Author's note: Hee hee, no one got who Anya was yet. There is a very small clue but its way back in the chapters and I don't think most people even noticed it.

I hope this chapter is okay. I don't feel its one of my best but at the same I have stuff on my mind. I just got a new kitten that I named Ryoga but he's been sneezing a lot so I'm afraid he's sick. But it's off to the vet tomorrow, so hopefully things will be all right. Plus, as I'm sure you'll realize when you get to the end of this chapter, I have a big scene planned for the next quest (one that's been in the works for a long time in my head) and I really wanted to get to writing it. So if you're lucky, it might be out before the weekend.

Thanks again for the reviews. You all rock!



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Ranma woke up with a pounding headache and a slightly numb hand. His eyes blinked open and he realized he was in complete darkness. He slowly got up and sat on his knees. Looking up, he could barely make out the hole they had fallen through. It must have been a long fall. It's amazing he wasn't hurt more.

Suddenly he remembered that Akane had fallen with him. Standing up quickly, he searched around the ground, trying to find her in the darkness. Finally he hit on someone soft and realized it was her foot.

"Akane?" he asked, sliding over to where she was. He got a muffled response. "Akane are you all right?"

Akane slowly woke, finding herself with a headache that probably rivaled Ranma. "Ow," she said. "That really hurts."

"What hurts?

"Everything."

He sighed. "Be more specific, I can't see anything."

"My head and my foot."

"This one?"

Akane cringed as she felt his hand wrap around her ankle. "OWW! Yes, that one!" she yelled.

"Sorry!" he yelled back.

"Wait," Akane said. She reached around and tried to find her wand. "I can't find my wand. Quick, get your sword."

"Why?"

"So I can enchant it and we can see," she said. Ranma nodded and began to look around him. The only thing he found, however, was that he right arm was killing him. He had one potion but he didn't want to use it before he knew how Akane was.

"I can't find it," he said after a while. "But I think… yeah, I found a stick."

"Hold it up," Akane said. She enchanted the stick, just as she had done with Shinnosuke not moments before. The stick became red and glowed softly. As soon as it did, Ranma got a good look at his arm and saw it was clearly broken.

Bringing down the glow stick, he got a good look at Akane's leg. "It's broken too."

"What do you mean too?" she asked.

"My arm," he said softly. "Looks like it doesn't matter that I don't have my sword."

Akane sighed softly and sat up. Looking around, she could barely make out the walls. They appeared to have writing on them but it wasn't in a language she could understand. There were a couple of pictures but they looked fairly crude. Apart from the decorations on the wall, the place was empty.

"Where are we?" she asked softly.

Ranma stopped looking around and shook his head. "I don't know. Somewhere under Kurast." Slowly he stood up and looked down at Akane. "Can you stand?"

Akane nodded and tried to stand up. But the moment she put pressure on her broken leg, she collapsed back onto the ground. Ranma dropped the stick to catch her and barely managed to hang on as pain crisscrossed up his arm.

"I'm sorry," Akane said softly as he let her sit back on the ground.

"It's okay, I can carry you," he said.

"No you can't. Your arm is broken."

"It's not that bad."

"Are there any more sticks, maybe we can bandage it first?"

Ranma nodded. "Yeah I think I felt some more around. Here, hold the torch while I look."

Akane took it from him and wrapped her hands around it to get a firm grip. It was then that she noticed that it was unusually smooth for wood. And it seemed to curve out of the ends.

"Ranma…"

"What's wrong Akane?" he asked picking up a few more branches.

"These aren't branches," she said, a little bit of fear in her voice. "They're bones."

Ranma looked down at what he was picking up and suddenly saw a skull. The whole skeleton lay before him. Gingerly, he reached forward and looked at the curved claw that lay in between its chest.

"Is there something dangerous in here?" she asked.

Ranma looked over his shoulder at her and back down at the claw. "No, nothing like that."

"So he just died here because no one could find him."

"Well, maybe he didn't have as many friends as we do up there," Ranma said pointing to the sky. "Still, I don't think we should wait around."

"But how…"

"I think I have an idea."

* * *

"Now don't get offended or nothing…"

"All right, just don't squeeze to tight."

Ranma wrapped his good arm around Akane's waist and slowly lifted her up. "Are you okay?"

Akane looked down to where her bad leg was tied up against Ranma. His bad arm was in a sling around his neck, all the bandages being made from excess fabric from his clothes. She held the torch in one hand (as she desperately tried to forget what it was) and tentatively wrapped her arm around his waist.

"Yeah, it doesn't really hurt," Akane said.

"Okay, we'll go out and in," he said. "And we'll move slowly. "Ready?" she nodded. "Out." Akane put her good foot forward, leaning slightly on him for support. "In." She loosened the muscles in her leg and let him lift her foot and bring it forward.

Amazingly enough, after several minutes of doing this, they hadn't fallen. They managed to traverse the hallway they had fallen in and entered a small room. Inside were numerous books a wooden desk, and a small bed.

"This looks like someone's room," Akane said.

"Yeah. Here, why don't you sit on the bed and rest? I want to see if there's anything useful in this place."

They walked over and Akane took a seat, slowly lowering herself onto the bed. Ranma leaned down and untied her leg from his. Taking the torch from her, he began to search around the room for anything useful. After a few minutes of watching him, Akane felt a bit useless. She started to search around the bed itself for anything that would be of interest.

Reaching under the pillow she felt something graze her skin. With a cry, she snapped her hand back and saw a thin red line across her index finger.

"What happened?" Ranma said doubling back to her.

"Something sharp, under the pillow," she said, sucking on her finger.

He lifted up the pillow and saw the tiny dagger there. "You need to be more careful," he said, taking it with him.

"You're welcome," she said back angrily.

"What?"

"You're welcome," she said again. "I found something useful and your only response was to criticize me."

Ranma balked. "Yeah, I'm so sorry I actually cared about your safety."

"It's not that! It's that you think I can't take care of myself."

"No, I think that you should be more careful. Why do you always make things worse then they are?"

"I don't know," Akane yelled back, "maybe because I've come to expect the worst from you."

Ranma looked like he was slapped. He shook his head and walked away, grabbing the torch and finding something interesting in the bookshelf to stare at. Akane sighed and let her wounded hand fall. Well that definitely ranked as the stupidest thing she had said to date.

"Look," she said firmly. "I can take care of myself, I did it for those weeks I was on the ship."

"Right until you needed that guy to save you."

"Are we still on that?" Akane yelled. "What is your problem with him?"

"Nothing," Ranma mumbled.

"Of course," Akane cried. "I don't get to have friends that are guys, do I? I mean, it doesn't matter that you've got half the female population of this following you around like sick puppies."

"You think I really like that?" he said taking a few steps forward.

"You sure look like you enjoy it."

Ranma was about to say something more when he heard something coming down the hall. Moving quickly, he put his hand over Akane's mouth to keep her quiet and shoved the glowing torch under the bed. She looked like she was about to get really angry but the second she heard the noise, she nodded and he let his hand drop.

Watching the door, they saw several glowing specters float by. Akane's eyes opened wide and she had to refrain from screaming. Ghosts, they were in a place that was haunted.

As soon as they were gone, Akane felt Ranma tying their legs back together. She couldn't agree more. They really needed to find a way out of here.

* * *

Akane and Ranma slowly walked down the halls. They had their torch but it seemed to glow brighter than before, as if it knew that they were in danger and wanted to attract the monsters right to them. Ranma had the dagger on his belt but he knew it wasn't going to be a match against ghosts. In fact, most of his physical attacks weren't going to work. It would be up to Akane.

He heard her gasp and went to ask what was wrong. But then he saw the bright light fall on her face. He turned and saw that they were standing at the entranceway of a lighted room. Relived, they walked inside, feeling a sense of peace encompass them as they did.

"What is this?" Ranma asked as they walked to the middle of the room.

"It's a sanctuary," Akane said softly. "We must be in a temple and this is…" she paused. Growing in the center of the room was a tiny tree, feeding off the light and the steady trickle of water from the ceiling. "This is someplace safe," she said softly.

"Are you sure?" Ranma asked.

"Yes, this is where…" Akane stopped. "In Tristram at the temple, this is where they brought my mother to die."

Ranma was silent for a while. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

"It's all right," Akane said with a sad smile. She led them to the tree. "It was a long time ago. But dad told us that when people are in danger, they go to seek sanctuary at temples and the temples protect them in a room like this. They say the light is divine, from Heaven itself."

"Your mother was in danger?"

"Dad said she was. But I think he was hoping that it would make her better. She wanted to go there too but I think… I think she knew and she wanted to be somewhere safe when she died."

She slowly sat down beside the tree and untied her leg so she could rest. Reaching up, she let the water hit her hand, watching as the water dropped down her arm. "I used to go there all the time when I was growing up, I thought she was in the light." Looking up, she let the light fall on her face.

"What about your mom?" Akane asked, as she pulled away from the light.

Ranma shrugged as he took a seat next to her. "I don't really remember her. My memories make it feel like my life started when I was travelling with my dad. He doesn't talk about her much."

"Haven't you ever gone home to find her?"

"Never really had a home," he said softly.

"Oh," Akane replied. "Sorry." She paused for a moment. "Well, it's not like I do anymore."

"Tristram will be rebuilt," Ranma replied. "Pop and I have seen it happen. A town burns down and they build it back up."

"I'll miss it," Akane says. "Even if it's rebuilt it won't be the same."

"Don't think of it like that," he said. "I mean sure, it won't be exactly what you remembered or what you wanted but I'm sure you'll love it just the same."

Akane blinked and looked at him, wondering if there was a double meaning to his words. But he just stared vacantly at the door. Right Akane, she thought to herself, like that was going to happen.

"Why don't you rest?" he said. "If this place is safe, we may as well rest up before going on."

Akane tried to protest but she was really tired. With a small nod, she curled up on the floor and went to sleep.

Ranma watched her for a few moments. In this light, she was almost cute.

With a small stretch, he leaned up against the tree, feeling its leaves tickle the back of his neck. He took in a deep breath and tried to close his eyes. But something prevented him from relaxing. Looking at the door, he watched, waiting to see some monster appear.

Instead, he saw a faint glow around the frame and suddenly a woman appeared. Her brown hair was up in a bun and she smiled at him. She looked at him and motioned with her hand. She was so familiar…

For whatever reason, Ranma stood up and slowly walked to the door. There should have been some common sense screaming at him, but his mind was numb as he followed the siren's song out the door.

* * *

Akane woke up ten minutes later. She looked around and realized Ranma was no longer there. She called his name a few times but he was gone. Would he have left her there by herself? Was he trying to find a way out?

Akane looked around and realized she had no way to move. She could stand but the slightest pressure on her bad leg and she would be on the floor. But something told her she couldn't wait.

Suddenly, the light from above flickered brightly. Surprised she watched as it slowly grew in intensity. The little tree began to react, growing new leaves and thickening in size. Akane reached forward and touched its bark, feeling it harden under her fingers.

And then before she could do anything more, the light dimmed once more. The little tree's leaves turned gold and fell. It's branches withered, the bark began to peel and suddenly all that was left was a twisted staff.

It fell next to her and Akane hesitantly reached forward to grab it. She brought it close to her face so she could get a better look. Tiny scratches dotted its shaft and if she didn't know any better, it was almost like they were runes.

Then light from above began to flicker once more only this time, it started to dim. Akane looked up at and wondered if maybe she had been right as a child. She used the staff to push herself up and to lean on. Reaching up to the ceiling, she watched as the rays of light flickered and died.

The staff suddenly felt heavy and looking at it, Akane saw a small crystal lodged at the top. She gingerly touched it and it began to glow, providing a light in the darkness.

With the divine light out, Akane realized how cold and dangerous the room had become. The protection it had once provided was gone and pretty soon, the place would be flood with demons.

Now was no time to panic, though and so Akane limped out of the room, hanging onto the staff for dear life.

* * *

Akane turned the corner and grabbed onto the wall. This was harder than she thought. What was worse is that she really had no idea where she was going. She was kind of continuing the way she and Ranma had gone, hopefully finding the way out. But the underground temple was like a labyrinth and with so many side rooms, she began to doubt that she would ever find him.

She heard something, a little whisper in her ear. Turning around quickly, she saw that nothing there. But she could have sworn someone had told her to turn right. It might be a trap, something told her. But for some reason, she felt that it was right. So she turned right and began to hobble down the narrow hallway.

The voice had been right. The passageway led to the main temple altar. She had barely walked in the door when she realized what a huge mistake she had made.

Ghosts filled the air, screaming a song that made Akane feel like her ears were going to start bleeding. A few corrupted Rogues looked over at her and Akane realized that they were standing around someone. It was Ranma and from the looks of it, he was completely out of it.

"Ranma!" she called. But she got no response, save the scream of a couple of ghosts that flew near her. She felt the urge to run away in fear from them but her staff suddenly began to glow and the urge disappeared.

Gripping it tightly, she formed the first words of her spell and waited for them to get close. As soon as they were in firing range, she let the Inferno go. The ghost screamed in pain as the fire ripped through them.

The corrupted rouges charged then but a firewall stopped their advance. Several of them got caught in the flames and quickly disappeared into ash. The others doubled around, bounding on the column of the temple to avoid her hand the fire wall. But Akane never faltered and most of them got caught in another blast of Inferno.

Akane thought she was winning when she heard the battle cry. Looking over, she saw what appeared to be a corrupted rouge heading right for her. A second later, it disappeared and Akane felt something smash into her jaw.

She stumbled backwards, right onto her bag leg. It buckled beneath and Akane fell the ground. She saw the rouge once more and it set its eyes on her. It disappeared in a flash of color and Akane curled up to protect herself from the glow.

The staff glowed suddenly and the corrupted rouge screamed right in front of her. Akane looked up quickly and realized this was her chance. She let Inferno loose and watched at the monster caught fire and died.

Quiet descended on the temple save for the slow beat of the wooden staff as Akane made her way towards Ranma. She reached him and slowly lowered herself to a half kneel.

"Ranma?" she said, giving him a little shake. His blue eyes looked cloudy and distant, like there was a spell over him. She tried again but nothing happened.

She pulled the staff down and looked at the crystal. Carefully, she placed a hand on it and watched as the light flooded her palm. Lifting her hand slowly, she watched as the light stayed in her palm. Reaching forward, she hesitantly brought her hand forward and touched his cheek.

The light glowed and his eyes began to clear. As the light faded, the staff on her lap suddenly disintegrated into dust. Ranma's eyes blinked and he suddenly realized that he was staring straight into Akane's eyes with her hand on his cheek.

Before he had the chance to react, he saw something moved behind Akane's shoulder. A bit of white light, a couple of feathers and a smile moved quickly and disappeared. He blinked again and felt Akane's hand drop.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

A bit freaked out by what happened, Ranma nodded slowly. "Where am I?"

"In the main temple courtyard," she said. "Why did you leave me behind?"

Ranma blinked again, this time in surprise. "I didn't…" he stopped. "Wait. Did you think I left you behind?"

The worry no longer need, Akane's face changed into a sad one. "I woke up and you were gone. I thought you left me behind." She shifted away from his and sat on the floor, letting her legs stretch out in front of her.

"Why would you think I did that?" he asked. And then he remembered. "Oh…"

This was his moment. This was the perfect moment to get out all the things that had been in his mind ever since the doll had been destroyed. This could be his moment to overcome the fear and find the courage to say what he wanted.

"I'm sorry."

He balked. Those words didn't come out of his mouth, did they? But the way Akane was looking at him, he realized that they had.

"I'm sorry we didn't realize it was you in Lut Gholeim. She was there, she looked like you but you're right she didn't act like you. And I had a feeling that it wasn't you but I thought it was just because… because…"

"Because why?" she asked softly.

Because he really thought she liked Ryoga better. Because he was really afraid that she would suddenly act that cruel to him. Because he had just been afraid that he was losing her. Because…

A scream broke through the silence. Ranma and Akane looked at each other.

"That came from somewhere behind the altar," Akane said.

Ranma nodded. Looking down at his foot, he realized the bandage was still there. Quickly he tied Akane's leg to his and they quickly walked over to the Altar. There were stairs leading up. It took most of Ranma's strength but he managed to get Akane and himself up the stairs and out onto a stone walkway.

Looking around frantically, Akane saw the source of the scream. She was about to tell Ranma when she got a better glimpse of what was happening.

They had found the others but the scene unfolding in front of them was unreal. It just couldn't be real. Suddenly Akane was crying out and Ranma was trying to get them there as quickly as possible. But they could not match the speed of Death as he swooped down and claimed his victim.