The Wheel of Fire, #32: Endless Tears 

  Written by Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@NYChotmail.com) 
  http://www.crosswinds.net/~slythe/ranma/ranff.html 
  Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and characters belong to Rumiko 
Takahashi. And all that other good stuff. Proper 
licenses belong to respective properties and 
characters. The manga has precedence over material in 
the anime. 
  This file can be freely distributed so long as it 
appears in its complete form and proper credit given. 
No part may be reproduced for monetary gain without 
permission from the author. 

  Fanart found: 
    http://www.crosswinds.net/~slythe/fanart/index.html 

------------------------------------------------ 

"No one can make you feel inferior without your 
  consent." -- Eleanor Roosevelt 


  "Ow!" the warden of the Wishbringer shrine muttered, 
lifting up his left foot for his eyes to see. Reaching 
down with two delicate fingers he pricked the caltrops 
Kanna Rajura left behind from his foot, and tossed it 
behind him into a garbage bin, along with the rest of 
the caltrops that bit him.  
  Pulling his sandal back on the warden sat down 
against the rock that held the Wishbringer in place, 
having only recently been returned when Kanna used the 
shrine grounds as her private minefield. While the girl 
and the others left days ago it was still up to the 
warden to clean up the mess-- especially since a lot 
of the traps, set though they were, were littered all 
over the place, providing many hazards. 
  His left foot alone had three punctures in it; four 
counting the last caltrops. 
  "Dammit," he cursed, looking away from the rising 
sun in the east, "where are the young'uns when you 
need them?" He muttered to himself, complaining about 
the lack of help he got early in the morning-- even if 
it was only six. 
  His body fell cold as a shadow cast itself over him, 
blocking out the sun above completely. Something behind 
the shadow scraped at the stone ground, sounding like a 
knife judging from the noise, but being swept from side 
to side constantly. Looking up and over, the warden 
screamed in terror at the single large, circular red 
eye that stared down at him. 
  "SILENCE!" demanded Cinder with his cavernous, 
mechanical voice. He grabbed the warden by the scruff 
of his shirt with a mechanical claw, raising the frail 
man off the ground with little effort. 
  The warden could not peel his eyes away from the 
monstrosity. The creature appeared lizard-like, save 
that, instead of scales his skin was made up of what 
reminded him of obsidian; quite possibly a skin layer 
of blackened ash. Clashing against the black hide was 
a large, metal jaw, appearing quite heavy but clean as 
stainless steel right out of the factory. 
  Cinder's entire limbs were made up of strong, pipe- 
like mechanical limbs, each ending in a series of 
sharp talons. The warden imagined that, without the 
appendages, the monster would look quite like the 
snake. Looking over Cinder's shoulder-- actually a 
shoulder guard piece of it's upper-torso armor-- he 
saw that two talons forked outward at the end of the 
tail, giving semblence to a three-pronged trident 
head. 
  "Here's what I want you to do, and you'll do it 
quickly," demanded the salamander. "You're going to 
give me your clothes." 
  When the warden shakingly pointed to himself, Cinder 
snarled, "I DON'T want what you're wearing! The sight 
of frail human bodies such as yours disgusts me!" He 
threw the warden away, well outside what was left of 
Kanna Rajura's caltrops field. "And it better be 
CONCEALING!!" 
  The frightened man nodded quickly, bolting across the 
courtyard toward the main structure of the shrine. 
Cinder turned his attention away from the frail warden, 
setting his sights on the garbage bin nearby. His 
mechanical eye adjusted itself in focus, anticipating 
the contents inside. 
  Just as he hoped, the bin was filled with garbage. 
Here and there were bloodied caltrops, along with 
several arrows, wooden spikes that once made up a 
fence, metal bars, heavy rope, and any matter of 
material Kanna Rajura left behind when she continued 
her chase. While the trap equipment was spent and 
discarded, the salamander had a further use for them. 
  He turned to look at his right side, where a patch 
of ash skin was torn off during the previous match a 
few days ago, bitten off by a good blow made by the 
Kuno swordsman. While the wound hardly hurt Cinder in 
the least, it would do no good to leave a weak spot, 
not in such a critical area. 
  Cinder reached into the bin for the closest wooden 
spike, lifting the shaft carefully. Holding it 
lengthwise away from his snout, Cinder opened his jaw 
and shoved it down his throat. 
  He heard the warden cry out in terror, but the 
salamander ignored it, consuming the wood without 
chewing once. Swallowing it whole Cinder plucked 
another wood out of the bin, and consumed it in the 
same manner as the first. 
  The master continued in this manner until he felt 
himself rejuvenated. He looked down at his side; where 
there was a hole before was now a fresh layer of ash. 
He ran a talon over the newly grown skin, satisfied 
that it would hold with the rest of his body. 
  Craning his reptilian head toward the warden, he 
yelled impatiently, "Well?!" 
  The frail warden carried three bundles in his arms 
as he made his way to the center of the courtyard, 
careful not to step on another caltrops. He came to a 
halt a few feet from the salamander, too terrified to 
come any closer, and presented the clothing quietly. 
  Cinder grabbed the article of clothing on the top of 
the pile, spreading it out in the morning air, knowing 
it was a black traveling cloak. Although it was nowhere 
near as good as his previous, thought-to-be fireproof 
cloak, it would have to do. The other two articles 
appeared to be a casual priest's robes, which would 
have to do for the moment. 
  He donned the priest's clothes in no time, ignoring 
the reactions of the warden. Pulling the cloak around 
himself, Cinder ruffled and loosened the folds quickly, 
and eyed the priest carefully. Mechanical eye rotating, 
he warned, "If there come a viper after I have left, 
you have not seen me." 
  The warden shook his head quickly. "N... no sir!" 
  Cinder pulled the hood of the cloak over his head, 
allowing only the glow of his red eye to show through. 
"I sincerely doubt that you can... such a persistent 
opponent." Kicking several caltrops out of the way, 
he added, softly "And... thank you." 
  Those two words seemed to catch the warden off-guard. 
"W...what?" 
  "DON'T make me repeat my generosity!" railed the 
salamander, turning on his heels. "I have business to 
attend to, and you're not part of the day's agenda." 
  And yess... they may be long gone thanks to the 
viper, he thought, but there is only one place they 
could go to now. I'll have the Shadow Weaver in my 
grasp in no time. 
  Pointing his palms toward the earth, Cinder took in 
a deep breath, drawing in much of the reserves in the 
spare oxygen tanks he hid before coming to the 
shrine after Akane the first time. His palms flared to 
life, as well as his heels, and soon Cinder was 
rocketing in the air. He adjusted the direction of his 
flight, pointing himself in a direction to the right of 
the rising sun. 
  Cinder rocketed toward Tokyo, smoke trailing in the 
sky behind. 

  Hidden in a forbidden edge of the Cistern Valley lay 
the capitol of natural springs, Jusenkyo. Thousands of 
cursed, magical springs dotted the enclosed valley 
within a valley, providing a supernatural hazard to 
those who lived nearby and those who dared to travel 
there. It was up to the guide-- the warden of the 
cursed springs-- to divert unsuspecting visitors from 
tragedy. 
  However, the guide was in his own dire straights. 
  The Jusenkyo guide was not alone in his plight, as he 
was not the only one that was tied up. Arranged in a 
circle was Plum and thirteen others-- the former tribal 
leaders that made up Cistern Valley's power base. Each 
was similarly bound hand and foot; each was tied to a 
single point at the center of the circle, which was the 
bamboo pole jutting from the bottom of a Jusenkyo 
spring. 
  Any regular bonds would have proven laughable to the 
powerful tribal leaders, but their captor was already 
ahead of them, using a simple bungee chord as the 
material to bind them to the bamboo pole. If one of the 
leaders was foolish enough to get up and run, the 
chord would instantly pull him back and dunk him into 
the pool. 
  Not that they could get up and run in the first 
place, at any rate. Their feet were bound by a strong, 
heavy rope, tied in an equally strong knot. While this 
would be no small problem if one could reach their 
hands to their feet, the bindings to their hands 
proved a greater deterrent-- each of their index 
fingers were stuck in a simple Chinese finger trap, 
from which no hands could escape on their own. Likewise 
the rope binding their arms prevented them from 
slipping them off with their teeth. 
  In all, their captor, called Sypha Blade by all, had 
thought very far ahead. 
  She paced slowly around the circle, passing springs 
behind her back. Had anyone the nerve to try to shove 
her into a pool, the could have done so, but in the end 
it would be a useless gesture, as the tradeoff was a 
curse of their own in the unknown spring. The regal 
woman came to a halt in front of Herb, the leader of 
the Musk Dynasty, a hungry look in her eyes. 
  Sypha produced her crystal orb, holding it close 
enough for Herb to see there was a surface hole in it. 
"Where is the Dragon's Tear?" she demanded. 
  The half-dragon warrior stared at the orb 
impassively, appearing quite bored to her eyes. "You're 
holding it right there." 
  Without warning the sorcerer slapped Herb across the 
face with her free claw. "Still not talkative, eh?" She 
slid Herb's head between two talons, threatening to 
rip his head off. "I've run out of patience for your 
arrogance, Prince Herb! You're going to give me the 
answers I want, or I'll extract them from your bloody 
corpse!" 
  "Perhaps it is because you're out of time!" she heard 
Kima shout from across the spring. 
  Sypha released Herb, diverting her attentions to the 
Regent Commander of the Phoenix Mountain tribe. She 
made sure that the winged warrior was doubly bound, as, 
in addition to binding her as well as the other tribal 
leaders, Sypha broke her wings with the crush of her 
claws. Although she knew Kima was in tremendous pain, 
she was impressed that the regent wasn't showing it. If 
her cub master saw her, he'd be impressed. 
  Quickly making her way to Kima's position, Sypha 
produced a bucket of water out of nowhere, and splashed 
her down. She, as well as the rest of the prisoners, 
were unsurprised when the Regent Commander made her 
cursed transformation. 
  "You," Sypha began, "I've found a usefulness for, at 
last. I'm so glad I didn't kill you." 
  Although Kima's voice had changed with the 
transformation, there was no doubt that it was the same 
warrior. "Oh yeah?" 
  "A unique opportunity came up," the sorcerer 
explained. "You see, an outsider arrived yesterday, and 
I've had the chance to analyze him a bit-- from the 
memories of the Amazon leader Shampoo. You see, this 
boy, Ranma Saotome, has a certain attachment to you. At 
least, the girl that you look like." 
  "Of course," Kima said, "Akane Tendo." 
  "Psychologically speaking, you're the perfect weapon, 
and he'll never realize it until it's too late." 

  The night had not passed smoothly for Mousse, now the 
leader of the Amazons. 
  Ever since Hokuto revealed Sypha's treachery under 
Pantyhose Taro's nose Taro has opened up to reason. 
While the outsiders and many of the warriors took their 
turns to sleep Mousse spent much of the night in deep 
negotiation with Pantyhose Taro, in order to resolve 
the issues between them now that both of their tribes 
were severely weakened though Sypha's work. Many times 
the negotiation was about to come to blows, but in the 
end Mousse and Taro both got what they wanted-- an 
agreement not to attack each other for the time being. 
  Instinctively, as he leaned back in the straw chair, 
drained of energy, he reached over to the table next 
to him, which held a bubbling coffee maker with a fresh 
pot. He wanted to savor the taste for as long as 
possible-- which was likely when the two outsiders, 
standing in front of him, would get impatient. 
  As he drained his seventh cup since the previous 
night Mousse barely heard Ranma say, "Alright, explain 
yourself." 
  Sitting straight up, Mousse leaned over and poured 
himself another cup of coffee. "What about, Saotome?" 
  "You know," Ranma said impatiently. "You didn't turn 
into a duck when the water splashed you last night." 
  "How do you know it wasn't warm water?" the Amazon 
leader replied slowly. "For all you know Pantyhose Taro 
was saving some for himself later." 
  "That may be so," Hokuto interrupted, "as that 
appears to be what the water was initially for. But, as 
Ranma says... you should've transformed into a duck. It 
was not warm water." 
  "Hmph," snorted Mousse, taking a sip from his 
eight cup slowly, realizing that the two outsiders were 
not going to let him slide this one off. "Well, then, 
I guess there's no use hiding it anymore." 
  "You got that right!" the Japanese martial artist 
yelled, planting his hands on the arms of Mousse's 
chair, staring down the Amazon leader. "I remember that 
Ukyo said that Herb was no longer carrying a Jusenkyo 
curse. I was going to come here and ask him... but you 
turned out to be missing one, too!" Pressing his face 
closer, he added, "And I bet Shampoo doesn't turn into 
a cat anymore, does she?" 
  Mousse chuckled to himself, pushing Ranma back with 
his free hand, setting down his coffee. "No, Shampoo 
doesn't know about it yet; she's still cursed. She 
hasn't had TIME to notice!" 
  "And I'm bettin' that whatever you did is the same 
thing Herb did," Ranma said, pressing further. "You 
didn't turn into a hybrid like Pantyhose Taro, or 
Seiryu's goon squad." 
  "Maybe," conceded Mousse, "but really, I don't know. 
Herb didn't tell me about it; I found out about it on 
my own." 
  "Fascinating," commented Hokuto. "To be that Fate 
would allow twice an instance to occur...." 
  "It happened not too long after Shampoo and I got 
back home," Mousse began. "Cologne was the current war 
head in the tribe, and Shampoo was quickly spirited to 
her side, she being one of the tribe's finest warriors. 
I never got to stand on the war councils; it seemed my 
exploits went unrecognized, after all. But among the 
younger warriors, I found admiration. They turned to me 
for leadership, as I was the one connected directly to 
them, unlike the elders." 
  "In effect, I, too, found leadership. It quickly 
caught the attentions of the elders, and I was 
immediately made a field commander with a small band of 
young warriors. Needless to say, anyone who was picked 
to be on my team was envied by the others. The stories 
that Ling-ling and Lung-lung carried with them from 
Japan seemed to bolster my image to ungodly proportions 
which I couldn't possibly compare!" 
  "Only a day after that, after a skirmish, my team 
ended up cornered against the Jusenkyo grounds. Our 
only option was to retreat into the grounds, for our 
enemies would not follow in fear of coming out cursed. 
Once there, one of my warriors spotted a glint in one 
of the pools. We carefully scooped it out with a 
catching net, and it appeared to be some kind of 
teardrop-shaped crystal. Naturally, they gave it to 
me... but it was no ordinary rock." 
  "Something inside the rock... spoke to me in my 
mind," he described, waving his arms around in a large 
manner. "At that moment it told me what it was... it's 
purpose... and how it could help me. It called itself 
the Dragon's Tear, and it was an artifact of immense 
power. It offered to remove my Jusenkyo curse... so 
how could I refuse?" 
  "But the next thing I knew I was waking up back in my 
own home, with all my warriors waiting around as if I'd 
died. Well, it turned out that I'd collapsed after 
taking hold of the Dragon's Tear, and they brought me 
back to the village. I didn't know if I was dreaming or 
not, but I had to test it out for myself...." 
  "So where's the Dragon's Tear?" demanded Ranma. 
  Mousse shook his head. "It must've fallen back into a 
spring or something; I don't have it, and none of my 
warriors brought it back with them. Either way, it's in 
Jusenkyo." 
  "And it's likely what Sypha is after," Hokuto 
guessed. "You knew." 
  The Amazon leader nodded. "That's the only thing I 
can think of she'd be after that nobody else has. But 
I'm not sure WHY she'd want it, unless it does more 
than lift curses." 
  He reached for his cup of coffee and took a sip, 
disappointed that it had cooled during his story. "If 
you're thinking of going after Sypha Blade, Saotome, 
then the best place to look is Jusenkyo." 
  "Oh, you're not comin' with me?" Ranma replied in 
mock disappointment. "Don't want to press your luck?" 
  "That too," admitted Mousse. "But Sypha Blade is not 
an opponent to be taken lightly; I could tell from our 
brief battle last night that she is more than what she 
appears. All the flair and fineries are an illusion to 
hide her true inner beauty-- that of a warrior." 
  "I'll keep that in mind," the martial artist said, 
shrugging. "But she can't be any worse than Pantyhose 
Taro." 
  "I've got to stay and keep this tribe together," 
continued Mousse. "I'm the only one left that'll keep 
this tribe held together, so if something happens to me 
the Amazons are finished." 
  "So," he said, standing up, "if you find the old 
ghoul, please bring her back in one piece." 
  Ranma raised an eyebrow. "I guess you and the ghoul 
have more in common than I thought." 
  "You'd best quit while you're ahead, Ranma," warned 
Hokuto. 
  "Yeah, guess you're right," the martial artist 
replied. "Well, Mousse... nice seein' ya." 
  Before he and Hokuto turned to leave, Mousse said, 
"There's something else." 
  "Hmm?" 
  "Look up in the sky," he suggested, "and look at the 
clouds." 
  Ranma did as he was told, quickly looking to get a 
view. "So?" 
  "There are dark clouds in the east sky," Hokuto 
noted. "It could be a bad portent." 
  Mousse nodded. "Rain clouds don't come from the east; 
they come from the west. You'd better watch it." 
  "Thanks for the tip, for what it's worth," Ranma 
said, somewhat puzzled. 
  The Master of Hidden Weapons watched the two 
outsiders leave his home. The moment the door slammed 
shut he fell back against his straw chair, suddenly 
weary, and glad, at the same time-- glad that Ranma did 
not see him in a moment of weakness, and weary from all 
the talking. 
  "I envy your freedom, Saotome," he said aloud, 
sighing heavily. 
  "Responsibility is a burden the leader of the tribe 
should bear with pride," a man said from behind the 
chair. 
  Mousse looked over the shoulder of the chair at the 
man who appeared, the ritualist priest Jiang-shen. "My 
people need me." 
  "And yet your heart travels with the outsiders," 
Jiang replied. "You are the ultimate power in this 
village; why did you not go with them?" 
  "Heh, you don't understand me that well, do you, old 
man?" the Master of Hidden Weapons said, amused with 
himself. "If I go now, there won't be a home to come 
back to. I will not fail the people that made me their 
leader." 
  He turned to his subordinate, finding his current 
idea amusing. "Now, Jiang, let's get down to business. 
It's time to retrieve the secret weapon." 

  Would-be scuba divers fled for their lives from the 
rampaging cloaked man with the single red eye. 
  Cinder fired pulses of energy bolts from the eye- 
mounted blaster, a component of his versatile 
mechanical eye. Anyone who caught on that the red dot 
on the wall was the next target of the salamander's 
attack did well to flee the vicinity, and soon all the 
customers and employees fled for their lives. 
  Silence fell on the seaside store, and Cinder was 
satisfied that everyone had made it out without getting 
roasted. He focused a point on the roof near the door, 
and fired a bolt of energy. The roof collapsed 
quickly, letting sunlight through the hole and blocking 
the exit. The salamander did the same for the rest of 
the doors, being careful not to inadvertently blow a 
hole in the walls. 
  Satisfied that he would be alone for a while, Cinder 
looked around the dive shop, stopping when he saw the 
racks of oxygen tanks at one end. He trampled over the 
rest of the discarded equipment, his mind focused on 
the very lifeblood shared between him and divers. 
  Reaching inside his cloak to his back several spent 
cylinders of oxygen fell to the floor, kicked away 
uselessly as the salamander grabbed two heavy, full 
tanks with each claw. Quickly Cinder strapped the fresh 
tanks on his back, under his cloak and out of view. 
  He started to turn away, but thought better of it; 
Cinder grabbed an armful of smaller, handheld tanks, 
and strapped each one to his waist belt. Once he had a 
good set around his waist the salamander turned toward 
the center of the shop, to where he made the large hole 
in the ceiling. 
  The master scanned the room through his mechanical 
eye, satisfied that he detected no signs of a blaze. It 
would do no good to destroy a resource as important as 
this one needlessly. 
  Casting a glance at the wall clock over the checkout 
counter, Cinder knew he had some time to get there that 
evening. The only problem was getting there before the 
viper did, and the salamander knew that cunning enemy 
knew where he was going. 

  "I'd never thought I'd be back here," Ranma said, 
standing next to the signpost that marked the 
territory of Jusenkyo. 
  Hokuto glanced in Ranma's direction briefly, noting 
that he seemed almost hesitant to enter the cursed 
training grounds. "W... what are you waiting for?" she 
asked. Pointing toward the eastern sky, "You realize 
that a storm is coming, right?" 
  "Yeah," the marital artist said with a nod. "That's 
what happened last time... I was THIS close to getting 
a cure, and it rained." 
  "But, that was then," he decided, "and this is now. 
Last time I walked in there I had to fight a really 
powerful guy not unlike this... Sypha. Is this really 
any different from last time?" 
  "No," replied the Shadow Weaver, "this time it's 
different. This time it's a race to find the Dragon's 
Tear, wherever it is." 
  Ranma shrugged. "Well, I guess this is it." He took 
one bold step past the signpost, and when his foot was 
firmly planted on the earth he made another step, as if 
afraid to fall into a spring that didn't exist. 
  Eventually his step grew in confidence, as the 
jitters of returning to the cursed ground faded away to 
nothingness. Hokuto followed directly behind, 
deliberately taking the same steps as Ranma, as if she 
had her own reservations about the springs. 
  He looked around and into the horizon, where, for all 
the eye could see, was rows upon rows of cistern 
springs, each with a ten-meter high bamboo pole set in 
the middle as a sort of water marker. It was those 
poles and the pools they marked that made Jusenkyo a 
dangerous training ground, as one must learn balance 
or become cursed. The martial artist pushed the thought 
from his mind, unwilling to bring back the jitters at 
this critical an hour. 
  Ranma noticed that the grass, greener than it should 
ever be in the summer season, edged quite a ways over 
the springs, giving the illusion that the pools were 
smaller than they actually were. For a moment he 
wondered why the plants did not suffer the curses of 
the spring, or why the insect life living in it did not 
rampage as abominations in the capitol of springs. 
  But all curiosities were swept away when Ranma forced 
himself to stop. Hokuto, not paying attention at all, 
bumped into him from behind, pushing him forward 
gently, but not so far as to tumble into a nearby 
spring. 
  He ignored the girl's protest as his eyes fixated on 
the woman dressed in red standing atop a nearby pole, 
her gangly arms hanging from her sides, her claws 
barely peeking through. Sypha Blade, as she was called 
by the Tunnel Tiger tribe, wore a smirk on her face, 
and appeared in no danger of falling into the spring 
below-- yet appeared almost impassive about the danger 
the springs offered. 
  "Welcome to my world," greeted Sypha, sweeping her 
arms about grandly to encompass the whole of 
Jusenkyo. 
  "Sypha!" cried Ranma. "Where're you holding the 
leaders?!" 
  "Oh, picky, picky!" snorted the sorcerer. "I thought 
you'd be after the Dragon's Tear by now." She reached 
for her crystal ball from up her sleeve, and held it 
out for Ranma and Hokuto to see. It pulsed steadily 
with energy, changing ever so slightly in intensity as 
Sypha swung it back and forth. 
  "I see," Hokuto voiced, "you're still trying to find 
it." 
  "It's here somewhere, of course," Sypha admitted. "I 
was hoping either of you knew for sure... but it looks 
like it's going to be the roundabout way." 
  "Behold!" she cried, waving her free arm around 
herself. Ranma and Hokuto gasped in surprise as an 
invisible curtain of light pulled away from around the 
spring, revealing several individuals in a circle 
around the spring, each bound securely and tethered to 
the marking pole by a heavy bungee chord. Sypha reached 
down and plucked one of the captives up from the back 
end of the circle for the two to see. 
  "Akane!" Ranma cried, recognizing the girl held in 
Sypha's grasp. He wanted to jump at the sorcerer 
immediately, but Hokuto held him back. "Let go of me!" 
  "No, wait!" she warned, but the martial artist proved 
too powerful for her. 
  Ranma wasted no time, leaping up at Sypha with 
fierce determination. Sypha, seemingly pleased with 
herself, jumped away, releasing her hold on Akane and 
allowing her to fall straight down into the pool. 
  Correcting his aerial path Ranma quickly scooped 
Akane into his arms and headed away from the spring, 
but, since the bungee chord was still tied to the girl 
both she and the martial artist were yanked backward. 
  "You idiot!" Akane hissed. "Now we're BOTH going to 
get cursed again!" 
  The word 'again' rang in Ranma's head in an instant, 
and suddenly he realized why Hokuto wanted to stop him. 
"Shit," he cursed. 
  He stretched a leg outward and found his mark against 
the pole the chord was tethered to, grinding his 
reverse direction to a halt. Ranma wrapped his other 
leg around the pole just as the weight of himself and 
the other nearly dropped them into the cistern. 
  Clinging to the pole for dear life, Ranma laughed 
sheepishly to the cursed-form Kima. "Eh... oops." 
  "Another fine mess, Ranma Saotome," he heard Herb 
say from the circle of ringed leaders. 
  "Hey!" he complained, "I've been lookin' all over 
for you!" 
  "Pay attention, Son-in-law!" warned Cologne. "Sypha 
is not through with you yet." 
  The old Amazon's words came true as the sorcerer 
descended from the air like a bird of prey, slashing at 
Ranma and Kima viciously. Ranma twirled around the 
pole to avoid the incoming attack, but was surprised to 
see that Sypha's flight was looping around for another 
pass. 
  "Dammit, you can fly?!" he cursed, wheeling around to 
dodge the next slash. 
  Sypha ascended and landed with one foot on top of the 
same pole, her eyes hungrily staring down at Ranma and 
Kima. "If you won't tell me where the Dragon's Tear 
is, then I have no further use for ANY of you!" She 
grasped the pole with one hand, then ascended quickly 
into the air, uprooting the marking pole from the depth 
of the pool. 
  Ranma braced himself from the sudden force of 
takeoff as he and the thirteen leaders were lifted with 
amazing ease on the sorcerer's part, none touching the 
cistern below. Sypha flew up high, leaving the earth 
behind and greeting the swirling, cool clouds of the 
sky. He felt the coldness of the dark clouds, and then 
the wetness... but no too sooner she felt Sypha was at 
her peak of ascent. 
  Staring downward through the misty clouds, the 
sorcerer muttered, "Well, looks like you're already 
cursed." 
  Ranma shook the condescending water from herself as 
she realized that the storm had already arrived. 
  "I hope you enjoy your new life as grasshoppers!" 
the regal woman cried, releasing her grip on the pole. 
  All too soon the pole, Ranma, and the thirteen 
leaders fell from the sky, all helpless to control 
their fates that awaited them below. 

  Hokuto stared upward in the sky, to where Sypha and 
her prisoners disappeared, just as the first drop of 
rainfall hit her on the head. 
  "It won't be long now," she realized, "before it may 
be too late to look for the Dragon's Tear." 
  Flooding was not terribly common in the history of 
Jusenkyo, but the Shadow Weaver knew it was considered 
a disaster in the capitol of springs. It was a time 
where the magic of the cursed springs intermingled, 
and since the curses were mixed there was no telling 
what would come from someone getting dunked. 
  She felt a presence nearby, one that was overshadowed 
by Sypha and the thirteen leaders before. Closing her 
mind to the world she focused her mind on the new 
presence, one similarly tethered to a marking pole as 
the leaders had been. 
  Hokuto shattered the illusionary curtain that hid 
the Jusenkyo guide and his daughter from view, 
revealing the two tied to a nearby pole. Both were 
gagged as well as bound, such as to not alert anyone 
to their presence, unlike the thirteen leaders. 
  She quickly made her way to their side, ungagging the 
Jusenkyo guide. 
  "Ah! Terrible, terrible!" the guide screamed in his 
native Chinese tongue. "We must leave to higher 
ground, quickly!" 
  "All in good time," Hokuto assured him, switching to 
Chinese herself and ungagging Plum. "Do you know where 
the Dragon's Tear is?" 
  The guide shook his head. "That's not important!" He 
pointed to the clouds in the sky. "A great disaster 
will befall us if the springs flood! We must leave 
quickly!" 
  "Alright, alright, just hold still!" Hokuto stepped 
away from both the guide and his daughter, leaving both 
bound and in a state of panic. Closing her eyes the 
Shadow Weaver's own shadow spread across the ground, 
running over the ground where the two captives sat. She 
thought of the overlook she and Ranma were at when they 
came to the Cistern Valley, and focused on that thought 
intently. 
  She ignored the startled cries of the Chinese as they 
melted into Hokuto's shadow, opening her eyes only when 
they were completely swallowed-up by the blackness. 
  But, no sooner had the two disappeared another caught 
her attention-- the marking pole Sypha carried into 
the air was falling at a rapid pace. Ranma clung for 
his-- no, HER-- life at the high end of the pole as the 
thirteen leaders trailed helplessly behind, still 
tethered. 
  Quickly estimating where the pole would land-- over 
the spring which it originally came-- Hokuto forced 
herself to concentrate. She enlarged her shadow, 
sweeping it across the pole-less spring, and widened it 
to completely engulf the cistern. She imagined the same 
overlook she sent the guide and Plum, and felt herself 
melting into the shadow. 
  Before she disappeared completely into her own 
shadow, Hokuto felt the pole and its captives fall 
through. 
  And yet, it seemed a little lighter than it should 
have been. 

  Ranma jumped off the pole in the nick of time, 
abandoning the leaders to the strange blackness that 
engulfed the cursed spring. She watched while the rain 
grew in intensity as the shadowy blackness consumed the 
thirteen and the pole, then collapsed on itself as if 
it never existed. 
  "Interesting trick," Sypha noted. Ranma turned her 
head to see the sorcerer standing on another pole. "I 
wonder how draining it was for her?" 
  "That's it!" Ranma cried, rolling up her sleeves. 
"I've been soaked, slashed, and dropped from hundreds 
of meters in the air by you, and that's pushing it! 
C'mon and fight me like a man!" 
  "Odd choice of wording, but...." The sorcerer 
shrugged, then raised her arms, twiddling her talons. 
"I will put you in your place!" 
  Launching herself from the pole Sypha dove straight 
for Ranma's position, arms first, hair trailing behind 
in the wind. Ranma dropped to her stomach just as her 
opponent zoomed past, then rolled out of the way as 
Sypha came in her second pass. As soon as the woman's 
exposed underside was made open the martial artist 
thrust her feet straight up. She caught Sypha with the 
blow, sending her soaring into the atmosphere. 
  Sypha landed on her feet a few meters away, obviously 
not through with taking her licks. She raised her claws 
out before her, and fired them. Ranma jumped straight 
up as both claws flew by, then planted her feet on 
them as they went on their return path, carrying her 
straight back to the enemy. But the sorcerer woman 
was not about to take the attack, as she jumped 
straight up herself, and thus altered the return path 
of the claws, forcing Ranma off balance and back onto 
the ground. 
  Sypha wheeled around and dove spinning in a drill 
attack, forcing Ranma to dodge out of the way. Both 
recovered at the same time, and for Ranma it was all 
she could do but dodge the long-reaching sorcerer's 
claw arms. Needing room to clear out a counterattack 
the martial artist cupped her hands together and 
launched a ki bolt straight into Sypha's gut, sending 
her flying back with a blast of solid air. 
  Slowly the sorcerer got to her feet, wiping her 
mouth with the backside of her sleeve. "Is that how 
you wish to play?" 
  "There's more where that came from!" assured Ranma, 
thrusting her arms forth with a second ki blast. 
  Sypha raised her claws up in what appeared to be a 
futile, desperate defense, but to Ranma's surprise the 
ki blast washed in a sphere around her. A small globe 
of energy formed, rotating quickly around her in a 
diagonal pattern. Ranma fired a second blast, yielding 
a similar result, save the new energy globe spun in a 
perpendicular axis to the first. 
  "Energy absorption?!" she realized. 
  The enemy warrior lowered her claws and pointed them 
in the martial artist's direction. "Absorption, and 
reflection!" The energy globes were pulled into the 
mass steel of the claws, producing a single larger 
energy bolt that quickly slammed into Ranma's body. 
  Staggering back, but still on her feet, Ranma 
realized that it was pointless to continue in that 
line of attack. 
  Reach, she realized, was the key to all of this. 
Sypha definitely had it with those long claw arms of 
hers, that's for sure. No matter how tall I am she's 
got those gorilla arms that can get me long before I 
can get her. 
  On the other hand, she could eat any ki attack I 
throw at her. Which means there's very little I can do 
to actually hit her.... 
  Unless.... 
  Gathering up her courage and pride, Ranma summoned a 
strength of will within, thrusting her arms out, 
aiming at Sypha. Ki energy crackled around her 
fingertips like electricity. Sypha merely smiled, 
readying herself for the inevitable incoming attack. 
  Ready to absorb the attack, which was what Ranma was 
counting on. 
  "Moko Takabisha-- Streaming Bullet Attack!" she 
cried, cupping her arms together. 
  A glaring blast of ki energy leaped from Ranma's 
hands and toward the waiting Sypha, who, as expected, 
raised her arms in a defensive stance to absorb the 
ki attack. Ranma poured more energy into the stream 
of bullets, knowing full well that if Sypha could 
withstand the onslaught the return attack would be 
devastating. 
  That is, if the sorcerer COULD take it. 
  She felt herself slowly draining away... wasting 
away, even, as more ki energy was poured into the 
attack. Sypha, too, showed signs of fatigue as the 
number of swirling globes increased in such size that 
the signs of an opaque energy sphere threatened to 
engulf her. It was this knowledge that helped the 
martial artist keep going. 
  Akane, Ryoga... everybody, help me! 
  Her thoughts carried elsewhere as consciousness, too, 
was sapped away through the ki attack, pushing herself 
to the limit. Ranma's eyes fluttered; she could no 
longer see Sypha in the blindness of the light, but in 
reality she knew she was getting tired.... 
  And it took one second of weakness for Sypha to 
capitalize on, as the full fury of the reflected ki 
attack slammed into Ranma like a runaway freight train. 
  Pain washed over her many times over, pummeling her 
with the fist of many foes. Ranma's thoughts drifted 
as she herself drifted back with the blast, with 
memories of many foes long gone, long beaten, past and 
present. They laughed at her, one after another; her 
pride used against her. 
  Without fanfare the reflected attack ceased, leaving 
the martial artist down on the ground, flat on her 
back against the wet grass. 
  Ranma felt sore all over her body as Sypha towered 
over her, claws gleaming in the rainfall. 
  "Now it's over!" the sorcerer declared, raising her 
right claw in the air. 
  But before she could attack both fighters heard a 
loud explosion, and in the blink of an eye Ranma could 
no longer see Sypha, as she was being propelled 
backward by some type of large projectile. Lifting her 
head the martial artist saw the woman and the 
projectile splash down at a spring several meters 
away. 
  Turning her head around Ranma blinked. Sitting up, 
she rubbed her eyes, unsure if she was actually seeing 
a rusted, military-green World War II-style tank 
sitting on top of the grass and cisterns of Jusenkyo, 
its long barrel cannon smoking after firing a clean 
shot. It was an old Japanese tank, that much she knew, 
but the emblem was unknown to her-- it was very faded, 
but it somewhat resembled an octopus. 
  A hatch opened on top of the turret as Ranma stood 
up on her feet, and the sound of the old song "Flight 
of the Valkyries" could be heard from within. A 
helmeted pilot poked his head out, and when he removed 
the headgear Ranma shook her head. 
  "Well, how'd you like that?" asked Mousse, slipping 
himself out of the tank. He leaped over the turret 
and stood tall at the edge of the tank. 
  "Mousse," Ranma said, "what the heck is that doing 
here?" 
  "This?" He patted the barrel like an old friend. 
"It's our tribe's secret weapon, of course. Left over 
from the old war days by some Japanese guy's private 
army, and we brought it back here." 
  The weapons master scanned the horizon, toward where 
Sypha disappeared. "If the shell didn't get her, the 
spring will." 
  But a splash from one of the pools gave the two a 
strong indication that the sorcerer did indeed survive 
the attack. A single claw thrust into the sky, 
attached to the long-sleeved dress that the sorceress 
wore. 
  Dripping wet, Sypha pulled herself out of the spring, 
unchanged, and with a palm-sized crystal in her claw. 
  "W... what?!" gasped Ranma. 
  "The Dragon's Tear?!" Mousse cried in recognition. 
  "Ha-hah!" laughed Sypha. "I hardly believed I could 
find this artifact through your aid, Amazon! I should 
have to thank you later." 
  "B... but you fell in a cursed spring!" Ranma 
complained. "Why are you still human?!" 
  "That's not yours!" the Master of Hidden Weapons 
yelled, rushing toward the sorcerer angrily. 
  "Oh, you wish to fight as well?" Sypha shouted, 
lowering her claw. "Insect! I'll deal with you as 
quickly as your fellow!" 
  Ranma watched as Mousse and Sypha began their match, 
going at several bouts, each turning out without any 
significant advantage. She wanted to rush in to help, 
but the fact that Sypha did not transform disturbed 
her greatly. 
  For that matter, where was Hokuto, and the thirteen 
leaders? Swallowed by shadowy darkness, it was no doubt 
the Shadow Weaver's doing, but where did they go? 
  And what the heck was Mousse doing with a fifty- 
year-old tank?! 
  "What the hell is going on?" she wondered aloud. 
  As if in answer the martial artist heard the sound 
of thunder in the distance, appearing at the same 
instant as a bolt of lightning. Ranma shielded herself 
as the lightning burned a large black spot near her 
position, holding her arms over her head to deflect the 
flying dirt and debris. 
  She stared at the blacked spot, but only for a 
moment, as a silhouette caught her attention more. 
Standing on a pole behind the blackened grass and dirt 
stood a human figure, dressed in large, concealing 
robes and vestments of a Shinto priestess. She stood 
with her arms folded, staring down, with a bamboo 
umbrella spread open over her, propped up by her arms. 
It was a sight all-too-familiar to the martial artist, 
and one that she hoped would not appear. 
  No way... Ranma thought, not now.... 
  "Rain, rain," she muttered, "go away; come again 
another day. But not today, not now, as I will tell 
you how-- how on this very day, on not a holiday, that 
God doth send forth... this message from Heaven, 
displaying disappointment and remorse. A day that one 
almighty shall weep, a time all shall feel it creep, 
the soul of all in each and every one as it fall. I 
speak only of endless tears, shed for humanity in all 
its pride, hopes, and fears." She fixed her eyes on 
Ranma coldly. "The world weeps for you in this display 
of endless tears." 
  "It's been a while, Ranma Saotome," Shizuka Minazuki 
said in a deep tone. 

  Akane stared out the bedroom window of her room 
longingly, staring at the stars that twinkled into 
existence as the sun disappeared into nothingness in 
the horizon. 
  Many frantic weather reports on the news told of a 
freak weather pattern in the China area; while cloud 
formations usually traveled to Japan from China in this 
case it was the other way around. A heavy cloud quickly 
made its way across the sky, in a straight line toward 
the Tibetan highlands. Akane did not need a map to know 
what was there, but she could not figure out why the 
clouds would go there. 
  "Ranma," she said to the stars, "come back safely." 
  Something pricked at the back of her head, and Akane 
jumped back away from the window as a heavy claw 
slashed down from above. She yelped in surprise as a 
black blob of cloth dropped from the roof above and 
into the bedroom in one sweeping motion. Stainless 
steel claws flashed from beneath the mass of blackness, 
and Akane knew who it was. 
  "Cinder!" she realized, edging her way back to the 
door. 
  "Your ally is not here!" the salamander hissed with 
delight. "I thought the viper would be here before me, 
but it seems I am the quicker!" 
  "'Viper?' Akane repeated, puzzled, reaching her hand 
to the doorknob. "I don't know what you're talking 
about!" 
  "That's not important!" snapped the master of fire. 
"Step away from the door!" 
  Akane refused, knowing that it was her only avenue of 
escape. With a swift motion she turned the knob and 
pushed herself out, just before an energy blast 
shattered it into a million pieces. Certain that the 
noise alerted the others below she dashed toward the 
stairs, and leaped down. 
  She tucked herself into a roll as she landed, but 
crashed against the opposite wall , near the main 
entrance to the house. Akane quickly got to her feet, 
knowing Cinder would not be far behind, and slid out 
the front door. 
  Only to be confronted by a mass of black cloth with a 
single glowing red, mechanical eye. 
  "You know, I DO like it outside more," Cinder 
taunted in a threatening tone. He grabbed Akane by the 
shirt, lifting her off the ground and slammed her 
against the wall. "Where is the Shadow Weaver?" he 
demanded. 
  This isn't working out like it's supposed to! Akane 
thought, clamping her hands on Cinder's arm for 
support. 

  "Shizuka?!" Ranma exclaimed, voice betraying 
surprise. "B... but... how?!" 
  The priestess of Genbu snorted, twirling the umbrella 
behind her, scattering the rainfall. She stared upward 
toward the dark sky, seemingly oblivious to the danger 
presented by Sypha not far off. "The rain of my 
name carried me here as quick as they could... because 
you don't understand what's at stake." 
  "I think I understand most of it!" the martial artist 
shouted back. 
  Carefully adjusting her stance on the pole Shizuka 
turned to face Ranma. "Do you, now?" She took one step 
forward, into the empty air, discarding her umbrella 
behind her as the priestess plunged toward the pool 
below. 
  Ranma wanted to shout a warning to the lame-brained 
girl, but it was too late. She winced, anticipating the 
form the priestess of Genbu could possibly take... but 
there was no splash. Opening her eyes a crack Ranma 
blinked involuntarily as Shizuka stood amidst the pool 
on her bare sandals, standing on the surface as if it 
were solid as the ground itself. 
  The priestess stepped up and out of the spring with 
the same calm expression, turning her left arm aside to 
flash Ranma a look at the snake-pommeled Viper Swords, 
as if it were a threat. Each sword was decorated with a 
snake head, mouth wide open barring fangs, directed in 
the direction away from the blade, and toward Ranma. 
  She guessed that it was more than just a decoration, 
as the snakes, unlikely though it seemed, appeared to 
long for the martial artist's soul. 
  "Where is the Dragon's Tear?" Shizuka demanded. 
  "I would've figured you'd be after that, too," Ranma 
replied, slowly edging her way backward. "Well, I don't 
have it; don't you realize what I could do with it 
right now?" 
  "Of COURSE you don't have it," Shizuka snapped. For 
the first time she glanced in the direction of the 
gruelling fight between Sypha and Mousse, both of which 
were showing off their aerial dexterity. "Mousse COULD 
have it, if Sypha is still fighting.... But where is 
our mutual friend, Hokuto Takemasa?" 
  "Sypha's got it," the martial artist answered 
finally. "So long as Mousse keeps her busy she can't 
use it for... whatever it is she wants it for." 
  Shizuka took several great strides, easily catching 
up to Ranma's backward pace. Quickly, she slapped her 
across the face. "You FOOL!! Do you have any idea what 
you've just done?!" 
  But it was already too late, as Mousse's body slammed 
on the ground next to the two girls, obviously beaten 
and out for the count. Sypha soon landed thereafter, 
standing only a few meters away from her enemies. She 
held the Dragon's Tear in her left claw triumphantly. 
  "I can feel the power coursing through my veins!" the 
sorcerer cried triumphantly. "I was but a shadow before 
Amazon master, but with this... the Dragon's Tear... 
the missing link... I am unstoppable!" 
  "Sypha," Shizuka noted, folding her arms. 
  "Now what?" demaned Ranma. "The Dragon's Tear only 
releases curses, doesn't it? What could you possibly 
have that couldn't be countered with your black magic?" 
  "Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Sypha. "You pathetic human, did 
you really believe that one who has been touched by the 
gods would voluntarily walk amongst you?" 
  Thrusting the Dragon's Tear into the air, Sypha 
commanded, "Now, Dragon's Tear, remove the revolting 
seal of humanity from my form!" 
  Both Ranma and Shizuka shielded their eyes as a 
great flash of light blasted Sypha. The gales brought 
about by Shizuka's rainstorm grew in intensity, as if 
the balance of nature were thrown into chaos. But the 
moment of chaos vanished as quickly as it came, for 
when the two girls could see again, there was no woman 
where Sypha once stood, leaving the Dragon's Tear on 
the ground, open for the taking. 
  However, any thought of retrieving the artifact was 
swept away from a more awesome sight. The two stared 
upward in awe, in the full majesty of the great, 
serpentine creature levitating in the sky. The giant 
serpent's body wound about in the air, seemingly too 
large and long to be real. The creature sported four 
limbs, each ending with four enormous talons, where one 
of the foreclaws held a deeply violet crystal orb. Its 
reptilian eyes stared down at Ranma and Shizuka-- a 
lean and hungry look filled with anger and pride. It 
was there that Ranma found recognition. 
  Sypha is a celestial dragon. 

  Cinder did not wait long to make his intentions much 
more clear for Akane, as he slammed her against the 
wall a second time. "Tell me now!" he demanded angrily. 
  Nothing's working, she thought, feeling consciousness 
slipping from her head. Kanna... you jerk.... 
  Her hopes came true as Cinder suddenly released his 
grip on her. Akane fell to the ground with a heavy 
thud, watching as one good kick from Ryoga through the 
door sent Cinder flying backward toward the yard gate. 
  "Akane!" he cried. "Are you alright?!" 
  Nodding quickly, she pointed toward the fire master. 
"He's here!" 
  Ryoga snorted, cracking his knuckles. "I'll take 
care of this. You go warn the others!" 
  The cloaked salamander jumped up to his feet in a 
quick motion, raising his arms into a classic tiger 
stance. Waving his forward arm as if beckoning Ryoga to 
strike, he offered a lethal whisper, "Come on...." 

  Stretching out for a long moment, satisfied that her 
majesty instilled enough awe and fear in her enemies, 
Sypha bellowed, "Free... free at last!" 
  "N... no way!" the martial artist whispered to 
herself in disbelief. 
  "The outcast of the Celestial Court!" Shizuka yelled. 
  "Not by choice, squishy!" the great dragon replied 
angrily. "For fifteen-hundred years I've toiled my 
existence as a human... for fifteen-hundred years I've 
studied the black arts to find a way to release myself 
from the accursed Musk magic! And now I have the power 
necessary to wipe out my ancient enemies out forever!" 
  "And with all your power you couldn't remove 
something THAT simple?!" the priestess of Genbu snorted 
with contempt. "Or is it true that spells so powerful 
should not be mixed together so rashly?" 
  "You should know better," the dragon replied slyly, 
"than to mix magic, little girl." 
  "Herb's ancestry came from a dragon dunked in the 
girl's spring," Ranma remembered. "You're THAT dragon?" 
  "The ultimate insult!" Sypha confirmed. "They locked 
my form and shattered my pearl," she continued, 
gesturing her head in the crystal ball's direction, 
"and it's taken me this long to find the final 
component, stolen along with several other Musk 
treasures long ago...." 
  "The Dragon's Tear," she realized. 
  "...and thanks to those who've used it's power I was 
able to pinpoint its exact location: here!" 
  Without thinking Ranma darted to where the Dragon's 
Tear fell, and snatched it up quickly. 
  The ancient dragon found amusement in Ranma's 
desperate act. "You can't run, squishy!" she bellowed, 
aiming the palm of her free foreclaw at the martial 
artist. 
  In an instant Ranma felt her body cease function, and 
realized that Sypha somehow paralyzed her. She felt 
herself going stiff all over, and felt the blood rush 
out of all her limbs, all in the space of seconds. But 
Ranma's sixth sense told her that the celestial dragon 
was moving in her direction, and she imagined getting 
squashed in the monster's gigantic claw. 
  Shizuka stood up defiantly, her eyes never leaving 
the dragon's head. "Sypha Blade!" she cried. "Or is it 
'Star Crusher' now?" 
  "So," the dragon purred, suddenly interested in the 
priestess, "you've learned my name. I've always thought 
'Star Crusher' suited me more, though; 'Sypha' is the 
name the humans gave that form." 
  Ranma breathed a sigh of relief, then realized that 
she couldn't breathe, either! No, no, stay calm, she 
told herself. The only option open to the paralyzed 
martial artist was to last on the oxygen left in her 
chest. 
  The priestess of Genbu stood her ground, seemingly 
building up hidden courage in the face of Star Crusher. 
"I've trained myself to defeat you... I won't let you 
go any further, dragon!" 
  "An empty threat!" Star Crusher said, at the verge of 
laughter. "What can you do now to change things that 
would be different than twelve years ago?" 
  "This!" she replied in defiance, whipping out a 
talisman from her sleeve. 
  Although Ranma's paralysis prevented her from seeing 
the priestess fully, her memory of a previous dream 
told her what the priestess was up to. 
  "Shizuka, don't!!" she wanted to yell, but her voice 
could not be heard. 
  "Deathclaw, AWAKEN!!" Shizuka yelled, the talisman 
spontaneously bursting into flames in her fingers. 
  At that moment Ranma felt the paralysis losing hold 
over her, and she fell to the ground, still clutching 
the Dragon's Tear. She breathed heavily, struggling to 
fill her lungs with the air denied her moments before, 
just as a column of white light, similar to the one in 
her dream, engulfed Shizuka completely. The light 
forced both Ranma and Star Crusher to shield their eyes 
from the brightness. 
  It was over in an instant, appearing and disappearing 
like a camera's flash bulb. Where the priestess of 
Genbu once stood there was a skeletal, ethereal 
dragon in her place, one which the martial artist 
wished she was unfamiliar with. Ranma felt a wave of 
fear wash over her as the ghost dragon's aura took 
effect-- the chilling air forced goosebumps to appear 
and her teeth chattered in reflex. The monster spread 
its wings out majestically, creating the illusion that 
it was much larger than it actually was. 
  Just as in the dream, Ranma could make out Shizuka's 
slumbering form, curled in an upright ball, suspended 
in the center of Deathclaw's ribcage. 
  "You idiot," the martial artist whispered to herself 
sadly. "Why?" 

  Cinder caught Ryoga's flying kick with a quick Aikido 
overhead reversal, slamming the martial artist down on 
the ground with machine-augmented force. But it took 
more than a simple slam to take Ryoga Hibiki down, as 
he quickly rolled back and was on his feet again. The 
fire master lunged with his claws in a one-two motion, 
forcing Ryoga to dodge the attacks instead of attack. 
  "You can't win!" the salamander hissed. 
  "I don't have to!" Ryoga shot back, looking for an 
opening. 
  As Cinder continued his attack, a dark recess of his 
mind twitched, realizing that something was very 
wrong. Ryoga Hibiki, he knew, wasn't known for his 
mental motor skills.... And Akane... she, too.... 
  The viper got here first! 
  No, Ryoga Hibiki was a decoy; they knew I was after 
Akane, if only for the information she held. I've no 
time for this! 
  Jumping back, Cinder cleared Ryoga's attack range, 
he hoped. Reaching for his waist beneath the folds of 
his cloak, he yelled, "Hibiki! I've got a surprise for 
you!" 
  Tensing himself in readiness, Ryoga shouted, "I don't 
think so!" 
  Winding up his arm quickly, Cinder threw a small 
tank of oxygen at the martial artist. "Catch!" 
  Instinctively, when Ryoga saw the can fly his arms 
reached out to grab the tank, leaving Cinder the second 
he needed to fire up his palm-mounted flame-thrower. 

  "Hmph," snorted Star Crusher. "A ghost dragon?!" 
  "The soul that fuels my existence is strong!" the 
ghost dragon gloated with his deep, cavernous voice. 
"I welcome and anticipate your own soul! I am not just 
ANY dragon, I am known as Deathclaw, Marauder of 
Souls!" 
  "You're no match for me!" the celestial dragon 
replied in contempt. "Being locked away in eternal 
slumber has dulled your wits, ancient Marauder!" 
  Ranma watched as Deathclaw made the first attack, 
launching himself at Star Crusher with surprising 
speed. She jumped in surprise when she felt something 
tap her shoulder, but when Ranma turned he saw only a 
familiar face. 
  "Ranma... the Dragon's Tear?" Hokuto asked with 
urgency. "You have it." 

  Akane rounded the corner to the open door just in 
time for the explosion that engulfed Ryoga Hibiki. 
  "RYOGA!!" she screamed. 
  When the burst of flame died out a moment later the 
martial artist's blackened but whole body twitched on 
the ground. He poked his head up toward Akane, 
struggling to get up. 
  "S... sorry..." he muttered, as Cinder stepped over 
him. 
  "Your trick will not work," the salamander said 
threateningly, scraping his talons against each other. 
"Now, we're going to have to do this the fast... and 
painful way!" 
  But a hand grabbed Cinder's leg, stopping him in his 
tracks. Ryoga held the fire master fast despite his own  
pain. 
  "I... won't let you...." 
  "You're quite resilient!" praised the salamander. 
"Very well then; get up!" 
  As Cinder turned his back to Akane Ryoga struggled to 
get to his feet, seemingly drawing energy from his 
surroundings. He stood up, holding the strength of 
the earth behind him, and shaking off the pain of the 
explosive attack. 
  A tingling feeling washed over the marital artist. 
"Let's do it!" 
  Cinder leaped up in the air, rocketing upward quickly 
with the boost of his heels, escaping Ryoga's furious 
fist. "Now, I'll reward your insolence with the 
ultimate attack!" 
  Ryoga took a step back as the cloaked salamander 
glowed in hellish ki flames. 
  Spreading his arms out like great wings, the fire 
master shouted, "Incomplete technique: Suzaku Sky 
Dance!!" 
  Diving down with foreclaws first, the last thing 
Ryoga saw was the serpent of the red lotus transforming 
into the bird of legend. 

  "Shizuka and Deathclaw are buying you time to use 
it!" Hokuto explained quickly, before Ranma could 
respond. 
  Slowly, the martial artist glanced back into the air 
at the clash of the titans, finding it difficult to 
believe that the priestess of Genbu would risk all for 
her. "Shizuka...." 
  "Ranma, there isn't time!" insisted the Shadow 
Weaver. "Star Crusher is right; Deathclaw cannot win 
this match. You have to use the Dragon's Tear NOW." 
  Silently, Ranma understood everything Hokuto said to 
be right. She stared at the teardrop-shaped crystal 
in her hand, holding it up for the rainfall to touch 
the artifact. 
  "I can make your desires come true," the artifact 
seemed to say. "You need only name it, and I will 
fulfill it to the best of my ability." 
  A limited wishing mechanism, Ranma realized. It was 
probably not nearly as powerful as the magic that the 
Wishbringer held-- likely because of the fact that it 
was merely a fragment of a much larger magic, but she 
knew it was more than enough for what she wanted. 
  It's right here, Ranma thought to herself, after all 
this time.... After everything that's happened, after 
all the suffering and pain... I can finally get rid of 
my curse.... 
  A thought seized her, and she stared at Hokuto for a 
long moment. 
  Suddenly embarrassed despite herself, Hokuto dug her 
toes into the earth. "N... n'you don't have to... it's 
what you've been waiting for...." 
  "Hokuto...." Ranma whispered. 
  Throwing aside her embarrassment, the Shadow Weaver 
urged, "You have to do it, Ranma!" 
  Nodding quickly, making up her mind, the martial 
artist replied, "You're right!" 
  Akane, she thought, watch for me! 
  Thrusting the Dragon's Tear up into the air, Ranma 
made her request. 


			*  *  *  *  * 

Ryoga (VO): 

  "What's this? Is everybody freeing themselves from 
their cursed forms but me? What is it that Ranma wished 
for, and what are the consequences? What'll we do now 
that Cinder has returned, more powerful than ever? How 
can we beat his ultimate technique? 'Incomplete?!' It 
hurts already!" 
  "Next time: Eve of the White Tiger. I'll find my 
way there somehow...." 



------------------------------------------------ 
Author's Notes 

  What did Ranma wish for? 


Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@NOREPLYhotmail.com) 
http://www.crosswinds.net/~slythe/ranma/ranff.html 

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