The Greatest Evil in ALL Japan

     "Oneechan, what are you doing?"
Tendou Nabiki froze on hearing the soft voice, one foot at the threshold
of the door. 
     "Uhhhh. Nothing Akane." She gave a slight smile as she tried to
hide a package behind her back.
     "Really? What's that then?" Akane grinned at her sister and pointed
to the edge of the package peeking from behind Nabiki's skirt. "You
wouldn't be planning to sell pictures of 'Ranko' would you? Or maybe
blackmail some of the freshmen?" 
Smiling weakly Nabiki shook her head. "NO! I mean, no. What a ridiculous
idea."
Laughing, Akane batted the package out of Nabiki's hand and the two girls
were soon in a tussle over control of the package. Until, suddenly, the
paper tore; spilling the contents on the ground. Still grinning Akane bent to
pick up the mess. She stiffened, a very different look on her face as she
looked at what was in her hand.
     "Dad Kasumi!!! Come here, please."
A sick look on her face, Nabiki tried to slip away, only to be stopped by an
iron hand on her arm.
     "I think you should wait . . .for Kasumi. And father."
Almost before she stopped speaking Tendou Soun and his eldest child
appeared.
     "Y . . .yes, Akane. What did you want?" Soun stuttered, a bit out of
breath from running.
     "Akane, I was VERY busy." Kasumi's soft calm voice came from
behind her father. "I will never finish if I keep getting interrupted."
     "This is important."Akane insisted. "LOOK what Nabiki was
carrying." She thrust a packet of papers in her fathers face.
     "Oh Nabiki." Soun whispered, the blood draining from his face.
"What have you done? What HAVE you done?"
Kasumi peered over her fathers shoulder. "Oh my. Nabiki, I am surprised at
you." She looked up at Akane. "Do you need me?"
Akane shook her head.
     "All right then, I'd better get back to work." Eyes burning with fire,
great leathery wings erupted from her back as Kasumi took to the air.
     "Summon me at need." Kasumi called back, in a voice like a jet
engine eating a turbine blade. "you always have such . . .interesting ideas."
Akane watched her sister disappear into the distance, a fond smile on her
face as she watched Kasumi snatch an unwary fellow off the ground like a
stooping hawk. The despairing wail ended with a crunching suddenness
and Akane saw a few bits and pieces tumble to the ground as Kasumi
finished her snack.
     "Why can't you be more like your sister." Akane said mildly as she
turned back to Nabiki and her father. "SHE knows how to act, not like
THIS filth." Akane threw a handful of papers in Nabiki's face. "Widows
relief fund! Food for orphans!" Shuffling through the mass of papers
Akane's face tightened. "TOYS for TOTS!!!" Spittle flew through the air,
burning Nabiki's skin like acid.
"What did you think you were DOING!!!"
     "I . . .I'm sorry, Akane. But they were so hungry. And the children.
Some of them didn't have shoes. I didn't think it would hurt . . ."
     "So, you are worried about the little children. Worried they'll be
cold? Hungry?"
Numbly Nabiki nodded, clinging to her father for support.
     "Nazzrrl, aktnnk drrrnraath. AKT'NATZ NORP'LTH." The
ancient words rolled from Akane'e tongue. In a language that had been old
before the world was born. "AKT'NATZ STRMBLTH. KRNTA!
KRNTA! By blood and stone I call. With pain and sorrow I tempt.
Through death and corruption I COMMAND."  The words, dark and
terrible tainted the very air. The sun, once bright and cheerful shrank away
as darkness crawled across the ground like poisonous worms.  Terror
skittered from the blackness like a playful scorpion. Nabiki hid her face in
her fathers back, knowing, without understanding HOW she knew, that
madness was in that black mist. A terror so great it would blast her sanity
like dynamiting a rotten apple. And worst of all she knew, neither death nor
madness would free her from the terrible thing in the mist.
            "When I call you Cthulu," Akane said in a peeved voice. "I DO
NOT expect to be kept waiting." The thing in the abyss shivered in fear.
"Never mind." She said dismissivly.  "Oneechan is worried about some
widows and orphans. Go now. Where there is laughter let there be sorrow,
where joy anguish. Turn singing to lamentations, life to death, love to
hate." As she commanded, the mist flowed away across the ground. In its
wake stones wept and the walls bled. Shuddering Nabiki could hear cries of
despair and pleas for salvation as the earth cracked and hell-fire swept
across the land.
     "Well. That should take care of the widows and orphans." Akane
said cheerfully. The clock chimed and she looked up, startled. "Rats. We're
going to be late for school. RANMA!" She bellowed . "GET UP! We've
got to get to class."
Down the stairs bounded the world greatest martial artist, black pigtail
flying.
     "Please Ranma" Nabiki begged silently. "Please wake up. Break
free of her evil power. See her for what she really is."
     "Ah man. You didn't make the bentou didja?" Ranma looked in the
box that had been carved from a priests skull. "You don't expect me to
EAT this?" He pointed to the bits of stewed infant and roast virgin laying
on a bed of romaine lettuce. "I ain't eatin' none of your toxic stew.  I mean
this looks like somthin' some evil deamon would cook in hell." A faint light
seemed to come into Ranma eyes.
     "Yes . . .yes" Nabiki whispered prayerfully. "Fight it Ranma. See
her for what she is. Reject her evil bentou. Come back into the light."
     "I . . .I just don't think it's right to . . .to eat small children.
Not in
a sweet and sour sauce."
     "WHAT!!! You insult MY COOKING!" The massive hammer
"HELLBANGER" appeared in Akane's hands. "I worked REALLY hard
on that recipe. Do you know how HARD it was to get blond virgins . . . in
TOKYO!!! And all you can do is INSULT my cooking?" Black tendrils of
pure evil burst from Akane's skin like roaches from a dung heap and
crawled into Ranma's mouth and nose devouring his pure heart. Nabiki
looked on in despair as the light died from Ranma's eyes and, zombi like he
followed her sister from the house toward school.

     Nabiki dropped to her knees weeping. "Oh daddy, what are we
going to do? I can't go on like this."
Tendou Soun held his weeping daughter and unwillingly thought back to
that day, that horrible day sixteen years earlier when SHE had burst from
his dear departed wife's belly. Her unnatural birth had filled the world with
fear, hatred and war for the first time in recorded history. Soun wanted to
weep at what he'd fathered, but he had no more tears.

                                             
Passing through the school gates just before the first bell Akane was
surprised by ringing golden voice.
     "Tendou Akane, I challenge you for the pure heart of Saotome
Ranma."
Akane spun to face the voice. "Saint Ukyou." She sneered. "YOU
challenge ME?"
A woman, taller and more beautiful than any mortal woman floated toward
Akane, born aloft by the purity of her soul and the strength of her
character.
     "I do challenge you.  To fair combat for the soul of this good and
noble man, whose soul you have corrupted with your evil." A single tear
slid down her impossibly smooth skin, becoming a perfect diamond as it fell
to the ground with a musical tinkle. "To save this strong, beautiful, perfect
boy; this angelic one whom you abuse, torment and terrorize. I will fight
you, thought strife and anger are anathema to we saints. I fight because it it
right, it is just and it is necessary."
While Saint Ukyou spoke from her heart; spoke those noble, valiant words
that only a child of god could have spoken, the evil one was summoning all
the powers of darkness. Calling on chaos and cold, death and decay
Tendou Akane called on her Mother DEATH and her Father Despair.
>From the beginning of time when the first single celled animal killed it's
parent to the end-of-time, where the last glowing hydrogen cloud faded she 
and died she summoned her power. Out of the heart of a frozen star she
pulled sorrow, out of  the heart of a dying child she called fear. And
darkness fought the light.  Akane summoned the evil hammer known to
men- as Hellbanger, forged in the fires of despair from the bones of the
unburied dead and quenched in the blood of murdered children. 
Hellbanger, soul smasher and hope killer. Against this evil, Saint Ukyou
raised the great spatula White Dragon, forged of hope and dreams;
tempered by wisdom and tolerance.  Like titans the two clashed, one purest
white the other blacker than old sin.   The demon Akane brought
Hellbanger down in a great crushing blow. Deftly Saint Ukyou countered,
catching Hellbanger on White Dragons shaft. Gliding forward Saint Ukyou
directed Hellbanger down and away bringing White Dragon end cap
sharply forward into the demons gut. Akane, the black hearted, was
stunned by this righteous blow and went to one knee. Summoning her evil
power she brought Hellbanger around in a great sweeping movement.
Leaping high into the air to avoid this strike, the beautiful Saint Ukyou was
caught by surprise when Akane ,the Foul, suddenly swept a handful of dirt
into her face. Taken off guard by this treachery the noble Saint Ukyou was
helpless to avoid the counter strike when Akane shortened her grip on
Hellbanger and brought the spiked end suddenly forward into the Saint's
chest. Only the purity of her heart allowed the blinded heroine to intercept
the demon hammer with the shining steel of White Dragon. Dashing sweat
and dirt from her eyes Saint Ukyou lunged to the attack. Again the two
clashed, a swirling dance of steel and death. Neither able to gain an
advantage but never with a thought of yielding save to death. Then, with a
sudden treachery than only hells own daughter could achieve Akane, the
soulless, struck a mortal blow.
     "Your secret sauce comes from a CAN!!!"
     "AAAAAAAAA!!!" With a despairing scream the Saint fell back,
wounded unto death. In the hidden fastness of the temple sanctified to the
goodness of Okonomyaki the sacred flame that burned eternally flickered
and almost went out.
     "Please . . .Ranchan." The stricken Saint raised one pure, delicate
hand toward her lost love. "Please, Ranchan. Help me. Fight her evil.
Remember me. Remember the three days we had together ten years ago.
When you thought I was a boy. The good times you had beating me up for
free food. Remember your cute fiance, the one you thought was a boy.
Remember . . ." Her strength failing her at last, Saint Ukyou fell back
against the cold earth. Above her the Devil Akane stood, laughing
triumphantly. To one side Ranma stood, not looking at the fallen form of
his childhood friend. Instead his gaze was locked helplessly on the demonic
face of Akane the murderous. One thought, and one thought only remained
to him.
     "I wonder if there's any soup-bread left?"