Insertion: Reflux

	Part 3

	Adventures in China.

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

	"Wonder how our little project is going?" said Carrot lazily. He, Dan,
and Ranma just had a wonderful time bringing about the end of a few
worlds.  Xianfu was mostly indifferent about the whole affair. Carrot
and Ranma both destroyed worlds when they discovered reality television.
They were actually pretty forgiving about it and gave them a few years
to snap out of it. If they didn't stop they were destroyed mercilessly. 

	"I dunno. We should check up on him!" cried Pissant a little too
cheerfully. The group had to force their arms down to their sides again. 

	"I thought we told you about doing that!" snapped Xianfu irritably. "Oh
look! How cute! The Amazons are all chasing them across China."

	"Wow! He pissed all of them off at once?" Ranma actually sounded quite
pleased to hear this.

	"Looks like it," commented Dan. "Even we never got all of them after
us."

	"I know, but let's liven it up a bit!" said Carrot.

	"Huh? How? Alien invasion?" asked Dan.

	"Don't be silly. We save that for the Moroboshi kid remember? Man, that
still hasn't gotten old. Remember when we engaged him to a Klingon?"

	"Well, I suppose that was a bit funny, sometimes," admitted Pissant.
"Still wasn't very nice."

	"I thought his face was priceless when she went into heat and took him
forcefully. I was amazed he could still walk after that," said Dan.

	"It's not like he hated it," muttered Carrot.

	"As I recall, he never was really sure how he felt about those
encounters," commented Xianfu. 

	"Whatever. On to the current problem," said Carrot as he forced them to
focus on what was going on in that particular Universe. "Let's set Greg
after them. He's in the area."

	"I dunno. I kind of like Greg," said Ranma.

	"Yeah. He's getting old though," pointed out Carrot. "He is rather
nasty, and we don't want him to become too powerful. They can't handle
something like that right now."

	"Guess you've got a point," admitted the original occupant of their
former body.

	"Gregory it is!" said Carrot.

	"Hey. Lost Universe is starting again," said Dan as he noticed
something going on in another Universe.

	"Yeah. Let's not put Sailor Moon in there this time. I don't think it
worked out too well last time. A guy can only take so much posing and
glitzy action shots."

	"Let's make Popcorn!" cried Pissant.

	"What?" snapped Xianfu. "I don't want to end up eating it for seven
centuries again! Last time you idiots decided to continuously eat
popcorn for Happosai's entire life span!"

	"It ain't like you got any fatter," snorted Dan.

	"Nah. I was just seeing how long it would take you guys to snap,"
commented Carrot as a large tub appeared in his arms along with an
'Endless Gulp' (tm). He calmly started munching as he focused his
attention on Lost Universe. "We sure watch a lot of Anime up here."

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

	Ranma Saotome was not having a good day. He hadn't had one for quite
some time. Currently he was standing in the middle of a tiny little
village in the middle of nowhere. It was all he'd been able to find so
far, for almost four months straight. Having most of a village hunting
you down was not exactly something most people could handle. As a group
it was worse. "What the hell did we ever do to them?" 

	"We gotta get out of here!" snapped Gai angrily. There was an arrow
sticking through the shoulder of the boy's shirt, it had come close, but
he had managed to avoid it. They wouldn't raid villages to get to him,
but he had to figure out a way out of there before their snipers could
take positions. They were deadly accurate with their bows. Sesshoumaru
was invaluable to them for his extra senses.

	"They are trying to take positions on the rooftops of the north side of
town. We should head south, I think we'll find the least resistance
there."

	"What about that old one?" asked Faye.

	"She is still far away, awaiting to hear how they fare against us. If
we remain unharmed her fear will keep her away. She is strong, but
cowardly when it comes to my kind. If she discovers we are powerless,
she will come for us. Not even your skill will be enough boy. Not yet
anyway."

	Amelia was a little frustrated with her new world as well. "If only we
had my magic. This wouldn't be much of a problem."

	"I really wish you'd quit saying that," growled Faye.

	"She is correct. We must discover what is blocking my power. I know it
can be done, I can still feel all of my strength. I do not know how to
unlock it. It is as if I was a child again." He seemed disgusted with
the very idea.

	"Well we can't! We don't have time to waste worrying about it either!"
snapped Ranma. "We gotta get out of here! You people are going to get me
killed!"

	"The snipers are in position," commented Sesshoumaru as he calmly
plucked an arrow out of the air. The villagers froze in shock for a
moment and quickly vacated the scene. He calmly turned to stare down the
dumbstruck woman as she gaped at him in shock. "We should leave now."

	They turned away and started running towards the edge of town away from
the snipers. The boy calmly shifted sideways as another planted itself
in his path as he rushed around a nearby corner. He continued to run
towards the surrounding fields. 

	"Damn it! I hate running!" growled Gai. 

	"Sometimes you have too!" muttered Amelia nervously. 

"Turn here!" snapped Faye as she forced them to avoid rushing into a
wall. 

	"Where the hell are we going?" growled Ranma.

	Sesshoumaru suddenly spoke up. "Keep running. As fast as you can. We
have to get out of here immediately. Don't stop for anything, not even
the Amazons." He forced them to level a sword carrying woman from the
side as they burst into a street and blindsided her. The group of women
surrounding her froze in surprise for a moment as the target ran by them
at high speed.

	"After him!" cried one of them as she pointed a spear in his direction. 

	"Are you crazy? You're gonna get us killed!" cried Gai.

	"Better to die at their hands than in the hands of what is coming for
us now. You will soon wish we had taken that sword from its
resting-place. Now, we can only hope to run fast enough."

	"What?" gasped Ranma in horror.

	"Another monster!?" cried Amelia.

	"It has already sensed us," snorted Sesshoumaru. 

	"Shit," grumbled Faye. 

	A jet of red flame and magma shot up from the ground in the center of
the village. The creature tore up through the ground and roared angrily
as its flaming palms slammed into the earth surrounding the spire of
flames. It was a beastly looking creature, almost ape like with horns.
It appeared as if its entire body was nothing but flames around a
charred looking body. It towered almost fifteen feet in height and
snorted as it scraped the ground with its ape like clawed hands in the
dirt and shook its horns.

	"What the fuck!?" screamed Ranma in shock as he glanced back over his
shoulder at it. 

	The thing roared as the armed women scouring the village fled away from
it in terror. It raked its claws across a trio of them particularly
close to it and the pieces of their bodies that fell away became
engulfed in fire.

	"I told you we should have taken that sword," commented Sesshoumaru
calmly as he continued to run out of the village. No one was trying to
stop him anymore as the rampaging demon tore through homes and anything
else in front of it as it made a bee line for them while snapping its
jaws impatiently.

	Ranma and nearly everyone else was terrified beyond speech as the heat
from the beast began to make their back feel rather cooked as they
rushed across open field. 

	The village behind them was decimated in flames and smoke rose high
into the air behind the thing.

	"This really sucks!" cried Faye out loud.

	"No kidding!" snapped everyone but Sesshoumaru.

	"We have to do something! It's gaining on us!"

	"What?" snorted Sesshoumaru coldly. "There is no cover to hide in. You
are correct though. He will overtake us shortly."

	"I don't want to die like this! Do something! It's all your fault
anyway!" cried Ranma.

	"I do not wish to die as a coward," agreed Sesshoumaru as he made them
fall flat on their faces from the sudden stop he performed.

	"What the hell are you doing!?" cried Amelia and Faye.

	Gai had given up hope and simply waited for the end to come.

	They had now rolled over on their back and glared up at the demon
hatefully. "Take me if you can then!" The monster raised its claw as it
loomed over them. The puny thing rolled just out of the way, and ignored
the small flames that ran up his shirt sleeve as he stood and turned to
face it.

	"What are we gonna do now?" asked Ranma impatiently. He was in full
alert mode and fear was a distant memory as he concentrated everything
he had on his problem and possible solutions to it.

	"What can we do? Without my powers he is too powerful for us to stand
against."

	The creature was simply looking at them now with its palm planted
firmly in the ground still. "I am Gregorius. Who are you demon? I wish
to know the name of my victim today."

	"You will not learn my name so easily fool," snorted the boy in front
of it calmly.

	"I see. You should be much stronger. Your power is sealed away by
something. I never imagined I'd be so lucky."

	"I know," replied Sesshoumaru calmly. He appeared to be standing and
holding a simple conversation with the beast. The others were simply
happy that the idiot pompous jerk was keeping the thing occupied. 

	"Do you not fear death? Or have you simply realized the futility of
your situation."

	"I fear nothing. I accept that which I cannot change. Without my power
I cannot fight you, and you could chase me to the ends of the planet.
Soon this body would tire, and I would be destroyed."

	"I thank you for your consideration," replied the thing coldly.

	"I was concerned only with myself. I need not suffer that much running
from you." He paused for a moment. "I come from a different world than
this one. Answer me this one question."

	"What?" asked the creature coldly. "Why do you allow those humans to
survive above you? How is it they are allowed near you at all? My kind
does not allow such filth so close to us. Why do you not make them
suffer for daring to defile your home? I see very little in the way of
suffering beyond their poverty."

	The thing growled at him for a moment. "You really don't know do you?"

	"I would not have asked if I had." The boy seemed as steely calm as
before.

	"My, you are a brave one. I do not harm their bodies to make them
suffer. No my friend, I tempt them. I make them my own, strip them of
their very wills. I send them to a horror beyond agony and reap the
rewards of their power."

	"It is sad that I am killed by a mere leech." 

	"Now, it is your turn to suffer," snarled the beast coldly.

	"Why did you insult him!?" snapped Faye. "I almost thought of a way out
of this!"

	"Yeah, right," muttered Gai hopelessly.

	The demon roared as it dove for them with its fangs bared and claws
forward. 

	"NO!" cried Ranma as he jumped into the air.

Sesshoumaru sighed. They were over the thing's back looking down at it.
"It's a shame really. It would be so simple, all I'd have to do was
this." He made a swipe with their hand, but an unexpected force was
behind it.

	"I'll try anything now!" cried Ranma as he joined the motion.

	A wide blue arc of energy shot from the open air and slammed into the
monster's back side. It roared in anger as it was flattened into the
ground by the force of the blow.

	"What?" it snarled angrily. The boy landed behind it and slowly turned
with a widening grin forming on his face.

	"Can we do that again?" cried Gai hopefully.

	"I see. So you are the key, for now," commented Sesshoumaru with a sort
of thoughtful sounding tone.

	"It worked?" muttered Ranma dumbly.

	"Yes. It did. I must teach you how to perform some of my skills. We
should still acquire a weapon of some sort. Enchanted or not."

	"What just happened?" cried Amelia dumbly.

	"I think I get it. You two can both still use your powers. Ranma just
has to help you do it for some reason."

	"Makes sense to me!" said the boy happily. Finally he could control
something again.

	"It will not last," replied the demon coldly. "It is simply a matter of
time before I discover how to unseal them completely."

	"What about me and Faye?" asked Gai. "We don't have powers. I don't
think so anyway."

	"I'm not sure about you, but I'm here because I'm smart," said Faye
cheerfully.

	"I beg to differ," replied Sesshoumaru calmly. "Only a fool would tease
a demon of my power so carelessly. Someday I'll find a way out of here,
and then I'll make you all suffer for what you've forced me to endure."

	"Um? The monster?" asked Amelia.

	"Oh yes. Him," commented Sesshoumaru calmly. 

	The beast was sitting and watching them closely. The pair was simply
staring each other down. "Just how strong is he? Am I the one being led
into a trap here? Perhaps I should leave." It was only one strike, but
it was a powerful blow. The creature was carefully weighing its options,
and it was running out of time if it needed to run.

	"Shall we end this game then?" asked Sesshoumaru calmly. "Gregorius?"

	"Very well then," snorted the beast as he stepped back.

	"You think I'll let you escape?" asked the boy calmly. 

	"I do not intend to run," it snarled. It was an obvious lie.

	"Do as I do again," said the dog demon calmly.

	Ranma already had his attention focused on exactly that.

	"This is simple, but it should be enough," said Sesshoumaru coolly. The
demon charged them suddenly and roared. The boy merely thrust his hand
forward. Some invisible energy carved a path through the grass and sent
a strong gust of wind in either direction on both sides as it passed.
The demon lurched back as the flames covering its body went out
suddenly. The charred flesh was pulled back and began to flake away as
it suddenly shot backwards and carved a deep gouge in the earth as it
ripped through three fields in its wake.

	Sesshoumaru calmly walked over to the thing's smoking body as it lay
there breathing heavily.

	"Is it dead yet?" asked Gai nervously.

	"I don't think so," muttered Amelia as they grew nearer. 

	"It lives, and it must be destroyed. If it survives it will tell others
of us before they destroy it. I doubt if this battle went unnoticed, and
others will soon arrive to begin searching us out. By killing it we may
buy ourselves a few weeks time to prepare for them."

	Ranma came dangerously close to passing out at that announcement.

	"Stay firm boy. This is not over yet," snorted the demon. "I'd prefer
to have you awake for this." They stood directly over the whimpering
demon. It said nothing, but was in far too much pain to attack again. "A
strong creature indeed," chuckled Sesshoumaru. He bent down next to the
arm and touched it. Before anyone could react he slashed their wrist
with one of the monster's claws. 

	The others quickly made him jump back. "What the hell are you doing?"
cried Faye angrily.

	"Gaaaaaahhhhhh! We're bleeding!" screamed Gai girlishly.

	"No," muttered Ranma in horror.

	"If we do not finish, we will die," said Sesshoumaru calmly.

	"What about her? You said you can do magic?" cried Ranma.

	"I'm not sure if it will work. This thing is a high level monster. I'm
amazed we beat it so easily. My magic wouldn't be strong enough to heal
damage from something like that well."

	"She is correct. If you don't mind, we are starting to feel a bit
lightheaded. We will survive, if you let me do this now."

	The others all reluctantly relaxed their hold. 

	The boy smirked as stood next to the thing's arm again. "I'll need you
for this boy."

	He reared his arm back in a spear handed strike and plunged his arm
deep into the creature's arm. After that, he simply relaxed and held it
there. "Now we wait."

	"How long?" muttered Faye nervously. "Those women aren't far behind
us."

	"After this thing appeared before them?" snorted Sesshoumaru. "Don't be
so foolish. They will not return for several days at least. Then we can
destroy them at our leisure."

	"I ain't destroying nobody!" cried Ranma.

	"You don't have much of a choice. They're trying to kill us," pointed
out Gai. "I just wish we could find some guns or something. Maybe a
rocket launcher, few grenades, possibly a tank or something... God, it
would be great to find a Gekkiganger..."

	"I wish I could just get my hands on my old ship," grumbled Faye. "A
gun would be nice too though." 

	"Look, can we go now? This is disgusting," grumbled Ranma.

	"If you pull your arm out of there now boy, you'll die," commented
Sesshoumaru calmly. "Remain still, and we will survive. Our arm will be
healed in a few moments."

	"What are we doing anyway?" grumbled Faye irritably. "There are easier
and less painful ways to do a blood transfusion you know.

	"I am aware of that. I'd prefer to use the jugular. I knew you would
stop me once I cut ourselves if only for a moment though. This method is
slightly provided more time for you to collect your wits. It is slower
however, and we'll need to stay for a few moments."

	"Say. What the heck are we doin anyway?" asked Ranma.

	"It's his body. He should know after all," pointed out Gai.

	"As you say," snorted the demon. "I'm trading our blood for his. It
will make us stronger, and you'll be able to access my abilities
easier."

	"What about my powers?" asked Amelia nervously.

	"What about them? What possible use would we have for such weak magic?"
snorted the demon.

	The boy's face flushed with anger at this for a moment. Still, Amelia
backed off and didn't respond.

	"You are positively evil!" cried Faye. 

	"Yes. I am aware of that," replied the demon as he pulled their
unharmed hand out of the creature's now drained carcass. He flexed their
fingers and frowned at them for a moment. "Even my weakling of a half
brother could defeat Yokai with a body similar to this one. It will
still not be as easily done as I could manage with my own body."

	"Yeah, yeah. Quit complaining about your stupid body. We all had bodies
once too you know!" snapped Gai irritably.

	"In time, you will grow to appreciate the upgrade."

	"You're saying what we did to this thing wasn't easy?"

	"He was weakened by another battle already. We would not have survived
otherwise. If we had not discovered a way to unlock some of my power, we
would still have been destroyed. The humans had apparently settled over
him while he was recovering and thrived. His power was far too weak for
him to remove them. Soul Taker or not, he would not allow them to remain
so close to him otherwise."

	"Great. So demons don't like to let humans hang around," said Gai.
"Learn something new every day."

	"You piteous fool. You don't understand. We stumbled across this
creature's lair. A demon would never allow a human village so close to
his home. His purpose on this world may indeed be the collecting of
human souls, but I imagine he would rise on occasion to destroy a
particularly bothersome group. Humans are not as warlike as you might
imagine. You are however easily manipulated."

	"Really? Why don't we have that sword then?"

	"This was a backup plan," replied the demon coldly. "I simply misread
you at first. I had planned on doing this later on anyway."

	"Ouch," grumbled Faye. She wasn't looking forward to the future. She
needed to figure this guy out and fast. He needed to be controlled
badly. "Everyone listen up. It's obvious that it's going to take all of
us to keep this guy under control. He's going to get us all killed or
worse if we keep letting him do this to us." 

	The demon ignored this as he continued to walk away from the scene
calmly. 

	"Um? Aren't you going to say something?" asked Amelia nervously.

	"No. I wasn't planning on it," was the simple reply. 

	"I'm part demon aren't I?" asked Ranma suddenly.

	"What? Don't be silly!" cried Faye.

	"He is correct," replied Sesshoumaru. "We now possess some of a demons
power. We will eventually become a full demon, but that will take
careful planning if we are to survive long enough."

	"I don't wanna be a demon!" cried Ranma in horror.

	"Me either!" cried Amelia.

	"We'll just get the stuff sucked out somewhere. I'm sure we can find
some way for another transfusion," said Faye nervously.

	"It would not matter. You cannot remove what we have now taken. It is,
forever."

	"We don't have to be a demon you know," said Amelia suddenly. "He just
wants you to think it will happen anyway. So you don't try and stop him
from doing it."

	"What?" muttered Ranma hopefully.

	"You'll keep silent if you know what's good for you," said Sesshoumaru
coolly.

	"I won't let you turn me into a demon!" she snapped angrily. "You go
and find your own body and do what you want with it! Leave me out of
it!"

	"What do we have to do?" cried Ranma hopefully.

	"Well, we'll always be part demon," she admitted lamely. "Nothing can
be done about that part. It's just... we're still part human too. As
long as we don't grow too evil and powerful we'll be fine."

	"What do we do then?" asked Gai. 

	"I think he means what don't we do," commented Faye.

	"Simple. We keep Fluffy on a leash."

	"WHAT?!!"

	"I can handle that," commented Ranma. "You're a real dick."

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

	Genma Saotome was looking at the long hallways of the black palace with
a sort of shocked awe. "What is this place?" It was positively evil
looking. Long hallways of ebony and red. Dragonheads curled up from the
sides of pillars with ruby eyes. Blood red carpets and torch lit walls
gave the place a dark forbidding tone. 

	"It is your home master," replied one of the hooded men. "It is yours
and all of the treasures within belong to you and you alone. It is our
offering to you. We even have several virgins lined up to be sacrificed
in your honor later this evening."

	"Sacrificed?" muttered the man dumbly. "Wait. All of this is mine?"

	"Yes," replied the man simply as he waved his arm.

	"The master seems most impressed," commented one of the men with a dark
smile on his face. 

	"Indeed," commented one of the men.  "Definitely not what I was
expecting him to be at all," whispered the man next to him. "He has
hardly spoken a command since his arrival."

	"Have you had the young virgin boys delivered to his room yet? I don't
want to see him get angry if they aren't there when he decides to
retire."

	"He seems pensive, perhaps he is unaware that he is the chosen one?
This could be caution on his part as well. To make sure we are loyal to
him and his prophecy."

	"A test?" asked the man in whispered tone as Genma continued on his
tour a little ahead of them.

	"I do not know," replied the man calmly. 

	The burly man in the dirty dogi simply walked quietly along as the men
gave him a tour of what he considered to be the tenth level of hell
itself. He'd seen horrors that would haunt his dreams for years. He
simply couldn't figure out a way out of his current situation. It hadn't
been all bad at first, now it was all he could do to keep his composure.
They'd kill him for sure if he started looking frightened by the things
he was seeing. He needed to escape badly, but his brain was too busy
fending off the trip.

	It boggled the mind really. A wealth Genma Saotome wanted no part of.
He stomped his feet firmly down and glared at them all. "What the hell
is all this anyway?"

	"We are in preparation for you to use your dark magic to vanquish the
world and make..."

	"You think this is how you conquer the world?" said the man as his jaw
dropped. "This stuff makes people hate you!"

	"They should hate us, we're evil," replied the large lead robed man. He
pulled his hood back revealing his clean-shaven head and frowned down at
the man. "I live for the suffering of others."

	"So start a business." Genma had no idea why he had said that. "You
think raining down hell fire and summoning demons make people suffer?
Imagine the ways we can abuse employees! What about shafting millions
out of all their money!? Turn them into dirty drug abusing hippies!
Create recession! Turn order into misery!"

	"That takes so long though," commented one of the men. The others all
nodded in agreement. 

	"We'll be old before we can enjoy the fruits of our evil," said the
leader calmly. 

	"Oh," replied Genma dumbly. "Puppet governments?"

	"We tend to scare voters away. No way to get real power that way."

	Genma was perplexed. These were the stupidest evil people he'd ever
met. "Don't you have any long term plans at all?"

	"New batch of virgins from the neighboring village next week," said one
of the men as he raised his hand.

	"Well. You need something a bit more long term than that I'm afraid.
Genma promptly plopped himself on the ground. Take me for example. I'm
planning on taking my son to an old friend of mine's home and freeload
off of him for the rest of my life. You see, he's engaged to Soun's
daughters. Once I have him married off, I'll sit and live fat and happy
while he runs the dojo. I'll spend my golden years playing shogi on the
porch with my old friend. Ah, such a beautiful vision. I had it two
weeks before the boy was born." He nodded at himself proudly. "Still
haven't figured out how to keep the wife out of the way though."

	"We can kill her for you if it would please you master!" cried one of
the robed men.

	"Remember that room about five doors back?" asked Genma.

	"At once master," replied the others as the man was carted off.

	Genma wasn't totally cruel though. "Only about an hour though. Try not
to leave too many marks."

	"Thank you master!" cried the man as the group shoved him through the
door.

	The tall bald man appeared at his side once again a moment later as he
sat on the floor of the hallway. "I begin to see your wisdom master.
Perhaps we can look a bit farther into the future, and follow your
example."

	"Yes. Do that," said the man with a small sigh. "How do I leave? I've
still got to find the boy."

	"We shall leave at once!" cried the man. He called down to the group
that was overseeing the torture. "Go! Call the others! We must find the
master's spawn!" 

	Genma glanced at the man briefly. Maybe it wasn't all that bad. Having
loyal minions probably had perks. It seemed they were so stupid that
they'd follow him no matter what he did.

	"If you're coming along, you're paying your own way," snorted Genma. "I
won't have a bunch of freeloaders messing up my lifelong dream."

	"We shall ensure that all your dreams become reality!" said the tall
man firmly.

	"How can you guys afford this anyway?" asked Genma.

	"We invest in all sorts of nasty things. Child porn, sweatshops, hard
drugs, guns, that sort of thing." He smiled at the man broadly.
"Business is booming."

	The perplexed looking martial artist simply shrugged his shoulders and
continued to walk. They had a nice little racket going here for
themselves, except for the torture and murder stuff. 

	"What about the virgins?" asked one of the men in the back. Genma was
kind of dumbstruck. There were about thirty men following him now. Each
one was dressed in long black robes and had no hair. Most of them had a
slim build about them, but there were a few with a little weight. All of
them were tall.

	"What?" he asked dumbly.

	"The virgins for the sacrifice tonight! Should we do it now, or tie
them up for later?"

	"No! No more virgins! You'll go out and rent whores like normal
people!"

	The men collectively hung their heads in instant defeat.

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

	"It was an ambush I tell you," snorted Douche angrily. "That vile thing
tricked us!"

	"I have heard reports of that battle as well. Three have fallen, seven
more injured," said Cologne. "It was a trap, but not for us, and it
failed. I fear our problem may have worsened."

	"We'll show that arrogant brat," snapped Douche angrily.

	"Really. It's probably older than we are," replied Cologne with a small
snort.

	The other women sitting around the room all nodded. "I'm inclined to
agree with Douche," said one of the older ones calmly. It was easy to
see she was well respected as everyone looked quite surprised to hear
it. She puffed on a long pipe and narrowed her eyes at Cologne. "You may
be correct Cologne. I think it is more likely he was trying to kill two
birds with one stone. Also, besides his extraordinary reflexes, and of
course Jusenkyo's taint, we have yet to see any real power from him. I
suspect he is using finely tuned senses beyond that of human
capabilities almost exclusively for some reason. We have seen a taste of
his power, but the creature has yet to strike one of us down. Today it
showed us that it could have done so quite easily. I would like to find
out why that is."

	Cologne merely nodded. "As you say. Why, is a very important question
in this case. I think I should lead the next attack. I think perhaps we
should test the waters a bit more before we give up on him. He seems to
be moving out of the danger zone."

	"Perhaps we should allow him to flee then?" asked one of the women in
the back. "We have no real crimes committed against us with this one. He
may be a dark one, but his business may lie elsewhere."

	Cologne shook her head slowly. "I cannot allow that. There is still one
very important place he has not yet passed by. Perhaps the most
dangerous of all."

	"Jusendo!" cried Douche.

	Cologne hung her head. "You've been smoking again haven't you? He's
heading to the east, away from those mountains. It's probably where he
came from. You already know that."

	"Where then?" she snapped irritably.

	"Here." She pointed her finger at the map and everyone gasped.

	"Hong Kong?" asked one of the women dumbly.

	Cologne glanced over her shoulder. Douche had shifted the map while she
wasn't looking. The old woman was horrible at hiding things and it was
written all over her face as she glanced around the room busily.

	"No, the dark mountain. We know only that it is an evil place. We do
not know the legend that surrounds it. Perhaps, we might learn it in
time to stop him? I fear that is his objective, he's heading right for
it." She drew a line with her finger indicating his path.

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

	"Where the hell are we anyway?" grumbled Gai as he surveyed his
surroundings. Ranma was currently squatting on a tree branch dozens of
feet above the ground in a large forest. He was scanning the area near
the top of a large hill. 

	"In China, still," replied Faye lamely. 

	"Pipe down, I think I see somethin," said Ranma. 

	"No one can hear us but you, Ranma," said Faye flatly. 

	"No, but you are a distraction. I see what he is looking at, be silent
for a moment," said Sesshoumaru calmly. "You want to go there don't
you?"

	"What?" muttered Ranma as he tore his eyes away from the black mountain
looming in the distance. They were on the edge of another range of
mountains, and they could see the peak in the distance, far in the
distance. "Why the heck would I want to go to that place? Looks like a
rough trip."

	"It probably would be, very difficult terrain," said the dog demon
calmly. He seemed to be getting bored with the conversation.

	"Guess we're goin then," said the boy as he hopped down from his perch.

	"What?!" cried Amelia and Faye. 

	"Why are we going there again?" asked Gai.

	"I'm in training buddy. If I see a difficult path like that one, I just
gotta take it," replied the boy with a small shrug as he hefted his pack
over his shoulder. 

	"Man. I hate exercise," grumbled Gai.

	"You seem awfully agreeable about this," snorted Faye.

	"We are not strong enough to face what is coming. The blood we have
taken makes us stronger, but we are easier to detect as well, by humans
and demons alike. We'll need to be on guard, and train hard to become
stronger. If we do not, we will die. I have not lived like this in
centuries, but I survived it before. I do not plan on failing this time
either. I highly suggest you consider our position the next time I tell
you to do something. Without me, not even one of you would survive more
than a few months. In my weakened state, I am a prime target for
elimination. If we become strong enough, they will leave us alone.
That's how my half-wit of a brother survived so long. He was forced by
his weakness to strengthen his body and became dull witted."

	"That sounds familiar," commented Faye lazily. "I know quite a few
people like that. I wonder how everyone is doing back home?"

	"I don't have to worry about that," replied Sesshoumaru.

	"What about that little girl?" asked Amelia softly. 

	"I am still with her," he replied calmly. "She amuses me. Occasionally,
I'll take on a human child as a pet. When I'm through with her, I'll
dispose of her. I have no room for kindness in my heart."

	"Why have a pet then?" asked Gai. 

	"Having a pretty young servant is an excellent way to get humans to bow
to your demands easily. Fear is not the only method of persuasion. The
best way to be rid of them is to give them away to someone. They usually
don't survive long after I abandon them. Besides, I have no pity for a
human fool who wishes to deal with the likes of me. They are usually
executed once they murder the man who took them away from me.
Occasionally they do manage to sleep their way out of it, but they are
soon destroyed one way or another."

	"That's disgusting!" cried Faye.

	"Monster!" cried Amelia. She paused. "Oh. Right."

	"How could you do that!" lamented the woman angrily.

	"I think our young friend has acquired an understanding of this
already. Why is it taking you so long?" replied the demon calmly.

	"As much fun as hearing this is," said Ranma irritably. "Could you
please pipe down? Time will go by faster if I meditate on the way
there."

	"That's great for you, but what about us?" snapped Faye.

	"I think it's an excellent idea actually. I should be concentrating on
keeping an eye out for surprises," replied Sesshoumaru calmly. 

	"I was learning how to cast Ra-tilt for my next exam. If I think about
it long enough, I should be able to cast it," said Amelia. "That could
take a while though," she added with a slightly nervous laugh.

	"Obviously," commented Sesshoumaru.

	"I think I've sat next to you every time I've ever flown commercial,"
commented Gai.

	"Ouch," said Faye. "I give up. I guess I'll just be bored for a while."
She didn't sound like she cared much for the idea.

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

	"Master. I am sorry to report that your son is not working in one of
our many sweatshops. He also hasn't been forced into illegal
experiments. Most regrettable indeed."

	"I know that. I probably would have remembered by now if I had done
something like that. It's not like me to forget for more than a few
weeks." Genma pondered where his son had gone for a very long time. He
was coming up completely blank, and his son wasn't around to solve the
problem. Which was the whole problem.

	The men around Genma began to pick up rocks and throw them back to the
ground in frustration. They jumped up and down excitedly as they all
tried their best to garner a collective thought.

	The theme to two thousand and one began to play spontaneously.

	It stopped suddenly as one of the smaller robed men spoke. "Have we
checked the jails yet?"

	Genma frowned at him for a moment. Ranma wasn't slow enough to get
caught. "I have it! He'll go back to Japan!" Genma jumped up and pointed
his finger in the air as tears streaked down his cheeks. "Come my loyal
disciples!"

	"Please, call us minions master," said one of the men.

	"Right. Come my loyal minions!"

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