Digimon Fan Fiction / Fatal Fury Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ THE BOYZ ❯ Crazy Little Things Called Love and Payback ( Chapter 11 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Robster80 Presents

THE BOYZ
Part 11 - Crazy Little Things Called Love and Payback

Previously (Vegeta): Just as the final match between Ranma and Terry was about to begin, this hulk of a man showed up, knocked out Ranma, and challenged Terry to a fight. Worn out a bit from his previous bout with TK, Terry was easily defeated by this mystery fighter. TK met the same end when he tried to defend Terry. After the Namek and I showed up, the guy says his name is Wolfgang Krauser and tells us to tell Terry he'd be waiting in his castle in Germany. This guy's tough, but he's got nothing on Cell...



Why was he running? As a fighter, Terry rarely turned down a fight, and he never ran from one, either. There was one time, however, but Geese's men were using guns. Running was the only sensible thing.

This time, however, he was just scared. Geese Howard didn't scare him, and he was the man who had his father killed. But this guy did. He was different, perhaps not even human.

[Just keep running,] Terry mentally told himself. [You can get away!]

"Why do you run from me, Terry?"

Now Terry was running harder than ever. The monster had caught up with him.

"Oh come now! Are you that afraid of me?"

A large, hulking shadow fell on Terry, who appeared to be running in place. He didn't look back, but he could feel two evil eyes burning at his back. [No, leave me alone! Get away!]

"Look at me, Terry! Look at my face! The face of your greatest fear!"

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"


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Dende jumped back as Terry bolted to an upright sitting position. The little guardian did his best to smile reassuringly. "Be at peace, Terry Bogard. You are safe here."

"Who... who are you?"

"I am Dende, the current Kami-sama and Guardian of the Earth. Actually, I am a native of the planet called Namek, as was my predecessor."

"Green boy quit chit-chat! You heal airen now!"

The voice belonged to a young girl with long purple hair, whom both Dende and Terry turned to face. She was practically hovering over Ranma, who Terry recognized right away.

Piccolo was standing over her, glaring. "His name is RANMA, and he is NOT your husband! Not until Dende decides whether he is or isn't."

"He can wait," Vegeta raised his voice as he carried TK's limp body to Dende. "He was just knocked out, according to Vash and Quatre. This one here and that Bogard guy were the ones who got the worst of it."

Shampoo glared hard at Vegeta. "You mind own business, porcupine!"

"You got thirty-two teeth, girl," Vegeta hissed through grit teeth. "Would you like to try for sixteen or less?"

Cologne, hopping between the two on her walking stick, extended her arms. "Sorry, mister, but you're too old for my Great-Granddaughter and she's spoken for by that young man there."

"But he is right," Dende said, motioning for Vegeta to lower TK to the Lookout's floor. "TK and Terry were injured while Ranma was only unconscious. Mr. Popo's fetching Ranma some water, and that will be enough." Once TK was at his feet, the little Namekian put his hands to the teen's body and began to heal him. "Besides, as I recall, Vegeta here is already married."

Terry kept looking at his surroundings, puzzled. "How did I get here?"

Quatre, who had been with Vash, Gohan, and Chi-chi nearby, was the one who answered. "We brought you here, Mr. Bogard. Actually, it was our friend Piccolo who carried you and Ranma all the way up here. We just followed them, and that was about an hour ago."

Once Dende was finished with TK, he moved on to Ranma. However, TK didn't move. Vegeta moved his one leg back to kick the kid hard, but then he stopped. Instead, he knelt down and shook TK a little. "Come on, you! Get up before I decide to kick you!"

TK's eyelids twitched before they flew open. He leapt to his feet, ready to fight. "Where is he?! Where's that mountain of muscle?"

"Down, killer! Krauser, or whatever-his-name-is, is probably on his way back to Germany."

TK did a double take. "Uncle?! What are doing here-? Um, when did we get to Dende's?"

"You got sacked hard, kid," Piccolo stated as Dende finished healing Ranma. "You, Ranma, and Terry Bogard were beaten by one man: Wolfgang Krauser."

Ranma groaned slightly before he opened his eyes. And then, he wished he hadn't. "SHAMPOO?!"

"AIYA! Wo da airen!"

The next thing Shampoo knew, she was kissing the pavement, literally. She sat up and looked around before she spotted Ranma hovering in the air, high above her. "Ranma?! How you do that?"

Cologne, speechless for once, had her mouth hung open at the sight. Her "son-in-law" was actually flying. It was probably time to give up on sake.

"Piccolo, what the hell is she doing here?!"

"I brought her here, remember? We're at the Lookout now, not the tournament. Now come down from there. The air's not as breathable at that height."

Ranma nodded and landed back onto the ground. "Okay, if we're here, then I guess Terry knocked me out… no, wait! That big guy knocked me out before the match even started."

"But why did he want to fight me? I still don't understand."

Dende answered Terry. "Wolfgang Krauser, current Earl of Strolheim and Geese Howard's half-brother. Although there's no love lost between them, Mr. Bogard, you caught Krauser's attention by defeating Geese. No one else but he could do such a thing."

"He said to pass a message on to you before we brought you and the two kids up here," Vegeta added. "He wants you to go to his castle in Germany once you've recovered. It seems he wants to fight you again, this time at full strength."

The words sunk into Terry deeply, but he hung his head. "He can wait as long as he wants. I won't fight him again."

"What?!" All eyes were on TK. "But Terry, you were just worn out from the match between you and me. You could've taken that guy-."

"You're wrong! This Krauser, he's not human. He's a monster. There's no way I could fight him again."

A snort came from Vegeta. Cell was a monster, too, and yet Vegeta still faced him. Zarbon, Recoome, Frieza, and even the Androids could have been monsters as well. They beat him, crushed him, and Frieza even killed him, and he came back stronger, eager for a rematch. Granted, he was scared of the likes of Frieza and the Ginyu Force before. This Terry Bogard was scared, the Saiyan realized. The thought of someone stronger than Geese Howard was, to Terry, a slap in the face.

TK couldn't believe this. Terry Bogard was afraid to rise up to a new challenge? TK remembered how new enemies, stronger enemies came after he and the original Digi-Destined defeated Devimon. But they didn't chicken out from that. They rose up to the challenge, finding new ways to fight. And if Terry wouldn't follow that example, then he wasn't the kind of fighter he appeared to be.

"Fine then, coward!"

Terry looked up as TK threw his hat in his face.

"You can have that back. I don't want it." Having said this, TK spun on his heel and started walking for the edge of the Lookout. "As for me, I owe this Krauser for the beating he gave me."

[That crazy kid,] Ranma thought before he rushed over to stand in TK's path, arms out. "Nothing personal, TK, but you're still a novice when it comes to fighting. You go after Krauser, and the guys and I'll be sending you home in a jigsaw puzzle box."

"Out of my way, Ranma, or I'll make you move."

"Like you'd actually slug me-."

Everyone watched in shock as TK delivered a Burn Knuckle to Ranma's jaw, sending the pig-tailed martial artist flying over the edge of the platform. However, he immediately flew back and kneed TK hard, preventing him from jumping off the edge.

"I tried to be nice," Ranma said, "but you went and did it. The only way you're getting off of here is OVER MY DEAD BODY!!" Another kick from him, stronger this time, send TK landing on his back. "Do us a favor, and stay down. You won't get hurt that way."

But TK wasn't about to take this lying down. He leapt back onto his feet and got into a stance. "Over your dead body, eh?" he asked. "FINE BY ME!!"

With that, the two jumped up high and started fighting all out; kicks, punches, and ki-blasts flying aplenty. Ranms still sent TK crashing down to the floor of the platform, harder each time, but TK always got back up and went back into the offensive.

"Cut it out, you two," Quatre cried to them. "Piccolo, stop them before they get hurt!"

Piccolo nodded. However, Vegeta grabbed him before he could get off the ground. "Don't stop them just yet," he said. "My nephew's pulling out all of the stops this time, and I want to see what he's really got." He then looked over at Terry. "He may be just a kid, but I think you could learn something from him. Keep watching."

A heavy sigh came from Dende. TK had just been healed, and now he and Ranma were beating the snot out of each other. "It's going to be one of those days."

"Go, Ranma," cheered a hopping Shampoo. "Stupid boy no beat you!"

Quatre and Vash watched on in disappointment, while Chi-Chi just shook her head sadly. "Those two are so immature. No way am I gonna let you grow up to be like them, Gohan!"

The boy looked at his mother. "Oh mother."

Mr. Popo walked over to all of them. "Would anyone care for something to eat, or perhaps some tea?"

It was hard to follow them, but Terry glued his eyes on the two teens, especially TK. The boy reminded him of himself in his ten years of training. He remembered it well: his father had just been murdered by agents of Geese Howard, and Master Tung had sent him and Andy off to train on their own. He took on many fighters, but usually got beaten badly as a result.

[It seemed impossible back then, starting from scratch like that. But yet, I remembered why I was fighting: to prepare myself for the fight with Geese Howard and anyone who got in my way. I pushed myself before I went back to the ones who had easily defeated me, and through all the hard work, I came out on top. Every new challenge that I met, I faced it down and found a way to fight back.

[This kid, TK, he sees Krauser as a challenge. Maybe… I should see him as one, too, and not a monster that is unbeatable.]

Just then, a large hoverjet rose up, surprising everyone but TK and Ranma. They just kept going while the jet made a landing onto the platform. The doors opened and out came Kari, Matt and his parents, Bulma (with Trunks in her arms), and Amy, rushing out to realize TK was one of the two teens, and that he kept getting hurtling back to the floor and kept getting back up again. The others with them followed, Davis standing aside of Kari (of course).

"I don't know who that is beating up on GK," he said, smiling, "But he's okay in my book."

Kari was about to deck him for that, but what happened next made her, and the others, freeze in horror. An angry Ranma, using all of his strength, did a double kick into TK's midsection that forced him back down and into the floor, making a crater from the force of the hit. As quickly as he delivered the kick, Ranma jumped up and fired a Kamehameha at his fallen opponent, powerful enough to win the fight but not enough to kill. "I'm telling you, for god's sake, STAY DOWN!!!!!!"

No one dared move, except for Ranma as he finally set his feet down. He was panting a little. They had definitely gone all out for that fight.

Dust covered the crater, preventing TK from being visible. From this, a number of shouts began.

"TK, NO!!!"

"Man, what a finish!"

"Ranma, what have you done?!"

"My son! My baby boy!!"

"Bro!! Speak to me!!"

"Akane, how'd YOU get up here?!?!"

"VEGETA!!! You caused this, didn't you?"

"Believe it or not, woman, I had nothing to do with their fight."

It was Vash who silenced everyone. "QUIET!!!!!!!! I think I can see him standing up!"

Sure enough, the dust was clearing and there was TK. He was standing up, panting hard, bleeding from the lips and nose, and, above all else, in a stance while glaring at Ranma. The panting stopped for a second when he turned his head a little to spit out some of the blood in his mouth. "I… I didn't… hear a bell. One more… One more round… Ranma…"

Eyes were wide open. Even after the beating he took, TK was still on his feet and ready for more. It was sensational.

[That's my baby brother?] Matt thought in shock. His parents, Tai, Mimi, and Izzy were thinking along the same lines.

Ken let out a low whistle of astonishment. [TK's turned out to be one tough cookie.]

Amazed, yet exasperated, Ranma dropped to his knees. "Screw this," he said softly. "It ain't worth nothing if I end up killing you, kid. …I quit."

Now that was a real shock to Akane, Shampoo, and Cologne. Ranma, saying he quits a fight? Hell must be freezing over.

Vegeta walked over to TK, a proud grin on his face. "Not bad, nephew," he said, clapping a little. "Not bad at all."

TK's eyes fell on his uncle. "That means a lot… from you, uncle… but… if you don't mind… I'm gonna pass out now." With that, TK closed his eyes and his body went limp. Luckily, Vegeta caught him before he could (again) hit the ground.

"Mr. Popo will show you to a room for TK to rest in," Dende said. His arms were crossed and so was his expression. "He can heal the hard way, since I make it a rule to heal one person per day." He then fixed his eyes on Ranma. "Besides, we've put off dealing with Ranma's 'engagement' to Shampoo quite long enough. Now, Ranma, tell me, in your own words, how you first met Shampoo and how it is you defeated her in combat."


**************************************************** ****************************


"…and that's what happened."

Nodding, Dende rubbed his green chin in thought. "Both stories ring true," he said. "However, there is some falseness in Shampoo's claim that Ranma had defeated her in his male form."

Shampoo was about to protest that she was telling the truth, but a raised hand from Dende kept her quiet. "I need time to think on this matter. In the meantime, I believe Mr. Popo has prepared a large feast for everyone who is here in my home. Go and eat, please, and remain outside until I make my decision. In the meantime, you two keep away from each other, and absolutely no more fighting!"

Once everyone but Dende and Piccolo had gone, the two Namekians began their secret council.

"I think you've already made up your mind, Dende."

"I have. Male Ranma's win over Shampoo was accidental, and therefore invalid."

"Good. He'll be happy to-. Male Ranma?"

"You heard right, Piccolo. MALE Ranma's win isn't valid. However, FEMALE Ranma's win from back when she and Shampoo first met, and fought, is. There's nothing I can do about that."

"Then, by Amazon law, he/she must die."

"Yes, and I have an idea as to how to kill two birds with one stone, and without wasting the Dragon Balls on resurrecting Ranma."

"At the risk of making a bad pun, I'm all ears."

"Being half of my predecessor, you should recall the collection of mystical artifacts kept up here from over the ages. Mr. Popo showed them to me, and there's a certain artifact that may help us."

"The one in the purple case?"

"Yes. It's up on the top shelf, second case to the left."


****************************************************** **************************


TK was still out cold, from what Terry could see from outside the room the teen was sleeping in. Terry also noticed that the girl Kari was still at TK's bedside, sitting in a chair, her hand holding his.

[He's stronger than I realized. Not to mention he's got a lot of heart. That Vegeta guy was right after all. I did learn a lot by watching the fight. But I think I could learn more… if I can get TK to spar with me.]

Nodding to himself, Terry walked away with quiet steps.

[Next time, Wolfgang Krauser, I'll be ready for you.]


TO BE CONTINUED…


Next: (Dende) Call me cruel if you like, but I still won't heal TK until tomorrow. Anyway, the main focus next time is on Ranma and Shampoo's so-called engagement. My decision is final: by Shampoo's law, Ranma must die by her hand. You heard me, old lady; your son-in-law's got to die. Don't look at me like that, guys! Piccolo and I have the situation well in hand, and Ranma knows what to do. I hope.

Next episode: Time to Die, Airen!