Subject: [FFML][Ranma]Nemesis 4.4: I Went to Z'ha'dum and Came Back...
From: Razorclaw X
Date: 6/27/1999, 2:42 PM
To: ffml@fanfic.com

The story so far:

* A new enemy called 'Nemesis' has appeared to challenge Ranma and
  company for the right to exist, taking a form bearing a striking
  resemblance to Kodachi. This being, released by the Cult of Orochi,
  has but one goal: wipe out humanity on behalf of the kami.
* An enigmantic entity known as 'Seiryu' inhabits Ukyo's body. Said
  entity has been steadily-training Ukyo to become a counterforce to
  that of Nemesis.
* Mousse has been killed, stabbed in the back by Shampoo.
* Ryoga and Kodachi hopelessly face-off with Nemesis.
* Ranma is fatally-wounded and not expected to live.

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

Death of the Great Dragon

  Gently, Ukyo set Ranma down onto the ground, satisfied that
she was far enough away from the terrible battle. Without giving
a second thought, the okonomiyaki chef threw off her mantle, taking
care to remove her weapon, then folding it neatly. She then slid the
makeshift pillow carefully under Ranma's head.
  Stepping back, Ukyo could not help but stare down sadly at her
old friend, a dying man.
  "Akane," she whispered silently, remembering her other friend.
"She'll never get over this. She'll probably go crazy and get herself
killed as well."
  Considering Akane, yes, agreed Seiryu. It cannot happen.
  Ukyo sat on her knees, running her hand across Ranma's forehead
gently, fingers sifting through hair, in a motherly fashion.
"Asshole," she muttered, "why'd you have to get yourself killed?
Why'd you have to do it, even after everything that's happened?"
  As expected, only Ranma's quiet, labored breathing answered.
  "You probably can't hear me," continued the chef girl. "Probably
in too much pain, or in shock, to notice. Figures, that. You never
did pay much attention to me." Ukyo forced a soft chuckle. "It's
always been Akane."
  "I think I knew that since the day of our reunion, so long ago. I
wanted to believe I had a chance... a chance to show you how much
better a girl I was.... I wanted to earn your love. But no, I proved
to be a much better guy; I was one of your friends, and that was it.
A face among many, a specter of the past. Only your opinion made a
difference in that, you know?"
  "Then you tried to get married." She blinked away the tears forming
in her eyes. "I had to be a selfish girl; I thought only about my own
happiness-- did I ever stop to consider yours? I'm surprised you and
Akane forgave me; heck, I barely forgive myself now. But, thanks to
you, I got a second chance, and it felt really good. I think then, I
really understood how it felt to make you happy."
  "Sure, we've had our ups and downs since then. All of the good
times, along with the bad, but none of it went on without sharing it
with my dear friends, including you. I don't know where Mousse is,
but I really hope he finds happiness someday. And Ryoga... he's found
happiness. Kuno... he deserves someone... heck, any other girl'll
probably be lucky. Kodachi and Taro look like they've found
happiness, too. Shampoo... what do I know? She's still an enigma to
me."
  Ukyo ran one hand down her body for Ranma in emphasis. "Yeah, look
at me. I'm a real nobody. My happiness doesn't really count, does it?
I know you've been trying to be happy for me, and I've tried to be
content with you being happy, but it's just not working. I need to
find what it is that would make me happy. Making you happy doesn't
seem to work anymore, as you do have Akane now. You're certainly far
beyond needing me to make you happy."
  "Shit," she whispered, despair overtaking her voice, "what's going
to happen to Akane? She'll probably kill you, Ranchan, if she found out
what happened." Ukyo shook her head.
  "Not only that, but only yesterday you started making some kind of
advances toward me. I still can't think of any good reason why you'd do
that, jackass. Why'd you have to do it, when I was beyond appreciating
it?" She wiped the tears rolling down her cheek, failing miserably at
hiding her feelings. "You can't be doing it because you're mad at me...
but in any case, Akane's mad about it. I bet you know that, too."
  For a moment, she recalled the conversation she had with the Shinto
wizard, Shifter, the previous night. He was right, after all. Yet, at
the same time, he was also wrong.
  Today, I choose life.
  Staring down at her hands, then at Ranma, Ukyo decided, "Hell with
it. You've got a lot to look forward to. It certainly won't make you
happy, but for me...."
  Carefully, Ukyo slid down, her face hovering over Ranma's, confident
that she knew what she wanted.
  Wiping away her tears, summoning up all her energies and courage,
Ukyo pressed her lips against Ranma's own.

  "Where am I?" Ranma asked himself.
  Only darkness surrounded the young martial artist. Dark clouds
swirled above and below. He stood on no appreciable ground, but simply
floated... simply... existed.
  But one thing was for sure: it was dead cold.
  "That's right," Ranma said. "I'm probably dying. Probably on my last
leg of my journey. Who knew there was a waiting list to the afterlife?"
he remarked sarcastically.
  Yet there was nothing funny about it. Akane was beyond Ranma's grasp
forever.
  Being dead sucks, he thought.
  Well, at least, when I get there, Mousse'll probably be there to
welcome me. Probably not with open arms, but I think that'd be
expecting too much.
  Ranma....
  "Who's there?!" he cried.
  Ranma darted his eyes about in the eerie blackness, though he knew it
was a futile gesture.
  Ranma....
  "That voice...."
  Ranma, come home.
  Ranma rubbed his eyes as a face formed before his very eyes. A face
he knew for a long time. A face he welcomed each and every day.
  And now, Akane, his wife, extended a hand.
  "Ranma, let's go home," she said.
  "Akane," Ranma whispered, confused, yet elated, at the sight of the
woman he loved, stretching his arm out.
  Touching hands lead to touching arms, and Ranma found himself in
Akane's arms. He stared into her eyes, losing himself in a sea of joy.
  "Akane," he whispered, losing himself in emotion.
  He pressed his lips against her own, caressing Akane in his embrace,
running his fingers through her hair that cascaded over her shoulders.

  But then, reality yanked Ranma back to consciousness, as he realized
that Akane simply did not have long hair, not anymore.
  Sensation flooded Ranma's body, telling him that he was lying flat on
his back, yet his head rest against something as soft as a pillow. And,
lying on top of him, was the one who he really kissed.
  "U...Ukyo?" he whispered in surprise.
  Sitting up, Ranma held his limp friend in his arms. Her eyes were
closed, and, at the same time, relaxed, as if she were having a sweet
dream.
  He shook her carefully, despite his panic. "Ukyo...."
  Slowly, the okonomiyaki chef's eyes fluttered open, a tiny spark of
life shining in her pupils. No, it was tears.
  Somehow, she forced a smile on her face. "Ran... chan."
  "Hey," Ranma said, "I thought you didn't want to call me that
anymore... Ucchan."
  "Heh," she replied, "I guess that's one promise I can't keep, right?"
  "You don't break promises, because that wasn't a promise, was it?" he
pointed out.
  "Right, get smart on me." Ukyo closed her eyes a moment, gathering
her thoughts into words, despite her exhaustion. "How you feel...?"
  For the first time, Ranma realized he was fine. He ran one hand over
his chest, through the hole in his shirt, checking for the wounds that
were simply not there-- not anymore. Shaking his head, he answered,
"I... I don't understand. I mean, there should be some kind of
pain...."
  "That's because I took it for ya, silly," Ukyo replied. "I gave you
an extension on life...."
  "...At the expense of your own?" finished Ranma, shocked. "Why?"
  Taking a deep breath, the okonomiyaki chef explained, "It takes a lot
of energy to heal wounds... yours were quite fatal... so a life for a
life. There has to be a tomorrow, and you're the one who's going to make
sure of that. You need to live, for Akane's sake."
  "Forget Akane," Ranma said, "all I care about is you!"
  "Don't," she cried fiercely, grabbing the collar of Ranma's shirt.
  "Ucchan, you're dying!"
  "Fuck it!" cursed the dying girl. "You've got Akane!!"
  "But, I love you!" he cried, emotions soaring.
  Ukyo shook her head, tugging Ranma's head down with unnatural force.
"Listen to me, dammit," she said, seething with anger and determination,
despite her drain. "You don't love me, you love Akane. You may LIKE me,
but you certainly don't love me. I know better than that. Now."
  Ranma shook his head in confusion. "I... I can't help it!"
  In frustration, Ukyo shut her eyes, fighting the tears. "Ranchan...."
she whispered painfully, genuinely sorry that... anything happened.
"You don't understand! I don't know how, or why, but you're supplanting
your feelings about Akane on me. I really, really hate that."
  "Wha...?"
  She sniffed. "I don't want to be Akane. I don't want to be Akane, not
anymore. I thought being her would've been the best thing in the
world... thought she was the person I needed to be to get your love."
She lowered her head. "Well, shit, I was wrong. I can't be Akane,
because I am Ukyo Kuonji. To anyone with real sense of values, like
your mother, I am nothing-- a nobody. But, to you, I'm Ucchan, your
old friend who makes the best okonomiyaki in the world. I didn't fully
realize that until after Kagura and Orochi showed me."
  "Kagura and Orochi?" Ranma repeated. "Hawaii?"
  She nodded. "I'm my own person, I should be happy the way I am. I
can't be Akane, and that's the reason why. I WON'T be Akane, not for
you, or anyone else."
  "U... Ucchan...."
  "So stop treating me like Akane, Ranchan...." she said quietly. "I
don't need to be rescued. I don't need to be loved. I don't need to
have you in my life. I don't need to be saved. I made my choice, and
you're going to have to respect, and live, with it."
  Releasing her grip on Ranma's collar, Ukyo whispered, "Yet.... Thank
you, for kissing back." She forced a weak smile.
  Taken aback, Ranma's face flushed in embarrassment. "Y... you're
welcome."
  Choking, she added, "And, please... you gotta live. You must finish
it. Don't do it for me. Do it for Akane...."
  Ukyo sighed heavily, pressing something into Ranma's hand, her body
going limp, growing faint.
  "Ucchan!" Ranma screamed, shaking his old friend violently, blinking
back tears. "Don't die... DON'T DIE!!!"
  "Ranchan," she whispered, closing her eyes, "do it for yourself."
  Ranma could find no words to say, nothing to tell her.
  Nothing....
  Nothing at all.
  Nothing, as Ukyo Kuonji breathed her last.
  "Ucchan...." he said silently, lowering his head over Ukyo's, the
tears rolling down his cheeks onto her still form.
  Yet, she would not respond, one way or another.
  She was gone.
  He was alone.
  He knew nothing.
  And, for a moment, he was nothing.
  What have I been fighting for? Ranma wondered in torment. Why
couldn't I save anyone this time? Why?
  WHY?!!!
  I should've died... I SHOULD'VE DIED!!
  Ucchan, why'd you have to rob me of that?! Why'd you have to die?!
  "Ranma, stop beating yourself up," he imagined Ukyo would say, "and
be a man."
  More words echoed in his mind. "Time enough to mourn the dead, but
no time to mourn the living."
  Ranma shook his head. What am I going to do?
  "Do it for Akane," echoed in his mind.
  Akane.
  My wife.
  She was safe.
  She was out of danger.
  But, not for long... not if I let Nemesis....
  What a fool I've been! She's still alive. I CAN save her!
  He stared down at the hand that held her own, the hand that pressed
something against his. Gently releasing her, Ranma raised a slender
object, no larger than his palm, up in the air.
  He studied a single earring, cut of green jade, patterned as a
serpentine, Chinese dragon, coiled around some sort of staff, its eyes
inlaid with tiny rubies. In one four-toed claw was a spherical orb. The
staff ended in a sharp, pointed edge, appearing as if it could be used
to kill.
  "Ucchan...." Ranma repeated, studying the earring.
  The earring seemed to say, "Never forget what happened this day."
  With determination, he forced back the tears, wiping those existing
on his cheeks. "I've been given a second chance," he said to himself.
"I've got to finish this." Pocketing the jade earring, Ranma gently set
Ukyo's head against the folded mantle that served as his pillow,
getting up to his feet. "There will be time to mourn later."
  "I'll finish Nemesis," he decided. Staring down at Ukyo's body, Ranma
noticed a glint of metal. Bending down, he picked up the sai, the one
with the strange dragon pattern etched in the center prong.
  The same, strange weapon, Ranma thought. It looks so familiar, yet....
  It would be poetic justice if I carried these last reminders into the
heat of it.
  Rising to his feet, thrusting the sai at his beltside, Ranma said,
"I'll finish this, Ucchan, I swear. I won't do it for you. I won't do
it for myself. And I won't do it for Akane, either-- I'll do it for all
of us: Ryoga, Shampoo, Mousse, even Kuno and Kodachi. It will all end
here! There WILL be a tomorrow!"
  With renewed determination, Ranma Saotome, leaving his old friend
behind, charged back toward the battle.

  "Let's see," Nemesis said, amused, staring down at the crumpled
teens on the floor. "I believe I took out Ranma a bit too quick. How
should I savor your deaths?"
  "Just do it," Kodachi whispered in defiance. "See if I care."
  "I shall remember that as your...." the spirit started.
  "Stop there!"
  Ranma Saotome stood defiantly at the entrance of the ceremony
chamber.
  "W...why?!" Nemesis screamed in shock. "You should be DEAD!!!"
  "You're outta luck," the martial artist continued. "Unlike you, I
have friends... friends willing to do it all!!"
  "If that is your wish, I WILL kill you a SECOND TIME!!!" Nemesis
screamed in anger, rushing Ranma in full fury.

  "WHAT?!" Warmage yelled in surprise. "What happened?!"
  "Heh-heh-heh-he-he-he," laughed Lady Kuno. "I figured as much."
  "What, woman?!" demanded the Orochi assassin. "Tell me, Shoto
Kuno!!!"
  "You saw the girl carry Ranma out of here," Lady Kuno explained.
"You saw Ranma's ruined body. And yet, now you see just Ranma, his
body in perfectly healthy shape! Draw your own conclusions."
  "N...noooo!!!" Warmage screamed in anguish. "Why did Kei have to
do that?!"
  "Kei, is it?" A smirk formed across the woman's face.
  "She COULDN'T HAVE!!!!"
  "You DO have feelings for her!"
  "WHAT DID SHE DO???!!!"
  "Now, Ashinzo," Lady Kuno concluded, "you can live happy, now that
you have destroyed the woman you loved!"
  "I did NO SUCH THING!!!" denied Warmage angrily.
  "Did you not?" taunted the woman. "DID YOU or did you not bring
the demon Nemesis here?! Did you or did you not?!"
  "Of COURSE I did!"
  Jabbing a finger at the assassin, she added, "Then YOU are the one
responsible for her DEATH!!"
  "NO, NO, NO!!!"
  "You ALLOWED Nemesis to destroy Ranma Saotome! You ALLOWED your Kei
to take him out of here. You ALLOWED her to sacrifice herself so that
Ranma may live. YOU ALLOWED THIS TO HAPPEN!!!"

  Ranma dodged each and every one of Nemesis' wild attacks, careful
to note the spirit's terrible frustration and... anger.
  That's right, he thought, the angrier, the better!
  Nemesis was ready to throw another chi bolt, but she lowered her
arm suddenly, as if hesitating. With her other arm Nemesis cradled
her head.
  What's wrong with her? wondered Ranma. What's going on?

  "There is only ONE way to redeem yourself!" Lady Kuno declared.
"You must GET RID OF NEMESIS!!"
  Warmage said nothing, standing on his own knees within Lady Kuno's
mind. I can't believe it... I let her die! I let her REALLY die this
time!!
  "YOU know what you must do!" insisted the woman.
  "What have I done?" the assassin whispered to himself, staring
down at his hands. "I was supposed to look after her... she was still
so green.... I protected her once, and I failed that now...."
  "There IS only one thing I can do," Warmage decided, standing to
his feet.
  Lady Kuno smiled as Warmage's form vanished, most likely to
confront Nemesis. She laughed, praising her own brilliance.
  "The fool," Shoto mused. "No one can resist the charms, the control,
the POWER, I possess! Too bad that worthless son of mine, blind
though he may be to devotion, never made it; ironic, that Kodachi
made it instead. Perhaps she truly IS my daughter... hohohohoho!!"
  At that moment, Lady Kuno felt a sense of... release?
  Either way, it was exactly what she was waiting for.
  "No one," she declared, "can ever control ME!"
  Unfortunately, as soon as she finished that thought, Shoto's
attentions were distracted by the forced feeding of a knuckle
sandwich.

  The moment of hesitation was all that was necessary for Ranma to
throw his fists, vengeance behind each and every blow, at the
woman's face.
  "Damn you, and everything!!" he cried in fury. "It's YOUR GODDAMN
FAULT!!!"
  And yet, Nemesis did not fight back.
  Ceasing his flurry of punches, Ranma stepped back, watching in
surprise as the life seemed to drain from Nemesis' face. Without
warning, without ceremony, she crumpled down to the floor limply.
  Both Ryoga and Kodachi forced themselves to their feet, staring
at Ranma and Nemesis in surprise.
  "W...wow," whispered Ryoga. "What'd we miss?"
  "R...Ranma?!" Kodachi gasped in surprise. "Impossible!!"
  Ranma said nothing. He stared down at Nemesis, a defenseless
Nemesis! Then, there's only one other thing to do: finish it.
  He reached for Ukyo's sai, grasping it in both hands. Carefully, as
if in ceremony, Ranma flipped the blade downward, aiming carefully
for the heart.
  Poetic Justice, Ucchan!
  "And now, we end this!" Ranma cried, thrusting the sai downward
with all his heart and soul.
  "RAAAANMAAAAAA!!!" both Kodachi and Ryoga shouted.
  CLANK!!!
  Stunned in surprise, Ranma's eyes focused on the blade that caught
the sai between two of its heads.
  "Merciless cur," spat the owner of the blade. "You would dare to
strike a woman... a woman yet defenseless!"
  All eyes focused on the newcomer. Dressed in a kendo practice
uniform, the man was drenched from head to foot. He held the long,
metal blade in both hands, which remained relatively dry, except for
the fact that the man's drenched arms soaked it. Hanging from his
side, opposite that of the empty sheath, was a clear, plastic coffee
pot, filled to the brim with water.
  Yet, despite the wet look, a brilliant, orange flame outlined the
swordsman's form, a terrible illusion of one who walked from beyond
Hell itself. If one could stare hard enough, one could almost make
out the piercing, devilish eyes of the legendary phoenix.
  "There is MUCH to answer for, Saotome!" the swordsman decreed,
spitting at the last word. "To the depths of Hell for you, to threaten
my beloved flesh and blood."
  "T...Tacchi..." Kodachi whispered in shock.


"You may have won the battle, but the war will go on!"
						--Hordak, He-Man

(continued in Part 5)

----------------------------------------------------------
If you're [un]lucky, you earn a place in my .sig!

* "[Y]ou're lamer than your signature and screen name indicate."--Chris 
Davies
* "There was a recent case where a fanfic author put together his work with 
only another fanfic serving as his primary resource.  *I* started writing 
fanfiction that way, and consequently I never grew attached to this whole 
idea of remaining true to the original.  I call it "correction."--Reverend 
Prez

--Razorclaw X
Author: "The Wheel of Fire", "The World's Worst Ranma Fanfic!", "The 
Geometry of Shattered Souls", "The Balance of Power".
"I sold my soul to buy a copy of the dubbed 'Ukyo Can Cook'"
"Decepticons Forever!"


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