DiScLaImEr:  Rumiko Takahashi and a bunch of rich corporations own all 
the characters in this fic.  My use of them in no way is meant to
undermine those claims, and suing me would be a huge waste of time.
If, for some reason, you actually think this meager tribute to RT's
genius deserves to be further distributed, you may do so, so long as
you: a) reprint this disclaimer; b) give me credit (blame?) for the
story and; c) don't actually sell it (Yeah, like that's a concern!).
And now, on with the fic.

   I would like to issue special thanks to all those kind folks who sent 
words of encouragement when I had my recent hitch in production 
schedules.
   

   And so we move on to:

*****************
* Illuminations *
*****************

**************************
* A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction *
**************************

***************
* By Freemage *
***************

*Author's Note:  This story draws on both the anime and the manga.

 This is a dark story, with several sexually suggestive scenes,
 although no outright Lemon scenes.  If such material offends or
 disturbs you, please consider not reading this story--Unless, of
 course, you like being offended and/or disturbed....

  Thoughts are denoted by {X}.*

                      ****************
                      * Chapter Nine *
                      * Reversals    *
                      ****************

    "I see."  Cologne was resting on her staff, considering
 everything that Mousse and Shampoo had told her.

    Both of them were obviously worn out, more than could be
 accounted for by the exertions they had described.  "You have
 both acted foolishly.  Even if he does not truly seek to make
 her his bride, Son-in-Law obviously cares deeply for the 
 okinomiaki chef.  I have no doubt that he meant what he said."

    "All stupid Mousse's fault.  Idiot Duck-boy should have
 stayed home and played in pond, then Shampoo not be in this
 mess."

    "Shampoo, I...I'm sorry.  It's just that when I saw Ranma
 attacking you, I saw red."

    "But it not husband.  It stupid Spatula-girl."

    "I know that now.  But I was so sure it was him...."

    Cologne took the opportunity to interject a question.  "What
 on Earth possessed you to go there without your glasses,
 anyway?"

    Mousse looked sheepish.  "It was my concern for Shampoo. 
 When that ninja told me she had gone over to the Tendou Dojo, I
 knew there was trouble."

    "Ninja?  Shampoo, didn't you say that a ninja told you about
 Ukyou's attempt to seduce Son-in-Law?"

    "That right.  Sneaky man who work for crazy gymnastics girl."

    "I see.  It seems that there is more here than..." Suddenly,
 Cologne's speculations came to a halt.  "Lean forward, Boy."

    Mousse bowed in her direction, braced for the old ghoul's
 attack.  He was surprised then, when she merely flicked one hand
 across his shoulder, sending up a few flecks of silver powder.

    "Ai-yah!  That strangest dandruff Shampoo ever see!"

    "No, child, it is not dandruff--And it is on you, as well." 
 A second flick from Cologne showed the truth of her statement.

    "What is, then?"

    "I'm not certain.  Let me try something...."

    Cologne snatched the flecks from the air and began to work
 furiously with a mortar and pestle.  She poured a few drops of
 reddish fluid into the dust, and nodded to herself when the
 mixture turned green.

    "What that mean?"

    "It means, child, that I was right.  The powder is the
 product of an American entertainment firm, developed to enhance
 the emotional impact of the rides in their amusement parks. 
 Mixed with different compounds, it can produce a wide variety of
 emotional responses through the subject's sense of smell.  In
 it's raw form, like this, it serves as an emotional intensifier.

    "Since it is only able to enhance the emotions already there,
 it is called Neutral Scent.  In its grip, even masters of the
 martial arts would find themselves overwhelmed by their own
 emotions, be they lust, jealousy or rage."

    "That explain why Shampoo and Mousse act so wierd!"

    "Yes, child, and it indicates a sinister motive.  Note that I
 am now effectively prevented from speaking to Son-in-Law, which
 means that I cannot tell him what I have learned of the
 Illuminati presence in Nerima."

    "Ai-yah!  So what we do now?"

    "You two must pack.  As I said, it is likely that Son-in-Law
 meant what he said, and it would be best if you both left the
 city for awhile.  I doubt he will leave Nerima as long as Ukyou
 is in the hospital, so you should be all right."

    "But what about you, Cologne?"

    Cologne turned to Mousse.  "I must try to go to the dojo and
 tell someone there what I have learned.  Without that
 information, they will be helpless."

    "But is that not dangerous, Great-grandmother?"

    "Yes, but less so for me than for the two of you.  Now go! 
 Pack, and be quick about it.  There is much you must do before
 the dawn."

    Cologne pole-hopped into the kitchen to prepare herself.  She
 was so distracted by her own plans that she failed to notice the
 expression that passed over Shampoo's face.  The Amazon girl
 reached out and pulled Mousse's ear close to her lips.  "We go
 and follow her tonight, you understand?  I vow to protect
 Great-grandmother, and that what I mean to do!"

    Mousse sighed internally, for he realized that she was in no
 mood to be talked out of this, and that she would need his help.  
"Okay, Shampoo.  I'll help."

   ******************************************************

    Soun Tendo wept silently in the darkness of the attic. 
 {Curse you, Master.  May your soul burn in Hell for what you
 have done to me.}

    He had struggled, in an epic fashion, for ten, maybe fifteen
 minutes, but the outcome was a foregone conclusion from the
 moment his darling Kasumi had announced her intention to take a
 bath.  Even as tears spilled freely down his face, fluid of
 another sort splattered obscenely against the attic floor.

    Soun's whisper was inaudible.  "Kasumi..."

    Suddenly light spilled in from the trap door leading to the
 hallway.

    As Soun scrabbled like mad to cover his shame, Genma rose
 into the dark room.  "Tendou, we need to talk."

   ******************************************************

    Cologne pole-hopped down the darkened street.  The
 streetlamps were out, and the overcast sky added nothing to the
 visibility.

    "Predictable."

    The voice was so absent of tones, of any emotion save
 contempt, that it revealed nothing about the speaker, not even
 gender.

    The speaker stood at the far end of the block, barring
 Cologne's path to the Tendou dojo.

    If the night was dark, then the shroud of power which
 engulfed the speaker was Dark, as if the mere absence of light
 could be made into a solid substance.

    "I knew you would try to meddle one last time, old crone.  I
 cannot allow you to interrupt my plans, not when I am so close
 to victory.  You and those other two have been useful, but now
 you are expendable."

    "Then you intend to bar my way?"  Cologne's staff tipped
 until her feet landed on the ground, and she began to slowly
 spin the weapon.

    "Of course.  And don't think that twig will save you.  The
 power I wield is far beyond your meager abilities."

    "Be that as it may, I must try to pass."

    "Of course.  As I said--Predictable."
 
    The two opponents squared off, looking like a pair of
 gunslingers from the American westerns.  Battle auras formed,
 coalescing into larger-than life images of their progenitors.  A
 quick comparison of the two made it clear that the old woman was
 outmatched.

    "No hurt Great-grandmother!"  Shampoo leapt at the shrouded
 figure, bonbori set to swing down in a vicious attack.

    A single twitch of the Illuminatus' small finger sent the
 girl flying backward into a wall.

    "Shampoo!"  Mousse ran over to the fallen girl, cradling her
 in his arms.

    Cologne chose this moment to strike, hoping that even the
 minimal distraction provided by Shampoo's attack would leave an
 opening.

    It did not.

    The shrouded one attacked without mercy, striking the old
 woman over and over again.  The black aura seemed to drain the
 very life from the Amazonian.

    Standing over the crone's crumpled body, the figure laughed.  "Now I 
shall finish this, and your interference will come to an
 end."

    Shampoo, revived through Mousse's efforts, screamed, causing
 the figure to glance over at her.

    "You no hurt her!  She all Shampoo have!"  Shampoo's leap was
 cut short when lengths of chain wrapped around her limbs and
 torso.  "Mousse!  Why you do that?"

    "I'm sorry, Shampoo, but I cannot let you face this fiend
 in combat.  You mean too much to me."  The boy in the white robe
 took up a position facing the shrouded figure.  "Nor can I allow
 you to kill Shampoo.  No matter what you do, I shall not let you
 pass."

    "Kill Shampoo?"  Again the voice was filled with that same
 horrible contempt.  "Why, I have no intention of killing any of
 you, now.  Once I have subdued you, boy, I shall be able to put
 you three to much better use than that."

    Mousse lauched a desperate attack, hurling every last weapon
 in his inventory, all of them brushed aside without a second
 glance from the dark figure.

    "And now that that's out of the way..."  Mousse felt his jaw
 snap at the impact of a single strand of darkness.

    Shampoo struggled with her chains as desperation overtook
 her.  {Damn Mu-Tsu to Hell!  Does he really think I am so weak?}

    The dark figure gestured, and Shampoo felt a chill settle
 over her as the world faded to black.  A moment later, the
 street was empty, as if the combatants had never even been
 there.

   ******************************************************

    "So how much do you remember, Nabiki?"  Akane was sitting
 beside her sister's hospital bed, a cheerful face trying to mask
 the anxiety she felt.  It was two days after Nabiki had
 been brough to the hospital, and Akane had just finished
 telling her about the fight between Shampoo and
 Ukyou.

    "Not much at all, really.  Everything after Kodachi showed up
 and clubbed me is a blur.  Kind of a good thing, considering how
 banged up I am.  I'm not sure I'd *want* to remember all
 that..."

    "Perhaps that's just for the best, then."  Akane stood up. 
 "Is there anything else I can do for you?  I'm going to school
 today--Miss Hinako kind of insisted that Ranma and I take turns
 here, so neither of us misses out on too much classwork."

    "'Kind of' insisted?  Isn't that like saying that the Nazis
 were 'kind of' interested in power?"  Nabiki's smirk put a lot
 of ease in Akane's mind.  It was a sure sign that her sister was
 still intact, even under all those bandages.

    "Anyway, I've got to be going, but Ranma and Ryouga are both
 outside."

    "Oh, good.  Could you send both of them in?  I've got
 something to talk with them about."

    "Sure.  No problem."  This time, Akane's smile was hiding
 curiousity.

    There were so many questions left unaswered after the attack.  {Why 
did Kodachi gone after Nabiki like that?  Why had Nabiki
 gone to Kuno's grave in the first place?  Does any of it have
 something to do with her reason for talking with Ranma and
 Ryouga?}

    Thoughts whirling, she went down the hall to the waiting
 room.

   ***********************************************************

   Ranma stood in the center of the graveyard, the blood-red sky
 above reminding him of the mixture of wine and blood on the
 floor of the Kuno's cellar.

   A panda frolicked between and around the tombstones, trampling
 the flowers placed in memory of the dead, but Ranma had no use
 for a dumb animal, and continued on his way.

   After about ten feet, he felt a tugging at his waist and
 sighed.  Reaching down, he tried again to remove the manacle
 that was around his belt line, but it was just too strong.  He
 gave in, reached around behind himself and pulled on the chain,
 reeling it in.  When the red-haired girl at the other end of the
 chain reached him, he picked her up and laid her over his
 shoulders.  With his burden so settled, he continued anew.

   A pig ran up and began gnawing on his heels.  He kicked the
 wretched creature away, and resumed his walk.

   A tall, handsome man kneeled next to a broken cash register,
 weeping a river that flowed to the horizon. Ranma thought it
 strange that anyone would care about a cold and calculating
 machine, but to each his own.  He shrugged, waded through the
 stream, and passed on by.

   A beautiful woman, tall and graceful, stood in his path.  She
 wielded an ancient katana, and seemed poised to strike.  Her
 eyes were covered with a fleece, though, and she failed to
 notice him.

   In the distance, he saw the elaborate tombstone, jutting up
 from the Earth like a challenge to Heaven, and he started to
 make his way toward it.

   A pig began gnawing on his heels.  He kicked it away, and
 continued onward.

   A wall of thorns and roses, black and red, rose up before him,
 barring his path.  As he watched, the black constricted around
 the red, which withered and died, pulling the black down after
 it.  His path clear again, he continued onward.

   A horde of people and... things came running up, seeking to
 trample him beneath their weight.  He dodged and jumped until
 they passed, and then continued.

   He came to a small, deep pond.  The water was very clear, and
 he could see a young girl at the bottom.  She seemed trapped,
 and he wanted to go to her, to help her, but he realized that
 the water was cold, and the girl on his back would only drag him
 down to his own doom, so he shook his head sadly and passed by.

   At last he arrived at the tombstone.  It was, of course,
 shaped like a giant spatula, blade down.  A cat and a duck
 played around the base.  Blood stained the cat's paws and the
 duck's beak.  An old woman looked on, chuckling at their antics.

   Kicking the pig away, Ranma dashed at them, screaming, "I
 thought I told you to get out of Nerima!"

   The crone's staff came up and tapped his chest, bringing him
 to an abrupt halt.  "In case you haven't noticed, we aren't in
 Nerima anymore.  We're in the Dreamscape, and I must say, I've
 seen subtler images in the dreams of accountants."

   "What are you talking about?  Why are you here?"  Ranma's
 voice cracked with strain.

   "Shampoo, Mousse and I have been captured.  We are being held
 by the one who is responsible for your problems--The
 Illuminatus."

   "So who is it, already?  I feel like pounding on someone, and
 it's getting boring kicking this pig," he said, as he casually
 suited deed to word.

   "Their identity is unknown to me yet--The information would do
 you no good, anyway, and there is more important news I must
 give you.  You must understand your foe, you must understand the
 ways of the Illuminati."

   "OK, if that's the way you want to play it.  Spill."

   "The Illuminati derive their power by siphoning off the Qi of
 others.  Now, the techniques of the Illuminati are such that they
 can only feed off the Qi of those they have successfully
 manipulated.  By controlling their victims' actions, they acquire
 a measure their power.

   "The Illuminati get the most energy from those who are in a
 negative emotional state--rage, frustration or despair.  Usually,
 they try to induce this state in entire populations, as the
 cumulative effect of influencing a large number of low-Qi
 individuals usually provides the organization with more power than
 the control of a smaller group of powerful individuals.

   "However, the Illuminati were formed in the West, and this is
 their first major attempt to gain power in Eastern Asia.  

   "From what I have learned, I believe we are dealing with
 someone who is still developing their personal might, as opposed
 to trying to establish control over the populace.  Such an Initiate
 must establish complete control over a small group, such as you and
 your friends, before moving on to rank within the organization.

   "Remember, the key to victory is to block out all the negative
 feelings that feed your foe.  If you cannot do this, then all
 will be lost."

   "OK, OK, I got it already.  Now how do I find out who this
 great and powerful foe is, anyway?" the young man asked.

   Cologne sighed.  "I think the pig is trying to tell you
 something."

   Ranma looked down, just as a wave of cold water washed over
 the scene, making the landscape run and blur like chalk sidewalk
 drawings in the rain.  "C'mon, Ranma," the pig said in Ryouga's
 voice.  "Akane said that Nabiki wants to see both of us."

   Ranma sat bolt upright on the waiting room sofa, spluttering
 and adjusting his clothes to fit his female form.  "Whaddja do
 that for?"

   "Akane said if I couldn't get you up after fifteen minutes, a
 cup of cold water would do the trick.  You know, you are really
 hard to wake up.  I think you hit me more times than in our last
 fight."  Ryouga turned and walked out the door, leaving Ranma
 little choice but to head down the hall after him.

   ***********************************************************

                          End Chapter Nine

*Special Disclaimer Section:  Neutral Scent was the creation of Larry 
Niven, the fantastic author of "Dream Park".  The drug was perfect for 
my uses, so I stole it, just like the villain in his novel, although I 
gave it back after I was through....*


OMAKE:  The original version of the Cologne/Ranma in Dreamspace scene 
included this exchange, written during one of the Great Romanji Debates:

   "OK, if that's the way you want to play it.  Spill."

   "The Illuminati derive their power by siphoning off the Qi of
 others."

   "Don't you mean the Ki?"  {Or is it Chi?}

   "Quiet, Boy, don't interrupt me with trivialities."  The
 statement was reinforced with a bonk on the head.

See?  It could have been worse.

Unfortunately, I am not going to be able to double-post Nine and Ten, 
like I originally planned, as the combination was too large for a single 
Hotmail message.  (Grumble).  Guess that's what I get for being a 
cyber-scavenger.  Ten will come shortly.

--Freemage  


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