e-mail: oddball22@hotmail.com DISCLAIMER: All Ranma 1/2 characters are owned Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and someone else I think. But mainly the goddess Takahashi. I'm only borrowing them to use in a limited non-profit avenue, strictly for entertainment purpose only. Did I get that right, Bob? (He's my lawyer) Good. I guess I'll use this same disclaimer in the next chapter! (told you I was gonna do the same one!) And here we go... Ranma 1/2: New Challenges Winds of Change Chapter 10 the thought came unbidden. Or did it? Shapes and images came and went, all of which seemed familiar, but the amnesiac couldn't focus on any one of them. The rest was swirling shades of black and gray. He found he couldn't focus on the passage of time either. His body floated in a void of blackness, empty, save for the few pictures and sounds that occasionally floated by. He closed his eyes and concentrated, but nothing happened. He continued to float, with no sense of direction and no points of reference. He's waking up. This was different than the other voices, for he could hear it and process it. The others were just gibberish. Kenji... Kenji, snap out of it man! He's not waking up... Fight it son! Kenji! Listen to me! What about Ukyo? Kenji slowly opened his eyes and the world presented itself as a big blur. He tried to move, but his arms and legs were restricted and he was on his back. How about his voice? "U-Ukyo?" He half-coughed and half-sputtered out. "She's not here," came Ranma's female voice. "Saotome?" he managed a little better. "Yeah, I'm here." "Whe-where are you?" Kenji asked, his voice getting better. "We're chained to some pillars nearby, I don't think you can see us." There was a hint of sadness in her voice. "I'm sorry, man, we tried, but it ain't over yet," Her voice trailed off. "Where am I?" "You're in a big cavern inside the mages' mountain, chained onto a stone slab," Ranma explained. "Do ya remember anything?" Kenji couldn't help but laugh, bitterly. "Fine thing to ask an amnesiac." He then thought for a minute. "There was the fight with Ukyo. I thought we won, but next thing I know, I'm in a cage and the Fire Lord is there. I thought the explosions I heard came from you, so I tried to escape. The next thing I know, I'm here." He laughed bitterly again. "It seems I have a nasty habit of waking up in strange places with no idea how I got there." Kenji's eyes were beginning to clear. Looking up, he saw a small hole in the high ceiling of the cavern, that opened to the night sky. He could see part of the moon high up above. "You haveta hold on, we got a plan ta get ya out of here," said Ranma. "Really?" a new voice entered. Kenji easily remembered it by the elevated sense of fear it brought. "And what would that be?" He turned his head to see the fire lord walking up to him. "Well, whatever it is, you'd better hurry. In a few minutes, I begin the ceremony to extract your essence, and it's not a pretty sight to behold!" "Now I know what poor Ryoga-kun feels like," Akane said offhand. "If seems like we've been walking for hours and I don't have a clue where we are." "I know what you mean, I..." Ukyo started but then was immediately silenced by Konatsu. "What is it?" she whispered. "Can't you feel it?" Konatsu asked silently. Ukyo shook her head, but Akane stopped for a moment. "Now that you mention it," she said slowly, a strange look on her face. "I'm starting to feel a little funny. Like a strange vibration reverberating off my body." "It hasn't happened often," Konatsu said. "But I can sometimes feel strong auras or powers. I think you can too, Akane-sama. Someone very powerful is exercising their power nearby." "Can you lead us to it?" Ukyo asked. Konatsu thought for a moment, then nodded. He padded down the hallway and took a right at the intersection, with Akane and Ukyo right behind. Left, left, right, another left; Konatsu paused for a brief section at each junction to get his bearings, then continued in the direction he felt the big magic was in. Akane could feel the vibration increasing and it scared her. After a minute or two, the dull but steady beat of chanting could be heard. They followed the sounds, the voices getting louder until they came to a halt just at the entrance to a huge cavern. The sight that greeted them caused all three to gasp. In the center, on a slightly raised dais, was Kenji. He was chained on his back and writhing in obvious pain. Ranma, Ryoga, Soun, Genma, Shampoo, and Mousse were chained to individual pillars that circled the dais. None of them appeared to be conscience. And floating above Kenji, was the Fire Lord. He was chanting in some strange language along with the dozen mages who stood on the ground. "What in the..." Akane began. "Just what's going on in there?" "I'm guessing the fire lord is attempting to absorb Kenji-sama's power," Konatsu said flatly. Ukyo grabbed her battle spat' with one hand and readied several of her throwing spatula's in her other. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's stop this!" Konatsu shook his head. "We're outnumbered. It would be suicide." "Well, we have to do something!" Akane stated. "I'm with Ukyo, we have to try and save them." Konatsu inhaled deeply. "Ok, I'll slip in first and attempt to distract the mages." He withdrew a sword from a sheath. "When I take out the first one, you two start your attack. We have to try and free the others if we're going to have a chance." "Uh, Konatsu-kun, what's with the takemitsu?" Ukyo asked. Konatsu stared at the bamboo sword in his hand. "Ahh! I forgot, the real one is still in the pawn shop!" He shook his head. "Never mind, this will have to do." Ukyo and Akane nodded. The trio crept slowly to the entrance, then Konatsu began moving stealthily inside. He crossed the distance in a very short amount of time and without being discovered, probably due to the fact that the mages were caught up in their spell. The two girls tensed as Konatsu snuck up on his first victim. The mage never saw it coming as Konatsu brought the weapon down on the man's head, knocking him out. That was their cue. Ukyo and Akane broke from hiding and sprinted across the ground. A flight of spatulas left Ukyo's hand and buried themselves into another mage. Konatsu loosed a pair of wire bolas, tying up another. By this time, the other mages and the Fire Lord realized something was happening. The spell was weakening and, one by one, they came out of the trance. "INFIDELS!" the Fire Lord's voice boomed. "KILL THEM!" The force of his voice shook the ground violently and several large cracks opened up. If one were to look down them, they would not see a bottom. The remaining wizards attacked. Fireballs were thrown, golems created, and high pressure water blasts gushed forth. Konatsu artfully dodged the blasts and took down another mage, a water one, then let loose a whirlwind of ninja stars that sent several mages leaping out of the way, several into those bottomless fissures. Ukyo blocked a fireball with her battle spatula. While leaving her unscathed, it was powerful enough to knock her off her feet and land her on her butt. As soon as she hit the ground, she instinctively rolled to the right, barely avoiding another fireblast. Then she was up and running again, another flight of spatulas striking the attacking fire wizard. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Akane yelled to an attacking golem while leaping into the air. Her fist came down and smashed the golems `head', spliting it partially down the middle before it crumbled. She took no time to recover before she was on the move again. She sprinted and slid between the legs of the next golem, then unleashed a vicious scissor kick on the earth mage who was creating them. Up above, the fire lord was not pleased at how easily the three were taking out his minions. He decided to take a personal hand in the matter. But which one? He held out his hand and a burning sphere of flames began to grow. When it was almost as large as his body, he released it. Ukyo noticed it a moment too late and all she could do was attempt to hop back. As soon as her feet left the ground, the fireball crashed into the space she was occupying and the explosion engulfed her. Ukyo screamed, but unlike any scream she had heard before.. It echoed throughout the cavern, dampening all other sounds. Her wail, one that would make a banshee flee, effectively radiated the pain she was feeling. It was a scream so piercing, all present felt it resonate down to their bones. Then it was over and the smoking body was flying backward, tumbling to rest near one of the larger fissures. Kenji's body was slowly being torn apart, or at least that's how it felt to him. More accurately, it felt like someone had taken hold of one of his internal organs and was slowly pulling it out of his body. Problem was, all his organs were connected so they all came out, one right after another like the magician's trick where he pulls a continuous line of ribbons tied together from his wrist or mouth. No coherent thoughts could be formed, prevented by the stream of agony forced upon him. Then like a light switch being flicked, the pain was gone and he nearly sobbed at the incredible relief his body felt. Vaguely, he began to make out screams and explosions. A voice above him yelled loudly, but Kenji couldn't make out the words. A female voice yelled something else, followed by another crash. Then he heard the scream. It reverberated throughout his body, piercing his core, and he instantly recognized the voice. Another voice, male, screamed her name, then deep laughter could be heard from above. Reaching down inside, he attempted to find the strength. There wasn't much there, he found to his dismay. He attempted to dig even deeper, routing every ounce of power available to him. Then he hit the barrier again. There was some sort of internal wall, unbreakable, yet he could feel power behind it. He could barely move as it was; if he was going to save Ukyo, he needed that power. A thought came unbidden to his mind, (Power comes with a price.) he countered. He gathered up his reserves and flung them at the wall. Once. Twice. Three times. Nothing happened and Kenji exhaled. Then, a crack in the wall appeared. Not much, but it began to grow. Then the dam burst and Kenji found his senses snap awake, the power filling him. "UKYO-SAMA!" Konatsu yelled as he made his way through the last wizard towards her. Ukyo was barely conscience and could just make out a form floating in the air, burning, and moving towards her. There was some activity on the ground a few yards away, a red shape was moving rapidly in her direction. "I've had enough of your games, child," the fire lord's voice echoed loudly. "Time to die!" He pointed his hand at the wall, and a large boulder emerged from it. A flick of his wrist sent it arcing towards the fallen okonomiyaki chef. "NO!" Konatsu put on one last burst of speed and intercepted the boulder above Ukyo's fallen form, pushing it out of the way. He cried out as pain lanced through the impact with his shoulder, momentarily stunning him. The forward momentum carried both him and the boulder past Ukyo to plumment through the opening in the earth. He recovered just enough to call Ukyo's name again as the blackness swallowed him up. Ukyo's eyes snapped open and the sight filled her with much sorrow and dread. "Konatsu..." she half-choked, half-whispered as she watched the kunoichi disappear from view. Tears fell from her eyes when she realized he was gone, sacrificing himself for her. "Wake up, Baka!" Akane had just taken out her last mage and was working on breaking Ranma's chains when she witnessed the fireball that slammed into Ukyo and sent her rolling along the ground. She froze and could only watch helplessly, too far away to help her, as the fire lord advanced. He spoke a few words, then Akane saw him send the boulder with the intent on crushing her beneath it. Konatsu was a blur as he intercepted it before it could hit its target. She watched in horror as the ninja vanished into the earth. For the next few seconds, she kept waiting for him to reappear, but he did not Ranma chose that moment to awaken and Akane gazed into her eyes. She saw a smile form on her fiance's female lips, then it changed into a frown. Akane was about to say something when she realized that Ranma was no longer looking at her, but at something behind her. She turned and beheld Kenji sitting upright on the dais. The chains were gone and he was staring at Ukyo's fallen form. "So ends the lives of all who oppose me!" the Fire Lord intoned. "Now to finish the job." "NO!" came Kenji's commanding voice. The fire lord turned and looked at him. "Who are you, boy, to challenge me?" "Look Akane, look at his eyes..." Ranma-onna pointed out. Akane gasped. Kenji's pupils and irises were gone, instead his eyes were now entirely gray and his face was completely devoid of emotion. "I am Soyokaze Kenji," he announced. "And this ends now." He turned towards Ranma and Akane. "Get everyone out of here." Akane started to say something, but Kenji cut her off with a very forceful and commanding, "NOW!" As Ranma and Akane worked on the chains of the others, they couldn't help but notice a very cold wind begin to blow. Ukyo looked up when she felt the wind. She inhaled sharply in horror at Kenji's now-completely gray eyes and saw him begin to rise into the air. Then, a painful convulsion wracked her body and the world went black. "They are going nowhere," the Fire Lord stated. As if to underscore it, he formed half a dozen fireballs and prepared to launch them at Ranma and Akane. Kenji made a quick hand motion and a swift wind blew the fireballs off in another direction where they smashed into the wall. "No, you're fight is with me. HITOHUKI!" He thrust his hand out and a blast of wind struck the floating Fire Lord and threw him into the cavern wall. The wind currents began circulate faster around the cavern. By this time, the others had been freed, but only Genma-panda, Ryoga, and Mousse-duck had revived to consciousness. Soun and Shampoo- neko were still out. Akane informed Ranma of Ukyo and they went to check on her. "Get out of here, all of you!" Kenji bellowed. A small tornado could be seen forming around him, levitating him into the air. "But what about you?" Akane yelled. "Yeah, we ain't about to leave ya!" Ranma joined in. "I've told you before that this is MY fight!" he snarled very loudly. "Get Ukyo out NOW!" Akane turned toward Ranma. "We better get them out of here. It doesn't look like Kenji's in a mood to argue. Plus, we really need to get Ukyo some medical attention." Ranma reluctantly agreed and picked up the fallen chef. Together, with Genma-panda carrying Soun and Ryoga carrying Shampoo- neko, they hurried out of the cavern. Ranma was last in line and he paused and turned around to glance at Kenji, who was now floating several feet off the ground in his own whirlwind. His eyes were locked with the fire lord's as they approached one another. Ranma handed the Ukyo off to Akane, then turned around. He stepped back into the cavern and began to gather his ki. Kenji turned to face him. "You will leave," came the disembodied voice of the floating young man. It wasn't a command or a request, just a statement of fact. Ranma shivered, because the tone was no longer one that he had come to recognize from the amnesiac. It was almost... inhuman. As the pig-tailed martial artist began to protest, Kenji held up a hand and a powerful blast of wind picked Ranma up and tossed him into the tunnel. Another blast hit the rock above the tunnel entrance and succeeded collapsing the entrance. With a last look, Ranma turned and hurried off to catch up with the rest of the group. he thought grimly. In a room not so far away, Cologne was listening to the sounds of battle as she continued to try and free herself. Small ki blasts had just opened up a small hole in the sphere; well, it was open for a second or two. Cologne grinned and charged up. Another small ki blast reopened the hole and she immediately sent a large one through it. The purple beam struck one of the crystals powering the shield and it shattered. The bubble destabilized and vaporized, letting the old woman drop to the ground. "Sorry sonny, you're 100 years too early to stop me," she said to herself. She quickly snagged the small statuette she attempted to grab earlier and stuffed it in a pouch. Then she made her way to the door. The ground around her began to shake violently and the very air seemed to electrify. Opening the door, she did just that. Not far away, the small group of survivors were also trying to make their exit. "Anybody remember the path out of here?" Ranma asked through forced breaths. A quick glance around at all the glum faces told him. "Well that's just great..." Suddenly, Akane's face brightened. "Look!" They turned to see Akane pointing as a carved arrow on the wall. "Ukyo made those with her spatula as we wandered around. If we follow them, we'll find the way out!" With renewed vigor, the small group picked up the pace as the mountain cried out.