Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½™ or Sacrifice™ or any related characters, terms or concepts.
Author's Notes: sorry this chapter took so long to get posted, but bad writers block, coupled with computer problems that literally ripped it to shreds, means I couldn't help it.
Part 26: Blighted Worldviews, part 1
Storm awoke the next morning with a strangely groggy and disorientated feeling, kind of like how he thought an extremely bad hangover must feel. Also, his magical energies had apparently spilled forth unconsciously during the night, producing a powerful field of static electricity that had glued his bedding to his body. In his dazed state it took several minutes for him to untangle himself and head for the bathroom, where he found Blight scrubbing his fangs with Storm's toothbrush. Easily sensing the Elementalist's approach, Blight lazily finished cleaning and turned to meet the angry, if glazed, stare of his counterpart.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" grated Storm, his voice as cold as the winds that lashed the barren plateaus of Dalara Peaks.
"Cleaning myself." Blight replied casually, his eyes carefully blank of everything but the tiniest hint of pleasure at managing to provoke negative emotions from someone at this time of day.
"With my toothbrush?" asked Storm, fighting to thrust the sudden pulsing headache that emerged back into the depths of his skull.
"Yeah, but so what? That's no reason to start trying to psyche me out."
Storm just stared at Blight in sudden honest confusion. Seeing Storm's blank look Blight sighed and made a show of moving his gaze to Storm's arm. Storm followed Blight's eyes uncomprehendingly, and then fought to avoid visually revealing his shock. Normally, Storm's skin was the tanned colour you'd expect from a healthy young teenager who'd led an active life, though perhaps a little paler in recent days. Now however his skin was rapidly lightening in colour, speeding through porcelain into pallor and, as he watched, rapidly taking on that unearthly blue-tinged white you only got from flesh that had been frozen utterly solid.
As well as the colour change, thick patches of rimefrost began to form on his clothing and bare flesh, whilst a flickering corona of sparks began to play across his body. Storm gulped as he suddenly heard a crackle of thunder, and looked up to confirm that, yes, there was indeed a miniature storm cloud developing above his head. As he looked at it there was another peal of thunder and it suddenly spewed a torrent of rain directly into Storm's upturned face. Spluttering from the sudden gush of ice-cold water, Storm directed a look of helpless confusion, an expression he had sworn a blood-oath never to let anyone besides himself see, at Blight, who did not help matters by silently laughing.
"What's going on? Why is my Mage Aura active?" Storm asked, long practise allowing him to make his point clear despite the torrents of icy water pouring down his face like a bizarre veil.
A Mage Aura was a bizarre phenomenon common to any and all who walked the path of an Otherworld Mage. Nobody knew for certain what it was or what caused it, but the most popular theory of the day was that it was the result of the sheer amount of aspected mana the Mage channelled, and the alterations to the soul that resulted from such. Essentially, to wield their powers a Mage literally became a focal point for that particular kind of elemental force, a walking reactor of life, death, earth, fire or weather energies.
At its most simple, a Mage Aura was the tendency for the immediate environment to change in accordance to the energies percolating within a Mage's soul. For Mystics, plant life flourished and animal life gained a surprising amount of rude health. For Sorcerers, it grew hotter and drier, and sometimes things would spontaneously combust. Geomancers seemed to just "blend in" to their environment, becoming surprisingly hard to notice. In the case of Elementalists, like Storm, the weather grew more unpredictable and the temperatures dropped. Finally, for Necromancers, light sources would dim, wounds would bleed and heal less quickly and health conditions would tend to worsen.
But there were other, even more outright supernatural effects, such as the ones currently plaguing Storm. The effects of this "advanced" aura differed from Mage to Mage. It was certainly possible to "rein in" the effects of the Mage Aura, and most did both learn how to do so and use it, but there were always some marks, some subtle, some not so subtle. Had it not been for Storm's pre-existing skill with controlling auras, he would, uncontrollably, produce patches of rimefrost instead of sweating and his breath would always be both visible and icy-cold. However, his martial artist skills allowed him to appear that he had no Aura whatsoever.
Such a cast-iron grip on his Aura meant that for it to manifest spontaneously like this was both unusual and disturbing. Finally finished laughing, Blight smiled in a way that probably would have been relaxing, if not for the flesh-ripping fangs he had instead of teeth.
"Relax Storm, you're not the first one of us to experience this problem. It happened to all of us when we'd first got together; we figure it's something to do with being in the presence of alternate versions of ourselves; it erodes the mental barriers we set up. You've been 'leaking' since dinner last night. You just need to calm down and re-establish the barriers."
Those words, surprisingly enough, actually helped Storm fight off the strange feelings of despair and fear that had inexplicably been afflicting him since he fell asleep the previous night. His emotions reined back in, Storm quickly and calmly managed to diminish his Aura and revert to normal. Well, as normal as he got anyway. For some inexplicable reason he also felt happy that he had managed to figure out who had been speaking to him in the bathroom last night.
You see, a Mage Aura could also cause general strange things to happen- he still had nightmares about the time he got caught in a stampede of unicycle-riding Latin-chanting purple elephants wearing green bowler hats. If that had been because of his Aura anyway; there was also the possibility that had been something to do with that mushroom ale he'd looted earlier that morning.
"There now, you see? Everything's fine now. Now come on; time to eat."
You didn't need to tell a Ranma, or a Saotome in general, to come and eat twice, Storm and Blight were both downstairs and at the table in less than a heartbeat. Surprisingly, Sooth had helped Kasumi out in the kitchen again, which meant that was indeed enough for all four Ranmas. Of course, the sight of so much food proved too much temptation for Genma, who resumed his old trick of trying to steal food from Ranma's plate. In this case however, it was a trick he would have been better off forgetting. Storm was too fast for him, Sooth somehow managed to evade his every attack and Grit let him grab a few small pieces before seizing his hand in a crushing grip that felt like it almost broke every bone, whereupon Genma stopped trying.
Of course, even Genma wasn't stupid enough to try and steal from Blight, who he knew would probably make him pay for it with a pound of flesh- literally. Of course, that doesn't mean he wasn't tempted, especially by the way that Blight insisted on continuing to study at the table, holding his Narco-Alchemy book in one hand and getting food with the other, eating autonomously without ever taking his eyes from the words written within the dusty relic.
"So, what's so gripping about that thing you can't even put it down to eat properly? What do you expect to find? The recipe to turn lead into gold?" said Nabiki, in an unusually humorous mood for her.
"Well, excuse me for caring about my mystical education. And why bother? The Liquid Gold elixir, which turns base matter into solid 24-karat pure gold, has been known to us Necromancers for generations." The distracted Blight continued eating and reading simultaneously for almost a minute before he realised the stunned silence surrounding him.
"What? It has."
The other Ranmas discretely sighed and shook their heads in unison; they knew about the Liquid Gold formula, albeit only by rumour, but they wouldn't even have considered trying to steal it. Unfortunately, there were some members of the household who lacked their senses; they could practically see the Yen signs forming in Nabiki's eyes. Blight spoke only a single sentence as he returned his attention to what he considered important.
"Go right ahead Nabiki; if you want to change your vocation from crime boss-in-training to throw-rug, then just speak up."
Nabiki closed her mouth with an audible 'clop' sound and then immediately acted as though she had never even considered asking after the formula. It didn't fool the Ranmas though, and all through breakfast they could see that she occasionally glanced towards the tome clutched in Blight's hands, her eyes developing a cold, calculating look.
Once the meal was over, the group drifted apart to do their different routines. Blight remained right where he was, still studying, while Storm walked over to his Altar and, mumbling under his breath, resumed trying to repair it, his Manahoars crowding around him both to offer support and to try and feed upon the limited trickle of energy coming through it. This was turning out to be an extremely difficult job; Storm not only had to repair all of the physical damages, but he also had to unblock and reconnect all of the "channels" that allowed it to tap into the ethereal network that connected all of his Altars, Shrines and Manaliths. This was an extremely delicate and difficult job, demanding all of Storm's attention.
Thus it was not surprising that he failed to hear an insistent knocking at the door, followed by whoever it was entering the house on their own. Which was a true pity; had he heard whoever was knocking he might have been to avert the subsequent catastrophes.
"Ranma, I…"
The sound of that voice, the way it died in mid-sentence and the sudden-all encompassing feeling of impending doom was enough to tear Storm away from his work. He slowly and reluctantly turned to meet the shocked and confused gaze of his mother, who was staring between him and Grit, who had an expression comparable to a deer caught in the headlight of a speeding semi-trailer. Even then there was still a chance, albeit a very slim one, that they could have talked their way out of this situation. Unfortunately, this was the very moment Sooth chose to come out into the garden behind Nodoka, who spun around at his approach.
"I can explain…" echoed simultaneously and with identical tone and inflection from three identical troubled expressions, the final straw for Nodoka. With a single faint sigh, she fainted. The fact that she was technically mother to only one of them was forgotten in the resultant surge of protective instincts, which drew the three Ranmas on the scene to the unconscious Nodoka's side like a magnet. They gently lifted her from the ground and carried her into the living room, where Blight was still studying.
"Hey Blight, drop the book and give us a hand."
Blight reluctantly closed his grimoire and tossed it to the table before flipping over to where the other Ranmas were standing. However, the very moment he laid eyes upon their burden he let out a strangled 'squawk' of a sound and leapt over their heads into the garden, where he promptly bounded out of sight. Storm blinked in confusion and stared at where his Necromancer counterpart had disappeared.
"What the hell was that all about?"
"Don't worry; he always does that whenever he hears of a Nodoka's presence. It's like he's terrified of her or something; he won't go anywhere near a place where he thinks she may be. None of us know why. Ignore him; your mother's more important."
The three Ranmas gently placed Nodoka back down on the floor, Sooth heading off to find some smelling salts while Storm and Grit stayed to look after her. So distracted where they that something happened that otherwise never would have been possible; Nabiki, who had been secretly watching Blight and trying to concoct a plant to take his grimoire of Narco-Alchemy, was able to "sneak up" and steal the book without either of them noticing. She hurried off as quickly and as quietly as she could as Sooth came back into the room with the smelling salts.
Upstairs, in her room, Nabiki eagerly cracked the spine of the tome open, anxious to find the one formula that would grant her infinite wealth. She eagerly trailed a finger down to the index, only to realise that it was in a form of writing she had never seen before. What was worse, the characters actually seemed to be moving, shifting around the page and altering form in a way that made her slam the book shut and blink to clear her eye. Cautiously, she opened it to a random page, to find that the words written there were in Japanese, although a form that she didn't quite recognize, but whatever the formula on it was, there was no hint.
She flicked to several different pages to confirm that the only place where the formulas were named was the index. By no means put off by this discovery, Nabiki decided she'd just have to experiment- after all, what could happen? Then she took a closer look at the ingredients for one formula and scowled; these weren't the sorts of things that would turn up in a Japanese kitchen- even in the Tendo kitchen. And she didn't dare try stealing some supplies for Blight- she knew what would happen.
For a moment her dreams of wealth wavered, and then she had an idea; she knew from personal experience that the Chinese Amazons had a plentiful supply of mystical potions and spices, so maybe they would have some of what she needed. Even if they didn't, then they might be able to direct her to somewhere where she could buy the ingredients. She shivered unconsciously at the thought of spending her own money unnecessarily, but only once. After all, she'd soon have the key to limitless wealth in her grasp.
The only problem that remained was devising a plan to get them to help her. She immediately decided not to even try for Cologne, which left only Shampoo and Mousse for help. She might be able to get Shampoo with the promise of a date with Ranma, but she disliked the idea of helping one of her little sister's rivals. Besides which, she didn't trust the lavender-haired girl any further than she could throw her. Which meant there was only one choice; Mousse. He was slightly less fickle than Shampoo, plus he would be easier to manipulate; all she had to do was promise him some sort of benefit from helping her concoct these formulas, such as giving him a Love Potion or a Strength Potion, or maybe even curing his eye problems.
Her course of action thoroughly plotted, Nabiki nodded to herself and slipped quietly from her room, hoping that the Ranmas downstairs would be too distracted with Nodoka to notice her leaving.
As Nabiki had hoped, the Ranmas were too intent on the slowly awakening Nodoka to notice or care about her. In order to try and minimize future shocks, Grit was sitting at Nodoka's feet and Sooth was at her head; close enough to be involved, but not in positions where she would see them immediately. That spot went to Storm, who had been given it on account that this was his mother after all. Slowly, moaning softly, Nodoka's eyes flickered open. Storm gently reached out and touched her face in an attempt to provide comfort.
"Mom? Are you alright?"
"R-Ranma? Yes, I'm fine. I just had the weirdest dream…"
"About there being three of me?"
Nodoka blinked and stared at Storm with confusion, and the tiniest bit of suspicion, in her eyes.
"Why, yes. How did you know?"
"Because it wasn't a dream- no! Calm down! It's okay, it's okay; they won't hurt you."
"Now that's a slander even the dark one wouldn't put up with." Grumbled Grit under his breath, otherwise keeping himself personally still to avoid startling the panicked Nodoka, who was staring at him and then at one of the other Ranmas in wide-eyed horror, frantically trying to scrabble away from them. However, Storm seized her in a firm but gentle grip, preventing her from moving whilst he tried to calm her down. He was failing to get anywhere until Sooth, from his position behind Nodoka, opened his eyes slightly and began to sing, a soft, gentle, wordless melody that seemed to fill the air with peace and calm.
Grit and Storm could both feel themselves getting caught in the hypnotic pull of the music, but they fought the effects off. Nodoka struggled against it for almost a minute before it overcame her and she calmed down, finally looking between the three Ranmas without something like panic in her eyes. Sooth slowly stopped singing as Storm released his grip. Looking much calmer now, Nodoka turned her head to look at Storm.
"You must have quite a story to tell me son."
Elsewhere in Nerima, a store's doorbell tinkled gently, unaware of the doom it foretold.
"Welcome to Cat Café."
Phase 1 complete, now for Phase 2…
Okay, I'm sorry once again for the delay in getting this up. I'll try to get the next one up sooner, however I need your help. As you can probably guess, the next chapter reveals a little more about the home-lives of Ranma's alternate selves, including why Blight is scared of Nodoka. It also has Nabiki and Mousse messing with Blight's grimoire of Narco-Alchemy, with the sort of results you'd expect. Now this is where I need you help; can you please suggest some "accident" that could result from Nabiki and Mousse dabbling in something beyond their control? Also, I have an idea for the next chapter's ending; should I use it or not?
Basically, in punishment for stealing his book, Blight splashes Nabiki and Mousse with a compound that will, for the next week, see Nabiki pursuing Mousse in the exact same way he normally pursues Shampoo.