Chapter Five: The Fake Sungoddess
Cologne flicked her staff, pulling down the last bar across her home's door, locking it shut. "They've found you, child. This is not good." Behind her, Ukyo rose from her perch on a chair and slung her bandolier of spatulas across her shoulder and picked up her large battle spatula.
"Not a friendly call, I take it then?"
Cologne snorted at the girl's question. "I can almost guarantee you that if they find you, you're not going to like the results," the elder told her. "And neither will I," she added under her breath. A lound banging on the door brought their attention to it, and the heavy wooden boards creaked in protest under the strain as some heavy blunt object was slammed against it repeatedly.
"Child," Cologne turned towards Ukyo and joined her as the chef upturned a table. "I'm afraid I've lingered too long in keeping you here."
Ukyo chuckled dryly. "Nah, it's fine. I don't run."
"This is not a battle we can win, I'm afraid."
"Says the best fighter of her generation." Ukyo smirked.
"I may be, but most of the techniques I know that would take care of this number of opponents could very well level a part of the village and kill many of my sisters. And I'm afraid Brush and Perfume and their followers have no qualms about using crippling blows."
The pounding on the door stopped before Ukyo could reply, to be replaced by a parched old voice that Ukyo recognized as Brush's.
"Khu Lon," the former elder shouted in Chinese, "we know you and the outsider are hiding in there! Our goddess demands her as her sacrifice! Hand her over and no harm will befall you." Cologne snorted in disdain.
Ukyo, on the other hand, tightened her grip on the handle of her battle spatula. "You sure you don't have a backdoor?" Cologne shook her head. "There's only one way in, and out, I'm afraid."
"So, what do we do?"
"We fight, child."
V-------------------V
Ryoga woke to find his travelling companions in a state of disarray. Ranma's mother was clinging to her son as if her life depended on it, her quiet sobs echoing in the still cavern, while Shampoo glanced at the pig-tailed martial artist with a mixture of sadness and respect. Behind that, the lost boy could see a terrifying fear of…something; of what, exactly, he could not tell. He only knew it had shaken the amazon warrior, and shaken her badly. Shampoo was not easily scared - whatever she had seen, he hoped he himself would never have to.
Ranma looked up and shot him a wry smile. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Ryoga." The lost boy nodded and glanced around. They were still on the platform, the four pillars surrounding them. By now, the white glow around them had faded, and dipped them into darkness again, except for the light that filtered in from the torches that lined the walkway.
When Ryoga's gaze fixated on something behind him, Ranma craned his neck to glance over his shoulder; when he saw what had captured Ryoga's attention, he frowned and shifted, still cradling his mother's crying form but ready to spring into action if need be.
Shampoo's eyes widened as she saw the woman behind Ranma, and Lotion quickly prostrated herself, prompting her to do the same.
The woman that stood beside the altar had appeared out of thin air; her long black hair flowed to mid-back, framing a delicate face from which two light blue eyes stared back at them, emitting a sense of youth and strength that seemed almost unearthly, yet at the same time spoke of wisdom and knowledge far beyond anything mortal. Deep red lips parted in a smile, and a corona of white, comforting light surrounded her.
Shampoo looked up, the terror in her eyes gone, replaced by a soothing warmth as she felt the memory of the memory of the Neko-Ken fade. Nodoka stopped crying and glanced up, seeing and feeling the forgiveness of her son, and the comfort and love he offered her.
"You have passed the trials put before you. I congratulate you, amazons of the Joketsuzoku. I am the one you call Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun. You are my daughters, the ones upon whom I bestowed my blessings millennia ago."
As she spoke, the torches flickered and went out. It wasn't until the floor of the cavern began to glow and the skies to part that the five of them realized that they had been outside all along. Behind them, the temple ruins stood, sunlight washing across the marble as it drove away the darkness, turning the dark and forsaken ruins into pristine stone once more. The platform they were standing on hung out over a small ravine, the four pillars extending far down to support it.
Around them, the darkness of the night receeded as the light of dawn washed over them. When it was done, they found themselves staring at a magnificient structure that showed no sign of its true age. With spires and pillars rising towards the heavens, decorated with swirling patterns and symbols of the gods, the area around them was, once more, home to the divine.
"What is happening?" Lotion asked, unsure whether she would receive an answer. To her surprise, she did.
"This is my temple. A thousand years ago, it was here I fought a great evil, a battle that lasted for seven days and nights and dipped the world into darkness. Your ancestors of the Joketsuzoku stood by my side, and for that, I gave them my protection, and my care. The battle left this temple in ruins, and only a miracle, a power beyond even my own, granted us victory."
She indicated an arrow on the altar, now visible in the bright sunlight. "As we drew our powers from the sun, we never tired, never relented. Then came the great darkness, and the sun no longer cast us in light, and as the light left us, so did our powers. This arrow comes from the blessed quiver of the warrior whose strike banished our foe. Beware, however, my daughter's fiendish mind and envy of what is mine." The woman seemed unconcerned at the statement, though Ranma could see it was affecting Shampoo and Lotion deeply.
After the events of several years prior, the amazons had been wary of anything divine or demonic; to have someone impersonate their matron goddess and fool them all, was something they all dreaded. The fact that it was a her daughter, was just adding insult to injury. In all, Ranma mused, it was one huge slap in the face to the amazons.
The pig-tailed martial artist's eyes narrowed as he caught something familiar about the woman before them, but it vanished too quickly for him to confirm as she spoke again
"You must hurry, for if the time has come, before she brings a battle upon us all." Before any of them could protest, she faded out of sight.
Ranma growled and snapped his fingers in recognition. "Was that her? Amaterasu?" Unfortunately, the goddess was gone.
"Ranma," Ryoga called out. "We've got to get going. We've got to get Ukyo out of there," the lost boy growled. It was then, that it hit Ranma that they had left her back in Joketsuzoku. Without a word, the pig-tailed young man hefted his backpack and headed for the other end of the platform.
V-------------------V
The door finally broke down under the repeated impacts of what Ukyo could only term as a battering ram. Even before the the dust had settled, she let fly with several of her spatulas, ducking behind the overturned heavy oaken table as she listened to the shouts of pain with satisfaction. Several projectiles struck the table, glancing off the surface of remaining stuck as those amazons carrying shuriken and throwing knives returned fire. Crouching next to her behind the table, Cologne tossed a handful of capsules over their makeshift cover. The result was not something Ukyo had expected, as the area around them exploded in smoke.
Exchanging a nod with the Elder, she hefted her combat spatula and they leapt from their hiding spot, Cologne leading the way as her gnarled staff whirled around her, striking her fellow amazons with pinpoint accuracy even through the smoke. They were almost at the door, and Ukyo felt her heart leap into her throat. Freedom was just a few steps away. Cologne was a mere blur, and in the thick smoke, the chef had to rely on her hearing and rudimentary ki training to navigate the area that was littered with debris from the broken door and unconscious amazon warriors.
Home free, Ukyo thought as she cleared the doorway, stepping out into the bright afternoon sun, her spatula coming around to slam hard into a warrior who had managed to avoid Cologne's onslaught. The withered figure of the amazon matriarch stood only a couple of feet away, finishing up with the last of their opponents. A hiss cut through the air, and Ukyo barely had time to bring around her spatula to deflect the arrow that had been aimed at Cologne's back. The iron-tipped projectile glanced off the weapon harmlessly. It was, however, followed by another, and another, and another.
It was only due to the fact that her weapon of choice could cover such a large area with little movement that none of the arrows got past her. "This way, child!" Cologne joined her in deflecting the projectiles, even as the two of them retreated into the fields behind the matriarch's home.
Ukyo followed the rustle in front of her as she ran, returning her combat spatula to its holster on her back, letting out a sigh of relief as several arrows glanced off the huge blade covering her back. Before her, Cologne ducked into the shadow of a two-story house, and once Ukyo rounded the corner, she could see why. Behind the house was an array of barrels, almost man-high, arranged in a semi-circle. Cologne paused for a moment to glance over her shoulder before bouncing up the barrels, coming to rest on a roofed balcony on the second floor.
With some effort, the okonomiyaki chef leapt up the barrels, wishing that she had the same control over her ki that Ryoga and Ranma so effortlessly demonstrated with three-story jumps. Reaching the balcony, she swung herself over the low wall that prevented anyone from falling to their deaths accidentally, she crouched behind it, her gaze flickering to Cologne. The elder raised a finger to her mouth, gesturing her to be quiet, and disappeared into the house.
Moments later, Ukyo could hear a large group of warriors pass under her. The sounds faded into the distance quickly, and Ukyo let out a sigh of relief. That relief, however, was short-lived as the balcony next to her exploded violently, having fallen victim to a powerkful ki-blast. Ukyo dove into the house itself, not waiting for the rest of the structure to crumble underneath her, and rolled to her feet, weapon in hand.
Her eyes widened in shock as the walls around her began to crumble, breaking apart as a series of ki-blasts hit them, blasting the battered walls into pieces around her. The second story floor began to shake and collapse, and Ukyo let out a short, piercing scream as she fell.
She hit the ground on the floor below her, sharp pain blossoming in her shoulder as she felt it dislocate. Around her, the walls shuddered and fell. "Easy, child," Cologne noted as she deflected the falling debris away from Ukyo. Through the dust cloud around them, the girl saw a shimmer of light, and her eyes widened as she opened her mouth for a warning. It never left her throat as the ki-blast rammed into Cologne's unprotected back, blasting the amazon matriarch off her feet.
With some difficulty, Ukyo rose to her feet, stumbling over to Cologne's fallen form, wincing at the acrid stench of burning flesh. Even she had been able to feel the ki-blast when it came; and for her to be able to sense the ki in it, it would have to be extremely powerful. She crouched next to Cologne, examining her diminuitive body. It wasn't exactly necessary; the back of the matriarch's robe had been burned off, and beneath that was smoking and burned skin.
Cologne groaned, and Ukyo thanked the kami that she was still alive; anything that could do this kind of damage to Cologne – even unprepared – had to have been fired with lethal intent. Ukyo whirled around, standing above Cologne as she struggled to her feet, spatula out and in front of her, glaring in defiance at Brush and Perfume. The former grinned toothily as she let her aura dissipate, her lance aimed at Cologne.
"Looks like your time has finally run out, Khu Lon. You are in no condition to stop us from taking the outsider girl and fulfilling our mistress's wish for her blood."
Ukyo's eyes flickered from Brush to her great-granddaughter, her hands tightening around the hilt of her combat spatula. "Tell that old hag to come and get me herself, jackass," Ukyo muttered as Brush flicked out her lance towards Cologne. With a metallic shriek, Ukyo's spatual contacted the metal shaft, driving it into the ground; the okonomiyaki chef whirled her giant blade around herself, swinging at the amazon pair with a shout of rage.
Perfume's blade impacted her own, and the two began exchanging a rapid series of blows; a high diagonal slash was parried aside, and Ukyo somersaulted over her opponent, aiming to drive the flat side of her spatula into Perfume's back. The amazon spun, her blade flashing out as metal met metal and with a huge heave she forced Ukyo back. Holding the blade of her broadsword parallel to the ground and close to her Perfume lunged.
Ukyo sidestepped, bringing the flat side of her spatula to parry the strike. A feral grin spread over her face as she turned sideways, slamming the handle of her weapon into Perfume's chin. A backfist and snap-kick drove the amazon back further, allowing Ukyo to catch her with her spatula. The blow sent Perfume crumpling into the debris of the house her great-grandmother had wrecked moments before.
Grimacing as she clutched her shoulder, Ukyo glanced around for Brush, only to find the shaft of her lance broadsiding her.
V-------------------V
Incessant chanting all around her drowned out all other sounds, and with a start, Ukyo's eyes snapped open. "What the-" she attempted to sit up, only to find herself pulled back onto the stone cold altar by a set of chains. Craning her neck, she could see she was put up on display in the center of the village, with a good portion of the Joketsuzoku kneeling around her, chanting in Mandarin.
Abruptly, the voices stopped, and quiet fell over them as Brush stepped up into the chef's field of vision, carrying a vicious-looking ceremonial knife. The old woman smirked as she placed its blade against Ukyo's palm; blood started welling from the cut almost immediately as she drew the blade across the flesh. Ukyo frowned, trying to grasp for the dagger, only to have the blade slip away, slick with her blood. Droplets of the crimson liquid hit the ground, collecting in channels of carved marble.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Brush didn't react to the Japanese woman's question, instead, holding up the weapon and rinsing the blood with a pail of water, letting it drip to the ground and rain away towards a shallow tablet at the foot of the altar. Only after the weapon was clean did she turn and regard Ukyo with emotionless eyes. "Our goddess has demanded your life, outsider. And you are hers."
Ukyo was about to retort violently, when footsteps approached. From her limited vantage point, the chef could see the ranks of amazons parting for a lone woman, her steps impossibly graceful as she moved to stand next to her on the stone altar. Ukyo glanced up, into a beautiful but cold face, framed with long black hair and cruel grey eyes. An aura of power surrounded the woman clad in a dark grey breastplate, and an empty sheath hung by her side.
Brush had dropped to her knees as soon as she had become aware of her approach, and was presenting her the ceremonial knife. "Oh goddess of light, mother of the Joketsuzoku, accept this outsider's life and blood, as you have taken ours, and grant us your favor once more."
Ukyo's eyes widened. This was the woman claiming to be Amaterasu? The chef tugged at the chains holding her fast to the cold stone, only to have her struggles ended by a jab to the throat by the woman claiming to be the goddess of the sun. Taking the dagger from Brush, she eyed Ukyo. "You chose well, daughter of the Nichiezu. For the darkness that has befallen your sisters you have paid well the price of blood, and with this last sacrifice, I grant you the greatness you seek once more. I grant you to strength to retake the dominion you once held, and exile those that settled on the land that is rightfully yours."
"Are you stupid?" Ukyo wheezed as she glared at Brush. "You people got fooled once, did you forget what happened when you hopped onto the easy way four years ago?"
"Silence, outsider, I will not have you speak to our goddess this way! If she had not asked for your blood, I would have killed you on the spot!" the amazon weaponsmistress snarled, drawing the tip of her spear against the chef's cheek.
"You can't go around sacrificing people! Even if she was a goddess, there's no way they'd ask for something like that; how can you sacrifice your sisters, your children to a bogus chase for power? Remember what it cost you four years ago? Remember when you were almost wiped out because of your own arrogance?" Ukyo struggled to force air through her abused throat when she felt the sharp sting of the dagger's blade on her chest. Glancing up, the Japanese woman swallowed hard when she noticed that Amaterasu had her hand out, palm facing down, over Ukyo's heart, the dagger levitating in mid-air, its tip barely breaching the skin. A thin trickle of blood began flowing.
Brush snorted and turned away. "Four years ago, we were weak. Now, our goddess has returned, and we have rooted out those that made us weak. Now, only those that are worthy of our ancestry remain, and we will be strong once more. We will return to the way of life of our ancestors, and we shall hold the valley of Jusenkyo in our hands." The elder walked away, leaving Amaterasu alone with Ukyo on the altar.
The goddess slowly bent down, a small, cruel smile slowly spreading across her face. Ukyo's eyes narrowed. "You're not really Amaterasu, are you?"
The cruel smile widened. "It is enough if I am to them. But you can die with the knowledge that I am not my weak mother." The goddess's tongue flicked across the open wound, tasting her blood. "I must admit, they selected some very good sacrifices. Strong women, with very delicious blood."
"Jackass," Ukyo whispered even as the dagger pierced her heart and her body arched against its bonds. Neither of them heard the screaming that was rapidly approaching the village center.
Turning around, the goddess caught Brush's eye, and the elder nodded in acknowledgement, sprinting away to put a halt to whatever was causing the commotion.
V-------------------V
Ranma frowned as they entered the village. It was almost too quiet, as if everyone was in their homes, waiting for something to happen. The streets were deserted, and there wasn't a single presence anywhere near, if his senses could be trusted. A few minutes later, it became apparent why. One of the houses before them was in ruins, the ceiling and walls collapsed into a heap of rock and wood.
His heart sank when they came around on what had been the doorway, to find a sight he could have lived without. Ryoga turned Shampoo aside, the amazon warrior burying her face into his chest, trying to hide the tears that fell from her eyes. Lotion froze, turning around and retching into the rubble. Ranma could only stare at Cologne's burned body, impaled into the ground on a lance.
Nodoka placed a hand on his shoulder, unable to fathom the entirety of emotions running across her son's face, but understanding the two dominant ones…guilt, and rage. "Ukyo," the pigtailed young man suddenly hissed. "Where's Ukyo?"
Chanting rose from the center of the village, and his eyes fixed in the direction of the village square. "We've got to hurry." He reached into his sash, removing the sword from where it hung at his waist, and tossed it to his mother, who caught the sheathed blade expertly. He spared a glance to where Lotion was saying a prayer for the fallen, and reached down into the debris, withdrawing Cologne's staff. "Mom, stay with Lotion until she's done, then come after us. Ryoga, Shampoo, you're with me."
Shampoo nodded, pulling back from the lost boy, anger flashing in her eyes. "They'll pay," she hissed in Mandarin. Her hands reached into hidden weapons space, withdrawing twin matched swords.
As the three of them set off towards the center of the village, Nodoka watched as Lotion quietly prepared a symbolic burial for Cologne, and she couldn't help but curse the ones who had brought upon this disaster. Cologne had been a friend and teacher, to both her son and herself, and Nodoka felt, deep down, the same voice screaming for revenge. Her grip on the sakabato tightened until her knuckles were white from the strain, and she wondered why her son had handed her his sword when she had her own.
Lotion had finished and stood, the anger in her own eyes evident. She nodded in the general direction the other three had taken, and the two women set off to follow them.
It didn't take them long to catch up, and neither were they very hard to follow. The path the three martial artists had taken was littered with the broken, bleeding, and unconscious forms of amazon warriors. Nodoka shivered unintentionally, seeing for the first time injuries inflicted for pain's sake by her son. Her eyes travelled to the blade she loosely held in her grasp, and she understood. He knew. Knew that she felt the same, knew that she, too, wanted to avenge the death of a friend; but he also knew that she would regret killing recklessly after the haze of blood and death had settled down.
A loud explosion just up ahead shook her out of her thoughts as Ryoga's voice echoed through the air. "Hinokuruma!" A second explosion followed, this one a dark red, that shook the ground. Nodoka sprinted forward, reaching the melee in a matter of seconds. The sword flashed out of its scabbard, deflecting a trio of arrows as they headed for her, coming around into an overhead blow that produced an audible crack as it broke the collarbone of her target. Nodoka brought the blade up and about in a parry, letting a hatchet glance off. She slid in closer, and rammed the hilt of the sword into the amazon's chest, causing the taller woman to fly back.
To her side, Ryoga and Shampoo were working in concert as they ploughed through the ranks of amazon warriors, covering each other's blind spots as they decimated their opponents. Shampoo's face was a mask of hatred as she cut into her sisters, her blades already dripping with red blood. She, for once, seemed intent on truly killing her opponents.
Further to her side, closest towards the altar that Nodoka noted had been erected in the middle of the village square, was her son. He was throwing himself into the battle with a wild, wavering cry, and Nodoka soon lost sight of him as he submerged himself into the warriors before him.
V-------------------V
He was beyond angry. Usually, when he was angry, his skills suffered, but this, this was different. This was cold hatred, the kind of hatred he had only felt once before in his life, the hatred he had felt when he had been ready to kill, when he had wanted to kill. He was watching himself from a detached perspective, almost as if he weren't in his body. Cologne's cane whirled around him, deflecting attacks, striking pressure points and joints with unerring accuracy. He relished the screams of pain of his opponents. No, they weren't opponents anymore. They were victims. He grinned ferally as he laid into the women arrayed before him with a viciousness he hadn't thought he possessed.
Spinning the cane in front of him like a shield, he marched through a volley of arrows, his aura glowing an ominous red-gold around him as he relished the irony of striking down his enemies with the weapon of a fallen friend. There was nothing around him but the battle, and his senses took note of nothing else. The smell of blood grew stronger the closer he got to the altar, and he sped up, his running form almost blurring from sight as he dashed through the rows of amazons, leaving them unconscious in his wake.
Their ranks were thinning, he could see the marble stone shimmer between the bodies as he closed in with his destination. A kick smashed a sword-wielding amazon to the side, and a quick Amaguriken brought another to her knees, and then the way was clear.
He froze at the sight that presented itself to him, even as the woman claiming to be Amaterasu glanced up. Ranma swallowed hard as he reached out, trying to feel for any trace of his friend's ki, hoping she was still alive despite the bloodied dagger protruding from her chest. Ranma screamed, his aura exploding around him as a massive wave of ki rose into the sky, tinging it green with the feelings of despair and anger. The fake goddess grinned at him, and slid back, letting Perfume and Brush step forward. The remaining amazons around them stopped fighting and formed a circle around the altar, leaving them with space to fight.
Ranma hardly noticed when Ryoga, Shampoo, Lotion, and his mother stepped up to form a smaller circle around the elevated platform the altar rested on, weapons drawn, daring any ambitious warrior to come forward and try to kill Ranma while he was duelling the two. Ryoga and Shampoo both moved to step up, but one look from Ranma was enough to back them off. The pigtailed martial artist shook his head, and the two understood. This was personal. This was revenge. The determination in his eyes mollified Shampoo, and she understood that he would do whatever it took to avenge her great-grandmother. It was as good as a promise, and the young amazon knew he always kept them.
The pigtailed martial artist caught his breath as he let his aura dissipate, absorbing the spiritual energy back into his body as he turned eyes burning with hatred on the two amazons before him. "It takes a lot to make me angry," he ground out, "but you just crossed the line. Not once, but twice."
He closed his eyes, fighting to control the anger and hate surging up within him. It was something he had believed he had under control, but the desire to inflict the most horrific death he could think of on those responsible for Cologne and Ukyo's deaths was overpowering. He banished those thoughts as he called upon the Soul of Ice Cologne had taught him so long ago, shunting aside his emotions, leaving his eyes emotionless and cold as he stared at the two warriors.
"Come on," he hissed as he lunged at the pair. He ducked under a wide slash from Perfume's sword, using the moment to his advantage as he swept her off her feet. He didn't dwell on her for long as Brush speared the ground he had been crouching on a moment before. Ranma rolled to the side and back to his feet as the diminuitive woman approached, her lance held before her defensively.
A thrust of the lance was parried with Cologne's cane, and Brush found herself on the receiving end of an Amaguriken as Ranma slipped into her lance's range, pummeling the ancient woman with punches. Brush was saved from the onslaught when her granddaughter recovered and struck at the pigtailed martial artist's back, forcing him to stop his attack.
He turned around, flipping out of the way of the strike, and fired off a series of ki-blasts in mid-air. Brush and Perfume scattered as dust and debris rose into the air, and the two glanced at each other, both extending their ki to compensate for their limited vision. A slight distortion in the air around them alerted Brush to Ranma's presence, and she spun to the side, infusing her lance with her ki to allow it to deflect the vacuum blades that were aimed at her. Perfume, on the other hand, was less experienced and failed to notice the incoming projectiles until it was almost too late.
The younger amazon cried out in pain as the ki-powered vacuum blades shattered against the sword she had raised in a desperate attempt to defend herself, glancing off and cutting deeply into her flesh. Brush narrowed her eyes at the male that had so easily disposed of her granddaughter, and smirked without humor as her form shimmered, then doubled. The duplication continued until the smoke lifted, and Ranma was surrounded by images of Brush, each holding a lance.
"Cologne taught me this trick ages ago," Ranma grinned as he raised his aura, increasing its intensity to the point that it was physically tangible, and with a roar, he pushed the sphere outwards. As the red-gold aura washed across Brush's splitting cat's hairs technique, and the mirror images dissipated until only the real one remained. Ranma retracted his aura until it was a faint golden glow outlining his body, and he brought Cologne's cane up before him.
Brush nodded as her own aura came to life, a dark purple, and on an unspoken agreement, the fight was taken to the next level. The two forms blurred and disappeared from sight as they exchanged blows too fast for the naked eye to see.
Ranma turned out of the way of a thrust, letting the lance's tip pass him by inches as he continued to spin, lashing out with a back kick against his opponent. Brush caught the kick on the lower third of the shaft, spinning it around, letting the flexible wood whip out at the pigtailed martial artist.
He spun in mid-air, twisting around the bladed end of the lance, grabbing hold of the shaft as he vaulted himself over Brush's tiny form, reaching for her unprotected back with Cologne's staff. The amazon elder rolled out of the way, and the sharp end of the staff exploded the ground as Ranma hit it with the Bakusai Tenketsu. Easily deflecting the rocks and broken marble away, Brush spun her lance, slashing it into the center of the blast site, hoping to catch the pigtailed boy off-guard.
Cane met lance with a crack of wood on wood, and Ranma's eyes narrowed ferally as he grinned at her. "Remember last time, Brush?" The elder barely had time to let go and leap back as four shimmering-gold ki claws sliced through the shaft of her lance. Brush smirked.
"You underestimate me, boy. I've learned a trick or two, myself." Her lance glowed with the purple of her ki for an instant, before it came back together seamlessly. Ranma nodded appreciatively. Brush's lance whipped towards him, forcing him back a step, then another, until his back bumped against the cold marble of the altar.
The elder amazon raised her weapon high to deliver a crushing blow when, much to her astonishment, Ranma faded from sight, only to reappear behind her with a cry of "Haku Dato Shin Shö!" Brush hung suspended in mid-air as a rapid series of strikes penetrated her guard. With a final, loud kiai, Ranma kicked her near-unconscious form away. Brush tumbled to a halt, leaning heavily on her lance as she coughed up blood. He eyed her dispassionately, his rage only mildly dissipated with the use of the lethal technique. They killed Cologne and Ucchan. They deserve much, much worse, he thought as he stared at his opponent's battered form.
"Izuna!" The shaky voice from behind him alerted him long before the discharge of ki did. He flipped over the vacuum blade, coming down in an axe-kick that crushed the ground where he landed. Perfume backed away, her sword moving in front of her in a defensive pattern as Ranma pressed his attack, barraging her with a long series of punches and kicks. She blocked one particular thrust kick with the flat side of her blade, realizing her mistake instantly as one kick quickly became a hundred, pounding the forged metal at near-Amaguriken speeds.
"You killed Ucchan," he ground out as he continued throwing kicks at her blade, "you killed Cologne, and for what?" His eyes and aura flared an intense red and tears began to leak from his eyes as his soul of ice began to crack. "You and your stupid little need to play god!"
Breaking the rhythm, she whirled her blade around, attempting to bring it down on his leg, forcing Ranma to abandon his attack. The two broke apart, eyeing each other carefully. With a wordless cry, Perfume launched herself at the pigtailed young man, rage over her earlier defeat at his hands burning in her eyes.
Almost as if moving on its own accord, her blade began weaving an intricate pattern of attacks, slashing and thrusting at him; Perfume grunted in frustration as her opponent managed to avoid any major injuries at her hands, coming away with only a few minor cuts. However, much to both of their surprises, when they separated, Ranma frowned, before collapsing to his knees, shuddering with pain as wounds all over his arms and torso opened.
Perfume eyed her sword in wonder as it channeled her intent and ki, causing minor wounds to tear open into deep, bleeding gashes. She grinned at her opponent, rushing in to finish him before he could recover. Her eyes opened wide as pain blossomed in her chest, and her gaze wandered down to see the top of a staff protruding from her chest.
Still kneeling, clutching his wounds, Ranma grimaced as he watched Perfume open her mouth to speak, only to have blood gush out. He looked down at the hand that had reflexively scooped up Cologne's cane and thrown it with deadly accuracy, fighting the urge to feel sick. His rage suddenly disappeared, only to be replaced by the urge to retch, and disgust at himself for loosing control yet again, the haunting words from the temple echoing in his ears. He stood shakily, knowing that some of the cuts on his arms and chest were deep enough to be life-threatening. He turned to Brush, who was regaining her feet, and smiled grimly.
"Give up, Brush. Your heir is gone. The only thing you'll be furthering is your own demise."
The amazon elder stared at the lifeless body of her granddaughter for a moment, before turning her gaze to meet his. Icy blue met a sickly green, and both saw in the other what they themselves felt, and for a moment, despite their differences, they understood each other perfectly. The grief over a loved one and the need for revenge burned strong in each of them. Without a word, Brush threw herself at the pigtailed martial artist, her lance blurring as she stabbed at him.
Ranma turned sideways, letting the tip of the lance graze his arm as he stepped into her attack, twisting one arm around the shaft of her weapon,yanking it from her hands. The lance clattered to the ground, leaving the two combatants standing across from each other.
Brush raised her head defiantly as two daggers slid into her hands from subspace, and with a snarl, she let them fly.
Gathering his ki in his hands, Ranma drew up his rage at his friends' needless deaths, at the stupidity of the ancient women who governed the Joketsuzoku, at the unfairness of it all, and the swirling sphere of ki between his hands darkened from a bright gold to a dark reddish-black. He forced it together, compressing it, until it shrank to the size of a pinprick before he released his hold on it, draining his massive stores of ki in a single blast.
The beam that flew from his cupped hands was narrow enough to pass through the two daggers aimed at him, but the shockwave it caused knocked them off course, even as the beam slammed into Brush, driving her across the ground until her smoking and burned body came to a halt a few feet from the ranks of the amazon warriors around them. "Adauchi," he whispered.
He slowly walked over to the broken body of the former elder and raised his hand to deliver the finishing blow, but stopped short. His conscience warred only for a moment with his desire to inflict pain on the amazon women, and for a moment he thought he heard Kasumi's accusing voice. It's just a matter of time until you loose control yet again and kill someone again. I will never tolerate a killer in my home. You claim you are a martial artist, yet you don't have the discipline to control your own actions. You killed someone because you lost control of your actions in anger.
He sighed, wiping at his tears angrily, and stood, slowly walking away from Brush and heading towards the altar. I won't kill her. I can't. They killed Ucchan and Cologne, but I still can't do it. I'm sorry, Ukyo, Cologne.
Dead silence permeated the makeshift arena for a minute, as the gathered amazon warriors stared at the still bodies of the two people that had led them into their frenzy.
Soft clapping could be heard from the side, and Ranma turned towards the woman claiming to be Amaterasu. "You," he hissed, his anger returning. "You're the one behind all this, aren't you…Amatsu Mikaboshi?"
The woman's form shimmered for a moment, before she grew leaner, her hair turning a dark red. Her eyes turned from the color of the sky to the color of blood, and her robes melted away, leaving her clad in red and white battle armor. "Well observed, mortal. Unfortunately, you're too late." Lightning crackled up and down the fallen goddess's form as it formed a pulsing, electric blue cage around her. The lightning's intensity increased, until the cage was glowing a dark blue. It burst into fragments of light, leaving her standing next to the altar, eyes glowing with power.