This fic is dark, and even has a lemony scene. Please read only at your own risk (and if you're old enough). Disclaimer time: Rumiko Takahashi, Shogagukan, Kitty and Viz Communications own Ranma 1/2. There are elements of Silent Mobius in the fic, but it's hardly owned by Kwok or I. :) Corwin (ely7@inter.net.il) http://corwin.anifics.com/corwin.html Kwokinator (kwokinator@animefanfics.com) http://www.geocities.com/ranma_saotome666/ Thanks to Brian Randall, Ginrai and Rakhal for pre-reading this. -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- A path. A price. A prize. "Oh my, what happened to Ranma, Ryoga?" "He'll be fine," the fanged boy replied with a snort. "Hey, Kasumi?" "Yes?" "Tell him that's he lost when he wakes up, will you?" With that, Ryoga left the Tendo residence, laughing in a megalomanic manner all the while. Genma appeared out of nowhere, and started to shake Ranma's prone form repeatedly. The boy's eyes fluttered, and he opened them groggily. "Wha...?" "Boy! You're a disgrace to your school!" Genma wailed, continuing to shake his son's body ruthlessly. "How could you lose to Ryoga like that?!" Not getting an answer, the portly man threw Ranma's body back on the floor in disgust. Ranma's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he passed out once again. "Kasumi, could you tell the boy that he's no son of mine until he regains his honor and beats Ryoga into a bloody pulp?" Genma asked of the eldest Tendo daughter. Not even waiting for a reply, he left the living room, leaving Kasumi alone with Ranma's prone body. "That went well," she said to no one in particular. "I hope Ranma won't be too disappointed by the messages I will have to tell him." -------------------------------------------------- Darkness. I'm surrounded by it. It reminds me of my childhood. I'm always surrounded by darkness. At least the cats are not here. They... I don't want to think about them. I won't think about them. Those thoughts hurt. I hurt too. Did Ryoga win? That blast... Shi... Shi... Hokodan... It scares me. Why? He defeated me. Is that it? I don't know. I don't know... Do I want to know? I want to sleep. I want to rest. Please let me rest... -------------------------------------------------- "Ranma, did you really lose to Ryoga?" Akane asked him in concern. "I didn't lose!" the pigtailed boy bristled angrily. "I... it was the Shi Shi Hokodan." "The Shi Shi Hokodan?" everyone asked him in unison. Looking at the Tendos and his father, Ranma nodded heavily. "Yes. Ryoga thrust his hands forward... and a huge blast erupted from them. It was so surreal... kinda like a Hadoken in Street Fighter." Genma jumped forward and smacked his son on the head. "Ranma! This is no time to be talking about stupid video games!" "If they are so stupid, then how did _you_ know about them, old man?" Ranma asked acidly, kicking his father in the shin. "They are both stupid," Nabiki commented lazily, as father and son degraded to petty name calling, swiping at one another occasionally. The insults continued to degrade, until Genma insulted everything from Ranma's intelligence to his masculinity. The bald martial artist was so caught up in his taunts that he didn't notice either the sickly glow that surrounded his son or how the Tendos were moving out of the way quickly. When Genma did notice that something seemed off, all he could do was stare dumbly as an enormous green blast erupted from his son's stretched hands with a cry of "Shi Shi Hokodan!" The gi-clad martial artist was blown through the living room wall and straight into the koi pond. A panda broke through the waters, coughing, and dragged itself to solid ground, only to collapse in exhaustion there. "Interesting, Saotome..." Nabiki commented idly, writing something in a notebook. Akane inhaled sharply. 'All it took was one blast...' Turning towards Ranma, she asked him, "How many times did Ryoga hit you with this Shi Shi Hokodan before you collapsed?" Ranma didn't reply, but instead kept on staring at his hands. "Ranma! I'm talking to you!" Akane called out to her fiance, raising her voice slightly. "I think I heard Ryoga cry out 'Shi Shi Hokodan' about twenty times before he brought Ranma in, Akane," Kasumi said pleasantly. "Twenty blasts... he's a monster... both of them are..." Soun whispered in awe. Noticing Ranma's lips moving, Akane moved closer towards him, until she could hear him repeating quietly to himself, "I'm a monster..." -------------------------------------------------- It happened. I didn't mean it to! I'm sorry... Why am I apologizing? Because it felt so right. It shouldn't feel right. Every fiber of my being tells me it shouldn't! It felt so right. I'm scared again. Being scared... Have I been scared my whole life? Why don't I fight all-out? Am I afraid? What can I be afraid of? Why do I admit this? I admit everything to myself, for I know everything about myself. Yes, that sounds right. And the blast felt right. However, I know it wrong. Does that mean I have been wrong before? Am I wrong? That would mean I don't know everything about myself. Is that possible? I lower my head... in shame? I don't know anymore. Does it matter? I don't think so. Would I know, if I were wrong? I stifle a sigh. Sighing is unmanly. Yes. I must be manly. And I should train. It should help. It always does. There is a nice place in the woods. It's nearby. I train there. I'll go and train. It helps. -------------------------------------------------- Kasumi moved through the kitchen with practiced ease, humming a quiet tune to herself. Following the cinnamon scent of freshly-baked cookies, she walked over to the oven. Checking the timer, she opened it and poked one of the cookies with a knife. It crumpled slightly at her touch, and the eldest Tendo daughter nodded satisfactory. 'Just like mother used to make!' she thought excitedly, putting on heat- resistant gloves and took the tray of cookies out of the oven. A familiar face greeted her as she turned around, and she smiled at him, lifting the freshly-baked cookies up into the air. "Hello," Kasumi said warmly. "Would you like some cookies?" The man smiled back and her and nodded an affirmative, then walked over to the table and waited. In an uncharacteristic display of clumsiness, Kasumi dropped the plate of cookies on the floor as she carried the plate over to her visitor after she finished cleaning up. "Oh my!" she exclaimed. "How clumsy of me!" She sighed and bent down and started picking up the cookies off the floor, lamenting about how the cookies are wasted and that she would have to make a new batch. So intent was she in picking up and cleaning up the mess, she didn't notice someone approaching her from behind until a shadow fell upon her. A powerful arm wrapped around her slender waist and lifted her back to standing straight up. She gasped in surprise, then turned around to see her visitor grinning like a predator who had just gotten its prey. She wriggled and tried to step away, but the arm around her just tightened and pulled her even closer to him, making her painfully aware of the uncomfortable bulge in the area where proper ladies did not think about. Blushing, she asked the man to release her. "But that wouldn't be fun, now would it?" he replied, grinning in a feral manner. Kasumi struggled and tried to step away, but the man simply replied by ripping her apron off of her. Kasumi's eyes widened, and redoubled her efforts to escape from his grasp. "Not so fast, Kasumi-chan," the man smirked. "The fun's still to come." With that said, he gave a strong tug on Kasumi's dress, ripping the top off, leaving her in a plain white bra and a long dress. Before she could react further, the man torn her dress apart as well, leaving her in nothing but plain bra and panties. She screamed and finally succeeds in pushing the man away, then backed herself up to the kitchen counter. He advanced on her, and she felt around on the counter and picked up a knife. "Don't come any closer!" she threatened, shakily holding the knife in front of her. The man simply grinned, and swatted the knife away before she could react. Like an elastic band, his arm swung back to its original position by his side, tearing Kasumi's brassiere off on the way. She squealed a high-pitched scream, and tried to cover herself up. Breaking out into a sprint, she moved past him and tried to run out of the kitchen. An arm wrapped around her breasts, preventing her from moving any further. Seconds later, she felt him himself up to her, whispering in her ear. "What's the hurry, Kasumi-chan? The best is still to come..." Kasumi tried to pull the offending arm away from her breasts, but the arm that was currently wrapped around her breasts trapped her arms, and she gasped in surprise and shock as a hand ran its way down from her exposed stomach down to her panties. "No..." Kasumi whimpered. "Not there..." The man paid no heed to her pleads, and simply continued to explore her mostly-exposed body. Much to Kasumi's chagrin, the hand found its way into her panties and went on its way to her groin area. "No..." Kasumi pleaded, tears falling freely down her cheeks. "Please... no..." The man continued to ignore her request, and with a tug, the last remnant of decency was shredded. As her last piece of clothing was torn away, Kasumi sobbed openly and loudly. The man spun her around and hungrily kissed her on the lips, and she bit down on the invading pair of lips as hard as she could. He cried in pain, and slapped her hard on the face, sending her sprawling down onto the floor. She held a hand up to her red cheeks, tears streaming down her face as she looked at him in shock. He began to walk towards her, slowly undoing his pants. Kasumi's eyes widened, and she backed away frantically, still crawling on the floor. "There's nowhere to run." He grinned lecherously. "There's no one home but you and me. Everybody else is out doing something or another, and I'm supposed to be on one of my 'training trips'." She didn't listen to him, but continued to back up until her back hit a wall. She began to crawl to the side, and then she took a glance at the offender. He had his pants completely off now, exposing his erect manhood pointing towards her like a brave marching soldier. She panicked and started to crawl away even faster, but the man leapt at her and pinned her down to the floor. Kasumi knew what was coming. She had seen it on an awful, awful foreign movie. "Please..." she begged. "Don't do this..." The man ignored her, and thrust his taut member into her virginal womanhood, shattering her innocence forever, in its place a crimson liquid that began to leak out and spread onto the floor. Pain pervaded Kasumi's being. Splitting pain. She felt him thrusting himself into her, and screamed in pain when that final layer of protection was breached by a harsh, unforgiving thrust. She felt as if her entire body was about to be split into two. Looking at her offender through tear-filled eyes, she wondered why this happened to her. She knew him so well, yet she had never thought that he would do something like this, least of all to her. Ever since the first day she had met him, he had seemed like a nice boy, but it appeared that her opinion of him had been wrong. She had never known that she could be so utterly, so hopelessly wrong about someone's character, and now she was paying for it. Ruthlessly, carelessly, he pounded himself on her. With each thrust, he took away a piece of her. A piece of her innocence, a piece of her former, virginal, unsoiled self. She screamed as loudly as she could and let her fists attack on a mind of their own. All that earned her was a momentary pause in his invading of her to slap her on the face and punch her in the stomach a few times. With a mere grunt, he resumed taking her mercilessly. An eternity later, he finished unloading himself into her. A lone tear fell from her eyes, as she comprehended what it meant. It was irreversible now, set in stone. She was no longer innocent. She was now tainted. Soiled. Not proper. The man got up and grinned. "Thank you, Kasumi. That was very enjoyable." Walking to Kasumi's side, he suddenly knelt down, sinking his knee into her arm, crushing the bones. She screamed. Never before had she felt that kind of pain. Not even compared to what just happened to her moments before. Walking over to her legs, her attacker repeated the same process, crippling her entirely, every limb of hers broken. She howled in unbelievable pain, but no sympathy was paid. She was in a blank state now, her mind completely clouded over by the pain of having her limbs systematically broken, save one arm, as well as the brutal invasion of her womanhood. She didn't stop screaming when he took out a knife and drew it across her stomach either. He smirked and walked away, leaving a broken and battered Kasumi lying on an increasing pool of her own blood. She groaned painfully as he left the house. She was beyond screaming now, her voice gave out a while ago. Unable to move since all she had available to her was an arm, she could do nothing but wait until someone came to rescue her. No one came. She was getting colder and colder by the minute, and her vision was blackening. With the knowledge that she gained from common sense and the medical books she borrowed from Dr. Tofu, she knew that she was dying. And since she couldn't move, there was nothing she could do. She was freezing. Her entire body was trembling, and everything she saw was dark. She didn't want to die. Not like this. Not when she dies after suffering through so much pain. Muttering all the strength she could find, she turned over to her stomach and brought an arm up, and began to write. That turn alone was draining for her, and she felt herself sinking closer to death. She wrote her message in the pool of her own blood that surrounded her body. Even though she tried to hold out for as long as she could, she never made it. Only one letter was written, a shaky letter among a pool of crimson, the last trace of her former existence. It was the letter "R". -------------------------------------------------- Where am I? What is this place? Ah... the woods. I came here to train. Training calms me. Sometimes, I feel this urge to... But training calms me. I've been on edge lately, so I decided to come and train for a while. I train in the woods. There are no people around. And I'm calm, after I train. Did I fall asleep? I don't remember. I normally remember falling asleep. But not now. I wonder why? Maybe it's nothing. Maybe... But why am I afraid, then? Why... Am I afraid? Ranma Saotome, afraid? There are cats. Evil creatures with dark souls. They swipe at my mind, eating it away. But am I afraid of anything else? Why would I be afraid? I look down at my right arm. It's cut slightly. There are a few drops of dried blood on my right sleeve. They smear it. I must have cut myself when I tossed in my sleep. Did I toss? Did I... sleep? It is a simple cut. A minor cut. Why does it bother me? Why am I bothered by a simple cut, already healed by the time I look at it? Why do I look at it? What can't I tear my eyes away from the blood? Is it my blood? I sit down and think hard about this. Whose blood could this be? I am the only one here. Yes, the blood must be mine. It is foolish to assume otherwise. But then, why does it feel so wrong? Questions, so many questions... Am I going crazy? I need to train. It will help. It always does. But what if...? No. I will train. That will work. It always helps. It always did, in the past. I'm going to train. Yes. I will train for a few hours straight, and return to the dojo. They must all be expecting me. -------------------------------------------------- Cologne stared at Ranma along with Akane, as he tried to duplicate the Shi Shi Hokodan without much success. "Is this the powerful technique Ryoga and Son-in-Law mastered?" she asked the youngest Tendo sister with a snort, as another cloud of hot air blasted from Ranma's hands and dissipated a short distance away from his body. Akane stared at the old woman through her reddened eyes. "No, that's not it. Something is missing each time... it's as if Ranma is omitting something on purpose... something that keeps it from working." Cologne noticed the poorly concealed grief in the girl's voice, and bowed her head in shame. "I'm sorry, young one. It is easy for someone who had lived as long as I to stop caring about losing loved ones. I'm sure I appear to be cold and ruthless, and I would like to offer..." "That's alright, Cologne," Akane cut her off. Wiping away her tears with the back of her right hand, she put on a determined front. "At least..." she choked at the words, "at least you don't blame Ranma. I know how it looks, but he's innocent. I know he is. He just has to be!" Cologne nodded warily. "Yes. I do not believe that Son-in-Law is capable of such a dastardly deed. While I have asked Shampoo to stay away from him in the meanwhile, it was only in the hope that the boy would recover more quickly without outside interference." "Thank you," Akane said gratefully. "If Ranma's other fiancees started showing up at our home... Kasumi's home... to cheer him up, I don't know..." "Shh, it's alright..." "Shi Shi Hokodan!" Ranma cried out for the umpteenth time, getting both women's attention. "Was that supposed to be an imitation of my technique, Ranma?" The pigtailed boy glared hatefully at his opponent, who calmly faced his glare with a smirk, perched atop a fence. "Ryoga..." "Yeah, what about it? Who did you expect, P-Chan?" Ranma scowled. "What do you want, P-Chan? Can't you see I'm busy?" Taking a moment to straighten out an invisible wrinkle in his bandanna, Ryoga replied, "I just came to check on your progress." He yawned theatrically. "Seeing your pathetic attempts to duplicate my Shi Shi Hokodan, I wonder if you would like to cancel our duel." "Cancel our duel?" Ranma said dumbly. "Sure! Just concede your complete and utter defeat by my hands and you'll be off the hook!" "Ryoga!" Akane interjected. "This isn't the best time..." "Now... training, fighting... is all I have..." Ranma spat through gritted teeth. "And you want to take that away from me, Ryoga?" A greenish glow surrounded the pigtailed boy's hands. "Shi Shi Hokodan!" Ryoga stared down dumbly at the rather large newly-made hole in the fence and sighed. "You actually did it. Do you know how depressed that makes me?" Desperate cries of "Shi Shi Hokodan!" sounded throughout the neighborhood, and the collateral damage built up. 'These blasts... these blasts of depression and anger...' Cologne thought, wrinkling her forehead in worry. 'Something is wrong. Son-in- Law shouldn't use such an evil power; he shouldn't even have access to it!' Bidding Akane farewell, the old Amazon left for the Nekohanten, determined to go through her old scrolls to figure out this recent mystery. -------------------------------------------------- I let it out again. It was... fun. It was wrong. Fun is wrong. Fun means evil. Pain. Suffering. Death. Death. Death and evil. I think I'm scared. It's not a nice feeling. I wish... I wish someone would hold me. I wish someone would tell me everything will be alright. Is there someone like that for me? I don't know. But! But is it too much to ask? Is it, really? All I want... is a hug. A nice word. A pat on the shoulder? And a hug. Definitely. A hug would be so nice... What am I thinking?! Who would hug a... a... A monster. You. I am a monster. It is.. it is scary. Being a monster. I'm scared, but there's no one to hold me. Mother! Why... Why aren't you there for me?! Why... Why does this have to happen... I'm slowly falling, and there is no one to catch me. Maybe it's for the best. Maybe... if I break against the hard surface... maybe things will be alright again? But, even if everyone will be safe... I still want to live! I want to live, because... Because... Because I want a hug! Is that really too much to ask? I might be weak. I know that. I accept that. If being strong means hurting people... hurting people for real... Then I don't want to be strong. I don't! I would prefer to be weak. But I can't relax. Being weak is a luxury I can't afford to have. If I become too weak to control... control 'it'... I'm screwed, aren't I? I don't really have a choice. All I can do is hope. All I can do is pray. Would God listen to my prayers? Is there a God? I don't know. I must rely on myself. Rely on myself to control myself. Yes, that sounds like a good plan. I'll do that. Do I really have a choice? Did I ever have a choice? -------------------------------------------------- Akane tiptoed down the stairs, stepping delicately so as not to awake her slumbering family members. A creak sounded when she placed her weight on a step, followed by a muffled, surprised 'Eep!'. Pausing briefly to make sure no one was awakened by that noise, she traveled onwards again. As soon as she stepped into the kitchen, she was overcome by a sense of imminent danger, as if someone had been watching her like a predator; waiting for the right moment to strike. Looking around frantically, she could see no one but darkness, so she turned on the lights. She heard a light tap behind her when she turned around to reach for the lights, and whirled around after quickly flicking the switch. Her fiance's visage greeted her, his face a complete lack of expression, simply staring at her. "Hello, Akane," he said flatly, without the slightest hint of emotion. Akane glared at him. "Don't scare me like this, jerk!" she snapped, her eyes red and puffy from crying. "What do you want?" Silence greeted her. Growling, she restrained herself and moved across the kitchen towards her original goal - the refrigerator - reaching inside it. 'That insensitive jerk! Acting so casual after... after...' Grasping a carton of milk, Akane moved to close the refrigerator door. Suddenly hearing the air whistling softly behind her, she turned around, following her gut instinct. The youngest Tendo daughter barely saw Ranma as he blurred, and appeared beside her with a side hook to her stomach, causing her to bend over in pain and drop the carton of milk she had picked up several moments prior. Right when she started standing back up straight, an elbow came down from above and knocked her down flat on the ground. Akane turned over with barely controlled fury in her eyes, and swept Ranma off his feet with a leg sweep. Getting back up as soon as she could, she moved away from Ranma and got into a ready stance. "Wha-- Why are you doing this, Ranma?" she yelled, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. Ranma charged the short-haired girl head on, and she met his attack with a straight punch aimed at his face. At the last second, he ducked under the punch and came up with an uppercut, sending Akane flying. Ranma jumped up after her, then cupped his fingers together and smashed Akane down to the ground with a double-fist. Her body bounced slightly off the floor, and she cried out in pain as a second later, Ranma drove his knee down to her stomach as landing. She reflexively punched up at him, driving him off of her. Ranma smirked as he regained his balance, getting into a fighting stance facing his fiancee. With a determined expression on her face, she yelled out a battle cry, and charged Ranma, launching punch after punch and kick after kick, all to no avail as he effortlessly danced around her, dodging all her attacks and smirking arrogantly all the while. "It was you all along!" she growled. "You're dead, you... you bastard!" Tears flowed freely from her eyes now, obscuring her vision, but she didn't care about any of that. There was only one thing on her mind at the moment. Revenge. He didn't give a reply, or so much as acknowledge Akane's attempts to cave his head in. Moments later, Ranma ducked under a high snap kick and punched at Akane's chest, sending her flying through the air and stopping only when she hit a wall. He looked around as if searching for something, and then walked over to the kitchen counter and grabbed a knife. Spinning the knife between his fingers, he began to walk towards the fallen Akane. Getting up with a determined expression adoring her features, the Tendo girl threw a punch at him after righting herself. Before the punch could connect, Ranma had maneuvered the knife from its previous spinning position and cut her on the biceps. She retracted her attack and grabbed her arm, looking at the bleeding wound. The cut wasn't deep, but it was deep enough to bleed and be felt. Infuriated, Akane called out a battle cry and punched at him once again, this time using her other arm. Just like previously, he counterattacked with the knife before she could either hit or retract the blow. This time, however, Ranma twirled the knife around and cut her on two more places on the arm before she pulled her arm back. Reluctant to attack any further, Akane resorted to glaring balefully at her fiance, earning only an evil smirk in return. He rushed at her, spinning and zigzagging in erratic directions so that she couldn't predict his next location well enough for a hit. When he got close to her, he began spinning and rotating around her, attacking every step of the way. Whenever she predicted where Ranma was going to step next, he brought the knife down on her arm, causing her to reflexively retract her arm in mid-attack. "Is that how you killed Kasumi, you coward?!" she growled, gritting her teeth. Her sweat-covered hair was matted and clung to her face, but she didn't care about that. Only one thing existed. Revenge. "Did you need a weapon to overpower poor, defenseless Kasumi?! BASTARD!!! I'll rip your black heart out, weapon or no weapon!" With an enraged cry, Akane launched herself at Ranma, a flying kick paving her way. The kick landed, and he staggered back a couple of steps. She pressed on, and this time sent a fist at Ranma's stomach. To her surprise, this one landed also, and Ranma doubled over from the force of the blow. Deciding to press the advantage as best as she could, she launched an uppercut at her opponent, sending him off his feet and landing hard on his back. Immediately after he crashed on the ground, she jumped into the air and drove a knee down into his abdomen. "Die, demon!" she cried as she landed punch after punch on Ranma's body while still on top of him. Getting off of him, she backed away and got into a defensive stance. When Ranma began to get up, she lunged at him, landing a strong right straight at his chest and sending him crashing into a wall, the debris collapsing on him. Laughing proudly, she turned away from the collapsed wall and began to walk away, content about having avenged Kasumi. Besides... at the moment... she needed to be alone. To be in private. To cry... A sound from behind made her turn around, and just in time to see a hand stick out from the rubble. The floor began to shake lightly, then the rubble exploded outwards, forcing Akane to frantically dodge the shrapnel. When the dust cleared away, Ranma could be seen standing in the middle of a small crater, with his head hung low and glowing with a black aura, but otherwise seemingly completely unharmed. "Is that all you got, Akane?" he taunted, dusting his clothes off while looking at his fiancee straight in the eyes. A low growl escaped her throat. "DIE, YOU BASTARD!!!" Akane charged him with a punch, but he effortlessly sidestepped the attack. Without pausing in the slightest, she spun on her heel and kicked Ranma in the mid-section. Before the hit could connect, however, he disappeared from the intended point of impact and reappeared farther away, yawning. She growled again and charged forwards, this time trying to ram Ranma with her shoulder. The attack was successful, and kept pushing him back with her shoulder until they hit a wall, and then Akane proceeded to deliver punch after punch at his mid-section. After dozens of punches thrown, which all landed without even an attempt at blocking, she stopped punching and brought her right leg back, then launched a side kick at Ranma's head. Much to her surprise, he caught the leg without a problem, even after getting punched so many times. "Is that all you can do, Akane? I'm disappointed," Ranma said slowly as he squeezed. "Kasumi died and this is all you can do?" "Why yo-- AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" Ranma let go of Akane's leg, which fell limply onto the floor, followed by the rest of her body, screaming in pain and clutching her ankle all the while. Jumping up into air, Ranma came down hard, driving a knee into Akane's mid-section. With a painful cry, she coughed up stomach fluids. The last thing she saw was her fiance raising a fist before bringing it down on her, and all went black. When Akane regained consciousness, she felt a chill and looked down, then promptly realized that she was naked and tied up. Flexing her muscles, she tried to break apart her bonds, but to no avail. "Let me go, you coward!" Akane screamed. "Can't you fight me one on one? Are you that afraid?" Ranma walked up to her, rubbing his ears. "Hey, can't you keep it down, Akane? You're busting my eardrums." "Release me, you bastard!" "Alright, alright..." he relented. Walking over to the kitchen counter, he grabbed a sharp knife and walked towards his nude fiancee. "W-What a-are you doing?" she stammered. "You wanted me to release you, didn't you? I need a knife." "But can't y-- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" Before Akane could finish her sentence, Ranma sunk the knife deep into her biceps, the blade exiting from the other side. With a grin still perched on his face, he dragged the knife downwards, slicing her arm into two, the bones showing from both sides and blood geysering onto the floor, forming a large pool. As she trembled in pain, the two sides of the bloodied, mutilated arm could be seen flopping in the air uselessly. Tears streamed from her eyes as she realized what just happened, and her eyes began to loose focus as wave after wave of unbearable pain hit her mercilessly. Just before she lost consciousness, she was brought back to an alert state by pain in her stomach. When she looked up, she saw Ranma carving words onto her stomach slowly, letter by letter, regardless of her screams and cries of pain. When he finished writing, she could see that he wrote, "Ranma was here!" on her stomach with her own blood. Fury swept over Akane at this point, and she bounced back up and tried to punch Ranma, despite the injuries she has suffered. He easily intercepted the punch, and began squeezing, making her sink to her knees in pain as her knuckles crackled under the pressure. Her scream of pain almost drowned out the loud, sickening crunch a few seconds later. A moment later, Ranma brought her back up to her feet, tilted her head up as he kissed her deeply. She started to bite his tongue to make him let go, but suddenly felt a pain in the back of her throat, as if something sharp was digging on it. The pain increased exponentially in the next few seconds to an intolerable point. She tried to scream, but only a gargled noise came forth, soon followed by a dull "splat" and the wall behind her splattered crimson. She gargled more and felt around on her throat, and her eyes widened as she realized what had happened. Then she fell forwards and knew no more... Akane woke up in cold sweat. Her eyes shot open, and for a moment, laying in her bed with darkness looming over her, surrounding her from every direction... in the infinite darkness... for that moment in time, the girl was afraid that she had died. Akane immediately shot into a seating position, one hand feeling her throat reflexively while clutching her chest as it heaved under her heavy breaths with the other. She felt around. Nothing. No holes. Her throat was intact, and so were both of her arms. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness somewhat, and managed to discern the vague outline of her desk when she glanced to the side. She did not die. She was still alive. She was... safe. "It was just... just a dream," Akane mumbled to herself, rolling her body into a tight ball. "Ranma... he'll never do that." She wrapped her arms around her knees, shivering. "He... I believe in him. Even if his own father won't. I believe in him." Akane kept on repeating the last phrase to herself, laying on her bed in cold sweat and trembling... -------------------------------------------------- Get back! Get back, while you still can. Don't you see? Can't you see?! You can't. Why... why can't you see it? Your family... they know. Or suspect. It doesn't matter. Either way, they keep their distance. Distance... It's good. Distance is good. Better than the alternative. Yes, much better. They'll hurt, but they'll live. Won't they? They must! But if you stay with me... Why must you make everything so difficult? Why? WHY?! It's there. I feel it. I think others can feel it too. I know the looks your old man sends my way. He's afraid. Afraid... for himself? For Nabiki? For... for you? I don't want to hurt you. But... what if there is another 'I'? And what if... what if that other me wants to... wants to... I don't want to hurt you, but can I keep you safe? Can I keep you safe forever, just like I always wanted? Can I keep you safe... from myself? I pause, and stare at my hands. Bloodied hands. The blood isn't there. Yet, I see it. I feel it. It stains me. Why? Why do I do this? What... What am I? I must fight the evil. Must keep it bottled up inside, no matter how much it bruns. I must! For if I don't... For if I fail... Even for a second... that second... A second is all it would take. And I don't want to lose you. I can't afford to lose you. I choose not to lose you, even at the cost of my life. But would that seal the demon? I don't know. I don't know, and so I live. I live in pain. But you are safe. And that is all that really matters. I just had a frightening thought. If we die - I'm not saying we will! No! - but if we do. Will we be together? If Hell exists... probably not. That's where I belong. Not you. If nothing else, your last actions proved it. Only a saint would still be around me, after... after Kasumi... only a saint would keep on believing in me. The evidence... God, I can't... Did I do it? Why? Why... Will I ever know the answer? Do I want to? Yes. I owe it to her. Even if the truth hurts. It's not fair. Life isn't fair. I shudder. Am I scared? Who wouldn't be? But what am I scared of? My powers... the truth? My blood? I feel a storm coming. It's bad. A feeling of fate... inevitable, relentless... Yes, I'm scared. Who wouldn't be? I'm not alone. She's scared too, but stays near me. Unmindful of the danger to her, or perhaps despite it. Would the other girls do the same? Probably. But they're not here now, and she is. At least they won't get hurt, when-- if! If! If something happens. I will not accept this blindly! Not without a fight! Accepting defeat before the battle had begun goes against everything I've been taught in my life. Against the very core of my being. I won't be beaten! I'm Ranma Saotome of the Anything Goes school of martial arts! I can do anything! I can't bring back the dead. I can't reverse the course of time. But the future is an open page! I will not fail! Because... Because... Because I fight for _her_ as well! If nothing else, _she_ must live. And she will. Won't she? She must... Because if she doesn't.... -------------------------------------------------- The two combatants faced off against each other. Ranma glared at his opponent, before throwing a cautious glance at Akane. Her eyes were still red from crying, and it broke his heart that this had to happen so soon after... after what happened to Kasumi. "Ryoga, why was it so important to do this now?" he asked in irritation, hysterically clenching and unclenching his hand. "We've been through this already, Fem-boy," Ryoga retorted with a snort. "This duel is a matter of honor, after all. You were the one to set the time for it." Ranma scowled, which only created a smirk on Ryoga's face. "All right, let's get this over with." Fueled by the depression over Kasumi's recent ordeal and his anger at being unable to stop it, Ranma glowed green as a sickly globe of ki was launched from his hands at a cry of "Shi Shi Hokodan". Ryoga's smirk only grew larger, and he countered the ki blast with his own, the two canceling each other out while generating a massive shockwave. "Come on, Ranma! I thought you could do better!" Ryoga's face suddenly sprouted a smile, and he added, "What happened to poor, sweet Kasumi must have hurt... didn't it?" Ranma growled, and threw a Shi Shi Hokodan larger than anything he or Ryoga had ever generated before. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when Ryoga cancelled it out without looking even the least bit winded. "Were these all the negative emotions her death generated for you?" the fanged boy taunted his opponent. He pointed to the sidelines with a satisfied smile. "Look, Akane is crying. How sad." Screaming out in complete and utter rage, Ranma threw several ki blasts in succession at Ryoga. The other boy was unprepared for the onslaught and couldn't cancel all of them out. His image became obscured with bright light and then dust. Ranma slumped to his knees, completely worn out. Concern marked on her features, Akane rushed over to his side. Putting his arm over her shoulders for support, Ranma pulled himself back to his feet. Suddenly, the pair heard loud laughter coming from the dust cloud. The dust particles flew outwards, as if driven by an unseen wind generated from inside the cloud. Ranma and Akane had to look away to keep the dust from entering their eyes, and when the looked back, they saw Ryoga floating in mid-air over a large crater in the ground, still laughing. "Did you think that pathetic attack would be enough to defeat me, foolish boy?" Ryoga got out between fits of laughter. "Damn it!" Ranma said urgently. "He can't be human!" "You're quite right on that," a new voice announced from the side. Everyone present turned around to look at Cologne, who was facing Ryoga while holding her staff in both hands. -------------------------------------------------- Evil! I mustn't run away! I mustn't run away! I mustn't run away! I mustn't run away! I mustn't run away! I mustn't run away! I mustn't run away! I mustn't run away! I mustn't run away! I mustn't run away! I mustn't run away! I mustn't run away! I'm scared! Mommy! Help me, mommy! I don't want to fight it! Why do I have to fight evil? For _her_... I put on a tough front. They will be fooled. All of them. They mustn't know. The must never know! If they know the truth... If they know how much I'm scared... I won't be able to protect her... I want to protect her! I would die for her! I must be strong. Mother, give me strength! Please? My resolve is weakening. My control is wavering. The more I use it, the more I lose myself. Would I lose myself entirely... for _her_? I'll soon find out. I hoped it wouldn't come to this. I... I never even got a chance to say... Does she know? No time now. Cologne is now. She's nice. I like her. Like being around her. Is that what having a mother feels like? My time is almost up. Please buy me enough time, mom. You're not my real mother, but can I call you like that at least once in my mind, before... It would... it would mean a lot to me, see... Mom... The time is up now. -------------------------------------------------- The staff glowed an eerie golden light that seemed to be coming from within it, illuminating the schoolyard brightly. When the glow subsided, Cologne stood facing Ryoga with her eyes closed, a strange-looking dagger held in both hands in front of her. An intricate pattern made of the same golden light appeared on the ground around her. Not opening her eyes, the Amazon matriarch started to chant. "Before me, Raphael. Behind me, Gabriel." A wind picked up around her, whipping the old woman's white hair around roughly and pushing the onlookers away forcefully. "At my right, Michael. At my left, Uriel." Cologne raised the dagger above her head, her voice picking up in volume. "A flaming pentagram to surround me! A shining hexagram pillar of light!" The old woman continued the incantation, slowly pointing the strange glowing in her hands towards Ryoga. "Malkuth... Ve-Geburah... Ve-Gedulah... Le-Oram..." Ranma, sensing the power build-up, hastily grabbed Akane and dove for cover. Cologne's eyes whipped open to stare at Ryoga coldly, while he looked down at her with nothing but contempt in his gaze. "Amen!" A golden pillar of light rose to the heavens majestically, purifying everything in its path. Everyone present outside of the blast radius shielded their eyes from its glare. Ryoga, however, smirked and took the attack head on. "Oh, so the old crone knows a few tricks," he taunted, before chanting mockingly the same incantation she had. The ancient Amazon tried to erect some kind of shield around her, but the blazing wave of energy tore through it relentlessly and sank its metaphorical teeth into her flesh. Cologne screamed as her body was mercilessly assaulted, unable to keep the horrible pain inside. Taking use of Ryoga's temporary distraction, Ranma charged him at full speed silently. There was no need for war cries, or declarations of the attacks. He just kept on launching his most powerful moves at his opponent out of desperate hope that at least one of them would get through and turn the tide in that crucial battle. That hope kept Ranma on his feet, and gave him a second wind... a third one... and a fourth... Ranma kept on pushing himself to his utmost limits and beyond, launching awe-inspiring combinations at his foe, moving almost too fast for the normal eye to see. He gave his very best to Ryoga... who just yawned at him and sent him skidding across the school yard with a casual flick of his wrist. "Methinks you need a little bit more inspiration, Boy. How about..." Ryoga searched with his eyes, until they found their target. Smiling cruelly, he continued, "the bitch?" Following his opponent's gaze, Ranma's heart skipped a bit. 'He wouldn't!' He ran towards Akane, shouting for her to get away, but knowing he won't make it there in time. Akane noticed the threat by now, and crossed her arms in front of her face in a futile attempt to protect it. Ryoga's blast spared it. Instead, it went right through her gut, painting the surrounding area with the girl's blood and innards. She paled, tears streaming down her cheeks. Akane grit her teeth against the impossible pain; the counter-measure didn't work for long. "Akane!" Ranma cried out desperately, his own tears streaming from his eyes and falling onto the ground. The short-haired girl arched her back and screamed. Her body shuddered and the scream wavered, losing of its intensity. Blood started pooling from her mouth. From the gaping hole in the middle of her body. From everywhere, covering her in red. Everyone who stuck to watch the battle out of morbid curiosity up to that point started running away, pushing others out of the way. Akane looked at Ranma and their eyes met, her gaze falling upon him fondly; soothingly. Frozen in his tracks, Ranma was forced to watch the light behind her eyes slowly dim and wink out. With an outraged cry, the pigtailed boy reared his head skywards and shouted his anguish and torment. Red energy blasted from his body, quickly expanding in all directions and consuming the entire school grounds... -------------------------------------------------- NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! NO!!! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DI-- -------------------------------------------------- Shampoo heard a particularly loud explosion in the distance and ran out of the Nekohanten in disobedience of her great-grandmother's commands, immediately vaulting to the roof of the establishment. She saw a bright red beam go upwards, emanating from the Furinkan high school. Her face showing her determination, she bent her legs slightly in a preparation of a jump that would take her to the nearest rooftop. A voice stopped her. "No, Shampoo. You mustn't go." Not turning around to face him or rising from her semi-crouched position, the purple-haired Amazon replied quietly, "You're not going to stop me, Mousse," in her native tongue. "You know the punishment for disobeying a Matriarch, don't you?" the boy asked hotly, switching to Chinese as well for his beloved's behalf. Shampoo nodded silently. "I cannot let you throw your precious life away!" "Then be prepared to take it by your own hands, because that would be the only way to stop me." Shampoo felt a hand land on her left shoulder. Looking to her side, she saw Mousse sobbing openly, leaning on her for support to keep himself upright. "Stupid Mousse..." she muttered quietly. "Go back to the village. Tell them you tried to stop me," she added with a smile, and he smiled back at her, despite his tears. Then, the boy's world went white. Shampoo gently lowered him to the ground, and looked at the sword that was now in her right hand after she used its hilt to knock Mousse out. "Good bye, my friend," she said to his still form, before going towards her original destination... Furinkan. -------------------------------------------------- A void. A bottomless pit. No emotions. No feelings. No life. Death? No space. No time. A presence. Sudden. Divine? Outworldy? A pact. A second chance? Life. A bother. A terrible burden. An offer. An offer one can't refuse. A price? Revenge. Hatred. Coldness. Evil. Feelings... returning. Time, resuming its course. Numbness, in the soul. A terrible numbness. A path. A price. A prize. One path, despite the price, for the prize. Yes... yes... Nemesis. Goddess. Planet. Realm. A deal. -------------------------------------------------- "What happened here?" Shampoo asked a running boy, a student at Furinkan, by the looks of it, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck. "A duel... that became... a s-slaughter..." he got out, gasping for air. By now, Shampoo recognized the boy as Daisuke, one of her beloved's friends. "Slaughter? Where Ranma?" He waved his hands clumsily, obviously still in shock. "I... I don't know. Akane d-died, and then..." "Who else in blast radius?" Shampoo had to repeat her question twice before she got an answer. "Y-Your great-grandmother... b-but Ryoga killed her b-before..." "Great-grandmother..." the young Amazon repeated with a choke. "She tried s-some weird voodoo on Ryoga, but he... he can't be human! I think he did... w-well, what happened to p-poor Kasumi..." Hearing that, Shampoo lowered her arms, finally allowing Daisuke's feet to rest on the ground. "The monsters of legend... they exist... Nemesis..." "W-What was t-that, Shampoo?" the frightened boy asked, still stammering. "Never mind now. Just go home." The girl made a shooing motion with her sword to drive the point home. "Y-Yes." Daisuke surprised her then by bowing deeply. "Shampoo, I'm sorry for your loss..." The Amazon nodded in acknowledgement. As the man scurried off, she went further into the school grounds slowly, keeping her sword ready. She fully expected some demonic beast to come out and attack her, but nothing seemed to have survived in the rubble. Shampoo found disfigured, charred bodies of students, sometimes missing a leg of a foot. She even found her beloved great-grandmother, her face contorted in a mask of pain, sorrow and anger. The sorrow came from her inability to stop the demon, while the anger was at herself for failing to do so, Shampoo believed. Carrying Cologne's broken body in her arms, Shampoo resumed her search. However, of Ryoga, Akane or Ranma, there was no sign. -------------------------------------------------- The End.