Neko-Ranma managed to dodge most of the incoming needles, but several hit him. He snarled angrily and slashed at the Alpha Fiend.
The beast once again seemed to shift, as it grew a lion's fur and a set of wings, turning into some sort of griffin.
It flew over Ranma's head just to attack him from behind with a small fireball.
The battle continued for a while. In the distance, Akane, Ukyo and Auron came running.
"What's wrong with Ranchan?" Ukyo gasped.
"This monster brought out the Neko-Ken," Akane explained.
"Quick," Auron said. "I'll distract this fiend, while you try to calm him down... but do not try to snap him out of it! Let him do it himself!"
As the Alpha Fiend was thrown back by one of Ranma's attacks, he gripped the handle of his sword and stormed towards it. "I'll help you," Ukyo cried and followed him.
Akane stepped into Ranma's way. "Please, Ranma! Stop it!"
Neko-Ranma curiously stopped himself from attacking this new obstacle. But it didn't seem to be hostile... or was it?
----
When the Alpha Fiend pulled itself up, it saw two new enemies. Snarling, it once again shifted its body. Now it grew in size and got covered in thick dragon scales. It's tail resembled that of a drake. Angrily, it spit out a lance of electricity.
"It certainly knows a large number of fiend attacks," Auron muttered, while dodge rolling. Ukyo grabbed her battle spatula. "Hey, you ugly critter! Watch this!"
The monster just reflected the attack with its tail and lunged onto Ukyo.
Auron was just trying to attack it with a Power Break, but stopped himself just in time. If he attacked now, he would hit the girl as well.
The Alpha Fiend opened its mouth and growled savagely at the trapped Ukyo. "Obstacle... Need to kill... all obstacles..."
Ukyo tried to wrestle out of the beast's grip, but to no avail. And then... she looked into the Alpha Fiend's eyes.
And she recognized... "Shampoo...?"
Suddenly, Auron kicked the fiend away from her. It rolled along the ground and yelped.
"Stop it," Ukyo yelled. "This is no normal fiend, it's a human being trapped inside that shell!"
"Yes, I know," Auron replied. "And I'm just trying to save her..."
----
'Ranma,' Carbuncle cried at the apparition of the Neko-Ken inside Ranma's mind. 'Stop this! Remember? We have to save Spira!'
'It's no use,' Fenrir growled. 'He won't listen.'
But then, another image of Ranma appeared. He looked just like the normal Ranma (boy-form).
"What happened?" Ranma asked. Then he spotted Neko-Ranma. "What? Is this... the Neko-Ken?"
'Seems like it,' Fenrir commented as Neko-Ranma curiously walked up to his human counterpart and sniffed his hands.
"Now what?" Ranma sighed. "This is silly! How can I be the saviour of this world OR be one of your so-called 'Elite Fighters of the Universe' if I turn crazy every time I see a stupid little cat?"
'You have to embrace your fears,' Carbuncle said. 'Become one with him. Don't let him control you. If you manage to control his wild side, he would make a powerful ally.'
Ranma looked at his feline self. "What d'ya say?" he finally asked. "Wanna help me save the world?"
Neko-Ranma reached out with his paw.
They vanished in a bright flash!
----
Ranma blinked. Then shook his head. "Wow, that was something else..."
"Ranma?" Akane asked. "Are you all right?"
"Yup," he said. "I got the Neko-Ken under control. But for now... Uh-oh! The fiend!"
"Ukyo and Auron are taking care of it," Akane reassured him.
"Auron?" Ranma asked. "The guy that was one of Yuna's father's guardians?"
----
The ice crystals on the Alpha Fiend's back seemed to glow as it attacked with an icy beam.
"Now's your chance," Auron shouted and jumped out of the way. Behind him, Ukyo blocked the attack with her spatula.
The freeze beam got reflected and hit the Alpha Fiend instead. It didn't get frozen, but the stinging cold hurt its vulnerable face.
Quickly, Auron stormed to it and knocked it out with the hilt of his sword.
The Alpha Fiend silently dropped to the ground. As Auron watched, it's fur and the ice crystals seemed to retract themselves, while its paws and limbs seemed to grow back to human proportions.
And after, finally, a Chinese style fighting dress appeared around the body, it was clearly recognizable as Xian Pu, great-granddaughter of the Chinese Amazon tribe's elder Cologne.
Only a few patches of purple fur remained, as well as cat-like ears that were sticking out of her hair, and a short tail.
Auron nodded as Ukyo walked over to him. "That's how it's done!"
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(Posted Sun, 16 Jul 2006 14:08)
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