This story has gotten so deep in my mind, I cannot let it go. So,
here's another chapter in less than twenty-four hours. Remember, C&C is
greatly appreciated.
By the way, I don't know where this fits in the series, except that
it's somewhere before Ranma and his Mom are reunited.
Disclaimer: The trolls in Great Britain at Games Workshop
own Warhammer 40,000; I don't. I don't own the Ranma
characters, either.
The Emperor's Hand
Chapter Two: Reaction
The young man sat alone by the waterfall. He did not sit to
meditate, or to watch the beauty of nature. He merely sat to sit. He
had waited there for longer than many people had been alive, despite
his apparent youth. For now, he waited.
As he waited, his mind drifted back, ten thousand years. Before
Mankind set stories into the written word, before the first cities were
built, he was the student of an old Shaman. He was of a large tribe,
one that would grow to cover the entire Indo-European continent. His
own clan had over fifty shamans, each one tapping into both the power
of magic, and the power of the mind. With their foresight, and their
magic, they helped guide the clan from season to season.
On one easy, summer's eve, the young man had been resting by the
fireside with his fellow apprentices. Shamans had been coming to his
village for the last thirty days, sometimes two, three, or four a day.
Now, they all had been sitting in the hut at the center of the village,
the one used for village meetings.
"What do you think they're doing in there?" he had asked.
Before he received an answer, though, his teacher had stepped out
of the main hut. Striding with purpose to where he sat, the teacher
nodded, and held out his hand to help the young man up. Together, they
walked back to the hut.
Once inside the hut, they had motioned for him to sit in the
center. One of the shamans, he didn't know who, began to speak. "Child,
be aware that, this night, we discuss momentous events. They are not to
be spoken of outside this room." The apprentice nodded. "Then know
this.
"A great tragedy has occurred, very far away. So far away, in
fact, that a thousand lifetimes could not walk the distance. This
tragedy has spawned an evil force, which now begins to reach our world.
"Mankind will grow more decadent, and find pleasure in the most
grotesque of things. And those with the powers of the mind will be made
vulnerable to the depredations of this evil's minions. To prevent this,
we must seal away this ability."
"Seal it away?" the young man had asked. "But I was taught that
this power was part of a man."
"Listen, and be silent. We are the strongest shamans in the entire
Tribe of Indus. We are also the strongest in the power of the mind. By
binding all of our power within you, this power will be sealed away,
and you will have the strength to resist the fiend.
"But know this. The other powers will not be sealed away. Instead,
they will be hidden. For, though they do not leave one vulnerable, they
cannot be fully controlled without the power we are sealing away. Only
through the strictest circumstances will they be useable, and only then
by the strongest in the Arts."
Another shaman took over. "As for you, you will find that the
power will sustain you. You will not age, nor will you need to eat or
sleep. You will not die, unless slain by another's hand.
"You must bide your time, and wait. When the time is right, you
will know what to do."
He had spoken up at this. "What if I encounter these workers of
the other Arts?"
A third shaman laughed. "Then treat them with the respect that you
never show your teacher." The rest of them had chuckled at this, then
grew serious.
The first voice spoke once more. "It is time. Boy, open up your
mind, and prepare yourself."
The next ten hours were the only thing he never remembered.
************************************************
Cologne pondered the problems with what had happened. The obvious
problem was the reaction of four fiancee-starved young girls, upset at
the loss of the boy they loved. Check that - Akane's reaction was quite
clear. Irrational guilt, self-loathing, and fear. Fear for Ranma. She
was pretty sure that Shampoo's mind had shifted over into 'warrior'
mode, concerned only with completing the objective. In this case, that
was finding a way to retrieve her Airen.
It was the Kuonji girl that worried her. She had seemed to return
to 'business as normal' over the past two days, but she always had her
own agenda. Add into that mix the Kuno girl, and there was liable to be
trouble. While it was unlikely that Ukyou would attack Akane, Kodachi
would jump at any opportunity to rid herself of the youngest Tendou.
Since she seemed to be the only one that clearly saw the phenomenon,
Cologne could not let that happen.
Yet.
Right now, the most likely aspect to look into was the similarity
between the phenomenon that Akane described, and the effects generated
by an old friend. The problem was simply finding him.
************************************************
Kasumi and Nabiki stood outside their little sister's room. In
Kasumi's hands was a plate of food, while Nabiki merely wrung her hands
behind her back. Reaching up, the middle Tendou girl gently rapped on
the door. There was no answer. "Come on, Akane, at least eat
_something_. It's been almost two days!"
Slowly, the door opened. Akane's hand reached out, and accepted
the plate, but did not open it far enough to admit them. Stepping
forward, Nabiki stopped the door with her foot. "Sorry little sister,
but you've got to let us in. We can't let you go through this alone."
She was a mess. She was still wearing the same school dress that
she had worn the day of the incident, rumpled and stained from a
combination of crying jags, and rage at herself. Her eyes were dry,
however; she had run out of tears. One hand clenched into a fist, then
relaxed in impotence. Still holding the plate with her other hand,
Akane slowly sat down on her bed. "Uh huh."
Kasumi glanced at Nabiki, and then the two young women sat on
either side of their little sister. Kasumi spoke first. "Ukyou stopped
by earlier today. She seemed worried about you." Akane nodded. "She
told us about what you saw when Ranma vanished." Akane simply sighed.
"Why didn't you tell us what you saw?"
Akane spoke, her voice dry and cracked from dehydration. "I... I
wasn't thinking. Ranma's gone. And it's my fault."
"Now don't say that, Akane-chan." Kasumi glanced at Nabiki, then
continued. "You see, we saw it, too. But we just didn't know what it
was."
Akane's eyes widened. "B-but Cologne said...>koff<" Her dry throat
could take no more, and she broke down into a coughing fit. Nabiki
reached... well... _somewhere_, and produced a glass of water. Akane
accepted it, and sipped slowly. "S-she said no one else could see it."
Nabiki spoke. "Akane, we were outside. I was home early, taking
care of the Dojo's debts, and everyone else was enjoying the sunshine.
Then we saw something off in the distance, some sort of shimmering
light. Then, it was gone."
Numbly, Akane added, "Gone. Just like Ranma."
"Now, stop that right now, Imouto-chan. He'll be back. He always comes
back." Nabiki looked at Kasumi, and mouthed the words, 'Help me out,
here!'
Kasumi put one arm around Akane, and tilted her little sister's
head to rest on her shoulder. "Anyway, we all saw it. That is, everyone
except Happosai. Even Auntie Nodoka saw it."
"W-was Mr. Saotome in panda form?" asked Akane.
Nabiki grinned. "Yup. You should have seen it. He looked like he
was stuck between changing to human and staying cool, or suffer the
heat, and avoid Auntie Nodoka's katana." She shrugged. "One of these
days, they're going to get things sorted out, but, for now, it's
getting really annoying."
"It was rather curious," mused Kasumi. "Auntie Nodoka and Mr.
Saotome seemed to be able to see the light better than anyone else,
even though Mr. Saotome's eyesight is not the best in his panda form.
Nabiki and I could see it okay, and Father could make it out. But
Happosai could not see it at all, and the neighbors didn't see a
thing."
Akane sat in thought, then her eyes flew wide open. Fighting the
urge to down her water, she slowly emptied the glass, then began
eating. However, Nabiki recognized the signs of her mind working.
"Careful, Imouto-chan, there's smoke coming out of your ears," she
teased.
"I think I may know why some people could see the light, and
others couldn't," she muttered, reaching for her dinner.
"Oh? And why is that?" asked Nabiki.
Akane started to answer, then blushed almost solid crimson, and
simply sat, and ate. If she admitted what she had realized, she would
have to admit something to her sisters, and herself, she didn't think
was true.
************************************************
The cooling mists of the waterfall glistened like a cloud of
infinitesimal diamonds before the young man. Closing his eyes, he
breathed deeply of the clear air. It was time. Time to once more walk
among men.
He rose to his feet, and opened his eyes. His mind reached out
across the world, finding the one he should seek nearly half the world
away. Just the lightest of feather-like touches, and he knew. He
gestured, even though there was no need, and exerted the incredible
force of his will upon the very fabric of Reality. It resisted, and he
bent every fiber of his being to the task. Eventually, the strands of
time and space parted, a thousand myriad colors outlining a shimmering,
dark pool in the sky. Steeling himself, he stepped through.
Thus, did the man who had walked the Earth for ten thousand years
begin the quest to fulfill his destiny. A quest that, thirty thousand
years later, would lead him to choose a champion from the depths of
history.
- Valandar the Red of the Empty Tankard
http://members.tripod.com/~Valandar/fanfic.html
=====
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com