Ranma ½ doesn't belong to me, it belongs to the great Rumiko Takahashi, if I did own do you think I'd be here right now?

A/N: Sorry for the late update on this story. I have been working on a novel and it's been taking up most of my time, so don't be surprised if my writing style looks different. It took me forever to actually get used to the fanfiction format of stories and it feels really weird. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Fusion is almost done!

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"You bastard! I'll kill you!" Akane cried. She charged at Hikaru and tackled him to the ground. Akane straddled his waist and wrapped her hands around his scrawny little neck. Akane shook his head in her hands and she saw Hikaru's brain rattle around in his head. "You," Akane growled low in her throat. "You better call of your little guard dogs or else," Akane warned.

To Akane's surprise Hikaru started to chuckle, it was a strangled, throaty sound and it made Akane's stomach drop. "Kill me if you want," Hikaru rasped in his already hoarse voice. "But if you do who knows what will happen to your friends? Or better yet, your sisters?"

Akane froze and slowly released her hands from his neck and just sat, still pinning Hikaru to the ground with her legs. "Where are my sisters? You said you would let them go," Akane said, her brown eyes flickering.

Hikaru shrugged carelessly and looked up at her mockingly. "I never said anything of the sort. I remember that we never made any agreement for me to let your sisters go."

"You have to let them go!" Akane cried, ready to attack the boy under her when she felt someone grab at her hair and pull her off of Hikaru. Akane's head was snapped back forcefully, afraid that her hair would be pulled out by their roots. Akane tried to look behind her but it was impossible without causing herself pain.

"Alright, lets make a deal," Hikaru said, dusting off his black robes. This caught Akane's attention and she looked at the small boy with narrowed eyes. "I will let your friends and family go free, and as a bonus I will not cut that beautiful hair of yours," Hikaru started, staring Akane straight in the eyes as the girl continued to struggle in her capture.

"But?" Akane asked.

Hikaru smiled knowingly. "You're a smart girl," he commented. "But you must marry me."

Akane stared at him with true genuine fear. The sensation of anxiety and panic rushed through her bloodstream and engulfed her heart with metal claws. "You're serious?" In answer to Akane's question Hikaru nodded his head and grasped Akane's chin firmly. He noticed how Akane's eyes flickered a golden color for a moment and then Hikaru slapped her across the face, snapping her eyes back to a deep brown.

"So, what will it be phoenix? Will you sacrifice your freedom for your friends and families sake?"

Akane's gaze flickered over to the hourglass on the stand that showed the image of her three friends standing off against the two Kuno siblings. She averted her gaze from the image and focused on Hikaru who tried to restrain the pleading look in his eyes. Akane closed her eyes and when she opened them her inner fire was pulsing deep within her irises. "Never," Akane said, spitting in Hikaru's face.

Hikaru grimaced in disgust for a moment and then deftly swiped the spit from his face. He looked at Akane like mud on his shoe and then it melted away into a sickening grin that made Akane suck in a breath. Her heart stopped beating and her knees buckled. If it weren't for her captor holding her hair she would have fallen to the floor in a heap. "All right, I guess we will have to do this the hard way."

Akane bit down on her lower and felt her cracked lips under her tongue. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Hikaru shrugged his shoulders carelessly; he turned his back toward Akane and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, I was thinking of being nice and giving you a choice on whether you want to be my bride. That way I could let your sisters and friends go free. But now I will just have to force your hand, and play a game of chess with your friends."

Akane's inner fire dimmed slowly as the affect of what she had just done came crashing down. "Wait, Hikaru—!" but Akane was stopped when her captor pulled her hair.

"Prepare her for the ceremony Azusa," Hikaru commanded before exiting the room.

"Azusa?" Akane asked, still trying to turn around to look at the face. Azusa pulled at Akane's hair like a leash and dragged her through the halls and to a beautiful dressing room lit with scented candles. Akane's painted face were lining the walls on paper ranging from small to large. Akane felt a bad shiver go up her spine when she saw a lifelike mannequin of herself leaning against the wall dressed in a pain yukata. On the other side of the room a wedding kimono was folded on a desk.

Akane was guided over to a cushion that lay in the middle of the room. Azusa gently guided her down and released Akane's hair. The other girl's head immediately fell forward with relief until Azusa grabbed it again and started to comb it out. Akane sat in silence and Azusa gently combed through the knots in her hair with the crystallized phoenix comb. As the shorter girl was about to undress Akane, she quickly darted away. "Azusa?" Akane asked.

The other girl looked at Akane through glassy eyes. "Hm?"

"What happened to you? I thought you were loyal to the Ice Clan. Why would you do something like this? Why would you betray them by siding with Hikaru?"

Akane was surprised when Azusa chuckled. "I thought you would know Akane, you seem to know everything. I am anything but loyal to the Ice Clan. The Ice Clan destroyed my friends and family during the war between the Earth Clan and the Water Clan."

"Does that mean that you and Mikado were—?" Akane started but was stopped by a nod of Azusa's head.

"Yes, Mikado and I were once the guardians for the Earth Clan and when it froze over we tried to fight, but we were beaten. Everyone was killed brutally but we were left there in the snow to die, our energy fading away; we could no longer take power from the earth. But then Hikaru came and saved us. He gave us life but we had to give him our souls. But it was worth it, he promised us revenge."

"How did I not see this?" Akane asked, more to herself than the vengeful girl in the room with her. "I should have seen this, both of you didn't even resemble an Ice Clan member."

Azusa giggled in her hysterical way of hers. Akane cringed as the sound burst her eardrums. "Yes, I am also surprised that you didn't realize it. I thought for sure that the moment you saw us, you would figure us out."

Akane dug her teeth into her bottom lip until she felt the taste of iron blood. "But Azusa, Hikaru is just using you!" Akane cried in a small voice. Azusa could sense the slightest bit of sympathy in the blue haired girl's voice. "He isn't helping you, once he gets what he wants from the two of you he will kill you!" Now Azusa could sense worry.

Azusa's eyes glazed over with thick clouds, concealing her emotions. "You don't think I know that? Hikaru has us locked away in a prison when he doesn't need us and he takes us out for his convenience. But to keep Mikado and I safe, I need to act like the ditzy one. It's the only way; Mikado is too oblivious to see what Hikaru is doing to us. Mikado is still caught up in how we were saved by Hikaru so he thinks he must be good. Mikado is all I have left."

Akane looked on as Azusa poured her soul out to her. She didn't even know what to say to something like that. Why should she even do anything to help the girl? She is still siding with Hikaru and is preparing her for some ceremony she didn't even know about. But she is still just a little girl who was sucked into Hikaru's lies like so many others before her. Akane reached out an unsure hand to put on Azusa's shoulder when Mikado came in the room. Akane drew her hand back, cradling it to her chest.

"Azusa, Hikaru has asked to 'greet' our guests and to just leave Akane here with Konatsu," Mikado said in rush. Akane watched as Azusa took her sweet time leaving and Mikado's face whitened, like he was imagining what might happen to him if he didn't go through with Hikaru's command fast enough.

Azusa gave Akane a look before switching back to her ditzy self and leaving with Mikado.

Elsewhere ~

"Alright, bring it on!" Ranma shouted at the two across the plane. "This will be too easy," Ranma said to Ryouga and Ukyou who were standing unsure behind him.

Kuno smirked at Ranma's confidence and stepped forward. He raised his katana straight up in the air. Lightning struck and thunder rolled. The thunder moved like sound waves down the length of his katana, through his body, and down to the ground through his feet. The earth shook and trembled and the three teens were knocked off of their feet. They were sent tumbling along the plane, the pressure of the sound waves acting as a physical object. "You were saying?" Kuno asked snidely after the attack had stopped.

"What the hell?" Ranma gasped out when he regained his breath.

"Thunder Wave," Kuno said proudly as he advanced toward the group, his katana ready to use. "Specialty of the Blue Thunder of the Lightning Clan."

Ranma pushed himself to his feet and stood as straight as he could. Black dots blurred his vision and it felt like his head was full of steam. "That's a dirty trick."

Kuno shrugged wordlessly; he was now only a few steps from Ranma "Doesn't matter, this is life or death." Kuno took a few deft steps forward. The next thing Ranma knew, he was falling backwards with Kuno falling forward, following him. Ranma saw the gleam of the katana as it descended down towards Ranma and then he was pushed to the side and a giant spatula blocked the strike that was meant to slice Ranma down the middle.

"Ukyou?" Ranma and Ryouga asked in unison.

The brunette couldn't answer; she grunted with the effort as she pushed Kuno away from her with her weapon. Ukyou dug her heels into the dusty land as she felt her feet slipping when Kuno pushed down on the spatula. Ukyou's back was bent like a bow now as her limbs trembled from the exertion. "Hurry," Ukyou gasped out.

"But Ukyou—," Ryouga started but Ukyou stopped him.

"No!" Ukyou shouted through a strained voice. "Do not fight with me right now! Now go, I'll take care of these two!"

The two boys advanced forward but Kodachi stepped in their path. "You will not pass me," Kodachi said, laughing insanely.

Ukyou growled deep in her throat. She quickly darted away from under Kuno's katana and threw her mini spatulas at Kodachi's ribbon. "I am your opponent!" Ukyou yelled before blocking another strike from Kuno.

As Ukyou distracted the two Kuno siblings Ranma and Ryouga snuck forward. "Do you think we should have left Ukyou alone in that situation?" Ryouga asked worriedly as he jogged next to Ranma; he peaked over his shoulder as if he could still see Ukyou fighting off those two goons.

"You heard what she said, Ukyou knows what she is doing," Ranma commented.

Ryouga shrugged and snapped his head back around just to stop in his tracks. He shot out his arm to stop Ranma short, knocking the wind out of the pigtailed boy. "What the hell Ryouga?" Ranma asked in outrage. He saw that Ryouga was ignoring him and instead was looking off into space. Ranma looked the direction his friend was looking but he just saw lifeless black. "What's wrong?" Ranma asked.

Ryouga's eyes swept over the drops and rises of the gray land. "Something is off here," Ryouga said just below a whisper. The temperature in the air dropped and fog rolled in thickly. The two could barely see their hands if they held them in front of their eyes and the icy air sucked the breath out of them.

Ryouga started to shiver like mad and Ranma's lips turned a shade of blue. Thick drops of snow began to fall on them and quickly formed 3 inches around their feet. "What is this?" Ranma asked through his frozen lips.

"This is an icy hell," a voice in the mist called. The two boys got in a sloppy defense stance at the sound. Two silhouettes began to form in the distance and as they got closer their shapes became clearer.

"Who are you?" Ryouga asked through his chattering teeth.

In answer to Ryouga question, lethal looking blades cut through the mist and came flying towards the two boys. They quickly tossed themselves to the side, the snow cushioning their fall. The boys had tossed themselves in opposite directions and they both looked across from each other in surprise and then at the images who were gaining color and shape as they neared.

Mikado and Azusa.

Ryouga and Ranma pushed themselves up on shaky legs and tensed. They must have been the ones who tossed those blades. Ranma's eyes lingered down to their feet where they wore strange shoes that had blades attached to the bottom. The pair glided across the icy surface with these weapon shoes like they were walking on air. Ranma and Ryouga had not seen anything like it in their lifetime.

Mikado gave the two other boys a dazzling smirk and flipped his hair flamboyantly. "We are two members of the Ice Clan warriors. People call us the Golden Pair for our immense pair attacks. We have been sent by our master to come and finish the two of you off," he declared, much like Kuno would. Ryouga noticed Azusa's left eye twitch in annoyance.

Azusa giggled girlishly and hopped on her feet, landing flawlessly on her feet with those blade shoes. "Here we go!" she cried merrily. Before Ryouga and Ranma could comprehend what was happening, Azusa and Mikado's graceful gliding had gained speed and soon they were moving as fast as Ranma. Their legs extended far out and then shot back, pushing themselves against the ground to gain momentum while kicking up ice. The Golden Pair then stopped in their tracks and slid their foot out; ice shavings waved on the two boys, blinding them.

Azusa dropped to the ground and Mikado grabbed her arms and swung her around in a circle. Azusa's legs were extended like rods and they knocked down Ranma and Ryouga when they collided.

Next, as Ranma and Ryouga tried to collect what was going on, Azusa grabbed Ryouga's legs and lifted him and then Mikado lifted her. Ryouga reached for Ranma so he could pull himself free but Ranma was pulled up as well. Mikado started to spin on the tip of his toe until they were going faster than a twister. When the spinning had gained enough speed, Azusa released Ryouga's legs and sent the two boys flying across the frozen plane.

The two stumbled as they tried to get to their feet but they nearly fell down in another heap. Mikado and Azusa waited patiently for the two to get up to wait to attack them again.

Azusa mocked a yawn. "Wittle Azusa is so bored," the peppy girl whined.

Meanwhile, Ryouga was huffing beside Ranma. The pigtailed boy looked at his friend worriedly. A dark and depressing aura formulated around Ryouga like a dank mist. It crawled against his skin like leaches and whisked off of him like flames. Ranma saw his friend's face before his bangs fell over his eyes. Ryouga's usual friendly, warm and goofy expression had now been snatched away and replaced by a face void of emotions. His eyes were blank and were an endless space.

Ryouga picked himself up effortlessly, ignoring his injuries. The Golden Pair stared at Ryouga with new interest. Ryouga's upper body and arms slumped forward like he was a marionette doll, waiting to be played. Ryouga rose slowly until he was standing straight up and his void eyes were trained on the Golden Pair. "I'm so tired of this," Ryouga mumbled weakly, but enough for the other three to hear him. "I am so tired of all of these questions and mysteries. The world is so cruel and depressing," Ryouga continued. Everyone failed to notice that Ryouga's fingers twitched and a candle like flicker formed in his palm.

Ranma looked at his friend, surprised why he was talking like this. The Golden Pair seemed delighted with the way Ryouga was acting and glided forward slowly. "Then this will make it so much easier to kill you," Mikado said snidely.

Ranma scowled at the pompous man that was floating towards his distressed and depressed friend. How dare he speak that way? If Ranma could get up he would punch his lights out.

As Mikado and Azusa approached him, the candle like flicker grew brighter until it was clearly noticeable. The ball of light stopped the Golden Pair right where they were, their eyes transfixed on the light. The light became so big that it could no longer fit in only one palm and Ryouga brought his other palm up to aim the light at the pair. "It was a mistake to make me angry," Ryouga growled low in his throat, his lips twitching upward. "Take this! Shishi Hokodan!" The light shot from Ryouga's hand like a canon and hit Azusa and Mikado before they could even blink.

The next thing that was heard was the shrill scream of Azusa and the guttural yell of Mikado. After the blast of energy, Ryouga sucked in much needed air, he tried to fight off exhaustions but he collapsed into the snow. During the attack Ranma had clumsily gotten to his feet and stumbled over to his friend. "Ryouga, what the hell was that?" Ranma asked in amazement.

"A special technique I had been working on," Ryouga said with pride. The moment was short lived when the smoke cleared and the boys saw the Golden Pair was still alive and struggling to get to their feet.

"B-but that's impossible," Ranma spluttered out in total disbelief. "How could they have survived that?"

Ryouga watched on in worry as the pair was close to getting up. "Ranma," Ryouga said in a solid voice. "Go," Ryouga commanded.

Ranma blinked and then shouted, "No way! I'm not going to leave you here with those two, you'll get slaughtered."

Ryouga shook his head sadly and smiled at his childhood friend. "Ranma, I'll be fine; I can take care of those two idiots. You need to go find Akane and put an end to this whole mess."

Ranma studied his friend's face for the longest time, having an internal battle within him. Ranma finally gulped and stood straighter. He patted his friend on the shoulder. "Don't go easy on them," Ranma said cockily. Ranma gave his friend thumbs up before jogging through the snow.

Akane ~

Akane sat alone in the dressing room wearing nothing but a plane white yukata. Konatsu had been long gone after he finished dressing her. The cross dresser was then commanded to be locked in the dungeon again. Akane had been alone ever since and it had annoyed her.

She didn't know where her sisters are. She didn't know what Hikaru was doing. And she didn't know what was happening to Ranma, Ukyou, and Ryouga. Akane did not feel comfortable calling them friends just yet. She could only imagine that the day was nearly over by now and she had not seen her companions in the hourglass for hours. She hoped they were all right. The change of her emotions was strange.

Akane had been giving them the cold shoulder throughout the whole journey and now she wished for their safety. Why the sudden change in heart?

Akane's thoughts were cut off when the door slid open and a thin young boy wearing a cloak came in. The boy looked worried and it looked like he wasn't supposed to be in here and was afraid of getting caught. Akane looked at him questioningly as he kneeled down beside her. "Akane-Sama, I have come to help you escape," the boy said briefly.

Akane blinked in confusion and then waved her hands in a warding off gesture. "Wait, who are you?"

"My name is Ken," the lean boy said politely before bowing his head.

"Why would you help me escape?" Akane asked cautiously, afraid of it being a trap.

"Because I despise Hikaru Gosunkugi," Ken growled menacingly.

"So you're a prisoner?"

Ken shook his head. "No, but I am a fool who fell into his trap," Ken said in shame and remorse. He ducked his head away from Akane.

"What did Hikaru do to you?" Akane asked slowly, like speaking to a wild animal about to pounce.

"He killed my sister."

Ranma ~

Ranma trudged through the flat land of the Shadow Clan. The aura was so heavy and was as light as lead weights. No wonder it was a no mans land. He was surprised the aura had not crushed him to death by now, but the sight of Hikaru's palace spurred him on. He would kill that no good son of a bitch for ruining his life and Akane's and everyone else's around him.

No more puzzles, no more riddles; tonight he would have answers.

A Ranma lifted his foots to step it felt like a cinderblock was tied to his ankle, holding him down. His back was hunched over like he was carrying boulders ten times his size on his back, like he did when he was younger. Ranma had a feeling that once he would get to Hikaru's palace, it would be like a safe haven and he would no longer feel the crushing weight. Or the density would never change and he would be crushed to death before he found Akane, if she had not been killed yet.

Ranma shook his head to free of those thoughts. He couldn't think that way. Getting Akane back, that was why he was risking his life. To get that little girl back to him, to release her from the cage that she has been trapped in for years. His goal is to release that sinless girl that he once played with all night when they were younger and return her to her life. That was his goal, to return her to him.

Ranma was now only a few feet away from the palace door. Three feet, two feet, one foot; Ranma reached out a shaking hand and touched the doorframe. The pressure of gravity was released from his hand and with his new strength he pulled himself forward. Ranma sucked in a much-needed breath into his lungs. Feeling slowly came back to his face and he could blink his eyes without pain.

Once Ranma had regained feeling in all of his limbs again, he reached for the handle and slid the shoji door open. Ranma, expecting a sudden attack when he opened the door, had his body tensed and ready for action. But what greeted him was nothing. It was just a long, dark hall that looked to be endless. He stepped forward warily and the dark hallway was ablaze with light. Ranma jumped in surprise and did a 360, ready to see the Shadow Lord standing there. But Ranma was alone in the newly lit hall. The candles had lit themselves.

Ranma took another unsure step and the door slid shut behind him. Ranma jumped when the door clicked shut and checked to see if the door was now locked. He reached for the handle and tugged at it…it wouldn't budge. It looked like no one was coming in or coming out.

Ranma's footsteps echoed down the lifeless halls as he advanced forward. He thought that there must be an end to it somewhere…he was wrong. It felt like he had been walking for hours, even days, but he had come across nothing. In truth he had only been walking for ten minutes. Ranma felt anxious and on edge, at times he would take off in a sprint and then slow down to a walk again.

Ranma felt a sudden sense of déjà vu while he walked, like he had walked down this path once before. The candlelight caught on something and only a few feet away something glimmered. Ranma blinked in confusion and rubbed his tired eyes, afraid he may be seeing things, but the silvery glimmer was still there. He jogged down the hall in curiosity and came across a pair of silver double doors much taller than him. Etched into the silver was a grand phoenix that had its red wings sheltering a red dragon in their warmth. Ranma ran his hand along the door and felt a strange sense of recognition.

Ranma bit down on his lower lip and pushed the door open with all of his strength. It opened easily and Ranma entered the empty room. Across from him, on the other side of the room, was a fireplace and the mantle reached all the way to the ceiling. On the two other walls were two separate halls, leading to different rooms. Ranma approached the fireplace cautiously; afraid the flames may jump out and eat him. He watched transfixed as the fire danced and flickered about.

The longer Ranma watched the more the flames resembled a human. Then Ranma did notice that it was human, the flames had formed into the shape of a girl dancing on the tips of her toes in front of Ranma. He jumped back in surprise at this and rubbed his eyes disbelievingly. The flame girl noticed him and giggled at Ranma's goofy expression. Ranma blinked, this girl meant him no harm. Ranma crawled back over to the girl and kneeled in front of her.

"What is your name?" he asked the small girl.

The girl bowed low. "I am Princess Haine." The voice was only a soft whisper.

Ranma recognized that name somewhere before. It was the same princess from the story that Ayumu told him. Ranma bowed in return. "What are you doing here, Princess Haine?" Ranma felt strange talking to flames, but it was the only chance he had. She must know where the two halls lead since she is there all the time.

"I was trapped here by the Shadow Lord," the flame girl whispered sadly.

"Can you tell me where he went?" Ranma asked hopefully.

Princess Haine looked right and then left. She pondered for a moment and then pointed to the hall to the right. "He went that way." Ranma felt another wave of déjà vu. Ranma saluted her and before he could leave Princess Haine asked him quickly, "May I ask why you are searching for him?"

Ranma stared down at the little flame girl with sympathy. He did not want to leave her here alone. She must always be here in this empty room with no one to keep her company. She must be stalling so he won't have to leave, she must not get many visitors. "He has something very important to me." With that said, Ranma took off.

Akane ~

Ken snuck Akane into a large, dark room. Akane pulled her hood over her head more as she followed Ken without questions. Ken led Akane in by the hand and she silently heard him whisper, "Step up." Akane did as she was instructed and realized that this was some kind of stage. Akane was about to ask Ken what he was doing when she ran right into his back. He had stopped dead in his tracks.

Akane jerked in surprise and peeked over his shoulder to see if Hikaru was standing before them but the room was still dark and empty. "Ken?" Akane asked warily. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, Akane-Sama," he said before shoving her on some sort of platform and taking off.

Akane landed on her backside and rubbed her sore tailbone. She didn't have time to react before she heard a clanking sound and metal bars circled around her, trapping her in a birdcage. Akane sat paralyzed on the platform as candles were slowly lit around her. Circling around her, on stands, were each Clan's sacred item. Akane felt panic rush through her as she realized what was happening. she felt a scream claw its way up her throat and then work through her lips.

Akane threw herself at the bars and banged them with her fists until they turned red and sore. "Someone, get me out of here! Help me! Save me! Get me out!" she screeched.

Ranma ~

Ranma followed the twists and turns of the hall he was pointed down, running all the way. He would sometimes run into walls in his haste and when he was making a sharp turn he would slam his shoulder painfully. He was so close to the Shadow Lord that he could smell it in the air. His vileness and his stink was the only thing to breath in. He was so close.

Ranma ran through the last hall and landed himself in an empty tearoom. The only other person present was the Shadow Lord himself. He calmly sat there sipping his tea, like he didn't even notice Ranma's present. This was the first time Ranma had ever seen the Shadow Lord's face and he was thoroughly surprised. Hikaru looked up calmly over the rim of his teacup and smiled crookedly. "Aw Ranma, you finally made it. Come have a seat," Hikaru said, gesturing to the seat across from him.

Ranma didn't move.

"I said, 'have a seat'," Hikaru said again. Ranma was pulled towards the table by an invisible thread and fell to his knees at the table across from Hikaru. Hikaru was smiling again.

"Where is Akane?" Ranma asked in outrage. Hikaru shook his head sadly and put a finger to his lips. Ranma's lips were sealed shut.

"Much better," Hikaru commented. "Now Ranma, I have been watching you for a long time throughout this journey you have taken some interest with Akane. It has been very amusing indeed, seeing you two together and all of those fights you two had. It has actually been a very good game." Ranma looked at the man across from him questioningly, still trying to speak. " I also know of your desire to know of Akane's mother and her past. Well, if you want to know, I'll tell you. It all started in the Phoenix Tribe..."

A/N: So sorry for the lame chapter! Please review anyway though. Next chapter should be the second to last one, and we will finally know about the Kimiko/Akane secret!