Obligatory Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma or the game this fic is based on
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Nabiki regarded the tiny fairy hovering in midair in front of her. With all the demons she had encountered, she didn't know whether to trust this one or not.
"So you say that Kuno is in the Mantra Building right now?"
"Mhm. Saw him get dragged away with my own two eyes. I hope Mr. Kuno is okay…" She sat down on top of the Terminal, hand clenched in her lap, looking down at her feet.
Akane gave Pixie a comforting pat on the back. "Don't worry, Pixie. I'm sure he's okay."
Something had been nagging at Nabiki's gut. "Shouldn't Ranma be back by now?"
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Ranma felt his cuffs click open. His manacles soon followed. The guard pushed him forward into the cage. Kuno was shoved in behind him.
They had been taken to what was presumably the courtroom. A gigantic cage, about twenty feet by twenty-five feet, dominated most of the room. A large podium sat in front of it, empty. Four rows of seats filled with demons faced the cage, giving the room less of a courtroom feel and more of a gladiatorial sport feel.
The main doors swung open. Thor, the giant from before, entered, his hammer hung from his belt. "All rise for the honorable Judge and Second-in-Command of the Mantra, Thor."
The demons rose respectfully. Thor sat down at the podium and motioned for them to sit again. An important-looking demon approached the cage, separated from the two by the bars.
"Ranma Saotome, Tatewaki Kuno. You have been charged with loitering in Ikebukuro and entering the headquarters of the Mantra. On top of that, you have been witnessed in the Ginza Underpass. We have reason to believe that you may be a Nihilo spy."
Ranma began to cut him off. "That's totally unfair!"
"Silence. We further charge you with possible spying and disrupting the court. Even if you are newcomers, it is bad enough that you have shown us Mantra Demons such blatant disrespect!"
Thor rose from his seat. "We will now begin the Trial by Combat. Send in the Prosecutors."
The other side of the cage swung open. A pair of demons sauntered in. One was a lion with green fur and two heads. The other was a seven-foot-tall woman with purple skin and long black hair. She carried a sword in each hand.
The woman spoke. "For those who disrespect the Mantra, there is only death. Is there not, Orthrus?"
The lion- Orthrus- spoke with both of its heads. "Quite right, Yaksini. This shall bring us one step closer to Creation. Are you fools ready?"
Kuno leaned his head toward Ranma. "Which one do you want, girl or animal."
"Ah, the first one."
"FIGHT!"
Kuno dashed toward the lion, bokken extended. Ranma dove for the woman's legs with a sweeping kick.
The woman, Yaksini, dodged easily, cackling sadistically. "You fool. Do you honestly think that your human martial arts can beat me, a demon? You're pathetic!"
She was cut off by Ranma blowing off his Hiryu Shoten-Ha energy blast into her face. Yaksini stumbled backwards, dropping one of her swords. Putting on a burst of speed, Ranma grabbed it before she could recover.
Yaksini stood back up, her face burned and bleeding. "How DARE you strike one superior to you, human!" Blinded by rage, she charged. Ranma blocked her sword with his.
Sparks all around them, they expertly parried and blocked each others strikes, wearing each other down. Screaming primally, Yaksini jumped into the air, raising her sword above her to bring it down in a chopping motion.
Ranma leapt into the air and kicked her into the cage wall. Grabbing her other sword, he tossed it to Kuno in midair.
Kuno grabbed the flying blade and spun around. Orthrus leapt at him. Kuno ducked, blade above him.
Orthrus was unable to stop himself. He jumped into the blade, cleaving himself in twain between his two heads.
At the same time, Ranma threw his sword like a dagger. It pierced Yaksini's chest, pinning her to the cage wall.
Thor's eyes grew wide under his mask. The fight had lasted all of ninety seconds.
"Let them go."
The important-looking demon turned to face Thor. "But sir-"
"Let them go."
The cage door was raised, allowing the two to walk out.
Thor stood. "We are impressed by your battle skill. All charges are cleared, and the Defendants are allowed to go as they please in Ikebukuro. Court Adjourned." He banged his hammer on the podium like a gavel.
Two minutes later, a floating pumpkin with a hat and gloves had escorted Ranma and Kuno to the front doors of the Mantra. He spoke in a nasally voice. "You to are free to go. You may reenter the Mantra Building whenever you like."
Ranma set off down the front steps. The look on his face showed clearly that he had no intention of ever reentering that building.
Kuno made to leave also, when something rested on his shoulder. It was one of the floating pumpkins gloves.
"Mr. Kuno. Before you leave, I have a private message to give you. There is someone in the Mantra who was very impressed with your fight, and he wishes to see you immediately. Come with me."
Kuno followed the pumpkin back into the tower. "Who wishes to see me? Is it Thor, the man with the hammer."
The pumpkin shook his head. "No. You're going to see the great Gozu-Tennoh, High Commander of the Mantra."
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Ranma pushed open the Terminal door. Akane turned her head to see him enter.
"Ranma! What the heck took you so long?" Secretly, Akane was glad Ranma was okay, but she wasn't about to show it.
Ranma shrugged. "Eh. Met a giant with a hammer, got locked in two cages, met Kuno, killed a demon, gained respect of said man with hammer, the usual."
Nabiki had her forehead resting on the Terminal. Her eyes were glazed over. Ranma pointed at her. "What is she…?"
"She's been like that for a while. I think that must be how she gets information from the Vortex World."
"Hey! Who am I, chopped demon meat?"
Ranma darted his head around at the new voice. A fairy floated down from the ceiling. She wore a lot of blue and had red hair. She seemed familiar somehow…
"Sorry, Pixie. Ranma, this is Pixie. Pixie, Ranma."
Pixie giggled. "Oh yeah, Akane here told me about you. You're her boyfriend, right?"
This, of course, made Akane and Ranma launch into their usual rant about 'Insensitive Jerks' and 'Uncute Tomboy Gorillas'. Within seconds, Pixie was clutching her sides in laughter.
"HEY!"
All three immediately fell silent. Nabiki had emerged from her trance.
"There's something I need to tell you guys. According to the Terminal, about half of the Mantra Army is in Ginza right now."
"Why Nabiki?"
"Not sure yet…"
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Kuno ascended even more steps.
The pumpkin had escorted him to an elevator, which he sent to the 60th floor. When the elevator opened, he was outside, on the roof of the Mantra Building.
A strong wind was blowing up here. There was a magnificent view of Ikebukuro. A huge flight of stair led up another four floors to a huge structure on the roof. Kuno could tell that this was the Throne Room of the great Gozu-Tennoh.
He pushed the doors open. The room was absolutely huge, almost fifty feet long. Power emanated from the very walls, which were adorned with Chinese carvings.
A Manikin kneeled on a podium, twitching violently. His face was covered in bindings.
"The Earth and Heavens tremble… as the almighty demon… descends from above… the great echoes… across the land… the mightiest of all demons… the great… GOZU TENNOH!"
A pair of huge torches sprung to life, illuminating the chamber. Kuno craned his neck upwards.
A giant statue sat crossed-legged on a great stone pedestal. His arms extended out to it's sides, one hand holding a ball, the other with its middle and index fingers resting on its thumb, reminding Kuno of Buddhist statues he had seen.
The head of the statue was grotesque. It had three faces. The first looked like the face of malnourished disaster survivors Kuno had seen on TV. To the right of the haunted face, was a face filled with the look of rage. The final one was a face, grinning evilly.
Suddenly, the hollows where the eyes would be lit up with a yellow glow. A voice, deep, baritone, emanated from the statue. "Welcome, Kuno. I am Gozu-Tennoh, Leader and Most Powerful of the Mantra, Master of the demons that gather here.
"I was truly impressed by your battle. The emergence of a powerful being, and a human no less, is remarkable indeed. Your power is great, and yet so much potential. If you become one of the Mantra, I can increase your power. What say you?"
Kuno's mind was in battle with itself. He was never one to serve people, yet this demon said he could make Kuno stronger. Kuno kneeled down on one knee, the tip of his bokken resting on the ground, his hands on the hilt. "I am at your command, Gozu-Tennoh."
The statue laughed. "Good, Good. Kuno, have you heard of the Assembly of Nihilo?"
Kuno raised his head. "They are trying to recreate the world, are they not?"
"Precisely. They threaten us with their plan to bring the world to a halt. We cannot overlook their madness. I have sent my troops to Ginza, and they are awaiting my instruction. Go to Ginza, Kuno. Aid my soldiers in this battle, and Obliterate Nihilo!"
Kuno turned and left Gozu-Tennoh's Throne Room. Gozu-Tennoh concentrated his mind and sent a psionic pulse through the land. This commanded his soldiers to destroy Nihilo.
Judgment Day had come for Nihilo.
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Shampoo shoved the Terminal Door open.
After what was easily the hardest fight of her life, Shampoo had won the Matador's Candelabrum. She was out-of-breath, had a wound in her side from the sword, and was limping.
But she had won.
And now, here she was back in the Labyrinth of Amala, bringing the man in the wheelchair his precious candelabrum, this one having a plaque labeled Foundation.
With a Candelabrum in each hand, she stuck her head through the hole in the huge tree again.
The room had not changed a bit from her last visit. The fire still blazed. The gramophone still played the same music. The man and woman were still there, in the same spot as last time.
"Shampoo, I see that you recovered the Candelabrum from that fiend."
For the first time, Shampoo spoke to the woman. "Was there any point in Shampoo nearly dying to get stupid chair man's candleholder?!"
The woman in black held up her hand, signaling Shampoo to be silent. "Please wait, Shampoo. You see, the Candelabrum you acquired… elt's just say it was part of his prized collection. The twelve Candelabra are controllers for the flow of Magatsuhi in the Labyrinth. However, most of them were stolen by terrible Fiends, such as the one you just met. Thankfully, we were able to keep the ones of Sovereignty, Knowledge, and Dignity.
"The Candelabra grant their possessors access to the Labyrinth. However, this privilege is not given to just anyone. This place is forbidden to all those deemed unworthy by my master.
"That is why we would like to ask you a favor. We would like you to retrieve the Candelabra and bring them each back here to the Labyrinth. Once you do, we shall explain everything about the Vortex World for you. The choice is up to you. Will you accept?
Shampoo thought this over for a while. Normally she would say no to a request like this… and yet… a small voice in the back of her head said that she should trust this woman.
"Yes. Shampoo will."
"Good. Keep the Candelabrum we gave you. The Candelabra attract each other, and make it easier to find the others. In the meantime, take the Candelabrum of Foundation and take it to the First floor of the Labyrinth. You will be allowed access inside, and will be able to come and go as you like. When you find two more Candelabra, bring them to the second floor and speak to us. I wish you luck."
And with that, the curtain of the stage closed.
