Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Shots in the Dark ❯ PCPIBLS 2 ( Chapter 2 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Jim Ohki 
Non Anime: Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 10.06.2014 | Pages: 4 | Words: 7.5K | Visits: 590 | Status: Work In Progress
Non Anime: Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 10.06.2014 | Pages: 4 | Words: 7.5K | Visits: 590 | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: I make no claims at ownership of any copyrighted characters, places or events used herein. The only thing I make a claim to is this fic, which originated in my head and any original characters created by me herein. The following was made for public consumption at zero profit, and is not for sale except to the owning companies. Yes, I dream big.
Rant: Okay, only one guess to the references. Close, but no. Doesn’t anybody recognize the movie lines I used?
Phenomenal Cosmic Powers, Itty-Bitty Living Space Arc One Part Two
By: (Driver) Jim Ohki
Nabiki huffed, puffed, and failed to get off of the coat rack she’d been hanging from for the better part of an hour. Everybody else had gone outside, leaving her all by her lonesome. Not only did the call of nature get louder while something that she was certain would come back to haunt her later was happening out in the yard, she was in the last place she wanted to be. Not the hanging from the wall via her bra bit, that part she could do without entirely.
She was alone.
She had heard the sounds of combat outside come and go, before the muffled voices began. Whatever it was that was going down out there was something of significance, something that was on the level of world views changing.
And yet, here she was all alone. Even the Angel of Nerima snubbed her and her current peril. She knew it was of her own making; that there would come a time when one of her previous schemes would come back to bite her in the ass.
Given time to think, she reflected on the path she’d chosen up to this point and frowned. That day, eleven years ago when her mother died and her father fell to pieces. When her elder sister gave her life in a figurative sense to take up role of the mother while her younger took up the macho role of the father. It left her in a void, with nowhere to go. Information was key, as she’d always felt if she’d had it maybe she could have made a difference . . .
Ignored by her father, as he saw his departed wife in his eldest and shadows of himself in his youngest, Nabiki did the only thing she could. She lashed out, wanting to forever distance herself from her family and others lest she be left alone again. Kasumi had approached her one day, fretting over the household account being nearly depleted.
The Ice Queen was born.
And at the time, she had wanted it to forever dominate her destiny. Then a new variable –literally- was introduced to her life in the form of Ranma. Her interest at his arrival was more than just lust or looking for a rube to drain dry before finding a way to get rid of.
It was her chance to shine in the spotlight, to have the attention of her father again. That dream came crashing down around her ears when he had turned up female, and demonstrated that his father had been his role model in life. So she did what she did best and retreated to the Ice; looking for ways to capitalize on the mayhem that she just knew would follow.
He injected something into her psyche though, something that she had thought on since his arrival. His scoffed Fate and Destiny, while not quite being able to maneuver himself out of manipulations. He was untamable, the Wild Horse. In the end, he held his word so close to his heart that he was trapped and from her vantage point the tiny hope she had that perhaps one day she could find happiness was snuffed out.
Then she made The Bet. Her worst mistake, period, when she let Kinnosuke die. The money aspect of the entire fiasco wasn’t involved in figuring out that she had crossed a line that even Ranma with his prowess would only dare to look at if there were no other options. The day was forever burned into her memory, the poor sod’s look as Nabiki popped her parachute and let him fall with the defective one.
Of course Ranma had to be the one to witness the entire thing. There were times she cursed his uncanny knack for bad timing. Then there were times she was grateful for it, not for the entertainment value but for the fact that he reminded her –without trying- that she was just as human as everybody else. That she had faults, wants, needs and desires just like her sisters, her father, his parents, Happosai, the Amazons, Ukyo . . .
Letting out a sigh of regret, Nabiki shifted her position to something at least a little more comfortable. She knew that she’d have to get down soon or she’d make a mess. Kasumi had strolled by her twice without so much as a glance now. Three times she had caught Ranma looking in on her, each and every time his eyes expressed his anger, contempt and borderline hatred. On the fourth look, she made a set of hand gestures that involved her body and liquid to which he caught on. As the conversation didn’t pertain to him at the moment he decided to oblige the middle sister by sauntering back indoors.
“What?” his simply demanded, arms crossed over his chest. Internally, he was thankful to be away from the developing scene on the lawn as mother and daughter reunited.
“Bathroom,” was all she said by way of reply, her normal taunting tone gone. She almost smiled as he started, surprised by how . . . subservient she sounded. Instead of being lowered to the floor like she thought, it was her turn to be surprised when he casually tossed her over his right shoulder then trekked up the stairs. She started to get nervous when he entered said room, before depositing her on a washroom stool then walking out of the door.
Leaning against the wall in the hallway, across from the door, Ranma was in thought. The day he arrived he had been able to read Nabiki easily. She had looked so hopeful to have a fiancé, but why he hadn’t understood. As time progressed and she grew colder, he was enlightened. He observed her interactions with those at school, her family and everybody else to see a young woman nearing adulthood being shunned, snubbed and generally ignored by everybody. The too few conversations he’d had with her filled in many of the blanks, but not all of them.
Eleven years after she started, she was still lashing out at the world. It had mutated from not being able to help her mother to being ignored for not having a role to fill after her passing to being ignored for her reputation despite her need for some attention. Anything would do, he noticed, so long that it was positive. In that regards he found that they were more alike than either would freely admit. Both had little to no praise growing up to the point of being starved for any attention. His honor, thus his word, was one of the parts that entrapped him in his situation.
The attention he got was the other, if not overdone to the point he was questioning why he allowed it.
Hearing a rather loud sigh of relief followed by a flush and the sounds of the faucet running, he pushed himself off of the wall and waited. Within moments she had appeared and judging by the look on her face she wasn’t prepared to go back to her previous . . . resting spot.
“Ranma, we need to talk,” she said, her entire attitude screaming at him. Not in the usual danger sense, but as she’d used such a submissive tone he began to worry that leaving her on the coat rack might have broken her spirit.
“Yeah,” he grunted, before manhandling her back downstairs. “We’ll talk but not now,” was his parting shot after parking her under the coat rack. This apparently new Nabiki was one that he had doubts he could deal with effectively. And he had to carefully think about what he’s seen so far to –hopefully- avoid another manipulation.
Nabiki took the none-too-subtle hint when, while he didn’t put her back exactly where she’d been, he did put her in the area. He was willing to give her that much of a warning, and so she slid down the wall to sit and observe.
(Primary Reality)
“The Incarnate has made a critical error and the time for our attack has come,” said the stoic Almighty, His monotone voice booming across the thinned crowd. A few of the Aspects, the ones He’d dubbed as being ‘weak-willed’ had fled after He showed emotion. The parts of the Multiverse that they were in charge of were now unresponsive and the barriers were doing something interesting. Those that were gearing up to fight the Chaos Incarnate were being isolated from those that were aligning with the Balance Keeper, making dimensional travel more and more difficult. His own forces were depleted by the defection of the majority of His Valkyries and no less than thirty Gods and Goddesses.
“He wasn’t scheduled to return until Ragnarok had begun,” intoned the stoic Hild, making for a monotonous but interesting conversation. She had problems of her own, as defections were being reported across the multiverse.
“This is Chaos we’re talking about,” He returned, almost deadpan. “Perhaps we did make a mistake . . .”
“NO!” roared Angry-Hild, smashing the stoic Almighty over the head with her Unbreakable Bo-staff. “We did the right thing by getting rid of that disease! He was nothing but a spoil-sport, never listening to either of us and never letting us do what we wanted!”
“Shut yer hole!” retorted the Angry-Almighty just before smacking Her in the back of the head.
“Regardless,” monotoned stoic, “we must gather our forces and attack before the Incarnate gains full access to the realm of Chaos. The Administrators of the reality he is in are undecided as to which side to take and thusly are leaving the barrier wide open.”
“Then we attack,” came from Evil-Hild. Her voice caused the entire remaining assembly to shudder before Her next words chilled them to the bone.
“Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!”
(Ranma-verse)
“You know they will come soon,” gravely intoned the Hippie-Hild, for once being entirely serious about the situation. She was hoping that Depression-Almighty would get off of His butt and do . . . something, anything. Now He was in a funk over allowing a Chaos Incarnate to reach the point of no return. There was still a slim chance that the one named Ranma Saotome could have the energy extracted without terminating his life. The only problem was that a Class Five had masked his existence until just recently, and the energy output revealed that the Incarnate was at the precipice of maturing into Chaos himself.
“Let them come,” came the unexpected answer as He rose from His chair. Walking over to a window, He made a decision similar to the one taking place on the mortal plane below. “If we had left good enough alone, none of the pains we’ve endured would have happened. I’d still have Belldandy and you’d have Urd. Your Aspect has told her the Truth of her existence.”
Her eyes widened to their fullest. Urd was never supposed to switch sides. She was the multiverse cornerstone, and if her allegiances changed then all of reality was on the brink of going one of two ways.
Reunification or Destruction.
One of the shadows in His office moved, reminding them that their Holy Bell was still there. Her eyes were boring into the back of the Almighty One’s head, before the Angel made her own decision.
Reunification was worth it.
(Tendo’s)
“Momma?” tested Urd, and nothing happened like she had suspected. She did note that Hild was ecstatic with joy, floating around on cloud nine and swinging Skuld around like a doll.
“Urd,” breathed Belldandy, her eyes wide as she too expected the universe to come to an end. When nothing happened, she fell over sideways as a result of shock and the after effects of her drunkenness.
She wasn’t the only one, as those that knew of Urd and her rather unique parentage and subsequent role in the multiverse also expected explosions, flying pigs, and Fenrir to rear his head. When nothing of the sort happened, beyond Skuld turning blue from suffocation, did they allow themselves to face vault before becoming angry. They’d been lied to since the Sealing, and were chomping at the bit. Word spread amongst those that were gathered to those that were hiding, which in turn spread across the multiverse as a whole.
A new force was born at that moment. Ranma Saotome, Chaos Incarnate and possible Master Chaos himself, gained a more human-like army of the Divine and the Demonic, male and female. They knew that they had to prepare for an attack that was forthcoming thanks to the few spies they’d left behind. It was difficult at best to fool any aspect of the Almighty that there were no traitors left in His mists so the numbers were indeed small.
And he missed it.
Ranma was confused as to why, upon his return to the yard, most of the ‘guests’ were angry. Some part of his mind pointed the finger at his ego before realizing that he wasn’t even present when whatever caused the mood had happened. Deciding that whatever it was could wait, he finished his previous task of fishing the Senshi out of their craters.
Said Senshi were now among the land of the living, although dazed and confused. It took them a moment to realize that their transformations had dropped, exposing their identities to the rather large crowd of beings. Thus they were not happy campers and reassumed the personas of the old Moon Kingdom.
“Fer cryin’ out loud!” yelled Ranma, surprising the Senshi and those hadn’t seen the technique before by flooding the surrounding neighborhood with his clones. He had done so subconsciously, not even realizing that he hadn’t used ki to create the thousands of himself.
The Scouts had been on a mission to get Crystal Tokyo back. The very future of mankind depended on it, yet now they found themselves literally surrounded by a familiar face. Their target was apparently going to give no quarter this time around, and his possible reinforcements only added to their fears of failing miserably.
Unnoticed, three formations of Bugs had returned to their base energy matrix before flowing into The One. While only a tiny fraction of the total Chaos energy available, he was moments away from full maturity.
While the tension built, indoors Nabiki sat and watched the goings on with interest. Above and beyond all else, she wanted . . . desired, to change her life. At the age of eighteen she was tired of being alone, of not allowing anybody close. The time for change was now, before she drove the last compassionate person she knew of away forever.
Her silent prayer, if it could be called that coming from Nabiki, was answered. But not in the way she had expected or even remotely wanted as a new situation arose.
Just as the Senshi were gearing up for the mother of all melee battles, another of those shimmering blue portals appeared. Then another, and yet another. Beings began to flood out of them, for all appearances human yet not.
“Ranma Saotome,” a male voice called out in monotone, “you are hereby declared a Heretic to Creation and a danger to the multiverse. Your punishment is death.”
As one, every available Bug materialized and launched a surprise counterattack on what was a surprise attack.
The first Battle of Nerima had begun.
The thousands of Ranma clones looked surprised at the latest declaration of the end of his existence before they exploded into motion. He did note that he wasn’t alone in the battle, as those that had been transplanted to this reality and those under the command of Lind joined in, fighting those that had just appeared as apparent reinforcements for the Senshi. To his further amazement several dark –blood?- red portals opened and began spilling Demons into the mix. Hild took note of the vibe that some of these were from home, and thus didn’t have to give direction to the hundreds that poured into the surrounding streets.
“MOON TIARA ACTION!” screamed a surprised Moon, finding herself in the mists of a massive battle that was drawing more and more people in by the moment. The surprise attack had stunned the Senshi into motionlessness before as a group they let loose an evil smile then joined the fray.
Against Ranma and his associates.
Her tiara sailed through several hundred clones before snagging a necklace off of the kid –if said kid ever heard the reference she’d go nuclear- and flinging what looked like a pearl off of it and into the house.
Directly at a slack-jawed Nabiki, who could only swallow said object before keeling over in pain.
“NNOO!! SKULD BOMB MARK XL AWAY!!” roared the Goddess of the Future in anger, letting loose a house sized version of her trademark explosive. Upon detonation, several square blocks were left in smoldering ruin, the civilians having figured out to flee a long time ago. Moon was blown skyward in a ballistic arc that would have her landing somewhere in the Drink.
As their leader went to take a swim in the Pacific, the remaining Senshi pulled the stops on their morals and began firing at anything that threatened them. The answer was a barrage of mana attacks, interspersed with Moko Takabishas from all directions effectively pinning them down. Returning fire as quickly as she could, Pluto fired her Dead Scream like a machine gun. The smaller, yet no less powerful, attacks were primarily absorbed by the mana shields that these newcomers employed.
“Sparkling Wide Pressure!” yelled out Sailor Jupiter, sending her attack into a crowd, not particularly caring if she hit allies along with enemies. It was just so difficult to tell friend from foe on the battlefield. With her attack having gone one way, she wasn’t prepared to be attacked from the rear by a yo-yo.
“Burning Mandela!” was the answer from Mars, igniting many in her quest to fry Mousse. Her fire attack plowed through a line of people, scattering many and dispelling a few clones.
“Silence Glaive Surprise!” cried out Saturn, finding herself on the verge of being overrun. Instead of their primary target she’d been corralled by a group of Demons. She was the first to draw blood, and the first to point out a very interesting fact.
The Doublet System was offline.
With this new information, the battle cranked up a notch. Weapons of choice were pulled and the bloodbath began.
Hild, seeing yet not believing that the Almighty would be that stupid, upped her own ante by removing her hair ties. To many the ties were decorations, but they were in fact power limiters. When she removed them, her power level increased to somewhere in the neighborhood of ten Saffrons.
She was met head on by Stoic-Almighty, He too having removed an equal number of limiters. The pair threw mana attacks at each other before locking hands and trying to overpower the other.
Both paused when a roar went up, signaling a kill. Turning to look off to Hild’s left, they were shocked by what they saw.
Up on the Tendo wall, Belldandy blinked before looking over her left shoulder to find Holy Bell looking just as perplexed. Their eyes looked in the open front door to confirm that indeed Nabiki wasn’t there and that they were in fact seeing double.
The God, one Ares of many in the battle, under the command of Stoic was surprised to find himself done in by such a ruthless manner. He’d thought this human to be easy prey and had dragged her out here to demonstrate proper war techniques. After tossing her about, he went to finish her off to find a naginata thrust through his neck.
By an Angel. Not just any Angel, but her.
Using the implanted pole-arm, Dark Holy Bell shifted her weight to throw Ares while giving the blade a twist severing his head from his body. Handle pointed down afterwards, she trust it into the ground in defiance and as a challenge to any that wanted to tangle with her . . .
As where her legs would be disappeared into Nabiki’s back, effectively pinning the middle sister to the ground, the handle of the naginata inches away from the ribs in her right side. Not that she was in any shape to complain, as blood trickled out of her mouth and nose.
Seeing one he cared for, even if only marginally, hurt sent him over the edge. The Bugs felt the pull and complied.
“Chaotic Rebirth!” roared an atomic Ranma, his clones having been reabsorbed. Said Bugs minus the one attached to his head turned into energy before flowing into his being like a river. He hadn’t a clue where the technique came from, nor did he particularly care at the moment.
The enemy Gods and Goddesses were blown away by the explosion of Chaos energy, a mushroom cloud rising towards the sky. The few clouds that had been lazily drifting by were removed from sight by the shockwave.
“He’s baaaack,” intoned Fun-Hild, before letting loose her approximation of an evil laugh. She disengaged her target as the battle was paused for the moment before carefully approaching the smoldering battle aura that was Ranma.
“Death is only the beginning,” he said, his voice carrying across the now silent neighborhood. The only ones that understood him, however, were the Divine and Demonic as he spoke in the Ancient Tongue. “Wherever there is Death, there is Rebirth. Wherever there is Order, there is Disorder. Good to evil, light to dark, yin to yang. Wherever there is life and free will, there is CHAOS!”
With the final word, the being that was Ranma flung his arms wide and formed a mandela of epic proportions. The Aspects of the Almighty and those of Hild –minus the one that had apparently switched sides- backed away in fear. Even though he was of the Trinity, Chaos had a long standing grudge and was about to begin returning his torment in kind.
“Silence Wall!” panicked Saturn, her magic senses going absolutely haywire. Turning to the remaining Senshi, she did feel a small amount of relief seeing that she wasn’t the only one to note the power that was being unleashed.
“Oh crap,” muttered Urd, her shoulders sagging noticeably. She had taken it upon herself to fetch the downed Tendo girl and bring her over to Belldandy for healing. Turned out to be a good thing too when she collapsed from having to use all of her magic to repair the damage done by Ares.
“Come to me, DARK SERAPHIM!”
The mandela flared brightly, blinding those that were watching. When they could see again, all sides of the conflict took note of a second person with Ranma.
“Chaos’ personal guard,” gasped Hild, her eyes growing wide. If there was any doubt that he was back and none too happy with their last meeting than this erased it. He never summoned the Fallen Angel unless he was about to . . .
“SEEK SHELTER!” screamed a frightened and injured Ukyo. Whatever had happened to Ranma could wait. Unnoticed to those that were his opponents, he had been making hand gestures in the direction of those he cared about. She pulled back, favoring her left leg while dragging an unconscious Akane behind the Tendo wall.
“Seraphim, let’s party,” said Ranma before springing into action again. His primary target being a second Ares as he had his own brand of justice to dispense. This was enough to restart the paused battle, just as intense as it was before.
The seven foot tall, dark colored Angel of Death smirked before launching himself into the fray. It felt good to be in action again and he was going to take full advantage of it.
“Kijin Raishu Dan: Amaguriken Revised!” mowed down several of the War Gods that were trying to protect Ares. The attack had been lethal, as those that took the attack wouldn’t rise again.
Nerima was a warzone, as both armies collided in a swirl of arms, legs, weapons, wings and tails. The JSDF watched in awe as both sides were fighting for domination, attacks of every variety being tossed at each other, the blood flowing like water. The greenhorn troops were already being ill in the latrine, while the seasoned veterans shifted about uncomfortably. They had standing orders to break up the melee but had yet to find a way to execute said orders. Something in the battle dynamic had changed during the pause, and just as they were about to intervene a massive shield of some kind had sprung up over the entire district.
As it was discovered, it let people out but not in. Civilians were still fleeing from the outer fringes as another massive explosion rocked the entire Tokyo Metroplex. Those inside that were fighting would bounce off of the shield instead of flying through it, much to the relief of the greenhorns. If this mess was self-contained, then all they had to do was assist the refugees and let the battle go as it will.
Then try to figure out how to contain the victor, whichever powerhouse it might be, without the shield.
Stoic-Almighty was still stoic in the face of the latest event, at least on the outside. On the inside, he was afraid. This wasn’t even a precursor to Ragnarok, as that event was scheduled for fifteen million years from now. But now that Chaos had been reborn, every carefully laid plan and manipulation to the outcome of the Final Battle had gone out the window. It was the one thing the Hild Aspects were never told.
The Sealing was a ruse, to hide Chaos until Twilight of the Gods. Then He would offer freedom in exchange for him to tip the scales in His direction. A simple plan, one that He should have known was doomed to failure when Chaos dispersed what he could of himself and created the Bugs before the core essence was sealed away near Those That Came Before.
He needed time to strategize and formulate a new plan of attack. Time to try to fix this disaster before it spun totally out of control.
“For the Child . . .”
Time he didn’t have as Dark Seraphim launched a massive attack into the battle, hitting every enemy in sight yet leaving his allies alone. Many were lost in the mana explosion, leaving Him with but one option.
“Retreat! FALL BACK!”
Order Zero, Chaos One.
The blue portals reappeared as the forces of Order withdrew from the engagement; the Senshi running off after losing their support. Ranma watched them go while surveying the damage. All in all, one of the more destructive battles in an urban area he’d ever participated in. While the Tendo place was undamaged, standing like a fortress of lore, the ten square blocks surrounding it were flattened to the ground. Bodies of the combatants lay virtually everywhere. Valkyries, Gods, Goddesses, Demons, Angels, Devils, Cologne . . .
Wait a minute.
“Hiba-chan?” prodded Shampoo, who was nursing her right leg. While most of her wounds were minor, she did have a couple that if left untreated in the foreseeable future could cripple her for life, such as her mangled left shoulder.
Cologne had been overwhelmed in the assault by a group of uninformed Divine. While she had taken many of them down, their sheer numbers had been her downfall. The one that had killed her hadn’t survived long, taking the pogo stick/attitude adjuster through her skull.
Ranma took note of this, his eyes narrowed in anger. While lacking the memories of the original Chaos, he had some fragments floating around in his head. The Order had wanted to do away with free will as those that had it used it irresponsibly. At least according to Him. Hild wasn’t left an option at the time of the Sealing; Seal or Be Sealed had been the ultimatum. She knew that without free will those beings of Order would have a very difficult time growing and adapting to life in general. He wanted clones of His followers, who never questioned His word as anything less than Law. He could truthfully care less about worshippers, insofar as individuals. All He cared about was that they kept Chaos and ‘evil’ under wraps at all times and thusly labeled anything that didn’t conform to His desires in the other two categories.
It was a setup, Ranma realized. The Almighty had set up Hild to look like she wanted the Sealing in a coup to take over the realm of Chaos. No doubt He was the mastermind behind the whole thing in a self-righteous quest to mold all of reality as He saw fit. After all, beings of Order can’t stand beings of Chaos and vice versa, even though the two balance each other.
Turning away from Shampoo as she broke down from losing the last of her family, his hearing picked up the moans of those that were still living but unable to help themselves. He didn’t find anybody else that was prominent in his life, to which he breathed a sigh of relief. Taking a harder look around, this time with the Shades as he’d come to call them on, he wondered where the Bugs had gone. Off in the distance he added the sirens wailing in the surrounding city on the Bad side of the whole debacle, along with the occasional bomber that flew overhead.
At the Tokyo-perimeter of the shield, a different conflict was taking place. On the outside looking in were platoons worth of soldiers, weapons drawn and ready for action. On the inside looking out were the Senshi, confused as to why now of all times the JSDF would get involved. Neither side could do much of anything as the shield refused to let the Soldiers of Love and Justice out and anybody with a weapon in. Medics had been streaming in from other entry points, surprised that whatever had created the dome was able to tell the difference from humanitarian aid and machines of war.
“He’s a madman!” tried Pluto, hoping that the troops would let them go if they thought the Senshi were on their side.
“You’re not going anywhere,” deadpanned a Sergeant. “You’re wanted in connection with property destruction and several deaths in Minato Azabu Juuban, and are under arrest.”
“Damn it,” growled Uranus while shifting her weight from foot to foot. Restraint was key here as whatever force was preventing them from escaping Nerima had a habit of trying to electrocute her fellow warriors.
“Feh, like you could stop us,” taunted Pluto before waving her Garnett Rod in the air. The soldiers had tensed up while the Senshi, oddly minus a member, smirked in victory.
As nothing happened.
“What?” demanded the Senshi of Time, trying several more times to form her custom portal. The troops of the JSDF were laughing openly at her failures, further angering her. “What is the meaning of this?!”
“Looks like somebody else doesn’t want to let you go,” mocked the Sergeant, the laughter reaching his eyes.
While the Senshi were trying to either talk their way out of being arrested or finding a way to escape capture, those at the Tendo Dojo were tallying the damages and trying to heal the wounded. Doctor Tofu had appeared at random, which worked in favor of the mortals. He was inundated with the injured, working fast and furious to repair what he could.
Shampoo looked like a zombie now, her eyes glazed over from emotional trauma. Her left arm was in a sling after Tofu had done everything he could to fix her shoulder, while her right leg was wrapped from foot to hip to prevent the sword slash she’d taken from becoming infected.
Ukyo wasn’t much better off, her head bandaged after a mace had split the skin open. Her left leg was similarly wrapped, while her right ankle was sporting an ice pack to keep the swelling down. She had no vision in her right eye, as it was swollen shut and until the said swelling went down Tofu had no idea if the eye itself had taken any damage.
Akane, being the premiere martial artist she believed herself to be, was staring blankly at the end of her right elbow and the space that was the arm that was supposed to be there. Her ribs were bound tightly to prevent excessive movement and promote healing in their previous shape. She was laying on the floor, trying to ease the pain she felt whenever she took a breath. Tofu had been relieved when she wiggled her toes, and felt the needle he used prick the skin on her feet, revealing no spinal damage.
Kodachi was missing, presumed captured and possibly dead. The lower half of her body had been found six blocks away at one of the portal points, the flesh completely cauterized preventing any blood loss from the cooling legs.
Tatewaki was stoic in the face of the possible demise of his sister. His gaze was at no particular object, having been blinded when a mana/phisogue attack had collided then exploded close to his face. Both of his legs were in splints, having been trampled when the attackers vacated en masse.
Mousse had his own set of problems. Sometime between the fire attack he’d dodged and the end of the battle one of the Senshi had gotten a lucky shot in, crushing his glasses into his face and eyes. He knew he was parked next to Kuno, but beyond that and the fact that he couldn’t feel anything below his waist he had no idea as to what was going on. He could feel his body slowly shutting down from his wounds, and knew that sooner or later he would die.
Ryoga had gotten lost in the melee, and his condition was unknown. Ranma knew it would take a lot to do the Lost Boy in since he’d had the body conditioning of the Bakusai Tenketsu and held hope that he’d surface alive and well.
The fathers were busy tending to the younger sisters Tendo with help from Kasumi, while eyeing Nabiki warily. The dark aspect of Holy Bell was watching the proceedings with interest, guarding her impromptu host while at the same time communicating to the other Angels.
The Mandela was still present and glowing, being a multi-use tool. Being tapped into one of the Ley Lines it had an infinite power source which in turn powered the shield that those with ki abilities could sense. There were actually two shields, one that followed the border of Nerima to the inch, keeping the destruction limited to the district while a second barrier took up the ten square blocks around the Tendo Dojo. There were medics from the JSDF fluttering about the inner shield, trying to find an entry point and failing miserably. This shield wouldn’t let them in much to their surprise and dismay as there might be casualties within.
The allies, as they were being called, were busy themselves with the clean up and recovery. They had taken to rebuilding the neighborhood into a fortress and living quarters as until the conflict was resolved there was no going home.
This left a much smaller group at the Tendo Dojo, all interested in the latest bout of mayhem that Ranma had unleashed if unintentionally.
“I want my Angel Egg!” cried Skuld, throwing a tantrum of epic proportions. Why this dark Holy Bell had appeared instead of Noble Scarlet she had no idea, and quickly put thoughts of the Egg out of her mind as said Holy Bell pulled something out of her wings.
“KAWAII!” shouted those gathered that could see the tiny form of Noble Scarlet as the Angel flew over to her bondmate. The little Angel, still a newborn in relative terms, looked shy and bashful at all of the attention she was receiving as the females gushed at her cuteness.
Dark Seraphim took note of the little Angel and had to smile at the vibes she was giving off. Behold the power of a child Angel, making a Fallen smile in joy.
Ranma also smiled in amusement, liking the way the tiny Goddess companion was draining the tension out of the situation. He noticed that Nabiki was beginning to stir and felt his ire return. Not directed at her for once, but at those that deemed his –noncombatant- associates as targets for termination. Guilt followed soon afterwards, at his inability to protect those under his charge as it were. Glancing at Akane reinforced the notion of guilt he felt as he gazed up her disfigured form, seeing that she was still in shock after losing half of her right arm. Taking in the others amplified the guilt and turned it depression, especially Kuno and Mousse of all people. There were certain things he’d never wish on anybody, no matter how annoyed he became at their antics.
Cologne and Kodachi were part of that list, and he’d never get the chance to set things right with the former and quite possibly the latter. Then there’s this whole Chaos business that threatened to drive the rest of his sanity away. Feeling tense from the resent battles, knowing that the war was far from over, coupled with the losses had crushed his already crumbling morale.
“If I gave you the truth, would it keep you alive?” suddenly voiced Nabiki, her usual observation skills being the first to note his emotional state. This caught the attention of the others, effectively bringing them down from the kawaii-high they’d been on.
“Truth about what?” he asked absentmindedly while lost in a downward spiral that could very well lead to self-destruction.
“Me,” she answered while crawling over to him. She wasn’t quite strong enough from her recent beating and healing to stand yet but had enough willpower to force herself to move in his direction. When she stopped, she was thankful for already being on the floor and not having to move into a bowing position. The decision she’d made when she first awoke in a massive amount of pain was going to change the lives of the Tendo Dojo forever.
“Go on,” he prompted, ignoring her attempt at the ‘Crouch of the Wild Tiger’. This look was not her in any way, shape or form especially while injured. He was tempted to move her back to the futon that she’d been resting on courtesy of Kasumi but refrained as whatever she had to say was apparently important.
“I’m tired,” she began, not bothering to lift her head as vertigo from her recent movement was settling in. “I’m tired of being alone. So very tired of the Ice Queen, of never knowing happiness. You figured me out, didn’t you?”
“Partially,” he admitted, “in the time I’ve been here I’ve noticed things about you . . . your entire family. I still don’t understand much, but I’ve always hoped that one day you’d leave your old life behind and find joy.”
“Though I'm closer to wrong I'm no further from right,” she said to herself, confirming her decision and running with it before addressing Ranma again. “I . . . I . . . I love you.”
THUD!
That would be a massive face vault from those listening in on the conversation. Even the Angels ate some flooring at that proclamation, the noise breaking the moment much to Ranma’s relief and Nabiki’s chagrin.
“What?” he asked in stunned disbelief, hearing but not comprehending the words. Nobody had said those words to him with such conviction, such truth, such honesty. Kuno didn’t count because he’s a lunatic.
“You heard her,” chimed in Kasumi, her smile more vibrant than usual. This was the sister she remembered from so many years ago, one that was so full of compassion and not the anger of not being able to help their mother. “And she’s not alone in that regard.”
“Are you absolutely certain about this?” demanded Ranma, waving his arm in the general direction of the surroundings. “You heard Him, I’m not supposed to exist. From their actions alone, anybody that even knows of me will be hunted down like animals.”
“We sure,” spoke Shampoo for the first time since the end of the battle, her glazed look being replaced by one of righteous fury. She had an idea of where the Mercenary-Girl was going with this and as the middle Tendo had she made her own decision. “Wo Ai Ni.”
Ranma found himself clustered by those closest to him, while the transplants looked on in awe as The One firmed his resolve.
While the outlook was one of a long, drawn out struggle for survival and the chance to set things straight, for the moment no outside force could stop them.
He smiled a genuine smile, his eyes on the sunset. Heaven and Hell be damned, he was his own person with his own destiny. Let them try to stop him.
He was Chaos reborn. And he was on a mission . . .
TBC
Good stopping place, I think. Don’t know exactly where the darker aspect of this fic came from but hey, have to add some intrigue to keep the wackiness to a more believable level.
Next up: Dealing with the Senshi. They still want Crystal Tokyo, refusing to accept that free will is of more importance than their desires for a utopia for humanity. And when Ranma learns the truth of the Cataclysm that spawns the utopia . . .
Pain.
On a side note, I used Wikipedia for research. If any of you Fuku-Fic people read this, for the love of God go over there and correct the attacks section. It’s so . . . lacking.
Ja!
Finished in Polk City, Florida
Rant: Okay, only one guess to the references. Close, but no. Doesn’t anybody recognize the movie lines I used?
Phenomenal Cosmic Powers, Itty-Bitty Living Space Arc One Part Two
By: (Driver) Jim Ohki
Nabiki huffed, puffed, and failed to get off of the coat rack she’d been hanging from for the better part of an hour. Everybody else had gone outside, leaving her all by her lonesome. Not only did the call of nature get louder while something that she was certain would come back to haunt her later was happening out in the yard, she was in the last place she wanted to be. Not the hanging from the wall via her bra bit, that part she could do without entirely.
She was alone.
She had heard the sounds of combat outside come and go, before the muffled voices began. Whatever it was that was going down out there was something of significance, something that was on the level of world views changing.
And yet, here she was all alone. Even the Angel of Nerima snubbed her and her current peril. She knew it was of her own making; that there would come a time when one of her previous schemes would come back to bite her in the ass.
Given time to think, she reflected on the path she’d chosen up to this point and frowned. That day, eleven years ago when her mother died and her father fell to pieces. When her elder sister gave her life in a figurative sense to take up role of the mother while her younger took up the macho role of the father. It left her in a void, with nowhere to go. Information was key, as she’d always felt if she’d had it maybe she could have made a difference . . .
Ignored by her father, as he saw his departed wife in his eldest and shadows of himself in his youngest, Nabiki did the only thing she could. She lashed out, wanting to forever distance herself from her family and others lest she be left alone again. Kasumi had approached her one day, fretting over the household account being nearly depleted.
The Ice Queen was born.
And at the time, she had wanted it to forever dominate her destiny. Then a new variable –literally- was introduced to her life in the form of Ranma. Her interest at his arrival was more than just lust or looking for a rube to drain dry before finding a way to get rid of.
It was her chance to shine in the spotlight, to have the attention of her father again. That dream came crashing down around her ears when he had turned up female, and demonstrated that his father had been his role model in life. So she did what she did best and retreated to the Ice; looking for ways to capitalize on the mayhem that she just knew would follow.
He injected something into her psyche though, something that she had thought on since his arrival. His scoffed Fate and Destiny, while not quite being able to maneuver himself out of manipulations. He was untamable, the Wild Horse. In the end, he held his word so close to his heart that he was trapped and from her vantage point the tiny hope she had that perhaps one day she could find happiness was snuffed out.
Then she made The Bet. Her worst mistake, period, when she let Kinnosuke die. The money aspect of the entire fiasco wasn’t involved in figuring out that she had crossed a line that even Ranma with his prowess would only dare to look at if there were no other options. The day was forever burned into her memory, the poor sod’s look as Nabiki popped her parachute and let him fall with the defective one.
Of course Ranma had to be the one to witness the entire thing. There were times she cursed his uncanny knack for bad timing. Then there were times she was grateful for it, not for the entertainment value but for the fact that he reminded her –without trying- that she was just as human as everybody else. That she had faults, wants, needs and desires just like her sisters, her father, his parents, Happosai, the Amazons, Ukyo . . .
Letting out a sigh of regret, Nabiki shifted her position to something at least a little more comfortable. She knew that she’d have to get down soon or she’d make a mess. Kasumi had strolled by her twice without so much as a glance now. Three times she had caught Ranma looking in on her, each and every time his eyes expressed his anger, contempt and borderline hatred. On the fourth look, she made a set of hand gestures that involved her body and liquid to which he caught on. As the conversation didn’t pertain to him at the moment he decided to oblige the middle sister by sauntering back indoors.
“What?” his simply demanded, arms crossed over his chest. Internally, he was thankful to be away from the developing scene on the lawn as mother and daughter reunited.
“Bathroom,” was all she said by way of reply, her normal taunting tone gone. She almost smiled as he started, surprised by how . . . subservient she sounded. Instead of being lowered to the floor like she thought, it was her turn to be surprised when he casually tossed her over his right shoulder then trekked up the stairs. She started to get nervous when he entered said room, before depositing her on a washroom stool then walking out of the door.
Leaning against the wall in the hallway, across from the door, Ranma was in thought. The day he arrived he had been able to read Nabiki easily. She had looked so hopeful to have a fiancé, but why he hadn’t understood. As time progressed and she grew colder, he was enlightened. He observed her interactions with those at school, her family and everybody else to see a young woman nearing adulthood being shunned, snubbed and generally ignored by everybody. The too few conversations he’d had with her filled in many of the blanks, but not all of them.
Eleven years after she started, she was still lashing out at the world. It had mutated from not being able to help her mother to being ignored for not having a role to fill after her passing to being ignored for her reputation despite her need for some attention. Anything would do, he noticed, so long that it was positive. In that regards he found that they were more alike than either would freely admit. Both had little to no praise growing up to the point of being starved for any attention. His honor, thus his word, was one of the parts that entrapped him in his situation.
The attention he got was the other, if not overdone to the point he was questioning why he allowed it.
Hearing a rather loud sigh of relief followed by a flush and the sounds of the faucet running, he pushed himself off of the wall and waited. Within moments she had appeared and judging by the look on her face she wasn’t prepared to go back to her previous . . . resting spot.
“Ranma, we need to talk,” she said, her entire attitude screaming at him. Not in the usual danger sense, but as she’d used such a submissive tone he began to worry that leaving her on the coat rack might have broken her spirit.
“Yeah,” he grunted, before manhandling her back downstairs. “We’ll talk but not now,” was his parting shot after parking her under the coat rack. This apparently new Nabiki was one that he had doubts he could deal with effectively. And he had to carefully think about what he’s seen so far to –hopefully- avoid another manipulation.
Nabiki took the none-too-subtle hint when, while he didn’t put her back exactly where she’d been, he did put her in the area. He was willing to give her that much of a warning, and so she slid down the wall to sit and observe.
(Primary Reality)
“The Incarnate has made a critical error and the time for our attack has come,” said the stoic Almighty, His monotone voice booming across the thinned crowd. A few of the Aspects, the ones He’d dubbed as being ‘weak-willed’ had fled after He showed emotion. The parts of the Multiverse that they were in charge of were now unresponsive and the barriers were doing something interesting. Those that were gearing up to fight the Chaos Incarnate were being isolated from those that were aligning with the Balance Keeper, making dimensional travel more and more difficult. His own forces were depleted by the defection of the majority of His Valkyries and no less than thirty Gods and Goddesses.
“He wasn’t scheduled to return until Ragnarok had begun,” intoned the stoic Hild, making for a monotonous but interesting conversation. She had problems of her own, as defections were being reported across the multiverse.
“This is Chaos we’re talking about,” He returned, almost deadpan. “Perhaps we did make a mistake . . .”
“NO!” roared Angry-Hild, smashing the stoic Almighty over the head with her Unbreakable Bo-staff. “We did the right thing by getting rid of that disease! He was nothing but a spoil-sport, never listening to either of us and never letting us do what we wanted!”
“Shut yer hole!” retorted the Angry-Almighty just before smacking Her in the back of the head.
“Regardless,” monotoned stoic, “we must gather our forces and attack before the Incarnate gains full access to the realm of Chaos. The Administrators of the reality he is in are undecided as to which side to take and thusly are leaving the barrier wide open.”
“Then we attack,” came from Evil-Hild. Her voice caused the entire remaining assembly to shudder before Her next words chilled them to the bone.
“Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!”
(Ranma-verse)
“You know they will come soon,” gravely intoned the Hippie-Hild, for once being entirely serious about the situation. She was hoping that Depression-Almighty would get off of His butt and do . . . something, anything. Now He was in a funk over allowing a Chaos Incarnate to reach the point of no return. There was still a slim chance that the one named Ranma Saotome could have the energy extracted without terminating his life. The only problem was that a Class Five had masked his existence until just recently, and the energy output revealed that the Incarnate was at the precipice of maturing into Chaos himself.
“Let them come,” came the unexpected answer as He rose from His chair. Walking over to a window, He made a decision similar to the one taking place on the mortal plane below. “If we had left good enough alone, none of the pains we’ve endured would have happened. I’d still have Belldandy and you’d have Urd. Your Aspect has told her the Truth of her existence.”
Her eyes widened to their fullest. Urd was never supposed to switch sides. She was the multiverse cornerstone, and if her allegiances changed then all of reality was on the brink of going one of two ways.
Reunification or Destruction.
One of the shadows in His office moved, reminding them that their Holy Bell was still there. Her eyes were boring into the back of the Almighty One’s head, before the Angel made her own decision.
Reunification was worth it.
(Tendo’s)
“Momma?” tested Urd, and nothing happened like she had suspected. She did note that Hild was ecstatic with joy, floating around on cloud nine and swinging Skuld around like a doll.
“Urd,” breathed Belldandy, her eyes wide as she too expected the universe to come to an end. When nothing happened, she fell over sideways as a result of shock and the after effects of her drunkenness.
She wasn’t the only one, as those that knew of Urd and her rather unique parentage and subsequent role in the multiverse also expected explosions, flying pigs, and Fenrir to rear his head. When nothing of the sort happened, beyond Skuld turning blue from suffocation, did they allow themselves to face vault before becoming angry. They’d been lied to since the Sealing, and were chomping at the bit. Word spread amongst those that were gathered to those that were hiding, which in turn spread across the multiverse as a whole.
A new force was born at that moment. Ranma Saotome, Chaos Incarnate and possible Master Chaos himself, gained a more human-like army of the Divine and the Demonic, male and female. They knew that they had to prepare for an attack that was forthcoming thanks to the few spies they’d left behind. It was difficult at best to fool any aspect of the Almighty that there were no traitors left in His mists so the numbers were indeed small.
And he missed it.
Ranma was confused as to why, upon his return to the yard, most of the ‘guests’ were angry. Some part of his mind pointed the finger at his ego before realizing that he wasn’t even present when whatever caused the mood had happened. Deciding that whatever it was could wait, he finished his previous task of fishing the Senshi out of their craters.
Said Senshi were now among the land of the living, although dazed and confused. It took them a moment to realize that their transformations had dropped, exposing their identities to the rather large crowd of beings. Thus they were not happy campers and reassumed the personas of the old Moon Kingdom.
“Fer cryin’ out loud!” yelled Ranma, surprising the Senshi and those hadn’t seen the technique before by flooding the surrounding neighborhood with his clones. He had done so subconsciously, not even realizing that he hadn’t used ki to create the thousands of himself.
The Scouts had been on a mission to get Crystal Tokyo back. The very future of mankind depended on it, yet now they found themselves literally surrounded by a familiar face. Their target was apparently going to give no quarter this time around, and his possible reinforcements only added to their fears of failing miserably.
Unnoticed, three formations of Bugs had returned to their base energy matrix before flowing into The One. While only a tiny fraction of the total Chaos energy available, he was moments away from full maturity.
While the tension built, indoors Nabiki sat and watched the goings on with interest. Above and beyond all else, she wanted . . . desired, to change her life. At the age of eighteen she was tired of being alone, of not allowing anybody close. The time for change was now, before she drove the last compassionate person she knew of away forever.
Her silent prayer, if it could be called that coming from Nabiki, was answered. But not in the way she had expected or even remotely wanted as a new situation arose.
Just as the Senshi were gearing up for the mother of all melee battles, another of those shimmering blue portals appeared. Then another, and yet another. Beings began to flood out of them, for all appearances human yet not.
“Ranma Saotome,” a male voice called out in monotone, “you are hereby declared a Heretic to Creation and a danger to the multiverse. Your punishment is death.”
As one, every available Bug materialized and launched a surprise counterattack on what was a surprise attack.
The first Battle of Nerima had begun.
The thousands of Ranma clones looked surprised at the latest declaration of the end of his existence before they exploded into motion. He did note that he wasn’t alone in the battle, as those that had been transplanted to this reality and those under the command of Lind joined in, fighting those that had just appeared as apparent reinforcements for the Senshi. To his further amazement several dark –blood?- red portals opened and began spilling Demons into the mix. Hild took note of the vibe that some of these were from home, and thus didn’t have to give direction to the hundreds that poured into the surrounding streets.
“MOON TIARA ACTION!” screamed a surprised Moon, finding herself in the mists of a massive battle that was drawing more and more people in by the moment. The surprise attack had stunned the Senshi into motionlessness before as a group they let loose an evil smile then joined the fray.
Against Ranma and his associates.
Her tiara sailed through several hundred clones before snagging a necklace off of the kid –if said kid ever heard the reference she’d go nuclear- and flinging what looked like a pearl off of it and into the house.
Directly at a slack-jawed Nabiki, who could only swallow said object before keeling over in pain.
“NNOO!! SKULD BOMB MARK XL AWAY!!” roared the Goddess of the Future in anger, letting loose a house sized version of her trademark explosive. Upon detonation, several square blocks were left in smoldering ruin, the civilians having figured out to flee a long time ago. Moon was blown skyward in a ballistic arc that would have her landing somewhere in the Drink.
As their leader went to take a swim in the Pacific, the remaining Senshi pulled the stops on their morals and began firing at anything that threatened them. The answer was a barrage of mana attacks, interspersed with Moko Takabishas from all directions effectively pinning them down. Returning fire as quickly as she could, Pluto fired her Dead Scream like a machine gun. The smaller, yet no less powerful, attacks were primarily absorbed by the mana shields that these newcomers employed.
“Sparkling Wide Pressure!” yelled out Sailor Jupiter, sending her attack into a crowd, not particularly caring if she hit allies along with enemies. It was just so difficult to tell friend from foe on the battlefield. With her attack having gone one way, she wasn’t prepared to be attacked from the rear by a yo-yo.
“Burning Mandela!” was the answer from Mars, igniting many in her quest to fry Mousse. Her fire attack plowed through a line of people, scattering many and dispelling a few clones.
“Silence Glaive Surprise!” cried out Saturn, finding herself on the verge of being overrun. Instead of their primary target she’d been corralled by a group of Demons. She was the first to draw blood, and the first to point out a very interesting fact.
The Doublet System was offline.
With this new information, the battle cranked up a notch. Weapons of choice were pulled and the bloodbath began.
Hild, seeing yet not believing that the Almighty would be that stupid, upped her own ante by removing her hair ties. To many the ties were decorations, but they were in fact power limiters. When she removed them, her power level increased to somewhere in the neighborhood of ten Saffrons.
She was met head on by Stoic-Almighty, He too having removed an equal number of limiters. The pair threw mana attacks at each other before locking hands and trying to overpower the other.
Both paused when a roar went up, signaling a kill. Turning to look off to Hild’s left, they were shocked by what they saw.
Up on the Tendo wall, Belldandy blinked before looking over her left shoulder to find Holy Bell looking just as perplexed. Their eyes looked in the open front door to confirm that indeed Nabiki wasn’t there and that they were in fact seeing double.
The God, one Ares of many in the battle, under the command of Stoic was surprised to find himself done in by such a ruthless manner. He’d thought this human to be easy prey and had dragged her out here to demonstrate proper war techniques. After tossing her about, he went to finish her off to find a naginata thrust through his neck.
By an Angel. Not just any Angel, but her.
Using the implanted pole-arm, Dark Holy Bell shifted her weight to throw Ares while giving the blade a twist severing his head from his body. Handle pointed down afterwards, she trust it into the ground in defiance and as a challenge to any that wanted to tangle with her . . .
As where her legs would be disappeared into Nabiki’s back, effectively pinning the middle sister to the ground, the handle of the naginata inches away from the ribs in her right side. Not that she was in any shape to complain, as blood trickled out of her mouth and nose.
Seeing one he cared for, even if only marginally, hurt sent him over the edge. The Bugs felt the pull and complied.
“Chaotic Rebirth!” roared an atomic Ranma, his clones having been reabsorbed. Said Bugs minus the one attached to his head turned into energy before flowing into his being like a river. He hadn’t a clue where the technique came from, nor did he particularly care at the moment.
The enemy Gods and Goddesses were blown away by the explosion of Chaos energy, a mushroom cloud rising towards the sky. The few clouds that had been lazily drifting by were removed from sight by the shockwave.
“He’s baaaack,” intoned Fun-Hild, before letting loose her approximation of an evil laugh. She disengaged her target as the battle was paused for the moment before carefully approaching the smoldering battle aura that was Ranma.
“Death is only the beginning,” he said, his voice carrying across the now silent neighborhood. The only ones that understood him, however, were the Divine and Demonic as he spoke in the Ancient Tongue. “Wherever there is Death, there is Rebirth. Wherever there is Order, there is Disorder. Good to evil, light to dark, yin to yang. Wherever there is life and free will, there is CHAOS!”
With the final word, the being that was Ranma flung his arms wide and formed a mandela of epic proportions. The Aspects of the Almighty and those of Hild –minus the one that had apparently switched sides- backed away in fear. Even though he was of the Trinity, Chaos had a long standing grudge and was about to begin returning his torment in kind.
“Silence Wall!” panicked Saturn, her magic senses going absolutely haywire. Turning to the remaining Senshi, she did feel a small amount of relief seeing that she wasn’t the only one to note the power that was being unleashed.
“Oh crap,” muttered Urd, her shoulders sagging noticeably. She had taken it upon herself to fetch the downed Tendo girl and bring her over to Belldandy for healing. Turned out to be a good thing too when she collapsed from having to use all of her magic to repair the damage done by Ares.
“Come to me, DARK SERAPHIM!”
The mandela flared brightly, blinding those that were watching. When they could see again, all sides of the conflict took note of a second person with Ranma.
“Chaos’ personal guard,” gasped Hild, her eyes growing wide. If there was any doubt that he was back and none too happy with their last meeting than this erased it. He never summoned the Fallen Angel unless he was about to . . .
“SEEK SHELTER!” screamed a frightened and injured Ukyo. Whatever had happened to Ranma could wait. Unnoticed to those that were his opponents, he had been making hand gestures in the direction of those he cared about. She pulled back, favoring her left leg while dragging an unconscious Akane behind the Tendo wall.
“Seraphim, let’s party,” said Ranma before springing into action again. His primary target being a second Ares as he had his own brand of justice to dispense. This was enough to restart the paused battle, just as intense as it was before.
The seven foot tall, dark colored Angel of Death smirked before launching himself into the fray. It felt good to be in action again and he was going to take full advantage of it.
“Kijin Raishu Dan: Amaguriken Revised!” mowed down several of the War Gods that were trying to protect Ares. The attack had been lethal, as those that took the attack wouldn’t rise again.
Nerima was a warzone, as both armies collided in a swirl of arms, legs, weapons, wings and tails. The JSDF watched in awe as both sides were fighting for domination, attacks of every variety being tossed at each other, the blood flowing like water. The greenhorn troops were already being ill in the latrine, while the seasoned veterans shifted about uncomfortably. They had standing orders to break up the melee but had yet to find a way to execute said orders. Something in the battle dynamic had changed during the pause, and just as they were about to intervene a massive shield of some kind had sprung up over the entire district.
As it was discovered, it let people out but not in. Civilians were still fleeing from the outer fringes as another massive explosion rocked the entire Tokyo Metroplex. Those inside that were fighting would bounce off of the shield instead of flying through it, much to the relief of the greenhorns. If this mess was self-contained, then all they had to do was assist the refugees and let the battle go as it will.
Then try to figure out how to contain the victor, whichever powerhouse it might be, without the shield.
Stoic-Almighty was still stoic in the face of the latest event, at least on the outside. On the inside, he was afraid. This wasn’t even a precursor to Ragnarok, as that event was scheduled for fifteen million years from now. But now that Chaos had been reborn, every carefully laid plan and manipulation to the outcome of the Final Battle had gone out the window. It was the one thing the Hild Aspects were never told.
The Sealing was a ruse, to hide Chaos until Twilight of the Gods. Then He would offer freedom in exchange for him to tip the scales in His direction. A simple plan, one that He should have known was doomed to failure when Chaos dispersed what he could of himself and created the Bugs before the core essence was sealed away near Those That Came Before.
He needed time to strategize and formulate a new plan of attack. Time to try to fix this disaster before it spun totally out of control.
“For the Child . . .”
Time he didn’t have as Dark Seraphim launched a massive attack into the battle, hitting every enemy in sight yet leaving his allies alone. Many were lost in the mana explosion, leaving Him with but one option.
“Retreat! FALL BACK!”
Order Zero, Chaos One.
The blue portals reappeared as the forces of Order withdrew from the engagement; the Senshi running off after losing their support. Ranma watched them go while surveying the damage. All in all, one of the more destructive battles in an urban area he’d ever participated in. While the Tendo place was undamaged, standing like a fortress of lore, the ten square blocks surrounding it were flattened to the ground. Bodies of the combatants lay virtually everywhere. Valkyries, Gods, Goddesses, Demons, Angels, Devils, Cologne . . .
Wait a minute.
“Hiba-chan?” prodded Shampoo, who was nursing her right leg. While most of her wounds were minor, she did have a couple that if left untreated in the foreseeable future could cripple her for life, such as her mangled left shoulder.
Cologne had been overwhelmed in the assault by a group of uninformed Divine. While she had taken many of them down, their sheer numbers had been her downfall. The one that had killed her hadn’t survived long, taking the pogo stick/attitude adjuster through her skull.
Ranma took note of this, his eyes narrowed in anger. While lacking the memories of the original Chaos, he had some fragments floating around in his head. The Order had wanted to do away with free will as those that had it used it irresponsibly. At least according to Him. Hild wasn’t left an option at the time of the Sealing; Seal or Be Sealed had been the ultimatum. She knew that without free will those beings of Order would have a very difficult time growing and adapting to life in general. He wanted clones of His followers, who never questioned His word as anything less than Law. He could truthfully care less about worshippers, insofar as individuals. All He cared about was that they kept Chaos and ‘evil’ under wraps at all times and thusly labeled anything that didn’t conform to His desires in the other two categories.
It was a setup, Ranma realized. The Almighty had set up Hild to look like she wanted the Sealing in a coup to take over the realm of Chaos. No doubt He was the mastermind behind the whole thing in a self-righteous quest to mold all of reality as He saw fit. After all, beings of Order can’t stand beings of Chaos and vice versa, even though the two balance each other.
Turning away from Shampoo as she broke down from losing the last of her family, his hearing picked up the moans of those that were still living but unable to help themselves. He didn’t find anybody else that was prominent in his life, to which he breathed a sigh of relief. Taking a harder look around, this time with the Shades as he’d come to call them on, he wondered where the Bugs had gone. Off in the distance he added the sirens wailing in the surrounding city on the Bad side of the whole debacle, along with the occasional bomber that flew overhead.
At the Tokyo-perimeter of the shield, a different conflict was taking place. On the outside looking in were platoons worth of soldiers, weapons drawn and ready for action. On the inside looking out were the Senshi, confused as to why now of all times the JSDF would get involved. Neither side could do much of anything as the shield refused to let the Soldiers of Love and Justice out and anybody with a weapon in. Medics had been streaming in from other entry points, surprised that whatever had created the dome was able to tell the difference from humanitarian aid and machines of war.
“He’s a madman!” tried Pluto, hoping that the troops would let them go if they thought the Senshi were on their side.
“You’re not going anywhere,” deadpanned a Sergeant. “You’re wanted in connection with property destruction and several deaths in Minato Azabu Juuban, and are under arrest.”
“Damn it,” growled Uranus while shifting her weight from foot to foot. Restraint was key here as whatever force was preventing them from escaping Nerima had a habit of trying to electrocute her fellow warriors.
“Feh, like you could stop us,” taunted Pluto before waving her Garnett Rod in the air. The soldiers had tensed up while the Senshi, oddly minus a member, smirked in victory.
As nothing happened.
“What?” demanded the Senshi of Time, trying several more times to form her custom portal. The troops of the JSDF were laughing openly at her failures, further angering her. “What is the meaning of this?!”
“Looks like somebody else doesn’t want to let you go,” mocked the Sergeant, the laughter reaching his eyes.
While the Senshi were trying to either talk their way out of being arrested or finding a way to escape capture, those at the Tendo Dojo were tallying the damages and trying to heal the wounded. Doctor Tofu had appeared at random, which worked in favor of the mortals. He was inundated with the injured, working fast and furious to repair what he could.
Shampoo looked like a zombie now, her eyes glazed over from emotional trauma. Her left arm was in a sling after Tofu had done everything he could to fix her shoulder, while her right leg was wrapped from foot to hip to prevent the sword slash she’d taken from becoming infected.
Ukyo wasn’t much better off, her head bandaged after a mace had split the skin open. Her left leg was similarly wrapped, while her right ankle was sporting an ice pack to keep the swelling down. She had no vision in her right eye, as it was swollen shut and until the said swelling went down Tofu had no idea if the eye itself had taken any damage.
Akane, being the premiere martial artist she believed herself to be, was staring blankly at the end of her right elbow and the space that was the arm that was supposed to be there. Her ribs were bound tightly to prevent excessive movement and promote healing in their previous shape. She was laying on the floor, trying to ease the pain she felt whenever she took a breath. Tofu had been relieved when she wiggled her toes, and felt the needle he used prick the skin on her feet, revealing no spinal damage.
Kodachi was missing, presumed captured and possibly dead. The lower half of her body had been found six blocks away at one of the portal points, the flesh completely cauterized preventing any blood loss from the cooling legs.
Tatewaki was stoic in the face of the possible demise of his sister. His gaze was at no particular object, having been blinded when a mana/phisogue attack had collided then exploded close to his face. Both of his legs were in splints, having been trampled when the attackers vacated en masse.
Mousse had his own set of problems. Sometime between the fire attack he’d dodged and the end of the battle one of the Senshi had gotten a lucky shot in, crushing his glasses into his face and eyes. He knew he was parked next to Kuno, but beyond that and the fact that he couldn’t feel anything below his waist he had no idea as to what was going on. He could feel his body slowly shutting down from his wounds, and knew that sooner or later he would die.
Ryoga had gotten lost in the melee, and his condition was unknown. Ranma knew it would take a lot to do the Lost Boy in since he’d had the body conditioning of the Bakusai Tenketsu and held hope that he’d surface alive and well.
The fathers were busy tending to the younger sisters Tendo with help from Kasumi, while eyeing Nabiki warily. The dark aspect of Holy Bell was watching the proceedings with interest, guarding her impromptu host while at the same time communicating to the other Angels.
The Mandela was still present and glowing, being a multi-use tool. Being tapped into one of the Ley Lines it had an infinite power source which in turn powered the shield that those with ki abilities could sense. There were actually two shields, one that followed the border of Nerima to the inch, keeping the destruction limited to the district while a second barrier took up the ten square blocks around the Tendo Dojo. There were medics from the JSDF fluttering about the inner shield, trying to find an entry point and failing miserably. This shield wouldn’t let them in much to their surprise and dismay as there might be casualties within.
The allies, as they were being called, were busy themselves with the clean up and recovery. They had taken to rebuilding the neighborhood into a fortress and living quarters as until the conflict was resolved there was no going home.
This left a much smaller group at the Tendo Dojo, all interested in the latest bout of mayhem that Ranma had unleashed if unintentionally.
“I want my Angel Egg!” cried Skuld, throwing a tantrum of epic proportions. Why this dark Holy Bell had appeared instead of Noble Scarlet she had no idea, and quickly put thoughts of the Egg out of her mind as said Holy Bell pulled something out of her wings.
“KAWAII!” shouted those gathered that could see the tiny form of Noble Scarlet as the Angel flew over to her bondmate. The little Angel, still a newborn in relative terms, looked shy and bashful at all of the attention she was receiving as the females gushed at her cuteness.
Dark Seraphim took note of the little Angel and had to smile at the vibes she was giving off. Behold the power of a child Angel, making a Fallen smile in joy.
Ranma also smiled in amusement, liking the way the tiny Goddess companion was draining the tension out of the situation. He noticed that Nabiki was beginning to stir and felt his ire return. Not directed at her for once, but at those that deemed his –noncombatant- associates as targets for termination. Guilt followed soon afterwards, at his inability to protect those under his charge as it were. Glancing at Akane reinforced the notion of guilt he felt as he gazed up her disfigured form, seeing that she was still in shock after losing half of her right arm. Taking in the others amplified the guilt and turned it depression, especially Kuno and Mousse of all people. There were certain things he’d never wish on anybody, no matter how annoyed he became at their antics.
Cologne and Kodachi were part of that list, and he’d never get the chance to set things right with the former and quite possibly the latter. Then there’s this whole Chaos business that threatened to drive the rest of his sanity away. Feeling tense from the resent battles, knowing that the war was far from over, coupled with the losses had crushed his already crumbling morale.
“If I gave you the truth, would it keep you alive?” suddenly voiced Nabiki, her usual observation skills being the first to note his emotional state. This caught the attention of the others, effectively bringing them down from the kawaii-high they’d been on.
“Truth about what?” he asked absentmindedly while lost in a downward spiral that could very well lead to self-destruction.
“Me,” she answered while crawling over to him. She wasn’t quite strong enough from her recent beating and healing to stand yet but had enough willpower to force herself to move in his direction. When she stopped, she was thankful for already being on the floor and not having to move into a bowing position. The decision she’d made when she first awoke in a massive amount of pain was going to change the lives of the Tendo Dojo forever.
“Go on,” he prompted, ignoring her attempt at the ‘Crouch of the Wild Tiger’. This look was not her in any way, shape or form especially while injured. He was tempted to move her back to the futon that she’d been resting on courtesy of Kasumi but refrained as whatever she had to say was apparently important.
“I’m tired,” she began, not bothering to lift her head as vertigo from her recent movement was settling in. “I’m tired of being alone. So very tired of the Ice Queen, of never knowing happiness. You figured me out, didn’t you?”
“Partially,” he admitted, “in the time I’ve been here I’ve noticed things about you . . . your entire family. I still don’t understand much, but I’ve always hoped that one day you’d leave your old life behind and find joy.”
“Though I'm closer to wrong I'm no further from right,” she said to herself, confirming her decision and running with it before addressing Ranma again. “I . . . I . . . I love you.”
THUD!
That would be a massive face vault from those listening in on the conversation. Even the Angels ate some flooring at that proclamation, the noise breaking the moment much to Ranma’s relief and Nabiki’s chagrin.
“What?” he asked in stunned disbelief, hearing but not comprehending the words. Nobody had said those words to him with such conviction, such truth, such honesty. Kuno didn’t count because he’s a lunatic.
“You heard her,” chimed in Kasumi, her smile more vibrant than usual. This was the sister she remembered from so many years ago, one that was so full of compassion and not the anger of not being able to help their mother. “And she’s not alone in that regard.”
“Are you absolutely certain about this?” demanded Ranma, waving his arm in the general direction of the surroundings. “You heard Him, I’m not supposed to exist. From their actions alone, anybody that even knows of me will be hunted down like animals.”
“We sure,” spoke Shampoo for the first time since the end of the battle, her glazed look being replaced by one of righteous fury. She had an idea of where the Mercenary-Girl was going with this and as the middle Tendo had she made her own decision. “Wo Ai Ni.”
Ranma found himself clustered by those closest to him, while the transplants looked on in awe as The One firmed his resolve.
While the outlook was one of a long, drawn out struggle for survival and the chance to set things straight, for the moment no outside force could stop them.
He smiled a genuine smile, his eyes on the sunset. Heaven and Hell be damned, he was his own person with his own destiny. Let them try to stop him.
He was Chaos reborn. And he was on a mission . . .
TBC
Good stopping place, I think. Don’t know exactly where the darker aspect of this fic came from but hey, have to add some intrigue to keep the wackiness to a more believable level.
Next up: Dealing with the Senshi. They still want Crystal Tokyo, refusing to accept that free will is of more importance than their desires for a utopia for humanity. And when Ranma learns the truth of the Cataclysm that spawns the utopia . . .
Pain.
On a side note, I used Wikipedia for research. If any of you Fuku-Fic people read this, for the love of God go over there and correct the attacks section. It’s so . . . lacking.
Ja!
Finished in Polk City, Florida