Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Mousse Muad Dib ❯ Strange homecoming ( Chapter 3 )

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 3 .. Strange homecoming

The ride up the mountain had been arduous on both of them and by the time they had reached the monastery walls they were both very tired and dirty. The sights and smells of the small village brought a pang of nostalgia to Mousse as he had not been home for many years. The kids playing in the streets didn't look familiar and he found himself looking for faces that he used to know. The fact that time had erased some of them from his memory made him sad. Stilgard never having been this far into china or for that matter near a temple of this size was looking around like the average tourist gawking and smiling at all the sights. Obviously the strange man who had taken him from his work and new home was enjoying himself immensely.

"Say what is that?" Stilgard pointed at a small shrine with an idol of a Buddha in it , incenses burning and wafting gently in the air.

"That is a shrine to the lord Buddha, people burn incense there to bring them luck." Replied Mousse.

They reached the large round wooden doors of his home and Mousse stopped by a large brass bell. Picking up a wooden mallet he paused looking at the mallet. Then with a swift and sure movement he hit the bell one time . The note rang clear and loud through out the area. Several minutes later the door slowly opened. In the narrow aperture that appeared was a wizened old woman in a red and gold kimono. Her gray hair in a tight bun on top of her head, her eyes lost in a mass of wrinkles . She paused to look at the two weary travelers and with a gasp she pointed at Stilgard.

"YOU!" She cried slamming the door. Alarms started to ring throughout the entire compound. Running feet could be heard behind the door.

Raising his eyebrows Stilgard turned to Mousse. "I wonder what that's all about."

"No idea. Nana was always a little strange , but never took to people badly before."

The door opened again , this time surrounding the opening were several large , muscular men with weapons and a tall , beautiful older woman , who from the facial features resembled Mousse quite a lot.

"Now Sethelia, do tell me again why you set off the alarm?" As she turned to stare at the two travelers. For just a moment there was no recognition when she looked at the two but then a gasp. She stared at Mousse closer, "You've grown boy."

"Yes mum. " replied a meek Mousse.

"That man." Sethelia pointed at Stilgard next to Mousse. " There is a wanted poster with his name on it in the main square. 2000 tails they say he killed 100 men with his bare hands." Shaking the old lady hid behind the skirts of the mistress of the house.

"Hmmmm, Can either of you explain this?" Mousse's mother inquired.

"Mother, this is Mr. Arwin Stilgard." Mousse introduced his mother to Stilgard. "Arwin, this is my mother, Beikng-Pan." (Baking Pan)

"It's an honor to meet you, Ma'am." Stilgard greeted with a polite bow.

"Thank you, Mr. Stilgard." Beikng-Pan returned the greeting with a bow as well. "Now what business do you have that lets you bring my son here?" She asked still not sure about this man who has been labeled as a killer.

"First Ms. Beikng-Pan, I assure you that I am not the man you all thought I am." Stilgard needed to clear that up. "Second, we came all this way to talk to you about your son's father." He got straight to the point.

Beikng-Pan got a bit startled when she heard that last part. "And what is it you wish to know about his father?" She questioned his motives.

"If I may speak, Mother." Mousse requested his mother's permission to speak. "I think its got something do with this ring you gave me before I left for Japan." He showed her the Atreides signet ring.

Beikng-Pan was lost for words when she saw the ring that her son is wearing. Then she regains her ability to speak. "If you want to know, then we must speak about this in private." She whispered so that only Mousse and Stilgard can hear her. "Sethelia, please escort my son and his friend to the meeting room." Mousse's mother spoke up to the old woman. "I'll meet with them in about a minute."

The meeting room was red and silver in décor, very tasteful and showed the beauty of the ancient Chinese culture. The tables of red teak wood , very expensive in this day and age of electronic and plastic.

The two travelers sat on one side of a large oval table , sitting on small teak chairs of intricate design. Mousse was pouring Stilgard a cup of tea from an ancient teapot. From the flowers and the swirls Stilgard who was no slouch in his knowledge of Earth history noticed that it must have come from the either the Ming or Chan dynasties. Making it over 2000 years old. Stilgard wondered even more about why Mousse would be off in Japan working in a restaurant instead of hear among all this opulence.

The door slid open and Beikng-Pan walked into the room. Her beauty overshadowed the delicate wall hangings and the porcelain vases. She sat with a straight back and her long fingernails were painted in delicate webs of gold and red. She ran a long nailed hand over and through her dark lustrous hair , and blinked at Stilgard as she studied him in the ensuing quiet of the room.

Mousse was the first to break the silence. " Where is Ma-Jin Talus , I thought he was still working as your body guard."

Beikng-Pan's eyes widened for a moment in past pain. "He no longer is around my son. He has passed onto the next level." A small tear fell down her perfect skin and held for a moment on her small chin. Then gravity forced it to part from her letting it fall to darken the table with its moisture.

"I see." Mousse replied quietly.

Pouring his mother a cup of tea he sat back and started to sip his tea , alternately looking at Stilgard and his mother.

"I'm sure you are curious as to why my son is not here with me. Mr. Stilgard."

"Call me Arwin, ma'am." Replied Stilgard.

"As I said, you may be curious about it, but there has been a war we have been fighting between our family and another, and assassins have been very busy over the last 15 years. It all started with his fathers death." She pointed at Mousse.

"You never told me, Mother. How did Father die?" Mousse looked over his teacup.

THE DISTANT PAST

"It started before you were born my son, before you were even conceived if you will hear this story , then I will tell it to you.

The rain poured down with a passion, it was a torrent that would be remembered for ages for its ferocity and its abundance. Your father and I were happy . We had each other and a small fund that kept the Dojo open and several students. It was after I had met your father and fell in love with him that I realized he was different. His style of martial arts was unlike any that were here and he taught me and several others so that we could open a school and help teach others the skills needed to protect themselves.

A warring faction in the valley was trying to take over the area and wanted our land and our building and your father, may he rest in piece, would not sell it to them. So the faction Wu-Sul went to the elders and requested a match with your father. He was fabulous, no one could touch him , it was as if he could read their very minds it seemed. So the day of the fight came and your father left with Mousse-Tel , who you are named after by the way. And the two of them went to the town center . Your father stood in the centre and exclaimed to all that he would not let anyone take our home and that any who tried would have to go against him. Wu-Sul was very powerful and rich and had many years on the council. Your father wasn't prepared for the blaster lance that took him in the head. Mousse-Tel took up your fathers sword and took vengeance on him for our house. He acquitted himself well , he killed the leaders of the Wu-Sul that were there and the council member who was responsible for the murder of your father.

When Mousse-Tel came home bearing your father I cried a river of tears, for 30 days I lay in a trance like state because of my depression and in that state, almost dreamless your fathers spirit came to me, He told me that I was pregnant and that I would bare you my precious son. He also told me of the ring and where he had kept it. Saying only that it was your Destiny and that you were to have it. Then he touched me , as he did when we first met, under the willow tree in the park. He a stranger and me a poor hungry

immigrant, half starved and homeless. He saw inside me the beauty that he said I was. I have loved him my dear son since that moment and always will. Then the pain and sorrow faded , but not his memory . Our son will do great deeds he prophesied. But I was to protect you , against the retributions of the elders and the Wu-Sul , so I had you leave so long ago, but only after I had taught you all the fighting skills your father imparted to me. I have run this Dojo Mr. Stilgard since his death and it is in his honor that we are the best in all of China. Are students now include the emperors son even."

"You mean Quan-Li , THE QUAN- LI is here?" Mousse exclaimed excited.

"That is some story Beikng-pan, Did Mousses father have a name?"

"Yes Mr. Stilgard, you would have seen it coming into the Dojo."

Suddenly Arwin's eyes widened , his memory quickly playing back to the Dojo's name. A name that had not sparked anything in his subconscious but one that had seemed familiar. "Lucus Atreides-Dan Dojo" He whispered. (It's pronounce Lookoos)

Beikng-Pan nodded, "Yes my precious Lucus , though the dan at the end of his name is only an affection , meaning master."

Stilgard nodded, 'it had to be then' , He thought to himself. Looking at Mousse he had to be. This proved it.

Mousse looking down into his teacup, listening to the two adults talk didn't notice the way Stilgard looked at Mousse but his mother did.

"Is there something on your mind, Arwin?" Beikng-Pan asked.

Stilgard turned his attention away from Mousse and turned to Beikng-Pan. "I think there's something you should know about your son's father." He asserted.

Mousse perked up when he heard that part. Both he and his mother were not quite sure about what he meant.

"What is that you know about his father, Arwin?" Beikng-Pan questioned him some more.

"Did you know my father, Mr. Stilgard?" Mousse added in. Wanting to know more about his father.

"I did." Stilgard admitted with a long sad sigh and looked at Beikng-Pan. "Since you told me your story about the boy's father, now I believe it would be fair if I told you mine." He starts to explain his side of the story.

DISTANT PAST LATER ON

"I come from a long line of defenders, we are sworn by blood oath to protect the house Atreides , My father and his father before him were involved intimately in their protection and survival. I myself was raised from birth learning all the arts to protect and serve. I was also raised along side your father Mousse.

He was a great man from the beginning , he was always kind , courteous and helpful. He never looked down on anyone and was always the soul strength of his mother. For his father had been taken from him when he was young, so he looked after her. The house Atreides has a long and illustrious history. Having been the major ruling power in the galaxy for many centuries."

"WAIT A MINUTE!" Shouted Mousse. "You mean my father… my dad.. wasn't human?"

"No." Stilgard continued. " He is the leader of the house Atreides and leader of the Fremin, a people who live and rule on Arakas where Mélange is made."

"What is this Mélange you speak of , I recall him talking about it in his sleep several times." Beikng-Pan inquired.

"I will get to that later if, and only if I can continue without any more interruptions." Stilgard responded , lifting a pot of tea he poured all around the table filling Mousse's and Beikng-Pan's cups before his own. "As I was saying, I was raised to be his protector. A very powerful house Atreides was , but not without its enemy's as well. Assassination is not an art only here on earth, it is practiced very wide spread were ever there is intelligent life.

There was war, always war, for the spice. It is used as a means to bridge the distances in space-time to travel across the galaxy in the blink of an eye. It is the only thing that keeps the powers that be, able to travel the great distances between planets. And because of it, there is always a battle to control it. House Harkonan, Atreides bitter rivals have won and lost many battles over the centuries and yet no matter how low they get, they kept coming back, stronger and more vicious than ever. When the war's had settled and peace ran rampant throughout the universe for over 30 years, your father raised in peace , never knowing the horrors that awaited him, he never really believed in the evil, or negative sides of existence. Even I raised as his friend and protector never could have imagined the horror and carnage The Harkonan house could put on the galaxy at large. They it seemed after there last defeat traveled into even more distant parts of the unknown galaxies that surround our own and found a space faring race that had created a different form of propulsion. No where near as fast as what spice was capable of doing, but it was able to get one from long distances in the months and years , verses decades and centuries.

A pact was formed by this new alliance with the Harkonan's this EMPIRE they contacted supplied them with troops, both biomechanical and robotic. They had weapons of mass destruction that scattered our troops. Ships so large as to appear for all intense and purposes to be actual moving moon's and planets. Their power was great, more than we could bare. And they took Arakas from us, took control of the spice and destroyed the remains of house Atreides.

The black hearts that house Harkonan came into the Atreides compound and strung up your grandmother, and all your fathers siblings and your father and I watched as they were tortured slowly. Your father never cried once. Even though I must have shed more tears that day than was possible.

I new the only chance for survival that your father had was for me to get him away, far enough away that he would have time to heal inside and raise an army again, to battle these defilers of his family. So while he, moving as if void of all life followed me, I killed several guards around the alien shuttle and with a lot of luck captured a droid that was programmed to fly. We headed off into the uncharted zone . A part of the galaxy where the stars are so thick together as to make navigation by our normal spice ships impossible. But the vastly slower vessel of this EMPIRE was able to get us deeply into it in less than 3 months. Before we new what had happened your family and its legacy were all but destroyed. Just your father and I , and that ring.

Oh I also recall a medallion, he used to leave messages in it, for it was a recorder, he wore it around his neck and watched over and over again the torture and death of his family. I didn't have the heart to take it from him, because it was the last vestiges of memory he had , as horrible as they were.

We were hit by a small meteor and lost power thruster, stranding us in this solar system. We drifted for weeks , helpless until we were pulled by gravity into a decaying orbit of this world. Its blue green light showering us with hope , for with all this life and water there must be help. With the help of the droid, your father and I were able to coax enough power to land the ship in the high reaches of the mountains just north of this temple. We reconnoitered around and found to our great dismay that though this world was populated and of a fairly advanced technology, it no where neared the power and might we would need to get assistance in our plight.

Our ship gone, and stranded on this world, your father asked me to set out and find people that I could help, help to increase this world's knowledge of science and technology so that some day, they COULD become our allies. He went into town and came back several days later telling me that he had found a place to stay and would try to blend in with the people."

Stilgard stopped for a second , looking to his left he noticed Mousse looking at his hand holding the cup, the ring glittering on his thumb because it was the only finger large enough for it not to fall off. Tears were flowing down the young amazons face. Beikng-Pan was looking at her son as well. Sharing in his pain, for a boy who had never known his father, someone who had never felt the strong hands of a father to protect and care for him. It pained Stilgard inside deeper than he had ever felt before. He new then that he would give his life for Mousse Atreides . Give it gladly and willingly for the son of his friend and mentor.

"So I traveled and helped the scientist of this world find new ways to use magnetism and helped Weslecan industries create the droid's that now populate the work force and are even now helping to build space stations and space platforms around this beautiful planet. I believe in another 20 years we will have put this planet on a footing strong enough to introduce them to the interstellar drive that is in the shuttle on Mt. Lie pang."

The door slowly opened and a serving girl came in with glasses of cold water and another pot of tea, with steam rising from it. Beikng-Pan motioned the maid to put it on the table near Mousse so that he could be the server as was custom in the house. Walking quickly because of the uncomfortable silence that seemed to have giving reign in the room. The maid rushed forward, as she placed the tray of drinks near Mousse he suddenly seemed to awaken with a start.

"Careful…." He exclaimed startled out of his reverie. The maid startled lost her grip of the tray and Mousse grabbed it , twirling in a sitting stance he lowered the tray from above him , but not before one of the glasses tipped over spilling cold water all over his head. Silence reigned once more as they group in the room looked at where Mousse had been , for he transformed.

'Damn' he thought to himself, 'I was hoping to get to tell them later about the curse.'

Stilgard stared at a duck with amazement. 'Well I be.' He told himself. 'This is boy is quite full of surprises.' He gave a quite smile. 'I wonder how he learned that kind of trick.' Stilgard asked himself in thought.

Beikng-Pan was the first to break the silence. "Jusenkyo." She whispered.

Stilgard's ears perked up when he heard that word and looked up at Mousse's mother. "Excuse?" This 'Jusenkyo' was new to him.

"My son, he has one of the Jusenkyo curses." She answered pointed at the duck where Mousse was.

"What is this Jusenkyo?" Stilgard asked Beikng-Pan. He wanted to know about this curse.

"It's place full of tragedy and sorrow." Beikng-Pan replied as Mousse/Duck hang his head in shame. "It contained springs of those who had fallen and drowned and now if anyone has fell into any of the springs will become who or what ever drowned in it." She explained the best she could. "I've always thought those were stories, but I never thought that they were true." She lowered herself down to her son now duck and gently petted his head. Letting him know that it's okay.

"I see." Stilgard acknowledged still astounded by his new prince's transformation.

Now that everyone knows about Mousse's secret, how is going to be able to explain about it. Find out in our next chapter of "Mousse Muad Dib"