Gaia's Awakening --- " " are speaking ' ' are quotes { } are thoughts * * are sounds --- Chapter 4 --- "Civa..." said Ma Yuan, frowning. "Good to see you didn't forgot me after the past 50 years or so, God slayer. You didn't seriously think that I died in my own technique." Civa replied with venom in his voice. "A old man could always hope. I suppose you came here for a rematch?" "A REMATCH?! I came to take your life. You killed nearly all the Gods, including mine. Now it's time for me to avenge them. PREPARE TO DIIEEE!!!" shouted Civa while rushing Ma Yuan, powering up to the first seal. --- "Remind me of someone these two..." commented Akane dryly. "Shudup!" came the dual answer from Ranma and Ryoga. --- "Some Gods they turned out to be. While the humans where suffering, your so called 'Gods' where living like kings. Why do you think that so much of the future Gods joined me instead of them?" said Ma Yuan while defending himself against Civa's onslaught. "That was the way things were for several millennia. You didn't have the right to change it!" shouted Civa, continuing to power up, reaching the second seal, and outgrowing his clothes. "Humans didn't need no Gods. They needed help. And me and my followers gave them what they needed." Ma Yuan defended himself, both in words and fight, following Civa's power up. "You think your dictatorship is better than the fear of a God's wrath maybe?" Both fighter aura were increasing dangerously, largely going past the power of the second seal. "Of course! They know I'll protect them, not punish them." "I have seen enough of you. Die!" screamed Civa. --- "Oh my God! They are still powering up!" said Ryoga. "I can't believe it. How can someone be THAT much powerful?" Akane asked herself. "Aiya! They are going to break legendary third seal!" shouted Shampoo!" "The WHAT?" asked Ranma and Ryoga in unison. --- And break the third seal they did. The two titans' bodies grown once more, up to the double of their normal height, their eyes turned all green and started to flare, while their hair and flesh turn entirely white, emitting a pale light similar to the Gaia's amber own luminescence. The battle, nowhere near it's end, was pushed to a whole new level. Each opponent throwing blow or chi blast able to destroy the whole building without breaking a sweat. The Amazon Elite Group put some more space between them and the fight. The fight seemed endless, but finally, the two men started to weaken, their chi reserve starting to deplete itself. --- "It seems, dear Civa, that there won't be any winner any time soon." Ma Yuan informed his enemy. "Talk about yourself, I still have my Armageddon." "WHAT? Don't you remember what happened last time you used it? You want to destroy the whole earth or what?" "I don't care! I want you dead!" shouted Civa, starting to gather his remaining chi. "NO! Stop it, damn fool!!" screamed Ma Yuan, increasing his speed to disrupt Civa's focus. "You won't be able to stop me. You couldn't last time!" warned Civa before teleporting. "Damn!!" shouted Ma Yuan before teleporting away too. --- "They are not far, I can still sense them." Said Akane to the group. "If I must die today, then I want to see the end of this fight!" Ryoga warned the others. "I'm with you, pal!" Ranma added. The group took the airs and flew into the sky, looking for the god- like battle still unfinished. --- "Where are you! I thought you wanted to kill me? Show your face! CIVA!!" shouted Ma Yuan, looking for his enemy. "I merely waited to be ready. Now I am. Prepare to meet all the god you killed, Godslayer!!!" answered the madman, rushing from upward in the sky to meet his mortal foe, his whole body flaring power. "Look like I don't have the choice. I must kill him before he complete his move!" muttered Ma Yuan while rushing toward Civa. The two collided with so much force that the air pressure alone was enough to cause an earthquake. That was THEN that the end of the world started. The Armageddon was activated. Civa's body exploded outward, throwing Ma Yuan across the city and destroying a lot of buildings in the process. The only thing saving Ranma and the others was them running, of rather, flying away. The blast drilled its way on the ground, caving it like it wasn't even there. The earthquake doubled in intensity. The sky covered in dark clouds and lighting bolts started to light the now black sky. When the blast died down, of Civa there was no trace. The effects of the blast didn't die down but increased in their destruction all around. After a period that looked like hours, a small white figure came back from the other side of the city. Not knowing what to do, the Amazon Elite Group, probably the only survivors of this nasty day, went to meet the weakened tyrant. --- "Damn! Damn! DAMN THIS FOOL!!" shouted Ma Yuan to the sky, his transformations gone. "He just HAD to do it, damn it." He was nonetheless surprised when he saw the young Amazons flying toward him. "Hey! I see that you failed to die. Good!" he greeted them. "DO you know what's happening? Is it the effect of this Armageddon tech that Civa used?" Ranma asked the old man. "the Armageddon only isn't enough to cause this. The problem is that the planet hadn't the time to properly heal the last Armageddon's effect from 50 years ago." Ma Yuan explained them. "WHAT? 50 years not enough?" asked Ryoga. "That's what I'm telling you. What do you thing caused that much damage on the planet 50 years ago? This is just the start of the technique in fact. Its power disrupt the earth's flow of chi and cause great damage to all the ecosystem." "Isn't there anything we can do to prevent it?" Akane asked him. "Maybe if I was at full force I could do something, but there is no one strong enough. I fear that this fool won in the end. I'm gonna die in the planet's explosion." Ma Yuan lamented. "What da'ya mean, planet's explosion?" Ranma exclaimed, losing his grammar. "Exactly what it mean. The planet is going to die, and all of us with it." "Wait. You said that if you were at full power, you could stop it?" Akane asked at her turn. "Maybe. But that's not possible, I'm too weak now. Hell, even you could beat me now." "Then we may have a solution." Ranma informed the tyrant. "Explain." Was all that Ma Yuan replied, his face now dead serious. Ranma picked something small from one of his pants pocket. "Eat this. It's a plant we cultivate with some amber to help the growth. It'll give you back your full power. You'll be able to save the planet with this." Ranma obediently explained. "You're trusting me with the planet's fate after you tried to kill me? Why?" asked them the old man, bewildered. "We just don't have a choice. You're the only one powerful enough to do what's needed to do." Said Ryoga. "Well. I don't know what'll happen to me, but you got my thanks for this, children." Said Ma Yuan just before eating the small pea. His power full back, he rocketed to the ground, powering up to his third seal level, his aura growing more and more. The Amazon teens followed him but they were not fast enough to keep the pace. When they got close enough, they saw the old man's body getting more and more translucent as he focused his chi in the earth, repairing the planet's chi flows before they got totally destroyed by the terrible power of the Armageddon. Long before they could get to him, Ma Yuan's body finished to disappear in the ground without even a mark to prove his existence. Ma Yuan, the god slayer, the tyrant, the auto proclaimed world master, was no more. Their primary goal was accomplished. But the price paid what much more than what they ever were ready to pay. Having nothing more to do in this desolated landscape, the Amazons started their way back to their home, not even having the bodies of their fallen friends to bring back and honor like they deserved. --- Not far in the sky, if someone was there to look closely, they could see some strange vortex forming, some white, some black, like tears in the fabric of our world. And if you looked long enough, you'd have seen dark figures exiting the black vortex. Figures with black membranous wings, horns and claws. You'd have seen Demons. --- End of chapter 4 Next chapter : demonic invasion. No peace for the braves. --- Author's Notes : Argh... One more whole month without writing... Starting a new job can do that to a writer... Gaia's revision is coming nicely I think, a great deal of mistakes are being deal with. I'm still writing Reincarnation chapter 2 and I hope I'll be able to post is soon, at least as a first draft... Oh, and I'm still looking for prereaders... ;) My Ranma/SM xover (still untitled) is coming by nicely too... I did one more scene that I may post until next week... Coming back to Gaia, I think I'll plan a couple more stories into the same universe but they will be alternate universe of the main one, like this, I'll be able to use Ranma characters again even if the present characters will still be present somewhere into the Gaia's world, but much older than now (well, some will still be there, and some won't be...) This couple stories will crossover each other several times since they'll be into the same timeline... I don't know yet which Ranma cast character I'm gonna use... I already picked up Shampoo & Ranma for one of the stories, but I'm not sure for the other one (each story will have only 2 main characters). These stories characters will be of others breed than the basic waken/mutant... Ranma will be a Geomancer (sort of a powered up Hokuto no Ken ^_^) and Shampoo will be a Black WerePanther... The other story will have an Angel (or Psycker) and a Dark Angel (or Psychic Warrior)... It will deal too with super power ups that warriors can get when they can get their hand onto it... There will be 2 types of super power ups : Dragon Hearts (look a lot like the PSX game 'Legend of Dragoons') and the Elemental Swords (like the anime 'Elementalors'). Maybe I'll use the Sailor Scouts for some Elemental Swordmasters... I dunno yet ;) Well, see ya all, and send me lots of C&C :) Vampyr666 ICQ : #2971440 Email : Vampyr3@wanadoo.fr http://www.chez.com/vampyr666