Ranma
Ascension
There stands five guardians; One that has traversed all, one that time can never touch, one that stands in between all that is balanced, one that no live can escape his notice, and one that brandished infinite might.
They stand vigil in their posts, never wavering from their task. They, for eons, never had been challenged, for it would be folly to attempt so. As for the one who defeats them, would be the most powerful in all creation.
________________________________
Cologne frantically tossed items about, ignoring the sounds of fragile treasures breaking in her desperate search. She needed their revelation confirmed, for if what they found at the recently deceased Saotome home was true....
"Where is that damnable orb!" The former Amazon Matriarch mumbled in a fit, and did not notice Mousse and Shampoo's father approach.
"Elder, something troubling you?" The man with the skull cap enquired. It was rare to see Cologne this frantic; something of great magnitude must have been discovered last night.
"Yes, something is troubling me *very* much so," Cologne almost snapped, and then sighed at her tenseness, "I apologise, I need to keep a head about myself. Mousse, I require you to get in contact with Shampoo if you can. It's very important that you do this for me."
Mousse made a sour face, "Wouldn't it be better if her father contacted her instead?"
Cologne realized her slip, and turned an apologetic look to the young man, "Yes, I'm sorry."
"Why do you need to speak with Shampoo anyhow?" the older man enquired.
"Because, we may be requiring her assistance if what the doctor and I surmised is true."
"And what is that?" Enquired Mousse. The boy's face paled at the answer.
"Ranma may be back."
________________________________
"WHAT?!?" Nabiki exclaimed, "Doctor, have you lost your MIND?"
Dr. Tofu attempted to placate the young woman before him, "Please, calm down, I know it's unlikely."
"UNLIKELY YOU SAY?" Nabiki gathered herself before continuing, "Not only did you say that Ranma's alive, but you're saying that he killed his *own* family? You were there when he dropped himself... when he..."
The doctor moved to comfort his sister-in-law, cooing to her that she didn't need to say anymore. He was there when Ranma, in his grief, threw himself off a nearby cliff. He had been driven mad by Akane's death, and avidly believed that Akane had constantly visited him, urging him to join her.
Several attempts on his own life forced those around him to take desperate measures to have him subdued.In doing so, those who had known him came into odds, shattering the comarade they experienced , and causing a few to even turn their back on Nerima for good. Unfortunatly, Ranma made his escape, luring everyone to the spot he had chosen to 'meet' with Akane...
________
"Ranma, please, please," Nodoka urged her son, and took a step foward. Ranma turned his haggard, yet wild expression towards his mother, and took a step back on the cliff he was barely teetering on as it was. Before she could approach any more, Genma restrained his wife.
"Ranma, listen to me," it was Dr. Tofu's turn, "Akane would not want you to do this. Whoever is visiting you is *not* Akane." Tofu had his reservations that anyone was meeting Ranma, and believed them to be grief induced delusions, but he knew better than to voice such.
Ranma's voice sounded mockingly mirthful as he replied, a light jovial tone that was broken up and cracked by the agony he actually displayed in his contenance, "I failed her, Doc, and she's forgiven me! She's forgiven me because she's so lonely."
Everyone present felt their hearts shatter from hearing Ranma speak. It was the voice of someone who had lost all meaning in their life; only now just living an unbearable existance that was too agonizing to continue. Without motion; the Tendous, Saotomes, Amazons, Tofu, Ukyo, Ryoga and Ikari, Kodachi and Koucho Kuno, Hinako, even Happosai, all stood still, all afraid that the slightest motion would send the boy plunging to his death. Only one of them remained unseen, and was slowly making their way to keep the situation from becoming grave.
"I didn't think I deserved to be forgiven," Ranma continued, "But she still loves me, and she forgave me, and wants to be with me."
"Ranma, it is not your time," Cologne almost whispered. No 'Son-in-law', no 'Groom', just Ranma, "You have so much to do before joining her in the after-life."
Ranma's expression turned venomous, as he turned his attention towards the Amazon Elder, "Yeah, I have ta impregnate your cow over there for your precious breeding, don't I? Well I'm sorry to dissappoint ya."
"Ranma, that is not what I..." Cologne attempted to defend herself, but felt a hand lay on her shoulder. Shampoo looked down on her Great Grandmother, and shook her head slightly; any words said by them would only further damage the situation. Cologne now felt the impotence of her 5000 years of Amazon knowlege; what worth is it now if she couldn't use it to save one couragious soul that had given to despair?
"Ranma, my boy, listen to us," Happosai started, "You'll be leaving more behind than you believe you'll gain."
"Oh, dry up and die, old man," Ranma snapped, "I don't even know why you're here, anyway!"
"He cares," Kasumi stated, while holding onto Ukyo by the shoulders, "We all care, more than you realize."
"Then you'll let me go," Ranma stated with a sad smile. A light sprinkle swept over them, like tears of angles witnessing a tragedy. Only Ranma was affected by it, as she had not even attempted to cover shelter herself. Ranma's expression looked even more tragic, even more dismal on the red-head, for she now looked like a lost child who had been made to see that there was nothing in this life for her, "I can't stay here anymore, it hurts too much."
"Ranma," Ryoga said in a commanding, yet pleading voice, "I would have never thought you would take the cowards way out! Akane would be dissappointed in you!" Almost everyone glared at the rival of the other lost young man, but Ryoga hoped shaming Ranma from suicide would work where empathy had not.
Ranma smirked at his rival, "You win this battle, Ryoga. I'm too tired to fight it anymore." Ryoga couldn't hold the shock from his face, and then clutched Ikari closer to him self, silently crying into her hair.
"Do not sink so low, Saotome," A pompous voice sounded from the rear, causing Kodachi and her father to become stock still in fright, "If you truly wish for the end, come face me for a warrior's death."
Everyone gave descreet looks towards the youngest Kuno. "I swear, I used tripple the dosage!" Kodachi defended.
"Sorry, Kuno," Ranma replied, "I'm afraid that you couldn't even win a battle against me that I would want you to win." Ranma sighed, as no one found his attempt at leveity appropriate, "Well, I've kept Akane waiting long enough."
With that, Ranma leaned back.
"NO!" Konatsu screamed out, his cry just barely being audible over all others, and dropped all pretenses of subterfuge for all the speed he could muster. The kunoichi barely missed the pigtailed girl's ankle.
"MOUSSE, CHAIN!!!!" Ryoga screamed out. The male Amazon quickly complied, throwing one of his chains towards the other young man. Ryoga snagged it out of the air, and dove as fast and as hard as he could for the falling girl. It wasn't until then, that Mousse realized he gave Ryoga one of his shorter chains; he silently prayed to all his ancesters that it would still be enough.
Ryoga quickly accellerated upon the descending body, and almost growled at the slightly amused look on his rival's face. Just for that, Ryoga vowed that this would be the time, if the *only* time, he kept Ranma from succeeding.
Less than a hundred yards from the jagged rocks below...
"DAMMIT, RANMA! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HELL UNLESS I PERSONALLY SEND YOU THERE!!!" Ryoga shouted, with determination on his face.
Seventy yards...
"You even turn my suicide into a personal quest to ruin my happiness, huh P-Chan?"
Fifty yards...
"YOU... WILL... LIVE!!!!" Ryoga's fingertips graced the front of Ranma's shirt...
Forty...
Ranma smiled alarmingly at Ryoga, and whispered something that made the young man's blood go totally still, "Shi Shi Hakoudan."
Ryoga was caught by the blast, causing him to elevate several yards, "NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" When Ryoga started to descend again, the chain went taunt, "RANMA!!!!!" Ranma's final words he could hear would be edged into his mind for the rest of his life.
"I leave my pain behind to this world."
Ranma reached out her hand, as if to have it taken into someone else's, and said her last few words that only one other was privy to, "I love you, Akane."
Five...
Only the wind answered.
...
_______
Once Nabiki's sobs were under control, the doctor continued, "Look, I'm not saying he was the one who killed the rest of the Saotomes, but even you must admit that he provides an important clue to all this. We just can't ignore what we found last night."
Tofu pushed his glasses further onto his nose, "Now, I chose to tell you first of everyone, because I know you're best at damage control. I want you to select who needs to know about this, and keep the rest in the dark as much as possible. This is very important, so can I trust you on this?"
Nabiki took a deep breath, and nodded.
________________________________
Ranma stood on alien land, looking down at his fallen opponent. He now had three of the the essences, and now awaited for the ring to to absorb the recent one he collected, and show him the location of the next one. The pigtailed man gave a grim smile, and waited for the portal to open up.
Ascension
There stands five guardians; One that has traversed all, one that time can never touch, one that stands in between all that is balanced, one that no live can escape his notice, and one that brandished infinite might.
They stand vigil in their posts, never wavering from their task. They, for eons, never had been challenged, for it would be folly to attempt so. As for the one who defeats them, would be the most powerful in all creation.
________________________________
Cologne frantically tossed items about, ignoring the sounds of fragile treasures breaking in her desperate search. She needed their revelation confirmed, for if what they found at the recently deceased Saotome home was true....
"Where is that damnable orb!" The former Amazon Matriarch mumbled in a fit, and did not notice Mousse and Shampoo's father approach.
"Elder, something troubling you?" The man with the skull cap enquired. It was rare to see Cologne this frantic; something of great magnitude must have been discovered last night.
"Yes, something is troubling me *very* much so," Cologne almost snapped, and then sighed at her tenseness, "I apologise, I need to keep a head about myself. Mousse, I require you to get in contact with Shampoo if you can. It's very important that you do this for me."
Mousse made a sour face, "Wouldn't it be better if her father contacted her instead?"
Cologne realized her slip, and turned an apologetic look to the young man, "Yes, I'm sorry."
"Why do you need to speak with Shampoo anyhow?" the older man enquired.
"Because, we may be requiring her assistance if what the doctor and I surmised is true."
"And what is that?" Enquired Mousse. The boy's face paled at the answer.
"Ranma may be back."
________________________________
"WHAT?!?" Nabiki exclaimed, "Doctor, have you lost your MIND?"
Dr. Tofu attempted to placate the young woman before him, "Please, calm down, I know it's unlikely."
"UNLIKELY YOU SAY?" Nabiki gathered herself before continuing, "Not only did you say that Ranma's alive, but you're saying that he killed his *own* family? You were there when he dropped himself... when he..."
The doctor moved to comfort his sister-in-law, cooing to her that she didn't need to say anymore. He was there when Ranma, in his grief, threw himself off a nearby cliff. He had been driven mad by Akane's death, and avidly believed that Akane had constantly visited him, urging him to join her.
Several attempts on his own life forced those around him to take desperate measures to have him subdued.In doing so, those who had known him came into odds, shattering the comarade they experienced , and causing a few to even turn their back on Nerima for good. Unfortunatly, Ranma made his escape, luring everyone to the spot he had chosen to 'meet' with Akane...
________
"Ranma, please, please," Nodoka urged her son, and took a step foward. Ranma turned his haggard, yet wild expression towards his mother, and took a step back on the cliff he was barely teetering on as it was. Before she could approach any more, Genma restrained his wife.
"Ranma, listen to me," it was Dr. Tofu's turn, "Akane would not want you to do this. Whoever is visiting you is *not* Akane." Tofu had his reservations that anyone was meeting Ranma, and believed them to be grief induced delusions, but he knew better than to voice such.
Ranma's voice sounded mockingly mirthful as he replied, a light jovial tone that was broken up and cracked by the agony he actually displayed in his contenance, "I failed her, Doc, and she's forgiven me! She's forgiven me because she's so lonely."
Everyone present felt their hearts shatter from hearing Ranma speak. It was the voice of someone who had lost all meaning in their life; only now just living an unbearable existance that was too agonizing to continue. Without motion; the Tendous, Saotomes, Amazons, Tofu, Ukyo, Ryoga and Ikari, Kodachi and Koucho Kuno, Hinako, even Happosai, all stood still, all afraid that the slightest motion would send the boy plunging to his death. Only one of them remained unseen, and was slowly making their way to keep the situation from becoming grave.
"I didn't think I deserved to be forgiven," Ranma continued, "But she still loves me, and she forgave me, and wants to be with me."
"Ranma, it is not your time," Cologne almost whispered. No 'Son-in-law', no 'Groom', just Ranma, "You have so much to do before joining her in the after-life."
Ranma's expression turned venomous, as he turned his attention towards the Amazon Elder, "Yeah, I have ta impregnate your cow over there for your precious breeding, don't I? Well I'm sorry to dissappoint ya."
"Ranma, that is not what I..." Cologne attempted to defend herself, but felt a hand lay on her shoulder. Shampoo looked down on her Great Grandmother, and shook her head slightly; any words said by them would only further damage the situation. Cologne now felt the impotence of her 5000 years of Amazon knowlege; what worth is it now if she couldn't use it to save one couragious soul that had given to despair?
"Ranma, my boy, listen to us," Happosai started, "You'll be leaving more behind than you believe you'll gain."
"Oh, dry up and die, old man," Ranma snapped, "I don't even know why you're here, anyway!"
"He cares," Kasumi stated, while holding onto Ukyo by the shoulders, "We all care, more than you realize."
"Then you'll let me go," Ranma stated with a sad smile. A light sprinkle swept over them, like tears of angles witnessing a tragedy. Only Ranma was affected by it, as she had not even attempted to cover shelter herself. Ranma's expression looked even more tragic, even more dismal on the red-head, for she now looked like a lost child who had been made to see that there was nothing in this life for her, "I can't stay here anymore, it hurts too much."
"Ranma," Ryoga said in a commanding, yet pleading voice, "I would have never thought you would take the cowards way out! Akane would be dissappointed in you!" Almost everyone glared at the rival of the other lost young man, but Ryoga hoped shaming Ranma from suicide would work where empathy had not.
Ranma smirked at his rival, "You win this battle, Ryoga. I'm too tired to fight it anymore." Ryoga couldn't hold the shock from his face, and then clutched Ikari closer to him self, silently crying into her hair.
"Do not sink so low, Saotome," A pompous voice sounded from the rear, causing Kodachi and her father to become stock still in fright, "If you truly wish for the end, come face me for a warrior's death."
Everyone gave descreet looks towards the youngest Kuno. "I swear, I used tripple the dosage!" Kodachi defended.
"Sorry, Kuno," Ranma replied, "I'm afraid that you couldn't even win a battle against me that I would want you to win." Ranma sighed, as no one found his attempt at leveity appropriate, "Well, I've kept Akane waiting long enough."
With that, Ranma leaned back.
"NO!" Konatsu screamed out, his cry just barely being audible over all others, and dropped all pretenses of subterfuge for all the speed he could muster. The kunoichi barely missed the pigtailed girl's ankle.
"MOUSSE, CHAIN!!!!" Ryoga screamed out. The male Amazon quickly complied, throwing one of his chains towards the other young man. Ryoga snagged it out of the air, and dove as fast and as hard as he could for the falling girl. It wasn't until then, that Mousse realized he gave Ryoga one of his shorter chains; he silently prayed to all his ancesters that it would still be enough.
Ryoga quickly accellerated upon the descending body, and almost growled at the slightly amused look on his rival's face. Just for that, Ryoga vowed that this would be the time, if the *only* time, he kept Ranma from succeeding.
Less than a hundred yards from the jagged rocks below...
"DAMMIT, RANMA! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HELL UNLESS I PERSONALLY SEND YOU THERE!!!" Ryoga shouted, with determination on his face.
Seventy yards...
"You even turn my suicide into a personal quest to ruin my happiness, huh P-Chan?"
Fifty yards...
"YOU... WILL... LIVE!!!!" Ryoga's fingertips graced the front of Ranma's shirt...
Forty...
Ranma smiled alarmingly at Ryoga, and whispered something that made the young man's blood go totally still, "Shi Shi Hakoudan."
Ryoga was caught by the blast, causing him to elevate several yards, "NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" When Ryoga started to descend again, the chain went taunt, "RANMA!!!!!" Ranma's final words he could hear would be edged into his mind for the rest of his life.
"I leave my pain behind to this world."
Ranma reached out her hand, as if to have it taken into someone else's, and said her last few words that only one other was privy to, "I love you, Akane."
Five...
Only the wind answered.
...
_______
Once Nabiki's sobs were under control, the doctor continued, "Look, I'm not saying he was the one who killed the rest of the Saotomes, but even you must admit that he provides an important clue to all this. We just can't ignore what we found last night."
Tofu pushed his glasses further onto his nose, "Now, I chose to tell you first of everyone, because I know you're best at damage control. I want you to select who needs to know about this, and keep the rest in the dark as much as possible. This is very important, so can I trust you on this?"
Nabiki took a deep breath, and nodded.
________________________________
Ranma stood on alien land, looking down at his fallen opponent. He now had three of the the essences, and now awaited for the ring to to absorb the recent one he collected, and show him the location of the next one. The pigtailed man gave a grim smile, and waited for the portal to open up.