Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Two Wallets ❯ Lair of the Lawyers ( Chapter 66 )

A Tale of Two Wallets

(An Altered Destiny)

Written by Jim Robert Bader

Proofread by Shiva Barnwell

"Of all the bloody times to tell us about something like this you have to wait until the last minute to bring it to our attention?" cried the young-seeming Happosai.

"My apologies, Uncle," Lotion replied as the three ancients made their way to the place where she perceived was the zone of greatest disturbance, "But this was something of an emergency. On a whim I put a trace on Saotome Genma because I sensed he might be heading towards mischief, and the trace ended only a short time ago, while I was talking with the children and about to warn them of Cybelle. I believe that there is a connection between the two elements, Cybelle's return and Saotome's disappearance."

"You should have mentioned her to me before," Cologne said in a scolding tone of voice, "I would have been on my guard against her influences. Indeed, the recent string of unsettling coincidences that have been occurring of late should have tipped me off that something wicked was brewing in Nerima."

"My apologies, Matriarch," Lotion replied, "But I was merely attributing the normal weirdness factor that exists in this prefecture as the cause of much of those seemingly random coincidences. We all know what transpired here nearly twenty years ago, and it would seem that those events are echoing in the present, which means that we had better get a move on if we want to prevent real tragedy from occurring this very evening."

"It'd be a tragedy all right," Happosai agreed, "If anything happens to even one of those cuties, then I'm going to be powerfully upset with-Hello! What have we here? Who's that talking with Kasumi?"

"Eh?" Cologne lifted her gaze from the building that they were approaching to take notice of the three young girls standing beside a limousine and (as she preferred to call it) that damned infernal device that Shampoo had recently adopted as her alternate form of transportation. She only briefly took notice of the pseudo-ninja manservant of the Kuno woman before her eyes narrowed as she took in the two very tall girls, the one with brown hair and the shorthaired blonde who was dressed in manly fashion. Her ancient perceptions registered the hidden power contained within these women and wondered at its source. She knew that Lotion could not help being aware of their potential, but her fellow Elder merely acknowledged them with a bow before turning her gaze upon the front entrance of the building.

"Elder Lotion, Matriarch Cologne," Kasumi bowed politely, "And Grandfather Happosai. What an unexpected pleasure it is to see you here. These are Nabiki's new friends, Kino Makoto and Teneo Haruka."

"Charmed," Lotion nodded her head without turning around.

"Hubba, hubba!" Happosai said with plain enthusiasm.

"New friends, eh?" Cologne observed dryly, "Wearing the uniform of the Jubaan prefecture?"

"Ah…we're just visiting, " stammered Makoto.

"Not that it's any concern of yours," Haruka said indifferently, "We just gave Kasumi-san's sister and her friends a lift. Makoto was really here to visit her old Senpai, Ucchan."

"HA-RU-KA!!!" Makoto colored in plain embarrassment, "Cut it out, will ya?"

"Senpai?" Cologne studied Makoto carefully, "Interesting…"

"Perhaps so," Lotion said, "But better saved for another occasion. Right now we have a bit of a crisis on our hands to be dealt with…"

"Say no more, or even less!" Happosai cried as he bounded forward, "There's beautiful ladies to be rescued and-AWP!!!"

Halfway to the doorway the young-seeming Grand Master of the Anything Goes tradition collided with an unseen barrier as sparks flashed about his form, briefly illuming him inside out before he was repelled backward, stunned and smoking along the edges.

"As I was about to say," Lotion resumed, "The crisis I was perceiving includes a mystical barrier that appears to have been thrown up as an obstacle to our physical entrance. Cybelle no doubt wanted to permit the others to enter her snare, but not those of us who have the means to deal with her effectively."

"C-C-C-Couldn't you have told me that a little sooner?" Happosai said shakily as he slowly regained his footing, smoke exiting his mouth with sparks curling about his fingers.

"And ruin my fun?" Cologne smirked sidelong before regarding the barrier in question while Haruka and Makoto gaped in mutual surprise and Kasumi merely…worried, "I believe you are correct in your deductions. I sense it is Cybelle…a presence that I have not felt in close to twenty years…"

"Impossible," Happosai said, "I sealed that witch away myself! How did she escape to cause trouble for us again?"

"How did you escape from your prison?" Lotion countered, "This is grim news indeed. I had hoped to be at the side of my apprentice and her airen, but instead I find myself sidelined and unable to directly advise her."

"The same holds true for my chosen apprentices," Cologne said equally gravely, "We must somehow find the means to penetrate this barrier and quickly. Who knows what evils Cybelle has planned for them? If only we had some clear notion of her true motives…"

"Like simple revenge isn't a good enough reason?" Happosai mused, "But for once you're right…we're no good to those kids if we can't find around this hurdle."

"Power you say?" Makoto glanced at Haruka, who nodded.

"We might know of a way that you could find some useful allies," Haruka conceded.

"If you can help my sisters and Kodachi, then I implore you to do so," Kasumi urged.

"And tell those allies of yours to hurry, please," Sasuke added, "There's no telling what might have happened to the Mistress, and if anything bad does happen to her, then Master Kuno will kill me!"

"Give us a minute," Makoto replied, "We need to make a call, this will only take a few minutes."

"Oh dear," Kasumi fretted as she contemplated the office building, which now seemed less innocent and more menacing to her than before, "I do hope Nabiki and Kodachi-chan are all right. I know how resourceful they can be, but I can't quite shake this awful feeling that they're about to get in deeper than they meant to, which in Nabiki-chan's case probably means biting off a lot more than she can chew, or vice versa…"

Nabiki's Journal Resumes:

I stared at the corridor in front of us, unable to believe that someone would have gone to the trouble of building and stocking a live alligator pit in the basement of an office building. I mean, who were these guys to put a dangerous thing like that in our way? Didn't they know these things could hurt somebody? I mean, if that was the idea, then can you imagine the legal problems they could be looking at? I thought lawyers would be smarter than to arrange deathtraps for people in their own basements!

Ranma and Shampoo were understandably stifled by the presence of cold water, which could render any defense on their part moot. Ranma might be able to fight off crocodiles in his cursed form, but Shampoo? The thought of her Neko form in the jaws of those crocks was simply not to be contemplated. We needed to get out of this trap and escape from this basement, and we needed to do it right away.

"This is nuts!" Ranma spoke for what we all were thinking, "Ucchan's dad must be out of his gourd if he wants us to go through this just to get to see him."

"Shampoo," I said, "You see any way out of this?"

In reply Shampoo produced a bonbori and slammed it against one of the walls, producing a hard, metallic, reverberating sound that told the story.

"It thick metal under board sheets," she explained, "Hard to find weak point to break through, and maybe no find easy way on other side."

"I guess we're supposed to go through this and get through that door over there," Ranma pointed to the other end, where we could see it opening out onto another passage, "But what's that over there? Some kind of fancy panel or something?"

I saw what he was pointed at, a square-shaped feature on one side of the exit. It didn't take much imagination to suppose it was a control panel that might do something about the alligators. The problem, of course, was reaching it, and for that we had to get by the crocodile pit itself. It was ten meters long and about two meters wide with a very small ledge on either side and no visible handholds, besides which there were the crocodiles to consider.

But as I studied this I began to see a pattern to things that had not been apparent at first glance. That same sense that came over me before when we fought against Principal Kuno, and as before I could not begin to put it into words, so I judged the situation on instinct, deciding that to hesitate would mean losing the moment. I wanted to help out, to contribute something of my own to our rescue, so I moved forward before either of my companions could suspect what I was about and took a leap out onto the back of the nearest crocodile, and from there I took another leap, and then another, sensing each footing before I landed and catapulting myself forward as the crocks began to react to the unpleasant sensation of me landing on their backs. I was across their backs before I had time to even think about what I was doing, hearing Ranma and Shampoo cry out to me the whole time though neither one of them was fool enough to try and come after me. Once I was on the other side I turned to the panel and, once more guided by instinct, pushed a hidden stud beside the obvious buttons, which caused the floor to slide shut behind me, sealing the crocks in and providing my loved ones with a safe passage.

"What the heck were you doing?" Ranma demanded as he and Shampoo came running up to join me, "You coulda got yourself killed doing that!"

"Aiyaa!" Shampoo exclaimed in full agreement, "No do thing like that again, Nabiki! Shampoo think heart stop half way across! You no want scare Airen do that again!"

I tried to smile in a reassuring manner, but I think my knees knocking together gave away my fear reaction as I belatedly realized that I had, indeed, been risking life and limb by acting on such impulse. If either one of these two had tried something similar around me I think I'd brain them, but here I was acting like I was the reckless, headstrong one in our group, and all because I thought maybe I could make a difference in our favor.

"Tell you what, you two," I reluctantly conceded as the delayed reaction of fear began to take over, "Next time I do try something like this, spank me."

I saw Shampoo and Ranma exchange looks at that, and then a very slow smile passed between them and I started to wonder if maybe I had also just become the one to put her foot in my mouth! The clincher came when Shampoo looked at me with a knowing smirk and said, "Is promise?"

"Count on it," Ranma affirmed with an uncharacteristic leer that hinted at his intentions.

"Ah…" I tried to think something to say and lamely said, "I…uh…think we should be going, guys. Ukyo and the others…"

"Right," Ranma took point as Shampoo fell in step with me and we made our way towards a stairway that we hoped-at least nominally-would take us to the next level…

Kodachi did not deign to limit herself to the petty encumbrances that had been thrown into her path by these treacherous adjudicators of the law. From the moment the padded steel walls of the trap had been sprung upon her she was alert to the danger and reacted in the manner of a trained gymnast, vaulting onto the rim of one of the barricades to gain an advantage of height over her mundane surroundings.

Kodachi fully intended to carry her weight in the coming battle that she had sensed from the moment affairs began to take a turn for the ominous. It was clear that these lawyers with their ludicrous, foreign-sounding names were no mere legal defense team of the sort one might find in a typical law office. It was plain enough that they had a different agenda from that promised by Kuonji, who might well be in on the deal for all Kodachi knew. In that light it would make sense that she would be the first one taken since that removed her from the field of play, and hence potential danger.

Kodachi smiled as she easily perched herself along the edge of one of the barricades, able to see for herself how the sections of ordinary office booths were not only mobile but had been used to construct a labyrinthine design that could be used to trap the unwary and herd them to some possible danger. A very clever use of ordinary props found in any conventional office setting, but portending an intent towards greater mischief as one progressed through the maze in search if an outlet. Kodachi could almost admire the cunning and duplicity here were it not her own people who were the intended victims of this deception. As it was she would have to be on her guard, for it was obvious that even the seemingly innocuous and inconspicuous could prove troubling for the unwary.

Kodachi wanted to prove her worth to her prospective father-in-law, having sensed the hesitation and unease of the Tendo Patriarch whenever Soun was around her. Kodachi wanted to be accepted into her new family, just as she had rejected her old one in pursuit of her affair with the virtuous Kasumi. She needed to win him over if she was to continue being a member of his house, and she knew that Soun had some past knowledge of her mother, for the memory of same was evident in his eyes whenever he regarded her, however unfairly.

Kodachi knew she had a lot to live down in that respect, and so she was determined to set her future father-in-law's mind at ease by demonstrating once and for all that Kuno Kodachi was nothing like her mother. These lawyers had unwittingly provided her with the perfect outlet for demonstrating her loyalty and virtue, and she intended not to waste the opportunity, so she scanned the various booths beneath her in search of the one that presently imprisoned Soun Tendo.

She did not see him but rather saw the four older women fighting against a horde of enemies dressed like normal businessmen but using the tools of their profession as though they were the most deadly of weapons. Despite the overwhelming odds against them, the Elders were clearly holding their own and showing much enthusiasm for the fight, so Kodachi decided that her services would not be needed there and cast instead for some sign of the missing Tendo elder.

Running along the edge of the walls was childsplay for one with her preternatural sense of coordination, and she was complimenting herself for having circumvented the Gordian knot on this occasion when-unexpectedly-a sharp jolt traveled up her legs and caused her to jump for a different reason than mere enthusiasm. Kodachi fell from her perch onto a desk, managing to recover herself as she belatedly realized that she had been struck by an electric current. She caught her weight on one hand and back-flipped, only to find her legs were not sufficiently recovered to bear her weight, so she crashed down on the floor somewhat inelegantly and landed on her posterior with a jolt. This did nothing to improve her mood when a woman dressed like an office Temp stepped forward and smiled, then casually extended a draftsman's triangle.

"No use cheating to get ahead," the Temp smiled in a sultry manner as she studied Kodachi from beneath horn-rimmed glasses, "You have to do this the hard way, just like anyone else."

"And why should I have to do anything, Peasant?" Kodachi replied as she got to her feet somewhat unsteadily, rubbing her calves to shake out the tension that had been caused by her near-electrocution, "What right do you have to give me instructions?"

In response the girl threw the triangle, which Kodachi nimbly avoided, only to discover the thin wire connected to the object as it looped back to wrap around her legs, dropping her back on her bottom in a very rude manner.

"People like you always underestimating people like me," the Temp replied as she yanked on the cord and drew Kodachi's foot upward to keep the Black Rose off balance, "But if it wasn't for Temps you wouldn't even know how to operate the office copier."

The Temp moved and in her hand a metallic T-square appeared like a sword, which same she brought down towards Kodachi, who caught the thing between the flat of both palms only less than six inches from making contact with her face.

"Perhaps this is so," Kodachi mused, "But, then again, why should I bother myself with such inconsequentials?"

Kodachi rocked back on her shoulderblades, creating a momentary slackening in the wire about her leg, which she used by drawing her free foot inside her guard and kicking outward, catching the Temp in the chest with enough force to knock the woman flying backwards, releasing her grip on the T-square.

Unfortunately she retained her grip upon the cord, so while Kodachi was able to cast aside the main threat, she was still unable to regain her footing as the Temp moved backwards every time Kodachi tried to close the distance between them. To counter this Kodachi reached into her shirt and pulled out one of her bowling pins, which she tossed at the Temp with unerring aim, striking the woman on the chin so that she was forced to release her grip on the wire and stagger backwards.

Kodachi was on her feet at once, smiling as she anticipated the turning tide of battle. In a flash her hand held her trademark ribbon and she flashed it in the other woman's direction, snapping it several times like a bull whip in the hopes of beating her opponent into submission.

But the Temp just avoided the lashes and smiled, then remarked, "You think I'm any stranger to abuse? Try working overtime without vacation and health benefits!"

Kodachi saw what she took to be an opening and struck with her ribbon, only t see the Temp duck around a desk lamp, which same she used to ensnare the ribbon. For a moment Kodachi was not properly balanced in order to draw back her weapon, and in a flash the Temp darted to the side and fetched a cassette box from a shelf rack, opened it and vaulted towards Kodachi, suddenly displaying a ribbon of her own in the form of the Mylar VCR tape that she wove in a pattern to momentarily confuse an off-balance Kodachi.

With a speed that literally defied description she wrapped Kodachi up in the tape then hurled the cassette itself over a pipe railing near to the ceiling. She grabbed the other end and yanked, hoisting Kodachi up off the floor like a prize game animal that had been trapped on a wild safari. Kodachi struggled to no avail, but the hundreds of meters of tape thwarted her efforts at freedom as she dangled above the floor while the Temp openly admired her "catch of the day."

"You'd be surprised how many of my bosses don't even know how to use a VCR, let alone program it," the Temp remarked casually, "Do yourself a favor, kid and surrender."

"Never!" Kodachi meant to cry in defiance, but what came out past the tape wrapped around her face sounded more like, "MMppphhh!!"

"Such language in young people these days," the Temp handily smiled, "It won't do you any good to struggle, you just make things harder on yourself, and there is no way that you are escaping from this one."

"Oh yeah?" Kodachi would have said as she attempted to smile brazenly, though the muffling of the ribbon spoiled the effect. Instead there was a slight clicking noise, and then all at once the tape binding Kodachi literally exploded as the razor-sharp edge of her hula hoop burst out from the sides, slicing through the Mylar tape like a knife blade.

"WHAT?" the Temp gave back in dismay, "How did you…? There's no way you could have been hiding that thing, not with what you're wearing!!!"

"So it seems that there are some secrets that even office workers are not privy to concerning their betters," Kodachi remarked as she tore the last of the Mylar from her face, then leered as the hoop flashed out in her hand and sliced through the front layer of the Temp's clothing, parting the fabric without touching her skin. The Temp yelped as she stared at the exposed area of her cleavage, for even her bra had come undone down the middle.

"You dared lay hand upon a daughter of the noble House of Kuno," Kodachi said in menacing tones, though her leer was more disturbing to the Temp than its attendant hint of menace, "For that affront you shall be shorn of all concealment. Sleep your way to the top if you must, for the best position for you is on your backside!"

Kodachi stepped into the other woman's guard and seized her by the edges of her collar, then yanked down so that the fabric pinned the Temp's arms to her side, leaving her exposed to the palm strike that Kodachi used to knock the wind out of her sails and send her flat upon the open space of the desk. Kodachi smiled on surveying her handiwork, then turned away, determined to continue her quest for the missing Soun Tendo.

"The girl is resourceful," Yumi said in evident approval as she studied the monitor screens, "I like her quick wits, though her arrogance proves she needs to be taken down a little."

"It is plain that my daughter has found powerful allies," Akira noted gravely, "But it will be all the same in the end, once Ukyo can be made to finally see reason."

Soun said nothing, contemplating the Kuno girl's victory as if it showed a whole new angle to Kodachi that he had previously not suspected. Instead he turned his attention towards Ukyo herself, wondering what part the cross-dressing, Jusenkyo-cursed girl was to play in this drama, and whether or not her father had badly underestimated his highly resourceful daughter…

"Let me out of here, you stupid jackasses!" Ukyo-kun cried as she pounded on the walls that had engulfed her, "What the hell do you people think that you are doing?"

"Have patience, little one," a hidden speaker voiced in reply, "Your father wants you to be kept away out of danger while your companions are dealt with."

"Dealt with?" Ukyo-kun reacted, "Are you planning to kill them? That's crazy!"

"I did not say that we would kill them, young lady," the voice insisted politely, "I merely said that they will be dealt with. Once the matter is resolved then you will be released from here and can take this matter up with your father."

"Now wait a minute!" Ukyo-kun cried, "I don't need anyone to fight my battles for me! Hello? Hello? Get back here, you jackass! Let me out of here! DAAAAD!!!"

She pounded on the walls but they resisted her efforts, being solid metal beneath the exterior panels, so instead she stood back and looked around at her prison, fuming to herself, "When I get outta here some heads are gonna be rolling…!"

No one answered her this time, so Ukyo silently fumed in her cell, glancing at the walls and ceiling while trying desperately to find some form of an exit. After a moment he sat down on the floor and started taking deep breaths to calm herself down so that he could think more calmly and rationally about her situation.

Granted his father was being an idiot and going against his wishes by trying to force the issue of her engagement to Ranma, and granted that this was more likely to alienate his childhood friend by making him think that he had deliberately suckered him and his friends into a trap, but letting his rage cloud his judgement was a sure recipe for disaster! He needed to think clearly again if he was to defeat this trap and the people who were behind it (assuming, of course, that lawyers technically constituted a form of people).

Isolating him from the others was surely meant to throw his off balance and keep him from discovering if there was a way to escape him prison. Since he had been dropped down here by a chute, it was logical to assume that there was an exit by which they intended to free him once they had finished working over the others. The problem was in finding it, and it was probably too well hidden for easy detection.

He fumed briefly, allowing his irritation to float through his mind before relaxing once again. He needed to think like a ninja if she was to escape this trap, so he started to research what he knew on the subject of traps and prisons, recalling in detail his first impressions upon her arrival.

The chute was an obvious choice if he wanted to escape the way he had come, but prying open the panel that had admitted her might be a problem, plus the fact that the walls were smooth and featureless in that chute. He might be able to scale it with the proper equipment, but he had not been expecting to need her ninja tools when he want to school that morning, so he was lightly armed with only his spatulas and basic inventory of cooking-related weapons. Another door at ground level would no doubt be a more desirable means of egress, which just returned him to looking for the less obvious manner of escaping his prison. The walls might seem to be featureless and reinforced with metal, but…

Ukyo smiled as a sudden thought occurred to him. This was just like one of his Aunt Yumi's traps, the kind she used to test Ukyo's reflexes and basic knowledge of the art. Looked at that way it became a simple matter of deducing how the prison itself was put together.

Ukyo opened his eyes, rose to her feet and drew his baker's peel then held it down at the floor to one side at an angle. He lowered her gaze and contemplated the room in his mind as if it were a large, featureless geometric puzzle, then theorized where the most logical place was to conceal an exit, and struck with one quick blow at that particular panel. His iron peel rang a hollow blow against that section of the room, and then the panel fell inward, revealing the gap that she had speculated would be found there. He smiled in perverse satisfaction and reslung her peel in its holster against his back.

"Just like Aunt Yumi used to make," he murmured to herself, feeling his way against any possible secondary traps while following her instincts, which would lead her out of the dungeon.

"Not bad, Niece," Yumi commented to herself as she studied her young apprentice on the monitors, "Of course if it had been me rigging things you'd never have gotten out so easy."

"Why are you doing this?" Soun wanted to know, "Ukyo doesn't want to marry Ranma any more, she gave up on her claims on him…"

"Which I, as her father, must insist on maintaining," Akira said as he resumed sitting behind his desk, "It's rather the same thing as you insisting on your daughter's claim over my daughter's…"

"But Nabiki wants this union as much as Ranma," Genma replied, "You're going against their personal wishes…"

"Like you give a damn about what anyone thinks if it goes against your desires?" Yumi countered, "I know you too well for that, Saotome, so don't try and pretend that their consent is an issue."

"Kuonji-san," Soun tried to sound reasonable, "I can understand you wanting what you feel is best for your little girl, but Ukyo is nearly a grown woman and capable of deciding these things for herself…"

"She is still too young and headstrong to know what she desires, or what is in her best interest," Akira said tiredly, "Believe me, I have been over this in my mind many times, and I have decided that this is for the best after all. Ukyo may resent me for it now, but in time she will see that it was all for the better. Besides…time is running out for me, and if I wait any longer I won't be able to pass on to her my inheritance. This matter must be resolved here and now before I die, and then I will go to my ancestors in peace, knowing that I have seen to continuing the legacy of the Kuonjis."

"But surely it is not so desperate as all that," Soun tried to reason, "Modern medicine has made great strides in recent years…"

"You think I haven't exhausted all my options there?" Akira asked, "They found the cancer too late in my life to fully arrest it. Three years ago I started chemotherapy, when I sent Ukyo away to train with Yumi, and all I had to show for that was a loss of my hair while feeling sick as a dog. Ukyo hasn't seen me more than a few times over the last two years, and never when I was in the most intensive stages of my therapy. It was only after I gave up on modern medicine that I tried alternative healing methods, anything to prolong my life a few more years, to give Ukyo more time to grow up and leave this tomboy phase that she's been locked into…because of you, Saotome. I finally decided to put pressure on Ukyo to settle this whole matter once and for all so that she could put the issue of your son behind her, one way or another. Instead I find her giving up on her claims, and her womanhood, to maintain this tomboy fetish even after making peace with your Ranma…"

"Do you think this is going to make my son feel any more positively towards her?" Genma asked, "You underestimate my boy if you think he'll go along with this."

"It's no longer a question of whether or not Ukyo will marry him," Akira replied, "I want my daughter back! I want her to accept her femininity, to start dating boys again, to at least open herself to the possibility of a normal life instead of some warped notion of passing herself off as a boy forever. If nothing else I want Ukyo to accept who and what she is so that she can give the Kuonji line the hope of continuation…"

"Then you don't know," Genma got a crafty look in his eyes, "You may be a lot later than you think in getting Ukyo to accept that."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Yumi threatened with her baker's peel thrust under the man's chin.

"Nothing," Genma replied, ignoring the threat of the spatula's sharp edges, "I just find it interesting that you seem to know a lot less about Ukyo than the both of you imagine."

"And what would you know about her?" Akira frowned, "You who abandoned her to misfortune?"

"I may have left her behind," Genma replied calmly, "But I know that Ukyo has a drive to succeed that is worthy of a true martial artist, and she'd never approve of what you people are doing. You won't succeed, Kuonji-san, because you've already lost and don't even know it. Ukyo's already made her decision, so whether you acknowledge that or not…"

He stopped talking as Yumi pressed the edge of her peel against his throat and growled, "The biggest mistake I ever made was in letting you live, Saotome, so you just keep pushing all the wrong buttons and…"

"Don't waste yourself on him, dear sister," Akira ordered, "He isn't worth staining your spatula. Let's continue to let things develop before we force him to reveal whatever it is he means by that statement."

Soun balled his fists as he continued studying the monitor, praying that no one would be hurt as he watched Silk and the other former rivals continue to persevere against the labyrinth filled with lawyers…

A staple gun fired and at once Atsuko flashed her umbrella to intercept the deadly missiles heading towards them. Comb parried a lawyer's attempt to serve her a subpoena on the end of a lance while he used an office chair as a shield against her efforts to slice him. Silk spun her flute around to deflect a man with a briefcase as he tried to press in on her with a pointer, while Nodoka somehow managed to avoid her assailants while stepping past their guard and using the blunt handle of her sword to send several men into dreamland.

The more than thirty men and women in business suits continued to press the attack using seemingly ordinary office equipment in a most unexpected manner against the four women who opposed them, keeping them on the defensive with the sheer weight of their numbers in the battleground formed by the nominal office of the combat lawyers, displaying an impressive skill on both sides as they kept up the pressure.

Every now and again the lawyers would do something unexpected that would momentarily tilt the battle in their favor, such as when several of them popped up from the concealment of a desk and heaved it into Atsuko, momentarily knocking the Oni off balance. Another of them opened up a desk folder and used it to momentarily ensnare Silk's flute while yet another secretary popped up behind the Lore Master and attempted to use a plastic trash liner to choke her, before Comb saw her friend's peril and went to her assistance, giving Silk the chance she needed to call upon an elemental servant, which coiled along one arm and frightened both secretaries as they mistook the flaming Salamanth for a serpent.

"You all right?" Comb asked as Silk tore the bag off of her head and took a deep breath.

"I'm fine," Silk replied with a gasp, "But I'm begging to worry about the tone of this battle."

"You're telling me?" Comb responded with a mild snort, "These guys keep coming out of the woodwork-heads up!"

She raised her sword as two Salarymen appeared swinging staplers on the end of long chains, casting them at Silk and Comb, who raised their own weapons to deflect these attacks, only to have their wrists become targets as their attackers tugged on their chains ever so-slightly. The Amazons struggled to free themselves from this coordinated attack, but the Salarymen began to run in opposite circles, wrapping their chains about both women and forcing the two of them closer together.

Before this maneuver could be completed, however, a flash of steel struck the chains and shattered them completely. As the links and their weighted ends fell to the floor the Salarymen looked astonished to find Nodoka standing there with sword held out to one side, calmly poised and at ease, as though she were a Kabuki dancer.

And then the Salarymen gasped in astonishment as their suits began to fall away, the fabric parting along the seams so that mere seconds later they were reduced to their underwear and T-shirts.

Nodoka sheathed her sword with the scabbard thrust through her sash, then very solemnly she said, "Again I cut a worthless object."

"Huh?" Comb queried of her nominal rival.

Nodoka flashed a kawaii smile at the two Amazons, made a "V" sign with one hand and said, "Nothing…I just always wanted the chance to say that!"

"Is it just me or is she losing it?" Comb murmured to Silk with a dubious expression.

"That depends on if she ever had it to begin with," Silk noted back on the same level.

An inhuman, feral scream drew their attention back to Atsuko, who was thrusting the desk off of herself and snarling like a wild beast that had just been uncaged. Her attackers gave back with looks of dismay as Atsuko did not seem entirely human at that point, a fact she emphasized when she tore into their ranks, tossing men and women aside until she selected one at random and hefted him off the floor as though he were a child's toy.

"Tell me what you've done with my son and maybe I'll let you live!" she cried as she shook the man until his white-capped teeth started to rattle.

Before the man even had the chance at forming a reply, one section of wall toppled over as a burly Sumo wrestler went crashing through the steel obstacle, knocking several panels over. Over the body of the unconscious Sumo stepped Ryoga and Akane, who looked as though they had been in quite a fight, though the other guy was clearly not much better.

"Mom!" Ryoga called out in both surprise and pleasure.

"Ryo-chan?" Atsuko tossed her nominal victim aside as though she had completely forgotten all about him and smiled in delight at the sight of her son. Said victim did not much appreciate being forgotten, though, as he did not come to rest until he was halfway cross the office and landed in a heap between two desks and various unconscious bodies.

"Are you guys all right?" asked Akane, surveying the recent battlefield as though she regretted not having the chance to contribute.

"As well as can be, Akane-chan," Nodoka replied, nodding to the Sumo, "I trust yon fellow didn't give you too much trouble?"

"He tried to shove half a pound cake down Ryoga-kun's throat," Akane replied, darkening slightly as she added, "And then he had the nerve to say I was the one with a weight problem! Serves him right, the pervert."

"Well then," Silk remarked as she relaxed her bearing and stared off at nothing in particular, "All we need to do then is track down Nabiki and the others and then we can have some words with the people who employed this lot, including Ukyo's father."

"Not to mention someone else who will go nameless?" Comb asked her friend slyly.

"Right," Silk's tone grew a touch more frosty, "That's why we won't mention her. How odd…I can't quite seem to pinpoint a direction…"

"Hmm," Nodoka mused, "The lines of force within this building do flow oddly, I wonder what could be causing that…"

"Huh?" Atsuko blinked her eyes, "You goin' weird on us, Nodoka-chan? You're starting to sound like Silk here."

"Oh, it's nothing," Nodoka smiled, "I just felt…a bit oddly, nothing all that substantial."

"Hmm…" Comb's expression darkened, but she refused to voice her thoughts as she considered the wife of a man who once had caught her fancy.

"You know," Silk remarked in an eerie tone of voice, "I have a vague sense that something is amiss here, but I can't quite put my finger on it. It's a familiar sensation, but I don't know where I've…"

"Hey, what's up?" called out a familiar voice.

"Ranma!" Nodoka smiled as she turned around to greet the missing members of their party, which included Nabiki, Shampoo and even Ukyo, looking no worse for wear for all their apparent troubles.

"Looks like they threw you guys a party," Nabiki commented as she surveyed the wreckage, "Glad to see it wasn't a complete blowout."

"Aiyaa," Shampoo remarked, "Is more traps than a Furrier outlet. Shampoo think stupid office people no want us find way to Ukyo father."

"Or perhaps someone else might hold the key to understanding that and other mysteries," mused Kodachi as she appeared from a side passage, "Would that not be correct, Kuonji-san?"

"Huh?" Ukyo saw that more than the Black Rose were looking in his direction and hastily said, "Now wait a minute! I don't know anything about what these jerks were doing! This is all my Dad's doing somehow…I just know it! What I can't believe is that he's trying to hurt you people…"

"I believe you, Ucchan," Ranma assured her, "This place may be nuts, but there's no way you'd be here if you had any idea what these guys would be up to."

"Airen," Shampoo chided, "You very trusting, but Shampoo no as certain that Spatula Girl is to be trusted."

"Ordinarily I might agree with you," Nabiki said as she considered Ukyo, "But somehow I think I have to side with Ranma on this, at least until we have more evidence that she's in on the scam here."

"I'm more inclined to side with the Amazon," Kodachi noted coolly, "But if it is your wish to trust Kuonji, then I shall stand watchful and withhold my judgement."

"Hey," Ukyo glanced around, "I know it looks bad for me, guys, but I swear to you that I didn't know anything about this!"

"I believe you, too, Ukyo," Akane said reassuringly, glancing around as she added, "Let's not go attacking anybody here until we've got some proof of guilt, okay?"

"Well…" Ryoga said reluctantly, clearly not trusting Ukyo, but also not wishing to openly contradict Akane.

"It's not okay with me," Atsuko growled, "She's a Kuonji, which makes her just like somebody else we used to know from the old days, right guys?"

"Indeed," Comb said darkly, "Much too much like a certain lady we once knew, eh Silk?"

"She hasn't actually done anything to cast suspicion on her," Silk replied, "But I'll admit the resemblance is uncanny."

"Oh, you three," Nodoka chided, "Don't you know better than to hold a grudge after all of these years. I'm sure that any friend of my son would never betray his trust in such an openly brazen manner."

Ukyo sighed, only to look up in surprise as Akane touched her arm in a reassuring manner. Ryoga balled his fists and tensed as he saw this and was about to say something when a low, mirthful chuckle intervened to divert attention.

"What the…?" Comb explained, startled.

"Where's that coming from?" asked Ranma.

"It doesn't sound…natural…" Nabiki shivered without quite knowing the reason.

"Aiyaa…" Shampoo slowly pivoted as she glanced around at the ceiling.

"That laugh," Silk's voice dropped to a mere whisper, "I know that laugh…"

"So do I," replied Nodoka, who was suddenly quite tense as she laid hands upon her katana.

"Oh no…" Atsuko groaned, "Not now, not here!"

"What is it, Mom?" Ryoga asked, "What's wrong?"

"Who's doing that laughing?" Akane asked, "It's ten times scarier than Kodachi…!"

"Excuse me?" Kodachi asked, just before the ceiling darkened as a play on light and shadows formed to take a ghostly face, which gazed down on them with chilling menace.

"LONG TIME NO SEE, DEAR," the voice addressed itself to Atsuko, who paled noticeably on hearing.

"Momma?" Atsuko squeaked in a near-whisper.

"Momma?" several of those closest to her echoed, right before a flash of light hammered down at them and drove them to the floor as though a lightning flash had just opened up within the chamber…

Continued

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