Author's Notes: Sorry for the long, LONG delay in updating. I've been busy with school work and stuff, plus, my mind kind of wandered from the Ranma scene for a while. However, I'm back, and actively writing a number of my stories again, so be on the lookout. Also, if you're looking for a Harry Potter story, head over to Lord Silvere's "Earl of the North" which I've taken over from him.
Chapter Nine
When they got to the Tendo home, Nabiki's prediction had turned out to be true. The living room was deserted, save for a passed-out Ryoga. The fathers were gone – most likely fled to the nearest bar to escape Akane's cooking, and the chef herself was nowhere to be seen. Ranma slung his rival over his shoulder easily and hastily made his way outside, where Nabiki was valiantly fighting to suppress a wide grin at Ryoga's slumped form. Ranma nodded once, and the two left, never noticing that someone had been watching the exchange from the second story of the home.
Ranma reached the appointed meeting place, his old campsite in the park. Cologne was already there, and Nabiki arrived a few minutes afterwards. The three stood around Ryoga, who'd been placed on a bench, and waited. Minutes passed, and Cologne frowned.
"How long does he need to recover? Seriously, that girl's cooking can't be that bad."
Ranma and Nabiki both paled. "You have no idea," the girl mumbled.
"Akane's cooking should be classified as a biological weapon," the martial artist added. Cologne arched an eyebrow in disbelief, but shrugged and let the matter rest.
A few minutes later, the lost boy finally stirred. With a groan, he sat up, rubbing his eyes and trying to keep the urge to retch down. The blurry shapes in front of him solidified slowly, and he recognized Nabiki and Ranma; his eyes drifted to the third person, who was leaning in close to get a good look at him, and he let out a horrified squeal, backing up over the back of the bench where he landed on the ground with a loud thud.
Ranma chuckled, and Nabiki failed to hide her giggles as Ryoga regained his bearings and stood up, weakly pointing a finger at the pigtailed martial artist. "You…Ranma…this is all…your…fault!"
"Hey," Ranma held up his hands defensively. "I didn't make that food, and I didn't force you to eat it!"
Ryoga mulled that over for a moment. "But because you weren't there, she made me eat it! So it's your fault for not being there!"
Ranma slapped a hand to his face. "Oh boy. Look, Ryoga, we don't have time for this. I need to talk to you man, but if you're not gonna listen, I'm gonna have to beat you down till you listen."
"Why, you-"
"Now, now, Ranma-kun. Diplomacy, remember?" Nabiki smirked as she leaned over Ranma's shoulder. "Now, Ryoga-kun, like Ranma here said a little uncouthly, we need to talk to you, and it's rather important." Her brown eyes narrowed dangerously. "So if you don't want Akane to find out about P-chan, you'll listen, and then you'll think about it very, very carefully before you answer. Are we clear?"
"You told!" Ryoga leapt at his rival, only to find Cologne's gnarled staff embedded in his gut. The lost boy flew back, crashing into the ground a few yards away.
"Actually, Ryoga-kun, he didn't," Nabiki explained, the dangerous glint never leaving her eyes. "It wasn't all that hard to figure out. Everyone figured it out, really, even Kuno. Everyone but Akane. Now, I've tolerated your behavior in the past, mainly because I didn't want to hurt Akane, and because you've helped us out at times, but if you blow this, so help me, Ryoga, I'll make your life hell. Understood?"
"But-"
"No buts!" Nabiki glared at the lost boy. "This is important. This is bigger than your grudge against Ranma, bigger than whatever little feud you've got going, and it damn well is bigger than your blasted pride!"
"Wha-"
"I believe it'd be better if I explained it?" The new voice caused Ryoga to turn his head. The first thing he saw was a pair of black high-heeled shoes; travelling up, he gulped as his eyes followed a pair of slender legs that vanished under a purple skirt, up a purple jacket over a white blouse, up further to piercing red eyes framed by green hair.
"You!" Ryoga stared, wide-eyed. "You're the one that hit me earlier this morning!"
"Why yes, that would be me," Setsuna smirked, amusement plainly visible in her eyes. She had long since given up on trying to figure out how the martial artists of Nerima seemed to so effortlessly see through the Senshi's glamour magic, but she reckoned it had something to do with their ability to sense the ki around them. "Now, would you sit still and behave while we make you an offer…?"
"That you can't refuse," Nabiki mumbled under her breath. Cologne heard, though, and snickered.
Ryoga's glared wandered from Setsuna to Ranma, from his pigtailed nemesis to Nabiki, to finally settle on Cologne. Confusion warred with him for a moment as he mulled over Nabiki's words. "Fine," he said, sitting up. "I'll listen."
"Ranma! There you are!"
Five pairs of eyes turned to the sound of the new voice, three widening in shock, and two in surprise.
"Dammit," Ranma muttered, "I thought for sure I'd lost any pursuit."
Akane came running up to them, her aura already flickering around her. The girl slid to a halt in front of the group with a huff. She glared at Nabiki briefly, before settling her gaze on the pigtailed martial artist. If glares were lasers, Ranma would've been a puddle of organic matter on the ground in an instant as she gave him her best death-glare. Which, considering her battle-aura was flaring around her in a brilliant crimson, was rather considerable. Ryoga gulped and took a long step back, trying to hide behind the overturned bench.
"Ranma…" Akane dragged out the name, "where have you been the last two days, you pervert?" Her glare wandered to Setsuna for a brief moment, before flickering back to her fiancee. "Don't tell me you found yourself another bimbo! Aren't you ever satisfied? First Shampoo, then Ukyo, then-"
Akane broke off abruptly when Setsuna's palm stopped an inch from her face, only held in check by Ranma's firm grasp on her wrist. The pigtailed martial artist shot the elder Senshi a pointed look and shook his head. Setsuna glared and balled her fists, but nodded back and pulled away reluctantly.
"I wouldn't insult Setsuna-san, if I were you, Akane," Ranma sighed.
"Don't change the topic! You've been harassing the Sailor Senshi! I saw you on TV! And now you're sneaking around behind everyone's back in the park, and you're dragging poor Ryoga along, and you're threatening him!" Akane glared at Setsuna, and the ruby-eyed woman glared back. "And you! How dare you try to hit me! I'll show you what a real-"
"Enough!" Cologne's voice echoed through the clearing, amplified by her ki. The ancient woman's aura washed across the assembled group, freezing them in their tracks at the sheer amount of power that emanated from her. "Miss Tendo, that will be quite enough from you. There are things going on here that are beyond your petty little squabbles, and right now we have more important things to do than listen to your insignificant accusations."
"Insignificant?!" Akane screeched as she reared back, reaching for her trusty mallet.
Ranma eyed the situation with increasing unease; ever since Akane had found them, the hairs on the back of his neck had been standing on end, and he'd been on the edge, with his danger sense buzzing continuously. He knew Cologne was feeling it, too, from the way her sharp eyes were scanning the environment and the abrupt way she'd put a halt to Akane's tirade.
It happened the instant Akane materialized her hammer. A dozen voids opened in the surrounding landscape, each starting out as a pinprick of near-perfect blackness, only to quickly grow to the size of a small car in a matter of moments. Ranma, Ryoga, and Cologne reacted at the same time, diving to the ground. Ranma took Setsuna and Nabiki with him, while Ryoga had grabbed Akane. They hit the ground, covering their heads even as a volley of energy blasts screamed by overhead, vaporizing entire trees behind them and blowing huge chunks out of the ground.
"What the hell is going on?" Ryoga yelled over the sounds of destruction.
"Up, get up and run!" Ranma urged when the barrage had stopped. The pigtailed martial artist glanced over his shoulder briefly, but long enough to see long, spidery legs emerging from the now house-sized portals. He pulled Setsuna and Nabiki to their feet, surprising the younger woman as he lifted her up and into his arms, dashing off with her cradled bridal-style. Ryoga wasn't far behind, similarly carrying Akane, while Setsuna and Cologne were keeping up on their own. The pigtailed martial artist chanced a glance over his shoulder as energy blasts began whizzing past them as they made a break for the treeline.
"Ranma, look out!" The shout from Cologne came an instant too late as a sickly yellow burst of energy flared up, causing the ground next to the pigtailed martial artist to erupt into dirt and flying rocks. The ancient woman lost track of the boy in the explosion, though she caught sight of Nabiki flying out of the blast zone and quickly moved to catch the girl.
"Ranma!" Setsuna stopped and made to turn around to look for the Saotome heir. Cologne was about to scream at her to keep running when the eldest Senshi vanished in a barrage of magical fire. The amazon froze for a split second, then made her choice, and ran, hoping that Ranma's luck would hold out.
Cologne and Ryoga made it to the treeline carrying the two Tendo sisters when the energy blasts suddenly stopped. Risking a glance from behind a tree, Cologne caught sight of something that made her blood run cold. Their enemy had stopped firing, but the clearing they had been in was now filled with dozens of youma, and still more were pouring through the gateways that Cologne could see. They were forming up in lines as if they were soldiers awaiting their commander, and no matter where the ancient woman looked, she couldn't find a glimpse of Ranma or Setsuna.
A muffled grunt from Akane diverted Cologne's attention from the amassing army, only to see that Nabiki had a hand clamped firmly over her younger sister's mouth, and the glare she was nailing her with was impressive, even for Cologne's standards. "Shut up, sis, or do you want to get us all killed?" Nabiki hissed into her sister's ear. Akane glared back, but relented under Nabiki's icy stare.
Seeing that Nabiki had the situation well under control, Cologne glanced back at the youma that by now had turned into a sea of gleaming black carapaces. All hopes of going back for Ranma and Setsuna were gone by now. Cologne was confident that between her and Ryoga, they could have handled a few youma, maybe even as much as a dozen, long enough to drag them to safety, but there were way too many now. And a force this big could only mean one thing: the invasion had begun. They had to warn the Senshi and rally their own forces, before they were taken by surprise and overrun.
"Damn," Cologne muttered, loosing her composure for the first time in a century. A part of her didn't want to leave, knowing that she was leaving two comrades behind. Even worse, she would be leaving Ranma behind, and the foolish woman who'd risked everything in coming to warn them. Rationally, she knew that both of them were most likely dead; even if they had survived being hit in the initial barrage, then they were now surrounded by a hundred youma. "Damn it all to hell," she repeated, before turning around and walking away, dragging Ryoga and the two Tendo sisters along with her.
Forgive me, Ranma.
"Aiya, great-grandmother, what's going on?" Shampoo blinked in surprise as Cologne breezed past her, Ryoga, Nabiki, and Akane in tow, completely ignoring the question as the elder slammed the door to the kitchen behind her. A second later, Cologne came back out and dragged Shampoo and Mousse in, as well, before flipping the sign on the door to closed. When she re-entered the kitchen, four pairs of eyes were looking at her in confusion. Actually, Akane was more angry than she was confused, but the iron grip her sister had on her forearm held her in check.
"All right, here's the deal," Cologne began, "we're facing an invasion from extra-dimensional monsters. They've just arrived at the park, and are about one-hundred and twenty in number."
Dead silence followed that announcement, before Shampoo began giggling. "That good one, great-grandmother. Funny joke."
The sound of Cologne slamming her tiny fist on the table seemed impossibly loud in the cramped kitchen, and it put an immediate stop to Shampoo's mirth. "This is not a joke, great-granddaughter," Cologne said calmly. "In fact, this is about as serious as it can get. Now, we were originally only going to talk to Ryoga, but things have changed and forced our hand. Maybe you should explain, Miss Tendo?"
Nabiki nodded. "All right, listen up. A few days ago, Ranma-kun was approached by a woman, Setsuna, for help. She asked him to help her prepare the Sailor Senshi for a war that was coming, a war that the Senshi would lose without help. You're all aware of the battle over in Juuban ward yesterday. To put it bluntly, the Senshi got their butts handed to them on a silver plate. According to Setsuna's information, we were supposed to have at least three weeks before the invasion started to train the Senshi, but now, the schedule's moved up. The enemy is here, and he's here in force, and unless we stop them, they'll kill every man, woman, and child in Tokyo, then move on to the rest of Japan and the rest of the world."
"Like she said, the Senshi can't handle this enemy-" Cologne began.
"Liar! The Senshi can handle anything, and they don't need help from Ranma or anyone else!" Akane shouted.
Nabiki and Cologne exchanged a long, exhasperated look. The elder reached over and jabbed the youngest Tendo in the chest with her cane. Akane tried to flinch away, but found that suddenly, she couldn't move. She opened her mouth to protest, but no words came out. Glaring at Cologne, she turned her eyes up to the ceiling and resolved to ignore the others.
"As I was saying," Cologne continued, "the Senshi cannot handle this enemy. That is why they came to Ranma for help. He, in turn, asked me for assistance. We were hoping that with time to prepare, the two of us could train the Senshi to a level where they would be a credible threat to the invaders. At the same time, Ranma believed that both he and Ryoga could learn a number of new techniques, as well. It is vital that we help the Senshi, because if they fail, then everyone on this planet is in danger." Cologne looked around the table. "We were in the park just twenty minutes ago, about to discuss this with Ryoga when the enemy began the invasion."
Shampoo got the sinking feeling she wasn't going to like what her great-grandmother would say next. "Where – where's Ranma?"
"We don't know," Nabiki muttered softly, answering before Cologne could. "He took a hit for me. We were running for the trees for cover when the youma started showing up, and they started shooting at us…we lost track of him when we made it to the trees."
Shampoo stared at her wordlessly for a moment. "You left him behind?"
"We had no choice, great-granddaughter," Cologne said sternly, though her tone was tinged with regret. "There were hundreds of youma, and no way to go back to him without getting killed. We needed to warn everyone who can fight so that the invasion can be stopped."
"You left him behind!" Shampoo repeated.
"I know." Cologne laid a wrinkled hand on the younger amazon's. "There were too many, and the chance that he would've survived is-"
"Don't talk like that!" Shampoo yanked her hand away abruptly. "He's alive. I know it. I can feel it. He's alive. He has to be."
Cologne looked at her great-granddaughter sadly. She had known for a long time that Shampoo was in love with the wayward Saotome heir, but she also knew that Ranma didn't love her back. That was a truth Shampoo hadn't realized yet, whether it was because she didn't want to see it, or because she hadn't, Cologne wasn't sure. Not that she could fault the boy, by any means, for she knew that love couldn't be forced, and while it would've been nice to have Ranma as part of the tribe, she had long since settled for having him as a friend and ally. She would just have to find some other way of changing the minds of the other elders of their tribe. But more importantly, while Cologne also didn't believe that Ranma was dead – the boy had survived too many times and pulled off miracles far too often for them to write him off so quickly – she knew that right now, it was more important to rally their forces. With a heavy sigh, she rapped her cane on the table to get everyone's attention. Sometimes, she really hated being the voice of reason.
"He could be," she told the assembled people. "However, as of right now, gathering every fighter we have is of utmost importance. We cannot defeat the enemy by ourselves, and the Senshi are of no help as they are right now." Her eyes narrowed as she fixed Shampoo with a stern glare. "And running off to get yourself killed in an ill-planned attempt to save him isn't going to help Ranma, either. We need to gather our forces, repel the enemy, gather intelligence, and then we can formulate a plan of attack."
Ryoga, who had been uncharacteristically silent until then, raised his hand. Upon Cologne's nod, he spoke, glancing around the table nervously. "These…these things, what are they?"
"Youma." Nabiki answered, tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear. "From what I understand, they're some kind of lower-plane demon, or something to that effect."
"Like the stuff Happosai usually conjurs up?"
"Yeah." Nabiki nodded. "But these are much more dangerous. The ones Happosai summons are usually just really perverted. These are bred for battle. Ranma had trouble handling them the first time he ran across them, and that's saying something."
"From what he and Setsuna told me, we are facing at least three different kinds of youma," Cologne added. "One is the spider-like type the Senshi were fighting yesterday. They are highly resistant to impact and energy-based damage, and, from what Ranma told me, are surprisingly agile and quick for their size. A second type is a smaller, insectoid-type youma, about the size of a large beetle. These are parasites that can take control of their hosts – so take extreme care when you come across these. The third type is a humanoid form youma that we have not seen yet, and one that is apparently capable of mimicking any attack it is hit with," she summarized. "If the force we saw in the park is merely an advance force, then we can expect several hundred more."
Silence filled the room at her announcement as the younger martial artists looked at each other in shock, not knowing what to say. "So…what do we do?" Mousse finally asked. "If there's hundreds of them, and Saotome already had trouble dealing with two or three, then how do we fight them?"
"We train," Cologne told them. "I will request help from the village, and there is always the Senshi. Because we are short on time, I will have to train all of you at the same time."
"I'll also look for some reinforcements here," Nabiki added, "there's a number of excellent martial artists in Japan, though they're scattered through the entire country. There's also got to be some demon hunters and the likes; the Senshi can't be the only ones in Japan fighting youma."
"What about the youma that just arrived?" Ryoga asked.
Cologne grimaced. "I will warn the Senshi, and we will have to put out sentries to keep track of the enemy troop movements. Since they arrived in force, I assume they are about to hit a target, so I advise you to be prepared to fight once we get to Juuban."
"What makes you so sure they'll hit Juuban, old ghoul?" Mousse asked, and for once, Cologne didn't whack him with her cane for using the nickname Ranma had saddled her with.
"Because they've already hit Juuban twice. They are aware that the Senshi were receiving help by both myself and Ranma, which I assume is the reason we were attacked in the park. If that is the case, then it would be most logical to wipe out the remaining opposition before we can gather our forces." Cologne didn't mention Setsuna's return from the future, figuring it would be information they didn't need right now, and would only serve to confuse them.
Mousse grimaced. "If they knew you were meeting at the park, then they must be observing you. That can't be good."
"I don't think we are under constant surveillance," Cologne replied, "though you are correct, the thought does disturb me."
Nabiki shook her head. "Actually, Ranma had this feeling that all of us are being watched. Or maybe just him and you, Cologne. He told me after the battle that the enemy had adjusted their plans of attack against Setsuna-san's predictions, and he suspected that that was specifically because the enemy became aware that she'd enlisted his help. The time table for the attack was moved up by three weeks that time."
"Three weeks?" Cologne frowned. Neither Ranma nor Setsuna had mentioned that, though Cologne couldn't blame them. Setsuna's story alone had been a lot to take in, and it would've been easy to forget to mention details such as these. But if it was true, and Cologne had no doubt that by "predictions" Nabiki had meant Setsuna's experiences from the future, then the enemy's resources had just become a whole lot more dangerous. Anyone who could deploy a massive force such as the one in the park three weeks early would be a formidable enemy, and Cologne dearly hoped that whoever their enemy was, he'd paid some sort of price for attacking early. If not…then Kami help them all.
The elder glanced into the assembled faces. "Now, we need to make preparations. Shampoo, Mousse, go and pack. We will move to Juuban for the time being, since I need to train you and the Senshi. Ryoga, I suggest you accompany us – it wouldn't do for you to get lost during such a critical time." The lost boy bristled slightly at the comment about his sense of direction, but held his tongue, still too shocked by the revelation of an extra-dimensional invasion.
"What are you going to do?" Nabiki finally asked.
"I'll lock up the store, contact the village, and go through the collection of artefacts I have here again," Cologne replied with a heavy sigh. "As soon as you are ready to go, we'll head over to Juuban, and meet with the Senshi. Miss Tendo, I'd like you to inform as many fighters as you can find, whom you deem competent enough, as to the Senshi's meeting place. The time for secrecy is over, and if I had to choose between protecting their identities and saving the world, my choice is clear."
"Of course," the brunette girl replied. Mousse and Shampoo had already risen to leave, while Ryoga had started checking through his backpack, none of them questioning Cologne's orders.
"I can help, too! I'm a martial artist!" The pressure point Cologne had used on the youngest Tendo chose that instant to cease working.
The ancient woman merely sighed and rubbed her forehead wearily. "Miss Tendo," she said, this time referring to Akane, "in all honestly, since politeness doesn't seem to work with you, we don't have time to baby-sit you. We are at war, and to be quite frank, you would be of no help whatsoever. In fact, you may be more of a hindrance than help. You would serve us all best by staying at home and praying to whatever gods you believe in."
Nabiki watched Akane go with a curious look. Her younger sister was stomping out of the restaurant after Cologne had all but dismissed her. Cologne returned a moment later, with a small sack slung over her shoulder, and noticed the brunette's expression.
"Something the matter, child?"
Nabiki shook herself out of her thoughts. "Just some odd thoughts," she shrugged. "Akane's been overreacting a bit lately. I mean, after Jusendo, things were pretty bad for a while after the botched wedding, but they got better eventually. To the point where Ranma-kun and Akane weren't at each other's throats all the time." She couldn't quite hide a wince at the mention of the wedding disaster.
"Hmm…most curious. You're saying she's been more…violent lately?"
"I wouldn't say more violent, just more…aggressive. Confrontational. You saw how she was in the park, right?" When Cologne nodded, the former mercenary continued. "Well, she came to me yesterday, practically demanding that I find out for her where Ranma is. It's weird, it's like she's forgotten the last half year and just reverted back to how she used to be when Ranma first arrived."
Cologne frowned. "And this started when?"
"Not really sure…" Nabiki blinked. "Probably a few days ago. I think everything was fine and well until Setsuna-san arrived, though Ranma and Akane did have an argument two days before that. She blew her top, he blew his, so no one really thought twice. Now that I think about it, though…it was something really trivial."
Cologne's reply was pre-empted by Ryoga, Mousse, and Shampoo joining them at the door, their travel packs slung over their shoulders. Nabiki noticed that Mousse's robes seemed to be sagging a bit more than usual. Probably carrying more hidden weapons than ever before, she thought to herself. Shampoo had gripped Ryoga's hand tightly in hers, determined to drag the lost boy after her to prevent him from getting lost. The young amazon woman's face was an emotionless mask, though Nabiki could see right past her shell and see the glint of determination in Shampoo's eyes.
"I'll try and contact you again soon," Nabiki promised as the four of them left the Neko-Hanten, and Cologne skillfully flipped the door sign to "Closed" with her cane. "Hopefully, there's at least a few people with some real skills and firepower among all those quack demon hunters in this country, Kami-sama knows the Senshi could use the help."
"Indeed. Let us just hope that it isn't too late. The enemy is here already, and we have no line of defense if they attack now," the ancient woman replied grimly as she turned to leave, Mousse in tow. Shampoo took a moment before following her great-grandmother, and Nabiki took the time to grasp her shoulder to hold her back.
"Give me two days to find help. Then we go find Ranma. I promise," she whispered so that Cologne, even with her extraordinary hearing, couldn't pick it out. Nabiki offered Shampoo a pleading look, knowing that she was planning on going off by herself – something which would get her killed. The middle Tendo sister also knew that she, herself wanted to go after Ranma, but that would have to wait until she'd given Cologne everything she could to work with.
For a moment, it didn't look like Shampoo would acknowledge her, but then she nodded her head sharply, once. She turned to leave, but Ryoga gave the brunette a sidelong glance as Shampoo dragged him away, and she could almost see the wheels turning in his head. She shook her head with a knowing smile – Ranma and Ryoga may be rivals, but deep down, beneath the anger and rivalry, there was a deep mutual respect, grudging as that may be. That was why, whenever it mattered, the two of them could be found on the same side. And Nabiki just knew that if she and Shampoo went after Ranma, they'd have some muscle to help them.