Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Destiny ❯ Chapter 2

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

A SMARTALECK PRODUCTIONS

Destiny

By arun

Chapter#02
Completed on 06/25/2001

This is a Ranma 1/2 - Sailor Moon crossover with certain aspects of
Ramayana.

Disclaimers:
Ranma and the cast members of Ranma 1/2 are owned by Rumiko
Takahashi and Shogukkan. Rumiko Takahashi is one of the most brilliant
people to walk on the face of this earth. We the fans of the anime world
are forever indebted to her for giving us Ranma and co. Thank you Rumiko
Takahashi for bringing laughter back into our lives.

Sailor Moon and its characters are owned by Naoko Takeuchi, Toei
animation and KODANSHA.

I do not own the characters of both these shows, nor do I even
pretend to own them. This work of fiction is but a tribute to the above
anime shows.

Guys:
!....* indicate thoughts.
In the first and second chapters indicates Japanese and "..."
indicates Chinese. In all the other chapters the reciprocal is true.


******************************************************* ****************

"She is beautiful." said Ranma. Xas Min smiled at the
compliment. Higashikaze was at the moment breast-feeding and Ranma was
starring star struck at his child and her antics with er... the feeding
instrument. He brought his forefinger to his daughters cheek and
caressed it gently. He looked up at her mother and looked lovingly at
her.

"She looks just like you." he whispered. Taking Xas Min's head
in his arms, he kissed her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too." Xas Min whispered back.

Little Higashi gurgled and snuggled closer to her mothers warm
body. Ranma just shook his head in wonder.

"I have got to go now and take my classes. I be back when I
done."

"Be back as soon as you can." said Xas Min as he left the room
with a parting kiss to his wife and child.

Outside the house...

"So, Son-in-law, how is my great great great grandchild coming
along." asked Xiao poggoing towards him on her staff.

"She is doing just fine." replied Ranma. He paused for a moment
and looked at his _mother_. He had started calling her and Pher Fom
mother after he had married Xas Min. She understood his need for a
mother as he had never had one and did not object to the title. "Mother,
may I... I want to speak with you in private."

Xiao Lui nodded. She had an idea of what he wanted to talk to
her about. "Come with me then. I think that my little east wind can wait
a little longer."

She led to her house and seated him on a wooden chair.

"What is bothering you son-in-law?"

"I... I realized just yesterday that I am a father. I don't know
if I am ready for that role and...", he paused.

The nearly four hundred year old matriarch laughed. "What
happened to your confidence, son-in-law?"

"I... It is not easy for me, mother, to ask for help." he paused
wanting her to understand that he did not want to be teased. "There is
so much for me to do and think about now that I am a father. I do not
know whether I am upto the job."

Xiao Lui frowned. This was a facet of Ranma she had never seen
before. The Ranma she knew did not _fear_ even the mightiest of enemies.
This new Ranma was the socially insecure one who had grown through his
childhood without friends. As a member of the royal family he was
respected and obeyed but had no friends except his brother.

"You will do fine, son-in-law. I saw the way you looked at my
newest granddaughter when you first saw her. I saw the love and the care
in your eyes. It is enough to make all the difference."

Ranma rose. "Thank you mother, for your words of wisdom. I feel
much better now."

Xiao Lui smiled. The old Ranma had returned. "Won't you stay and
have some tea, son-in-law?"

Ranma shook his head. "No, mother, I do not have the time. As it
stands I am a good half an hour late for my beginners class." Ranma had
begun to take beginners class soon after he had married. He said that he
wanted to spend more time with his wife and the elders had agreed.
Spending time with his wife was okay with them, they too wanted a
progeny from their union to enhance the gene pool. He still taught
several warriors advanced ki techniques once or twice a week though the
classes lasted more than three or four hours at a stretch. He chose his
own students and with the elder's approval was grooming them for seats
in the council. Xiao Lui still was his best student and the matriarch
had learned some of the more complex techniques in his arsenal.

********************************************************* **************

Xiao Lui proved to be right. Ranma turned out to a doting parent
who loved his daughter very much. He, Xas Min and little Higashikaze
turned out to be the most popular family in the village. Ranma would
skip classes just so that he could play and cuddle with his daughter.
Sometimes, he would take her to the mountains and show her around while
soaring across the treetops. Higashi loved these sessions and everytime
Ranma came home from his classes she would pester him for the piggy-
ride.

************************************************* **********************

Inside the Phoenix mountain...

Pei Pei commander of the Phoenix forces and a concubine of the
God-king Saffron snuggled closer to her majesty. They had just spent two
hours 'discussing' the feasibility of their plan to attack the Amazons
and the Musk and bring the entire valley under Phoenix control.

The thoughts of the battle plans had taken a less priority after
Saffron had invited her to his bedroom to continue the 'discussion' in
private.

"My lord..." Pei Pei murmured dreamily.

Saffron raised his eyebrow. What would be more important than
the 'discussion' they were having?

"I am sure that we can defeat the Amazons but the attack must be
executed in secret. We cannot have them prepare for our attack. If they
had prepared than the chances of our victory are not so... Ohhhh!"

Apparently annoyed with her interruption Saffron had decided to
continue the 'discussion', which she had so rudely interrupted.

Pei Pei cursed herself. Tactics and strategies needed to be
discussed with her Lord but the 'things' he was proposing in their
'discussion' were so wonderful. She had never before felt so good in her
life. *I will wait until this discussion is over and then we can
continue with the war strategy.* "Ohhhhhh God!" moaned Pei Pei once more
as her Lord proceeded to the next step of their very private
'discussion'. She would wait for another time when he wasn't so busy so
that they may discuss the plans in detail.

********************************************************** *************

People who knew Pei Fao said he was the shrewdest and most
successful businessman in the entire Amazon nation. He loved his wife
and kids but to him his business always took priority over these petty
concerns. He certainly was one of the richest men in the village and
perhaps in the entire world. His business dealings extended everywhere
beyond the boundaries of the Amazon nation. His contacts in Tibet and
India provided the spice and salts that were important for the survival
of the Amazon nation.

If anyone in the village wanted something that couldnot be
obtained within the Amazon nation they would go to Pei Fao and he would
arrange it for them. The commission he charged for these special cases
where very high but people came to him because he made sure that they
got what they wanted and his goods had good quality.

He did not have extensive training in martial arts and even a
ten-year-old in the village could have easily taken him on. However, his
status in the village and in the lands that surrounded it guaranteed
that he was one of the most powerful people in the village. The
matriarch of his family, Kho Om had spotted the boys unwillingness to
fight and the exceptional skill he demonstrated in business. Therefore,
she had apprenticed him to one of the village's premier businesswoman.
Pei Fao had started his own business after he had learnt everything he
could and then had promptly run all the other businesses in the village
to the ground.

By the time he was nearing his thirties he had amassed quite a
fortune by himself and married one of the most promising warriors in the
village. The marriage was not a match made in heaven as proven by the
frequent disputes between the both of them.

Like all businessmen, he had enemies and he plotted endlessly to
bring about their death or destruction. The topmost candidate in the
list was the village sweetheart Xas Min and her husband Ranma. His son
Goe Su had been the only joy and pride in his life outside his business
and that bitch had destroyed it. She had made certain that his precious
son could never father a child in his life. He still fumed at the
thought of what she had done to his son. Goe Su had followed his
father's example and had become quite the bully like his father in the
outside world. However, not everyone is cowed down by huge body's and
Goe Su had lost that essential psychological advantage on that fateful
day. Consequently, he had lost quite easily to the healer bitch that
day.

On this particular evening, he stood outside the village waiting
for a special parcel that he had ordered from one of his contacts in
India. The parcel contained an undetectable poison that would kill
whoever ingested it slowly. *The bitch will pay for what she did to my
son.* These were the dark thoughts that ran through Pei Fao's mind.

There was a slight commotion in the bushes to his left. Thinking
that his parcel had arrived Pei Fao walked towards the bush whistling to
himself. He gave the signal for the messenger to come out but none did.

Pei Fao's shrewd brain realized that something was wrong. He
went a little into the bush and found a badly mangled Amazon warrior
clinging to her life. He hollered for help and carried the woman into
the village. The village buzzed with activity as warriors ran hither and
thither and prepared to defend the village against an attack.

Inside Pher Fom's house, the elders interrogated the dying
warrior. The elder's had recognized the woman as a member of an outpost
that stood in the border between the Amazons and the Phoenix lands.

*********************************************************** ************

The Phoenix warriors discussed amongst themselves. They had been
ordered by the second in command, Mascara to chase and kill the few
Amazonian scum before they reached the village. They had succeeded in
killing all but one of them. The last one had burnt her own hands to
seal her blood vessels and had successfully eluded them for a whole day.
Just when they had been about to catch up with her some man had rescued
her and sealed their fates. They knew the punishment for failure. They
would be skinned alive and impaled on stakes if Pei Pei felt lenient
towards them.

"We cannot tell the commander, You know that any failure on our
part will lead to execution." murmured the Phoenix in command of the
chase.

His colleagues nodded. They in addition, did not want to suffer
such horrible punishments and die so young.

"Very well, then, we will tell Mascara that we have killed the
Amazonian scum of a warrior." spat the commanding officer. Their little
discussion finished the three Phoenix took to the sky.

************************************************************* **********

"Tell me child, who attacked the outpost?" asked Xiao Lui for
the tenth time. The escaped Amazon was delirious and her wounds were
gangrenous. She would not live for more than a few hours.

The warrior was too lost in her own nightmares to answer the
question.

Slap!

Slap!

"I repeat again child, tell me who attacked the outpost?" asked
the matriarch. Xiao Lui knew that it was cruel and inhuman to hit the
dying woman. However, it had too be done if they were to have any chance
of winning the war that was about to erupt. She knew that it was the
Phoenix but without the woman's testimony, the elders as usual would
debate for hours and they may not have that much time on their hands.

The warriors delirious ranting did not diminish but they became
more coherent.

"No! do not die on me! I love youuuuuu and you promised that you
wouldnot leave me." the warrior screamed, obviously she was reliving the
death of her lover.

The ranting kept on and on until her lover died, again, in her
mind. The woman let out an anguished scream that echoed through the
village. "I will have your head, Phoenix scum!!!!"

The matriarch nodded. She had all the information she needed.
She motioned Pher Fom to render the woman unconscious. They would not
kill the woman out of pity. The tribes laws were very stringent on that
one. Anyone who killed an Amazon would be subject to immediate
banishment from the tribe followed by a death hunt. With a heavy heart,
she asked one of the warriors to call Ranma.

Presently, Ranma arrived dressed entirely in black. He knew that
as the most proficient warrior in the village he would be chosen for the
intelligence-gathering mission. As Ranma entered the council hall the
bickering elders quieted and looked at him.

"Ranma, we have a mission of the utmost importance for you."
began Kho Om.

Ranma remained silent.

"We have discovered the identity of the attackers. They are the
Phoenix." Ranma raised an eyebrow at the name. The elders have been
receiving reports of Phoenix incursions into Amazon territories for the
past seven or eight months. The Amazon nation had been preparing for a
war for as long. He had suspected as much when he had first heard of the
attack.

"It seems that Saffron, has decided that he had waited long
enough and is now pushing to extend the frontiers of his people. We have
already sent the village's best runner to the Musk to inform them of the
attack. We need intelligence on the strength of the Musk and since you
are the most accomplished fighter in the village you have been chosen
for the mission."

Ranma bowed and left the room. Time was of the utmost importance
if they were to win the war.

************************************************************* **********

Ranma gently probed the area with his ki. There were two Phoenix
warriors guarding the area. He could sense that they were both
inexperienced and had very loosely focused ki. He shook his head in
disapproval. It seemed that the Phoenix was not expecting incursions by
the Amazons. *Oh well, it makes my job that much easier! He thought as
he cloaked his ki and approached the two. Both were standing a little
distance away from each other as though they disliked the idea of
working together.

Without a sound, Ranma dropped in front of the nearest one and
pressed several pressure points on his head and shoulders. The move was
executed at Amaguriken speed and the Phoenix warrior did not even open
get over his surprise before all the voluntary muscles in his body froze
up. One of the pressure points he had pressed also stole the guard's
voice and it would be a matter of hours before all his muscles tightened
so much that his bones would break. The other guard who had been looking
away all along turned Ranma's way and Ranma was at his side in a flash.
He paralyzed the guards voice box and then moved onto his voluntary
muscles. One by one within a second, all the voluntary muscle groups
froze and Ranma gently applied his fingers to the guards jugular vein
until he lost consciousness. Having rendered the soldier unconscious he
tied his prisoner and hefted him onto a tree. The pressure points he had
used to paralyze the boy's voluntary muscles would wear off in a few
hours and he hoped to have finished his job by then.

He reconnoitered around the destroyed outpost and saw several
hundred Phoenix soldiers resting at different points around the outpost.
He noted their positions and made his way to the area from where the
Amazons would most likely attack.

What he saw made his blood run cold with fury. Throughout the
terrain were crosses onto which the beheaded bodies of the Amazon
defenders had been mounted. That fact by itself was not sickening. What
was sickening was that several Phoenix were playing some kind of game
with one of the heads kicking it hither and thither. He masked his anger
and left to retrieve his prisoner. The boy would provide more all that
he knew about Phoenix troop movements and all that. The elders would see
to that.

His mission done he made his way to the Amazon village as fast
as he could.

*********************************************************** ************

Ranma stood infront of the captured Phoenix. The boy had come to
his senses halfway through the return trip and had struggled. Not
wanting to be slowed down Ranma had again rendered him unconscious and
had reached the village.

The elders had decided that Ranma would have a psychological
advantage over the prisoner and had entrusted him with the not so
pleasant job of interrogation. By his side stood two vases and a dozen
torture instruments. Behind the prisoner sat the elders presiding over
the interrogation. They would communicate with him through hand signals
in the dim light. The windows of the room, which had not so long ago
delivered Higashi into the world had been barred and was lit by only a
few animal fat lamps.

Ranma had protested upon being entrusted the distasteful task.
He was a warrior, not a sadist. He took a deep breath and sat himself
infront of the boy. The boy looked defiantly at him through his horror
filled eyes. He knew what was about to happen to him.

Ranma gritted his teeth. No matter how much he hated what he had
to do, it had to be done if innocent lives were to be saved. As much as,
he hated killing someone he would gladly do it if many may live because
of it.

With a emotionless gaze, Ranma asked the first question. "What
is your name and rank?"

The question was highly irrelevant, but the way the boy answered the
question would indicate his attitude towards the interrogation.

The boy kept quiet. Ranma almost frowned. There was nothing they
could gain from learning his name and position. *Young and foolish.*

"Listen very carefully. You have been captured and is now a
prisoner of the Joketsuzoku Amazons." The boys eyes widened. Since when
did the Amazons began using men in important roles. "I am going to ask
you some questions and you will answer them. If you don't you will be
tortured until you answer."

The boy spat at Ranma's face. Ranma swiped away the spit from
his face and allowed himself to frown.

"This is going to be painful."

Ranma bent forward and pressed a hidden pressure point in the
boys chest. *That will increase his sensitivity to pain.*

Without blinking Ranma took some chilli powder and rubbed it
against the boys wrists. The skin had been scraped there and the boy
screamed in agony. Taking a thorn Ranma rubbed it with chilli and then
inserted the thorn inside the boys forefinger. He left it there and
looked at his charge.

"Tell me what is your name and rank?" The voice was devoid of
emotions. It might have as well come from a dead body. This time the boy
complied.

The session continued on. Screams punctuated the calm air in the
village with growing frequency as question after question was asked and
answered.

"Tell me how many soldiers are there in you army?"

Silence.

"I repeat tell me how many soldiers are there in your army?"

Silence.

Ranma called upon one of his assistants and together they laid
the boy on the floor. A gag was inserted into his mouth and watered was
poured over it. This went on until the boy nearly suffocated.

"I repeat, tell me how many soldiers are there in your army?"

The boy replied.

The next question was put before him and the torture session
continued.

"Tell me when and where your army plans to attack?" The question
was pointless as the soldier wouldnot have known the plans for the
attacks. The elders were rather insistent with their hand signals that
they ask and Ranma had complied with their request.

The boy did not reply. It seemed that he would break down
whenever he was tortured but defiance would creep into his soul when it
was stopped.

Ranma sighed. He hated what he was about to do. He pressed a
combination of pressure points and waited for a full minute. The
combination was a forbidden technique among the Amazons and only four in
the village knew it at any time. The combination made the victim
extremely susceptible to suggestions.

"Listen to me very carefully. You see that flame over there?"
Ranma pointed to a lamp mounted on the wall. The boy nodded. He could
see it though his eyes were almost swollen shut from the many punches he
had suffered.

"Good, that flame is a huge fire. You are very near to it. You
could feel the heat and it is barely bearable." The boy moved as far as
he could in his chair. "Now, the flame is growing and the heat is
becoming more intense. It licks your fingers and scorches it. The pain
is unbearable."

The boy screamed louder than he had ever before and the skin in
his arms boiled and blackened.

"I can put that fire out for you. Do you want me to put it out
for you?"

The boy nodded and continued to scream.

"I will put it out for you if you will tell me when and where
the Phoenix army plans to attack!"

The screaming ceased. "On the night with the full moon. I don't
know where."

"Good. See that fire. It's just a little flame. I put it out for
you."

The boy almost sighed in relief. Ranma shook his head. The
second combination he had used was irreversible and the boy would be
susceptible to suggestions throughout his life. It would be better if he
ended it now.

He looked at the elders. They motioned him to carry it out. The
boy maybe an enemy but none deserved such a life.

Ranma nodded. He took out his knife and the boys eyes glistened
with gratitude. The pain he was in made death seem like a wonderful
alternative to living. The knife touched the boys neck and pressed on.
The soft brown skin split under the cold, hard knife-edge and blood
seeped through. The knife continued on until the jugular was severed.

Without so much as a gasp the boys eyes glazed over and he left
this world.

*********************************************************** ************

Based on information gathered from the now dead Phoenix warrior an
ambush was planned. The Phoenix had planned to travel by land as that
would reduce the risk of their detection at night. They would have to
walk through a mile long canyon to reach their goal. It was here that
the ambush was planned.

********************************************************* **************

Li Chan walked at the head of the Phoenix forces. Behind him
followed just over six thousand warriors, nearly two-thirds of the
Phoenix army. Saffron himself followed at the rear of the army. With him
were Pei Pei and Mascara the supreme generals of the Phoenix forces.

His lordship, the emperor had realized his mistake when he had
confronted the Amazons and their damned allies the Musk a century
before. Though their enemy's numbers were smaller than their own, the
fools had won because of their martial art prowess. Thus, generation
after generation of Phoenix had been dumped at night into the cursed
springs away from the eyes of the accursed guardian of the pools. These
cursed Phoenix warriors had set out to the outside world and had become
formidable warriors with control over their chi.

That is why a small party of two hundred had been able to easily
overcome the fifty Amazons at the outpost. Their opponents too were
fairly good chi users and they had fallen under the attack.

Now the rest of the Amazon nation would fall under the might of
the now powerful Phoenix army. He had wanted his forces to be the first
to go into the Amazon village. As such he had volunteered his forces,
the finest five hundred in the army and the emperor had accepted. After
the Amazons had fallen the Musk would too and then the entire valley
would be under their control.

The army paused as the canyon loomed into view before them. The
forces reassembled and stepped into the canyon. He could feel the other
commanders carefully probing the canyon with their chi for signs of
intruders. The techniques they were using were taxing and depleting on
their ki reserves. They would have to rest a little boy when they
emerged out of the canyon.

At the very edge of his chi senses, he felt four large and
unfocused ki flows, two on either side of the canyon. There was no
emotion in them and the masters he had studied under had said that
emotion was the only way of controlling and focusing ki. Since he was
certain that the masters assumptions were true he relaxed and ordered
his forces to march at full speed. He did not like the idea of being
caught in a weak position. His forces were vulnerable to surprise
attacks and he knew it. They maybe powerful warriors with phenomenal
reserves of ki but they certainly couldn't sense arrows and such.

The army marched at full speed and the ki flows followed them
from the top of the canyon. Amazon spies, he guessed. As long as they
did not leave for their village they would be tolerated. He walked back
and consulted another commander and both agreed that nothing needed to
be done until the spies tried to make a run for their village. That done
he returned to his post.

Soon the entire Phoenix army was within the canyon.

*Just a few more minutes and we will be out of this hell hole.*
Thought Li Chan. His eyes would make out the trees that stood several
hundred meters from him. Suddenly his chi senses flared. There were a
lot of ki being drawn on top of the canyon walls. His eyes widened in
realization. They had made a bad mistake and were about to pay for it.
He looked up and saw two bright balls of ki the size of a small rock
glowing above. He turned towards the other side of the canyon wall and
saw two more balls of ki being formed. How they focused their ki without
their emotions was beyond his understanding.

All around him, the men formed tight groups to repel attackers.

His surprise grew as more ki signals propped out of nowhere all
along the canyon walls. They had been led into a trap. He opened his
mouth to give the order to his troops to take to the air. It was too
late he realized as the four blazing balls of ki flew towards the
largest concentrations of men. He was amazed at the power he would feel
from those balls. With blinding flashes the four exploded on their mark
and a few moments later bones and flesh rained all over the canyon. A
thousand ki adepts he guessed. *A thousand dead in the first attack! His
mind couldnot comprehend the tragedy. All over the canyon walls ki,
balls began to flicker into existence and began to rain down on the
Phoenix army. Hell broke loose.

*********************************************************** ************

Ranma had been surprised to sense fairly strong and focused ki
signals emanating from the Phoenix army below when they had come into
view. He had signaled as much to Xiao Lui. She had consulted with Liu
Chi'n on the other side of the canyon through complex hand signals. They
had decided to follow the original plan and whilst the others masked
their ki, he, Xiao, Liu and master Yuan had all prepared a blast and
stored the ki in the air around them.

His surprise grew when he felt no less than twelve chi signals
from the path below probing him. He had not been alarmed as much of the
outside world had yet to learn that ki could be controlled without
emotions. Sure enough, the Phoenix army had walked straight into the
trap.

They had waited until all the Phoenix were within the canyon.
Not all of them could take into the air when they were attacked as the
air would become congested and they would be massacred. Those who took
to the air were in for a surprise. Behind him stood three hundred highly
skilled archers and a similar number stood on the Musk side of the
canyon.

Then at Xiao's signal, all four of them unleashed their ki
blasts at the largest concentrations of the Phoenix warriors. The others
followed their example and unleashed their very own ki blasts into the
canyon. For a whole minute huge explosions rocked the canyon drowning
out the screams of the Phoenix who were wounded by the blasts. Xiao
ordered the blasts to cease and the second round commenced.

******************************************************* ****************

Li Chan raised his head from the ground and with a shout threw
off the caved in head that had come to rest before his face. Who would
have thought that the Amazons wielded so much firepower. He now realized
that his entire company would have been slaughtered in a matter of
minutes if they had stepped into the Amazon village. *We never had a
chance against them.* He realized. Then he felt it. More ki was being
pumped into weapons for some purpose he would not guess at.

There was the whoosh of an arrow shaft through the air. However,
this arrow seemed to be alive.

Bang!

The chest of the man who had been hit by an arrow exploded. He
closed in eyes just in time to stop of a piece of heart from hitting his
eyes.

*We have to get out of here or we are all dead.* He looked
around and saw the horrified faces of the few dozen men who were still
alive around him.

"Take to the sky. We have to take the battle to the Amazons." He
shouted as loud as he could. The others seemed to realize that their
lives depended on it and took to the air where another volley of arrows
assaulted them. This time the volley was not ki enhanced and those that
survived the hit fell down to the grounds below. The horrible cries they
made when they fell to their death sickened him. He looked about and
estimated that around three thousand had survived the initial attack.

With a cry, he dived into the ground below and into battle. The
others followed behind him.

************************************************************* **********

Ranma cracked his knuckles and ran towards the nearest Phoenix.
He brought out his staff from beneath his robe and let his ki flow
through it. He had learnt a technique called the hidden weapons, which
allowed one to hide many things inside ones robe. The Phoenix soldier's
eyes widened in shock when he saw Ranma pull a six-foot staff out of his
robe.

The soldier left his defenses wide open and Ranma beheaded him with a
nice clean swipe of his staff. He was using the technique that master
Yuan had taught him. His ki senses picked up three trying to outflank
him. He pulled out shuriken from his robe, charged them with ki and let
them fly at his opponents. The shurikens exploded on contact and the
Phoenix fell with huge holes in their body.

He sidestepped a spear thrust and let the Phoenix have it with a
ki enhanced punch. The warriors facial structure collapsed under the
force of the blow and he heard the bones break. Without so much a look
he moved onto the nearest Phoenix and let him have it with a spin kick
to his head. The man's neck snapped and he fell to the ground dead
before he hit the ground.

His rapid kills attracted even more Phoenix towards him. Ranma
used his staff as a swatting instrument cleaving in half anyone who came
near him.

************************************************************* **********

A few hundred feet from Ranma, Xiao Lui, three hundred-year-old
matriarch of the Amazons danced through the Phoenix spears and swords as
they were swung at her. She used her extensive knowledge of Shaitsu to
paralyze opponents and then kill them.

She jumped high over the Phoenix and from within her robes
extracted shuriken. She let them fly at Amaguriken speed and many of her
opponents fell their bodies mutilated beyond recognition. She landed
softly on the ground behind her attackers and then ran forward to help
an archer who seemed to be having a hard time with his attacker.

******************************************************** ***************

Liu Chi'n smiled to himself and let loose yet another ki charged
vacuum blade at the Phoenix on the ground below. Bodies were cleaved in
half as the blade passed through them as though they were butter. Then
with a deafening explosion it blew several Phoenix to kingdom come.

He landed onto the ground below and burst into a sprint with his
hands blurring whenever he neared a Phoenix warrior. He smiled grimly to
himself. From today on the Phoenix would cease to be a major power in
the valley forever. He Liu Chi'n, emperor of the Phoenix would make sure
of that.

************************************************************ ***********

Master Yuan used his superior speed to full advantage as he
weaved through the Phoenix bringing death and destruction wherever he
went. His hands and legs glowed white with ki as blow after blow rained
upon his opponents. Blows strong enough to crush rock met soft flesh and
the result was indescribable. The flesh turned into something the mush
and his opponents fell unconscious and death soon laid its hold on them.

He saw a Phoenix woman of high ranking and considerable skill
mowing through the archers. Without the help of the archers the Phoenix
would reign in the sky and would have a definite advantage. Realizing
her plan he leapt towards her and blocked her killing blow to the man's
neck with his staff.

The archer retreated to the back where he could be of use and
Yuan Puyi, warrior and advisor to the emperor of the Musk dynasty faced
off against his opponent.

******************************************************** ***************

Pei Pei had realized that the archers must be dealt with if they
were to have any hopes of winning the battle. She had ordered Mascara to
take care of the Amazonian archers while she would take care of the Musk
archers.

The plan had gone wonderfully and the Musk archers found
themselves confronted by a highly skilled chi adept. She began mowing
through their ranks and was about to strike down her thirtieth victim
when her sword was blocked by a wooden staff of all things.

She looked at the man who had dared to get between her and her
quarry and saw a four-foot high oldman. His ki was powerful and tightly
focused.

"Get out of my way oldman if you value your life." she warned.

The oldman smiled and relaxed his stance. "Hmmm... Tightly
focused ki, considerable skill in combat with some experience. Child,
you are a hundred years too young to defeat me." he replied and smiled
at her.

Pei Pei lost her control at that instant. *How dare that
insolent troll think that I cannot beat him?* "I, Pei Pei, commander in
chief of the Phoenix army will have your head for your insolence, stupid
old man." she shouted as she charged at him at her top speed.

"Allow me to introduce myself then, Pei Pei, commander in chief
of the Phoenix army," replied the old man mockingly. "I am Yuan Puyi,
advisor to emperor Liu Chi'n of the Musk dynasty. I am here to kick your
ass." The old man weaved in and out of her blows not caring to even
block them.

*He is teasing me.* She realized. "Argh! Fight me old man!"
shouted Pei Pei as she pumped ki into her hands and feet.

Yuan Puyi just shook his head. "I don't hit pregnant women." he
replied.

Pei Pei stopped in mid thrust. How had he known that she was
pregnant?

Yuan Puyi took that moment to strike at her sleep pressure
point. He pressed another that prevented her from accessing her ki and
then tied her up.

"She wasn't much of a challenge." he grumbled as he rubbed his
hands together. "Oh well! Back into the battle, I suppose."

******************************************************** ***************

Mascara, found herself faced with an archer with considerable
skill in Wu Shu. The woman just about weaved in and out of almost all
her thrusts. Growing weary of her opponent Mascara enhanced her speed
with her ki and thrust at her opponent. The sword buried itself into the
chest of the opponent. The light in the woman's eyes faded and went out.
Smiling at her latest victory, she was about to remove her sword when it
broke with a clang into three separate pieces.

She looked at the two-foot old woman who had just broken her
family sword with her bare fists. "Curse you old woman. I am going to
have your blood for breaking my family sword." spat Mascara.

The old woman did not even reply. Instead she jumped forward and
landed less than a foot away from Mascara.

********************************************************* **************

Xiao Lui ran forward to help the archer. She knew that she would
never reach her in time to save the archer's life. She would however
personally see to it that her killer never saw the light of another day.

The Phoenix woman sank her sword into the archers chest and was
about to pull it out when she reached them. Grabbing hold of the sword
with one hand she released her staff and struck at the sword with a ki
enhanced blow. The sword split into three pieces under the force of the
blow.

Her opponents face became a mask of anger and a red aura blazed
around her. "Curse you old woman. I am going to have your blood for
breaking my family sword." the Phoenix spat.

Not even bothering to reply Xiao Lui jumped into her opponents
defenses and shouted "Kacchu Tenshin Amaguriken". Her fists briefly
disappeared and the Phoenix flew some twenty yards before landing on her
back.

Mascara got up and spat blood. She summoned her aura again and
formed a red ball of ki in her palms. "IKIDOORU RYUU" shouted Mascara
and released her most powerful attack.

Xiao Lui simply jumped over the blast. She landed on a tree
branch, leapt from it and brought her ki-enhanced punch to bear on
Mascara's head. Mascara tilted her head to the side and just escaped
from being hit. However, she couldnot maneuver out of the follow-up ki-
enhanced kick aimed at her skull and the blow connected with a
resounding crack. Mascara's skull exploded under the force of the blow
and her headless body fell lifeless to the ground.

"Phoenix scum!" spat Xiao Lui as she turned her attention to the
battle once more.

************************************************************ ***********

Most of the Amazons, Li chan found were more skilled than the
commanders of the Phoenix army themselves. He thus chose to attack the
archers as the archers were giving the Amazons a significant advantage
over the Phoenix forces. With the archers around they, couldnot take to
the air and this robbed them of their most important ace in the hole.

He was busy fighting with two archers who in their desperation
had ganged up on him. They were no match for him in any of the
departments and he was about to slit one of their necks with his sword
when his ki senses flared. He quickly slit the throat and took to the
air.

His opponent followed his every move and threw a vacuum powered
blade at him. Li Chan tried to twist of the way and failed miserably.
the blade cut through the base of his right wing and cauterized it. He
fell down to the ground, his body making a dull thud as it made contact
with the soft earth.

Cursing to himself, Li Chan looked at his severed wing that had
fallen near him. His adrenaline drove him now and he spat blood covered
spit onto the ground and took his stance.

Ranma stood watching as his opponent picked himself of the
floor. Amazingly enough the man took a stance and glared hatefully at
him.

With a yell, the man threw himself at Ranma and his fists
blurred as he tried to tag Ranma with a hit. The loss of his wing had
played havoc with his balance and he struggled to maintain the balance
so essential for winning a fight.

As he staggered after one particularly strong swipe Ranma went
into the offensive. Blocking a fist aimed at his solar plexus, Ranma
grabbed it at just above the elbow with his other hand and twisted. The
bones broke and Li Chan howled in pain. Without pausing Ranma raised his
right hand and crushed his opponent's windpipe.

Li Chan heard the sound of his windpipe being crushed and
struggled to get a breath of fresh air into his lungs. Nothing happened
and he felt the blackness of unconsciousness lay its hold on him.

Ranma looked on at the death throes of the Phoenix warrior. It
had become clear that the Phoenix were loosing horribly. As Victory was
in their grasp now he paused to see the results of his handiwork. He
made no efforts to help the Phoenix as the man grasped his neck with his
working hand as he struggled to hold onto dear life. Ranma knew that he
was dead and turned away from his as the sight became unbearable.

****************************************************** *****************

Saffron God-king of he Phoenix hovered in the air above the
Amazons and fired his blasts indiscriminately. Amazon warrior and
Phoenix fell to the heat from the resulting explosions if they were not
blown apart outright from the explosions.

An arrow embedded itself in his right wing and exploded. The
explosion blew away a significant part of his wing but he remained
hovering in the air. He let out a howl of fury and turned towards the
source of the arrow. His wing healed itself as he turned. His fury grew
rapidly as he saw Li Chin, the son of one of his concubines, in his
death throes with an Amazon warrior looking on.

The insult to his persona forgotten in the face of this new
information, Saffron let his full power blossom into existence. He would
wipe out the damned Amazons and their damned allied the Musk before this
day was out for the crime committed against his son.

************************************************************* **********

Ranma turned around when he sensed the huge power that emanated
from the Phoenix he realized was Saffron. The Phoenix God looked just
about ready to explode, his face a mask of indescribable fury.

Ranma assumed a stance and curbed all controls on his aura. An
aura of white bloomed around him and grew to about eight feet thick in
all directions. His dress fluttered in the wind that came into existence
around him.

************************************************************* **********

Saffron saw the enormous amount of ki that surrounded the
landling and realized that the battle would take a little while.

"For killing my son in cold blood, I, Saffron, God-king of the
Phoenix sentence you and your nation with its allies to death." boomed
Saffron in a voice that was audible for miles around.

Ranma simply stood there and shifted his legs. Then he burst
into action and drew back his arms at hypersonic speeds. A five-foot
long ki charged vacuum blade sped towards Saffron. Saffron did not even
bother to move. He released two balls of fire and watched as the two
met. There was a blinding explosion of light when the two blasts
collided.

Ranma leapt out of the way, as the second ball of fire tore into
the ground. The blast left a huge crater and smoke and dust hung in the
air. Ranma twisted in midair, bounced off a tree trunk and leapt high
into the air towards Saffron.

As he passed by the God, he swung back his legs and gave a kick
to Saffron's chin that would have sent a ten ton rock into LEO. Saffron
flew through the air and impacted with a huge boom into the canyon wall.
The wall exploded on impact and huge cracks appeared. With a rumbling,
noise the whole section of the wall collapsed onto the ground below.

Ranma landed on the Musk side of the canyon and took to the air
once again. He knew that Saffron couldnot be defeated by a single blow.

The rocks down below began to glow red and then exploded
outwards. When the dust cleared, in the middle stood Saffron looking
none the worse form the damage he had sustained. The God took into the
air again and Ranma met his charge head on. He slid under Saffron's
talon swipe and kicked him in his guts. The air was knocked out of
Saffron's chest and Ranma pressed his advantage. Closing in for the
kill, he did a number on Saffron's thorax with a superfast Amaguriken.
The punches were ki enhanced and Saffron's fire blinked out of existence
for a moment before coming back.

The wounded God fell to the ground below but righted himself
halfway down. With a scream of righteous fury he powered up a huge
fireball and threw it at Ranma. Ranma brought his shield up and tried to
evade all the same. He was partially successful. the blast hit one side
of his shield and exploded in a huge ball of plasma. Lightning from the
clear blue skies above struck the expanding ball of highly ionized gas
repeatedly before it flickered out of existence.

When it did, Ranma stood in the middle with a sneer on his face.
"Is that all you can do, O mighty God of the Phoenix?" taunted Ranma.

Saffron's flames grew in intensity around him and Saffron howled
before going berserk. Mindless with rage he tapped into the mana lines
in the area and the flames increased several fold.

Ranma did not even look intimidated as the God-king began to
throw huge balls of fire at him. Running at his top speed, he evaded
each and everyone of them and then replied with his own salvo of ki
charged vacuum blades. Several hit the fireballs and lit up the evening
sky in a dazzling display of light while one hit Saffron on his chest
and exploded. Saffron staggered under the force of the explosion.

Using the cover given to him by the explosions in the air, Ranma
again leapt into the air and delivered a spin kick to Saffron's mid-
section. Saffron returned the favour at the same instant and both the
opponents flew away. Ranma hit the canyon wall below. The rock beneath
exploded in protest and he shook his head to clear it.

Saffron righted himself with his wings in mid-air and leapt for
a showdown with Ranma. Ranma extricated himself from the rock and
collecting his ki punched into the air towards Saffron and shouted
"HIRYUU SHOTEN HA KAIHAN: KEN JOUKAI" a huge tornado blew into
existence. The heat that Saffron had released during the course of the
battle was absorbed and an inclined tornado headed towards Saffron. The
tornado cut off Saffron's wings and when it died out, he fell down to
the ground. This time however, Saffron's flames went out for several
seconds before coming back on. Saffron got up unsteadily and shook his
head. His wings grew back on their own accord and he flew up to meet
Ranma's latest charge. Both let loose energy blasts which collided
midway and exploded in a flash of light. Knowing that Ranma would try to
use the blinding light and stage another attack Saffron shifted slightly
and flew towards the explosion at even higher speed. Ranma emerged from
the explosion and was promptly kicked into the hard canyon walls from
behind.

The canyon wall once again exploded on impact and before Ranma could
reorient himself Saffron launched another attack. He shouted
"MIZUCHOUSENZHANYOKU" and brought his wing together at high speed and
infused the pressure wave that resulted with a huge amount of mana. The
X-shaped wave of high-pressure, mana charged air headed towards Ranma
and boom the entire section of the wall exploded in a huge explosion.
The dirt settled and showed Ranma standing on top of a rock at the
bottom of the canyon. There blood in his lips and he swiped it away. He
staggered a little and coughed up some blood. Then he glared defiantly
at Saffron.

His aura had protected him from the explosion and had saved his
life.

Saffron looked at the landling who had proved to be quite a
challenge and frowned. The wounds the landling had inflicted were quite
powerful and he would lose if he let the battle rage on. He again tapped
in to the mana flows and boosted his powers. He could also feel the
landling tap into the ki flows. Saffron was awed by the landling. To
stand alone against a God and give him a fair fight was beyond compare.
None except the Ashura's could stand up against them and fight for this
long.

*Too bad you have to die landling.* Thought Saffron as he fired
off his most powerful attack, a continuous beam of mana.

Ranma felt the God powering for an attack ad drew all the ki he
could into himself and brought forth his shields.

He tensed as the God let loose what he realized was the God's
final attack. *If I last out this attack then I will win.* thought Ranma
as he began pumping all the ki he had drawn in and still some more into
the shield.

The beam of pure mana hit the shield with a huge boom and huge
waves of plasma expanded outward from the point of collision. The
interaction between the two energies created an extremely powerful
tornado and rocks, several hundred feet long were picked up by the
supersonic winds.

Saffron forced himself to the brink as he channeled as much mana
as he possibly could without destroying himself in the process. Even
Gods have their limits. *I will not lose to a landling and a mortal.*

Ranma felt the slightest increase in Saffron's beam but couldnot
find the ki to counter it. Slowly but surely the shield began to buckle
and when it was gone, altogether he would be vaporized, he realized.
However, there was nothing he could do that would stop the beam in its
tracks.

*Wait a minute. There is something that I CAN do.* He realized.
His thoughts drifted back to that day when Xiao Lui had taught him about
mana and ki. 'Mana is like the Yin, it is dark, mysterious and not
easily accessible. It is also vastly more powerful than ki if you learn
how to use it.'

He had been never been able to tap into mana but it was worth a
try. The fate of his wife and child depended on him and he would not
fail them. Ranma allowed himself to relax an looked into himself. He
clearly saw in his mind the ki flowing through his body. He concentrated
a little more.

The shield diminished in strength. He looked into himself once
again. There flowing side by side were two different veins of energy.
One he recognized as his ki. The other was soft and yet strong in its
own way. This was the power that he had felt inside the pit on the day
when he had lost his father and gained another. He embraced it. The
power that flowed through him was unbelievable. He felt it flowing
everywhere just like ki. He concentrated some more and tapped into it.

The shield that protected Ranma flickered out much to the horror
of Xiao Lui, Liu Chi'n and Yuan Puyi. The rest of the Phoenix had been
defeated and the Amazons and the Musk had been watching the fight
between Ranma and Saffron with interest. Each prepared to fire ki bolts
at Saffron.

Saffron felt the shield weaken and then remain so for a couple
of seconds before buckling completely. *Victory is mine.* He rejoiced.
His celebration turned out to be a little too early as he felt the
Shield come back up unbelievably more powerful than before.

Liu had formed a sizable ki ball when he felt the shield come
back up more powerful than ever before. He looked questioningly at the
Amazon matriarch and his master but both were dancing around in each
others arms in pure ecstasy in the midst of the chaos that the tornado
was creating. He shook his head to rid it of the horrifying experience.
The sight of a three hundred-year-old matriarch and his hundred-year old
master necking was definitely the ugliest and most revolting sight in
the universe. Then it dawned to him. Inorder to defeat Saffron, Ranma
had become a true master of the art. The ki ball popped out of existence
and he too began to dance. *My brother is a true master of the art.*

Saffron felt fear seep into the core of his being. The landlings
mastery of ki was commendable. Even the most powerful of the Ashura's
wouldnot be able to last that long against his beam attack. Now, he had
somehow mastered mana manipulation. *What is he? Is he a demon of some
kind or is he a God?*

The new shield grew in strength at an incredible rate and the
tornado was simply absorbed by it. The winds became less powerful and
finally went away. The beam of mana now had no effect at all against the
shield as it was like throwing a pebble against a mountain.

Ranma smiled at the newfound power. Saffron would never threaten
the lives of Amazons and Musk alike. He concentrated and let loose a
hybrid blast of energy, made of both ki and mana at Saffron. The blast
shook the land in a cacophony boom and lit up the sky in a brilliant
display of colours. Saffron's beam spluttered out of existence and the
God fell down to the ground.

Ranma released his shield and jumped to land on one of the rocks
so that he may look at Saffron from above. The defeated God stood admist
the ruins that the battle had wrought.

"Saffron, you will never again threaten the Musk nor the Amazons
for they are my family." shouted Ranma. His voice was amplified greatly
by his aura that glowed yellow around him.

Saffron looked at the face of his enemy. He, a God, had been
defeated by a mere mortal and a landling at that. *No, I will fight on.
I will not lose to a landling.* "I fight on, landling. I will not lose
to the likes of you." shouted back Saffron in defiance.

Ranma's expression darkened. "Then prepare to end this cycle of
your life, Saffron." spat Ranma.

Saffron glared defiantly and his flames fluttered into existence
around him. His flames were the physical manifestation of his mana and
it changed with each God varying according to their personalities. He
was quick tempered and his flames reflected this character. He tapped
into the mana around him, formed a powerful ball of fire and released it
at Ranma.

Ranma did not even move. Just before the ball made contact with
his body he waved his hands and the mana in the ball dispersed.

Ranma smiled evilly. "Now its my turn." Ranma concentrated and
formed a wall of ki and mana and sent it towards Saffron. The wall of
energy hit Saffron and threw him against the canyon wall. Then it
slammed into him. Saffron found himself literally between a rock and a
hard place.

Saffron staggered to his feet and lost his balance. He got up
again unsteadily.

"It's over Saffron. Hurt my family ever again and I will kill
you in such a way that you will stay dead and not be reborn." warned
Ranma. "Oh! Did I not say that this is the end of your cycle. Goodbye.
HIRYUU SHOTEN HA KAIHAN: GENKAN JOUKAI KIRITE" shouted Ranma and thrust
his hand into the air at Saffron. A huge and extremely cold tornado
howled into existence around Saffron. When it died down a few minutes
later, the entire canyon was covered with a thick layer of ice and
Saffron's body stood in the middle frozen solid at a relatively cool
-153 degree centigrade. Ranma walked towards the God unharmed by the
tornado and pushed Saffron's frozen form. The frozen body of the God
shattered into many pieces as soon as it touched the ground.

********************************************************** *************

Three years after Higashi's birth Xas Min became pregnant with
their second child. There were certain complications and Xas Min had to
stay in bed for the last five months of the pregnancy.

Ranma walked back and forth in the same room once again. His
wife was having their second child and as before he was having an attack
of the nerves. The screams of pain were more soul wrenching than the
first time and he had a hard time not running into the room. Higashi was
asleep in a neighbors house and Xiao Lui sat on a chair in the corner.

Pher Fom came out of the room several times during the course of
the third hour and consulted with Xiao Lui. When he had asked the
matriarch about the conversation, she had been evasive.

Ranma paused as perhaps the weakest of the screams came from the
room. The back of his neck tickled and he felt his wife's ki weakening.
Sick realization came to him and he looked horror stricken towards tear-
faced matriarch.

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!" he shouted and collapsed to his
knees clutching his chest in pain.

"I am sorry Ranma." a voice said. He looked up and saw Pher Fom.
She too had tears on her face.

Ranma shook his head in denial. It couldn't be. She couldn't
have left him without saying goodbye.

"I am so sorry. There were complications and both your wife and
your son are dead."

He wished he died immediately but destiny had plans for him and
wasn't about to let him out of its grasp. He couldnot think of a life
without his beloved wife and yet here he was faced with exactly that
life. He let out a gut wrenching, heartfelt scream.

"It's going to be all right." It was Xiao Lui who had said those
words. He turned towards her and glared.

"No, it's not going to be all right. She's dead and I killed
her." shouted Ranma and bounded off into the night.

The trees blurred around him as he ran in to the forest, tears
flowing freely. They glittered under the full moon that shone in the
clear sky up above. *Why does this happen to me? Why do I lose the
people I love most? Why... Why... Whyyyyyyyyyy?*

He wandered for hours running from himself and reality through
the forest. Finally, near dawn he came to rest at the glade in which he
had first started training Xiao, Pher Fom and... later her. His aura
flickered into existence and glowed green. The clearing lit up under the
glow and took on a greenish tinge. The aura grew and grew as he
continued to draw in the ki around himself. He lashed out his hands and
a small of ki perhaps three centimeters in diameter formed between his
outstretched palms. The aura around him diminished and the sphere's glow
intensified. Soon, it was like looking at the sun. Trees thirty yards
from him began to smoke and spontaneously combust. Winds buffeted his
body as it rose several hundred yards into the air. With an agonized
scream, he released the ki ball.

The ball flew through the air and crashed into the land a
hundred meters from the glade. As it approached the ground it cut a
clean swath though it and tore up trees and rocks alike. With a whoosh,
it impacted and all hell broke loose. There was a bright flash of light
and the air was torn away from the impact sight. The blast expanded
outwards and the hot air ignited trees as though they were fodder. An
area shaped like a butterfly was completely obliterated and a huge
crater lay near to one of its edges.

Ranma glowed and became transparent before landing softly on the
shattered landscape below. His body became opaque again. He fell down to
his knees and cried his heart out.

************************************************************* **********

In the village, everyone woke up as they sensed a huge
disturbance in the ki flows. Inside Pher Fom's house, Xiao Lui gazed
strangely at the forest and told everyone to get down. She ran towards
the neighbours house and carried Higashi to Pher Fom's house. Then she
too lay over the now awake child and waited for the inevitable. It came
with a blinding flash of light. the air was deadly silent for nearly
twenty seconds. Then a boom, followed nearly a minute later by strong
winds. The winds buffeted the village and then died down.

She stood up and Pher Fom gathered little Higashi and cradled
her. Xiao Lui shook her head in wonder.

********************************************************** *************

Eleven days passed...

Ranma broke down at the sight of his little Higashi or at
anything, that reminded him of Xas Min. He barely slept and would wander
aimlessly through the streets at night. He glowed green most of the time
and almost everyone was afraid to go near him lest he blew up.

On the twelfth day, Xiao Lui confronted him.

"Ranma, you have to stop acting like this. Xas Min's death was
unfortunate and we all mourn her passing. But life must go on."

Ranma did not reply though his green glow began to intensify.

"Stop this foolishness Ranma. You still have Higashi to live
for." shouted the matriarch into Ranma's face.

Ranma barely moved. "How can you say that? Am I foolish to mourn
my wife's death? She is dead and gone and I did not get a chance to even
say goodbye to her." The reply began as a whisper and gradually grew
into a full-blown yell.

Xiao Lui sighed. Why was so hard headed? Could he not see that
they were also hurting? "Ranma..."

He looked up.

"Please Ranma, you have to let go of the past." pleaded the
matriarch. It hurt her to see the child suffer by herself while her
father was still alive.

"I can't mother. I just can't." replied Ranma as quietly as he
could.

She found herself wanting to weep. "You have to, Ranma. For the
sake of your child you must." The matriarch's voice broke several times
during the speech.

Ranma looked away. "You don't realize mother. Everytime I look
at Higashi, my heart breaks. I was her husband. I was the one who was
supposed to protect her from all danger. Yet I was the one who ended up
killing her." he whispered. Tears flowing freely now. The macho I can
take on the world persona had died when Xas Min had.

"Ranma, you werenot responsible for her death. You couldnot have
known that she would die at childbirth." replied the matriarch.

"You don't get it mother. She did not want another child. I did.
I pressured her for the second one and in the end I lost both her and my
child."

"Ranma, let it go or it will kill you and Higashi."

Ranma looked at her when she mentioned Higashi. His face became
emotionless. "I cannot let it go and I will not let anything harm my
child," he paused, "Mother, I am leaving the village tomorrow. See to it
that my child grows up just like her mother. I want you to make her the
matriarch that her mother never wanted to be." The voice was entirely
devoid of emotion. He stood up and walked away into the forest.

********************************************************** *************

That night...

Ranma sat on a rock on the outskirts of the village. His face
had a vacant expression and he stared aimlessly at the stars that lay
across the clear sky above. There was a half-moon and soon he found
himself staring at it. The air was bitterly cold but his training in the
art had made his body resistant to huge variations in temperatures.

There was the slightest rustle as pebbles on the ground behind
him was disturbed. He tensed and probed the air around him with his ki.
It was Xiao Lui.

The matriarch poggoed onto the rock and sat by his side. Tracks of tears
on her cheeks glittered under the reflected light from the half-moon.
Like Ranma, she too had taken Xas Min's death badly. She maybe the
matriarch of the village but nothing could stop her from mourning the
death of her great great granddaughter. She tried to put on a normal
face during the day but allowed herself to mourn at night.

The two Amazons, one over three hundred years old and the other
barely over thirty years sat together in utter silence. The chirping of
a bird or the rustling of the leaves in the wind that blew softly were
the only sounds in the air for the better part of an hour.

"Mother!" Ranma whispered and broke the melancholic and
introspective atmosphere. A wolf pack howled in the distance.

Silence.

Ranma waited for a whole minute before calling to the matriarch
once again. "Mother!"

"Yes, Ranma." It was clear from the tone of the matriarch's
voice that she hadnot ceased crying.

"I... I will be leaving tomorrow early in the morning. I...", he
paused. "I will never again return to this village. It reminds me too
much of her and the time I spent with her." he broke at the last part of
the sentence and shuddered as he tried to control his sorrow. Tears
flowed freely across his cheeks.

Xiao Lui did not speak. She did not need to for Ranma needed but
a listener.

"I... I love Higashi very much. I want you to let her know that
she had a father who loved her very much. You must raise her to become
all that her mother was and more. I also want you to tell her that her
father had died soon after her mother did." The words were barely a
whisper. Yet, in the silent night air it was clearly audible.

"Ranma, I..." began the matriarch but was cutoff.

"Sshhh!" he said and laid a finger across her shriveled lips.
"Mother, you have to do it for me. I do not want her to think that I was
a coward eventhough I am."

"You are not a coward, Ranma." replied Xiao Lui.

Ranma laughed. It was a hollow laugh almost entirely devoid of
emotion. What little emotion showed itself immediately disappeared and
the laugh died as soon as it began. The cold emotionless mask reasserted
itself. "I am abandoning my family and friends because they remind me
too much of my dead wife! Do you not think that such an act shows
cowardice on my part?"

"Ranma, you are the bravest man I have ever laid my eyes upon.
You faced a God without a trace of fear in your heart. Your actions had
proved to the women in the village that men are not the weakling
creatures that we thought they were. Because of you, relations between
the Musk and the Amazons had improved dramatically. You have brought
peace to our people and to all the others in the valley. No, Ranma, you
are definitely not a coward." replied the matriarch in a tone that
excluded all rebuttals.

A look of surprise came to Ranma's face at this passionate
speech. "Thank you, mother. I'd better go now and prepare for tomorrow."
Ranma got up and prepared to leap of the Rock and onto the hard ground
below.

"Ranma, wait!"

Ranma turned towards the matriarch and sat by her side again.

"I spoke with the elders about your decision to leave the
village and..." Xiao Lui paused.

"And..."

"They will not stop you though they say that you will always be
an Amazon and that the village will be always open to you." Finished the
matriarch.

Ranma nodded. "Is that all mother?"

Xiao nodded. "Yes, Ranma, that is all."

"Goodnight mother!"

"Goodnight Ranma!"

Ranma hopped off the rock and walked slowly towards the village.
Xiao Lui watched him until his outline disappeared and then went to her
house.

*************************************************** ********************

The next morning...

Ranma lifted Higashi onto his shoulders and kissed her on her
forehead and her cheeks. "Goodbye Higashichan." said Ranma to his
daughter. He put her down on the ground below but seemed reluctant to
let her go. He lifted her again and then kissed all over her face before
handing her over to Pher Fom.

He bid his farewells to the rest of his friends in the village
and left without looking back. He had nothing but two pairs of clothes
on him as he began his wanderings.

****************************************************** *****************

For the next three years, he wandered across the mountains but
his mind never ceased thinking about his beloved wife Xas Min. It was
through sheer coincidence that he chanced upon a monastery while roaming
across the mountains. He stayed there and helped the monks at the head
monk's urging. A couple of years later, he himself became a monk in
training at the monastery. His mastery of the art amazed everyone in the
monastery and many asked him to train them in the art. He refused and
politely turned down their offers. His wife's death had robbed him of
his love for the art.

Twenty years later he became a junior monk. His heart finally
found its center and he found his interest in the art once again. He
decided to leave the monastery as the world seemed to call to him and on
the thirty-fifth year of his life in the monastery, he left the monks to
begin his life anew as a wanderer. The life of a monk was definitely
not, what he wanted out of his life.

During his time at the monastery, he had mastered the monks
version of the Wu Shu which was very powerful indeed. Far more so than
the Amazonian version that a skilled novice in the monks techniques
would be able to beat an experienced veteran if the battle was fought
without ki attacks. Now, he wandered across mainland China learning
different styles from their masters. Over the course of several decades
he witnessed many styles disappear and he found himself the only
surviving practitioner of many powerful and dangerous styles. As time
passed his martial arts became an amalgam of all these styles and he
became a true practitioner of 'Matsubeto Katuto Ryuu' the school of his
origin.

During the course of his studies he was drafted into the Emperor
of China's troubleshooting force, er mercenaries. He served the emperors
of the Han dynasty with zeal and soon found himself a wealthy man. He
accumulated several tons of gold and thousands of karats of diamonds and
other precious stones. He always carried all his belongings within his
cloths by means of his 'Hidden weapons' technique. For five decades he
performed his job troubleshooting in bandit infested areas. During this
time, he brought hundreds of bandits, thieves and murderers to justice.
He learnt everything he could about the healing and the fighting arts.
He also learnt from the few magicians that he chanced upon.

Finally, he grew tired of his life as a mercenary and thus left
China. He crossed the mountains of Tibet and stepped onto India or
Hindustan as it was called then.

His thirst for travel and learning did not leave him and he
found himself wandering across the country's huge expanse. He learnt
from Indian masters techniques, that were on the verge of becoming
extinct but were also the most powerful martial art forms he had ever
seen. Though the masters of the art were few in India, they had in-depth
knowledge of ki and mana manipulation techniques and he learned from
them. He was astounded at their mastery of Shiastsu. It was such that
they could do things that even the Amazons with their extensive
knowledge of the style could only dream about.

He loved the country in which martial arts was born and spread
to the rest of the world. His accumulated wealth grew through his
travels throughout India. During his six centuries of stay, he witnessed
the 'golden period' under the Gupta's and then their subsequent fall. He
witnessed the destruction of their cities and the massacre of innocent
civilians by the invaders as the wheels of time slowly turned on.

When he left India he once again crossed the Himalayas and
settled along the silk route. His stay lasted two hundred years and
during those two hundred years he developed and perfected many new ki
and mana attacks. He also traded in silk and his wealth multiplied
manifold. It was in the middle of the ninth century AD that he grew
bored of the silk trade and decided to visit the country of his birth.
There he found the country under the rule of an emperor whose influence
was declining by the day. He witnessed history as the feudal lords
exerted their control the emperor and the country headed towards civil
war. He wandered across the country for a century learning the arts from
the masters there. He finally returned to China and commenced his
wanderings once again.

For the next five centuries, he perfected all he had learned and
developed still more techniques. He shied away from human contact
preferring the solitude of the forests to human company. When he had
attained even greater levels of skill, he once again mingled with
humans. He now followed the silk route and ended up in Europe. He stayed
in one of the monasteries there though he hated the entire period of his
stay. He wanted to improve his patience and what better way to do that
than by leading the way of life he had come to hate most.

In the beginning of the sixteenth century he left for the
America's and stayed there until the end of the eighteenth century. He
landed in England and invested heavily there. Having done so he returned
to China to find its monarchy under decline and the country under siege
by the European nations and the Americans.

Disillusioned with the state of affairs there he made his way to
Japan and again invested a considerable portion of his wealth in
Japanese businesses. His eyes drifted to the western world once more and
his investments in both the Americas and in Europe grew.

Weary of the wars and petty feuds that plagued the western
hemisphere he traveled to India and found the nation under bonds and the
people a shadow of their former proud selves.

Disgusted he retreated once more into the forests of India where
he found peace and solitude. The peace was broken by the start of the
second world war. He refused to take sides in the conflict, as he
witnessed the cruel treatment of man and a general disregard for the
lives of the civilians by both the sides. During these years, he
wandered across the neutral countries until the war was brought to the
end by an act that he considered the epitome of the cruel nature of war.

After the war he again invested heavily in huge corporations in
Japan and in the US and settled in rural Japan. Having seen most of the
world more than once he decided to visit the Amazon village once more.

************************************************************ ***********

Present time...

A lone pathway across the Bayankala mountain ranges in the
Qinghai province of China...

Ranma walked briskly whistling to himself. It had been over two
thousand years since he had last been in the village and he couldnot
wait to see the village again. For the past, thousand years he had been
able to think of Xas Min without crying. He had prepared himself for the
day when he would be able to visit the village without breaking down.
Even now he knew in his heart that he hadnot gotten over her loss and
probably never would. He had put off visiting the village for so long
that visiting it had almost become an obsession for him.

He recognized the familiar magic of the pools as he approached
it. *Two thousand years have gone by and the pools are as strong as ever
before.* However, something felt amiss. He walked into the valley and
saw that all the pools were nearly dried up. He peered into one of the
pools out of curiosity, to see how deep it was.

"Mr. Customer, do not go near the cursed springs. You will be cursed if
you fall in!" shouted someone. Ranma turned towards the sound and saw a
potbellied man. *So, this man is the guide!

The guide ran forward carefully placing his steps so that he may not
accidentally fall into one of the springs. It had been a very bad month
and he did not want it to get any worse. The customer must have been a
very wise man because he retreated from the pools.

"Mr. Customer, you should never go near the cursed pools. You would have
turned into a mouse if you had fallen into that pool."

Again, the customer showed his wisdom by listening to what he
was saying, which in itself meant. Visitors to the pools seldom paid
attention to what he had to say before they got cursed.

"I was passing by the pools and I had heard of their powers. I
wanted to know why the pools had dried up?" explained Ranma to the
guide.

"Mr. Customer, birdpeople from Phoenix mountain came here and
drained the pools." replied the guide.

Ranma became angry. "What? Why would they do that?" he shouted.

*Why me? Do the kami hate me that much?* Thought the guide as
the customer was obviously insane.

Ranma waited for an answer but when no answer was forthcoming,
he asked another question. The Amazons had learnt soon after the defeat
of the Phoenix forces the reason for the Phoenix army's skill.

"Did you not inform the Amazons?" he asked as calmly as he could
given the circumstances.

The guide nodded. "Yes, Mr. Customer, I have already informed
the Amazons. I have also sent my daughter to get help from some of the
cursed ones in Japan."

Ranma stomped on the ground. "This is stupid. They haven't seen
you and left for the Phoenix mountain, have they?"

The guide nodded. Obviously, Mr. Customer was completely insane
and it would be wise to answer all his questions.

"When did they leave?"

"About a day ago, they ought to have reached the mountain by
now, Mr. Customer." replied the guide.

Ranma was worried. They couldnot defeat the God. He, himself had
been able to defeat the God-king only because he used his mana. *Have to
reach them, before Saffron slaughters them all!

Having decided on his course of action, Ranma focused his ki and
flew in the direction of Phoenix mountain. The guide just shrugged and
went to his hut. *Just my luck. Of all the accursed jobs in the world, I
had to get this one.* He was especially getting tired of super powerful
martial artists.

********************************************************* **************

Ranma arrived at the mountain half an hour later. He entered the
mountain and followed the sound of battle. Saffron's signal was weaker
somehow and huge explosions were audible as he ran through the maze of
tunnels that covered the inside of the mountain.

Atlast he reached the battle scene. Glancing around, he saw the
reason for Saffron's weak signature. Someone had disrupted his rebirth
process and damaged the cocoon. Saffron seemed to be pretty mad and
threw fireballs in all directions. His attention seemed to be focused on
a brown haired boy who was taunting him. Blast after blast flew from
Saffron's hands and exploded within the cavern. The boy would evade the
blasts and then move in on Saffron. He would do a quick number on
Saffron's person and then retreat out of the God's reach. The boys ki
seemed familiar but he shrugged it off.

Ranma smiled. *I needn't have worried. At this rate, Saffron
would tire himself out before the end of the hour.* Ranma leaned on the
rock and looked amusedly around. Whilst the brown haired boy took care
of Saffron another boy with a yellow bandanna on his head was busy
kicking Phoenix warrior ass. From the way this new boy shrugged of blows
that would have done anyone in, Ranma realized that this boy knew the
Bakusai Tenketsu. The boy was definitely not an Amazon and it was a
surprise to him that the Amazons would teach the technique to an
outsider.

*A lot has changed since I left the village! Ranma shrugged. He
would worry about those changes later. Now, he wanted to watch the brawl
for that was what he considered the fight to be. He noticed a two-foot
woman with reasonably focused ki mowing through the Phoenix line and
leaving battered, bruised and generally unconscious warriors in her
wake. *Must be the matriarch of the village. Hmmmm! Her ki seems
similar... of course its my great great great something granddaughter.
Hmmm! She and that brown haired boy have a lot of potential. Maybe I can
train them both.* He resumed his scanning and sensed the signatures of
two men - one greedy and the other emotional. Both were in their middle
ages and both were not bad when it came to fighting. He also detected a
faint ki signature of a girl who was dying. Her ki reserves, which were
very small were the only thing sustaining the husk that had become her
body.

*This is as good a time as any to have a conversation with the
matriarch. Let's see, she should be able to sense this.* Ranma probed
the matriarch with one of the easiest ki probes that he remembered from
his days at the village. The matriarch stopped in her tracks and nearly
got cleaved in half by a high-pressure wave of air. She jumped over the
attack just in time. She took care of her assailant, turned and looked
at Ranma with a strange expression on her face.

************************************************************ ***********

Cologne, three hundred-year-old matriarch of the Amazons was
having a jolly good time. The Phoenix warriors with their mediocre skill
may as well have been totally unskilled to her. Even though all of them
seemed to have some training in the art, their skills were far below her
own. The fight was completely one-sided all around her as she ploughed
through their ranks with the ferocity of a hurricane.

She was about to launch her staff at an airborne Phoenix warrior
who was preparing to deliver the pressure wave attack when she felt
someone probing her. The technique used for the probe was of Amazonian
origin. The user performed it flawlessly and skillfully. Whoever he was
(she sensed his ki), he was very skilled to have mastered even that
simple technique. The user was also a stranger. She had never sensed the
user at the village or among the few Musk who had been taught the
technique. She was shocked at the revelation that people other than the
allies of the village knew of this technique. She stopped in her tracks
and barely managed to save herself from the attack. She took care of the
Phoenix warrior and leveled her gaze at the outsider who had mastered
the technique.

The user was a young man of about twenty. What was amazing about
him was the fact that he was leaning against the rocky walls and looking
at the fight between Ryuuken and Saffron. He had a recognizable smile
upon his face, the same smile one had when they were having the time of
their life. Cologne attempted to probe him with her ki but he
momentarily turned his attention from the fight, smiled at her and
blocked her attempts with one of the most advanced Musk techniques. *He
knows Musk techniques too.* Thought the matriarch. The Musk generally
did not teach their techniques to outsiders unlike the Amazons.

Cologne retrieved her staff and moved towards the boy. His smile
had increased and his attention was firmly focused on her.

"Hello there, matriarch!" said the boy as she neared him.

Cologne looked at him strangely. "Who are you?" she asked. the
boys face struck a chord in her memory. However, she couldnot remember
when or where she had definitely seen it before. *I know his face but
from where.*

The boy evaded the question. "Nice brawl you have going on here.
By the looks of it you are winning." said he.

Cologne smiled. "Can you tell me who are you and how do you know
both Amazonian and Musk techniques?"

The boy laughed. "I learned my Amazonian techniques from the
matriarch of course. As for the Musk techniques, I learned them from the
advisor to the Musk emperor."

"do not play with me child. I have been the matriarch for over a
hundred years and I have never seen you before in all my three hundred
years." replied the matriarch. She lied for it wouldnot do to accept
that she had seen him before. Her body tensed and she pulled in her ki
for a fight.

"Hey, Will you stop that. I am not here to fight you." Ranma
replied while waving his arms. He wanted her to know that she had
misinterpreted the situation.

"Then stop lying and start telling me the truth child." replied
Cologne. Her gaze never wavered and she did not relax her guard. Her
right foot was infront of her left one and she grasped her staff
lightly. Her stance would enable her to easily shift into any of a
number of offensive or defensive stances.

Ranma shook his head. *Some things never change.* "Surely,
matriarch, you must have seen me before since you appear to be a
descendant of the dragon." he said referring to his title in the
village.

Cologne almost fell off her staff at the word. Only the Musk
emperor and his council as well as the Amazonian elders knew of her
families origin and ties with the dragon. "How did you know that?" The
boy knew one of the most guarded secrets of the Amazons and she was
going to find out the leaks and plug them. You just cannot have the
truth about some of the legends getting around. If the communist
government heard the truth about them then the Amazons would become the
latest addition to the endangered species list.

"Ah! Come-on now, do I have to spell everything out for you,
matriarch or should I call you my great great granddaughter." replied
Ranma.

The images came flashing back to her. She remembered the day
some fifty years ago when she had last seen the statue of the _dragon_
himself. The boy's face was hauntingly similar to the statue's and the
dragon _was_ supposed to be an ageless immortal.

*It couldn't be. Why would the dragon return now? The boy had
obviously seen the statue with the help of his collaborator in the
village and had undergone plastic surgery to fool the elders.* She
concluded. Being a matriarch meant knowing about the outside world and
she knew a lot about it. It was her job to keep the tribe's archives
upto date with news of the outside world and did a pretty good job with
some help from her contacts in the outside world. "You could have
undergone facial reconstruction surgery to fool us." she replied.

Ranma banged his head up the wall. The rock face developed
cracks. "What would I have to do to convince you?" moaned Ranma.

Cologne smiled. She had him now. He was obviously an
impersonator and only the real dragon would be able to beat Saffron.
"Why don't you defeat Saffron? If you can do it I will accept you as the
dragon."

Ranma groaned. "Anyone with skill can beat him now. Can't you
see that his blasts are weak." He pointed to the latest blast. The whole
area was charred and some parts of the mountain had melted under the
heat.

"Liar!" replied Cologne.

"He's weak. Someone, presumably the boy who is fighting him now,
must have disrupted the cycle. Saffron will probably die in a few days
from now." said Ranma. He was getting annoyed at her refusal to believe
him and his patience was wearing thin, his fifty years of patience
training be damned.

"Look, will you believe me if I stop the fight right now and
make Saffron listen to me." If she did not believe him then he would
have to return to Japan.

Cologne nodded. Saffron couldnot be in cahoots with the boy. She
was sure of it. What would a God gain by cheating them.

Ranma turned towards the fight once more. The bandanna clad boy
and the two middle-aged men were done with the Phoenix warriors and were
standing at the sidelines near the girl's body. The girls body had been
restored but she was going to die if something was not done to save her.

Saffron was looking more steamed by the minute as the relentless
taunting continued. *The boy definitely did not lack skills in that
department! Ranma thought with a smile. Ranma had never seen Saffron so
worked up. Even during their battle two thousand-year back the God had
maintained his cool to a reasonable extent most of the time. Now he just
about looked ready to explode and take the entire mountain and all those
in it with him.

Saffron howled in fury as he launched yet another huge ball of
fire at the taunting martial artist. Ranma smiled and sent a ki charged
vacuum blade at the fireball. The boy could have easily evaded the
fireball but Ranma wanted to have Saffron's attention all to himself.

The blade covered the distance between the fireball and itself
in the wink of an eye and exploded. Saffron seemed to be in shock and
the others turned towards Ranma and Cologne.

"Hello, Saffron. Long time no see." shouted Ranma. His ki
amplified his voice so that it was heard throughout the cavern.

Saffron's expression turned deathly pale. He knew whose voice it
was. He slowly turned towards Ranma and his expression deepened. He
could never stand upto the landling in his weak condition.

Ranma cleared his throat. "I remember saying that the Phoenix
would never hurt Amazons ever again."

Saffron landed on the ground and approached Ranma. He was trying
to look as haughty and uncaring as possible. He was scared to death but
he had to keep appearances for the sake of his image.

"They disrupted my rebirth cycle and because of them my people
will starve to death. I think that gives me the right to revenge."
replied the God, growing more and more confident.

Ranma looked at the brown haired boy and his companions with an
annoyed expression on his face. he asked. He
remembered the guide telling him that these others were from Japan.

The boy and his companion did not pay attention to him. The boy's
friend with the yellow bandanna had a dark green aura of depression
about him. He was mourning the girl's apparent death it seemed. One of
the men was also weeping uncontrollably whilst the other two watched
from the sidelines. Ranma turned to Saffron. "Wait, we will resume this
conversation as soon as I had helped that girl."

Ranma moved towards the bandanna boy and pressed a pressure
point that dispersed his heavy chi into the air. Then he pressed another
pressure point that made him unconscious. The other boy and the man with
the mustache tried to protest but Cologne bade them to stop their
interference. She was convinced of Ranma's identity after seeing
Saffron's reaction in the middle of the fight.

Ranma knelt by the girl and sensed her ki and mana lines. *A ki
transfer should do the trick.* He decided. Cupping his hands over her
chest, he began to gather a small amount of ki in his arms. The others
watched in amazement as the ki flowed into her body from his hands. When
the transfer was complete he pressed his hands over her chest and
focused his ki once more. The girl was a tomboy and he had lost most of
his nervousness around women during his stay at the village.
Concentrating hard, he released the exact amount of ki needed to jump-
start her heart. The girl's body shuddered. She moaned in a little voice
and her hands began to move.

Ranma got up and moved towards Saffron again. The man with the
mustache prostrated himself on Ranma's legs and raved about his undying
gratitude.

"I apologize for their behaviour, Saffron." said Ranma.

"Your apology will not say me people from starving to death."
spat the God of the Phoenix.

"All you had to do is ask the Amazons or the Musk for help and
they would give it to you, wouldn't you matriarch?"

Cologne nodded. "We have had a bountiful harvest but there won't
be enough for the Phoenix to survive through the winter. But we will
gladly share what we have with them."

Saffron looked at the two-foot matriarch and scowled. "If the
food won't last through the winter, what good will it be of to my people?
They will still starve to death."

Ranma looked at Saffron and then turned towards Cologne. "The
surplus will be provided to the Phoenix as soon as possible, matriarch."
He turned towards Saffron. "I will provide you with the rest. Give your
shopping list to the matriarch here and I will see to it that you get
everything you asked for within three weeks."

Saffron nodded.

"Good. Nice seeing you after all these years, Saffron. Now, we
have to go. Send your army's commander with the list to the village."
said Ranma and motioned for the others to move out of the mountain.

******************************************************** ***************

Ryuuken Saotome was curious... no, curious did not even begin to
describe what he was feeling now. Not only had the stranger come and
stopped the fight but he had also gotten Saffron off their back. He had
saved Akane's life and Ryuuken had seen the look on Saffron's face when
the God-king had first seen the stranger. It was a look he recognized
easily enough. He had seen the look quite a lot on his friend Ryouga's
face. Ryouga would assume that 'I am so dead' expression just after
something he did pissed his girlfriend royally.

Thinking about the pig-headed moron, he turned around and looked
for him. It wouldn't do for poor Ryouga's health to get lost while
carrying Akane. The girl would probably bash his head right in with that
stupid mallet of hers for getting them lost in China. Ryuuken shook his
head. He would never understand women. The girl loved Ryouga and treated
him like scum from the lowest pit of hell.

He turned his eyes towards the stranger. The man was walking in
the front talking quietly with Cologne. Ryuuken decided to have a talk
with him and walked to the front. His moronic father and his friend
would probably take care of Ryouga and Akane.

spoke Ryuuken as he approached the stranger.

Ranma turned around and acknowledged the greeting.

asked Ryuuken. His brain
failing make the obvious connection.

Ranma shook his head. The boy was definitely lacking in the
social department. replied he.

Ranma had asked his great great granddaughter to not reveal his
identity to none save the elders and the Musk emperor. Cologne had
accepted and had made him upto date on the political situation in the
valley of the cursed springs. Over the centuries, the relationship
between the two tribes had improved and the Amazons had gotten along
much better with the Musk. Even intertribal marriages between the two
tribes had become common in the last thirty years. The two tribes had
abandoned many of their idiosyncrasies such as the "beat 'em up to a
pulp, if you wanna marry 'em" rule and "dump a pig into the spring of
the drowned girl and get a woman free for life." The two tribes had
become the strongest of allies through the centuries.

Ryuuken kicked himself mentally for not having made the
connection.

Ranma's hand went to his pigtail.

replied Ryuuken, unsure as to how he should proceed with
the conversation. Cologne excused herself and dropped to the back.

said Ranma trying to keep the conversation going.



This bit of information got Ranma's interest.

Ryuuken nodded. said Ryuuken.

replied Ranma. He did not know what to say about
a moron who would kick his son into the pools of sorrow.



Ranma nodded. A summary was enough as far as he was concerned.
asked Ranma.



Ranma was impressed. Most of the martial artists he had
encountered in the last fifty of so years did not even have rudimentary
control over their ki or chi. To know three techniques at such an young
age showed the boys skill.

Ryuuken
said proud of his achievements.

asked Ranma, his curiosity
piqued.



Ranma smiled. The Amazons had not taught the boy about ki. He
too would have done exactly the same. The tribe's and the Musk's mastery
of ki reigned supreme in the planet. There had been other techniques
that he had learnt and that were superior to the Amazons and the Musk's
mastery of ki. These techniques had all but died and he was the only
user of many of them.

Now Ryuuken was confused. If Cologne did not know chi
attacks what were the Kacchu Tenshin Amaguriken and the rest called.

asked Ranma.

replied Ryuuken.



Ryuuken shook his head. He had no idea where this conversation
was leading.


explained Ranma.

All these attacks used the same
energy source, so what's the big deal.

asked Ranma.

replied Ryuuken.



asked
Ryuuken. He had spent nearly a whole week coming up with the attack
after Ryouga had easily beaten him in their usual sparring match with
his Shi Shi Hokudan. It was the first technique he had created on his
own and he did not want to give it up.

replied Ranma.





Ryuuken thought for a while. He asked Ranma.











********* **************************************************************

Ryo uga Hibiki, the eternally lost boy, carried his precious
Akanechan in his arms. His life had been devoid of friends and family
until he had met her five years ago. His family had the same directional
difficulties as him and he scarcely saw his father or mother. In the
last four years he had seen his father once and had never laid eyes on
his mother. His directional sense had been the cause of many of his
problems. The most important one being his trouble with bullies at
school when he had been a pre-schooler. He had trained very hard to be
able to defend himself and soon found himself one of the best in his
generation.

The worst effect of growing up without his family to support and
to teach him in a hostile world had been on his psyche. His chronic
depression had led to more than three suicide attempts (none knew about
them of course) and he had a psychotic and a slightly sadistic streak in
him. As a result, when he had broken the jaw of one of the bullies soon
after he started taking classes in martial arts the bullies left him
alone he had enjoyed it.

Ryouga was proud of having broken the bully's jaw and he
increased his training regimen and stretched his limits just a little
day after day, week after week.

He had been attending some school in Juuban when he had been
twelve. During the lunch interval, he had went to the bathroom and got
lost as usual. A month and a half later, he had somehow ended up in the
hallways of Furinkan high where he met his beloved Akane. She had been
the only one to show pity on him and he had fallen in love with her.
Akane loved him too, but after she had discovered that he surpassed her
in martial arts, she had become a _little_ violent. Now, whenever he did
something wrong she would give him a blow on his head with that mallet
of hers. After four years of beatings he still did not know what it was
that he did wrong. Ryuu had been of great help when he had secretly
taught him the Bakusai Tenketsu. He had become Ryuu's friend after the
kid helped him out and he had discovered that the little kid was his
equal in the arts. He would leave once or twice a month with the GPS
that Nabiki had bought him (The commission he had given her had him
bankrupt for a whole year.) and he would train in some new technique and
try to beat Ryuu. Mr. Saotome also taught him and sparred with him
daily. Therefore, his martial arts had not suffered because of his stay
at the Tendo's.

Akane did not beat him that often, he knew. It was only when she
got jealous that she vent her frustrations and anger on him. As a
result, he would get hit once or twice a month at the most. Then those
damned Phoenix and had kidnapped her for a reason that only the kami
knew. He had asked Ryuu's help and his friend had consented. They had
come to China with Akane's and Ryuu's fathers and had tried to rescue
Akane with the help of the Amazonian elder. Akane's body fluids had been
drained by accident and though he had restored her body, her heart
wouldn't resume beating. It was at that time that the stranger had come,
made Saffron see sense and brought Akane back from the dead. *Who is
that man?* Lost in his thoughts Ryouga shifted Akane's body in his arms
and the inevitable happened. His arm found something soft and before he
realized what it was, Akane woke up from her beauty sleep.

He knew from experience that a cranky Akane meant a trip sooner
than later via the Akane express. Now, he had compounded his situation
by grasping her breasts accidentally. In Akane's view that amounted to
groping and groping was definitely a hentai act. Ryouga's nose began to
bleed as his imagination took over and as his fate would have it, Akane
saw that too.

"Yeeewwww! Ryouga you pervert!" she shouted. She took his
nosebleed as evidence that he had touched her 'there' with some
perverted intention.

His love for her be damned Ryouga let go of her and tried to run
away. Unfortunately, his sense of direction made him step over Akane,
who was rubbing her sore butt after hitting the dirt and he fell to the
ground.

"RYOUGA YOU STUPID JERKKKK!" she shouted as she raised her
mallet to the heavens above.

Wham! Bonk! Kaboom!

The beating of the century went on infront of everyone. Ranma
was shocked at the girls behaviour and Cologne fell down from her staff
and rolled on the floor laughing hysterically.

**************************************************** *******************

Soun Tendo followed behind his daughter with his friend Genma
Saotome. Their friendship was formed during the days of their training
under the lecherous grandmaster of Matsubeto Katuto Ryuu, the infamous
women's underwear thief, the one and only Happousai. Soon after their
marriage they had been inebriated after several hours of drinking sake
in the company of their master when they had made taken a vow. Soun had
never been so squiffed in his entire life as he had been that day. They
would unite the two schools together with their children's marriages.

Several years after Genma took his son, Ranma on a training trip
Genma came to the Tendo dojo one day. Soun's wife had died a month ago
and Soun had been mourning the loss of his wife. He had abandoned his
children in his despair and stayed in his room uncaring as to the
affairs of the house. When Genma arrived with the news of Ranma's death
Soun had sunk deeper into the pit of despair. Genma had stayed with him
for two months and had brought him out of his despair with his jokes or
so Genma believed. More than anything else Genma's mere presence had
been the only thing that brought Soun out of the throes of despair.
Genma had left after those two months and a letter had arrived from him
telling him about Ryuuken Saotome.

Soun had rejoiced at the news. He still kept that letter
carefully tucked away in his room. Soun had stopped taking classes after
all his students abandoned him. They refused to study under him and it
had been his second daughter, Nabiki, who had kept the family about with
her shady dealings. Soun's honour found no wrong in that and Nabiki had
grown and blossomed into a full-time mercenary. Even if his honour had
found his daughter's behaviour wrong, he wouldnot, have done anything.
He was afraid of her as it was. The girl even blackmailed her own
father.

His eldest daughter, Kasumi, was the one who had kept his family
together and she had grown up to be a woman as kind and gentle as a soft
breeze. Kasumi was one of the best cooks in the world and would one day
become a wonderful mother and a loving wife.

His youngest daughter, Akane, had been the youngest and most
unprepared of his daughters when her mother had died. She had retreated
into herself and the arts. Since none guided her in the art, she was
shabby at best and horrendous at worst. Her temper tantrums were
unbelievable in their intensity and she had become every bit the spoiled
brat. He knew in the pits of his soul that he was responsible for his
daughter's personality and therefore he tolerated it. He did not know
what that Ryouga boy found in her but given his psychotic tendencies, he
really did not want to know. He did not want to see his youngest
daughter married to that freak but he couldnot find it in his heart and
tell her to stop seeing him. The joy that reflected in her face when she
was with him and when she thought none was looking ensured that things
stayed the way they did.

When his dear friend Genma arrived with his son in their cursed
forms, he had fainted at first sight. Genma had been the first to
transform and after restraining the wolf, he had commenced his woeful
story of curses, hardship and magic. Soun's heart had been touched at
the troubles and triumphs that the father and son had undergone.
Finally, when the well-spun tale was finished Soun had poured hot water
over the boy and had offered the naked boy the first two daughters to
choose as his fiancee. The boy had beaten them up after he had gotten
dressed and had proclaimed that he would choose his fiancee after he was
eighteen and that too out of honour as he had no intention of marrying
girls older than himself.

He had sunk in to the deepest pits of depression when Akane had
been kidnapped. Ryouga had shouted something about hell to pay and
prepare to die or something in that context. He had not been listening
to the psychotic freak and thus remembered little of his lamentations.
Then the freak had gone and asked Ryuu for help. They did not know where
Akane's kidnappers where and this put a huge dent in their plans for a
rescue mission. Thankfully, the guide's daughter had arrived and after
hearing about the Phoenix, they had all left for China. Ryuu had
recruited an Amazon elder whose skills reminded them of their master.
They had went to the mountain and found out that they were facing a God
of all things.

During the fight Akane had become a dried up mummy and they had
given up all hope of seeing her alive when the stranger arrived and
rescued her from the dead.

************************************************************ ***********

Genma walked by Soun's side with his usual greed and
foolishness. Yes, Genma had not changed a bit in over a decade. The few
things that he had learned after Ranma had presumably died were:
a) Soun's wife had died.
b) He had a second son and a stupid wife who believed every
damned lie he said.
c) do not mess around with the catfist. He had learned it from
Ranma's presumed death, of course.
d) Happousai never dies. His lecherous traits only increase at a
rate that is directly proportional to the fourth power of his age.
e) Never mess around with Amazons. It would result in a lot of
pain.
f) A healthy boy on the road meant a healthy diet as you can
barter him for pickles, rice and whatnot. If you do not have a boy with
you, you are not worth S*** in the eyes of the people you are planning
to freeload on.

After he had searched for Ranma, he had left for Tokyo with a
heavy stomach and a not so heavy heart. While on his way to Juuban where
his wife awaited him he stopped by his dear friends house. There he had
found Soun in the midst of a terrible depression. Soun's wife had
apparently died and he had stayed there for two months freeloading on
Soun's meager financial savings. He had somehow gotten his friend out of
the depression. He went home to find his wife with little Ryuuken
Saotome in her hands. His joy had known no bounds and he had spun a
really tale about monsters and such. He had told her about his valiant
yet futile struggle to save their son. In addition, Nodoka had believed
him. After all these years he still found it hard to believe that his
wife was as dumb as a rock who lived in her own little world with her
stupid and completely perverted notions of manhood.

He had badly wanted to train Ryuuken and make him succeed where
his first born had failed. He had easily persuaded Nodoka after he had
given the customary 'it was a samurai wife's duty' speech. He had
traveled throughout Japan using his innocent son as a bartering card and
a handy fiancee. *Thank God, those fools who engaged their daughters to
my son have not caught up with me. If they did, Ryuuken would skin me
alive.*

He still cursed the day that he had fallen into Jusenkyo. He did
not give a damn about whatever happened to his son but he too had been
cursed on that occasion. It was in anger more than anything else at the
thought of his newfound curse and how his own son had caused it that he
had kicked his son into one of the pools. The boy must have known the
truth behind the kick at some unconscious level. His son had gotten
angry, gone berserk and had tried to wring his throat out but the
Amazons had arrived just in time.

Their matriarch had insisted that the boy stay with them and he
had attacked her thinking that she would be easy to beat. That had
proved to be one of the worst mistakes of his life. She had given him a
thorough beating and had done things that made the sadistic master look
like a barbie doll with cute blonde hair. The pain he had endured while
she was busy with him had made the master's tortures seem like the
happiest moments of his life. He had spent the next one-month recovering
from the incredible beating that he had received.

He had wisely decided to stay out of their way for the next
three years. When the three years were finished, he had returned to the
village to claim his son from the Amazons. His son had become his equal
in those three years and with their advanced techniques easily beat him.
He had decided to teach his son the forbidden techniques to gain his
son's respect. He had squandered the final opportunity to gain the boy's
respect of course. The boy learned the techniques but now loathed him
and took every opportunity to beat the stuffing out of him.

He knew that he was not the greatest father in the world or even
one of the bad ones. Infact he knew very well that he was probably the
worst father in the world. In his mind, he had caused the death of his
first born and then lied to his very own wife to save his ass. Father's
did not get any worse then that. He only wished that things had gone
differently though he knew in his mind that he would have done the same
mistakes all over again if he got the chance to go into the past and
change it, for such was his personality.

When his friends youngest daughter, Akane had been kidnapped he
had wanted no part in the rescue effort. He had come anyway as Soun was
his only friend in the world and he did owe it to Soun. Contrary to what
people might think Genma did have a sense of honour though it was
perverted beyond imagination. They had traveled to China after they had
learnt the location of the kidnapper's kingdom. Only when the Amazon
elder had joined them did he learn that they were about to face a God.
He had thought that Soun would run off and he would use that as an
excuse to run away himself but Soun had been hell bent of saving his
daughter. During the fight he had taken care of the weakest of the
Phoenix, fighters letting the others do all the hard work. The style
suited him and he wouldn't have it any other way.

Akane had been changed into a living mummy and he had thought
that she would die. A part of him had grieved for the child but another
part of him was happy as they wouldnot have to confront Saffron to save
her. It was then that the strange yet somehow familiar boy had come and
stopped the fight. He was grateful, for the kid had saved their lives. A
part of him was even now telling him something that the pile of garbage
he called his brain couldnot even comprehend.

****************************************************** *****************

The group arrived at Jusenkyo the day after the battle with
Saffron. It was time for them to bid their farewells to one another.

"Cologne, you have great potential. I want to teach you some of
the things that I had learned in my wanderings." said Ranma. Both of
them stood under the shadows of a tree. It was midday and one wanted to
avoid the sun as much possible, though the temperature beyond the
shadows was tolerable.

The matriarch looked at her ancestor from atop her staff and
smiled. No matter how old you were, being praised always brought joy.
"You have finally decided to return to the village after two thousand
years?"

Ranma shook his head. "No, seeing you has brought back the
memories. I still cannot find the strength in my heart to enter the
village. I thought that I was ready but it seems that I was wrong. I
will visit the village someday in the future but for now I want you to
come to Japan with me and learn from me there, great great
granddaughter." said Ranma and smiled at the matriarch. They were alone
and none was in hearing distance.

Cologne found it amazing that he still loved his wife after she
had been dead for more than two thousand years. "You still haven't
forgotten her or stopped loving her, have you great grandfather?" It was
more of a statement than of a question. She smiled at the grandfather
part. It was nice to see someone who was her elder after nearly seven
decades.

Ranma returned the smile ruefully. He was never at ease when he
discussed about his wife or about the time at the Amazon village. It
brought too much memories to him.

"Can I bring along my great great granddaughter, Shampoo along?" she
asked.

"I don't see why not. Is she any good at the arts?" he asked. He
wanted to teach the Amazons some of the easier and less dangerous things
that he had learnt.

"She is good taking if you take into account the times in which
she lives but she is not even a match for Ryuuken. That boy is the most
skillful in this generation, I think!"

Ranma nodded. *You can't have them all.* "Fine then. I will stay
at the guides hut waiting for you and your granddaughter"

Cologne left the pools and hurried towards the village. It
wouldn't do to have her honourable ancestor waiting for long.

Ranma returned to the guide's house and found Ryuuken and the
others preparing to leave. Ryuuken walked upto Ranma.

he said. His three years in the Amazon village had
taught him some modesty.





Ranma waited for three hours after Ryuuken and the others had
gone. Cologne and Shampoo arrived and they began their journey to Tokyo.

*********************************************************** ************

In Japan...

Fuji or Fuji-san as it is respectfully called is a volcano of
indescribable grace and beauty that evokes awe and wonder in the hearts
of those who lay their eyes upon it. The mountain is located in the
Honshu island in mainland Japan. To the vacationing tourist Fuji's
beauty lies in its massive yet isolated elegance. Countless pictures
have been drawn of this venerated mountain, which has come to symbolize
Japan in so many ways.

On the summit of Fuji are 'the eight petals of Fuji', the eight
peaks that adorn the summit. Between these peaks lies the Nai-in, the
sanctuary. Fuji is also thought to be the home of Amatersu Omikami, the
Goddess of the Sun. It was true that the Kami herself resided in the
mountain. Lines of mana from all over the world converged on the
mountain. Though there were similar convergence sites in all the
planets, this was the most powerful of them all.

Fuji with all its beauty and glory hid a terrible secret. It's
Nai-in was the doorway to a prison. A prison created by the Gods
themselves to seal away an evil that threatened all of existence. The
evil had been battering the door for countless millennia. Though the
door had nearly broken on several occasions, it would mend itself as the
force that had been applied was not enough to completely shatter it. The
door had weakened through the millennia and now it was about to break
releasing the ancient evil upon the world.

The door was pushed slowly towards its breaking point and
finally it broke and shattered. The Gods had known that this would
happen and had created eight seals to give the world the time to prepare
for this menace. Now with the doorway broken beyond repair the hordes of
Ashura's rushed out into reality. Their leader a middle-aged man with a
brownish complexion came out and was confronted by Amatersu Omikami.

"You cannot kill me, God." said the man contemptuously.

"That maybe so Raja Chola but one can always try." replied the
kami glaring at him.

Raja Chola laughed. "Begone God. I have better things to worry
about."

Amatersu did not move. "Be warned Raja Chola. do not harm the
humans. If you do, you will be destroyed." she replied.

"None can kill me. My boon will prevent them from killing me.
Now move out of the way or should I kill you now?" warned the king of
the Ashura's.

Amatersu moved out of the way and retreated to her home. Some
fights are won by not fighting them at all.

Raja Chola watched her leave, his contempt for her kind showing
clearly in his face for all his minions to see. He glanced towards the
eight seals and shook his head. *Fools, do they think that they can stop
me with these seals.* "Indra!" he shouted.

The Ashura of that name appeared before him. "I can sense those
sailor scouts. They are weak but they are a threat to the invasion. I
want you to send two of your best warriors to kill them." His previous
experience with the sailor scouts had made him wary of them and he
wanted them out of the way as soon as possible. He would have sent more
to take care of them but though the doorway had been broken, the tear
was small allowing only one or two to pass through. It would remain that
way as long as the seals were in place. When they broke, all his army
would be free to invade the world and when they had destroyed it they
would go after the Gods and he would have avenged dear Anita's death.
Until then, he would send his best troops in little groups to take care
of the scouts and other threats.

Indra nodded. "Yes, My king. I will do as you please."

Hell was about to break loose on the streets on Juuban...

******************************************************** ***************

Author's rants:

That's the end of the second chapter.

The attacks used:

Ikidooru Ryuu - Angry Gragon. A chi based attack which uses the
users anger as a focus to channel ki.

Hiryuu Shoten Ha Kaihan: Ken Joukai - Flying dragon ascend to
heaven strike revision: Fist of Heaven. A variation of the normal Hiryuu
Shoten Ha. It is a tornado punch.

Hiryuu Shoten Ha Kaihan: Genkan Joukai Kirite - Flying dragon
ascend to heaven strike revision: Heaven's doorway cleaver.

I would like to take this free space and prostate myself infront
of my pre-readers and grovel on the ground.

Thank you guys very much. I couldn't have done it without you.
Jang
Philip Penty
Brain McCullough

Hints for you readers from the author:
Hint #1: Arun doesnot write to a schedule, he really has to spend a lot
of time with his psychiatrist.
Hint #2: (for those outstanding critics out there[;)])Call Arun anything
you want in your mail provided (though he won't) he has the right to
call you by these same names. Arun appreciates constructive negative
comments and he really loves the positive comments. Its the 'Go to hell
you mother F***ing Freak of nature' and such that he hates. Please send
me your negative comments though I would be most greatful if you would
tone down the I hate you part a little.
Hint #3: The truth is out there, hey, don't ask me where but is out
there since Fox 'spooky' Mulder says so.
Hint #4: There is no hint #4.
Hint #5: Read the author's rants section if there is one. It would clear
some of yer questions as well as create some totally unrelated ones.