Just after passing the furniture shop, they almost walked past a man who had a booth set up with several 'Wanted: Dead Or Alive' posters plastered around the booth. Curious, Abenti walked up with Ranmza not far behind and looked at the posters before talking with the curator of the booth.

"Excuse me, sir. What do you do here?"

"Me? I keep information about current outlaws. Y'see. Some people have done serious grievances to others. Those who have been wronged come to me to place a price on those who have wronged them. If you're adventurous enough, you can agree to take on a quest for me for the reward money, minus my record keeping fees of course." the man replied shrewdly. "So, how about it? Care to become a temporary mercenary?"

"Splendid, splendid." the man said before opening up his book and showed the contents to the two of them. "Who would you like to take a stab at?"

Ranmza looked over the contents of the book, wondering which one she could take on. She finally pointed to a scruffy-looking man in a picture, along with the information on the man underneath the picture.

"How about him? I think I could take him on. What do you think, Abenti?"

"Hmm...looks can be deceiving, but the price is right." Abenti quickly read through the information. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "Let's do it!"

Ranmza nodded. She looked up at the guy who was holding the book open, and asked, "So where can we usually find the guy? It doesn't say in the book."

"Ah, but that's part of the fun. I don't know."

"That's just great... so I guess this means we have to waste time roaming all over the countryside so that I can find him? Suddenly this doesn't seem like any fun." Ranmza groaned, quickly reconsidering whenever this was really a good idea or not. Ranmza then looked at Abenti.

"Do you need the money that much?"

"Personally, I'd get by without dealing with money at all... But if this world is anything at all like mine, then money is a necessity for things not acquirable by any other means."

"Yeah. So, I guess I'll do this anyway. Maybe we can hunt some monsters while we search. Then maybe this won't be a total waste." Ranmza said with a nod.

"It couldn't hurt." Abenti agreed. "So, where shall we head off to?"

Ranmza thought for a bit, then she grinned.

"How about Ape City? I know of a nice hunting spot just outside the city there. It's a hotspot for the scum of the world who sometimes like to rough up, if not kill innocent people out there. Maybe we could find the guy there. Other than that, many good items can be found hunting around the area."

"Okay... One question remains. How do we get there?" Abenti wondered.

Ranmza grinned.

"Well, I did have some teleport scrolls saved up. It's much easier than taking the long and winding scenic route."

Not far away, Ranmza made a stop at the Warehouse attendant to pick up a few stashed away scrolls and handed one over to Abenti.

"All you have to do is open it and it'll teleport you instantly. You can also buy this relatively cheap in every town from the merchant girls who sells medicine and healing potions." Ranmza explained. "It's a must, especially if you don't have much time to waste."

"Swell... more teleportation spells..." Abenti mentally shuddered as she thought about how she came to be in this realm in the first place. Shrugging, Abenti decided that these were most definitely nothing like what Sesmar threw at her, and since she trusted Ranmza, decided that the scrolls weren't so very bad.

"First, we should definitely stock up on potions and other important things before we go." Ranmza said, not noticing Abenti's dubious look. "After all, Ape City is rifle full of people who'd kill you on the spot for no reason other than the fact that they think it's fun. So, being able to heal yourself quickly when you're far away from any hospital or healing Taoist is vital."

With that, the two went over to the pharmacist merchant girl a short distance away, and made the purchases. Ranmza then also bought a couple of Twin City teleportation scrolls, in case they ever needed to make a hasty retreat.

"Okay, ready?" Ranmza asked as she took out her scroll, ready to open it at the same time as Abenti.

"As I'll ever be..." Abenti replied.

"Okay, here we go!!" With that, the two opened their scrolls and almost instantly they found themselves in the center of Ape City, and there was large mobs of people all around, and some appeared to be battling each other for sport while others just sat and watched the fights happen with great amusement.

One man who was overconfident in battling wound up having a sword driven though his chest by a warrior who was clearly more experienced than him. The warrior just laughed.

"That's what you get when you mess with me, baby!"

A nearby Taoist revived the poor sap, and the guy then stood up with an sheepish look on his face.

"Jeez, I thought I'd win for sure this time..."

With that, he walked away only to be stabbed in the back by somebody else in the crowd who had apparently wanted to make off with the equipment that he dropped.

"See what I mean?" Ranmza shook her head as she glanced over to Abenti.

"Eeesh... I'll be glad when I get back home. Stuff like this just doesn't happen on a regular basis there."

"Let's just ask around about the guy that we're looking for. But stick together. They're bound to target us if we get separated." Ranmza replied.

It took a while, but finally they managed to find somebody who knew of their target's whereabouts. The man was sitting in a small section at the top of the mountain which the whole city was built into. Near by, an elderly man in all white clothing apparently seemed to be watching over the city.

The informant that they were looking for was short, middle aged and had an eye patch over one eye. There were ample scars all over his exposed chest, as if he had been in many battles. Walking up to him, Ranmza and Abenti proceeded to ask if he knew where they could find the outlaw with the price on his head.

"Oh, him? Well, if I tell you what do I get in return?" He lewdly smiled at Abenti. "Maybe I'd get to spend some time alone with one of you pretty ladies?"

"In your dreams..." Abenti rolled her eyes.

"Oh, but my dreams just about always become a reality." came his response.

Ranmza sweatdropped, and then cut in before Abenti would return the response with a more angry comeback. "Well, I have enough gold, if you get my drift. How would you feel if two thousand gold coins just happened to fall into your pocket?"

"Shouldn't be spending what can't be afforded..." Abenti warned just before an idea came to mind. Giving a quick glance to Ranmza to not object and a wink to assure her that what she had in mind would more than likely work, Abenti sauntered over to him and talked to the man in almost a purr of a voice. "Tell you what. I know of a little place not far from here. It's quite secluded and we can make someone's dream come true. What do you say?"

Ranmza just gaped, not sure what was up. But she just stood by, wondering what was going to happen. The lecherous man started grinning, a slight blush creeping into his cheeks.

"I knew it. you couldn't resist my old charm at all, huh? Alright, baby."

With that, the man happily followed Abenti, and Ranmza just followed from a distance, unsure if what Abenti had in mind was really such a good idea. When they were far enough from prying eyes, Abenti turned to face the man.

"You should know something..." Abenti said as she placed a finger to the mans lips as indication that he should not interrupt. She then moved her hand so that she was stroking his jaw line downward with the back of her hand.

Before the man could react to anything, he found himself landing hard on his backside as Abenti transformed into her alternate feline form, with her hand - now a frying pan sized paw - pressing heavily on the man's throat, nearly crushing his Adam's Apple.

"I am not a plaything." Abenti growled as she moved her head to within a whisker's length away from his face. "When I let up, you will tell me what I want to know, or you will be like that guy I saw get killed twice... Only this time, there will be no Taoist around to be willing and able to resurrect you. Got that?"

Ranmza saw the whole thing happen, and couldn't help but smirk. So that was what Abenti was up to. The man started panicking and pled for his life.

"Yes!! I'll do anything you tell me, just don't kill me!!"

Abenti let up on the man's throat, though still had her claws unsheathed.

"Now be a good little boy and tell me the location of the man we're seeking."

"He's up north of the city... Sometimes he likes hunting the giant apes, and sometimes he's at the area of the Snakemen." He whispered, whimpering slightly.

"That's more like it." Abenti muttered to herself before giving the man a stern warning. "If I find that he's not where you mentioned, I will be back. Next time, I won't be so nice and friendly like. And remember, this meeting's our little secret. If I hear that you've been telling others of this, I will make you wish you hadn't..."

The man just nodded frantically, desperate to get away from the dangerous... madwoman creature-thing, whatever she was. Abenti then sheathed her claws and with a snarl, she knocked the man unconscious with her frying pan sized paw and walked away. By the time she reached where Ranmza stood, she had reverted to her human form.

[ Prologue | Back to the crossovers | Next Chapter ]