A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! Ugh… shutting up now… oi…

Flames of Destiny

By Insane Blight

Gaia's Herald

"After tearing the cocoon, the butterfly will flutter." Orochi said as he slashed his chest with both of his hands and then he licked the blood from his fingers. He smiled as the wound closed up moments later. He turned to his side and faced both Iori and Ranma, who were currently having difficulty standing up. "My sons, my blood…"

"Wh… What?"

Orochi smiled. "My sons, why do you fight it? Why fight against your own kind? It has already been proven throughout the years that humans are nothing but a plague to this world yet you still try to fight for them. Why?"

Iori stood up first and glared at Orochi. "Bah! Who said that I was fighting for them? It's just that I don't give a damn about them as much as I don't give a damn about you! I only look out for myself and I hate it when someone tries to manipulate me like you did a while ago!"

"While I don't share some of his beliefs…" Ranma began, glaring at Orochi with cold, violet eyes. "You have no right to judge all of us by the mistakes of a few… and don't you even dare say that you have a right to determine our fate just because you're a supposed god! Gaia's herald? Ha! Yeah, right! You look more like a disgruntled lead singer in a rock band!"

Orochi sighed and shook his head. "I was afraid of this act of defiance. But it is to be expected, considering that the two of you, along with Guidel's daughter, are tainted with human blood. You can't help but defend these thrash that is the human race. Very well, if that is your decision, so be it. Mature! Vice! Choose your side now!"

The two women, who just walked into the room, exchanged glances. They stood up and casually walked towards their god, it was a decision they already made long ago. "We shall forever serve you, Orochi-sama."

Ranma turned his head to the side, not wanting to see this side of the Hakkeshu of Light. His eyes were already full of disappointment towards her actions earlier. He instinctively jumped back when the place he was standing on blew up to pieces. He looked up and couldn't help but slump his shoulders when the attacker was his former partner.

"I'll be your opponent, half-breed." Mature said in an even tone.

The ponytailed boy didn't even bother to reply, this was just like his fight with Orochi Shermie but with one major difference: Mature doesn't regret her actions. He summoned his flame, covered his body in it, and began to run to the left side of the temple altar.

Iori scoffed when he found himself all alone with Vice. Terry, Kusanagi, Chizuru, Shermie and Leona were still knocked out, so it just leaves him and Saotome to finish the job. "Of all the opponents I ended up with, it just had to be with the Orochi loyalist."

Vice smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment, Yagami."

"I'm tired of this game, just shut up and fight."

Iori moved just in time to avoid being slashed by Vice's fingers but not fast enough to dodge her other attack. Vice grabbed his leg and casually threw him into the air like he was nothing, her power seemed to have increased by Orochi's revival as well. He didn't have time to recover from the attack as he found himself crashing down hard on the concrete floor.

Vice slowly raised both of her arms above her head, as if trying to indicate her inevitable victory. "It's useless to fight me anymore, Yagami. You of all people should know that it is suicide to try and stop Orochi-sama now, his power is way beyond our reach, much less any human's."

"Who said that I was trying to stop him in the first place? I told you last year that I don't care if Orochi resurrects or not, I was even planning on helping you out because I only wanted to kill Kusanagi! But you just had to use me against my will, and that's the only thing that pisses me off more than anything in the world!" Iori bellowed, getting up from the floor, summoning his purple flame and staring at Vice with those soulless yellow eyes.

'R-Riot… he's going into it again?' Vice thought in absolute horror. She quickly took a step back, her body involuntarily shivered when she recalled what happened to her a year ago.

Riot of Blood Iori roared, arching his body back before hunching forward with a twisted smile. He remained that way until he literally vanished in front of Vice's eyes, his speed was astonishing, even Orochi was a little impressed with the display of power. Iori stopped a few feet behind Vice's shaking form. He grabbed her by the neck and attacked her with consecutive flame burst before finishing it off with a headbutt that promptly busted Vice's head wide open.

Vice staggered from the assault but soon recovered to remove herself from Iori's grip. She countered by burying her razor sharp fingers into the berserker's stomach, just moments before she dragged him across the floor and slamming his body onto one of the stone pillars. 'No… he isn't even hurt!'

Iori sprinted forward and grabbed the still frozen Vice by her head. He lifted her up, covered her in flames and slammed her face first into the floor. The berserker didn't remove his grip, he let loose another barrage of flame bursts on his opponent and then he threw her towards the far end of the temple room. Vice's body went through several pillars before finally falling to the ground.

Orochi hovered a few feet above the berserker with a wide smile. "Thank you for that fight, but it wasn't enough to fill my body just yet." He held out his hand and blasted Riot of Blood Iori with a black, circular projectile that instantly knocked the berserker down and out, forcing him to revert back to his normal self.

Ranma leapt back to avoid being slashed by Mature's vacuum blades. "I thought that I knew you, but the woman standing in front of me is nothing like the woman whom I called a friend."

"Shut up half-breed! A friend…? What do you know?!" Mature bellowed, dashing forward and sending another series of attacks to the Orochi half-breed.

Ranma dodged them easily enough, but the force behind them was enough to cut through his clothing when Mature missed. "What do you mean?"

Mature cut him off with a swipe that tore through his shirt. "What the use in telling you?! Now, come on and fight Ranma! Fight me half-breed because I sure am going to fight you!"

She concentrated and a blinding flash of light appeared between the two, temporarily blinding Ranma but it did not do a thing to Mature as she moved in closer and sunk her fingers to the ponytailed teen's stomach. "It's better if you would just die right here!"

But to her shock the one she stabbed just dissipated into thin air. "Falling for a cheap imitation of an illusion technique, are you really ready to fight me seriously?"

A backhand sent Mature to the cold floor. Ranma loomed in closer, purple flames circling his body and stared at the blond with those violet eyes. He drew his arm back and yelled, "It's over Mat…!"

Ranma's attack was halted by a barrier of lightning bolts around the Hakkeshu of Light. He and Mature looked up to see Orochi grinning back at them. With one wave of his hand, Orochi sent the lightning bolts towards the half-breed, electrocuting him with each one. The ponytailed boy was sent to his knees from that attack. He looked up once more and glared at Orochi with absolute contempt. "Damn you…"

"Thank you for that invigorating fight. It was more than enough to finally bring me to full strength!" Orochi shouted in glee as he hovered at the center of the temple. His aura appeared moments later, in the form of the eight headed serpent.

"What are you talking about?!" Ranma asked, purple eyes narrowing. He has a feeling that he has just been manipulated yet again without him knowing about it.

Orochi smiled. "Surely you've heard about the way the Hakketsu Shuu gathers energy for me, haven't you? I thought Yashiro already explained that part to all of you. Oh…! How silly of me, I was the one in control of your body at that time, my apologies."

Ranma's ire was building the more he talked to this supposed god. "You have his attitude… but you're nothing like the boy I've grown to like."

"And you have a part of me! It was an unexpected mistake on my part to transfer some of my power onto you, a half-breed child of the sacred tribe." Orochi snapped back.

That exclamation raised eyebrows. 'I'm a part of him? When did…! Ryugenzawa… he wasn't trying to eat me like Akane said, he was trying to transfer his power onto me! Is this what my grandmother heard during the Hakkeshu meeting? Is this what Orochi intended for those of my tribe?'

"Yes, that is what I had originally intended for your tribe."

"????" 'Don't tell me he reads minds as well?!'

"To answer your question, yes, I can read minds. And I think you get it now. My original body recognized you and the tribe you originated from, that's why I instinctively went for you in an attempt to move into your body. But when the transfer began, you surprisingly went into the Riot of Blood, a sign that you are tainted with human blood thus making it impossible to complete the process."

Ranma clenched his fists tighter. "So then how did you manage to find Chris? He wasn't showing anything related to us at all! He's just a normal boy!"

Orochi closed his eyes. "What a fool you are. What do you think my Hakketsu Shuu were doing all this time? You traitors were still being hunted down like the dogs that you are. Who do you think killed his parents? For that matter, who do you think made the other Heavenly Kings' lives miserable?"

"No… Goenitz…"

"Correct. What an excellent servant he was, a pity he had been defeated by Kusanagi and Yasakani. He found the rest of the traitors, the tribes of the earth, lightning, water and fire. The former three rebelled against me just after your tribe of the sacred flame was destroyed. Goenitz, of course, killed the traitors, but not their children. He knew that they can still be used, sealing their powers and their heritage temporarily is a breeze compared to reawakening them."

By now, Ranma was seething as he summoned his flames. "I get it now. I have transformed into my awakened state when those morons from Nerima decided to attack me while Yashiro, Shermie and Chris all awoke in this tournament, after fighting the world's strongest fighters."

Orochi nodded. "Yes, every time a member of my clan fights, your opponent's energy goes into you and every time it happens, my blood inside you grows stronger and it will continue to do so until you reach the point that your body transforms to your awakened state, along with the memories you receive from your ancestors. That's why all the hatred, all the suffering, all the anger of your clan was passed onto you."

Ranma snarled. "But I'm different from any clan member ever since 'merging' with you, right?"

Orochi smiled. "Indeed. Since you're a half-breed, you should've only gone into the Riot of Blood but since you have a portion of my powers in you, it became possible for you to awaken, even if it is quite unstable. Heh, did you like how I controlled your mind a little while back? You had no memory of that incident but the destruction we caused was proof enough. A pity you had to listen to that priestess and still choose to believe in humans, you would've made a fine Hakkeshu considering your adequate control over the elements."

"Bastard, you 'guided' the four of us here into this tournament and then you used all of us when the time was right. Everything went according to your plan, didn't it? You ordered the three of them to capture Leona and Yagami to force them into the Riot of Blood, you manipulated me and then you made sure that the three of us were together when we came back to this temple, so that all the energy we gathered will be transferred to you." Ranma deduced.

"Impressive, you got it all in one go. But enough idle chatter, it is time to rid myself of those tainted with human blood. Come child, and embrace death."

By now, the rest of the group was starting to come to, Chizuru being the first to regain her senses. She looked up and her eyes slowly began to widen when she stared at the scene in front of her. Both Iori and Ranma were being choked in the air by the newly awakened Orochi, with Mature and the now conscious Vice watching them from the side with twisted smiles. "No… he has really returned…"

Terry and Kyo were the next to come to, followed by Leona and Yuki. Terry didn't waste any time, he quickly leapt at Orochi and tried to punch him in the face but he surprisingly bumped into some sort of invincible wall that hurled him way back as his fist connected with it. This however, was enough to warrant the white-haired man's attention. He released his hold on the two Orochi warriors and looked to his side, with Vice and Mature following his lead.

"How do you like it Kagura? How does it feel now that you have failed your duty that your beloved ancestors passed onto you?" Mature mocked.

Chizuru's hair flowed upwards, startling those near her. "I may have failed in stopping Orochi's awakening, but my mirror still has the power to stop all of you!" she exclaimed, holding out her hands and calling out the Yata mirror.

Orochi just laughed at that. "Power? What power? Oh, my sweet, naïve, Yata priestess. Your ancestors were successful in sealing me only because I was not at full strength, and I don't mean that Kushinada sacrifice. Here, let me show you what I mean by 'full strength'…"

A large, black, circular projectile went straight for the Kagura priestess. Chizuru blocked it with the Yata mirror but she was having a really tough time in just containing it. Ranma saw and felt this so he immediately tackled her out of the way, seconds before the projectile broke through the mirror's powers and it continued to go forward, destroying everything it touches, from the temple pillars to the forest down below.

Orochi laughed when he saw the frozen looks on their faces. "What's wrong? Is this the first time you've seen an actual god? In any case, this is wonderful! I can feel the power coursing through my body. It is more than I ever thought it would be! My Hakketsu Shuu has done an excellent job in gathering the energy for me. Oh, I think I would like to try my powers on… that city over there."

Ranma's eyes widened when his heart produced an unbearable amount of pain as Orochi finished those words. He tried to lunge at the floating god but he has already flown towards the nearest city. "No! Don't!"

Orochi flew away from the temple at high speed, seemingly enjoying his time in the air. He raised his hand and lightning immediately fell from the sky, it was like rain, pouring non-stop to the city below, the scene it created was beautiful yet deadly. "You pitiful humans… Gaia does not need your kind!"

The lightning barrage stopped when Orochi decided to fly down onto the city. He smiled as he hovered just a few feet above it. The people down below paused in their attempt to escape the barrage of lightning earlier, they looked up and gasped as they stared at Orochi's imposing figure.

"Let us all return to nothing!"

Orochi crossed and raised his arms in front of him. The people down below were introduced to a blinding light but that's not what was on their minds right now. They immediately screamed in pain just as the light touched their skin and they screamed even more when the light intensified, causing their bodies to burst in flames. Men, women, children, hundreds if not thousands of people burned alive in an instant, and Orochi couldn't be more pleased with himself.

The various houses and buildings soon blew up from that attack. Orochi waved a hand in front of him before the ground began to shake. The earthquake was immense, completely destroying the buildings that managed to survive his last attack. He finished it off by holding his hand up and summoning a number of hurricanes, finishing the entire city and its residents off.

"My power is back to normal. All I need now is that Kushinada girl to complete my revival and losing a part of me to him will not be that big of a deal." With that, he flew back to the top of his temple of worship.

"Oh… oh Kami-sama…" Chizuru breathed out. Everybody else, including Mature and Vice, was stunned by the power Orochi displayed in front of their eyes.

"How can we fight someone as powerful as that?" Leona whispered.

Vice laughed. "You can't, plain and simple!"

"She's right you know." Orochi said as he flew back into the center of the temple. "Now, give me Kushinada, and maybe I'll let you all live to see the destruction of the human race by my…'human' incarnation." He chuckled, taking another slash at his chest and licking his own blood once more.

Kyo quickly went in front of the downright scared Yuki. "Like hell you monster! You'll have to get through me first!"

Orochi just raised an amused eyebrow, hovering between his remaining Hakketsu Shuu and the rest of the fighters. "A problem easily taken cared of." Molten lava flowed upwards from the center of the place, forcing all of them to jump up and take cover while Ranma placed Chizuru to one side of the temple and was now as busy as hell trying to get to the unconscious Shermie that was currently lying dangerously close to the lava.

The rest of the fighters were getting nowhere fast. Terry and Iori were currently fighting Vice and Mature as they jump around, trying to avoid the flowing lava while Kyo was busy carrying a trembling Yuki to even think of attacking Orochi. That only left Leona and Chizuru. The two worked in tandem, with Leona attacking from above with her vacuum blades and explosive earrings while Chizuru summoned her mirror down below, forcing Orochi to focus on her and just take the blows coming from Leona.

Orochi flew way up and sent multiple black orbs towards the lava, making it explode and burst forth, causing Chizuru and Leona to jump out of the way. "Pitiful humans, you cannot stop a god! You have no chance of survival so just give it up! It's better to die by the hands of a god rather than die by the hands of your fellow humans! Resign to you fa-"

His ramblings were put to a stop when he received a punch in the face, a punch that came from a snarling half-breed, who was currently flying in midair along with him. "A god huh? Then why the hell are you bleeding from just one punch?"

"Flight… no doubt you learned it from your encounter with that miserable little dragon descendant." Orochi snarled, wiping off some blood from his lip. "But you seem to be having a great deal of trouble by just staying afloat, heh, you'll die just like that pathetic dragon for defying me and my will!"

Ranma smirked, panting quite a bit in midair. "Really? That's not what I heard oh, great one. What's the matter? I can hear your disdain towards Herb and his kind. Are you still mad because the dragon beat the living hell out of you and was even successful in killing your other form? To me, it only proves how weak you are!"

"Grr, I wonder when you will shut that big mouth of yours…"

Orochi suddenly vanished from Ranma's view. The ponytailed teen's mobility in the air was really not up to par with the eight-headed god so it was no surprise that Orochi treated him like a rag doll while in midair. "Destiny cannot be altered! The humans shall perish by my hands and there is nothing you can do about it, you lowly half-breed! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!"

Repeated slashes to the chest and to the face was what Ranma had to endure as he came crashing down to the ground, almost landing directly on molten lava. Orochi chuckled lightly as he hovered above the heavily bleeding ponytailed teen. "Oh, killing you, Yasakani, Kusanagi, and Yata by my own hands will bring me absolute pleasure but… I think I'd give the honors to somebody else…"

He turned his head to the side and blasted Iori and Terry out of the way. He smiled as he stared at his two remaining, loyal Hakketsu Shuu. "Oh yes… I'll leave the dirty work to my special child…"

Vice screamed when Orochi sent a powerful wave of energy into her. It was not meant to kill her though, it was merely a method of bringing out her true self, a secret that she has kept from everyone, including the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu. She grabbed her throat as she started to cough up large amounts of blood. "No…! Somebody KILL ME!!!"

Her clothes were being torn apart by her rapidly growing fingernails, her eyes glazed over before the pupils vanished, leaving only a yellowish glow. She struggled to get a few words out but they were soon replaced with an inhuman howl, her hair turned into a combination of red and violet, and she has gone deathly pale.

"No way, she's a pure blood, isn't she?!" Mature gasped in shock, instinctively leaping away from her partner and landing beside the downed ponytailed teen.

Orochi grinned, staring at Vice's Blood Riot form. "Foolish, did she really think that she can hide her precious little secret forever? Having tainted blood, she was ridiculed by those of her clan and was beaten to an inch of her life almost everyday by her parents, who were of pure blood yet their child is not."

Mature looked up to her master. "H-How?!"

Ranma knew the reason for it though, he has some of Orochi's power and memories after all. He coughed up some blood as he growled out, "You did it, didn't you?! You turned her into this! I can sense it!"

"Hahaha! Indeed I did! I was trying to create the ultimate vessel for me to possess, she was just the result of that failure of an experiment. But it was not an entire failure… she did receive a nice side effect after all."

"Side effect?"

Orochi closed his eyes and concentrated, large stones floated around him a few seconds later. "Telepathy of course… that's why she was able to see the memories of the people she has faced in the past and then she could manipulate them at will. Saisyu Kusanagi, the one she brainwashed two years ago and of course, Chris, she recently discovered him to be my other vessel so she 'tweaked' his mind a little in order for me to easily convince him to willingly be my vessel."

"You son of a…"

Vice growled, and hunched over, looking at Mature and Ranma with her now lifeless eyes.

"She has one other use as well… Vice! They have already served their purpose! My child, destroy them all! Leave no one, and I mean no one, alive!!!"

"Orochi-sama!" Mature gasped out, eyes widening by the second. Fortunately, Ranma grabbed her just in time before Vice came down on her with those claws. The ponytailed teen kept on dodging the redhead until someone finally intervened, and it was none other than Iori, who had a wide grin on his face as he stared back at the Orochi berserker.

"Yagami, what are you…?"

Iori smirked. "I'll take it from here, she and I have a lot to talk about." He said, lunging at the redhead and tearing out a good portion of her skin. "So this is what you were bitching about… bah, like I care! I just want to pay you back for using me, Orochi loyalist!"

While the two get reacquainted with their claws, Orochi watched with interest from up above but had to turn back his attention to the two, fleeing Hakketsu Shuu. He had a sick grin on his face as he held out a hand and sent a black wave of energy that was aimed for Ranma's back as he carried the still shocked blond by the shoulders. The oncoming blast caught Ranma's attention as he looked over his shoulder but he could not react fast enough.

With his eyes closed, he thought of the worst but there was no pain at all besides his wounds from earlier. He slowly opened his eyes and found himself staring at sorrowful blue eyes. He was currently being pinned on the ground by a smiling Mature, who was trembling rather violently as she tried to keep her balance. "Mature? What are you-?"

"Sorry it took me so long. I… I wanted to… be human and live a normal life… but… I couldn't find… the courage… to do so… no matter how hard I tried… I just couldn't push myself to do so…" Mature whispered with a small smile. "Then… then you came… and changed all that…"

Ranma stared at her for a minute before looking at his hand that was holding her. His eyes widened when he saw her blood on it. "No, not again, not again." he muttered as he looked back at Mature and shook his head. "Come on, stop it! You're a strong woman… you can get through this, so please save your strength…"

"No… I know it's my time… Ranma, your strength… the way you hide your suffering to those that didn't know your secret… the way you bear the pain by yourself… never really asking for help… yet… yet you were willing to help others who bear the same curse as yourself… that's what drew me to you…" She gently rested her head on his chest, smiled slightly, and slowly closed her eyes. "I do not regret my past actions but I do wish… I do wish that… I could've met you earlier… Ranma… I love you…"

The ponytailed teen watched as Mature's body fell limp on top of him. His body was shaking uncontrollably, and his eyes were currently looking at the contented smile on the blonde's face. He gently moved her body to the side and knelt beside her. His body shook some more until he gritted his teeth and snapped his head up. "Why? Why do you take everyone away from me?!" he yelled to the heavens before glaring at the floating god that was watching the fight between Iori and Riot of Blood Vice.

"I have to face him, I have to finish it. I will not lose anyone again, I swear…" He took one last look at Mature before standing up and jumping back. He watched as Terry, Leona and Kyo fought Orochi in vain. He ignored them for now, grabbed the unconscious Shermie off the ground and carried her towards Chizuru, who jumped slightly at his sudden arrival.

"Ranma…? What is it?"

Ranma placed Shermie to the side, leaned closer to Chizuru and whispered a few words to her ear that warranted a loud gasp from the priestess. She shook her head for a few seconds before she finally agreed to what Ranma was talking about. A soft light surrounded the two and the ponytailed teen just smiled slightly as he muttered, "I knew it."

He turned around and was about to jump to the fight when Chizuru grabbed his shirt. "Wait! What are you going to do with it? Ranma?" she asked, quite a bit unnerved by his calm demeanor. "Ran-"

Chizuru's eyes widened when Ranma hugged her tightly. Ranma leaned in once more and said a few words to her ear. "It ends here. I'm glad to have met all of you, and I'm glad to have met you…" he trailed off as he pressed the priestess' shiatsu point that instantly knocked her out. "Thank you for making me fight for what I believed in."

As Ranma ran away from Chizuru, Ash stealthily approached the unconscious body of the Kagura priestess. He chuckled as he knelt beside her. "Now, I need to borrow something from you my dear, I hope you don't mind."

He shoved his hand to her chest and surprisingly, it buried itself into her body and it seems as if that he is searching for something inside the priestess' body. After a few seconds, his eyes slowly began to widen in shock and surprise when he came up empty. "It's not here! Where is it? Who has it?!"

Then it suddenly hit him. He looked up and stared at Ranma's back, who was currently running towards Orochi. Ash got up, shook his head and began to chuckle to himself. "He pulled a fast one on me without him even noticing it. Oh well, I'll get it some other time. I wish you the best of luck with what you're about to do, you're going to need it. He is not someone to be taken lightly after all." Ash muttered as he quickly scurried away from the temple.

"Sai Dai Kyu! Shi Shi Hokodan!"

Orochi found himself dodging the molten lava flowing upwards from the ground, along with a barrage of lightning bolts and purple flames that were homing in on him. What he didn't notice was the depression-based ki, which was being encased in purple flames, was slowly being formed above him and the ponytailed teen.

"Haha, is this the best that my other half could do?" Orochi taunted, gliding seamlessly in the air to avoid the attacks, though he was a bit impressed at how fast Ranma has learned to control his power. He then raised his arm and called out his own flames and the other elements to cancel out the ponytailed teen's attack.

Ranma managed to grab onto Orochi but he had a blank stare as he did so. Orochi struggled to get out but stopped when he finally noticed the descending ball of depression. The white-haired man snarled, raised his arm, and concentrated. "This is nothing to me! Be gone!"

He shot several dark orbs towards it but to his surprise, purple flames blocked the incoming blasts, completely protecting the descending projectile. Said purple flames then encased the depression blast and its descent became even faster, allowing no chance for Orochi to make any more countermoves, though he still had that maniacal grin on his face. "Truly pathetic, I expected more from you."

The two were engulfed within the large ball of ki but Orochi quickly split it in two seconds later. He lifted Ranma up by the shirt and grinned as he touched the teen's cheek with his other hand that was now glowing blue.

"Hmph, it's such a short-lived life."

Chizuru woke up when she heard Ranma's anguished scream. She shook her head and looked around. Shermie was still outcold beside her, Iori was covered in blood as he lies on top of a pillar with an unconscious Vice, Terry was embedded on the wall in front of her, Kyo and Leona were lying on the ground, barely able to move their bodies, and finally, an unconscious Yuki was sprawled a few feet from Ranma and Orochi, where the latter was beating the hell out of the former.

She placed a hand on her chest, closed her eyes and choked back a sob. "It ends here… if that's what you want then I'll help you. The seals placed around the world, I call upon thee… I call upon thy powers to aid thy ancient mirror!"

At various locations around the world, Osaka, Tokyo Tower; Kowloon, China… Pillars of light appeared on all of the locations where the fights for the King of Fighters tournament were held.

Orochi's eyes widened when Chizuru began to glow white and was now slowly floating up and off the ground. "No, I will not be sealed again! I will not be sealed by you humans again!" He dropped Ranma's body on the ground and was about to fly towards the priestess when a greenish light passed right by him, quickly catching his attention.

"What?"

'What the…? This power…!' Orochi's thoughts were cut short when another green light traveled past him. He turned to the source of the light and narrowed his eyes to see the person who wields such power. The source was actually very far from his current location but he can still see the person who released it.

A long way from the actual battleground, Ash smirked when he felt Orochi's power in the area. "You must've spotted me by now. I want your power my dear eight-headed friend, and I want it now!" he yelled as he pulled out the pendant from his pocket. The pendant glowed bright green right before shooting another flash of light towards Orochi.

"You!" Orochi shouted, scowling at Ash's smirking figure. He was about to fly to Ash's spot when he suddenly found himself unable to move his body. He looked down and his eyes widened when he saw a huge, circular seal that was placed around the temple of worship. He cursed himself, knowing that he was right in the middle of it. "No… no… the dragon's seal…! Damn you!"

He screamed in pain when he felt something hit him. He looked down once more and saw Ranma holding onto his waist with one arm and the half-breed seemed to be carrying something with his other hand. Orochi's eyes widened when he finally got a good look at it. 'No… the mirror?! Not now!' "Are you out of your mind?! With the mirror's boost in power, you'll kill us both!"

"Like I give a damn what happens to me! All I care about now is to destroy you and your goddamn cycle!" Ranma yelled, shoving the Yata mirror onto Orochi's chest. The ponytailed teen's body reacted to it. Basically, the energy released was tearing him inside out, and the same symbol that was on Orochi's chest appeared on his body as well.

Both beings screamed as their bodies were suddenly engulfed in an insurmountable amount of pain. Their flesh were slowly being ripped from their bodies but Orochi was rapidly changing forms as it happened, he was reverting back to Chris every now and then and the brown-haired boy would scream loudly every time it did so.

"We will never allow you to walk this world ever again!" Two sets of voices shouted, one was Ranma's and the other one came from Orochi himself, much to his surprise.

Gaia's harbinger gritted his teeth when his chest suddenly felt like it was on fire. This pain was not coming from the mirror, but from the original host of his body. "Child, you gave your body to me! You sacrificed yourself so that I may walk this world once more!"

"I never gave it to you! You controlled me… you used me! You lied to me about my parents! You lied to me about Ranma not being my friend! He is my friend and I will never trade that for anything you have to offer!" Orochi, or more precisely, Chris said to himself.

Orochi screamed in sheer rage, he was losing this battle and he feels as if that this is a battle that may finally bring him down once and for all. He tried to grab Ranma's neck in hopes to pry him and the mirror off of his body but he mentally cried out in frustration when he can't move anymore. 'Even in your death, you still want to protect these humans, dragon?! Even if it leads to their inevitable self-destruction, that you helped create?!' "You fool! The two of us will be permanently destroyed! You must've sensed it by now so stop this thing at once!"

"That's the whole point, moron! Destroyed! We will not be sealed but we will be destroyed instead! The two thousand year old cycle ends here! Our clan ends here! Let's go back to where we came from! Let us go back to Gaia!" Ranma screamed right before a huge pillar of light swallowed them whole.

"If that truly is your answer then so be it… but I will not go down alone, I shall take all of you with me! Let us all return to nothing!" Orochi shouted, releasing all of his power to counter the combined effects of the mirror and his other half.

Iori, Leona, Chizuru, Terry, Yuki and Kyo covered their eyes from the light emanating from where Orochi and Ranma were fighting at. Before anyone could even do anything, the blinding light surged forward, knocking them back down. The light continued to travel around the world, not a single soul avoided the backlash. After the light dispersed, there was nothing but absolute silence…

AN: .........................You're gonna kill me, right? Hear me out first. I'm going to post an epilogue for the Orochi saga that should explain the whole 'what the heck happened?' part. There's no 'punch me in the back so you could seal Orochi' thing, sorry.

Anyway, I think Orochi's power was underrated in the game itself so I decided to give him a boost… okay… a very big power boost, he is considered a god after all so human attacks are almost useless against him now that he's fully awakened and the Yata mirror can contain him, so it should be powerful, but not on the level of Orochi so it required its own boost in the form of those seals.

Sorry about the messy formatting in my fics, I'm still experimenting with ffnet's system, like what other things aren't allowed besides the asterisks, etc…

Next Epilogue: Past, Present, and Future