Author's note :
Okay... so it's been a while. And I would use the whole FF.net was down but... well that's not entirely the case. Most people probably won't realize this but I've been working on this story from November and to have it come to a close after all this time... well, it's been a bit harder than I thought. I know how it's going to end (I think) but getting there is the hard part.
A very special thanks goes out to Another Duck who has been subjected to my whining about this already, kicked my butt into gear after a month of hiatus and who was nice enough to beta read this for me.
Anyway, I wanted to thank everyone who's made it this far in the story. Here's a teaser of what's going to happen:
Months of fighting and it has come to this. The Army of Diablo is about to clash with the Army of Light and it will be a war that will change the world forever. Caught in the middle, the seven heroes who have fought and lost so much already. A wedding, a death, redemption and the end of the world. It's the final act of Diablo : Lord of Confusion.
Act 5, Quest 1 : Stop the Siege
The snow exploded upwards as the body got tossed into a pile of it. The tall Amazon strode forward, spear held slightly at her side. From her position in the ground, Shampoo frowned and pushed herself up.
"Dishonor!" The Amazon cried. "Dishonor have you brought to your family and for what… a MAN?"
"I understand," Shampoo said in her native tongue.
"You are dead to them," the Amazon continued. "Dead to all of us."
Shampoo's purple hair sank into the snow. She had tried, tried to explain things but her grandmother had already convinced them that she had failed the teachings of the Amazon class. It had been risky because the Amazon could have killed her before she even spoke a word.
The spear came to rest under Shampoo's neck. "For your actions, there is only one solution."
There was a loud smack as the spear flew away. The Amazon looked up and watched the young assassin walk up to them.
"Back off, lady," Ukyo said, gripping the twin blades on her hand. The Amazon glowered at her but walked off. Ukyo quickly helped Shampoo to her feet. "Are you okay?"
"Shampoo fine," she said. "In no danger."
"I think a spear to your neck might be pretty damn dangerous," Ukyo replied.
"If Amazon wanted Shampoo dead, Shampoo already be dead," she replied. "Just want to make point. No going back."
Ukyo sighed and brought her friend up to her feet. "Come on, let's go get something to eat."
* * *
Akane left the safety of the hut while her sister looked over more of the wounded. Kasumi looked completely settled in her but then the climate was perfect for an ice-based sorceress.
Walking down the snow-covered path, Akane let the Warmth spell envelop her as her feet began to get chilled. Even with the spell, Akane could help but feel cold, even if it was just in her mind. She took a seat next to the fire and noticed that she wasn't alone.
"Ryoga?" she said softly.
The barbarian looked up at her. "Akane," he said.
"Ryoga… I heard about your parents. I'm really sorry. I know what it's like… if you want to talk about it."
Ryoga shook his head. "It's expected, you know, when your class is like mine. But I guess…" he trailed off.
Akane sat in silence trying to think of a way to cheer up the young man. But then, in the time she had none him, Ryoga never struck her as the cheerful type.
"Do you remember when we first met?" Akane said. "Back at the Den of Evil?"
Ryoga nodded. "I can think of better ways to meet someone."
Akane giggled, remembering the exchange that had resulted in both he and Ranma being booted into the stratosphere courtesy of her. "I guess not… but it was memorable."
Ryoga was silent. "It's strange to look back to then. It seems so long ago. We've traveled so far and…" He paused. "I wanted to come home but not to this."
"Ryoga," Akane said, "we'll defend Harrogarth. We'll…" she trailed off as someone joined them.
If the cold of the climate made her shiver a bit, the look on this guy chilled her to the bone. Gosunkugi bowed slightly.
"Hibiki," the pale man said. "I heard you were back. I was… saddened by the loss of your parents." Ryoga looked up at him with anger. There was obviously no love lost between these two. "And of course… about Akari."
Ryoga's eyes shot open. "Akari? What happened to her?"
Gosunkugi frowned, as if surprised. "I thought you would have…" His voice fell off as he found his collar locked in the hands of an angry barbarian.
"Ryoga!" Akane called out in surprise.
"Where is she?" Ryoga said evenly.
* * *
Ranma concentrated on the tree stump in front of him. He felt the mana flowing into him as he charged up for the spell. His eyes locked on the stump and he let the Smite spell go. The stump lifted from the ground slightly but stayed in place. He frowned.
"That's fine," the Paladin said from beside him, seeing the frustration on the younger man's brow. "You have to understand that a majority of our class' strength does not come from within. We must rely not just on ourselves but on our faith. Faith in the people around us and faith in the good of this world."
Ranma sighed, thinking back to the past months. Good of the world didn't exactly come to mind when he thought of all the people who had been killed, all the monsters that were roaming the land.
But then, he remembered Hinako who had lost so much when the Rouges fell yet had come here to fight. And the way Kuno had fought along side with them. He thought of Nabiki, whose frozen form protected the people of Kurast. And then there were the barbarians buried in the field, who had died to protect the entire world from the demon armies.
There was good. It was hidden but believing that it was there… that was faith. Ranma nodded and looked at the stump, trying to cast the spell once more.
"RYOGA! Let him go!"
Ranma jumped recognizing Akane's voice. Without even apologizing, he was off towards the main bonfire, almost colliding with Ukyo and Shampoo as they reached the site.
Akane was pulling at Ryoga's arm, trying to get him to release Gosunkugi. "Ryoga please!" Akane said.
"Don't tell me you don't know," Ryoga said. "You've always wanted her out of the way. She was next in line run the clan!"
"Ryoga!" Ranma called, helping Akane. "Let him go!"
"Listen to them," Gosunkugi said, a bit of fear creeping in his voice. "Whatever you may think, it's wrong. Akari left on her own after her father died."
"LIAR!" Ryoga called. "You just wanted to run the clan yourself!"
"I wouldn't have had to," Gosunkugi replied, "if you hadn't left." Ryoga's grip loosened slightly and Gosunkugi slithered away behind the two girls.
"Ryoga?" Akane asked.
Ryoga turned back to look at his friends. He found himself at a loss for words because Gosunkugi had been right. If he hadn't have left then maybe… maybe…
"I didn't come here to fight," the pale boy said. "We need your help with a small matter."
* * *
The group watched the gate open up for them, bracing against the cold winter air that was blowing down from the mountain. As soon as they had crossed the drawbridge, the gate snapped down, securing the town once more.
"Where do we need to go?" Ukyo asked.
"Across the plains," Ryoga said. "The Overseer has set up a small camp right next to the mountains."
Ukyo nodded and silently fell into step. Things were changing. Ryoga was slowly losing himself to anger. Shampoo was outcast from her tribe. Akane was fighting better than any of them. And Ranma was pushing himself to learn the true nature of his Paladin class.
The only one who wasn't changing was her. She never changed, she just kept pushing forward. That was what people like her did. Because if you stopped long enough to think about changing, you stopped long enough to get a good look at your past.
Ukyo looked down at the footsteps in the snow. Having her mother back made it painfully obvious how much she had avoided her past. And how it was slowly becoming clear that she would have to face it or stay the same as she always was.
She looked up at Ranma, a silent sigh escaping her lips. Shampoo had already conceded what was obvious. And what's worse, is that Shampoo had seen right through her. Ranma was Ukyo's link to the past, a chance to regain what she had lost. But now…
She looked over at Ryoga, remembering all the times they had fought together. She had joked in Hell when she said they always seemed to be stuck together. But then how much of it had been a joke?
"Oh my God."
Ukyo stopped and looked at Akane who had stopped in her tracks, along with the rest of the group. What could have possibly made them stop their march? Turning to the field, she suddenly realized.
The battlements were covered with blood and dirt. Standards fluttered in the wind, torn to shreds by the battle. There were bodies but it was hard to distinguish human from demon amid the carnage. Smoke filled the air from fires long since extinguished though the acrid scent of burning was still there.
"Come on," Ryoga said firmly pushing the group forward. "We still need to cross the…"
A cloud of green gas exploded next to them and the group dove for cover. There were no monsters in sight however.
"Where did it come from?" Ukyo yelled.
"Catapult!" Ryoga yelled back.
"Shampoo get it," she said, suddenly getting up and running across the field.
"Wait, Shampoo!" Ranma called out. But the purple haired girl was gone. "Damn it!" he said. He turned around to call for a fire spell but Akane was gone.
There was an explosion several meters in front of them. No longer able to stay still, Ranma took off finding the two girls standing around the remains of a destroyed catapult.
"Next time, try asking for help!" Akane shouted.
"Why need Sorceress to help? Can fight for self!"
"Right, a bow against a catapult, that makes a lot of sense!"
"Guys," Ukyo called, "just calm down."
"Stay out of this!" the two girls screamed back.
"Just because Akane win one fight not mean she best fighter."
"Well I sure saved your butt back in Hell," Akane shot back.
"What's the matter with you!" Ukyo cried. She shot a look over to Ryoga. "Are you going to let them fight it out?"
Ryoga shrugged. "Why should I stop them?"
"Did everyone just go insane?" Ukyo yelled. "We're in the middle of battle field surrounded by monsters and we're fighting amongst ourselves." She turned to Ranma to plead for his help but he was already turned at Akane.
"You can't just run off like!" Ranma was telling her.
Akane blinked. "Oh, I'm sorry that I didn't wait for your slow brain to kick in a better solution."
"At least I stop to think sometimes," Ranma replied.
"Paladin always think," Shampoo said. "Always have to think before act. Take too long."
"Because the Amazon approach of running headlong into battle makes so much more sense," Ranma said back.
"At least Shampoo know what means to be Amazon, not like half-Paladin!"
"At least my class acknowledges my existence," he replied.
There was a moment of silence filled with a regret that didn't need to be spoken. And then, the crack of flesh as Shampoo's fist made contact. Ranma fell back and suddenly Akane jumped in his place, punching at Shampoo.
"STOP IT!" Ukyo yelled. " Don't you see… there must have been something in the poison cloud that hit us. It's making us want to fight each other." There was a pause as they looked at her. "Let's got back to town and get healed. We won't be able to fight anything if we kill each other first."
The group looked around at each other, heaving from the beginnings of the fight. With a defeated looked, they headed back.
* * *
Ukyo sat at the fire, her arms hugging her knees into her chest. She was trying to forget what had happened but her mind kept coming back to it, dwelling on every word. What happened? How did they all suddenly end up at each other's throats?
"There was no poison." Ukyo looked up, watching as her mother crossed the fire and sat at the other side. "Whatever you were hit with, there was no chemical in it."
"There had to be," Ukyo said firmly. "You should have seen them! It was like… it was like when I almost killed those girls, or like when the poison I gave the king…" She stopped, suddenly seeing the young prince bleeding to death again.
"It wasn't that," Aiko said softly. "They are the only causes of their actions."
"No! I don't believe it!" Ukyo said standing up. "On the ship! That golem made us all fight each other! It has to be something…"
"But it's not, Ukyo-chan," Aiko continued sadly.
"Then why?" Ukyo said, suddenly hearing her own voice breaking as she sat back down. "Why did everything fall apart."
Aiko sighed and stood up, walking over to her daughter and sitting next to the young assassin. "Ukyo-chan, you and your friends are heroes, there is no question about that. But what's happening now…" She paused with a sigh.
"Heroes are always made to be these superhuman creatures," Aiko continued. "They are supposed to slay evil, save the good and live happily ever after. But true heroes, real heroes, are as mortal as the rest of us. And you have all lost so much already. To be faced with what awaits us in the coming weeks…it may have just become too much to bear."
Ukyo stopped and thought back to the past weeks. Mousse was still lost to them. Nabiki was trapped in an unbreakable spell. They had traveled to Hell and back to defeat an incredible foe only to find a stronger one was still waiting for them in the wings.
"But…" Ukyo started, "but what are we suppose to do?"
Aiko sighed. "I wish I knew. You see people like us, Ukyo-chan, we don't lead or follow. We move in the shadows and we usually move alone. I don't know if there is anything you can do to help. But…" Aiko trailed off.
"But what?"
* * *
Ranma walked into the darkened hut and took a seat on the ground, looking over at the mute Necromancer. Mousse's eyes twitched with venom but Ranma could see something behind them trying to push itself out.
"Man, I wish you were back to normal," Ranma said with a shake of his head. "You're the one we used to rely on for intelligence and I'm sure not up to the role." He paused. "Actually, maybe it's better that you're that way since after what I said to Shampoo…"
He looked up at Mousse. "I don't know what the hell happened to me. One minute, everything's normal and then… BAM! I totally lost control. Only I think I may have lost control a while ago.
"Pop was right. I have been doing things half-assed. You should see this Paladin master, he knows things that I didn't think were even possible! More than just the techniques…
"The Paladin class doesn't work by itself," Ranma continued. "The master said that a Paladin must rely on his faith on others and on the good of this world. But after today… I don't know anymore. I used to just be able to tell them what to do and there were no questions. But now, everyone wants to do their own thing. We couldn't even get thirty feet past the gate without arguing and we're supposed to stop the siege?"
Ranma crossed his arms. "It all started when you left, you know. Maybe… maybe we just all finally realized we could be next." He paused. "No, I think it was more that that. I think you were the only one who really thought things through, the one who kept us out of just running straight into things. Who'd have thought that a Necromancer, especially a blind one, would have actually mattered so much?"
There was silence and suddenly the shifting of fabric. Looking up, Ranma's brow furrowed as he watched the Necromancer struggle. Mousse's hand came up and then fell forward, right onto Ranma's. The eyes reflected confusion, as if something could not be decided. His mouth stayed clamped shut but even though the gesture had no word to it but the meaning was clear.
Be strong, bring them back together, and win this war.
* * *
Akane sat in the hut, watching Kasumi check on the patients. Her sister favored them all with a kind smile and some warm words before walking to her younger sister. The smile was still there, despite the obvious look of anguish on Akane's face.
"Did you have a nice trip?" Kasumi asked as she sat down next to her.
Akane sighed. "It wasn't a trip, onee-chan," she said softly. "And it didn't go well."
Kasumi's smile faltered a bit. "That's too bad." She paused. "Is everyone else sad like you?"
Akane shrugged. "I really don't know and to be honest, I really don't care."
"We should make them cookies then."
Akane looked over at her sister. "What?"
"Cookies. Cookies will cheer all of you up."
"Kasumi… I don't think this is the sort of thing that cookies will help."
"When you or Nabiki were sad, mother always used to make cookies," Kasumi said with a smile.
Akane's brow furrowed in anger. Everyone was fighting with each other and Kasumi thought that cookies were going to help? Her sister could be so dense sometimes.
"Kasumi, I can't cook," Akane said harshly. "You know that, they all make it clear as day to me, they'd rather die than…"
Kasumi smile deepened. "Well, mother's cookies weren't always perfect. But because she put all her love and all her desire to make you two happier into making them, they always helped."
Akane blinked and looked over at Kasumi. No… no her sister wasn't clueless at all. She knew exactly what she was talking about, even if she went in a roundabout way of saying it.
"Oh! Tofu-san!" Kasumi said, hoping up as she saw the young leader from Kurast walk in. "I'm glad you're here. Shimato-san was complaining that his leg hurt and I thought you might know something that could help."
But of course, by then, the voice of Kasumi had rendered the poor guy completely helpless.
* * *
Ryoga stared down in his beer mug with a frown. The frown had never left his face, not since arriving home. Things had gotten progressively worse since he had stepped into his hometown.
His parents… they were gone. And his friends… he didn't even know about half of them. If only… if only he had those few precious months back that they had lost in Hell. Everything might have been different. Even if he had just been here to stop Akari…
He paused thinking back to the little chieftain's daughter. They had been friends for as long as he could remember. And the last few years, people had begun to whisper about the possibility of something more.
Ryoga had run away, thinking he was cursed and not wanting to be a burden anymore. But wasn't it just that he was scared? They wanted him to marry into the chief's family. That would pretty much put him in charge with Akari.
He swished the liquid in the mug. All he ever wanted was to see the world, be a real adventurer. He never wanted to have to run a clan and have that much responsibility. But his selfishness had caused them all to be killed.
He thought of Akane, the beautiful sorceress who had enraptured him on first glance but had grown so much since he had met that she was barely the same person. There was Ranma who was a foil in his side but who had proved to be a great comrade in arms. Shampoo, the young woman who was never lacking courage. Mousse who had more smarts then all of them put together. Ukyo who always teased him, made him laugh and always looked out for the others.
He brought the mug down to the table with a large bang. There was no use thinking about the past. That was dead and gone. He needed to take charge of the future. He needed to stop the siege. And he needed to find Akari.
* * *
Ranma walked down towards the center of town, looking around for his father. But the older man was gone. Finally, Ranma settled for the master Druid that his father had been speaking to. The older man nodded quickly when Ranma asked about his father.
"Yes, I saw him," the Druid asked.
"Where is he now?" Ranma asked.
The Druid sighed. "His mind was troubled. I told him he would have to seek a place to regain calm."
"Where?" Ranma asked again. The Druid pointed towards the towering mountain behind them. "He went up the mountain?"
"He was troubled… by what's happening with his son and the disappearance of his wife. He would not be a capable druid if he didn't seek a spot to meditate and clear his mind."
Ranma looked at the Druid. "Are you crazy? The mountains are crawling with monsters and you told him to go out by himself??"
The Druid shook his head. "You underestimate your father. He will be fine." And the Druid turned away, ending the conversation.
Ranma wanted to say more but there was no use. He would just have to trust that his father was fine. Besides, something else caught his attention. Shampoo was walking down the stairs, suddenly catching his eye.
The two paused and didn't say anything for several moments. There was no way to say sorry, no way to take back what was said. But they both knew that they would have to put those feelings aside until this war was done.
"Ukyo's gone!" The two of them turned just as Akane skidded to a stop between them.
"What do you mean, gone?" Ranma asked.
"I went to go talk to her," Akane said, "and I couldn't find her. So I asked the master Assassin and she said that Ukyo had gone off to do what an assassin does."
"What that mean?" Shampoo asked.
"It means she went off to assassinate the Overseer," Ryoga said, suddenly rejoining them. "It means she's going to do what all of us couldn't. And it means, she's probably going to get killed in the process."
* * *
Ukyo moved quickly across the snow, barely leaving an imprint as she wove her way though the limited cover. Even with Burst of Speed and Cloak of Shadows, she still had to be carefully as she moved into the center of the army. There would be mages soon that could see through her Cloak.
The Overseer would probably being in the most well guarded position of the camp. She needed all the luck she could get.
"You see, people like us, Ukyo-chan, we don't lead or follow. We move in the shadows and we usually move alone."
Alone. Ukyo said as she jumped over a small collection of demons. Alone was how it was going to have to be. She needed to give them this chance. She needed to give the Light Army enough time to reach Harrogath. And this was the only way she could do it.
"One assassin can sneak in virtually undetected. Any more and we'd be creating too much a mana strain on the environment not to be noticed. It has to be just one. And it's either you or me, daughter."
Ukyo clambered up a tree and took in a deep breath. She could see him know. The Overseer was in the center of a large pentagram, shouting out orders. There had to be at least two hundred demons in the near vicinity.
"I'll go. I'll go because the assassins need a leader and they can't lose you."
She closed her eyes and concentrated, watching as the tiny traps appeared in her hands. They just needed to be close to him. The Lightning and Inferno traps would take out a lot of demons. But that wasn't going to be enough. Ukyo knew that.
"I wish I had been as good a mother as I am a leader. Good bye Ukyo-chan."
Ukyo let the traps go and the devastation was instant. Demons blew up into pieces or were burned to a crisp in the blink of an eye. The Overseer barely had time to register the attack when he saw the assassin jump down from the tree and run towards him.
He threw out a hand to order his troops to stop her but could only watch as the trap came right at him. The assassin turned and ran. The Overseer tried the same. But Death Sentry exploded into a fury of lightning and corpses.
A few minutes later, the camp was on fire. Debris rained down from the sky. Corpses lay strewn across the entire plain. The Overseer was nothing but a charred husk. And then suddenly, it began to snow, putting out the fires and bringing peace to the field once more.