Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma. S/he is the property of Rimuko Takahashi, along with all these other characters that she crafted. I only lay claim to the few... sorry, many characters I add in. And the plot. That's mine too!

The stage for war is set. The Amazons have been nearly obliterated. The Musk celebrate their victory by not even dignifying those who remain with a battle choosing instead to leave and continue on to conquer the unsuspecting modern world.

Ku Lon, now the greatest of the remaining Amazons, has begun a war party whose only goal is to attack the Musk until every last one has been slain. Guerrilla warfare and revenge in their hearts, this small group has begun to harass the countless hordes of Musk warriors. Each one knows their mission is doomed to failure.

Yet in the midst of destruction, chaos, and war, a goddess has been born.

May her vengeance be swift.

Her war... begins.

Her War

While Ruby built her army in the west, I ran. I feared for my son. I feared Ruby herself. Who could know that I would come to be feared...?

— Sovi, Aktaya

Chapter Sixteen
She Falls in Color

We freed the previous writer's daughter. And the child, no the children, warmed everything. Our hearts were merry. Our minds at ease, and even She managed to smile again, for finally we had won a victory. United in our cause, men and women alike joined forces. Under the limitless power of our goddess we were invincible. And we became one people. Not divided... segregated by our sexism and ancient traditions of hatred.

We were one.

She called us to war and we followed. To bring down the other half of the dual societies of enmity. To bring down my father.

She blew the Elan Cornet... and the skies did burn in her wake...

Illi Sovi was a rather strange child. About seven years of age, she was already well aware of arcane and mystic happenings that couldn't be explained by men or women. Her own talent... perhaps ability, was one such thing.

Perhaps the existence of such a trait was due to her foster mother's own uniquely immense power, or maybe some factor in her early childhood had augmented her mind to give her the strange talent. Either way the young girl had always known how to tell exactly what was troubling any other person.

Looking to her left she spotted Atiyo, another child 'rescued' from the Musk. He hadn't believed it was rescue at the time but he'd come around since the war ended and the Musk King had perished. Atiyo, like all the children in the large room, had a Trouble. Just... one Trouble. What the boy had hidden from his newfound friends in Beijing was his Jusenkyo curse. As was tradition for Musk sons, he and his father had made the perilous journey into Amazon territory some years before and the young boy had dunked himself in the spring of drowned panther. Now that he was no longer a Musk, he felt... ashamed. Afraid that his new, curseless friends, might shun him if he revealed his curse.

All of this information had passed before Illi's eyes in a blink, sailing in front of her on sheets of wind that slid around the boy, painting his problems into the very air. A trifling Trouble for the ex-Musk in comparison to many that Illi saw every day. Even worse was the fact that Illi could tell without doubt that Atiyo's fears were unfounded. Children were uncaring of strange or unusual. They ran across something new everyday and adapted with ease. What matter that your friend grew up in a society that degraded women? Who cares if he had never heard of a game boy or nintendo? Wait? He transforms into an animal? Awesome!

Children could see, and believe without fear of the unknown, and adapt faster than any adult. This, in Illi's mind, was the honest truth. Atiyo had far more to worry about from his friend's parents than he did from them.

People like Atiyo didn't bother her much. No. It was the older ones that made her uneasy. Her foster mother, Ranma for one. The woman, or man depending on the weather, didn't know the meaning of relax. So many Troubles followed her around, dancing in the wind that sometimes Illi wanted to cry. One person should not face so many burdens.

But face them Ranma did. And even with all that burden... all those many swirling Troubles, the Empress always had a smile for little Illi.

That smile was why she loved her.

Idly, Illi kicked a rock. The building was cracked and the pieces of concrete that littered the interior were more numerous than the children, but it was the best place they'd found to host so many kids and get a decent education system started up again. The place had been a gymnasium before the war had torn it. Now it was more of an auditorium. Metal chairs were lined in somewhat orderly rows, but had to skip a few in places where holes or rocks too big to move had ended up in the way.

She followed the path of the kicked rock with her eyes and found the teacher Mr. Toru. A vast number of Troubles coated the air around him, though not quite so many as her mother. Grief for a wife, killed in the attack, and desperate wonderings over how his sister had fared... or if she was even still alive. Worry over how he could take care of his own two twin sons, on top of the worries he held about the children placed in his care here at the school. Frantic plans to get a meal for them at lunch time, to more simple worries like how he could teach them all without any books.

Her eyes watered. They often did when Ranma sent her to class with the other children her age. The teachers were always so... tired. She tried to stop herself; revealing her knowledge of other people's Troubles almost always irritated or annoyed them but she just couldn't help it. "You're a good man, sir. Thank you... for caring about us so much, but you should worry more about you're two sons. We... we'll be alright. We have the Empress after all."

The man's eyes widened for a moment before he smiled lightly at her. "Thank you Illi. I'll overlook the invasion of my privacy as well, but please refrain from spying on me in the future, if you don't mind."

Illi flushed. "I wasn't spying! I just... you..."

Adults just didn't understand. She'd stopped trying to explain long ago but sometimes she just wish they could bring themselves to believe. Just once... "You just... look so worried sir."

He walked to her and picked her up, and she allowed it without a struggle. "I am worried, little one. We all are. It'll get better though. You'll see."

At his words Illi blinked. In the air, standing apart from everyone else came one of those rare visions that she occasionally had that didn't revolve around any one person but instead seemed aloof and independent. Like the figments of an idea, or the dream of a future that would come to pass. This one showed her a gleaming city bathed in sunlight. Dimly recognizable as this place of rubble and destruction, the image of Beijing gleamed like polished diamond and the Tower of Leira glowed with holy light.

She'd only seen a few others images like it. Images of Chell, the woman she'd known to call Mother, when she'd finally been rescued. She'd seen those before she'd even met the woman, and known that one day the green haired amazon would come to save her.

And... she'd also watched Joketsuzoku fall to ruin... It had been the only time she'd feared the Ruby, the Musk had spoken so softly of.

"Aren't you supposed to be somewhere today, little one?" Mr. Toru suddenly asked.

Illi winced.

"I... might've jumped out of the helicopter mama asked me to wait in. But... But I had to say goodbye! I might be gone for a long long time with my new sister on the way, and Mama didn't give me enough time with my friends and...!"

Abruptly Illi realized she was rambling. Sometimes she wondered how pitiful her own Troubles must look. She always felt guilty complaining when she knew so many others had Troubles that would keep her bawling for months. But... but she couldn't help it! She hadn't even left yet and she already missed her friends!

'I'm only seven! I can't handle that stuff yet! I don't want to either!' She thought with vigor.

"Relax. You'd better hurry and say your goodbyes. My class will begin soon." The older man abruptly turned and began to walk towards the stage in the front of the room. "Farewell Illi. I hope to see you again, when this place looks a bit better."

"Unn!" Illi agreed enthusiastically. Then she turned and dashed off to find her friends.

She found them near the back of the room. Ansa, Daichio, and Okan. To her guilty joy, she found their expressions grim and their Troubles were filled with images of her. They missed her. And most importantly, they cared. It was good to have friends.

"Hiya!" She exclaimed brightly, shocking them, and then watching the images of her fade away from her friends, Troubles evaporating into mist and then nothingness.

"Illi!" Theye exclaimed as one, and dashed over to greet her.

"We thought you were going to be half way to Hong Kong by now!" Daicho, tallest of their group by a good foot and sporting the most unique shade of blonde hair a Chinese had ever had, ignited the conversation. Her words were quickly followed by Okan's "Yea! You said you wouldn't be here. Did ya sneak off?"

"Mmm hmm!" She replied brightly. "I'm supposed to be on a helicopter waiting for Mom's... friend to come back from Japan. But... I got bored! So here I am."

Ansa shuddered. The girl wasn't... timid. But perhaps bookish would be the best way to describe her. Bookish at the age of seven. Illi was disgusted by it. Hell she could only barely read now after her mother had started to teach her, and it was the most boring thing on the planet in Illi's humble opinion.

"I... still don't get how you call her... Mom. She's so sc-scary." Ansa said as another shudder wracked her body. Ansa, like many children who'd been in Beijing when the final battle had been waged in the skies above, had seen Ranma fight... Illi was glad she hadn't.

"Hey... she's not scary. She's..." What answer could suffice? The most kindhearted person Illi had ever known? The savior of China? The only one who'd been there for her when her mother... when Chell had died. How could she possibly describe all that?

"She... is kinda scary, I guess. But she's my mom."

It simply couldn't be done.

"Hey you never did tell us how the Empress adopted you. You said you would!" Okan demanded hotly, his cultured black hair fraying just a tick with his excitement.

"Well..." Illi hesitated. She did have to get back soon but... "Alright. I guess I can tell you how she saved me from where I was born. It all started..."

"...about a year and three-!"

Without warning the sky itself darkened to a dead night. A red unholy hue seemed to sweep across the land itself. The schoolhouse shuddered. The whole city quivered and men gnashed their teeth in fear...

Small red lights began to seep from everywhere, all of them rising above to the skies and mixing into a blood red ball of molten death that made the sun look paltry. Above all was the terrifying hollow voice that boomed like that of a dead god...

"Return my daughter or perish..."

"AhhhHHH!" Illi screamed. "I gotta get back! I'm sorry! I'll see you guys soon!"

Her shocked friends could only nod in slack jawed horror as they along with the rest of the city, stared vacantly at the red spirit bomb hovering just above them.

And Illi ran off to get back to her father before he blew up the world.

A blank expression loomed on Ruby's face. She stared absently at the dirt of the crater she'd created, feeling the pressure of the geysers of ki steadily discharging themselves. She had been almost unaware of anything beyond her knees... or at least she tried to. She had been curled into a ball for hours upon hours, doing her best no to see the wrath she had wrought upon the land, and was unable to close her eyes. A thousand eyes, all seeing, and more horribly, all feeling.

Her limitless ki explored everything. Invisible upon touching the air, it still expanded there anyway, catching notice of birds chirping. Birds that had not been roasted by her power. Ants tittered in a frenzy below her; they numbered beyond count.

Joketsuzoku lay in ruins. Trees aged for millenia and still growing now breathed their last breaths. Weaker ones had been eradicated completely, burned into dust and then even the dust burned away. Women, men, children. So few remained. She could feel their numbers... feel how small they had become. And she could feel the sorrow of those who survived as if it were her own. Weeping amazon elders and the guilty souls of those lucky enough to have survived were all that remained of the once great nation.

Amazons. They would never be again. Halt the amazon dream, and cry for the goddess who would not reach down her hand and protect her chosen.

Worst of all, paining her more than even the dead city was Aktaya. Her ki entangled with the girl's legs, now miles away from her. But she felt every step.

Aktaya had run away.

"Ruby...?" Herb intoned for what must've been the hundredth time. "Ranma. Are you alright?"

In truth, Herb didn't really know how to comfort her. He scoffed mentally as he thought of what he might say. 'It's alright Ranma? How could it be? She killed the Amazons with her own hand. Her own child... what comfort can I give?'

Barely more than a whisper Ruby uttered. "Aktaya's left me... hasn't she?"

Herb winced. "Aktaya... she left some hours ago, towards the east with Tir. She probably just wanted a walk to ease her mind. Tir... he was crying. She thought he was disturbing yo-"

"No." Ruby intoned, her voice a hopeless pit of despair. "She's... afraid of me."

"She will return." Herb said, a small measure of confidence in his voice. The girl Aktaya. If she'd been strong enough to stand next to Ruby's fire, even for a short time, she would be made of steel as well. And she'd helped significantly when he'd been holding up the barrier.

"She shouldn't." Ruby replied, looking up for the first time in hours. Her eyes were red, though dry as if she'd run out of tears. They glowed dimly in the night. The only part of her that still did. All around them the dirt lit with a menagerie of color and wonder. Green rivers rushed through the smallest cracks in the dirt, creating veins that seemed brimming with life. Reds coalesced into geysers and illuminated the landscape in beauty. Violets, and blues, all dark colors making the inside of the crater brim with color. The night was alive, and it all swirled around Ranma; a peacock's tail crafted of neon light magnified a thousand fold.

So much emotion. Such beauty spawned from uncontrolled grief. Despite the wonder, none of the party viewed Ranma's unconscious display with awe. Amazing as it was, an oppressive feeling seemed to seep into them, even as the veins of ki replenished their power.

"She shouldn't come back at all. She should stay away... what if I kill her on accident? Wh-what if I killed Tir? I... already killed one."

"It wasn't your fault!" Herb hissed.

"It wasn't my fault!" Ranma mimed, patronizingly. "Yeah. I'm sure the survivors will sympathize." A brief glance towards the ruins of Joketsuzoku, source of that unbearable sorrow, and Ruby buried her face back in her knees. "I'm a god damned monster..."

"You're not a-!"

"Go away Herb. Jus... Just leave me alone." Ruby sobbed, though no tears fell. She'd run out of those.

"Ruby..." Herb interchanged, unable to decide which name to use for the redhead. Neither seemed to matter.

Ruby got to her feet, and began towards the west, pointedly away from where she dimly felt Aktaya still running. The menagerie of color followed her.

Herb felt a cold shiver as the abundant and warm, yet oppressive ki left them once more in darkness. Gone, but it was still visible in the distance, geysers erupting from the dirt as Ruby walked further away.

"Ruby? Giving up... I never thought I'd see the day." Mint commented dryly.

"She doesn't have much left to fight for. The Amazon's betrayed her trust and the King... well..." Lime replied his own voice somber and filled with regret. His eyes trailed to the east where Aktaya had run earlier in the evening. "Coward..." He spat.

Herb too turned his eyes to the east and regarded the girl that Ranma had apparently fallen in love with during their time with the Amazons. The girl who had abandoned her in the time of her greatest need. And Herb couldn't blame her...

"If I had a child... would I want him near Ranma?" Guiltily, she knew she wouldn't.

"Lets go boys." Herb commented. He let a sigh slip from his lips and turned towards the north. Back to the dead city.

"But... where, Lord Herb?" Mint asked.

Herb smiled. "To help our sisters."

He may not be Ranma. Or Ruby. But for once he was certain he knew exactly what was right. And following her example? There were far worse ways to live.

"Farewell, Ruby. I hope to see you again."

Tsingtao was irritated. Not overly so but still irritated nonetheless. It seemed war was an aggravating business. His losses were not minimal from the old woman's assault, and to add Icing to the cake the woman had escaped. She launched that damn tornado technique that his weaker soldiers were so gods cursedly susceptible to. THe cyclone had ripped through his inebriated troops like a scythe through wheat.

His counter attack force had disobeyed. They had joined in the festivities when they should've been on guard and it had led to their deaths. By Ku Lon's hand or his own didn't really matter. Elder Ku Lon, or new Su Li Din as Tsingtao was beginning to think of her, had proven herself quite the adversary, though not in the same way as her predecessor.

'Hmph. Amazons. Pesky roaches. Kill the biggest one and a new one gorges itself until it can fill its predecessor's place.' The king thought with disdain. But it was no matter. Not minimal losses was still a giant's count compared to how many he would've lost trying to take Joketsuzoku without the aid of Ruby. Still, Ku Lon had shown herself to be a superb guerilla fighter. She'd noticed the laxity in Tsingtao's guards and exploited it three times now. Yet every time he entered the area to engage her himself she fled, her small strike force, numbering never more than a hundred, vanishing with the wind.

Smart. But certainly not brave. Not like a real opponent. Nothing like...

'Where are you Ruby? The next move is yours.' The king thought with a grin. The rook had become a queen. Agile. Quick, and powerful, without the restrictions of a king. She was cunning, and adept in the ways of ki. Her power stood up to his own and she surely had a thirst for revenge.

Tsingtao licked his lips, trying to force down the greedy delight he took in dreaming of that battle. Near equal footing? How long had it been since such odds had been arrayed against him? Twenty years? Yes. Twenty years since he'd drowned Herb's mother.

Now... now that such a fight was near, Tsingtao felt excited. Would he meet his end at the hands of a truly superior opponent...? Or would Ranma Saotome become the mother of his fifth son? He didn't know, and that feeling, that uncertainty, made him heady.

Unfortunately the thought of his sons sobered him. Anger, and sorrow. Marjoram... only fourty years old. Smart, yet blinded by his passions. A son that Tsingtao had loved... now dead. He never would've died if not for this war.

Herb... a better son Tsingtao could never have hoped for. Stolen! Snatched away by a stupid accident, Jusenkyo's whim, and the cursed fool traditions of a foreign nation. The betrayal of his son burned him more than even Marjorams death. Herb... Herb had been his favorite. But the future was not set in stone. Perhaps the boy would return, and asked for forgiveness? It could happen.

Worst of all, he feared he may have truly lost yet another son. Borage had not returned for three weeks now, and it was not like him to miss the festivities at the end of a battle. A battle of this magnitude? Hundreds of captive amazons? He should have returned but... no sign.

Another son... dead for his cursed ambition. The old king felt tired... drained. Grief overwhelmed him in times of privacy and tears came close to trailing down his cheeks. Slowly, he let his head sink into powerful hands and shook.

'This war is taking everything from me. Is this even worth it? My son Borage.. please come home. I can't lose all my sons.' He prayed.

And he wept.

Several hours passed before he regained the composure needed to be the leader he was. It would not do for his men to see him in times of weakness, rare though they may be. He consoled himself well though, for as much as the war had taken, it would give back a thousand fold. Already it had begun to yield great results.

Mace. Oh his son Mace! How proud could a father be? His druidish ways, wild wood magic, had truly grown powerful enough to best Su Li Din in combat. Greatest of the Amazons, yet felled by the son Tsingtao had always thought weak.

No longer.

Of course Ruby had been the true killer but Tsingtao had no doubts as to the weakness caused by Mace's battle with the aging elder. Mace had not lied. Truly he had fought. Truly he was loyal to his father. Mace was the son who defended his men with vigor and passion. Mace... eldest at eighty years.

Tsingtao never would've known just how strong his boy had grown, had it not been for this war.

The Amazon's demise. Perhaps the most obvious benefit to the war thus far was that the once great warrior nation... the female half of their ancient accord that had betrayed his father and his people so long ago, had finally been crushed. If they even tried to recover it would take them centuries.

Not that they didn't still have a few pesky elders. But that was the thing wasn't it? They were elders. Not capable of childbirth. All he had to do was wait for them to die off...

Another added bonus was Ruby's ascension. Who knew that a human, with no significant lineage to speak of could have such will? He had no doubts that one day she would either give him a son that Tsingtao could finally call equal, or she herself would return to her original form and become that equal he'd dreamed of having for so long. Shedding the power of the locking ladle was not so difficult. Not for one such as her.

Ranma Saotome might yet become the one he could share his vision with. The ally that he'd never had in all his long years.

Yes. Ruby was nearly the greatest thing this whole war had produced.

But the greatest... oh... the best thing. Tsingtao was finally proving his own father wrong. Finally doing what the fool hadn't been man enough to do himself.

Reclaiming China.

'Six hundred years of biding my time. The game is finally ready.' It was time to unleash his greatest weapons. The weapons that would bring technology down from its fabled throne, and return the land to the glory of ages past.

"Uri." He uttered, just loudly enough to be heard outside the tent.

"My liege." Said the drake-kin. Tsingtao's personal bodyguard and second in command, appearing in the tent as if by magic. Ever vigilant, and by far the most powerful soldier in Tsingtao's entire command, Uri had been promoted to Second, long ago. Slow to words, and even slower to happiness, the man just might be good enough to take over, should the impossible occur and Tsingtao perish.

"Uri, it is time. Call your brothers. The drakes will rise to fight in their dragonlord's name."

For the first time in nearly a century Uri's stoic face cracked the tiniest hint of a smile. "Aye... my liege."

The man disappeared. Tsingtao waited for a few moments. Then, a deafening draconic screech wracked his ears. His men wailed a gnashed their teeth outside at the unexpected decibel, and their moans of agony made the king chuckle.

He stepped out of the tent and continued to wait, his eyes trained on the Northwestern Mountains, unblinking. It would be a long wait. Drakes were cranky after hibernation, especially for nearly half a millennium. But soon enough... their scaled wings would blot out the sun.

"These lands belong to me." The king whispered.

'Father. Look at me now...'

From the edge of the crater they had walked. Miles. Multiple miles the colossal blast had dug into the earth, and Kirin's party trailed the radius from their place in the east. Night lay heavily and the stars had never seemed so dim to Kirin.

The Amazons had perished. Not completely... not entirely. But this day had set them on the path to their final collapse. Their numbers drastically cut down to size, and the reason for that destruction, that devastation, was not difficult to find.

"My lord I beg of you, this is the goddess of the Amazons herself! Please do not enter Holy ground!" The dwarf Ebiten begged, as the eight members of their party of them slowly neared the area on the far edge of the crater where the lights danced and blotted out the stars.

"Perhaps... perhaps Ebiten is right, my Prince." Lychee, Kirin's wife warned lightly. "This... is not normal. Please, don't do this."

Kirin sighed. "Lychee, if this is the goddess then I must know why she would destroy her own people? Worse, why would she linger here and torment them? You saw her talking with the Musk King as well as I. Would the Amazon goddess descend and betray her people? I think not." The man's blue flourished cape rippled as he turned away from the old dwarf and continued forward, heedless of the warning. His ever present bowl of rice didn't waver.

"If... you're sure. But if she attacks, we must flee. Promise me." She insisted.

Kirin readied a protest but the orange haired woman's hand, laid lightly upon her slightly swollen stomach made him reconsider.

"Alright." He replied. 'This ki... this vast ki... but still it feels human. And so... familiar.' The prince thought. Familiar. It was hard to believe considering the theme park of dark hued colors lighting the dirt and running tiny veins through the edge of the crater.

A redhaired girl stood at the center of it all, staring up into the sky. She glowed white, and the colors around her seemed to brighten whenever they sprung towards her, and darken as they flowed away. Clothed in Amazon garb, her hair pooled around her waist and glowed even more vibrant than all the lights; she looked as if she could truly be the goddess.

Tears trailed down her cheeks emphasizing the main color of the lights. Yellow. The palest yellow of oppressive, gut wrenching guilt. In her arms, the girl held a midnight black cat, with fangs that protruded down beneath its jaw. A sabertoothed panther barely larger than the a forearm.

"Why does she seem so familiar?" He questioned aloud.

Tossing the thought aside, Kirin advanced the first step into the threshold of the dancing lights. Noting that he was not roasted to cinders, as Ebiten had expected, he continued forward. As he walked, he even began to feel rejuvenated.

"Kirin?" The girl spoke first, her eyes darting to him across the threshold of her domain as soon as the light and ki touched him.

Instant recognition settled upon the Prince of the Seven Lucky Gods. Ranma. Ranma Saotome. The man he'd fought for Akane Tendo's hand nearly two years gone now, in her female form. Her hair, red as blood, had grown to a ridiculous length. No longer pigtailed, it spooled out down her shoulders in a cascade nearly below her waist. Radiant in the light of her own ki, everything glowed.

"Ranma Saotome... What in God's name has become of you?" Kirin approached entering the ring of lights fully. As he grew closer he noticed the metal rings circling her arms and rings. Four. By gods she had four. And yet so much power?

"The Musk... turned me into a monster." The redhead replied, her eyes still focused intensely on the moon above. The stars, usually vast and endless, were dimmed by the lights the girl seemed incapable of stopping.

"Some would say Goddess." Kirin replied with a mocking nod to Ebiten. The little imp of a man stuck his tongue out and Kirin couldn't help a slightly smug expression.

"The label doesn't make me any less of a killer." The girl commented, facing them for the first time. Seriousness overtook Kirin as he met those eyes. They too, glowed. A blue that should not exist. The cat stood at her words and moved up to nuzzle the girl's face with affection.

Kirin spared a glance for the crater they had entered what seemed an hour ago and asked a simple question. "Did you intend to destroy the Amazons?"

"No." Ranma answered without hesitation. "But I wasn't going to help them either... I didn't want them... massacred."

"Then you should feel no guilt." Simple as that, or so the prince believed.

Ranma nearly gaped. "They still died because of me! How can you-?"

"And so you're plan of revenge is to sit here and mope?" He retorted hotly. A single rice kernel fell from the edge of his bowl unnoticed by both, but it was a measure of his unease to Lychee and the other members of the Lucky Gods to see their prince falter. "I have a measure of who you are. Not a murdered. This power, no matter how you got it, may have killed people but it might be the only weapon capable of destroying the Musk, and their wretched king!"

"I'm not a weapon!"

The ground literally shook as the lights faded to a deep shade of red. Soft dancing lights became hard lasers. Now instead of melding with the landscape, they sliced through it. Ki blazes shattered boulders, and loose rocks seemingly without any directive from their owner.

Ranma's eyes widened in horror as she saw what her temporary spike in anger had caused. Instantly the lights returned to their normal bright colors, as the redhead squinted desperately, straining to reign in her emotions.

Kirin rubbed his arms, wiping away goosebumps, and noticed his companions doing the same.

"You..." The girl shuddered, her eyes closed as the cat continued nuzzling her face. "You see...? You see what I've become?"

Kirin hesitated only a moment. "I see."

Ranma sighed and wiped her tears to clear her eyes before opening them again. She took an extra breath as if straining herself, to make certain her temper remained in check. "Why are you here Kirin? What is your part in all of this...?"

Kirin noted the quick change of subject but didn't comment. Instead he decided the swift change of topic might be a good idea. It wouldn't do to annoy a girl who's emotions could literally become daggers.

"My people have long been allied with the Amazons."

Ranma blinked at that. A few of the lights changed color to represent the surprise.

"Why? Aren't you a man? I would think the Musk would hold more appeal."

Kirin grimaced at that. "My nation is small compared to either the Amazons or the Musk. Rather than be swept away by either my family long ago decided an alliance was in order. We joined the lesser of two evils. Amazons didn't make a practice of breaking men into subservience. Even so, I've never actually been this far into their territory."

Ruby shook her head. "Might want to recheck your info. The Amazon's have thousands of imprisoned Musk... Had." She amended with a disgusted hiss at herself.

"Better than tens of thousands. The Musk must have had that many and more prisoners to breed an army of such size."

Abrupt realization plunged through Ranma's mind. There had been many many barracks in the Musk homeland. Why had she assumed there had only been one prison?

"God damnit." She breathed. A few paces away a boulder exploded, causing the rest of the party to flinch. Kirin was forced to catch a few pieces of rubble to keep them from touching Lychee but the group remained unharmed.

"I... I'm sorry." Ruby murmured.

Kirin disregarded the offense. "The Musk army is leaving. They are aiming for the modern cities in the east."

Ranma's eyes narrowed at that. More war. Of course. Such an Army would've destroyed Joketsuzoku even without her help. Why had she assumed Tsingtao's ambition only ended with crushing the amazons? Of course it would be more.

Worse... the east. Aktaya had run to the east and even if the girl was afraid of her, Ranma couldn't allow harm to come to the brown haired fighter.

The cat in her hands meowed softly, its fangs gleaming in the ki-light.

Modern China would be destroyed by the Musk. Maybe if they had warning they could prepare a good defense. How well did ki hold up to bullets? Ranma wasn't sure but she knew Tsingtao probably wouldn't want the Chinese to fire upon his men if they didn't have some sort of protection. Ki barriers. Probably armor too.

She imagined the cities of China in flames. Then, Japan. Tokyo. The Tendos forced through the same pain she'd endured. Shampoo. Another Amazon... she wouldn't fare well under Musk hands. Uuchan? What would happen if the King succeeded in taking China? Would it be enough?

It wasn't a risk Ranma could take.

"Will you stop Tsingtao? You might be the only one strong enough..." Kirin asked lightly.

Ranma turned back to her moon-gazing and sighed. Idly she placed Bast upon the ground. "I... can't. Not yet. Not... like this. Every thought causes my ki to go haywire. Every time a get angry I blow things up. I couldn't face anyone like this... Not without accidentally killing as many allies as enemies."

The redhead turned and began walking to the East.

"Where are you going?" Kirin asked, trying desperately not to show relief at the girl's departure, and failing.

Ranma locked eyes with the Prince of the Seven Lucky Gods one more time over her shoulder. "To find some control."

Herb wiped sweat off his brow, grimacing at the unusually heated day. Very early Spring was upon the land but on this particular day the weather seemed to have confused the time of year with Summer.

"Back to work, Male!" Said a young woman, no more than eight seasons older than him from a distance. The words were what a Musk might expect to hear in an Amazon village but the tone displayed the changes that had been wrought by Herb's presence.

"Back in the house, Schaat!" Herb retorted to the red haired girl walking up the pathway towards him with a sunny grin.

Matoko was once of the opinion that all Musk were the scum of the earth and should be treated as such. The destruction of Joketsuzoku had changed all that. It brought Herb.

"What are you doing, O' Prince?" Matoko mocked him playfully, but let her expression drop, wanting him to realize it was actually a serious question.

Herb gestured with a free hand towards one of the trees nearby, noting one of the treehouses that had been built about twenty feet up. It had crumbled beneath Ruby's power almost a month ago now. The house, now more of a shack, had faired far better than the ones above it that had been burned out of existence, but it had still fallen. Pieces of wood hung by ropes, nails, and broken hinges as if reaching down to the pile of debris that lay around the tree's base. "Elder Cheguo gave me permission to build my own home."

Matoko grinned. "Sick of camping?"

"Horribly." He replied.

With a sigh Matoko flung herself against another nearby tree. "You and everyone else. The elders are going barmy over the kids still sleeping outside."

"As well they should!" Herb barked heatedly. "They're getting sick! The healer's huts were all on the outskirts and most of them were destroyed along with all the medicine."

Matoko's grin faded a bit at that. "Hmm... I know. But no one's died since... well..."

The Calamity didn't really need to be named for Herb to understand.

For a little while they both just stood breathing in the knowledge of Joketsuzoku's loss. Keeping a sunny outlook was difficult in these times, especially for the Amazons but Matoko had always been one of the best. Even she couldn't help but succumb to the despair of knowing how many friends and sister's she had lost every now and then.

Sooner or later, Herb sighed and began his work with the fallen logs, separating them into piles based on whether they could still be used or needed to be disposed of.

Another ten minutes passed as Matoko silently watched the ex Musk, before she worked up the nerve to speak again, and when she did, her words shocked the white haired man. "Herb... er... Elder Herb... I wanted to ask you something."

Matoko was not known for her subservience. Her attitude was brash and rude, and usually about as upbeat as possible. Elders were constantly smacking her across the skull in an effort to reign in her attitude and lack of respect.

The mere idea of her calling Herb an Elder, was unthinkable. Yet here she stood, twiddling her thumbs and meekly stuttering through whatever it was she was about to ask.

"...Elder?" He asked interrupting her.

Herb's presence had upset most if not all of the remaining Amazon elders. A rough thirteen thousand Amazons, including men and children, had survived the Calamity and half of those had gone with Ku Lon on her mad revenge quest. The other half had remained here to care for whatever future they could still make out of their glorious past.

When Herb, the Musk Prince, walked into the destroyed remains of Joketsuzoku and promptly began using his rudimentary knowledge of healing to attend to the wounded regardless of gender or status, the whole society had been wracked.

None could match him in power, and they knew it. Even the elders didn't dare try. Yet here he stood, helping them much like a regular male of Joketsuzoku might've done. But none could deny his power. The knowledge that he could wipe them out and yet chose not to had slowly but surely begun to change the amazons.

Men who had been born and raised in the Amazon villages suddenly found their wives, who had once been closer to masters, showing them respect, and asking their opinions. Children, boys, who had never been shown an ounce of equality in the village, suddenly found themselves learning the arts of combat right alongside their sisters.

But strangest of all, Herb himself had made friends. Matoko had been the first to warm up to the ex-prince. Herb had told his story to the circle of elders... how Tsingtao had exiled and disowned him, after the Amazon elder Ku Lon had tortured him in the chambers below the city. He told of his desire to change. To show the remaining amazons of Ruby's ideals. And the amazons, many who had harbored similar beliefs in secret for years, lauded him.

The elders scoffed of course, officially. Men were weak!

… But they had destroyed the Amazons.

Men couldn't become as powerful as women!

… Herb stood right in front of them didn't he?

But the main saving grace... the one thing keeping the elders from attacking him and claiming him as a captive of course, was Chell. Chell the warhero. Chell who had survived the Musk prison and Chell who spoke on Herb's behalf.

Despite all of this however, Matoko herself had never personally displayed respect for anyone. Her trainers stood in awe of her skill with the blade, A Master's level by far, and yet had to grit their teeth at the girl's obnoxious bragging. Apparently that had calmed since the battle of Kinagoda, but Herb still thought she was arrogant.

Even so, he liked her. As did Lime and Mint. They would spend hours training or teaching children or rebuilding or any other number of activities that made the elders cringe. Some were more... private than others. The audacity! A musk and an amazon?

The thought brought a grin to Herb's lips.

"Y-yes. Elder Herb." Matoko persisted with the foolishness. Herb had a sneaking suspicion that she might be joking around with him but she seemed serious. Deadly serious. And highly embarrassed of all things.

"You're two years older than me you know." He joked in an attempt to lighten her mood.

"That's not making this easier!" She hissed, losing the humility she'd worked so hard at.

Herb grinned. "Well then ask like a normal person instead of a Schaat, eh?"

She hissed at that. "Fine then! I tried to be respectful, but when they whine and complain at me about how I asked you, I'm letting them know you ordered me to be normal! Herb. I'm challenging Mint for marriage. Personally I don't think you should have any say in the matter of who I challenge but there. I asked!" Despite her anger, her face was flushed a heated red.

Herb cocked his head. "Okay. What does that have to do with me-?" And then as if realizing the trick behind a complex technique, the whole conversation suddenly made sense. She wanted to challenge Mint, in the hopes that he'd beat her and then she could marry him. But the elders didn't want that to cause any trouble between Herb and them... so they were making her ask permission!

A smirk crossed his face. "Aaahhh..."

"Sh-shut up..." She flushed, becoming even more embarrassed. As it became apparent just how clearly under his thumb the girl was willingly placing herself. If he said no to her request, that would cause a whole series of problems, not the least of which being an increase in male ideal across the remains of the village. Men would hear of this... hear that a woman had been denied the right to challenge for marriage. Joketsuzoku would change, and it would change in waves.

But no.

Herb didn't want revolution. He wanted... wanted...

An ideal that seemed impossible.

He put his finger to his chin and made to look like he was thinking about the request, even though it was more of a demand and let her stew for a while.

After a few moments the girl could no longer stand it. "Well! What do you say!"

He finally broke. Sitting down on the grass he let out a long laugh.

"Its not funny!" She hissed but he barely heard her.

He caught his breath after a moment and glanced up to her, with a grin. "Challenge away Matoko. Just one condition. He can turn down the challenge if he wants to. And no Amazon tricks. You tell him what the challenge entails upfront."

Her eyes narrowed at that, embarrassment gone. "That's not fair! I... if he said no I would be shamed!"

Herb's mirth drained at this. "When a man in your village wishes to marry a woman and offers a challenge, she is allowed to decline, is she not!"

Matoko fumbled. "W-well... is not honorable to decline challenge but... yes. If she is afraid she couldn't win and doesn't want to marry."

"How is it any different for him?" Herb asked, adding a bit of heat to his tone. "If you pose him a challenge, an ultimatum and he doesn't wish to marry you..." Which Herb honestly thought was ridiculous. Anyone could see the relationship between Matoko and Mint was nearly unbreakable already. Even so he continued. "Why should he not be allowed the same right to turn down the challenge as you are given? Because of his gender? My opinions on the roles of different genders has already been well stated."

Matoko twitched. Anger warring with her common sense. Slowly, painfully slowly, her mind began to take in the words Herb was giving her.

It was a brand new world. Equality was the antiseptic, or maybe the thread to stitch a wound. It burned as it was applied but the results were unfathomably greater than letting things stagnate. She and the rest of the Amazons had to take the good and the bad, and no one said it would be easy.

Slowly, she nodded. "Alright. I'll challenge him tomorrow morning, and if he decides he doesn't wish to wed me, then we won't fight."

Herb grinned. "And when he accepts, and mops the floor with you I will cheer for him."

The redhead's eyes lit with momentary fury and Herb could swear he saw a comical burst of smoke expel from her ears. "What makes you so sure he will win!"

"You want him to. Isn't it obvious?"

Again the girl's cheeks flushed. Idly Herb noted how her mood seemed to switch from angry to embarrassed in an instant and marvelled at the seamless transition.

"Just because I want to marry him does not mean I would simply give him victory! He has to earn it!" The redhead boasted, her eyes blazing with something akin to fury mixed with humor and a little bit of self righteousness.

"Ah yes. Bloodying your lips is a wonderful way for him to show how much he cares for you. Yet you demand it of him. Imagine how sad you would be should he refuse to hurt you. Sometimes you Amazons are so strange..."

Again the girl changed to an abrupt anger. But she didn't say anything. The expression seemed to fade from her face as she thought about his words once more.

"He wouldn't do that... He knows if he wants me he has to be strong enough!" She replied.

"A man must be strong, in a society that discourages that strength. Don't you see the problem? You're traditions are backwards."

"And you're always trying to change us! Our society has worked fine for three thousand years! Just because you're right on some things doesn't mean you can change everything about us!" The redhead hissed.

"You're society has only worked for six hundred years, and it has been declining ever since. Did you know that once the Amazons and the Musk were one people? United? Equal? I would have those days return..."

"Why! Why do you so desperately want to change us? I-I just want Mint to love me... as a man should. Quiet and strong..." She trailed off, her eyes burning with rage.

Herb sighed and laid his head in his hand, desperately trying to come up with an answer. After what seemed an eternity he finally met the girl's angry eyes again. "Because quiet and strong might not be all he wants from life... and both men and women should have the same opportunity for happiness."

Letting a bit of mirth creep into his voice he gave a small grin. "And besides... can you really imagine Mint being quiet? Strong, always... but he's not exactly a silent person."

Matoko couldn't stop the laugh that escaped her lips despite her anger. During the brief respite in the seriousness of the conversation she took the chance to close the gap between them and began to help Herb lift the some of the fallen wood and branches.

For a while they merely shared companionship and hauled branches out of the junk piles separating them into the usable and the disposable. It was some time before Matoko spoke again. "Herb... you are not what we expected from a Musk you know? You... care. Not just about those under you but about people you've never met. We... always thought Musk were raised to be heartless."

Herb smiled. "I grew up with the understanding that Amazons were spineless, and extremely ugly. I assure you I've been proven wrong a thousand fold. There is much we could learn from each other."

She seemed to consider that for a moment before nodding. "I agree. Though try to make the elders see that..." She trailed off emphasizing the impossibility.

"I have been trying since the day I first came here." Herb replied somberly. Adding a bit of enthusiasm he joked. "They're stubborn as nails! That was a stereotype in Musk society that has proven true. Amazon elders could make a rock scream in frustration!"

With a laugh Matoko replied. "I've been wondering about that too. Why are you here? Not to seem rude. I know your father disowned you... but why come back here and start bullying all the elders?"

"I'm not bullying!" Herb barked defensively.

Matoko cocked an eyebrow.

"...Not much." The ex prince admitted.

"Why are you doing it at all though Herb?" I... I heard the rumors about you being held in our prison chambers. Why come back here?" Wide eyes questioned him with utter seriousness.

Herb sighed, letting out a wave of frustration and emotion that he couldn't explain. "I'm here because... I feel like it's what She would do."

"She...?" Matoko questioned.

Herb nodded. "Yes. She. You call her Ruby."

Matoko let out a short gasp but held her composure. Even so, a blind man could have spotted the anger that suddenly overtook the redhead. Heated rage barely contained by the restraints of social civility. A few minutes passed before she could form enough thought to speak again and when she did her words were laced with poison. "Why would you want to imitate her?"

Ruby was one of the few things that could set the redhead into a fiery frothy rage. The girl knew the Amazons had been attacked by some sort of super weapon and had been devastated when she found out Ruby had not been in the village at the time, choosing instead to run away beforehand.

Some irrational part of her mind, Herb supposed, must have believed that Ruby could've saved them if only she hadn't turned her back on them. Despite the fact that it was the Amazons who had betrayed Ruby, their society mocking Ruby's pristine beliefs in equality, Matoko felt equally betrayed by her departure. How much more hate would Ruby gather if the Amazons actually knew that she had been the source of the colossal ki blast that had decimated their ranks?

Herb couldn't leave her reputation in shambles, even if she never did return. It wouldn't be right.

"Because she saved my life, and abandoned the amazons when she found out they had their own torture chambers. It disgusted her. As soon as she discovered that I'd been tortured she broke me out of prison and fled, planning to leave the Amazons and the Musk to their own devices." He paused, trying to search for the words. "I... don't really understand it fully myself. I thought she fought for the women purely for revenge at first. But it seemed that she believed their ideals. That she wished to defend her sisters. Perhaps she even came to believe in your "Amazon Dream." When she found the Amazon's secrets... how they... how you tortured men into compliance if not slavery, she was heartbroken. Don't you see? In her eyes, it is the Amazons who betrayed her! Had she the power, she probably would've tried to destroy you just as she had tried to destroy us. In her mind... in her mind Amazons and Musk are two sides of an awful, awful coin. To her, leaving our war behind was the only fair choice. I think that is why I try to imitate her. I don't want dominance. I don't want anyone dominant over me, and I believe all should have the same right."

Matoko had listened with rapt attention, her eyes focused intently on Herb.

With such serious conversation the results of the next moment should have been no surprise.

A sudden gust of wind above caused a broken treebranch to fall, crashing to the ground nearby. It landed upon a lever which for some random reason had a pail of wash water on the other side. The bucket whirled across the grassland straight towards the pair of individuals. Herb snatched it from the air but was drenched in the process. A moment later a highly irritated pink and white haired girl stood where the man had before.

Matoko couldn't help but laugh. It was only the serious subject matter that kept her from sinking to her knees. It was ridiculous just how inventive the Jusenkyo curse could be at times.

"I was... trying to be serious."

All Matoko could do was laugh as the conversation was broken. Herb, now shorter than the redhead beside her, laughed right along, wondering if her tiny crusade to change the remaining Amazons for the better would really amount to anything.

A young woman walked along a broad paved sidewalk, idly kicking a rock here and there as she went. Across her back in plain view for all to see rested a massive sword that seemed almost impossible for a girl of such size to wield. At her hip was a vicious and well bloodied dagger. Meticulously cleaned, the weapon could slice steel as easily as skin. At her back was a huge bag, that looked like it had seen heavy use. Strangely, it didn't seem to carry any brandname or logos to show who had made the archaic pack. It seemed almost as if it were homemade. In fact even her clothes seemed as if they had all been hand-stitched which was almost unheard of in these days.

Her hair was dark brown. That alone was noticeable in a place like China where everyone had black hair, but on this girl, blue or green hair would've been seen as just another of her list of strange attributes.

Dressed in a skirt and blouse that somehow managed to fit with the leather harness and greaves that protected her from mundane attacks, and sporting an eye-patch that one might see in an old pirate movie, the girl was clearly not the usual sort of person to walk into town.

Completing her image though, and perhaps making it the most surreal of all to the wide-mouthed people of this village, was the modern-day baby carrier she held in her left hand. Inside it was the cutest little bundle of joy anyone could ever admit to seeing. A young boy, no older than a few months, stared wide-eyed at the strangers and laughed with reckless abandon.

Pedestrians, who had at first been struck by the cold gaze of the woman walking into their town, found themselves put at ease by the laughter of her tiny companion.

She'd walked in on the side of the road, slinging that pack on her back as if it weighed nothing. Coming from the west, it appeared she had been walking for a very long way.

Drivers in cars rolled down the windows occasionally as they drove by, but disregarded her quickly. Costumes were common enough.

Pedestrians walking along the streets of this small town were a bit less quick to turn their eyes from such a strange anomaly. The girl... was bruised. Cuts and gnashes peppered her body, some looking days old, others freshly opened. Her stride was straight and she didn't seem to even notice them however.

She approached the town center with no trouble and no one was brave enough to ask her if she needed help. She cut an intimidating figure even if she was injured, though no one was able to put a finger on why.

"Its good to be back." The girl thought, noting dresses displayed in glass windows and decorated with blaring Chinese kanji that she could only barely read. She thought in the year she had been in this country, she had learned how to speak the language at least adequately but reading it was another story.

Once she'd reached the main area of town, the girl stopped and gave a small smile as she stepped into a pharmacy. Her smile widened at the soft wsshhh of the automatic doors as if they sparked some sort of happy memory within her.

Tiyada Etcho was coming up on his middle years, and had found that the world had grown a bit boring over time. Day after day passed running his store, learning at the local college and saving his money. Married with no children as his wife was infertile, he had grown a bit bitter over the years. In all, Tiyada was quite disillusioned about the surprises of life. Jaded to the fads of youngsters, and already set in his ways at only thirty, he was pretty certain that he could handle anything life threw at him...

Right up until Aktaya Sovi walked into his store.

"May I help you ma-!" He cut off mid sentence as her sword reached his eyes. 'Holy shit is that thing real? Wait, am I about to be robbed?' Was the first thought that went through the man's mind as he laid eyes upon the brunette.

"Hello sir." The girl's hard expression became a smile, and at that moment Tiyada's eyes wandered over the baby carrier in her hand.

He relaxed quickly. Parents brought their own sort of trouble sure, annoyed mothers yelling that his medicine was not working or that he had given the wrong prescription was always a hassle, but for a moment he'd thought the girl was about to pull a heist! He really couldn't afford to be robbed at the moment.

"Apologies Miss. May I help you?" He tried again with much more success this time.

"Yeah. I'm afraid I'm going to need to take over your store."

Tiyada blinked. "What?" He asked, confused.

"Your store is going to be needed. How many bandages do you have? Oh, and Peroxide. I'm going to need all of that. If you could get it here on the front desk that would be great." She said offhandedly as she began to examine the racks of merchandise.

He cocked his head. "Young lady, this pharmacy has gallons of peroxide. Why would you need-!"

The girl's hand lanced out across the counter and snatched his collar with a speed that baffled the pharmacist. "For the love of god, just do it. All of your peroxide. All of your bandages. All of your first aid kits, and anything else you think will be helpful for fixing wounds. I don't know if I'll be able to hold off the attack that's coming but I guarantee every bandage you have will save a life before the day is over. You have one hour."

The cold, dead tone the young girl used, and the fact that his feet were off the ground all convinced the Tiyada that he should probably go along with whatever the girl was saying. Inwardly he sighed. 'Fuck... it is a heist. Why me? Why this week!'

Still the steadfast man, and brave to the ways of streetpunks no matter how strangely dressed, Tiyada was not afraid. Compliant, and in no hurry to die, but not afraid. "Fine, prick." He hissed. "Well! Gonna put me down? Lets get this over with."

Worse the girl was a foreigner! Japanese unless Tiyada missed his guess.

The girl let go of his collar and he felt his feet touch the ground with a sense of satisfaction. Dusting off his shirt and fixing it a little, he turned his glare on the little bitch. Broad daylight, with a baby in her hand and she's pulling this shit? Bah. Tiyada felt sorry for the boy.

Well, he had a way of dealing with people like this woman. Thieves trying to rob his store were not at all uncommon here. Many had tried and succeeded before Tiyada wised up and got some protection.

"For what its worth, I'm sorry about this." She apologized and he sniffed. Sorry. Right.

The man was then forced to blink in almost utter shock as the girl turned her freaking back to him. She walked away towards the shelf with all the simple painkillers, advil, aspirin and the like and began collecting them by the armload.

'God she sucks at robbing people. Damn strong grip though.' He thought idly as he pulled the .44 out from its hiding place beneath his front counter.

"Hands up." He hissed.

The girl stopped. With an exasperated eye roll she turned to face him and stared the weapon down with probably the most ballsy reaction Tiyada had ever seen. No fear. Not even agitation. No. Instead the girl was irritated.

"Good. You're armed. One more gun means one more chance at surviving."

Then she turned right back to the painkillers and started gathering more.

The boy in the carrier at her side giggled.

Well. That wasn't the reaction he'd expected. Not at all. "Woman, get the hell out of my store before I report you to the police."

"You haven't called them yet? Dammit you're slow." She hissed turning towards him with an armload of bottles. Fearlessly she approached the desk again and Tiyada backed away, holding the weapon steady on the girl.

The old pharmacist was finally starting to get a bit unnerved. Something was wrong with this girl. She ignored the gun as if it were a fly. Even less than a fly. She demanded all his bandages and first aid kits, but had not yet asked for any money. Something was... wrong here.

A shiver ran through his skin as he watched the girl suddenly finger her eyepatch. Her finger sunk in much further than a fake should be able too. Oh yes. Something was definitely wrong here.

"St-stay back! Crazy..."

"I'm here to help you. Again... I'm sorry."

With that the girl held up her hand and faced it towards the windows and the entrance that lead out into the main street.

And then she utterly obliterated Tiyada's beliefs in magic.

"Arc."

A blue blast of energy exploded from the girl's palm and burst the glass windows into pieces that scattered outside the building and into the road beyond. The explosion shook the ground and Tiyada was thrown off his feet, tumbling to the ground behind his counter.

"Wh-what in gods name?" He hissed idly... "Was that...?"

"That. Is what's going to save your life today. I hope..." The girl told him with a sad shake of her head. "Your city is next. The army is coming, and you'll need every firearm this town has if you want to stand of chance of not being obliterated. Its on your doorstep and you haven't even noticed."

The was shivvering in fear, his eyes deadlocked on the wall of his shop that had just exploded. "B-bombs? Did you use...?"

"NO! For the goddess I can't believe I'm still trying!" The girl yelled, locking her eyes on his and forcing a connection between them. "Your town is about to be attacked by people who make what I just did look paltry! Now get on the phone and call the authorities!"

"Y-yes... I... think I will." What was she asking? She was asking to be arrested? Her words simply weren't registering. All Tiyada could see was that this girl had blown up his wall.

Shakey fingers latched onto the cellular in his pocket and flipped it out, but even as he tried to dial sirens began blaring in the background.

"Ah. At least someone has sense." The girl said with a small smile to herself. Again, she turned away from the Tiyada, returning to kneel down by the meds once more.

Only a few moments seemed to pass between that first siren and the arrival of the People's Armed Police. They spread out and surrounded the area. Weapons, real guns trained upon the building's interior, and Tiyada could only stare in mute fascination at the girl who's smile kept on brightening with each new pistol she saw aimed at his poor store.

Finally, a small hint of sense crept into his ears. 'An army was here? To attack? Is that why she...?'

The girl had finished piling drugs onto his counter and once again locked eyes with him, pulling him out of his reverie. His weapon hung limply in his hand, now long forgotten.

"When the fighting starts, try to save those who fall but aren't killed. You look like you have a bit of steel. I hope you can bring yourself to call on it when it matters." The girl said with another smile that seemed... sad somehow.

"I... Don't...?" Tiyada couldn't respond. What did you say to that?

"You will." She interrupted. "They're here. Its time."

The girl turned and walked towards the hole in the window she had made, prompting a series of calls from the police outside.

Slowly, slowly, she walked out. As she did so, she pulled the ridiculously oversized sword off her back and bore it at the guns trained on her.

Citizens from other buildings had peeked out to see the commotion. Bystanders numbered in the hundreds. A small town but still a town. A barrier had been erected to blockade incoming traffic and cars parked alongside buildings with drivers stepping out to see what was happening. All were curious. But most importantly, all were wary. That wariness might just save them.

"Get down!" A man shouted, and the sound of cocked weapons echoed in her ears.

The girl ignored him and the sounds, still slowly stepping forward with the blade drawn. Men had already begun to step back, afraid of the girl who seemingly held no fear, and looked like some sort of warrior from a story.

Finally she spoke. A pleading demand.

"Please... Look up." Were the words she gave the crowd. And she turned her eyes skyward. Even as she did so, a sudden strange shade came over the clearing.

Perhaps without even realizing it, the men surrounding her followed her gaze, and their eyes widened in sudden horror, as a huge javelin fell from the sky.

The spear sunk through a policeman's stomach and imbedded itself into the concrete road, staking the man like a roasted pig. Blood dribbled down his back where the javelin protruded in a horrific display, not allowing the already dead man to fall. None noticed.

All eyes focused on the hundreds of winged figures above. Shocked.

"Decend!" Shouted a hateful male voice. Like a whip crack, the phoenix warrior who had gathered above leaped from one of the taller buildings, falling in a lethal cascade of white wings.

And as Aktaya Sovi had planned... had hoped... someone fired a shot. Like a trigger, bullets filled the air.

The brown haired girl lifted her own hand, palm outstretched and uttered the word that prompted her own attack.

"Arc."

And man and phoenix made war.

Far above the slopes of the surrounding mountains of Jusenkyo a pair of eyes observed the land. the crater and the few patches of land that made up the remains of Joketsuzoku to the south. A touch of softness was held within the gaze as they glanced across that dead village, and the remaining few that still lived within.

Then they swept away, taking in miles with each millimeter they moved. Their gaze landed upon the lush acres and acres of farmland to the north, spawned by the Musk's magics and their ability to grow. Not one drop of softness remained in the steely gaze as it trailed across the place that had spawned a being such as Tsingtao.

They watched, taking in all the land from their position high above.

The person who owned those eyes was called Ranma. And she had learned to fly.

"I'm ready, Tsingtao. You made me a monster. You took my son... time to reap what you've sown. Let us make war, you and I."

And the red-haired figure, surrounding it her own vortex of clouds and colors, began to descend.

Lo, the goddess falls to earth in color, to return The People to glory once known.

End Chapter

Author's Notes:Alright this obviously took forever. Also I'm in the military now so don't expect quick chapters I'm afraid but I did finally manage to get around to finishing this little chappie. Lots and lots of character development and I must admit it feels rushed to my usual style of writing. I know this, but know that the depths of war are going to be entered in the next chapter. This one describes how it started. Next will show how it actually is.

At least that's my goal. I've never truly been in a war so I'm doing my best to blend realism and EPIC and probably fobbing things up.

Once agian, I'm sorry for the long wait but on the upside, I'm almost done with my training. I'm tired and only have like an hour of free time a day to write on this but it'll all be worth it. Folks. Materia-Blade is packing his bags and getting on a plane. He's going to fucking Tokyo.

Ehem...

Aww YEAH!

Love you all and please leave a review if you don't mind. I realize it's been eons since the last chapter and I hope you don't all have to go back too far to catch up on things. Hopefully the summary at the top recapped you a little bit.

Till Next!
MB