Chapter 12--Trouble Brewing

Far from their friends in the Pokemon World, four other travelers faced a dilemma of their own. After speaking to Shou-lao, Tea had decided to ask Windpaw and the yet unnamed hare to lead her and her companions to the Clann of the Bearers of the Light. At first, all was well. Following the hares, they left behind the fragrant, windswept grasslands of Shou- lao's Clann and brilliantly the green forests of Lai-shi's Clann, moving into harsher, more brutal territory. Their path became rocky and uneven, with little evidence of any passage, human, Clanner, or otherwise. At night, the wind howled its fury at the steadfast travelers, driving them ever backward as they sought to reach the Raasha Clann. They soon reached a barren, inhospitable stretch of icy foothills--they were near the mountains now.

On the third day since leaving Lai-shi and Shou-lao, they unknowingly entered no-man's land. This disputed territory was as harsh and infertile as the rest of the rocky foothills, but it marked the boundary between two opposing Clanns and several neutral ones' territories. It was a stretch several yards wide, and it was unwritten law that none cross it. Alas, the would-be questors knew nothing of this. They marched stoically forward into the frigid, icy unknown. Beneath the slate-gray, snow-filled sky, four companions far from home were walking--or rather, attempting to walk-- into danger.

Windpaw stopped, anxiously sniffing the air. There was death and danger on the wind. Enemies were approaching, but they had not yet sensed the presence of the two hares and their masters. Soon they would see them. The reek of decaying flesh came closer. Soon there would be no escape. Soon they would have to face the approaching danger head on. They were coming. They were coming!

Joey gave an exasperated sigh, his breath freezing as soon as it left his mouth. "Aw, come on! Can't we keep moving? The longer we stand here, the more likely it is that my fingers are gonna fall off!"

Tea looked at her friends. They were all freezing, shivering in the wind as they struggled to keep warm despite the dropping temperature. Whatever they had expected from this journey, it was not this. None of them were wearing warm clothing or winter coats. The snow was heavy and wet, and they would soon be soaked with freezing water. "I don't know what's wrong. It's like Windpaw senses danger or something, but what?"

Watching icicles form on the hares' whiskers, Kaiba sneered. "It looks like Shou-lao's rabbits aren't as useful as she predicted. That crazy fortune teller is going to get us killed."

Joey, always ready for a fight and in a bad mood because of the miserable weather, turned on him. "Knock it off! Dey got us dis far, didn' they?"

Kaiba smiled patronizingly at him. "They got us this far? And where is this exactly? It seems to me that all they've done is get us caught in a blizzard."

They glared at each other, but before further arguments could be made, Tea looked up, hearing something. "Wait--what's that? Do you hear that sound?"

They all fell silent, listening. What they heard was not comforting. A high, eerie wail echoed off the rocks as the wind swept it past them. It was followed by more terrible, shrieking calls, too ghostly and unnatural to be the wind.

"What was that?" Tea asked fearfully, shivering. Windpaw's ears stood straight up. "Whatever it was, it's coming this way!"

Out of sight behind a stand of jagged rocks, a lone figure gave one more piercing cry. "That should do it," she muttered. "If she hasn't heard by now, she's as deaf as a post. I think I'll go introduce myself to our guests while we wait. Hahahahaha!" Her malicious, grating laughter echoed and reechoed around her, more frightening than her shrieking calls could ever be.

The four travelers waited with baited breath. There was no point in running; they had no idea where their unseen foe lurked. They could only stand in the deepening snow, wondering when the caller would strike. Luckily for their nerves, although unluckily for one of their number, they did not have long to wait.

Out of nowhere, a lithe, agile stranger leaped from the top of a rock pillar to stand before them. She scowled at the sight of the hares. "So. Shou-lao has chosen to violate the unwritten law of the Clanns. You will now pay the price for her mistake!"

They could tell from the voice that the stranger was female. She wore a dark, swirling cape that fell just below her waist, and a hood that concealed her face and the tattoos that would identify her Clann. On her feet were heavy boots, obviously designed for such harsh climes. With a mocking laugh, she threw back her hood. Underneath, she had several peculiar tattoos, giving no hint as to her allegiance. There was an odd symbol on her left cheek constructed of many lines, carefully drawn to resemble bones. On her forehead was a black, smoky starburst design. The hem of her cape was decorated with similar images.

"I challenge the masters of these hares to a battle! You will pay for your disobedience to our laws, humans! Are you surprised that I know your species? I can see from your faces that you are no Clanners. You are sniveling, honorless worms, as are all humans! Peace with humans--that is a fool's notion! I demand that you face me in combat, humans! Now!"

Tea and Kaiba, the aforementioned masters of the hares, looked uncertain. Physical combat was hopeless; even if they had not been freezing cold, they would have been no match for the strong and agile Clanner. There was only one hope.

Kaiba, knowing that the only way to force the Clanner into a battle in which they had the advantage was to goad her into it, stepped forward. "Why should we bother fighting you? As far as I'm concerned, you really aren't worth the effort," he said, and for once the others were grateful that he was habitually insulting and condecending.

The Clanner turned purple with rage. "Do you insult my skill and my honor? Name your terms of combat, human! You will face me!"

Tea joined in, seeing that the Clanner would agree to anything to prove her honor. "We are Summoners. I demand that you face us in a Summon battle!"

For a moment, surprise registered on the Clanner's face. Then, to their horror, she began to laugh. "Hahahaha! You would challenge me to a Summon battle, humans? And I thought that you disgusting creatures had no magic at all! Very well. I agree to your terms, on one condition--you may battle me together, but you must use only one creature each. Those creatures will be the hares Shou-lao has dishonorably given you. You will see how mighty the Masters of the Dead are, pathetic humans! You will learn to fear the power of Necro Clann!"

As if on cue, a large dragon, as black as death itself, dropped from the sky to land screaming next to its master. Seeing the hopeless expressions on the two would-be combatants' faces, she shook her head with a pitying smile. "I see you like my pet, Shadowhawk. She will not battle you--I save her might for true challenges! No, I will be using another creature. I too am a Summoner of sorts, rats. You will use nothing but your hares, and I will use nothing but this--Karanas!"

She pulled a small, wrapped bundle out of the pack on her back and layed it on the ground. The Clanner then threw back her head, and noises that sounded like screaming and hissing came out of her mouth. At first they thought she was having some kind of fit, but they realized it must have something to do wither her Summoning when a burst of black light surrounded the bundle on the ground, and out of it, a terrible creature arose.

It was like to a hyena in form, but constructed of bones and rotting flesh. It was a dead creature, somehow animate after death. It turned to look at them with eyes long rotted away and snarled, ready to attack.

The Clanner laughed again. "I see you are impressed with my skill. I, Kiendra, am gifted with the powerful magic of the Necro Clann. We are not called the Masters of the Dead for nothing, human scum. Behold! I am a demon Summoner, and I can animate dead matter! I give life to the slain, movement to dead flesh, sight to the sightless! My mighty beast is unstoppable! Hahahaha!"

Tea and Kaiba looked despairingly at their long-dead foe. What would they do now?

Kiendra smiled icily at her chosen opponents. "What's the matter, little humans? Not afraid, are we? Don't tell me you're backing out already. If you had the audacity to challenge me, the least you could do is find the courage to look me in the eyes and fight, instead of standing in the snow shivering like the mangy curs you are. Well? I'm waiting!"

Tea swallowed hard. This battle seemed hopeless from the start, but there was no other choice. The Clanner would surely kill them all if they refused to battle. She glanced at Kaiba. How could they possibly defeat the undead monster with two hares, one of which didn't even have a name? She would have felt more confident battling with anyone else. Why had Shou- lao given the hare to him? There was no time to lament over past decisions. It was time to battle for their lives--a battle they seemed likely to lose.

"Windpaw and I are ready to face you, Kiendra. We're not afraid."

The Clanner scowled at her and turned to her other chosen foe. "And you? Are you ready to face me as well? Think fast, human--I grow impatient."

Kaiba stepped forward. "I'm ready to face you, Clanner," he said disdainfully, although underneath his cold exterior, he felt hopeless. Tea looked at the hare that had followed him forward. It was ready to fight, ready to die in defense of its master if necessary. This inexplicable loyalty, coupled with the ridiculous picture made by four children and two hares standing in a blizzard to fight for their lives made Kiendra laugh.

"Hahaha! I've faced opponents twice as strong as you--not that it would be hard to find an enemy tougher than you. A half-starved swamp rat could defeat you without even stretching! All right, weaklings. You have foolishly challenged me to a battle. Let's see if you last even five minutes before Karanas and I leave your lifeless corpses to the vultures! Hahahahaha!"

Karanas immediately moved in for an attack. Teeth bared in a voiceless snarl, it leapt forward, propelled by muscle and sinew unseen. Windpaw, caught off guard, barely dodged its razor-sharp fangs as it landed, spraying snow everywhere.

A deadly game of hide-and-seek began, the hyena always seeking, the hares always fleeing its waiting jaws. All the while, Kiendra laughed madly as she spurred her nightmarish creature on. The humans, growing colder and more defeated at every moment, had little hope. Could a hare possibly escape the hyena, let alone defeat it?

Perhaps Kiendra was right, and a single hare had no chance of victory. Perhaps she was right; it was of little consequence. For not one, but two hares fought this battle. The unnamed creature, bred on the grasslands and prairies of Shou-lao's people, was strong and agile, a warrior born. Growing rage went unseen by either set of combatants--until the Karanas struck a blow.

Blood painted the snow crimson as one hare, Windpaw, failed to outmaneuver the hyena. The unnamed hare, full of battle madness and fury, leapt upon the rotting bones of Karanas, struggling madly as the hyena's body, unable to hold together under such harsh blows, was ripped to pieces. From the center of the carnage rose a shrieking, shadowy figure, a demon controlled by Kiendra and forced to animate the dead flesh of their foe.

Kiendra, shocked and angry at her defeat, screamed to the winds. Leaping upon her dragon as she released her terrifying servant, she gave one final parting shot before vanishing into the sky. "I will a make you pay for this, human! I swear it so!"

With that, she disappeared. The four victors stood staring after their departed and vanquished foe before setting off for warmer climes and better fortune. As they walked away, Kaiba looked thoughtfully at his hare, which had won such an incredible victory. I think I'll call him...Frith.