Chapter twelve's here.  Finally.

Read at your own risk.

Ranma and associated characters do not belong to me.  They belong to
Rumiko Takahashi.  'Nuff said.

I recommend listening to X-Japan's Act of Life while reading.

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Chapter Twelve

	Life was a never-ending jump from one place to the next, beating
up bad guys and kicking their pathetic asses down into the depths of Hell.
At least, that's what Darian thought it was.  Then he married Haruko, but
his perception of life really didn't change much.  Instead of jumping from
place to place in the US Marines, he jumped from reality to reality as
Death's Avatar.  Hell was still Hell, but it wasn't quite the place of
punishment he thought it was.  Things were different, drastically in some
places, subtly in others.  All in all life was truly interesting for
Darian.  He'd never lost an interest in life at all, not once in his
entire multicentury equivalent existence.  Now, life seemed to lose
interest in him, or at least that was the message he was getting.
	"What's going on?" Andrew asked weakly.
	"We're in deep shit, amigo."
	"I guessed that much, seeing as how I have a hole in my abdomen,"
Andrew managed weakly.  He laughed, but it quickly turned into a cough and
groan as more blood spewed forth.
	Darian looked about, trying to find anything that could help.
	"Can't you do anything that will get us the hell out of here?"
Darian asked desperately.
	"Nothing I can think of.  I'm too weak.  If I had power from
somewhere else, I might be able to," Andrew wheezed.
	Darian desperately cast about, looking for anything.  Mousse was
gone, and Vice was nowhere to be seen.  The cars were strewn about from
the earthquake.  Darian watched helplessly as the hole in the Earth simply
moved towards them, slowly but persistently.  Buildings fell, swallowed
whole into the bowels of the Earth, along with cars, stands and signs.  It
was undiscriminating, and soon it was going to swallow them.
	"Where's your dagger?"
	"What?" Andrew asked in as surprised a voice as he could manage.
	"Your dagger.  I'm going to give you a way out."
	"You have to be kidding."
	"I can forfeit part of my soul to give you power."
	"I can't!"
	"You have to!"
	"If one of us is going to die, it might as well be me," Andrew
said darkly.
	"Look, I've seen this before.  If I can get you out of here, you
still might live. I've seen stuff like this happen in the Marines-"
	"This is different, Darian," Andrew whispered hoarsely.  "We're
about to die because you won't get over your hero kick.  Leave!  I'm only
going to slow you down.  Vice is still out there and she wants one of us
dead.  Don't give her the pleasure of killing one of us."
	Darian stared at his friend before being pushed away.
	"Go," Andrew commanded.
	Darian choked back an insult and turned to go.

	The wall exploded.  Rock flew everywhere, and what wasn't blown
away simply started to melt as Ryouga intensified his power output.  It
was as if he decided to try to power all of Tokyo with his ki level.  It
was impressive, but ultimately destructive.  Ryouga didn't care.  All he
cared about was the person who's life he was going choke away.  It wasn't
very flashy.  It wasn't very macho, but it got the job done.  Ryouga's
mind started to wander, as he imagined how he would rescue Akane's soul
from the depths of Hell after destroying the one thing he saw as the
obstacle from expressing his true feelings.  She would fall into his arms
calling his name.
	"Ranma!"
	Ryouga snapped out of his reverie.  A voice was screaming, people
were running.  He looked down at Ranma, his bloody face dusted with
powdered concrete.  There was a hint of a smirk there, mocking him.
	"You still think you've beaten me haven't you?" Ryouga growled.
	"Go ahead and kill me, but at least I know that I was the one who
could tell Akane first.  I know the answer Ryouga, she loves me.  She
loves me and I love her," Ranma hissed painfully.
	Ryouga's face contorted in anger and rage.
	"Liar," he said flatly.
	Ryouga hauled Ranma to a standing position and pulled his fist
back for a final strike.
	"Ryouga!"
	It was Akane.  Ryouga smiled.  His dream was coming true.
	"I pray your soul rest in peace, Ranma," Ryoua said as his fist
flew forward.
	"Ryouga!  Can't you hear me?!  Stop!  Stop it!" her voice cried.
The dream was rapidly becoming a nightmare.
	There was a sick cracking noise as Ranma's body flew from Ryouga's
hands.  He landed limply, crumpled in an unceremonious heap on the ground,
bleeding and burned.  Ryouga looked up at Akane.
	"Akane?  You're alive!  I knew it!  I knew I could save you!" he
said in joy.
	The look of shock, hate, and anger stopped him dead in his tracks.
He watched silently, stunned as Akane ran crying to Ranma's body, cradling
it in her arms.  She wept openly, rocking his body back and forth.  Ryouga
watched numbly as three women ran out towards him.  One wearing black and
another wearing white rushed to Akane's side, helping her carry the body
into the dojo.  Another wearing dark green stopped to stand before him,
her fierce gaze piercing him and chilling him to the bone.  Behind her,
Ukyou stood, staring at him in shock.
	"Wh-What's going on?" he stammered.
	"I'm going to kill you now," the woman in green said flatly.  She
raised her hands as electricity arced between them.
	Ryouga backed away slowly.  He watched in confusion and fear as
Nodoka stepped forward, her katana brandished at him threateningly.  Soun
and Genma stared at him coldly.
	"It was the right thing to do," Ryouga said, his confidence
wavering.
	"I'm going to kill you and then I'm going to make sure you suffer
an eternity of hells for killing that boy.  You just doomed an entire
world to death, and you've cost me my Avatar.  I hope you're happy right
now, because I'm going to make sure you spend eternity unhappy - very
unhappy," the woman and green said, advancing on him.  Electricity coursed
through her hands, jumping the distance between them in less than a
second.
	Ryouga bellowed in pain as he felt the energy ripping through his
body.  He wanted to die there and then, but he knew the woman wouldn't
allow it.  Ryouga panicked as the adrenaline surged through his body.  It
gave him enough energy to move, and he threw a fist towards the ground.
	"Bakusai Tenketsu!"
	The rock flew as the giant crater spewed pavement and dirt into
the air, and the electricity stopped as the woman threw her arms up to
shield her face.  Under the cloud of confusion, he ran as fast as he
could, and for the first time in his life, he wished he had his loss of
direction.

	Darian hadn't moved more than a meter before the giant tear in the
ground started to pick up speed.  He swore as the pavement started to bend
and collapse under him.  Cars started to slowly slide and fall into the
fault as it opened wider.
	"You'll pay for killing her!  Yours souls are mine!" he heard Vice
screaming hysterically.
	Darian swore as he desperately tried to scramble away from the
crevasse.  He watched helplessly as Andrew started to slide into the
fault.  
	"Damn it all!" he cursed out loud.  He cast about again, his
desperate eyes searching for anything that would save his friend.  He saw
the van slide away to show Sin's mauled body.  His eyes went wide as he
mentally kicked himself for not realizing it earlier.  He threw himself at
the battered body, taking a small three-pronged clamp from its place,
clamped to his belt.  He thrust the prongs into Sin's chest and yanked
back, pulling out an orb that radiated an intense red.
	Darian turned to see Andrew about to slide over the edge of the
fault.  He scrambled towards his friend, throwing himself as Andrew slid
over the edge.  Darian caught his friend in midair as they fell towards
death below.
	"Andrew!  Use her soul!" he screamed as he thrust the orb into
Andrew's weak hands.  He looked up and saw a car falling towards them, a
glance below them showed the floor no more than one hundred feet below.
	"Go, go, go!" Darian shouted.
	Andrew looked unconscious.  
	"Shit!" Darian screamed.
	Darian saw Andrew's dagger slowly fall from his friend's gi.  He
grabbed the long blade and threw an arm around Andrew's body.  The blade
sunk deep into the granite as Darian jammed the blade in as far as his
strength would allow.  He could feel the violent jerk as the blade
remained stuck in the granite.  The handle was ripped from his grasp, his
own blood making the handle too slick to hold.  Darian cursed as he saw
the falling car and approaching car come together.  He closed his eyes and
hoped he wouldn't feel anything.
	"Merry Christmas," he heard Andrew whisper hoarsely as he felt his
body violently jerk in all directions at once.

	Akane watched as Haruko and Faith peeled what was left of Ranma's
clothes away from his battered body.  Akane could see wood and concrete
sticking out of parts of Ranma's body.  She wanted to turn away, but
stared in horror.  She wanted to throw up, but held unconsciously herself
in check, too stunned to do anything.  Faith and Haruko deftly pulled the
pieces of rock and wood that stabbed at Ranma's body.  They quickly pulled
the shards of steel that were buried in his side.
	"Tofu-sensei, bring the salves now!" Faith commanded.  Dr. Tofu
didn't hesitate a second.
	Akane watched as Faith began spreading the salves across Ranma's
beaten form
	"Is he going to live?  Please say he's going to live," Akane said
frantically.  Haruko sighed and wiped her forehead.  
	"If nothing goes wrong, Ranma will be fine.  He's come very close
to dying, but we can bring him back.  There's a lot that needs to be done
right now," she said.
	Akane nodded, sighing in relief.  
	"What about our other two heroes?" Nabiki asked.
	A sudden flash of light and the sound of pain and agony answered
Nabiki's question.
	"Andrew!" Faith screamed as she saw her husband lie limply on the
ground, bleeding profusely.
	"There's not much time," Darian managed hoarsely, before slumping
over unconscious.
	Haruko grabbed Dr. Tofu's hands in a vice-like grip.  Her gaze was
intense and anxious.
	"Tofu-sensei, you saw how we applied the salves.  Apply them in
that order.  Tell Akane what she needs to know.  I must tend to my
husband."
	Dr. Tofu nodded dumbly.
	"Kasumi will help you.  I trust you with Ranma's life," Haruko
finished before hurrying to Darian's side.  
	Dr. Tofu stared at Ranma's form and immediately picked up where
Haruko left off, concentrating deeply.
	"What do I need to do?" he heard Kasumi ask anxiously.
	He looked up from his work.  Kasumi was staring at him, worried
and scared.  He gripped her hand.  
	"Just apply whatever I'm using to Ranma's body, nothing more,
nothing less.  I just hope I can remember the right order."
	Kasumi looked at him in the eye, unflinching.
	"Tofu-sensei, you are the best doctor I know.  I have complete
faith in you," she said giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.  Somewhere,
he found the strength to go on.
	Akane stared numbly as Andrew bled everywhere.  Faith was nearly
hysterical trying to save her dying husband.  The blood brought back
haunting images of the shopping mall where she'd died.  She jumped with a
yelp as Ukyou quietly sat down next to her, gripping her hands in fear.
	"I'm so scared, Ukyou," Akane whispered.
	"I am too," Ukyou replied in a wavering voice.  "I never thought
I'd be so scared in my life.  Everything will be okay in the end.  It has
to turn out okay."
	They watched in fear and anxiety as Andrew twitched once before
heaving a slow sigh.  Faith seemed to choke a scream and almost lost
control.
	"I'll kill who ever did this!" she screamed.
	Before anyone could move, Nodoka gripped the Aspect's wrist
tightly.  
	"Listen to me," she said firmly.  "You are Life itself.  You alone
can save your husband.  Do it."
	Faith seemed to break down, weeping openly as she tended to
Andrew's wounds.  Haruko left her husband's side to join her frantic
sister.  Both worked feverishly, alternating between slaves, ointments,
creams and potions.  Angela simply stood at the door of the dojo, hugging
herself and shivering as if bitterly cold.
	"Everything's going to be okay," Ukyou whispered.  "It has to be,
it just has to be."

	Nodoka watched, chaotic emotions churning away behind the mask of
calm she wore.  Andrew's body seemed whole again.  Angry pink lines and
scarred flesh marked where he had been impaled.  His body lay still like
Ken's, yet it glowed with a life that was devoid in Ken's body.  She
watched as Faith shakily bent down to her husband, kissing him tenderly
and laying her head on his chest.
	"Live," she whispered, tears escaping her tightly shut eyes.  "I
order you to live again."
	Faith's hand gripped Andrew's hand like a lifeline.  There was a
hoarse coughing as Andrew's body jerked to life.  Faith seemed to break,
giving a small cry and wrapping her arms around his body in a tight
embrace.  Andrew slowly placed an arm around his wife.
	"Thanks.  I needed that," he said slowly.
	Nodoka turned to see Haruko nursing Darian's wounds.  He looked
over at Nodoka and smiled.  He gave a wink and a thumbs-up before turning
back to his wife, complaining about the ointment she was administering.
Nodoka seemed to sigh, letting out the breath she was unconsciously
holding.
	"You really need to take a break, Mrs. Saotome."
	Nodoka looked up to see Angela looking down at her with a small
smile.
	"I can't.  It's too tense around here to sleep."
	"You'd prefer the danger of the house?" Angela asked with a laugh.
	Nodoka shook her head.
	"That's not it.  It's just that with so much pain here, it's
unbelievable."
	"Are you talking about Ranma?"
	Nodoka turned to look on as Ukyou and Akane sat next to each
other, holding hands for strength.  The matriarch of the Saotomes stared
at her son, sharing the anxiety that the two young women felt.
	"I don't know about my son.  I'm so scared of losing him.  I
haven't even had the time to enjoy being with him again.  He left when he
was so young, and now I haven't had the chance to share a childhood with
him."
	"He's had to grow up before his time," Angela said quietly.  "I'm
sorry."
	"Sorry for what?"
	Angela sighed.
	"I know I forced your son into this, Mrs. Saotome.  It was the
only way."
	"Only way?  It sounds to me it was the only way for you to get
your Avatar back."
	Angela looked at Nodoka.  Nodoka stared back shrewdly.
	"Not much escapes you.  I may be the Aspect of Fate, but I'm no
better at hiding things as anyone else."
	"I'm a mother, young lady, and as soon as you become one you will
understand."
	"I'm not young-"
	"And you don't have children, yes, I know.  Angela-san, you know
so much and possess so much power, but you still have yet to learn to
about the heart.  When you know the love of your friends, of your husband,
of your son or daughter, of your family, then you will know what I know."
	Angela turned to look at Ranma and Akane, silent after Nodoka's
words.
	Dr. Tofu wiped the sweat from his brow.
	"I did everything I remember from when I helped out before.  I
hope I did it right," he sighed.
	Angela stood up and walked over to Ranma's body.  Kasumi and Dr.
Tofu moved away, while Akane shuffled forward anxiously.
	"Well, he looks a lot better than Ken," Angela said with a short
chuckle.  She saw the seriousness in the faces around him and turned back
to Ranma embarrassed.  She poked at the body once and looked at her
sister.  Faith met her gaze and closed her eyes.  After a moment, Faith
nodded, and Angela turned to Ranma once again, slapping Ranma's face.
	"Wake up," she said tersely.  Nothing happened.  She frowned as
she heard Akane begin choking back tears again.  She put a hand to his
chest and shot out a burst of lightning, making his body lurch.  Akane
pushed her aside with a shout.
	"What are you doing?!" she yelled.  
	Ranma's back arched in pain as he rolled over, coughing up blood.
He weakly got to his knees before being bowled over by Akane.
	"I thought you were supposed to take it easy," he mumbled with a
lop-sided smile.

	Ranma leaned against a wall, fully awake, but sore in every part
of his body.  It hurt.  It hurt being alive more than it hurt being near
dead.  At least being nearly dead means you're numb all over, he mused
painfully.
	"Ranma, what was it like being - you know," Akane murmured as she
leaned back into Ranma's arms.
	"I dunno.  I just kind lost it, and then suddenly I was back
again," he said plainly.
	"Did you think about anything?" 
	"Not really," Ranma sighed.  "I really didn't have the chance, if
you know what I mean."
	"I thought about you, when I was down there."
	Ranma looked at Akane, staring deep into her eyes.  He lost
himself for a moment before hugging her tighter.  His gaze lingered to
where Andrew sat discussing something with his wife and sisters-in-law.
They seemed to be arguing as intently as possible in the hushed tones they
spoke in.  Andrew sat leveling a steely gaze at Angela, as she did in
return, firing retorts and remarks at each other.
	"I wonder what they're talking about," Akane said as she followed
Ranma's gaze towards the others.  As she glanced about the dojo, all eyes
seemed to be focused on them.
	"It must be pretty intense," Ranma remarked casually.
	Angela finally threw her hands up in disgust and stalked to the
doorway, Haruko quickly following to calm her.
	"I can't let you do this!" Angela shouted.
	"What's going on?" Nabiki asked.
	"They want to kill Ken once and for all, is what," Angela spat.
	"We are not proposing we kill my brother," Andrew said flatly.
	"Then why would you take away the only thing that is supporting
his twisted soul?  Isn't that killing him?" Angela asked angrily.
	"I said we can suspend his soul for a short period of time,"
Darian replied quietly.
	"How?  Are you willing to give up your soul to keep his alive?"
Angela hissed in English.
	"Are you?" he fired back
	"Would someone tell me exactly what's going on?" Nabiki asked
impatiently.
	Faith put up a silencing hand before Angela could complain again.
	"My husband is proposing we temporarily transfer Doom to someone
else in order to try to reclaim an advantage over Judas and Cassius.  As
it is right now, Doom is dormant in Ken's body, trying to keep Ken alive
for who knows what reasons," she replied.
	"I thought you just said Doom was what kept Ken's soul from being
lost in the first place," Ranma said, confused.
	"It is," Andrew replied, "but we have no idea why.  Ida-ten will
give no answers, and Doom can't be brought out.  Doom's only appeared
once, and that was when Ukyou's life was in danger, but we don't want to
go that route.  I think it may be possible to force Doom from being bonded
to Ken's soul and transfer him to another host."
	"And kill Ken in the process!" Angela hissed.
	"What happens if Ken's soul leaves the body?" Ukyou asked.
	"He returns to the custody of my clan.  His soul will be put into
a vault if you will.  It is a temple where all the souls of fallen heroes
and villains reside.  It is there that they slowly return to the web of
life that they were taken from," Haruko said quietly.
	"And so he'll never return?"
	"It is too difficult to remove him from the temple once he has
entered."
	Ukyou looked skeptical.
	"But it's the only way we have of setting things straight," Andrew
said solemnly.
	"There is always another way!" Angela hissed.  "There is always
another way around the problem.  I will not allow you to defile my
Avatar's body like this."
	"There's nothing that can be done, Angela.  Losing Ken is a
possibility in this case, but you will certainly lose him if you do not
cooperate.  Would you rather lose him for certain, or risk losing him?"
	"What about me?" Ukyou asked angrily.
	"And what would you choose to do?" Faith asked.
	"I don't know, but I certainly don't want to lose him.  I've been
waiting this entire time with the impression that he was coming back.  I
thought you swore you'd try to bring him back," she said angrily.
	"We can't even attempt to bring him back unless we can put Judas
and Cassius's forces at bay," Haruko said evenly.
	"Would you rather we spend our energies in a futile exercise, or
would you rather we do something that will at least give us the chance of
bringing Ken back?" Haruko asked.
	Ukyou stood silent.
	"I take it you would rather we try to set things right?" Andrew
asked.
	Ukyou looked at Angela.  Angela simply shook her head.  Ukyou
looked back at Ken's body.
	"We can bring him back, but not until we put Judas in his place.
He is too close to interfering with the process," Haruko said.
	Ukyou closed her eyes, and nodded slowly.
	"If you can bring him back, do whatever it takes.  I would," she
replied quietly.
	"Angela?" Faith asked.
	"You'll do it regardless," she said in a tired voice.  "At least
let me be the one to keep Ken's soul alive."
	"Let's get started then," Andrew said as he slowly rose to his
feet.
	Ukyou cast a glance at Ken's body again.
	"You will come back, won't you?" she asked in the faintest of
whispers.

	"Ranma, are you sure you want to do this?" Akane asked fearfully.
	"It's the only way we're going to get out of this mess," he said
quietly.  "I promise everything's going to turn out in the end."
	"But I'm so scared-"
	"Do you trust me?"
	Akane stared at Ranma for a moment before slowly nodding.
	"Then don't worry about it.  Everything's going to be okay.  I'm
going to take this Doom Ether-thing and beat it the same way I beat that
one crazy whip-chick.  After that, then we'll see who's going to be
getting the short end of the stick in this little war," he said with a
grin.
	"But-"
	"I know I can do this.  I mastered the power that Angela gave me.
I can master this, no problem.  Just trust me."
	Akane nodded once again.  She held his hand as long as possible,
as he walked slowly to the circle of runes Andrew and Faith traced out in
the middle of the dojo.  Ken's body lay in the middle.  Andrew sat on one
side, Angela sat by Ken's head, stroking his hair, Haruko and Faith sat by
his feet, burning incense and chanting quietly.
	"The time has come, Ranma." Andrew said evenly.
	Ranma swallowed and walked into the circle.
	"There's no turning back now, Ranma."
	"I know."
	"Are you ready?"
	"As ready as I'll ever be."
	"Not scared of Doom at all?"
	"Not a bit," Ranma lied.
	"You will be."



*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Ethan Tsai
1 N. College Street
Northfield, MN 55057

TSAIE@Gridley.ACNS.Carleton.edu
http://public.carleton.edu/~tsaie/ethan.html

Quote of the day:
"You'd win if you stopped hitting my foot with your head."
	-The Amazing Spider-man