Infinity's Shore, Chapter 9

By James Barnhill



Disclaimer:  I own none of these characters, and I really hate disclaimers,
like this one.  But that doesnt matter does it?  Oh no!  Im just a fanfic
author TRYING to have some fun but OTHER people feel that EVERY story MUST
be perfect whether it was meant for fun or not!  Damm it....now the good
mood I was in disappeared......I know some of you know how to have
fun...but those other people, they're going to have problems with their
blood pressure sooner or later.



Satisfaction Disclaimer:  Well you get the point by now.  I aint perfect
nor am I going to give myself a nervous breakdown just to make a perfect
story, besides, thats what family's for:)



Thanks go out to my prereader Jerry and the people of the Ranma Fanfic
Forum.



Prenote: This chapter should be considered a roughdraft as I dont feel 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.



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



Besides the orange/yellow glow of Pheonix Mountain as it continued to melt
and flow into a metallic hill everything else seemed normal, no, that wasnt
quite right.  Everything had taken on a surreal quality to Herb.  But he
kept these thoughts to himself instead of voicing them to his men as they
looked up to him as a fighter, if he said anything that could even be
remotely construed as doughting their combat prowess then they had already
lost the battle.  He once heard somewhere that an army's moral could decide
the outcome of the entire battle from start to finish.  Therefore he had no
intention of finding out if that statement were true or not.



Still, for months they had heard about the increasing military presence in
the chinese towns hear them but had brushed it off as a mere excercise in
power to assure the general public that their leaders were strong despite
the number of radical groups that had been forming against them.  Like the
soldiers he had dismissed all of the stories as mere political propaganda,
all the while worried that the only world that he had known might someday
be destroyed by his own unwillingness to accept the facts.



But when those facts had come up to the Citadels front steps asking for
shelter he had no choice but to face what would come next.  If it werent
for Ranma's haggard form that made him believed they were telling the truth
then certainly the destruction of Pheonix Mountain should mean something!
He still remembered the stories he had been told as a child about the
Pheonix Warriors of old who had defended their home from the Musk kings
that had come before him, and like his own people it would take a world
shaking event to cause such a proud people to abandon their ancestral home.



Squinting he tried to make out what was ahead of him.  The strange light
given off by the Pheonix mountains melting was starting to dim almost
imperceptably but enough for him to notice and halt the advance of the
soldiers  behind him.  Normally any Musk royalty wouldnt be at the head of
a warpack but in the middle so that they might protect him but as these
were fast becoming darker times he felt a greater restlessness fall upon
him, causing him to charge forth into any situation as long as their was
the remote chance that he could make a difference instead of waiting back
at the Citadel for news of what was happening.  Fortunately the men that
had come with him seemed to understand his need to see what was happening
for himself.



Hopefully they wouldnt need his help.



Feeling a hand on his shoulder he stopped to half turn and see out of the
corner of his eye one of his generals, a young cat man he remembered as
having excellent night vision, point at the far distance with one hand.
After a few minutes he could make out the stumbling forms of several Musk
Warriors as they approached with two in front while the two beind them were
half carying, half dragging a third man between them while another warrior
covered their rear.  When they saw him the two in front took up defensive
positions



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



The usually silent halls of the Musk Citadel were alive with voices in all
manner and form, from yelling to screams and curses and the sounds of heavy
objects hitting other things.  All of this was coming from the Mages and
Keepers who had situated themselves in one of the enclosed training rooms
and were very busily verbally abusing each other.  Niether of the two
groups had gotten along well before this time as can be seen from the
seperate libraries both kept as niether side trusted their significant
other to keep all of the books and records in their proper place.  Alot of
information had been misplaced that way from incorrect indexing and
sorting.  For the first half hour after everything was situated in the room
everything had been initially eaceful if a bit strained because of the
circumstances and possible deadly results that might occur of they failed,
yet as time passed simple arguments over the meaning of several characters
got progressively louder as other people be it Keeper or Mage or Warrior or
Musk person got into the argument.



The sound of a sword being used to cut a particularly thick stone column
piece in half ended the argument as both parties and everyone else stopped
to stare at the big chinese man that was grinning at them in a disturbing
manner.  Then they noticed Kima standing behind and to the side of the big
man



"Now that I have your full attention, thank you Kinnii."  She said the last
to the man before he stepped back towards the door to let her see
everyone.



Kinnii nodded and smiled in a somewhat menacing manner at the assembled
Mages and Keepers.  "My pleasure, just holler if they give you anymore
trouble."



Kima nodded at this and looked back to address the people before her.  "I
want to know what is exactly going on."  Her voice, though it sounded cool
held an edge of steel to it that no one wanted to have used against them
for if it was one thing Kima was known for above all else it was dressing
down anyone.



One of the Mages tentatively got up from his sitting position to address
her.  "Lady Kima, we have managed to translate three fourths of the book so
far.  Luckily most of the words and phrases it uses were in some of our
more ancient tomes yet several dozen words elude us at the moment."



"Isnt there some way to translate those words without shouting at one
another loudly enough for everyone in the Citadel to hear you?"



As this was said those mages and Keepers that were looking at her turned
away to find something else to intently study instead of her cool level
stare.



With her and the muscle sword guy in the room to oversee everything Ranma
closed the door and stumbled away from the room.  Yet despite the thick
wood of the door and the thicker still walls he could hear some raised
voices coming from the room as both parties tried to discuss how best to
translate those dozen or so words.  He was curious himself as to how they
were going to do it but he didnt think he could stand much longer.  And the
last thing he wanted to do was callapse now when he didnt know what would
happen next.



Finding a stone bench where the hallway widened considerably he sat down
wearily, thankful that the bench was too uncomfortable to fall asleep on.
He'd used up too much of his ki, the small meal when he got to the Citadel
did little except to take the edge off of his appetite.  Healing himself,
then fighting those Chinese soldiers and then to top it off using the
Umi-Ken-Sen to render not only himself but three people and one dead body
invisible for a quarter of a mile until they were past the perimeter of the
Amazon Villages defensive walls just about took everything he had had.
Meaning he had nothing left for any chi attacks should the Senshi or the
Chinese Army attack.  With proper food and rest he could easily rebuild his
chi reserves but he was lucky to have retained as much chi as he had since
first trusting Pluto.  He still wondered why he didnt train as much as he
could have while in that small appartment, true it was smaller then the
room he had had at the Tendo home but there was still some space he could
have used.  But then if he hadnt used that free time to look into the
modified Nan-Ban mirror he might have died at Pluto's hands.



Which meant that he would have to make do with his martial arts.  Ranma got
up off the bench to stagger his way down the hallway, hoping to find the
kitchen, there he would hopefully find some food and get a bit of time to
think about the problem of his depleted chi reserves.



Passing through the thick stone halls and vaulted cielings brought to life
everything he had heard Cologne say in passing whenever she had brought up
the subject of the Musk Citadel to prove one point or another.  Everything
she said though paled in comparison when he saw the actual Citadel as it
wasnt so much a fortress but a hardened village made to weather the test of
time......he grimaced as some part of his mind then used that last thought
to describe Pheonix Mountain before it had.......melted.



Coming to a deserted intersection he turned left, passing several more
where he failed to see any living people he began to turn back but was
stopped by cries coming from the hallway to his right.  Mustering the lat
bit of strength he had he ran down the corridor, following the cries as
they increased in pitch and strength before he came upon a hardwood door
that stood halfway open.



"Shhh, its just a dream....please sleep my liege."  Following this came a
lullaby that he couldnt quite discern but the cries quieted down until they
became a low snore.



Ranma stopped just at the doors opening upon hearing the word liege and
wondered for the first time who was inside and what was happening, from the
womans words he got the picture of a child crying as if awakening from a
bad nightmare but.....



"He's been having nightmares like this ever since you defeated him."



Ranma turned his head to see Kima looking at him with some expression he
couldnt quite discern.  The muscle sword guy was nowhere to be seen.



"When he hatched from his egg we thought that everything was well, never
would we have suspected that he could have such terrible nightmares, but he
does.  When you defeated him it was the first time since he was born that
someone had actually managed to defeat him without the use of some ultra
powerful artifact without loosing their own lives in the process, but you,
a mere human, singlehandedly defeated him."



"So, he has nightmares, about me?"  Ranma increduloously asked Kima.  When
she nodded he looked at the door to Saffrons room in confusion, wondering
how he was going to fix this problem....if it could be fixed.  If there
would be enough time to fix this.  Looking at Kima's eyes he again heard
soft cries coming from the child Saffron.



Hopefully Herb was having a easier time of this.



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



"Their coming."



Herb nodded even though he couldnt see anything but he did hear a low
rumbling sound which must have been a tank or some similiarly heavy vehicle
coming closer.  Overhead the electrical storm continued to grow as it sent
out sporadic bursts of lightning either through the clouds or to the land
but niether provided enough illumination for Herb to see anything
distinctively.  For now he would have to trust the night vision of the
young general to his side.  Behind them the rest of the forces were arrayed
in a long line ready to pounce once the order was given.



It had taken them almost a full hour to find a suitable spot to lay the
trap despite their knowledge of the terrain.  Those Musk soldiers that had
more expereince with tanks and Chinese Army tactics were plumbed for
information.  What was required for the plan to work was a valley that the
chinese forces would have to go through in order to reach the Citadel.
Most areas that were idea for such a ambush lay between the larger chinese
towns and the Citadel itself, not between Pheonix Mountain and the
Citadel.  It was his ancestors, the previous Kings and their offspring that
had created the small valleyes by blasting the surrounding desert until it
became fused into a glass-like substance before waiting for it to cool then
blasting it again to create the small mountains of rubble that made passage
into the area so difficult.  Yet those defenses had been created to stop or
limit the Amazon people from attacking them from behind by surprise.  Given
the size of the dessert it had been one of the more difficult projects the
Musk royalty had ever taken on, but like everything else time had worn most
of the defenses down to fine sand, and for a time he had attempted to
rebuild some of the artificial valleys and plains of glass but he never
managed to get slightly more then half of them finished.  If he knew then
what he did now he would have worked harder to rebuild those defenses and
build new ones.  But for now he would have to make do with what was
available.



"Get ready."



Trusting the young generals judgement Herb began to powerup his chi,
channeling it into his cupped palms but mostly keeping his power tightly
controlled.  Only when he was givn the word would he strike out for the
attack itself would draw too much attention when his aura became
luminescent to everyone who could see.  Standing up he pointed at where he
thought the explosives had been buried.  He felt a pair of hands change his
aim before pulling away.  When he fired off his attack the warriors behind
him would have to charge into the fray immediately otherwise what was left
would regroup to offer them more resistance.  Instead of doing this he
wanted to fly above the enemy and just incinerate them but he couldnt risk
leaving the civilians in the Citadel to fend for themselves.  He held no
illusions that should the Chinese Army attack and take the citadel they
would kill everyone inside instead of having to come up with a reason for
all of his people showing distinct animalistic traits that belonged to
other species not human.  Once anyone found this out whoever survived among
his people would be branded freaks and monsters by the general public as
these difficult times gave them need for one or many more scapegoats.



"Charge."



Now they were much closer, the rumbling sound had increased in pitch
noticeably until he could feel a dull vibration through the soles of his
feet.



"NOW!"



Within two second the ki projectile formed between his hands, briefly
illuminating him like a miniature sun before he let it fly toward the
buried ordanance.  The Chinese troops it illuminated as it passed them were
too startled to do anything as it went past them, then passed a tank close
enough to cause its armored flank to glow faintly before passing it and
hitting the ground with a loud explosion.  What happened next would imprint
itself upon Herb's mind for the rest of his life.  The explosion, though
small set off the buried explosives that created another explosion powerful
enough to blow those still standing off their feet.  The secondary
explosions caused by the first were both larger and smaller then the first,
this time one of the explosions occured under a troop transport and blew
the transport into the air before it landed on its back, crushing
whateverit had been carrying.  Like a living thing the explosions spread
out into concentric rings as they burned or ignited everything in their
path.  Seeing the soldiers try to crawl away as some part of their body
caught fire made Herb sick.  The feeling only intensifying when he thought
he could smell the stench of burning flesh, a small part of his mind knew
that could be possible since he was upwind of the explosion but the rest of
him refused to believe it.  Despite that he called the warriors to attack.



Fast and silent they worked their way down the small hill of jagged rocks
toward the survivors.  Before they knew what was happening his men were
upon them, hacking and slashing away at any who showed signs of life.
Methodically they worked their way around the blaze killing anyone that
appeared to have escaped intact whether or not they were moving made little
difference, amid the blood and gore of the one sided battle all he could do
was try and ignore the feeling of hot blood splattering across his face or
the sensation of cracking a skull open, amid these terrible things he felt
himself lose a little of himself.



When all the survivors were dead and he was sure that no one else was
around he and his men scrounged around the area for weapons and explosives
before he sent two runners out to check on both the Citadel and several of
the sentry posts littered around the area further away from the Citadel.
As they pulled back well away from the blaze of oil and burning bodies he
wondered if this would be the last fight or just the beginning of a long
bloody march to deaths door.



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



One of the storage rooms had been cleaned out, then several Workers and
Mages drew a series of concentric circles with intricate runes between
them.  When that was done and the proper rituals observed the question next
asked was where to go, what with the spell requiring the power of nine
Mages to keep the corridor open they needed to conserve as much power as
possible by picking the next destination carefully so that Benar and his
apprentices would have enough time to decrypt what was left of the book.



"Jugenkyo."



The head Mage looked at Ranma with barely suppressed rage for his intrusion
into the room.



"And what, pray tell, is Jugenkyo?"



"Its a floating island drifting along the Pacific currents that is
inhabited by a small culture that is primarily made of of men because the
tree that is the island creates a magical water that turns wemon into
men."  Ranma said without pause.



The head Mage blinked several times while the other Mages just stared at
Ranma like he had grown a second head.  Kima walked into the storage room
along with a compliment of Musk and Pheonix warriors flanking her.  Nodding
to Ranma she addressed the head Mage.  "Are you ready?"



"Yes, Lady Kima, though I feel I should stress the need to test this spell
upon something of inanimate matter instead of a living being such as these
soldiers.  It has been thousands of years since this spell was last used by
a competent spellcastor, though I am experienced I dont feel ready to try
this spell without a clear destination in mind."



Ranma spoke up from the sidelines.  "How do you pick the destination for
this portal?"



"We will it to happen but for it to happen we must have a clear picture in
mind of the area with which to work with.  Of course this is all
hypothetical as we have never had to do this before, but as indicated from
the translated pages its necessary for each Mage to know the place they
wish the portal to lead to like they had been there at some time."



One of the warriors that had come in with Kima spoke up in a dejected tone
of voice.  "So if you haven't been there then you cant know what the place
looks like."



The Head Mage glared at the warrior who had so blatantly spoken up.  "That
is essentially correct though if you describe it in more detail to us as we
create the portal there is a chance we could...envision, this floating
island.  Unless Lady Kima has a better destination in mind?"  He said the
last to Kima who turned a inquiring gaze upon Ranma.



"A floating island?  Why there, if we manage to find it?"



"Since the island floats it might be harder for the Senshi to find us, also
I fought with the prince of the island.  I think we'd have a better chance
there then in, say, America or some other country.  Also, I think I might
be able to talk him into joining us."



Kima looked at Ranma when comprehension dawned upon her.  "The Senshi go
after them."



Ranma merely nodded his head in agreement instead of elaborating further.



The ceremony commenced, as one the nine Mages held their hands out toward
the exact center of the chalk inscription as words old before human
civilization began to flourish poured fourth from nine mouths in eerie
unisen, around the Mages the chalk symbols outlines firmed and began to
glow in a strange incandescent fashion with modulations that threw waves of
light across the cieling of the storage room.  The flow of words and energy
sped forth faster and faster while the pattern of the light coming from the
symbols and circles became constant.



In the center of this energy a rip in the fabric of space appeared, quickly
widening into a circle of distorted space.  The head Mage, while still
muttering the ancient language of the spell looked at Ranma and bade him
forward.  Approaching, Ranma started describing the island and its
inhabitants with as many little facts as he could remember as he stared at
center of their efforts.  Then, almost as if an afterthought he placed his
hand upon the Head Mages shoulder, the old Mage suddenly stiffened while
the distortion of space flashed and swirled with something else that
resolved itself into a large tree backlit by the light of the moon as the
island it made up gently floated upon the ocean waters.  When the portal
closed up further to the island itself, passing through the great trees
outer bark and into the throne room within its center.



"It would probably be better if I went along with one other person, that
way Toma wont feel like he's being invaded."



The Head mage looked at Ranma oddly for a moment before replying.  "The
portal will only last ten minutes at best without a similiar set of symbols
carved at the destination to hold the energy in balance.  I dont think we
have the power to open another portal so youd best hurry."  With one of his
robes sleeves the old Mage wiped away the excess of sweat that had
collected upon his brow during the ceremony.



Without another word Kima walked beside Ranma and they both entered the
portal.



A moment of dizzying vertigo assailed their senses as they stepped through
the portal, so overpowering that they almost callapsed but then they were
through and the virtigo ended, then they found themselves standing in the
center of Toma's throne room with the young prince openly gawking at them.



"Prince Toma?"  Kima asked.



Toma stepped forward and sketched a formal bow.  "Yes?"  Straitening he
first looked at Kima, then Ranma before looking back and suddenly doing a
doubletake at Ranma.  "Ranma?"



Said Martial Artist managed a strained smile.  "Hey Toma, sorry aboout this
but we need your help."



Toma came closer to them while strying not to openly stare at the portal
leading to the Musk Citadel.  "What could I do?"



Kima answered.  "We need to evacuate everyone in the Musk Citadel to your
island, then our Mages will proceed to recite a spell to teleport this
island and everything on it."



From one of the many corridors leading into the throne room someone shouted
for the guards and within moment dozens of guards were pouring into the
room from every corridor.



Ranma looked around him at all of the guards, some of them he could
recognize from the last time he'd been to the island, before directing a
stare at Toma that made the young prince flinch with its intensity.  "Just
let me explain Toma, then you can decide whether we all live or die."



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



For every action their is an equal yet oppisite reaction.  That alone was
enough to describe the second battle though the outcome was far from equal
to the death toll of the first.



Around Herb those warriors that could still move were helping those few who
were too injured to move themselves.  The fire from the burning vehicles
cast its light upon the myriad dead that covered the ground with their
bodies and blood, their final acts in some cases the asphyxiation of the
person or persons that had delivered the killing blow.  The faces he could
see from where he stood well away from the flaming wrecks that were once
vehicles were twisted into horrible expressions of pain and rage.



He knew about death in an abstract form, heard of it from the tales his
teachers and father would tell him from time to time to impart some bit of
knowledge to him.  But he had never witnessed death like this.  Before the
Musk fought with the Amazos but the two sides were so equal in erms of
power and numbers that hardly anyone got hurt, each fight would end in a
stalemate that had been the status quo for the last several hundred years.
Death had been a part of his life so much in normal ways, loosing a child
or friend to a sickness whose cure was too far away or didnt exist at all.
He could deal with death in that form because he knew that there was no way
he could have changed the outcome, but this.



Before him the soldiers that could move were busy helping those that could
not so easily move because of their unjuries.



  Seeing people that he had known for all of his life die before his eyes
was an experience that he would foreever remember.  The thought of having
to tell their families and friends what happened to them made him sick to
his stomach but that did not begin to compare with the sight of all the
blood spilled upon the ground, covering everything about him.



Yet he could do nothing more as he saw his men run toward the chinese
soldiers for close quarters combat in the hopes of denying any of the
soldiers from using their weapons without the risk of killing their fellow
soldiers instead of their enemy.  He could only wade into the thickest part
of mass of death to deal out his own fair share of destruction as he was
denied the ability to use his Ki projectiles by his own mens tactics.  He
suppressed te urge to puke by the slightest of margins as he tried to
regain some of the dignity he still possessed.  Hearing a slight cough and
a nervous voice ask something he turned around to see one of the runners
from the Citadel standing befor him, gawking at him like he was some sort
of hideous monster.



Looking down at himself he grimaced at the sight of his own blood stained
hands and his torn clothing that had resulted from several of the remaining
chinese soldiers fighting him with the knives they had concealed in their
uniforms.  Like the others they had met a gruesome but quick end at his
hands.  When he barked at the runner to report he said that the evacuation
out of the Citadel via the Mages spell was proceeding along and that they
were to come back immediately before the portal closed, then he went
farther by saying that the other Warriors stationed around the area were
being pulled back so that they could go through the portal.  With a nod of
his head Herb then asked the runner to help with some of the more seriously
wounded, when the runner made to question his order Herb just looked at him
until the runner could stand it no more and went to help the nearest
soldier.



With what soldiers he could spare to watch out for any remaining chinese
soldiers they set off for the Citadel and whatever lay ahead of it.



Hours later they reached the man gate as a line stretched out almost half a
mile, when some of the remaining soldiers manning the Citadels walls
several groups came out to help with the dead and wounded.  When he got
inside the atmosphere was one of fear and........something else he could
not immediately identify, maybe hope?



Going through the immense hallways he didnt see any sign that anyone was
here and for a moment he was afraid that he was actually insome sort of
trap that had just been sprung.  When he was direted toward one of the
storage rooms.  In there he saw several dozen people getting ready to step
through a portal of light and dark whose center showed what appeared to be
a crowded throng room built entirely of wood.



Along the wall facing the portal he saw Benar and Ranma talking amongst
themselves while behind him he could hear the heavy blast doors that had
been emplaced several months ago click into place as the last of the
soldiers and the civilians were collecting for the final trip.  Each time a
group of Warriors and civilians were ushered through the portal it would
flare slightly as they passed but as they made their way through it would
return to its regular color, if it had a regular color.  After an hour both
he and Ranma were the only living beings left in the Citadel.  He began to
wonder if he would ever come back to his home, or if it would survive.



From elsewhere the sound of something smashing into several of the thick
reinforced doors echoed through out the building.  Herb looked back,
wondering what was hitting the doors, some heavy vehicle, or perhaps
explosives?  But he had no time to find out as Ranma took him by the
shoulder and led him toward the portal.



Herb looked at the portal with a bit of unease as he was led to it, by his
side Ranma took several steps before faltering.  Herb caught him before he
hit the floor and started to help him enter the portal where a worried Kima
looked back through the rip in space and time at them.



"Come on Ranma, we have to get out of here those doors wont hold up much
longer."



Ranma smiled at Herb as his grip on Herbs shoulder strenghtned.  "I need a
recharge first."  Without further comment he took out a coin and called out
Happo Go-en Satsu.  Herb managed to keep standing for a few more moments
before he was too weak to support himself, too shocked at what was
happening he felt himself being pulled just before hitting the smooth stone
floor.



Seeing something just out of his line of sight Ranma looked back at the
portal to see Kima and several Musk warriors getting ready to go back
through the gate.  With a smirk he shoved his arm into the torus of energy
that kept the gate open while leaning down as much as was safe to pick up
Herb's unconscious body, on the other side of the gate he saw Benar
restraining Kima and saying something to her that made her fight all the
more forcefully against his hold.  Briefly taking his arm out of the energy
taurus Ranma threw Herb's body through the gate and put his arm back in.
Despite the small amount of illumination from the bonfires that had been
set up to warm the overabundance of refugees he could make out her face
perfectly, his eyes sought hers and for a time he could see all the worry
and anger she felt, strangely it didnt seem all directed at him.



Several Musk warriors ran forward to catch their prince, breaking the
moment.  "Im sorry about this Kima, hopefully I can distract the Senshi
long enough for all of you to get away.  Goodbye."  With a last cry of
'Ranma!' from Kima he applied some more ki into the energy taurus and the
location the portal went to abruptly shifted to some other place, what
looked like a town.



"Benar said it had something to do with a force of will..."  The image
shifted back to the large tree that was the island of Jugenkyo before with
a bit more ki and some raw emotion the image shifted onto some sort of
dusty plain, with a final pulse of ki to stabilize the portal he leapt
through just as several of the smaller entrances into the Musk Citadel
callapsed under the first barrage of artillery shells.



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



She wondered around the barren land, trying to squint her eyes enough to
see past the downpour that blurred the environment around her.  She tried
to keep going in the same direction but the rain soaked ground gave her
feet little purchase, causing her to slip several times, once even tumbling
down a small hill.  From the few flashes of lightning she had glimpsed
shapes that could only have been mountains.  Several times she thought she
had caught a glimpse of something else, she knew who it had to be.  Now all
she had to do was distract them.  Slipping on some mud again she began to
call out.



"KIMA!  HERB!  KORAN!  MINT!"  She shouted out into the darkness.  The rain
drowned out the sound of her voice but she continued to call out again and
again while she wondered aimlessly about.  She was now soaked to the bone,
her borrowed clothes ripped and torn in too many places to count.



Suddenly she stopped.  Looking up at the sky for a moment she strained her
ears to listen past the sound of rain.  It had almost sounded like someone
had called her name.  Keeping completely still she tried to concentrate on
her hearing alone, ignoring the feel of wet cloth against her cold skin or
the feel of the cold wind numbing her skin further.  Still there was no
warning for when it came.



One moment she was standing, the next she felt something cutting across her
back before her reflexes cut in and she jumped forward.  Thats when
something hard hit her in the throat, causing her body to hang in the air
for a brief moment before gravity took over.  While clutching her throat
Ranma-chan could vaguely see something moving.



"Is Ranma-CHAN hurt?"  Followed immediately by low chuckling.



Cupping one of her hands Ranma-chan let her aura flare, concentrating it
into the one hand to generate enough light to see by.  Looking up
Ranma-chan's eyes were drawn to the light reflected from the sharp blade
suspended several inches above her head, and beyond that Sailor Io smiling
down at her in what seemed a cruel fashion.  Choking with every breathe
Ranma-chan stalled for time.  Shifting slightly she felt a sharp pain in
the middle of her back.  Keeping her face devoid of emotion she stared back
at Io, noting that Io's weapon didn't have any blood on it.  With a sinking
feeling she realized that Io hadn't come alone this time.  Without moving
her face she looked as far around as she could, trying to see if anyone was
standing beside Akane.



Her eyes traveled back to Io's weapon.  If there had been any blood on it
the rain might have washed it away.  Heck, the weapon itself was thousands
of years old, a little time hadn't hurt it so why should his blood stain
it?



"Not as hurt as you must have been."  She smiled slightly as Io's 'Ice
Queen' look disappeared, replaced by a look of pure murder and hatred she
had become so familiar with.  Then Io's predatory smile returned.



Thats when someone kicked Ranma-chan in the ribs, hard.  The force of the
kick was enough to make her body slide through the mud until she hit a
jagged rock outcropping.  Getting up despite the pain in her back and chest
she looked around her.



There was Pluto, Uranus, and Io directly in front of her.  Behind them she
could see several people, one of them had to be Ryouga given the power of
that kick in the chest, one indistinct figure wore a white flowing robe,
Mousse.  She squinted her eyes, trying to make out the other two people.
Her eyes couldn't make out much more then indistinct human figures, maybe a
bit of color to their clothing(?) they wore but nothing else about them.



She tried to keep her eyes on all of them at once while trying to think of
a way out.  Directly behind her was the rock outcropping, maybe a whole
field of such rocks behind it.  She couldn't navigate it in this weather.
Even if she could she didn't dare turn her back on any of the Senshi,
especially Pluto.



With growing anger she realized that there was no way out.  This is what
Pluto had intended all along.  All her lies, all those deaths, just to get
at him.  So many people, dead!  But maybe Kima and the others had made it.
Maybe they were safe.  Or had Pluto or some other Senshi already killed
them?



Ranma-chan shook her head, fighting back at the dark thoughts.  If they
wanted a fight then she'd give them a fight!  He looked at the Senshi,
noting their small uniforms weren't wet from the rain.  He wondered if mud
would have any effect on them.  Crouching low to the ground Ranma-chan
looked at those around her with narrowed eyes.  The urge to kill them all
gaining strength.  But unlike last time she wasn't afraid.  Instead she
embraced the urge, feeding it memory after memory of every painful moment
of his life.



The rain seemed to slow down.  Her thinking became clearer while all other
emotions faded away, leaving behind a cold mentality devoid of sorrow,
compassion, and........love.  She stood up, sneering at Haruka.



"Come on!"



Ranma-chan smiled cruelly, watching Haruka raise her sword.  All around her
the other Senshi and the people behind them were getting into their
fighting stances.  Waiting for that moment when all hell would break lose.
She knew that Pluto wouldn't enter the fray as she didn't have many close
in attacks that would work against his female form.  The earth seemed to
tremble with the thunder from the storm raging overhead.  With the next
flare of lightning Ranma-chans battle aura sprang to life larger then it
had ever been before as she leapt into the air and kept flying higher while
her hands came together for her next attack.  With a maniacal smile that
would have given the Grim Reaper cause to pause Ranma-chans aura flared to
life as she let loose the ki drained from Herb.



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



Alia's perception Matrix picked up each and every movement of the entire
fight, from almost every angle.  Yet despite her power all she could do was
stare at what was happening.



Ranma was flying, almost exactly duplicating the technique Herb used to fly
using his ki, but it wasnt exact and that was costing him alot of power
which he didnt have too much to spare.  And yet the mad look in his eyes as
his short flight ended and gravity took effect to bring him the rest of the
way to Pluto's position sent a chill down her spine.  Whatever he had
decided had now committed him to this suicide mission in a last desperate
bid for revenge and time.  She had seen attempts like this happen before
where good forces had been outnumbered and their only option left was to
charge their enemie's lines head on, hoping to break through with a
concentrated thrust at one point and after that to take cover somewhere
else, perhaps even to steal some supplies from there foe.



But this was worse.  Now he was firing blasts of red ki into the army of
yuma, destroying great pockets of them yet somehow managing to miss the
senshi that had been their until the blast hit.  Behind him dozens of yuma
that had the ability to fly were attacking him with their claws and acids
and stingers.  Looking ahead to Ranma's target Alia gulped silently to
herself.  Pluto wasnt worried, she seemed almost relaxed except for her
tight grip on the Time staff.



What was going on?



Through another section of her perception Matrix she observed the Pheinix
Mages readying themselves for the complex transport incantation that would
be needed to send both them and the floating island to that 'Other World',
whereever that was.  In the large wagons she could feel the power of
artifacts that had been taken from Pheonix Mountain's vaults well before
Saffron had sealed it.  Pluto's plan called for ALL the Phienix artifacts
to be drained of power and or integrated into Crystal Tokyo's defensive
implements.



Why would she let any of that get away?



Channeling more of her power into extending her senses she reached out,
looking for anything out of the ordinary.  The floating island was
perfectly fine, nothing inside or outside of it that could hurt anyone.
The wagons were emmitting power but it was controled and not of the Silver
Mellenium therefore none of the wagons had been tampered with.  Extending
her viewing angle she looked under the island and into the surrounding
ocean for anything, yet still finding nothing.  Pulling back she caught a
glimpse of the streams of magic being weaved all about the great island,
seperating it from thier universe.  And there Kima was ordering for them to
begin the next phase, from off to her right several people.......



PEOPLE!?



She immediately saw the red glare of Silver Mellenium energy, mixed with
something else in the form of several bedraggled Pheonix-like humans that
were shuffling closer to one of the Mages.  With a complicated motion the
rags they had been clothed in were torn away, exposing the modified yuma's
and their core's of destructive Silver Mellenium energy.



Alia looked on in terror, switching between the refugees stuck on the
island who would be killed, and Ranma as he was being attacked by Senshi
and hundreds of different yuma.  Seeing Kinnii take on one of the yuma-like
creatures and be tossed aside like a rag doll she made up her mind.



"Im sorry."



Closing her eyes she marshalled all the power she had been saving and
disappeared.



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



Kima read from the translated pages as the Mages around the island sought
to copy each and every word she said while at the same time keeping their
full atention on the filigres of power they were weaving about the island
to seperate it from the reality of the world and ultimately the universe
itself.  From out of the corner of her eye she saw movement.  Turning she
was faced with the horrible sight of creatures coming towards her.  Yet she
couldnt run, if she did she was sure that the creature would kill the Mage
standing before her as well as all the others close by.



The creature stepped closer, its dark features outlined clearly by the
glowing silver plates set into its chest.  She could see the saliva coming
from its mouth as its close rose up for the first and final hit that would
surely kill her.  Suddenly Kinnii was in front of her with his sword
drawn.  Spinning it up he struck out at the creature yet the blade failed
to penetrate its thick carapace, instead glancing off, allowing the
creature to grab onto him with two of its four arms and throw him into one
a nearby tree.



"NNNNOOO!!!"



The creature turned enough so that Kima could see a woman standing some ten
feet behind it.  Before she could do anything the woman let loose a
powerful blast that caused the creature to scream out as its skin turned a
brilliant silver before returning to its original black color though now
lacking the gleaming silver plates set into its chest, then dissolving into
dust.  With a scream of rage Alia struck her fist into the ground, sending
out a shockwave of energy that reacted with the remaining yuma causing the
Silver Mallenium enrgy they contained to implode and draw the rest of their
guts along with it into a gory swirl of energy, those closest could hear
the creatures screams of primal pain as they were foreever caught within
the event horizon of the magical black holes before disappearing
altogether.  Further away the shockwave of energy impacted the Mages,
empowering them with enough energy to complete the spell.



Alia disappeared as a eerie silence descended upon the island.  The people
looked around for any sign of change while the Mages slowly turned around
as one to see the ocean surrounding the island.  The dark water was alight
with something not of that earth, something that made the water its strange
light shown through steam and bubble.  The Mages and Kima could only stare
in wide eyed wonder as a column of energy rose up from the ocean depths to
engulf the island.  When the light faded a crater was all that was left of
the island but that was soon filled in, then no trace of the elusive
floating island of Jugenkyo remained but a slight mist that quickly
dispersed before the morning suns light.



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



Alia appeared again in that timeless space, using her perception matrix she
looked on in horror at Ranma's defeat.  With tears running down her face
she cursed everything from her limited powers to all the universes and the
impartial super-beings that lived within them for letting such acts like
this happen.



Ranma-chan lay on the ground, her arm again broken she bled from hundreds
of cuts and burns.  Her clothes, once serviceable clothing were now tatters
of fiber that dissolved before Alia's eyes as the youma's vile fluids ate
through it.



The fight didnt last as long as Alia thought it would.  Pluto knew how to
offset Ranma's skills.  Where he had speed she brought in brawn in the form
of Ryouga and Minako who mercilessly pounded him while Mousse used his
Hidden Weapons technique to cut off Ranma-chans few avenues of escape.
Where Ranma had had Ki drained from Prince Herb, Pluto brought herself and
Uranus plus Io in to use all their distance attacks against Ranma while she
fought off the army of yuma that had been created by Zoicite under Pluto's
direction to increase their numbers.



But what the fight had lacked for in length it more then made up for in
destruction and raw fury.  Attacking in concert when possible the Senshi
and their allies had beaten on Ranma-chan while she used up her power
eliminating three-fourths of the yuma from high in the air, using their own
powerful attacks in concert with Ryouga's infinite headbands and Mousse's
chained weapons to fill the air about Ranma-chan with death.



When he landed the remaining yuma immediately attacked using any and all
implements they had been designed to attack with.  From beyond them the
Senshi had resorted to using their distance attacks to pound on Ranma-chan
as she fought against the yuma.  When those yuma were gone she had charged
the senshi directly, instead of getting close enough to hit them she was
beaten down by Ryouga rather viciously before Mousse used a ball and chain
to break her arm, then as Ranma-chan sought to recover Io had charged her
with her staff.  When Ranma blocked the staff with her functional arm Io
took a knife out of her subspace pocket and drove it into Ranma's chest,
just missing the heart.



Shaking at the futility of knowing what had happened Alia concentrated on
Io as she put her mouth close to Ranma-chans ear to wisper 'This is what
all freaks like you deserve' before pulling out the knife just in time for
Ranma-chan to lunge forward.....and get the left side of her neck cut open
by Uranus's cosmic sword.



Somehow managing to get up, despite the wounds, the broken ribs, despite
now choking on her own blood, Ranma-chan half crawled half walked towards
Pluto as she stepped forward with her Time Staff extended before her.  In
that final moment all time seemed to slow down, as Pluto called out her
attack, as the Dead Scream rushed toward Ranma-chan, as Ranma-chan put up
her arms and channeled what was left of her borrowed ki for some last
defence.  Then in an agonizing instant she was gone, her body wavered as
Pluto's attack slashed through her ki defence before melting away while the
land around her body exploded into melted clumps of earth.



Ranma........is........dead.........



Alia callapsed to the metaphysical ground, all she could do was cry.  Yet
beneath that sorrow there was hatred of a sort she had rarely felt before.



Unnoticed by her the shattered muon particle set had recoalesced and was
now showing the future of the earth as it would most likely turn out,
despite some wavy static lines the picture was of Crystal Tokyo in all its
sterile beauty.  The people who walked its streets never showing any signs
of knowing how much blood stained their perfect societies past.



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



The darkness stretched foreever within the confines of the place.  There
was no external light, no sound, no touch or smell.  Just darkness that
appeared to stretch forever in all directions.



Was it a universe before the big bang?  Could there be, somewhere deep in
all that nothingness, a core of super compacted energy and mass just ready
to explode at the slightest disturbance?  Or was it a universe that had
already experienced a cold death where every atom had come appart as its
protons decayed?



No, for it was both but niether at the same time.  For their was air.....of
a sort, and gravity...of a sort.........



But, just like any universe where life flourishes there must be an act of
great power and destruction to cause anything to exist.  Here, this place
was like a universe, though only in that it existed and it seemed to go on
foreever.



Within the void a figure materialized in a blinding flash of light that
could never be directly seen or observed, only noticed as something seen
out of the corner of ones eye.  Like an optical illusion.



Yet the figure left behind in that event of supreme violence was not an
illusion of any sort despite its appearance.  The blood seeping from
between the hand holding the right side of the neck was very real, as was
the pain, anger and confusion in her eyes.  Yet like all events it must
end.  As did this small one.



Too much blood had been lost during and after the battle, too many poisons
absorbed into the skin from killing so many yuma.  No amount of ki she
possessed could repair the wound quick enough to save what precious blood
remained.  Yet that core of her being refused to believe it was too late,
and for a brief time her ki flowed out in a golden haze, but it was
uncoordinated.  The attempt failed like so much else.  And her hand fell to
her side, letting the rest of her blood spill loose to the empty void.
Bereft of oxygen her brain slowly shut down, trapping her conscious mind in
a smaller and smaller sensorium as each sense faltered and failed before
the injuries wracking her small body.



Her last cry of defiance was no more then a small whisper along with the
last breath upon the face of oblivian as Ranma Saotome, last practicianer
of the Anything Goes Style of Martial Arts, died, alone, in the dark void
of nothingness.



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






All comments and such can be sent to me via E-mail at:  Mecvolve@onebox.com