Nightelf presents... Darkness November 5, 1998 11:30 pm Nicholas Leifker pulled into the parking lot of her apartment, bone-weary from the battles, both physical and emotional, over the past few days. First had come telling her parents about the curse and the war that was looming on the horizon. That was bad enough; her mom had fainted when he poured the water over him-herself, triggering the all-too-familiar change. Then, faced with the revenge she sought for so long, she found herself unable to do it. Ranma and Ukyou had suffered enough, she had decided, and pulled back from the dark path, instead giving them what they'd always wanted: their freedom. She cried for an hour after it was done, a part of her angry she hadn't done more, another tired from the emotional draining of the episode, and the rest of her just grateful her own vengeance was done. After that had come helping out in other battles, her position dangerously powerful in some cases, frighteningly calming in others. Her personal confrontation had given her a wisdom: Some of these people deserved every ounce of vengeance handed to them, while others should be left alone. She only prayed she could recognize the difference. Right now, all she wanted was a hot shower, to feel like _him_self again, to wipe the grime of her travels away. She stopped. Something...someone was here, she knew it, could taste its evil like a bitter medicine in her throat, feel its icy grip start to surround her. "Hello...Nicholas. Or is it Nicole? Names are so confusing with you creators..." The voice was deep, sonorous, inhuman. She looked around, staring at the dark fog surrounding her. "Who are you? What do you want?" All that came from the dark void was a chuckle. "I am here...to administer your punishment." "My punishment? You're a couple of years to late for that, baka, in case you hadn't noticed." Despite her acted confidence, the Nightelf was extremely frightened. Normally she could at least sense the mind of whoever was near her. Now, she felt...nothing. "Oh, really?" A picture unfolded before her, formed from the night surrounding her, a picture from her recent past. Her past self stood at Jusenkyo, serious, in front of a nearly-helpless Ranma, as she tried to make her peace. Her own words from then echoed through the mist, sending a sinking chill through her. "I'll be honest: I deserved my punishment. To be honest, I probably deserved to be cursed, stuck in the form, raped by Ryouga, and forced to have a kid who inherited my curse." The mists coalesced, to form a dark figure, still hazy, but all in black. "By your own judgement, you deserved worse than what you got. Therefore, I am here to give it to you." A sphere of energy formed in a...hand?, sending tendrils of eldritch fire into the poor woman. "AAuugh!!" The pain that went through her as the streams of energy passed through her was beyond description, as though a part of her soul were being wrenched from her grasp, the cutting made all the worse by the hideous laughter echoing in her ears, along with her own damning words. She reached out with her soul...tried to focus...to try to find some way out of there.... "YEEEAUGH!!!" An energy wave, similar to the Dragon's Fire but far more intense, rippled through the tainted air as she took what was left of herself and blasted at the nothingness, somehow breaking the spell. The fog around her vanished, revealing the apartment complex once more. Stumbling into her apartment, she closed the door, hit an emergency signal, and passed out, hoping that her friends would come to her before it would... **************************************************************************** I was busy typing in "Happi-ness" for my early list, when my mind said to stop. So, I started writing this. I know I said that I wouldn't do any more revengefics, but I felt that someone had to do a bit with this "enemy" in it that we've been talking about. Ergo, this. I know it's a bit rough, but I'm not exactly awake at the moment.