#15: Beginning of the End 
			The Wheel of Fire, Part 5: Full Circle

  Written by Razorclaw X (spiceoflife@hotmail.com)
  http://www.crosswinds.net/anaheim/~slythe/ranma/ranff.html
  Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. And 
all that other good stuff. Proper licenses belong to respective 
properties and characters. The manga has precedence over material in 
the anime. 
  This file can be freely distributed so long as it appears in its 
complete form and proper credit. No part may be reproduced for 
monetary gain without permission from the author. (to which the answer 
is probably "no")

  Author's note: This series takes place after the final manga story, 
Vol.38, after my previous fics, "Moments of Transition," "Team Ranma 
vs. the Orochi Assassins," "End of the Beginning," "Descending 
Spiral," "Specters," "The Law of Amazons," "Doco in the Battle of the 
Bands," "Doco in Hawaii," "The Past is Prologue," "Treasure of the 
Musk Dynasty," "Enter the Shadows," "Face of the Enemy," "Rising 
Star," and "Team Ranma in the King of Fighters '96." Knowledge 
of the previous stories helps in understanding the minor details of 
the story (see "Plot Points"). 
  The wheel draws to the close, as we come Full Circle.... 

Plot Points (from previous stories)
==================================
1. Ranma and Akane are married. Ryoga and Akari are married. 
2. Mousse has reached an understanding with both Shampoo and Cologne. 
3. Kodachi and Tatewaki reached an understanding. Both hate their 
parents and Ranma. They know Ranma is the pig-tailed girl. Family 
honor has been restored since Ranma recently saved Kuno's life. 
4. Kodachi and Pantyhose Taro admit an affection for each other. Taro 
is now staying with the Kunos while in Nerima, learning about family. 
5. Ukyo discovers she can manipulate chi, but as of yet it manifests 
only in her okonomiyaki. With proper training she could become more 
powerful than Ranma, according to the minions of Orochi. She briefly 
studied under Herb. 
6. Kuno has devoted himself to mastering every technique of the 
Chinese Phoenix Sword. The Phoenix Sword consumes soul energy. 
7. Seiryu claims that Ranma must die in order to save the future. 
Ranma discovers that it is he himself who will kill everybody, but 
the day of judgment has yet to come. 

------------------------------------------------
Opening: November Rain 

(Ranma) All over the town, there are tears.
You image is blurred by
The rain running down my cheeks

Because the person over whom
I held the umbrella that rolled away
Is not here.

I'm not being true with myself,
Yes, I know but,
I can't say those words.

Tender Rain,
Even rain that's about to freeze from cold
Is warmer than my heart. November Rain,
Until my tears vanish, don't stop.
					*  *  *  *  *

  There was less than three weeks left until doomsday. 
  Both Akane and Ranma watched as Nabiki frantically ran down the 
stairs, each step resonating throughout the house like thunder, with 
a look of total panic in her usual calm, composed eyes. Moments 
later, the middle Tendo sister was charging back up the stairs, an 
apple in her hand, still with the same panicked look. 
  "Nabiki's taking these exams real seriously," Ranma commented. 
  "And why shouldn't she?" asked Akane. "The college examinations 
are what determine the rest of a person's life! It would be nice if 
she could get into the University of Tokyo or something, but her 
approach suggests otherwise." 
  "Yeah," agreed Ranma. "I can't believe she put this off until 
a couple months ago. I've never seen her so out of control before." 
  "Nabiki certainly does like to be in control," Akane said. "Anyway, 
some people go to cram school for years and not pass the test. And 
since Nabiki hadn't made any move until now to cram for the exams, 
I don't think her chances are very good. Kasumi didn't even pass." 
  "Hmm, I wonder how old Kuno is taking these things," wondered 
Ranma. "Last I heard, he was driving his sister crazy over it." 
  "How should I know? I never talk to them." 
  "Well, neither do I. Of course, Ukyo'd probably know, since she's 
been out with Kuno recently." 
  "I really don't understand her!" Akane said. "How in the world can 
she stand a jerk like Kuno?" 
  Ranma shrugged. "Well, how should I know? I never seem know her 
enough, and when I finally think I figured her out, she turns around 
and surprises me." 
  Akane jabbed an elbow into her husband's stomach. "Ranma! And you 
call her your best pal?!" 
  "Gimme a break!" Ranma replied defensively. 

  "Away with you!" Kuno screamed, as Kodachi shut the door behind 
her. 
  She sighed to herself. "Really, Brother, as if those stupid exams 
were so important anyway! As if you were going to make a career for 
yourself, when we have all the wealth in the world? Ha! Why do you 
waste your time?" 
  Kodachi walked down the hall, away from the library where Kuno 
had locked himself in for the last few months of his spare time-- 
spare time that wasn't practicing his Kendo, going to school, eating, 
sleeping, and dating Ukyo Kuonji, that is. She failed to understand 
why passing the exams meant so much to her brother, as Kodachi 
herself wouldn't have bothered herself with such stress as it 
brought. 
  When my time comes, Kodachi decided, I'll either know all 
I need to know, or not at all. No panic like Brother! At least I 
have a career goal in life! Kendo was certainly not a career! 
  She stepped outside, into the courtyard where, at the center, was 
the pool that Midorigame, her beloved pet alligator, lived. 
Kodachi walked toward Taro, who sat by the rim of the pool, watching 
the large alligator circle in the water, as if it relaxed him. 
  "I think he really does like you," Kodachi said. 
  Taro's eyes never left the alligator. "A rather efficient predator 
for such a domestic creature!" he exclaimed. 
  Kodachi sat by the side of the pool, and allowed Midorigame to 
swim to her hand. She scratched his snout lovingly. "It takes a real 
person to see the one behind the face, oh yes!" 
  "That's probably one of the reasons I like you," Taro said. 
  "You're not going to get jealous of my pet, are you?" the Kuno 
girl asked playfully. 
  "Ha!" laughed Taro. "Of course not!" 
  "Anyway," Kodachi started, changing the subject, "I think Brother 
has left the land of the sane." 
  "I thought as much," Taro replied, not surprised at Kodachi's 
observations. 
  "He insists on cramming for an exam in which he already knows the 
material!" she cried out into the air, raising her arms in 
emphasis. "He need not cram! He has only been studying that 
stuff all his life!" 
  "That's the price of insecurity," Taro said scornfully. 

  "It is time to make your move." 
  A single figure, masked in shadow, addressed the phantom man before 
him. The dark, underground chamber, was illuminated only by the light 
of eight candles, spread about the room in an octagonal pattern, the 
shadowed man standing at the head of the shape, the phantom in the 
middle. 
  Warmage nodded. Ever since his death, Warmage had sword to take 
vengeance on the one who caused it, Ranma Saotome. He had tried once 
to dispose of him, by possessing one of his powerful friends, that 
lovely okonomiyaki chef that was descended of the Jade Dragon, one of 
the many of champions that dared to oppose the Orochi over the last 
1800 years. Now that Goenitz, the Eldest of the Orochi Family, was 
dead, the Reunion was in jeopardy.  
  "Do not fail," warned the shadow. "If you do, your soul will be 
offered to the denizens of the Kami Plane." 
  Warmage turned to leave. In life, he was a master of chi, one of 
the rare few people who could shape chi like clay at will. None of 
that helped him any when Orochi passed his judgment, however. But, 
the chef girl, Ukyo Kuonji, the Jade Dragon, DID possess the same 
abilities as Warmage had in life, yet, her potential was untapped! 
He had tried to expose her to true power, but failed. He had tried 
to subjugate her will to his own, but failed. Now she was all that 
stood in the way of his ultimate victory. She was the only one who 
could save... him. 
  And, despite how much she got in the way, Warmage found he could 
not think of destroying her. 
  "These coming times will determine either my salvation, or my 
damnation," Warmage said finally. "This last, desperate act, will be 
the crowning achievement in my service of Orochi." 
  The shadow man watched the insubstantial form depart, shaking his 
head sadly. Either this would be the finest moment of our lives, or 
the worst, he decided. 
  The Reunion must go on. 

  Later that morning, Akane and Ranma stepped into Ucchan's, where, 
as usual, Ukyo stood behind the grill, waiting for her next customer 
to walk into the door. As the lunch crowd had yet to come, business 
was slow at the moment. 
  "I can't believe another year has come and gone," Ukyo said. "It 
seems like only yesterday I first came to this little burg and set 
up shop, you know?" 
  "Well, time seems to fly at times," agreed Akane, "but in Nabiki's 
case, time's slowed to a crawl." 
  "So, you guys," Ukyo started, "when this time of the year comes 
around next year, what'd you think you'll do?" 
  "I have no idea," admitted Akane, "but one thing is for sure, I 
won't wait until the last minute like Nabiki is doing." 
  "I really don't think I should bother at all," answered Ranma. 
  "Why not?" asked the okonomiyaki chef. 
  "Well," explained Ranma, "I don't think college is the kind of 
place for a martial artist, you know?" 
  Ukyo nodded. "Well, I'm not quite THAT sure of myself. I'm still 
going to take the exams anyway, and try to pass, even though I 
might not need to. After all, all I've got to look forward to right 
now is cook for my favorite customers." 
  "Which is just about everybody that walks into the door," Akane 
pointed out. "You and your family just loves doing that kind of 
stuff, huh?" 
  "Yeah, I suppose so," agreed Ukyo, thinking about her father and 
grandfather. 
  The trio could hear the footsteps Konatsu made in the back room. 
Soon the kunoichi made his entrance into the dining room, his hair 
a mess. 
  "Hey, Konatsu!" greeted Akane. "Got up late?" 
  Konatsu nodded. "Today Ukyo-sama let me sleep in, but Snowball 
wouldn't let me," he explained, referring to his pet cat. "She 
insisted on being fed." 
  Ranma laughed. "Cats are more trouble than they're worth." 
  "They're less trouble than I can bring!" an ominous, disembodied 
voice announced, his deep voice echoing throughout the dining room. 
  All four occupants' heads darted about, trying to find the 
source of the voice. 
  "Show yourself!" demanded Ukyo, her hand reaching for her giant 
spatula. 
  "And how is it for one to try to see something, or someone, that 
is not there?" taunted the phantom. 
  "I recognize that voice...." Ukyo said. 
  At the same time, both Ranma and Ukyo said, "Warmage!" 
  "Oh-ho!" laughed Warmage. "You DO remember me." 
  "Is it the one who lead the Orochi assassins?!" wondered Akane. 
  Ukyo nodded. "He's also the one who tried to kill Ranchan by using 
my body!" 
  "Evil one!" Ranma shouted. "Show yourself, coward!" 
  No response. 
  Suddenly, Ranma raised his hands, then clutched his head. His eyes 
spread wide-open, seemingly about ready to scream. 
  "Ranma!" cried Akane. "What's wrong!" 
  "Aaa... aaaaaaaahhhh," Akane's husband cried, trying his best not 
to scream. 
  "Could it be?!" Konatsu whispered. 
  "Ranchan!" yelled Ukyo. 
  "AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!" Ranma screamed, seemingly ready to rip 
out his hair from whatever pain he was experiencing. 
  He sank to his knees, and pounded his forehead into the dining 
room's wooden floor, as if that pain would take away the one he was 
experiencing. Akane and Ukyo rushed to his side, each holding one 
arm. 
  "Get out of there, you creep!" Ukyo demanded, yelling into Ranma's 
ear. 
  "Out?!" Akane echoed in confusion. 
  Konatsu explained, "The possessing spirit... he is within him!" 
  Suddenly, Ranma's eyes washed over, a glazed look of tranquillity. 
Without fanfare, he released the grip he had on his hair, and his 
head slumped forward. Had his arms not been supported by Akane and 
Ukyo, the young Saotome would have fallen face-first onto the dining 
room floor. 
  It was Konatsu who finally broke the silence. "Was that supposed 
to happen?" 
  Ukyo shook her head. "I don't know. I would have expected Warmage 
to take over Ranma's body, but...." 
  "So what in the world is that crazy cultist doing?" interrupted 
Akane, worry in her eyes. 

  I knew I wanted to keep anyone out of my mind, Ranma told himself, 
but it looks like I don't have a choice in the matter anymore. 
  The place where Ranma stood was completely black; only the 
illumination that shone over him made that apparent. He had been 
here, in the mindscape, once before, while taking trips through the 
memories of Seiryu, the future self of Ukyo, who tried to warn Ranma 
of impending danger. 
  He felt cold and alone. He wished Ukyo, in any way, shape, or 
form, was there, but his wishes went unanswered. The familiar 
presence of Seiryu watching over him had all but vanished. 
  "Sooooo," started the voice of the invader, the possessing 
phantom Warmage, "is THIS what it looks like in your mind? Empty!" 
  "Shut up!" Ranma shouted back. "What do you want?!" 
  "What I want is of no concern!" replied Warmage. "What do YOU 
want?" 
  "What does that have to do with anything?!" the young Saotome 
shouted back. 
  The voice merely continued. "Why, everything, of course! By now 
I have had full access to all of your memories, from the moment of 
your birth, to the present! Memories you thought long forgotten, 
memories you wish you never knew, memories you believe you can 
prevent!" 
  It was those words that caught Ranma's attentions fully. "Get out 
of there!" 
  "You actually LISTENED to this Seiryu person?!" taunted Warmage. 
  "Shut up and kill me, if that's what you want!" Ranma cried 
defiantly. "I won't have you playing with my mind, like you did to 
Ukyo!" 
  "Ah, yes, Ukyo," Warmage repeated. "The lovely young girl, the one 
who keeps nagging at my brain. The one you couldn't find yourself 
loving?" 
  "Leave her out of this!" warned Ranma. 
  "Oh, but I can't! You see, she's as much a part of this as you and 
I. And another thing: if I had it my way, you would already be dead, 
but that is not what I am here for. What I want doesn't matter." 
  "Alright, then, what ARE you doing here?" 
  "I simply want to know what YOU want." 

  "Akane, are you sure you know what you're doing?" asked Ukyo. 
  "Of course!" assured Akane. "I watched Kagura do it for me, after 
all." 
  Ranma lay prone, flat on his back, resting his head against an 
extra pillow Ukyo happened to have. She, Akane, and Konatsu sat in 
Ukyo's room, Ukyo kneeling next to Ranma's body, Konatsu waiting by 
the doorway, and Akane standing over Ranma, next to Ukyo, holding a 
Shinto purification rod, streams of white folded paper hanging from 
the end. 
  "Just because you saw Kagura do it doesn't mean you can," the chef 
pointed out. "She certainly must know more about these Shinto 
rituals than you do." 
  "I know that!" replied Akane hotly. "It's just that the sooner we 
get into Ranma's mind, the better! He needs our help!" 
  "Couldn't we just go down to one of the local shrines?" suggested 
Ukyo. 
  "We'll try that if this doesn't work!" 
  Akane started to wave the rod about over Ranma's body, passing 
over his face and chest, back and forth. Suddenly, she came to a 
full stop. 
  "What's the matter?" asked Konatsu. 
  Akane turned to face Konatsu. "So, where's the nearest shrine?" 
  Ukyo shook her head in frustration. 

  "You're a more interesting person than I imagined," Warmage said. 
"Let's see... you turn into a girl when splashed with cold water, 
you have a terrible case of cat phobia, and you are a lady's man." 
  As if closing a book, he concluded, "You certainly ARE destined to 
live in interesting times!" 
  "Yeah, big deal," Ranma replied. "Are you through playing 'This 
Is Your Life?'" 
  "Still, you haven't told me what you want," pressed the phantom. 
  "Why are you asking me?" wondered Ranma. "You've taken the trips 
through my memories; draw your own conclusions!" 
  "I certainly can, but I still won't know what you want until you 
'say' it," Warmage explained. "Any conclusion I may draw may not be 
the correct one, you know. Desires are not the same as memories." 
  "So, what's so important about what I want?" 
  "It is my opinion that you don't wish to actively-oppose the 
great Orochi, and that you wish you had nothing to do with us. Am I 
correct?" 
  "Yeah," confirmed Ranma. "So what?" 
  "If I give you what you want, you would leave us alone." 
  "What makes you think that?" 
  "Oh, come now!" Warmage laughed. "Everybody wants something!" 
  "Why should I trust you?" asked Ranma suspiciously. 
  "You don't have any reason to trust one of the Orochi," replied 
the phantom coolly. "You have no reason to trust at all. No one at 
all." As if switching legs, he continued, "So, just what does it 
take for one to earn your trust?" 
  "For one thing, the ones I trust don't try to attack Akane," Ranma 
replied without thinking. 
  "Oh, oh, oh!" Warmage sounded amused by Ranma's statement. "Is that 
the same reason why you still trust Ukyo?" 
  "What are you talking about?!" demanded the young Saotome. 
  "I've been through her mind, remember? Besides, you were there when 
it happened!" 

					*  *  *  *  *

  Ranma, wearing a white tuxedo, burst into the dojo, Akane behind 
him, wearing a Western-style wedding dress. "What?!" He watched as 
Ryoga and Mousse fought over a barrel, a label that read.... 
  Throwing a hard look at Akane, he shouted, "Why didn't you say 
something sooner?!" With that Ranma joined the other men in the mad 
dash for the barrel. 
  At least, until a nikuman and okonomiyaki flew his direction. The 
resulting explosion knocked Ranma down. 
  Shampoo, in a hugging dress, and Ukyo, in a kimono, were at the 
entrance, holding plates of nikuman and okonomiyaki respectively, 
with hard, cold expressions on their faces. 
  "Aiyaaa!" Shampoo cried. "That one was for pervert-girl!" 
  Ukyo reached for another okonomiyaki on her plate, fires burning in 
her eyes. "Yeah, well there's still plenty of special okonomiyaki to 
go around!"

					*  *  *  *  *

  "So what's your point?!" Ranma shouted, as soon as the memory faded. 
  "You didn't get it?!" Warmage laughed. "Ah-hah! No wonder why Ukyo 
thinks you're such an idiot." 
  "Well?!" demanded the young Saotome, unimpressed. 
  "You trust those who don't attack Akane, right? Well, if I'm not 
mistaken, wasn't your 'best friend' Ukyo attacking her?" 
  "Shut up!" Ranma shouted. "She didn't mean that!" 
  "Oh, of course she did!" pressed the cultist's voice. "She, like 
Shampoo, was ready for that day, dressed to kill, with her special 
okonomiyaki prepared just for the occasion! She ATTACKED Akane!" 
  "Shut up, shut up!" Ranma covered his ears as he yelled, but it 
was no use, not in a place such as his own mind. 
  "She had enough okonomiyaki explosives to finish her, and the 
dojo, off!" continued Warmage. "You were the only thing that got in 
her way; you got in the way of her attack!" 
  "Therefore," concluded the phantom, "you have no reason to trust 
your chef friend, your 'best friend,' your 'Ucchan.'" 
  "So, what if you're right?" asked Ranma. "If that's so, then 
what about all the other times she's stood by my side?" 
  "Watch," replied Warmage. "This is directly from Ukyo's mind...." 
  As before, a moving picture appeared before Ranma, displaying yet 
another memory. This time, Ranma recognized the features of the dark, 
cold cave to be that of the Tunnel of Lost Love. 
  He saw himself, and Akane, walking away from the foreground. Then, 
the picture panned to the side, to a close-up shot of Ryoga's angry 
face. 
  "Remember," Ukyo's voice started, "those two have to go through the 
cave TOGETHER, so the spirits can separate them!" 
  Ryoga nodded. "Gotcha!" 
  And, abruptly, the memory ended. 
  "What was that all about?!" Ranma shouted into the air. 
  "From Ukyo's perspective," explained Warmage, "she has explained 
her plan for you and Akane. Had it succeeded, the spirits of the cave 
would have driven you two apart, leaving Akane for Ryoga, and you for 
Ukyo." 
  "You're... you're lying!" 
  "Memories don't lie! They can't be created unless by one's own 
experiences! You think I fabricated such a picture? Ha! I've never 
even heard of the cave until I stumbled across it in Ukyo's mind!" 
  "She... she...." 
  "Yes! She plotted to break you and Akane up as a couple!" 
  "B... but, all we've been through these past two years...." 
  "Meant nothing! All she wanted was a chance to be your wife, and 
you know it!" 
  To that, Ranma had to agree. He nodded slowly. 
  "If the mask of friendship can hide such treacherous lies, then 
what makes you think she hadn't lied at any other occasion?" 
  "She... she's lied to me...." Ranma repeated to himself. "I... I 
trusted her!" 
  He turned around, clenching a fist in fury. "Now it all makes 
sense! Seiryu, being the future Ukyo, had watched me and Akane live 
together for years. She fabricated her story about Nemesis in order 
to kill me, just because she was jealous! She's tried before; no 
reason why she shouldn't now!" 
  "Ah, you see!" encouraged Warmage. "We ALL know that the future 
is not set! It is what you make of it!" 
  "Yeah... yes!" agreed Ranma. "She must have had to kill me because 
I caused her trouble in the future! That must be it!" 
  "You see, you don't need to worry about becoming Nemesis," the 
phantom concluded. "She has lied to you, as she had done before!" 
  Ranma threw both his fists into the air, and shouted, "Ukyo Kuonji, 
how DARE you call yourself my friend and do these things to me?!" 

  "You were right in coming here," said the Shinto priest. "Matters 
such as this require delicate attention. 
  Ranma's body lay at the center of the shrine, the priest, Akane, 
and Ukyo standing around him in a circle, staring down. The priest 
held a purification rod in his hand. 
  "Are you SURE you know about these mind-body things?" asked Akane. 
  "Of course!" assured the priest. "It is one method of exorcising 
malevolent spirits from the body, after all. Of course, if I had it 
my way, I would have exorcised the demon without using such methods, 
but this one seems a bit too powerful for that. Besides, I believe 
the host body is beginning to anchor the spirit." 
  "What's that supposed to mean?" asked Akane. 
  "It means Ranma's beginning to accept the phantom into his 
body," explained Ukyo. "This guy's pretty slick; when he had me he 
almost managed to convince me that...." She trailed off, not wishing 
to discuss her fears. 
  "Ranma, you jerk," Akane whispered. "Don't give in!" 
  "In any case," continued the priest, "I can only do one of you at 
a time. In the space of an hour, I can do another, as this type of 
ritual is spiritually-taxing on me." 
  "Alright, then, all we have to do is decide which one of us is 
going in first," Ukyo concluded. 
  "I'll go," volunteered Akane. "Besides, I've done this kind of 
thing before, and Ranma can't ignore his own wife!" 
  "Very well, then," the Shinto priest said, nodding. Turning to 
Ukyo, he instructed, "You're going to have to step outside, or the 
ritual will fail." 
  The okonomiyaki chef nodded. "I understand." To Akane, she said, 
"I'll be outside with Konatsu. Don't you go and be a hero." 
  "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!" assured Akane. 

  "Ah, another arrives on the scene," announced Warmage. 
  Akane Saotome, wife of Ranma Saotome, found herself in the same 
black chamber as Ranma. She stood under a column of light, not far 
from Ranma's own, the only other source of illumination in the 
eerie blackness. 
  "You're the one my assassins failed to eliminate," continued the 
cultist. 
  "We meet again, dirtball!" shot back Akane angrily. 
  "Oh, why the anger?" taunted the phantom cultist, his voice 
raising an octave. 
  "You're messing with my husband's mind, that's why!" she cried. 
  "No, he's not," Ranma replied coolly. 
  "Ranma?!" 
  "The mind never lies to itself," explained Akane's husband. "I 
just realized something very important, Akane." 
  "And what would that be?" asked Akane curiously. 
  "What I want," he announced, "is to protect you from all harm." 
  "T... that's very noble, Ranma," Akane whispered, a bit surprised. 
"But, what does this have to do with anything?" 
  "It is what he wants, of course," answered Warmage. "What Ranma 
wants is very important to us; so long as he gets what he wants, we 
get what we want. I would say it's a fair deal, don't you think?" 
  "What are you up to?!" demanded Akane. 
  "Well, that all depends," replied the phantom. "What do you want?" 
  "What?!" Akane yelled. 
  "Answer him, Akane!" insisted Ranma. "He's here to help!" 
  Akane turned to her husband angrily. "You wishy-washy jerk! Don't 
you see what he's trying to do to you?!" 
  Ranma stepped to Akane's side, and grasped her arms. "I can see 
clearly now! Everything Ukyo has said to me, and done, has all been 
a lie! She's been trying to break us up since day one!" 
  "I know that, you idiot!" Akane shot back. "What's your point?!" 
  "She calls herself my friend, and I thought she was my best 
friend," explained Ranma. "Of course, you were in the way, in HER 
way. Don't you care that she tried her best to break us up, under 
the guise of a friend?" 
  "Ranma, why are you doing this?!" 
  "Because, Akane, I want to protect you!" 
  "Warmage!" Akane cried into the air. "What is the meaning of 
this?!" 
  "Yaa-ha-ha-ha!" laughed the cultist. "Don't you see? You're the 
only one that matters in his life." 
  Suddenly, all around Ranma and Akane, images of other people 
appeared. Akane recognized them all: Tatewaki Kuno, sword brandished; 
Mousse, swinging chains overhead; Shampoo, bonbori in hand; Ryoga 
Hibiki, tapping his umbrella on his free hand; Kodachi Kuno, 
twirling her ribbon about herself; Ukyo Kuonji, arms crossed. All of 
them were staring at Akane and Ranma with cold looks. 
  "Don't worry, Akane!" assured Ranma. "None of them will get 
between us, ever!" 
  "Ranma...." Akane whispered. "It's... it's over." 
  "It's never over," replied her husband. "Never!" 
  "Ranma, they're... our friends!" she insisted. 
  "Friends... ha!" spat Ranma. "They're not friends where we're 
concerned!" 
  He waved his arm around, passing by each of his six enemies. "Look 
at them all, Akane! Each and every one of them, a lean and hungry 
look! These are the ones we should most watch out for. Our closest 
friends... bah! Our closest enemies!" 
  "Ryoga Hibiki," Ranma began, stepping in front of him. "The 
biggest idiot on the planet! He loves you, Akane; I know you know 
that now, but there's something else you DON'T know!" He laughed. 
"This is your little P-chan!" 
  "Ranma!" Akane cried. "P-chan's at the Unryu farm, you said so! 
And there's no way Ryoga could be P-chan; I've seen him in cold water 
myself!" 
  Ignoring his wife, Ranma stepped in front of Tatewaki Kuno. "Here 
is Furinkan High's biggest joke! The esteemed and charismatic Kuno!" 
he said sarcastically. "So dumb that he doesn't even know about my 
curse! To think, that I would voluntarily turn myself into a girl?! 
He's no friend of mine." 
  "You didn't exactly help any!" Akane pointed out. "Every time 
you needed something from him, you just turned into a girl so you 
could use his love to your advantage." 
  "As I said, he's no friend of mine," repeated Ranma. 
  He stepped toward Kodachi. "Pff. Need I say anything?" Ranma 
passed by Kuno's sister as if she didn't exist, walking straight 
toward Mousse. 
  "Pathetic fighter, pathetic man," Ranma spat. "He can't see, not 
even the fact that I don't WANT Shampoo. Stupid, stupid, stupid!" 
  Ranma then walked to Shampoo. "Shampoo is definitely not my 
type, and she's too utterly violent for her own good. Not to 
mention overly-obsessive. If she were a lot calmer, she might even 
be likable." 
  Finally, he stepped toward Ukyo. Pointing an accusing finger 
at her nose, Ranma shouted, "You're the one that's been keeping me 
behind! You were the one I called my friend, of all these other  
jerks! You're the one who kept telling me to listen to you, to 
have faith in others, but no! Those are your words, your lies, to 
your own ends; I will follow my own path, and that is to protect 
the one I love, and it's not you!" 
  Walking back to the center of the circle to Akane, he thrust his 
arms into the air, and announced, "I would destroy you all if I 
had to protect Akane!" 
  "Ranma!" Akane shouted, grabbing both of her husband's arms 
forcefully. "Get a grip on yourself! They're trying to turn you 
against us!" 
  "Why are you siding with them, Akane?!" Ranma asked angrily. 
"All six of them would like nothing better than to see us separated!" 
  "That may be true," agreed Akane, "but that's not the issue here!" 
  "It IS!" shouted the voice of Warmage, the sound echoing like 
thunder throughout the black room. "It is what HE wants!" 
  "What I want," repeated Ranma, "is to protect Akane, at all costs, 
even at my own life!" He released himself from Akane's grip, then 
grasped her hands with his own. "I want to have children with you, 
watch them grow up, together. I want to be with you when the 
grandchildren come around, at my side! I want to live and die for 
you, and only you, Akane! Because I love you!" 
  Akane blinked, a tear rolling down her cheeks. "Ranma.... That's 
beautiful...." 
  "And it can be ours!" Ranma insisted. 
  The rumbling laughter of Warmage echoed throughout the mindscape. 

  "W... what's happening?!" cried the Shinto priest in surprise. 
  At the sound of the priest's voice both Ukyo and Konatsu charged 
back into the shrine. 
  "What's going on?!" demanded Ukyo. 
  "Your friend, Akane... she's losing the battle!" explained the 
priest in panic. 
  "How can you tell?" asked Konatsu. 
  The priest pointed at Akane's prone body at Ranma's side. "I can 
sense the essence of the possessing spirit crawling into her soul. 
He is overwhelming her, but how?!" 
  "This one must be quite powerful," noted Konatsu gravely. 
  "No, he's not THAT powerful," insisted the okonomiyaki chef. "I 
can only think of one thing, and I really hope I'm wrong about it, 
too." 
  "What?" asked the Shinto priest. 
  Ukyo pointed to Ranma's body. "He's helping the spirit take over 
Akane." 
  "Then, even you can't hope to exorcise the spirit," said the 
priest, shaking his head sadly. "With two host bodies under his 
control, the possessing spirit would be much too powerful for you 
to handle alone." 
  Ukyo stood up, and held a clenched fist close to her heart. "Then, 
there's only one way to fix that." 
  "How?" asked Konatsu. 
  The chef grabbed Konatsu's hand. "We're going to get some help." 

  "Ranma's in danger?!" Kodachi exclaimed. 
  Ukyo and Konatsu stood at the front entrance to the Kuno estate, 
a good deal's long walk from the Shinto shrine. Konatsu hardly 
expected Ukyo to resort to such 'help,' but, then again, this was 
Ukyo, too. She's just, well, friendly. 
  "Actually, we're not just going to need your help, but your 
brother's as well," explained Ukyo. 
  "Ha-ha-ha-ha!" laughed Kodachi. "Good luck, prying him from his 
books!" 
  "Well, then, just tell him I'm here, and he'll understand," Ukyo 
insisted. 
  "Oh, very well!" Kodachi said. "You may as well come in, this 
will take a while." 
  Kodachi turned her back to her guests, and disappeared down the 
hall, leaving Ukyo and Konatsu alone in the entrance hall. 
  "Well, it's been a while," someone shouted. 
  Both Ukyo and Konatsu turned their heads to Pantyhose Taro's 
direction. 
  "You look well," noted Taro, arms folded, leaning against a 
column. "So, you're looking for help to save your friend?" 
  "How did you...?" began Konatsu, but Ukyo cut him off. 
  "You can fly, right?" Ukyo said. "Well, can you do me a favor?" 
  "Name it," Taro replied. He had a fair idea of what Ukyo was going 
to ask of him, but he also knew he wouldn't refuse, either. From 
what he overheard when Ukyo explained the situation to Kodachi, he 
managed to catch the fact that Akane was in danger as well. They 
were cousins, after all. 
  "You've got to fly out to the Unryu farm and fetch Ryoga," Ukyo 
instructed. 
  "Hah!" laughed Taro. "Pig-boy?! Heh, that's no problem, except for 
one important fact." 
  "What?" asked the chef. 
  "I don't know where the farm is." 

  "My love in danger?" exclaimed Shampoo. 
  Ukyo, Kodachi, and Kuno stood in the empty dining room of the 
Nekohanten. Konatsu and Taro had left for the Unryu farm, as Konatsu 
had a good idea where the farm was located. Of course, Ukyo hardly 
expected the two to extract Ryoga from the farm without a bit of 
trouble, either. 
  Now, at the Chinese restaurant, she had related her story to 
Shampoo, Mousse, and Cologne, all three Chinese listening carefully. 
  "I don't see what that has to do with us," Mousse said. 
  "Hmmm, an interesting approach to your solution," Cologne mused. 
  "What do you mean, Great-Grandmother?" asked Shampoo. 
  "If I have guessed correctly," explained Cologne, "then Ukyo is 
gathering those most central to Ranma." 
  "You're pretty slick yourself," congratulated Ukyo. 
  "I don't understand," Kodachi voiced. "Us?!" 
  "I knew this fact since Ranma and Akane were wed," Cologne replied. 
"Six form a circle, formed around two at the center, the wedded 
couple. You are all members of the six in the circle." 
  "It's because we're as much a part of each others' lives as we are 
of theirs," added Ukyo. 
  Cologne nodded. "If one falls, you all fall. All of your lives 
are interconnected for reasons beyond my explanation. Why a circle? 
It is the most perfect geometric shape; it is the shape of one side, 
or no sides. It is whole, complete, and empty. It is the complex 
interconnection of points that touch one another, or not at all." 
  "This philosophical stuff is all interesting," started Kodachi, 
"but we're not accomplishing anything by standing here." 
  "My sister has a point," Kuno agreed. "Though I yet still detest 
Ranma Saotome, I find that it is unacceptable that Akane... Saotome, 
also be subject to the same evils he torments under." 
  "I don't see why I have to go," Mousse protested. 
  Cologne's beady eyes peered at Mousse. "You're going to go because 
I told you to go." 

  Ryoga, Konatsu, and Taro arrived soon after Ukyo and the others 
got back to the Shinto shrine. All eight of them stepped into the 
shrine, where, at the center, the Shinto priest still stood over the 
prone bodies of Ranma and Akane, seemingly lying peacefully, side- 
by-side, together. 
  "You're back!" exclaimed the Shinto priest. "With... company." 
  Ukyo nodded. "Just six of us, really," she corrected. 
  "Now, what we do?" asked Shampoo. 
  "Gather in a circle," instructed the priest. 
  Taro and Konatsu stood back and watched Ukyo, Shampoo, Kodachi, 
Mousse, Ryoga, and Kuno form a six-person circle around Ranma and 
Akane. The Shinto priest walked around the perimeter of the circle 
once, tapping his rod in his hand. 
  "It is as Ukyo and the old witch said!" Taro whispered. 
  "She is indeed wise to think up such a formation," agreed Konatsu. 
  "What I don't understand is, why we aren't helping," Taro noted. 
  Ukyo seemed to hear Taro's comment. "It is because we're the ones 
that are closer to Ranma and Akane. You and Konatsu, however, don't 
have lives that are interdependent with them." 
  "I'd like to think that is a good thing," Taro said, nodding. 
  "Well," announced the priest, "if you're all ready, then prepare 
to take a trip into the shared mindscape between Ranma and Akane." 
  "Wait a minute!" protested Kuno. "Nobody said anything about...." 
  Taro and Konatsu watched in amazement as, all at once, all six 
members of the circle collapsed where they stood. 
  The Chinese man walked to the Shinto priest and grabbed the front 
of his robes. Taro raised the man up into the air with one arm, 
waving his fist menacingly. 
  "What just happened, priest?!" demanded Taro. 
  "Please!" pleaded Konatsu, tugging at Taro's pants. "This is what 
happened before! It's normal!" 
  Taro glared down at Konatsu, waving a menacing fist. "You'd better 
be right, kid, because if anything happens to Kodachi, you're going 
to pay!" 

  All six teens woke up in the midst of total darkness. Ukyo shook 
her head, looking around at the familiar, black chamber that served 
as the mindscape. No lights illuminated the chamber, but the six 
could see each other all the same, as if each one of them generated 
their own source of light. 
  All mindscapes must be like this, Ukyo thought. 
  "Remind me never to volunteer for one of these again," complained 
Kuno. 
  "Predominantly, this should be Ranma's mind," warned Ukyo. "So be 
careful what you say or do, because Ranma can do it on a whim. A 
mere thought is all that's needed." 
  "To walk voluntarily into the jaws of my enemy... am I truly brave, 
or rather foolish?" Kuno whispered to himself, gripping his familiar 
bokken in his hands tightly. 
  "Foolish," replied Kodachi. "No one in their right mind would 
think walking into another's mind brave!" 
  "Then, why are you here?" asked Mousse. 
  "Because I am a fool, just like the rest of us," answered Kodachi. 
  "Welcome," a new, different voice, rumbled. 
  All heads turned about, searching for the source of the voice. 
  "R... Ranma?!" whispered Shampoo. 
  Backs facing each other, high up in the air, Ranma and Akane 
stood, arms folded, staring down at the six below them, with mean, 
dirty looks in their eyes. 
  "Cowards," spat Ranma. "Ukyo, did you have to drag the others 
into this as well?" 
  "Well, what was I supposed to do?!" Ukyo protested. 
  "Why don't any of you guys leave us alone?" Akane yelled. "All I 
want is to live happily with Ranma, and he wishes the same! Why 
can't any of you understand and respect our wishes?!" 
  "You are, in effect, stating that you wish us to simply disappear 
from your lives?!" Kuno cried, waving his bokken in the air. "Such 
unreasonable demands, unthinkable!" 
  "Akane!" Ryoga shouted. "W... why?!" 
  "Oh, it's you," Akane snorted. "P-chan!" 
  "Gaw?!" Ryoga stepped back in surprise. "H... how'd you find out?!" 
  Ukyo gasped in surprise. "Ryoga...." 
  Immediately, Ryoga clamped his mouth, realizing what he just said. 
  "Idiot!" she shot back in reply. "The mind never lies! I have shared 
many memories with Ranma, and he knows. If he knows, I know!" She 
waved an accusing finger at the Eternally Lost Boy. "All this time, I 
thought you were my friend, but you... you VIOLATED me, by sleeping 
in my bed as my beloved pet!" 
  "It... I... didn't mean it to happen that way!" protested Ryoga. 
"After the first day, I couldn't just LEAVE!" 
  Kuno glared at the Eternally Lost Boy coldly. "I can hardly believe 
a man such as yourself would resort to Saotome's cruel tactics!" 
  Ryoga turned to the richman in a sweated panic. "What was I supposed 
to do?! I didn't WANT it to happen!" 
  "What you SHOULD have done was told her the truth!" Ranma yelled. 
  "Stay out of this, Ranma!" Ryoga shouted back. Taking a step back, 
loosening his belt, he bowed his head low. "I can't bear to live with 
the shame of Akane knowing my darkest secret!!" With a flick of his 
wrist, the loosened belt stiffened. 
  "What do you think you're doing?!" wondered Mousse. 
  "He's going to kill himself, of course!" Ranma answered coldly. 
  Ryoga shot a glance over toward Kuno. "You've gotta cut off my head 
after I'm thorugh!" 
  Kuno folded his arms contemptuously. "Dare you believe that I, 
Tatewaki Kuno, would dare give you that honor?!" 
  Raising his eyes to meet that of the other man, Ryoga's stiff belt, 
once leveled at his chest, was now thrown well out of arm's reach. 
"Oh, sure!" he yelled angrily. "So what's honor and dignity to you?!" 
  "At least I do not share the bed with Akane Tendo, knave!" Kuno 
spat back, raising his bokken. "Prepare to pay what is due!" 
  "Ranma!" Ukyo cried, ignoring the argument between the two men. 
"What happened?!" 
  "Yaa-ha-ha-ha-ha!" laughed a new voice, that of Warmage. "I see, 
the Jade Dragon has returned to save her enemy?! Gloriously 
hilarious!" 
  "Warmage!" Ukyo shouted, thrusting a fist into the air. "What 
have you done to them?! And stop calling me that!" 
  "Oh, sure, deny your proper title!" whined the cultist's voice. 
"But, enough of that. I didn't do anything." 
  "Silence, toad!" commanded Kodachi. "Don't force me to beat you 
into submission!" 
  "Oooohooo!" taunted Warmage. How can you attack what you can't 
even see?" 
  "It doesn't matter," assured Ranma. "Akane and I are more than 
enough to eliminate these six losers!" 
  "You no talk about me that way!" yelled Shampoo. 
  "I knew it!" Mousse declared. "I knew all along that you had evil 
in your soul." He whipped-out several chains, swinging them over his 
head. "Now, it is time for payback!" 
  "Forgive me, Akane, for what I must do!" Kuno whispered to himself, 
holding his bokken close to his head, as if praying. Swinging the 
weapon in a test swing, he shouted, "Phoenix Sword, ignite!" 
  Kuno's bokken burst alight in chi flames, as deadly as real fire, 
but not truly fire. The Chinese weapon gleaned from the legendary 
Phoenix Egg gave the swordsman unimaginable power, fueled by the 
power of his superior soul, hardened by death and destruction from 
within. 
  Ukyo unstrapped her spatula, while Ryoga prepared himself in an 
offensive stance. Kodachi twirled her ribbon playfully, almost as 
if the ultimate battle that was to be were merely a game. 
  In fact, to Warmage, it was a game. 
  All six teens circled around their opponents' position. 
  Both Ranma and Akane descended from their levitation, each of 
the duo shifting to a fighting stance. Back-to-back, Ranma faced 
Mousse, Shampoo, and Kuno, while Akane faced Ukyo, Kodachi, and 
Ryoga. 
  Ranma held out his right arm, fist facing forward, and supported 
it with his left arm, as if taking aim with a cannon, the right fist 
being the mouth of the weapon. Violet chi energies flowed from the 
surroundings and gathered at the fist, pulsating, growing. 
  Akane, preferring not to resort to the flashy tricks her husband 
was pulling, charged her three opponents, one fist tucked back to 
her chest. 
  Mousse continued to swing his chains in the air. Suddenly, 
ignoring Ranma, he watched as Akane and Ukyo, Ryoga, and Kodachi, 
disappear before his eyes. He shouted, "Hey! Where'd they go?!" 
  Shampoo shouted back, "No matter! Ranma's our problem!" 
  "What is Saotome up to?!" wondered Kuno, steadying his flaming 
weapon in his hands. 
  As if on cue, Ranma's fist stopped gathering the violet chi 
energies, forming a large, basketball-sized globe over his fist. 
Leveling the fist toward Shampoo, he roared, "Death Fist Strike!" 
  A stream of purple chi fired at Shampoo, catching her midsection 
before she could throw herself out of the way. The stream threw 
her backward, until hitting a black wall that wasn't there before. 
  "Shampoo!" cried Mousse. Turning back to Ranma, he shouted, "How 
DARE you harm Shampoo and hope to get away with it?!" 
  Ranma seemed to ignore Mousse, focusing his attentions on pouring 
more energy into the death strike attack. 
  "Ignore me?!" cried the Chinese acrobat in anger, throwing all 
the chains he could at Ranma's direction. "Eat this!" 
  Just before the chains could connect to Ranma's person, Ranma 
released his concentration on the death strike, then held out his 
arms. The chains, unexpectedly, wrapped around both of Ranma's 
outstretched arms, both which were now bathed in violet chi fires. 
  "You just made a fatal mistake!" Ranma announced. Concentrating, 
he willed the chi flames to leap across the chains, transforming 
the flames to lightning. The chi lightning raced across the length 
of the chains, straight for the source. 
  "Oh shit!" Mousse cursed, throwing the bases of the chains out 
of his robes in frantic panic. But, he knew he could never throw 
them all away in time, as the lightning neared its target. 
  Suddenly, the Chinese acrobat could feel the hellish heat of a 
sudden stream of fire. He heard Kuno cry, "Phoenix fire stream!" as 
a jet of chi flames raced across the chains in such fury and heat. 
  Mousse fell backward, being free of the chains he sought to 
remove. The broken links landing on his body, he examined them, and, 
to his surprise, found them to have been melted. 
  Ranma's head turned to Kuno, then back to the melted chains 
wrapped around his arms. "You'll pay for your interference!" 
  Grasping hold of the chains in his hands, Ranma whirled them 
about overhead, then threw one set of the makeshift scourge at Kuno. 
  Raising his flaming bokken high, Kuno allowed the chains to wrap 
around his weapon, watching, as if mesmerized, as the chains made 
each pass. He suddenly felt the violent tugging made by Ranma, and 
Kuno knew what was going to happen. 
  "You seek to disarm me?!" Kuno laughed mockingly. "I'll have to 
show you the folly of your ways!" 
  Leaning backward, grasping his bokken tight, the richman willed 
the phoenix flames to attack. The chi-created flames leaped off the 
bokken completely, and, as Ranma's lightning attack had done before, 
ran down the length of the chain, toward the other end. 
  "Nn... nooooo!!!" Ranma screamed, knowing that he could not rid 
himself of the chains in time. And, unfortunately for him, there was 
no one around to save him from his folly. 
  Mousse helped Shampoo to her feet as the flames that engulfed 
Ranma danced off the surface of his glasses, blinding him. He 
shielded his eyes from the incredible illumination that the phoenix 
flames offered, and, for a moment, he thought he saw the legendary 
firebird itself. 
  Turning back to Shampoo, he asked, "Are you okay?" 
  Shampoo nodded, supporting her head with one hand. "That... hurt!" 
  "AND THIS WILL HURT YOU EVEN MORE!!!" screamed Ranma, from the 
heart of the flames. "I summon the dragon of death! Hiryu Shoten Ha 
Revised Attack: Hiryu Satsu Ha!" 
  Now all three of the teens shielded their eyes, as the brilliant 
red flames transformed into the darkest, deadliest violet possible. 
A column of fire rose from the fireball surrounding Ranma, shooting 
up in a spiral pattern, the same as Ranma's normal whirlwind attack, 
but with purple flames where the white wind should have been. The 
flames danced about, as if it were expanding. No, it WAS expanding! 
  "What's he trying to do?!" shouted Mousse in confusion. 
  "You DARE to use my techniques against me?!" cried Kuno, gripping 
his bokken tighter than before. And then, he, too, began to glow 
in chi energies, but this was the phoenix fires that he gave birth 
to. The flames expanded, growing as if it were an inflating balloon, 
then stopped when it reached its greatest size. 
  To the two Chinese, he shouted, "Run into the fire, quickly!" 
  Backing away from the increasingly-growing violet energies, both 
Shampoo and Mousse looked at each other, then broke into a mad run 
for Kuno's position. 
  And, as if in response, the death dragon wave exploded, expanding 
in size with increasing speed, perhaps exponentially! 
  "Run fast!" cried Shampoo. 
  Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Shampoo and Mousse dashed 
toward Kuno's flaming aura-- was it a shield? Mousse spared a 
terrified glance at Ranma's deadly explosive wave, then at Shampoo, 
and realized that neither of them were going to make it. 
  "Shampoo...!" he cried, maneuvering behind her. 
  When Shampoo turned her head to face Mousse, she had no time to 
scream. 
  Throwing his chains at velocities the Chinese acrobat couldn't hope 
to achieve with his body, Mousse entrapped his beloved Shampoo in 
a net of chains, throwing her forward. He stood his ground, and 
hastened to loosen all the slack up his robes, to give Shampoo a 
chance.... 
  To live. 
  Shampoo found herself on the ground, within Kuno's protective fire 
shield, covered with Mousse's chains like a blanket. She stared at 
the man who stood outside the shield, the one who would risk all to 
save her life. 
  "Mousse!" she cried. 
  Mousse's lips seemed to mouth a message, a message which Shampoo 
couldn't hear over the deafening death wave attack. And then, he was 
gone. 
  Kuno, his attentions fully on maintaining the phoenix shield, had 
failed to note what Shampoo saw. "Well?!" he cried. "Do something! I 
cannot keep this up for much longer!" 
  "Mousse... gone!" Shampoo cried. What hurt most of all was that she 
knew what he had said, just before he vanished within the death wave. 
Although the Chinese Amazon had little experience with reading lips 
as Great-Grandmother, she knew enough. 
  He had said, "I love you." 
  "You had better think of something, because I'm trying to 
concentrate!" warned the richman, blinking rapidly as the sweat 
poured over his eyes, threatening to blur his vision. 
  "Mousse suffered... suffered, suffered!" pouted the Chinese Amazon, 
pounding her fists into the ground that didn't give way. "And no 
kindness in return...." 
  "Damn it, Shampoo!" Kuno cried, at the edge of his temper, visibly 
sweating under the strain, digging his fingers deeper into the wood 
of the bokken. "If that is all you care to ponder, then we may both 
die yet!" 
  Shampoo ignored Kuno, as if she had no idea he was there. Why?! 
Shampoo asked herself. Why did I take advantage of the attentions 
Mousse gave me? Why couldn't I repay his love, even though I could 
not share it? Why...? 
  "Look," shot the richman, "I know we haven't always been on the 
best of terms, or even well-acquainted, for that matter, but right 
now, your 'love,' Ranma Saotome, augmented by the powers of his 
dark magic, is going to kill us, even if this is only the mind!" 
  This time, Shampoo appeared to listen. She cocked her head, her 
eyes focusing, as if, for the first time, on the other occupant of 
the energy shield. 
  "Ranma not love me...." she whispered. Mousse did. Why couldn't 
I have been more... understanding? Kinder? Nicer? 
  He gritted his teeth, pouring more of his energies through the 
bokken and to the shield. "And, if YOU don't do something soon, I 
will die, from expending all of my own energies to keeping up this 
pathetic protection, then you, too, will die! Remember, we ARE joined 
in mind now! I am prepared for death; are you?" he asked honestly. 
  The Chinese Amazon stared down at the chains, all that was left 
of Mousse, the chains that ended where the shield ended, the only 
thing keeping herself and the Japanese man from total annihilation. 
  "Make your decision!" demanded Kuno, wishing he could release one 
hand from his bokken to mop his brow with... something! But no, that 
would mean I would lose concentration! I MUST focus! 
  He continued, "Tell me, is THIS how you honor your dead, Shampoo?! 
By regretting? By wondering what could have been, and what should 
have been? By wishing you could do it all over again?! Rubbish!" 
  Shampoo stared back away from the chains, and on to Kuno. He was 
prepared to die.... Why shouldn't I? 
  Kuno shook his head. "Does honor mean anything to you? If it does, 
you best honor Mousse's sacrifice by living! Dare you insult the 
dead by defying his final wishes?" 
  "Mousse...." she whispered to herself. Mousse, the only one among 
the Amazon tribe that embodied the true spirit of the warrior, the 
only one among the warriors, male and female alike, who would gladly 
sacrifice his life for what he believed in, his people, his village, 
and Shampoo. She knew that she could never bring herself to give 
her life for the same sacrifices Mousse threw himself in, and that 
made all the difference in the world. 
  "If you would allow us both to die, then let mine hand be your 
slayer!" threatened the swordsman. 
  If I cannot follow the example Mousse has set for me, Shampoo told 
herself, then I am not fit to become a leader! 
  "Mousse's sacrifice will not be in vain!" she vowed, clenching the 
chains tightly in her fist. 
  "Better!" Kuno proclaimed, struggling to maintain focus. 
  Shampoo stood up, and, dragging the chains with her, walked to 
Kuno's side. "Get ready! Run toward center of storm!" she 
instructed. 
  "I see!" Kuno exclaimed. "Destroy the wave at it's source!" 
  "Run, now!" commanded Shampoo. 
  Kuno, bokken held forward, charged. Shampoo trailed behind, 
dragging her chains along as well, careful to make sure to remain 
within the bounds of Kuno's phoenix shield. Together, the two 
pushed through the violet wave, the death energies splashing off 
the surface of the shield as if it were a bubble in water. 
  Both teens brought themselves to a grinding halt. Both entered the 
epicenter of Ranma's deadly dragon spiral attack, the eye of the 
storm. Ranma stood there, in the eye of the storm, arms held up high, 
laughing maniacally. 
  And, best of all, the death wave's powers were nonexistent in the 
eye of the storm! 
  Kuno dropped his fire shield, sweating heavily, leaning on his 
bokken as if it were a cane. He panted, whispering, "Just in 
time...." 
  Shampoo grabbed the chains in both hands, and held them before her 
body. She shouted, "Ranma! Now you die!" 
  The Chinese Amazon broke into a sprint, charging at Ranma, who, 
noticing his danger too late, screamed. Shampoo tackled her former 
love, burying him in the twisted net of chains Mousse had used to 
save her life before. Now, they would serve another purpose: to bind 
the man who killed him. 

  "Ah!" shouted Ryoga. "Where did Ranma and the others go?!" 
  That single moment's distraction was more than enough time for 
Akane's spinning kick to smack the Eternally Lost Boy across the 
face, twice. 
  Before she could land the third kick, Akane found her leg being 
restrained; Kodachi's ribbon had encircled the outstretched limb. 
Akane's eyes followed the path of the ribbon, tracing it all the 
way back to Kodachi, holding the ribbon in both hands. 
  With a violent jerk, Kodachi pulled the ribbon, throwing Akane 
foot-first to the ground. 
  "Ha-ha-ha-ha!" laughed Kodachi. "Even here, you're no match for 
me!" 
  Akane lifted her face from the ground, her features twisting to 
a terribly-feral grin. "Wrong, fool!" 
  She jerked her leg back, causing the ribbon to become taught, and 
pulling Kodachi toward her. Kodachi, not expecting that action, 
left herself wide-open as she tumbled. Akane took advantage of that 
fact. As soon as Kodachi got close enough, Akane threw herself into 
a handstand double kick, planting both feet into Kodachi's face. 
  Kodachi fell, allowing time for Akane to get back on her feet. She 
turned to face her other two opponents, Ukyo and Ryoga. 
  "I'll finish you later," Akane shouted over her shoulder to her 
fallen opponent. 
  "Akane," Ukyo began, "I don't want to hurt you." 
  "Yeah, sure!" laughed Akane. "Like all those other times you were 
looking after me, right?" 
  "Akane, listen to me!" Ryoga shouted. "We're your friends, not 
your enemies!" 
  "Ranma said that you two conspired to break us apart in that 
cursed cave!" replied Akane hotly. "It was Ukyo's memory that finally 
convinced me, P-chan!" 
  "Oooooohhhh, don't call me that!" Ryoga shot back. "I hate being a 
pig, and I hated being your pet pig most of all!" 
  "Liar!" accused the youngest of the Tendo sisters. "I know you 
loved me! You just LOVED being cuddled by me! You just LOVED sleeping 
with me each night you were there!" 
  "No, no, no!" he cried into the air. "I WANTED to leave, but I 
couldn't! How could I leave you alone, when you needed someone to 
talk to, even though I didn't want to listen?! How could I do that 
to you, Akane?" 
  "You could have told me the truth!" 
  "Akane, shut up!" Ukyo commanded, her voice echoing throughout 
the black chamber. "What the hell is with you?! The Akane I know 
would be far more understanding than how you're behaving!" 
  "The Akane you knew was too naive for her own good!" Akane shot 
back at her friend. "How could I be so naive as to think that I 
could trust either of you, when the only one I can truly trust is 
Ranma!" 
  "That's all well and good!" replied Ukyo. "But, you know as much 
as I do that faith in others is a hell of a lot more powerful than 
faith in only yourself! You yourself demonstrated that in my mind!" 
  "Shut up!" Akane spat. "No more of your tricks, your lies, Jade 
Dragon! If you're...." 
  She stopped, letting the sentence trail off. Suddenly, pain glazed 
over Akane's eyes. She clutched the sides of her head, as if she had 
a massive headache. 
  "Noooooooo!!!" cried Akane. "Stop it, you creep!" 
  "Ukyo!" shouted Ryoga. "What's happening?!" 
  "I knew it!" Ukyo yelled, snapping her fingers. "This is not JUST 
Akane we're seeing here, it's Akane and Warmage together!" 
  "How do you know?!" asked Ryoga. 
  "Didn't you notice? She called me 'Jade Dragon,' and that's a name 
only the Orochi guys call me!" explained the chef. 
  "Is that why we couldn't see him...?!" wondered Ryoga. 
  To Akane, she shouted, "Fight him, Akane! Don't let him control 
your thoughts!" 
  "No one is controlling ANYONE's thoughts!" protested the voice of 
Warmage, which sounded as if it were coming from everywhere. 
  "You're right," seethed Akane, now down to her knees, "it's 
utter manipulation of thought!" 
  Images of lies and betrayals passed through Akane's mind: the 
cursed tunnel, P-chan, the attack at the wedding... but she ignored 
them all, and focused on the good memories: of Ryoga helping her 
with training, of Ukyo sheltering the family when the house was 
lost to the Gambling King, of Ranma.... 
  Ranma! 
  "Enough of this!" screamed Akane. "No more! I'll never listen to 
your half-truths!" 
  "Blast!" spat the cultist in anger. "Thrice-damned Akane, you 
fool! I had shown you true power, your potential! To throw it all 
away, for your pathetic 'friends?!'" 
  Akane stood to her feet defiantly. "You leave me and my friends 
alone, or I swear, I'll see to it that you cannot harm them ever 
again!" 
  Both Ryoga and Ukyo rushed to Akane's side, just as Kodachi was 
getting up. 
  "Akane, you're back!" Ryoga exclaimed. 
  "I'm sorry what I said to you, Ryoga," apologized Akane. 
  "You gave up all your power and influence to protect us?" guessed 
Ukyo. 
  Akane shook her head. "No, I still have the power." She pointed 
to her heart. "It was always here, and it's here now." 
  Kodachi made her way to Akane's side, propping her head with her 
arm. "Remind me next time never to question your skill, okay?" 
  Without warning, all four teens found themselves back in the same 
room as the others: Kuno, Shampoo, and Ranma. All four looked around 
in confusion. 
  "We're... back?" ventured Ryoga. 
  "Wait a minute," interrupted Ukyo. "Where's Mousse?!" 
  Shampoo got up, holding a bound Ranma in her hands. "He's... gone." 
  "Gone?!" the others shouted in surprise. 
  "Ranma kill Mousse," Shampoo continued sadly. "Annihilated." 
  Akane walked to the bound Ranma, and slapped him across the face. 
"What the hell have you done?!" 
  Ranma began to glow violet eerily. "Heh, heh, heh! He was too 
sacrificial for his own good!" 
  "You not talk about dead that way!" Shampoo cried, serving Ranma 
a knuckle sandwich. 
  "Dead?" Ukyo repeated. She shook her head. 
  "What, Spatula-girl?!" Shampoo hissed at the okonomiyaki chef. 
  Ukyo pointed to her head. "He's only gone from HERE. As in dreams, 
when you die in them, you wake up, right? Well, if that same law 
governs here, which I think it would, Mousse should be awake right 
now, wondering what's happening to us." 
  "An agreeable point," Kodachi agreed, nodding. 
  "Mousse... alive?" whispered Shampoo, releasing Ranma from her 
grip. 
  "He should be just fine," assured Ukyo, planting both hands on 
the Chinese Amazon's shoulders. I hope. 
  "And I mourn him for NOTHING?!" Shampoo cried out in anger. "NOW I 
kill HIM!" 
  Ranma chuckled to himself. "Oh-ho-ho! You girls should look at 
each other!" He waved a finger, trying to keep it steady. "You know, 
Ukyo, if you'd had just taken Konatsu, you'd make a good...." 
  "Shut up!" Ukyo cried, smashing her giant spatula on his head. 
  Ranma collapsed to the floor, a large bump protruding from the 
top of his head. 
  "It's no use," Akane concluded. "There's no way we're going to get 
the old Ranma back by talking to him." 
  "Perhaps it is because his mind is much more irrational?" suggested 
Kuno. 
  Both Shampoo and Akane decked him. "Don't you talk about him like 
that!" both girls cried. 
  "Wait, I think he has a point," Ryoga voiced. 
  All eyes turned to the Eternally Lost Boy. 
  "He's the one this weird nightmare is based upon," explained 
Ryoga. "The source of darkness should be much deeper here than in 
Akane." 
  "Because there IS no source of darkness in Akane!" finished Kuno, 
bokken wavering under his hands, struggling to stand up. "Saotome 
always did possess black magic!" 
  Kodachi peered at her brother suspiciously. "Are you sure that's 
not part of your personal vendetta?" 
  "Warmage had to influence me directly," Akane announced. "He never 
did the same to Ranma; Ranma was always acting on his own, as far 
as I could tell." 
  "Which mean there IS dark side to Ranma," concluded Shampoo. "That 
rules him." 
  Ukyo waved a finger at Ryoga. "You know, kid, sometimes you're not 
too dim." 
  "Thanks, I think," Ryoga replied, scratching his head. 
  The okonomiyaki chef turned to Akane. "You were here longer than 
any of us; what is it that Warmage did to buy Ranma's attentions 
long enough to convince him to serve him?" 
  "I... I don't know," Akane answered honestly. "He kept asking a 
question, though." 
  "What question?" Kodachi asked. 
  "I think it's...." Akane snapped her fingers. "'What do you 
want?'" 
  "Quite frankly, I want to get out of here," answered Kodachi. 
  "No!" Ukyo corrected. "That IS the question!" 
  "Alright, then," Ryoga said, nodding, "what is it that Ranma 
wants more than anything in the world?" 
  "Isn't the answer obvious?" Kuno suggested, "If it is not raw 
power, it is Akane Te... Saotome. He dares all to monopolize her 
heart!" 
  Akane nodded. "He wants to protect me more than anything. To that 
end, Warmage had promised to give Ranma the means to succeed in that 
endeavor." 
  "Like what?" asked Shampoo. 
  "He was offered the power within him, of course," a voice called, 
echoing throughout the black chamber. "Warmage cannot create that 
which did not exist already." 
  "Who's there?!" shouted Akane. She barely recognized the voice 
that did not belong to Warmage; it belonged to another. Someone she 
knew. 
  "You... sound kind of like... Seiryu?!" Ukyo exclaimed. 
  Appearing over the heads of the six teens was the form of a 
middle-aged Japanese woman, her hair tied up in a bun, wearing a 
sky-blue kimono, patterned with a diamond and square concentric to 
each other. Her face and features appeared that of Ukyo's except a 
bit older, and a large, slashing scar that traced from her forehead, 
down over her left eye, and further down the cheek. Seiryu, the future 
self of Ukyo, descended closer to the ground, her dead eye glowing a 
bluish tint. 
  "H... how'd you get here?!" Ukyo whispered in awe. 
  "I shared my memories with Ranma just before I ceased to exist, of 
course," explained Seiryu. "Akane can fill you in on the details 
later, but there is something much more important at stake." 
  "Besides the fact that the crazy Warmage is running around in 
Ranma's mind?" guessed Akane. 
  "I am not a fully-comprehensible memory, but I know the signs," 
Seiryu continued. "It is this event that gives birth to Nemesis." 
  "Nemesis?!" parroted Akane in surprise. "The being that Ranma 
said would destroy the future?!" 
  Seiryu nodded. "Warmage has convinced Ranma to take any means 
necessary to protect you, Akane. To that end, the evil cultist has 
reawakened Ranma's deepest, darkest powers; powers he denied long 
ago since they were first awakened by Happosai's incense." 
  "He ALWAYS had this power?!" whispered Ukyo. "The destructive 
force?!" 
  "Precisely," confirmed Seiryu. "All of us are born with a seed of 
evil, but the incense served to ferment it, allowing it to grow; 
subtle hints of the hidden evil would awaken in only the extreme of 
circumstances." 
  "Such as the time he killed Saffron?" wondered Ryoga. "Ranma has 
never killed an opponent before that day." Nor has he done so since. 
  Seiryu nodded. "The source of Ranma's ultimate power currently 
draws from negative emotions and dark chi, the only fuel Ranma found 
strong enough to use his power. Ranma believed he could control those 
dark powers and use them for his own ends, but he was wrong. Now, he 
is the living instrument of Orochi." 
  "I should have seen it before!" continued the future Ukyo, 
'pacing' about in the air, hands behind her back. "The Orochi's 
chief goal was to 'help' mankind by accelerating the achievement 
of its goal: self-destruction. The evil dragon wishes nothing more 
than destruction of mankind. Nemesis all but destroyed mankind. THIS 
was his plan all along!" 
  "Okay, that's great," Ukyo started, pretending to understand the 
impact Ranma would have on the future, "but if we want to prevent 
Orochi from succeeding, what are we supposed to do?" 
  Seiryu answered, "There is a greater power within Ranma that can 
overcome the evil; Ranma must have faith in you. Without that, he 
will continue to succumb to the dark powers that have consumed 
him. You all must act quickly, or Nemesis will emerge!" 
  The levitating kimono woman descended before Ukyo, staring at her 
younger counterpart's eyes hopefully. "We cannot do it apart, but 
only... together!" 
  Without hesitating or waiting, Seiryu 'stepped' into Ukyo's body. 
A bright, blue flash erupted from that action, causing the other 
five teens to shield their eyes. 
  When the light finally faded, only Ukyo stood there, alone, as if 
nothing had changed. The okonomiyaki chef, dumbfounded, stared at 
her hands. 
  "U... Ukyo?" whispered Akane. 
  "Are you okay?" asked Kodachi, seemingly worried. 
  Ukyo looked up, her eyes passing by each one of the five teens 
with great sureness. The feeling passing through her head was very 
strange indeed; the chef almost felt as if she... understood. 
  She announced, "We... have become... One!" 
  "Excellent," someone's voice rumbled ominously. 
  All heads turned to Ranma's bound form on the ground. He was 
chuckling to himself, as if someone told him a terribly-funny joke 
that only he understood. 
  "You did say that the strength of the one was nothing compared to 
the strength of the many," Ranma said, getting to his feet despite 
the tangle of chains around him. "Well, Ukyo, my 'friend,' you're 
wrong; the strength of the one is FAR greater!" 
  Flexing his muscles, screaming as if in pain, the young Saotome 
burst apart each and every chain that bound him, scattering the 
broken links all about him, pelting the others with shrapnel. 
  He threw his palms skyward. "Spin Cyclone!" Dark chi danced off 
Ranma's hands, then a stream of violet energy leaped upward. "Go, 
annihilate them!" 
  All six teens leaped out of the way as the chi attack burst the 
area where they formerly stood, dark energies splashing all about 
harmlessly, the brunt of the attack having been in the center of 
the column. 
  "I should thank you for getting rid of Seiryu for me!" Ranma 
shouted at Ukyo. "Now that she has 'merged' with you, I am totally 
free of her wicked influence!" 
  "Ranma!" Ukyo yelled, "what are you talking about?!" 
  "Don't you dare deny your lies!" he replied, jabbing an accusing 
finger in her direction. "You'd like nothing better than to make me 
yours!" 
  The okonomiyaki chef tried her best to shut back her tears. Waving 
an angry fist, she cried, "Fine, so now you recognize it! Yes, I 
DO want you, dammit! Why'd you have to be such a jerk and string us 
all around like YOU did?!" 
  "Oh, come on! You knew Akane and I were meant to be! I was a fool 
to believe you were any different from Shampoo and Kodachi!" 
  "Why, you...!" Kodachi muttered angrily. 
  "Ranma...!" Shampoo cried angrily. 
  "I can't believe you would let the past dominate you!" Ukyo 
shouted back. "What's done is done; you said so yourself, 'let 
bygones be bygones,' so whatever happened to that?" 
  "That was the old, naive, foolish Ranma!" Ranma replied. 
  "Oh, sure, so you're not naive and foolish now?!" Kodachi shot 
back. "So naive, that you would believe a stranger over your 
'friends?' Even over your own wife!" 
  "She's right," Akane pointed out. "How could you listen to Warmage 
and not us? Doesn't over a year of being together mean anything to 
you?!" 
  "Not if they were all lies!" Ranma replied. 
  "Lies, truths, big deal!" cried Kodachi. "If I were to tell you 
that I always told the truth, I would be lying! If I told you I 
was lying, I would be telling the truth!" She snapped her ribbon 
forcefully against the ground. "Do you see?! Everybody lies! It's 
human nature!" 
  "ENOUGH!" Ranma screamed. Pointing his palms at Kodachi, he 
cried, "Die where you stand!" 
  A lance of violet energy leaped out of Ranma's palms, flying at 
such speeds that Kodachi couldn't move out of the way in time. 
  Kuno screamed, "NOOOOO!!" 
  The energy lance speared Kuno's sister straight through the 
stomach, passing through as if it were paper. Kodachi stared down 
at her stomach, a large hole where skin should have been. Blood 
dripped off the roof of the new hole, gathering at the bottom of 
the hole. 
  Staring back at Ranma, Kodachi chuckled to herself, then fell 
forward, face-first, to the ground. 
  "Kocchi!!" screamed Kuno, making his way to his sister's side a 
moment too late. Standing on his knees, he lifted her head in his 
arms, and stared down at the lifeless, limp form of the one who 
loved life more than anything. 
  "Who's next?" taunted Ranma, dark chi flames dancing off his 
hands. 
  "Y... you killed her!!" Raising his bokken high, Kuno stood up, 
taking slow, careful steps toward Ranma. He stumbled suddenly, 
Akane running to his side to catch him. 
  "Kuno?" she said, sounding concerned. 
  He leaned against his bokken, propping it against the ground. 
"I... used up too much energy... in the Phoenix Sword!" Falling to 
the ground, barely able to keep his eyes open, he whispered, "Death, 
I welcome thee...." 
  "Much energy is released upon the death of an individual," Ranma 
explained coldly. "The energy is what I absorb to become more 
powerful. The more powerful the killed is, the more powerful I can 
become! If I kill you five, then I will have great power indeed!" 
  "Even though this isn't true death?!" Ukyo cried. 
  Ranma laughed. "The act of dying in dreams is the same as dying 
in reality; if I had a ready supply, I could siphon energy off 
others until they really died!" He raised his right hand, his index 
and middle fingers stretched in a V-sign. "However...." 
  Leveling his fingers at Ukyo, he shouted, "Death Adder Bite!" 
  A pure, energy snake leaped from between the two fingers, and 
lanced at Ukyo, fangs bearing. Before the okonomiyaki chef could 
react, the death snake sunk its energy fangs into her chest. 
  Akane, Kuno, Ryoga, and Shampoo watched in surprise as Ranma 
began sucking-in Ukyo's chi, the energy-created snake pulsing with 
each beat of her heart. All four simply stood there, dumbfounded, 
watching as Ukyo sank to her knees, then to the ground, losing her 
energy to Ranma's insatiable appetite. 
  "If I suck out all of your chi to its roots," continued Ranma, 
"then you will die, dream or not." He squatted above Ukyo, holding 
her head in his left hand, leveling his fingers steadily. 
  Ukyo stared up weakly, feeling a sort of dejavu. Hinako had done 
this very same thing, after sucking out her chi with a basketball 
hoop. Oh, it wasn't pleasant to stare death in the face, but I tried. 
Fine, so be it. 
  VVRRROOOOOOWWWW!!!! 
  Suddenly, Ranma found the death adder's body severed in two, right 
at the base. "Hey!" he shouted. 
  Had he been paying close attention, Ranma would have seen Ryoga's 
flying bandanna, like a razor blade, destroy the death adder. 
  "You leave her alone, Ranma!" shouted Ryoga, now towering over both 
Ranma and Ukyo. "I don't care what happens, but I won't stand by 
and watch you kill the rest of us!" 
  "Very well, then," Ranma replied, standing up. "Then you will be 
the next to die!" 
  He felt pain at the back of his head, and Ranma stumbled forward 
into Ryoga's arms. 
  Shampoo's high kick put Ranma right where Ryoga wanted him. Ryoga 
grabbed his opponent tightly, then, lifting his knee, he jabbed 
Ranma between the legs, then kicked him back to Shampoo by planting 
his foot into his stomach. 
  Back and forth, Ryoga and Shampoo traded free hits against 
Ranma. Punch followed kick, kick followed punch, both teens' blood 
boiling in anger. 
  But, the next face Ranma saw was neither that of Ryoga or Shampoo, 
but that of Akane. 
  "A... Akane!" he whispered, "help me!" 
  "Humph!" his wife snorted, raising a fist. "Jerk! If there's 
anyone that you need to protect me from, it's YOU!" 
  She planted her fist straight into Ranma's nose, blood bursting 
from the nostrils in all directions, as if the nose were shattered 
like glass. 
  Everything became silent, and time slowed to a crawl, as Ranma 
flew backward in the air, blood trailing from his nose, his eyes 
fixed on Akane's angry stare. He could almost hear his heart 
beating in his chest as the seconds dragged by. 
  Akane.... 
  Although his eyes remained fixed on Akane, Ranma could see the 
others in his mind: Ryoga and Shampoo stared in surprise at Akane's 
attack. Kuno stood on his knees, resting against his bokken, taking 
several long, deep breaths, as if he were dying. Ukyo, lying openly 
on the ground, eyes closed, breathing softly, out of energy. But, he 
could see no traces of Kodachi or Mousse anymore; they simply ceased 
to exist. 
  What have I done?! 
  He remembered the cold feeling that washed over him the moment 
Kodachi was speared through the chest by the energy lance. He heard 
the echo of her faint chuckle, just before she died. He remembered 
Kuno's desperate, futile screams. 
  I... killed... her. 
  He remembered the death wave he created, and how he laughed when 
Mousse and Shampoo looked as if they were to be consumed by the 
annihilation. But, Mousse threw his chains, propelling Shampoo 
forward, and into the safety of Kuno's energy shield. He remembered 
Mousse, lying on the ground, not bothering to run, not fearing 
death, say his final good-byes. Then, there was nothing. 
  I... killed... him. 
  He remembered standing over Ukyo, a fifty yen piece in his hand, 
ready to suck out every last bit of energy in her. He remembered 
the thoughts he possessed at that moment, those evil, senseless 
thoughts, of killing Ukyo. He remembered the sensation of sucking in 
her raw chi energies.... 
  My.... I.... 
  He hit the ground, hard. Ranma rested flat on his back, letting go 
of his emotions, allowing himself to be consumed by his actions, of 
Warmage's words, of Akane's words, of lies and truths, and 
half-truths. He missed the familiar, comforting presence of Seiryu 
at the moment, but Ranma knew that she, too, was gone. 
  What have I done?! 
  He remembered holding the dying Seiryu in his arms, having just 
been freed of the influences of the reversal jewel, having just 
shared her memories with him, having just enough time before ceasing 
to exist in this time period. He remembered her last words.... 
  She had said, "We are all One." 
  "We are all One," Ranma whispered, staring up at the sky that 
wasn't there. 
  "R... Ranma?" It was Akane's voice. 
  "That's... it!" he said, raising a fist in the air. 
  Akane, Ryoga, and Shampoo leaped back in surprise. 
  "What?!" they all cried. 
  "It all makes sense now!" Ranma continued. 
  "What?!" Ryoga repeated. 
  Ranma sat up, a look of enlightenment glinting in his eyes. "I 
finally understand what Seiryu was trying to tell me! We are all 
One!" 
  "What is he talking about?!" asked Akane. 
  "Perhaps Ranma have too much bumps on head?" suggested Shampoo. 
  The young Saotome jumped up to his feet, and rushed to Ukyo's 
limp body. He grabbed her left hand, holding it in both of his own 
hands. 
  "Ukyo!" he shouted. 
  "Ranma, what are you doing?!" wondered Akane. 
  "I think Ranma might be back to normal," guessed Ryoga. 
  Shampoo pointed down at Ranma. "That normal?!" 
  At that moment Ukyo's eyes fluttered open. "R... Ranma...." 
  "Easy!" Ranma said. "I can't believe what I almost did!" 
  The okonomiyaki chef smiled weakly. "Welcome back." 
  "I finally understand what you were trying to say!" he continued. 
"It's a bit of a paradox, really! We're One, and we're many, at the 
same time!" 
  "What is he talking about?" asked Ryoga. 
  "He understands," Ukyo replied, whispering softly. "He... 
listened...." 
  "The strength of the one is nothing compared to the strength of 
the many," recited Ranma. "That is the paradox! Because we are One!" 
  "To be only one and One is not the same," explained Ukyo, forcing 
herself to her feet. "One is many, while being one is being alone. 
Faith is the key." She faltered, then rested her back against the 
ground once more. 
  "I see," Akane said. "True strength is drawn from one another, 
which is far greater than strength drawn from within oneself! If 
that is the case, and One is many, then the ultimate strength is 
drawn from one another!" 
  "Yes, yes!" Ranma said, nodding. "It all makes sense now!" 
  "Ranma, Ukyo, Akane," Ryoga began, "what are you talking about?" 
  "And why Ranma back to normal now?" asked Shampoo, confused. 
  Ranma helped Ukyo to her feet, draping her arm around his neck 
supportively. "Who wants to explain this?" he asked. 
  Ukyo nodded. "Well, here goes." She cleared her throat. "What 
Ranma was driven by was the desire to protect Akane, right? Well, 
everything he did, everything he wanted to do, was all rooted on 
that one central purpose. Once you get rid of that purpose, then 
everything else becomes meaningless." 
  "And Akane attacked Ranma," noted Ryoga. 
  "He would have to harm himself to protect Akane," continued Ukyo. 
"I think it's a conflicting sensory overload." 
  "Naw," denied Ranma, shaking his head. "It's much simpler than 
that. Akane beat some sense into me, that's all." 
  Akane couldn't help but laugh. 
  "Sometimes inspiration comes from pain, I suppose," Ukyo said, 
sighing. 
  "Funny, that never worked for me," replied Ryoga. 
  "So, does that mean Nemesis is gone for good?" wondered Ranma. 
  "I don't know," admitted Ukyo. "But, I DO know who isn't!" 
  "Oh, you DO remember me!" a voice cried from the darkness. 
  "Where are you, phantom?!" challenged Ukyo. 
  "Well, Jade Dragon, even in your weakened state, you still have 
the same fire!" taunted Warmage. "I must say, my mission was quite 
a success." 
  "Success?!" Ranma echoed. "But... but... we beat you!" 
  "Ha-ha-ha-ha!" Warmage laughed. "Fools, the birth of Nemesis is 
not dependent on the host body! My task was merely to gather enough 
negative energies. It would have been convenient to use your body as 
host, and that is all!" 
  "What are you saying, cultist?!" Ryoga shouted. 
  "I took a peek at the memories this 'Seiryu' shared with Ranma," 
explained the phantom. "If I'm not mistaken, Ranma was used as the 
host body for Nemesis. Which means, had you fools not interfered, 
Nemesis would have taken this body as host. This idea was so 
convenient for me, as it helped me encourage Ranma to accept my 
words as the undeniable truth." 
  "What you spoke were lies!" Ranma replied. 
  "No, they were not lies," corrected Warmage. "They were indeed the 
truth, but only half-truths. They're much more effective than lies, 
you know." 
  "Why, you...!" The young Saotome could hardly contain his anger. 
  "The fact that you have buried, ultimate talent within you, made 
my task even easier!" the cultist continued. "Never before had I 
seen so much raw, generated dark energies that rivaled that of the 
kami themselves! As it is drawn from negative emotions and power, 
it is useless to you, a being on the side of light." 
  "Wrong," corrected Ranma, pointing a finger accusingly. "My problem 
was that I couldn't find a strong enough source of power to use it! 
Up until now, only the dark powers were enough to fuel the ultimate 
power, but I've found something greater!" 
  "Oh, what's that?" asked Warmage. 
  Ranma spread his arms wide. "Strength drawn from my friends! Faith 
in those other than myself! The power of many becomes One!" 
  "Oh, stop spewing Seiryu's pathetic philosophy!" spat the cultist. 
"Even if you do know of a greater power, you're far from any 
condition to use it. You don't truly accept them all as friends." 
  "He right," Shampoo said, nodding. 
  "Ranma wouldn't trust his life with all of us," noted Ukyo, sparing 
a glance at Kuno, who was now lying on his back in exhaustion. 
  "Oh, that IS a problem," mocked Warmage. "Ah, too bad, I suppose. 
I really DID want to see your 'friendship' in action! Ha-ha!" 
  "Are you through yet?!" Ranma shot back. 
  "On the contrary, I've only just begun! When I find a suitable 
host body, Nemesis will be born on this Earth, and the world will 
bend to the Orochi's will!" 
  To all present, a dark shadow formed overhead, an eerie blackness 
against the black landscape, wavering in the breezeless air. 
  "What the...?!" cursed Warmage, peering at his own, dark shape 
in surprise. 
  Ukyo released her arm from around Ranma's neck, standing straight 
under her own power, as if revitalized. Her eyes glowed a strange, 
bluish tint, beaming at Warmage's dark shadow body in contempt. 
"You're not going to leave this battle unscathed, dark one!" 
  "Seiryu!" Ranma whispered, staring at his friend in surprise. 
  "Your mind and ours is One," proclaimed Ukyo, pointing a finger 
up toward the shadow. 
  "W... what are you doing?!" demanded the cultist in anger. 
  "A taste of your own medicine," the girl answered coldly. "I've 
been waiting far too long to rip you apart from the inside, as you 
did to me." 
  Suddenly, the darkness of the chamber became illuminated by the 
light of a memory being 'played' in a theater. All eyes turned to 
the new display, the new event that was about to unfold. 
  Warmage screamed as the girl flayed his thoughts. "Stop that!" 
  "You were never always the servant of evil," announced Ukyo. 
"Why do you hide from your past?" 
  The scene was set: a lushly green forest, untouched by the ravages 
of pollution and war. A man, who looked to be in his mid-thirties, 
stepped into view, dressed in strange, old garb that no one wore in 
modern Japan anymore. 
  "I recognize that dress," voiced Kuno. "The civil war period...." 
  "Stop showing these vile memories!" screamed the cultist. 
  The man in the 'picture' was soon felled by the one whose eyes 
Ranma and company were seeing through: that of Warmage. Flames had 
leapt off Warmage's hands, chi flames seemingly similar to that of 
Kuno's Phoenix fires. The scene panned to the right, scanning the 
area, but stopped, focusing on another battle, a battle between a 
woman and another man, far-off in the distance. 
  Warmage ran toward the woman, and it was then her features began 
to become clearer to the observers. All but Ukyo and Warmage peered 
closer to the 'picture,' wishing to get a better view of the one who 
was fighting. Water seemed to leap from her arms as she threw punch 
after merciless punch against her opponent. 
  "Oh my!" whispered Akane. "That... looks like...." 
  "Ukyo?!" Ranma finished, his jaw gaping in surprise. 
  The woman indeed bore features similar to that of Ukyo Kuonji, but 
her hair was a mess, her face covered with blood, sweat, and dirt, 
from travel and fighting, no doubt, but all those together did little 
to hide her natural beauty. 
  "No, no!" protested Warmage. "Don't bring me back here!" 
  "How can this be?" wondered Shampoo. 
  "Keeeeeeiiiii!" Warmage shouted from the memory 'movie.' 
  He tripped, eating the dirt. Turning around, Warmage's eyes fixed 
on another warrior, towering over him. The dark man held his arms 
outstretched, balls of flame leaping off his palms playfully, the 
color of the darkest violet possible. Of dark evil. 
  "The leader of Orochi's dark champions," Ukyo announced, her eyes 
still fixed on Warmage's shadow form. 
  Ranma, Akane, Shampoo, Ryoga, and Kuno watched. They watched as 
Warmage battled his enemy. They watched as both fell, engulfed in 
each others' chi flames. They watched, as Kei blocked out Warmage's 
view of the sky, assumingly lying on his back. They watched, as 
Warmage's eyelids fluttered, Kei trying to tell him something. Then, 
the eyes opened no more. 
  "Kei...." Warmage whispered, sounding as if he were on the verge 
of tears. 
  "What does this mean?" asked Ryoga, confused. 
  "I died, you twit!" Warmage cried, returning to his harsh 
composure. To Ukyo, he commanded, "Enough of this! Release me!"  
  Ukyo shook her head. "Death was not the end for you, Ashinzo. You 
wished to be together with your love, Kei, for all time. But, it 
could not be. The Orochi offered you the chance to live again, and, 
consumed by your passions, your love, you accepted." 
  "Silence!" demanded Warmage. "I won't be shown-up by a flat-chested 
little girl!" His words of anger pounded against the gathered teens 
as if he were throwing trucks at them, but some force prevented them 
from being harmed. 
  Snarling in anger, trying her best to pretend not to hear the 
enemy's biting words, Ukyo finished, "You became Warmage, High Priest 
of the Cult of the Orochi, and Ashinzo, the man you once were, died!" 
  "He fell into the trap I almost did...." whispered Ranma. 
  "Goodness," Akane said in agreement. 
  "You forgot your oath to protect the people of Japan!" accused the 
okonomiyaki chef. "How could you, one of the Emperor's chosen, turn 
your back on your principles, your honor, to live the life the 
Orochi twisted for you?!" 
  "Enough!" cried the cultist. "Thrice-damned Jade Dragon! Damn you, 
you and your ancestors! Damn you all! Release me! Release me, NOW!!!" 

  Ranma's eyes fluttered open at the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling. 
He groaned as he tried to stretch-out, finding that there was 
something in his way. 
  Peeking over to the right, he found Akane lying next to him, 
staring at the ceiling. 
  "A... Akane?" he whispered. 
  "We're awake," she replied. 
  "Actually," Mousse said, offering a hand down to Ranma, "we all 
are." 
  "M... Mousse!" Ranma exclaimed in surprise. "Y... you're alive!" 
  "Of course I'm alive!" Mousse replied. "Anyway, that's more than 
I can say for Kuno and Ukyo, as they've been severely drained for 
some reason or another." 
  "Oh, them," Akane said. "We'll explain that later." 
  Ranma adjusted his shirt, and looked around. All about were faces 
of familiarity, from Konatsu to Pantyhose Taro, with a Shinto shrine 
serving as a backdrop. Nearby, a wizened, tired-looking Shinto 
priest rest in a lounge chair. 
  "You beat him?" asked Konatsu. 
  Ranma shook his head. "No, he left out of his own will. I don't 
think I could have beaten him." 
  Someone tapped Ranma on the shoulder. Turning his face around, he 
was greeted by a heavy slap across the cheeks. 
  "Kill ME, will you?!" Kodachi yelled angrily. "If I were not the 
cultured girl that I was, I would do the same to you! From now on, 
darling, you are no longer welcome in my presence!" 
  Turning on her heels, lifting her chin up high, Kodachi stomped 
out of the shrine, Taro close behind her, dragging the weakened Kuno 
behind him. 
  Rubbing his sore cheek, Ranma said, "What was that about?" 
  "Never mind her," insisted Akane. "Where do you suppose the 
phantom went?" 
  "I have no idea," admitted Ranma. "I'm more worried about what he 
had said. Nemesis isn't dependent on my decisions; he would have 
been born with or without me!" 
  "And he will be, if we don't do something," replied Akane. "I have 
a feeling we'll see Warmage again, and soon." She looked around. 
"Where's Ryoga?" 
  Ranma shrugged. "How should I know? It looked like he was in a 
panic about something, though." 
  "What do you suppose that is?" Akane asked no one in particular. 

  While the others conversed, Ukyo, lying flat against the ground, 
was left to her own devices. The okonomiyaki chef had not felt so 
drained in her entire life-- well, not since the LAST time she'd been 
drained. 
  Actually, draining can be a good thing. 
  Who said that? Ukyo wondered, unable to speak up. 
  It is like taking poison in small doses to become immune to it, 
continued the extra thought. In time, you, too, may develop an 
immunity to draining techniques as I have. 
  Who are you? 
  I am Seiryu, answered the voice, and I will teach you everything 
necessary in order to counter the threat represented in Nemesis. 

  Despite being promised a free trip home, Ryoga Hibiki ran away from 
the shrine, away from Akane. 
  After all that, there's no way she couldn't know, Ryoga decided. 
I can't face her, not now. Not after she called me 'P-chan.' 
  The Eternally Lost Boy stared down at his hands. What am I going to 
do? I can't simply kill myself anymore; I've got Akari to consider! 
That's it! I'll go back to Akari, and maybe it'll be okay.... Just 
got to stay away until it all blows over! Yeah, that's it! 
  Ryoga ran in the direction he thought would take him to his wife. 

  It would take time to find another suitable host body, Warmage knew. 
  High in the night sky of Nerima, the phantom glided against the 
wind currents that neither hampered nor aided his movement, scanning 
the ground for victims. He was telling the truth when he said his 
true goal was accomplished; the birth of Nemesis could wait, but the 
energy could not be gathered so easily. 
  With the dark energy contained within his substance, Warmage vowed 
to finish that which he had started. The Orochi's plans were many and 
far-reaching; it was Goenitz who charged Warmage with this task. 
Nemesis will be Orochi's greatest dark champion. 
  Had Ukyo Kuonji not bothered to combat the Bloodseed that had 
resided in her system, Warmage would have used her as a repository 
for the dark energies and as the host body. But, since discovering 
that she no longer possessed the taint, and the fact that she was now 
well-guarded against such attacks, the phantom had to find another 
subject. What a surprise it was to discover that his enemy, Ranma 
Saotome, possessed great power as well as a dark taint, this one from 
within, not an exterior evil like Ukyo's had been! Oh, he had 
gathered more energy than he imagined! Too bad that the Jade Dragon 
had to interfere; she always got in the way! 
  Prevent ME from capturing a host for Nemesis?! I think not! 
  Damn her again, that girl! Now I know why I could not bear 
to bring harm to her before; she IS a descendant of Kei! How could 
I let my heart get in the way of my mission?! The Orochi would never 
accept such emotions in his domain! 
  Damn them all! 

Three Weeks Later

  "What do you suppose Nabiki got on her college entrance exam?" 
Ranma asked his wife curiously. 
  "How should I know?" replied Akane. "Ask her when we see her." 
  Today, at the end of the school year, the results from the college 
entrance examinations were posted in the halls of Furinkan High. 
Nabiki had left early that morning to get to school, eager to see 
her score. 
  Stepping into the halls, one wall was crowded by several of the 
upperclassmen, all of them gathering at the list of scores for the 
exams. Before either of the couple could spot Nabiki, Ranma bumped 
into Kuno. 
  "Oh, it is you," Kuno said, brushing off his shoulder. 
  "Well, what'd you get?" Ranma asked bluntly. 
  "If I were you, I would be careful about what questions to ask 
the brother of the one you killed in your thoughts," replied the 
richman coldly. "She is still quite upset." 
  "I don't care about your sister," insisted Ranma, "I want to know 
what you got on your stupid test!" Folding his arms, he added, "I 
can't imagine that you've done a swell job." 
  "On the contrary," Kuno replied arrogantly, producing a folded 
piece of paper and handing it to Ranma, "I believe this would be 
to your satisfaction, though I care not for it." 
  Ranma unfolded the paper, and stared at the contents. Akane looked 
over his shoulder, then gasped in surprise. 
  She raised her eyes from the paper. "Kuno... congratulations." 
  "Your praising words mean a great deal to me, Akane Saotome," he 
said smugly. To Ranma he said, "You may keep that copy, Saotome, so 
you may frame it on your wall and gaze upon it whenever you need a 
source of inspiration." Producing a fan of folded papers, he said 
to himself, "Now, to distribute the rest! Bask in the glory that is 
the name of Kuno! Ha-ha-hah!" 
  Akane's eyes followed Kuno's mad dance that ran down the hall. "A 
COPY?!" 
  Ranma, meanwhile, was much too preoccupied with the contents of 
the paper. "I... don't... believe this!" 
  "I'm not sure why not," came the voice on the other side of the 
paper. 
  It was then Ranma's eyes moved from the paper. "Ukyo, how in the 
world could Kuno do THIS well?!" 
  Ukyo smiled. "I guess you don't know him as well as you thought, 
eh, Ranchan?" She giggled. "Nabiki's still back there, lost in the 
sea of bodies," the chef added, jabbing her thumb backward. 
  "So, where do you suppose Kuno is going?" asked Akane seriously. 
  "Oh, I don't know, but I'll wager the prestigious University of 
Tokyo," Ukyo guessed. "From what I hear, college is smooth-sailing 
compared to high school." 
  "Hey, there's Nabiki now!" Ranma shouted, pointing out the middle 
Tendo sister among the crowd. 
  Head held high, as if carrying the same airs as Kuno, Nabiki 
walked passed the trio in the hall, as if they were beneath her. 
  Ranma grabbed her arm. "Hey, aren't you going to tell us what you 
got?" 
  Nabiki crossed her arms, smiling knowingly. "Now, Ranma, that sort 
of information is going to cost you." 
  "Well, one thing's for sure, you're in the same spirits as usual," 
noted Akane. 
  "How much?!" demanded Ranma, digging for bills in his pockets. 
  "Let me think... oh, how about five-thousand yen?" Nabiki said, 
tapping her index finger against her lips. "I think I ought to get 
myself something decent to eat later on." 
  Ranma forked-over the money eagerly. "I've GOT to see this!" 
  Nabiki shrugged, counting the money in her hands. "It's good doing 
business with you." Turning around, she turned around and walked 
away. 
  Unfolding the piece of paper Nabiki gave him, palms sweating in 
anticipation, Ranma grinned. 
  "Why are you so eager to know Nabiki's score?" asked Ukyo. 
  "Why not?" replied Ranma. "I want to press it into her face!" 
  "Well, had you waited, you could've found that out by looking at 
the scores posted on the wall," the okonomiyaki chef pointed out. 
  Ranma slapped himself on the forehead, crumpling the paper in his 
other hand and tossing it to the floor. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" 
  Akane picked up the wad of paper from the floor, and unwrinkled it. 
Looking it over carefully, she whispered, "Oh... Nabiki...." 

  Standing at a second-story balcony of the school, Nabiki rested 
her arms on the edge, and stared out at the scenery. Looking around 
to make sure nobody was looking, she burst into tears, and buried her 
head in her arms. 


					*  *  *  *  *
Closing: Dear Husband (Shampoo) 

(Shampoo) From that day that I met you,
Becoming a cute daughter, I
I love you, I love you, from my heart
A standing oath,
Say it, say it, the things that are said
I will listen to them all.

I will bring along the tears. Love is scary.
Ah... but, I love you
My beloved

It would be good if only I was near you.
Won't become a troublesome daughter, I
Always, always, near you
I want to be forgiven.
I love you, I love you, only you
I love you.

I will bring along the tears. Love is painful.
Ah... but, I love you
My beloved

Truly, there is only one pleasing.
Being embarrassed, you say more into my ear.
Softly, softly, I close my eyes.
I want a kiss.
I love you, I love you, only you
I love you.

I love you, I love you, only you
I love you.
-----------------------------------------------
Author's Rant

  Hokey? I thought it was, but it's a little too late to change all 
that, although I've trimmed things here or there.  
  The basic plotline is a sort of rehash of the first Hawaii story 
and "Specters," in the fact that it is the minions of Orochi who 
pit the characters against each other in a mindscape setting. 
However, each time this occurred, the characters involved usually got 
a better understanding of each other, and themselves. This one 
cements the idea that all eight teens are part of each other. It is 
only the beginning, as Ranma doesn't trust all of them. As we stand, 
it'll never happen. 
  Does Akane really know about P-chan? 
  About Shampoo's reaction to Mousse's 'death:' it's one thing to wish 
death upon someone, but it is entirely different when it actually 
happens. Kinda like saying 'drop dead,' to someone, only to have that 
person die a little later. 
  Kuno was willing to die, only that there was someone else there 
with him that probably didn't want to die. There's a difference there, 
so he couldn't throw his life away recklessly as he would have. Not 
that he wasn't dying in the first place. 
  About Kodachi's reaction to getting 'killed:' it's the same deal 
with someone you know having a dream about killing you-- you won't 
take it lightly (I know I wouldn't); dreams rarely lie to the dreamer 
on the basic levels. 
  I have a fair idea about the college examinations they have in 
Japan. I deliberately kept dates and specifics of the test vague, as 
I don't quite know the exact details myself. Needless to say, Kuno 
got an extremely-good score, and thus is allowed to enter the 
prestigious University of Tokyo. Nabiki, on the other hand, if you 
didn't catch my drift, didn't quite do as well as she had hoped. 
So, it's a year of cram school for her. In other words, her future is 
pretty screwed-up right now. 
  Warmage's history ties in with that of Ukyo's portion of "The Past 
is Prologue." 
  Expect the unexpected when the wheel closes in "Nemesis:" here, 
there was the taste of death-- a dream, or prophecy? Because in the 
end, some of them are not coming home alive. 

Razorclaw X
http://www.crosswinds.net/anaheim/~slythe/ranma/ranff.html

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