Through A Portal Darkly Walking
(Ranma «)
Streaks of lightning cut the dark skies above the
mountains of Akaishi torrents of rain pouring down on
the terrain below. Along the narrow highway snaking
through the rugged area move a lone minibus, its driver
carefully negotiating the hazardous turns as he
strained to see the way ahead.
Tatewaki Kuno yawned, squeezing his eyelids tight
trying to stay awake as he drove along. To his left
sat Nabiki Tendo, half asleep in her seat listening to
a CD player resting on her lap. Another flash of
lightning lit the countryside. Tatewaki strained to
catch a glimpse of a sign or just a house to stop and
get directions. No such luck, nothing more than the
surrounding forest lining the road, dark and ominous as
if watching them.
Finally, Tatewaki smirked tired of this blind
traveling, reaching out to tap Nabiki on the arm. She
started then looked slowly over at him.
"What?" said Nabiki.
"We are lost," he replied.
Nabiki frowned, sitting up in her chair. Gazing
out past the water-streaked windshield, Nabiki shook
her head.
"Gosh, when did this storm catch us?" she asked.
"About half an hour ago."
"Hmm. We should have stopped in Kamagane like
Kasumi suggested, but no you had to press on."
"It's only another couple of hours to Furinkan, so
stop complaining."
A long yawn from the seat behind Nabiki sounded.
Kasumi Tendo, eldest of the three Tendo sisters leaned
forwards to see what was going on. She rubbed her
eyes.
"Something wrong?" she asked.
Nabiki and Tatewaki were busy going through the
displays on the onboard GPS computer.
"Yeah, our Leader here got us lost in nature,"
answered Nabiki.
"It was not on purpose," replied Tatewaki. "How
was I to know about this storm?"
"Listen to the weather report maybe?"
Kasumi tapped her sister on the head. "Stop
picking on Tatewaki," she said. "Why don't we just
turn around and go back?"
"I'll try and find a spot, but it doesn't look
promising," answered Tatewaki.
Kasumi sighed, sitting back in her chair. This
was just supposed to be another simple trip. Five days
of fun in Osaka watching Akane, Kodachi, and Ukyo
compete in the International Gymnastics meets then back
home. That's all this was supposed to be. Sometimes
she wished fate would deal them a favorable hand, but
it looked like the gods were bitter about something.
"Goodness, what a storm," she commented, peering
out the window.
Tatewaki nodded agreeing with her. This was
unusual for this time of year. The Authorities would
have notified everyone if there was to be such a storm
brewing but there had been no word on the news, or in
the papers. Another flash exposed a small gravel lot,
and he immediately turned off.
"Well at least we can change drivers," commented
Nabiki, cutting him a wry look.
"Do you want to drive? I've been doing this since
we've started the trip, and paying for fuel so get off
my back. And just for your information I did check the
weather reports. It said the skies were supposed to be
clear."
"It did?" said Nabiki. She cast a nervous glance
up at the sky.
Tatewaki turned on the interior lights drawing a
low moan from the rest of the group behind him.
"(Yawn) are we home?" asked Ryoga Hibiki peering
sleepily out his window.
"No. Tatewaki got us lost," answered Nabiki.
"Oh, feh!" snapped Shampoo smacking the armrest of
her seat. "Shampoo want to get home. Tired of
listening to Kuno's elevator music."
"Refrain from knocking the Classics," said
Tatewaki.
Mousse, seated next to her, smiled. "Shouldn't be
but a few hours more, Shampoo. You can listen to my
Walkman if you want."
"Shampoo want hot meal from great-grandma,
stupid!"
"That's if we get home," replied Ukyo Kuonji.
"Tatewaki, it's a simple highway. How can you get
lost."
Tatewaki threw up his hands. "This storm is not
exactly an easy thing to drive through!"
"So you took a wrong turn," said Ryoga.
"I . . . might have."
From the seat next to Ukyo, Kurenai Tsubasa leaned
out into the aisle. "Have you tried using the GPS?" he
asked.
"Yes. It's not working for some reason," answered
Nabiki.
"This storm might have something to do with it,"
suggested Ryoga.
"Then we'll have to use the old fashioned method,"
said Tatewaki. "Kodachi, get the map out the back."
Kodachi Kuno pulled herself out of her seat, going
to a storage box at the back of the minibus. After
rummaging for a few minutes, she produced a folded map
passing it up to her brother.
Tatewaki opened it up on the steering wheel,
Nabiki and Kasumi peering over his shoulder. He
studied it taking occasional looks out the window. The
rain picked up, pelting the windows of the bus
obscuring any clear vision.
"I'm going to have to get out," said Tatewaki.
"No," replied Nabiki. "It's a mess outside,
Tatewaki. Not to mention the darkness."
"Well what do want me to do. Sit here and wait
until dawn?"
"That's not a bad idea," replied Kasumi.
"However; I think we should try and find a place to
stay instead."
"Yeah. There's got to be something close by. I
mean this is the Chuo Expressway."
"If, this is the Chuo Expressway," said Tatewaki.
Refolding the map, Tatewaki turned to look back at the
others. They all gathered around the only two
remaining members of the party still asleep in their
seats. Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo sat snoring
lightly, cuddled together oblivious to the world.
Ryoga leaned above them, running a feather gently
underneath Ranma's nose. He stirred, shifting in his
seat, and Akane let out a light moan.
"Ranma . . . baka," she muttered readjusting her
head on his chest.
Ranma settled, resting his head against hers.
"Mm, . . . stupid uncute . . . tomboy," he said.
"Look at'em," Ryoga said grinning. "Even in
their sleep they fight."
"I'll bet they could sleep through an air raid,"
added Kodachi.
"Shampoo no like Akane laying on Ranma. Why he
sleep there anyway?"
"Maybe because he's the only who could endure
Akane's constant bragging about taking first place,"
answered Mousse, pointing to the gold medal still
clutched tightly in Akane's hand.
Kasumi giggled. "Everyone, we're going to move on
and find a place to stay until this horrible storm
blows over," she announced.
"More delays," gripped Ukyo retaking her seat.
Tatewaki shut off the lights. Checking to see if
the road was clear, he pulled back out and continued
down the road.
* * * * *
Another hour passed before Tatewaki spotted a sign
off to the side of the road. Slowing down, he pulled
up close enough to make out the name.
TASUNIOJO 30km.
Tatewaki trade confused looks with Nabiki.
"Never heard of this place," he said staring at
the sign again. Nabiki broke out her Baedecker guide
to Japan, searching for the name. It wasn't in the
index and she smirked.
"Not listed. Maybe it's a new suburb."
Ryoga got up, leaning over the still asleep
couple, and peered out the window. "Hey, Tatewaki,
what's the hold up?" he called out.
Ranma started, eyes snapping open with a start.
He looked up.
"Pleasant sleep?" said Ryoga.
"What are you doing?"
"Wondering why Kuno stopped the bus."
"Huh?"
Akane slowly woke up, stretching her arms. A hand
hit Ryoga in the chest and she flinched, drawing back
in her seat. "Ryoga?" she said.
"Sorry, Akane. Just trying to see what Tatewaki
is looking at.
"Looking at?" questioned Ranma. Narrowing a brow,
Ranma peered out the window. "Let me guess, we're
lost."
"Bingo!"
Ryoga went back to his seat; Ranma peering over at
the front of the minibus. "It's a highway, Kuno. How
can you get lost?" he called to Tatewaki.
"Go back to sleep, Saotome. I like you better
that way."
Squinting hard, Tatewaki tried to make out more of
the sign.
"Nabiki, hand me that nuclear penlight of yours."
Mimicking his words sarcastically, Nabiki
unclipped the quartz-halogen penlight from her key-
chain. Tatewaki panned the bright, narrow beam across
the sign looking for anything he might had missed. A
small white arrow on a black background pointed off to
the left, but there was nothing more.
Tatewaki started to turn out the light, when
something about the lettering caught his eye. He
panned the light across it, letting out a hum.
"Nabiki, tell me does the `U' in that name seam to
be closed at the top?"
Nabiki peered out the window studying the sign.
"Yeah, it does. Vandals?"
"They should be shot if caught," replied Tatewaki.
Nabiki shook her head. "No. Looks like the first
three letters and the first `O' have been scratched
out. Doesn't make sense."
"Well, it's a place to stop for the night," said
Ukyo. "Let's go before this storm gets worse."
Tatewaki started the minibus moving taking the
turn that led towards their unknown destination. As
the rear lights faded out of view, there came a sharp
blast of lightning striking the base of the sign
sending it careening over the side of the hill. A gust
of wind passed and lightly, just above its din
something else could be heard.
The sound of laughter.
* * * * *
The crest of the near mountains could been seen
silhouetted by the distant flashes of lightning, but
that was not what held the attention of the small party
in the minibus on the road. Silence filled the
interior as they all stared up at the ominous expanse
of a castle, its features only seen briefly between
flashes. It looked abandoned, no lights or anything to
show them the way inside.
"Well, gang?" said Ryoga nervously.
Mousse peered up at the sky. "Not much of a
choice is there," he said. "This storm doesn't look
like it will let up."
"You know they say this part of the mountains once
was the home of Oni," said Tsubasa. Something inside
him tingled his senses, a burning that warned of
impending danger. Ukyo noticed him breathing heavily.
"Tsubasa?" she said reaching out to pat him on the
back.
"Let's leave this place," he said.
Everyone turned around.
"What?" said Ranma.
"This isn't right. Don't ask me to explain it,
but we can't . . . we shouldn't stay here!"
"Kurenai, you're getting spooky on us," Kodachi
said.
"And where will we go so late in the evening?"
added Kasumi.
"Anywhere but here," replied Tsubasa.
"It's too late to find another place," said Akane.
"Yes, Shampoo tired and want sleep."
"We shouldn't stay here!" Tsubasa exclaimed.
A series of rumbles carried long through the air.
Tatewaki ran a hand through his hair trying to come to
a decision. He looked at Nabiki and she shrugged.
"I am tired as well," Tatewaki finally said.
"Let's see if this place can shelter us for the night."
"No, no guys, we can't," moaned Tsubasa.
"Are you clairvoyant, Tsubasa?" asked Mousse.
"It just doesn't feel right."
Tatewaki drove the minibus up the road and through
the gates into the dark compound beyond. The
headlights illuminated the grounds and soon the stones
of the inner wall came into view. Looming above them
on the base of a stone foundation stood the main donjon
of the castle, a massive construction at least three to
four stories high. Two more minor donjons sat at each
corner connected by a covered gallery, a protected
guardhouse sitting its silent vigil over the main gate.
The doors were open, Tatewaki bringing the minibus as
close as he could.
"Place looks abandoned," Ranma said noticing the
indications of neglect on the walls.
"For something of this grand of magnitude, there
should be a groundskeeper or two around," said
Tatewaki.
Kasumi strained to make out the strange engravings
on the doors. They looked out of place, carved
apparently with some sort of crude instrument. The
design reminded her of wards used to fend off evil
spirits.
"If they are around, they must not have heard us
drive up," she said.
"There's nobody here," said Tsubasa. "Come on,
gang. Let's skip this and go somewhere else."
"You're scared, Kurenai," commented Kodachi
enjoying the frightened expression on his face.
Kurenai nodded. "And I'm not afraid to admit it
either."
"Well it's too late for us to be moving on, so get
over it, man," said Tatewaki. "Saotome, Hibiki, let's
go and look inside to make sure everything is safe."
Both men paled at the thought of stepping out into
the wet night, reminded of their curses.
"Uh, I don't have my raincoat there ah, Tatewaki,"
replied Ryoga.
"What, are you allergic to water?"
"S-s-something like that."
Kodachi pulled a long poncho out from one of the
storage boxes, throwing it over him. "That should keep
you dry," she said.
Nervously, Ryoga pulled it on. "Ranma," he
whispered as they went to the door. "Catch me,
will'ya?"
"Just duck your head, keep your hands inside that
poncho, and step clear of any puddles," replied Ranma,
pulling on a coat and gloves. "It's a quick dash to
the awnings, so you shouldn't have any troubles."
"And if I do?"
"Akane gets the shock of her life."
Ryoga's jaw sagged open. "Just kidding," laughed
Ranma.
Tatewaki called for them to get a move on, and
Ranma opened an umbrella. Stepping out he held it so
that none of the water would hit him or Ryoga in the
face. Together they quickly dashed up the stone
walkway into the castle gates.
Inside, Tatewaki stood shinning Nabiki's penlight
around, searching for any indication that somebody
lived there. The gallery was empty, vacant weapons
racks lining both sides of the walls. Ryoga and
Ranma's cursing from behind brought him around.
"Wow, we made it!" exclaimed Ranma.
Ryoga carefully doffed the poncho. "Yeah, but we
still have to go back out!"
"Stop your whining," snapped Ranma.
"Do you two always have to fight?" asked Tatewaki.
"Wouldn't be right any other way," Ranma answered
jokingly. He looked around a moment. "Say, this place
is dead."
"Obviously," agreed Tatewaki. He sniffed the air,
a heavy dank musty smell causing him to wrinkle his
nose. "And in need of some cleaning."
"That's not our problem," said Ryoga. "I'd bet
the only visitors this place has had are vagabonds or
wildlife."
Ranma pulled a flashlight from his back pocket.
He shined the beam down the right end of the gallery.
A series of steps could be seen leading up into the
castle interior.
"Okay, so that looks like a good place to start,"
he said.
"Fine. You two check out the interior. I'll
bring the rest of the group inside."
"Yeah, leave that dirty work for us," Ryoga
commented sarcastically.
Tatewaki let out a strained growl, brows furrowing
together in annoyance. He shook his head stomping back
out into the rain. Ranma smack Ryoga on the chest.
"You gotta be such a pain?" he asked.
"Hey, I don't like the idea of being volunteered
to go searching some dark castle. Who knows what's in
there?"
"Like we couldn't handle it." Ranma said. "Let's
go."
Ryoga followed him down the gallery. "Just watch
out for any puddles," he said.
"Bitch, bitch, bitch."
* * * * *
Nabiki stared at the gate watching for any sign of
Tatewaki, Ranma, or Ryoga. She held one of the
emergency lanterns up, panning the beam along the wall
noting more of the strange markings adorning the white
stone finish.
Kasumi heard her low gasp. "What's wrong?" she
asked her sister.
"Those symbols . . . they're not there for
decoration," she answered.
"So you agree with me now," Tsubasa said moving up
closer to the front.
"Oh, Kurenai stop it," Ukyo angrily said. "Are
you trying to scare us or something? Because if you
are, its not very funny!"
"I'm not trying to scare anybody!" Peering out
the window, Tsubasa shook his head. "This place is
evil," he finished, biting his lower lip.
Everyone was silent exchanging worried looks. A
sudden loud thump on the windshield brought a shriek
from the girls, then Tatewaki opened the drivers door
and climbed in.
Nabiki sat pressed back against her door breathing
hard as she clutched at her chest.
Tatewaki stared at her. "Trying to keep me out in
this foul weather, Nabiki?" he asked.
"Oh, Kuno-baby you scared the life out of me!"
"How? There's nothing to be afraid of."
Ukyo turned away from her bitter gaze at Tsubasa.
"The Gypsy here has been telling ghost stories again,"
she explained.
"I see. Well save those for when we get inside."
"Where's Ranma and Ryoga?" asked Akane.
"Checking the interior. Come along everyone.
Bring some blankets and only what you'll need for the
night."
"Nobody home then?" asked Mousse.
"Nobody so far," replied Tatewaki.
Pulling on their coats and jackets, they gathered
what personal items they wanted to bring inside.
Tatewaki noticed Tsubasa had not moved, staring around
at them silently.
"Tsubasa, are you coming?" he asked.
Kurenai shook his head. "No, and I wish you guys
wouldn't go either," he answered.
"Tsubasa will you stop with the `eeevill castle'
bit," Nabiki said waving her fingers above her head.
"You're letting your imagination get the best of you."
Kurenai remained silent staring at the floor,
clenched hands pressed tight to his chin.
Kasumi made her way back, sitting next to him.
"Kurenai, please come with us. Otherwise I'm going to
be very worried about you."
"I-I-I can't, Kasumi. This is not right." He
paused, letting out a short chuckle. "Besides,
somebody has to stay here and watch the luggage."
Kasumi's delicate smile appeared, and she patted
him on the knee. "Okay, if you feel this strong about
it."
She got up going to the side door. Kurenai called
stopping her at the threshold.
"Stay together. Everyone, okay?"
Nodding her head, Kasumi pulled the collar of her
coat up and dashed out into the rain. Tatewaki leaned
in.
"Here are the keys," he said handing them over.
"If you get scared, come join us."
"I'm already scared, Kuno," answered Tsubasa. He
looked up, fear set clearly in his eyes. "But not just
for me, but for all of you as well. We all might not
see another tomorrow."
Frowning, Tatewaki drew back. "Good night,
Kurenai," he said closing the door.
* * * * *
It was a very large kitchen noted Ranma as he and
Ryoga explored the interior of the castle. Stone
cutting tables, two large open cooking pits were
positioned around the room, several cupboards along the
far wall.
"Ranma, come here," called Ryoga near the rear of
the kitchen door.
He went over and found him kneeling next to a wide
circular pit. "What's so interesting?" asked Ranma.
"Ever seen anything like this?" replied Ryoga.
Ranma shined his light down the pit. It was deep,
at least fifteen to twenty feet. A series of notches
ran up the side closest to them forming a natural
ladder.
"No. I have no idea what this could be."
"Garbage dump maybe?"
Ranma thought. He panned the light along the
sides, noting more holes situated at different levels
around the sides.
"Hmm. Not a garbage dump. A well."
"A well?"
"Yeah." Shining the light up, Ranma pointed to a
round disk of stone suspended in the air. "That's the
cover."
Ryoga stood up, staring at it. "Geesh, it looks
awful heavy."
"Guess the diyamo was afraid of somebody swimming
up through the river or something."
Shrugging, Ryoga looked around again. "Hey, you
think Kasumi can cook us up something? I'm kind of
hungry."
"She could if we had some food," replied Ranma.
"Come on, let's go see what else we can find."
Heading back out, the two continued on exploring
the rest of the rooms. Turning a corner, Ranma spotted
two double sliding doors at the end of the hall. From
the elegant wood carvings it had to be the court room
he thought. Reaching for the handles, Ryoga suddenly
grabbed his wrist. He started to protest, but his
friend pointed at the door.
Nailed to each one hung a cloth ribbon, weathered
and aged from the years. On them they could see
writing, faded but from what was legible it look to be
some kind of holy ward. Exchanging looks, Ranma and
Ryoga pondered weather they should open the doors or
not.
"Plenty of rooms in this place," Ryoga pointed out
to Ranma.
"Yeah, but do we want to spend the rest of the
night checking them all?"
"This wasn't put here for nothing, Ranma."
"Come on, don't let superstition scare you."
"I don't think we should mess with this."
Thinking a bit more, Ranma finally took hold of
the cloth. There was no need for him to tug it
virtually fell apart in his hands. Ryoga grimaced,
feeling this wasn't the best thing to do. They pulled
the doors open.
As Ranma suspected it was the court room. Wide
and devoid of any furniture, towards the front rose a
small platform, the floor smooth and well preserved in
contrast to the rest of what they had seen.
"Looks safe enough," said Ranma stepping in.
Ryoga followed him. Looking around, he noticed
several pictures adorning the walls. "Ranma, point
your light up," he said.
Ranma did illuminating the room, and Ryoga went to
the closest picture. It was the portrait of a young
woman set against a dark background. She knelt on her
knees eyes cast up to an unseen sky, pleading or maybe
in some pain. Both hands clutched at her breast, and
Ryoga noticed her skin was a pale shade of white. He
shuddered quickly turning away.
"Boy this is a creepy picture to have in a court
room," he said.
"Think that's bad, look at this one," answered
Ranma.
Joining him in front of a picture that hung from
the ceiling to the floor, Ryoga regarded it with some
confusion. It showed nothing more than a long winding
path snaking off towards a rectangular black square set
inside the relief of a mountain range.
"Yuck," said Ranma. "This one definitely calls
for some help."
"I think it's calling for the fireplace," said
Ryoga.
That brought laughter from the two men. Abruptly,
Ryoga stopped glancing up at the ceiling. A creaking
sound made him tense.
"Ranma--,"
"I hear it," answered Ranma. The creaking
continued, and so caught up were they that when a hand
touched Ryoga's shoulder he let out a cry, Ranma
jumping across the room.
Nabiki laughed at them. "Oops, hope I didn't
scare you," she said cheerfully.
Ryoga lay cationic on the floor, quivering with
fear. The rest of the group came in wondering what
happened.
"That . . . was not very funny, Nabiki!" snarled
Ranma climbing down from his perch on the wall.
Nabiki doubled over in fits of hysteria.
"Nabiki, are you causing trouble again?" asked
Akane as she walked past.
"Oh if I only had my camera," she replied clearing
her eyes.
Ukyo helped Ryoga sit up, brushing away the dust
from his back. She made sure he was alright then gazed
around. "This is a nice place you've found," she said.
"It's the court room," said Tatewaki.
"Oh. I guess the prior diyamo wouldn't mind some
wayward travelers to rest in his home."
Shampoo and Mousse stood gazing upon the full
length picture curiously wondering how something so
bland could be allowed to decorate a room such as this.
"Shampoo not like ugly picture," she said with a
shudder. "Give her willies."
"Don't worry, Shampoo. I'm here to protect you,"
Mousse cheerfully said. A sturdy nudge to the ribs
sent him staggering away towards the platform.
"I not need your protection!"
"There's nothing to be protected from anyway,"
said Ryoga.
"Oh? You've checked this entire place?" asked
Kasumi.
"Nah, we just got through the kitchen and into
here before you guys showed up."
"That reminds me," added Ranma. "Don't go into
the kitchen yet folks. There's a deep dry well in
back, and I don't want anyone to fall in and break
their neck."
"Yeah," added Ryoga. "Before we go to sleep Ranma
and I will lower the cover."
Mousse sat down on at the edge of the platform
rubbing his side. "Darn I could have used a drink
too," he said.
Kasumi came over pulling a bottle of water out of
her cooler. His brows rose, thankful that she was
there to take care of them.
"Thanks, Kasumi," he said.
"Don't mention--," Kasumi's voice trailed as she
stared at something just behind Mousse on the platform.
Turning, Mousse looked to find scratchmarks into the
wooden finish.
"Hey, what's this?" he said. The others gathered
around as Mousse cleared away the rest of the dust.
Scratched in the wood were the lines of a verse,
or maybe a poem no one could be sure. Written in early
kanji, some of the words were hard to interpret.
"Anybody schooled in this set of the language?"
asked Ranma.
Kodachi let out a chuckle. "Oh, I see the level
of teaching given at Furinkan," she said. Kneeling,
Kodachi shined the light close for a better look.
Expectant eyes watched as she mumbled to herself,
slowly reading each line. Suddenly, Kodachi gasped
drawing back.
"What is it, sister?" asked Tatewaki. "What does
it say?"
She placed a nervous hand to her mouth. "I'd-I'd
rather not say," she replied lightly.
"No, don't leave us in the dark," exclaimed Ryoga.
"Kodachi, what's wrong?" asked Kasumi.
Kodachi swallowed the lump of fear in her throat.
"It's not a very pleasant reading." She suddenly
looked up at her brother. "Maybe we should go back to
the bus and leave."
"Come now, Kodachi. We're all here so there is
nothing to be afraid of. Now read it to us."
"But, brother--,"
"Read it."
Hesitantly, Kodachi gazed back down at the lines.
"Through a portal darkly walking, I will return
to feast upon long overdue pleasures denied by exile.
From the breast of good I shall find a soul,
From the soul of confusion I will find order,
From the smell of fear I will find strength,
From the covering of innocence I will find
acceptance,
and from those not needed, I will revel in their
pain.
Then Darkness shall roam the Earth . . .
A loud burst of thunder sounded, the only sound as
the group stood pondering Kodachi's translation.
Letting out a long breath, Ranma looked around at
the others. "Well, that ought to give me something to
dream about tonight," he said.
"Okay, now I'm starting to believe Tsubasa,"
Nabiki said.
"Nonsense," replied Tatewaki. "It must be some,
some prank done by vandals."
"Oh really?" said Kodachi. She stood up. "Well
tell me this dear brother. How is it that nobody knows
who built this castle, hmm? Or maybe you want to
explain why this place is abandoned?"
Kasumi stepped in before an argument broke out.
"Lets not fight," she said. The siblings backed away
from each other. "Now we're all tired, and that maybe
should not have been read before bedtime."
"Maybe?" questioned Akane.
"Let's just all settle down for the night, and by
noon we'll be home before we know it."
"I'm all for that sleep part," said Ryoga
stretching his arms above his head. He smacked Ranma
on the arm. "Come on, stupid. Let's go cover that
well before some sleepwalker stumbles into it."
"What, can't do it by yourself?" Ranma replied.
"Ah, just thinking about, uh . . . safety that's
all."
"Sounds like you're scared."
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Boys, boys," said Ukyo. "Just go do it, okay?"
Ranma and Ryoga exchanged snarls as they headed
for the doors.
"Please stay together," Kasumi called out after
them.
Tatewaki shook his head. "Kasumi you are
beginning to sound like Tsubasa," he said.
"Yeah, speaking of which, where is he?" asked
Ranma stopping at the door.
"In the van 'guarding' our luggage," answered
Ukyo.
Listening to another series of rumbles, Ranma
chuckled lightly. "Heh, he might be the only smart one
after all," he said walking out.
Mousse picked up one of the lanterns, heading for
the doors.
"Mousse, where you go?" asked Shampoo.
"Hey, nature calls," he replied. "Don't worry,
I'll be all right."
"Just don't get lost," Akane said.
He smiled, exiting the room.
* * * * *
Troubled visions filled Tsubasa's mind,
apparitions of evil disturbing his sleep. Fidgeting in
the seats he lay across, Tsubasa finally opened his
eyes and sighed.
This was too much, he thought sitting up. Damn I
wish the others would see reason and come back out
here. That was a far fetched idea he knew. The
nagging sensation that burned in his chest would not go
away, the air slightly warm despite all of the rain
pouring down outside.
Moving to the other side, Tsubasa peered out into
the darkness at the gates. A flash from the lightning
lit the sky, and he could see that the once open gates
were now closed. Strange, that wasn't how they were a
few minutes ago. He drew in another breath, finding it
difficult and went forwards to turn on the air. No
sense in opening a window and soaking the interior when
you have total climate control available, he mused
sitting in the drivers seat.
Inserting the key, Tsubasa expected to hear the
smooth start of the engine. Instead, there came a
short stuttering as if the starter had somehow failed.
Great, he thought breathing heavily once more. The air
was starting to get thick, maybe the humidity levels
were increasing. I'll just open the window a bit,
Tsubasa pushing the electric switch on the door.
Nothing happened.
Uh oh, he thought triggering it again. Still, the
window remained up. It was definitely getting stuffier
inside, and something else began mixing with the air.
Fear started to grip Tsubasa. He tried opening the
door but it remained closed, locked tight.
Placing a tight grip on the lock, Tsubasa pulled
with all his strength to bring it up. Even a slight
inch would be enough to unjam the catch but this was
not to be.
Tsubasa's lungs began aching, and only then did he
realize that the smell was the smell of gas fumes and
battery acid wafting in though the myriad of vents in
the minibus. He coughed, thinking frantically then
jumped into the passengers seat and began kicking at
the glass. It resisted every effort, every blow, his
feet thumping loudly in steady beats.
Gagging, Tsubasa rolled to the floor seeking out
what clean air remained in the bus. His eyes began
watering obscuring his vision. "No!" he gasped in a
hoarse voice clutching his throat. On his knees now
groping for the next seat, trying with every ounce of
strength left to him to reach the side door, Tsubasa
knew that death was reaching out to claim him.
A thick foam frothed past his lips, bile from his
stomach burning the inside of his mouth. Letting out a
final desperate gasp, Tsubasa Kurenai slumped back into
the passengers seat quivering as his vision began to
fade. Through blurred eyes, the side of the main
donjon seem to look larger than normal, its dark empty
nooks and gabled awnings forming an almost leering
face. A face of evil leering down on him enjoying his
desperate attempts to cling to life.
Tsubasa let the one person that mattered fill his
mind, calling out her name before slumping to move no
more.
* * * * *
The sharp report of lightning made Ukyo sit up
with a start. Her loud gasp drew the others attention.
"Ukyo?" wondered Kasumi, seated next to her.
Ukyo let her breath settle, glancing back towards
the doors. "I, I felt a cold chill," she said.
"Something terrible has happened."
Ranma, lying on a blanket next to Akane, turned on
his side looking at her skeptically. "Are you going to
start this `evil thing' stuff back up? Because if you
are, you can go outside with Tsubasa."
"Hey, don't be so harsh," said Ryoga. "This isn't
exactly the idea place to be stopping for the night."
Ranma smirked, waving him off.
"Are you going to be alright?" asked Kasumi.
Ukyo nodded, lying back down.
"Now that that is over, is everyone set for the
night?" asked Tatewaki. He looked around the room.
Most every one sat or lay in blankets, getting as
comfortable as they could on the hard court room floor.
Akane lying next to Ranma irked him, but he refrained
from saying anything, too tired to start arguing with
him.
"Mousse not back yet," said Shampoo.
"I wonder what is taking him so long?" he said.
"In this place, he might have gotten lost,"
replied Ryoga.
"No, that's your job," joked Ranma.
"Ha, ha, ha."
"Be serious, Ranma," said Akane. She peered up
over him. "You think we should go and look for
Mousse?" she asked them.
Before anyone could answer, a low creak sounded.
Not very prominent, it still drew their attention as it
tracked along apparently on the level above. Fearful
eyes gazed up at the ceiling, then a bright light
flashed at the door. They all screamed as the doors
parted.
"Mousse!" shouted Kodachi, glaring at the man
panning his flashlight around the room.
Turning it up, he smiled at them for a moment,
then stepped in. "Did I . . . scare you?" he said.
"If we said no would you believe us?" answered
Ukyo.
Mousse laughed then Shampoo's angry call sounded.
"Mousse, you stupid blind boy. Why you keep us
waiting?"
Doffing his glasses, he tucked them in one of his
long sleeves and arched a brow at her. "I had to find
the place first, Shampoo," he said walking towards her.
Ukyo and Kasumi stared at him curiously as he walked
by.
"Guess it was a long way, eh?" asked Ranma.
Mousse stopped, staring down at the blanket spread
next to Shampoo's. "For me?" he said. Hesitantly,
Shampoo nodded slowly and he sat down.
"Yep, Ranma. This place is quite large."
"Well you can finish telling us your adventures
latter," said Tatewaki. "Let's turn out these lights
and get some sleep."
"Yeah," continued Mousse, shutting off his
flashlight. "I don't want to scare you all when I tell
you about the creepy pictures I found."
The lanterns and flashlights went out, everyone
settling in for some needed rest. A long silence
passed, then Ranma suddenly spoke.
"What creepy pictures?"
Mousse yawned. "Thought you didn't want to hear
it?" he said.
"Are you talking about more pictures like the ones
in this room?"
"Yeah. I got a bit lost and had to open a few of
the rooms. Had a hell of a time with that, what with
all of those wards and charms on them."
"Ranma had to do the same thing to this room too,"
said Ryoga.
"Give it a rest, will you, people!" shouted
Tatewaki. "Go to sleep!"
"Tatewaki's right," added Kasumi. "Let's talk
about it in the morning."
They all went quiet again.
Tatewaki could feel the blankets next to him move,
Nabiki stirring around in the dark. The lantern
between her and Kodachi snapped on.
"What, what, what now!" exclaimed Akane sitting
up.
Nabiki sat glaring hard in Ranma's direction.
"You did what, Ranma?" she said.
"About?"
"You removed a ward from this room?"
"He didn't quite get through it before it crumbled
in his hands," said Ryoga.
Nabiki's jaw sagged open, her mind recalling the
strange markings on and around the gates. Religion
wasn't one of her strongest points, but she learned
enough to know that wards weren't placed anywhere just
for protection against evil spirits.
"Uh oh," she muttered. Silently, Nabiki began
gathering up her things.
"Now where are you going?" asked Akane.
"Back out to the bus," she said.
Ryoga sat up on his elbows. "What's got you
spooked all of a sudden?"
"I don't think we thought this out very well," she
answered. "Tsubasa might very well have been correct
about evil in this place."
Tatewaki sat up, holding his head in his hands.
"I can see we're going to get no sleep tonight," he
sighed. Looking up, he beckoned Nabiki to settle down.
She shook her head.
"No, I going to admit this so you better get your
recorders ready. I was wrong and I should not have
teased Tsubasa like I did."
Akane was up frantically digging through her bag
for her camcorder as the others stared in shock.
"Nabiki, are you serious?" Kasumi finally asked.
"Very serious. I'm not superstitious, but things
are pointing to bad happenings for us, and I don't want
to be around when it starts. Get up, Ranma!"
"Why, I'm not going back out there?" he said.
"No but you're going to escort me back to the
gates."
"Down the hall, make a right, through the gallery
and down the end."
"I'm not going alone. Now get up, funny boy!"
ordered Nabiki.
Ranma rolled his eyes in frustration. Better to
do as she wants then fight, he thought getting out of
the blanket.
"Nabiki, are you sure you want to go back out
there?" Ukyo said.
"Very sure. If it weren't for the fact you guys
wanted to stay, I would suggest we all leave."
"Okay, Mrs. Kurenai," said Tatewaki. "You've
disturbed us enough. We'll see you in the morning."
Smirking, Nabiki went out, Ranma rushing after
her. As the door closed, a feeling of uncertainty went
through them. This whole situation was starting to get
on their nerves, and if it kept up soon nobody would be
able to sleep that night.
"Let's all try to relax here," Kasumi said.
"Ranma will be back and then we can all get too sleep."
Ryoga flopped back on his spread letting out a
growl. "Well we better. This up and down stuff is
making me hungry."
"You think of stomach at time like this?"
questioned Shampoo.
"I could use something to eat too," Mousse said,
receiving a hard swat to the head.
The return of the creaking noise made them all
pause.
"Somebody tell me that's just the castle
settling," said Kodachi.
"That or fat rats," added Mousse.
Thunder sounded, then the doors slid open. Ranma
and Nabiki stood at the threshold gazing around as if
lost.
"Did you change your mind?" asked Ukyo.
The two said nothing, exchanging looks before
reclosing the doors.
"Now what was that?" Akane said.
Curiously, they sat waiting for Ranma, and Ranma
only to return through the doors. The rolling thunder
carried long through the halls, rain spattering dimly
in the background whipped feverishly against the walls
by the accompanying storm winds. Footsteps sounded and
the doors opened once more.
Ranma was there, but Nabiki stood next to him.
She looked pale in the light, eyes growing wide. Her
bag slipped from her arm and she knelt down clutching
her fist to her chin.
Ranma stepped in and leaned up against the wall.
"Gang," His voice was shaky, a slight stutter in
his speech. "I think we are in trouble--."
* * * * *
"A gate can't just disappear, Saotome!" ranted
Tatewaki as he led the group down the hall towards the
gallery.
"Well there are two of us here who went down this
hall, made the turn and found ourselves right back
where we started. Twice mind you. Not once, twice!"
"Then you went the wrong way!"
"We did not!" shouted Nabiki.
"Hey, calm down everyone," Akane said breaking the
quarrel. "We're all on the same side, so lets try to
work together, okay?"
Ranma drew in a deep sigh, scratching the back of
his head. "Yeah, I guess you're right, Akane. No
sense in bickering since we are all lost now."
Tatewaki came to an abrupt stop. His head turned
from side to side following the beam of his flashlight.
"This is not right," he said.
They stood in a long hall that extended off into
darkness on either side, no doors or windows to be
seen. Nabiki pressed up against him, arms wrapping
around his waist.
"So, which way now?" asked Ryoga.
"Let's split up," suggested Ranma.
Kasumi cried, "No!" startling them.
"Why not? This place is to big for all of us to
be searching together," Ukyo pointed out to her.
"It doesn't matter. Tsubasa told me before I came
in to keep everyone together. Seeing how strange
things are going, I think we should start heeding his
warning."
"Hmm, she has a point," said Tatewaki.
Panning the light down both ends of the hall
again, Kuno decided that it would be wiser to return to
the court room and think out a plan. Nobody argued
with him, and they went back the way they came.
It appeared to be the right way, but upon reaching
the turn what should have been the way instead led
another hall.
"Hey, what's going on here?" said Ranma.
"Those doors weren't there before," Kodachi added,
her light fixed on three doors along the right side.
Akane pressed close to Ranma, nervously biting her
lip. "This is starting to get creepy," she said.
"Starting," replied Ryoga. "I think we're caught
in a trap."
Tatewaki sneered at him. "How could you tell?" he
said, sarcasm lacing his words.
"Well we can't just stand here doing nothing,"
Mousse said. "Let's see what's behind door number
one."
Walking past them, Mousse went to the first door.
As the rest of the group watched with silent
anticipation, he slid it open, shining his flashlight
inside.
A bed chamber, probably for a distinguished guest
or a member of the household, cobwebs and a thick layer
of dust covered the furniture. Old decaying mats lay
at the center of the room, the drip of water through a
crack in the far wall fed a slowly growing puddle at
the far end. The smell of rot and decay made the air
thick, Mousse covering his nose as he went inside.
"Mousse," called Shampoo peering in behind him.
He panned the light around, stopping on something above
a large cabinet.
"Take a look at this," he said to her.
She walked in, followed by the rest of the group.
It was another painting eerily portraying several
people in obvious agony, wailing with fear as a red
demon raked fire and coals across their backsides.
"Why would somebody want this in their room?"
asked Ukyo.
"Whom ever was master of this castle had a twisted
sense of humor, or was just plain insane," replied
Ranma.
Kasumi shuddered, letting out a light moan. "I
don't like this. Lets go."
Mousse told them to hold on a minute, opening one
of the draws of a dresser he had been rummaging
through. Inside he found a medium sized book, bound in
a soft brown colored covering that seemed not to show
any signs of age. That was strange he thought lifting
it out.
"Hey, something to read tonight," joked Mousse.
"What is it, a diary?" asked Ukyo.
Mousse did not reply as he leafed through the
pages. Shaking his head, he look up. "I don't know.
I can't read the writing."
Akane and Shampoo peered into the open page. It
seemed to resemble kanji but read more like gibberish,
a mishmash of symbols and word blended into one.
"Why they write like this?" questioned Shampoo.
"Code maybe?" replied Akane.
Mousse closed it up. "Can't say until we really
sit down and look at it. But not here."
"Yeah, let's get moving. I want to get back to
the court room where we were relatively safe," Nabiki
said.
Leaving the room, the group continued down the
hall searching for the way back to where they started
from. Ignoring the other two rooms, they reached the
end following it around until they came upon a flight
of steps leading up to the next level.
"Up?" questioned Tatewaki to the others.
"No way. Lets go back, brother," Kodachi answered
him.
Before they could turn, that strange creak sounded
and everyone looked up.
"What is that!" exclaimed Akane fearfully.
"That is not the castle settling," commented
Ryoga.
Tatewaki nodded, agreeing with him. "This is a
good time to find out what is causing that then," he
said.
The creaking steps acted as if it heard, moving
away down the hall.
Ranma glared intensely at the ceiling as they
faded away. "Let's go get it," he said making for the
stairs.
* * * * *
Carefully, Ranma peered up shining his light
around. The hall was empty and he climbed the rest of
the steps. He could hear the storm much louder, a
series of wood slated windows running along the left
and right hallways. Fortunately for him the storm was
blowing away from their side, shielding him from the
rains.
"Come on up," he called to the others.
Soon the group stood staring down the halls
wondering what to do next.
"Now I think it is a good time to separate," said
Tatewaki.
"We shouldn't, Tatewaki," said Kasumi.
"We must if we intend to corner our elusive
noise."
The sound of creaking footsteps returned and
everyone stopped. Slowly they approached down the hall
to their left and flashlights quickly shined in that
direction. The hall was empty, and all eyes turned up
to the ceiling.
"It's quick," said Ukyo.
Irritation started to naw at Tatewaki's nerves.
"I counted only four levels. Let's find the next
flight of stairs and end this chase."
"Here, here," said Ranma echoing his desires.
They started to move when Ukyo suddenly called a
halt. She gazed out one of the windows, staring
excitedly at something.
"There's the bus!" she said.
Amidst the flashes of lightning, they could see
the minibus parked outside. Nabiki trained her
lanterns beam on it trying to get Tsubasa's attention.
"Tsubasa!" called Ukyo. The rest of the group
joined in, but there was no response.
"Just our luck. He's the only one getting any
sleep," commented Mousse.
"How's he going to hear us through all this wind,
rain, and the windows?" answered Kasumi.
Nabiki played the light across the front of the
bus, barely spotting Tsubasa's inert form in the front
seat. She held the light on him, but got no response.
"Odd," she said. "He must really be out."
"Then we need to wake him up," said Ranma.
Stepping back, Ranma let out a cry, brining a
sharp kick up towards one of the wooden post. His kick
was right on the mark, but to their surprise it did not
break. Ranma cried out holding his foot in one hand
while hopping around on the other.
Ryoga moved up examining the post. "Not a dent,"
he said incredulously.
"That's impossible. It's only wood," said Akane.
Ranma sat down against the wall rubbing the pain
from his foot. Akane knelt beside him.
"Did you break it?" she asked.
"I don't think so," he replied. "Damn thing felt
like a steel block."
"It doesn't want us to get out," said Kasumi.
"What, what not want us to leave?" Shampoo asked.
"This evil Tsubasa talked about," she answered.
Another sharp crash of thunder sounded, lightning
flashing across the night sky.
Nabiki moaned, slumping down against the wall to
the floor. "I didn't come here to be tormented by some
unknown thing. All I wanted was some sleep!"
"I want to go home!" exclaimed Kodachi, bursting
out in a long sob.
"Don't lose control of yourselves!" shouted
Tatewaki. "Panicking will do us no good."
Ranma glared angrily at the window. He stood up,
limping over to peer back outside. Tsubasa might be
their only chance out of this place, but first he had
to be alerted to their plight.
"Anybody got a coin?" he asked.
"What are you going to do, Ranma?" asked Akane.
"If I can hit the bus, Tsubasa might wake up.
Then we can try to tell him to go for help."
Tatewaki placed a five hundred yen coin in his
hand. "Excellent idea, Saotome."
Ranma stared at the minibus twirling the coin in
his hand waiting for the wind to die down a bit.
Drawing back, he whispered a quick prayer for a steady
hand and snapped it through the window. If it hit its
target they couldn't tell, but there was no response
from Kurenai.
"You missed!" shouted Ryoga.
"Prove it, lost boy!" snapped Ranma.
"Let me try," growled Ryoga.
Tatewaki placed a coin in his hand. "This is
starting to get expensive."
"Charge it to Ranma."
Ryoga waited for another flash to light the sky.
A streak appeared and he snapped the coin through the
post. Patiently, they waited for any sign that Tsubasa
was awake.
"Looks like I'm not the only one who's missing,"
remarked Ranma.
"How do we know they did not hit?" said Mousse.
"We don't," continued Ranma. He thought a moment.
It might be all of the wind and rain throwing off their
mark, but then again those coins could be to light and
small to make any real noise against the side of the
minibus.
"I need something heavier," he said looking
around.
"Does it have to be round and flat?" asked Akane.
Ranma's eyes caught her gold medal and he smiled.
"I want that," he said reaching out to take it. She
drew back sharply.
"No, Ranma. This is my medal, the first thing
I've ever won in my life!"
"Akane, I know it means a lot to you, but do you
want to stay here permanently?"
Akane immediately pulled off the medal handing it
to him.
The disk was definitely heavy enough to wake even
the dead. Snapping the ribbon from the loop, Ranma
drew back.
"Don't miss, Saotome," said Tatewaki.
"Don't plan too," replied Ranma.
He drew in a breath; the rest of the group
watching from the other windows, and let the disk fly.
A series of flashes allowed them to see it sail along
through the air. True to its mark, the medal hit the
top of the bus. At the same instant a bright streak of
lightning shot down impacting on the same spot. They
all shielded their eyes, drawing back as the minibus
erupted in a ball of flames.
Stunned expressions covered their faces, shock and
fear filling their minds.
"Oh my goodness," Kasumi said amidst the now
silent group. Ukyo suddenly inched her way back to the
window.
"Tsubasa . . . TSUBASA!" she cried reaching a hand
through the post. Ryoga pulled her back. She began to
cry turning to hug him tight, sobbing into his chest.
Ranma's numbed mind finally returned to normal.
"What do we do now," he asked Tatewaki in a listless
voice.
The creaking above sounded once more, and Tatewaki
slowly looked up. "Let's go back down," he answered,
acknowledging defeat.
* * * * *
The lower level seemed to return to normal, and
the group soon found their way back without further
incident. The darkness seemed more ominous, death's
hand scraping at their souls. Tsubasa's demise seemed
like a hallucination, a bad dream that refused to go
away. They had to accept the fact he was gone, and
that now their lives were in danger.
At the center of the room they huddled together,
watching Nabiki set up her laptop and cellular phone.
She tried calling for help earlier, but the connection
refused to go through. Failing that, she came up with
another idea.
The laptop beeped as the screen lit up. In
seconds she had her main system online; reaching into
her accessory bag to pull out her modem. Connecting
the special cable to her cellular, she inserted it into
the PCMCIA slot then called up her internet browser.
"What makes you think this is going to work if you
can't even call home?" asked Akane.
"I'm hoping the change in protocol will be strong
enough to punch through all this crap and get us
online," she replied.
"I don't know, Nabiki," Ranma said with some
doubt. "Still the same type of connection if memory
serves me right."
"Hush, non-believer!" she snapped. "Have some
faith in me."
A few keystrokes, and Nabiki signaled she was
ready. Crossing her fingers, she transmitted the
signal. Everyone could hear the tone, then the rapid
electronic dialer followed by a long hiss. They
waited, the tension filling the air. Suddenly, the
line went quiet.
"Damn, it died--," began Mousse, but Nabiki held
up a hand gesturing to the screen.
In the lower right corner, a small icon of a
telephone monitor began flashing red and green
indicating a connection had been made.
"We're up!" Nabiki said gaining a cheer from the
others.
"So who are you going to call for help here?"
Mousse suddenly asked.
"Not to worry. I'll just tap into one of my
special IRC chatrooms and talk to somebody there."
Opening the chat line, Nabiki pulled down a list
of sites, picking one she knew would be busy.
"Ah, here we go. Las Vegas Odds and Stats," she
said logging in.
"Nabiki, shame on you," scolded Kasumi.
"Oh sister dear, you wouldn't even begin to
believe how much I've won--, huh? What's this?"
Nabiki pushed her face closer to the screen. An
open window hung suspended at the center of the screen,
split down the middle one side marked Name, the other
Message. Currently the room occupancy indicator showed
only two persons logged on, and that wasn't right to
her. Glancing at her watch, she shook her head slowly.
"This room is normally filled to the brim with
people from around the world."
"Who's logged on then?" asked Tatewaki.
Moving the pointer over to the number, she clicked
it, displaying a pull-down list showing only her name.
"A lurker," she answered.
"Lurker or no lurker, let's get him up and tell
him to call for help," said Mousse.
Nabiki typed in a message:
Nabiki: Hello?
: Hello?
Nabiki: What country are you in?
: Japan.
Nabiki: Thank goodness. Please, call
the Police and tell them that
there is
a group of people trapped in a
castle at a place called
TASUNIOJO.
: So?
"What does this fool mean, `So'?" shouted Kodachi.
"We need help!"
"Oh yeah he heard you. Right through that
screen," Ryoga said clearing his ears. Nabiki told
them to be quiet as she continued with the
conversation.
Nabiki: Please, I'm very serious.
We're in trouble. One of our friends
has been killed, and we might be
next.
: This is fun!
"Damnit! He thinks this is a game!" raged Ukyo.
"Tell silly fool we not play. Shampoo want to go
home!"
"I'm trying, okay. I'm trying!" shouted Nabiki.
Nabiki: THIS IS NOT A GAME!!!! WE ARE
IN
SERIOUS TROUBLE AND WE NEED
HELP!!
GOT IT????!!!!!
: Ouch.
Nabiki: Sorry, but you made me mad :-{
: That's okay. I'll get you back.
Nabiki: Later, right now can you call
0423-48-2179. Ask for Soun Tendo.
: Oh, is that where you live, Nabiki
Tendo?
Nabiki: Yes, that's my
Nabiki's hands shot away from the keys as if
burned. Tatewaki frowned. "What's wrong?"
"He knows my name," she replied.
He looked at the screen. "Maybe his program
displays your entire name to him."
"I-I don't think so."
"Who cares if he knows your name," said Ranma.
"Tell this goof-ball to get off this line, get on the
phone and call somebody before I hunt him down and kick
his ass!"
: No you won't.
Ranma jumped back tumbling into Akane's lap. They
all stared at the screen frightened by the response.
"You have a mic on this thing?" asked Mousse.
Nabiki slowly shook her head. "It's not on."
Hesitantly, she reached back down to the keyboard
and continued typing.
Nabiki: How did you know my name?
: I know all of your names.
Nabiki: How?
: I know yours, and Tatewaki's, and
Kodachi's, and Shampoo's, and
Mousse's, and Kasumi's, and Akane's
, and Ukyo's, and Ryoga's, and that
big mouth Ranma's too.
Nabiki: How?
: Tsubasa told me.
Nabiki pushed the laptop away, cringing back
crying out loudly.
"Get it away, get it away from me!" she shouted
grabbing on to the front of Tatewaki's shirt.
Kasumi began breathing hard, trying to hold back
the terror she felt. "Who is this. Who's doing this
to us!" she said.
Angrily, Ranma righted the computer and began
typing on the keys. The rest of the group slowly moved
back around him.
Ranma: You bastard, who are you!
: Hello, Ranma.
Ranma: Damn it, answer me!
: I'm the darkness that will soon
engulf you. I'm a being that
will return to wander the Earth and
take what was once mine.
I am your end, as you are my
beginning.
Ranma: Knock off the riddles! Who
are you and why are you doing
this to us!
: I am Death
: DeathDeathDeath
: DeathDeathDeathDeath
: DeathDeathDeathDeathDeath
: DeathDeathDeathDeathDeathDeath
DeathDeathDeathDeathDeathDeathDeath
DeathDeathDeathDeathDeathDeathDeathDeathDeathDeathDeathDeathDeath
DeathDeathDeathDeathDeathDeathDeathDeathDeathDeathDeath--.
Frantically, Nabiki grabbed the cellphone and
ripped the connection from the computer, then shut it
down.
Off in a corner Kodachi huddled frightened by what
was going on. She trembled uncontrolably, sobbing in
fits and starts between breaths.
"This is not happening. This is not happening!"
she moaned.
Akane drew close to Ranma, shaking as she hugged
him tight. Shampoo suddenly let out a gasp.
"I not want to die here. Shampoo not supposed to
die here! I am to be queen of Amazon tribe, have
family and, and, and--,"
Mousse held her close as she finally broke down
into fits.
Tatewaki stood up. "Let's not loose control of
ourselves!" he shouted. That seemed to work, the
tension dying down. "Okay, we are in trouble granted,
but we have not been defeated. Not now or ever if we
work together and keep our heads."
"So what can we do, Kuno?" asked Ranma. "We don't
even know what we are up against."
"That is the first thing we should consentrate
on," he replied.
Ryoga smirked, scratching his head while glancing
back at the doors. "That means we're going to have to
search this place for clues."
"Quite right."
"Let's start with that crazy book Mousse found,"
Ranma suggested.
Raising a finger, Tatewaki's face lit up. He
turned to find Mousse already ahead of them breezing
through the pages; Shampoo holding a light above his
head.
"Still looks like jibberish," he said leafing past
another page.
"Keep trying," replied Tatewaki.
Nabiki sat looking through her Baedecker tourist
pocket edition on Japan. It was stuffed full of
information, but there was nothing she could readily
see at first glance.
"This palce is not in here!" she groweled, slaming
a fist on the floor.
"Maybe it was done on purpose," Kasumi said.
Nabiki looked over. "What do you mean?"
Getting up, Kasumi went back over to the platform
and stared down at the scrawled passage written in the
wood. "Something bad happened here. Something our
ancestors did not want anybody to know or find."
"It's got to be in that name," said Nabiki.
"Akane, hand me a piece of paper."
Akane pulled a small piece of note paper from
Nabiki's bag handing it to her. Writing down the name
from the sign, she studied it.
"Tasunio-jo. `Jo' means the castle. Why does the
rest of this name bother me?"
Akane laid down next to her. "Well for starters
the sign was vandalized when we saw it," she said.
Raising her brows, Nabiki remembered. She
scratched out the first three letters. "Okay, now it
says UNIOJO."
"You forgot to scratch out the first `O',"
Tatewaki reminded her.
She did, reading the name again. "UNI JO. Still
doesn't make sense."
"Cap the `U'," said Kodachi from behind them.
"What?" questioned Tatewaki.
"Cap the `U'," she said forming an arch with her
forefingers.
Nabiki closed the top of the U. "Okay, now we
have ONI JO."
"ONI-JO?" repeated Ranma.
She nodded. "ONI-JO . . . ONI-JO!" Nabiki let
out a gasp. "ONI!"
Oni was another name for demon, and if this had
anything to do with them then their troubles just got
worse.
"Are you telling me this castle is haunted?" asked
Ryoga.
"Not haunted," replied Tatewaki. "What did
Tsubasa say about this area? Home of demons if I'm not
mistaken."
"Oh, oh that's just great."
Tatewaki turned back to Nabiki. "Does your book
contain folklore?"
"Not a lot." Nabiki paged through the index,
finding the right page.
"Anything?" asked Tatewaki.
Nabiki read a few more lines before answering.
"According to the myths, this area was the home of the
Oni living in the volcanoes that surround this area."
"Yeah, but that's a common childs story," said
Mousse.
Tatewaki let out a humm, thinking. "Interesting.
I don't suppose there's a map of the old provences in
there?"
"Hey, this is a history book. It should have
something like that inside."
A quick search produced a map. There were many
small feudal provences and land-holdings, but one
immediately stood out to them all.
TASUNIO.
"Well lookee here," said Ranma. "Smack dab in the
middle of Oni country. Great time to get lost there,
Kuno."
Ignoring the barb, Tatewaki read the caption on
the page below.
DESTROYED: 1432(est.).
"Does that mean destroyed as in merged, or
destroyed as in wiped out?" said Kasumi.
"It does not say."
"Let's try the historical background." Nabiki
turned the pages back.
"Hmm, the diyamo and his followers apparently
worshipped the Oni," said Tatewaki as he read. "They
were supposedly crushed by the Shogun."
Ryoga looked up, thinking hard. With Ukyo in tow,
he went over to the platform and knelt down.
"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, right here. It's right
here in front of us."
Ukyo looked at the last line he pointed to. "And
evil shall roam the earth?"
"This diyamo wasn't human I'll bet," continued
Ryoga. "And now he's trying to come back."
"But how?" asked Ukyo.
Mousse moved up next to them. "I would say he's
probably going to use one of us."
"Possesion?" said Shampoo.
"Good chance. Seems to be a favorite from what
I've read about Oni."
Ukyo shuddered. "I'm not about to let this--,"
uuuuuuUUUUUUKKKKKKKYYYYYYOOOOOOOooooo, sounded a
deep, distorted voice.
She looked at Ryoga. "What?"
"I didn't say anything."
Their eyes met, and slowly Ryoga and Ukyo turned
to the others. There was no need to ask if anyone
called her name, their frightened expressions saying
more than words. The warbled voice called again
drifting through the room.
"It's c-c-coming f-f-from outside," Nabiki said.
"You want to . . . answer that, Ukyo?" said Ranma.
"This is no time to be funny, Ranma," she
answered. "I am not leaving this spot."
"Staying here won't help us," Mousse said.
The cry increased pleading in an ominous tone,
beckoning for attention. Ukyo sobbed, covering her
ears.
"No! I'm not listening. I'm not coming out!"
"We might have to," said Tatewaki. Stunned looks
turned to him. "Standing here will not help us out of
this situation. We must confront whatever wants us
here and see what it wants."
"I think it's pretty obvious what it wants,
Tatewaki," said Akane.
"Brother dear. You cannot suggest going out
there," added Kodachi. "Let us stay here until it goes
away."
Mousse chuckled oddly walking to the door. "Goes
away, Kodachi? We all forget, we're in it's
environment, not vica-versa. We have to go."
uuuuUUUKKKKYYOOoooo, called the voice again
emphasizing his point.
Mousse was right and they all knew it.
"Damn it!" snarled Ranma gesturing sharply with
his fist. "I hate this part."
Tatewaki joined Mousse at the doors. "Okay, the
ladies can stay here while--,"
"Forget that," Shampoo interupted. "Shampoo not
stay here by self while men go away. You crazy, Kuno."
"Here, here," Nabiki agreed latching on to one of
his arms.
"Very well. We'll all go together. Open the
door, Mousse."
Nervously, Mousse drew in a deep breath. He
cracked the door open and shined his flashlight out
into the hall. It was empty and he stepped out. The
voice called from down the right end of the hall, deep
into the unexplored sections of the castle.
"Don't just stand there, silly blind man,"
whispered Shampoo. "You lead!"
"Don't rush me!"
Gingerly, Mousse started walking, the group
staying a safe distance behind.
"Ranma. Do you think we'll run into that same
problem we ran into when we went up stairs. You know
the shifting hallways," asked Akane.
Her question brought them to a halt.
"Couldn't think of that sooner, eh?" answered
Ranma.
Kasumi peered over her shoulder hoping to find the
lights they left on in the court room. It was pitch
black and she sharply loked forwards again.
"Oh, damn," muttered Kodachi inching closer to the
center.
"It's too late to stop now," said Mousse.
Shinning his light around, he made out a crossing
hallway a few steps ahead. "We're comitted," he
continued, moving on. "All we can do now is--,"
Mousse froze in the center of the hallways staring
at something off to his left. He babbled fearfully
shaking uncontrolably. "Oh, guys. Oh man, oh my--,"
"What is it man!" said Tatewaki.
Mousse pointed unable to speak again.
Tatewaki started to move, but Nabiki gripped his
arm, holding him back.
"Kuno-baby, let's go, please."
"No, Nabiki. Just stay behina me."
Stepping out into the open, Tatewaki started,
staring wide-eyed at what he saw.
A smokey-white apparition floated eerily at the
far end, features undeffined as it drifted towards
them. Suddenly, the ghost stopped half-way, the
warbled voice calling out again.
"Ukyo," it said.
Nobody could move held in terror as its features
began to sharpen. Recognization hit Ukyo, and she let
out a gasp.
It was Tsubasa.
"Tsubasa, Tsubasa you poor soul," she said.
Tsubasa's listless eyes trailed over them, a
gastly pained expression on his face. There seemed to
be no movement from his lips, but he called for her
again then moaned.
"I warned you . . . I warned you all, but you
would not heed me--, mocked me, condemed yourselves to
everlasting damnation."
"What, what are you saying, Tsubasa?" asked Ryoga.
The specter lolled its head back, drawing in a
rattled breath. "Fools! You're all going to die! Die
a lingering, miserable death." He pointed a finger at
them. "And there's nothing you can do to stop it."
"No," cried Ukyo. She pushed her way through
them, taking hesitant steps towards Tsubasa. "Tsubasa-
-, I-I know you don't mean those things! The good I
knew in you still has to be there."
"Ukyo, get back here!" shouted Ranma.
She stopped, trembling hard. "Help us, please."
Kurenai's head slumpped forward. His shoulders
began to heave, chuckling in a dark tone.
"There is no help for you." he replied.
"What does this thing want!" shouted Tatewaki.
A ghostly flame suddenly flashed around Tsubasa,
blinding them for a moment. Ukyo drew back shielding
her eyes. When she peered over her arms, he was
looking evily at them with brows arched high.
Tsubasa's sneer locked on her.
". . . YOUUUUUUU!"
Screams echoed through the hallways, everyone
scattering for their lives as the ghost rushed towards
them.
* * * * *
Ukyo thundered down the dark hallways, panic
driving her on as she sought to escape the ghost and
his words. She could hear a scream realizing it was
her own voice waling in uncontrolled fear. Her body
slammed into a flight of stair, Ukyo ignoring her pain
rushing up them with hardly a pause. Her foot caught
on something, and Ukyo tumbled to the floor.
Pain wracked her as she rolled across the wooden
boards, images of light playing in her eyes. She lie
still listening to the sound of the rain, her breaths
rapid from all of the exertions.
There was no sign of Tsubasa's ghost, and only
then did Ukyo realize that she was alone. This was
deffinitly not the time to loose track of the others;
her hands feeling for the walls. The cold dampness of
the rotting plaster felt moist beneath her fingers,
feeding the growing terror in her mind.
A brief flash of lightning appeared ahead, coming
from a room off to the left. Ukyo causiously made her
way to the edge of the doorway and peered in. A large
basin at the opposite end of the room indicated that
this might have been one of the bath rooms, water from
the storm puddling in through an open vent above. The
rains patter sounded loud aginst the slats of the
windows, a hollow drone calling breifly as the wind
passed through the openings.
Nervously Ukyo walked to the center of the room,
whimpering lightly not sure what to do next. Her whole
body felt numb, trembles of fear running unceasingly
through her. A flash lit the room, then a hand came
down on her right shoulder.
She screamed whipping around backing frantically
away. The lightning flashed again, and Ukyo made out
the person standing before her. Letting out a relieved
gasp, she rushed over, hugging him tight.
"Oh, oh I though no one would find me. Where are
the--."
A sharp pain surprised Ukyo and she let out a
guttered cry. Taloned finger pressed through her
chest, ripping and tearing their way through her body.
She clentched her teeth, the coppery taste of blood
pooling in her mouth then a tight grip forced Ukyo's
head back preventing her from expelling the thick fluid
from her throat.
Ukyo clutched the wrist of her assailant, unable
to do much more that stare into the now burning red
eyes as she awaited death to release her from agony.
* * * * *
Ranma burst through a door, pulling Akane with him
as he searched for a place to hide from Tsubasa's
ghost. They backed into the nearest corner holding
each other tight waiting for any sign that he was still
after them. After a moment, the ensuing silence told
Ranma that for the moment they were safe.
"Akane," he whispered.
Akane's grip tightened around him, shivers of fear
flowing through her body.
"Akane, I think we lost it."
"H-H-How do you-you know," she replied.
"I have high hopes?"
His answer made Akane laugh nervously and she
relaxed slightly. "You always could make me laugh no
matter what the situation."
"Somebody has to see humor in all of this."
Ranma may have been joking with Akane, but his
senses were on edge, searching for even the slightest
indication that something was wrong. The darkness put
them at a disadvantage, and if he was going to protect
Akane, he needed to see what he would be up against.
"I'm going to turn the flashlight back on," he
told her.
"No, that might bring that ghost to us!"
"I don't think its around anymore."
He thumbed the switch, panning the beam left and
right. The floor was heavily cluttered with debris,
broken chairs, rotted tables strewn about. Not far
from them hung an old suit of samurai armor, beyond
that a rack of weapons in need of care.
A weapon no matter what condition was better than
nothing right now, Ranma gently guiding Akane along
towards them. Taking a shortened halbeard from one of
the racks, he tested it making short swipes through the
air.
"Ranma, what good is that going to do?" Akane
asked him.
"Let's call it moral support. I feel better
having something to defend myself with."
"You're going to kill a ghost with a piece of
metal? Baka!"
Ranma smiled at her. "Demons, sweatheart. Even
they have weaknesses."
Akane started to chastize him, then stopped to
think about his comment. The next thing she knew she
was pulling a chineese scimitar from the wall.
"It's been a long time since I handled one of
these. I hope I don't accidently lop off an arm or
something."
"I'll remember to stay well clear of you then."
Akane hit him lightly. "Stupid, I'm not--,"
A light step stopped Akane, eyes cutting to the
side. Ranma heard it too, spinning around thrusting
the halbeard out. Caught up in the beam of his
flashlight, Tatewaki Kuno grimaced at the tip poised
millimeters from his nose.
"If you're going to kill me, Saotome, then please
make it a quick clean slice," he said.
Ranma sighed lowering his head to his chest.
Gently, Tatewaki pushed the halbeard aside walking past
him. On his back, Nabiki clung to him with a death
grip around the neck, her eyes clentched shut in fear.
"Akane, would you please tell your sister I am not
a beast of burden."
The meantion of her sister's name brought Nabiki
out of her catonic stupor. She let Tatewaki go,
staring at her.
"Kasumi?" she said.
"I haven't seen her."
Akane could tell that Nabiki was only moments away
from total breakdown. She righted a stool reaching out
to take her by the hand. Nabiki did not resist,
allowing herself to be guided over and sat down.
Standing before the suit of armor, Tatewaki
examined it nodding in approval. "Very fine work for a
place of such evil," he said. "Excellent job on
finding us weapons, Saotome."
"Pure accident, Kuno."
Noting the scabbard resting on a shelf above him,
Tatewaki reach up and pulled it down. Drawing the
samurai sword from its sheath, he studied the blade.
Despite the years and neglect it still was in pretty
good shape, the cutting edge razor sharp and keen.
Kuno smiled resheathing the sword and straped it on.
"Now I feel whole again," he commented. "Bring
this demon on."
"Suggestions like that might come true, Tatewaki.
I certainly don't want to be around when it does," said
Akane.
Movement from the hallway silenced them. Low
voices in terse conversation followed, and then a call
sounded.
"Hello?"
Ranma held his halbeard out. "Ryoga?" he
answered.
Ryoga looked around the corner. "Man, I've never
been so glad to see your ugly face, Ranma."
"Yeah, you've already frightened me once, no need
to do it again."
Ryoga glowered at him as he led Kasumi and Kodachi
inside. Relieved that her sister was safe, Akane
hugged Kasumi tight.
"Kodachi, are you well?" Taatewaki asked his
sister, noting the lost look in her eyes.
"I'd be better far away from this place," she
answered him.
"That's not going to happen while Tsubasa's ghost
is running around looking for us," said Ryoga.
Kasumi saddly turned towards the doorway. "I
don't think we'll see him again. Not in this life at
least."
"What makes you think that?"
"This demon only used him to split us up.
Separate us so it could do whatever it has set out to
do."
"A diversion," said Tatewaki.
"And we are still short three people," added
Ranma.
"Let's go find them then before something bad
happens," Akane said.
Nabiki stood up placing a somber hand on Akane's
shoulder. "I would think by now it already has," she
said sadly.
* * * * *
Shampoo darted maddly through the confusing
darkness, desperate to locate any of her friends. She
called out for Mousse, the last person she could
remember being with before they ran for their lives.
Abruptly she smacked into a wall, stunning her for a
moment. Tears flowed down her cheeks, tears more from
fear than the pain she felt. Being helpless and alone
only made her more afraid, something she'd never
actually thought possible could happen to her.
Shampoo's legs felt weak and she slumped down to the
floor pressing her face into her hands to cry.
"Shampoo?" called a voice from the darkness. Her
head snapped up, recognizing it immediately.
"Mousse?"
A light came on blinding her. Mousse stood in the
center of the hall watching her. The Amazon girl was a
sudden blur, leaping from the floor to smother him in a
tight embrace.
"Omph . . . Shampoo! Settle down, it's okay, it's
okay!"
Shampoo sobbed freely into his chest, not caring
if it was the last man she wanted to have her arms
around.
"Mousse, where you go? Why you leave Shampoo
alone in dark to face ghost of Tsubasa? Why you leave
me!"
"I didn't leave you. You ran so damn fast I fell
behind!"
Shampoo drew back, frowning at him. "I call name,
why you not answer?"
"Yeah, that was a stupid thing to do too!"
Mousse's expression startled Shampoo, a stern look
that she'd never seen on him before. He was right
though.
"I . . . I sorry."
"We're lucky you didn't draw that specter our way.
Who knows what might have happened."
"I say I sorry! Is not enough?" shouted Shampoo
clentching her fist angrily to her sides.
"Lower your voice, woman," replied Mousse glancing
back over his shoulder. He thought about what to do
now.
"Let's go on," he finally said gesturing forward.
"Is dead end, stupid blind man," Shampoo pointed
out.
Training the light forward, Mousse let out a
curse. "Then we'll have to go back the way we came.
Come on."
Taking her by the hand, he lead her down the hall.
Soon they approached another intersection, and stopped
to glance around.
"Castle not that big," said Shampoo. "Why so many
halls?"
"This damn demon or whatever is doing it. Keeping
us off balance, toying with us until he's ready to
strike. Oh what I would do for a rosary or just some
holy water."
Shampoo suddenly hugged him tight. "Mousse . . .
we not get out of here alive, will we?" she said.
Mousse's eyes narrowed slightly. "We're going to
give it a good try, Shampoo. And if we have to die,
we're going to take somebody with us."
She rested her head on his chest. "Yes. I glad
you here with me."
A narrow smile formed on Mousse's lips, hands
slowly moving up for her head. Before he could do
anything, a faint glow from the right end of the hall
caught the corner of his eye. Instantly, Mousse shut
off his flashlight, giving Shampoo a quick hush to stay
silent. Together, they watched as the glow grew
brighter, fearing the apperance of Tsubasa's ghost or
worse.
Something long and pointed appeared silouhetted
againt the background glow, then a figure stepped
cautiously out into view.
Mousse let out a breath. "Ranma!" he called.
Ranma litteraly jumped through the ceiling,
halbeard clattering to the floor. Another figure
rounded the corner.
"Mousse?" said Ryoga, a spear thrust out at the
ready.
Mousse turned his flashlight back on, shining it
on the people standing at the other end. "Well it's
about time you guys showed up!"
"Us! We've been looking for you, Shampoo, and
Ukyo."
"Shampoo here!"
"That's good," said Kasumi. "Is Ukyo with you?"
"No, well lost her in heaven only knows what part
of this accursed castle," answered Mousse.
"Then let's keep looking. She might be in
trouble," Tatewaki said.
Akane pulled Ranma from his catonic stupor on the
floor, following the others as they continued down the
hall. Their search turned up nothing, and soon they
reached the end. Tatewaki shined his light around. A
ribbon lying near the corner of the hall leading off to
the left caught his eye. "There," he whispered
pointing. Ranma picked it up.
"It's her's," he told them. He gazed down the
hall and spotted steps leading up to the next level.
Just then the mysterious creaking began above their
heads, moving from side to side in a continuous motion.
"If she's up there, she has company," said Nabiki.
"Then we need to help her," Ryoga said, darting
for the steps.
Ranma and Akane called out for him to wait but it
was too late. Ryoga rushed up the steps forcing the
others to hurry after him. Their footsteps thundered
through the air as they blindly charged out into the
next floor. No sign of Ukyo, Ryoga slid to a stop
looking around.
"Ukyo!" he called, receiving a sharp slap to the
back of the head from Tatewaki.
"Be quiet for a minute!" he growled low. Ryoga
glared at him, but held his tounge. Tatewaki shined
his light down the hall, eyeing the door a few paces
off to the left. Motioning for Ranma to follow him,
together they covered the hall moving carefully up to
the edge. Ranma raised his weapon above his head,
covering Kuno ready to cut down anything that showed
itself prematurely from the room.
Stepping across from the opening, Tatewaki dropped
into a crouch shining the light into the room. There
seated at the center with her back to them was Ukyo.
Her head hung forward, long hair drapped down across
the front of her shoulders.
"Ukyo," whispered Tatewaki, but she did not move.
Ranma peered around the corner checking to see if
it was safe. No apparent threat, he stepped in and
called to Ukyo getting the same response. Exchanging
looks, the two men walked over.
"Ranma, what's wrong?" Akane called.
"Don't know yet?" he replied.
They stopped, kneeling next to Ukyo.
"Yo, Ukyo. You praying or something?" asked
Ranma.
"Praying," said Tatewaki. "Where is your brain?"
Ranma cut him a look, then reached out touching
her shoulder. Ukyo fell back and both men cried out
jumping away.
"Ranma, what's wrong with Ukyo?" Ryoga said.
Ranma could not answer, staring at the pleading
expression on Ukyo's face. Her eyes seamed to be
gazing up at something in the ceiling, both hands
clutching her chest. A shudder pased through him, fear
building as he reached down to feel for a pulse. Her
skin was clammy, and as he moved her hands the sight of
blood on her shirt made him cry out, backpeaddling
away.
"No, no, no!" he yelled pressing up against the
wall.
"Tatewaki, what is it!" shouted Kasumi.
Tatewaki's eyes were wide; the scion of the Kuno
family only able to keep his wits by sheer will alone.
Bravely, he knelt down and finished moving her hands
from her chest. A long silence followed.
"Kuno, damn it! Is she alright?" raged Ryoga
again.
Tatewaki hung his head, rubbing the bridge of his
nose, then let out a sigh. "Ukyo is . . . dead," he
finally said.
Kasumi drew in a gasp covering her mouth with her
hands. Ryoga could not believe it.
"Are you sure! You didn't even feel for a pulse."
"I don't have to," replied Tatewaki. He looked at
them, a strained expression on his face.
"She has no heart."
* * * * *
They carried Ukyo's body back downstairs away from
the site of her murder. Not a sound passed between
them as they wandered through the halls in search of
the court room. Apparently their demon host was
allowing them to return to their false nitch of
security unharmed.
Once there, Ryoga wrapped her in his blanket,
placing her body at the foot of the platform. Several
sobs issued from the people around him, and he too felt
tears briming in his eyes.
"We're sorry, Ukyo," he said clearing his eyes.
"This should not have happened to you. Not you."
Ranma lay huddled in Akane's arms taking the death
of his longtime friend hard. His tears stained Akane's
shirt, teeth clentched tight fighting back the urge to
cry out in sorrowfull agony.
"What the hell is going on," he said. "Why, why
did she have to die like that?"
Akane could not answer him, stroking his hair to
comfort him. She bit her lip nervously, looking over
to Kasumi. The eldest Tendo sister sat quetly on her
spread, staring down at the floor. A cry from Shampoo
made her look up.
"There has to be something we can do?" Shampoo
sobbed into Mousse's chest unable to control herself.
"Maybe we should try and talk to this demon," he
suggested.
"What!" cried Nabiki amidst her tears. "Mousse
you definitly have lost your mind!"
"I-I don't see where talking would help us,
Mousse!" added Kodachi.
Mousse gently layed Shampoo down and stood up
going back up to the platform. He brought the lantern
in his hand closer to the phrase on the floor studying
the words.
"It's here," he continued. "Here in the lines,
and maybe in this book we found."
"What are you saying, Mousse?" asked Tatewaki.
Mousse paused then read one of the lines. "'From
the breast of good, I will find a soul.' Ukyo's heart
was good, and he took it."
Ryoga moved up to the platform and read the lines.
He narrowed his eyes, then looked back shining his
light upon the picture of the pleading woman.
"Oh my gosh," he muttered low, looking back down
at the writing.
"You see. This is what the demon plans to do."
If Ryoga heard, he did not reply, walking back
over to Ukyo's body. Gently, he uncovered her pausing
for a moment to fight back the anguish in his chest.
Ukyo's expression matched the one in the picture and he
quikly cover her back up.
"So you're saying this demon intends to take off
someone's head next?" said Tatewaki.
"I don't know, Kuno," he replied. "But I'm
willing to bet that talking to this demon or whatever
it is we're up aginst might help us get out of here."
"How?" asked Ranma sitting up.
"What is it that it wants? We don't know."
"That's absurd!" shouted Tatewaki. "We all know
what it wants. Us dead!"
Tempers started to rise among the group.
"Are you considering giving this bastard what it
wants, Mousse?" questioned Ryoga.
"What other choice do we have!" snapped Mousse.
Kasumi began pacing, shaking her head not liking
the idea at all. "Mousse, I think Tatewaki is right.
This demon is after all of us."
"And I don't think giving up anybody is a good
idea either!" said Ranma.
"Not unless somebody volunteers."
That caught them completely off guard. The mear
idea sounded crazy, but for somebody to sacrifice their
life for the others, although noble, even more insane.
"Are you willing to give up your life, Mousse. Is
that what you are saying?" asked Nabiki.
Mousse looked to Shampoo. "Yes, if it means that
Shampoo can escape, then I'd gladly give my life."
"No, Mousse. You not give life for Shampoo."
Ryoga stood up. "Forget that idea, Mousse," he
said. "Besides, there's more than one threat in those
lines."
"It doesn't matter. Ranma, aren't you willing to
give your life for Akane, or does she matter at all to
you?"
Ranma looked back at Akane, not sure how to
respond to the question. He did not have to, Akane
interposing herself between them.
"Ranma does not have to give his life for me like
that. How can you even think such a thing, Mousse!"
"It might be your only way out!"
"You're crazy!" shouted Ryoga. He knelt flinging
back Ukyo's shroud. "You want to talk, Mousse. Talk
to her. Tell Ukyo how you want to just give in and let
this bastard have his pick of victims."
Mousse frowned unable to gaze upon his friend's
dead body.
"No, don't turn your head, look at her. She's got
no fucking heart, Mousse! She's got no fucking heart
thanks to our cordial host and you want to talk!"
"Hey, I'm putting my life on the line here too.
You think that's an easy choise!"
"ENOUGH!" roared Kasumi.
Everyone drew back, surprised by her show of
anger.
"Look at us. Fighting amongest ourselves when we
really need each other. This has to stop before it
gets out of hand. Once that happens then the demon has
won."
Kasumi's words restored control, refocusing the
group again. She let them think, then looked at
Mousse.
"That's very sweet of you to be willing to give
your life for Shampoo, Mousse. But like Tatewaki said,
it want's us all dead."
Mousse sat down, apparently dejected by the rebuff
he received. "Then the only other thing we can do is
kill it," he replied.
"Kill it how?" asked Kodachi.
"We have some weapons now," said Ranma. "All
that's left is to hunt it down."
"How can we be sure these weapons will be enough?"
Akane said.
"Trust me, after I get done shoving this lance up
it's ass, that will be enough," answered Ryoga.
The creaking of footsteps sounded, everyone
looking up.
"If we can get to it, but it keeps shifting
reality around on us," Tatewaki said. "We need
something to draw it down here."
Ranma glanced at the pictures on the walls. "You
know, those paintings seem to be an important part of
this castle," he said.
"And?"
"I wonder what ol'grusome would do if we just
happened to damage them a bit."
Ranma went to the pleading woman and placed the
edge of the halbeard at the center. Before he could
draw it down, Mousse's urgent call stopped him.
"What's wrong, Mousse?" asked Ranma.
"I-I-I don't think that's, uh such a good idea."
"And how would you know?"
Mousse gave him a shrug. "Just don't think it
will do anything but make him angrier."
"Good. Then he'll come down and complain in
person," replied Ryoga.
The steps above them drifted out of earshot. A
long pause followed as the group waited to see what
would happen next. Not long after the creaks returned,
but this time they sounded like they were coming from
outside on their level.
Tatewaki drew the sword from it's sheath; Ranma
and Ryoga preparing themselves before the two doors.
Akane gripped the simitar nervously in both hands
positioning herself between her sisters and the
potential battleground.
"Mousse, Shampoo, Kodachi, dim the lights,"
whispered Tatewaki.
All eyes were locked on the doors, every muscle
and nerve in their bodies on edge as the steps moved
closer and closer to the doors. Finally they stopped,
Ranma and Ryoga readying to strike the second they
opened. One of the doors started shaking, lightly at
first, building to a rapid quake. All at once there
came a sharp crack and it burst inwards propelled by a
strong force of wind.
Screams sounded, Rnama and Ryoga knocked back to
the floor. The wind blew around the room, knocking
over the lanterns, scattering the blankets. With
vision obscured, Tatewaki could barely make out a
shadowy form stepping inside. It's large form towered
over them all, a glow of red forming it's eyes as it
looked around.
Without pause he lashed out at the demon cutting
down through the air, only to have his blade deflected
away with a bright flash of blue sparks. An arm rose,
fist balling to strike him. Tatewaki rolled as the
blow missed crashing through the wooden floor with a
crash. Ranma finally came to his feet fighting against
the wind to see what it was Tatewaki was up aginst. He
saw the figure standing before him, too late to dodge
the fist that launched him across the room.
"Ranma!" cried Akane as he landed on the platform.
Off aginst the wall Shampoo pressed herself flat,
calling out to Mousse. He stood unmoving facing the
demon, oddly calm. But it ignored him; Kodachi and
Nabiki screaming out in terror as the demon whirled
around towards them. Before it could attack, Ryoga's
spear thrust into it's side gaining a satisfying growl
that carried long through the air. Akane angrily
slashed down, feeling the blade cutting through it's
tough hide.
"That's for Ukyo, you bastard!" cried Ryoga
pulling back for another strike.
He lunged, only to meet empty air as his target
leaped back. A sharp blow dropped him to his stomach,
stunning him momontarily. Tatewaki came to Ryoga's
aid, slashing at it, forcing it back towards the door.
Ranma managed to recover his wits and return to the
fray.
Apparently that was enough for the demon and it
quickly retreated out the room.
"Come on people, we've got it on the run!" shouted
Ranma from the threshold.
"Ranma, wait. Let's not be to hasty," Kasumi
called. Her resoning did no good, Ranma's blood lust
running high. Ryoga came to his feet. Grabbing a
lantern from the floor, he and Ranma ran out after the
demon.
"Idiots!" shouted Tatewaki. He rushed to the
doorway. "Mousse, Akane, stay here and protect the
others. I'm going after those two and bring them
back," he ordered dashing off.
"Kuno, wait!" Akane cried to no avail.
"Tatewaki wait for me!" Nabiki called. Kasumi
tried to catch her, but just missed an arm as she ran
past her out the door.
"Has everyone lost their minds!" she exclaimed.
"We can't let her go by herself," said Akane.
"Let's get after her before it's too late,"
replied Mousse.
* * * * *
As fast as it appeared, the demon dissapeared into
thin air, Ranma calling a stop to their pursuit. Once
again they stood unsure what part of the castle the
were in.
"Uh oh," muttered Ryoga kneeling down. Ranma did
the same, and they covered each other's back, waiting
for any sign of attack.
"Don't think talking all that stuff helped much,"
whispered Ranma.
"We hurt it didn't we," replied Ryoga. "That
alone was worth it."
"Not if we can't finish the job. I think all we
did was anger it even further. And now we've allowed
ourselves to be pulled into it's territory."
"Well I'm not going to sit here and wait to die.
Let's keep moving."
Carefully the two walked, the flashlight sweeping
the way ahead. Coming up on another crossing hall,
abruptly Ryoga's lantern flickered then went out. They
stood in the darkness, fear creeping up on them. Ryoga
could hear his heart beating rapidly, knuckles creaking
as he tightened his grip on the spear.
"Ranma?" he whispered.
"Still here, Ryoga," answered Ranma brushing up
aginst his right arm.
He swallowed hard trying to remain calm. A light
shuffle to his left sounded. Turning to face the
unknown threat, a low whoosh sounded. They heard the
end of the spear shatter as something cut through the
shaft. Ryoga cried out, dropping back as another swipe
cut above him.
Ranma gauged where their attacker was from the
sound and lunged letting out an angry yell. Whatever
it was it was fast, a sturdy thump sounding from the
adjacent wall. Metal on metal sparked as Ranma's blade
was deflected. He turned bringing his weapon up barely
blocking a strong downward thrust. A foot kicked him
at the chest, Ranma loosing his breath as he slammed up
aginst the wall.
"BAKA!" a voice cried out. Ranma's eyes went wide
and he duck aside as the blade of a sword burried
itself into the wall next to his head.
"Akane?" said Ryoga from the floor. A nervous
pause followed.
"Ry-Ryoga?" came Akane's timid reply.
The light from two lanterns flickered back to life
exposing Kasumi and Kodachi kneeling close to the
floor; Akane gripping the hilt of her simitar. Pure
shock covered her face, the expression mimiced on
Ranma's as he eyed the blade.
"OhmmgoshRanmaIdidn'tmeantodthat!" she rambled
stepping back realizing how close she came to killing
him.
Ranma pulled what hairs were not severed by the
blade free, sliding off to the side. "It's alright,
Akane. I can understand why," he replied.
"How did you girls so far ahead of us?" Ryoga
asked as he stood up.
"We're not sure," answered Kasumi. "We thought we
were after Nabiki."
"Nabiki?"
"She went after my brother," said Kodachi.
"Speaking of which where is he?"
Akane rushed over to Ranma hugging him tight. He
embraced her, trying to settle her down. "Tatewaki was
behind us?" he said.
"He went after you two," replied Kasumi. "Nabiki
went after him, so naturally had to come after--,"
"We?" said Ranma with a frown.
"Yes, Akane, Kodachi . . ."
Kasumi glanced around. "They're, they're gone!
Mousse and Shampoo . . . they're gone!"
"It's got them," said Kodachi fearing the worst.
Ryoga pulled Akane's scimitar from the wall. "Not
if we can help it. Come on, and stay close together!"
* * * * *
Nabiki groped around in the darkness, whimpering
fearfuly as she listened for Tatewaki or anyone from
their group. She berate herself for being so
impulsive, so foolish rushing out knowing that the
demon might do something like this to trap them. Now
here she was, lost with no one to protect her. Fair
game just like all the people she'd ever conducted
bussiness with, but now the stake was higher.
A cold breeze chilled her, Nabiki wondering where
it was coming from. She held up a hand following the
moving current of air to a large open room devoid of
any furnishings. The wind and rain rushed in from the
slated windows on the far wall occasional flashes
casting eerie shadows across the floor.
Edging up to the nearest window, Nabiki found
herself looking down at the rear of the castle. That
couldn't be right, she thought to herself. I didn't
climb any steps, so how did I get up here?
She backed away panic overtaking her.
"NNNNNAAAAABBBBBBIIIIIKKKKKKIIIII," whispered a
sinister voice.
Nabiki stopped in the center of the room, dropping
down in a crouch. She trembled, fist pressed up tight
to her lips. The voice called again and she looked up.
"T-T-T-Tsubasa?"
The strange voice laughed and that was enough for
her. She darted for the door making only a few steps
before a cord dropped around her throat jerking tight.
She gasped, turning to lean away from the pull, but
another strong tug had her balancing precariously on
the tips of her toes.
Nabiki tried to scream grasping at the cord to
pull it free. Her finger were unable to get underneath
the loop as it dug deeper into her flesh. Desperatly,
she reached up, grabbing the length running from the
overhead. A sharp pain cut Nabiki's fingers as they
were lacerated by a jagged coating of crushed glass,
rivlets of blood running down her hands.
Dropping her arms, Nabiki tried to scream managing
a guttered cry. Powerful hands suddenly gripped her by
the waist lifting her up from the floor.
"Go ahead . . . scream now," whispered that same
menacing voice.
She broke out into sobs, then screamed as loud as
her tourtured throat would allow.
The voice laughed. "Told you I would get you
back," it said.
The hands released her, Nabiki uttering a short
squeak before the sharp snap of her neck brought the
merciful rush of death to her ears.
* * * * *
Tatewaki Kuno whirled in his tracks hearing the
cry of Nabiki's voice drifting down the hall.
"Nabiki!" he called breaking into a run.
Following the cry down the twisting turns, he slid
to a stop at the threshhold of a door. Nabiki's scream
stopped before he arrived, and Tatewaki's eyes cut from
side to side searching for her. Lightning flashed,
Nabiki's silouhette appearing at the center of the
room.
"Nabiki its me, Tatewaki. Come to the door
quickly."
Her silence only increased Kuno's apprehension.
"Nabiki, are you able to move?" he asked taking a step
towards her. Something told Tatewaki to flee, but his
feelings towards the woman would not allow it. Every
nerve of his body tingled, adrenaline flowing with the
blood in his veins. Holding the sword at the ready to
his side he moved closer.
A creak sounded, at first Tatewaki thought it
above him, a second one told him it was from behind.
Good training made Tatewaki's reflexes sharp, reacting
quick to the threat. He rolled hearing the swipe of
taloned claws rush behind him, springing up to
interpose himself infront of Nabiki.
"I understand now. Stay behid me, Nabiki. When I
tell you, run for the door."
A laugh echoed around him, building in intensity
covering the movements of the demon hiding in the
darkness.
"Fight me face to face you coward, or are you
afraid of dying tonight!"
A low chuckle sounded off to the right, Tatewaki
turning around. "Are you?" replied the sinister voice.
Tatewaki sensed movement off to his left, the
sword coming up deflecting a blow with a loud tang. He
countered, something hard parrying the attempts. A
last swipe met empty air, the demon's laugh fading off.
He knew it had not gone, using the darkness to set
up for another attack. Tatewaki causiously moved back
next to Nabiki. "Nabiki run, I'll cover you," he said
nudging her.
She did not move, then a flash exposed the dark
form of the demon standing just behind her. Kuno cried
out diving away as it attacked barely dodging the
taloned claws swiping at his throat. A cloven foot
kicked him in the side, ribs popping as he rolled
across the floor. Ignoring his pain, Tatewaki rose up
cutting a backhand slash through the air. His blade
found its mark, where he did not know, but a deep growl
followed.
The floor creaked as the demon retreated again.
Staggering to his feet, Tatewaki returned to Nabiki's
side. He grimaced, clutching his wounded side staring
hard at her. "Nabiki," he called again. Still no
answer, Tatewaki figuring that it must be the demon's
work. "Nabiki," he said sadly taking a hand in his.
Something wet and slightly warm touched his fingers and
he let go. Feeling the substance, a quick sniff told
him it was blood, Nabiki's blood bringing a new horror
to his mind.
A flash exposed the demon standing behind him, but
Tatewaki did not hear until the floor creaked again.
By the time he turned it was too late. Taloned fingers
raked across his chest, ripping through flesh in a wash
of blood and gore.
Tatewaki's cry was muted behind clentched teeth as
the pain rush through him. His sword dropped from his
grasp, and he turned back around leaning up aginst
Nabiki.
He coughed, blood splattering the sides of his
mouth. "F-F-Forgive me . . . Nabiki. I've . . . F-F-
Failed--."
Another flash and only then did Tatewaki see the
cord wrapped tight around Nabiki's neck, head askew
groteskly to one side, eyes rolled back a mask of death
on her pale face.
"Noooo!" he cried then another slash along his
back made him tense. Tatewaki trembled, fighting to
stay alive but his efforts were no good. One final
swipe severed his spine and he slumped, sliding slowly
down Nabiki's corpse towards the floor.
* * * * *
Shampoo followed Mousse down the hall wondering
where he was leading them. Somehow they had managed to
get seperated from Akane, Kodachi, and Kasumi wandering
lost through this dimentional maze of hell.
"Mousse!" she whispered. "Where we going?"
She could see Mousse's shoulders shrug. "I don't
know. I just thought it would be better to keep moving
than stand around waiting to be attacked."
"What? You leading us around further into crazy
place!"
"It's not crazy, Shampoo. In fact I think I'm
beginning to recognize this part of the castle."
Stopping before a large door, Mousse slid it open
gesturing for her to go inside. Shampoo frowned, but
did thinking it better than standing out in the open.
"This is where I found more of those pictures," he
continued panning the light around.
At the far end hung two pictures just as Mousse
said. Curiously the couple went over to the one on the
left. This one had three figures standing one before
another centered amids the faces of an every day crowd.
The rear most figure was dim, a dark silhouette marking
its form, the second one bore features that Shampoo
found strangely familiar to her.
"What is this?" she said taking the flashlight
from Mousse's hands. Moving closer, she squinted at
the face, noting the dark long hair, almond shaped eyes
that seemed to be squinting back. She arched a brow,
then it suddenly hit her.
"Mousse, this you!" she exclaimed. "Why you
standing in picture, and who is woman in front of you?"
"How should I know, I didn't paint it," he
replied.
Shampoo looked over the painting again, trying to
match the face of the woman standing in front of
Mousse's likeness. Her face appeared incomplete,
features still not refined. It looked to her that the
paint was still fresh waitiing for some unknown artist
to come and finish the job.
Mousse called her. "If you think that's strange,
take a look at this one," he said gesturing to the
other painting.
A topsy-turvy world of distorted landscapes
surrounded a young woman at the center, a woman whose
face mirrored her own. She let out a gasp, drawing
back.
"That, that me," Shampoo managed to say, her voice
thin and tense with fear. Something appeared at the
corner of one eye, Shampoo inching hesitantly close.
She reached out, touching the small clear bubble,
rubbing the moisture between her thumb and forefingers.
It looked to be a tear, and she realized that the
picture was crying.
"Mousse, what this mean?"
Mousse moved up behind her, placing his head close
to one ear. "This means you've lost, Shampoo," he
replied, but in a deep sinister voice.
Shampoo's eyes went wide, then two powerful hands
grasped her tight around the head, lifting her from the
ground. She kicked desperatly trying to get free,
hitting nothing but empty air. Shafts of pain shot
through her brain, increasing with each beat of her
heart, tearing away what sanity the Amazon woman held.
Shampoo began to wail in agony, her cry carrying
up through the castle walls.
* * * * *
Frightened eyes traded looks as a long scream
split the air. Ranma pulled Akane close to him,
glancing around.
"That's Shampoo," said Kasumi.
"Sounds like it's coming from ahead!" Ryoga said.
They broke into a run charging blindly along to
help their ailing friend. The hallway seemed not to
end, then a shreik from behind stopped them. Ranma
panned his light back finding Kodachi sprawled on the
floor.
"Kodachi are you okay?" he said.
Kodachi sat up on her knees. "Yeah. I just
slipped on something here on the floor and--,"
She stopped staring at the dark puddle she knelt
in. Looking at her hands, Kodachi began stammering
uncontrolably.
"Kodachi?" said Akane. Kodachi turned her shaking
palms towards them.
They were stained with blood.
Ryoga grimaced. "Don't move, Kodachi," he said
walking over to her.
Kodachi whimpered up at him, too terified to do
anything else. Ryoga followed the trail of blood
leading to the room next to them. Close to the center
a hand appered, then an arm followed by the bloody body
of Tatewaki Kuno.
"Oh my gosh," gasped Ryoga.
Kodachi turned to look at her brother's dead form,
letting out a cry of her own. Ranma, Akane, and Kasumi
moved up.
"Tatewaki!" cried Akane pressing her face into
Ranma's chest.
Ryoga started turning his light away when he
spotted another foot dangling just above Tatewaki's
body. Following it up, he shined his light on Nabiki's
face, and Kasumi screamed.
"Nabiki!" she cried reaching out for her sister.
Ranma grabbed her before she could run in, then Akane
joined in.
That was enough for Kodachi. The sight of her
brother, the terror she felt was to much for her mind
to handle and she bolted down the hall not caring where
she was going, or what danger lay ahead.
"Kodachi, come back here!" called Ranma, but she
faded off into the darkness. "Ryoga!"
Ryoga stood too stunned to move. A sharp kick
broke him from his stupor. "Get after Kodachi before
she ends up like them!" shouted Ranma.
Ryoga's expression looked lost, but he nodded
running down the hall after her.
There was nothing Ranma could do here, barely able
to hold both Tendo sisters back as they cried for their
sister. He hugged them tight, wondering if they would
ever see dawn again.
* * * * *
Mousse kicked the remaining door to the court room
from it's track, carrying Shampoo's inert body inside.
He went to the platform and dropped her to the floor at
the foot of the far picture. Finding one of the
flashlights, he returned and knelt before it opening up
the book they had found, thumbing through it as if he
knew what he was looking for.
A slight smile formed on his lips, then Mousse
slammed it down on the floor. Very low he started to
chant the verses of the unreadable language, his voice
building in tempo and volume, body rocking back and
forth to a silent rythum in his mind.
The edges of the picture glowed, and then from out
of the painted opening, a dark black cloud started
boiling out like some evil snake hunting for prey. The
blackness seemed unpenatrable branching off into
several fingers, surrounding him.
Mousse's eyelids hung heavy, sweat beading up on
his brow. He blinked as if dazed, wondering what it
was he was doing. A deathly cold touched his soul, icy
words whispered close into his ear.
"I'm through with you," it said trailing off into
the murk.
It did not matter much what was meant, Mousse
sitting immobile lost to the world as the thick
blackness engulfed him.
* * * * *
Ryoga could see Kodachi's fleeing form ahead,
calling or her to stop. In her terror, she could not
hear anything, consentrating on the one thing that
mattered, and that was escape by any means possible.
She reached a flight of stairs, running down them
without pause, Ryoga in close pursuit.
He reached the bottom realizing that they were
back near the court room. He could see a light coming
from inside, then Kodachi's haggard cry brought him
back around. Whoever was there would have to wait,
Ryoga continuing on after the crazed Kuno.
Kodachi scammpered out into the kitchen stumbling
around in the dark trying to feel her way towards a
door or anything that offered a way out of this hell.
She ran into something hard, feeling the edge of a
cutting table following it around. It was a mistake
doing that, her next step coming down into empty air.
Kodachi squealed in fright as she tumbled head long
down the open well.
KERSPLASH!
Ryoga reached the kitchen entrance shining his
light around. He called for Kodachi wondering where
she could have gone to now. A long cough mixed with
some hacking and sputtering caught his ears, Ryoga
moving curiosly over towards the far end of the room.
"Kodachi?" he called again.
"Ryoga? Ryoga I'm down here!" came Kodachi's
desperate reply.
Ryoga wondered about the down part, following her
voice over to the side of the dry well. Apparently not
as dry as he and Ranma thought; Kodachi swam in about
six feet of water.
"Hey, this thing was closed," he said glancing up
at the cover hanging from the ceiling.
"Who cares. Get me out of here!"
He laughed. "No need to panic, Kodachi. Just use
the footholds in front of you and climb out."
Kodachi found the steps and began to climb up.
"Hurry it up, Kodachi. I don't like staying here
in this darkness."
"I'm climbing as fast as I can, Ryoga. This is
not easy."
"Thought you gymnist were light as feathers."
"Very funny!"
Kodachi neared the top, and Ryoga set the
flashlight and simitar down reaching out to help her
out. Kodachi took his hand, but as he began pulling
her up, something hit him from behind knocking him over
the edge. They cried out as they rocketed back down
into the well, hitting the water with aloud splash.
Kodachi broke the surface first, blowing the water
from her nose and ears. She called for Ryoga, then he
broke the surface frantically flailing around.
"Ah, Ah, I'm going to drown, somebody pick me up!"
he cried splashing his arms.
"Ryoga you klutz stop it. It's not that deep."
Ryoga stopped, staring at her. He brought his
hands up, turning them back and forth in total
surprise. "I'm still human. I'm not a piglet," he
said.
"Piglet? Why on earth would you be a piglet,
Ryoga?"
"But I should be. My curse, my everlasting curse,
gone!"
"Really! This is no time for delusions. Come on,
let's climb out of here."
Ryoga looked up. "This isn't right, Kodachi.
Something bad's about to happen."
As if on cue, the heavy covering suddenly lowered
itself down, cutting the light and trapping them
inside.
"No! Let us out here!" cried Kodachi.
"Forget it, Kodachi. It's got us now. I just
wonder what's going to happen next."
The trickle of water could be heard, Ryoga feeling
a cold stream come down on his head.
"I had to ask," he said making his way for the
steps.
* * * * *
Ranma managed to get Kasumi and Akane down the
hall and back to ground floor. They still sobbed,
hands covering their faces. He felt their anguish,
wishing that this nightmare would end. No chance in
that unless they figured out a way to kill this demon.
"Girls, you've got to get control of yourselves,
please," he said.
Akane looked up. She sniffled wiping her tears
from her cheeks. "My gosh, Ranma. Can't you see how
hard this is! We've lost our sister, murdered by a
demon hell bent on killing us all. Get control?" Her
lips quivered, a cry of angish building.
"Akane, I understand what you're feeling but we
aren't going to get out of this unless we focus on the
problem."
Kasumi wiped her tears away, forcing back her
pain. "Ranma's right, Akane," she said. "We can't be
like this if we're going to survive the rest of the
night."
"So what are we going to do now?" asked Akane.
"First thing is to relocate Ryoga and Kodachi,"
answered Ranma. He panned the light in the direction
of the court room finding it dark. Obviously they were
not in there, he looked the other way noticing a very
dim glow at the far end. Why did they go this way, he
thought motioning the two sisters to follow him.
Moving down the hall, they came out into the
kitchen. Ranma pointed over to where the flashlight
lay and they went over. Akane knelt, picking up her
scimitar searching for any sign of the two. She looked
up at Ranma and he shrugged.
"Ryoga," called out Ranma.
"Ranma!" came a muffled reply from below.
They stared at the covered well and Ranma called
him again.
"Ranma, we're in here!" Ryoga shouted up.
"Goodness!" cried Kasumi kneeling next to the
well. Ranma spotted a small air hole near the top of
the cover. He crawled over, shining his light into it.
"Ryoga, you guy's okay?"
"Yeah, but get this thing open, there's water
pouring into the well!"
"Please, Ranma. Hurry!" cried Kodachi.
"Okay, okay, hold on a moment!"
Ranma ran over to the pulley mechanisum. He told
Akane and Kasumi to step back, then gripped the handle
and cranked it over. A loud crack sounded from the
ceiling as the stone and wooden supports gaveway
crashing down to the floor.
"Damn!" growled Ranma fanning away the dust.
Ryoga and Kodachi's cries brought them back to the
well. They cleared away the debris, laying near the
air hole again.
"Ranma, what was that noise?" said Ryoga.
"The wench broke. We're going to have to move
this cover by hand," answered Ranma.
"By hand! This thing must weigh at least a ton.
You guys can't lift it!"
"Don't get down on us yet, Ryoga. We'll think of
something."
"Hurry it up, We're treading water here!"
"Okay, I--," Ranma smirked. "You're treading
water? Ryoga how are you doing that?"
"Ask the demon. I'm sure he has something to do
with it."
A laugh cut the air above them.
"You bastard!" cried Akane up at the ceiling.
Ranma peered into the hole again. "Ryoga, how far
up are you guys?"
"How the hell do I know. It's dark in here!"
Ranma shined the light down the hole. "We're almost at
the top. Do something!"
"Grab the rope, girls!" said Ranma.
The three took hold of the rope connected to the
covering. On the count of three they pulled straining
with every ounce of strength in them, but the cover
refused to budge.
"Ryoga! You and Kodachi get up underneath this
top and push when I tell you to!" Ranma shouted.
Ryoga swam over to the side pulling Kodachi along
with him. He felt for the steps, found a good foot
hold and pressed his back up aginst the stone cover.
Ranma, Akane and Kasumi took the rope up again.
"Ryoga, you ready?"
"Do it, Ranma!" shouted Ryoga.
They pulled again, Ryoga thrusting up with his
legs as Kodachi push aginst him for support. The cover
creaked sliding slightly up from its tight fit. Hope
loomed high helping them to increase their efforts. It
was short lived, a loud snap cutting the air as the
loop the rope was tied to broke from the cover. They
fell back crying out; Ryoga dropping back into the
water as the full weight pressed back down on him.
"Oh no!" cried Kodachi beating on the stone with
her fist.
Ranma quickly stood up rushing back over to the
well. Fragments of stone was all that remained of the
loophole, no chance now of raising the cover off.
"Ryoga!" he shouted into the air hole again.
"Ranma (sputter)help us!" Kodachi pleaded.
"We're trying, Kodachi. Ryoga, where are you!"
Ryoga expelled the water from his lungs, coughing
hard as he moved back up to the hole. "It's getting
awfully crowded in here!" he said.
"Try your `Breaking Point' technique!"
Yeah, thought Ryoga. He drew back pointing a
finger and thrusted it into the stone. Ranma felt the
stone cover shudder, a slight crack appeared down one
side. Ranma told him to try again. Another shudder
followed, but still the thing refused to crumble.
"It should be breaking!" shouted Ryoga hitting the
stone repeatedly to no avail. Kodachi began crying
harder fighting to stay inside the shrinking pocket of
air around them. On top, Akane beat at the stone with
the hilt of her simitar, crying as well realizing that
their two friends were about to die.
Ranma slammed his fist into the stone. "No, no,
no!" he cried out refusing to believe this was
happening.
"Ranma," called Ryoga. Ranma knelt close to the
hole. "It's no good, man. We're gone."
"I don't want to die like this!" cried Kodachi.
Ryoga felt strangely calm in the face of his
death. He pulled Kodachi close, pressing her cheek to
his as they took in their last breaths of air.
"Ryoga! Don't you give up on me!" shouted Ranma.
"Facts are aginst us. Listen, I've been thinking
about that writing in the court room. The answer to
killing this demon is in those words. Use that to your
advantage and waste this murdering son-of-a-bitch."
Akane layed next to Ranma. "Ryoga! Kodachi!" she
sobbed.
"Good-bye Akane. If I've never said it, I loved
you like no other woman. Take care of her Ranma,
promise me that!"
"Ryoga!"
Silence followed, Ranma staring sadly at the hole.
"Ryoga?" he said. A short sputter of water shot
from the hole bubbling to a steady trickle.
Ranma pulled Akane back, hugging her as she cried.
Behind them, Kasumi trembled in terror, edging back for
the door. Her sudden scream brought the couple around
in time to see her legs dissapear into the dark hall.
"Kasumi!" cried Akane.
Retrieving their weapons, they dashed out the
kitchen. Another cry drew them back up the hall, back
to the court room. The place was empty when they
arrived on the scene.
Silently they gazed around in shock. Akane could
not stand it any more. She dropped to her knees and
began crying again. "Nabiki, now Kasumi. When will
this madness end!"
Ranma knelt taking her by the shoulders. "Akane,
stop it! I need you now. You can't break down on me!"
"We can't win, Ranma. This demon has killed
everyone, and we're next!"
"That's not true. We've hurt it already so we
know it can be killed!"
Akane settled a bit, shaking hard as she pressed
herself aginst him for comfort. "What . . . what are
we going to do. We don't know where it took Kasumi."
"Ryoga said something about that writing. Let's
look there."
Together they walked over to the platform. Ranma
shined the light down, and off to the left lay Mousse's
clothes and glasses. Trading confused looks, the
couple moved over to the scratchings.
Reading the verses again, they pondered the
meaning of each line, trying to come up with any clue
that would help them out of their plight.
"The breast of good, that could only be Ukyo,"
said Akane.
"Yeah, but what's meant by `Soul of Confusion'?"
Akane shook her head. "Beats me. Our confusion
maybe?"
Ranma skipped it reading the next line. "The
smell of fear. That was all of us. Our terror gave it
strength. This demon fed off that, edging us on."
"And it worked too," replied Akane.
"This line about the covering of innocence.
That's another nonsense line."
Akane had no answer, going silent.
Ranma sighed. "We can safely skip that pain
stuff," he continued. "There's something about that
first line though."
"What about it?"
"Through a portal darkly walking. If this demon
is planning to return permenantly on Earth, he's got to
come out somewhere."
"It's already been coming and going at will."
"But not for long. I'm beginning to see what's
going on now."
Rubbing his chin, Ranma gazed around the room.
"These paintings, those verses, all descriptions of
some setting it needs to make that transsition."
"Like a spell?"
"Right."
His eyes stopped on the large picture picture
behind them. "Through a portal darkly walking," said
Ranma pointing at it.
Akane understood then what he was saying. For a
long moment they stared at it, then Ranma raised the
halbeard in his hand.
"That's where he took Kasumi, and that's where we
have to go," he said to her.
Akane held a determined look on her face, gripping
the simitar tight in her hands. Stepping up to the
picture, Ranma held out his left arm.
"Through the looking glass, Alice?" he joked.
Akane linked her right arm around his. "We don't
want to be late for the party," she replied.
Taking a deep breath, they stepped into the
picture.
* * * * *
A thin white mist drifted over the rocky ground,
obscuring the path Ranma and Akane stood in. Even
though the sky was dark, there was an eerie reddish hue
along the horizon providing enough light for them to
see their way around. The path extended up towards a
low rise not to far away, the glow from a fire just on
the otherside.
"Let's not keep it waiting," said Ranma.
Quickly the two jogged down the path, keeping
their eyes peeled for the first sign of trouble. As
the couple neared the foot of the rise, a figure could
be seen siting amongest the bolders and they stopped.
It was Shampoo, head tilted forward, holding a long
staff in her lap.
"Shampoo?" called Ranma.
The Amazon's head sturred, then slowly she looked
up. Both of them drew in a gasp as they got a good
look at her face. Shampoo's skin was pale, mouth
drooping open like a puppet without its puppeteer.
What scared them the most though were her eyes. Each
one looked away from the other, pupils dilated as far
as they could go. She leaped down to the path, wavered
for a second, then brought the staff up in both hands.
"Oh, Shampoo. What has it done to you?" said
Akane.
"It's got control of her," Ranma said. "We're
going to have to fight our way past."
It's not what they wanted to do, but Shampoo
offered no other choice. From both ends of the staff,
sharp spikes snapped out. Shampoo began advancing on
them.
Ranma made his way to the left, Halbeard at the
ready; Akane to the right. Shampoo started spinning
the staff in her hands, then sprang through the air
towards Ranma.
Weapons clashed, Ranma deflecting her thrust
trying to disarm her. Akane moved in slashing at
Shampoo, but the staff flashed around countering her
attack. Thrusting the end into the ground, Shampoo
vaulted over Akane snapping a kick to the side of her
head. Akane cried out, dropping to the ground. Points
of light twinkled before her eyes, but she shook off
the pain looking back in time to see the spiked end of
the staff racign towards her chest. A quick roll dodge
death, Shampoo drawing back to try again.
Ranma appeared, parrying her thrust, cutting up
with his blade across her chest. There was no blood,
only a long dark gap where the edge cut, barely slowing
the Amazon down. She attacked relentlessly, forcing
him back beofre her. A quick swipe found its mark,
slicing across Ranma's thigh. He grimaced, dropping to
one knee, blocking the following blow. The shafts
crossed, Shampoo exerting extraordinary strength,
forcing him back.
"Akane!" cried Ranma.
She was already coming to his aid, drawing back
ready to cleave Shampoo in half. Comapssion made her
pause, thinking about their past friendship. She
couldn't strike her down, instead launched a body
tackle that sent them tumbling away.
They struggled, fighting for possesion of the
staff. Shampoo brought a foot up into Akane's chest
and thrust her away. She rolled to a stop next to
Ranma.
"What are you doing?" shouted Ranma at her.
"But it's Shampoo!"
"It was Shampoo. Now it's trying to kill us!"
Both of them cried out, parting as Shampoo landed
between them. Her deadly staff lashed out at Ranma,
but he deflected the blow. Ducking low, he came up and
with everything he had brought the halbeard crashing
down through the shaft spliting it in two.
Shampoo let the parts fall away, lunging for
Ranma's throat. He backed up, blade thrust out and she
ran up on it. A sickly wet crunch sounded, Akane
turning away as the end of the blade protruded out
through her back. Something dark and thick welled up
in Shampoo's mouth, producing a stench so foul Ranma
had to hold his breath. The Amazon took a haggared
step forward, hands still grouping for him.
"Akane," gasped Ranma as Shampoo moved closer.
"Cut off her head!"
"Her head!"
"Do it before she gets to me!"
Hesitantly, Akane picked up her sword stepped up
behind Shampoo. Ranma fought to keep Shampoo at arms
length, but the blade was almost through her back. No
matter if he let go or not, Shampoo would set upon him
before he could escape.
"Do it, Akane!" he pleaded.
Akane tensed, chest heaving rapidly. She drew
back and with a single swipe, severed Shampoo's head
from her body. A glob of the black goo bubbled up,
running down the torso and body shook briefly before
collapsing to the ground. Ranma pulled the halbeard
free and stepped back.
"Whew, that was close," he said wrinkling his nose
at the offensive odor.
Akane said nothing, staring down at Shampoo's
severed head. Ranma could see the sorrow in her eyes.
Stepping around the mess on the ground, he led her away
back towards the rise.
* * * * *
The path came out into a wide cul-du-sac
surrounded by several large pillars. At the far side
was an alter and on it lay Kasumi, apparently
unconscious. A strange green-yellow fire ringed its
base, and standing over her with it's back to them
stood the demon.
Apparently, it was chanting unintelligable words
of a spell from the book lying on the alter, arms
upraised towards the sky. In its right hand, it
clutched Ukyo's heart in a tight grip, squeezing the
blood from it over Kasumi's body. She let out a short
cry, head thrashing as if in mortal pain.
That was enough for them. Ranma charged, yelling
as he attacked; Akane a few steps behind. The demon
rounded on them, red eyes flashing in brief surprise.
Its long wail cut the air as Ranma thrust his blade
into its stomach.
"Eat that, you ugly son-of-a-bitch!" he shouted,
giving the blade a shrp twist.
The demon backhanded him, stepping clear of
Akane's swipe. Pulling the halbeard from the wound, it
staggered back and threw Ukyo's heart into the fire.
The flames leaped high, billowing white puffs of smoke
quickly filling the air, covering its retreat.
"Ranma!" called Akane frantically looking around
in the murk.
"Akane," Ranma said stepping out of the gloom
beside her.
"It got away," she said.
Ranma's eyes cut from side to side, narrowing
slightly. "Oh it's around. He's not done with his
sacrifice yet."
Nodding towards the alter, they went over to check
on Kasumi. She lay still, the slight rise of her chest
the only indication that she was alive.
"Kasumi," Akane said shaking her sister. Kasumi
murrmured lightly.
"I'll carry her," said Ranma sitting her upright.
He never got the chance, Akane calling out the
alarm as the demons dark silouhette appeared out of the
gloom towards them. A sturdy punch rocked Ranma to the
ground. Akane growled, cutting her blade across its
shoulder. It moaned, slapping Akane away from the
alter. She tumbled across the ground loosing her
weapon in the haze.
"Akane!" cried Ranma. He sat up, a hand feeling
the hilt of his halbeard lying next to him. Taking it
up, he disappeared into the smoke.
The demon took Kasumi's head in a hand, lifting
her up until they were eye to eye. She began shaking
again, eyelids fluttering rapidly as it continued to.
Suddenly, a sharp pain creased its back.
"Like that, you bastard!" Ranma raged down at the
demon, stabbing it repeatedly.
Wails of pain cut the air, and Kasumi slipped from
its grasp. The demon rounded on him enraged by the
pain and continuous interuptions. It took a swipe at
Ranma, claws cutting nothing but air as he ducked.
Another thrust to the side staggered it.
"That was for Ukyo!"
The demon growled at him and attacked.
As they fought, Akane regained her senses.
Wipping the blood from her nose, she made her way back
to the alter.
"Come on, Kasumi. We have to go!" she said
pulling her sister up.
A roar of rage tore at her, the demon turning to
rush the alter. Akane screamed falling back. With a
quick turn, Ranma found himself caught by the front of
his shirt, flying through the air towards Akane. They
collided and tumbled into a heap.
Again, the demon grabbed Kasumi's head, picking up
where it left off. Akane looked up, watching the scene
in terror.
"Let her go!" she cried struggling to her feet.
She leaped at it, but it was like a punter trying to
take down a linebacker, rebounding off its shoulder.
Kasumi quivered for a moment longer then stopped,
head slumping forward. The Demon's head lolled from
side to side, then Kasumi came too. She glanced back
over her shoulder, let out a scream and dived off the
alter.
"Ranma, Ranma kill it!" she cried.
Ranma needed no prompting, throwing the halbeard
as hard as he could. His aim was right on the mark and
the blade burried itslef deep in the demon's chest. It
lifted its head attepmting to cry out, but nothing came
forth. The body tipped back out of view.
Exhaustion started to over take Ranma, but he
forced it back going over to Akane. She moaned as he
lifted her into his arms, crying hard. Kasumi
staggered over hugging them both.
"What happened?" she asked.
"It was trying to sacrifice you I think," answered
Ranma. "Looks like we disrupted it enough that it
failed."
Akane looked up at him. "Is it dead?" she asked.
It was a good question, Ranma not sure if he
killed it or not. Telling them to stay there, he
limped back over to the alter and carefully peered over
to the other side. The demon lay on it's back, an
occasional quiver passing through its body. The red
eyes were still lit, guttered breaths of air gurgling
from its mouth. He moved closer staring down at its
face. The eyes locked on his and it let out one last
gasp.
"Gggggrrruuuaaammmmaaa--," it said before the glow
in its eyes faded away.
Something touched Ranma and he frowned at himself.
Kasumi and Akane came up behind him, and he stood up.
"It's gone," he said.
"You don't sound too happy about it," said Akane.
He arched a brow, Akane quickly appologizing.
They looked down at the demon one last time.
"Let's get out of here," Ranma said. The trio limped
away, leaving the carnage far behind.
* * * * *
Stepping back through the painting, a welcome
feeling of relief passed through them, thankful that
they were still alive. Something hissed behind them,
and they turned fearing what they would find. The
picture began crumbling, flakes of paint and cloth
dropping to the floor. The same held true for the
other painting, and soon nothing was left but empty
frames.
"Guess that confirms the demons demise," said
Kasumi.
"Yeah, and now it's time to get the hell out of
here," added Ranma.
"In this storm?" Akane asked.
"I'm not staying here another minute," he replied.
"Gather up our things, Akane. Kasumi and I will go and
see if the way to the main gate is back."
"You're going to leave me alone here?" she said.
"It's okay now. Just hurry it up."
Ranma headed for the door, Kasumi in close trail.
She stopped at the opening and looked back giving her a
quick wink.
"I'll be right with you guys," Akane said to her.
"Take your time," her sister replied walking out.
"Take my time?" questioned Akane. She shrugged it
off, kneeling down to start stuffing her belongings
into her backpack.
* * * * *
The gallery looked the same as when he first saw
it, Ranma shining his light on the two doors leading
outside. This was a good sign, that and the sudden
passing of the storm made him sure that they would soon
be far away from this castle of horrors.
"See, Kasumi. Like I said, everythings going to
be all--,Kasumi?"
Kasumi was nowhere around. Ranma called her name
again walking back up the hall. From the kitchen he
could see light, Kasumi's lantern no doubt. He looked
in finding her staring down at the covered well.
"It's too bad, isn't it?" he said coming up next
to her.
"Yes. I'm so sorry they had to die that way," she
replied.
"It's not your fault. It's that damned demon's,
and it got everything it deserved."
"Everything?"
"Yeah. Well not really. I should have chopped
off it's head like we had to do to Shampoo. Then it
would have gotten everything it deserved."
Kasumi's eyes cut over at him, then she turned
away. Ranma continued to stare down at the well.
"You know, we would not have thought about that
picture if Ryoga had not reminded us. You might be
dead now if it weren't for his thinking."
"Is that so?"
He nodded. "I'm going to miss him."
Kasumi chuckled, moving up behind Ranma. "Don't
miss him to much. Ryoga was also a loud mouth. Just
like you."
"Hrumph, yeah he could be--,URK!."
* * * * *
Akane made her way down the main hall at a quick
pace searching for Ranma and Kasumi. Even though she
knew it was safe, she did not like being alone for so
long. Reaching the gallery, Akane called their names.
There was no response, and she felt a shudder crease
her back.
This is not good, she thought to herself. Akane
called again.
"In here, Akane," Kasumi's voice called back from
behind.
Akane hurridly went back up the hall, wondering
why they had gone this way.
"Kasumi?" she said.
"Keep coming," her sister replied.
Off in a room to the left side, Akane could see a
light. Reaching the doors, she found Kasumi seated at
the center of the room. A bundle of cloth lay piled
next to her, and she stared up at her sister with a
light smile.
"Come in, we've been waiting for you." Kasumi
said.
Nervously, Akane walked in looking around.
"Where's Ranma?" she asked.
"He's here. Don't you see him?" replied Kasumi.
Akane glanced around again. "You're joking right,
Kasumi?" she said letting out a nervous laugh.
Kasumi tipped her head slightly to one side. "No,
I don't think so."
A feeling of dread started to creep up on Akane.
She set her backpack down, calling Ranma's name again.
"There's no need to shout, he can hear you," said
Kasumi.
"Where is he, Kasumi, and why did you guys come
here? I thought we were going to leave?"
"I am. I just had to take care of some unfinished
business first."
"You? We're all leave together!"
Kasumi nodded, looking from side to side with a
cheerful grin. "Yes, I suppose you can say that."
"Kasumi this isn't funny. If you and Ranma are
playing a joke on me, I'm not laughing."
"No, but I am."
"Where is Ranma!"
Kasumi slowly reached over to the bundle of cloth,
pulling it back to reveil Ranma's head, features held
in a mask of shock.
Akane drew in a sharp breath, trembling at the
sight. Kasumi started laughing building to a loud cry.
She tipped her head back, and when she looked down, a
red gleam filled her eyes.
"No, no, NOOOOOOOOO!" cried Akane.
Her voice gave way to a long scream, dimming as
the door behind her slid shut...
Then Darkness Shall Roam the Earth
