Project A-Ko Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Vampire Hunter (Darkstalkers) Fan Fiction ❯ Nabiki 1/2 (A Very Scary Thought) ❯ Lao versus Nabiki (Round One)... ( Chapter 64 )

Nabiki 1/2

(A Very Scary Thought)

Written by Jim Robert Bader

Proofread by Shiva Barnwell

Based Upon the Altered Destinies Storyline

Inspired by the works of such fans as

Wade Tritshler

Richard Lawson

James Jones

And Many Others

Standard Disclaimer: This is inspired by the work of Takahashi Rumiko and is not my original creation. All characters belong to her. This is only a fanfictional work, and is not intended to compromise the rights of the original owners, distributors and publishers of the Ranma series. I have no money to spare and would very much appreciate if no one tries to sue me.

Cologne suddenly halted in her advance, thrusting her staff out to block Nabiki's next step as she hissed out sharply, "Hold! Go no farther! To advance beyond this point is to court disaster!"

Ranma and Ryoga halted their advance as though each were growing accustomed to respecting the old woman's word when she used that tone of unreproachable authority. Nabiki was more independent minded and asked, "What is it? What do you sense, Elder?"

"Can you not feel it yourself?" Cologne asked her in a low whisper, "I have been teaching you to read force-lines, and they should tell the tale far better than I ever could."

Nabiki reflexively reached out with her mind and felt the lines of force all around her. It was not that difficult, the air was saturated with raw elemental forces so strong that she had been forcibly ignoring them lest they overwhelm her mortal senses. Tuning out the flood of sensations to that which had the most practical significance was what was required here, and with her strong focus of will she honed in on the sense of danger that Cologne had warned her about.

"Get ready!" she hissed, "It's coming!"

"What?" Guile asked with a sharp glance towards her, then he felt it too as the entire room trembled with a sudden vibration, and the instant after this the walls and floor erupted with the flowing tendrils of something phosphorescent.

The chamber they were in was huge, once more defying logical sense as it looked more like the interior of a castle than the tight confines of an ancient sailing vessel. The tendrils seemed to appear from every avenue, both beneath the walkway they were upon and from quarters not sufficiently well lit to allow one to imagine their origins. It was like being inside the belly of a great beast with the lining of its stomach walls reaching out to absorb them. A rumbling noise seemed to add weight to this impression, though it could just as well have been suggested that the creature was both external and internal, living within the walls of the ship like a manifestation out of nightmare.

Nabiki and her comrades in arms instinctively fell back into a mass with all defenses turned outward, and with the security of having each other cover their flanks and rear, leaving only the scope of their peripheral vision to focus upon what was directly before them. With fist, foot and spiritual force they met this assault, striking the tendrils that came at them seeking to overwhelm and crush them.

Ranma and Ryoga used blows so fast that they could not be seen with the naked eye, even as Keiko and Chun-Li preferred kicks and Bison used his fists to batter away at the tendrils that sought to ensnare their limbs and bodies. Honda used the flat of his palms, projecting the force of his blows with such speed and power that it seemed as if nothing could get beyond his guard. Blanka raked with his claws while Cammy spun and used her feet and fists to strike in a series of flutter motions that had a similar effect to the Amaguriken. Guile and Ken's punches were more solidly focused while Akane's smaller fists had a lot of compact force for all their small size. Kodachi used her entire body as a weapon, leveraging past the tendrils that tried to ensnare her and turning their force back against them, but it was Nabiki's own unique counter-offensive that was most worthy of attention for she drew upon the force lines in the air and shaped them with hands and mental focus, turning them into invisible raking fields of elemental energy that ripped at the tendrils and forced them to draw away as if in painful reaction.

Then Cologne spun her staff and struck directly forward into the air instead of the tendrils, and sudden shock waves coursed throughout the chamber, disrupting the tendrils as though they had never been there in the first place. She rested the heel of her staff against the floor with a heavy sound then lifted her voice and cried, "Lao! Lao Kung, as you so style yourself, enough with your tricks and evasions! Face us now instead of skulking around from the safety of the shadows!"

"You're a fine one to talk, old woman," Lao replied as she stepped into view, as did a hundred armed women, both human and Undine, who fanned out from either side along the ramps and partitions and both ends of the chamber, "Isn't that what you Elders usually do? Stand back and act sagely while we younger warriors go forth to do all of your fighting?"

All of a sudden, the lady Pirates presented crossbows, spears, javelins and tridents, which they leveled their way in row upon row of bristling threat. Nabiki and the others glanced nervously about, realizing their exposure to such a long-ranged attack as even Guile looked wary while Ryoga quite deliberately positioned his body to stand like a shield before Akane.

Cologne regarded this threat as though it were a matter of no great significance and murmured, "Are you so lost to all concept of honor that you would strike us down this way? I thought I knew you better than this, Lanocane, but it seems that I was gravely mistaken."

"You thought you knew me?" Lao slowly descended a stairway while her people continued to keep the Posse and Guile's group covered, "And what did I know when I placed my trust in you, old woman? You think it was honor that you taught? You preach only expediency and what is good by your standards, but when I needed you most I was turned away and left to my own devices!"

"Whatever wrong I have done to you does not justify what you do now," Cologne said simply, "You betray yourself and everything the Amazons have ever stood for by preying on your fellow human being and exploiting them like cattle."

"Oh yes, you'd like to see it in those terms," Lao snorted, "The horrible slaver who uses and discards people after they have served my uses. Well, it's never been as simple as that. I do what I have to do to preserve what is mine. Do you think all of these follow me simply because of some tricks you and others taught me? I have earned their loyalty, and they know I will fight for them just as hard as I once thought you would have defended me before I saw what a true opportunist you are. Do not preach to me about what is best for the Amazons, for these are my Amazons, a people I have trained and given purpose."

She continued to descend until she was only a few paces from Cologne where she halted, glaring down at the motionless elder, her gaze boring into the ancient woman's as though the rest of the world had ceased to have meaning, "Who do you think raised many of these to the positions they now hold? Do you know what they were before they came into my service? Some few were victims, yes, but others had lives of one kind or another that were twisted, drab or unfulfilling. Some were mercenaries and others were merely whores, others had no goals in life while many were simply wallowing in the shallowness of a meaningless existence. Now we are a tribe, a community that is growing and recruiting new life from those who can adjust to the lifestyle. These people belong to me, and I will defend them to the death…which I suspect is what you would condemn me to if I were so foolish as to place myself again at your mercy."

Cologne continued to regard her in silence for a few seconds after Lao had spoken, but at last she said, "What is it you want from me, Lao? My approval?"

"No," Lao raised her head proudly, "Nor your forgiveness. Too much has come between us for that. I only want you to return to the custody of those quarters I have provided you each with. You need not be chained or be held in any more cages, nor will I attempt any more to persuade you all to accept the life of a permanent resident of this vessel. You will be treated well, indeed…much better than you could possibly imagine, and some of you will even be treated to comforts as provided by my staff that you won't find at a Holiday Inn. All this I offer if you surrender now and give me your word that you will not attempt to escape again. Regardless of what some of you may currently believe, I am not truly your enemy and did not want to start this battle. Nor do I want to end it with your deaths, which I am sure you can see can come at my slightest direction should you wish to foolishly press on in your resistance."

"And we're supposed to believe in your good will, Lady?" Guile asked scornfully.

"Why not?" Lao smiled, "You can ask your daughter and she will confirm for you that I can be charitable when it suits my interest. I do not wish to see any of you needlessly injured, but if you persist in this folly I will not be responsible for the consequences."

"It would seem you have the advantage once again," Nabiki replied, "Why hesitate to use it? From what I've seen you already possess the means to crush us where we stand regardless of the threat posed by these others," she nodded towards Lao's people with meaning.

"True," Lao slowly looked the defenders over and smiled a bit grimly, "I can see by your resolute looks that you are all proven fighters. It is not for such as us to crave surrender merely because the odds are against us. Perhaps I do you an injustice suggesting you back down without a struggle. Very well, I'll make you another offer. Fight me directly and we'll settle this between us. My people will not fire upon you as I give you my solemn vow that this will be a fair and even contest. The stakes will be simple, if I win you will surrender without complaint. If you win then I will put you ashore as soon as we make dockside and surrender myself to the authorities of your choosing."

"Sounds too good to be true," Cammy growled, "What's the catch?"

"Only that you haven't a chance of defeating me in battle," Lao smiled, "Unless you care to issue the challenge yourself, Elder."

Cologne regarded her solemnly then replied, "You know that I will not."

"Cologne?" Nabiki looked at her in confusion.

"I cannot act unless she strikes against Amazon interests directly," Cologne said bitterly, "Which, technically, she has not truly done, even though she has played the Catspaw with us on an individual basis. Such games and parlor tricks are certainly beneath any former apprentice of mine, but when we Elders cast her out of the tribe we renounced our sovereignty over her. Unless she strikes at me or an acknowledged warrior of my clan I cannot initiate combat without disgracing my family, which she very well knows."

"Oh great," Ranma complained, "Now you tell us this?"

"What about Perfume?" Nabiki argued, "I personally witnessed what you had her and Ukyo do at your behest…"

"And what was that?" Lao smiled, "Play naughty little games and try to fulfill their most ardent desires? I would hardly call that harmful conduct."

"Maybe you should ask them about that when you have the chance," Nabiki countered, "And besides, what good is your offer to fight one of us? We all know you have ten years of experience in perfecting your Amazon arts…"

"You misunderstand me," Lao smiled, "I never said this had to be one against one. I meant that you can all gang up on me at the same time and I will still defeat you using only my own natural talents. Surely that doesn't seem too unreasonable to you?" she called over her shoulder, "Lieutenant Shelby, bear witness! I order you all to stand down and allow me to fight this battle on my own. No one interferes until the matter is concluded, and if I should lose you will release these prisoners and see they are safely set ashore. Do you understand me?"

"I hear you, my lady," Shelby grimly responded.

"Good," Lao smiled as she circled around the silent Cologne and faced directly against Guile, "So why don't we start with you, big man? You want a piece of me, I can tell, for what you know that I have done with your daughter."

"Lady," Guile moved forward, "You make it sound so tempting."

"Father…" Keiko started to warn him but hesitated.

"I gave my word to Kei-chan that I would not see you hurt," Lao replied as Guile raised his hands in a classic Tai-boxing manner.

He took a step forward, prepared to launch a kick, only to have Lao's hand suddenly strike out to press against his chest, and just as suddenly he was moving horizontally backwards with such force that he struck the far wall hard enough to leave an imprint.

"I never said I wouldn't rough you up a little," Lao smiled at the others and said, "Next?"

"Lady, you are pushing it," Ken replied as he drew his hands back and summoned the power of his Hadouken attack as the glow began to surround him.

"Impressive," Lao smiled, "I'm waiting whenever you're ready."

Ken's aura expanded to surround his whole body as everyone else stood back to allow him more room to summon his ki, and then Ken threw the force with both hands and struck at where Lao had been standing.

Odd thing was that she was now standing to the side of where the blast struck, still smiling as the blast vanished off into the distance with a dull thud signifying that it had been absorbed, like all of the others.

"My turn," Lao smiled, drawing back a fist as water congealed around her right arm, and then she threw her punch while still too far away to reach him and the jet stream of water leaped from her to strike at Ken as it expanded like a geyser, knocking him off his feet so that he swiftly joined Guile in making a wall impression.

"Ken!" Chun-Li cried, then turned to glare at Lao as she growled, "You'll pay for that!"

"Yeah!" Cammy agreed, "No one does that to the Colonel and gets away with it! Let's get her!"

The rest of Guile's team charged en-mass at Lao, who simply crossed her arms over her chest then swung them around as she shouted, "Wall of Raging Waters!" which slammed them with a near-solid curtain of liquid, picking even the stout Honda up off his huge feet and rolling him like a bowling ball to land in a far corner.

"Everyone stay back!" Nabiki ordered, only to see Ranma and Ryoga attempt to double-team Lao with predictable results as the Pirate lady met their charge and counter-attacked. A fast and furious exchange of blows resulted in both boys sailing backwards from Lao as though their own energy had been absorbed and turned back on them.

"Great…now they choose not to listen," Nabiki griped in sour contemplation.

That taught the others a measure of caution as Akane, Kodachi and even Keiko looked to Nabiki for their next cue. Lao smiled at them while her nominal victims were still shaking off the effects of her assault. Lao radiated confidence and had just demonstrated her prowess in defeating nearly a dozen powerful foes in less than twenty seconds.

"Like to surrender now?" Lao asked with a tigerish smile, "My offer still holds, and you will be well treated."

Nabiki saw Cologne remaining where she was, giving a noncommittal stare in Nabiki's direction. The Elder would not interfere as long as Lao merely remained a passive-aggressive opponent. It all fell onto her as she turned her full attention back towards Lao, not willing to surrender to this Monster, or to trust in her good will, especially with the safety of her loved ones at stake. She had to find a way of defeating her soundly, and preferably without getting anyone else killed in the process, but how when Lao seemed so unstoppable in a direct hand-to-hand encounter?

Something about that bothered Nabiki. No one was that good, not even Cologne, and certainly not invincible, even granted that Lao had the home court advantage. She had watched Lao fight, seen the tight, economical movements with which she had repelled Guile and countered Ranma and Ryoga's one-two offensive. The tricks she had used seem to involve the summoning of water…

Water! Suddenly Nabiki realized what was so odd about Lao's attack. The woman was able to conjure up water on demand and use it offensively, but how could she do that if--as Nabiki suspected--the woman had a very good reason to not allow that element to make contact with her own body?

"Kei-chan," Nabiki murmured, "You can stand this one out if you want to…"

Keiko was clearly torn by conflicting loyalties, but she raised her hands and said, "No way. I'm in this with you guys to the finish. You understand why, my lady."

"I would not think to come between you and your friends," Lao smiled, "Or ask you to choose me above your father and the woman that you love, but you do understand that I will be forced to punish you along with these others?"

"That is as it must be, my lady," Keiko stood more resolute, "Whatever you decide, Nab-chan. I'm in all the way."

"As are we," Kodachi affirmed, "What is your call, Tendo Nabiki? We will follow you to the very last of our energies."

"What am I going to do?" Nabiki asked aloud, pretending the question was rhetorical when in fact she was asking herself the very same thing, "I am going to kick your butt from here to Qing Hi, Lao! No way are we surrendering! Take your best shot, we're still going to beat you."

"Such bravado demands a fitting reply," Lao replied as she raised both hands and called up a swirling mass of concentrated blue energy, water congealing to form a liquid mass between her hands, "In token of my respect for these others I will allow them to sit out the rest of this fight in their cursed forms. You, however, are about to take a one-way trip to the darkest depths of my personal dungeon. Such is the fate of all who would dare to defy me!"

"Scatter!" Nabiki cried, vaulting into the air as the jet-stream of water struck the place where she had been standing as she corkscrewed her body in mid-leap and lashed out with a savage kick that contained the force of her Chi, and it should have knocked Lao completely head-over-heals when it connected, but instead the former Amazon just rolled with the kick and retained her footing.

"Nice," Lao smiled as she straightened herself out and gave Nabiki a savage glare that seemed almost full of praise and admiration. She did not have long to contemplate this before Kodachi completed a hubcap cartwheel with her own double-kick aimed at the Amazon's midsection. Lao caught this with one hand, grabbed the other foot that Keiko shot her way from a flanking position with the other hand but was still left exposed when Akane plunged in with her fists, side-stepping her companions as she leveled her punch squarely in Lao's exposed solar plexus and managing to connect with force enough to shatter a brick wall.

Lao grunted slightly then smiled at Akane. Nabiki sensed her next move and was already into executing her next leap when Lao took one step back and drew both Kodachi and Keiko off the floor, holding them by a leg a piece in an incredibly display of strength before slamming them together with Akane helplessly caught in the middle.

Lao released the two women in time to meet Nabiki's aerial attack. Nabiki did not hold back as she shifted to Amaguriken speed, launching a flurry of punches and kicks that drove Lao back for several paces as the Amazon again absorbed her punishment without visible complaint. Only when Nabiki grew careless by one fraction did Lao counter-attack, but that one blow back-handed her halfway across the floor. Nabiki had to roll with the force, astonished at the power it had contained and marveling that her head was still attached to her shoulders.

She staggered back to her feet in time to see Lao slowly advancing, her confidence unshaken.

"Water is the Universal Solvent," Lao explained, "It is incompressible, irresistible and unfathomable to the understanding of mortals. It absorbs everything without changing its substance. Strike a pool a thousand times and it will always return to the same form. The same is true with me, Tendo Nabiki. Strike me a thousand times and it will make no distance. Only Elder Cologne knows my weakness, and unless she chooses to intervene it will not have an impact on this battle."

Water, Nabiki thought to herself, Lao's powers were based upon water, one of the Five Basic elements of Shinto Mysticism. How could she use that insight to help her defeat Madam Lao? How was she able to create water out of seeming nothingness and hurl it around? Was it some kind of an illusion?

Nabiki knew something about the element of water, and how it applied to the Martial Arts. In looking back at Lao's fighting style she could see the same philosophy applied to the fluidity of her form. The difference was in degree of mastery, for Lao lived and breathed the Water School of Martial Combat. She absorbed everything and overcame by flowing around an opposing force. Her motions were fluid, but there was something else about her attack style. Lao was using a modified form of Shaolin Tiger Fist to her attacks.

As she thought upon this her body automatically shifted into the Dragon Style Defense, the natural counter to the Tiger school of combat. The Tiger employed Bone Strength with hard-slashing motions aimed at overwhelming an opponent from very close quarters, but the Dragon discipline employed body strength with high-flying aerial motions, which was a Saotome School specialty, and one in which Nabiki excelled. She assumed a wide-stance with hands forming the claws of the dragon, preparing to "ride the air" with her next attack, a fact that was immediately recognized by her opponent.

"Interesting," Lao smiled, "This might actually prove quite amusing…"

As she said this Lao suddenly turned her head sharply to one side and threw up one hand, causing a wall of water to form in the air at her command. One second later an object impacted against this shield at an angle and bounced off, continuing to spin with a savage hiss as it arced through the air and turned back towards it source. Lao ducked her head as a second double-bladed axe just missed taking advantage of her moment of distraction, and had she not moved instinctively as she had her head most lightly would have been cleaved from her shoulders.

Out of the corner of her eye Nabiki saw Perfume snatch both her axes out of the air while Nabiki took advantage of the moment to launch her attack upon Lao, using the dragon-stomp kick as her opening move and actually managing to catch Lao by surprise before the Pirate had time to bend with the flow. Lao landed hard against the floor but got to her feet again, looking momentarily shaken.

That was all the time Ukyo needed to bring her baker's peel down so that the flat would have smacked the Pirate like a mosquito, only Lao sensed this attack coming and managed to bring both her hands up in time to block with a double-palm strike. Ukyo gave back as her own force was returned through the handle but she nimbly caught her balance on the balls of her feet and twisted her body to make a horizontal strike with her weapon that forced Lao into motion. The Pirate regained her footing once again, but now Perfume had closed the distance and had her axes at the ready.

Lao brought her arms across her chest and suddenly a cone of blue crystal formed around her, catching and repelling the blunt force of both axes and spatula, then Lao dissolved her barrier and snatched these weapons out of their hands, her motions so blindingly fluid that they were invisible even to Nabiki's eyes. Ukyo and Perfume staggered back a few paces but retained enough of their fighting edge to still pose a credible threat as they assumed a double-team attack posture on the one side, deterring Lao from following through in an attempt to finish off these new opponents.

"And impressive display of teamwork," Lao congratulated, "But may I ask what I have done to earn such a determined display of aggression?"

"You figure it out, Lao," Ukyo replied, "Per-chan and me are still going kick your butt for what you tried to do to us."

"And what would that be?" Lao sounded genuinely disappointed, "Didn't you like my little gift?"

"Oh sure," Ukyo gave a rueful smirk, "Locking us together like that was a real nice gesture, and it might even have been nice if you'd given us more of a choice instead of try to use me like a brood mare, and Gods only know what else you did with us when we were under the influence."

Nabiki grimaced slightly but said nothing. Lao was now trying to maintain her defense against three determined foes at flanking angles and it gave her an opening to exploit as she circled around and sought to attack from Lao's exposed backside.

Before she could complete her assault, however, someone else came charging in with a foot-first assault that Lao had no problem dodging. Guile went right past Lao like a heat-seeking missile, and it no doubt came as quite a surprise when Lao snagged him by his shirt before he was completely beyond her. Lao moved around and under him, flipping the huge man around before tossing him at Ukyo, which caused Perfume to tackle her beloved out of the way so that the big man could strike the wall behind instead of them, once more slumping to the ground in what was now becoming something of a habit.

Of course, other members of his team had recovered by this time and were now making their own presence felt as they sought to rush her from opposing sides while Nabiki held back and studied the Amazon's defenses.

The first to strike was Blanka, using his claws to rake the air where Lao had been standing before rolling like a ball and lashing out with both feet in a lightning double-kick that did catch her this time and knocked her flying. The ogre-like creature pressed in to the attack, only to find his feet gave out from underneath him when a column of water shot up from the floor and knocked him against the ceiling far above their heads.

Lao peeled herself off the wall she had struck but now had Bison and Honda to deal with. The Sumo wrestler had both feet planted firmly as he wrapped his arms around Lao and held her fast. His muscles strained as though he were exerting great effort to squeeze the air from her lungs, but Lao just smiled at his efforts as Bison came around and raised a massive fist, only hesitating slightly.

"Hold still," the boxer said, "This'll only hurt for a second..."

Lao continued to smile as Bison's fist went right through her face and struck Honda in the jaw while Lao's body seemed to dissolve into a liquid state. Honda went down as Lao stood to one side and continued smiling.

"I'll take his word for it," Lao chuckled before raising her palms and pushing forward, slamming Bison with a wave of water that tumbled the big man half the length of the chamber.

Lao started to turn around when Chun-Li and Cammy coordinated an attack, hitting Lao high and low as the Amazon rocked back for half a step, then belatedly fought them off with a sudden burst of ferocity that seemed to explode outward without warning. Both women went flying as if struck repeatedly by jackhammers while Lao remained crouched in a fighting posture, no longer smiling as her face was suffused with a snarling fury.

At the sight of this Ken hesitated to complete the attack he had been in the process of executing. He backed away with more caution, not looking at his stunned and fallen team mates but rather giving Lao a wary study as though trying to place something about her animalistic posture. Lao's eyes were almost glowing with a fiery yellow light for the few brief seconds that she continued to maintain her hostile bearing.

Then, very slowly, Lao straightened out and seemed to relax very slightly, paused to take her bearings then looked around in mild dismay before remarking, "Oh my…did I lose it for a moment there? My apologies, I usually don't go this all-out against talented amateurs…"

"Amateurs?" Ken replied with a narrowed expression, "I think I've just been insulted."

Lao smiled, "You seem like an intelligent enough, boy, handsome. It would be a shame to ruin those good looks by provoking me too far. Up until now I've just been playing with you all. If I wanted to finish this all at once…" she gestured with both hands and suddenly the walls seemed to begin closing in on them from all around, causing Ken to jump back in alarm as he raised his arms to block an attack that never came.

Instead what came was Madam Lao's fist against his face, knocking Ken back a solid ten paces before he caught himself and managed to regain his footing.

"You interest me," Lao smiled, "Few men ever do these days. You fought against and helped defeat an old colleague of mine. I believe you knew him by the name he took as Vega."

"Vega was a friend of yours?" Ken rubbed his face with a slight smile, "Why am I not surprised?"

"A friend?" Lao sniffed, "Hardly that! He had no friends, or at least none that I am aware of, and I certainly wouldn't count myself among them, that old skinflint. He hurt one of my girls, for which I promised vengeance. You may have taken that option away, for which I suppose I will have to demand some form of compensation."

"Whenever you're ready," Ken replied, taking a forward aggressive stance.

Lao regarded him sardonically, then smiled, "Perhaps another time," and made a simple gesture that caused a column of water to form around the strawberry blond martial artist.

Ken started to cry out when the water froze in place, holding him trapped like a massive ice cube.

"At best you're only a distraction," Lao smiled, "The real challenge comes from…"

She whirled in time to dodge Ukyo's spatula and Perfume's axes as the two double-teamed in a sneak attack that took full advantage of her distraction. Lao moved quicker than they had expected, however, and with a flick of one hand sent a jet of water at Perfume, which Ukyo managed to deflect with her spatula at the last second.

"Very good," Lao complimented, "You two do make a fine match. However, you still think far too conventionally to win this particular fight."

She sent a second jet towards Ukyo, who naturally brought her baker's peel up to block, only to have the water curve around in mid-air and execute an impossible number of turns before striking Perfume, who could not so easily deflect the stream with her axes. The rest was inevitable as she collapsed into her cursed form, her axes vanishing before they could even strike the floor. Ukyo cried out her name, only to get clobbered when a second jet stream arced around and struck her from behind, toppling her to her knees as though from a solid club blow.

"Hard water," Lao smiled, then turned around in alarm as she felt and heard before seeing the sound of somebody tearing up a huge beam from the center of the chamber.

"LAO!" cried Ryoga as he hefted the half-ton log like a club in both hands, "You'll pay for that, and what you did to Akane!"

Lao stood her ground, just staring as Ryoga swung the beam around and slammed it into her, only her image splashed into so much sea form as the floor buckled slightly from the impact. Lao appeared several meters off to one side and continued staring at Ryoga before saying, "I don't believe you did that."

Ryoga made a cry as he heaved the beam up once again and tried to swing it like a bat, only now Lao was not immobile as she reacted with a speed that caught him by surprise. Lao rammed her elbow into his face then followed up with a blow from her knee that picked him up and caused him to drop the beam, bringing his hands up to his now-bleeding nose. Lao finished him off with a second elbow-blow to the back of his neck, felling the eternally lost boy like a pine log, and when he fell, Ryoga did not get up again.

"Ryoga-kun," Akane cried out from where she was only just starting to regain her footing.

"Ryoga!" Ranma cried as he started to rush forward, only to stop as Nabiki cried out, "No Ranma!" in a tone that brooked no contradiction.

"Strong boy," Lao sniffed, "Glass jaw. He'll be sleeping that one off for a while. All right, who's next?"

"Try me," Guile growled as he took a step forward then summoned his power and cried out, "SONIC BOOM!!!"

Lao did not even turn to look at him as she raised one hand and made a catching moment, then opened her hand again as the force rebounded in Guile's face and knocked him back against the wall, only partially conscious.

"Father!" Keiko cried, rushing to his side as Lao tactfully ignored her.

"Water is a great conductor of sound," Lao remarked, turning to look at Nabiki, "Perhaps now you people might be willing to listen to reason? I see you called your attack-dog off. You obviously care enough about him not to risk his possibly being damaged."

Nabiki's eyes narrowed all the more as she studied Lao in even greater confusion. All that punishment and she does not even appear badly winded? She can't be expending that much energy and keep right on going. She's got to have a power source with some limits. Perhaps if we push her just a bit farther…

"Ranma knows how important he is to me," Nabiki replied, unaware that Ranma's eyes glanced her way for only an instant, "But that's not why I told him to hold back. You want us to attack you, to commit ourselves, to rush headlong into danger. You've been studying us all the while and countering our moves when we give you openings. That's key to the Water style you're using…it's passive-aggressive. You can only use your force to counter whatever force we use against you."

"Very good," Lao smiled, "But not all my forces are passive, as I will gladly demonstrate should you choose not to attack me."

"We've just seen some tricks and illusions you summon up to make us think you're powerful," Nabiki replied, "Not everything you do is for real, you're just a glorified conjurer with a bag of tricks to tease the uninitiated."

"My powers are very real," Lao replied as she formed another swirling ball in both hands, "Real enough to take you down without working up a sweat."

"Ranma!" Nabiki cried, "Let's double-team, use the Raging Waters Attack, modified Rising Dragon Offensive!"

"Hai," Ranma instantly acknowledged, his mind working nearly as fast as her own as he processed what he had just heard Nabiki tell him indirectly. Like her, he had been studying Lao's attack trying to discover the source of her seemingly inexhaustible power, but realizing that some of the attacks were only illusions helped explain how she could conserve her powers and only use half the energy she appeared to be using. She could, in fact, be resting while an image of her absorbed some of the attacks, then used her recovered strength to catch her foes while they were distracted with pseudo-targets. It was an effective strategy and would just as likely have worked on him as the others had Nabiki not clued him to her subtle use of tactics…

Now he knew instinctively what to do as he and Nabiki moved together, turning to place their backs against one another while they linked arms and braced their feet wide apart. Lao saw this and frowned but by this time had summoned up enough force to unleash her jet-stream attack in a wide-angled burst that exploded out like an expanding globe, only to turn inward and collapse towards Ranma and Nabiki from every available corner.

Only the pair did not merely wait for this force to strike them before vaulting into the air and launching a four-footed counter-offensive.

Lao blinked in astonishment as she saw and felt the Amaguriken-speed double-attack kick her water globe apart as the pair spun like a top in mid-air, then perfectly coordinated a roll that brought them around arcing towards her. Lao looked up in time to see the double-kick aimed towards her as Ranma and Nabiki came down like twin harpoons aimed at her mid-section.

The kick knocked Lao right through the floor as boards collapsed upon impact, creating a huge hole where she had been standing while Ranma and Nabiki broke contact and tumbled to safety. Below them they heard a splash as though Lao had fallen into a pool on the next level down.

Surprisingly enough this fact did not elate Nabiki as much as it did Ranma. She turned with a worried look in her eyes and said, "Uh oh…"

"Uh-oh what?" Ranma lost the smile he had been sporting.

"She fell into water," Nabiki replied, pointing at the gap.

"So?" Ranma frowned.

"She has a Jusenkyo curse, Ranma," Nabiki patiently informed him.

"So?" he replied, still not catching onto what had her looking so worried.

"Hey," Akane said as she looked up from where she was nursing Ryoga while Kodachi hovered at the side of Keiko, also looking troubled, "What's with these people? Are they statues or something? Why are they just standing there looking down at us while we beat up their boss?"

"Yeah," Ranma frowned, "Why don't they do nothing to help her? You don't think they want us to win do you?"

"Not likely, Ranma-kun," Nabiki replied, noticing that Cologne herself had taken shelter amid their silent onlookers, "More likely they're smart and would rather keep their distance."

"Distance from what?" Kodachi asked.

A low, intense rumbling noise shook the air of a sudden as Nabiki turned sharply around, seeing one of the stairs that led down into the darkness of the floor beneath them, "From that."

The rumble came closer, and now something moved up those stairs, flowing gracefully like liquid fire contained within the package of a huge, sleek form that moved with the supple rippling of muscle and sinew. Everyone saw and gave back as the form came entirely into view, over ten feet long from nose to tail and as big as a brick house. At the shoulder it stood as high as a man's breastbone and had stripes that almost glowed with electric coloration all the way from fanged muzzle to the tip of its long, swishing tail. When it roared it exposed a row of fangs that looked like wicked kitchen knives produced by the company Ginsue.

Without meaning to, Ranma backed away a half-pace, and so did everyone else who was still consciously able…everyone but Nabiki.

"What is that?" Ranma swore.

"Obviously it's a tiger, Baka," Akane's reply lacked feeling and was quite toneless.

"Siberian or Bengal?" Kodachi nervously wondered.

"I never really found out," Keiko replied as she cradled her equally surprised father, "We're in for it now…my lady is pissed!"

"Ryoga-kun!" Akane shook the boy in her lap, "Wake up! We…I need you!"

"Huh?" Ryoga blinked, recovering with miraculous speed upon hearing those words, "You do?"

"What good's he gonna do?" Ranma complained, "We can't fight with that monster! We gotta grab everyone and get out of here, Nab-chan…"

He paused when he did not hear a reply and turned to look at her, only to gasp, "Nab-chan?"

Nabiki said nothing as the tiger continued to advance, obviously in no hurry as though savoring the terrified looks on the faces of the puny mortals that faced her. Only the one annoying girl stood resolute without visible fear on her face, which puzzled Lao greatly as one did not expect a human being to even remotely think that they stood a chance against her cursed form. As a human she could be fierce, but as a tiger she was unstoppable fury.

And then Nabiki raised her eyes and something strange began to happen. Lao halted in mid-step and looked at her in shock. The intelligence was gone, as was the woman of nobility and compassion. The clever eyes of Tendo Nabiki now only contained the animal in their aspect, and this animal regarded Lao with almost the mirror reflection of her own ruthlessness and fury.

Very softly at first Nabiki started to meow, which in some odd way sounded more terribly ominous than the growl of any tiger…

Continued

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