[Note to prereaders: This beta draft contains a few new changes from
the last prereading draft, in addition to some new scenes you haven't
seen yet. I think the new scenes take care of the rushed nature of
the earlier two drafts.]

[Note to everyone else: Enjoy! C&C appreciated. Previous chapters can
be found at http://www.geocities.com/~etlostlurker]



	Chapter 25: Demonic Departure

	The door to the Tendou residence slid open. "Tadaima!" Ranma called
out.
	"Welcome back!" Kasumi said as she moved to welcome everyone home.
She paused. "Ara..."
	Soun ran past Kasumi, sobbing as he attempted to crush everyone into
a hug. "Oh, it's so good that everyone's home...we were so
worried...huh?" He stepped back, then scowled. 
	Ranma laughed weakly. "Hi..."
	"RAAAAAAAANMAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Soun roared, as his head inflated to
fiendish proportions. "What have you done with Akane? Why isn't she
here?"
	"Whoa, whoa! Take it easy!" Ranma said, raising his hands in
surrender. "Gimme a chance to explain, wouldja?"
	When Soun calmed down, Ranma continued, "Akane and the others are
fine, they're still in Cephiro. We had to come back to find somethin'
we need over there that's in China."
	"China you say?" Genma asked as he walked up beside Soun.  "Why
didn't the others come back with you?"
	"Because they have to look for something over there," Fuu explained,
"and because Clef-san and Cologne-san are teaching them to use the
new magic they've gained."
	"Magic?" Soun asked. "Well, that's fine then, just as long as
they're safe." He stepped out of the doorway. "Please, everyone come
in. I see you have some new friends with you," he said.
	"Yeah, this is Lantis," Ranma said. "He's a swordsman from Cephiro.
And this is Hikaru's pet Hikari."
	Lantis nodded stiffly. Hikari barked.
	"Anyways, Mokona brought us back alright, but he landed us at Tokyo
Tower, so we gotta get to China some other way," Ranma continued.
	"Puu, puu..." 
	"Don't act innocent, Mokona! You did it on purpose!" Umi snapped. 
	"Puu! Puu, puu puu puu!" Mokona retorted.
	"I see," Genma said, rubbing his chin. "That could be a problem." 
	"Not really," Fuu said. "Mokona-san will provide a way across the
sea, I'm sure."
	"But we'll probably need to hike to where we're headed," Ranma said.
"It won't be easy."
	"Then you'll need lots of supplies," Soun said.
	"That's what we're here for," Ranma replied. "We figured we'd get
ready for the trip and catch some rest here before we go." 	
	"Oh, by the way," Kasumi interjected, "that Kunou boy was here
earlier looking for you and Akane."
	Ranma grimaced. "He found us." He frowned. "Lantis, are you *sure*
there ain't gonna be any more of those demons?"
	Lantis shrugged. "I doubt it." 
	"We should be on our guard, just in case," Fuu said. 
	"Demons? What demons?" Soun asked.
	"Eh, somethin' from Cephiro that followed us here, possessed Kunou,
and tried t' kill us," Ranma said.
	"You shouldn't say it so casually!" Umi said. Ranma shrugged.
	"And there are more of these demons in Cephiro?" Genma asked.
	Lantis nodded. "A few."
	"AND YOU LEFT MY BABY GIRL IN A WORLD FULL OF HORRIBLE DEMONS!?"
Soun roared, inflating his head again. "RAAAAAANNNNMAAAAAAA!!!"
	"Sheesh! It ain't nothin' they can't handle," Ranma said. 
	"Besides, Chevuro demons can't leave their home unless someone
summons them," Lantis said, "and summoning them takes a lot of
power."
	"I'll start preparing some dried foods for you to take along
tomorrow," Kasumi said, disappearing into the kitchen. "All of you
should use the bath before dinner," she added, "if you've been
fighting a demon."
	Everyone blinked. "Is she always so calm about things like that?"
Lantis asked.
	"More or less," Ranma said. "She only reacts to really big stuff."
	"Really big stuff!?" Umi asked. "Like what?"
	"Like Akane gettin' her hair chopped off."
	Ranma scratched his head as everyone else facefaulted. 

	*****

	A dark, female figure bounded across the rooftops of Nerima,
cackling maniacally. A stream of rose petals sprayed in her wake. 
	Suddenly, the figure halted, falling over and rolling off a roof.
Anyone staring directly at her would notice the thick, black mist
clinging to her body...

	*****

	The body was asleep, and Ranma's soul was asleep.
	Hikaru, however, was wide awake. And she was bored again.
	In the featureless void of the mind, Hikaru sat and watched Ranma
sleep, tossing and turning in the grey mists. He appeared to be
dreaming. She wondered what he might be dreaming about. <I shouldn't
pry,> she told herself. <I've already imposed so much upon Ranma...he
deserves privacy in his dreams.> She watched him for a few moments
more. She smiled. <We've both led very troubled lives, haven't we
Ranma-kun? I only wish we were able to meet normally, instead of this
way, trapped in the same body...>
	Ranma began crying out quietly in his sleep. <No...no....>
	Hikaru blinked. <He's having some kind of nightmare...I can't take
it. I gotta know what he's dreaming about.>
	Silently moving over to him, she gently placed her hands on his
head, careful not to awaken him, and concentrated. She had no idea
whether or not what she had in mind would work, but it was something
to do.
	Ranma's mind opened to her, and his dreams played out before her...

	"Ranma! HELP!" she cried out.
	<What? That voice...>
	"No! NOOO!" Ranma shouted, running as fast as he could, trying to
jump to something that was beyond his reach.
	Harsh, cruel laughter rang out as a pagoda flew by overhead, a
figure dangling from an open window on the lowest level. The figure
swayed back and forth, thrashing her legs helplessly, crying out to
Ranma to save her. But hard as he tried, Ranma couldn't jump to the
pagoda, couldn't reach her.
	Hikaru floated above the scene, intangible, watching as Ranma chased
the flying pagoda. <That girl...that's...>
	The top level of the pagoda illuminated, revealing several
silhouettes, standing in various mocking postures. Only their mouths
were fully visible, and every single one of them was sneering at the
pigtailed boy. 
	"Forget her, Ranma," jeered a familiar, but slightly distorted, male
voice. 
	"We're taking her from you," the soft female voice of another figure
said. The lips were moving out of sync with the speech.
	"You'll never see her again," another female voice rang out, with a
metallic echo.
	"We're taking her from you, and she'll be lost to you forever." This
voice sounded familiar as well, but Hikaru couldn't place
it...perhaps she didn't want to...
	"We're going to kill her, Ranma." Hikaru shivered. This voice was
from...her past? From...China?
 	"She's going to be dead to you for all time." The voice of a grown
woman, with a hard edge, like a knife or a katana.
 	"We're taking her from you, and you can't stop us." Two voices,
female, cruel and mocking.
	"RANMA! HELP ME!" she screamed. Lightning flashed, illuminating her
tear-streaked face and burning red hair. From her ethereal vantage
point, Hikaru shuddered.
	The pagoda disappeared, and Ranma sank to his knees, sobbing.
"No...please...bring her back..." 
	<Ranma-kun...> She wanted to reach out to him, but she couldn't. 
	Ranma rose to his feet, his battle aura flaming around him. "I SAID
BRING HER BACK!!!!" Hikaru gasped as Ranma suddenly took to the sky,
flying like a character from a manga she read a long time ago. "IF
YOU HURT HER, I'LL KILL YOU!"

	Hikaru jerked her hands away from Ranma's head, and moved away,
staring at him. <R-Ranma?> she thought. <Wh-what does this dream
mean...?> 
	The images of the dream played through her mind over and over again.
The voices...they'd sounded vaguely like people from both her life
and Ranma's. And that girl, in the pagoda...there was no mistake who
that was. And Ranma, angry enough to gain the power of flight...even
for a dream, that was unusual.
	<But why? Why would Ranma have a nightmare like that?> Hikaru's mind
whirled. <It couldn't mean...> She stared at the sleeping 'form' of
Ranma at length.
	<...could it?>

	*****

	Ranma awoke with a start. His heart pounded as he looked around the
room, as though trying to find something in the pale starlight
filtering through the window.
	Calming his racing heart, he turned his gaze inward. Within their
shared body, Hikaru was sleeping fitfully. 
	"Man, what a weird dream," Ranma muttered as he resumed conscious
control of his body. "Oi...Mokona!" he whispered.
	"Puu?" The fat white bunny bounced over from the corner of the room,
looking fresh and wide-awake. 
	"Hey...I just had the craziest dream. I wanna talk to someone about
it, but I dunno how everyone else would take it."
	"Puu puu?"
	"I mean...I'd probably talk to Hikaru about it, she understands me
better than anyone, but..." he trailed off. "I can't tell her about
it, not yet."
	"Puu, puupuu puu."
	Ranma chuckled. "Okay, I'll tell you about it." He launched into a
recollection of the already-fading nightmare. As he spoke, Mokona
seemed to become more thoughtful, and almost...happy? 
	"Puupuu, puu puu puuuu pu puuupuu..." Mokona said, before bouncing
back to its corner. It was smiling.
	Ranma scratched his head. "You know, that's the first time I didn't
understand what that fluffball said," he muttered to himself.

	Further contemplation of the matter was interrupted by an explosion
from the garden, followed by what could only be described as the
shriek of a banshee. "What in the--?" Ranma leapt out of bed and
headed for the window.
	Out in the garden, a familiar silhouette was bouncing around,
twirling a ribbon and laughing. Ranma scowled. "Kodachi. But why at
this time of night...?" 
	"Puu! Puupuu...puu...pu," Mokona said. It frowned as it perched on
the windowsill.
	"What? Are you sure?" Ranma asked, noting that he could suddenly
understand Mokona again.
	"Puu, pu puuuu." 
	"Chikushou..." Dressing quickly, and grabbing the Fire Knight
gauntlet as an afterthought, Ranma dashed towards the other guest
room, where Lantis was sleeping. "Oi, Lantis," he said.
	Lantis immediately sprang to his feet. Seeing his visitor was Ranma,
he relaxed. "It is late, Ranma," he noted. What would be a gripe from
anyone else was acknowledgement that something was wrong from the
Cephiran warrior.
	"I think we got another one of those demons," he said.
	Lantis' eyes widened. "Another one? How can you tell?"
	"Kunou's sister Kodachi is tearin' up the garden," Ranma said, "an'
Mokona got real upset when it looked at her."
	"Hmmm...alright, I'll be down shortly. You go wake the others."
	"Right." Ranma dashed out of the room, and down the hall to Akane's
bedroom, where the other two Magic Knights were sleeping. He flung
the door open without knocking. "Umi! Fuu! We've got trouble," he
said.
	The two girls stirred. Fuu sat up, more or less alert, and blushed.
"Ranma-san," she said, "you shouldn't barge into girls' bedrooms like
that without knocking."
	Umi pulled her sheet over herself, and grumbled. "Just because you
turn into a girl doesn't mean you have the same priveleges are one."
	"Sorry about that," he said, "but we've got big trouble."
	"What's wrong, Ranma-san?" Fuu asked.
	"Another demon."
	Umi flung the sheets aside and leapt to her feet. "WHAT!?" she
shouted. "I don't believe this! Argh! In the middle of the night,
even!? Let me at it!" 
	"Anou...Umi," Fuu said.
	"What, Fuu?"
	"Maybe you should get dressed first."
	Umi blushed. Ranma decided to leave before she remembered he was
there.

	Within moments, Ranma, Umi, and Fuu joined Lantis in the garden.
Soun, Nabiki, and Kasumi were gathered on the veranda. "Good grief,"
Nabiki said. "I thought she was at least sane enough to do this kind
of thing at a decent hour..."
	"She must have come to visit Ranma," Kasumi decided.
	"Alright Kodachi," Ranma growled. "Whaddya want?"
	"She definitely looks like a demon," Umi said.
	"Nah, this is how she always looks," Ranma replied.
	"She always looks like a demon?" Fuu asked.
	"That's about the size of it."
	Kodachi was standing on the property wall. She brought her hand to
her mouth and laughed quietly. "Why, *dear* Ranma-sama," she said
with a trace of acid in her voice. "I've just come to pay my
respects." Her eyes blazed. "My *final* respects." Kodachi leapt from
the wall, and landed gracefully on the surface of the pond, as though
it were as solid as a gymnastics mat.
	"As you feared, Ranma, she's possessed," Lantis said.
	Kodachi let loose a peal of laughter that caused everyone to wince
and clutch their ears in pain. "I'm called Corsica! My mistress sends
her regards!" With another earsplitting laugh, she began twirling her
ribbon before her. A disk of blackness formed in the center of the
spiral. "BLACK HOLE!" Corsica shouted, flinging the disk into their
midst.
	"Hit the dirt!" Ranma shouted. The Knights and Lantis scattered,
dropping to the ground, as the black disk swallowed a chunk of the
lawn before disappearing.
	"Alright you, that's enough of that," Ranma said, slipping on the
gauntlet. The crimson gem flared, and the magic armor encased Ranma.
Twin trails of fire streaked up his legs, across his torso, and down
his arms, forming his drake claws. Umi, Fuu, and Lantis each summoned
their armor and weapons, and spread out, surrounding Corsica. 
	Corsica laughed. "So, the Magic Knights think they can defeat me?
Let's see how you like this trick." From out of nowhere, she produced
four large hoops.
	"Everyone be careful, those things are razor-sharp!" Ranma called
out.
	"You don't know the half of it!" Corisca giggled, as the hoops began
to thicken. Black sparks danced along their edges. "BOLT CHAKRAM!"
Corsica yelled, flinging a hoop at each of the warriors.
	Lantis scowled as he rushed to intercept the dark weapon. With three
quick slashes of his luminous blade, the hoop shattered, sputtering
as its fragments fell to the ground.
	"Mamorete no kaze!" Fuu shouted, flinging a powerful gust of wind at
the hoop closing in on her. The spell slowed the chakram's flight,
allowing Fuu to safely dodge it. The razor-edged hoop struck the
boundary wall, and bounced off, sending up a shower of sparks.
Everywhere it touched, it left scorch marks.
	"So, that's how you want to play it," Umi said. "AOI TATSUMAKI!" A
torrent of water rushed forth, intercepting the dark ring. 
	"Umi! NO!" Ranma yelled. "Baka, that thing's--"
	The water spell halted the flight of the chakram, and Umi smirked
triumphantly. "Yosh'...huh?" Arcs of black lightning began coursing
up the fading stream of water, and leapt out to strike Umi.
YAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" she screamed.
	"Umi!" Ranma called out, leaping out of the path of the chakram
flying towards him. It struck the roof of the veranda and exploded,
spraying chunks of wood and tile everywhere. The bystanders on the
veranda yelped, and ducked back into the house. 
	Umi slammed backwards into the shrubbery at the edge of the garden.
Arcs of electricity surged along her armor, and she appeared to be
unconscious. "Umi..." Ranma said as he approached. The same word,
spoken with another voice, echoed in his mind, sounding increasingly
frantic with worry.
	"OHOHOHOHOHOHOHO! Your friend seems a little shocked from my
attack!" Corsica said, perching on the wall above them. "And now, for
my next trick..." Corisca threw a shadowy ball at Ranma. 
	"Knock it off!" Ranma yelled, slashing at the ball with his claws.
It exploded, throwing him backwards into the pond. Corsica let loose
another peal of laughter.
	As Fuu raced over to Umi, the pond began to boil. A glowing, orange
column erupted from the pond surface, and from it emerged an armored
redhead with burning red eyes, weilding a large sword. "You hurt
Umi-chan!" Hikaru shouted. "You'll pay for hurting Umi-chan!" 
	"Oh? So the real Fire Knight appears," Corsica said. "Very well,
Magic Knight...show me what you're made of."
	Hikaru scowled. *I don't like seeing my friends hurt. Especially
after what they went through without me in Cephiro...I can't let
anyone hurt them again! And on top of that...she tried to hurt Ranma
too...* "For you, who hurt my dear friend, a new spell!" Hikaru
shouted, leaping into the air. She began spinning as she flew towards
the demon, her sword tracing a deadly circle around her. "DESCENDING
DRAGON!" 
	At the apex of her flight, Hikaru thrust the point of her sword
down, directly above the demon's head. A wave of fire spiralled
beneath her, setting Corsica ablaze and knocking her off the wall.
The fiery vortex extended three meters around Hikaru and half a meter
down, and expired as she landed. 
	"I must check to see whether the demon lives," Lantis said, hurrying
through the gate.
	Hikaru leapt off the wall, landing next to Umi, who was now awake,
thanks to Fuu's healing spell. "Are you alright, Umi-chan?" she
asked.
	"I'm fine, Hikaru," Umi said. "What was that spell?"
	"A little something I picked up from Ranma," Hikaru said, grinning.
"It's one of his techniques, just done backwards." 
	"Is everyone alright?" Kasumi asked as the Tendou family came across
the garden, surveying the damage. 
	"We're all fine," Umi said. 
	Lantis returned to the yard, perplexed. "She disappeared," he said.
	"What?" Hikaru asked.
	"Corsica, the demon...she vanished. There's no sign of her."
	"That's odd," Fuu said.
	"Maybe Hikaru did her in..." Umi said.
	Lantis shook his head. "No, she was there a moment ago. But before I
could get close enough to use the containment spell, she vanished."
	"This is not good," Fuu declared.

	*****

	:The wind is terrible tonight,: the Guide mused as he looked out the
window of his small hut.
	There was a knock at the door. :Who could that be?: he wondered. :I
hope it's not a customer...: 
	The Guide opened the door, and gasped. Two large, winged figures
pushed past him into the cottage.
	:Aiyah...:

	*****

	"How many more of these things are we going to have to fight?" Umi
asked as the group sat around the living room table, drinking tea.
	"Lantis-san," Fuu asked, "Is there any way that could have been the
same demon?"
	Lantis shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. We've fought two
different demons." He frowned. "I don't understand how there could be
two of them here on Earth. The amount of power it takes just to
summon them...let alone to send them to another world..."
	"Puuuuuuuuuuuuuuu." Mokona seemed extremely unsettled.
	"Then we need to hurry and get that other Mashin," Hikaru said. "If
we're facing someone that powerful..."
	"Cephiro is in great danger," Lantis said. 

	The next day was spent gathering camping supplies and maps, as well
as making plans. "When we get to the Bayankala Range," Ranma said,
"We've got to be extremely careful. It might help us to meet up with
the Guide at Jyusenkyou," Ranma said.
	"Jyusenkyou!? We're not going there, are we?" Umi asked, paling at
the thought.
	"We'll have to pass through it," Ranma said, grimacing. "Mount
Phoenix is in that area." He paused. "It might help if we get some
Chinese phrasebooks and dictionaries, and try to learn a little of
the language before we go." He scowled. "It'll help us keep from
doing stupid things like my pop did when we went over."
	"Mokona-san," Fuu asked, "will you be able to send us back to
Cephiro from China when we find the Mashin?"
	"Puu," Mokona said, bouncing once.
	"With something native to Cephiro, and that powerful, nearby, even I
could get us back to Cephiro," Lantis said. 
	"Okay, that's one less thing to worry about," Ranma said. "We still
gotta deal with those loose demons."
	"Ranma-san is right," Fuu said. "They're here specifically to kill
us. They'll follow us all the way to Mount Phoenix." 
	Umi scowled. "When I find out who turned those things loose..."
	
	*****

	"Okay, that's taken care of," Nabiki said, yawning. "Now to give
them this info..."
	Nabiki's phone rang. "Moshi-moshi? ...collect? Yeah right...from
WHERE?" Nabiki sighed. "Alright, I'll take it...yeah?" Silence for a
moment. "You're kidding, right? Listen, most of them
aren't...available right now," she said. "Yeah...Ranma and his father
are still here...listen, I'm sure they'd love to help you, but we've
got problems of our own and...did you say Mount Phoenix? Hmmm..." She
paused again. "Look...as it turns out, Ranma and some friends are
headed there to find something important. No, just sit tight. Don't
send your daughter looking for them. They'll get there soon. Yeah.
Alright, I'll make sure to tell them. Oh, and when you see them? Pay
for this call. Yeah. Bye-bye now." 

	*****

	Nabiki came downstairs, holding a notepad. "Okay, Ranma...I've got
plane reservations for all of you." 
	Ranma smiled. "That's great, Nabiki!"
	"Just remember, you guys are paying for them."

	Everyone grew sweatdrops. "We're fortunate to have Mokona-san with
us," Fuu said. 
	Nabiki handed Ranma a sheet of paper. "Here, this is all you need to
get the tickets. By the way," she said, "make sure you stop in to see
that Guide at Jyusenkyou."
	"We were planning to," Ranma said. 
	"Good. Well, I have some more business to attend to, so good luck."
Nabiki headed back upstairs.
	"Take care, son," Soun said from the shogi board. "Whatever you do,
be sure to get back here in one piece, and make sure Akane's with you
when you come back."
	[Good luck, boy,] Genma signed.
	"Are you sure I made enough trail kits for you?" Kasumi asked.
	"Yeah Kasumi, we're fine. If we run out, Mokona can give us more,"
Ranma said. 
	Carrying heavy backpacks, the three teens, Lantis, Mokona, and
Hikari left for the train to Narita. "Mokona," Ranma asked, "are you
sure you can follow the plane, and carry Hikari?"
	"Puu," Mokona confirmed. 
	"Why can't the fluffball just fly all of us?" Umi wondered.
	"Because we don't want to draw attention to ourselves," Lantis said.
"Do you really want to fight demons over the sea?" Umi grimaced. "The
demons will most likely be confused by Mokona's transport, and it can
distract them away from the plane in case they do find us."
	
	*****

	"Moshi-moshi?"
	"Satoru-san? This is Tendou Nabiki."
	"Ah yes, Nabiki-san. Do you have any new information for me?"
	"Yes. They just left. They're going to be landing in..."

[End act four]

[To be continued soon in Act Five: China]

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