Bubblegum Splash! 2 Idol Chatter Written by Mike Koos --------------------------------- The scene opens on a group of people on their way to a picnic, happily singing carefree travel songs. [No, wait. That can't be right.] [Ah, here it is, someone switched tapes on me. Here we go...] Somewhere in northern Texas, a meeting is taking place in the parking lot of a tall skyscraper. Man 1: Did you bring the money? Man 2: (bringing his briefcase into view) It's all here. They walk toward the building, surrounded by their guards - boomer or otherwise. Man 1: Excellent. Let's get down to business. Nearby, a car explodes. Man 1: What the hell...? A large spider-like mecha decides to crush a few more cars as it walks up to them. They are surprised to hear a woman's voice, cool and calculating, come from its externals. Voice: (sighing) Billions of dollars to put into buying your own private army and you can't even design a decent parking space? Man 2: Well!? Get rid of them!! Everyone opens fire on the mech, but their rounds have no effect. Voice: Some people just never learn. The spider starts to fire. An endless stream of burning money is carried lazily away by the wind to nowhere in particular. "And now, the song that's been holding steady at number one on the top ten charts for the past three weeks... Vision's 'Just Say Something'!" The song explodes to life as MegaTokyo's streets drift past Tatewaki Kunou's ADP patrol car. He taps his fingers on the steering wheel in time to the music, an unwavering look of confidence hidden behind his dark sunglasses. Beside him, Hikaru, his partner, stares absently at the scenery passing by. Hikaru always hated these uneventful cruises through MegaTokyo's highway system. One would almost think that Kunou was just trying to show off, to flash a little of his authority around - not that anyone *really* respected him or his authority. No, these joyrides usually had one simple motive... ...Ranma. Who, at this very moment, is cruising home from Fujimura Studios after yet another argument with her manager, Genma, and Ayumi, her would-be partner. Ranma still insisted she didn't need a partner; her manager was well known for imposing his will on others whether they liked it or not. Ranma had the impression that Genma was trying to turn her and Ayumi into an idol group - and the mere thought made her angry. One of Genma's... 'excuses' was that the studio needed the money an idol group would bring in. This was and wasn't true; especially after the studio had been nearly blown away - quite literally - by a special Asuza-model boomer in the not-so-distant past. ( * see Bubblegum Splash! 1) But Ranma wouldn't hear of it... she worked alone. So she'd snubbed Ayumi again. To her credit, Ayumi was starting to get annoyed as well, which suited Ranma just fine. The more the merrier, or in Ranma's case... "...it's always the one you love who..." Then Kunou recognized Ranma in the traffic ahead. Hikaru knew this by the change in the way Kunou was driving and his behavior, even if Hikaru couldn't see Ranma or her motorcycle. What, had Kunou memorized her profile? He had probably already committed her license plate number, the look of her motorcycle, the jackets she wore, her helmet to memory... and Hikaru just couldn't wait for him to become obsessive. "...Looking for each other, we..." Fortunately for Ranma, the traffic was too thick for Kunou to join her. Ranma wasn't making it any easier, either. Kunou was about to pound his fists on the wheel in frustration when Ranma turned her head and looked straight at them. "...Sometimes we just can't tell..." Ranma pulls up alongside the patrol car on Kunou's side, pacing it. She reaches over and knocks on the window. With high hopes, Kunou lowers his window. "...then I found you once again..." Ranma: (yelling) CAN'T YOU TURN THAT DAMN RADIO DOWN!? She disappears into the traffic again. Hikaru looks at the reflection of his grin in the window. * * * * At the AD Police Headquarters... Shampoo walks up behind Linlin and Ranran, who are sitting at their terminals, laughing. Shampoo: What are you two doing? They turn and look up at her in unison with a guilty start. Shampoo: *Video games*? I'm over here filling out reports and you're playing video games? Linlin, Ranran: (together) Sorry, Shampoo. Shampoo goes back to her terminal. Shampoo: That's more like it. She waits for things to get back to normal, then hits a few keys. Shampoo: (picks up *special* custom arcade joystick) The next day... Ukyou stands within the Knight Sabers' special holographic training chamber, dodging the attacks of a featureless computer-controlled cylinder-like opponent. Akane and the other Knight Sabers watch from the booth. Ukyou: (coming out of the chamber) So, how did I do? Akane: (cheerfully) Great! You hit 87 percent. Ukyou: I've only gone up one percent? Shampoo: WHAT!? I can't weigh this much! Everyone stops what they're doing and looks directly at her. Shampoo: (shifting nervously on the scale) Uh... um... heh... Ranma: (looking at the readout) You're right. *Nobody* can weigh that much. Shampoo glares at Ranma. Ranma: (looking over Shampoo's figure) But you HAVE been eating a little too much lately, haven't you? Ukyou: (snorting) Eating!? I think she *absorbs* the stuff. Shampoo starts fuming. Even Akane can't help but laugh. Ranma: That's it, burn some of that fat off! Ukyou: (aside, to Ranma) Give her some of Akane's cooking. She'll swear off food forever. Shampoo: (yelling) I AM **NOT** FAT!!! With that, she storms into the hologram chamber, slams the door and engages the hologram, scoring a perfect 100 percent. Ranma, Ukyou, Akane: (nervously) ............ * * * * Sign: Coming This Week to the MegaTokyo Ultra Entertainment Dome... Vision! - Live - In Concert - One Day Only - Reserve Your Tickets Now! - Commercials for the famous singer's concert run across the airwaves in MegaTokyo, even preempting a sale on the Home Mall Network hawking cubic zirconia versions of authentic Sailor Moon jewelry. On the outskirts of MegaTokyo, however, Vision and her 'partner' await the start of a boomer 'merchandise' transfer between Genom and another party from within their spider-mech a short distance away. Hayato: (checking monitors) Are you sure they're coming? I'm not picking up anything major on the scans. Nabiki: (narrowing eyes) They'll be here. At Ukyou's house, Ranma and Ukyou sit on the couch, watching television. Ranma idly flips through the channels. She happens upon one of Vision's videos playing on an all-music channel. Ranma: Oh, great. Not *her* again! She raises the remote to change the channel, but Ukyou blocks the remote's signal with her hand. Ukyou: No. I want to see this. Ranma: Well, I DON'T. It's just a reminder of how much more 'popular' Vision is than I am. Intent on watching the video, Ukyou doesn't hear Ranma's complaints. Shampoo enters with a large bucket of popcorn and some soft drinks. Ranma: (to Shampoo) Bring anything for us? Shampoo: (tossing Ranma a bottle) Ha, ha. (notices what's on television) Hey, it's Vision! I love her music! Ranma: (rolling her eyes) Sheesh... Shampoo: (blushes) Oops... Ukyou: I know her. Ranma, Shampoo: What? Ukyou: I mean, I think I know her. Ukyou: She may be related to someone I know. Ranma flicks a piece of popcorn at Vision's image. Ukyou continues to study Vision intently. Ukyou: (keeping her eyes on the television screen) Shampoo, there's something I'd like you to check out. Meanwhile... Hayato: (face lit from below by the active scanner) That's it! They're all there! Nabiki: Perfect. Her mech executes a running leap and touches down across from the group of inactive boomers. Everyone else runs to shield themselves behind the boomers, which slowly wake up - almost as if they had spent the last week or so watching a nonstop anime marathon. The order is given, and the boomers start to deploy. Nabiki: No, you don't! The mech picks up a large boulder and, in perfect bowling form, gracefully rolls the boulder into the boomers. Graceful, in as much as a giant mechanical spider could be. Caught by surprise, the boulder slams full force through several of the boomers, ripping through them like so many inconsequential characters. Hayato: Hmm, nice form. Uh-oh... (looks at scanners) ...you've got a nasty seven-ten split to pick up. Sure enough, the tight group of boomers had been reduced and split in two directions, but were still enough to provide cover for their Human masters, cowering behind them. Nabiki: No problem. They reach back for another roll. An instant later the entire lane goes up in a blazing orange fireball. Hayato: (shielding his eyes) Now, was that absolutely necessary? Nabiki: (smirking) Sure! Why use bowling balls when high explosives are so much more effective? Out of the range of all scanners and the explosion, a lone figure watches from the shadows. Moose: (solemn) ............ * * * * Genom Tower, MegaTokyo. Moose walks into the office of Genom's president, hidden somewhere within the top section of floors inside the dark Genom Tower. At the desk sits Genom's top official himself, concealed behind the back of his plush chair. The faint stirrings of a ukelele can be heard. Moose always felt uneasy in this room; it had been decorated by the president himself with a Hawaiian motif. Secretly, Moose thought it looked like a tacky tourist trap rather than the office of one of the most powerful and shrewd businessmen in the entire corporate world - and beyond. He would have taken off his glasses to dull the sight... to avoid seeing the phony beach-side scene, the seagulls hanging uselessly from wires, palm trees which no one could tell if they were alive or synthetic... but he was potentially blind without his glasses, equivalent to two lenses from ultra-powerful telescopes. An astronomer could probably use them to see beyond the planets of the Solar System, but Moose needed them to discern his hand in front of his face. Genom's president was a reclusive individual, rarely ever seen in public, and one who always found some way to keep himself above blame. To those who had met him, however, he was a few manga stories short of a volume. His entire wardrobe seemed to consist of loose-fitting Hawaiian-stereotypical-tourist-style clothing, keeping with the image his office projected. He hid his eyes behind a pair of sunglasses and always seemed to have a tan, despite the fact that no one had ever seen him go outdoors. Finally, there was his voice; his speech made him sound like some kind of demented disc jockey with a cocky or smug little laugh of contempt that grated on people's nerves - but not so much like that of his own daughter's - Kodachi, whom he had removed from her Genom post because of her failures in dealing with the Knight Sabers. For some reason, the president had asked that everyone refer to him as, "The Principal." No one knew why, but then again, no one knew his real name either, and neither he nor his daughter would tell. Word had it that not even Kodachi knew her father's given name. Now, as the office's "background music" - synthesized music, combined with the sounds of waves crashing, a gentle sea breeze, and seagulls... all designed to calm and soothe - began to grate on Moose's nerves once more, "The Principal" turned around in his chair. There it was, the phony - it had to be fake, didn't it? - miniature palm tree, complete with coconuts 'growing' in the Principal's slicked-back hair. [Editor's Note: Fans will be happy to know that none of the music or BGM from this scene is included in the official music collection for this OAV, available now at local music stores, or order yours today for only $29.95 by calling 555-4567. Offer limited to stock available in the store across the street from us.] Principal: (steepling hands) So, the mystery mecha has struck again, has it? Moose: Yes. Principal: What steps are you taking to deal with it? Moose: We're in the process of arranging a trap for it. I think you'll be quite satisfied with the end results. He turns his back on the Principal. Not necessarily a good idea, especially since Genom's president wasn't much for dramatic interludes. Moose: (clenching fists at his sides) This time it will be our boomers who will tear that mech to shreds. We have allowed them to be confident for far too long. Principal: Hey, boy! What about the Knight Sabers? You don't think they're just going to stand still while all this is happening, do you? Moose: (turns partway around) It's all part of my plan. They will show up. Moose: I'm counting on it. Principal: Very well, then. Moose turns to leave. He could tell that the Principal was starting to get jovial again, and that was something he definitely didn't want to stick around for. But just as he makes it to the welcome mat laid on the sand at the door, he trips on something. He checks himself and finds that he has tripped on a bar of soap attached to one of his ropes. Cursing softly to himself, Moose throws it back into the nowhere from which it came and leaves the office. Principal: (holding his head) Oh, my... It's so hard to find good, expendable help these days. * * * * Shampoo studies the monitor on the computer in her workstation. She'd spent half the day secretly working on checking on someone for Ukyou: Nabiki Tendo. Shampoo had pulled information files from archives around the world, yet the data files on Nabiki from the intelligence community were locked behind a password that she had yet to figure out. This was starting to get interesting: locked intelligence files meant some very interesting information was stored in the files just waiting for her to come along and pick it up. Linlin: What are you doing? Shampoo: What? (quickly shuts off the monitor) Oh. I'm just working on a case update. Linlin: That didn't look like a case update. Shampoo: Do you want something, or are you just here to look over my shoulder? Linlin: Both, of course! Linlin: Have you reserved your tickets for the concert tomorrow? Shampoo: Concert? Linlin reaches over to type the word, "VISION," on Shampoo's terminal, but her fingers stray and hit the wrong keys. Shampoo turns the monitor back on and is aghast at what she sees. Shampoo: (upset) LINLIN!! You've deleted my entire work queue!!! Linlin: I didn't mean to. I was just trying to remind you about the Vision concert tomorrow-... Shampoo: (muttering to herself) Great. Now I'll have to spend the rest of the day reconstructing everything. I'll probably have to grab everything again from the Interpol archives. Linlin: The Interpol archives? Ranran: (peeking out from the next row of workstations) You're not supposed to be messing around with those. Isn't that illegal? You don't have access clearance to those archives... Ranran: ...Do you? Shampoo's mind races, trying to come up with a suitable excuse. Shampoo: I'm on a special assignment. Listen to me: you're not to repeat this to anyone, you hear me? Not necessarily the best of excuses, but it might just work. Linlin, Ranran: Okay. Shampoo narrows her eyes suspiciously; Linlin and Ranran had agreed not to tell a little too quickly. Shampoo: And yes, since you were wondering, I did reserve tickets for Vision's concert, last week. Linlin: (hopeful) Got any spare tickets? Shampoo: (turning back to her computer) Nope. Linlin, Ranran (to each other) It was worth a shot. * * * * At Genom Tower... Secretary: (over intercom) There's a Mr. Tatewaki Kunou and a Mr. Hikaru Gosunkugi from the AD Police here to see you, sir. Principal: Send them in. Kunou and Hikaru enter the room and are immediately overwhelmed by the room's atmosphere, narrowly avoiding the quicksand pit. Principal: This visit can't be that important, or you would have made an appointment. A social call, perhaps? Kunou: We're investigating the attacks by that renegade spider mech. Principal: So, the AD Police are finally doing something substantial. Kunou: Let's not play games, okay? We both know you're behind those attacks. What's really going on here - a publicity stunt? Are you trying to manipulate the market? Do you plan to send an even more powerful and bigger boomer after the mech just to show your buyers what's available? The Principal reaches under the desk and tosses Kunou a large gift-wrapped box. Principal: Here. Kunou: What's this? He has no time to figure it out, as a trap door opens underneath him and he falls into the depths of the Genom Tower. Above, Hikaru and the Principal stand on opposite sides of the trap door, peering in. Somewhere, far below, something blows up, and the rest of the building is shaken from that floor outward. Hikaru: (sheepishly) I think I'll be leaving now... * * * * On a hunch, Ukyou has driven across town with Ranma in tow in order to confront Vision. They pull their car to a stop outside the MegaTokyo Ultra Entertainment Dome's lot, just out of sight. From their position they can see both Vision's trailer and the stage crews setting up for tomorrow's show. Ordinarily, Ranma wouldn't necessarily have come along, but there was something about this whole Vision matter that intrigued her. Ranma: (handing binoculars to Ukyou) I still don't see what this has to do with that spider-mech Akane wants us to look for. Ukyou: (pans across the compound) If I'm right, it might have everything to do with it. She makes a sweep of the Vision fans camped out in the Dome's parking lot to see if anything or anyone is out of the ordinary. After that, she's still not sure. Ranma: Yeah, well, I'd still feel a lot better if I were going in there with you. Ukyou: Vision and I are old friends, but right now I don't know how she would react if you came along. No. This is something I have to do alone. Ranma: Never thought I'd hear you say that. Ukyou: Why? Ranma: I'm supposed to be the loner, remember? (points to a piece of paper) See? It's all here in the rules of the Knight Sabers. Ukyou: (frowning) We haven't got much time! Whatever Vision's planning, she has to pull it off before the end of her concert tomorrow... Ranma: So you're sure Vision is responsible? Ukyou hops out of the car. Ukyou: Not only do I know she's responsible, I know why she's doing it. Ukyou: Shampoo ought to have Vision's files cracked by now. Tell Akane to keep an eye on the Genom Tower. I have a feeling that's the next target. Ranma: Genom Tower, huh? Makes sense. But then why *is* she doing this? Ukyou: I'll tell you when I get back. Ranma: You were there, weren't you? For whatever it was that's making her do all this? Ukyou: I was. Ranma moves to the driver's seat. Ranma: Akane isn't going to like this. Ukyou: (shrugs) You can't always go by Akane's rules. Ranma: (grins) I think you're starting to get the hang of things. Ukyou watches Ranma drive off, bids her car good luck, then quietly sneaks down to Vision's trailer. She hears voices from within and presses up against the trailer's wall to try and make out what's being said but cannot. Ukyou: Behind the trailer is something secured under a huge tarp by ropes tied to tent stakes. Ukyou finds Vision's 'spider-mech' - the GD-42, squatted on its haunches beneath. Ukyou: Before she can finish the thought, someone strikes her unconscious from behind. * * * * Ukyou awakens, bound in a chair, inside the trailer. Nabiki: I'm sorry to have to do this, Ukyou, but we can't have people snooping around. Though I never thought it would be you. Ukyou: Oh, come on, Nabiki! You know me better than that! I know what you're up to, and why. Nabiki: You're the only other person who would. You also know that I have to do this - my honor is at stake. Ukyou: 'Honor?' Is that it? It was an accident, Nabiki! The Principal just got lucky and beat you at your game. Either that, or he cheated. You've turned this into a matter of life and death! Nabiki: That's what it always was for me. Ukyou: It was just a *game*. Blackjack. [Flashback: to Las Vegas, five years ago. A cautious Ukyou stands next to Nabiki at the blackjack tables. Nabiki, who had been holding out against any and all opponents in the last two hours, wore a confident look on her face. A new opponent approaches the table: Genom's Principal, dressed in - surprise! - a suit. His trademark palm tree, slicked-back hair and sunglasses dispel any hope of an image the suit might have had. All of a sudden Nabiki found herself battling someone capable. As the 'battle' intensifies, Ukyou tries to pull Nabiki away from the table. She finally gives up when she sees the glint in both Nabiki's and the Principal's eyes. Nothing would sway these two gamblers. The last deal held the final insult: the Principal held 21, Nabiki 20. She walks away from the table without saying a word. Ukyou is reluctant to follow.] Nabiki: He did cheat. I'm sure of it... and I'm going to make sure he pays. Ukyou: What about your career? You go through with this and you'll never be free again. You'll be throwing away a perfectly good job as an intelligence agent *and* a singer. Nabiki: (thinking momentarily) ...My career no longer matters. And I can sing even from prison... Ukyou: That's crazy! (She decides to try a different approach.) The Knight Sabers are getting ready to stop you, you know. Nabiki: Thanks for the warning. Nabiki: (turning to leave) I've got to attend to the... blowout now. I don't want to hurt you, Ukyou, but I can't let you stop me. Ukyou checks a nearby clock, an SD Ranma pointing out the time and date. It was only a few hours until the concert. Which blowout did Vision mean - the concert, or her attempt on the life of Genom's president? Nabiki makes a slow turn around the chair. Nabiki: You'll probably break free of those ropes in no time at all. Nabiki: However, this trailer won't be as easy to break out of. It's completely secure, and once I close that door... it will be locked shut from the outside. Ukyou: ...... Nabiki: The time lock on the door will open in exactly six hours. Plenty of time for me to take care of business. Nabiki steps to the door. Nabiki: (pausing in the door's frame) Don't bother telling me I won't get away with this. I know I won't. Ukyou: Then why -- Nabiki: (smiles) It's a gamble. The time lock latches shut with a final, hollow click. * * * * The GD-42 begins to move, starting by marching through the awed groups of camped-out fans in the parking lot. They consider the mech to be a sign of what to expect from the concert. * * * * Everyone is in a chaotic rush at AD Police headquarters as the news of the GD-42 begins to arrive. Shampoo, having finally gained access to Vision's files during a break, catches up with Kunou and Hikaru, trying to walk alongside them and pull her armload of printouts together at the same time. Shampoo: Wait! I've got something to show you! Kunou: (impatiently) What is it this time, Shampoo? Hikaru: Did you break into the Payroll computer again? Shampoo: No! I... Kunou: Personnel? Shampoo: No. Hikaru: Not the Chief's private system? Shampoo: No!! Kunou: We haven't got time for this, Shampoo! We're trying to track down that damned spider! Shampoo: (innocently, calling after the two) Would it help to know who the pilot is, where she's going and why? Kunou and Hikaru stop and turn to look at each other. They head back down the corridor and start pushing a wide-eyed Shampoo toward the exit. Kunou: Well, what are you waiting for? We have a mech to catch! * * * * In Vision's trailer, Ukyou starts banging on the metal door, having exhausted all possibilities for another way out. As Nabiki predicted, it hadn't taken Ukyou long to untie herself. She hears a familiar mechanical sound from the other side of the door and throws herself behind the bed in the far end of the room - just as the door is blown clear of its hinges. The next sound she hears is the unmistakable sound of metal-clad feet on the fallen door. Ukyou: Ranma! Ranma's tone betrays her concern, even though her face is hidden within her hardsuit's helmet. Ranma: Are you all right? Ukyou: (in a hoarse voice) I'm fine. Really. Ranma: You don't sound fine. Ukyou: (sarcastic) Oh, was I supposed to *sound* fine? Okay. (clears throat) Ukyou: (in a clear voice) I'm fine. Really. Ranma: Great. Now I can sleep easier tonight. Ukyou: I knew you wouldn't be able to stay out of this. You probably haven't even reported this to Akane yet. Ranma: Oh, I've told her - and boy, is she ticked off. Ranma: We'd better double-time it down there, *now*. Akane's waiting for us. Ukyou shows Ranma the blueprints for the Genom Tower on the table. The president's office is circled in red. Ukyou: She's planned this right down to the last detail. Akane's probably expecting a head-on attack. She may not be able to stop Vision! * * * * The GD-42 pauses in front of the Genom Tower, its goal in sight. Sensors indicated security was indeed moving to intercept, but the GD-42 would be able to take care of them without a hassle. A lone figure leaps effortlessly into the mech's path - a Knight Saber, to be exact. Akane: Stop! Rather than comply, the GD-42 launches itself straight up and hugs the side of the building, crawling up the wall like a real spider. Akane: !! She launches after the spider. Along the way, she picks up support from Ranma and Ukyou. Akane: (to Ukyou) There you are! I'll talk with you later, *after* we stop that thing! A step or two ahead, the GD-42 reaches the large windows of the President's office and tears them open like a high-tech can opener. And comes face-to-face with a blast as wide as the office itself that explodes straight out at it. Its pride injured, the GD-42 settles back to the street below, minus a part of one of its lower legs and part of its sensor array. Nabiki manages to keep the mech level. The Knight Sabers follow a split-second later. So does the Principal, having leapt the distance from his office to the street and landing feet-first on the ground, apparently unharmed. He starts laughing, growing louder with each turn. Akane: He has to be a boomer! There's no other way... Vision empties a few dozen rounds into the happy form in front of them. The Principal continues to smile, to laugh. Before the Knight Sabers or Vision can react, the boomer sheds its human disguise, growing in size as it does so, until it towers above them all. At least the palm tree was closer to life-sized now. The boomer looses another powerful blast at point-blank range. The GD-42 and the Knight Sabers are violently thrown away like leaves in a brisk wind by its sheer force. Akane pushes herself up from where she had landed and freezes. For standing nearby is Moose, looking down on her... as if he *knew* her somehow. She had the impression she knew him, too - in a matter of speaking. As she starts toward him he is obscured by a wall of fire. Ukyou: Yaaaaah! She whacks the boomer's temples with what her trademark giant spatula. Barely fazed, the boomer picks her up and flings her aside. That done, it reaches for the GD-42 and uses it as a yo-yo. Ranma: This thing can't keep taking damage forever! She tries to get near the boomer to inflict some damage, but the boomer turns the GD-42 into a shield. Ranma hits it and is sent pinwheeling into a dumpster. Ukyou sneaks behind the boomer and entangles its ankles with her ribbons. Returning to the scene, Akane notices this and tricks the boomer into walking toward her. Surprisingly, as it trips, the thing's legs and feet seem to wobble and destabilize internally, much more than the rest of the body. The GD-42 hops away. Ranma: That's it! It must have some kind of weakness in its legs and feet! Akane: Well... the Principal never was a great dancer. Ranma vaults over the fallen boomer while injecting it with a full complement of needles. They seem to have a bit more of an effect this time. The boomer gets to its feet, firing another power blast that washes over the GD-42. At first, it seems like Vision's mech is unharmed, but it soon starts losing power and control, electrical fires springing to life all across its surface. Akane: The legs! Go for its legs! Nabiki does just that, straining to attach her disabled mech to the boomer's legs like a small child that wouldn't let go. She switches her externals on. Nabiki: Get out of here! I'm going to take this thing with me! Ukyou: No! Ukyou leaps in and, ripping the top off the mech, pulls Nabiki and Hayato away to safety shortly before the GD-42 self-destructs. Preoccupied with trying to pull the GD-42 off its lower body, the boomer comes to the startling realization that it no longer has a lower body. Its last thoughts, before falling victim to its own self-destruct routine, are thoughts of embarrassment. Nabiki: (quietly, to Ukyou) Thanks, Ukyou. Ukyou: What!? Nabiki: Yes, I know it's you in there. No one else fights like you. Nabiki starts to walk away. Ukyou: Where are you going? Nabiki: (drawing her gun) That wasn't the Principal, so I still have a job to do. Ukyou: (placing an armored hand over the gun's muzzle) You've done enough. He's probably long gone by now, at any rate. Nabiki: (hearing approaching police sirens) Then I'll be leaving as well. I need to execute my revenge. Ukyou: Give it a rest. There are much worse things you could do to him... and all within the law. Nabiki: But... Ukyou: Besides, revenge is much more fun if the victim's around to suffer from the results. A smile crosses Nabiki's face. Kunou's police car arrives; Kunou, Hikaru and Shampoo get out and stare in amazement at the damage. Kunou: (sighs) I'll bet that even with all this, we still won't be able to find a reason to arrest the Principal. Kunou notices Vision and walks over to her. Kunou: Would you like a ride to your concert? Nabiki: You aren't going to arrest me? Kunou: No. As far as I can tell, you haven't committed any *real* crimes. So, what about that ride? Ranma is surprised to find herself agreeing with Kunou's sense of justice in this matter. She joins Ukyou and Vision. Nabiki looks into Ukyou's visor. Nabiki: Thanks, but I'll pass. I'm going with friends! Akane, meanwhile, tries to locate the strange person she had met during the battle. Who was he? Was he a boomer? And why did she feel like she recognized him, if only in part? But even her hardsuit's sensors cannot detect a trace of him. Moose: (voiceover) One day, we'll meet again, Akane. < EPILOGUE > At Vision's concert, Akane, Ranma, Ukyou, Shampoo and Ryouga have special seats backstage. Ukyou has just explained to everyone the reason behind Nabiki's desire for revenge. Ranma: THAT'S why!? Ukyou: Yes. Ranma: We went to all that trouble because of a card game? Shampoo: (to Ranma) Quiet! I'm trying to hear the music! Ranma: Hmph. On stage, Vision is wrapping up another song. The audience roars. Backstage, an excited Shampoo accidentally spills all her food onto Ranma's head in the row below. Ranma: (upset) Shampoo...! Ukyou: (to Ranma) Look at it this way. At least you're helping Shampoo keep her weight down. That's one less serving of food to worry about. Ranma tosses an ice cube at Ukyou. ------------------------------------------------------------------ CREDITS: Apologies to Rumiko Takahashi, Kenichi Sonoda, Hikaru Tooyama, and to anyone else whose characters were referenced to or used here. Special thanks to: Carl Yan, David Wills, Cathy Krusberg and all the readers of BGSplash!. I know you're out there, somewhere... :) Other 'episodes' of Bubblegum Splash! are available for FTP from the rec.arts.anime.creative archive site, ftp.cs.ubc.ca, or from my WWW pages (address below). NOTE: (January 22, 2001) As much as I'd rather not explain some of the obscure references I've made in the BGS! stories, there's a running reference that begins here... one which is now a bit dated. Yes, I mispelled Mousse's name as 'Moose.' Intentionally. Why? When I first wrote this story in 1993, one of the 'minor' debates being discussed by Ranma fans was how to romanize Mousse's name. (Certainly not as infamous as the debate over how Sylia's name should be romanized, but... ^_^) Using the 'Moose' spelling was just my way of annoying a few other people, who shall remain nameless. :) Of course, this reference isn't quite obvious from its use in BGSplash!, except perhaps for the later part where 'Moose' answers Akane's question about his name. Comments, questions, suggestions? E-mail me at the addresses below. * Mike ('Kino Makoto') Koos: makoto@cal.net * http://www.fanfic.net/~makoto * * "I can do nothing to stop you. Your background music is too strong * for me." - Sam Johnson, Whose Line is it Anyway?