Ranma ½ Divine Blood
- Thread starter Thrythlind
- Start date
I'm hoping I implied he's currently operating under the effects of the Furies influence...
he'll clear his head of that eventually, by then he'll think he's gone to far to turn back
and yeah, Mara right now is biting her nails thinking "it's just a second time, and it's a minor spell, and she shouldn't need it after this, and if she does there'll be a safe time for me to go and grab her and say 'not that one'"
but I wanted to limit the mental rambling in order to avoid diminishing the impact of that small last bit...(ended an ff.net chapter with this)
he'll clear his head of that eventually, by then he'll think he's gone to far to turn back
and yeah, Mara right now is biting her nails thinking "it's just a second time, and it's a minor spell, and she shouldn't need it after this, and if she does there'll be a safe time for me to go and grab her and say 'not that one'"
but I wanted to limit the mental rambling in order to avoid diminishing the impact of that small last bit...(ended an ff.net chapter with this)
Ranma never exactly thought things through before he did them when she (he?) was young, either. Deimosu is just following in what's now a three-generation tradition.
As for the Fomorians... NOT-nice Celtic demons. Don't know about the Wild Hunt being Celtic, exactly, and certainly not Fomorian; there's a similar tradition in most of Europe, and the name I'd heard of attached to the British version was Herne the Hunter- but there are as many Huntsmen as there are versions of the Hunt. ^_^ Gotta love the old traditions.
As for the Fomorians... NOT-nice Celtic demons. Don't know about the Wild Hunt being Celtic, exactly, and certainly not Fomorian; there's a similar tradition in most of Europe, and the name I'd heard of attached to the British version was Herne the Hunter- but there are as many Huntsmen as there are versions of the Hunt. ^_^ Gotta love the old traditions.
And there is the problem with the Old Gods intervention, after all they want to know who is the most powerfull of their children, so sooner or later they are going to start making troubles just to test them, and if they think that Ranma is going to testify against them to the new administration they will kill her and put her soul into a jar, or something similar.
But the most dangerous thing about them is that they really don't have an agenda other than getting fun and remembering the old good days, so it is probable that they will not realize that there are other forces in place, demonic forces, until it is too late for the mortals and the spectators both above and bellow.
And there are the Musk, who are basically horny idiots with delusions of grandeur, but while Herb and company were both smarter and less impulsive (And yes, I'm aware who are they, and what they did), his son is far more dangerous and is getting the attention of the wrong parties, both Amalgam and Mithril, and later the Chinas. So is a matter of time until the Amazons and maybe the Phoenix people join this political nightmare.
But the most dangerous thing about them is that they really don't have an agenda other than getting fun and remembering the old good days, so it is probable that they will not realize that there are other forces in place, demonic forces, until it is too late for the mortals and the spectators both above and bellow.
And there are the Musk, who are basically horny idiots with delusions of grandeur, but while Herb and company were both smarter and less impulsive (And yes, I'm aware who are they, and what they did), his son is far more dangerous and is getting the attention of the wrong parties, both Amalgam and Mithril, and later the Chinas. So is a matter of time until the Amazons and maybe the Phoenix people join this political nightmare.
Actually, you just reminded me of something: who was it that told... Parsley? is that the kid's name?... about Naiki, Eija, and Kaname being suitable mates, and when is Ranma going to go talk to Herb about his child rearing habits?
I can't imagine that Hecate was the one who told them, because, as far as we know, the entire concept of Whispered is a spanner in Hecate's works.
I can't imagine that Hecate was the one who told them, because, as far as we know, the entire concept of Whispered is a spanner in Hecate's works.
Basil...and that would be Zeus that sent him the dream
I was sorely tempted to throw him into the works here, but decided that Kuno and the Furies were enough to scatter things.
Herb, right now, is looking to go to Nerima to see if his kid's there. (Herb doesn't know about Ranma's disappearance, he's been out of the loop) Haven't really decided who Herb married yet, thinking maybe one of the OAV Tendos.
Basil is recuperating and heading to Japan, probably Nerima fairly soon.
However, I want to do some more Amalgam/Mithril stuff to get Sousuke more screen time before I bring the Musk Jrs back in. Though, having Basil take on Sousuke again would be interesting.
And Ranma hasn't gone to see Herb yet for the same reason he hasn't talked to the former Tendos quite yet.
In fact, I think I might have the former Tendos pass the word along that Herb is looking for information after he shows up.
I was sorely tempted to throw him into the works here, but decided that Kuno and the Furies were enough to scatter things.
Herb, right now, is looking to go to Nerima to see if his kid's there. (Herb doesn't know about Ranma's disappearance, he's been out of the loop) Haven't really decided who Herb married yet, thinking maybe one of the OAV Tendos.
Basil is recuperating and heading to Japan, probably Nerima fairly soon.
However, I want to do some more Amalgam/Mithril stuff to get Sousuke more screen time before I bring the Musk Jrs back in. Though, having Basil take on Sousuke again would be interesting.
And Ranma hasn't gone to see Herb yet for the same reason he hasn't talked to the former Tendos quite yet.
In fact, I think I might have the former Tendos pass the word along that Herb is looking for information after he shows up.
Tessa sat alone in the bare, rusty room sighing to herself and hugging her knees. She couldn't help but wonder if she would have been captured had Sergeant Sagara been the one to come to her rescue instead of Miss Satomi's daughter.
That was unfair though.
For a rookie, Naiki had done a decent job.
All in all it was a much better showing than the girl had had in Korea going by Sousuke's reports. Granted, bodyguard and escape and evade were not Tessa's specialties so she wasn't certain if her opinions were appropriate or not.
In any case, Naiki was likely to be unconscious at the warehouse and she was here, alone, in enemy hands.
The door opened up on the makeshift cell they'd placed her in.
"Get up," the gunman coming in said. "And come with me."
Tessa started to stand when a familiar sensation washed over her. The world immediately about Tessa became somewhat distant and hazy, the next few words by the armed thug blurred by indecipherably.
She felt Naiki react with discomfort again, obviously not having Tessa's experience with Resonance, but this time she didn't break the connection.
Miss Satomi Tessa thought as she followed the gunman. What are you doing?
I'm tracking you down, Sousuke and friends are with me.
"I'm tracking you down, Sousuke and friends are with me."
You don't have to speak aloud when you talk to me this way.
Oh. Sor...err...sorry.
"Oh. Sor...err..."
She says I don't have to talk out lou...right. Anything you can tell us?
She says I don't have to talk out lou...right.
Tessa related what she'd seen so far, that the terrorist leader was a young woman in her early twenties in a mecha-pilot crash suit. They were on a cargo freighter of some kind.
Her thoughts were occasionally interrupted as she heard the echoing thoughts of Naiki giving whoever was driving directions and reporting information.
Staying connected this long is dangerous, Miss Satomi. Tessa warned mentally. If you have a good lock on my position you should break off now. Or just resonate again later.
There are dangers to this spell too, Naiki responded.
Uncalled for, a trace of worry leaked across the Resonance to Tessa in the form of a memory.
"You shouldn't cast black magic,"
Tessa could remember a sorcerer saying as if she'd been there to hear it.
"Every time you use a black magic formulae you owe a favor to whatever demon empowers that spell. Depending on the demon and the spell, that could be annoyance or enslavement."
Tessa's eyes widened briefly, not just at the content of the memory, but at the clarity of it as well.
"Get in there," the gunman ordered, shoving Tessa ahead of him.
The lavender-haired officer gasped as she saw Lieutenant Commander Kalinin lying on the bed in the room.
"Mr. Kalinin!" Tessa gasped outloud, simultaneously relaying the thought to Naiki.
"All right, old man," the thug said. "Tell us everything you know about the lambda driver."
****
"There's some old guy named Kalinin there," Naiki said, gritting her teeth. "Turn at the next exit."
"Is he alive?" Sousuke asked.
"Huh?" Naiki asked. "Oh, he's hurt, but he's alive."
Trying to focus on three mental tasks at once like this was more difficult than she thought.
The police sirens blaring behind them weren't a help.
All the relevant past reports were sitting in front of her.
She'd pegged Ranma Satomi as a possible Sensitive. Given Sergeant Sagara's other reports she should have done so for her children. And that certainly increased the chances that someone would try something.
"This is my fault. I shouldn't have relaxed."
What's that? What's my fault? Naiki thought.
There was a delay before the answer came and Naiki had a filtered image of what was happening in the room where Tessa and Kalinin were managing their escape.
Damn it, I think it's happening already, too quick, Tessa said. We need to break off the Resonance now!
She was trying to break the resonance on her end, but it seemed the "spell" driving this Resonance wasn't willing to let go.
But we're almost there
Then stop concentrating so hard, Tessa demanded. If you keep pushing so hard, our minds our going to be permanently tangled!
What?
Break off the resonance! the command rang solidly through Naiki's head, echoing like the sound of a great bell.
With the location of the ship in view, the demi-goddess reluctantly let the spell drop away and her contact with Tessa along with it.
At last there was only a trickle of emotion at the back of Naiki's mind.
****
With a sigh of relief Tessa felt the presence of the other girl fade into the background. Dwindling into just a trace of alien emotions before it should have vanished away completely.
It didn't vanish away but stayed muted in the background.
"Something wrong, Captain?" Kalinin asked as they moved through the ship to see what the terrorists had in the hold of the ship.
"Nothing," Tessa said as they pounded into the hold and froze to a stop.
Standing before them was a massive red AS the likes of which Captain Telarossa couldn't have imagined as possible until now.
"I should have let her hold the Resonance a minute or two more," the prodigy whispered.
"Pardon, Ma'am?" Kalinin asked.
****
Outside the pickup truck drove up the ramp and into the ship as Mao's M-9 came visible and held the dock against the gathered police officers.
"Let's go," Sousuke said, nodding to Kurz as he listened to the mini-drama outside confirm that the police weren't about to try to get in past the M-9. "Naiki, lead the way, but let Kurz and I handle the firefight."
"Last I checked, Sousuke, I outranked you," Kurz noted. "So quit ac...
"And I out rank both of you!" Mao said over radio. "So you get your asses going now!"
Kurz winced as Sousuke simply accepted the instruction and followed behind Naiki, sniffing at the air to find Tessa and Takuma's physical scent.
That was unfair though.
For a rookie, Naiki had done a decent job.
All in all it was a much better showing than the girl had had in Korea going by Sousuke's reports. Granted, bodyguard and escape and evade were not Tessa's specialties so she wasn't certain if her opinions were appropriate or not.
In any case, Naiki was likely to be unconscious at the warehouse and she was here, alone, in enemy hands.
The door opened up on the makeshift cell they'd placed her in.
"Get up," the gunman coming in said. "And come with me."
Tessa started to stand when a familiar sensation washed over her. The world immediately about Tessa became somewhat distant and hazy, the next few words by the armed thug blurred by indecipherably.
She felt Naiki react with discomfort again, obviously not having Tessa's experience with Resonance, but this time she didn't break the connection.
Miss Satomi Tessa thought as she followed the gunman. What are you doing?
I'm tracking you down, Sousuke and friends are with me.
"I'm tracking you down, Sousuke and friends are with me."
You don't have to speak aloud when you talk to me this way.
Oh. Sor...err...sorry.
"Oh. Sor...err..."
She says I don't have to talk out lou...right. Anything you can tell us?
She says I don't have to talk out lou...right.
Tessa related what she'd seen so far, that the terrorist leader was a young woman in her early twenties in a mecha-pilot crash suit. They were on a cargo freighter of some kind.
Her thoughts were occasionally interrupted as she heard the echoing thoughts of Naiki giving whoever was driving directions and reporting information.
Staying connected this long is dangerous, Miss Satomi. Tessa warned mentally. If you have a good lock on my position you should break off now. Or just resonate again later.
There are dangers to this spell too, Naiki responded.
Uncalled for, a trace of worry leaked across the Resonance to Tessa in the form of a memory.
"You shouldn't cast black magic,"
Tessa could remember a sorcerer saying as if she'd been there to hear it.
"Every time you use a black magic formulae you owe a favor to whatever demon empowers that spell. Depending on the demon and the spell, that could be annoyance or enslavement."
Tessa's eyes widened briefly, not just at the content of the memory, but at the clarity of it as well.
"Get in there," the gunman ordered, shoving Tessa ahead of him.
The lavender-haired officer gasped as she saw Lieutenant Commander Kalinin lying on the bed in the room.
"Mr. Kalinin!" Tessa gasped outloud, simultaneously relaying the thought to Naiki.
"All right, old man," the thug said. "Tell us everything you know about the lambda driver."
****
"There's some old guy named Kalinin there," Naiki said, gritting her teeth. "Turn at the next exit."
"Is he alive?" Sousuke asked.
"Huh?" Naiki asked. "Oh, he's hurt, but he's alive."
Trying to focus on three mental tasks at once like this was more difficult than she thought.
The police sirens blaring behind them weren't a help.
All the relevant past reports were sitting in front of her.
She'd pegged Ranma Satomi as a possible Sensitive. Given Sergeant Sagara's other reports she should have done so for her children. And that certainly increased the chances that someone would try something.
"This is my fault. I shouldn't have relaxed."
What's that? What's my fault? Naiki thought.
There was a delay before the answer came and Naiki had a filtered image of what was happening in the room where Tessa and Kalinin were managing their escape.
Damn it, I think it's happening already, too quick, Tessa said. We need to break off the Resonance now!
She was trying to break the resonance on her end, but it seemed the "spell" driving this Resonance wasn't willing to let go.
But we're almost there
Then stop concentrating so hard, Tessa demanded. If you keep pushing so hard, our minds our going to be permanently tangled!
What?
Break off the resonance! the command rang solidly through Naiki's head, echoing like the sound of a great bell.
With the location of the ship in view, the demi-goddess reluctantly let the spell drop away and her contact with Tessa along with it.
At last there was only a trickle of emotion at the back of Naiki's mind.
****
With a sigh of relief Tessa felt the presence of the other girl fade into the background. Dwindling into just a trace of alien emotions before it should have vanished away completely.
It didn't vanish away but stayed muted in the background.
"Something wrong, Captain?" Kalinin asked as they moved through the ship to see what the terrorists had in the hold of the ship.
"Nothing," Tessa said as they pounded into the hold and froze to a stop.
Standing before them was a massive red AS the likes of which Captain Telarossa couldn't have imagined as possible until now.
"I should have let her hold the Resonance a minute or two more," the prodigy whispered.
"Pardon, Ma'am?" Kalinin asked.
****
Outside the pickup truck drove up the ramp and into the ship as Mao's M-9 came visible and held the dock against the gathered police officers.
"Let's go," Sousuke said, nodding to Kurz as he listened to the mini-drama outside confirm that the police weren't about to try to get in past the M-9. "Naiki, lead the way, but let Kurz and I handle the firefight."
"Last I checked, Sousuke, I outranked you," Kurz noted. "So quit ac...
"And I out rank both of you!" Mao said over radio. "So you get your asses going now!"
Kurz winced as Sousuke simply accepted the instruction and followed behind Naiki, sniffing at the air to find Tessa and Takuma's physical scent.
Her name was Seina and she was the leader of A-21.
Once upon a time, she was a simple delinquent with a criminal record.
She likely would have become the proverbial "product of the system" much earlier had it not been for one man: Seiji Takechi.
An ex-mercenary, he'd taken them in, taught them survival and war tactics.
He taught them self-reliance and self-respect.
And when he was through, they had no thought for crime.
They could have gone on and finished their school careers and then taken those skills to other jobs when their juvenile records were expunged.
Military, law enforcements, movie stunts and consulting, wilderness guides.
There were a lot of possiblities.
Then the reporters came to A-21's training grounds and through their own incompetence and unwelcome nosiness, they tampered with equipment and people died.
The survivors of the reporting crew claimed that A-21 attacked them and A-21 was marked as a terrorist organization.
Their leader, Seiji Takechi hung himself in prison.
And they became criminals anyway.
Now, they were so close to their revenge and things were getting a lot more dangerous than she had expected.
Six men dead to what her comrades described as a green-haired school girl, probably some sort of undercover super-soldier.
Another two had died when one of her own had panicked and fired a rocket without warning.
And beyond that there was the old man they had taken prisoner.
He had a nagging way of seeing through her to the heart of her motives and thoughts. It was a good thing that he was a prisoner and not out there acting against them.
They'd lucked out in that way.
At least she thought so until she went to check on the interrogation of the man, this time using that teenie bopper secretary as a bit of leverage.
Another man down.
Nine.
Nine!
There was only her, Takuma and two others left to fight.
Four of them left to finish their revenge.
They'd long ago taken care of the specific individuals responsible for the tragedy and their leader's death.
Now all that was left was to get revenge on the people of this sick country.
She pulled up a radio and talked into it.
"Is Takuma ready? Get to the hold, our guests are loose and I can guess where they're going. Get Haichi and meet me in the hold."
Drawing her gun, she started running, taking an alternate route than the straight away so she wouldn't accidentally stumble on their enemies on her own.
The sound of sirens rang in from the outside and she gritted her teeth in realization that the police had arrived.
It didn't take long to meet up with the remainder of her comrades, sending the two remaining soldiers around to another entrance so that they could come in from two directions.
They were just coming to the cargo hold when the voice of that girl came to her.
"What is that? I've never seen an AS like that before."
At that, before the girl's leader could answer her, Seina and her group stepped into view.
"That's behemoth," she said, gun pointed out.
Takuma got a wild expression in his face and started to open his mouth to speak, but with so many dead and police already here, they didn't have time for that.
"Get in the cockpit now," Seina said. "We'll hold here to give you time."
"But, I need..." Takuma started.
"You need to do as I say!" Seina snapped. "Go! Get our revenge, make me happy."
"Y...yes Seina," he said. "I will. I will!"
The boy started running for the cockpit to the behemoth.
"But if you get on that AS, it will take you over!" Tessa shouted out.
"That's exactly the point," Seina said. "Once we release Behemoth, no one can stop it."
"And you'll have your revenge on this city for the death of Seji Takechi," Kalinin reasoned.
"Exactly right, old man," Seina said with a smirk as she heard Takuma climbing up into the cockpit.
And then the gunfire started as two figures in AS crash-suits stormed in on a walkway across the hold, guns at the ready as her last two comrades besides Takuma fell.
Grimacing she turned to see the old man and the girl with him making a run for it, and, in her extremity of emotion, she fired wildly, doing nothing but encouraging them to move faster.
Seina was reloading and calming herself down when a green-haired figure leaped across the hold and landed lightly on the railing next to her.
In half a breath's time, her pistol was falling to the hold below and her arm was shattered. Death was following up quickly behind the demi-goddess's hands, but interrupted when the whole ship shook and Seina's would be killer had hop away and recover her footing before resuming an attack.
And, as the Behemoth moved, Naiki and the others had more to worry about than Seina.
Once upon a time, she was a simple delinquent with a criminal record.
She likely would have become the proverbial "product of the system" much earlier had it not been for one man: Seiji Takechi.
An ex-mercenary, he'd taken them in, taught them survival and war tactics.
He taught them self-reliance and self-respect.
And when he was through, they had no thought for crime.
They could have gone on and finished their school careers and then taken those skills to other jobs when their juvenile records were expunged.
Military, law enforcements, movie stunts and consulting, wilderness guides.
There were a lot of possiblities.
Then the reporters came to A-21's training grounds and through their own incompetence and unwelcome nosiness, they tampered with equipment and people died.
The survivors of the reporting crew claimed that A-21 attacked them and A-21 was marked as a terrorist organization.
Their leader, Seiji Takechi hung himself in prison.
And they became criminals anyway.
Now, they were so close to their revenge and things were getting a lot more dangerous than she had expected.
Six men dead to what her comrades described as a green-haired school girl, probably some sort of undercover super-soldier.
Another two had died when one of her own had panicked and fired a rocket without warning.
And beyond that there was the old man they had taken prisoner.
He had a nagging way of seeing through her to the heart of her motives and thoughts. It was a good thing that he was a prisoner and not out there acting against them.
They'd lucked out in that way.
At least she thought so until she went to check on the interrogation of the man, this time using that teenie bopper secretary as a bit of leverage.
Another man down.
Nine.
Nine!
There was only her, Takuma and two others left to fight.
Four of them left to finish their revenge.
They'd long ago taken care of the specific individuals responsible for the tragedy and their leader's death.
Now all that was left was to get revenge on the people of this sick country.
She pulled up a radio and talked into it.
"Is Takuma ready? Get to the hold, our guests are loose and I can guess where they're going. Get Haichi and meet me in the hold."
Drawing her gun, she started running, taking an alternate route than the straight away so she wouldn't accidentally stumble on their enemies on her own.
The sound of sirens rang in from the outside and she gritted her teeth in realization that the police had arrived.
It didn't take long to meet up with the remainder of her comrades, sending the two remaining soldiers around to another entrance so that they could come in from two directions.
They were just coming to the cargo hold when the voice of that girl came to her.
"What is that? I've never seen an AS like that before."
At that, before the girl's leader could answer her, Seina and her group stepped into view.
"That's behemoth," she said, gun pointed out.
Takuma got a wild expression in his face and started to open his mouth to speak, but with so many dead and police already here, they didn't have time for that.
"Get in the cockpit now," Seina said. "We'll hold here to give you time."
"But, I need..." Takuma started.
"You need to do as I say!" Seina snapped. "Go! Get our revenge, make me happy."
"Y...yes Seina," he said. "I will. I will!"
The boy started running for the cockpit to the behemoth.
"But if you get on that AS, it will take you over!" Tessa shouted out.
"That's exactly the point," Seina said. "Once we release Behemoth, no one can stop it."
"And you'll have your revenge on this city for the death of Seji Takechi," Kalinin reasoned.
"Exactly right, old man," Seina said with a smirk as she heard Takuma climbing up into the cockpit.
And then the gunfire started as two figures in AS crash-suits stormed in on a walkway across the hold, guns at the ready as her last two comrades besides Takuma fell.
Grimacing she turned to see the old man and the girl with him making a run for it, and, in her extremity of emotion, she fired wildly, doing nothing but encouraging them to move faster.
Seina was reloading and calming herself down when a green-haired figure leaped across the hold and landed lightly on the railing next to her.
In half a breath's time, her pistol was falling to the hold below and her arm was shattered. Death was following up quickly behind the demi-goddess's hands, but interrupted when the whole ship shook and Seina's would be killer had hop away and recover her footing before resuming an attack.
And, as the Behemoth moved, Naiki and the others had more to worry about than Seina.
"Is that an AS?" Kurz demanded in shock as he tracked off his target and saw what was causing the ship to twist about like it was sitting on top of the San Andreas for the big one.
"Sousuke, get the Captain out of here!" Kalinin commanded as the boat rocked.
"Right, Satomi, move yourself clear!" Sousuke yelled as he took charge of Tessa's safety and moved back into the boat making for their "borrowed" truck.
Naiki grimaced as she watched the young woman she'd been about to take care of trying to stand.
"Go," the old soldier in the bandages told her. "I've got her."
The grimace Naiki gave as she glared at her previous target was almost a snarl, but she did leap up into the air and catch the edge of hold's upper port above. Then she was on the top of the cargo ship and scanning about for a good position overlooking the harbor.
The ship shook out from under her again and she leaped away, landing atop the control tower of a crane overlooking the ship.
Back on a relatively solid surface she looked about at the water around her and started to gather herself up.
"Not those spells," a familiar voice said.
Naiki turned around to see Geisthexe-san leaning casually against one of the cables on the structure of the crane.
****
Sousuke had hung back just long enough to see Naiki leaving the boat by jumping out of it and, certain that she was able to get out on her own, he raced ahead with the Captain and Kurz.
They could feel the ship sinking under the weight of the massive AS in the hold as it's carefully balanced bulk shifted and displaced badly.
They were reaching the first bay where they had left the truck, the motion of the ship suddenly reversed and they were nearly thrown off their feet as the boat rose up in the water as if many tons of mass were suddenly removed from its burden.
"Go, go, go!" Kurz yelled as he opened the door for the Captain and piled into the truck with her, Sousuke moving to the driver's seat.
They were speeding out of the hold as a massive hand burst out of the ship to grab Mao's M9. Below them, the cop cars passed under the flying truck until it landed on the other side of the small barricade.
As soon as the truck landed, the occupants poured out to look at the ship as the Behemoth started to rise out of it.
Tessa felt a slight tug, a shadow of righteous rage, and glanced to the side and up, catching sight of Naiki standing above the rising Behemoth. And standing next to her was a figure that keeping out of a clear line of sight.
"Who's that?" she wondered.
"What the hell is going on here!?" Mao's voice yelled out, drawing Tessa's attention.
****
"Heaven still doesn't know you exist," Mara said. "And you're not strong enough to make a difference against that if you try to force your way into their network."
"But the only spells I know are white," Naiki protested. "Except..."
"Yeah, the Wild Hunt is a bad spell to use too," Mara said. "The guy who powers it...is not nice."
Naiki winced as the demoness referred to another demon as "not nice".
Below her, the Behemoth's hand burst out of the ship to grab the M9 that Mao had been piloting.
"Okay, repeat after me and focus on the power," Mara said quickly, moving to Naiki's side and crouching beside her, using the teen to block her profile from anybody below that might look upward. "You've got a very little time before that thing kills your mercenary friend in the robot."
"Hai, Geisthexe-san," Naiki said.
"Monster of the Norse Deeps," Mara whispered.
"Monster of the Norse Deeps," Naiki followed.
"Who brooks no rival in his domain,"
"Who brooks no rival in his domain,"
"Give me your arms and your strength,"
"Give me your arms and your strength,"
"To visit wrath on this beast of metal," they spoke together. "Kraken grip!"
As they spoke, a red energy formed in Naiki and Mara's hands as both felt the anger and rage growing in the back of their minds. For Naiki it was less than Mara, but she still felt it.
This red Behemoth was set to harm her friends.
To attack this city!
This abomination!
Had to be destroyed.
As the spell was completed, Mara let Naiki take the reins, sitting back passively and ready to take control should her student lose herself. At the same time, taking advantage of her position as one of the casters, she took the favor on herself, besides Kraken owed her own or two already.
Massive lashing arms of water that seemed to solidify into the limbs of a massive octopus whipped up out of the water and grabbed onto the gigantic red AS, pulling it backwards.
From where she stood, eyes glowing red with demonic power, Naiki reached out with her fingers like a puppet master controlling the massive water tentacles.
******************************
AN: Goddesses gain power from Love. Demons from Rage.
Naiki's not yet a demon, so she's not as rage-filled as Mara, but Mara is more used to it and can control it better, hence the implication that Naiki is in less self-control.
In this case, Mara lives in Tokyo and Naiki's friends are down there. Both have ample reason to be angry about the Behemoth.
Mara provided most of the power, she's doing a driving instructor thing (sitting in the passenger seat with the extra steering wheel and brake).
"Sousuke, get the Captain out of here!" Kalinin commanded as the boat rocked.
"Right, Satomi, move yourself clear!" Sousuke yelled as he took charge of Tessa's safety and moved back into the boat making for their "borrowed" truck.
Naiki grimaced as she watched the young woman she'd been about to take care of trying to stand.
"Go," the old soldier in the bandages told her. "I've got her."
The grimace Naiki gave as she glared at her previous target was almost a snarl, but she did leap up into the air and catch the edge of hold's upper port above. Then she was on the top of the cargo ship and scanning about for a good position overlooking the harbor.
The ship shook out from under her again and she leaped away, landing atop the control tower of a crane overlooking the ship.
Back on a relatively solid surface she looked about at the water around her and started to gather herself up.
"Not those spells," a familiar voice said.
Naiki turned around to see Geisthexe-san leaning casually against one of the cables on the structure of the crane.
****
Sousuke had hung back just long enough to see Naiki leaving the boat by jumping out of it and, certain that she was able to get out on her own, he raced ahead with the Captain and Kurz.
They could feel the ship sinking under the weight of the massive AS in the hold as it's carefully balanced bulk shifted and displaced badly.
They were reaching the first bay where they had left the truck, the motion of the ship suddenly reversed and they were nearly thrown off their feet as the boat rose up in the water as if many tons of mass were suddenly removed from its burden.
"Go, go, go!" Kurz yelled as he opened the door for the Captain and piled into the truck with her, Sousuke moving to the driver's seat.
They were speeding out of the hold as a massive hand burst out of the ship to grab Mao's M9. Below them, the cop cars passed under the flying truck until it landed on the other side of the small barricade.
As soon as the truck landed, the occupants poured out to look at the ship as the Behemoth started to rise out of it.
Tessa felt a slight tug, a shadow of righteous rage, and glanced to the side and up, catching sight of Naiki standing above the rising Behemoth. And standing next to her was a figure that keeping out of a clear line of sight.
"Who's that?" she wondered.
"What the hell is going on here!?" Mao's voice yelled out, drawing Tessa's attention.
****
"Heaven still doesn't know you exist," Mara said. "And you're not strong enough to make a difference against that if you try to force your way into their network."
"But the only spells I know are white," Naiki protested. "Except..."
"Yeah, the Wild Hunt is a bad spell to use too," Mara said. "The guy who powers it...is not nice."
Naiki winced as the demoness referred to another demon as "not nice".
Below her, the Behemoth's hand burst out of the ship to grab the M9 that Mao had been piloting.
"Okay, repeat after me and focus on the power," Mara said quickly, moving to Naiki's side and crouching beside her, using the teen to block her profile from anybody below that might look upward. "You've got a very little time before that thing kills your mercenary friend in the robot."
"Hai, Geisthexe-san," Naiki said.
"Monster of the Norse Deeps," Mara whispered.
"Monster of the Norse Deeps," Naiki followed.
"Who brooks no rival in his domain,"
"Who brooks no rival in his domain,"
"Give me your arms and your strength,"
"Give me your arms and your strength,"
"To visit wrath on this beast of metal," they spoke together. "Kraken grip!"
As they spoke, a red energy formed in Naiki and Mara's hands as both felt the anger and rage growing in the back of their minds. For Naiki it was less than Mara, but she still felt it.
This red Behemoth was set to harm her friends.
To attack this city!
This abomination!
Had to be destroyed.
As the spell was completed, Mara let Naiki take the reins, sitting back passively and ready to take control should her student lose herself. At the same time, taking advantage of her position as one of the casters, she took the favor on herself, besides Kraken owed her own or two already.
Massive lashing arms of water that seemed to solidify into the limbs of a massive octopus whipped up out of the water and grabbed onto the gigantic red AS, pulling it backwards.
From where she stood, eyes glowing red with demonic power, Naiki reached out with her fingers like a puppet master controlling the massive water tentacles.
******************************
AN: Goddesses gain power from Love. Demons from Rage.
Naiki's not yet a demon, so she's not as rage-filled as Mara, but Mara is more used to it and can control it better, hence the implication that Naiki is in less self-control.
In this case, Mara lives in Tokyo and Naiki's friends are down there. Both have ample reason to be angry about the Behemoth.
Mara provided most of the power, she's doing a driving instructor thing (sitting in the passenger seat with the extra steering wheel and brake).
oh, right, not seeing episode continuance options from AA
going to take charge of Eija and Kaname as well as bring Urd to go meet Eija
she was in Nekomi at the time things were going on and Sousuke was on site..
so she's now at a dock some distance from Jindai and meeting her other daughter...
in time to witness a kaiju movie in the making within sight
got to deal with that next....
going to take charge of Eija and Kaname as well as bring Urd to go meet Eija
she was in Nekomi at the time things were going on and Sousuke was on site..
so she's now at a dock some distance from Jindai and meeting her other daughter...
in time to witness a kaiju movie in the making within sight
got to deal with that next....
You know, up until the bit about the arms, I thought they were invoking Jormungandr.
Wonder how 'Zilla would feel about the kraken in its waters?
I'm taking this to mean the mythical giant squid, not the ones they find bits and pieces of nowadays, though I have a hard time seeing either hold Behemoth for long. The only reason that thing even runs is its Lambda Driver, after all.
I'm with PC, though; where is Ranma in all of this? It's hard to imagine her sitting on the sidelines, and Behemoth's big enough that she should be able to see it from wherever in Tokyo the Norns' temple is.
EDIT: Gah. Never mind. Blast me and my slow typing.
Wonder how 'Zilla would feel about the kraken in its waters?
I'm taking this to mean the mythical giant squid, not the ones they find bits and pieces of nowadays, though I have a hard time seeing either hold Behemoth for long. The only reason that thing even runs is its Lambda Driver, after all.I'm with PC, though; where is Ranma in all of this? It's hard to imagine her sitting on the sidelines, and Behemoth's big enough that she should be able to see it from wherever in Tokyo the Norns' temple is.
EDIT: Gah. Never mind. Blast me and my slow typing.
Ranma's aura of casual and calm patience was easily discernible to Urd as a facade. All the woman's energies were primed to act even though her mind was forcing her to stay still and wait at least for the one child coming to her.
The woman was almost constantly on edge around the goddesses. Given her experiences with other dieties, Urd could hardly blame her.
Of course, given the brief fight against Morrigan, the fact that Miss Satomi was on edge had Urd on edge, even if the woman was human and unlikely to just suddenly come after her.
It was an uncomfortable silence as they waited. In fact, Ranma had stopped talking much as soon as she learned there was trouble going on with her kids.
Another train rolled in and Ranma stood up, her senses reacting to the familiar chi within.
The doors opened and out among the small crowd of people came two teenagers and another woman, this one wearing a maritime uniform and carrying some modest luggage with her.
"Okaasan!" Eija called out, waving as the crowd parted ahead of her.
Ranma breathed a sigh of relief and walked forward to meet her daughter, hugging her tightly and kissing Eija on the forehead despite the flush of embarassment on Eija's face.
For the two people watching that had some idea of what was happening, they could almost see Ranma checking one name off of her list and shifting worry towards the other two.
"There's going to be some discussion of what went wrong," Ranma whispered.
"Hai, Okaasan," Eija said.
"Thanks for bringing her back, Akane," Ranma said, muscles still tight under the skin and getting ready to spring.
"It's the least I could do," the maritime officer said, glancing toward the white-haired woman standing a little bit behind Ranma.
"And you and Sousuke too," Ranma said, turning to Kaname. "It seems you two are firmly determined to keep my little girl safe."
"Oh it's nothing Miss Satomi," Kaname said with a laugh.
Urd quietly looked over Eija and Kaname, picking out Eija by the conversation and descriptions as Ranma's daughter. As subtly as possible, she opened a many keyboard in her hands, similar to the cell phones and blackberries seen around nowadays.
She was already half-way through making the appropriate connections when the conversation turned toward her.
"Too bad you had to cut your...meeting short," Akane said, with a trace of mild disapproval.
"Oh, don't mind me," Urd said. "Miss Satomi is clearing up some past business with members of our organization and since I'm on sabbatical out this way, I'm being asked to help out with things."
Akane looked notably embarassed in response to Urd's explanation. Ranma smirked a little as he could see the gears turning and Akane silently lecturing herself for jumping to conclusions again.
"Oh, I see," Akane said, she stepped forward and whispered toward Ranma where Eija could here. "This one's guessed you've known us from a ways back, so I'm going to tell right up it was Kuno."
"Kuno?!" Ranma said in something like disbelief.
She turned a look on Eija that was half disappointment and half sudden worry.
"He was on the road injured and I went to see if he needed help," Eija said by way of explanation.
It wasn't an excuse, she should have been able to watch for a person playing possum, or even a hurt person reacting out of reflex.
"And the pervert jumped up and whacked her with a bokken before carrying her off," Kaname said angrily.
Ranma glanced back at Urd, to make sure she wasn't eavesdropping before turning back to the quiet conversation.
However, her coming words were interrupted by a...sensation she felt. A ripple in the chi of the world as the Behemoth's powerful lambda driver was activated.
"What is that?" Urd asked herself as she looked back towards the docks.
It felt like Human chi, just so much more focused and powerful than any single chi adept she'd ever met was capable of.
"So much chi..." Akane started as she looked over to where Ranma and the other woman were both looking.
Eija and Kaname, their own senses not quite as astute as that of of the adults around them were left with senses of foreboding.
Then came the echoing sounds of rending metal in the distance, perhaps two or three miles away into the docks.
Like so many other people at the train station, Ranma moved toward the edge of the platform and looked out toward the docks to see something that most people in area had thought was something that would only happen in a Godzilla movie.
A giant robot stood up and loomed over the dock area. Even this far away, Ranma and the others could make out its form raising over the low buildings near the water.
"What the hell is that?" Akane asked shocked. "An AS that large is physically impossible!"
Urd stared herself in that direction, especially as she felt a rise in demonic power from the same area moving to try and confront whatever that thing was.
"Mara," Urd whispered. "Why are you always biting off more than you can chew."
"So huge," Kaname whispered moving up to the railing.
"You don't think..." Eija asked.
"Sousuke," both whispered quietly.
"Naiki," Ranma said squeezing the bar under her hand and both.
"I've gotta get to base!" Akane declared, hefting her bag over her shoulder and leaping out toward the nearest roof and then continued onward.
"The hell?" Kaname said, "She's another one of you?"
"Stay here," Ranma snapped before sending a look at Urd and had a bit of surprise.
"I need to get a closer look at this," Urd yelled. "Eija's file is all taken care of."
With that, the woman walked to one of the TVs showing the news footage and leaped into it, vanishing in a blink.
Kaname felt a familiar flicker as the woman did that and shook her head clear of the sensation.
"Okay," Ranma said. "I'm heading over there, you two stay here!"
"Like hell!" Kaname snapped as Eija had started to nod in unhappy acceptance.
Ranma turned to face the girl.
"Listen girl, that's a monster on the level of the Orochi," Ranma said. "Maybe worse, so don't think you're going to convince me to let you come."
"Miss Satomi, I don't care what it is!" Kaname shouted. "That military nut is over there right now, I know it, and he's doing something crazy. And I heard say Naiki's name, and she's a...sort of friend. Well she's Eija's sister and that's enough."
Eija looked on at Kaname in surprise as the other girl dictated to her mother what was happening.
"And what are you going to do when we get over there?" Ranma asked, falsely casual.
"I don't know," Kaname said. "But you know that I've got the inside track on these sci-fi bizarros, because I know Eija told you everything."
"Umm, well," Eija tried to protest.
When it was up to her to decide to help someone, on her own or with her friends, she was one of the first to stand up and go with it. However, when mother said don't do anything, or stay here...
Eija hadn't ever thought to protest before.
"But I need to be close enough to get a feel for it and I need Eija," at this Kaname grabbed the smaller girl around the shoulder and pulled her close. "To keep whoever else is in that stuff off my back while I look for answers."
Ranma stared firmly into Kaname's determined eyes for a long second.
"We're going," Kaname added firmly.
Next to Kaname Eija looked nervous as Ranma's eyes turned toward her, but then nodded firmly.
"We have to help Naiki and Sousuke," Eija confirmed.
Ranma took a deep breath and sighed.
"If you keep insisting on stuff like this," Ranma said threateningly. "You'll be convincing me to insist on you getting some training."
"Alright! We're going," Kaname shouted.
"Stay away from it, and I mean as far away from it as you can be and still do your schtick," Ranma insisted as she held out a hand for Kaname to take it.
"That's fine, I think Eija-chan can carry me," Kaname said.
The woman was almost constantly on edge around the goddesses. Given her experiences with other dieties, Urd could hardly blame her.
Of course, given the brief fight against Morrigan, the fact that Miss Satomi was on edge had Urd on edge, even if the woman was human and unlikely to just suddenly come after her.
It was an uncomfortable silence as they waited. In fact, Ranma had stopped talking much as soon as she learned there was trouble going on with her kids.
Another train rolled in and Ranma stood up, her senses reacting to the familiar chi within.
The doors opened and out among the small crowd of people came two teenagers and another woman, this one wearing a maritime uniform and carrying some modest luggage with her.
"Okaasan!" Eija called out, waving as the crowd parted ahead of her.
Ranma breathed a sigh of relief and walked forward to meet her daughter, hugging her tightly and kissing Eija on the forehead despite the flush of embarassment on Eija's face.
For the two people watching that had some idea of what was happening, they could almost see Ranma checking one name off of her list and shifting worry towards the other two.
"There's going to be some discussion of what went wrong," Ranma whispered.
"Hai, Okaasan," Eija said.
"Thanks for bringing her back, Akane," Ranma said, muscles still tight under the skin and getting ready to spring.
"It's the least I could do," the maritime officer said, glancing toward the white-haired woman standing a little bit behind Ranma.
"And you and Sousuke too," Ranma said, turning to Kaname. "It seems you two are firmly determined to keep my little girl safe."
"Oh it's nothing Miss Satomi," Kaname said with a laugh.
Urd quietly looked over Eija and Kaname, picking out Eija by the conversation and descriptions as Ranma's daughter. As subtly as possible, she opened a many keyboard in her hands, similar to the cell phones and blackberries seen around nowadays.
She was already half-way through making the appropriate connections when the conversation turned toward her.
"Too bad you had to cut your...meeting short," Akane said, with a trace of mild disapproval.
"Oh, don't mind me," Urd said. "Miss Satomi is clearing up some past business with members of our organization and since I'm on sabbatical out this way, I'm being asked to help out with things."
Akane looked notably embarassed in response to Urd's explanation. Ranma smirked a little as he could see the gears turning and Akane silently lecturing herself for jumping to conclusions again.
"Oh, I see," Akane said, she stepped forward and whispered toward Ranma where Eija could here. "This one's guessed you've known us from a ways back, so I'm going to tell right up it was Kuno."
"Kuno?!" Ranma said in something like disbelief.
She turned a look on Eija that was half disappointment and half sudden worry.
"He was on the road injured and I went to see if he needed help," Eija said by way of explanation.
It wasn't an excuse, she should have been able to watch for a person playing possum, or even a hurt person reacting out of reflex.
"And the pervert jumped up and whacked her with a bokken before carrying her off," Kaname said angrily.
Ranma glanced back at Urd, to make sure she wasn't eavesdropping before turning back to the quiet conversation.
However, her coming words were interrupted by a...sensation she felt. A ripple in the chi of the world as the Behemoth's powerful lambda driver was activated.
"What is that?" Urd asked herself as she looked back towards the docks.
It felt like Human chi, just so much more focused and powerful than any single chi adept she'd ever met was capable of.
"So much chi..." Akane started as she looked over to where Ranma and the other woman were both looking.
Eija and Kaname, their own senses not quite as astute as that of of the adults around them were left with senses of foreboding.
Then came the echoing sounds of rending metal in the distance, perhaps two or three miles away into the docks.
Like so many other people at the train station, Ranma moved toward the edge of the platform and looked out toward the docks to see something that most people in area had thought was something that would only happen in a Godzilla movie.
A giant robot stood up and loomed over the dock area. Even this far away, Ranma and the others could make out its form raising over the low buildings near the water.
"What the hell is that?" Akane asked shocked. "An AS that large is physically impossible!"
Urd stared herself in that direction, especially as she felt a rise in demonic power from the same area moving to try and confront whatever that thing was.
"Mara," Urd whispered. "Why are you always biting off more than you can chew."
"So huge," Kaname whispered moving up to the railing.
"You don't think..." Eija asked.
"Sousuke," both whispered quietly.
"Naiki," Ranma said squeezing the bar under her hand and both.
"I've gotta get to base!" Akane declared, hefting her bag over her shoulder and leaping out toward the nearest roof and then continued onward.
"The hell?" Kaname said, "She's another one of you?"
"Stay here," Ranma snapped before sending a look at Urd and had a bit of surprise.
"I need to get a closer look at this," Urd yelled. "Eija's file is all taken care of."
With that, the woman walked to one of the TVs showing the news footage and leaped into it, vanishing in a blink.
Kaname felt a familiar flicker as the woman did that and shook her head clear of the sensation.
"Okay," Ranma said. "I'm heading over there, you two stay here!"
"Like hell!" Kaname snapped as Eija had started to nod in unhappy acceptance.
Ranma turned to face the girl.
"Listen girl, that's a monster on the level of the Orochi," Ranma said. "Maybe worse, so don't think you're going to convince me to let you come."
"Miss Satomi, I don't care what it is!" Kaname shouted. "That military nut is over there right now, I know it, and he's doing something crazy. And I heard say Naiki's name, and she's a...sort of friend. Well she's Eija's sister and that's enough."
Eija looked on at Kaname in surprise as the other girl dictated to her mother what was happening.
"And what are you going to do when we get over there?" Ranma asked, falsely casual.
"I don't know," Kaname said. "But you know that I've got the inside track on these sci-fi bizarros, because I know Eija told you everything."
"Umm, well," Eija tried to protest.
When it was up to her to decide to help someone, on her own or with her friends, she was one of the first to stand up and go with it. However, when mother said don't do anything, or stay here...
Eija hadn't ever thought to protest before.
"But I need to be close enough to get a feel for it and I need Eija," at this Kaname grabbed the smaller girl around the shoulder and pulled her close. "To keep whoever else is in that stuff off my back while I look for answers."
Ranma stared firmly into Kaname's determined eyes for a long second.
"We're going," Kaname added firmly.
Next to Kaname Eija looked nervous as Ranma's eyes turned toward her, but then nodded firmly.
"We have to help Naiki and Sousuke," Eija confirmed.
Ranma took a deep breath and sighed.
"If you keep insisting on stuff like this," Ranma said threateningly. "You'll be convincing me to insist on you getting some training."
"Alright! We're going," Kaname shouted.
"Stay away from it, and I mean as far away from it as you can be and still do your schtick," Ranma insisted as she held out a hand for Kaname to take it.
"That's fine, I think Eija-chan can carry me," Kaname said.