And again....

Another chapter.  Hope you like it.

Ranma and crew are owned by Rumiko Takahashi.  No lawsuits please.

Add Dahlia by X-Japan to the list of recommended music.

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Chapter Five

	Ranma looked about the inside of the mall with a mixture of
trepidation and nausea.  He did his best to keep from vomiting.  There
weren't any bodies to be seen, but the stench of raw flesh and blood was
enough.  Huge red slicks of blood stretched through for all eyes to see.
It was as if they had entered an abattoir afterhours and nobody had
bothered to clean up.  He half expected to see skinned human bodies on
meat hooks around the corner.  Ranma looked over to Akane in concern.  She
wasn't having as much luck keeping her emotions and feelings in check.  He
could see the same mix of revulsion and anger on Akane's face.  As he
turned back, he could hear Angela's voice echoing in the back of his mind.
	"Keep your eyes open.  Judas, despite his ogre-like manners, can
be rather cunning at times.  Watch your backs," she'd said.
	Ranma looked about, his nerves on end.  For the first time in his
life, he felt close to being afraid.
	"Ranma?"
	He turned to see Akane looking at him with concern.  Ranma smiled
wanly and took her hand.  He gave it a reassuring squeeze before
continuing along the large bloodstained halls towards the rotunda at the
center of the mall.

	Angela hurried past the storefronts and the huge pools of blood,
trying not to slip on the huge red stains on the ground.  The metallic
tang of the blood filled her nostrils.  She'd seen gore like this before,
but every time she saw it, there was always the feeling of revulsion at
the sight.  She'd seen a hundred thousand executions and even ordered most
of them herself.  Still, it wasn't something she liked to immerse herself
in.  The sight of all the blood, half clotted was enough to remind her.
	"Damn that butcher," she muttered.  "At least he could have made
it easier for me to find him."
	Getting into the mall wasn't easy.  Making everyone look away at
the same time wasn't the easiest thing to do.  Sure, all she needed to do
was make someone run out from the mall, but tampering with the lines of
destiny wasn't something to take lightly.  It was a painful process and
she never really liked doing it that much, unless she benefited from it
directly.
	As she made her way around as many pools of blood as possible, she
stumbled into two armored guards.
	"Just my luck," she cursed.  "Of all the times to not to look into
the future and check my surroundings."
	"I see we have company," one muttered.
	The other simply grunted a reply.
	Angela simply pulled a large pouch of powder from her belt,
hurling it at the two guards.  One pulled a longsword from his scabbard
and split the pouch in half, sending powder flying everywhere, mostly on
themselves.
	"Stupid sods," Angela snickered.
	The guards charged Angela, but before they could shout out a
battle cry, Angela had raised both hands, and lightning erupted from her
hands, setting the two ablaze.  Both guards roared in pain as the mystic
flames burned through their armor, melting their skin.  Then, just as soon
as the flames had erupted, the two were reduced to bare bones.  Their
armor dropped to the floor with a clang, the bones inside rattling loudly.
	Angela snorted derisively and continued on her way.
	"If this is the best Judas can do, then I shouldn't have any
problems finding him," she muttered.

	Ranma stared at his opponent, or rather what was left of his
opponent.  Both he and Akane were amazed at what had transpired in their
fight with two armored guards.  Akane was first placed on the defensive as
one of the guards charged her swinging what appeared to be an ornate
hammer.  Unfortunately, before Ranma could react, the other had charged
him, a giant curved blade whirling about.  That was when everything went
crazy.
	Ranma set himself into a defensive stance and found an opening in
his opponent's offensive easily.  The sword was cumbersome, and despite
the fact that the guard could swing it with little effort, it was still
slow - too slow to keep Ranma from darting in and out.  A punch in an
exposed side, a kick at the wrist and the sword went flying.  Ranma
charged in with his Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken and was surprised.  As his
fists blurred with the speed of the technique, he saw huge sparks arc out
and explode, sending waves of force out from his fists.  The guard was
caught unprepared and defenseless at the sudden onslaught.  There was
nothing the guard could do as he was repeatedly beaten and electrocuted by
the technique.  Unfortunately for Ranma, his amazement allowed Akane's
opponent to charge him.
	She'd cried out his name, and Ranma had ducked but it was precious
little.  He could feel the force of the swinging hammer pass over his head
as he ducked right into the guard's metal boot.  Ranma could hear the
sound of the metal contacting his face and he was sent sprawling head over
feet.  Before he could get up, he saw Akane charge the guard from behind,
rabbit-punching him.  The guard fell to one knee as Akane fumed.
	"How dare you hit him from behind!" she'd shouted.  Her battle
aura flared intensely, more intensely than Ranma had ever seen before.  It
brought back memories of Ken doing the same, only when Akane kicked the
guard in the face, all the energy seemed to channel itself into it.  There
was a sick rending noise and a pop as the guard's face exploded in his
helmet.  Blood went flying out from the visor of the helmet in a sick
fountain.  Akane scrambled back and fell on her rear.  Both Ranma and
Akane stared in shock.
	"Di-Did I do that?" Akane asked in a fearful voice.
	Ranma mutely nodded.
	"I was doin' some crazy stuff when I used the Kachuu Tenshin
Amaguriken, too."
	"Is this what's happened to us?  Is this what Angela did?"
	"There isn't any other way of explaining it," Ranma said quietly.
	Akane simply sat where she was in shock.
	"We better get going before we run into anyone else," Ranma said,
as he picked himself up off the ground.  He helped Akane to her feet and
hugged her close when he saw her trembling.
	"I killed him," Akane whispered in a wavering voice.
	"You couldn't help it. It was either him or me."
	"But-"
	Ranma shushed her.
	"Look, you saved my life.  I don't like admitting it, but you did.
Thanks."
	Akane managed a weak smile.
	"You're welcome."
	"Let's get going okay?  I don't want to go through that again."
	Akane nodded and they ran off towards the center of the mall.

	Andrew looked through the field he had erected around himself.  It
was rapidly failing against the magic flames Judas had him surrounded by.
It was the stupidest thing he'd done in a long time, but it was the only
thing he could have done.  Thinking back, Andrew realized he should have
stayed away from the giant arena Judas had created.  People were impaled
on spears driven at intervals around the edge of the rotunda.  It was a
sick sight to see.
	"Come in, Avatar!  You've got a soul to save!" Judas had jeered
from the center of the ring.  In his hand he held the face of a young
girl.  Her long black hair framed an angelic face frozen in terror.  
	Andrew began chanting, but Judas cut him off.
	"Don't think about whisking her away, Avatar.  I know what you can
and can not do, and you can't teleport the girl if she got a rune of
entrapment around her."
	Andrew looked at the ground where Judas stood.  There was the
rune.  Andrew knew he could place a spell of displacement on the girl but
he'd have to be within fifteen feet of the girl.  As it was, he was at
best twenty feet from the girl.
	"Let her go," Andrew heard himself saying, "she's not involved in
the duel.  She has no place here.  No more innocent blood needs to be
shed.  Where is your honor, man!"
	"Come in and she'll be released."
	"You know that the minute I walk in, you'll have the complete
advantage.  Let her go.  This entire place is the arena, this entire place
is where combat will be."
	"So be it," Judas had said and raised the girl by the throat with
one hand.  The other reached for his axe, bringing it back for one fatal
strike.  Andrew could hear the muffled sobs and the desperate gambit for
breath from the girl.
	Andrew's mind had reeled.  He couldn't let the girl die, but he
couldn't step into the ring either.  In the end, it was better to let the
girl live, but in retrospect it wouldn't have mattered.  Andrew slowly
walked forward, muttering the incantation, hoping he could save the girl
in time.  It was futile.  The minute Andrew stepped in the ring, Judas
laughed and snapped the girl's neck.  He tossed her on the ground with a
laugh, as walls of flame erupted around the perimeter of the ring.  As the
circle of flames slowly closed in on him, Andrew cursed his stupidity.  He
had to try to save the girl but it was impossible.  She had been marked
for death the minute Judas had walked into this world.  That was when he
had put up the barrier of light.
	Now Andrew stood in place, the heat beginning to permeate the
barrier.  He wasn't sure how long he could stand the treatment.  The
flames were still a good ten feet away, and he was already feeling the
stress of the clash of energies.  He was in a compromising position and
all he could do was wait, and hope that his barrier could withstand
Judas's flames.  If the barrier could neutralize the flames, then Andrew
would have an easier time in open combat.  Judas was slow and stupid, but
extremely powerful.  Andrew knew he could evade most of the blows and wear
Judas down to a draw.  The question simply hinged on neutralizing the
flames.  That was where the problem lie, and Andrew berate himself
mentally for getting caught in such an idiotic trap.
	"I had to save the girl, though," he muttered to himself.
	Andrew's eyes cast about, desperately looking for a way to attempt
to minimize the protection he needed.  There wasn't any he could see
immediately.  There was always the option of trying to duck into a store.
The flames would consume the store before it reached him, but there might
be people inside.
	"I guess I'll have to do this the hard way," he said to himself.
	Andrew began to slowly whirl his jo around his body, picking up
speed as he went.  Judas eyed the sudden development through the flames
suspiciously.  Just as Judas thought his flames would close in on Andrew
quickly enough, Andrew slammed the tip of his jo into the ground.  It
cracked the faux marble floor, digging a small trench where the tip ground
to a halt near Andrew's feet.  
	Judas had to brace himself and put up his shield as a gigantic
flash of light flared out from Andrew's jo.  The shockwave from Andrew's
blast blew out the flames, pushing the pools of blood outwards, where it
pooled closer to the edge of the rotunda.  The windows from shops imploded
into the stores, and mannequins flew back into the isles and racks of
merchandise.  A giant crystal chandelier four floors above him exploded.
	Andrew stood taking in deep breaths as shattered crystal from
above showered around him.  The flare had taken a great deal of
concentration, and for a brief moment, his breath left him.  It took a
great deal of energy to control an explosion like that.  Unfortunately,
that meant his guard would be down for the briefest of moments.  His jo
flew out to deflect the giant whirling axe that came speeding out at him.
Andrew blocked it from striking him in the chest, but the blade still
grazed his arm.  Scarlet poured from the deep gash below Andrew's left
shoulder.  First blood belonged to Judas.
	
	Ranma and Akane skidded to a halt near the railing of the first
floor.  From their place, they could see Andrew attempting to dart in and
out of Judas's attack range, trying to put in a blow with his staff.
Judas didn't have his axe, but his shield was an effective barrier that
seemed to frustrate Andrew.  Judas was simply waiting for Andrew to make a
mistake.
	"What do we do?" Akane whispered.
	"I have no idea," Ranma said.  "I don't want to risk distracting
Andrew.  He looks busy and I might put him on the defensive if I just show
up."
	Akane looked about for a means of helping Andrew.  Her eyes
settled on a sports store a little ways down one of the avenues in the
mall.  She tugged at Ranma's sleeve and nodded her head towards the store.
	"I think there might be something in there," she said with a
smile.

	Andrew was becoming more and more worried about his position.  As
it was, there was no clear advantage for either person to take.  Andrew's
left arm was becoming cold and numb from the wound just below the
shoulder.  He considered backing off the attack, but knew that if he did,
Judas would be quick to move the fighting into closer range.  There, Judas
could move past the jo's range and into grappling range, and while Andrew
had superior skill with his aikido, Judas was simply too powerful.  Pain
was a foreign word to Judas.  It took a great deal to cause him pain, and
whatever did, Judas always seemed to enjoy.
	Finally it seemed as though Andrew would have to back off, the
pain in his shoulder was becoming a dull throb, and his left hand was
becoming cold and stiff.  Andrew quickly lengthened the space between him
and Judas with two quick strikes and several defensive sweeps of his jo.
The instant Andrew backed off Judas grinned.  Andrew could see him prepare
to charge, and set himself in a defensive stance.  
	A sudden light distracted him for a moment.  He heard Judas roar
in pain right after.  The sound of searing metal filled his ears, catching
him off guard.  He saw Judas stumbled forward, his back arched in pain.
Andrew's eyes quickly swept the area, and settled on Akane and Ranma.
Ranma had his hands still outstretched from a ki attack.  Akane was
holding a weightlifting set next to him.
	"Get the hell away from here!" Andrew yelled to them.  Everything
suddenly changed perspective.  He had to get them out as soon as possible.
	"Fools!  You dare interfere in a duel?" Judas growled as he
whirled around to see the pair above him.
	Ranma quickly threw another blast of ki energy out at him.  Judas
threw up his shield just as Ranma released the blast.
	"Those idiots!" Andrew hissed.  
	He saw Judas point his shield at the pair, a burning insignia
suddenly lighting up on its face.  Andrew desperately shouted a warning
before hurling his jo at Judas.  The jo connected solidly with Judas's
head.  Judas stumbled forward, the ensuing fireball discharging into the
store underneath Ranma and Akane.  There was a huge explosion, and chunks
of concrete and metal flew everywhere.  Ranma and Akane desperately
grabbed at the railing, but found nothing but thin air as the floor
beneath them crumbled and exploded outwards.
	Andrew ran through the cloud of dust and rubble, searching for
Ranma or Akane.  He could hear coughing noises close by.
	"Ranma!  Akane!  Get out of here!" he yelled out.
	Andrew heard the telltale whistle of the axe.  He turned, his jo
up for protection.  The impact was immense.  Andrew fell onto his back,
and slid across the mixture of debris and blood.  Judas charged him again,
the axe whining as it cut the air.  Andrew rolled out of the way.  More
bits of the floor flew out from the blade.  The axe came down repeatedly
at Andrew.  Andrew rolled out of the way twice, before using the jo to
block.  Judas tried to crush Andrew's head with the edge of his shield.
Andrew's jo blocked again.  Judas kicked at Andrew's head.  Another block
with the jo, then with a quick twist of the staff, Andrew had Judas's foot
locked.  Another twist brought Judas down to the ground.  Andrew slammed
his jo down at Judas's head.  He rolled away as the staff hit the floor
with a bang.  Judas slammed his shield over the jo with a clang, then
brought his axe in an arc towards Andrew.  Andrew swore and rolled out of
the way, releasing the jo to move.  Andrew rolled to his feet.  Judas did
the same.
	"Now what, Avatar?  You're weaponless!"
	"I can still beat you with my bare hands Judas.  I don't need a
jo," Andrew spat.
	Judas laughed.
	"Really?  Well, if that's the case," Judas said with a sneer,
"allow me to bury this in your neck up to the hilt."
	Judas charged with the axe, the shield in front of him.  Andrew
sidestepped once for the shield, and again for the axe.  Before Judas
could bring the axe for a second swing, Andrew's right hand grabbed
Judas's weapon hand pulling it sharply forward, forcing Judas off balance.
Andrew continued pulling, leading Judas in a circle before he could regain
his balance.  Suddenly, Andrew's hand shot from his grip on Judas's wrist
to making a chopping motion at Judas's throat.  The change at lightning
speed caught Judas off guard, choking him and throwing him back.
	Judas rolled to his feet with a growl, swing his axe again for a
strike, only to miss Andrew once again.  Andrew's foot found his jo.  He
quickly rolled it onto his foot, deftly flipping it back to his hands.
With a flourish he whirled it about to strike Judas in the face as Judas
turned to strike with the axe again.  Judas spat blood to the ground and
grinned.  Judas threw his shield out in a feint, sidestepped and made a
full backswing to try to catch Andrew off guard.  Andrew raised the jo to
parry, missing the feint.  Judas almost made contact with the axe, but
Andrew stepped out of the way just in time to avoid the path of the blade.
Andrew quickly brought the tip of the jo onto Judas's wrist with a loud
snapping noise.  Judas roared in pain and dropped the axe, but before
Andrew could bring the staff back to defend himself, Judas broadsided him
with the shield.  Andrew fell to the ground with a grunt of pain.
	Andrew was about to get up when he heard the whoosh of another
weight being thrown.  He rolled and ducked for cover as Akane let loose
with a fifty pound weight.  Unfortunately, Judas ducked behind his shield
and the barbell merely ricocheted off, burying itself into a pillar.
Andrew cursed under his breath for Akane and Ranma's interference.  He
wasn't sure if he would have won, but their presence complicated things
greatly.  Andrew saw Judas come out from behind the shield as Akane moved
to pick up another weight.  Judas charged Akane with his shield as she
desperately tried move out of the way, slipping on the slick floor.
Andrew cursed under his breath again and shot out towards Judas.
	He quickly jumped and slid feet first towards Judas.  Andrew
quickly threw his staff between Judas's feet and then kicked out at it.
Judas was flipped on to his face with a grunt.  Andrew saw Akane hurl the
weight, crackling with energy as it flew.  Judas rolled over, throwing up
his shield to protect himself.  The weight seemed to fly at an inhuman
speed as it ricocheted off the shield with a clang and headed straight for
Andrew.  There was a searing pain, followed by an intense throbbing as the
projectile flew into his shin.  Andrew fell to one knee with a muffled cry
of pain.  Judas had emerged from his shield and charged Akane with a
snarl.  Andrew tried to move in time, but couldn't.  Akane was frozen in
place in fear.
	A blur of movement tackled Judas away from Akane towards Andrew.
Ranma attempted to wrestle Judas to the ground as hands locked themselves
around his throat.
	"Stupid boy!  You thought you could take me down with your bare
hands?" Judas said with a laugh.
	Ranma winced as he felt fingers crushing his windpipe.  Ranma's
vision started to blur as he desperately punched away at Judas.  Ranma
threw everything into his Katchuu Tenshin Amiguriken.  A hundred hands of
lightning blasted Judas in the stomach.  Judas fell to one knee with a
grunt, and a hand loosened from its grip around his neck, but one hand
remained.  Ranma put a swift kick into Judas's armpit.  There was a
satisfying pop and the last hand around Ranma's neck fell away.  Ranma's
vision cleared, as he took in a deep breath.  He blinked just in time to
see an armored fist connect with his face.  There was a sick crunch, and
Ranma flew back a yard and slid on the blood.  As he staggered to his
feet, thousands of points of light danced about his head.  Ranma fell to a
knee with a groan.
	"You monster!"
	Ranma could hear Akane growling in anger.  It was happening all
over again.  Guess that must have gotten her kinda mad, he thought through
the haze of pain.  Through squinted eyes he could make out Akane's glowing
form.
	"You jerk!" she screamed as she suddenly threw her hands forward.
A giant light flashed and an arc of lightning shot out and connected with
Judas.  He slid backwards on the bloody floor on impact.  With a loud
crunch, Judas dug his toes into the floor, coming to a standstill as the
lightning kept electrocuting him.
	"Get out of here!  The both of you, get out!" Andrew shouted.  He
could see Akane's aura of rage fading.  Soon her lightning blast would
fade as she exhausted herself.  Then just as he thought it, Akane wheezed
and fell to her knees.  Andrew could see she was drained, letting loose
with a powerful rage powered blast without any training.
	Once the pain stopped, Judas spat out more blood and growled.  He
spotted his axe out of the corner of his eye.  It was just in reach -
right there for the taking.  Akane saw Judas move for the axe, and then
everything switched into slow motion for her.
	"Ranma!  Look out!" she shouted.  She staggered to her feet to get
Ranma out of the way.
	Ranma raised his head and tried to get out of the way, staggering
in pain.  Everything was swimming from the lack of air.  His head hurt and
his throat was burning and raw.  With a groan he fell back to his knees.
	Andrew watched in horror.  He started chanting a spell of
displacement and threw his jo out towards Ranma, hoping to activate the
spell on Akane in time.  It didn't work.  Andrew watched in horror as the
jo struck Ranma down, dropping him before the axe could hit him.  Akane
froze as the axe blade buried itself in her stomach.  There was a sick
gurgling noise as she dropped to her knees in shock.  Her eyes were wide
in amazement.  Her face betrayed the fear and the sudden realization that
she was about to die.  Ranma simply stared in shock, his face sickly
white.  The seconds of silence filled Andrew's ears with a roar.
	Then, just as the seconds went by at a mind wrenching snail's
pace, everything sped up again.  Tears flowed freely down Ranma's face as
he charged Judas with a blood curling scream.  Andrew could see the pain,
the hate, the poison that flooded Ranma's soul.  It gave him power,
unimaginable power; but if he wasn't careful, it would also bring him
death.
	Ranma was savagely beating Judas into a corner.  There wasn't any
control, any method to the fighting, simply raw rage.  Judas wasn't being
hurt all that much, but there was a sudden air of surprise and shock about
him.  Ranma simply didn't care.  He kept beating away at Judas as if his
life depended on it.  In a way, it did.
	Andrew hurried over to Akane's side.  She'd fallen to her back,
her eyes vacant as they stared at the ceiling.
	"Akane, you're going to be fine.  I'm going to take you back to
the dojo where you can rest."
	"I don't feel anything anymore," Akane whispered in a wavering
voice.
	Her head lolled about on her neck as if it'd been broken.  Blood
seeped from around the axe to the floor.  It stained Andrew's gi and
hakama a bright scarlet.  Andrew could sense her lifelines unraveling as
he tried his best to staunch the bleeding.  With grim determination, he
dislodged the axe from its place in her stomach.  There was a sick
gurgling noise as blood was sucked back in, and then poured back out.
Liquid scarlet pooled in the space left by the blade.  The surface moved
with every faint beat of Akane's heart.  He could feel the warm sticky
blood trickle down to the floor and mingle with that of countless innocent
people.  The smell of death and decay emanated from her body.
	Andrew's face turned into a grim mask of resolve.  He pulled off
the top of his gi, using it to shunt the wound.  Out of small pockets, he
pulled flasks of salves and potions.  The salves he poured around the
wound, the potions he forced Akane to drink.  Andrew looked back to Ranma.
He was staggering back from a blow to the chest.  Andrew could see his
aura flaring, burning brighter than he expected.  Andrew, pulled his jo
towards him, wrapping Akane into a tight embrace.  He closed his eyes,
chanted the arcane words of teleportation, and disappeared.

	Angela made her way to the rotunda, three floors up when she heard
the scream.  She looked down to see Andrew, rushing to Akane's side, Ranma
lunging at Judas, and blood everywhere.  In less than a minute's time,
Andrew was gone and Ranma was dueling Judas.
	"No," she whispered, "this isn't happening.  Judas can't kill one
of them!  I'll lose everything!"
	Angela looked to Ranma, then reached for Akane's lifeline, trying
to read it carefully.  Angela's mind raced.
	"You're going to have to do this right," she muttered.  With that,
she jumped down from her perch to the rotunda floor.
	Judas turned in surprise.  She didn't give him much time to think
about it before she crushed his face under her boot.  Angela turned to
Ranma who seemed on the verge of exploding.  Angela took one look at him
and promptly knocked him down with an abrupt bolt of lightning to his
stomach.  The sudden jolt of pain seemed to bring him to his senses.
	"Akane," he moaned, tears flowing again.
	"Shut up and hold on.  If I have anything to say about it, Judas
isn't going to claim any souls from my clan tonight!"
	Angela hit a point on Ranma's body, putting him out like a light.
She cast a look over to Judas who was making an effort to crawl to his
feet, cursing and groaning the entire time.  She leveled him with a blast
of lightning before slinging Ranma's unconscious body over her shoulder
and running towards the door.



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

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