Warp Realities
Co Written by UNSPACY000 (Told you I was gonna do it!)
Disclaimer
Ranma 1/2 created by Rumiko Takahashi
Sailor Moon created by Naoko Takeuchi
Ah! My Goddess created by Kōsuke Fujishima
Flames of Recca created by Nobuyuki Anzai
Bastard! created by Kazushi Hagiwara
I do not own any of these characters, all anime belong to their respective companies. Don't sue me.
Special Thanks to Arcanasage, Destrark and UNPSACY000 these guys came back for the last Hurrah!Thanks guys! You are all awesome!
Warp Realities
Chapter 32
Endgame: Part 2
*** Ground Zero ***
There was little preamble before mortal and corrupted god clashed once more over the ruins of Tokyo harbor. In fact, there was very little talking or taunting when the winged being was met in the air by the pigtailed youth. After all, the two were very familiar with one another; they had each other's measure and in turn knew how dangerous the other could be. There was no assessment this time. They each wanted to end the other as quickly as possible, and so they fought.
Saffron savagely attacked with a flurry of blows at his top speed to put the mortal down. This would not be like their first battle; he remembered this mortal, and while the Senshi had been powerful in their own right, this mere mortal was different. This mortal had hurt Saffron in ways he did not think possible and forced him to struggle for his very survival when he fought against the pigtailed boy in front of him. To his chagrin, the mortal had countered him, and before he knew it, a powerful blow landed under his chin and smashed him through the buildings below.
Ranma watched Saffron crash through the buildings and immediately followed the crazed phoenix god. He needed to see if he could kill the creature at full strength or if he would have to resort to... that. There was no guarantee of victory if he utilized 'that' technique. It would be a gamble at best, and martial arts was all about control. No, he would have to see if he could end Saffron with his new power up.
As he jumped inside, Ranma angled his head at the last second when Saffron's claw threatened to rake his face off. He dropped low and swept the birdman's legs. Before the powerful being could drop to the ground, Ranma struck with a forward axe kick that had enough force to kill.
There was a sickening crack as Saffron body went limp momentarily when Ranma's heel caught the base of Saffron's neck, but it was only for a moment before the Phoenix King's eyes refocused and he detonated with enough force to collapse the building they were in.
Saffron, in true form to his phoenix nature, rose from the ashes of the ruined building and burst free from the rubble. Ranma followed a moment later with a flying kick to the Phoenix King's face followed by an ice laced vacuum blade.
Ranma grimaced when he saw Saffron quickly heal despite the fact that his vacuum blade had struck true before he replied with a fiery attack of his own. Dozens of car sized black and red fireballs were flung carelessly into the city streets and devastated the area further.
"Kori Moko Takabisha!" Ranma shouted as he cupped his hands and fired a ki beam of ice infused with his confidence. The beam struck Saffron square in the chest and even dimmed the fire that had engulfed the area. He knew the Soul of Ice was powerful, but now it was on an entirely different level with almost godlike power in its usages. However, Saffron was a being of fire, and if Hild was to be believed, he was the very first. So it came as no surprise when Saffron once again detonated with enough force to turn everything within a mile to ashes.
"RAAAGHH!" Saffron roared in pain. Never had he felt such pain; not even during the war of heaven had he been hurt so badly. The mortal was the complete opposite of him in every way. How did he get so strong? How could he attack with temperatures colder than the vacuum of space? How could a mere mortal do this?! To his further shock, after he had used his powerful attacks, the mortal was still standing in front of him unaffected by his heat! How?!
Ranma set his stance as he unfurled his arms while he charged Saffron and slugged the Phoenix King in the face right into his oncoming knee before he finished the combo with an elbow to the face. Ranma capitalized on the Phoenix King's disorientation and grabbed Saffron by the throat before he slammed the fallen angel down into the ground. Ranma cocked his fist back and made sure to channel all his strength into his attack when he unleashed the Amaguriken on the corrupted angel's face.
For a third time, Saffron was forced to expend a sizable amount of energy in a massive area attack to hold the mortal at bay. The Phoenix gathered his power as he never had before he charged the mortal and attacked with primal savagery.
Ranma's senses let him know of the incoming attack. He reacted as only a well-trained martial artist could and met Saffron's primal attacks with his more controlled and efficient ones. Still, Saffron was not one to be underestimated, and the phoenix did get some good hits in on his adversary while any attack Ranma landed on the Phoenix King were healed quickly. After all, Ranma was only mortal; he might have had the upper hand now, but in a war of attrition, Saffron would not tire. Ranma knew that from first-hand experience. He jumped back to create some distance between them again and threw more vacuum blades to make sure Saffron kept his distance.
Saffron glared at the mortal before him and spun his magnatama to produce a fireball to retaliate. The mortal's blows hurt just as much as the first time. Still, he was the Lightbringer, the Lord of Terror; he would make this mortal pay for his hubris. Before he could toss the fireballs, another set of attacks struck him and lit up the area with powerful magic.
"What?!" He shouted in surprise.
"Moon Blast!"
"Fire Wave!"
"Rolling Thunder!"
"Hush Silences!"
"Death Scream Barrage!"
"Space Lance!"
"Tsunami!"
"Love Barrage!"
"Bubble Bomb!"
Ranma had to cross his arms to protect himself from the incredible backwash of energies as familiar attacks rained down on the hated Phoenix King. When he looked up, Ranma saw nine girls in togas flying toward him at top speed. He was about to side step his possible attackers when he did a double take and really took a good look at the fliers.
"What the... is that the sensh-oof!"
Before he could even finish his sentence, two of the girls, Haruka and Michiru if he remembered right, smashed into him. He had intended to roll with them only to find out he was unable to do so. The reason for this inability was that he was now in the air and flying away from Saffron!
"Hey! Lemme go!" he demanded. His pigtail was whipping around his neck from the speed they were traveling. His demand was ignored by the woman with teal hair and her blonde, shorthaired partner. When Ranma looked beyond them, he saw the other seven girls unleashed another deadly barrage of attacks that collapsed the building on top of Saffron before they flew after their two companions.
After a full minute of flying, they set down by a series of tall building and ushered him inside the abandoned place.
When he turned around, Ranma saw he was joined by the other Sailor Senshi moments later as they looked out to the sky to make sure there was no one following. "Okay, what was all of that ab-eh?"
Ranma had barely been able to get a word out when he was gang tackled by the five Inner and one Outer scouts.
"Ranma! It really is you!"
"I can't believe it!"
"We thought you were dead!"
"Hild wasn't lying after all!"
"Whoa! Whoa! Easy! I'm fine!" Ranma backpedaled. Unfortunately, the girls' grips were so strong he was unable to shake them loose and instead dragged them with him. He could already feel his shirt dampening from their tears. It had just dried from Urd's tears not too long ago, too.
"Ranma, it really is you, I mean it is isn't it?" Usagi asked when she finally recovered as she broke her hug, which was the signal that made the other girls break theirs. Her eyes were searching his face as if they were trying to confirm his existence.
"Yep, and it's all thanks to you," Ranma said as he remembered what Belldandy told him about how he was even alive.
"Me?" Usagi asked in confusion before her eyes widened. She had been trying to resurrect him, and it worked!
"Yep," Ranma confirmed while he looked at the other scouts who seemed happy to see that he was alive. That was pretty strange to him since he wasn't really that close to them. "Look, I'd love to stay and chat, catch up, but first, there is a crazy chicken out there, and secondly, I'm on a time limit."
"We know," Pluto chimed in as she hesitantly approached Ranma. She saw Ranma was keeping his eyes warily on her; it was something that had not changed from her interaction with him. "Hild told us all about it. That is why we are here."
Ranma had to blink at that, "Why you are here?" he parroted. "What did she say?"
"That you gave up everything for a chance to stop Saffron," Rei replied softly. Because she was the spiritualist among them, she grasped the concept of Ranma's sacrifice better then all of the others. To them, it was horrible, but for her, what Ranma did was something that should never be done.
Once more he had to blink, Hild told them? Now that he thought about it, didn't Urd's angel say they were also in this fight? Still, they were wasting time. Time he could not afford. "Well, that's great and all but I am still on a time limit," Ranma reminded as he made to walk past the girls.
"We want you to soul bond with us, Ranma-kun," Ami spoke up as she saw Haruka and Michiru bar Ranma's way.
"Do what now?" Ranma asked as he turned around with a confused look. He saw the girls had variety of looks on their faces. Usagi, Rei, Ami, Hotaru , Minako and Makoto's faces appeared quite red. The green haired bi- Pluto was fidgeting with the edge of her ragged looking toga. The two that were barring his way were giving him speculative looks.
"Soul bond with us Ranma," Ami said again. Then she schooled herself before she continued. "We want to merge a piece of our souls with yours."
Ranma once more blinked more in confusion than anything else. "... Why?"
"It's to give you a power boost, like a video game!" Minako explained sagely. Her face was still red but she soldiered on. "By accepting a piece of our souls, you can use the majority of our raw power. That would make you nine times stronger than you are now."
Now that was something that made Ranma's eyes widen. "Woah? Seriously?! You can do that?" He asked incredulously. Nine times stronger than he was now? Defeating Saffron did not seem as impossible now.
"Yes, Ranma-kun," Michiru interjected as she looked at the boy speculatively. There was that brief other 'adventure' before they got here. Her and Ranma? She shook her head; she needed to focus. "The only drawback is that you will forever feel our presence. It's a permanent connection."
Ranma looked at the pretty, teal haired girl and then at the other Senshi. So he would only feel their presence in exchange for power? Wait, if he could feel them, did that mean... "Does that connection run both ways?" He ventured as he looked at the teal haired girl. The girl looked at her blonde partner who turned to look at him and nodded.
"And you guys are okay with this? All of you?"
The girls all around Ranma nodded. It was Usagi who stepped forward and placed her hand on Ranma's own. "We cannot call ourselves the protectors of the world if we did not do all in our power to save it. Right now, you are our best chance. If supplying you with more power leads to victory against Saffron, then so be it. I don't, mind and it's not a burden."
"Yeah, we're the soldiers of Love and Justice, don't you know?" Makoto said with a determined look. "We're no match for him, but you are; we will help."
"Yeah!" The other young girls chorused.
"Okay then," Ranma said with a nod. This was no time to be arrogant or cocky. He would take all the help he could. "How do we do this?"
The Scouts all looked to each other and started to gather around. Suddenly their hands linked together enclosing Ranma in a circle.
Ranma watched as the forehead of each of the girls flared to life with weird symbols on them. Strangely enough, most of them had different colors, and despite being in a building, a wind from somewhere seemed to be kicking up all around them.
It was Usagi who opened her eyes first; her demeanor no longer that of a slightly clumsy girl, but instead, he saw someone of regal stature.
"Ranma Saotome, do you accept my soul, to carry me within you for all time?" the regal Usagi asked.
"Uh... I... do?" Ranma guessed. He didn't know how to reply, so he went with the first thing that popped into his head. Apparently, that was the right answer since the girl in front of him appeared happy.
"Then in the name of the moon, I declare our souls to bonded," Usagi stated before she grabbed the surprised boy by his neck and pulled his head down to place her forehead on his.
Ranma did not know how to describe what happened; it was as if there was another link - another presence he could feel. The presence felt... warm. However, before he could even recover, Minako asked him next. She phrased the question in the same manner, and again, he felt another presence that wasn't really noticeable unless he was looking for it; this one felt playful. Ami was next, followed by Rei, then Makoto, Hotaru, Michiru, Haruka, and finally Setsuna. He had been uncertain of her, but the moment they finished the ritual, he felt for her presence and was surprised to feel loneliness.
Interesting.
"With that, we are soul bonded," Usagi declared in a happy tone of voice. She looked to the other girls, and they too were happy. She couldn't help but marvel at her connection to the pigtailed boy. It felt different, wild, chaotic, and powerful, all rolled into one sensation.
"Wait, where's Ranko?" Ranma asked as he looked around for his counterpart in this world. Did she die?
"Oh!" Minako remembered before she smacked her hand with her palm. "She's helping Hild battle the bitch."
"That dog is a boy Minako..." Ami corrected in a tired tone of voice.
"Not from what I saw when I attacked it down there," Minako gloated as the other girl groaned.
"She could not soul bond with you because she already has a soul bond with somebody else," Pluto explained to Ranma.
"Oh," Ranma said. Well it might have been weird to soul bond with his girl half. He was rid of her finally. No need for that to come back. "Well, I must say that I feel different and a lot more powerful then I was when I got here."
Rei could only smile as she felt for her soul link with Ranma. It just felt so... comfortable.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"
Ranma turned to see his better half, correction, his pissed off better half marching up to him. "Urd, what are you doing here?" he asked with a concerned look that made her falter in her steps.
"Whoa! You feel a lot stronger now," the angel-Taxiarch commented as she felt Ranma's new power radiating off of him. "Guess it's a good thing you got married to all those girls."
Ranma blinked once. Blinked again. He looked at the fuming Urd; then he looked back at her angel. Just to be sure, he turned around and saw the other girls look away to anything but him. He turned back to the angel and gave her a questioning look. "Wha.. what did you just say?"
"That you feel a lot stronger now," the Angel replied.
"No, the other one," Ranma prompted in a strained tone.
"Oh, that you married all of those girls?" the blonde angel asked with a cute smile.
Ranma opened his mouth to say something to the girls, to Urd, to anyone but he couldn't. Instead, he closed it dropped down to his knees and smashed his head into the ground creating a mini crater.
"Ranma!" the girls all shouted as one.
"Of course, I would... you know what, never mind," Ranma said calmly. This was more typical Nerima bullshit. Well, right now he had bigger fishes to fry. He'd deal with this later. "Okay, time to see if this is enough to put that fucker down."
Just as he began to walk out Urd ran up to him and demanded, "Soul bond with me too."
Ranma did a double take, and he was opening his mouth to reply when her angel chimed in.
"You already have a soul bond with him," the Angel said.
"I do?" Urd asked in surprised as she looked at her angel. "I thought my mother separated us."
"She did, but the bond is still there. The space he occupied, for lack of a better word, is still his," the Angel explained before she frowned when she saw her Goddess' incomprehension. "Okay, he built a room in your soul, and you built one in his. I'm just occupying his room; it's still his, but while I'm here, your bond with him is temporarily muted."
Urd's eyes widened as her angel explained the details. Suddenly, she looked down at her feet shyly. She was jealous over nothing. She was Ranma's first bond mate, the only one that mattered.
"Ohh, that's evil; reign in the demon side, please," the cheeky angel said to her partner. She then looked at the pigtailed boy. "We're recovered now; we can stick it to that fucking asshole now with you at our side."
"Did you just..." Ranma started to question but shook his head. He was on a time limit, and there was no time to be dallying around. Beside, as much as he wanted to not have Urd on the battlefield, he could sense her power. She was incredibly strong, and she had been the one fighting up until now. In addition, for what he had planned, he would need all the firepower possible. He turned around to the Senshi and asked them, "Since we are soul bonded, does that mean you guys no longer have any power?"
Usagi and the scouts looked at each other and shook their heads.
"The soul bond acts as a conduit to allow you to use our power, but only if we let you. If you use our power, then we will not be able to use our own power effectively," Pluto explained.
"Okay then, find a safe spot to go to. I'm not sure what's gonna happen, but it's going to be dangerous," Ranma stated before he looked over at Urd. "Okay, you're with me, and here's what I want you to do..."
*** Asgard ***
Millions upon millions of elegantly designed warships of all shapes and sizes floated in formation. Their destination was the main gateway to the mortal plane. On the flagship of the assembled ships sat Kami-sama in battle armor that was a blend of high-tech science and old age simplicity.
"Kami-sama, all fleets have reported in. We estimate another twenty minutes before everyone will be position," Hermes, Lord of Messengers, reported. He looked on as he quickly organized the fleets into position.
"Good, we need to strike simultaneously and overwhelm them before they can react," Kami-sama stated as he looked at all the tactical displays. His fleet was the one heading towards the Earth gate; as soon as they exited, they would have to destroy the solar system. It couldn't be helped. His son must not be allowed to escape the confines of his prison.
Hermes looked at the Daitenkaicho and sighed. Based on his guesses, the losses that both sides would incur would be horrendous. He had known that this was a possibility of course. All the Gods knew, yet to have it actually happen was still unexpected. Why would Hild try to start a war with the Almighty? It was then he noticed a communique from Peorth.
A moment later, the goddess' face was on the display in front of the god of messengers.
"Hermes!" Peorth greeted, but there was something in her demeanor that appeared off.
"Yes conductor Peorth?" Hermes asked. They were on a war footing now; messages needed to be delivered quickly and efficiently.
"There's something I think the Almighty should see," Peorth stated as she tapped a few buttons on her end off screen. "Linking you to the eye we have over Earth now."
"Understood," Hermes replied before he turned to Kami-sama. "Almighty, Peorth says there is something that you should see; it is something concerning the Earth. I am almost synced with her system. Would you like to view it privately?"
Kami-sama mused for a moment before he shook his head. There was no time. "Display it."
"Yes, Almighty," Hermes nodded as his hand flew with divine speed and displayed Peorth's package. Immediately, the picture of a devastated Earth came into view. It then focused on the area of Japan where the Lightbringer was rampaging unchecked. Suddenly, the image zoomed in closer until they reached the ground level. There was a pillar of some sort in the center of the city. If he didn't know better, it look almost like the...
"The Ultimate Force?" Kami-sama said in surprised. "How... that should not be possible unless-"
Any further comment by Kami-sama might have made was stopped when a flash of blue detonated in the center of city.
"Someone is still fighting the Lightbringer?" Hermes asked in surprise. He had thought all resistance had been crushed.
"Yes, and look at who's doing it," Peorth said as she enlarged a portion of the image to show the mortal boy that was battling the Lightbringer while he traded vicious, deadly blows with the fallen angel.
"Ranma?" Kami-sama said in surprise when he identified the mortal. Wasn't he supposed to be dead? Suddenly, it all made sense now. As he looked at the screen, he noted the reactions of the boy were faster, his blows stronger, and the power he wielded was a lot more potent than what should have been possible. "You foolish, foolish boy."
"Almighty?" Hermes asked as he looked at Urd's other half battling the Lightbringer. Not bad for a mortal; in fact, he was almost as good as a god.
"Nothing," Kami-sama replied as he looked at the messenger god. "We continue as planned, but keep an eye on that battle. Tell me the moment anything changes."
"Yes Almighty," Hermes acknowledged as he shrunk the screen while keeping in touch with the other fleets all throughout heaven.
Kami-sama leaned back in his chair before he looked straight ahead at the empty white space in front of them. While it was interesting what the boy did, he was not sure if it would be enough. However, Ranma was a mortal, and mortals were a surprising bunch. Maybe. Just maybe, the boy had a chance, no matter how small.
*** Earth, Ground Zero ***
Ranma made his way towards Saffron while he carried Urd in his arms bridal style. With the power the crazed angel possessed, it wasn't too hard to locate him. A moment later, Ranma entered the street where the Phoenix God appeared to have been waiting for him.
"You didn't flee after all," Saffron smirked as he unfurled all of his remaining wings in an aggressive manner.
"Yeah, couldn't leave you all alone now could I?" Ranma retorted before he looked over to Urd and nodded at her before she stood by him.
"Ah, so the both of you then; still, that will avail you nothing!" Saffron taunted as the very air started to streak with lines of fire. "I AM your new GOD!"
Saffron was surprised when a blue hue of light was emitted from all around the mortal's body and the air streaked with cold blue energy. The two powers convalesced all around them as an after effect from their display of power.
Ranma felt something etch itself on his bicep. Four symbols, not unlike the one on the Senshis' foreheads moments ago, were now emblazoned upon his arm. When he checked his other arm, he saw four different symbols. Suddenly, Ranma felt another pressure on his heart. He pulled back his shirt collar to look at his chest, and he was able to make out a silver crescent moon over his heart. A moment later, the blue aura he had tripled in size and density.
Saffron's eyes widened at the man's sudden spike in power. How was it possible that the mortal had such power - Saffron did not know how, but something told him this might be the final obstacle to his goal.
Ranma felt each of the new links pour power into him. By Kami-sama, they were powerful! How did they not take out Saffron yet? Still, he'd deal with it later. For right now, he had a more pressing concern. "No more playing around," Ranma said as he stared down at Phoenix king.
As he looked imperiously at the mortal, Saffron sneered. "As if you even had a chance." The mortal DARED to challenge him in a contest of wills like the little godling before him? While powerful, the girl had fallen before his might. This was a mortal - a lowly mortal, the weakest of all of Kami-sama's creations. He would fall. After all, obliterating the fool with his might was better than fighting the mortal by hand again. The mortal was skilled, and while Saffron was fine with melee, he still felt phantom pains from where he had been struck. It was an annoyance - an annoyance that he could deal with in one fell swoop. After all, while the mortal was strong, he was not the Lightbringer who was Kami-sama's first creation, nor was he The Lord of Terror, Hild's former right hand. Nobody possessed the power to challenge him save Kami-sama and Hild themselves.
Ranma set his face into a hard expression as he cupped his hands and found the confidence he needed. This was it. This was for everything, all of creation. "Saffron!" he challenged as he cupped his hand together and built a concentration of cold laced Ki.
"You are dead," Saffron stated without any more preamble as he clapped his hands together in front of his face. Then he opened it to reveal a fireball that was growing in size. "You just don't know it yet."
Ranma watched as the ball grew from a small baseball size to something that was as large as a building in a manner of seconds. Everything the fireball touched was incinerated upon contact. Even from the distance he stood with as much cold as he was radiating, he could still feel the intensity of the heat. Still, he had a nice little reply for Saffron. He cupped his hands in front of him even as the fireball closed in on him and shouted his counter move, "Koori Moko Takabisha-"
A beam of pure blue Ki erupted from Ranma's hands and expanded in width and height the further it travelled.
"-Perfect!" Ranma shouted as he pushed the cold Ki beam into the fireball and watched as it buckled from the impact. "HAAAAAA!"
"RARGGHH!" Saffron roared as he felt his orb of fire buckle under the strain from the attack. The force that was pushing against him was stronger then what the godling had used against him. Much stronger. Why, he was even having trouble trying to push back! Saffron poured his cruelty, his malice, and all his hatred for all of mortal kind into his hands and willed his fireball to overcome the mortal's attack.
Urd saw the strain on Ranma's face double as she felt another flare of power from Saffron on the other side of the fireball. When she turned to her soul mate, she gave him a beseeching look and asked, "Now?!"
"Not yet!" Ranma shouted over the sound of the wind that had been created from the war between the two elements. It was incredible that as powerful as he was, even with the Senshi added strength, he was being pushed. Still, Ki was about will. The more he had, the more he could use. Ranma closed his eyes, left his outpouring of Ki on auto as he mediated, and searched for the epitome of martial arts.
Zen.
Saffron felt the container that was the product of the Lightbringer and the Lord of Terror start to have fractures in it. If the container broke, the two beings would separate, and the mortal would kill them both. That could not be allowed to happen!
Urd looked worriedly at Ranma's face and saw that Ranma's own attack had pushed Saffron's back to the halfway point, but neither was making ground. Worse, Ranma had closed his eyes as if he was not paying attention. What was he doing?
"Ranma?"
Ranma's eyes opened a moment before Urd called his name. His face showed he was completely at peace with himself, and he felt clarity as never before in his life. Almost as if it was child's play, Ranma refocused the Ki and made it narrower and more concentrated.
Saffron felt the increase in power of the ice Ki as it effortlessly sliced through his fireball and headed straight for him. He immediately ended the fireball and focused his flames into a narrow stream. With great force of will, he was able to stop the lance of cold Ki just a few feet in front of him. How could this happen!
The giant sized fireball that Saffron had made – which was no longer being fueled by Saffron – exploded and washed over the area. Yet just as quickly as it started to flow outward, a great burst of cold washed over the entire area and snuffed out the brush fire.
Saffron couldn't believe it. The mortal not only snuffed out the fire of his attack but was still driving the icy needle of Ki inexorably closer. "No, I will NOT LOSE TO YOU!" Saffron shouted desperately. He needed more power. Saffron threw his head back and bellowed loudly for all to hear.
"FENRIR TO ME!"
*** A distance away ***
Hild was smashed into the ground by the large demon wolf that at one time had been her own pet. It now served another master - the Lord of Terror. The first blow she struck against it had used up most of the juice the other Hild had given her. She had spent the rest of the time just playing tag with the big wolf. Unfortunately, in a game of tag, you do inevitably get tagged, and with a quick pounce, Fenrir had gotten a lucky swipe against her.
"Rrrrrrrr..." Fenrir's loud growling could be heard above her head.
"Great," Hild grimaced as she looked up just into time to see a large sized magical attack made of pure fire strike the oversize dog.
Thankfully, the Sun powered brat was here to help. Maybe it was a good thing the girl was already soul bonded with someone else. That could have been bad all around. "Thanks," Hild said with a smile to the red hair girl.
Ranko's reply to Hild's thanks was to ignore the woman and continue the assault on the demon wolf. She could not forgive Hild for what she had done and had felt bad not being able to Soul Bond with Ranma since he was the one that... was risking so much to stop Saffron. No, she had to do her part even if she detested her current teammate. "Get up before it gets back."
"Yeah yeah," Hild said as she flew back up and saw Fenrir shake its head before turning to face them. Just then, it raised its head to the sky as if hearing something before it set it haunches and barreled toward them at great speed.
"Watch out!" Ranko shouted as she tackled Hild in mid-air as the giant wolf accelerated faster than she could have thought possible.
"Thanks again, brat," Hild shouted as she too had been taken off guard by the wolf's speed. She'd forgotten how fast it could be. It was then she noticed what was wrong with Fenrir's behavior. "Oh shit, it's heading to the battle site!"
Ranko turned to look at the wolf and saw that it was nearly in the city, such was its speed. "No!" She shouted in alarm as she desperately tried to catch up to the demon beast.
Hild was berating herself. There was a reason why they had been trying to keep it separated from the Lord of Terror. It could increase his power. She had thought she could distract it.
"AWRRRRRRRRRROWWWWWW!" Fenrir howled as he jumped inside the city and knocked down buildings that were in its way.
*** Ground Zero ***
Ranma was still in his Zen like state when he took into account the big wolf creature bounding toward Saffron. He was hitting the upper limit of what his body could handle and the girls could give. With the introduction of the wolf, he would have to use Urd. He prompted his partner and said, "Urd, get ready."
Urd saw the wolf and was about to go engage it when Ranma spoke up. "Okay." She said as she saw Fenrir begin to catch fire from the intensity of the heat on Saffron's side of the attack.
Saffron looked up to the Lord of Terror's true body and gave it its long awaited command. "We are one."
As if by magic, the wolf body broke down as though torn apart in strips that then invaded the Lightbringer body.
"RAGGGGHHHH!" Saffron screamed loudly in pain from the merging of the demon body with his own holy one. However, the pain let him create an even stronger stream of fire than he was using, and, amazingly enough, he began to push Ranma's Ki beam back.
Ranma saw Saffron's body through the clash of energy as the wolf body was no longer with them. There were black lines all over his face now, as if he was poisoned. Worse, while Saffron appeared to be in agony, the power he was using against him was stronger than ever. In addition to that set of problems, Ranma felt he had peaked with his own power; anything else he threw at Saffron would be by sheer force of will alone.
While the essence of the Lord of Terror and the soul of the Lightbringer reached an accord, the body itself would not be compromised. His body, as if reacting on instinct, was burning up the body of Fenrir despite the beast helping supply him with greater power. He must end this now! "DIE ALREADY MORTAL!" Saffron shouted and smiled in triumph a moment later when he saw that his attack was closing in on the mortal.
"NOW URD!" Ranma prompted and watched Urd step in front of him and cup her hands together.
Once she cupped her hands together, Urd fired the full force of the power given to her by her mother and the Taxiarch. "Tenshin Moko Takabisha PERFECT!" she shouted as another blue beam of Ki lanced into existence; this one was a blend of divine and infernal energy.
Saffron's eyes widened in surprise as the hybrid beam struck his attack and halted it. "It will avail you naught!" he taunted as he tried to push the beam back but found himself unable to do so.
Ranma slowly walked behind Urd. His hands, which had been angled upward and outstretched, slowly lowered around the goddess to encircle her in his arms. Carefully, he gently mingled his Ki with hers. The two signatures that were different in nature slowly mixed with one another, and just like that, Ranma felt Urd's presence as he had in the past. Only this time, she existed as a separate being. He slowly laid his hands on hers and combined their attack.
Saffron felt an eruption of power from the two before him and saw the twin lances of energy merge to form a single, solid white beam. "The Ultimate force?!" he could not believe it. The greatest power in the universe was here, and it was being wielded by someone other than Kami-sama!
"HAAHHHH!" Both Ranma and Urd shouted as the white beam overwhelmed Saffron's power and smashed into him full on.
"No! NOOOOOOOOO!" Saffron screamed in pain as the pure energy of creation struck him despite his resistance. He could feel the Lightbringer's body breaking from the strain. Fenrir's body under assault from the Lightbringer's purifying power and now the Ultimate Force tried to separate itself from him. Unfortunately, the moment it did that, it weakened the Lightbringer's body. "No, you fool!"
"Hahh~!" Ranma shouted as the Ultimate Force completely overwhelmed Saffron and broke his body.
A moment later, a ten mile wide detonation of fire could be seen from orbit that completely leveled the coastal city. Yet, unlike normal fire, it hung in the air as a mixture of white and black which danced in the sky.
Urd dropped to her hands and knees as she panted from the exertion; she felt exhausted beyond anything she could have imagined. She felt empty, completely empty of the power her mother and the Taxiarch gave her. It was then she felt a gentle touch on her head.
As he ruffled the Goddess's pretty, silver hair, Ranma smiled and said, "You did good Urd, I'm proud of ya." When he finished praising his soul mate, he stood up to look at the disembodied fire hanging in the sky. "It's over Saffron, you lose."
Urd smiled happily as she collapsed face first into the ground.
The disembodied flame, as if understanding Ranma's words, moved toward him. Malicious intent could be felt from it as it surged toward the pigtailed boy.
"Shit," Ranma cursed as he braced himself for the impact.
The disembodied spirit of the fallen angel did not stop its surge as it threatened to wash over Ranma.
"Hiryuu Hyou Toppa Revised!" Ranma shouted as he jumped up into the air to meet the fire spirit. "Nine-Headed Ice Dragon Strike!" he shouted as he gathered all the warm air into the area and launched nine razor sharp funnels into the fire.
As if caught in a vacuum, the flame tried to escape, but the ice vortex fed on its essence and denied it any quarter.
Ranma watched as all nine Hiryuu Hyou Toppa grew larger and finished off the essence that was Saffron impassively. A moment later the last of his funnel consumed the last of Saffron's essence and left Ranma alone in darkness as the tornadoes tapered out with nothing else to feed on.
Exhausted beyond the ability of adrenalin and superpowers, Ranma collapsed right next to Urd with his arms stretched wide and breathing heavily. "Ya know, I was NOT expecting this when I accepted the other you's offer..." Ranma said to his constant companion.
Urd mumbled something but remembered she was face down in the dirt.
"What?" Ranma asked, unable to hear her, what with her being face down on the ground.
Urd turned to look over at Ranma, and breathed out softly. "I said I'm glad you came here and back... to me." She blushed at bit.
"God damn, that took a lot out of me and... hey, why are you blushing?" the Angel Taxiarch said as she made herself known. She had been giving Urd all of her power for the attack and had finally recovered enough to manifest.
"S-shut up!" Urd snapped at her angel to cover up her embarrassment. Unfortunately, that only made her angel look at her even weirder.
"Urd, be nice, she's your angel," Ranma chided as he slowly sat up and supported himself on his arms.
Urd looked shocked from Ranma's lecture but realized that he had always been the one to reign her in. She pouted at that, but only for a moment since she was exceedingly happy he came back to her.
Just as the two were about to say something, an object crashed heavily down to the ground near them.
Ranma was instantly alerted and fueled by a fresh surge adrenaline, got up to his feet and into a defensive stance. However, the object that fell was unmoving. Cautiously, he approached the object only to be surprised when he saw that it was Saffron but not quite Saffron. For one, he looked different. There were no claws, his hair was white, and all the avian like features were gone. However, there were gashes all over him, and there seemed to be embers in his body.
"Saffron?" Ranma asked uncertainly as he warily got closer.
The being rolled his head over and saw Ranma. He then weakly said, "Mortal..."
"Ranma? What's going on?" Urd had tried to force herself on her feet to see what was going on. Ranma wasn't fighting, so that was a good sign as far as she could tell. It was the Angel Taxiarch who was gasped in recognition and caught both her and Ranma's attention.
"Asshole bro!" the miniature Taxiarch said in alarm as she drew her fire blade.
"S-sister," Saffron chuckled as he continued to lie on his back. "Finish me. Give me a warrior's death."
"Don't you dare call me that traitor!" the Angel Taxiarch spat as she leveled her sword at him. "Get me closer Urd so I can finish off the fucker."
"You're dying aren't you?" Ranma cut in suddenly as he looked down at Saffron. However, the Phoenix king gave Ranma a look he had never seen before from him.
Respect.
"Thanks to you, I am," Saffron ruefully pointed out before he turned to the angel Taxiarch. "Finish me, sister."
The Angel Taxiarch raised her twin fire blade and was about to hammer it down onto Saffron body before she stopped. "No." She said suddenly and then glared at Saffron. "You don't deserve such a death; DIE like you lived, traitor!"
Immediately, the angel dissipated and left Urd and Ranma alone with the dying fallen angel.
Urd could feel the distress from her angel, but as much as she tried to coax the girl to come out, she refused. Could it be the Taxiarch still cared for her brother?
"I could do it if you want," Ranma offered somberly. Saffron deserved death, but Ranma had done a shoddy job of killing him.
"Don't touch me!" Saffron spat out before he groaned in pain. "You mortals always have His favor. So weak and pathetic, I had wondered what he saw in your kind..."
Ranma looked at Urd who only continued to stare that the Lightbringer.
"... now I know," Saffron admitted with a sigh. "Your potential... no wonder that bitch wants to harvest you."
"Bitch?" Ranma asked confused.
"Hild, the bitch of Niflheim, the whore of Babylon, the cunt of darkness," Saffron rattled off as he gazed into the sky. "And father forgave her for all she's done. Fuck him too."
"Don't you dare talk about Kami-sama that way!" Urd shouted angrily but was stopped by Ranma.
"Well, from the looks of it, Hild won. Regardless of what you did, you only furthered her goals," Ranma pointed out and saw Saffron's grimace.
"I was not... myself," Saffron weakly defended. "I would never willingly help that bitch."
"Too bad there's no way you can give her one last fuck you before you die, eh?" Ranma pointed out as he too agreed with Saffron on many points concerning Hild.
Saffron's eyes went wide, and he started to laugh. After a few moments, his eyes turned to Ranma and showed an honest grin for the first time before he softly said, "Maybe... Kami-sama might have been right after all."
Before Urd and Ranma could asked what he meant, Saffron's body began to glow brightly and evaporated as it transformed into a small human sized birdlike creature of fire. Already its fire was dying as it manifested itself. With a mighty flap of its wings, it launched itself straight toward where the broken world tree lay and crashed into it.
"What was that?" Ranma asked as he wondered why Saffron would attack the world tree one last time. That was when he noticed something peculiar and squinted to confirm his suspicion. "Does that look like a little branch sticking out of the Yggdrasil to you Urd?"
Urd's eyes widened as she saw that, yes, a thin branch was growing from the massive trunk of the world tree. "We need to get over there Ranma!"
*** Asgard CiC ***
Peorth watched in stunned amazement from all that had happened. Yggdrasil was growing again, but it seemed thin and weak. It was supposed to be dead!
"Peorth, Yg-Yggdrasil's system is coming back online!" Chrono said in disbelief.
"It's not all there, but Yggdrasil is active again…" Wingly, another goddess, said before she trailed off as she double checked the readings.
"Souls are starting to be processed, but Yggdrasil is still not big enough to complete the task," Chrono reported.
"Is Kami-sama seeing this, Hermes?" Peorth asked as she double checked the system.
*** Main battlefleet ***
Hermes turned to look at the Almighty and saw him look impassively at what had transpired. A mortal had beaten the Lightbringer with Urd's help. A mortal. "Kami-sama... do we proceed?"
"Tell all other battle groups too... hold their position," Kami-sama declared as he stood up. "I will go alone."
"Almighty?" Hermes asked with concern for his father.
"Do not worry. I could take on a million of the demons' warships," Kami-sama said as he stalked from the bridge.
*** Midgard, World Tree ***
Urd pouted as she was gently placed down on the ground. The reason, of course, was because it was not Ranma who had carried her. Instead, her mode of transportation was the scout called Venus. The Senshi had arrived earlier, and after a quick celebration over their victory, they had offered to fly Urd here. From afar, it had look like a small branch, but upon closer inspection, the branch turned out to be the size of a large tree.
"Asshole bro revived the world tree..." the Angel Taxiarch said as she looked at the tree before her. "He used his gift of regeneration to heal the damaged tree, but he didn't have enough power."
"The tree grew because we cared for it, nurtured it. Because it has been weakened, you need to sing the Hymm of Restoration Urd."
Urd blinked at what her angel said. The song that she had to sing every time she purified herself in the bath? The one she sang for Ranma? "The song we sing to cleanse ourselves after a day's work? That song?"
"Is that what you guys use it for?" the Angel Taxiarch asked in shocked incredulity. One of the most holy and potent songs had been reduced to bath time singing now? Seeing Urd look uncertain, she assured her partner. "Come, I'll sing it with you."
With that, the blonde angel cupped her hands together in preparation.
Ranma saw Urd look at him and nodded. With a squeeze of her shoulder, he said, "Sing like you always sang for me Urd,"
He watched as Urd walked toward the tree and clasped her hands together. After a moment of silence, Urd opened her mouth and began to sing and was followed immediately by her little angel toward the branch. Urd had always sung for him, but every time she did, he remembered how beautiful it sounded to him. When he looked around, he saw the Senshi were also enraptured by Urd's singing and could not help but feel proud.
"It... it's beautiful..." Usagi breathed softly as the song touched the deepest part of her soul as if renewing it, purifying it.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Rei agreed since she understood the hymn more than any of the other Senshi thanks to her shinto duties.
Suddenly, the group of girls heard more female voices chiming in from around the forested area. "Belldandy, Skuld," Ranma named as he recognized their voices. There were others voices he didn't recognize, but they seem to be singing the same song.
Ranma did not realize it, but all across Asgard and creation the goddesses sang the Hymn of Restoration as one to renew the once great world tree.
"Uhh, maybe we shouldn't be here for this, guys," Minako said as she noticed the tree started to grow taller and widen at its base bigger. "Seriously, we need to get out of here."
Quickly the girls grabbed Urd and Ranma as the tree shed its old bark and created more. Despite the interruption, Urd and her angel continued to sing. It was Usagi who spotted the other gods and demons as the God of Thunder waved them over.
When the group arrived, they saw all the demons cupping their ears while the goddesses and their angels were out singing the same song in unison as Urd.
"Whoa, talk about a heavenly chorus..." Makoto whispered to Minako who could only nod her head in agreement.
When the song ended, much to the disappointment of all the mortals, the younger Hild pulled Usagi to a side and whispered something in her ear. The group looked on as the young blonde nodded in assent to something.
Just then the other Gods and Demons arrived with the older looking Hild in tow who was looking at the world tree with an unreadable expression.
"Check the system. Are the systems back online?" Hild turned and looked at her second in command.
Hagall immediately activated her three dimensional computer and saw that the feed to Nidhogg was up and running.
"Yggdrasil's starting to reboot its system now before it'll sync up with Nidhogg again," Skuld piped up as she was already starting to tap on her holographic 3D computer.
"Hmmm, well, looks like all's well that ends well!" the older Hild said with a beaming smile.
"I do not think so," the Taxiarch countered as she directed a withering looked at Hild. "It's not over until you have withdrawn all of your forces from the mortal plane."
The amicable mood suddenly turned sour in an instant as the gods and demons stared down one another. Again.
"Oh my, Tee, I do believe that won't be happening," Hild said with a wide grin.
"Mother!" Urd finally spoke up and got between the two beings. "You have to pull your forces back."
"Urd," the Older Hild looked at her daughter who appeared battered but otherwise healthy. "It is the nature of us demons. I cannot let them get all of these souls, and I do believe that I hold the upper hand now after all these years."
Urd blinked and for once saw her mother as she truly was, the Daimakaicho, and she asked sadly, "Are you going to hurt me too if I get in your way?"
"I would never harm you, but as it stands right now, I have the upper hand. Heaven has been denied entry," the Older Hild explained as she tried to make her daughter understand. She was half demon also, so she should.
"... mother..." the hybrid goddess gazed at her mother who looked nonplussed by the whole thing. "After everything we just went through, you still want to continue?"
"Urd... it's what we demons do," the older Hild stated. Why couldn't her daughter understand? This would also be her inheritance.
Looking downcast at the ground, Urd finally began to understand her mother's true nature. She then looked back up at her mother sadly and began to speak, "If that's so, I don't wan-"
Before Urd could say anything else, a powerful wave of magic washed over the area that made both Gods and Demons look up in surprise. When they traced it back to the source, they saw the younger Hild carrying an exhausted looking Usagi on her back.
The older Hild immediately narrowed her eyes at her other self and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Hagall dear, please be so kind as to look at your soul harvest for the past few days," the Younger Hild, still in her cheerleader outfit, told her second in command's counterpart.
Hagall obediently did so and gasped before she turned to her mistress she showed her the numbers on the screen. "How is that..."
The Older Hild grabbed the holographic displayed and looked at the bottom line. Zero. There had been zero souls harvested. Which was impossible since everybody died.
"And Skuld-chan, check how many souls Yggdrasil is trying to process now," the Younger Hild requested of the young goddess.
Setting herself to the task, she too was surprised to find the numbers. "No one being's processed. There are no souls..." Skuld said in amazement. A moment ago the new Yggdrasil system was barely keeping up, but now it was as if it was all gone. Even the processed souls were all gone.
The older Hild stomped angrily up to her younger self. "Why the hell did you do that for!" she half shouted. "That could have been the edge I needed against Him, and you are just going to let that Silver bitch resurrect them all?"
"Yup!" the younger Hild smirked. Then she look between the mother and daughter. She was afraid that this would happen. She had been tempered by her love for Urd for thousands of years, so she was not as ruthless as she once was, but this other version of her was still quite... nihilistic. It would take time for the two to truly come to an understanding with one another. Looking at Ranma she saw him nod and smile. At least that cutie would be helping them mend fences.
"Resurrecting people is forbidden!" Athena protested also while the other gods murmur in agreement.
"Too bad!" the Younger Hild replied gleefully. "It's her power, and she can do with it as she if it's so forbidden, she shouldn't have been given it in the first place!"
Athena sputtered in indignation, but it was Thor who sighed in defeat. "Still, about Hild's forces," the God of Thunder pointedly replied.
"Well..." the younger Hild began. "You're on your own there... maybe try to gang up on her or something?"
In the background, the Senshi face faulted at the smaller tanned girl's reply.
"Whose side are you on anyway?!" the older Hild asked a bit miffed. Her other self betraying her? Betrayed by herself, how fitting.
"I am on Urdy's side, my cute, cute daughter!" the younger Hild suddenly blurred and glomped onto the teen goddess. "Please let me hear it, please call me mommy, please!"
"M-Mommy?" Urd asked in light shock. This Hild was a bit different from her Hild to be sure, but she could feel the pleased aura radiating off of the younger girl.
"Yes! Thank you God!" the Younger Hild crowed to the very heavens, and the gods present naturally took offense to that and were about to surround her but were stopped by the oldest norn sister.
Urd was starting to feel a bit embarrassed as the younger version of her mother was still gushing about being called mother. It was not that big of a deal, was it?
"Hey! She's MINE, you have your own Urd!" the older Hild jealously pointed out.
"Su Urdu, mi Urdu," the younger Hild countered before snuggling up to her daughter from another reality.
"Like hell!" the older Hild shot back and was about to pry the other bitch off her daughter when lighting slammed down in their midst and revealed a figure that no one expected to see.
Immediately the demons in attendance feared for their lives while the gods bowed before the armored being.
"Father!" Belldandy greeted with a polite curtsey. "You're here."
"Daughter," Kami-sama greeted as he surveyed everyone in attendance. He was slightly amused by Ranma's slack jawed expression. Still he turned to see the other younger Hild and felt her different signature. "You don't belong here."
"Wow..." the younger teen Hild said a bit surprised to see Kami-sama here and in full battle armor too. She hadn't seen that since... well time immortal. "Been a long time since I've seen you like this."
"You don't belong here," Kami-sama repeated again and saw the other reality's Hild pout. Turning to his Hild he looked at her as the other one muttered about him being a spoilsport. She was weakened; he could feel it.
The tense atmosphere immediately returned as the Daitenkaicho and the Daimakaicho stared down one another. For most in attendance, they realized what this could mean. Ragnarok could be just moments away. It was Kami-sama who spoke first.
"Pull your forces back."
"No," came the immediate reply from the ruler of hell.
"Pull your forces back or I will make you pull them back."
"You are certainly welcome to try," Hild dared.
"If that is what it would take, then so be it," Kami-sama growled and raised his fist in the air. Immediately a powerful pressure of energy could be felt by all present. As powerful as Hild was, Kami-sama was the winner in the war.
"WAIIIIT!" Urd shouted as she rushed in between her parents. Quickly she turned over to look at her mother with a pleading expression. "Please mother, please pull your forces back, please don't go to war... I don't want to lose you... either of you. So please... can't you do it for me?"
Hild who had been ready to fight regardless if she was strong or not, saw her daughter's earnest expression. Something inside her clicked - something maternal. Sighing in defeat she turned to her second in command. "Hagall, give the order, pull our forces back to Niflhiem."
"As you command, Daimakaicho," Hagall said as she punched something on the holographic screen and nodded. "All fleets acknowledged orders, pulling back now."
With a smile, Hild gently wrapped her daughter in a hesitant hug. "The things I do for you," she whispered softly to her daughter. She then broke the hug and stood with her forces. "Well, looks like the party's over."
Kami-sama looked down on his daughter proudly and smiled. This was her purpose to begin with: to foster peace and understanding between them.
"I'll come and visit you when I'm recovered, Urd!" Hild waved with gusto then turned to Kami-sama. "You know, for what it's worth, I didn't intend for anyone on your side to die."
Kami-sama and the other gods closed their eyes in memory of Ares. Still, for Hild to even admit that much meant a lot. As he looked at the ruler of hell, he nodded in acknowledgment. A moment later, the infernal group disappeared in an explosion of black flames. Then he turned around he looked at the tree that had been repaired by his firstborn. He wondered if Lightbringer hated him to the very end.
"Father, is it over?" Belldandy asked as she approached the ruler of heaven.
"Yes, it is, and I could not have been more proud of you, all of you. You did more than I could have imagined," Kami-sama praised before he turned to the mortal girls. With a wave of his hand, he locked down their new power and healed their injuries. "And you girls have gone beyond what you should have, for that you have my gratitude."
The Sailor Senshi still could not believe that Kami-sama was before them.
"Let us go. You too, Urd," Kami-sama said as he watched Urd standing close to Ranma. He then looked at the pigtailed boy and shook his head.
When Yggdrasil went up, everything that had happened up to then was given to Kami-sama. He had disseminated the information within seconds. What Ranma did was something that should not have been possible. His bravery was unmatched by any mortal or god. He bared great pain to obtain the ultimate power for selfless reasons. He could not fix a broken soul; he could only mend it. He would have had to find gods and goddess to volunteer to be bonded that intimately to a mortal. However, the nine different colored pulses running through the cracks in his soul confirmed that Ranma had been healed and, to a lesser extent, married in its purest form.
With a smirk, Kami-sama decided he could not wait to see what mischievous adventure Ranma would get himself in next. Still, there was one final thing to do. "Ranma."
"Ye-yes Kami-sama?" Ranma asked hesitantly. There was none of the warm feeling like the first time when Kami-sama arrived; there was a tangible sense of danger that made his hair stand on end.
"I need to reboot and purge Yggdrasil. It's going to be a long and tedious process," Kami-sama said to the pigtailed boy. "I am sorry about this, but it should only take a few months at most."
"What do you me-huh?" Ranma started to ask when the air around him seemed to shift. A moment later, he was standing in the Tendo courtyard with the younger Hild. Of course, it was not just any Tendo Courtyard. It was the one he had just came from in his original reality. Why, there was even his counterpart sitting next to his little sister staring at him wide eyed.
"Well... fuck," he said before Hild started spewing profanity.
TBC!
AN: And here we are, the end of it all. Next is an epilogue of sort. I was quite please with how everything turned out. Warp was my first fic and it will always be my baby. It's written in the Shonen flavor style but with plot! It's also been a long ass time in the making but, we do what we have to do!
Thanks for everyone support and encouragement through the years! And to my editors. Seriously. I called and they answered. Cannot get any more awesome then that!
Always always C+C welcome, Reviews Appreciated!