Disclaimer: All rights to the name "Ranma" and "Dragonball" belong solely to their owners, Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama respectively. I do not profit whatsoever from writing this story.
Author's Note: Well there is not much to say. I know most of you guys are torn as to how I placed Ranma but I believe that I did place him as accurately as I could. He may seem weak compared to the others but that is how I feel his power (and skill) measure up at this point.
To eav: Goku is most certainly a martial arts genius. He may be slow in other things but not martial arts. Watch the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament saga again and you'll see how Goku is able to break down and counter most of the techniques thrown at him. Just learning how to harness the Kaio-Ken and Spirit Bomb later in the series is testament to Goku's martial arts ability since none of the humans, nor King Kai himself, could master them.
To Lord Helpme: You got me there. I completely forgot that Ranma is terrified by cats. Well…too late for that.
Enough it is time for the story. Hope you all enjoy!
--
The remaining warriors could only look dumbfounded as they saw their only hero fall to the ground, two gaping wounds releasing a river of blood onto the arena.
To make matters worse, both Tien and Ranma had utterly failed in their attempts to save Goku as their interference exasperated matters.
Of course, Piccolo did not mind as he was able to easily repel Ranma and snatch the sensu beans from Tien's grasp, consuming one of the beans to restore his strength before disposing of the others. It now seemed that there was no longer any hope.
Goku, with Kami's training, was the only one who stood a chance against the Demon King but now things looked bleak as the hero lay in the ground writhing in pain.
"I would like to thank you all for giving me the opportunity to regain my strength. You do not know who good it feels to know that I could obliterate the whole lot of you if I so wished. Even so, I will make you all a proposition due to your kindness." gloated Piccolo as he eyed Tien.
Tien punched the ground hard with his clenched fists, angry at himself for failing so miserably and making things now nearly impossible to deal with.
"As the Demon King I have rights to this planet and its government. No longer will man have the power to reign over all living things. I will make this planet the nest of my kin, demons of whom have been wronged. Even so, I will spare your lives warriors if you will allow me to dispose of Goku and kill him instantly and be done with it. The choice is yours. But be warned…if you resist me not only will I end your pitiful lives but I will make sure that Goku dies a very slow, painful death." said Piccolo.
The others flinched at the sound of his proposition and were utterly torn as to what to do.
"We…we must give in to his request. I do not see any reason for drawing this out any longer than it has to. We could at least be assured that Goku will rest soon." said Tien glumly.
"What are you saying! I can't believe you three eyes! Do you honestly think that this green creep is going to stick to his word? I would rather die fighting than have to submit to him!" roared Ranma, his fists clenched tightly.
Piccolo looked over at Ranma and smirked, exposing his fangs. It really unnerved the fighters.
"What righteous intentions you seem to possess child. Your mind is not easily swayed by word of mouth I believe." said Piccolo.
"What's it to you?" roared Ranma.
"Nothing at all but it is your devotion to honor and sacrifice that makes me hate you martial artists so much. I could dismember you right now if I so wished." gloated Piccolo.
"Why don't ya try it then?" replied Ranma with a trace of haughtiness in his voice.
"Your overconfidence will be your downfall, just like with that fool Goku. Just know that by your aggressive actions that Goku will die a most painful death. I hope that you can bear that in your conscious as I take your life." said Piccolo as he got into his fighting stance.
"Ranma no! You do not know what you are getting yourself into! Believe me when I say this, you are NO match for the Demon King!" yelled Tien.
"Shut up! I don't need no one to tell me who I can and can't beat. I will find out for myself." said Ranma before he launched himself at Piccolo and begun fighting with him.
Just as Tien was about to go and stop him, he heard a weak laugh come from below him. Tien looked down to see Goku, who had heavy lidded eyes and his wound still bleeding, laugh from below.
"Let him go Tien. I understand that you all care about my well being but right now, the last thing I would want is for you guys to give up to that monster. Fight Tien, fight with all your heart. I'm counting on you…friend." said Goku before his eyes closed once more.
"Krillen, Yamcha! Come and get Goku out of here. We need to have him cared for until we can get rid of Piccolo. The tournament is over. It will take all of us to kill him." Said Tien as Krillen and Yamcha came over and picked Goku up.
They soon got Goku over to the sidelines where both Bulma and Chi-Chi threw themselves at Goku and started to sob heavily. Both Kami and Master Roshi walked over to the warriors. Kami remained stoic and silent as Master Roshi begun his speech.
"I fear that I will be of no use in this battle. It is such a shame that young ones like you should be risking your lives for our sake. I will pray for you and your successes. Go now…I will not stop you." said Master Roshi as the others looked on at him with kind eyes before the warriors soon got up and headed towards the battle field.
--
"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" roared Ranma as he unleashed a flurry of punches towards his opponent.
"All too slow." said Piccolo as then dodged each of the punches with lighting fast reflexes.
Ranma was not deterred as he continued the onslaught, Piccolo's smirk infuriating him to no end.
"Dammit stay still!" roared Ranma as he went even faster than ever.
"As you wish." said Piccolo as he effortlessly caught both of Ranma's fists and kneed Ranma hard in the stomach.
Ranma could only gasp in shock as he felt all the air leave his lungs.
I…I can't believe he was able to counter my Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken so easily.
Ranma started to fall to the ground but was not left in peace as Piccolo elbowed him in the back. Ranma yelled out in pain as he was suddenly knocked down into the arena, his face smashing into the tile below.
Before Ranma could recover his bearings, he felt his head sting greatly as he was lifted up by his pig-tail and forced up to his feet by Piccolo.
Ranma was soon face to face with Piccolo and he could see Piccolo smiling evilly, before Piccolo sent a fist crashing down onto Ranma's face, knocking him down once more.
This guy is really asking for it. I HATE it when they pick me up from there. I swear, if he does that again I am going to make him pay.
Once again, Ranma felt his Piccolo pick him up by the ponytail but Ranma then used this opportunity to counter attack.
When they were face to face once more, Ranma spat in Piccolo's face, taking a cue at what Chi-Chi did to him earlier at the tournament. Piccolo growled in disgust but it was all the time Ranma needed.
Immediately Ranma aimed a sucker punch at Piccolo's face at him straight in the nose.
It had the intended effect as Piccolo let go of Ranma to place his hands on his nose and roared out in pain. Ranma debated as to whether he should ease up and put some space in between them or take the initiative.
Yet, after seeing what Goku tried to do when Piccolo was seemingly helpless and how Goku's hasty actions led to his downfall, Ranma decided to step back and plan out his next course of action.
The last thing he wanted was another hole in his chest.
--
Piccolo, in the meanwhile, was pleasantly surprised that Ranma caught him off guard.
The punch did not hurt Piccolo at all but he used it as to feign pain, hoping to get Ranma into a false sense of security and do something stupid…like what Goku did.
Piccolo could not help but be impressed when he saw Ranma leap back and place some space in between them.
Looks like that kid is smarter than he lets on. Very wise of him to learn from other's mistakes and not repeat them. I may be entertained yet.
Piccolo ended his act by rubbing his nose and facing Ranma with a serious face before dashing towards Ranma to continue their fight.
--
It was at this point when Yamcha, Krillen and Tien were about to go and join the battle. They saw were relieved that Ranma was still alive and it looked as if he and Piccolo were in a standoff at the moment. It was then they decided that they should enter and start their portion of the fight.
At once they joined Ranma's side.
"I really do not need your help. I can take care of this chump all by myself." said Ranma.
"Sure buddy, sure." said Krillen sarcastically.
"I'm serious! I don't want you guys coming in to ruin all the fun. I'll take him down myself!" said Ranma as he charged before the Demon King. Yet, a hand caught his shoulder and restrained him from his hasty actions.
"Hardly. You are going to need our help and more if you want to live until tomorrow." replied Tien as he let go of Ranma's shoulder.
"Hey. I ain't gonna die yet! I have to kick your ass before that happens!" said Ranma confidently. Tien smiled at the bold declaration before continuing.
"I look forward to our rematch as well. Still, I know how you feel. I myself do not like the idea of all four of us taking on the Demon King alone but we must cast aside our pride. The world is at stake here…Goku's life is at stake here. Ever has Goku come to our aid when it was needed the most. Now he is counting on us to finish the job he started. I will gladly cast aside my pride if it means saving the man named Goku." said Tien.
"That was beautiful Tien. I would cry right now if there weren't so many people watching me." said Yamcha.
"Thank you Yamcha. C'mon, we got a world to save!" said Tien as all the fighters soon launched themselves from their positions straight towards Piccolo.
"Oh my gosh folks, this battle has now turned into a melee! I wonder what is to come about from this?" roared the announcer even though there was hardly any crowd to announce to anymore.
Krillen flew in with a flying punch, in which Piccolo dodged easily. Piccolo was about to take the initiative and counter attack when he sensed a presence behind him. Piccolo immediately ducked an overhead kick by Yamcha. Piccolo growled in annoyance as he elbowed Yamcha in the stomach.
Yamcha gasped as the wind was taken out of him but Tien was there to back him up as he flew in with an attack of his own. Piccolo flew forward to meet Tien as the two of them started a minor skirmish in an attempt to see who was better.
In the meanwhile, Krillen was able to help Yamcha up.
"Thanks man." said Yamcha.
"No prob. Let's finish this green freak once and for all." said Krillen.
At once, both he and Yamcha begun to gather ki as Tien bought them precious seconds.
--
Piccolo and Tien looked about even as they were exchanging blows, checking feints, parrying one's attacks and counterattacking. The speed in which they moved was awesome. Even so, Tien soon grew winded and could not keep up the pace. Piccolo, sensing this, turned up the heat and soon, Tien was on the defensive.
Just when things were about to get ugly for Tien, Ranma came in and started his own attack. Tien took the time to get out of the skirmish to take a breather as Ranma did his best to distract the Demon King.
At this point, Ranma was pulling every trick he knew to keep up with Piccolo. He knew that the Demon King packed a solid punch and he could not afford to get hit.
Piccolo aimed for a straight punch in which Ranma ducked. Once underneath, Ranma attempted a gut punch but Piccolo sidestepped and proceeded to elbow Ranma in the back. Ranma once again tasted the tile as he was knocked straight down.
Not wanting to remain vulnerable, he immediately recovered using a back flip to put some space between him and Piccolo. Piccolo dashed in recklessly, running as fast as he could in order to catch Ranma.
This was when Ranma pulled a trick out of Genma Saotome's book and sidestepped at the last second and proceeded to trip Piccolo with an outstretched foot.
The other warriors looked in shock as the great Demon King fell for such a cheap trick and the Demon King proceeded to lose his balance and fall to the tile.
Yet, just as Ranma was about to capitalize, Piccolo used Zanzuken to phase out and Ranma ended up hitting air.
"Ranma above you!" roared Tien.
Ranma resisted the total urge to look up and waste precious seconds and instead just moved out of the way as soon as he heard Tien to insure that he would dodge any impending counter attack.
It was a good thing that Ranma's instincts were as sharp as they were because a millisecond after Ranma made his move, Piccolo crashed into the arena with a diving kick aimed where the back of his head was just less than a second ago. Ranma knew that if he took the blow, he would at the very least be sent into a coma as the kick destroyed the tile and brick of the arena as if it were made out of clay.
"Hey, take it easy Mean Green! You coulda killed me with that!" said Ranma.
Piccolo scowled at the ridiculous nickname that he had been christened before replying.
"I was trying to kill you. If you fear your life, flee at once. I am sure that your friends will understand and will buy you the time needed for you to run away…just like the girl you are." said Piccolo.
The insult had the intended effect as Ranma's hair begun to stand on end. Even his pigtail straightened outward, so angry Ranma was at the insult.
"Ranma Saotome does not run nor is he a GIRL!!!" roared Ranma as he charged towards Piccolo.
At once Ranma resumed his attack on Piccolo, attacking with vigor and fury but his form was sloppy and holes begun to show up in Ranma's form.
Ranma attempted a Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken but Piccolo, just as before, was dodging the blows as if they were nothing. Piccolo ducked under what appeared to be the 500th punch in three seconds and proceeded to land a severe uppercut on Ranma.
Ranma felt a searing pain on his tongue as he felt his jaw snap shut. Stars clouded his vision as he saw the world grow dim, then bright, then dim again. The world was upside down and before Ranma could even get his bearings, he felt a harsh blow strike him on the back, knocking him down into the tile once more.
Ranma tasted copper on his mouth and he wondered why. It wasn't until he opened his mouth did he realize that he bit a small part of his tongue off. The wound was not lethal by any means but he knew that it was going to be annoying to have an open sore like that in the middle of a fight.
Sensing danger, Ranma gained his bearings at once and proceeded to jump up to avoid any impending attack that may done on his prone form.
It was too bad that Piccolo was expecting this and was already going to retaliate when he felt a harsh blow on his face. Piccolo felt the wind cut his skin as he was sent flying away by a boot that landed smartly on his cheek.
Piccolo looked up in his flight to see Tien as the culprit of the surprise attack.
Yet, before Piccolo could do anything, Tien once more attacked the airborne Piccolo, snapping another kick on the lower jaw of the Demon King. Piccolo flew back and through his gaze he saw that he was heading straight into the temple wall and he could not recover in time. Piccolo braced himself for the impact.
--
Ranma landed on the ground to see Piccolo flying towards the temple wall. He soon saw the Demon King collide with the wall, causing a large booming sound to ensue as the Demon King was covered in brick and rubble.
Ranma looked up to see Tien in mid-air, breathing hard but alright.
"Thanks three-eyes, I owe ya one for that." said Ranma as Tien landed on the arena.
"No problem. Let's get out of the way, though, for Krillen and Yamcha are about to unleash their strongest attacks now that Piccolo is down." said Tien.
At once, Ranma turned to see that both Yamcha and Krillen were indeed ready.
Krillen had his hands cupped together, a blue light emanating from it. Yamcha had a ball of ki on his hand, ready to be thrown at a moment's notice.
It was then that Tien placed a hand on Ranma.
"You know how to manipulate ki?" asked Tien.
"Yeah…sort of." replied Ranma.
"Good. We will need to combine our attacks if we wish for the demise of the Demon King." answered Tien.
"Sure thing, I'll see what I can do!" replied Ranma.
At once, Tien began to gather ki, his bald head forming veins due to the stress. Though the bottom two eyes were closed, Ranma could see the third one bloodshot and stressed. At once Ranma began to dig deep to summon his own ki technique.
"You ready guys?" asked Tien to three warriors after building up his ki for about five seconds.
"Yeah!" roared Krillen and Yamcha.
"Let's do this!"said Krillen.
"With you there Krillen!" replied Yamcha.
"Now or never." thought Ranma as he imagined himself beating Piccolo to a pulp, with his foot on top of the unconscious Demon King's chest.
"Kamehameha!"
"Spirit Ball!"
"Kihoko!"
"Now! Moko Takashiba!"
The remaining spectators were treated to a great light show as a blue beam, two yellow balls of ki and another one that appeared to have no form all raced their way to the rubble where the Demon King was laying.
The attacks landed at the same time and soon, there could be heard a gigantic explosion. Gale force winds shook the tourney site.
Soon, the dust cleared and there was nothing to be seen. All four warriors fell to their knees, exhausted.
"Even if he is the Demon King, I highly doubt he could have withstood all four of our attacks at once." said Krillen.
"I hope so too." said Yamcha.
"Well, there goes Mean Green." said Ranma.
Just when they thought they could relax though, they heard the voice of none other than Kami.
"He's not dead! Watch yourselves!"
Krillen, confused as he was, soon spoke:
"Wait a sec! If Kami is still alive, then where could Piccolo…."
"Right here!" roared a voice.
"At once, all the warriors looked up in the air and were shocked to see the Demon King still alive. His purple training gi was torn a bit and he sustained a few wounds but other than that, he was still completely fine.
"What insolence! Why can you bugs not die!?!" roared Piccolo as he soon began to gather all his ki up to dangerous levels.
At once, Tien knew what Piccolo was planning to do.
"Everyone, take cover!" yelled Tien.
Ranma looked up toward the sky.
Everything went deadly quiet in his ears. It was as if time was going in slow motion. He saw the Demon King raise his arms and soon, a bright, beautiful light began to emanate from him.
Ranma could not help but think that Piccolo looked somewhat divine with all the light surrounding him. Soon, Ranma heard a large explosion and he saw that he was engulfed in the light.
"So…bright." thought Ranma before the brightness soon turned into utter darkness.
--
Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter. Have a happy New Year's!
