Sword and Sorcery Chapter 4 by D.Fire phongb9@idt.net Ranma sat cross-legged on the floor of the basement. He was currently in his male form with his hair tied back in a simple ponytail. He meditated with a clear purpose in mind. Over the past several days, he had tried to recall the period of his life immediately preceding his entry into this world, but had failed miserably. Ranma sat there now trying to hurdle that mental stumbling block. Azure crouched at his feet, providing both emotional and moral support. Simply recalling old memories was not the problem. Ranma could still remember most of his time spent in the Tendou Dojo quite well. He could remember all the various mishaps and magical mayhem that plagued his life ever since Jusenkyo's power was brought to bear, up until a certain point. That point existed somewhere, as far as Ranma could tell, about two years after his arrival at the Tendou Dojo. He concentrated hard as he slipped into a deep trance. Clearing his mind of extraneous thoughts, he finally remembered. The final day of his life on Earth came suddenly rushing back into his mind. *** The day had started off in its usual way. Pop woke him at the crack of dawn for their usual morning sparring match. Luck was on his side that day as he managed to knock his father into the Tendou pond without getting drenched. Breakfast was normal. No fear of Akane's cooking. Whenever Kasumi cooked, the feast that followed was inevitably great. In fact, Ranma managed to escape breakfast without being clobbered by Akane, an event marking a continuing streak of luck. Both Akane and he managed to get to school without mishap, and both managed to get into class on time, only pausing briefly to knock out an irritating nuisance at the school gate. At lunch time, Shampoo crashed into the cafeteria, delivering once again a load of magic-spiced food. For some reason, Ranma was able to avoid eating it (probably because Akane slammed the meal over him in a pique of anger). Mousse managed by this time to show up, glomping one fern after another calling each, "Shampoo!" Normal martial arts mayhem ensued after this, eventually resulting in the forcible ejection of the two foreigners from the school and the normal punishment in the hallway for Ranma. All in all, a typical day for him. Things started going wrong for him when school ended. Nabiki cornered him (no incredible feat) after school, in order to kick off some twisted money-making scheme of hers. Pestering him, Nabiki accompanied Ranma and Akane as they made their way home. Then the demon showed up. That's when everything went literally to hell. *** "Danma Saotomi, prepare to die!" roared the demon as it picked up a handy car and tossed it at the trio of startled teens. "I, the Great Malquat, will destroy you and all you hold dear." Reacting with honed martial arts reflexes, Ranma launched a chi-blast at the flying car. "Mouko Takabisha," he yelled as the blast left his hands. He managed to direct the car to the side, sending it crashing into a building to his side. Of course, this ruptured a water pipe hidden within the wall, showering him and the two girls with water. Spluttering a bit, Ranma, now a she, shook the water out of her eyes. "Damn," she muttered as she gazed upon the destruction the car had caused. "Gotta find a clear area to fight." Grabbing the two shocked sisters beside him, she bounded to the roof of a nearby building and took off at top speed toward a nearby soccer field. "Come after me, you overgrown lobster," she taunted the demon as she bounded away. The demon, looking very much like a seafood chef's worst nightmare, roared in reply. Halfway to the field, Akane snapped out her shocked state and started struggling, demanding, "Ranma, put me down. I can run on my own!" Giving her a stare, but not missing a beat in her stride, Ranma pointedly told her, "This ain't the right time to be acting like a tomboy, Akane. Did you see that thing pick up that car and throw it at us. This is serious!" Akane subsided as they finally reached the field. "Okay, I'll hold it here while you two get away," Ranma commanded, as she cracked her knuckles in anticipation. "Fightin' monsters is my job. I can beat anything." Akane replied, "No way! I'm a martial artist, too. I can fight it." "Are you nuts? This thing threw a car without breakin' a sweat, err, uhh, getting red. If you stay, you'll only be in the way!" Akane started turning red and glowing blue from that comment. Nabiki, still somewhat in shock, broke into the conversation saying, "Uh, Ranma? Why did you drag me here anyway? The demon was after you, wasn't it?" Ranma replied with a question, "Would you rather I left you there so it could have a snack first?" "Now that you mention it, no. Bye!" said Nabiki as she dragged Akane away toward the field opposite from the direction they came. Relieved that the two were safely leaving, Ranma turned back to the far side of the field where she expected the demon to show. She was soon rewarded with the demon's appearance. "So, Kumquat, what's buzzing up your shell?" she asked as readied herself. "That's Malquat, you puny mortal," the demon bellowed back. "I have come to vanquish the champion foretold in the prophecy, Danma Saotomi." "I don't know who Danma Saotomi is! I'm Ranma Saotome, of the Saotome School of Indiscriminate Grappling. And I'm gonna kick your skinny little oyster butt!" With that said, she closed in to go hand-to-hand with the demon. The demon swiped at her with one of its claws. Ranma ducked under the swing and launched a retaliatory strike. "Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken", she yelled as she let loose a volley of 642 punches into Malquat's chest. Unfortunately, demon shell was a lot harder than a normal lobster shell. In fact, it felt very much like punching a steel door, 642 times. Ranma cradled her hand as she leapt away from the demon in pain. 'Damn! That hurt!' she thought as she took in the scene before her. The demon stood crouched, unfazed by her attack, and her hand was bruised badly, but thankfully, no bones were broken. The demon laughed at her, saying, "What did you expect to do? That little punch didn't hurt at all." "Well, laugh this off!" she yelled. Gathering her confidence, she cupped her hands together, launching a chi-blast. "Mouko Takabisha!" To her horror, the chi-blast only pushed the demon back slightly, causing it to stumble. A piece of paper along with a picture fluttered to the ground beside the demon, having been jarred away from it by the chi-blast. Before it could recover the parchment and the photo, Ranma dove in and snatched both, immediately jumping away. Distancing herself from demon, she paused to look at photo and to read the parchment. The photograph showed Ranma in her male form. She mumbled as she read the paper, "Something ... something ... prophecy ... hero... Kumquat ... something... Danma Saotomi. Hey waitaminute!" 'Danma Saotomi' was written in Katakana over an obviously scratched out group of Kanji characters. "The hero is supposed to be... Hmm, I can't make this out. ...aru ... nkugi?? Hey, this is Happosai's handwriting. Why, that old fart!" Ranma fumed in anger but continued, "Oh well. I guess I'll have to kill this demon anyway. It's a monster after all." Crumpling the paper, she tossed it far away. Turning back to the demon, she called out, "Even if I'm the hero of your so-called prophecy, didn't it occur to you that I didn't know about it (which I didn't)? By coming here and finding me, you fulfilled the prophecy." At this, the demon paused, responding with a "D'oh!" Waving its claws, it continued, "Never mind that. The hero would eventually find out. Yeah! That's it!" trying to reassure itself. Using the distraction, Ranma threw a massive chi-blast this time. "MOUKO TAKABISHA!!" She got the same result as before. A moment later, Malquat was back on its feet, still looking unhurt. "Time to end this game," it bubbled as it charged Ranma. Because Ranma was still in shock from the lack of effect her chi-blast had on the demon, it managed to snag her in one of its giant pincers. Then it started squeezing. Ranma gritted her teeth in pain as she fought off the blackness threatening to overwhelm her. Her last thought as the darkness came was, 'I-I failed.' Suddenly, she heard giant KRUNCH! The grip around her waist loosened, and she fell to the ground, landing hard. Still partially blind, she scrambled away from the demon in a panicked crab-walk. An almost comical sight greeted Ranma as her vision cleared. The demon was jumping up and down, holding its crushed tail. Ranma lost all amusement, though, as she saw the mallet lying off to the side. Akane lay a few feet beyond the mallet with a line of red trailing down her face. Warily circling the mad demon, Ranma reached Akane's side and cradled her head in her lap. Tears threatened to fall as Ranma bent over the silent girl. "You dummy, I told you to run away," she whispered tearfully. Akane suddenly shifted and moaned, "Owww. What hit me?" "You're alive!" Ranma almost shouted as she gripped Akane in a fierce bearhug. "Uh, I mean, I knew that demon couldn't have hurt an uncute tomboy like you," she amended as she slightly distanced herself from Akane. Leveling a stare at Ranma, Akane said in a serious tone, "I wasn't completely out of it you know. I'll deal with you later." Then she winked and a glimmer of smile appeared on her face. Meanwhile, the demon had recovered from the painful loss of its tail and had managed to circle around behind Ranma. Ranma, in the moment of emotion, had lost track of it, so Malquat prepared to deliver a death blow to the two teens on the ground. "Ran-chan! Look out!" Ukyou yelled as she entered the fray. Throwing spatulas with pinpoint precision, Ukyou nailed the demon dead center. The spatulas bounced off the demon's shell, deflecting into the ground and the air. Ukyou managed to distract the demon, however. Ranma used the distraction to leap away with Akane in her arms. Ryouga, who had followed Ukyou into the field, saw Akane hurt in Ranma's arms. He yelled at Ranma, "What did you to Akane, you honorless bastard?" 'Honorless bastard, indeed,' Ranma thought. 'Talk about a kettle calling the pot black.' She yelled back, "Look, moron! See that big lobster demon over there. It did this to her. Use your brain, P-chan." "Where did you come from?" Ranma demanded of Ukyou and Ryouga. "Nabiki found me and directed me here (after charging me 2000 yen), Ran-chan," Ukyou replied. "Mercenary as ever," she grumbled. "I saw Ukyou heading this way in a hurry, so I followed her, hoping to find you for my revenge," said Ryouga. "But I'll deal with you later." Staring daggers at Ranma that promised later retribution, Ryouga jumped at the demon, throwing black and yellow bandannas at it. Most of the flying cloth missed the demon as it ducked and dodged. The few ones that did hit merely skidded off its hard shell. Quickly following in after his whirlwind bandannas, Ryouga managed to reach the demon and stuck his finger into the ground. He yelled, "Bakusei Tenketsu." The ground underneath both he and the demon exploded, throwing the lobster five feet into the air. Ryouga leapt away before the dust settled. Landing badly but apparently unhurt, Malquat jumped to its feet roaring, "Enough!" Gathering itself, it leapt at its original target, namely Ranma, and incidentally at Akane, since she was in Ranma's arms. Before it could reach them, Ukyou was before it with giant spatula at the ready. Ukyou neatly batted the monster away from her Ran-chan. Off to the side came a shout, "Shi Shi Houkodan!", as Ryouga chi-blasted Malquat even farther away. Suddenly, Shampoo appeared with Mousse trailing her. Nabiki, who had led them here, quickly ran over to where Ranma and Akane crouched. Shampoo jumped at the creature, wielding her bonbori with skill. She yelled, "Aiyah! Shampoo kill demon for ai ren!" as she closed in with the demon and struck several times. Unlike Ryouga's bandannas and Ukyou's spatulas, Shampoo's bonbori did visible damage to Malquat's shell, leaving huge dents. Malquat reeled back from the blows and in a move of desperation, back-handed (or rather, back-clawed) Shampoo away, knocking her out and away. Mousse, seeing this (a miracle for the blind boy), yelled out an anguished, "Shampoo!" With the fury of a beserker, he tossed ten metal chains at the demon, wrapping and ensnaring it. This gave the whole crew some time to breathe as the monster struggled to free itself. In the sudden silence, only the breaking of metal links could be heard. Nabiki yelled, "Ranma, its breaking free! Do something!" Furiously, Ranma thought, 'This thing is tough. Bladed weapons don't seem to affect it, but Shampoo's bonbori seemed to really hurt it! And so did Akane's mallet, for that matter.' "That's it!" she yelled out loud. "Ryouga, it's up to you and me to kill this thing!" Ryouga, for his part, stared at her and said, "Huh?!" Ranma outlined her plan to Ryouga, "We need to be on opposite sides of that thing. Then we both throw our strongest chi-attacks at it at the same time." Again, Ryouga most intelligently said, "Huh?!" He couldn't see the purpose of wasting energy on blows proven to not work. "Never mind why. I don't have any time to explain! Just do it!" Ranma yelled as she bounded at the creature. "Sheesh! Okay," Ryouga grumbled as he followed Ranma. The two managed to get into position just as Mousse's chains snapped all at once, the individual links sending Mousse flying. "On three!" yelled Ranma. "One. Two. Three. MOUKO TAKABISHA!" she yelled as she released her blast. "SHI SHI HOUKODAN!" came from Ryouga on the other side as he released his blast. The two powerful chi-blasts came together and met head-on with the demon Malquat firmly sandwiched in between. For a full five seconds, both blasts raged as a high-keening sound emerged from the conflagration. Suddenly, a sickening squish resounded over the field. As the light from the blasts died away, they revealed Malquat's broken form in the center. Ranma's plan worked. Because of Malquat's armor, most blows were deflected, preventing any substantial damage. It was the force of the blows that caused any damage, but single-directional blows only pushed the demon around. The two powerful blasts, occurring at the same time and in direct opposition, had caught Malquat in between, crushing it like a giant bug. A broken voice floated from the crushed armor. "You .. have beaten .. me, ... mortals. But .. you will not .. live .. to enjoy.. it. When ... I go ... to ... Hell .. so .. shall ... you." The gathered teens could not make any sense of that statement because Malquat was down and was obviously unable to rise. The ground began rumbling. Sensing imminent danger, Ranma yelled to the rest, "RUN!", but it was too late. A shimmering hole opening up over the body of demon, and a fierce wind started sucking all of them toward it's center. The wind was most intense toward the center. The demon corpse got sucked in first. Mousse and Shampoo went next, being unconscious. The others, however, grabbed whatever they could to prevent themselves from being pulled in. Akane held onto her sister with one hand and a goal post with the other. Ukyou jammed her spatula into the ground and held onto that. Ryouga, following Ukyou's example, planted his umbrella in the ground and held on for dear life. Ranma, having no weapon nor convenient goal post, used the last of her strength to punch into the ground and held on that way. The wind crescendoed to an incredible roar as hurricane and tornado-strength winds buffeted the hapless teens. Ukyou lost her grip on her spatula and was sucked in. Ryouga, whose fierce strength failed him, went through the vortex. Nabiki spiraled in next, after Akane lost her hold on her wrist. Akane soon followed as her strength waned. Only Ranma was left. Just as suddenly as they had started, the winds stopped. Ranma, looking around, saw none of her friends, nor her fiancee. "Akane," she whispered to no one, as she took stock of the situation. The shimmering hole, once 10-foot wide, was quickly shrinking. Decision made, Ranma uprooted herself, and running, took a diving leap, entering the hole as it shrunk to a bare body's width in size. The glowing hole shrank to nothing, as dead silence covered the field. That was just the beginning of the weirdness.