Finally! After what seemed like years of searching, he had finally found his quarry. Under the cover of darkness, a shadowy figure crept up to a nondescript house. He checked the front door, noting it was locked in place. 'That figured', the shadowy intruder thought to himself. 'After all, there's no telling what kind of people will just waltz into your homes these days.' He smiled at the irony of his thought. Riffling through his pocket, he procured a small, metallic object, which reflected the soft moonlight that peeked through the oncoming clouds. Forcing the object into the door's lock, he managed to force it open and made his way inside. With a smile and a twirl of what appeared to be an umbrella, he entered the house. With the hour being so late, one would assume his prey would be asleep, along with the rest of the house's occupants. It would be so easy to strike him down in that state, but that wasn't what he wanted. The intruder may have been many things, but he wasn't a coward who would attack an enemy in his sleep. No, he would challenge his foe to an honorable duel, where there would be no excuses...where there would be no question who the better man was when it was all said and done. He opened one of the interior doors he came upon. It lead into a bedroom, but no one was in it. Must've been a guest room. Closing the door, he continued snooping through the house, thinking about what he was going to do with his foe. He relished the thought of pounding the crap out of his foe in front of his friends and family. His hated enemy had caused him a great embarrassment and he was damn sure going to return the favor ten-fold. Opening up a second door. Another unoccupied bedroom. Strange. He closed the door and continued going through the house, his thoughts returning to the pain he was going to inflict upon his prey. It was true he wasn't able to defeat this foe in all of the times he challenged him before. But that was a long time ago. He had picked up many new tricks that he was sure his enemy would not be able to handle. Revenge would be sweet indeed. He opened a third door. There appeared to be a two toned dog inside this one, but no human occupants. He cursed under his breath and closed the door. Heading back out to the main entrance, he took out a small flashlight and a piece of paper to check the address that was scribbled onto it, making sure it matched the address of the house. It did. It appeared his quarry had evaded him yet again. In anger and frustration, he screamed out to the heavens, "WHERE ON EARTH ARE YOU NOW???" A shoe flew out of nowhere and smacked him on the side of the head, "QUIET! WE'RE TRYING TO SLEEP!" "Sorry..." he said sheepishly, rubbing the sore spot on his head. He balled up the piece of paper, dropped it onto the street and began walking. "Another minor setback. It doesn't matter how long it takes, I will find you and I will have my revenge...Ryouga Hibiki!" Dreamweaver Studios Presents Ranma½ Legacy Chapter 8 Autumn and Mousse crept carefully into the old storage shack on Furinkan High's soccer field. They didn't know what dangers were awaiting them in the old, spooky structure, so they felt it prudent to proceed with caution. Unfortunately, no one thought to tell Ranma about such prudent measures. He burst in behind them and started tearing up the place, completely ruining their element of surprise. Not even paying attention to the strange furnishings of the shack, or the arcane images plastered everywhere; the pigtailed martial artist tore down all of the bookshelves, uprooted the embedded racks and basically destroyed the place. "Dammit! Nothing's here! Where are they?" a frantic Ranma said. "Well, wherever they are, I'm sure they know we're here now," went Mousse, glaring at him. "Along with the rest of the neighborhood." "They're definitely here," Autumn informed them. "Their demonic auras are very strong." Looking around the trashed shack, she rested her gaze on a slab of rock that rested at a forty-five degree angle upon the wall farthest in. The trail of energy seemed to end there. Inspecting the slab itself, she noticed another arcane graphic upon it. "This seems to be a doorway to a cavern underneath the shed." "Alright, now we're getting somewhere!" said Ranma. "Stand back, I'm gonna get it open." "We can't just open it so easily," Autumn told him. "From the marking on the slab, it looks as though it takes a certain magical frequency to open it up. Unfortunately, from the way you trashed the place, it could take hours to find the scroll that has the proper spell." "I got your magical frequency right here!" Ranma flared up his ki and focused it in his hands. Autumn quickly removed herself from in front of the door. "MOUKO TAKABISHA!" His attack had no trouble powering its way through the magical entrance. Mousse nodded. "That's our Ranma. All the subtlety of a Mac Truck." Not bothering to return Mousse's insult, Ranma stormed into the secret cave with reckless abandon, with Mousse and Autumn following closely behind. The passage was deeper than they had originally imagined, going hundreds of feet under the ground. The cavern it was connected to was massive, containing even more arcane artifacts like what was in the shed above. Autumn wondered if anyone knew these caves were under their school? Anyone who did had the potential to learn all sorts of ancient magic. Ahead, they saw an opening to what appeared to be another cavern. The cave they were in was empty, besides the artifacts. If Akane were there, then she had to have been deeper within. Ranma marched onward to the opening, when a bright ball of light appeared in the middle of the cave and Arame materialized from it. "There you are!" said Ranma. "Where's Akane?" "No hellos? No good to see you agains? You're so rude," returned Arame, pretending to be hurt. "Well, you're such a cutie, I'll forgive you." "Where is Akane?" Ranma repeated through clenched teeth, getting angrier by the second. "Well, if you must know, she's in the cave behind me, in a very precarious situation." Arame raised her eyebrow, "Of course, you realize, I'm not going to make getting over there easy for you." Ranma adopted a defensive stance, causing Arame to shake her head, "No, no, no...I'm not going to fight you." "Oh really?" asked Ranma. Arame shook her head again. Ranma wondered what she was up to but took the bait anyway. He wasn't going to allow Akane to remain in danger any longer than necessary. He started to run, but just as he passed Arame, Taro appeared and landed a punch on the jaw, knocking Ranma back to his previous position. "No, I'm not going to fight you, but he will." She put her arm around Taro's shoulders and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I found the poor dear in a dumpster a few miles from here. Looked like he was in a pretty bad explosion too. I took him in and nursed him back to health with my...special tender loving care." She gave Taro a pat on the back, finished with, "You two play nice now," and disappeared in that ball of light. "Oh, yes. We're going to have a whole lot of fun, aren't we, fem-boy?" Taro said menacingly. He jumped up into the air and extended his feet, intending to stomp Ranma's head into the ground. Ranma rolled out of the way of Taro's attack and sprang back to his feet, ready for the next attack. Taro didn't give him long to wait. He went at the pigtailed martial artist with a straight kick, which Ranma ducked. Taro flowed smoothly into a roundhouse with his other leg, Ranma dodged backward, allowing the kick to fly harmlessly in front of him. Taro stepped forward with another punch. Ranma wasn't set properly to do another evasive maneuver, so he blocked the punch. It didn't do much damage, but it still managed to push him back another few feet. "Damn..." Ranma cursed, "I don't got time for this!" "We'll take care of him for you, Ranma," Mousse said. "Are you sure?" asked Ranma. Mousse nodded, "You go on and get your fiancée. Let's go, Autumn!" Mousse and Autumn lunged at Taro, throwing various attacks his way. Nothing to seriously hurt him...yet; it was just enough to turn his attention away from Ranma so he could proceed to the next cave. Once Ranma was clear of them, Mousse got into a proper fighting stance. "Alright...let's do this!" "Do you really think it's going to take two of us to beat him?" asked Autumn. "Beat him?" repeated Mousse. "The last time we were in a serious fight, it took ~four~ of us to beat him. I'm just hoping the two of us will be able to fight him to a standstill." "Him???" Autumn gave Taro a once over, "You got to be kidding! I could probably beat him by myself." "Maybe," Mousse conjectured, "if he were to stay human." Autumn gave him a confused look. Mousse was surprised. As an Amazon, he was sure Autumn knew about Jusenkyo. Perhaps, since she was from a tribe further removed from the cursed springs than his, she probably hadn't been indoctrinated to its presence. Unfortunately, he didn't have the time to explain those things to her then. Even more unfortunate was he didn't have to explain. Just as he feared, Taro procured a canteen, seemingly out of nowhere. "Heh heh," he went, as he elevated the canteen above his head and emptied the contents on top of himself. The man they were facing had disappeared, replaced with what looked like a gigantic bull with wings, tentacles and a snake tail. Autumn nearly fell backwards trying to look up at him. "He's cursed! And what a cursed form he has!!!" Ah, so she did know about the cursed springs. That would make things a lot easier when time came to reveal his own curse to her. All they had to do was survive this fight first. ** ** Ranma heard Autumn exclaim, "He's cursed!" That meant Taro pulled out his alternate form already. He wanted to go back and help his comrades, but he had his own mission to complete. He just hoped they were good enough to face him and live to tell about it. As it was, they were doing what Mousse said they would do. Ranma wasn't that far from the second cave. Once he got Akane free, they could all gang up, beat Taro and get the hell out of there. Just before he reached the passage to the second cave, though, Arame reappeared in her ball of light. "Hey! You're cheating!" Arame scolded. "You gotta be kidding!" said Ranma. "Humph, fortunately, I have another playmate who would like to go a few rounds with you." Arame stepped aside to reveal Kuno, who was standing in the way of the passage. Ranma almost fell over laughing. "Kuno???" "Oh yes!" answered Arame with a smile. "He's such a gallant man. He 'rescued' me from a bunch of fiends who were going to abduct me and have their way with me. I was disappointed at first, but I must say, he's got the energy of three men himself. And he REALLY knows how to show a woman a good time." She sighed contently, "Our time together was very...revitalizing." "Yeah, whatever," went Ranma. "But I hate to tell ya, you made a very bad pick for a guardian. Taro may have been a good find, but Kuno ain't gonna stop me!" Ranma opened up fully, knowing Kuno couldn't match him at full speed. A quick bounce off of an adjoining wall and Ranma would be behind them before they even noticed he moved. However, before he could even get to the wall for the ricochet, Kuno jumped in front of him and slammed his bokken into Ranma's stomach. With the wind knocked out of him, Ranma took a couple of steps back and fell to one knee, gasping for air. "I could tell that his skills left much to be desired if I wanted him to help me. So, I gave him a couple of 'enhancements'." She gave Ranma a wave, "Enjoy." With that, she disappeared again. Kuno favored Ranma with a smile that promised nothing good. "Finally, Ranma Saotome! Finally, I have the strength in which to defeat you! I shall make you pay for all of the humiliations which you have bestowed upon me!" Ranma rose to his feet and stood defiantly, "How in the world could you serve that witch? She's gonna kill Akane!" "She will do no such thing!" Kuno snapped. "She gave me her word that Akane Tendo will be mine once this is all over with. Such a gross untruth would never leave the lips of so glorious an angel." "Hate to break it to ya, Kuno, but that woman is the exact opposite of an angel!" "It matters not," said Kuno. "Should she break our bond and try to harm Akane Tendo, I shall deal with her myself. For now, however, I shall have the pleasure of finally dispatching you!" "We'll see about that!" With Kuno's newfound speed, there was no way Ranma could win if he held anything back. So, with all he had, he attacked. To the untrained eye, all that would've been seen was a blur with the attacks and counter attacks the two teens threw at each other. Apparently, though, Kuno wasn't used to keeping that pace up for long. He left his head wide open and was going to make Kuno pay dearly for his interference. Unfortunately, Ranma's attempt to exploit Kuno's open spot left his midsection exposed to another attack. Taking his chance to strike, Kuno hit his mark yet again, at the same time Ranma's punch landed. This resulted in both being knocked to the ground. Ranma clutched his ribs, writhing in pain. It just wasn't right. Kuno wasn't supposed to be that good. Those were some damned good enhancements Arame gave him. At this rate he was going to be the one that needed rescuing. He painfully picked himself off of the ground again and tried to shake the pain off. At least Kuno looked like he wasn't in such good shape himself. He was sweating profusely and breathing heavily. It occurred to Ranma that it was probably true that Kuno wasn't used to keeping up that pace. He got the ability to go that fast artificially, so he wasn't properly conditioned to use that ability. Ranma smiled. He had the advantage. All he needed to do was tire Kuno out and the fight was his. Hopefully, he could do so without taking much more damage. Slowly, Kuno picked himself off of the ground as well. His new abilities were everything he thought they would be. Unfortunately, they had a fatal flaw. He cursed himself; he was so excited to gain those new abilities, he neglected that one basic, fundamental fact. Without the proper conditioning to use his new abilities, they would wear him out quickly. Looking at the smile on Saotome's face, it seemed he was aware of this fact as well. Kuno had to admit; Ranma was pretty perceptive...for a cretin. Kuno still had a few tricks up his sleeve, but if simply using his speed made him this tired, using his new, ultimate attack would sap his energy totally. He had one, maybe two shots at Ranma with his new attack. He needed to make them count. Kuno knew he was told to hurt Ranma some, then let him pass. But this was the best chance he had at defeating the knave. He couldn't let that chance pass. "You know, Saotome...I have always said that the vengeance of heaven was slow but sure," said Kuno. "But no more...heaven has sent me its angel, and she, in turn, has given me the tools to impart that vengeance upon you!" "What in the world are you babbling about?" Ranma panted. "This!!!" Kuno raised his bokken and even though they were a hundred or so feet below the ground, lightening began to crackle around him. "Now, Saotome! Now, you shall finally feel…THE WRATH OF HEAVEN!!!" He swung the bokken down like a guillotine and the lightening completely enveloped Kuno and Ranma. The blinding light of Kuno's awesome attack even brought a temporary halt to the other battle, which took place mere feet away from them. When the light dissipated, Kuno was still standing in his attack position, with residual electricity crackling about him. Ranma, on the other hand, lay in front of him in a smoking heap. 'She wasn't kidding about those 'enhancements',' Ranma thought. That attack was absolutely incredible...it was unbelievable that someone like Kuno could use such a thing. This was it. The jolt of electricity looked to have paralyzed him temporarily. There was nothing Ranma could do at this point, but wait for the final blow to come. Even with this new power, to lose to someone like Kuno was an embarrassment. A few seconds passed, but the final blow Ranma had expected never came. Regaining his motor functions, he chanced a look up at his opponent. Kuno was still in the same pose as when he launched his last attack. Getting back up to his feet, Ranma examined Kuno. He gave the would- be samurai an interrogatory poke, to which Kuno fell over. Looked like that attack was an all or nothing shot that drained him of the last of his strength. Ranma wiped his brow and let out a sigh of relief. Even with his new powers, Kuno just wasn't a match for him. Still, that fight took a lot out of him. He entered the second cavern, hoping he had enough to defeat Arame and save his fiancée. ** ** It looked as though the fight was going to be every bit as difficult as Mousse said it would be. They went all out after him, with their most lethal weapons and attacks. Everything bounced off of Taro's hide. Even the swords and spears they would acquire from their robes just broke when they tried to stab him. It wasn't even as if they had an easy time getting through his defenses. For such a large mass, Taro was surprisingly fast. The dodging, patient waiting for openings, just to strike with attacks that didn't work was quickly becoming frustrating. There were certain rules one had to abide by when one became a demon hunter in Autumn's tribe. The powerful attacks you would use on demonic adversaries weren't to be used on regular people. Well...on living mortals, as Taro was anything but 'regular'. Still, with how the battle was going, Autumn mentally said 'screw the rules' and opened up her other arsenal. She dug into her robes and pulled out a pair of metallic claws, attaching them to her hands. Autumn, then, channeled her ki into them, causing them to glow. "FURY SLASH!" She rushed Taro with her hands extended, her claws leaving an energy trail as she moved. Taro managed to avoid the brunt of her attack, however, it did catch him on the side of his abdomen, causing him to yowl in pain. She came back for another attack, but Taro flapped his wings mightily to avoid her. "Damn! He can fly???" "I guess I should've warned you about that," said Mousse. "Doesn't make any difference anyway...it doesn't look like my last strike did much more than superficial damage. I have an attack that may work, but with how agile he is, I doubt I'd be able to hit him with it now." Mousse gave her thumbs up, "Well, if you need him tied down, then I have just the technique." Autumn smiled, remembering the technique he used to defeat her before. "Alright, let's do it!" It was then that Kuno launched his 'wrath of heaven' attack, striking Ranma down and blinding the others that were in the cavern. With how the combatants were set up, Taro had his back to the flash of light. Since it had less of an effect on him, he was the first to recover. As the hearing in his cursed form was enhanced, he overheard their plan. Mousse seemed to be the key to pulling it off, so he had to go first. Swooping downward, Taro extended his massive fist, intending to literally knock Mousse into next week. Her vision coming back into focus, Autumn saw Taro's dive-bombing attack on Mousse. "NOO!!!" Acting on instinct, Autumn leapt and shoved the myopic martial artist out of Taro's path. Mousse's sight came back just in time to see Autumn take the full force of Taro's punch. She flew back towards the main entrance, bouncing off of the ground once and crashing into the wall. Mousse grabbed the hen he kept in his robes, took the eggs it laid and threw them at the massive beast. With Taro blinded yet again, from Mousse's hen's egg bomb attack, he went to check on Autumn. "Are you okay?" "Good enough to finish this," she said. She stood back up, but Mousse could tell she was in very bad shape. Her legs were shaky and she was struggling to breathe. She would need to see a doctor soon. She gave him a hard look, "Are you ready?" Mousse knew her Amazon pride wouldn't allow her to stop until the battle was over, so he didn't even try to argue with her. "I'm ready," he said. "Do it!" With the benefit of having Taro still blinded, Mousse charged and let loose every bit of rope and chain he had in his massive robe. The daggered ends embedded themselves all over the cavern, effectively snaring Taro like a fly in a spider web. "He's all yours!" Autumn took a quick glance at her hands and noticed her claws were gone. Apparently, they didn't survive Taro's last strike. It wouldn't matter, however. Straining to push the searing pain she felt in her chest out of her mind, her ki blazed to life about her. She launched herself at him using the only weapon she felt would be effective against him...her ki enveloped body in a move she called the Lunar Rave. With Taro unable to move, she struck him right between the eyes. Landing behind him, she turned to see how her attack fared. To her dismay, Taro appeared to be shaking off its effects. Fortunately, even he, in that form, couldn't easily absorb a strike like that. His head slumped over as he lost consciousness. "Finally..." Assured of victory, Autumn collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness as well. Mousse knelt down beside her prone form and gently placed her head on his lap. 'Incredible...such power she possesses. She could've beaten me easily if she used them in our duel. I can tell there's a lot I could potentially learn from you.' As he thought about the possibilities, another important fact crossed his mind. She sacrificed herself, taking Taro's blow in his place. Shampoo never did that for him. Quite the contrary, she would do her best to hinder him so he could take more punishment. Carefully, Mousse picked her up and started back for the surface. After all that she did for him, he would be damned before he allowed her to die in a place like that. "We've done our part, Ranma. The rest is up to you now. Good hunting." ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **