Ranma groggily opened his eyes as the early morning sunlight hit his eyes and he wished that he could just roll back asleep. After all, fighting Saffron to save Akane was- Suddenly Ranma realized just what he was thinking and he bolted up and looked around. To his surprise he saw that he was currently in a sleeping bag that was in a tent. Confused about just where he could be, Ranma weakly said, "What? What's going on? Where's Akane? Why do I feel so weak?"
As soon as Ranma said that the memory of what had happened during his fight with Saffron returned. Ranma remembered Saphir's words that he would lose his chi abilities and immediately tried summon his chi. Much to Ranma's disappointment he couldn't find his chi at all except for the minuscule untouchable bit that sustained his life. At that moment the price that he had paid really hit home and tears started to form in Ranma's eyes.
Very soon Ranma broke out in tears and started to cry into his sleeping bag. It was gone, all gone. All the special abilities he had worked so hard this past year to learn, all the hard training he had undergone since coming to Nerima, any chance to learn a new move or to ever grow stronger was gone forever. He had offered it all up in order to save his friend's life. Even though he would have made the trade again in a heartbeat if he could have gone back to the time that Saphir had made that offer, it still hurt.
Martial Arts were Ranma's life and everyone in Nerima knew it. Ranma loved the thrill that came with pushing oneself to the limits and then surprising those limits. His idea of the perfect way to relax was to read about a martial art technique and try to figure out how he could train to learn the move. One of the few things that Ranma had truly been proud of in his life was his prowess in Martial Arts.
Now all of that was gone. Sure Ranma could continue to practice Martial Arts, but now he was facing the limitations that 'ordinary' people faced. His body was already in peck condition so he couldn't get any stronger or faster. While Ranma could further refine his skills so that he was more efficient with his hand to hand or weapon usage, he didn't see much point in doing that. The spark that the art used to have to him just seemed to be yet another offering he had given in his bid to save Akane's life.
Ranma was too busy crying to notice the rustling of his tent flap or that Ryoga had walked into the tent. It had been the lost boy's turn to stand watch by Ranma's tent and he had come to investigate the crying that Ranma was making. Ryoga had a slightly clueless look on his face when he saw Ranma crying because he couldn't understand why his rival would be crying. In an attempt to end the tears Ryoga said, "Akane made it Ranma. We were able to get her to the Dragon Tap in time."
The news that his sacrifice had not been in vain gave Ranma the strength he needed to push back the tears and stop crying. After Ranma whipped away the tears he stood up and walked out of the tent. When Ranma walked out into the open air he saw Shampoo cheerfully cooking by a small fire with Akane nearby observing her. Mousse was sitting next to one of the assembled tents and he was carefully cleaning his vast weapons collection. Pops was sitting on a log across the fire from Shampoo as a panda apparently waiting for breakfast to be served.
Most people back in Nerima would have been utterly shocked to see so many members of the NWC in one place acting like civilized people to one another. The fact of the matter was that after so many insane misadventures together these six individuals, along with Ukyo, had developed a sense of companionship. Sure that companionship was strained at times whenever some members of the group tried to further their goals in life or when some crazy adventure started. But in the end, the NWC stuck together and protected its members from anyone who seriously threatened the group. Personally Ranma wouldn't give up any of his bonds with the NWC in spite of the grief and unique chaos that each member brought to the table.
Shampoo was the first one to notice that Ranma was up and she happily cried out, "Arien!" This caused everyone else to notice that Ranma was awake as well. Mousse's response made it sound like he wasn't happy that Ranma was awake even though Ranma knew otherwise. Akane's response was delivered in a little more timid manner then she spoke, but Ranma knew that was because she was still dealing with the fact that she almost died. He knew that by the time everyone got home Akane would be back to her usual spirited self. Finally Genma's sign simply had good morning son written on it which showed just how worried he had been about Ranma since it didn't have any of his usual insults.
Ranma gave everyone his normal smug smile and said, "Thanks guys." He then sat down on one of the logs that were around the fire and asked for something to eat. Naturally Shampoo had been expecting this and she had already filled a bowel of oatmeal for him. When Shampoo offered Ranma the bowel he accepted it with a simple thank-you and immediately started to chow down. Ranma didn't bother check for any types of potions because he knew that Shampoo wouldn't start that up again until at least one week had passed once everyone got back to Nerima. It was just another one of the NWC's unspoken unwritten rules that governed the group's internal chaos.
Once Ranma had been able to eat two bowls and was working on his third at a normal pace Shampoo asked, "Arien? What was the power that you use in fight? It no feel like Arien's chi." Shampoo like everyone else had wanted to just what Ranma had done to save Akane's life.
Although Shampoo didn't mean any harm by asking that question Ranma winced slightly like he had been hit. Knowing that the truth would eventually come out Ranma gathered his courage and answered Shampoo. "After I lost the Gekkaja I felt time slow down. I was then contacted by some sort of magician who said that I had a powerful magical force sleeping in me for all my life. This magician claimed that my magic was strong enough to destroy Saffron and that he could unlock it for me. I decided that unlocking my magic was worth the cost and had him unlock it. Looks like it paid off."
While everyone was surprised at what Ranma had said, none of them were really shocked. After all of the weird stuff they had experience a magician telepathically contacting someone offering to unlock a sleeping power wasn't that hard to accept. It did offer a perfectly logical explanation about how Ranma had found the strength to kill Saffron. Genma, who had the most experience with quickly made deals coming back to haunt someone, pulled out a sign and stuck it in Ranma's face. On the sign was written, "What did you offer the magician for this power boy?"
Ranma chuckled a bit and said, "I didn't offer the magician anything for unlocking my magic Pops." He then continued in a more somber tone, "When my magic was unlocked it consumed my chi and used my chi to further increase the amount of magic that I have. Even now every bit of chi I generate besides what I need to keep on living is immediately converted by my body into mana for my magic. The process is completely irreversible; I had to give up my chi abilities forever."
As soon as Ranma said that he threw his half empty bowl onto the ground and bolted from the campfire. The pain that losing his chi abilities was just too raw for Ranma to handle anything that his friends and father might say. Right now all Ranma wanted to do was get away from the camp and the memories that seeing everyone brought him.
Back at the campsite everyone was staring in complete shock at where Ranma had been sitting. What Ranma had just told them was too much for any of them to really accept. Ranma, the premier martial artist of his generation, had actually given up his chi? Even Akane, who was the least skill of the assembled martial artists in chi usage, knew how important the ability to use chi was. Being without the physical enhancement or the special abilities that chi usage brought was just something none of them could imagine anymore. chi usage was so vital to being a martial artist in Nerima that even people with black belts in several different styles were considered 'civilians' if they couldn't use chi.
Ryoga was the first person to break the silence and said, "You don't suppose that Ranma was just pulling our legs by saying that?" Even though Ryoga knew that Ranma wouldn't kid about something like this he hoped that Ranma hadn't been telling the truth. Yes he wanted Ranma to suffer the pain that he had felt, but this was not what Ryoga had in mind whenever he said that. It was one thing to pound Ranma into the ground and have the unfaithful boy be humiliated. Having someone lose his or her chi abilities was something that Ryoga wouldn't wish on anyone.
Silently Ryoga started to curse Saffron for robbing him of his victory over Ranma. It was all Saffron's fault for not letting Akane get the water. If Saffron had allowed Akane to the get the water then Ranma would still have his chi and the two of them could finally have their man to man match. With how Ranma was now, any victory that Ryoga could have in a match against the boy would be hollow. Where was the honor in fighting someone who was basically a cripple?
Mousse looked down at the weapon he had been cleaning and said, "Get real Ryoga. You know as well I do that Ranma would never joke about something like this. What I want to know is how this magician knew about Ranma's magic and how Ranma found the strength to give up his chi." In Mousse's heart he felt ashamed because of how long it had taken him to decided to let Shampoo have her free will. He had dallied so long over that choice whereas Ranma had been willing offer up something that was so essential to the pig-tailed boy to save a friend's life.
The hidden weapons master knew one thing about Ranma's lost that none of the other NWC members could hope to match. With that sacrifice the NWC's so called leader/victim had proven beyond a doubt that he was the best of the lot. Maybe not in terms of his skill or power, but Ranma was definitely the best in terms of his character. All Mousse could think to do now was to wait and see just how the lost of Ranma's chi abilities affected the situation back in Nerima.
Shampoo couldn't say anything at all because she was still too shocked to really pay attention to the outside world. One of the things that she loved about Ranma was his martial arts and how passionate he was about the art. It wasn't that she was in love with the fact that Ranma was better then her in the art, it was because she loved seeing a person so in tune with the martial arts. The Amazon village had many martial artists, but none of them were as naturally in tune with the art as Ranma was. That her Arien had been willing to give all of that up to save Kitchen Destroyer's life just shook the very foundations of her world view.
What worried Shampoo even more then Ranma's loss of his chi was the possibility of losing him. The laws regarding the Kiss of Death and the Kiss of Marriage were fairly strait forward, but there were clauses in those laws that most people didn't know about. Shampoo knew about these clauses and right now she was afraid of the cripple clause. According to the clause if an Amazon hasn't bedded her husband and the husband is seriously crippled then an Elder can annul the marriage. The real problem with the clause for Shampoo was the fact that any Amazon Elder could make the annulment and there were several back in the village who wanted the village champion back in the village.
Akane was wishing she could find a deep hole that she could crawl inside. It was just too painful for her to accept that Ranma had sacrificed what he did in order to save her life. Then she remembered that this was Ranma and that while his move was very atypical of him it still believable. She knew that Ranma could act like a jerk at times and bent his honor a bit when he had a chance to try and cure his cure. However, other then those times he could be a reasonable young man. Sure Ranma wasn't man that she could see as a boyfriend or as a husband, but he was still a good man.
Right now Akane was praying for two things to happen: Ranma regaining his chi abilities and that Ranma hadn't made his sacrifice because he was in love with her. She was hoping that maybe the magician had been lying about the cost or maybe the magician had made a mistake. Such things had happened often enough that Akane couldn't dismiss that possibility. As for why she hoped that Ranma hadn't made his sacrifice because he was in love with her that was for a purely selfish reason. Akane knew that if Ranma had made his sacrifice for that reason it would eat her up for the rest of her life because she couldn't find it in her heart to love Ranma in that manner. It would have been too much for her to see the pain on Ranma's face if after he gave so much up it was for nothing.
Genma didn't know what he should do about Ranma's announcement. One the one hand he was furious that Ranma had given up the ability to use chi. He had dedicated over a decade of his life to insuring that Ranma became one of the best martial artists in the world. That was something that just wasn't possible without Chi Abilities. How was the boy supposed to carry on the proud Anything Goes tradition if he couldn't use all of the school?
On the other hand, Genma couldn't help but feel proud of Ranma. The boy had given everything he had to save his fiancée's life. Surely that proved how much the boy loved Akane. When they got back home he and Soun could commence with Operation: Get 'Em Hitched! Then once an heir was born he could train the heir to continue on the family tradition. Sure that meant that he'd have to put off his retirement for several more years, but it was for the future of the schools.
Ranma stopped running about a mile away from camp and fell to his knees panting. His muscles were practically screaming at him for running so far so fast. Before the battle a run like he had just gone on wouldn't even have left him winded. It just drove home even further to Ranma how much he had used his chi and everything that he had given up. This reminder about what he lost started to make Ranma feel depressed again.
Luckily for Ranma's mental well being, a part of him remembered the power that he had gained from that magician. Ranma slowly raised his hands and looked at them as he sat on the ground. With that magic stuff that had been unlocked he had been able to kill Saffron. It seemed almost unreal that he could have that kind of power at his disposal. Part of Ranma wondered if he could tap into his magic and use it as a substitute for his chi. After all, energy was energy no matter what according to the science teacher or something like that. He had been catching up on lost slept that day in class due to an all night adventure.
After sitting down in a lotus position, Ranma closed his eyes and concentrated on finding his magic. True this method was usually used to find one's chi, but Ranma didn't have a clue how mages were supposed to find their magic and so he was using what he knew and improvising. At first, Ranma didn't have any luck in finding his mana through meditation. However, the pigtailed boy was so determined to find his mana that he just kept searching. Eventually Ranma's determination paid off and he found his massive mana reserves.
The first thing that Ranma noticed was not how massive his magical reserves were, but just how different mana felt when he compared it to chi. If Ranma was ever asked to describe how chi felt he would have to say that it felt like water. It flowed through the body like gentle stream that with training could have its flow sped up or slowed down. Once a person learned how to become aware of his or her own chi flow one could direct chi like opening up a faucet. On the other hand mana felt sticky like tar or very thick syrup. It didn't flow through the body at all. Rather, it seemed to rest in a giant well waiting undisturbed until he called it up.
Now that Ranma knew he could locate his magic he immediately ended his meditation. The real question in his mind was whether or not he could sense his mana without going into a deep meditative trance. In Ranma's mind being able to sense his mana without thinking about it had to be the first step in learning to use magic. After all, one couldn't use magic in a battle if the power couldn't be consciously called up in a split second.
Unfortunately for Ranma he couldn't sense his magic at all when his consciousness returned to the real world. This failure frustrated Ranma causing him to pound his fist into the ground. Afterwards Ranma said, "Keep your cool Ranma. Just think of this as another martial arts challenge. Yah, that's the ticket. This is just another challenge to win and once I do I'll be back on top. After all, I don't lose."
At that moment Ranma heard the faint sound of a nearby stream. Ranma wondered how he could have not known about there being a nearby stream when he normally would have known that it was nearby long ago. Once again Ranma was forced to remember that he didn't have his chi enhancing his senses anymore. Ranma also remembered that he had been too focused on his loss and then on trying to find his mana to pay attention to his surroundings.
The dryness in his mouth reminded Ranma that he hadn't had anything to drink since before his fight with Saffron. Ranma immediately got up and started walking towards the sound of the stream. Even though Ranma figured that he would end up in his female form when he finished quenching his thirst the pigtailed boy didn't care. Being a girl until he could get back to the camp was far more preferable to suffering from dehydration.
When Ranma got to the slow moving stream, he kneeled down by the edge of the stream and was about to put his hands in the water when he paused. Resting on his forehead was a small black crescent moon. At first Ranma wondered why no one back at the camp had commented on the strange marking earlier, but then he figured out the answer. The crescent was high enough on his forehead that it must have been hidden from everyone's sight by his bangs.
A stray thought crossed Ranma's mind and he burst out laughing. "Man, if Kuno see's this he'll probably claim that is proof that I'm some sort vile sorcerer. Considering the fact that I use magic now instead of Chi I guess he'd be partially correct. Wow, Kuno getting something right for once. Now that's a scary thought."
Ranma then shook his head, cupped his hands, and plunged them into the water triggering his curse. He then greedily drank handful after handful of the clean steam water. When Ranma had had his fill he casually whipped away the extra water on his face with his arm. His eyes drifted back to the stream and he noticed that the black crescent symbol was still on his forehead. This confused Ranma because he didn't expect to see the symbol when he was in his cursed form. Sure he wasn't an expert on strange symbols that suddenly appeared for no reason, but the strange markings his other cursed friends had encountered in their misadventures usually didn't appear on their cursed forms. Well there was Ryoga's "mark of the battling god" which had affected the lost boy's pig form, but the mark hadn't actually appeared on the pig's body as far as Ranma could remember.
For the moment Ranma decided to forget about the strange mark on his forehead. He had more important things to do right now then worry about some mark. Things like getting back to camp for instance. Ranma then go up and started jogging back to camp. During the entire trip back Ranma was going over what he could do to gain control of his magic.
Prince Demand looked on in horror as he saw his brother dying in his arms. As Demand gently cradled Saphir's bloody body his said, "All of this is my fault Saphir. You should have been the Prince instead of me. I'm totally unsuited to be the ruler, I'm too easy for someone to influence. Father should have broken with tradition and made you the Prince. With you on the throne none of this mess would have happened. Please brother, forgive me for my weakness."
Saphir coughed up some blood and then he said, "Don't blame yourself brother for what's going on. I share some of the blame since I wasn't strong enough to get you to see what Wiseman was doing to us. In a way my death is quite ironic. Promise me you won't do anything rash when I'm dead brother. Let me tell you a secret that I've kept for over a decade."
Despite the situation at hand Prince Demand wondered what his brother could be keeping a secret for so long. He then leaned closer so that Saphir wouldn't have to strain so much to speak. In a soft childlike manner Prince Demand said, "Please brother. Tell what this secret is."
The manner that Prince Demand asked about the secret reminded Saphir of when they were little boys trading secrets they had learned about the palace and caused Saphir to let out a small chuckle. Unfortunately for Saphir his chuckling caused him to cough up more blood. Once he managed to stop coughing the alchemist said, "There is one other member of our clan left brother and Wiseman has no hold over him. This person is my son Ranma. I sent him into the past to the 20th century to insure that he would be safe from Wiseman. Please protect and guide him brother, I've done everything that I could to help him. He lives in," Saphir couldn't finish his sentence before the last of his strength left him.
Prince Demand couldn't believe what his brother had just told him. Saphir had a son, he had a nephew! However, Demand's elation over this news quickly vanished when he remembered that Wiseman was nearby. That sick twisted monster had been manipulating his clan ever since it had arrived on Nemesis. Demand could see that clearly now that his eyes had been opened. He could also see that if Wiseman knew about Ranma then the monster would manipulate the boy as well into fighting Crystal Tokyo. All it could take was a moment of weakness an a few half-truths and then Wiseman would have yet another pawn to continue its insane war.
No! Prince Demand swore by all of his ancestors that he would not allow Wiseman to plague his clan anymore. This mess ended right here right now so that at least one member of the clan would survive safe and sound from this monster. If it took his life to vanquish this monster then so be it. Demand closed his brother's lifeless eyes and said, "I promise that this nightmare will end brother."
As Prince Demand got up off of the floor he spotted Black Lady and Sailor Moon standing back from him. He remembered the line of an old epic poem and said, "A face that launched a thousand ships." His eyes then hardened and he said, "Get out of here princesses and tell Neo-Queen Serenity that I am sorry that this whole mess started." Then the prince of Nemesis turned to face Wiseman and said, "This has gone on long enough Wiseman I'll kill you with my own two hands."
Wiseman chuckled darkly and said, "You kill me? My dear prince, don't you realize what you're saying? I am your truest friend, your most trusted confident, and your loyal servant. Those members of the clan who died were traitors who were working with Neo-Queen Serenity to insure that justice doesn't come to the people of Nemesis. She is the source of all of the pain that your people have suffered for the past thousand years. Can't you see how close you are to making her pay for all the misery she's called?"
Prince Demand listened to Wiseman's words and felt the creature's magic try to influence him into believing the abomination's words. Before Saphir's death Demand would have believed what Wiseman said like it was the gospel truth. Luckily he was now aware of what was going on and he was able to resist the lure of the words. Prince Demand opened his third eye and said with utter hatred in his voice, "Your words hold no power over me anymore."
This defiance caused Wiseman to growl in frustration before saying, "If you will not serve me 'Prince' Demand, then you shall die!" Wiseman then stood up and tore off his cloak revealing that his body was actually a skeleton with blacken bones held together by magic. Wiseman's fiery eyes, which were actual balls of fire inside his eye sockets, glared at Prince Demand. The skeleton gave a mocking bow and said, "Surprised by my true form? Allow me to properly introduce myself, I am the Death Phantom."
While Sailor Moon and Black Lady each took a step backwards in shock because of the Death Phantom, Prince Demand held firm. There occasionally comes a time when a warrior will know with complete certainty that if he or she fights in a battle that he or she will not come out of the battle alive. As Demand stared at the Death Phantom and felt the creature's power he knew that his time had come. So strange, the prince thought, even though he knew he was going to die he didn't feel afraid of his approaching end. The only thing he felt was a bit of remose that he wouldn't be able to help his nephew out. With a far away look on his face Prince Demand said, "Sorry brother for not completely fulfilling your last wish. Please, rest easier in the afterlife knowing that I will keep him safe from this monster."
Sailor Moon and Black Lady watched as purplish-black magical aura erupted from Prince Demand's body. A strange purple-black seal suddenly appeared under Demand and quickly spread out so that both Demand and the Death Phantom were standing in the seal. The mother daughter duo then watched in shock a small swirling black void suddenly appeared on Demand's body where his heart should be. Demand calmly said, "Prepare yourself for your demise Death Phantom. This is the ultimate forbidden chaos spell ever created. With it I will kill you and completely destroy your soul."
Prince Demand then let loose a small chuckle and said, "Of course, to use such a powerful spell I'll have to destroy my own soul in the process." The prince's eyes started to glow with a purple light as he continued on, "But I feel that this is a small price to pay in insure that you never plague me family ever again. The prince is dead, LONG LIVE THE PRINCE!" Demand's body was then swallowed by the void that had formed in his chest.
After Demand's body was swallowed the seal on the floor started collapsing back on the void. The Death Phantom tried to walk away from the seal, but it found that it was blocked by some sort of force field. It then attempted to teleport away and found that something was preventing it from teleporting as well. Next the abomination tried to blast its way out of the seal and that failed as well. For the first time in its long life the Death Phantom felt actual fear as it was pushed ever closer to the void. In a last ditch attempt to escape the monster tried to destroy the void, but all of its attacks were simply absorbed by the void. As Death Phantom was shoved into the void it let out a final anguishing scream before it was completely eradicated.
Author's Notes: For the Black Moon Clan I used the original names instead of the dubbed names. That's why I have Prince Demand instead of Prince Diamond, Saphir instead of Sapphire etc. I just wanted to say this because of some the reviews I've gotten about the names.