Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Mousse Muad Dib ❯ Mama, I'm coming home ( Chapter 2 )

Mousse Muad Dib

By

Mari

Co-author by rob

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ is the Ó property of Rumiko Takahashi. Tenchi Muyo-Universe is the Ó property Kajishima Masaki.

Dune is the Ó property of Frank Herbert. Star Wars is the Ó property of George Lucas.

Chapter Two: Mama, I'm coming home

The boat's soft swaying motion was soothing to some, but very upsetting to young Mousse. It would seem he suffered from an affliction called motion sickness. Slightly green of tinge his skin was clammy and he was just finishing losing his breakfast over the side when Stilgard came upon him.

"Boy!" his voice echoed softly as he concentrated on Mousse. The young Atreides heir turned his face up to his new friend and smiled weakly. "Look into my eyes, from this point on YOU WILL NOT BE SEA SICK!" At that moment Mousse seems to stand a little bit taller, and his eyes took on a different look, one of more confidence and suddenly he took a deep breath.

"So that's how it is, is it?" Mousse looked out at the waves of the ocean. "I never thought it could be used for things like that." A slight growl appeared to come from below him. His stomach empty for nearly a day was now telling him in its own way that it wanted him to eat again. "Excellent….. very excellent."

"I've looked over the entire boat from stem to stern and there doesn't seem to be anybody that I would consider dangerous here." Stilgard said quietly.

"You expect trouble?" Mousse questioned as they walked into the lounge which was a buffet style restaurant.

"Well, to be honest you do have some people that would like to not see you, and although I never expected to find you, mainly because I didn't know you existed. But I have been known to be followed by undesirable elements." Stilgard smiled and picked up a plate in preparation for his search for food in the buffet.

Mousse smiled and grabbed two plates, as he walked quickly from one dish to the next he would select a little of each, soon he was balancing both plates like an experienced acrobat and he wobbled his way towards there table.

Stilgard looked down at his plate and compared the difference. " You really going to eat ALL that?" He laughed.

Nodding Mousse let into his food arms flailing as he finally got to satisfy his hunger. "Munhhsd.. mnuuumm…" He mumbled with his mouth completely full of food.

"Boy slow down, and don't talk with your mouth full." Stilgard replied slightly cross at Mousse's manners.

"Mmmmm sorry Arwin, I was just saying mungfish yummy." Mousse laughed placing another portion of food in his mouth and chewing.

"Hmmm yes I would have to agree." Smiled Arwin Stilgard.

At that moment a very old man hobbled in on a cane, wearing a large bamboo hat covering most of his face, he was bent at a terrible angle because of a curvature in his spine and hobbled as if in great pain. Following him was the largest man Stilgard had ever seen. Standing well over 7 feet and extremely broad of shoulders the giant had a simple face. "I wonder?" Stilgard questioned, " I never saw those two on my search."

Mousse looked over at the two new comers, "WOW!" Mousse's eyes expanded I've never seen anyone that big before."

The giant went to the counter and picked up a plate, placing it in his fantastically large hands it looked like a small saucer, the elderly man hobbled in front peering near sightedly at the food there. Raising a brown skinned, very wrinkled finger he would shakily point at a morsel of food and the giant placed it gently on the plate. "And I'll take some of that rice over, Shinju" The old man called the giant.

"Yes, Master Ojino." Shinju referred the old man and graciously gather up the rice and place it on the plate.

Stilgard was still studying the two strangers at the buffet. "The big guy maybe strong, but I sense that the old man is considered very powerful." Stilgard indicated. "And there is definitely something wrong with them." He assumed. "I think we should better be careful around them.

Stilgard sat at the table his mouth agape for Mousse wasn't across from him , only two empty plates with some bones and gristle. Mousse sauntered over to the plates and picked up another two and was placing the last piece of fish on the counter on his plate. The Giant Shinju grabbed the young amazons arm and quietly said "No Master Ojino, wishes that."

Mousse looked up at the giant and replied in the voice, "Let me go." Looking up at Shinju, Mousse stared in shock for the giant hadn't let him go. 'What his going on.. why wont he listen' dropping the fish Mousse backed away from the giant. Not watching where he was going he accidentally bumped into he old man. "Mmmm pardon me Sir." His voice quavered.

"What did you just do there young man." Asked Master Ojino quietly , his raspy voice sending chills of fear down Mousse's spine.

"I was trying to get some fish." Replied Mousse innocently

"No I refer to what you did AFTER you were grabbed by my servant."

"Nothing sir.. nothing.. the fish I left it for you." Mousse replied warily for some reason he didn't trust this old man at all , not as far as he could throw the giant anyway.

"I see , hmmm maybe a natural gift it is hmmm maybe it is.. it will bare further study." Master Ojino smiled. "Shinju I don't feel like fish today . Let the young man have it." Turning he started to hobble away slowly. Stopping without turning he asked quietly over his back. "And what be your name young man. Who do you call family"

"My name is.."

"Shou Tun" Stilgard called racing over to the three. "How many times have I told you never bother people. A thousand apologies to you my kind sir." Stilgard grabbed at Mousse. "Go to the table, we will talk of this later."

Mousse walked quickly away , stopping only to retrieve the fish and nibble on it as he went to the table.

"You are ?" Master Ojino inquired.

"My name , My name is …. Val , Turel Val ." Stilgard lied.

"You have an interesting son Val-san , or is he an apprentice?" Questioned the old man. The feelings of dark power radiated around the elderly man to the point of making Stilgard physically nauseous.

"No just my brothers son, My brother died in a fighter crash. I've been taking care of the boy."

"Does he have any affinity to the power? The force?" Ojino asked.

"NO..NO.." Shaking his head warily , "He has been tested and failed so , thank the stars and gods of that."

"I see , and you don't agree with those who are GIFTED then do you?"

Stilgard stood warily , he could feel the strings of energy entwining him , insinuating into his very fiber, making his being vibrate as if a chord struck by god. The power this old man possessed was indeed formidable, yet his training held out. "No.. shakily I don't , some gifted ones have harmed my family so I hold a grudge." He lied further. Feeling the compulsion even stronger . The old man was using it to try to pry the truth from him. Looking over to Mousse , he smiled. "I must go back to my charge now Sir, Again I apologize for him."

Turning quickly he wound his way through the tables not daring to look back. Sitting down he whispered to Mousse. "What happened."

"Curious and more curious. It would seem we have a conundrum here my dear Shinju." The ancient Ojino spoke.

"What do you think we should do, Master Ojino?" Shinju asked while carrying his master's plate.

"First we'll have our meal, then we'll report that earlier event with Mr. Turel Val to headquarters." Ojino devised a plan. "I think the empire will be most interested about this." He gave a wicked laugh and the two of them went to their table.

Back at Mousse and Stilgard's table, Mousse was still trying to figure out why the voice didn't work on the giant Shinju. "I still don't get it." Mousse agonized over it. "Why didn't the voice worked on that guy?"

"The voice doesn't work on everyone, my boy." Stilgard was about to lecture Mousse. "There are some people who can be able to resist it." He informed the young Amazon.

"But how is that possible, Mr. Stilgard?" Mousse queried.

"Well some people do years of training and some people have certain abilities that can with stand any obstacle." Stilgard provided the answer. "I think you should refrain using the voice for now until we can find some answers about your father." He instructed.

"Refrain?" Mousse repeated as though it was some kind of punishment.

"Yes, young man." Stilgard was being stern about this. "If you use the voice to often then people will start to suspect." He reminded the future heir. "They'll begin to ask questions that they should not know the answer. Pretty soon, you won't get a moments peace."

Mousse hangs his head in shame. "I'm sorry, I didn't know." He apologized.

Stilgard looked at Mousse with regret. He didn't mean to make him feel bad. He just wanted him to be careful for his sake. Then Stilgard places a friendly hand on Mousse's shoulder. "There there, Mousse." He reassured Mousse. "It's quite alright. Just be careful though. With great power comes great responsibility." Stilgard added with a warm smile.

After dinner they retired to their cabin which was very large and spacious, containing several rooms including 2 bedroom , 2 full baths and a large living area shared by both bedrooms. The furniture was early Victorian earth circa 1800's and very expensive looking. Sitting on one silver and brown divan was Stilgard , standing in the middle of a cleared area was Mousse. Around the boy hovered metallic objects that blinked and floated in random patterns.

"Now the object of this games is to spot and disable the droid's." Arwin smiled. "It's not and easy task as they are semi-sentient and are armed with 3 kilajewl laser's."

"I see." Replied the anxious Mousse. Taking a series of collapsible knives from his hidden stash behind his belt. "And are they expensive?"

"Why would you ask that questions." Laughed Stilgard.

"I don't want you to get mad when I break them." Smiled Mousse mischievously.

Laughing Stilgard pressed a hidden button and the game began. Taken unawares Mousse jumped when the droid on his left shot out a red beam of light that hit him on his left hand just above his middle finger. 'Damn that stings' thought Mousse. The he felt a tingle and was hit again, this time behind his right earlobe. Twisting and jumping in a spinning kick he launched his small but athletic body into the air and aimed a slice kick at the droid floating on his left. It moved out of the way.

Another tingle and another hit caused him to loose his cool. "Damn it", He flung a ktatcha knife at the droid, which easily moved out of the way, but the knife spinning opened with the centrifugal force of the throw and started to turn lazily around the room. Suddenly the knife stopped and hung in mid air. Mousse grim and determined, sweating profusely threw the other 3 knives in conjunction and the two performed the same miraculous feat of opening and then hovering, bobbing in time with the droid's. Then with a silvery flash a miniature Ariel battle seem to appear , the knives spinning attacked the droid's as the droid's' dashed and danced avoiding the flying weapons , red beams and blue beams erupted from them. Some aimed for the knives and some aimed for the boy. The blue beams glanced off the weapons and left white frost marks on the carpet and furniture , while the red beam just seem to get absorbed. Mousse not satisfied with just remaining still reached into his pocket and took out a small leash like chain that he used to whip at the droid's as well. When the leash-like weapon hit a droid, it would flash with an electrical spark and fall useless to the ground. In what seemed like just moments the battle was concluded. Mousse was kneeling on one leg , arm outstretched with leash in hand the knives were laying lifeless on the ground and battle droid's where all dysfunctional. Stilgard sat there impressed with the display watched Mousse stand flick a hair from his glasses and grin.

"That was fun . Lets do it again." Mousse requested. Actually wanting to do more.

Stilgard was absolutely amazed by his talent. Most of his trainees usually took days to learn those kinds of moves but this young man took about five minutes. "By the gods. He is extraordinary." He silently complimented Mousse's abilities. "Perhaps there's a chance that he could be the next Muad Dib." Then he responded to Mousse's request. "Very well then, we'll try it one more time." He promised. "But after that, you better get to bed." He advised. "We'll be docking in China tomorrow morning then we'll be on our way to see your mother."

"Yes Sir." Mousse accepted and they started their training again.

Morning came with the ship already docked in China's docking port, and all the passengers were getting off the gangplank.

Luggage in hand the two travelers headed to the purser and Stilgard congratulated them on a fine job, handing a small stack of money to him. "Here my friend , spread this around as a tip to all the wonderful people working here." Pocketing them money with a smile. "Of course sir."

Mousse tugged on Stilgards arm , "Look" he pointed.

The direction he pointed showed several things , one of them being the giant in the crowd of people , plowing through them with disregard for anyone's personal space, in his wake hobbled the ancient one that they had seen in the lounge. But Mousse finger was pointing slightly off of them. Peering into the distance Stilgard finally saw what Mousse saw. The girl , the one from the train. Standing next to a rickshaw driver. Talking and pointing animatedly.

"Hmmmm…." Stilgard hummed. "I never even saw her onboard when I did my patrol." Shaking his head he tapped Mousse on the top of the head with a knuckle. "Come young one , we must find a rickshaw and get to the train."

"Ok." replied Mousse. "Boy is my mom going to be surprised." Both he and Stilgard eagerly picked up their luggage and started looking for the nearest rickshaw.

Not to far away, the two strangers that Mousse and Stilgard met in the ship's lounge last night are going through customs and having a discussion about the other two passengers. "But Master Ojino, are you sure that boy is the one?" Shinju asked his master while carrying their luggage.

"If the Empire says that he's the direct descendant of Paul Atreides than that would mean that he could be the next Kwisatz Haderach." Ojino confirmed to his servant and apprentice.

"But Master, he doesn't look very powerful." Shinju assumed.

"Neither was Paul Atreides until he and his Fremen army defeated the Harkonnens and Emperor Shaddam IV all those centuries ago." Ojino reminded Shinju.

"Do you think if he does. That he will allow the empire to enter the spice trade, there use of this mélange will improve interstellar traffic throughout the entire empire." Shinju smiled , "Then we could use it to take over this galaxy and all its inhabitants."

Nodding the Elder Dark Jedi entered the hover taxi and told the robodroid to take them to the Hotel Ishumus.

"Well , where do we go from here?" Stilgard turns to Mousse.

"We have to take the L-train to Sanpei then travel by goat to the mountain pass of Shimou and then we have to climb to the summit to get to the monastery." Mousse replied. Looking over at the old fashioned rickshaw's and then at the high tech hover crafts that waited at the bay. "Sir , I was curious, with all the advances in technology , why did we take a ship to china instead of a shuttle. We could have arrived already."

Stilgard smiled at the young Amazon and started walking towards the rickshaw driver. "Well you see , I've a little problem with heights."

Laughing Mousse got on the double seated hover rickshaw and watched it rise of its own accord. The gravity generator compensated for there weight and made the virtually weightless. The robot runner stood waiting. Its blinking lights question them with its stare.

"WHERE TOO" the droid questioned.

"To the L-train my good sir .. ah .. um.. err .. man.. oh.. uh.. I mean …." Mousse stuttered

With a lurch the rickshaw spun forward the bobbing and the weaving of the runnerdroid were mesmerizing being so lifelike it gave the nostalgia of the past while the comfort and the speed of the present.

"Plus ," Stilgard whispered. "I'm being followed and I want to make sure that I either know where they are , or what they are so I can deal with them."

"Ah!" nodded Mousse.

'I wonder if I should tell him about my curse?' Mousse thought to himself. 'What happens if I turn before we get home. What will he think of me. What will I tell mom. She hasn't seen me in over 5 years. She knows something is up but she would never suspect.'

"Your mind looks very occupied you Mousse, care to share them with me."

With a start Mousse looked up at Stilgards innocent expression.

"My thoughts.." He paused.

"I see." Stilgard accepted Mousse's answer but he stills sense that there is something troubling him. 'Maybe he's afraid what I might think of him' He assumed in thought. Then he placed a comforting hand on Mousse's shoulder. "Do not worry my dear boy." Making Mousse feel at ease. "I'm sure what ever it is, it can't be as bad as you think." He smiled at the young male Amazon. "When you are ready, you can tell me."

"Okay." Mousse returned with a small smile. "Thank you, Arwin" And the two of them went back to enjoy the rickshaw ride.

What will happen when Mousses introduces his mother to Stilgard? Will she might be able to tell them whole story of Mousse's real father and his origin? And how will Mousse react when his mother tells him that his father came from another planet? These questions and more will be answered in our next chapter of Mousse Muad Dib.