[soundtrack for this: Gone, Gone, Gone, by Phillip Phillips]

[2016-11-10
The story is coming to a close. I will be releasing one chapter a day from here out, until I close the story. I will mark the story complete when I load the final chapter.
I think I have learned all I can from this experiment, and it is time to move on with working on publishing my novel. Thank you all for reading and reviewing, you have helped my writing a lot! :)
However, there is still a CONTEST running. To enter the CONTEST, simply send me a couple of sentences detailing why you have stuck with this story until the end. For full details of the contest, see my profile.]

Nabiki stood outside the restroom of the little coffee shop she and Ranma had stopped in so he could use the hot water to change back into a male. He had wanted her to come into the restroom with him, but she had refused. When he hadn't understood her reluctance she had been forced to lean in and whisper to him what people would think if they went in together and he came out a dripping wet male. He'd blushed, but still insisted. Their compromise was that she would stand with her hand on the doorknob, and he would leave the door unlocked. She had promised to scream and yank the door open and run inside if the Amazons attacked.
Thankfully, he emerged a moment later and made the whole issue moot. She looked him up and down, and smiled. He had clearly taken his clothes off before he'd used the hot water to change himself back into a guy. She could see that his skin and his hair were wet, but his clothes were mostly dry. She idly wondered if he would have done that with her in there with him. She entertained the idea with a shaky warm feeling inside as she licked her lips happily while she enjoyed the mental picture. Her nerves were still recovering from the fight at the school, so it was hard for her to let her mind wander at all. He started to step outside, but she stopped him and directed him to the counter. He raised an eyebrow at her but complied.
She smiled and ordered two cups of coffee to go from the somewhat flustered shop owner. He frowned at them but went ahead and filled their order and took the money she offered him. She took an exaggerated sip of her coffee after he handed it to her and smiled happily at the man.
"This is wonderful! Thank you so much! I should tell all my friends about the great coffee you serve here!" She said warmly.
The man cracked a smile at that and bowed to her politely as she steered Ranma away from the counter and out of the door. As soon as they were out of sight of the shop she shot her hand out and blocked him from raising his cup to his lips.
He looked over at her in surprise. She grimaced at him. "Don't. Trust me. It's horrid." She said as she poured her cup out into a nearby trashcan with disgust on her face.
He looked at her blankly. "Then ... why did you ..." He asked in a confused tone.
She smiled at him. "We used his restroom, and we acted weird. The least we could do was buy something from him and give him a compliment. It's how the world works, Ranma." She said softly as she reached over and grabbed his cup out of his hands after he managed to take a sip. She yanked her hand back just as he spit out the sip he'd taken.
"See. Told you." She said with a wink as she poured his cup out too.
"No, you were wrong. It's not horrid ... it's disgusting. I think that coffee was older than I am. Maybe even older than Pops." He said with revulsion.
She smiled at him. "I did warn you." She said lightly.
He nodded. "I know, but I wanted to see for myself anyway." He said with a smile of his own.
They walked in a comfortable silence for a while as they headed back home. She wanted to be happy and playful with him, but the weight of his impending confrontation with the Amazon Elder was just too much for her to shrug off.
He looked over at her a couple of times, and she could tell he was trying to summon the courage to ask her something. She waited until he was ready. Eventually he cleared his throat so she looked at him expectantly.
"I'm ... I'm sorry about everything that's happened." He said quietly.
She smiled at him and reached for his hand. "Don't be. None of it was your fault." She said firmly.
"Well, I think some of it probably was, according to the Old Ghoul anyway. But anyway, I'm still sorry. You've had it much harder than I'd thought you had. And it's amazin' how strong you are with dealin' with it all." He said softly.
She looked down briefly, then back up to him and smiled weakly at him. "Thank you Ranma. I do the best I can. I'm not sorry for any of the things I have done in my life. I was wronged, terribly. Life has not been fair to me, and the lessons I have learned from that were to protect myself and the people I love. I am not perfect, but this world we live in isn't perfect either. If you want to call that strength, I won't argue with you." She said in a subdued tone. She didn't want to talk about herself at the moment.
"What's wrong?" He asked her.
She smiled softly to herself. She was impressed how quickly he had picked up on her mood. "Can ... can you keep going? You know they aren't going to stop. It doesn't matter if you give Shona the kiss of death, or Shampoo, or literally every Amazon we fight. They'll keep coming." She said anxiously.
"I know." He said after a long pause. He looked over at her and met her eyes. Then he looked ahead again and took a deep breath. "I meant what I said though. I don't want to kill nobody, but I'm gonna have to start fightin' them without holdin' back. If they're too injured to fight, they'll hafta stop." He said with determination.
"What about Shampoo's great grandmother? Can you beat her?" She asked him cautiously. They were treading on an area that involved his pride. She knew to tread lightly.
He grinned at her and held up a victory sign as he winked. "Sure, no problem."
"Ranma..." She said in a warning tone.
He sighed and deflated and shrugged. "I dunno. I think I have a good shot at it. I'm not as weak as she thinks I am. There's stuff I know that she's never seen." He said confidently.
"Like what?" She asked him, genuinely curious.
He winked at her. "The Old Freak may be a disgrace, but that doesn't mean someone can't learn stuff from watchin' him." He said in a teasing tone.
"You learned something from him? Like what?" She asked hopefully.
"Secret." He said with a wink and a smile.
She opened her mouth to argue with him, then smiled herself and closed it. She would just wait and see. He was right to keep it a secret, who knew who might be listening to them as they walked.
They walked the next several blocks back towards home in quiet contemplation. She wanted to leave him alone to prepare for the fighting that was sure to be coming. She didn't know what he was thinking, but she assumed he was going over all of the fights with the Amazons he'd had so far and he was working on strategy.
As they got closer to home, she grew more and more anxious. She had a feeling something bad was about to happen. As soon as they stepped on the street that lead to her house, she was certain of it. Something didn't feel right. She looked over at him and saw that he was lost in thought as they walked. He was still looking around for danger, but his eyes were distant.
They walked a bit further up the road, and the hair started to stand up on the back of her neck. Something was definitely wrong. Ranma looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. She met his eyes and shook her head. She couldn't put into words what she was feeling yet. She knew it was wrong, but she didn't know how.
As they walked into view of the gate, it opened, and Riko leaned out and smiled at them and held her hands up in a stop motion as she smiled warmly. Nabiki pulled Ranma to a stop a good twenty meters away from the gate.
"Hey now you two, I can't letcha in without the password ... or a bribe." Riko said in a teasing tone.
She narrowed her eyes at her friend. What was Riko doing messing around at the gate? It wasn't safe. Ranma smiled and took a step forward. She put a hand out gently on Ranma's arm as she sucked a cold breath in nervously. "Hang on, something isn't right." She said as Riko smiled and waved at them. 
It dawned on her why she felt wrong then. Where were the soldiers?
My family ... is my family okay? She thought as panic surged inside her while she eyed her friend suspiciously, but with a smile on her face. Riko was smiling too, but something seemed ... off.
"Hey Riko, how's it going?" She called out in a warm tone as her mind worked furiously to analyze the situation. Ranma tried to wiggle away from her, but she clamped down hard on his arm to hold him still.
"Going good, thinking of going on a walk later." Riko called back in a happy tone.
"Walks are good, especially at dusk. It's too bad the best dragonflies come out at dawn though, ya know? Have you ever seen a dragonfly as beautiful as the ones at dawn?" She asked Riko in a casual tone. It was the same code phrase Riko had asked her earlier in the week.
A light went up in Riko's eyes and her friend smiled warmly at her and shook her head. "I haven't, I really wish I could see one though." Riko said casually. It was the danger phrase. It meant Riko was under duress and couldn't speak freely.
"Trap." She whispered to Ranma.
She more felt than saw him nod next to her. "What should we do?" He asked in just as quiet of a whisper.
"I ... don't know." She whispered back while she kept her fake smile in place. My family ... my family ... my family! Nabiki screamed to herself as she fought the panic rising up inside herself. It was starting to feel like her worst nightmare was coming true.
"Maybe we can—" Ranma started to say.
"You're getting smarter with her around, grandson-in-law." The elder Joketsuzoku's voice said from behind the wall. A moment later the old woman hopped up into view on top of the wall. The old woman was smiling, but it was a cold smile that didn't reach her eyes. "You know, my granddaughter would have made you smarter too, if you had ever bothered to give her a chance. She is much more formidable than people give her credit for — she is a direct descendant of mine after all." The old woman said coldly as she swept her hand out and Shampoo reluctantly joined her Elder on top of the Tendo family walls. Shampoo looked over at Ranma briefly with fear and sadness in her eyes, then she looked back down at her feet and didn't move.
"You." Nabiki said, crestfallen as the panic inside her rose to the point of almost making her throw up. She was swaying on her feet.
"Of course, young one." The elder Amazon said in a mocking tone.
"Where did the... where's my..." She trailed off, hoping that any minute her fears would be proved wrong. If the old woman is controlling Riko, and she's behind the walls, and the soldiers are nowhere to be seen ... oh God, no! Not my family! Nabiki thought as her vision started to blacken around the edges and her body started to shake.
"The soldiers? They won't be helping you. Your little toy soldiers might have been able to stand up against some of us, but certainly not all of us. I have ... taken care of them. As for your family ... you'll just have to wait and see." The elder Joketsuzoku said, dashing any hope she had that the soldiers were still in play. The thought of her family being hurt or dead behind the wall was paralyzing her with fear. She knew she was starting to hyperventilate. She could hear herself breathing rapidly as her vision dimmed. She knew she was growing close to passing out.
Nabiki darted her eyes over to Riko. Her friend had dropped the fake smile, but hadn't moved. Riko had to know what had happened. Maybe she could ask Riko? The old woman sighed and called down to the gate in Chinese for someone to come out.
A moment later the gate opened further and Riko was pushed out of the gate by Shona. Shona was limping and looking much worse for wear than usual. Black and white armband stood directly behind Shona and scowled at Ranma. Shona was doing everything she could to avoid looking at him. She could tell that Shona was afraid of him, but even more afraid of her elder.
She shifted her attention to Riko. "Riko, what happened?!" She demanded in a semi-hysterical voice.
Riko looked up at her and tried to smile nervously. "I was worried about you. So ... I kind of snuck away and went looking for you. They grabbed me before I even saw them." Riko said apologetically.
"Oh ... Riko ... " She said with worry and chagrine in her voice. Riko doesn't know what happened. My family ... where's my family?! She thought in increasing panic. She could see that Shona was holding Riko's arm behind her back. The Amazon most likely had a weapon pressed up against Riko. That made the situation much more dangerous. Would she have to stand and watch as Riko was murdered in front of her? She looked over at Ranma desperately.
Ranma met her gaze and nodded. "Let her go!" Ranma yelled heatedly as he took a strong step forward.
She lashed her hand out and stopped him firmly. He couldn't save Riko by just jumping into a fight. "Think, Ranma. She ... she may be the only one left ... you can't just rush in." She whispered to him in a shaking voice as she tried desperately to control her fear. She couldn't, the fear was winning.
"Listen to her, grandson-in-law. You wouldn't want to be responsible for yet another woman being hurt because of you, now would you?" The old woman taunted.
Ranma shook his head tensely and stepped back.
She eyed the elder Amazon with fearful eyes, and tried to do what she always did, make a deal. "H-Honored Elder ... p-perhaps, we could come to an ... a-arrangement?" She asked in a shaking voice.
Shampoo's grandmother turned her gaze and rested it fully on her. She could feel the weight of that gaze. It was uncomfortable having it on her. The old woman cracked a small smile and shook her head.
"It's a pity you were born Japanese, my dear. You have an instinctive understanding of the ancient Chinese art of bargaining that has escaped my entire bloodline, except for myself of course."
"You do me great honor, thank you." She forced herself to say politely with a small nod of her head. Ranma looked over at her with wide eyes, but wisely stayed silent.
"Unfortunately, while your skills would be useful back home, I am afraid I find myself in a situation where I cannot find a way to allow you to continue to use them, while still obeying our laws. I'm sorry my dear. It's nothing personal." The Elder Amazon said coldly as she turned her attention back to Shona.
"Now, grandson-in-law, if you don't want this girl to suffer because of your pride, agree now to come back home with us, marry Shampoo, and put an end to this foolishness." The old woman said in an ice cold voice.
"You people don't listen very well, do ya?" Ranma growled through clenched teeth as he took a step towards Shona while he flexed his hands into claws.
Shona made a sharp motion behind Riko, and her friend hissed in pain and winced away from Shona as best she could. Ranma froze and looked back at her with wide eyes.
"Nabiki ... what do we ... I don't ..." He said with real fear in his voice. She knew that his own issues with women being hurt would be so much worse if he was responsible for Riko being hurt, even indirectly. Causing that was something he wouldn't be able to willingly do.
She shook her head slowly as her sense of reality started to shatter. This couldn't ... couldn't be happening, could it? How had it come to this? She looked over at her oldest friend, who was looking at her while trying to be brave, and failing miserably at it. "I think ... I think it's checkmate ... Ranma." She said as she let a tear slip down her cheek. She loved him, but she didn't love him more than everyone else she loved. She couldn't bear the thought of letting Riko suffer, even if that might buy her the freedom to be with him. She hugged herself tightly and tried to control her breathing to keep from passing out with fear. She wouldn't do anyone any good unconscious.
"Of course it's checkmate, children. You're a hundred years too early to take me on. You lost as soon as you decided to do that. It's time for the games to stop. Honestly, when my granddaughter came and told me that you are giving the kiss of death now, and it was time for us to leave, I was almost impressed enough to let you face me before I ended this, but ... not yet. Soon though, I think you'll be worthy. You'll make a fine addition to the strength of our village. But enough is enough, playtime is over. You will obey the law, now. And just so you understand that I am serious, I think a little lesson is in order, so you'll understand the consequences, should you decide to try to defy me again." The Amazon Elder said with steel in her voice .
Shampoo looked up sharply at that and took a hesitant step towards the old woman with surprised panic in her eyes.
The Elder Amazon raised her hand towards Shona and ordered Shona in Chinese to hurt Riko.
"Great grandma, No!" Shampoo said in alarm as she rushed over and grabbed her elder's hand out of the air, as if that could bring back the command.
"No!" Nabiki yelled in terror as she started to sprint towards Riko.
Ranma moved as soon as she did and leaped to stop Shona as well.
Before Shona could move, or Ranma could reach her, something dropped down to the street from the rooftops and landed right where Shona was with speed that was even faster than Ranma's blurred speed. The shock wave of the impact froze everyone in their tracks. A microsecond later the motion zipped back away from the gate, well away from everyone, and solidified into Miso.
The woman who called herself Miso, who had posed as a nurse at school, and who was apparently Tofu's master, stood calmly on the street, still in her nurse's uniform. Riko was swaying on her feet behind Miso, looking dazed.
"You again." Shampoo's great grandmother said without a touch of surprise in her voice.
"Yup, me again. We do seem to keep running into each other, don't we?" Miso said in a sing-song voice as she stood in front of Riko nonchalantly. Riko was breathing heavily and obviously panicked at the near brush she'd had with the Amazons. Her friend hadn't known that the command had been to hurt her, not kill her.
Miso smiled softly at some joke apparently only she had heard and called out a summons, still using her sing-song voice. "Come on out girls. She's safe."
The rest of Nabiki's friends emerged from behind the wall Miso was standing in front of. They practically fell on Riko while hugging her and reassuring themselves that she was all right by touching her.
Nabiki's hope for her family rose slightly. If her friends were safe, maybe her family was as well? Of course, Miso had only promised to protect her friends. She looked at Miso for some sign, but saw nothing as the woman stared down the Amazon Elder.
"Why do you interfere with us? You have no stake in this." Shampoo's great grandmother asked in a genuinely perplexed tone.
"Your name, please." Miso said, ignoring the question.
The elder Amazon stood up to her full diminutive height and replied in a proud tone. "I am the First Elder of Nyucheizu which is the home of the ancient Joketsuzoku clan in the Bayankala mountains from the Qinghai province of China. Now ... who are you?"
Miso shook her head softly and repeated herself. "Your name, please." There was a hard glint in Miso's eyes.
"You may call me Cologne." The Elder Amazon said in a growling voice.
"And you may call me ... Miso." Miso said with a laugh in her voice.
"What's funny?" The Elder Amazon asked.
"If you give me a fake name, I will give you a fake name in return." Miso said with a wink.
"Cologne is ... my ... real ... name." Shampoo's great grandmother bit out the words angrily. Shampoo started to edge away from her elder nervously.
"It is a stupid name." Ranma said under his breath.
"Yup, that's why I never use it." Nabiki replied absently as she studied the situation. Miso had already said she wouldn't fight for them ... had she changed her mind?
"I ask again, what stake do you have in this? Why do you interfere? We have no quarrel with you." The eldest Amazon persisted.
"None, really. Aside from my student's request and my own curiosity ... oh, and I suppose just as a Japanese citizen. You are a hostile force on our land from China, are you not?" Miso said, still using her sing-song voice.
"We are neither here on behalf of China, nor here to threaten your country. This is a family matter between my family and the boy's family. Pure and simple."
"And yet ... you brought a lot of people with you." Miso said with a wink. "You sure it's just a family matter?" Miso asked with a huge grin on her face.
"Yes." The Joketsuzoku elder said coldly.
"Very well then, proceed." Miso said in her normal tone of voice. As the Amazon's First Elder turned to address Shona again, Miso held up a hand and spoke again. "These girls here with me are off limits though." Miso said politely.
Shampoo's great grandmother frowned at that. "I am sure you think you are being noble or something, but you are trying my patience. I don't want to involve you in this, but I will. You don't get to dictate terms to me." The Elder Amazon said coldly. Miso didn't reply to that, she just smiled maddeningly back at the Elder Amazon.
Finally, Miso spoke again while still smiling. "Your overconfidence could be a fatal flaw in your character. I let the girl wander off and watched your people handle her. I have a sense of your strength and numbers. She was good bait for that." Miso said calmly.
"Hey!" Riko protested behind Miso.
Miso turned and winked at her. "Don't go running off if you don't want to be in danger." Miso scolded her before turning back to face the Amazons.
"I don't know who you think you are, but you are making a grave mistake." The Elder Amazon said angrily.
"Do you think she'll help us?" Nabiki leaned in and whispered to Ranma. She was going crazy with worry for her family. Where were they?!
"No, she won't help decide this fight." Tofu's voice said quietly over her shoulder.
She jumped, startled, and spun to face him as she lunged for him and clutched at his collar roughly with trembling fists. Her anger with him and her fear for her family broke the surface of her control. "WHERE IS MY FAMILY?! WHERE ARE THEY?!" She screamed at him hysterically as she lost any sense of control of herself.
He looked at her kindly and smiled. "They're all safe. When the Amazons' heavy hitters arrived and started knocking out the soldiers, captain Maki declared the house a loss and lead a fighting retreat to get everyone out safely while your mercenaries backed them up. We're all out on the street, but everyone is all right. Akane and your father are protecting Kasumi, and Ranma's father and I have come to help end this." Tofu said as he swept his hand behind himself. As if on cue, Genma stepped out into the street from behind a wall. For once, he looked like a proper martial artist, and not the degenerate she knew he was.
"I will fight to help my dear old friend Tendo." He said calmly as he walked forward.
Tears sprang into her eyes and she swallowed hard as she shook with relief to hear that her family was safe. She drew in a long shuddering breath and let her head hang down to rest her chin to her chest for a moment. She felt like she was going to pass out. A moment later she weakly turned back to Ranma and tried to get back to business as best she could. Akane wouldn't quit in the middle of a fight, so she wouldn't either. Tofu and Genma stepped to stand to either side of them and visibly prepared to fight.
"Can you beat her?" She asked Ranma hurriedly under her breath.
"Sure." He said somewhat nervously as he turned to face her.
She looked over his shoulder at the old woman who had beaten him so easily in the past, and shuddered with fear. She couldn't bear to lose him now. Not after everything that had happened between them in the last few days. She leaned into him and whispered to him softly. "My family's safe. I don't care about the house. There's no dishonor in running away to fight another day in the face of a foe you have no hope of defeating. I'll go with you, I can make us disappear. Not even the Amazons could get to us."
He stepped back and looked at her with a mixture of gratitude and sadness. "I can't just ... run away ... I have ta fight. I have ta fight for you, and Akane, and Kasumi, and your dad. I don't want ya ta have ta be afraid no more. And besides, if we ran, they might try to take it out on Akane and them. I can't let them do that." He said with determination.
She reached her hand up and laid in on his cheek tenderly. "Tofu and my Daddy would protect Akane and Kasumi." She said earnestly. "Please, Ranma, let's run away. You don't have to do this."
He smiled sadly at her. "I do, and you know I do." He said softly as he reached up and pulled her hand off his face and squeezed it gently before he let it drop. He straightened up to his full height and smiled at her in a way she could tell was trying to hide his uneasiness. To her his smile looked like the fatalistic determination of a solider marching off to a war they had no hope of winning.
He turned and shouted at the Amazons as he balled his hands into fists and stepped forward. "It's been fun and games in the past, but I'm serious now! I've never lost a fight, you know that, right? Sometimes it takes me a little while to figure out how to win, but I always do. I don't lose. Ever. Go away. Go back to China!" He yelled angrily.
"And as I have already told you, every single one of your special techniques, you learned from me, you fool." The Amazon Elder replied in a tone that most people used for explaining simple things to very thick-headed small children.
"I might surprise ya with what I know. You don't know who you're foolin' with, old woman. This is your last chance. Go away. Go back to China. I'm sick and tired of you and your tribe." He growled.
Cologne stood atop her staff, and sneered at Ranma. "So it's come to this then, has it, Ranma? Well, I guess there's nothing left to say then." The old woman said with derision.
It did not escape her notice that Shampoo's elder was no longer calling him grandson-in-law ... that ... probably wasn't a good sign.
"Can you get Miso to help?" She whispered to Tofu. "Why is she involved if she won't help?" She whispered in frustration.
"I can't explain her, Nabiki. She's a grandmaster of the Art. She does what she wants to do." Tofu said quietly.
"A ... grandmaster?" She whispered in reply.
"Yes. What, did you think China was the only land with ancient secrets and grandmasters of the Art? Japan has its own, and she's one of them. She's here because she wants to be here." Tofu whispered back softly, with a note of pride in his voice.
"How good is s—"
"I wouldn't last a heartbeat against her." Tofu cut her off with a soft smile on his face. "She's better than anyone, literally anyone, I have ever seen who practices the Art." He whispered confidently.
She sucked a trembling breath in and locked her eyes on Tofu's Master, the woman who had introduced herself to her as a simple nurse named Miso. It was amazing what the woman had kept hidden about herself.
At least ... at least Miso promised that she'd protect my friends. That's at least somet—
"Nabiki, you're okay!" Daddy's voice called out behind her, interrupting her thoughts. She spun on her heel and shook again with relief as she saw Daddy step out into the street with Kasumi right behind him and Akane bringing up the rear. Akane looked deadly seriously and was in full battle mode.
Akane looked bruised and dirty, but otherwise fine. She wanted to ask Akane what had happened in her absence, but now wasn't the time. It was enough for her at the moment that everyone was still alive.
"Enough of this! We settle this now!" The elder Joketsuzoku shouted as she hopped down to the street from the wall. Shampoo followed her reluctantly at a distance.
Ranma nodded as he loosened his stance and got ready to fight, a moment later his usual yellow battle aura sprang into life and danced on his skin.
The old woman smiled dismissively at him. "Are you ready? You understand what is at stake here, correct? You had to work very hard to face me unrestrained. It would be a pity if the fight ended before it really even began and you had to face the consequences of your loss so quickly." She taunted him.
"Well, in that case, hang on." Ranma said in a false cheerful voice. Then he leaned back to her and whispered to her. "It's time, Kiki, get the cat out."
"How ... did you know ...?" She asked as she set down the leather satchel she had been carrying around since the morning.
"I can smell 'em." He said quietly without taking his eyes off the old woman.
"You never cease to amaze me, Saotome." She said quietly as she stood up with a cat in her arms. It was purring. She had specifically arranged to borrow this specific cat from the neighbors because it was so mild. At least it wouldn't scratch his face up when it was time. "Ready?" She asked.
"Yup." He said without hesitation. Then he quickly looked back at her and said in a serious tone. "You'll have to hold it in my face until I change. I ... I can't do it myself." He said in an embarrassed voice.
She nodded. "I will do what must be done." She promised. She knew she was echoing the words Akane had said earlier that had so upset her. Today ... she understood her younger sister a little better. Sometimes duty was unavoidable.
"See you when this is over..." He said softly.
"Damn straight you will, Saotome. We have unfinished business." She said with tears in her eyes.
"Do it." He said bravely.
She nodded and brought the cat up to his face with shaking hands as she wrapped her other arm around the back of his neck and pulled him in as the panic took control of him. She had to use every single gram of strength she had, but she was able to hold on long enough until the change overtook him. He made a cat noise and hopped away from her and immediately turned to face the old woman as an enormous battle aura erupted from him.
She held the cat and stroked it softly for a few moments to make up for having held it in his face like that, then she knelt down and let it go without taking her eyes off Ranma. She knew the cat would find its way home to its owners without problem.
Ranma immediately leaped up and threw himself at the Amazon elder in his cat form, and the Amazon answered his attack with blurred motion of her own. Moments later she completely lost track of the fight as they became an indistinguishable blur.
"I'd better go help." Tofu said as he stepped forward.
"Yes, you should." She said coldly without looking at him as Ranma's dad leaped to join the fray.
"No!" Kasumi called out in fear as she rushed over to him and held a hand against his chest to stop him from walking. Tofu smiled at Kasumi. She could see that he was shimmering with a pale white battle aura and he was gathering himself to throw himself into the fight. He started to walk towards the fight. Kasumi grit her teeth and shook her head fiercely.
He looked down at her in confusion. Kasumi couldn't seem to meet his eyes. Her older sister stared straight ahead and seemed to be fighting to keep herself from crying. "You ... you don't have to do this, Doctor. Ranma and his dad can handle her." Kasumi protested.
Tofu tilted his head down to look at Kasumi kindly, but his battle aura did not abate, if anything it was growing stronger by the second.
He put his hands on Kasumi's shoulders and said in his calm and kind voice, just like he was speaking in his clinic on a sunny day. "Yes, I do have to do this, Kasumi."
Kasumi looked up at him with tears threatening to spill from her eyes and whispered. "But why? This isn't your fight. You've ... you've done enough, Doctor."
He shook his head gently at Kasumi. She could see his eyes darting back and forth from Kasumi to the fight. "You're wrong, Kasumi, this is my fight." He slowly started to walk against Kasumi, ever so gently breaking her stance and starting to push past her.
"But why?!" Kasumi asked more strongly. "You've done so much for us. Why do you keep putting yourself in danger for us? It's not right." Kasumi protested.
He paused for a moment as he pushed past her older sister. He looked over to her as he continued to speak with Kasumi. "You remember when Nabiki asked me to get her friends and bring them here? And I said I couldn't? It was because I swore an oath. I promised your mother near the end, that I would watch over you girls. I swore I would die before I let any harm come to any of you. And as long as I draw breath, that is exactly what I will do." He said with steel in his voice.
He squeezed Kasumi's shoulder gently as he softly pushed past her and broke her hold on him. Kasumi had clearly been pressing on him to hold him back as hard as she could, and he had moved past her like she hadn't even been there. Kasumi obviously couldn't think of anything else to say to him as her older sister turned around and watched him enter the fight to back Ranma up against Shampoo's Elder. She silently watched as tears slid down Kasumi's cheeks.
She sympathized with Kasumi, but only to a point. If it came down to it ... she was willing to sacrifice Tofu in favor of Ranma. She knew it was a terribly selfish thing to think, and that it would hurt Kasumi deeply. But she didn't think she would ever be able to forgive Tofu for what he'd done. In her mind, Tofu for Ranma was more than a fair trade.
She shook he head and refocused on the fight. She smiled softly to herself. Ranma was doing very well. The cat-fist wasn't enough to beat the old lady outright, but he was using it effectively enough to essentially hold the fight to a draw. She smiled at that. She knew, absolutely knew, that Ranma would win this fight. She had total faith in him. She knew he had sworn an oath as well, just like Tofu. She shivered as emotions hit her which she didn't fully understand. What she did understand, was that Ranma would rather die than let anything happen to her and her sisters, and Ranma also kept his promises. He also hated to lose. 
She smiled as she tried to watch the fight. It was happening far too fast for her to really follow, but she felt it was her duty to bear witness to it anyway.
Akane made her way over to her then and stood next to her, watching the fight. She was thankful that her little sister had enough sense to not try to help. It was one thing when Ranma was fighting normally. It was another thing entirely when he was only fighting to a stalemate while using the cat-fist and Tofu and Ranma's dad were helping. She glanced over at Kasumi who was still standing a few paces away, where she had tried to stop Tofu. Daddy was standing next to Kasumi now in a fighting stance. It was clear that Daddy wasn't taking any chances with the safety of the family.
"Do you know what's going on?" Akane asked her quietly.
She nodded her head but didn't answer. She kept her eyes on Ranma as she watched him fight.
"Do you know why Doctor Tofu is fighting?" Akane asked.
She nodded again, but still didn't say anything. The only additional answer she gave Akane was to reach down and hold her hand. Akane tensed up at first, then relaxed and squeezed her hand in reply. Nabiki had known that she would understand. Akane was a lot more sensitive than people gave her credit for.
They stood together and watched as the man they both loved fought to the death to protect their family. She glanced hopefully over at Miso a couple of times, but the woman was just standing calmly in front of her friends and watching the battle with a small smile on her face.
Her eyes were torn off Miso when Ranma's dad was knocked clear of the fight a moment later. He crashed head-first into the wall of her family's lands, and lay still. Her hope sank a little at that, but not much. Ranma's dad could fight, but it was really Ranma and Tofu whose fighting skills she had the most faith in.
Another moment later Ranma was knocked clear of the fight and all of the blurring motion stopped as the Old Ghoul stopped moving for a moment and sneered as she prepared her next attack and Tofu paused to catch his breath. Ranma was still in his cat-fist form and he was clearly dazed. He rolled around on the ground and clutched at his gut and whimpered as he fought to regain his feet.
The old woman surged forward much sooner than anyone seemed to be expecting. Nabiki would have screamed but before her fright could even register, Tofu blurred in front of Ranma and deflected the attacks. She saw little wounds blossom to life on Tofu's skin as he shielded Ranma from the weapon strikes the Amazon Elder was raining down. A moment later Tofu managed to knock the old woman back as he also took a strike to his lower leg and sank to his knee for a moment in hissed pain.
The old woman smirked and snapped her fingers. A second later multiple sections of the walls to her family's lands shattered, and row after row of Amazons started to pour through the walls. It was an army!
"Master, please." Tofu called out to Miso as he struggled to his feet and looked at his master with some urgency in his eyes. Miso looked back at him sadly, and shook her head. Then the woman paused, sighed, and raised a finger in the classic wait signal. "All right, Tofu, but you're going to owe me some serious gardening for this." Miso said as the Amazons started marching out.
Nabiki shot a panicked look at Miso. Tofu's master smiled and finally broke character and dropped the nurse persona she'd been using. As she watched, the woman who called herself Miso stood up straighter, and transformed into a grandmaster of the Art. A terrible weight settled into the air, like the bass and air pressure one could feel if one were to stand under a cargo plane landing. 
A fire sprang into Miso's eyes. The substitute nurse started to radiate an absolutely insane amount of power. She didn't have words to properly describe it. The woman's lab coat whipped around on unseen and unfelt winds. She could see the ghostly edges of the woman's battle aura, and it was enormous. Far bigger than anything she had ever seen Happosai, Ranma or Tofu produce, combined. She'd felt it before, but she hadn't seen it. Now that she could see it, she was dumbfounded with the power on display. Last time Miso's aura had felt peaceful. This time though, it didn't feel peaceful. This time ... it felt like death. She felt weaker and heavier just being in the presence of it.
Miso swiveled her heavy gaze over to her and grinned a feral grin as she shot her hands to either side in a protective stance in front of Riko and the rest of her friends. She actually felt the air pressure of the gesture as Miso moved with heavy emphasis. Miso then winked at her as she laughed a heady, almost giddy laugh. There was a certain manic nature about the woman, almost like Miso herself was a force of nature ... or a Goddess.
Miso was powerful, and clearly knew it. A grandmaster of the Art probably rarely got a chance to unleash her full power, and certainly even more rarely to do it in the defense of others. Miso seemed to be enjoying herself.
"I have got to learn how to do that." Riko yelled loud enough that Nabiki can hear her from across the street where she was standing. She smiled at her friend fondly.
"Know this..." Miso said in a soft voice that carried on the wind anyway, like a megaphone was being used. The woman dragged a toe in the dirt of the street and sketched out a rough line in front of herself. "Anyone who crosses this line, intent on harming these girls ... may not live to fight another day." To emphasize her point, Miso flashed a pulse of power from her battle aura. It was incredible, she actually had to take a step back against the force of it.
She swung her eyes around the street and saw everyone else present have to take a step back and steady themselves as well, except for two people, Tofu, and the Joketsuzoku elder.
Shampoo's Great Grandmother was perched on her staff and frowning heavily at Miso. A moment later, two things happened at the same time. The Amazon elder locked eyes with Shona, who stood in the vanguard of the rest of the Amazons, then waved her hand forward towards the Tendos, and her friends. As soon as the Amazon began signaling, Miso flashed a series of hand signs to Tofu who nodded solemnly at his master.
Then all hell broke loose.
Tofu yanked Ranma back to his feet and jumped back into the fight with the old woman as the Amazons surged into battle. Akane reacted with a warrior's strength and speed. Her younger sister pulled her back and hauled her bodily out of the danger zone as Amazons rushed towards them. Daddy stepped in front of Kasumi and started pushing her older sister back away from the fight as well, but on a different angle than the one she and Akane were retreating down.
She risked a glance over at Miso as both Daddy and Akane began fighting with some of the Amazons. Miso was a blur of motion. For the most part the woman was just staying in front of her friends and keeping them safe. More and more of the Amazons were heading towards the fight with Miso. They didn't seem to be able to resist testing themselves against a strong woman.
Miso did blur out towards Akane and Daddy a couple of times, and a few Amazons would drop to the ground when Miso did that, but for the most part, Miso just protected Riko and the others. It was enough though, it was working to keep the Amazons focused on that instead of helping their Elder fight.
The fight continued that way for several minutes. There was a pile of Amazons around Miso now, and small piles in front of Akane and Daddy now as well. Most of the Amazons were crowding around Miso and sending challengers out to Miso one at a time. Miso was indulging them and fighting them like it was simply a tournament challenge. It didn't look like Miso had killed any of them ... yet.
Akane wasn't fighting as loosely. Any Amazon who came within range, Akane lashed out at without mercy. The Amazons who had challenged Akane had gone down with dislocated shoulders, broken jaws, and other fairly serious injuries.
She swept her eyes over to see how Daddy was doing, she hoped he—
Ranma was knocked clear of the fight again and went sailing across the street to crash into the wall near where his father had landed. The old woman jumped after him, hot on his heels and raised her staff to strike. Something was wrong, she could tell just by the look at Ranma's eyes that he was back in his right frame of mind. The cat fist was gone!
Ranma winced away from the strike. He seemed to be struggling to move his body. He closed his eyes as the staff whistled towards his head. She opened her mouth to scream, but stopped when Tofu again blurred in front of Ranma and shielded him. The older martial artist caught the old woman's staff arm on his own rising block, then he whipped his hand up and almost managed to get the staff out of the woman's grasp. The Amazon elder was forced to hop back and disengage from the fight in order to keep it.
As soon as the Joketsuzoku elder was out of Range, Tofu reached down and yanked Ranma to his feet by the back of his shirt. He held Ranma up and slapped Ranma's back in various places with his palm and finger tips. Ranma twitched as Tofu rapidly hit pressure points on his body.
A moment later something seemed to unlock in Ranma and he seemed to regain full control of his body again.
Ranma smiled tightly to Tofu as he turned to face the Elder Amazon again and shouted at her. "That was a dirty trick!"
"This is a street fight, you fool." Was all the Amazon Elder said. Whatever the Amazon had done to him had not only knocked the cat right out of him, but it seemed to have also temporarily paralyzed him. If Tofu hadn't been present, it could have been bad.
The Amazon Elder darted to the side of the street and knocked a huge chunk of concrete from a wall into the air then she jumped up and hit it back down to the ground aimed at Ranma like she was hitting a volley ball.
Ranma smirked and jumped up and shattered the concrete with a rising punch. Pieces of it went flying in every direction.
Nabiki ducked to avoid some of the larger pieces that came flying her way.
"Ranma, be careful!" Tofu called out as he brushed himself off from having dived to the ground to avoid the debris himself.
Ranma looked back at him and nodded.
"That was a close one, huh Akane?" She said as she brought her eyes back down from the fight to glance at Akane. But Akane wasn't there.
She looked around in a panic, and found Akane on the ground a moment later. Her little sister was slowly rising to her knees and shaking her head to clear it. Nabiki could see a bump forming on the left side of Akane's head.
"Akane, are you—"
"I'll never give up! NEVER!" Ranma yelled, pulling her attention back to the fight. Ranma was wiping blood away from a cut in the corner of his mouth. He spat to the side and winced. She could see that it was red. He clenched his fists and took a step towards the Elder Amazon, and in front of her and Akane. "You'll have ta kill me to get to any of 'em!" Ranma yelled.
"That is the general idea." Shampoo's great grandmother mocked.
The old woman stepped back and began to do something with her hands. It was obvious the Elder Amazon was focusing her battle aura to do something. Whatever it was, it was making the hair on the back of her neck stand straight up.
"Oh no you don't!" Ranma yelled as he launched himself at the elder Joketsuzoku. He was no longer able to use his cat-fist, he was just fighting normally now.
"Oh no." Nabiki muttered to herself. Even she could see the situation was getting bad.
Nabiki was absolutely rooted to the ground. She wanted to cheer for Ranma, but she was terrified of distracting him. Even with her limited training, she could tell that the old lady was out for blood just by looking at her. She didn't think the old lady would have stopped the fight and left in peace at this point even if Ranma had stopped and surrendered and promised to marry Shampoo on the spot.
"Ranma, wait!" Doctor Tofu yelled as he pulled himself up to his feet and started to run towards them.
The old lady was glowing so strongly now, that it hurt her eyes to look at her. Cologne was cupping her hands and muttering something as Ranma and Doctor Tofu ran towards her.
"Nabiki!" She heard Daddy yell in a panicked voice to her left. She tore her eyes from Ranma for a moment and saw Daddy looking at her with fear in his eyes. He was still standing in front of Kasumi.
It dawned on Nabiki as her eyes darted back to the old woman, then back to Daddy's terror stricken eyes, that the old lady was about to do something ... bad. Even if Daddy tried to pull Kasumi with him to get to her, it would put Kasumi at risk, and he'd never reach her in time. She put the hardest glare she could into her eyes in the fraction of a second she had left and shook her head no.
Daddy wailed her name but nodded and turned so he was fully in front of Kasumi. The glow from the old lady changed from a pulsating dull glow to an intense, blinding red. The very air was alive with electricity. Daddy was now glowing with a powerful battle aura of his own. He was always strongest when he was protecting his girls. She could see that his body was shuddering though. She knew he was crying.
She could feel the raw power in the air as the Amazon Elder let loose with whatever attack she'd been building up and she felt the deep bass of the shock wave head her way. 
She looked over at Ranma sadly and fixed him in her mind as the last thing she would ever see as she closed her eyes and whispered, "Ranma ... I'm so sorry..."
She braced herself for the impact. With the wall behind her and the fight in front of her, she had nowhere to go.
She felt an incredible power surge in front of her a split second before she felt an enormous and cold shock wave tear all around her and impact the walls surrounding the street in every direction. Somehow ... she was still alive.
"HANG ON, NABIKI!" Akane's voice sounded in front of her. She cracked opened her eyes ... and there she was, her little sister, once again standing in front of her with her arms spread wide, protecting her. Akane was shielding her from the terrible energy being unleashed by the battle in the street, even as her little sister was pushed back from the crackling force of it. Akane had been the source of the power she had felt. Her little sister had saved her life, again. Akane was a credit to the Tendo line of Martial Artists. Akane deserved to end up with Ranma.
She couldn't even see what was going on in the fight anymore, they were moving so fast, and the energy glow from their unrestrained power was just too bright. Akane was glowing too. It was a bright white, stronger than she had ever seen Akane make before. Usually Akane's auras were red.
She could see that Akane was suffering to protect her. She didn't think Akane would last much longer.
"Akane ... no! Save yourself!" Nabiki yelled frantically to her little sister as she reached up to Akane's shoulder and pulled hard to try to move Akane out of the way, but Akane reached back and slapped her hand away, much harder.
"I WILL NOT! I WON'T ALLOW IT! I WON'T LOSE YOU TOO!" Akane screamed in a shaking, sobbing voice.