The Dragon and The Ghost.
Part 11
Escape from the Mountain Palace.
++++++++++
Ryu Kumon paused in the shadows with his grip firmly on the young girl's
wrist. They had yet to move away from the shadows, and were walking down
the darkened hallways silently together.
She pulled at him for a moment and gasped. "Wait! Where are we going?"
Ryu frowned and glanced back at her for a moment. He still hadn't gotten
a good look at her face. "Shut up and follow me. We'll leave soon
enough."
She made an unpleasant grumble, but remained quiet otherwise as he
pulled at her arm.
Ryu paused as a pale blue light appeared down the hallway. He frowned
and moved towards it slowly. "What is that?" It was a steady light and
did not flicker.
"We shouldn't go any closer," warned the woman carefully.
"Why not? Do you know what it is?" asked Ryu.
"No, but I feel an evil presence." He could feel her pull away from his
grip slightly.
"You aren't going anywhere without me kid. I still don't trust you," he
snapped as he pulled her behind him and moved in closer.
She whimpered slightly and allowed herself to be pulled along.
The light was coming from a slightly opened door at the end of the
hallway. It was large and ornately decorated carvings of men and women
floating on clouds. It appeared to be made of gold, but closer inspection
revealed it was only a painted heavy wood. Ryu pressed himself against
the wall and crept up slowly, his arm was pushed across the woman's chest
holding her down as he slowly approached the doorway.
"What the hell is this?" he whispered as he peered inside the crack.
It was an almost empty room; there was nothing but a large crystal of
some kind. There were no guards, and nothing that looked like a trap of
any kind. He slowly pushed at the door and entered carefully. His eyes
went wide with horror at what he found inside. The woman pressed herself
against his back and glanced around nervously.
He turned to look at her in the light for a moment and pushed her off of
him gently. She was beautiful, long white hair flowed down her back, and
she was dressed in expensive looking clothes with a long cape flowing
down her back. His gaze shifted back at the massive crystal in the center
of the room.
Inside was a young woman of about his age, with long black hair. A look
of pain was frozen on her face and she looked like she was trying to
escape her prison. "What the hell?" he muttered as he stared at her for a
moment.
"Dark sorcery," muttered the woman with him carefully.
"Is it that obvious?" he snapped back at her.
"Done quite skillfully," muttered the woman with an odd look in her
eyes.
The crystal seemed to sparkle as he moved around it, if not for the
richly dressed woman inside, it would have been quite beautiful. "Why
would it take this much to imprison one woman?" muttered Ryu as he rubbed
the surface of the crystal. Spells like this were familiar to him; they
were usually used to imprison powerful sorcerers. She didn't even look
like a minor witch.
"We should go," pressed the woman urgently.
"You're right," grumbled Ryu as he glanced at the woman one last time.
This was something he really didn't need to deal with. He paused at the
door and glanced back at her one more time. "Damn."
"What is it?" said the woman nervously.
"Look, on her neck," he said pointing towards something in her grip.
"What is it?" the woman looked towards the figure and saw an odd looking
necklace. "That's..."
"I don't want you telling anyone of what we saw here," said Ryu as he
turned towards her with a frown on his face.
"Why would I do that? Who would I tell?" said the woman as she turned
away from him.
Ryu smirked at her. "Goodbye lady." He slowly drew his sword.
+++++++++++
Ukyo stepped back with her sword in her hands, Ryoga growled and stood
his ground with his battle-axe in his hands.
"What is it?" snapped the dwarf as he eyed the slowly uncoiling mass of
black in front of him. A hissing sound answered him and he had to stop
himself from taking a step back.
"A serpent," replied Ukyo quietly. Her hands were shaking with fear, but
she forced herself to stand her ground. The rooms around them were empty,
but there was no where for them to run. The thing was between them and
the hallway. Only a window that led to the outside of the castle and a
vertical drop of about two thousand feet was behind them.
The moonlight shone in as the thing moved forward. It was still hidden
in the shadows, but the outline of its body could be seen rising from the
floor. It was easily a foot in diameter, and three heads could be seen
weaving back and fourth in the silhouette. It reared itself up to its
full height and almost reached the ceiling, a long body vanished into the
darkness behind it.
"Great," grumbled Ryoga as he recognized the thing as it came into the
light that shone behind them. "It's a young hydra."
The thing hissed menacingly. It looked almost like a giant three-headed
snake; each head had two large yellow eyes that glared at the pair. The
thing's heads looked almost bird like, with two long fangs protruding
from the top and bottom jaws of each mouth.
"We can't run," said Ukyo nervously.
"You know any fire magic?" snapped the dwarf as he swiped at it with his
axe. The thing jumped back and snapped at him angrily.
"No. All the magic I ever needed was in my spear, and my armor," replied
the girl as she moved up beside him and slashed with her sword. It stayed
just ahead of the blades and snapped at them angrily.
"We're in trouble then," replied the dwarf as he glanced around. There
were no torches on the walls, not even unlit ones.
"What do we do?" asked Ukyo carefully.
"We've got to get by it," snarled the dwarf as he jumped and hacked down
on one of the heads. A long cut appeared on its neck and blood splattered
on the floor. The stone began to hiss angrily as the blood boiled on the
ground where it landed. A foul smelling vapor rose from the ground where
the liquid had fallen. "Don't get any of that on ye," said the dwarf.
"Poisonous?" said Ukyo with a small nod.
"And venomous," confirmed Ryoga with a small nod.
"Great," muttered the knight. She stepped forward and slashed at the
thing, forcing it back slightly. She was forced to jump back as two of
the heads countered back at her.
Ryoga grit his teeth and snarled angrily. "Damn you Ranma! I can't die
like this! This is all your fault!"
"Shut up and fight you jackass!" snapped the knight as she stepped
forward offensively again.
+++++++++++
Akane stepped into the room with the two elves and smirked. "Well, an
elf who knows my style? How unusual. Tell me how you learned of it,
before I kill you."
"Fat chance," replied the redhead as she tensed her body up in
anticipation.
"I suppose I'll just have to beat it out of you then," snapped the black
knight in retort. She pulled the mask down from her helmet and placed it
over her face. It was as black as the rest of it. Even the horn that
protruded from the samurai helmet was made of black iron.
"Not gold," muttered Ranma as she eyed her opponent carefully.
"Pardon?" said Akane as she drew her sword.
"You'll find out soon enough!" snapped Ranma as she rushed forward.
Akane gasped as the elf appeared in front of her face. "What?" She
sliced through the air with her massive blade, only to find the young
girl was gone. "So fast!"
"You're going to tell me everything I want to know," said a voice from
the shadows. Akane found herself spinning in place as she searched for
her opponent.
"What sort of demon are you?" she screamed in rage.
"I'm no demon, I am a ghost of the past," said the voice ominously.
"Damn you! Coward! Show yourself! Fight me!"
"If that's the way you want it," said Ranma as she appeared just behind
her. "I won't disappear again, but you'll wish I had."
Akane swung her sword in a wide arc, only to find the elf had skillfully
jumped over the blade. She had only a fraction of a second to brace
herself as the elf's foot slammed into her mask.
Ranma landed lightly on the still steaming ground and frowned as she put
her fists up. The black knight landed on her back roughly, her sword flew
from her hand and skittered across the stone wall, finally coming to rest
against the metal bars of the cells turned tombs. "Who is the man who
wears armor like yours, but with a golden mask?"
"What?" grumbled Akane as she slowly staggered to her feet. "I've never
seen armor like that."
"I don't believe you," said Ranma angrily.
Akane stared the girl down and glanced over to her sword. She looked
back at the elf once again and began to tear her armor off of her body.
She threw the pieces against the wall, leaving only her gauntlets and
boots on. The clothing underneath was a black silk dogi. She snarled and
brushed her hair back over her shoulder. "Now, you'll regret not dying
quietly."
Ranma snorted and put her fists up. "Come on then."
+++++++++++++
"What?" snapped the girl as Ryu stalked up to her with his sword drawn.
"I thought as much. You're trying to find out if I'm here with anyone
else."
The girl seemed to cringe in fear under his gaze. "I-I..."
"Shut up," snarled the boy as he raised his blade over his head.
"No!" screamed the girl as she thrust her hand forward. Ryu saw a tiny
light form there, and was then thrown against the far wall roughly.
He staggered to his feet and shook his head. The girl seemed to by
crying as she leaned against the wall. He frowned as he realized that he
was wrong. She was laughing.
"I never was one for patience, guess I rushed things a bit," said the
woman as she faced him with a vicious smirk on her face. He put her hand
up towards him and Ryu screamed in pain as he was forced back into the
wall again. "I was hoping you'd lead me to your partner. I have business
to discuss with him, or should I say... her?"
"Bitch! I knew I should have killed you in that cage!"
"Fool, do you really think I would have allowed that?" retorted the
woman with her smile growing wider.
Ryu staggered forward as the power let up and released him. "That was a
mistake," he growled, a trickle of blood ran down his chin and he
coughed. There was an imprint of his body in the wall behind him as he
staggered forward.
"Perhaps, but I've still got some questions for you," said the woman
coldly.
"Who are you?" snapped Ryu.
"That would be telling. I do have some questions for you though, I hope
you'll answer honestly. This could get quite messy otherwise."
Ryu staggered forward and leaned on the crystal in the center of the
room. He bent down and picked up his sword from the ground and stood in a
shaky offensive stance. "Fuck you."
"Oh, let's be nice about this," replied the woman as she raised her hand
again.
Ryu screamed in pain as energy crackled through his body. He fell to his
knees and fell to the ground face first.
The woman smiled as she stepped back and lowered her hand again. "Now,
let's begin." Ryu looked up at her just in time to see her hand thrust
forward again. He was lifted from the ground and pressed against the
crystal with his back against it. He snarled angrily as he felt every
part of his body begin to buckle against the surface.
"Damn you!" screamed the boy as he managed to lift his arms up and point
the sword forward. The woman smiled darkly, but it quickly faded as the
boy slowly turned the blade towards himself.
"What is he?" she managed as she pushed him against the crystal harder.
Ryu smirked at her with a wild rage in his eyes. He had begun to mutter
something under his breath. "Dispel!" he cried out in triumph as he
stabbed downward.
"No!" screamed the woman as the blade of the sword struck the surface of
the crystal.
Lines of cracks began to appear along the surface. A bright light
started to shine from inside the prison enveloping the entire room.
As the light cleared, Ryu stood in the center of the room with a wide
grin on his face. The woman trapped inside the crystal was lying on the
ground, still unconscious. The boy's sword was back in its sheath and he
looked like he was quite unharmed, despite what the woman had done.
"What?"
"I've been playing weak, get it?" snapped Ryu as he glared at her.
"Hmm, I wasn't expecting a thief to be a real fighter," said the woman
with a dark smile forming on her face. "I guess I don't have to hold back
anymore."
Ryu's smile fell slightly at this, but he remained firm. "You don't know
what you're dealing with."
"On the contrary, I know exactly what I'm dealing with," said the woman
sharply. "It is you, who doesn't realize what's happening."
"Come on then!" snarled Ryu angrily as he put up his fists.
++++++++++++
Ryoga jumped back and snarled angrily as the threw his cloak on the
ground. The fur had begun to melt away as on of the creature's neck
sprayed it's blood into the hall. Ukyo was pressed against the wall near
the window and growled as the dwarf appeared beside her.
"What the hell were you thinking?" she snapped.
"You shut up! That thing was gonna eat me!" he retorted. The serpent had
moved back and was hidden in the shadows once again. The two remaining
heads began to scream in pain as it writhed on the ground for a moment.
Another spray of blood appeared on the ground in front of the pair and
they edged back against the wall nervously.
"Now what?" snapped Ukyo angrily.
"We're no worse off than we were before!" snapped the dwarf.
"We've got to get out of here!" cried Ukyo as the Hydra approached
again. This time, there were four heads glaring at them angrily.
"I don't want to die!" cried the dwarf in despair.
"Shut up! We aren't going to die!" snapped Ukyo as she stepped forward
into the puddle of blood.
"Yes we are, there's no way we can win," muttered the dwarf as he let
his axe touch the ground in front of them. "Ukyo, cut off all the heads,"
he said suddenly.
"What?" she screamed.
"Just do it," he replied. He seemed to be struggling with something.
Ukyo looked at him, his eyes told everything. He just wanted it to be
over quickly.
"We aren't going to survive if I do," she commented.
"It doesn't matter. Just make sure this thing remembers us," he replied
quietly. Tears were running down his face as he said this. "It's all over
for us. I'm not so foolish as to think otherwise."
Ukyo nodded at him and got and turned to glare at the beast. She held
her sword in front of her horizontally. One hand on the hilt, and the
other along the blade. "Come on you bastard! Eat this!" She rushed
forward suddenly. The hydra snapped at her and she rolled underneath its
strikes slashing at the base of the neck. Her sword went through smoothly
and a spray of the blood shot out towards her, she braced herself for the
horrible death and closed her eyes.
"SHI SHI HOUKOU DAN!"
++++++++++++
Ranma smirked as she punched the girl in the face, sending her
staggering back under the force of the blow.
"Damn you!" muttered Akane angrily as she swung again and again, putting
everything she had into her assault. The red-haired girl danced around
the blows almost mockingly. "I will not fail!"
"You already have, you were supposed to be guarding the Kajakan, weren't
you?" replied the elf in reply.
"What?" snapped Akane as she realized something was wrong. She stopped
her attack and glanced around the room. "Where?" The other elf was gone.
"Boy, are you gonna get it now," said the elf girl mockingly.
"I'll kill you!" screamed Akane in rage. She charged forward and punched
out at her opponent again. She missed and shattered the stone wall behind
the redhead.
"Not today!" snapped the elf girl as she appeared behind her with her
knee in her neck. Akane slumped to the ground, out cold.
"Damn! I still don't know who that damn armor belongs too! Wake up!"
cried the elf girl as she pulled the fallen knight up by her collar and
slapped her repeatedly across her face. "Shit!" she cried in frustration.
"Ranma! Leave her! It's time to go!" said Shampoo as she rushed down the
stairs with the Kajakan in her hand.
"What the hell are you still doing here? Get out of the castle!" snarled
the redhead angrily. "You know the way!"
"I won't leave you behind," insisted the violet haired elf as she
started back up the stairs again.
"Damn it!" snarled Ranma in frustration as she glared down at the black
knight.
++++++++
Ryu glared at the woman angrily. "Get out of my way."
"You're not going anywhere, until I find out exactly what I want to
know!" replied the sorceress with a dark look in her eyes.
"DON'T MOVE!" cried Ryu as he rushed towards her suddenly.
"Bah! Pathetic!" snarled the woman as she shoved her hand forward again
and sent Ryu sprawling across the ground. The boy landed on top of the
girl who was trapped inside the crystal and she gave a small whimpering
cry.
"Damn it," thought the boy as he glared at the woman who stood between
himself and freedom. He glanced down at the girl underneath him and
frowned.
The woman had started to walk towards him with a dark smile on her face.
He stood up and lifted the dark haired girl up in his arms. "Move!"
screamed Ryu as he rushed forward.
The sorceress put her hand up again and thrust it towards the boy. Her
eyes went wide at what he did next. He pushed the girl up in front of
himself, using her as a shield. "What?"
All of a sudden, Ryu was next to her, still holding the girl in front of
his body. The sorceress shifted her weight to dodge the strike that came
next, but it was too late. An impossibly powerful blow struck her in the
chest. She was thrown across the room and slammed into the wall, causing
a crater in the stone. She jerked upright, holding her chest and
attempted to get her breath back desperately. Finally, she fell to her
knees coughing violently. After a moment she managed to regain control of
herself.
"He tried to tear my heart out with his bare hands! If I hadn't moved in
time..." Her eyes narrowed as she glanced around the room and found him
long gone. "Damn! I didn't count on him being so ruthless." She stalked
forward towards the hall and threw open the doors with a powerful aura
surrounding her body. "I will kill him!"
++++++++++++++
Ukyo Kuonji stood without a shirt on and leaned against the wall
breathing harshly. The only thing covering her chest was the tight
bindings she used to hold her breast down. Her right arm was bandaged as
well, just below her shoulder. She glared at the dwarf angrily. "Why the
hell didn't you tell me you could do that?"
"It's an old mining technique among dwarves. We used it to clear away
rubble from cave-ins and rockslides. It's very dangerous to use, and you
must have a sense of complete despair for it to work. If I had even
considered for a moment that I might use it to beat that monster, it
would not have worked." Ryoga was leaning over the body of the hydra. He
lifted a jar up in his hands and closed it carefully before placing it in
the bag that hung from his side. The four necks were sealed shut by the
heat from the shi shi houkou dan. The remains of five heads lined the
hallway where the battle had taken place.
"Come on, let's get the hell out of here," snapped the woman angrily as
she moved towards an intersection of halls. There were four, and they
each went in a different direction.
"Fine! Don't thank me then!" retorted the dwarf as he caught up. "Eh?
What's that noise?"
Ukyo paused and glanced down the hall, she drew her sword once again at
the sound of distant explosions. "That's coming from inside the castle!"
"D'ya hear someone shouting?" said Ryoga as he cocked his head.
"Ryu?" said Ukyo as she started to turn away and jog down the hall
opposite the one where the sounds were coming from.
Ryu appeared from around a corner just behind her, he appeared to be
carrying someone on his back and was running down the hall with a
panicked look on his face.
"Move it! She's pissed!" he screamed as he started to catch up.
"What the hell did you do?" cried Ukyo angrily.
The familiar clatter of soldiers rushing up behind them started to fill
the hallway behind her.
She glanced back and saw men starting to fill the halls behind her, all
of them armed. She rushed up to Ryu and screamed angrily. "What kind of
thief are you? You woke up the whole damn castle!"
"The noisy one!" retorted the boy as he pulled ahead of her.
Ukyo blinked as she noticed the young girl draped over his back. She had
a somewhat worn look about her, and was dressed in the remains of an
expensive looking gown. She was also smoking slightly, as if she had been
blasted from behind several times.
"I'll kill you!" screamed an angry feminine voice from behind them.
Ryoga glanced over his shoulder and saw a woman with long white hair
floating over the crowd of soldiers. Throwing blasts of energy
indiscriminately at anyone who got in front of her. Men were thrown aside
by the dozens as she shot her way down the hallway with an angry snarl on
her face.
"What the hell did ya do?" he screamed as he rushed up to Ukyo and Ryu
as fast as he could.
"There it is!" screamed Ryu as he pointed to the room where they had
entered the castle from. He rushed inside and put on two gloves over his
hands. The sounds of explosions grew ever closer and he jumped out the
widow grabbing the rope. "Don't just stand there! Move!" he screamed at
Ryoga and Ukyo.
+++++++++++++
Ranma glared at the stares Shampoo was giving her. "What the hell are you
doing?"
"I'm taking her with me! She's got some questions to answer!" retorted
the redhead angrily as she shoved the elf girl aside and carried the
unconscious knight over her shoulder.
"Are you out of your mind?" snapped Shampoo as she rushed up beside her.
"I'll get rid of her later. I have to know, I've come to far to give up
now. Besides, we don't have time to interrogate her here!" snapped Ranma
in retort as she pushed by.
"You idiot!" retorted the elf angrily as she followed behind him.
"You'll get us all killed!"
"I got that stupid staff for you didn't I? Quit complaining!" replied
the pigtailed elf as she jumped down into the tunnels that would lead
them outside.
++++++++++++
The sorceress burst into the room and screamed in rage as she blasted
everything inside to dust. She floated around for a moment looking
through the burned remains for any signs of her prey. The soldiers who
survived the chase through the hallways, wisely chose to search
elsewhere.
She glared around and frowned as she saw a glint of metal hanging from
the window. She rushed over and peered outside, only to find a long empty
rope hanging there. "Nooooooo!" she screamed in rage.
Lime and Mint rushed into the room with panicked looks on their faces.
"Lord Herb! What is happening?"
"Damn them! You two idiots get me some hot water! Right now!" snapped
the woman as she turned to face them.
"Yessir!" the chimed nervously, before rushing away. They stumbled over
one another as they attempted to squeeze through the door at the same
time.
"No one makes a fool out of me!" she snarled as she punched the wall,
creating another window. "Damn them!" She paused as a realization came to
her suddenly. She rushed out into the hallway and grabbed two men who had
been walking by in their search for the intruders. "You two! Gather as
many men as you can and go to the dungeon! At once!"
"Yes at once... Uh, who are you?" said one of the men nervously.
"Shut up and do it or I'll burn you alive!" snapped the angry woman. Her
eyes became two small slits as she glared at them.
"Yes Ma'am! Right away!" agreed the other as he elbowed his companion in
the ribs.
After they left, Herb smirked to herself. "Perhaps this is not the
disaster it seems to be. The Kajakan could be gone, if that is so..." She
chuckled darkly and turned towards her chambers.
+++++++++
Nabiki Tendo stood in front of her mirror at the Imperial Palace. She
chuckled to herself and watched the scene unfold before her. "Yes, soon
it will be time for you to fulfill your destiny Herb darling. I can't
wait." A cold smile slowly crept onto her face as the image faded away.
"Soon, very soon indeed." Her laughter echoed through the hallways of the
palace long into the night.
+++++++++
Soun sighed as he placed his teacup down on the small table next to his
personal throne. "There she goes again. I honestly wonder about my
daughter some times."
His wife looked over at him coolly. "As do I. I wonder what could have
caused this?"
He flashed a small glare at her and shook his head. "I'm tired."
"I'll remember that tonight husband," said the woman as she turned away
from him.
Kasumi appeared with another tray of tea and walked up to them. "Oh my.
Nabiki seems so cheerful lately." She began to serve her parents tea full
of blissful ignorance.
+++++++++
Ryu smirked as he took off his gloves and watched his companions blowing
on their hands desperately. They had slid down the rope rather quickly at
his insistence. "Well, that's that. Let's get out of here before they
start combing the place for us." He stood up and started to walk away.
"Wait! What about her?" said Ukyo as she pointed towards the unconscious
girl. Ryu had left her lying on the ground.
"Right. Bring her if you want," said the boy with a shrug.
Ukyo sighed and lifted her up in her arms with a wince of pain. Her
hands would take a while to heal on their own. Luckily, she had some
healing magic in with her things back at the meeting place.
"Do you think Ranma got away?" whispered the Knight timidly.
"Only one way to find out," replied Ryu. "Come on, we'll wait at the
meeting place."
Ukyo smirked slightly as she caught him taking quick glances at the
castle as they left.
"When I get my hands on Ranma, I'll ring his neck for making me go
through all this!" snapped the dwarf angrily.
+++++++++++++
TBC...
Next Time: Ranma and The Black Knight.
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!