SMARTALECK PRODUCTIONS Destiny By arun Chapter#02 This is a Ranma 1/2 - Sailor Moon crossover with certain aspects of Ramayana. Disclaimers: Ranma and the cast members of Ranma 1/2 are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Shogukkan. Rumiko Takahashi is one of the most brilliant people to walk on the face of this earth. We the fans of the anime world are forever indebted to her for giving us Ranma and co. Thank you Rumiko Takahashi for bringing laughter back into our lives. Sailor Moon and its characters are owned by Naoko Takeuchi, Toei animation and KODANSHA. I do not own the characters of both these shows, nor do I even pretend to own them. This work of fiction is but a tribute to the above anime shows. Guys: !....* indicate thoughts. In the first and second chapters <...> indicates Japanese and "..." indicates Chinese. In all the other chapters the reciprocal is true. *********************************************************************** "She is beautiful." said Ranma. Xas Min smiled at the compliment. Higashikaze was at the moment breast-feeding and Ranma was starring star struck at his child and her antics with er... the feeding instrument. He brought his forefinger to his daughters cheek and caressed it gently. He looked up at her mother and looked lovingly at her. "She looks just like you." he whispered. Taking Xas Min's head in his arms, he kissed her forehead. "I love you." "I love you too." Xas Min whispered back. Little Higashi gurgled and snuggled closer to her mothers warm body. Ranma just shook his head in wonder. "I have got to go now and take my classes. I be back when I done." "Be back as soon as you can." said Xas Min as he left the room with a parting kiss to his wife and child. Outside the house... "So, Son-in-law, how is my great great great grandchild coming along." asked Xiao poggoing towards him on her staff. "She is doing just fine." replied Ranma. He paused for a moment and looked at his _mother_. He had started calling her and Pher Fom mother after he had married Xas Min. She understood his need for a mother as he had never had one and did not object to the title. "Mother, may I... I want to speak with you in private." Xiao Lui nodded. She had an idea of what he wanted to talk to her about. "Come with me then. I think that my little east wind can wait a little longer." She led to her house and seated him on a wooden chair. "What is bothering you son-in-law?" "I... I realized just yesterday that I am a father. I don't know if I am ready for that role and...", he paused. The nearly four hundred year old matriarch laughed. "What happened to your confidence, son-in-law?" "I... It is not easy for me, mother, to ask for help." he paused wanting her to understand that he did not want to be teased. "There is so much for me to do and think about now that I am a father. I do not know whether I am upto the job." Xiao Lui frowned. This was a facet of Ranma she had never seen before. The Ranma she knew did not _fear_ even the mightiest of enemies. This new Ranma was the socially insecure one who had grown through his childhood without friends. As a member of the royal family he was respected and obeyed but had no friends except his brother. "You will do fine, son-in-law. I saw the way you looked at my newest granddaughter when you first saw her. I saw the love and the care in your eyes. It is enough to make all the difference." Ranma rose. "Thank you mother, for your words of wisdom. I feel much better now." Xiao Lui smiled. The old Ranma had returned. "Won't you stay and have some tea, son-in-law?" Ranma shook his head. "No, mother, I do not have the time. As it stands I am a good half an hour late for my beginners class." Ranma had begun to take beginners class soon after he had married. He said that he wanted to spend more time with his wife and the elders had agreed. Spending time with his wife was okay with them, they too wanted a progeny from their union to enhance the gene pool. He still taught several warriors advanced ki techniques once or twice a week though the classes lasted more than three or four hours at a stretch. He chose his own students and with the elder's approval was grooming them for seats in the council. Xiao Lui still was his best student and the matriarch had learned some of the more complex techniques in his arsenal. *********************************************************************** Xiao Lui proved to be right. Ranma turned out to a doting parent who loved his daughter very much. He, Xas Min and little Higashikaze turned out to be the most popular family in the village. Ranma would skip classes just so that he could play and cuddle with his daughter. Sometimes, he would take her to the mountains and show her around while soaring across the treetops. Higashi loved these sessions and everytime Ranma came home from his classes she would pester him for the piggy-ride. *********************************************************************** Inside the Phoenix mountain... Pei Pei commander of the Phoenix forces and a concubine of the God-king Saffron snuggled closer to her majesty. They had just spent two hours 'discussing' the feasibility of their plan to attack the Amazons and the Musk and bring the entire valley under Phoenix control. The thoughts of the battle plans had taken a less priority after Saffron had invited her to his bedroom to continue the 'discussion' in private. "My lord..." Pei Pei murmured dreamily. Saffron raised his eyebrow. What would be more important than the 'discussion' they were having? "I am sure that we can defeat the Amazons but the attack must be executed in secret. We cannot have them prepare for our attack. If they had prepared than the chances of our victory are not so... Ohhhh!" Apparently annoyed with her interruption Saffron had decided to continue the 'discussion', which she had so rudely interrupted. Pei Pei cursed herself. Tactics and strategies needed to be discussed with her Lord but the 'things' he was proposing in their 'discussion' were so wonderful. She had never before felt so good in her life. *I will wait until this discussion is over and then we can continue with the war strategy.* "Ohhhhhh God!" moaned Pei Pei once more as her Lord proceeded to the next step of their very private 'discussion'. She would wait for another time when he wasn't so busy so that they may discuss the plans in detail. *********************************************************************** People who knew Pei Fao said he was the shrewdest and most successful businessman in the entire Amazon nation. He loved his wife and kids but to him his business always took priority over these petty concerns. He certainly was one of the richest men in the village and perhaps in the entire world. His business dealings extended everywhere beyond the boundaries of the Amazon nation. His contacts in Tibet and India provided the spice and salts that were important for the survival of the Amazon nation. If anyone in the village wanted something that couldnot be obtained within the Amazon nation they would go to Pei Fao and he would arrange it for them. The commission he charged for these special cases where very high but people came to him because he made sure that they got what they wanted and his goods had good quality. He did not have extensive training in martial arts and even a ten-year-old in the village could have easily taken him on. However, his status in the village and in the lands that surrounded it guaranteed that he was one of the most powerful people in the village. The matriarch of his family, Kho Om had spotted the boys unwillingness to fight and the exceptional skill he demonstrated in business. Therefore, she had apprenticed him to one of the village's premier businesswoman. Pei Fao had started his own business after he had learnt everything he could and then had promptly run all the other businesses in the village to the ground. By the time he was nearing his thirties he had amassed quite a fortune by himself and married one of the most promising warriors in the village. The marriage was not a match made in heaven as proven by the frequent disputes between the both of them. Like all businessmen, he had enemies and he plotted endlessly to bring about their death or destruction. The topmost candidate in the list was the village sweetheart Xas Min and her husband Ranma. His son Goe Su had been the only joy and pride in his life outside his business and that bitch had destroyed it. She had made certain that his precious son could never father a child in his life. He still fumed at the thought of what she had done to his son. Goe Su had followed his father's example and had become quite the bully like his father in the outside world. However, not everyone is cowed down by huge body's and Goe Su had lost that essential psychological advantage on that fateful day. Consequently, he had lost quite easily to the healer bitch that day. On this particular evening, he stood outside the village waiting for a special parcel that he had ordered from one of his contacts in India. The parcel contained an undetectable poison that would kill whoever ingested it slowly. *The bitch will pay for what she did to my son.* These were the dark thoughts that ran through Pei Fao's mind. There was a slight commotion in the bushes to his left. Thinking that his parcel had arrived Pei Fao walked towards the bush whistling to himself. He gave the signal for the messenger to come out but none did. Pei Fao's shrewd brain realized that something was wrong. He went a little into the bush and found a badly mangled Amazon warrior clinging to her life. He hollered for help and carried the woman into the village. The village buzzed with activity as warriors ran hither and thither and prepared to defend the village against an attack. Inside Pher Fom's house, the elders interrogated the dying warrior. The elder's had recognized the woman as a member of an outpost that stood in the border between the Amazons and the Phoenix lands. *********************************************************************** The Phoenix warriors discussed amongst themselves. They had been ordered by the second in command, Mascara to chase and kill the few Amazonian scum before they reached the village. They had succeeded in killing all but one of them. The last one had burnt her own hands to seal her blood vessels and had successfully eluded them for a whole day. Just when they had been about to catch up with her some man had rescued her and sealed their fates. They knew the punishment for failure. They would be skinned alive and impaled on stakes if Pei Pei felt lenient towards them. "We cannot tell the commander, You know that any failure on our part will lead to execution." murmured the Phoenix in command of the chase. His colleagues nodded. They in addition, did not want to suffer such horrible punishments and die so young. "Very well, then, we will tell Mascara that we have killed the Amazonian scum of a warrior." spat the commanding officer. Their little discussion finished the three Phoenix took to the sky. *********************************************************************** "Tell me child, who attacked the outpost?" asked Xiao Lui for the tenth time. The escaped Amazon was delirious and her wounds were gangrenous. She would not live for more than a few hours. The warrior was too lost in her own nightmares to answer the question. Slap! Slap! "I repeat again child, tell me who attacked the outpost?" asked the matriarch. Xiao Lui knew that it was cruel and inhuman to hit the dying woman. However, it had too be done if they were to have any chance of winning the war that was about to erupt. She knew that it was the Phoenix but without the woman's testimony, the elders as usual would debate for hours and they may not have that much time on their hands. The warriors delirious ranting did not diminish but they became more coherent. "No! do not die on me! I love youuuuuu and you promised that you wouldnot leave me." the warrior screamed, obviously she was reliving the death of her lover. The ranting kept on and on until her lover died, again, in her mind. The woman let out an anguished scream that echoed through the village. "I will have your head, Phoenix scum!!!!" The matriarch nodded. She had all the information she needed. She motioned Pher Fom to render the woman unconscious. They would not kill the woman out of pity. The tribes laws were very stringent on that one. Anyone who killed an Amazon would be subject to immediate banishment from the tribe followed by a death hunt. With a heavy heart, she asked one of the warriors to call Ranma. Presently, Ranma arrived dressed entirely in black. He knew that as the most proficient warrior in the village he would be chosen for the intelligence-gathering mission. As Ranma entered the council hall the bickering elders quieted and looked at him. "Ranma, we have a mission of the utmost importance for you." began Kho Om. Ranma remained silent. "We have discovered the identity of the attackers. They are the Phoenix." Ranma raised an eyebrow at the name. The elders have been receiving reports of Phoenix incursions into Amazon territories for the past seven or eight months. The Amazon nation had been preparing for a war for as long. He had suspected as much when he had first heard of the attack. "It seems that Saffron, has decided that he had waited long enough and is now pushing to extend the frontiers of his people. We have already sent the village's best runner to the Musk to inform them of the attack. We need intelligence on the strength of the Musk and since you are the most accomplished fighter in the village you have been chosen for the mission." Ranma bowed and left the room. Time was of the utmost importance if they were to win the war. *********************************************************************** Ranma gently probed the area with his ki. There were two Phoenix warriors guarding the area. He could sense that they were both inexperienced and had very loosely focused ki. He shook his head in disapproval. It seemed that the Phoenix was not expecting incursions by the Amazons. *Oh well, it makes my job that much easier! He thought as he cloaked his ki and approached the two. Both were standing a little distance away from each other as though they disliked the idea of working together. Without a sound, Ranma dropped in front of the nearest one and pressed several pressure points on his head and shoulders. The move was executed at Amaguriken speed and the Phoenix warrior did not even open get over his surprise before all the voluntary muscles in his body froze up. One of the pressure points he had pressed also stole the guard's voice and it would be a matter of hours before all his muscles tightened so much that his bones would break. The other guard who had been looking away all along turned Ranma's way and Ranma was at his side in a flash. He paralyzed the guards voice box and then moved onto his voluntary muscles. One by one within a second, all the voluntary muscle groups froze and Ranma gently applied his fingers to the guards jugular vein until he lost consciousness. Having rendered the soldier unconscious he tied his prisoner and hefted him onto a tree. The pressure points he had used to paralyze the boy's voluntary muscles would wear off in a few hours and he hoped to have finished his job by then. He reconnoitered around the destroyed outpost and saw several hundred Phoenix soldiers resting at different points around the outpost. He noted their positions and made his way to the area from where the Amazons would most likely attack. What he saw made his blood run cold with fury. Throughout the terrain were crosses onto which the beheaded bodies of the Amazon defenders had been mounted. That fact by itself was not sickening. What was sickening was that several Phoenix were playing some kind of game with one of the heads kicking it hither and thither. He masked his anger and left to retrieve his prisoner. The boy would provide all information that he knew about Phoenix troop movements and all that. The elders would see to that. His mission done he made his way to the Amazon village as fast as he could. *********************************************************************** Ranma stood infront of the captured Phoenix. The boy had come to his senses halfway through the return trip and had struggled. Not wanting to be slowed down Ranma had again rendered him unconscious and had reached the village. The elders had decided that Ranma would have a psychological advantage over the prisoner and had entrusted him with the not so pleasant job of interrogation. By his side stood two vases and a dozen torture instruments. Behind the prisoner sat the elders presiding over the interrogation. They would communicate with him through hand signals in the dim light. The windows of the room, which had not so long ago delivered Higashi into the world had been barred and was lit by only a few animal fat lamps. Ranma had protested upon being entrusted the distasteful task. He was a warrior, not a sadist. He took a deep breath and sat himself infront of the boy. The boy looked defiantly at him through his horror filled eyes. He knew what was about to happen to him. Ranma gritted his teeth. No matter how much he hated what he had to do, it had to be done if innocent lives were to be saved. As much as, he hated killing someone he would gladly do it if many may live because of it. With a emotionless gaze, Ranma asked the first question. "What is your name and rank?" The question was highly irrelevant, but the way the boy answered the question would indicate his attitude towards the interrogation. The boy kept quiet. Ranma almost frowned. There was nothing they could gain from learning his name and position. *Young and foolish.* "Listen very carefully. You have been captured and is now a prisoner of the Joketsuzoku Amazons." The boys eyes widened. Since when did the Amazons began using men in important roles. "I am going to ask you some questions and you will answer them. If you don't you will be tortured until you answer." The boy spat at Ranma's face. Ranma swiped away the spit from his face and allowed himself to frown. "This is going to be painful." Ranma bent forward and pressed a hidden pressure point in the boys chest. *That will increase his sensitivity to pain.* Without blinking Ranma took some chilli powder and rubbed it against the boys wrists. The skin had been scraped there and the boy screamed in agony. Taking a thorn Ranma rubbed it with chilli and then inserted the thorn inside the boys forefinger. He left it there and looked at his charge. "Tell me what is your name and rank?" The voice was devoid of emotions. It might have as well come from a dead body. This time the boy complied. The session continued on. Screams punctuated the calm air in the village with growing frequency as question after question was asked and answered. "Tell me how many soldiers are there in you army?" Silence. "I repeat tell me how many soldiers are there in your army?" Silence. Ranma called upon one of his assistants and together they laid the boy on the floor. A gag was inserted into his mouth and watered was poured over it. This went on until the boy nearly suffocated. "I repeat, tell me how many soldiers are there in your army?" The boy replied. The next question was put before him and the torture session continued. "Tell me when and where your army plans to attack?" The question was pointless as the soldier wouldnot have known the plans for the attacks. The elders were rather insistent with their hand signals that they ask and Ranma had complied with their request. The boy did not reply. It seemed that he would break down whenever he was tortured but defiance would creep into his soul when it was stopped. Ranma sighed. He hated what he was about to do. He pressed a combination of pressure points and waited for a full minute. The combination was a forbidden technique among the Amazons and only four in the village knew it at any time. The combination made the victim extremely susceptible to suggestions. "Listen to me very carefully. You see that flame over there?" Ranma pointed to a lamp mounted on the wall. The boy nodded. He could see it though his eyes were almost swollen shut from the many punches he had suffered. "Good, that flame is a huge fire. You are very near to it. You could feel the heat and it is barely bearable." The boy moved as far as he could in his chair. "Now, the flame is growing and the heat is becoming more intense. It licks your fingers and scorches it. The pain is unbearable." The boy screamed louder than he had ever before and the skin in his arms boiled and blackened. "I can put that fire out for you. Do you want me to put it out for you?" The boy nodded and continued to scream. "I will put it out for you if you will tell me when and where the Phoenix army plans to attack!" The screaming ceased. "On the night with the full moon. I don't know where." "Good. See that fire. It's just a little flame. I put it out for you." The boy almost sighed in relief. Ranma shook his head. The second combination he had used was irreversible and the boy would be susceptible to suggestions throughout his life. It would be better if he ended it now. He looked at the elders. They motioned him to carry it out. The boy maybe an enemy but none deserved such a life. Ranma nodded. He took out his knife and the boys eyes glistened with gratitude. The pain he was in made death seem like a wonderful alternative to living. The knife touched the boys neck and pressed on. The soft brown skin split under the cold, hard knife-edge and blood seeped through. The knife continued on until the jugular was severed. Without so much as a gasp the boys eyes glazed over and he left this world. *********************************************************************** Based on information gathered from the now dead Phoenix warrior an ambush was planned. The Phoenix had planned to travel by land as that would reduce the risk of their detection at night. They would have to walk through a mile long canyon to reach their goal. It was here that the ambush was planned. *********************************************************************** Li Chan walked at the head of the Phoenix forces. Behind him followed just over six thousand warriors, nearly two-thirds of the Phoenix army. Saffron himself followed at the rear of the army. With him were Pei Pei and Mascara the supreme generals of the Phoenix forces. His lordship, the emperor had realized his mistake when he had confronted the Amazons and their damned allies, the Musk a century before. Though their enemy's numbers were smaller than their own, the fools had won because of their martial art prowess. Thus, generation after generation of Phoenix had been dumped at night into the cursed springs away from the eyes of the accursed guardian of the pools. These cursed Phoenix warriors had set out to the outside world and had become formidable warriors with control over their chi. That is why a small party of two hundred had been able to easily overcome the fifty Amazons at the outpost. Their opponents too were fairly good chi users and they had fallen under the attack. Now the rest of the Amazon nation would fall under the might of the now powerful Phoenix army. He had wanted his forces to be the first to go into the Amazon village. As such he had volunteered his forces, the finest five hundred in the army and the emperor had accepted. After the Amazons had fallen the Musk would too and then the entire valley would be under their control. The army paused as the canyon loomed into view before them. The forces reassembled and stepped into the canyon. He could feel the other commanders carefully probing the canyon with their chi for signs of intruders. The techniques they were using were taxing and depleting on their ki reserves. They would have to rest a little boy when they emerged out of the canyon. At the very edge of his chi senses, he felt four large and unfocused ki flows, two on either side of the canyon. There was no emotion in them and the masters he had studied under had said that emotion was the only way of controlling and focusing ki. Since he was certain that the masters assumptions were true he relaxed and ordered his forces to march at full speed. He did not like the idea of being caught in a weak position. His forces were vulnerable to surprise attacks and he knew it. They maybe powerful warriors with phenomenal reserves of ki but they certainly couldn't sense arrows and such. The army marched at full speed and the ki flows followed them from the top of the canyon. Amazon spies, he guessed. As long as they did not leave for their village they would be tolerated. He walked back and consulted another commander and both agreed that nothing needed to be done until the spies tried to make a run for their village. That done he returned to his post. Soon the entire Phoenix army was within the canyon. *Just a few more minutes and we will be out of this hell hole.* Thought Li Chan. His eyes would make out the trees that stood several hundred meters from him. Suddenly his chi senses flared. There were a lot of ki being drawn on top of the canyon walls. His eyes widened in realization. They had made a bad mistake and were about to pay for it. He looked up and saw two bright balls of ki the size of a small rock glowing above. He turned towards the other side of the canyon wall and saw two more balls of ki being formed. How they focused their ki without their emotions was beyond his understanding. All around him, the men formed tight groups to repel attackers. His surprise grew as more ki signals propped out of nowhere all along the canyon walls. They had been led into a trap. He opened his mouth to give the order to his troops to take to the air. It was too late he realized as the four blazing balls of ki flew towards the largest concentrations of men. He was amazed at the power he would feel from those balls. With blinding flashes the four exploded on their mark and a few moments later bones and flesh rained all over the canyon. A thousand ki adepts he guessed. *A thousand dead in the first attack! His mind couldnot comprehend the tragedy. All over the canyon walls ki, balls began to flicker into existence and began to rain down on the Phoenix army. Hell broke loose. *********************************************************************** Ranma had been surprised to sense fairly strong and focused ki signals emanating from the Phoenix army below when they had come into view. He had signaled as much to Xiao Lui. She had consulted with Liu Chi'n on the other side of the canyon through complex hand signals. They had decided to follow the original plan and whilst the others masked their ki, he, Xiao, Liu and master Yuan had all prepared a blast and stored the ki in the air around them. His surprise grew when he felt no less than twelve chi signals from the path below probing him. He had not been alarmed as much of the outside world had yet to learn that ki could be controlled without emotions. Sure enough, the Phoenix army had walked straight into the trap. They had waited until all the Phoenix were within the canyon. Not all of them could take into the air when they were attacked as the air would become congested and they would be massacred. Those who took to the air were in for a surprise. Behind him stood three hundred highly skilled archers and a similar number stood on the Musk side of the canyon. Then at Xiao's signal, all four of them unleashed their ki blasts at the largest concentrations of the Phoenix warriors. The others followed their example and unleashed their very own ki blasts into the canyon. For a whole minute huge explosions rocked the canyon drowning out the screams of the Phoenix who were wounded by the blasts. Xiao ordered the blasts to cease and the second round commenced. *********************************************************************** Li Chan raised his head from the ground and with a shout threw off the caved in head that had come to rest before his face. Who would have thought that the Amazons wielded so much firepower. He now realized that his entire company would have been slaughtered in a matter of minutes if they had stepped into the Amazon village. *We never had a chance against them.* He realized. Then he felt it. More ki was being pumped into weapons for some purpose he would not guess at. There was the whoosh of an arrow shaft through the air. However, this arrow seemed to be alive. Bang! The chest of the man who had been hit by an arrow exploded. He closed in eyes just in time to stop of a piece of heart from hitting his eyes. *We have to get out of here or we are all dead.* He looked around and saw the horrified faces of the few dozen men who were still alive around him. "Take to the sky. We have to take the battle to the Amazons." He shouted as loud as he could. The others seemed to realize that their lives depended on it and took to the air where another volley of arrows assaulted them. This time the volley was not ki enhanced and those that survived the hit fell down to the grounds below. The horrible cries they made when they fell to their death sickened him. He looked about and estimated that around three thousand had survived the initial attack. With a cry, he dived into the ground below and into battle. The others followed behind him. *********************************************************************** Ranma cracked his knuckles and ran towards the nearest Phoenix. He brought out his staff from beneath his robe and let his ki flow through it. He had learnt a technique called the hidden weapons, which allowed one to hide many things inside ones robe. The Phoenix soldier's eyes widened in shock when he saw Ranma pull a six-foot staff out of his robe. The soldier left his defenses wide open and Ranma beheaded him with a nice clean swipe of his staff. He was using the technique that master Yuan had taught him. His ki senses picked up three trying to outflank him. He pulled out shuriken from his robe, charged them with ki and let them fly at his opponents. The shurikens exploded on contact and the Phoenix fell with huge holes in their body. He sidestepped a spear thrust and let the Phoenix have it with a ki enhanced punch. The warriors facial structure collapsed under the force of the blow and he heard the bones break. Without so much a look he moved onto the nearest Phoenix and let him have it with a spin kick to his head. The man's neck snapped and he fell to the ground dead before he hit the ground. His rapid kills attracted even more Phoenix towards him. Ranma used his staff as a swatting instrument cleaving in half anyone who came near him. *********************************************************************** A few hundred feet from Ranma, Xiao Lui, three hundred- year-old matriarch of the Amazons danced through the Phoenix spears and swords as they were swung at her. She used her extensive knowledge of Shaitsu to paralyze opponents and then kill them. She jumped high over the Phoenix and from within her robes extracted shuriken. She let them fly at Amaguriken speed and many of her opponents fell their bodies mutilated beyond recognition. She landed softly on the ground behind her attackers and then ran forward to help an archer who seemed to be having a hard time with his attacker. *********************************************************************** Liu Chi'n smiled to himself and let loose yet another ki charged vacuum blade at the Phoenix on the ground below. Bodies were cleaved in half as the blade passed through them as though they were butter. Then with a deafening explosion it blew several Phoenix to kingdom come. He landed onto the ground below and burst into a sprint with his hands blurring whenever he neared a Phoenix warrior. He smiled grimly to himself. From today on the Phoenix would cease to be a major power in the valley forever. He Liu Chi'n, emperor of the Phoenix would make sure of that. *********************************************************************** Master Yuan used his superior speed to full advantage as he weaved through the Phoenix bringing death and destruction wherever he went. His hands and legs glowed white with ki as blow after blow rained upon his opponents. Blows strong enough to crush rock met soft flesh and the result was indescribable. The flesh turned into something the mush and his opponents fell unconscious and death soon laid its hold on them. He saw a Phoenix woman of high ranking and considerable skill mowing through the archers. Without the help of the archers the Phoenix would reign in the sky and would have a definite advantage. Realizing her plan he leapt towards her and blocked her killing blow to the man's neck with his staff. The archer retreated to the back where he could be of use and Yuan Puyi, warrior and advisor to the emperor of the Musk dynasty faced off against his opponent. *********************************************************************** Pei Pei had realized that the archers must be dealt with if they were to have any hopes of winning the battle. She had ordered Mascara to take care of the Amazonian archers while she would take care of the Musk archers. The plan had gone wonderfully and the Musk archers found themselves confronted by a highly skilled chi adept. She began mowing through their ranks and was about to strike down her thirtieth victim when her sword was blocked by a wooden staff of all things. She looked at the man who had dared to get between her and her quarry and saw a four-foot high oldman. His ki was powerful and tightly focused. "Get out of my way oldman if you value your life." she warned. The oldman smiled and relaxed his stance. "Hmmm... Tightly focused ki, considerable skill in combat with some experience. Child, you are a hundred years too young to defeat me." he replied and smiled at her. Pei Pei lost her control at that instant. *How dare that insolent troll think that I cannot beat him?* "I, Pei Pei, commander in chief of the Phoenix army will have your head for your insolence, stupid old man." she shouted as she charged at him at her top speed. "Allow me to introduce myself then, Pei Pei, commander in chief of the Phoenix army," replied the old man mockingly. "I am Yuan Puyi, advisor to emperor Liu Chi'n of the Musk dynasty. I am here to kick your ass." The old man weaved in and out of her blows not caring to even block them. *He is teasing me.* She realized. "Argh! Fight me old man!" shouted Pei Pei as she pumped ki into her hands and feet. Yuan Puyi just shook his head. "I don't hit pregnant women." he replied. Pei Pei stopped in mid thrust. How had he known that she was pregnant? Yuan Puyi took that moment to strike at her sleep pressure point. He pressed another that prevented her from accessing her ki and then tied her up. "She wasn't much of a challenge." he grumbled as he rubbed his hands together. "Oh well! Back into the battle, I suppose." *********************************************************************** Mascara, found herself faced with an archer with considerable skill in Wu Shu. The woman just about weaved in and out of almost all her thrusts. Growing weary of her opponent Mascara enhanced her speed with her ki and thrust at her opponent. The sword buried itself into the chest of the opponent. The light in the woman's eyes faded and went out. Smiling at her latest victory, she was about to remove her sword when it broke with a clang into three separate pieces. She looked at the two-foot old woman who had just broken her family sword with her bare fists. "Curse you old woman. I am going to have your blood for breaking my family sword." spat Mascara. The old woman did not even reply. Instead she jumped forward and landed less than a foot away from Mascara. *********************************************************************** Xiao Lui ran forward to help the archer. She knew that she would never reach her in time to save the archer's life. She would however personally see to it that her killer never saw the light of another day. The Phoenix woman sank her sword into the archers chest and was about to pull it out when she reached them. Grabbing hold of the sword with one hand she released her staff and struck at the sword with a ki enhanced blow. The sword split into three pieces under the force of the blow. Her opponents face became a mask of anger and a red aura blazed around her. "Curse you old woman. I am going to have your blood for breaking my family sword." the Phoenix spat. Not even bothering to reply Xiao Lui jumped into her opponents defenses and shouted "Kacchu Tenshin Amaguriken". Her fists briefly disappeared and the Phoenix flew some twenty yards before landing on her back. Mascara got up and spat blood. She summoned her aura again and formed a red ball of ki in her palms. "IKIDOORU RYUU" shouted Mascara and released her most powerful attack. Xiao Lui simply jumped over the blast. She landed on a tree branch, leapt from it and brought her ki-enhanced punch to bear on Mascara's head. Mascara tilted her head to the side and just escaped from being hit. However, she couldnot maneuver out of the follow-up ki- enhanced kick aimed at her skull and the blow connected with a resounding crack. Mascara's skull exploded under the force of the blow and her headless body fell lifeless to the ground. "Phoenix scum!" spat Xiao Lui as she turned her attention to the battle once more. *********************************************************************** Most of the Amazons, Li chan found were more skilled than the commanders of the Phoenix army themselves. He thus chose to attack the archers as the archers were giving the Amazons a significant advantage over the Phoenix forces. With the archers around they, couldnot take to the air and this robbed them of their most important ace in the hole. He was busy fighting with two archers who in their desperation had ganged up on him. They were no match for him in any of the departments and he was about to slit one of their necks with his sword when his ki senses flared. He quickly slit the throat and took to the air. His opponent followed his every move and threw a vacuum powered blade at him. Li Chan tried to twist of the way and failed miserably. the blade cut through the base of his right wing and cauterized it. He fell down to the ground, his body making a dull thud as it made contact with the soft earth. Cursing to himself, Li Chan looked at his severed wing that had fallen near him. His adrenaline drove him now and he spat blood covered spit onto the ground and took his stance. Ranma stood watching as his opponent picked himself of the floor. Amazingly enough the man took a stance and glared hatefully at him. With a yell, the man threw himself at Ranma and his fists blurred as he tried to tag Ranma with a hit. The loss of his wing had played havoc with his balance and he struggled to maintain the balance so essential for winning a fight. As he staggered after one particularly strong swipe Ranma went into the offensive. Blocking a fist aimed at his solar plexus, Ranma grabbed it at just above the elbow with his other hand and twisted. The bones broke and Li Chan howled in pain. Without pausing Ranma raised his right hand and crushed his opponent's windpipe. Li Chan heard the sound of his windpipe being crushed and struggled to get a breath of fresh air into his lungs. Nothing happened and he felt the blackness of unconsciousness lay its hold on him. Ranma looked on at the death throes of the Phoenix warrior. It had become clear that the Phoenix were loosing horribly. As Victory was in their grasp now he paused to see the results of his handiwork. He made no efforts to help the Phoenix as the man grasped his neck with his working hand as he struggled to hold onto dear life. Ranma knew that he was dead and turned away from his as the sight became unbearable. *********************************************************************** Saffron God-king of he Phoenix hovered in the air above the Amazons and fired his blasts indiscriminately. Amazon warrior and Phoenix fell to the heat from the resulting explosions if they were not blown apart outright from the explosions. An arrow embedded itself in his right wing and exploded. The explosion blew away a significant part of his wing but he remained hovering in the air. He let out a howl of fury and turned towards the source of the arrow. His wing healed itself as he turned. His fury grew rapidly as he saw Li Chin, the son of one of his concubines, in his death throes with an Amazon warrior looking on. The insult to his persona forgotten in the face of this new information, Saffron let his full power blossom into existence. He would wipe out the damned Amazons and their damned allied the Musk before this day was out for the crime committed against his son. *********************************************************************** Ranma turned around when he sensed the huge power that emanated from the Phoenix he realized was Saffron. The Phoenix God looked just about ready to explode, his face a mask of indescribable fury. Ranma assumed a stance and curbed all controls on his aura. An aura of white bloomed around him and grew to about eight feet thick in all directions. His dress fluttered in the wind that came into existence around him. *********************************************************************** Saffron saw the enormous amount of ki that surrounded the landling and realized that the battle would take a little while. "For killing my son in cold blood, I, Saffron, God-king of the Phoenix sentence you and your nation with its allies to death." boomed Saffron in a voice that was audible for miles around. Ranma simply stood there and shifted his legs. Then he burst into action and drew back his arms at hypersonic speeds. A five- foot long ki charged vacuum blade sped towards Saffron. Saffron did not even bother to move. He released two balls of fire and watched as the two met. There was a blinding explosion of light when the two blasts collided. Ranma leapt out of the way, as the second ball of fire tore into the ground. The blast left a huge crater and smoke and dust hung in the air. Ranma twisted in midair, bounced off a tree trunk and leapt high into the air towards Saffron. As he passed by the God, he swung back his legs and gave a kick to Saffron's chin that would have sent a ten ton rock into LEO. Saffron flew through the air and impacted with a huge boom into the canyon wall. The wall exploded on impact and huge cracks appeared. With a rumbling, noise the whole section of the wall collapsed onto the ground below. Ranma landed on the Musk side of the canyon and took to the air once again. He knew that Saffron couldnot be defeated by a single blow. The rocks down below began to glow red and then exploded outwards. When the dust cleared, in the middle stood Saffron looking none the worse form the damage he had sustained. The God took into the air again and Ranma met his charge head on. He slid under Saffron's talon swipe and kicked him in his guts. The air was knocked out of Saffron's chest and Ranma pressed his advantage. Closing in for the kill, he did a number on Saffron's thorax with a superfast Amaguriken. The punches were ki enhanced and Saffron's fire blinked out of existence for a moment before coming back. The wounded God fell to the ground below but righted himself halfway down. With a scream of righteous fury he powered up a huge fireball and threw it at Ranma. Ranma brought his shield up and tried to evade all the same. He was partially successful. the blast hit one side of his shield and exploded in a huge ball of plasma. Lightning from the clear blue skies above struck the expanding ball of highly ionized gas repeatedly before it flickered out of existence. When it did, Ranma stood in the middle with a sneer on his face. "Is that all you can do, O mighty God of the Phoenix?" taunted Ranma. Saffron's flames grew in intensity around him and Saffron howled before going berserk. Mindless with rage he tapped into the mana lines in the area and the flames increased several fold. Ranma did not even look intimidated as the God-king began to throw huge balls of fire at him. Running at his top speed, he evaded each and everyone of them and then replied with his own salvo of ki charged vacuum blades. Several hit the fireballs and lit up the evening sky in a dazzling display of light while one hit Saffron on his chest and exploded. Saffron staggered under the force of the explosion. Using the cover given to him by the explosions in the air, Ranma again leapt into the air and delivered a spin kick to Saffron's mid-section. Saffron returned the favour at the same instant and both the opponents flew away. Ranma hit the canyon wall below. The rock beneath exploded in protest and he shook his head to clear it. Saffron righted himself with his wings in mid-air and leapt for a showdown with Ranma. Ranma extricated himself from the rock and collecting his ki punched into the air towards Saffron and shouted "HIRYUU SHOTEN HA KAIHAN: KEN JOUKAI" a huge tornado blew into existence. The heat that Saffron had released during the course of the battle was absorbed and an inclined tornado headed towards Saffron. The tornado cut off Saffron's wings and when it died out, he fell down to the ground. This time however, Saffron's flames went out for several seconds before coming back on. Saffron got up unsteadily and shook his head. His wings grew back on their own accord and he flew up to meet Ranma's latest charge. Both let loose energy blasts which collided midway and exploded in a flash of light. Knowing that Ranma would try to use the blinding light and stage another attack Saffron shifted slightly and flew towards the explosion at even higher speed. Ranma emerged from the explosion and was promptly kicked into the hard canyon walls from behind. The canyon wall once again exploded on impact and before Ranma could reorient himself Saffron launched another attack. He shouted "MIZUCHOUSENZHANYOKU" and brought his wing together at high speed and infused the pressure wave that resulted with a huge amount of mana. The X-shaped wave of high-pressure, mana charged air headed towards Ranma and boom the entire section of the wall exploded in a huge explosion. The dirt settled and showed Ranma standing on top of a rock at the bottom of the canyon. There blood in his lips and he swiped it away. He staggered a little and coughed up some blood. Then he glared defiantly at Saffron. His aura had protected him from the explosion and had saved his life. Saffron looked at the landling who had proved to be quite a challenge and frowned. The wounds the landling had inflicted were quite powerful and he would lose if he let the battle rage on. He again tapped in to the mana flows and boosted his powers. He could also feel the landling tap into the ki flows. Saffron was awed by the landling. To stand alone against a God and give him a fair fight was beyond compare. None except the Ashura's could stand up against them and fight for this long. *Too bad you have to die landling.* Thought Saffron as he fired off his most powerful attack, a continuous beam of mana. Ranma felt the God powering for an attack ad drew all the ki he could into himself and brought forth his shields. He tensed as the God let loose what he realized was the God's final attack. *If I last out this attack then I will win.* thought Ranma as he began pumping all the ki he had drawn in and still some more into the shield. The beam of pure mana hit the shield with a huge boom and huge waves of plasma expanded outward from the point of collision. The interaction between the two energies created an extremely powerful tornado and rocks, several hundred feet long were picked up by the supersonic winds. Saffron forced himself to the brink as he channeled as much mana as he possibly could without destroying himself in the process. Even Gods have their limits. *I will not lose to a landling and a mortal.* Ranma felt the slightest increase in Saffron's beam but couldnot find the ki to counter it. Slowly but surely the shield began to buckle and when it was gone, altogether he would be vaporized, he realized. However, there was nothing he could do that would stop the beam in its tracks. *Wait a minute. There is something that I CAN do.* He realized. His thoughts drifted back to that day when Xiao Lui had taught him about mana and ki. 'Mana is like the Yin, it is dark, mysterious and not easily accessible. It is also vastly more powerful than ki if you learn how to use it.' He had been never been able to tap into mana but it was worth a try. The fate of his wife and child depended on him and he would not fail them. Ranma allowed himself to relax an looked into himself. He clearly saw in his mind the ki flowing through his body. He concentrated a little more. The shield diminished in strength. He looked into himself once again. There flowing side by side were two different veins of energy. One he recognized as his ki. The other was soft and yet strong in its own way. This was the power that he had felt inside the pit on the day when he had lost his father and gained another. He embraced it. The power that flowed through him was unbelievable. He felt it flowing everywhere just like ki. He concentrated some more and tapped into it. The shield that protected Ranma flickered out much to the horror of Xiao Lui, Liu Chi'n and Yuan Puyi. The rest of the Phoenix had been defeated and the Amazons and the Musk had been watching the fight between Ranma and Saffron with interest. Each prepared to fire ki bolts at Saffron. Saffron felt the shield weaken and then remain so for a couple of seconds before buckling completely. *Victory is mine.* He rejoiced. His celebration turned out to be a little too early as he felt the Shield come back up unbelievably more powerful than before. Liu had formed a sizable ki ball when he felt the shield come back up more powerful than ever before. He looked questioningly at the Amazon matriarch and his master but both were dancing around in each others arms in pure ecstasy in the midst of the chaos that the tornado was creating. He shook his head to rid it of the horrifying experience. The sight of a three hundred-year-old matriarch and his hundred-year old master necking was definitely the ugliest and most revolting sight in the universe. Then it dawned to him. Inorder to defeat Saffron, Ranma had become a true master of the art. The ki ball popped out of existence and he too began to dance. *My brother is a true master of the art.* Saffron felt fear seep into the core of his being. The landlings mastery of ki was commendable. Even the most powerful of the Ashura's wouldnot be able to last that long against his beam attack. Now, he had somehow mastered mana manipulation. *What is he? Is he a demon of some kind or is he a God?* The new shield grew in strength at an incredible rate and the tornado was simply absorbed by it. The winds became less powerful and finally went away. The beam of mana now had no effect at all against the shield as it was like throwing a pebble against a mountain. Ranma smiled at the newfound power. Saffron would never threaten the lives of Amazons and Musk alike. He concentrated and let loose a hybrid blast of energy, made of both ki and mana at Saffron. The blast shook the land in a cacophony boom and lit up the sky in a brilliant display of colours. Saffron's beam spluttered out of existence and the God fell down to the ground. Ranma released his shield and jumped to land on one of the rocks so that he may look at Saffron from above. The defeated God stood admist the ruins that the battle had wrought. "Saffron, you will never again threaten the Musk nor the Amazons for they are my family." shouted Ranma. His voice was amplified greatly by his aura that glowed yellow around him. Saffron looked at the face of his enemy. He, a God, had been defeated by a mere mortal and a landling at that. *No, I will fight on. I will not lose to a landling.* "I fight on, landling. I will not lose to the likes of you." shouted back Saffron in defiance. Ranma's expression darkened. "Then prepare to end this cycle of your life, Saffron." spat Ranma. Saffron glared defiantly and his flames fluttered into existence around him. His flames were the physical manifestation of his mana and it changed with each God varying according to their personalities. He was quick tempered and his flames reflected this character. He tapped into the mana around him, formed a powerful ball of fire and released it at Ranma. Ranma did not even move. Just before the ball made contact with his body he waved his hands and the mana in the ball dispersed. Ranma smiled evilly. "Now its my turn." Ranma concentrated and formed a wall of ki and mana and sent it towards Saffron. The wall of energy hit Saffron and threw him against the canyon wall. Then it slammed into him. Saffron found himself literally between a rock and a hard place. Saffron staggered to his feet and lost his balance. He got up again unsteadily. "It's over Saffron. Hurt my family ever again and I will kill you in such a way that you will stay dead and not be reborn." warned Ranma. "Oh! Did I not say that this is the end of your cycle. Goodbye. HIRYUU SHOTEN HA KAIHAN: GENKAN JOUKAI KIRITE" shouted Ranma and thrust his hand into the air at Saffron. A huge and extremely cold tornado howled into existence around Saffron. When it died down a few minutes later, the entire canyon was covered with a thick layer of ice and Saffron's body stood in the middle frozen solid at a relatively cool -153 degree centigrade. Ranma walked towards the God unharmed by the tornado and pushed Saffron's frozen form. The frozen body of the God shattered into many pieces as soon as it touched the ground. *********************************************************************** Three years after Higashi's birth Xas Min became pregnant with their second child. There were certain complications and Xas Min had to stay in bed for the last five months of the pregnancy. Ranma walked back and forth in the same room once again. His wife was having their second child and as before he was having an attack of the nerves. The screams of pain were more soul wrenching than the first time and he had a hard time not running into the room. Higashi was asleep in a neighbors house and Xiao Lui sat on a chair in the corner. Pher Fom came out of the room several times during the course of the third hour and consulted with Xiao Lui. When he had asked the matriarch about the conversation, she had been evasive. Ranma paused as perhaps the weakest of the screams came from the room. The back of his neck tickled and he felt his wife's ki weakening. Sick realization came to him and he looked horror stricken towards tear-faced matriarch. "Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!" he shouted and collapsed to his knees clutching his chest in pain. "I am sorry Ranma." a voice said. He looked up and saw Pher Fom. She too had tears on her face. Ranma shook his head in denial. It couldn't be. She couldn't have left him without saying goodbye. "I am so sorry. There were complications and both your wife and your son are dead." He wished he died immediately but destiny had plans for him and wasn't about to let him out of its grasp. He couldnot think of a life without his beloved wife and yet here he was faced with exactly that life. He let out a gut wrenching, heartfelt scream. "It's going to be all right." It was Xiao Lui who had said those words. He turned towards her and glared. "No, it's not going to be all right. She's dead and I killed her." shouted Ranma and bounded off into the night. The trees blurred around him as he ran in to the forest, tears flowing freely. They glittered under the full moon that shone in the clear sky up above. *Why does this happen to me? Why do I lose the people I love most? Why... Why... Whyyyyyyyyyy?* He wandered for hours running from himself and reality through the forest. Finally, near dawn he came to rest at the glade in which he had first started training Xiao, Pher Fom and... later her. His aura flickered into existence and glowed green. The clearing lit up under the glow and took on a greenish tinge. The aura grew and grew as he continued to draw in the ki around himself. He lashed out his hands and a small of ki perhaps three centimeters in diameter formed between his outstretched palms. The aura around him diminished and the sphere's glow intensified. Soon, it was like looking at the sun. Trees thirty yards from him began to smoke and spontaneously combust. Winds buffeted his body as it rose several hundred yards into the air. With an agonized scream, he released the ki ball. The ball flew through the air and crashed into the land a hundred meters from the glade. As it approached the ground it cut a clean swath though it and tore up trees and rocks alike. With a whoosh, it impacted and all hell broke loose. There was a bright flash of light and the air was torn away from the impact sight. The blast expanded outwards and the hot air ignited trees as though they were fodder. An area shaped like a butterfly was completely obliterated and a huge crater lay near to one of its edges. Ranma glowed and became transparent before landing softly on the shattered landscape below. His body became opaque again. He fell down to his knees and cried his heart out. *********************************************************************** In the village, everyone woke up as they sensed a huge disturbance in the ki flows. Inside Pher Fom's house, Xiao Lui gazed strangely at the forest and told everyone to get down. She ran towards the neighbours house and carried Higashi to Pher Fom's house. Then she too lay over the now awake child and waited for the inevitable. It came with a blinding flash of light. the air was deadly silent for nearly twenty seconds. Then a boom, followed nearly a minute later by strong winds. The winds buffeted the village and then died down. She stood up and Pher Fom gathered little Higashi and cradled her. Xiao Lui shook her head in wonder. *********************************************************************** Eleven days passed... Ranma broke down at the sight of his little Higashi or at anything, that reminded him of Xas Min. He barely slept and would wander aimlessly through the streets at night. He glowed green most of the time and almost everyone was afraid to go near him lest he blew up. On the twelfth day, Xiao Lui confronted him. "Ranma, you have to stop acting like this. Xas Min's death was unfortunate and we all mourn her passing. But life must go on." Ranma did not reply though his green glow began to intensify. "Stop this foolishness Ranma. You still have Higashi to live for." shouted the matriarch into Ranma's face. Ranma barely moved. "How can you say that? Am I foolish to mourn my wife's death? She is dead and gone and I did not get a chance to even say goodbye to her." The reply began as a whisper and gradually grew into a full-blown yell. Xiao Lui sighed. Why was so hard headed? Could he not see that they were also hurting? "Ranma..." He looked up. "Please Ranma, you have to let go of the past." pleaded the matriarch. It hurt her to see the child suffer by herself while her father was still alive. "I can't mother. I just can't." replied Ranma as quietly as he could. She found herself wanting to weep. "You have to, Ranma. For the sake of your child you must." The matriarch's voice broke several times during the speech. Ranma looked away. "You don't realize mother. Everytime I look at Higashi, my heart breaks. I was her husband. I was the one who was supposed to protect her from all danger. Yet I was the one who ended up killing her." he whispered. Tears flowing freely now. The macho I can take on the world persona had died when Xas Min had. "Ranma, you werenot responsible for her death. You couldnot have known that she would die at childbirth." replied the matriarch. "You don't get it mother. She did not want another child. I did. I pressured her for the second one and in the end I lost both her and my child." "Ranma, let it go or it will kill you and Higashi." Ranma looked at her when she mentioned Higashi. His face became emotionless. "I cannot let it go and I will not let anything harm my child," he paused, "Mother, I am leaving the village tomorrow. See to it that my child grows up just like her mother. I want you to make her the matriarch that her mother never wanted to be." The voice was entirely devoid of emotion. He stood up and walked away into the forest. *********************************************************************** That night... Ranma sat on a rock on the outskirts of the village. His face had a vacant expression and he stared aimlessly at the stars that lay across the clear sky above. There was a half-moon and soon he found himself staring at it. The air was bitterly cold but his training in the art had made his body resistant to huge variations in temperatures. There was the slightest rustle as pebbles on the ground behind him was disturbed. He tensed and probed the air around him with his ki. It was Xiao Lui. The matriarch poggoed onto the rock and sat by his side. Tracks of tears on her cheeks glittered under the reflected light from the half-moon. Like Ranma, she too had taken Xas Min's death badly. She maybe the matriarch of the village but nothing could stop her from mourning the death of her great great granddaughter. She tried to put on a normal face during the day but allowed herself to mourn at night. The two Amazons, one over three hundred years old and the other barely over thirty years sat together in utter silence. The chirping of a bird or the rustling of the leaves in the wind that blew softly were the only sounds in the air for the better part of an hour. "Mother!" Ranma whispered and broke the melancholic and introspective atmosphere. A wolf pack howled in the distance. Silence. Ranma waited for a whole minute before calling to the matriarch once again. "Mother!" "Yes, Ranma." It was clear from the tone of the matriarch's voice that she hadnot ceased crying. "I... I will be leaving tomorrow early in the morning. I...", he paused. "I will never again return to this village. It reminds me too much of her and the time I spent with her." he broke at the last part of the sentence and shuddered as he tried to control his sorrow. Tears flowed freely across his cheeks. Xiao Lui did not speak. She did not need to for Ranma needed but a listener. "I... I love Higashi very much. I want you to let her know that she had a father who loved her very much. You must raise her to become all that her mother was and more. I also want you to tell her that her father had died soon after her mother did." The words were barely a whisper. Yet, in the silent night air it was clearly audible. "Ranma, I..." began the matriarch but was cutoff. "Sshhh!" he said and laid a finger across her shriveled lips. "Mother, you have to do it for me. I do not want her to think that I was a coward eventhough I am." "You are not a coward, Ranma." replied Xiao Lui. Ranma laughed. It was a hollow laugh almost entirely devoid of emotion. What little emotion showed itself immediately disappeared and the laugh died as soon as it began. The cold emotionless mask reasserted itself. "I am abandoning my family and friends because they remind me too much of my dead wife! Do you not think that such an act shows cowardice on my part?" "Ranma, you are the bravest man I have ever laid my eyes upon. You faced a God without a trace of fear in your heart. Your actions had proved to the women in the village that men are not the weakling creatures that we thought they were. Because of you, relations between the Musk and the Amazons had improved dramatically. You have brought peace to our people and to all the others in the valley. No, Ranma, you are definitely not a coward." replied the matriarch in a tone that excluded all rebuttals. A look of surprise came to Ranma's face at this passionate speech. "Thank you, mother. I'd better go now and prepare for tomorrow." Ranma got up and prepared to leap of the Rock and onto the hard ground below. "Ranma, wait!" Ranma turned towards the matriarch and sat by her side again. "I spoke with the elders about your decision to leave the village and..." Xiao Lui paused. "And..." "They will not stop you though they say that you will always be an Amazon and that the village will be always open to you." Finished the matriarch. Ranma nodded. "Is that all mother?" Xiao nodded. "Yes, Ranma, that is all." "Goodnight mother!" "Goodnight Ranma!" Ranma hopped off the rock and walked slowly towards the village. Xiao Lui watched him until his outline disappeared and then went to her house. *********************************************************************** The next morning... Ranma lifted Higashi onto his shoulders and kissed her on her forehead and her cheeks. "Goodbye Higashichan." said Ranma to his daughter. He put her down on the ground below but seemed reluctant to let her go. He lifted her again and then kissed all over her face before handing her over to Pher Fom. He bid his farewells to the rest of his friends in the village and left without looking back. He had nothing but two pairs of clothes on him as he began his wanderings. *********************************************************************** For the next three years, he wandered across the mountains but his mind never ceased thinking about his beloved wife Xas Min. It was through sheer coincidence that he chanced upon a monastery while roaming across the mountains. He stayed there and helped the monks at the head monk's urging. A couple of years later, he himself became a monk in training at the monastery. His mastery of the art amazed everyone in the monastery and many asked him to train them in the art. He refused and politely turned down their offers. His wife's death had robbed him of his love for the art. Twenty years later he became a junior monk. His heart finally found its center and he found his interest in the art once again. He decided to leave the monastery as the world seemed to call to him and on the thirty-fifth year of his life in the monastery, he left the monks to begin his life anew as a wanderer. The life of a monk was definitely not, what he wanted out of his life. During his time at the monastery, he had mastered the monks version of the Wu Shu which was very powerful indeed. Far more so than the Amazonian version that a skilled novice in the monks techniques would be able to beat an experienced veteran if the battle was fought without ki attacks. Now, he wandered across mainland China learning different styles from their masters. Over the course of several decades he witnessed many styles disappear and he found himself the only surviving practitioner of many powerful and dangerous styles. As time passed his martial arts became an amalgam of all these styles and he became a true practitioner of 'Matsubeto Katuto Ryuu' the school of his origin. During the course of his studies he was drafted into the Emperor of China's troubleshooting force, er mercenaries. He served the emperors of the Han dynasty with zeal and soon found himself a wealthy man. He accumulated several tons of gold and thousands of karats of diamonds and other precious stones. He always carried all his belongings within his cloths by means of his 'Hidden weapons' technique. For five decades he performed his job troubleshooting in bandit infested areas. During this time, he brought hundreds of bandits, thieves and murderers to justice. He learnt everything he could about the healing and the fighting arts. He also learnt from the few magicians that he chanced upon. Finally, he grew tired of his life as a mercenary and thus left China. He crossed the mountains of Tibet and stepped onto India or Hindustan as it was called then. His thirst for travel and learning did not leave him and he found himself wandering across the country's huge expanse. He learnt from Indian masters techniques, that were on the verge of becoming extinct but were also the most powerful martial art forms he had ever seen. Though the masters of the art were few in India, they had in- depth knowledge of ki and mana manipulation techniques and he learned from them. He was astounded at their mastery of Shiastsu. It was such that they could do things that even the Amazons with their extensive knowledge of the style could only dream about. He loved the country in which martial arts was born and spread to the rest of the world. His accumulated wealth grew through his travels throughout India. During his six centuries of stay, he witnessed the 'golden period' under the Gupta's and then their subsequent fall. He witnessed the destruction of their cities and the massacre of innocent civilians by the invaders as the wheels of time slowly turned on. When he left India he once again crossed the Himalayas and settled along the silk route. His stay lasted two hundred years and during those two hundred years he developed and perfected many new ki and mana attacks. He also traded in silk and his wealth multiplied manifold. It was in the middle of the ninth century AD that he grew bored of the silk trade and decided to visit the country of his birth. There he found the country under the rule of an emperor whose influence was declining by the day. He witnessed history as the feudal lords exerted their control the emperor and the country headed towards civil war. He wandered across the country for a century learning the arts from the masters there. He finally returned to China and commenced his wanderings once again. For the next five centuries, he perfected all he had learned and developed still more techniques. He shied away from human contact preferring the solitude of the forests to human company. When he had attained even greater levels of skill, he once again mingled with humans. He now followed the silk route and ended up in Europe. He stayed in one of the monasteries there though he hated the entire period of his stay. He wanted to improve his patience and what better way to do that than by leading the way of life he had come to hate most. In the beginning of the sixteenth century he left for the America's and stayed there until the end of the eighteenth century. He landed in England and invested heavily there. Having done so he returned to China to find its monarchy under decline and the country under siege by the European nations and the Americans. Disillusioned with the state of affairs there he made his way to Japan and again invested a considerable portion of his wealth in Japanese businesses. His eyes drifted to the western world once more and his investments in both the Americas and in Europe grew. Weary of the wars and petty feuds that plagued the western hemisphere he traveled to India and found the nation under bonds and the people a shadow of their former proud selves. Disgusted he retreated once more into the forests of India where he found peace and solitude. The peace was broken by the start of the second world war. He refused to take sides in the conflict, as he witnessed the cruel treatment of man and a general disregard for the lives of the civilians by both the sides. During these years, he wandered across the neutral countries until the war was brought to the end by an act that he considered the epitome of the cruel nature of war. After the war he again invested heavily in huge corporations in Japan and in the US and settled in rural Japan. Having seen most of the world more than once he decided to visit the Amazon village once more. *********************************************************************** Present time... A lone pathway across the Bayankala mountain ranges in the Qinghai province of China... Ranma walked briskly whistling to himself. It had been over two thousand years since he had last been in the village and he couldnot wait to see the village again. For the past, thousand years he had been able to think of Xas Min without crying. He had prepared himself for the day when he would be able to visit the village without breaking down. Even now he knew in his heart that he hadnot gotten over her loss and probably never would. He had put off visiting the village for so long that visiting it had almost become an obsession for him. He recognized the familiar magic of the pools as he approached it. *Two thousand years have gone by and the pools are as strong as ever before.* However, something felt amiss. He walked into the valley and saw that all the pools were nearly dried up. He peered into one of the pools out of curiosity, to see how deep it was. "Mr. Customer, do not go near the cursed springs. You will be cursed if you fall in!" shouted someone. Ranma turned towards the sound and saw a potbellied man. *So, this man is the guide! The guide ran forward carefully placing his steps so that he may not accidentally fall into one of the springs. It had been a very bad month and he did not want it to get any worse. The customer must have been a very wise man because he retreated from the pools. "Mr. Customer, you should never go near the cursed pools. You would have turned into a mouse if you had fallen into that pool." Again, the customer showed his wisdom by listening to what he was saying, which in itself meant. Visitors to the pools seldom paid attention to what he had to say before they got cursed. "I was passing by the pools and I had heard of their powers. I wanted to know why the pools had dried up?" explained Ranma to the guide. "Mr. Customer, birdpeople from Phoenix mountain came here and drained the pools." replied the guide. Ranma became angry. "What? Why would they do that?" he shouted. *Why me? Do the kami hate me that much?* Thought the guide as the customer was obviously insane. Ranma waited for an answer but when no answer was forthcoming, he asked another question. The Amazons had learnt soon after the defeat of the Phoenix forces the reason for the Phoenix army's skill. "Did you not inform the Amazons?" he asked as calmly as he could given the circumstances. The guide nodded. "Yes, Mr. Customer, I have already informed the Amazons. I have also sent my daughter to get help from some of the cursed ones in Japan." Ranma stomped on the ground. "This is stupid. They haven't seen you and left for the Phoenix mountain, have they?" The guide nodded. Obviously, Mr. Customer was completely insane and it would be wise to answer all his questions. "When did they leave?" "About a day ago, they ought to have reached the mountain by now, Mr. Customer." replied the guide. Ranma was worried. They couldnot defeat the God. He, himself had been able to defeat the God-king only because he used his mana. *Have to reach them, before Saffron slaughters them all! Having decided on his course of action, Ranma focused his ki and flew in the direction of Phoenix mountain. The guide just shrugged and went to his hut. *Just my luck. Of all the accursed jobs in the world, I had to get this one.* He was especially getting tired of super powerful martial artists. *********************************************************************** Ranma arrived at the mountain half an hour later. He entered the mountain and followed the sound of battle. Saffron's signal was weaker somehow and huge explosions were audible as he ran through the maze of tunnels that covered the inside of the mountain. Atlast he reached the battle scene. Glancing around, he saw the reason for Saffron's weak signature. Someone had disrupted his rebirth process and damaged the cocoon. Saffron seemed to be pretty mad and threw fireballs in all directions. His attention seemed to be focused on a brown haired boy who was taunting him. Blast after blast flew from Saffron's hands and exploded within the cavern. The boy would evade the blasts and then move in on Saffron. He would do a quick number on Saffron's person and then retreat out of the God's reach. The boys ki seemed familiar but he shrugged it off. Ranma smiled. *I needn't have worried. At this rate, Saffron would tire himself out before the end of the hour.* Ranma leaned on the rock and looked amusedly around. Whilst the brown haired boy took care of Saffron another boy with a yellow bandanna on his head was busy kicking Phoenix warrior ass. From the way this new boy shrugged of blows that would have done anyone in, Ranma realized that this boy knew the Bakusai Tenketsu. The boy was definitely not an Amazon and it was a surprise to him that the Amazons would teach the technique to an outsider. *A lot has changed since I left the village! Ranma shrugged. He would worry about those changes later. Now, he wanted to watch the brawl for that was what he considered the fight to be. He noticed a two-foot woman with reasonably focused ki mowing through the Phoenix line and leaving battered, bruised and generally unconscious warriors in her wake. *Must be the matriarch of the village. Hmmmm! Her ki seems similar... of course its my great great great something granddaughter. Hmmm! She and that brown haired boy have a lot of potential. Maybe I can train them both.* He resumed his scanning and sensed the signatures of two men - one greedy and the other emotional. Both were in their middle ages and both were not bad when it came to fighting. He also detected a faint ki signature of a girl who was dying. Her ki reserves, which were very small were the only thing sustaining the husk that had become her body. *This is as good a time as any to have a conversation with the matriarch. Let's see, she should be able to sense this.* Ranma probed the matriarch with one of the easiest ki probes that he remembered from his days at the village. The matriarch stopped in her tracks and nearly got cleaved in half by a high-pressure wave of air. She jumped over the attack just in time. She took care of her assailant, turned and looked at Ranma with a strange expression on her face. *********************************************************************** Cologne, three hundred-year-old matriarch of the Amazons was having a jolly good time. The Phoenix warriors with their mediocre skill may as well have been totally unskilled to her. Even though all of them seemed to have some training in the art, their skills were far below her own. The fight was completely one-sided all around her as she ploughed through their ranks with the ferocity of a hurricane. She was about to launch her staff at an airborne Phoenix warrior who was preparing to deliver the pressure wave attack when she felt someone probing her. The technique used for the probe was of Amazonian origin. The user performed it flawlessly and skillfully. Whoever he was (she sensed his ki), he was very skilled to have mastered even that simple technique. The user was also a stranger. She had never sensed the user at the village or among the few Musk who had been taught the technique. She was shocked at the revelation that people other than the allies of the village knew of this technique. She stopped in her tracks and barely managed to save herself from the attack. She took care of the Phoenix warrior and leveled her gaze at the outsider who had mastered the technique. The user was a young man of about twenty. What was amazing about him was the fact that he was leaning against the rocky walls and looking at the fight between Ryuuken and Saffron. He had a recognizable smile upon his face, the same smile one had when they were having the time of their life. Cologne attempted to probe him with her ki but he momentarily turned his attention from the fight, smiled at her and blocked her attempts with one of the most advanced Musk techniques. *He knows Musk techniques too.* Thought the matriarch. The Musk generally did not teach their techniques to outsiders unlike the Amazons. Cologne retrieved her staff and moved towards the boy. His smile had increased and his attention was firmly focused on her. "Hello there, matriarch!" said the boy as she neared him. Cologne looked at him strangely. "Who are you?" she asked. the boys face struck a chord in her memory. However, she couldnot remember when or where she had definitely seen it before. *I know his face but from where.* The boy evaded the question. "Nice brawl you have going on here. By the looks of it you are winning." said he. Cologne smiled. "Can you tell me who are you and how do you know both Amazonian and Musk techniques?" The boy laughed. "I learned my Amazonian techniques from the matriarch of course. As for the Musk techniques, I learned them from the advisor to the Musk emperor." "Do not play with me child. I have been the matriarch for over a hundred years and I have never seen you before in all my three hundred years." replied the matriarch. She lied for it wouldnot do to accept that she had seen him before. Her body tensed and she pulled in her ki for a fight. "Hey, Will you stop that. I am not here to fight you." Ranma replied while waving his arms. He wanted her to know that she had misinterpreted the situation. "Then stop lying and start telling me the truth child." replied Cologne. Her gaze never wavered and she did not relax her guard. Her right foot was infront of her left one and she grasped her staff lightly. Her stance would enable her to easily shift into any of a number of offensive or defensive stances. Ranma shook his head. *Some things never change.* "Surely, matriarch, you must have seen me before since you appear to be a descendant of the dragon." he said referring to his title in the village. Cologne almost fell off her staff at the word. Only the Musk emperor and his council as well as the Amazonian elders knew of her families origin and ties with the dragon. "How did you know that?" The boy knew one of the most guarded secrets of the Amazons and she was going to find out the leaks and plug them. You just cannot have the truth about some of the legends getting around. If the communist government heard the truth about them then the Amazons would become the latest addition to the endangered species list. "Ah! Come-on now, do I have to spell everything out for you, matriarch or should I call you my great great granddaughter." replied Ranma. The images came flashing back to her. She remembered the day some fifty years ago when she had last seen the statue of the _dragon_ himself. The boy's face was hauntingly similar to the statue's and the dragon _was_ supposed to be an ageless immortal. *It couldn't be. Why would the dragon return now? The boy had obviously seen the statue with the help of his collaborator in the village and had undergone plastic surgery to fool the elders.* She concluded. Being a matriarch meant knowing about the outside world and she knew a lot about it. It was her job to keep the tribe's archives upto date with news of the outside world and did a pretty good job with some help from her contacts in the outside world. "You could have undergone facial reconstruction surgery to fool us." she replied. Ranma banged his head up the wall. The rock face developed cracks. "What would I have to do to convince you?" moaned Ranma. Cologne smiled. She had him now. He was obviously an impersonator and only the real dragon would be able to beat Saffron. "Why don't you defeat Saffron? If you can do it I will accept you as the dragon." Ranma groaned. "Anyone with skill can beat him now. Can't you see that his blasts are weak." He pointed to the latest blast. The whole area was charred and some parts of the mountain had melted under the heat. "Liar!" replied Cologne. "He's weak. Someone, presumably the boy who is fighting him now, must have disrupted the cycle. Saffron will probably die in a few days from now." said Ranma. He was getting annoyed at her refusal to believe him and his patience was wearing thin, his fifty years of patience training be damned. "Look, will you believe me if I stop the fight right now and make Saffron listen to me." If she did not believe him then he would have to return to Japan. Cologne nodded. Saffron couldnot be in cahoots with the boy. She was sure of it. What would a God gain by cheating them? Ranma turned towards the fight once more. The bandanna clad boy and the two middle-aged men were done with the Phoenix warriors and were standing at the sidelines near the girl's body. The girls body had been restored but she was going to die if something was not done to save her. Saffron was looking more steamed by the minute as the relentless taunting continued. *The boy definitely does not lack skills in that department! Ranma thought with a smile. Ranma had never seen Saffron so worked up. Even during their battle two thousand-year back the God had maintained his cool to a reasonable extent most of the time. Now he just about looked ready to explode and take the entire mountain and all those in it with him. Saffron howled in fury as he launched yet another huge ball of fire at the taunting martial artist. Ranma smiled and sent a ki charged vacuum blade at the fireball. The boy could have easily evaded the fireball but Ranma wanted to have Saffron's attention all to himself. The blade covered the distance between the fireball and itself in the wink of an eye and exploded. Saffron seemed to be in shock and the others turned towards Ranma and Cologne. "Hello, Saffron. Long time no see." shouted Ranma. His ki amplified his voice so that it was heard throughout the cavern. Saffron's expression turned deathly pale. He knew whose voice it was. He slowly turned towards Ranma and his expression deepened. He could never stand upto the landling in his weak condition. Ranma cleared his throat. "I remember saying that the Phoenix would never hurt Amazons ever again." Saffron landed on the ground and approached Ranma. He was trying to look as haughty and uncaring as possible. He was scared to death but he had to keep appearances for the sake of his image. "They disrupted my rebirth cycle and because of them my people will starve to death. I think that gives me the right to revenge." replied the God, growing more and more confident. He was right and the mortal dare not behave dishonourably though he did not know what he would do if the mortal did so. Ranma looked at the brown haired boy and his companions with an annoyed expression on his face. he asked. He remembered the guide telling him that these others were from Japan. The boy and his companion did not pay attention to him. The boy's friend with the yellow bandanna had a dark green aura of depression about him. He was mourning the girl's apparent death it seemed. One of the men was also weeping uncontrollably whilst the other two watched from the sidelines. Ranma turned to Saffron. "Wait, we will resume this conversation as soon as I have helped that girl." Ranma moved towards the bandanna boy and pressed a pressure point that dispersed his heavy chi into the air. Then he pressed another pressure point that made him unconscious. The other boy and the man with the mustache tried to protest but Cologne bade them to stop their interference. She was convinced of Ranma's identity after seeing Saffron's reaction in the middle of the fight. Ranma knelt by the girl and sensed her ki and mana lines. *A ki transfer should do the trick.* He decided. Cupping his hands over her chest, he began to gather a small amount of ki in his arms. The others watched in amazement as the ki flowed into her body from his hands. When the transfer was complete he pressed his hands over her chest and focused his ki once more. The girl was a tomboy and he had lost most of his nervousness around women during his stay at the village. Concentrating hard, he released the exact amount of ki needed to jump-start her heart. The girl's body shuddered. She moaned in a little voice and her hands began to move. Ranma got up and moved towards Saffron again. The man with the mustache prostrated himself on Ranma's legs and raved about his undying gratitude. "I apologize for their behaviour, Saffron." said Ranma. "Your apology will not say me people from starving to death." spat the God of the Phoenix. "All you had to do is ask the Amazons or the Musk for help and they would give it to you, wouldn't you matriarch?" Cologne nodded. "We have had a bountiful harvest but there won't be enough for the Phoenix to survive through the winter. But we will gladly share what we have with them." Saffron looked at the two-foot matriarch and scowled. "If the food won't last through the winter, what good will it be of to my people? They will still starve to death." Ranma looked at Saffron and then turned towards Cologne. "The surplus will be provided to the Phoenix as soon as possible, matriarch." He turned towards Saffron. "I will provide you with the rest. Give your shopping list to the matriarch here or any of the elders in the village and I will see to it that you get everything you asked for within three weeks." Saffron nodded. "Good. Nice seeing you after all these years, Saffron. Now, we have to go. Send your army's commander with the list to the village." said Ranma and motioned for the others to move out of the mountain. *********************************************************************** Ryuuken Saotome was curious... no, curious did not even begin to describe what he was feeling now. Not only had the stranger come and stopped the fight but he had also gotten Saffron off their back. He had saved Akane's life and Ryuuken had seen the look on Saffron's face when the God-king had first seen the stranger. It was a look he recognized easily enough. He had seen the look quite a lot on his friend Ryouga's face. Ryouga would assume that 'I am so dead' expression just after something he did pissed his girlfriend royally. Thinking about the pig-headed moron, he turned around and looked for him. It wouldn't do for poor Ryouga's health to get lost while carrying Akane. The girl would probably bash his head right in with that stupid mallet of hers for getting them lost in China. Ryuuken shook his head. He would never understand women. The girl loved Ryouga and treated him like scum from the lowest pit of hell. He turned his eyes towards the stranger. The man was walking in the front talking quietly with Cologne. Ryuuken decided to have a talk with him and walked to the front. His moronic father and his friend would probably take care of Ryouga and Akane. spoke Ryuuken as he approached the stranger. Ranma turned around and acknowledged the greeting. asked Ryuuken. His brain failing make the obvious connection. Ranma shook his head. The boy was definitely lacking in the social department. replied he. Ranma had asked his great great granddaughter to not reveal his identity to none save the elders and the Musk emperor. Cologne had accepted and had made him upto date on the political situation in the valley of the cursed springs. Over the centuries, the relationship between the two tribes had improved and the Amazons had gotten along much better with the Musk. Even intertribal marriages between the two tribes had become common in the last thirty years. The two tribes had abandoned many of their idiosyncrasies such as the "beat 'em up to a pulp, if you wanna marry 'em" rule and "dump a pig into the spring of the drowned girl and get a woman free for life." The two tribes had become the strongest of allies through the centuries. Ryuuken kicked himself mentally for not having made the connection. Ranma's hand went to his pigtail. replied Ryuuken, unsure as to how he should proceed with the conversation. Cologne excused herself and dropped to the back. said Ranma trying to keep the conversation going. This bit of information got Ranma's interest. Ryuuken nodded. said Ryuuken. replied Ranma. He did not know what to say about a moron who would kick his son into the pools of sorrow. Ranma nodded. A summary was enough as far as he was concerned. asked Ranma. Ranma was impressed. Most of the martial artists he had encountered in the last fifty of so years did not even have rudimentary control over their ki or chi. To know three techniques at such an young age showed the boys skill. Ryuuken said proud of his achievements. asked Ranma, his curiosity piqued. Ranma smiled. The Amazons had not taught the boy about ki. He too would have done exactly the same. The tribe's and the Musk's mastery of ki reigned supreme in the planet. There had been other techniques that he had learnt and that were superior to the Amazons and the Musk's mastery of ki. These techniques had all but died and he was the only user of many of them. Now Ryuuken was confused. If Cologne did not know chi attacks what were the Kacchu Tenshin Amaguriken and the rest called. asked Ranma. replied Ryuuken. Ryuuken shook his head. He had no idea where this conversation was leading. explained Ranma. All these attacks used the same energy source, so what's the big deal. asked Ranma. replied Ryuuken. asked Ryuuken. He had spent nearly a whole week coming up with the attack after Ryouga had easily beaten him in their usual sparring match with his Shi Shi Hokudan. It was the first technique he had created on his own and he did not want to give it up. replied Ranma. Ryuuken thought for a while. He asked Ranma. *********************************************************************** Ryouga Hibiki, the eternally lost boy, carried his precious Akane-chan in his arms. His life had been devoid of friends and family until he had met her five years ago. His family had the same directional difficulties as him and he scarcely saw his father or mother. In the last four years he had seen his father once and had never laid eyes on his mother. His directional sense had been the cause of many of his problems. The most important one being his trouble with bullies at school when he had been a pre-schooler. He had trained very hard to be able to defend himself and soon found himself one of the best in his generation. The worst effect of growing up without his family to support and to teach him in a hostile world had been on his psyche. His chronic depression had led to more than three suicide attempts (none knew about them of course) and he had a psychotic and a slightly sadistic streak in him. As a result, when he had broken the jaw of one of the bullies soon after he started taking classes in martial arts the bullies had decided to leave him alone. Moreover, he had enjoyed the sensations that he had felt on breaking the boy's jaw very much. Ryouga was rather proud of having broken the bully's jaw and he taken to his new found passion like fish to water. He had increased increased his training regimen and stretched his limits just a little day after day, week after week. He had been attending some school in Juuban when he had been twelve. During the lunch interval, he had went to the bathroom and got lost as usual. A month and a half later, he had somehow ended up in the hallways of Furinkan high where he met his beloved Akane. She had been the only one to show pity on him and he had fallen in love with her. Akane loved him too, but after she had discovered that he surpassed her in martial arts, she had become a _little_ violent. Now, whenever he did something wrong she would give him a blow on his head with that mallet of hers. After four years of beatings he still did not know what it was that he did wrong. Ryuu had been of great help when he had secretly taught him the Bakusai Tenketsu. He had become Ryuu's friend after the kid helped him out and he had discovered that the little kid was his equal in the arts. He would leave once or twice a month with the GPS that Nabiki had bought him (The commission he had given her had him bankrupt for a whole year.) and he would train in some new technique and try to beat Ryuu. Mr. Saotome also taught him and sparred with him daily. Therefore, his martial arts had not suffered because of his stay at the Tendo's. Akane did not beat him that often, he knew. It was only when she got jealous that she vent her frustrations and anger on him. As a result, he would get hit once or twice a month at the most. Then those damned Phoenix had come and had kidnapped her for a reason that only the kami knew. He had asked Ryuu's help and his friend had consented. They had come to China with Akane's and Ryuu's fathers and had tried to rescue Akane with the help of the Amazonian elder. Akane's body fluids had been drained by accident and though he had restored her body, her heart wouldn't resume beating. It was at that time that the stranger had come. He had caught a glimpse or two of the new arrival and had thought lillt of him until the man had made Saffron see sense and brought Akane back from the dead. *Who is that man?* Lost in his thoughts Ryouga shifted Akane's body in his arms and the inevitable happened. His arm found something soft and before he realized what it was, Akane woke up from her beauty sleep. He knew from experience that a cranky Akane meant a trip sooner than later via the infamous Akane express. Now, he had compounded his situation by grasping her breasts accidentally. In Akane's view that amounted to groping and groping was definitely a hentai act demanding a swift retribute with the mallet. Ryouga's nose began to bleed as his imagination took over and as his fate would have it, Akane saw that too. "Yeeewwww! Ryouga you pervert!" she shouted. She took his nosebleed as evidence that he had touched her 'there' with some perverted intention. His love for her be damned Ryouga let go of her and tried to run away. Unfortunately, his sense of direction made him step over Akane, who was rubbing her sore butt after hitting the dirt and he fell to the ground. "RYOUGA YOU STUPID JERKKKK!" she shouted as she raised her mallet to the heavens above. Wham! Bonk! Kaboom! The beating of the century went on infront of everyone. Ranma was shocked at the girls behaviour and Cologne fell down from her staff and rolled on the floor laughing hysterically. *********************************************************************** Soun Tendo followed behind his daughter with his friend Genma Saotome. Their friendship was formed during the days of their training under the lecherous grandmaster of Matsubeto Katuto Ryuu, the infamous women's underwear thief, the one and only Happousai. Soon after their marriage they had been inebriated after several hours of drinking sake in the company of their master when they had made taken a vow. Soun had never been so squiffed in his entire life as he had been that day. They would unite the two schools together with their children's marriages, they had promised each other and they intended to keep it too. Several years after Genma took his son, Ranma on a training trip Genma came to the Tendo dojo one day. Soun's wife had died a month ago and Soun had been mourning the loss of his wife. He had abandoned his children in his despair and stayed in his room uncaring as to the affairs of the house. When Genma arrived with the news of Ranma's death Soun had sunk deeper into the pit of despair. Genma had stayed with him for two months and had brought him out of his despair with his jokes or so Genma believed. More than anything else Genma's mere presence had been the only thing that brought Soun out of the throes of despair. Genma had left after those two months and a letter had arrived from him telling him about Ryuuken Saotome. Soun had rejoiced at the news. He still kept that letter carefully tucked away in his room. Soun had stopped taking classes after all his students abandoned him. They refused to study under him and it had been his second daughter, Nabiki, who had kept the family about with her shady dealings. Soun's honour, as it was, found no wrong in that and Nabiki had grown and blossomed into a full-time mercenary. Even if his honour had found his daughter's behaviour wrong, he wouldnot, have done anything. He was afraid of her as it was. The girl even blackmailed her own father. His eldest daughter, Kasumi, was the one who had kept his family together and she had grown up to be a woman as kind and gentle as a soft breeze. Kasumi was one of the best cooks in the world and would one day become a wonderful mother and a loving wife. His youngest daughter, Akane, had been the youngest and most unprepared of his daughters when her mother had died. She had retreated into herself and the arts. Since none guided her in the art, she was shabby at best and horrendous at worst. Her temper tantrums were unbelievable in their intensity and she had become every bit the spoiled brat. He knew in the pits of his soul that he was responsible for his daughter's personality and therefore he tolerated it. He did not know what that Ryouga boy found in her but given his psychotic tendencies, he really did not want to know. He did not want to see his youngest daughter married to that freak but he couldnot find it in his heart and tell her to stop seeing him. The joy that reflected in her face when she was with him and when she thought none was looking ensured that things stayed the way they did. When his dear friend Genma arrived with his son in their cursed forms, he had fainted at first sight. Genma had been the first to transform and after restraining the wolf, he had commenced his woeful story of curses, hardship and magic. Soun's heart had been touched at the troubles and triumphs that the father and son had undergone. Finally, when the well-spun tale was finished Soun had poured hot water over the boy and had offered the naked boy the first two daughters to choose as his fiancee. The boy had beaten them up after he had gotten dressed and had proclaimed that he would choose his fiancee after he was eighteen and that too out of honour as he had no intention of marrying girls older than himself. He had sunk in to the deepest pits of depression when Akane had been kidnapped. Ryouga had shouted something about hell to pay and prepare to die or something in that context. He had not been listening to the psychotic freak and thus remembered little of his lamentations. Then the freak had gone and asked Ryuu for help. They did not know where Akane's kidnappers where and this put a huge dent in their plans for a rescue mission. Thankfully, the guide's daughter had arrived and after hearing about the Phoenix, they had all left for China. Ryuu had recruited an Amazon elder whose skills reminded them of their master. They had went to the mountain and found out that they were facing a God of all things. During the fight Akane had become a dried up mummy and they had given up all hope of seeing her alive when the stranger arrived and rescued her from the dead. *********************************************************************** Genma walked by Soun's side with his usual greed and foolishness. Yes, Genma had changed some over the decade after he had lost his first born. The few things that he had learned after Ranma had presumably died were: a) Soun's wife had died. b) He had a second son and a stupid wife who believed every damned lie he said. c) do not mess around with the catfist. He had learned it from Ranma's presumed death, of course. d) Happousai never dies. His lecherous traits only increase at a rate that is directly proportional to the fourth power of his age. e) Never mess around with Amazons. It would result in a lot of pain. f) A healthy boy on the road meant a healthy diet as you can barter him for pickles, rice and whatnot. If you do not have a boy with you, you are not worth S*** in the eyes of the people you are planning to freeload on. i) His second born, Ryuu, had lost all respect for him. He had tried to gain his son's respect numerous times but he had failed miserably. After he had searched for Ranma, he had left for Tokyo with a heavy stomach and a not so heavy heart. While on his way to Juuban where his wife awaited him he stopped by his dear friends house. There he had found Soun in the midst of a terrible depression. Soun's wife had apparently died and he had stayed there for two months freeloading on Soun's meager financial savings. He had somehow gotten his friend out of the depression. He went home to find his wife with little Ryuuken Saotome in her hands. His joy had known no bounds and he had spun a really tale about monsters and such. He had told her about his valiant yet futile struggle to save their son. In addition, Nodoka had believed him. After all these years he still found it hard to believe that his wife was as dumb as a rock who lived in her own little world with her stupid and completely perverted notions of manhood. He had badly wanted to train Ryuuken and make him succeed where his first born had failed. He had easily persuaded Nodoka after he had given the customary 'it was a samurai wife's duty' speech. He had traveled throughout Japan using his innocent son as a bartering card and a handy fiancee. *Thank God, those fools who engaged their daughters to my son have not caught up with me. If they did, Ryuuken would skin me alive.* He still cursed the day that he had fallen into Jusenkyo. He did not give a damn about whatever happened to his son but he too had been cursed on that occasion. It was in anger more than anything else at the thought of his newfound curse and how his own son had caused it that he had kicked his son into one of the pools. The boy must have known the truth behind the kick at some unconscious level. His son had gotten angry, gone berserk and had tried to wring his throat out but the Amazons had arrived just in time. Their matriarch had insisted that the boy stay with them and he had attacked her thinking that she would be easy to beat. That had proved to be one of the worst mistakes of his life. She had given him a thorough beating and had done things that made the sadistic master look like a barbie doll with cute blonde hair. The pain he had endured while she was busy with him had made the master's tortures seem like the happiest moments of his life. He had spent the next one-month recovering from the incredible beating that he had received. He had wisely decided to stay out of their way for the next three years. When the three years were finished, he had returned to the village to claim his son from the Amazons. His son had become his equal in those three years and with their advanced techniques easily beat him. He had decided to teach his son the forbidden techniques to gain his son's respect. He had squandered the final opportunity to gain the boy's respect of course. The boy learned the techniques but now loathed him and took every opportunity to beat the stuffing out of him. He knew that he was not the greatest father in the world or even one of the bad ones. Infact he knew very well that he was probably the worst father in the world. In his mind, he had caused the death of his first born and then lied to his very own wife to save his ass. Father's did not get any worse then that. He only wished that things had gone differently though he knew in his mind that he would have done the same mistakes all over again if he got the chance to go into the past and change it, for such was his personality. When his friends youngest daughter, Akane had been kidnapped he had wanted no part in the rescue effort. He had come anyway as Soun was his only friend in the world and he did owe it to Soun. Also, he thought that it might be another chance to gain his son's respect, which it hadn't. Contrary to what people might think Genma did have a sense of honour though it was perverted beyond imagination. They had traveled to China after they had learnt the location of the kidnapper's kingdom. Only when the Amazon elder had joined them did he learn that they were about to face a God. His cowardice had got the better of him after that and he had plotted. He had thought that Soun would run off and he would use that as an excuse to run away himself but Soun had been hell bent on saving his daughter. During the fight he had taken care of the weakest of the Phoenix, fighters letting the others do all the hard work. Halfway into the fight, Akane had been changed into a living mummy and he had thought that she would die. A part of him had grieved for the child but another part of him was happy as they would not have to confront Saffron to save her. It was then that the strange yet somehow familiar boy had come and stopped the fight. He was grateful, for the kid had saved their lives. A part of him was even now telling him something that the pile of garbage he called his brain could not even comprehend. *********************************************************************** The group arrived at Jusenkyo the day after the battle with Saffron. It was time for them to bid their farewells to one another. "Cologne, you have great potential. I want to teach you some of the things that I had learned in my wanderings." said Ranma. Both of them stood under the shadows of a tree. It was midday and one wanted to avoid the sun as much possible, though the temperature beyond the shadows was tolerable. The matriarch looked at her ancestor from atop her staff and smiled. No matter how old you were, being praised always brought joy. "You have finally decided to return to the village after two thousand years?" Ranma shook his head. "No, seeing you has brought back the memories. I still cannot find the strength in my heart to enter the village. I thought that I was ready but it seems that I was wrong. I will visit the village someday in the future but for now I want you to come to Japan with me and learn from me there, great great granddaughter." said Ranma and smiled at the matriarch. They were alone and none was in hearing distance. Cologne found it amazing that he still loved his wife after she had been dead for more than two thousand years. "You still haven't forgotten her or stopped loving her, have you great grandfather?" It was more of a statement than of a question. She smiled at the grandfather part. It was nice to see someone who was her elder after nearly seven decades. Ranma returned the smile ruefully. He was never at ease when he discussed about his wife or about the time at the Amazon village. It brought too much memories to him. "Can I bring along my great great granddaughter, Shampoo along?" she asked. "I don't see why not. Is she any good at the arts?" he asked. He wanted to teach the Amazons some of the easier and less dangerous things that he had learnt. "She is good taking if you take into account the times in which she lives but she is not even a match for Ryuuken. That boy is the most skillful in this generation, I think!" Ranma nodded. *You can't have them all.* "Fine then. I will stay at the guides hut waiting for you and your granddaughter" Cologne left the pools and hurried towards the village. It wouldn't do to have her honourable ancestor waiting for long. Ranma returned to the guide's house and found Ryuuken and the others preparing to leave. Ryuuken walked upto Ranma. he said. His three years in the Amazon village had taught him some modesty. Ranma waited for three hours after Ryuuken and the others had gone. Cologne and Shampoo arrived and they began their journey to Tokyo. *********************************************************************** In Japan... Fuji or Fuji-san as it is respectfully called is a volcano of indescribable grace and beauty that evokes awe and wonder in the hearts of those who lay their eyes upon it. The mountain is located in the Honshu island in mainland Japan. To the vacationing tourist Fuji's beauty lies in its massive yet isolated elegance. Countless pictures have been drawn of this venerated mountain, which has come to symbolize Japan in so many ways. On the summit of Fuji are 'the eight petals of Fuji', the eight peaks that adorn the summit. Between these peaks lies the Nai-in, the sanctuary. Fuji is also thought to be the home of Amatersu Omikami, the Goddess of the Sun. It was true that the Kami herself resided in the mountain. Lines of mana from all over the world converged on the mountain. Though there were similar convergence sites in all the planets, this was the most powerful of them all. Fuji with all its beauty and glory hid a terrible secret. It's Nai-in was the doorway to a prison. A prison created by the Gods themselves to seal away an evil that threatened all of existence. The evil had been battering the door for countless millennia. Though the door had nearly broken on several occasions, it would mend itself as the force that had been applied was not enough to completely shatter it. The door had weakened through the millennia and now it was about to break releasing the ancient evil upon the world. The door was pushed slowly towards its breaking point and finally it broke and shattered. The Gods had known that this would happen and had created eight seals to give the world the time to prepare for this menace. Now with the doorway broken beyond repair the hordes of Ashura's rushed out into reality. Their leader a middle-aged man with a brownish complexion came out and was confronted by Amatersu Omikami. "You cannot kill me, God." said the man contemptuously. "That maybe so Raja Chola but one can always try." replied the kami glaring at him. Raja Chola laughed. "Begone God. I have better things to worry about." Amatersu did not move. "Be warned Raja Chola. do not harm the humans. If you do, you will be destroyed." she replied. "None can kill me. My boon will prevent them from killing me. Now move out of the way or should I kill you now?" warned the king of the Ashura's. Amatersu moved out of the way and retreated to her home. Some fights are won by not fighting them at all. Raja Chola watched her leave, his contempt for her kind showing clearly in his face for all his minions to see. He glanced towards the eight seals and shook his head. *Fools, do they think that they can stop me with these seals.* "Indra!" he shouted. The Ashura of that name appeared before him. "I can sense those sailor scouts. They are weak but they are a threat to the invasion. I want you to send two of your best warriors to kill them." His previous experience with the sailor scouts had made him wary of them and he wanted them out of the way as soon as possible. He would have sent more to take care of them but though the doorway had been broken, the tear was small allowing only one or two to pass through. It would remain that way as long as the seals were in place. When they broke, all his army would be free to invade the world and when they had destroyed it they would go after the Gods and he would have avenged dear Anita's death. Until then, he would send his best troops in little groups to take care of the scouts and other threats. Indra nodded. "Yes, My king. I will do as you please." Hell was about to break loose on the streets on Juuban... *********************************************************************** Author's rants: That's the end of the second chapter. The attacks used: Ikidooru Ryuu - Angry Gragon. A chi based attack which uses the users anger as a focus to channel ki. Hiryuu Shoten Ha Kaihan: Ken Joukai - Flying dragon ascend to heaven strike revision: Fist of Heaven. A variation of the normal Hiryuu Shoten Ha. It is a tornado punch. Hiryuu Shoten Ha Kaihan: Genkan Joukai Kirite - Flying dragon ascend to heaven strike revision: Heaven's doorway cleaver. I would like to take this free space and prostate myself infront of my pre-readers and grovel on the ground. The story is hosted at the following sites: 1. Mine (http://samrtaleck.anifics.com) 2. Lady cosmos (http://www.crosswinds.net/~ladycosmos/) 3. Rakhal's Penultimate Ranma Fanfic index (http://www.rakhal.com/FFIndex/lstmain.html) 4. FFML archives (http://miniarchive.dyndns.org:123/cgi-bin/MiniArchive.exe) 5. Mediaminer fanfic archives (www.mediaminer.org/fanfic) I would like to take this oppurtunity to prostrate myself in front of my pre-readers. Thank you, guys! This couldn't have been possible without all of you: jakub [jpilecki@poczta.onet.pl] Kaz [kazblah945@aol.com] Madcat [madcat08@hotmail.com] Brain [bmccullough@nucles.com] James Merritt [j.merritt1@home.com] Philip Penty [plainswaker@hotmail.com] Nathan Shuker [rezantis@hotmail.com] Zero [shinzero@home.com] Hints for you readers from the author: Hint #1: Arun doesnot write to a schedule, he really has to spend a lot of time with his psychiatrist. Hint #2: (for those out standing critics out there[;)])Call Arun anything you want in your mail provided (though he won't) he has the right to call you by these same names. Arun appreciates constructive negative comments and he really loves the positive comments. Its the 'Go to hell you mother F***ing Freak of nature' and such that he hates. Please send me your negative comments though I would be most grateful if you would tone down the I hate you part a little.