TRTSS37: Hero! – By Ocramed
Disclaimer: Ranma ½, Sailor Moon, Star Trek and other properties belong to their respective owners.
Note: This is a multi-genre story.
Part 35: "Ten to One!" (V)
The Ghost Fox Killer, aka "The Jade Fox", unleashed her full power in the arts of Necromancy. She was determined to absorb this womanizer's soul, for the realm known as the Land of the Ghost Fox Women…
"Um, what are you doing?" Naruru said.
Jade Fox looked down at Naruru with astonishment.
"What?" Jade Fox exclaimed. "My power should have absorbed your soul, womanizer! You're a MAN!"
"Um, well, that's the problem," Naruru said. "One, when I am like THIS, I am a FULL woman, due to a curse, and, two, knowledge of Necromancy is a requirement any mage worth his and her salt, including how to counter the effects…"
Naruru quickly then smacks Jade Fox's hands aside, and twists the woman around, and gives her a classic knife hand chop at the base of the neck that renders Jade Fox unconscious. She knew that Jade Fox could summon the ghost of her victims, based upon the files she had one of her contacts get a hold of a while back. If nothing else, no one could say that Naruru was not prepared for this situation…
"RRRROOOWRL!" said the Jade Lion, as it leaped at Naruru.
Naruru replied by utilizing a jutsu that she learned from a clan of were-spiders, back when she was undercover in a scary place known as the Otogakure ("Village Hidden by Sound"), located in the Land of Sound, Hokkaido.
TING!
"Ffft-ffft-ffft-ffft-!" Naruru said, side-stepping the prerequisite need to call out an attack while flicking her wrists repeatedly. In this case, Naruru was a technique known as "Hidden Jutsu: Spider Cocoon".
Before the Jade Tiger could do anything, it found itself wrapped up in a web made from solidified "chakara".
"Humph," Naruru said. "As if I need to get bitten by some 'bug'…"
Naruru then looked at the unconscious form the Jade Fox.
"Now, what to do with you…?"
Five minutes later, Naruru, disguised as the Jade Fox, emerges from the rest room. She then looked over towards where three other members of the Great Ten could see her.
"Talk to me," said a man dressed like an archer from ancient China, who went by the name "Celestial Archer", as he pulls his bow, creating an arrow made from energy. He had been granted a special bow that belonged to one of the Xian, and had been charged with spreading the world that Xian was the gods of China.
"Are we clear?"
"It appears that the Jade Fox defeated our target," said a man dressed like a Shaolin monk named "Thundermind", as he hovered in a lotus position. He was the "Shazam" of China's super-functionaries. Normally, he was a nebbish school teacher named Zou, and could change into a living enlightened being by reciting a phrase in Sanskrit…
At the moment, Thundermind was using his telepathic powers as a form of enhanced senses. Thus far, the only mind he sensed was Jade Fox's…
"That was…easy," Archer said with disappointment. "Maybe the stories about Ronin were wrong?"
"Hmmmm," Thundermind mused.
Archer then lowers his bow, and chirps in code. This gets the attention of the Jade Fox's immediate backup, as indicated by the response in chirps. Archer then chirps in reply, indicating that the area was clear.
Down below, Yang Kei-Ying, aka "The Seven Deadly Brothers", emerged from bushes near the visitor's restroom to help secure the area with Jade Fox. Throughout the mission, there was something peculiar, and quite familiar about the Great Ten's target.
"Hu!" Yang said, as he enters the ladies' restroom. "Hu-!"
As soon as Yang enters the restroom, his danger senses rang. He turned to see that the inside side of the restroom's door was lined with wards. His eyes widened upon seeing these wards. Being over 300 years old, cursed to live seven lifetimes, Yang has had the opportunity to study several languages, including Japanese. And from what he could tell the wards had the words "Blind Spot of the Mind"…
"Mmmmph!"
Yang quickly turned to see that Jade Fox was tied up, along with her familiar.
"Hu?" Yang said.
"Mmmmph! Mmmph-!"
Yang instinctively turned to block a blow from behind, trapping the would-be attacker's arms.
KTCH!
Yang turned to see Naruru there.
"Hello," Naruru said with a smirk. With a yell, Naruru tosses Yang overhead and to her year. Yang flips over, but smashed through the door of another bathroom stall.
CRASH!
"Ack!" Yang said.
"Yang Kei Ying," Naruru said, as she slowly walks towards Yang. "You were born three-hundred years ago in the Fujian Province of China. You served in the Imperial Army during the Qing Dynasty under Emperor Qianlong…"
Pause.
"As well as participated in the destruction of the Northern Shaolin Temple, thanks to the traitorous actions of the Shaolin Elder Bak Mei, one of five 'Shaolin Elders' who survived the destruction of the Southern Shaolin Temple, and whom you know as the founder of the White Lotus School of Kung Fu, Pai Mei," Naruru said. "Oh, and his lineage would become the foundation to the White Lotus Society, also known as 'The Triads'…"
Pause.
"Did I miss anything, 'Mr. Movie Star'?"
"How do you know any of this?" Yang said. "Only the Five Shaolin Elders would know my role in the fall of the Northern Shaolin Temple. I know that Master Pei Mei is still alive in seclusion, and I saw Master Jee Nee die in battle, when he and Pei Mei fought. I do not know what happened to the others, but I presume that they have long since turned to dust."
"Actually, two of the three missing elders are still alive, although, the names that they went by back then is not the same as the names they are going by NOW…"
"You," Yang said. "You're one of the Shaolin Elders."
"Yes, I am," Naruru said. "I still cannot fathom why the 'Seven Scribes of the Cloudy Satchel' would curse you the way they did. Then again, I wasn't privy to the minds of philosophers who seek enlightenment."
"If you are one of the Shaolin Elders, then you know that I was but a foot soldier," Yang said, as he gets up. "Nevertheless, I WILL defend myself!"
FLASH!
Now, there were seven duplicates of Yang, as they begin to surround Naruru.
"You will find that we will strike as one!" the Seven Deadly Brothers yell in unison, as they attacked.
Naruru begins to duck and weave through the onslaught.
'Hmmm,' Naruru muses inwardly. 'Seven different martial arts styles based upon wushu. You have the seven animal forms: tiger, dragon, leopard, crane, snake, toad and phoenix. However, I can definitely see no enhanced techniques using chi. Straight martial arts, I see…'
Pause.
"Piece of cake," Naruru said, as she began to counter the attacks. In a way, her favorite sparring matches is when she didn't have to enhance her attacks, particularly those that can cause collateral damage…
"Dragon beats Phoenix," Naruru said, as she takes out one of the Brothers, using a corresponding wushu style.
WHACK!
"Phoenix beats Tiger."
BLAM!
"Tiger beats Crane…"
Using the simple method of using corresponding martial arts styles to counter a different martial arts style, Naruru systematically takes down the Brothers…
"Ugh," said the last Brother, as he fell onto the ground. He then looked up at Naruru said.
"You…might not believe this, but it was an honor to test our strength against yours," the Brother said, before collapsing.
"Dang, now I feel like a jerk," Naruru said.
Suddenly, a giant hand bursts, and grabs her.
CRASH!
"Aieeeee!" Naruru said, as she is taking away, causing Jade Fox to produce a sweat drop. Naruru was then giggling, even as she comes face to face with Thundermind.
"Pardon?" Thundermind asked.
"Oh, sorry about that," Naruru said, as she clams down. "I was reenacting a scene from 'King Kong'."
"I…see. I must say that meeting you is disconcerting."
"Oh? How so?"
"You are female, for one. Our intelligence reports indicated that 'Ranshin Rantsu' is a male who has a penchant for female company."
"Oh, that. Well, I'm trying to reconnect with the woman who raised me as her daughter, when I was not quite myself."
"I see," Thundermind said with a nod. "So, you are playing the role of a teenage girl in order to spare the feelings of another."
"No, I really do care for my adopted mother," Naruru said. "I'm not 'playing' at anything."
"Ah. Well, nevertheless, that was commendable of you, for using some sort of technique to create a blind spot for my telepathy."
"What gave me away?"
"I was monitoring the Seven Brothers' mind, when he entered the ladies' facilities."
"Ah, and you lost contact soon afterwards," Naruru said with a shrug. "So, what now? I don't want to fight a fellow 'enlightened one'."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Spent time with the Daevas, the Auras and the Bodhisattvas in order to learn new training technique…"
Pause.
"And that includes the kama sutra."
"You don't seem enlightened," Thundermind said with a noticeable blush.
"Enlightenment isn't about being 'good', but about perfecting one's self, thus becoming more than what we can be," Naruru said. "You should know this."
"I must admit that I am an initiate, when seeking enlightenment," Thundermind said. "I was a mortal who spoke a mantra, and thus allowed an enlightened being to fill my mortal shell, so that I can act on behalf of the people."
"Ah, now I get it," Naruru said. "You're an avatar of a Bodhisattva."
"That is correct."
"Well, then, I shall endeavor to test your limits…"
With that, Naruru flared her aura, causing it to burn Thundermind's hand.
"Yowtch!" Thundermind said, surprised that he actually felt pain.
"You seem surprised," Naruru said, as she floats in the air.
"I thought my invulnerability would protect me from harm."
"One, a 'battle aura' is fueled by the strength of spirit, which is stoked by the will of fire," Naruru said. "And two…come on, no one is TRULY invulnerable. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to feel anything, let alone pain."
"True, true…"
"So, shall we spar, as one fellow enlightened one to another?" Naruru said.
"I shall facilitate this," Thundermind said, as he shrinks back to normal size. "But how can two of good alignment fight each other?"
"There is neither good nor evil when it comes to enlightenment," Naruru said. "There is only is and isn't. Coke or Pepsi. Lone Ranger…and Tonto."
"I do not know what that means."
"Duality, my friend. Since you seek the path of good, I shall comply by presenting the 'mate' to that path…"
Naruru then scrunches up into a ball before lashing out violently.
FWOOSH!
Dark energy flares outward, as Naruru's eyes glow hot, even as she develops a noticeable tan.
"What…is this?" Thundermind said, as he is taken aback by this new vision of Naruru. He could feel waves and waves of negative chi coming from her…
"Meet my dark side, Thundermind," Naruru said, as her voice bellows like thunder. "As one playwright one said: 'Every hero needs a villain'."
With that, Naruru rushes forward at super-speed.
With a firm resolve, Thundermind flies forward to meet the challenge head on…
THOOM!
"Whoa!" yelled Celestial Archer, as he was nearly knocked off his feet, even though he was far away from the combatants. Just then, his secured communicator signaled his attention.
"Archer," Celestial Archer said, as he tapped his ear piece.
"We just got an energy spike from your position," came the reply. "What's the situation?"
"We lost Jade Fox and Seven Brothers," Archer said. "Thundermind is presently engaged."
"Very well, the rest of us will re-enforce your position. Stand-by."
"Will do. Celestial Archer: out."
Celestial Archer returns to the battle that was already well underway…
During the battle between titans, Naruru noticed something about her opponent, even as Thundermind uses his ability to bi-locate, thereby enabling to act in two locations at the same time. Whenever Tundermind utilizes his abilities, it is his halo-like aura that flares.
'Being an avatar means he is getting some insight on how nature works',' Naruru thought, as she blocks one blow from one side while delivering a jab to her other side. 'Thundermind is not tapping into his full power. Time to show him what his potential really is…'
For a while now, Thundermind was trying to utilize his senses in order to get a fix on Naruru's motives. So far, trying to "read" Naruru's mind was the equivalent of trying to calm a bag ful of wild cats-
"Hiryu Shoten Ha!" Naruru yelled, as she threw off a tornado effect at Thundermind.
Quickly, the avatar of the Bodhisattava of his namesake utilizes his telekinetic abilities to gather debris from the ground to form a barrier. This enables Naruru to unleash her next attack.
"Moka Takabisha!" Naruru said, a she directs an energy projectile at Thundermind's other self.
BLAM!
By completely dividing Thundermind's attention with a hard attack method, the avatar would not affect a credible defense. Thus, having the ability to be in more than one place is not the same thing as being experienced to do so, and even then such a move was difficult to pull off if the opponent could erect an effective counter.
While Thundermind was distracted, Naruru begins to channel a portion of her power into a tiny sphere of energy, using technique based upon an attack she once saw her adopted son named Son Goku had used on an alien named "Freeza"…
"Fly, little bird," Naruru said to the sphere, as it began to float upward and away. "Fly…"
"Enough!" Thundermind said forcefully, as his two forms merge as one. "Your distractions will not prevent me from ending this fight."
"You and your team obeying the order of Beijing is what started this altercation in the first place," Naruru said. "And I seriously doubt that this disputed territory that we are fighting on is the reason for you guys wanting to go after me. And from what I read of YOUR exploits, this is not something you would readily endorse."
"I do what I must in order to protect the interest of the people of China," Thundermind said. "As I am sure that what you do is for the interest of your people."
Thundermind then uses his psychokinetic power to rip up the ground below him.
"Hey!" Celestial Archer yelled, as he scrambled out of the way.
"Humph," Naruru said, as she took a swipe at the incoming boulder, using a technique from the "Cat Fist" to slice the object apart.
SLICE!
"Impressive," Naruru said. "You have telepathy AND psycho-kinesis, too."
"Thank you," Thundermind said with a nod. "I DO have the power to defeat you, as long as my cause is just."
"If you actually believe that, then Beijing really doesn't know me at all," Naruru said. "Not that my personal motivations on what I do with my time is of anyone else's concern…"
Pause.
"But, I don't mind a good sparring match," Naruru said. "But first…let me show you how I became an enlightened being…"
Pause.
"Let me show you the 'Eight Gates of the Hidden Lotus Technique'…"
Deep within Naruru, the eight chakra points within her begin to flare. Normally, anyone who utilizes the Hidden Lotus had to "open" the chakra points one at a time, in order to get the full effect of the power behind the technique. Unfortunately, as it was later found out, opening the gates one at a time puts tremendous strain on the mind and body on those who utilizes this technique, resulting in death after the eighth chakra point has been opened. Naruru perfected this technique by creating a "Senjutsu" (i.e. "sage technique") version of the Hidden Lotus, whereby she blended nature's energy with her chakra, which is the combination of life and spiritual energy.
And by perfecting the Hidden Lotus into a sage technique, Naruru became enlightened in her own way, which enabled her to become a legendary "Super Human".
TING!
FWOOSH-!
Thundermind was amazed how much power his opponent was generating, as Naruru's hair becomes white, her skin turns fair and her eyes turned golden.
"This…doesn't seem to be 'dark'," Thundermind said.
"No, it isn't," Naruru replied. "What you see is another way towards enlightenment. One way was to become dark, and fulfill the role of the villain. Another way, such as now, is to become power personified-"
Suddenly, Naruru lashes out, knocking Thundermind's second forms out of his invisibility field.
"Pretty sneaky," Naruru said. "But ineffective. Just because you used bi-location and invisibility, that doesn't mean I wouldn't sense your energy signature."
"Then I will endeavor to correct that mistake," Thundermind said, as he prepared to renew his assault on his foe.
"Well, you see, I don't think so," Naruru said. "While we've been having this conversation, I've been pulling off a technique of my own…"
Pause.
"Take a look up."
Thundermind raises an eyebrow.
"I'm not going to attack you. You have my word of honor as a martial artist."
Thundermind looks up at the sky, and noticed something that was odd…
Meanwhile below, Celestial Archer was wondering what was going on, when he noticed that there was something odd about the skies.
"Wait, since when has there been THREE Suns in the sky?" Celestial Archer said to himself, referring to the fact that back in 2010, Jupiter, thanks to an alien object called a "Monolith", had been turned into a star. People were still getting used to have to look at two Suns, which really wrecked havoc on one's sleep. In fact, some believe that the second star is what is causing severe climate change, and not just because of human activity. Still, thanks to such corporations like Weyland Industries, climate change might become a thing of the past due to advanced technologies involving atmospheric manipulation, based on the technology of the super-villain known as "The Weather Wizard"…
"Well played," Thundermind said.
"Thanks," Naruru said. "One of the reasons why I went 'Super-Human' was to hide my 'Spirit Bomb' from your senses. It cost a lot of energy to do so, but, as you will find out, it will be well worth it…"
With a snap of her fingers, the energy sphere increases to the size of an aircraft carrier.
"Here, catch."
And thus, the Spirit Bomb begins an intercept course towards Thundermind. The avatar knew that he could not allow Naruru's attack to harm others. Inwardly, he shook his head.
'Well played indeed,' Thundermind said. 'You knew that as a man of conscious, I would not risk the lives of others, even those from Japan, in the course of our battle. That is the burden of one who walks the path of enlightenment; we are burdened by our choices, and I choose to do good-'
BLAM!
As Thundermind is carried off by the Spirit Bomb, Naruru ponders her next course of action. She knew that the avatar could handle the attack. In fact, in spite of its size, it was of a low yield quality designed to limit the amount of damage it will cause. Unfortunately, while pondering her thought, Celestial Archer takes the time to lob off a volley of arrows made from moonlight.
Ffft!
BLAM!
"Ohhhhh," Naruru said, as she falls towards the Earth. "I should have paid more attention…to…the other one…"
Tbc.