*************************************************************************** The Grass is Always Greener **************************************************************************** Part Three of Too Many By: Shamus Bowker, aka Tenchi - tenchi@netcom.ca Allan Scott, aka Ryoga - melscott@direct.ca **************************************************************************** The story so far: Ranma Saotome, man of action, meets Tenchi Masaki, weenie-man. They take a trip up to Tenchi's grandfather's shrine and suggest that it would be nice to switch places. Then Washu appears and makes it a reality. While Washu tries to teach Ranma how to be Tenchi, Tenchi goes off to the Tendo dojo to impersonate Ranma. While the new Tenchi winds up being used for target practice by Ryoko, the new Ranma goes over rather well with the Tendo household. As Washu monitors both their progress, Tenchi hides in the forest to get away from Ryoko, and Ranma, it a fit of guilt about being a freeloader, decides to find a job. Ranma encounters Cologne, who offers him his old job as a waitress. While Ranma debates whether or not to take the job, Washu is certain she recognizes this person... And now for part 3... **************************************************************************** It was seven in the morning. Birds were chirping in the early morning air. There was a sense of unusual peace at the Tendo Dojo. Most of the household was still asleep. Awakening at his usual time, Ranma got up to begin searching for breakfast. Wandering into the kitchen, he found Kasumi was already there, happily cooking away. "Good morning, Ranma," she said cheerfully. "Up already?" "Uh, yeah," Ranma replied. "You're certainly awake early," Kasumi commented as she stirred a pot of curry, "Maybe you'll get to wake up Akane for a change." "Huh?" Ranma said. "You usually sleep in so late that Akane has to wake you up," Kasumi stated. "I was just thinking you could switch things today." * * * * * "What's with Tenchi?" Ryoko asked. "He's usually up by now." "He's probably tired from all that running you made him do yesterday," Ayeka accused. "I think he needs a wake up call," said Ryoko, who began floating off in the direction of Tenchi's room. "Ryoko," Ayeka commanded, "don't you DARE disturb Lord Tenchi again! Ryoko!" * * * * * Ranma had nearly finished his early breakfast as other members of the household were just waking up. "You're up early, my boy," Genma said as he strode into the room. "Uh-huh," Ranma nodded in agreement. "A true martial artist should rise with the sun," Genma stated dramatically, "so that he may meet the challenges of the day." Does this guy ALWAYS talk like that, Ranma wondered. Soun entered the eating area. "Hello Ranma," he said. "I didn't expect you to be up yet." "Uh, yeah," Ranma replied. "Maybe I'd better head to school now." "Now?" asked Genma. "School doesn't start for another hour." "And without Akane?" asked Soun. Ranma looked blank. "Maybe you should wake up Akane for breakfast," Kasumi suggested. "After all, you can't leave for school without her, can you?" "Oh, sure," Ranma agreed, starting up the stairs. * * * * * Tenchi was still soundly asleep. He didn't even hear the door opening. "Wake up, Tenchi," Ryoko said softly. Tenchi showed no signs of movement. "Tenchi, wake up!" Ryoko spoke loudly. Tenchi continued to doze. This calls for more drastic measures, Ryoko thought to herself. Suddenly, Tenchi found himself dowsed with cold water. He sprang up immediately and began to look around frantically. "Ah! Water!" he screamed. "It's just water," Ryoko said. Oh yeah, Tenchi thought as he looked at himself, I don't have to worry about that curse. "Yeah, just water," he said, grinning happily. Then Tenchi looked up. The smile froze. "Ah!" he screamed, "What are you doing here?" "I've come to tell you it's time for breakfast," Ryoko replied. "You're pretty late waking up." Tenchi stopped panicking and looked at her. "Huh?" "C'mon, Tenchi!" Ryoko urged, dragging Tenchi out of his room by his arm. I guess she isn't angry about being thrown into the wall, Tenchi decided as he was dragged down the hall towards the stairs. * * * * * Ranma paused outside Akane's room to knock on her door. There was no response, so he tried again. Still nothing. Guess I'm going in, Ranma sighed. He opened the door quietly and found Akane still asleep. He crept closer to the bed. "Akane," he called softly. She continued to sleep. Ranma moved a little closer to the bed. "Akane," he called again. "Hey, Ranma, what are you doing?" Nabiki asked from the doorway. "Huh?" Ranma turned to look at Nabiki. Akane woke up with a start. She looked around her room as her eyes came into focus and glared at Ranma with fire in her eyes. "What are you doing sneaking around in my room, you jerk?" she screamed. She grabbed the boken by her bed and began to hit Ranma repeatedly on the head with it. "I ..OW! ..Just ..OW! ..," Ranma tried to explain. "You JERK!" Akane yelled, delivering a strong punch. Ranma went sailing off through the window, and into the sky. "Oh my," said Kasumi, who had run upstairs at the sound of screaming. "I sent him to wake you up, Akane." "Oh! Sorry Ranma!!" Akane called to the figure flying into the distance. Outside the Dojo, an old couple was walking along, enjoying the early morning air. They heard a loud crash, and saw a body go flying over their heads into the sky. The woman looked over at her companion, who was looking over to her. They shrugged in unison, and continued on their way. * * * * * Tenchi sat at the table, eating his breakfast hungrily. "It's good, Sasami," he mumbled between bites. "Thanks, Tenchi," Sasami replied. "So Tenchi..." Ryoko began. She started to float towards Tenchi, but stopped when her head jerked back. "Hey!" she exclaimed. "What gives?" She tilted her head back even farther and saw that Washu had grabbed her by the hair. "Ryoko, could I have a word with you?" she asked. "No. Leave me alone, dammit!" protested Ryoko. "How rude!" Washu said, annoyed. "To your own mother, no less." "Some mother... HEY!" Washu had already begun dragging Ryoko, by the hair, to her lab. "What's going on, Washu?" asked Sasami as she watched a powerless Ryoko slide by, an angry look on her face. "Nothing to worry about," Washu's head poked back through the doorway, "just a little mother daughter talk, that's all." Washu dragged Ryoko to the doorway of her laboratory and tossed her inside. "We'll be back later, thanks for breakfast, Sasami!" she called back. She stepped through the doorway and into her lab. "All right!" Ryoko snarled, grabbing Washu as she entered the lab, "What do you want?" "I have a little assignment for you," Washu replied calmly. "Not interested." "Aren't you even going to hear me out?" "Whatever it is, I'm not interested. Can I go now?" Ryoko started for the door, but Washu raised her hand and a wall appeared in front of Ryoko. She crashed into it. "Hey! What'd you do that for?" she asked, rubbing her nose. "Come here," Washu ordered. "Look at the screen." Ryoko looked over Washu's shoulder at the screen and saw two guys sitting at a computer, drinking grape soda. One was typing away while the other read through stacks of old Nintendo Power magazines and played video games. "Who are they?" asked Ryoko, peering at the screen curiously. "The most powerful people in our universe," Washu said quietly, "and if you don't do what I ask, they'll be angry." The two guys looked up at the screen, as if they knew where the camera was, smiled evilly, and waved. Ryoko swallowed. "Ok, Washu," she said, "what do you want me to do?" * * * * * Ranma finally hit the ground. Or close enough. "Ouch!" he exclaimed, rubbing the side of his head, "Where'd she learn to punch like that?" Ranma heard groaning from beneath him and realized he had landed on someone. He stood up and backed away three steps. "Hey, sorry there," he apologized to the crumpled heap, "I didn't hurt you or anything, did I?" The figure slowly rose from the ground onto his feet. Ranma noticed that he was dressed rather oddly, and for some reason was carrying a boken with him. Standing tall, he raised his weapon and pointed it at Ranma. "Saotome," he cried, "how do you mean to justify this unprovoked aerial attack? I, Tatewaki Kuno, shall not stand for this!" Oh no, Ranma thought. It's GOTTA be that Kuno guy! "Well, Saotome?" Kuno continued. "Prepare yourself! The revenge of Blue Thunder shall rain down upon your cursed body like a thousand Valkyries! My blows will slice through the air like a thousand miniature squids sailing under the waves of the deep ocean! For this, you shall PAY!" "What are you doing here so early?" Ranma challenged, "School doesn't even start for another hour! You shouldn't even BE here!" "I was attending a practice in the time-honored art of Kendo, as is my wont," Kuno replied, "and now, Saotome, we shall fight!" "Uh, okay," Ranma stammered, "then.. uh.. where's my sword?" "Your sword?" Kuno paused. "Yeah, it wouldn't be fair otherwise, huh?" "I see. You find it best to face me at my own game for once, Saotome? I shall return." Kuno raced off in the direction of the school gym. "That guy was just a little odd..." said Ranma to himself. "Hey Ranma!" called a voice from behind him. Ranma turned around to see two guys a short distance away running towards him. Oh great, are they after me TOO? he thought. "You're rather early," said one. "Are you going to the extra credit classes?" "Yeah, it's not like you to be at school this early, Ranma." added the other. These guys must be Daisuke and Hiroshi, Ranma realized. "Uh, yeah," said Ranma. "I thought I'd try to get an early start on the day." Ranma took on a lecturing tone, "A true martial artist should rise with the sun so that he may meet the challenges of the day." he stated boldly. "Woah, you're starting to sound like your dad, Ranma," accused Daisuke. "Yeah, no kidding," agreed Hiroshi. Ranma grimaced. "Anyway, why don't we head off to class?" he suggested. * * * * * Tenchi had been wandering about the house since finishing breakfast, and was beginning to get a little restless. He had already memorized the layout of the house (including all entrances and exits) and was looking for something, ANYTHING, to do. He decided to head over to Washu's lab and find out what this Tenchi guy DID all day. "What is it?" Washu asked as the door opened. "I'm busy." Tenchi stood in the doorway, looking around. I wonder how she manages to fit all this stuff under the stairs? he thought. I can barely fit all my clothes into a drawer! "Uh, hey, Washu," Tenchi asked, "what exactly am I supposed to do around here anyway?" "Hmm..." thought Washu, "You know, I'm not exactly sure what Tenchi does all day. He does spend a lot of time out of the house in the fields." "Fields?" asked Tenchi. "Yeah, the carrot fields. You probably didn't get much of a good look at them the other day, what with you running like that and all." Washu laughed. "How the heck did you know about that?" Tenchi accused. "I have my sources." "Yeah, well, what am I supposed to do?" "Go till the fields," "All of them?" asked Tenchi. "Yes, all of them," answered Washu. "Okay, how do you till?" Washu shuddered. "Do I have to teach you EVERYTHING?" she shouted. "Read a book!" * * * * * Ranma sat back down, the class staring at him. "Okay, Saotome," Ranma's math teacher said, "if you know that answer, why don't you tell us what the sum is of the square root of eighteen plus the square root of two-hundred added to the square root of eight?" Ranma stood back up and thought for a moment. "Fifteen root two!" he replied. He sat back down. "Well then, using imaginary numbers," the teacher asked, "what is five plus seven i multiplied by eight plus three i?" Ranma paused a moment to think before standing again. "Nineteen plus seventy-one i!" he answered triumphantly. "All right," the math teacher said evilly, "what's the integral from two to four of x squared minus ten x plus twenty-four?" Ranma pondered the problem for a moment. "Twenty over three!" he shouted from his seat. The math teacher was shocked. "You could at least have bothered to stand before answering!" he yelled angrily. "Wasn't I right?" Ranma asked. Members of the class looked at each other and smiled, obviously they were enjoying this. They didn't know how Ranma had become so smart all of a sudden and didn't really care either. This was too damn funny. "That was a university-level question!" the teacher screamed. "It's not fair! And for you, Saotome, of all people to respond!" "Hey, calm down, teacher." said Ranma. "It's not that big a deal!" "I'm not good enough to teach anymore!" cried his teacher. "Fine then! Solve this!" The teacher scrawled figures and equations across the length of the blackboard, sweat pouring from his brow. His chalk snapped halfway though, and he was forced to get another piece, but eventually he finished with a flourish. "Ha!" he said triumphantly as he backed away from the board. "Solve that!" Ranma walked up to the board, and grabbed a piece of chalk. After looking over the equation, he wrote a big zero on the board. The teacher ran back up to the chalkboard, spread his arms, and stared at the equation. His eyes raced around the board as he added figures, and gradually swung down to center on Ranma's answer. Zero, he thought. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against the chalkboard. "That's absolutely right, Saotome," he said quietly, pushing himself away from the board. "Fifteen years, I've worked on that problem. And you solve it in as many seconds." The classroom went silent and stared at their teacher. Ranma slowly backed away from the board and crept towards his desk. The teacher clutched his hands to his forehead. "I can't believe this!" he shouted. "That's it, a drink! It'll calm my nerves!" The distressed math teacher ran from the room, the class cheering as he left. "Wow, Ranma, did you study or something?" asked Daisuke. "Yeah, I've never seen anything like that before!" chorused Hiroshi. "Nah, it was nothing," said Ranma modestly, leaning back in his chair. Guess Washu's tutoring paid off, he thought to himself. Discussions broke out amongst the class. "Wow," someone said off in the background, "Ranma made him snap!" "No kidding, who'd of thought the teach would crack so easily?" came a girl's voice. "Poor guy, who would have guessed he took math so seriously?" A few minutes later, the principal came into the room. "Hello, everybody!" he said. "I'm afraid that Mr. Fujisawa is up a flag pole! So, we're going to have to dismiss you all while we try to talk him down. Have a nice day." * * * * * Ryoko stood across the road from the Nekohanten, staring at the restaurant. Passerby stared at Ryoko. "I'm supposed to watch THIS place?" she said to herself. She looked around, but didn't see anything of interest. She thought a bit, and had an idea. "Well," she said to herself, "I'd be able to keep a much closer eye on it from inside. Besides, I'm hungry." She snickered evilly and floated across the street to the restaurant, causing several people driving on the road to have to brake and swerve to avoid her. "Hey you!" one of the angered drivers yelled. "You can't do that!" * * * * * Out in the fields, Tenchi was making a valiant attempt at tilling. Do they really need this many carrots? Tenchi wondered. He paused for a moment. He thought he heard someone approaching from behind. "Hi Tenchi!" Sasami called. "Hi Sasami," he called back. Tenchi turned around to face her. What's that on her head? he thought. Suddenly, the ball of fur moved. Ryo-oh-ki meowed cheerfully as he leapt toward Tenchi. "Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Tenchi screamed, running off into the distance. "What's with him?" Sasami wondered. Ryo-oh-ki shrugged. (which was quite a feat for her) * * * * * There was a crowd of teachers outside the front entrance to Furinkan high school, all trying to talk Mr. Fujisawa down from the flagpole. Behind them, many students had gathered just to watch the spectacle. Still more students were just leaving, as they had been given the rest of the day off. Ranma stopped to observe as he exited from the main door. "What did you do to Mr. Fujisawa?" Akane asked Ranma, as she came out the main door behind him. "Why do you think I have anything to do with it?" Ranma replied with a question. "Daisuke and Hiroshi told me," Akane answered. "Well, I dunno." All the noise and commotion attracted the attention of a person walking nearby. He wore a yellow bandanna, and carried a large backpack with a red bamboo umbrella lashed to the top. Looking to his side, he could see a man clenching the top of the school's flagpole, a large bottle in his hand. He wasn't sure, but he thought he could make out the words: "Why me? Why did I have to have a cameo in this damn fic? I want back to MY world! Is anybody listening to me, dammit?" A few worlds away, in Victoria BC, in the basement of destiny, the authors grinned. The man in the yellow bandanna decided to ask the man on the pole for directions. He headed into the school-yard. "It's Ryoga," Akane said, tugging on Ranma's sleeve and pointing at the new visitor. Ranma looked away and followed Akane's pointing finger. Ryoga? he thought. Uh-oh. Ryoga, who had been staring upwards at the drunken math-teacher so as not to get lost on his way over, paused. Akane? he thought. He looked over to where he had heard her voice. He spied Ranma. "Ranma!" Ryoga yelled, throwing his pack to the ground and leaping towards Ranma. "It's taken me two days to track you down, but I'm finally gonna make you pay!" Uh-oh, thought Ranma. "What did you do to HIM?" asked Akane as Ryoga descended at them. "I don't know!" Ranma said, leaping out of the way of Ryoga's airborne attack. "Ryoga," Akane interrupted, "Ranma's been up at a shrine in the mountains for the past two days!" "So that's why I couldn't find him!" Ryoga said. "He went off and hid in the mountains!" Hide, Ranma thought. That sounded like a good idea to him. He'd have to distract Ryoga first, though. He tried to think of a way out. "Look, Ryoga, it's a mini-squid!" he shouted, pointing high into the sky behind Ryoga. It can't work again, can it? he thought. "What?" said Ryoga, turning to look. "Where? Huh? I don't see anything. Where is it? Dammit Ranma, where the heck is it?" Ranma turned for the gate and ran. "My," Akane said, watching the fleeing Ranma, "look how fast he runs." Ryoga, frustrated at being unable to spot the elusive mini-squid, turned towards Ranma angrily. "I don't see anyth..." he stopped. "DAMN HIM! RANMA! I'll kill you! You're not running away from me again!" Ryoga ran out of the schoolyard, grabbing his pack on the way, and turned to run down the street in pursuit of Ranma. A few seconds later, Ranma crawled out from underneath some bushes along the side of the path. "That was a nice move, Ranma." Akane spoke. "A little sneaky, don't you think?" "Hey, it worked, didn't it?" Ranma argued, brushing the dirt from his clothes. * * * * * At the edge of the forest, near the field he had been plowing, Tenchi crawled out from underneath the bushes. This is ridiculous, he thought. I can't be spending all my time here hiding in the bushes! "There you are!" exclaimed Sasami, who came running toward him. It's only a cabbit, Tenchi thought to himself. It's not a real cat. It's a cute little furry thing. More like a bunny. Yes, a bunny. Not a cat. "What were you doing, Tenchi?" Sasami asked as she approached. "Meow," Ryo-oh-ki cheerfully meowed. It's only a cabbit, Tenchi thought. It's only a cabbit, it's only a cabbit, it's only a cabbit. "Tenchi, are you okay?" Sasami asked. "Yeah, fine," Tenchi responded, "I was just, uh, weeding the forest. I have to go over there now." He pointed to the house. "You forgot your hoe!" Sasami called as Tenchi ran by her. * * * * * "Another bottle of sake," Ryoko ordered. "Shampoo think you have enough sake for now," Shampoo replied. "Listen, waitress," said Ryoko, "I'll tell you when I've had enough." "Lady with spiky hair already have huge bill," Shampoo responded angrily. "Shampoo think she should start paying." Bill? Ryoko thought. Damn, I don't have any money. "Tell ya what," Ryoko said, "you get me that sake, and bring the bill with it." Better keep eye on this one, Shampoo thought as she went to get the sake and bill. Ryoko waited for Shampoo to disappear into the back. "Time to make my departure," she said to herself. Ryoko got up and walked as quickly as she could towards the exit. She opened the door and hurried outside. She laughed quietly as she began to sneak away from the restaurant. She was surprised that nobody had spotted her stealthy exit. She was even more surprised when she was suddenly hit on the back of the head with a hard wooden cane. * * * * * Ayeka walked into the living room. She was surprised how empty and quiet the house was. Somehow, everyone had just seemed to disappear. She wondered where Tenchi was. Then she wondered where Ryoko was. She gritted her teeth. Sasami came running into the room. "Sasami!" Ayeka asked her sister, "Have you seen Tenchi?" "You mean he isn't here?" Sasami replied. "He was headed this way last time I saw him." "No, I haven't seen him," "Tenchi's been acting kind of funny lately," said Sasami, "hasn't he?" "I have noticed him acting a little strange lately," agreed Ayeka. "What do you think it could be?" "I don't know, maybe he's sick or something." Ayeka tried to think what might cause Tenchi's change in behaviour. She had one thought, but it was a bit of a long shot. "Sasami," she said, "you don't suppose that it isn't really Tenchi, do you?" "Don't be silly," Sasami laughed, "Who else could it be? Washu could tell if it wasn't really Tenchi. She spotted Zero, didn't she?" Ayeka looked at the room around her. "Well, maybe it's not really Washu either..." she whispered. Sasami leaned closer. "We can't trust anyone until we find out for sure what's going on, you understand Sasami? Not even Washu." Sasami thought about this for a minute. "Hey!" she finally said. "How do I know I can trust YOU?" "Do you think I'd have suggested this then?" Ayeka replied. "I guess not," Sasami conceded. "So what do we do?" * * * * * Ranma walked along the sidewalk, dodging pedestrians. He paused to pull out his map. While he was studying it, a pair of policemen passed by with a body in tow. "Where'd she get that hair?" one asked the other. "I dunno," the other replied. "It's the tail that worries me." Ranma looked up from his map to observe a seagull flying overhead, and then turned back to his map. He raised his head and examined a parked car, and looked back down at his map. He raised his head once more, and squinted into the afternoon sun. Finally, he folded his map up carefully and placed it carefully in his pocket. (Carefully) Then, he crossed the street and entered the restaurant. There was a small crowd just beginning to dissipate around the door. "What happened?" Ranma asked a nearby onlooker. Cologne spotted him across the room and came over. "Someone tried to leave without paying their bill," she laughed, "Nothing to worry about. So have you decided to take the job, son-in-law?" "Yeah," nodded Ranma. "You're forgetting something, son-in-law," Cologne smiled. "What's that?" Ranma asked, dreading the answer. "Follow me and I'll tell you." Cologne led Ranma into the back of the restaurant, and disappeared into the kitchen. Ranma followed with some hesitation. Once he was inside he found him self splashed with a bucketful of cold water. "Huh?" he sputtered, shaking and shivering. "You were still a man," Cologne laughed. Oh yeah, thought Ranma, I've got a job as a waitress, not a waiter. He looked down at himself. He had never been through the transformation before, and he was not too sure he liked it. He shuddered to think of what had happened to... umm... nevermind. "Oh!" Shampoo said, entering the kitchen with a stack of empty ramen bowls, "Ranma come back to work with Shampoo!" She dove at him and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tightly. Ranma struggled against her and he dove back and forth trying to keep the bowls from hitting the floor. "I see you haven't forgotten your skills, son-in-law," Cologne cackled, "you'd best get to work, I don't pay you to be a layabout." * * * * * Washu sat in her lab, staring at her screen. It showed Ayeka and Sasami talking in hushed whispers. "Hmm," Washu pondered, "I wonder what's with them?" Washu's screen switched to showing an image of Ranma being smothered by Shampoo in a kitchen, with Cologne looking on. Damn! Washu was annoyed. Where'd that Ryoko get to? * * * * * Ryoga finally stopped running. He took a moment to catch his breath and look at his surroundings. He couldn't tell exactly where he was, but it was quite dark. As his eyes adjusted to the low light level, he could make out wires, cables, and circuit boards. Tools and parts of all shapes and sizes were strewn about, most of them entirely alien to him. (but then again, Ryoga had not yet caught on that there were different sizes of batteries) The floor seemed to made out of metal, and he couldn't see any real walls in the distance. Oh no, he thought, I'm lost AGAIN. "Where on earth am I now?" he cried into the darkness. * * * * * Washu looked up from her computer. "Hmm," she said, "I thought I heard something." She shrugged and went back to work. * * * * * So endeth the third part. * * * * * Allan's Notes: Well, nobody on the phone with Washu this time, so you'll have to settle for Mr. Fujisawa's cameo. Even though we've had the whole Ryoga bit thought out since we began the first volume, it's taken us an incredibly long time to get to it. Maybe the series'll be a little longer then we anticipated. [Shudder.] We've still got lots of stuff to work on and still more plot turns to introduce. (And more always just appear when we write this damn thing!) I don't think the next volume will be out as quickly as this one and the last one. We're getting a little tired of writing for now. Character Bios: (Still in order of appearance) Tatewaki Kuno: Aristocrat with an archaic way of talking. He's after both Akane AND Ranma's girl half. Carries a boken with him EVERYWHERE (even to bed). Incredibly dense. Daisuke & Hiroshi: Always appearing as a pair, these are about the only recurring characters who don't have some sort of quarrel with Ranma. Henceforth, they are about as good a pair of friends as he has. Mr. Fujisawa: Okay, so he's from El Hazard. So what? If Pioneer ever decides to let Tenchi into the Ranma universe, they may as well let him! The Principal: Happy guy, wears a hawaiian shirt, and speaks very loud. Ryo-oh-ki: A cabbit. That is, a cross between a cat and a rabbit. (And we all know Ranma doesn't like cats.) Transforms into a giant battleship when necessary, and eats every carrot she finds. Ryoga Hibiki: Generally Ranma's main foe, Ryoga has no sense of direction whatsoever. He gets lost looking for the bathroom. (Even WITH a map.) He's incredibly strong, but turns into a pig when splashed by cold water. The Policemen: I refer you to the comment about the bus driver in volume one. ******************* *Shamus's Comments* ******************* Well, we got another one out! We're up to 3 volumes in as many days, and I think it's about time we slowed down for awhile. We need rest. The overall response has been good (from all the people on IRC who read it :) and we ARE going to continue the series, but we're going to take a break for a coupla days (maybe one, I gotta leave on a trip soon) I think the story's getting better (as in we're GETTING a story) and we're starting to put a little more detail into the story. At this rate, it'll be Shakespeare by the end ^^; This was INTENDED to be a 3-5 part series MAXIMUM, but it's getting BIGGER. This is not good, but we can't cut it down. As I write this, Allan is laughing at my estimate of a 3 part series. We're going to be at this for quite awhile, kiddies :) As always, comments should be emailed to one of us at tenchi@netcom.ca or melscott@direct.ca (I'm Tenchi, Allan's MelScott :) and the TEMPORARY page is up at http://www.pulsar.net/~zodiacx/tenchi (with thanks going to Zodiac for the space AGAIN) I leave you with this comment: MINI-SQUIDS FOREVER! THEY JUST DON'T DIE! Are you STILL puzzled as to why Washu is so interested in Cologne? SO ARE WE!!