Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Two Wallets ❯ You Can Lead A Pig To Cold Water... ( Chapter 114 )

A Tale of Two Wallets

(An Altered Destiny)

Written by Jim Robert Bader

Proofread by Shiva Barnwell

A lone figure crept around from behind one of the walls of the Tendo dojo nervously casting glances over his shoulder as if afraid to find the very devil himself gazing upon him. The erstwhile (and self-proclaimed) Gambler King had every reason to exercise caution, but when the devil did finally speak it was with such calm lack of surprise that the Gambler King almost discovered religion.

Almost, that is, for the purpose of repenting.

"I thought I would find you here, miscreant," said devil did pronounce, "After the poor service that you rendered it is only fitting for you to slink away in the hopes that you might be forgotten."

The King turned around very slowly, seeing the tip of the wooden bokken resting lightly upon his shoulder. Swallowing hard against the lump of dread that threatened to choke him, the King said very slowly, "Laddie…do ye want to be pointing like that at a poor sod who be down on his fortunes?"

"That all depends," replied Kuno Tatewaki, "On whether or not you deserve either pity or contempt, churl. At the moment the matter is undecided, but pray you do not convince me that you are worth even the bother."

The King was sweating and did not mind showing it off as he considered the Master of Kuno Enterprises with as much due respect as one would pay to a spitting cobra. He was not at all taken in by the seeming innocuousness of the wooden practice weapon in Kuno's hand, knowing full well that to a master bladesmith such as Tatewaki even a dull-edged weapon could be devastatingly deadly.

"Me Lord…" the King began to petition.

"Do not address me in such a manner," Kuno said sharply, "A Lord is known by the vassals in his employ, and you, Sirrah, are no great credit to the likes of one such as I…"

"I gave it me best shot…" the King softly protested…

"And you failed miserably against Tendo Nabiki," Kuno shrugged his shoulders, "To be fair, not many of wit could match them against her and come out the better, but at the very least you might have spared yourself the embarrassment of losing in such an inept manner…"

"Put your sword down and let him go," a voice called out with a lightly appended, "Master."

"So," Tatewaki turned to regard the one who had spoken, "Even a dog can find its bark every so often…"

"I dog I may be, Master," replied a very calm-looking Sasuke, "But I served a noble house for many years and had the dignity of such employ. Do not dishonor my memories of the Master that I once served by fouling your blade on the likes of this unworthy creature."

"Can it be?" Kuno raised an eyebrow, "Have you somehow grown a spine in the short time since you left my direct employ?"

"A spine, or whatever it was that I was lacking in the past," Sasuke replied, "I just know that this is wrong…and you must know it as well, Master, if you have anything of the spark of a Samurai left within you."

Tatewaki expression darkened noticeably, "That you should speak to me in such a manner is impertinence…but then again, you have already chosen to serve my sister in preference to me, so I suppose ill manners are only to be expected. It just so happens, however, that you are right…I do lower myself by engaging such a miscreant as this one," Kuno stood away and lowered his bokken, "Leave now, Knave, and do not ever again darken the Tendo doorstep. Your claims on them are ended, and by the agreement that you and I made the property belongs to Tendo Nabiki. Never dispute this and I will allow you to remain healthy."

"Aye…that I will…ye shall nae see me again, Laddie," the King slowly edged away along the wall, then broke off in a dead run that kicked up dust as he vanished into the sunset.

"Thank you, Master," Sasuke sighed.

"Do not thank me just yet," Kuno slowly turned to regard the diminutive manservant, "Our business is so easily concluded."

"No," Sasuke sighed, feeling weary, "I didn't think it would be."

"Know this then," Kuno regarded the little man gravely, "Though your family has been in service to the family of Kuno for more generations than either of us care to remember, I never much regarded you as a credit to that service."

"You think I didn't know that, Master?" Sasuke replied, sighing, "I was never cut out to be a ninja…I had other dreams and goals, but I did what I could to please my father, to follow in his footsteps…"

"You did more than that," Tatewaki inclined his head with an unreadable expression, "I well know that you cared for me and Kodachi during those hard years when we were alone and friendless, our mother taking her own life, our father retreating into madness. You were not much of a manservant, but you did you best to fill in the gaps left by others. I have always been grateful to you for doing what you could to keep us warmed and clothed, though never before could I admit this in the open."

"Master?" Sasuke blinked.

"You have again reminded me of why House Kuno stands today when all who bear the name have proven themselves time and again to be unworthy," Tatewaki continued, "By standing up to me as you did just now you showed more spine and fortitude than was ever expected of you, even as a loyal ninja. Keep that in mind the next time you doubt your abilities or the choice your life has taken."

"Master?" Sasuke said in growing confusion, "What…?"

"I have chosen a path that is both difficult and daunting," Kuno continued as if not interrupted, "A path that may not even be very wise, but one I believe in and hope will eventually redeem the name of Kuno. Meanwhile my sister is in need of a friend…a friend such as you, who will look after her while I cannot. Our paths will doubtlessly come into conflict time and again err this is over, but I know that with your help Kodachi will continue to find her own way…to be the kind of person she should have been if not for the madness of our elders."

"Master…" Sasuke breathed, unable to find words that could properly describe his thoughts upon that moment.

"You may wonder why I have chosen to side with Mistress Cybelle," Kuno continued, "And I doubt not that you would be dismayed were you to hear my full reasons. Suffice to say, for now, that I prefer to ally myself with her cause…for reasons I will not burden you with knowing. I know the others believe that I have betrayed all memory of honor, but I believe that what I am doing is for the best, and so I will continue on my path, a path I walk alone, even into shadow."

With that Tatewaki turned around and walked back to the limousine that awaited his pleasure, and soon he drove off into the sunset while an overawed manservant watched him leave with a sense of awe and foreboding…wondering if it were ill omen or a hint of the coming future…

"Which way did he go now?" Kennou voiced her frustration, her lifelong problem with directions now proving to be a double curse as she chased after a fellow Hibiki.

"This way!" Minako announced, "I think I see Shirokuro…she's letting us know which way Ryo-chan turned. If we hurry we should be able to catch him…"

"You said that five minutes ago!" Kennou growled in dark undertones, but since following the other blonde was better than wandering around lost she allowed herself to be led around a corner, only to find themselves in a blind alley.

"Oh, this is just terrific!" Kennou groused, "Way to go, Blondie!"

"Watch the names," Minako pointed, "And look there…looks like Ryo-chan made another exit!"

Kennou blinked as she saw the massive gap in the wall big enough to drive a truck through, and not for the first time she swore, "How in the hell does he do that?"

"I don't know precisely," Minako replied as she took the lead once again, "But Ryo-chan said something about learning an Amazon trick for breaking rocks with the tip of his finger. I've seen him do it, too…it's pretty darned impressive!"

"And that's another thing," Kennou groused, "Where do you get off with this 'Ryo-chan' crap? You only just met him a couple of weeks ago…"

"I know," Minako replied, "But ever since he saved my life in that jungle…"

"What jungle?" Kennou blinked.

"On the island with all the dinosaurs," Minako explained.

"Dinosaurs?" Kennou repeated.

"Yeah, on the Island that Time Forgot…or something like that," Minako shrugged as if describing a mere tourist trap of her ill convenience.

"An island full of dinosaurs?" Kennou wondered if her fellow blonde was pulling her leg, "Where is that?"

"I forgot," Minako replied, "I think it's either in Peru or the Antarctic, or some place like that. All I know is that it's full of mountains and awfully cold if you wander outside of the valley…"

"You have got to be putting me on," Kennou exclaimed in bland skepticism, only to halt in her tracks and say, "No…double that! What the heck is that?"

Minako also saw the bizarre sight of an eighteen-wheeled truck folded over like a jack-knife, as if someone had flipped the front cab to stand it on its nose while the trailer part got leaned atop it.

"Off hand I think Ryo-chan did that," Minako mused, "He's awfully strong, and pretty single minded, and if something's in his way he tends to go right through it…"

"Tell me about it," Kennou said in dismay, wondering if even she could do that to a truck if she had a mind to.

They continued to follow a trail that even one blind would have recognized as the handiwork of an enraged Hibiki, making note of the holes punched through walls, buildings, cars and anything else that happened to be standing in their path. It was an almost ramrod straight line that bore in an unwavering straight direction, a mile of destruction that cut a swath across Nerima to the Furinkan Financial district as though shot from a laser, a fact that did not go unremarked by the two pursing ladies.

"Kennou-san," Minako asked with a hesitant edge in her voice, "Isn't it unusual for Ryo-chan to be this single-minded and certain of his directions?"

"Unusual?" Kennou responded, "It's frigging impossible! He should be just as confused as I normally am with directions!"

"Wow," Minako exclaimed, "You think maybe something is drawing Ryo-chan this way, like a homing beacon or some kind of mental magnet?"

"Mental magnet?" Kennou eyed her companion with a puzzled expression.

"Yeah," Minako replied, "Didn't you notice the way he cried out like he did back at the dojo? It was like he saw something nobody else around his saw, and that must have been what made him run off like that. I think somebody must have attacked his mind or something…"

"Must be a pretty small target," Kennou considered the point then said, "I suppose it's no more impossible than anything else that's been happening lately, and besides, we know that somebody in my family is good with illusions. Would make sense if somebody wired his brain to turn him into a human torpedo."

"But why him?" Minako asked.

"Because my nephew is gullible and easily misled," Kennou said grimly, "And powerful enough to make the perfect weapon to do somebody's bidding, provided you can come up with a convincing enough illusion to get him revved up in an excited enough state that he acts without thinking…or whatever it is he does with that head of his when he's not butting it up against something."

"You may talk about him like that," Minako eyed her companion sidelong, "But I can tell you're as worried about Ryo-chan as I am."

"And what makes you say a fool thing like that?" Kennou growled in irritation.

"That fact that you rushed out here along with me to see where he was going," Minako replied rather smugly, "Admit it, you do have feelings for him, even though you say he's your nephew when, in fact, he's actually a handsome guy who's nearly the same age as you, not to mention he's good natured, kind hearted, generous, noble, brave and strong, not to mention incredibly good looking."

"You said that twice," Kennou, growled, "And he's not that good looking. Besides, his mom is my big sister, and I don't do incest."

"That's what you say," Minako smiled, "But you obviously care for him in spite of all that, almost as much as that other boy you're supposed to be in love with, the one who built a sister out of a robot…"

"WHAT?" Kennou halted in her tracks, "Who told you about that? Where did you hear about Hiroshi and his damned wind-up toy?"

"From you, of course," Minako replied, "You only talked about them so much that Ryo-chan was able to tell me everything about it."

"He…told…you…?" Kennou repeated slowly, then with fists balled she cried, "FINE! Then I don't want him, you can have him, you empty headed excuse for a…"

"Whoah!" Minako responded while pointing away from the enraged Hibiki, "Chill out and take a look at that! Is that the place where Ryo-chan's been heading all this time?"

"Huh?" Kennou turned her head and followed her companion's gesture, then blinked her eyes and said, "I don't believe it! An art studio? That's where Ryoga's been headed?"

"I guess so," Minako studied the front doors to the studio, which had been torn off their hinges as if subjected to a great force, "But why would Ryoga be interested in visiting a studio at this time of the day? It's clearly after hours and almost sunset."

Kennou regarded her companion with a droll expression and said in dry undertones, "You know…people like you are the reason why there are so many dumb jokes about us blondes…"

"Huh?" Minako blinked, "And what do you mean by that?"

Kennou made a rude noise and turned to enter the building, "Never mind, let's just go after that baka, okay?"

"Aha," Minako smiled, "So you really do care about him after all, eh?"

Kennou's response to this gentle teasing was anything but printable but-fortunately for Minako-a long ways shy from homicidal…

When Ryoga entered the harmless-seeming art studio he had thought that he was entering the lair of a powerful and dangerous creature that was threatening his family and loved ones. He did not have a plan or a purpose beyond settling accounts with this danger, and so what little subtlety he had was thrown completely out the window.

Which was why he hardly paused a step as he waded through the front doors to the studio, not even consciously taking notice of the momentary obstruction, seeing only the visions of the dead and dying bodies of his vision propelling him forward to acts of sheer desperation. As he plunged into the depths of the studio he hardly even noticed the works of art that surrounded him, many of them under cover but their arrangement leaving little doubt as to their nature, had Ryoga been conscious enough to take stock of his surroundings. He plowed on ahead, heedless of everything but the urge that was drawing him forward, and every other sense became of secondary importance.

In this state of mind he took no heed of the way the studio stretched out before him, turning a mere thirty-meter walk into something that extended out to infinity. The corridor that appeared before him was like a hallway through eternity, with the features blurring on all sides so that as has as he could run he got no nearer to his ultimate destination. It was like running in place on a treadmill, and try though he might Ryoga found his best efforts were availing him nowhere.

"Ryoga," a voice spoke in his mind, "Please stop this now. You don't want to do this, and I won't let you."

"WRONG!" Ryoga declared, or rather the part of his mind that was still capable of rational speech, "I HAVE TO DO THIS! I WON'T LET YOU HURT THEM!"

"But I would never hurt them," the voice gently replied, "And you don't even know who I am…or who you are for that matter."

"I KNOW ENOUGH!" Ryoga declared, "I KNOW THAT YOU'RE MY ENEMY…"

"Wrong," the womanly voice replied, "I have never been your enemy, but don't take my word on it…have a look for yourself and you will see…"

As these words penetrated through the haze of Ryoga's berserk mindset he saw his surroundings shift again, and this time he did pause in his forward momentum, seeing a living room stretch out before his eyes and resolving to the familiar surroundings of a room he knew like the back of his hand…if not a little better.

"Recognize this place, my dear?" the voice inquired, "You should…it was a large part of your life for the first fourteen years of your domestic existence."

"My home!" Ryoga declared in some astonishment, "I haven't been back in…years…"

"So glad that you remember," the voice said from much, much nearer, "I've never been there myself, but I've watched you grow up with your mother from afar, and so I have memorized every detail."

Ryoga turned to see who it was that was addressing him he saw a womanly form take shape from the air itself, resolving into a golden skinned woman whose frost white hair curled around her shapely body to nearly floor-level. Ryoga could not help staring at the radiant beauty that was before him, who virtually cried sensualism, and without thinking about it he covered his face to stave off a pending nosebleed.

"Who…?" Ryoga managed to gasp out, slightly muffled by his own hands.

"I think you know who I am," the woman replied, and Ryoga could not help noticing that her eyes had diamond-slits and were golden, "I'm Ganglot the Oni…and I happen to be your great grandmother."

"Ganglot the Oni?" Ryoga repeated, then at once fell back into a defensive crouch, "You're the one I've been sent to defeat!"

"Hardly," Ganglot waved a hand dismissively, "You are flesh of my flesh and blood of my blood, and despite what that bitch, your grandmother, did to influence you, I am never your enemy, nor enemy to those you love and care for."

"Liar!" Ryoga spat, "I've seen a vision…"

"You mean the bodies strewn everywhere, some bloody beyond recognition?" Ganglot waved a hand, "Not my handiwork, I assure you…but then again I never was one for blood and gore dramas. I consider such things gosh beyond passe, as if spreading the syrup and tomato sauce could possibly ever substitute for actual high drama…"

"You won't trick me!" Ryoga declared, "I won't fall for it! I know that you're a demon and you exist only to torment innocent people…!"

"Now is that anyway to speak to your elders?" Ganglot smiled, then pointed to the tattoo marks on her face, "Besides, these are the mark that link me to the Divine powers of Yggdrasil, and under their influence I am forbidden to directly tell a lie. I can stretch he truth and bend it a little, but if I out and out tell you something you can take it on faith that my word is absolute gospel."

"And how am I supposed to believe that?" Ryoga demanded.

"Hmmm…" Ganglot actually seemed to consider the question, stroking her chin with lone well-tapered hand, "A good point that…am I lying about telling the truth, or am I telling the truth about not being able to lie? I suppose the question could also be asked if I am merely being evasive, telling you a partial or half-a-truth in order to mislead and misdirect you, in which case it could be more confusing for you than actual lying, blending a bit of the truth in a form that is most deceptive…"

"Huh?" Ryoga responded, being more than a little confused by the Oni woman's questions, to say nothing of her half-answer.

"Never mind," Ganglot waved the point away dismissively, "The point is that you are my kin, and as such your welfare is meaningful to me…especially you, my little Ryo-chan, for of all of my descendants you are the most like my son, your grandfather, and you have a destiny, albeit one both strange and perplexing."

Ryoga was on his guard once again, "How can I believe you? You're an Oni!"

"And you have the blood of the Oni within you," Ganglot countered, "Or are you going to now make your mother out to be a liar?"

"Well…" Ryoga hesitated by a fraction.

"Ryo-chan," Ganglot said in a frank and intimate manner, "I know you don't have any reason to trust or believe me when I tell you that I am your great-grandmother, and it may be possible that you have heard stories about me as I was in the old days, before I decided to amend my ways and make nice-nice. In truth I used to be something of a mischief worker who delighted in sowing the seeds of discord among mortals, but that was back before I came to learn how precious a thing human life can be, a lesson that your grandmother has yet to learn. She's the one who goes around looking to cause trouble. Why, in ancient times would you believe she even got amusement out of convincing her followers to partake of drunken orgies while chewing hemp, and under the influence of narcotics and religiously-induced euphoria they would sometimes cut off their own balls and offer them up to her as fertility sacrifices?"

"Urk!" Ryoga unconsciously brought his knees closer together.

"Yeah, no fooling!" Ganglot made a face, "Back then you could get people to perform the most bizarre acts and call it a religious observance. I did things back then myself that I'm not particularly proud of, but I never went that far with the people who used to worship me as a goddess. Oh, I may be something of a trickster at heart, but I prefer to play straight with the people who truly matter…"

"You see!" Ryoga latched onto the part of his speech that most closely conformed to his pre-made mindset, "You admit you're trying to trick me!"

Ganglot sighed, "Brains, brawn and looks…amazing how much of my son bred true in you…"

"I don't have to listen to any more of this!" Ryoga declared hotly, "I know what I have to do, now get out of the way and let me complete my mission!"

"Oh sure," Ganglot rolled her eyes, "Let you smash my capstone, seal me back in my prison…like I'm going to let that happen. Why don't I show you something else that might take your mind off destroying me for a bit…let's see…how good are you at history?"

"History?" Ryoga repeated.

Ganglot snapped her fingers, "Oh darn, that's right…it's more your brother's specialty. Well, Geography is definitely out, and so is higher mathematics, so what other subjects interest you?" the Oni princess paused then smiled, "I know…poetry…that seems a subject near and dear to your heart…"

"Poetry?" Ryoga raised his eyebrows by more than a fraction.

"Maestro!" Ganglot made a dramatic sweep of her arm, and their surroundings altered to an outdoor wilderness setting, with stars far up above that sparkled like tiny rhinestones set against an absolute black velvety backdrop, complete with comet flashing far overhead in a naturalistic setting.

"Some say the world will end in fire!" Ganglot declared, and all around them the wooded forest that they were in burst into flames all over, creating heat and light that made even Ryoga flinch more than a little.

"…And some say in ice," the Oni princess continued, even as their flaming surroundings were suddenly engulfed by a wave of icy cold that smothered the fires and covered tree-branches in frost, snow and icicles. In spite of myself, Ryoga was impressed by these realistic illusions, but he had little time to take notice of the cold before the Oni princess banished it altogether.

"From what I've tasted of desire," Ganglot spoke in a rhyming sing-song, "I'd hold with those who favor fire. But if I had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate to say that for destruction ice is also very great, and would suffice."

The ice melted all around them, and suddenly the landscape was flooded, wiping out whole villages in the virtual blink of an eye as huts and people floated off into the sunset.

"Robert Frost," Ganglot explained as the waters gradually receded, "Gotta love him…the very fact that I now take the road less taken can in some small part be attributed to him. What you are seeing now, Ryo-chan, is history sped up a thousandfold to show you how the Silver Age ended for humanity before the Stone Age opened out to the rest of our ancestors, and why the Oni are among the most loyal servants to the opposition of the Gods. It's quite a long and confusing story, but as it seems that we have enemies in common."

"We do?" asked a by-now thoroughly confused Ryoga.

"Watch on as I slow the fast-forward to the frame that I'm after," Ganglot made a hand-motion as if clicking a remote and the scene came to a halt with the sight of a pyramid being constructed by many laborers hauling stone blocks together, "Observe a little-known period in Chinese history when the monument-building craze of the Middle East had its direct correlation in the Quoin Hi province. This forgotten nation and its builders are currently erecting a temple at the bidding of their ruler…later on Archeologists will totally misconstrue the purpose of these Temples as Tombs for their Kings, in spite of the fact that no bodies were ever buried here, nor were they even intended for such a purpose."

"Then why build them at all?" Ryoga asked with an appropriate amount of head-scratching, "Seems like an awful lot of trouble…"

"As you may or may not have heard," Ganglot explained, "A pyramid is a geometrical shape that incorporates many rather interesting occult features that are of use in ceremonial magic. In this case the pyramid in question is being used as a summoning device to establish a gateway between worlds, which is why it was constructed along exact geomagnetic coordinates that allow it to tap into the Lei Lines of force that encircle the planet."

As Ryoga watched the image altered to an interior view of the stone pyramid and a large chamber in which many priests were chanting in an odd, sibilant language. A man with an odd headdress (quite obviously the High Priest) motioned a woman to step forward, this girl a simple peasant by her look, though her silken gown makes her appear quite regal. The girl knelt down in the center of an ornately drawn circle on the floor and bowed her head in supplication while the priests all around her continued to chant…and then she was engulfed in a weird energy field and she began to change in outward form, growing taller and more regal as she straightened up to her full height, her hair lengthening and turning a golden-white coloration as he skin went from alabaster to burnished gold.

"In point of fact," Ganglot continued, "This is my summoning ritual, the act which brought me physically onto this plane of existence."

"What happened to that poor girl?" Ryoga gasped as he saw the naked woman in all her inhuman glory, spreading out huge bat-wings as she raised her arms in exultation (with eye-popping chest motions that threatened him with another nosebleed).

"We became one and assimilated one another," Ganglot replied, "She is still a part of me, and I am a part of her…my mortal half that allows me to dwell among the humans and pass as one myself, though in spirit I am an Oni."

"And that means you're not human?" Ryoga wondered, keeping a firm grip over his nose until the naked woman was wrapped in silken robes by the priests who greeted her like an empress newly arrived.

"Not entirely, no," Ganglot admitted, "But I'm human enough in all the ways that truly matter. Oni are not so dissimilar from human on a genetic scale, though countless millennia of evolutionary drift have made us both distinctively different species. On the plane where the Oni reside there are different rules and elementary forces that set the conditions of our existence. We've adapted to survive under a climatic situation that you would truly find hellish, though to us it is Home Sweet Home, a place I haven't been back to in eons, not that I have any great nostalgia for the life I lived before this one."

"And why is that?" Ryoga wondered.

"Because Oni society is often harsh and brutal, civilized on the exterior but quite barbaric underneath," Ganglot admitted freely, "Many Oni whom you would encounter from our home world are vicious, spiteful creatures, every bit as savage and ruthless as we are made out to be in our legends. We are not naturally that way, any more than humans are themselves brutal and cruel to one another, but we all adapt in our own way to the demands of the societies into which we are born. About the only main features we Oni have that do conform to our fearsome legends is the fact that we are given to a rather short fuse in the temper department…we lose our cool with far less provocation that most humans and revert to a savage, berserk-like stake when sufficiently angered. You may have noticed in yourself a tendency to get angry and stay angry for a long, long time, not to mention a particular obsessive streak that will cause you to fixate on a given idea and refuse to be budged from it come hell or high water."

"You're saying I got that from you?" Ryoga reluctantly concluded.

"Bingo!" Ganglot grinned, "I knew you really were a very bright boy underneath that exterior of good-natured simple-mindedness. You really are a lot like your grandfather, and if you grow to be half the man he is today, then your name could well become a legend."

"I don't want to be a part of any of this!" Ryoga declared, "What you're telling me makes me sound like some kind of a freak! Isn't it enough that I've had to suffer from being different for nearly all of my life? Do you think I enjoy finding out that I really am inhuman?"

"No," Ganglot replied with sympathy in her voice, "I can only imagine the pain and ostracism that you have felt from normal society…being part Japanese yet never truly a part of that world. I know how racist and divided Japanese culture is towards non-Japanese, and growing up as you have, forced to struggle for your daily existence without being able to find your way back home…"

"And how could you even begin to know about my pain?" Ryoga cried, "Because of all I've had to endure, I've seen hell!"

"Hell?" Ganglot smiled with far less pleasantness in her tone, "You think you've seen the worst that life has to offer? Feast your eyes on this if you honestly believe that you have suffered more than any other."

Ryoga turned as the golden woman made another hand gesture, and suddenly they were surrounded by a snowy landscape littered with dead and dying bodies, burning huts and mangled forms painting out a scene of utter carnage the like of which made the lost boy's blood turn to icewater.

"This is what happened shortly after the Amazons migrated into the region," Ganglot explained, "They came into conflict with many neighboring cultures and-depending on how diplomatic relations fared-either formed alliances or made savage war against those who fell into the bad graces of the Queens, Matriarchs and Council of Elders. What you see here is the end result of one such altercation, the Amazons leaving very little of that long-vanished empire that had summoned me as their resident goddess. And I was unable to prevent this, having been sealed away in my temple by the combined might of several Amazon Mages and Lore Masters. This happened nearly three thousand years back, but the memory is still fresh within me, and I can never forget that these were my people, and that I was the one who badly failed them."

Ryoga said nothing, staring at the bodies lifted high on spear-points and other gruesome sights so typical of a lost battle.

"Do not ever speak to me again of having witnessed hell, boy," Ganglot murmured, "I was born to a kind of a hell, but this far outstripped my home world in hellish nightmares. I knew these people, I still recall their names and the lives each one lived before this slaughter."

Ryoga continue to survey the remains of what had once been a prospering village, now a graveyard in all but name, and he felt the sadness of the place calling out to him like a foretaste of the vision he had witnessed in the dojo, which was why he shuddered with revulsion…

"…This way…I think," Minako urged them to turn at a certain corner that in all respects seemed identical to the last three corners they had taken.

"You think?" Kennou scoffed, "The two words don't even fit in the same sentence with you, Blondie…and where the heck did this maze come from anyway? The whole building didn't look big enough to house this!"

"Well, excuse me for living," Minako sniffed, "But I do have quite a lot of experience with chasing down monsters and lost princess, and one thing I know about mazes, you have to pick a place to turn somewhere!"

"That almost makes sense," Kennou grumbled, "And that's got me doubly worried. At least there's no damned Minotaur running around in this place to give us a hard time…"

There was a loud rumbling noise in the distance, as though a deep-throated creature was just then clearing its congestion.

"You were saying?" Minako asked nervously, hoping the creature would not find her since most monsters of her acquaintance seemed to have a taste for Blondes in a rather unhealthy sense of the term.

"Just terrific," Kennou paused to look around, "If only we had some kind of indicator to show we aren't running around in circles. Damn it, I'm usually pretty good with mazes…it's straight lines that mostly give me a problem!

"We all have our burden to bear, right?" Minako mused in her usual cheerful manner.

Kennou was about to respond to that when her foot encountered a slight depression, as if she had just stepped on a trap or something, and then something fell on her from above, and to her dismay she learned that it was nothing less than a pail full of water!

"What the…?" Minako blinked as she witnessed the transformation that turned a girl her own ages into a four-footed canine struggling out of a school uniform, "Hibiki-san?"

Kennou growled slightly in response, and had anyone there been able to speak wolf they would have translated the noises as an exasperated, "What are the odds? It's just not fair!"

Much to her surprise she heard a canine voice respond, "You are telling me this? I could write a book about life's unfairness!"

Kennou turned to see the odd woman-shape that she knew to be the Shadow-hound, Shirokuro, approaching them from around the corner, regarding Kennou with a very sympathetic expression.

"Where did you come from?" asked an astonished Minako.

"From my mother, mostly," the white-and-black haired woman replied, "And she was a bitch of a different kennel. Now…sorry it took me a while to catch up with you girls. The Mistress appears to have locked even me out with her illusions, making it all the more difficult for me to home in on the scent of my master."

"Your Master?" Kennou asked, though the sounds were nothing more than whines to Minako.

"Why yes," Shirokuro replied, clearly understanding those canine noises, "I call him that, for I have served him nearly all the years of his life, but originally I was the servant of Mistress Ganglot, and later of her arch enemy, Cybelle, before I was granted the more pleasurable assignment of looking after her daughter, Mistress Atsuko."

"You're a family retainer then?" Minako blinked, "Hey…wait a minute…you can understand her?"

"As one who has served the Hibiki line, I can understand any member of the bloodline," Shirokuro replied, "Besides, my other form is not too dissimilar to her cursed shape, so I may serve Kennou for now by acting as her translator."

"Great," Minako declared as she regarded the wolf beside her, "I didn't know she had a curse, though…that must be awfully inconvenient."

"You don't know the half of it, Blondie," Kennou grumbled.

"There is no time for us to bicker," Shirokuro said, "My mistress is planning something, and we must be ready to help her when the time is proper. I suggest we remain here for now and not waste further energy in aimless wandering. After all, these walls are just illusions and we are still within the studio that my Mistress has converted into her stronghold."

"And what's her deal?" Kennou asked, "Why won't she let us get closer to Ryoga?"

"I do not know the answer to that, sorry," Shirokuro shrugged her shoulders apologetically, "I only know that you have a part to play in her greater plan, and as you both care for my master, I will, of course, assist you in any way that I am able."

"There must be a way for us to get out of here and find Ryoga," Minako insisted.

"Not until the Mistress allows it," Shirokuro sighed, "Which-if I guess right-will happen very shortly. We must be ready to act when she gives us the signal."

Kennou did not like the sound of that, but like Minako she saw no alternative but to sit tight…right up until her nose picked up the familiar scent that she recognized as belonging to Ryoga. Her ears perked up at that and she barked aloud, "I can smell him!"

"Really?" Shirokuro tensed and sniffed the air, then said, "You're right! I smell him too! He is very near to our location…"

"How close?" Minako asked.

"Difficult to say," Shirokuro replied, "I lack the means to penetrate her illusions."

"Well, you may have a problem there, but not me," Minako smiled as she reached for her henshin pen.

"And what are you gonna do?" Kennou barked sourly, "Draw us a way out of here?"

"Just watch and see," Minako winked as if making a guess as to that question, "You guys have your secret transformations, and so do I!"

With that she raised her hand and invoked the power of her Senshi form, which caused both of her companions to eye her with astonished expressions as the blonde went momentarily nude, then was clad again in a familiar white, blue and orange Sailor costume.

"Oh my," Kennou remarked in a lowered voice of wonder, though only Shirokuro caught her precise meaning.

"Now," the transformed Minako declared as she concentrated and held both gloved hands extended outward, the jewel on her tiara glowing to life as she summoned up her inward power, "If I can just home in on Ryo-chan's signal…"

Kennou belt her breath, as did Shirokuro, feeling the incredible power radiating from the blonde and hoping against hope that it would prove sufficient to resolving their present dilemma…

"For a time I hated the Amazon people and blamed them for their deaths, even though in my heart I knew that it was the folly of this land's rulers that pitted them against the new arrivals," Ganglot sighed and dismissed the vision of horror with one hand, "The few who survived the retribution of Queen Oriestra banded together and formed a cult that maintained my worship. Eventually they learned how to free me from my prison, but I was never able to remake what was lost. Though I have the power to grant wishes, some things are not so reversible without recourse to a greater power source than my own. It was only after I learned how to tap into Yggdrasil that I gained the power to grant wishes that could truly remake the planet."

"Remake the planet?" Ryoga repeated.

"If I chose to, of course," Ganglot shrugged, "But why should I choose? I'm rather happy with the world as it is today…well…all except certain parts of it, but until someone asks the right kind of wish…" she shrugged in an off-handed manner.

"But…if you're the enemy of the Amazon…" Ryoga started to say, when Ganglot waved a finger in a dismissive manner.

"I used to be their enemy…as in past-tense," Ganglot smiled, "But time slowly changes all things, and with the passage of centuries comes greater wisdom. I learned to look beyond my petty quarrels and see the larger picture, the greater whole that we all are a part of. I no longer wish for misfortune to befall the Amazons…indeed, how could I want this? My own beloved husband was an Amazon, after all, to say nothing of being your great-grandfather, dear Ryo-chan."

"My…what?" Ryoga blinked.

In response Ganglot nodded, and Ryoga turned to see a tall man with dark blue hair approaching the ruins of the pyramid, a man wearing Chinese robes with the symbol of the Earth Sign embroidered on his chest.

All at once the man was surprised as a figure appeared from around a standing pillar, none other than Ganglot herself, who confronted the man with a smile that was neither warm nor particularly hostile.

"So," she declared, "You refuse to heed my warnings."

"I'm not afraid of you," the man declared, "You can do your worst to me, but I won't be turned away, not even by you, Princess."

"So…" the other Ganglot's eyes narrowed by a fraction, "You would risk my wrath by disturbing me in my sanctum. You think yourself brave coming here by yourself, knowing full well that I could destroy you with but a single thought?"

"Do so if you must," the man looked boldly into the eyes of the Oni Princess, "But I will still speak the words I came here to say."

"You are a brave fool, little man," Ganglot inclined her head to one side, "Aren't you afraid that I will devour you, like in those legends they tell your people as bedtime stories?"

"Will you?" the man approached her unflinching until he was nearly within arms reach of the golden skinned woman, "Or are those only legends?"

For a time the golden-hued woman stared into the eyes of the man before her, a man who stood nearly even with her in height, and then she glanced away, as if unable to maintain the contact.

"What words would you have for me?" Ganglot asked, "Son of Balm, and descendant of my enemies?"

The man drew a breath as if not having been fully convinced that she would not eat him, but then his shoulders squared and he replied, "There is a disease that afflicts my people…a plague that is sweeping over the Amazons like wildfire, a disease that has even felled my beloved sister. Did you cause this, as the Elders have hinted?"

"No," the golden woman did not turn to look at him in reply, "I did not cause this plague to occur, nor is its presence among you my doing, not that I would shed a tear if it ravages your numbers…"

"You are as cruel as you are beautiful, Princess," the man drew a ragged breath, "But why has the plague befallen us, and why can our healers do nothing to avert it?"

"The cure for this plague is not known to your people," Ganglot replied, "It was brought here by an outsider who came from an infected region in the west. Your people have never encountered its like before and so have no natural resistance, even those of you with Juraian blood."

"You know of my father?" the man gasped.

"There is little about you that I do not already know," Ganglot replied, finally turning to meet the man's gaze, "I spend my hours casting my mind adrift to see the world in all its vastness, and of course I take great amusement in the study of your people."

"Does it amuse you to see us suffer and die?" the young man drew a ragged breath and balled his hands into fists as if to control his sudden anger.

For a time the golden skinned woman stared at the young mortal before her, then she lowered her gaze, "No…it does not. I have seen more death in my time than you could ever imagine, little worm. Do not presume to judge me for being an Immortal, or for standing by while tragedies such as this take place within my knowing."

There was another long pause, and then the man spoke with more compassion, "Can it be? Is there actually a heart that beats within your breast, you who have laughed at the ruin of dynasties and nations?"

"I never laugh at the fall of a single sparrow," Ganglot replied almost defiantly, "Why should I care any more or less for you humans?"

"Then…" the young man hesitated, "Perhaps we could come to an arrangement?"

"Oh?" the golden woman lifted a pale eyebrow.

"It…it is said that you have the power to grant wishes, Princess of the Oni," the man hesitated before continuing, "You enter into pacts with mortals and can give them one boon in exchange for their services. I would offer you such a bargain if you will save the lives of my people and my sister, Kho-Lon."

"You…would make a bargain with me?" Ganglot's other eyebrow climbed to equal the elevation of the other, "You…the descendant of a ruling Matriarch…would join yourself in a pact with me, Ganglot the Oni?"

"If I must," the man replied, "I would do anything to spare my people suffering, bear any burden that any god or demon would demand of me…"

"Oh," Ganglot's expression grew unreadable, "So you consider me a burden, do you?"

"I…" the young man blinked, then it was his turn to look down, "I didn't mean it to sound quite like…"

"You would bargain with me," Ganglot replied, "In good faith and without any reservations. You will not try to renegotiate or worm your way out of anything that I ask of you or in any way fail to live up to your part of our bargain?"

"I have already said this," the young man's shoulders straightened once again, "I am Ro-Gain, the son of a Tribal Champion, the descendant of one who once was a Matriarch of my people, and my father is of noble lineage to a far-flung star empire. I do not go back on my word once it is given, and I will do whatever you ask of me, if you will use your powers to save my people and my sisters."

The Oni Princess regarded the man for a time, then the silver tattoos on her face began to glow brightly as her expression became neutral. After a moment she said, "I can spare their lives and make it as if the plague had never happened. Your people will be granted a natural immunity to this virus for now and all future generations. This is what I have to offer you, but in exchange for this I will require of you one eternal service."

"Name it and it is done," the young man before her said in absolute conviction.

"What I require of you," the Oni regarded the young man slyly, "Is that you become my eternal companion. You will leave your tribe and come to live with me and give me your companionship for as long as you live, or until such time as I willingly dismiss you."

"You…" he blinked, "Want me to be your husband?"

"No!" Ganglot reacted with honest surprise, "Honestly, why do you Amazons always think that it comes down to that? Can't a woman simply enjoy the company of a man she finds attractive without it having to be a permanent, life-long attachment?"

"But you just said…" the young man replied in growing confusion.

"Look," the Oni sighed, "You're a nice boy, and I find you interesting, and there are not many of your generation who would have the courage to come facing me with a request like that, so why can't I have you around as a man-servant? You're handsome enough to be worth looking at without me growing overly tired of you in the conceivably near future, but a husband? In your dreams! You will be my servant and do my bidding without hesitation or qualm. Those are my terms…now…do you still want to agree to such a bargain?"

"I will," the man replied without pausing to think about it, his expression registering just a twinge of disappointment, "Anything you ask of me, I will do…just save Kho-Lon and Xian-Pu, and the rest of my people."

Ganglot's own expression was unreadable as she regarded the handsome youth before her, but then the marks on her face glowed again, and after a moment of pause she said, "This it is done. I will save your people…"

"Ah…the follies of youth," the present-version of Ganglot sighed as she dismissed the vision with a mere hand gesture, "Of course I was fated to fall hard for him, and I eventually did grant him his freedom, only to have him stubbornly refuse to leave me. I eventually consented to take him as my husband, and it was the happiest day of my eternal existence…" she sighed with wistful longing, "Of course Kho-Lon refused to understand why her brother left her side for mine, so to this day she resents me and blames me for what eventually happened. Their other sister, Xian-Pu, perished later in battle against an enemy, the same as did my husband…"

"Xian-Pu?" Ryoga questioned.

"A different Xian-Pu than the one you know," Ganglot explained, "The present one is named in her honor, though her hair was red, not purple…"

"What happened to my great grandfather?" the lost boy asked her.

Ganglot's expression fell, "Like I said…he met someone tougher than himself and he died. Xian-Pu defeated that same enemy at the cost of her own life, and the loss of her two immediate siblings drove Kho-Lon into a state of almost manic depression. She blamed me for allowing it to happen…as I would have driven the man I loved into such a hopeless battle! If the fool had only asked for my assistance I would given him the means to fight back, even gone to his father and begged for the Tenchi-ken, but Rogaine was always stubborn like that, so sure of himself and his prowess as a fighter…" for a moment she closed her eyes as if allowing the memories to fill her with brief sadness.

Ryoga was about to say something when he felt that tugging need draw upon him once again, and he turned his eyes to see a silvery chord stretch out before him, drawing him to a certain place that was not far at all from where he presently was standing.

"I thought I had lost everything when he died…but he left me with a son," Ganglot smiled in spite of the tears filling her eyes, "Your grandfather. Oh, how I doted on my dear, sweet boy…or at least I did before that bitch, Cologne, sealed me back in my temple! And all because I tried to do her a little favor, hitching her up with a man who clearly had her best interests at stake…or so I imagined at the time. How was I to know the deal would go sour, or that Happosai's perverted nature would get the better of him in the long run?"

It suddenly occurred to the Oni princess that Ryoga was no longer paying attention, that his focus was being drawn in another direction.

"Ryo-chan, no!" Ganglot at once put herself in the immediate path of her great grandson, "That's Cybelle's influence calling to you! You must resist her and not give in! She's a demon, like me, only she hasn't learned what it means to truly care about people…"

"Out of my way," Ryoga said with an almost mechanical tone to his voice.

Ganglot tried to put a hand on the young man to restrain him, but Ryoga reflexively reached out and twisted that arm, throwing Ganglot almost casually over his shoulder.

"Mistress Ganglot!" suddenly two figures hurled themselves into the space separating Ryoga, one of them with raised Tonfas.

"Go no further!" a blonde-haired Amazon demanded, "You dishonor yourself and the name of your ancestors!"

"We saw everything!" the man at her side declared, "You shall not hurt our Mistress!"

"OUT OF MY WAY!" Ryoga roared with greater intensity, and rudely shoved his way past the two Amazons, heedless of when the blonde tried to rain blows against him with the metal rods that she carried. With an almost contemptful backhand Ryoga sent her sprawling, even as the young man cried out her name and rushed to help her.

That was when a golden beam shot out through the air and momentarily blocked the lost boy from his forward momentum.

"What the heck?" declared the fuku-Minako as she and a certain lupine shape appeared from seeming nowhere, literally stepping through a wall that opened before them, followed in short order by Shirokuro.

The wolf that was Hibiki Kennou did not bother to reply but sought to leap towards Ryoga, barking out to him a command to cease and desist with what he was doing.

To her surprise the lost boy turned and responded in an almost listless tone of voice, "I'm sorry…I have to do this…" and then with a single blow of his hand he punched his way through a plasterboard wall and revealed the stone block hidden behind it, which was located apart from the main studio proper.

That was when the rest of "Cavalry" came rushing in through the doors, no longer guarded by illusions, and when Atsuko-at the head of the party-saw Ryoga mounting a large stone block shaped like a mini-pyramid she immediately guessed what he was about to do and tried to cry out a frantic, "STOP!" only to have her voice drowned out by his, "BAKUSAI TENKETSU!!!"

Ryoga thrust his finger at the stone block and shattered it into rubble. One moment later Ganglot straightened up and clutched at her head, then gave out a horrifying scream and was suddenly engulfed in a localized whirlwind.

"What's happening?" Ranma cried as he raised his arms to shield himself from bits of debris and rubble being tossed about in all directions.

"Mother?" Razor gasped, then more loudly, "MOTHER!!!"

"Oh bugger," Siren erected a hasty magical shield that sheltered the others from the hurricane-force driven fragments.

"We're too late!" Comb declared.

"You think?" Yumi countered.

"The boy's gone and done it now," Genma declared.

"Indeed," Soun agreed, "But what has he done? That is the real question."

Ganglot vanished into the diminishing vortex and the winds finally drifted into nothing, leaving a hollow emptiness in her passage…which slowly was replaced by the sounds of a maniacal laughter.

"AT LAST, I'VE DONE IT!" cried a familiar voice as Cybelle suddenly materialized in the air before them, "I've rid myself of that annoying gold strumpet! Now there is no one who can oppose my will! You fools played your part to the hilt, and now you must reap the consequences of your folly!"

"Uh…what…?" Ryoga blinked his eyes as if just then coming out of a daze.

"Way to go, Moron!" Ukyo called out to him, "You just doomed everybody! I hope you're happy!"

"But…I didn't…?" Ryoga stumbled.

"What did Ryoga do?" Akane gasped.

"I don't exactly know," Makoto replied nervously, "But I've got a nasty feeling we're about to learn the answer…"

Continued

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