"I see." Cologne was resting on her staff, considering
everything that Mousse and Shampoo had told her.
Both of them were obviously worn out, more than could be
accounted for by the exertions they had described. "You have
both acted foolishly. Even if he does not truly seek to make
her his bride, Son-in-Law obviously cares deeply for the
okinomiaki chef. I have no doubt that he meant what he said."
"All stupid Mousse's fault. Idiot duck-boy should have
stayed home and played in pond, then Shampoo not be in this
mess."
"Shampoo, I...I'm sorry. It's just that when I saw Ranma
attacking you, I saw red."
"But it not husband. It stupid Spatula-girl."
"I know that now. But I was so sure it was him...."
Cologne took the opportunity to interject a question. "What
on Earth possessed you to go there without your glasses,
anyway?"
Mousse looked sheepish. "It was my concern for Shampoo.
When that ninja told me she had gone over to the Tendou Dojo, I
knew there was trouble."
"Ninja? Shampoo, didn't you say that a ninja told you about
Ukyou's attempt to seduce Son-in-Law?"
"That right. Sneaky man who work for crazy gymnastics girl."
"I see. It seems that there is more here than..." Suddenly,
Cologne's speculations came to a halt. "Lean forward, Boy."
Mousse bowed in her direction, braced for the old ghoul's
attack. He was surprised then, when she merely flicked one hand
across his shoulder, sending up a few flecks of silver powder.
"Ai-yah! That strangest dandruff Shampoo ever see!"
"No, child, it is not dandruff--And it is on you, as well."
A second flick from Cologne showed the truth of her statement.
"What is, then?"
"I'm not certain. Let me try something...."
Cologne snatched the flecks from the air and began to work
furiously with a mortar and pestle. She poured a few drops of
reddish fluid into the dust, and nodded to herself when the
mixture turned green.
"What that mean?"
"It means, child, that I was right. The powder is the
product of an American entertainment firm, developed to enhance
the emotional impact of the rides in their amusement parks.
Mixed with different compounds, it can produce a wide variety of
emotional responses through the subject's sense of smell. In
it's raw form, like this, it serves as an emotional intensifier.
"Since it is only able to enhance the emotions already there,
it is called Neutral Scent. In its grip, even masters of the
martial arts would find themselves overwhelmed by their own
emotions, be they lust, jealousy or rage."
"That explain why Shampoo and Mousse act so wierd!"
"Yes, child, and it indicates a sinister motive. Note that I
am now effectively prevented from speaking to Son-in-Law, which
means that I cannot tell him what I have learned of the
Illuminati presence in Nerima."
"Ai-yah! So what we do now?"
"You two must pack. As I said, it is likely that Son-in-Law
meant what he said, and it would be best if you both left the
city for awhile. I doubt he will leave Nerima as long as Ukyou
is in the hospital, so you should be all right."
"But what about you, Cologne?"
Cologne turned to Mousse. "I must try to go to the dojo and
tell someone there what I have learned. Without that
information, they will be helpless."
"But is that not dangerous, Great-grandmother?"
"Yes, but less so for me than for the two of you. Now go!
Pack, and be quick about it. There is much you must do before
the dawn."
Cologne pole-hopped into the kitchen to prepare herself. She
was so distracted by her own plans that she failed to notice the
expression that passed over Shampoo's face. The Amazon girl
reached out and pulled Mousse's ear close to her lips. "We go
and follow her tonight, you understand? I vow to protect
Great-grandmother, and that what I mean to do!"
Mousse sighed internally, for he realized that she was in no
mood to be talked out of this, and that she would need his help. "Okay, Shampoo. I'll help."
******************************************************
Soun Tendo wept silently in the darkness of the attic.
{Curse you, Master. May your soul burn in Hell for what you
have done to me.}
He had struggled, in an epic fashion, for ten, maybe fifteen
minutes, but the outcome was a foregone conclusion from the
moment his darling Kasumi had announced her intention to take a
bath. Even as tears spilled freely down his face, fluid of
another sort splattered obscenely against the attic floor.
Soun's whisper was inaudible. "Kasumi..."
Suddenly light spilled in from the trap door leading to the
hallway.
As Soun scrabbled like mad to cover his shame, Genma rose
into the dark room. "Tendou, we need to talk."
******************************************************
Cologne pole-hopped down the darkened street. The
streetlamps were out, and the overcast sky added nothing to the
visibility.
"Predictable."
The voice was so absent of tones, of any emotion save
contempt, that it revealed nothing about the speaker, not even
gender.
The speaker stood at the far end of the block, barring
Cologne's path to the Tendou dojo.
If the night was dark, then the shroud of power which
engulfed the speaker was Dark, as if the mere absence of light
could be made into a solid substance.
"I knew you would try to meddle one last time, old crone. I
cannot allow you to interrupt my plans, not when I am so close
to victory. You and those other two have been useful, but now
you are expendable."
"Then you intend to bar my way?" Cologne's staff tipped
until her feet landed on the ground, and she began to slowly
spin the weapon.
"Of course. And don't think that twig will save you. The
power I wield is far beyond your meager abilities."
"Be that as it may, I must try to pass."
"Of course. As I said--Predictable."
The two opponents squared off, looking like a pair of
gunslingers from the American westerns. Battle auras formed,
coalescing into larger-than life images of their progenitors. A
quick comparison of the two made it clear that the old woman was
outmatched.
"No hurt Great-grandmother!" Shampoo leapt at the shrouded
figure, bonbori set to swing down in a vicious attack.
A single twitch of the Illuminatus' small finger sent the
girl flying backward into a wall.
"Shampoo!" Mousse ran over to the fallen girl, cradling her
in his arms.
Cologne chose this moment to strike, hoping that even the
minimal distraction provided by Shampoo's attack would leave an
opening.
It did not.
The shrouded one attacked without mercy, striking the old
woman over and over again. The black aura seemed to drain the
very life from the Amazonian.
Standing over the crone's crumpled body, the figure laughed. "Now I shall finish you off, and your interference will come to
an end."
Shampoo, revived through Mousse's efforts, screamed, causing
the figure to glance over at her.
"You no hurt her! She all Shampoo have!" Shampoo's leap was
cut short when lengths of chain wrapped around her limbs andtorso. "Mousse! Why you do that?"
The boy in the white robe took up a position facing the
shrouded figure. "I cannot allow you to kill Shampoo. No
matter what you do, I shall not let you pass."
"Kill Shampoo?" Again the voice was filled with that same
horrible contempt. "Why, I have no intention of killing any of
you, now. Once I have subdued you, boy, I shall be able to put
you to much better use than that."
Mousse lauched a desperate attack, hurling every last weapon
in his inventory, all of them brushed aside without a second
glance from the dark figure.
"And now that that's out of the way..." Mousse felt his jaw
snap at the impact of a single strand of darkness.
The dark figure gestured, and the street was empty, as if the
combatants had never even been there.
******************************************************
"So how much do you remember, Nabiki?" Akane was sitting
beside her sister's hospital bed, a cheerful face trying to mask
the anxiety she felt. It was two days after Nabiki had
been brough to the hospital, and Akane had just finished
telling her about the fight between Shampoo and
Ukyou.
"Not much at all, really. Everything after Kodachi showed up
and clubbed me is a blur. Kind of a good thing, considering how
banged up I am. I'm not sure I'd *want* to remember all
that..."
"Perhaps that's just for the best, then." Akane stood up.
"Is there anything else I can do for you? I'm going to school
today--Miss Hinako kind of insisted that Ranma and I take turns
here, so neither of us misses out on too much classwork."
"'Kind of' insisted? Isn't that like saying that the Nazis
were 'kind of' interested in power?" Nabiki's smirk put a lot
of ease in Akane's mind. It was a sure sign that her sister was
still intact, even under all those bandages.
"Anyway, I've got to be going, but Ranma and Ryouga are both
outside."
"Oh, good. Could you send both of them in? I've got
something to talk with them about."
"Sure. No problem." This time, Akane's smile was hiding
curiousity.
There were so many questions left unaswered after the attack. {Why did Kodachi gone after Nabiki like that? Why had Nabiki
gone to Kuno's grave in the first place? Does any of it have
something to do with her reason for talking with Ranma and
Ryouga?}
Thoughts whirling, she went down the hall to the waiting
room.
***********************************************************
Ranma stood in the center of the graveyard, the blood-red sky
above reminding him of the mixture of wine and blood on the
floor of the Kuno's cellar.
A panda frolicked between and around the tombstones, trampling
the flowers placed in memory of the dead, but Ranma had no use
for a dumb animal, and continued on his way.
After about ten feet, he felt a tugging at his waist and
sighed. Reaching down, he tried again to remove the manacle
that was around his belt line, but it was just too strong. He
gave in, reached around behind himself and pulled on the chain,
reeling it in. When the red-haired girl at the other end of the
chain reached him, he picked her up and laid her over his
shoulders. With his burden so settled, he continued anew.
A pig ran up and began gnawing on his heels. He kicked the
wretched creature away, and resumed his walk.
A tall, handsome man kneeled next to a broken cash register,
weeping a river that flowed to the horizon. Ranma thought it
strange that anyone would care about a cold and calculating
machine, but to each his own. He shrugged, waded through the
stream, and passed on by.
A beautiful woman, tall and graceful, stood in his path. She
wielded an ancient katana, and seemed poised to strike. Her
eyes were covered with a fleece, though, and she failed to
notice him.
In the distance, he saw the elaborate tombstone, jutting up
from the Earth like a challenge to Heaven, and he started to
make his way toward it.
A pig began gnawing on his heels. He kicked it away, and
continued onward.
A wall of thorns and roses, black and red, rose up before him,
barring his path. As he watched, the black constricted around
the red, which withered and died, pulling the black down after
it. His path clear again, he continued onward.
A horde of people and... things came running up, seeking to
trample him beneath their weight. He dodged and jumped until
they passed, and then continued.
He came to a small, deep pond. The water was very clear, and
he could see a young girl at the bottom. She seemed trapped,
and he wanted to go to her, to help her, but he realized that
the water was cold, and the girl on his back would only drag him
down to his own doom, so he shook his head sadly and passed by.
At last he arrived at the tombstone. It was, of course,
shaped like a giant spatula, blade down. A cat and a duck
played around the base. Blood stained the cat's paws and the
duck's beak. An old woman looked on, chuckling at their antics.
Kicking the pig away, Ranma dashed at them, screaming, "I
thought I told you to get out of Nerima!"
The crone's staff came up and tapped his chest, bringing him
to an abrupt halt. "In case you haven't noticed, we aren't in
Nerima anymore. We're in the Dreamscape, and I must say, I've
seen subtler images in the dreams of accountants."
"What are you talking about? Why are you here?" Ranma's
voice cracked with strain.
"Shampoo, Mousse and I have been captured. We are being held
by the one who is responsible for your problems--The
Illuminatus."
"So who is it, already? I feel like pounding on someone, and
it's getting boring kicking this pig," he said, as he casually
suited deed to word.
"Their identity is unknown to me yet--The information would do
you no good, anyway, and there is more important news I must
give you. You must understand your foe, you must understand the
ways of the Illuminati."
"OK, if that's the way you want to play it. Spill."
"The Illuminati derive their power by siphoning off the Qi of
others."
"Don't you mean the Ki?" {Or is it Chi?}
"Quiet, Boy, don't interrupt me with trivialities." The
statement was reinforced with a bonk on the head.
"Now, the techniques of the Illuminati are such that they can
only feed off the Qi of those they have successfully
manipulated. By controlling their victims' actions, they
acquire a measure their power.
"The Illuminati were formed in the West, and this is their
first major attempt to gain power in Eastern Asia. The
Illuminati get the most energy from those who are in a negative
emotional state--rage, frustration or despair.
"From what I have learned, I belive we are dealing with
someone who is still developing their personal might, as opposed
to trying to establish control over the populace. Such an
Initiate must establish complete control over a small group,
such as you and your friends, before moving on to rank within
the organization.
"Remember, the key to victory is to block out all the negative
feelings that feed your foe. If you cannot do this, then all
will be lost."
"OK, OK, I got it already. Now how do I find out who this
great and powerful foe is, anyway?" the young man asked.
Cologne sighed. "I think the pig is trying to tell you
something."
Ranma looked down, just as a wave of cold water washed over
the scene, making the landscape run and blur like chalk sidewalk
drawings in the rain. "C'mon, Ranma," the pig said in Ryouga's
voice. "Akane said that Nabiki wanted to see both of us."
Ranma sat bolt upright on the waiting room sofa, spluttering
and adjusting his clothes to fit his female form. "Whaddja do
that for?"
"Akane said if I couldn't get you up after fifteen minutes, a
cup of cold water would do the trick. You know, you are really
hard to wake up. I think you hit me more times than in our last
fight." Ryouga turned and walked out the door, leaving Ranma
little choice but to head down the hall after him.
***********************************************************
Chapter Ten
Thoughts and Reflections Note to self: Remove the Qi/Ki joke before posting, cute as it is. It breaks up the mood. Well, that's my first dream sequence. Man, those are a bitch. Hope I wasn't too boring. I have hopes, at this time, of getting this done in fifteen. Next time I try to do a one-shot, I'm gonna just shut up.
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