Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The Revolution ❯ Chapter Four ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from any anime series found within this Ranma 1/2 - Mystery crossover. Ranma and the other series (you'll find out what it is in the next chapter) both are licensed by Viz Media in America and are copyright their respective owners.

 

The Revolution

Chapter Four

By Dr. Suekeiichi Kaiton

 

“Ena? What does Ena have to do with anything?” Ranma sat down in a plush chair beside the couch, eyeing the suspicious girl warily. He wouldn't put it past her to have some kind of gassing device or hidden incapacitator on her person; he'd dealt with enough unbalanced people in his life to be prepared for anything. Still, Shi did nothing except tug her collar back down and look at him serenely.

 

“Ena, as you call her is a very…special girl. She is, quite literally, at the centre of everything.”

 

“How do you know this, what the hell're you even saying?” Ranma stood up shaking with rage. “Listen, what the hell are you doing in my house!? I don't want any pseudo-mystical crap about Ena being `important' or `special', hell if she were she wouldn't be working at a crappy boutique downtown!”

 

Shi weathered the storm and reached for a wrapped cookie on the table. As Ranma continued to rant and rave she peeled back the silver-gold wrapper ever so carefully and took a bite of the stiff cookie. Crumbs fell from the remainder of the sweet and tumbled onto her skirt. “I think you're not listening to me. I am here because there are some things you have to know about Ena, some very important things that may shock you.”

 

“I don't have time for this crap, get out and - “

 

“You do not understand how important that girl is to the world…and to me.” Shi placed the remaining cookie on the table and looked up at the young Saotome. “I have been searching for her all over, she has run and hidden herself away at the fringes of the world. Did you ever stop to think why she chose the life she leads? Surely you cannot believe it is anything less than a choice?”

 

“Listen, the last thing I need right now is a stalker.”

 

“Stalking? You think that I'm after you?” Shi smiled seductively and crossed her tanned thighs. Somehow her skin looked darker than normal in the dim light. “You are an attractive man, Ranma, but I'm not after you.” She stood up and pushed him back down into the chair before he could react.

 

He hadn't felt her move, nor sensed anything from her at all. Yesterday he hadn't bothered sensing her out, relying on visual evaluation of her movement and poise, that was a mistake; now when he tried to reach out to touch her aura he realized she had none, or at least one he could not sense. He tried to rise but couldn't even move his foot, his entire body sat boneless and limp. “Magic, you're using magic on me aren't you?”

 

“Of a sort. Not the type of magic you reek of; no, this is pure magic.” Shi sat back down and adjusted her skirt. “Now I want to ask you a few questions about your girlfriend, Ena. Your mother tells me you've been together for the past year or so, do you remember exactly when you first met?”

 

“I'm not going to answer any of your questions until I get some answers! Who are you and what do you want with Ena?” Ranma was frankly surprised that his mouth wasn't paralyzed.

 

Shi sighed and leaned forward on her knees. “I'm a wanderer on the skin of time, a survivor of a time long ago that no one remembers save a select few. I don't want to go into specifics, and you don't need to know them anyway, but Ena is a…a renegade. She abandoned something very important, the mantle of greatness, and chose to exile herself here.”

 

“So she's a criminal? Is that what you're trying to tell me?”

 

“Well…she didn't break any laws, and believe me when I say that I have not come to capture her.” Shi tossed the remaining segment of cookie from the table into the hall. Ranma, paralyzed as he was, could not see why she would do such a thing but it seemed obvious that she wasn't in her right mind. “I want to be with her again, to protect her as I was initially charged to do, and in some way provide recompense for a great injustice I allowed to take place.”

 

“So you're a lesbian who has the hots for my girlfriend but you're both really from a magical kingdom lost in time? Do I have all this right?”

 

Shi's lips drew down in a frown. “You needn't be so sarcastic, whether you believe me or not is entirely up to you.”

 

“So what happened to her? Does this have something to do with the scars?” He thought it best to draw out the conversation as long as possible so he could find some way to strike back.

 

“The scars are part of it but not the whole story.”

 

“So what the hell happened?”

 

Shi frowned and ran a hand through her silky bangs. “I cannot explain it to you bluntly, I can only tell you a story that has the truth buried within…whether you can decipher the truth from the lie depends on an open mind.”

 

“I turn into a girl with cold water and my father becomes a panda,” Ranma deadpanned, “I think I have an open mind for this kind of stuff.”

 

“Very well, I shall tell you about her scars.” She picked up a teacup from the edge of the table; one that Ranma could've sworn wasn't there just a moment ago. “You see there was once a Prince of Earth, a tall man who seduced the `Queen' of his country and begat miracles from her flesh. A princess opposed the Prince, now King, of the Kingdom of Time and Eternity, who was of his flesh as it was said only a direct relative could strike a killing blow. They fought in the shadows of the kingdom and the Queen ignored the squabbles between her `husband' and her `child'. However, so bold had the Prince become that he openly threatened the Princess before the Queen and ran her through with his sword. Her purity sullied by the attack and her body wreaked by blow after blow of the Prince's swords, the Princess left the kingdom in shame, forsaking the Queen and her own friends, and disappeared into the mists of time with the help of a Witch. The Queen, in her grief, abandoned her paramour and ordered a search in the neighboring lands and times for the Princess in vain…until today.”

 

“That really didn't explain much, you know.” Ranma focused his ki into a finger and felt the suede fabric of the chair cushion under his fingertip.

 

“I am sorry but that is the best I can explain without revealing too much. Metaphor is the best I can accomplish unless certain protocols are met.” Shi lifted the cup to her dark lips once more.

 

“Does this `Princess' have something against roses?”

 

The cup slid from suddenly lax fingers and shattered on the edge of the table, showering the rug with porcelain shards and tea.

 

“I'll take that as a yes.” Finally, a weakness in her aloof exterior, perhaps something he could exploit…

 

“The Prince of Earth carried red roses on his person. They were his weapons, sharpened and honed with experience and loss, they were capable of penetrating all but the strongest of wills.” Shi leaned down and collected the pieces of teacup in her saucer.

 

“More riddles…can't you just speak normally? All this beating around the bush is tiring.”

 

“I cannot associate with people such as yourself, those who are carried by the current and tide of Time, save in riddle. Take from my words what you wish.”

 

“So you're some kind of guardian for the Princess, right? And you were charged by the Queen to find the Princess and bring her back to the kingdom? Well what happened to the Prince that did all these horrible things?” He had feeling in his palms now, it was only a matter of time before he broke her spell and took her out.

 

“I am a guardian of sorts…although probably not in the way you understand it, but there are others like me who search for the power of the Princess. Unfortunately the Prince is still alive and well, ruling the kingdom of the Queen while she mourns, dead to her surroundings. His power had made the other guardians forget their duties; I am the last guardian that has any hope of finding the Princess.”

 

“And you think that Ena is the Princess?”

 

“I do. She has a very specific energy signature…you could say magic aura…that rubs off on objects she interacts with, a teapot for example, or a person. I know where she works but I don't want to frighten her so I decided that going through her boyfriend was the optimum situation. I had hoped to convince you of my sincerity but it seems you are still wary.”

 

“Damn right, you buddy-up with my mother to confirm your suspicions, break into my house, paralyze me with your magic, and sit there telling me my girlfriend is a fugitive from some Magic Kingdom. How do you expect me to believe a word you say?”

 

Shi brought a hand to her mouth in thought and tilted her head back. “So you require proof?”

 

“You bet your ass I need substance, not any more of your fucking roundabout metaphors and lies! I need concrete proof I can touch, taste, and feel that what you're spouting is true.” Ranma clenched a fist and felt his upper arm swell; it was just a few minutes more before he could break her spell completely.

 

“What if I show you some magic? What if I transform into my true, magical, form? Would that convince you to consider what I've told you?”

 

“Not really, anyone can change their appearance, I mean look at me! Shape shifting means nothing.”

 

“I think you've gained enough freedom.” She touched his chest with a finger and his limbs froze again. He cursed. “You are right, though, you need more proof than just a simple glamour.”

 

Ranma grit his teeth, angry that he had to start all over. “So this isn't your true form? This isn't what you really look like?”

 

Shi shook her head. “This is what I usually look like with minor modifications. If I revealed my true face to you would that help win your trust?”

 

It was getting late; his mother would be home soon and, as pathetic as it was, she could fell Shi and release him from the magic spell. He just needed to stall her a little longer. “It might.”

 

She stood and began to glow, her body sparkling with motes of magical energy that ran like veins across the surface of her skin. She rose into the air as light seemed to coalesce around her and he heard the rush of powerful forces tearing through his house. Spinning, she shot beams of light across the room and stretched in an arch as ribbons of energy leeched off her flesh. Ranma watched as the woman/girl silently screamed naked in the middle of the cocoon of power, her entire body bare of hair or blemish save a chiseled scar above her navel. Thunder pounded in his ears in time with his heartbeat and the energy began to dissipate, slithering off her nudity like beads of water.

 

Finally she stood in front of him in all her glory, her long purple hair fluttering in a phantom breeze.