Chapter 7: Revenge Gambit

Ukyo poured a kettle of warm water over a transformed Ryoga, nullifying the effects of his curse until the next time his skin felt the cool embrace of water. Using the mist from the hot kettle as cover, he dove back into his clothes and sat down again in front of his stunned parents. His mother started to cry yet again. Mr. Hibiki merely sighed and handed her a clearly worn out hankie. The look he gave Mr. Konji suggested that her fit of tears occurred often.

"I got that little momento at Jusenkyo when Ranma accidentally knocked me in," Ryoga said matter-of-factly.

His father was speechless. One moment his son has been splashed with cold water and the next his form has shrunk into that of a pig, a cute piglet, but a pig none the less. He cleared his throat, trying to think of something appropriate to say. Everyone could sympathize with their shock, it was certainly the most bizarre situation they had ever been faced with. "Well son, I think... umm..."

The phone rang on the counter, breaking his train of thought. Ukyo hopped up to answer it, flashing Ryoga a smile. "Ucchan's! How may I help you?"

The group looked on as her face twisted to a look of horror passed over her. Abruptly, she slammed down the phone and raced for the door with spatula in hand. "Come on! Mint and Lime are here! They're attacking Ranma!"

Ranma flipped to the side as Lime's second strike hit the reinforced dojo wall, shattering it into splinters. His lumbering form seemed to contradict his ability to conduct fast movements and yet that was exactly what he was doing. This shocking realization threw Ranma off for just a moment. Seconds later he was once again back in touch with the game, calling on his elite Anything Goes battle prowess to take the fight to his enemies with near reckless abandon.

Ranma, for his part was too stunned to be angry for their violating attack on his private life. The two Chinese boys didn't even look human anymore. He wondered if their hatred was so great that it would cause them to make the ultimate sacrifice of their humanity. Not even Taro, with all his rage, had gone that far. The utter lack of reasoning and moral respect for their bodies made him sick to his stomach.

"Come and fight, Ranma. I've waited over a year for this glorious moment and it won't do to have you disappoint us. I can play with you until Ryoga hears your screams and comes running." Lime's smiled, gesturing tauntingly.

"This will be over long before then, you freak!"

Lime bellowed once then charged at Ranma like a mad bull. Ranma jumped up and brought his foot up and out, gracefully slamming it into Lime's cheekbone. The former Musk bodyguard was unfazed by the blow and it did little to slow him down. He stopped his forward momentum, pivoted, and brought his forehead crashing into Ranma's stomach, knocking the wind from the boy's lungs and throwing him into the ground.

Ranma rose again, slightly slower this time than before. Catching his breath, he changed the style of his tactics and slammed his foot into Lime's right knee cap, distracting the boy long enough to flip away and gain some room to maneuver. His heightened danger sense screaming in the back of his mind, and he jumped skyward as several razor sharp projectiles screamed by, narrowly avoiding his body. Mint materialized seconds later and jumped at him, teeth exposed in a laughing smile. Grabbing his shoulders, Ranma jumped up and flipped the former bodyguard in midair, hurling him into the stone wall with careful precision.

As Ranma started his decent, Lime's fist connected with his jaw sending pain shooting up through his cranium. The blow hurt so much it brought tears to his eyes. Landing, he rolled forward despite the pain and drove his fist into Lime's unprotected stomach. "Kashu Tenshine Amaguriken!"

Hundreds of rapid strikes lanced into Lime's stomach as he stood there, arms spread open. He did nothing to defend himself. In fact he almost seemed to welcome the attack, treating it as though it was an utterly futile gesture being performed by a small baby or insect.

Ranma pulled his hand away, holding his smarting knuckles to his chest. It's like punching steel! What the hell…

Lime chuckled. The movements made his shoulders shake like a mountain during an earthquake. He grabbed Ranma by the shirt and threw him skyward before jumping up to meet him, planting his knee into Ranma's back. Blood trickled from the pigtailed boy's mouth as his eyes widened in shock.

So fast….

Strong as Ranma was, he knew he couldn't last on his own. While not as fast, agile, or creative as Taro or Wraith, Lime's sheer strength was far greater than either. With his tank-like resistance to damage, he wouldn't need to land more than a few attacks to send Ranma to the grave.

A shape appeared as Ranma began his downward decent and Natsumi grabbed him in midair. She spring boarded off of Lime's face and carried her charge across the yard to safety. "Kurumi hold off the other one!"

"I'm on it!" Untying her ribbon, the younger sister engaged Mint as the boy hopped around the yard on all fours, evading her attacks.

"I'm so sorry we couldn't get here in time," Natsumi said with deep regret, setting Ranma on his feet. "We were out shopping and only just saw all the chaos."

"Don't worry about it," he winced, standing up straight. "Thanks for the save. Want to help me put this bastard down?"

Her smile was tight yet confident. "Count on it!"

The two attacked in tandem. Suffering a withering volley of punches and strikes from Kurumi's weaponized carpet beater, Lime fell back across the yard. Natsumi moved around behind him, preparing to unleash a blast of razor sharp wind when Mint appeared overhead and knocked her to the ground before moving away as Kurumi's ribbon whip gave chase.

Free from the threat of attack from behind, Lime redirected all of his efforts forward and delivered another crushing blow that staggered Ranma backwards. Towering over the downed boy with a grin that stretched from ear to ear, Lime held his hand open and called a sphere of power. The harmful energy crackled and sparked in his hand, begging to be released. "I thought this would have been more of a challenge. Your death will bring us little satisfaction. Don't worry though; Mousse and Ryoga will be joining you in hell soon enough."

Just to hear him speak such vile words almost made Ranma forget the man he was fighting was once the loyal, fierce, and clueless. It was clear that their bodily "enhancements" had warped their very minds and their reflection of themselves. Pointing out these devastating flaws would be pointless; the two were obviously completely pleased with their new powers, especially at present considering the beating they were handing him.

Ranma almost felt sorry for them none-the-less. Pulling all his energy into his hands with a flicker of concentration, he prepared to shoot himself out of the range of the blast Lime was forming in his hand.

"Fire Strike Beam!"

An unexpected blast of energy slammed into Lime's spine and threw him down hard on his face, cutting off any opportunity he might have had to sneak in another attack during Ranma's recovery phase. Akane moved quickly in the aftermath of her attack and rushed to her fiancé's side, helping him to his feet. Half relieved, half angry at her decision to make herself a target, he scanned every direction in case he needed to shield her from a furious counterattack. Mint was surely sulking from the shadows, awaiting his turn to pounce.

"Nice timing. You should get somewhere safe though."

She shook her head adamantly. "No way! I'm through with watching from the sidelines all the time. I'm going to be your wife and that means this sideline observing ends! From now on, we are going to fight every fight as a team."

Shaken from his temporary anger, Ranma found the strength to smile and enclosed her hand with his. She was a warrior too and he'd trained for moments like this. He didn't have the right to refuse her help, especially since it stemmed from her concern for his safety.

Mint jumped forward at last after evading Kurumi's distance attacks. Hunching over, he studied them with calculating eyes that tightened into slits. Saliva dripped from his teeth and formed a disgusting pool on the ground. Ranma found he was unable to read Mint's moves as the wolf-boy stalked across the grass. The scientific experiments had confused his mind and he no longer knew weather to act like a human or a wolf. He walked the fine line between mental stability and the belief that he was a predatory animal, devoid of a tactical mind. While this could be useful to Ranma in some cases, the lack of humanity made reading his chaotic mind impossible. He'd have to keep on his toes.

Lime lumbered to his feet with all the gracefulness of a bear, massaging his sore face. "Think you can take out the pretty little girls here, Mint?"

Mint howled in delight and dove at Akane and Natsumi with outstretched hands. Akane fell back onto the grass and brought her foot up into his hard stomach, flipping the wolf boy towards the stone wall again. He rebounded and landed several feet from her, throwing punch after rapid punch without missing a beat, sending her into a frenzied defense. The grace of his movements was beyond human and it was all Akane could do to just block as she back flipped out of range.

Natsumi took advantage of the distraction and appeared at his side before she reared she back and slammed her weapon into his face hard enough to drive him through the wall. As he lay stunned amidst shard of rock, she concentrated her power and began to swing in his direction, pelting him with razor wind that held his body to the ground.

Lime approached Ranma and the two traded blows that caused the house's very walls to shake. Blocking and counterattacking, they circled each other, shattering nearby stone and wood with the shockwaves produced by their attacks. Ranma was instantly thrown into the disadvantage category. Determined as he was, there were limits to what his body could do for him. Facing an opponent that was covered with muscle and fur that felt like solid steel when struck was too much even for him.

Taking an intense blow to his ribs, Ranma doubled over as the breath was snatched from his lungs again by tentacles of pain. He coughed up stomach fluid, trying to overcome the agonizing sensations that trickled through his body.

The animalistic grin never left Lime's face. There was no absolutely no mistake about the situation; he was enjoying this whole twisted affair. "And now we will conclude this pitiful engagement once and for all! I will finish what my former lord was never able to do, Ranma. You and your friends humiliated Mint and me! Now we will correct our mistakes and redeem our honor."

The dojo continued to burn as did parts of the house. Soun and Genma were trying to fan out the flames as Nadoka called the fire department and the police then went to take Happosai to safety.

Stealing a glance at the burning dojo and house, Akane felt her heart break but she quickly redoubled her resolve. Getting distracted in the middle of a battle would only put herself and her friends at risk.

Finally having managed to escape, Mint continued to occupy Akane, Natsumi, and Kurumi. Unable to handle the three of them in direct combat all at once, he baited them to attack him, focusing his strategy on avoiding while Lime finished his battle and could lend a hand.

"You could have avoided this fate if you'd only told us what we had wanted to know." Lime voice carried at little more than a whisper as his fist clenched tightly. He raised his elbow high then brought it down with rapid force, aiming to crack Ranma's skull. It was happening impossibly fast, far too fast for him to properly counter. His eyes clenched shut involuntarily.

When he opened his eyes again he saw Lime's elbow mere inches from the top of his head, being held firmly by Ryoga's outstretched hand. Seeing his true opponent whom he hated more than anyone else, Lime howled and casually kicked Ranma in the side of his head, nearly striking his temple. Ranma fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes and did not stir.

"Ryoga..." Lime's grin increased as he clenched his hands into tight fists again. His tongue licked the corners of his mouth as if he were savoring the juices of an exotic food. "You decided to show up after all. At last!"

"Play time is over Lime! It's time you went home for good." Ryoga threw a glance to make sure Ranma was ok then dropped into an aggressive stance.

Lime charged forward, fist outstretched, aiming directly at his hated foe's head. A blow of that magnitude would crack the Lost Boy's skull open like a melon as it almost had done to Ranma's moments before. But Ryoga showed no fear and casually caught Lime's fist a foot away from his nose. Lime for his part, was amazed, and found Ryoga's fist to be like a brick wall. No matter how hard he pushed, the boy wouldn't budge. He simply couldn't connect.

"It...isn't... possible..."

Ryoga brought his foot up into Lime's jaw, kicking him backwards across the yard. He recovered quickly however and moved in close to exchange rapid boxer-like punches, absorbing counter blows as easily as he had with Ranma. The two boys parried and attacked until their arms and legs were blurs of motion.

The Hibiki's and Mr. Kuonji had rushed to the scene with their children now found themselves being ushered away by Nabiki and Kasumi as the all-out battle waged across the expanse of the yard.

"Akane are you alright?!" Ukyo rushed onto the scene and brought her spatula up at the last second, deflecting several of Mint's deadly projectiles.

"Perfect timing, Ukyo!"

Ukyo winked. "You know how I love dramatic entrances!"

Mint jumped at her with arms outstretched, saliva dripping from his mouth. Now that it was four on one odds, he had to take out some of the competition before he was overwhelmed. He howled, taunting her to strike at him. Ukyo brought her fist up to deliver an uppercut but with a flash, Mint disappeared as Ukyo's hand sailed skyward, connecting only with air.

"He's gone! Did he disappear?"

"No, he's just too fast. We would have sensed the energy increase if he had teleported," Akane explained, rushing beside her friend.

A blur appeared behind them and they were both struck in the small of the back with terrific force. The blow knocked the two girls to the ground, scraping their skin as they connected. Mint dove at them again but missed as the girls rolled to either side and flipped back to their feet. He crouched low to the ground again, bringing his teeth together as he hissed. With a rapid leap, he charged again, disappearing right in front of Ukyo and reappeared at Akane's side. Her foot found only air as he moved again, appearing behind them again. By the time they turned around he was gone. He moved in a circle, overlapping them. His movements were too fast for them to follow thereby making it impossible to counterattack.

He's toying with us! Ukyo gritted her teeth in frustration and tightened her grip on her spatula. A blur surrounded her suddenly like a dark cloud and a multitude of blows slammed into her body, dropping the startled girl instantly.

"Ukyo!"

"Kurumi! Help me cover them!" Natsumi said, rushing forward. The younger sister finally managed to wrap the ribbon around Mint's legs. She concentrated her energy into it, searing his flesh as the ribbon burned crimson. As Mint struggled to get free, Kurumi was on him again, landing strike after strike, forcing him backwards and erasing whatever advantage he'd gained.

His claws narrowly missed striking her throat and he used the split second to shred the ribbon attached to his legs before rushing away back towards his original target.

Akane started to rush to her fallen comrade when a blow to her chin knocked her to the side. Blood flew from the cut skin as she stumbled off balance. Mint was on her instantly, pinning her down against the ground. He hissed again, leaving a trail of drool disgustingly down onto her cheek. He reached to his side and pulled out his last knife aiming for her vulnerable stomach. He chuckled manically, twirling the knife in between his fingers.

Akane turned her head and closed her eyes, whimpering softly. "Ranma..."

A column of yellow energy slammed into Mint's head and shoulders, throwing him into the grass. He skidded feet away, kicking up dirt and rocks as his claws fought to gain traction. Akane flipped to her feet and turned to see Ranma walking towards her with a yellow ball of energy flickering in his open hand. He was seething with raw, uncontrollable rage. His eyes burned with a sea of hatred that magnified with sheer intensity. "No one hurts my fiancée'! Not you, not anyone else! Do you understand me, you sick freak?!"

Mint recovered instantly, charged at Ranma with clawed hands outstretched. Ranma let him get within six paces before letting him have his collected energy in the face, throwing the yelping boy back yet again. He screamed, clutching his burning face as he slowly rose again, shifting wildly as the pain consumed him. His yelping mouth foamed over as if he had rabies and he lowered his head, overcoming the pain in mere seconds. Smiling despite the painful damage, he resumed a clockwise pace around Ranma, just outside of attack range.

No way! He just took a full Moko Takabisha at point blank range in the face and he's still moving! What does it take to put him down?!

"Anything Goes Final Attack: Hiryu Carimbou!" Kurumi's ultimate ki attack scored a direct shot on Mint and threw him back into the burning remains of the dojo.

"Nice shot," he called as Natsumi and Kurumi gave chase, determined to put the wolf down for good.

Ranma knew he was tiring, but on the positive side, he realized it was not as quickly a rate as he should have been. He really was getting stronger thanks to his new training. What's more, despite how fast and uncanny Mint was, Ranma's eyes had gotten fast enough to track his opponents movement with ease. This fact went unnoticed by the single-tracked mind of his opponent who couldn't fathom why Ranma was having better luck against his tricks then the four girls had had.

Ranma fired another energy blast as Mint dove skyward, leaping over the sisters. The attack missed this time, but succeeded in taking out Akane's window. Shattered glass rained down as her curtains caught fire.

Mint shifted again and kicked Ranma against the wall of the house. Grabbing a knife from the ground, he rose from a roll and threw the sharp blade, pinning the sleeve of Ranma's shirt into the wall.

Momentarily distracted, Ranma let his guard down as he reached over to try and pull it out. That was all the distraction Mint needed. He pounced on Ranma's struggling form, slashing across his chest with his claws, drawing a small geyser of blood in his wake. The two entered into close range combat, Ranma doing the best he could to defend himself with only one arm free. Even wounded he quickly proved to be a match for the speed creature even with only one hand available to defend himself.

"Keep your hands to yourself!"

A dozen chains slinked out from the top of the house and encircled Mint's body, pinning his hands down. Mousse came next, sailing to the ground with the grace of a bird. Seeing his one true target, Mint gathered enough strength to tear through the chains and strike at Mousse with all the martial arts skill and speed he possessed. Mousse and Mint circled around the yard with grace, both scoring numerous hits on the other as they seemed to fly.

"What have you done to yourself, Mint?!" Disgusted, Mousse just shook his head. "No matter. Even in this form you're still not strong enough to beat me. It would be best for you to accept that fact and go home. Stay and you will be destroyed! As an Amazon facing off against an old enemy, I will defeat you!" Mousse stood as a mountain of confidence. Mint set his teeth back and snarled a challenge.

Ranma grinned slightly. "Good to have you here, Mousse. It almost seems like history is repeatin' itself again doesn't it?"

Mousse nodded. " It's too late for these two though."

"Mint!" Lime looked over at his friend in concern. This proved to be a mistake. A second later he was flying backwards again as Shampoo leapt over the wall and into the fray, propelling the unprepared science experiment backwards with a mace to the ribs. Recovering, he staved off a series of crushing blows and snarled at as the numerical odds stacked against them.

"It is almost like you were expecting us…" Lime's face went from contemplative to angry as he rose to face Shampoo and Ryoga. "Ah, but of course you were. Herb warned you didn't he? You knew we were coming well in advance."

"You got that right," Ryoga confirmed.

"No matter," Lime remarked casually, renewing his efforts. "You will all die regardless."

Akane and Ukyo advanced from one side, Kurumi and Natsumi from the other. Facing five opponents, Mint whimpered and backed off. Mousse was the closest and he blocked the fallen Musk warrior's path. "Oh no. Did you not hear me? You aren't getting away."

Mint attacked only to have Mousse pivot on one foot and swing the other around into the back of his neck. Mint spun end over end, whimpering in pain. Planting his feet to stop his downward spin, he set his enlarged ears back and prepared to lunge again. Mousse swung out with his fist, hitting Mint in the jaw and knocking out several teeth with a lucky shot. This time the wolf boy went down, and when he rose again, it was slowly and painfully, like a beaten dog. His random howls rose in pitch and intensity.

"Damn it! Come out!" Ranma snarled, finally freeing himself by tearing off the sleeve of his shirt.

Mousse watched on in interest, already knowing that a victor had been declared in this match. With Mint weakened, Mousse concluded that the warrior didn't have a chance in hell of winning this fight. That didn't stop from trying, and he shifted around the yard, trying to stall for time.

On the other end of the yard, Lime picked himself off the ground, shaking his head groggily as Ryoga dropped into a lower stance, bursting with confidence. Lashing out Lime was knocked backwards again and again as each punishing blow sapped more and more of his heightened endurance.

"Mint," Lime roared, batting Ryoga off to the side with a lucky snap kick to the chest. "Unleash all of your strength! We have no reason to hold back!"

Mint paused and looked at him, whining.

Lime grinned fatalistically. "I know we could die going all out. Our bodies might not be able to handle the strain. It's a risk we'll have to take for our revenge. This is the moment we continued to live for, isn't it? After this there is nothing else so don't hold back!"

Conceding the point, Mint acknowledged the orders with a woof and started to concentrate. Duel waves of power radiated from the two as Team Ranma backed up as one. Mint roared toward the smoke-filled sky as the remnants of the dojo burned. His body began to change again. The fur on his body grew longer as his limbs extended and taunt muscle wrapped tighter around bone as his talons stabbed into the ground.

Lime added his own howl of rage as fur expanded across his body to just under his eyes. From his flexed fingertips grew short, sharp claws as his muscle mass increased until he was easily double his former size.

His eyes blazed green. "Now Ryoga," he wheezed, adjusting to the changes to his physical form, "we will finish this. All of you are going to die. Right here, right now!"

The second offensive began and the yard shook as the two foreigners plowed into Ranma and his friends. Brushing off punches, Lime engaged Ryoga, Ranma, Mousse, and Shampoo while Mint dealt with Akane, Ukyo, Natsumi, and Kurumi. Bodies danced around the yard and through the air, looking for the best angle to attack as Mint and Lime endured, giving out as much damage as they received with their augmented bodies of speed and strength.

Lime's boulder-sized fists struck Ranma and Ryoga. The Lost Boy was sent sprawling to the ground and Ranma landed on his back in the pond. The fish thrashed in alarm as she pulled herself up, rubbing the back of her head, taking in the battle from a distance for the first time since it had been.

It was a hard, desperate fight, Ranma concluded. However, a smile touched her lips a moment after. It may be tough, but this is far easier than it should be.

Perhaps it was the past fights they had all endured. Or maybe it was thanks to all the training they'd been doing lately. Either way, not one of her friends was seriously wounded. It had taken Mint and Lime going all out at the cost of ever regaining their humanity just to break even. This gave Ranma renewed hope for victory. Fueled with confidence, she leapt back into the fray.

As fast as he'd become, Mint was kept off guard by Kurumi and Natsumi. He unleashed shards of energy in the shape of blades but the girls nimbly avoided the barrage and struck back when they could. Kurumi landed a glancing blow against his jaw with her foot, snapping off one of his front teeth as he back peddled in surprise.

Ukyo moved a short ways off, concentrating her energy. "Batter Dragon!"

She hurled a giant glob of batter, encasing Mint in midair. Thrashing, he struggled to free himself as Ukyo dropped her weapon and tapped into the strength of nature around her, borrowing power from her friends, the grass, trees, and even the fish in the pond. Having trained since Wraith's castle to collect energy as fast as she could, the process only took about twenty seconds.

Mint became aware of what she was about to do and finally broke free from the hardened batter. Still, he realized with a yelp of fear as he began to fall back towards the ground that it was too late.

"Ballistic Lightning Flash!" Ukyo waved her hand in a fluid, dance-like motion, guiding the storm of green bolts into a gentle skyward rise. As Mint watched, Ukyo turned her open palm towards the ground and dropped it sharply. Her attack shifted into an upside down U, and slammed down onto him from above. The force of the attack crushed him into the ground. The foundation cracked as he howled louder than before, thrashing in torment as energy played out across his damaged body.

"I bet… he felt… that one." Ukyo leaned forward, gasping to catch her breath.

"Good work Ukyo!" Akane called out. "Natsumi, lets him before he can get away. Fire Strike Beam!"

Natsumi complied and raised her arms up to the air, summoning another storm of energy before pointing her palms down toward the downed fighter. "Hiryu Carimbou!"

Their combined attacks struck the already wounded wolf creature and he cried out in pain before disappearing as the power of their ki attacks washed out across his body. When the currents of energy were finally cut off nothing remained but burnt grass and rock.

"You don't think we killed him do you?" Akane asked, more than a little scared that they'd overdone it. Looking around she tried to find some kind of sign of Mint.

Standing on the sidelines, the Hibiki's, Mr. Kounji, Nadoka, and Happosai all saw what had happened, having been afforded the sideline view. They watched as Mint appeared over the girls with silent grace. His fur smoldered and burned, but this only fueled his speed with rage. Somehow his speed had aided him in avoiding the brunt of their attacks, saving his life and leaving him with the golden opportunity to attack without warning. With eyes narrowed he prepared to leap down and cleave onto Ukyo and Kurumi's skulls.

They all began to yell for the girls to take cover. It was the only thing they could do besides watch as the impossibly fast wolf warrior moved for the killing blow. Closing his eyes in resignation, Happosai leapt down from Nadoka's arms and charged forward, expanding his ki until he seemed to grow to giant proportions.

"No you dont!" Happosai swatted the wolf into the roof of the Tendo house before immediately shrinking down to his normal size again to conserve his waning strength. Mint sailed across the roof, kicking off shingles before falling off the other side and down the two story drop into the ground.

Panting, Happosai held onto his concentration and fired his own ki attack from his body, arching it over the house and slamming into Mint before he could get up from the ground.

Undaunted, Mint shifted when the attack cut off abruptly, moving at a blinding pace from around the house and behind Akane. Rearing back, he fired his clawed hands forward.

Time slowed to a crawl. Akane began to turn as she realized what was coming. The claws descended, aiming for her heart. Her eyes widened with fear. No!

Suddenly Happosai was there and the claws sank into his body rather than Akane's back. With one small hand he pushed Akane out of the way and produced a Happo Fire Burst with the other.

He held it up, grinning despite the pain as Mint's eyes reflected raw terror. "Got you."

The explosion was three times the normal size and it left a smoking crater in the center of the yard that rattled the windows on houses for blocks in either direction. Propelled by the explosion, Happosai's body was sent flying to the ground.

Akane ran forward to the unmoving old man. "Grandfather Happosai!"

Her cries reached Soun and Genma who abandoned their attempts to put out the fires. Risking life and limb they rushed forward to secure Happosai and carry him to safety. Everyone seemed to pause in shock save Lime who laughed and too the opportunity to close in on Ryoga.

"One down!" Lime taunted. He struck Ryoga's cheek, shattering the ground at their feet. Ryoga took the blow as blood and spit flew from his mouth. Keep up with the offensive, Lime punished his hated foe, aiming for the ribcage. Ryoga endured a few rounds of blows before his smaller hand caught Lime's in midair. He looked up with a scowl of rage and counterattacked, grabbing Lime by the hair and repeatedly slamming his fist into the giant's face.

Mint skidded backwards across the ground as the blast ripped into his flesh, destroying half of his face from cheek to ear and blinding one eye. Wounded though he was, he lowered himself to the ground and attacked with all the ferocity of a cornered animal, ready to kill any who came near.

In the other half of the yard, Ryoga and Lime had taken to exchanging terrible blows with Ranma and Mousse in support. The former Musk warrior's beaten form hunched over with exhaustion. Fueled by Happosai's noble sacrifice, every punch Ryoga now delivered forced Lime to give ground. For all his size and power he was unable to do anything but block. The Lost Boy's attacks pushed him back across the yard. Reaching the already punished stone wall, Lime rested his back against it, trying desperately to regain some of his lost momentum. Unfortunately for him, this was just what Ryoga had been waiting for him to do. Whipping off several bandannas, he pinned Lime's arms and legs to the wall with a snap of his wrists.

"Damn you!" Lime struggled vainly as the bonds bit into his flesh, the undaunted tiger warrior tried to tear himself free. Suddenly, he stopped struggling and grinned as if remembering something vastly important that had slipped his mind. He raised his head and fired a black and white beam of energy from his torso, catching Ryoga's body and throwing him to the ground as scorched heat cooked the skin on his chest. Lime increased the ferocity as the wall of energy started to crush the startled boy into the dirt with crippling force.

"I don't need my hands to channel energy! Have another taste!"

Blinking away stars, Ryoga cried out with vengeance as he stood up against the wave, blocking the dark energy with his hands as it pushed against him. He set his legs firmly to resist the force of Lime's attack and took up his all too familiar stance, the one that called on all his negative emotions. Crying out, he summoned the most depressing memory he could find and pushed himself into, enduring the sadness and pain he needed until he forgot he was forcing the memory on himself. After completing this, the motions became pure instinct. With a motion with his hands, a familiar beam of blue energy flew from his hands, slowly pushing the incoming energy away from himself. The two beams interlocked savagely as each combatant struggled to overcome the other.

Mousse and Shampoo joined him, lending their ki to his attack and further shielding him from harm.

Ranma, meanwhile, had gone to aid her fiancée and was dodging a variety of thrust attacks from the now berserk Mint. Akane and Ukyo appeared at Mint's side and grabbed hold of his arms and dug their feet into the ground, holding on with all their might. Natsumi and Kurumi rushed over and pinned his legs. The enraged wolf-boy bucked against their lock holds but there was nothing he could do. His howls rose in intensity until they turned into pathetic yelps of helplessness.

"Hit him, Ranma!" Akane snarled locking her arms. Mint pulled forward, trying to break free, screaming with rage. He shook his head back and used a sudden burst of energy to break free only to have Ranma rush forward and delivering a punishing volley of punches and kicks, bruising Mint's face and knocking him senseless.

"Now, Ranma! Go help Ryoga! We won't get another chance at this!" Natsumi motioned toward where Ryoga and the two Amazon's were weathering Lime's attack.

She needed no further encouragement. Breaking into a run, the girl moved to stand next to Ryoga. Concentrating all her energy, she fired a Moko Takabisha, helping to force Lime's attack back towards his immobilized body.

Natsumi used her wind attack to hurl the awestruck wolf-boy into Lime, temporarily disrupting his flow of energy. Unhindered, Ryoga's and Ranma's final attacks struck the two former Musk warriors dead on. The blast tore apart the neighborhood landscape and ripped open the road road as the reinforced beam departed from the ground and threw them high into the midmorning sky, scorching their bodies in near unbearable pain. The blast shot off like a rocket, carrying them far from the city limits.

"Damn you Ranmaaaaaaaa!" Lime cried out as he and Mint disappeared over the horizon, riding the beam of power against his will.

As quickly as it had begun, the battle ended. What had taken months to plan burned to ash along with the dojo and part of the house. Even the defeated screams of pain and rage from Lime's lips seemed to offer little comfort to those affected by the chaos the invaders from China had created.