"I have too," Mousse said, "It's a matter of honor. I can't ignore the rules."
"No," Rhys said, "You're not going back there."
"But I have too," Mousse said, "If I don't, they'll eventually hunt me down, and when they do, they destroy everybody I had recently come into contact with."
"Which means…" Brittany said, "Everyone here."
"Yes," Mousse said.
"Fine," Rhys said, annoyed, "You'll go, but you're not going alone."
Five people were walking in the forest that surrounded Jusenkyo, Jusendo, and Joketsozuko.
They were, from left to right.
Rhys, Shampoo, Ryoga, and Mousse. With Cologne walking ahead of them.
Several of the others had come to China and Japan. The Diggers had come to China to visit and research local shrines and ruins. Nabiki, Akane, Soun, Akane, Nodoka, and Happosai had gone to Japan to tie up loose ends. They had told them not to stay at their houses, and to stay near Happosai in case Pee-wee came and found them.
That left Genn and Séance in Atlanta, Georgia, savoring the peace and quiet.
The four teenagers and the one mummy walked down the slightly worn path, all in a human state. The village of Joketsozuko came into sight.
As they entered the town, it began to buzz. Quickly, all of the elders had gathered.
There were technically five sub groups of amazons. Cologne and Shampoo were of the clan who's symbol was, ironically, a cat. They specialized in speed.
Mousse was of the clan who's symbol was, also ironically, a wolf. They specialized in weapons and had a history of were-hunters.
The next house was the raven. They specialized in healing arts and also were in charge of the wealth of artifacts that had been collected in the village.
The next house was of the rat clan. They are usually the ones who craft the weapons and ammunition used by their own clan and the four others, they are also excellent trackers and semi-ninjas. Absolutely deadly with any projectile weaponry.
The final clan, the bear clan, was of the intellectuals. This was the head clan, the true rulers of the Joketsozuko. They also had many roots, being the oldest clan to date. They were were-hunters, black magicians, and other things that should not be told under the light of the day.
It was mid afternoon. Cologne had schooled Ryoga and Rhys on how the Joketsozuko worked.
No act was secret to the other amazons. All acts are secret to outsiders. Except when said outsiders are deemed worthy, by the elder of one of the clans, to hear said acts. Cologne would approach the four other elders and announce that Rhys and Ryoga were, in fact, worthy.
And when the head elder asked why they were worthy, Cologne would mention the fact that Rhys personally killed a certain deity of a certain area in a certain battle, and that Ryoga happened to be his equal in combat.
"Ready?" Mousse asked quietly.
"I should ask you the same," Rhys said, "This is potentially your neck, more so than it is ours."
"Heh," Mousse smirked, "Ready as I'll ever be."
"I have to say," Ryoga said, "You're taking this inscrutably easy."
A pause. Everyone was looking at Ryoga.
"What?" He asked.
"'Inscrutably'?" Rhys asked, "Don't you mean irrefutably?"
"Shut up."
(Yes, irrefutably is a word, it means undeniably; or, for those with low standardized test scores, "NO CAN BE NO". You should bow down to me and my abnormally large vocabulary. Because I am… people person. People like me… because I MAKE them like me… with VIOLENCE!
Heh, I'm such as ass.)
"Cologne," The head clan elder, Aloe, said, "You have returned after two years, and you bring outsiders? I was under the impression that you were bringing Ranma Saotome back as Shampoo's husband. How unfortunate that he is not here today."
"Ah, yes," Cologne said, "Several unforeseen occurrences have recently come to past. It directly involved Ranma, seeing as his sister was in peril."
"I was also under the understanding that Ranma was an only child," Aloe said.
"In the Saotome registry, yes," Cologne said, "Under his original family name, no."
"…" Aloe looked at Cologne and the four teens behind her. Her eyes squinted.
Cologne had also told them this part. Aloe would search them for weaknesses and faults, to decide if they were good enough to be called worthy by another elder. Very strict rules they are.
Cologne was lucky. None of the elders seemed to remember what Ranma had looked like. Although, they had known Ranma as a fighter, and Rhys here had no seeable muscles. Therefore, he couldn't be Ranma.
"Very well," Aloe said, she looked at Cologne again.
She pointed at Rhys and Ryoga.
"If it would be possible," Cologne said, "I believe that Rhys and Ryoga are worthy of being present as we converse about the matters at hand. They are themselves highly involved in said matters."
Aloe smirked.
"Very well," She said, "What is it you wish to ask of this elder?"
"Mousse," Cologne said, moving aside.
Mousse walked up to where Cologne had previously stood. He bowed deeply, and didn't rise.
"I, Mu Tsu, of the clan of the wolf, and retainer of the legacy of the were-hunters that bred my clan, have failed."
"Failed?" Aloe said, while looking towards the elder of the Wolf Clan (Crème), "In what way?"
"In the most grievous way one of my clan could fail," Mousse said.
A pause, a small collective gasp, and murmuring. Aloe raised her hand, an the noise instantly stopped.
"Very well," Aloe said, "Crème."
Crème being the wolf clan hierarch.
"Mousse," Crème said, "You do remember that there are only two ways you could have failed in the most grievous way when of our clan, don't you?"
"Yes, Elder," Mousse said.
"You have either allowed a werecreature to walk free, or you have become one yourself through the evil infection," Crème said, "Neither of which has happened in over a hundred years. Are you saying that you have done one of these things?"
"Yes, Elder," Mousse said, still bowed.
"And which was it?" Crème asked.
"It…" Mousse said, sighing as he stood up strait again, "It… it was both, elder."
Crème flashed into motion. A silver knife appearing in her hand. It came to rest upon Mousse's cheek, the flat of its silver blade obviously reacting to Mousse's skin and burning him. Mousse did not flinch, which was a feat seeing as how bad silver hurt.
(Note: Crème is relatively young. Maybe thirty. She is the oldest woman in the wolf tribe, and therefore an elder, but she wasn't in any way elderly. She rivals Cologne's power even at her young age.)
Crème stared into Mousse's eyes. She noticed that they looked wrong… as if they were fake.
She pulled the knife away.
"Show your true form, demon," Crème said looking away.
There was a small rustle from behind Crème. Ryoga and 'Ranma' had flinched upon the word DEMON.
Then, there was a lot of commotion as Mousse turned into his hybrid form.
"So," Crème said, glancing at the tall werewolf, "You got infected, and allowed the werewolf that infected you to live."
"Not quite," Mousse said, "I let seven werecreatures live."
"Seven?" Crème was outraged, "You allowed yourself to be taken over by a demon and you then allowed SEVEN of them to survive!"
"Yes," Mousse said, not flinching.
"Who turned you?" Crème yelled, glaring at Rhys and Ryoga, "I saw them react to the word demon, which one was it!"
"Neither of them," Mousse said, "I was not infected. A mishap happened and I became a werewolf because of a blood transaction. I'm sure you noticed my eyes. The one who turned me also repaired my eyesight so that I would have been more useful to him."
"And the one who did this?" Crème asked, still obviously angry.
"A human," Mousse said, "A scientist who calls himself Pee-wee."
"Impossible," Crème said, "What human in their right mind would have anything to do with demons?"
"Not all people are like those in this village, Crème," Cologne said, "There are several thousand outsiders who would make pacts with devils."
"Crème," Aloe called from the sidelines, "Calm yourself."
Crème breathed deep. She turned back to the werewolf.
"You said that the outsiders were directly involved in this," Crème said, "May I ask how these two outsiders and Shampoo were involved."
"Simple," Cologne said, "They saw it happen, and are partially responsible for the occurrences that took place."
"Partially responsible for a highly trained member of my clan being turned into a demon?" Crème asked, her voice dripping with venom, "Please explain."
"Their normal 'skermishes' attracted the man named Pee-wee," Cologne said, "Pee-wee then attacked. Ranma, Ryoga, and Shampoo only got out due to Mousse's actions."
"So," Crème said, "You remain firm on your story of the man who dealed with demons?"
"It is the truth," Cologne said.
"Fine," Crème said, she turned to Mousse, "Mousse, face me."
Mousse turned to her.
Aloe's eyes squinted, she could see the three teens behind Mousse tense up, especially in the cases of the two boys.
"Mousse," Crème said, gripping the silver dagger, "For the crimes against the Joketsozuko Wolf's Clan of the most foul kind, you shall be sentenced to death so that the devil within you may return to the realm of evil."
Mousse sighed, his wolf's tail stood stock-still.
Crème flashed towards Mousse. She poised the dagger to plunge it into Mousse's heart.
The dagger did not make it there.
Crème found herself standing still. Mousse had not moved, but one of the boys had. This boy had moved with inhuman speed to knock her away from Mousse.
"YOU DARE STRIKE ME OUTSIDER!" Crème screeched as she zoomed towards the boy.
Again she charged, but this time at the young blonde boy standing in front of the still standing werewolf.
The boy's moves showed grace and form, and not to mention speed. Crème found herself again rocketing back.
Crème was flabbergasted at the idea of this boy being faster than her. She was a Joketsozuko elder, and he couldn't be older than 19.
"I would advise against dueling with him, Crème," Cologne said, "He has speed unmatched by any man or woman I know of. More speed than all of the warriors in this village combined."
Crème snarled at the boy. She slashed at him with her silver dagger. He caught it. Using his sleeve as a glove. He ripped it from Crème's hand, still holding it through the shirt sleeve.
"You may be fast," Crème said, "But you are not fast enough to take me."
"Really?" Rhys said.
"Watch your tongue, boy," Crème said, "You shall address me with respect."
"I give respect to those who have earned it," Rhys said, his voice going cold, "And even if I bring the entire Amazon Tribe down upon my shoulders, I will not allow you to harm my friend."
Crème was about to charge again, before Aloe called out.
"I would be cautious, Crème," Aloe called, "One must not underestimate a person like he. Doing so could get you killed."
"May I ask what you are talking about, elder?" Crème asked.
"Of course," Aloe smirked, "I am surprised you did not notice it earlier. He has many distinguishing marks."
Crème turned back to Rhys. She glanced him over, before doing a double take on his hair. It was spotted. Only one type of being had spotted hair.
Once Rhys knew she had figured it out, he flipped the knife up and caught it in his bare hand for a second before tossing it back to Crème. His hand steamed slightly as the knife touched it.
"Who are you?" Crème asked as she caught the knife.
"I was the one known as Ranma Saotome, adopted into the Saotome registry thirteen years ago. I am now known by my true name. I am Rhys, son of Xerxes. Fastest werecheetah in the world, slayer of gods, and a master of the Saotome school of martial arts… at your service."
Ranma bowed theatrically, smirking evilly.
"Xerxes," Aloe said, "You have a younger sister, do you not, Rhys?"
"Uh…" Rhys said, "Yes, I do. How did you know that?"
"I know many things," Aloe said, "I can tell by your auras that you are all, with the exception of Cologne, werecreatures. That boy over there is a werewolf, and Shampoo a werecat."
"WHAT!" Crème whirled around to look at Shampoo, she then looked at Cologne, "Is this true!"
"I had hoped that it wouldn't have to come to this," Cologne said, "Yes, my great granddaughter accidentally turned herself into a werecat."
"How does one accidentally turn oneself into a demon?"
"Hey," Shampoo said, "I am not a demon."
Crème simply stared at her.
"Shampoo was able to do as such on her own accord," Cologne said, "Because of her new training. It allowed her to control her Jusenkyo curse. She began working on her control until one day she found herself being burned by silver. By mixing the curse into her body spiritually and physically, she turned herself into a werecreature that is relevant to her curse. A werecat."
Crème blinked. Where there had been three teenagers and one werewolf, there were now one werecheetah, one werecat, and two werewolves.
Crème looked horrified. Aloe looked amused.
"H-how can it be?" Crème said, "The werecheetahs were wiped out years ago!"
"Most of us," Rhys said, "But not all."
"How could this be?" Crème was rambling, "I made sure that those demons were dead!"
"You what?" Rhys asked darkly, glaring at the woman.
"Oh please," Crème said, "Do you really think that the werewolves were smart enough to stage that much of an attack. They were TOLD exactly what to do by the people who hired them."
"The wererats," Rhys said.
"And who hired the wererats?" Crème smirked evilly, "None but the best were-hunter alive. Who better to kill demons, but demons."
"It is not wise to taunt a werecreature, Crème," Aloe said.
Crème just smirked at Rhys.
"Why… you…" Rhys snarled, a blue-green glow flaring up around him suddenly, "Let me show you… what it's like…"
"What, to lose my family?" Crème asked, "The entire wolf clan of Joketsozuko is my family, you cannot defeat us all."
"I wouldn't be surprised if he did, Crème," Cologne said.
"No…" Rhys said. The blue-green glow weakened. It was replaced by a white glow. Rhys became calm, cold, and very evil looking. There was a small SHING sound as his claws ripped from his fingers. They glowed white, and no longer looked brittle. Rhys' power seemed to eek off of his claws.
"You threaten to infect me?" Crème said, "Even if you did, it could be easily stopped."
"No, I don't just mean to infect you," Rhys said, "I expect you to go 'poof'."
"…P-poof?" Crème asked, slightly confused. Mousse, Shampoo, and Ryoga glanced at him, slightly confused, but also slightly worried.
Rhys pulled his hand back.
"INHERITAGE!"
There was a series of three loud booms as Rhys surpassed 1080 miles per hour. A great leap at Crème, to land thirty feet beyond her. All in lest than one one hundredth of a second.
Crème felt a sudden pain on her cheek. She reached up and touched the small wound. She pulled her hand away to see blood.
Suddenly, she left a huge pain burst into existence in her other hand. She screamed and flung it around.
The silver knife clattered to the ground.
Crème stared at the burn on her hand.
For a moment, no one spoke.
"I shall do only one more thing to you, Crème," Rhys said coldly, not turning to her, "Before I release you from the technique I have caught you in."
Crème stared at the werecheetah in utter fear.
"I order you," Rhys didn't look to see that Crème had gone rigid, "To transform."
Crème felt her body convulse. Crème was still staring at her hand, which was now covered in a brown fur, almost exactly like Ryoga's.
Crème screamed bloody murder before she collapsed to the ground, sobbing.
Aloe stared at Rhys with a cold, emotionless expression. Rhys stared back at her with the same expression.
"Such a powerful technique," Aloe said, "To be able to steal ones self and species."
"I shall only use it on those that deserve it. I have finally avenged a small part of what is due for the death of my parents and kin," Rhys said, "Truly, I didn't know such a technique existed until I did it."
"Yet you know that she will be bound to your command," Aloe said, "Surely her being your slave is overcompensation."
"She is in no way under my control," Rhys said, "As I said earlier, I gave her one order before I released her. I have done no more that what was needed, and no less that what was deserved. The balance still stands, as my teachings would never permit creating a disbalance."
"I see," Aloe said, "So you are all practitioners of the Anything Goes Ideology."
The teenage werecreatures nodded.
Aloe simply nodded. She sat back in her chair, watching what Rhys did.
Crème whimpered as Rhys walked up to her.
"Listen," Rhys said, "Look inside yourself. What do you see?"
"I…" Crème said, "I'm a monster…"
"Do you feel evil?" Rhys said, "By your traditions, all werecreatures are evil."
"I AM evil," Crème whimpered.
"Are you?" Rhys said, "Forget your traditions. Just look. Do you feel any different other than physically?"
Crème searched herself, she didn't know why. Between the pain from the silver blade and the dizzying effect it was having, and the now shattered sense of reality, she wanted a way out.
And she found it, her eyes closing slowly.
"I…" Crème said slowly, "I don't feel different at all..."
"Good," Rhys said, "Werecreatures are just like humans. Hell, we might have been MADE by the humans. Like humans, some of us are evil, some of us are good. We are not demons. Now, come on."
Crème glanced with blood shot eyes at the furry hand that was offered to her. She took it and Rhys pulled her up.
"I suggest that we discuss our future businesses with the werecreatures," Cologne said, "Honestly, if we were to attack these four as they are now, I don't believe that we would have much of a chance to win."
Aloe gazed at the now five werecreatures in the middle of the encampment.
"What do you suppose we do about the fact that one of our elders is now, in fact, a werecreature?" Aloe asked.
"The conclusion that we came to is that werecreatures are humans who are simply very in tune with their nature," Cologne said, "No doubt you felt the nature of Rhys' attack. And if he had truly infected Crème, she would be a werecheetah, not a werewolf."
"So that attack does not infect someone, it just forces them to be in tune with their nature," Aloe noted.
"Yes," Rhys said, "Every human has the innate ability to be a werecreature. The attack called the Inheritage simply creates a balance between a person's human and beast. Crème's totem animal happened to be a wolf, and when the balance was created, the form of their self and of their totem mixes, thus turning a human into a werecreature of their destined type."
"You speak as if the humans were created from werecreatures," Aloe said, "Any yet, a short while ago, you were saying the exact opposite."
"Honestly," Rhys said, "It could be either way. I don't know."
"If you do now know, then how did you know that attack, and how to use it?" Aloe said.
"When you center yourself with things, you start to realize the centers of many other things. I was only taught five centers, but since then, I have, sometimes without me knowing it, taught myself at least ten more, albeit smaller centers," Rhys said.
"And when you center some things, you're ability to manipulate that center becomes stronger with every time you use it," Ryoga told, "We have not only our born ability to turn into an animal and hybrid state, but we've also obtained a center of it. Every time we transform, we realize a new thing about it."
"That is a dangerous power you four hold," Aloe said.
"Yes," Mousse said, "It seems to only be limited by our imagination and the ways we can think to us it. Our center of hot and cold are linked to the basic elements. By combining the powers of that center, you come to understand what the meaning of the other elements are. And after you realize that, you can control it."
"How many know of this training?" Aloe asked.
"Three others with considerable power, and at least three more started just recently," Cologne told her.
"How long does this technique take to learn?" Aloe asked.
"The less dangerous centers take maybe one or two days to learn, but even after two months, we have still not come close to perfecting any of them," Rhys said, "To reach true center, one would have to live forever."
"The ideology isn't exactly a martial art style," Ryoga said, "You learn the limits of your body. And once you center your mind and body, those limits sky rocket. One teaches oneself to use their limits and martial arts are an excellent place to use them. That is why Rhys is as fast as he is."
"He seemed as fast as any other werecheetah," Aloe said, "From what I've heard."
"Most werecheetahs could run at least 250," Rhys said, "The fastest, though, still struggle to go past the sound barrier. And since my limits increased… naturally, I can go even faster."
No one noticed that Rhys and Ryoga suddenly started breathing deep, and scanning the surroundings with their eyes.
"Rhys has been clocked at, at least, 1080 miles per hour," Shampoo said, "Three times the speed of sound. I myself can go at least 900. And Ryoga and Mousse, even though werewolves were not meant for speed, can go at least 450."
Aloe was thinking hard.
"I find it hard to let such a strong power be kept loose in public," Aloe said, "It is most unnerving."
"Do not worry, Elder Aloe," Cologne said, "I know that they will no abuse their power. And since they are the only people that can teach it, it would not be hard to keep the skills from the public."
From just outside the village, a being sat, watching as the teenagers ripped the Amazon traditions to shreds. The figure had seen it when the werecheetah had turned one of the five elders into a werecreature.
And the four teenagers then talked their way out of a public execution.
The figure raised a single hand and started to creep towards the encampment. The figure was then followed by at least two-dozen others.
"I see," Aloe said, "I shall let you four go, as long as you teach at least one of the amazons this technique. Having the strengths of the werecreatures on our side would be a power that would easily protect us from our enemies."
"Shampoo and Mousse are, since the execution did not take place, still amazons," Cologne said, "And they would probably be more tha…"
Cologne only then noticed that Rhys and Ryoga had been joined by Mousse and Shampoo in searching the area. Even Crème, who was not used to her new senses of smell and hearing, was looking around wearily.
Suddenly, all of the werecreatures drew their weapons.
Rhys' ki claws sparked into existence. He was still strictly a no weapon fighter.
Shampoo whipped out a Bo staff, which Julia had been training her in.
Ryoga sank down into an offensive pose.
Mousse's flashed his hands outward, and summoned two long sabers from his displacement.
Crème was still on the ground, shocked. The other four werecreatures had formed a ring around her.
"Ranma," A voice called, "Or should I say Rhys."
"Herb," Rhys said, "What do you want?"
"My guess was correct, it seems," Herb said, "When I fought you nearly a year ago, I could sense the animal part of you, as you could me."
"I could," Rhys said, "Surprising that ancient musk knew how to get dragons from Jade. Not satisfied of being part dragon, eh, prince of the Musk?"
"Becoming fully dragon would be nice, yes," Herb said, "But I have more pressing issues, as Aloe would know."
"Elder Aloe?" Cologne asked, turning towards the elder.
"The Musk prince and I have been meeting about a certain matter," Aloe said, "It seems that you know of the Jaden realm."
"Well," Rhys said, "I don't know much about it, but I do remember tales of it from when I was young."
"The world where the magical creatures now live," Herb said, "People on this realm know about it, and almost everyone on Jade knows about this realm. There are people that cross over once in a while."
"Yeah," Ryoga said, "The Digger's occasionally go there. Theo is an aura mage after all."
"An aura mage, you say?" Aloe said, "That could be very useful."
"Aloe and I have agreed to have a temporary treaty of peace until the current crisis is over with," Herb said.
"What crisis?" Shampoo asked.
"There is something that is breaching the wall in between the worlds. Things are not meant to exist in two places at the same time," Herb said, "Both Aloe and I felt it. No doubt rumors are starting to spread within Jade. And whatever this thing is, it is most definitely being controlled by a werecreature."
"What is it?" Ryoga asked.
"A device," Aloe said, "A machine that was made using Magick of the Jaden realm and the technology of this realm. I have seen it in my dreams."
"Any idea what it does?" Rhys asked.
"No," Aloe said, "Not currently. We know its location only in this realm. And even then it is only half there, and like a ghost, one is able to walk through it as easily as walking through air. And unless we know of it's location in both realms, we can do nothing about it."
"And while we try to find some way of searching for it," Herb said, "It is obvious that it is extremely dangerous."
"How do you know?" Rhys asked.
"Because," Herb said, "It's a giant cannon."
