"Milord!" Kiima fell to one knee as she entered the royal chambers.
"Rise, Kiima. What news does the day bring?" Saffron was currently standing at a window watching the sun rise. He was clad in loose white silks, his wings held loosely outstretched, allowing the sunlight to filter through the feathers. He turned to face Kiima, the light forming a shimmering halo around his body. With his small stature and the innocence inherent to a child's face, he looked like a cherubim. Then he smiled, showing his true nature. A nature that had no regard for life, and because death was not something he feared.
"The Musk and the Amazons have moved sooner than anticipated, Milord. They approach from the south." Kiima stood as she spoke, addressing her liege.
"How many troops do they have arrayed, and what variety of machinery do they employ?" Saffron allowed his wings to curl up onto his back. He walked away from the window, crossing the room to where Kiima stood. He climbed the dais to his throne, standing before the seat as he looked down on his captain.
"Best estimates are thirty-five hundred, Milord. Machinery includes fifteen trebuchets, several towers, fifteen ballista, five catapults, and a full complement of men and supply wagons for each."
"Close to four thousand men total then?"
Kiima nodded.
"What do you suggest, Kiima?"
"Milord. I suggest we send a division to crush them decisively. Soften them with a barrage of long range weaponry, artillery, and incendiary devices, to be followed by a clean up sweep when their forces break."
"Ten thousand men for such a small force?"
"Yes, Milord. I suggest we end this conflict quickly so as to save strength for later campaigns. Plus, it will give the new soldiers much needed experience and morale boost, Milord."
Saffron frowned. "I'd rather we played with them a bit, Kiima."
"Milord? I'm not sure I understand..."
"I want to humiliate them, and let them bleed to death from a hundred tiny cuts. Send two hundred men. No firearms. Keep to the air and out of range of bow shot. Allow them crossbows. Tell the men to aim for officers, if possible. Hunting season is open. Come back in two hours, and we will start the next stage of the attack." Saffron dismissed her with a wave of her hand.
Kiima bowed before backing out of the hall.
Konatsu began counting as soon as the patrol disappeared around the corner. When he reached thirty, the guard had reappeared, walking in the opposite direction, scanning the area below him. Konatsu's force was well hidden, but the light was steadily increasing, and soon it would be too bright to provide adequate cover for the hundred soldiers under his command.
Konatsu waited until the guard turned the corner again before signaling the first group to move. In a flash, thirty soldiers materialized out of the rocks and leapt up the mountain, making little sound. They took cover fifty or so meters up the mountain as the sentry returned, completing his rounds. Again the slow count and again more men moved, leaping up the mountainside to join the first group.
Konatsu moved with the last group, joining his men up the slope. They began moving in shifts, fifty men moving up the hill while fifty covered and watched for sentries. Progress was slow, but the early morning start had served them well. Already they had covered more than four-fifths of the distance to the summit. The danger was now that fliers might spot them.
During one of his watching shifts, Konatsu allowed his vision to wander over to the assemble forces below in the valley. The army looked so small from this distance. He could just make out the lines of the soldiers, and the supply wagons for the various siege engines. They were outgunned and outnumbered, and everyone knew it. The Phoenix had fire arms. If the chose, they could simply fly above the armies and rip them to shreds, safely out of range of the bows the Amazons carried.
That was the biggest risk factor in their plan. No one knew how the Phoenix would react. Would they respond with overwhelming force and crush the Musk like a small bug, or simply ignore the threat? The small force the Amazons and the Musk could assemble would not pose a threat to the Phoenix. They all hoped that by moving first, the had been able to buy some time, encouraging only a half hearted response to the threat, instead of overwhelming force.
Konatsu hitched his shoulders, resettling the barrel strapped to his shoulders. So many variables and this was the biggest one of them all. He had one hundred men with him, each carrying a 55 gallon barrel similar to his own. The barrels were packed full of instant powdered Nanniichuan and Nyaniichuan created in a week of madcap night sessions by the Jusenkyou Springs.
The remaining water had been pumped into huge cauldrons, and the ki adepts like Ranma, Herb, and Ku Lon had mixed some salts into the water, and then heated the huge cauldrons with ki. The water flash evaporated, leaving behind only the salts, and hopefully, enough magic to effect a transformation. Ranma's plan had been simple in nature, audacious beyond belief, and completely unexpected.
Konatsu smirked as he moved, remembering how it had been explained. He scanned the skies and quickly bounding up the mountain face in huge leaps, dashing seventy or so meters before finding cover. The idea was to pour enough instant powder into the lake atop Mt. Phoenix to turn it into a giant Jusenkyou cursed spring. Then, with the help of a few explosives and some artfully done Baksaitenketsu's, the whole contents of the lake would be sent into the mountain itself, flooding the Phoenix like a bunch of rats.
Rob them of their ability to fly for a while, and the assembled armies had a chance to take the battle to them. Even if they couldn't win, they might be able to hold the armies at bay long enough for Ranma to take out Saffron. If Ranma failed, he had promised to bring down the mountain itself, killing every thing inside and most likely all the combatants below. Today would be the end of the Musk, the Amazons, and the Phoenix tribes. At least they would die gloriously in battle, as they were meant too.
Konatsu continued to climb until at last he reached the summit. He peaked over cautiously. He wasn't overly concerned by the small force of Phoenix guarding the lake, but he was impressed that the leaders had planned for the remote possibility that someone might try to attack the water supply. It didn't matter. When Konatsu gave the signal, death descended on the crater, killing everything.
The last Phoenix fell with an arrow to the throat before he could even bring his firearm to bear. The men immediately began to strip the bodies and hide them, donning the armor so that any casual observers up high might mistake them for the sentries. There was no need for Konatsu to issue orders. These Musk were his own personal squad, and they knew their mission.
The barrels were opened quickly, and the contents dumped into the lake as a fire team went around the crater planting the seismic charges. Konatsu and a few others circled the lake and began the arduous process of getting beneath the lake. Utilizing the Bakusai Tenketsu technique, they began to tunnel down, following the contours of the lake bed.
After about an hour of digging, Konatsu estimated he was directly beneath the deepest point of the lake. He began to dig down, blasting a hole down to the Phoenix dwelling chambers. He was joined shortly by a second soldier as the two tunnels joined, speeding the process rapidly. More soldiers joined in the fray, switching from blasting with the Bakusai Tenketsu to shovels as they approached what they figured to be the top of the Phoenix quarters.
Konatsu pulled out a simple wooden staff and poked it into the ground. He pulled out a knife and whittled a hole near the top of the staff. Threading a piece of string through the new hole, he tied a simple knot. Gathering his strength, he delivered a sharp, downward palm strike to the top of the staff, sending it shooting into the dirt. It was lost to sight completely, and a small trickle of light filtered up through the hole he had just created. Every one grinned. Konatsu pulled on the string he held, slowly pulling the staff back into the hole. No need to announce their intentions.
Akane stared out over the valley, entranced by its beauty. She wanted to stay here forever, to let this valley become part of her soul, so that a part of Ranma would always stay with her. She absently began to fiddle with the ring on her left hand. "I should be down there."
"Did you say something, Akane?" Her musings were cut short by Ryoga's question. She turned to see that he was ready to go. He was tightening the straps to his pack as he spoke, watching her out of the corner of his eye. She turned back to the valley once more, watching the sun rise over the ridge, Mt. Phoenix silhouetted in the early morning light. Down below, she caught the reflection of sunshine off of metal. Was Ranma down in that? It was better not to think of that, though.
"No."
"Ah... Okay... Well, are you ready to go?"
"Yeah. I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
Ranma slid past the two guards unnoticed, walking slowly to watch for the various traps that littered the path. He reached the first junction, and quickly consulted his map. He turned, heading deeper into the mountain. He reached the first exit soon enough. The two guards certainly weren't expecting to be attacked from behind. A few lightning fast pressure points later, the sentries were immobilized. He pushed open the door slightly, allowing a lone Amazon to enter. She couldn't see him, of course, but she bowed never the less. With that, the warrior leapt to the ceiling, clinging upside down to wait for the signal from above. Ranma closed the door again before leaving.
One down, twelve to go. The mountain was impregnable, but that could be used to their advantage. The Phoenix had planned for a massive assault, not for treachery. The Amazons had pointed out the flaw in the design immediately. If you closed all the secondary exits, you forced the enemy to come from the direction you choose. Choosing your own battle was half the victory.
Ranma continued to work his way to the various exits, each time incapacitating the guards and allowing a single Amazon warrior in. It took him about an hour and a half to make it to all the secondary exits. The only one that would remain open was the primary exit high above. By the time the Phoenix figured out what was happening, they'd be at the mercy of the siege engines below.
Now, he needed to find Saffron. He headed up, looking for the royal chambers.
"Form ranks! Shields and Pikes up front, followed by infantry, the Archers!" Herb whipped his horse around, riding up and down the lines bellowing orders. He had control of the better part of one thousand men, and his father was overseeing the siege engines and cavalry. He hated riding a horse, but it gave him a better vantage point from which to survey the battlefield.
Herb watched in anxiety as a platoon of Phoenix sallied forth from the entrance high up the mountain's side. Herb sighed in relief as he only counted two hundred fliers. He briefly allowed thoughts of Konatsu to cross his mind before squashing them. He couldn't afford to be distracted right now. They had taken the bait.
"Hold your fire! Prepare for bombardment!" Herb dismounted, and handed his reigns to an aide de camp. He accepted a shield from the same person. He wasn't overly worried about the small number of men, but still, it never hurt to be prepared. Caution would keep him alive.
It only took a few minutes for the Phoenix to cross the distance from the mountain to the assemble armies below. Herb shook his head. They were fast! Any normal army didn't stand a chance against a foe like this, no matter how numerically superior. They moved about as fast as attack copters, were infinitely more maneuverable, and highly trained.
The Phoenix began to circle high above the armies, well out of range of bow shot. The first few crossbow bolts fell silently among the ranks. A soldier to Herb's right took a bolt through the eye. Herb ignored it, cursing the luck. They had to use bolts. "ENHANCED SHIELDS SHEILDS NOW!" He allowed some ki to seep into his voice, booming his command across the battle field. Whether it was intentional or not, the Armies had come to face firearms, not conventional weaponry. That meant their shields were inadequate.
A bullet would loose a lot of force from that high, and by the time it impacted with a shield below, would have lost the necessary power to penetrate because its mass was so small. That was not the case with the quarrels, though. By the time they impacted with the shields, they had enough momentum and inertia to punch through the iron and rend the flesh below.
Herb felt ki begin to permeate the battlefield as the soldiers allowed a little ki to flow into the shield, strengthening it against the attack. The damage had been done, though. By the time the bombardment stopped a couple of hours later, nearly one hundred men had died, and three times that number had been wounded. Herb grinned all the same. They had just lived two hours longer than anyone had expected.
He watched the fliers circle one last time before returning to the mountain. Now, if Konatsu would blow the crater...
"Milord, the fliers have returned. As you commanded, what shall we do next?" Kiima knelt as she reported.
Saffron rose from his throne. "I believe I feel like a bath, Kiima. Is everything ready?"
Kiima's eyes lit up. "It is Milord. Shall I call for the food?"
"Oh do. You are so thoughtful sometimes, captain. If you survive the coming migration, remind me to promote you."
"You are too gracious, Milord." She rose after Saffron walked past her out of the chambers, heading towards the lower levels.
Ranma slipped into the royal chambers only to find them empty. He pulled the blankets to the bed back, not really expecting to find anything, but looking for some clue as to where Saffron might be. He froze as he heard the door open behind him. A servant entered and went to a standing dresser, opening it and pulling out an elaborate garb. Ranma could just make out the servant murmuring about the lord and his transformation. With nothing else to lose, he followed the servant out as he made his way down the mountain.
Saffron stepped into the bath chamber flanked by Kiima, his advisor and a few servants. Chained to the walls surrounding the area were thirteen Phoenix criminals. He paid them no mind as he descended the steps of the large bath, looking up at the giant Phoenix statue before him.
"Bring me the Kinjyakan!" His advisor bowed, and turned to servant holding the staff. It was the emblem of the Phoenix royalty, and a powerful artifact in its own right. More importantly, it served as the key to unlock the hot water tap that was the primary function of the Phoenix statue.
The old advisor diffidently held the staff with both hands as he presented it to Saffron, head bowed. The child emperor paid him no mind as he grabbed the staff and commanded, "Leave me."
Kiima cleared her throat. He turned to glance at the woman. "Yes, Kiima?"
"Milord. You shall not be available for three days, correct?"
"That is correct. Once I put the Kinjikan into the Phoenix and turn it, no one should enter here, or they will die. I become quite... hungry during the process. As long as the water flows hot, the process will continue with out interruption. Why do you ask, Captain?"
"How shall we deal with the armies below? I can't allow them to stay there unchallenged..."
Saffron waved his hand dismissively. "I care not. Crush them, if you wish. Better yet, capture as many alive as you can. I wish to feast on their flesh when I awaken."
"As you command, Milord."
"Akane, we really shouldn't be down here!" Ryoga was frantic. Akane had ignored all his protests, marching towards the field where the armies were. After a while, he had given up. He didn't think he was good enough to knock her out and drag her away, and nothing short of that would change her mind.
For her part, Akane didn't know exactly what she was doing or why, but she knew she needed to do something. So, she marched right into the Amazon camp, looking for Shampoo. Shampoo was surprised by her appearance, but didn't react like Akane expected.
Shampoo looked her over once before asking, "You wish fight, yes?"
Akane nodded.
"Come, then." Akane followed Shampoo, dragging an increasingly nervous Ryoga behind her. They arrived at a tent filled with various kinds of weaponry and armor. Shampoo began to dig through various piles, throwing a set of chain mail, a shield, and a helmet at Akane. Akane began to put them on, while Shampoo assisted, tightening various buckles and ties to make the armor fit better.
Ryoga was having kittens during the whole process. He began biting his nails as the girls picked out the armor, and nearly shat himself when Shampoo asked what kind of weapon she'd use.
Akane grinned and responded, "I've got my own." She glowed briefly for a second before a large war hammer materialized. Shampoo was delighted. They both turned towards Ryoga.
"You fight too?" Shampoo was pointing at him. Ryoga looked around, just to make sure she wasn't pointing at somebody else. "Yes you, Ryoga. You fight."
Ryoga shook his head violently. He didn't want to. "I just want to keep Akane safe! Ranma asked me too!"
Akane walked up to Ryoga and put a hand on his arm. It was weird to see her dressed in mail. "Ryoga," she said, "I'm going to fight. The only way you can keep me safe is if you join me, or carry me away. You aren't good enough to knock me out, so that only leaves one choice."
"But Akane..."
"No, Ryoga. I'm doing this for more than just Ranma. I can't just leave and let these people die. I don't see how you could, either."
Shampoo walked up holding a battle axe and pike. "Which one you want, Ryoga?"
He sighed. Oh well. If he was going to fight, might as well be intimidating. He reached for the axe.
Ranma recognized where they were going pretty quickly. He darted ahead of the plodding servant, breaking out into a full sprint as he covered the remaining distance between to the bathing chamber. He slowed as he drew near, hearing voices echoing in the hall.
"Leave me." That had to be Saffron. Ranma slipped inside, seeing the young boy standing in the middle of the chamber. He was holding some sort of weird staff, staring at the Phoenix statue before him.
A pretty Phoenix woman wearing a breast plate cleared her throat. Ranma slowly began to edge his way around the room, noticing for the first time the various people chained around the perimeter of the room. He was filled with a sense of dread. Why would they be left here like this? Ranma's musings were cut short by Saffron's voice.
"Yes, Kiima?"
"Milord. You shall not be available for three days, correct?" Ranma puzzled over this. Did the transformation take three days to complete?
"That is correct. Once I put the Kinjikan into the Phoenix and turn it, no one should enter here, or they will die. I become quite... hungry during the process. As long as the water flows hot, the process will continue with out interruption. Why do you ask, Captain?"
That explained the prisoners, at least. And what Ranma had to do. He'd only get one chance at this...
"How shall we deal with the armies below? I can't allow them to stay there unchallenged..."
Saffron waved his hand dismissively. "I care not. Crush them, if you wish. Better yet, capture as many alive as you can. I wish to feast on their flesh when I awaken."
"As you command, Milord."
Ranma waited patiently as the group filed out, leaving Saffron alone in the chamber.
"You can come out now, where ever you are. I know you're here, alone, a solitary human. I am impressed that you've come this far, though. What ever technique you are using hides you from my sight, but not from my senses." Saffron sniffed the air. "Male, if I'm correct. Your stench defiles this place."
Ranma paused. Could this little kid have possibly detected him? He watched as Saffron slowly turned around, holding his staff warily in front of him. Ranma silently drew closer, stepping into the bath itself, trying to get a good position from which to strike.
Saffron kept talking, attempting buy time as he searched for the intruder. "The whole army was simply a ploy to distract me from the lone assassin, I take it? Clever. Sometimes I forget how ingenious you humans can be." He lashed out as he finished the statement, flicking the staff towards Ranma's general direction.
To Ranma's surprise, the circular ring attached to the head of the staff flew off at a speed hard even for him to follow, zigzagging through the air, forcing Ranma to duck to avoid being hit. Ranma watched as the ring sliced through the rock wall behind him, not even slowing in the slightest as it turned around and returned to the top of the staff, slamming home with a ringing sound.
Saffron smirked as he bandied the staff before him. "You are more skillful than I had thought. It is truly impressive that you managed to dodge the Kinjyakan... How do you like my little, toy, by the way?"
Ranma was within ten feet of Saffron at this point. Saffron seemed to be able to track Ranma's general direction, so the boy was facing Ranma, his staff held defensively before him, attempting to guard as much of his body as possible. Ranma cleared his mind, lashing out with a cry of "Ki Jin Rai Shu Dan!" Ranma swept his arms back, sending a vacuum blade speeding towards Saffron.
As soon as Ranma cried out, Saffron whipped the Kinjyakan in his direction, forcing him to dodge. He wasn't fast enough, though. He was forced to catch the spinning disk between both hands, trying to keep the cutting edge from his throat. There was an ungodly amount of force behind the weapon, and in the end Ranma's strength gave out before the weapon's inertia did. He stopped fighting, and was thrown against the wall of the cavern. Hard. His vision blurred for second, and his concentration was broken, forcing him to drop the Umi sen ken.
Ranma shook his head, and looked up, to see if his attack had found its mark. It had gone wide, missing its intended target, cutting off Saffron's arm instead of his head. What shocked him was that the child was calmly examining his own severed limb as the ring slammed home in the Kinjyakan.
Saffron ignored the limb as he looked at Ranma. He kicked the arm lying on the ground in a pool of blood. "So I finally see my assailant. You are not Musk, and certainly no Amazon male would be this skilled. A mercenary, perhaps? I must say, I am quite impressed. You will die painfully for the arm, I assure you."
Ranma slowly got to his feet, still a bit shaken from the unexpectedly hard landing. He was in no state to do anything as Saffron's wings swept him into the air. He landed on the head of the Phoenix and inserted the end of the Kinjyakan into a small hole on the statues head, giving it a quarter turn with his remaining arm
Steaming water began to pour immediately from the mouth of the statue, rapidly filling the bath below. Saffron smirked as he watched Ranma get to his feet. He really was impressed that the assassin had managed to block the Kinjyakan with out any obvious injury. It didn't matter. He'd be little more than food as soon as he touched hot water. Saffron stepped off the statue, plunging into the pool below.
Immediately Ranma noticed that something was wrong. As soon as Saffron hit the water, lances of translucent material shot from the child's body, aiming at Ranma and the prisoners chained to the walls. The pained cries of the poor souls were all the warning Ranma needed as he dodged out of the way of the material. It slammed into the wall behind him and instantly hardening into a glass like consistency.
He watched for a second and saw the prisoner's bodies begin to dissolve where the threads made contact. He dodged a thin tendril that shot towards as he moved to get a clear shot. Ranma narrowed his eyes and lashed out with another vacuum blade. It slashed through yet another streamer of material, continuing on until it struck Saffron in the chest, showering the water below with bright blood.
Ranma's smirk was cut short as Saffron started laughing. As Ranma watched, the wound began to close, and in a matter of seconds had been completely healed. Suddenly, an arm shot out of the stump that used to adorn the child's body.
The child's laughter continued echoing around the chamber. Ranma lashed out again, sending a vacuum blade at Saffron's head, slicing the top of it off at the eye brows. Ranma watched in sick fascination as the wounds began to knit before his eyes, and the entire skull had regenerated in a matter of seconds.
"Do you finally understand, Human? I... Can... Not. Die!! You, however, should feel honored to become food for me." Saffron wasted no more time, sending hundreds of lances of fibrous material in Ranma's direction.
Ranma gulped. This was going to suck...
Konatsu took a deep breath and charged his ki. Out of all the men he brought, Konatsu was the only one capable of the next step. The rest of his troops had evacuated the tunnels, leaving him alone at the bottom. Only a few meters of soil and a few hundred feet of air separated the ninja from the bottom of the lake above him.
He concentrated for a few more moments, gathering as much ki as he could into his center. When it felt like he could hold no more ki inside his body, he pushed, forcing it to condense, and cramming even more into the newly created space in his center. He repeated this process until the forces inside him threatened to tear him apart.
He could hold it no longer. Konatsu raised his hands into the darkness above him, and released all the pent up ki he held inside him. A huge pillar of ki shot upwards, easily twice the span of his arms in diameter. It vaporized everything in its path, widening the tunnel as it punched through the dirt above, bursting out of the lake.
Konatsu was too tired to move. He took a deep breath and held it as the water rushed to fill the newly created hole. He had time for one thought before the water slammed into his body, crushing him to the ground. He was right. Before the blackness took him, the pain had been much worse than he had imagined.
The men above watched in awe as the pillar of Ki tore through the surface of the lake, rocketing to the skies. They watched for a moment before the sucking sound of the lake draining brought them back to their senses. The fire teams quickly detonated the seismic charges, causing the mountain to quiver slightly.
The earth couldn't hold the weight of the water that pressed down. The ceiling of the Phoenix cavern collapsed, and the waters rushed down, sweeping all before the mighty tide.
The Amazons hiding at the entrances felt and heard the explosions reverberate throughout the mountain. It was an honor to be able to sacrifice themselves for the tribe. If anyone survived this battle, their names would be forever honored. The women wasted no more time. Each turned towards the ceiling they clung to, and with a cry of "Bakusai Tenketsu," jabbed a finger into the rocks.
Herb watched as Konatsu's pillar of ki shot into the sky, parting the clouds as the power slowly dissipated. At various points along the mountain, clouds of dust rose as the hidden entrances to the mountain were collapsed in on themselves. The fighting hadn't even started, and already twelve Amazon warriors had sacrificed themselves for the cause. He allowed a single tear to fall for the women, and for Konatsu. There would be time for mourning later. He turned to his troops, holding aloft his sword.
"FORWARD MARCH!!"
A mighty cry rose from the ranks as they marched towards the mountain.
Inside the mountain, the waters rushed through every passage, slamming inhabitants into the walls as gravity pulled the water down, deeper into the mountain. On the upper levels the deluge began to slow as the lake drained. A small group of Musk dropped through the hole in the ceiling, swords drawn and weapons ready. The few Phoenix who were milling about in a daze fell quickly. A few soldiers escaped, and soon Alarm bells began to ring through out the mountain as the new threat was recognized.
Kiima groaned as she coughed up the last lungful of water. Around her others hadn't been so lucky. A number of her troops had died in the flash flood, and many of the survivors were shell shocked or injured. A man approached her nervously, wet but otherwise healthy.
A man? Kiima frantically scanned the room. Men. Women. Every person in the room was human. Where had her soldiers gone? "Koruma! Masara! Report!" The man in front of her began to nervously shift on his feet.
"Kiima?"
"Who are you?" Kiima stood, leaning against the wall as she tried to get her feet under her.
"Ah... It's me... Koruma." Kiima examined the man. He was wearing Koruma's clothes, and looked a good deal like him. He had the same fair complexion, spiky brown hair, and fangs.
"Koruma?"
"Yes, Captain?"
"What happened to your wings?"
"Ahh... I was going to ask you that, Captain."
Further talk was cut off as alarm bells began to sound in the upper chambers.
Ranma was frantically dodging Saffron's threads when a whooshing sound and strong wind began to issue forth from the entrance of the cavern. Saffron was enclosed in some kind of egg, and all of Ranma's efforts to get close enough to hit it had been thwarted so far. The whooshing noise became louder, and a high pitched whistle began to accompany it.
It sounded almost as if tons of water were rushing down a narrow passage. His mind went into overdrive as the connection was made, leaping out of the way as water blasted into the chamber, slamming into Saffron's egg and launching it against the walls of the cavern. Water began to rapidly fill the chamber, forcing Ranma to leap to the top of the dragon statue to avoid getting wet.
Kimma cursed as yet another exit was blocked. Reports from the runners seemed to indicate that all the lower exits were similarly disabled. Kiima quickly issued orders for teams to break up and search any lower levels that weren't currently submerged. Any surviving soldiers were to assemble in the main entrance room to and prepare to fight.
As Kiima ran up the pathways to the upper levels, several thoughts occurred to her. First, with out the use of wings, they had lost their main advantage in mobility. She had never realized just how much time it took to move on foot, having never been forced to cover more than a mile without the use of her wings. They were losing valuable time, something that the Phoenix couldn't afford at this rate.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, the Phoenix's entire armory was currently submerged in the lower tunnels. The remaining items were the traditional weaponry, housed in the upper levels because storage space below was at a premium.
Who ever planned this attack had been thorough. They only forgot about one thing, though.
Saffron.
Ranma grasped the strange pole that stuck out of the top of the dragon's head, hoping to use it to kill his momentum and observe the scene below him. Unfortunately, the pole twisted in his grip, and the dragon began to spew forth water, much as the Phoenix statue next to him was doing. Ranma landed a little less gracefully than he intended, but he was still out of the mess below him.
Ranma noted that the water spewing from the dragon's mouth was cold, and suddenly realized exactly what this room was. It was, in essence, exactly what Saffron had said it was. It was nothing more than a giant bathroom. Had the situation not been so dire, he would have been highly amused.
He looked at the pole he had been holding in one hand, noting that it had a crescent attached to the top. It looked very similar to the weapon that Saffron had attacked him with earlier. Ranma was willing to bet that it probably function the similarly, too. He gave it an experimental tug, and it pulled free easily enough.
Testing its weight and balance, it was lighter than he expected. But if it really was the partner to the Kinjyakan, then he was willing to be it was probably pretty exceptional. Speaking of which...
Ranma looked down to see that Saffron's egg had cracked a bit. Hmm... On the plus side, those damn threads seemed to stop coming, though. Ranma leapt over to the Phoenix examining the Kinjyakan as he landed. After a few moments, he reached forward to give the staff a turn and hissed as he drew his hand back.
The palm of his hand was blistering and cracking, like he had just put his hand on a hot stove. However, Ranma knew from experience he could put his hands in a fire and come out unscathed, so what ever that thing was, it was hot beyond belief. He tried to open his other hand but couldn't. Puzzled, he looked over and saw that his hand was encrusted in ice, clasped around the handle of the Getsukajya. Well, he might as well use the ice...
Ranma winced as he put his burnt hand on the block of ice, amazed as steam began to escape. So the Kinjyakan was absurdly hot. Ranma fed a little ki into his hand, speeding up the process the healing process as much as he could. Since he couldn't touch that damn weapon, he had to figure out some way of turning off the water.
He was saved the trouble when Saffron landed opposite the weapon on the Phoenix's mouth. Gone was the little child that Saffron had been, replaced instead with a tall man with flowing hair and a vicious snarl. He reached forward and pulled the Kinjyakan from its perch, growling at Ranma.
"You ruined my metamorphosis. I am going to enjoy killing you very much, human."
Kiima tried her best to hold back the rising panic she felt. More than half the Phoenix armies had been wiped out in the flood, as well as all their fire arms. Spears and swords were being handed out, and there weren't nearly enough bows to go around. Only fifteen thousand men remained, and there was not enough weaponry to equip them all. To make matters worse, they were men, not the mighty Phoenix warriors she had trained and fought with.
The last of the small infiltrating force that had invaded had been dealt with, but not before they caused untold havoc. Those ninety-eight men had made the enemy pay dearly for their deaths, killing down ten times their number and wounding even more. Yet another thing that was beyond her control.
She turned towards the assemble soldier, annoyed that she couldn't fly above the crowd to get their attention. She did the next best thing, which was to stand on the shoulders of her aides, Masaru and Koruma.
She yelled, "LISTEN UP, MAGGOTS! This is Captain Kiima! Did any higher ranking officers survive?" There was a general milling about as the question was repeated back for those who couldn't hear, but no response was made. That effectively made her in charge. She made her decision.
"We've got four thousand troops marching on the mountain as we speak. We may be in bad condition, but we still out number them three to one. All the exits below have either been sealed or are flooded. We need to strike, now. Lord Saffron is transforming, and we have to buy time. Arm yourselves as best you can. We attack in fifteen minutes!"
The crowd began to jostle back and forth as those without weapons scrambled to arm themselves. When the allotted time was over, the armies marched forward towards the great entrance, some still fastening armor as they moved.
Kiima addressed the army again. "Who's ready to die today?"
A throaty cry was ripped froth from the soldiers' lips. "I AM!"
"FOR WHOM DO YOU DIE?" Kiima yelled.
"LORD SAFFRON!
Kiima raised her sword. "CHAAAAAAAAAARGE!!!"
Herb watched as the first wave of the Phoenix soldiers issued forth from the entrance high above. He was relieved to see that nobody was flying. It had worked. Behind him the sounds of wood creaking and slapping against each other burst forth as the siege engines went to work. The first volley of stones and explosives hung in the air for a few minutes before slamming into the mountain side.
Death rained down from above, ripping through the ranks of the charging Phoenix. They fell by the scores, but the charge never ceased. By the time the first soldiers arrived on the grassy plain below, though, the numbers had thinned considerably, but still dwarfing the size of the Musk and Amazon armies.
"HOLD THE LINE! ARCHERS, ON MY MARK!" Herb's voice boomed through the fields his ki projected.
Akane shifted her grip on her maul, noting that Ryoga had done the same with his axe. The Phoenix were running pell-mell down the mountain side, heedless of the destruction happening in their ranks from the siege engines. They heard Herb's voice booming off in the distance, commanding his soldiers to hold the line. The Amazons issued similar orders as their archers began to prepare. At five hundred paces, the archers let loose their first volley.
They didn't rush, just calmly reset and prepared for the next volley at four hundred fifty paces. The archers were methodical in their coverage, canvassing as much ground as possible until the Phoenix were with in two hundred paces, at which point they were ordered to fire at will. The twang of bowstrings and the screams of the dying filled the air.
"Ryoga?"
"What?"
"If we don't make it, I just want to apologize for dragging you into this."
He grunted.
Kiima snapped off the arrow that was lodged in her shield arm and kept running. She didn't feel the pain at this point. The lines of the opposing army drew closer, and she slowed just long enough to yell one more time. Her cry was taken up by the other Phoenix as the soldiers picked up speed, crashing into the shields and pikes of the Musk.
"SAAAAAAFFROOOOON!"
They charged.
Herb grunted as the first contact was made. The archers would continue to do their job. Now it was time for him to do his. He dismounted off his horse and began to release his aura. Blades of ki leapt from his hands, as Herb marched calmly to the front, leaping over the defenders to fall amidst the Phoenix. No armor could stop his weapons, and the Phoenix fell like wheat before a thresher.
Akane blocked a sword strike with her shield, bringing her hammer down atop the soldier's head. Blood squirted from underneath his helm as his skull was crushed. She spun, avoiding a blow from another soldier, whipping the hammer around to catch him in the ear. He dropped, his neck bent at a weird angle. She turned to see a sword slash aimed at her exposed neck. She frantically tried to block the blow, knowing that she wouldn't be able to defend in time.
To her relief a spear took the man in the side, throwing his aim off as the sword glanced off her helmet. Dazed, she brought her hammer to bear only to have Ryoga beat her to the punch. The soldier was cleft in twain by Ryoga's mighty axe. With a sickening squelch he wrenched the weapon free, turning to find his next opponent.
"Thanks, Ryoga."
They didn't have anymore time for conversation as the battle found them again.
Shampoo snarled. There would be good hunting today. She dropped her bow in favor of a sword as the enemy closed in. Even if she died, she would make her tribe proud today. There was a reason she was the village champion. She charged for the nearest group of Phoenix just as they killed a young Amazon. A few lighting fast attacks later, and the group tumbled to the ground, minus their heads. She stalked off, looking for more opponents. She didn't have to look hard.
Ranma grimaced as Saffron's fireball blasted him through the wall of the cavern, and out into the sky. He quickly orientated himself in the air, landing lightly on the side of the mountain as he ran up the hill, above the hole his body had just created. As Saffron emerged from the hole, Ranma swung his weapon, slicing his opponent in half diagonally from right shoulder to left hip.
Saffron snarled as half his body fell away. It regenerated in a flash of fire, but the delay had cost him an opportunity to cremate this pest. Saffron had never been this angry in his life. "Heavenly Annihilation Blast!" Ranma gasped at the size of the blast coming towards him. He attempted to dodge, but there was no way to completely get clear of the massive ball of fire. Its outer edge slammed into him as he held the Getsukajya tightly to his chest.
Saffron smirked as he watched his foe get consumed in the inferno. His smirk turned to a frown as he heard a groan from the crater.
Ranma groaned as he sat up. By all rights, he should be dead, and he knew it. He glanced at the weapon that he held. He knew it had absorbed enough heat to keep him alive. Ranma shot up as he saw Saffron preparing another blast. The cat in Ranma's head was snarling in pain, fear, and rage.
Ranma embraced it.
Saffron was preparing another blast when Ranma vanished. He immediately figured it out when he fell to the ground, diced into tiny pieces.
Ranma watched in dismay as Saffron regenerated yet again. "How many times do I have to kill you?" He proceeded to cut Saffron to pieces again, utilizing the Neko-ken. Nothing worked. Ranma had used every trick in his arsenal, and nothing could put this guy down.
Ranma dodge another fireball. Maybe this guy really was invincible, but Ranma refused to believe that. Unleashed on the world at large, nations would be powerless to stop this kind of power. With the amount of heat this guy was packing, Ranma had to stop him.
Wait a second... Heat?
Saffron snarled as the human drew near, lashing out with punishing blows that severed limbs or broke bones. He was startled when the human began talking.
"So, um Saffron? Why are you out to conquer the world and all?" Ranma dodged around Saffron's punch, taking the arm off at the elbow. He tried to hide his dismay as it grew back before the pain even registered.
"DIE!!!"
"But that's not what I asked! I wanted to know why you're doing this." Ranma swept low, taking out Saffron's legs with the business end of the Getsukajay, taking off both legs at the knees. Of course, before Saffron could fall, his limbs had grown back.
"Come on, Saffron! You can tell me! Where like best buddies by now, aren't we? After all, who else knows you inside and out?" Ranma proved his point by lashing out with ki claws, slicing Saffron's body into ribbons.
But as quickly as the damage was done, it was repaired in a burst of flames. Ranma took note, documenting everything that was occurring. Ranma was ready for anything Saffron threw at him, but he wasn't expecting an answer.
"Many eons ago I cursed a god with my dying breath. His punishment was for me to never die until there was nothing left on this earth." He threw two fireballs at Ranma, who was forced to jump into the sky to avoid them, only to be caught by a third attack.
Ranma landed lightly, even though the blast had stung. He didn't get a lot of time to recuperate as Saffron followed up his attack. Weaving through the blows, he asked, "Surely, there has to be some other way. What was this god's name, anyway?"
"Manjusri. Now, DIE!!!" Saffron tore off a wing and threw it at the infuriating human. It followed Ranma like a homing missile, trailing flame in its wake. Ranma ran, working in a spiral as he led the projectile back towards Saffron. He jabbed the Getsugajya into the ground at every step, freezing the earth below him.
The spiral tightened as Ranma kept his cool. Finally, he was within Saffron's guard as the wing continued to follow. He twisted out of the way at the last moment, forcing Saffron to catch the wing and lash out with a fist.
Ranma smirked. He lashed out a cry of "HI RYU SHO TEN HA!!!!"
Herb had noticed bright lights flashing on the back of the mountain for a while, and apparently he wasn't the only one. Several soldiers had turned to look when a giant tornado sprang up in a clear sky.
"Ranma..."
Saffron flared his flames, fighting to maintain control in the vortex. His opponent was nowhere to be seen. How had this happened? Where had this tornado come from?
Ranma was still on the ground, safe from the effects of the tornado as long as he kept cool. He was currently having a discussion in his head.
"Do you really think that would work?" The cat's tail twitched. "You're right. What have we go to loose?"
With that, Ranma allowed his ki to fluctuate a bit, just enough to get sucked up into the giant twister he had created.
Saffron found his opponent, or rather, his opponent found him. Saffron was busy regenerating yet another limb as the storm raged around them. When he regenerated, he turned to face Ranma.
"Tell me your name, human."
"Saotome. Ranma Saotome."
"Prepare to die, Ranma Saotome."
"Get a new line already. I've only heard that twenty times by now." Ranma stopped smirking as the heat aura Saffron stated generating grew to the size of a hot air balloon.
Ranma watch with a little trepidation. There was no guarantee that this would even work – he'd never tried anything like this before. Ranma began to gather his own ki, pulling it into his body and concentrating, dropping the temperature around him noticeable as he began to pull energy out of the air.
Ranma was ready. The only problem was he couldn't see exactly where his opponent was for this size of aura that Saffron was generating. As the tornado whipped across the mountain, Ranma lashed out with the Getsukajya and snagged a loose boulder. The weapon immediately froze the rock, and Ranma hurled it into the center of the ball, roughly where he estimated Saffron to be. He was rewarded by sudden surge of energy as Saffron released his final assault. The boulder melted instantly in the onslaught, but it provided the fraction of a second that Ranma needed.
"Hi Ryu Hyo To Ba!" Ranma unleashed all the tightly focused energy into a lance of swirling frozen air, and imbibed it with as much power as he could. Into that he laced the very elemental ki signatures necessary to for the claws of the Neko-ken, giving the smaller twister a bite like never before. The concentrated energy blasted through Saffron's larger area attack, slamming into his chest with the force of small nuclear explosion. He was instantly torn apart, the claws ripping his body apart at the elemental level, and the frozen energy sucking all the heat from the particles.
Of course, all the energy that Saffron had generated was still traveling along its intended path. Ranma didn't have a chance to celebrate as the world exploded.
The combatants on the field were knocked flat from the concussive force of the blast. Most of Mt. Phoenix had simply ceased to exist, vaporized in an instant. The battle ceased as silence reigned over the battle field. The Phoenix began to run, sensing on some level that that explosion was the demise of their lord and leader. They ran, heading for home, caring more about those that might still be alive inside the mountain than for the battle they had lost.
The Amazons and Musk cheered as the Phoenix broke. A surprisingly low number of soldiers were running away from the battle. Ku Lon held back her tears as she gently closed Shampoo's unseeing eyes. She had died like a true Amazon, surrounded by her fallen foes. Shampoo was only one of many, but Ku Lon suffered all the more knowing that. Akane, her arm bandaged in a sling and a spear haft still protruding from her leg, has dragging a profusely bleeding Ryoga to find medical attention.
Herb merely sat on the ground, watching as Mt. Phoenix began to crumble before his eyes. He was too numb to decide who to mourn first – Konatsu or Ranma.
The two Musk soldiers were flattened in the explosion, making them drop their precious cargo. They quickly picked themselves up, and glanced back at the mountain they had left not too long ago. The mountain was gone. Both men looked at each other before shrugging. They could worry about the mountain later. They needed to find a healer first. They put the litter back on their shoulders, and began marching home.
Each step that Akane brought was torture, but she just gritted her teeth and kept walking. Herb, Ku Lon, and Herb's father accompanied her as they surveyed the site of Ranma's battle, hoping to find any sort of evidence about the outcome. Nobody entertained any illusions, though.
Tears began to leak from Akane's eyes unbidden. She closed them, tilting her head back to keep them from falling. When she opened them again, she looked up into the sky to see a small bird high in the air, a black dot against the clouds. She frowned. Something about it tickled her subconscious...
"Herb?"
"Yes, Akane?"
"What's that?" She pointed. It was much easier to see now; having grown in size till it was about double of its previous size.
"I'm not sure, but what ever it is seems to be heading this way, fast."
Worried glances were exchanged all around. With a sigh, they began to loosen their weapons. The speck revealed itself fairly quickly to be a human figure, falling from the sky at terminal velocity. It crashed to the ground just over the ridge where they were standing. Herb offered Akane a hand as they climbed the hill.
Below them was the strangest scene. A small crater lay in the middle of a scattered field of bright white flecks of material. The only sound that could be heard was the wailing of a baby, coming from the general vicinity of the crater. As one, the group moved to investigate.