Legal: The characters of Ranma ½ were created by the great Rumiko Takahashi, Dr. Strange was one of the greatest creations of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
I am using them without permission, hopefully for the purpose of entertaining someone. If anyone who has a right to sue me has that desire, I have almost no money.
C&C is appreciated, you can contact me at And if you want to see the earlier parts of this and my other stories, you can find them at Saotome: Master of the Mystic Arts
By Brendan O'Donnell
Chapter 7
Ranma glanced down from the fence at Nabiki.
Nabiki walked beside her sister, a slightly uncertain expression on her face.
Ranma shifted his glance to Akane who walked calmly and deliberately.
With a sigh Ranma hopped down between the two girls. "I haven't mastered the Spell of Forgetfulness yet, but if you want something removed from your memories I could ask Strange-Sensei."
Akane snapped her head with a slightly shocked expression. "I don't want to forget anything!"
Nabiki simultaneously raised her hands defensively and hopped back. "No, no thanks for the offer."
"I was joking." Ranma responded, shaking his head. "I was just worried because you were so quiet."
Smirking Nabiki responded, "Hey I thought you'd be glad that I wasn't pointing out how your dad kicked your ass this morning."
Ranma scowled, then it shifted into a half smirk. "I'm not bringing up last nights accident, am I?"
Nabiki turned bright red at the memory.
Flashback:
Nabiki shook her head as she looked at the three Sorcerers chatting at the table. "I don't know about you but I've got homework to do." She said as she rose to her feet and started out of the room.
Two steps from the table, she suddenly felt every hair on her body stand on end. Just to her side, a stream of mist appeared, then spread into a small curtain of fog. Then the center of the curtain seemed to disintegrate from a great light shining out of it.
Power poured from the newly formed portal like heat from an inferno. Backing away Nabiki tripped and scrambled back with hands and legs. Then a face made of flames appeared within the portal.
Ranma's two fellow sorcerers talked to each other, the only thing that penetrated the overwhelming fear was a name. Dormammu.
"Surely you did not think you had heard the last of me? I have something to show you victorious one!" Dormammu's voice shifted, loosing some of it's anger and gaining a touch of happiness.
Nabiki remained frozen, watching the banishment a white hared girl. Then she felt hands pulling her to her feet.
"That's enough." Ranma said softly, putting a hand in front of her eyes as he pulled her from the room. "There are just some things you don't want to deal with." He paused and sniffed the air a moment. Glancing down he added, "Ah, the Furo. I'll ask Kasumi to get you some clothes."
Nabiki blinked, and looked down to confirm the feeling of wetness she suddenly recognized in her pants.
End Flashback.
"Yes." Nabiki said coldly. "Let's not bring that up."
Shan stood on a rooftop and gazed toward the canal that was about a mile away. He smiled as his magic enhanced sight picked out Ranma and two of the girls from the house he was staying at. He smiled a very fierce smile. "Well, Ranma."
He raised a hand, beginning to gather mystical energy between his fingers, then dropped his hand. "No, not yet." He looked in the direction the three youths had come.
"I shall no longer be deceived by Gaijin lies!" Kuno proclaimed, stepping forward, holding a gohei above his head. He was dressed in a white kimono, and had strapped two burning candles to his head with a headband. He lowered the gohei, it's paper strips rattling as he pointed it at Ranma. "Now Ranma, your foreign arts shall fall before the Power of Japan!" He charged, snapping the gohei back and forth in front of him.
Ranma waited for Kuno, then dropped into a crouch, his leg shooting out to knock Kuno's feet out from under him.
"I fight on Saotome!" Kuno declared as he pulled himself from the ground. "Ugh." He added as Ranma kicked him back onto the ground.
Shan stood outside the Tendo Dojo. He nodded to himself. "That spell I felt this morning was the Ancient one departing. And Strange has also left." He smiled. "So it's just Ranma and I." He raised a hand to touch the leather bag hanging around his neck. He chortled quietly.
Ranma sat in his chair, dividing his efforts between watching the board and keeping awake. Suddenly his half-closed eyes popped wide open. "The House!" Leaping to his feet, he ran to the window and jerked it open.
"Mr. Saotome!" the teacher responded, flipping his eraser into a perfect throwing grip.
"Bathroom!" Ranma responded as he launched himself through the window.
All the other students flocked to the window, to watch Ranma leaping over the school wall, then bouncing from roof to roof.
"Wow, look at him go." One student commented
"Yeah, I wonder what made him run off like that?"
"Class," The teacher said in a very cold and angry tone.
Everyone but Akane dashed back into their seats. He said something about the house, Pivoting she ran to the door.
"Tendo!"
"Family Emergency Sensei!" Akane cried as she ran into the hall.
Ranma leaped across the roofs as fast as he could, thinking of what he had felt. Whatever knocked down my wards had a lot of power behind it. Not like the Ancient one or Strange Sensei, but still tough. He thought for a moment of slowing down, taking time to judge the situation and wait for help. "No. Mr. Tendo, Pop and Kasumi are home." He jumped from the roof, and sprinted down the street to the Dojo, sliding fifteen feet to stop himself in front of the door. The brightly glowing red door.
Raising his hands, Ranma expanded his senses. This aura feels familiar. Like Shans. He looked at the Door. "An alarm spell, but mostly a signature." He redirected his senses up and around the house. "There's not even anything else." Ranma commented as he sprinted toward the wall and leaped over it into the yard.
"Nothing else is necessary, Saotome."
Ranma turned toward the Dojo where the voice had come from.
"Just an invitation for us to finish what we started." Shan continued as he stepped out of the dojo. "No more pretenses, just magic and death." He smirked and nodded his head slightly.
From the roof of the Tendo home, Soun and Genma leaped down and charged at Ranma. Ranma stood waiting, not turning his head from Shan. Then as the pair wound up for a strike, Ranma casually took a step back and raised his arms, striking both in the face, each with their own backhand punch.
"You can't expect that someone under mind control can fight well enough to really hurt me."
"Not really, no. I just wanted to see if you would really hit your father and his friend." He looked past Ranma frowning slightly. "Well?"
Kasumi's voice responded from behind him. "Um, are you sure you want me to hit Ranma with this teakettle? It's a very nice kettle, and if it gets bent out of shape it might not make such nice tea."
Shan rolled his eyes. "Ok, go cook up a victory feast."
"Oh, thank you sir!" Kasumi responded, as she turned and walked back into the house.
"Peaceful girl." Shan commented.
"Extremely." Ranma responded, raising his hands and gathering his magical strength.
Shan raised a hand, projecting a mystic bolt at Ranma.
Ranma raised his own hand, forming a shield. The blow caused the shield to buckle, but it held. Not Good Ranma thought to himself as he leaped to dodge a second blast, releasing a blast of his own in response.
Akane was almost out of breath as she came to a stop outside the Dojo. She looked around quickly. "Nothing. . ." She paused and looked at the door. There was something odd about it. The color seemed wrong, and when she didn't look directly at it, it almost seemed to be glowing. She extended her hand to gingerly touch it. "OWW!" She pulled her hand back shaking it. It's electrified or something.
From the corner of her eye she saw a beam of light shoot from the yard. "Ok!" She ran to the wall jumped, and grabbed the top, vaulting herself into the yard.
Looking around she saw her father lying on the ground close to the house. Ranma's father was next to him. And by the Dojo Ranma and a Chinese stranger were throwing yellow lightning at each other. Well it was mostly the stranger who was doing the throwing, Ranma was gesturing, and the blasts were being blocked by something invisible in front of him.
A sorcerer like Ranma. She thought as she carefully moved along the edge of the yard. Could I stop someone like that? She considered Ranma's encounters with Kuno, and felt a chill run down her spine. Well whatever I do, I'd better try to do it by surprise.
Ranma felt the sweat on his forehead as he blocked another blast. Shan's form was somewhat sloppier than he had seen, but his strength was far greater than it had been before.
He feels odd, but I can't sense any outside power. Besides if he had gained power from a demon he would be even stronger than this. He released a blast which was deflected by Shan's shields. Shan fired a counter blast, Which passed beneath Ranma's feet as he jumped.
With a smile, Shan raised his left hand, a single glowing chopstick held between two fingers.
DAMN! Ranma thought as Shan hurled the chopstick. Boosted by his crafted spells, it accelerated and struck Ranma's shield, punching through them easily. "GRAAH!" Ranma gritted his teeth as he grabbed at his stomach where the chopstick was now embedded.
His smile expanding Shan gestured with his left hand.
"AHHHHHHHH!" Eldrich power blazed from the wooden weapon, flowing through Ranma's body like hot liquid pain through a hose.
Ranma! Akane Jumped at Shan, twisting into a downward punch which passed through the space Shan had occupied a moment earlier and tore a small crater in the ground.
"Bad move." Shan stated from where he now levitated, ten feet away. He thrust his hand forward, releasing a blast of concussive force, throwing Akane back to the wall.
Lowering his hand Shan turned to Ranma. And frowned. "Going for help? I'd advise against that Saotome!" He said loudly. "I've set a few detection spells, and if your astral body gets to far out of the area, it'll automatically trigger a few nasty effects on your father and those other two."
Akane shakily pulled herself halfway up, gritting her teeth against the pain. Danm, what can I do against that monster?
Akane, don't talk, just focus your thoughts and I'll hear them.
"R. . ." Ranma? Akane bit back her verbal response.
Yeah, that weapon he had set really did some damage to my body, but I was able to shift into my astral form. Unfortunately I'm a lot weaker like this.
Like with Dr. Strange, would you be stronger if I let you use my body?
I'd prefer to have an alternative, it's a real risk for you.
Like being here with this nutcase isn't?!
"I know you're still close, Saotome." Shan said, floating near Ranma's body. "Maybe you need more of an incentive to come out and fight?" He pivoted, turning until he was looking at Akane. "Maybe this girls screams will bring you back to fight."
Damn! Clear your mind, try to let go of everything! Ranma projected as he phased his astral body out of the ground into Akane.
How, Right. Clear, Clear, Blank. . . Akane closed her eyes and forced herself to relax as something invisible gently lifted her into the air.
"Hmm," Shan commented as he floated to Akane. "Where to begin?" He raised a hand, energy crackling along it to focus in two extended fingers.
Akane's eyes shot open, and with a sudden burst of levitation she darted forward enough for her rising kick to slam into Shan's side, throwing the sorcerer toward the Tendo House.
Drawing in mystical energy from the surroundings Ranma wove a strong mystic bolt that shot after Shan.
A foot from the house Shan's movement stopped, and he instantly rotated back toward Akane. "Heh, You actually think you'll be able to challenge me indirectly Saotome?" He said as he raised a hand and deflected Ranma's attack. Feeling the energy of the talisman around his neck, he floated forward and dropped to the ground. "Here, I'll let you have a free attack so that you can truly understand your helplessness."
What to do? Ranma thought to himself. He was weaker than in his real body, and even then Shan's strength had been overwhelming. There has to be some spell, some power. . . Ranma blinked, then raised his hands and gathered his strength.
"By the myriad great powers
"That rule the day and night."
Energy began to coalesce and build between Ranma's two hands.
"May the Faltine Flames now pierce you"
At the center of the ball of power a green spark ignited into an emerald conflagration.
"With a thousand points of light!"
Ranma thrust his hands forward, and the ball of flame exploded away from him, spawning a swarm of flaming projectiles.
As Shan saw the fire forming, his grin faded, and he redoubled the strength of his shielding. A moment later the green flames reached him. "GRRRRA!" Shan focused everything he had into holding his deeply cratering shield together. "AHHHH!" he screamed and one then another and another missile of fire pierced his defenses to stab into him. As the attack died, he raised his hand to the bag around his neck, extending his power to the talisman within, letting it wipe away his feelings of uncertainty, fill his reserves with more power.
Ranma forced down a moment of double vision. That bag. . . Have to end the fight now. He shifted Akane's legs into a slight crouch. Raising Akane's right hand before her face he began chanting once more.
"Winds of Watoomb fill my hand."
As the air began to swirl around Akane's right hand, Ranma leaped, flying into Shan like an arrow.
"Send my foe beyond this land!"
As the palm strike shattered through Shan's still disrupted shields, the swirling wind encasing Akane's hand expanded and wrapped around Shan. As he flew backward from the palm strike to his stomach, his flight accelerated, and moments later he was nothing but a dot on the horizon.
Akane dropped to the ground and sighed, tiredly. She took a breath, then exhaled shakily as Ranma pulled his Astral body from her.
"Wow, that was. . . wow." Akane said quietly.
Ranma floated toward the house, looking closely. Then he raised his hand, and began a quick series of movements with his hands. A few moments later he nodded and floated to his body.
Akane looked down in worry at the stick imbedded in Ranma's body. "Is there anything I can do?"
Ranma looked at her and smiled. 'The weapon doesn't have any serious enchantments, it was just meant to quickly disable. It's magic has already faded, and it just needs to be removed. Dr. Tofu would probably be able to, though I'd expect you'd want to check on your sister first."
"Kasumi!" Akane turned and ran into the house.
'Ranma?'
Ranma turned his astral head to look at the Ancient One's astral form floating toward him. 'Master, I thank you for coming.'
'Don't fear, Shan's act draws my interest by itself. Do you have any idea what has driven him to reveal his true allegiance?'
Ranma shook his head. 'I know that his strength was boosted somehow. It seemed tied to the bag around his neck. And there was no trace of another power to him, so I doubt he's pacted with any power.' Ranma scowled. 'He almost had me. He would have had me if not for the Flames. And if he hadn't been so overconfident as well.'
'Indeed, the Flames seemed much stronger than you have ever been able to summon them.'
'Akane must have some affinity, I guess. He'll be back.' Ranma looked to the horizon.
'You will have two or three days, my student,' the Ancient one replied. 'Shan has been thrown across the world, and even boosted he lacks the strength to teleport or fly back here.'
'Two days. Not like it'll do any good.' Ranma commented in a depressed voice.
'Ranma?'
'I got lucky this time. If I try to stop him again, he'll win easily.' His face twisted into an angry expression. 'Dad raised me to avoid asking for help. I still hate it, but the Tendo's are at risk too. And the only way they'll be safe is if someone who's magic's worth something steps in.'
'No. There is another way.'
Ranma and the Ancient One floated above a cave in the mountain near the Ancient One's temple.
'When I granted Dr. Strange the improved Eye of Agamato, I placed the older eye deep within that cave. If you can reach it and pass it's test, it will make all the difference in your next fight with Shan.'
'What's this test?'
'One of your own making,'
Ranma looked at his teacher. With a smile on his face, he bowed to the Ancient One. 'Ok, I'll be back with the eye soon.' Turning he flitted down and into the cave.
The Ancient one sighed and looked down. 'May Agamatto show you mercy, young one.'
Ranma's astral form extended a hand to feel the mountain. It felt quite solid, even to his spectral hand. 'Ok,' He commented, flying to the entrance to the cave. 'That's no surprise.' Cautiously he floated into the dark tunnel into the mountain. Drifting along the natural corridor, he stopped before the sealed door at it's end. Reaching out a hand he realized that it was not shielded against Astral intrusion so he phased through it. Into the light.
Ranma raised a hand before his eyes, before remembering his spectral nature. Lowering his hands he looked into the brightly lit room. At the center of the natural chamber was a pillar, and above the pillar floated a sphere of brilliant light. Within the light he could make out the square outline of Dr. Strange's old amulet.
Ranma felt for barriers, traps, or anything keeping him from the amulet. Sensing nothing he cautiously began to float forward.
Vision
Ranma saw himself fighting Shan. His body was injured and he casually seized Akane's, his pride demanding that he use her before asking for help.
End Vision
Ranma shook his head, as he looked back into the chamber. IT WASN'T LIKE THAT! I couldn't. . . If I had tried. . . He looked back into the light. Screwing his determination he floated forward again.
Vision
Ranma fought Shan, his pride No! He saw Shan's barrier, tasted the cruelty in Shan's smile. Not just for pride! He thought of Kasumi and Akane, recalling his desire to protect them. To Impress them and gain praise They would have died if I fled, I had to keep them safe, whatever their response. I. . .
End Vision
Vision
Ranma Stood before the Ancient one asking to learn magic. His mind was filled with rage against Shan, and his imagination began to craft the vengence he would wreck. I also wanted to protect the Ancient One. I swore to fight to support life and I meant every word!
End Vision
Vision
Ranma looked down from the log, savoring how his foe had been so thoroughly defeated; defeated in the name of his appetite and his pride.
. . . Ranma looked within, searching for his other feelings, the joy of using his skills, the hope of friendship, but shame filled him as he realized how small a part of his thoughts they had occupied during the fight. A rising sense of shame made him want to turn from the chamber, but he forced it down. Forced himself to look that version of himself in the eye and accept how much of it was him
End Vision
Each inch that Ranma advanced engulfed him in a memory, a vision into the flaws of his being. He forced some back with memory's of his most deeply buried virtues, but others he accepted, like weights on his soul, weighing him down, slowing his progress even further.
'I can't let myself fail.' He forced himself onward, reaching deep inside himself to search for the virtues that balanced the flaws, pushing back the weight with hope of what he could attain. 'I. . .'
He felt something with his spectral hand. Looking down he saw light blazing forth, burning like an icy inferno. Then as he let the flames wash over him, the light faded, and he saw the square golden amulet his hand was clenched around. 'The eye.'
Ranma forced his eyes to open, and looked up at the ceiling of Dr. Tofu's clinic. Looking down at his hand, he saw the amulet, a circle within a square, in the palm of his hand. I did it.
Shan looked up at the sun and scowled. "Not strong enough to teleport. . . Not yet." He raised one hand to caress the bag hanging around his neck. Turning he walked into the airport. Dominating the businessman to hand him his ticket had been laughably easy, and his magic would keep anyone from questioning his possession of it. What's more, the plane offered time to rest and restore his strength. His strength is nothing compared to mine, but I want to take my time and savor this victory.
"Saotome?" the teacher asked.
"He has personal business today and tomorrow, sensei." Akane responded.
"Hmm, he had better not make a habit of it."
In his sanctom, just outside real space in the Tendo Attic, Ranma floated, his body enveloped in a cocoon of vapors. Inside he slept deeply, as the Mists of Morpheus healed and invigerated his body.