Disclaimer: Well, considering that technically I don’t own this stuff, I suppose I need a disclaimer here huh? Well…ok. I don’t own Lunar or Ranma, their respectively wealthy true owners do.
Eternal Ranma
Part 3: “The Journey Begins”
Upon reaching the house, Ranma quickly set Lucia down while Hiro looked on anxiously. Gwyn went downstairs to try and find something to help, while Ruby fluttered about and made a nuisance of herself. Lucia moaned in pain, and Ranma grimaced as he pulled his hand away from her very warm forehead.
“She’s got a nasty fever…” He muttered, to which Hiro gulped loudly and Ruby paused in her flying to hover beside him. Ranma pulled some healing herbs from his pouch and handed them to Hiro.
“Here, grind these up into tea so we can feed them to her without her having to chew…” He said in a serious voice. Hiro nodded and quickly set about doing just that, while Ruby heated some water with her flame breath. Ranma monitored Lucia’s vital signs while he waited, and gratefully took a wet rag from Ruby to dab her forehead with. Hiro returned wit the prepared potion and Ranma made Lucia sip it gently. It didn’t do much good, but it did seem to lessen her pain slightly. The fever also went down a bit. Lucia stirred and weakly tried to stand up. Unfortunately, this was not such a good idea, and she stumbled, thankfully being caught by Ranma, who set her back down gently.
“I’m sorry Lucia, but you’re not well enough to be walking around right now…” He said with mild reproach in his voice. She didn’t seem to hear him and mumbled weakly.
“I…must stop Zophar…If he is allowed to regain control of the power he once held…” She paused for a moment, gasping in pain, before continuing.
“Then…this world…will be destroyed…” She whispered. Ranma and Hiro blinked at that, and Ruby let out a squeak of fear. Ranma’s face then turned steely.
“Lucia, I promise you that I won’t let that happen, but until then you need to rest and get better…” He said. Lucia blinked in confusion.
“But, you are only a human, how could you possibly stop Zophar?” She asked, clearly puzzled. Ranma could sense she wasn’t insulting him, just asking an honest question, and to be frank, he wondered what could he do against a being so powerful, but he ignored that.
“I don’t know, but I gave you my word, and I intend to keep it…” He said solemnly.
“That’s good my boy, because you’ll be leaving shortly anyway.” Gwyn said as he hobbled up the stairs from the library.
“What do you mean by that Grandpa?” Hiro asked curiously. Gwyn smiled and went over to Lucia, holding a hand over her forehead and chanting a few words quietly. A glow surfaced and it seemed to ease her pain slightly.
“As I thought, I am not strong enough, or skilled enough, to fully rid her of the curse…” He then turned to Hiro and Ranma.
“There is a priest in Larpa, by the name of Ronfar. His Father and I were good friends, and he even taught me a few healing spells…I think he may be able to cure her of this affliction…” Ranma grinned at Gwyn’s words.
“Then what are we waiting for Gramps! Let’s go to Larpa!” He raised his fist into the air in a sign of inspiration, which fell flat when Ruby spoke.
“And how exactly are we going to get there Ranma? Fly? Maybe I can, but you sure as heck can’t!” She said in a condescending tone. Ranma bowed his head in defeat, while Hiro patted his back encouragingly with a sweat-drop on his head. Gwyn coughed into his hand and cleared his throat.
“I have a solution to that.” He said before walking outside. Ranma and Hiro looked at each other, to which the tattoo-faced boy shrugged while the pig-tailed one blinked in confusion. They followed their Grandfather outside, while Ruby watched Lucia. Once outside, they watched as Gwyn pulled a tarp away, which revealed a fairly small, but still nicely made sail boat. Gwyn had a proud smile on his face as he pointed at the boat.
“Behold boys! My pride and joy, the Explorer! Why, this is the ship I used to travel the world in during my youth!” He said with a note of nostalgia in his voice. Ranma and Hiro just looked at him oddly.
“I thought his pride and joy was his bromide collection!” Ranma whispered to Hiro, who nodded in agreement. He had thought that too actually. Gwyn was too busy admiring his rusty old boat to pay attention to their comments. Finally finished with his trip down memory lane, Gwyn indicated the boat with his cane.
“You boys can get to Larpa by using this baby! Then you can find Ronfar and have him cure our lovely friend!” He said with a smile on his wizened face. Ranma’s own face grew solemn, and he nodded in understanding.
“Right, then let’s get moving!”
After loading some supplies, and dragging the boat down to the shore, Ranma, Hiro, and Ruby, as well as Lucia, who was placed in the small cabin to rest, waved goodbye to Gwyn as they shoved off into the crystal blue waters of Lunar. Ranma hoisted the sails, and soon they were on their way. As they sailed, the sun began to set, and while Hiro and Ruby caught fish on one side of the boat, Ranma sat on the other, watching the sky change from peaceful blue, to golden orange. Despite all the dangerous situations they had found themselves in, it really had been a beautiful day weather-wise. And it looked like it would be an equally lovely night too. Lucia was still resting in the cabin, and Ranma smiled softly to himself as he thought of her.
“She certainly is different…” He thought as he remembered when Hiro had offered her some fish, and she had asked what it was. To which Ruby had acted like the poor girl had committed blasphemy, before taking said fish and gulping it down quickly. Needless to say, Lucia had been rather puzzled at the whole thing, while Ranma had simply shook his head. Ranma chuckled as he remembered the look on Hiro’s face when Ruby took the fish he had spent over half-an hour trying to catch for Lucia, and ate it in under half-a second. It was obvious to him that Hiro had fallen for Lucia…hard. Although he couldn’t fault his friend for it, the girl was pretty, beautiful actually, and her charming naiveté was sort of cute.
“She’s so mysterious…” He thought with a frown. She was from the Blue Star, but how was that possible? The blue star was supposed to be a barren wasteland, devoid of life. So how could a young girl possibly survive there? Though it did explain why she was so clueless. He blinked as a thought occurred to him. Maybe Lucia was the Destroyer Leo spoke of. He shook his head furiously at that.
“Idiot! Then who was that bastard Zophar? The Goddess?” He asked himself sarcastically. His thoughts then turned to himself. He was still no closer to finding out just who on earth he was or where he came from.
“Come to think of it, I’m sort of similar to Lucia. People don’t know where I came from either, or what to make of me. He remembered when he was found, how he had odd items on him. Several little coins with holes in them that could have possibly been currency, though it was nothing like the silver that people used everywhere now. He had also had a crumpled up package of some sort in his pocket that said “ Tama’s octopus puffs” on it. Whatever the heck that was. He bowed his head in thought. At least Lucia had her memories, and her purpose.
“What is my purpose?” He questioned silently.
“Why am I without my memories? Why am I able to use fighting techniques I don’t even remember learning?” He wished that someone knew what he was going through. But who out there possibly could? He blinked in confusion as he saw that it was now pretty late. The sun had sunk fully into the sky, and the stars shined brightly.
“How long have I been out here?” He wondered to himself as he stood up and winced as his joints protested being in the same position for so long. He noted that Hiro and Ruby had gone to bed in the cabin, and since there was little else to do, he decided to do the same. The interior of the cabin had two sets of bunk beds, and he grimaced as he saw that Hiro had taken the top bunk on the one they were to share. Shrugging, he shucked off his shirt and pants, and clad in his nightclothes, crawled into the bottom bunk for some hopefully peaceful sleep.
Ranma sighed as he listened half-heartedly to his Pop ranting about the true path of a martial artist. He was tempted to shut his Father up forcefully, but didn’t bother as he saw that at last they had arrived at their destination.
“This is Jusenkyo boy! Here you and I will train to become even stronger!” He then started heading down the path leading to the cursed springs. Ranma blinked in confusion for a moment before following. Upon reaching the springs, they ignored the guide’s spotty Japanese, and leapt up onto the poles for some balance training/combat sparring. This was cut short however when Ranma, who had surpassed his Father in terms of sheer skill a while ago, smashed past the old man’s guard, and sent him hurtling towards a spring. He was the one caught off guard however when a panda came hurtling out of the afore-mentioned spring and smacked him into another one. Upon rising to the surface, he was startled to find that he had grown breasts! Shaking in fear, his eyes widened further when he heard what the guide was saying.
“…girl who drown in spring 1500 year ago! Now whoever fall in spring take body of young girl!”
“Ahhh!” Ranma bolted upright in bed, and groaned as his eyes adjusted to the dark, and he realized it had all been a dream. Even now, most of it escaped him, but he did remember certain details. He recalled a fat man with a bandanna and glasses who somehow caused revulsion in him, and he remembered falling in a spring, and becoming a… girl!?
“What in the hell is wrong with me? That’s impossible!” He muttered as he wiped some sweat from his brow. But could that dream be a glimpse into his past? He certainly hoped not, but then again, it seemed so real… and familiar.
“Maybe…maybe I should get some fresh air…” He thought to himself. With a nod, he got out of bed, and after slipping his pants on; he wandered outside, listening to the calming sounds of the sea. He blinked in confusion as he saw a figure sitting by the edge of the boat. He saw the long hair and immediately realized who it was.
“Lucia…” He whispered. She started and turned around quickly, her green eyes widening briefly before settling upon seeing who it was.
“You move very silently…” She said in greeting. Ranma rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, unsure of how to respond. He stepped forward, and noted by the position of the moon that it was pretty late.
“Lucia, you really should be resting…” He said in a concerned tone. She nodded without looking at him, still gazing out at the horizon.
“Yes, I know, Zophar’s magic is strong, and I am feeling quite weak…but…” She trailed off.
“But what?” Ranma asked curiously. She sighed and turned to him.
“But I still want to keep observing this world.” She said at last as they saw some fish swim by and a bird go soaring above them in the night sky. She cocked her head to the side as she noted his appearance.
“You do not look well yourself Ranma. Is something troubling you?” She asked in her usual blunt manner that actually resembled himself, though she spoke in a much more refined way, and he suspected it was not so much a lack of tact like himself, as it was a complete lack of knowledge as to what tact was in the first place. After registering her question for several moments, he finally responded.
“I’m alright, I just had a strange dream…” He said at last, to which she grew a puzzled look on her face.
“A strange dream? I don’t understand. Perhaps you should elaborate.” She said as she continued to scrutinize him, much to his discomfort.
“Well, I dreamt about a place, and a person I’ve never seen before, and yet somehow I know I have…” He said, before realizing how stupid that sounded. She seemed to take a moment to mull over his answer, before finally saying something.
“Perhaps your dream is trying to tell you something.” He blinked at her answer, and thought it over.
“I…suppose that could be it…” He said after a moment’s thought. Nodding her head, Lucia changed the subject.
“Hiro has told me that you have no memory beyond a year or so ago…I am curious Ranma, what is that like?” She asked him, while he became slightly saddened.
“It’s…difficult to explain, but I guess, it’s like grasping for something that feels so close, and yet it’s just out of reach. I have brief flashes of memories, and occasionally someone I meet will remind me of someone else I’ve never met before…it’s hard…” She nodded, and he was surprised to see a note of understanding and…concern, in her normally unreadable face.
“I see…it sounds very unpleasant…” She trailed off, and looked up at the sky.
“I hope…that you recover your memories soon Ranma…” She said at last. He stared at her for a moment more, before a smile slowly broke across his face.
“Th-thank you Lucia…it…means a lot to hear you say that.” She turned to him again, saw his face, and hurriedly looked away, but not before he saw an unusual color to her cheeks. He quickly grew concerned again.
“Geez Lucia! Your fever must be getting worse again! We’ve got to get you into bed before it gets worse!” He said as he stood and moved to help her up. She looked at his hand, puzzled for a moment, both at her reaction to his smile, and his gesture, before she nodded and grasped it. He quickly pulled her up, but with as much gentleness as possible, and led her back into the cabin. And for a brief moment, the Blue Star seemed to shine brighter in the night sky.
Finally, when the morning light began to shine down on the land of Lunar, the little boat reached the shore of Larpa coast, and after tying it down and making sure to lock up the cabin, as well as fold up the sails, the three adventurers, and the cursed girl they were escorting made their way towards the desert town of Larpa in earnest. The town was seedy to be sure, and even the mayor himself was a reputed thug, but it didn’t stop the fact that it thrived thanks to an abundance of sandshark, which made for excellent and very popular meat, as well as the very famous Salyan cactus, which was delicious when pickled. The place was also a trading outpost of sorts, and the cool, crisp morning air gave it a certain healthy glow as it blew through the streets. Upon arriving in town, the friends immediately began asking around for a priest named Ronfar. The responses they got were varied, but were of two main types. Either:
“Ronfar? You mean that lazy, no-good, thieving scoundrel!” Or:
“Ronfar? You mean that suave, handsome, manly hunk!” Naturally the latter responses all came from women, well, except for one, which caused Ranma, Hiro, and Ruby to raise their eyebrows, and Lucia to blink in confusion. Finally, they decided to take a breather, and headed for the bar, though with Lucia still feeling weak, Ranma let her lean on Hiro for support, which caused a jealous outburst from Ruby, and a stuttered half-denial, half-acquiesce from Hiro. Ranma scanned the bar for a moment, before noticing that pretty much everyone was giving odd glances to a strangely dressed man sitting in the corner. The man was slightly scruffy looking, had a bandanna wrapped around his head, and was absently twirling some dice around in his hands, and tossing them up in the air, only to catch them with practiced ease. He had a lazy look to him, like one who just didn’t care all that much about much of anything, but Ranma could also see a certain sadness lurking in his eyes, a past pain that still lingered deeply. Ranma casually walked over to where the guy sat, and waited to be noticed. The man finally looked up from his drink after several seconds, and blinked at Ranma for several more, before a wide grin broke across his face.
“Well…hi there friend! You look like a smart and lucky guy! Can I interest you in a friendly little game?” He asked with a big emphasis on friendly. Ranma glanced down at the dice the man was holding, and then at all the people in the bar shaking their heads wildly while staring at him. He then turned back to the man.
“Er, no, that’s okay. I think I’ll pass.” He said at last. The man slumped slightly, but then adopted the same attitude the minute Hiro and Ruby walked up, with Lucia in tow. Just as Hiro was about to accept the gambler’s offer, Ranma quickly interceded.
“Look pal, we’re looking for a guy named Ronfar. Have you seen him?” The man smirked slightly at Ranma’s words.
“Oh, yeah, I’ve seen Ronfar, he’s one cool guy! But anyway, whadda ya need from him?” He asked while casually reaching into his pocket and pulling out a weed, which he then placed in his mouth and began to chew on absentmindedly. Ranma suddenly noticed that Lucia was swaying on her feet, and turned just in time to watch Hiro catch her before she collapsed on the cold bar floor. The weed-chewing gambler sat up suddenly, knocking his seat over as he saw the girl faint, and quickly moved over to her.
“What’s wrong with her?” He asked while glancing at Ranma.
“She’s suffering from a very powerful curse, and we need a skilled priest to cure her. We heard that this Ronfar guy was that kind of priest.” Ranma said while gazing at Lucia with concern. The gambler chuckled despite himself.
“Well, I got news for you pal, Ronfar isn’t a priest, at least, not anymore…” With that said, he took Lucia from Hiro’s arms, and headed for the exit.
“Follow me boys, and um cat thing. Let’s head for my place and we can discuss things in more detail.” He then turned and exited the bar, leaving Ruby to stew in indignation at being called a “cat thing” and Ranma and Hiro to blink in confusion, before hurrying after the man. Several minutes later, the bartender realized the gambler hadn’t paid his rather large tab. A string of obscene curses soon followed.
The gambler led the trio of friends to a fairly nice looking house that sat on a small cliff overlooking Larpa. Once they stepped inside however, the niceness ceased. To say that the place was a mess would be a gross understatement. It looked like a war had been waged within its walls, and the weaponry used were empty bottles and various other unidentified substances and items.
“You guys are lucky, I remembered to tidy up this morning before I went out.” The man said after placing Lucia on the only bed in the house. Ranma, Hiro, and Ruby all grew massive sweatdrops at this little bit of information.
“This is tidy!?” Was the common thought running through all of their heads.
“Sure hope that bed is at least clean, or the curse will be the least of our worries…” Hiro muttered as Ranma and Ruby nodded in agreement. The gambler paid them no heed, instead going outside for a moment and returning with a letter held in his hands.
“Hmm, so he’ll be coming by today huh? Guess that’s alright…” He mumbled to himself before gesturing to the floor of his home.
“Have a seat guys, and we can talk” He said as he leaned up against the wall. Ranma sweated and waved his hands.
“Oh no! That’s alright! We’ll stand!” He then did just that, with Hiro and Ruby following suit. The bandanna-clad man shrugged his shoulders and shifted his weed to the other side of his mouth.
“So, tell me why you think this “Ronfar” can help you.” He said. Hiro spoke up.
“My Grandfather told us that Ronfar was a great priest. He said that Ronfar could cure anything!” Hiro noticed that the man’s face fell at his words, and grew curious.
“What’s wrong?” He asked. The gambler waved it off.
“Nothing, but your Grandpa was wrong. Ronfar isn’t a great priest. In fact, he isn’t a priest at all, at least not anymore. Not after he failed to cure the most important person in his life…” He said as he bowed his head in sadness. Ranma stepped forward.
“You’re Ronfar, aren’t you…” He said calmly, to which the man nodded.
“Yes, my name is Ronfar…” He then turned away.
“But I can’t help you…” Hiro was about to say something but Ronfar cut him off.
“I said I can’t help you. I’m no longer a priest…” He said as they all heard a knocking at the door. A familiar voice came from the other side.
“Ronfar! Ronfar old friend! Open up! It’s me, Leo! Open the door!” Ranma, Hiro, and Ruby all let out one massive gasp of fear, and looked around frantically while Ronfar raised a curious eyebrow at them. Ranma grimaced as he saw the gambler prepare to open the door.
“Damn! I don’t know if I can beat Leo!” He thought as he saw Ruby and Hiro quickly rush into the other room. Deciding, for once, that discretion was the better part of valor, he joined them a second later. One moment afterwards, Leo came inside of Casa de Ronfar, while Ronfar shut the door after him.
“Hello Leo, what brings the esteemed White Knight of Althena to this wretched hive of scum and villainy?” Leo chuckled at his friend’s words and glanced around the place.
“Please Ronfar, don’t compliment yourself!” He said with a smirk, to which Ronfar returned. Leo then grew a more serious expression.
“I’ve come here old friend, to ask once more that you please at least consider rejoining Althena’s Chosen. You were one of, if not our finest priest and healer. Your skills would be greatly appreciated…” He trailed off as Ronfar held up a hand.
“I see, then you will not even consider?” Ronfar simply shook his head in the negative, causing Leo to grow a slightly curious expression on his face.
“Is it about Mauri?” He asked calmly. Ronfar grew a furious expression on his face, before sighing sadly and turning away from the White Knight.
“Leo…I failed her…I couldn’t even…do anything…” His thoughts turned to a time years ago, when Leo’s sister, and the girl he loved more than life itself, lay sick with a horrible illness, the likes of which no one had ever seen before. And for all his power, despite the fact that he was the star priest of Althena’s Chosen at the time, he could not do a thing. Ronfar cursed to himself angrily as he felt the familiar ache in his heart, and the tears threaten to spill past his eyelids as he remembered her anguished cries and moans of pain as the damnable curse attacked her defenseless body with frightening efficiency. He then remembered how she had been “cured.” and felt a knife long buried in his soul twist painfully.
“That’s why I left Leo, because I couldn’t stand to watch as she…” He didn’t finish and they both let out weary breaths, before Leo’s eyes hardened.
“I see, I suppose I can understand your feelings, but I urge you to at least think it over once more. I came to you today with one other purpose in mind old friend, and that is to ask if you know anything about a certain young man with a green tattoo upon his face named Hiro, another boy with a pig-tail named Ranma, a little flying pink creature with a smart mouth named Ruby, and a blue-haired girl dressed oddly who is named Lucia. The girl is actually the legendary destroyer foretold by the Goddess, and it has taken the guise of a human female oddly enough.” He said as he gripped the hilt of his sword tightly in remembered anger of how they had tricked him so easily. Ronfar’s eyes widened briefly, but Leo did not notice. He then adopted a casual attitude.
“Well old buddy, I could say I’ve seen something…” Leo grew an anxious expression on his face, while Ranma, Hiro, and Ruby grew fearful ones.
“But then I’d be lying! So no, I’m afraid I haven’t seen anyone like that around.” Ronfar said as he crossed his fingers behind his back. Leo nodded grimly and moved to leave.
“I see, well then, I suppose I should be off. If you do hear anything, I’ll be staying the night at the shrine in town. Good day Ronfar, and please think about my offer…” With that said, he left, and Ronfar breathed out a sigh of relief, which was echoed by his “guests” in the other room.
“You guys can come out now!” Ronfar called as he took a bottle out of a cabinet and took a swig. The bitter taste of the contents easing his mind slightly.
“You know, I just outright lied to one of the few friends I have left in this world, and for a bunch of complete strangers no less…” He then turned to them with serious expression in his eyes.
“But I have feeling about you guys, a hunch that you’re in the right…and that’s why I’m going to give you a chance to obtain my help. All it takes is a roll of the ol’ dice. Call it Ranma!” He yelled as he tossed the dice. Ranma quickly cried out the first one that came to him.
“Odd!” When the dice stopped rolling at last, they came out odd! Letting out a grin, Ranma ignored the happily smiling Hiro, and Ruby, and looked on as Ronfar smirked and collected the dice.
“Well there ya go. It looks like I’ll be helping you out, cause the dice never lie baby! We’ll set out for the temple of Althena right away!” With that said, Ronfar moved over to the wall in back of his house, and slid a cabinet out of the way, revealing a small passageway behind it. He smirked.
“Heh, cool huh? Well, go and collect Lucia and we’ll be off!” He then entered the passage. Ranma quickly went into the other room, and came out with a weakly moaning Lucia. The curse seemed to be getting worse with each passing second. He handed her to Hiro to carry, and together, they all followed the gambler through the passage.
The passageway behind Ronfar’s home was obviously rarely used, and as such, it had a few monsters calling the area home. Thankfully, Ronfar turned out to be a fairly decent fighter as he wielded an old mace with practiced, if slightly rusty, ease. The monsters were weak, and were quickly dispatched, though Hiro was forced to employ his boomerang when one got past Ranma and Ronfar. He managed to whack the offending bat creature over the head with the wooden weapon, before Ruby finished it off with a quick flame burst. Soon enough, they had made their way through and stood on a small ledge overlooking the temple of Althena’s Chosen. A quick visual check and Ranma deduced that the approximate height they were at was at least two stories. He smirked slightly at that, no problem for someone like him. Without a word, he leapt down and landed lightly on his feet making nary a sound. Ronfar shrugged and followed suit, though he landed somewhat more clumsily. Ranma cursed as he realized that Hiro wouldn’t be able to make the jump very well while carrying Lucia, so he simply leapt back up to where his friend still stood, making Ronfar, Hiro, and Ruby gape, before scooping up Lucia and leaping back down again, this time gently so as not to jostle her. After Hiro leapt down with Ruby in tow, Ranma handed her back to him, and together the five of them cautiously entered through the back entrance of the temple.
To say the inside of Althena's Temple was elaborate would be a gross understatement. The walls were of the finest stone, and beautiful tapestries and paintings hung on the walls. The four individuals plus their cursed charge entered the main room of the temple quietly, and found themselves in front of the large imposing statue of Althena. For some reason, Ranma thought the statue looked odd. It wasn’t just because it didn’t look very much like the older one that stood outside of Gwyn’s home, or the fact that there was large, very prominent donation box sitting in front of it, the statue just looked wrong to him, but then, he had never seen the Goddess right? So it must have been his imagination. Ronfar approaches the statue with a sigh, and gazes up at it with an odd look in his eyes, before turning back to the others.
“Guess there’s no time like the present huh? Okay then, lay her down in front of the statue, yeah, like that, okay, stand back…” He said, and after Hiro finished placing Lucia down in front of the stone representation of the Goddess, Ronfar placed his hands over her and concentrated, closing his eyes, and willing the power he had not used in years to free her of the curse.
“Come on, please work…” He thought to himself as light gathered in his hands and was channeled into the inert body of the blue-haired girl beneath him. Finally, he slumped as the large amount of healing energy he was generating combined with the fact that he hadn’t used any healing magic in years finally took its tool on him. The friends all looked on anxiously, hoping for some sort of reaction, but unfortunately, none came, Lucia’s condition had not changed, and Ranma could tell that unless something was done fast, she was going to die.
“Damn it! There must be something we can do!” Hiro yelled as Ronfar felt the familiar feelings of helplessness settle on his soul once more.
“Mauri…I’ve failed once again…” He whispered as he remembered her screams of pain. Ranma suddenly gripped his shoulders tightly.
“Listen to me Ronfar! I don’t know who this Mauri is, but I can tell that you cared very much for her! Do you honestly think she would want you to just give up like this? You’re our only hope! And unless you do something and fast, Lucia is going to die!” He then released him and stepped back.
“Will you let that happen Ronfar?” He asked with a solemn expression in his clear blue eyes. Ronfar stared at him wordlessly, before turning to stare at Lucia’s weakly moaning form. A hazy memory formed in his mind, one of the Mauri he used to know, back when they were younger.
“Ronfar, I believe in you!” She had said as he attempted his first healing spell all those years ago. A hard look formed on his face, and he stood over Lucia’s body once more. Raising his arms in the air, he summoned forth every ounce of power left in his body, and called up the faith he had abandoned for so long once more.
“I’ll save Lucia, or die trying!” He whispered as light exploded forth and flowed into her, causing her to gasp loudly, before slumping and falling asleep. Ronfar collapsed and Ranma rushed over to support him. The former priest smiled faintly at seeing Lucia’s steady breathing and peaceful face.
“Heh, sure hope I never have to do that again…” He muttered, while Ranma smiled.
“Thanks Ronfar, we owe you one.” He said, to which Hiro and Ruby nodded enthusiastically.
“We sure do! I can’t thank you enough Ronfar!” Hiro said as he picked up Lucia once again, and together, the three of them headed back to Casa de Ronfar for some much needed rest. Along the way, Ronfar smiled absently up at the Blue Star.
“Mauri, thank you…” He thought to himself. The Blue Star shined and he smiled wider.
Sleep came quickly for them after they reached Ronfar’s house. It was a cool, peaceful night, and despite the fact that the White Knight Leo was staying in the same town they were, a relative sense of peace and tranquility was felt by Ranma and the others. Because Lucia was finally cured. She was still weakened of course, but her health was improving rapidly, and by the morning she would be able to walk around and function normally, though her powers would probably take a little longer as they had been severely drained to keep her body alive during its time of crisis. They had unanimously elected to place Lucia on the only bed, and had taken up various areas of the floor to sleep. But for one, sleep was difficult. Hiro could not sleep for some reason. He stood looking out the window, watching the stars with a serious expression on his normally fairly cheerful face. He didn’t know why, but he had a feeling for lack of a better word, that something bad was going to happen. He didn’t know when, he just knew that it would. He also had a feeling that things were going to become difficult between his friend and himself. He glanced over at Ranma’s sleeping form and then at the room Lucia occupied and bowed his head sadly. A memory surfaced in his mind, of the previous night, when he had seen the two of them talking quietly on the ship. He had just been concerned about Lucia when he had awoken to the sight of her bed being empty, but seeing them talking together brought out something in him. Something that made his insides twist painfully.
“Why can’t things stop getting so complicated?” He wondered sadly.
Lucia slowly opened her eyes as the golden sunlight flittered through the window and shined down on her face. It was annoying to say the least, and she turned away from it and tried to go back to sleep in her soft warm bed. Wait a minute, she didn’t own a soft warm bed, in fact, up until a few days ago, she hadn’t even known what a bed was. So then how…
“Where am I?” She wondered as she opened her eyes and slowly glanced around the room she was in. Her memory was spotty, though she recalled coming to Larpa and meeting the man named Ronfar. She also remembered being carried by Hiro and…
“That’s right. I remember now, Ronfar cured me…” She thought. She exited the room she had been in, and found the sight that greeted her rather comical, though she did not laugh of course. Ronfar was slumped over and hugging Ranma, who was in turn being cuddled up to by Ruby, who let out an occasional purr in her sleep, while Hiro was…She blinked as she saw that Hiro was sitting up against the wall away from the others, wrapped in his orange cloak to ward off the cold. She then noted that it was early morning, and decided to go out and perhaps learn more about this strange world she had come to. With that thought in mind, she quietly opened the door, and slipped out into the glowing light of morning in the town of Larpa. She did not notice a pair of blue eyes watching her leave.
Ranma watched Lucia leave the house silently, and then turned to where Ronfar still had his arm around him, and was currently drooling on his shirt.
“Aw geez Ronfar…that’s disgusting…” He muttered as he slowly extricated himself from Ronfar and Ruby without waking them up. He then slipped out the door as well, but not before glancing over at Hiro with a frown. For some reason, he could tell something was bothering his friend, and for the life of him he could not figure out what, but he shook the feeling off and after seeing Lucia heading in a particular direction, decided to follow her secretly and keep her out of trouble.
As she walked, Lucia pondered over the matter of what to do now. Now that she was more or less cured, she decided that it would be for the best to part ways with Ranma, Hiro, and Ruby. They shouldn’t be involved in something like this, and while she appreciated their help greatly so far, she knew that she needed to complete her task on her own. Lucia wasn’t stupid, she knew that she more than likely would have died on that spire were it not for them, but the fact remained that every moment they spent with her they were in danger, and while she had not wanted to form close ties with any humans while on Lunar, she did not want to see them hurt in any way. As she was wandering about, observing various activities that people performed in the morning, her thoughts turned once more to Ranma, and the peculiar effect his smile had on her the other night. She had never felt that way before. Then there were Hiro’s caring glances. They too brought out something in her she couldn’t explain. Shaking her head, she decided it would be best to simply ignore these curious feelings and concentrate on her task. As she was walking past one house in particular, she stopped and looked at what a man was doing in front of it. He had a utensil of some sort in his hand, and a piece of paper set on a stand of some sort. Most curious of all, was the fact that when he dipped the utensil into different colored mixes, and then placed it upon the paper, a picture soon began to form. It had green ground, and mountains, and things sticking out of the ground. Some were large and had green on the top of them, while others were small, and were a myriad of different colors. It also had a bright sun and the Blue Star in the sky. The man realized he was being watched, and turned to her.
“Oh! Is there something I can help you with miss?” He asked politely. Hesitantly, Lucia pointed to his work.
“What is it you are doing?” She asked. He blinked in confusion for a moment, before realization came to his face.
“Oh! Well, I’m painting a landscape for my Wife.” He replied. Lucia blinked in confusion, and stared at the…”landscape” for a few more moments.
“What are those things in the ground?” She asked next, to which he became really confused.
“You mean the trees and flowers?” He asked. She blinked a few times and continued to stare at the painting.
“Trees…flowers… They are so beautiful…” She whispered, confusing the man further. Suddenly, his Wife walked out of the house, holding a curious bundle in her arms.
“Honey! What are you up to? I need you to watch the baby and…” She seemed to notice Lucia for the first time and smiled cheerfully at her.
“Hmm, hello there dear! You must be new in town! What’s your name?” Lucia grew slightly confused when she, after answering the woman’s question, was asked to look after the baby.
“It would be a big help! Thanks dear! I’ll be back really soon!” She then handed the bundle to Lucia and headed down the street, leaving Lucia to blink once more in confusion, before realizing with a start that the bundle she held was in fact…alive!
“What on Lunar…” She muttered, before looking down and seeing that the bundle was actually a tiny human! She stared at the child curiously as he gleefully reached up and pulled on her hair.
“Ouch! That hurts! Please stop…” She said, before finally disengaging the baby’s hand from her long blue hair. Sighing in relief, she left the man to his painting, which he seemed to be enthralled in, and entered the house curiously. The baby squirmed in her arms, and she realized that perhaps she should hold him as the woman had, instead of by the armpits as she was currently doing. Adjusting the baby so she could cradle him, she paced around the rooms, observing the various odd things placed in it. There were several more “paintings” on the walls, and a large bed in one corner, while near it was a smaller bed that looked to be where the tiny human went. She wondered where the last person would sleep, and why one of them got such a large bed, but put it in the back of her head, as she had found something rather interesting. It was a large mirror, and on front of it were several odd things. Various powders, creams, and other items that appeared to have no real use.
“Most peculiar…” Lucia said to herself as she continued to examine the oddities. Suddenly, the child in her arms let off a loud sound. It was distressing, and she desperately tried to find a way to stop it.
“Plug its mouth? No, that would suffocate it. Perhaps it is hungry?” She thought as she looked around for something to feed it. She spied an apple sitting on the counter, and grabbed it with one arm, and then tried to feed it to the wailing tiny human in her arms. It turned its face away from the fruit and she tried to fit it into its mouth. However it had clamped shut, and with a look bordering on frustration, she placed the apple back on the counter and was about to simply go out and ask the painter for help when the woman from before came rushing back into the house.
“Oh, is my poor dear crying?” She asked in a singsong voice that sounded very strange to Lucia. She then took the baby with an apologetic smile to Lucia and began to rock it back and forth in her arms while humming a tune of some sort. Lucia watched enthralled as she then started to actually sing the tune, and amazingly enough, the tiny human began to calm, until it finally fell asleep.
“Amazing…” Lucia thought as the woman then placed the child in the little bed from before, and turned to her.
“Thanks for watching him. I knew he can be a handful, but it looks like you did a great job!” She said while smiling at her.
“What was that magic you wove with your voice? Was it a sleep spell?” Lucia asked, anxious to understand more of this strange world and its inhabitants. The woman stared at her much as the man had before when she had asked what he was doing, before she smiled again and answered.
“What? You mean when I sang to the baby? That wasn’t magic dear! It was just a little lullaby. I was singing to put him to sleep!” She replied, to which Lucia grew a look of awe on her face.
“Singing… I see.” She said, still amazed by the whole concept.
“This world is most fascinating…” She thought, before nodding at the woman once and heading out the door. As she walked down another street, she did not notice the figure crouched above her on the roof of the house, nor the smile he had as he watched her go.
“Lucia...” Ranma whispered, his smile growing slightly more pronounced as he watched her go.
Author’s Notes: Okay, I actually wanted to make this longer, but I just felt that this was a good stopping point, and well, yeah. Anyway, this fic is still sort of an experiment for me; players of the game may notice that I’m starting to change a few things about the plot and certain scenes. This is mostly just so that I’m not simply writing a novelization of the game, and also just because I have some shall we say tender scenes between Ranma and Lucia, does not mean that she is necessarily who he is going to wind up with. Jean hasn’t been introduced yet people! But when she does, you can bet that Lucia will have some romantic competition if nothing else. Of course, poor Lucia probably won’t even know what that is. Sigh, poor little confused Lucia. Aw, but that’s part of why I like her. Anyway, next chapter may take w while, as I need to focus on other works for a while, but it will come out fairly soon, I hope. Well, please review this and maybe send me some feedback via e-mail. Suggestions and whatnot are appreciated, and even flames are fine if they are valid. Ok then, c’ya next time.
