Send e-mail here: 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 limted 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! And here we go... Ranma 1/2: New Challenges Winds of Change Chapter 9 Sitting in his study, the Fire Lord was looking over his magic books when the twin explosions rocked the ground and the alarm was sounded. Looking up, he allowed himself a slight smile. he thought delightfully. He slowly rose from his sitting position, taking time to mark the page he was on with a bookmark. He casually moved around his desk and opened the door. Stepping outside, he caught the sounds of shouting and movement as his commanders took charge of the battle unfolding outside. He grinned and whistled a tune while he headed down the hall. After a couple minutes of pawing, Kenji had managed to bend the wire cage open enough to slip out. He was bleeding from several cuts where the sharp edges had grazed him, so he also had to steady himself from the minor rushes of dizziness that entailed. He attempted to shake his head which only made it worse. Steadying himself, he ran out of the room. Picking paths at random, he galloped down the torch-lined passgeways as fast as he could. he thought desperately. But all the hallways looked identical to him. Passing one archway, he stopped suddenly and backtracked to it as something inside got his attention. Looking around inside the fairly large room, he took note of several large cabinets, water barrels, food stores, tables, a single chef busily preparing food... and a large cauldron of boiling water sitting over an open fire. He warily eyed the steaming and bubbling cauldron. Making his way inside as stealthily as possible, he maneuvered towards the pot, but was stopped by the flames surrounding it. Kenji found the perfect launching spot. The chef's back was to the wolf, as he was hunched over a counter and humming to himself while he preparing meals. Kenji found his table and leaped to the surface via a nearby chair. He glanced over at the chef, who was still oblivious to his actions. Getting up some running room, he gauged the distance and leapt off the table. Outside, the battle was not going well. Even with the initial surprise, the attacking group was rapidly finding themselves outnumbered as more mages and golems joined the fight. The water mages were the highest priority and they had mostly been eliminated, but a few still remained. There were quite a few times that Jusenkyo curses had been activated, but the group had managed to fight well enough to turn them back to humans. Ryoga was using his umbrella to shield himself and therefore had avoided transforming at all. Ranma had become female awhile ago, but didn't see the need, nor take the time, to change back. His female form was faster, if not as strong, and he felt the added speed was better. Genma had stayed a panda, too, after the second transformation. The extra bulk didn't slow him down, and the claws came in handy. Ranma-onna twisted away as a fireball zoomed past him. That brought her face to face with a mage who looked almost as startled as he was. Ranma was quicker to recover and delivered a few powerful punches to her opponent's midsection, doubling him over. A quick kick finished it and she was on the move again. She felt movement to her right and ducked as a kick sailed over her head. She grabbed the outstretched leg and twisted it before using the helpless wizard's momentum to fling him into one of his brethren. Nearby, Ryoga continued to make the golems his priority since his breaking point technique was ideally suited to the task. He had long ago lost count of how many of the rock monsters he had destroyed, but he knew it had to be above 30. That's not to say he was working exclusively on the golems; any mage who happened to wander into Ryoga's path was beaten senseless before he knew what hit him. On the other side of the battle, Shampoo and Mousse were working closely together and watching each other's backs. Chains and bonbori struck together as the two Amazons instinctively coordinated their efforts. Mousse had to admit that the old ghoul was right. The wizards were strong at a distance, but weak up close. That didn't make them any less dangerous, however. They were poor martial artists, nowhere near as good as the six that assaulted them. He absently noticed he would be out of weaponry in another 10 to 15 minutes. Something had to give before then. [How're you doing, Tendo?]. Genma-panda signed, then used it to bonk a nearby opponent. He winced at the pain in his side where he had taken a fireball. "Could be better, Saotome," Soun replied, planting his spear into the ground then swinging around to land a powerful kick into his current advesary. He wasn't doing as well as his long-time friend, since he didn't practice as much Genma. He was bleeding from multiple cuts and burns and he could feel his strength ebbing. "If this doesn't end soon, I feel I may not last much longer." [Come now Tendo, are you telling me you may not be worthy of the Musabetsu Kakuto-ryu?] he taunted Soun, in the hopes of boosting his friend's sagging performance. It worked, but Genma couldn't help but see a new wave of troops leave the entrance and take up ready positions. Ranma-onna thought as the group withdrew further into the forest and away from the mountain entrance. He was not pleased. The Fire Lord had arrived in the room and a quick glance around told him all he needed to know: An empty cage on the floor and a slowly recovering guard. And a missing wolf. His anger flared for a moment before he regained his composure. Then he noticed the blood spots and smiled. A scathing glance sent the remaining guard running out to the battle while the Lord of Fire went hunting. "Where did Cologne go?" Akane asked as the three wound their way through the endless passageways. "I do not know, she was right behind me," Konatsu answered, adjusting his faded and patched dark, red ninja suit. They had abandoned the disguises since the halls were mostly empty and the cloaks inhibited movement and fighting. . "No time to worry about that, we have to find Kenji-kun," Ukyo reminded them. She noticed Konatsu wince as she mentioned Kenji's name. She stopped the group. "Alright, what is it Konatsu-kun?" The ninja seemed taken aback. "I-I well, I just think caution is warranted, Ukyo-sama." Ukyo shook her head. "That's not it. You've had some sort of problem ever since we started this." She cocked her head as she sensed a twinge of jealousy in the ninja. "It's about Kenji-san isn't it?" Konatsu nodded. "I just don't think this is such a good idea." "Then why'd you come?" Ukyo asked. "To protect you, of course." "Look, I know you care about me," Ukyo started, "and I care about you too, but you have to realize I care about Kenji as well. You are both my friends. I would do this for you if your position was the same as his. Okay?" Konatsu just nodded glumly. "Just know that I will protect you, Ukyo-sama." She nodded in return and Akane suggested they keep moving. Cologne pondered as she stood in front of a metal, double door. It was locked, of course, but that wasn't enough to stop a matriarch of the Amazon nation. To her wizened eyes, there were also numerous magic wards on the door as well. She laughed and spread a fine powder over the door. One by one, the magic wards vanished and the door opened. Cologne pushed the door further open with her staff and hopped inside. She gazed around in glee at the hoard of magic tomes, potions, and artifacts scattered around the room. If she could, she would've liked to have take everything with her, but she was only one person. No, there was only one particular object she wanted. She just had to find it. Bouncing around the room on her staff she flipped through books and sorted though cabinets. She glanced around the room in frustration. Then a smile slowly crept to her lips as she saw it. The 8 spell books of the wizard, Gionu. As every good wizard knows, Gionu only wrote 7 books. Cologne reached for the eighth book and pulled. With a groan, the bookshelf pulled away from the wall, revealing a simple safe built into the wall behind it. She used a simple ki blast to open the safe, revealing a small statuette inside. Cologne grinned in anticipation and reached for her prize. Unbeknownst to her, two crystals in the opposite corners of the room had begun to glow. As Cologne was about to grasp the statue, they emitted twin blue beams that converged on the old woman, encasing her in a blue bubble. In surprise, Cologne dropped her staff. She was now floating in a spherical blue bubble that bobbed up and down slowly, a few meters off the floor. A few tentative pecks on the sphere confirmed that she wasn't getting out of this trap anytime soon. She tried a small ki blast, but the spherical cage held firm. Any larger blast could fry her. She tried another and Cologne detected a very small fluctuation in the shield. she thought dejectedly. The chef turned around after hearing a splash and... a yelp? At first he didn't see anything, then a very red and naked young man sprang out of his cooking pot and attacked him. The cook was so stunned, he didn't even move to defend himself and Kenji was able to render him unconscious with a few well placed hits. The amnesiac then took the opportunity to dance the `I just dunked myself in scalding water' dance. "YEOW! Hot, hot, hot, hot, HOT!" He then stopped, looked down, and shivered. "Suddenly it seems to be a tad drafty in here. I guess it wouldn't look too good if my rescuers saw me like this." Sifting through the spare clothes closet, he managed to find a spare pair of pants and a brown cloak that was similar to what most of the other mages wore. After getting dressed, he decided it was time to leave. "Where do you think you're going?" The voice froze the young amnesiac before he could move too far. "You don't need to leave quite yet. After all, that would be rude to the host." Kenji swallowed down some bile and tried tro control his suddenly trembling body as he turned around to behold the Fire Lord standing in the doorway. "Look, just let me go and we'll call this even, okay?" Kenji knew that probably wasn't going to happen, but he could at least try. "I'm afraid not," the fire lord confirmed it. "Now, submit yourself to me, and I will make this as painless as possible." "As opposed it what?" Kenji tried to keep him talking as he called upon his ki. He felt the wind began to gather as he concentrated. The Fire Lord shook his head. "Now, now, don't try that those wind tricks with me!" He snapped his fingers and a flame wall sprouted up around Kenji. What concentration and ki he had gathered quickly dissipated as the fear set in. His attention was so intently rooted on the flames, that he failed to take notice of the rather large golem as it disengaged from the wall. The rock creature grabbed him through the flames and squeezed him until blackness filled his vision. Kenji tried to scream, but even that was denied him. "We're not getting anywhere!" Ukyo complained as the small group stopped to get their bearings. "All these passageways look the same. How are we supposed to find him?" "Well, we have been making progress," Akane offered. "But you're right. Maybe they built this place like a maze to confuse outsiders." She sighed, then leaned against against the cave wall. Strangely, she felt her hand sink into the wall after placing it there. "What the...!?" She quickly pulled her hand out. The other two turned to see a small, square section of the wall get pushed inward by Akane's resting hand. Almost immediately, a large section of wall next to it slid open, revealing a new passage. "Alright, Akane-chan!" Ukyo complimented. "You found a secret passage!" "Well done," Konatsu added. With a shrug, Akane joined the two as they entered the dark passageway after grabbing a burning torch off the wall to light the way. They continued down the downward sloping path for a couple minutes before reaching a dead end. Ukyo sighed. "Now what?" "There has be a another secret switch around here," Akane reasoned. Konatsu held the two girls back while looking around. "Allow me." After about a minute, Konatsu stepped foreword and placed his hand on a section of wall, giving it a small push. Just like before, the wall in front of them slid open to reveal a large cavern that was lit with a multi-colored pulse, emanating from the crystal in the center of the room. As they stepped inside, Ukyo gasped and pointed to three non- moving forms lying on the ground. She immediately ran over to one. "Ukyo-sama, wait!" Konatsu cautioned. "We don't know what we're dealing with!" "It doesn't matter, if they are like this then they must be enemies of our enemies," she reasoned while kneeling down next to one of them. "And you know what they say about the enemy of my enemy..." The other two joined her as she rolled the man over onto his back and checked his vital signs. "Is he dead?" Akane asked tentatively, to which Ukyo nodded. "Well, let's check the other two." Ukyo went through the first man's cloak, looking for clues, while Akane and Konatsu checked the other two. She gave up when she didn't find anything. "This one's dead, too," Konatsu said while leaning over another body. Akane called the other two over. "Hey, this guy's still alive!" Ukyo and Konatsu rushed over to see. Sure enough, the ancient looking man was still breathing, though it was coming it shallow and ragged gasps. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be trying to save his strength. His eyes slowly opened when he realized there were people looking at him. "Are you all right?" Akane asked. He motioned them closer. "Wh-who... are... you?" "I'm Ukyo, this is Konatsu, and this is Akane," Ukyo made the introductions. "Who are you and what happened to you?" "No time..." he sputtered. "Are you friends... of Kenji-san?" Ukyo's eyes went wide. "Yeah! Do you know where he is?" The man coughed spasmodically, his body seemingly racked with pain. He reached inside his cloak and pulled out a small pendant on a chain. The pendant was a spherical blue crystal, framed by gold outline that was attached to the chain. "Give this to him, it will explain. I can't..." He violently coughed some more. "Hold on, we'll get you out of here!" Akane told him but the man motioned her away. "No!" he forced her hands away. "I... don't have... much time left. Go, save Kenji!" As if it had taken all his energy to speak, the man's breathing slowed and his eyes closed again. Then his breathing stopped. Konatsu checked his pulse. "He's gone," he informed them. "Who was he and how did he know Kenji?" Ukyo wondered out loud. Akane stood up. "I don't know, but we better find him!" She pulled Ukyo up and the three made their way out of the cavern and back the way they came. Ukyo fingered the pendant and could feel it stay quite cool despite her attempts to warm it with her hands. she wondered. "Ryoga, duck!" The lost boy immediately dropped to the ground just as Ranma- onna sent a ki-blast hurtling over his head. It smashed into a mage who had a sword poised to strike the lost boy in the back. Ryoga immediately jumped back to his feet and continued his attacks. "Better watch your back, P-chan!" Ranma taunted. "You watch your own!" Ryoga countered. Ranma was really starting to get worried. She had lost sight of her dad a few minutes ago when Genma had leapt to assist Soun, who had gone down. Mousse and Shampoo were also nowhere to be seen. "I think we're the only ones left, Ranma," Ryoga came to the same conclusion. "I should've known you'd be the death of me." Ranma grinned. "Funny, I was thinking if you were even half the martial artist I am, we would be through this by now!" Ryoga face contorted. "Ranma! I-" "ENOUGH!" The voice echoed forcefully through the battlefield, freezing everybody in place. Ranma-onna gulped when she recognized the voice. Turning, she saw the Fire Lord he had faced before, standing atop a very large golem. Clutched in the golem's hands, a young man hung limp. "Surrender now, or this one dies!" He commanded. Ranma crossed her arms across her chest. "We know you plan to kill him anyway, so why should we listen to you?" "Because of you don't, I kill your barnyard animals." He pointed to where a cat, a duck, a panda, and Soun lay on the ground. None of them were moving. Both boys, well, one boy and one boy-currently-girl, felt large pangs of fear. Ranma was glad Akane was on the sneak team, though he desperately hoped she was okay. "How do we know they're not dead already?" Ranma asked. The fire lord simply grinned and snapped his fingers. One of the nearby mages kicked Soun and then slapped him a few times. Ranma could see him stir and attempt to get up, but was stopped by the mage. "As you can see, they are very much alive," the Fire Lord pointed out. "They'll stay that way if you cooperate. If not... well, I can't say what would happen." Ryoga growled and started foreword, but was stopped by Ranma's hand on his arm. "No, Ryoga," she said quietly. "I feel the same way, but he's won this battle." Ranma could see Ryoga war with himself for a few seconds before nodding slightly. "We can still beat him, but it wouldn't matter much if we were the only ones left to celebrate." Ranma then turned back towards the fire lord. "All right," she said slowly. "You've got us... for now." To which the Fire Lord grinned.