Note: I did this in another fanfic, maybe you've read it. Anyway it was originally suppose to be in this one. Oh, and I've done a little re-capping of the game here also. The castle name is Tigeress.
Pain is Found When Nobody is Looking
It had been three months since the attack on Pannu Yakuta Castle. During the three months Racqel had made it nowhere with the other members of the Liberation Army. The only other people she was close enough to talk to besides Viktor were Cleo, Gremio, Ranma, Varkas, Sydonia, Tai Ho, Yam Koo, Mathiu, and Gasper. She managed to make amends with the one eyed gambler and taught him how to try to hold his liquor. With everybody else it was a polite greeting in passing.
Also in that time Racqel managed to make deadly enemies with two people of the castle. One was Juppo, who had made it his life's purpose to be able to play a trick on her. The trickster came about this goal when he tried to play a trick on Ranma. Racqel foiled the trick, causing it to back fire on him. From that point on, every time Juppo tried to play a trick her, she would find some way of spoiling it.
The other person Racqel managed to make enemies with was Krin. From the day he saw her amulet the hunchback has tried to steal it from her. Thanks to her sharp ears Racqel would hear him coming and get away. One day, his attempts put him in a position he really didn't like. "Gemme ack ni dose." Krin chased Racqel from the docks where she was sitting.
The young woman was looking at the water. Everyday since she came to the castle, Racqel had spent her time there, for it was her only sanctuary. "It'll come back at the end of the day." Racqel walked quickly way from him. She gets inside the castle and heads for at the elevator.
"Ow air you do dat do me." Krin starts to catch up with her.
Racqel turned around to scold him. "Maybe this will teach you to keep your hands to yourself and off of other people's things."
Krin gets in her face. "Gemme ack ni dose." Something was missing…his nose.
"Look, I'm surprised the potion worked." Racqel tells the hunchback as she hits the button for the elevator. "But I'm sure it will be back by the end of the day. Chasing me around the castle asking for it isn't going to get back anytime sooner." The door of the elevator opens and she gets in. "If it isn't back by the end of the day, then I'll worry."
"You day or dis." Krin shook his fist at her as the door closed.
"I'm so scared of him." Racqel mutters to herself as she rode the elevator up to the top floor. "Wonders what the plans are for the day is." The elevator dings as the doors open. Racqel exits the machine and heads for the Meeting Area of the castle. Familiar voices came from the area. She stands by the doorway to listen in on what was going on.
"Where is Odessa?" Flik demanded.
"Look, Flik. Calm down will ya?" Viktor says calmly in hopes that the Blue Thunder would mellow out a bit.
"I came here to talk to Odessa, not get jerked around." Flik's voice rises. Ranma pass Racqel as he enters the Meeting Area. She peeks in around the corner of the doorway to watch. Flik got in Ranma's face once he spied the young man. "Where is Odessa?"
"Odessa is…" The young leader tries to think of something to say while the blue man is breathing in his face.
"Odessa is dead." Mathiu tells Flik flat out.
"Mathiu!!" Cleo yells at the strategist.
"Odessa's last wish was…" Ranma tries to say something, but Mathiu cut the young leader off.
"I know what her last wish was, but that was when we were still small and that it looked like the Liberation Army was going to die." Mathiu explains to everyone. "But now people are starting to get suspicious." Flik is stun for a moment, he doesn't know what to say yet.
Sanchez moves over to the man in blue. "Sir Flik?"
"No…it can't be." Flik steps back from the old man.
"It is." Viktor says gravely. "I…I tried to…but…"
Flik backs away some more. "Don't talk to me Viktor…don't even touch me."
Ranma reaches out to the young man in blue. "Flik…"
"I came here to talk to Odessa, the real Liberation Army leader." Flik yells at Ranma. "Not some child like you." He spat at Ranma's feet before running out of the room. Racqel watched as Flik ran pasted her to the elevators.
"Sir Flik is just in shock over Odessa's death." Sanchez apologizes for Flik's behavior.
"Yes." Mathiu nods his head in agreement. "The death of Odessa is hard on everyone."
"Flik must have really loved Odessa." Ranma sighed.
"He does…did." Sanchez shakes his head sadly.
"……..poor Odessa." Humphrey says quietly.
"So what are we going to do about him?" Ranma asks everyone.
"We need him and his men to join up with us." Mathiu scratches his chin. "With his men, we could have enough to take on another army."
"Sir Flik is staying at a house in Kaku." Sanchez says to Ranma.
"Let me talk to him." Viktor tells his leader. Ranma agreed that it might be the best idea they could come up with yet.
'But I think I'll talk to him first.' Racqel thinks.
When the young woman sees Viktor and Ranma head for the doorway, Racqel takes off for the stairs. She knows her brother's habits well. Ever since Sergei installed the elevator into the castle the bear-man had become too lazy to use the stairs anymore. Luckily for Racqel the stairs, though leaving her winded, would be a quicker root down. Viktor and Ranma would have to wait for the elevator to come up to the top floor. By the time it would get there, Racqel would already be down stairs.
As she's running down the stairs, Racqel thanks the Runes that Viktor doesn't trust Viki to teleport him anywhere. Distrust like that meant Viktor and Ranma would have to take a boat over to Kaku. With the way the winds were blowing today Racqel would have plenty of time to talk to Flik, especially if she used Viki to teleport her to Kaku.
Racqel gets to the stairs that led to the bottom floor and stops. She heard Krin wandering about the floor, keeping an eye out for her. Quietly Racqel tiptoes down the stairs and peeks out onto the bottom floor. She could see the hunchback poking the spot where his nose uses to be. When Krin looked out toward the castle's entrance, Racqel slipped by behind him and goes down the stairs to the basement. "Viki?"
"Oh no. I forgot a spell again." Viki looks at Racqel. "Oh hi."
Racqel steps in front of absentminded woman. "Viki, I need to be teleported to Kaku."
"Oh. Ok." Viki raises her staff.
The next thing Racqel knew, she was at the front entrance to Kaku. She sees two men standing outside a house near the dock entrance. Without wasting any time, Racqel runs over to the house. The two men stop her from entering.
"Flik said he doesn't want to see anyone." One man says.
"Besides we don't want anything to do with the new Liberation Army. Flik should be leader not some kid." The other man says.
"Oh, I just want to talk to him." Racqel tells the two men. "I have a message that needs to be delivered."
"If it's from that boy, Flik won't want it." The first man tells her.
"It's not from Ranma." Racqel pushes her way past the two men. "What I have to say is for Flik's ears only." She starts to enter the house, but stops. "…Viktor and Ranma are coming. Tell them I said to wait a day, to give Flik some time." At first the men were unsure, but they nod and no longer try to stop her from entering the house. "Flik?"
"Go away." Flik mumbles when Racqel enters. He was sitting at a table, staring at it. His hands were on the top, clutched into tight fists. The blue cape he wore was tossed on his bed. Odessa, his sword, hung on the back of his chair. "I don't want to talk to anyone."
"Flik…" Racqel whispers. She sees his boots by the side of the door and removes hers too. Racqel takes off her cape and weapons to hang on a hook above the boots. Afterwards she walks over to him and puts a hand on his shoulder.
Flik knocks her hand away. "Don't touch me."
"I'm sorry." Racqel pulls her amulet out from under her shirt. "I have something to tell you and…give you."
"I don't want anything from you." Flik gets up and walks away from her with his arms crossed in front of him.
"Flik..." Racqel looks at his backside. "I promised her I give it to you."
"Promised who?" Flik slowly turns around, his hands dropped to his side. Racqel walks up to him and holds her amulet out for him to see. He looks at it with disbelief. "Is that her…her…rune?" Racqel slowly nods. "What are you doing with it?" Flik couldn't believe that Racqel had taken Odessa's rune.
"She gave it to me…to give to you." Racqel was finding it hard to look at him, but she manages to build up the courage to. "When I went down to the old hideout I saw her body glowing sky blue. From her right hand, her rune came up to houses itself in the amulet. I heard her voice saying, 'Give this to Flik. Let him know that I always loved him and that I'll always be with him.'" Racqel takes Flik's left hand and removes his glove. She holds the amulet over the hand, jewel down. A blue light comes from the red jewel and a Wind Rune appears on Flik's hand.
"She wanted me to have it?" Flik looks at Racqel and she nods. "How did you know?" She shakes her head like she didn't know. Flik takes his hand back to look at it; tears start to well up in his eyes as he stares at it. Racqel pulls him into a comforting embrace. Flik tries to pull way from her, but she would not let go and guides him to the bed for them both to sit down. Racqel scoots herself all the way to the wall and leans on it. She places a pillow on her lap before pulling Flik on to the bed. Racqel pats the pillow and he looks at her, then the pillow. Flik lowers his eyes as he lays his head on the pillow; the back of it was to her. He brings his left hand up to his face so he could continue to look at the Wind Rune.
Racqel pets his hair. "Let it out Flik. It will do you some good."
"Don't tell me what to do." Flik mumbles to her.
Racqel looks down at him and sees that his eyes were shut tight as tears stream from them down to the pillow. A few minutes later she hears Viktor's voice. Racqel hears the men tell him what she told them to say. She looks out the window to see Viktor and Ranma walk over to the inn. The young continues to smooth out Flik's hair as he cries. It is dark by the time he stops and sits up, wiping his eyes.
Racqel gets off the bed to light a couple torches. "I'll make something to eat." She lights a fire under the stove.
"Not hungry." Flik mumbles as he removes his other glove.
"You'll need to eat something." Racqel take a pot out. "And you need something to drink too. You've been crying all day, so you're depleted of liquid." She proceeds to chops some vegetables. "You just sit there, or lay there, while I make some soup." Flik sits cross-legged on the bed, looking down at his hand while Racqel cooked for the both of them. "You need your brother." Racqel says out of the blue when they were eating.
Flik looks up from his bowl. "What?"
"You heard me." Racqel looked to meet his eyes. "You need your brother." She says before taking a spoonful of soup.
"Why would I need him?" Flik asks coldly.
"To cry on." Racqel says calmly.
Flik glares down at his reflection in the soup. "Why would I go to him?" His right hand turns into a fist. It shook at it squeezed around his spoon.
"Because he's family." Racqel tells him. "He's close and you need someone close to let all your pain out."
Suddenly Flik's right fist rose up off the table and slam back down. The bowls jumped up an inch in the air. "I did let everything out." He now glares at Racqel. "What do you think all that crying on you lap was?"
"You're holding back." Racqel set her spoon down by her bowl. "I am barely a friend, so of course you held back."
"You are not barely a friend." Flik tells at her. "You are my friend!"
"Oh." Racqel blushes a bit. "But still, you…"
Flik slams his fist on the table again. "I didn't hold back!" Once more, the bowls jumped into the air.
"Then why are you so angry?" Racqel asks.
"Cause you're telling me that I need someone I don't!" Flik yells at her. "You don't know what he's like. You think he's going to be sensitive? No! He's going to tell me that its life and I should get on with it. If he knew I was here crying, I would never hear the end of it."
"I know your brother is a meanie sometimes." Racqel gets up and walks over to Flik. "I mean, hey, he picks on me all the time. But he'd be there for you when you really need it. All brothers are." She gets him to get up from the table and leads him back over to the bed. They both have a seat on it.
"Maybe yours, but not mine." Flik glares down at his clenched hands on his knees. "You think you had it bad." He forces an angry laugh. "You've only had to deal with him for two years, where as I had to deal with him all my life. Teasing me, pushing me around and telling me to be a man. You know what happened with my first bandanna? His friends took it from me to play keep away with. I came home crying about it, because they shoved me into a mud puddle. He had the nerve to come back with it and say that I lost it."
"I don't believe that he would do that to you." Racqel looks at Flik. "I don't believe that anyone would do that to their siblings. He cares about you, I just know it."
"Yeah? How?" Flik looks her in the face.
"I've seen the way he looks at you." Racqel tells the young man. "How he's worried when you go off on trips and come back late, even if it was only a few minutes. I've seen how he stands up for you when the other men insulted you behind your back. He saw how hurt you were that one time…when the men had the nerve to tell you wouldn't make a great leader. He threatens to cut off a few choice digits from them for not giving you a decent chance."
"You…you really think he cares?" Flik sounded unsure.
"Yes." Racqel nods. "And I'm sure that if you talk to him, he'll tell why he did what he did to you in the past." Racqel puts a comforting hand on Flik's shoulder.
"I don't know where he is." Flik looks at her with worry in his eyes. "We got separated during the attack on Lenankamp. Some of the men were captured by the imperial army. That is why I came to the new Liberation Army hideout. I came to get help. I think…I think he might have been captured with some of the men."
"Don't worry. After you talk with Ranma and join up, we'll go get them back. We'll find him." Racqel pulls Flik into a hug. "We'll find him." She says comforting.
Next Day
Viktor and Ranma were over at Flik's substitute house, where they talked. Viktor started to apologize, but Flik stopped him. The main concern on his mind was going after Milich and rescuing the men that he captured. Once Ranma accepted Flik's army to join, everyone went back to Tigeress castle to talk about battle plans.
The battle at Fortress of Garan was a quick one. After the battle Flik jumped the gun and attack Milich head on at Scarleticia Castle. There the army lost to Milich's deadly flowers. Defeated Mathiu thought it would be best to go get the world famous Liukan to counter the flower power Milich had. Mathiu asks what people Ranma want in his group. Viktor, Flik, and Racqel all volunteered. Gremio wanted to come too, but Viktor tried to stop him. He told the blonde man that now was the time that Ranma try to go on a mission with out his devoted servant. But Gremio protested, begged, and pleaded with Ranma to come on the mission. Though Ranma was a bit reluctant to do it, he couldn't turn down the man with a scar on his cheek.
The problem with trying to get to Liukan was that the group couldn't get past the rapids. Luckily good news comes in a town called Teien. First they found an old woman who gave Ranma a mirror called the 'Blinking Mirror'. With this mirror Ranma and group could teleport back to Tigeress Castle any time they were outside. Next they found a rude man by the name Gen who makes boats. He tells the group that they should recruit his neighbor Kamandol. The old man next door had recently built a motor that could help get pass the rapids.
"Hey, old man!" Gen bangs on Kamandol's door. "Open up in there."
Racqel scolds Gen. "Have more respect."
Gen waves a hand at her. "Ah, he's just an old geezer."
Kamandol throws open his door and glares at them all. "What do you adult delinquents want?"
"Adult delinquents?! Don't go throwing Young Master into the same category as Viktor." Gremio tells the old man.
"Hey, now. Leave me out of it." Viktor says defensively.
"Old man, we need something to get past the rapids." Gen tries to push his way into the house. "Didn't you just invent something that could do that?"
"Why should I help brats like you?" Kamandol pushes Gen back out.
"Show some respect." Racqel scolds Gen once again. "Please sir, we need your help." She says politely to Kamandol. "Don't we?" Racqel elbows Viktor and Flik in their sides.
"Yes, we could really use your help sir." Flik rubs his ribs.
"Well that's a rare sight indeed." Kamandol looks at Racqel with amusement. "I didn't think there was any youngsters left who knew how to treat their elders. Come inside." He opens the door for Racqel.
The young woman bows before she enters. "Thank you sir."
"Grrr…kiss up." Gen growls under his breath behind her back.
"I heard that." Racqel calls out to him. Kamandol laughs as Gen blushes from embarrassment. The rest of the group follows her into the house.
Kamandol shows them a strange looking machine. "This will help get us past the rapids." The old man says proudly.
Racqel looks at it closely. "Is that the motor Gen mentioned?"
"Actually it's called an engine my dear lady." Kamandol tells her.
Flik look at the machine also. "An engine?"
"You stick it on the back of the boat and it will make it go fast enough to get us past the rapids." Kamandol explains.
"Then let us go to…uh…um…" Gen tries to remember what the new name of town they headed for was called. "Oh let's call it what it's suppose to be called." Gen says with frustration. "Let's go to Rikon"
"Wait, you mean we have to carry that all the way to Rikon?" Viktor looks at Kamandol with disbelief.
"You don't expect an old man like me to carry that all the way down there." Kamandol looked offended. "It's too heavy for one person, let alone someone like me."
"All right, all right." Flik says putting his hands up in forfeit. "Let's just get going."
The group carries the machine down to Rikon. Kamandol and Gen spend all night building the boat needed to get to Liukan's Hermitage. When they get to the hermit's house, Liukan begins to tell the group to go away. Unfortunately he didn't get very far, because Milich comes down on a dragon and steals the famous doctor away from them.
Flik looks to Ranma for answers. "What do we do now?"
"We need to go back to Tigeress Castle and talk to Mathiu." The young leader says.
They used the 'Blinking Mirror' to get back to the castle. Ranma relays the whole thing to Mathiu. After thinking a couple of minutes he comes up with a plan to get into Soniere prison, where Liukan is being held. Two people were gathered to help get into the prison. One was a man named Tesla and the other was Kimberly.
Getting Kimberly was kind of tough on Flik. The blonde woman found the Blue Thunder to be quite handsome and insisted that they spend the night drinking tea. Flik objected to the whole idea, because he was very much in love with Odessa. Sadly for the young man in blue, Viktor locked him in the house with Kimberly. Flik had no choice, but to have tea with the woman.
Tesla forge the imperial papers need to get into Soniere prison and Kimberly forge Milich's seal. Ranma takes Viktor, Flik, Gremio, Cleo, and Pahn with him to the rescue Liukan. Racqel decided to sit this trip out and wait for them to come back to the castle. She didn't expect to pace around the basement area, where the Blinking Mirror would bring them, waiting for their return. By the end of the day Racqel was worried and she wasn't the only one. Mathiu had come down to find that Ranma and group had not returned from the trip. He organized a rescue party together to raid Soniere prison and find their missing members. When they got there the prison was found to be empty. Searching the place brings them to a room with a large switch. By the switch were a green cloak and a hatch. Mathiu pulls the switch causing a door in front of him to open, reveal Ranma and group.
Mathiu breaths a sigh of relief at see them. "Master Ranma, we were worried about you. When you didn't show up for some time, we came to find you."
"Seems the 'Spores of Agony' have left the building." Flik says sadly.
Mathiu looks at them with a confused look on his face. "'Spores of Agony'?" Racqel was about to ask what happened when Viktor put a hand up to stop her.
"Come on, let's go home. Ranma had a hard day." Viktor says, leading Ranma out. He whispered to Racqel that they would talk about what happen later.
Ranma sees the cloak and hatch by the switch. The young leader goes over to the items, falls to his knees and bows his head in silence. Afterwards he gets up to walk out with Mathiu and the others. Before they leave the prison Viktor stop them. He runs back in for a moment and comes back out to join them.
Later that night Viktor and Racqel sit on the top of Tigress castle, looking at the stars in the blacken sky. He tells her all that happen at Soniere prison, ending with the death of Gremio. The young woman could not believe the overly protective man was dead.
"Poor Ranma." Racqel wipes her eyes after she's cried a little and looks over at her older brother. "Viktor? Are you ok?" She knew that the two men were becoming great friends, even if Gremio didn't agree with some of Viktor's tactics.
"Hm…yeah." Viktor doesn't look at her.
"No, really. Are you ok?" Racqel turns his face so that he looks at her. "First Odessa and now Gremio…"
"It's ok." Viktor tries to give her one his smiles, but it is a weak one.
Racqel takes her cape off, folds it into a small pillow, and puts it onto her lap. "Come here."
"Is this what you did for Flik?" Viktor asks as lays his head on her lap, looking up at her.
"Yes." Racqel smoothes his bangs. "But…he didn't let it all out." She sighs. "He needs his brother, whether he really want to admit it or not."
"And we will find him." Viktor wraps his arms around her waist and buries his face in her stomach. Racqel continues to smooth his hair while he cries.
The next day, people were standing out by Ranma's bedroom door to give their condolences. Cleo tells how she is sorry. Pahn tells the young man to be strong.
Viktor was harsh. "If you don't lead the men, then I will." The bear-man tells Ranma, but after thinking a moment Viktor says, "No, a leader should bet the one to lead the Liberation Army."
Racqel was by Viktor's side. She was tempted to knock some sense into her older brother, but she knew it was just the grief talking. She walked with Ranma down the hallway toward the Meeting Area. He looked to her to hear what she had to say. "There is a difference between revenge and avenge." She looks at the young man with sorrow in her eyes. "One will mean have your life being eaten away as you look to take the life the one who wronged you. The other will mean knowing someone has suffered enough to bring the peace you need. But it is up to you to pick which one will be the one for you." Ranma gives her a confused look. "To demand death for love ones isn't always the answer. Sometimes you just have to accept just suffering, rather than demand taking a life. For Viktor and me it is revenge, because we want the head of the monster that destroyed our village. But for you…maybe you don't need something that drastic." Racqel stops at the near end of the hall and turns to go back to Viktor.
Ranma bumps into Flik at the end of the hall. "Do well for both Odessa and Gremio." The Blue Thunder gives Ranma a pat on the shoulder.
Camille meets the young leader as he comes from the hall and heads for the Meeting Room. "Don't make Gremio's sacrifice in vain or I'll never forgive you." The She-Devil tells him. He nods to her before going into the Meeting Hall.
"I have made the potion needed to take care of those flowers." Liukan says.
"We should attack Scarleticia castle as soon as possible." Mathiu advises.
Ranma puts on a brave face. "All right. Let's begin assembling the troops."