A Long Journey

Ranma was just drifting on the edge of consciousness when he realized the background noises he was hearing were actually voices. It was too much work to tune them out so he simply let them flow over him.

"Well, you look like you were in quite a battle. Did the mortal put up much resistance?" asked a deep almost animalistic, growling voice.

"Yeah...nothing I couldn't handle. Are you sure he's just a human? I don't remember those kind of mortals demonstrating that level of power," the voice Ranma identified as Ammit reverberated within his mind.

"Thoth assured me it was so. If the God of Wisdom says he's human, then he's human. How did he put up such a fight against you?"

"It was odd. I couldn't lay a paw on him, or when I did he just literally bounced back, he seems very resistant against normal attacks. He went down fairly easily once I started to show him the true power of a god. I admit that if I hadn't been so furious I would have just sat back and used psionics, which were very effective by the way."

"From the burns it looks like you called upon Hellfire. Hmm, if he is defeated too easily by psionics it could be a problem."

"Well…let's say he's only a little more resistant than a normal human in that area. He'll do better than I first thought in our mission," the voice grudgingly admitted. "He may even survive. He withstood four or five direct strikes of my fire before going down."

"He better survive, Thoth has an important mission for him after yours is complete."

"Bah, Thoth is an oblivious scholarly fool."

"Be wary with your tongue, he may be ridiculously absentminded, but no one in their right mind crosses him without excellent reason. He has forgotten more arcane lore than the remaining pantheon is even aware existed."

"His loyalties lie with the Gods of Light, it will inevitably lead to conflict with us."

"Thoth is perfectly aware of our loyalties, he has excellent relations with the Darker elements of our pantheon. Set himself has an acceptable relationship with him. As long as open hostilities don't break out we can be assured of Thoth's neutrality."

"Hmmph," Ammit grunted unconvinced.

"Look at it this way, he discovered the human. If he hadn't felt generous, neither you nor I would be aware of him and our plans would have a much smaller chance of success."

"I'm sure he did it from the goodness of his heart," Ammit sneered.

"I am aware of some of his purpose for the human. I am not at liberty to say more but I find no fault with them. You came to me for aid, now be quiet and accept it." The voice said in a low growl, obviously losing patience.

"Fine, the human is your pet, you coddle him. I'm going to go and kill something, call me when we're ready to start," Ammit stated in disgust. True the human was more than he had initially expected, but he was still merely a human. Having to think of it as more left a bad taste in mouth. Spitting in distaste he opened a portal to his own realm and ambled through it.

There was a moment of silence and the deep voice continued, "You can open your eyes now. I can tell you're awake, though your aura control is admirable. You will not be harmed. Ammit was...over enthusiastic with his invitation."

Ranma carefully opened his eyes bracing himself for battle if necessary. He noticed he was in a huge chamber, it's ceiling well over 50 feet above him, it and the room he could see was constructed of solid polished grey marble. If Ranma had been better educated he would have noticed a subtle, almost Egyptian motif in the design and decorative carvings about him. All this didn't really register, he was busy being faced with something straight from his darkest nightmares.

Standing before him was a giant man, at least eighteen feet tall. It wasn't his size that aroused Ranma's horror, it was the fact the man possessed the head of a lion.

"C-Cat!!!" he screamed in terror, immediately running in the opposite direction as fast as his legs would take him.

The lion headed god watched his rapidly retreating champion more than slightly nonplussed. He had struck terror into many a mortal, but considering the bravery this human had shown in previous battles this was really the last thing he had expected. The fact that the mortal was creating humanoid shaped holes in the stone walls merely added to his puzzlement. A quiet chuckling sound behind him jerked him from his bemused contemplation.

"Greetings, Anhur. Ah, the neko-ken. I never thought I'd see that again. Then again only an idiot would try to teach that technique to someone. It certainly wouldn't be a worshipper of mine," a voice stated.

"Thoth," Anhur acknowledged his fellow deity's presence, still gazing after the human. "The neko-ken? I've heard of it. I'm afraid many of my followers aren't nearly as wise as yours. Several of my more misguided people have tried learning the technique. Although this is the first person I've actually seen to survive the training. I think it needs a little fine tuning."

"The training requires a large amount of ability to channel one's spiritual abilities. This combined with the extreme youth needed for the training leads to a very large number of fatalities. I've done a little research on the issue, only a handful have ever survived to training. One ascended to godhood in an obscure pantheon, one achieved demi-god status before his violent death. All have been ferocious warriors."

"If you knew, why didn't you tell me. I wouldn't have greeted him in my Primal Manifestation," Anhur asked, afraid he already knew the answer.

"It slipped my mind, I suppose I was thinking of something else," Thoth stated blandly, if truthfully, not really apologizing.

"Of course, and that curse of his? I was expecting a female," Anhur sighed in exasperation.

"Eh? What about the curse? It just makes him a better candidate. In a highly magical environment such as our home plane here, Dyval, or Rifts Earth it will give him the stamina, strength, and durability of a creature of magic. Despite this he's still as hard to perceive as a normal mortal. I think he can improve this by suppressing his aura as well. He really is quite the perfect candidate for both our purposes."

"Do you know how to get him out of the neko-ken? I've never dealt with a survivor before," the lion headed deity asked the God of Wisdom.

"From what I've found out about our friend Ranma, a sudden shock will work. Unless you want a protracted battle I suggest taking his bracers off and dousing him with cold water. Anyway that may not be a problem. Since he successfully left your presence he shouldn't be fully under the neko-ken."

"Thoth, many of my servants are of the Ramen race. By now he has no doubt met several. If being surrounding by humanoid cats doesn't drive him fully under the neko-ken influence, I can't imagine what will."

"It's really very ironic," Thoth said in a contemplative tone.

"No. What's ironic is that Ammit's mission is for Abdul-Ra. I don't think Ranma needs to know his mission is sponsored by the Lord of the Raksasha."

"He's a nice fellow for a Demon Lord, I've met him a few times. Very polite," Thoth said good naturedly.

Anhur looked sideways at the Lord of Knowledge. Only a fool would antagonize Thoth, besides most entities curried his favor. Thoth could provide incredible magics and artifacts if he chose to. Fortunately, he was wary of placing too much power in unreliable hands.

"Whatever, let's go find our champion. Maybe he's in a tree," Anhur said, while walking off towards the hole in the wall. He doubted it, there wasn't a tree for miles.

Several unpleasant minutes later Anhur stood holding a wildly scratching Ranma by the neck, at arm's length. Around him lay a pile of unconscious feline servants. Anhur himself had metamorphosed into merely an eighteen foot tall human. He had managed to grab one bracer and yank it off his erstwhile champion. Presently he was trying to grab the other arms. The claws of chi and wind-milling blur of arms made this a challenge. Off to the side Thoth stood with a huge gold inlayed bucket of cold water. He looked distracted as if he had other things on his mind than the skirmish taking place before him.

Anhur now knew how Ammit had felt. He was covered in long bloody gashes. He was not seriously injured, and his wounds were healing only slightly slower than they were inflicted, but it was a frustrating battle. He knew he had been fortunate to grab Ranma early in the conflict. From the speed he'd demonstrated he doubted he would have been able to lay a finger on him if he hadn't. The human also exhibited incredible strength, the god was still significantly more powerful, but Anhur was still impressed that a human, un-augmented by magic or science was strong enough to match many of the weaker deities he knew. He was also slightly concerned, unlike Ammit he didn't have access to the disabling psionics he had used. Thoth did, of course, but his mind was obviously elsewhere. He could call on his deific powers as Ammit had earlier, but he needed Ranma in one piece, especially with Thoth right there watching…well sort of watching.

As the God of War of the Pantheon of Taut he would have been enjoying himself if he had been sparring with his champion in the normal manner. This clawing at each other lacked dignity. Anhur finally grasped the other arm, and after struggling a little for the correct grip, pulled the other bracer off. He then looked expectantly at his fellow god. He was thoroughly ignored.

"Thoth! Hey Thoth! Pay attention, I need that water now," Anhur shouted loudly.

"Eh? Oh! Sorry, I was just think of a new spell. It was actually very interesting, involving a combination of opposing..." Thoth rambled on, still distracted by his musings.

"Thoth! The water! Now!" Anhur bellowed.

Finally bringing his full attention to his surrounding, Thoth nodded, and poured the water over the still attacking human. As the human stopped struggling, Anhur put down the wet, bedraggled, and very female Ranma-chan.

Ranma-chan came back to consciousness, standing at the intersection of a huge stone corridor. Furry bodies littered the floor around her. Fortunately for her sanity she didn't pay any attention to that. Her attention was riveted to the two enormous creatures in front of her. One was an eighteen foot tall man dressed in a golden b.r.e.a.s.t plate. He had deep cuts on his arms that were visibly healing as she watched. The other was odder still, an equally tall humanoid with the head of a bird (ibis). It wore a beautifully decorated robe, a staff in one hand and a golden bucket in the other. It was hard to tell, but its eyes seemed to be focused elsewhere.

"Again I greet you. I am Anhur, God of the Pantheon of Taut. This is Thoth, known as the God of Wisdom. We have brought you here because we have need of your services. If we can come to an agreement, you will be my champion and representative in certain affairs." Gesturing down the hall he continued, "Let us retire to somewhere less cluttered.

"Thoth? Thoth! Pay attention!" growled Anhur with a lionish roar, eliciting a nervous glance from Ranma-chan.

Soon the three were in a cozy little room, with plush, comfortable chairs. A table sat before them with cookies, varied deserts, and tea on it. Ranma-chan wasn't sure exactly when it happened, but she thought that she had blinked and suddenly Anhur and Thoth were merely human sized. Although, it was probably meant to put her at ease, such flexibility with what seemed reality made her very nervous. This did not stop her from tucking away large quantities of the sweets in front of her.

"Well, what do you want me for," Ranma-chan mumble almost coherently around a mouthful of some creamy confection.

"A friend of Ammit's needs a favor. A female friend of his has been f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y detained. Due to Ammit's friend's nature, if he attempts to even approach her he will be instantly detected. This is where you and Ammit come in," Anhur stated.

"Rescue a girl? I can do that. And you'll send me home then?" Ranma asked, not paying close attention to the conversation.

"Yes. There's more though. Aside from the details of the rescue plan, Thoth has a proposition for you after you have completed it," Anhur stated.

"I thought you said you'd send me home afterward," Ranma-chan asked suspiciously.

"This would be after you have been returned. While Ammit's mission is personal, Thoth's has more Universal implications."

"Er...how big do you mean," the pig-tailed girl asked.

"If Thoth's theories are accurate, it could impact every dimension I know of..."

"Suffice to say every plane of existence would be affected. I'll go into more details once you return. You would of course be compensated. Aside from the benefit of keeping the dimensions free of horrors beyond human imagining," Thoth casually interrupted, apparently his attention being caught by the subject of the conversation.

"Can you cure my curse?" Ranma-chan asked excitedly.

"I could. But I won't. The 'curse' you are under makes you very useful in certain circ.u.mstances," Thoth stated.

"But..."

"Besides, now that you have those defective manacles, the curse would seem to be adequately controlled. They also provide an excellent defense against further transformational magics," Thoth nodded benignly.

"But what else could I ask for?" Ranma-chan asked. Deprived of her primary goal she was somewhat lost as to what else she wanted.

"I am the God of Knowledge but I can't say what you d.e.s.i.r.e. Once you decide that, maybe I can help," the Lord of Wisdom shrugged.

"Hmm...I may have a suggestion. Ranma, you practice martial arts, yes?" Anhur asked.

"Yeah. I'm the best," she stated confidently.

"Truly? There is no one that you could learn from?" Anhur asked with a level stare.

"Well, the old mummy can sometimes, well...usually...beat me with one of her tricks. And the old freak would win a lot more if he wasn't so easy to distract. I guess Pop even has a few moves he thinks are too dangerous to teach," Ranma-chan said hesitantly. She didn't like thinking about such unpleasant truths. If she really needed to win, she somehow would find a way. She was Ranma Saotome afterall.

"So there are things you could learn to perfect your art?" Anhur prodded once more.

"Yeah. I guess so. But the old freak won't teach anything he knows. All he does is grope women. The mummy, she's taught me stuff, but I doubt she'll give me much more. I think she's finally realizing that I won't marry her granddaughter. Besides the really advanced stuff I think she'd only teach an Amazon," Ranma-chan sighed sadly. What she wouldn't give to learn those techniques.

"Well Thoth? It seems we now know what she wants. Any Ideas?" Anhur asked helpfully.

"Let's start with the 'old goul'. I believe her actual name is Cologne. What does she want?" the bird headed god asked.

"Well...she wants a really competent heir. I guess three hundred years is a long time even for her. Shampoo isn't anywhere near as good as her though. She must be getting pretty desperate." Ranma-chan felt kinda bad about that. It wasn't Cologne's fault Shampoo had been dishonored or whatever. Of course it wasn't her fault either that the Amazons were poor losers.

"Without physically or mentally transforming Shampoo, I'm not sure what I can do about her skills or ability. However Cologne's age is easily dealt with. Would she be more cooperative if you could offer youth to her?" Thoth asked.

"You...you can do that," a shocked Ranma-chan asked.

"I could do it personally, or I could give her detailed directions on construction and use of a circle that could do the same. I think she is adequately skilled in ritual magic to make use of it. That might be the best approach. She could in turn apply leverage on the other's you mentioned. Training for youth," Thoth mused.

"That takes care of the goul…er Cologne, Happossai and Pops. Wow, cool. Too bad I can't help Shampoo, she still has to try to marry me even without Cologne's support," Ranma-chan said with mixed emotions. On the one hand her dream of being the best martial artist just may be coming true, on the other hand he still had most of his other problems…and maybe a new one.

"Wait a minute, that means we'll have a young Happossai groping women. Can I be responsible for unleashing that kind of horror on the world," Ranma-chan exclaimed in realization. "Maybe Cologne can think of something."

"Would this be acceptable? You would be achieving your dreams. We would be getting a champion of impressive skill, and the universe would have the aid it needs," Anhur asked.

"I...yes. I accept," Ranma-chan said. She was worried she might be making a huge mistake, but she had just been offered a dream come true. This combined with a chance to fight for the salvation of the universe...well, it was her duty as a martial artist to accept. She just hoped she wouldn't be regretting her decision.

Thoth simply nodded in acknowledgement and faded away. Apparently going back to his home.

"Excellent! You will be training for a short time here, in my home. Then you and Ammit will leave for the Dyval plane. Upon your return Thoth will give you the directions for the circle, you can go home and train there until Thoth requires your assistance again," Anhur stated in a hearty tone.

"Wait a minute, who's Ammit?" Ranma-chan paused in thought for a moment, "Hey, isn't he that ugly lizard thing that attacked me? I ain't going nowhere with that thing!" Ranma-chan shouted.

"Calm down. We have already agreed with the terms, besides Ammit has learned some respect for you. You will need to cooperate on your mission to Dyval."

"Hey what's this Dyval place like anyway?" a dubious martial artist inquired.

"It is where the Deevils dwell. It is here that the Deevil Lord Mephisto holds Rhada."

"Deevils, eh? Deevils? As in Devils?! You guys are trying to send me to Hell? Are you guys nuts? And who's this Mephisto guy? His name sounds familiar."

"Dyval is not Hades. Hades is where demons dwell. There is actually a very violent rivalry between the two realms. Mephisto is an extremely powerful Deevil Lord who is mainly in charge of guarding Rhada. His power is equal to most greater gods. We have arranged a diversion, since it would be unreasonable for you and Ammit to confront him. You should only need to deal with a few minions such as Deevil Serpents, Dire Harpies, and maybe Leviathan."

"Who's Leviathan?" Ranma-chan choked out. She was suffering from information overload, and was having a difficult time keeping track of things.

"Leviathan is a much weaker Deevil Lord, though she is still a significant danger. She rules the Dire Harpies. Mephisto controls the Serpents. Mephisto will probably not leave Rhada guarded with mere minions. He may have Leviathan stay in his stead."

"I don't fight girls..." Ranma-chan protested half-heartedly, her head still spinning.

"She is a Deevil Lord. I think you might want to consider her in the monster category rather than a girl. Although the manifestation she usually chooses is attractive..." Anhur's voice faded into speculative silence.

"Don't worry you won't be fighting all the minions at once. Stealth will aid you more than anything else. Also the Fenry will be helping you. Ammit will take care of that."

"Fenry? Isn't that the kind of demon 'Zar had? Why would the Fenry help us?" Ranma-chan asked plaintively.

"Well you are going in to rescue their mistress," Anhur helpfully offered.

"No I'm not. I'm going in to rescue a trapped girl. Wait a minute...is the girl I'm supposed to rescue even human?" she asked with a certain trepidation.

"Er, no. She's a Deevil Lord as well," the god corrected.

Ranma-chan started to bang her head against the table.