Standard Disclaimer: All characters appearing in this fic are the property of their respective creators. Please don't sue me, I have no money. Desert Moon A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction By Valandar the Red Chapter Five Heavy Metal Poisoning Five thousand years ago, the valley now bearing the springs of Jusenkyo was quite different than it would become. For one, the highest mountain in the local range stood there. For another, so did the castle of Jalamdhara, the demon god. He had conquered the mortal kingdoms, and now prepared to conquer the gods. As he was Siva's anger, made manifest, his power was rivaled only by the three mightiest gods - Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, himself. The demon god trod the seven hundred steps to the top of his highest tower. Opening a small door with an act of will, he entered a small room with a single, large window. He simply stepped out of the window, and let the winds carry him upwards. Soon, he would be in the home of the gods. Raging from the heavens, Siva blasted into him with enough force to shatter the mountaintop. The two gods grappled with each other, hurling their immortal forms back and forth. The ground trembled beneath their feet, and crumbled with each step. The god of Destruction backed away from the product of his own rage, and drew forth four swords, one in each hand, then cut off the head of his progeny. From the neck of the fiend, blood sprayed, and ichor welled. But the blood flew back from the earth, and drew back into Jalamdhara. It reshaped itself with the ichor, and two heads sat where one once rested. Both grinned, and he dove at Siva once more. Again, four swords flashed, and two heads dropped to the ground. Again, each neck sprouted two more heads. Knowing that, soon, he would be facing a forest of heads, Siva cried out. He called to the earth, asking it to drink of the blood of his own creation, that it may not return and restore him. Four blades then struck once more, each taking a head. The four fallen heads began to laugh, then shrieked in agony. The blood was leaving them, soaking into the the remnants of his own mountain, drowning the spirit of the demon god in his own blood. Without the blood to sustain him, the demon god was no more. And, so, Siva returned, to tell his brethren what had transpired, the mountain of Jalamdhara now but a valley. Deep below, the blood seeped into a large cave. It pooled there, and awaited the time it could come forth. It felt the flow of a gentle spring, perilously close to its own edge. With a last burst of conscious power, the blood ruptured the source of the spring, increasing it. The water now passed through the blood, and into the tortured earth above it. Its impure, mortal substance did not mingle with the immortal blood, but was transfigured by it, carrying away magic, and some darkness. In the future, this spring would be called Jusendo, and the pools it would spawn, Jusenkyo. But only one out of every generation would be entrusted with the knowledge of the first pool - the Blood Pool of the Drowned God. ******************** "But, honorable sir, let Plum go! She no know where Spring of Drowned God is!" The Guide was old, now. His eyes were hazy, and his back bent. He shuffled down the hidden cavern ahead of a man only slightly older, and a woman in her late thirties. The older man had a death grip on the woman's arm with his left hand, and a small pistol in his right. "That is irrelevant. I am fully aware that you would rather die with the secret of the location of the spring, but you would not so carelessly risk the life of your daughter - or her children, back in the hut." The old man's voice was raspy, from too many years in darkness, searching for a way to regain the life of his dead wife. "I will have the secret of the Blood Pool of the Drowned God, if I have to slaughter your entire family." Truth be told, Tokugawa Akihito was totally unconcerned with killing. Jalamdhara was said to have been able to raise the dead. Thus, once he had the power of the dead god, he could simply ressurect those he and his men had slain, and clear his conscience. The Guide sighed. He was no warrior. And Akihito was right. His daughter was the most precious thing in the world, to him, and his grandchildren and son-in-law only slightly less so. The world was a cruel place, he mused, where a father's love could damn the entire world. Shifting the torch from his tired left hand to his right, the guide paused briefly. Here, the caves below Jusenkyo became a labyrinth, and he had to recite an ancient rhyme to remember the path. "What is it, why have you stopped?" demanded the Japanese businessman. "Have to remember path. No can help Plum if no can remember path, honorable sir." Barbarian, thought the Guide. Thoughtless, mad, and doomed, especially if he got his wish. Flickering torchlight always did the same thing in caverns. It made monsters out of stalagtites and columns, bottomless pits out of simple depressions ten feet away, and cave openings out of irregularities in the cave walls. No creatures of darkness lived in this cave, however. The pervading evil of the demon-god kept them all away. "Soon," muttered Akihito, "soon I will have what is rightfully mine." ******************** A small force of amazons, accompanied by Khu Lon, Shen Kuei, and the Wrecking crew, raced across the valley to Jusenkyo. Despite their age, the older warriors forced the young women to push themselves to the limit just to keep up. In a few short minutes, the multitude of cursed springs came into view. "Be careful," warned the old matriarch. "Come no closer than twenty feet from the springs, lest you fall in." Skirting around the edge of the pools, they approached the Guide's house. It was larger than it had been, to accomodate his daughter's family. No guards were in sight, so Ranma and Ryouga crept up to the door. With a nod, they slowly opened the door, to Akane's surprise, then jumped in. Tied up on the floor of the living room, a Chinese man only slightly younger than the martial artists that faced him struggled against his bonds. He mumbled through the thick gag stuffed in his mouth, and his eyes flew open wide. Ryouga approached, and removed the gag. He immediately erupted in a stream of rapid-fire Chinese even the Lost Man could not follow. "Peace, peace, slow down. We are here to help," he said, grabbing the man by the shoulder with one hand, and rending his bonds with the other. "What happened?" Taking a few deep breaths, he only said, "He has father-in- law, and my poor Plum!" Helping Ryouga get him to a chair, Ranma asked him, "You know way they went?" He then wished he spoke better Chinese. The man slumped, and shook his head. "Do you know if your father-in-law led this man to one of the pools outside?" asked Ryouga. "N-no. He did not. They were going beneath Jusendo. Through the catacombs." "Catacombs?" Ranma glanced up at Ryouga, who translated the unfamiliar word. "Where catacombs?" The man stayed silent. After a few seconds, he whispered, "I do not know." He reached up, and grabbed Ryouga's arm. "My children! My two daughters are in the other room. I don't think they're hurt, but they're locked in." The Lost Man nodded, and walked over to a door. "This door?" "No, that is the door outside." "Then this one?" "No, that is a broom closet." Ranma smirked, as Ryouga went to yet another door. "Then this one?" he asked. "No, no, no. That is the kitchen. It's through that door, there!" "This one?" "NO! That's the broom closet, again!" "Ryouga, never mind, I'll get the kids." He walked over to the door indicated, and crushed the doorknob. In Chinese, he sid to the main, "Will pay for door later." "You mean 'doorknob'," said the Lost Man. "Whatever." He gently pushed the door open, and stared in shock. Yes, two beautiful, teenage girls were here. They were also both dead, from gunshot wounds to the head. "The bastard..." Since he wasn't moving, Ryouga pushed past him, and closed his eyes at the sight. "Ranma...he must have been using a silencer. Otherwise, Plum's husband would have heard the shots. I don't know about you, but this would-be god dies tonight!" Ranma could not answer. Looking at the oldest of the two, he kept seeing Akemi's face, with the same bullet wounds. The thought of his daughter, dead, filled him with dread. He could only stand, and pray to the kami that she was safe, with Tofu-sensei, Kasumi, and Kenchiro. He also hoped that Ying Lu, the young amazon with the falcon curse that had warned them what was happening, recovered, and the family held each other safe. "My daughters, where are they? Why aren't they coming out?" The man knew why, but refused to accept it. He ran to the door, but Ranma would not let him pass. "Sorry. It bad. I so sorry." Tears were streaming down his cheeks, as Plum's husband dropped to his knees, and began to wail. The sound attracted the attention of the others, who came pouring in. Seeing the man on the floor, all eyes turned to Ranma. Ryouga was still in the room with the girls, dealing with his own troubles. "His daughters," was all the pigtailed martial artist could croak out. Akane's eyes sought her husband's. Unspoken words hung in the air. Several amazons slipped past Ranma, but he would not let his wife past. Instead, he gripped her in a hug as tight as his heart, clinging to his greatest treasure. The quiet voice of the amazon High Matriarch drifted to them. "They were not amazons, but were among the few respected by the Musk and ourslves. Phoenix Mountain had no love for the Guides, but I do not care. We will give the girls the full honors of the tribe, and I will send this man back to the village, to be cared for until we return. Ukyou could not bring herself to even attempt to enter the house. The whole idea of Jusenkyo, itself, made her nervous, and the knowledge that two young girls had been killed because of it just set her on edge. She watched as Ranma, Khu-Lon, Akane, and Ryouga left, then turned away as one of the younger amazons helped the man out of his house, unwilling to watch the girls being brought out. She had heard everything from the door- way, and didn't want to face the emptiness she had borne for a long time. Glancing over, she noticed the Lost Man headed into the woods. "Hey, P-chan, where are you going?" She started to go and follow him. A hand stopped her. "No." "But, Ranma, you know how bad his sense of direction is. If we let him wander off like this, we'll never find him again in time!" She tried to free herself, but his grip was iron swathed in velvet. "Trust me, we'll know. And if you follow, my best friend will die." His voice was tight, and controlled. "But Ryouga wouldn't kill me, he...but..." Deep within the forest, a cry of "Shi...Shi...Ho...Ku... Dan!" echoed. Green, heavy chi lanced upwards, then dove back down to impact with him. It exploded, unleashing the depression he felt as his inner demons wrestled for control, and won a brief victory. Waves of force rolled off the explosion, weakening as they reached the Wrecking Crew, but still powerful enough to shove them back a little. Ranma didn't budge, however, and his clothes did not move, either. Khu Lon looked at him, and worried. When he met up with this hubristic upstart, she thought, only one would live. When the shockwaves had died down, the middle-aged martial artist walked out into the forest, for the heart of the new clearing. He returned, less than a minute later, his friend and rival over his shoulder. Gently setting Ryouga on the ground, he simply sat, and waited. "Ranma, aren't we going to go stop him?" Akane was confused. "It's too late to stop him. Those girls have been dead for a few hours. He has likely found the spring, already, and we have no idea where it is. We have to wait here, and deal with him when he comes back." "How?" "I really shouldn't ask you to do this...but boil some water." ******************** The bright red blood flowed in itself, and around itself, with the look of shining lava in the erratic torchlight. A small stream flowed into it, growing stronger beyond. "Jalamdharanichuan," started the Guide. "Very tragic story, of powerful demon god killed by Siva, whose blood feeds all Jusen- kyo even to today..." Puut! A silenced pistol bullet passed through the Guide's shoulder, stopping his monologue. "I do not care for the tour, old man. My entire purpose has been to reach this pool. Leave me. It would not do for lesser beings to witness the rise of a god." Helping her father to his feet, Plum hurried out of the cavern with him. Akihito was left behind, as he pondered the Blood Pool of the Drowned God. To enter, would be to be reborn. He, Tokugawa Akihito, descendant of shoguns, would be mightier that even they had dared dream. Immortality, life everlasting, and eternal peace for all mankind, that is what he would grant them. They had treated him roughly, but he would show them compassion. His compassion. The absolute peace of his reign, where none may ever die. He started stepping towards the Blood Pool. One step. He was tempted to repeat the statement of the American astronaut from when he walked on the moon, but thought better of it. The edge of the pool was before him; one more step, and he would enter it. Funny, he thought, it's cold. I would have thought that blood would be warm, no matter how long it's been here. That was his last thought, as his soul was rent asunder in the howling of the reborn demon god, Jalamdhara. Notes: Jalamdhara is a real Hindu demon-god. Some information on him can be found in the Encyclopedia Mythica, at http://http://www.pantheon.org/mythica/ . And, let's just say that next chapter is the last, and it's either going to be a little long, or it's going to have an epilogue.