Here's chapter 4.  As always, C&C is welcome!



All characters and suchnot, save Feather, are copyright by Rumiko
Takahashi, Viz, and whomever else owns a piece of the wonderful
world of Ranma 1/2  They aren't mine, and I'm borrowing them for a
purely non-profit fictional work.
                  A Feather in the Wind

                        Chapter 4


      Darkness, a foul taste in the mouth.   Akane felt like she
had been thrown into a dryer as she started to wake up.  Her head
was pounding, and her hands were tied uncomfortably behind her
back.  She tried to listen, to see if her captors were there, but
was greeted by silence.  Cautiously, she barely cracked open an
eye.  The room was dark, but she could barely make out someone
that appeared to be Ukyou in front of her.   She worked her way
into a sitting position, and was reminded that her head hurt.
She looked around, and saw quite a few others in the darkness,
most of them just staring idly at the newcomers.  ::It's like
they've lost their will to escape...::  Akane thought to herself.
A dull roar startled her, and the room suddenly jerked.  Akane
fell back onto her side as she realized that they were in a
tractor-trailer.  While she was struggling to sit up again, Ukyou
started to groan.
      "Ukyou, you ok?"  She asked in a whisper.
      "I feel like roadkill"  Ukyou grumbled.  She tried
struggling with her bonds, but they were too tight.  "What's going
on Akane?"  Ukyou asked as she sat up.
      "I'm not sure, but there's a lot of people in here."
Startled, Ukyou looked around, and let out a low whistle.
      "And I thought Toma had an odd way of inviting people over
to his place."  Ukyou said, trying to keep a sense of humor.
Akane forced out a chuckle, and then started looking around.
"What are you looking for Akane?"
      "I'm looking for Feather, if they got us, I'm sure they got
her as well."  Abruptly, the trailer pitched, throwing its
unwilling occupants around like ragdolls.  None of the other girls
complained, but Akane and Ukyou were steaming.  "When I get my
hands on the guy whose driving this thing..."  Akane starts to say
menacingly, when she hears a stream of curses that would make a
sailor blanch.
      "That.."  Ukyou starts to say.
      "That sounds like Feather, come on!"  Akane and Ukyou make
their way closer to the front of the trailer, having to work their
way around several sprawled out girls.  When they got to the
front, they found Feather.  She didn't just have her hands tied
behind her back, they had also tied her ankles together, and had a
rope going from her wrists to her ankles.
      "Oh my...."  Akane paused, then she knelt next to her,  "Are
you all right?" she asked, but Feather just growled.
      "She's been hogtied, and from the looks of things still out
cold.  I wonder if she was really the one who was cursing."  Ukyou
said, as she tried to maneuver herself to try and untie Feather's
ankles.  "You try and get her hands free."  Ukyou grunted as she
worked on the ropes.
Akane repositioned herself, and added her efforts to untying her
friend.
      After a few minuets, Ukyou had managed to untie Feather's
ankles.
      "I'm done here.  How's it going with her hands?"  Ukyou
asked.  Akane sighed.
      "Not good, these ropes are tight."  The trailer hit another
bump, sending them sprawling.  Akane skided into one of the other
girls, and when she went to apologize, she gasped.
      "Ukyou!  Take a look at this!"  Akane said, a look of horror
on her face.
      "What is it Akane?"
      "Look at her!"  Akane nodded towards the girl.  Ukyou peers
closely at the girls, then backed away making a gagging sound.
Akane nodded.  "She's not tied up, and her eyes look empty.  These
guys are playing with mind control."
      "Why are they doing this?"  Ukyou wondered aloud, as she
absently tried to struggle with her bonds again.

      Back at the dojo, all hell was breaking loose.  When the
rest of the Tendos got home, and discovered the wreckage, and
Ranma and Ryouga turned into pincushions, Mr. Tendo lost it.  He
was in full gusher mode, and Nabiki had to move him outside to
prevent any water damage.  Kasumi and Genma had started to pluck
the tranks out of the two boys when Shampoo had busted through a
wall, followed by Mousse.  While Genma tried to keep them at bay,
Kasumi was stuck with pulling the darts out by herself.
      "Oh my, who could have done this to them?"  Kasumi asked out
loud, and was gratified by the sudden silence around her.  Shampoo
knelt next to Kasumi.
      "Maybe Shampoo can help yes?"  She asked, unusually meek.
Kasumi smiled.
      "That would be very nice of you.  Here,"  Kasumi handed her
a cloth that had been soaked in alcohol, "wipe off the spot where
each dart was after it's pulled out."  Kasumi and Shampoo bent to
their task, while Genma tried fruitlessly to calm a hysterical
Soun.
      "Why Ranma hit with so many dart?"  Shampoo pondered as she
pulled yet another dart out of Ranma's chest.
      "We don't really know Shampoo, when we came home we found
them like this."  Kasumi said softly as she pulled a dart out of
Ryouga.  Shampoo continued working for a few seconds, until she
let out a gasp.
"What is it Shampoo?"  Kasumi asked as Shampoo gingerly pulled a
tattered scrap of cloth out of Ranma's limp hand.
"Shampoo found something."  Shampoo examined the cloth carefully,
and she narrowed her eyes when she saw the embroidered patch.  "Is
scrap of cloth with patch on it.  Shampoo no recognize pattern,
but maybe great-grandmother would."  Shampoo looked at the cloth
again, then over at Mousse.  "Mousse!"  She called.  Mousse sprang
to his feet, ran over, and knelt before Kasumi.
      "Yes Shampoo?"  He asked.  He felt a sharp hit on the back
of his head, and he put his glasses on and turned around.  Shampoo
scowled at him as she spoke to him.
      "Shampoo need you to go get great-grandmother.  Tell great-
grandmother about what we find here, and show her this."  Shampoo
held the cloth out to Mousse, who took it and nodded.
      "Anything for you Shampoo!"  He said as he leapt to his feet
and sprinted for the Nekohanten.  Shampoo turned back to the task
of tending Ranma.
      "So Shampoo,"  Nabiki drawled, "why are you so nervous about
that cloth?"  Shampoo looked at her, irritated.
      "Shampoo never finish helping Ranma if keep getting
interrupted,"  she said flatly, and turned back to her work.
Nabiki, not satisfied with that answer, sat and stared at Shampoo,
hoping to distract her enough to get her to talk.  Shampoo
remained focused, however, until the last dart was pulled from
Ranma and Ryouga, and bandages applied.
      "Let me ask you again, what was the big deal about the patch
on that cloth?"  Nabiki asked again, a bit of a scowl on her face
this time.  Shampoo opened her mouth to give a scathing remark,
when an ancient voice interrupted her.
      "It is the crest of the viper clan."  Cologne said, after
seemingly materializing next to Nabiki.  Nabiki, nonplussed by her
entrance, turned to the old woman in interest.  "They are a clan
of assassins, who pride themselves in being able to use others to
do the dirty work.  Regular members of the clan are little more
than caretakers."  She paused to puff at her pipe, "The true
horror behind their clan is the manipulation they practice to get
their assassins.  Through certain herbs and pressure points, they
are able to literally mind control their intended 'trainee'."
Kasumi gave a little gasp at this, and Mr. Tendo wailed even more.
      "Their going to make daddy's little girl into a killer!!!"
He wailed.  Genma leaned forward in interest.
      "So, they control their assassins, and if they get caught,
there is no real way to trace them back to the clan is there?"  he
sat cross-legged, and crossed his arms.  Cologne nodded.
      "Yes, it works very well.  Their assassins have absolutely
no memories left to them, and the treatment takes quite a bit of
time to wear off.  Until they do, they're very susceptible to
suggestion, and will do just about anything they are told."  The
old woman smirked.  "If it were that easy, son in law would have
been in China with us long ago.  But, with out a mind, the
strongest warrior on earth becomes a baby, and that's not how we
do things."  Shampoo looked over at her great-grandmother, a look
of worry on her face.
      "If them makes others do killing by taking their minds away,
how we fight them?  And how we keep same from happening to us?"
Shampoo asked.  Cologne turned to her and cackled.
      "Easy child. Don't let them hit any pressure points.  I will
show you where they would be most likely to strike."  Cologne
looked thoughtfully at the pile of darts.  "Maybe I can do
something about those as well."  Ranma started to stir a bit, and
the room fell silent.  After a minuet had passed, Ranma had opened
his eyes, and started to brood.  Shampoo glomped onto him.
      "Shampoo happy to see husband awake!"  She let go of him
quickly, when she realized he wasn't responding to her at all.
"What wrong, Ranma?"  She asked, looking at him in concern.  She
was distracted by the sudden green glow that sprang from around
Ryouga.   Everyone, save Ranma, stared at Ryouga as he slowly
stood, green energy from his building depression and anger
swirling around him.  He growled as he looked around the room, the
aura around him building.  Then, it dissipated, and Ryouga sank
back to the floor.  Ranma lifted his head.
      "Those guys are dead when I catch up with them!"  Ranma
said, clenching his teeth against the tempest in his head, and the
nausea in his gut.  Ryouga's head snapped around.
      "Not without me, I have something for them as well!"  Ryouga
said viscously, the intended violence practically dripping from
his tones.  Cologne chuckled.
      "Well, it appears sleeping beauties are awake."  She then
told them about the viper clan.
      "Ok, so they control the minds of their assassins, and like
to use poisoned darts, they can't be that tough."  Ranma remarked,
but there was something gnawing at his gut.  Ryouga looked
thoughtful for a second, and turned to Cologne.
      "Any ideas as to where they're hiding?"  he asked.  Cologne
nodded.
      "One of their 'training camps'  is not that far away.  It's
on the peak of one of the closer mountains.  The face of the
mountain has been purposely scarred, in order to scare off
tourists."  Cologne gazed at them with a serious expression on her
face.   "Finding them isn't the hard part, it's getting out alive.
Once the 'trainee' has been under the influence of the clan, they
stop feeling pain.  They will continue to attack till they're
dead, or you are."  Ranma swallowed nervously.
      "Ok, whatever."  He mumbled, when the feeling in his gut
suddenly became clear.  He looked up at Cologne in alarm.  "How
long does it take for them to get someone under their control?"
At his statement, every eye turns to Cologne, anxious for the
answer.
      "I don't know."  Everyone collapsed at her words.  Ranma
sprang to his feet and raised his fist into the air.
      "Then what are we waiting for!  We need to go now and rescue
Akane and the others!"  Ryouga stood next to Ranma.
      "Let's go Ranma!  Those vipers need their fangs broken!"
Ranma nodded at Ryouga's words, and then turned to the others in
the room.
      "So who is with me?"  He yelled, raising a clenched fist
into
 the air to emphasize his point.  Shampoo glomped onto him.
      "Shampoo go with Ranma anywhere!"  she squealed as she
hugged him tightly.  Mousse stood as well.
      "I would follow Shampoo through the gates of hell and back,
so I shall also go."  Mr. Tendo's tears threatened to flood the
house.
      "The loyalty!  The friendship!  This is youth!"  He cried
out, "Akane is so lucky to have such good friends!"  In a
startling change, Mr. Tendo calmed down, and took the Tendo family
sword from it's place.  "I shall go with you son, and whet my
families sword with the blood of those who would dare hurt my
little girl."  Ranma stared at him in shock, while he turned to
Genma.  "You're coming too, right Saotome?"  Genma looked at his
friend, and merely nodded.
      "Aren't we the great crusaders,"  Nabiki remarked, absently
noting the sound of someone barefooted rapidly approaching.
Ranma rubbed the back of his head.
      "Uh, yeah well.... Let's go get em!"  He said, flustered by
Nabiki's comment.  As he turned to lead the way out of the dojo,
Kuno burst into the room.
      "I, the great Tatewaki Kuno, would be most grievously
offended if this were to transpire without me in attendance.  I,
the blue thunder of Furinkan high, offer my assistance in this,
the most noble of quests."  Kuno announced to those assembled.
Ranma's jaw worked uselessly, as it was too busy becoming
aquatinted with the floor, so Ryouga spoke.
      "And just how did you know what was going on?"  Ryouga
asked, a bit suspiciously.  Kuno looked to one side, and casually
swept some hair out of his eyes.
      "My good Sasuke informed me as to what had transpired.  It
is to my regret that the message I had him carry went undelivered,
as the foul brethren of the devil himself were already spiriting
away Akane Tendo.  He also spoke of the possibility that the
fiends had the pig-tailed girl as well, so I made haste to offer
my blade into the service of this noble mission."  Kuno brandished
his bokken, and took on a noble pose.  "Let us be off on our
quest!"  Ryouga put his hand to his face, Shampoo giggled, and
Ranma shrugged.
      "He's got a point,"  Ranma said, "Let's go!"  Ranma started
running in the general direction of the mountains.  Ranma, Ryouga,
Shampoo, Kuno, and Mousse disappeared in a large cloud of dust.
When it settled, a dumbfounded Soun and Genma were left standing
in the doorway.
      "Tendo, do you have any idea where they were headed?"  Genma
asked.
      "Not a clue Saotome.  Not a clue."

      Ukyou gave one more frustrated tug at the ropes tying
Akane's wrists, and was gratified to feel them suddenly go slack.
      "Alright Ukyou!"  Akane shouted, "Now, let's get you untied"
Akane worked on Ukyou's bonds as the trailer bounced along the
road.  While Akane struggled with the ropes, Ukyou looked at the
other occupants, she could see at least five others by the light
of the single, dim lamp.  Ukyou was freaked again by the blank
stares the girls were wearing.  The silence that they maintained,
despite the jolts from the trailer, and the overall unpleasantness
of the journey, was beyond human.  Ukyou craned her neck
impatiently to look at Akane.
      "Hurry up Akane!  I don't want to be tied up when this thing
stops."  Ukyou hissed.  Akane didn't respond, but rather
concentrated harder upon the knots.  A few seconds later, Ukyou
was free, and they finished untying Feather.
      "When do you think she'll wake up?" Akane asked as she
gently held Feather's head in her lap.
      "Dunno, but I'm all for busting out of this thing, and
making a break for it."  Ukyou fitted words to action, as she
stood and walked to the back of the trailer.  She started
examining the doors in the back.
      "You think we can bust out Ukyou?"  Akane asked as she tried
fruitlessly to wake Feather up.  Akane was thanked for her effort
by a light slap on her hands, and a groan from Feather.  Akane had
to smile a little, ::It's progress at least::
      Ukyou strained against the door, and the metal screeched
it's complaint.  ::Where's that jackass Ryouga when you need his
bull strength!::  Ukyou thought to herself as she started to kick
at the door.  She wasn't expecting the door to suddenly bust
outwards, and she certainly wasn't expecting to be thrown outwards
when the truck started up a steep incline.  Ukyou screamed as she
started to fly out the back of the truck. Desperate, she grabbed
at the door as she went past.  Her fingers barely caught the metal
cross bar, and she could feel it starting to cut into her hand.
With a tremendous effort, she managed to get her other hand onto
the cross bar, and hook one of her feet onto the lower lip of the
door.  The blood and wind roared in her ears, and she felt like
she was going to faint, but one look at the road rushing by
beneath her gave her enough adrenaline to stay conscious.
      "Ukyou!!!"  Akane screamed as she rushed to the back to try
and help Ukyou back into the truck.  Akane knelt on her knees and
reached out with one hand,  "Grab my hand Ukyou!!"  she called out
desperately.  Ukyou reached, but missed by a few inches.
Encourage by how close it was, Akane leaned out a little further
and reached again.  Unfortunately, the truck hit another bump,
causing the door to swing outwards, and Akane found her face in
the cold metal of the trailer, and her legs and waist were leaning
out the back of the trailer.
"Akane!! Hold on!"  Ukyou reached for Akane, knowing that perched
on the door was infinitely safer.
With both doors being open, there was nowhere for her to grab, and
she was slowly slipping out. Akane managed to get her feet onto
the bumper, and was starting to catch her breath, when she lost
her grip.  Time seemed to slow down, Akane would later swear that
she had been able to see every pebble, every crevice, and every
tire mark on that stretch of road.  The only thing Akane could see
was the pavement below her, and the feel of the wind rushing past
seemed to stop for a while.  Then every thing started moving full
speed again, and she opened her mouth to scream.....
      And a slim hand darted out of the truck, grabbed her blouse,
and yanked her back into the truck.  Feather looked at Akane,
worried.
      "You ok?" She asked, but Akane was shaking, and couldn't
seem to be able to talk.  Akane pointed out towards Ukyou, and
Feather realized that she needed help as well.
      "Good save Feather!"  Ukyou cheered, and then winced.  The
cross bar had finally cut her hand, and a small trickle of blood
could be seen.  Feather looked critically out to where Ukyou was,
and pushed her hair out of her face.  Suddenly, Feather grabbed a
lock of her hair, and looked at it critically.  She then untied
the bandanna that held her hair in a ponytail, and she tied a
thick knot at the end.  Ukyou looked at her exasperated,  "This is
no time to be playing with your hair Feather!"  Feather finished
tying the knot and nodded to herself.
      "Just shut up and catch my hair when I toss it to you!"  she
yelled as she threw her long hair toward Ukyou.  It took several
tries, but Ukyou did catch her hair.  Feather then pulled as hard
as she could, and slowly, the door began to close.  When Ukyou was
a foot or so away, Feather let go of her hair and grabbed Ukyou
off of the door.  Over balanced, they fell backwards into the
truck.
      "Feather,"  Ukyou gasped, "If anyone ever tries to make you
cut your hair short, I'll beat them into a bloody pulp!"  Ukyou
hugged Feather in relief.  They sat there for a few minuets,
gathering the strength to try and leave the truck without getting
hurt.
      "Feather," Akane asked, "Do you think you can fly us out?"
      "I'm not sure,"  she shook her head, "I should be able to
slow us down enough to be able to tumble safely."  Right after
Feather said this, the truck lurched to a stop.
      "Too late.."  Ukyou said.  They could hear shouting outside,
and the running of many booted feet.   The doors were forcefully
opened fully, and a large man, dressed in a deep blue suit,
entered the truck.  Two smaller men, that were wearing dark
cloaks, flanked him.  The man held a cane that had a chrome skull
on the top, and the girls could also see a pistol in a holster low
on his hip.
      "So, these are our new recruits?"  He asked the man on his
right.  The cloaked man snapped to attention and answered.
      "Yes sir, one of them is also the stolen one."
      "STOLEN?!?!?"  Akane yelled, her battle aura flaring as she
angrily stood up.  "What do you mean stolen?  We're not property
you jerk!"  The man's face got flushed with anger, and he swung
his cane at Akane's face as he yelled at her.
      "Shut yer mouth!"  He sneered in contempt.  He was utterly
stunned when Akane grabbed the cane, and used the momentum of his
swing to fling him into the wall.  He created a large dent, and he
sunk to the floor, all sense knocked out of him.  The two cloaked
men pulled out trank guns and took aim, ready to shoot if they
approached.  Akane froze, not wanting to be tranked again.  Ukyou
and Feather stood up, and moved next to Akane.  Akane was about to
ask the cloaked man what he meant by stolen, when a stern voice
could be heard from outside.
      "What on earth is going on in there?"  One of the cloaked
men replied, without taking his eyes off of the girls.
      "Unusual resistance sir."  He called out.  They could hear a
hurried conversation, and then the man outside replied.
      "I'm coming in."  A second later, a tall, graying man
entered the truck, and the cloaked man who had spoken earlier
snapped to attention and saluted.  The man was wearing the same
style of suit, but he had several odd looking devices on his
shoulder.  He looked around the inside of the truck, and raised
his eyebrow when he saw the other man slumped against the wall.
He turned towards the cloaked man who saluted and spoke.  "Report"
      "Sir, Lieutenant Yama had begun his inspection, and one of
them took offence to the terms used to indicate that the stolen
one was one of them.  When Lieutenant Yama attacked her with his
cane, she threw him into the wall sir."  The gray man nodded.
      "Take the others to the reception area, I'll deal with these
three personally."  The cloaked man saluted, and he and his
partner moved all the other girls out of the truck.  Akane got
an angry look on her face, and she took a step towards the man.
      "Ok, just what the heck is going on here?  And just who are
you and what do you want from us?"
      "My name is Ryuutsu Maruyama, and I am one of the elders of
the Viper clan."  He gave a slight bow to the girls.  Flustered,
they bowed back, more out of habit than respect for the man.
Akane was not satisfied with his answer so far.
      "We really don't care who you are, we want to go home!"
Akane yelled.  Ryuutsu grinned, baring his teeth a little, as he
looked at Feather.
      "But one of you is home now." He said calmly, as he smiled a
warm smile at them, "Welcome home Feather."
      "Hhh how... how did you know my name?"  Feather stammered.
He chuckled at her.
      "I should know, I named you."

      Ranma and the others were impatiently riding in a train.
Mousse was occupying himself with sharpening his weapons, while
Ranma and Ryouga quietly discussed the different ways they would
take apart the people that attacked them and took away what was
the most important things in their lives.  Shampoo and her great
grandmother were speaking quietly in Chinese, and Kuno was
meditating, and doing his best to ignore the 'common rabble' that
he was surrounded by.  Most of the other passengers were watching
them nervously, half expecting them to just go nuts and tear the
train to pieces.
      "About how long till we get there?"  Ranma asked during a
pause in his conversation.  Cologne looked out the window at the
scenery rushing by.
      "I'd say we'd reach the station in about an hour, and then
it's a long hike up the mountain."  She said calmly.  Ryouga
looked at her angrily.
      "How can you be so calm about this?  Our friends are in
grave danger, and you're calmer than... than Kasumi!"  Ryouga
glared at the old woman, the anger he felt was showing clearly on
his features.
      "It's no use to wear ourselves out worrying about something
we cannot change right now, so relax, and save your strength for
what we are about to do."  Cologne said without looking away from
the window.  Ryouga glared at her for a second, and then leaned
back in his seat rather forcefully.  With a loud crack, the seat
back snapped, and Ryouga ended up sprawled backwards.  Without his
usual jibes, Ranma helped Ryouga sit up.  Ryouga muttered his
thanks, and glared around, daring someone to laugh at him.
      "Relax man,"  Ranma said, "We'll get them back.  It's only a
short time from now till we get there.  Once we're on the
mountain, then we can let loose."  Ryouga looked at him angrily
for a second, then visibly relaxed.
      "Shampoo anxious too,"  she commented while she casually
cracked some walnuts to munch on.  "No want violent tomboy or
winged girl to lose soul."  Cologne chuckled, and looked seriously
at them.
      "It's been many years since the last time I tangled with the
Viper clan, so we will have to be on our toes."  They nodded at
her words, "Their methods may be different now.  If they didn't
adapt to their surroundings, they would have perished a long time
ago.  I think that we would want to  approach the compound with
great caution, and learn everything we can about them before we
strike."  Ryouga got angry again.
      "Why can't we just go in and beat them all up?"  Ranma
nodded in agreement with his friends word.  Cologne glared at them
for a second before she responded.
      "They have the girls in there, and they are using more
advanced technology.  Remember how they beat you before?"  Ranma
and Ryouga winced at the reminder. "We need to be cautious when we
approach, lest we all fall victim to  the same tactics."  They all
fell silent for a while, and when they felt the train start to
slow down, they all anxiously stood and moved towards the door.
The second the door was open wide enough, Ranma and Ryouga forced
it open the rest of the way, and rushed away from the train.   Or
they tried to.  Before they had gone more than two steps, they
both suffered from a severe application of Cologne's staff.
      "Slow down you two, remember what I said while we were on
the train?  We need to begin exercising caution now."  They
started to stand, glaring at the gnarled old woman.
      "Old ghoul" Ranma muttered under his breath.  He got another
whack on the back of his head for his trouble.  Grumbling, Ranma
and Ryouga let Cologne lead the way from the station.  Shampoo and
Mousse followed closely behind.
      They began their long hike up the side of the mountain, and
were surprised.
      "I thought you said they scarred the side of the mountain,
to
scare off tourists...."  Ranma said as he gazed at the tall trees
and lush foliage.
      "If this is scarred, I'd love to see what you call a
beautiful retreat"  Ryouga commented as he shifted his pack
slightly.
      "Didn't I say that they may have adapted to the changing
times?" Cologne glared at the teen-agers that surrounded her,
"They obviously found a better way to avoid curious eyes."  Kuno
grunted, and then he struck a dramatic pose.
      "These fiends of hell shall not go unpunished by my
righteous wrath!  They shall fall like the quivering vermin that
they are before the might of Tatewaki Kuno, and I shall rescue my
beloved Akane Tendo!"  He would have continued, but Ranma had
backhanded him.
      "Will you shut up already?!?"  Ranma hissed, "We don't need
you to give away our position with your posturing"  Kuno looked
like he was about to speak again when Cologne rapped the back of
his head.  Kuno whirled on the old woman, and was rewarded with
another knock on his skull.  Surprisingly, he took the hint and
remained silent.  Ryouga glared at Kuno before starting off again.
      Several hours passed, and the thick forest started to
lighten.  Cologne motioned for Shampoo to search ahead.  The
purple tressed amazon nodded, and moved forward swiftly.  The rest
of the group waited anxiously, and were startled when they heard
the distinctive pop of a tranquilizer gun.  Mousse rushed ahead,
ignoring the warning glare from the others.  All he was concerned
with was that Shampoo may be in danger.  Silently, Mousse perched
in a tree and looked out into a wide clearing.  Pushing his
glasses back down over his eyes, he was able to make out two
uniformed men carrying an unconscious Shampoo through a gated
fence.  The fence was tall, and had barbed wire strung across the
top.  Furious, Mousse examined the defenses that he could see.  He
saw several cameras, a lot of barbed wire, and a two story brick
building that at once struck him as huge, and foreboding.  Taking
note of the patrol patterns, he regretfully turned to return to
the rest of the group.  ::Patience my dear Shampoo:: He thought to
himself, ::I will rescue you from those fiends!!::
      When Mousse returned, they could see his rage stamped on his
face.  He motioned for them to huddle, and he spoke quietly and
quickly.
      "They got Shampoo, near as I can tell either she was
careless, or she let them take her so that she could get inside.
She may think that her ability to turn into a cat will enable her
to escape.  I don't think that is possible..."  Mousse carefully
outlined the defenses he could see, and those that he suspected as
well.
      "This is a grim situation, we cannot afford to lose any more
members of our team."  Cologne spoke softly, but her tone was
enough to drive her point home.  "There is a shiatsu spot that
should enable you to resist their tranquilizers, but it is risky."
      "How risky ghoul?"  Ranma asked quietly.
      "If you are not hit by a dart, you will be unable to sleep
for three or four days.  That is enough to drive a man mad."
Ryouga cleared his throat before he spoke.
      "It's risky, but we have no choice.  If they manage to mind-
control Shampoo, we will be at a serious disadvantage."  Ranma and
Mousse nodded, while Kuno looked on with his attitude of haughty
superiority. "They may not be able to fight very well, but she
can.  Not to mention she was the key to our most dangerous
weapon..."  Ryouga trailed off, and looked meaningfully at the now
nervous Ranma.
      "You don't mean....?"  Ranma asked and shuddered when Ryouga
nodded gravely.  Kuno chose this point to speak.
      "The men on patrol are likely to be alert after the fair
Shampoo appeared at their gates.  Methinks it wise to wait until
they become inattentive at their posts.  We should strike during
the darkened hours to facilitate their unwise inattention."  Ranma
looked at Kuno in shock.
      "You're scaring me Kuno, that actually made sense."
      "Then be wise, Saotome, and heed mine advice.  It would ill
benefit Akane Tendo should we attack in haste, as Shampoo did, and
become imprisoned as well."  Cologne nodded.
      "Get some sleep now."  She said, "I will keep watch while
you gain the energy you'll need for tonight."  Ryouga was starting
to protest when the old woman poked the side of his neck with her
staff.  Ryouga collapsed, snoring into the soft dirt.  "Anyone
else need help getting some sleep?" She asked.  Ranma swallowed
hard and nodded.
      "I don't think I'll be able to without help."  Nodding
grimly, Cologne tapped Ranma's sleep spot, and he too collapsed.
Kuno and Mousse tried to get to sleep on their own, and only after
a while did they manage to drift off.  Cologne carefully covered
them all with some large branches, and disappeared into the trees.
She gazed out over the small group and sighed.  It was all to
similar to when the viper clan had stolen her own daughter many
years past.  The guilt she felt over the long past incident welled
up again.  She was unable to rescue her daughter, and her husband
had died in the attempt.  Thankfully, she had escaped, and was
plotting her revenge when she discovered her daughter, unharmed,
just outside her tent.  When she had asked her daughter what
happened, all she could say was;
      "The little man helped me"
      Cologne shook herself out of her memories.  ::Happy, why
can't you be here to help this time?::

      "You WHAT?!?!"  Feather screamed, totally confused.  The man
simply looked at her and repeated himself.
      "I named you.  Sixteen years ago, when you first showed up."
Ryuutsu motioned for them to follow him as he left the truck.
Stunned, the confused girls followed him.  He walked swiftly,
ignoring the assembled ranks of men and women, and entered a
massive brick building.  Once inside, he started to show them
around.  "A long time ago, I was the head of a research project,
code named Raven.  The purpose of project Raven was to learn if
teleportation was feasible."  He abruptly turned and started down
a narrow flight of stairs.  Akane leaned her head over the
railing, and couldn't see the ground.  She gulped nervously, and
followed.  "After many failures, and many unfortunate deaths of
volunteers, it was decided that we would try and take something
inanimate from where it was located.  We reasoned that it would
help us gain a better understanding of our would be teleportation
device without any other deaths.  We were wrong."   The old man
stumbled, but quickly righted himself.  The girls were too shocked
to fully believe Ryuutsu's story, but the sincerity of his words
was half convincing them that he was speaking the truth.  "When we
made our first attempt at moving some rocks, they appeared to have
been moved without any changes.  However, when we tried to move
them, it became apparent that they had changed.  Underneath a thin
film of dirt we discovered that the device had changed it to a
crystalline structure.  We were undaunted as we studied the
results and moved on, heartened by the first partial success of
project Raven, or we thought it was the first success.  What we
discovered later still haunts my memory.  We had tried to figure
out what had happened to the people that had disappeared during
some of the previous tests.  Using the data from those tests, and
a new, stolen processor, we attempted to fetch our people."  He
started to look sick.  "We got them back, partially.  I'll never
forget the bloody mess that appeared on the platform.  Other than
the fact that they looked torn limb from limb, it was definitely
our people.  Unable to determine if someone did that to them, or
the machine was an open debate that raged for days.  At the end of
the debate, it was determined that we would use the machine to
pick up whatever happened to be at the same coordinates that we
found... the bodies at."  He shook his head.  Ukyou absently
noticed that they were nearing the bottom floor.
      "That day forever marked our lives here.  We got our
answers, and something more."  They had reached the bottom floor,
and there was a pair of massive steel doors chained shut.  Akane
gasped when she noticed what looked like a fist shaped protrusion
from one of the doors.  That alone wasn't what shocked Akane and
the others.  It was the size of the impression that scared them.
Ryuutsu looked at the doors, and calmly removed the chains.  When
he pulled the doors open, the girls screamed.  In a liquid filled
tube, a monstrosity hung motionless.  It looked vaguely humanoid,
but the long head and foot long claws quickly dispelled that
notion immediately.  The thing was covered in what looked like
large scales, and they could easily see holes where heavy weaponry
had pierced it's chest.
      "What is that thing?"  Ukyou screamed as Ryuutsu calmly
waited.  When the room was silent again, Ryuutsu continued.
      "We're not sure what it is, but that and two other beings
were brought with it.  One was a man of great strength, and the
other was a woman in hard labor.  That thing killed the man after
a long battle that destroyed most of this lab,"  He waved one arm
over towards the wreckage, "and killed many of our men.  It wasn't
until we were able to get the heavy weapons out were we able to
stop it.  The woman, didn't survive.  She died during childbirth,
and we had to cut the babe from her stomach.  The child we saved
was you Feather."  He paused to let this information sink in.
"Even though the wings were quite apparent on your mother, we
didn't even think twice about it at the time.  After this had
happened, we closed the lab and ceased work on project Raven.  I
had become your father, and would have raised you if it weren't
for that traitor."  Feather looked at him in shock, not
comprehending what he was saying.  Akane and Ukyou were not in
much better shape.
      "You, you mean, that thing.. killed my parents?"  Ryuutsu
nodded, "And, your project is the reason I have my wings?"
Ryuutsu shrugged.
      "I'm not certain about that.  It's possible that you would
have had them naturally, but that is a slim possibility.  We never
got a chance to speak with your mother, or your father."  He could
see tears starting to form in her eyes, so he quickly continued.
"Unfortunately, one of our trainers decided that he wanted out of
the clan, and he took you and ran, likely because he knew we
wouldn't be able to shoot at him while he had you in his arms.
It's been fourteen years since he escaped, and now he's finally
facing his punishment.  For stealing away your childhood, and then
making money off of you for all those years while we vainly
searched for you.  We never suspected him to join a roving
carnival, or to use his techniques to make your will more pliable
to him during that time."  Ryuutsu gently guided Feather towards a
door.  The others followed quickly, not wanting to leave Feather
alone.  When Ryuutsu opened the door, he revealed a fair-sized
room that looked like an apartment.  Ryuutsu looked at the girls
with a faint smile.  "Welcome to my home.  I'm afraid it's rather
spartan, but please, make yourselves comfortable."  He gestured
towards the couch.  After they were seated, he pulled a chair up
and sat down.  "Now, do you have anything you want to ask of me?"
After a moment of silence, Ukyou spoke up.
      "Now that you mention it, why did you send your goon squad
to capture her, and why did they take all of us?"  Ukyou asked
angrily, but calmed a little when they saw his shocked expression.
      "They did what?"  Ryuutsu yelled, springing to his feet.
When Ukyou explained to him their method of capture, his reddened
face, and the veins sticking out of his forehead from suppressed
rage gratified her.  Ryuutsu stormed from the room, and could be
heard yelling over some kind of intercom.  A moment later he
returned, looking much calmer, and had a satisfied look on his
face.
      "What's going on?"  Akane asked.  Ryuutsu looked apologetic.
      "I must apologize greatly for the way you were treated.  I
had not made myself clear when I told them to invite you and your
friends here so that I could see how you had grown, and meet the
kind of people whose company you enjoyed.  They thought that I
meant to recruit you and your friends into the clans line of
work."
      "What kind of work is that?"  Feather asked, very curious.
      "Information and elimination."  Ryuutsu looked at their
dumbfounded looks, and he clarified himself.  "Spying and
assassination."  That got a reaction.  The girls on the couch
immediately looked at him with fear in their eyes.  He spent until
after nightfall attempting to allay their fears, as he explained
the clan's methods of  remaining undetected, despite capture.
      "Let me get this straight, your trainers manipulate the
recruits chi to make them forget about the clan and the mission if
they are caught, and then they remember everything if they make it
back here?"  Akane exclaimed.  When Ryuutsu nodded, Feather shot
another question at him.
      "So how come my memory is swiss cheese?"  Ryuutsu looked at
her sadly.
      "The traitor used the technique on you constantly for years.
We only use it right before or after a mission.  It hasn't been
used in the other methods since my great grandfathers day.  Ever
since a small man came and devastated this camp to get a young
recruit back.  The clan used to use more severe methods of
recruitment than we do now."  They looked at him in disbelief,
"Now we only recruit by approaching those dissatisfied with their
lives, and give them a choice.  The tranks are taken as a
precaution against a violent response.  Some of the other elders
are in favor of the more extreme method, but I have been holding
them at bay. We.."  He was interrupted by a fax machine beeping
loudly, and it spat out several sheets of paper.  Ryuutsu excused
himself and started to read the papers.  He frowned, and then put
them down.  Then he started to laugh.
      "What's so funny?"  Akane asked.  Ryuutsu did not stop
laughing for a few minuets.
      "That was the report from the assault team that picked you
up.  They claim that two young men had violently disagreed with
their methods, and basically hospitalized more than half of a
thirty man team before succumbing to more than fifty tranks in
each."  Akane and the others traded a knowing look while Ryuutsu
continued, "I'm not inclined to believe them," he paused at the
serious expression that his guests wore, "Or should I reconsider
my position?"  Akane nodded gravely.
      "Ranma and Ryouga are two of the best martial artists in the
world.  More likely than not, they are on their way here to
'rescue' us from you.  I think we need to..."  Akane was cut off
by a loud klaxon.  Ryuutsu looked at them and sighed.
      "Too late."

      "Wake up, Son-in-law!"  Cologne poked at the comotose form
at her feet.  Slowly, Ranma was roused from his enforced sleep.
      "What time is it, ghoul?"  He muttered as he rubbed the
sleep from his eyes.  The ancient amazon chuckled.
      "It is starting to get dark, and the others are already
getting prepared."  She gestured towards where Ryouga was going
through a kata, and Mousse was carefully going through his
weapons.  Ranma nodded and stood.  He began to go through his
kata, letting the flowing forms help him regain his focus.
Absently, he noted that Ryouga's katas flowed with fierce,
restrained power, and the usually angry face showed an inner calm
Ranma had never expected to see.  ::I guess it shows how seriously
he takes the art:: Ranma thought as he moved as smooth as running
water through a kick, ::It must be how he keeps his depression
from overtaking him, by finding his focus::
      Once darkness covered the earth, the small group gathered
around the old woman to discuss strategy.  After a hushed
conversation, Cologne tapped their hyper-activity pressure point,
and they melted into the woods.  When they reached the compound,
Mousse disabled the cameras with a few well thrown knives.
Silently, they rushed an unwary patrol.  A few fierce blows, and
the half-asleep guards were fully asleep.  Using keys they found
on one of them, Ranma unlocked the gate.  Occasionally, Mousse
would throw a knife, disabling more cameras.
      "It won't be long before they realize something is amiss,"
Ranma said after they had ambushed another patrol.  Kuno nodded.
      "Dally not, my comrades, for it would be our deaths to be
caught in the open."  Ryouga looked towards the building.
      "We don't have time to find the door, let's make one!"  He
said as he padded towards the building, like a tiger on the hunt.
The others followed swiftly, and when they reached the building,
Ryouga boosted Ranma up to peek through a window.  When Ranma
looked inside, he gasped.
      "What do you see Ranma?"  Mousse asked urgently.  Ranma
hopped down off of Ryouga's shoulders.
      "Shampoo is in there, and it looks like their torturing
her."  Mousse's face went red with rage, and Ryouga struck the
wall with one finger, crying out his special technique.
      "BAKUSAI TENKETSU!!"

      Shampoo was not happy.  The tree branch she had crouched on
to observe the camp had broken, and she had been an easy target
when she lay stunned on the ground.  She awakened to find herself
in a prison-like room, tied tightly to a chair.  Once they had
noticed that she was awake, a burly man had entered the cell, and
proceeded to interogate her.  Now she was being treated roughly by
the man, who was speaking way too rapidly in japanese for her to
understand in her recently awakened condition.  She lifted her
head and winced at the bright light placed right in front of her.
Her captor said something else, and when she didn't respond, she
got a fierce slap from the man.  Shampoo feigned
unconsciousness to avoid being hit more.  She heard the man
talking, but still couldn't make out the words.  Her cheek stung
from where the man had slapped her, and she could feel the other
bumps and bruises she had gotten earlier in his interrogation.
Something warm was running down her face, and Shampoo resisted the
urge to spit her own blood out of her mouth.  The man grabbed her
hair and roughly yanked upwards, causing Shampoo to cry out
involuntarily.  She opened her eyes again, and this time the light
wasn't there.  Instead she could see a man in a blue uniform, with
what looked like surgical tools on a table beside him.  She
suppressed a scream as she realized what he intended to do with
those implements.  ::Ranma!! Mousse!!! Ryouga!! Hurry up and get
me out of here!::  She thought frantically as he picked up a
curved and spiked implement from the tray and brought it close to
her face.  Shampoo closed her eyes in resignation and waited for
the question, and the inevitable pain afterwards.
      The pain never came.  Right after the man had barked his
question again, the wall behind him exploded.  He was thrown from
his feet, and the chair Shampoo was in fell over backwards at the
force of the blast.  Shampoo heard familiar voices, and the sounds
of a hurried battle.  With a sickening crunch, the room was silent
again.  Shampoo felt the chair being righted, and someone cutting
the ropes that bound her.  She blearily opened her eyes, and was
greeting with the sight of a furious, but relieved, Mousse cutting
her bonds.  Without the ropes holding her upright, she fell
forward into his arms.
      "My god, Shampoo!  Are you alright?"  Mousse asked her in
chinese.  Shampoo tried to respond, but a lump in her throat
prevented her from speaking.  Mousse gathered her up in his arms
and strode back out through the hole, despite her weak protests.
"Don't worry Shampoo, I'll get you out of here."  Mousse said
again, and he quickly leaped over the fence.  Shampoo heard
several quick impacts, and a grunt of pain from Mousse.  Ignoring
the tranks that now stuck in his back, Mousse quickly moved deeper
into the forest.  More of the darts struck home, but he continued
on.

Akane, Ukyou and Feather were running down a corridor,
desperately running from the other members of the Viper clan.
Ryuutsu had bought them some time, but at the cost of his life.
The guards had gunned him down on the orders of the man they had
seen in the truck.  What they hadn't seen, was the toppled, but
now empty, glass tube.  Nor did they hear the shrieks of pain from
the guards who were foolish enough to face the monstrosity who was
running loose.  Leaving death and destruction in it's wake, the
thing made it's way out of the building, killing all it
encountered.  Moving swiftly, it disappeared into the woods.

      Some time later, Mousse and Shampoo were resting near a
tree.  Shampoo was carefully removing the darts from Mousse's
back.  The soft moonlight illuminated the pair, and a gentle brook
bubbled nearby.
      "Mousse, you no have to do that."  She said softly.
      "There was no way I was going to leave you in there to be
tortured and mutilated by that fiend."  Mousse grunted as she
removed another dart.  Shampoo was glad that he was unable to see
the tears falling from her eyes.   She bent to her task again,
unawares of the form creeping up behind her.  Mousse saw it,
however, and stood quickly.
      "Mousse!  What you doing?"  Shampoo said, dashing the tears
from her eyes.  She noticed Mousse was tensed for a fight, and she
followed his gaze.  What she saw made her blood run cold, and she
screamed.  The moonlight didn't seem to be able to penetrate the
dark aura that surrounded the monstrosity before them.  The
misshapen form lunged for them, knocking Mousse away, his blood
spattering onto Shampoo.  Too weak to run, Shampoo stared up at
the monstrosity standing over her.  She gaped at the large holes
in it's chest area, and the forked tongue that lapped the blood
off of it's talons.  She saw it raise an impossibly long arm, and
she closed her eyes, waiting for the final blow.  She heard a
sickening tearing sound, a scream of pain, and then a bellow of
outrage, suddenly cut off.  There was a heavy thud, and a gurgling
sound.  Shampoo opened her eyes and saw a very bloody Mousse
standing over her, a large scimitar covered with some sort of
yellow ichor held in his hands.  She also saw the severed arm
of the beast, and it's decapitated corpse lying nearby.  Mousse
snarled at it.
      "No one hurts my Shampoo and gets away with it."  He walked
over and stabbed his scimitar deep into the corpse.  When he
turned back to Shampoo, she stifled a gasp.  His robes had been
torn open, and his bare chest had three very long, bloody tears in
it.  He staggered towards her.
      "I beat it for you Shampoo..."  He managed to say before he
collapsed.
      "MOUSSE!!!!"

      Opening a door, the girls dashed through it and
slammed it shut behind them.  Gasping for breath, they looked into
the room, and froze.  Standing before them was a tall man,
wielding a sword.
      "Welcome, I never expected you to just run in here, but now
we don't have to look for you."  He grinned maliciously at them.
The girls trembled where they stood, not believing their bad luck.
The man started to laugh, blood-lust gleaming in his remaining
eye, and started to swing his
sword in rapid strokes.  Dodging the best they could, the girls
scattered.  Akane's school dress was severely shortened, and a
small cut appeared on her leg.  Ukyou was dodging the best she
could, wishing she had her spatula with her.  Ukyou's clothes were
partially shredded from the near misses, and it looked like she
was wearing little more than a halter top and a pair of cut offs.
Feather was faring no better than the others, as she frantically
dodged the deadly sword.  The yellow tank top was now ending just
below her breasts, and scraps of her pants were still held in
place by the cords around her calves, looking like absurd leg
warmers.  Ukyou misjudged one swing, and got hit on the side of
her head by the flat of the blade.  The force of the blow caused
her to lose her balance, and she fell, hitting her head on the
hard floor knocking her unconscious.
      "Hahahahahaha!!  What's the matter?  Can't you do more than
just dodge?"  He laughed maniacally as he swung his sword again
and again.  Suddenly the door burst open, and a dramatic figure.
      "Hold thou honorless dog!"  Kuno yelled, holding not his
bokken, but a real katana.  The swordsman stopped and contemplated
this new adversary.
      "Go away whelp, before I hurt you."  And he swung his sword
to emphasize his point.  Kuno calmly blocked the attack and yelled
at the girls.
      "Escape while I defeat this wretch.  I will see to it that
the fair Ukyou is safe from this hound of hell"  Kuno glared at
the swordsman as the girls squeezed behind him through the door.
Once the girls were clear, Kuno advanced.
      "You have this one opportunity to surrender before the blue
thunder of Furinkan High.  Be quick in deciding, for my patience
is thin."  The swordsman laughed at Kuno.
      "Me, surrender to the likes of you?  I shall spit upon your
grave!"  The swordsman lunged forward, intent on dismembering the
arrogant boy before him.  Kuno smiled briefly before he raised his
katana.
      "And so the hounds of hell bark furiously,"  Block slash and
counter, opening a slight wound upon the swordsman's chest, "But
mine eyes see a toothless cur barking loudly to hide his
insecurity, and weakness."
      "Shut up!"  Their blades locked in between them, and Kuno
looked into his enemies eye and smiled.
      "A coward dies many deaths before his true death.  Mayhap I
shall deliver you unto that oblivion before long.  I shall defeat
you, and then I shall decide whether or not I shall take your
pitiful head as a gift to mine beloved."
      "I said shut UP!!!"  He swung his sword furiously, but Kuno
blocked every strike.  The clash of steel upon steel echoed down
the empty corridor.

      "BAKUSAI TENKETSU!" Ryouga roared as he broke through
another wall.  He and Ranma had split up to search for the girls
more effectively.  A dart or two protruded from him, but he was
unaffected thanks to Cologne tapping some hyper-activity shiatsu
spot.
      "Akane!  Feather!  Ukyou!"  He called out as he moved
cautiously down a hallway.  A lone member of the Viper clan
attempted to tackle Ryouga, but was kicked back down the hallway,
where he crumpled. Ryouga forcefully opened every door he came
across, and occasionally fought with some guards.  He heard
someone running rapidly down the hall, along with what sounded
like a large bird flying.  Ducking into a doorway, Ryouga peered
out, ready to get a surprise attack in.  Hearing that the runner
was almost right in front of the door, Ryouga jumped out ready to
slam the individual into oblivion.
      "Eeeeeeekk!!!  Ryouga, don't scare me like that!!!"  Akane
screamed, and then pounded on the startled Ryouga's chest.
Feather was hovering nearby, her wings moving rapidly.  She landed
quickly and hugged Ryouga fiercely.
      "It's about time you showed up!"  Feather said, starting to
cry into his chest.  Akane backed up a step with a faint smile.
Ryouga was quickly turning red.
      "Ah, Feather, we still have to get out of here, remember?
And where's Ukyou?"  Feather stopped sniffling for a second as she
told him about the swordsman, and Kuno's timely rescue.
      "Great, let's find Ranma and get out of here."  Ryouga said,
and started walking back the way he came.  Akane ran a bit to
catch up.
      "How are we going to find Ranma?"  Akane asked as she
stepped through one of Ryouga's impromptu doors, and then she
looked around her in shock.  There were piles of unconscious
guards littered across the room.  Ryouga grinned.
      "Simple, we follow the trail of destruction."  They broke
into a run, while Feather opted to fly down the hallway.  It
wasn't long before they could hear sounds from a viscous battle,
and a familiar voice could be heard over the bedlam.
      "Where's Akane you bastards!"  Akane's heart jumped in her
chest when she heard Ranma's voice.   Akane started to run towards
the noise, when someone crashed through the door just in front of
her.  The individual slammed into the wall on the opposite end of
the hall, and went limp.  Akane rushed towards the door and peeked
in, vaguely aware of Ryouga and Feather moving up behind her.
Akane gasped at the sight before her.  Ranma was moving through
the room at a dizzying pace, dealing out punishment wherever he
went.  His shirt was shredded, and his fists were covered in
blood.  Anxious, Akane looked harder and realized that the blood
that covered his fists were the result of the now toothless,
broken nosed men that lay scattered about unconscious.  When the
last of the guards fell, Akane gave a shout.
      "Ranma!!!"  She ran into the room, and just as he turned
around, she glomped onto him, Shampoo-like, and then fiercely
kissed him.  Ranma's brain suffered from shutdown, but he managed
to stay standing and hug her back.
      "Hi Akane, sorry I'm late."  He grinned after Akane broke
off the kiss.  Feather cheered from the door.
      "Go for it you two!  Wooo hooo!  Look at that hot couple!"
Akane and Ranma separated, thoroughly embarrassed, but happy at
the same time.  Ryouga strode into the room, and clapped Ranma on
the shoulder.
      "Nice work Ranma, Mousse got Shampoo out right after we
split up, and Kuno is probably getting Ukyou out right now.  I
think it's time to go home."  Ranma grinned.
      "This wasn't so tough..."  Ranma started to say, before a
wall exploded, revealing two men, one holding a spear, the other
was twirling nunchuks.  "Then again...  Akane!  Feather!  Get out
of here while we take care of these guys!"  Ranma yelled, dropping
back into his stance.  Ryouga started to twirl his bandannas in
preparation for the attack.  Before the girls could react, Ranma
and Ryouga launched themselves towards the men.  Ranma attacked
the one with the nunchuks,  while Ryouga threw his bandannas at
the spear wielder.
      Ranma's opponent dodged Ranma's initial attack, and slammed
his nunchuks into Ranma's back.  Ranma arched in pain, but spun
kicked the man in the face, knocking him backwards.  Ranma didn't
stop there, he closed rapidly and unleashed the full power of the
chestnut fist.  The dazed man lashed out with a kick, that Ranma
gleefully dodged, and countered with a roundhouse that sent the
man flying.  Ranma gaped as the man stood up and rushed to the
attack again, still silent.  Ranma grabbed the man's arm, yanked
him off balance, and delivered a chop to the back of the neck.
The man slammed into the ground, but stood again to continue the
attack.  ::Is this guy human?:: Ranma thought as he danced the
deadly dance with his foe.
      Ryouga had missed with his bandannas, and closed in with his
opponent.  The enraged man swiped his spear towards Ryouga, and
was shocked when Ryouga grabbed it one handed, and then lifted the
man into the air and slammed him back down.  The spear shattered
from the impact, and Ryouga moved in closer.  Ryouga was slightly
startled at how much faster he was moving, ::Must be that shiatsu
point the old ghoul hit..:: He thought absently as he blocked a
kick.  Ryouga attacked with a fierce combination of punches and
kicks, and ended in a headbutt.  His opponent flew away from him
into the wall, and groggily stood up.  Ryouga grinned a bit, and
then charged the man.  Ryouga tackled him, and punched him in the
throat while the rolled, and then he abruptly stopped the roll,
and used the momentum to fling his enemy into the wall again.
When the man stood again, he remembered Colognes words in the dojo
'Once they are under the influence of the clan, they stop feeling
pain.  The only way they stop attacking is if they're dead.  Or
you are.'  The thought of dying in battle fighting someone not
quite human anymore depressed Ryouga.  Following that chain of
thought, the idea that he and Ranma might not be able to get the
girls out alive depressed him further.  Also, the thought that
he'd never see Feather's smiling face again threw him into the
deepest pit of despair.
      "I.  Will.  Not.  Let.  That.  Happen."  Ryouga ground out
as green energy flowed around him like a cyclone.  The force of
his aura kept his opponent at bay.  Ranma spared a
glance away from his battle, to see that Ryouga was getting ready
to do a full shi shi hokoudan, and that the terrified girls were
still watching from the door.
      "Run!!"  Ranma yelled at them, and was gratified to see them
run off down the hallway.  Ranma got an idea for a devastating
combination.
      "Ryouga, release the shi shi hokoudan when I tell you too."
Ryouga nodded slowly, a single tear running down his cheek.  Ranma
got ready for his combination strike.
      "NOW!"  Ranma yelled, and Ryouga released the pent up energy
of a full shi shi hokoudan, while Ranma simultaneously jumped up
behind Ryouga and called out his attack.
      "Hiryu shoten ha revised,  horizontal depression cyclone
strike!!"  Ranma released his blast, and it sucked in the
tremendous power of the full shi shi hokoudan.  The cyclone of
energy was charged further by Ryouga's strike, and it streaked
towards their opponents.  Ranma didn't wait to see the result of
the attack, he grabbed Ryouga by his shirt and ran for cover.
      Akane and Feather heard a massive explosion behind them, and
turned around.  Billows of smoke and green flame licked from the
shattered doorway, obscuring all sight.
      "Ranma!!!"  Akane screamed and fell to her knee's.
      "Ryouga!!"  Feather duplicated Akane's performance, and
knelt beside her stricken friend.  She quickly grabbed Akane, and
hugged her fiercely, crying.  Akane felt like she was about to cry
as well, when she noticed something.
      "Feather, look!"
      Two silhouettes could be seen in the smoke, and they were
slowly approaching.  The girls stood up and got ready for trouble.
Slowly, the figures gained definition as they neared the edge of
the smoke.  Akane slowly started to smile.  The figures broke
through the edge of billowing smoke, and revealed a battered pair
of weary fighters.  Ranma and Ryouga walked with weary movements
towards the girls.  Akane was smiling widely now, and a shout got
her attention from a different hall.  Down that hallway, Kuno and
Ukyou strode towards them, too tired to run.  Akane and Feather
were both smiling hugely  at this point, and waited for their
friends to reach them.  They had a quick reunion inside the
destroyed hall.  After a few quick hugs, Ranma spoke up.  Everyone
relished his words.
      "Let's go home."
Wearily, they left the compound, and walked towards their agreed
meeting place.  The moonlight only increased the beauty of the
surrounding forest, and their spirits were lifted by the sight.
They weren't prepared for the sight that greeted them at the
rendezvous.  Shampoo was still trying to bandage up a badly
wounded Mousse, who appeared to be out cold.  Cologne was nearby
looking at the monstrosity that nearly killed the young amazons.
The other girls gasped, recognizing the thing that was contained
in the basement of the building.  When they got closer, it was
apparent that Shampoo had been crying heavily, and she didn't get
up to glomp onto Ranma.  She looked up and smiled slightly.
      "Nihau, Ranma.  Shampoo glad to see you got everyone else
out."  Her voice cracked, and she turned back to bandaging Mousse.
      "What happened Shampoo?"  Ranma asked, stunned that she was
staying by Mousse's side.  Not that he minded, but he was
concerned about the sheer mass of blood that covered the area.
The other girls looked at the thing Mousse had killed, and
shivered.  It was still moving, but the scimitar in it's back
prevented it from getting up.  The remaining arm was trying to
reach the weapon, but failing.
      "I never thought I'd see one of these again."  Cologne said
as she pogoed over to the battle weary group.  "A damned creature,
formed from malice and cursed souls who died from treachery, and
were never buried.  We must burn the remains to prevent it from
freeing itself again."
      As they built a pyre around the thing, Shampoo related to
the rest of the group what had happened.  She burst into tears
again when she told them how Mousse had taken the deathblow meant
for her, and then defeated the thing.
      "Shampoo no know what to do now.  Shampoo must marry Ranma,
but now Shampoo in debt of honor to Mousse.  Great-grandmother,
what Shampoo do now?"  She looked pleadingly over to the ancient
woman, who was calmly lighting the fire.  Without turning, the
shriveled leader of the Amazons spoke.
      "These circumstances are dire, and I must send a letter to
the rest of the council for advice in this matter.  Until I get a
response from them, you will continue to pursue Ranma, but be more
mindful of Mousse, child.  I fear the next few months will be
difficult for you, but keep this in mind.  Mousse has proven
himself as a man today.  He has killed in your defense, and that
cannot be ignored.  It would not be dishonorable for you to wed
him."  Cologne's words struck Shampoo to the core.  She bent over
Mousse's still form and cried.  The ancient amazon turned to the
rest of the group.  "We depart in the morning, after the fire has
gone out.  This place is still dangerous, so I will watch
tonight."  Kuno stood and lifted his katana.
      "I shall keep watch by your side, ancient one, as the great
Tatewaki Kuno was not wounded during this skirmish.  I would be
honored if I could guard the beautiful Akane Tendo, and the lovely
Feather whom I am much pleased to have made acquaintance with."
The others were too tired to object to his speech, and settled in
for the remainder of the night.
      The morning came all too quickly for the weary group, and
after insuring that the fire was out, and nothing remained of the
creature, they started back down the mountain.  Once on the train
for Nerima, they all slept again, too weary to even talk about
their individual fights.  It wasn't until they were back in
Nerima, with Mousse in a hospital, Shampoo at his side, and the
rest trudged into the Tendo Dojo.  Feather looked over the old
wooden house, and the neatly kept lawn.
::I'm home now, and nothing is going to change that.::  She
thought cheerfully as she joined in the quickly growing victory
party.

End of Chapter 4


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