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Chapter Ten: The War, Round One--Mass Destruction
*"Gambate!"* Akane screamed.
*"Gambarimasu!"* the others echoed.
There was a pause....
*"ATTACK!"* John roared, as the fighters leapt forward to do battle with the forces of the Crystal Temple.
The battle had begun.
* * *
The Pentagon:
Kyle Windham was currently walking to the briefing room, located somewhere in the lower depths of the E Ring. The situation was already set up, with most of the National Security Council and the heads of various intelligence and defense agencies. With the global situation worsening, things were getting bad. The British government had already located the monolithic object that had caused the destruction, and now the DOD was working to station one of their KH-11 Keyhole satellites above the area in Vietnam.
The government, in a rare show of communication towards Vietnam, announced that they were now at DEFCON 1 and would commence the attack in three hours. Nations around the world were being notified of the US intent to launch so-called "specials" at the site. This was already causing a serious problem, since that would potentially destroy the tiny principality known as Nekonron. It would also take out a bit of Chinese real estate; this little slice of life infuriated the Peoples' Republic. Despite the how guilty the Chinese were acting (imagined or otherwise), and the Tiennamen debacle still in the news, the PRC informed the world that any nation launching a tactical strike on the suspected site would be met with nuclear retaliation.
The Soviets, Italians and French suggested that large-scale conventional explosives were far safer against the object than would be the nukes; the British, Canadians, and the US argued that "conventionals" were already proven to be ineffective against the object. The Vietnamese stated that under the circumstances, the losses would be regrettable but necessary in order to quell this global scourge. The Nekonronese representative, Ambassador Bishamonten, was still attempting to get in contact with his home nation, as there were rumors of an attack on their land by this organization. What made it worse was the fact that there were no communiqu�s coming out of the small country.
The Japanese, in a rare situation, were screaming for blood--this second mass killing on their homeland this century would probably cause irreparable damage between the Land of the Rising Sun and some of its Oriental neighbors. Initially, the world was worried about the resurgence of a militant Japan, but it was quelled by the Emperor's pleas to the US for more military support. International aid was pouring in from all over the world; rebuilding was going at a glacial pace, but at least it was proceeding.
On the military front, things weren't too quiet, either. At the request of the Japanese government, the US now had two carriers steaming out to replace the destroyed MIDWAY; AMERICA and RANGER, along with their respective battle groups, were steaming at maximum speed to shore up the damaged military presence in the Western Pacific. With Hong Kong within the relative line of fire, the British had one of their own carrier groups, the BATTLEAX group, racing to the area as well. The Russians soon got into the act, as the KIROV and her escorts sailed south from Vladivostok. Generally speaking, things in the Far East were about to get really nasty.
This was mirrored easily by the current maelstrom that went on in the walls of the World's Largest Office Building. Kyle was being escorted in by another man by the name of Marc Lopez. Marc Lopez was a BMCS(UDT); a Senior Chief Petty Officer who also met the grand qualifications of a Navy SEAL. Although he was simply a Boatswain's Mate by trade, his current assignment was working in the operations directorate of the Central Intelligence Agency. This meant he got to work with the Windham ninjas on occasion, and thus knew Kyle.
The two were close friends. They were both born in San Diego, married to very strong-willed women, and had children whose talents *far* outstripped those of their parents--like Libby towards Kyle, Marc's 16-year-old-daughter Maria was trained in SEAL combat skills and could easily defeat the average SEAL or Green Beret, including her father. It was Marc that introduced Kyle to John Twinmoon, Kyle who'd helped train some of Marc's "chosen men"--some of the Navy's best. They'd been known to get into serious trouble during operations together, and come out with not a scratch at all.
So it was only natural that they'd be here, in the middle of the mess in Washington. As the pair walked towards to the room, Kyle glanced in the direction of his friend. At 5'10", and 225 pounds, Marc was big. However, he had an easygoing (some daring few said "ditzy") personality that seemed to echo his boyish face. Despite the fact that crow's feet and wrinkles had begun to make their appearance on his visage, Marc's short brown hair, tanned skin, and hazel eyes made him look far younger than his actual age. Kyle had a fleeting thought: {{Genma and Soun would love to meet this guy someday. I think they'd all get along fabulously.}}
Marc picked up on his friend's mood and noted, "Dollar for your thoughts, Kyle?"
Kyle laughed. "You always did spend over your means, Marc."
"Not really," he returned. "I'm a Senior Chief. I make at least a coupla bucks by the Nav's standards."
"That you do," the ninja finished, his humor increasing. "Anyway, I have to figure out how I'm going to convince the NSC to not launch birds against that object."
Kyle's comments surprised the Sailor. "Why? Those animals killed over a million people in Japan, includin' some of our boys! What are you..." Marc trailed off, pausing as Kyle's words filtered in. "You have something planned, don't you?"
Kyle had a wicked gleam in his eyes. "Don't I always?"
* * *
John's jaw dropped. He figured that they were cocky, idealistic kids who were about to become cannon fodder.
He was wrong.
*Really* wrong.
As the two sides neared impact, he called out, "Okay, guys, let's make a hole for the insertion teams!"
To which, Akane shouted, *"Forget the hole! We're going over!"* That little speech said, she bounded up and onto the heads of the oncoming army...
...followed by the ten others behind her.
{{Waitaminit. They-they-they-they're leapfrogging--*LEAPFROGGING!!!!!*--from one head to another!}} he thought, completely stunned. {{This is impossible! There's no way...}}
One person in the crowd was launched into the upper atmosphere with the speed of the space shuttle leaving Earth, its destination unknown, but most likely somewhere not in the general geographic region.
{{...that...}}
A blur moved through the crowd at a frightening pace, with explosions of blue energy cascading around the moving sppedline as though it was a living tidal wave. The blur stopped, pulled out two razor-sharp wakazashi blades and dived into the nearest crowd like a person intending to put pure fear into anything that moved into the juggernaut's path.
{{...these...}}
One of them dived into the human wave of opponents. A second later, a spray of rock and dirt erupted into the air, flinging ninjas to the four winds.
{{*...kids...*}}
A high-speed blur spun like a top on the crowd, tossing defeated combatants this way and that; a good guess was that the human tornado moved at about 360 RPM.
{{...are...}}
Without explanation, a slightly damp Chinese panda rolled its way through the crowd, walking around on its hind legs, fighting like a freestyle kenpo master, and occasionally backhanding some unlucky foe with a wooden sign.
{{...this...}}
A tempest of chains, knives, fans, rocks, statues, frying pans, baseballs, greeting cards, compact discs, and a kitchen sink shotgunned forward to disable several of the enemy. This initial barrage was followed by another gale of projectiles, some clearly the traditional throwing star, others shaped like butterflies, spatulas, bandannas, and fishcakes.
{{*...powerful!*}}
This was not happening. This couldn't be happening. This was too weird. Absolutely no way...
*"KYOFU NO MAKEN HO KEN!"*
*"CAT SCRATCH FEVER!"*
*"UDON BOLO!"*
*"HAPPO BIJIN SHURIKEN!"*
*"UMI NO GODACHI!"*
*"YOU GIVE AZUSA BACK HER LITTLE MEREDITH!!!!"*
...okay, maybe this *was* happening.
* * *
Akane raced over the tops of her opponents. The young girl in the red tang didn't give a damn who they were. That particular problem belonged to...what was Twinmoon-san calling it? Oh yeah--the rear guard. It was absolutely for them to take care of. She already had her person to take care of. Like Natsumi, she intended to take her opponent on alone--it was a matter of honor that could not, would not be denied. Her fianc�, her Ran-chan, was on the line, and no one would stop her. At all.
However, there was one small matter to attend to...
Instinctively, she thrust one red-clad arm into the human sea below her and pulled out a normally tough fighter. This fighter was the mouthy one from earlier, she noticed with an air of satisfaction. She brought him to eye level, staring at him with eyes that spoken of a barely controlled rage. A control that could easily go the way of the Dodo bird at a moment's notice.
That visible wrath quelled the man's pugilistic nature; he was the rabbit staring down the barrel of the gun. His eyes glazed with panic, his voice unable to comment. "Y-Y-You..."
The ire grew as the girl spoke in cold, mocking tones, "Thank you for choosing Air Akane. Your flight will be departing the terminal shortly. Please make sure your seatbelts are on and your meal trays are in the upright position. Thank you."
The man felt something wet run down the side of his leg, as he stared at his personal vision of the Fury incarnate, a being of pure destruction and uncreating. It would be the last thing he'd ever see in this continent.
*"RYUZANSHOKEN!"* Akane executed a devastating Dragon Slice, sending her ignited victim into what would possibly be La Grange orbit. She didn't bother to look at her shot as she usually did; she had her vow to fulfill, a vow that would always keep her with the man that she loved.
From the corner of her mind, she remembered Ranma at Jusendo, near total breakdown because he thought she was dead. She remembered the grief and horror that passed through his mind, seeing the look of absolute loss on his face. That brought her out of her frenzy.
{{It'll never happen again, Ran-chan,}} she thought, through the militant emotions that seethed within. {{We'll never go through that pain, ever again. I love you too much to see either of us go through that pain again.}}
She charged on, and woe to the ill-starred person who crossed her path.
* * *
Kurumi and Ryoga were paired together, seeing as how their talents seemed to complement each other. Besides, they were also pretty good friends, and liked each other well enough. So it was to her concern that Ryoga slipped into the crowd as he misjudged a hop.
"Ryoga!" she shouted, reaching for her ribbon whip. If she could snare him out of there, he'd be okay....
*"BAKUSAI TENKETSU!"* At that cry, the earth shattered and burst heavenward, taking loam, rocks, dirt, and other such items as the world began to explode around the forces of the Crystal temple, sending a small group of them airborne. They landed in crumpled heaps in various locations.
Ryoga leapt up to his earlier position before the next group of the adversary's host could skewer him with their weapons. He ran off in an unusual direction, away from the battle. Fortunately, Kurumi's ribbon whip snapped out and gently spiraled around one of his wrists. She tugged, bringing him towards her direction.
"Oh, hi, Kurumi," he said, blushing. "Kinda got lost again, didn't I?"
"I won't hold it against you," she smiled. "Now can we go in the right direction?"
"Lead the way," he grinned with little humor, his fangs bared in a half-smirk, half-snarl.
"Done deal, my friend," she replied, beginning a charge and aiming for a bunch of people rushing towards her. Trusting Ryoga to follow her for just a second or two, she applied a charging fist, then as it connected, spun, elbowed him, and closed it out with a devastating Shoken attack that sent her opponent scattering. She then slipped next to her follwing enemy and, ducking under his ki-charged fist (with so little time, she could feel the heat of his fist on her neck), she then swept him off his legs with a well-placed swat of her arms, then dismissed him courtesy of a Tenretsukyaku.
"Wow," Ryoga commented at her side--a miracle that he hadn't wandered off. "You're getting better and better each day, Kurumi."
"Thanks," she blushed girlishly in the middle of the conflict. Then the blush was gone, replaced once more by the flush of combat heat, and the pair was off once more, storming on once more with fatal intent.
* * *
There was speed, then there was blinding speed. Then there was Shampoo.
The Chinese Amazon moved like a predator running through a field of prey, countering every airborne opponent, slashing away with her swords, left and right. {{I'm an Amazon, trained to kill. I'm doing this so I can rescue the man I love, my airen, my beloved Ranma.}} This mantra ran through her mind as she slammed a blade home through a one person's ribcage, coming out the other side.
A small part of her died when she did this. Despite her (relatively) sweet demeanor, acquaintances thought that she would not kill. Only those closest to her knew that she could, and that she would if she had to. Mousse never crossed the line at killing, despite his Joketsuzoku heritage; although he did have a malicious streak at times. The twins would do it, but only if dire circumstances required so. Her great-grandmother, well...nothing more need be said.
It was the Amazon way. She was an Amazon, trained to kill, required to marry Ranma for the continuation of the tribe; the fact that she loved him was simply a convenience, as far as Cologne was concerned. She was Amazon, and she would have to remove any and all opposition to her pursuit of Ranma, even if that meant that she might have to kill people who were her friends. She was Amazon, so she would have to shatter Mousse's heart, even though he was probably her truest friend.
Shampoo spun on one guy's head, snapping his neck. As he went down she leapt to bound onto another's head, then ducked a powerful sword strike by a guy carrying a massive German zweihander broadsword, swiping down and cutting him off at the legs, letting him fall into the stampede below to be trampled to death. Not pausing to look, she continued on, trying to catch Akane and her friends before they got too far ahead.
She was an Amazon, trained to follow the ways of the tribe...and somewhere inside, Lao Shan Fu was beginning to feel disgust towards this fact of her life.
Somewhere behind Shampoo, Mousse swung the bonbori this way and that, sending his foes to all points of the compass. He'd already broke his own staves during the fight, and was now using Shampoo's round ones. Although unused to the grip and weight, he compensated for this by committing himself to a non-stop dancing motion of swings, lunges, and kicks. Pivoting this way and that, and occasionally letting go of one in order to produce another projectile from his inventory.
{{Here we go into the deepest part of the group, and it's getting harder.}} The enemy, noticing the eccentric tactics of the Nerima group, spread out, resulting in the fight having to be taken to the ground. This slowed the progress of the teens, although it didn't stop it; if anything, it served as an impetus that these men were blocking their rescue attempt, and neither Akane, Shampoo, Ukyo, nor Kodachi were going to let anyone stop them from saving the man they all loved. Likewise, the remainder of them was determined to save their friend at all costs. Akane, in the red tang, was a visual reminder of that, Mousse self-opinionated. The fact that she was fighting like, well, like a Saotome, trying to save her intended, buoyed everyone else to new strengths to defeat this force.
So, he neatly clipped an attempted attack by a man with an antsy looking lance, then upended him and went into a rapid punch attack using the bonbori. All of his strikes hit, pulping the guy and dropping to the floor injured but still alive. {{Good thing, too. For all my bluff and bluster, I won't kill unless I have to. Torture and maim, sure; outright kill, no. He can die on his own if he wants.}} The next opponent raced in, a man with escrima sticks. He suddenly found himself wrapped in several meters of chain, bound and unable to continue.
"Take care, sir," Mousse mock-bowed as he raced to his next location. He had to get back to Shampoo's side, and just as important, he had a friend to save. He picked up the bonbori again and charged back into the fray.
* * *
"Umi No Godachi!"
The Blade of the Sea strike hit as intended, detonating against another man determined to try to kill her. She bypassed him, only to come up against another, who'd already made a naningata thrust towards her. It was a good thing, though, that Coral was faster. Much faster. Only that Chinese girl with the purple hair seemed capable of moving at her pace. She grabbed her attacker's arm, and using it like a balancing beam, flipped over him, taking the arm and yanking it out of its socket. She them slammed him to the floor, and, charging up her ki, applied a palm strike that would ensure that he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.
Ki still blazing like a beacon, Coral rocketed forward. Another pair leapt in her peath, intending a fatal encounter, but she was by far faster. As easily as any acrobatic cheerleader would, Coral flipped over the pair, then as she landed, unsheathed her blades, then leapt in the air, crying out, "Taifu Gasumi Sho!", becoming part drill, part buzzsaw, and a serious portion of Ginsu knives on adreneline overdose. Bodies fell before her as she flipped in midair, landed on the ground, and while sidestepping a manriki-guisari attempting to shatter her neck, hammered her elbow into the windpipe of the weapon's owner. The woman fell to the floor, stunned if not worse, and Coral moved on.
The feelings running through her mind were a conflicting morass of the excitement of battle, mixed in with the sorrow of killing and the shock of witnessing so much carnage around her. {{My God, I can't believe this is happening,}} as she realized the true level of conflict around her. Sure, she and the other girls were no stranger to fighting, but there was a differnce between taking out gang punks trying to do a drug deal and this sheer, outright warfare. This was the kind of place where one mistake would get you dead--permanently.
{{Chill out, Coral,}} she reminded herself. {{You can't afford to freeze up--not now. Peoples' lives are depending on you.}} Her mouth drew in a thin line. That was *not* going to happen--not while she was around. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Master Shinobi Mist move like an angel of death, slaying everything in sight. Coral momentarily wondered how Mist could do this; she'd known her for five years now, and considered her a good friend. Once this whole conflict was over, they'd have to talk about this over lunch in the Ginza. Herself, Mist, Autumn, and Libby--it'd been a while since they last went on a training trip together.
Setting her mind back to the matter at hand, Coral dug into the pouch at her side, then rocketed off a short volley of shuriken, saving her ki for stamina purposes. She had the sinking feeling she was going to need it.
* * *
Thanks to a well-thrown canteen of water by Nabiki, Genma was in Panda form...where he could do more damage. True, his strikes were more precise as a human, and he lost at lot of his high-jumping skills, but the plain fact of it was that he was *far* stronger as a Panda.
That, coupled with the shock value of seeing a panda doing kenpo was not something the average everyday thug saw. Nor were they expecting the poor dumb animal to actually have one of the sneakiest minds in all of martial arts. The Panda cut loose with a flurry of high speed punches, mowing down fighters left and right. A quick spin kick took care of the guy behind him with the pike. He grabbed the pike from the dazed man's hands, held a sign that said, [[TOO SLOW, BOY!]], then promptly bashed him over the head with it.
Genma had had plenty of time to adjust his fighting style to that of the Panda form. Since the day he returned to Osaka with Nodoka, he'd practiced for hours with her on improving his dexterity when in cursed form. It took a lot of shaved fur before he began to move fast enough to snatch the blade from her hands. He put that speed to good use now, snapping off the blade of the pike--{{I may be a lot of things, but I am no killer, unless my son has been killed}}--and swung the impromptu bo staff around like the expert that he was.
He broke the staff over someone's chest, then barked out a short series of woofs. If he had been capable of using human speech, it would've been understood to be the battle call of the combat style known as Yamasenken--the Mountain of 1000 Fists. The Panda applied a powerful uppercut, followed up by a high slice-kick to the next. As two more people approached, Genma simply let them have it with his projectile attack.
{{Score another one for the Yamasenken,}} he thought. Then, as only Genma would do, he gloated over his fallen opponents. In order to get a better look at them, he twisted his body...
...and was nearly skewered by a wave of nothing but ki blasts. He turned his head to notice several shinobi, charging up for another volley. With a Panda's roar, he charged the offenders, picking up speed, and slamming into them with the force of a bull elephant, a fuzzy bulldozer crushing small pebbles underneath its weight. He them jumped up and down, burying the shinobi, who rued the day they ever laid eyes on the Combat Panda.
As he moved on to the next wave, Genma spat a derisive bark their way. That would teach them to mess with a master of Panda-fu, he smirked.
* * *
John finally came back to his senses, just before a combatant sent a bladed nunchaku through his chest. He spun out of the way, intercepted the blow, swung the arm around and breaking it in the process, spun once more, then called out, "Army Crush!" He nailed the opponent twice as he executed a rising knee kick, and as he reached the apex, he brought his fist down hard on the guy's head, setting him ablaze with silvery-white ki-fire, and slamming him down hard into the ground, some ten feet below. He landed on the guy's chest cavity, easily crushing it and ending his life. Taking his newfound weapon, he swung the blades in an lethally elegant fashion as he went on the offensive, mowing down person after person, heedless of how bad the odds looked.
The odds were 5000 against 18 a second ago. In fifteen short minutes about roughly 300 people were now out of the fight, all on the opposing side. These kids did have a talent--*serious* talent--that he somehow managed to miss earlier. It didn't make any sense: in all his years of training military men and ninjas, he always knew that the disciplined were the good ones; the reckless either got disciplined or dead. This kids were a combination of reckless and skilled. That combination wasn't unheard of, sure; but it was so rare that those who had it either were mythical-level legends or retired when they realized their luck was running out. Those "wild ones", as he usually called them, averaged one in a hundred thousand-plus.
Yet here were eighteen of them, fighting alongside him. Things were definitely weird here...
{{...and likely to get weirder still,}} he admitted.
* * *
Shinnosuke parried and thrust his staff with the mastery of bojitsu that he had. He was sweating up a storm and fighting with all his might. He just hoped that Kaori didn't see the obvious fact that he now admitted to himself. He was good with his bo staff; no bragging; just fact. Unfortunately, in this situation, being *good* didn't cut it; you had to be *great.* Great he was not.
He countered the sai swinger with some difficulty, the woman was just too fast. She finally got in with a blow close enough to graze his side. He gasped momentarily in pain, but recovered rapidly enough to bring the pole under her arm, swing up to disarm her, then pivoted slightly in order to sweep her, and as she hit the ground, smashed the pole down on her head hard enough to knock her out.
He didn't bother to check the gash on his side, even though his yukata shirt was sliced open there and the edges were red with blood. He'd lived with the pain of the slashes on his back for years before Akane and Ranma saved him; he could live with this.
Not too far from his side, Kaori followed her beloved, with severe worry. He was way over his head, coming into this situation--*she* was nearly over her head! She loosed another fishcake barrage, blinding her opponent long enough to strike with her udon noodle bolo. The thick noodles slapped the swordsman silly, as she progressed to binding him with her ramen whip. She then charged forward, tossing a pair of pinpoint chopsticks, paralyzing her next two foe--
{{Oh no! Shin-kun!}} She saw as the ninja plunged the sai into his side. She thought she was about to lose him, when he shrugged it off, then disposed of his dancing partner in an expeditious manner. He raced on to attack his next opponent, letting anger at his wounding and his fervor to help his friends fuel his speed.
Determined to get closer to him, she clotheslined a man with a manriki-giusari, took his weapon, then slice kicked him to unconsciousness. She raced to his side, swinging the metal whip as if it were another noodle whip. She stepped athwart Shinnosuke's path, took a moment to wink at him, then flicked her weapon out to snare another unlucky soul. She swung the man towards her betrothed, letting go of the manriki-giusari and picking up the escrima fighting sticks he had dropped. She was familiar with the fighting style, so she could manage.
As for Shinnosuke, he simply swung the bo like it were a baseball bat, catapulting his "ball" into an unsuspected crowd of other brawlers, taking them down as well.
Kaori paused to give him a quick kiss, then check his side. "Are you okay, love?"
Shinnosuke grunted, "Yeah. I'm fit as a fiddle. I'm more worried about Ranma. We still have to get into that palace and fight our specific enemy." He blushed slightly. "Do you, uh, remember the, um, details?"
"Yeah," she said, tenderly. She saw the pain in his eyes. {{It went deeper than he's willing to admit, she noted, yet he still wants to go on. I won't ask you to turn back, but please do it. Please.}} Her eyes flashed that message, that pleading, even though she wasn't aware of it.
"No, I'm not going to give up, sweetheart," he intoned. "I appreciate the concern, love, but this is a debt of honor I must pay. A year and a half ago, Ranma and Akane risked their necks to save me. I won't let them go under the sword without my being there to stop it." He began to move again. "Let's go."
"Okay." Inside, she was proud of the man that she'd be calling her husband, soon. As soon as they returned to Ryugenzawa, she would happily spend the rest of her days with this kind, gentle, honorable man.
However, that wasn't the only emotion she felt. {{Saotome Akane, he took this blow because of you,}} she notioned with hatred. {{When this is over, you and I will come to blows of our own. You will suffer a thousand mortal wounds for each one my Shinnosuke takes, I vow that.}}
* * *
Mist moved around like the killing machine she was. Every stroke was fatal, and without mercy. She took the time to lop someone's head off, then release a volley of her butterfly-shaped shurikens. To the woman known as The Shinobi of the Mist, all was beauty, and beauty, like many other things in this world, could be a fatality.
Inside her though, she was deeply worried. Not that you could tell from her outward appearance; that still looked as alluring and dangerous as ever. No, the look was deep within those black eyes, those emotional bottomless pits. Or so everyone thought.
She did a quick flip kick, taking one down. As another attacked, she grabbed his partner and shoved him into the path of the blade. The assailant, momentarily stunned by the act he committed and its unintended result, didn't notice her arm around his neck, snapping it cleanly. Nor would he ever notice anything ever again.
{{I hate this! I hate this all! Every damn bit of this. Everything I do here will haunt me for the rest of my days.}} Under her mask, Mist frowned sadly. {{But I had to get involved this time. There was no choice. No choice at all.}}
She ripped a sai out of the hands of another ninja, then slammed into her jugular. She spun around and launched another volley of her Kocho-shurikens, virtually sandblasting her opponent.
A quick call of "Senju Konbo," and another person went down from her Blow of 1000 Fists. At least he was alive. If his friends were smart, they'd get him to intensive care within the hour. Another ninja rushed her, foot glowing as he performed a ki-charged flying kick. Mist ducked under his leg, caught it at the knee, and popped it like a bubble. As he fell to earth, shrieking like a stuck pig, she ended his life with one clean blow of her blade. Racing past the newest corpse, she grunted an apology of "I'm so sorry," meaning every word of it.
{{Every one of these deaths burns their way deeper into my soul. But this confrontation was unavoidable for so many reasons. These monsters destroyed my clan. They would execute the Windhams, had they the chance--and I cannot bear to see Kyle's family and clan suffer that fate. All of these young kids are in danger. This battle was unavoidable....}}
She moved out of the sword strike of another ninja, then spun around him and cut loose with an extremely gruesome move. She did the splits, then thrust upward with her sword, chopping him in half going up. She grabbed his shortsword and raced to the next foe.
That opponent was another shinobi. She threw a large green beam of ki, lancing towards the white Master Shinobi. Mist easily parried all of them, then moved closer to the opponent. The woman attempted to outmaneuver Mist by leaping behind her, but she simply powerslid, reappearing behind the other shinobi. Mist buried the "borrowed" shortsword in the woman's chest cavity. She flipped in mid-air, then landed in front of one other; all that person saw was a blur of silver before his head was neatly severed in two. She replaced her katana back in its scabbard, then raced on to meet the next group.
As soon as the leader of the group got into range, she punched forwards with her palm and shouted, "Hitu Satsu Jigokudan!" Mist's fist flared with ki, and upon contact, the lead ninja was turned into a human bonfire. She left the body burning as she continued to move. As for number two, Mist went up to him, leapt up and kicked as she executed a Tenretsukyaku attack. The flaming kick burned the man even as he was tossed towards destination unknown.
Number three fell away in a dead faint. Mist left him alone, as he was out of the fight and there was no need to incapacitate what was already out of the battle.
Mist spared a second to say a prayer for the dead souls before moving on. She also took the time to wipe the tears from her face.
* * *
Ukyo swept her battle spatula back and forth like a great wave, shoving everything in her path out of her way. She was a woman on a mission, and she wouldn't be denied. Her best friend, her first love, was in mortal danger--she felt it, she knew it in her heart of hearts. Her other friend, Akane, also was facing innumerable odds. She put her spatula down long enough to cast a double-handed spray of mini-spatula shurikens. The blades went to the tangents, slicing everything in their path, whether it was cloth or flesh.
She looked at her bandoleer, noticing that she'd flung her last volley. All she had left was her primary weapon, and if that should break....
"Here." A pouch was placed in her hands. "It's got about 50 shuriken. I hope it'll help, love."
She looked into Konatsu's eyes, then pushed him back...
...whipped out a blade, tossing it into an assailant's brachial, making him drop his tonfa. Ukyo leapt forward, grabbed and spun the combatant. She slammed her elbow into the man's chest, levered her fist to nail him in the jaw, and then finished it up with a quick uppercut, which sent the defeated opponent sprawling back.
"Wow!" Konatsu commented, obviously impressed. "Where'd you learn that move?"
She smiled lovingly. "Who else would make sure I knew how to fight hand to hand? It was a major deficiency in my skills, and he was worried about me being in a bad situation if I couldn't fight unaided. Besides, my ki skills are non existent, so that's something I'll have to work on developing."
Konatsu gave her a quick hug, then spun with lightning speed and threw a smoke bomb, blinding his opponent. He then charged forward into the cloud. Ukyo recoiled for a second when she saw the spray of blood gush into the air, but was relieved when she saw Konatsu coming out uninjured.
"You scared me for a second, Kona-chan," she said as the pair recommenced their siege on the Crystal Temple.
"What do you mean?" he said, a confused look in his eyes.
"You know what I mean!" she replied. "I thought for a second that was *you!"*
"Uc-chan, love, you know that I'll be with you always," he said, looking at her with that gaze of adoration that always cheered her up.
She in response grabbed his hand and gave it a tight squeeze, then both combatants returned to the struggle
* * *
Natsumi said nothing as she brought down her blades upon her latest foe. She was death for all enemies who came near her. She had no intention of sparing anyone. She had declared a blood hunt on the giant who scorned her, and that blood hunt could only be solved by the final judgment, whether it was for one or both. She then would move to her sister's aid, to help Akane save Ranma. She knew that Akane was hell-bent on doing it alone, and she had every faith in she who was the master of the Tendo School of AGMA shotokan.
She just had to make sure that Ranma would be safe, though. If he wasn't she didn't know what she'd do....
To punctuate her thoughts, she punched forward, launching one of her powerful ki bursts. It spiraled forward until it hit her opponent, lighting him up with ki-fire as she rushed in for the killing blow.
She was a Ghost Wolf ninja, nearly a shinobi by clan standards. She would avenge the wrongs done to the innocents, and tear apart every last one of these filthy insects....
...and if Ranma was hurt...
...nothing in this valley would ever come out alive, save kith and kin.
* * *
The skills that both Kunos had in this kind of situation were a bit handier than anyone had initially thought. While Tatewaki's use of a katana helped loads here, Kodachi's neophyte ninjitsu skills, arsenal of weapons and her dirty tricks also took their opponents by surprise. They thought that the man with the sword and the woman in the black full-length spandex were going to be a pushover. The two siblings quickly showed them that the name of Kuno was not one to be trifled with.
Kuno was easily taking on the other swordsmen with gusto. He was attempting something quite different than he did before. He was fighting not with the Kendo, but a mixture of European fencing and his particular style. He knew it wasn't strictly with the code of bushido to do so, but then again, these guys weren't fighting fair, either.
He'd heard somewhere that Ranma's mother was an expert of the Jigenryu school of swordsmanship, and was thus a bit more unorthodox with her talents. Less forms, more dynamics. In the conversation they had last night, Nabiki told him a bit about it. She also expressed a wish that he be a bit careful; she was his friend and didn't want to see him hurt or worse.
Tatewaki thought about it for a second. {{She cares. At least I know someone does.}}
Suddenly he had an idea. He charged another adversary, but just as their blades were about to collide, Kuno leapt up and channeled his ki into the blade. He swung the blade up with him as he flew skyward, creating a field of energy that nailed his opponent and two or three people as well. Upon coming down, he slashed the blade in a horizontal arc, the blurry energy shadow taking down about four more people.
As he landed upon the ground, he looked around and saw those fallen around him. He was impressed by his skill to say the least. Normally, that would be simply boasting and bluff, but this was quite different. Normally a fight against this many people of their supposed caliber would take a few minutes, but in his improv action, he incapacitated them within a matter of seconds. Not to mention the fact that he usually didn't channel ki into his attacks, primarily using it for strength and stamina enhancement.
{{I won...no, I *conquered.* All because I improvised. Mayhaps this is something I should do more often.}} He remembered that the last time he tried it, his attack--the Kuno Ryu Bokuto Sasara Kuzushi--failed because he stuck to form and tried to make do; that was his idea of ad-libbing. This time, he attempted actual spontaneity--and it worked.
He gave it no more thought and continued his trek towards the front gates of the Crystal Temple, never once realizing that he hadn't conceived of doing something out of nature until Nabiki came to mind.
Kodachi was actually enjoying this. People were afraid of her. She laughed her hair-raising shriek, frightening both friend and foe alike. She bolted forward, throwing a dispersion of black rose petals everywhere, distracting combatants as she began her next trick. She took out her gymnastics ribbons and began her assault on the enemy; the minute one felt the burning strike of her hit, she was already two people ahead of that initial strike. She leapt and laughed, the dancing Banshee on amphetamines. Life was grand, and nothing on this earth would stop her from reunited with her beloved....
{(Mikado)}
...Ranma-sama, and.... She stopped. What just entered into her cognizance? {{He's begun to take over my mind!}} She feared this for a second, then ran the thought through her mind like a lover's caress. {{He's begun to take over my heart.}}
She was alerted to the sense of impending danger, then moved out of the way, narrowly avoiding being nailed to the valley floor by a powerful ki-charged blow of a virtual giant. The man then swung his fists at her repeatedly, making the air whistle as his fists went through the space where the young gymnast/ninjitsu acolyte was.
She, in truth, moved back and forth, completely avoiding the blows. She was far faster than his momentum could handle, and as he stepped forward for a lunge punch, she saw an opening. She sidestepped into his chest, then nailed him with a gym club, sending him back.
"How dare you touch the fair countenance of Kodachi the Black Rose!" she roared. "No one shall touch this young innocent except my dear Mikado-sama!" She didn't notice her verbal slip, but instead, dropped into a Kaguro fighting stance. This boor had affronted her. She would tolerate it no more; she wouldn't use her AGMA gymnastics tricks on him. No, he'd fall at the hands of a Kaguro ninja.
The titan, seeing this, laughed comically. "Okay, little girl," his rumbling voice boomed, "try and stop me. I, Senjuuro Morisato, ninja raised of the Hatori clan, laugh in your face."
"Then you shall laugh at the 'little girl' who shall defeat you. I fear you not in the least." As she canted this, she began to spiral her ribbon about her as though she was using it as a mystical barrier. Soon, petals from a black rose began to swirl along with the soft yellow ribbon, coruscating and confusing with the way they seemed to multiply by the second. Soon, the girl was enshrouded by the foliage, to the point that she could not be seen any longer...
...and then the vortex, collapsed, sending the soft, black natural gossamer to the four winds, a soft breeze picking them up and scattering them throughout the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Senjuuro was searching for the little snippet, for she disappeared as though by magic. She was nowhere to be seen, and nowherer to be found--at all. There was no chance of her being able to get past him, to by pass him like--
He was tapped on the shoulder. He spun around to see Kodachi standing there, almost looking quite kawaii. She smiled sweetly, and said, "Looking for me?" Before he could react, she lunged forward and shouted, "Senju Konbo!"
Senjuuro took every single blow from Kodachi's Attack of 1000 Clubs, mostly in the face and upper torso. He fell to the ground with a bone-jolting *thud.*
"See? What did I tell you, knave?" She cackled like a banshee before she realized that she still had her dearest, sweet beloved Ranma-sama to save. She had to get there before that harridan Tendo Akane did, or the Spatula Girl, or that violent gaijin Conditioner...or whatever her name was.
* * *
"Ling-Ling?"
"Yes, Lung-Lung?"
"After you."
"No, you first."
"No, please, I insist--you first."
"No, no, no, I insist that you go first."
"A compromise, then. Both of us, at once."
"Splendid idea, splendid idea."
"Ready?"
"Quite."
Both girls shouted, "Kirinenbyu!" and a huge spiraling Kirin-shaped column of flame rocketed towards a wall of enemies, shattering them like so much tinder.
Both girls smiled, then high-fived.
"Excellent shot, old bean!"
Lung-Lung bowed. "Why thank you."
Ling-Ling giggled, then added, "Y'know, maybe we've been watching too many Warner Bros. Cartoons."
Both girls reentered the fight, serious as ever. Playtime was over, and they wanted to make Shampoo-sama absolutely proud of them. That, and the fact that they wanted to impress the Ghost Wolves--if what Natsumi-san said was true, the two girls may have found a chosen vocation for the future.
* * *
Azusa leapt forward, nailing one of them with a rising kick, then completing it with a roundhouse. If she had thought about it, she could've easily disposed of him with her newest acquisition, Meredith--a pearl-handled Fabrique Nationale 9MM semi-automatic, fully loaded with a clip of 10 hollow-point rounds. However, she didn't want her Meredith damaged--it was just *sooooooo cute!!!!!* So, instead, she faced her next opponent, socked her in the face, and as she went down, Azusa did a hand stand and came down in a devastating arc kick. In doing so, she knocked a pendant out of the girl's tunic, which sparkled with a gold and emerald seen in the early morning light.
Azusa's magpie instincts went into overdrive. "Oh, that pendant looks soooooooo cute! Diana! Dian--"
{{No.}} She forced herself to ignore it. She moved on, trying to concentrate. That little habit of hers could get her killed in a situation like this. Additionally, it tended to annoy all of her friends, and she didn't want that, especially in light of the fact that she would be leaving in the fall, and would most likely never see them again; she wanted to leave on good terms with them. She never admitted it, but Akane was the closest thing she had to a best friend, and Ryoga, well, if he wasn't engaged to Akari...maybe someday.... Ranma was a good friend to her, too; if Akane wasn't involved in this, she'd have gotten into the situation in order to save him anyway.
She ducked under another blow, then rushed forward and nailed a person to the side of her with a hurricane kick. She then raced back to her initial opponent, grabbed him and kneed him a couple of times in the head. She then spun, and smashed him away with Charlemagne, fresh from its storage place in Rumikspace. She didn't want to use Meredith, but she figured Charlemagne would be able to take the damage.
Mikado finished another attack using the Shiryo no Bonodori. He was mostly trying to stay alive and keep an eye on his cousin. He didn't give a damn about Saotome or Tendo, but rumors to the contrary, he did care about Azusa. She was the only girl he could honestly say that he never felt the need to get into her pants, and that made her something special. Azusa was nice and sweet, and most of all, innocent.
{{Not like that Kodachi chick. Man, now there's a babe. She looks hot, and I know that she wants, and she's more than capable. I think I'll definitely get in with her.}} He quickly ducked under an attack, then returned it with a powerful fist. He moved on, adding to his earlier thought, {{If I stay alive long enough.}}
* * *
"There's the entrance!" Akane had finally made it to the entrance, but it was obviously barricaded. They hadn't expected them to be as motivated as they were. The door itself was made of an impossibly dense obsidian, hard to blast or cut through. Plus, it didn't look like they'd be obliged to answer her knock.
Fortunately, she brought a doorbell. *"RYOGA!"*
He knew what to do. The eternal Lost Boy punched forward, index finger out, screaming, *"BAKUSAI TENKETSU!"* The massive door glowed once, then began to glow along spiderweb lines as the gate began to burst apart. *"Hit the deck!"* he warned, his rising tones being drowned out by the sound of shattering crystal. Everyone fell to the floor in response, wanting to avoid the oncoming shower of shards.
With a sound that sounded between a crystal glass shattering and a volcano eruption, the door exploded, propelling the sharp black shards forward at lightning speed like so much grape shot. The missiles went into the crowd, cutting them to ribbons, and removing at least a few hundred.
The way now open, Akane and her forces leapt to their feet and rushed in, quickly spreading out to seek out and disable their particular opponents.
Step one of the operation was complete, the insertion teams were now in position.
The odds one hour ago had been 5000 to 18.
The odds now were closer to 4300 to 18.
* * *
John was about to call out to Mist that they were able to cut loose, when they heard a scream from the other side of the battle field. Despite the shouts and noise, he heard it clear as a bell. {{Oh shit! The Tendo girl! And Coral and Mist are on the other side of the battlefield!}}
He raced back to the starting point, hoping that she wasn't dead. If she was, he'd failed his promise to Kyle that he would keep the girl safe. He knew the Tendos were like family to his employer, and a critical mistake like this would be too ungodly costly.
He wasn't the only one that heard. Genma's sharp Panda ears picked up the girl's yelp, and he raced to where she was with as much speed as his bulky Panda form would allow. Athough he never admitted it at the time, in the year that he lived at the dojo, Soun's daughters had become like the little girls he never had, and he wouldn't dare let anyone lay a hand on them. If Nabiki was hurt, the assailant would soon believe that a gentle, innocent Panda was capable of inflicting torturous, bloody pain.
The Amazon twins also heard her plea. The quickly dispatched their foes with a pair of well-placed blows to the groin, and as the men went down in pain, the girls hightailed it and raced back to the spot where Nabiki was. She was a non-combatant, they knew, and woe to anyone who would dare attack an innocent in their presence.
Coral spun on her heels at the sound of that scream. She bent down, and the person who was about to jump her sailed over her back. She rapidly reached out for his neck and snapped it with barely a thought. She them moved to hightail it back to Nabiki's side. Coral and Nabiki might not get along, but whoever attacked her was about to learn that when one picks on people incapable of defending themselves, they risked being buried under the power of the Sea. A raging sea of water in the form of a blue-haired Windham.
One other heard the cry as well. {{*NO! NABIKI!*}} Mist turned and raced back to the scene, so concerned about the life of the noncombatant in their troupe that she forgot about her special phasing skill. In her dash to where she knew Nabiki was, she swung her katanas like a madwoman, hacking and slashing anyone who didn't move out of her way in time. It didn't matter anyway.
If the woman was dead, Mist decided she could live with the prospect of executing the remaining 4000-plus troops.
* * *
Nabiki reached over and pulled the shurikens out of her arm. She'd moved fast enough to prevent fatal wounding, but not total safety. She ignored the pain and focused on the person bearing down on her. He had one intent and one intent only: to kill her.
{{Come on you bastard,}} she thought. {{I'm more dangerous than you know.}}
As he pulled out his blade, she reached behind her back for the loaner tanto. She would have one shot to make this work; if not, well, she would at least be able to make peace with her mother in the afterlife....
The man leapt towards her, bringing the sword momentarily over his head, then swinging it down, with the intent to cleave her in two.
{{*NOW!*}}
There were two blurs of silver, followed by a flash of blood.
The katana landed on the ground, the blade buried deep into the earth.
Nabiki leapt back, then rushed towards him to counterattack, even as the man pulled her tanto out of his hand and leapt towards her. She'd sidestepped his blow, and plunged her blade deep through his hand until the only thing stopping it was its handle. He threw the blade at her, but she timed it and swatted it away with no concern whatsoever.
On meeting, Nabiki leapt up, pivoted off his shoulders, and while weighing him down due to the temporary addition of her weight to his, she landed on the ground spun around in a rapid roundhouse kick, nailing him squarely in the back of the head. He went down, but leapt back to his feet and threw a rushing punch.
Nabiki caught this, reeled him in, and with all the strength she could muster, she nailed him in the gut, then a quick hit to the jaw, finishing it up with an uppercut. As he staggered back, she threw her own charging elbow, then dropped to the floor and swept him of his feet. He bounced back to the ground, then tried to get up once more to finish the girl.
This was the break she was looking for. As he stood up, she stepped in and threw a flurry of punches to his face and torso, spun, then slice kicked him in the side of the head. She then leapt up, completing this with a well-timed Shoken.
Her would-be killer wasn't getting up, this time. He was out like a light, and down for the count. She'd pummeled him solidly, using every bit of the skill no one knew she had.
As for Nabiki, she simply dropped to her knees as a result of her pain and exhaustion. For a second she felt herself floating on air, until she realized that she was being lifted in powerful, furry arms. She snuggled closer to that comfortable feeling, knowing that she was safe, since she knew who it was.
There was a short, soft series of barks, followed by a sign that said in bright red kanji, *[[WHERE THE HELL DID YOU LEARN HOW TO FIGHT?]]*
"It's easy," she said, looking at Genma. "I learned from Daddy long before Akane did. I just really didn't keep up with it until you guys came to town. Sometime last year, in payment for money Ranma owed me, I had him bring me up to speed on my skills in secret." This was a fallacy; she actually asked him if was would, and if they could do it in secret. She remembered those weeks for many reasons, not only because it brought her closer to her future brother-in-law and close friend, but also because she was the first person he to which he admitted his love for Akane. "He still owes me a few more lessons, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell my family."
[[WE'RE FAMILY, IF YOU HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN.]]
"Yeah," she blushed, a rare moment for both of them. "Okay, the rest of them." She then noticed she was bleeding all over his furry chest.
[[DON'T MOVE. YOU'RE INJURED. I CAN LIVE WITH THE STAINED FUR. WORSE COMES TO, I CAN HAVE MY WIFE THROW ME IN A WASHING MACHINE.]] He barked a quick series of sounds which Nabiki realized was a sort of laugh.
There was a click of a gun, with the sound of "Don't move." It was John. He had his "dirty trick", his pistol--a US Army issue M1A1911 Colt .45. It was loaded and aimed at the giant panda that had captured Nabiki. "Set her down, boy." The panda must be a tortured animal, but from what he saw earlier, it was apparently sentient. He wasn't sure whose side the animal was on, but he swore he'd protect the children of Kyle's friend.
"What are you doing, Twinmoon-san?" Nabiki snapped. "This is Saotome Genma, for cryin' out loud! Put that gun down!"
{{The girl *must* be hurt. She thinks that panda is Genma!}} "Look, Nabiki, I realize you must be injured or something, but that bear holding you is not Saotome!"
"Yes it is! I've lived in the same house with him for a year! Don't you think I know who he is?" she ranted. She then turned to him. "Tell him who you are, already!"
Genma woofed a series of barks that would have come out as "I'm Genma!"--if he could talk.
"Sorry boy," John apologized as he drew a bead right between the animal's eyes, "but I promised I'd protect that girl. I hope you understand."
He was about to pull the trigger, when Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung grabbed his hand, forcing it away. "What you doing, firing at Saotome-san like that? Should be ashamed!" the aqua-haired teen admonished him.
"Saotome? Where? Surely you don't mean the furball?" he spluttered. {{Why did I let Kyle talk me into this?!?!?! Has everyone around here lost their minds?!?!?!?}}
Meanwhile the other had gone to check on the pair. "Oh, Saotome-san! You got blood on fur! Are okay?"
[[YES, QUITE. NABIKI, ON THE OTHER HAND....]] The sign was in clear kanji.
{{Waitaminit...the panda responded to the conversation! I knew it was sentient, but not sapient!}} "Genma?" he asked, not believing what he was seeing. A bead of sweat began to form on his brow from sheer embarrassment..
Another sign. [[OF COURSE. HAVEN'T YOU EVER SEEN A CHINESE CURSE BEFORE? NOW, COULD YOU PLEASE PUT THE GUN AWAY? IT'S RATHER DISTURBING.]]
This was too much. John facefaulted to the ground, and let comfortable unconsciousness soothe him.
* * *
{{Nabiki's safe,}} Mist noticed, as she saw Genma rush to her aid. She then turned around to face the rest of the horde, bearing down on her. *"But you're not gonna be!"* She noticed a flash of blue in the corner of her eyes, and noticed her chance. *"Umi! I'm cutting loose! I need you to cover me!"*
*"You got it! How much time do you need?"* Coral responded.
*"About two minutes!"* was the reply.
{{Two minutes, huh? She's cutting loose a Final Attack. She'll need time to channel that much ki,}} Coral ran through her mind. Only one way to accomplish that. She focused her thoughts on the mass roiling towards them, murder clear in their eyes.
Final Attacks, which Mist was about to attempt, required mass amounts of ki; the way she'd been using it earlier, it would take the two minutes for her to build it up. Fortunately, all Coral would have to do would be to stall for time, and that would require something else. Fortunately, she had stopped using the majority of her ki halfway through the battle, and thus had a ready store available. In front of her, she began to charge up a massive ball of ki, the sea-blue sphere growing larger by the second.
Roaring in a mixture of English and Japanese, she cut loose herself, though at a lower level: *"Windham Shinobi Super Attack! Tsunamidama!"* She loosed the ball from her hands, and it became a massive wave of energy, tearing into the throng racing at her, as though it were a jet of water tearing into flame. Looking at the path of the beam, she noticed that she was boring a hole through the army, diving it in half.
{{One minute,}} she thought. {{Have to hold out for one minute more....}} Her ki blast tapering off, she rushed forward to meet 4100 troops in hand-to-hand combat. She wasn't worried, as she had faith in Mist. And more so, she was fighting 4100 (or so) troops. {{It's not like it's a huge amount of people, right?}} she thought with a touch of self-inflicted sarcasm.
* * *
Meanwhile, Mist stopped, closed her eyes and nodded her head as she went into the pose of a ninja master delving into her the deepest parts of her soul to find the ki that boiled within. Her battle aura began to brighten and swell, the fragile color of the sakura-pink aura becoming somehow more solid, to the color of dusty rose, even as her aura began to swell stronger and stronger. Her visual appearance didn't exponate with the expansion of her aura, but she seemed to grow more physically *there.*
Her hair began to waft and float away from her head like a plasma ball, or the sight of someone generating intensive amounts of power from deep within. Streams of what appeared to be electricity arced and ran the course of her body. And still she was generating more and more power. The ground began to shake, and the air began to warp.
The forces that were charging stopped and watched in awe. This was the most stunning and impressive display of ki-charging that they ever saw. A split-second later, they realized belatedly that that force would be directed at *them.* That being said, some ran for their very lives; others to stunned to move, their hands splayed in the oyazaku posu....
Genma immediately noticed what was happening. Tossing a sign into Nabiki's hands that said, *[[GET DOWN!!!!!]],* he lunged over and grabbed the still form of John and with Nabiki tucked under one foreleg and the unconscious American hoisted on his other shoulder, Genma and the Amazon twins raced into the nearby jungle. Once there, they hit the deck as Genma got in front of them to shield them from the blast.
The Panda's concern was blatantly obvious: when that force was released, *it was going to really hurt.* He should be able to take the brunt from the blast, thereby saving the lives of his best friend's daughter, his other best friend's trusted man, and two children. The question that came to his mind now was: would he live to see his son again?
Coral, noticing that Mist was about to launch her attack, did the following things, in order: stopped her own attack, dived into the nearest crater, and began to pray, trying to remember every Shinto prayer she'd forgotten since childhood.
* * *
After the sufficient period of gathering enough energy, Mist decided it was time to inflict the judgment of heaven on them. She only wished that history would remember her as a kinder person than what she was about to do.
{{May Kami-sama have mercy on my soul,}} she thought, {{because I don't think *I* ever will.}}
She lifted her head, snapped open her eyes, and her voice was fury itself: *"All right bastards, take this! BEKE-OKAMI NINJITSU SHAISHU OGI!! KOCHO ZAKURA BAKUHATSU!!!"* She then cast the most powerful attack in her arsenal, the Beke-Okami Ninjitsu Shaishu Ogi--the Ghost Wolf Clan's Ultimate Secret:
Kocho Zakura Bakuhatsu.
Butterfly Sakura Detonation.
She spread her arms out and splayed her fingers, as though she was releasing something. Which she was. Spreading out in an umbra of power, a million butterflies fluttered from her battle aura to meet the enemy. They were neither her butterfly shuriken, for they moved like the living insects, nor were they those, because they were clearly constructs of energy. There was also one other reason why they were clearly simulacra...
...a single living butterfly, upon contact, did not explode with the force equal to one stick of TNT.
As the swarm continued, the napalm effect filled the air, as well as the screams of the dying and the frightened. The world began to grow brighter and brighter, a shade of delicate pink. The explosions began to echo throughout the jungle, bring to it a level of warfare that had not been seen since the US-Vietnam War, so long ago.
The storm grew more intense, and nature itself seemed to howl in revenge at the evil that walked the grounds of this ancient place. The detonating butterflies tore apart each person it alighted upon, shredded each piece of weaponry it came into contact with, fletchetted any thing that was tactile. The rage continued, unabated.
The blasting, searing light of sakura pink grew stronger and stronger, as the canopy of demolition was cast further and further out, an umbra of immense power that slowly consumed more and more of the surrounding jungle. Still, the attack continued, without visible end, or strain on the face of the Shinobi of the Mist.
The canopy of ki burned into everything--the force unbearable, the light, inextinguishable, the noise immutable. At this point, the great umbrella of energy dispersed, and a massive shockwave shook the area, ripping apart everything remotely in the area save a pair of shinobis, a Chinese panda and the humans it protected, and a magical pagoda made of obsidian. The remnants of the blast became a soft pink mushroom cloud that ascended to the very heavens, with butterflies and cherry blossoms dancing up and down the length of the explosion.
* * *
Ten minutes later, when Nabiki came to, she noticed that her arm was being bound and tended to by Mist herself. The shinobi spoke in a soft voice, saying, "Try not to move your arm too much, Tendo-san. You've taken a couple bad cuts that could get worse if aggravated. I've done what I can, but it may not be my best. I was...preoccupied."
Nabiki tested her arm. It hurt like hell, but was functional. Other than the pain, it was excellent, certainly on the skill level of Tofu. "Arigato gozaimasu, Mist. It is excellent work."
The look in Mist's eyes was friendly and peaceful, Nabiki noticed. If it weren't for the fact that this was Mist's deep black eyes she was staring into, she'd swear that gaze looked somewhat familiar. "I had someone teach me a few meager skills in medical care. When you're in as dangerous an occupation as I am, you tend to need more than First Aid when no doctor is available."
She looked at the others, who were standing around. While Genma's Panda face was unreadable, his wide eyes clearly showed that he was in a state of shock. This was mirrored in the faces of the others, their visages pale and unbelieving that they were witnessing what they now saw.
"What's wrong?" Nabiki asked. "What's everyone looking at?" To her annoyance, Mist looked away, saying nothing. Annoyed by this, Nabiki leapt to her feet and commented sarcastically, "Well, it must be pretty good if every...one...wants...." She never finished her sentence.
Good wasn't the word to describe the situation.
Disaster wasn't the optimum word, either.
The most proper term would be "mass destruction."
The group was standing in a massive crater that measured roughly about five meters deep and about a kilometer in length, roughly the same dimensions as the blast crater left by the transportation of the Crystal Temple out of Tokyo airspace. The only thing standing other then them was the black pagoda. Of the enemy horde, there was no sign. Of the surrounding jungle, there was no sign. It was completely, totally, absolutely annihilated.
Nabiki stared in the same absolute shock for a moment that the others did, unable to comprehend the facts that stared her in the face. She knew that Ranma had destroyed Mt. Quanjing and Jusenkyo--blew the top off the mountain--in order to save Akane, but that was word of mouth, although undeniably true. *This* was tangible, visible *fact.*
Slowly she recovered, right at the same time that John did; the others continued to stay in absolute shock. She managed to beat the American to the inevitable question. "Um, what happened to the enemy army?"
"They'll trouble us no further," Mist said in a monotone. Her eyes, however, reflected a haunted look to them, a look that said, while their suffering for the others was now over, hers would continue until she drew her final breath.
"Oh," Nabiki said, dully. She tried to shut the obvious out of her mind tried to close off the fact that this woman had not only just caused a massive ecological disaster, but had just been personally responsible for the obliteration of 4000-plus enemy troops. She tried to shift the subject. "So what next, Mist?"
She turned and glanced at the nearest patch of forest. "We wait. We've done our job, Tendo Nabiki-san. Your sisters and your friends, as well as my ninjas, must do theirs."
At this time John finally began to speak. "Where are you going?"
"You mean where are *'we'* going, Twinmoon-san," she corrected. "We have to get the camp supplies. We'll need to set up the cooking stove so we can boil hot water for Saotome-san. It'll restore him to his human form. Also, give Tendo-san your gun. I doubt that there are any, but someone may have survived and may attempt a retributive strike. Tendo-san, I need you to stay here and watch over everyone to see that they don't go into complete shock--don't worry, they're only in stupor at the moment."
He did so. Nabiki tried very hard to conceal the fact that she, a closet gun freak, was finally getting to hold a real one, and not a pellet replica of the .357 Magnum. She was going to have to get one of these someday, but with the Japanese law preventing most civilians from owning weapons, she'd have to use whatever connections she had left...or worse, owe some favors.
John noticed the glint in her eyes, but said nothing. He instead asked, "You sure that it's still intact?"
"Yes. I always plan for the Kocho Zakura Bakuhatsu, so I made sure I left it well out of the blast radius. It should be within ten meters or so of that tree." She pointed to a tall tree in the distance, about a quarter-kilometer away from the edge of the crater.
"How'd you know about the blast radius?" he inquired.
"The attack has only been used twice before in known history. Once during the Warring States period, and once during the first War of the Clans. There was enough documentation during the second time to approximate the blast. In any event, it is used so infrequently because there is usually only one born per every tenth generation with the ability to generate that much power. I am this generation's person." She began to walk to the jungle. Without turning around, she told Nabiki, "We'll be back in fifteen minutes."
As the pair walked off, Nabiki called out, "But you knew we'd make it, right? That's what you planned, ne?"
No answer.
"Right?" Nabiki reiterated, beginning to get a sour taste in her mouth.
Still no answer.
"Right?" she yelled. The answer she got chilled her to the bone.
In a quiet, ghostly voice, Mist said, "I had no idea. The records have no indication of anyone--including the person initiating the attack--ever surviving the Kocho Zakura Bakuhatsu."
Nabiki sank to her knees in stunned silence. Then she broke down and wept.
Nabiki was not the only one. Seated silently by Genma, Coral heard Mist's words, and knew them almost for total fact, except for one thing: Coral knew there was one other person in the world capable of those power levels; one person who was like a sister to Coral. She knew it because of things she remembered growing up, comparisons made between Mist and that other person.
It was a definite--that person could throw a variant of the Kocho Zakura Bakuhatsu that was developed by the Windhams. The only difference was that the name of the Windham variant was the Ikari no Kamikaze--The Divine Winds of Rage. The name didn't matter, but she knew with a sick feeling in her heart, that the effects would be the same.
As she sat there, tears freely streaming down her face, Coral also made a vow to herself to never reveal to Libby what she'd witnessed here. Coral didn't have the heart to tell her best friend that she was a virtual living nuclear bomb.
* * *
Meanwhile:
*"WHAT?!?!"* Kyle thundered. *"Mr. President, you can't be serious!"*
The meeting was going on in full swing. The President, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Director of Central Intelligence, the National Security Advisor, various members of Congress, Kyle, and Marc were in this meeting, deciding the fate of the hundreds of people living in the French Indochinese region. The ICBMs were ready to go; all that remained was to navigate a tracking satellite over the site in order to confirm destruction of the Temple. Kyle had told Marc the tale of what was going on, and the pair joined forces to keep the world from plunging into possible nuclear war.
The President of the United States ran his hand through his hair disturbingly, as though he were feeling the weight of his office literally crushing him. His face was grim. "Kyle, it's 8:00 in the evening here. Barbara and I are not enjoying this decision. Dan and I have discussed in many a time. The world is afraid of nuclear war, yet they are also afraid of a shadow organization that can strike anywhere with impunity. They look to America for leadership. We may not have a choice. I know what it's like to command men; I did it in World War II. I understand entirely."
"Mr. President, I have a team of my top shinobi over there, engaged in combat with the enemy's forces! They're out to destroy the Temple. They can do it, I tell you!" he choked. This wasn't good. With John, Genma, Soun's children, the surviving Ghost Wolves, and the impromptu force that Soun's daughter Akane had assembled, attempting to rescue Genma's only child, things were definitely bad. In fact, they were likely to get worse.
He knew that the nameless enemy had to be taken out and soon, and he had faith in the skills of John, Genma, and the Ghost Wolves, he had only Genma's word on Akane and her friends. This was sketchy at best, but he'd play the card. {{There's more at stake here than the life of an 18-year-old boy,}} he admitted. {{The fate of the world may be very well being decided here.}}
The Director of Central Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke up simultaneously. "If you knew about this, Mr. Windham, why didn't you inform us?"
Kyle improvised. "WindOps only dug up the final clues yesterday afternoon. We relayed the information to the DDI at Langley, but my staff and I figured that it would take Washington too long to cut through the red tape and assemble an available force. I already had two teams operating in the region for different reasons, so I diverted them. It appears that my reasons are tied in with your needs, and my men will do whatever it takes to destroy that thing."
Marc joined in. "Sirs, my office just got done streaming the data only hours ago. It's accurate, but we couldn't set up a decent strike team in that manner of time. The Windham Clan is our best chance right now for destroying this place with a minimum of regret, sir." Marc knew that he was possibly digging a grave if he was caught in a lie, but he knew that Kyle wouldn't leave him hanging. Kyle would have WindOps provide Marc's men with all the data with enough time to make it look as if the Agency's dataheads came up with the same results.
"Senior Chief Lopez," the Chief of Naval Operations spoke, "are you so sure that civilians can accomplish what your SEALS cannot? Or the Green Berets, or Air Force SOG, or Marine Recon?"
"Admiral, sir," he replied, "The forces that Mr. Windham has sent there are under the command of a retired Army Major, John G. Twinmoon. He was with the Berets. I had the opportunity to work with him at MacDill. He's a capable man. Likewise, the Windham ninjas are the premier American clan for a reason--they are the best. Some of them are better than anyone we have on active duty SOF. Some of our men when they get out, get hired by Mr. Windham's organization. They have a detachment at each US Special Forces training center teaching our boys their ways, and learning from them, as well. Their Law Enforcement Detachments, found in every major city, help decrease crime significantly. They are a force to be reckoned with, and they have always been on the good guys' side.
"I'd trust the Windhams at my back, sir. Without a doubt. No questions asked."
"Who do you work for," the DCI sneered, "me or Windham PR?"
Lay off him," the CJCS said. "I know John Twinmoon. He worked for me as a second lieutenant when I was a major. I have never seen a more dedicated man. I trust him. And if I can trust him to lead Army troops, I can trust him to direct the Windhams."
Kyle grinned. "Exactly why I hired him, General."
"Well, that's fine and all," the President replied, his Texas drawl sounding skittish and nervous, "but I've made up my mind on my decision. It's not an easy one, I tell you." He turned to an aide. "Rusty, the satellite will be over the site in what time?"
"Two hours, sir," the aide replied.
"Two hours, Kyle. That's how much time I can give your boys to pull off the impossible. If that place is leveled by the time the satellite is orbit, the birds don't fly. If not, I have no other choice than to launch. That's the best I can do."
"Thank you, sir," Kyle said, burying his face in his hands. He had two hours before two men he knew better than simple friends, and children who he would treat like his very own would be sentenced to death in the worst way imaginable.
Tendo Akane had two hours to pull off the impossible.
But there's a common saying in Nerima when it comes to the impossible....
