Obligatory Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma or the game this fic is based on
Well folks, I got chapter 4 retyped, here's chapter five.
Also, before I'm asked, a message to those who have actually played the game this fic is based on: No Dante, sadly. I plan to make this a strictly Ranma fic.
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"RYOGA! PREPARE TO DIE!"
Ryoga Hibiki never thought that he would hear that threat directed at him. Of course, he didn't have much chance to think about this, due to Mousse's chains.
Mousse had ambushed him the moment he and Shampoo had entered Ikebukuro. Now they were getting strange stares from people who were looking at the lunatic screaming about a hair product.
"Ryoga! How dare you attempt to steal my Shampoo away from me!"
Shampoo had mostly buried her face in her hands. This had hardly been the reunion with Mousse that she had expected.
"Oi! Get them!"
A voice had rung out across the courtyard. Ryoga, Mousse, and Shampoo turned their heads. A trio of four demons in blue armor were advancing toward them, and they didn't look friendly.
One leaped up into the the air, a spear high above his head. As he bought it down, Ryoga blocked it with his umbrella.
These were Mantra demons, the worst of the worst. And they were trying to bring them in.
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Ranma pushed the tombstone door in Ikebukuro Cemetery up.
After Akane and Kasumi's tearful reunion, and resting for a bit, Tofu had some of the Manikins escort the two to the Underpass exit. Kasumi had stayed behind, to continue her duties to help her fellow Manikins. Ranma and Akane secretly thought that she had a crush on Tofu, but didn't probe.
The light of Kagutsuchi had dwindled to night by the time they left the Underpass.
(a/n: Now might be a good time to explain something. While Kagutsuchi is in the center of an inverted world, it is no ordinary sun. In fact, it isn't a sun at all. It gives ability to the world creator, along with the added side benefit of providing light. Therefore, it's perfectly plausible that it could dwindle to make night.)
Akane stopped dead as Ranma pushed open the gates to Ikebukuro. It looked like they had stepped into a war zone. There were cracks in the walls, and blood all over the ground.
As Akane looked around, a nearby door opened, and a familiar voice said "Ranma, Akane, in here."
It was Nabiki. Bewildered, the two entered the room.
They were in another Terminal room. It had apparently just been used, as the Terminal was spinning to a stop.
"Nabiki, what are you doing here? How'd you get here before us?"
Nabiki looked tired, yet very pleased with herself. "I found out that, by studying a Terminal for a while, you gain a bigger grasp of the Vortex World and of the Amala Network. I was able to gain a better control, and come here. I can also now go to Kabukicho and Chiyoda whenever I want. It's some pretty cool stuff."
"Wow. But never mind. You're never going to believe who I met in the Ginza Underpass-"
But who Akane met, Nabiki never heard. Akane was cut off by the Terminal door swinging open again.
Shampoo came dashing in, out of breath. She slammed the door behind her, not noticing the other three.
"Umm… Shampoo?"
Shampoo whirled around. She looked like she had been through a war. "Airen! Mercenary Girl! Violent Kitchen Destroyer!"
Ignoring the name, Akane asked her sometimes friend "What happened to you? You look like you've been to hell and back."
Shampoo slumped to the ground, her back to the wall. Her eyes were wide. "Aiyah. Shampoo was with pig-boy when stupid Mousse tried to kill him. Demons attacked us, Mousse told me to run. Shampoo did."
"Ryoga and Mousse are alive?!"
"Mhm. Shampoo have no time, Shampoo leave now."
Very hastily, Shampoo spun the Terminal, muttered something inaudible, and vanished.
Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "Shampoo not wanting to glomp Ranma? Something's up."
Akane, meanwhile, had pulled Ranma aside. "Ranma, you should go on ahead. I need to tell Nabiki about Kasumi. I'll stay here, and you go look around."
Ranma nodded in agreement. Nabiki needed to know, and, truth be told, he thought Akane probably wouldn't do that well in a town like this, ruled by combat.
As Akane began to talk to her sister, Ranma headed out the door.
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Shampoo emerged from the Underpass Terminal.
She had barely noticed Ranma as she entered the Ikebukuro Terminal. The reason she was so torqued was because of something very strange.
The candelabrum's candles had burst into flame.
Shampoo had felt a vibrating in her pack and pulled the candle holder out. It caught flame the second it hit the air.
This had amazed Shampoo enough, but it didn't stop there. The flames had grown through the air and shifted in the direction of the Terminal room. Taking this as a sign, Shampoo had left the scene. She asked the Terminal to take her to the Labyrinth of Amala, hoping that the woman could explain this, but instead, the Terminal bought her here.
Shampoo frowned. Maybe there was a malfunction with the Terminal system. She was thinking about trying the Terminal again, when she heard something.
There was a faint howling noise from down the tunnels. A wind blew down the tunnel, even though they were inside. The lights hanging from the ceiling flickered. The howling raised to a loud scream as the lights went out.
Shampoo barely kept herself from screaming. A red light began to emanate from nowhere, lighting the tunnel.
Someone was standing at the tunnels mouth.
The demon was dressed in a traditional Spanish Bullfighting outfit and red cape. His head was down, his face hidden by the hat. He clenched a sword in one hand, and in the other…
A Candelabrum.
The demon spoke, in a low, guttural voice. "So, one who holds a candelabrum like myself. If you carry a candelabrum, then we are destined to fight."
The demon lifted his head. He had no face. There was only a skull. "You too must be seeking power, like myself. That I cannot allow. Only a true warrior is worthy of such power. A warrior such as I, the Matador!"
Shampoo nearly giggled at the very unoriginal name. She could tell that this was a demon among demons, a killer that had put end to countless lives.
Matador yanked his cape off his back, furling and unfurling in the unnatural breeze. "It is a pity that we have to spectators, yet I feel that this will be a fine show nonetheless, as you and I contend for the others candelabrum."
He waved his cape as if Shampoo were a bull. "Come at me with all your might! Your horns cannot piece my soul!" He charged Shampoo, sword out.
Shampoo remembered the woman's words and adopted a defensive position. This could be hard.
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Ranma craned his neck to look up.
He had made his way to the center of Ikebukuro. It was easy enough, as there was a huge tower, rising sixty stories above Ikebukuro. Judging be the old and decaying corpses littering the stairs out front, this had to be the headquarters of the Mantra.
Many more corpses were scattered atop the new ones. Bloodstains covered the front walls, and the sounds of fighting came from within. Ranma stepped forward and rested his hand on the huge door into the Mantra building.
Despite the door looking as if it weighed several tons, it swung open easily, allowing access into the tower.
If the entrance to Ikebukuro looked like a war zone, the foyer to the Mantra building looked like an atom bomb had been dropped. There wasn't a clear spot on the floor for the corpses. This, however, did not subtract from the sheer magnitude of the room. The ceiling extended up to the third floor. Huge metal columns with torches at the top lined the walk to the next door. Ornate carvings of bloody battles covered the walls.
About ten feet ahead of him, Mousse and Ryoga were fighting off demon hordes, Mousse with his chains, Ryoga with his umbrella. It seemed that they were responsible for this bloody melee.
As the two slaughtered demon upon demon, a loud thumping sound was heard.
A twelve-foot demon was making with way through the melee. He wore golden armor and a white cape. He had shin-high boots and forearm-high gloves, and a golden, horned mask covered his face. He clutched a hammer as big as Ranma's torso in his hand.
With surprising speed, he bought the hammer down on Mousse, hurling the Amazon into the wall, creating cracks from the impact. Mousse's head slumped as he fell into unconsciousness.
Ryoga, beheading a demon with his umbrella, spun round to see this new threat. "Damn it! Not another one!"
"Ryoga!"
Ryoga spun toward the door at his name being called. "Ranma?! Listen, I don't have time for this! You have to help Miss Hinako! She's-"
But whatever Ryoga was about to say, Ranma didn't hear. The giant had shot volts of electricity from his glovetips, causing Ryoga to keel over in pain.
"Miss… Hinako… is…"
The giant slammed his hammer into Ryoga, causing him, too, to black out.
The giant turned his attention to Ranma. "You are unfamiliar to m, human. Any and all who enter the territory of the Mantra will be tried by I, Thor, Judge and Second-in-Command of the Mantra. Lock him up!"
A pair of demons grabbed Ranma from behind. Caught by surprise, Ranma was unable to fight back. They clapped him in handcuffs and manacles as others grabbed Mousse and Ryoga's unconscious bodies.
Before Ranma could even protest, he was thrown into a cell in the Mantra's Prison Block. Cackling, the guards left.
With difficulty, Ranma struggled to his feet, his hands still bound. "Hey! Let me out! I didn't do anything wrong! I was just walking! Let me out!"
A familiar voice came from the next cell. "Give it up. They won't let you go."
"Kuno?!"
Indeed, it was Kuno. "Yes, it's me. I got thrown in here, same as you, Saotome."
"Huh. Did you piss off the big guy with the hammer too?"
"No. Like you, I was merely walking. Saotome, do you know what they do to prisoners here?"
Ranma arched an eyebrow. "No. Do you."
"Indeed. From what I've heard from the guards, the Mantra judge by their rules. All prisoners are taken to a Trial by Combat. If you defeat your enemy, you are deemed innocent and set free."
Ranma was disgusted by this trial system. Sure, he loved fighting, but basing ones entire life around was just… barbaric. But something else was in Ranma's thoughts. He had noticed that Ryoga hadn't attacked him on sight, and Kuno wasn't calling him a Foul Sorcerer.
Perhaps this was because, since the world had ended, they had subconsciously placed their grudges aside and focused on surviving. Whatever the reason, Ranma was relieved for a break in everyone attacking him.
Kuno suddenly spoke up again. "Listen, Saotome, have you seen a fairy anywhere around here? About a foot tall? Blue bodysuit?"
"No. Why?"
"Nothing." Kuno had grown somewhat attached to Pixie during their travels. The two had been separated when Kuno was captured, and he was worried about her.
Ranma was about to probe more, when their cell doors opened. A pair of Oni demon guards stood in front of their cells.
"Come on, you two. It's time for your trials."