First off a small word of warning, this fic returns to its dark roots with this chapter. I've been taking it kind of light over the past few chapters, more as build up than anything else. This chapter was written to the Escaflowne soundtrack, the dark gothic chorus of the first CD fit it well; anyone who has heard it can pretty much understand what's coming. This part of the tale will be very violent and have some dark demonic undertones to it, you will also see the return of the serious and dangerous Ranma those who have read this from the beginning will remember. Now that you've read the warning on with the fic... Permanent. Part 18 The rising. Ranma Saotome stood in the streets of Nerima watching the large mansion with a calm and serious gaze as she watched the pitch back clouds swirl and spread covering the starlight from above and replacing it with pitch-black darkness. The streetlights gave minimal light as they flickered under the influence of a much darker energy. Ryoga stood behind her with Kuno at his side staring at the phenomenon in disbelief. "My god, Ranma, what is she doing in there?!" The girl stood silently as thunder rumbled through the air creating flashes of light inside the dark clouds. She ignored her companions shocked expressions and strode forward with a calm face that sent chills down the two boy's spines. "You have a choice boys, come or go, this is more than a simple rescue mission now. Akane will just have to wait I'm afraid." "What?" gasped Kuno in shock. Ranma strode forward silently and walked directly up to the front gate, she frowned as several black and gold colored wards flashed creating a barrier in front of her. "Clever girl," whispered the sorceress as she raised her hand and touched the field. A strong ozone smell filled the air as energy crackled and snapped in reaction to her touch, Ryoga and Kuno stepped back and watched as she pushed her arm through with a grunt of pain finally pushing through the barrier and stepping onto the grounds. She collapsed to her knees and sat still for a moment before standing and moving forward again. "The barrier has been weakened, I'm not the first one to come through it." The two boys nodded to one another and dashed forward jumping through the field and screaming in pain as the energy surged through their bodies stopping them cold in the center of the protective barrier, they both crawled through the rest of the way on their hands and knees and collapsed on the ground next to Ranma. She waited patiently for them to recover and lifted Ryoga to his feet. "Kuno I can understand, but you should know better than that." Akane Tendo struggled to her feet, she had wisely avoided the front gate and had climbed the wall to enter the grounds, unfortunately, she had run into some kind of protective barrier and could barely move now. Her foot was still caught inside of the field and she grunted using all her strength to free herself, finally successful she sprawled out on the ground for a moment. After taking a moment to recover she stood and felt her world spin violently around her as she staggered almost backing into the shield again. She lurched forward and relieved herself of her dinner, splattering it onto the neatly cutgrass of the Kuno family's private garden. She fell forward unable to remain standing and whimpered as she realized that she had fallen in her own discharge. She rolled onto her back and wiped at her shoulder weakly in an attempt to remove the larger chunks from her body. Finally she willed enough strength to stand her ground and methodically plodded forward towards the house with a dangerous snarl appearing on her lips. Ranma stood before the doors of the massive home and pressed her hand against the doorway, it opened slowly as she whispered several complex words quietly. The main hall was empty save for a few flickering candles that lit the corridor. There were no lights on in the house and Ranma frowned when she noticed that all of the electric lamps in the home were shattered and mangled. A blast of cold air met the three intruders causing the two boys to shrink back as a cold fog rolled out at their feet. Ranma stepped forward into the home, her feet crunched as she walked over the frost beneath the mist that was thick enough to hide her feet. "Ranma, what's going on here?" said Ryoga with a worried expression crossing his face. Kuno was silent and kept a hard and serious face that revealed no fear or emotion. "There is no way Kodachi could have done all this herself," said Ranma calmly as she glanced around the room almost casually. A small light formed in her hand and she revealed the shadows that the candlelight had kept hidden. Kuno wished she had not done it. Portraits of his ancestors took on a demonic appearance; the once proud and rich looking home looked as if it had not been lived in for centuries. The statues were cracked and dusty and the walls were damp and torn revealing large holes. He could hear strange creatures crawling around inside of the plaster and noticed several wet and red stains that seemed to be spreading onto the floors despite the freezing temperatures. "You think someone helped her? Another mage?" Ryoga looked hopeful and Kuno merely looked at him in a daze. "No. Not a mage," replied Ranma as she moved forward into the home. They entered a large dining hall and stopped cold as a pillar of ice stood proudly on top of the table, the place settings were strewn about the floor shattered and broken across the once polished wooden floor. A crumpled brown figure could be seen hanging out of the center of the ice halfway buried inside of it. Kuno stepped forward and frowned deeply at the sight. "Is this?" "This is why the house is so cold," said Ranma mechanically with a nod. She walked past the pillar of ice and held the light up to the brown mass. Kuno stopped cold with a look of terror on his face. "Sasuke?" tears started to fall down his face as he looked on the body of his faithful servant. The ninja's torso remained outside of the ice and his arms hung limply at his sides, a look of agony was frozen onto his features. The boy walked up to the fallen shinobi and he reached out to touch him. Ranma's hand shot out and grabbed his just before he made contact, she shook her head softly and he stepped back. The group started towards the doors with Ranma in the lead, "M-master?" said a small voice from behind them. Kuno stopped cold and slowly turned around to see Sasuke was staring at him from his frozen pillar and clutching his chest in pain. Ranma placed her arm across his chest keeping him from rushing towards the fallen man. "But..." "He's dead Kuno," said the girl calmly. "Master, help me please..." pleaded the man. "She put something inside of me, a light...I don't know what to do." Sasuke's eyes were wild and another bolt of pain rushed through him causing him to scream. The ice pillar grew visibly and crackled as a blue light rushed from the shinobi's chest. "My god Ranma, it's using his soul!" Ryoga stepped forward and looked the man in the eyes. "Yes," said the girl as she moved between the group and the trapped man. "Can't you do something?!" screamed Kuno as he grabbed her and shook her violently. Ranma's hands became a blur and Kuno found himself sprawled out on the ground with a warm sensation in his mouth, a strangely familiar copper taste burned at his tongue and he spit out a mouthful of blood as he lifted his face from the ground. "No," she said simply before turning away from the man. Methodically she opened the doors that exited the room and walked further into the home. Kuno stood as Ryoga followed her and rushed after the pair with a desperate fear in his eyes. The ninja screamed as he watched them leave the room in terror and shock. "Nooo! Don't leave me! Please master Kuno! Don't..." Ranma turned to face him and frowned again. Kuno was on his knees just behind the still opened doors holding his head and sobbing uncontrollably. "Ryoga," commanded Ranma. The boy nodded his head silently and removed a bandana from his forehead. Kuno looked on in shock as he tossed it into the room. A single scream came from the doorway as the boy closed the doors, Kuno heard something roll across the ground and impact against the door, and then silence. Ranma looked at the kendoist with a gaze of complete ice. "It was all we could do for him Kuno." She turned and continued onward into the house. The boy stood up and raised his claws to her neck, she watched him calmly as tears fell down his face and a look of complete rage took him. "And what of my sister? Do you intend to be as merciful with her as well?" Ranma looked him directly in the eyes with out a single flinch. "She's already lost Kuno, there is nothing we can do now but stop her." The boy's face went from rage, to confusion, to fear, and then finally a calm understanding. "My sister could not have done all this with that book could she?" Ranma nodded her head slowly and turned away. Ryoga stepped up beside her with a look that now mirrored her own. "So, any idea what we're up against?" "A powerful one, old, strong, and at least one willing servant." "Gosunkugi?" asked the boy calmly. "If properly motivated he could be turned easily, but I was referring to Kuno's sister. Gosunkugi may still be salvageable if she didn't turn him into a walking trap like the ninja was supposed to be." "What do you mean?" asked Kuno with his saddened look gone for a moment. "Sasuke was probably planning on double crossing her and helping us once he realized what was going on here. She implanted him with a spell that would have gone off once he came into contact with us. It might have worked if he hadn't tried to leave the building." "You sound like you've done this sort of thing before," said Kuno a little bitterly. "It's not usually this bad, but on occasion yes," replied Ryoga with a shrug. Ranma started to jog ahead of them, "Come on, we're running out of time." Akane staggered into the window on the second floor of the Kuno Mansion, she touched the floor gingerly and looked around waiting for someone to notice her there. She slowly crept across the empty room an pulled the door aside slowly revealing a long hallway with several doors that flashed occasionally as a lightening bolt crashed outside the home. The noise was good because it gave her more cover for her movements. Quietly she tiptoed out into the corridor glancing left and right for signs of life. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as she crept forward with a strange terror gripping her. "I'm starting to think this was a bad idea." In front of her a strange red light formed in what looked like an ellipse. She moved towards it and saw several more, they lined the walls on each side of the hallway, she turned and saw several more behind her along the ceiling. The light fixtures were round and gold colored, she shuddered slightly at the strange appearance of the emergency lights and continued forward. Behind her several of the fixtures slowly floated away from the wall and followed closely behind her growing brighter with each passing moment. Akane slowly turned as she noticed the bright lights behind her. Around ten of the strange balls were floating just behind her moving in sharp jerking motions as they jumped around each other excitedly. She sucked in a breath of air and could not find the strength to scream. She started to run, slowly at first dashing through the doors only to find more corridors and hallways like some sort of sick fun house. The balls stayed stationary for a moment; hovering while watching her run desperately away from them. Suddenly they lurched forward in a unit, picking up more and more of them as they rushed forward towards her. Akane jerked a quick glance behind her as she shoved the doors open and twisted through the rooms and hallways in a desperate attempt to escape the creatures. One of the thing's eyes flashed and Akane fell forward rolling across the floor as her face exploded in pain, she felt a warm wet sensation cover her hand as she touched the intense burning that the left side of her face had become. She staggered back to her feet as the creatures gained on her rushing just ahead of them and turning into rooms slamming doors behind her. The creatures simply shattered the doorways as if they were glass and continued their relentless pursuit of her. She felt the heat of the eyes as the creatures moved in closer to her. Desperately she turned into another room, she sucked in a quick breath as she stopped cold and looked at her surroundings desperately. There were no more doors, she was trapped. She turned slowly around and saw the things waiting just outside the doorway, there had to be forty of them now. She fell to her knees and sobbed as she looked at them, just below the eyes on the creatures a small slit opened revealing rows of shark like teeth. The things slowly moved towards her with the red glow in their eyes dying down revealing a small pupil that collectively focused on her. Ryoga and Kuno stopped as a muffled scream floated down from somewhere in the house followed by a crash and the sound of many things moving violently around on the floor upstairs. "That could be..." said Kuno as he looked at his companions desperately. "It could be a trap Kuno, wandering around this house will only get us all killed," said Ranma calmly as she continued forward. "If it was someone, there is nothing we can do for them now." Kodachi smiled as Gosunkugi lifted the knife into the air and sliced her hand pinning it to the center of the magic circle she had created. So many wonderful things had happened since she started, a small laugh escaped her lips as she watched the red liquid slowly turn black under the light of the torches. "It is almost finished..." The boy merely looked on with terrified eyes as his hands moved by themselves and his lips spoke the incantations slowly and methodically. He had tried several times to destroy himself using his magic since Kodachi had tricked him into enslaving himself with that key. By freeing his bonds he had become her slave, unable to do anything but obey her word. "Let me die!" he begged desperately trying to shove the knife into his heart, his hands would not listen and continued the ritual without him. Ranma frowned as Kuno opened the door that lead down into his sister's maze. "This will take us to her laboratory." "The traps won't get any less dangerous down here," warned Ranma as she stepped forward and pushed between the two boys creating another ball of light in her hands to illuminate the dark wooden hallway. "I am very well aware of that," said Kuno angrily. Ranma felt a tinge of guilt in her heart. The boy had seen too much already and would no doubt have nightmares for the rest of his life about this nights events, if he kept his sanity at all. Kuno frowned at her gaze and spit on the ground. "I have no need of your pity! I have been insane before and have no intention of going back!" Ranma nodded and led the way down the stairwell. Several golden ellipses appeared in front of them and Ranma raised her hand with a vacant look taking over her features again. "Here they come, be ready." Hundreds of small floating eyeballs rushed forward from the darkness towards the party. Ryoga and Kuno took up defensive stances and prepared for the impact of the creatures. Looks of complete fear crossed their faces, as rows of sharp teeth became visible under Ranma's light spell. A dark smile crossed the girl's face as they finally closed in on them. Oooh, I just know you hate me now. To be continued... Next time: the final battle between team Ranma and Kodachi. Plus Ranma must break the news to the Tendo family and prepares to leave their home forever. Just so you know, there are a few things I KNOW you're not expecting in the next Ch. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA! Coming Up on Yahoo! Chat More... Tomb Raider! Join us for a webcast and live chat from the set of next summer's most anticipated film - Tomb Raider! It all takes place on Thursday, November 9th at 2:30pET/11:30aPT (8:30pGMT). It is your one chance for an exclusive sneak peek at the production from Pinewood Studios in London. Chat with the film's producer Lloyd Levin, stunt co-ordinator Simon Crane, production designer Kirk Petrucelli and more! Coming Up on Yahoo! Chat [Close] undefined [Close]