Ranma ½ BDAN 10

[Lawra]

Le Gai Paris

Thanking the waitress for the coffee, Elisa Maza scribbled over the pad of paper she had acquired, and groaned. “Come on Avalon, give me some kind of hint here.” Sipping on her coffee, she lamented that French coffee was vastly overrated.

‘Okay, there’s no way that Avalon sent us here so that those two could team up with Demona.’ So far Avalon had been a benevolent force, sending them to various places to do good works. Nothing positive could possibly come from the events of last night. Thailog was here with Demona and both of Elisa’s young traveling companions had left to join up with the red haired gargoyle.

It could be that there was more to this situation than she knew. Perhaps something that Demona was up to that could only be stopped by someone close to her? Maybe Ranma was planning something and was only acting?

‘No.’ She sighed sadly, remembering clearly the look on Ranma’s face before he left. The teen was divided on the issue but in the end had chosen Demona over them.

Elisa couldn’t understand the fascination that Demona seemed to inspire in people. She knew about Goliath’s relationship with the woman but by his own admission she was not the same person that he knew. Ranma, a boy that Demona should have outright hated was a complete mystery. Then again, maybe it was the similarity between the two that kept them together. ‘Misery loving company and all the jazz.’

She still felt that there was something out of sight that was an important piece to this puzzle. Another player in whatever game Thailog and Demona had thought up. ‘My cop sense is tingling, I best not ignore it.’ Would it be someone that they knew or a new enemy to deal with? Was Ranma in on it or could they count on his honorable side to help stop Demona’s plan? What role would Angela play? Could she be counted on to be knowledgeable enough to do the right thing?

X x x x x x

In his gargoyle form, Ranma crouched on ledge surrounding the roof of Demona’s home, hands placed between his feet, and with his tail balancing his position. The sounds of city echoed back to him from the buildings that rose up around him. It was early in the evening with a crescent moon hanging somewhere overhead. At first he had thought this was some dream but it felt too real and vivid, so he remained waiting to see what would happen.

“Demona huh?” A familiar and utterly irritating male voice asked from behind him. Ranma’s wings briefly spread before he spun around to charge at Puck. Grabbing the member of the Third Race by the neck, he threw him up against the doorway that led down into the building.

“What is this?” Ranma demanded with a growl, feeling his eyes light up as adrenaline started to surge through his body.

“So quick to anger, you really won’t get anywhere like that.” Puck somehow slipped from out from between his taloned fingers and floated away to Ranma’s side.

Taking several calming breaths he straightened up and faced Puck. “What do you want?” He growled aggressively.

“What? I can’t stop by to say hello?” The trickster asked, looking like his feelings were actually hurt. Ranma just stared at the magical being without being fooled. “Okay so maybe I had some-- information you might like to hear.”

“Well?” He tapped his thick toes impatiently.

“Your destiny does not lie with Demona-- not in this way.” Puck stated without any lead up.

“My destiny? What do you know about my destiny?” He struggled to reign in his temper. “Or anybody’s destiny for that matter?”

“What? You think I picked you out at Jusenkyo after such a wild romp with Goliath and his crew from the other side of the world? I’m positively flattered that you think I’m so omniscient but alas--!” Puck dramatically exclaimed. “I am incapable of such a feat.”

“Just give me a straight answer.”

“How could I give a straight answer for something so impossibly twisted? I guess I could try-- I suppose.” Puck trailed off and stared off into space.

“Well?” Ranma asked impatiently.

“Oh right, I can occasionally see glimpses. What can be, what has been, what will be.”

“Like the Phoenix Gate.” Ranma knew that the artifact came from the Third Race but had not considered the individuals having powers of time. “So you know what is going to happen here? In Paris?”

“Well I wouldn’t say that.” Puck drawled out. “Demona has an unpredictable streak, ever since she was an adorable little scamp at Castle Wyvern.”

“Wait, you knew her then?” Ranma started to question Puck on any involvement he might have had in Demona’s upbringing when the world around him vanished. “Come back!” He shouted into the darkness before sighing in defeat. “At least wake me up.” He grumbled, floating in complete blackness.

“Ooh one more thing!” Puck snapped back into existence in front of him. “Lighten up, life’s too short to live it with a frowny face.” Reaching up the trickster pulled his cheeks up in a big smile.

“I’ll give you lighten up!” Ranma tried to grab the white haired man but all he ended up doing was spinning around wildly.

“Oh relax-- live a little.” Puck’s disembodied voice teased. “Though I may have said too much-- my happy accident.” (1)

X x x x x x

Draping an arm across his eyes to block out the sun, Ranma lay on the floor trying to come up with explanations for what his dream had just told him. He didn’t think that it was possible for one so vivid to be random. Puck was trying to tell him something he thought was important but Ranma didn’t know if he wanted to be part of the man’s game. Giving up after only a moment of trying to find something comprehensible from Pucks’ rambling, he sat up and stretched his arms.

Demona’s taste in homes had mellowed from what he had seen. While the two story building was in a nice part of town it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary like the large converted apartment building that she owned in New York. It wasn’t fully furnished but it did look like it could be lived in and Ranma wondered if she had ever brought Macbeth here to give him the illusion that she led a human life. Throwing off his blanket, he stepped out on a balcony to the room, and stared out at the city during the day.

“Cold!” He shivered as a gust of wind nearly pushed him over. Hastily rushing back into the room, he shut the door behind him. “Should have got a coat.” Then again going outside in just his boxers and tank top hadn’t been a good idea. Getting dressed in the only set of clothing he had now, having forgotten to grab the rest from the skiff, he left his room to go explore Demona’s home in the day time.

“Kept my shoes this time though.”

The door to Demona’s room was closed and he took a moment of comfort in knowing that she was indeed behind that door. Pausing, he stared at the wood, and struggled with a moment of curiosity. Not once had he ever seen the inside of her room back in Manhattan. What would it look like? Would she have a barren room with only the most basic necessities? Or would it be lavish, matching the upscale business woman persona that she used. A sudden image of some overly girly room with lots of pink and frills entered his head and he stifled a laugh.

‘Hmm.’ Reaching out a hand to slowly rotate the handle, he silently pushed the door open. Inside the only light was the sun streaming through breaks in the thick curtains over the set of two doors leading out onto a balcony. He had expected a room comparable to the one he had slept in but this was at least twice as large. Against the far wall was a king sized bed with Demona curled up on her side underneath a blanket.

In the dim light he couldn’t make out much but it did seem to be a very utilitarian space. Some furniture for keeping clothing was on the wall to the right and there was only an art easel next to a long table near the window. Checking to make sure that Demona was still asleep, he moved over and tried to make out what was drawn on the papers haphazardly spread over the table but had no luck in the low light. Moving over to the easel, he pulled back the curtain to expose it to the light from outside.

It was partially finished with most of it being a vague suggestion of shape while the rest held enough detail for him to notice that it was a gargoyle about to land on a rooftop. Ranma assumed that it was Angela due to the female shape and similar clothing. ‘I wonder when Demona picked up this hobby?’ He was about to let the curtain drop back into place when he heard the subject of his last thought step up behind him.

‘Uh oh.’ He gulped, feeling like the icy hand of death was slowly crawling up his spine

“Curious?” Demona asked in a perfectly calm voice and appeared in his vision to his left. Ranma’s eyes turned and he found that the gargoyle turned human was not wearing a stitch of clothing.

‘Oh come on!’ He averted his eyes quickly. “You’re a-- good artist.” He said finally.

“I draw a picture for every gargoyle I have ever met. It helps me to remember. Seeing as humans have succeeded in erasing us from history.” She explained sadly and closed her eyes.

“Is this Angela?” He asked nervously, wondering when the yelling would begin.

“It is. Thank you so much for bringing her to me.” Demona put a hand on his back. Ranma’s feelings of jealousy over Demona’s attention to Angela returned for a moment before the red head next to him rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m so happy to have you in my life again. Even if we don’t always agree.”

“I am too.” He answered, ignoring Puck’s dream message. He was the only one who could keep Demona from trouble. He would keep her safe from herself from now on.

“But-- why are you sneaking into my room?” She asked slowly with a sharp edge to her question.

“Erk.”

 

[Dumbledork]

lol. Demona painting? Is that canon?

 

[tsilverman]

Probably not, but it does add to her character in my opinion.

 

[Lawra]

Probably not, but it does add to her character in my opinion.

Correct, it's something I came up with early on when I was planning the chapters around the <a href='http://gargoyles.dracandros.com/City_of_Stone_Part_One' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>City of Stone</a> arc but I didn't include it because I wanted to move the story along. And it was just to kick Ranma when he was down. Which was just overkill considering Ranma feels responsible for the hundreds/thousands that died after seeing the broadcast.

My reasoning behind it is that without cameras and with everyone constantly dying around her as she was immortal, Demona would start with something in order to never forget the ones she met because the world was quietly sweeping her race under the rug.

 

[Lawra]

New stuffs and first post updated with current version.

-----

Elisa closed her eyes and breathed out slowly, feeling something hard and metallic press into her lower back. Raising her hands discretely in a gesture of surrender, she didn’t know if there was an actual weapon at her back or not but she had been caught off guard, and making a move to disarm the man behind her would end in failure.

“Fancy meeting you here-- Detective.” Macbeth’s distinctive brogue drawled as he leaning in close to her head.

“Macbeth.” She relaxed slightly upon feeling his weapon pull away, figuring that the Scottish noble wouldn’t shoot her on sight, and certainly not in a crowded street. Elisa had caught sight of the immortal while scoping out Notre Dame Cathedral and decided to follow him. Unfortunately he must have seen her as well, which was why she was now his hostage.

“Your weapon please.” Standing next to her, he discreetly held out a hand.

“Why would I have that here?” She shrugged, knowing that without any ammunition at most she could hope to use it as a bluff in a pinch. “I’m on vacation.”

“Unlikely.” He scoffed and patted her side where the holster was. “Ah ha! Well what do we have here?” Quietly handing over her weapon, Elisa had little choice but be led behind a shop for a talk.

“You’re not going to keep me at gun point?” She asked, noticing that he wasn’t trying to threaten her with force, his lightning gun being put back in it’s holster.

“No point.” He shrugged casually while checking how many bullets were in the magazine and chamber. “No point indeed.” He chuckled once to himself before tossing her weapon back to her. “Now why are you really in Paris? Intrigued by the monster of Notre Dame perhaps?”

“No, Avalon just has a sense of humor.” She remarked tiredly. All she wanted to do was go home but Avalon was refusing to give them up.

“Avalon?” The immortal man asked in confusion.

“You don’t remember?” She had thought the three sisters had given Ranma, Demona, and Macbeth their memories back.

“So you know how I came to be in Paris?” At this point Macbeth did rest his hand on his lightning gun just inside of his coat. “Would you be so kind as to fill me in, Detective?”

“As if you would believe me if I told you.” Brushing some of her long bangs back behind her ear, Elisa wondered at the consequences of filling in the man’s memory blanks. He was an antagonistic presence at the best of times and she couldn’t trust him. But he had a sort of old fashioned honor and could be just the thing she needed to help resolve the situation with Demona if he could be convinced to help out.

“I’ve experienced much in my long life Detective-- and I’ve learned long ago that all things hold a sliver truth. So you will be telling me.” He demanded sternly.

“Alright-- I guess you deserve to know.” Pausing to compose her thoughts, Elisa explained the recent events on Avalon as best she could. From how MacBeth had been controlled following Demona’s stone by night curse on New York to him taking part in assaulting the Avalon clan under the Archmage’s command. Macbeth waited patiently for her to finish, never interrupting, but always with a stern and intense look directed at her.

“And now I’m here.” Macbeth finished after she was done, scratching at his graying beard. “That does certainly explain my arrival next to Demona on a small boat.” The Scottish noble stopped scratching his beard before addressing her. “But why are you here now? It’s been some time since I awoke.”

“LIke I said, Avalon sends you were it thinks you need to be.” Crossing her arms, she decided now might be a good time to try and pry information from the Scottish noble. “Demona and Thailog working together is something that has to be stopped. Not that you would care to help stop them?” She trailed off and left her question hanging.

“Demona--.” He breathed out through his nose loudly, the muscles in his face tightening at the simple mention of the female gargoyles name before Macbeth relaxed. “I’m putting Demona behind me.”

“You what?” Elisa asked incredulously.

“Centuries of torment, Detective.” The immortal man shook his head. “I’ve finally found something to live for again. She’s someone else's problem now.”

“But.” She stared mutely at the elderly man,

“Good bye, Detective. I wish you better luck than I had.” Macbeth smiled good naturedly as he passed her by to leave.

 

[Lanceavalon]

YES!!!!!

It took you three years to get back to it but I'm more then happy considering this is one of my favorite works. I'll have to reread it all when I have some time but I hope you keep updating.

 

[Lanceavalon]

More please?

Or are you already working on something else?

 

[Lawra]

More please?

Or are you already working on something else?

Busy with that garbage called real life and I'm always bouncing between ideas. But there is something on the way.

 

[Lawra]

Sitting on a simple wooden chair inside of Demona’s expansive walk in closet, Ranma watched as the gargoyle turned human applied makeup to her face. Demona was sitting in front of a large vanity and was very careful and deliberate with how she was applying her lipstick. Which Ranma guessed was due to her lack of practice at the feminine art of daily face painting.

“So-- you’re going to have the wedding before sunset, then head to Macbeth’s place to lock him up after changing into a gargoyle?” He summarized, leaning back on his chair into one of the empty spaces where clothes would normally be. Demona’s wardrobe had never been very big, what with her penchant for destroying her clothes every sunset, but the closet may as well have been empty for all that she had put in it.

“Effectively, he wanted his bride to be to know everything about his home, so I had a very thorough tour of the little dungeon he’s constructed underneath.” She answered with a rather cruel smile.

“Why? What’s the point in locking him up anyways?”

“For safe keeping of course. He’s too dangerous to leave free and I can’t kill him without killing myself.” She explained.

“So that part of the story was true.” Ranma remembered hearing the story in Macbeth’s book, about how he had made a deal with Demona and three weird sisters. ‘The same ones who were manipulating me as well.’ He added mentally, still holding a severe grudge against the trio.

“The best lies are made with half-truths.” Demona snorted dismissively. “Why are you so concerned about what’s going to happen to Macbeth? He’s tried to kill you as well.”

“I just don’t like it, alright?” He looked away, not sure why he was so concerned about the ancient man. The time he was under the Weird Sisters control remained hazy but he remembered that Macbeth seemed to be very similar to himself. In a lot of ways far more than Demona did.

“It’s not like I’m going to hurt him, if that’s what you want me to say.” Demona came to stand next to him in order to run a hand through his hair. “He’ll be alive and well-- and somewhere I can keep track of him at all times. It’ll just be for a little while.”

Ranma suspected that it was a lie that she would ever think about releasing him the moment she had him under lock and key. But maybe the fact that she intended to do it at Macbeth’s own home would be to Ranma’s advantage. Demona could believe that he had kept some hidden escape route secret from her.

“There’s no way you can explain away this to Angela.” He tentatively played his trump card, unsure exactly how much weight Demona’s long lost daughter’s opinion would hold.

Demona’s eyes gained a slight red glow around the edges as her hand tightened. “Don’t you dare use her against me.”

“I’m not using her.” He snapped angrily. “She’s going to see you as a monster.”

“He’s the monster!” Demona hissed, getting right up in his face. “He betrayed and killed my clan!”

“So what if he did? You’re the one that’s scheming. You’re the one that’s wrong!” He yelled at her. A tingling letting him know that his eyes were now glowing with a white light.

Demona’s eyes slowly softened as they lost their glow and she quickly took a step back to look away. “And what would you have me do?” She asked hesitantly, sounding unsure of herself.

“Um--.” Ranma floundered for a response, completely thrown off his train of thought by her abrupt shift. “What?”

“I’ve spent nine hundred years running from him. Fleeing from the man who helped kill the last of our kind in Scotland. What am I supposed to do? Is that the existence you think I should have? Hiding like an animal?” Demona voice caught as she sat heavily down on her vanity chair. Her reflection in the mirror showing that she was crying, her mascara starting to make black streaks down her face.

‘She’s crying?’ He stared in shock, his mind unable to process what he was witnessing. Demona was showing a vulnerable side of herself that he didn’t know existed. Opening his mouth to respond, he quickly closed it to kneel down to her left and leaned on the vanity. “Well-- it’s not like you’re alone anymore, right?” He asked and looked up at her, hoping that he had said the right thing.

“Right--.” She forced a smile and reach out to run her fingers through his bangs. “I knew there was a reason I kept you around.” She teased before her brief moment of weakness was gone and she looked into the mirror to see the state of her makeup. “Damn it! Now I have to go wash this off and start all over!” She growled and stood up so fast to leave the closet that she kicked over her chair.

Dropping to the floor to sit with his back against the wall, he crossed his arms. ‘How can I keep this from falling apart?’ He sighed, struggling with the dilemma that he was caught in.

 

[Lanceavalon]

Took a while to get the time to reread this from scratch, having done that I'm glad you've had time to update though you may be one of the few people on this site that still posts fiction. Any chance RL has relaxed enough that you can update more then once every six months?

 

[Dumbledork]

It's been a while. Nice snippet. I like seeing Demona's soft side from time to time... if she isn't faking it. You never know with her.

 

[Lawra]

Took a while to get the time to reread this from scratch, having done that I'm glad you've had time to update though you may be one of the few people on this site that still posts fiction. Any chance RL has relaxed enough that you can update more then once every six months?

RL is relaxed enough and I'm usually puttering around with one thing or another but there are a few... issues I have that like to get into the way, stopping me from getting any significant progress done.

It's been a while. Nice snippet. I like seeing Demona's soft side from time to time... if she isn't faking it. You never know with her.

The most fun part about writing her is always leaving it open if she's serious or not. Along with her skewed morality.