With all the changes Kuno had undergone it was going to be impossible for Ranma to take him down.
With out seriously hurting him anyway.
"This is pointless," Ranma snapped. "Sheesh, Kuno, even if I am a sorcerer, I AIN'T rich...how the heck do you think I could afford all of this?!" He gestured at the cooridors around him.
Kuno stopped for a moment and considered that. Either the foul Saotome was indeed wealthy beyond Kuno's estimation of him, or else he was not behind this particular attack upon the noble Blue Thunder.
In the end Kuno's belief in his own superiority over Ranma won out.
"Indeed," Kuno said. "One as humble as you would indeed lack the funds to build this facility."
"Finally you listen to rea..." Ranma start.
"Just as you apparently lack the wit to see that this senseless battle has seperated us from companions that surely are in dire need of my skills and strength," Kuno interrupted, much to Ranma's disbelief. "Let us return at once to defend my sister and the wonderous Akane Tendo from the depredations of these monstrosities."
"Uh-huh," Ranma said, non-pulsed, with narrowed eye. "Whatever...now...lead on."
"And in which direction should we go," Kuno asked, apparently addressing thin air as he looked back and forth.
"Maybe we can follow those claw marks in the wall where we were running on it?" Ranma suggested irritably.
"Ah aha!" Kuno decalred. "It is simple, we merely follow the trail of devastation left by your callous regard for the properties of others and we shall come to the place we left the others. Come now simpleton!"
Ranma sighed as he followed the taller, black-scaled...creature into the darkness of the cooridors. There was one thing about this plan that bothered Ranma. If they could follow the trail of destruction, so could something else.
On the other hand it should have made it easy for the others to find them as well. If they worked together at this, they just might make it out alive to make their feelings known to their captors.
"Stop," Kuno said a few minutes later.
"What is it?" Ranma asked, he couldn't depend over much on his danger sense. In this place it was almost constantly blaring. His senses were peaked as much as he could manage, but he hadn't sensed anything yet.
"Something comes this way," Kuno said seriously, moving forward cautiously readying for a fight. "I can hear claws clicking on the floor."
"That's u..." Ranma stopped, he could hear it now to, a faint clicking. "That could be an air conditioner Kuno."
"Then the air conditioner approaches closer," Kuno snapped. "Make ready, fool!"
"Right, right," Ranma said settling into stance as he became convinced that, yes that clicking was coming closer.
It was long afterward before a back of four legged...things turned the corner to glare at him. They...looked like they may have been...dogs...at one point.
The eight of them stared at Ranma and Kuno from out empty sockets, some of which glowed with an eerie shimmering red fire. And Ranma was aware of something that disturbed him....greatly.
The ones with the fiery eyes held a chi of some type, but it was bloated, poisonous, imbalanced, hungry...evil.
"Kuno, the glowing eyes," Ranma said. "Those...are real demons. The others are just meat."
"Indeed, Saotome," Kuno said. "Well, surely you would know your own kind. Let them come!"
The dogs, even the demons not among the brightest of the creatures in the maze, charged forward upon identifying the T-Counters as living/food. Yet, the demonic beings had the wit to at least hold back while the two martial artists destroyed the zombie dogs.
And then the three demon dogs inhaled deeply, a black-red fire growing within their throats until it was released upon the two T-Counters.
"Truly these ARE the hounds of hell!" Kuno declared as he shielded his eyes.
Ranma hmphed disdainfully at the low-powered attack as he shielded himself and felt the damage healing already.
Then the demon-dogs, three of them, charged forward and slashed outward, one of them trying to sink its teeth through Kuno's scaled arm.
"Off of me, foul cur!" Kuno declared, bringing his claws to strike through the beast's skull. It yelped and pulled back, but it didn't fall.
"Okay," Ranma said as he saw that. "This might be a little more difficult than I thought."
****
The Umbrella observer became very agitated and rushed forward to point to the screen where the martial artists were fighting the dogs.
"How is that possible?" he demanded. "That dog should be down!"
"We, don't know sir," the technician declared. "There is nothing in any of the tests to indicate what would could cause this new mutation."
****
Ranma was busy with his own opponents as the dog that Kuno had speared through skull shook off the hit and came forward. He took a moment to try a desperate experiment.
"Unclean beast!" Kuno railed. "Unhand my glorious self!" As he roared he flipped the other demon dog away from him and punched the one he had formerly injured.
Ranma charged a fraction his chi into his claws and hand and slashed forward out one of the dogs and smiled with satisfaction as it howled in pain. Wisps of black and red energy trailed out of the wound and dissipated into the air around them.
"Gotta use your chi, Kuno!" Ranma shouted as he proceeded to slash the demon repeatedly until it melted away into red-black darkness.
"What nonsense do you babble?" Kuno demanded.
"Channely your chi, you dolt," Ranma said. "Like when you use that stick of yours to cut through walls."
"Cease to refer to my noble weapon as a stick!" Kuno demanded. Nevertheless, he did take Ranma's advice, attempting to his kendo technique into an unarmed one as Ranma destroyed the second dog.
The third dog was just deciding to run when Kuno figured the secret out and tore it apart as well.
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(Posted Wed, 13 Nov 2002 17:06)
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