Desperately, Mousse searched through the mounting rubble, trying to find his fiancée. How in the world could he have done such a thing? In his experience, Ryouga was never this harsh when it came to girls.

"Autumn! Autumn, where are you?" He knew he should've jumped in himself when he noticed Autumn had gotten herself involved in the battle. As powerful as she was, he didn't think he had reason to worry. But Ryouga seemed to be on a whole other level. Even though he was blocks away from where the action was taking place, he could feel the heaviness of Ryouga's ki. And it didn't look as though he held much back when he hit her. Mousse would never forgive himself if she were seriously injured. More than that, he'd never forgive Ryouga.

"AUTUMN!" He came upon her, lying face down among broken pieces of wood and brick from the various walls she crashed through. He knelt down and gently rolled her over, cradling her head in his hand. "Autumn, speak to me!"

Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Hey," she croaked.

Mousse let out a sigh of relief finding her still alive. "Are you okay? Nothing's broken, is it?"

"I don't think so," she said. "Did I get in a fight with a freight train or something?"

"Something." Gently, he set her head back on the ground and stood up. "You stay here and take it easy. I'm going to make him pay for what he did to you."

"You'll do no such thing," a familiar voice said.

Mousse looked behind him, instantly recognizing the voice of the matriarch of his former tribe. "Elder?"

Cologne walked over to Autumn's prone form and put her wrinkled hand on the younger girl's forehead, checking her ki. She nodded and turned her attention back to Mousse. "The girl isn't too badly injured. Given time, she'll make a full recovery. Instead of rushing headlong into battle, you should remain at her side."

"I can't just sit here and let Ryouga get away with what he did to her!"

She didn't doubt what her senses told her before, but hearing Ryouga's name for herself just brought her fear to bear. Normally, she'd whack him over the head for his insubordinate behavior, but instead, she nudged him towards Autumn with her staff. "Your place is by her side. I would suggest you taking her someplace safe, but right now, no place in town is safe."

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"Lost" –Part two

-

Battles between martial artists were a very common occurrence in Nerima. It got to the point when one broke out in the middle of town, people would simply walk around it and go about their business, paying it no mind. Even these battle-hardened citizens could sense there was something different about the battle that took place before them. While they did keep their distance and tended to the injured or poisoned, they couldn't help but watch.

None recognized the passage of time as the day that started out so bright for so many ended, bringing on what would probably be the longest night any of them ever had to live through. Nor did anyone notice the gathering clouds overhead. Everyone was transfixed by the amazing dance that took place before them.

They knew the players well; one Ranma Saotome, with a lineup of enemies nearly a mile long and a lineup of potential wives just as long. And then, there was Ryouga Hibiki, the perpetually lost boy who had a penchant for talking to himself, extreme shyness towards girls and the odd habit of hugging telephone poles so tightly, they'd break. These two had done this particular dance before; indeed, they paired off more frequently than any of the other martial artists in town. This time, however, their dance was turned up to an unimaginable level. They had already leveled three city blocks and were working on a fourth. Never before had they wrought so much damage by themselves.

This time, the dance had a very deadly intensity. Sure, there were usually shouts in mid battle about one wanting to kill the other, but it never appeared as though either actually wanted to do so. This time, it appeared their battle wouldn't end until one or even both perished. Both boys visibly glowed as they fought, adding even more destructive power behind each of their blows. Ryouga's in particular seemed most troubling, as with every hit he took, it seemed his grew more intense.

Ryouga was stunned momentarily by a kick to the face. Using the distraction to his advantage, Ranma went around back and pinned his rival's arms behind him. "What in the world do you think you're doin'?" went Ranma, trying to get into Ryouga's head. "You almost hit Akane! AKANE! Are you out of your mind?"

"Why yes, I do believe I'm quite insane at the moment," answered Ryouga with a laugh.

"I don't get you. You've always said you loved her and always would. What coulda set you off so bad that you'd attack her?"

"Let's just say I've had my eyes opened and was forced to see things as they were." He broke free of Ranma's hold and elbowed him in the midsection, causing Ranma to stumble backwards. "As you can tell, that experience made quite the impression."

"Cough W-whatever it was you looked at couldn't have been THAT bad..."

"Feh...I was a fool to think Akane could ever return my feelings, even if I did manage to tell her. I'm just a tool, after all. One doesn't fall in love with a tool. You simply use them and throw them away when you're done with them. And you don't care how you treat your tools since they're just unfeeling THINGS right?" Ranma was growing more and more concerned with the situation. All of that stuff he was rambling about...he really was teetering on insanity.

"Sorry man," said Ranma. "I hate to have to do this to ya the way you are right now, but there's no tellin' what you can do in the state of mind you're in!" Before Ryouga could react, Ranma landed another kick to his head. When Ryouga stumbled back, Ranma followed with the chestnut fist to his abdomen. Much to Ranma's surprise, however, Ryouga caught his fist in mid strike. With his free hand, Ryouga grabbed Ranma by the front of his shirt and head butted him.

"And then there's you," Ryouga continued. "You, who's had everything handed to you on a silver platter while I had to struggle for every little scrap I've ever gotten." Ryouga head butted him again. "You, who inflicted me with this damned Jusenkyou curse." Ryouga head butted him a third time. "You, who's tormented me from junior high, kicking me down and laughing at my suffering."

Ranma tried to look at him, but he was finding it hard to gaze passed the stars he was seeing. "What, is this the part where you say you've seen hell because of me?"

Ryouga let go of his hand and grabbed his neck, lifting the pigtailed martial artist up by it. Ranma grabbed his hand, trying to get the lost boy to let go before he passed out from lack of oxygen. "Hell? You've taken me to places even the inhabitants of hell fear to tread." He punched Ranma in the stomach, knocking what little wind he had left out of him. "You can ask them yourself when you meet them."

-WHUD!-

Ranma dropped to his knees, gasping for air, as Ryouga was clubbed in the back of his head. Ryouga rubbed the part of his head that was struck and turned around, finding Akane standing behind him, a look of regret on her face. "I don't want to do this," she said. "I don't know what could've happened to you to make you do this, but I won't let you do hurt Ranma!"

Ryouga stared at her with his lifeless eyes. She was so caring, so devoted; it was no wonder he fell in love with her so easily. How he wished things had turned out differently. Akane noticed his lower lip trembled slightly. It was the first chink in the emotionless mask he had displayed since he started this rampage. She thought perhaps if she could keep talking to him, she could talk some sense into him and put an end to this before anyone really got hurt. However, before she could get another word out, Ryouga slapped her hard across her face, knocking her to the ground.

OH.

HELL.

NO!

With a snarl, Ranma pushed himself to his feet. Grabbing the out of control martial artist by the arm, he spun Ryouga around and landed a roundhouse kick to his face, propelling him head first into the wall of a deli. Pressing the attack, Ranma charged up his hands and used the modified chestnut fist, relentlessly pounding Ryouga with a barrage of ki blasts until the wall he was pinned against gave way. Ranma didn't stop his attack, however, until the entire building collapsed on top of the lost boy. It took a little while, but they finally managed to completely destroy block number four.

Before the smoke cleared, Ryouga used his ki to incinerate the rubble piled on top of him. No sooner than he made his escape, Ranma was right on top of him again, punching him in the stomach, doubling Ryouga over and finishing with an uppercut that landed dead on Ryouga's nose, sending him flying back out of the newly formed pile of rubble and back onto the street.

Ryouga propped himself up on his elbows and coughed, having difficulty catching his breath. "You stepped way over the line this time, buddy!" said Ranma through bared teeth. He hoisted Ryouga up by his collar to look him in the eye. "You of all people should know better than to lay a hand on Akane. I'm gonna make sure you pay dearly for that!"

Breaking Ranma's hold, Ryouga took a swing for his rival's face. Ranma ducked the attack and struck back, tagging him in the stomach. When Ryouga doubled over from the punch, Ranma caught him in the face with his knee, laying the martial artist in the psychotic rage out once again. Ryouga turned over, coughing once and pushed himself up to his hands and knees. Grabbing the lost boy by the back of the head, Ranma slammed him face first into the concrete. He, then, hauled him up by the back of his bandana and turned the lost boy around. His eyes were glazed over and he looked as if he would pass out at any moment. Ranma reared his fist back, "This fight's over."

Just then, the clouds that had been gathering overhead had opened up. Ranma's look of fury was replaced by one of disbelief at the predictably horrible timing of the Neriman weather patterns, as the pouring rain transformed him into his smaller, weaker form.

Ryouga's expressionless form broke again as a smirk slipped across his lips. "Looks like luck is against you for once, Saotome." Before the newly formed girl could make a retort, Ryouga lashed out with an uppercut, snapping Ranma's head back and causing her to fall backwards, rolling to a stop only a few feet away.

Ranma rubbed her sore jaw and cursed under her breath. 'What gives?' Ranma thought to herself. 'That hit felt stronger than when we started. True, I'm not as strong in this form as before, but there's no way he should still be this strong after all the punishment he's taken. And why the hell didn't HE change?'

His hair and the tendrils of energy whipped in the rain soaked wind as Ryouga slowly stalked over to his longtime foe. The fight was everything he knew it would be, but the time had come to end things. He was tired and his eternal rest awaited him. One more blow and it would all be over.

"You scoundrel!"

Ryouga let out a long, fatigued sigh as he turned his attention to Kuno, who had returned to the field of battle. "You again? Didn't I take care of you already?"

"It will take more than the likes of you to dispatch Tatewaki Kuno." He leveled his bokken at Ryouga, "Besides which, it would seem you need to be taught a lesson on how to properly treat women!" He turned his attention to Ranma, "I offer you my sincerest apologies for not being here earlier to defend you, my sweet pigtailed girl. But worry not! As I live and breathe, no more harm shall befall you!"

"You get him, Kuno!" Ranma shouted with fake exuberance. She had to admit, though, she never thought she'd ever be glad to see him.

Ryouga shook his head, "That was pathetic, even for you." He turned his attention back to Kuno, "And as for you, this time when I put you down, STAY DOWN!" Ryouga launched himself at Kuno.

Kuno reared his bokken back and focused his energies. He couldn't perform the Wrath of Heaven move just yet, not with the pigtailed girl so close by. She could get hurt. Fortunately, as he found out not too long ago, that wasn't the only move at his disposal. But he only did it one time before and that was by accident. He hoped he would be able to duplicate the feat. Once Ryouga was in range, he thrust his bokken forward and shouted, "CURSE YOU!" As before, a ball of electricity shot fourth. Ryouga was caught off guard from the attack. Being too close to dodge, it hit him square in the chest, knocking him back into an attorney's office.

Ryouga sat up, brushed some of the fallen bricks off and tried to shake off the effects of the attack. "Well…that was new…"

"And that was merely a taste of what you have in store!" said Kuno as he rushed to follow up his attack. "Prepare yourself!"

----+----

Ranma watched as Ryouga and Kuno fought their way down to the fifth block destined to be demolished in this prolonged battle. Kuno may have had some new, impressive moves, but there was no way he would be able to take on Ryouga for long. Ranma had to find a way to stop Ryouga. "I still don't understand, though," Ranma said to herself. "Why didn't the rain affect him?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Ranma turned around, recognizing the voice, "Old woman!"

Cologne walked next to her and Ranma sat up. "It's Ryouga's ki. It's burning so hot that the rain is evaporating before it can reach his skin."

Something clicked in Ranma's brain. "Hot ki, huh? It's so simple! That's how I can beat him!" She stood up to put her idea into motion.

-BONK-

Ranma fell back down, "HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Cologne removed the business end of her staff from Ranma's head and leered at her, "I think I'm stopping you from doing something stupid. I know you're thinking about using the Dragon Blast on him, but it's not going to work...unless killing us all is part of your little plan."

Shampoo and Autumn walked up behind Cologne, along with Mousse, who had Akane leaning upon him. "Akane! Are you all right?" Ranma asked.

Akane nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"She's fortunate Ryouga held back with her," Cologne said. "Otherwise, it would've just been her head that flew back like that. Of course, if you had gone ahead with your fool-hearty attack, she WOULD be dead now...along with the rest of us."

"What ARE you talking about?" wondered Ranma.

"That's what I would like to know," added Mousse. "I wanted a crack at Ryouga too."

"Son-in-Law, aren't you even the slightest bit curious about that energy that has enveloped him?" Cologne asked.

"C'mon, do you think this is my first time fighting with that pig-headed jerk?" went Ranma. "I know all about that Shi Shi Houkodan attack of his. I was the first one he used it on."

Cologne shook her head. "My boy, you have absolutely no idea what you're facing. You know, initially, I was very impressed at how you kids were able to learn new martial art techniques and even improve them. But I must admit I've been shortsighted. I should've seen this eventuality."

Ranma scratched her head, "Okay, you're losin' me here..."

"The fact of the matter is Ryouga has moved far beyond the simple Shi Shi Houkodan. Originally, the Roaring Lion's Bullet was the precursor to a technique far more powerful. By itself, the Roaring Lion's Bullet is a desperation move, where the user would summon it in battle when the despair of losing set in. Feeling that despair from the thought of failing who or whatever it was you were fighting for would have spurred the user to make that one last surprise attack, hopefully pulling victory from the jaws of defeat. Ryouga's normally depressed demeanor gave him the ability to use the Roaring Lion's Bullet almost at will, which was why it seemed a perfect fit for him.

"However, the Shi Shi Houkodan lead to a much more dangerous technique. So much so, that it was forbidden from ever being taught or learned. Unfortunately, there have been some, much like Ryouga here, who had the natural 'talent' to stumble onto it by accident. The Roaring Lion's Bullet depends on despair and desperation for one who wishes to remain alive. But when that despair delves into that dark place where a person has simply given up and feels as though they have nothing left to live for, it becomes the Soul Cry.

"Pain fuels the Soul Cry. Emotional, physical, it makes no difference. As the energy builds, the user becomes much stronger and faster than they are usually."

"So that's why Ryouga seemed to be getting stronger," mused Ranma.

Cologne nodded, "Now you're getting it."

"But why can't I use the Dragon's Blast of Heaven on him? With all that energy he's putting out, it should stop him but good."

"Yeah," said Mousse. "And wipe us out in the process. The tornado you would create from him would be bigger than any you've ever created before. It'd make the destruction you've caused so far look like nothing."

"It's more than that," Cologne interjected. "Ryouga's training has allowed him to use a tremendous amount of ki. That's the reason he's been able to go as long as he has and that has been our greatest ally so far. However, that's also our greatest enemy. Even Ryouga has his limits. And when he reaches his limits, he will do what every user of the Soul Cry eventually does. He'll pop."

Akane gasped, "Pop?"

"Putting it bluntly, Ryouga's a walking suicide bomb. And with as much power as he's gathering, when he goes, he WILL take all of Nerima with him. Possibly most of Tokyo as well." That caused everyone's jaw to drop. "And just imagine if you hit THAT with the Dragon's Blast."

"Okay, I get your point," said Ranma. "But what can we do to stop him?"

"Our best option," Cologne started, "would be to break him out of the deep depression he's in."

"I don't know if we can," went Akane. "I tried to and it looked like I got close, but I wasn't able to reach him."

"Ryouga thinks the world of Akane," Ranma stated. "If she couldn't reach him, that means he probably can't be reached."

"Then there's only one option left to us." Cologne paused.

"What? What is it?" asked Ranma.

She favored Ranma with the most withering gaze she'd ever seen. "Ryouga must die."

----+----+----+----+----

----+----+----+----+----