AN: I don't think this one needs many Author's Notes at this point...but oh well. My twisted plot takes on shape beyond mere blood this time. A reason is introduced. I hope it answers your questions, but I'll bet it makes you ask some more.

Chapter Two

Akane fingered the tip of a very sharp kitchen knife and sighed, looking out the window. She sighed not because of what she was about to do, but because the five people who shared this house with her would not all leave at once. If her father and Mr. Soatome went out, Kasumi, Nabiki, and Ranma would all have a reason to stay in. If Kasumi went out shopping, Nabiki went out money hunting, and her father and Mr. Soatome went out drinking, Ranma would stay back, making an excuse not to leave the house. Usually a very lame excuse. Akane had the distinct impression that he wasn’t leaving because somehow he knew something was wrong with the Tomboy. Lately, Akane had dropped some of her act, and that seemed to scare Ranma. There was a large smash from the backyard and Akane, having nothing better to do, went to investigate. She peered out her window…and almost smiled. Ryoga was there, looking befuddled and confused, as usual. Ranma emerged from the house, just then, and the two began yelling at each other. ‘Hmm’ing to herself, Akane turned and picked up the bucket of water she had by her window, for just such an instant. Putting the knife down, she held the bucket with both hands, aimed, and poured the cold water over Ranma. After he…er…she was done sputtering and looked up, Akane had her angry mask back on.

"Ranma!" she yelled at him. "Stop picking on Ryoga!" Ranma glared at Akane and turned back to Ryoga.

"I’m not picking on you, am I, Pig Boy?" Ryoga growled and lunged at Ranma, just the way he should. Ranma parried and through Ryoga out of the backyard, as Akane had suspected she would, and Akane found herself alone in the house, finally. She picked the knife back up…and headed to the Dojo, to do what she had to do before anyone came home.

*~*

"Oh, look! A sushi shop!" Jonathan, Iliana, and Sabriel all sighed, tired by Galen’s constant bombardment of ‘Oh, look!’. Ever since they had arrived in Nermia, the white-haired teenager had been going non-stop. Galen gasped. "Oh, look! Traditional Japanese Kimonos!"

Galen dashed away and into the store. Seconds later, he dashed back. "They had such cool things in there! And three spirits!" His head snapped to the left and he grinned. "Oh, wow! Curry!" He zoomed off again, eyes locked on the curry shop sign. Jonathan bent over to examine a potential clue, and when he stood back up, Galen was watching him with wide eyes, stuffing curry into his mouth.

He swallowed the last bit and asked, "So, have you found anything yet?" Jonathan sighed and shook his head. Iliana opened her mouth to say something to the white-headed boy, but something caught his eye and he gasped. "Oh, great! This is really great! It’s a ‘Wards and More’ store! I’m going in there, don’t wait up!" Sabriel blinked after his departing form.

"But how will we find you?" she called. He half turned his head.

"Don’t worry! I’ll find you!" He disappeared into the store and Jonathan shook his head.

"Hopeless," he muttered, "completely hopeless." The girls nodded. Just then, a boy dressed in yellow, wearing a bandanna, came careening around a corner, nearly bowling Iliana over.

"Excuse me!" he gasped, steadying her. "I didn’t mean to…have you seen a girl about this tall with red hair in a pig-tail anywhere around here?" When the trio shook their heads no, the strange boy sighed. Then he seemed to get very angry and he yelled at the sky, "Ra-n-maaa! I don’t care where you are! I’ll find you! But…argh! You’ve gotten me lost again!" Iliana watched the boy run away and turned to her comrades.

"See? Galen isn’t that bad," she offered helpfully. "At least…not most of the time." They all sighed. At that moment, a girl with red hair in a pig-tail came strolling around the same corner the boy had, one hand in her pocket, the other holding an ice cream cone, which she was lazily licking as she walked.

As she passed the trio, she asked, "Hey, have you seen an idiot in a bandanna come running around this way? He might have been yelling something about Ranma and getting lost." They blinked at him. Then Jonathan pointed mutely in the direction the boy had run off in. The girl held up her ice cream cone slightly, saluted him with it. "Thanks," she said, and went to follow the boy.

Just then, Sabriel gasped and called after her, "Hey, girl! Wait!"

"Sabriel, what’s the matter?" Jonathan asked, grabbing her arm as she made to run after the girl.

"Jon, that’s her! I think that’s her! I sense it! The one we’ve been looking for! I think that red-headed girl is her!" Jonathan gaped first at Sabriel, then at the red-headed girl, who was staring at the three as if they had lost their minds. Which they might have. Finally, Jonathan released Sabriel and approached the girl.

"Hello," he began coolly, "my name in Jonathan. May I ask who you are?" The girl swallowed her ice cream cone in one mighty gulp and stuck her hand out.

"I’m Ranma. Ranma Soatome, of the Anything Goes Martial Arts. Who’re they?" Jonathan shook the girl’s hand and nodded towards his companions.

"The girl there with the long brown hair is Iliana."

"The one with purple eyes?"

"Yes. And the other girl is Sabriel."

"The one with blond hair and green eyes?"

"Yes."

"Are they your girlfriends?" Jonathan stared at this strange girl and sighed.

"No, they are not my girlfriends. They are my comrades, and we are looking for someone." The girl, Ranma, shrugged and stuck her hands in her pockets.

"Well, this is Nermia. And most of the world’s population of weird, deranged, or lost people end up here. So whoever it is you’re looking for is almost definitely here." Jonathan smiled a soft, mysterious smile.

"Oh, we’re positive she’s here. In fact, we even know who she is." Ranma arched an eyebrow.

"Really? Well, then why’d you stop me? I’ll never catch up with that idiot now." Iliana stepped forward and smiled politely at Ranma.

"Pardon us if we got in your way, Miss." Ranma took a step away from Iliana, seemingly unnerved at her calm smile. In fact, Ranma was positive that one of these three people had some kind of ancient vendetta against her, she just didn’t know which one. Or what it was she had done. So she kept her guard up. "I hope you don’t mind," Iliana continued sweetly, "but we think you’re her." Ranma blinked first at Iliana, then at the other two. Her mind refused to grasp this concept.

"You think…I’m who?" she asked uncertainly. Sabriel stepped forward with an almost fierce joy alight in her green eyes.

"We think you’re the one we’ve been looking for!" Ranma held up her hands and backed away.

"Now, hold on just a minute! I don’t know who this girl is you’re looking for, but it’s not me! There’s gotta be some mistake!" Sabriel ‘hmph’ed and crossed her hands over her chest.

"There is no mistake. We have followed you all the way to Nermia from our homes in America." Ranma blinked at her.

"You’re…you’re Americans?" Jonathan nodded.

"Yes, but that is not the point. The point is, you are the one we have been looking for." Ranma shook her head.

"No, that just can’t be."

"It can, and it is."

"How do you know? How do you know it’s me? How have you been tracking me?" Sabriel drew a mark in the air with a finger.

"Spiritual signatures." Ranma blinked at her.

"Come again?" Jonathan sighed.

"Spiritual signatures," he explained. "Everyone who could lead us to the girl we’re looking for unconsciously left a spiritual signature that we have followed directly to you. I can spot them, Iliana can uncover them once found, and Sabriel can sense her in you. So you’ve got to be her."

" Oh. But…why were you looking for me- for this girl?" Jonathan sighed and looked down.

"It is a long story." Iliana stepped forward again and bowed slightly to Ranma.

"Excuse me, but do you have someplace we can sit down with you and discuss why we have been looking for you?" Ranma nodded.

"Yes, I do." Iliana smiled again.

"Could you take us there?"

"O-oh. Yes, I could." She turned around and began walking back to the Tendo Dojo, motioning for the other three to follow. "So…is it just the three of you?" The three moaned slightly and looked unhappy. Ranma grinned. "I take that as a no." Iliana seemed torn between looking as miffed as her friends, and defending the unnamed person that was not there. She chose to defend.

"Galen’s not that bad. Yes, he gets distracted sometimes. Yes, he’s a little, tiny, itty bit…um…over zealous sometimes. But he’s always, always there when we need him. Right, guys?" The two sighed, as close to a ‘yes’ as Iliana knew she was getting. But it was good enough for her and she smiled as they walked. Ranma cleared her throat.

"So, um, this Galen guy…should we wait for him?" Sabriel waved her off with a hand.

"Oh, no, he’ll find us. He always does." Ranma nodded.

"Oh."

After a while of walking in silence, Iliana asked, "So, Ranma, who else do you live with?" Ranma sighed.

"Well, there’s me and my dad. We’re actually just staying with the Tendos, so my mom’s not here. But there are four Tendos. Their mom died when the girls were really young, so there’s just Mr. Tendo, Kasumi, she’s the oldest, Nabiki, she’s the middle daughter, and- oh, no!" Suddenly, Ranma took off, sprinting towards wherever it was they were going.

"What’s the matter?" Iliana cried, the three running to keep up.

"It’s Akane, she’s a Tendo, too! I left her home alone!"

"Oh," Jonathan called, "is Akane a child?"

"No," Ranma yelled back, "Akane’s sixteen, she’s my fiancée! But she’s been acting really weird lately and I’m worried about what she’s doing to herself!" Sabriel was aghast.

"Is she a masochist or something?"

"Well, I didn’t used to think so, I used to think she just liked beating me up. It was like a game with us. I’d insult her and she’d bunt me into the sky with her mallet. But lately…she’s just been so weird. I don’t know anymore." Apparently, they had reached wherever it was they were going, because Ranma stopped very suddenly. Sabriel whirled to face Ranma abruptly.

"Wait a minute!" she cried, stopping Ranma with a hand. "Did you say this Akane girl is your fiancée?" Ranma gulped and blushed, looking down. "How is that possible?"

"Well…" Ranma stuttered, "it wasn’t our idea…it was our fathers’…" Sabriel let Ranma go and backed away.

"Your fathers…engaged…two girls to be married? Why?" Ranma’s blush deepened and she glared at her.

"They didn’t engage two girls! That’s why I keep saying that it can’t be me! I’m not a girl! I’m a guy!" They stared at her, obviously disbelieving. "Look," Ranma explained angrily, "it’s my dad’s fault I look like a girl. He took me on a training trip to China a few years ago, and there was this training ground-"

"Ah," Jonathan said, cutting Ranma off, "the training ground. With that stupid guide. Say no more. Hot water changes you back, right?" Ranma nodded.

"You’ve been there, too, eh?" Jonathan nodded. "There are a lot of us here in Nermia who have curses. What do you turn into?"

"Nothing, anymore. As soon as I got cursed, I jumped into ‘Spring of Drowned Man’ and cured myself." Ranma winced.

"I should have done that." Iliana was about to say something when a white-haired blob came flying around the corner.

"I found you, I found you!" it called in a sing-song voice. Iliana flinched.

"Galen, that’s not the best entrance you’ve ever made…" The new boy, who had white hair and ice blue eyes, smiled at her, then turned to look Ranma up and down twice.

"That’s not her," he declared, looking at Jonathan. "She doesn’t have the right aura." Ranma clinched her fists.

"What do you mean, ‘the right aura’? My aura’s fine!" Sabriel raised an eyebrow and looked at the red-head.

"I thought you just told us you were a boy. Do you want to have the right aura?" Ranma blushed again and lowered her head.

"No, but-" Suddenly, she looked up again. "Akane…" she whispered. "Something’s wrong with Akane. She’s hurt? Crap!" she exclaimed, running into the front yard of the Tendo residence. "Don’t you dare go and do anything stupid, Akane!" Galen followed her with his eyes.

"Akane…that name…" He turned on his heal and ran after Ranma. After a seconds pause, so did the others. Just before they reached the Dojo, Ranma grabbed the thermos she had left on the ground and poured it over herself, turning back into a man.

"Akane!" he cried, flinging the empty thermos away and throwing the doors open. "Akane, what-!" he stopped so suddenly that the others plowed into him. Galen grabbed Ranma’s shoulder and pulled him away from the door. He pushed himself into the Dojo and sucked in his breath.

"Oh, God…" he whispered, "it’s her…" He stared, mesmerized, at the girl sitting on the Dojo floor. Coming into the Dojo behind him, Iliana, Sabriel, and Jonathan knew their search was over.

The girl sitting before them had short, blue-black hair and golden eyes. Though she probably looked like a normal person every other day, right now she was definitely more. She sat, staring numbly at a long trail of blood that flowed freely from a self-inflicted wound on her right wrist. A knife hung limply in her left hand. Her hair floated slightly as her own power summoned a creature from Death to escort her to the next world. The creature rose from the shadows of the Dojo and glided across the floor to rest a hand on her shoulder.

She turned her deep golden eyes on it, and the shadow being hissed, "It is not enough…you are not close enough to Death for me to take you…you must be closer. Give me more…more blood…more pain…then I will take you." The girl looked down at the knife and readjusted her hold on it. Very calmly, she placed the tip of the weapon on her left breast, above her heart.

"Heart that beats," she murmured, applying a minute amount of pressure to the knife, "now pour blood. Blood that binds…now set free. Pounding heart…confining blood…deliver me to Death…beat and bind no longer." She gripped the dagger in both hands and drew it away from her chest. The shadow grinned. Closing her eyes, she brought her blood smeared hands down for a killing strike…but it never connected. The girl opened her eyes, light confusion marring their depths, and stared at the black-haired Ranma, who had caught the blade in his hand on its death trip. In his deep blue eyes there was anger…and pain. His blood welled in the cut created when he stopped the blade to fall and join hers on the floor.

"What are you doing?" the girl asked softly, bowing her head and letting go of the knife. Ranma threw it away and grabber her shoulders.

"What am I doing? What are you doing? Akane, you’re bleeding! You were gonna kill yourself!" He shook her slightly. "What were you thinking?" The girl Akane looked down, refusing to meet Ranma’s eyes.

Behind her, the shadow messenger from Death growled, "Leave us be, boy. She summoned me to take her to Death. Do not presume you can stop this." Akane sighed and half turned her head to speak to the creature.

"Now is not the time. Perhaps later…when he understands…but not now."

"B-but, Lady!" the creature stuttered.

Akane turned her head away from the thing and said, "I have decided. Leave this place. Go." The creature attempted to speak again, but a powerful blast of white light forced it back to Death, a cut off scream its only protest. Unfazed by this experience, Ranma glared at the spot the creature had once occupied then turned his attention back to Akane.

"What did that thing mean, you summoned it? Why do you wanna die, Akane, why? Is…is it…it can’t be…me? I know you don’t wanna hafta marry me, Akane, but this is going a bit far!"

Still refusing to meet Ranma’s gaze, Akane murmured, "It is not what you have done…nor what you have said…nor even the marriage…how can I stay here, in this world?" She scrunched her eyes closed in pain. "I, who is unwanted and serves no purpose but to hurt and cause pain?" Ranma’s blue eyes widened with disbelief.

"You…you don’t believe you’re unwanted…you’re plenty wanted!" Akane shook her head very slightly. Ranma shook her again. "You don’t mean that!" he cried, desperate to make her believe him. "You know people want you! Kuno wants you… princes have wanted you…the entire male student body wants you, for crying out loud! What else do you want?"

"To be desired…and to be truly wanted and needed…are two different things…"

"Akane, you can’t really believe that, you just can’t! You-you…would you at least look at me!" She did, and Ranma knew she believed what she said. Her eyes were filled with pain and rejection and seemed to tell a story of years and years worth of being lonely and forgotten. Ranma felt his eyes fill with tears at the lost and helpless look that her eyes held. He moved his arms to encircle her, pulling her into a hug. She clutched at his shirtsleeve, shaking. He stroked her hair and murmured gently, "Oh, baby…it’s ok…" He rocked her for a while, and then the sheer amount of blood on the floor seemed to become apparent to him, for he put her away from him and said, "You’ve lost a lot of blood, Akane. I’m gonna take you into the house and-"

"Excuse me," interrupted a kind voice from next to Ranma, "but that won’t be necessary." Ranma blinked up at Iliana.

"What do you mean?" She smiled and took Akane’s hand, examining the wrist wound.

"Ah, good. This will be an easy one. Hold still, please." Iliana closed her eyes and held Akane’s injured wrist in her left hand, positioning the right above the wound, palm down and open. "Gift of healing…come to my call. As a daughter of Light, bide my wish. Heed this desire…heal her wound…replenish her spirit. Aid me now, I command it!" A golden light trickled from Iliana’s open palm to fall lightly, like rain, on Akane’s wound. Almost instantly the wound flashed brightly and closed, leaving not a mark. The golden light filled Akane until there was an aura of gold around her, and the glass cut on her other hand healed as well. The light attempted to infiltrate Akane, but when as it tried, another light, this one white with black outline, flashed even brighter than the gold, and expelled the healing power. The released golden mist hovered above Akane. Then, somehow, it seemed to speak.

"Daughter of Light…I have obeyed you and healed her body. However…she is more powerful than even you. I cannot replenish her spirit. It refuses me. I have done…all that I can." In an explosion of light, the healing power was gone. Akane looked up at where it had been, then collapsed against Ranma, asleep. The black-haired martial artist scooped her up in his arms, and turned to face the four travelers.

"If she’s the one you’re looking for," he began calmly, looking down at her, "I think you can wait until she wakes up to talk to her." He bowed his head. "I’m sorry your first meeting of her had to be like this."

"We’re not surprised," said Sabriel calmly. "In fact, we expected something like this for a first meeting." Ranma stared at the four of them, then sighed and walked into the house.

"If you want," he called behind him, "you can wait in the house until she wakes up. I don’t think anyone would mind too much." Slowly, the four who had finally found what they were looking for followed Ranma into the house.

*~*

Akane’s eyes opened. She sighed and sat up. Strange, she mused. Ranma hadn’t acted as she thought he would. Akane had been next to positive he would either have stood and watched or helped the process along. That thought…hurt. For some reason, Akane had wanted Ranma to try and stop her. The truly sad thing about this was that she was past feelings of relief and pleasure that he had stopped her. She just…was. She had tried to die, he had stopped her, oh well. She would have to try again. Akane sat for a few more moments, then stood up and fluffed out her skirt. Huh. She had been wearing her school uniform. Now she was wearing her yellow sundress. She wondered vaguely who had changed her clothing, and where the bloodstained garments were, then exited her room, to find Ranma.

"Ok," Ranma started, rubbing his eyes with his hands, "so all of you have powers over dead people-"

"Not dead people," Iliana corrected kindly, "Death." Ranma blinked at her.

"Ah. Death. Yes, well, that does make a difference. But what I still don’t get is why you need Akane."

"Yes," came a dispassionate voice from the doorway. "Why do you need me? I’ve felt you searching…it rings all through Death." Five heads turned to see Akane, pale and solemn, watching them with cool disinterest. Galen stared at her, his eyes soft and full.

"Oh…" he murmured, "you’re exactly as I pictured you. Your aura…it’s just like it was then…" Akane turned her head to look at Galen, and he smiled at her kindly. "Even though…that black still bothers me." Akane turned away from him and took her customary place next to Ranma, who was watching her carefully.

"Are you ok?" he asked in a whisper. Akane looked at him, and her unguarded eyes answered his question. Ranma sighed. Jonathan cleared his throat.

"Hello," he began formally to Akane, "My name is Jonathan, I-"

"You can sense spiritual signatures." Jonathan blinked at the golden eyed girl, who stared not at him, but at the Koi pond behind him. Shifting nervously, he continued.

"Yes…yes, I can. And-"

"And your friend, that calm girl, Iliana, can manifest and read them. The other girl, the angry one, Sabriel, can sense my signature on other people. She sensed it on Ranma, which is how you found me. The last boy, Galen, can see auras, which includes wandering spirits. He is watching my aura now. The black…it scares him." She turned her golden eyes on him, wise and endless. "I am not afraid." Galen said nothing, only stared at her. Akane shrugged slightly and turned her gaze back on the pond.

Ranma shifted uncomfortably, then asked, "Um…since Akane seems to have met you guys all ready-"

"I have never met them before in my life." Ranma turned to her, confused.

"Then how do you know them?" She shrugged.

"My dreams are of Death…the beings there speak to me, and have told me of those who follow my signature. I’ve been guarding myself, but." She shrugged again. Akane had never once looked at Ranma. He nodded, though clearly he understood nothing of what she had just said.

"Ah," he said, "yes. You guarded your spiritual signature so they couldn’t find you. Right. Ok, then." With a fake cheerful smile, Ranma turned on Jonathan. "So, why are you looking for her?" Jonathan cleared his throat again.

Glancing at Akane, lest she interrupt him yet again, Jonathan said, "For as long as there has been life and death, breath and stillness, joy and pain, the realm of the Dead has sought to take over the realm of the Living. It has always been this way, forever."

"Why?" Ranma asked, curious.

"Because Death is merely the absence of Life. When a person surrenders their life, willingly or not, they move on the next realm. The beings in Death desire this Life Energy. They believe that, with it, they might take over this realm, Life. If they gain control of Life, they will inflict their evil desires on all who inhabit it, and there will be no way of stopping them. It will be chaos, utter and complete, with no hope of rescue. As long as those from Death remain locked in their realm, they can’t inflict any real damage on those who inhabit Life."

"So how do they expect to get out?"

"There is…" Jonathan began slowly, "a gate. The Gate. It is the thinnest point in the boundary between Life and Death. Someone, we’re not sure who, who wishes the release of Death upon Life is looking for a Summoner."

"What’s a Summoner?"

"Someone with the power to Summon beings from Death. Such a person could easily stand in the Gate and Summon every creature of Death to come to the open Gate. That person could release all of the captives upon those inhabiting Life. Then…the grand desire of Death would be realized. And no one could stop it." Ranma blinked.

"Well, couldn’t the Summoner just Summon all the Death-things back to that realm?" Iliana sighed.

"Technically, yes. But once Death has been released, it would be going against its core desire. It wouldn’t want to go back, as it wanted to be released. It would probably drain the Summoner of all Life, sending that one to Death along with the beings they re-Seal."

"Plus," added Sabriel ruthlessly, "if the Summoner releases Death, a side has been picked. That one is working for Death. Why would it want to re-Seal what it worked so hard to Release?" Ranma sighed, then straitened.

"This is all very interesting," he said suspiciously, "but what’s it got to do with Akane?" Galen smiled, still staring at Akane, who continued to watch the Koi pond.

"Because this Lady is the one they’re looking for. She is the Summoner." Ranma stood up suddenly, his hands balled into fists.

"No way!" he yelled. Then he glared at the four visitors. "There is no way I’m letting you tell me that you want to put Akane in danger."

"Why?" questioned Akane softly. "You don’t care for me. Why does it bother you? Because in this one area I exceed you in power?" Ranma blushed and glared at Akane.

"That’s not the point!" She turned her empty golden eyes on him.

"Oh? Then what is the point, if not that?" Ranma sputtered.

"Because you might die! And then your father’d kill me!" Akane nodded and faced the Koi pond again.

"Ah. That’s what this is about. You’re afraid of my father. Well, that makes sense." Ranma sputtered for a while more, then Akane stood with a half-sigh. "You needn’t worry about my joining with Death. I don’t enjoy helping others. It always gets me in trouble."

Galen watched her walk to the door with silent contemplation, but Sabriel called after her, "You’ll help us, though, right?" Akane, her hand on the open door, half turned to face them.

"I told you. I don’t enjoy helping others." So saying she left. Iliana blinked.

"That actually went a lot better than I thought it would." Jonathan and Sabriel nodded. Galen stood suddenly.

"I’ll be right back," he announced, and left the room, following Akane.

As the other three sighed, Ranma pointed after Galen and asked, "What’s with him?"

"One of his talents is that he’s a fire reader," Iliana explained. "That means sometimes he can see auras in fire. It can either be a spirit or the aura of a living person. In fact, the first aura he ever saw was hers. He’s been mildly obsessed with finding her since then. Something about her aura…I think he’s worried for her." Ranma sat down unceremoniously.

"Why is he worried for her? What’s wrong?" Iliana sighed and looked at Jonathan.

"You explain, Jon. You’ve known Galen longest." Jonathan nodded.

"Ok…Galena and I have know each other since I was five and he was four. Something about him…he always seemed so happy, even though that’s usually a mask. He’s so…mysterious. The longer you spend around him, the less you know about him. Unless he wants you to know. He wanted me to know, even from the beginning. When we met, the first thing he said was, ‘You’ve got a powerful aura. Wanna be friends?’ It’s been like that ever since."

"Oh…where did you guys meet?" Ranma asked, interested. "Were your parents friends?"

"Actually," said Jonathan, "no. We’re both orphans. All four of us are. Galen and I met at the orphanage. He’d been there most of his life; my parents had just died. Anyway, once a year, the orphanage would take all the kids on a camping trip to the local park. It was there, the first time we went as best friends…he was five. We were sitting by the campfire…and suddenly, his eyes emptied. When I asked him what was wrong, he just said, ‘She’s so sad…I wish I could help her…’ Later, when he was acting normally-"

"Meaning he was bouncing about breaking things," clarified Sabriel. Jonathan winced.

"Er…something like that, yes. Anyway, he told me that he could see auras in the fire sometimes, and he had seen a really, really powerful one. Maybe the most powerful ever. But…it worried him. Something about it worried him. He tried to hide the fact that something was bothering him, but I could tell. After many weeks of prodding and demanding, he told me. He said that the aura was white…or at least it was supposed to be white. But…there was something desperately wrong. The white aura was tainted with black. The edges, growing in to the center, were all black." Ranma blinked.

"What’s wrong with black? It’s just another color."

"No," Iliana replied calmly, "it isn’t. The color of an aura depends on two things: emotions and power. The shade of an aura depends on the emotions of the person: the lighter the mood, the lighter the color. The same goes for dark: the darker the color the darker the emotions being felt. The aura of a Death being is black; always black."

"What about spirits?"

"A being of Death and a dead person are two different things."

"How?"

"A spirit is a good or neutral entity which lacks Life; a Death being is lack of both Life and goodness, essentially evil."

"Oh. Please continue."

"Ok. As I was saying, shade depends on emotions. Color depends on power levels."

"Really?"

"Yes. The lowest color is yellow, then comes orange, green, and finally blue."

"What color am I?" asked Ranma eagerly.

"Blue."

"Is that good?"

"For a Normal, yes."

"What’s a ‘Normal’?"

"A person with average spiritual powers."

"I’m only average?!"

"Let me finish."

"Oops…sorry. Keep going."

"Thank you. Now, these are the five basic colors held by normal people, with minimal amounts of spiritual powers-"

"But I’ve got lots of power!"

"Yes, but chi power and spiritual power are two different things. While you have excessive, amazing amounts of chi, you have only average amounts of spiritual power."

"Oh."

"To continue: after the five basic colors come the higher levels, which bring with them manifestations of spiritual gifts."

"Such as?"

"Such as…the ability to heal. And to Summon, Seal, and Release."

"What?"

"Well, you Summon spirits or beings from Death. Then you Seal them, so that you can control them. When they’ve served they’re purpose, you Release them, and they go back to wherever it is they came from."

"Ah."

"Anyway, there are many other Spiritual Gifts, which I won’t get into right now, because, trust me, there are lots. There are only four colors after Basics."

"Not So Great, Good, Better, and Best."

"What? Oh, yes. Something like that. Not So Great, which is still pretty good, is red; Good would be a grayish color; better than gray is purple; best of all is gold."

"But…couldn’t purple and gold be confused for blue and yellow?"

"All the time! It’s the best known method for confusing an under trained opponent. They think you’re weaker than you are because they’re confused on your color."

"How many of each stage of the last four are there?" Iliana blinked.

"Could…could you please restate the question?" Ranma stared at her. Finally, Sabriel laughed.

"She’s a nationals debater, just ignore her. She didn’t understand your question. Make it simpler. We’ve been up for over two days, no sleep. Give us a break." Ranma smiled and turned to Iliana.

"How many reds, grays, purples, and golds are there?"

"Oh, not many."

"Um…do you have numbers?"

"Yes, I do. There are about three to four hundred reds at any given time. The most grays there have ever been at one time are two hundred, and that’s right now. At this moment, there are also fifty to a hundred purples." Ranma swallowed.

"And…and the golds?" Iliana, looking very somber, held up four fingers. Ranma gulped again. "There’re…there’re only four? Is it…you four?" The trio nodded. "But…what about Akane? You said Galen said she was a white. Where’s that on the spiritual power level scale?" Jonathan leaned forward and answered instead of Iliana.

"Undefined." Ranma gaped.

"What?"

"She is the first ever. All of us combined probably couldn’t take her down if we had to. Hurt her? Maybe; if we were very, very lucky. Defeat her? Probably never."

"Probably? Don’t you know?" Jonathan shook his head.

"We’ve never encountered a power like hers," Sabriel explained. "We don’t know what to expect. She could have just one spiritual ability; she could be able to do them all. We don’t know. That’s why we need her on our side so badly. If she’s with them…we’ll loose. Simple as that."

"And…if she remains neutral?"

"Impossible," Jonathan said flatly. "The black in her aura is saying what she isn’t. Already she thinks better of Death than Life. Why else do you think she tried to kill herself? She’d rather be there. Eventually, the bad guy’s gonna find her. And when he does, he’ll talk her into helping him. There is no two ways about it. She’s either our friend…or our enemy. If she’s not our friend…we’re doomed." Ranma winced. The door opened, then, and Galen came back in, looking tired and very sad.

"What happened?" asked a concerned Iliana as Galen took an empty place by her. He shook his head.

"When I got to her room, the door was closed. I would have gone in, but she wouldn’t let me, and she can ward better than anyone I’ve ever met. No one with spirit power over blue will be let in that room without express permission. Anyway, I didn’t give up. I tried talking through the door. I thought it was working but…" He shook his head again. Iliana patted his hand.

"That bad?" He nodded. "What’d she say?"

"She didn’t say anything. One moment I’m talking to her door; the next? A hugely powerful Death demon threw the door open and stared at me. Then it growled. Then she spoke. She said, ‘I will not be a pawn in a game between Life and Death. I have been a pawn, a plaything, all my life. No more.’ Then she told me to leave. I tried to talk to her again, but that cursed thing was in my way, and she wouldn’t look at me. She just kept staring out the window. Do you know how hard it would be for even a Gold to Summon and Seal something of that size in that amount of time? She wasn’t even breathing hard."

"How big was it?" asked Sabriel, unnerved. Or perhaps just curious. Galen winced.

"Let me put it this way: I couldn’t see its shoulders." Everyone in the room winced. That was big. Galen sighed again. "So, she told me that if I didn’t leave, she’s have it take my head off. Only…she didn’t use those words. I think she said something like, ‘Leave me now. Or I will allow my escort to fulfill his desires.’ I said I’d leave. And then, poof! It was gone. She didn’t move or bat an eyelid or anything. It was just…gone. And just as I left…she turned around and looked at me. Her eyes…her aura. It was amazing. But so sad…she’s so lonely. And I’m afraid. When I first saw it, back all those years ago, it was still almost all white. There was only a little bit of black. And now…there’s so much black…I’m afraid for her." He looked up and met Jonathan’s eyes, serious. "And I’m afraid for us. She’s very close to being half-and-half. Very many more bad experiences and the guy from Death won’t have far to go to persuade her. We’ve got to get her on our side. If we don’t…"

"If we don’t…?" Ranma prompted gently. Galen looked down, but Jonathan answered for him.

"If we don’t…they will win. And everyone on earth will die."

*~*

AN: So? Does it get worse or better? Will Akane choose a side? And, if so, who will it be: Life or Death? These and more answered in future chapters. Keep checking back for more!

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