Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is owned by people other than me. I own nothing and
claim no rights to the show.
**C&C, public or private, is begged for. We realize the fic needs lots of
work so please, have no mercy. Rip into this fic. Since most of the fic is
already written, we prefer grammer help. If you have a burning desire to
give other C&C though, we will take it with a smile.**
"RAGE"
by
Ashes2ashes: slayer0@Zoomnet.net
AsheRhyder: ashrhyder@yahoo.com
Chapter One
The man known only as Logan stroked the silken violet hair of his beloved,
smiling down on her serenely sleeping face. One would never guess that she
belonged to a clan of fierce female warriors, and was one of the strongest
of them, when awake.
A noise outside quickly drew his attention. His heart beat quickened, and
he stood silently, walking out of the small house they shared. He sniffed
the air, his hyper-enhanced senses telling him what he feared to be true in
the pit of his stomach.
"Creed..." he growled softly. There was a louder crash, and a scream, from
back within the hut. Logan spun quickly, racing back inside, only to find
his arch nemesis standing over the disemboweled form of his lover.
Logan's eyes widened in horror as he stared at the blood on Victor's claws.
Blood that shone in his own steel-blue eyes, turning them a sort of ruddy
hue. All Logan could see was the blood . . . the blood of the one he had
loved, spilled on the hands of his enemy.
He hit the taller man dead on, sending them both tumbling through the
already broken wall. All around, Amazons awoke and darted out to see what
the cause of the alarm was. They quickly stepped back from the two dueling
creatures, seeing the complete lack of control in their fighting.
Logan slashed out Victor's abdomen, only to have it regenerate before his
eyes. Blood splashed on his face, but he took no notice.
"What's the matter, runt?" Creed snarled. "Don't tell me you actually like
playing with the frails?" A long-armed swipe threw the smaller fighter
back, crushing a house on impact.
"They fight like the wild animals!" One of the Amazons whispered fearfully
to the matriarch, who watched silently.
The blond man took the opportunity to leap off the side of the cliff, where
the waiting flat lands below held more room to fight. He paid no heed to
the myriad pools of water below.
Logan stood, brushing bits of house from his sturdy form.
"Where is he?" Logan growled, standing and brushing bits of house from his
sturdy form. His eyes, having gone completely from blue-gray to brick-red,
practically glowed with anger.
The matriarch pointed solemnly to Junsenkyo, Training Ground of the Cursed
Springs.
Logan nodded briefly, eyes narrowing. In a sudden burst of speed, the
shorter fighter dove off the side, following his thirst for vengeance.
He landed heavily on the soft ground by one of the springs. Creed stood not
too far away, apparently awaiting his arrival. The taller combatant
smirked.
"Yer getting old, runt." He laughed digging his claws into his enemy's
chest.
"Shaddap." Logan snapped, wrenching away and slashing Victor's arms.
The two combatants squared off on the flat land. Both were covered in blood
yet neither of them were seriously injured. Creed lunged at Logan's throat
claws outstretched. Logan ducked and his opponent leaped over him and
landed neatly on a wooden pole in the middle of a spring.
Creed yowled, ramming Logan in the stomach, and knocking the air from his
lungs. The heavier man threw him to the ground, and, seeing a conveniently
close spring, plunged his opponents head under water and held him there to
drown. Logan could feel the icy water pool into his lungs, making breathing
impossible, but his heart beat pounded in his ears, infusing him with the
will to battle. Creed's strength matched his own, though, and without air
he could not force himself to break the surface. There was a burning
sensation in the back of his mind . . . something raw, something primal, a
sense he usually tried to bury . . .
Victor noticed his prey's struggles increasing.
'At this rate, the runt might actually break free,' he thought, scowling.
He reached over and grabbed one of the bamboo poles beside him, breaking it
off and creating a make-shift javelin. With it, he impaled Logan, and
pinned him to the ground. Blood streamed from the wound into the once clear
water, staining it red.
Blood that did not escape Logan's notice. Not at all. As the blood filled
his weakened gaze, that primal part of him broke free . . . and lashed out.
Creed was quite surprised when the one he had dubbed a 'runt' suddenly
ripped out the confining pole that had pierced flesh and ground. But
Logan's glowing red eyes told him that this was not a battle he could win.
And when the smaller man barred his fangs, Victor knew he was no longer
dealing with a man. Or even an animal. This, what he was facing now, was
something so deadly, even he did not want to see what it was capable of
doing. So he ran.
----
The Amazon matriarch finished explaining the danger of the spring to the
guide, then returned to her home. The guide, only having half understood
what she had said, merely drove a sign into the ground before the spring:
"Warning: Spring of Really Deadly Man. Do not enter!"
Of course, over time and neglect, some of the words wore off . . .
----
A star-less sky hung overhead casting a lonesome traveler into darkness. As
far as his eyes could see was blackness. The inky nothingness threatened to
swallow him hole if he looked at it any longer.
So he didn't.
He kept his green eyes to the ground tracing the network of vines and
underbrush absently. The chaotic network reminded him of his own life.
Each was a constant tangle seeming to have no end or beginning.
Each had warning signs telling him to not go further.
'But did I ever listen? Do I ever think before I leap over the cliffs?'
Ryouga shifted his pack on his shoulders and wiped beads of sweat from his
forehead.
'At this rate I'm never going to make it back to Junsenkyo at this rate.
Damn you Ranma this is all your fault!' Ryouga lifted his fist in the air
angrily and then let it limply fall to his side.
'Damn me for following him.' He sighed deeply. It had become increasingly
hard to stay mad at Ranma. As much as he hated to admit it, he was
developing a grudging respect for him.
'I'm never going to make it to Junsenkyo again.' Ryouga turned looked back
at the ground as he fell back into his inner musings. If he had kept his
head up a second later, he would have seen the sign reading: "Welcome to
Junsenkyo".
He walked for several minutes more. The path had transformed into a well
worn dirt trail. Ryouga glanced at his surroundings. He knew it was silly
but it looked like he was in Junsenkyo. But that was impossible. He was
deep in the forests of Japan.
'Heh, I want to go back to Junsenkyo so badly I'm hallucinating. Hell that
guy even looks like the Junsenkyo guide.'
"Ah sir welcome to Junsenkyo. You look familiar yes?"
'He even sounds like him. Might as well play along.'
"Of course you know me! You tried to cook me you bastard." The guide
looked up in shock.
"Oh! You the young man that fall into spring of drowned piglet? I so
sorry! You run away before I could apologize and give you cure."
"C-cure?" The lost boy looked around fully and took in the familiar sight
of pools of water with bamboo poles sticking out of them.
"You mean this is really Junsenkyo? I . . . can get cured?"
"Why yes si--
"HAHAHAHAHA! FINALLY, I CAN BE NORMAL AGAIN!" He ran up and hugged the
guide happily lost in the moment.
"Ack sir can't breath." The guide wheezed while several cracking sounds
could be heard. Laughing nervously, Ryouga released him.
He let himself be led by the hand, necessity outweighed pride in this case,
there was no way in hell he was going to let himself get lost. The guide
stopped in front of his house overlooking all the springs. There must have
been hundreds. Ryouga squinted his eyes and spotted the spring of drowned
girl and spring of drowned panda in the front. The spring of drowned piglet
was in the middle of the springs. It would be very hard to actually get to
the spring let alone fall into it.
'Leave it to me to be one of the special cases.'
"So where is the spring of drowned man?"
The guide pointed to the farthest away spring. It was positioned in a way
that you would have to walk between nearly all the springs to get to it and
only a narrow walkway led to it.
"Damn it! You've got to be kidding!"
He took a deep breath and steadied himself. He could do this. As long as
he kept the spring in his line of site he'd be all right. And so what if he
fell into another of the springs?
He sat his backpack down.
"Sir? What you doing?"
Ryouga clinched his fist so tightly a trickle of blood ran down his palm.
"I'm going to that spring."
He crouched low and then leaped and landed on the first pole. After
steadying himself he landed on the next, and then the next, and the next;
several times he almost lost his balance but for once his course was
straight and true. He landed softly next to the spring covered in sweat.
"I . . . made it." Wasting no time, he started to jump into the spring--
and stopped.
The spring he was about to jump into said "Spring of drowned Man" but the
one beside it read "Spring of Really Man."
Thank Kami! He had almost jumped into the wrong spring! Perhaps, for once,
the gods were smiling down upon him . . . He jumped in.
Pain . . burning searing . . . body on fire . . . can't breath . . .death .
. .kill . . . pain . . anger . . .hate . .RAGE.
At the edge of Junsenkyo, the guide held his binoculars to his eyes and
frowned. The boy had been under for quite a long time. He hoped he was all
right.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Ryouga burst from the spring, clutching his head in pain.
"It burns! Oh gods . . . the screaming! They won't stop . . . screaming."
He scratched at his hands frantically, cutting deep into his hands with his
fingernails making them bleed. The blood dripping off his hands reminded
him of . . . something.
The screaming intensified making him fall to his knees. The pain was too
much. The screaming . . . they wouldn't stop screaming! Why won't they
stop screaming! His body shuddered violently and then fell still.
He slowly raised his head and looked up with glowing rage filled eyes.