Infinity's Shore, Chapter 8

By James Barnhill



Disclaimer:  Yeah, yeah, I know I know.  I dont own any of these
characters.  Thats pretty obvious aint it?  These characters are the
property of their prespective creators......which I would tell you if I
could remember at the moment.....in fact, I cant remember my own
name......IVE LOST MY MEMORY!  DAMN THIS DISCLAIMER, DAMN IT!



Satisfaction Disclaimer:  You are entering a place, a place of bad taste
and no jokes, an area where the standards of  'good taste'  never applied.
You are now entering (da da da!) "The Fanfic Zone".  Please observe that
there are no exit signs, I forgot to add those.....maybe in the next
chapter?



Thanks go out to my prereader Jerry and the people at The Ranma Fanfic
Forum.  Special thanks go out to the people that contributed ideas for this
story, if anyone else has an idea where this story could go Id love to hear
it!



Prenote: This chapter should be considered a roughdraft as I dont fee it is
suitably dark enough yet, the reason Im releasing it is that I want to show
you all what Ive been doing for the past several months.



------------------------------------------------



While Ranma was away Kima along with her advisors and helpers were trying
to organize everyone for an evacuation.  Some of the Workers had found some
old wagons that had been used for heavy lifting and transport when the
Pheonix people had ruled the earth, but given their extreme age not more
then four or five out of fifty such wagons were expected to work.  Safety
concerns aside her hardest problem was getting everyone else ready to move
out, either packing up what they could and or leaving it all behind, the
people that believed her were trying desperately to deny it while everyone
else just went into shock.



Amid the mutterings of 'fools' and 'cant be' the sounds of the Workers
hastily refitting the wagons for their trip, in most cases canabalizing
useful parts from other wagons while Benar directed the other Keepers to
look through all the books they had brought for operating instructions.
Several teams had been sent back up to look for several specific texts that
hadnt been brought down with the original load.



Kima looked at the mounds of books with a silent sigh, knowing full well
that Benar wouldnt want to leave any of those other books behind.  The
thought of actually telling him such news panged her, as she did not want
her old mentor to feel any worse then he already must.  Instead she focused
on giving orders to the people around her who were in charge of getting
everything organized for the march to the Musk Citadel, trying to busy
herself enough to forget the thirty soldiers standing guard around the
remains of the boring machine that had penetrated the chamber and the
soldiers who were outside acting as sentries in case of any new push on the
Chinese armies part, or the fact that none of those outside soldiers could
see very well with the storm raging overhead blocking the light of the moon
except when a stray lightning bolt flashed bright enough to briefly see by.



After Io had teleported away the fighting died down enough for them to try
and scavenge some weapons, try was the main word as most of the weapons had
proven to be jammed with some sort of mechanical failure which then
attributed to the soldiers death, after that they had concentrated on
finding night vision gear but that turned out to be a bust as those peices
of headgear that hadnt been totally destroyed by whatever killed their
wearers were instead shorted out by the rain.  None of the Workers knew
enough about either the weapons or the night vision equipment to even
glance at the scavenged junk.



Though some of the explosive weapons turned out to be still working they
provided a means by which the entrances into the mountain could be sealed
to prevent looting, she really didnt see much reason to preventing it when
they wouldnt even be able to get back into it!



But still....it would probably help morale if everyone thought they they
planned to take back the mountain sometime in the future, at the very least
it might work as a future goal they could help attain sometime in the
future.



Kima went off in search of something more physical to do, all the while
trying not to wonder if any of them would have a future.



------------------------------------------------



Cologne looked around at the spectacle.  Despite the possability of being
attacked by the Chinese Army almost all the Elders except for herself and
one other were busy instead 'oohing' and 'aahing' the magical items the
Senshi had loaned them for the defense of the village, the warriors who
would normally act as sentries were instead negligent in their duties and
excitedly commenting on some pieces of the silver colored armor.  She
refused to participate in the procedings, instead exiting the hall via one
of its side entrances to get some fresh air.  Outside she drew in a great
lungful of air and let it out, certain that her presence would not be
missed for some hours.



"Peaceful out here isnt it, Khu-Lon?"



"Yes it is, Xi Na."  Looking above she could see almost all of the stars,
and in the distance a flicker of lightning.  Cologne frowned, thinking that
there shouldnt have been a storm tonight but just gave it up.  Like
everything else even the weather was beginning to make less sense to her.
At length she spoke to her friend.  "I couldnt stand the commotion inside."



"Ha!  I remember a younger Cologne, one that was very easy to excite.
Especially with the promise of battle.  Or meeting Happi."



Cologne grimaced at the name of her once long time friend, instead faking a
smile and chuckling along with the half hearted joke.  "Those days are
gone, old friend.  It takes quite a bit to excite me these days....but..."



"But?"  Xi Na pried further.



Cologne shook her head at her friends curiousity.  "These Senshi, they are
not Amazons, nor do they understand the ways of our traditions, or of this
world.  The way they act is far worse then my great-grand daughter, as if
they havent a care in the world.  I have seen them fight.  They arent even
warriors, they are more like a bunch of girls dressing up for a game of
make-believe."



"I understand too well.  Yet history has a way of repeating itself, and I
fear the part of history we are to repeat will not bode well for the
village at all.  These Senshi are just the start, even their 'gifts' are
changing the minds of our younger warriors, turning them away from our
honored traditions."



"Like the Romans."



"Just like the Romans."



"And like last time there is no stopping the inevitable."



Xi Na smiled at Colgne.  "I wouldnt say that.  Im sure you'll think of
something, old friend."  With that she reentered the hall, leaving Cologne
to ponder what she had said.



"How can I change anyone's opinion when none of them will listen to me
now?"  From within the Hall she could hear the voice of her great-grand
daughter coming through one of those communication sets the Senshi had
given them.  She hastened to walk away from the sound of her daughters
voice expulging on the amazing magic and weapons of the Senshi.  Now she
needed solitude and silence.



The most silent place in the entire village was the library, very few
people ever went there, fewer still stayed there to learn something
useful.  It was the single greatest folly of the younger generation.
Cologne could remember when she was a younger girl still studying the ways
of combat, her teachers sending her to the library to brush up on battle
tactics that had been used long before her time to defend the village from
those people that would destroy it like the Musk or the current warlord of
the time.  She had spent days there at a time until either her mother or
father dragged her off to bed lest she fall asleep and drool on the volume
she was reading.  It was during this reminisce that she suddenly stopped,
her senses flaring as something passed very close.



Ahead of her she noticed four shadowy figures sneaking toward the library.
She caught the familiar sight of a pigtail and opened her senses, feeling
the ki around her, the people in the huts nearest her and finally the
bright ki signature of the pigtailed shadow.  When the shadowy figures
entered the library she began to lightly chuckle as she followed them.



------------------------------------------



The single concrete room was bare and simple, the only furniture some
simple chairs placed at the corners.  The only unusual feature being the
single trapdoor in the floors middle.  While Ranma covered the entrance Hre
and the scout pulled the trapdoor open as silently as possible, the
creaking of the doors hinges protested that action and seemed like ti would
awake the entire village before they were through opening it.



With severel muttered curses Hre got one of the chairs and used it to prop
the door up at a less then ninety degree angle.  After propping another
chair against the thick door they descended into the library.  After a
quick climb down a ladder they went down a long spiral stairway that had
been cut into the rock.  The soldiers pulled out several glow strips they
had scavenged, with a crack the strips glowed a bright green.



At the foot of the spiral staircase they came to a impossibly large room.
Around them the pillar that contained the spiral staircase could be seen
while all around them the floor was as empty as far as the glow strips glow
would reach.  Cautiously they stepped forward, letting the glow rods light
their path as they carefully made their way across the floor away from the
pillar, wary of any traps that may be set into the floor.



"You should be more careful, Ranma."  An aged voice sid from in front of
them.



"NO...!"  Something blurred in front of him so fast Ranma found himself
sliding along the floor to the base of the stairway.  Getting up he was
knocked down again when Hre collided with his legs, shortly followed by the
scout and the other soldier.  Pushing his face away from the smell of the
dead soldier he faught his way to a standing position.



The glow rods had gone of in other directions, but none of them lit the
area very well.  The others were slowly getting their legs under them
again.



Off to the left a small flash preceded a torch being lit, suddenly the
immense room was lit be every other torch in it.  With the light what was
once thought to be a large room turned out to be a immense cavern larger
then a football field, the roof easily two hundred feet high and the end of
the cavern was obscured by high book cases and objects who's purpose could
not be easily guessed.



"Behold the treasure of the Amazons, Ranma Saotome.  This is what three
thousand years of Amazons have lived and died to protect from everyone
else."



While Cologne droned on and the Pheonix soldiers stared about them in
wonder Ranma kept his attention on the floor, carved into its surface was a
line of symbols that looked familiar, the cavern they were in looked
exactly like the cavern under Phoenix Mountain.  He looked up from the
floor, fixing his gaze on Cologne.



"So whats next, Cologne."



The old woman smiled at Ranma.  "Why are you asking me, sonny boy?"  She
looked at the Pheonix soldiers and smiled at them.  "But from the looks of
your friends I get the idea your planing a party."  She walked over to the
scout and tapped the dead body slung over his shoulder with her cane.



Ranma interposed himself between Cologne and the dead soldier, shoving her
cane aside at the last moment.  "Get out of here Cologne.  Remember, you
owe me.  Dont interfere."



Cologn scowled at Ranma for a moment before replying in a voice devoid of
humor.  "It is you who owe me Ranma, as I saved you from this caverns sole
trap." Cologne hopped back a few feet until she was at the edge of the
sparkling ring that enclosed the massive column leading to the surface.
With a tap of her cane the material instantly became tan a second before
thousands of small spikes no more then a inch in diameter shot upwards at
every angle possible.



For a moment they all stared at the trap, each wondering how many
unfortunate spies or sabotuers had been caught in it.



With another tap of her cane against one of the floors inset stones the
spikes retracted.  The warriors were then able to see the slight difference
in color between the trap and the rest of the light grey floor, that
difference being moderately pink and slightly darker in the parts where the
spikes had emerged.



"You came here to destroy the library as well as plant evidence that it was
the Chinese Red Army that perpetrated this crime in the hopes of using my
fellow Amazons as a diversion for whatever else you have planned.  Is that
correct?"  She smiled crookedly at Ranma as he stopped looking at the
discolored floor to stare at her slack jawed.



His eyes finally focused though his skin was still unusually pale as he
shook himself from the daze and assumed a offensive stance.  "Your going to
stop us arent you?"



Colgone's smile go even wider as the warriors behind Ranma came to their
senses and made a halfhearted attempt to surround her while keeping away
from the boobytrapped flooring.  "No, Ranma, I came here to help you."



"I dont trust you."



"Nor should you but I will give you a bit of free information to show you
that I am telling the truth.  Go behind that bookcase to your left and pry
open the emerald diamond shapped floor panel, under it you wil find a small
catch of weapons mostly made up of explosives that you can use to destroy
the library."



As Hre reluctantly went off to look for the catch of weapons, after
carefully stepping over the discolored flooring, the others continued
talking.



"I dont understand, what do you want?  Why are you helping us?"



"Are you going to stand their all night and ask me silly questions?"
Seeing the tensing of his jaw she sighed rather loudly before answering.
"I want my people to be strong again without having to abandone the old
ways and bow down to the Senshi.  Im helping you because I see this as the
best recourse to directly challenging the Senshi and hopefully during the
confusion those Amazons still holding true to our ancient traditions will
be able to leave and start anew again.  Now do you want to destroy this
library or should I do it?"



Before Ranma could answer they all heard a exclamation from Hre as he
rounded the bookcase with a bag full to bursting with weapons.  Not wasting
any more time they opened the bag and took stock of the explosives, noting
the chinese characters stamped into the materials and the other weapons
along with the symbol for China's flag.



Hre, some what out of breath asked the obvious question.  "What are these
weapons doing in a library?  Isnt that dangerous for the books?"



"I will admit this is a bit more then I was expecting, it appears that our
patrols have been picking off a few more soldiers then usual lately.  But
this library is also our bunker in case the Chinese Army should ever invade
us in overwhelming numbers, around this great cavern their are catches of
food and water enough to last for months should anything happen above.  Now
stop asking questions, all of you!"



-----------------------------------------------



Jade walked cautiously through the all encompassing night with a travel
back full of food and other supplies for the warriors at the southern
sentry post.  She was one of the most stealthy warriors in training and so
she was chosen for this particular job more often then any of her sisters,
which made her hate it all the more.  Worst, because of the chinese troops
seen moving so close to their lands she wasnt even allowed to use a torch
as she usually did, instead having to cautiously pick her way by both touch
and her poor nightvision.



Her teachers said that such tasks as she was performing would strengthen
her for the real challenges later in life.  She only paid them as much
attention as was their due because they were veterans of numerous conflicts
with either the Phoenix and Musk people's.  Once they and the chinese
military might have been a threat to the Amazon way of life but no more.



Like all the other young warriors she's seen the amazing weapons and magic
of the Senshi, truth to tell she couldnt wait to get her own silver armor.
And all that power!  No longer would any of the patrols have to go out
risking life and limb while wearing flimsy leather to protect their bodies
against arrows and more powerful weaponery, instead they could march
forward into their enemies line of fire while their armor protected them
with its many enchantments.



Ever since she had first heard about Shampoo's stories of the Senshi she
had fantasised about fighting for love and justice, protecting the weak and
powerless from the forces of chaos and destruction.



If only she had that armor of course.



One other reason she had been chosen to carry the food to the sentry post
was because she didnt have any strong inclination in any of the Amazonian
fighting arts, nor a very strong ability to generate ki.  In other words,
she was expendable.  But in her fantasy she saw herself in that shiny armor
as her family and those who'd mocked her asked to be friends, then she
wouldnt be the runt of the village unable to turn a males head, instead she
could have her pick!



Up ahead she saw the steady glow of the torch affixed to the pole that
marked the sentry post.  Stepping up her pace a bit she managed to get
there in a few minutes.  But before she stepped into the torches circle of
light she stopped, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end at the
sitght that greeted her as her stomach did a 180.  When she had been ten
feet away she thought several of the warriors were sleeping against the
pole instead of being alert like they should have, but as she got closer
she saw the one Amazon on the ground and noted that her purple short sleeve
shirt contrasted with her dark purple bottoms.  Then she noticed it.



So pale.......



The Amazon lying on the ground against the pole had a puddle of blood under
one of her legs, the blood having soaked through her pants bottoms turned
it dark before staining the ground.  Fearfully the little girl stepped
closer and saw to her fright that all of the warriors were dead and that
whoever had killed them had tied them to the pole to make it look like they
were sleeping.



So dead.........



She dropped the heavy pack to the ground and looked all around her,
frieghtened of whatever waited out there.  She began to imagine hundreds of
concealed eyes watching her out of every shadow existing beyond the torches
light.  In that same moment all of her fantasies dissolved, washed away by
fear of what the other people that lived beyond her simple village could do
to her fellow Amazons.



So many shadows............



Hysterical with fear the little girl ran back into the night, away from the
bodies, in the hopes that she would survive to tell everyone in the village
of what she had seen.



-----------------------------------------------



Sorting out the explosives from the rifles, hand guns, and assorted knives
they started off around the vast chamber.  Under Colognes instruction they
used two small bricks of plastic explosive on each of the support pillars
that kept the cieling up, then connected up a radio transmitter to the
arrangement before moving on to the next pillar.  While all this was
happening Hre and the scout were arranging the evidence for the frame up,
stating with positioning the dead soldier just inside the entrance before
using one of the guns to put several bullets into the corpse at close range
to muffle the bullet shots and at the same time make it look like some sort
of betrayel, then they put on a set of army fatigues that had been
scavenged from the other dead chinese soldiers before passing on two
uniforms to Ranma and the other Pheonix Warrior.



"Now come here and I will show you one of the emergency exits."  On the
other side of the immense cavern Cologne had come to a wall that looked
like all the others with a complete if faded mural of something that might
have looked like a pheonix person at one time or another.  The area around
the wall didnt suggest anything of importance as it too looked like any
other portion of the large cavern with the only exception being the
placement and orientation of the large book cases.  Before any of them
could try to explore further Cologne poked her staff through a hidden
crevice, almost imediately the sounds of heavy gears could be heard as the
thick section of wall slid back a couple of feet before breaking into two
rectangular sections and sliding into adjacent holes to leave the passage
behind them free of obstruction.



"Heres where it gets fun!"  With that the scout ran back to the dead body,
pausing just inside the stone archway before pulling out a handgun from
inside his military jacket and shooting it a few more times before running
back toward the emergency exit, as he ran he took several grenades from
within his military uniform and began pulling the pins and throwing each
one randomly along the way.  During the fourth exploding grenade he ran
into the exit to catch up with the others just as the sliding wall
partitions slid back into place.



The tunnel proved longer then any of them save Cologne had thought it would
be, behind them they could hear the explosions caused by the plastic
explosives and through the ground the rumble of hundreds of tons of dirt
suddenly shifting and filling a great space while above most of the
buildings in the village must be slowly sinking into the great depression
that would form except for the concrete structure over the stairway to the
library, they had made sure not to put explosives around it so that the
evidence would survive.



From behind a new noise came, the sound of something callapsing and falling
in, yet before they could worry about the tunnel falling in on them they
were out the tunnel exit and into the moonlit night.  Cologne followed one
of the sightly overgrown paths, Ranma and the soldiers followed her.



"Cologne..."



Cologne quickly shushed Ranma with a rap of her cane just as several
Amazons passed their position, when they quickly turned and went down
another path Cologne sighed in relief.  Off in the distance toward the
village shouts could be heard along with the ringing of bells and more
shouts from areas close by them.  Turning around she gave Ranma an annoyed
look when she saw that he had taken up a defensive stance.  But when Ranma
didn't stand down she laughed.



"Its good to see that some of my teachings didn't fall upon deaf ears."



Feeling around with his senses he could sense the presence of the other
Phoenix warriors nearby, ready to draw their weapons and attack at a
moments notice.  "Why?"



Cologne snorted.  "Do you really have to ask Ranma?  Fine then...........I
will tell you.  For the past three thousand years my people have lived
free.  The romans, the first chinese dynasties, communism, the musk, none
of them could control us.  But now there are the Senshi, who's plans will
turn my people into nothing more then a glorified police force.  If that is
the future of my people then it would be better for them to be spread to
the four winds."



Cologne's expression was wistful.  "You were the best of my students
Ranma.  Don't fail me by dying at the hands of such weak Amazons."



Ranma's slack jawed expression disappeared as he bowed at the waist toward
Cologne.  "Goodbye, sensie."  With that said he and the phoenix soldiers
quickly made their way down the path to Phoenix Mountain.



Cologne watched them run off until she could no longer see them.
Reluctantly she began to hop back to the village in the hope of salvaging
something of her way of life.



Before she could enter the village she had to do something else.  The next
squad of warriors she saw she motioned closer to her.  With a strait face
she told them of her sighting of several Chinese Army soldiers running from
one of the emergency exits and heading toward Pheonix Mountain.  With a nod
the leader of the war party immediately turned back toward the village to
gather more warriors for a retaliatory strike.



Cologne silently made her way into the village and passed the word as
descretely as possible to those she knew who agreed with her views.



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------



The wagons were nearly ready, the Workers around them putting on the last
minute touches that would hopefully keep them running for as long as they
needed.  She only wished that the civilians were as ready as the wagons.
Those who knew were telling people what to pack for when it came to
clothing, which was about the only stuff any of them had brought down.  Off
in his own corner Benar yelled at his apprentices to hurry up with packing
the books, around them a untidy pile of books that had been thrown about
during their hasty packing more resembled a broken wall then the
irreplaceable ancient tomes of knowledge they were.



Past the long line of hastily refurbished wagons a mixed team of Workers
and Warriors were heading out to the designated exit point that would let
them out halfway to the Musk Citadel.  As the Chinese army was
concentrating its forces on the mountain itself they wouldnt look for any
tunnels or passages that far from the base of the mountain.  Or so she
hoped, but like everything else it was the best plan they could come up
with in the time alloted.



Most of the civilians were ready to go though she was sure at the end of
their trip more then half of them would be suffering from exhaustion and
injuries to their feet.  Several of the warriors wanted the people to use
their wings to get to the Musk Citadel faster but she along with the other
warriors and Keepers resoned that the Chinese Army would account for that
possability and had possibly placed squads a mile or more from the mountain
for the exact purpose of shooting down any fleeing Pheonix People.



After more details had been ironed out concerning how they would protect
the civilians and what course they would take they each went their own way
to speed up the evacuation as much as they could.



Until now.  While everyone got into neat orderly lines behind the wagons se
selected several Warriors and Workers to use some of the explosives they
had taken to seal up the entrances into the mountain.



"That wont be necessary Kima."  The voice made her look down at the child
Saffron while he studied the Warriors who stood guard at the new entrance
into the mountain.  With those words she heard the confidence he once
possessed in abundance, before Ranma had beaten him



Slightly confused at Saffrons behaviour she answered.  "Why not?  Do you
want the Chinese to get their hands on our treasures?"  She couldnt keep
the anger she felt from creeping into her voice.  When Saffron looked at
her she involuntarily took a step back as his eyes were glowing and his
aura was becoming visible around him.



"Those explosives wont stop them if they are determined to get our peoples
treasures.  So Im going to seal this mountain permamently so that no one
will be able to get in, ever."  As if agreeing with him the stone under his
feet began to glow bright red before his flamelike aura dimmed and
disappeared altogether.  "I controled this mountain for a long time Kima, I
know how to bend it to my will."



Hearing the silent pleading in his voice she bowed her head and motioned
for the group of Warriors and Workers to go join the line of refugees.
When everything was set up she would send a runner to tell the squads of
Warriors that had been guarding the main entrance and the entrance blown
into the top of themountain to come down and join them.  When they left
several Workers would seal the doors thus seperating the chamber they were
in from the rest of the topside mountain.  With his power Saffron should be
able to protect himself long enough to allow Ranma and the soldiers to get
through before closing the mountain.



Behind her Saffron assumed a lotus pattern on the floor and closed his
eyes.  After a few minutes his aura became semi-visable, like a very dull
red flame that just flowed around his young body, the stone beneath him
started to slowly glow in sympathy with his aura but too dimly for anyone
to notice.



Streams of flame wafted off Saffrons body, too fient for anyone to see each
stream reached out to a piece of stone, then through the stones outer
surface it began to flow through the myriad channels and cracks until it
reached past the stone room and up into the mountain itself.  The myriad
channels and cracks joined together by the flaming aura began to act like a
nervous system as his mind reached out to take control of the entire
mountain.  Dimly he could feel/hear Kima's voice and the answers from
thirty other phoenix, then the dull thrum of the wagons moving out ahead of
the line of civilians, he could almost hear the ragged steps of each and
every individual making up those lines.



None of those people could feel, would even begin to suspect, that Phoenix
Mountain was coming to life.



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------



Alia watched, it was all she could do at the time as her power reserves
were slowly recuperating from her last major show of force.  It had been
too long since she had had to interfere in matters so far away from her own
power base, and now not only she but an entire culture would pay the price.



Yet as she stared at Ranma through one portion of her perception matrix she
began to feel hope for if he could distract the chinese army by using the
Amazons then the resulting conflict might also distract the Senshi enough
to draw their attention away from Pheonix Mountain as they would have to
protect their Amazon allies from possible reprisals.  But it was such a
small hope and she wanted to help so much, but somehow, someway, she
managed to riegn in her need for action as the  cold hard logic of the
situation made itself known.  If she were to use her power now she might
not have enough to make a difference when it would really be needed.



Behind her she could feel tiny pinpricks along her back that signified that
some intelligence's were watching this battle as well, but from long
experience she knew that such beings rarely if ever got involved, and,
sometimes, they could be much worse then any enemy these people would ever
have to face.

She still had nightmares from the last time such an intelligence had come
out to 'help' a culture, through some twist of logic the intelligence had
thought that the only way to really resolve the conflict for any length of
time was to vaporize one half of the planet.



Alia shuddered involuntarily, trying hard not to think of that happening to
this world.  The distraction she hoped for came from the part of her
perception matrix centered on Ranma just as a large fireball occluded her
view briefly before reorienting itself on Ranma and the group of Pheonix
soldiers running through a underground tunnel leading out from the Amazons
main library.  Going back a couple of minutes before the explosion she saw
them lay the explosives around the support pilars running alongside the
caverns domed room.  Then, just as the grenade throwing pheonix warrior
neared the tunnel Cologne thumbed the remote detanator trigger for the
plastic explosives.



--------------------------------------------



Letting her perception matrix go back to their present she focused her view
on Cologne briefly as she watched the young warriors run toward Pheonix
Mountain before tuning her view more on the group and the surrounding
area.  Because of her metaphysical nature she had no problem seeing more
then the visible section of the electromagnetic spectrum and now, with the
growing clouds from the runaway storm blocking the pale moonlight she used
it to see everything.



She watched as the warriors ran ahead of Ranma slightly as they neared the
new ground level tunnel and wormed their way over the remains of the mining
machine.  She twitched, then, noting the reaction she opened her other
senses a bit further ahead of the group to see Saffron sitting cross-legged
on the floor in a deep meditative trance.  The pheonix soldiers yelled at
him as they got closer but he didnt respond, instead the entire mountain
began to shake and quake as something was let loose, though her own senses
Alia could see the layer of heavy armor covered by dirt both inside and
outside the mountain glowing faintly while the layers of stone covering the
mountain began to crack and steam.



There, again, another reaction to something else she hadnt felt before,
something that was reacting in sympathy to Saffrons power.  Feeling that it
might be important she sped up her own time, then stretching her senses out
to encompass the entire area she began to feel out the area.



Refocusing her senses slightly she saw the small flicker of something that
had been partially buried under some unrolled scrolls.  Focusing through
the thin peices of paper she saw a book whose cover was being lit from
within, focusing further inward she saw past the old leather cover a plate
of dull red metal that was glowing.  Letting curiousity get the best of her
she peered through the cover at the leaf thin pages of dull gold metal and
the characters that had been imprinted on them, speeding up her own sense
of subjective time she went through the entire books contents, noting that
the end was missing yet feeling that the book itself was very important, to
confirm this she moved her point of view up to the library and looked
thorugh the other books that had been strewn about on the desks and tables,
none of them had pages of gold or covers of dull red metal.  Still, the
symbols had a meaning to them that she had felt before, yet whatever it was
the connection between that mysterious book and that insignificant piece of
information refused to yeild to her conscious efforts at recall, instead
taunting her to the point of distraction.



Going back to the cavern she found the Pheonix warriors had already left
via the same exit the civilians had used, Ranma had stayed behind with the
young Saffron.  Looking back at the hole the chinese drilling machine had
created she saw it being covered with thin streams and globs of molten red
metal, sealing the entrance against anyone outside.  She, or rather that
part of her perception matrix devoted to Ranma tturned around just in time
to catch him sprinting down the tunnel with an exhausted Saffron in his
arms.



Wracked with a moment of indecision as to the possible use of the book she
flung caution to the wind and used a small amount of her power to fling the
book at Ranma, just managing to tag him behind the knees and incidentally
tearing away some of the false cover to expose the unusual red metal
within.  As expected Ranma took a moment to make sure that Saffron was okay
before getting up and picking up the book as well upon seeing and feeling
the unusual cover.



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------



It had been three hourse since contact was lost with all of the strike
elements and support units attached to the operation to take Pheonix
Mountain.  Of course the people that were in charge of the operation just
used the label M-124 for the mountain instead of alluding to its unusual
past in both history and myth.  When the operation was completed the
general public would be told that the treasures and technology, or rather
what was left of the technology after the fighting, was found in some
abandoned tunnels that had been used by dissidents hoarding ancient
treasures from China's ancient past.  It wouldnt matter how many people
knew some part of the truth for the masses of people that had been taught
to trust any and all propaganda put out by the Party would always outnumber
them.



Dozens of other forces were now converging on the mountain in an attempt to
cut off any and all routes of escape that the Pheonix People might use.
Not that they would be safe anywhere else, with their unique looks it would
be hard for any of them to hide in China, possibly even the entire world.
There were rumors tha certain crime elements based in Hong Kong were
offering to buy feathers from Pheonix people to use in certain ancient
remedies that would fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars on the black
market.  There wouldnt be any investigation as to whether or not any of the
soldiers had taken up the offer as most of the physical evidence would
doubtlessly have to be destroyed to keep the Party's version of events as
credible as possible, the fewer holes the better.



Whether or not the treasures inside the mountain would stop the impending
revolutionary groups from attacking the Party was another matter entirely.
Of the known revolutionary groups operating in China one-third wanted to
isolate all of China from the rest of the world, another third wanted to
overthrow the Party in favor of a better political system that didnt have
to rely so much on military action and firepower, while the last third
didnt make any sense however you tried to understand them as one moment
they seemed all for peace while the next they were screaming for everyones
blood.  It was a sorry state of affairs, but at the same time strangely
odd.



Several of the group psychologists that were working for the Party had been
heard to comment that nothing was even remotely following the described
models for social behaviours that they should have been seeing in a
population like in Biejing, instead the other groups and sub-groups were
acting like some outside force were effecting them.  The very idea seemed
rediculous until you saw the entire picture with the food shortages in some
districts as well as the growth of splinter groups in the same region.  It
was because all of the soldiers, or at most 90%, were from such areas and
might not be very loyal to the Party should someone be it family and or
friend try to turn them to a different cause that the Political Officers
had been introduced into the military orginizations.  As could be expected
one of the results was more desertions and lower moral, that was even
before one of the Political Officers killed a leutenent for smuggling
weapons to a revolutionary party.



It was a bad time to be in the military if you had no other reason then to
protect your home.



"Still nothing, theres too much interference sir."



"I see, do you still think its artificial?"



"At first sir.  But now with that last report of that electrical storm
growing over M-124 before all contact was lost.  Just before I lost contact
with the three forces near M-124 their radio operators were commenting on
the terrible storm ahead of them as well as something glowing beyond their
field of vision."



"Please get to the point."  He didnt want the man to start thinking of
supernatural reasons that the interference would be generated as such
thoughts would aslso lead to all the rumors about the Pheonix People
possessing such advanced technology and treasures that they could have
wiped out the entire population of China in one fell swoop.  If any of his
soldiers got wind of this information he didnt doubt that atleast half of
them would try to desert with or without the Political Officer to shoot
them for dereliction of duties.



"Yes, sir, sorry sir.  I dont see how it could be anything other then a
large electrical storm.  Nothing else."



"But even if the electrical storm accounts for the radio interference it
doesnt explain the glow they saw coming from the area near the mountain."
He rubbed his chin for a moment as he looked up at the map tacked to the
inside of the tent that showed the positions of various units that were
meant to surround Pheonix Mountain.  There was another group said to e in
the area that he and a few others had been warned of through the military
grapevine.  "Musk."  It was all coming back.  Amid the tales and myths
surrounding the mysterius mountain several of his friends had told him to
beware the Musk, one of them mentioned the current king....or was it
prince?  He was said to be quite powerful and rumored to 'glow' at odd
times.



"Private, dispatch these three units toward the Musk Citadel east of
Jusenkyo.  Their orders are to form a blockade between their Citadel and

M-124, if they are attacked they are to destroy the Citadel immediately!
Is that understood."



"Yes sir, Ill start right away."



He hoped he was giving the right orders.  But still, there was something in
the back of his mind that refused to yield, something that gave him the
nagging feeling that he was missing something very important.  Something
that changed everything.



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------



The line of large wagons and people kept going as the ring of defensive
soldiers watched out for anything that might attack the civilians under
their guard.  Ahead of the line small groups of warriors searched for
chinese soldiers waiting in ambush, clearing them away before they could
hurt anyone.



Ranma and Saffron made it out of the cave before the power Saffron had
imbued into the mountain melted the cavern system underneath it.  Ranma
leaned down to pick up saffron before he could collapse from exhaustion.
Whatever protests saffron said were lost as his voice gradually changed to
a soft snoring sound.



Looking down at the ground he saw the trails left by the wagons big metal
wheels.  Seeing the direction they went he started off at a slow run.  He
ran for several minutes before he encountered the line of refugees after
cresting a hill.  Looking back he saw Phoenix mountain glowing a dull red
as its once sharp rock face melted and flowed down the sides.  The mountain
was now half its height, the rest of it seemed to have flowed down to the
base of the mountain before cooling enough to harden, the overall effect
made it look like a large irregular glowing hill.



Just as he lost his home so had the Phoenix, he wondered despairingly how
many more homes would be destroyed before they found safety.  Before he
could think about that anymore he saw more explosions just beyond the
mountain.  The dark part of his mind took pleasure in thinking that the
Amazons might have bitten off more then they could chew.  Confused, and a
little scared, Ranma turned away and began running after the refugees.



The line of regugees from Pheonix Mountain moved as fast as its slowest
members.  They trudged along the rocky plain, unaccostomed to traveling
long distances using thei legs instead of their wings, those younger that
could spare the energy helped their weaker elders as much as they could.
In the center of the thick line were the large wagons loaded down with
books, supplies, and those pheonix people that were near death.  In the
eyes of these people one could see the terror they all felt, and in their
wary lookout of the area's they passed one could also see first hand their
new fear of the future.



Ranma saw all of this as he passed them by, still holding the sleeping
Saffron in his arms.  He gave a quick nod to those few soldiers he passed
that had been left with the refugees to defend them in case they were
attacked by anything that got through the advanced parties scouting ahead.



Behind all of them the remains of Pheonix Mountain continued to glow
crimson, its rock and metal layers mixing and flowing until what had once
been a solid mountain was now reduced to a gently sloping hill one third
the height of the mountain that continued to obey the laws of gravity and
sink further into the Earth's soil.  Its rudy crimson glow, already bright
enough to occlude the stars, bathed everything all around it the same dark
red color.



At the head of the line Ranma found Kima already debriefing the soldiers
that had accompanied him.  Ahead he could just make out the top level of
the Musk Citadel.



From behind him several non-descript figures appeared out of the ground and
quickly joined the line of refugees, with their ragged clothing and
shuffling gait none of the civilians paid them any attention.  If they had
they would have seen inhuman faces with dull red/purple eyes that lightly
shown under the hoods.  But all the civilians could do was to walk as
closely together as possible while those nearby Warriors tried to keep
watch over areas that would have required two to three to keep an effective
lookout while helping those civilians that were not used to long treks upon
the rocky ground.  Given the situation its amazing that none were lost or
killed by renegade soldiers.



---------------------------------------------------



The Musk Citadel was as large as the Amazon village, walls twenty to thirty
feet high depending on the terrain sloped at a gentle angle upwards, the
walls didnt have any easy breaks in them as they were composd of huge
rectangular stones that fit together without need of cement.  Compared to
Pheonix Mountain it was obviously man-made though it looked small and squat
until one came closer to it.  Then the true scale of the walls and the few
buildings that rose behind them made itself known to the weary travelers.



Ranma stumbled along with everyone else though he tried to remain alert to
any and all threats that might approach yet the time it had taken them to
reach the Citadel while evading other parties of soldiers had given him
time to go over what he had done.  Never before had he actually taken a
life, the time he defeated Saffron he couldnt get rid of the small voice in
his mind that kept calling him a killer until Cologne told him that Saffron
had not died but had instead regressed back into a egg.



When he killed those chinese soldiers there had been no voice afterwords to
brand him a killer, only the cold certianty and......the sense of power
that came over him at learning how to take control of his life once again.
Closing his eyes in an effort to suppress that...feeling and its addictive
power.  He was at the front of the line, behind him he could hear the
crunch of loose soil as the heavy weight of the wagons behind him rolled
forward more silently then they should have.  He didnt know what powered
them, if anything, but he was thankful for their silent operation otherwise
everyone would've had to carry more then thy could possibly handle.  As it
was the people he saw coming to the front of the line already looked
haggard and tired from the walking, few of them could probably handle
anything else.



He just hoped they would find shelter at the Citadel.  Beside him Kima kept
a steady pace with the two Warriors flaking them.  Hre walked behind them
as he carried the sleeping child Saffron in his arms.



"Halt!  Who goes there?"



From out of the terrain before the line of refugees emerged several Musk
warriors.  Several more emerged from hiding to the startlement of the
Pheonix warriors.  Like the terrain the Musk warriors clothing consisted of
cloth that varied between soft and dark brown to blend in better.  Hearing
the sounds of fighting from behind them Kima turned around to see two
Pheonix warriors gaining up on one of the Musk warriors.



"STOP!"



The warriors immediately stopped what they were doing and let the Musk
warrior go but they still kept their eyes on the man.



Kima turned back to one of the Musk warriors before them.  "Please tell
Prince Herb that Kima of the Pheonix People needs his help."



The Musk warrior didnt reply, instead turning away to wave at someone on
the defensive wall.  The civilians behind them gratefully took the chance
to rest as much as they could while passing word down the line to hold up
and rest while they could.  Beyond the civilians the Pheonix Warriors
nervously kept watch over the surrounding land, aware for the slightest
disturbance in the surrounding shadows of moonlit ground.  All it would
take is just one chinese soldier to call back to his superiors and they'd
be as good as dead.  After several moments of tense silence punctuated with
urgent whispering from those civilians that couldnt keep quiet another man
approached.



Ranma didnt look at the figure, instead keeping his eyes on the surrounding
terrain around the Citadel for any threats.  "Hello, Herb."



"What happened?"  His voice was at once urgent and concerned as he took in
the long line of refugee's, though he kept most of his attention on the
large wagons.



Kima briefed him on the two pronged attack by the chinese army as fast as
she could while keeping as little out as possible.  When he asked for
evidence that they couldnt just go back to Pheonix Mountain Kima pointed
back the way they came to the bright orange light coming from below the
horizon.



Ranma's gaze didnt waver as he looked into Herb's eyes.  "They came after
us Herb and for now the Amazons are keeping their forces in that area busy
but it wont last foreever.  When whoevers in charge discovers that they
cant get into the mountain their going to shift their focus onto a
different target, and as the Amazons outnumber you at this time they'll
come here for your treasures and people."



Herb stared at Ranma for what seemed an eternity before turning his gaze
away.  "Cr'K!  Go open the gates tell everyone inside to get ready to
recieve refugees."  When the Musk warriors saluted and ran off Herb looked
again at Ranma.  "Sometime later your going to have to tell me how yoou got
the Amazons to attack the Chinese Red Army, but for now we should all get
to safety."



Without incident the line of refuguees again moved forward toward the main
gate of the Citadel, inside Pheonix and Musk warriors worked to make sure
that everyone was evenly distributed and didnt try to stop everyone behind
them.  Amid all of this rumors quickly spread through the spartenly
populated Citadels population of their new quests.  Those civilians that
were intent of going to these new refugees and kicking them out were met
with the looks of people that had lost everything that meant anything to
them, those civilians stared for a while before one of the soldiers asked
them to help out.



It took about an hour to get allof the wagons into the citadel but they
would only fit in the hallway leading from the main entrance as they were
too wide to turn into any of the smaller corridors that branched off,
fortunately there was enough space to accomodate all of the wagons while
leaving just enough space for several people to squeeze through at one
time.



In one of the connecting rooms where civilians were handing out what food
was available and blankets Ranma sat down on the hard floor with his back
to the wall.  Keeping his eyes slightly open he saw everyone mill around
him but keeping a respectable distance.  He then caught site of Benar
heading back toward the wagons.  Calling out he caught the Keepers
attention. wading his way through the crowed Benar looked at him
suspiciously before Ranma pulled a book out of his shirt and handed it to
the old man.



"I tripped over this going through Pheonix Mountain and I thought you'd
like to examine it.  Look under the fake cover."



Benar ripped away the fake cover to expose the gleaming red metal
underneath and the characters imprinted directly into it.  With wide eyes
he turned away from Ranma and hurried out of the room toward the wagons,
almost knocking down two soldiers that after a few moments of study turned
out to be Hre and the scout.



They went through the line for food fortunately the crowd that had been
there earlier had thinned out as the Pheonix refugees moved out of the room
to find someplace to rest.  Soon they came back with bowls of soup in their
hands, after a little nudging Ranma opened his eyes to see that they had
seated themselves on both sides of him and the scout was offering him an
extra bowl of soup they brought.  Feeling the impending grumble from his
stomach Ranma accepted the bowl of soup with weak 'thanks' before digging
in.



Hre and the scout talked for a few minutes before they became quiet, after
a moment he realized that one of them had asked him a question.  "What?"



Hre took a few spoonfuls of soup before answering.  "How long do you think
it will take the Senshi to find us?"



Looking away he caught the scout staring at him, waiting for his answer.
"I dont know.  What makes you think the Senshi will come after us?  I mean
the Chinese Army is doing a good enough job already, right?"



The scout's jaw clenched tightly at the mention of the chinese army.
"Because they found you once, and then went after Saffron.  It seems to me
that they dont like to leave any loose ends.  And with you being a loose
end dangerous enough to send one of their own after then it seems
reasonable to assume that they'll do it again to make sure that the job
gets done right this time."



"They wont.  Pluto doesnt try the same tactic twice, next time she'll go
for something more subtle with a higher probability of success."  Even as
he said these words Ranma felt his stomach knotting up with new tension as
he realized that whatever the Senshi, or rather Pluto did next it ws bound
to be more dangerous then the last time.  Even if he fought off the first
attack by the Senshi he had only been against ONE senshi in a large room
that hadnt survived the fight very well.  Next time the attack would
doubtless catch him and a few other people offguard.  He shuddered at the
possabilities.  He needed to do something as he was responsible for their
current situation.



While Hre and the scout continued to talk about what the Senshi might do
Ranma tried to distract himself by looking at the cieling.  Like most of
the rest of the Citadel it was constructed out of large blocks of stone
that might have been decorated at one point but it was hard to tell.
Nearby the flicker of one of the torches drew his attnetion, the stone
behind the torch shone with a dark red color highlighted by the torches own
flickering.  But Ranma didnt see any of that, instead he saw a crater at
the base of a mountain surrounded by flames that seemed to move of their
own accord.



"Mr. customer?"



Ranma blinked his eyes slowly as he looked away from the torch to see the
Jusenkyo guide, and beside him another guy that towered over him.



"Jusenkyo guide?  And you, your that same guy from The Cult of the Muscle
Sword arent ya?"



The Jusenkyo guide looked back before noding an affirmative to both of
Ranma's questions.  "Is so.  Ever since springs dry up I have been out of
work.  And..."  At that point the tall guy spoke up.



"And with all the violence happening in the towns and cities we had to all
move here for some measure of peace."



Hre.  "Is it that bad?"



The guy's usual bravado failed and he smulmed slightly.  "Its even worse.
The police and military are cracking down on anything that even hints at
dissention, that especially includes any form of Martial Arts not
sanctioned by the party.



From out in the main corridor they heard some shouting.



-------------------------------------



Kima stood across from Herbs throne, discussing what to do with the
resources they had.  Suddenly a runner came through the large double doors
and immediately crossed the room to Herb side to lean down and speak a few
terse sentences in one of Herbs ears that immediately caused him to stand
up straiter from his usual slouched position.



"What wrong?"  Kima said though she felt that she already knew what was
being said.



After a few moments the runner exited the room leaving her and Herb alone.
"You said the Chinese army attacked you, correct?"



"Yes."



"It looks like they're coming here as well, several scouting parties have
observed two of their smaller forces changing course for the Citadel.  Im
not sure if they are heading here but given what has happened to your
people it seems quite likely that they will attack us before the night is
over."



"We brought some of the weapons the chinese army was using against us,
rifles, explosive shells and grenades.  Youll find them in the third wagon
near the front and they are yours if you will help us."



"Will Saffron appreciate you usurping his position?"  Herb said this with
the barest hint of a smile on his face.



"No....but under the circumstances I feel he will understand."



"Who would have imagined a time when the Pheonix and the Musk had to work
together for their own survival?"  He got up from his thrown and started to
pace the room.  After several circuites he started to speak.  "The problem
is that even with the best soldiers we dont have the weapons or training
necessary to take out whatever forces are sent against us, the best that
could be hoped for would be a battle of attrition where our combined forces
would attack the army forces while they were still too far from the Citadel
to do any harm, but with their weapons and Infared goggles they would have
the advantage in spotting our forces before any sort of attack could come."



Kima broke in.  "Not to mention the possibility of a........nuclear
assault."



Herb stopped his pacing and looked at Kima for a moment with large eyes.
"I hope matters wont come to that, if anything they'll be too greedy for
the treasures here to risk destroying them.  Hopefully."  He started
pacing, this time a bit faster.  "The best we could do is to lay some traps
using those explosives you brought and then in the ensuing chaos attack and
kill however many of those soldiers we can.  Meanwhile well have to get
ready to abandon the Citadel and go somewhere else out of China."



"And therein lies the next problem:  How do we move all of these people and
keep them safe while trying to stay concieled from any and all chinese
forces?"



"Does Saffron have enough energy to destroy anything?"



"Very little.  But I fear he wont be waking up very soon, whatever he did
to the mountain has almost completely drained him."



"I see.  I would ask Ranma to help but when I laid eyes on him outside I
could see he could barely stand on his own two feet by the way he was
swaying, I couldnt even see his aura.  What...."  Before Herb could voice
his question shouting errupted outside the door to the room.  Both Kima and
Herb turned to the door in time to see Benar barreling in, actually
dragging one of the Musk guards that had been standing outside the door
with him.



Kima.  "What is the meaning of this Benar?!"



Her anger stopped the Keeper in his tracks while the guard holding his
wiast let go and fell to the ground.  The guard looked at Herb fearfully
but after a nod he exited the room as fast as he could.



"My lady, I.....I mean we......I just..."



"Please get to the point Keeper Benar."



After a moment he held up a book in his hands and showed it to her and
Herb.  "My Lady, we found The Book of Ages.  With this we could leave this
Citadel, possibly this world even without having to fight our way through
any of those chinese forces out there."



Herb stepped closer to get a look at the book, after a moment his eyes
wondered from the red metal cover to the side of the book where he cought a
hint of gold, Kima saw his look and opened the book to show the different
pages of leaf thin gold metal that had been impressed with different
characters.



"But I cant actually read the language my lady, only bits and pieces.  Ill
need time with the other Keepers as well as a few of the Mages to decrypt
this language."



Herb walked up to Benar and stared him in the eyes.  "How much time will
you need?"



Benar stepped back from Herb's intense gaze, gulping several times he tried
to speak while all too aware of how easy it would be for all the Musk to
destroy the Pheonix people once and for all.  It was a irrational fear but
one that had been building in all of the Pheonix people since they had to
evacuate the mountain.  Now, if this failed, the Musk people could blame
his own and kill most if not all of them before the chinese army could
invade.  "I..I...I..Ill need several hours at the least to fully translate
the spell itself, once thats done it shouldnt take very long for the Mages
to rehearse the spell before casting it.  Most of the pages that have to be
translated I believe are only for the patterns that must be drawn in the
ground to concentrate their power."  He was aware that he had left out
several things but he was too nervous to say so....and too afraid of what
might hapen should one of the guards outside the room overhear and decide
he might be keeping some other secrets.  As he was thinking the last
thought Kima came into his field of view with a expression both questioning
and...something else.



"Do you think this will work, Keeper Benar?"



He pointed to the book.  "If you were holding one of our other paper books
I would say no, but this book....Lady Kima this book was made to last in
case our people were again thrust into a desperate situation for survival.
The spell in that book your holding has never been changed nor do I believe
it could have been.  So my answer is yes, it must work."



Herb looked at Kima and when she nodded he walked out of the room, behind
him the two guards that had been standing outside glanced at Benar briefly
before following their leige.  From further down the corridor Herbs voice
could be heard shouting out orders.



--------------------------------------------------



Authors Notes:  This took a bit longer then i wanted it to but this just
proves that the imagination is not easily controlled, or atleast it isnt
easy for me to control my imagination.  Originally I wanted this part of
the story to end at chapter 7 but then that got pushed to chapter 8, and
then (finally?) to chapter 9.  Hopefully by the time you read this chapter
9 should be about finished or already posted.  If everything goes correctly
of course, yet somehow I dont think thats going to happen:)



Oh well, thats life.



But, in case your curious, I DID create a funny scene but it just didnt
work with the rest of the story.  Rather it utterly destroyed the dark
atmosphere Ive been striding toward.  Here, Ill add it below:



OMAKE?---------------------



Ranma landed on the ground between Kima and Sailor Io.  Taking a deep
breath he looked away at the chinese soldiers gawking at his glowing red
eyes before he looked back at Io.  "FINALLY!  The Wild Horse has come back
to chinaCAN YOU SMELLELLELLL, WHAT THE WILD HORSE..............IS COOKIN?!"



For the first time in three months, Sailor Io, otherwise known as Akane
Tendo, facefaulted.  Behind the now grinning Ranma, Kima had pulled out a
banner saying "GO RANMA!" from somewhere and was waving it about
enthusiastically.



The Chinese soldiers took one look at the massive stadium that had just
sprouted up around them complete with cheering crowds, Ranma, and the wierd
girl passed out on the ground which had somehow become a ring before they
ran screaming into the night never to be seen again.



In the background the song "Wild Thing" could be heard.



END OF OMAKE?------------



Now before you break out the torches and pitchforks (or automatic
weaponery) let me just say that I really had nothing to do with that
scene.  If anything its my brothers fault since he's the one that watches
those wrestling shows......and he forces me to watch.



The life of a fanfic writer is fraught with peril.  Knowing my luck Ill be
sued by that wrestling show (WWF, WCW, RAW, ah heck I cant remember!).



Dont worry though, this comedic side of my personality wont be coming back
for the next 15+ (knock on wood) chapters, hopefully.  If it does Ill put a
warning at the top, isnt that nice of me?  Now if I were a truly
cruel/evil/insane fanfic writer I wouldnt tell you at all and just let ya
warp your own minds reading stuff like
this.........hmmm...............hehehehe.........



All comments, ideas, messages urging me to stick a fork in a light socket
(like I havent done that before!  HA!) can be sent to my new E-mail address
at:  Mecvolve@onebox.com