I'd count to ten, but right now, I can't.  

Sorry.

<insert standard disclaimer here>
Ranma and cast aren't mine.  They're someone else's, Rumiko Takahashi to
be specific.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter Ten

	"So now there are four of you?" Nodoka asked.
	Andrew nodded.
	"Including Darian, there are four Avatars.  Each one reflects the
powers of their master or mistress."
	"But you just said Darian doesn't know how to fight," Nabiki said,
confusion in her voice.
	"He can't fight as well as any of us, but his talents with
mechanical objects and illusions more than makes up for it," Andrew said
with a laugh.
	Nabiki turned to look at the roguish gaijin.  He was attractive in
a rough-and-tumble sort of way, but definitely not her type.  She chuckled
and shot a glance at Andrew.
	"Illusions?"
	"Yes, Darian is a master of them.  He hides small imaging discs he
makes himself about his person.  They make miniature light shows that
disorient and induce vertigo.  It's an excellent means of bringing an
opponent to your level, I suppose."
	Darian approached Andrew and clapped a hand on his shoulder.
	"Akane's going to be fine.  We better head into the house.  We've
got a few things to discuss with Angela.  I think she's got a bad feeling
about all of this.  So do I, to tell you the truth," he said in English.
There wasn't the slightest hint of amusement in his voice.  He cast a
glance at Ranma.
	"I think the boy should come with us, too," he added.  "That boy
reminds me too much of Ken - way too much, man."
	"What do you mean?"
	"The way he looks at the girl, like he's building himself his own
personal hell with her in the middle.  It ain't natural, Andrew."
	"I still don't understand."
	"Just look at him," Darian said with a nod in Ranma's direction.
	Ranma sat next to Akane, cradling her sleeping form, a look of
constant concern.  It seemed to haunt him and torture his very soul.
	"He almost lost her, Darian.  You can't blame the boy."
	"No, but he can stop from making it a personal demon.  You
remember what happened to Ken when they stared to rack up.  First there
were those goddamned Ethereals messing with his mind, then your parents,
and then being disavowed.  Now look where it's got the sorry bastard."
	"You were his best friend, Darian," Andrew said evenly.
	"I'm still his best friend, and I'm doing what he'd want me to do.
Ken would never want to see anyone suffer the way he had to suffer."
Darian cast a searching gaze at Angela who simply watched Ukyou idly trace
the outline of Doom's insignia on Ken's armor.
	"The way things are right now, I have a feeling something's going
to happen.  Angela never calls a meeting - never since I became an Avatar.
I think the same can be said for you too."
	Andrew simply nodded.
	"Something must be going down tonight.  There's been an awful
ruckus going on, man.  People dying and not having their souls go to the
grave?  That isn't right.  I saw the numbers racking up on the terminals
down below, and I didn't see a single soul go through the gates."
	"You think there's an ulterior motive?"
	"Hell yes!"
	"Well, I figured that one out the minute Judas and Cassius
arrived."
	"What?!"
	"You heard me."
	"Both?!"
	"Yes, but-"
	"You could have told me!"
	"You didn't know?"
	"Hell no!  The gates have been acting funny for a while now.
Messages in and out have been jammed for a time now.  I've been trying to
figure out why that's happening, but I can't for the life of me.  The
sunspots aren't in alignment, the planets aren't in alignment, and unless
someone's been tapping a really fucking big source of energy-"
	"Wait, the gates have been acting strange?"
	"Yeah, I had to have the one from Hell closed temporarily after I
left.  It was acting way too out of whack for anyone to go through safely,
but-"
	"Ever heard of the phrase, 'constant vigilance is the price of
peace?'"
	"What the hell does that have to do-"
	"The gate to Hell's been in flux, right?"
	"So?"
	"And how many souls have you gotten?"
	"None, but- oh shit.  You can't-"
	Andrew simply stared at Darian evenly, silencing his friend.
	"Ranma, come with us," Andrew said evenly as he and Darian stepped
quickly towards the house.

	"What's going on?" Ranma asked.  He looked around in trepidation
as Haruko poured an amber liquid into small cups in front of him and the
two Avatars.  Darian was fiddling with what appeared to be a small
ear-shaped disc.  Andrew stared at the cup of liquid before him, eyes
unwavering, a look of apprehension and resolve in his eyes.
	As Haruko finished pouring the liquid, Darian handed the
contraption to Ranma.  Ranma warily slipped it over his left ear.
	"Can you understand me, Ranma?" Darian said.
	Ranma jerked back, surprised.
	"You can, can't you?" Darian said with a tense smile.
	"But, I thought you don't speak-" Ranma started.
	"No, I don't.  That's a translator.  You're going to need it, so
try to protect it.  It's just a mishmash of what I could put together, and
before you ask, that's what I do.  Andrew fights and has his funny energy
channeling thing - I have the ability to make mechanical and electrical
things do what I want them to."
	Ranma sat silent for a moment.
	"Why am I here?" he finally asked.
	"Because you've been chosen, Ranma," Angela replied.
	"This has to do with the war, doesn't it?" he asked, fearfully.
	"Yes, and Ken as well," Haruko replied.
	"I've only started to understand what's going on, but the more I
think about it, the worse I feel about it," Darian said uneasily.
	"What's going on?" Ranma asked a second time.
	"Judas is gathering strength by murdering people and taking their
souls.  We think he's trying to use it to temporarily shut the gates that
connect our worlds with yours." Faith explained.
	"What?!"
	"Listen, Ranma.  Just listen to us, please.  I know this is going
to be a lot for you to understand in so little time, but I want you to
listen," Haruko pleaded.
	"As Aspects, we have a great deal of power, but we can't do
everything we want at the same time.  That's why we have Avatars, and
warriors of the clan.  The warriors do battle and maintain the honor of
the clan while the Avatars participate in duels to maintain the hierarchy
and structure of universal order.  It's critical that our Avatars win in
order for us to maintain our position as more powerful Aspects," Faith
said quietly.
	"So you want me to go out and do your dirty work for you?" Ranma
said with distaste.
	"No, it's not that, Ranma.  Listen to us!" Angela said, a hint of
panic in her voice.
	"We've been blind for too long now.  We've taken our positions as
the more powerful Aspects for granted for far too long.  We've been so
preoccupied with keeping you safe, trying to find a way to help Ukyou, and
settle disputes between ourselves, that the little things we never paid
attention to have finally caught up with us.
	"Judas has taken the souls of countless people.  For every one
soul he has he can drain it of its mystic energies to do as he pleases.
It is one of the rules of war that are agreed upon, but usually never
used.  Even for Judas to use it seems so strange, that despite his twisted
sense of honor, he would murder innocent people for so little mystic
energy," Angela continued.
	"Only now, that little bit from each one's gotten big," Ranma said
flatly.
	"Yes, and now we're unsure of what he is going to do with it,"
Haruko said uneasily.
	"What about her?" Ranma asked as he pointed at Angela.
	"I can't see exactly what he's going to do.  I can look and see
what his best options are if I know what he wants.  As far as I can tell
he simply wants Ken's body, but the souls of all those people aren't being
used to make the exchange to reorder the chaos in Ken's soul," Angela said
evenly.
	"We do know what the souls are being used for," Darian
interjected.  "The gates from our worlds are being shunted off, slowly,
but surely."
	"You said that already," Ranma said in irritation.
	"Yes, but I can't tell if it's Judas directly or if it's someone
he knows.  If it's someone he knows, it could be any number of people.  At
any rate, the gates are being closed and we need to reopen them again,"
Angela said in frustration.
	"Ranma, we need you to help us reopen those gates," Faith said.
	"And how am I supposed to do that by myself?"
	"You can't.  You won't," Andrew said evenly.  "That's where Darian
and I come in.  As it stands there are two Avatars besides the two of us.
Sin and Vice.  You've met Sin.  You don't want to meet Vice.  Your
training in control isn't good enough to withstand Vice's temptations to
darkness."
	"So what am I supposed to do?"
	"You're our trump card, Ranma.  Without you it would be a
stalemate.  With you on our side you can turn the tide in our favor,"
Faith said anxiously.
	"You want me to go duke it out with one of the Aspects?"
	"No, we want you to ensure that we win the duel with Sin and
Vice."
	"What?!"
	"I can eliminate Vice, at least, I can try.  I know that if Andrew
and I both focus our efforts on defeating Vice, we can eliminate her as a
threat," Darian said evenly.
	"That leaves you and Sin together again.  Sin won't take you so
lightly, but she'll be feeding off the souls of innocent people to make up
for the soul she lost."
	"You mean the red ball?"
	"You're a quick one, aren't you?" Darian said with a laugh.
	"How'd she lose it?" Ranma asked.
	"That's of no consequence.  The fact of the matter is that she
will be feeding to regain and increase her strength.  You must be prepared
to beat her at all costs."
	"I have to kill her?"
	"You won't, but one of us will if we're to ensure our victory,"
Angela said flatly.
	"And if we do win the duel?" Ranma asked.
	"Then we can use their energies to reopen the gates, or to combat
whatever plan Judas has set up in conjunction with his brother."
	"The nutcase in the suit?"
	"Yes, Ranma, the one in the suit."
	"I can take him down, no problem," Ranma said without much
enthusiasm.
	"This is serious, Ranma," Haruko admonished.
	"That's why we have the tea," Andrew said quietly.
	Ranma looked at the drink before him.  It radiated calm, serenity,
and faith.  
	"I'm not going to live beyond this duel, am I?" he said quietly.
	"I've been training you to live beyond the duel Ranma," Angela
said.
	"But what about Ken?  Why can't you just find some loophole and
bring him back to fight?"
	"Because there is no loophole!" Angela said in frustration.  "You
don't get it do you?  You're taking his place!"
	Ranma stared at her in shock, the feeling slowly ebbing from his
body.
	"No," he murmured.
	"We have no choice," Faith said apologetically.  We we're blind in
our confidence that we'd be able to handle this."
	Ranma stared at the liquid.
	"Ranma," Andrew said quietly, but forcefully.
	Ranma turned to look at him.
	"Ranma, I swear to you by my honor that you will return from this
alive."
	"Count me in on that," Darian said evenly.
	Both Avatars raised their cups and drank the tea in one gulp.
	Ranma stared at the glass.
	"It's because we're the same, aren't we?" he asked quietly.
	"Yes," Faith said sadly.  "It was as if you two were like
brothers.  So much alike in feeling, in mind and body, and in love.  Ken
suffered more than you did and lived longer than you, Ranma, but he is an
image of who you could be - of what you could become."
	"And if I don't want that?"
	"You can always change, Ranma," Angela said with a sigh, "but
you've already taken steps down the same road he has, beginning with the
training I gave you and the powers you wield."
	Ranma slowly grasped the cup of tea and drank the warm liquid.
The bitterness of the tea seemed to sharpen his senses and calm his
nerves.  As they rose and turned to the door, Ranma saw Akane and his
mother standing by the door to the house.  Ranma watched sadly as he saw
Akane choke back a sob and turned away.
	"I'm sorry, Mom, but I have to do this.  I have to do this for
everyone," Ranma said lamely.
	Nodoka simply nodded and turned back to the dojo.  Ranma slowly
walked up to Akane and embraced her, as if it were his last time.
	"Don't go," she pleaded quietly.
	"I have to go."
	"No you don't, you could stay here.  There's always a chance they
can do it on their own."
	"But it's a chance I'm not willing to take," Ranma said evenly.
He lifted Akane's chin to gaze into her eyes, her tears shimmering like
diamonds.  He gazed into her eyes, losing himself completely.
	"I lost you once, already Akane," he said, his voice thick with
emotion.  "I'm not going to take the chance of losing you again.  I don't
ever want to lose you again."
	"And I don't want to lose you," Akane said bursting into tears.
She kissed him before he could respond, her tears mixing with his.

	Ryouga gazed down the street at the door of the Tendo dojo.  The
man in red was right.  He wasn't so lost anymore.
	"What do I need to do?" he'd asked.
	"Just say that you wish to join my clan, that your powers are mine
to command, as mine are yours to command."
	"I wish to join your clan.  My powers are yours to command,"
Ryouga said eagerly.
	"As mine are yours," Judas had replied with a short bow.
	The rest of the conversation was a daze as the rush of power
drowned out most of what Judas had said at the time.  It was an
unbelievable feeling when the surge of power hit him.  It was as if every
fiber of his being was set ablaze with a revitalizing energy.  It was
overwhelming how much he could feel himself changing.  Everything became
an inferno of power and feeling.  Yet, amidst the torrent of incoming
power, one thing remained clear - exact revenge, and let Akane's soul
rest.
	Two things still remained clear in Ryouga's mind from Judas's
speech.
	"Your days of wandering are over.  Your purpose is clear, your
actions defined for you by destiny's hand.  Vengeance is what you live for
now.  It's a cold, uncaring mistress, but take solace in the power and the
family I provide for you in the clan.  It is here that you will find
acceptance, it is here that you will stay unjudged, and upright.  Here you
are a man, and nothing less," he'd said.
	Two things resounded in his mind, echoing repeatedly.  His
wandering days were over.  He was a man, a whole man.  Two things he'd
desperately sought out for so long, now in his grasp.  He owed Judas a
great deal, and he wasn't going to disappoint.  He could do both things he
felt were the honorable thing to do: exact revenge, repay Judas for his
kindness.
	The door to the dojo opened.  Ryouga stood at attention, watching
three men emerge.  The last was the one he was interested.  He could hear
them distinctly from where he was.
	"You remember the plan, Ranma?" the one in the hakama said.
	"How can I forget?" Ranma replied.
	The gaijin in the vest said something Ryouga couldn't make out,
but Ranma's response was clear as day.
	"Akane.  I won't fail her, not again," Ranma said, his fists
clenching.
	Ryouga felt the weight of Akane's death bear down on his chest
again, but this time, the anger he felt at Ranma's incompetence beat it
back, giving him purpose, giving him direction.  He stepped out of the
shadows.
	
	Angela sat quietly in the dojo staring out into the yard, her
sisters sitting next to her.  All three seemed to be concentrating on a
point beyond vision, and beyond comprehension.  Faith now wore a pair of
white slacks, and a soft white turtleneck.  Haruko wore a pair of faded
grey jeans, and a black polo shirt.  Her hair was swept back into a long
ponytail.  Angela simply wore the same pants and tunic she wore when she
first came.  None of them made a sound, even their breathing was devoid of
noise.  A disquieting silence had settled upon the dojo, marred only by
the murmur from the radio.
	Angela suddenly snapped to attention, grabbing her sister's
sleeves, her eyes going wide with a hint of panic.
	"Angela-" Faith started.
	"Silence!  Don't you see it?" Angela said fearfully, her eyes
still looking far away.
	Everyone else snapped to attention, the tension mounting in the
room to suffocating levels.
	"Haruko?" Faith asked quickly.
	Haruko's eyes darkened.
	"It's happening," she whispered.
	"What's going on?" Akane said, fear in her voice.  "Is it Ranma?"
	"I can no longer see Ranma's line, sisters," Faith managed
tensely.
	"My vision blurs, and one remains.  I can't see who's it is.  The
line is frayed, Faith.  There is no life, but no death," Haruko said.
	"Two to one to Ragnarok, when lost souls are lost and war runs
amok," Angela said in hushed tones.

	Ranma turned to see who was behind them.
	"Ranma Saotome!  How dare you let Akane die!  I challenge you to a
duel of honor, to the death!  Your dishonorable days are over!"
	Ranma turned to Andrew and Darian.
	"Damn," Darian muttered.  "We we're so close."
	"What's going on?" Ranma asked.
	"Ranma, he challenged you, but you have to decline. There's too
much at stake."
	"I can't," he growled.  He saw the looks of pained disapproval in
he companions' faces.  "I have to do this.  It's for more than just
personal reasons, believe me.  I can take him out!  You have to trust me!"
Ranma objected.
	"You're going to do this regardless, aren't you?" Andrew asked.
	"I have to.  I can't turn away.  I couldn't when Sin challenged
me, and I still turned out okay in that one."
	"You got lucky," Andrew said flatly.
	"I know I can beat Ryouga, just give me the chance!"
	Andrew looked at Darian who simply shook his head slowly.
	"Good luck, Ranma," Andrew said with obvious disappointment.  The
two turned away to enter the night, leaving Ranma alone.  He turned to see
Ryouga charging him, mystic infernos erupting from his fists.

	Akane whirled about to look out into the night as two loud
'ki-yai's could be heard echoing into the night.  Fear gripped her, and
for once, she thought she knew how Ranma must have felt, seeing the blade
that had killed her move, unstoppable, to its final destination.
	"Ranma, please be okay," she whispered into the night.

	Mousse dusted his hands off.  Another round of fools had witlessly
barged into the Nekohanten again.  It didn't take much effort to dispatch
them.  All it took was the right speed and the judicious use of the knives
he carried.
	"Fools," he muttered with a laugh.
	"Mousse, what's come over you?" Shampoo whispered in Chinese.  She
stood in the rear of the restaurant in awe.  One minute Mousse was being
beaten to a pulp, the next he was radiating power and acting so
differently.
	"Nothing, Shampoo my dear, absolutely nothing.  I might have
decided to take the offensive now, you might say.  I'm sick of being the
lame duck of the two of us.  I'm just as good a fighter as any of the
others, I just spent too much time sucking up to the old crone to develop
my skills.  Now that she's gone, I can finally act the way I want."
	"Mousse, this isn't like you at all," Shampoo said, slowly shaking
her head.  She started to make her way towards the front of the
restaurant.  Mousse watched her with a detached air.
	"You don't have to be scared of me," he said with a smile.  "Isn't
this what you wanted - someone more like Ranma?  Someone who could fight,
who could stand up like a man?"
	"Not like this," she said hoarsely.  "Not what you've become."
	Mousse looked down at himself, his once white robes nearly dark
brown from the dried blood in them.  
	"Is it the robes?  I can change into clean ones," he offered.
	"No-"
	"Is it the glasses?  I thought you hated the glasses,"
	"Mousse-"
	"It's the fact that I can stand on my own isn't it?"
	"No!  Shut up Mousse!  Don't you see!  You're turning into someone
else.  You aren't yourself anymore.  What happened to the boy that used to
write me silly love poems and give me so many flowers I almost became
allergic?  What happened to him?"
	Mousse looked away and snorted derisively.
	"He's dead.  You never wanted him alive.  You taunted him, used
him when you found a use for him.  All those poems, those ballads, they're
all torn up and burned.  Where are the flowers?  A compost heap.  I wasn't
a man then, I was a shadow of a man.  Now that shadow's gone, completely
gone.  You wanted him to be a man, and now he is!  I'm one hundred times
the man I was!" Mousse asserted forcefully.
	A sudden clapping noise caught them by surprise.  Shampoo whirled
around to see a woman with large, round-rimmed glasses standing behind
her.  She wore a simple khaki suit coat and pants.  A white silk blouse
completed the ensemble.  It was a far cry from the flattering Chinese
dresses Shampoo was used to wearing.  It was horribly conservative, up to
the light brown hair pulled back into a bun on the back of her head and
the pragmatic shoes she wore.  Everything about her screamed 'business
first, and nothing second.'  She clapped her hands with a smile on her
face.
	"I have to admit, you definitely are quite a man," she said in
fluent Chinese.
	"You speak Chinese!" Shampoo said surprised.
	"Of course I do, I speak many languages to deal with the many
people I encounter."
	"Who are you?" Mousse said suspiciously.
	"A friend, from your clan," she said with a winning smile.
	Shampoo stared as the woman made her way towards Mousse.  There
was something very wrong about her, but Shampoo didn't know how to say it.
Something about the woman made Shampoo very cold and nervous.  Mousse
simply looked at her impassively.
	"What do you want?" he asked flatly.
	"Well, I'm your new partner," the woman said, extending her hand
in a handshake.  Mousse simply took the hand, extending the formalities
with a simply handshake.  The woman smiled and nodded.  Mousse could smell
the light aroma of flowers and spices around her, and it made him slightly
giddy.  He failed to notice Shampoo quietly sneak away towards the dojo,
running there as fast as her legs would carry her.  Everything slowly
focused on the woman next to him.  The sudden urge to kiss her suddenly
filled him.  She simply stared at him questioningly.
	"Is something wrong?" she asked, concern in her voice.  Her eyes
seemed to pierce his soul, filling him with the warmth of her body, her
concern for him.  It was more than Shampoo ever showed him.
	Mousse watched as she pouted slightly.  His gaze lingered on her
face, tracing her cheekbones, and resting on her pouting lips.  He
succumbed to the powerful temptation to kiss her.
	The strange lady gave a muffled squeak of surprise before melting
in his arms.
	"You are quite the man," the woman said with a gasp as Mousse
broke the kiss.
	"I'm your man," Mousse said before kissing her hungrily again.
	The woman quickly broke the kiss.
	"Business before pleasure, my dear Mousse."
	A small voice in the back of Mousse's mind asked how she knew his
name, but was quickly overrun by his desire.
	"My business is pleasure," he growled before kissing a trail from
her lips to a point behind her ear, where the jawbone was.  He heard her
inhale sharply, and smiled.  With one arm he pulled her close to him,
feeling the heat from her body through his robes.  His free hand pulled
the pin in her hair, letting loose long silken tresses.
	"Tell me your name," he whispered in her ear, kissing a line to
her lips again.
	She gasped as she broke free to take a breath.
	"My name is Vice, at least, that's what my friends call me."
	"Friends and lovers?"
	"Well, my friends," she said nervously.
	"And now your lover," Mousse said before recapturing her lips
again.
	Vice closed her eyes and kissed Mousse back with feeling.  Her new
charge wasn't going to be as bad as she thought.  I might enjoy this, she
thought to herself.  At least he isn't a bad kisser.  She wondered how
Cassius would feel if he knew she was kissing another man other than him.
All in a day's work, she mused.


*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Ethan Tsai
1 N. College Street
Northfield, MN 55057

TSAIE@Gridley.ACNS.Carleton.edu
http://public.carleton.edu/~tsaie/ethan.html