The Wheel of Fire, #30: Revelations
Written by Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@NYChotmail.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 given.
No part may be reproduced for monetary gain without
permission from the author.
Fanart can be found at:
http://www.crosswinds.net/~slythe/fanart/index.html
------------------------------------------------
"In order to succeed we must first believe that we
can." -- Michael Korda
He ran from the creature of darkness at top speed,
feeling as though he would never be a sufficient
distance away despite his speed.
As he sprinted through the inky blackness somehow
he made out the tiny shapes of lizards as black as
their surroundings, each possessing one large, glowing
green eye where their heads should have been. Each
lizard gazed at him as he passed by, and continued to
follow. When they disappeared into the distance behind
they meshed together with the sickly-green cloud of
pestilence that chased him.
The cloud grew larger, and to his dismay it wasn't
because it was growing in size-- it was getting closer.
It was then that he decided to stop running, and turned
to face the cloud-creature defiantly.
"The nightmares ended a long time ago," Ranma shouted
at the top of his lungs, despite realizing he was in a
dream-- it was all he could do to try and wake up. But,
as before, the nightmare would never release him until
it got its message across first.
The cloud threatened to envelop the martial artist
in its green wisps, but the creature stopped short of
doing so. Ranma could barely make out a shape within
the cloud, one that resembled human.
"Caught you are in the strings spun by the Fates,"
the entity said in a whispering tone. "Destiny has
many plans for you."
"Destiny," the martial artist repeated to himself.
"It's always destiny it's all comin' back to!"
"Actions of the past dictate what you must do in the
near future," the cloud-creature insisted with a
certain urgency.
The sickly-green glow softened in Ranma's eyes,
transforming before his eyes into a darker, forest-
green. The shape within became nearly invisible until
the forest-green turned into a turquoise, then sea-
blue. When the cloud transformed into a sky-blue, the
shape emerged from creature.
He was hardly surprised when he saw who came out.
The clouds dissipated into nothingness, leaving only
Ukyo Kuonji, dressed in the same manner as when he last
saw her in the underground Orochi compound. She bore
a haunting visage to that of Seiryu, minus the
telltale crimson scar that fell vertically over the
left eye, yet Ukyo's left eye faintly glowed of a pale
ki energy. Whether it was a mark of destiny, or a
warning of what to come, Ranma didn't know, but what he
did know for certain was that his actions did prevent
his old friend from becoming the monstrous Seiryu.
"Destiny is forged by our own wills," Ukyo said in a
calm manner. "Fate doesn't determine what will or will
not happen. We're all responsible for our own actions."
Ranma nodded slowly. "I'll try to keep that in mind."
For the rest of the night he dreamed of nothing.
Day 4
Ranma wandered the deck of the cargo ship as it
continued up the river, eyes wandering for any sight of
the elusive Shadow Weaver, Hokuto. When he woke up that
morning she was nowhere to be seen. She was also
absent from the morning meal she negotiated with the
captain when she got passage on the ship earlier in
the week.
The ship was by no means small, but since it was a
river boat it wasn't very large, either. The martial
artist's thoughts wandered to disaster when he spotted
Hokuto standing at the port bow rail, staring out to
the land across the river.
She had thrown her concealing cloak's folds over her
shoulders, allowing them to flow with the wind. She
wore the baggy pants that seemed common in China, tied
off at the waist with a towel. An expensive-looking
vest was worn over her shirt, partially concealing the
bandoleer of spatulas Hokuto seemed ashamed of using,
but used nonetheless. Her eyes seemed lost in the wind
that brushed her.
For the first time Ranma realized he was looking at
the girl as a girl, as Hokuto somewhat reminded him of
Akane. He felt something within himself that seemed
to long for her companionship.
Fortunately, the feeling was suppressed by the
Shadow Weaver herself. She seemed to notice Ranma's
presence, immediately startling him. "I see you've
woken up," Hokuto said, without turning away from the
rail.
"Where've you been?" the martial artist asked. "I've
been lookin' all over for you."
"That won't be a first," Hokuto noted cryptically.
"There's something I need to ask of you, and I think
only you can help out," he continued. "I need you to
tell me what Fate has in store for me."
That seemed to catch the Shadow Weaver's attention.
"Really? You want me to give you a reading?"
"If that gets me an answer, sure," Ranma answered
quickly.
Nodding slowly, Hokuto walked past the martial artist
and gestured for him to follow. She lead him down
below the decks to the cargo hold, a dark chamber of
numerous spires made up of wooden crates stacked here
and there. The illuminating light was little as the
crates cast many a shadow, seemingly adding a haunting
air, Ranma thought.
She lead him to a small corner of the hold, where the
crates were pushed aside allowing for a small room of
sorts, which Ranma believed was specifically reserved
for Hokuto's meager purposes, whatever they were.
Hokuto sat down against the corner, and gestured for
Ranma to sit as well.
"Are you familiar with tarot readings?" she asked,
producing two uneven stacks of cards from the folds of
her cloak.
"Yeah, kinda," the martial artist replied. "It's some
kind of fortune-telling I heard that some guys at
school were into."
"Well, that is the nature of your reading," Hokuto
said evenly, shuffling the two decks together. "The
first order of business is the question you have to ask
the cards."
"You're kidding."
"Without a purpose there is no reason to continue the
reading."
Ranma sighed, feeling somewhat silly. "All I want
to know is what's gonna happen when I get to
Jusenkyo."
The Shadow Weaver nodded slowly. "Very well, then,
let's begin."
In the clear space between her and Ranma, Hokuto
drew a card and placed it in the middle. The face of
the card indicated it was the Eight of Wands.
"This is your primary influence," she said, beginning
the story unfolded by the cards. "The Eight of Wands
signifies quick action; you're going to have to make
some quick decisions, or perhaps you're going to see
an end of something."
"Please let it be the curse!" interrupted Ranma.
"We won't know until the cards show us," Hokuto said,
glaring at the martial artist. She drew another card,
and placed it at a ninety-degree angle on top of the
first card. "This is the secondary influence, The Fool.
It's a faith card-- probably telling you that you
should follow your heart or something."
"Now let's see the root cause," she said, drawing
the Eight of Swords and placing it below the first two
cards. "Well, interestingly enough, this card signifies
powerlessness. Likely you're feeling powerless in your
situation, but let's see how it'll change, huh?"
Placing the fourth card to the left of the first two
cards, Hokuto read the Five of Cups. "The past
influence is regret."
"Yeah, like I should've done this sooner," Ranma
said bitterly.
Hokuto nodded. "That may very well be the case. If
I may, shall I see what it is you regret?"
"Knock yourself out," the martial artist replied.
She produced a fifth card and placed it at a ninety-
degree angle on top of the fourth card-- the Chariot
card. "The Chariot...."
"What's that mean?"
"The Chariot usually describes a person," Hokuto
explained. "It's someone strong of will, who achieves
victory on his or her own terms. I'm not sure what it
means."
For a moment Ranma's thoughts drifted to Ukyo, but
kept it to himself. Did I regret not marrying her? No,
that can't be it....
Placing the sixth card above the first two cards, she
read, "This is the Six of Wands, signifying that you
are seeking success in the present." The Shadow Weaver
continued to draw the seventh card, placing it to the
right of the first set of cards, and stopped cold.
"What's wrong?" asked Ranma.
"The Three of Swords," she explained, her face
appearing as if it would go white in shock, "means that
betrayal lies in your future." Seeming hesitant to
continue, Hokuto nonetheless asked, "Shall I see what
kind of betrayal?"
Nodding vigorously, Ranma refused to hide his
curiosity. "Let's hear it!"
Taking a deep breath, the Shadow Weaver forced
herself to continue, slowly drawing the next card from
the deck. Placing it across the betrayal card, Hokuto's
face went completely white, and she appeared ready to
faint.
"The High Priestess?" Ranma read, looking confused.
He leaned over the cards and shook Hokuto back to
consciousness. "Hey, don't leave! What's this mean?"
Regaining herself, Hokuto shook her head, as if
shaking the ghosts out of her mind. "The High Priestess
is a card of mystery... and possibly inaction. It's
usually qualified to a person, as the name suggests,
and is a very powerful card."
"So whoever's gonna betray me is whoever's
represented by the High Priestess card?" Ranma repeated
to himself, a name already forming in his mind.
"Well, I'd better see if I can finish this," Hokuto
said, slowly drawing another card. She placed it away
from the first set of cards, near herself. She read,
"You see yourself as the King of Swords-- that is, a
bold leader. Perhaps you believe everyone should follow
your lead?"
Producing the next card above the first, the Shadow
Weaver revealed the Knight of Pentacles. "However, as
others see you you're obsessed." The Wheel of Fortune
card was drawn next, and placed above the Knight of
Pentacles. "And this is your fear of Fate and Destiny.
It's what you're trying to avoid, and may hurt you in
the end."
"Why am I not surprised?"
Drawing the last card and placing it above the other
three, Hokuto read, "The Three of Pentacles represents
teamwork. Teamwork is in your future; you're likely
going to get this as your likely outcome of going to
Jusenkyo."
"What, there aren't any more success cards?" Ranma
asked, agitated.
"Not really. But," she pointed out, "you have two
success cards here in your reading-- the Chariot and
the Six of Wands, which certainly means you've got some
measure of success in your future. Also, from all the
cards there are two cards from each suit except for the
suit of Cups. This likely suggests that there's a lack
of love in your life."
"Hey, leave my love life outta this!" Ranma cried
defensively.
"There are also four Major Arcana cards, probably
meaning that strong forces are at work. Fate certainly
could be a major contributor to your future, after
all."
Ranma said nothing, trying to sort out his mind. As
the moment stood, he could think of no reason why
someone like Shizuka Minazuki would betray him when
she wasn't even in China. The weird priestess certainly
did have some rattling in her head, but the martial
artist could not think of anything that she'd gain in
betraying him. Then again, what could she do that would
be considered betrayal?
And then there was Ukyo... why was she an influence
on him?
"Hey," Ranma said, "can you talk to spirits?"
"You want an ouja reading?" Hokuto asked.
"Yeah, I guess that's what it is," he replied.
"Well, I could...."
"I just wanna see if I can talk to an old friend of
mine."
Hokuto seemed ready to reach for something in her
cloak, but stopped herself. "Sorry, I can't do that."
"Why not?"
The Shadow Weaver ignored him as she collected the
tarot cards on the floor. "I'm not properly attuned to
the spirit realm, so I can't help you." Quickly, she
stuffed the cards into the folds of her cloak and stood
up. "Now, if you'll excuse me...."
Without another word Ranma watched Hokuto leave in a
hurry, suddenly suspicious.
"Well, what was that all about?" he wondered aloud.
"You don't even know who I wanted to talk to."
But, if she DID know, why wouldn't she do a reading
for me?
Akane scanned the skies above through the canvas of
trees, and waited for the rocketing warrior above to
disappear into the distance. When she was satisfied
that CRONOS, Taydome's flying machine, was gone, Akane
jumped down from the trees to the ground where
Miranda and Kodachi, lying in a makeshift stretcher,
were waiting below.
Suffering multiple bruises and blows from Kanna's
merciless attack the previous day Kodachi felt
completely sore all over her body, and it was Miranda
that recognized that the gymnast had been hit in very
specific locations. Although she had little knowledge
of the subject, Akane knew enough to realize they were
pressure points from which to incapacitate the target,
and neither she nor Miranda knew how to reverse them.
"It's gone," Akane announced. "I think we can keep
going now."
"That... good to... hear," muttered Kodachi,
struggling to speak.
"It'll be back," scoffed Miranda. "Between CRONOS and
GAIA, Kanna, and Sensei, we don't have much of a
chance to get anywhere before one of them finds us."
She raised her eyes to meet Akane's. "Just WHERE are
we going, anyway?"
"Back to Tokyo," she answered, "unless you've got any
better ideas. The only one I know who has knowledge of
pressure points is Dr. Tofu."
"Only if you disclude Crystal Spider Rajura, that
is," the martial artist pointed out, "provided she's
willing to do it for us. Why don't we just ask?"
"We don't even know what she's after, that's true,"
Akane considered. "Back there she obviously wanted the
Wishbringer to make a wish of some sort, but why is
she still chasing us now?"
"You aren't suggesting we wait for her to come, do
you?" Miranda guessed. She shrugged. "I guess it beats
running away all the time."
"And it'll certainly beat meeting Cinder again,"
Akane added, although she knew Miranda always thought
of it on her own.
At that moment the three heard a rumbling in the
ground, along with the sound of something being crushed
under mammoth power. Akane and Miranda looked down at
Kodachi, then toward each other with worried
expressions.
"GAIA's back," Akane realized.
"TARGET ACQUIRED!" the mechanical voice droned from
the depths of the woods.
Grabbing the stretcher Akane and Miranda broke off
into a sprint, leaving just in time to miss getting
run-over by GAIA's treads.
The two came to a halt as fire rained from above,
where the rocket-mounted CRONOS descended from the
sky in front of them. The machine was already deploying
a mancatcher weapon from its chest compartment.
"It went away, did it?!" Miranda snarled.
"How was I supposed to know what it was going to do?"
complained Akane.
"Well!" Taydome's voice said, emerging from the
GAIA behind them. "You're trapped now. Not a whole lot
you can do to stop me now."
Miranda cursed. "You weenie! Hiding behind these big
toys!"
"As they say in your discipline," the engineer
replied, "one should focus on their strengths."
"You know NOTHING of my discipline!" cried the
crimson-eyed girl, setting down her end of the
stretcher on the ground. She rolled up her sleeves,
grinding her teeth in anticipation.
Wheeling around her leg in a slashing arc, Miranda
tried to attack, but GAIA jabbed the martial artist
with its gun arm, pushing her back to the ground.
Taking advantage of Akane's distraction, CRONOS's
mancatcher seized her with its catching claw, forcing
her to release her grip on the stretcher.
"Let go of me!" Akane shouted, pounding her fists
down on the catcher claw.
From out of the woods something slashed at the
catcher claw, severing the weapon from its base and
dropping Akane to the ground. In an instant she saw
the robed fire master, Cinder, dig his claws into
CRONOS in a similar manner as he did to URANOS the
previous day.
"Cinder!" Taydome cried as CRONOS rocketed upward
into the sky, taking the fire master with it.
Miranda risked glancing back at her master and
CRONOS, then narrowly avoided a wild swing from GAIA.
She latched her legs onto the arm, and raised her arms
up to slash at them, but the machine began to swing
the compromised appendage about, trying to shake the
martial artist off.
"Akane, get out of here!" she cried, trying her best
to hold on.
"I'm through with running!" declared the other girl.
"There's clearly no road for escape so long as this
thing, and everybody else, is coming!"
She jumped as someone put their hand on her shoulder.
"In that you may be right, but let me handle it."
Akane looked back at Kanna Rajura, her scythe-
naginata in hand. "Kanna?"
"We'll discuss this later," the Crystal Spider
assured her, transforming the staff into a naginata.
Miranda, stuck in her own little world, dug her
hands into the steel of GAIA's arm. Hands glowing with
surreal energies, she cried, "Shishi Senko!"
The resulting blast within the gun arm blast it clean
off, sending the martial artist flying into the woods
and smashing against a tree.
Kanna, taking this as her cue to attack, spun her
naginata in one hand. "Rajura Style: Diamond Saw
Cutter!"
Now using both hands to spin her weapon, Kanna
advanced, attacking GAIA's remaining arm. Sparks flew
in all directions as shrapnel soon followed, forcing
Akane to shield herself and Kodachi from the danger.
When the girl finished GAIA's remaining arm was
reduced to nothing up to the elbow joint, leaving it
without its primary weapons. The red eyes set in the
machine's death's head glowed with great intensity.
"Impossible!" Taydome screeched. "Disarmed!" The
war machine ran in reverse, plowing back into the woods
whence it came.
"It's getting away!" Miranda shouted, gathering
herself from the ground.
"Let it," Kanna ordered. "If he wants to leave us
be for the time being, then let's take it."
"I'll be back!" warned Taydome, his voice drowning
in the distance and the rumbling of GAIA's retreat.
His attentions now diverted away from the second
battle, Taydome focused on his endangered CRONOS,
flying high in the sky with Cinder's steel claws
buried into the machine's armor.
"This battle'll be different!" Taydome said into the
speaker tuned into CRONOS's circuitry. "It's too bad
that you can't fly."
Cinder snarled, looking down below and likely
realizing he was being lead away from the other battle.
"You're only delaying the inevitable, Section!"
"Perhaps," Taydome conceded, "but so long as you stay
out of my way, the extraction can be completed without
problems!" He punched in the commands to force CRONOS
into a spin.
On the monitor Taydome saw that Cinder was losing
his grip on the war machine, the holes he dug into the
armor becoming scratch marks as the fire master slipped
away.
Watching Taydome from the monitoring station the
shadow was disappointed with Taydome's work. GAIA
would have to be repaired-- when it could be sent out
again was not a concern, but that the effectiveness of
extracting Akane was growing smaller, what with her
growing number of allies. The focus should have been on
finding Ranma, but since none of the spies or agents
managed to locate him that was out of the question.
The shadow said aloud, "I may have to intervene."
Kodachi felt like strangling Kanna after she was
through releasing the pressure point-induced paralysis,
but the sores and aches in her body prevented her from
doing so.
The Crystal Spider stood up, leaning on her death
scythe, weary. She rejoined Akane and Miranda, who sat
by the fire pit they dug for the night.
"She'll be fine in a few hours," Kanna assured Akane.
"Your friend has quite a temper."
Akane shrugged. "Kodachi's like that."
"You seem to attract that kind of company," Miranda
pointed out. "Lots of people want a piece of you."
"Yeah," she agreed. Turning to Kanna, she asked, "And
why are you out here?"
"Eh?"
"Yesterday you're trapping us, and today you're
helping us," Akane clarified impatiently. "Why?"
Grinding the pole of the death scythe into the dirt
lazily, Kanna sat down on a rock near the fire pit.
"That's a crazy thing, you know? I wasn't supposed to
go after the Wishbringer, but I couldn't resist."
"Just like everybody else," Miranda said.
"What did you want to wish for?" Akane asked.
"That's none of your business!" snapped the Crystal
Spider. "It's enough to know that my dreams were
shattered when the truth came out about the sword, to
say the least. Dwelling on it certainly couldn't
help."
"Then your mission...?"
"I'm supposed to find and contain Cinder," Kanna
interrupted. Before she could be interrupted in turn
she continued, "I got called in for a favor by an old
friend of mine; he said he needed to do this favor for
someone else and he wanted me to carry it out for him
as a repayment for a favor he did me before."
"Anyone we know?" Miranda asked suspiciously.
"Not unless you know who Shion Kagami is," Kanna
replied proudly.
"I see," the crimson-eyed martial artist said,
nodding slowly.
"I don't know him," Akane admitted.
"You're from Tokyo, right?" the Crystal Spider asked.
"He's living there with his sister-in-law, who he never
seems to shut-up about. Anyway, we knew each other
since we were kids, so how could I refuse?"
"Then you wanted to wish him to be your husband?"
Miranda asked teasingly.
"NO!" denied Kanna hotly. "He's got nothing to do
with it. What I really wanted was to get back at a
snot-nosed little brat that beat me ten years ago!"
"You sure know how to carry grudges," Miranda
commented.
Carrying-on in her own thoughts, Kanna continued,
"My father and the kid's father thought it would be a
good idea if the brat got to know how to use weapons,
so I had to fight him. The little prick thought girls
were weak and shouldn't fight, so how can't I hate
him? And I lost to someone younger than me!"
She turned to Akane. "I was eleven back then; could
you imagine the kind of shame of being beaten by an
eight-year-old?"
"You shouldn't let that bother you," Akane suggested.
"I mean, that was many years ago; you shouldn't let
that kind of thing get to you."
"And what do you know about personal pride?"
"Believe me, I've known a person just like you, and
you just have to let it go and move on."
"On the other hand," Miranda voiced, "if you CAN beat
that snot-nosed brat, then more power to you!"
"I heard that!" they heard Kodachi shout from the
darkness.
"I don't know," Kanna said with a sigh. "That kid
could be long-gone by now; who knows if I'll ever get
the chance to show him up."
"The way things work, you might," Akane replied
neutrally.
On a shipping boat moving upstream in Southern China
Ranma was dreaming of Akane being attacked by a giant
spider. When he awoke in the middle of the night in a
cold sweat with that thought foremost in his mind the
martial artist glanced to where Hokuto was sleeping,
and wondered.
However, she was not hanging in the hammock that was
her designated sleeping area, so Ranma got up despite
feeling a need to sleep. Checking all the corners of
the room he found no trace of her; a thorough check of
the entire ship turned up with the same results. Tired,
the martial artist returned to his room and resumed
his sleep, unaware that the Shadow Weaver had been
watching him from the shadows the entire time.
Day 5
Miranda marched first in line as the four girls
trekked through the wilderness, Akane bringing up the
rear. Kodachi insisted that she be behind Kanna in case
the Crystal Spider proved treacherous, making her
third in line.
As they planned the night before the four would head
for Kodachi's backup, waiting at a waypoint not far
from their present location. They roused up early that
morning, and it was nearing afternoon now.
"So," Miranda said, breaking the monotony of silence
that hung over the group, "Kanna, why is it that your
pal Shion got you to try and catch such a big fish as
my sensei?"
"He's your sensei, eh?" Kanna considered. "It's a
wonder you could keep up with such a powerful beast."
"I've done greater feats than you've seen yet," the
crimson-eyed girl snapped.
"Well, then," the other girl said, laughing to
herself. "I don't know all the details myself, but it
seems that he's of some importance to someone."
"Someone other than Taydome, perhaps," Akane noted.
"If you truly know Shion," Kodachi said, "then what
is the name of his sister-in-law?"
"Chika," Kanna replied quickly. "She's gifted with an
amazing artist's talent and is currently focusing on
the film industry. Shall I go on?"
Kodachi found herself speechless. "Well, I conceed
that you know about them, but know them is a completely
different matter altogether!"
"And you're Kodachi Kuno, Chika's friend, brother of
Shion's acquaintance, Tatewaki," Kanna continued,
showing-off her knowledge. "Speaking of which, when can
I meet that brother of yours?"
"Hey, this big coincidence is great and all," Akane
interrupted, "but how much longer until we get to the
waypoint?"
"Not far now," insisted Kodachi.
"You said that an hour ago," Miranda pointed out.
"Then keep your tongue to yourself!" the gymnast
flared.
Akane shook her head, wondering how in all the luck
in the world she got stuck in a party where Kodachi
hated everybody else.
"Hold it!" demanded Kanna, the only thing keeping
Miranda and Kodachi from coming to blows. "Do you hear
that?"
Silence enveloped the girls when Kodachi and Miranda
ceased squabbling. Akane strained her ears, trying to
hear something that she was supposed to hear. At least,
according to Kanna.
"I don't hear a thing," she said.
"Neither do I," added Kodachi.
"CRONOS is coming back," Kanna warned, pulling her
death scythe from over her shoulder. She pointed the
blade toward the south sky. "It's over there, and
coming in fast!"
"I don't believe it," Miranda whispered. "Sensei got
beaten?!"
Kodachi took off into the lead. She stopped when she
realized the others were still standing in place. "Why
dally here?!" she shouted. "We must summon assistance!"
"And how to expect to get help IN THE MIDDLE OF
NOWHERE?!" the crimson-eyed girl shouted back.
Akane grabbed Miranda's arm. "Look, she's got a
point. Anything's better than standing out here and
waiting for it to come get us."
"Either way," Kanna said, "I've still got a few
tricks up my sleeves. Let's just see what Kodachi has
in mind."
The four girls made their way through the woods
down the mountain slopes, the threatening boom of
CRONOS looming behind them in the sky. Kodachi lead
the others despite her distrust in both Kanna and
Miranda, her sense of danger obviously focused on that
of CRONOS.
Miranda strained her ears, and shouted, "Sounds like
there's a battle up ahead!"
"And we're running to it?!" Akane cried back in
disbelief. What was Kodachi up to?
When the young Kuno came to a halt, the other three
girls gathered around her, and stared into a clearing.
The sounds of battle came from the swings and slashes
of two warriors already locked in combat, one being
the familiar robed shape of Cinder, his claws aflame
with power. The other, however, wielded a steel sword,
of which appeared to have a fantastic ornamental hilt
of some kind. The wielder was dressed in a traditional
kendo training outfit with the colors of the Kuno
School. The sword, like Cinder's claws, was lit in
flames.
"I see Brother is no worse for himself," snorted
Kodachi.
"Geez, he shows up now?" Miranda said in disbelief,
watching the flaming arcs from each slash. "I thought
he disappeared!"
"Apparently not," Kodachi corrected. "You see,
Brother has an annoying habit of remembering where his
priorities lie ten minutes after committing himself to
an opposing task. Originally he was planning to flee
the country, but that lasted no longer, and instead he
trained in secret to control the Phoenix Flame."
"That's the Earth Dragon Sword!" the crimson-eyed
girl shouted in recognition. "But... why?!"
"It turned out that the Earth Dragon Sword was indeed
a final gift from the fallen enemy," the younger Kuno
explained. "Using the inlaid earth elemental forces of
the sword Brother-dear has learned to regulate his fire
in a moderating manner."
"Makes sense," Kanna said, nodding. Raising her
death scythe ready in naginata mode, she charged into
the battle. "Here I come!"
"Hey, wait!" Akane shouted. "What about...?!"
But Kanna was already caught in the spirit of battle,
disregarding the danger at fighting two fire-wielding
combatants. Tatewaki noticed her joining the fray, and
seemed to welcome it silently as the two took turns
taking swipes at Cinder.
"So now you have allies," the fire master noted,
forcing his attentions to divide between two opponents.
"Now it should be even."
"Arrogance shall be your downfall, foe!" Tatewaki
yelled, taking another swing that Cinder easily
deflected.
Akane watched in dazzlement as the three fought with
great skill, that she almost didn't notice CRONOS's
descent into the clearing. Miranda shouted something,
but she couldn't hear over the deafening roar of the
war machine.
"MULTIPLE TARGETS ASSESSED," droned the machine as
its death's head rotated and scanned about, coming to
a stop facing directly at Akane.
"Well," Kodachi said, "it appears it wants you."
"Crap, here we go again," Miranda cursed.
Leveling its arm cannons, CRONOS fired in Akane's
direction, forcing the three girls to dodge out of the
way. Already Kodachi was whipping out her ribbon,
lashing it out to wrap around one of the arm cannons.
Gathering herself quickly, Akane spared only a
moment to wonder why Taydome was firing at her now.
Miranda ran into the clearing, throwing a discus-
like ki bolt toward CRONOS. The bolt buried itself
into CRONOS's free arm, but did little to stop its
effectiveness. Angered that her attack failed to work
as planned, she swung her arm back to throw another ki
bolt.
"This isn't going well!" the crimson-eyed martial
artist shouted.
Kodachi, attacking from the other end, had her ribbon
torn loose from her hands when CRONOS jerked its arm
away from her. Finding herself disarmed, she went for
gymnastics clubs, one for each hand.
Despite being busied by two different targets, the
machine's attention was fully on Akane. The death's
head seemed to grin at her, despite lacking any devices
that would give it such abilities.
Fuming with anger, Akane's aura exploded. Grabbing
the closest baseball-sized rock at her feet, she wound
up her arm and threw it. Despite her aim for the
death's head's glowing eyes was off, she nevertheless
hit the flying war machine, hitting it in the chest
with such force that the rock was buried in the armor.
"That hurt, you know," Taydome said calmly. CRONOS
fired quick shots in Kodachi and Miranda's directions
with each arm, then rocketed toward Akane.
For her part, despite the warnings from both Miranda
and Kodachi, Akane stood her ground defiantly.
Her defiance paid off, as just before CRONOS could
deploy its mancatcher on Akane it stopped in its
tracks. Despite rocketing at full speed the war
machine could not advance any further, and when Taydome
realized this CRONOS ceased its charge.
Despite being slightly singed, Ryoga Hibiki held
CRONOS fast with his bare hands from the underside of
the machine. Standing in a freshly-dug hole of his
own creation Ryoga fell backward with CRONOS when the
engine shut off.
"Ryoga Hibiki?!" Kodachi shouted in disbelief. "But
how?"
"You're not the only one who planned ahead," Akane
shouted. To Ryoga she said, "Nice timing. I'm glad the
reversed directions I put in the letter helped out."
Standing himself upright, Ryoga laughed uneasily.
"It took me a while, but I made it!"
The eyes of CRONOS flared brightly. "Oh no...."
moaned Taydome.
Cracking his knuckles, Ryoga stared the CRONOS in
the face. "Now it's payback for attacking Akane!"
Kodachi and Miranda joined in the fray as Ryoga
systematically ripped the limbs off the war machine,
disarming it utterly and literally. Before CRONOS could
take off to escape Miranda wheeled her legs about in a
circular slash, severing the machine at its waist with
sparks flying.
The threat of CRONOS removed, the four turned their
attentions back to the death match between Tatewaki
and Kanna with Cinder. Putting much force into a big
attack Tatewaki slashed downward, forcing Cinder to
block the attack with both claws, leaving Kanna an
opening. She thrust her naginata into Cinder's side.
No one, not even Cinder himself, had time to flinch
or yell out in terror as the oxygen tanks slung over
the fire master's back exploded at once.
Taydome had no idea what was going on, as CRONOS's
eyes were staring up into the sky, as the unit was flat
on its back. The confusion rose to greater levels when
flame and debris washed over it for a moment.
"AAGGGHH!!" screamed the engineer. "That's the second
one I've lost! They'll surely pay for this!"
He heard the door to his office hiss open, and jumped
in surprise.
"I'm sorry, doctor, but things have changed," a
woman's voice said.
Taydome turned slowly, a smile forming on his lips.
"Well, well, well! If it isn't the Ferret!"
Ayame Mishima stepped into the dimly-lit closet of an
office, her hands in the pockets of her clean white
lab coat. She wore a badge on her dress shirt, just
like all the other Mishima engineers, but Ayame was
definitely not an engineer-- she was worse.
She was the niece of Mishima Heavy Industry's CEO.
"This private war of yours is over," Ayame said.
"While my uncle is pleased that the field tests have
proven the usefulness of the GAIA, CRONOS, and URANOS
series, there is no need to lose more hardware to these
capable people."
"On who's authority?!" demanded the engineer. "I've
been sanctioned by the higher-ups to do this, and no
snot-nosed girl is going to dictate my orders!"
Ayame laughed, folding her arms together. "Well, Dr.
Taydome, I'm sorry to inform you that this 'snot-nosed
girl' IS a higher-up." She unfolded her hand, showing
the engineer a small golden ring, its head inlaid with
the mark of a red zero on a blue field. In the midst of
the eye lay a single, all-seeing eye, and suddenly
Taydome recognized the meaning.
"It can't be!" he gasped. "YOU'RE Section Zero?!"
"You still don't get it, do you?!" the young
Mishima shouted. "Whether you like it or not, Mishima
Heavy Industries directly reports to Section Zero, and,
by extension, all of the Mishima family are under its
protection and influence. Our development facilities
are an important part of the technological research
process, which is why you're here. While you're here
you don't answer to Section 14, you answer to me."
Realization dawned on the American engineer. "You're
the one who allowed Gosunkugi to steal the ASP, just so
you can give me a reason to field-test the new models.
You didn't really want me to get Ranma Saotome, or
Akane, or Cinder, at all."
"Suffice it to say that they passed, and we will need
your services after all," Ayame said. "Now, as for
Akane and the others, here's what I want you to do...."
The sudden blast had thrown both Tatewaki and Kanna
out of the clearing completely, now covered in flame.
Ryoga, Akane, Kodachi, and Miranda fared much better,
having partial protection by the trees, but suffered
no less. CRONOS ceased flailing about on the ground,
seemingly dead and out of power.
A huge, smoldering crater was present where Cinder
was once standing, still smoking and flaming. Akane
could make out the flaming tatters of the fire master's
robe dancing about in the sky, blown by the winds.
In any even the conflagration consumed all the
nearby vegetation in fire.
"Eww," she said, pinching her nose. "What a way to
go...."
Tatewaki sat straight up next to her, startling
Akane. Appearing unscathed by the fire blast, he faced
her with happiness in his eyes. "Ah, dear Akane! You
are unharmed!" He opened his arms outward.
Planting her foot in his face, Akane replied, "Who
do you think you are?!"
On her other side Kanna poked her head out from
behind a tree, seeming dazed. "Well, that really hurt."
Gathering himself, Tatewaki stood up and faced
Kanna with dignity. Extending a hand outward, he said,
"I am Tatewaki Kuno, called Eternal Flame by my peers!"
Smiling, Kanna stepped from behind the tree with her
own arm extended, walking toward the Kuno swordsman.
"I'm Kanna Rajura. People call me Crystal Spider."
Just as they were about to shake hands, both fighters
withdrew their hands quickly, then embraced one another
to Akane's surprise.
Kodachi popped her head from a tree above, a
surprised look on her face. "You two KNOW each other?!"
Releasing each other from the embrace, Kanna turned
to the younger Kuno. "Yeah. Met him in college. He's
a good fighter."
"Your wit matches your skill as well!" Tatewaki
praised. "I trust the others are well?"
She nodded. "Yeah. You should come back, you know?
Things've been too quiet on campus."
"Now that the formalities are out of the way," Ryoga
said, emerging from the hole in the ground he made
earlier, "what'll we do now?"
Akane's eyes turned toward the crater, where Miranda
stood alone. Stepping over debris and burning wood,
she carefully made her way to the martial artist's
side, and shielded her eyes from the heat in the hole.
"Miranda," she said.
"He'll be back," Miranda said simply. "He's too
tough to go out like this."
Akane shook her head slowly. "Come on, there's
nothing you can do for him now."
"I guess you're right," she conceded softly. "Yeah,
you might just be right...."
"Um, excuse me?" came a voice from CRONOS's severed
body. "Hello? Hello? Anybody still alive there?"
Akane turned her back to the crater, and stared at
CRONOS for a moment. "So you're still working, huh?"
"Oh, is that Akane I hear?" Taydome said. "Umm... we
have some matter to discuss."
"No kidding," Ryoga said scornfully. "You've got a
lot to answer for.
Before Akane could step any closer to CRONOS,
Miranda held her back. "Careful, it could still move."
"If all he wants is to talk," Akane reasoned, "then
there's nothing to worry about."
"I second Akane's words!" Tatewaki said in support.
"Well, if you know what you're doing," Ryoga said
carefully. "We'll be able to take care of things if
it gets out of hand."
"Alright, then," Akane said to CRONOS, "what do you
want?"
"To make a sincere apology on behalf of my
organization," Taydome said, trying to sound as sincere
as possible. "Our Oversight department has determined
that it was a mistake to chase after you and your
husband in the manner we have been pursuing these past
few days."
"And?"
"In order to make amends we are offering an alliance,
if you will."
"That's silly," Miranda snorted. "We trash three of
your guys and now you want to cut a deal?"
"It IS to your advantage," Taydome pointed out. "Ally
with us, and you will no longer have to live with the
threat of our machines again, I assure you."
"Why should we trust you?" demanded Kodachi.
"Trust begins when two sides make a leap of faith,"
Akane said. "Look, I'm willing to give your word a
try, but what guarantees do you have?"
Taydome left the gang in a moment of silence. When
he came back he said, "There is a control mechanism
buried within the robot. That alone should protect you
from my organization's threats."
"And how do we go about getting it out?" asked
Miranda. "It could be a trap!"
"Shouldn't be too hard, really," Kanna said, bending
down on one knee to look at where Akane's rock
punctured the war machine's armor. "What's it look
like?"
"It's a little black box with a big zero on it,"
Taydome explained. "Open up the chest compartment and
follow the sound of my voice."
Having gone ahead in the instructions, Kanna was
already looking at the black box. "Okay, so is there
any special way to get it out?"
"You have to disconnect the green wires first," the
engineer instructed. "Then the white wires. If you
don't the box's internal power source will not kick in.
Finally, disconnect the big black wire... okay, that's
it."
Kanna raised the black box for all to see. No larger
than a baseball, the box was, as labeled, an opaque
black, with one side serving as a speaker of some
sort, with a large zero over it. She handed it to
Akane slowly.
Taydome's voice issued out of it. "Good, good. I'm
glad you're agreeable."
"Wait a minute," Akane said, "why are you doing
this?"
Another moment of silence passed. "My superiors
feel that our working together will be advantageous in
the future...."
"Anything coming out of the mouth of Section can
be expected to have a hidden truth!" came a voice
outside the group.
"It's coming from the crater!" Ryoga realized.
All eyes turned to the smoldering crater, where a
black, bulky shape emerged. Although the smoke served
to conceal most of the creature's features, the
unmarred steel claws that made up the arms and legs
strongly indicated that it was Cinder. Dragging behind
him was a blackened tail, barbed with four steel talons
of their own. His steel jaw grinded with the upper lip
of what appeared to be a pronounced snout. His skin,
while charcoal-black, seemed to pulse here and there
with veins of fire, almost appearing as if Cinder were
a living magma-like lizard creature.
His mechanical eye clashed with his reptilian good
eye as he scanned the assembled group before him.
"Never seen a salamander before?!"
Raising his claws, Cinder jetted a fan of flames
before him, aiming for the gang.
Dodging out of the way, Akane fell near Miranda, and
shouted, "Why didn't you tell us your sensei was a big
lizard?!"
"You wouldn't have believed me!" Miranda shouted
back. Ducking from more flames, she added, "Salamanders
need lots of oxygen to survive, so it's no wonder he
had those tanks on him!"
"That's just great!" Akane snorted, knowing that the
fanned flames was keeping everybody pinned to the
ground. She hardly felt like waiting for Cinder to use
up all the remaining oxygen in the atmosphere, but he
probably knew time wasn't on his side, either.
"Bathe in the eternal flame of vengeance!" cried the
salamander, his skin lighting up in flames. "Miranda!
I WANT the Shadow Weaver!"
But from behind Cinder Akane saw there was another
cloaked figure, raising hands-- human hands-- to
attack. Not knowing what to expect, steam was all that
Akane could see as Cinder screamed in agony.
The heat of the steam overwhelming her, Akane risked
getting up and ran from the clearing, away from the
danger presented by Cinder and her unknown savior.
Stopping a few meters away, she waited, hearing the
tortured screams of Cinder's metallic voice amidst the
growing cloud of steam.
When she thought it was over she rejoined the others
back at the clearing. The steam still issued from the
crater, and all the fires had been put out, but there
was no sign of Cinder or the mysterious savior.
"What was that?" Akane asked, although she didn't
expect an answer.
"It appears that we have many allies," Tatewaki
guessed. "Known or unknown, they are allies still!"
"Not too much a surprise," Kodachi added.
"Where did Master Cinder go?" wondered Miranda.
"Whatever happened," Kanna replied, looking around,
"he couldn't have met his end here. There's some pretty
heavy tracks here leading off into the woods."
"That's for the best for now, I think," Ryoga said.
"We need some time to catch our breath from all this
fighting."
Miranda said nothing, seeming lost in thought. She
walked toward the crater by herself, obviously wanting
to be alone.
Akane looked down at the black box in her hands, then
toward the others. None of them suffered any lasting
injuries, and everyone was in good health.
"Cinder will be back," she said. "I think we should
all go back to town and get ready for when he does
come back, because I don't think he's going to be very
lenient to us the next time around."
That night Ranma again dreamed of the giant spider
and Akane, but this time, the spider was protecting
Akane from a large lizard creature as black as night.
He was suddenly reminded of the watcher lizards from
the previous dream, and just as the martial artist
realized this the black lizard transformed into the
green cloud entity. The cloud advanced to consume him,
but, as before, it dissipated by the will of Ukyo,
still attired in her Seiryu outfit.
She said, "Beware the High Priestess."
When he awoke in the middle of the night Ranma did
not jump up in a cold sweat as before, but with the
same inner calm as he had when sleeping.
No, this time, it wasn't a nightmare, he thought.
Glancing toward Hokuto's hammock, he wasn't surprised
to see that she wasn't there; the Shadow Weaver hadn't
been seen in his eyes since yesterday. For a moment
he wondered why the girl avoided him like the plague
and not anybody else on the ship.
Sighing, Ranma focused on getting back to sleep.
Materializing from the shadows, Hokuto watched him
slowly fall into deep sleep once more. She took one
bold step in the direction of his hammock, but stopped
suddenly, taking a few steps back instead. Shaking her
head Hokuto melted back into the shadows whence she
came.
Day 6
Ranma stared up the river for what he hoped was the
last time.
The shipping vessel would soon make it to its
destination, leaving Ranma and Hokuto to hike the rest
of the way to the highlands where Jusenkyo lay hidden.
He felt a surge of excitement as he realized that the
object of his quest was almost in reach.
Briefly, he thought of Akane, and wondered what she
would have thought if she were there with him.
"We'll be landing soon," he heard Hokuto say behind
him. "After that we'll immediately begin hiking up
into the mountains, and we should be able to get there
in a day and a half or so."
"That's comin' from you," Ranma snorted. "I'll be
glad to get off this boat, in any case."
The Shadow Weaver joined him by the bow's rail.
"Ranma, you miss me, don't you?"
"Eh?!" He jumped in surprise.
"Look, I know we've been apart for so long," Hokuto
continued, "but we've got to hang on. There's no
reason why we shouldn't enjoy our company now."
"What're you talking about?!" Ranma demanded, edging
himself closer to the rail. "Don't you say anythin'
funny on me now!"
She placed a hand over his heart. "Don't you feel the
excitement? We're almost there! It certainly is a joy,
but why don't we experience some real joy?"
Ranma swallowed, feeling himself leaning his back
over the rail. "Hokuto... snap out of it!"
"But isn't it what you want?" she asked innocently.
Turning away, she continued, "Am I not good enough for
you?"
"N... no, I didn't say that...."
Without warning Hokuto punched herself on the side of
the head. She slapped herself across the face a couple
times, then turned around with her eyes low. "I...
I'm sorry about that."
Relaxing his tension a bit, Ranma answered, "Uh...
that's okay...."
"I've been trying to avoid you since the reading,"
she explained. "I... I've had foreign thoughts enter my
mind lately, and I haven't realized it...."
Could it be? Ranma thought. How could one stray
thought of mind turn into this? I mean, I only thought
she was a cute girl....
"But we can't let ourselves get distracted over
this," Hokuto declared, seemingly taking on Akane-like
determination. "I'll try to be careful."
"Look," Ranma said, "you can't ignore feelings like
that for long; it only gets worse!"
"I know," she replied somberly.
The two looked toward the port where the boat would
eventually dock, and nodded to each other wordlessly.
"Looks like this's our stop," Ranma muttered quietly.
The nightmares never seemed to end for Ranma Saotome.
The last thing he remembered was bedding down in
the highlands near the fire pit he made for Hokuto,
who was freezing despite her traveling cloak. The
martial artist had no idea he was so dirt tired.
"This one's vivid," he said.
Observing from a distance he saw Akane running from
a pack of watchers. Despite how harmless they appeared
his wife ran nonetheless, and Ranma felt the need to
intervene, running after Akane and the black lizards.
But as soon as he made his approach the watcher gang
morphed and congealed into a larger black lizard, this
one with two cold, reptilian eyes. The charcoal-black
creature burst into flames, transforming into a dragon
of fire, and stared at Ranma evilly.
"What the...?!" squawked the martial artist.
"DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE?" bellowed the fire dragon
in a deep, cavernous voice. In an instant a mechanical
eye materialized over the creature's left eye. It
rotated and focused slightly, on Ranma. In an instant
the creature's flames were smothered by a heavy cloak
of shadow that surrounded it, but Ranma knew that the
creature was still alive. Raising a metallic claw,
holding a trumpet-like funnel, he blew flames at him.
Ranma shielded himself from the flames, but it and
the fire dragon disappeared, replaced by a black cloud
of similar darkness to that of the fire dragon before
its transformation. The martial artist felt himself
transform into a girl despite himself as rain hailed
from the cloud. She jumped up and over the cloud, and
despite the laws of physics, landed on top of it as if
it were solid ground.
Standing with her on the cloud was another girl,
resting against a staff with bells hanging off the
head. She wore a flashy-orange European-style dress,
with a knee-length skirt that spread out to nearly her
arm's length, and wore a matching colored hat. Her legs
were covered by a sort of white frilly stockings that
Ranma thought only little girls in storybooks wore,
adding to the silly appearance of the girl overall. She
stared at the girl for a moment, and realized that it
was Shizuka she was looking at.
Swiftly Shizuka ran her staff around Ranma's back
and pulled her toward her in a hold. Despite her
comical appearance there was no doubt there was
seriousness in her eyes. "Do you know why you're here?"
she asked.
"I hope it isn't because I'm fantasizing about you,"
Ranma bit back.
Instead of answering, the priestess broke the staff
against the martial artist's back, and kicked her with
one foot. Ranma fell backward, close to the edge of the
cloud, looking up in time to see Shizuka throwing a
kettle of hot water at her.
The water spilled, transforming her back into a guy
in a split-second, but Shizuka was gone, and so was the
cloud. Ranma looked up, and saw Tatewaki Kuno, dressed
in his usual kendo training outfit, sitting on a
jewel-encrusted throne, a fancy sword resting on his
shoulder.
"Was there any doubt, Saotome?" he asked.
Before Ranma could answer he felt the floor disappear
beneath him, and found himself falling into an abyss.
When he finally hit solid ground the martial artist
realized he hit pavement. Standing up, he realized he
was behind a wall of people-- a crowd, staring into
the streets for a parade.
A myriad of servants carried treasures of untold
value on their backs, one after another. Ranma forced
his way through to the front of the crowd on his side
of the street, and saw that the next procession was a
set of servants carrying a chariot of some sort,
protected by Roman-style guards.
Pushing his way into the street, Ranma ignored the
guards, punching and kicking them away, and forced his
way to the curtained chariot. Pulling it aside, he
found Ukyo Kuonji, sitting as if in a meditative
trance, dressed as Seiryu.
Her trance seemed to have ended, and Ukyo stared at
him in the eyes. "I hope you know what you want,
because if you don't, it'll only get much worse later
on."
"Wait!" Ranma shouted, just as the parade and
everything around it was about to disappear in a swirl
of energy. The moment of the world seemed to slow down
for his benefit. "Where are you?! How can I help?"
Ukyo smiled slightly. "I've always been here, but it
is I that can help you."
As she disappeared in the swirl of energy Ranma
realized, again for the first time, that she was saying
exactly what he thought. Reaching into his pockets he
held out the twin dragon earrings that once belonged
to his old friend, their ruby-inlaid eyes twinkling in
the light of darkness.
But the jade earrings seemed to take a life of their
own as an unseen force yanked them from Ranma's hand.
Growing in size, each earring uprighted itself,
standing as if sentinel pillars to each side of Ranma.
Between the pillars, barely illuminated by the light
given off by the dragon pillars' ruby eyes, a cloaked
figure approached. She threw off her hood, revealing
Hokuto for Ranma to see, the worried expression gone
from her eyes, instead replaced by determination.
"You can't deny what Fate has in store for you,"
the Shadow Weaver said. "Choice is but an illusion
given to us by human naivete; an illusion Destiny uses
to cruelly smite us."
The dragon pillars fired an energy bolt at Ranma,
racking him with painless light. Hokuto disappeared,
her smile imprinted on the martial artist's mind.
He looked at himself, and found himself naked, and
glad that Hokuto was gone. The dragon pillars melded
together, transforming into a great monster of clear
crystal, forming a shape resembling that of a silk
spinning spider. Clutched in its claws Ranma saw Akane,
similarly naked, but concealed in the right places by
silk threads.
"Ranma!" she called. "Come back!"
"Akane!" he cried, wanting to save her.
When he woke up the sun was rising in the eastern
sky. Ranma glanced to where Hokuto was sleeping the
night before, and found that, unlike previous nights,
she was still there, sound asleep. Without all the
worry in her expression, she looked peaceful in her
slumber.
Cute, even.
Sitting up, Ranma shook his head. "C'mon, this isn't
the time for this kind of stuff," he reminded himself.
Looking around, the martial artist decided it was
pointless to get back to sleep, so he decided to get
started on breakfast.
Day 7
"Well, there it is," Ranma said, standing atop the
cliff overlooking the green valley below. He dropped
his shoulder pack and looked back, to where Hokuto was
struggling with her own pack up the hill. He was glad
to be on dry land again, but apparently the Shadow
Weaver liked it better when the traveling was done for
her.
It took much sooner than expected to reach what the
local tribes considered the Cistern Valley, a vast
expanse of land hidden within the Tibetan highlands of
Western China. Hidden among the twelve nooks in the
mountains that made up the valley were the thirteen
tribes, plus the forbidden territory Jusenkyo. Of the
thirteen tribes the Musk and Phoenix tribes usually
kept to themselves, isolated as they were in their
little valleys, but among the remaining eleven
Joketsuzoku, the Amazons, was the most powerful.
At least, the last time he was here.
The star-shaped Cistern Valley, once lush and green,
was torn here and there, as if fire rained from the
Heavens above. Though the bodies were removed, Ranma
knew enough to realize that many battles have been
fought here, and from the looks of it, even though
fatalities seemed rather low, casualties were high.
Hokuto collapsed on the ground, throwing up a cloud
of dirt around herself as she struggled to breathe.
"Like I said, we're here," Ranma repeated for her
benefit.
"That's... good," the Shadow Weaver huffed.
Ranma cast a glance in the direction of Jusenkyo.
"Looks like the old stompin' grounds haven't been
touched at all."
"We aren't going there now, are we?" hoped Hokuto.
The martial artist shook his head. "It looks too
easy. There has to be a catch to it somewhere." Turning
to Hokuto he said, "I'm gonna see if I can hook up with
the Amazons and see what's up. Maybe Shampoo or
Mousse can help."
"Only if they aren't dead or incapacitated," Hokuto
pointed out.
"Nah," disagreed Ranma. "They're tough. Especially
Mousse, even if he's no problem for me."
"But you must respect him," she pointed out, "if you
regard him so highly."
Ranma grimaced. "Riiiiiggghhhttt...."
Turning back toward the Cistern Valley, he thought
aloud, "Wonder if Pantyhose Taro is still doin' his
thing...."
"Just as expected, they've arrived at the outskirts
of the valley," a woman proclaimed, spying on Ranma
via a crystal orb clutched in her hand.
Tipped off from the initial watcher at Shanghai, the
woman and her lord watched Ranma and Hokuto gather
themselves at the top of the cliff. While the watcher
could not pick up sound waves, as the construct lacked
ears, the lord and the sorcerer knew enough about lip
reading to know what they were saying.
Although they were concealed in the darkness of their
tent, the woman's voice was barely a whisper. "They
could cause a problem."
"With Femme-boy," Pantyhose Taro replied, "you'd
better count on it." He suppressed a laugh, and pointed
to the seer. "Okay, Sypha, now's the time we're going
to wipe out the ants. If he joins up with Joketsuzoku,
the tide could be turned against us. If that happens,
the tribe is finished."
Sypha nodded in understanding to her lord. "They are
still no match for you even without their leaders. You,
my lord, are infinitely superior in their ability and
skill."
"That may be so," Taro conceded, "but our enemies
should never be underestimated. I know the current
leader of Joketsuzoku personally; they will welcome the
advantage the hermaphrodite gives them. Fortunately, we
know his weakness. Continue the plan exactly."
Bowing respectfully, Sypha replied, "At once!"
When the black sorcerer left the tent, leaving the
leader of the Tunnel Tiger tribe alone, Pantyhose Taro
chuckled to himself. "Now the games have become a
little more interesting."
* * * * *
Shampoo (VO):
"Times are bad now for a war that drags for months.
Ranma, this's your fault! Formidable rivals stand in
our way... and who is the girl next to Pantyhose, and
what does she have to do with anything?"
"Next time: War of the Tribes. I'll kill you!"
------------------------------------------------
Author's Notes
Things get a little more interesting from here on.
Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@NOREPLYhotmail.com)
http://www.crosswinds.net/~slythe/ranma/ranff.html
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