Disclaimer: I do not own Fushigi Yuugi. I do not own Legends of Dragoon.

Author's note: Finally! Senior year has long ended and I have been declared valedictorian!! First my high school! Now the WORLD!!!! *pauses* *clears throat* Anyway, it's been ages since I've done anything with this story, so I decided to get back to it before college begins.

Forgotten Legends

Chapter 9

It didn't take long before they came across someone they knew.  They entered the nearby building to find the large warrior Picoro, one of Yule's men, creating a mighty ruckus. Picoro was a big man like Yule, but seemed to lack his grace. He wielded a large axe and simply swung it around. This seemed to work for him however, for several bodies were at his feet.

"Picoro, you fool!" Yule shouted the moment he stepped foot in the door. "Stop drawing attention to yourself! We need to gather everyone and get out of here!"

Picoro turned his head to listen to his shogun, then immediately turned back around and finished off the warrior in front of him.

"Linku suggested I stay on the bottom level and prevent men from ascending," Picoro explained in a slow, booming voice. "He went up to search the cells. He said he has another brother up there somewhere."

"Linku has about twenty brothers, so I'm not surprised," Yule sighed. "Have you seen Kento or Kamali?"

"I haven't seen Kamali since we separated," Picoro replied. "But Kento went storming up the staircase." Picoro paused to think, "Something about someone hanging out a window called him something."

Picoro's face screwed up, "Or did he call them something?"

"It doesn't matter," Yule said, showing patience Horiko didn't see him use on anyone else. "If either of them comes down that staircase, keep them here."

Picoro saluted and stepped aside for Yule and company to pass. They ascended the stairs to the second level and found that Linku had definitely been there. Every cell door was open. Linku seemed to have taken out most of the guards in this corridor as well, and the floor consisted mostly of escaped inmates raiding the storerooms.

"This place is chaos, no da," Chichiri stared in wonder. "There won't be a prison by the time we've left."

Yule smiled to himself as he walked down the corridor. He glanced in each of the doors in search of Linku, but didn't find him in this hall. He did however find someone putting on Konan armor from one of the spoils storerooms.

"Soldier?" Yule called into the room.

The man turned around quickly and there was a long pause before either said anything.

"Shogun?" The man said, "You really are here?"

The man had long-hair that cascaded down his back in waves. He would have been a handsome man if not for the scars on either side of his mouth, which gave the impression that he was smiling.

"Pong?" Yule gasped. "But I thought you died in that raid months ago?!"

"No, sir," Pong said, his voice calm. "I've been here."

Pong was carrying a sword with blue stones running down the blade. The blade itself was jagged and there seemed to be an inscription curving in and out from among the stones.

"Come on, then," Yule said. "We'll probably need you to get out of here."

Pong nodded and followed them into the next corridor. They traveled up two floors before coming across Linku and his brother.

"'Lo, sir!" Linku said in a cheery voice. "Fancy seeing you here."

"'Lo, Shogun, sir," Linku's brother said in the same voice, before looking aghast at the body Yule was carrying. "Is that the emperor?"

"Yes," Yule said. "It is imperative that we leave immediately. Have you seen Kento or Kamali?"

"Actually, Kento's on the floor above us. I can hear his heavy footsteps," Linku said. "He went blazing past here. He said something about a guy hanging out a window."

"That's what Picoro said," Krin said, and Horiko noted that her armor had faded while he wasn't looking.

"Have you seen Kamali?" Yule asked.

Both men shook their heads just as a battle cry rang out, and everyone turned to see Kento, a short man with broad shoulders, and Kamali flying in through the window down the hall and landing in a heap on the floor.

"That was crazy?!" Kamali shouted as he stood up. "You could have killed the both of us!"

Kento laughed, "Got you down from the other window though, didn't I?"

"Next time, pull me up, instead of jumping out the window yourself and grabbing my feet!" Kamali shouted back. "You're lucky the window we just came through wasn't a few inches lower or you would have collided with the wall."

"Do you still have the dagger?" Chichiri asked.

Kamali and Kento's heads turned to them, not having noticed them before.

"Yeah," Kamali said, pulling it out briefly, before shoving it back into his tunic for safekeeping. "We need to get out of here. I don't think I've lost them for long."

Suddenly a cry came from many floors below. It sounded like a wounded lion, crying out in pain.

"Picoro!" Linku, Kento, and Kamali took off down the staircase like marathon racers. Yule's burden forced him to travel a bit slower than he would have liked, however, and Horiko and Tasuki quickly out paced him and reach the ground floor long ahead of the others. Picoro was lying on the ground, a massive gash carved into his shoulder. Linku and Kamali stood on either side of him as Kento dispatched the enemy soldier that had managed to wound Picoro.

"Picoro!" Linku shouted, "Can you hear me?!"

"Yes," Picoro said, irritated. "Quit shouting in my ear."

Kamali and Linku laughed as they helped Picoro upright. A flash of light appeared from behind Horiko, and when he turned, he saw that Krin's armor had returned. She stepped forward and laid her hand on Picoro's wound. The four soldiers looked at Krin in awe as the wound closed over.

"An angel with demon wings," Picoro said, and kissed her hand.

Krin blushed and Horiko looked a bit miffed. Tasuki noticed this with a smirk, but didn't share his observation.

"Is this everybody?" Yule asked, casting his gaze over the people around him. "Let's get out of here."

"Yes, let's make fast tracks to Taiitsu-kun," Chichiri put in and led the way out the door.