Process of Elimination -- Chapter Fifteen -- Part Two
Disclaimer: The primary colors in this story are from Takahashi, Viz
(Ranma 1/2), Pioneer (Tenchi Muyo!), and Kitty Films, Naoko Takeuchi
(Sailor Moon).
Additional tinting provided by: Takada Yuuzou, and Kodansha (3x3 Eyes),
Takada Yuuzou, and A.D.Vision (Bannou Bunka Nekomusume Nuku-Nuku), and
of course, Tatsuya Egawa (Goldenboy). The easel is mine. That's all.
Notes: Diverges from Ranma after volume 24, continuation for OAV 2 in the
Tenchi universe (well, one of them). Nuku Nuku is from the OAVs, not TV.
Sailor Moon occurs, well, at some point in the series, but it's
something of an alt anyway. 3x3 Eyes diverges before OAV2. This fic uses
the bizarrely vague 'Pick One!' scenario. Enjoy.
-----------------------------
"Yeah, well, I don't got much of a choice. I'd say it needs to be done,
so I'm going to do it. That's about all there is to it."
Attributed to Higurashi Ranma -- July 27, 1999 Old Terran calendar.
It wasn't far from the vanguard to the northern defensive line, and half
of what was left of the vanguard was already running to offer their
support. All around, she saw Marines staring at their rifles dumbly, not
daring to fire. The reason became clear to Washuu instantly. The
gleaming black carapaces of the reavers were now even more polished,
enough so that they could deflect the beams of light. While the
radiation and ionization couldn't be deflected so easily, the beam of
light could cause untold damage to their own forces.
As she watched, the attacking reavers tore a bloody swath through the
marines without kinetic displacement rifles, shrieking angrily. For
their part, the Musk and the Amazons gave it their all, but it was a
slowly losing battle -- save a lone island of resistance. Washuu sidled
closer to the still-maintained barrier of the Light Hawk Wings, staring
intently.
Haruka and Michiru, along with Setsuna, were able hold their own, a pair
of Marines with kinetic displacement rifles backing them up. But beyond
those three, the Musk and Amazons were pushed back, slowly forming ranks
around them to maintain their position. As she watched, a trio of the
reavers broke away from the battle, and began charging her.
Swearing at the impulse that had lured her away from the relative safety
of the rest of the combat group, she gestured, narrow lines of force
winking into existence between a pair of trees on the reavers' path. The
first of the charging reavers passed through the lines, energy filaments
thinner than an atom, and collapsed into a messy pile of carapace and
ichor. The second began to phase, but not until it was too late, and the
third passed through them harmlessly.
Washuu shook her head, sprinting along the barrier of the Light Hawk
Wing, away from the reaver. She just needed to outdistance it and give
herself a few more moments to prepare another defense.
***
"The way ahead lies clear," Saffron assessed, as Ranma's two forms
recombined. "And the way behind is blocked. What can we do?"
"I don't know," Ranma said, shaking his head. "Ran-oh-ki is telling me
that there's nothing at Jusenkyou that he can see out of the ordinary,
but I still get the feeling that something's wrong. Hotaru's here, I'm
watching over her like the lady said... I don't get it!"
"What lady?" Yakumo asked, frowning, one hand on his rifle.
"Strange lady in a white dress with blonde hair who called me
'Higurashi-sama'," he said, shaking his head. "Why?"
"Oh, fuck," Yakumo said quietly. "Um, I thought it was just dreams and
didn't mean anything."
"What are you talking about?" Ranma asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Here's the deal, Ranma. Every time you have a dream and I'm nearby, I
see your dreams -- I don't know why, but you go to this strange place
where some woman insists that you're supposed to do her bidding. You
tell her to screw off, and then some other lady with blonde hair shows
up and tries to help you out. The second time you have a dream of just
being with the blonde lady -- I think her name is 'Omiki' or something
-- and she tells you that Tokimi's putting you in some kind of danger.
Tokimi says that you're supposed to bring her sister to her, and Omiki
is telling you to protect Washuu," Yakumo babbled, stopping at the end
to collect his breath. "Tokimi's the one in charge of the reavers,
according to their memories. Does that ring any bells?"
"Tokimi," Ranma breathed, scowling. "I... I remember. She told me...." He
broke off, stepping away from Hotaru and rising a short distance off the
ground. "I have to find Washuu."
Yakumo blinked, certain that as Ranma vanished, his gems had taken on an
ominous green hue. "Well, now what?" he asked, turning to look at Norris
and Cologne.
***
Ryouga leapt after Ryu, lashing out with a fist as a reaver lunged for
him. Ryu carelessly jumped before another reaver, and began to pummel it
mercilessly while it was trying to regain its balance from the shishi
houkodan that Ryouga had struck it with. The reaver rolled away from
Ryu, sharp claws raking through the air where he stood as he ducked out
of the way.
"Get back to the line!" Ryouga shouted angrily. "You idiot! You'll get
yourself killed!"
"What are you worried about?" Ryu retorted, ducking a sweeping claw, and
countering with a roundhouse kick that sent it tumbling. "These things
are pansies!"
Ryouga growled, but had to focus on defending himself. With his back to
Ryu, he only needed to worry about a few potential directions of attack
at a time. Roaring, he grabbed a claw as it thrust at his chest, and
twisted violently, the torque forcing it to flip over. Emboldened by his
success, Ryouga placed a foot against the struggling monster's carapace,
and heaved with all the strength he could muster. Surprisingly enough,
the limb tore free, the reaver rolling away and shrieking in pain.
"Told you so!" Ryu said cockily. "We can beat these reavers easily!" As
if to counter his statement, another group of reavers burst from the
earth behind the line of their advance, charging to join their embattled
brethren.
"Having second thoughts?" Ryouga asked, drawing in all the ki he could
muster. The air about he and Ryu grew heavy, the ki slowing the reavers
as Ryouga prepared for his final shishi houkodan. This time he'd get it
right....
"Yeah," Ryu admitted, stumbling backwards at the sheer number of reavers
surrounding them.
"Get back to the line," Ryouga managed, grabbing Ryu and pulling him out
of the way of another lashing claw. Ignoring the boy's shouts of
protest, Ryouga hurled with all his might, launching Ryu towards the
line of defenders. The reavers wouldn't hurt him, he knew. The ki of the
shishi houkodan would keep them from moving near him.
Smiling forlornly, he turned his attention to the line about him, but
stopped counting when he reached twenty. This time, _this_ time, they
would all die to his attack, no matter the cost to himself. His thoughts
were rudely interrupted as a hand grabbed his collar, someone lifting
him bodily and racing towards the line of defenders. He struggled for an
instant to see who it was, protesting, "I'm not done with my attack yet!"
"Save it," Yosho's voice advised him, the man setting Ryouga down behind
the line of defenders. "There's too much battle left for you to throw
yourself away right now." The old man whooped a sudden bark of laughter,
and shook his head. "If I'm not allowed to die here, neither are you!"
***
Washuu skidded to a halt at the edge of a cliff to the north,
backpedaling frantically, and wheeling about. Pacing towards her with
slow deliberation, parallel to the barrier of the Light Hawk Wings, was
the reaver.
Collecting herself, she placed her hands before her, palms facing the
reaver, summoning a thin barrier of sparkling red light to ward it off.
She could just touch the bracelet on her wrist and call to Ranma for
help while her shield slowed the reaver.... But her hand made no move to
touch the bracelet, and the reaver strode through her barrier without
visible effort.
She gaped, hands falling limply at her sides. How had it been able to
dismiss her shield so easily? Why couldn't she move her hand to touch
the bracelet on her wrist? Was she to perish to a reaver here, of all
things, after all that she had done? But the reaver made no move to
attack her -- merely drawing to a point two meters away and hissing softly.
The foremost claws rose, outlining a crude oval between them, and Washuu
could only wonder at her uncontrollable compulsion to stare, unmoving.
Between the claws, woven of pure blackness, something was forming. Flat,
roughly circular, and slowly growing. A portal, she realized distantly.
A portal to a place beyond the reality she knew, and something...
something terrible and powerful beyond that. "No," she whispered, as the
portal grew larger, and she was unable to resist the compulsion -- the
terrible compulsion -- to draw closer.
Why had the reavers chosen to do this? Why to her?
"Enter," a voice whispered to her. "Come home. Return."
"No," she whimpered, her traitorous body taking a slow step forward. "I
don't want to... why are you doing this?"
"You must return... you know this," the voice whispered, not from before
her, but from within her own mind, coiling about and wending through her
innermost thoughts. "Abandon this place. Come."
Ever closer to the portal she drew, her hand rising to press against the
inky blackness before her, only centimeters away. "Ranma," she sobbed
quietly. "Where are you?"
A familiar sound echoed then, her vision nothing more than the infinite
blackness, but the sound cutting through from beyond it. It rang
sharply, then again, then three more times, 'snicker-snack'.
Her hand dropped to her side, as the reaver's claws fell, no longer
attached to the reaver itself. The compulsion lessened, but she could
not back away. Ranma's voice reached her, even though her eyes remained
firmly trained on portal before her. "So this is what it's all about,"
he mused quietly. "This is what everything that was done to this world
was done for. Tokimi wants you, Washuu."
"Ranma?" she asked nervously, unable to keep a tremor of fear from her
voice. "What are you talking about?"
"Tokimi doesn't care about us," he said flatly. "She only cares about
getting her job done, and to her, the ends justify the means. She
doesn't want to hurt and destroy us. She only wants you to go home. To
go to her."
"Who is Tokimi? Ranma, I don't understand--"
"Do you suppose that she'd be willing to make the reavers go away if I
gave you to her?" he asked.
Washuu blinked rapidly, not completely understanding what Ranma was
talking about. His hand passed into her field of vision, fingertips
carefully wiping tears from her face. The glow of green light from the
gem in his wrist sent a tremor of fear through her. "Stop this, Ranma!"
she insisted, still captive. "You're scaring me!"
"Yeah, well, I guess dealing with Tokimi constantly kinda scared me a
little bit, too," Ranma murmured. "I have some sympathy. How about I
send Tokimi a little token of my esteem for her, hmm?"
Washuu closed her eyes tightly, swallowing down the lump of fear. "Ranma?
Please... please don't do this!"
"It has to be done," he said tonelessly.
Washuu heaved an unsteady sigh. She couldn't fight against him; something
was already keeping her from using her powers... and she didn't know if
she had it in herself to fight against him, even if she could use them.
She shivered as Ranma wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Tell me,
Washuu," he whispered, his breath warm against one ear. "Do you trust me?"
"Yes!" she exclaimed. "I do, but right now you're scaring me! Please,
Ranma--"
"No," he said, loosening his grip on her slightly. "That's enough."
Washuu swallowed back another lump of fear, waiting for whatever would
happen next. She _did_ trust Ranma.
"I don't think she understands trust," he said after a moment. "Mouko
takabisha."
Washuu's eyes flew open at that, staring at the portal in shock. Ranma's
hands were before her, palms towards the portal, and golden ki-flame
sprang from them, seeming to ignite within the inky void. Green and blue
streamers of raw power writhed about the outer edge of the portal as it
began to waver unsteadily. "Ranma?" she asked, surprised.
He said nothing, merely grabbing her tightly, and leaping backwards, off
the cliff's edge. "I'm here," he said tiredly, the cliff's face
whistling past them as their descent slowed slightly.
"Don't... don't let me go," she said, slumping as control of her body
returned to her. Glancing upwards, she saw a flash of light from where
the portal had been, followed by an echoing explosion. "What... what was
that?"
"A long story," Ranma said angrily. "And a change in plans."
"Are you... angry at me?" she asked hesitantly.
Ranma snorted, stopping their descent, and reversing direction. He paused
for a moment to shift Washuu's position so he was carrying her the way
he traditionally did, and then answered, "No. I'm angry at Tokimi."
"Who _is_ Tokimi?" Washuu asked, frustrated. "I've asked before, and Clay
mentioned her once, but I don't know who she is!"
"She says that she's your older sister," Ranma said after a moment. "I
guess that's where all of the bad parts of your family went."
"I would remember if I had a sister like that," Washuu protested. "And
where did that portal go, anyway?"
"To her, I guess," Ranma grumbled. "Look, as best as I can figure, she's
a goddess of death, or something, and she's pissed because she thinks
that you're not doing your job. I get the idea that wherever she is, and
_whatever_ she is, she doesn't care for life much, so I imagine that the
ki I threw in there is going to make her pretty angry. It's a gamble on
my part, but it might buy us some time. Can you tap the gem on my ear?"
Washuu nodded, not completely understanding the situation, and touched
the gem. Ranma winced at something from it, and said, "Norris, Pavel,
anyone with a radio -- tell everyone we're moving towards Jusenkyou. I
know we're in trouble in places, but trust me on this one. The reavers
will let up if we start running."
Clearing the top of the cliff, Ranma soared across the battlefield.
Wherever the reavers had been, they had vanished, leaving only a
deserted battlefield behind, survivors slowly picking their way towards
the center to regroup. Ran-oh-ki, in his ship form, barreled through the
air, and Ranma nodded grimly, lowering himself to the ground at the
front of the army, as people belatedly began to move westward.
"Ranma-papa-san?" Nuku asked anxiously across the radio. "What's going on?"
"We're leaving," he said tersely. "To finish this."
"Ranma," Washuu said warning, as Ranma set her down, "you're not going to
run off and get yourself killed."
"I don't plan on it," Ranma said. "We've still got to buy everyone else
time, don't we?"
***
After gathering the former crew of Maintainer Shiname's platform onto
Saryu-oh and giving them a crash course in Ginraii rescue procedures,
Yohito awaited order from Genoh, sitting idle while the other ships
steadily continued the evacuation. The other ships proceeded in cautious
sweeps, slowly spiraling in towards one of the large landmasses in the
southern hemisphere. 'Australia', the natives called it.
Once he had verified that Kohito was safe, Yohito found the job far more
boring than he would have liked to admit, and drummed his fingers
against the console before him. More large Galaxy Police ships would be
arriving shortly, and he would have to greet them -- along with the
Galaxy Police craft that was in convoy with him. Detective Kuramitsu was
something of a legend, though Yohito had only actually spoken with her
cadet, so he was confident that any difficulties could be easily managed.
He raised an eyebrow as Saru-oh warned him of something on the planet's
surface. An explosion, and the subsequent activation of Light Hawk
Wings. His eyes narrowed at that, and a frown of worry formed on his
face. None of the Ginraii ships were generating those Light Hawk Wings,
so where could they be coming from?
Further speculation was cut off, as the massive Galaxy Police convoy
chose that moment to drop out of hyperspace, emerging from Lagrange
point two in a wide, retrograde orbit.
He sighed, activating the necessary communication links and pushing the
event from his mind. He was merely a captain, after all, not even the
leader of this operation.
***
Slowly pulling themselves together, worried at the sudden disappearance
of the reavers, and more by the presence of the Light Hawk Wings to the
east, the army reassembled, and headed in a much more direct course
towards Jusenkyou. Kiima watched them from above, frowning. Saffron
walked with the humans, strange as that was, but Kiima was not about to
question him.
Her own warriors drifted on whatever updrafts were available, resting
from the long flight and trying to watch over the battlefield.
Reflecting on the brief skirmish, Kiima could only conclude that the
forces of the Phoenix People were wholly useless in the last battle.
Whistling shrilly, and gathering the attention of her two messengers,
she snapped out, "Tell all of our men that the next time the forces
below get attacked, we will dive to ground level and fight at the side
of those below."
"Lower ourselves to their level?" one asked, concern evident on his features.
"Do not take that attitude!" Kiima yelled. "Saffron-sama fights at the
side of those below -- are you better than him? He fights -- and dies --
for those below regularly. Are you too good to even fight?"
Shamed, the messenger shook his head. "I'm sorry, I spoke without thinking--"
"Enough," Kiima growled. "Away. Spread the word. We have better things to
do with our time than bicker. Move."
Ducking his head, he darted off, followed shortly by the other messenger,
moving on to relay the word.
"Saffron-sama," Kiima said quietly, confident that none could hear her.
"Why are we doing this?"
***
Shifting his shoulders about uncomfortably, as Ranma rejoined the front
of the army and began walking forward, Saffron frowned. "Something is
amiss," he noted quietly to the boy.
"Damn straight," Ranma growled. "Saffron, you said that you would destroy
the planet before you let the reavers have it, didn't you?"
"I did not speak it idly," Saffron allowed, uncrossing his arms and
pacing alongside Ranma. "Is your plan to destroy this green Earth?"
Ranma paused for a heartbeat, furrowing his brows and eyeing Saffron.
"That's a funny way to say it," he muttered. "'This green Earth'."
Shaking his head, he sighed. "That's not it. I don't want to destroy it
-- I've been fighting to try and protect it all this time. Destroying
it... even to spite the reavers, I don't think that's right."
"I will concede that point to you. It lacks a certain honor... but then
too, the defilers lack the same."
"Maybe," Ranma grumbled, shaking his head. "If you were going to destroy
the planet, how would you do it?"
"The total culmination of my power can create a flare of sunfire that
will melt mountains," Saffron declared. "Were I to sacrifice my own
immortality to the fullest height of my power, I would only be able to
crack the surface of the world open. Even with this continent sundered,
I could not destroy an entire planet, and the repercussions for an
action like that would be most... dire."
"What? What do you mean?" Ranma asked. "Who's going to get you in trouble
for that if you're dead?"
"There are those that govern me, and then, those that govern them,"
Saffron said evasively. "I wholly doubt that Tsunami-sama would be best
pleased by an action like that from me, and even then, it would
accomplish nearly nothing against the defilers."
Ranma snorted, shaking his head. "Tsunami-chan's a nice girl. Still,
that's not the way to do it, so don't worry too much. If you could make
cold like you can fire, things would be really different."
"To freeze the world as I would sunder it with fire?" Saffron mused,
narrowing his eyes. "Could such a thing be done?"
"Rei dreamed it, so I guess so," Ranma said dismissively. "But we enough
know about it to keep it from happening, right?"
"If we wanted to keep it from happening, yes," Saffron said quietly. "Is
that the case?"
***
Distracted, and worried over the change in Ranma's demeanor, Washuu
attended Tsunami, watchful for reavers until they reached Jusenkyou,
shortly before sunset. Once there, the Phoenix People landed, shifting
about uncomfortably and waiting expectantly. Saffron strode towards them
to address them quietly, while the surviving Marines clustered together
a short distance away from her.
"What are our total losses?" Norris asked quietly, Pavel at his side.
"Looks like we lost about fifteen, all told," Pavel said apologetically.
"From the vanguard, Eric and Jim, from the northern flank, Jon,
Patterson, Smith... and more. That's half of your officers, sir."
Norris rubbed at his temples, shaking his head. "I don't know if we can
do anymore good here," he confessed. "And that leaves me unsure what to do."
Striding towards the men, Washuu waggled a finger at them. "It's not your
fault they adapted to the weapons I gave you," she explained. "If
anything, it's my fault for not making the positronic lasers more
adaptable. I'm sorry, Norris-san, but maybe you should give some thought
into evacuating some of your men. The kinetic displacement rifles work,
but even those have a drawback, thanks to the reavers newly developed
armor."
"What would you suggest, then?" Norris asked tersely.
"That you leave while you can," Washuu admitted. "I know you want to
fight, but there's no sense in anyone throwing their lives away if they
don't have to."
"But you can't fight, either," Norris countered, angrily. "We swore we
would fight to the end, and I, for one, plan to see it to just that."
"Sir," Pavel said quietly. "With all due respect, I think she has a
point. Given the performance of our Marines, we're going to be more of a
liability than an aid here. We can barely keep up with the Amazon and
Musk warriors, our weapons are potential dangerous to both our allies
and ourselves... this is a fight that we should have stepped away from a
long time ago."
Norris bit his tongue, spinning on his heel to glare at Pavel. For his
part the lower ranking officer merely raised an eyebrow, not cowed in
the slightest. Ultimately, Norris sighed, bowing his head. "Damn it," he
cursed. "We just can't do enough. I hate this. I hate so much that we
can do so little, when so much needs to be done. I hate that we already
lost what meant most to us -- our home -- and that we have to lose
someone else's home, next. The bottom line here is that the war is
nearly over, and we've lost. I don't know if I can bear that."
Ranma drew close in time to hear Norris's words, and crossed his arms
over his chest, shaking his head. "That's not true," he said quietly.
Norris snapped his head to stare at Ranma in surprise, all the other
Marines doing the same.
"What do you mean?" Norris asked, confused.
"It's not over yet, is it?" Ranma asked, a slow grin building on his
face. Washuu knew that grin, and it both calmed and unsettled her. Ranma
got that smile when he was planning something sneaky.
"No," Norris said slowly. "But I don't see how we're going to pull a win
out of this one, unless your friends up there have a bigger gun they
haven't told us about yet."
Ranma shook his head, his smile widening. "But it's not over. And I may
get knocked around in a fight, and I may get hurt really bad, but
there's something you don't quite understand yet." He glanced at the
other Marines, all staring at him raptly, and uncrossed his arms, his
right hand falling to rest on the handle of his sword. "Ranma, by any
name, doesn't lose. Ever. And since this war's not over yet, I'm gonna
win it. I don't think you should worry about what you can do -- you've
done a hell of a lot more than you think. You got who knows how many
people to Australia.
"People afraid of me. People who wouldn't listen to me if I tried to help
them. You fought for a while, and you fought a damn sight better than a
lot of people. How many reavers did you and your men kill, Norris? Now
compare that to how many reavers were killed before you were forced to
leave America.
"You moved all of those people from Tokyo to Shanghai, and you got all of
us to the Amazon village. Maybe it's time for you to take a break,
Norris. Because you can. I can't. I have to keep on fighting, because I
have to win, but you know, when you think about it, you already have
won, haven't you?"
He shrugged then, and turned away, not waiting for Norris to respond.
Finally, Norris found his voice enough to ask, "What does he mean he
can't take a break?"
Washuu bit her lip, staring after Ranma as he strode away uncertainly.
"I'm not sure," she said quietly. "He knows... he knows something I'm
not allowed to remember yet."
"And what does _that_ mean?" Norris asked, dumbfounded.
"What does what mean?" Washuu asked, raising a hand to her forehead as a
momentary surge of pain distracted her.
***
Amidst a large circle of her warriors -- though diminished from the
morning meeting -- Cologne surveyed them, frowning unhappily. "Welcome
to Jusenkyou," she said tiredly. "Don't drink the water. How are we all
holding up?"
"Okay," Kura-Wan said, leaning against her spear and casting about
warily. "How long we stay awake?"
"We should sleep in shifts, I think," Cologne said after a moment of
thinking. "Is there anyone who wants to leave? Anyone who's hurt? Most
of the Marines will be leaving -- to the stars. We all will, soon, I think."
"Some sooner than others," Jian-Di mumbled, limping into the circle from
a scouting expedition, and leaning against Kura-Wan heavily. "Warriors
sleep among the stars, after all."
"Perhaps, but we can live there, too, if we want to stop fighting." She
thumped the end of her walking stick against the ground, gathering the
slowly wandering attention of the women around her. "We've lost a few of
our own today, more than I'd like to admit. Against an enemy like this,
there is no dishonor in fleeing, I think."
The women shuffled around nervously, none of them willing to run. "Come,
come!" Cologne insisted. "Our tribe needs women to continue it -- not to
end our lives here."
At that, Pei-Lin sat down abruptly, followed a heartbeat later by
Kura-Wan and Jian-Di. "We fight," Kura-Wan declared, not even looking to
her spear-sisters. "We fight because Pei-Lin will not abandon us, and we
will not abandon her. Others... you may have children in your futures.
We do not. Leave, and there is no dishonor."
Slowly, hesitantly, a few of the women stood, staring at their feet in
shame, while more remained sitting, crossing their arms over their
chests. Cologne nodded once they had sorted themselves out, and gestured
to the Marines, standing a short distance away. "Go, go with those men,
and live," she ordered. "Bring honor to our tribe, and live well."
Ducking their heads meekly, they set their weapons on the ground, and
strode to the Marines, heads bowed. Cologne shook her head, studying the
eleven women who remained, and sighed. "So, it's come to this?" she
asked. "I can't persuade you to go, Kura-Wan? You're one of our finest
warriors. Jian-Di? You have a bright future, too."
"I will not abandon Pei-Lin," she insisted. "We swore at the festival six
springs ago, and tomorrow will be our seventh."
"Without Pei-Lin, we are incomplete," Jian-Di added. "So we stay."
For her part, the blue-haired woman bowed her head, blushing brightly,
while the maces clutched in her hands trembled with the emotion she
usually hid. "I am too blessed," she whispered. "And I almost wish you
would leave, Kura-Wan, Jian-Di... but I do not have the strength to ask
you. Please forgive my weakness."
Jian-Di and Kura-Wan both smiled at Pei-Lin, and shook their heads. In
one voice they announced, "There is nothing to forgive."
"And you may yet live to see more springs than you already have," Cologne
added. "You speak as noble warriors without hope... but hope lives
forever." Cologne glanced to one side sharply as Rei approached,
nervously, timid. But the raven-haired girl's attention wasn't fixed on
her, it was focused on Pei-Lin.
Stepping gingerly to the woman's side, Rei bowed slightly, her face
flushed. In Japanese, she asked, "Is something wrong, Pei-Lin?"
"No," Pei-Lin said fiercely in her own accented Japanese, shaking her
head, voice choked up with emotion. "Everything fine."
Rei smiled slightly, and produced a handkerchief from a pocket, before
leaning forward and dabbing tears from Pei-Lin's eyes with it. "I owe
you this," she said quietly. "I... I didn't really understand what you
said, because I don't know Chinese, but I think you're very lucky to
have friends as close as you do."
"Yes," Pei-Lin admitted, taking the handkerchief from Rei and wiping away
the last of her tears. Standing up, she dropped her maces and hugged Rei
tightly. "And Rei is a good girl, still. Pei-Lin is lucky for that, too."
***
After sorting out who would stay, and who would leave, the leaders of the
warrior groups held an impromptu meeting on the cliffs above Jusenkyou.
Cologne, Saffron, Herb, and all of those who had left from Tokyo.
Saffron spoke first, his back to the springs, and wide-flared wings
shedding light across the entirety of the small plain. "My warriors are
unsettled, and reluctant to leave me," he murmured. "But all the same, I
have allowed only a smaller number to remain. For all that I would like
to win the battle, I would like some of my people to live on, even with
me gone."
Cologne nodded her understanding. "Eleven of my warriors remain with us.
Twenty are leaving. The rest...." She sighed, shaking her head. "We've
not lost so many in a single battle in decades. It saddens me."
"I can imagine," Herb remarked. "Lime and Mint, loyal as always, will
remain. One score total remains -- the rest I wish to live. My people's
heritage must be preserved. I myself wish to see this played out to its
very end. Saffron-sama, how many of your own forces remain with us?"
"Kiima flies one wing. Her, and another nineteen warriors remain."
"Norris's men are all leaving," Ranma assessed. "So that means we've got
twenty Musk, twenty of the Phoenix People, and eleven amazons?"
"Twenty Amazons!" Rei announced suddenly. "We'll fight with them!"
Ranma glanced over his shoulder at the girls he had once thought of as
'cheerleaders', and they all nodded firmly. "Okay," he said quietly.
"Washuu, what's else do we have?"
"Atsuko, Mousse, Ryouga, Ryu, Tsunami, myself, Yakumo, and Yosho, Ranma,"
she said apologetically. "Aside from yourself and Saffron and Herb, of
course. I don't know how long we have until we get attacked, though, so
I can't guess our hopes of lasting this out."
"I've been thinking about that a bit," Ranma said, tickling Ran-oh-ki's
chin absently. The creature purred softly, and sent a signal to one of
the ships overhead, which began to descend. "There are way more reavers,
or they wouldn't have thrown themselves at us like they did earlier
today, I think."
"Yes, but that raises even more questions and problems, too. They can
phase-shift and slide through the lot of us -- destroy us all at will,
if they want to, and yet, they do not," Ami noted. "Why is that?"
"They want to capture someone alive," Yakumo explained. "Like I said in
Shanghai. I'm guessing that's why they hold back -- they don't want to
kill... whoever it is on accident."
"Makes sense," Washuu said, nodding. "But the bigger problem is that as
there are more reavers, they gain a certain immunity to the beacon. They
can triangulate through it, as their numbers grow, and worse, they may
begin to resist its lure and wander elsewhere."
"How much time do we have before they start swarming over Australia?"
Cologne asked, frowning sharply.
"Well... hours? Given their reproductive rate, yes, in a few hours they
would overcome the beacon, and spread out -- but they can't move quickly
enough for that to be a worry," Washuu assessed.
Snorting, Ranma countered, "How long did it take them to get to the
orbital platform from Earth?" Washuu winced. "I... that's true. What should we do,
then?" Ranma sighed. "I know what to do. We just need to give them better bait. They
wanted you -- as far as I can tell, they've wanted you all along. But
there have been plenty of chances where they could have gotten you and
they didn't. I think I know why they didn't."
"Why not?" Washuu asked, biting her lower lip worriedly, and shooting a
nervous glance at the others present at the meeting. "Because the beacon screws
with their senses. Either they think it's you, or it hides you from
them, mostly. But when that one got close enough, they can tell where
you are, right?" Ranma prompted.
Washuu shook her head. "That couldn't be it -- the one in my lab came
just as close to me." "And there were who-knows how many layers of your
laboratory stacked on top of itself there to confuse it."
"I suppose you could be right," Washuu acquiesced. "But what does this
have to do with your knowing what to do?"
"They'll all make a beeline for you if the beacon's not there to hide
you, right?"
"So you want me to act as bait while you try and stave them off as long
as you can? I trust you, Ranma, but--"
"Nah, that's not it," he said, shaking his head, eyes distant.
"Well, what is it?" she asked, unsure.
"Hmm," Saffron mused. "We must obviously offer a greater distraction to
them -- enough to keep their attention away from those still being
removed to safety."
"Right," Ranma mumbled. "But how are we going to do that?"
"I can increase the power of the beacon somewhat," Washuu said, frowning.
"By the calculations I've come up with, the Galaxy Police and Ginraii
ships should finish the evacuation by about... ten in the morning
tomorrow. That's over twelve hours away. If we make the beacon more
powerful, it'll stun them for a bit, but not long, and then they'll all
come in force."
There was another moment of silence then, a large Galaxy Police craft
sinking towards them through the night sky, and silently teleporting
away the troops that had elected to leave. "Well," Ranma said quietly,
"that'll have to do, I guess. Keep them as confused as possible, for as
long as possible, then engage in a running battle. If we can get them to
attack us from the east, they might fall into some of the pools, and
that'll help. Then we can just fight them and work our way further west.
Just keep retreating from them slowly, if you know what I mean."
"Towards my lands?" Herb asked. "The path is more level than some, and
clear. The advantage would belong to neither side, I believe. Is that
where you wish to fight?"
"Your men know this land well, do they not?" Saffron asked.
"We do," he affirmed. "Enough so that in a running battle we will use
what terrain we can to our advantage. And despite that, I have doubts
about the odds of our survival."
"Does it really matter?" Ranma asked. "Even if we just run, we're
distracting them, right? We only need to last until, what, ten in the
morning?"
"I may be able to do something," Washuu said suddenly. All eyes turned to
her, as the Galaxy Police vessel flashed a set of lights at them, and
began to rise slowly. "I can increase the power and focus of the beacon
-- I can make it show itself as being somewhere east of us. That way,
when they discern our true location, they come at us straight through
Jusenkyou. If those pools do what I've been told they do, they'll slow
them down enough to give us a good head start on running. It should take
them a few hours to figure it out, though."
"Okay, then we should sleep while it's safe. Ran-oh-ki says the area is
clear for a while." Turning to Tsunami, the boy frowned darkly.
"Tsunami-chan, this is really dangerous, and I'm not sure you should
stay with us anymore."
"I'm sure the Juraian fleet is nearly panicked about you," Yosho added,
speaking up finally. "And Ranma is correct -- you may be safer with
them. We could take you to safety shortly, if you'd like."
The young woman, shook her head sedately. "I will remain and see this
out," she insisted. "I do not... wish to abandon this green Earth until
Ranma leaves."
Ranma frowned sharply, shooting a curious glance to Saffron before
dismissing it. "It's your choice," he said quietly, turning to face
Tsunami again. "But I'm not really sure that staying here is such a hot
idea."
She shook her head insistently, and Ranma shrugged, turning his attention
to the group at large. "Okay, Washuu, if you make those changes to the
beacon, we should be set. Everyone else should try and grab some sleep
while we still can -- tomorrow's the last day, and it's probably going
to be a hard fight. Saffron and I will take the first watch. With
Ran-oh-ki and me scanning, we'll know if any reavers come close. Sound
like a plan?"
"It's a plan, Ranma," Ryouga said suddenly, before anyone else could
reply. "We can do it. We can win, and make sure everyone leaves safely."
"Okay, then," Ranma said, clapping his hands together, and darting
straight into the air overhead.
Saffron smirked slightly, shaking his head. "I am to take watch with
Ranma," he mused. "This should be interesting. Kiima, you and your
warriors should do as he suggests." With that, he too launched himself
upward, a slight wash of flame in his wake marking his path through the air.
***
Saffron turned to look at Ranma as he caught up to the boy above
Jusenkyou. "I did not expect you to be able to convince her," he said
mildly, crouching. "It is said that she is far too clever to be outwitted."
"I just lied to her. Just betrayed her trust forever. It's that easy,"
Ranma remarked bitterly.
"Forever," Saffron mused. "To save a world, perhaps that would be the
right thing to do."
"Sacrifices must be made," Ranma whispered, closing his eyes tightly,
thin tears trickling from between his closed lids.
"You should rest," Saffron advised. "I do not require sleep -- I will
watch over you."
"Sleeping would be bad," Ranma said, shaking his head. "If I sleep,
Tokimi's there. I'll just sit still for a bit."
"If you insist."
"Can you sense reavers?" Ranma asked pointedly.
"No...."
"Then I need to stay awake to see if any of them are getting too close."
"And if they are?"
"Then we start fighting right away."
***
The first traces of dawn's light found Ranma sitting on a cloudbank above
Jusenkyou, his eyes closed. Saffron hovered next to him, the winged
Phoenix god apparently unable to tire. "Open your eyes, Ranma," Saffron
said quietly. "For the sunrise is a beautiful thing to behold, and it
may be your last."
At those words, Ranma did as he was told, staring not at the sun, but the
land below, as the light of the sun began to streak along, slowly
obliterating the darkness. "If only it were that easy," he whispered.
More loudly, he said, "I can feel them beginning to move."
"A strange coincidence, that," Saffron murmured.
"No coincidence," Ranma said, shaking his head. "She planned it this way."
"Perhaps," Saffron said quietly. "I remember, not very long ago, I said
that I would call you ally, if not friend."
"Yeah?" Ranma asked, descending towards the encampment below. "What about
it?"
"Understand that it is a rarity, but I would call you friend, now,"
Saffron said quietly. "You are brave, and I cannot help but to approve
of your goals."
"Thanks," Ranma said, sighing. "I'd like to say you were a friend too,
huh? This whole thing has gotten so out of hand... I bet if none of this
ever happened, we never would have even met each other."
"Who is to say?" Saffron asked, shaking his head. "I am not a master of
fate and destiny, I am merely a god. But we might have. Do not be so
doubtful."
"I guess," Ranma said dubiously, landing atop the cliff above the pools,
and staring out over the camp. Few of the warriors had slept, or at the
very least, slept well, and so instead sat restlessly, looking up when
Ranma and Saffron landed. Yakumo stood nearby the spot where they
landed, eyeing Ranma and Saffron speculatively.
"Morning," Ranma offered. "Rest well?"
"Didn't sleep," Yakumo stated flatly. "But I spent a lot of time
thinking, and I'm pretty sure I know what you've got planned."
Ranma stiffened suddenly, one hand dropping to the hilt of his sword.
"What do you mean?" he asked tersely.
"I've come close, too. I know what happened -- she touched you. Marked
your soul, didn't she?" Yakumo pressed, glancing over his shoulder as
the camp roused, and then pitching his voice low. "Tokimi's waited until
sunrise for a reason. Do you know what it is?"
"I think so," Ranma said, smiling softly. "But there's time for that
later. The first of the reavers are coming."
"I see," Yakumo murmured quietly. Behind him, the camp began to rouse.
"We should be getting ready, then."
***
Waking with the rest of those who had managed to fall asleep, Yosho
rubbed at his eyes blearily, and allowed himself a moment to ponder the
fate of his tree. Tsunami had assured him that Funaho was safe, but the
man found himself unused to being so long without being able to contact
it. Still, with the refugees largely taken care of, and the number of
defenders reduced so drastically, it was the first time since leaving
Japan he allowed himself to consider that.
The Musk warriors milled around, leering occasionally at the young women
in their exotic outfits, and the assorted Amazons for a moment before
Herb called them to attention, reprimanding them harshly. A quick
breakfast of hard bread and dried beef was offered among the warriors,
but Yosho declined. Either there would be food later, or there was no
need to waste time eating again.
Not everyone shared his outlook, more than a few others munching on their
trail rations disinterestedly. He stood, stretching, and watched Ranma
and Saffron.
The boy spoke with Yakumo quietly, Saffron nodding judiciously from time
to time, but saying nothing himself. Tsunami, Washuu, and Nuku all stood
in a small group a short distance away, Nuku carrying Ran-oh-ki and
looking about curiously, while Washuu and Tsunami spoke.
Finally, the general quiet and stillness was broken, Saffron throwing a
large gout of flame upwards to gain the attention of the assembled
warriors, and calling out, "They approach. Ready yourselves!"
The Amazons and Musk dropped their food, casting it aside and readying
their weapons, while Kiima's forces leapt upwards, hovering overhead
with spears and kinetic displacement rifles at the ready.
Ranma stepped away from Saffron before splitting, his female half bearing
two long blades of blue energy, while the male drew his sword, both of
them looking down at the pools. The first of the attackers arrived,
flying up from the land below the cliff's edge, and landing atop the
level area above Jusenkyou.
Saffron whirled to face the creature that had flown over his head, then
faltered, frowning. Where they had been expecting a reaver, there was
nothing more than a small piglet. It bounced against the hard turf, then
squealed balefully, and began to twitch, only taking a moment to
collapse on its side, breathing, but unblinking. "What the heck was
that?" Ryouga asked fearfully, approaching it curiously.
"It can't keep a connection with the other reavers in that body," Yakumo
said suddenly. "It doesn't know how to exist on its own -- it needs to
be able to speak with the minds of the others! So if they touch the
springs, they effectively die!"
"For a few minutes," Ranma growled. "Let's make the most of this and
start heading west. Washuu, how much longer do we need to distract them?"
"It's about seven now, so another three hours," Washuu said, frowning.
"Are you sure--"
"Let's move!" he declared. "Lime, carry the beacon again. Ryouga, you and
your group take point with Herb and Yosho. Me and Saffron will stay in
the back."
Ryouga snapped to attention instantly, nodding. "You heard him!" he said,
rushing to Yosho's side, and gesturing for the man to lead the way.
"Let's move it!"
Galvanized, the troop began to move, Kiima's forces lingering overhead
for a moment longer, as a few more victims of the pools began to land
atop the cliffs. A duck, a cat, a dog.... Eventually, of course one of
them would hit one of the pools of drowned human, and then.... Yosho
spared no more thought for that, instead focusing on Ryouga. The boy had
a horrible sense of direction, despite his leadership of the group he
was placed in charge of, and that meant that Yosho had to show him the
way. Herb marched forward swiftly, and Yosho fell into step beside him,
Ryouga striding between the two, confident that he wouldn't get lost there.
Ranma swore something loudly, as Saffron casually immolated the
reavers-turned-animals, and then they fell into step behind the army,
heading westward.
***
The process of running westward was slow, Herb calling the army to a halt
ever few steps to allow everyone to recover. Rather than attacking in
force, the reavers sent out the occasional lone reaver to scuttle
towards one flank or the other, one that vanished before any lasting
damage could be done to it, and without attacking.
"What are they doing?" Ami asked worriedly, consulting her terminal for
answers.
"Testing us," Yakumo replied tersely. "I can... I can feel them in my
head. They're waiting for us to panic, and break for it, because they
think they're leading us into a trap."
"The only thing in Herb's valley is Ryouko's damaged slave crystals,"
Washuu said, shaking her head. "They couldn't possibly have a use for
those -- the energy wavelengths are too different."
"Maybe, maybe not," Ranma said, shaking his head. "Ran-oh-ki tells me
they can't be used as weapons, but the reavers can sense them. They
probably just think that's where we're headed because they stick out
more than anything else."
"That's partly my fault," Yakumo said, grinning. "I don't want to take
control of them, like I did at Shanghai -- that costs too much. But I
can subvert them a bit. They're easily misled, since they think that I
should be one of them."
"You do not strike me as a defiler," Saffron said, peering at Yakumo
closely. "But for whatever reprieve we are granted, that is welcome. How
much longer until we reach the valley?"
"Perhaps two hours," Herb suggested. "I suspect if we slow too much, they
will fall on us."
"Yes," Yakumo said. "So we can't delay too long."
"That puts us in the valley at nine. I think if we get there, then we can
just call to be evacuated, and be done with it. It's a small gamble, but
almost everyone will be off the planet by then," Washuu noted. "If we do
that, then we can put ourselves at the smallest amount of risk necessary
after all. Fuji-san, you may have just saved the day."
"I'm all for gambles when it's only my own life on the line," Ranma
grumbled. "Otherwise... I don't like the idea much."
Washuu winced at that, and shook her head. "Now, don't be foolish, Ranma
-- once we get to the valley, we can evacuate, and be done with all this
nonsense."
Ranma shook his head. "We'll see," he said quietly. Nothing more was
said, then, the entire force moving silently west, until they finally
reached the uppermost edge of the valley.
The grasses below waved softly in the breeze, undisturbed by reavers or
any other visible signs. Ranma peered over the lip of the valley, and
raised one hand. In response, a number of cracked crystals rose from the
green expanse, forming a large ring, and glowing with a weak, pulsating
blue light. "Okay," Ranma said quietly. "This is it, pretty much."
"I recognize this valley," Rei said suddenly, grabbing Hotaru's hand, and
backing away. "This is the valley from my dream -- we can't go in there!
If we do, Hotaru will die!"
Washuu snapped her head about, staring at Ranma in consternation. "Ranma,
what's the meaning of this?" she asked, suddenly anxious. "Why did you
take us here?"
"Yes," Cologne said tersely, frowning. "You've not been yourself lately,
but this is even more strange than usual."
"I can explain everything," Ranma said quietly, closing his eyes. "The
reavers are here for Washuu, like I said. The beacon is more powerful,
yeah, but I can feel the reavers right now, and most of them aren't near
us. They can't sense Washuu through the beacon, so they're all branching
out. Some of them are halfway to Australia already."
"Ranma?" Tsunami asked quietly. "Why... why did you let this happen?"
"Ran-oh-ki is blocking the Galaxy Police communications out. He does...
what he knows we have to." He sighed, drawing his sword slowly,
deliberately. "The reavers are going to keep on breeding and destroying
until they finish what they came for. And that's to find you, Washuu."
"Ranma," Yosho said sternly, summoning a blade to his hand. "You may be
formidable, but I will not allow you to harm Washuu."
The boy chuckled, shaking his head sadly. "I don't want to hurt Washuu.
Not at all. But the reavers are only going to be pulled into one group
by a lure good enough to let me finish the job."
"Higurashi!" Setsuna exclaimed. "I've come to trust you, and you're
doublecrossing us, now?"
"Hardly," he spat. "A Juraian ship is coming for you. I remember my
promise. I have to protect Hotaru, and that means that I'm going to make
sure that she's gone before what has to be done comes about. Saffron...
Saffron and I will see it through to the end."
"This is most unlike you," Tsunami said quietly, blinking away tears.
"You make a threat against my sister, Ranma."
"Yeah?" Ranma asked, opening his eyes, and slinging his sword across his
shoulder. "Well, you have two sisters, Tsunami-chan. I kind of like one,
but the other's a stupid bitch. And I am _not_ going to let Tokimi win."
Before anyone else could react, Ranma swung his sword sharply, and cleft
Washuu's beacon in half, the halves tumbling out of Lime's hands to
clatter to the stones atop the edge of the valley.
"Now, everyone, run to the center of that circle," Ranma ordered tersely,
pointing down into the valley. "And hurry! The Juraian ship can pick you
up from there!"
"Go," Saffron ordered Kiima, who hovered nearby uncertainly. "Go and
live. The time for your warriors to battle has come to an end."
Losing all semblance of order, nearly all of the assembled warriors began
to scramble down the path to the valley, casting fearful glances at
Ranma as they descended. Ranma himself remained, along with Saffron,
Cologne, Tsunami, Washuu, Herb, Yosho, Ryouga, Mamoru, and all of the
girls with him.
"My men may flee, Ranma, but to me, you are a brother in arms. I will not
abandon you," Herb stated proudly. "This matter has escalated swiftly
beyond what I truly understand, but I remain steadfast, and trust you."
"Trust is good," Ranma said, clapping a hand across Herb's back. The
prince of the Musk stiffened at Ranma's touch, then collapsed to the
ground, eyes wide and shining with betrayal. "But you can't stay here.
None of you can." Herb twitched weakly, unable to move, and Ranma
sighed, shaking his head. "Three can stay. Me, Washuu, and Saffron.
Everyone else... you have to go. And soon."
The sky overhead began to darken, as a Juraian dreadnought began to
descend, a beam from the bottom of the ship locking onto the circle of
crystals below. "Ranma, what _are_ you doing?" Yosho demanded, standing
over Herb protectively, while Rei drew her own sword.
"What _has_ to be done, damn it!" Ranma yelled. "Don't you get it? This
is the only way I can stop Tokimi -- even if it's only for a while!"
Calming abruptly, he sheathed his sword, slamming it into his scabbard,
and then removed the scabbard from his sash. "Atsuko, use Ran-oh-ki to
help protect that ship." The girl nodded, as Ran-oh-ki suddenly vaulted
skyward, expanding into his ship form, and teleporting Nuku away.
"Tsunami-chan, do you trust me?"
All others fell silent, turning to the young woman. She swallowed
nervously, and nodded. "I do, Ranma. If I did not trust you, I would not
let you use your power," she admitted finally.
"Then you know I don't want to make you unhappy," he said quietly. "I
promised you that answer, right? Well, I'll give it to you, but only if
you leave to safety, and soon."
"I will not abandon Washuu," she said stubbornly. "I cannot!"
"Then you can leave with her," he said, nodding, and handing his sword to
her. "And keep this for me, until I come back."
The young woman nodded uncertainly. "And what of Herb, Ranma?"
"He's okay," Cologne said suddenly. "Just like Shampoo. Ranma, I know
what you're doing... are you sure that this is what you want to do?"
"I know it's not what I want to do. But it's what I have to," he
repeated. "Cologne, please, take everyone and leave."
The old woman bowed her head, nodding her understanding. "Very well," she
whispered quietly. "You were a son that made me proud, Ranma. Mousse!
Ryouga! Take Herb, he cannot carry himself. Ryu, you should come with
us." With that, the old woman strode off the valley's edge, descending
towards the waiting ship.
Finally allowing his summoned blade of energy to vanish, Yosho bowed his
head, too. "Very well," he said quietly. "If that's the way it has to
be. Ranma, I will speak with you on this later."
"That would be nice," Ranma said quietly. "But there's not much time
left. I can feel them coming back -- quickly, too."
Yosho nodded again, and turned to Setsuna. "Meiou, you should leave, too.
Your plans will come to naught if you remain."
The green-haired woman nodded dubiously, and began to usher the other
girls along, only Hotaru resisting. "Ranma-san?" she asked. "How do I
know that you'll come back?"
"I can give you my word," he said, shaking his head. "But that's about all."
"Take this," she said impulsively, pressing the Silence Glaive into his
hands. "You have to bring it back to me, and you gave your own sword to
her."
"Thank you," he whispered, bowing his head.
"And give me a kiss, too!" she added, smiling softly.
Ranma allowed himself a rueful laugh, and leaned forward to gently kiss
Hotaru on the forehead. "I will see that this gets back to you," he
promised, hefting the Silence Glaive. He glanced upward, and smiled, as
a beam from Ran-oh-ki swept across the girl, teleporting her away. The
rest of the girls took that as a clue, and leapt down the slope of the
valley, running full-tilt for the ring of crystal. Yosho and Mamoru
hesitated only a moment before following.
"It is a remarkable thing, to have garnered so many loyal friends and
allies," Saffron said quietly. "I envy you."
"Saying goodbye isn't always easy," Ranma whispered. Shaking his head, he
divided in two, one offering a hand to each Tsunami and Washuu. Saffron
nodded, and leapt off the side of the valley, drifting towards the ring
of crystal as the ship began to drift upwards, the beam of light from it
vanishing. Ranma teleported both of the women to the center of the ring
of crystals as Saffron landed at one edge.
"This ring should act as a kind of amplifier," Ranma explained. "Now that
everyone else is gone, it's going to tell every reaver on the planet
right where you are, and it'll send them all in a straight line for this
spot."
"Ranma?" Washuu asked nervously. "I'm acting as bait to buy everyone time
to escape?"
"No," he said, shaking his head. "The crystals have your pattern, and
will tell it to the reavers. Now you leave." With that, he teleported
again, setting Washuu down on a chair aboard Ran-oh-ki, and Tsunami
nearby as well. "Now do you get it?" he asked, smiling.
"Yes!" the woman exclaimed, her hands seizing Ranma tightly. "You think
that if you lure them all in, you can kill them! Ranma, I'm not going to
let you throw your life away--"
"I'm not throwing my life away," he countered, closing the short distance
between he and Washuu, and kissing her deeply. Startled, the woman's
grip about him loosened, and he stepped back suddenly. Reacting a
fraction too slow, she grabbed his robes.
"Ranma!" she exclaimed, as he vanished, leaving the robes in her hands.
"What... Ranma! You have to come back!"
***
Ranma's forms recombined before Saffron, one hand holding the massive and
wicked looking polearm Hotaru had leant him. "We are ready?" he asked
tersely.
"Yes," Saffron murmured, glancing over Ranma's shoulder as enough reavers
to line the valley began to spill over the edge. "Do you believe this
will truly work?"
"If you can give me a few minutes, I think it can," Ranma said, nodding.
Saffron removed the Kinjakan from his belt, and set the spinning ring
circling around them in a widening spiral, gaining speed and heat as it
continued. "We shall hope," he said grimly, halting the spiral's
expansion when the ring of flame was forty meters wide, just outside of
the ring of shattered slave crystals. "They approach."
Ranma grumbled, plucking the gems from his wrists, and setting them in
the air before him. He took a careful step back, and sighted the bobbing
blue crystals purposefully. "Here goes nothing," he breathed, swinging
the glaive down on the first gem with all his might. The gem shattered,
reduced into a fine, crystalline mist, and Ranma shuddered at the forces
released as they began to surge through him through the connection he
maintained.
The slowly rising surge of power warned him that there would be more --
much more -- and soon. Gritting his teeth, he raised the glaive over the
second gem, and smashed it, too. The resultant power began to wreathe
him in a solid blue nimbus, nearby stalks of grass shattering, and his
breath liquefying before him. "I wonder how long I will sleep," Saffron
mused, watching Ranma closely. "Are you confident that what you try to
do can be done?"
"Yeah," Ranma choked out, trying to resist the heady rush of raw energy
through him. "Need... more cold...."
Saffron sighed, glancing at the line of fire as the reavers began to
throw themselves at it -- rebuffed for the moment by the metal ring of
the Kinjakan, if the flame itself did nothing -- and pulled the Gekkaja
from his sash. "Perhaps this can help?"
Ranma nodded stiffly, the gem on his ear winking brightly. "Just... break
this one," he managed, the polearm in his hands beginning to glow
softly. The writhing tendrils of blue reached out, enveloped the weapon
in a skein of pure force. "Just need a... little more."
Sighing again, and with careful deliberation, Saffron pulled back the
Gekkaja, and swung it at the gem forcefully, as the first of the reavers
began to surge over the protective barrier. "Yes," Ranma hissed, tapping
into the last bit of power he needed to complete what he wanted to do.
The power began to unfold before him, expanding, sweeping across the
reavers with blinding speed -- speed greater than they could manage to
dodge. All he had to do was teleport back... and leave Saffron alone to
sleep.
But it was so far to the ship, and he was so tired... so very tired....
***
Slowly rising away from the planet, Yohito allowed himself a sigh; they
were clear of whatever madness was going on below. Saryu-oh shuddered
once, the local subspace energy growing too thin to sustain the ship.
"What the hell," he breathed, as the ship's rise began to slow. "We're
going to smash into the planet," he gasped, eyes widening. "Something's
taking all of the energy from local subspace--"
His protest was cut off as something impacted with Saryu-oh, forcing the
ship upwards. Saryu-oh's viewports revealed the Earth beneath the
ship... changing. A slowly expanding ring of blue crept outwards,
slowly, at first, and then with greater and greater speed. "Oh, shit,"
he breathed, eyes widening as the sensors told him what it was.
A cold so absolute that the atmosphere around Saryu-oh turned liquid and
sloughed off the ship's hull. He shook his head, bereft of words, and
aware of Washuu sobbing incoherently nearby.
***
Hotaru sat across from Tsunami, shivering as a sudden... familiar...
sensation seemed to call out to her from the Silence Glaive. The weapon
that Ranma held, and yet called to her. "Oh, Ranma," she said, shaking
her head.
The Silence Glaive, a tool of death, was meant to be wielded by the
living, and when the lifeforce of its wielder was exhausted it vanished,
reforming in the hands of the proper bearer.
Hotaru gasped, recoiling in horror from the weapon in her hands. "No,"
she whimpered. "He promised...." She closed her eyes, tears trickling
down her cheeks. She had known he was going to come back, that he would
do what he thought needed to be done, and then return, but.... But the
finality of it echoed through to her from the glaive. It remembered his
final moments, the horrific cold, the terrible force.... "It's over,"
she whispered brokenly. "It's over...."
"You promised you would come back," Tsunami protested, her hands
tightening around the sheathed sword. "Atsuko, we have to go back! We
can't leave him behind!"
Nuku's eyes were bright with tears, but she shook her head, guiding
Ran-oh-ki towards Saryu-oh, as the other ship's acceleration faltered.
"Nuku-Nuku doesn't want to lose anyone else. Ranma-papa-san knows. He
said... he said Nuku-Nuku has to protect you. Nuku-Nuku will do what
Ranma-papa-san says!"
Tsunami bowed her head, shifting slightly as Ran-oh-ki slowed, gently
collided with Saryu-oh, and began to accelerate upward again.
"Nuku-Nuku... Nuku-Nuku loves Ranma-papa-san. Ranma-papa-san wants you
to be safe because Ranma-papa-san loves you!" she continued, tears
streaming from her eyes. "If you love Ranma-papa-san, you will let him
fight." Out of words for the moment, Nuku bowed her head, sobbing quietly.
Below, the entire planet was slowly consumed with a seemingly endless
tide of ice, spreading from Ranma's resting place outwards.
[End, Process of Elimination, Chapter Fifteen]
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Author's notes:
Thanks to The Refuge for helping me make this legible, and thank you for
your time in reading my story.