Suikoden One Half
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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters here that belong to Ranma 1/2. The Ranma 1/2 cast belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. Nor do I own Suikoden 3 or any other characters that I put into this story except for my own original characters. Neither do I own any of the character in any of the crossovers I do. I'm just using them in this fanfiction and I have no money so don't bother suing me. You'll just lose money instead of gaining any.
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Chapter 23 Part 3 – One Surprise After Another
Inside Chris' bedchambers –
Ranma's still sleeping on Chris' bed with Iris kneeling down next to it. His wounds are healed, but he still hasn't woken up from his deep sleep. The blonde girl has her head on his chest, wanting desperately for her adopted father to wake up. She won't leave his side no matter what until he wakes up and hugs her. Not only is he needed to fight against the Harmonian soldiers that are attacking the castle right now, but the situation is dredging up bad memories for her.
This is the same position she and her late mother had been in when she died.
She couldn't do anything to save her mother then, and it looks like history is repeating itself with her adopted father. Tears made their way down her young face as she cried into his chest. She feels so helpless not knowing what to do. Looking up she saw her older sister's pet hovering over them, cooing to try and wake him up. The sight of the unusual pet almost made her smile, but it's not enough to stop her despair as she continued to cry.
"Papa, why won't you wake up?" she sobbed. "Don't do this to me papa. I went through this once, I don't want to go through this again."
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He's been floating in endless darkness for quite some time now. Somehow he can see his body and clothes (his usual Chinese outfit) as if they're the only light source around. "Somebody get me out of here!" Ranma screamed. The feeling of floating around is making him feel sick. Being all by himself in the darkness is also creeping him out, not that he'll admit it.
All around him things, what looks like a giant TV screens of all things, are zipping by out of control and without repetition or pattern. He drifted through the seemingly endless storm, not knowing how he ended up here or even why he's here. The last thing he saw before blacking out is Apple's worried face and liquid being pored into his mouth before everything went black. Then he just woke up here.
'Ugh. Somebody give me an aspirin. Huh? Wait a minute. Was that sukiyaki?' He could have sworn he just saw a scene that passed him by that had an image of a bowl of sukiyaki. 'Eh? Isn't that Kasumi-okasan's room at the dojo? Wasn't that Ucchan when she was six years old? Ryoga? Nabiki? What the hell's going on here?' Some of them are just slow enough for him to see, not that they made any sense.
Then he saw it. A shining light that remained at the same place no matter how the things around him changed. He tried to go to it but his flailing arms and legs did nothing to get him closer. Then he felt something brush against the side of his face and a feather floated in front of him. He realized that his wing is out and he used it to fly towards his destination, relieved that it actually works. He didn't notice the cats hundreds of cats stalking him.
As he got closer to the light he started to recognize what he's seeing. 'Hey, isn't that my rune?' As he got closer he recognized that it really IS his rune. Right now it's in the form a glass ball like when he had the Chimera Rune and Gale Rune before they got imbedded in his hands. Its sky blue side glowed brightly while the blood red part didn't shine at all.
He realized that the glass orb is actually leading him to the only solid piece of land he can find. It's like in those animes where there's a floating island that's nothing more than a large rock with a semi-smooth surface.
As he touched down in front of the rune it suddenly glowed bright blue and blinded him for a few seconds. When the light died down and his vision cleared he looked back and saw a man. He's dressed in the same style of clothes he usually wears except his shirt and pants are a jade color. What's most surprising is that he looks just like him! A clone?
Wait, no, not exactly like him. The man looks like an older version of him, by at least five years. He's also wearing square-shaped eyeglasses; he's not very bulked up and has his waist-length hair down. By reading his body language Ranma can tell that he's not a fighter, only someone that stays fit through exercise.
His older self smiled at him warmly. "It is good to see you Ranma," he said in a much deeper baritone voice. With the glasses, the way the hair is down, the smile and how he spoke (like a scientist or something) Ranma got the feeling that his older self is (blink) a scholar. A scholar? Not the snotty and pompous type either.
Ranma didn't even realize that he's in a ready stance until he loosened it a bit. "Who are you?" he asked a suspiciously. He's dealt with clones in the past.
If his older self didn't like his tone he didn't show it. "I am the image of yourself in your last life, Ranma. I have been waiting for a chance to talk to you ever since you've taken me onto yourself, more specifically your forehead."
"My forehead?" Ranma asked as he raised his right hand and put it to said body part. His ready stance faded as well.
His older self nodded, his smile getting a little bit bigger. "Yes. All True Runes are sentient. I am the voice that told you that Blight had the True Beast Rune. I am the one that gives you power when you need it most. I'm the True Rune of Chaos in case you haven't figured it out."
Ranma blinked. Repeatedly. He didn't know how to act in a situation like this and just acted on instinct. "Well how you doing buddy! Thanks for all the help by the way!" He patted the Chaos Rune's shoulders repeatedly. "Say, what's your name man? How come you look like that?"
The image of his past self chuckled, a very pleasant sound. "If you want I can look like this."
He snapped his fingers and he suddenly turned into a she. A female, dark haired woman about a year or two older than him stood before him. She's wearing a purple evening gown and whereas his older radiated calm, warmth and intelligence 'she' radiated serenity and grace. Her skin is snow white, her lips red and enticing, her hair perfectly styled into a bun, and she smelled like heaven. The form-fitting gown does wonders for her figure too.
The VERY feminine woman smiled at him. For some reason he felt like blushing, which he did a moment later. Her winking at him might have had something to do with it. 'Kami-sama! She's…she's beautiful! O-o-oh my! It's getting rather hot here. Wait, I shouldn't be thinking like that! I'm already spoken for!' He pinched himself and it seemed to help a little.
The stunningly beautiful woman had a bamboo fan in her hand. She opened it to cover her face so only her beautiful brown eyes can be seen. Beautiful brown eyes that mesmerized him for a few moments before he realized what he's doing, again! He turned to the side quickly and blushed to his toes. She chuckled ('oh what a nice chuckle') at his reaction to her. "Or perhaps you would prefer this image?" her melodious, soprano voice asked and sent a tingle up his spine. Again like before she snapped her fingers.
This next version of him made him back up a couple of steps. A CAVEMAN now stood in front of him! Snot is coming out of his nose and he really stinks!
"Uga waga wugo wooo," the caveman 'said' in a guttural voice. The caveman with the serious hygiene problem snapped his fingers and he reverted back to the first form.
"As you can see I can take on any form I want. I hope you do not mind but I am rather fond of this image and the woman that you saw, which is you in the life before my current image." 'Though I would much rather prefer the woman form, but because of your reaction to her I need you coherent for this.' He smirked, waiting for when Ranma would let the information sink in.
"SURE SURE! As long as you don't do that caveman again I don't care! That guy needs a bath!"
Again his older self chuckled. "Deal, no more caveman. I'm not very fond of that image anyway."
"How come you look like me anyway? I don't look like that in the future do I? Wait, you said that was me in the past, right? But then… actually, what do I call you anyway?"
"You may call me Akumu, Kin if I am a girl. As for why I look like this I took this image so that it is easier to speak to you and also to support something that I must say to you."
"So what do you have to tell me Akumu?"
"This," Akumu swept an arm to indicate the 'body' he currently has. "…is how you looked like in your last life. The woman you saw before was the life you lead before this one." He had a mischievous glint in his eyes that Ranma didn't like. "What your name was and what life you led is not important. What IS important is that the life you are leading now is NOT the first time you have met Tina in, far from it actually."
It took a few seconds for the information to all sink in. When it did… 'Wait. If that's me in my last life, and that girl was me before that that means that...' He blinked a few times. Then he gagged. "EWWWWWWW! I checked myself out! I though I was hot! That's all sorts of wrong!"
Akumu couldn't help but chuckle as Ranma dry heaved and turned green. It took a few minutes but eventually Ranma got himself under control. "Sooooo, what do you think about you and Tina having met before your current life? Or what about you being her husband?"
"EHHHH!" exclaimed the extremely surprised spiky-haired warrior. He'd forgotten all about that. "I've met her before!"
Akumu nodded. "Yes. She has been your wife in many of your other lives, though of course not the caveman version of you." Ranma breathed a sigh of relief. He wouldn't want Tina to go through THAT. Akumu suddenly chuckled. "In this version of you the two of you met the same way you did with her. However," he got a big grin on his face. "…you defeated her not with your fighting skills, which this version of you didn't possess, but by tripping and taking Tina down with you. You knocked her out cold and were married a few weeks later." He couldn't help but laugh a little. "The two of you got along very well considering the opposing polarities the two of you had."
Ranma, however, latched onto a part of what Akumu had said. "You mean we were MARRIED once! As in me, and her, and rings, and wedding day! But that means that we, and I, her and me, and, and (gulp) wedding night!" he squeaked. 'Man, I really AM a pervert! But then again it's okay to think of your wife like that, right? But she's so loving, caring and beautiful and all kinds of stuff that it's really hard lately to not think of doing…ARGH! We're not married yet so it's perverted to think like that! But then, if I didn't want to do that with her… I'm so confused.' Little stars danced around his head.
Akumu took a moment to chase the stars away, coincidentally snapping him out of it. "Yes. Tina has been looking for the soul of her husband each and every time he dies and is reborn somewhere else. She is rather attached to him, who happens to be YOU." He jabbed him with a finger. "I thought you would be happy with this information. It means that you really ARE soul mates with her! Not many people can claim that in a literal sense."
"Of COURSE I'm happy, but it's a little much to take in you know!"
"You need not fret over this too much Ranma. What has passed, passed. You are YOU now. It just shows that you care a lot for her for this to impact you so much."
Ranma's eyes glazed over. 'Wow, soul mates, with Tina, cool.' He imagined what married life with her might have been like. He's always been curious since he's never seen a 'normal' couple before. Nerima had never shown him how a husband and wife got along, REALLY got along, so the only things he can draw upon are the mangas that he's read (and no way is that reliable) and his own experience with the girls in his life. No way can it be like what he had to go through in Nerima! At least he hoped it's not like that. Maybe it's like how he and his current fiancées get along now? He'll never know until he actually gets married. Wait, what about Kasumi-okasan and Doc Tofu? But the two of them are not exactly 'normal' either, with him being so much older than her. Then he blinked. "How do you know that anyway Akumu?"
"Simple." Akumu grinned. "Even though you have no memories of your former lives the information is still stored inside your soul, never to be accessed by any of its incarnations. I, however, CAN and did access it and learned about your past lives, I hope you don't mind." Ranma shook his head to indicate he didn't. "That is how I know about your past history with Tina aka Fight Hat. She has been looking for you each and every time you are reborn. You have spent many lifetimes with her. Unfortunately, you do not always stay in one universe and she has millions to look through. Sometimes she is successful and sometimes she is not. Even if you are reborn as a woman, and yes you are reborn as a human every time, she makes do and stays with you." He ignored Ranma's shocked and choking form. "She stayed married to your last incarnation even though the two were like water and oil because she loves you. Surprisingly him and her got along very well during that lifetime. If you two are not soulmates I do not know what is." 'Which contributed to your abysmal relationship with Akane, not that you need to know that.'
Ranma could only stand there and take all of the information in. He's Tina's soul mate? Other universes? Born as a WOMAN? Tina and him have been fated to marry even before he was born! Even after Akane and all the other crap he went through in Nerima he had a SOUL MATE looking for him! He heard a phrase in a movie once and felt that it's appropriate to use it now. 'Heavy.'
"One more thing," Akumu interrupted his thoughts. "You should know that Tina and her siblings are more than they appear. Perhaps you should get Dark Hat or one of the siblings to tell you when you next face him."
"Dark Hat?" Ranma asked, a shiver going up his spine. Just the mention of his name made him feel like someone mentioned the c-c-c-c…those furry hell-incarnate things.
"Yes. Also, about Tina's and your former selves' marriages, I suggest that you keep that to yourself for now. There really is no need to tell Tina or anyone else about it until perhaps after you finish all of her sibling's tests." Ranma nodded. Akumu seemed to know what he's doing. Then he watched as Akumu's warmth ooze out of him and he took a very serious expression. "Ranma, you are about to go through a very trying time. In order to pass what is coming you need to release something hidden inside of your mind that you have locked away. I will help you in that." 'No need to tell him that I've already released it, hehe,' he mentally chuckled nervously. A small sweat drop can be seen from the back of his head. "I have unlocked it. When the time comes it will help you."
"What'd you unlock? Why are you telling me all this anyway?"
"You will see." Akumu suddenly looked to the side and frowned. Before Ranma could ask him what's up he suddenly reverted to the glass orb form. His voice still came from the rune. "The memories of your past lives will stay locked away unless you absolutely need them and I release them. You do not need to worry about one of your past selves taking over. I do not have a lot of time left so I must also warn you of something."
"Warn me of what?" Ranma asked, not liking where this is going. Whenever someone says something like that it means bad news for him.
"There is a person who is going to be the greatest challenge you will ever face. He is not only your equal but also your better in every way. You will know him when you face him so prepare yourself." Akumu's rune form glowed bright blue and Ranma blacked out.
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Chris' bedroom -
Iris lifted her head when she heard her father groan and start to stir. Kuriboh started jumping around when it saw that it's owner's parent is opening his eyes.
"Papa!" Iris latched onto his chest as Ranma sat up. She bawled her eyes out, happy that she didn't loose another loved one. "Oh papa, I was so worried! Don't ever do that to me again or I'll hate you!" she sobbed/threatened.
"Huh?" Ranma blinked, orienting himself. After he did he saw the blonde hair of his youngest child and heard her crying. He wrapped his arms around her and made soothing noises to console her.
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Back in Ranma's mind -
The Chaos Rune destroyed another wave of 'cats', spiritual representations of the Neko-ken. However, when she destroys one another ten takes it place. She can't hold them back for much longer. Soon she would have to abandon her fight and let the Neko-ken run free. Even her Chaos Wave attack is nothing if the enemy has an endless supply of soldiers.
'I'm so sorry Ranma,' the rune thought morosely. The deep baritone voice of Ranma's former self is gone and now replaced by a feminine alto voice. 'There is nothing I can do. I hope that letting you know of your past life with Fight Hat makes up a little for what I've done to you.' She continued her battle against the mental trauma that is the Neko-ken. She can only last for a short while before she's overwhelmed.
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At the main gate –
Reni fired her gatling gun lance at Blight with a scowl on her face. This is the man that had beaten her father almost to death! She'll KILL him! There can be no forgiveness for him!
Using his speed Blight avoided the stream of bullets and rushed at her. She jumped out of the way as his clawed hand passed over her head. Bringing her lance at him again she pulled the trigger and heard a series of clicks. Her eyes widened in fear as she pulled the trigger again and no bullets came out.
Seeing him coming at her again, this time with his double bladed sword, the silver-haired girl quickly switched her weapon's setting and turned on her lance's other special feature. The lance started to spin as the drill setting started up. She's never tested it outside of training and now is a REALLY good time for it to work right.
She stabbed the spinning lance drill at his incoming sword as he spun it around with his metal arm. The two weapons clashed, making the two weapons jerk uncontrollably. Blight is quicker at getting his sword under his control again and he swung at her with the intent to kill.
Reni had to duck first before she is able to control her weapon again. She brought it up again to block Blight's relentless onslaught. Even with her drill lance spinning at full power she can't overpower him. All she can do is walk backwards as she blocked and dodged the mad king's murderous swings.
Using a downward swing Blight had Reni block the incoming blade. She quickly moved to lock his sword with her lance and brought it down to the ground and stepped on it. However, he WANTED her to do that. With her concentrating on the sword he's able to kick her on the guts, sending her crashing into the stone guardrail of the bridge.
She's breathing heavily from the kick. While still heaving she looked up and saw him standing over her. He gave her a maniacal grin and raised his sword to finish her off. She saw her life flash before her eyes and even though she doesn't know where she got the breath from she screamed in mortal terror, getting everyone's attention.
Chris, hearing Reni cry out, turned to see Blight standing over her daughter, ready to kill her. "RENI!" As if history is repeating itself she saw that she's too far away to save her daughter's life. She's currently fighting with a Harmonian soldier and can't get away. Two more soldiers rushed her, preventing her from doing anything to save her daughter. She can only watch in horror as Reni is about to be killed, again.
However, Roland had heard her cry out and saw that Chris' daughter is about to die. His loyalty to Chris extended to her family and shot an arrow into Blight's backside. Blight cried out and lost his grip on his sword, allowing Reni to roll out of the way and away from him. For his trouble Roland got stabbed on the shoulder, but he quickly killed the soldier that had inflicted the wound and backed away from the battle to be healed by those in the back. Chris, who had killed the three soldiers, shot him a thankful gaze before more soldiers engaged her.
"What a pest," Blight said as he pulled out the arrow, not bothered by it at all. It only took him by surprise. He picked up his lance as he turned his attention back to Reni, who's pulled out her rapier. "Now, where were we?" He grinned at her scared expression.
"BLIIIIIIIIGHT!" shouted a voice from above. Looking up they saw Hugo jumping off of Fubar, his knife aimed at Blight's head. Luca seeing this slashed upwards and connected their two blades together. With barely any effort he flicked his wrist, sending Hugo away. Hugo somersaulted in the air, landed and sprang at him again, slashing with his knife towards his face. Blight spun his sword with his metal arm, deflecting all of Hugo's blows then swung at him, causing him to jump back. Hugo jumped back to Reni's side and he raised his knife. Reni is on her knees and hands, totally exhausted.
"Hehehe, another stupid kid," Luca taunted. Then he took a closer look at the one that dared to try to kill him. "Wait. I know who you are now," Blight said in a teasing voice. "You're that little kid that tried to stop me back at Duck Village, the so called Flame Champion."
Hugo's grip on his knife tightened. "I am the Flame Champion!"
"Whatever." Blight gave him a dismissing gesture, making Hugo even more furious. "So, going to run away again on that griffin of yours?" he gave him a grin that just screamed 'Run away little boy.'
"NO! I won't run from a battle again!" he shouted. He WILL NOT be treated as a child anymore!
Luca grinned even wider. He recognized what the kid's doing. So many others had done the same. None are alive. "So the boy wants to become a man?" he said in a singsong, whimsical kind of way. "Sure. I'll play your game."
"I'm not just a boy!" Hugo shouted. "I'm the Flame Champion!" His right hand glowed a burning red as he used the True Rune of Fire's final spell. "Hellfire!" Bursting down from above is a snake like dragon. It roared as it zoomed down at the insane king.
Spinning his sword again Blight deflected the fire attack, much to everyone's shock. The spinning blades made an air shield, causing the flames to go around it leaving Blight unharmed. Then he threw the still spinning sword at Hugo. Hugo got over his surprise quickly and ducked under it and charged Blight with a battle cry.
Blight calmly blocked each of Hugo's knife strikes with his metal arm as he toyed with him. Hugo swung left and right, trying to hit Blight who in return didn't move from where he stood. He merely blocked all of his attacks with a bored expression, which made him even madder. Hugo's temper made him stronger and faster and sloppier, almost getting him killed.
Through the haze of red Hugo heard the spinning sword flying back towards him. 'Damn!' He somersaulted backwards just as the sword spun underneath him back into the hands of Blight. He landed sloppily and lost his balance for a moment, which is all Luca needed. With a maniacal laughter he raised his metal arm for a decapitation.
"KUUUUEEEE!" Intent on saving his friend Fubar flew at Blight and clawed his face. Luca roared in annoyance and grabbed the Griffon's left front leg and used it to slam him to the ground. For good measure he stomped on the Griffon to make sure he wouldn't get back up.
"FUBAR! NOOOOO!" Hugo shouted as he attacked Blight again. Reni had regained her breath and attacked with her rapier as well.
Even though he's outnumbered Luca easily deflected both of their attacks using his lance. The two kids tried everything they knew to penetrate Blight's defenses, but nothing they did worked. At one point where Reni and Hugo attacked at the same time Blight locked their weapons together and shoved them away. He then stabbed towards Hugo.
In a moment of genius Hugo jumped up and landed ON the sword. The sheer improbability of the move made Luca freeze for a second as Hugo ran up its length and slashed at his face. However, he leaned his head back and lifted the blade up, forcing Hugo off.
During this Reni stabbed at his chest through one of the holes in his armor that Tina had made during her fight with him. Blight let out a small grunt of pain but that's it. He punched her on the face, thankfully more of a dismissing type of punch than one meant to kill, sending her into the guardrail and into unconsciousness. He then slashed with his clawed hand at Hugo, cutting into his torso. As Hugo clutched his wounds he grabbed Hugo by the neck, lifted him up and squeezed.
Luca shook his head as he squeezed a little harder. "Some champion you are. You can't even beat a villain like me," he said mockingly. "At least Ranma lasted a little longer than you. Now here you are at the brink of death, not even lasting half as long as he did. What a disappointment."
Red filled Hugo's eyes, even stronger than before. His rage went to unprecedented levels at the insults. 'How dare he. How dare he? HOW DARE HE!' "HEELLLLFIIRRREE!" He bellowed as he shoved his right hand into Blight's face. The insane king screamed as he's engulfed in the intense flames of the strongest fire spell of the True Rune. A HUGE fireball burst off the side of the stone bridge. Even though it is day already the entire area lit up with light as the anger of the Flame Champion gave the rune even more power.
The sudden blast made everyone stop fighting as they watched the flames suddenly appearing out of nowhere. Lucia's eyes widened since she knows that it came from her son. The area where the fire hit is surrounded by smoke and small fires. The rocks, those that didn't already melted, are red hot.
As the smoke cleared Hugo's eyes widened in shock when he saw Blight is still standing. Most of his armor had melted away and his clothes are almost burned rags, barely providing him with modesty. The most terrifying thing is that he is smiling with amusement and menace.
Hugo never even saw Blight hit him as he felt claws ripping into him, sending him staggering back and falling on his behind. Getting back up and bleeding heavily he realized that he's right in front of the unconscious Reni and he's all that stands between her and Blight.
Blight cracked his shoulders and neck, his face already healing at an astounding rate. "I must say, that move you did was a good idea and all. But I'm, or I should say I was, wearing Rage Armor that made that attack useless." He smiled a sinister smile. "But to be able to destroy it with a fire spell just shows how powerful that rune is. I think I'll take it from you. I'm sure I'll figure out how to hold two true runes later." He advanced threateningly towards Hugo, his hand outstretched towards the hand that bore the True Fire Rune.
"Blight!" Chris yelled as she rode towards him with her sword at the ready. Luca growled at the interruption and threw his sword at her. Seeing this Chris leaned onto the left side of her horse ducking down letting the sword fly over her and the animal. She got back on top just in time to strike deeply into Blight's chest as she rode pass him and put herself between him and the two kids.
"Hehehehe," Luca took a bit of blood from the new wound and actually licked it up, disgusting those that saw his action. With his other hand he caught the returning blade. "You think you can beat me? I defeated your husband and he's way better than you are. Hell, I even beat girly girl with the jade hair! Oh well, it doesn't matter, I think I'll play around with you for a while." He advanced towards them.
Before Chris could shout back a retort a blur slammed into Luca's chest, making the giant stumble back from the surprise attack. The blur landed on the ground and revealed the figure of…
"Ranma!" screamed his wife with a relieved and happy smile. Hugo merely grunted in annoyance and anger. Chris then noticed that Iris has gone to Reni's side and is attempting to drag her away from the fighting with Kuriboh helping her.
At Chris' yell the battlefield yet again froze and looked to what's happening on the bridge. Ranma, wearing his regular Chinese clothing, is standing defiantly before Blight and has a serious expression on his face. He slowly took out his sword and performed the Healing Blade with an emotionless, cold voice. The soldiers on his side who were wounded or dead and still had their heads were healed or woke up. Shaking their heads the Grassland soldiers and Zexen Knights woken up from the dead rejoined their ranks to fight the now weakened numbers of the Harmonian Army.
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Far from the battle –
"I really hate that spell of his," Dio growled. "This isn't good. The size of the Grasslander Army along with those reinforcements is now larger than ours," he reported to Sasarai. Looking towards the battlefield the two men saw some of the soldiers are running away.
Sasarai nodded. "It looks like I will have to join in." With his True Earth Rune he can tip the balance to their side. He motioned for his horse to take him to the battlefield.
Before the horse could take more than a few steps a lightning bolt crashed right in front of it, startling the animal and almost dismounting Sasarai. "Sorry lad, but I can't let you bother those kids," Piccolo said as he flew in front of Sasarai on his cloud.
"You don't know what you're getting into," Sasarai threatened, forming a ball of magic. Inside his mind he wondered what kind of spell the old man is using to create a cloud of magic and flying on it. Even in Harmonian Magic Schools testing out magic to be able to fly had only limited success.
Piccolo just smiled at his threat. "Yes, I know you have the True Earth Rune, child. I can feel it." He didn't look worried at all.
"Then why are you standing in my way?" Usually people do not mess with those that have true runes. "Do you not know how powerful a true rune is? Even though I look young I have had this rune for much longer than how old you are."
Piccolo chuckled, remaining calm. "Sorry youngling. I may not have the agelessness advantage that the True Runes has given you, but thanks to the training under my Master the Great Mage Crowley I'm much older than I appear to be. Take your own advice and do not underestimate me because of my appearance. I'm much more skilled in the art of magic than you are."
Sasarai's eyes narrowed, knowing that even the most powerful mages, even ones that bear True Runes, wouldn't dare to challenge Crowley to a duel. Not after what happened the last time when his other student challenged him to a duel would people be stupid enough to. During that duel, that took place over a hundred years ago, the forces created during the fight leveled three mountains and evaporated a lake. What remains of that duel is the desolate Karakas Desert that covers over 70 of the Senan Area. Many magic users seek after the spells that Crowley had created in his long life and only a small number of people have become his students. That would explain the magic cloud the old man is sitting on.
The mages in Harmonia are still figuring out how he can control over a 100 runes on his body at once. All of their experiments in trying to attach more than three runes on a body ended in failure. All attempts to get Crowley to join the Harmonian Kingdom always failed and attempts to force him to ended with dead messengers. According to what he has heard of him he's even older than High Priest Hikusaak and he has never owned a True Rune.
Piccolo powering up his staff brought him back to reality. "I helped Kain, the last Flame Champion, in the last war 50 years ago and now I'm helping in another war yet again. I have gotten to know many of these people and I will not let you harm them. You shall not pass!"
Sasarai narrowed his even more and put more power into the ball of magic in his hand. "Yes, but you're just his student, not the great mage himself."
"Then come at me," Piccolo taunted, casting a protection barrier.
"Have it your way then!" Sasarai shouted as he threw the magic ball at him. He almost cursed when his attack hit a barrier that seemed to absorb its energy. The glass orb on Piccolo's staff glowed before releasing a bolt of lighting at him. Using the True Earth Rune he blocked the lighting bolt with a barrier of his own.
"You're still a few lessons short of being at my level," Piccolo taunted as their battle really took off.
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Back on the bridge –
With his fists balled and his frame shaking in barely restrained anger Ranma faced off against the grinning insane king. "Chris, take the kids and get them back to the castle. Wolf boy and I have unfinished business to take care of," he snarled.
Chris didn't budge. Even though his wounds are healed who knows if he's fighting at his best right now. She knows him enough that he's too stubborn to accept help when his pride's been hurt. "But I can help…"
"NO!" he interrupted. "I can't fight at my best if I have to worry about you and the kids! Take them and go!"
With his pride wounded Hugo would not hear of it. "I can still fight," he said, standing up weakly even with his wounds.
Without taking his eyes from his grinning opponent Ranma shook his head. "No Hugo, your fight's finished. He's mine now. Thanks for wearing him down though."
Hugo looked like he wanted to say something more, but Blight interrupted him. "If you think that I've been weakened by the fights you're wrong." He smirked. "Sure they may have weakened me a bit, but it takes more than that to slow me down."
"HYAAAA!" Ranma shouted as he attacked with his sword.
Blight brought up his sword to met Ranma's attack. Swinging it wildly and powerfully he forced Ranma to be on the defensive and back away from his powerful strikes. Spinning his sword he swung at him, making Ranma leap out of the way from the spinning blade since he can't stop it at that kind of speed and power.
The two clashed blades again and again. Blight stopped resorting to throwing his sword. Instead the two fought head on while the Harmonians and Grasslanders continued to battle in the background.
After locking swords again Ranma tried to punch at Blight's face. However, Blight merely leaned to the side and punched him in return. Ranma went reeling from the attack, leaving his defenses wide open. However, instead of pressing his advantage Blight merely stood up straight as he waited for Ranma to regain his senses.
'Not good, not good at all.' Ranma's feeling the same feeling of inferiority when he faced Blight last time. Every one of his attacks are dodged or blocked with ease and Blight's counterattacks just leave him worse for wear. He's gasping for breath while holding his bruised ribs where Blight had hit him. 'I can't lose! NOT AGAIN!'
Blight shook his head while tsking. "Pathetic," he judged. "Just like last time. Nothing has changed. You STILL have the same weaknesses and strengths. I don't know why I bother with these little squabbles. It's like fighting a little kid."
"SHUT UP!" Again Ranma launched into attack, and yet again he came out of the encounter with bruises upon bruises.
"You don't learn, do you?" Blight taunted as Ranma painfully got up from the ground. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Boy, unless a miracle happens you'll never win against me. I think I'll just finish you off now." Blight cracked his knuckles as he advanced on towards him.
"NO!" Chris and her kids are about to intervene when powerful arms held them back. Watari held Chris and Reni while Ayame held Iris back. "Let go of me!" Chris screamed as she struggled to free herself.
Watari shook his head and he held her by the arm, with his other arm wrapped around Reni's waist. "No. It will be foolish for you to interfere."
"Then you go!" the younger silver-haired girl screamed. "Save papa! Please!" she cried. "Please! I don't want to loose him!"
Iris merely sobbed. Hugo said nothing while he remained motionless, watching the events unfold with serious and curious eyes.
Ayame shook her head. "Have faith in him. Let him finish this himself. This is more than just a fight. This is a dual between two men. Can you not believe in him? Will you not trust in him to do this and come out victorious?"
The kunoichi's words reached the family and they settled down to watch, though they're not happy about it.
'What am I doing wrong?' Ranma asked himself as he watched Blight walk to him while cracking his knuckles. 'What weakness is he talking about?' Luca is almost to him. He can only watch as Blight punched his left fist into his open right hand. 'Wait. That's it! Why didn't I notice it before?' Luca finally reached him and tried to punch his face in, but he hit air instead.
"HIYAAA!" As soon as Blight's fist went towards his face Ranma went into action. He dodged the fist (dropping his sword in the process), got into his defenses and jumped upwards with his fist pointed up. The action resulted in giving him one hell of an uppercut.
The surprise hit made Blight stumble back a few steps. Before he could regain his senses Ranma's giving him combination after combination of hand-to-hand combat. After the umpteenth kick Blight is able to punch towards him to make Ranma back up for a second.
Ranma back flipped from the dodged punch and landed next to his sword. He picked it up and slowly put it back into its sheath.
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"What is papa doing?" Iris asked bewilderedly. Hugo's eyes widened a bit at meeting Ranma's other daughter, especially since she has blonde hair. He remained quiet though and saved his questions for later.
Chris is confused at his actions as well. "I…I don't know."
"I think he has figured out a way to him," a voice said behind them. The group turned to see Kodachi and Kasumi standing behind them watching the fight.
"What do you Kodachi-ma…Kodachi-san?" Reni's cheeks blushed a little because she almost slipped up and called her mother. Hugo wondered at the slip-up but is interrupted by Kasumi.
"Your father is a genius in battle, Iris-chan," she said as she knelt put an arm around the blonde girl and smiled at her. "He's figured out that he's depending on his sword too much instead of his own body lately. He's always been an unarmed fighter all of his life. Maybe now he stands a better chance."
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Blight grinned as he straightened up, wiping away the blood the dripped from his mouth. "Oh? Are you giving up now? If you give up now I promise to make it quick and painful."
"Keh," Ranma scoffed, infuriating his opponent. "You wish, furball. Hiyaa!" With a battle cry he launched another attack.
Unlike their previous encounters Ranma actually had the upper hand. Whenever Blight tried to hit him with either his sword or with a punch or kick him Ranma wouldn't be there anymore. The pigtailed warrior danced around his attacks as he launched punches and kicks in return, which all of them connected. Somewhere in the middle of their fight Ranma screamed out "KATCHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!" and the once thought to be invincible man felt pain, actual PAIN!
'This pest is hurting me!' Blight mentally screamed out as hundreds of punches got through his defenses. Even with his wolf body it's taxing his healing factor to its limits.
'I knew it!' Ranma mentally smirked as he unloaded punch after punch all. Even though his arms hurt at using the technique for so long he didn't care, as long as Blight is hurting even more. 'He's so used to fighting against someone with weapons that it leaves him open to a hand-to-hand fighter! Practically everyone in this world uses weapons so he only knows how to fight against someone who uses them! He can't predict my movements at all!'
Ending his speed technique Ranma gave him a double-fisted bash attack that almost made Blight's face meet the floor. He jumped up and bounced off of Blight's head, turned around in midair and gave him a flying kick that DID make his face meet the floor.
"YOU. LITTLE. PIPSQUEAK!" Blight bellowed as he got back up. Never before has he felt so angry! He took up his sword and spun it again while rushing the grasshopper wannabe.
Ranma backed up as Blight came towards him. He's never been able to deflect this attack and he still can't figure out how. Blight then suddenly stopped his sword and thrust his weapon at Ranma. However, he's done this so many times already, and you never use the same attack against Ranma Jones. 'NOW!' he mentally screamed. Jumping up he landed on the blade, took out his sword quickly and using the Twilight Blade cut the lance in half just above the hilt. He then jumped away as Blight lashed out at him with his clawed hand.
'Why that…!" Blight angrily thought to himself as he saw that he can no longer spin his sword around anymore, not when it's cut in half like this. His anger is making him see red, but he's not Luca Blight for nothing. He looked around for anything to give him an advantage. Then he saw their spectators. 'Let's see how you react to this!'
He raised his right arm and shouted, "The Beast of Rage!" Two giant wolf heads appeared above him. Then he turned, faced their audience and thrust his arms forward, sending the strongest of the True Beast Rune's spells at them. Ranma seeing this powered the Gale Rune to its full power and ran to stop it.
When Ranma's three fiancées saw the spell heading for them everything seemed to slow down. Chris, Kodachi and Kasumi got in front of their children and Hugo to protect them with their bodies. In their weakened and battle fatigued state there's no way they would be able to withstand an attack of that kind of power. But they have to try! Even Iris would have problems deflecting that much magic. Watari and Ayame were already scooping up the kids to jump away to safety when someone appeared in front of them.
Ranma fully expected it to hurt, but he didn't care. As long as the ones he's protecting aren't hurt then the pain would be worth it. What he didn't expect is for a purple cat to land in his arms. He's about to scream out in fear when a much bigger terror made itself know, Blight's attack. Instinctively he wrapped Shampoo's body as best as he could and took the full force of the attack.
Shampoo had been watching everything from the safety of the castle walls. She can't do anything without a human body and merely meowed every once in a while as she watched everything. When her airen, even if their 'marriage' had been canceled she will always think of him as her airen, came out of nowhere she gave a happy meow that was drowned out by everything else. She watched his battle and meowed/cheered as he kicked the giant's butt. When she saw the magic attack heading for him she acted on instinct and leap to put herself between the attack and her airen, totally forgetting she is a tiny cat.
"NOOOOOO!" Ranma's family screamed, drawing everyone's attention to what's going on at the bridge. The other fiancées screamed out when they saw Ranma take the full force of Blight's attack.
In Ranma's mind Akumu/Kin finally lost the fight for Ranma's mind. Seeing Shampoo, especially TOUCHING Shampoo, had given the 'cats' extra power and the rune pulled out before she's destroyed. Without a guardian Ranma's mind is left to the mercies of the Neko-ken. It started changing everything to suit its needs. With the power given to it by the rune and Blight's magic it can do FAR more than make Ranma think he's a cat. The thousands of 'cats' meowed in delight as they went to work.
A golden-orange cat with black stripes that Genma had thought was a cat but was really an escaped, very young tiger from the local zoo, stepped up to the place the rune was defending and became shrouded in light. The other cats meowed loudly as they too are engulfed in the light as well.
In the real world Ranma felt his body burn from INSIDE his body. 'What the hell?' While his body is being ripped apart on the outside by Blight's attack something else is killing him from the inside. It feels like a million things are trying to claw its way out of his body, ESPECIALLY his head! He didn't know what's going on, but it HURT! A LOT! He screamed, loudly.
After Blight's attack finished everyone's eyes widened when they saw Ranma is still standing. From within his arms Shampoo blinked and leaped out of them. She meowed at him, and then jumped away when he grabbed his head, kept on screaming louder and louder and his body seemed to swell and bulge. His screams of pain echoed throughout the battlefield.
Blight's jaw dropped as he saw Ranma change in front of his eyes. Even as his wounds healed rapidly, even faster than his wolf form's own healing rate, his body became taller, more muscular and covered in golden-orange fur with solid black stripes. His raven hair turned orange-red while getting longer and spikier, the 'antenna' at the top dipping forwards while it got longer. His pigtail came undone and transformed into a long mane of orange-red hair that reaches the middle of his back. His whole head transformed slowly into that of a tiger's head, his 'human' screams of pain turning into the growls of a tiger in pain. A long and furry tail popped out of the small of his back, his pants loose enough to let it to move out from the waistband at the back. His frame contorted and bulged as his shirt is ripped to shreds from being too small. Luckily his pants survived to give him modesty. Muscles and fur grew all over his body. Even though his frame remained lean it is taunt and muscular. For a moment his wing burst out of his body before disappearing into glittery lights. His hands became huge and furry and his nails turned into claws that extended three inches from his fingers. At the end Ranma dug his claws into the stone ground then formed a fist, raised them up and smashed them down. He roared, shaking the bones of everyone, before standing up.
Where Ranma once stood in his place is an eight-foot-tall were-tiger. He not as big and powerful as Blight's wolf form, but trained fighters can tell he's a lot faster. Ronnie-Bell looking at the now were-cat Ranma reminded her of a fighter she met during the Gate Rune War. Fu Su Lu always wore a tiger mask and skin and wielded two axes. He was a very powerful fighter, saying that he's been given the power of a tiger from the skin he wears all the time. But Ranma isn't wearing a tiger skin since he IS a tiger. When he roared she felt like running away to the other end of the world.
Apple, looking down from atop of the castle wall, could not believe what she saw. Her eyes widened when Ranma transformed into a were-tiger just like Bob who had fought in the Zero Unification War. His village of lycanthropes was destroyed by Windy before the Gate Rune Wars. He owns a strange rune that keeps him in his human form, but when the power of his rune weakens he turns back into a werewolf. He stayed quiet about his past, but he did say that turning into a were-creature by magic couldn't be done as far as he knows. Now it looks like Bob's wrong. Those who had been in the Gate Rune Wars wanted to join her.
Piccolo broke away from his fight with Sasarai when he heard the girls scream. He gaped as he watched Ranma transform into a were-cat. He's one of the few people left who know what transforming into a were-beast does to people. Sure the Village of Werebeasts inhabitants could control it, but only because they have been trained since birth to control the bloodlust they feel when they are in their natural beast form. Blight's bloodlust is a great example. Even before he transformed he was almost insatiable for blood. Then when he's a werewolf he can never be satisfied. If Ranma doesn't control himself then he fears he will become a berserker.
Letting out a mighty roar Ranma leaped at Blight, fifteen feet away from him. Landing on his chest Ranma began clawing at Blight's face and upper chest, making him drop his broken lance and scream in pain. Grabbing Ranma's leg Blight threw him into the stone guardrail, breaking it with his body. Rushing to the where the were-tiger went over the rail he looked over the side, looking to see if he's dead or not.
Underneath the stone bridge Ranma, using his new claws, climbed/crawled on the underside of the bridge and climbed back up from the other side. Leaping back up Ranma leaped on Blight's back before he could turn around, clawing and biting him as the werewolf roared in pain. Trying to shake Ranma off of him he leaped up on the guardrail and jumped back on his back with Ranma still there. The pain of being sandwiched between Blight's werewolf form and the bridge caused Ranma to let go.
Somersaulting over Ranma's downed body Blight raised both of his fists in the air as he tried to smash his head in. Ranma rolled to the side then swiped with his claws at Blight's face, making the transformed human howl in pain and reel back.
Everyone stood in awe as they watched the two fighting at a level that none of them but Tina could hope (and surpass if she didn't have her limiter on) to match. Said woman is standing by the entrance to the castle, watching the fight while she waits for an opening. Ranma leaped into the air and lashed out with both of his arms in a downward arch, sending blades of energy that's the same color as the Twilight Blade towards Blight. Leaping to the side the blades slammed into the cliff side that the other end of the bridge is connected to. When the dust cleared Chris saw that the blades had made a very deep cut in the cliff, causing some of the cliff side to fall into the gorge below.
Blight jumped and punched Ranma's face, sending him flying over the audience and landing on the bridge. Roaring with rage he stood back up and his hands began glowing with the same color of the last attack he threw at Blight. Chris' eyes widened as she saw that she and the others are between Ranma and Blight. If he unleashes that attack again it would slice them as easily as it did with the cliff face!
"RUN!" Piccolo shouted. "HE'S A BERSERKER! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
"RANMA! STOP!" Chris yelled, then gasped when she saw his eyes. She cannot recognize her husband in there anywhere. Only an animalistic rage can be seen in them. Tina then appeared between them to try to shield them from Ranma's attack. She quickly took off her limiter and powered up.
Ranma, who had lost all control over himself, powered up to his full power. He is about to unleash his attack when his view suddenly went black as a hand quickly slapped something on his forehead.
Everyone froze in the place when they saw a tall figure glowing pitch-black slap something on Ranma's forehead. Ranma's body glowed with light as he changed back into his human form with only his ripped pants on and his wing out. Dropping to his knees he's about to fall over when Tina quickly rushed to his side, catching him. After making sure he's okay she looked up to the figure. She gasped when she recognized him.
The figure is glowing pitch-black with only the eyes glowing white, making it hard to see what the person is wearing. However, everyone can tell that the thing on the figure's head is a top hat. From the way the figure's hands are balling and relaxing repeatedly and the aura everyone can tell that the figure is EXTREMELY PISSED.
'What's this feeling coming over me?' Blight thought to himself as he felt his body freeze up when he saw that the figure's eyes are on him and him alone. Then he remembered when he last felt the same feeling overcoming him now. It was when the Zero Army had ambushed him when he was still human and he was heavily wounded after fighting off three ambushes of the strongest fighters of the Zero Army. Then he faced off against Lexx, the head of the Zero Army who happened to be fresh while he himself had been barely able to stay on his feet. That was when he felt the fear of dying. He vowed to never feel fear again when he saw his mother raped by those thugs all those years ago. He would never be that weak again. He broke that promise that day. Now it seems he is breaking it again.
But wait, this is a different kind of fear. An all consuming one that is making his beast side want to put its tail between its legs and run for it. It's a primal fear, a fear of the unknown and dangerous. His instincts, both human and animal, fear this person. Even the Beast Rune is not responding to him, refusing his commands. Even the aura of bloodlust that he exudes pales in comparison to the furious figure in front of him.
However, his rational (or irrational) side wouldn't allow him to be scared. This is just another enemy, one that knows how to make a fear aura better than him, that's all. He will not be weak ever again. 'I must keep control. I can beat him,' he thought to himself over and over again. He stood defiantly even though his body screamed for him to run. Only a slight shivering can be seen.
"Dark Hat," Chris whispered. She has heard of him from Tina and Ranma and knows what he can do. She grabbed onto her two daughters and shielded them with her body, not that Dark Hat is after them anyway. The other fiancées covered them as well, protecting each other from the darkness Tina's older brother exuded. They even included Shampoo and the Kuriboh in their huddle. The two are shivering badly and shrinking into themselves as much as they can.
Hugo stood up. His hand is still on his knife as he faced off against the person he thinks has knocked Ranma out. Now that Ranma is out of the fight the responsibility of finishing this battle is his. He approached the new figure with determination even though one punch or kick is all that is needed to make him topple over. He is a warrior. He will not admit that he wants to wet his pants, and it is taking practically all of his concentration not to.
Ranko and Viki suddenly appeared at his side. Each one grabbed one of his arms and stopped him from going to his grave. "Hugo, get out of his way! Don't even think of challenge him! No one can beat him! He's Tina's brother!"
Dark Hat briefly turned his head in Hugo's direction before advancing on Blight. Hugo backed into the guardrail, shaking. Viki had gotten scared and teleported herself and Ranko to the other fiancée's side. Hugo' chest felt like his heart is about to burst from the way it's beating. Everyone who is in Dark Hat's sight range felt fear swelling up inside of him or her even if his sights are for Blight alone. All along the fighters on both sides people are backing away, not even realizing that they were doing it until some of the Harmonian troops almost stepped into the flame pits. The horses they are riding on even toppled over their riders and ran. The Lizards and Ducks had a really tough time willing themselves not to run, their animal instincts screaming at them to. He hasn't even done anything to them yet!
"I was busy doing something in another dimension," Dark Hat started. His deep, menacing voice somehow reverberated in the air. Everyone can tell he is angry, very angry. "I figured that my siblings are doing well and I didn't need to worry about them. So imagine my surprise when I went to check up on my little sister Fight Hat and I saw a certain bloodthirsty lunatic SLAPPING my sister on the face. If you would have merely punched her that is understandable since it was a fight, but backhanding her like that?" Dark Hat tsked tsked. "Defeating her in a fight, as ridiculous as it sounds, is one thing. Disrespecting her like that is another."
Before Luca could say anything Dark blurred and appeared inches from his face. "Now I will show you the price for insulting my siblings." With that statement Dark gave him an uppercut that sent the insane king 50 feet into the air.
The reason he reached only 50 feet is because at that mark Dark used a double fisted slam on his head that would have sent Blight careening to the ground if 10 feet away from the ground Dark hadn't given him a climbing kick. When he finally stopped climbing something seemed to pass by Blight. Again and again the same thing passed by Blight's body as it convulsed and twisted in the air. But looking down they all saw that Dark was just staring at Blight as he was still floated in the air. But Pesmerga and Yuber knew what was happing.
"He's moving at a speed that the eye can't follow leaping up to hit Blight then he returns to his original position," the Zodiac Sword said telling Edge and those around him what was going on. Every time the blur passed him Blight's body would have a new bruise, cut, and/or broken bone/body part. Blight's screams of pain echoed throughout the land as he is introduced to a new level of pain very few people have ever experienced, or lived through.
After who knows how long Dark Hat's pitch-black aura covered body materialized and grabbed onto Blight's metal arm. Blight though that the end is near, and he WISHED for it! However, Dark isn't finished yet. With a downward kick on his shoulder Blight shot towards the ground. His screams just got louder.
Just before he reached the ground Blight stopped. Dark had grabbed onto his left leg to stop him from hitting the ground. The G-force of the stop dislocated the leg and hip, the crack being heard by everyone and making them wince and a few fainted. Blight trying to break free reeled his fist back and tried to punch Dark Hat with his metal arm. Catching it with one hand Dark Hat eyes narrowed then with a quick twist of his arm ripped the entire metal arm off. Blight scream, screamed like no one had ever heard him scream before not in a war cried but in pain and fear. Blight is barely conscious so Dark used the metal arm to hit him across the face to wake him up more.
When Blight is sufficiently conscious Dark threw him forward and let go of the leg. With the same hand he quickly formed a dark ball of energy, which just as quickly shot at the still airborne Luca's body. Blight is able to see this and he didn't have the energy needed to scream as the beam of dark energy shot him far away from the battlefield.
While Dark tossed the metal arm in the direction Blight went his aura died down, revealing Dark Hat to everyone. He turned to Yuber who stood silently next to Pesmerga. The two are doing something totally unbelievable; they are not killing each other. That's because Yuber's face has gone totally white while Pesmerga is too busy seeing something he though he would never see in his entire lifetime, Yuber scared.
"I thought I had made it clear that my sister and other siblings wouldn't be put in life or death situations, Yuber." The usually unflappable Yuber got a shiver go through his body. "Fighting them is one thing, but trying to kill them or disrespect them is an entirely different thing all together. Now watch as I show you what happens to people who try to kill my siblings." Yuber gulped.
Sasarai's jaw dropped as he saw Blight, the strongest fighter that the Harmonian Army has ever had in their ranks, got ripped apart as easily as shredding a piece of paper. His heart started thumping really hard as Dark Hat pulled out two stabbing axes out of his coat. The stabbing axes are different from other battleaxes since their blades are longer and sharper at the end and razor edged at the edges. The axes have both great offence and defense power but a somewhat short range in their reach. They acted like both a short stabbing sword and hacking axes at the same time, making anyone who knows how to use them very deadly to face.
"Time to end this fight," Dark Hat said in an end-all way, making everyone shake with fear. Faster than the eye can follow Dark turned around, facing the mass of Harmonian backup troops (the reserves, not the other half that was called back at the beginning) that are being held back until the Grassland Army is weak enough to break them in one charge. Both of his axes glowed black so dark that it absorbed all the light around it. Then he slammed them into the ground and shouted, "Ruin Nation!"
Dark light blinded everyone for a few seconds, and then it's over. There was no sound, no explosion, not even a big wind, just the light. Looking at the Harmonian soldiers that the attack was aimed at most of the people who saw what became of them turned their eyes away or began throwing up. The soldiers didn't look anything that even comes close to humans anymore. Their bodies are completely drained of everything, leaving nothing behind but brown husks of what were once their bodies. They are like zombies but much worse. Their armor and weapons all look as if they have been rusting for hundreds of years, breaking and creaking from the slight movements caused by the wind.
The very ground beneath them look like a wasteland. No, it looks worse. It looks as if the very life is drained away from it. The wind blew past, picking up huge clouds of dust and the ruined bodies fell to the ground, breaking into dust on impact. The attack had lived up to its name as the area that the attack had hit is unfit for any kind of life, even for the undead. (1)
"Ruin Nation, one of my most deadly attacks," Dark explained as he turned to the heads of the Harmonian Army. "It drains all energy from the affected area of the attack, making it unable to support any kind of life. It's from the Nightmare Class spells that can overcome any kind of defense. Even Orihalcon and Mithril armor cannot withstand it. Just to let you know Blight is still alive, I just wanted to teach him a lesson. But as you can see I could have killed him as easy as I did to those men," Dark Hat stated with an emotionless voice, making Sasarai shake as Dark's voice reminded him of all he has done. Things he has done such as killing off people and fighting them as if it was an everyday chore for him to do. "I will let you withdraw your army. I suggest that you take my offer."
Of course he would take that offer! "All forces withdraw NOW!" Sasarai shouted as he quickly made his way away from Dark Hat. The Harmonian Army quickly broke away from the Grasslander Army and retreated, picking up the wounded along the way. Yuber teleported away before Pesmerga could stop him, making him curse up a storm.
'There's no way we can even hope to stand up to that kind of power,' Sasarai thought to himself as he rode off, thinking of what he'd said about that spell Ruin Nation. Orihalcon and Mithril are the strongest and most valuable metals in the world. Orihalcon metal can't be harmed by magic, not even True Runes magic as it was proven with the ones in the magic schools. Mithril does have some magic defense and is also almost unbreakable while light as a feather unlike Orihalcon that's heavier. Even in Harmonia it is rare to even see a pound of either of the two metals, as they are that rare and valuable. In fact you could buy the entire Harmonian Kingdom if you ever came across a mine of either of those two metals. Dark Hat said that that spell would tear through armor made from them! From the way the True Earth Rune is acting he knows its true. 'We must make sure that his sister is taken out of the next battle unharmed. Trapping her in a magic field or casting a sleep spell on her would work. We can't afford to make Dark Hat our enemy!'
As the Harmonian Army ran from the battlefield Dark Hat appeared back on the bridge next to his sister. High upon the wall of Brass Castle Apple watched this all happen. Never before in any of the wars she has been in has she seen an attack like that. No one even came close to the power that she's feeling coming off of him in waves. The only one that comes close is him, Tir McDohl. His Soul Eater Rune comes close to the darkness Dark Hat gives off, but it pales in comparison. She can feel it and she's high above him, but STILL the fear she's feeling from just looking at him is huge.
Tina raised her tear-streaked face towards her brother. During the fight she barely paid attention to it. Instead she and the others have been trying to wake Ranma up with no success. The feeling of not knowing what is going on with him tore at her, again. "Onii-sama, what did you do to Ranma?" she asked, unaffected by the darkness that her brother always has around him. Around Ranma's forehead is a thin metal band; the two ends curled like a snail's shell where the two ends meet.
"It's a limiter like the ones we wear," Dark answered, low enough that only Tina and those around her could hear what he's saying. "It will give Ranma control over his beast form's bloodlust for a short time. However, until he manages to control his beast half he will become a berserker the longer he's in his beast form. The longer he fights in his beast form the faster he will turn into a berserker." He kneeled down and put a hand on his little sister's shoulder. "What happened here today is that the Neko-ken was released from the prison that Ranma had put it in. It transformed him into this because of the magic this," he tapped the Chaos Rune. "...gave to it when it was trying to save Ranma's life the first time he was defeated by Blight."
Dark's hand went to Tina's face and wiped away a tear. "Do not worry little sister, Ranma will be fine." Dark chuckled. Actually chuckled and not in an evil way, but one of good mirth."I see that you are very attached by him. I'm glad to see you so happy after all this time." Tina couldn't help but give him a small smile. "There, that's my sister." Dark stood up, but not before patting Tina's head. An action that miffed her a little but she said nothing. "When he wakes up tell him that getting control over his beast side is part of MY test. When he is able to control his were-form without using that limiter he passes. Oh, and he still has to defeat Blight in order to pass your big sister's test. Me doing that doesn't count."
Tina wiped away the tear tracks as best as she could. She gave her brother a genuine smile. "Thank you onii-sama. I know that Ranma will be able to control his beast form soon."
Dark nodded. "I will keep tabs on you. I will not let something like what Blight had done to you be repeated ever again. Don't give me that face little sister." Tina looked on in defiance for maybe five seconds or so before sighing in resignation. Dark nodded in satisfaction before looking over the other five fiancées and the two daughters before turning back to Tina. "You and the others take care of him."
"Yes, we will," Tina replied, hugging Ranma's body to hers. Dark Hat's body glowed dark as shadows surrounded him. The shadows swallowed him and he's gone, making many people sigh with relief. Then they all turned their attention back to Ranma who is shaking as if having a nightmare.
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Far from the battlefield, inside Zomba's cave –
Zomba growled as he turned off the viewing orb that had shown him everything that had happened. "I better send one of the monsters to get Blight back. I worked too hard on him just to let him go to waste now."
"Always thinking how much work you had to do than about your creations themselves," accused a familiar female voice that Zomba hasn't heard since Neclord left.
"You never change, do you?" asked another familiar male voice. Another figure larger then the rest growled.
"What? You ?" Zomba asked, turning around and seeing two familiar faces and two new ones. "Heh, will wonders never cease. Who's your new friend's? I thought you two weren't coming back. I take it that the others are all dead?"
"Yes. The others bodies were all too far gone to bring them back," the unknown male figure said as he stepped forward into better lighting. His face, the only thing the light illuminated, is covered with a metal facemask that's colored differently. Half of the mask is painted dark red while the other half is solid black. The black part of the mask is so dark that you can't even see the breathing or eyehole. The red part on the right side you could see the breathing holes (which are really just vertical rectangles) and the eye hole with a scar running across its surface, showing an eye underneath that is blue (2). "Aren't you going to welcome your new partner? We're going to be working together from now on after all." The voice is smooth and silky, hiding the danger that lies underneath.
Zomba studied him for a long time before answering with a smirk. "Yes. I can feel great power coming from you. I can tell that my research is going to make excellent progress working with you," he said, feeling something that's familiar to him but cannot place where he has felt it before. "So what shall I call you then?"
"Just call me…Anarchy."
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Author's Notes
1 – Think of the effects of the Tree of Might from the Dragonball Z movie as it drains all life from the earth to make fruit.
2 – Think of Slade's mask in Teen Titans. It is NOT Slade, however.
Co-writer's notes:
Akumu Nightmare
Kin Golden
Got those from an English to Japanese Translator website so I hope those are right.