Snake in the Horse's Shadow By Lord Raa Disclaim-me-do: I'm sure I can find a suitable substitute for the steamroller. The Jusenkyo Guide noticed the two visitors from the window of his hut and went out to greet them. "¬Good day sirs, how may I help you? Is there any aspect of Jusenkyo and its cursed pools of sorrow that you would like to know more about?¬" he asked in Chinese. "Sorry, Japanese," Genma said, looking rather confused at the warning signs. "Ah, Japanese visitors," the Guide nodded. "This the legendary training ground of Jusenkyo. Is very dangerous." "Dangerous? In what way?" Ranma asked. He wasn't impressed with what looked like simple balance training in the form of bamboo poles in pools of water. "We've been through worse training on the way here. "Is very dangerous if you fall into the pools of water. Not risk of illness, but you get curse." "Curse?" the Saotomes repeated in unison. "What do you mean curse?" Genma asked, his finely honed survival instincts picking up something strange. "If you fall into a pool, you take on the form of the last thing that drown there," the Guide explained. "Hot water change you back, but every time you hit by cold water, you change. There over 100 springs here, each with different curse. Like that one there, that turn you into a panda if you fall in there. And that one turn you into girl." "You know what Pops, I think we should try something else for our training," Ranma mused as he saw a small bird fall into a spring and turn into a piglet. The balding man blinked, shook his head and rubbed his eyes. He turned to the guide. "Did that bird just turn into a piglet?" "Yes, it did." "I don't suppose you know of any other training grounds in the area?" "Yes. There is the village of Amazons nearby," the Guide answered. Genma considered that, and while there was much potential for his son to improve is already impressive arsenal of moves, the risk of his son falling in love before they returned to Japan was too great. He knew that Ranma would fight the engagement he had arranged with Soun Tendo tooth and nail as it was without a girlfriend complicating matters. "Is there anything else, like maybe a temple of warrior-monks?" "Sorry, Shaolin monks to the south," the portly Chinese man answered. After a moment, he recalled something. "There is legend of a temple where man who reach enlightenment to travel among the gods. That temple not far from here." "That sounds better than risking turning into an animal, Pops," Ranma opined. "I mean, what if we get caught in the rain and eaten?" "Yes, you're quite right, Ranma. So then, where's this temple?" Three days later, Ranma and his father were beginning to wonder if they'd been tricked by the Jusenkyo Guide. They had been dodging heavy rains by searching a series of caves, making them glad that they'd not rushed head long into their original plan of training over the Pools of Sorrow. Though dealing with snakes, tigers and crazy hermits wasn't exactly a pleasant alternative for them. Finally, they'd encountered a cave that was unlike the others. It had what could have been a semi-irregular pattern on the walls, or just some ancient language from a long dead tribe decorating the cave. "This is it," Genma said in his wisest tone. "Now, follow me, Ranma." "Sure thing," the pigtailed martial artist shrugged, though he was happy to get out of the wind and rain. "So, you got any idea what this guy's called?" "None whatsoever." "Great," Ranma muttered. He looked around, noticing that there was some artificial light to his right. "What's this over here, Pops?" Genma walked to where his son was standing in front of a mysterious stone structure. "I've never seen anything like this before," he said as he reached out and brushed his fingertips over the carvings. Two seconds later, a series of stone rings descended from the ceiling around the martial artists and emitted a brilliant light. Ranma blinked repeatedly to regain his vision. "Pops, what just happened?" "I've got no idea," Genma answered truthfully. He scanned their immediate surroundings and noticed that there was a lot of gold in the colour scheme. "Is that a door over there?" "Looks like it. Let's see if it's locked," the teenager said as he walked two metres to his right. He felt around he thought was a doorframe for a button, anything to open the door, eventually hitting the controls. The door opened with a soft hiss, and more gold hued corridors were revealed. Ranma stuck his head through the doorway and took a quick look around. "Hey, there's a window over here! I'm going to check it out." Deciding that his son might need his wisdom and experience, not to mention he wanted to know if there was anything of value in the area, the balding man quickly caught up with the teenager. Moments later, he noticed that Ranma had stopped by the window. "What's up, Ranma?" "…Pops, I don't think we're in China anymore." "What do you…" Genma trailed off when he noticed that there was a blue and white orb in the distance. "That looks like the Earth as seen from the moon." "Pops, I think that's because we're on the moon," Ranma suggested, now pointing to a desolate landscape outside. "What the hell happened to us?" "I don't know, but we need to figure out a way to get back," the older man said. "We should look around together. Never mind splitting up to cover more ground, we need to stick together – I saw 'Alien'." The pigtailed youth would have rolled his eyes, but realised that his father did have a point about not splitting up. Wherever they were, they had to be careful. "Ok, Pops, which way do we go?" "This way, let's follow this path." An hour's exploration later, Ranma and his father arrived at a room that wasn't like the others. "This is significant," Genma noted the large window in front of two chairs and what seemed to be a control panel. This time Ranma did roll his eyes at his father's attempt to appear wise and knowledgeable. "Ok then, Pops, what now? We've found what could be…?" "I've got no idea," the portly man admitted. "I've been bluffing for the last ten minutes. Still, here we are in the… room with two chairs and a large window. Let's take a break, shall we?" "Yeah," the pigtailed Saotome nodded. He sat down on the nearest seat and yawned. "I don't suppose you know if we brought our pack with us, do you?" "… I don't know." "Fantastic," Ranma said sarcastically. "Here we are, apparently on the moon with no food and… wait, how much air do you reckon we've got here?" "I'm a martial artist, not a rocket scientist, boy," Genma chided. "Besides, you're the one at the controls – you fly this thing home. Actually, that's not that bad an idea – we could take this thing to a big company, they'd pay a fortune for this thing. We'd be set for life, Son!" "Money isn't everything, Pops, you taught me that." "That's before we were sitting on something so valuable. Now fly this thing." Rolling his eyes, the pigtailed martial artist placed his hands on the panel in front of him and spoke, "Take us… home?" There was a gentle hum that built up in pitch before vibrations started to cause Genma to take up the other seat. Moments later, the shuttle lifted off from the moon's surface and headed out towards the stars. Nine years later… "Colonel O'Neill, what's going on here?" General Hammond demanded from his returning expedition. "General, this is Teal'c, he's with us," O'Neill explained. "Let's get everyone checked out by the doctors and we'll explain everything." "Agreed," the bald man nodded. Teal'c looked around the Embarkation Room, noticing that the soldiers were all pointing their weapons at him. The Jaffa placed his weapon on the ground and walked forward off the ramp. 'Their combat training is clearly more than that of a slave army… Perhaps… no, how could it be possible that O'Neill and his people are related to them…?' "Teal'c, if you'll follow me, we need to have a quick word," O'Neill said, pulling his new friend to one side. Several months later, Teal'c knocked on the door to Colonel O'Neill's office. "O'Neill, I wish to ask you some questions about your world." "Come on in, Teal'c. What would you to know?" "O'Neill, I have noticed that there is a room here devoted to physical training." "The gym," the Colonel nodded. "What about it? Do you want us to get in some more equipment for you?" "No, the weights there are sufficient for my needs, but there is something puzzling me about your military training," the Jaffa continued. "I have seen you and other SG teams use unarmed combat techniques, but I wish to know more about them." "You want to know more about martial arts?" O'Neill asked. He leaned back in his seat in contemplation. "I suppose we could have a kung-fu film marathon… What's brought all this on?" The dark-skinned man took a moment to compose himself. "There are tales of two male Tau'ri who can break stone walls with their fists." "I've seen martial artists break bricks before. Give me a moment, and I'll see if I can find a video of that for you," the officer said as he logged onto the Air Force computer network. A minute later, he turned his monitor so that Teal'c could see properly. On the screen a man in a white gi walked to a neat stack of three bricks. He took a couple of seconds to line his fist up and broke all of them cleanly. The Jaffa was clearly impressed with this. "So it is possible for a human to do this…" O'Neill turned his monitor back to its normal position. "Wait, where did you hear these stories?" "When I was First Prime of Apophis, there were several minor rebellions which other System Lords took advantage of. It is believed that these rebellions were aided by two Tau'ri travelling in a stolen shuttle. There were whispers of men that could appear from nowhere, kill a Goa'uld and his bodyguards and disappear into the shadows." "Sounds like you've got an infestation of ninjas," the Colonel smirked. "So, what were these two men called?" "They were known as Ha're Kek," Teal'c replied. When O'Neill looked at him for an answer, he elaborated. "Silent Death." "What a charming nickname." "Indeed, O'Neill, but it is possible that we will encounter these two men when they learn of SG-1. I believe they could be a great help in the defence of your planet." "Either that or they'd have some great stories to share with us," Jack smiled. Elsewhere in the cosmos, Ranma was sitting around a campfire, negotiating with a rebel Jaffa. "Young Master Ranma, we know of your skills, and we have heard of your honour, that is why we have sought you out." "Just so you know how I feel about Jaffa," Ranma said, his steely gaze meeting that of his guest. "If you hadn't surrendered to me, I would have killed you when I first saw you." "I appreciate that fact. But I believe that you can help me free my people." "Yes, I'd heard that you Jaffa were enslaved by the Goa'uld," the pigtailed man nodded. "Just as they'd taken the people from my planet. I suppose I should help you, but Sokar's troops, who are your people, captured my father last year." The older warrior nodded. "That is true, but tales of your rescue of him has spread through the ranks of Jaffa across the galaxy. If you would help my people than our chances of victory will greatly increase." "Yeah," Ranma smirked. Genma, under the cover of darkness, willed his son to make a decision about this Jaffa. 'Help him or kill him, Ranma, just make up your mind soon!' The pigtailed man dropped his smirk and turned serious. "Now, I don't mean to sound like a greedy merchant, but what's in it for me? I don't mind risking my neck for my people, but you're a different matter." The old man nodded. "I understand your position, Master Ranma. I have only one thing that I can offer you: a chance to return to your home." "Now we're talking. How?" Ranma asked, leaning forward. "I know the explorers who come from the same planet as you," the Jaffa explained. "I can contact them to meet with you." The martial artist stroked his chin in contemplation. "I'll need to discuss it with my father first." "Very well, when shall we meet again?" "What is your name?" "Bra'tak, Master Ranma." "This time tomorrow, Bra'tak, you'll have your answer." That evening, Ranma closed the doors to the shuttle and turned to his father. "So then, Pops, what's it going to be? Should we help them or not?" "Ranma," the portly man sighed, "We've seen sights like nothing we could imagine. We've fought monsters, eaten food fit for gods and we've both had more beautiful women than we ever thought possible." He removed his bandana and ran a hand through his thinning hair. "But I'm getting too old for this life. We've been on the road for over twenty years now, and I want to be able to rest without worrying about what's looking for us. I want to go home." Ranma looked his father in the eye and saw how tired he looked. Gone was the man of incredible physical prowess and cunning. Now a tired, homesick old man stood before him. The pigtailed man nodded. "Ok, Father, I'll help them and get you home." "Thank you, Son." After a good night's sleep, Ranma and his father spent most of the day doing some light training and foraging for supplies. When night fell, the pair of Saotomes waited for Bra'tak's arrival. "Do you think he'll show?" Genma asked, enjoying the last of his baked fish. "Probably, he looked sincere enough," Ranma answered, working out some stiffness in his shoulders. "Your right arm still giving you trouble?" The younger Saotome gestured for silence as he scanned the area for the direction of the intruder. Waiting another five seconds, Ranma silently drew his short sword and rose to his feet. "I am here, Master Ranma," Bra'tak announced himself as he emerged from a copse. "Good evening," Genma greeted. "So, you're the one who's going to get us home?" "You must be Master Genma," the Jaffa bowed respectfully. "I hear that you are his instructor as well as his father." "Yes, I am. He makes me proud to be his father." "Bra'tak, I'm going to take you up on your offer," Ranma spoke up. "I'll risk my life for you for one mission, so make it a good one." "A mission like stopping an invasion fleet heading for your planet?" Bra'tak asked with a smirk. His face turned deathly serious. "Apophis is making his move against your world." "How many ships?" "Two, but they are capable of destroying every settlement on your planet." Ranma shook his head as he let out a chuckle. "You're getting your money's worth out of me, aren't you? What do you want me to do?" "I need you to get on board one of the ha'taks and sabotage everything you can once it reaches your planetary system," Bra'tak answered. "You want me to bring down two ha'tak class ships?" the pigtailed man asked. "When do they launch?" "Five days from now." "No time like the present, eh? Well, tell me where you want me and get me on the ship you want blowing up and I'll take it from there." "Excellent, Master Ranma," the Jaffa bowed. He handed a piece of paper with some coordinates on it. "Meet me at the chappa'ai on this planet and I'll get you on board." Just under a week later, Bra'tak walked into the room where SG-1 were being held. "Bra'tak!" O'Neill greeted. He was surprised to be smacked to the floor by his friend. "Foolish human! You have doomed yourself!" the veteran Jaffa chastised. "I am doing all I can to keep you alive, but you do not make things easy, do you?" "Keeps things from getting boring," the Colonel mumbled. "Tek Ma'te, Bra'tak," Teal'c greeted. "It is good to see you too, old friend," Bra'tak smiled. The smile soon fell from his face. "But you should not have come here." "Maybe not, but I stand by my friends. They may be our only hope for overcoming the false gods." "Yes, as pathetic as it seems at the moment, I agree." "You do?" Daniel asked, surprised by that particular comment. Bra'tak nodded. "Indeed, and had you not interfered, I may have been able to save your planet." "Hey," O'Neill protested, "You can't expect us to just sit by and do nothing while our world is destroyed!" There was a shimmer and a human dressed in black appeared beside Bra'tak. "It's my world too," he added. "Bra'tak, I managed to get close to both main reactors. They should be experiencing power loss in three, two…" The lights in the room dimmed for four seconds before returning to their normal brightness. "That's it? That's all you managed to do?" O'Neill asked in disbelief. "You're a god damned ninja and all you can do is dim the lights a little?" "Who are you?" Carter asked. "And how did you make yourself invisible?" "Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes, pilot of the cargo shuttle Nihonjin, killer of countless Jaffa and at least three Goa'uld," the raven-haired man said with a theatrical bow. "Are you part of the Ha're Kek?" Teal'c asked, his keen vision scanning the newcomer for anything that would give an indication of his fighting prowess. "Half of menace you guys call 'Ha're Kek', yes," Ranma nodded. "My father is sitting this one out. Anyway, I believe that you guys can get me home." "We can, but if we don't do anything soon, there won't be a home for you to return to," the Colonel shrugged. "Then I better do this," the pigtailed man smirked as he pulled out a radio detonator and pressed the button on the top. When nothing happened he pressed it again, and a third time. Jack turned to face Teal'c. "And these are the guys that the Jaffa fear?" "Indeed it does seem that he is not the invincible killing machine of legend," the dark-skinned Jaffa conceded. After a moment, Ranma slapped his forehead. "Don't worry, I know why there haven't been any explosions on this ship." "Why's that?" Carter asked, checking out the martial artist for any other technology he had with him. "I put the bombs on the other ship," the raven-haired man replied. Seconds later, Apophis's ship was ripped apart by a series of explosions. "There we go," Ranma beamed. "Now, how are we going to get out of this one? They should be having some problems with the main reactor, so we've got a fighting chance of surviving this one." "Yes, how many warships does the Tau'ri have in orbit?" Bra'tak asked, finding Ranma's enthusiasm infectious. "We've got a couple of shuttles…" Daniel said, turning to look at Jack for guidance. "Yeah, a couple of shuttles," the Colonel repeated. "We're boned." "So, what? You're saying we're on our own?" Ranma asked, not liking the expression on the faces of the members of SG-1. "Yes," Carter nodded, "but Daniel and I planted some C4 around this ship." "Yes! Tell me it's on a timer, Carter," Jack said. "It is, sir. We set the timer for 24 hours," said the blonde. "TWENTY FOUR HOURS?" "I thought we were at least a year away from Earth!" Carter protested. Ranma turned to face Bra'tak. "Well, it's not that big of a deal. I mean, we only have to keep them from attacking Earth until this ship blows up. Hiding from Jaffa for a day isn't a problem." "Not for you," O'Neill scoffed. "You're a ninja! You can melt into the shadows." "Well, yes," the pigtailed man admitted. "How much time do we have before your 4C blows up?" Bra'tak asked. "C4," the blonde corrected. "And we've got a little over 18 hours." "See, that's not a problem," Ranma grinned evilly. "We've got plenty of time to steal some death gliders and leave before this thing blows up." "What about the Jaffa? Won't they be on alert after the other ship was destroyed?" Daniel asked. "You're not scared of a few Jaffa, are you?" "There are over five thousand on this ha'tak, Ranma," Bra'tak supplied helpfully. "That just means keeping count's going to be harder," Ranma said walking to the doorway. Carter pulled O'Neill to one side. "Colonel, I think that this Ranma person is a little…" "Yeah, I get that vibe too, Carter. Still, I guess if he's our only hope." "Hey you lot, stop complaining like old women and let's get out of here!" Ranma wasn't sure what to make of SG-1 as they fought their way to the death glider hangar. Sure, most of them seemed pretty useful in a fight, but the guy in the glasses shouldn't have been there. He walked up to Bra'tak. "So what's up with that guy?" "O'Neill?" "No, the other one; the guy with the glasses. He looks barely able to fight his way out of a wet paper bag." "Ah, you mean Daniel Jackson. He is a scholar, not a warrior," the Jaffa explained. Ranma shook his head. "Don't get me wrong, I know it's important to learn stuff, but why would you take someone like that with you on a mission like this?" "It's a long story," O'Neill said gruffly. "We'll explain everything when we get home. Speaking of which, where is home for you?" "Cool, oh wait one moment," the pigtailed man said. He leaned back and launched a vacuum blade at a pair of Jaffa, slicing one their heads off and causing the other to flee in terror. "Sorry about that, just needed to show off. Where were we? Ah yeah, home. It was some years ago, but I think it was somewhere in Tokyo." Teal'c looked at the effects of Ranma's attack. "That is not Goa'uld technology. You are indeed Ha're Kek." Carter turned to look at Ranma. "Yeah, what was that? What kind of weapon do you have that could do that?" "Pops calls it the Yamasenken," he replied. "It's just a technique he developed when he was younger. And look, I'd love to spend time talking with you about this, but I've got better things to do tonight than die." "Carter, Teal'c, the inquisition will have to wait until we get back to the SGC," O'Neill said, cutting off any further questions for Ranma. "Is that clear?" "Yes, Sir." "It is indeed, O'Neill." "Good," the Colonel smiled. "So, we've got six hours before the C4 blows, what do we do if that doesn't take this thing down?" "Well, their power grid should be having some problems soon…" Ranma hinted in his best innocent tone. Five seconds later, the lights dimmed again. "Again, you've managed to dim the lights – the Goa'uld must be shaking in their boots right now!" Jack commented sarcastically. "If that's how you feel, I won't set off the other bombs. Best of luck getting off this crate before it blows up," Ranma snapped. A moment later and he was invisible again. "Colonel, I don't mean to speak out of line here," Carter said with a wince. "But don't you think that you could have been a bit…" "Friendlier to Ranma?" Daniel finished for the Captain. Before the Colonel could respond, the door to the hangar opened and half a dozen dead Jaffa bodies landed in the corridor. SG-1 heard panicked screams that a ghost was stalking the Jaffa guarding the hangar. "Orders, Colonel?" the blonde asked. Jack sighed. "Ok, we follow Ranma, maybe we can convince him to keep helping us." As Carter, Daniel and Teal'c filed into the hangar, the Colonel turned to Bra'tak. "Where did you find this guy?" "They say that the side that fights with the Ha're Kek does not lose," the veteran Jaffa explained with a small smile. Three death gliders sped away from the ha'tak. "¬Err, guys, what's a safe distance from this thing?¬" O'Neill asked over the radio. "¬I am not sure,¬" Teal'c answered. "About 500km," Ranma supplied. "¬Really?¬" "It's just a guess – I haven't blown one of these things up before," the pigtailed man admitted. Carter spoke up. "¬I don't want to jinx things, but why aren't they shooting at us?¬" "Carter does have a good point," Daniel added. "I sabotaged their weapons," Ranma smirked. "You didn't think I was just messing with their lights, did you?" O'Neill was about to speak up but, as if to mock the colonel, a series of explosions rippled through the remaining ha'tak and interrupted his sarcastic remark. "¬Oh, ok, I'm gonna have to stop mocking you, aren't I?¬" To be continued…? Pre-read by Chi Vayne with suggestions from foesjoe. The scenes chop and change in this one because you guys don't need a retelling of how the first season of SG-1 went. As for Ranma's adventures being omitted, I think it's more fun to hint at them and revisit some them in later chapters.
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Snake in the Horse's Shadow
Chapter 01: Chapter 1
By: Lord Raa