It is said that Genma Saotome had driven his son to insanity with his stunt with the Neko-ken.
That simply wasn't true. That day, Genma's son died in horror and pain.
But in his death, the tragedy of a life cut short, one of the Fallen came to take his place. Escaped from the utter nothingness that was the Abyss, the former servant of God's will, now a creature tormented by His divine wrath, this being came to earth in search of ways to free its master from the Abyss. It thought it found the perfect host, a young boy torn apart by cats.
Unfortunately, the Neko-ken was so traumatic that even one from the Abyss was overwhelmed by the sheer cruelty of the act. Though no mere sensation could compare with the utter nothingness of the Abyss, the boy's memory of the Neko-ken was as close a second as mere sensation could be. The sheer brutality, the feeling of betrayal, the pain of the cats' claws – they had overwhelmed even the fallen and tormented angel's sensibilities. It was completely overwhelmed by the experience, as to actually think it WAS Ranma.
Recovery was slow, and there was a hefty price for inhabiting this body; its true memories were neatly buried underneath the trauma of the Neko-ken, and with only the memories of Ranma to go by, the Fallen adopted that identity more firmly than any other of the Fallen. The torment of his time in the Pit had combined with the torment of the former Ranma to give birth to the full Neko-ken.
Eventually, the Fallen's true memories of being a former agent of Heaven, now regarded (and rightly so) as a demon, returned to the being taking the name 'Ranma'. It knew for a long time that 'Ranma' was not human, but it... nee, he took comfort in the normal routine of training. The rigors and dicipline of martial arts training went a long way to calming the torment of thousands of years in the Pit, and the rejection of its Creator. The centernedness of being required for the Art brought peace to the Fallen's soul for the first time since the Fall. But the vistage of the cat brought back memories of his initial experience of torment on earth, hence his need to get away. He feared the torment the cats produced more than the cats themselves.
But that was as maybe. Now, a lunatic with delusions of grandeur (in his view) sought to bind his... no, Ranma's mother into service that she obviously didn't want.
Not on HIS watch, he's not!
On the other side of the equation, Mangeto was impressed at the noble aspirations of this child to protect his mother. However, his qualms about fighting children, if he had any, were suppressed. Ripping stray bits of metal from nearby buildings and the environment, he used his magnetic power to propell them at Mystique's son. He would be defeated easily enough.
Still, it was surprising seeing the boy dodge his attacks so easily.
Mystique watched in great anxiety as her son confronted one of the world's most dangerous mutants. She had heard rumors about his amazing adventures, and prayed that they were indeed true, she knew that Ranma was no mutant, and even the two of them together had no hope of defeating Magneto.
Still, Ranma proved himself a very capable fighter, as he unwrapped his belt and gave it a snap as he channeled ki into it. The strip of cloth became a weapon as hard as steel and capable of cutting through anything. Which is exactly what he proceeded to do, cutting down each of the metallic objects as they approached. "Gotta do better than that, Mango," he said arrogantly.
Mystique giggle at Magneto's new nickname was choked off as she caught glimpse of Magneto's face. He hadn't liked that nickname at all! "Impressive, boy," said Magneto, his voice cool but his face plainly showing irritation. "Most mutants would be hard pressed to keep up with that barage. But this ends now." Everything nearby and metallic became a weapon in the power of Magneto's magnetism.
Mystique spotted a nearby car lifting off its wheels. She understood Magneto's strategy: overwhelm Ranma with the other metallic objects, then throw this at him as a coup de grace. "NO! Please, Magneto, leave him alone! I'll do anything you want; just don't hurt him!" she pleaded.
"He must learn the folley of challenging the Master of Magnetism," Magneto said matter-of-factly as he directed his powers to throw a nearby car at the boy.
*CRASH!*
"RANMA!!" Mystique screamed in horror. Tears flowed down her blue cheeks.
"It is done," Magneto said. "You should really teach your children to respect their betters, woman."
Mystique brought tear-filled eyes to glare at Magneto, but before she could start cursing him, the car shifted... then shot up.
"GRRRAAAHHHHH!!!!" the 'boy' bellowed as he lifted and threw the now-wrecked car off him and tossed it aside. He felt like shit; his body was cut up and bruised, and he was bleeding profusely. The torment in his soul churned closer to the surface. "Right, you bastard! I'm through playin' around!" 'Ranma' pointed at Magneto. "You're goin' DOWN, Bucket Head!" he said coldy.
Magneto frowned at the nickname, but nonetheless kept his cool. "Impressive, boy," Magneto said, "but give it up. You were in no shape to fight me before, and you certainly aren't now."
'Ranma' had considered revealing his apochalyptic form when battling Saffron, but hesitated, and Akane almost paid the price. Remembering the pain of almost losing Akane, a human who had against all odds won his torment-poisoned heart (even though she might have made a good demon herself), he resolved not to make the same mistake with Magneto.
Now, the mutant was about to accept the dubious privilage of confronting one of the Fallen in all his glory. He was actually
(Posted Tue, 20 May 2003 07:28)
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