Chapter III: Darkened Skies

Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts knew something was wrong the moment he got home. Everything was to quiet, too still. There was a chill in the air, a dark feeling that made his skin crawl. And when he saw the door of the dojo hanging wide open, a horrible gut instinct told him he should’ve gotten here sooner.

Instantly regretting his weekly fight with Ryoga, Ranma charged through the door, his fighter’s mind quickly noting the disturbed gravel and shredded bushes. Also terribly aware of how dark it looked inside as well as out, he ran into the house, calling out almost frantically.

"Pop! Kasumi! Nabiki!"

Ranma got no real answer as he ran from room to room, seeing the same scene over and over again. Tables overturned, chairs and beds in tatters, whole walls blasted through. But, no matter where he looked, there was not a single sign of life.

"AKANE!"

"Ranma!"

Ranma jerked with surprise and spun around to see Akane emerge from a hall closet, a frying pan in hand. She had several bruises and her shirt was torn. Ranma’s eyes widened as he realized what had happened; someone, or something, had attacked the house and Akane had…hidden in a closet. Ranma sucked in a quick breath, knowing full well that Akane would never hide from anything, especially if it was threatening her family.

Akane was able to see the disbelief on Ranma’s face, the shock, and it renewed her own fear. That, combined with the relief that overcame her senses upon seeing Ranma, she sank to her knees, trembling.

Instantly, Ranma was at her side, putting his arms around her shoulders to comfort her.

"What happened Akane? Where is everybody?"

"All gone," she whispered and Ranma was utterly surprised as he felt hot tears on his arm. "I tried to stop them; we all did, but nothing worked. Not even your dad…the secret techniques…"

Ranma fought off his rising panic. Akane needed him to be strong right now.

"I couldn’t stop worrying about you, Ranma," she continued, looking up at him with wide, glistening eyes. "They were heading in your direction. After…after they got dad, Nabiki pushed me in the closet. She told me to stay there and wait for you. I stayed and after a while things got quiet…Oh, Ranma, I’m so scared."

She buried her face in his arms, her tears wetting his shirt. Ranma took several deep breaths, trying to absorb it all. Akane had said they’d been moving towards him, so why hadn’t he and Ryoga encountered them? That question only puzzled Ranma a moment; he and Ryoga had been all over the place, so maybe they had just missed them. And what about these things had made them so hard to beat? If his Pop had really used the Forbidden Techniques, then he should’ve been able to stop them.

"Akane, what where these things like?" He asked gently, "Can you tell me anything?"

"Like shadows," she answered, her voice hushed, "With glowing…green…eyes…"

She trailed off and grabbed Ranma’s arm, her fingers tight enough to bruise. She stared down the hall with open fear. Ranma followed her gaze and saw them; they were like shadows, like shades, with razor thin bodies and long, whip-like antennae running behind slanted green eyes. They stalked towards them, their short claws scraping on the hardwood floor.

Ranma stood, lifting Akane beside him.

"Can you run?"

Akane nodded, her courage returned now that Ranma was here.

"When I tell you, I want you to run and get out to the street. Head for either Kuno or Shampoo’s place; you should be safe there."

"What about you?" Her voice was shaky and she refused to let go of his arm.

"I’m gonna see just how indestructible these things are."

"You can’t!" She exclaimed, scared and defiant at the same time. "You can’t fight them alone!"

Ranma’s small, determined smile stopped her protests.

"I have to. I don’t want you in anymore danger. Now, GO!"

He thrust Akane behind him and leaped at the creatures, spinning to bring both hands and feet to bear. He connected with what felt like soft ice, incredibly cold and giving. His fist began to actually sink into the thing and he felt his fingers go numb. He jerked back and kicked hard, sending the creature into the opposite wall.

But it managed to flip over midair and kickoff from the wall, coming back at him with double force. The arch of its head hit Ranma in the chin, snapping his head back painfully. He countered with a backhand, flinging the creature from him. Ranma regained his balance, forcing himself to relax into a fighter’s stance.

"I won’t let you win," he declared in a low voice. "Not after what you did to my family!"

Ranma’s hands came together, palms cupping a growing ball of flame-red chi. This wasn’t any well-practiced technique, only every bit of energy he could throw at the monsters. He had the feeling that if he tried anything less he was done for.

"I don’t know what you things are," he said, fiery light shinning through his fingers, "But I don’t think you’ll be able to survive this!"

Ranma’s hands came forward, unleashing a massive blast that tore away the walls and ground through the floor. The dozen creatures turned and ran, but weren’t quite fast enough. They were consumed by the light, their bodies dissolving in bursts of dark smoke. Ranma thought he saw two conjoined diamonds, faintly bluegreen in color and glowing, emerge from the darkness, but his vision clouded over before he could get a better look.

He fell to his knees, shaking with exhaustion. He did manage a weak, satisfied smile as he looked down the devastated hallway.

"That’ll teach ya," he panted, struggling to his feet.

"Ranma! Look out!"

He snapped around as another of the creatures jumped at his face, claws extended. It didn’t get very far, though, as Akane rammed the frying pan down on its head, smashing it into the floor. She grabbed Ranma’s hand and dragged him after her, running for the front door. They reached the street and pointed to the sky.

"I told you!" She yelled desperately, pointing to the sky. "You can’t fight them! They come from the dark! Look!"

Ranma did and his eyes widened. He stumbled, his legs suddenly like jelly. A great curtain of darkness was traveling across the sky and a wall of pure black was eating up everything else. As Ranma watched chunks of earth and cement were ripped upwards and sucked into the void. At the same time the curtain was consuming the sun and, all at once, the light went out.

Ranma felt a sudden jerk on his arm and Akane’s hand was torn away.

"Ranma, help me!"

Akane was sinking into a pool of darkness; a pool with many green, glowing eyes.

"Akane!"

Ranma dove for the pool, locking hands with Akane and heaved upwards with all his might. But no matter how hard he tried she was steadily being absorbed by the darkness.

"Ranma…" she whispered, the smile on her face that of a person who had known all along they were not going to make it.

Her face disappeared beneath the surface.

Ranma clenched his teeth, grasping her hands even more firmly.

"No! I won’t let you go!"

Her hands went into the dark, taking his with them. A chill instantly spread down his body and his teeth began to chatter. Against his will Ranma was dragged forward and his chest touched the surface of the pool, changing the chill into a stabbing cold. Ranma gasped from the pain, but refused to let go.

"I won’t let you take her! I WON’T LET YOU WIN!"

And short, needle-sharp claws plunged into his chest, ripping and tearing at something that wasn’t flesh. Akane’s fingers slipped from his hands and he was blown upwards, the wall of darkness sweeping in behind him. Ranma was pulled into the void, hands tight over a spot on the center of his chest where a shinning blue light was pulsing, exposed and in great pain.

The black swallowed him and all was suddenly silent, still; there was no more wind, there was no more destruction. Everything was quiet and empty and Ranma gasped in the dark, overwhelmed by the ache in his chest.

But he did see, an almost immeasurable distance away, another light, pale gold, pulsing in time with his own.

******

It began simply enough; storm clouds started rolling in at about noon and by the time Yugi Mutou got home from school the sky was almost a solid wall of near black. He couldn’t imagine the kind of storm that would come out of those clouds; and the temperature was dropping rapidly, causing his breath to come out in while puffs. He didn’t like the wind that was starting either; is had a hollow sound to it, sounding almost empty as is whistled between the buildings.

So he was very relieved when he entered the Kame Game store, his shoulder’s relaxing from their tensed-up state while he breathed a gentle sigh. He even managed a smile as the door shut behind him.

Are you alright, aibou?

I’m fine, Yugi responded to the silent query, It’s just that I’ve never seen such violent-looking clouds before and with Grandpa gone for the week—

There was a brief flash of light and his dark counterpart emerged beside him. Yami looked as cool and collected as always, but inwardly the ancient spirit was worried; he’d never experienced storms of this nature before, either (excluding a few sandstorms in Egypt that had been so terrible that the inscriptions had been worn off the columns). But there was more to it than just the weather. Something ominous hung in the air; something heavy and cold and…quiet. A terrible power brushed his own, but he couldn’t locate it and he didn’t know what to do.

But he would comfort Yugi, just the same.

"I’m sure we can face whatever comes," Yami stated confidently, "We always have."

"You’re right," Yugi replied, smiling more brightly. "I shouldn’t worry so much. Look’s like we can close the store early, so how about a game?"

Yami raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure you know what you are getting into, Yugi?"

The answer was cheerful as the younger boy reached in his backpack for his Duel Monsters cards.

"Of course. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t."

Thus a heated Duel began and time flew, neither Duelist noticing the sky outside getting darker and darker.

Nearly two hours later, the action had come to a standstill, Yugi’s Black Skull Dragon facing Yami’s powered up Black Luster Soldier.

"Yugi, are you sure it was alright for us to use the other’s cards?" Yami asked, looking up from the counter. "I mean, they only asked you to take care of them."

"Aw, they won’t mind," Yugi replied, "Besides, they don’t know we’re using them."

Yami smiled. "Well Yugi, you’ve certainly…gotten…"

He trailed off, red/violet eyes widening. He began to tremble, the cards falling from his hands.

"It’s coming," he whispered, feeling intense pressure on his magic and the very fabric of the world. "The…dark."

Yami leaped out of his seat, dashing for the door. Yugi clamored after him, instinctively stuffing the cards into his backpack and taking it with him. He joined Yami on the street, gaping up at the void the sky had become.

There was no light, none at all, and the surface of the blackness rolled and thrashed, a power barely contained. A frigid wind howled through the streets and there was not a person to be seen. Everything but the wind was eerily silent and Yami felt to the core of his being that it was already too late.

"Yugi, we’re going to have to run. Be ready."

Yugi moved closer to him, backpack clutched tightly.

"But Yami, what is it?"

Yami’s fierce eyes narrowed and a hand traveled to his chest, where a dull ache had begun.

"Darkness."

As soon as he said it the sky burst forth, raining down shadows upon the city. Everything the black rain touched was consumed, leaving only emptiness and an increased cold. The storm was dense, fast, and unstoppable and all around them the world was quickly lost in the growing, silent void.

"Yami! Behind you!"

Yugi shoved Yami out of the way as a creature, born of the black rain, lunged at them. Yami hit the ground and the shadow pounced on Yugi. It was only slightly bigger than he was, but it managed to throw Yugi over its shoulder and dashed away, claws making a high-pitched clicking noise against the cement. Its destination appeared out of thin air; a large, rippling surface that produced dim reflections and had many glowing, green eyes.

Yami ran after them, knowing more than anything that he had to keep Yugi from going through that mirror-like door, had to keep him in the rapidly fading light. It was a race between Yami and the creature; a race to the dark.

Yami lost.

The shadow and Yugi disappeared into the mirror, the boy managing one last cry.

"No, Yami! Don’t follow us!"

Yami continued, regardless and reached the event horizon of the door and made to jump through, but was pushed forcefully back as three more of the monsters came out of the mirror. He skidded to a halt and sought into the Shadow Realm, putting everything he had into capturing and destroying the monsters. The ancient magic reached inside and found…nothing, absolutely nothing.

Yami sucked in a breath his false body didn’t need and put his fists up.

"These things have no soul!"

Yami began to throw a punch, but the creatures were far too fast for him and he was tackle to the ground, two pinning his arms and the third jumping on his stomach. Its green eyes narrowed and it sank tiny, ice-cold claws into his chest.

At Yami’s scream they vaulted off him and into the mirror, which disappeared with a dark flash. He to stumble to his feet, but immediately fell into the void that had completely surrounded him by then. All sensation instantly disappeared, the cold numbing his entire body. But the pain in his chest continued, a pale gold light pulsing at the sight of the wound. Yami’s vision glazed over and for what seemed like a long time he knew no more.

What felt like an eternity later Yami became aware of more than the soul-deep ache that throbbed throughout his entire body. He was drifting in the dark, amid only quiet and terrible cold. But floating nearby was a battered lump and he watched it as it came slowly closer.

He grabbed it once it was within reach and found it to be Yugi’s backpack, straps torn but mainly intact. He pulled it close and drew in a shuddering breath, his eyes squeezed shut. When he opened them they glistened, but he refused to let it come to that.

Yami would not give up.

Determined, he looked around again and saw, very far away, a dimly shinning blue light, pulsing faintly, its rhythm the same as his own.

One hand clutching Yugi’s backpack, the other tight over his fading light, Yami weighed his options. Then, coming to a decision, he strained for that other light, hoping for a way out.

Yami may have been fooling himself, but the blue light seemed to do the same.

******