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.