[Ranma][FanFic] Permanent 18

[Carrot Glace]

First off a small word of warning, this fic returns
to its dark roots with this chapter. I've been taking it
kind of light over the past few chapters, more as build up
than anything else. This chapter was written to the
Escaflowne soundtrack, the dark gothic chorus of the first
CD fit it well; anyone who has heard it can pretty much
understand what's coming. This part of the tale will be
very violent and have some dark demonic undertones to it,
you will also see the return of the serious and dangerous
Ranma those who have read this from the beginning will
remember. Now that you've read the warning on with the
fic...

Permanent.

Part 18

The rising.

Ranma Saotome stood in the streets of Nerima
watching the large mansion with a calm and serious gaze as
she watched the pitch back clouds swirl and spread covering
the starlight from above and replacing it with pitch-black
darkness. The streetlights gave minimal light as they
flickered under the influence of a much darker energy.
Ryoga stood behind her with Kuno at his side
staring at the phenomenon in disbelief. "My god, Ranma,
what is she doing in there?!"
The girl stood silently as thunder rumbled through
the air creating flashes of light inside the dark clouds.
She ignored her companions shocked expressions and strode
forward with a calm face that sent chills down the two
boy's spines. "You have a choice boys, come or go, this is
more than a simple rescue mission now. Akane will just have
to wait I'm afraid."
"What?" gasped Kuno in shock. Ranma strode forward
silently and walked directly up to the front gate, she
frowned as several black and gold colored wards flashed
creating a barrier in front of her.
"Clever girl," whispered the sorceress as she
raised her hand and touched the field. A strong ozone smell
filled the air as energy crackled and snapped in reaction
to her touch, Ryoga and Kuno stepped back and watched as
she pushed her arm through with a grunt of pain finally
pushing through the barrier and stepping onto the grounds.
She collapsed to her knees and sat still for a moment
before standing and moving forward again. "The barrier has
been weakened, I'm not the first one to come through it."
The two boys nodded to one another and dashed
forward jumping through the field and screaming in pain as
the energy surged through their bodies stopping them cold
in the center of the protective barrier, they both crawled
through the rest of the way on their hands and knees and
collapsed on the ground next to Ranma. She waited patiently
for them to recover and lifted Ryoga to his feet.
"Kuno I can understand, but you should know better
than that."

Akane Tendo struggled to her feet, she had wisely
avoided the front gate and had climbed the wall to enter
the grounds, unfortunately, she had run into some kind of
protective barrier and could barely move now. Her foot was
still caught inside of the field and she grunted using all
her strength to free herself, finally successful she
sprawled out on the ground for a moment. After taking a
moment to recover she stood and felt her world spin
violently around her as she staggered almost backing into
the shield again. She lurched forward and relieved herself
of her dinner, splattering it onto the neatly cutgrass of
the Kuno family's private garden. She fell forward unable
to remain standing and whimpered as she realized that she
had fallen in her own discharge. She rolled onto her back
and wiped at her shoulder weakly in an attempt to remove
the larger chunks from her body. Finally she willed enough
strength to stand her ground and methodically plodded
forward towards the house with a dangerous snarl appearing
on her lips.

Ranma stood before the doors of the massive home
and pressed her hand against the doorway, it opened slowly
as she whispered several complex words quietly. The main
hall was empty save for a few flickering candles that lit
the corridor. There were no lights on in the house and
Ranma frowned when she noticed that all of the electric
lamps in the home were shattered and mangled. A blast of
cold air met the three intruders causing the two boys to
shrink back as a cold fog rolled out at their feet. Ranma
stepped forward into the home, her feet crunched as she
walked over the frost beneath the mist that was thick
enough to hide her feet.
"Ranma, what's going on here?" said Ryoga with a
worried expression crossing his face. Kuno was silent and
kept a hard and serious face that revealed no fear or
emotion.
"There is no way Kodachi could have done all this
herself," said Ranma calmly as she glanced around the room
almost casually. A small light formed in her hand and she
revealed the shadows that the candlelight had kept hidden.
Kuno wished she had not done it. Portraits of his ancestors
took on a demonic appearance; the once proud and rich
looking home looked as if it had not been lived in for
centuries. The statues were cracked and dusty and the walls
were damp and torn revealing large holes. He could hear
strange creatures crawling around inside of the plaster and
noticed several wet and red stains that seemed to be
spreading onto the floors despite the freezing temperatures.
"You think someone helped her? Another mage?" Ryoga
looked hopeful and Kuno merely looked at him in a daze.
"No. Not a mage," replied Ranma as she moved
forward into the home.

They entered a large dining hall and stopped cold
as a pillar of ice stood proudly on top of the table, the
place settings were strewn about the floor shattered and
broken across the once polished wooden floor. A crumpled
brown figure could be seen hanging out of the center of the
ice halfway buried inside of it. Kuno stepped forward and
frowned deeply at the sight. "Is this?"
"This is why the house is so cold," said Ranma
mechanically with a nod. She walked past the pillar of ice
and held the light up to the brown mass. Kuno stopped cold
with a look of terror on his face.
"Sasuke?" tears started to fall down his face as he
looked on the body of his faithful servant. The ninja's
torso remained outside of the ice and his arms hung limply
at his sides, a look of agony was frozen onto his features.
The boy walked up to the fallen shinobi and he reached out
to touch him. Ranma's hand shot out and grabbed his just
before he made contact, she shook her head softly and he
stepped back.
The group started towards the doors with Ranma in
the lead, "M-master?" said a small voice from behind them.
Kuno stopped cold and slowly turned around to see Sasuke
was staring at him from his frozen pillar and clutching his
chest in pain.
Ranma placed her arm across his chest keeping him
from rushing towards the fallen man. "But..."
"He's dead Kuno," said the girl calmly.
"Master, help me please..." pleaded the man. "She
put something inside of me, a light...I don't know what to
do." Sasuke's eyes were wild and another bolt of pain
rushed through him causing him to scream. The ice pillar
grew visibly and crackled as a blue light rushed from the
shinobi's chest.
"My god Ranma, it's using his soul!" Ryoga stepped
forward and looked the man in the eyes.
"Yes," said the girl as she moved between the group
and the trapped man.
"Can't you do something?!" screamed Kuno as he
grabbed her and shook her violently. Ranma's hands became a
blur and Kuno found himself sprawled out on the ground with
a warm sensation in his mouth, a strangely familiar copper
taste burned at his tongue and he spit out a mouthful of
blood as he lifted his face from the ground.
"No," she said simply before turning away from the
man. Methodically she opened the doors that exited the room
and walked further into the home.
Kuno stood as Ryoga followed her and rushed after
the pair with a desperate fear in his eyes. The ninja
screamed as he watched them leave the room in terror and
shock.
"Nooo! Don't leave me! Please master Kuno!
Don't..." Ranma turned to face him and frowned again. Kuno
was on his knees just behind the still opened doors holding
his head and sobbing uncontrollably.
"Ryoga," commanded Ranma.
The boy nodded his head silently and removed a
bandana from his forehead. Kuno looked on in shock as he
tossed it into the room. A single scream came from the
doorway as the boy closed the doors, Kuno heard something
roll across the ground and impact against the door, and
then silence.
Ranma looked at the kendoist with a gaze of
complete ice. "It was all we could do for him Kuno." She
turned and continued onward into the house.
The boy stood up and raised his claws to her neck,
she watched him calmly as tears fell down his face and a
look of complete rage took him. "And what of my sister? Do
you intend to be as merciful with her as well?"
Ranma looked him directly in the eyes with out a
single flinch. "She's already lost Kuno, there is nothing
we can do now but stop her."
The boy's face went from rage, to confusion, to
fear, and then finally a calm understanding. "My sister
could not have done all this with that book could she?"
Ranma nodded her head slowly and turned away. Ryoga
stepped up beside her with a look that now mirrored her
own. "So, any idea what we're up against?"
"A powerful one, old, strong, and at least one
willing servant."
"Gosunkugi?" asked the boy calmly.
"If properly motivated he could be turned easily,
but I was referring to Kuno's sister. Gosunkugi may still
be salvageable if she didn't turn him into a walking trap
like the ninja was supposed to be."
"What do you mean?" asked Kuno with his saddened
look gone for a moment.
"Sasuke was probably planning on double crossing
her and helping us once he realized what was going on here.
She implanted him with a spell that would have gone off
once he came into contact with us. It might have worked if
he hadn't tried to leave the building."
"You sound like you've done this sort of thing
before," said Kuno a little bitterly.
"It's not usually this bad, but on occasion yes,"
replied Ryoga with a shrug.
Ranma started to jog ahead of them, "Come on, we're
running out of time."

Akane staggered into the window on the second floor
of the Kuno Mansion, she touched the floor gingerly and
looked around waiting for someone to notice her there. She
slowly crept across the empty room an pulled the door aside
slowly revealing a long hallway with several doors that
flashed occasionally as a lightening bolt crashed outside
the home. The noise was good because it gave her more cover
for her movements. Quietly she tiptoed out into the
corridor glancing left and right for signs of life. She
felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as she
crept forward with a strange terror gripping her. "I'm
starting to think this was a bad idea." In front of her a
strange red light formed in what looked like an ellipse.
She moved towards it and saw several more, they lined the
walls on each side of the hallway, she turned and saw
several more behind her along the ceiling. The light
fixtures were round and gold colored, she shuddered
slightly at the strange appearance of the emergency lights
and continued forward. Behind her several of the fixtures
slowly floated away from the wall and followed closely
behind her growing brighter with each passing moment.
Akane slowly turned as she noticed the bright
lights behind her. Around ten of the strange balls were
floating just behind her moving in sharp jerking motions as
they jumped around each other excitedly. She sucked in a
breath of air and could not find the strength to scream.
She started to run, slowly at first dashing through the
doors only to find more corridors and hallways like some
sort of sick fun house. The balls stayed stationary for a
moment; hovering while watching her run desperately away
from them. Suddenly they lurched forward in a unit, picking
up more and more of them as they rushed forward towards
her. Akane jerked a quick glance behind her as she shoved
the doors open and twisted through the rooms and hallways
in a desperate attempt to escape the creatures. One of the
thing's eyes flashed and Akane fell forward rolling across
the floor as her face exploded in pain, she felt a warm wet
sensation cover her hand as she touched the intense burning
that the left side of her face had become. She staggered
back to her feet as the creatures gained on her rushing
just ahead of them and turning into rooms slamming doors
behind her. The creatures simply shattered the doorways as
if they were glass and continued their relentless pursuit
of her.
She felt the heat of the eyes as the creatures
moved in closer to her. Desperately she turned into another
room, she sucked in a quick breath as she stopped cold and
looked at her surroundings desperately. There were no more
doors, she was trapped. She turned slowly around and saw
the things waiting just outside the doorway, there had to
be forty of them now. She fell to her knees and sobbed as
she looked at them, just below the eyes on the creatures a
small slit opened revealing rows of shark like teeth. The
things slowly moved towards her with the red glow in their
eyes dying down revealing a small pupil that collectively
focused on her.

Ryoga and Kuno stopped as a muffled scream floated
down from somewhere in the house followed by a crash and
the sound of many things moving violently around on the
floor upstairs. "That could be..." said Kuno as he looked
at his companions desperately.
"It could be a trap Kuno, wandering around this
house will only get us all killed," said Ranma calmly as
she continued forward. "If it was someone, there is nothing
we can do for them now."

Kodachi smiled as Gosunkugi lifted the knife into
the air and sliced her hand pinning it to the center of the
magic circle she had created. So many wonderful things had
happened since she started, a small laugh escaped her lips
as she watched the red liquid slowly turn black under the
light of the torches. "It is almost finished..."
The boy merely looked on with terrified eyes as his
hands moved by themselves and his lips spoke the
incantations slowly and methodically. He had tried several
times to destroy himself using his magic since Kodachi had
tricked him into enslaving himself with that key. By
freeing his bonds he had become her slave, unable to do
anything but obey her word. "Let me die!" he begged
desperately trying to shove the knife into his heart, his
hands would not listen and continued the ritual without him.

Ranma frowned as Kuno opened the door that lead
down into his sister's maze. "This will take us to her
laboratory."
"The traps won't get any less dangerous down here,"
warned Ranma as she stepped forward and pushed between the
two boys creating another ball of light in her hands to
illuminate the dark wooden hallway.
"I am very well aware of that," said Kuno angrily.
Ranma felt a tinge of guilt in her heart. The boy
had seen too much already and would no doubt have
nightmares for the rest of his life about this nights
events, if he kept his sanity at all.
Kuno frowned at her gaze and spit on the ground. "I
have no need of your pity! I have been insane before and
have no intention of going back!"
Ranma nodded and led the way down the stairwell.
Several golden ellipses appeared in front of them and Ranma
raised her hand with a vacant look taking over her features
again. "Here they come, be ready." Hundreds of small
floating eyeballs rushed forward from the darkness towards
the party. Ryoga and Kuno took up defensive stances and
prepared for the impact of the creatures. Looks of complete
fear crossed their faces, as rows of sharp teeth became
visible under Ranma's light spell. A dark smile crossed the
girl's face as they finally closed in on them.

Oooh, I just know you hate me now. To be continued...

Next time: the final battle between team Ranma and
Kodachi. Plus Ranma must break the news to the Tendo family
and prepares to leave their home forever.
Just so you know, there are a few things I KNOW
you're not expecting in the next Ch.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!

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