Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Hero's Prologue  ❯ Know Thy Enemy ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

What Happened Earlier:

Happosai escapes from his prison and kills Genma. Ranma
finds out about his father's death. Ranma meets with Ryoga as
he searches for Happosai in his quest for revenge. They decide to
travel together. Ranko, sister of Ranma, has her sword skills
tested by her mother, Nodoka, before she leaves on an adventure
to become stronger like the rest of her family.

Present Year 116 A.D.

Key:

[= =]..............New Scene
[*????*]..............Foreign Language
["????"]..............Verbal Talking
['????']..............Mental Talking


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**** _________________ ****
***** Hero's Prologue *****
***** Chapter 2 *****
**** ****
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Know Thy Enemy
*********************************

= = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = =

104 A.D.

Where was he? Why had they taken him out of his sleep?
He squinted his eyes as they adjust to the candle light. The
surroundings were unrecognizable in the dim light. "Nanna,
where are we going?"
The nanny looked at the small child with eyes of sadness.
How could one so young possibly understand the wars going on in
the outside? "Away from here, child. Away from the bad men. To
Psurai."
"What bad men? Where is momma? Is she coming?" the child
asked with his curious eyes.
She sighed sadly. "I'm...afraid not."
The boy wasn't worried. His nanny would protect him and he
was sure his momma was okay. He was proud to say that he was part of
long line of power in the Kusanagi family. Even though he didn't know
exactly what that meant, he was sure proud of it. "Why not?"
A slight, very minor, almost unhearable, clank of footsteps
in the distance came to her ears. She quickly whipped around to
look behind but no one was there. "We shall talk about this later,
child. We must hurry." She grabbed his hand and hastened their pace.
"'kay." The child could somehow feel her uneasiness so he
kept his mouth shut.
The longer the walk progressed, the worse the environment
became. They must have left city a while ago.

//...where...the boy...//

Feeling a slight tug below her, she stopped and looked down
to the boy. Her eyes widened as she observed the emotions going
through the boys face. "Please, we can not stop. The boat is just..."

//...never...NEVER!//

Fire lit the sky as the ambers flew into the air. The city
they had come from was burning. "MOMMA!" He tried to tear away his
nanny's grasp. "Momma!" He could feel her pain and anguish. He had
to stop it somehow. Being as young as he was, the only thing he
could think about was protecting his mother despite his low power
level. They were too far away and would never reach her in time. If
he could just...
And just like that, they were there at the city. He didn't
know how but he didn't care. "Ow!" He covered his face from the
ambers of the flames. "Momma! Where are you!" In a final burst of
strength he tore away her grasp and ran toward the flames.
"No! Kyosuke! You musn't!"
Like demons born from hell, a group of men stepped out of
the flames unharmed. They looked at the two in surprise as Kyosuke
fell back in frieght. He could feel their anger and rage.
"I guess we missed a couple. What should we do with them?"
The one in charge shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. Kill
them. That's our orders."
"But weren't we suppost to find--"
"Oh please, does he look like one of the reknowned Kusanagis
in dirt rags?"
Kyosuke looked down at the clothes his nanny had dressed
him in. They were quiet ragged and looked like something picked up
off the street. He had never really paid attention to what she put on
him.
"Okay, whatever you say."
His life would never be the same. The most important
moment in his life passed by in less than a couple seconds although
it seemed like a lifetime. The scattered bolts flew of the gun too
fast for any of them for almost anything to be done except one thing.
In a split second decision she flung herself into the path of the
projectiles. The tiny pieces of metal cut through her like paper but
caused them to miss Kyosuke. Before he could even realize the full
extend of what had just happened, another barrage of bullets raced
toward him. He stared at them a long while as they seemed to slow
down right before his eyes, torturing him in a slow death it felt
like. At the exact moment right before the bullets reached he
glanced up at his killers and saw the bloodthirsty smiles on their
face.
His eyes closed as his body shuddered and an odd power
surged through his body. The bullets were still there, unmoving.
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" His scream pierced the entire city and engulfed it
in his emotions. A green ray screeched over the city...

= = = = = = = = =

116 A.D.

Ranma and Ryoga made it to Capital Saillune with no
problem at all. Saillune was one of the largest cities in the
country, there was no doubt about that. Most of the buildings
were tall, made with concrete and timber wood combination.
Everything was made with exact precision, even the layout of
the buildings. The entire city in fact was a huge holy
pentagram, constructed during Choas Wars in defense of large
swarms of demons. In the middle of the city, there lay the
grande castle of Saillune. Over five stories high, made with
beautiful granite and shining mable, the one hundred year
old castle was one of the few things to survive the Wars and
still look as grand as it did.
The two of them walked into the bustling city,
ignoring all of the commotion around them. Ryoga had grown
up in one of the toughest cities in the world, besides Donza and
those in the Choas Kingdom. He was used to the crowed streets
and the noise level. As for Ranma, he had been through
Saillune several times before as a child and also recently,
around a couple of months ago, so he was used to it as well.
"Argh, this is what I hate about big cites! I can
never find anything here," Ranma said.
"Your telling me...I always get lost," Ryoga
muttered. "Do you know the place where you got cured?"
Ranma shrugged. "It was a purification church, but
that's all I remember." He glanced and noticed a tavern next to
them. "Let's go in there. We can always find out stuff there."
The tavern was average, nothing fancy but not to rundown
either. A few drunkards and hustlers, but other than that, the
customers seemed to be normal, lawbidding citizens. They walked
up to the bartender.
"Hey, do ya know where a purification church is?" Ryoga
asked.
"No drink, no info," he stated simply.
"Why you..." Ryoga growled at him, but the bartender
clearly wasn't going to budge.
Ranma sighed. No one now adays would do anything for free
or just a small favor. "I'll have...the cheapest thing ya got."
He 'hmphed' and slapped a mug of milk on the counter.
Ranma looked at the milk oddly. "Er...ain't ya got any
water?"
"Well, you said the cheapest thing. My water's crystal
clean so it costs a bit more. So shuddup and drink!"
Ranma didn't complain after that.
"Now, what did you want to know?"
"Where a purification church is," Ryoga answered.
"Sure. Just go west of this bar for three blocks and
turn right at the Jupiter monument. You can't miss the statue,
its pretty big. Anyways, you'll be right at the church if you
follow my directions," the bartender said.
"Okay, thanks," Ryoga said gratefully. "Let's go Ranma."
They made their way to the purification church down
the street shortly after.
"So...Ryoga...watcha gonna do after your cured?"
Ranma asked.
"I don't know...I'll probably keep searching for
Xellos," Ryoga answered. "I'm not sure where he is but...
he might be in the Chaos Kingdom since he is a mazoku."
"Yeah...I'm probably heading that way too," Ranma
said. "Happosai will probably go back there being what he
is....whatever he is. I don't know why, but I'm just sure
he'll go to the Chaos Kingdom. Man...we're--" Ranma jumped
back suddenly. "What the hell?!"
"Huh?" Ryoga looked at Ranma who was staring at the
wall behind him. Turning around, he saw what Ranma was
looking at. It was a large wall of wanted posters. There
were two that stood out to Ranma. One of them showed rough
sketches of what seemed to be a younger version of his
father. To the left of him there was an imp like old man.
At the opposite side of Genma a man with long hair,
probably about the same age as Genma at the time, stood by
him.

********************
** WANTED **
** ------------ **
** - - **
** - Picture - **
** - - **
** - - **
** ------------ **
** Genma Saotome **
** Happosai **
** Soun Tendo **
** _____________ **
** DEAD OR ALIVE **
** 1,000s **
********************

"Holy...that's a lot of silver!" Ranma said, impressed
by the reward. "I wonder what my dad could of done...I guess
that's when my old man trained with Happosai."
"Oh..." Ryoga glanced at the other rewards around it.
His eyes ran over a poster which he wasn't sure he saw right.
Blinking twice, he asked Ranma, "Hey Ranma, did you know your
wanted?"
"WHAT?!" Ranma looked at the poster Ryoga pointed at
with bulging eyes.

********************
** WANTED **
** ------------ **
** - - **
** - Picture - **
** - - **
** - - **
** ------------ **
** Ranma Saotome **
** Genma Saotome **
** _____________ **
** CAPTIVE ONLY **
** 3,000c **
********************

"Man...what did we do now?!" Ranma said in
expasperation. On his past travels with his father, they
hadn't exactly been the best of people. As Genma had once
said, would you rather starve to death as instead of
stealing food? Just as he was thinking about all the bad things
they had done in the past, he noticed a few people eyeing him
and the poster, raising their eyebrows.
"Er....maybe we should cover this up...." After making
a couple adjustments to make sure his face was unrecognizable,
he said, "There, much better." Defacing a wanted poster was
actually a serious crime because they didn't want any mistaken
people to be killed so he made sure no one was watching.
"How come your dad's name is crossed out?" Ryoga
asked.
"Probably because he's dead..." Ranma replied quietly.
"Oh," was all he said after that. Without another word,
they moved onto to find the purification church.
"He said turn left not right, Ryoga."
"I know that!"
"Suuuure you did. Then how come--"
"Shut up, let's go already!"
"Okay okay..."

= = = = = = = = =

Fire. Fire burned at his skin, threating to devour him alive,
but he ignored it as best he could. He had to or else he wouldn't be
able to find them. His skin glistened with hot sweat, soaking his
clothes. He didn't know how long he had been looking, but he didn't
care. Even if he died in this inferno, it would be his proper
punishment. If only he hadn't of left the village...if only.
Two shadows emerged out of the fire. He dropped into a
fighting stance, preparing himself for battle.
"Wait, its only us Herb-sama!" They shouted simaltaneously.
It was Lime and Mint, his left hand and right hand, and
possibly his only friends besides his brother. They were good-hearted
fellows, even if a little slow in the head.
"Did you find him? Or any of the others?" Herb asked
anxiously.
They shook their heads sadly.
"Herb-sama...I don't think that anyone sur--" Lime started
to say.
"QUIET!" His eyes glowed with rage and denial. Streaks of tears
flowed down his cheeks in his distress. "My mother...the villagers...one
of them had to of survived! And most of all Kirin! He would not die so
easily!!" Herb's brother, Prince Kirin, had been everything to him.
His father, his mentor, his best friend...everything. He fell to the
ground, weeping.
"Herb-sama..." Mint knelt down and clasped his friend's
shoulder.
"No...no...I..." The furies and sadness balled up into one
energy, surrounding him in an aura of dark power. "This...this is
not the act of a noble warrior...the one that Kirin raised." Standing
up with renewed willpower, he solemnly vowed, "Kirin...I will avenge
you. No matter what...I will...I WILL KILL YOU XELLOS!!!"
His voice echoed on in the skies of the night.

= = = = = = = = =

"Uh, hi, is a Mr.Slayne?" Ranma asked the cleric at the
counter.
The cleric shook his head. "No, I'm afraid Slayne has gone
a journey of some kind. I doubt he will be back for some while."
"Damn...that's the guy that cured half of my curse." Ranma
said to Ryoga.
Ryoga latched onto Ranma's collar instantly as he heard the
news. "YOU MEAN I CAN'T BE CURED?!"
"Ack! Calm down ya idiot! I didn't say that!"
The cleric looked at the two with an odd look. "Um, can I
help you sirs?"
They looked at the cleric in surprise, as if forgetting he
was there, and quickly released each other.
"Well, yeah, I was wondering if you guys can cure curses?"
Ranma asked.
"That depends what type of curse." The cleric stated in a
well practiced manner as if he had said this many times. "First,
who or what cursed? A witch, a demon, a sorceror--"
"Wait!" Ranma quickly interrupted. "I already went through
this before."
"Oh? May I have your name please?"
"Ranma Saotome."
"Okay let's see..." He flipped through gigantis book full
of names. "Ah yes, here you are. All the information I need to
fulfill your needs is here. Do you have the other half of the gold?"
Ranma nodded. "My friend here needs to be cured too. He
has the same type of curse except he turns into a female pig."
The cleric raises an eyebrow. "Oh really?"
Ryoga looks at the ground in embarrassment.
"Can you give me, and him, a full cure?" Ranma asked with
hope in his eyes.
"Yes, I can. Changing into an animal curse is much less
complex than turning into a human," the cleric explained. "Come
with me."

= = = = = = = = =

The cold wind brushed against his skin. He shuddered and
rubbed the goosebumps on his arms. Destruction was immenent by the
looks on the battlefield. All around him were caved in buildings
with rubble all over the ground and rising from burnt holes. The
entire shipyard was empty of all civilians. In the usually bustling
sea town, there was only sounds of death and battle.
He walked over to his Commander with a long face. "Cid...
we can't hold out much longer."
"God damn it Kyosuke, don't you think I know that?"
Commander Cid sighed. "Sorry, you know all this damn war crap
has been gettin' to me lately. All 'cause of them Chaos Kingdom
assholes, and those stupid demons, and those freakin power hungry
Choas General, and..."
Kyosuke smiled to himself. Cid Highwind was quite a
character: very blunt, very short-tempered, and very foul-mannered.
Despite that, everyone seemed to grow on him instantly. Perhaps it
was because behind all that, he really was a kind man. Cid insisted
that everyone call him by his first name rather than Commander.
Cid shook his head. "Anyways, there's something I need
you to do. It's a very important mission. Do you think you can
handle it?"
"Um, I guess..." Kyosuke said uneasily. The missions he
had been recieving lately had been very odd.
Cid gave him a hard look. "Whadda ya mean 'I guess'?
Your a Kusanagi, Kyosuke, of course you can handle it! Ya gotta say
it like man!"
He knew Cid wouldn't get off his back until he gave him
something that satisfied him. "Um...hell yes I can handle it!"
Giving him a hard slap on the back, Cid let out a hearty
laugh. "That's the spirit! Now..." His face became serious. "We
both know we can't hold the shores for much longer. The Chaos
Kingdom will break through soon and we gotta be ready. After that,
the Psion Barrier will only be able to hold out for a week or so
and then it will begin to deteriorate. Then Psionic's only defense
is us ESPer Knights and there ain't many of us left. Athena should
be at the Moon Kingdom by now and have told them about our situation.
I want you to meet up with Toma in Yune. From there you two'll make
your way to Jurai and ask the for help."
"Huh? But why do I have to go! And why Prince Toma too?"
Kyosuke was becoming angry that he was being sent away and not be
able to protect his homeland.
"You know why..." Cid said quietly. Every single messenger
that they've sent out had vanished and the Chaos Kingdom had set up
an aeon field that scrambled any type of psionic, magical, or
spiritual communication. No messenger has ever come back alive.
They needed someone who could defend themself. "And since we know
that Athena got through, the Chaos Kingdom is probably make sure
that doesn't happen with even more force. That's why I'm sending
two of you.
Seeing Kyosuke's distraught face, Cid put a consoling hand
on his shoulder. "Sorry, but this is the only way. The stuff you'll
need is in your room. Also, hire a mercenary or two, or find anyone
that is willing to help you 'cause your journey is gonna be one
helluva dangerous one and you'll need all the help you can get. I'll
catch up with you later before you leave, okay?"
Kyosuke stared that ground, his fists clenched tight, but
nodded. He hated war. He vowed to himself that he'd end all wars
in Psionic once and for all and find out whoever killed his
mother. It was a long shot, but some how, some way, he'd find a way
to do it.
Cid watched him walk off into the distance with a feeling
of anguish in his heart. He had grown close to the kid, ever since
he started teaching him some of his own tricks. That Kusanagi had
an epic battle awaiting him somewhere in the future. He could feel
it.
"Hey! Were back!"
Coming up the hill behind them were oddly clothed two
women compared to the country's normal wear.
"Ah, there you are, Kei and Yuri," Cid said with a smirk.
"So how's the trash today kids?"
"Worse than yesterday. The crap's been piling up now,"
Kei said, smirking right back. "So what's the news old man?"
Yuri sighed to herself. They always played these odd
games every time they were around each other. Sort of like an
odd father/daughter relationship, brother/sister relationship.
"Same old same old," Cid replied.
"Ah...I'm sorry we haven't been much help Comman-- er,
Cid." Yuri scratched the back of her head.
"Hey, its okay. You two're probably a couple of the
best GP I've met in a while!" Cid commended them. That was very
true, he wasn't making that up. Kei's sharp shooting skills with
that gun was amazing and the seemingly millions of different ways
Yuri could use that plasma sword was equally amazing. Still, he
had to admit, they could botch up the simplest of jobs and make
the biggest mess.
"Heh, thanks old man," Kei said with pride. "You
ain't half bad yourself."
Yuri walked up to Cid and handed him a slip of paper.
"Here are the map coordinates you asked for. The Genesis Patrol
has mapped out every major base of the Chaos Kingdom they found
for you. We've recieved word from our superiors that the GP are
mobilizing a force to aid you and your country."
"GREAT! That's the best news I've heard in ages!" Cid
shouted with enthusiasm.
Kei and Yuri smiled proudly as if they had done something
right for once.
Cid genuinely felt there was hope for the first time in a
long time since the Chaos Kingdom began invading. They came so
quick that Psionic was knocked off their feet. It took them a while
to restablize but even then the Chaos Kingdom had delt a major blow
to Psionic by taking out a large portion of the ESPer Knights.
If only they had discovered sooner than every messenger they were
sending out were vanishing without a trace...
Looking out to the battlefield, Cid told himself, 'Help
better come soon or else we're screwed...'

= = = = = = = = =

"So how does it feel to be cured Ryoga?" Ranma asked.
Ryoga silently took a pale of water and dumped it over
himself. Looking down at his hands he saw that he was still
human. "AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"
A sweatdrop appeared on the back of Ranma's head. "Um,
I guess that answers that." Scratching his head, he asked
himself, "Now how in the hell am I gonna find out where
Happosai is..."
"Oh that's easy," Ryoga answered after coming out of
trance. "Head to a bar. There's always good info there."
Ranma nodded. "Good idea." He taps a stranger walking by
on the shoulder. "Hey, could tell me where the nearest pub is?"
The middle aged man nodded. "Sure. Its right over there."
"Thanks." Ranma glanced at the bar. "'Crown of Kings'
eh?"
A man flew out at that exact moment, knocking Ryoga
over.
The man dusted off his spiky hair. He looked to be some
kind of fighter by the looks of his clothing, rough appearance,
and sword sheathed on side. "Geez, fiesty little thang ain't ya?"
A woman with short blond hair dressed in a tuxedo stormed
out throwing a jug of liquor at him. "Quit trying to hit on me
you drunk!" Her angry demeanor turned into a smirk. "Or have you
forgetten what happens when I get serious?" Cracking her knuckles,
she put an emphazise on 'serious'.
Standing up, the man winced and shook his head quickly.
"Hey now, no need for that!" Looking around, he asked, "What in
the hell did I hit anyways? Felt like a brick wall."
"Grr....get off of me!" Ryoga yelled from below.
"Oh, heh, whoops." He stepped aside and helped Ryoga up.
"Sorry 'bout that bud."
"Yea yea..." Ryoga muttered.
Realizing something, the man checked his pockets. He
looked around a found a kid already running off with a pouch in
his hand. "What the...hey! Kid! Get back here!"
The blue haired kid grinned back at him. "Heh, its mine
now!"
A tall tiger looking teenager from across the street
shouted at him, "Hurry up Teepo!"
The lady laughed at the drunk. "Haha, there goes your
money."
"Oh no you don't!" In the blink of an eye, his sword is
out and ready. "Sujikai Senpuretsuzan!" Striking his sword in
an upward-diagonal motion, a gust wind springs up from the
ground throwing Teepo of his feet and smashing him into the
ground.
"Ow..." Teepo murmurs while rubbing his butt.
Haohmaru smirks triumphently as if he had just won a
great battle. "Now, give back my money. No one takes money
from the legendary samurai Haohmaru!"
Teepo throws back the pouch of coins to Haohmaru.
Before running off he mutters, "Washed up old drunk!"
"Hey! What did you just say you little brat?! Come
back here!" Haohmaru started after Teepo and his friend.
The woman shook her head. "Idiot..." Looking to Ryoga,
she asked, "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah," Ryoga answered, nodding.
"Wow, who was that guy?" Ranma wondered, impressed by
the feat he had just witnessed. He certainly wanted to know
how to do that.
"Oh that's just Haohmaru, your wandering ronin. He
turns up around here ever once in a while." She called his
name as if it were a dirty word. "Anyways, my name's King.
Are you with that guy?" she asked, pointing to Ryoga.
"Yeah. I'm Ranma and that's Ryoga," Ranma said.
"Is there anything I can help you with? If not, I gotta
get back to work," she said, walking toward the bar.
Seeing where she was going, Ranma asked, "Do you
work there?"
"Yeah, it's my bar. I'm the bartender."
"Really? Well, we could really use some help finding
someone."
King nodded. "Sure, I hear all sorts of stuff, come on
in."
The bar was typical of any bar except not as many drunks
laying on the floor. Ranma and Ryoga sat down at the counter
and waited for her while she attended to some minor business.
"She definitely ain't your normal bartender, that's
for sure," Ranma commented.
"Yeah...she walks like a fighter and by the look on that
Haohmaru's face, she must put up a pretty good battle," Ryoga
agreed.
King came back minutes later. "Sorry about the wait.
Anyways, what did you want to know?"
"Have you ever heard of a guy named Xellos?" Ryoga asked
quickly and eagerly.
"Nope, sorry." King picked up a couple of dirty glasses
and began cleaning them.
"How about a man named Happosai?" Ranma silently
clenched his fist beneath the counter.
King flinched as soon as the name left Ranma's mouth.
"That pervert?! Of course! That little bastard was around here
about a month ago groping every woman in site! Including me!"
she growled. "I have to admit, I could even touch the little
demon!"
Ryoga raised an eyebrow and gave Ranma an odd look. "Um,
not to accuse you or anything, but are you sure this is the same
demon?"
Ranma returned Ryoga's look with a hard one. "Of course!
This Happosai bastard killed my father! But...I don't know why
he's--"
"Oh, I can explain that. I've heard that he gains power
by, uh, groping women," King explained.
"Huh? That doesn't sound very demonic. Does he...rape
women too?" Ryoga asked hesitantly.
"No...I know it's odd," King replied.
Ranma smashed his fist into the counter. "I don't care
what he is, who he is, or why he does what he does. I WILL get
revenge for my Pop!"
Ryoga clasped Ranma on his shoulder. "I know. I'm not
saying he's any less evil at all."
"But you have to admit, it is odd for a demon," King
commented. "Well...it could have something to do with the
other rumors I've been hearing about him."
"What's that?" Ranma asked.
"They say that he said he was going to Lunar to 'find
a more satisfying desert'. He called whatever he was going
to find a 'royal treat'." King set down the cleaned up glasses
and filled them up with some beer. "Here, on the house."
"Thanks." Ryoga took the mug and drank up.
Ranma was unconcerned with the drink at the moment.
"'Royal treat'...he couldn't possibly be thinking of...the
Princesses and the Queen?!"
King shrugged. "I don't know, could be."
"That's crazy! Happosai can't be THAT strong...Queen
Serenity would wipe the floor with him! I don't get it...."
Ranma shook his head. "Well whatever it is, I will make him
pay..."
Ryoga drank from his mug quietly. Underneath the
thick head of his, some serious thinking was going on.
Something didn't add up with Happosai and his motives...
then the liquor kicked and he shrugged it off.
King pondered to herself for a second. "Come to think
of it, a whole lot of things have been going down lately all
across Central Circle."
"Like what?" Ryoga asked curiously.
"For one thing, I heard Psionic has been under attack
by the Chaos Kingdom for a whole month and no one knew a
thing about it until recently," King said solemnly.
Ryoga choked on his beverage.
"What the hell?! A whole MONTH?!" Ranma exclaimed. That
was huge news. A whole country was under siege for a whole
month and no one knew a thing until now? That certainly was
strange.
King nodded. "I know, weird that we just found out now.
One of their ESPer Knights came by ship to Solaris and told the
King himself. Something must of seriously been up if it took
one whole ESPer Knight just to deliver a message. Another
uncertain rumor is that one of the Chaos Generals is involved
in the attack on Psionic."
"Man...that's freaky..." Ranma murmured. ESPer Knights
were known to have incredibly powerful psionic abilities and
were never used as simple carriers.
"Yep. Plus, Nerv III and Midgar's 100 year suddenly
stopped without word," King said. "No treaty was said to been
involved, they just stopped fighting."
Ryoga scratched his head. "They just stopped fighting?
Huh...?"
"Geez, is that all?" Ranma asked sarcastically.
King grinned. "Actually no. Lodoss is in civil war, a
guy named Vash the Stampede has a 1,000,000 gold reward on his
head because he completely levelled an entire city by himself
and Elemental Priestess of Gaia passed away, and the Gaia Dragon
Lord is searching for a new disciple. With so much stuff going
on at once, many suspect the Chaos Kingdom had a hand in some
of it. I wonder when the Kingdom of Order is going to step in
because I know they aren't just going to let them run anarchy
all over the world. It'd be another Chaos War. So that about
sums it up."
"Wow..." Ryoga said, almost speechless.
Ranma thought on the all the events taking place for
a moment, mainly the ones concerning Happosai. "I just thought
of something. If Happosai was here a month ago, he's gotta be
pretty far from us. Really far. There's no way we'll catch up..."
"Well you know where he's going right? Why know take a
ship to Lunar?" King suggested.
"That's a great idea! Thanks!" Taking a quick sip from
the mug, Ranma sat up. "Thanks again for everything King."
Ryoga took the cue, finished his drink, and sat up as
well. As if not sure about something, he stopped at the door.
He checked to see if Ranma was gone before turning around to
King. "Um, you wouldn't happen to know anything about a young
girl with long braided brown hair called Anita would you? I
heard recently that she now travels with a bounty hunter named
Donovan, a big tall guy with--"
"Oh, I know Donovan!" King exclaimed, snapping her
fingers. "Can't miss the guy with that huge sword he carries.
He was here a couple months ago but I can't recall if he was with
a little girl or not."
"Do you know which way he went?" There was a tint of hope
in Ryoga's eyes.
"Nope, sorry," King said regretfully.
Ryoga looked at the ground, downcast. "Oh...well thanks
anyways. Bye."
"See you around." King waved at Ryoga as he left the bar.
"I wonder why he wanted to know about Donovan and a little
girl..."

= = = = = = = = =

"...400...500....600 coins," Ranma counted out loud.
"Huh...that's it?" Ryoga asked. "Shouldn't we have more?"
Ranma shook his head. "The cures wiped us out of all our
money. Damn it, we can't get a ride with only 600."
"So...what're we gonna do?"
"Guess we got no choice...'Do the wrong thing in the worst
situations' like my father," Ranma stated. "We gotta hitch a ride
if ya know what I mean..."
Ryoga narrowed his eyes. "You mean be stowaways? Hmph,
figures you'd think of something like that."
"Hey! We ain't got no choice ya know!"
"Yeah yeah, whatever..."

= = = = = = = = =

A thunderous storm brewed outside in the night. Rain crashed
down into the ship as it rocked back and forth. It was pitch black,
he stank of rotten fish, and, even worse, the barrel in which he was
hiding in had been turned upside down.
"Ranma, when I get out of here, I'm going to kill you," Ryoga
muttered.
"H-Hey now, we had no choice!" Came Ranma's muffled excuse.
"Besides, I'm in the same situation as you!"
"Your barrel is upside down," he growled.
They were silent for a bit. They could nothing except for the
very faint sound of footsteps from above on the deck. It had been
two days since they stowed away on the ship. Two days of being
stuck in a barrel of rotten fish with the only light coming in
from a small tiny hole. The barrels were right near hallway which
connected to every room in the ship so there was hardly never a time
when Ranma and Ryoga were alone. The fish tasted horrible but at
least it quenched their hunger. For the first time, the passage
was empty.
"Finally!" Ranma cried out. "The coast is clear. Come on,
let's get out of here!"
By the time they were out of the barrels it was dawn and
the sky was beginning to clear up. After quickly cleaning themselves
off, they made their was to the top deck for some fresh air. Being
stuck in a barrel of fish for two days was not a pleasant
experience.
"YES! FRESH AIR!" Ranma took in a gulp of air.
Ryoga sniffed himself and made a disgusted sound. "I still
smell like fish." Turning to Ranma, he asked, "Hey where we going
to sleep anyways?"
Ranma shrugged. "I dunno, we'll figure it out later."
"But--uph!" Ryoga whipped around to see a huge, burly sailor.
He was your perfect example of a stereo-typical sailor. Big,
tattoes all on his aims, and rude. "Hey!"
"Outta my way, I'm tryin to work here." The sailor shoved
his way through. Pinching his nose, his eyebrows furrowed. "What in
the hell?" Glancing at Ryoga, he sniffed. "Ya smell like a rotten
fish dried out in the sun! Ya got attitude and ya smell! You better
stay away from me if ya know what's good fer ya." He walked away.
"Why you--" Ryoga began but Ranma held him back. Ryoga tore
away from his grasp. "What's the big idea!"
"We can't get in a fight on our first -- well third I guess --
day aboard," Ranma reasoned.
"Oh don't worry about that guy," someone told them.
Looking back behind them, they saw a man with long purple hair
wearing red armor. He certainly looked like the fighting typed with
the X shaped scar on his cheek. At first glance, she actually looked
like a guy, but her voice told otherwise. Beside her was a girl
holding a staff. The blonde haired girl smiled at them with her long
cat-like tail dragging behind behind her.
Instantly, Ryoga's heart melted at the sight of the blonde
girl. She was dressed in some type of priestess gown except more
skimpy.
"He's like that to everyone, but no one wants to say anything
because he's the first mate," she told them, looking at the
departing sailor. "I haven't seen you around before. I'm Irhie."
"I'm Fam," she said cheerfully.
"I'm Ranma." He looked over to Ryoga, waiting for him to say
something, but noticed that Ryoga was mesmorized by Fam's beauty.
Ranma rolled his eyes. "And the drooling idiot Ryoga."
Snapping out of his trance, Ryoga retorted. "Hey! I was just
um..."
Fam giggled at him causing Ryoga to blush in embarassment.
"So this ship is going to a port near Lunar right?" Ranma
asked, ignoring the flustered Ryoga.
Irhie nodded. "How come you two are going to Lunar?"
Ranma clenched his fist unconsciously as he thought about
it. "I'm looking for someone and I heard he was heading to Lunar.
His name is Happosai...he killed my father."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Fam said in understanding.
"Yeah..." Ranma's thoughts were still on Happosai and his
father.
"How about you?" Ihrie asked Ryoga.
"Me? I'm looking for a this guy named Xellos because that
bastard gave me one of the most horrible curses ever! Grr...when
I get my hands on him..." Ryoga smacked his fist into palm.
Irhie grinned. "I know exactly how you feel. My Master, Rezo,
gave this wretched curse for the stupidest reason! I mean, geez, I
didn't mean to wreck all that stuff..." he muttered to herself.
"Except he's a lot stronger than me, so I'm searching ruins with
Fam for stuff that'll make me stronger."
Fam shook her head and smiled. "I don't really have a reason,
I just want to help Irhie 'cause she's my best friend and partner!"
"Heheh..." Irhie scratched the back of her head at being
slightly at Fam's open display of affection.
Both Ranma and Ryoga completely missed the fact that Fam
called Ihrie a she. "Well it's nice to meet-- eh? What the?" Ranma
quickly noticed the fog closing in on them.
Just seconds ago the sky had been perfectly clear now a think,
dense fog covered the area. It wasn't long before such a strange
phenomenom attracted the whole crew to the deck.
"What in the hell?" the first mate said in wonder.
"How are we suppost to navigate in this kind of wheather?"
asked another sailor.
A faint sound came to them in the distance. As it got closer
and became louder, it sounded like some kind of twisted laugh. It
grew louder and louder until it hurt.
"Geez! What's that noise?" Ranma shouted while covering
his hears.
"Owwy! Even the spirits are hurting!" Fam cried out.
Irhie flinched. "Ugh, sounds like a banshee's screech!"
Ryoga jumped back abruptly. "It's....it's...." His eyes went
wide and he fainted with blood dripping out of his noise.
Two large jug sized breasts popped out of the fog and, after
what seemed like an eternity, her whole boddy followed afer.
Ranma, realizing why Ryoga fainted, said, "That idiot..."
".....Ohohohohohoho! I am Na--"
"OH NO, it's Mistress Banshee!" numerous sailors stuttered.
"Please don't hurt us Mistress Banshee!"
Her face flushed red instantly as the name Mistress Banshee
left their lips. "FOR THE LAST TIME, I AM NAGA THE SERPENT, NOT
MISTRESS BANSHEE!" Her hands began glowing a dark purple. "And for
that insult, you men shall pay!" Lifting them above her head, she
began chanting. "You who crosses between sky and earth--"
"WAIT! Naga, not yet!" Another woman flew into view. "Geez,
you always do this! Wait until we got the valuables, then we can
have fun," the woman told Naga.
"Hmph, fine Ryoko, have it your way. Just hurry up," Naga
said, ushering her away with hand gestures.
"OH MY GOD!" One of the sailors screamed. "Ryoko the Ruby
Terror! Please, dear god, don't hu--"
Ryoko knocked him off board with a quick punch to the face.
She completely ignored the man aside from punching him and
continued to mutter about Naga. "Lousy partner...she could at
least help me..." Her words drifted off as she disappeared down
below.
Naga grinned. "Heh, now that she's gone, where was I? Oh
but I can't use that spell...got to wait until Ryoko's out...oh,
I know!"
"Nooooooo!"
"Hurry, run for your lives!"
The sailors scattered like flies except there wasn't much
place to go. Ranma, Ihrie, Fam, and the fainted Ryoga held their
position in fierce fighting stances.
"Irhie, she's scary, can't we--" Fam whispered under her
breath.
"Shh Fam!" Irhie told her. "We can handle this!"
Ranma, for some reason, looked a little hesitant.
Irhie looked toward him, noticing his stance. "Can you
fight?"
"Um, yeah, but..." Ranma didn't finish sentence when he
saw Naga glowing again.
"Ohohohoho, I am Naga the Serpent, remember my name fools!"
Thrusting her hands forward, she called out, "Ly Briem!"
Ranma waited for something to happen to him, but nothing
did. Then he looked behind. The whole crew of sailors were
frozen in a chamber of ice.
Ryoko came out from the steps below carrying a large sack
over her shoulder. "I got 'em. Now...eh?" Only Ranma, Ryoga, Ihrie,
and Fam where the only ones not frozen because of the minimum
range of the spell. "Hey! I wanna have some fun too Naga!"
Naga made a petty gesture. "Oh, sorry about that." Although
her tone didn't sound like it. "Well you can have the rest of
them."
"Bah," Ryoko said in disgust. "Okay..." Targetting her palm
toward them, she summoned a ruby-red sphere of energy.
"Eeek!" Fam screeched in frieght.
"Fam, use your magic! Hurry!" Irhie told her.
Holding out her staff in front of her, she tried to
concentrate. "Um, okay, I'll try..."
Ryoko looked on curiously and her begin casting. She'd never
seen a wiggan in action before, maybe this girl would be a
challenge. Wanting to test the girl's power, Ryoko increased the
size of the sphere.
After casting a quick levitation spell, Naga retreated to
a safe position and yawned. "Hurry up will you two?"
"Spirits of the gaia and light, please aid me in this
dangerous plight! Come forth from the bowels of the ground and
make this evil rebound!"
Naga's eyes widened and flew back further. "This isn't
going to good..."
Irhie blinked. "That spell...Fam, wait!"
Spreading her arms wide, she called out, "Veisa
Reflection!"
Simaltaneously, Ryoko let loose her energy ball. As soon
as it got close to them, it was met with an translucent white
barrier. It absorbed the sphere in an instance.
Ryoko clapped. "Impressive. I-- huh?!"
Not only did the barrier absorb it, but it rechannelled
the energy. The sphere grew into an ugly shade of red and began
convulsing.
"Um...I'm not a magic expert or anything, but..." Ranma
looked at the half-circle barrier surrounding them. "I think it's
about to blo--"

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
= = = = = = = = =

Author's Notes: Cid Highwind of FF7, a phsycic?! I really
didn't plan on bringing him in at all but it just happened. This
story turned out smaller than I planned but I feel that was an
appropriate point to end it. I know the removal of the curses
was sudden but I couldn't think of any significant role curses
could play besides being incentive to revenge. The *BOOM* a
little corny? Heh, nothing descripes a big explosion better than
boom, but I'll try to descripe it more in the next chapter.

GP is an abreviation for Genesis Patrol.

For character profiles, maps, history, music themes, and
custom made pictures of Hero's Prologue visit:
www.angelfire.com/realm/xenofex1/heropro.html

Naga ------------- = Slayers (Anime)
Ryoko ------------ = Tenchi Muyo (Anime)
Irhie ------------ = Ruin Explorers (Anime)
Famutsula -------- = Ruin Explorers (Anime)
Teepo ------------ = Breath of Fire 3 (Game)
King ------------- = Art of Fighting (Game)
Haohmaru --------- = Samurai Shodown (Game)
Yuri ------------- = Dirty Pair Flash (Anime)
Kei -------------- = Dirty Pair Flash (Anime)
Cid -------------- = Final Fantasy 7 (Game)
Kyosuke ---------- = Kimagure Orange Road (Anime)
Ranma ------------ = Ranma 1/2 (Anime)
Ryoga ------------ = Ranma 1/2 (Anime)
Xellos ----------- = Slayers (Anime)
Ranko ------------ = Ranma 1/2 (Anime)
Genma ------------ = Ranma 1/2 (Anime)
Happosai --------- = Ranma 1/2 (Anime)
Herb ------------- = Ranma 1/2 (Anime)
Lime ------------- = Ranma 1/2 (Anime)
Mint ------------- = Ranma 1/2 (Anime)