[jitou@geocities.com] *---------------------- The Dark Crucible Mega Crossover Episode 1 v1.1 "Ripples of Darkness" *---------------------- The day slowly dawned as the sun rose above the distant mountain peaks. The feathery pink clouds grew lighter and brighter in the light of the sun, bringing forth gaiety and cheer. Of course, the definition of fun in Japan's Nerima district can be quite *subjective*. WHAM!!!! A dust-trail streaked into the sky, propelled by inexplicable force as the word, "Baka!" echoed in the distance. Looking down, a moderate-sized Japanese house could be seen at the base of the dust-trail. There were two things that were readily apparent about this normal-looking residence : an innocuous little fishpond situated in the backyard, and a curious-looking hole in the roof. From the hole in the roof can be seen a pretty, short- haired girl in her mid-teens, lowereing her leg, which was outstretched before her in a kicking position. A look of annoyance was plastered on her otherwise engaging features. "Really, Akane, you shouldn't get angry so early in the morning." another short-haired girl said, standing to the side of Akane. "Besides, we're having too many holes in the roof these days." "Well, it has his fault!" Akane huffed at the other girl, smoothening her skirt. Akane was dressed in a green school-uniform, and across her shoulder was a small schoolbag. In her hands were a few schoolbooks. "Honestly, why can't the two of you just get along?" she asked in a business-like voice. This girl's hair was cut in a more severe style than Akane's, and her eyes were more serious as well, as if constantly appraising the world. Her face was stern and seemed detached, cool and calculating. She too was dressed in a school uniform. "You know him, Nabiki. He's such a... such a..." "Such a boy?" Nabiki supplied. "Yeah!" "Don't worry, sis. That was free of charge." The two make their way downstairs, where Kasumi, their eldest sister, was busy dusting tables, arranging curtains and generally making the house more livable. Kasumi was a mature-looking young lady with long brown hair and a pleasant demeanor. As the two prepared to leave the house for school, she handed them three paper bags. "I prepared some lunch for you. Where's Ranma?" she asked in a sweet, demure voice. "He should be coming along any second now." Akane replied. "From the sky." Nabiki mumbled under her breath. "Thanks for the lunch, Kasumi!" Akane said, and they passed out the living room, where a man wearing a brown gi and a panda were playing goh over the dining table. The man looked up from his game as the passed by. This was Soun Tendo, father of the three girls and owner of the Tendo Dojo. "Are you two off to school now?" Soun asked. "Yes, father! We don't want to be late again." They answered. *Where's that ingrate son of mine?* said the panda through a sign which he pulled up from nowhere. "Oh, Mr. Saotome, Ranma seems to have gone ahead." Akane replied. "I'm sure we'll see him later on." Nabiki said. "Okay, you two. Hurry on now. We don't want you to be late!" Soun said. The panda turned its sign around, and it read, *Have fun!* "Hai!" As the two skipped out on the street, heading for Furinkan High, a scream steadily grew in intensity. The scream seemed to be coming from the sky. The two without, looking up, stopped as a young man crashed into the ground before them, blasting through layers of concrete, his legs sticking up from the hole in the ground he had just created.. "That must have hurt." Nabiki commented. "It was his fault." Akane said. The man just popped himself out of the ground and stood facing Akane. He was breathing quite heavily and he was very disheveled from his long flight, but otherwise he seemed unhurt. He wore a simple red shirt and black pants cut in a Chinese-style, and he wore his long black hair in a tightly braided pony-tail. He was glaring angrily at Akane. "Hey, what'd you do that for?" he fumed. Akane was about to answer qutie madly, and perhaps, quite violently, when Nabiki spoke. "Really, Ranma, do you want to take another trip into the sky?" Nabiki noted. "Huh?" Ranma thought. Akane was, getting pretty riled up again. "Nah," Ranma said, "we'll be late for school again." "That's right!" Akane said, flabbergasted. She instantly took Ranma by the arm and began running. Nabiki just looked at them and shrugged before following. Of by the bushes at the side of the road, however, a dark shadow was bristling. "Hmm?" Nabiki pondered, looking at the bushes. *I thought I heard something...* she thought. *Oh well, must be my imagination.* With a quick twirl she set off after Ranma and Akane. *** The sun glistened off the towering minarets of the royal palace as it continued its glorious ascent. The strange avian-like creatures of this world had already awakened from their slumber, twittering in the resfreshing dawn, flying through a sky that was quickly changing from hues of purple and dark indigo into brilliant azure. The scent of blossoms was high in the air, as nature bequeathed its great fortune into the world. It was a good day to awaken and rise into the sunshine. Or was it? "Aiyeeee!!!! You pervert!!!" a voice screamed from within the vast confines of the palace. "I'm sorry, it was an accident!!!" in the great halls of the palace, a young man with short, rather spiky brown hair was running frantically. He was wearing nothing but a towel draped across his midsection. Behind him could be seen blasts of pinkish-orange energy flying around, notably going in the general direction he was in. "You'd think with all the bathrooms in this place you'd end up in one aside from mine!!!" the voice was pretty riled now, and a across the corner, a young woman with dark, olive skin and long, flowing red hair could be seen, draped in a towel, a strange device on her right wrist. She was glowing with energy. "Shayla, calm yourself. Your temper can really get the better of you sometimes." A woman said, coming across the hall to join her. She was light-skinned and she had short, somewhat curly brown hair. There was a strange white mark on her left cheek. She was dressed in a green skintight outfit with a brown shawl draped over her shoulders. An air of elegance exuded from her as she spoke with the angry woman. "It was his fault, that hentai!" Shayla panted, trying to gain a hold on her temper. "You really shouldn't mess the palace up to much. It's embarassing to our hosts." "Let's see how you feel when someone sneaks into your bath." "I'm sure Makoto didn't mean to. Besides, you don't want Ifurita finding out that you tried to incinerate her boyfriend." Shayla shuddered at the thought. Ifurita was a devil. Quite literally. Even though she was supposedly a good guy now, Shayla still remembered how Ifurita had easily manhandled all three priestesses, Afura, the woman beside her, Miz, and herself. "It ain't right. How can Makoto put up with that... demon goddess!" Afura just shrugged. *** Elsewhere in the palace, Makoto Mizuhara finally found a bathroom all to himself. As he got into the shower, thoughts raced about all that had happened since that faithful day when the ancient ruins were found underneath Shinonome High. His musings of his adventures in El Hazard, of the Bugrom, the princesses Rune Venus and Fatora, of the Phantom Tribe, the priestesses of Mount Muldoon; they all eventually led him to thoughts of Ifurita, the mysterious woman who had sent him, Nanami, Jinnai and Mr. Fujisawa to El Hazard. She was such a lonely person, with no other purpose but to kill and destroy. He was glad that he'd been able to help her become a free person who could do what she wanted, just like everyone else. A person free to love... Makoto smiled to himself in the shower. Fujisawa-sensei was finally cornered. Miz Mishtal had finally managed to get Mr. Fujisawa to profess his undying devotion to her. Trapped by his own word, their wedding was to be held in the palace in a week. The three priestesses had gone over to the palace again for an extended stay, at least until the ceremonies were over. Mr. Fujisawa was probably scrambling over himself right now, trying to get a drink, making the most of his bachelor days. He sighed. Life in El Hazard was great. He was surrounded by friends who cared for him in a great palace. The people praised him for his heroism and for saving them all from the destructive power of the Eye of God. He also had duties as the chief expert on ancient artifacts in the science department of Roshtaria. And most of all, he had Ifurita. But he couldn't help but think of his old home. Shinonome High had been a place of memories for him. He had lived all his life in Japan, until that faithful night. Even though his life was all he could have hoped for here, he wondered how life was back home, in earth. He stepped out of the shower and began to dry himself. As he was getting dressed, he heard a soft padding of feet behind him. "Makoto." said a tiny voice somewhere behind and below him. Makoto turned around to see a small, tawny cat with beige-colored fur and a bright tuft of orange hair across its back. Its eyes were round and beady and regarded him thoughtfully. It lifted its front paws up to him in a playful fashion. "Hey, Ura!" Makoto said cheerfully, picking up his cat. "How are you, Makoto?" Ura asked. "I'm just fine. Hold on, let me get dressed and we'll go to the main hall with the others." Ura playfully batted Makoto's arms and settled down. Makoto liked having Ura around. He was so friendly and loyal to him. After Fatora had berated and treated Ura badly for failing to protect her, Makoto had been quick to take the kawaii little cat in. Ura seemed to like him better, anyway. Makoto got dressed in his flowing white robes, the current trend in clothing in Roshtaria. As he was putting on his clothes, he thought of his old school uniform which he had always been wearing in the past. Now, he had almost forgotten about them, preferring to wear these garments native to El Hazard. Another reminder of his old home which he was slowly drifting ever farther away from. As he walked along with Ura in tow, a palace attendant walked over to him. "Doctor Mizuhara, your presence is requested by Doctor Strellbaugh at the Royal Academy of Science. It is a matter of extreme importance." "Huh? Oh, okay. I'll be there in a minute. Thanks for the message." Makoto replied. *I wonder what the matter is this time?* Makoto and Ura made their way to the science academy. Upon entering the Dr. Strellbaugh's lab, he was surprised to see Ifurita there as well. She looked as beautiful as he had first seen her, back in the basement of Shinonome High, where she had fallen into his arms crying, weak from her 10,000 year ordeal. Today, however, she had a very concerned look on her face. Dr. Strellbaugh spoke. "Ah, Makoto, it is good of you to have come." "What is it, doctor?" Makoto asked, a little tense. "Ifurita will be able to explain." "It is a matter to deal with the Eye of God, dear Makoto." Ifurita said. "Or more precisely, a matter of dimensions." "Dimensions? Has the Eye of God grown unstable again?" "Not exactly. Do you recall when you came for me in Shinonome High, after I had sent you on your journey?" "Yes. I had to study the Eye of God for a long time before I could uncover the secret of travelling between dimensions. I must admit, I wasn't very sure of myself then. Dimension travelling is a confusing business." "When you arrived back at Shinonome High that day, I felt a surge of power, sort of like a `ripple' in reality where you opened a gateway between worlds. It was a sign of dimensiononal travel. My senses are very attuned to this phenomenon, so I can discern many details from it. Your warp had a feeling of lightness to it." "What do you mean, a feeling of lightness?" Makoto asked. "When I saw you come for me that day, I saw a brilliant flash of light before I finally saw you, carrying the powerkey staff. However, it was more than a matter of visually seeing light; my senses extend to another dimension which precludes worldy senses. I can sense into a world which is primarily spiritual in nature. With this sense of mine, I was able to detect the quality of `lightness' in your arrival." "So, what does this have to do with the Eye of God?" Makoto asked. "I was flying up to the Eye of God early this morning, once again wondering at its creation. As I came closer to the Eye of God, I became aware of a sensation. It was weak at first, but as I came closer to the Eye of God, it felt stronger and stronger. It was the same `rippling' sensation that I felt when you warped over to Shinonome, the same as when I sent you to El Hazard in the first place." "Are you saying that someone had warped into El Hazard using the Eye of God?" "No. The rippling sensation was weak. I think that it may have been a warp in another dimension that I felt, with the Eye of God serving as an amplifier to my senses. I believe that something had warped over to another dimension. Moreover, the sensations were continuous, as if coming in pulses. Normally, one warp only sends out one `ripple.' I felt many ripples, hundreds, maybe even thousands. There was no telling how long it had been happening, the ripples were occuring even before I came to the Eye of God. When I left, they were still continuing. They could still be continuing as we speak." "What does that mean?" "It means that there is a large number of warps occuring somewhere." Dr. Strellbaugh said. "However, that is not the main cause for my conern." Ifurita nodded. "Makoto, unlike the warps which you and I have experienced, which felt of lightness, these warps felt of darkness." "Darkness?" Makoto asked. "Yes, dear Makoto. Darkness. Darkness like none I have ever felt before. Darkness which brings forth feelings of dread, despair and destruction." "What can it mean?" Makoto asked. "It means, Makoto, that somewhere, a great deal of `dark' beings are warping over to another dimension." Strellbaugh said. "And the biggest concern here is the target dimension. It is likely that a number of evil beings are travelling over to another dimension, en masse. What reason could a huge number of beings have to perform an exodus to another dimension?" "A visit?" Makoto mused. "No, an invasion." Ifurita corrected. "An invasion?" Makoto echoed, shocked. "Yes, what else could it be? A great number of `dark beings' travelling to another dimension. They can only be thinking of taking over the dimension." Strellbaugh said. "Where does that leave us?" Makoto asked. "I believe that these dark dimensional travellers are intent on conquering dimensions. If that is the case, then who can say what dimension they will set their eyes on next?" "El Hazard!" Makoto asked, realization beginning to dawn upon him. "But there is more, dear Makoto, and I fear to tell you should I be correct." Ifurita said. "What? What is it, Ifurita?" "I felt the disturbance through the Eye of God. This probably means only one thing -- that I am feeling traces of what is happening in the dimension from which the Eye of God was last connected." "So that means..." Makoto mused. "Think, Makoto! What was the last dimension which the Eye of God had connected to?" Makoto's eyes suddenly widened, and his mouth dropped. He wavered a step, the full weight of the implications had finally hit him. He involuntarily stook a step backwards, unable to fathom the horror which Ifurita and Dr. Strellbaugh were suggesting. "Earth..." *** Ranma and Akane were eating lunch during their break in Furinkan High's schoolyard. A crowd of students were going about their own business in the park-like yard, enjoying the fine day and the bright sunshine. As they sat down, Ranma opened the lunchbag which Kasumi had prepared for them. *Boy, am I glad Akane didn't cook lunch today.* he thought, darting quick glances at Akane. *I'm not sure if I can manage to slip off to Ucchan's or the Nekohanten today. Akane seems to be watching me like a hawk.* "And just what are you staring at, Ranma?" Akane demanded of him, seeing those sly looks he's been giving her. "You're not thinking of any hentai thoughts, are you?" "Huh?? What? Me? Of course not! How could I think hentai with a kawaii-kune tomboy like you?" Faster than thought, a big wooden mallet appeaered in Akane's hand and blasted Ranma right in the head. Surprisingly, the mallet broke. "Hahaha!!! My head's gotten tougher after all the bashings I've had!" Ranma cried out gleefully. *POW* Ranma went sailing into the air. "So what?" Akane said, annoyed, putting her foot down. Underneath a tree next to the table, a shadow, darker than the shade of the tree, began quaking. It slowly crept over to Akane's feet. "Where'd Ranchan go?" a young girl asked, walking over to Akane. "You didn't send him off again, did you Akane?" this girl was wearing a boy's uniform, but Akane knew she was a girl. She was Ukyou, one of Ranma's childhood friends. As she normally did when she went to the school, she arranged her long brown hair into a neat braid that cascaded down her back. A huge spatula was strapped to her back. "He just got on my nerves again." Akane, said, putting her broken mallet down on the table. "Hey, Akane, you didn't crack that thing on Ranchan's head, did you?" Ukyou asked, pointing at the broken mallet. "It's strange, Ukyou. I've never managed to break one of these things on Ranma's head. Is he getting more hard- headed?" "You've probably used that thing once too many. Why can't you just talk to Ranma instead of pounding on him?" Akane promptly discarded the broken mallet. "I don't know. He just makes me so mad at times." She proceeded to open her lunch. Ukyou did likewise, and the two chatted over other things while eating. In the shade of the tree, the shadow moved away from Akane and poised itself underneath the discarded mallet. Unnoticed by the two girls, the mallet began to glow, but it seemed to be a dark glow, one which did not give off light, but rather sucked it in. In a few moments, the mallet was immolated and suddenly it disappeared in a dark `flash'. As quickly as Akane produced the mallet, it was gone from existence, devoured by a dark shroud. "Ah, the beautiful Akane Tendo has finally freed herself from the clutches of the vile Ranma Saotome, only to be taken in by another unworthy contender! Fear not, Akane, for I, Tatewaki Kunou, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, shall save you from this misery!" Akane and Ukyou looked up from their lunch to see a tall, handsome man wearing a traditional kendo uniform, complete with blue robe and black-baggy pants, regarding them. "Kunou-sempai." Akane murmured. "What did he say about an unworthy contender?" Ukyou wondered. "Surely being driven from my side has made thee desperate enough to seek solace with this undeserving knave!" Kunou indicated Ukyou with a wave of his hand. "I cannot stand to see you like this, Akane Tendo! I will free you from despair's unholy grasp!" Kunou suddenly drew his boken from and made a lunge at Ukyou. Ukyou jumped back from the table and drew her huge spatula in fluid motion. "Geez, sugar, you get weirder and weirder everyday." Ukyou said. "Silence! I will not allow you to defile the virtue of Akane Tendo!" With that, Kunou began a quick series of lunges, jabs and swipes at Ukyou with his boken. Ukyou parried deftly with her spatula and leapt out of the way. *Kunou thinks that Ukyou is a guy!?* Akane realized. Once again her temper flared at Kunou's obtuseness. *After all the times that they'd been together, Kunou still couldn't tell that Ukyou was a girl. Perhaps he thought there were two Ukyous -- one guy, one girl. He certainly thinks that way of Ranma. Talk about dull!* She got up to give Kunou another one of her impressive kicks when Ukyou blared in with several quick slaps of her spatula. Kunou was driven back by the impressive volley, but he was a good fighter and he easily deflected all of the attacks. A bunch of students had already gathered around them to watch the fight. It was dragging on long enough that the students were actually beginning to cheer. Akane saw Nabiki taking bets from the students, always ready to make a profit on the outcome of any fight. After a masterful series of thrusts and counter- attacks, Kunou suddenly gave a skillful upward blow which cracked Ukyou's spatula right out of her hand. The oversized cooking utensil arced highly into the air and embedded itself in the ground some distance away from the two combatants. "Did you really think that your feeble fighting skills could defeat my superior training and discipline?" Kunou said haughtily. "Well, sempai, I think that this round goes to you." Ukyou said with a slight smirk. "You can probably date Akane, if she doesn't kick you into the atmosphere-" Suddenly, Ukyou's spatula began glowing. All eyes went to the spatula as a dark glow enshrouded it, much like the broken mallet. It was a blinding glow, an indescribable blend of brilliance which wasn't brilliance, light that wasn't light, a glow which seemed to take in light rather than give it off. "What is happening?" Akane gasped. "What vile manner of treachery is this?" Kunou said, eyes narrowing at the darkness before him. He cast a glare at Ukyou. "What dark magic have you woven to keep the beautiful Akane Tendo from my grasp?" Akane and Ukyou face-faulted. Slighty unnoticeable from the glare of the spatula, a dark shadow crept was growing in size underneath the spatula. As Akane and Ukyou turned to give a stern retort to Kunou, the spatula glowed its brightest (or its darkest) and with a boom like an implosion -- the sound seeming to be drawn inwards instead of `exploding' outwards -- the spatula disappeared. In its place was a thing out of a nightmare. It was huge, towering over all of the students, with a massive frame which rippled with unspeakable power. Its huge legs, thighs and calves exploding with over-developed muscles, were daunting, but looked small in comparison the the thing's upperbody. Its torso was the epitome of `barrel- chested', several feet across, muscles rippling across its chest and all along its back. Its arms were larger than its legs, ending in fists larger than Kunou's head. Larger than two of his heads, most likely. It looked like an over-sized gorrilla with no fur and dark, purple skin, wearing a loincloth and an array of straps and furs across its wide girth. Its face, however, was nothing like an ape's. It had a horned plate across its forehead, framing eyes which glowed a dark blackness, at the center of which seemed to be a primordial fire. Its face was gaunt and had sharp features, and its maw was filled with jagged teeth. Screams erupted from the students as they stumbled over each other trying to get away. Akane, Ukyou and Kunou were taken aback, but they stood their ground. Off to the side, Nabiki was finishing collecting some payments from some students who were anxious to get away already. "What the hell is that thing?" Ukyou mumbled, her eyes bugging out. "Let's run!" Akane said, her eyes equally wide at the horrific sight. "Whatever foul beast of dark sorcery this is, it cannot stand up to the might of Tatewaki Kunou!" Kunou cried a strong kiai, or battle cry, and charged the massive behemoth. The thing merely smirked, although the way that it did gave Akane the impression that it was none too bright. "YOU BE VIOLENT, YES?" It grated in a bellowing, dark voice which sounded like tombstones being grated across each other. "GOOD." As Kunou lunged, the thing grabbed Kunou's boken with one hand and smashed Kunou away with the other. Kunou was sent crashing into Akane and Ukyou's lunch table. "Kuno-sempai!" Akane said, genuine concern touching her voice. "Fear not for me, beautiful goddess. This demon-spawn cannot defeat me with one lucky slap." Kunou said, getting up. He was battered and bruised, but he did not seem to be in any severe pain. Kunou's boken suddenly began to glow that dark glow in the creature's hand, and in moments, it too was gone in that implosion. The creature smiled and faced them. "VIOLENCE IS GOOD, YES?" "What are you?" Ukyou demanded. Its response was a long trail of deep, bone-grating laughter. "BEWARE, WE HAVE RETURNED! HAHAHAHAH!!!!" With that, the thing suddenly melted into a shadow and was gone. "The foul demon has fled like the coward which it is!" Kunou declared, running over to the spot where the demon disappeared. "If only it had not run away, I would have shown to it the true might of Tatewaki Kunou!" As if in response to his statement, the ground rumbled. Suddenly, an innumerable number of shadows began popping up across the floor. They then burst out of the ground, and a host of purple-skinned monstrosities appeared and began surrounding the three. "What is this? The knave is so cowardly that it must send its underlings to do its work!" Kunou reflected. "Of no matter, I will defeat them all!" "Hah, you and what army, sugar?" Ukyou said, pointing out that Kunou was weaponless. "Have no fear, for I always carry a spare!" Kunou said, drawing another boken and flourishing it off into the sky. "I shall not permit a one of these beasts to touch thee, Akane Tendo!" "Oh, please." Akane mumbled. The three stood back-to-back against each other, preparing themselves for the horde that was before them. No single creature that stood before them was alike. They were basically smaller versions of the huge thing that had casually swept Kunou aside, but they were nowhere close to being as muscular. They were mostly different in a variety of features, such as a horn or two here, a few extra bony ridges there, claws, fangs, they came in all sorts of sizes and shapes. They did, however, have nasty looking expressions on their faces, and they looked like they were ready for some blood. *Oh great. Ranma, where are you, you baka?* Akane thought. *** In a distant park, quite a ways away from Furinkan High, something crashlanded and created a huge dustcloud in the process. Through the dust and debris flying around can be heard coughing and choking sounds, as well as muffled curses which sound suspiciously like "Kawaii-kune tomboy" and "flat-chested" and "violent", among other things. The people at the park just stared at the mysterious cloud and wondered amongst themselves. As the dust cloud clears we see a disheveled Ranma brushing himself off while muttering curses about Akane under his breath. Remarkably, aside from his tattered clothes, he seems to be quite fine considering he just crash- landed from that kick Akane gave him. A great number of people were looking at him curiously. Ranma just faced them and laughed sheepishly. A couple, seated on one of the benches, regarded him very, very interestedly. One was a young man with short, brown hair, wearing casual clothes. With him was a young lady with long dark hair, regarding him familiarly. Ranma's attention was jerked from the couple as a voice behind him cried. "Ranma Saotome, you won't escape me this time!" Ranma turns around and sees another young man before him, this one wearing a yellow shirt and dark pants, with a black-striped bandanna tied around his head. He also had a backpack and an umbrella on his back. "Oh, great." Ranma mumbled. "Hey, Ryouga, don't you ever quit? I thought we settled this already." Ryouga simply drew his umbrella and points it at Ranma. "Well, you thought wrong, Ranma!!! I've been training again and this time I'm going to beat you! Hah!" With a cry, Ryouga charges and tries to hit Ranma with his umbrella. Ranma leaps up to dodge and kicks the umbrella to the side. "You're still too slow, pig-boy." Ranma laughs. "What? You dare mock me? Shishihokodan!" "Aaacckkk!!!" Ranma barely dodges the ki blast which Ryouga hurled at him. "Hey, it was a joke! No need to get angry here!" Ryouga whipped out several bandannas and threw them at Ranma. Ranma easily evaded all of them. They hit the ground and stayed there. "If you hadn't run away from our duel, none of my problems would ever have happened!" Ryouga picks up a nearby bench and throws it at Ranma. Ranma dodges, but finds a huge rock flying at him. "Hey, easy on the scenery, Ryouga!" Ranma said, dodging a flying tree. As Ryouga began to tear the place up, the people in the park began screaming and scattering wildly. "You don't want to get these people hurt, do you?" "Shut up and fight like a man!" Ryouga tore up a statue from a nearby water fountain and hurled the whole thing, spouting water and all, at Ranma. "Hey careful with that thing!" Ranma said, dodging the water and the statue. "Or maybe you want Akane to have her pet pig back?" Unnoticed by Ranma or Ryouga, a black shadow slipped past the many people running away from the fight, creeping over to the various articles of scenery which Ryouga had thrown around. It engulfed each in short order, and went on to Ryouga's bandannas. Ryouga seems to have exhausted his supply of scenery. Looking at Ranma across the field, he clenched his fist. "Alright, Ranma. Hold still or I'll be forced to use my special technique!" "Come on, Ryouga, you've damaged the park enough already. Let's call it quits." Ryouga would not be dissuaded. He tapped his finger towards the ground. As Ryouga's finger touched the ground, something big erupted in front of his face. The huge monster which had been seen earlier at Ukyou and Kunou's battle sprang up from the ground, but this time it looked even larger than it was previously. It flexed it broad back as the shocked Ryouga was thrown back. "Hey, Ryouga, what crazy technique did you do this time?" Ranma cried, his mouth open and aghast at the monstrosity before him. Ryouga was still staring back and forth from his finger to the monster, trying to figure out what happened. Screams filled the air as the people who had not fled the park now scambled on top of each other trying to get away. A fight between two people was one thing, a monster was something entirely different. "YOU BE VERY VIOLENT,YES?" it boomed in that hideous voice. "I WILL BE VIOLENT TO YOU!" The creature shambled forward towards Ranma, its big fist clenched and ready to knock Ranma into the next city. "Sorry, but I've taken one too many flights already." Ranma snarled. He ducked under the monster's punch and counter jabbed into its huge muscle-bound torso. The monster grinned at his punch, then kicked at Ranma. The young martial-artist frantically flipped back, giving another ineffectual kick to the thing's chin before getting out of its reach. *Damn, this thing is too tough!* The thing smiled at him darkly and roared, beginning its charge. It lumbered at him, but despite its size it was surprisingly quick. Ranma's mind screamed, *I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die!!!* The thing took another powerful swipe which Ranma evaded, landing in a crouch beside Ryouga. Half of the park's lawn was mowed away with that strike. Ranma grabbed Ryouga, who was still staring at his finger, by the front of his shirt, "Ryouga!!! Get rid of that thing!!!" Ryouga snapped out of his dumb reverie and looked at the thing, which had turned around to face them. It wore that evil grin on its face again. "How?" Ryouga asked. "You should know!!!" The thing lumbered at them again. "Just do something!!!" Ryouga got up and faced the thing charging towards them. It looked very eager to pummel the both of them down to the ground. "There's only one thing I can do." Ryouga said. "Bakusai Tenketsu!" Ryouga drove his finger to the ground, causing the rest of the park's lawn to shatter and spray them with debris. The air was filled with dust and visibility was reduced to a minimum. Ranma and Ryouga whipped their heads around frantically, trying to determine what had happened to their adversary. A movement to Ranma's flank caught his eye as a huge silhouette appeared and grew even larger. "Incoming!" Ranma shouted, diving out of the way as the huge behemoth blasted through the dust and debris, flailing its massive fists around. One of the fists clipped Ranma's leg, sending him spinning across the air. He landed a short distance away from the monster, sprawled on his back. Ryouga, on the other hand, reacted a little too slowly from Ranma's warning. As Ranma leapt away, Ryouga turned his head towards Ranma's shout and came face-to-fist with a huge purple fist. Ryouga was thrown violently off to the side, half his face distorted by the power of the blow. Ranma looked up at the beast, breathing heavily, his teeth grit in anger and determination. *What is that thing? What does it want?* His leg felt numb, but it was nothing serious. He could still fight. A cry for help suddenly drew his attention from the fight. Looking to his left, Ranma saw the couple who had been watching them earlier. Or, more precisely, Ranma saw the man in the haze, crying for his help. "Please, help me! She got hit by the debris!" Ranma saw the girl he was with earlier, down on the ground and unconscious, blood caking the side of her head. She seemed was underneath a slab of something, probably a remnant of the fountain Ryouga had been throwing around earlier. *Damn!* Ranma thought. *I have to get them to safety! But what about Ryouga?* The thing advanced towards Ryouga, who looked a wee bit dazed from the hit he took. *I've got to buy Ryouga some time to recover,* he thought, feeling his anger building up within him. With that anger a glowing red aura slowly began to form around him. Ranma raised a fist, where a ball of energy was beginning to form. "Keep to the side!" Ranma shouted to the man, who nodded his consent. The thing stopped its advance on Ryouga, sensing some sort of anomaly behind it. "How dare you attack us." Ranma said calmly at the thing. "We weren't finished fighting yet." The behemoth turned its head around to see Ranma standing up, aura focusing around him, a ball of ki energy in his hands. "DIE!!" Ranma shouted, releasing his attack at the unwitting beast. The power of the ki blast tore into the thing's huge chest, illiciting a roar of anger and, Ranma hoped, pain. The thing was thrown aside, not very far, but far enough. Ryouga shook his head and got to his feet, regarding the creature who was in a sitting position a few feet away, its chest smoldering. It looked dumbly at Ranma, its black eyes of reddish flame staring at him. Ranma felt fear then, looking into the depths of those eyes. Ranma had fought many warriors, many monsters. He had done so, and never once was he afraid. A bit apprehensive perhaps, but never truly afraid. But looking into the eyes of this creature, Ranma felt fear. He wasn't sure why, but it was there, plain and simple. As Ranma just stood there, the thing began to laugh. It was a horrid, gut-wrenching laugh which shook to the very core. It got up then, and began its charge anew. Ranma was almost paralyzed, unable to react. Suddenly, Ryouga leapt in front of him. "Stop standing like a coward, Ranma. Show the thing what you've got!" As the thing came up to them, growling its hideous roars, Ryouga ducked under its flailing hands and landed a powerful punch, as strong as he could muster, into the creature's stomach. The thing barely flinched. It swatted Ryouga aside once more, and proceeded in its attempts to pummel Ranma. "Ryouga, help those two!" Ranma said, indicating with a slight nod of his head the couple. "I'll keep this thing busy." "Hai!" Ryouga responded. Although Ryouga might have argued that he wouldn't back down from the fight, he realized that his strength would be needed to get the statue off the girl. He turned his efforts to the couple. Meanwhile, Ranma regarded the behemoth. *It's too powerful for me to take it down. I'll have to use my speed and skill to distract it while Ryouga gets those two to safety.* Ranma thought. The creature charged Ranma once more, roaring insanely. It took one, two swipes at Ranma, who easily dodged and ducked. As he weaved, Ranma used his chestnut punch on the thing's chest. The thing merely grunted in irritation and raised a leg to kick the young martial artist. Ranma easily dodged out of the way. Ryouga had gotten rid of the statue and was helping the man carry the girl. "We must get away from here!" the man said. "No, not yet. Ranma and I aren't finished yet." Ryouga replied. "You can't fight that thing!" the man insisted. "Trust me!" Ryouga looked curiously at this man with short hair, dust coating his features and matting his hair. His face was soft and unassuming, as if the man was not used to taking charge, which made his insistence even more distressing to Ryouga. *What does he know that we don't?* "Please, you must come away!" Ryouga looked at the behemoth fighting Ranma. Ranma was desperately dodging its swipes, trying to get in hits, but it didn't seem like he was doing any damage. Ryouga hated to admit it, but it looked like they couldn't win this battle. Suddenly, Ranma went in a little too deep while trying to land a very telling blow. Ranma connected, unfortunately, it didn't do much good and it gave the monster a perfect shot at him. Ranma was in too awkward a position to evade the monster's retaliatory attack. The young martial artist flew towards Ryouga and the couple, crashing painfully into the ground beside them. "We must escape now!" the man insisted. "HAHAHAHHA!!!!" the thing boomed. "YOUR VIOLENCE IS SWEET!! SHALL I FINISH IT?" it took a steady advance towards them. "That does it!!!" Ryouga screamed, a ball of ki forming at his hands. "You've hurt us enough!" The ball crackled as Ryouga amassed even more energy. Ranma got up as well, wiping blood from his mouth. "Let's show that thing what a real martial artist is made of, Ryouga." Ranma said, a ball of ki forming in his hands as well. "Full Shishihokodan!!!" "Moko Takabisha!!!" Ranma and Ryouga sent their balls of energy towards the creature, impacting with the behemoth head on, blasting the thing back, way back, through an incredible wake of destruction. It was gone. Ryouga fell to one knee, panting. Ranma almost collapsed, his red aura flickering away. They had put all of their energy into that final attack. The young man just stood there, carrying his ladyfriend, aghast at the destruction he had witnessed. Bloodcurdling laughter echoed behind them. Suddenly alert, the three faced the source of the laughter. Standing amidst the destruction a ways back was a figure. It was humanoid, nay, it looked very much like a human male. The skin of his face was a pale, shadeless white, ghastly in contrast to its dark raiment. His long, black hair flowed across the sides of his face, blowing slightly in the wind. The rest of his body could not clearly be seen, covered as it was in a wide sweeping cape which wafted in the breeze. His features were sharp, very refined. Women would have called him handsome. The severity of his look, however, as well as the coldness in his dark, black eyes, gave him an inhuman quality which stole all the attractiveness from his dark beauty. "You have simply given the Darguro more power with your futile attacks." he said derisively, as if talking to a lesser form of life. He might have been. "But I am sure it is done collecting energy from you worthless fools. It was an interesting show, but I regret I must end this now." From beneath his cape, he drew forth an arm garbed in black finery. The hand was covered by a black glove, which seemed darker than the darkest night. He extended that hand towards them, fingers pointed stiffly. He smiled. A globe of dark energy crackled at his fingertips. His laughter broke out again, chilling their beings to the very core. Ranma and Ryouga stood up, taking combat stances in front of the couple. "I can't believe that it would end like this, Ryouga." Ranma said tiredly. "I would never have thought..." Ryouga agreed. They were both tired, too tired to form any semblance of defense. They had put all their energy into that final ki attack -- they were drained as dry as a cup in the desert. The dark energy reached its climax as the man sent it towards them, all the while laughing that twisted laugh. "DIE!" Ranma felt a hand to his back. "It shall not end like this." The man said, head bowed, eyes closed. Ranma and Ryouga turned to regard him, the dark energy behind them momentarily forgotten. He suddenly drew them near, and in the blink of an eye, they vanished. The dark energy blasted into the ground where the four had been standing, devastating the surrounding area even more. The explosion was tremendous, but the force did no more than ruffle the mysterious man's cape. "Hmm... an ESPer... very interesting." He mumbled, and he turned away into the dark. *** *---------------------- Something's wrong in Nerima... In the next episode of... The Dark Crucible People from all over the aniverse drop into Tokyo's west side district! Who are these people, and what role will they play in determining the fate of Nerima? *---------------------- *** BLAH BLAH BLAH... Standard disclaimers go to RT and everyone else who I'll be stealing ideas from. For the record, this fic was partly inspired by Karl Rim's "The Darker Half" Ranma fanfic. Thanks to all the guys at the Fanfic ML 2 (Which was up while the Main List was down in 1997). After downing a pint of melon milk, I've finally managed to wrap this first part up. Things are still going slow, but hopefully that will change as the story picks up. This episode has undergone several minor revisions, and so has this BLAH section. My ISP has changed since I last wrote this, so I've revised my e-mail to my more permanent Geocities account. Well, hope you enjoyed it and that you'll stick around for the next episode. End -- The Dark Crucible - Episode 1 v1.1 *---------------------- This fic, and others like it, are available at http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/2098/fanfic.htm Author's contact addresses as of May 1999: jitou@geocities.com pach001@info.com.ph jitousai@yahoo.com