Gourry carried the unconscious Amelia as he, Zelgadis, and the girl Ukyou ran down the corridor after the Mozoku warriors. At the end of the tunnel, Gourry saw a fight going on. There were fifty Mozoku warriors in a tight huddle around a single target, which Gourry believed to be Lina.
"LIIIIIINNNNAAAA!!!" he screamed as he charged with the sword of light.
"Gourry, NO!" came a feminine voice from within the huddle. A single large wing flexed, throwing about ten Mozoku crashing though the wall and into the abyss below.
"Rinri?" three confused people said in unison.
"Yep, it's me. Well, go find Lina! She's up there somewhere," Rinri pointed with her wing up into the sky. Zelgadis used levitation on the four of them and they rose into the air. Zelgadis could, with his demon senses, hear Lina talking to Akane, Ranma, and Ryoga.
"Well whaddaya know, maybe she is on our side after all." The others face-fault.
"LINA! WHERE ARE YOU?" yelled Gourry.
"RIGHT BELOW YOU, YOU DOLT!" came the sorceress' reply.
As Zelgadis and the others touched down, Ryoga rushed to see if Ukyou was okay. Gourry rushed to embrace Lina, only to be met with a foot in the face.
"Just what do you think you're trying to do, Gourry, dear?" Lina said. She then laughed and pulled her foot out of his face, "Come here Gourry," she said as she let him hug her. For now, the group was safe, except for poor Amelia. Lina had Zelgadis lay her flat on the ground so she could heal her. Then, Lina got to work.
"KATCHUU TENCHIN AMAGURI-KEN!" yelled Rinri. Hey, she was a fast learner, and Ranma's attack could sure come in handy right now. Chestnut fist. She'd never heard of such a strange technique. Of course, Ranma and his friends...weren't from around here anyway.
As Rinri was finishing off the last of her attackers, another figure appeared before her.
"Xelloss," Rinri spat his name through clenched teeth. "Ahh, my sweet little innocent Rinri has her first taste of killing. Are you ready to re-join me now, dear?" Xelloss smiled. Rinri growled. How many times had he manipulated her with that sultry smile of his? He was despicable, and yet, she was compelled to go to him.
"N-NO, Xelloss. Never again. I love another now. Please let me go. Besides, as a human, you wouldn't have to worry about me anymore. I couldn't get into trouble anymore. I know you'd like that," Rinri said.
"I'm sorry dearest, but that is not an option," Xelloss said, his smile turning into a sneer. He raised his staff to destroy her, but before he could do anything, a strange looking man with a crown bashed him over the head.
"PACIFIST CRUSH!" the stranger yelled as he embedded his fist in Xelloss' skull. Rinri stared wide-eyed. The man smiled, bowed and said, "Could you tell me where my daughter Amelia is?"
"Y-you're Prince Philionel? Of Seyruun?" she asked, reverting to human form. Her image of a tall, thin, blonde prince on top of a white stallion shattered.
"Why, yes I am! Do you know my daughter? Can you help me find her please? It would do my gentle soul a world of good to see my girl safe again," the big man pleaded.
"O-Of course. She's out here..." Rinri said as she led the way. She went Mozoku again and flew the Prince down to Amelia. She was conscious again and testing her now-healed leg.
"Daddy!" she squeaked as she flew at almost un-human speed into her father's waiting arms.
Everyone face-faults...even Rinri. (^_^)
Xelloss dragged himself to his feet. That was the final straw. He would have the Claire Bible and Lina Inverse to go with it...no matter what.
A flash of light distracted Lina and the group. Now, Xelloss stood before them, sneering in anger.
"Lina Inverse, you will give me the Claire Bible, and yourself along with it! I will not be deferred again," the Mozoku yelled. Rinri saw no other option but to use her own dragon-like power to prevent him from transforming into his true self. If that happened, they were all doomed.
Ranma and Ryoga got into low battle crouches and the others began chanting spells. But suddenly, Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis, and Amelia discovered to some great dismay that they could not move. Somehow, Ranma and his friends had been overlooked. Ryoga and Ranma charged at the trickster Priest. Ranma immediately launched his AMAGURI-KEN technique, while Ryoga simply thrusted and swiped with his umbrella. Both boys dodged Xelloss' powerful jabs. Akane saw the flash headed toward Ranma and screamed at him. Ukyou decided to join the fight, but Akane thought better of it.
The little flash of light was the worst possible thing. It was a huge cat-like creature that Xelloss had summoned. Ranma's eyes widened in unbridled terror and he ran for protection behind Akane's back.
"C-C-CAT!!!!!" Ranma yelled as he trembled behind Akane. The huge beast sensed Ranma's fear and advanced in a circle towards Akane and Ranma.
"Ranma...now would be a very good time to go cat," Akane said, remembering Ranma's dreaded NEKO-KEN attack. Cat-fist was still Ranma's most powerful attack, no matter what anyone said. He had never been defeated with NEKO-KEN. She felt Ranma sink down to all fours, still behind her. She felt his low growl emerge from his throat and his muscles tense. He was extremely powerful, but in this form, all that power was amplified tenfold and even Akane was scared of what Ranma could do. Of course, NEKO-KEN was an extremely funny attack if one thought about it. But Akane had much more important things to worry about, like the advancing cat-thing for example.
"RANMA!" she screamed as the beast lunged for her throat.
"ROOOOOOWWWWRRRR!!!!!!!" Ranma replied, lunging at the beast with "claws" slashing. He swiped at the creature and his hands didn't even touch the thing. Nevertheless, a gash appeared on the cat's side and it howled with pain and renewed anger. Akane stepped back to let Ranma work more freely and in short time, the great cat-beast was a shaking, whimpering ball of fur.
"Mrowr," Ranma said as he looked around for something else to fight. Ukyou stared. She knew Ranma was afraid of cats, but this was too much. Ranma was a master of the NEKO-KEN, the infamous cat-fist!
"Come here now Ranma, yeah, good kitty," Akane purred to the alert and tense Ranma. He turned his head at the sound of her voice. He located her and came bounding happily into her lap, nuzzling in for a nap.
"Hey Ryoga, get me some water will you?" Akane yelled to the frowning Lost Boy. Ranma would revert when in girl-form. Soon Ranma-chan realized her surroundings and yelped. She cowered a few feet away.
"Aarrgh! Akane, it wasn't my fault! Ididn'tmeantopleasedon'thurtme!" Ranma pleaded as she backed away in fear. She opened her eyes when no attack came and looked around. Lina, Amelia, Rinri, and especially Xelloss were staring at him/her, wide-eyed and fascinated.
"What? Ain't you never seen a girl before?" Ranma-chan said, blushing.
"Here Ranma," said Ukyou as she mysteriously produced the kettle of hot water. Ranma visibly relaxed as his boy-form returned. Xelloss smiled wickedly.
"I think I should like to fight with you Ranma. In girl-form," Xelloss jammed his staff into the ground, "Rinri, water, NOW!" Rinri cringed as her hands did what was unbidden by her mind.
"Ungh," she cried as she was forced to kneel. At least he couldn't become full Mozoku. She poured the water over Ranma with a quick, "I'm so sorry." Ranma-chan frowned and took up her fighting stance.
"Oh alright, why not? I'll fight with you," Ranma said as the Priest also dropped into a stance.
"Well, come on then Ranma, defeat me if you can!" Xelloss said as he charged at Ranma.
Ranma ducked the Priest's blows and readily threw in a few punches of her own.
"KATCHU TENCHIN AMAGURI-KEN!" Ranma-chan shouted as she pummeled Xelloss with all that she had. Ranma's girl form was even faster than his boy form, so the Chestnut Fist just seemed to go faster. The Trickster Priest doubled over in pain from the blows to his stomach, but was soon fighting again with renewed vigor.
"You are good, child," Xelloss spat out the word child with contempt, " but you will never defeat me."
Suddenly, Xelloss' hands began to glow.
"RANMA WATCH OUT!" Lina yelled as she prepared to throw up a shield.
"FIREBALL!" screamed Xelloss. Ranma simply moved his head and continued punching and kicking, ever so carefully working a spiral motion on the ground.
Akane and Ryoga noticed this with some pleasure. This fight would soon be over. HIRIU SHOLTEN HA, or Heavenly Blast of the Dragon, was Ranma's most powerful attack. Ranma got to the center of the spiral. Xelloss is finished, Akane thought with a smile.
"HIRIU...SHOLTEN...HA!" Ranma said as he placed a fierce uppercut in Xelloss belly. The Dragon Attack worked. Xelloss went flying. Rinri released her hold on him after he lost consciousness. She used a kettle of hot water to revive Ranma's boy form, and smiled.
"Lina, I think now would be a very good time to read the Claire Bible," Rinri said quietly, her eyes shining.
"Are you absolutely sure Rinri. I mean, you'll lose your extraordinary powers. I won't do any spell unless you tell me for sure," Lina said.
"I want this more than anything. Especially after what Xelloss tried earlier..." she paused a moment before continuing, "And my fiancée will be so happy when he sees me, fully human just for him. I owe him that much for loving me despite my true heritage. Please Lina, the spell?"
Lina nodded, "Alright...read it to me and I'll learn it. Same goes for you Ranma. I assume you want a cure for the...girl thing."
Back in the Neko-hanten, Shampoo was brooding. Why had Ranma gone off with Akane and Ukyou and not her? It wasn't fair. Akane didn't even love Ranma, and Ukyou hadn't tried nearly as hard as she had to win him. Maybe Happosai had something to do with it. He had been rather...brief with her regarding the subject. Mousse came in and interrupted Shampoo's train of thought.
"What duck-boy want now?" she asked in her broken Japanese.
Mousse looked at his feet, "Well, Cologne wanted to tell you that she's found Ranma and the others. She threatened me not to go off after them without you though. So let's go find them then."