement in her face and voice.
Sekki : "Akane dear, whatever are you talking about? What did you overdo?"
Akane : "You know what I mean, Sekki."
Sekki shrugs.
Sekki : "I only told you to make sure you didn't regret the decision you made. I left the rest up to you."
Akane nods thoughtfully. Licking her lips to tickle them again, Akane giggles as something amusing enters her mind. With a childish grin, Akane smiles at Sekki.
Akane : "I'll bet you didn't expect 'the rest' to be that.... what I said and did, right?"
Sekki nods sagely, putting a hand on Akane's shoulder reassuringly.
Sekki : "I wasn't expecting that, but since you made the decision to do so, well..... what can I say?"
Akane nods.
Akane : "Mm! But, the only thing was.... well, I....."
Sekki raises an eyebrow as Akane ponders how to put her thoughts into words.
Sekki : "I.... what, Akane? Having regrets already?"
Akane's eyes widen as she looks up at Sekki. Sekki is chuckling to herself as Akane stumbles over her words.
Akane : "Regrets!? No way! The only thing was..... well....."
With a blush to her cheeks, Akane looks down towards the sand. She nibbles her lips as she pulls Sekki's hand into her own in a sisterly gesture.
Akane : "Well, I guess since I had the chance, I should've gone a bit further....?"
Sekki can feel her eyes stretch to her jawline as Akane giggles again.
Akane : "I guess I should've.... gotten carried away? You know....."
Sekki looks at Akane as Akane's cheeks flush red and she looks shyly away from Sekki. She nods knowingly, and mocks Akane teasingly, wagging a finger at her.
Sekki : "My, you are a naughty little succubus you! Barely out of being a newborn and you're already thinking about it!?"
Akane nods playfully. Sekki gets an evil grin into her face and slides her hand out from Akane's grip.
Sekki : "Well then, I think I ought to punish you for not letting me in on it!"
Akane laughs and jumps as Sekki suddenly starts poking and tickling her ribs, dancing into the water where her boots make soft splashing sounds. The two start dancing around the beach as they chase each other for 'revenge'.
Ranma rubs his lips gently, the tingling sensation in it refusing to go away. Licking his lips, he looks at Ryouga, lying in a bedroll, tears streaming out of his eyes and muttering something.
Ryouga : "A...a...kane....L....lo......Ra...n...ma...loves.....A....a...kane.....love....Ran...."
Ranma : <Don't worry buddy, I'm as confused as you are.>
Sighing and resting his chin on his palm, Ranma reflects and remembers the events so far. A recollection of memories and feelings pop into his mind, clear as crystal.... painful as needles sometimes.
Ranma had set out for the island with Kuno and Ryouga.
Ranma had fallen into the sea after being blinded by the sunlight.
Ranma had finally reached the island with the other two after some delay.
Ranma and Akane had met.
Akane had not been watching what she was.... or wasn't wearing.
Ranma had an argument with her.
Akane had stalked off into the forest, angry.
Ranma had felt extreme regret at having offended her just like that the second they met.
Akane had come back hours after the two had argued.
Akane had said sorry to Ranma.
Akane had said she loved him.
Akane then kissed him.
Akane kissed him for a LONG time.
Akane begins to take her-
Ranma blinks himself back to reality as he suddenly realizes his thoughts
are turning hentai from the kiss onwards. But he smiles to himself as he
realizes that he doesn't care anymore what Akane insults him. And that
Akane realizes the same thing about him.
Staring into the fire, Ranma quietly waits for Akane to return from
her walk just as Ryouga stirs.
Opening his eyes, Ryouga sees the stars above.. below him? (Come on,
his sense of direction's not that bad, is it!?)
Turning his head towards the fire, Ryouga spots a shadowy figure.
Ryouga : "Ranma?"
Ranma snaps out of his trance, and looks away from the fire to Ryouga.
Ranma : "Eh? Ryouga? Awake already are ya?"
Ryouga sits up and rubs his head, then turns to look at Ranma, squatting besides him. Something in his head keeps banging itself against his skull, telling him to remember something. He keeps looking at the island around him, and finally remembers what he's trying to remember.
Ryouga : "Ranma.... where's Akane-san?"
Ranma : "Gone for a walk."
Ryouga nods. Then without warning, Ryouga grabs Ranma by the collar
and drags him over the fire, face to face.
Taken completely by surprise, Ranma can only dangle limply as Ryouga
stares him in the face.
Ranma : *URK!* "Ryouga! Whaddaya doin' man!?"
Ryouga grits his teeth, nostrils flaring as he cocks his fist, eyes twinkling something dangerous.
Ryouga : "R. A. N. M. A."
Ryouga suddenly stands, lifting Ranma off the floor with him, cocking his fist as he glows a sickly green.
Ryouga : "I'LL KILL YOU, RANMA! DIE!!!!!!"
Ranma : "Akane! You're back!"
Ryouga suddenly drops Ranma and looks around, surprised.
Ryouga : "Akane-san? Where!? I'm sorry, Akane-san! I-"
Ranma quickly tries to crawl away from Ryouga as Ryouga gets up and looks around for Akane.
A few seconds later, Ranma sees the bushes in front of him. He smiles to himself.
Ranma : <Stupid Ryouga. He's so easy to fool.>
*THOOOM*
Ranma coughs as sand gets into his nose, mouth, eyes and throat. When his eye stop tearing, he sees Ryouga's foot in front of him. He looks up at Ryouga, who's standing there with arms crossed and an angry look on his face.
Ryouga : "Ranma, you tricked me.... again! I'm not going to let you off! Kyaaa!"
Ranma rolls to one side as Ryouga smashes a fist into the ground and the immediate area around his fist caves in. Getting up, Ranma readies himself.
Ranma : "You askin' for something, Ryouga!? You wanna fight?"
Ryouga looks up and cracks his fingers as he readies for one.
Ryouga : "You're on."
Ryouga : "You're getting weak, Ranma."
Ranma : "Oi, Ryouga. I'm just warming up."
Ryouga : "Then show me your true strength!"
Ryouga screams as he charges towards Ranma with a cocked fist, fangs gleaming in the moonlight. Ranma flips backwards as Ryouga punches, totally missing Ranma and getting kicked in the chin by Ranma's mid-air flip. He flies into a tree and a coconuts hit him on the head as Ranma observes him. Ryouga immediately gets up again and kicks the tree, catching the coconuts as they come falling down and tossing them at Ranma. Ranma handily grabs each of the coconuts tossed at Ryouga and piles them in a stack, smiling.
Ranma : "Hey, Ryouga! Nice style, whadtcha call it-"
*crush*
Ranma : "oof."
Ranma's face is flattened against a coconut and a tree as Ryouga's thrown rock hits him square in the face. Tossing a stone up and down in his palm, Ryouga looks at Ranma arrogantly.
Ryouga : "I call it a feint."
Crushing the stone in his palm, Ryouga comes in with another flying kick at Ranma, who leaps out of the way. Ryouga kicks the tree instead, which snaps with a loud crack and falls over, showering the place with more coconuts. Off to one side, Ranma is pulling a face at Ryouga and hopping from one foot to the other.
Ranma : "Ngaaah! Too slow to catch me!"
Ryouga recovers from the missed kick and pivots on a heel, arm cocked back again for another strike, staring at Ranma with poison as he shouts.
Ryouga / A Voice : "Doesn't matter!"
Ranma and Ryouga, battle suddenly forgotten, feel a VERY unpleasant chill at the unpleasantly familiar voice behind them and their eyes widen as a flash of silver blinds them.
Wet, dripping but enjoying herself immensely, Akane is still giggling
as she walks barefooted on the sand, boots in hand
besides Sekki, her matted hair clinging insistently to her scalp and
hanging limply elsewhere. Sekki is in similar condition, wearing a barely
restrained smile on top of everything. After the exhaustive chase around
the beachside, both of them are breathing hard, although they don't seem
to notice.
Heart racing, Akane takes a few breaths to catch her breath and calm
herself down enough to speak properly.
Akane : "Phew! I thought I'd never have that much fun in a long time! You're the best company I've had in a long time, Sekki. I wish you were my sister!"
Sekki nods knowingly, looking back to Akane, who's pushing the hair out of her eyes and beaming at her. Sekki returns a warm smile.
Sekki : "The same goes for you too, Akane honey. I'd never thought youth in a succubus would be such a good thing anymore."
Akane shrugs, grinning childishly as she looks towards the out-of-sight camp.
Akane : "I guess so."
Then Akane's eyes suddenly widen as she remembers something all of a
sudden, shock flashing through her face. She
almost slaps her forehead before remembering that hand's the one with
she's holding her boots in.
Akane : "Oh no!"
Sekki's head snaps towards Akane with full attention at the distress in her voice.
Sekki : "What is it, Akane-chan?"
Akane : "Ranma! We forgot about him! Ranma must've fallen asleep waiting for us by this time!"
Sekki : "Well then, we won't keep them waiting, right? And you've got your.... issue to settle with him."
Akane nods playfully as Sekki lets that hint of knowing creep into her voice.
Akane : "Mm! Alright Sekki! We'll race! Last one there's a fruit bat! Seeya!"
Sekki is about to acknowledge Akane's challenge when Akane simply transforms in an instant and zooms off, leaving a strong wind in her wake. Sekki yells playfully after her as she transforms herself and begins the race.
Sekki : "Hey! No head starts! That's cheating!"
Ouch.
NOW what happened? I have GOTTA stop blacking out like this!
Man.... feel like I got hit by a Shishihoukoudan.... seasick.
Hold on.
Ranma opens his eyes groggily. Everything in his blurred vision seems to be bobbing up and down endlessly. That, and added to his horrible headache, he feels like throwing up.
Ranma : <Uck, what happened....?>
But nausea overtakes him, and mercifully, he blacks out before he can throw up.
*SHRIEK*
Through the stillness of the night, a piercing scream causes an entire flock of bats and insects to go fluttering for dear life.
Akane stares at the devastation in the camp.
It is a mess. All around the perimeter of the camp, trees have been felled or sliced into shavings, the ground is gouged and tossed up, looking like dark wounds. Tents and camping equipment are all scattered around like so much dirt and shredded into unrecognizable bits and pieces, the general scene is utter, absolute, chaos. Surprisingly, a weak flame still sputters in the middle of the camp, although the fireplace is almost nonexistent. Coconuts are strewn all over the camp area as well. And added to that, one tent is untouched. Akane walks up to it and listens.
*snoooore* *osage-no-onna.....* *Tendo Akane........* *Never leave......*
Sekki comes speeding up behind Akane and stops at the exact same spot Akane stopped in a few seconds ago. Looking around, Sekki shakes her head and tchs.
Sekki : "Well now, Akane-chan.... looks like your iinazuke and friend got captured."
Getting up from the tent's side, Akane walks over to Sekki and tugs at her arm insistently.
Akane : "We've gotta go get them! We can't leave them in the hands of whoever took them!"
Sekki looks down at Akane. Akane is grimacing slightly, wrinkles creasing her forehead as her face almost radiates fear and concern, slight drops of liquid forming at the edge of her eyes and threatening to grow in a few seonds. Sekki sighs as she shakes her head sadly.
Sekki : "Akane..."
Akane : "Please? Sekki.... don't let Ranma get hurt! Come on!"
Sekki looks at Akane again as she lets go of Sekki's arm. Akane turns around and walks into the middle of the wasted camp and begins searching for something. Sekki's gaze follows Akane as she sifts through piles of debris and junk silently.
Sekki : <What's she doing?>
After a moment of searching, Akane finds something. Sekki watches interestedly as Akane picks something from the ruins and brings it back. But Sekki knows what it is even before Akane comes near her. The sense of power in it is all too familiar.
Akane : "Ranma's shirt. Or part of it."
Sekki : "Stained with blood."
Akane nods resolutely.
Akane : "He's in trouble."
Sekki : "Isn't that obvious, dearie."
Akane : "Then what are you waiting for!? Let's go find him!"
Sekki stares as Akane stuffs the bloody piece of cloth into the space between her breasts and starts flapping her wings. Sekki grabs Akane's arm before she lifts off though. Akane twists and struggles, but Sekki's too strong for her.
Sekki : "And where do you think you're going, little lady?"
Akane tries shaking Sekki off once more before giving up and dropping back to earth, head hung low.
Akane : "I'm going to find Ranma."
Sekki chuckles darkly. Akane flashes her an evil look, but she ignores it. Sekki crosses her arms and uses her head to gesture towards the mess in the camp.
Sekki : "And what makes you think you'll find him that easily? For all we know, this could've happened hours ago. We certainly left those two alone long enough."
Akane looks around. She shakes her head.
Akane : "I don't care. I've got to find Ranma, even if it takes me a week!"
Sekki shakes her head again and puts a hand on Akane's shoulder, using her unfolded free hand to point towards the mess.
Sekki : "Akane, there's alot I think you must learn if you're going to survive on this island. I can't stay with you forever, you know."
Akane blinks.
Akane : "Sekki?"
Sekki nods.
Sekki : "Dear, I know you think I'll be here for you every hour of the century, but that just isn't so. Look, I'm an old succubus. I won't last another 3000 years. You, but you.... you're only 16, and you've got the bonus of early maturity. If you're going to-"
Akane : "But 3000 years is a long time...."
Sekki shakes her head again. She smiles sadly and holds Akane by both shoulders, forcing her to look into her own. A sad pain gleams in Sekki's eyes, deep and knowing.
Sekki : "Akane-chan, you're new. You were human before, 3000 years seems like a long time. But let me tell you, a day to me passes like a minute.... an hour at most. You're gone before you know it. Akane, you've got maybe another 4000 years left to you. You've got to learn the tricks of the trade, at least. No more play now."
Sekki lets go of Akane's shoulders and steps back, looking at her sadly. Akane pauses for a few seconds as she ponders what Sekki just told her. A look of wonder crosses her face as understanding slowly dawns on her. Looking up, Akane speaks slowly.
Akane : "But...."
Sekki gently walks up to Akane and puts a finger to her lips, silencing her. She removes her fingers and lets her arms hang limply by her sides. Her body slacks a little, her wings droop. Akane notices these things, and immediately her concern is split for Sekki and the two boys.
Sekki : "No buts. I'll start teaching you the ropes now. Handsome's abduction.... is a start."
Akane : "But...."
Akane starts to protest again, but Sekki's face hardens and something hard gleams in her eyes. Straightening, she speaks deliberately and slowly, making sure every word sinks into Akane.
Sekki : "Akane, forget Ranma. I told you before, he'll be dead long after you're only 20 by our reckoning. He won't last. Love him while you can now, but don't forget how it'll end."
Akane blinks again. Then her face screws in anger and she really begins to cry now. Fists clenched, Akane stands on tiptoes to come face to face with Sekki and starts shouting at her with anguish in her voice.
Akane : "How can you not care!? How can you be so insensitive!? I love Ranma, I can't live without Ranma! I..... I..... I don't care what happens, I'll make sure he's with me till the end, understand!? Sekki!?"
Sekki is taken aback by Akane's sudden outburst. She steps back unconsciously, and holds her hands out in front of her. She uses her most soothing voice to try to calm Akane, whose hands have formed dangerous fists, and tears are streaming freely down her cheeks, down.
Sekki : "Akane-chan dear-"
Sekki reaches a hand down for Akane, but she slaps it away forcefully. Sekki winces as Akane's nails draw blood. Raising her voice even louder, Akane screams at Sekki.
Akane : "Don't you Dear me, Sekki! If everything before was just.... just a front, were you were playing with us? Me and Ranma and all my friends!? Weren't you? Say it!"
Sekki suddenly feels panicked. A even near death at her sister's hands centuries ago, Sekki has never panicked. A feeling forms in her gut. A very unsettling and uncomfortable feeling. It spreads through her like poison, forcing her muscles to tense unwillingly and causing her to break out into a cold sweat. Desperate to cool Akane down, Sekki stutters out a response.
Sekki : "Akane.... please, don't! I didn't mean to hurt you.... forgive me, Akane.... I just..... just wanted you to get used to the fact. I... I love you too, Akane... I sincerely wish you were my sister and.... and everything.... everything I lived for!"
Akane suddenly feels a blanket of coldness fall over her. The anguish in Sekki's last sentence hits her hard in the head as Sekki begins to cry. Tears form at the edges of Sekki's eyes and drip down her cheeks as she fights to regain composure.
Akane : "Sekki....."
Sekki sniffs but smiles, sadly.
Sekki : "Akane dear, I...."
Sekki slowly takes steps towards Akane, arms open. Her tears have stopped, although her eyes are red and slightly puffy.
Sekki : "I just wanted to help...."
Sekki nears Akane, whose face is locked in stone. Akane simply stares into the emptiness as Sekki approaches, not moving, not blinking, breathing shallowly. When she reaches Akane, Sekki puts her hands gently onto Akane's shoulders and shakes her firmly, but softly.
Sekki : "Please.... let me teach you."
Without warning, Akane strikes. Faster than Sekki herself can move, Akane suddenly spins out of her grip and uses her wing to smash Sekki's face, causing her to fly a short distance away. As Sekki gets up, wiping the blood off her lips, she looks at Akane in bewilderment.
Sekki : "Akane?"
Akane looks at Sekki darkly, tears streaming down her cheeks freely as she screams at Sekki.
Akane : "Damn you, Sekki! Why do you do this to me!? I.... I HATE you, Sekki! I hate you and all your lies!"
Without another word, Akane turns around and flies away, in the general direction of her own home. Sekki stares helplessly as Akane disappears into the shadows shrouding the island, blood dripping off her chin from her lips and nose. Worse than that, her voice quivers.
Sekki : "Akane..... I...."
Darkness.
Warmth.
Pain.
Where am I now? Can someone please tell me?
Ryouga opens his eyes slowly and painfully. He looks around from where he's lying down on and notices he's in a stone chamber modestly furnished and with a warm fire burning in the nearby heath. Ryouga finds himself lying on a stone bed with a straw pallet.
Ryouga : <Where did I end up this time? Sometimes even I don't know where I go.>
He sits up and the unpleasantly familiar feeling of cracked ribs assault him. He curses and lies back down, taking deep, meditative breaths to stop the pain.
Ryouga : <Whatever it is, I'd better lie down here and rest. No sense trying to get myself killed if I can avoid it.>
Ryouga looks up at the ceiling of the cave and his thoughts drift off somewhere else, getting lost like him a second after it wanders off.
*uuuungh.....*
Sexy Voice : "Awake, are we? How are you feeling?"
Ranma blinks, but can't see properly as his vision blurs in and out constantly. He tries looking around, but dizziness hits him like a wave and he decides against it.
Ranma : "Urgh.... like a bus ran over me with razor tipped tyres."
Sexy Voice : "Close enough. There now, I think you'd feel better if I took that spell off you."
A finger of ice touches Ranma's neck, and that pain and dizziness suddenly
feels several galaxies away. Blinking his eyes, Ranma's eyes come into
focus and he can finally see properly. That sense of relief at the back
his head where the dizzying nausea was also helps.
Something enters his view as he pans his head to the right. A very,
VERY familiar and unpleasant something. Ranma sits up at once and starts
backing off as fast as he can on his stone bed until his back hits a wall.
Ranma : "WHOA! WHADDAYA DOIN' HERE!?"
Lina smiles slyly at Ranma as she hovers in mid air, lying on her side in a rather seductive pose. Ranma swallows hard as she rubs her legs together and uses her silkiest voice on him. Lina appears to be taking extreme pleasure in making him uncomfortable though, since she's smiling rather evilly and seductively at the same time. Something that reminds him of Shampoo sometimes.
Lina : "Oh, I should have warned you. Silly me. I forgot to tell you, I was waiting to ambush you and your friend."
Ranma blinks. He scratches his head.
Ranma : "Ryouga and Kuno're here then?"
Lina shrugs and smiles at Ranma again. She shifts her position to give Ranma a very uncomfortable view of her assets, forcing Ranma to swallow again and try to conceal that huge bead of sweat forming on his head.
Lina : "I don't know who is who. Mind..... enlightening me?"
Ranma : "er.... Ryouga's the guy in yellow, fangs, bandannas.... Kuno's the brainless one."
Lina snaps her fingers as she sits up.
Lina : "Oh! Luckily I got the right boy. I'd hate to have wasted my efforts catching that brainless fool. Please, excuse me for a moment while I wonder what to do."
Ranma watches as Lina's eyes go blank and stare into nothingness in a second. He waves a hand in front of her. No response. He tugs at her wings. Still no response. Ranma shrugs.
Ranma : <Better find a way outta here then.>
As Lina ponders this in her self-meditative trance, Ranma begins looking around his room. Large and made of stone, with a beautiful crystal chandelier on the roof and a warm fire in the nearby fireplace. A carpet lies on the floor from his bed to the stone doorway, the door in it made of stone. Ranma slowly creeps off his bed and tiptoes by Lina, still in her trance, and makes his way towards the door. A few inches left....
Ranma : <Almost..... ALMOST....>
Lina : "Oh, one thing, boy. The door's locked from the outside and guarded."
Ranma stops in the middle of trying for the latch as a bead of bigsweat rolls down his head and his face goes into spastic reflex. A vein pops in his head and appears as a cross on his head.
Ranma : "A...ah....agha....ar....."
Ranma slowly turns around to face Lina, arm still frozen in mid-air as his eyebrow begins to twitch. Lina is laughing silently as she points at him mockingly.
Lina : "Oh, my little darling, you look so funny! Come now, you don't think you can escape so easily, do you?"
Ranma : "Er...... maybe?"
Lina : "Come back here.... I'm not done with you, Handsome."
Lina points a finger at Ranma. Suddenly, Ranma's body locks up and panic washes through Ranma as he realizes Lina is doing to him what Akane told him once.....
"....Physical control is..... well..... forced upon. Never Marked....."
Ranma : <Help....>
Lina beckons with a finger as she stops hovering and lands on the floor with a light tap. Ranma takes a step inexorably towards her as Lina gives him a provocrative smile.
Lina : "That's right, my little kitten...... come here. I have something in store for you."
*brrrm* *brm* *brm* *brm* *brm*
*shish*
Cute voice : "Aiyah! We arrive too late, oh-ba-ba!"
Old, withered voice (*donk!* Who's an old, withered voice!?) : "It appears so..... hold on, what's this?"
Cologne and Shampoo hop out of the speedboat as it docks on the shore
by Ranma's boat and look around. Using high-wattage halogen lamps, Shampoo
and Cologne manage to see rather clearly the destruction wreaked upon the
camp. Running into the camp, Shampoo immediately begins sifting through
the debris for anything to give her clues to Ranma's whereabouts before
Cologne taps her with the sharp end of her staff. (The other end's holding
her lamp)
Shampoo turns to look at where Cologne is pointing her lamp's beam
at. A wholly intact tent, deep blue, with a snoring figure inside it.
Cologne : "Interesting, how Kuno wasn't touched at all."
Shampoo : "How oh-ba-ba know it dumb shakespeare bokken boy?"
Cologne points to a HUGE sign besides the tent, on it with words painted in white : "The Temporary Residence of Tatewake Kuno, Age 17, Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, Master Kendoist. Knock before entering. -Kuno."
Shampoo : "........"
Cologne : "But before anything else, we must find out about great-grandson in law! He must be in trouble!"
Voice : "That, or he's a horrible housekeeper."
Shampoo & Cologne : "?"
The two amazon women (Ok, one girl and an old monkey *DONK*.... matriach) turn towards the boat and spot a shadowy figure rising from it. Pushing a plank off his head, Mousse brings himself to full height.
Shampoo : "Aiyah! Mousse follow!?"
Mousse : "Of course, my eternal love. I could never leave you alone to face this island alone! Come to my arms and let me protect you, Shampoo!"
Mousse opens his arms wide and leaps off the boat.
Into the water.
Shampoo sighs in relief as Mousse-duck quacks indignantly and waddles up to shore.
Shampoo : "Lucky Blind-boy Mousse no see where he going."
*clunkunk*
Shampoo, Cologne & Mousse : "?"
Sweet Voice : "Is Ranchan there?"
The tarpaulin near the back of the boat flies into the sky and lands in the water. A giant, flat shape appears in the moonlight, reflecting silver off it. Then another joins it and Ukyo comes hopping onto the sand besides Shampoo and Mousse, battle spatula in hand. She looks around.
Ukyo : "My, what a mess.... Ranchan would never leave this kind of thing, I'm sure. Not with me around anyway!"
Shampoo : "Aiyah again! Stupid spatula pancake girl come with boat!?"
Ukyo stares flying shuriken spatulas at Shampoo as Shampoo crosses her arms and looks away, smiling smugly to herself.
Ukyo : "I was just worried about Ranchan not getting enough to eat."
Shampoo : "Aiyah! Shampoo can cook for Ai-Ren, no need Pancake girl!"
Ukyo : "Pa-n-ca-ke.....?"
Shampoo shrugs, and scratches her head arrogantly.
Shampoo : "Sorry, Shampoo forgot. Japanese pancakes."
Ukyo bursts a vein and a cross appears on her head as she clenches her fists and cracking sounds are heard from it.
Ukyo : "And what can you cook, you chinese bimbo? Ranchan loves my okonomiyaki more!"
Shampoo slits her eyes dangerously. The two face each other and bare their teeth.
Shampoo : "Pancake girl."
Ukyo : "Chinese bimbo."
They begin to trade welding sparks. Cologne switches off her lamp to prevent unnecessary wastage of battery power as the light thrown from the sparks light up the immediate area around them. Looking around, Cologne notes the felled trees and claw marks in the standing stumps, as well as sharp gouges in the ground.
Cologne : "Demons for sure took my great-grandson in law and anyone else here."
Cologne turns on her lamp again as Shampoo and Ukyo stop trading sparks and turn to look at Cologne.
Shampoo : "Aiyah! Demons!"
Ukyo : "And they took Ranchan!"
Mousse (C) : "Quack quack!!"
Colonge nods sagely.
Cologne : "I fear that he has been captured for vile reasons. We have to get him back."
Ukyo and Shampoo nod. Suddenly, Ukyo looks up and punches her palm softly, looking thoughtful.
Ukyo : "But....I just thought of something. How are we going to find Ranma-honey!?"
Cologne and Shampoo suddenly share the same look Ukyo has as the thought enters their heads.
Cologne : "Ukyo is right! We don't know how to return to the cave...."
Shampoo : "Oh-ba-ba right! Bat-girl help us escape!"
Ukyo, Shampoo and Cologne suddenly look sad and hang their heads low, shoulders slumping in defeat without a clue of how to return.
Mousse looks between Cologne and the two girls, then starts looking around. Something catches his attention, and he starts flapping his wings flusteredly, quacking desperately.
Mousse (C) : "Quack! Quack! Quaaaaaack!"
The noise caused by Mousse forces Shampoo to look down at him irritatedly and step on him. Mousse quacks weakly.
*poing*
Shampoo : "What blind boy Mousse want!? Make so much noise!"
Mousse quacks again weakly and tries to point a wing towards something by the coast.
Mousse (C) : "Quack.........."
Cologne, Ukyo and Shampoo all turn to look. Shampoo waves her lamp's beam back and forth around the spot Mousse is pointing his beak towards.
A dark figure lies on the sand, curled up and wrapped in a pair of leathery wings, shuddering.
*rustle*
A pair of night blue high-heel boots shuffle their way through the carpet of dead leaves, making little noise. A figure, flattened against the rough stone wall, slithers its way around the edge of the mountainside. A leafy branch held in each hand, one in each head-wing, and a huge bush in each primary wing, Akane tries her best to imitate a bush as she makes her way around the mountain.
Akane : <Where was that entrance again!?>
Akane feels along the mountainside wall as she tries to find the secret entrance Sekki used to get them in at first. However, after making five rounds around the mountain without any luck (the guards at the entrance wondering why there's a succubus trying to pass herself off as a bush and doing poorly.), Akane is beginning to feel agitated. Resting against a nearby tree, Akane drops the branches and rubs the sweat off her forehead. Looking at the mountainside opposite the main entrance, Akane scowls.
Akane : <Now where the heck is that damned entrance!?>
Walking over to the stone wall again, Akane starts knocking on the stone inch by inch. Her sensitive hearing picks up a slight variation in the stone's density a few knocks later.
Akane : <Yes!>
Feeling around though, Akane can't get her nails inside the gaps of the entrance to shift it open. Pockmarks in the wall would look rather suspicious too, if she tried it that way. Sitting down on the entrance, Akane knocks her head thoughtfully as she wonders how to open the entrance.
Akane : <Gah.... how did Sekki open the thing again?>
Looking at her nails, Akane groans at the dirt and debris gathered under them.
Unconsciously, she pulls one of her primary wings over and shapeshifts it into a thin, fine blade to dig the dirt out as she ponders how to pull the stone out.
As she does so, however, she notices something.
Looking behind her, Akane gets an idea.
An evil smile graces her face.
Pacing around his room, Ryouga scratches his head as he wonders how to escape. Looking around him, Ryouga can't recognize the direction in which to find the door, nor his bed.
Ryouga : <Let's try this side. I might find the bed if I'm lucky.>
Walking in a random direction, Ryouga walks.
A few minutes later, Ryouga finds himself against something large and solid, but out of place in the smooth wall. Staring at it as if it just appeared out of nowhere, Ryouga feels it.
Ryouga : <This wasn't here when I started. What is it?>
Ryouga looks at it closely and then steps back to get a better view of it. An arched depression in the wall with gaps at the sides.
Ryouga : <A door?>
Looking down, Ryouga spots the knob. He grabs it and turns it, but the door refuses to budge. Looking around for a lock, Ryouga doesn't find one. He punches his palm in irritation at his misfortune.
Ryouga : <Locked from the outside! Damn!>
He turns to look behind him. A modestly furnished room. Things made of wood or stone from the island. None of it that belongs to Akane or that she has any use for.
Ryouga : <Good enough for me.>
He pokes at the door.
*grind* *grind*
*pant* *pant* *gasp*
Akane : "Whew! This is hard work!"
Standing in front of the stone block blocking the secret entrance to the caves, Akane is busy prying out the stone block with her morphed (flattened) wings. Little by little, she makes some progress, but it's excrutiatingly slow. That's mainly because her wings keep slipping out of the tiny cracks seperating the entrance from the block. But after a while, Akane manages to drag the stone block out. Holding her breath (which she found she could hold now for about an hour), Akane walks into the darkness and pulls the block in after her.
Ryouga : <Geez, you'd think I'd know how to navigate CAVERNS. I'm lost in a cavern!>
Ryouga is feeling along the walls in a dark place as he makes his escape,
looking around him for any signs of danger. He can't see anything, but
there is this weird, droning, rumbling sound that constantly starts and
stops at regular intervals.
After a while, Ryouga's foot suddenly hits something and the rumbling
sound changes.
*shift* *shift* *mutter* *mutter*
Ryouga : <Oh ****>
Ryouga tries to back out, but a pair of yellow orbs suddenly appear in the darkness, glowing.
Voice : "Yes.....? Ah, one of Lady Lina's..... guests? Well then, thank you for waking me so I can capture you again...."
*snap*
Ryouga ends up staring at an immaculately dressed demon with short, trimmed horns and a rather cunning demeanor as the lights come on. Ryouga curses.
Councillor : "Well well..... I guess it's back to your room until Lady Lina says otherwise."
Ryouga looks at the councillor and smiles confidently.
Ryouga : "You'll have to catch me first."
Akane : <Ranma, you baka! Where did you go!?>
Akane is searching along the walls of the mountain labyrinth as she searches for Ranma, all her senses stretching to their maximum. Turning around a corner however, Akane hears something really..... really.... unpleasant.
Voice : "Ahh.... yes, that's it! Oh, it feels to good! Yes, there too! Hurry up, Ranma! I can't wait all century!"
Akane's eyes see red as she recognizes the voice coming down the corridor.
Akane : <LINA!>
Looking around, Akane notes with satisfaction no demon around to witness Lina's mutilation, and with what Akane has in mind, that's putting it lightly. She immediately jets off towards the source of the sound with a mallet in hand.
Back in Lina's room with Lina, Ranma is thinking.
Ranma : <Oh shit, I'm in deep trouble if Akane sees me like this now!>
Lina : "Hurry up, Ranma! I can't wait all century!"
Ranma : "Y...Y-es...."
With a compulsion beyond his strength to break, Lina forces Ranma over to her side again.
Ranma : <Oh man oh man ohmanohmanohman! Akane's gonna KILL me when she finds out!>
Akane stops around a corner and peers around. She spots a pair of scrawny (and bored) looking guards standing guard in front of a huge stone door with the name "LINA" painted in white on a wooden bat hung in front of it. The sounds are coming from that room. Akane hides back around her corner and ponders how to do this right without witnesses.
Akane : "Hm...............distraction distraction distraction........."
Akane folds her arm under her chest and rests her chin in her free hand, scratching her chin. She looks down. Inspiration hits her like a storm.
Akane : <Chalk up nasty idea number 2 for today!>
Another evil smile graces Akane's face as she does some quick changing.
*yaaaaaaaaaaaawn*
The two bored skinny yellowish demon guards are drooping over, tired of standing at their post all year. Looking at his partner, the first guard mutters.
Guard #1 : "Hey, you bored?"
Guard #2 : "Sure."
Guard #1 : "Wanna have some fun?"
Guard #2 : "Sure."
Guard #1 : "What say we leave our posts for a while and entertain ourselves? Anyway, Lady Lina ain't gonna notice."
Guard #2 : "Sure."
Guard #1 : "Right. Let's g-eyowzas!"
The second guard is about to reply his same, bored, monotonous response when the sudden change in his partner's sentence causes him to look in the direction the first guard is looking. His eyes bug out with what he sees.
Around the corner, a drop dead gorgeous girl appears. Large, glittery eyes, perfect pose, absolutely radiating sex appeal. She curls a finger at the two guards and uses a breathy voice.
Girl : "Come on boys, I know you want it....."
The first guard nods vigorously and starts waddling towards the girl.
As he passes his partner though, he stops and looks at him.
Mouth wide open, with more saliva dripping out of it than the Niagra
falls, as well as a bleeding.... nose..... the second guard is standing
there stupidly.
Guard #2 : "Gah...gah....gaa...."
*pak*
The first guard smacks the drooling guard's head.
Guard #1 : "Hey, ya stupid ass! Get off your butt and let's go!"
The second guard nods stupidly and walks towards the girl as well.
Holding a mallet behind her, Akane hides around the bend and peeks around the corner and waits for the two stupid guards to make their way towards her. As the two guards come around the bend, she uses that voice again.
Akane : "Come on.... both of you at once."
Akane watches as the shadows of the two guards grow. Suddenly, they appear around the corner and Akane creams them with one blow from her oversized mallet (Rented - Courtesy of Hammerspace Inc. "We fill all your jerk bashing, creep crushing and iinazuke splashing needs! Just 1000 Yen a day!) and as she admires her handiwork for a second, Akane giggles.
Akane : <Wait till I try my voice on Ranma!>
She drops the mallet on the two unconscious guards, and stopping in front of Lina's door, Akane puts her ear to the thick stone door.
Voice : "Yes..... so good. More, Ranma!"
Akane's face screws up in irritation as more.... sounds..... greet her ears. Her battle aura begins to flare up.
Akane : <That jerk Ranma! What's he doing with her!?>
Finally, Akane's temper snaps. She kicks down the door and storms Lina's room with a blue aura glowing around her.
Akane : "RAAAAAAANMAAAAAAAAAAAA NO BAKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Startled, Lina and Ranma stop what they're doing and turn to look at Akane.
Ranma : <Damn! I really, REALLY regret not listening to that old crone now!>