Family Reunion 2

by Michael The-Zorch Haney

Complete! Tenchi goes to Nerima to attend college when a newComplete enemy arrives to threaten the world.

6. Part 6: The Battle of Joketsuzoku Part 2

DISCLAIMER: "Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki" is a registered trademark and copyright of AIC Inc. and Pioneer. "Ranma 1/2" is a registered trademark and copyright of Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Communications and Kitty Productions.

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T E N C H I 1 / 2: FAMILY REUNION II

By Michael "TheZorch" Haney

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Part 6: The Battle of Joketsuzoku - Act 2

Ryoko landed roughly on the ground next to Shampoo who looked like she was ready to fall over from exhaustion. Everyone was tired, but right now was not a time for sleep. The two exhausted women helped each other up and moved as fast as their heavy legs would carry them towards one of the many burning houses in the Amazon village. They joined several others in forming a bucket brigade to put out the fires caused by burning pitch and nampha being launched from sling catapults from outside. The sound of battle, the cries of dying trolls and screaming women sounded through the air in a constant wave. The Nyanchiczu were loosing the battle, they just would not accept it yet, but it was becoming clear to those who came to help them. The mountain trolls outnumbered them by ten to one. Though the big brutes were dumb as dirt they were certainly persistent and unafraid to face death. They threw themselves against the defenses of the village and died by the hundred, but for every ten killed twenty would take their place. Ryoko wished they had brought Ryu-Ohki along just for her firepower. If by some miracle the Amazon's survived this brutal war, a war is exactly what it was, their population will have dropped by nearly fifty five percent.

Mihoshi hid behind a large wooden barricade upon the defensive wall. She could hear the sound of several arrows hitting the wood behind her, then she jumped out into the open and squeezed off several blasts. The high resolution beam shots hit their mark perfectly blowing off the heads of a group of troll archers. The beautiful GP detective's sidearm was self recharging, a technological feature that Mihoshi was now very thankful for. Further down the wall Kuonji Ukyo slashed viciously at trolls trying to scale the walls on siege ladders. Her arms felt so heavy, but she knew that if she stopped she would be dead. All of them had to buy time for Ranma and Tenchi, wherever they were. The okonomiyaki chef was not about to disappoint the man she loved. As her baker's peel beheaded another troll Princess Ayeka and the Amazon Lilac rush up and pushed the ladder away from the wall. Trolls scaling the ladder howled in rage as the ladder came crashing down on the mass of their fellow trolls below.

"Disgusting creatures!" Ayeka snapped.

"This battle does not go well, my archers are running out of arrows." Lilac growled as she pulled out her down long bow and fit an arrow on the string.

"What could be taking Ranma honey and Tenchi?" Ukyo asked. "All they had to do is go down some hole and get the key, what's the big hold up?"

Somewhere beneath the surface of the Earth below the Amazon village. "MOKO TAKABISHA!" cried Ranma and Ranko. Twin blue chi blasts lit up the darkness of the catacombs. Dozens of the small insectoid creatures squealed in agony as they were suddenly vaporized. Still more came at the four martial artists. Dozens of the things lay dead at Akane's feet where she fought to protect the spot where she stood and delivered devastating Amaguriken punches. Tenchi protected her rear fending off the creatures that managed to get passed Ranma and Ranko, cutting them down with the blue luminescent blade of the Master Key. The fight had raged on for several minutes, but none of the fighters knew just now much time had gone by. They were angry, no beyond angry. Kun Lao had the key, and worst of all for Ranma he had to watch the bastard fell Akane up and was unable to do anything to stop him. The rage he felt fueled his moves and were mirrored by his sister, a product of an accident resulting form Washu's attempt to cure him of his curse.

The twin chi blasts roared in everyone's ears, and the ground beneath them shook. Neither Ranma nor Ranko noticed anything was wrong until Akane let out a cry as the ground under her feet suddenly began to fall away. The pigtailed martial artist whirled around and flung himself in her direction catching her before she fell into the inky blackness below. As they landed on the ground, however, the floor of the catacomb gave way and the two fell in the darkness. Ranma heard Ranko cry out and had just enough time to see Tenchi leaping towards her. The sound of rocks falling and stones splitting open echoed throughout the darkness for several minutes. When it was over, Ranma slowly climbed to his feet. When he and Akane hit the ground below he had grabbed her and pulled her beneath him so he could take the brunt of the falling rocks.

"RANMA! AKANE!" came a cry from far away. It was Tenchi.

"DOWN HERE!" Ranma yelled back.

"YOU SOUND LIKE YOU'RE FAR AWAY!"

"I DON'T KNOW HOW FAR WE FELL!" Ranma shouted. "IS RANKO ALRIGHT?"

"WE GOT SEPARATED, I DON'T KNOW!" Tenchi replied.

"Damn!" Ranma spat. "CAN YOU GET TO THE TUNNEL THAT LEADS BACK TO THE SURFACE?"

There was short pause then Tenchi yelled back, "YES, I SEE IT HERE. I CAN REACH IT IF I'M REALLY CAREFUL!"

"GET TO THE SURFACE AND LET COLOGNE KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!" Ranma told him. "AKANE AND ME WILL TRY TO FIND A WAY OUT OF HERE AND SEE IF WE CAN TRACK DOWN RANKO!"

"I'M NOT LEAVING YOU TWO DOWN THERE ALONE!" Tenchi shouted.

"DON'T BE STUPID, THE FLOOR COULD GIVE OUT ANY SECOND, GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE YOU FALL IN TOO!" Ranma shouted at him.

"WE'LL BE ALRIGHT!" Akane yelled after finally getting to her feet. "RANMA AND ME HAVE BEEN IN SPOTS LIKE THIS LOTS OF TIMES!"

There was a short pause then Tenchi shouted, "ALRIGHT, BUT I'M BRINGING BACK HELP TO GET YOU TWO OUT OF THERE!"

"Where the hell are we anyway?" Ranma said and generated a small blue chi ball to light up the area around them. The dim light revealed what looked like a cavern. Huge stalactites hung from the ceiling, where it had not collapsed, and stalagmites and hundreds of broken rocks littered the floor.

"Here, it isn't much but this might be better to see with." Akane said as she handed Ranma a small flashlight. It was tiny, a key chain light actually. It was just a little brighter than his chi ball, and he did not have to expend valuable chi reserves keeping it lit also.

"Thanks." Ranma smiled back at her, took her hand, and guided Akane over the difficult terrain of the cavern floor.

Elsewhere in the darkness another figure stirred. She groaned as she lifted herself up causing rocks and dirt to fall away from her back. Ranko sat up and quickly checked herself for injuries. She had to do this by touch as there was no light wherever she was. Tentatively she climbed to her feet and reached out into the inky darkness in front of her and her hands touched hard, cold stone. Feeling around for a while she created a map in her mind of her immediate area. This was a stone wall, the wall of a cavern or small cave. She tried to remember what happened when the ground gave away beneath her brother and Akane. She remembered Tenchi yelled her name, the floor falling away beneath her, then she remembered the pain of hitting the ground. She also remember that as soon as she hit the ground she started to slide, she slid for a long time down a steep rock face, falling out into open space, and that was when her memories stopped and she found herself here.

"Damn." she muttered. Her soft voice sounded very loud in the infinite quiet of the deep.

Ranko suddenly remembered something she had picked up from the Tendo house before they left for China. She reached into her shirt, pulled out something that felt long and slender. Bending it slightly she heard a crack and shook it vigorously. A soft green glow penetrated the blackness around her. She did not know what possibly possessed her to take a glow stick out of the Tendo's typhoon emergency supplies, but she was thankful she had it on her. She had two more of them in her shirt if she needed them. The chemical lights only stayed glowing for just under a day, and she was not sure how long she was going to be down here.

Far above, separated by thousands of tons of rock and earth, Tenchi slowly inched is way over a narrow ledge towards the tunnel that would lead to the surface. He breathed a sigh of relief when he finally reach more secure footing the made a quick dash through the catacomb towards the surface. He emerged into the light and found the village in total chaos. Buildings all around the statue of Ambrosia were burning, men and women ran about with buckets of water trying desperately to save their homes. The unmistakable sound of battle ran in his ears. Tenchi pulled himself up out of the hole and ran towards where the girls has last been before he, Ranma, Akane, and Ranko went into the catacombs. His run was halted with Ryoko literally tackled him to the ground and covered his face with kisses.

"TENCHI!" she cried.

"Where are the others, we gotta go back down!" Tenchi shouted. "Ranma, Akane, and Ranko fell, there was a cave in!"

"WHAT!?" Ryoko gasped.

"Kun Lao, he showed up, he's got the key!" Tenchi cried as he picked himself and help Ryoko to her feet. The two headed off at a dead run with Ryoko leading the way holding Tenchi's hand. She lead him to the house that was being used as a command center for the battle. Cologne looked up from the many maps of the region that were splayed out on a table before her as the two ran into the building.

"Ah, I see you are finally back." she said.

"Kun Lao has the key." Tenchi told her.

"What!?" Cologne and a few other elders in the room gasped.

"He attached us from behind, he had these creatures with him." Tenchi explained. "During the fight he got away with the key and then the floor fell away. Ranma and Akane are alright, but I couldn't get to them, and I don't know where Ranko is."

"This is not good, the only other key in China is with the Musk Dynasty." Cologne said.

"That is where he said he was going next." Tenchi told her.

"Obviously he is having the trolls continue their attack to keep up from following him." one of the elders said angrily.

"We must first get son-in-law and the others back, then we need to-" Cologne began but a loud cry of alarm from outside interrupted her. They all ran outside and watched with horror as dozens of Amazons leapt from a nearby section of the defensive wall. They all ran as fast as they could when they hit the ground. Among them were Ukyo, Mihoshi, Ayeka, and Mihoshi.

"What is it!?" Cologne demanded of one of the fleeing warriors.

"Gaal has come, he is smashing the wall!" the warrior cried.

Suddenly a loud crashing sound hit their ears. The ground whipped around in time to see a massive spiked club penetrate the wall. It was easily the size of a bus. The timbers of the wall fell away to reveal a massive creature, it stood over four stories high, and it was clearly some sort of mountain troll only enormous in size.

"GAAL CRUSH PUNY LITTLE GIRLS!!!!" the thing bellowed and swung its massive club. Dozens of warriors who rushed up to meet the thing were suddenly send skyward, their bodies soon rained down on the village.

"HOLY SHIT!" Ryoko gasped gazing at the monster wide eyed.

"FALL BACK, FALL BACK!!!" Cologne cried as the warrior women made a mad dash to retreat from the massive creature. The Amazons were a proud race, they were brave and would never run from a fight, but they were not stupid either. To throw themselves against this monster and die before they do anything to stop him was no way to die. Archers dashed up hastily erected ladders onto the roofs of buildings and began pelting the massive troll with flaming arrows. Gaal roared and began to smash everything within sight as the pain of the tiny arrows drove him into a mindless rage. Tenchi and the girls along with Cologne and a few others took up a position behind a large house some distance away. Kuno Hikaru came running out of the smoke a moment later, his katana stained with the blood of many fallen trolls.

"Kami-sama, what a monster!" Tenchi gasped as he watched the carnage.

"Lord Tenchi, what do we do?" Ayeka asked him in a pleading tone. She, Ryoko, and Mihoshi held onto him as if for dear life.

"We can't go after Ranma honey with that thing ripping the Amazons a new one!" Ukyo shouted.

"We have to stop him, we have to bring him down or it is the end of our people!" Cologne cried.

"Then we bring him down!" Tenchi yelled standing up and igniting the blade of the Master Key.

Ryoko pulled him back down with the rest of them. "There's no getting close to that thing as long as he has that club." she told him.

"He has a weakness, but we must get close enough to exploit it." Kuno Hikaru explained to them. The resurrected Patriarch and Founder of the Kuno clan turned to Tenchi. "The beast's left knee was injured long ago in a battle with a dragon." he told him. "It has since healed, but the knee is now weakened and if hit in the right spot it will make the creature fall."

"It our only shot!" Shampoo agreed with a nod.

"Ok, lets get this over with." Tenchi said, his face was set in a mask of determination. "Ayeka, Ukyo, you two stay here and help protect the children from those trolls coming through the breach in the wall. Ryoko, Mihoshi, Shampoo and Hikaru you're with me."

"If we die this day we die with honor, and as brothers!" Hikaru said grasping Tenchi's shoulder.

"Let take this son of a bitch down!" Ryoko shouted and with that said the group surged forward. Shampoo cut loose with an ear piercing Amazon battle cry that was suddenly echoed by hundreds of her fellow Amazons. A wave of warrior women with weapons drawn rush forward with them. They were determined that this was to be either their last chance at victory for if they were defeated they would make certain that this day would never be forgotten.

Oblivious to the carnage far above, Ranko heard nothing of the raging battle deep down in the darkness of the earth. The light of her glow stick did not penetrate the darkness very far ahead of her as she made her way through a narrow passage in the stone. She came to a extremely narrow opening at the end of the passage and had to slide through it on her back to make it through. Her ample bosom got in the way a few times, making her wish she had a smaller bra size. Finally she got through, then yelped as she lost her footing on the other side and fell into a cold pool of water. Ranko, now in male form, climbed up out of the frigid water shivering.

"D-D-Damn that was c-c-c-cold." he said clutching himself for warmth.

He made his way through what looked like a small cavern until he noticed a strange glow up ahead. Thinking it might be a way out to the surface Ranko sprinted forward. "Whoa." he gasped when he reached the source of the light and came to a dead stop. The scene before him was like something out of a science fiction movie. The light came out of a side passage connected to the cavern, this lead to another massive cavern that stretched off into the distance as far as Ranko could see. The walls of this massive hallow in the earth was covered with huge crystals the size of small cars, and each one gave off a soft blue glow. Among the huge crystals were smaller ones that could be held in the one's hand. Ranko touched one tentatively, when she did not receive a shock or was not burned she grasped the crystal and rocked it from side to side until its base cracked releasing it from the ground. The lower half of the crystal broke in such a way that it could be held like a torch or a sword without any danger of cutting his hand. The light it gave off was much brighter than the glow sticks.

"Wow, I wonder what these things are." he said peering into the crystal and seeing cloudy motes of blue light dancing around within it.

The cavern floor was difficult to maneuver, crystals littered the floor, many of them were razor sharp. The cavern, however, slopped upwards and that was the direction Ranko had to go. He tried staying to the sections less densely populated by the crystals and stayed clear of the massive ones. The sound her footsteps made sounded like wind chimes as her feet shook loose small crystals that slid down the cavern floor and bounced off the larger ones. Far ahead he could see what looked like a passage connected with the cavern, but it was in the roof of the cavern. Ranko decided to think about ways t get up to it when he got there and concentrated on making it there in one piece.

Elsewhere in the deep of the earth Ranma and Akane wandered the dark subterranean passages of ancient China. There was very little sign of life down in these tunnels, the two spotted the bones of small creatures neither of them could identify, and the only sound came from their own footsteps. Akane clutched Ranma's arm as he shined the small key chain flashlight around to see their surroundings. The passage before them was narrowing, but at least it was starting to slope upwards.

"That's gonna be a tight fit." Ranma said as he examined the passage.

"This reminds me too much of Josendo." Akane said, her voice obviously showing her fear.

"We'll get outta here, we just need to keep going up." Ranma reassured her.

As the passage narrowed the two had to get on their hand and knees and crawl. The space was getting claustrophobic and Akane could feel the millions of tons of rock all around her as if it were closing in on her. The two continued and the passage became tighter. Just when Akane felt she could not go on without panicking she began to feel heat and the passage once again began to grow wider.

"You smell that?" Ranma asked her as he sniffed the air.

Akane sniffed the air and wrinkled her nose, "Smells like rotten eggs."

"That's sulfur, we must be near a magma flow or something." Ranma said then lead the way through the passage. Indeed, it was widening and eventually opened up into a larger cavern. Akane gaped in wonder that the sight before her. A ledge large enough to walk on ringed the edge of the cavern, but much of the floor was a huge opening that fell away further than she could see. There was light from a huge flow of magma that fell into the abyss like a waterfall composed of molten rock. The heat was incredible but a welcome change from the bitter cold of the caves they'd been in over the past hour and a half.

"We gotta be near the surface now." Ranma said. "I sorta remember there was a volcano in the area around the village."

"I didn't know that." Akane said with surprise.

"The guide said one of the mountains was a volcano back when me and pop first came here." Ranma explained.

Akane followed the curving, narrow walkway along with the cavern's edge with her eyes and noticed the entrance to another tunnel. "Looks like the only way out is that way." she pointed.

"I hope Ranko is ok." Ranma said, worry evident in his voice.

"If she's anything like you Ranma she will be." Akane said to reassure him.

The pigtailed redhead turned boy was at that moment using every curse and swear word that Ranma had ever learned from his ten years on the road with his father. He was cut and bruised from falling several times on the sharp and slippery crystals, and now that he was directly beneath the entrance to the sloping passage he found that it was very high. Extremely high actually, and Ranko was not sure if he was going to be able to reach it even with his superhuman jumping abilities.

Ranko guessed the passage was at least up as high as ten stories, and he could easily jump up at least five. That was how high Furinken High School was and he remembered from Ranma's memories that he had been able to leap from the ground to the roof of the school. That had been before learning about his Juraian heritage. Ranko figured he since he was a biological copy of Ranma he might be able to tap into the same reserves of energy.

The girl turned boy crouched down and began to focus all of his chi into his legs. To Ranko's surprise the crystal in his hand and many of the surrounding crystals began to dim, then he felt a massive surge of chi energy enter him. It was almost too much to handle until Ranko leapt upwards shooting like a rocket towards the passageway above. He had to catch himself with his free hand to keep from slamming into the roof of the passageway. Now that he was there, Ranko looked down at the crystals below and saw that they were beginning to return to their normal glow. The same went for the crystal in his hand.

"That was weird." he said.

Using the crystal as a light source, Ranko explored the new passageway. It sloped upwards for a long distance, turned at one point, and went upwards again at a steeper angle for what seemed to Ranko like several miles. A great deal of time went by and Ranko began to feel tired. He was hungry, what he wanted was one of Kasumi's wonderful dinners, and a nice soft bed. These caves and tunnels were cold, and Ranko, like Ranma, disliked the cold. It was too much of a reminder of Josenkyo. Making his way further Ranko began to notice a subtle change in the temperature of the passageway/ The further he went the warmer it got, not by much, but it was getting warmer. Not much further down the passage he started seeing stream seeping out of the cracks in the rock on the walls and floor.

"There must be a hot spring here." he realized.

Ranko contemplated either punching through the floor or using the Bakusai Tenketsu. He was definitely tired of being a boy, his normal female boy was lighter and faster. As he stood there thinking he immediately noticed a sound, for the first time a foreign noise came to his ears. The sound got louder and Ranko realized it was the sound of rocks exploding. His danger sense screamed and Ranko leapt to the side and the wall of the passageway burst open shooting out a shower of rock fragments.

"Where the heck am I now?" came a voice out of the cloud of dust that billowed out of the hole.

Geeze, it just had to be pig boy., Ranko groaned inwardly. "I see you're lost again." he said.

"Wah? Ranma?" Ryoga turned to Ranko in surprise. Ranko saw the move coming from a mile away. He ducked just as Ryoga's umbrella swung where his head had been a moment before.

"PREPARE TO DIE SAOTOME!" the Lost Boy cried.

"Ryoga you blockhead I ain't who you think I am!" Ranko yelled at him.

"No, your a dead man!" the infuriated Lost Boy cried.

"You idiot, listen to me I'm not Ranma!" Ranko shouted as she leapt over the swing, springed off of Ryoga's shoulders and landed behind him.

"Bakusai Tenketsu!" Ryoga cried jabbing his finger at the wall of the passageway. A spray of hot water shot into the passageway drenching Ranko from head to toe. Ryoga's eyes went wide with shock as he watched who he thought to be Ranma suddenly shrink in size and grow a pair of large breasts.

"Now do you get it numb skull?" she asked him.

What sufficed for brains in Ryoga's cranium suddenly started doing something they had not done in a long time; actually think things through. He stood there looking at Ranma, his female half to be more precise, being drenched with hot water from a spring he'd just busted into. Hold on, warm water, female Ranma, warm water, female Ranma., he repeated inside his head.

"Ranma, how did you get your curse reversed?" Ryoga asked and Ranko facefaultered.

"I AM NOT RANMA!" the irate redhead shouted when she got up.

A hour later Ryoga sat in front of the redheaded martial artist with a look of wonder on his face. It had taken that long to get the idea into his head of solid granite who she really was. Of course, Ryoga remembered that Tenchi's extended family were not entirely human. The mentioning of a possible cure for his curse got his attention immediately, but Ranko made it clear the machine did not work. In fact, she was the result of the failed attempt to cure Ranma. She told the Lost Boy of the night she emerged from Ranma and the later decision to treat one another as brother and sister.

"Incredible." Ryoga said softly still looking at the redhead before him.

"Yeah, I've only been alive for a few days but I feel as if I've been here all the time." Ranko explained. "I remember everything my brother did up to that night. I got all of his skills and abilities, but I don't seem to have his Jurai power, at least I don't think I do."

"But if you were born out of Ranma aren't you really a boy inside too?" Ryoga asked her.

Ranko shook her head, "Nope, I'm mentally all girl. Washu says it has something to do with the fact that Ranma's curse form is female so that's why I'm a girl."

"That's why your curse is revered." Ryoga realized.

"Gee, you do have brains up there after all." Ranko smirked.

"Hey." Ryoga protested.

Ranko's expression soften considerable when she said, "I am glad you are here, I was getting pretty lonely down here."

"How did you get down here?" Ryoga asked her. He sat and listened to the whole story. Shortly after his flight from the Tendo dojo in the aftermath of Akane discovering his dirty little secret major things began to happen. Ranko detailed the events at Furinken High School, the rape of Miss. Hinako, and the encounter with the demon. There was the resurrection of one of Kuno's ancestors who apparently had been sealed inside of a statue for hundreds of years, and the fact that Kasumi was his reincarnated lover. The redhead's mood changed when she began to tell Ryoga about Kun Lao and how he tied into several things that happened in Nerima. Ryoga listened intently to everything the girl said. When she got to telling the story of the siege at the village and what Kun Lao did to Akane in the tunnels the Lost Boy was getting visibly angry.

"That's whee we stand right now." Ranko told him. "Kun Lao only needs a few more keys to open this Fountain of Ascension thing and he'll become a Kami."

"Damn, this guy makes Herb and Saffron sound like Boy Scouts." Ryoga commented. "D-D-Did he really rape that teacher?" Ranko nodded.

"Actually, he raped quite a few more people while he was in Nerima, and I really don't wanna think about how many more while he was moving across Japan." Ranko told him.

Ryoga clenched his fist in rage, "Dammit, he like Happosai only a thousand times worse!"

"No shit Sherlock." Ranko smirked at him.

Several hundred feet above them in the realm of sunlight there were lots of things happening. Thousands of troll bodies littered the valley floor as the Amazons pushed their attackers back for the first time since the battle began that day. The coming victory was bittersweet for many of their own had fallen in the fighting. It was also a time of great sadness as well for one of the greatest warriors among them lay dying, her injuries too severe for the healers to treat. All they could do now was make her last moments as comfortable as possible. Shampoo sat next to her in a house that had been emptied for the care of the fallen warrior. The young Amazon's eyes were filled with tears as she looked down at the warrior's broken body struggling to breath.

"Great grandmother, why?" Shampoo sobbed.

The others stood just outside the house looking in. They had to give Shampoo this time alone with her great grandmother. The battle with Gaal had been the most terrifying few minutes of their lives. Many Amazon warriors were killed or seriously injured in the fight. It was a miracle that none of the group from Nerima were seriously hurt in the battle since they were right there at the forefront. Tenchi held Ayeka close as she cried softly into his chest. She had been the one to find the one who now lay dying. Ryoko rubbed the First Princess' back softly to reassure her. There were even tears in the eyes of the ex-space pirate's eyes. Tenchi let the events of the battle replay in his mind and he wondered if there was anything he could have done different to prevent this from happening.

"GAAL CRUSH YOU!" the monster bellowed at the onrushing attackers on the ground below him.

Ryoko was the first to reach the giant monster. She summoned her energy blade and made for Gaal's legs. She sensed something was wrong suddenly, threw herself to the ground, and felt the shockwave of air as the troll's giant club passed just inches above her.

"Fuck!" Ryoko gasped as she launched herself skyward avoiding another near miss with that giant club. By this time the rest of the group had arrived. Ryoko heard and felt a shockwave from a blast and recognized it as one of Ayeka's. The unmistakable sound of Mihoshi's blaster filled the air too. On her way down in a dive attack Ryoko spied Tenchi and Hikaru running side by side around the giant troll. The two began hacking at the monster's right leg with their swords. Gaal bellowed in pain and stomped his foot at his two attackers. Tenchi and the samurai easily avoided the clumsy attack and ran back in to continue their assault.

Ukyo and Shampoo both teamed up together side by side. They were both of the same mind that the creature could be taken down more easily if it did not have it's massive club. They of course directed their attacks at Gaal's weapon arm. Together the two leapt from a rooftop to the monster's shoulder. Razor sharp baker's peel cut into the flesh file a pair of bonbori maces tried to crush the massive bone beneath.

"Look out!" Ukyo cried and leapt out of the way. Shampoo was not so luck as Gaal brought up his other arm and flicked her off with his hand. Shampoo screamed as she slammed into and through the wall of a nearby building.

"You ok sugar?" Ukyo asked her after running to the young Amazon's aid.

"Aiya! That really sting!" said Shampoo as she shook off the effects of the attack.

"SHIT!" came a cry from outside and Ukyo dodged to the side before almost being plowed into by a Ryoko who came hurling through the hole in the wall.

"Ooooo." Ryoko groaned as she pulled herself off the broken far wall of the now nearly ruined house. "That bastard is tougher than I thought."

"I know, we could really use Ranma honey right now." said Ukyo.

"Shampoo not let big stupid troll smash village!" the Amazon declared as she bounded away to rejoin the fight. Ukyo and Ryoko look at each other before leaping out of the hole to follow her.

Dozens of Amazons lay injured and bleeding at Gaal's feet. Several warriors rushed in bravely to retrieve the ones how had fallen. The remaining warriors, several hundred, surged forward to meet the oncoming rush of trolls coming in through the breach in the defensive wall. Meanwhile, on a rooftop not far away a pair of scantily clad twins, one with white hair, and the other with black hair were standing together concentrating on forming a chi spell. Salt and Pepper, the Hentai Twins, began to glow with an intensity nearly as bright as the sun as the spell grew. A sound like thunder amplified a thousand times shook the ground as a blast of energy erupted form the twin's outstretched hands. It caught Gaal on the shoulder of his weapon arm. The sound of massive bones breaking resounded like an explosion across the village. Shampoo lay on the ground after once again being knocked off the monster's shoulder. She stood up staggering, her legs threatening to give out. The fatigue she had been feeling earlier was coming back but her desire to help defend her people was nearly as overwhelming as was her desire to lay down and let sleep take her. She did not see Gaal flail about in agony from the blast delivered by the Hentai Twins. The big monster's thrashed about in a blind rage fueled by intense pain and did not even notice that he let go of his club. The massive weapon went flying straight towards Shampoo who was completely oblivious to most of her surroundings.

"SHAMPOO!" a piercing cry rang out. The young Amazon turned in time to see a small figure riding an old cane like a pogo stick blur into her view and push her with considerable force to one side. That was just an instant before the club hit. Shampoo watched in horror as the massive weapon plowed into the ground and several buildings taking her great grandmother with it.

"GREAT GRANDMOTHER!" Shampoo screamed. It was too much, her body spend physically and emotionally the young Amazon collapsed to the ground where she stood. Ayeka has been running around to find a better vantage point on the battle to get a clear blast off at the monster when she heard the screams. The princess ran to Shampoo immediately checking her pulse, and with some effort picked the girl up in her arms. She was surprised to find that the lithe girl was actually quite heavy for her size as she carried Shampoo in her arms to one of the few houses that were still standing. A couple of Amazon healers saw her and ran up to her to take Shampoo. With her burden gone Ayeka ran towards the fallen club in search for Cologne. She climbed over the massive weapon and ran as fast as she could to the head of the club. As she came around the corner of a shattered house she stopped gasping in horror. The First Princess of Jurai put her hands to her mouth in utter shock.

"Oh-Oh no!" she cried and sank to her knees.

Oblivious to any of this Tenchi, Hikaru, Ukyo and the Amazon Lily assaulted the raging troll with everything they had. Out of the smoke that billowed all around came more Amazons. Ukyo recognized Lin Lin and Lung Lung and Perfume among them as they rushed towards the monsters with weapons stained with troll blood.

Tenchi knew it was time to finish this fight once and for all. Nodding to the resurrected samurai the two leapt high and clashed at Gaal's weak stop. The bone in his knee gave a satisfying crunch as it broken, and with a snarl of rage and pain the big monster fell. The enraged Amazon women surged over the giant troll like army ants hungry for blood. Their rage was a physical force and there was nothing that could stand in their way. Within minutes the once nearly indestructible lord of the mountain trolls lay dead, a shredded corpse.

"I sure do hope there was only one of him." Ryoko said as she staggered towards him and was caught in his arms when she stumbled forward.

Tenchi, out of breath from the hectic battle just held her tight and hoped his own worn out legs could be enough to keep them both upright. That had been until he saw Ayeka running towards them, her face was as white as many of the snow capped mountains nearby. The expression on her face made Tenchi's blood run cold.

"Lord Tenchi, anyone, come quickly!" she cried as she ran. "Its Cologne!"

A mass of Amazons with Tenchi, Ryoko and Lily leading the way follow Ayeka to where Gaal's club fell. They looked at the sight before them and the warriors all gasped in shock. Lily turned to the warriors who had followed them and she had rears in her eyes. "Go, aid the others fighting off the remaining trolls, leave none alive!" she ordered them. Not one Amazon questioned her order, a smoldering raged ignited in each and every tear filled eye and then the group was running off to do battle. Lily turned her attention to the scene before her. Small sobs hitting her now, the proud Amazon warrior knelt down beside the broken body of her Matriarch. Cologne opened her one good eye and looked up at the woman, a smile cross her blood covered lips.

"Shampoo, is she alright?" she asked in a raspy voice.

"She is, you pushed her out of the way of the club." Ayeka said softly as she knelled down on the other side.

"Good." Cologne said and her eyes closed. Her ragged breathing could still be heard as the Matriarch clung to what little life she had left.

"Healers, we need Healers now!" Lily shouted into the air.

"I fear it will not do any good, the Matriarch has seen her final battle." Kuno Hikaru said sadly then clasped his hands together and began to softly chant a prayer for a fallen warrior.

"We lost so many of our Amazon sisters today." Lily sobbed into her hands, the terrible feeling of loss suddenly crashing down upon her.

"This is all that bastard's fault, that kamidammed Kun Lao." Ryoko growled clenching her fist.

That had been three hours ago. The battle was all but over, a few bands of Amazons scoured the valley looking for any remaining troll forces that did not flee into the relative safety of the mountains. The sun was already beginning to fall behind the mountains in the distance casting a shadow over the Amazon village. Everyone was spent, they had no strength left in them. Tenchi sat on the ground leaning against the house were Cologne lay in her death bed. Ayeka slept with her head in his lap and Ryoko rested beside him with her head on his shoulder. Mihoshi was curled up next to Ayeka fast asleep. Hearing a light footstep Tenchi looked up and saw the worried face of Kuonji Ukyo.

"How you holding up sugar?" she asked him.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" he replied with a half- hearted smile.

"I'm a little worried about Ranma honey, but he's been in worse jams than this before." the okonomiyaki chef said and sat down in front of him.

"Actually, I'm more worried about Shampoo." Ukyo admitted. "This is really tearing her apart."

"I understand Cologne has been her only family since her mother died." said Tenchi.

"That's gotta be rough." Ukyo sighed. "I guess me and Ranma honey weren't the only ones with a bad childhood."

"Get some rest you look like you're about to fall over." Tenchi told her. Without any protest Ukyo scooted over next to where Ryoko leaned against the wall with Tenchi and as soon as her eyes closed she was fast asleep.

Somewhere else in the mountainous country of China a pair of figures slowly climbed up out of a fissure in a large rock face. Ranma clambered out, holding a handhold he found in the rock, and helped Akane out with his his free hand. Akane had the common sense at the moment not to look down, or she would have seen that they were perched precariously on side of a huge cliff. After climbing out of the giant crack in the Earth, Akane climbed onto Ranma's back and clung to him for dear life. The pigtailed martial artist slowly climbed upwards using what hand holds he could find towards the top of the cliff which was not far away. After what seemed like an eternity the two reached the summit and collapsed together at the top.

"Damn, I thought we'd never get out of those caves." Ranma groaned.

"If I ever see a rock again it'll be too soon." Akane said as she snuggled up against the man she loved. Their moment of relaxation was short lived as an explosion echoed nearby. Ranma sat up and watched as two figures in the distance bounded back and forth leaping from rock to rock. As the two would meet midair the unmistakable sounds of fighting could be heard. One of the figures leapt and unleashed a series of blade like chi blasts which Ranma easily recognized. There was only one guess who that might be.

Ranma sprang to his feet and helped Akane up. "Come on, Herb don't know it yet but he's gotten in over his head." he told her as they ran towards the two fighters.

As they ran Akane noticed two severely battered looking figures laying in a nearby ravine. "Ranma!" she shouted and pointed at them.

"Its Mint and Lime." he said and they bounded over the rocks towards the two fallen Musk warriors.

"I-Its Ranma." Lime, the big warrior, said when he heard the voices.

"A girl too, and she has breasts." said Mint, in contrast to his companion was much smaller.

"Not this again." Akane sighed.

"What happened?" Ranma asked the two.

"A puny man came to Lord Herb's court demanded one of our secret relics, and our lord refused him." Mint said.

"Then, the puny man attacked our lord with dark magic." Lime said, "We went to defend out lord but the man was too powerful."

"Never have we fought one with such power." Lime added. "Lord Herb has been battling him for several hours now." Ranma stood up and look out over the edge of the ravine. In the distance he could see the two doing battle. Occasionally a chi blast would erupt from one or both. It was a titanic battle, one that brought back memories of his first confrontation with the Crown Prince of the Musk Dynasty.

"Akane, stay here and see what you can do to help them." Ranma said as he leapt out of the ravine. "I'm gonna go help Herb."

"Now wait one minute Ranma-" Akane began to say with the old familiar pissed off look on her face.

"No you wait!" Ranma stopped her. "Your martial arts skills have really improved Akane, I'm proud of how far you've come, but this fight is totally out of your league so-please-stay-here."

The angry expression on Akane's face softened as she said, "Be careful."

"I will." he promised before bounding off to join the fight.

Prince Herb, heir to the throne of the Musk Dynasty and dependent of dragons squared off against his latest foe. Never since his encounter with a certain pigtailed martial artist had he met a warrior of such immense power. This was in total contradiction with the warrior's appearance. He was a human adolescent, short, thinly built, someone whom Herb should have been able to break using only his little finger. However, the lanky young man appeared to be much stronger than he looked, and possessed a prowess with chi magic that was to be respected. It did not take the sharp witted Musk prince to put the pieces together and figure out who his attacker was. He came demanding the key to the Chamber of Ascension several hours before at the Musk fortress deep in the mountains. When he refused the young man struck with a powerful chi blast that nearly leveled the four thousand year old structure. Eventually the battle made its way out onto the boulder strewn countryside outside the Musk settlement. Herb watched with fascination and anticipation as his two most trusted bodyguards and friends were both defeated almost immediately by this warrior. The fight had raged on for several hours with neither side gaining any ground. Herb was just getting his second wind, this was one of the greatest battles he ever fought and he surged with pride in the knowledge that it would be going down in Musk history when it was all over. He had only one question on his mind though; how did the hated Kun Lao escape from his imprisonment? That was the only logical answer as to who this young human was and how he came to possess such immense power and a knowledge of the sacred key artifact.

"You are very good Musk warrior, you honor your ancestors with your skill." Kun Lao said after alighting on a rock during a short respite in the fight.

"Save your false compliments monster, I know who you are." Herb replied.

"Indeed, so you know I cannot leave without what rightfully belongs to me." Kun Lao said and the battle was renewed. The two leapt at one another and exchanged punches at blinding speed in midair. They landed across from one another and repeated the attack. The chi sorcerer scored several punches on the Musk prince's chest and nearly sliced him with his bejeweled dagger. Herb landed hard on a rock across from Kun Lao and was about to move when a wave of chi energy shot out from the man's dagger. Herb knew he was not going to be fast enough to dodge the blast so he prepared to ride it out.

"MOKO TAKABISHA!"

A blue beam of chi energy slammed into Kun Lao's chi blast and erupted into a immense explosion that knocked the chi sorcerer and Herb off their feet. In the distance Akane heard the roar of the blast and Ranma's cry then watched as a mushroom cloud rose up in the distance then shielded her face as a shockwave suddenly hit throwing up loose rocks and dirt. She had been tearing off strips from the lining of her dress to use as dressing on the two Musk warrior's wounds.

"By the gods!" Mint gasped, then winced as Akane applied pressure to one of his bigger cuts to stop the bleeding.

"I hope Ranma is ok." she said with a little apprehension.

Herb was quick to get back to his feet after the blast and fell into a ready stance. He recognized that chi attack, it had been used against him before, and he was not at all surprised to see the familiar pigtailed martial artist appear out of the smoke and dust. Kun Lao was back on his feet and looked at Ranma with a smirk on his face.

"I was wondering how long it was going to take you to dig yourself out of those caves." he said.

"Stuff it you piece of shit, I'm gonna royally plaster your ass for what you did to Akane!" Ranma shouted at him.

"You assaulted his mate?" Herb asked looking from Ranma to Kun Lao. "That was the same mistake I made."

"I understand from my subordinates that I owe a debt of honor to you Ranma for saving my life." Herb said turning to Ranma.

"Lets setting that after we kick this guy's ass into the afterlife." Ranma said.

Herb turned to the chi sorcerer and fell into a ready fighting stance. "Agreed!" he said with a smirk and the battle was on.

_____

"What was that?" Ukyo asked opening her eyes.

In the far off distance came a sound that was like rolling thunder. Soon it was followed by another, and another. The Amazons who were going about the task of picking up the pieces of their village and tending to the wounded and the dead stopped in their work and looked in the direction of the sound. A loud blast echoed through the valley and mushroom cloud rose in the distance. She, Ryoko, Tenchi, Ayeka, and Mihoshi had been sleeping where they had collapsed earlier against the building where Cologne lay dying. None of the Amazons bothered them, they had all seen their fighting prowess and how furious they were in battle. Because of them many Amazons who would have died in this terrible day were alive to keep the traditions of the Amazon people alive.

"Either the Chinese are doing nuclear tests again, or that was one mother of a chi blast." Ukyo commented.

"That came from the direction of the Musk Dynasty territory." Lily said as she rushed past them.

"That's gotta be that Herb guy Ranma told us about fighting Kun Lao." Ryoko said stretching painfully. "Man I'm sore."

"Uh, I hurt in place I never knew I had." Mihoshi added.

Another roar echoed down to the village and when everyone looked up they could see a massive tornado reaching high into the sky. Ukyo was on her feet in less then a second. "That must be Ranma honey!" she cried.

"Did Ukyo say Ranma?" Shampoo asked as she left the house for the first time since Cologne was brought in. She looked in the distance and saw the tornado slowly breakup sending massive boulders flying in all directions.

"Aiya! That airen alright!" she said.

"He and Akane must have found a way out of the caves." Tenchi guessed.

"But, what about Lady Ranko?" asked Ayeka.

Tenchi climbed to his feet with a groan and began to go through the muscle loosening kata techniques his grandfather taught him. Within a few minutes he felt as if he was ready for another round of troll bashing. Another massive explosion in the distance drew their attention, this one larger than the last.

"That must be one hell of a fight out there." Ukyo gasped in surprise.

"All of you stay here, I'm going to see if Ranma needs help." Tenchi said and before the girls would protest he was gone leaving only a cloud of dust in his wake. Amazons in the field gathering the bodies of the fallen warriors looked up in surprise as a blur passed them followed by a shockwave of dust and loose soil.

Several miles away and further up in the mountains Ranma and Herb helped each other up out of the crater Kun Lao put them in. If the area around them did not already look like a war zone it did now. The strewn boulders that had been on the mountainside were now shattered into pebbles, and ground pockmarked with huge smoldering craters. The pigtailed martial artist and the prince of the Musk fell into defensive stances as their mutual nemesis came out of the smoke with his deadly dagger leading the way.

"He is far more formidable than our ancient writings say." Herb said before dodging Kun Lao's dagger.

"Come now, I'm expecting much better than this." Kun Lao tauted them. "One of you is a descendant of dragons, and the other is the man who defeated Lord Saffron."

"You are the one who bested the Phoenix King?" Herb asked Ranma in surprise.

"Long story." Ranma told him.

Ranma threw himself at Kun Lao firing off Amaguriken punches which the chi sorcerer defected with ease. It had all been a distraction as Ranma brought up his leg and cried, "Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken Revised, Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken Kick!" Kun Lao found himself being assaulted by five hundred punishing kicks in less then a second. As he flew through the air from the attack Herb made his move and executed his flying chi attack. Swirling razor sharp blasts of chi flew through the air threatening to slice the chi sorcerer to ribbons. A smile of satisfaction crossed Herb's face, but it suddenly changed to an expression of shock. The spinning chi blades stopped short of Kun Lao and instantly changed direction back towards their creator. Wide eyed with shock the Prince of the Musk dodged his own chi attack as Kun Lao alighted to the ground. He did not have any time to follow up with another attack against the Musk warrior as he had Ranma to suddenly contend with. Tapping into his Jurai power Ranma moved at a speed ten times greater than his normal speed and delivered a punch that actually created a shockwave in the air. Reacting with a speed that was superhuman Kun Lao focused a blast of chi to deflect the punch, or at least absorb most of the impact. The hit send the chi sorcerer staggering backwards but not so off balance that he was not unable to defect the series of secondary kicks and punches being thrown at him. Growing impatient with this fight and eager to get his hands on the key, Kun Lao decided it was time to put an end to this fight. Channeling energy into his bejeweled dagger and concentrating on the right spell combination Kun Lao prepared to make his move while at the same time dodging the deflecting Ranma's lightning fast attacks.

Herb stumbled to his feet recovering from the costly move to avoid his own chi attack. Being ultra sensitive to the ebb and flow of chi energies he could feel the building of power within Kun Lao. He tried to shout a warning to Ranma but it was too late. Ranma was suddenly engulfed in a fiery burst of chi energy, many of the remaining boulders around them began to glow red from the intense heat of the blast. It looked for a moment as if the pigtailed martial artist was doomed when suddenly a figure appeared out of nowhere in a blur. A bright flash of white light erupted from the center of the fireball and three translucent, white wings of light unfolded from the center and outward in a "Y" shaped formation.

"Light Hawk Wings!" Herb gasped with recognition of what he was seeing.

Within the fireball Ranma looked over his shoulder at his cousin directly behind him. "Where you been?" he asked him.

"I could have asked you the same thing." Tenchi said, the emblem of power on his forehead was shining as brightly as the three wings being emitted from his hands.

"Don't tell me I missed most of the fun." Ranma smiled at him.

"Actually something happened, but lets talk about that later." Tenchi told him and focused his attention on Kun Lao.

The chi sorcerer was moving after unleashing his chi blast and moved on Prince Herb. The Musk royal unsheathed a scimitar from its scabbard and deflect a dagger sweep that would have cut his throat. The two exchanged blow after furious blow as they chased each other around the mountainside. Loosing even more patience Kun Lao slashed with his dagger and let loose with a chi spell. Razor sharp bursts of chi flew at Herb's feet and exploded opening the ground beneath him. The Musk prince stumbled backwards, fatigue from the battle finally starting to effect his movements. As he fell back something went flying out of his robes. He watched in horror as he realized it was the Key, he had been carrying it since the events happening in the Amazon village were discovered. The chi sorcerer caught it in his free hand and immediately secured it in his own robes.

"Thank you for your cooperation." Kun Lao bowed to the fallen Musk prince. "All I need now is one more and I'll be the ruler of this world." He began to laugh not noticing the movement behind him. A figure clad in gleaming white robes with a white crystalline sword advanced on him with incredible speed. From another direction came Ranma glowing with a powerful red battle aura. The two came together to strike a deadly blow against their foe, but as their strikes neared their target it was suddenly gone. Tenchi pulled back on his swing with the Light Hawk Sword and only the tip hit the ground. An explosion erupted that tore across the mountainside and split open the mountain range for several hundred miles.

"Dammit, come back and fight you son of a bitch!!!" Ranma cried into the air and shook his fist into the distance.

"I can't believe this, he's harder to kill than a cockroach." Tenchi said as his Light Hawk Armor and Sword dematerialized.

"You possess the power of the Light Hawk Wings." Prince Herb said looking at Tenchi with an expression of awe and reverence. "Yet, from your aura I can see you are not of the Kami."

"You must be Prince Herb, I'm Masaki Tenchi, Ranma's cousin." Tenchi replied. Herb bowed to him then pulled himself out of the crater Kun Lao created beneath him with Ranma's assistance.

"It appears we are now in a desperate situation." the Musk prince said. "The ancient and hated enemy of my people now possess one of the keys to the Chamber of Ascension."

"We already know about it, and here's a newsflash," Ranma told him. "All he needs now is one more and he has them all."

"WHAT!!!" Herb cried in shock.

"RRRRAAAAANNNNNMMMMAAAA!!!!" came a shriek as something moved across the blasted mountainside with such a speed it was just a blur. Ranma braced himself for the impact as Akane threw her arms around him and held him with all her strength in a glomp that easily rivaled one of Shampoo's. Following her at a much slower pace came the two Musks Lime and Mint.

"Lord, you are uninjured!" Lime cried out with relief.

"In body I am unharmed, but my honor is another thing entirely." Herb said. "The vile monster Kun Lao will pay for what he has done."

"What happened at the village while we were gone?" Ranma asked looking at his cousin.

"Um, Ranma, Akane, I don't think you're going to like this." Tenchi began, a sad look on his face.

_____

The Nyanchiczu gasped in surprise as they watched the Crown Prince of the Musk Dynasty, Ranma, and Tenchi walked into the ruins of the Amazon village. Tenchi lead the way down the street which was partially cleared of troll and Amazon bodies. As they approached the house Ranma saw Ukyo, her clothing in tatters, run to him with her eyes filled with tears. Akane moved to the side to give her some space as the okonomiyaki cried in the pigtailed martial artist's arms. Tenchi met with his iinazuke and gave him a group hug. The only ones they did not see where Shampoo and Ranko.

Ranma took Ukyo's shoulders and moved her to the side gently. She looked at him in surprise for a moment until she realized he was headed for the house were Shampoo sat next to her great grandmother's body. Hearing a footfall behind her Shampoo turn expecting to see one of the healers come to check to make sure the dying Matriarch was comfortable. When she saw Ranma the flood of tears came unabated and she flung herself into his arms.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." he told her, rocking her back and forth gently stroking her hair.

"She pushed Shampoo out of way of danger, she gave her life for Shampoo." she said.

"I should have been here to help." Ranma said hugging her closer.

"Airen was trapped, Shampoo understand." Shampoo said and kissed him gently on the cheek.

"He's got the key the Musk had." Ranma told her. "Tenchi and I had him, we had him, and he got away. The son of a bitch got away." He buried his face in her hair and she hear a soft sob from his lips.

"Wo ei ni." Shampoo whispered softly drawing Ranma's head to her bosom and cradled him in her arms. "Wo ei ni."

_____

"We never saw Ranko down there." Akane said to the others who sat with her outside the house.

"If she's anything like Ranma honey she'll show up any minute now." Ukyo said, but did not sound very confident in herself.

"I hope she's ok, she was like born only a few days ago." Mihoshi said worriedly.

Their collective thoughts went out to Ranma's accidental sister. They had not been given much time to get to know her that much. She appeared one night without warning and by morning she was declared as Ranma's sister. Her birth was a result of Washu's attempt to cure Ranma's curse, but all it did was separate him from his female half and leave the both of them still cursed.

"Hey, where can a girl get a bite to eat around here?"

Everyone looked up in surprise. There standing in the middle of the cobblestone street were two people, one a tall man wearing a heavy backpack and a tiger striped bandanna on his head, and the other was a beautiful redhead leaning against him with a very tired expression on her face.

"RANKO!" they cried all at once. The two were suddenly surrounded by Tenchi and the girls. Ryoga swallowed hard when he saw Akane look at him for a moment. She walked up to him and to his utter surprise she hugged him.

"Akane, I-I-I'm sorry." he said with an unsteady voice. "I lied to you, I deceived you, I know you love Ranma and I can't ever change that, but I'd still like to be your friend."

Akane let him go and looked into his eyes. "I'll try Ryoga, I'm still angry about P-Chan, but you helped Ranko."

"Uh, about that-" Ryoga started to say when Ranko covered his mouth with her hand.

"We're taking things a day at a time." she said, a slight red blush on her face.

"HUH! You gotta be kidding, you and that jackass." Ukyo said in disbelief.

"Hey, you don't know what we went through down there." Ryoga said in protest.

"You don't know what we went through up here." Ryoko told him.

"Lets just say Ryoga and I, we had an interesting adventure down there, and we came to an understanding." Ranko said.

"The spiders were the worst." Ryoga said.

"No, I think the giant worms were the worse." Ranko said with a shudder.

"Then we were crawling through this really tiny tunnel when suddenly the ground split open above us and we saw light." Ranko added. "All we had to do was climb and we were out. The whole mountain range looked like it was cracked open."

"Oops." Tenchi said with a innocent grin.

Their attention was drawn by several collective gasps from the Amazons around them. The group turned and saw Ranma and Shampoo walk out of the house hand in hand. In her hand, Shampoo carried her great grandmother's staff. They stopped in the middle of the street and all of the Nyanchiczu around dropped to their knees and bowed their heads. Many, many sobs could be heard around the village as the word was spread. A crowd began to gather in front of Shampoo and Ranma and they all went onto their knees.

In Mandarin Chinese Shampoo spoke, "The Honored Matriarch has gone to her ancestors, may the gods of fallen warrior carry her spirit to heaven."

"What's going on?" Ukyo asked in a whisper.

Akane saw Ranma turn his head to look at her and she could see the grief written on his face and tears in his eyes.

"Cologne is dead." she said.

_____

Shampoo stood tall and proud, yet inside she was torn. She did not want to be here, but it was now her place as her great grandmother's chosen heir. Her lithe and beautiful frame was draped in the ornate robes of an Elder. They were similar to the same clothing that Cologne had worn, her feet were bare so that the souls of her feet touched the earth. She was outside of the village on the grounds of the ancient Amazon burial grounds. It was here where the Amazons laid their dead to rest in the earth for three thousand years. Shampoo looked at her great grandmother, she looked so peaceful, so calm now as she lay upon her funeral pier. As was the tradition for all matriarchs, Cologne was to be cremated and her ashes spread over the land she took an oath to protect when she look up the mantle of leadership. Today, it was Shampoo's turn to keep the traditions of the Amazons alive and take up the mantle her great grandmother chose to pass on to her.

The others were gathered there as well behind her at a respectful distance. Ayeka leaned against Tenchi's shoulder quietly crying. Ryoko stood behind the man she loved, her arms wrapped around his waist. Mihoshi stood beside Tenchi, and he reached out and put his free hand around her waist. Ranma held Ukyo and Akane close to him on either side, the two were in tears. Kuno Hikaru stood with Prince Herb both erect and at attention out of respect. Rouge, her arms and part of her face covered with bandages from her many wounds suffered during the fighting, stood with her nieces Salt and Pepper who were both dressed in attire that were much more appropriate to the occasion.

Perfume solemnly walked towards Shampoo holding a bamboo torch in her hands, while her form which was every bit as beautiful as Shampoo's was draped in ceremonial robes. When she reached Shampoo, the soon to be matriarch turned to her and Perfume placed the torch in her hands. Shampoo slowly turned back towards her great grandmother and walked to the pier. She knelled down lowering her head and softly uttered a prayer for her great grandmother's soul, then slowly she stood and using the torch she began to light the dry reeds and straw of the pier. When the fire began to spread Shampoo placed the torch on her great grandmother's chest and stepped back to where Perfume stood. Lilac approached this time from the opposite side carrying Cologne's staff. Shampoo turned to her, tears streaking down her face. She could see tears in Lilac's face also. The proud Amazon warrior turned to her new matriarch, knelled down to one knee and raised the staff towards Shampoo. Struggling to stop the sobs that were threatening to come forth, Shampoo reached out and grasped the staff, then turned around to face everyone who was in attendance.

"Let all who have bared witness here know that the mantle has been passed." Lilac said in Nihongo. "We send a sister on her way to the glory of heaven, out beloved matriarch. Today we send her to her ancestors, and today we bare witness to the passing of the mantle of leadership." Lilac turned to Shampoo and quickly dropped to her knees. Shampoo watched as everyone including Ranma, Tenchi, and the other girls did the same.

"Long live Shampoo, Matriarch of the Nyanchiczu." Lilac said and the crowd began to repeat those words over and over again until their voice became a roar.

_____

The dawn the next day bore witness to an extraordinary sight in the skies above the Amazon village. A huge object hovered above the ruins of the once proud village looking to the Nyanchiczu like some great flying creature of the sea. Only thing was this creature appeared to be made of dark crystal with a huge red dome at its apex.

All the newcomers from Nerima were gathered outside. Tenchi hugged a young looking woman with ankle length red hair after she mysteriously and magically appeared out of thin air. At least that is what it looked like from the perspective of the Amazons.

"I'm really sorry to hear about Cologne." Washu said sadly to Shampoo.

Shampoo, despite the breaking of her heart, smiled and said, "Thank you."

"Exactly what are you doing here, mother?" Ryoko asked the young head head genius adding an interest inflection to the word "mother".

Washu just smirked at her daughter then said, "Well, I determined something must have happened here in China." She looked over at Ranma and added, "You are pretty darn lucky, those huge chi blasts of yours set off NORAD early warning satellites. The United States and NATO went to full scale alert for a few hours, but I managed to hack into the computers systems and made it look like the satellite had malfunctioned and it didn't really detect anything."

"Sorry about that, but it couldn't be helped." said Ranma.

Washu turned her gaze back to Tenchi and slugged him in the arm playfully. "And you, watch where your putting that Light Hawk Sword. You split open a valley over four hundred miles long. That weapon has the power to slide stars in half." she said. Tenchi just grinned sheepishly and scratched the back his head.

"Kun Lao has the both the Amazon's key and the Musk Dynasty's key." said Ukyo.

"All he needs is the final key, and he will be able to open the Chamber of Ascension." Rouge said.

"We know where it is." Pepper said as she and her sister joined the group.

"Where!?" both Ranma and Tenchi asked at the same time.

"On the grounds of 'his' descendent's home." Salt said pointing at Kuno Hikaru. Hikaru stood unmoving but did a Spock Maneuver with his eye brow.

"You gotta be freakin kidding me, the Kuno place!" Ranma roared.

"Airen, great grandmother say that one key was given to Kuno clan." Shampoo told him.

"That is right, and it is a very special key." Rouge said. "Kun Lao may be able to locate it, but he will have a hard time possessing it."

Ranma looked at her strangely and asked, "Why is that?"

"Because the final key is a sacred artifact forged by the gods themselves." Prince Herb explained. "Only who is still pure may touch the final key."

"That creep is not pure." said Akane.

"You misunderstand him, what he means is only a 'virgin' may hold the final key." Rouge said.

"Huh!?" everyone said at once.

"A virgin, well we ain't go no problem there." Ranma said with a triumphant smirk. "That Kun Lao is no virgin."

"But Kodachi is." said Akane and Ranma's face suddenly went pale.

"Yes, Kun Lao can control the minds of women, all he would need to do is command a girl who is a virgin to take the key and hold it for him." Rouge explained.

"Uh, I forgot he can do that." Tenchi said looking pale too.

"Well, what the hell are you two jackasses doing standing around, lets get back to Nerima." Ukyo said.

"Right, Ryo-Ohki!" Washu shouted. A loud "Miya!" issued from the sky making the hairs on the back of Ranma's neck stand up on end, then a light descended upon them.

"What is this?" Herb asked looking at the light in wonder.

"Just hang on for the ride." Ranko told him and she reached out and look Ryoga arm. Seconds later the Amazons looked on in astonishment as the group of people suddenly vanished and the great crystalline thing hanging in the sky race off towards the horizon.

The situation was starting to get desperate. Kun Lao was getting stronger, and soon he was going to have the final key. Everyone on the Ryo- Ohki hoped that they would be able to reach Nerima in time to stop him. Meanwhile, across the Sea of Japan, on the main island, in the Tokyo ward of Nerima a young woman wearing a green gymnastics leotard did battle against the straw dummy dressed in Chinese clothes and sporting a red pigtail. Kuno Kodachi stopped her attack and stood in place twirling her ribbon in front of her. For some odd reason she could feel something was not right. She felt a sense of foreboding, like a dark cloud was descending up on her. Little did she know that a pair of malevolent eyes were watching her just at that moment. Kun Lao studied this luscious example of a young girl, he could feel her innocence from where he was hidden some distance away. There was nothing more he wanted more than to take this girl's virginity, but his immediate purpose won out. He needed her to get the key, after that he could do with her as he pleased. He prepared himself to make his move when he felt the approach of Tenchi, Ranma, and the others.

"Oh, I see, you think you can stop me." Kun Lao said softly thinking out loud. "I think I'll wait until you all arrive, then we shall have some real fun. __________

To be continued...

Next time... Part 7: The Line Drawn in the Sand

The worst has happened, Cologne has fallen and now Shampoo is the new Matriarch of the Nyanchiczu. Kun Lao has obtained the keys from the Amazons and the Musk. Ranma, Tenchi, their lady loves, the Hentai Twins, Kuno Hikaru and Prince Herb make for Japan. The final key is located on the grounds of the Kuno Estate and they are determined to stop the vile Chi Sorcerer once and for all. The epic final battle is close at hand but only if they make it in time. Meanwhile, a relationship between Ranko and Ryoga blossoms amids the chaos. This is by no means the final chapter...Stay tuned!