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This fanfic came about after watching Dungeons and Dragons, playing
Final Fantasy 7, 8, and 9 back to back as well as Chrono Cross, and
watching The Slayers, Slayers Next, Slayers Try, Record of Lodoss war,
Dragoon ... I think you get the idea. It's Ranma 1/2 set in a fantasy
world, using the characters but not the story line. This will replace
Ranma Xero, mostly because I went back and read it and was far from
satisfied from what I saw. I may do a rewrite of that fic someday, but
not for a while.
The story itself was written to orchestrated music mostly. The D&D
soundtrack, All the Star Wars films, The Indiana Jones Trilogy,
Escaflowne, Slayers. I could go on for a while, but these are the major
musical influences in this tale.
The first part is a bit dark, so you've been warned.
The Dragon Ghost.
Prologue
Deep in the mountains near the ancient kingdom of Joketsuko...
He had been running through the dark forest all through the night.
Somehow they had found him despite his best efforts over the past few
months. Twin moons lit the sky over his head; one a gigantic orb of
golden yellow that looked as if it would scrape the mountaintops in it's
passing as it slowly rolled across the night sky. The other was a light
red, it's orbit much higher in the sky above, and it seemed as small as a
mere coin in the starlit night. Mist rolled across the valley as he
struggled through the brush, shoving wiry branches out of his way as he
passed, somehow not disturbing the young boy who lay sleeping on his
back. A small ponytail lay draped across the eight year old's shoulder as
he slept.
He looked back at the innocent face of the child and smiled slightly.
"Just stay quiet boy, I won't allow them to find us."
Howling pierced the silence of the night as his pursuers closed the
ever-shortening gap between them. The pound of horse's hooves floated
through the fog towards him and he quickened his desperate pace.
Finally he broke from the thick growth around him and pushed his way
into a clearing. He paused with a sudden fear welling up inside him as he
saw the valley below him. Various pools of water dotted the land and he
swallowed as the mist only allowed a few of them to be seen. "Where?" He
turned towards the sounds of his pursuers and moved forward with
determination on his features again. Without a moment's thought he
vanished into the thick fog.
"Blast this cursed fog!" snarled the dark figure as he rode through the
forest. He was clad in the black armor of the samurai. A golden mask
covered his face and a single gold blade protruded from the front of his
helmet curving to almost a foot above his head, the cape across his
shoulders was a deep purple and draped down the horses side reaching the
animal's knees. In his hand was a long serrated pike that remained tucked
under his arm as he rode in search of his prey. His giant jet-black steed
wore similar armor as well, and had a great red flag with a black dragon
embroidered in its center within a great circle.
All around him men in similar armor, if a little less flamboyant,
glanced around nervously as they combed the forest for the man who had
eluded them for so long.
Another figure rode up on a reptilian steed that almost looked like a
horse itself. A dark power seemed to radiate from him and an arrogant
smirk rested on his lips as he turned to face the dark warrior. His long
white hair seemed to drape down his back with a splotch of color in his
bangs. He was dressed in brown cloak with the hood pulled down. His
clothing was expensive looking with a gold and purple woven pattern
featuring a coiling dragon, he sported light armor and shoulder guards
with teeth like spikes jutting from them.
"This man is elusive, but hardly a threat."
"That is not for us to decide," snapped the armored warrior sternly
without giving the man a glance. "The Emperor want's him dead, that is
enough for me."
"As you say," commented the man lazily.
The armored figure snorted distastefully. "We must kill him and the boy,
he cannot be allowed to live."
"The Emperor's greed knows no bounds, he will see all of them
destroyed?" The white haired man seemed almost amused by this.
"Conquering them would not be enough it seems."
"Damn you Herb. Don't just sit there! Do something about this blasted
fog!" snarled the armored man angrily.
"No. No doubt it hinders him much more than us. He is on foot, with a
child in his care. I am not here to give you and your men comfort, merely
to see that the job is done. The Emperor does not trust you completely
with this task."
"As well he shouldn't," commented the warlord as he rode forward again.
Herb smiled and narrowed his eyes. His pupils slimmed down to two small
slits in the center of his golden irises. A small cry of alarm floated
out through the air. "We have them!"
The fugitive fell onto his face and stumbled onto the ground roughly as
his foot caught a root on the mud-covered ground. The boy on his back
cried out in alarm as he was thrown from his back and slid across the
ground jarring him awake suddenly. The man heard a small splash and
struggled to his knees. He crawled forward and pulled the boy's
half-submerged body from the small spring where he had landed. The child
was shaking with fear, but remained silent.
"Ranma, you must keep silent, the enemy is near!"
"No, the enemy is here Saotome."
Genma turned slowly around and his eyes went wide with terror as he saw
the imposing figure standing before him. His eyes searched around for an
escape and saw men all around him on horseback.
"I am sorry old friend, it is over. You and your son will die."
"Tendo," growled Genma angrily.
"It is not my wish, but I will allow you to die like a man at least.
Stand and face me."
Genma balled his fists up and took up a stance in front of his son's
prone form, the boy had passed out again from exhaustion.
"Finish him quickly Tendo," said Herb as he rode up from behind the
pair.
"Silence!" commanded Soun as he gave his companion a passing glance.
"You have betrayed me Tendo. We have fought together many times, our
children were to be married one day, and now you have betrayed everything
we stood for!"
"Genma, when will you understand? I have a family to worry about."
"What do you think that is Soun?" snarled Genma angrily as he pointed
back at his son.
"I take no pleasure in your death," said Soun calmly as he rushed
forward and thrust his pike forward. It went deep into Genma's belly
sending the man to the ground as he screamed in pain. Somehow the words
did not make him feel any better. He twisted the spear and backed away
leaving it in place. Finally he withdrew a small kodachi from his back
and stalked towards the sleeping child. He raised the blade over his head
and paused. "What is this?"
He lifted the child up by his neck and stared into his face. After a
moment he pulled the loose silk pants down in a single motion and dropped
him on the ground with a look of shock on his face. He turned towards his
men and screamed in anger.
"This is not Saotome's son!"
Herb dismounted from his steed and frowned. "What are you talking about?
Are you trying to betray our Emperor Tendo? To save some part of your so
called friend?" He walked over to the child and fell silent, an angry
glare fell upon the exposed child's crotch and he snorted. "Clever."
A golden light appeared in his hand and he pulled the spear from Genma's
belly before placing his hands on the wound, the man had passed out long
before from his injuries. It healed instantly and he stepped away from
the fallen man. Soun walked over to his side and frowned.
"Pick him up and bring some rope."
Ranma Saotome woke up and shielded his eyes from the light of the sun
above him. He glanced around and saw a blue sky. He staggered to his feet
and shook off the annoying pain in his head. He felt weak and nauseous.
He staggered around for a moment taking in his surroundings. "Where am I?
Pop?" After a moment, his vision cleared up and he noticed the pools of
water around him, he frowned and noticed his pants were around his ankles
and pulled them up allowing himself to walk again. The chutes of some
kind of plant rose from the water high into the air above him. He frowned
and glanced around in search of his father. He ambled off in a random
direction and came to the edge of the spring, drawn by a small murmuring
noise that had caught his attention. His eyes went wide with shocked fear
at the sight he found.
Between two small scraggly dead trees hung his father. His arms and legs
were spread and his old dogi hung off of him in tatters. He was bleeding
freely from the hundreds of scars that covered his body and face. It
looked as if he had been sliced to pieces almost. The man glanced up
painfully and looked at the small child before him from his suspension.
"My son."
"Pop!" screamed the boy as he rushed forward and pulled desperately at
the ropes.
"No son. I am already dead."
"No Pop! We can get help! Don't leave me!"
"Silence boy!" The words had been meant to sound forceful, but came as a
mere whisper. "I am not long for this world, but I have much to tell
you."
"Pop?" muttered the boy sadly.
"You have a great destiny boy, never forget that. Inside my gi is a
scroll. I want you to take it; it will help you survive to fulfill that
destiny. Never forget the art, or your training boy. I will be watching
you from the hall of the gods." Genma coughed and a trickle of blood fell
from his lips and poured onto the ground. "Listen, never forget what I
have taught you my son. Now leave this cursed place boy."
"Pop! Who did this?" screamed the boy as a sudden rage filled him. He
stared into his father's eyes pleading with him. All that met him was a
dead stare. "Pop? Pop no. No! NOOOOOOOO!"
Ranma Saotome's cries echoed through the valley for many hours after
that. He screamed and pleaded with his father's dead body until his
throat was raw and he could no longer speak.
Herb frowned as he rode along side Soun. "Your friend was far stronger
than I had anticipated."
"Genma always was stubborn, and foolish."
Herb turned to face the men. "We've got a lot of work to do. I want
every male child in our path dead. Anywhere Saotome could have hidden
him!"
Soun looked at him for a moment and said nothing. He slowly turned to
face the soldiers and sighed deeply. "You heard him," he said with a
sudden icy chill to his voice.
As the moons rose into the sky again, Ranma stood before the pile of
stones that marked his father's grave and stared at the scroll in his
hands. He had been taught to read from the time he uttered his first
words, but his father's handwriting made things more difficult despite
his age. "Father, I will master this. I will make you proud, and I will
avenge your death, as well as mother's." His tears fell to the freshly
dug ground and he hung his head as sadness swept over him again,
weakening his legs and forcing him down again. After a time he rose from
his knees and started walking towards the west.
The Dragon Ghost
Part 1
The Horse and the Dragon
Eight years later...
Ranma walked through the crowded streets of the large city and smirked
to himself as he casually tossed a small bag of coins into the air. He
had just lifted the purse off of a well off merchant a few hundred yards
back and was feeling quite smug with himself. He paused for a moment and
looked towards the sky with a contented smile on his face before
continuing on is way.
His clothing was drastically different from that of his youth. The loose
black pants were similar enough, but the white shirt and brown leather
vest were a drastic change for him that he acquired after traveling to
the city when he was only nine. He made a decent living at his trade and
rarely used the simple katana that was strapped across his back. In fact,
he couldn't remember a single time he had ever needed to draw it in
battle.
The city's name was Alura. It was typical of the western side of the
continent. Dirty hovels and alleyways, large busy marketplaces full of
street merchants; peasants wandered through with the occasional mercenary
passing through with the traders. They liked to work security for fast
easy money as the richer merchants traveled across the country selling
their wares. Most of the men in the city were armed with a broadsword or
a dagger at least, many of the women carried knives as well.
Ranma wandered through the market street and gazed up at the castle that
rested in the center of the city. It rose far into the sky above seeming
to scrape the bottom of the clouds, in fact, he could remember days where
the top of the tall tower in the center could not be seen because of the
clouds. He smiled as he passed a gruff looking dwarf pedaling an
assortment of pots and pans in a small booth. Dwarves and Elves were rare
in the city, but occasionally one would see them running a booth in the
market. The portly dwarf snorted at him in disgust and ignored him in
favor of a customer that walked up. He continued on his way and frowned
as a cloaked figure stood in his way.
"I see much turmoil in your soul young man," commented a feminine voice
from within the shadows of the cloak.
"Not today all right?" muttered the boy halfheartedly as he attempted to
pass by.
"You are tainted by the stench of magic boy. Are you a mage?"
Ranma paused and looked at the woman with a small frown. "I don't need
no stupid magic."
"I see. We'll meet again soon boy," said the woman with a hint of
amusement in her voice.
"Go sell your fortunes to someone else elf," snorted the boy as he
continued on his way.
The figure within the cloak paused and looked up from the shadows of her
hood. Her youthful features contorted slightly and she frowned. "He has a
good eye to see that past all of this clothing."
Ranma turned into a dark alley and stopped cold in his tracks. "Are you
going to quit following me or what?"
All at once a pile of refuse seemed to burst to life as a shadowy figure
emerged and charged him. Ranma sidestepped the skillful punch and smirked
as he sent his knee up towards the attacker's abdomen. It was easily
blocked and the pair jumped away from each other and faced off for a long
moment without moving an inch.
"You're mine!" screamed the man as he rushed forward again and kicked.
Ranma pushed himself over the man's leg and landed behind him. He turned
to attack, but the man was already gone. "You're getting better. Are you
done fooling around Kumon? We've got to get back soon."
The boy stepped from the shadows and snorted. He was dressed in light
brown pants and a dark blue shirt, a heavy looking broadsword hung off of
his hip as he strolled up to Ranma casually. "Right, I saw you take that
guy's wallet, took your sweet time getting here too. What the hell do you
call that?"
"Buying dinner," replied Ranma with a shrug. "Come on, we've got to get
to the guild and unload some of this junk."
"Which you left me to carry!" said the boy as he picked up a sack from
the ground.
"Fine, I'll pay for you too," said the pigtailed boy as he started
walking again.
"You'd better!"
The inside of the guild was rather like a cross between a bar and a
market. Men ate and drank at tables around the room and several booths
lined the walls along one side of the room. Two large heavy doors stood
atop a small staircase that led to the guild master's quarters. Several
of the men and women inside turned to face the pair as they entered, but
quickly turned away as nothing of interest could be seen.
"Come on, let's get rid of this stuff now. It's heavy," snorted Kumon as
he shifted the load on his shoulder uncomfortably.
"I guess we can eat afterwards," commented Ranma. His face told that he
wasn't too pleased with the idea.
The pair walked up to one of the shadier and smaller looking booths. A
small old man leered at them as they put the bag on the counter. He
stroked his long beard lazily as he greeted them. "Ah, Ranma and Ryu, it
has been some time! How have you been? Out of town again?"
"That's right, Myuten this time," said Ranma cheerfully. Ryu remained
silent and turned away from the conversation.
"Oh, they have a nice magic guild there!"
"Why do you think we went?" said Ranma lazily.
"What have you got for me then?" said the old man with a chuckle.
"Couple of elemental rods, a crystal ball with a seal on it, some black
dust, a few bottles of potions, and a dagger with a light enchantment on
it."
"No dragons teeth?" The man gave a heavy sigh.
"They aren't in season," commented Ryu casually.
"That's why I want them so badly," said the man cheerfully as he poked
through the bag.
"Don't think you're getting this stuff any cheaper cause we don't have
any either. I know a few shops that would kill to get some of this
stuff." Ranma crossed his arms and smiled at the man looking confident as
usual.
"I wouldn't think of it," said the old man with a nervous laugh. It was
obvious that he was going to attempt to bargain down because of it.
"I can give you six," said the old man with a serious look suddenly
crossing his features.
"Ten thousand," said Ryu.
"Well..." started the old man carefully.
"Ten thousand or we leave right now." Ryu's voice was as calm as ever.
"All right," said the old man as he gave in. He chuckled inwardly; ten
thousand was a steal for some of the things they had brought back. He had
been doing business with them for some time now. It seemed as if they
either didn't know or didn't care how much the stuff was really worth.
Probably the latter considering how much the pair traveled around. They
would often visit the cities in the surrounding country, but they always
ended up back in Alura. It was funny really; two of the most wanted men
on the continent, and no one even had a clue what they looked like.
Ranma collected the money and turned towards his partner. "Come on,
let's eat."
Ryu merely grunted and nodded his head in response.
She entered the small dark hole inside of the alley and smiled at what
she found. She wasn't really surprised, after all, most thieve's guilds
were notoriously lavish inside. After a moment she removed her hood
letting her long violet hair flow down her back. She pushed her way
through the crowd and smiled as she walked around several tables. A young
red haired girl was having a rather physical argument with a large gruff
looking man beside her. Her companion was sitting back and drinking a mug
of ale with a calm and board look about him. Nearby another group was
swapping stories about death defying escapes from various adventures they
claimed to have had. Men spoke loudly about trolls they'd killed and
ogres as well. A few goblins roamed about the room serving tables with
some of the rougher looking women. Hanging from the rafters whores waved
at the men who entered lazily and hung off of their patrons.
"Disgusting."
"Hey little elf girl, how much for a night with you?" slurred an
oversized and drunken oaf as he lumbered towards her.
The woman narrowed her eyes and pushed past him without a single word.
She made her way to the bar and leaned on the counter knocking her hand
on the dirty wood surface. A middle aged man turned towards her with a
look of disinterest, until he noticed how she looked. Elves were prized
as whores and wives; they didn't age much in the course of a human life.
"Looking for a job cutie?"
"Stop being foolish. I'm looking for someone," said the woman
impatiently.
"That'll cost you," said the man with a shrug. He backed off a little
bit when he noticed the armor under her cloak. Most elves were pretty
passive and easygoing, but crossing one wearing armor was not a good
idea.
"I'll decide that on my own thank you. I understand a man named Dragon
Ghost operates within this city."
The man looked at her blankly and shrugged his shoulders. She placed a
single gold coin on the table and he took it. "Yeah, I've heard rumors.
He's not a member of the guild. If he is, it's a big secret to be kept
away from me."
"I need to speak with the guild master then."
"What do you want with the likes of him anyway? If you're looking to
hire a thief, there's lots of able men here. If you're a bounty hunter,
I'm afraid this place is more dangerous than you think. Not that many of
'em care about that; most of 'em don't walk out of here though. "
"How do I get in touch with the guild master?" said the woman as she
placed down another coin.
"I'll tell him you want to speak with him," said the man as he pocketed
the money and walked into a door behind the bar.
After a few moments he returned and nodded to her casually. "Go through
those two doors up there." He pointed towards the large heavy doors that
took up most of one of the far walls.
She nodded and walked away.
Ranma grumbled as she ate her meal lazily. The large dumb oaf sprawled
out across the floor unconscious had spilled a sizable amount of his ale
on her. Now she smelled. Ryu pretty much ignored the situation; it was
all too familiar. Ranma had never spoken about where he picked up the
unusual curse and he didn't press the information. He didn't really care
anyway.
The redhead tore at the large leg of meat in her hands with a small
amount of anger. "Sometimes I hate this stupid curse."
"You should relax more," commented Kumon as he kicked his feet up on top
of the table.
"Yeah, whatever," said the girl as she tore into another portion of
meat.
A small lizard like creature with tiny leathery wings landed on the edge
of the table and hissed. It glanced at the pair for a moment before
turning to Ranma. "The guild master wishes to speak with you."
"Now?" she said with surprise on her face.
"Yes." The creature fluttered away.
"Well, looks like we're getting a little extra work again," said Ryu as
he watched her stand and walk away.
The guild master smiled to himself as he fingered his curly beard. He
wore a rather loudly colored shirt and an odd looking round hat on his
head. "I am Guild King. What do you want the Dragon Ghost for anyway?"
"To the point are we?" I wish to hire his services. Can you allow me to
speak with him?"
"No."
"Why not?" said the woman with her eyebrow arching slightly.
"I do not allow anyone to speak with him. Tell me what it is you want
and I'll tell him, then you can come and pick up whatever it is you want
from me later."
The elven girl smiled and pulled out a small medallion from the folds of
her cloak. "I really think I should speak with him personally."
The Guild King's eyes narrowed at the sight of the necklace. He sighed
and shook his head. "I shall allow it."
Ranma entered the room and frowned when she saw a young elf sitting on
the Guild King's throne. The man was nowhere to be seen.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
The girl stared at her for a moment and giggled to herself. "This is the
famed Dragon Ghost? I heard he was a man!"
Ranma narrowed her eyes at this and snorted. "He is."
This got the elf a little more than surprised. "Who are you then?"
"I'm his manager."
"I see."
"What do you want?"
"I have a job for him," said the woman as she pushed back her hair
lazily.
"What is it that you want?" snorted the redhead lazily.
The girl on the throne paused slightly and leaned forward. "You!?"
Ranma backed away with a cautious look about her. "What?"
"An elf? You're an elf? How odd," the girl leaned back in her chair and
smiled. "I suppose that will make this easier."
"What of it?"
"If you weren't I couldn't show this to you."
Ranma narrowed her eyes at the small crystal the woman pulled from her
cloak. She held it in her palm and an image appeared above it, the image
of a golden staff with a red crystal above it. It's design was simple and
it had almost no ornamentation at all, save the two dragon wings that
held the crystal in place at the tip of the staff.
"Is that?"
"Yes, the staff of the elders. I want it." The elf girl's eyes narrowed
carefully as she watched the girl's reaction.
Ranma shrugged her shoulders. "That will cost you."
"I can pay," replied the girl with a shrug. She tossed a huge bag of
gold at Ranma's feet. "The other half when you get me the staff."
"That staff is one of the most guarded secrets of the elven tribes. It
won't be easy to get."
"No, but if you want to steal from a wizard, everyone knows that you
must summon the Dragon Ghost. He must have powerful magic in order to
steal from such men. Even the most powerful of wizards have fallen prey
to him. They are unable to understand how he does it. Do you know?"
"It's a secret." Ranma turned away with the bag of gold in her hands. A
light smile crossed her lips as she exited the room.
The woman paused as the redhead opened the door. "Aren't you going to
ask who I am? Or why I want it?"
"Why? It's just a stupid staff. I don't recall it having any powerful
spells on it from legends, so I don't really need to know what you need
it for do I?"
Ranma walked out and chuckled as she slung the bag over her shoulder.
"Ryu's gonna love this one."
The Dragon and The Ghost
Part 2
The Staff of Elders.
--------------------
Ranma stood on a hillside with Ryu beside him. They overlooked a great
valley with the city of Alta in its center. The bustle of the town was
evident even from where they stood. Caravans entered the large gates in
the great stone wall that surrounded the village. The setting sun in the
distance made the scene quite breathtaking. However, the pair ignored the
scenery for the most part and planed their next course of action.
"So, someone wants you to steal the staff of elders from the elven
village near Koran?" Kumon frowned and scratched his chin in thought.
"That's what she said," confirmed the pigtailed boy lazily.
"I don't like it, this smells like a trap."
"It could be internal politics. She might be starting some sort of coupe
or something. Besides, you always say that when somebody hires us."
"I've been right before."
Ranma sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, twice, big deal, and so
what if it is? That's never stopped us."
"It doesn't seem like something the elves would do though. Drow maybe,
but not elves."
"Hmm, you're right, but then again, everybody has a few bad apples."
"So why are we helping her then?" snorted Ryu angrily.
"She paid us well. We've done things like this before, even if she is
some sort of megalomaniac, someone always comes along and stops them. It
isn't our concern."
"Yeah, I suppose. Something about this doesn't sit right with me though.
I get the feeling we might end up playing the hero in this one Ranma. You
know I hate that."
"Well don't come then, this is more my style anyway. Lots of magical
traps and stuff I'm sure."
"I don't see what you're so worried about. We haven't done anything to
piss any elves off. Lots of wizards and mages, but not elves." Ranma
smiled and pat his companion on his back.
"So we do it then?"
"We've already been paid," noted Ranma as he produced the bag of gold
and tossed it to the ground at Kumon's feet.
"Well, that settles it then. The Dragon Ghost strikes again." Ryu shook
his head and smirked. "Come on, let's start setting up camp."
-------------------
The next day Ranma and Ryu started out early, they were well into the
wilderness by the middle of the day and made their way into the great
forest that was the home to the elven city.
"I didn't know they were so close to Alta," commented Ryu lazily.
"Hmm," Ranma nodded in agreement and took a flask of water off of his
belt. He poured it over his head and changed into his female form. "Two
humans wouldn't arouse much suspicion, they get a lot of traders here.
We'll draw less attention this way though."
"You've been here before?" commented Ryu lazily.
"Once or twice on business, they pay good money in some of these shops
for magical items. They love novelty spells, no hardcore stuff here
though. Elves don't really need black magic or healing spells."
"You would know," grumbled Ryu as he glanced around. After a moment of
silence he spoke up again. "Any idea who our mysterious elven client is?"
"Not really no," Ranma cocked her head to the side and thought about it.
"She could be a disguised Drow, but I didn't get much menace from her.
She could be some sort of low level noble looking to up her position with
this somehow. I'm not real good at stuff like this, I don't see any
reason to worry though."
"Why is that?" snorted Ryu casually.
"From what I've heard, the staff doesn't have any sort of magical power.
It's a sort of symbol for the leaders of the tribe."
"Sacred artifact eh?"
"More or less, elves don't talk about it much. It's not really all that
important. It may be valuable though."
"Maybe she's going to ransom it, if it's a political symbol."
"Who cares? Let's get this over with," snorted Ranma as she turned with
the path.
The pair came upon a wide path with torches hanging on a few of the tree
trunks. It was getting late and they had been lit recently, a few lazy
looking guards stood up in the tree branches on tiny wooden platforms
watching the forest intently. Travelers like them could pass unmolested
for the most part, especially with Ranma's curse. Soft music floated
across the air towards them as they neared the village.
The path ended suddenly and Ryu looked up at the town. He raised his
eyebrow in slight surprise at the sight. All of the buildings were
suspended from the branches, wooden and grass huts with hanging walkways
between them; a few of the homes were even carved into the trunks of the
gigantic trees. The plants inside the village were hundreds of times
larger than those in the rest of the forest. "Impressive."
Ranma nodded her agreement and pointed to a particularly large tree in
the center of the village, it was as large as a palace and rose thousands
of feet into the air. "That's where it will be."
"Looks like a party," commented Ryu as he nodded towards several large
bonfires on the forest floor with elves dancing around the flames. There
were several large tables of food as well. It seemed as if the whole
village was present.
The pair walked into the crowd and put smiles on their faces as they
wandered through. There were several humans present, as well as a few
dwarves. Ranma took Ryu by the hand and forced a blush onto her face as
she led him through the crowd towards the palace. A few of the elves
noticed this and gave knowing smiles at what appeared to be an
embarrassed couple sneaking away to be alone. They weren't bothered.
Finally the pair moved away from the crowd towards the great tree.
Several windows were carved into the wood and lights could be seen from a
few of them. The pair stopped and nodded towards one another silently as
they slunk into the shadows.
"How do you want to handle this?" asked Ryu as he pulled off his
traveling pack and set it down before removing a few grappling hooks and
some rope.
"My way of course, we can't just barge in there shouting. The whole
village is out here right now. We need to be as quiet as possible."
"So, I'll stay here then?"
"For now, I want you to stay nearby. I'm not sure what kind of security
they put around this thing, or if there are any spells protecting it.
Give me a couple of dispel wards, I'm betting they have some kind of
tracking spell on the damn thing."
"Right, I'll stand watch over there." Ryu pointed to one of the hanging
walkways that came particularly close to the large tree. "If this is a
trap, they won't take long to move in. If that happens I'm getting us out
of here in a hurry Ranma. We don't need another screw up."
"We got away clean didn't we?"
"Shut up. That was far to close for my liking, and that damn dwarf is
still after your hide!"
"Whatever," grumbled Ranma as she faded into the shadows.
"Damn careless wench!" snarled Ryu as he started to stalk away. A moment
later he was lying on his stomach, there were several tears along the
back of his shirt. "Damn you Ranma!"
"Who's a wench?" teased a ghostly voice from the shadows.
--------------------
The elder of the elves walked through the hallway and smiled as she saw
the party down below her through the windows. It was the festival of the
moon, a harvest time tradition that had existed for thousands of years.
She remembered most of them herself. She continued her walk and came upon
a young elf girl with violet hair that fell down to her waist.
"Ah, Shampoo, how are things going?"
The girl smiled. "Everything is going as planned Great Grandmother."
"Excellent. Walk with me a ways child."
Shampoo frowned; she hated when the old woman called her that. She was
almost two hundred. However, she complied and walked with the woman
through the darkened hallways.
"I see that you felt it as well child."
"What is that great grandmother?" said the woman cheerfully. "The
festival is going well."
"That's not what I mean child. A presence has vanished from existence.
It seems someone has died, one of our own. She is not familiar to me
though. It saddens me to see life ended so prematurely, she was young."
"A murder?" the elven girl's eyes went wide.
"No, I sensed no violence in her passing, it was most unusual. Quite
sudden really."
Shampoo nodded at this. "Tragic."
"Well, I'm off to bed, at my age these parties don't last as long as
they did once."
"Good night great grandmother."
The woman paused slightly as she moved towards her chambers near the top
of the stairs. She spoke in a hushed voice. "Shampoo, alert the guards,
there is a thief among us."
"What?" said the girl in shock.
"Quickly child, I shall attempt to locate her. She cannot hide from our
magic."
------------------
Mousse stood patiently at the entrance to the small shrine. The doors
were opened and he was staring at the staff in front of him. It was
thrust into a simple wooden pedestal; the crystal on top of it glowed in
the flickering torchlight. "It would be so simple to take it. I would be
accepted again." He clenched his fists and growled slightly. "No." He
turned away from the temptation. "I promised I would not. I cannot break
that oath, not to her." He placed his glasses on his face and sighed as
he hung his head. Guard duty sucked; there was no way around it. It was
made worse by the party going on outside, and the temptation of taking
the damnable staff. It really would be easy; he knew all the traps that
filled the room. At least he thought he did, it would be just like that
old hag to hold out on him. That thought ended the debate. He turned
towards the hallway again and waited for his relief to come.
Suddenly the crystal around his neck glowed brightly. A voice filled the
hallway suddenly that almost filled him with joy.
"Mousse! There is a thief, be on guard."
"Yes Shampoo! No one will get by me!" he cried excitedly.
--------------------
"Elder, I detect nothing." Another of the aged ones sat over her crystal
ball and stared deeply inside. There is one with larceny in his heart,
but he stands outside. He has not moved for some time, I doubt if he is
foolish enough to try anything.
Cologne narrowed her eyes. "Impossible, I know what I felt. A presence
outside vanished as if in death, then reappeared for a moment inside the
halls."
"Perhaps your age has made you jumpy?"
"You'd like that wouldn't you? No, the life force within her was too
strong for me to be jumping at shadows."
"As you say, but there is still nothing. Perhaps a spirit with a strong
bond to this place has been visiting?"
"Perhaps, but I still want us to be on guard."
"It will be done," said the crone as she turned away from her crystal
and walked out of the room.
----------------------
Ranma stood watching the elven boy for a moment in the shadows. The boy
seemed well adjusted to the darkness; he was also very alert at the
moment. His gaze shifted up and down the hall searching for intruders.
"My such a diligent guard," she thought to herself before backing away
from the scene. The staff could be seen inside a small room behind him.
There were several magical traps she could see, and probably a few more
she could not. "That's a little much for a staff that does nothing.
Unless..." She faded back into the shadows.
---------------------
Ryu frowned as two more guard appeared at the entrance to the palace.
"Changing the guard?" He paused and noted that a few more appeared on
either side of him watching him intently. "No, they're bulking up
security." He narrowed his eyes and leaned against the trunk of the tree
he was standing in. "It seems they're on to something, but is it us?" He
chuckled slightly. "Well Ranma, it seems that you've underestimated them.
I'll wait a little longer too see if anything else happens first."
---------------------
Ranma entered a large darkened chamber and smiled. There was almost no
light in the room, not even enough to see with. She knew that any light
within the room would attract attention. Especially with it being an elf
palace. They wouldn't even need magical detection to know something had
changed in the room; the flow of nature would be enough to alert them.
She slunk silently across the room to where a large bed sat along the
wall.
Her instincts told her all she needed to know. Silently she fell at the
foot of the bed where a large chest lay. She knelt down beside it and
opened the lid carefully. A few robes and some small jewelry could be
seen inside, she carefully removed them and smirked to herself as she
pulled out a small hidden panel out of the bottom. A long golden handle
glinted slightly in the tiny ray of moonlight that shone through the
curtains. She smiled to herself and placed one of the wards across the
staff. "There, now to get out of here."
She jumped up into the shadows of the ceiling and smiled as the doors
burst open. Several elven men entered brandishing torches. In the center
an old elven woman rushed forward and shoved those in front of her aside
with a gnarled wooden staff. "That box, open it!" she commanded.
Ranma slipped through the doors behind them without a sound and once
again took to the shadows.
Inside the room the chest was opened, the clothing within was
undisturbed. "Nothing mistress."
The woman snorted and started to toss the contents around carelessly.
She pulled out the hidden panel and frowned. "It is as I feared. Go now,
alert the village. The staff of elders has been stolen." She turned
around and rushed out of the room again.
-----------------------
Mousse waited patiently, word had not yet reached him. The thief was
apparently still inside the palace. "If I took it now, they would believe
that the thief succeeded. He slowly stalked towards the open doors that
beckoned him ever closer. "Do I really want to go back though?" He paused
as an image appeared in the back of his mind. "Shampoo... I'm sorry, I
can no longer live in shame. I shall come back for you though." He slowly
rubbed his chin and reached out for the golden staff.
"Mousse!" The elven boy jumped in alarm.
"Shampoo! What's going on?"
"You have failed me? The Staff of Elders has been stolen!"
The crystal around his neck glowed as the telepathic link came to life.
He fell to his knees as pain laced through his body. A blue energy
crackled around him. "Failed? The staff has not been stolen! I'm looking
at it right now!"
Another voice entered the boy's mind. "Enough, Shampoo release him. He
has not failed his duty." Mousse felt the pain slowly subside and
struggled away from the doors again.
---------------------
In another part of the palace the violet haired girl stood with her
great grandmother and stared at her in shock. "You mean?"
"Yes child, the real staff has been stolen."
"No! How could this be?"
The elder who had tried to discover the intruder stood in the room as
well. "Nothing, the human thief still stands where he was before. He has
not moved, nor invoked any magic. He is not the culprit."
"I know," said Cologne sadly. "The one we seek cannot be of this world.
It has the ability to erase all signs of its existence."
"You mean?"
"Yes, Shampoo, you have done well. Too well."
"I understand Great Grandmother." The girl bowed and walked out of the
room.
"What do you speak of?"
"You will understand in time," said the old woman cheerfully.
"Mousse almost betrayed us tonight."
"No, he did not. I can see deeper into his heart than anyone else, he
would not have gone through with his plan. The deception is still there,
but it is weak. I wonder what it was he did to come to such an opinion of
himself? He will grow stronger, perhaps one day he will tell us what this
secret he hides away from us is."
"I doubt that, it is buried far too deep."
"In time, we shall see. His foolhardy love for my Shampoo is far greater
than even she imagines. I can only hope time erases it, for I see only
tragedy if it is allowed to grow."
--------------------
Ranma stood with Ryu and smiled. "We have it."
The guard that had been watching Ryu left a short time ago into the
palace. The place was swarming with them. The festivities had long since
ended and now guards walked among the guests.
"Good let's get out of here."
The pair walked towards the path that would lead them out of the village
and started walking.
"You caused quite a commotion."
"Yeah, I used that ward to seal away the spell placed on the staff. It
isn't anything but a tracking spell, but it was enough to alert the elves
inside that something was wrong."
Ryu nodded and they left the light of the bonfires and walked into the
darkness. The woods seemed alive at night as the bushes and branches
shifted in the wind. "So, we bring this thing to the elven wench and she
pays us the rest of the money?"
"That's right, we'll be able to take it easy for a while." Ranma looked
quite proud of herself at this announcement.
"You two! Hold! No one is permitted to leave!" cried a voice from in
front of them.
The pair stopped and noticed the guards standing in front of them. There
were five of them, all armed with spears.
Ryu looked at Ranma and smiled. "What should we do?"
"Don't look at me, your the strong arm remember?" quipped the girl as she
hunched over. She seemed to fade completely out of existence.
"I guess I earn my part of this now eh?" said Ryu with a grin appearing
on his face. He charged forward and screamed at them.
"Don't move!" The guards paused in surprise and he rushed into them.
"Fierce Tiger Opening Gates Blow!"
The guards were sent reeling by the blow, at least two of them were down
for the count and a third would not recover in time to stop his escape.
Two of the guards he missed completely though. They quickly regained
their senses and charged him with their spears held low. Ryu shifted
allowing one of the pikes to pass by him. His hand lashed out and cut
through the wooden handle snapping the blade off, his free hand met the
guard's helmet creating a dent and sent the man to the ground out cold.
He shook his hand off and frowned. Iron helmets really hurt.
The other guard was already lying on the ground; he was stripped down to
his shorts with bruises running down the sides of his back on both sides.
"Thanks for the assist."
"No problem, it wouldn't do to have my partner get killed for his own
carelessness," commented Ranma as she appeared beside him.
"Or mine for running her mouth," snorted the boy as he started walking
away.
"Oh come on! Don't be such a jerk!"
"Who's a jerk?"
The pair happily argued their way out of the woods.
------------------
"I've brought what you want," said Ranma as she stood in front of the
elven girl again. They were once again inside the Guild King's chamber
alone together.
"My, but you have," said the violet haired elf with a small frown on her
face. She fiddled with the staff lazily as she spoke.
"Great, now pay me."
She tossed another bag of gold at her feet and Ranma cheerfully picked
it up.
The woman smiled. "So tell me, which one are you? Dragon, or ghost?"
Ranma froze and slowly looked up at the woman.
"So, it is true? I never would have guessed that the famous thief of
sorcerers was actually a duo. Our guards reported you and your companion
leaving the village."
"Who are you? What do you want?"
"I am Shampoo, the Princess of the Forest Elves. I wanted you to steal
the staff of elders, but I never expected you to steal the real one. None
of us did. We are quite impressed."
"Is there a point in this?"
Shampoo narrowed her eyes. This elf was being quite cheeky for someone
who just found out she was speaking with royalty. She sighed and pushed
it aside. "Of course there is. This was a test. We have a job, if you
complete it, you will be rewarded with enough money to retire on
permanently."
"Retire? Why would I want to do that?"
"I see, then there is more to you than the value of a gold piece is
there?"
"Maybe." Ranma didn't like this. She wanted to leave, but the situation
would leave too much danger for her and Ryu.
"Moving on, the job is very difficult, hence the difficulty of the test.
I want you to steal something else for me."
"No."
"Pardon?"
"I don't like people toying with me. If my partner was in here he'd kill
you for what you know. Pray I don't tell him." She turned to leave the
room.
"Ten million gold pieces."
Ranma stared at her again. "What?"
"That is the reward for completing this task. Think it over, you know
where to find me." Shampoo stood up and walked past the young girl with a
smirk on her face.
"Do you really think I can be bought?"
"Anyone can be bought if you offer enough."
"You're wrong," said Ranma.
"If you can't be bought, then how did I come into possession of this?"
"It was a challenge. People have died for less than what you tried in
here."
"Oh, then this is a challenge more worthy than this staff could ever
hope to be."
"What is it then?"
"I cannot tell you."
"... I'll think about it."
After that Ranma stood alone inside the chamber. She clenched her fist
and stared at it. "Damn."
-----------------------
The Dragon and the Ghost.
Part 3
The impossible dream.
Ranma sat brooding across from Ryu in a run down looking tavern. The
place was sparsely populated by a few rough looking humans who sat along
the bar or at the tables that lined the walls. Smoke hung in the air from
a few patron's pipes and cigarettes. The remains of a meal was spread out
between the pair.
"What's eating you Saotome?" said Ryu finally after a while of ignoring
the pigtailed boy.
"That elf girl," said Ranma as he rubbed the sides of his head.
"What about her? She paid us enough and the job is done. What, you got a
thing for her or something?" Ryu seemed slightly amused by the prospect.
"No, it ain't that," grumbled Ranma, he sighed and looked up at his
partner. "She knows."
Ryu sat up abruptly with an angry look in his eyes. "She knows what?"
"She knows who we are. That whole job was some kind of test."
"Test?" asked Ryu carefully.
"Yeah. She wants us to do another job."
"What job?"
"She won't say."
Ryu leaned back in his chair and growled. "Why didn't you tell me about
this?"
"I'm thinking about taking her up on it."
Kumon let out a humorless laugh. "So you do have a thing for the wench?"
"No, she's offering ten million gold pieces."
"So?" countered Ryu lazily.
"You want in if I decide to go?" Ranma stared at him with a dead
seriousness in his eyes.
"Like I would let you do something so stupid on your own," countered the
boy with another distasteful snort. He paused and turned his head away.
"Ranma, you know what we have to do to her. It can be done after the job
if you prefer."
"Yeah, I know. She knows too much."
The pair sat brooding and drinking for a long time after that.
----------------------
Shampoo sat in her room overlooking the canopy forest from a window
carved into the wall of the great tree. She was dressed in a long flowing
gown of deep green that spread across the ground around her. Her hair was
done up in a tight bun on top of her head and several expensive looking
jewels hung from her ears and around her neck. It was late and the moons
shone brightly in the sky above surrounded by the stars. A silver light
played across the treetops below giving the top of the forest the
appearance of a frozen sea. The door to her chambers opened and a
familiar figure walked in.
"Shampoo, it is time."
"I know Mousse," said the girl with a sigh. "I hate these events."
The elven boy was dressed in robes that hung loosely off of his body.
His hands were hidden away within his sleeves and his thick glasses
rested on top of his head. He nodded and moved to help her up stumbling
across a stool that lay in the center of the room.
"Oh! I didn't see you there!" he exclaimed as he attempted to help the
stool to its feet. "Please forgive me Shampoo!"
The princess giggled into her hand for a moment before straightening her
face up and scowling at him. "Mousse you idiot!" She kicked him in the
face sending him sprawling across the floor of the room as she passed
him. She pointed her nose into the air and left him in the room alone.
"She is so fierce!" he sighed. After a moment of lying love struck on
the ground he stood up and dusted himself off. He smirked and picked up
the stool before placing it back in its place and walked out of the room
after her.
Shampoo entered the great hall and smiled as she walked up to her great
grandmother. The room was a large ballroom with a wooden floor. Torches
lined all the interior walls that were carved from the great trunk of the
tree. Several tables lined the sides of the room filled with various food
ranging from wild game, to nuts and berries. Another table had several
large kegs of wine and wooden cups. The party was attended by many people
in expensive looking clothing. Mostly elves, but with a good majority of
humans as well. Most, if not all of the people in the room were probably
nobles of some kind.
The shrunken old woman motioned to the chair next to her and nodded.
She was sitting on a throne that sat upon a raised platform along the
back wall of the room. "Come, Shampoo. Do try better than that. I know
you hate these parties, but they are an important part of your future
duties."
The young elf snorted and crossed her arms. "Politics."
"Yes, not every problem can be solved with your fists. You are the
finest warrior of your generation my dear, but that will not be enough to
rule after I have passed on."
Shampoo felt her jaw clench at the old woman's words. She did not want
her to die, for obvious reasons of course. The fact that she had no real
desire to rule only helped her reluctance to think about it. She paused
and glanced around the room.
"Great Grandmother. Where is Mousse?"
"Eh?" the old woman turned her gaze onto the floor. "I don't see him
here. Why?"
"I must have hit him harder than I thought then," replied the young girl
with a shrug.
Cologne cackled in amusement for a moment and sighed. "I'm sure he's
fine dear."
"Really? That's too bad," muttered Shampoo under her breath.
The boy in question appeared through the doors of the great hall and
wandered around a bit before engaging in conversation. Unfortunately for
him, he was talking to one of the potted plants that lined the walls
between the hanging torches.
Cologne turned towards her granddaughter and suddenly became serious.
"Do you have any word back yet?"
"No, nothing," replied the girl with a shrug.
"We may be forced to proceed anyway. The dark presence within the east
only grows in power each day."
"Do you think this will truly work?" asked the girl with a stern look on
her face.
"It must, the Emperor has been quiet far too long. I do not believe that
the conquering of the east will be enough to sate that childish imp long.
Soon he will look towards the fertile lands we inhabit. When that
happens, it will be far too late."
"He is powerful indeed," agreed Shampoo. "I'll crush him myself if I
have to."
"Don't be foolish child."
"Are you saying I'm not skilled enough to beat that child?"
"No, you are not. His army is fearsome, and he has many powerful
servants. You would not even be able to reach him, much less fight him
yourself. It is not your destiny."
"I see."
Cologne sighed and shook her head. It was easy to see that she was far
from convinced.
-------------------
The party had ended a short time ago, Shampoo sighed as she entered her
room and lay out across the bed that took up most of the center of the
room. A beautifully carved wooden dresser sat along the wall opposite the
door. She sat up and looked in the large mirror that hung from the wall
just behind the dresser. After a moment she lowered her hair and walked
over to the mirror, picking up a brush from the dresser top. She sat down
in the small chair in front of it and began to brush lazily.
After a while she stood up and went over to the window, gazing out over
the stars again. "I grow tired of waiting." She turned to the dresser
again and pulled out her nightclothes. Thinking on her position again.
The life she led was a far cry from what she truly wanted. The life of a
forest elf shouldn't have so much pageantry. She should live among the
trees, living with the flow of life. However, her station in life would
not allow that. She could feel the flow of nature still, it was strong
within her and would probably never disappear, but she knew that the
feeling was slowly fading from her. A cold wind blew into the room and
she shivered for a moment. She sighed and looked into the mirror again.
She stepped back in shock and stared at it.
A small brown note had been stuck into the frame. It had two words
scribed inside of it.
"Mission accepted."
She carefully lifted the delicate note into her hands and flipped it
over a few times. She felt anger rise up inside her and threw it onto the
ground. "How dare they! Those arrogant!" She sat down again and calmed
herself.
--------------------
A strong looking figure clad in black armor kneeled before the Emperor.
The room was dark and cold, the shifty gray of marble and stone gave off
minimal light from the moonbeams that shone through the windows that were
carved high up in the walls of the great chamber. The large Dragon and
Phoenix emblem was hanging above the throne on a long tapestry that rose
to impossible heights near the ceiling.
"Ah, Your Majesty, how can I be of service?" The voice was young; it
seemed out of place within the frightening visage of the black metal.
Herb stepped forward from the shadows and sneered. "Tendo, I trust you
have been well?"
"I have," spat the voice with a hateful snarl suddenly apparent in his
tone.
"Excellent."
"We have a job for you."
"Your will is mine," said the black clad figure as he bowed his head.
"Good." another figure emerged from the shadows. The voice was feminine
and very beautiful. Her body was concealed by a long black cloak that
covered her form completely. "The Emperor wishes you to accompany him. We
will be leaving in three weeks."
"May I ask where?" inquired the dark figure.
"The northern country of Joketsuko."
"Our mission?"
"Diplomatic. He wishes to start, relations, with the king of that land.
It holds a valuable secret that could benefit us in the future."
"I see." said the man cautiously. "My other duties? The Emperor does not
require my protection I'll wager."
"My, but you are a sharp one! That will be revealed in time. Leave us
now, and don't forget to tell your sister I said hello, Akane." Herb
smiled as the girl growled angrily at him.
"As you wish." Her voice dripped in venom as she bowed her head to the
man placidly.
"My, but those Tendo girls are spirited."
"Silence Herb. Keep your perversions to yourself in front of the
Emperor," snapped the cloaked woman.
"Enough. Leave me," said a small voice from the throne. He was hidden
away by the shadows.
The pair bowed to him and backed away into the pitch-black corners of
the room.
---------------------
Herb strolled down the hallways of the palace towards his room and
snarled. "Impudent brat. I'll see him dead soon enough. Lime! Mint!
Before me!"
A pair of young beast-men appeared out of nowhere and kneeled before
their master. One was rather like that of a tiger, short orange fur
covered his body and two fangs protruded over his lips, a long tail waged
slowly from side to side behind him. The other was a werewolf, although
his features were more human at the moment, the wolf within him was still
evident in his appearance, his fangs protruded slightly out of his mouth
and his hair was slightly more wild and grew onto his face despite his
young age. Both of their eyes were golden like those of their master and
each wore the skins of the animals they represented as clothing.
"Yes, master?" they chimed in unison.
"I want you two to keep an eye on Akane Tendo for a while. She's growing
dangerous. I hold her sister close to me. That should be enough to keep
her at bay for the time being. However, her anger may grow to far for
that to matter."
"Yes master."
Herb turned away from them with his cape billowing a little over
dramatically as he entered his chambers. He closed the heavy door behind
him and smiled.
The room was lavishly decorated with expensive looking furniture and
carpets. All of them had the crest of the Emperor on them. In one corner
was a large bed covered in deep red sheets made from silk and satin. A
ghostly lithe figure rose from the bed and smiled at him.
She was dressed in a tight dark blue evening gown and wore two large red
earrings. Her lips were painted a deep red that accentuated her pale
skin. Her short brown hair fell into place around her face as she moved
towards him.
"Ah, Nabiki. Come to visit again?" said the man casually as he sat down
on one of the large wooden chairs that rested in front of the large
fireplace.
"Don't be so na�ve," laughed the woman coldly. Everything in her actions
gave way to her icy persona. "You know what I want."
"Ah yes, power that I can provide?"
"Maybe later, I was thinking of something more physical at the moment."
"Perhaps. How is our young Saotome doing these days anyway?"
"He's still a thief, and every bit as hard to track now."
"Yes, that technique of his is very interesting."
"I am at a loss to explain it. He seems to know when I'm watching him; I
can never get more than a moment's glance at him. He's become quite
handsome."
"Has he?" Herb's smile fell slightly.
"Jealous?" quipped the girl. "Oh, Herb darling, you know that I'm
willing to become the Queen of Ice in more than reputation at your side."
"Or anyone else who might be able to grant that to you," said the man
with his smug looking grin returning once again.
"I'm not going to even try to deny that," said the woman with a sigh.
She sat down on his lap and kissed him for a moment.
"You're cold," he commented.
"The dragon within you appreciates that, you have no desire for warm
blood at your side."
"Heh, I won't deny that either," said Herb lazily as she shifted in his
lap slightly. He looked at her again; the cold fire that burned in the
back of her light brown eyes caused a shiver up his spine. "You are
positively evil. What makes you think I trust you enough to make you my
wife?"
She laughed again; it was as cold and heartless as before. "You don't,
but then again, that's exactly why you will. Now come to bed." She stood
up and took his hand leading him towards the sheets. He made no move to
resist her.
+++++++++++++++++++
"Come out you idiots," snarled Akane as she stood on a balcony
overlooking the city below. It stretched out as far as the eye could see.
It was quite breathtaking from this height, but a closer inspection would
only reveal the dirt and grime that the rooftops hid from view.
Lime and Mint appeared before her each growling in annoyance. "What is
it?"
"Herb sent his two lackeys to spy on me again did he?"
"Yes," grumbled Mint angrily.
"Very well, if you're going to be hanging around you might as well make
yourselves useful. We leave in three weeks, and while you're here, I want
you to keep that idiot, Lord Kuno, away from me."
"Of course," muttered the pair in unison.
"Come on, we're going to see my father," snapped the angry sounding
woman as she stalked away.
The pair of beast men looked at each other and shrugged. They had been
sent to do this for their master before. Akane seemed to look at it as if
he was loaning her his two servants. They didn't mind really, it was
easier to follow her that way and keep tabs on what she was doing. She
was a much easier taskmaster than Herb anyway. Her tone was intimidating,
but she usually sounded like that, after a while they had gotten used to
her gruff nature.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Kasumi Tendo smiled as Akane walked into the chambers of Soun Tendo. She
was dressed in long flowing white robes and had the same cheerful
disposition as always. She was a drastic contrast to the dull gray that
seemed to fill the palace. "Hello Akane, have you come to visit father?"
"Yes, where is Lord Tendo?" said the girl with an unusual calm about
her.
"In his chambers with mother. Shall I call him for you?"
"No. He is expecting me today," said the girl as she pulled off her
helmet and tucked it under her arm. Her short cut black hair was matted
from wearing the heavy armor, but she looked quite stunning without it.
The only thing that marred her was a tiny scar just under her right eye
that ran across her cheek.
"Oh my! It's Mister Lime and Mister Mint! How are you today?"
"Fine Mistress Kasumi," muttered the pair in embarrassment.
"Would you like some tea?"
"Boy, would I!" exclaimed Lime happily.
Mint elbowed him in the ribs and coughed.
"Sorry. I mean thank you, Mistress."
+++++++++++++++
Akane walked into her father's chambers and kneeled before the man. He
was sitting on a small throne dressed in armor similar to hers, but much
lighter. He stroked at his mustache and frowned deeply. At his side a
beautiful woman of about his age sat. She was clothed in a simple dark
green dress and had a frail look about her.
"Mother, Father," greeted the girl as she looked up at them from her
knee.
"Tell me child, what did the Emperor want with you? If I may inquire
that is," asked Soun calmly.
"He wished me to accompany him on his journey in three weeks. We will be
visiting the country of Joketsuko, to the north."
"Hmm, I take it you will not be guarding him?" inquired the man further.
"That would not be my duty, he would not say more."
"Hmm, I see. I wish you well then."
Akane nodded and bowed to her parents.
As soon as she walked out the door Soun broke down into tears. "Oh! My
baby girl is growing up so fast!"
His wife sighed and shook her head. "Idiot."
++++++++++++++
Akane walked out into the small room where his sister served the two
beast men tea cheerfully. The scene looked somewhat ridiculous, but she
brushed it off and shook her head.
"Come on, we're leaving."
Lime and Mint looked up in unison and then back to one another before
standing up and following after Akane.
"Goodbye! Thank you for visiting!" said Kasumi cheerfully as she waved
at them.
Akane raised her hand and waved without looking back.
Lime looked at his companion and sighed. "She sure is a nice lady."
"Yeah, most priestesses don't like us at all," agreed Mint.
++++++++++++++++
Ranma stood in an open field outside the forest and waited patiently.
Shampoo would be arriving soon to tell them of their objective. Ranma was
in his cursed form at the moment and was pacing about nervously.
"Jeez, just sit down will ya?" snorted Ryu.
"You know how much I hate waiting," retorted the pigtailed boy as he
continued to pace.
"The wait is over," said Ryu as he stood up and nodded towards the
approaching elves.
"There's more than one," said Ranma as he glared down at the two figures
approaching from the bottom of the hill. One of them they recognized, the
other was a short and shriveled looking elf who was probably thousands of
years old.
"Hello," greeted the elder as she approached them carefully.
"Who the hell are you?" asked Ryu.
"I am Cologne, the elder of the elven tribe within these woods. This is
my Great Granddaughter, Shampoo. We want to hire your services."
"I know that, she told you about us?" prodded Ranma carefully.
"No, It was my idea to seek you out. Forgive my methods, but we had to
be sure of your skill. I will pay you well, and you will save this
kingdom from ruin if you are successful."
Ryu growled. "I hate playing hero. War is good for business."
"As you say," agreed Cologne with a small nod. "That is one reason why
we are paying you so well."
Shampoo looked at the old woman in surprise, but remained silent.
"Shampoo will accompany you," started the hag.
"Absolutely not," snapped Ranma and Ryu at the same time.
"You are thieves, I don't trust you," said Cologne with a firmness in
her voice.
"You trust us enough to put her in our care though?" said Ryu with his
eyebrow raised slightly.
"I am the greatest warrior of the village, I can take care of myself,"
snapped Shampoo.
"As she said," agreed Cologne. "However, this is not the only reason
behind this."
"And that is?" asked Ranma.
"Only she may return the item to us. If you return without her, you will
not be paid. Not only that, we will destroy you."
"I don't have time to play babysitter for no palace raised little
princess. If she goes, you're on your own," said Ranma.
"If you go without her, you will fail," finished Cologne.
"What do you mean?"
"Accept my terms and I can explain to you, otherwise..."
"No," snapped Ryu.
"Fine, why am I taking her?" asked Ranma as she put her hands up.
"Two main reasons, first, to be sure you do not betray us to the
Emperor."
This caught both of the thieves' attention.
"Secondly, because only she will be able to grab hold of the prize. You
know no magic. It is her bond with nature as an elf, and her training in
sorcery that will allow her to obtain the prize."
"You're going against the Empire?" said Ranma with a small look of
surprise evident oh her face.
"We must, or our peace will be destroyed within a few years, if not
sooner."
"Interesting," said Ryu with his usual calm.
"Two conditions, one is that she gets no special treatment. I'm not an
envoy; she's on her own. Second is that you tell us what this big prize
is right now."
"Fine, you are going to obtain the staff of the Emperor."
"What?!" Ryu jumped back. "That's impossible!"
"No, it is not. In three weeks time, he will be in Joketsuko on a
diplomatic mission. Well, not really, but that is the outward intent of
the visit. He will be out of the palace, and he will have the staff with
him."
"Humph, that's one for the history books," commented Ranma.
"Are you insane Ranma?! This is the Emperor we're talking about!"
"So?"
Ryu calmed down visibly at this. "We don't need this kind of publicity.
Wizards and mages are bad enough, but this?"
"This'll make us the greatest thieves of all time Ryu. Don't pretend
you're not interested, or scared."
"Who says I'm not scared? Only an idiot wouldn't be," grumbled Ryu as he
hung his head. "All right, fine."
"Excellent. How long do you need to prepare?"
"We're ready now," said Ranma with a snort.
"Very well, come to the village in three days. Shampoo must prepare,
even if you are ready. There is much to do, so we'll leave you now." The
two elves turned away and started back towards their home.
"This is another fine mess you've gotten us into Saotome," growled Ryu.
"Every two bit bounty hunter on the planet will be looking for us now!"
"They already are. We're already the most wanted men in the world. How
much worse can it get?"
"Every time you say that..." started Ryu.
"Yeah, yeah, it gets worse. I know."
"Come on, we've got a lot of gold to spend before we go. I want to be
happy one more time before I march off to my death."
Ranma smirked at this and laughed. "Wine, women, and song then?"
"Wine and song. Women give us headaches, you should know that by now."
The pair turned away and began walking towards Alta city once again.
++++++++++++++
Meanwhile, a short distance away...
A short and burly young dwarf stalked towards the city in front of him.
He had a long and curly black beard and wore a large hammer across his
traveling pack. His chest was covered in thick iron armor, and a golden
helmet rested on his head with two long horns jutting from the sides. He
walked briskly and muttered under his breath, casually shoving aside any
travelers he came across with his massive, but stocky arms. "When I get
my hands on that Ranma runt... I'll tear him apart! The bastard! Nobody
steals from me! The nerve of that punk! I'll eat him alive! Better yet,
I'll cook him first!" He paused in the middle of the road, and roared
with laughter as he pictured the things he'd do when he finally found his
prey in the back of his mind. "Nobody messes with Good Fang the
Blacksmith!" He stopped and glanced around. The city he had been walking
towards was gone. "ARGH! Now where am I?"
The Dragon and the Ghost
Part Four
Good Fang the Dwarf.
Ranma stood with Ryu on the edge of the forest once again three days
later. Ranma was once again in his female guise and paced back and fourth
across the grass as they awaited the third member of their party. There
was a wind blowing across the field making the tall grass that surrounded
them wave like the waves of a great ocean. The sun rose slowly into the
sky to the west giving the field an almost golden appearance.
"She isn't late yet Saotome," commented Ryu from his back. He was lying
on the ground watching the stars fade away into the sunlight.
"Yeah, but I hate waiting for stuff like this," commented the red haired
elven girl.
"You should learn patience," said a familiar voice. Both of them jumped
to their feet as Shampoo walked towards them a fair distance away. She
smirked as she realized they had heard her.
"Great, I hate telepaths," grumbled Ranma as she sat down with her legs
crossed as the elf princess approached.
"You are not in tune with your mind then? How odd. It seems you were not
brought up within the elven people. I can see that much in your aura.
Your connection with nature is weak at best." Shampoo stopped about five
feet away from the pair and smiled again. "Shall we be on our way?"
"Is anyone with you?" asked Ranma with a sudden air of nervousness about
her.
"Do not worry. I came alone this time. Great Grandmother had other
duties to attend." Two large round maces protruded from over her
shoulders on each side of her head. In her hands was a simple pole that
was a little taller than she was and a small leather bag was hanging at
her side as well.
"How much magic do you have on you?" asked Ryu as he ignored the
conversation.
"Why do you ask?"
"Magical objects are easy to detect. We don't need that on a mission
like this. If you have any, I suggest you find a place to store them
before we get to Joketsuko. You won't need them," said the boy casually
as he stood up and turned away from them. "Ranma, do what you have too.
I'll be at the base of the hill when you're ready."
"What did he mean by that?" asked Shampoo as she eyed the redhead
carefully.
"If you're going to be traveling with us, you have to know. First, I
need your vow. You will never tell anyone of what you see here now."
"Very well. I give you my sacred oath. I will never tell," agreed
Shampoo.
Ranma smirked and pulled a small flask from his side. "I'm not really an
elf." He poured the contents over his head and shifted. His shoulders
broadened as his chest vanished and he grew a few inches taller. His hair
changed to a solid black as well.
The elven girl dropped her staff and placed her hand over her mouth in
shock. "What?"
"Don't worry, the spell that did this to me is a natural one. It can't
really be detected. It looks like nothing more than nature itself to any
prying wizard." He turned away from her and chuckled to himself for a
moment. "If you have any questions, keep them to yourself. I've shown you
all you need to know."
Shampoo's eyes were wide with terror and she fell to her knees.
"Jusenkyo."
Ranma paused and turned to face her again. "Eh?"
"You are cursed, by Jusenkyo?"
"Oh, you know about that do you? Good, it'll save me a headache later
on. Let's get moving." He turned away from her and started walking again.
Shampoo nodded silently and followed after him. The cursed springs were
a tragic story indeed. A great elven warrior met her death in the valley;
she cursed the land around her to prevent her attacker's escape. Only one
of the drow who had slain her had escaped the valley. Unfortunately for
him, an envoy of elves waited for him at the valley's exit.
---------------
The group walked for the rest of the day in relative silence. There
wasn't much to see, other than a few run down villages. Finally they
stopped for the night.
Ranma dumped a pile of wood in the center of the campsite. The wood was
all long since dead and dried. She looked at him in silence for a moment
and finally spoke up.
"You only took dead wood from the forest?"
"It would take too long for fresh wood to burn, less smoke that way too.
It's an old thieves trick," replied the boy with a shrug.
Ryu appeared with a tiny dead deer slung across his shoulders and
smirked at the pair. "Well, I see you two are getting along all right."
"Shut up Ryu," grumbled Ranma as he started the fire. He held his palm
over a few twigs and an orange glow formed in his palm. Shampoo watched
in astonishment for a moment and shifted slightly. It was uncomfortable
for her to watch a human like him. It just looked weird.
"Oh now what?" snorted the pigtailed youth.
"You wield an elven blade, take only dead wood from the forest, and
light a fire without invoking a spell. You are still in tune with the
natural force! How can this be? Only an elf would be able to do such a
thing."
"She didn't seem all that upset that you turn into one, why would this
bother her so much?" commented Ryu as he looked at his long time
companion. The pair seemed to be ignoring her presence.
"I dunno. I guess I just got a few extra perks from that curse is all.
It's no big deal."
Shampoo nodded at the explanation. Ranma had not directed his answer at
her, but it was enough. It made sense in an odd way. Once one's spirit
was connected to the life force of the planet, nothing could take it
away. That was one of the things that made the drow so dangerous to her
kind. They represented nature as well, in their own way. Elves were the
light, life, and balance. Drow were their opposites, the shadows, death,
and chaos.
"We should pass Antioch tomorrow. We don't need supplies, so I doubt if
we'll need to stop there. It's best if we go around to avoid any
problems," said Ryu as he started to gut and clean the animal.
Shampoo noticed that he did not discard the innards, but placed them
inside a medium sized leather pouch. He noticed her gaze and smirked
again. "Waste not, want not."
"Indeed," commented the elven princess.
"We've learned a lot in our travels. You aren't the first elf we've ever
come across you know."
"Yes. I recall a sacred jewel that went missing within the mountain
village of Darut a few months back."
"Actually, we've never stolen from elves. That one can be chalked up to
the wraiths that live near the place. They like shiny objects, I'm not
sure why, especially since they hate light," said Ryu lazily.
"How would you know?"
"This guy I know named Shinosuke. The elves hired him to get it back for
them. He couldn't remember half the story, but you don't forget an
encounter with the wraiths." Ranma laughed out loud at the memory and fed
the fire. She noticed him casually flick a beetle off the dead wood into
the dirt and it scurried away unharmed. A small smile formed on her lips.
He seemed unaware of his connection to the great magical force of the
world, yet he still respected it unlike any human she had ever seen.
------------
After their meal they sat around the flames together and merely absorbed
the warmth of the flames. Ryu shuddered as a wind blew across the forest
clearing they had chosen as their campsite.
"Something up?" said Ranma as he noticed the other boy's discomfort.
"I don't know. It seems as if this is going too smoothly."
"Count your blessings then," replied the pigtailed boy with a shrug.
"It is going to rain tomorrow," said Shampoo. Her nose wrinkled slightly
as she lay back with her arms folded behind her head.
"Yeah, the wind is changing. We're going north, so we'll have to stop
somewhere along the way and get some new clothes."
"The dwarves at the foot of the mountains would be the best place to
find what we need," commented Ryu.
"Bah, dwarves," grumbled Shampoo.
"We've got enough money. They shouldn't be too troublesome." Ranma
smirked at the face she made. "Mountain elves don't seem to mind them too
much."
"They don't have the same habits as us. Dwarves are pests; they tunnel
under our homes and destroy the forest in their wake. 'Children of the
Earth' indeed."
Both men snickered slightly at this and lay back against the ground to
get some sleep. "I'm more worried about how much they'll charge us for
supplies," commented Ranma. "Dwarven goods are expensive."
"Well, they won't charge us too much I'll wager," said Ryu as he closed
his eyes. "They don't know who we are, but they'll know our trade by our
clothes if nothing else. Having her with us will help as well; the
mountain elves keep a good relation with them. If she keeps her mouth
shut about who she is, they might not know the difference."
"Maybe we should go alone Ryu. The dwarves will smell the forest on her.
They'll charge us an arm and a leg then. I don't want to attract
attention by stealing any more than we have too."
"Sounds good to me," snorted Shampoo. The idea of entering a dwarven
village was not appealing to her.
"We have a few days before we have to worry about it. Get some sleep,
we've got a long hike ahead of us," snapped Ryu in irritation as he
rolled onto his side away from them.
"Jeez, bite my head off will ya?" said Ranma as he closed his eyes and
went to sleep.
Shampoo stayed awake a short time longer and listened to the sounds of
the forest around her. The insects' chirps and the nocturnal birds' cries
filled the air. Eventually, she drifted off as well.
--------------
Akane stood watching the night sky over the imperial city. Her face was
stern and an air of menace seemed to surround her as she simply stared
off into the distance. Her mood was less than pleasant despite the view.
A few floors over her, her sister was visiting Herb again. Her hand
reached up slowly and fingered the tiny scar on her cheek for a moment.
It was best not to think of things like that. Still, it haunted her.
"I'll kill that lizard yet," she growled quietly. There was no doubt
that Lime and Mint had both heard her. Their hearing was exceptional,
they made no indication that they had and remained in her room standing
guard by the door lazily.
She turned to look at the pair. They were totally relaxed from the looks
of them. Neither seemed to be particularly alert, they both looked
half-asleep. Had any other guard been found that way she would have
killed them herself where they stood. She smirked as she realized that
they were much more alert than they let on. The pair was probably more
intelligent than they let on as well. Herb seemed to enjoy mind games
like that. She sighed and turned her gaze back to the sky.
By her door, Lime and Mint quietly conversed amongst themselves.
"Hey Lime." The wolfen boy poked his companion in his side lightly.
"What is it Mint?" grumbled the tiger boy with a small sigh.
"Do you think we'll get to see her titties?"
"Probably not, she always makes us leave before she changes clothes."
Lime's brow furrowed slightly in frustration at the mere thought.
"Maybe she'll forget?" said the wolf boy hopefully.
"That would be nice, but I doubt it," said Lime.
"Yeah. It isn't fair that Prince Herb gets to see Nabiki's titties. He
should let us see them too."
"You're right. It isn't fair. He's really greedy. He's also the prince,
so he's allowed to be greedy. There's nothing we can do. You remember the
last time we asked him if we could see her titties too don't you?"
The wolf boy shuddered at the thought and hung his head. "With all these
girls around, you'd think we'd get to see somebody's titties."
"Yeah, it's just like when we were still the Musk. Only there are girls
now, and they still won't let us see their titties. We aren't even
allowed to touch them."
"I don't understand. Hey, Lime?"
"What?"
"Has anyone told you what that word 'pervert' means yet? Everyone calls
us that, but I still don't understand."
"I dunno. Maybe it's a weird word for a beast-man?"
"Or maybe it's someone who's not allowed to look at titties!" said Mint
with a tiny twinge of fear in his voice.
"Boy, that would be bad wouldn't it?" said Lime as he tried to think. He
glanced down at the ground with his hand under his chin and noticed a
pair of black boots just in front of him.
Both men looked up to see Akane staring at them from about two feet
away. She had a wineglass in her hand and she was frozen in the act of
pouring herself a drink. Her eyes were wide and she was almost dumbstruck
at the two idiots in front of her. She crushed the metal cup in her hands
and started to shake slightly.
"Both of you. Get out now." she growled between her teeth.
"Uh oh." said the pair in unison as they scrambled towards the door.
They vanished into the hallway and slammed the door behind them. Akane
threw her cup onto the floor and snorted in disgust as she slumped down
in a nearby chair.
"Idiots."
-------------
Tatewaki Kuno strolled down the halls of the palace with a smirk on his
face. In his hands was a dozen roses. He was dressed in finely woven
purple clothing with a short yellow cape fluttering behind him; his
sleeves were puffed out on his shoulders with a red trim around them. On
his head was a ridiculously expensive hat with a four-foot feather
bobbing in the air above him. He paused when he noticed two figures
emerge from his beloved's room.
"Knaves! Who might you be to enter the Lady Akane's room?!"
Lime and Mint turned to see a long blade of steel pointed at them.
"Hey, it's Lord Kuno," said Mint in surprise.
"Ah, it is the lovely Lady Tendo's servants."
"Lord Herb's servants," corrected Lime.
"Yes, whatever. Stand aside so that I might see your mistress this
night! I have come offering my undying love!"
"Uh, no," said Lime.
"I beg your pardon. Did you just refuse the order of a noble of the
House of Kuno?" The blade was pointed at them again.
Neither of the beast men looked particularly worried at the moment. Lime
stepped forward and bowed his head. "Pardon Lord Kuno, but our orders are
to not let you through. You understand of course."
"She ordered you not to let me through?"
Both of the men in front of Kuno nodded.
"How odd. I wonder what her reasoning could be? He thought about it as
hard as he could for a moment. I have it! She wishes to keep me away to
protect her purity! Surely the pure heat of passion would draw such a
maiden to me! Fear not Akane Tendo! We shall wed on the morn, thus
securing your honor and purity!" He attempted to rush by the pair but was
held back easily. "What is this? Why do you still keep me from my love?"
"Because our orders haven't changed," said Mint with a shrug.
"Very well! I release you from your bond! Now let me through!"
"Sorry, only Lady Akane can do that. She ordered us to tell you that
too," said Lime.
Kuno slumped forward and hung his head. "Curses! Why must the Lady Akane
be so good at playing hard to get! I have it! I shall fetch my grappling
hook and climb up to her sill proclaiming my undying love!" The man
rushed off into the halls of the castle.
"Does he even know that he just said that out loud?" asked Mint.
"Probably not. Come on, we have to stop him before he gets himself
killed."
------------
Less than five minutes later Kuno climbed up his rope towards Akane's
room. His eyes were full of righteous tears as he scaled the palace wall.
"Oh Akane Tendo! Ever since that tournament where you bested the
greatest of the Emperor's Knights, and then I allowed my own defeat by
your hands! When you revealed yourself to be a noble lady of the court!
My heart soared with joy! I shall at last take you as my bride lovely my
lady! Come, let us gaze at the moonlight as you whisper tales of my
greatness into my waiting ears!"
"That idiot! She'll hear him!" whispered Mint as he clung to the stone
wall just outside Akane's room.
Lime was opposite the rope that hung from the windowsill. "I don't think
he realizes what will happen if she finds out he's out here."
Kuno reached the window and noticed the pair on either side of him.
"Knaves! How could you know of my plans? Surely you must have the keenest
of intellects!"
Lime and Mint moved to grab him so they could crawl over to another
window and try to stop him from being an idiot for at least the rest of
the night. However, another voice stopped them.
"Lime. Mint. Cut the rope."
Both of the beast men looked up to see Akane glaring down at the scene
with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Yes mistress," chimed the pair. To say they were disappointed would be
a bit of a stretch.
"Wait knaves! I demand that you stop at once!" cried Kuno as he
attempted to scramble up the rope.
"Sorry," said Mint.
"You heard the lady," agreed Lime as he nodded and began to saw at the
cord with one of his claws.
"Gotta obey the Mistress," said Mint as the rope snapped.
Kuno fell away and landed in the moat with a mighty splash.
"He shouldn't bother us again tonight. You two may retire." Akane turned
away from the window and went back into her room again. "I wish the
Emperor would have let me pave that section of the moat over like I
wanted too."
The two beast men looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders
before climbing back into the hallway through another window.
------------
Ranma stretched his arms as the party walked along a dirt road early the
next morning.
"I still say we should have kept to the forest and fields," grumbled
Shampoo.
"Look. The trick to not looking suspicious, is not acting like you don't
want to be seen," said Ranma lazily as he strolled ahead of Ryu and
Shampoo slightly.
"He is right. We'd have looked suspicious to anyone watching the area
sneaking around the woods that way. This is the best way to travel," said
Ryu ending the discussion.
The group walked on in silence for a time. The scenery was relatively
bland, mostly fields with a few trees spotting the landscape in every
direction. Occasionally, they would run across a farm, or a home on the
side of the road. Around noon, a rough voice cut through the silence
ending the picturesque scene.
"You! Ranma prepare to die!"
The thief dodged as a black and yellow blur slammed into the ground in
front of him. "What the?"
Ryu pushed Shampoo back with one hand and drew his broadsword. After a
moment he smiled and put it back in his scabbard.
"What is going on?" screamed the elf.
"Nothing. It's just an old friend of Ranma's. There's nothing for us to
worry about here."
"Well, if it isn't Good Fang the runt. How ya been?" said Ranma as the
dust cleared around the dwarf. The diminutive man held a large hammer in
his hands and stepped out of the crater he had created with a vicious
looking snarl an his lips. Ranma removed the Katana from his back and
tossed it to the side of the road.
"You owe me a sword boy. I want my blade back, and yer hide for stealing
it!" snapped the dwarf angrily.
"Oh, you mean that toothpick?" replied Ranma as he spread his feet apart
and raised his fists.
"'Tis a fine blade! Fine enough for you to keep it for yourself! Lord
Kuno himself had me fashion that blade for him! It was worth two million
gold for him!"
"You twerp. Who do you think hired me to steal it? For only ten thousand
gold I might add."
"Enough talking!" roared the dwarf as he charged forward with his hammer
held high over his head.
At the sidelines Shampoo gasped in shock. "Is he out of his mind? He
can't fight a dwarf with his bare hands! That disgusting creature will
tear him apart!"
"Yes. If he can hit him," agreed Ryu with a small nod. He watched the
fight rather intently.
Shampoo looked at him and blinked. "What?"
"Don't worry, Ranma kind of likes him. He always takes it easy on the
runt."
Ranma jumped up as the dwarf slammed his hammer into the ground creating
a crater that spread out for about four feet. He landed lightly behind
the creature and smirked as he took up his stance again.
"I'll rip you in half when I get my hands on you Ranma!" roared the
dwarf as he jumped forward and cleared ten feet. Ranma sidestepped and
sent his knee up catching the creature in the gut.
Good Fang snarled and rolled across the ground as he landed. He stood up
and shook his head for a moment before spreading his feet and clenching
his fists. "I'll get you yet!"
"Talk, talk. You haven't managed to beat me yet runt," taunted Ranma as
he jumped towards his opponent.
"Well, Good Fang doesn't forget either!" snarled the dwarf as he fell to
his back and kicked up with his feet. Ranma was caught in the chest and
thrown up into the air. The dwarf was on his feet in the same instant and
swung his hammer in an attempt to catch the pigtailed boy on his way
down. Ranma managed to twist in mid air around the strike and actually
managed to land feet first in the dwarf's face. Good Fang was slammed
into the ground hard.
Ranma jumped away and Good Fang stood up again shaking his head. "That's
a good hit, a good hit indeed. Not enough though."
"I didn't think it would be," said Ranma calmly. He took the initiative
again and passed just above Good Fang's fist. The pair stood facing away
from each other and the dwarf fell to his knees.
"How do you do that?" snarled the dwarf with an angry glare back at his
opponent. "I can't even feel the puny poundin of a human, but you..."
Ranma turned to face him and wagged his finger at the dwarf. "That's my
little secret."
On the sidelines Shampoo gasped. "Katsutenshin Amaguriken? That's
impossible!"
"Huh? Katsu wazzit?" said Ryu as he glanced over to her.
"It is a secret technique within our tribe! It takes elves hundreds of
years to learn it. No human could possibly master that technique!"
"I don't know what you're talking about. Speed punching of that caliber
is part of his school of martial arts. It's not some elven technique."
Shampoo looked at him and frowned. "That can't be true. Tell me the name
of this style!"
"We have sworn never to reveal the names of our schools. All I can say,
is that Ranma's father developed both our schools when he was young, and
sealed them. Only years later was Ranma allowed to learn this art."
"And you?"
"We all have our own pasts Princess. We are thieves, so ours is more
precious and dangerous to us than most."
Shampoo nodded and turned back to the battle. "I see."
-----------
Ranma dove away from another of the dwarf's kicks. He smirked as he spun
around and lashed out at the creature's belly sending it to its knees
once again.
"Blast you!" snarled the dwarf. He staggered to his feet again and then
fell face first onto the dirt raising a cloud of dust.
Ranma laughed out loud and wiped the sweat from his brow as he sat down
against a pile of debris from the battle.
"Should we rob him now?" asked Ryu as he approached.
"Are you kidding? That would piss him off even more," snorted Ranma in
reply.
"I'll take that as a yes," said Ryu with a knowing smile.
"Let him be," snapped Shampoo as she pushed him away from the fallen
dwarf. "What on earth did you do to get this dwarf so angry with you?"
Ranma smiled and nodded towards Ryu. "We stole this." He held up the
pigtailed boy's discarded katana and tossed it back at him.
"That is an elven blade, the design..." started Shampoo. Ranma tossed
the weapon to her and she caught it one handed in the air. The weight
almost put her nose in the dirt. She let go and sat up with her eyes wide
with shock.
"Aye, tis an elven design indeed, but not made by elven hands." Good
Fang sat up from his place on the ground. He was slightly delirious at
the moment and his dwarven accent showed even more. Name's Good Fang, or
Ryoga by the dwarven tongue. I'm a blacksmith by trade."
"A man named Kuno hired me to obtain it for him. I agreed since the
price was right, and it seemed difficult enough to steal from a dwarven
village. Unfortunately, I was just starting out and didn't realize how
dangerous that could be. I hadn't perfected my technique and ol' Nice
Teeth here caught me in the act. I got away, and he's been after me ever
since."
"Indeed I have! You've been carrying around that blade for almost four
years now boy! Give it back to me and I might only maim ye!" Ryoga stood
up and fumed angrily at the boy.
"Another time maybe," snorted Ranma casually.
"That job was my retirement money! You..." the dwarf started to shake
with anger.
"You dope. You wouldn't have been paid anyway. Lord Kuno hired you to
make it!" Ranma turned towards Shampoo's questioning gaze and shrugged
his shoulders. "He liked the design of an elven blade, but the toughness
of dwarven swords."
"Ranma is correct. If Kuno had not hired him, he would have had you
killed rather than pay the money," said Ryu calmly.
Ryoga hung his head and grumbled slightly. He kicked some of the dirt in
front of him and squat down. "Tis a matter of principal."
"Don't bother reasoning with him. He's still punch drunk at the moment,"
commented Ranma.
"I'll show you who's punch drunk whelp!"
"Enough!" snapped Shampoo as she stood between them.
"Out of my way elf girl! I'll crush you as well!" The dwarf backed away
though when a bonbori slammed into the ground in front of him. The impact
easily matched the crater he had made with his hammer.
"I am not as weak as I appear Child of Earth. Ranma has yet to show you
his true power I'd wager, after all, you are still alive."
"Thanks," grumbled the pigtailed boy halfheartedly.
"I've seen you. You carry around that blade as if it does not exist on
your shoulder. You are not as weak as most humans, and you are holding
back terribly in this battle."
"You've got a good eye," said Ranma carefully.
"That's the same thing I said when we first met boy," said the princess.
"What's she talking about?" said Ryu as he stood between them.
"We met on the street before that whole mess with the staff started. I
blew her off cause I thought she was a fortune teller."
"And you were a man at the time?" Ryu looked back at Shampoo. Ranma
merely nodded.
"You knew about the two of us, before that test didn't you?"
"That there were two of you? Yes. Who you really were? No."
"All this is real interesting, but I still got screwed, and it's all his
fault!" snarled Good Fang as he pointed his finger at Ranma again.
"Stupid, stubborn, dumb..." Ranma was cut off as Shampoo interrupted
again.
"What if he paid you for the sword? Two million was it?" She smirked and
put her hand on her hip.
"Fine. I'll let him live then." Ryoga nodded in satisfaction. "Isn't
good business to let that kind of money get away."
"Oh, and closing your shop so you can hunt down one thief is?" commented
Ranma with his arms crossed over his chest.
"That's business principal!" retorted the dwarf angrily. "If you'll pay
me for my blade. I'll be on my way!"
"How about if I just give it back?" said Ranma with his eyebrow raised.
"It's no good to me! The buyer is gone! Money or no deal!"
"There never was a buyer fool! He hired me to steal it!" retorted Ranma
as he put his face up to the dwarf's.
"Now boys, lets behave for a moment. You will receive payment for the
sword, after this job is finished."
"What?" said everyone but Shampoo, she was standing with a confident
looking smirk.
"Come now Ranma. You said you weren't going to retire anyway. What good
is ten million in gold going to do you?" said the elf.
"I didn't say I'd never retire!" retorted the pigtailed boy.
"Two million. Tis a fair price for the blade, the same as the original
deal."
"Ten thousand! The price I was quoted to steal it!" retorted Ranma. "I
never got paid for that job either! The jerk tried to double cross me
too! Plus, I got stuck with carrying this heavy thing around and you
trying to kill me every month or so! Not to mention that guy's weird
sister. She was this sorceress chick, and she had a thing for me. Man
that was creepy."
"One million at least! There's no other blade like that one!"
"Half of that, and nothing more," retorted Ranma.
Ryoga pondered the figure for a moment and sighed. "Deal."
"Finally. Come on, let's go," said Ranma as he turned back to the
bewildered looking Ryu and Shampoo.
"Yes lets," agreed Ryoga as he started walking with them.
"Where do you think you're going?" said Ryu and Ranma at the same time.
Shampoo giggled into her hand and turned away from the scene.
"I'm staying with you until I get my money!" snapped the dwarf.
"Are you nuts? We aren't going on a mining expedition you little troll!"
snapped Ranma.
"Aye. You're off to steal something very valuable," said Ryoga. "I know
my place and I won't interfere with you. However, you ain't leaving my
sight until I get my gold." Ryoga crossed his arms and glared at the two
men.
"Look Happy Tooth or whatever," started Ranma as he threw his hands up
in the air.
"That's Good Fang!"
"You don't trust us?" asked Ryu as he knelt down to look Ryoga in his
eye. Dwarves were more apt to negotiate with someone they looked in the
eyes. Ranma had been staring the runt down for the whole argument. It was
an old trader's trick to keep them from losing too much money to the
greedy little trolls.
"No, you're thieves!" snapped Ryoga.
"He does have a point," commented Shampoo.
"You aren't helping," said Ranma.
"Just forget about it. We aren't going to talk him out of it," said Ryu
as he stood up and started walking again.
"He'll get lost in a day or two anyway," agreed Ranma finally.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" snapped Ryoga as he charged after
them.
Shampoo blinked and stared at the man. "He's that Ryoga? The legendary
wandering dwarf? He's supposed to be the greatest blacksmith and fighter
the dwarven people have seen in ten thousand years! But he's supposed to
have the worst sense of direction in all of the three worlds!" She stood
up and started after the group again. "Ranma, you are certainly becoming
very interesting."
------------
The Dragon and The Ghost
Part 5
A Knight of Bahamut.
Ranma walked with an annoyed scowl on his face. Ryoga had managed to
stay with them for almost a week now. The little dwarf refused to let him
out of his sight. Shampoo hung back with Ryu for most of the time, while
Ryoga walked in the middle of the group just behind them.
"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" Ranma asked the diminutive man as
he spun around and glared at him.
"No," snorted the dwarf in reply.
"Give it up Ranma, we're stuck with him. No thanks to you I might add,"
commented Ryu lazily.
"Well, we've just crossed the border to Joketsuko. We should be in the
mountains in about half a day or so," commented Shampoo as she ignored
their constant squabbling. The pair had come to blows several times over
the course of the past few days. Ranma always won of course, but Ryoga
would be on his feet a few moments later, and just as irritable as ever.
"Great. That dwarven village should be near the base of the mountains. I
think we can make it by nightfall."
"Planning to buy supplies?" asked Ryoga with a snort. "You weak humans
aren't dressed for the weather in this area. You'll both freeze before we
reach Morid."
"We've dealt with worse. There's no need to try it again though, we've
got enough that we should be able to buy some warmer clothing," said Ryu.
"Let's get going," said Ranma as he started forward again.
++++++++++++
A short time later they came upon a small village. It was a human
habitation nestled within the hills. It was mostly a few wooden shacks,
mixed in with various shops and bars.
"We could buy clothes here," commented Shampoo as she noticed a clothing
store with coats and furs in the window.
"Dwarven clothes will keep us warmer. These humans spend most of their
time indoors. They mine the mountains near here, but their coats aren't
really made for traveling through the mountains. Dwarves live in the cold
and travel across the terrain regularly. I'll admit they spend more time
in the caves at home though." Ryoga proudly boasted about the dwarven
goods they could buy later.
Ranma sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, he's right."
A voice halted the group. "Travelers! Hold!"
The group turned to see a figure standing behind them. He was dressed in
silver armor and had a white cloth draping across the front of his armor
with a black dragon embroidered across it. A heavy looking lance about
twice the size of him rose into the air with a shining silver blade on
top of it.
"Who the heck are you?"
"I am a Knight of Bahamut. You must remain in this village for a time
I'm afraid. The passage to the north has been blocked."
"So what? We'll manage," snorted Ranma lazily.
"You do not understand sir, passage has been ordered halted by the order
of the Knights of Bahamut. You must remain here by the authority of the
Queen herself." The figure stepped towards them.
"We don't have time to wait for you to move a rock slide," snapped
Shampoo. "We are on a mission for the Elder of the Forest Elves."
"Your companions are dressed as thieves," noticed the armored figure.
"What of it? We haven't stolen anything from this village," said Ranma
casually. "We don't have time for these delays."
"I see. However, it is no rockslide that bars your path. The goblins of
the northern reaches have created a roadblock. Their master is said to be
a powerful beast as well. I ask that you wait until we have vanquished
them before you proceed. It is for your own safety." The knight was quite
insistent and lowered his spear.
"I don't see any other knights in this village," said Shampoo. "It does
not appear to be garrisoned either. Are you planning to vanquish these
goblins alone?"
"What of it?" said the knight with a casual wave of his hand.
"Even the greatest knight cannot hope to vanquish an entire legion of
goblins on his own. I think our wait will be far too long."
"Reinforcements approach from Morid. They will be here in three days,"
admitted the knight. "I have assessed the situation and prevent travelers
from moving on since the danger is too great. Surely you noticed the
caravans that lie outside the village. They are waiting for the road to
clear before moving on."
"I thought I saw a few large camps on the other side of town when we
approached," said Ryu.
"Does it matter? We can sneak by a few goblin troops without any
problems," said Ranma lazily.
"You are fools to continue," said the knight with a warning tone.
"Bah! Things like this are what I do for a living." Ranma dismissed him
and started walking again.
The knight watched them for a moment. "I cannot allow that," he said
finally.
"You plan to stop us?" said Ranma with his eyebrow cocked. Ryu growled
and stood behind him.
"Ranma, perhaps it would be wise to wait. I don't want to fight if we
don't have too. We do have two more weeks to reach Morid," said Shampoo
as she put herself between them.
The knight went rigid. He lowered his lance until the tip was almost
touching the ground. "Your name is Ranma?"
"What of it?" said the thief as he leveled an evil looking glare at
Shampoo.
"It cannot be," whispered the knight as he took a step forward. "You are
dead!"
Ranma lowered his hands slightly and paused. "Who are you? What do you
know of me?"
"Ranchan... is it really you?"
The thief's eyes went wide. He jumped back and lowered his defense
immediately. "I know you. You! It can't be!"
The group stood and watched the pair in confusion. Ryu walked up to his
partner and grabbed his shoulder. "You know this guy?"
"Ucchan? I hadn't thought about it in years. We were... best friends."
The knight removed his helmet and rushed up to Ranma throwing his arms
around him. His long brown hair was tied in a ponytail and fell down his
back. He was as young as Ranma was. "It is you! How can it be? How did
you survive? I feared the worst when I heard of your father's death!
Everyone thought you had died with him!"
Ranma's face softened. "I almost did. How have you been Ucchan?"
"How do you think? I became a Knight of Bahamut!" The young knight
laughed. "Just like we imagined ourselves when we were young. It was our
dream to be the greatest knights."
Everyone looked at Ranma. The boy scratched the back of his head and
laughed uncomfortably. "Well, we were just kids then, after all."
"Come on! I'll buy you dinner! You must tell me what happened! Why are
you disguised as a thief? What country do you work for?" The man began to
drag Ranma away by his arm.
+++++++++
The whole party sat around a table inside a rather clean looking
restaurant. Ukyo beamed as he sat next to his old friend "We were such
good friends! When we were children Ranma and his father came to stay
with my family and me. They were there for about a year. I believe Uncle
Genma was teaching him his family school of martial arts at the time.
Ranma and I would spend many happy hours playing in the courtyard
pretending we were knights. Oh, such happy memories. I never truly
intended to become a knight to tell the truth."
Ranma sunk lower into his chair as she told her story. Both Ryoga and
Ryu were giving him amused stares. "That was a long time ago."
Ukyo's face hardened suddenly. "When I heard that he and his father had
been killed, I became driven to fulfill our childhood dream. I began to
train to become the greatest knight. That way I could honor his memory
and fulfill his dream." She turned to look at him. "I'm glad I did it,
even though you are still alive."
"I see. Well partner, it seems you've been holding back on me," snorted
Ryu crudely.
"I think it's rather beautiful," said Shampoo as she gave the
embarrassed Ranma a sympathetic smile.
"I hoped you'd think that!" agreed Ukyo cheerfully. "Tell me Ranchan,
how are things? What country do you serve?"
Everyone at the table was at a loss for words. "I uh..." stammered
Ranma.
"Don't tell me, you are not a knight?" Ukyo looked concerned. "Have you
not been able to? Surely, the loss of your family has not prevented it? I
understand. I would be glad to help you obtain a position with the
Knights of Bahamut! Just say the word!"
Ryu fell over in his seat with laughter. Ryoga quickly followed behind
him, even Shampoo was having trouble keeping her amusement disguised.
"Hey! It ain't funny damn it!" snapped Ranma irritably. He turned
towards his old friend and sighed. "Look Ucchan, I'm not a knight. I
don't really want to be one. I'm on an important mission right now
though. I need to get through that pass. I can take care of myself, a few
hundred goblins ain't nothing for me to worry about."
Ukyo's face fell slightly at his words. "Oh, I see. Surely you are a
formidable warrior to boast that way though."
Ryoga nodded at this. "He's strong enough to stand up to a dwarf bare
handed. I don't care for him much, but I'll admit that for him at least."
Ukyo was impressed. "That is high praise indeed."
"He's done nothing that warrants high praise," commented Ryu lazily.
Ranma kicked him in his shin under the table and glared at him.
All of a sudden the Knight seemed embarrassed. "Oh, I apologize. I have
been incredibly rude! I am Ukyo Kuonji, Knight of Bahamut."
Ryu seemed to freeze and stared at her. "Did you just say Kuonji?"
He looked at him and smiled. "That is correct. Ranma, why don't you
introduce me to your companions."
The pigtailed thief sighed and nodded. "This is Ryu Kumon, my long time
partner. These two are Shampoo, the princess of the forest elves."
Shampoo nodded her head. "And this fat fool is Good Fang. A dwarven
blacksmith."
"Oi," said Ryoga as he took a large gulp of ale.
"My. Quite impressive Ranchan," said Ukyo.
"You're the knight who slew Taimaht? The dragon lord?" Everyone looked
at Ryu as he said this.
"I wasn't alone, I had a lot of help," replied the knight modestly.
"Hey! That's great Ucchan!" said Ranma as he slapped the man on his
back.
"Not really, only two of us survived that encounter," said the man with
a heavy sigh.
"Oh," said Shampoo as she put her hand over her mouth. "I remember that
story. Quite tragic."
"Yes. Only myself, and my squire survived," agreed the man.
"Squire?" Ranma looked up at her and blinked.
"Yes. His name is Konatsu. He is quite strange, but very capable." The
knight blushed for a moment.
"Is he here?" said Ranma without thinking.
"Yes, he is resting at the moment. We have a room here. I'd like it if
you stayed as well, if only for tonight. I believe that you can get
through those goblins, if only because it is you. You were always the
better warrior between us."
Everyone looked at Ranma for a moment. "Thanks Ucchan. I don't see why
not. We could all use a real bed for the night I suppose."
"Bah! What's wrong with the ground?" snapped Ryoga.
"You can sleep outside if you want too," said Shampoo as she leveled her
gaze on him.
"What? Aren't there enough trees out there for you?" retorted the dwarf.
Shampoo turned her nose up at him and snorted.
+++++++++++++
Late that evening, Ranma stood watching the stars again from the open
window of his room. He and Ukyo had agreed to share a room together.
Konatsu had not awaken and was sleeping in his own room. Despite the road
block, the hotels were not crowded. They had managed to secure enough
rooms to hold everyone. Most of the blocked travelers were merchants,
they opted to camp out with their goods rather than leave them alone.
"I love the stars," commented Ranma with a wistful look on his face.
"Yes, they are beautiful," agreed Ukyo. He was sitting in a small wooden
chair beside him. "Ranchan, I've missed you."
"I know Ucchan. I'm sorry," he hung his head slightly.
"You could have come to my family for refuge you know. We would have
been glad to take you in."
"To tell the truth, I haven't had much time to think about my past. It
never occurred to me to look for you."
"I see, you had forgotten then," the man hung his head slightly.
"No, I thought about the two of us a lot. Just never in that way, you
know? I'll always be your friend Ucchan. I've just been so busy, just
surviving was a lot of work at first."
"I... understand. I still love you Ranchan."
"Huh?" Ranma's head turned so fast he almost snapped his neck.
"I used to think about the way it would be if you lived. The promise you
made to me so long ago. You said you'd always protect me."
Ranma relaxed slightly. "Well, you don't really need it now, do you?"
"How can you say that?" snapped the man angrily.
"Huh? What did I say? You're a knight now! That must mean you're real
strong right?"
"Damn you, Ranma!" The man grabbed him by the head and kissed him full
on the lips. Ranma froze in shock and felt a tongue probe his mouth.
Ukyo released him and stepped back. "I still want you to keep your
promise. Make me a woman tonight Ranchan!"
"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" cried the repulsed and shocked
Ranma as he backed away.
Ukyo removed his armor, dropping it to the floor beside him, and then
pulled open his shirt... her shirt. "I still want you to keep your
promise Ranchan."
Ranma's mind went into shock. He fell to his knees and simply stared at
the girl's breast. He could not think of anything to say or do. He slowly
stood up and reached out with his finger. He poked her chest, as if to be
certain they were real. "I uh..."
"Oh Ranchan!" Ukyo flung her arms around his neck and kissed him again.
This time there was no revulsion, only pure and uncertain confusion.
Ranma staggered back and fell into a table. A pitcher of water left for
washing toppled over and landed on his head.
A blood curdling scream awakened everyone in the inn.
++++++++++++
Ryu stood in the doorway with Shampoo and Ryoga staring at the scene in
shock.
"Jusenkyo? A place with cursed springs?" Ukyo looked confused. She still
had her pike pointed at Ranma from across the room. The poor red-haired
elf girl had her back to the wall and was shaking uncontrollably.
"That's right," said Ryu with a small nod. He had yet to take his eyes
away from the girl's chest. "Um, You're not a guy?"
Ukyo finally noticed her unclothed state. "Auuuggghhh!" Ryu ducked under
a thrown vase and quickly vacated the room. Ryoga followed quickly behind
them.
"Kuonji, please calm down," said Shampoo as she stepped forward.
"You get out too! Pervert!" screamed Ukyo as she covered her chest.
"I am not cursed!" snapped Shampoo angrily. She pulled open her own
shirt and showed it to the girl.
Ranma's eyes became locked in place. "I see nothing. I'm a girl too. I
see nothing..."
Shampoo glared at Ranma for a moment and covered herself again.
"All right. So what is this? What the hell is going on?"
"It happened when Pop was killed," said the redhead. She looked away
from them and finally managed to stand up again. "Look, I'm going to stay
with Ryu tonight. We can talk about this later."
The two girls nodded at this. Ranma closed the door behind her.
+++++++++
"Ranma! You old dog! I never knew you had it in you!" roared Ryu. He
slapped his partner on her back and chuckled.
"Bah! How could you? That woman ain't got no meat on her! Not even a
single hair on her chest! Nothin to grab on too!"
Ranma and Ryu looked at him for a moment and turned away in disgust.
"Look. I thought she was a guy! All these years, I never knew! She was a
real tomboy when we were little!"
"So, you told her you'd marry her?" Ryu raised his eyebrow slightly.
"I didn't mean it that way! I thought she was a guy, and we were good
friends! She was always asking if we'd be together forever, and if I'd
protect her when we got older. I didn't think she meant it like that!"
"But, you did tell her these things? Right?" Ryu smirked and leaned back
on one of the beds. Ryoga was already spread out on the floor. Ranma was
sitting on the other bed and looking at the ceiling in frustration.
"Yeah. How the hell am I going to get out of this?" Ranma fell onto her
back and lay spread out on the sheets.
"Do you want to? She didn't look that bad to me," commented Ryu.
"You shut up! That's my best friend!" snapped Ranma as she sat up.
"Well, what are you going to do about her?" asked Ryu calmly.
"Run like hell, that's what. We've got a mission. I'll just take off and
not come back after it's over."
"Great plan," said Ryoga with a satisfied nod. "I did the same thing a
few years ago. If the wench ever finds me again, I'll just tell her I got
lost."
"You see! Ryoga's been following us for about four years now! It'll
work!"
Ryu shrugged and lay back down on the sheets. "Your funeral."
"So, you are a coward after all," Everyone in the room jumped up as a
new figure stood in the doorway. It was a young girl of about sixteen.
She had long black hair and was dressed in a simple looking dress. A
short sword hung off of her back.
"Who the hell are you?" snapped Ranma.
"I am Konatsu, lady Ukyo's squire."
The men looked at each other for a moment. Finally, Ryu spoke up. "How
long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough. I like your plan. It will hurt her, but she'll get over
it. I couldn't stand the thought of her being with a coward like you.
I'll allow it, just this once. Normally I'd kill anyone who would hurt
her like that. I don't think she'd like that very much right now."
"I'm glad you agree," snorted Ranma angrily.
"If I ever see you again after that, I will kill you."
"I don't think you're strong enough for that little girl," commented Ryu
lazily.
"I'm stronger than I look," replied the girl.
"Konatsu... Ukyo mentioned you. Wait a minute... you're a guy?" Ranma
turned green and stared at the figure in the doorway.
"So are you."
"Not at the moment kid," snorted Ranma as she thrust out her chest.
Konatsu narrowed his eyes at this display. "Whatever. Just make sure you
leave tomorrow."
"Why that little! I'll show her!" snarled Ranma as she started to get
out of bed.
"Shut up and go to sleep. Do you want to end up married?" snapped Ryu.
Ranma paused and stared at him for a moment. "Not really, but I can't
just let him get away with that!"
"He is correct. It is a matter of professional pride now," agreed Ryoga.
"Who asked you?" snapped Ryu.
"I'll show that brat! He won't get away with talking to me that way!
We're going into the mountains tomorrow regardless. I will come back
though, I'm not going to leave Ucchan to that punk!" Ranma clenched her
fists and smiled.
+++++++++++++
In the hallway, Shampoo nodded to the young boy. "You did that on
purpose didn't you?"
Konatsu gave her a blank stare and continued walking. "Lady Ukyo's
happiness is all that matters to me. Regardless of whether or not it is
with me. I owe her more than I can repay."
"I see." Shampoo gave him a small wink and went back into her room.
+++++++++++++++
"Well, good morning, Ranchan," said Ukyo with a small blush on her
cheeks as she saw her beloved exit his room. She was wearing her armor
once again. Konatsu stood beside her and gave him a distasteful frown.
"Hi," said the boy nervously. He had just changed back into a boy again
and his hair was still wet. "We'll be leaving soon. It was nice seeing
you again Ucchan."
"Yes it was," agreed Ukyo cheerfully.
Ryu emerged from the room looking incredibly tired. "Who the hell's idea
was it to sleep with a dwarf in the room? I thought the whole room was
shaking!"
"Ha ha! That's the snore of a real dwarf all right!" Ryoga strolled out
of the room and beamed cheerfully.
Shampoo staggered out of her own room with a scowl on her face. "Great,
a morning dwarf." She was dressed, but still looked half asleep.
"Well, lets get going," said Ukyo cheerfully.
"Let's?" Ranma looked at Ryu quizzically.
"Where are you going?" asked Kumon with his arms crossed.
"I'm taking you through that pass. I won't let my Ranchan do something
so dangerous on his own. Konatsu will stay here and guard the town. When
the reinforcements arrive, he'll clean up the mess."
"Uh, no," said Ryu dryly.
Ukyo held up her spear and smirked at him. "Care to try and stop me?"
"Through the pass and nothing more," said Ryu.
"You're going to Morid aren't you? Getting there will be easier with a
Knight of Bahamut with you."
Ranma started to protest, but finally hung his shoulders. "She's right.
I hate to say it, but the place will be crawling with soldiers. We aren't
likely to get very far before someone stops us along the road. Plus we
have to get across the mountains first."
"I know the way. There's a pass that merchants use. Otherwise you'll
just have to climb over them. It's the only way through. That's where
we'll run into the goblins."
"We do know where we're going, but it will be easier with a guide,"
admitted Shampoo.
Ranma looked at Ukyo again. "Don't you have a duty here?"
"No. I discovered the goblins while traveling. I sent a message with the
help of a traveling witch. I wasn't ordered here, and used my own
authority to stop travel until the goblins are dispersed."
"All right then. We'd better go." Ryu walked outside the hotel followed
by his companions. Ranma quickly caught up with him as they walked
through the streets towards the edge of town. "We'll be at that dwarf
village in a few hours."
"I know. It isn't too far away. We both know our way to Morid, we've
been there enough times."
"Let's hope 'Miss Holy Knight' here will let us go about our business
once we reach the city," commented Ranma.
"We'll just act like we're moving on to Northern Joketsuko. It shouldn't
be to hard to get her to stay in Morid until we return." Ryu looked back
at their new companion and sighed. "We're going to have to behave
ourselves for a while. You know I hate that."
"Great," muttered Ranma.
"Are you really planning on coming back to her again? It isn't like you
to do something like that just to spite that little cross dresser." Ryu
paused for a moment and blinked. "Never mind, it is just like you."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!" growled Ranma.
"Nothing, just forget about it," said Ryu calmly.
"Like hell! Tell me what you meant by that!" snapped Ranma.
A few feet behind them Ukyo turned to Shampoo. "Are they always like
this?"
"Yes. They are very good friends," said Shampoo cheerfully. "Although,
neither of the idiots will admit that."
"Oh my. This is going to be a long trip isn't it?" Ukyo hung her head.
"Please don't feel too badly, but they haven't even started yet. Ryoga
hasn't said his piece yet."
"All three of them are this bad?"
"No. It's much worse normally."
+++++++++++
TBC...
Next time: Goblin Pass!
C&C to Carrotglace@juno.com
The Dragon and The Ghost
Part 6
The Goblin Path.
Ukyo cheerfully walked beside Ranma as the group traversed along the
path that would lead them into the foothills of the mountains. They had
left the village no more than an hour before.
"How many goblins are we looking at here?" said Ryu as he approached the
pair. Ryoga and Shampoo caught up and kept stride close to them to listen
to the conversation.
"Probably around a thousand of them. I'm not certain. They've managed to
blockade the entire area." Ukyo's face hardened for a moment as she said
this.
"That's an unusual maneuver. Goblins aren't very smart, but they usually
know enough to leave human settlements alone." Ranma looked thoughtful
for a moment. "Maybe there's a nest nearby? They are pretty territorial.
It could be they don't know where they've nested."
"That's a possibility," agreed Shampoo. Her face told them that she was
skeptical about the idea.
"I don't think so. I think it's deliberate. Otherwise they wouldn't have
a higher beast lording over them," commented Ryu.
"You're probably right. I'm betting there's a sorcerer behind this. A
pretty strong one too. Goblins don't like people much, but they aren't
the type to make blockades. Cutting off this road will put economic
strain on Joketsuko. That has the earmarks of a magic user on it." Ranma
sighed and kicked a stone that lie in his path.
"Someone's trying to put pressure on the queen. Maybe it's the Emperor?
He's coming here under a diplomatic pretense after all," said Shampoo.
"I don't think so. His intentions are peaceful from what I've heard.
Something about an alliance," commented Ukyo. "How do you know about that
anyway? It's supposed to be a secret."
"We have ways of finding these things out," said Ranma lazily. "In any
case, I think that Ukyo is right. The Emperor would know that the knights
here could clear out a blockade like this one easily."
"So we're dealing with someone that is both stupid and strong?" snorted
Ryoga. "Sound's easy enough. I'm not in any hurry to engage these beasts.
My understanding is that our mission lies elsewhere."
"Right. We don't have the time to deal with this. The knights will
handle it when they arrive," agreed Ranma.
Ukyo looked at him for a moment and then glanced away.
Ryu took note of this and smirked. "What? Did you think we'd rush
headlong into the hoards? We told you we wanted to sneak by."
"I know. I just don't know if we'll be able too. The dwarf village is
just ahead. Perhaps we can get some information there?"
"Sounds like a plan," agreed Ranma. "No point in rushing into things. We
don't have much time, but we have some."
+++++++++++
Lightning crashed around the tall dark tower that stood on one of the
cliffs in the mountain range. It was a twisted and old looking structure.
Dark clouds formed just above it giving it an air of menace, the sky
around the area was clear though.
Inside the castle, the trader's route could be seen from the balcony far
below. A dark cloaked figure stood watching with an evil glee in his eyes
as the swarm of dark green goblins could be seen on the road below, even
from the height where he stood.
"Excellent." He turned away and walked into a large room that was
covered in shadows despite the roaring fire that had been made in the
giant fireplace. Long tables full of bottles and bookshelves full of
magical objects and books lined the walls. In the center of the room was
a round table with a crystal ball resting in its center. He sat down in
front of it and smiled. "Everything is going according to plan. Soon the
Queen's knights will fall, and I will rule Joketsuko with an iron fist."
He waved his hands and a holographic image of a figure dressed in black
armor stood glaring back at him. "I shall prove myself to you. Soon you
will sit at my side as my queen!"
"Sorcerer," a deep booming voice echoed through the room as the image
vanished and was replaced by a reptilian pair of eyes.
"Ah, my dear friend," said the wizard pleasantly.
"When will I have my revenge? How much longer must I wait?" snarled the
beast.
"Patience my old comrade. The Knights of Bahamut will come to you in two
days time. We shall slay their legions easily with your help. After that,
I shall take control of the Queen's throne. Then our contract will be
complete and you can return to whatever it is that you do."
"You are certain that she will be with them?" snarled the beast.
"I cannot say. However, she will come eventually. Especially after they
find out about you. Have patience, surely you have learned that over the
eons."
"I have indeed, but mine grows thin wizard. I have brought you the power
you have desired. Now you must fulfill your part of the bargain."
"Calm yourself, Yumatano Orochi. Soon the death of your master will be
avenged, and I will rule all of Joketsuko." The wizard chuckled to
himself for a moment and the reptilian eyes vanished.
"See to it that you do not fail me sorcerer," said the voice, as it
faded as well.
+++++++++++
Ranma stood and gaped at the scene in front of him in shock. The group
was sitting behind a large boulder in the path. They stared in shock as
the goblins roamed freely through the remains of the dwarven village.
They were small creatures, a head shorter than Ryoga. They all had dark
green skin and wore light armor. Most of them had large noses and long
pointed ears. They looked scraggly and thin, with a hint of their feral
nature easily seen in their blood red eyes. Many of them carried spears
and daggers, others were unarmed. They were dangerous even without
weapons. Sharp teeth and claws, bolstered by their sheer numbers.
"Damn it! This is worse than I thought! If they had the manpower to do
this, then they must be much more powerful than I had thought."
"This isn't a few thousand goblins. There's something much bigger at
work here," said Ryu as he pointed to several large holes in the caves.
There were a lot of burn marks as well. The village was made up of dug in
tunnels within the mountain. The tunnels would have hundreds of large
caverns dug into them to create the dwarven hovels and businesses.
"A dragon!" muttered Ryoga harshly. He was holding his war hammer
tightly in his grasp and wringing his hands on the handle. His face was
contorted into a mask of pure anger.
"This is much worse than I imagined," agreed Shampoo. "We have to find a
way around this. The knights must be warned if they hope to win. They
might be expecting a griffin, or possibly a giant to lead the goblin
hoards, but a dragon will catch them completely by surprise."
"Damn it! I hate playing the hero!" snarled Ryu. He hung his head in
resignation and sighed. "We don't have a choice this time."
"Come on Ryu, we'll probably get a reward for this or something," said
Ranma in an attempt to calm his friend.
"We'd better!" snapped the thief with another harsh whisper.
"Come on, there is nothing more we can do here," said Shampoo as she
began to sneak back down the trail again.
++++++++++
"How are things proceeding Nabiki?" The Emperor's personal aide stood
next to the witch as she gazed deeply into a large mirror. The aide was a
young woman by the sound of her voice, but the long brown cloak she wore
hid her figure. They were in the center of a round stone room with
several torches just around a circle that marked the center. The mystical
mirror hung suspended in the air by some unseen magical force. There were
no windows in the empty room, and the only exit was a large set of doors
that led into the hallway.
"Very well I'd say. That idiot, he doesn't realize that I gave him
Yumatano Orochi. Joketsuko will lose its best fighting force, even if
they succeed they will be severely weakened."
"Exactly what I wanted to hear," said the aide casually.
"Have I ever failed you?" Nabiki smirked and tossed her hair back.
"You still live, do you not?" replied the woman as she walked away.
Nabiki growled under her breath and turned back to the mirror again.
A moment later the doors opened again. The familiar clanking of armor
filled the barren room.
Nabiki did not turn to face the newcomer. Nor could she see who it was,
an image of the goblin hoard filled the glass instead of a reflection at
the moment. "Akane. What can I do for you?"
The image shifted to a wizard overlooking the blockade. Akane paused and
stared at him for a moment. "Do I know that man?"
"Probably not. He did serve under father for a short time. I believe he
was kicked out of the Wizard's School, and became a soldier. He was far
too weak for training as I recall. I don't believe he lasted more than a
month. He was in your class though."
"I see. I have come to find out about Joketsuko. My mission is unclear
at the moment. I'll need information about the land surrounding Morid,
and the path we'll be taking to get there."
"Always the tactician I see. Too bad you were never as good at it as I
was. The maps are in my study, you know where it is."
Akane raised her eyebrow slightly at her sister. "Don't act like I
didn't need to ask you first."
"All right, I'll humor you. The spells protecting my chambers will be
down for an hour, starting now. Get what you need, then give it back to
me before you leave."
"Thank you," said the younger girl as she spun around and walked out of
the room.
+++++++++++
"This just keeps getting better and better," muttered Ranma as he snuck
through the brush just ahead of his companions. He turned back towards
them and motioned for them to stop. After a moment they all sat behind a
rather large shrub. They were inside a small forest that sat along the
side of one of the mountains.
"How does it look?" asked Ryu.
"No good, we're surrounded. Somehow we managed to miss all of these
imps. Damn, how could I have been so careless?" Ranma punched the ground
in frustration.
"So, we wandered into the middle of their blockade without even
realizing it?" said Shampoo.
"That's about the size of it. Now we're stuck. Ryu and I could make it
through no problem, but you and armor girl over here won't make it."
"Hey!" cried Ukyo.
"He's right. That armor is polished to a shine. The slightest hint of
light and you'll flash like a beacon. We're going to hide out until dark
and try to make it through then."
"Hiding in the dark from goblins is a poor idea," commented Ryoga.
"We don't have much choice. That's when we'll be the least visible. I
doubt if Ukyo is willing to leave her armor behind in a place like this.
Out of all of us, she has the best chance of surviving if we're caught
because of it." Ryu leveled a neutral gaze on her for a moment as he said
this.
"I have to make it through. We need to warn the other knights."
"About what? We haven't even seen the dragon," pointed out Shampoo.
"She's right. We don't know how big or how strong it is," said Ranma.
"The damage to the village was enough to tell us it can't be ignored,"
said Ryoga.
"He's got a point. Something that can do that to a dwarven village dug
into a mountain can't be taken lightly," agreed Ukyo.
The conversation was cut off suddenly by a high pitched laughing sound.
The group turned to see a small goblin jumping up and down excitedly with
a leer on its face. The creature was no more than three feet away from
them. Its giggles were cut off suddenly, as Ryu cleaved the thing in half
with his sword.
"Damn. We've been spotted," he stood up and wiped his blade clean on his
pants. "Don't just sit there, come on!"
The group followed quickly behind him. "It's just one goblin!" said
Shampoo.
"When was the last time you saw just one goblin?" retorted Ranma as he
moved behind her and forced her to run a little faster.
"It could have been a scout!" growled Ryoga as he struggled to keep up
with the group.
All protests were cut off as another laugh came from behind them. It was
quickly joined by another, and then yet another. After a short time
Shampoo dared a quick glance back. The forest was crawling with them.
They swarmed just behind them seeming to flow through the trees like a
giant slime.
"GO! GO! GO!" cried Ranma as he steered her towards a patch of light
through the woods ahead. Shampoo screamed as she was pushed out into a
clearing and over the edge of a cliff. Ryu, Ukyo, and Ryoga followed just
behind them.
++++++++++++
"You! You knew about this lake didn't you?" screamed Shampoo angrily as
she sloshed onto the shore of the small lake they had fallen into. The
forest was just above them, about three hundred feet straight up. "How
dare you scare me like that!"
"We didn't know about the lake," said Ryu calmly as he helped Ukyo
stand. He and Ryoga had to help her swim due to her armor. She wore a
light chain mail over her shirt now. Her chest armor had been discarded
with her helmet though. She gazed back into the water for a moment and
turned back onto shore again.
"Bah! I took a bath six months ago! I didn't need another one!" grumbled
Ryoga.
Ranma was lying on her back resting while the others climbed onto the
tiny beach. "He's right. I had no idea this was here."
"Then why did you jump?" snapped Shampoo.
"Dying from falling hurts less than being eaten," answered Ryoga as he
poured the water out of his helmet and placed it back on his head.
Ranma stood up and dusted some of the wet sand from her pants. "Come on,
we've got to get moving. It won't take them long to figure out what
happened to us."
"We'll be lucky if we don't freeze to death after this! We're soaking
wet!" snarled Shampoo as she leveled her gaze on the redheaded elf.
"Well, maybe you'd like it better back in the forest, Princess?" said
Ryu as he walked by her.
"We can't waste time building a fire right now. We've got to get the
hell out of here. We can worry about our comfort later on," said Ranma
calmly.
+++++++++++++++
Deep within the caverns of the dwarven village. Something stirred
restlessly. A huge reptilian head rose from the ground in the darkness
and snarled. "I sense something... a presence I've not felt since..." The
sound of scales scraping against the rock was all that could be heard in
the pitch black caverns after that.
++++++++++
Lime and Mint kneeled before Herb and bowed their heads deeply. "I see
she has been keeping you two busy. Keeping Lord Kuno away from her is
quite a task indeed." He gave them a passing glance as he lounged in his
favorite chair. It was a small throne that overlooked a huge model of the
imperial city. He had it built several years ago.
"He is persistent," agreed Mint.
"Very well, go back now. Her activities are incredibly dull as of late.
I had hoped she would compete in the tournament again this year. I do
enjoy teasing her, as well as humiliating her utterly every year. It
seems she'll be off with the Emperor during the harvest this time though.
Such a pity."
The two beast men bowed deeper and scurried away into the shadows.
"Worried about Akane?" Nabiki appeared from behind the throne and
wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Worried? Not really. I do like to know what she's doing though. She's a
tiny annoyance at times, but one that could grow dangerous very quickly
if I don't keep an eye on her."
"So giving her your two lackeys is a tiny bit of worry?"
Herb smiled at this and chuckled. "Don't pretend to be so naive. You and
I both know that this is as much to keep an eye on the Emperor while he's
away."
"He does have one of us accompany him on almost all of his journeys.
Usually, it's Akane or myself. I think Kasumi bothers him slightly."
"You will tell me what I want to know to benefit yourself in the long
run. Akane, on the other hand, does not like me very much I'm afraid."
"So it seems. She can be so jealous sometimes." Nabiki laughed coldly
for a moment.
"What are you talking about? She's still angry over that little nick I
gave her two years ago." Herb drew a line across his cheek with his thumb
as he said this.
"Herb. Your naivete astounds me at times. She is merely upset with you
because of me. That scar may have started her anger, but her hatred grows
more with each passing day we are together. That is how we will control
her when the time comes. Soon she will give into her rage, and then she
will belong to me."
"You think she's angry because of us?" Herb chuckled at the thought.
"No, there are a lot of reasons behind her anger. That is just the big
one."
"Ah well. It does not matter," Herb stood from his seat and rested his
hands against the edges of the table that held the model. He gazed into
the diminutive expanse of the city and smirked. "What do you think?"
"I don't know. How about a shopping district here?" Nabiki pointed to a
large church that sat on a hill to the right of the palace.
"Trying to anger both of your sisters at once?"
"Ha! Kasumi? She'll cry for about a week, but she'll eventually get over
it. There's no reason those with money should be forced to buy their
goods among the commoners."
Herb gave a distasteful snort. "Sometimes I think you need me around
just to keep yourself from going too far. The church will stay. This can
go." He pointed to a large residential area.
+++++++++++++
"Damn you Ranma! This is all your fault!" screamed Ryoga as he hacked
through a large tree with a single stroke. The giant pine groaned loudly
as it came crashing down into the large group of goblins behind them.
They were running desperately away once again, with the vicious little
imps right behind them, nipping at their heels.
"My fault?" snapped the pigtailed girl.
"Shut up and run!" screamed Ryu. One of the impish creatures landed on
his back and clawed at his face. He grabbed it by the back of the head
and tossed it away before it could bite down on his neck.
Shampoo floated past Ranma, she was facing behind them and using
levitation magic to flee. One of her battle maces was in her hand and she
screamed in rage as she sent a small orange ball of energy into the
swarming mass of goblins. Ten of them were vaporized as the magic spell
exploded the mass of bodies scattered for a moment before resuming the
chase again. The goblins were no more than three feet behind them once
again a few seconds later.
"Turn right!" screamed Ranma as she pulled Ryoga and Ryu by their shirts
and forced them to follow.
"Where are we going?" cried Ukyo as she staggered for a moment. Several
bites and claws barely missed her feet as she managed to keep up.
"That tower!" screamed Ranma in reply. She was pointing to the tall
black structure that seemed to teeter precariously on the edge of a thin
cliff. It could be seen through the end of the forest a few hundred yards
ahead of them.
"That's a wizards tower!" screamed Ukyo.
"So what?" snapped Ryu as he ran next to her.
"It's obvious that's where all of this trouble is coming from," said
Shampoo as she blasted ahead of them.
"Gee, you think?" snapped Ryoga as he cut one of the goblins that had
managed to get in front of him in half. Without stopping he jumped over
the thing's body and burst out of the forest.
The party rushed up the long path that led to the door of the tower. The
were about halfway to their destination when Ranma suddenly stopped cold.
"Ranma?" cried Ryu in alarm as he slowed down slightly and looked back.
"Hey. Stop running!"
Shampoo was standing with a frown on her face. Ryu realized that Ranma
had stopped because he had noticed her standing there in front of them.
"What's going on?" Ukyo slowly turned and gasped for breath.
"The goblins. They've stopped," said Ryoga with a slight growl.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," said Ranma as he glanced around.
"What's the big deal?" said Ukyo. She was glad for the chance to rest.
"Those goblins stopped chasing us for a reason. I think we're about to
find out what it is," said Ryu.
"Indeed you are," said a new voice. The group spun around and saw a
figure dressed in black robes standing before them.
"Who the hell are you?" snapped Ryoga.
"My name is Hikaru Gosunkugi. I am a black sorcerer. I must say you have
done quite well to get this far." The wizard pulled back his hood to
reveal a sickly looking boy of about seventeen years in age.
"Hey. I've heard of you!" said Ranma with a dumb look on her face.
"R-really?" squeaked the boy. His face had changed from a scowl to one
of pure joy in a matter of seconds.
Ryu nodded his head as the story came back to him. "Yes. You were kicked
out of the magic school in Horis. I believe the term was 'Worst base
magical power ever seen in a human'. You were the laughing stock of the
entire Sorcerer's Guild. It's said he couldn't even use the light spell.
No one knows why he even tried to be a wizard."
"That spell was hard!" snapped the boy angrily. "In any case, I've got
power to spare now." He chuckled to himself for a moment and looked
towards the sky. "This knight. Is she the one you are looking for?"
"Who are you talking to?" said Ukyo as she realized that he was talking
about her.
"You are the last survivor of the men who killed Tiamhat?" Gosunkugi's
grin widened even more.
"Ranma, I don't like this," said Shampoo as she moved closer to the red
haired elf.
"How dangerous could this guy be? I mean, look at him. He's got no
magical power, and he's a complete wimp," replied the girl lazily.
"Let's just kill him and get this over with," snorted Ryu.
Ukyo was completely silent during this conversation. She turned towards
the wizard and pointed her spear at him. "What if I am the one who killed
that hellish beast?"
"I've got a friend who's just dying to meet you. Yumatano Orochi! I
summon thee!" He raised his hand into the sky and cackled madly.
Lightning slammed into the ground around him. He paused and looked at the
burn markings on the ground for a moment. After that, he screamed like a
girl and rushed back to his tower.
Ukyo stood completely still. Her eye was twitching slightly and she
dropped her spear to the ground. "What the?"
"I told you we didn't have anything to worry about," said Ranma as she
walked past her towards the tower. She stopped cold as the ground began
to shake beneath them.
It seemed to burst from the ground all around them. Serpentine heads
that twisted in and out of one another as they rose higher and higher
into the sky for almost four hundred feet. Finally they stopped and
separated one by one. Each of them turned towards a different member of
the party and roared angrily.
"What the hell is this? How many dragons are there?" cried Shampoo as
she backed away from the scene in shock.
"Just one," said Ukyo with a stern look on her face. The silver blade of
her spear began to shine with a mystical, white power. "Yumatano Orochi,
the legendary eight headed general of Tiamhat."
"Ranma! This is all your fault!" snapped Ryoga as he looked away from
the beast for a moment.
"My fault? She's the one who killed his friend!" retorted the redhead as
she pointed at Ukyo.
"We wouldn't be here if she wasn't your friend," said Ryu. "I really,
really hate playing hero, Ranma!"
"Look out you idiots! Eyes front!" snapped Shampoo as she sent a small
spell into the ground at their feet. The three arguing men were thrown
apart as one of the serpent heads slammed head first into where they were
standing.
"Men," grumbled Ukyo. She charged forward with her spear held over her
head.
"What the hell are we supposed to do?" growled Ryoga as he jumped away
from one of the jets of flame the beast was breathing at them.
"Kill the monster!" snapped Ryu as he jumped into the air and spread his
arms. "Demon God Assault Bomb!" He slashed his arms and kicked, sending
three vaccume blades into one of the scaly necks. The beast's head was
knocked to the side slightly, but otherwise undamaged. "Where the hell is
Ranma?"
"Did that coward run away?" snarled Ryoga as he dodged another strike
and swat at one of the massive heads with his battle axe. To the dragon,
he was less than a mouthful.
"I can't sense him!" said Shampoo as she looked up in horror. One of the
heads was looking down on the battle and not moving. Ukyo was being kept
busy by three of them, while the others merely had one of the beast's
heads to deal with each. "No! He couldn't have been..." She felt an
unfamiliar anger suddenly fill her.
"Ryu! Raise your sword!" called Shampoo as she ran just ahead of the
thing's snapping jaws.
"Why?" asked the boy as he did so.
A ball of blue light formed in her hands and she thrust forward. "Strike
now!"
Ryu gave a battle cry as he slashed at the beast that had been trying to
sneak behind him. It roared in pain as the blade cut into the scales and
began to frost over. It reared back and the sword was ripped from Ryu's
hands, stuck in the beast's snout. He was sent rolling away across the
ground. "That's great! You've managed to piss it off!" he snapped as he
jumped to his feet again.
"Ryoga!" said Shampoo. Ryu noticed that both she and the dwarf were
looking up at the sky. His gaze followed theirs and he saw what she had
meant. The head he had struck was not moving, and had turned a light blue
color for about the first ten feet of its neck.
The dwarf grunted as he threw his war hammer. It sailed into the air
about two hundred feet up and slammed into the frozen dragon head. The
creature shattered like glass. All of the other beasts roared in pain for
a moment.
Ryu smiled for a moment and cheered. "Yeah! That got him!" His smile
quickly fell away and he started to turn and run away. "Move it!" he
cried as he rushed into Ryoga and Shampoo. He managed to grab both of
them with his arms and pulled them away as the neck came crashing down
just behind them. At the last moment he rolled away and narrowly avoided
getting them crushed.
Shampoo stood up and dusted herself off. "Of all the..."
"Look out! Ya blasted woman!" snapped Ryoga as he rolled onto his back.
Shampoo turned and put her palm up. Two jets of flames slammed into the
ice wall she had created. It melted away just as the blasts subsided.
"Damn! Now what? There are still six more!" said Ryu angrily.
One of the heads let out a roar of pain and slowly sank to the ground.
"What the?" said Ryu as he glanced towards the center of the tangle of
necks. "Hey! I was wondering where he went!" He pointed towards Ranma.
She was standing with her sword driven deep into the fallen neck. After a
moment she faded away again as two of the remaining dragon heads slammed
into the ground where she had stood. Her sword was still stuck in place;
after the two monsters realized that they had missed they moved away and
slithered towards the group again. The sword seemed to vanish from the
neck after that.
"We're in trouble. Unless you know a spell that can kill a dragon we're
in really big trouble," commented Ryu.
Two heads moved on either side of them, blocking them in. "We're in
trouble then," confirmed Shampoo.
+++++++++++++++
Ukyo Kuonji squared off against three of the beast's heads. She jumped
and dodged around blasts of fire and the snapping teeth of the monster
skillfully. Several slashes were apparent along the thing's necks from
the strikes of her spear. It still glowed with the mystical white light
along the blade. "Damn! I can't get in a good shot! They're too fast."
She grunted as she came into contact with one of the necks and was
thrown to the ground roughly. She rolled away just as two of the heads
bit into the earth where she had landed. "Damn it! I'll kill you yet
monster!" A long scrape had appeared on her arm, several similar
scratches were apparent all over her body where she had come into contact
with the dragon's scales.
"Ucchan! Look out!" cried a familiar voice. The knight whirled around
just in time to see a massive set of jaws closing in on her. She was
saved as a blur slammed into her side knocking her out of the way.
"Ranma?" muttered the knight as she stood up shakily. The redheaded elf
was standing in a combat stance just in front of her.
"Ucchan. How the hell did you piss this thing off?"
"I helped kill his boss," replied the girl with a small smirk on his
face.
"Great. We won't last much longer. We've only taken out two of these
things so far. Ryu and the others used their weapons up doing it. Now
what?" The elf girl started dragging her away just ahead of the serpent's
jaws.
"Yumatano Orochi is a legendary eight headed dragon. "We need to find
the master head and destroy it."
"Great! How the hell do we do that?" snapped Ranma as she pulled her
friend away. Ukyo noted that she was moving towards the rest of them and
two more heads. Shampoo was using a mixture of magic and her bonbori to
keep them at bay.
"If I knew that I'd have done it!" snapped the knight in retort.
"Tactical retreat?" said Ukyo with a little hope in her voice.
"Retreat where? Back into those goblins?" retorted Ranma.
"Shit. Ranma Honey! I don't want to die before you take my virginity!"
The redhead fell flat on her face and took Ukyo with her. One of the
dragon heads passed over them just as it happened.
"Can we not talk about this now?" said Ranma as she got up and started
running again.
Ukyo stopped and ripped her hand away from Ranma's. She turned and faced
the two heads just behind them with a stern look on her face. "Damn it!
Can't you see we're busy now!?" She slashed the spear as they passed on
either side of her. This time they did not rise back into the air, but
fell to the ground dead. Ranma paled as she noticed that the two heads
were almost completely removed by the strikes.
"Now, Ranchan. What were we just talking about?"
"I, uhh... I dunno."
Ryu and his group rushed up to them. "Great, now we're down to three
left."
"Four," corrected Ukyo.
"Huh?" sputtered Ryoga.
"Yumatano Orochi is an eight headed dragon. There are only seven heads
right now," explained Ranma.
"So where the hell is the rest of it? We're running out of options
fast!" said Shampoo.
As if in answer the remains of the destroyed heads and the three living
ones slid back under the ground. A deep rumbling sound filled the air and
the party was thrown onto the ground roughly by the tremors.
"Now what?" screamed Ryu.
The ground in front of them burst out revealing a gigantic row of teeth.
Each tooth was as big as a man and the head it was attached too forced
them back to the edge of the forest by just it's huge size. It roared
angrily sending the whole group to their knees in pain. The mountain
shook violently from the sheer force of the sound.
"Screw this!" snapped Ryoga as he started to turn away.
"I'm with him," said Ryu as he stared in awe at the beast.
Shampoo was too shocked to speak. She had never seen anything so large
before.
Ranma was staring at Ukyo. The girl was standing with her pike held in
front of her. A white power seemed to surround her body. "Ranma. Please,
I just need a little time."
The redhead stood up and glared at her for a moment. "How much?"
"About a minute."
"Done." With that, the redhead seemed to vanish in an instant.
Ukyo closed her eyes, the aura surrounding her flared up, it was bright
enough to rival the sun. She grit her teeth as memories of her past
comrades filled her mind. They had died doing what she was asking of
Ranma. "Please, hang on Ranchan."
"Are you out of your mind?" screamed Ryu as he stepped towards where his
partner had been. He fell silent and pulled Shampoo and Ryoga into the
forest with him. The elf girl refused to turn around and watched the
scene as he pulled her by her hand. Ryoga didn't need much help to run,
but Ryu shoved him along anyway, just to be sure he was moving in the
right direction. Not surprisingly, there were no goblins waiting for
them.
+++++++++
Ranma seemed to appear in front of the beast several times. Each time
she slashed at it with her sword. She wasn't doing any real damage, but
it was enough to annoy the beast into attacking. Jets of flame struck
wherever she appeared just after she vanished again. The three remaining
smaller heads also attempted to attack. She smirked and vanished just as
two of them slammed into each other. "Hurry up Ucchan. I don't know how
long 'till this thing gets lucky."
Ukyo's eyes flew open suddenly. "It's time!" Her lance changed into a
beam of pure light in her hands, the power flared across the handle as
she rose it over her head and prepared to strike. "Eat this beast! King
Dragon Tooth!" She jumped twenty feet into the air threw it down at an
angle. It jumped like a lightning bolt towards her target. The dragon
opened its mouth to roar, but it never finished. Ranma appeared just in
front of the thing's eye with her sword slashing down at the pupil. In
mid strike she seemed to notice the beam of light that was heading
straight for her and gasped.
"Ranchan! No!" screamed the knight as the projectile slammed home into
the beast's eye. Then, everything went white.
+++++++++++
Ranma found herself in incredible pain. She was lying on the ground
covered in rubble and dirt. All that remained of the blast was a large
hole where the dragon had emerged to face them. She shook her head and
sat up. "What hit me?" Something slammed into her sending her back to the
ground. She tightened up instinctively, but relaxed when something soft
and warm met her lips. She felt a wetness on her cheeks as if she had
been crying. "Muh?"
Ukyo broke her kiss and looked into her confused and disoriented love's
eyes. "Oh Ranchan. I thought I'd lost you." She sobbed and clung to his
neck even tighter.
"What happened?" muttered the redhead.
"You almost got skewered you dope," said Ryu as he appeared next to
Ukyo.
Ranma sat up again and looked down. Her shirt had a large portion torn
away on her torso. There was also the beginning of a light burn that
covered almost half of her stomach. She looked up at her companions and
smiled. "Did we get it?"
"Aye, that we did. The goblins are nowhere to be seen either," said
Ryoga. He and Shampoo were sitting on some of the rubble from the fight
nearby. Everyone looked beaten and dirty, but also relieved.
"So, we saved Joketsuko. Funny, Ryu doesn't look too unhappy. He hates
this kind of stuff."
"Har, har," muttered the boy. "I just haven't had the chance to feel my
injuries yet. When I do, you can be sure I'll get you back for getting me
involved with this mess."
"Whatever. Hey, aren't we forgetting something?" said Ranma suddenly.
"I don't think so. The dragon is dead, and without him, the goblins will
disperse on their own."
A high pitched laughter filled the air suddenly. Everyone turned to look
at the tower. Hikaru's image appeared in front of them with an evil grin
on his face. "You haven't beaten me yet! I shall rule all of Joketsuko
soon enough! You still have to get through my gauntlet of traps, and by
then I'll have summoned another powerful beast to do my bidding!
Bwahahahahahahahaa!"
Ranma sighed as the image vanished. "Ryoga, you take care of this."
"Aye lad. It'll be my pleasure," said the dwarf as he cracked his
knuckles and walked towards the cliff that held the dark tower.
"When will these stupid wizards ever learn?" said the pigtailed girl.
"What do you mean Ranchan?" asked Ukyo.
Ryoga stopped just in front of the tower's doors. He thrust his hand
into the ground suddenly. "Bakusai Tenketsu!" The path exploded and the
tower slowly started to tilt backwards.
"These idiots always build their fortresses on these skinny little
cliffs. I still don't know why."
The group stood and watched the fortress topple over and fall into the
ground far below.
"What was that you just did? I've never heard of that technique," said
Shampoo as she walked up to the dwarf.
"Just a mining trick we dwarves use. It's actually kind of old, and most
dwarves don't use it anymore now that we have explosives." He shrugged
and started walking. "Come on, we can set up camp here."
"Right. I'm starving," said Ranma as she jumped to her feet again.
Ukyo looked like she wanted to say something to him, but fell silent at
the last moment.
"Worry about it later," said Ryu as he grabbed her shoulder gently.
"Come on, we need to get cleaned up and rested. We've got a long day
ahead of us. Right?"
"Yeah. Right." The girl smiled slightly and seemed to relax. "Thanks
Ryu."
"Anytime," said the boy without turning to face her.
+++++++++++
The Emperor's aide frowned at Nabiki. "Who is that elf girl?"
"I believe that is the one the wizards call 'Dragon Ghost'." replied the
girl carefully.
"So, she is the famous thief? Interesting."
"I suppose so."
The image vanished suddenly. The cloaked woman turned to face Nabiki.
"What happened?"
"No one can get more than a moment's glance at the Dragon Ghost. How she
does it is one of her best kept secrets."
"I see. Still, your plan failed."
"Did it?" said Nabiki with a small twinkle in her eyes.
"Yes it did."
"I never told you what my plan was. I merely wanted to get rid of
another unwanted admirer for my little sister. Gosunkugi was becoming as
obsessive as Kuno."
"And what you told me of the knights?"
"Would have been a perk if Ukyo had not shown up so soon. Even I can't
foresee everything."
"Congratulations then."
"Thank you, I'll have those Knights out of the way soon enough. Your
orders were not forgotten."
"Nabiki, see to it that you don't fail me again."
The witch turned back to the mirror and scowled at her own reflection.
She had managed to save some face, but it was still obvious that Ranma
had ruined her plans. "If I didn't need you so badly, I'd destroy you for
that, boy. Your time will come soon enough though, once you've outlived
your usefulness that is." Her frown changed into a dark smile.
TBC...
Next time: Joketsuko.
C&C to Carrotglace@juno.com