He watched the great fireball descend in the horizon, bathing the
sky in a fiery orange glow.
  It, perhaps, would be the last he would ever see for a long while.
  Slowly, he forced himself to walk down the mountain trail, all the
while resisting the urge to continue staring at the setting sun.
  Left foot. Right foot.
  And soon, he was making a steady pace as darkness enveloped him.
  "The time has come," he said in a grave tone, speaking to himself
aloud. "The annihilation of Humanity is at hand; the Cleansing shall
begin. The gods help us if we are wrong."
  Only the one with eight sets of eyes truly knew the answer.

			*  *  *  *  *

Phoenix Rising

"What is wedlock forced but a hell, an age of discord and
  continued strife? Whereas the contrary bringeth bliss?"
						-- Shakespeare,
							Henry VI

"Humans have a phrase: 'What is past is prologue.' Minbari also have
  a phrase: 'What is past is also sometimes future.'"
						-- Delenn, Babylon 5

  Everything you know about life is wrong.
  There was a time when Tatewaki Kuno cared for other women, but now
he found he could not. Only one thought occupied his mind right now,
standing alone that morning on the porch, staring at the rising sun,
This thought prevented him from drifting to his beloved Ukyo Kuonji.
  Kodachi had died.
  Well, in a manner of speaking, of course. She hadn't physically-
died, really. Actually, it was more of a mental death, if one could
call it that.
  Nearly a month ago Ukyo had asked for Kuno's help to rid Ranma of
an evil possessing spirit. The only reason he had gone was because
Ukyo had asked, and that Akane was in danger. He would later find
that he was not the only one to aid in the battle; Ryoga, Mousse,
Shampoo, and Kodachi were recruited as well, being part of the six
that formed the circle around Ranma and Akane, whatever that meant.
  Joining minds, the six had traveled to Ranma's mindscape, where
Akane was being held against her will. Ranma, under the so-called
'influences' of the evil phantom, had killed Mousse and Kodachi,
and had almost done Ukyo and himself in as well before the others
could stop him. As in a dream, when one dies, one wakes up, and that
was the fate of Mousse and Kodachi.
  While Mousse suffered no lasting trauma, Kodachi hadn't recovered.
  Kuno had accepted the fact that Kodachi loved Ranma long ago. To
be otherwise now was-- to say the least-- unsettling. He had always
wished his twisted sister would give-up her affection for the foul
sorcerer, but not in this way. Kodachi refused to come within sight
of Ranma, being quite bitter about being one of those who he had
targeted to kill.
  The richman and head of House Kuno had no idea what was going on
through his sister's mind. In fact, he had no idea what that girl
was doing right now. Humph, probably cuddling with that Taro person,
or feeding that alligator or something, Kuno guessed. At least she
was taking care of SOMETHING.
  Kuno had grudgingly-hired a gardener after Kodachi refused to
touch the plants in the courtyard anymore, as if their presence made
her sick. He had the idea that she wanted them to die, probably to
experience what she had experienced: dying.
  Dying.
  Yes, he, too, had died once, during a duel against an assassin who
wished to bring harm to Akane. It was the invincible Chinese Phoenix
Sword that killed him, as it drained almost all of Kuno's soul power.
Dying had opened his eyes, made new roads available to him, and it
was there, in Heaven, that Kuno discovered that Ranma was the pig-
tailed girl. That alone drove him back to Earth. Since then, Kuno
steadily-increased his soul energies, so that he may never burn
himself out again.
  Dying wasn't such a bad thing.
  Perhaps dying was a good thing for dear Kocchi, Kuno supposed. Of
course, she cherished life and living over all else; perhaps she
might not make it out of her problem alone. Perhaps it was time I
did something besides stand around and wonder.
  He was on the verge of collapse when, in the mindscape, Ranma had
thrown his deadly energy lance through Kodachi's stomach, creating a
clean-cut hole right through the center. The memory of what Kodachi
had done still haunted him: she merely stared down at the hole, as
if it were always there, then back at Ranma, and laughed. Then, she
fell forward, falling flat on her face, and died.
  She had laughed. Laughed, as if it were a joke.
  That was what scared Tatewaki Kuno most.
  After all, everything you know about life is wrong.

  Cold air rushed past the solitary martial artist by the name of
Saotome, given name Ranma. Teal wisps of smoke danced all about,
kicked up like sand in a high wind.
  He practiced his kicks against an imaginary opponent, keeping
steady in each blow, simulating tae kwon do moves he had seen
demonstrated to him once on television. None of it was particularly
difficult, he thought.
  It was then the imaginary opponent was replaced by a person. Ranma
ceased his practice, not surprised that the newcomer arrived.
  The newcomer wore a heavy, dark mantle, concealing the rest of the
body. The sleeves of the mantle dangled loosely by the side; Ranma
knew that this person had her arms folded in the drape-like cloth.
  "Do you know who I am?" she asked.
  "Of course I do," Ranma answered quickly, casually.
  She shook her head. "Do you KNOW who I am?"
  "What's THAT supposed to mean?" the martial artist asked.
  Quickly, the woman was replaced by another figure... that of a
man, dressed in long, plain white pants, and a scale-patterned shirt,
the likes of which Ranma knew and despised.
  "WHY are you here?!" Ranma yelled.
  The man chuckled to himself. "You're missing something."
  And, from behind Ranma, another voice said, "When the log falls,
you will all die."
  The martial artist turned to look over his shoulder, but found no
one there. Turning back to face the man, Ranma was surprised to find
him replaced by the woman from before. One eye glowed a ruby red,
in a diamond-like shape, as if it were made of artificial substances.
  "It's not too late," she said. "I'll always be there."

  "It is time," announced Kodachi.
  In the dark chamber that served as Kodachi Kuno's bedchambers
she cackled madly, her only audience being Pantyhose Taro, her latest
love of her life. The walls of the room that were once decorated with
posters of Ranma were now bare; a single picture remained, posted at
the center of a dart board, with three darts stuck through it. The
room reeked of plant life, as Kodachi kept a vase of roses by her
bedside, the buds emitting a powerful, yet pleasant, scent, only
vaguely reminiscent of actual roses. She loved to chemically-
enhance her plants whenever possible, and the roses represented one
such specimen of many in the garden.
  "We will hit him hard, and hit him fast," explained Kodachi,
pacing around Taro, tapping a club in her palm. "After all, it is
three against one, and certain advantages available to us alone!"
  Taro nodded. The 'three' included himself, Kodachi, and Kodachi's
idiotic brother, the Poet. The 'advantages' his love spoke of
included several plans and contingencies, worked out by Taro and
Kodachi together, each pointing-out each other's flaws and even
more contingencies. The target, of course, was none other than
Femme-boy, otherwise known as Ranma Saotome.
  Kodachi wished to harm Ranma to the point of overhumiliation, if
not to death. All of that suited Taro just fine, so long as Ranma
got what he deserved. Of course, given Kodachi's rather sadistic
attitude toward battle, he might have to restrain her attack a bit as
well, especially if his cousin, Akane, were endangered.
  He cracked his knuckles in anticipation. "Finally, time for some
long-deserved payback!"
  Taro circled his arms around Kodachi lovingly. The couple stared
into each other's eyes knowingly.
  "Whatever happens," the Chinese man said, "we do it together."
  "Yes, together," echoed Kodachi, whispering softly. Smiling gently,
she pressed her lips onto Taro's, oblivious to the rest of the world,
if only for a moment.

  Not far from the Kuno estate, in Tokyo proper, a woman, who appeared
to be in her late thirties or early forties, emerged from the airplane
that had carried her home from Abu Dhabi.
  She stepped out of the airplane's hatch and into the boarding ramp
that lead to the terminal, careful not to let her carnation-adorned
kimono brush against what she perceived as filthy walls. She clomped
down the ramp, carrying an air of importance with her, with her chin
up high, and a beautifully-patterned folding fan in hand, ever so
slightly waving air toward the woman's delicate face.
  The woman stepped into the terminal, standing there for a moment,
as if to take in the air around her. With her free hand, the lady
threw her pony tail over her shoulder, letting it dangle almost
invitingly on the left side. She wrinkled her nose, suddenly
remembering why she hated the city so much: it reminded her too much
of home.
  For the Lady Kuno, the mother of Tatewaki and Kodachi, was not
born to wealth, but to poverty; however, marriage to the rich maniac
Kuno had changed everything.
  Speaking of which....
  "Service!" demanded the Lady, making herself heard over the noise
of the occupants of the terminal.
  No sooner had she cried out had the nearest airport employee came
to her side. He bowed to the Lady respectfully.
  "Get my package out of the baggage compartment, now!" she ordered.
"My husband is no good to me dead!"

  Ukyo, don't you think it is time to get up?
  The okonomiyaki chef groaned, rolling to her side in her futon
lazily.
  "Go 'way," murmured Ukyo. "It's my day off...."
  You know as well as I that I cannot do that.
  It was then that Ukyo realized that nobody had spoken to her. She
rolled onto her back, and maneuvered her hands to cushion her head.
The chef cursed silently, remembering where the voice came from.
  "I thought I told you I wanted to sleep in," she whispered to the
air, running her fingers through her long, black hair.
  I can feel it in the air. Echoing through space is the resonance
of energy, energy that has the same signature as that the Warmage
gathered from Ranma a while ago. It can only mean that Warmage has
finally found a suitable host for Nemesis.
  Sitting up, Ukyo said, "Now?"
  Gather the others. Their help will be needed.
  "Oh, all right," the chef said, shrugging.
  The voice Ukyo heard in her head belonged to that of Seiryu, her
future self, who traveled back in time to prevent Nemesis from
destroying mankind. When she failed in her mission, she managed to
transfer some of her memories into Ranma's mind, and, after joining
minds with Ranma recently, Seiryu's memories leaped into Ukyo's mind.
  The strangest part of it all was that Ukyo was, in effect, talking
to herself.
  Seiryu's mental voice was the same as Ukyo's; no surprise, since
they are the same person. Seiryu's voice carried the weight of
experience, of a certain weariness, yet, holding determination and
hope at the same time. The future Ukyo continued to point out to the
chef that her own voice was still filled with some innocence, but of
what Ukyo couldn't determine.
  It wasn't long before Ukyo realized that Seiryu's memories had the
ability to teach her how to use her latent psychokinetic powers,
powers in which Seiryu mastered in her time. By force of will Ukyo
practiced creating chi daggers, a feat many martial artists couldn't
hope to do. Yet, somehow, Ukyo knew that Seiryu was holding back on
her lessons, as if there was something Ukyo wasn't supposed to use.
  Ranma possessed as much potential, if not more, as Ukyo did in chi
mastery. However, Seiryu had explained that Ranma's mastery comes
not from within as Ukyo's did, but from others. For a time, Ranma
had used those ultimate powers, but they were drawn from negative,
dark emotions, rooted in evil born in his person. Only the power of
faith surpassed that energy, and it was the only energy that could
properly-fuel Ranma's ultimate powers.
  Of course, the problem was, Ranma lacked faith. Careful study
by Cologne revealed that Ranma must place faith in those closest to
him, namely Akane, Ukyo, Ryoga, Mousse, Shampoo, Kuno, and Kodachi,
as all their lives were interconnected. All eight belong to a
circle, old Cologne said, with Ranma and Akane in the center, and
the other six around them in a circular pattern.
  Only together would they defeat the evil Warmage was attempting to
bring into the world. And unless something was done, the circle
would collapse, and all hope with it.
  So they said.
  "It's time to correct my mistakes," Ukyo announced to nobody in
particular. "ALL of them...."

  "It's time to collect what's due to me," Mousse muttered to
himself.
  Sitting cross-legged, arms folded across his chest, head bent low,
the Chinese acrobat took in a deep breath, then relaxed, savoring
the flow of air in his lungs before exhaling. The only light that
illuminated the attic of the Nekohatten came from a single window,
the light unobstructed by the heavy curtains pulled to the side.
Mousse had arranged his seating such that the light of the rising
sun, as it traveled across the sky, would bathe him in greater
radiance, sitting with his back against the window all the while.
  The shadow he cast spanned to the door. This time of the morning
was the perfect time.
  Mousse reached to his right and pulled a box in front of him,
which appeared a bit larger than a box containing a basketball. He
opened the package he had received nearly two weeks ago, and
stared at the contents inside.
  Reaching into the box with both hands, the Chinese acrobat
removed a pair of matching claw razors. Each razor appeared as
the black, heavy gloves that one might find in a laboratory, fitting
well over the wrists and halfway up to the elbows, but that was where
the similarities ended; the 'fingers' of the gloves ended in four
large, stainless steel edges, giving the appearance of a great claw
from the most imposing of demons-- three fingers and a thumb, if one
wished to look at the weapons in that manner.
  Mousse put both gloves on his hands, flexing the 'fingers'
experimentally. Although he had been practicing with these new
weapons for the past two weeks, the acrobat could still feel awe.
  Slipping off the gloves, Mousse stowed them away into their new
resting place, up his sleeves. He reached back into the box and
withdrew a folded piece of paper. Unfolding it, the Chinese acrobat
read the words he'd read so many times before: "To Mousse, I have
fashioned these weapons for you since we last parted nearly a year
ago. I have personally enchanted them with the most powerful Taoist
sorceries available to me; think of me when you use them. May we
meet again where no darkness falls, Mei-ling."
  Silently, he folded the letter back up, and slipped it into his
sleeves.
  Leaping to his feet, Mousse turned to face the window. With
graceful strides he made his way to the window, and, with his left
hand, pushed it open, allowing the wind to rush into the attic.
  Peering out the window, staring down at the street below, he
whispered, "All that is left to do is to get revenge against Ranma
Saotome!"
  Only a pair of eyes bore witness to Mousse's flight from the open
window, watching him race across the rooftops to his destination.
Nodding to each other in understanding, Ling-ling and Lung-lung,
polearms in hand, followed the Chinese acrobat.
  Little did any of the three deserters know that Shampoo, her
father, and old Cologne were watching them depart from the dining
room inside.
  "Follow them," the old woman ordered Shampoo. "Make sure they do
not ruin my plans."

  Ranma's eyes flew open like a spring returning to its natural
state.
  Damn, that was a weird dream....
  For a moment, while staring at the ceiling, he wondered why Akane
didn't wake him up earlier.
  Lying in his double futon on the floor, Ranma lay in bed, alone.
Judging from the clock, it was almost ten in the morning. He could
hear the faint chirping of the birds out in the Tendo yard through
the open window, as well as smell whatever it was Kasumi had made
for breakfast.
  Oh yeah, Ranma thought, I told Akane I wanted to sleep-in today.
Well, in part that had much to do with Ukyo's decisions; every
morning for the past few months she and Ranma practiced in the dojo
at dawn, just before Ukyo opened her shop. However, since today was
one day she designated as a 'day off,' she decided to sleep-in, and
Ranma did the same. After all, getting up at dawn wasn't Ranma's
idea of a morning.
  He almost expected to hear the voice of Ucchan in his mind, but
there was only emptiness.
  Ukyo, where are you? Ranma wondered.
  No answer.
  Her familiar, comforting, soothing voice was missing, as it has
been for almost a month, even though he's seen her every morning.
It was the voice that assured Ranma that everything would turn out
right in the end, the voice of reason, the one that guided his
actions like a loving parent. It was she, in his mind, which would
always be there, but she was gone.
  Ranma concluded that he missed her.
  "Geez, I don't get it," Ranma said to himself. "Why in the world
would I be thinking about Ukyo right now? I've never thought about
her all that much before, so why am I now?"
  Maybe it's time to pay her a visit, he decided. I've got to sort
this thing out.
  Pulling himself out from under the covers of the bed, Ranma shook
those thoughts from his mind, and began to change his clothes.



                   *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

			The Wheel of Fire, #16: Nemesis

  Written by Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@hotmail.com)
  http://www.crosswinds.net/~slythe/ranma/ranff.html
  Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. And
all that other good stuff. Proper licenses belong to respective
properties and characters. The manga has precedence over material in
the anime.
  This file can be freely distributed so long as it appears in its
complete form and proper credit. No part may be reproduced for
monetary gain without permission from the author (to which the answer
is probably "no").

Fanart inspired by this story can be found at:
  http://www.crosswinds.net/~slythe/ranma/ranfa.html

  Author's note: This series takes place after the final manga story.

Plot Points
===========
1. Ranma and Akane are married. Ryoga and Akari are married.
2. Nodoka insisted that Ukyo join her family to remove her past
dishonor. While Ukyo accepted, she opted to retain her name for duty
to her family as sole heir.
3. Kodachi and Tatewaki hate their parents and Ranma. They know Ranma
is the pig-tailed girl, and are quite unforgiving about that.
4. Ling-ling, Lung-lung, and Shampoo's father work at the Nekohatten.
5. Kodachi and Pantyhose Taro admit affection for each other.
6. Ukyo discovers she can manipulate chi. With proper training she
could become more powerful than Ranma.

You can start reading now... heh.

--------------------------------------------------
**************************************************

Afterword

  You got that right, I cut the title and put it on the bottom. If there's 
anything I've learned about fic posting is that there's no chance for anyone 
to get on board a series (later in the series) unless otherwise... induced. 
This is part of said experiment-- no labels, no titles, no indication that 
the story was part of any series, but something self-contained. It is 
self-contained, actually; that is what people don't see; EVERYTHING is 
self-contained.
  Thanks ahead of time to Krista Perry for getting me to do this (if 
indirectly).

  Stay tuned; the war has just begun.

----------------------------------------------------------
This has been yet another exercise in interpretation.
"Decepticons FOREVER!!" --Ravage, former Decepticon
"If you go to Z'ha'dum, you will die." --Kosh, Babylon 5

"[Y]ou're lamer than your signature and screen name indicate."--Chris Davies
"The FFML exists to judge the writing, not the writers."--Richard Lawson
"There was a recent case where a fanfic author put together his work with 
only another fanfic serving as his primary resource.  *I* started writing 
fanfiction that way, and consequently I never grew attached to this whole 
idea of remaining true to the original.  I call it "correction."--Reverend 
Prez

--Razorclaw X
Author: "Wheel of Fire", "The World's Worst Ranma Fanfic!", "The Geometry of 
Shattered Souls", "The Balance of Power".
"I sold my soul to buy a copy of the dubbed 'Ukyo Can Cook'"
"Pathetic authors beg for flames. Wait, that's me."


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