The Dragon and The Ghost
Part 12
Forest of Shadows.
+++++++
Ranma walked along the path that led out of Joketsuko, she was still in
her cursed form and seemed strangely contemplative so far. They were in a
wooded area, not more than a few miles outside of the small village where
they had separated from Rouge and her Knights. Ukyo walked behind her,
with Ryu, Shampoo, and Ryoga following close behind them. Akane was tied
up and being pulled by the dwarf from the rear.
"So, your oh so faithful squire has been knighted," commented Ryu as he
walked up beside Ukyo. "Whatever will you do now?"
"Har, har. You're a real riot you know that? It's about time Konatsu
took the plunge, he's been riding along with me too long," said the girl
lazily.
"I'm sure he'll do fine," agreed Shampoo cheerfully.
Ranma rolled her eyes and glanced back at his friends for a moment.
Things had been going well, almost too well. The only thing that even
remotely worried her at the moment, was the cloud of doom that seemed to
hover over Akane's head. She had been brooding in silence ever since they
had left.
"I'll finally get paid," said Ryoga cheerfully as he tugged on the rope
and forced Akane to move a little faster.
"I do hate treating a lady like this," commented Ryu as he looked back
at her. "But we can't have you running back to your master and spilling
the beans about what's going on."
"How long are we going to hold her anyway?" said Ukyo angrily. "Lets
just get it over with. Kill her and be done with it."
Akane looked up at the girl and frowned even deeper than she already
was.
"Not until I find out what I want to know," replied the pigtailed girl
lazily.
"It's obvious she isn't going to talk," said Shampoo lazily. "I hate to
say it, but I agree with her. She's a liability at the moment."
"I have ways of finding out what I want to know, but I can't get to them
until we get back. After I'm finished, you can do what you want with
her," said the redhead coldly.
"We won't make it out of the country," said Akane sullenly. "You don't
think the Emperor is going to let you walk away with his precious staff,
do you?"
"My, you've certainly been in a bad mood," said Ryu with a small
chuckle. "Don't worry, we've got a ward on this thing. They can't track
it down, not even with magic." The boy pointed over his shoulder to the
long, wrapped bundle that hung off his back.
"No, but they know I'm gone as well," said the black knight coldly.
Ryu rushed up to her and drew his sword, placing it over her neck.
"Maybe we should just kill you then?" He snarled.
"If you're going to do it, get it over with. I've no desire to be
dragged around the countryside by the likes of you," said the girl calmly
as she met his gaze.
"Ryu," snapped Ranma coolly. "Stop it."
The boy slowly withdrew and replaced his blade.
"She's right," said Ukyo with a small sigh.
"So what? I know what I'm doing. The Black Knight here is hidden from
prying eyes," commented Ranma lazily.
"What?" said Shampoo in shock. "I thought you couldn't..."
"I can't hide us in close proximity, I can block out magical searches
over a group though," said the redhead calmly. "Someone was sniffing
around last night. They may have gotten a glimpse before I noticed, but
they can't find us now."
"Oh," said Ukyo as she shrugged her shoulders and started walking again.
"Then why is something following us?" said Akane coolly.
Ranma narrowed his eyes and glanced back at the path. It was completely
silent, only the rustle of the wind blowing through the trees could be
heard as everyone stopped and looked at the knight for a moment.
"She's just trying to scare us," commented Shampoo with a small snort.
"No, she's right," said Ranma coldly.
"Eh? Whatcha mean?" grumbled Ryoga as he looked up at the prisoner.
"I haven't heard so much as a bird in a while," said the redhead. "There
are no insects chirping, no birds, no wild animals of any kind. Something
is wrong."
Shampoo cursed under her breath, it was something she should have
noticed immediately. "She's right."
"No noise either, I don't hear anything that sounds like a human,"
commented Ryu. "Soldiers would make quite a ruckus. This is something
else."
"Another monster?" said Ukyo with a nervous glance towards Ryoga. The
group pulled into a tight circle, surrounding Akane on all sides. The
black knight looked at the forest around them and watched for any
movement.
Ukyo jumped as she felt something grab her rear. "Ranchan! This isn't
the time for that!" snapped the knight with a huge blush.
"Huh?" said the redhead as she turned towards the girl in confusion.
"What the heck did I do?"
"You mean... you didn't just..." sputtered the girl in embarrassment.
"Well, look what fell into my little web!" said a voice from the woods.
"Such lovely humans! A cute little knight too!"
"Who's there!?" snarled Ryoga as he stepped forward and held his axe in
front of him.
"Just a wandering forest spirit, nothing to concern yourself with," said
the voice lazily. It sounded young, almost like that of a child. "Tell
me, what brings you into my forest?"
"What is that?" snarled Ryu as he glanced around.
"That, is what killed everything in these woods," said Ranma coldly. She
drew the Katana that hung over her shoulder and held it offensively.
"Ranchan... I've got a bad feeling about this," said Ukyo nervously. She
edged back slightly, shying away from the shadows that seemed to reach
for them from the trees.
Ranma was about to reply, when the girl was lifted off the ground and
grabbed at something around her neck. Ukyo gasped and seemed to fade away
into nothing. The knight's spear fell into the dust, the only indication
that she had ever been there.
"Ukyo!" cried the redhead as she reached for her companion. Her fingers
passed through the fading image and grasped nothing but air.
"Shit!" screamed Ryu in rage. "What the hell is going on?"
"Oh, don't worry about her. I like her, I think I'll keep her around for
a while!" A longing sigh resonated in the air around them. "It must be
love!"
"You bastard! I'll tear your heart out!" snapped the pigtailed girl
bitterly as she glared into the woods.
The voice seemed to ignore her. "You aren't very cute. In fact, I'll bet
I'm much cuter! What to do with you though? I guess I am feeling a bit
hungry."
"It's a dryad! It has to be!" snapped Shampoo angrily.
"A dryad? Are you nuts?" snapped Akane. "Dryads don't do things like
this!"
"A poisoned one would," replied Ranma coolly. "We'll die if we stand
here. Come on!" She started to edge her way down the path slowly.
"A poisoned dryad?" muttered Akane as she walked with them. Forest
spirits were usually quite gentle, but if poisoned, or defiled by black
magic, they could become extremely lethal killers. "Why would there be
such a thing here?"
"Sorcerers like to use them to keep their hideouts safe," said Ranma as
she moved away quickly with the rest of the group.
"Can we kill it?" asked Ryoga as he struggled to keep up with the party.
"Yeah, but it ain't easy," muttered Ryu as he glanced around.
Shampoo felt absolutely sick to her stomach. She hadn't been able to
speak since she learned what they were facing. Some of her closest
friends back at the palace had been such spirits. They were extremely
kind, and absolutely loved elves. The forest always flourished when elves
settled down. In order to create one such creature, all the other dryads
would have been sealed away. Otherwise, they would have destroyed the
monster out of mercy.
"Shampoo. I can't find it," said Ranma as she rushed up beside her.
"What?" muttered the elf girl in reply.
"I'm going to need your help. You've got to lead us to it," said the
redhead desperately. "Hurry!"
Shampoo saw the pleading in her companion's eyes. Ukyo was in very real
danger.
Ryu stopped cold in front of them. "Damn! Right back where we started!"
It seemed as if they had gone in a complete circle, despite running full
speed down the road that led out of the woods.
"Now what?" snarled Akane bitterly.
"We stand, and fight!" snarled Ryoga as he jumped forward and hacked his
axe downward. "Got ya!"
"Oh, I don't know about that," said the pretty young girl who stood
before them suddenly. She seemed to melt into existence directly in front
of them. She had long brown hair, and a simple dress that merely hung
from her shoulders. "Tell me. What are you doing in my forest?" She
looked down at the dwarf and frowned. A long cut had appeared at the base
of her garment.
"Give us back Ukyo, and we'll leave," said Ranma firmly.
"No. I like her," said the figure with a shrug. "She'll stay with me.
I'll just kill you and be done with it."
"Don't just stand there! Kill it!" snarled Akane angrily as she
struggled with her ropes.
"Attacking that body won't do anything. It's not the real her," said
Ranma coolly. "Shampoo?"
"Yes. That way, about four hundred yards into the woods," said the elf
girl firmly as she pointed.
"Eh? What ya mean?" snapped Ryoga.
The dryad's face contorted into an angry scowl. "I was going to have a
little fun first, but I can't allow that now!" She raised her hand and
roots began to erupt from the ground all around them. Ryu and Ryoga
hacked at them and backed away, but Shampoo and Akane were entangled
easily by the forest.
"No! Damn that beast!" snapped Ryoga.
"Keep cutting!" snapped Ryu as he turned and put his back to the dwarf.
The tentacle like roots began to spring up from all around them, wrapping
their legs into place and holding them down. The two men managed to keep
their arms free and fought bravely against the overwhelming odds.
Unfortunately for the two women, they were slowly being dragged into the
ground.
"Human fertilizer always taste the best," snarled the dryad coolly.
"Wait! Where is the other one?" she snapped angrily as she threw her head
from side to side in a desperate attempt to spot the missing elf.
"Damn! That coward ran away again!" snarled Ryoga as he lost his axe
finally.
"You'd better hurry up partner," growled Ryu as the plants finally took
him from behind.
+++++++++++++
Ranma appeared from the shadows surrounding the ugly, twisted tree. She
gasped as she saw Ukyo suspended from several branches in the nude. Her
armor was lying on the ground below her and she was screaming in rage and
terror. "Keep your claws to yourself you monster!"
"Ucchan!" cried the elf girl in alarm as she rushed forward and swung
the katana.
"How did you get here?" snapped the dryad as it appeared in front of
her.
Ranma staggered back and missed the branches that held her friend. "Let
her go! Now!"
"I don't think so! I've grown rather fond of her," said the spirit
calmly. One of the branches that held Ukyo above brushed her cheek
gently, forcing the girl's head to turn. She shuddered in revulsion and
struggled against the branches even harder.
"When I find out who made you, I'm going to cut them in half!" snarled
Ranma bitterly as she backed away with the katana held in front of her.
"Oh, you mean him?" The dryad waved her hand and the trees behind her
spread apart, revealing the remains of a decrepit cottage that had a
short, twisted tree growing from its center. A skeleton could be seen
poking from the base of the trunk. It seemed to be partially engulfed by
the wood. "Don't worry, he was an unpleasant man. I got tired of
listening to him."
"Damn," muttered Ranma under her breath.
"Ranchan! Do something!" screamed Ukyo as she renewed her struggles
again.
"Die damn you!" snarled the pigtailed elf as she charged forward. The
dryad smirked and spread her arms wide. The blade passed through her
cutting the dress she wore in half, but leaving her unscathed.
The cloth fell away as she lowered her arms, revealing a young, nude,
boy.
"Surprised?" said the thing as it looked up at Ukyo's shocked face.
"Now, where were we?" It turned to face Ranma, expecting the elf to be
staring at her in terror as well. Her face fell suddenly as she noticed
where the elf girl was standing.
"Not really. You're not cuter than I am by the way," said Ranma as she
hacked the small, twisted, and ugly tree with the skeleton inside of it
in half with a single stroke of her katana.
"Nooooo!" screamed the dryad in terror and pain. Her body fell in half,
cut across the torso, and vanished into thin air.
Ranma smirked as she reached forward and put her palm against the trunk
that remained behind. "Burn," she said as it caught fire. Her features
changed into a scowl as she heard the spirit scream in pain inside her
head. "You won't be growing back either. I'll make sure of that." She
turned around and looked up at Ukyo, who was still suspended in the air.
The remains of the cottage began to burn as well, forcing her to jump off
the roof and onto the ground.
"It took you long enough!" snapped the woman angrily. "Cut me down damn
it!"
"Okay," said Ranma with a shrug.
"And stop thinking those perverted thoughts! I can't believe you! Any
other time and I'd be overjoyed, but this?" snapped Ukyo as she noticed
the heavy blush on the elf's cheeks.
++++++++++++
Ryu grumbled as he pulled himself out of the ground and removed the last
few roots from his shoulders. Most of them had released them on their
own, but a few still clung on desperately.
After a few moments everyone but Akane was out of the ground. They all
stood around her simply watching.
"Are you going to just stand there?" snapped the black knight in
irritation. She was stuck in the ground up to her neck.
"Ranma's the only one who cares about you. He can pull you out," said
Ryu with a small shrug.
"You bastard! I'll get you for this!" snapped the enraged girl as she
struggled to move. She succeeded in little more than moving her neck. She
paused suddenly and looked up at them. "Hey. I can move my feet."
"Huh?" muttered Shampoo in surprise.
"I said I can move my feet. There's some kind of cavern here," repeated
the girl in irritation. "Ouch! It's really hot!" she snapped suddenly.
"What the hell?" muttered Ryu as he watched her struggle.
Ranma walked up just then with Ukyo beside her. "Hey. What's going on?"
Ryu turned to him and shrugged. "You want her, you dig her up."
"Oh thanks," muttered the girl as she kneeled down next to her prisoner.
"Hurry it up! Something is burning my feet!" snapped Akane angrily.
"We'll move on ahead, so you two love birds can have some private time,"
said Ryu as he walked away.
Shampoo and Ryoga looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders
before following.
"I'll stay with you Ranchan," muttered Ukyo quietly.
"That's all right. Go on and get rested up. These woods should be fine
now. The wizard is dead, and that dryad is gone for good," said Ranma
cheerfully.
"What, is she your girlfriend or something?" muttered Akane as she
watched the girl leave. Ukyo kept giving them nervous glances.
"What if she is?" snapped Ranma.
"Nothing. I was just wondering, and keep your hands off those!"
Ranma looked at her and stopped digging. She had just reached the
knight's breasts. "Look. I could just leave you here ya know."
"All right fine! Just keep your perverted ways to yourself got it?"
snapped the black knight angrily.
Ranma chuckled as she realized that Akane didn't know her little secret.
"Hurry it up will ya? It feels like my feet are on fire!" snapped Akane
in irritation.
Ranma was about to reply, but her words turned into nothing but a cry of
surprise as the ground gave out beneath them, leaving only a large hole
that lead into nothing but darkness below.
+++++++
"He should be back by now," commented Ryu as he stood up and started
walking towards the path again. The party had set up camp just off the
path a few hundred yards away from the spot where they had nearly died.
"It is taking a while," commented Shampoo.
"We'll go check on them then. What could have happened?" said Ukyo
cheerfully as she stood up and followed after Ryu.
It didn't take long for them to find the hole. "Damn," muttered Ryu as
he gazed into it. "I can't see the bottom."
"It's that deep?" cried Ukyo in panic.
"It's a cavern. Deep too," said Ryu. He pulled his face away and wiped
the sweat from his brow. "Real hot down there."
"Why?" said Ukyo in confusion. "I hope he's all right!"
"He can take care of himself," said Ryu firmly. "A little hole like this
isn't going to stop him."
"We should go down after him," said Ukyo firmly.
"I can't hear anything below," muttered Ryu with a slightly worried look
on his face.
"We need light," said Ukyo as she pulled a small knife from her belt.
The blade started to glow as soon as she unsheathed it. She reached down
into the hole with it and frowned. "There's a slope? It goes down a long
way. Looks like some kind of tunnel."
"Come on, we'll go get the others," said Ryu firmly. "Don't go down
there until I get back. We don't know what might be in that hole."
"Exactly!" replied Ukyo angrily as she started to climb into the hole.
Ryu grabbed her arm and shook his head. "Don't! If there's something
down there strong enough to kill him, he's already dead. We'll go down
together! Having a dwarf with us will help too."
"Fine, I'll wait. You've got about two minutes, or I go down. With, or
without you," said Ukyo finally.
Ryu nodded and ran back to get the others.
+++++++++++++
"Shit! Where the hell are we?" snapped Ranma angrily as he stood up and
pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Great! I'm soaking wet!"
"Some sort of natural hot spring?" commented Akane as she stood up next
to him. Her arms were still tied up by the rope. "Who the hell are you?"
Ranma frowned and groped around in the darkness for a moment. "What the
hell do you mean? We fell down that hole together!" snapped the pigtailed
boy bitterly.
"I didn't fall down here with you. Is there someone else down here with
you too?" said the black knight in confusion. "Where's that elf girl at?"
"Elf girl?" Finally it dawned on him. "Oh shit."
"Pardon?" said Akane she was getting frustrated and couldn't see
anything in the pitch black of the cavern.
Ranma held out his palm and a small ball of light floated just above it,
illuminating the cave. "I'm the elf girl."
Akane stared at him in shock for a moment and then frowned. "Disguise
magic? To keep people from knowing who you really are? How clever." It
was obvious sarcasm.
"Yeah, something like that," muttered the boy as he looked up and saw
the sliding tunnel that they had entered through. "Well, we aren't
getting back that way. Hope the others figure out we're gone."
"This place is big," said Akane as she looked around. They were standing
in ankle deep water, and a thick steam rose into the air around them. The
pain was minimal, the water was very hot, but not scalding. The spring
itself was rather small, it extended about twenty feet into a much larger
cavern that seemed to extend into infinity in either direction.
"You're right. I wonder if the wizard who poisoned that dryad made
this?"
The thought made Akane uncomfortable. "I hope not," she muttered. She
paused and cocked her head. "What's that sound?"
"Eh? What sound?" said Ranma as he glanced around. The only thing he
could here was the occasional drip from the ceiling. He froze and waited
for a moment, and heard it. It was almost like metal grinding against
metal.
"You know..." started Akane.
"Yeah, I know. Bad feeling right?" interrupted Ranma with a worried look
on his face. Akane nodded. "Yeah, me too. It might not be a good idea to
hang around here." He grabbed onto the ropes that bound her arms and
started to drag her towards the edge of the spring. The ball of light
followed just behind him, hanging in the air.
Something moved, just off to his right side. "What the hell was that?"
"Did you see something?" said Akane with more than a little worry in her
voice.
Ranma paused and noticed something sitting on one of the rocks. "It's...
a hot bun?"
Akane looked over his shoulder and frowned. She turned her head and
nodded towards another boulder nearby. "There are two more."
"And another one, just behind us," said Ranma as he noticed another one
of the strange pastries. "Maybe... it's some kind of fungus?" he
ventured.
"Run, now," said Akane with a sudden chill running down her spine.
"Huh?" said the boy. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Those aren't fungus," said the girl.
"What the hell are they then?" snapped Ranma.
One of the fungus slowly opened two black eyes and stared at them
silently for a long moment.
"Niku, my sister's assassins," replied Akane in horror.
"That's bad?" said Ranma as he raised his eyebrow at her. "You should be
happy."
"If Nabiki sent them, she has no intention of rescuing me," said Akane
as she turned around, only to find herself staring at the other three.
All of them had their eyes open and were staring intently at the pair.
"Hurry! Run now!"
Ranma started to jog by the one in front of them, giving it a wide
berth. It turned and watched him calmly, and then it seemed to grin at
him.
"Oh shit," said the pigtailed boy as he broke out into a sprint,
dragging Akane behind him as he went.
The thing's teeth were no less than six inches long, the whole head
couldn't have been more than twelve inches. They were long and pointed,
interlacing into each other along its jaws. The rows and rows of incisors
gleamed against the soft light, shining like metal. The four things
slowly stood up, revealing short bodies that held various weapons in
their hands. They worked their jaws slowly, opening and closing them,
creating a shrieking sound as the metal scraped together. All of them
giggled madly and bolted forward, moving at insane speeds as they bounced
off the walls of the cave in the darkness.
Akane looked back over her shoulder as she ran and gasped. The things
were gaining fast. "Hurry!" she screamed at Ranma.
"Oh, man," muttered the boy as he stopped cold in front of her.
Akane slammed into his back and fell on her butt. "Why did you stop?"
she screamed desperately.
"Take a look," grumbled the boy as he pulled the katana off his back and
turned to face their pursuers.
"No!" gasped Akane as she saw the gaping canyon that stretched out
across the length of the cavern.
"I'm gonna cut you loose, behave yourself will ya?" said the boy as he
turned to face her.
She looked at him and blinked. "You have my word as a knight. I have no
intention of dying this way."
"Good, cause here they come!" cried Ranma as he sliced at the ropes
behind her back.
+++++++++++
Nabiki Tendo smirked as she watched the mirror in anticipation. "I
wonder how they'll get out of this one?" she wondered out loud. "Oh well,
goodbye Akane." She leaned in and rubbed her sister's image with her
finger.
+++++++++++
Soun Tendo sat with his wife, drinking tea quietly. He placed the cup
down gently and sighed. There wasn't much to do now that he'd retired.
There had been no word back from the Emperor yet either, Nabiki hadn't
been of much help regarding that. When he asked her, she stated that she
had something to do for the young Emperor, and couldn't use her mirror to
check up on things.
That meant there was nothing to do but wait. He hated that.
He turned to pick up the cup again and frowned. A long crack could be
seen along the side of the fine china. "An omen?" he wondered out loud.
"Is something wrong husband?" asked his wife.
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. Just jumping at shadows I suppose," he muttered
as he looked away from her for a moment.
++++++++++++++
My most evil TBC ever!
Next time: The trouble with Niku!
And yes, before anyone asks, that was Tsubasa.
C&C to Carrotglace@juno.com
Previous parts can be found at Http://www.fanfiction.net and R&C Books
International Fanfic Company at Http://members.nbci.com/rc_books_int.html
Ja!