You have to believe we are magic;
Nothing can stand in our way.
You have to believe we are magic;
Don't let you aim ever stray.
And if all your hopes survive,
Your destiny will arrive
And bring all your dreams alive
For you.
I'll bring all your dreams alive
For you.
Magic
Part 5 - Distractions
by Richard Lawson
Comments & Criticism Welcome!
sterman@sprynet.com
Police Sergeant Horton cast a disinterested eye around the
monitors. They showed various things. Constant broadcasts
from all cars on patrol. An overhead view of traffic
conditions around the city. Scans from the four crime scenes
kept under constant surveillance.
Sometimes it was exciting. When a site under surveillance
saw people moving about doing nefarious things, or when
units pursued a subject through the city and out into the
surrounding areas, his heart would race as he followed the
action on the monitors. Today, it was all boring. Boring
boring boring.
One of the sites abruptly stopped transmitting. Horton
grimaced. Probably a glitch; a patrol unit would have to be
dispatched with a replacement unit. This was a site well
outside the city and into the mountains. He'd need to send
an airborne unit, and that was a hassle.
Horton stood up and went to the coffee machine. He needed
the coffee to stay alert. It was hard enough to maintain
interest in following the movement of all the cars on
routine patrols and the unchanging scenery from the three or
four crime scenes without the use of caffeine. Horton took a
sip and sighed. The coffee felt good going down. Some of the
damned purists were trying to get caffeine banned as an
illegal substance, to join nicotine as drugs that could only
be prescribed by a physician. Horton didn't much care for
their efforts. If they succeeded, all they would accomplish
is to create a thriving underground for coffee sales,
similar to the one that existed for cigarettes. The police
had a hard enough time controlling *that* cottage industry.
Horton looked up at the clock. He was supposed to do
something, but he couldn't remember exactly what. It was
almost time for his break anyway, a voice told him. No need
to worry about it now. Maybe he could try to think about it
some more after that.
Heaving a sigh, he sat down at the bank of monitors again.
He gave the three crime scenes under surveillance a cursory
glance before watching one of the units pull over a car for
speeding. It would be something to do until his break.
***
Nouma opened his eyes to discover that three hours had
passed. He sat up in the bunk bed and stretched,
feeling much better. A little nap went a long way.
Everyone else was still asleep. Nouma was a little worried
about this; he hoped that everyone would adjust to daylight
quickly. It wouldn't be good if they were most alert after
nightfall. Daytime was best for uncovering any secrets.
He quietly crept out of bed, dressed, and left the cabin.
The camp was mostly deserted. Nouma used his computer to
check on everyone's location. Most everyone was in one cabin
or the other. Mikanma was in the nearby woods, and Tachi was
in the crime lab. Mikanma decided to join her, especially
since the lab doubled as a kitchen. He was hungry.
Tachi looked up from the sandwich she was eating as he
entered. She smiled at him, then went back to her computer.
She was dictating to it, making some notes on their journey
so far. As Nouma prepared some rice and vegetables for
himself, he listened, impressed with how organized her
thoughts were.
She finally wound down, then saved the notes. "This is so
much better than getting everything second-hand." She
finished her sandwich and washed it down with some juice.
Nouma considered her. "How much of Father's life do you have
recorded?"
"Quite a bit. I started the narrative when he first met Mom
and Aunt Akane at the dojo. His engagement to Ukyo, his
curse, and his meeting with Shampoo I refer to in
flashbacks. I've got most of his adventures chronicled,
although there are a few he can't tell me about for some
reason or the other. I'm trying to get those recorded, as
well, but it's awfully difficult."
"What purpose does this all serve?"
Tachi assumed a somewhat lecturing tone of voice, as if this
was a speech she had given many times. "Magic remains a
mystery because we know so little about it. It's a closely-
guarded secret, mostly because those with access to magic
don't want to give such access to others. This leaves us
particularly vulnerable to their machinations. The best
defense against this is knowledge. You father deals with
many different forms of magic. By chronicling his
adventures, I can begin a history that may eventually allow
us to draw some conclusions about the nature of magic. This
is, of course, merely a first step. If I can get this
published, maybe it can inspire others to come out of hiding
and let us know about their magic. The more we know, the
better off we'll be."
Nouma chewed his food thoughtfully, then swallowed. "That
makes sense, I guess. Actually accompanying us is dangerous,
especially on this mission."
"I know. But someone needs to be watching, recording,
especially because this is so dangerous. It's because we
don't know anything about this menace that makes it
difficult for us to prepare. We need to come out of this
with at least a little information we can pass on to future
generations, if necessary."
Nouma gave a small smile. "Plus it's a little exciting to be
living the adventure directly rather than vicariously."
Tachi blushed, and smiled. "I get enough of someone reading
my mind from Mother. I don't need it from you as well."
"My apologies." He continued smiling, but inside was a
little sad. He just couldn't understand how people could
find mortal danger fun. He suspected that they were glossing
over the danger, somewhat secure in the belief that it would
all work out, like it always did for Father.
Nouma fervently hoped they were right.
He finished up his rice and decided to bring up something
that had been troubling him. "Tachi, has my father told you
about his sense of danger?"
She nodded. "He believes it's a function of the curse. It
directs him to adventure - or adventure to him - and at the
same time warns him when it's about to commence."
"All right, that's what I understand, too. How specific does
it get? Does it tell him exactly where the danger is coming
from, or how to defend against it?"
Tachi frowned, picked up her computer, and began voicing
some database queries. She examined the output, then looked
back at him. "No. It's always been nothing more than a vague
sense of anxiety, sometimes increasing in intensity, but
never guiding him specifically. Until this time. That
worries you, doesn't it?"
Nouma nodded. "His sense of danger told him to bring us with
him, and tried to get us out of the hotel before the
Inspector came. I've never heard of it actually telling him
what to do. I'd like to know why it's behaving this way."
Tachi tapped her finger to her lips. "I would, too. I'll do
some more extensive research into the database, see what I
can find out. I'll also keep an eye on Uncle Ranma and see
if it starts directing him again, and what it tells us to
do. It seems to be on our side."
"Seems to be, yes. Doesn't mean it's true. It's worth
watching."
Nouma was interrupted by the appearance of Nabiki and
Kodachi. They exchanged pleasantries and began fixing food
for themselves. Nabiki sent Nouma and Tachi off to wake the
others.
Nouma went into the men's cabin. Ryoga was already gone, and
the others were just getting out of bed - evidently an alarm
had just gone off. Nouma bantered with Kouichi and Mitsuaki
while they got dressed. Soon enough, they were in the crime
lab, along with everyone else. There was general confusion
while everyone fixed something to eat for themselves; then
Nabiki brought the meeting to order.
"Okay, we don't have a lot of daylight left, and we should
probably try to go back to sleep after nightfall, so let's
decide what we're going to do. Is everyone ready?"
Kouichi frowned. "Where's my father?"
Nabiki shrugged. "Probably got lost on the way to the
bathroom. Let's not worry about him. Ranma, do you want to
take this meeting over?"
"Thanks, Nabiki." Father stood up and activated a console. A
large, 3-D map of the area floated in the air. "Okay, we're
here, and the cave is here. The terrain is somewhat uneven,
but not steep. Mostly trees until we reach the cave itself.
The cave is...."
"Wait." Kikuko was frowning, staring off into space.
Ranma looked over at her. "What is it?"
"Please be quiet for a moment and let me think." This was an
unusual request from Kikuko, who was generally every bit as
polite as her mother. Nouma wondered what could be troubling
her.
She shook her head once, then finally focused on Ranma
again. "We're taking this matter with Uncle Ryoga much too
lightly."
Father frowned. "Ryoga will be okay. He wanders away all the
time. We need to work on our own plans."
"That isn't right, Uncle Ranma. We're fighting a very
dangerous enemy, and one of our expedition is missing.
Furthermore, I find that when I try to think about it, my
mind begins to wander. It takes a lot of effort to even talk
about his disappearance. This is very disturbing. I can't
help but wonder if something bad has happened to him, and
that we're being made to overlook it."
Nouma blinked. He tried to think about Ryoga, and found that
he was wondering about the cave again. He shook his head and
tried again. His thoughts seemed to dance around the subject
of Ryoga, without ever actually landing on it. He had to
concentrate quite hard to bring it into the foreground of
his mind. This *was* disturbing; something was playing with
his mind, and he didn't like that one bit.
Mikanma spoke with more that a little disgust. "You're
making too big a deal out of it, Ono. Uncle Ryoga's fine."
She held up her computer. "Look, he's in the men's cabin.
Probably getting dressed or something."
Kouichi shook his head. "No, his computer is in the cabin. I
saw it on the floor, along with his boots."
Mikanma growled. "Well, see, he can't have gone far without
his boots. He'll show up, he always does."
Nouma stared at Mikanma. Something seemed different about
her, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Then he
realized that his thoughts were wandering again, and firmly
focused on the topic of Ryoga. "No, Kikuko's right. I'm
finding it very hard myself to think of Ryoga. I want to
ignore it and move on to more important matters, but his
disappearance *should* be a top priority. Something is very,
very wrong. We need to find Uncle Ryoga right away."
Father looked annoyed. "C'mon, Nouma, I've known Ryoga for
thirty years. He just does stuff like this. It ain't nothing
to worry about."
Nouma looked his father straight in the eye. "Do you trust
me?"
Father scowled. "Don't do this."
Nouma spoke more forcefully. "Do you trust me, Father?"
Father let out a frustrated breath. "Yes, of course."
"Then listen to me. This is important. We need to find Uncle
Ryoga."
"Trust *me*, Pop. Ain't nothing wrong with Uncle Ryoga."
Mikanma shoved herself in front of Nouma, staring at Father.
Father wavered, uncertain.
Kouichi touched Ranma's arm. "Uncle Ranma, please.
Something's happened to Father, I can feel it. Please, let's
go after him."
Ranma clenched his jaw briefly. "It could take hours, days,
to track him down. He could be anywhere."
Mitsuaki spoke up. "Naw, it's easy. Mother's been keeping
track of him for years. We've got mircotechnic transmitters
embedded in his bandannas. I can punch the frequency into
this console, and display his location on the map."
Mikanma sounded shocked. "You can?"
"Sure." He went over to the console and began to press the
keys. Mikanma made a move forward as if to stop him, but
Nouma grabbed her shoulder. She rotated her arm out of his
grasp, but stood still.
Mitsuaki was mumbling. "One forty-seven, redirect to map,
and voila!" He stepped back with a flourish. A dot appeared
on the map, blinking slowly. The dot was positioned exactly
at the coordinates of the cave.
Silence filled their throats. Nouma felt something
strangling him, a terrible foreboding. He heard Tachi
whisper "Oh my God." Nouma agreed completely.
Something like a sob escaped from Mitsuaki. "Father!" He
whirled and ran for the door.
Nouma moved quickly, grabbing Mitsuaki in a bear hug.
Mitsuaki began to flail wildly. "Let me go! I have to get to
him! Let me go, dammit!" His strength was greater than
Nouma's, and he began to squirm out.
Kikuko calmly stepped up and touched Mitsuaki high on his
back. He sagged in Nouma's arms, his eyes wide with shock.
Kikuko spoke calmly to him. "We will help your father,
Mitsuaki-kun. But first we must have a plan so that we don't
risk anyone else. You'll be able to move in a few minutes.
Until that time, try to calm yourself and listen to what we
say."
Nouma decided he would have to learn some of Kikuko's
techniques. She was the School expert at pressure points,
having both her father and Ranma to teach her what she knew.
Nouma would have been able to restrain Mitsuaki eventually,
but probably not before they and the crime lab had taken
some damage. Kikuko's way was much easier.
Kouichi came over, his face a mask of worry and fear. He
took Mitsuaki from Nouma and sat down on the floor with him,
propping him up. "Listen to her, Mitsuaki. We'll get
Father." He looked steadily up at Ranma.
Ranma seemed to be in a state of shock. "How did he get
there? What's he doing there?"
Nouma walked closer to the map, staring at Ryoga's dot.
"That doesn't matter right now. We need to figure out how to
get him back. He isn't moving. If he's hurt, we need to get
to him as soon as possible."
"This might be a trap." Kodachi had her ribbon out and was
twirling it frantically. "Ryoga may be the bait to lure us
in."
Khu Lon shook her head. "I don't think so. I, too, could not
think of Hibiki Ryoga. Something didn't want us to come
after him, and tried to warp our minds."
"It could be a bluff." Mikanma paused, then plunged on.
"Maybe it only wants us to think that it doesn't want us to
come."
"I don't buy that." Nouma spoke gently, but Mikanma flushed
with anger anyway. "Seems to be too dangerous a game,
especially since it could so deeply affect our minds from a
distance. If it wanted us to come, it would be a lot easier
to fill us with the desire to come rushing in."
"But it knew we *wouldn't* come rushing in, no matter what."
Mikanma paused again. "Maybe it did it this way because it
was the only scenario which might cause us to rush blindly
in."
"We could play games like that for hours." Nabiki sounded
rushed and frustrated. "Let's concentrate first on seeing
what condition Ryoga is in."
Ranma looked at her. "Do you have any gadgets that might
help?"
"Well, yes, I do. I've got some remote controlled sensors we
can send."
Ranma nodded decisively. "Do it."
Nabiki arched an eyebrow at him, then turned to Nouma. "Give
me a hand here."
Nouma stepped around Mikanma, noting in passing that she was
very angry. He wondered why.
Nouma unpacked the sensor. It somewhat resembled a toy
helicopter. He brought it outside and stood back as the
blades came to life. They lifted the sensor and it took off
through the woods.
Nouma went back inside. The console was now showing two
views. The first was the same overhead map, still showing
Ryoga but now also showing a second dot moving towards him.
The other view was from the sensor itself, showing itself
flying just above the tree tops.
"It'll take a few minutes for it to get there." Nabiki
punched up a countdown clock.
Nouma came over and studied the sensor controls. "Impressive
number of things this sensor can do. I hope it works."
Kodachi spoke from behind him. "What do you mean, Nouma?"
Nouma turned around. "We still don't know why those video
telephones the hikers had weren't used. I'm almost positive
that they tried, but couldn't for some reason. So far we've
had no problems with our computers being used as vids, but
we haven't come near the cave yet. It'll be interesting to
see what happens with the sensor."
"The transmitters in Father's headband are working." Kouichi
was staring at the countdown intensely.
Nabiki tapped her finger to her lips. "That's true, and
that's encouraging. It may be that whatever we're facing
needs to make a conscious decision to block transmissions or
whatever it does. It didn't know about the transmitters, so
it didn't do anything about them. This time, though, it
probably knows that we've fought through its mind control
and have launched this probe."
"That's kinda scary." Ukyo shuddered and hugged herself. "If
it can read our minds from a distance, we won't be able to
surprise it. Also, how far can it go with this mind control?
Can it make us do things?"
"I've had some experience with thought control." Father
lifted his hand and felt the back of his head, where his
pig-tail had once been. "Typically, the best someone can do
is to suggest a course of action to your mind. It's still
pretty much up to you whether to act on it. Suggestion works
best if you're not aware of it."
Kodachi nodded. "Once Kikuko pointed out that our thoughts
were being controlled, we could fight it."
"Yes. Awareness is the best defense." Father looked at Ukyo.
"As to mind control, that's really not possible unless you
give permission. You have to let someone into your mind
before they can control you. They might be able to batter
their way in, but if they do, there's usually not much of a
mind left for them to control. This enemy is dangerous
because it can make suggestions to all of us from quite a
distance, but if we are alert, if we police our thoughts
carefully, we should be safe."
Nouma frowned. Father was overlooking something, but before
Nouma could organize his thoughts, Nabiki spoke up. "It's
arrived."
They turned to the screen. On the overhead map, the dots had
mostly converged. Nabiki killed the map and expanded the
external view of the sensor. It showed a cave in the side of
a small hill. Nabiki tapped rapidly at the console. The
display flipped through several views, showing infrared,
ultraviolet, and sonic displays before settling into a
thermal view. Nabiki put the normal, unfiltered view in a
small display at the corner of the thermal view.
She looked over at Ranma. "Okay, there isn't much we can see
from out here. The rock blocks most of the sensor's signals.
We need to go inside."
Father frowned. "Can't you just move the sensor back and
forth in front of the cave entrance?"
Nabiki blinked. "Good idea. Wonder why I didn't think of
it." She touched some controls, and the sensor moved itself
along the tree line until it was directly in front of the
cave entrance. Nabiki punched in some more commands, and the
sensor slowly began sliding from side to side. The cave
itself was filtered out, and a picture of part of the
interior began to emerge.
The thermals showed mostly cold rock. There was a pile of
warmth about three or four meters from the entrance. From
behind him, Nouma heard Mitsuaki say thickly, "Father."
Nouma was about to turn to Mitsuaki when he noticed Nabiki
close her eyes and deflate a little bit. It could only mean
one thing, and Nouma's heart sank.
Kikuko stepped closer to the display. "What's his condition?
Can you tell me if he's conscious?"
Nabiki opened her eyes. Without a word, she punched in some
more commands. On the thermal display, a white dot appeared
in the middle of the warm pile.
Nabiki spoke slowly, stiffly. "That white dot is the source
of the signals we've been getting from Ryoga's headband.
I've got the sonic display in front of me, and it shows the
outline of a man fitting Ryoga's physique lying on the
ground. The man is barefoot. Without going inside where we
can shine some light and take some pictures, I can't say for
certain that it's Ryoga in there, but it's highly probable
that it is."
Nouma looked around the room. Mostly, people were getting
it. Tachi and Ukyo had their arms wrapped around each other,
and Kikuko had her head lowered. Father had his eyes closed,
and a deep expression of pain on his face. Kodachi walked
over to Nabiki and put her hand on her shoulder. Khu Lon had
a mostly neutral expression, but when her eyes met Nouma's,
she grimaced and briefly lowered her eyes.
The exceptions were Mikanma, who still looked angry, and the
Hibiki brothers, who both were looking anxiously at the
screen. Kouichi spoke fearfully. "If there's nothing else in
the cave, shouldn't we get to him? He may be hurt."
Nouma moved to put himself behind them. Father and Kikuko
also came over, and the three of them surrounded Kouichi and
Mitsuaki.
Nabiki waited until they were in position. When she spoke,
her words were soft and sad. "The temperature of the body is
about twenty-six degrees Celsius and falling. By my rough
calculations, the body has been dead for about an hour."
Nouma heard Ukyo and Tachi begin to cry softly. He felt like
crying, too, but first he needed to help Kouichi and
Mitsuaki. They were staring at Nabiki in shock. Nouma could
only imagine what they were going through.
Mitsuaki reacted first. "No!" He tried to lunge to his feet,
but he didn't seem to have complete control of his body
back. Nouma hugged him from behind and held him tightly.
"No!" Mitsuaki struggled in his arms, his voice full of
despair.
"Father." Kouichi dissolved into sobs. Kikuko knelt and
hugged him. Kouichi clutched her, sobbing into her shoulder.
Mitsuaki continued to flail wildly. Ranma crouched down and
grabbed Mitsuaki's wrists. Mitsuaki stared at him. "Sensei,
you can do something, can't you? He's not really dead, you
can save him, right? Please tell me you can!"
Ranma looked very sad. He slowly shook his head. "Your
father is dead. There is nothing I or anyone else can do
about it."
Mitsuaki stared at him with wide, unaccepting eyes. He moved
his gaze over to the screen, which showed the cooling body
of Ryoga. Mitsuaki shuddered and shouted incoherently in
frustration and grief. Tachi, still crying, walked over to
him and hugged him tightly. Mitsuaki grabbed her and put his
head into her shoulder, his shout reduced to moans that
weren't far removed from sobs.
Nouma found himself close to tears. The grief permeated the
air, as did the fear. Right now, however, they had other
problems, and Nouma couldn't afford the luxury of mourning.
That would come later.
He tried to keep his voice from shaking and was only partly
successful. "I think we need to get Uncle Ryoga out of
there."
Father looked at him and nodded. "I agree. We've got to do
it right, though. Who knows what's waiting for us."
Nabiki spoke up from the console. "I've done as complete a
scan as I can of the cave without actually going inside.
There's nothing else that can be detected with the sensors.
Should I move the probe inside?"
"No." Father went over to the console himself and hesitantly
punched up the overhead map. He studied it for a few
seconds, then turned to address the expedition.
"Okay, here's what I want to do. I want to keep this just
between us for now. We'd find ourselves in a hell of a lot
of trouble if we call in the police, and very likely
whatever that thing is that killed Ryoga would escape in the
confusion. We'll do it our way.
"I want to break us into three teams. I'll lead the primary
team that will approach the cave itself. Nouma, Khu Lon,
Kodachi, you'll be with me. Second team will consist of
Mikanma, Ukyo, Kikuko..." Father hesitated for a second,
then continued, "...and Kouichi. You will accompany us to
about here." Father pointed to a spot about half a kilometer
away from the cave. "You will be our backup. You will come
only if I specifically call you. Third team is Nabiki,
Tachi, Mitsuaki, you'll stay here at camp. I want you to
start up one of the trucks and have it constantly running,
with someone behind the wheel."
Father looked around, his face stern and commanding. "We'll
stay in constant contact, with all of our computers on and
broadcasting. If we lose contact, if the computers stop
functioning, then your orders are to get out. Third team,
you will get in the truck and leave. Second team, go back to
camp and take another truck, or just run, using your
discretion."
Father turned to Nabiki. "Can you plot some courses that we
can use to run back to civilization if the trucks and
computers fail?"
Nabiki nodded and started tapping away on the console. "I'll
print out a set for everyone."
"Good." Father considered. "I hate to do it, but we should
wake Akane and have her following along. If she loses
contact with all three teams, she should call the
authorities from Japan. Whatever that thing is, it has to
have limits. It can't shut her down, too."
Nabiki nodded again. "I'll take care of that."
Father sighed. "This is important. If something happens to
my team, you are *not* to try and rescue us. Second team,
you are not to come any closer to the cave unless I tell you
to. We will not lose any more people to this thing than we
have to. Is that clearly understood?" Father's gaze swept
around the room, taking in everyone's eyes, driving home his
orders.
Nouma winced internally, but spoke up. "Father, I believe
that Aunt Ukyo should be on the primary team. We need people
with experience at the cave. Aunt Ukyo's faced stuff like
this before; Khu Lon and I haven't."
Father frowned, then nodded. "Okay. Khu Lon, you will be on
the second team. Ukyo, you're with me."
Nouma found himself the focus of two gazes. Ukyo's was
discretely grateful. Khu Lon's would cause mirrors to
shatter.
Father looked around. "Any other questions?"
The various expressions of grief around the room had long
since stopped. Now, Nouma could only see grim determination
in the looks that were sent towards his father. The
expedition had become deadly serious.
Father nodded once again. "Okay. Let's get ready to move
out."
Nouma tried to quell the horrible foreboding that was
building. The battle was beginning, and Nouma greatly feared
that Ryoga was only the first of those who were going to
fall.
***
Father peered into the gloom. He had ordered all lights put
out a kilometer ago. Clouds that threatened rain were
covering the moon, so vision was poor. Father seemed to have
no problem. Nouma guessed he was using yet another chi
technique. Nouma wondered if there were limits to what his
father could do with his chi.
Nouma grimaced. They were probably about to find out.
Father turned to the group that was following him. "Second
team, stay here. Monitor us on your computers. Remember,
you're not to come any closer unless I order it. Kikuko,
you're in charge."
Kikuko nodded. Mikanma glared angrily at Father, who had
already turned his head to peer into the forest ahead.
Kouichi moved over to Kikuko and began speaking to her in
low tones.
Khu Lon gave Nouma an angry look. Nouma could almost feel
her fury. After a second, Khu Lon deliberately looked away,
her jaw clenched. Nouma almost felt sorry for her. He had
inadvertently deprived her of participating in the kind of
adventure she craved. Still, it was probably for the best.
There was a lot Khu Lon still didn't understand about what
danger was really like.
Father gestured with his hand and moved off into the forest.
Ukyo was right behind him. Kodachi walked next to Nouma.
Nouma studied them. Ukyo had a strange outfit on, one with
little spatulas strapped along her chest. Kodachi's was even
stranger, her leotard looking incongruous combined with her
hiking boots. She had her ribbon in one hand, her computer
in the other, and two hoops hanging on her shoulder. Father
was dressed in simple pants with a silk red shirt. Nouma
hadn't seen him wear that in years.
Nouma looked over to Kodachi. "Did you guys always dress
like this?"
Nouma couldn't see Kodachi's face very well in the dim
light, but he was pretty sure she smiled. "More often than I
think any of us would care to admit. We're all wearing what
we feel most comfortable fighting in. That can be
important."
Nouma frowned, wondering if he had a favorite costume. He
didn't think so.
He felt a drop of water hit his cheek. Before it could fully
register, another hit his hand. Nouma looked up, and three
more drops hit his face.
Father growled. "This I do *not* need." He halted everyone,
then spread his arms. "May as well let it do it to me now.
Don't want it happening at an inconvenient time."
It didn't take long. The rain strengthened quickly to a
steady pour, and Nouma watched as his father shrunk. Father
readjusted her clothes a little, then nodded to the rest of
the group and began moving again.
They quickly reached the clearing. It appeared to be empty.
A small lump of some sort was just in front of the cave.
Father brought up her computer and spoke into it. "Status
check. Second team, your status?"
Nouma brought up his own computer and turned on the display.
He was just in time to hear his computer echo Kikuko's
response to Father. "We are in position and awaiting further
orders."
"Third team, status?"
Nouma quickly punched up Nabiki's computer. Her computer was
strapped to her side, so he only saw an angled view of the
floor. She was probably using the main console to keep track
of everyone. Her voice was strong and steady. "We're all
still here. Mitsuaki's just outside in the truck. I have a
visual on him and he's telling me he's okay. The sensor's
got a good view of all of you." The lump in front of the
cave rose briefly in the air before settling to the ground
again.
"Good." Father punched up another display. "Akane, are you
with us?"
Nouma called up Mother's display. She was sitting at the
dining room table, sipping tea. The computer was evidently
propped on the table in front of her. It was certainly in a
good position to show how worried Mother was. Yet her voice,
too, was businesslike. "I'm here, Ranma. I've got it so I
can see you, Kikuko, and Nabiki. Everyone looks okay so
far."
"Great. Okay, we're moving into the clearing now. Last
chance; anyone not understand their orders?"
Kodachi had her own computer up, and broadcast her question
across the network. "Ranma, what if everything goes well,
but the computers die anyway. Do we really want everyone
scattering? Can we give a signal of some sort that says
everything's okay, that we should meet at the base?"
Father shook her head. "No. I don't want that thing having
any way of tricking us into hanging around. If the computers
shut down, then things are *not* going well, and I want us
out of here."
Kodachi didn't answer, and after a moment Father spoke
again. "Anything else?" Father waited a few seconds. "All
right. We're moving in."
Father shut down her display, and indicated to Nouma and
Kodachi that they do the same. "We'll move in a diamond
formation. Kodachi, to the left. Ukyo, to the right. Nouma,
you take the rear."
They moved into the clearing. Father walked slowly, her arms
held slightly in front of her, gazing intently at the cave
entrance. Kodachi was twirling her ribbon, and Ukyo had
three of her little spatulas in one hand, ready for
throwing. Nouma tried to keep himself ready, feeling somehow
inadequate next to the more experienced members of the
group.
Father stopped at the entrance of the cave. She peered
inside, then reached down and unhooked a flashlight from her
belt. Ukyo and Kodachi watched the clearing, and Nouma
looked into the cave with his father as the flashlight
illuminated the interior.
Ryoga was lying in the center of the cave. His body was very
pale, and his eyes were staring sightlessly at the cave's
ceiling. Water from the rain was running from the cave
entrance along the floor, and some of it had collected
around Ryoga's body.
Father moved the light around, but nothing else was evident
in the cave. She shut it off and stood absolutely still for
a couple of minutes. She then spoke, still facing the cave.
"I'm going in. I'll keep talking while I'm in there. If I
stop talking, I'm in trouble. That means you guys leave
immediately. No one else goes in the cave. No one tries to
rescue me. That means you too, Ukyo."
Nouma glanced at Ukyo. What he could see of her face didn't
change. Her voice, however, held just a trace of tightness.
"I understand."
Father stared into the cave for another moment. Then she
began to glow with a soft blue light. Nouma blinked,
wondering what Father was doing. Some sort of chi technique,
of course. It had the side-effect of providing some
illumination.
Father stepped into the cave. "I'm inside. I'm moving
towards Ryoga." Nouma watched her move warily, her hands in
the ready position, her whole body poised for action. "The
cave seems barren. I don't sense anything, just a slight
dampening effect. It's hard to hold chi in here." She stood
over Ryoga, her eyes still looking around the cave.
Nouma took a quick look around the clearing, his heart
racing. Something felt wrong, and he couldn't place a finger
on it. He just *knew* that something bad was going to
happen. He forced himself to breath steadily, and looked
back in the cave.
Father bent her knees and kept her back straight, her eyes
still looking ahead. "I'm picking up Ryoga." Nouma saw her
lift Ryoga in her arms. Ryoga's body seemed a little stiff,
but Father appeared to have no difficulty holding it. "I've
got him. I'm moving out." Father began backing towards the
cave entrance.
Nouma took another quick look around the clearing. He was
about to look back into the cave when his eyes snapped back
to Kodachi. She was trembling slightly. As he watched, she
hunched forward and made something like a grunting sound.
Then she giggled. The giggling quickly turned into laughter.
Nouma had heard Kodachi laugh before, but this was
different. The laughter was somewhat forced, more an
affectation than a genuine response to amusement. She tilted
her head back and laughed at the sky, her ribbon twirling
rapidly.
Nouma glanced at Ukyo. She had turned to stare at Kodachi.
The soft glow from the cave was enough for Nouma to make out
the expression of horror on Ukyo's face. Nouma glanced
inside to see his father turn around at the sound of the
laughter. Her face was slack in shock, and she moved quickly
towards the entrance.
Nouma turned towards Kodachi. He moved towards her,
wondering what had come over, afraid of what it was.
A voice came from his computer. Mother. "Nouma, don't! Get
away from her! She's gone mad!"
Kodachi whirled. Her face was bright and happy, her smile
wide. Her eyes, however, looked haunted. "No need to worry,
Nouma-chan. I'm fine, I've never felt better. I'm free."
Nouma caught his breath. Her voice sounded... malicious. The
bright cheer seemed to mask a meanness, an intent to do
harm. He'd heard her speak in a teasing tone of voice
before. This was that voice magnified a hundredfold.
Father stepped out of the cave. She set Ryoga on the ground
and quickly moved next to Kodachi. "Calm down, Kodachi.
We're done here. Let's go back to camp."
Kodachi turned to face Father. "Ranma-sama! I'm so glad
you're alive." She reached out to hug her.
Ukyo came flying between them, knocking Kodachi to the
ground. One of Kodachi's hands flew open, and a powder of
some sort fell almost directly on Ukyo's face. Ukyo's body
stiffened.
Father sprang over Kodachi as she tried to rise. She grabbed
Kodachi's throat, her fingers compressing the arteries
deeply imbedded there. Kodachi grabbed Father's hand, then
went slack.
Father caught her with his other arm and gently lowered her
to the ground. She looked up at Nouma.
Nouma was just beginning to react. Everything had happened
so fast. He felt like he should leap somewhere, do
something. Ukyo and Father had already taken care of it all,
and Nouma was left with an adrenaline rush and nothing to do
with it. He nodded at his father to let her know he was all
right.
Father glanced at the three bodies lying on the ground, two
of them still living. She blew out a breath and picked up
her computer. "Second team, come to the edge of the
clearing. Nouma and I will move everyone there. Third team,
prepare to receive casualties. Ukyo's still conscious, but
unable to move. She'll need an antidote to paralysis powder.
Kodachi's unconscious, but will need some sort of sedative.
Acknowledge." Nabiki and Kikuko sent back their
acknowledgments.
Nouma looked down at Ukyo. He could see her clearly in the
light of his still-glowing father. Her eyes were open and
moving but her body was rigid, her arms and legs slightly
splayed. Nouma bent down and lifted her. The position was
very awkward, since Ukyo couldn't relax in his arms. Nouma
put his face where she could see him, and tried to smile
reassuringly. Her face seemed to be as rigid as the rest of
her body, but her eyes locked onto his.
Father's voice was gentle. "Take her to the edge of the
clearing, where we entered. I'll take care of these two.
Stay with her until the others arrive." Father bent her head
over so that Ukyo could see it, and smiled. "Thanks, Ukyo."
Ukyo crinkled her eyes as best she could. Father stroked
Ukyo's forehead a couple of times, then looked up at Nouma
briefly before turning away.
Nouma carried her away and tried to keep the reassuring
smile on his face, even as his knees threatened to collapse
beneath him. If it hadn't been for her....
Nouma couldn't keep himself from shuddering. He tried to
tell himself that it was the rain combined with the awkward
way he was holding Ukyo, but he knew better.
***
"I tell you I'm fine." Kodachi was trying to sound acerbic,
but mostly sounded frightened. Her voice was a little thick,
the result of the strong sedative Nabiki had given her. She
was lying on a bunk in the women's cabin, with most of the
expedition gathered around her.
Nabiki was standing over her, looking deeply into her eyes.
"Are you really? Do you know for sure?"
Kodachi slowly grimaced. "I'm as sure as I can be, under the
circumstances. I can't exactly think clearly when I'm under
this kind of medication."
Nabiki looked up. "I think we should let her rest. I'll
watch over her. We can question her in the morning."
"You'd better strap me down." Kodachi put her hands to her
side. "It'll probably be best for everyone's peace of mind,
including my own. That way you won't have to worry about me
when the medication wears off."
Silence met her statement. Kodachi tried to tsk, but was
only able to smack her lips a little. "Don't worry, I'm used
to it."
Nabiki glanced up at Father. He nodded grimly. Nabiki sighed
and left the cabin, headed for the main building where the
supplies were kept.
Nouma looked over towards Ukyo. She was sitting up in her
bunk, being supported by Kikuko and Tachi. She was holding
her head in her hands and wincing. "I don't know what's
worse, the paralysis or the headache the powder leaves you
with."
"Ukyo, I'm sorry." Kodachi was crying now. She reached one
of her hands towards Ukyo.
Ukyo looked up, smiled bravely, and took Kodachi's hand.
"Don't worry, Kodachi, I know it wasn't you. Get some rest
now."
Kodachi tried a smile. Then she closed her eyes. Nouma took
her hand from Ukyo and put it at her side.
Kikuko went over to Kodachi and took her pulse. "She'll
sleep for several hours, I think. The straps won't really be
necessary until morning." She looked over at Father.
Father grimaced. "We can't afford to take that chance. Who
knows what that thing is capable of. Until we understand
what happened and how to counteract it, her suggestion is a
good one."
Kikuko looked down, obviously not liking the answer but
unwilling to argue it further. Nabiki returned with some
straps, and Kikuko helped her to tie Kodachi gently but
firmly to the bunk.
Father sighed. "Okay, let's all go to bed. We need to get
some sleep. And I do mean sleep, not secretly working on
your computers or something. I think this thing might be
able to get to us if we're not constantly on guard. Tired
minds might be easy prey."
Nabiki looked up from where she was finishing with Kodachi.
"I think the women should take turns staying up with
Kodachi."
"Sounds like a good idea. Us men will also take turns
standing guard. The people who are awake should stay in
constant contact." Father swept his gaze around the room.
"The rest of us should sleep."
Kouichi's eyes were red, but he wasn't crying any more.
"What are we going to do with my father?"
"We'll decide that in the morning."
"I... Mitsuaki and I need to tell Mother." Kouichi's voice
was quiet and firm, although his face was still deep etched
with pain.
Father hung his head. "Akari...." He rubbed his eyes,
evidently trying to buy time to think.
Mother's voice came from the computers. "Let me go over to
her house. It'll take me a couple of hours. Mitsuaki,
Kouichi, I'll call you when I get there. We'll tell her
together."
Nouma watched Kouichi and Mitsuaki. They were standing very
close together. Mitsuaki was trembling with some kind of
anger and looked ready to explode. Kouichi was calmer,
although he radiated grief. Kouichi brought up his computer
and spoke into it. "Thank you, Aunt Akane. I'd feel better
if someone was with Mother."
Father looked a little relieved. "Okay. In the meantime,
everyone rest."
With no further words, the men left the cabin and made their
way into the other cabin.
Nouma rubbed his eyes. Tired as he was, his mind was still
buzzing. He wanted time to think. "I'll take first watch."
Father looked around, then nodded. "Two hours, then wake the
Hibikis. Mitsuaki, Kouichi, after you two have... finished
consoling your mother, take turns standing watch. I'll take
last watch."
Nouma stood near the door and watched as everyone else got
into bed. He turned out the lights, and the cabin fell into
pitch blackness. He heard his father fall quickly asleep,
but Mitsuaki and Kouichi seemed to be still awake. Not that
Nouma could blame them.
Nouma grimaced and decided that there was no reason for him
to hang around the cabin. He wandered outside, and realized
that it probably wasn't a good idea to go traipsing about
the forest. He settled against the wall of the main cabin,
and stared at the sky. The rain had stopped, but the clouds
were still present, so he couldn't see any stars.
His computer beeped at him. Nouma lifted it up and stared at
Khu Lon's image. "Yes?"
Khu Lon was sitting next to a bunk. She typed into the
computer, and her words were displayed on the bottom part of
her image, like a subtitle. #I am checking in as per Tendo
Ranma's orders.#
Nouma nodded and called up his own text interface. #How is
Kodachi?#
#Sleeping. Other than that I cannot say.#
Nouma looked at Khu Lon's image. She looked back. The cabin
was dark, but the computer was doing a good job of enhancing
her image enough to see her face. Her expression was
neutral, businesslike.
#It was not my intention to exclude you from the team that
went to the cave.#
#I know that. Masume Ukyo acted well in my stead, saving
your father and you. Who is to say I would have reacted as
well?#
Nouma winced. #I did not act so well. Everyone could have
been killed while I stood gaping.#
Khu Lon looked at him for a while. #It was your first taste
of battle, was it not?#
#I've been in fights before.#
#But not one where lives were at stake, right?#
Nouma nodded.
Khu Lon actually looked slightly sympathetic. #To freeze
momentarily is a natural reaction. The next time you are in
battle, you will not freeze again. Because of this
experience, you will become a better warrior.#
Nouma frowned. #But I nearly lost the whole battle for us
this time.#
#But you didn't. In fact, it was you who suggested that
Masume Ukyo be with you. Your foresight played a major role
in keeping the battle from ending badly.#
Nouma thought about it for a while. #I guess that's the best
way to look at it. And I really can't afford the luxury of
self-pity right now anyway. We're in the middle of a war,
and I need to keep myself thinking clearly.#
Khu Lon gave him a hard smile. #Now you're acting like a
warrior. Deal with the battle now and leave the regrets and
sorrow for afterwards.#
Nouma sighed, accepting the necessity of Khu Lon's words
even if he didn't particularly like them. #Thank you, Khu
Lon. You've been very helpful.#
#It is my honor, Nouma.#
They looked at each other through the computer screen. Khu
Lon's face had resumed its neutral mask. Nouma wondered what
was going through her mind.
He sighed and stood up. #I'm going to do a quick patrol of
the perimeter.#
#Very well. I will monitor from here.#
Nouma nodded and began walking around the edge of the camp.
All the while, he systematically purged all extraneous
thoughts from his mind, including grief over Ryoga's death
and all speculations regarding Khu Lon. He could afford no
distractions, not if he was going to try and keep his
promise to his mother to bring as many people back alive as
he could.
