"Shhhh…"
"This is such a bad idea…"
"It's going to priceless when they wake up."
"I only wish I had a way to capture the moment for…"
"Shhh… look, I think they're waking up."
Ranma's eyes fluttered open and instantly snapped shut. A dull ache in the head. Dry mouth. And why was it so warm? This was not starting out well at all.
First of all, Ranma was still in girl form, which brought back one too many memories of a half drunk Ryoga chasing her around and demanding a dance. Secondly, she had a vague recollection of a bottle of something called sake being shoved down her throat. That must be way she was feeling so bad. Thirdly… why was she pinned down?
She forced her eyes to open and they slowly adjusted to the sunlight filtering through the open windows. She smacked her lips to try to get some saliva in her mouth and yawned as she turned to the side.
The scream that came from her mouth scattered the glass of one of the windows and sent the birds outside squawking into the sky. About the only thing that remained undisturbed was the sleeping hulk next to Ranma-chan.
When the screaming finally stopped, she reached over and wrapped her hands around Ryoga's neck. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" she demanded moving the boy's head up and down until it began to hit the floor. That finally woke up Ryoga.
"Huh?? Why you hitting me?" Ryoga said, still somewhat asleep.
"Wake up!" Ranma-chan cried. "What are you doing in my bed?!?"
That certainly got Ryoga up in a hurry. Taking in the situation, he decided the best course of action would be to do exactly what Ranma-chan had done and scream his bloody head off.
When he had finished, they both heard it. From outside the cracked open door, the sound of muffled giggling. Ranma-chan released her grip on Ryoga's neck and stomped over, throwing open the door.
As soon as it was open, the trio standing there started to erupt with laughter. Akane and Ukyo were holding onto each other as they almost passed out with laughter. Mousse sat against the wall holding in his side, trying to stop laughing.
"What the hell is going on?" Ranma-chan demanded.
Akane tried but couldn't get a word out. Ukyo just shook her head. It was Mousse that finally got enough control to point at Ukyo and Akane. "It was their idea," he said with a muffled laugh. "They thought it would be funny if we put you two together and see what happened when… snicker… when…"
Ranma-chan's eyebrow twitched. She turned and saw Ryoga standing behind her with an angry expression as well. "Kill 'em?" Ranma-chan asked. Ryoga reached over and grabbed his axe.
Akane and Ukyo regained enough sense to realize that Ranma-chan and Ryoga were gunning for them. "Oh crap," Ukyo said standing up and taking off with Akane following quickly behind.
Mousse watched the blurred motion of people take off and started to laugh. Poor girls, they were in for it. Suddenly though, he heard footsteps coming back towards him. From what he could make out, it looked like Ryoga and Ranma-chan were headed back towards him.
"Eh?" Mousse tried to ask as they passed.
"RUN!" Ryoga and Ranma-chan cried as they ran past him.
Mousse stood up and watched them go. "Why?"
Suddenly Akane and Ukyo flew past him. "Amazon with a hang over!!" Ukyo cried as she moved past him.
"We woke her up!" Akane finished before disappearing.
Ah, that is a very good reason to run, Mousse thought to himself as he took off behind the girls.
* * *
"I don't see why I still needed to be a girl," Ranma-chan said gruffly as she walked up to the door.
"Nabiki said it would be better this way," Akane said with a shrug.
"I could've at least showered," Ranma-chan said pointing down to the mess of clothes she was still wearing. Mud, food and several undistinguishable spots covered them, the result of being tossed into a trash pile by an unhappy Amazon.
"Strange, but Nabiki also said it would be better if you stayed that way too," Akane replied. "But you really stink!"
Ranma-chan glowered. "Yeah, well, I didn't run away screaming when Shampoo decided to toss us in the trash."
Akane giggled. "I guess Ukyo and I are just smarter than you guys. I mean, we knew not to reason with her."
"Whatever," Ranma-chan said. She lifted her hand to knock the door but suddenly Akane grabbed it.
"You're sure about this?" she said, not looking at Ranma-chan. "You know what you're giving up?"
Ranma-chan was silent for a moment. "Group decision," she said and let her hand fall on the door. She knocked a few times and waited for a reply.
A few seconds later, the door cracked open. Ranma-chan and Akane started into the darkness but saw nothing. Suddenly there was a sound just below their knees.
"Whatcha want?"
Akane and Ranma-chan exchanged a glance before they leaned forward to look down at the little beady eyes poking out the door. "Ah," Akane started, "we heard you were looking for a gold figu…"
"AH!! GET IT OFF!" Ranma-chan cried suddenly jumping backwards. She was hitting something that had latched on her chest. Akane quickly grabbed her wand and prepared her fireball spell. "AKANE! N…"
The fireball hit the target, only it was already gone so it hit Ranma-chan squarely on the chest.
"Sorr… ACK!!" Akane screamed as she felt something clutching her own bosom. "GET IT OFF!!"
Ranma-chan, hair slightly singed from the attack, reached forward to pull at the lump that was on Akane's chest. Too bad it had moved already and all Ranma was left with was a handful of…
"RANMA NO BAKA!" Akane said, sending the other girl straight into the air. Sensing something coming towards her from the side, she lashed out, her hand grabbing a bunch of fabric.
"Lemme go!!"
Akane looked at her hand and saw an old man wriggling in her hands.
"So you can latch onto me again?" Akane cried. "I don't think so, you little lecher!"
The old man started to sniffle and cry. "But… no one comes to visit me anymore! I just wanted to enjoy the presence of two beautiful women!"
"Enjoying their presence does not mean you can grope them!" Akane stated. "Now are you the potion dealer or are you not!"
"So you only wanted to see me for my potions!" The little man cried. Akane sighed and was about to give up on the whole mess when the floor beneath her buckled a bit as Ranma-chan fell to the ground again.
"Ranma!" she said. "Show him the figurine." Ranma-chan stood up and wobbled back and forth, her head spinning from the impact. "RANMA!"
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Ranma-chan reached into her pocket and retrieved the figurine.
"There," Akane said. "One figurine for one potion to cure one curse."
The little man was silent as he looked at the figurine. "Put me down," he said slowly. Akane complied, on guard for another attack. The little man disappeared into his house and returned with a vial of orange potion. "Give me the figurine," he hissed.
A bit alarmed at his sudden change in demur, Ranma-chan held out the figurine and dropped it, quickly snatching the potion as he did. She pulled Akane away and the little man caressed the statue.
The little man chuckled. "Thank you," he said. "Now leave. And leave this town if you value your life."
"What?" Akane said but the little man had disappeared.
"Well that was strange," Ranma-chan said.
* * *
Akane stared at the vial, watching the orange potion swirl around. It looked alive in some ways. Next to her, Soun watched it as well, though his thoughts were his own.
Nabiki suddenly entered the room. "It's not poison," she said. "I tested it and it's fine. I'm pretty sure it'll do what he says…"
Akane sighed and looked at the vial again. "Okay, I'll do it."
Nabiki frowned, not entirely sure it was safe. But she couldn't go against her sister's wishes. She nodded and put a reassuring hand on Akane's shoulder before she walked out of the room.
"Are you sure you want to do this alone?" Soun asked. Akane nodded firmly, her eyes staring at her father with resolve. They stood up together and Akane walked him to the door.
She was a bit surprised to find Ranma standing in the hallway as her father walked out. Soun kept moving and Ranma waited until he was gone.
"You don't have to do this," Ranma said. "We both saw the little creep ourselves. I don't know if we can trust him."
"This is the only way," Akane said with a smile. She reached out and took his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I'll be fine."
If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn he had blushed. But she couldn't bear to look any longer. So she let her hand drop and quickly closed the door, locking it behind her.
Sitting down in front of the vial, Akane closed her eyes and tried to muster the courage. This wasn't like anything she had faced before. In a fight, she at least had the chance to fight back. This was different. She would drink this potion and either it would work or not and she couldn't do a damn thing about it.
She opened her eyes, deciding it was now or never. Her hand snapped forward and she opened the vial. She brought it to her mouth, clamped her eyes shut and drank it in one shot.
* * *
Tofu walked down the street, his hand clamped behind his back. He watched the children playing in the street and couldn't help but smile. That party last night had done wonders for the morale of the town.
"Leader Ono."
Tofu looked up and saw Kuno striding towards him. "Leader Kuno," he replied, feeling a bit foolish saying it but the other man appeared to live for formality.
"Your town's spirits have risen considerably," Kuno said. Tofu nodded. "Had I not seen the terror that stalks you with my own eyes, I would believe you might be able to regain some semblance of a normal life. I have seen your defenses and they are… lacking."
Tofu nodded, knowing that Kuno was being polite. "We have time," Tofu said, "to build up our defenses. We can use the wood from the forest to barricade ourselves in and this bit of land is on an island."
"With water that is not very deep," Kuno replied. "I worry about Lut Gholeim but I surely cannot leave you and your people here at their hour of need. Besides what sort of man would I be if I were not to lend my hand."
"Thank you Tatewaki," Tofu said, throwing formality out the window. "I can't tell you how much we…"
"TOFU!"
The two men turned and saw Akane running at them full speed. "Akane?" Tofu said, concerned. "Is something wrong? Did you take the potion?"
"I did," she said, almost crying at this point. "And something happened, I think… I think it reversed the curse somehow."
"What?" Kuno said. "What did you see?"
"An army," she said. "They're massing in the jungle and they're coming here."
* * *
The tree came toppling down as the townspeople scattered. Ryoga hefted his axe over his shoulder and walked towards the next tree. Ukyo motioned for the townspeople to come back for the trunk and pull it towards the wall. There, they tied ropes around it and slowly started to lower it into position.
"It won't be enough," Tofu said softly.
Kuno looked over him and then back at the wall. He knew agreeing would not be the best idea but it was hard not to considering the odds. "My ship can take about fifty people on it back to Lut Gholeim," he said after a pause. "We can get most of the women and children out."
Tofu frowned and nodded. "It's a very generous offer. But only if you are on that ship with them. I don't want to deprive Lut Gholeim of their great leader."
"Really Tofu, you're just going to inflate his ego even more," Nabiki said as she walked up next to him with Mousse in tow.
"Nabiki Tendo," Kuno said looking at her. "Now is not the time to make jokes."
"So I should just stand here with you looking as if I was staring death in the face, Kuno-baby?" she asked.
"What Nabiki means to say," Mousse said, "is that we might have something else that could help."
Tofu's interest peaked. "Go ahead."
"Well, thanks to Mousse's scrolls," Nabiki began, "I've been able to confirm the existence of an ancient blade. Its magical properties should be enough to keep the monsters at bay."
"How?" Kuno asked.
Nabiki and Mousse looked at each other. "We're working on that," she said. "Mousse is going to go ahead and find it with some of the others, see if there isn't something written where he finds it. I'll stay behind and read the scrolls we already have."
"Who will go with you?" Kuno asked.
Mousse looked over at the townspeople's efforts. "You'll need Ryoga for the trees and Ukyo seems to be leading the rest of the people. We don't know what the situation is with Akane's curse. I'd rather she stay here too, to warn you if anything changes."
"So Shampoo and Ranma go with you," Tofu said.
"If they desire," Mousse replied. "I can not force them to leave on a wild goose chase," he finished instantly regretting his choice of words.
* * *
"Where did you say it was?" Ranma asked, slashing at more brush.
Mousse looked nervously at the map that Nabiki had drawn. "Somewhere close by," he said softly.
"Shampoo remember this place," she said softly, pushing some of the branches away with her spear.
"Yeah," Ranma said. "It looks kind of familiar."
Mousse shrugged. "I sure don't remember it," he said. He waited, realizing he left himself open for a 'blind duck boy no see so how can remember'. But it never came. The silence was a bit unnerving. He really wanted to insults back.
Ranma suddenly threw up his hand to stop them. He looked over at Shampoo and tapped his ear. Shampoo paused and nodded. Yes, she heard something. Ranma held a hand up in Mousse's face to tell him to stay put. Mousse nodded and saw two blurs moving in opposite directions.
Great, they had left him here as bait for whatever was in the jungle. Well this was turning out to be a wonderful trip. Shampoo had said all of two words to him, though she looked like she had a rough night. Ranma looked a million miles away, he probably wanted to be back in town rather than here. And Nabiki's map was so broad they would probably…
There was a rustling next to him and Mousse realized that his day was about to get a lot worse.
They broke through the branches and jumped towards him. Mousse barely had the time to stand when a wave of time bodies covered him. He felt little teeth biting at his robes and saw what could only be huge blades preparing to strike.
Ordinarily, Mousse might have had a hard time dealing with this many monsters with his vision being as bad as it was. But they had made one fatal mistake. They were right on top of him.
A series of bone spears ripped through the air, tearing the Flayers to bits. Even as their bodies landed on the ground, a Corpse Explosion spell reduced them to quivering piles of goo. No way to resurrect that, Mousse thought with a smile.
He stood up and brushed off several Flayer bits from his clothes and looked around for his companions. A moment later, Ranma burst out of the foliage.
"What the hell?" he said looking around at the mess.
"Thanks for leaving me as bait," Mousse said. "Did you find the shaman?"
"He kind of ran away," Ranma said. "I think I know why." Ranma picked up a boot, watching as Flayer goo followed his foot up.
"Well," Mousse shrugged, "what can I say? I wanted to keep them down."
Shampoo suddenly emerged from the brush with a puzzled look. "Shaman run away," she said, just as her foot stepped into a puddle of Flayer remains. She looked down at the mess and turned a bit green. "Uck, Shampoo no feel so good."
* * *
Ukyo gripped the rope tightly, feeling it bite into her hand. She looked over and watched the villagers having similar problems. The trunk was heavier than the others were and after three hours of working, she was beginning to feel the fatigue.
The rope next to her snapped and the villagers tumbled backwards. She felt the trunk slide away from her, taking her arm with. She tried to let go, but the rope was wound around her wrist. For a horrifying moment, she really believed that she was going to lose her arm.
There was a cry from behind her and she felt something whistle by her ear. She barely got to see the axe embedded in the tree trunk right where the rope was tied before she fell backward onto the ground. Looking over she saw Ryoga straightening up from his throw.
"You okay?" he called out.
Ukyo waved with her good hand and then looked back at the damage. Well, on top of saving her arm, Ryoga's throw had managed to push the trunk away from the wall and harmlessly on to the ground next to it. He walked over and pulled the axe out of the trunk.
The villagers regrouped and began to retie their ropes to the tree. Ukyo was about to join them when something told her to wait. She looked out at the jungle and listened. She could have sworn she…
The ground shook slightly and Ukyo had to fight to maintain her balance. The villagers didn't look all too pleased. She looked down at Ryoga, who was holding his axe in more of a battle pose then a chopping one.
"Let's just get inside," she said to the people around her. The ground shook again and the villagers took off. "Ryoga!" she called out. "Now!!"
Ryoga slowly lowered his axe and began to walk towards the jungle. Ukyo's eyes opened wide. "WRONG WAY!!" she screamed, running after him. She grabbed his arm and pulled him away just as the demons broke through the foliage.
Ukyo and Ryoga ran across the bridge, sliding under the door as it closed to secure the village. Akane appeared on top of the wall and conjured a fire wall spell, aiming for the bridge and letting it burn until the bridge collapsed into the water.
"The water is still too shallow," Kuno said as Akane ducked back down.
"The walls will hold," Tofu said. "At least until they get back with this blade."
"You place a lot of faith in something you can not be sure will work," Kuno said.
"It'll work," Nabiki said, climbing up to greet them. "I know it will."
"You have discovered its use then," Kuno asked.
Nabiki smiled. "You bet I did, Kuno-baby," she said with a smile. "But until then, let's show them what happens to people who mess with the Tendo sisters," she said holding out her hand to Akane.
Akane smiled and took it with a firm grasp and a wicked smile.
* * *
"Nabiki Tendo not know what talking about. Blade not in that village."
Mousse sighed and looked at the map again. "According to this map, it's there, somewhere underground."
Ranma shook his head. "You're sure that this isn't a joke on her part?"
Mousse looked a bit stunned. "She wouldn't joke about something like this. Besides, I was working with her. It's legit."
"Is Flayer village! Why no one else realize this is Flayer village!"
"I know it's a Flayer village but it's not as if we have much a choice," Mousse said.
Shampoo sighed and looked out at the village again. At least two dozen little Flayers ran around. She could see at least two shamans but there could be others hiding. "Shampoo can hit shaman there," she said pointing to the village. "Ranma take other shaman?"
"Yeah," Ranma said. "Then take Mousse and drop him in the center of those little creeps."
Mousse smiled. "I foresee many corpse explosion spells coming up."
Ranma looked a bit sickened by the thought but just nodded and took off. Suddenly, it was just Shampoo and Mousse. Mousse felt himself suddenly go weak in the knees. He had to say something.
"Ah… Shampoo, about…"
"No talk," she said harshly gripping on her spear.
"But I just wanted…"
"No talk," she said again. "Was mistake, all the need say."
She raised her spear and took aim, hoping it would shut Mousse up. She really had no desire to ever talk about it. In fact it would be better if she could just…
"Shampoo! Throw the spear," Mousse said suddenly.
Shampoo blinked and realized that Ranma had already made his move. She tossed the spear and to her horror, she missed.
"Let's go," Mousse said, taking off not realizing that she had failed. Before Shampoo could collect her thoughts, he was gone.
She cursed and ran off, heading towards her spear to fix this problem. This was exactly why she didn't want to talk about it. Mousse was a distraction and distractions made her sloppy. This was probably why Amazon law prevented women from choosing who they could be with.
Reaching down she pulled the spear and was about to strike the shaman when it turned around and shot a mouth full of flames at her. She fell backwards to avoid it and struck upwards, spearing it right in the heart.
The shaman screamed in pain and expired, leaving behind an angry Flayer. Before Shampoo could react it was headed straight for her and then suddenly, it was flying over her.
Sitting up, she saw the remains of the shaman. Corpse explosion spell, she realized. Great, Mousse had just saved her. This day couldn't get much worse.
"Shampoo!" Ranma cried as he slashed at a few Flayers. "There's a door next to you!!"
Shampoo looked over and saw she had fallen right next a steel grate. She used her spear as leverage and opened it. There were steps leading down into the darkness. Oh, yeah, this day just got worse.
* * *
The sky crackled and a bolt of lightning hit the ground. A demon got toasted right away and the others started running as lightning continued to slither towards them on the ground. As they retreated, they came face to face with a fire wall and were trapped.
Soun Tendo watched with pride. His daughters were fending off the entire demon horde by themselves. Ah, if their mother could see them now.
"Daddy!" Nabiki called again, getting a bit agitated. What was he doing, grinning like an idiot down there? "We need more mana potions!"
"Right away!" Soun said, reaching down and pulling a few more bottles from their supply. He tried not to notice that it was dwindling rapidly.
"Allow me." Soun looked up at the outstretched hand and carefully handed the bottles to Kuno. Kuno took them and headed up the wall to where the Tendo sisters were. He made sure not to give the demons a target as he sat down between them.
Akane sat down first and grabbed the bottle from him. "Thanks," she said, drinking the potion.
"You are welcome, Akane Tendo," he said with a nod. "You and your sister are fighting very well."
"Thanks," Akane said with a smile. "Your turn, Nabiki."
Lightning danced across Nabiki's arm and was reflected momentarily in her eyes. It arched upwards to the sky before coming down on an unsuspecting group of monsters. She smiled as they fell down and nodded to Akane.
While Akane took aim with fireballs, Nabiki took the chance to relax. She took the potion from Kuno was a slight smile and drank it slowly.
"So Kuno-baby, you think that we're fighting well?"
Kuno frowned a bit at the name. "Only a fool would not recognize the skills of a fellow fighter."
Nabiki frowned. "Oh, I thought you were hitting on us. Too bad, I thought you were kind of cute."
Kuno flustered and couldn't find a response. Akane suppressed a giggle and looked down at Kuno. Nabiki had really thrown the poetry-talking leader for a loop. Which was surprising since nothing she or Ranma had done since they met him had made him shut up.
Nabiki's smile grew. "Thanks for the drink," she said standing up. Looking over at Akane, she winked at her sister before she concentrated on the battle.
* * *
"This day not good," Shampoo declared as she pulled her foot from the dingy water.
"You can say that again," Ranma said softly.
The trap door had lead down into a dungeon which none of them could understand. It was pretty obvious the Flayers didn't fight to capture their enemies. So why the dungeon?
Mousse took in a deep breath. The air was stale but he could sense something near by. Something alive…
"Did you hear that?" Ranma said suddenly.
Shampoo groaned. "Sound like tiny feet," she said. "More Flayers."
"No," Mousse said firmly. "There's nothing alive near us. But if we go this way…" He stood up and started to walk through the darkness before they could disagree. For someone with bad vision, he certainly looked as if he knew where he was going.
After several minutes of walking in darkness, Ranma finally heard something. "Wait a minute Mousse," he said grabbing the other boy's arm.
"It's not monsters," Mousse said firmly.
"Shampoo go see," she said, taking off in a silent run. No way was she letting either of them take out any more monsters. She wanted this kill, if only to win back some of her lost pride. She needed this kill to prove to herself that she wasn't losing her mind.
Her spear pointed forward as she stealthily approached the end of the passageway. She heard some sounds, coming from nearby. With a grin on her face, she crouched down, preparing to jump around the corner and slay whatever was there.
Shampoo spun quickly about the corner only to have her spear connect with something metallic. Her arm vibrated at the impact and she had to take a few steps backwards, cursing as she did.
"Hey! Miss!! Let us out!!"
Shampoo looked forward and saw several men behind a jail door. "Who you are?" she demanded.
"We're crewman from a merchant ship," one of them said. "We were shipwrecked, washed ashore and then kidnapped but those annoying little beasts."
"Hey Shampoo, what's the deal?" Ranma said coming up behind her. He looked into the cell and saw the people there. "Ah… hello," Ranma said somewhat suspiciously.
"Yeah, can you let us out?" the sailor asked again. "Our captain and first mate are hurt real bad. We haven't eaten in days…"
Mousse came around and stood behind Shampoo and Ranma. "Well they're not monsters."
"We've already said that!" the sailor said, growing somewhat impatient. "Just let us out!"
Ranma sighed. "We'll have to take them back to the town."
"But what about the blade?" Mousse asked.
"Blade?" the sailor asked. "You mean this thing?" He pointed to the back of the cell where a necklace with a blade sat on a pedestal.
* * *
Akane fell backwards to the ground clutching the side of her arm. She felt warm blood ooze between her fingers.
"Akane!" Nabiki cried, crouching down. "Are you okay?" Akane nodded bravely but her eyes were clinched in pain. "Someone get Akane down and to the healer!"
Ryoga climbed up quickly and helped Akane down. Nabiki scowled as she turned back to the wall. Someone was going to pay for hurting her sister.
The sky turned dark and a slight rain began to fall. The hair on Nabiki's head started to lift slight as her eyes danced with electricity. Her mouth worded her spell carefully and the lightning began to gather around her. Looking out onto the field of monsters, she let the spell loose.
The ground erupted and several demons were thrown into the air, completely charred by the lightning spell. It chained out from where it hit slowly taking out several monsters. Nabiki cast the spell several more times, each one having the same devastating effect.
Suddenly, she saw something flying towards her. It was an arrow, the same thing that had almost taken out Akane. Nabiki was in mid spell at the time and could break away to protect herself. Her eyes closed instinctively and she prepared for impact.
Her spell hit the demons again and Nabiki realized she was still standing. Looking over, she saw Kuno holding his sword, the remnants of an arrow at his feet. She looked at him, nodded and prepared the next spell.
Suddenly from the side, Ranma and crew broke through the foliage. They were a bit surprised to find the fight already in full swing.
"Shampoo take the sailors ahead to the town, we'll cover you," Ranma said.
Shampoo simply nodded and motioned for them to follow. Thirteen sailors carrying two wounded quickly made their way towards the town. Kuno saw them first.
"Prepare to open the gate!" he called. "They are returning with people!"
Tofu looked a bit surprise but relayed the order to Ryoga. He nodded and moved towards the wheel, preparing to turn it. Shampoo reached the bridge first, only to realize it wasn't there. She motioned at the sailor to cross it and they dove in, pushing through the waist deep water to get through.
Ranma and Mousse came up behind her, trying to destroy anything that threatened them. The monsters kept their distance, courtesy of Nabiki's spells. They stopped at the water and looked down at Shampoo. She nodded and jumped in first, instantly changing into a cat. Mousse pushed Ranma in before the neko-phobia could take over. He followed them, changing quickly in a duck.
Ranma-chan, pushed her way across the water, hand back and grabbed on to Muu-muu's tail. The duck's beak had a firm grip on neko-Shampoo's tail, something the cat didn't appear to like too much.
Ryoga got the signal from Tofu and turned the wheel, opening the game and letting in the terrified sailors, one red-headed girl, a duck and a wet cat. As soon as they were clear, Ryoga started to turn the wheel the other way but it wouldn't budge. He pushed on it with all his might and something suddenly snapped.
The gate came crashing down, shattering on impact. Ryoga looked through the debris and realized that there was nothing protecting them anymore.
"Never mind!" Nabiki called as she clambered down, followed quickly by Kuno. She grabbed the blade from around Muu-muu's neck. "Just follow me to the center of town!!"
She took off running, clutching the blade closely. She pondered her current course of action and realized there was nothing else to do. As soon as they reached the center, she motioned to a stone pedestal.
"Bring that here!" she said, pointing to the ground in front of her. Most of the townspeople were crowded around her, trying to avoid the horde that was digging through the wreckage of the gate to get to them.
Ryoga ran over and grabbed it, dragging it over to her.
"Nabiki, what are you doing?" Akane asked, pushing her way through the crowd to get to her sister.
Nabiki looked at Akane with a firm look on her face. "Akane, you have to promise something."
"What?" Akane said. "What do you mean?"
"Find Kasumi," Nabiki said. "For father's sake."
"Nabiki…"
"Promise," the older girl ordered as Ryoga finally got the pedestal next to her.
"I promise," Akane said.
Nabiki smiled and placed the blade on the pedestal. "Step back," she said to Akane. As soon as her sister was clear, she looked over at Kuno with a smile. "Hey Kuno-baby," she said. "Just so you know… I would have made a kick ass queen."
Nabiki turned to the blade and held her hands over it. She began to chant the spell, the last one they had taught her at school before she graduated. Maybe her father didn't think she kept up her skills but she knew her stuff. And this blade was going to give her the power to cast an extremely power spell.
The air around Nabiki began to swirl, bring up tiny fragments of the road below her. The wind made her uniform flutter as it danced around her body and up into her hair. The words flowed out of her mouth now, filling the air with a sweet melody. Her hand moved away from the blade and out toward either side of her body.
Her feet lifted off the ground and she was suddenly floating several inches above the ground. The fragments from the road suddenly began to shatters as electricity encircled her body like snakes. Her skin began to take a faint blue tone and her eyes lost their color, becoming an empty white.
It started just below her heart and began to grow. Soon the globe of power surrounded her. The assembled crowd began to back away though it was taking most of Ryoga strength to pull Akane away.
The demon horde broke through the last remnant of the gate and began to make their approach to crowd. There were screams of terror and utter madness as people tried to flee.
Suddenly the ball around Nabiki exploded. It moved through the crowd, leaving them completely intact. But the moment it hit the monsters, they exploded into dust, completely incinerated by the electrical blast. The ball kept moving until it was just beyond the burned out bridge.
There was complete silence. The villagers picked themselves up and looked around. Nothing was left of the attacking horde but dust. Outside the gate, they could see several demons attempting to break through the wall. But as each of them touch it, they evaporated into dust.
The energy shield had been cast and the town of Kurast was safe. When things had calmed down, Akane ran up to her sister. But Nabiki made no move to recognize her. She was still levitating and her eyes were still blank.
Nabiki, middle Tendo daughter, always considered among her peers to think of nothing else but herself and money, had just made the ultimate sacrifice. She became a living shield to protect the town against any aggression. The power of the ancient blade fueling her spell, she would remain like this for eternity.
"This is such a bad idea…"
"It's going to priceless when they wake up."
"I only wish I had a way to capture the moment for…"
"Shhh… look, I think they're waking up."
Ranma's eyes fluttered open and instantly snapped shut. A dull ache in the head. Dry mouth. And why was it so warm? This was not starting out well at all.
First of all, Ranma was still in girl form, which brought back one too many memories of a half drunk Ryoga chasing her around and demanding a dance. Secondly, she had a vague recollection of a bottle of something called sake being shoved down her throat. That must be way she was feeling so bad. Thirdly… why was she pinned down?
She forced her eyes to open and they slowly adjusted to the sunlight filtering through the open windows. She smacked her lips to try to get some saliva in her mouth and yawned as she turned to the side.
The scream that came from her mouth scattered the glass of one of the windows and sent the birds outside squawking into the sky. About the only thing that remained undisturbed was the sleeping hulk next to Ranma-chan.
When the screaming finally stopped, she reached over and wrapped her hands around Ryoga's neck. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" she demanded moving the boy's head up and down until it began to hit the floor. That finally woke up Ryoga.
"Huh?? Why you hitting me?" Ryoga said, still somewhat asleep.
"Wake up!" Ranma-chan cried. "What are you doing in my bed?!?"
That certainly got Ryoga up in a hurry. Taking in the situation, he decided the best course of action would be to do exactly what Ranma-chan had done and scream his bloody head off.
When he had finished, they both heard it. From outside the cracked open door, the sound of muffled giggling. Ranma-chan released her grip on Ryoga's neck and stomped over, throwing open the door.
As soon as it was open, the trio standing there started to erupt with laughter. Akane and Ukyo were holding onto each other as they almost passed out with laughter. Mousse sat against the wall holding in his side, trying to stop laughing.
"What the hell is going on?" Ranma-chan demanded.
Akane tried but couldn't get a word out. Ukyo just shook her head. It was Mousse that finally got enough control to point at Ukyo and Akane. "It was their idea," he said with a muffled laugh. "They thought it would be funny if we put you two together and see what happened when… snicker… when…"
Ranma-chan's eyebrow twitched. She turned and saw Ryoga standing behind her with an angry expression as well. "Kill 'em?" Ranma-chan asked. Ryoga reached over and grabbed his axe.
Akane and Ukyo regained enough sense to realize that Ranma-chan and Ryoga were gunning for them. "Oh crap," Ukyo said standing up and taking off with Akane following quickly behind.
Mousse watched the blurred motion of people take off and started to laugh. Poor girls, they were in for it. Suddenly though, he heard footsteps coming back towards him. From what he could make out, it looked like Ryoga and Ranma-chan were headed back towards him.
"Eh?" Mousse tried to ask as they passed.
"RUN!" Ryoga and Ranma-chan cried as they ran past him.
Mousse stood up and watched them go. "Why?"
Suddenly Akane and Ukyo flew past him. "Amazon with a hang over!!" Ukyo cried as she moved past him.
"We woke her up!" Akane finished before disappearing.
Ah, that is a very good reason to run, Mousse thought to himself as he took off behind the girls.
* * *
"I don't see why I still needed to be a girl," Ranma-chan said gruffly as she walked up to the door.
"Nabiki said it would be better this way," Akane said with a shrug.
"I could've at least showered," Ranma-chan said pointing down to the mess of clothes she was still wearing. Mud, food and several undistinguishable spots covered them, the result of being tossed into a trash pile by an unhappy Amazon.
"Strange, but Nabiki also said it would be better if you stayed that way too," Akane replied. "But you really stink!"
Ranma-chan glowered. "Yeah, well, I didn't run away screaming when Shampoo decided to toss us in the trash."
Akane giggled. "I guess Ukyo and I are just smarter than you guys. I mean, we knew not to reason with her."
"Whatever," Ranma-chan said. She lifted her hand to knock the door but suddenly Akane grabbed it.
"You're sure about this?" she said, not looking at Ranma-chan. "You know what you're giving up?"
Ranma-chan was silent for a moment. "Group decision," she said and let her hand fall on the door. She knocked a few times and waited for a reply.
A few seconds later, the door cracked open. Ranma-chan and Akane started into the darkness but saw nothing. Suddenly there was a sound just below their knees.
"Whatcha want?"
Akane and Ranma-chan exchanged a glance before they leaned forward to look down at the little beady eyes poking out the door. "Ah," Akane started, "we heard you were looking for a gold figu…"
"AH!! GET IT OFF!" Ranma-chan cried suddenly jumping backwards. She was hitting something that had latched on her chest. Akane quickly grabbed her wand and prepared her fireball spell. "AKANE! N…"
The fireball hit the target, only it was already gone so it hit Ranma-chan squarely on the chest.
"Sorr… ACK!!" Akane screamed as she felt something clutching her own bosom. "GET IT OFF!!"
Ranma-chan, hair slightly singed from the attack, reached forward to pull at the lump that was on Akane's chest. Too bad it had moved already and all Ranma was left with was a handful of…
"RANMA NO BAKA!" Akane said, sending the other girl straight into the air. Sensing something coming towards her from the side, she lashed out, her hand grabbing a bunch of fabric.
"Lemme go!!"
Akane looked at her hand and saw an old man wriggling in her hands.
"So you can latch onto me again?" Akane cried. "I don't think so, you little lecher!"
The old man started to sniffle and cry. "But… no one comes to visit me anymore! I just wanted to enjoy the presence of two beautiful women!"
"Enjoying their presence does not mean you can grope them!" Akane stated. "Now are you the potion dealer or are you not!"
"So you only wanted to see me for my potions!" The little man cried. Akane sighed and was about to give up on the whole mess when the floor beneath her buckled a bit as Ranma-chan fell to the ground again.
"Ranma!" she said. "Show him the figurine." Ranma-chan stood up and wobbled back and forth, her head spinning from the impact. "RANMA!"
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Ranma-chan reached into her pocket and retrieved the figurine.
"There," Akane said. "One figurine for one potion to cure one curse."
The little man was silent as he looked at the figurine. "Put me down," he said slowly. Akane complied, on guard for another attack. The little man disappeared into his house and returned with a vial of orange potion. "Give me the figurine," he hissed.
A bit alarmed at his sudden change in demur, Ranma-chan held out the figurine and dropped it, quickly snatching the potion as he did. She pulled Akane away and the little man caressed the statue.
The little man chuckled. "Thank you," he said. "Now leave. And leave this town if you value your life."
"What?" Akane said but the little man had disappeared.
"Well that was strange," Ranma-chan said.
* * *
Akane stared at the vial, watching the orange potion swirl around. It looked alive in some ways. Next to her, Soun watched it as well, though his thoughts were his own.
Nabiki suddenly entered the room. "It's not poison," she said. "I tested it and it's fine. I'm pretty sure it'll do what he says…"
Akane sighed and looked at the vial again. "Okay, I'll do it."
Nabiki frowned, not entirely sure it was safe. But she couldn't go against her sister's wishes. She nodded and put a reassuring hand on Akane's shoulder before she walked out of the room.
"Are you sure you want to do this alone?" Soun asked. Akane nodded firmly, her eyes staring at her father with resolve. They stood up together and Akane walked him to the door.
She was a bit surprised to find Ranma standing in the hallway as her father walked out. Soun kept moving and Ranma waited until he was gone.
"You don't have to do this," Ranma said. "We both saw the little creep ourselves. I don't know if we can trust him."
"This is the only way," Akane said with a smile. She reached out and took his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I'll be fine."
If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn he had blushed. But she couldn't bear to look any longer. So she let her hand drop and quickly closed the door, locking it behind her.
Sitting down in front of the vial, Akane closed her eyes and tried to muster the courage. This wasn't like anything she had faced before. In a fight, she at least had the chance to fight back. This was different. She would drink this potion and either it would work or not and she couldn't do a damn thing about it.
She opened her eyes, deciding it was now or never. Her hand snapped forward and she opened the vial. She brought it to her mouth, clamped her eyes shut and drank it in one shot.
* * *
Tofu walked down the street, his hand clamped behind his back. He watched the children playing in the street and couldn't help but smile. That party last night had done wonders for the morale of the town.
"Leader Ono."
Tofu looked up and saw Kuno striding towards him. "Leader Kuno," he replied, feeling a bit foolish saying it but the other man appeared to live for formality.
"Your town's spirits have risen considerably," Kuno said. Tofu nodded. "Had I not seen the terror that stalks you with my own eyes, I would believe you might be able to regain some semblance of a normal life. I have seen your defenses and they are… lacking."
Tofu nodded, knowing that Kuno was being polite. "We have time," Tofu said, "to build up our defenses. We can use the wood from the forest to barricade ourselves in and this bit of land is on an island."
"With water that is not very deep," Kuno replied. "I worry about Lut Gholeim but I surely cannot leave you and your people here at their hour of need. Besides what sort of man would I be if I were not to lend my hand."
"Thank you Tatewaki," Tofu said, throwing formality out the window. "I can't tell you how much we…"
"TOFU!"
The two men turned and saw Akane running at them full speed. "Akane?" Tofu said, concerned. "Is something wrong? Did you take the potion?"
"I did," she said, almost crying at this point. "And something happened, I think… I think it reversed the curse somehow."
"What?" Kuno said. "What did you see?"
"An army," she said. "They're massing in the jungle and they're coming here."
* * *
The tree came toppling down as the townspeople scattered. Ryoga hefted his axe over his shoulder and walked towards the next tree. Ukyo motioned for the townspeople to come back for the trunk and pull it towards the wall. There, they tied ropes around it and slowly started to lower it into position.
"It won't be enough," Tofu said softly.
Kuno looked over him and then back at the wall. He knew agreeing would not be the best idea but it was hard not to considering the odds. "My ship can take about fifty people on it back to Lut Gholeim," he said after a pause. "We can get most of the women and children out."
Tofu frowned and nodded. "It's a very generous offer. But only if you are on that ship with them. I don't want to deprive Lut Gholeim of their great leader."
"Really Tofu, you're just going to inflate his ego even more," Nabiki said as she walked up next to him with Mousse in tow.
"Nabiki Tendo," Kuno said looking at her. "Now is not the time to make jokes."
"So I should just stand here with you looking as if I was staring death in the face, Kuno-baby?" she asked.
"What Nabiki means to say," Mousse said, "is that we might have something else that could help."
Tofu's interest peaked. "Go ahead."
"Well, thanks to Mousse's scrolls," Nabiki began, "I've been able to confirm the existence of an ancient blade. Its magical properties should be enough to keep the monsters at bay."
"How?" Kuno asked.
Nabiki and Mousse looked at each other. "We're working on that," she said. "Mousse is going to go ahead and find it with some of the others, see if there isn't something written where he finds it. I'll stay behind and read the scrolls we already have."
"Who will go with you?" Kuno asked.
Mousse looked over at the townspeople's efforts. "You'll need Ryoga for the trees and Ukyo seems to be leading the rest of the people. We don't know what the situation is with Akane's curse. I'd rather she stay here too, to warn you if anything changes."
"So Shampoo and Ranma go with you," Tofu said.
"If they desire," Mousse replied. "I can not force them to leave on a wild goose chase," he finished instantly regretting his choice of words.
* * *
"Where did you say it was?" Ranma asked, slashing at more brush.
Mousse looked nervously at the map that Nabiki had drawn. "Somewhere close by," he said softly.
"Shampoo remember this place," she said softly, pushing some of the branches away with her spear.
"Yeah," Ranma said. "It looks kind of familiar."
Mousse shrugged. "I sure don't remember it," he said. He waited, realizing he left himself open for a 'blind duck boy no see so how can remember'. But it never came. The silence was a bit unnerving. He really wanted to insults back.
Ranma suddenly threw up his hand to stop them. He looked over at Shampoo and tapped his ear. Shampoo paused and nodded. Yes, she heard something. Ranma held a hand up in Mousse's face to tell him to stay put. Mousse nodded and saw two blurs moving in opposite directions.
Great, they had left him here as bait for whatever was in the jungle. Well this was turning out to be a wonderful trip. Shampoo had said all of two words to him, though she looked like she had a rough night. Ranma looked a million miles away, he probably wanted to be back in town rather than here. And Nabiki's map was so broad they would probably…
There was a rustling next to him and Mousse realized that his day was about to get a lot worse.
They broke through the branches and jumped towards him. Mousse barely had the time to stand when a wave of time bodies covered him. He felt little teeth biting at his robes and saw what could only be huge blades preparing to strike.
Ordinarily, Mousse might have had a hard time dealing with this many monsters with his vision being as bad as it was. But they had made one fatal mistake. They were right on top of him.
A series of bone spears ripped through the air, tearing the Flayers to bits. Even as their bodies landed on the ground, a Corpse Explosion spell reduced them to quivering piles of goo. No way to resurrect that, Mousse thought with a smile.
He stood up and brushed off several Flayer bits from his clothes and looked around for his companions. A moment later, Ranma burst out of the foliage.
"What the hell?" he said looking around at the mess.
"Thanks for leaving me as bait," Mousse said. "Did you find the shaman?"
"He kind of ran away," Ranma said. "I think I know why." Ranma picked up a boot, watching as Flayer goo followed his foot up.
"Well," Mousse shrugged, "what can I say? I wanted to keep them down."
Shampoo suddenly emerged from the brush with a puzzled look. "Shaman run away," she said, just as her foot stepped into a puddle of Flayer remains. She looked down at the mess and turned a bit green. "Uck, Shampoo no feel so good."
* * *
Ukyo gripped the rope tightly, feeling it bite into her hand. She looked over and watched the villagers having similar problems. The trunk was heavier than the others were and after three hours of working, she was beginning to feel the fatigue.
The rope next to her snapped and the villagers tumbled backwards. She felt the trunk slide away from her, taking her arm with. She tried to let go, but the rope was wound around her wrist. For a horrifying moment, she really believed that she was going to lose her arm.
There was a cry from behind her and she felt something whistle by her ear. She barely got to see the axe embedded in the tree trunk right where the rope was tied before she fell backward onto the ground. Looking over she saw Ryoga straightening up from his throw.
"You okay?" he called out.
Ukyo waved with her good hand and then looked back at the damage. Well, on top of saving her arm, Ryoga's throw had managed to push the trunk away from the wall and harmlessly on to the ground next to it. He walked over and pulled the axe out of the trunk.
The villagers regrouped and began to retie their ropes to the tree. Ukyo was about to join them when something told her to wait. She looked out at the jungle and listened. She could have sworn she…
The ground shook slightly and Ukyo had to fight to maintain her balance. The villagers didn't look all too pleased. She looked down at Ryoga, who was holding his axe in more of a battle pose then a chopping one.
"Let's just get inside," she said to the people around her. The ground shook again and the villagers took off. "Ryoga!" she called out. "Now!!"
Ryoga slowly lowered his axe and began to walk towards the jungle. Ukyo's eyes opened wide. "WRONG WAY!!" she screamed, running after him. She grabbed his arm and pulled him away just as the demons broke through the foliage.
Ukyo and Ryoga ran across the bridge, sliding under the door as it closed to secure the village. Akane appeared on top of the wall and conjured a fire wall spell, aiming for the bridge and letting it burn until the bridge collapsed into the water.
"The water is still too shallow," Kuno said as Akane ducked back down.
"The walls will hold," Tofu said. "At least until they get back with this blade."
"You place a lot of faith in something you can not be sure will work," Kuno said.
"It'll work," Nabiki said, climbing up to greet them. "I know it will."
"You have discovered its use then," Kuno asked.
Nabiki smiled. "You bet I did, Kuno-baby," she said with a smile. "But until then, let's show them what happens to people who mess with the Tendo sisters," she said holding out her hand to Akane.
Akane smiled and took it with a firm grasp and a wicked smile.
* * *
"Nabiki Tendo not know what talking about. Blade not in that village."
Mousse sighed and looked at the map again. "According to this map, it's there, somewhere underground."
Ranma shook his head. "You're sure that this isn't a joke on her part?"
Mousse looked a bit stunned. "She wouldn't joke about something like this. Besides, I was working with her. It's legit."
"Is Flayer village! Why no one else realize this is Flayer village!"
"I know it's a Flayer village but it's not as if we have much a choice," Mousse said.
Shampoo sighed and looked out at the village again. At least two dozen little Flayers ran around. She could see at least two shamans but there could be others hiding. "Shampoo can hit shaman there," she said pointing to the village. "Ranma take other shaman?"
"Yeah," Ranma said. "Then take Mousse and drop him in the center of those little creeps."
Mousse smiled. "I foresee many corpse explosion spells coming up."
Ranma looked a bit sickened by the thought but just nodded and took off. Suddenly, it was just Shampoo and Mousse. Mousse felt himself suddenly go weak in the knees. He had to say something.
"Ah… Shampoo, about…"
"No talk," she said harshly gripping on her spear.
"But I just wanted…"
"No talk," she said again. "Was mistake, all the need say."
She raised her spear and took aim, hoping it would shut Mousse up. She really had no desire to ever talk about it. In fact it would be better if she could just…
"Shampoo! Throw the spear," Mousse said suddenly.
Shampoo blinked and realized that Ranma had already made his move. She tossed the spear and to her horror, she missed.
"Let's go," Mousse said, taking off not realizing that she had failed. Before Shampoo could collect her thoughts, he was gone.
She cursed and ran off, heading towards her spear to fix this problem. This was exactly why she didn't want to talk about it. Mousse was a distraction and distractions made her sloppy. This was probably why Amazon law prevented women from choosing who they could be with.
Reaching down she pulled the spear and was about to strike the shaman when it turned around and shot a mouth full of flames at her. She fell backwards to avoid it and struck upwards, spearing it right in the heart.
The shaman screamed in pain and expired, leaving behind an angry Flayer. Before Shampoo could react it was headed straight for her and then suddenly, it was flying over her.
Sitting up, she saw the remains of the shaman. Corpse explosion spell, she realized. Great, Mousse had just saved her. This day couldn't get much worse.
"Shampoo!" Ranma cried as he slashed at a few Flayers. "There's a door next to you!!"
Shampoo looked over and saw she had fallen right next a steel grate. She used her spear as leverage and opened it. There were steps leading down into the darkness. Oh, yeah, this day just got worse.
* * *
The sky crackled and a bolt of lightning hit the ground. A demon got toasted right away and the others started running as lightning continued to slither towards them on the ground. As they retreated, they came face to face with a fire wall and were trapped.
Soun Tendo watched with pride. His daughters were fending off the entire demon horde by themselves. Ah, if their mother could see them now.
"Daddy!" Nabiki called again, getting a bit agitated. What was he doing, grinning like an idiot down there? "We need more mana potions!"
"Right away!" Soun said, reaching down and pulling a few more bottles from their supply. He tried not to notice that it was dwindling rapidly.
"Allow me." Soun looked up at the outstretched hand and carefully handed the bottles to Kuno. Kuno took them and headed up the wall to where the Tendo sisters were. He made sure not to give the demons a target as he sat down between them.
Akane sat down first and grabbed the bottle from him. "Thanks," she said, drinking the potion.
"You are welcome, Akane Tendo," he said with a nod. "You and your sister are fighting very well."
"Thanks," Akane said with a smile. "Your turn, Nabiki."
Lightning danced across Nabiki's arm and was reflected momentarily in her eyes. It arched upwards to the sky before coming down on an unsuspecting group of monsters. She smiled as they fell down and nodded to Akane.
While Akane took aim with fireballs, Nabiki took the chance to relax. She took the potion from Kuno was a slight smile and drank it slowly.
"So Kuno-baby, you think that we're fighting well?"
Kuno frowned a bit at the name. "Only a fool would not recognize the skills of a fellow fighter."
Nabiki frowned. "Oh, I thought you were hitting on us. Too bad, I thought you were kind of cute."
Kuno flustered and couldn't find a response. Akane suppressed a giggle and looked down at Kuno. Nabiki had really thrown the poetry-talking leader for a loop. Which was surprising since nothing she or Ranma had done since they met him had made him shut up.
Nabiki's smile grew. "Thanks for the drink," she said standing up. Looking over at Akane, she winked at her sister before she concentrated on the battle.
* * *
"This day not good," Shampoo declared as she pulled her foot from the dingy water.
"You can say that again," Ranma said softly.
The trap door had lead down into a dungeon which none of them could understand. It was pretty obvious the Flayers didn't fight to capture their enemies. So why the dungeon?
Mousse took in a deep breath. The air was stale but he could sense something near by. Something alive…
"Did you hear that?" Ranma said suddenly.
Shampoo groaned. "Sound like tiny feet," she said. "More Flayers."
"No," Mousse said firmly. "There's nothing alive near us. But if we go this way…" He stood up and started to walk through the darkness before they could disagree. For someone with bad vision, he certainly looked as if he knew where he was going.
After several minutes of walking in darkness, Ranma finally heard something. "Wait a minute Mousse," he said grabbing the other boy's arm.
"It's not monsters," Mousse said firmly.
"Shampoo go see," she said, taking off in a silent run. No way was she letting either of them take out any more monsters. She wanted this kill, if only to win back some of her lost pride. She needed this kill to prove to herself that she wasn't losing her mind.
Her spear pointed forward as she stealthily approached the end of the passageway. She heard some sounds, coming from nearby. With a grin on her face, she crouched down, preparing to jump around the corner and slay whatever was there.
Shampoo spun quickly about the corner only to have her spear connect with something metallic. Her arm vibrated at the impact and she had to take a few steps backwards, cursing as she did.
"Hey! Miss!! Let us out!!"
Shampoo looked forward and saw several men behind a jail door. "Who you are?" she demanded.
"We're crewman from a merchant ship," one of them said. "We were shipwrecked, washed ashore and then kidnapped but those annoying little beasts."
"Hey Shampoo, what's the deal?" Ranma said coming up behind her. He looked into the cell and saw the people there. "Ah… hello," Ranma said somewhat suspiciously.
"Yeah, can you let us out?" the sailor asked again. "Our captain and first mate are hurt real bad. We haven't eaten in days…"
Mousse came around and stood behind Shampoo and Ranma. "Well they're not monsters."
"We've already said that!" the sailor said, growing somewhat impatient. "Just let us out!"
Ranma sighed. "We'll have to take them back to the town."
"But what about the blade?" Mousse asked.
"Blade?" the sailor asked. "You mean this thing?" He pointed to the back of the cell where a necklace with a blade sat on a pedestal.
* * *
Akane fell backwards to the ground clutching the side of her arm. She felt warm blood ooze between her fingers.
"Akane!" Nabiki cried, crouching down. "Are you okay?" Akane nodded bravely but her eyes were clinched in pain. "Someone get Akane down and to the healer!"
Ryoga climbed up quickly and helped Akane down. Nabiki scowled as she turned back to the wall. Someone was going to pay for hurting her sister.
The sky turned dark and a slight rain began to fall. The hair on Nabiki's head started to lift slight as her eyes danced with electricity. Her mouth worded her spell carefully and the lightning began to gather around her. Looking out onto the field of monsters, she let the spell loose.
The ground erupted and several demons were thrown into the air, completely charred by the lightning spell. It chained out from where it hit slowly taking out several monsters. Nabiki cast the spell several more times, each one having the same devastating effect.
Suddenly, she saw something flying towards her. It was an arrow, the same thing that had almost taken out Akane. Nabiki was in mid spell at the time and could break away to protect herself. Her eyes closed instinctively and she prepared for impact.
Her spell hit the demons again and Nabiki realized she was still standing. Looking over, she saw Kuno holding his sword, the remnants of an arrow at his feet. She looked at him, nodded and prepared the next spell.
Suddenly from the side, Ranma and crew broke through the foliage. They were a bit surprised to find the fight already in full swing.
"Shampoo take the sailors ahead to the town, we'll cover you," Ranma said.
Shampoo simply nodded and motioned for them to follow. Thirteen sailors carrying two wounded quickly made their way towards the town. Kuno saw them first.
"Prepare to open the gate!" he called. "They are returning with people!"
Tofu looked a bit surprise but relayed the order to Ryoga. He nodded and moved towards the wheel, preparing to turn it. Shampoo reached the bridge first, only to realize it wasn't there. She motioned at the sailor to cross it and they dove in, pushing through the waist deep water to get through.
Ranma and Mousse came up behind her, trying to destroy anything that threatened them. The monsters kept their distance, courtesy of Nabiki's spells. They stopped at the water and looked down at Shampoo. She nodded and jumped in first, instantly changing into a cat. Mousse pushed Ranma in before the neko-phobia could take over. He followed them, changing quickly in a duck.
Ranma-chan, pushed her way across the water, hand back and grabbed on to Muu-muu's tail. The duck's beak had a firm grip on neko-Shampoo's tail, something the cat didn't appear to like too much.
Ryoga got the signal from Tofu and turned the wheel, opening the game and letting in the terrified sailors, one red-headed girl, a duck and a wet cat. As soon as they were clear, Ryoga started to turn the wheel the other way but it wouldn't budge. He pushed on it with all his might and something suddenly snapped.
The gate came crashing down, shattering on impact. Ryoga looked through the debris and realized that there was nothing protecting them anymore.
"Never mind!" Nabiki called as she clambered down, followed quickly by Kuno. She grabbed the blade from around Muu-muu's neck. "Just follow me to the center of town!!"
She took off running, clutching the blade closely. She pondered her current course of action and realized there was nothing else to do. As soon as they reached the center, she motioned to a stone pedestal.
"Bring that here!" she said, pointing to the ground in front of her. Most of the townspeople were crowded around her, trying to avoid the horde that was digging through the wreckage of the gate to get to them.
Ryoga ran over and grabbed it, dragging it over to her.
"Nabiki, what are you doing?" Akane asked, pushing her way through the crowd to get to her sister.
Nabiki looked at Akane with a firm look on her face. "Akane, you have to promise something."
"What?" Akane said. "What do you mean?"
"Find Kasumi," Nabiki said. "For father's sake."
"Nabiki…"
"Promise," the older girl ordered as Ryoga finally got the pedestal next to her.
"I promise," Akane said.
Nabiki smiled and placed the blade on the pedestal. "Step back," she said to Akane. As soon as her sister was clear, she looked over at Kuno with a smile. "Hey Kuno-baby," she said. "Just so you know… I would have made a kick ass queen."
Nabiki turned to the blade and held her hands over it. She began to chant the spell, the last one they had taught her at school before she graduated. Maybe her father didn't think she kept up her skills but she knew her stuff. And this blade was going to give her the power to cast an extremely power spell.
The air around Nabiki began to swirl, bring up tiny fragments of the road below her. The wind made her uniform flutter as it danced around her body and up into her hair. The words flowed out of her mouth now, filling the air with a sweet melody. Her hand moved away from the blade and out toward either side of her body.
Her feet lifted off the ground and she was suddenly floating several inches above the ground. The fragments from the road suddenly began to shatters as electricity encircled her body like snakes. Her skin began to take a faint blue tone and her eyes lost their color, becoming an empty white.
It started just below her heart and began to grow. Soon the globe of power surrounded her. The assembled crowd began to back away though it was taking most of Ryoga strength to pull Akane away.
The demon horde broke through the last remnant of the gate and began to make their approach to crowd. There were screams of terror and utter madness as people tried to flee.
Suddenly the ball around Nabiki exploded. It moved through the crowd, leaving them completely intact. But the moment it hit the monsters, they exploded into dust, completely incinerated by the electrical blast. The ball kept moving until it was just beyond the burned out bridge.
There was complete silence. The villagers picked themselves up and looked around. Nothing was left of the attacking horde but dust. Outside the gate, they could see several demons attempting to break through the wall. But as each of them touch it, they evaporated into dust.
The energy shield had been cast and the town of Kurast was safe. When things had calmed down, Akane ran up to her sister. But Nabiki made no move to recognize her. She was still levitating and her eyes were still blank.
Nabiki, middle Tendo daughter, always considered among her peers to think of nothing else but herself and money, had just made the ultimate sacrifice. She became a living shield to protect the town against any aggression. The power of the ancient blade fueling her spell, she would remain like this for eternity.
