The Legend of Ranma It's been a while since I wrote about this so I'm a little rusty. Standard disclaimers and such still apply. < >: Thoughts [" "]: Telepathic communication Chapter 6 Devil Demolition A few minutes before they were contacted… "Say Makoto, do you want to go get a sundae?" Minako asked as the two of them walked down the streets of Juuban. "I guess." The taller girl replied, her gaze seemingly staring off into space. Minako easily noted the far-off look of her friend and said, "You're still thinking about the Hyrule Knight, right?" "Well aren't you?" Makoto asked with a dreamy, yet slightly depressed smile. Minako blushed a bit as she said, "Well, after what Luna and Artemis told us about him and Hyrule, we have to look out for him, right?" "Oh get serious Minako! You know what I REALLY mean! He's a total hunk and you know it! And he saved us from Beryl! I can't see why Setsuna and the Outer Senshi want him destroyed!" Minako was about to deny it, but then gave her a lopsided grin in agreement. "Well, he is really cute." "I'll say! Man, he's so fine!" "Yeah, I know. He reminds you of your old boyfriend." "I take it back! My old boyfriend never looked THAT good! Hmmm… I wonder if he's got a girlfriend? If he doesn't then I'm going to make him mine!" "Hey! Since when did you claim first dibs?" "I saw him first!" "No you didn't! We saw all him at the same time at the park!" Minako pointed toward the distant park where Ranma's titanic battle with the Headmasters had taken place. When an explosion rang out and a huge puff of smoke appeared the two sometime Sailor Senshi turned their heads toward the commotion. It was at that time that their communicators beeped. Their friend Ami appeared on their viewers. "Hey you two! My computer just picked a huge surge of dark energies coming from the same place where we saw the Hyrule Knight." "Yeah, we just saw something explode there. We'll meet you there!" Makoto said as she and Minako ducked into a nearby alley. After making certain that there was no one in sight, they pulled out their transformation wands and shouted out their power phrases. "JUPITER STAR POWER! MAKE UP!" "VENUS STAR POWER! MAKE UP!" The two Sailor Senshi began running. Unfortunately, they realized that it was going to take them quite a while to get there as they were more than twenty blocks away. Although their transformations gave them enhanced healing, strength and endurance, they didn't give them the ability to fly. Meanwhile at the park... "Whoa!" Yohko found herself swept up and carried aloft as the Hyrule Knight leapt to safety while holding the Devil Hunter in his arms. An instant later, the spot where they had been had become a blackened crater from a huge fireball. Tokima was madder than Hell. After being cheated out of his long-awaited revenge against the Mano girl and having one of his arms severed off, the youma king had begun lobbing fireballs and dark shadows at the former Hero of Time. Ranma however, was moving too fast for him to get a single hit. As the battle raged, The Senshi of Time watched intently from the time stream. Once again, this mysterious figure from Hyrule was battling evil and trying to save lives. She shook her head despondently. Though she did not have anything against the Hylian's actions, the longer he remained on this world, the more diverse and chaotic the timestream became. Already another facet of time had changed with the return of Tokima. Though she had no idea how the youma-king had been resurrected, it was obvious that his return was connected to the Hyrule Knight. She sensed the same energies of the TriForce being emitted from Tokima and knew that things were only going to get more out of control. She then decided that enough was enough and it was time to end things. With the Hyrule Knight busy at the moment, Sailor Pluto saw this as an opportunity to remove one of the most chaotic elements to her plans for Crystal Tokyo. She prepared to intervene… and was suddenly stopped again by a strange energy field. "What?!" Sailor Pluto found herself unable to transport and then glimpsed the astral form of Saffron as he wagged a finger at her. "Nope. You were not invited to this little party and I abhor party crashers. Just sit back and watch the fun!"" Setsuna gritted her teeth as she was forced into the role of an unwilling spectator. Yohko found herself in a bit of a dream state as she noticed how closely held her body was to her savior's well-muscled chest. Her body temperature had gone up several notches from being in close physical contact with him. She was very aware at the strong arms that held her and when she looked up at his face, she became entranced at the liquid aquamarine eyes and how his pointed ears made his angular face even more exotic looking. Yohko was abruptly brought back to reality as she heard someone speaking to her. "Excuse me miss? Are you all right?" Yohko startled a bit before focusing on her rescuer, "I... I... I'm okay. Thank y-you." "Good, because I'm afraid that I'm going to have to put you down." Before she had a chance to reply, Ranma made a double somersault to dodge a mass of shadows then set her down on the grass before leaping back toward Tokima. As he charged at the monster, he unsheathed the Biggoron's Sword and used it to deflect the fireballs and slice through the living shadows. On the sidelines, Chi, Asuza and Madoka Mano could only watch the scene before them, as they were still trapped in cocoons of living shadows. "Wow! Look at that!" Chi was impressed. "Cool! He's great!" Asuza said. Madoka said nothing as she watched the newcomer skillfully evaded each of Tokima's attacks. Madoka's eyes widened as she saw the stump of Tokima's arm begin to regenerate itself. In less than a minute, a new limb had replaced the one that Ranma had cut off and was now assisting in trying to blow the Hyrule Knight away. Tokima was getting furious at his inability to destroy the newcomer. Every time he tried to blast him, Ranma would either leap high to evade the attack or use that sword to deflect the energies that was thrown at him. It was also so infuriating that the little fairy that floated beside the Hyrule Knight was also aiding him by using its magic to disperse any dark energy that came close to him. "Curse you! Stand still!" Tokima roared as he let loose with another barrage of shadows. "Don't wanna!" Ranma retorted as he evaded him yet again. Tokima then noticed that his opponent was near his old, severed limb and got an idea. Using his dark powers, he began directing his next few attacks and to get Ranma closer to his disconnected limb as he dodged. Meanwhile, Yohko had retrieved her Soul Sword and was busy trying to free her friends and grandmother from their bindings. The cocoons were boosted by TriForce energy and the Mano girl found it impossible to cut them free. "Never mind about us Yohko!" Madoka said. "You have to go help the Hyrule Knight and defeat Tokima!" "But Grandma, what can I do? The Soul Sword won't work against him any more." "No, I still think that it can hurt him! Remember that you did manage to cut him!" Yohko remembered back to when she had plunged her weapon into Tokima's chest. She had managed to damage him, but the attack had been ineffectual as the devil merely laughed it off and removed the sword. The wound he sustained had instantly healed up. "Remember Yohko, the Soul Sword was created to battle youma. You can hurt him, but something seems to boosting Tokima's power, allowing him to recover from your attacks. The Hyrule Knight can hurt him, but Tokima is still too powerful for him to handle. Look!" Yohko looked back and saw that Ranma had been forced back by Tokima's onslaught. Being resurrected by Saffron and the TriForce of Power, the monster was able to sustain the wound he had gained when the Hylian had severed his arm, and was now increasing his offensive. "Believe me Yohko. Between the two of you, you'll be able to beat Tokima!" Ranma knew that things weren't looking good. He had been hacking and slashing away at his demonic opponent, while dodging the shadows, fireballs, lightning bolts and whatever else he was assaulted with. Unfortunately, whatever cuts he made on Tokima were healed up automatically. They didn't heal quite as fast, taking several seconds to seal up, but they healed nonetheless. Now he was being herded back toward somewhere and he didn't like the feel of it. "I have you now!" Tokima shouted in triumph as he raised his good arm at Ranma and gestured with a finger. "Look out Hyrule Knight!" Navi screamed. "Huh? What... arrrgh!" Ranma's breath was driven out as he felt something grabbed him and pinned his arms to sides. Looking down, he was shocked to see that the severed arm of Tokima's had come to life and now had him in its iron grip. Looking back up at Tokima, he frowned as the youma went into a fit of laughter. Off to one side, he saw Yohko charging at the monster and delivers a viscous slash to Tokima's flank. Tokima laughed as he casually ignored the cut and backhanded the irritating girl away. The wound healed up instantly and he chortled with glee. "Have you learned nothing, foolish Devil Hunter? The Soul Sword may be able to pierce my flesh, but thanks to the new power I've gained, I can repair any damage that it can inflict. It no longer has sufficient power to harm me! Though this stranger has the power to cause me pain, I can still heal from his wounds as well! Now then, this stranger dies!" With these words, Tokima sent a telepathic message to his arm. Ranma's vision began to swim as the hand that held him started squeezing. With his arms pinned, he didn't have much leverage and the TriForce of Power was making the demon hand impossibly strong. Navi tried to get it to open with her magic but the hand proved to be too much for her. As the Hyrule Knight began to black out, the little pixie raced toward the monster and screamed, "Let him go!" Tokima laughed scornfully and commanded his hand to grip even harder, causing Ranma to scream out in pain. "ARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!" "You asked for it!" Navi suddenly flared up into a super-bright ball of light in front of the devil's eyes, causing him to scream out in pain as he was temporarily blinded. This also caused him to momentarily lose his concentration on the arm that was holding onto Ranma, causing it to relax. The Hyrule knight took advantage of this opportunity and burst free from the hand. He then called forth his Fairy Bow and notched an arrow, infusing it with a red light. He then let it fly. "FIRE ARROW!" The projectile struck the still twitching limb and caused it to explode into flames. Amazingly, as soon as it caught on fire, Tokima let off another scream as his new right arm also burst into flames. Apparently, his psychic link with his limb also made him feel whatever pain it was feeling. On the side, Yohko was just shaking he head to clear it when she heard Tokima scream. When she saw her enemy clutching at his flaming arm, she took this opportunity to charge at him and deliver a downward stroke at the limb. The devil howled some more in pain as a deep red gash appeared. Yohko stepped back and waited. To her surprise and everyone else's, when the flames died down, the wound did not seal itself up this time. Ranma realized Tokima's weakness as he rushed to Yohko's side. He turned to Yohko and said, "Listen up! We have to hit him together in each attack!" Yohko nodded as she took a ready stance. Navi also hovered between them. Tokima looked down at his opponents with rage. "You'll pay for that!" He reared back and threw his arms forward, delivering a massive blast of dark energy. "Get back!" Ranma shouted as stepped forward and called forth the Mirror Shield. An instant before he was hit by the blast, the shield appeared and deflected the attack back into Tokima's face, which sent him reeling. Ranma instantly called out his bow while simultaneously making his shield vanish. He then notched five arrows and infused them with a gold light. "LIGHT ARROW BARRAGE!" The five projectiles, each infused with the Light Arrow spell, struck Tokima on various parts of his chest, temporarily causing him to be paralyzed. Ranma and Yohko then rushed forward and slashed away with their swords. Every time Yohko would make a cut, Ranma would also slice in the same place. The double-cuts caused by both Soul Sword and Biggoron's Sword made open wounds that did not heal. Ranma used the TriForce of Courage to boost the power of his own weapon. The two managed to make nine wounds before Tokima shook off the effects of the Light Arrows. He tried to slam his fists against his smaller opponents, but Ranma grabbed Yohko by the waist and leapt high and backward while summoning his Hover Boots. Yohko grabbed onto Ranma by looping a free arm around his neck. She shut her eyes as she heard a loud boom from a massive fist striking the ground. Then she felt strange as she could not feel the ground with her feet. She opened her eyes and looked down. They were hovering more than a hundred feet off the ground! "Wow! That is like... totally bitching!" Yohko piped. Ranma smiled as he watched Navi streak downs toward Tokima, then circled his head. As she flew around, she left a trail of sparkled dust in front of the devil's eyes. This distracted him long enough for Ranma to shift Yohko around so she would be on his back, then disengage his Hover Boots. "Hang on cutie! It's hammer time!" With that he called forth the Megaton Hammer. Yohko blushed a bit at the 'cutie' reference, then her eyes widened as they plummeted toward their enemy. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" THOOM! The ground trembled beneath the monster's feet as Tokima received the granddaddy of all migraines. The massive Goron weapon struck him square between the eyes and laid him low. As soon as they landed, Yohko brought up her sword and slashed across the large bump that was just swelling up. The protrusion burst into a disgusting spray of pus and other fluid, causing the monster to once again roar in pain. The Hyrule Knight then took out several arrows, infused them with mystic energies and let them fly in rapid succession. Tokima was hit by a combination of ice, fire and light, and he was unable to stop all sixteen arrows from finding their marks. Every time a Light Arrow paralyzed the monstrosity, Yohko and Ranma would deliver several slashes with their swords. Navi would also aid them by using bright flashes of light to blind their enemy every now and then. They attacked relentlessly; causing wound after wound to appear. The devil king writhed and thrashed in agony as they continued to cut him down. After what seemed to be an eternity, Tokima thrashed about and finally managed to knock both of his opponents away. As they landed some twenty feet away, the youma staggered to his feet and roared in absolute rage. "For all that you've done to me, I shall pay you back ten, no... a thousand times! Now... DIE!" Tokima threw a massive ball of black-colored energy with red swirling clouds at the two, who were just getting to their feet. Ranma took one look and saw that it was far too large for the Mirror Shield to reflect. "NAYRU'S LOVE!" The magic crystal barrier appeared an instant before the blast struck Yohko and Ranma. The two were enveloped in a huge explosion as the area around them was reduced to ash. Fortunately, Chi, Asuza and Madoka were far enough away that they were spared from being enveloped in the attack. "YOHKO!!!" The three shouted as they saw them disappear in that explosion. They began fearing the worst. When the light of the explosion died down, they were more than shocked to see that the two had not only survived the attack, but also were unharmed. The area around them was scorched within a twenty-foot radius from where they were. The crystal barrier that had protected them from the blast faded away into nothingness, its protective power spent. "You all right?" Ranma asked as he looked down at Yohko, who was at the moment lying on her side. During the explosion, Ranma had also shielded her with his own body. Yohko nodded slowly with awe. She couldn't believe that they had survived. However, when Ranma tried to help her to her feet, she let off a yelp of pain as her right ankle sent a sharp sensation. "OW! My ankle! I think it broke when we got knocked back!" Uh oh! Not good! Ranma looked back and saw that Tokima was roaring in rage and was slowly advancing on them. His body was littered with red lines and it looked like he was on his last legs. It was apparent that he intended to take them with him. "Aw man! After all that, he's still coming!" "Don't worry Hyrule Knight!" Navi said as she floated beside Ranma and Yohko. The Devil Hunter looked up in fascination at the floating ball of light with wings. "What do you mean Navi?" Ranma asked. "My senses are telling me that Tokima is almost defeated. All those hits on him have added up! By my count, you two got him 106 times. I'd say two more wounds would do the job!" Yohko was wondering what Navi was talking about, and then her eyes lit up as she remembered, "Wait! That's right! It took one hundred and eight generations of Devil Hunters to destroy Tokima the first time. Each time a Devil Hunter wounded him, he'd lose some of his power!" "Well then, all we have to do is cut him two more times." The Hyrule Knight smiled. "I... can't get up. My ankle..." Yohko sobbed as she saw Tokima nearing them. "I... can't... help..." Ranma looked back and saw that Tokima was gathering power in his clawed hands. It was then that Navi used her senses to scan the Soul Sword and sent a silent telepathic message to the former Hero of Hyrule. He smiled as Navi related her plan to him. Looking down at Yohko, he told her, "Hey, don't worry that pretty head of yours. You've done enough. I can handle it from here. I just need to borrow your Soul Sword for a couple of minutes." Yohko blushed at his comment on her being pretty, then became confused. "W-What?! B-But it won't work for you!" "We'll see." Ranma said simply as he firmly took up his Biggoron's Sword in one hand and the Soul Sword in the other. He calmly walked toward the heavily injured Tokima. The devil king spied the Soul Sword in Ranma's left hand and sneered, "Ha! So you think yourself to be a Devil Hunter?" Ranma shrugged as he held up both swords and crossed their blades before him. "Well, so far, I'm doing okay against you, don't you think?" "Fool! The Soul Sword will only work for the members of the accursed Mano clan! In the hands of another, it becomes a useless toy against me!" "Oh really?" It was then that the TriForce of Courage began glowing on the back of his hand. The Hyrule Knight was suddenly bathed in an eerie white aura. Then the Biggoron's Sword started to glow as it was infused with TriForce energy. And then it happened... "Huh?" Yohko gasped. "Whoa!" Chi exclaimed. "No way!" Asuza's eyes became as big as saucers. "Incredible!" Madoka announced. "I can't believe it! He's... actually accessing the Soul Sword's power!" It was true. The blade that had been passed down throughout 108 generations of the Mano family was now glowing with all of its mystic energies, in response to Ranma's part of the TriForce. Tokima was the most shocked of all as he recognized the power being emitted from the accursed blade. He was long since acquainted with such power and now this stranger had the power of the Devil Hunters! He could also feel the other strange energy source, which was similar to what Saffron had used to resurrect him with. "DIE!!!" Tokima screamed as he let loose with all of his remaining power in a final blast. The huge ball of concentrated dark magic was the size of a three-story building, which rocketed toward Ranma. The Hyrule Knight knew that if he leapt aside, Yohko would be caught in the blast. Instead, he stood his ground and just as the ball was about to impact, he made a double diagonal slash with both swords. A large, x-shaped blast of light cut trough the sphere, slicing into it and causing its energies to dissipate. Tokima shouted out in denial while shaking his head, "No… it's impossible! You can't..." It was then that the Hyrule Knight flared with a near-blinding white light and leapt into the air. A column of light that went from the ground to the sky surrounded him, lighting up the night. As they neared the park, Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter spotted the column and recognized the figure in the air. "The Hyrule Knight!" Both girls cried out as they raced toward the scene. Ranma mentally called forth the TriForce of Courage's power, which floated free and enlarged itself above him. Holding aloft the two swords, he slammed the butt ends of their hilts together, just as the artifact came down between them. The TriForce of Courage disappeared into the metal as the two weapons were fused together. The hilts became one solid piece and then lengthened to form a longer handgrip. The blade of the Soul Sword elongated until it was about the same length as Ranma's sword. As a result, Ranma now held in his hand a huge, double-bladed lance! Tokima and all the others were too awestruck to move for a few seconds, and that was all Ranma needed. He dived down at his foe to deliver the final blows. "TRIFORCE SOUL LANCE OF COURAGE!" "Soul Lance?" Yohko and the others gasped. Ranma slashed a diagonally across Tokima's upper body with one end, then spun around and delivered another cut perpendicular to the first. The youma screamed out as he felt a familiar feeling. He had only experienced this once before, when Yohko and her ancestors had sent him to his destruction. Now, it seemed that history had repeated itself. "Curse you Hyrule Knight!" That was all that Tokima could say before his body exploded from within. Ranma leapt back and swept up Yohko before she was caught in the conflagration. Noticing that the bonds, which held her grandmother and friends, had disappeared, he ran over to them, shouting that they should get the heck out. Not being inclined to argue, the three followed Ranma's lead. Asuza managed to pick up her armored gauntlet on their way out. Just as Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter reached the edge of the park, they were almost bowled over by the retreating group. Then, Tokima's body went up like the fourth of July, totally destroying the other half of the park. The group had to turn away and shield their eyes from the sudden brilliance of Tokima's demise. The light show also caught the attention of the other Sailor Scouts, who were currently rushing to where Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus were. When the light died down, the Sailor Scouts, Asuza, Chi and Madoka looked over to the newcomers. "Wow! I can't believe it!" Chi said excitedly. "You're the Sailor Senshi!" "Cool!" Asuza said. "Can I have your autographs?" "It's a pleasure to meet with fellow youma destroyers." Madoka added. Down on the ground near them, Yohko was lying down and the Hyrule Knight who was crouched down beside her. The hero from Hyrule had taken out the Lens of Truth and was focusing its eerie light on the Devil Hunter's leg. "Hmmm… looks like you've got a small fracture on your leg near the ankle." Dispelling the instrument of detection back into subspace, he called forth his bottle of Lon Lon Milk and offered it to Yohko. "Here. Take a sip of this." "What's that?" Yohko asked. The two Sailor Senshi recognized the bottle of healing liquid from their last encounter. Sailor Jupiter nodded to the Mano girl. "Take it. It's all right. We've had that stuff before. It'll make you feel better." Yohko looked up at the famous superheroines and then got a reassuring smile from her savior. She then took the bottle, hefted it to her lips and took a small swallow. Instantly, she could feel the soreness of her ankle begin to ease and then fade away. All the bruises and cuts that she had received in battle were gone in moments and she felt new energy surging into her body. As the Hyrule Knight took back the bottle, Yohko got up and tested her healed leg. When she saw that it had been completely mended. She turned back to her rescuer, with a certain reddening on her cheeks. "Thank you." "No problem. Oh and by the way, I believe that this is yours." Holding up the Soul Lance, he recalled the TriForce of Courage, causing a brief light to appear in the center of the handgrip. When the light faded, Ranma handed back the Soul Sword to Yohko while resheathing the Biggoron's Sword. "Thank you." "You're welcome." Ranma said as he gestured for Navi to follow him. "Hold it right there, buster! It's time you answered a few questions!" Ranma turned when he heard Sailor Venus's voice. He then silently regretted not setting up a Warp Point prior to the battle, otherwise he would have just teleported away. The two Senshi approached him with determination and a little something else in their eyes. They were a little uneasy about confronting him after what they had been told by Setsuna. How could they destroy a potential ally like this? He had just defeated a major youma and saved lives? He couldn't be a threat, could he? Ranma was about to tell them that he wasn't in the mood for answering any questions when his magic senses went off. Navi also bobbed up and down and gestured to the crater that had been Tokima. "Hyrule Knight! Look!" Ranma and the others turned and their eyes widened as they saw a large mass of gelatinous goo and pulsating energies emerge from the remains of the once mighty devil king. The throbbing orb rose up into the air and began quivering even more violently. The Senshi and Yohko's group didn't know what to make of it as they all got into ready stances. To the Hyrule Knight and his pixie partner, it was a sickeningly familiar sight. "No way! It can't be! I destroyed it back on Hyrule!" The former Hero of Time unsheathed his blade again and stepped forward. It was then that they all heard a booming voice that was coming from somewhere above them. "Well done, Hyrule Knight! Despite my resurrecting Tokima, you were still able to defeat him!" "Saffron!" Ranma gritted. "Come out and face me!" "I don't think so. Rest assured, we shall meet face to face, but the time is not yet right. For now, I think I'll use Tokima's remains to recreate an old... acquaintance of yours. Have fun!" Saffron's voice faded away, leaving the Devil Hunters, the Sailor Senshi and the Hyrule Knight to face off against his creation. The floating orb suddenly increased to ten times its size and then the ground shook beneath them. Underground water mains that had been damaged from the previous blast exploded and created several geysers. Nearby fire hydrants also exploded without warning, sending hundreds of gallons of water into the air. As a gigantic pool of water formed in the crater where Tokima had perished, the orb then dropped down and submerged itself. After a minute, the spouts died down after the mains were automatically shut down by the city's water system. However, there was more than enough H2O for the orb to reform one of Ranma's most challenging foes from Hyrule. The water began to churn and become more like jelly as the orb swished about. The entire pool became a gelatinous, pulsating mass and then it began to rise out of the crater like gigantic amoebae. The orb within rose with the semi-solid water and was towering over the group like some gigantic cyclopean eye. "WHAT IS THAT THING?" Sailor Venus screamed out. "IT'S MORPHA!" The Hyrule Knight replied as he and Navi prepared for the onslaught. At this time Sailor Venus and Jupiter temporarily put aside their main objective with the Hyrule Knight and focused on this new threat. As this was happening, the remaining Inner and Outer Scouts were closing in on the scene of battle. In the time stream, Sailor Pluto was still unable to come to their aid as she was forced to watch the events unfold. On Phoenix Mountain, Saffron chuckled as he watched the scene from his viewing portal. He also used the TriForce of Power to scan the timestream. He smiled as he discovered the Senshi of Time's goal to destroy him and the Hyrule Knight, in order to ensure the future of Crystal Tokyo. Saffron began thinking about the possibilities. The Outer Senshi were already primed to destroy the Hyrule Knight at the slightest hint of evil. All the bird god needed to do was give it that tiny push. Of course, it wouldn't do to have any of this connected back to him. However, he knew of a few people who would gladly stir up some trouble just for the fun of it. The Senshi and the Hyrule Knight would most certainly be exhausted and very stressed after battling Morpha. That would be the best time to get them at each other throats. Then, with luck, one side would destroy the other, or better yet, both sides would be annihilated, leaving Saffron with easy pickings. The Phoenix god smirked as he told Kiima to contact the demon Mara. To be continued... Author's notes Well, that does it for the revision of this chapter. It's relatively minor but I had to take care of it before I begin writing Ch.7. Ranma will soon have his hands full, not only with Morpha, but with the Sailor Senshi as well. You can also expect some guest appearances from Oh My Goddess as well. See you there!