Insertion 

Part 78 

Jusendo 

+++++++++ 

Carrot stood with his companions 
with his arms crossed in front of his 
chest and a smirk on his face. "Well, 
there it is." They were hiding behind a 
large set of boulders, looking up at the 
mountain in front of them. 

"Jusendo," growled Herb as he 
lowered his head slightly. "Saffron will 
be inside." 

"Yes, and so will Dan," agreed 
Carrot. 

"Why would he do such a terrible 
thing? I thought he was your friend," 
said Usagi as she looked at her parents 
for a moment. 

"Dan was hardly a friend, but in any 
case, he's doing this over a woman," 
replied Carrot. 

"I thought you said something about 
brainwashing eggs," snorted Yohiko 
irritably. 

"I did, but if you remember, Dan has 
a safeguard against something like that. 
He's on his own, and Kiima doesn't 
control him," replied Carrot calmly. 

"Are you sure?" asked Plum in 
confusion. 

"Yeah, I don't think he'd be acting 
the way he was if he'd been caught by 
one of those eggs," said Carrot. 

"He's dangerous," said Yohiko as she 
turned to look at the others for a 
moment. Focusing more on Usagi than 
anyone else. 

"He won't hurt her, or us. Not yet 
anyway," said Carrot. "He's mine, and 
he's waiting for me. I doubt if he'll 
seriously try to stop us, he wants this 
fight as bad as I do." 

"Waiting on you?" asked Herb. 

Carrot nodded. "That doesn't mean 
he's not dangerous, possibly more than 
Saffron even. I'm sure I can win, but 
he's got some nasty surprises waiting 
for us I'm sure." 

"He's been hanging around you too 
long," said Yohiko with a rough snort. 

"You're absolutely right," said 
Xellos as he appeared next to them. 

"Hey Pop," said Phibrizzo 
cheerfully. 

"I was starting to wonder when you 
two would show up," commented Carrot as 
he turned to face the pair. 

"You again?" asked Ukyo. 

Ryoga frowned, but didn't move from 
his place behind Plum. 

"Yes, us again," said Xellos 
cheerfully. "In any case, they're 
waiting on you inside. It won't be easy 
to get where you're going." 

"I know, Dan is smarter than I 
usually give him credit for, plus I'm 
not sure how he operates on his own. 
I've got a pretty good feeling that 
there won't be much of Jusendo left 
after we're through with it." Carrot 
scowled and turned to face the others. 
"He's mine, don't try to fight him. You 
worry about getting me in there, I'll 
handle Dan and Saffron." 

Yohiko frowned at this. "Both of 
them?" 

"Fool, you'll get yourself killed!" 
snapped Herb. 

"Maybe so," agreed Carrot as he 
nodded in agreement. 

Yohiko frowned at this and stared at 
him. "That's the whole idea isn't it?" 

"What? Dying?" said Carrot with a 
small chuckle. "Don't be absurd. I 
already know how to beat Saffron. Dan is 
too much for anyone but me to handle. 
I'm your only choice." 

"What do you mean?" snapped Herb 
angrily. "Defeating Saffron on your own? 
Don't be absurd!" 

"Actually, I agree with him. He's 
the only one who should face Saffron. 
Dan however...is another matter 
entirely." Xellos turned to face Carrot 
again and chuckled. "If you fight Dan, 
you won't be in any condition for 
Saffron. The same goes for if you take 
on the God first. Either way, if you try 
to do everything, you'll die. Face it, 
you can't protect them this time 
Carrot." 

The man stared at Xellos and scowled 
angrily. His jaw went hard and he 
growled irritably. 

"Protect us?" asked Yohiko as she 
stared at Xellos for a moment. 

"Yes, protect you. Especially you, 
Miss Yohiko," replied Phibrizzo as he 
smirked at her. 

"Heh. I wonder how much he knows?" 
replied Xellos calmly. 

"She can take care of herself," 
snapped Carrot as he turned away 
angrily. 

"Yes she can, but that's not what 
you're worried about is it?" asked 
Xellos as his maddening grin challenged 
Carrot's angry frown. 

"Shut your hole Xellos," growled the 
man. 

"What is he talking about?" said 
Usagi in confusion. "Dad?" 

"It's nothing," grumbled Carrot as 
he turned away. 

Yohiko was standing in silence 
staring at Carrot with an unreadable 
expression on her face. Finally she 
snorted and turned away. "I don't need 
your help. I can take any one of you! 
You know that!" 

Carrot didn't look at her and 
growled under his breath. "It's not you 
I'm worried about Yohiko, it's them." 

"We knew what we were getting into 
when we came here," said Herb firmly. "I 
for one do not appreciate being treated 
as a weak fool." 

"Think what you want, Saffron is 
mine," said Carrot as he returned Herb's 
glare. "You can have him, but only if we 
find him before he transforms. 
Understood?" His voice was commanding 
and firm. 

Herb frowned at this and grit his 
teeth in irritation. "You..." 

"Give me your word, or I'll make 
sure you can't get in my way Herb. If 
he's transformed, you back off and let 
me handle it." 

It was a clear-cut threat. Herb 
looked at Ryoga and Ukyo, both of them 
were in shock and appeared to back him 
up rather than Carrot. "It is my duty to 
face him." 

"Even if it means you'd have to 
leave your Queen in charge of your 
people? Do you really trust Ranma that 
much?" asked Xellos calmly as he stepped 
between them. 

"He is my mate!" snarled Herb in 
defiance. 

"She is inexperienced as a ruler, 
and her temper will get the best of her. 
Do you really think she will obey you if 
you die? Or will she try to avenge your 
death, possibly dragging her people to 
their doom along with her?" said 
Phibrizzo coolly as he smirked at Herb 
and stood beside Xellos. "She'll follow 
her heart, and that is exactly what it 
will tell her to do." 

Herb stood firmly glaring at them. 
"Very well. You have my word." He bowed 
his head and turned away. 

Ukyo was silent and stood back with 
Ryoga and Plum. None of the teens knew 
what was happening. Usagi was next to 
her mother and didn't know what to think 
or do. 

"Good, don't forget it," said Carrot 
as he stood up and stepped out into the 
open. "Xellos, are you just here to play 
referee, or are you going to be useful 
for once?" 

Plum rushed over and grabbed the leg 
of Carrot's pants. "We don't know which 
entrance it is! We could be killed!" 

"I know that, but Xellos knows the 
right entrance," said Carrot as he 
turned his gaze towards the pair of 
Mazoku. 

"Very well, I suppose I can help 
this time," said Xellos with a small 
sigh. "Don't expect much more from me 
though." 

"Right," said Carrot with a smug 
looking grin on his face. "Now, to the 
plan." 

"What plan?" asked Yohiko irritably. 

"What? Charge in and beat them up, 
right?" asked Usagi dumbly. 

"No, you're going to handle Kiima 
Usagi. Don't kill her though, Dan won't 
be any easier to deal with if we piss 
him off that way. Just keep her out of 
the way." 

"Me?" asked Yohiko with a frown on 
her face. 

"You and Herb are both going to keep 
Dan busy while I deal with Saffron," 
replied Carrot coolly. 

"What about us?" snorted Ukyo 
irritably. 

"You and Ryoga are going to take 
care of any guards we find on the way, 
you're here to clear the way. Stay out 
of the big fights, they're beyond your 
power levels." 

"What am I doing?" muttered Plum. 

"You're going home, when we find 
your father, we'll send him after you. 
You'll just get in the way at this 
point. We can't waste time protecting 
you. Sorry." 

Plum actually looked relieved. 
"Okay, come back to Jusenkyo when 
finished then." 

"Don't worry kid, we won't leave you 
hanging," said Ryoga cheerfully. 

"Why should we do what you tell us 
too?" snorted Yohiko. 

"Because it's a good plan actually," 
replied Xellos with a small shrug. 

"Who asked you!?" snapped the woman 
angrily. 

"Saffron is mine if he's not 
transformed," said Herb coldly. "Don't 
forget that." 

"Fine, have it your way," replied 
Carrot. "In any case, no matter what 
happens, Ryoga stays with Ukyo. Keep him 
from getting lost. He won't do us any 
good if he wanders off in the fight." 

The chef nodded firmly and turned to 
glare at the boy irritably. 

"I have to fight the bird lady?" 
muttered Usagi fearfully. 

"She's no match for you if you 
remember your training," replied Carrot 
calmly. "Besides, I just want you to 
make sure she stays out of the way more 
than anything else. Don't forget, you 
can't let her die. Dan will not be 
pleased if she's dead, and I'm not sure 
if any of us can survive that maniac if 
he becomes suicidal." 

"You underestimate my power," 
growled Herb. 

"Whatever," growled Yohiko. 

"Enough of this!" growled Herb. 

"Stop bickering and shut up. We 
don't have time for arguments," said 
Carrot. 

"I can handle Dan on my own if I 
need too! I don't need his help!" said 
Yohiko irritably. 

"Come on, let's just go," growled 
Carrot as he started walking towards the 
entrance. "Which one is it anyway?" 

Xellos chuckled and merely pointed 
at a door with the words 'Employees 
Only' written on it. 

"Oh. Right," said Carrot with a 
small shrug. 

+++++++++++ 

The caverns and passageways of 
Jusendo were quiet, and empty. Darkness 
surrounded them, and the sound of 
dripping water could occasionally be 
heard as the group entered the mountain 
through the doorway. 

Herb frowned slightly and closed his 
eyes with his palm held in front of him. 
"I shall light our way." A ball of 
energy appeared in his hand and the room 
lit up. "Come." 

"Stop showing off," said Carrot as 
he smacked the man in the back of his 
head as he passed by. He turned on a 
flashlight he'd pulled from his backpack 
and pulled something off of the bottom, 
turning it into a small electric 
lantern. 

"You didn't tell me you had one of 
those," grumbled Herb irritably as he 
followed and dissipated the ki ball. 

"Sure is quiet," commented Usagi. 

"Yeah, too quiet," agreed Carrot as 
he narrowed his eyes and led the group 
through the tunnel. 

After several minutes of wandering 
in silence, the group came upon a deep 
cavern. It extended in either direction, 
but above and below them. Various 
tunnels and passageways were visible 
through holes in the wall, along with 
several natural bridges. 

"There's no one here," commented 
Carrot irritably as he looked up and 
down. "We should have run into someone 
by now. Something is wrong." 

"Perhaps they are all in the central 
chamber?" muttered Herb out loud. 

"No, they would have guards 
patrolling, something. This isn't 
something they want interrupted," 
replied Carrot with a frown on his face. 
"This isn't right. I've got a bad 
feeling about this." 

"You said it," agreed Ryoga. Ukyo 
tugged on his arm and prevented him from 
stepping off the side of the natural 
bridge they were walking across. 

"Well, we can only go forward," said 
Yohiko with a small shrug. Carrot was 
bothering her, she knew about his past 
life. He should know what they should 
expect in this place. He looked nervous 
and confused, that bothered her more 
than anything else. 

Finally, the tunnel ended. They 
walked into a room and everyone but 
Carrot looked on in awe at the statues 
that loomed in the center of the room 
over a pool. A dragon and a phoenix, 
both with their mouths opened. The two 
great statues were joined at the base, 
forming a single pipe near the bottom of 
the cavern. 

"This is it," said Carrot. "They 
should be here." 

"We are here," said a familiar 
voice. 

The group looked up at the ceiling 
and gasped. Hanging upside-down on the 
ceiling above them were no less than a 
hundred of the birdmen. All of them had 
automatic weapons in their hands pointed 
down at them. 

"Hello Carrot," said Dan. He was in 
the center of the group and his wings 
spread wide as he flipped off with his 
comrades. They floated down around them, 
keeping the weapons trained on them. 

"I should have expected something 
like this from you," said Carrot with a 
small sigh. 

"Yeah, you should have," agreed Dan 
casually as he chuckled to himself. 

"What the hell?" cried Ryoga. 

"Damn," growled Herb as he realized 
there was no way even he could survive 
such an onslaught. He relaxed his stance 
and stood upright. "It seems you have 
us." 

"Excellent," chuckled Kiima as she 
appeared out of the group and walked up 
next to Dan. 

"Really, they should know better 
than to bring their fists to a 
gunfight," commented Dan. 

Masara and Koruma stood beside their 
Captain, both holding their firearms 
lazily and carelessly. 

"Kill them," said Kiima. 

"No, I've got a better idea," said 
Dan. 

The woman looked at him in shock. 

"If they start firing their weapons 
now, they'll kill their comrades," 
commented Carrot. "You've got us 
surrounded." 

"He's right," said Dan. "However, I 
want him, and we can give Herb to 
Saffron as a gift after his 
transformation is complete. A fitting 
way to start his rule, by killing the 
Musk King himself." 

"You're right," said Kiima with a 
sly looking grin on her face. "We'll 
detain them for now." 

Dan smirked at her and looked at 
Carrot. "He stays here. Him and the 
little girl." He pointed to Usagi and 
then smirked with an evil looking grin. 

"Why?" 

"I've got some personal business to 
settle with this one," said Dan coldly. 

"Very well. Do not let them escape," 
said the woman with a slightly angry 
tone to her voice. 

"Escape is not his plan," said Dan 
as he smirked at Carrot. 

The man nodded and grabbed Usagi's 
shoulder. He pulled her up to his side 
and stepped over beside his 
doppelganger. Kiima started ordering her 
troops to move the others away. 

"Well, you managed to take me by 
surprise. I'm impressed Dan," said 
Carrot as he smirked at his enemy 
coolly. 

"I figured you would be, I'm 
surprised you wouldn't think I'd raid a 
nearby military base for weapons." 

"Seems a bit risky," commented 
Carrot. "Loose many men?" 

"Not one, it was just a supply 
building. I doubt if the Chinese 
Government even realizes these weapons 
are gone yet." 

"What's going on?" asked Usagi 
nervously. 

"I'm taking you to Saffron, you'll 
join him in his rebirth, and Carrot will 
face me in combat," said Dan with a cold 
looking frown on his face suddenly. 

"You're making stupid villain 
mistakes, but you're doing it on purpose 
aren't you?" said Carrot. 

"Eh?" 

"Saving someone for the enjoyment of 
some super being, taking prisoners 
rather than killing us when you have the 
advantage, telling me about your plot, 
that sort of thing." 

"That easy to read am I?" chuckled 
Dan. "I've got no interest in Saffron, 
and I'm perfectly happy with Kiima. I 
doubt that will change after you beat 
him. Still, I want to settle our score, 
and I think this is as good a place as 
any to do it." 

"The bad guy always loses," replied 
Carrot. 

"Who says I'm bad?" asked Dan. "I'm 
helping you." 

"You call this help?" snarled Usagi. 

"Yes, those guns won't kill either 
of us," said Carrot with a smirk on hi 
face. "Ryoga, Herb, and Ukyo are a 
different story. He's conveniently 
getting them out of our hair. Very 
thoughtful." 

"Thanks," said Dan with another 
chuckle. "In any case, Yohiko doesn't 
need to be getting in our way either. 
She might do something stupid, like stop 
us before it's over, just to save her 
own hide." 

Carrot nodded. 

"What are you talking about?" 
grumbled Usagi. 

"It's nothing," replied Carrot. 

"We're here," said Dan as he pointed 
to the pool in front of them. It was 
empty still, but Saffron was standing in 
the center of it with a smirk on his 
face. 

"What's going on?" grumbled Usagi. 

"You're being fed to Saffron, as 
nourishment for his transformation," 
replied Dan as he stared down at her. 
"Don't worry, it only hurts for the 
first hour or so." 

"WHAT!!" cried the girl in shock. 

"You know I can't let you do this 
Dan," replied Carrot calmly. 

"I'm counting on it," chuckled Dan 
quietly. "Up top, the staff is on the 
dragon's head. You know what to do. 
Don't let me down." 

"Don't worry about that, you and 
Kiima make sure you raise him to be a 
little better behaved next time," 
replied Carrot as he strolled out into a 
ring of guards. 

"So, this one?" said Saffron as he 
looked at the frightened girl who was 
being led to him. "She should do fine." 

"Wait for my signal," said Carrot to 
his daughter as she was pulled from his 
side. The girl's power dropped a bit and 
her clothing stopped it's subtle 
shifting. 

+++++++++++++++ 

"Where are they taking us?" asked 
Ukyo as she glared at the men 
surrounding her. Most of them had their 
weapons sitting lazily at their sides. 
Unfortunately, if they moved to attack, 
the others would react before they could 
take them all down. It was a no win 
situation. 

Ten guards were moving them through 
a passageway towards where they would 
probably be held. 

"Deeper into the mountain," said 
Yohiko with a sort of lazy calm in her 
tone. She didn't seem very worried. 
"What bothers me more, is that Carrot is 
alone with Dan, and my daughter." 

"Why does that bother you?" asked 
Herb as he watched his captors 
cautiously. A few of them were rather 
lax, but there was enough of them alert 
that it kept him restrained. 

"You don't know Carrot like I do," 
said Yohiko. "He and Dan have been at 
each other's throats for as long as I've 
known them. They won't restrain from 
fighting long." 

"Where does that leave us?" asked 
Ryoga. 

"On our own," said Yohiko as she 
spun around and snagged one of the 
weapons. The cavern exploded with 
flashes of light and sound as she fired. 

After several seconds of confusion, 
there was silence. 

"You killed them!" cried Ryoga as he 
staggered to his feet. Yohiko was 
standing in the middle of the only 
remaining clean spot on the floor for as 
far as the light let them see. A lantern 
lay on the ground, half covered in a red 
splatter. Her wings were opened, and 
wrapped around the trio protectively 
behind her. She snorted and brushed a 
few bits of metal off her chest and 
pulled the weapon upright. 

"You're damn right I did," she 
replied coldly. "Come on, grab one of 
those rifles." 

"What?" said Herb dumbly. 

"This isn't a martial arts fight," 
she replied as she shoved one into his 
chest. Ukyo was looking at hers in 
confusion, she didn't need to be 
prompted to pick one up though. 

Ryoga growled angrily. "I can't use 
this." 

"Take it, or you'll die. Follow my 
lead, and do as I say and we'll make it 
out of here. We've got to find a way out 
of here." 

"What about Carrot and Usagi?" said 
Ukyo as she frowned at the woman. 

"They're like me, these weapons 
won't hurt them," replied Yohiko calmly. 
"Stay close to me, I should be able to 
protect you from bullets if I have too." 

"What kind of martial artist..." 
grumbled Ryoga as he looked at the 
weapon dumbly. 

"One who's just found himself in the 
middle of a war zone. Cock this back, 
point and shoot. Make sure your safety 
is off, like this, pull this down and 
load another clip like this." The woman 
demonstrated the simple operation of the 
weapons to them and frowned. "We're 
going outside for now. I think Dan and 
Carrot will join us shortly." 

"What? Dan is still..." 

"I know that, but neither of them is 
stupid enough to fight inside here. 
They'll bring the whole place down on 
top of them, and not even one of us can 
survive that." 

Herb frowned and nodded. "How did 
you know how too..." 

"Dan is an old training partner of 
mine, this is his preferred way of 
fighting," said the woman as she hefted 
her weapon onto her shoulder and started 
walking. 

+++++++++++++ 

Hot water poured around Saffron from 
the Phoenix tap. He grinned and spread 
his arms wide. Fibers started to form 
around his body slowly and surround him. 
Unfortunately, Usagi was tied up at his 
feet. "You'll fuel my transformation 
girl. Soon I'll be complete!" 

Kiima stood just outside the water 
with Dan at her side. Carrot watched 
calmly for a long moment. The bird 
people were backing away. 

"Usagi, now," he said firmly as he 
grabbed one of the passing men by his 
shoulder. The birdman's eyes went wide 
with shock. 

Dan turned to look at him and did 
nothing as the unfortunate man flew 
though the air and slammed into Saffron. 
The boy growled angrily as the man 
started to struggle against the fibers 
that snagged him. He didn't move though, 
and allowed it to happen. "Fine, I'll 
just destroy you later then." 

The boy gasped in shock and was 
thrown into the water on his back. Usagi 
jumped to her feet, tearing free of the 
rope that bound her as her clothing 
suddenly became a mass of sharp spikes. 
She rolled away as the fiber reached for 
her and engulfed the unfortunate 
servant. 

"No!" screamed Kiima as she started 
to move forward. Masara and Koruma were 
in too much shock to speak, after a 
moment they shook out of their stupor 
and turned their weapons on Carrot. 

"No," said Dan as he knocked them 
away with a casual swat of his wings. 
The pair fell on their backs, firing 
blindly into the air as the screams of 
the trapped man started to grow quieter 
as the shell began to harden around 
Saffron's body. 

Usagi was standing at the edge of 
the pool staring at it in horrified 
shock. "What? What just happened?" 

Carrot chuckled. "Saffron has 
started his rebirth, now that all the 
Phoenix people have left, I can wait for 
him to hatch." 

"What?" said his daughter in shock. 

Kiima was staring at him with her 
jaw hanging down. "What is the meaning 
of this?" 

"Heh. That fool Saffron, he doesn't 
realize who he's dealing with," replied 
Carrot calmly. 

Dan merely stood in silence. 

"What's going on?" cried Masara. 
"Captain! We have to leave!" The room 
was already uncomfortably hot. "We'll be 
burnt if we stay!" 

Koruma pulled on his shoulder and 
forced him out of the cavern. 

"Usagi, are you all right?" asked 
Carrot. 

"What the hell took you so long?!" 
cried the girl angrily. "I thought that 
thing was gonna..." 

"I wouldn't have let that happen," 
said Dan calmly. 

Kiima hissed angrily and stared at 
Dan. "You tricked me!" 

"Come on honey, don't be angry," 
said the man as he frowned at her. "As 
much as I like you, I'm not going to 
feed my friend's daughter to the Phoenix 
King." 

"What?" said Usagi dumbly. 

She backed away slowly and stared at 
them. "What is going on here?" 

"I'm going to fight Saffron," said 
Carrot as he stared at her. "Just not 
till he's finished. He's far to weak to 
face me now." 

Dan chuckled at this and smirked. 
"Be my guest." 

"You're a fool then, Saffron will 
destroy you!" snarled Kiima. She was 
starting to sweat, and Usagi was looking 
uncomfortable as well. 

"We have to get you out of here 
Kiima. We'll talk about this later," 
said Dan as he started to pull on her 
arm. "He's stupid enough to just stand 
there." 

"He'll be killed!" growled the 
woman. 

"Take Usagi with you," replied 
Carrot as he continued to stare at the 
egg. His wings were now spread wide 
behind his back and he had a cold 
looking smirk on his face. "I'm sure the 
others have escaped by now." 

"I wouldn't doubt it," agreed Dan. 

"What's going on?" asked Usagi as 
she stared at the adults in confusion. 

"That's what I'd like to know!" 
cried Kiima angrily as she slapped Dan. 

"I'm going to fight Saffron, we 
already told you," said Carrot calmly. 

"You don't stand a chance against 
him!" snarled Kiima. 

"Then what are you worried about?" 
replied Carrot. "Go on, get out of here. 
I'll be fine." 

"Yeah, right," said Dan with a 
chuckle. He grabbed Usagi's arm roughly 
and pulled her. 

"Leggo!" cried the girl as her 
costume started to form again. 

"Go with him, he won't hurt you," 
said Carrot as he continued to stare at 
the egg. 

"But..." started the girl. 

"You have a lot of explaining to 
do!" snarled Kiima as she pulled on 
Dan's ear and started to drag him off. 

"Ouch! Hey!" said the man as he was 
pulled into the caverns. 

Carrot smirked as the egg started to 
glow. He looked up at the dragon statue 
and then back at the egg and jumped into 
the air. Almost casually he landed on 
the dragon tap and stared at the staff 
in front of him for a long moment. 
Reaching out he took it in his hand, 
despite the heat from the pool below it 
was cold to the touch, and a comforting 
wave of cold power surged over his body. 
"Heh. I've got the Gekkaja. Now all I 
have to do is wait." 

+++++++++++ 

"Where the hell are we?" oddly 
enough, it wasn't Ryoga uttering his 
trademark phrase. Yohiko glanced around 
the hallway in frustration as she turned 
another corner with the well-armed group 
of martial artists. Oddly enough, they 
had met with no opposition thus far. 

"It's that pit!" cried Ryoga as he 
looked down below. Yohiko snorted as she 
did the same and stared into the abyss. 

"We're going the right way then, 
come on. We're going to jump down," she 
turned to look at Herb and nodded at 
him. 

The dragon man shook his head. "We 
have to go back and stop Saffron." 

"It's too late," replied Yohiko as 
she pointed up. 

The group gave a collective gasp as 
they noticed the birdmen flying above 
them. They started pouring out of the 
mountain's caverns, all moving up and 
away from the scene. 

"Shit!" cried Ukyo as she aimed her 
weapon. 

Yohiko put up her hand and stopped 
her. "No. They aren't bothering with 
us." She frowned and watched them ignore 
the group in favor of escaping with 
their lives. Turning slowly, she noticed 
a red glow starting to form in the 
hallway behind them. "We should follow 
their example, but I doubt if Herb will 
make it up there with his powers 
carrying one of you." 

Ryoga and Ukyo stared at each other 
for a moment. "What about Usagi?" 

"Carrot's taking care of that, I 
doubt if she'll be hurt," said the woman 
as she stared at Herb again. "We have to 
leave, there's no choice. We failed to 
stop Saffron's transformation. It's too 
late." 

The Dragon man hung his head and 
growled. "Fine, we'll see what we can do 
from outside." 

"Right," agreed Yohiko. "Be ready to 
fight, our objective is to escape this 
mountain. There may be some resistance 
outside still." She cocked her weapon 
and started forward. 

"She's scary with that thing," 
commented Ryoga nervously. 

"Actually, I'd prefer a sidearm," 
replied Yohiko as she turned to look at 
him and paused her forward motion. "I'm 
used to firing one, this is pretty new 
to me." 

"Yes, but it's definitely more 
effective against a group." 

Yohiko gasped and turned around 
fluidly, aiming her weapon ahead of her. 

Dan was standing with Kiima and 
Usagi. "Hello." 

"You!" growled Ukyo. 

"Don't bother," snorted Dan. "That 
weapon isn't strong enough to hurt me." 

Kiima looked at him for a moment and 
frowned. "We should kill them." She 
leveled her own weapon at the group. He 
stopped her by shoving the barrel down. 
"Don't bother, it's not time for that 
just yet." 

"What? You'll do as I say!" snapped 
the woman angrily. 

"You don't control me, and you never 
did," replied Dan calmly. "I chose to go 
with you Kiima, I like you. Still, this 
group is more trouble than it's worth. 
Saffron will deal with them after he 
fights Carrot, if he manages to survive 
at all." 

Kiima whirled around and pointed the 
gun at his chest, her eyes wide with 
shock. "What? That's impossible you 
were..." 

"Was I?" he asked her with a smug 
looking grin on his face. "Come on, 
don't be that way..." His smirk turned 
somewhat gentle and he chuckled. "You 
know I'll help you." 

The woman's face contorted, conflict 
clear in her mind. "I..." 

"Saffron and Carrot is out of my 
hands, isn't that right Xellos?" 

The mage appeared out of the fiery 
depths of the cavern. It was growing 
uncomfortably warm now. "Yes Dan, I 
would have stopped you if you'd tried to 
kill him just yet. There's more riding 
on this than you realize." 

"I doubt that, you've got plans for 
her. I've figured that much out," he 
replied as he motioned his weapon 
towards Yohiko. "What it is, I don't 
know just yet." 

"No, not her. She's involved in it. 
We want the twins that are gestating 
inside her belly. Quite important 
really. More than any of you realize. I 
think Carrot knows though, but probably 
because it was his idea to begin with." 

"Twins?" gasped Yohiko in shock. She 
dropped the weapon to the ground and 
stared at him. 

"Yes, You and Carrot have conceived 
a new life, two of them in fact. You'll 
understand what I mean soon enough, but 
not just yet." 

The woman stared at him for a long 
moment and then looked down at her 
belly. "I'm...going to be a mother? A 
real mother?" 

"Hey!" cried Usagi irritably. 

"Yes, in a manner of speaking," 
replied Xellos calmly. 

"What does that mean?" she snarled 
hatefully at him. 

"You should leave now, it's time," 
said the Mazoku as he looked up at the 
ceiling for a moment. "Oh, what the 
heck? Why not?" he said as he waved his 
hand. The group was standing in the 
forest outside the mountain within the 
blink of an eye. 

"Xellos! Answer me!" snarled Yohiko 
as she whirled around angrily. The 
monster was gone. "Damn you!" 

"I'm gonna have, brothers, or 
sisters?" asked Usagi dumbly as she 
stared at her mother for a moment. 

The woman punched a nearby tree, and 
it fell to the ground after being 
uprooted by the force of the blow. 

Kiima stared at her for a moment 
with her jaw hanging down. "What?" 

"Put that away," said Dan as he took 
the weapon from her grip and tossed it 
into the forest. "We've got other 
concerns." 

Usagi looked up at him and frowned. 
"What do you mean?" 

"That," said Ukyo as she pointed to 
the summit of the mountain. Flames were 
erupting from the top of the mountain, 
and the sky was becoming dark with ashes 
and smoke. 

"What the?" muttered Dan as he 
stared at it. "What's going on?" 

"It's Saffron's transformation," 
replied Kiima. "In about an hour, he 
will emerge, the Phoenix King has arisen 
again." 

"Daddy!" cried Usagi fearfully. 

"He's fine," replied Yohiko. 

"No one can survive that!" snapped 
Kiima. "Our master is reborn, and we 
rule all!" 

Herb growled and stared at her 
angrily. He was outmatched and he knew 
it. "All hope is gone. I must prepare to 
die." 

"I doubt that," said Yohiko calmly. 
"Carrot knows what he's doing." 

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," 
replied Dan calmly as he looked away 
from the woman. He stared at the 
mountaintop and scowled. He remembered 
what Saffron's rebirth was like in the 
manga story, and this was nothing like 
it. He had always assumed that Saffron's 
form was completed, but he didn't have 
control of his power. It even said that 
in the story, now, he wasn't so sure. 
"There's no Super Saiyan transformation 
to help him this time either." 

"What are you talking about?" asked 
Kiima. 

"Nothing, it looks like we're going 
to win. It's a shame, I wanted to fight 
him myself." 

The woman blinked at him and turned 
away. "Come on, we'll deal with these 
weaklings later." 

"Right," agreed Dan as he smirked at 
the others. "I'll see you around." 

Yohiko scowled at them and turned 
her back. She looked at her companions 
and sighed. "We'd best find a place to 
lay low until this is over. Carrot's on 
his own, we won't be able to help him. 
None of you is strong enough, and I have 
more than me to think about now." 

Ryoga nodded in agreement. "If he's 
not dead already." He looked up at the 
mountain and scowled. "Good luck." 

++++++++++++++ 

Fire, a torrent of flames surrounded 
him. He stood firmly against it, the 
Gekkaja firmly in his grasp as he stared 
at the glowing egg. It protected him 
from the heat, but it was growing 
uncomfortable. Without his clothing to 
protect him, he'd have been nothing but 
ash, and he knew it. "Something's not 
right." It was something of an 
understatement. 

He opened his wings, it was all he 
really needed to do. The heat carried 
him up and through the new hole in the 
ceiling of the cavern. Within a few 
seconds he was floating high above Mt. 
Phoenix and staring down the glowing 
crater below him. The updraft was more 
than enough to hold him there. "What the 
hell did I do?" 

"What's wrong? I thought you said 
you knew what you were doing?" said 
Ranma angrily. 

"I thought I did. Without us, you 
would have fought Saffron's incomplete 
form. I always assumed the 
transformation was almost completed, and 
only lacked a little. It even said 
something along those lines. This is way 
different than I thought it'd be." 

"So now what?" cried Ranma 
irritably. "What the hell did you do 
Carrot?" 

"I just fucked up majorly Ranma, and 
now we've got to deal with it," replied 
the voice with a small sigh. "This isn't 
going to be as easy as I thought it 
would." 

The mountain below them exploded, 
two gigantic wings of flame burst 
through the solid rock, and sent showers 
of stones in every direction. 

"No shit," replied Ranma coolly. 

"So, ready for a real fight Ranma?" 
said Carrot with a smirk forming on his 
face. 

"You sound like you're enjoying 
this," replied Ranma irritably. 

"Well, we're the devil after all, 
now we get to fight a real god," said 
Carrot as he chuckled a little. "I say 
we kick his ass." 

"He just blew up a mountain by 
waking up," replied Ranma. 

"So? He's a little cranky?" quipped 
Carrot. "Let's hope he's not a morning 
person." 

"Right," grumbled Ranma. 

"Get ready, it's coming," warned 
Carrot as he steeled himself. 

A huge bird-like cry echoed through 
the valley. Saffron's gigantic fiery 
wings flapped once and a huge flaming 
bird rose from the center of the 
mountain. It had a five hundred-foot 
wingspan, and was easily as long. The 
bird seemed to be completely made out of 
flames as it rose into the air and moved 
up beside them. 

Ranma and Carrot growled as 
something became clear in the center of 
the fire. A man was seemingly sleeping 
inside the thing, his own wings folded 
on his back and his hands in a 
meditative position in front of his 
chest. Slowly, he started to smile and 
opened his eyes. "Hello." 

"Don't demons usually lose?" 
grumbled Ranma. 

"Yeah, but oddly enough, we have 
right on our side this time," replied 
Carrot. He nodded at Saffron with his 
smirk never leaving his face. "It's 
about time you woke up. Did you have a 
nice nap?" 

"I like you," said Saffron as the 
bird was sucked into his body in a few 
seconds time. He opened his own wings 
and stared at the figure floating in 
front of him. "It's a shame I have to 
kill you." 

"Well, I wish I could say the same, 
but I'm going to enjoy tearing you 
apart." 

"Even if you could, it wouldn't 
really hurt me," said Saffron with a 
small chuckle. 

"Don't be so sure of that bird boy, 
it might not kill you, but it'll 
definitely hurt," replied Carrot. 

"So you realize that I cannot be 
destroyed?" said Saffron. "Why bother 
fighting? It's futile." 

"Killed? No, you can't be killed, 
but I can turn you back into that brat 
again if I work at it enough." 

"Maybe so, but you do know what 
happened to the last one who did that? 
I'm still here, and he has been dead for 
some time." 

"You're confident," replied Carrot 
with a small chuckle. 

"You're weak," responded Saffron. 

"Humph, I'm a lot of bad things, 
weak isn't one of them," snorted Carrot 
as he finally started to show annoyance. 
"Still, I'm sure we'll have loads of fun 
blowing up the area around here before 
you figure that out." 

"Sounds like fun, shall we start?" 
said Saffron as he pointed his finger at 
his opposition. 

Carrot took up a fighting stance and 
smirked. "Sure thing." 

+++++++++++++ 

"They're going to fight?" muttered 
Usagi dumbly. "No! Daddy!" 

"That idiot! He'll be incinerated!" 
snarled Herb. 

"What's he holding?" grumbled Kiima. 

"The Gekkaja," replied Dan casually. 
"Carrot probably knows what it is." 

"What?" gasped the woman as she 
stared at him. 

"My father's staff?" said Herb in 
shock. 

"What the heck is that thing?" 
grumbled Ukyo. 

"I'm not sure," admitted Yohiko. 

"It's the counter to the Kinjakan, a 
cold weapon," replied Dan. "He can use 
it to protect himself from Saffron's 
power." 

"Only to a limited extent," said 
Kiima. "It's power alone isn't enough. 
He could have used it to survive that 
inferno in the mountain though. It 
explains how he's still around." 

Dan merely chuckled and looked back 
up at the sky again. "This should be 
very interesting at any rate." 

++++++++++++++ 

The Musk Village... 

Ranma Saotome stood looking out over 
his village with a scowl on his face. 
His eyes moved over to the horizon and a 
shiver ran down his spine. "Something is 
wrong." 

A black cloud formed in the sky in 
the distance. His frown deepened and he 
turned to look at the village again. 
"Herb...I..." Finally, he hung his head 
and simply stood there. "Come back all 
right, ya stupid jerk." 

+++++++++++ 

Carrot laughed, it was cold and 
cruel sounding. He floated in the air 
staring at his opponent fearlessly. 
"You're nothing but a bird that's caught 
himself on fire. I'll show you what real 
power is!" 

Saffron snorted in disgust. "I 
didn't come here to trade insults with 
you." 

"Oh?" The man blinked and looked his 
opponent up and down. Saffron was still 
clothed surprisingly enough. He was 
wearing the same clothes he'd 
transformed in, but they hung off of his 
body in rags. His frame was lithe, with 
very little muscle definition. His hair 
had grown longer, and his features 
sharpened, otherwise he looked much as 
he did as a child. With the exception of 
the huge wings that protruded from his 
back, and the claw like hands that now 
replaced his more human like appendages. 
"Well, what did you come here for then?" 
Carrot actually looked somewhat 
surprised. 

"I came here to kill you," replied 
Saffron. 

"Why?" said Carrot as he blinked 
again. 

"What?" said Saffron as he stared at 
the man. 

"I mean, I haven't really done 
anything to you," replied Carrot with a 
small shrug. 

"You!" snarled Saffron angrily. "You 
humiliated me at the hot springs." 

"Yeah, but we had fun beating up all 
those people," countered Carrot. 

"Those were my people!" snapped the 
godling irritably. 

"So?" retorted Carrot. 

"I see your point," muttered Saffron 
as he seemed to think about it. 

"Okay, but we should still fight," 
replied Carrot cheerfully. 

"What? You just said..." 

"I said you didn't have any reason 
to attack me, I have plenty to attack 
you!" replied Carrot. 

"What do you mean?" 

"You're going to take over the 
world!" 

"So?" snapped Saffron. 

"Oh, right...good point..." agreed 
Carrot as he mulled over that for a 
moment. "What the hell!" he finally said 
as he shot forward and punched at the 
godling. "It'll be fun beating each 
other to death!" 

"Ha! You can't lay a finger on me!" 
snarled Saffron as his aura blasted to 
life around him again. This time forming 
a huge ball of fire to protect himself 
from the assault. 

Carrot held the staff in his hands 
forward. The half-moon shaped edge on 
the top pointed forward. It was much 
simpler in design than the Kinjakan. 

Saffron's eyes went wide as he tried 
to twist out of the way as it penetrated 
his aura. Carrot shifted at the last 
moment and hooked his fist across the 
god's jaw. Saffron was thrown back 
several feet by the force of the blow 
and righted himself. 

"Damn you! That hurt!" snarled the 
birdman angrily. 

"That was just a tap!" countered 
Carrot as he smirked at Saffron and 
backed away from him. "You can't take a 
hit it seems, all that soft living is 
working against you!" 

"I'll show you who can't take a 
hit!" screamed Saffron in rage. A huge 
ball of fire formed in his hands and he 
blasted it forward. 

Carrot twisted in mid air, but it 
wasn't enough. The fireball exploded 
across his back and he screamed in pain 
as it burned around him. He faltered in 
flight, falling for a few hundred feet 
before he caught himself. "Damn. That 
sucked," he muttered to himself 
painfully as he slowly turned to face 
the god again. "I think I'm in more 
trouble than I thought. I won't be able 
to take many of those." He twirled the 
Gekkaja around in his palm and pointed 
it at Saffron in an offensive posture. 
"We're gonna have to take him down 
fast." 

"Who are you talking to?" snorted 
Saffron. 

Carrot ignored him and cupped his 
palms together at his side. "No one, 
Kamehameha!" 

"Pathetic!" snarled Saffron as his 
shield of flames held strong against the 
attack. "You're too weak to beat me!" 

"Who said that was supposed to 
hurt?" said Carrot from behind him. 

Saffron gasped as he tried to turn. 
It was too late though, and a sharp pain 
exploded across his back. He felt 
himself tumbling to the ground below. 
"Damn!" 

Carrot chuckled, his opponent had 
been so preoccupied by his chi blast, 
that he hadn't even taken it into 
account that he had gone elsewhere. He 
had used the blade on the Gekkaja to 
slice off his wings. "He's powerful, but 
an idiot. No tactics at all, We can use 
that." 

Saffron growled as he landed on the 
ground and created a crater. The blow 
shattered his entire body, and he stared 
up at Ranma. He couldn't even scream at 
the moment despite the fact that his 
body was completely broken. He felt the 
bones reforming, and his wings coming 
back. "I'll burn him to dust! Along with 
anything else that gets in the way!" 

"Ranma, remember what I told you 
about?" said Carrot as he glared down at 
the fallen god. 

"Really tight, a Hiryuu Shoten Ha 
that will penetrate him?" asked the 
other voice. 

"Right, we've got to be fast. He'll 
regenerate if we take too much time." He 
readied himself and drew his arm back. 

Saffron was slowly rising to his 
feet when he felt something in the air 
above him. "What?" His eyes stared up 
and his jaw fell open. The super 
compressed tornado ripped through his 
chest and he screamed in agony. The fire 
around him burned brighter and he fell 
to his knees. "Damn!" 

"Got him!" screamed Carrot in 
triumph. The dust cleared on the ground 
below and Saffron was simply kneeling on 
the ground clutching what was left of 
his chest. His face was contorted in 
pain as he tried to breathe without his 
lungs. "He's still there?" 

Saffron glared up at him, the hole 
in his body closing visibly. He tried to 
speak, but no words escaped his lips. 
Finally, he roared in anger and pain, 
ripping his wings off of his back. 
Rearing his arms back he threw them at 
Carrot. 

The martial artist dropped like a 
rock, his wings folding in front of him. 
"Damn!" The impact of the razor sharp 
weapons slammed into them and they 
slammed into the ground a moment later. 
Slowly, the black cocoon opened up, 
revealing a heavily breathing Carrot. 

Saffron was able to speak again and 
he narrowed his eyes at his opponent. 
"You're as strong as you said you'd be. 
I'm impressed." His eyes were serious, 
and he scowled hatefully at the man. 

"You're stronger than I'd thought 
too. I was certain that attack would 
destroy you." 

"If I had less control, it might 
have," replied Saffron coolly. 

"What the hell are we gonna do now?" 
said Carrot to himself as he stared at 
the ground for a moment. Saffron was 
still too badly injured to attack, but 
the shield of flames was enough to keep 
them back. The Gekkaja was starting to 
grow warm in his grip, telling him that 
it might not be a good idea to charge 
into it and rely on the staff to protect 
them. "We're in a shit load of trouble 
Ranma." 

"I've got an idea." 

Carrot blinked and simply nodded. 
"It's your show." 

Saffron narrowed his eyes as his 
opponent's face changed suddenly. "You 
can't reach me, and I'm too hurt to 
attack just yet. It seems we have a 
stalemate at the moment. I will recover 
quickly though." His chest was almost 
healed as he said this. "Then, your life 
will end." 

"Jusendo is a spring Saffron," said 
Carrot calmly as he lifted the staff in 
his hand over his head. "I'm betting I 
know your real weakness. Not the cold, 
but an environment where fire cannot 
survive!" 

"What are you doing?" growled 
Saffron hatefully. The man was walking 
with his eyes just behind where he was 
standing. 

"Bakusai Tenketsu!" screamed Carrot 
as he slammed the staff into the ground. 
He jumped back away from the explosion 
and smirked. A huge column of water 
exploded from the ground. "Found it on 
my first try!" cried Ranma as he 
smirked. He put out his hands and they 
started to glow. A shield of power 
formed over the water and Saffron's eyes 
went wide. 

The water was redirected and blasted 
into the flaming barrier. It hissed 
angrily and Saffron tried to move, he 
couldn't move around very fast, and 
Ranma adjusted to keep it on him, 
stepping slightly around the hole. 

Finally, the water broke through. 
Saffron screamed as his body was 
assaulted by the water. It was boiling 
hot, but it was enough. He put up his 
arms in defense and snarled angrily as 
best he could through the torrent. 

He never saw Ranma dive into the 
water, holding the Gekkaja tightly in 
his grip. All he saw was the fist appear 
out of the water as the force of the 
geyser shot a blurry figure into him. It 
passed through the hole in his chest, or 
rather the small-unhealed portion. 

Saffron's back exploded in a shower 
of gore, the winds of the Hiryuu Shoten 
Ha tearing through his back as if it 
wasn't there. The last thing the god 
remembered seeing was the smirk on the 
boy's face as he was shot back by the 
force of his own attack, overpowering 
the force of the geyser. Just before 
Carrot flew into the source of the 
torrent of water, the shield redirecting 
it dissipated, allowing it to shoot 
straight up again. "Hiryuu Shoten Ha 
revised! Expanding horizontal wave!" 

The god screamed as the tight winds 
slowly moved outward, tearing his body 
to shreds as it did so, literally eating 
it's way inside out. Pieces of him flew 
in every direction, finally tossing his 
limbs and head away as they no longer 
had anything to hold them together. 

Carrot and Ranma jumped forward into 
the geyser once again. They clung to the 
Gekkaja and used its power, creating a 
tower of ice that loomed in the valley. 

From within the winds of the attack 
a light formed, and finally, it 
exploded. A huge sphere of flame shot in 
every direction, consuming hundreds of 
meters of land before it stopped and 
dissipated to nothing. When it was over, 
there was nothing but a small child 
lying in the middle of the battlefield. 
The child, and Carrot. 

Slowly, the man rose to his feet and 
groaned. "Ranma, that really sucked. 
Don't ever do that again." 

"Hey, we're alive aren't we?" 
responded the voice through his pain. 
"What the? What's that?" 

"Saffron, we won," replied Carrot as 
he walked over and lifted the baby into 
his arms. It was crying softly, but 
stopped once it had contact with 
someone. He tossed the Gekkaja aside 
carelessly and chuckled. "So, it's 
over." 

"What have you done?" cried a 
feminine voice from behind them. 

Carrot turned and smirked as Kiima 
landed behind him. "I beat him, you can 
have him back now." 

She fell to her knees and stared at 
Carrot in horror. "You...touched him! 
Fool!" 

This caused Ranma to blink. "Huh?" 

"He's bonded to you now!" replied 
the woman as she glared at him 
hatefully. 

Carrot looked down at the laughing 
child and blinked. "What?" 

"Without you, Saffron will die," 
said Kiima as she stared at him with a 
saddened look forming on her face. 

"What?" growled Dan as he stared at 
her. 

"We can't...kill him," said Kiima as 
she stared at him. 

"You can't?" said Carrot cheerfully. 

"The hell I can't!" cried Dan 
angrily. 

"That's enough," said Xellos as he 
appeared in front of Carrot and smirked. 
"You're not going to have your big fight 
now I'm afraid." 

"It's over?" asked Ryoga. 

"Finally!" agreed Usagi as she 
jumped up and down. Ryoga turned away 
from the display and blushed. 

"You pervert, that's your cousin," 
said Ukyo as she bopped him on the back 
of his head. 

"She isn't!" snapped Ryoga angrily. 
"..." He stopped and looked at Yohiko 
for a moment. "Well, she is, but we 
aren't really related..." 

"Huh?" said the Usagi as she looked 
at him. 

"It's nothing. We should go back, 
Akari is probably worried..." he 
muttered to himself as he turned away 
from her. 

"Um. Okay," said the girl as she 
looked at her mother. 

Yohiko smiled lovingly at her lover 
as she walked up to Carrot and promptly 
kicked him square in the balls. 

The man keeled over, but managed to 
hold on to the child in his arms. 

"You asshole!" snarled the woman 
angrily. "I'm pregnant!" 

"Oro?" said Carrot as he stared at 
her dumbly. 

"I'll kill you!" she screamed. 

"No! He cannot die!" cried Kiima. 

Dan grabbed her arm and shook his 
head. "Just let it be." 

Xellos smirked at her and turned his 
head slowly. He turned his back to her 
and chuckled. "I'm sorry Yohiko, but I'm 
afraid it's out of my hands." 

"What?" said the woman as she turned 
to stare at him. 

"You won't see me again after this," 
said the mage calmly as he looked at 
her. "Phibrizzo, it's time." 

"Right," said the boy as he appeared 
at Yohiko's side. He lashed out at her 
and a purple ball of power slammed into 
her body. She screamed in pain and fell 
forward, clutching her belly in agony. 
Blood began to seep through her fingers 
and she simply lay face first on the 
ground, in too much shock to even 
scream. 

Xellos had his hand open, with his 
palm facing up. A small blue ball of 
power could be seen in his hand and he 
frowned. "I'm sorry, you won't be able 
to have any children here. In time, you 
will understand why." He faded away and 
Phibrizzo did the same, holding a small 
red energy ball in his own hand. 

No one moved, all of them in too 
much shock to do anything. They simply 
stared at the scene in shock. Finally, 
Dan rushed forward. "No! What the hell 
did they do to her?" 

Carrot merely stared at her, his 
entire body was numb and his jaw hung 
open. "What the?" He wasn't sure what he 
was feeling at the moment. Finally, he 
clutched Saffron to his chest and fell 
to his knees. 

"Mother!" cried Usagi, it barely 
registered with him as he stared at the 
woman on the ground. Slowly she looked 
up at him, hatred clear in her eyes as 
she glared at him. 

"You...I know it was you! It had to 
be you," she said coldly. Within a 
minute's time, she was on her feet, 
tears flowing from her eyes. "Damn you." 

Carrot couldn't think of anything to 
say. She was probably right, however 
indirectly she meant it. He simply 
nodded his head and stood up as well. He 
looked her up and down and frowned 
again. She wasn't hurt. Whatever they 
had done to her, it was already gone. 
The only sign she was ever injured was 
the tear in the front of her dress along 
the belly, and the bloodstains that 
matted the cloth and her hands. 

Finally, he stood up and started 
walking. 

"Wait!" called Herb as he rushed 
after him. "Saffron!" 

"Sorry Herb, I can't let you hurt 
him. I'm certainly not going to let 
these bastards corrupt him again," he 
turned to look at the Phoenix people and 
scowled at them. "You'll have your god 
back one day." 

"No!" screamed Kiima. 

"What are you doing?" cried Usagi. 

"Take care of your mother kid, she's 
going to need it," said Carrot as he 
vanished from sight. 

"Damn," grumbled Dan as he leveled a 
stare at the place where the man had 
disappeared. He knew it would be 
pointless to follow him. Convincing 
Kiima of that might take a little time, 
but he had all the time in the world. 

It was over. 

++++++++++++++ 

Xellos kneeled before L-sama and 
held the small energy ball in his hand 
up towards his master. 

"You can take off that guise now 
Jadeite, you don't need it," said the 
supreme being as he chuckled to himself. 
It was obvious that some of him didn't 
completely agree with what he had been 
sent to do though. 

"What do you mean?" asked the man as 
his true form appeared again. 

"You don't have to pretend to be a 
Mazoku anymore. Phibrizzo has 
Shabranigdo in hell, and now Seiphied 
will join the heavens. The first of 
their kind." 

"The gods will not like having their 
jobs taken over," replied Jadeite calmly 
as he nodded and peered at the fetus in 
his palm for a moment. It was almost 
reptilian. 

"I'm simply going to remove them of 
their obligations to this world. It will 
take some time, the children have to 
grow, and become what they need to be 
for that to happen. They will remain in 
their stations in the new world, and the 
one I am about to recreate." 

Jadeite nodded at this and looked at 
Seiphied again. "I see." 

"I do wish she'd quit complaining 
though," grumbled L-sama. "You rotten 
bitch! This is what you get for making 
us sleep with a man!" It was almost as 
if he didn't realize he'd said that out 
loud. "Who the hell cares if it was 
funny! You got what you deserved! 
Besides, it's not like you don't get to 
raise them. It's just that you had to 
wait a while first..." 

"I shall deliver him," said Jadeite 
with a small sigh. He turned away. L- 
sama was in the process of beating 
himself up again as he closed the door 
behind him. 

+++++++++++++++ 

L-sama sighed as he finally managed 
to calm himself down. It had taken the 
better part of three days to do it. Now 
he could concentrate on other things. 
The world he had created would move on 
as it had. The parts of them living 
there would probably enjoy the rest of 
their stay there. Well, most of them at 
any rate. Now however, it was time to 
put a stop to their procrastination. It 
was time to fix the screw ups that had 
started the mess they called eternal 
life. Not that it would effect them 
much, but they would feel better after 
getting it done. 

Another copy of them was lying on 
the table in front of them, just off to 
the pool that showed scenes of the 
Universe to them. 

"All right, let's get this right 
this time," said Carrot cheerfully. 

"I bet you had all that planned from 
the beginning!" snarled Xianfu 
irritably. 

"Let's not get into that," muttered 
Carrot as he narrowed his eyes and 
sighed. "In any case, we're not all 
going back this time." 

"Huh?" said Ranma dumbly. 

"We're going back to fix things 
dolt, we need to have us pretty much the 
same as we were before," grumbled 
Carrot. "The bitch stays here." 

"But, won't all the knowledge we've 
picked up..." started Pissant. 

"You stay out of this!" snapped Dan 
angrily. "I see your point Carrot. She 
should stay here this time." 

"Dolts," grumbled Xianfu irritably. 
"I don't want to go! After what you 
pulled the last time, you couldn't drag 
me!" 

"Okay, then it's settled!" said 
Carrot cheerfully. 

"What about Pissant? Can he stay 
behind too?" asked Dan hopefully. 

"Yeah!" agreed Ranma. 

"I thought you guys weren't going to 
change anything," said Xianfu as she 
narrowed their eyes. "That was the whole 
point of me not coming." 

"Um...he was annoying too though," 
said Carrot. 

"I wanna see Usagi!" said the 
irritating voice firmly. 

"Look you weenie, we've got 
enough..." 

"I'm going and that's final! You 
guy's can't stop me anymore!" snapped 
the voice irritably. 

"Yeah, but we have to kill people, 
and blow stuff up!" said Dan in a 
somewhat patronizing tone. 

"Who the hell do you think is gonna 
stop you from blowing up too much?" 
retorted the voice. "We're supposed to 
be saving the planet, not messing it up 
again!" 

Dan sighed, Ranma's eye was 
twitching, consequently so was everyone 
else's, and Carrot threw their arms into 
the air. "All right, fine." 

"Wheee!" cried Pissant in triumph. 

"Can we just get this over with?" 
grumbled Ranma. 

"I guess so," replied Carrot. 

++++++++++++++++ 

Ranma Saotome was lying dead in an 
alley. A large hole was burned into his 
chest and he was now simply lying in the 
middle of a drying pool of his own 
blood. 

Without warning, his eyes snapped 
open and he gingerly touched his 
forehead as he groaned in pain. "We did 
it?" 

Slowly, he rose to his feet and 
staggered. His hand went to his chest 
and he fingered the hole in his shirt, 
only to find unbroken skin. 

A smile formed, it was not a 
pleasant sight to anyone who might have 
witnessed the resurrection. It was a 
smile that promised pain. "We did it." 

"Go on Carrot, say it," said Dan 
with an evil sounding chuckle. 

A light burst to life around their 
body, and their hair changed into a 
golden sheen. Ranma hovered above the 
ground and stared at his fist as he 
closed it in front of his face. "At 
last, I am the Prince of all Saiyans 
once again!" 

Laughter echoed through the streets 
in the night. 

+++++++++++++ 

TBC... 

Well, here we go! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!