Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½™ or Sacrifice™ or any related characters, terms or concepts.
Author's Notes: okay, so you didn't really mind the chapter, but you disliked the fact Ranma lost his memories? I can live with that, I don't know why I had him lose them in the first place- I think it was for a drama scene for the last chapter of this "arc". Never mind; if there's no point to it, I'll get rid of it in this chapter.
Also, to those who asked; the Mazoku surprised him because they teleported in right after Valmont died. I have a reason for their existence, and for them stealing the Nullstone, but that won't be revealed for a while yet.
Part 17: The Poison Flower Gang
"Ranma! Come down from there!"
"No way! Not so long as that c-c-c-thing is down there!"
"My, my, what a delicious duo of depression and fear. If only Filia was here, it would be a perfect three-course meal."
"You are NOT helping Xellos!"
"Miss Lina is right! That was most unjust of you Mr. Xellos!"
"Why is it my fault? Ryoga's the one who suggested I show Ranma the cat."
"Will you shut up and just take that stupid moggy back where you got it so Ranma will come back down?"
Ryoga roared; his patience finally exhausted. Xellos said nothing, but simply cradled the innocent kitten that had started all of this and then teleported away, at which Ranma visibly relaxed. Ryoga stared up at Ranma until he felt Lina and Amelia's eyes upon him.
"What?"
"And exactly what were you thinking telling Xellos about Ranma's Nekoken training? That's betrayal of the trust Ranma places in you, and that goes against the code of Justice!"
"I didn't tell him anything about the Nekoken, all I suggested was that he show Ranma a cat so we could tell if he had truly forgotten everything or if he was just faking it."
"Hey, how the hell did I get up here? More importantly, how the hell do I get down? Someone get me down from here!"
The group turned towards him as Ranma suddenly came to his senses and looked up at the treetop where he was perched. Ryoga sighed and took off his belt. As the Slayers watched he made a flicking motion with his wrist, whereupon the belt suddenly became a rigid bar. With a single deliberate stroke he brought it through the tree's trunk, and their ears with filled with creaking as the tree, with deceptive slowness, toppled backwards. Ranma looked panic-stricken for a second as he fell backwards, before he launched himself into the air, making a rather clumsy landing on all fours. Ryoga, his belt reattached around his waist, sighed as Ranma wiped himself off.
"Great. Without your memories you're virtually helpless. We have got to get your memories back."
"No kidding brainiac. But how? It's not like I can just buy them from a store."
Ranma muttered. It was just then that Xellos reappeared on the scene, startling Ryoga but having no effect on Ranma or the Slayers (the latter being used to it, no one knew what Ranma's excuse was).
"Well now, maybe I can help you there…"
Xellos didn't have the chance to speak any further as Ryoga suddenly grabbed him by the front of his shirt, pulling his face to meet his own.
"How? Tell me!"
Not all flustered or disconcerted by the strength Ryoga was exerting on him, Xellos continued smiling as he replied in his usual calm manner.
"Not too far from here is a magical cavern, called the Cave of Lost Dreams. For centuries it has been used as place for healing those whose minds or spirits have been damaged, either by magic or simply by stress. Amnesia is easily curable there."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
"HOLD IT!"
Lina's shout stopped Ryoga dead in his tracks; he had Ranma slung over one shoulder and was on the verge of disappearing into the horizon. He turned and blinked as Lina confronted Xellos.
"All right; spill it: how 'not far' is this Cave of Lost Dreams? 'Not far' in terms of a walking human or 'not far' in terms of a teleporting Mazoku? And what haven't you told us about the place? I'm sick of walking into traps because of you!"
Xellos smiled and made placatory gestures with his hands.
"It's not far from the viewpoint of a walking human, and as to what I left out… well, there's a notorious bandit gang that's settled near the cavern, no one's been able to drive them away so far."
Ryoga snorted dismissively.
"Bandits? Even I can take care of a few crummy bandits. Which way is it to the cave?"
"That way."
Xellos said, pointing to the northeast. Ryoga nodded, and then began heading southwest. Xellos blinked, in that way he did without actually opening his eyes, then stuck his thumb and forefinger in his mouth and whistled loudly. Ryoga turned back to him, Ranma taking advantage of this momentary distraction to squirm free of Ryoga's grip.
"What?"
"I said it's northeast, you're going the wrong way."
"Oh."
With that, Ryoga promptly spun around to the west and resumed walking. Had he been human, Xellos would have stared at him in disbelief, just like the Slayers, even Amelia, who had been told about Ryoga's sense of direction, were doing. Instead, he teleported behind Ryoga and struck him over the head with his staff. The Eternally Lost Boy glared at the Trickster Priest Mazoku.
"What was that for?"
"Are you really that clueless when it comes to finding your way? Or just plain stupid? I told you that the Cave of Lost Dreams lies-"
"Northeast, right? I'll see ya there."
Ryoga and the Slayers blinked and looked to the northeast, where Ranma was steadily disappearing. Ryoga stared after him stupidly for a few seconds before his face twisted into an expression of anger.
"Wait up Ranma! Get back here!"
Ryoga charged off after Ranma; although slower than Ranma he was still faster than any of the Slayers bar Zelgadis, which meant that it took a hasty casting of Raywing to enable them to catch up. In the confusion they "accidentally" left Xellos behind, though it didn't matter much, as he simply teleported away once they'd all left the scene. Ryoga had easily caught up to Ranma, but the amnesiac martial artist had simply grinned at Ryoga and then sped up even further. Eventually the two were going flat out, with Ranma some thirty feet or so in front of Ryoga and the Slayers bringing up the rear on their Raywings. That was all right, until a very thick-looking forest appeared on the horizon.
"Whoa, slow down! Do you know what will happen if you hit something at that speed?"
If either of the martial artists heard Amelia's warning, they gave no sign of it. Unseen by anyone, Ranma's eyes glazed over as instincts engraved into his very bones by a lifetime of training resurged and took control. He shot towards the closest tree and Amelia averted her eyes, positive he was about to crush the life from himself. Instead he literally spiralled up the tree as a blur, dashing out onto a thin branch and launching himself into the next tree. As the Slayers watched he proceeded to leap and bound from tree to tree in a stunning display of acrobatics and speed, moving through the air and branches as though he had born to do so.
Ryoga's path, while far less graceful, was still impressive in its own way. Ryoga followed Ranma without swerving in the slightest, ploughing straight through any and every obstacle in his path. Trees toppled and fell every which away; bushes and shrubs were torn from the ground, as Ryoga barrelled onwards like a living engine of destruction. When one particularly tall and broad tree emerged in his path, Ryoga simply jumped slightly, every part of the tree above its stump exploding in a shower of debris as Ryoga smashed through it like it wasn't even there. Whilst Ranma leapt from the top of a massive boulder, Ryoga simply charged straight into it, not even bothering to use his Bakusai Tenketsu as it disintegrated into rubble.
Tangles of thorns and vines that ensnared Ryoga didn't even slow him down for a heartbeat, all that mattered to him was following Ranma. Eventually the forest grew less thick and mountains loomed in the distance. Ranma landed on the roof of an old hut and leapt to the ground, whilst Ryoga smashed in through one wall and straight out the other. Ranma suddenly stopped, simply ceasing to be moving in one action. Ryoga, unable to halt so quickly, ended up skidding across the ground towards Ranma who, without even looking back at him, suddenly hopped some thirty feet straight up, allowing Ryoga to zoom under him. As the Slayers landed behind him, Ranma's eyes cleared.
"W-what… what happened? How did I get here? I was running towards a forest and then I sort of blacked out…"
The Slayers looked confused for several seconds, until the mud-drenched Ryoga snapped his fingers.
"I get it; it must have been instinct, that or a memory relapse. Anyway, precisely how are we going to find that cave anyway?"
"Oh, that's not a problem."
Xellos teleported onto the scene once more. Apparently Ryoga was getting used to it, as he didn't jump this time. Xellos, as usual, ignored the assorted death glares and exasperated gazes he received and pointed to a particular outcropping of rock at the base of the mountain.
"The Cave of Lost Dreams is located there. You simply need to lie down upon the crystal table within, and the magic of the place puts you into a sort of trance whilst it repairs the damage of your mind."
Ranma said nothing; he simply nodded politely and walked towards the spot where Xellos had said the cave was located, Ryoga following behind. The Slayers looked amongst themselves for a second, turned to Xellos, found he had disappeared, then shrugged and followed Ryoga. When they finally caught up, Ryoga was sitting cross-legged on the ground outside the cave, his umbrella draped across his legs like a sword. When they tried to enter though, Ryoga moved to cut them off.
"What's your problem?"
"Ranma and I decided that only he should enter the cave. Who knows what the healing process could involve, there's every possibility that the presence of others could interfere with the process. Besides which, he needs us to keep a lookout for that bandit gang that Xellos said was here."
"Please, that fruitcake never tells the whole truth about anything that might help us. I sincerely doubt that there are any bandits here."
Scoffed Zelgadis. And that was when an arrow came whistling past his ear. Ryoga blocked it with his umbrella, but instead of piercing it exploded into a thick cloud of choking green fumes. Ryoga and the Slayers began choking and coughing as more and more of the arrows came whistling into their ranks, each one embedding into the earth and emitting a cloud of vapours. After a matter of moments first one then more of the group passed out, with Zelgadis the very last to fall to the ground unconscious. The shooters, about a dozen men wearing basic bandit gear and strange helmets with windowed eye-slits and grill-like mouthpieces, emerged from the bushes, laughing as they walked over to the unconscious group.
"Hehe, man, the boss's knockout-gas arrows really work a treat, don't they? So let's see what we've caught this time."
"Hey, I recognize this chick; do you know who we've got here?"
The other bandits shook their heads.
"This is none other than Lina Inverse, the Bandit Killer herself, and this is her sidekick Gourry Gabriev. I recognize them because they wiped out my last gang."
"So let's cut their throats and be done with it."
"Wait stupid! Think about it; if word gets out that we actually managed to capture Lina Inverse, then our gang will become the most famous ever! We could really go up in the world if we bring her to the boss!"
"Yeah! The Poison Flower Gang would be the most respected and feared bandit gang ever! Let's take 'em!"
"Tie her hands, give her a dose of that sleeping potion and gag her; we don't need her waking up and slinging spells everywhere. Heck, tie up and gag 'em all."
From just off the scene, Xellos watched as the bandits worked quickly and professionally to drug, bind and carry away the group. He thought about intervening for a few seconds, then dismissed the idea. The Slayers were unlikely to be taken down by a mere band of humans after all they'd been through, and besides which he still had a mission to complete. In a way, the bandits had done him a favour; now he could sneak into the Cave of Lost Dreams with ease, and he proceeded to do so.
Inside the cavern, crystals sprouted everywhere. It was quite decorative, in a way, but Xellos wasn't here to check out the decor. In a chamber in the depths of the cavern, Ranma rested upon a crystalline table, engulfed in the gentle glow of healing magics. It was here Xellos planned to finally learn something more of this stranger, for, as part of the healing process, the memories of the subject appeared inside the myriad crystals surrounding the table. He approached one and looked into its depths.
Within, he saw a younger Ranma, garbed in some sort of white robe. He had evidentially missed the early days of Ranma's life, but that was of little concern. The Ranma within was at a region of numerous springs, tall wooden poles jutting seemingly at random from within them. The young Ranma turned and said something to a man dressed in identical garb, although Xellos couldn't hear anything, due to the fact there was no sound. The man was evidentially Ranma's father, given the physical similarities that he bore, though his frame had been thickened by sloth and indulgence. He leapt upward to land upon a pole, Ranma following him.
As Xellos watched, the two sparred for about a minute, while a podgy little man on the ground shouted something up at the pair of them. The fight ended when Ranma succeeded in knocking his father from his pole to land in one of the springs below. Ranma smirked and called something down to him, only to react in shock when some sort of black-and-white furred, vaguely bear-like creature erupted from the water. As Xellos watched in amusement, Ranma himself took a plunge into the waters, emerging as a woman who looked almost exactly like Lina with Amelia's bust-size.
Unfortunately for Xellos, the imagery within the crystals began to waver and "skip" from one scene to another, Ranma's psyche was apparently responding to the treatments, which meant that fewer memory scenes would be "played" on the crystals. Still, Xellos saw enough to get some idea of what Ranma's home life was like. He also saw enough to deduce that there was no way that Ranma could ever have come from anywhere on this world; the scenes showed absolutely no spellcasters and technology that was beyond even his comprehension. Finally, Xellos hit what could best be described as "pay dirt".
The scenes being played out now showed Ranma's journey to Otherworld, although Xellos had no way of knowing that, his magic tutelage, his return to Nerima and, finally, his transportation to the Slayers world with Ryoga. Unfortunately for Xellos he stayed to watch the memory scenes for too long, which had the result that Ranma was able to hit him with a Freeze spell the instant he awoke.
"So. It seems you have discovered my secret. Xellos, isn't it? Now what should I do with you?"
Xellos' grin never wavered in the slightest as, with minimal effort, he broke free of the ice.
"Oh, come now Ranma. I had a mission to complete, that's all. I assure you, you are in no danger from me knowing."
"If that's the case, then why didn't you just ask me?"
"And risk being deceived? Oh no, I'm too much of an old-hand at this to take risks like that."
The two stared blankly at each other for several seconds, neither of them revealing anything until finally Ranma broke the silence.
"So, where are Lina and the rest?"
"Kidnapped by a bunch of bandits, they called themselves the Poison Flower Gang."
"Let me get this straight; a bunch of bandits managed to kidnap Ryoga, Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis and Amelia, and you did nothing to help them? What's the deal?"
"It's not like they can't handle themselves, besides which this was the perfect opportunity to complete my mission, as I doubt I could have gotten past Ryoga without at least knocking him unconscious first."
"That's right; Ryoga might not be the sharpest knife in the harness, but he does have his honour. It's a pretty screwed up sort of honour, but beggars can't be choosers I suppose. Still, I suppose I'd better go help them. Are you coming?"
"Sorry, as much as I'd love to waste my energy on some pitiful humans, I have to report back to my master."
"Figured as much. Can you at least tell me where they are?"
Bandit's CampIn the depths of the lair of the Poison Flower Bandit Gang, Lina Inverse fought down an urge to snicker at their ridiculous name as she half-paid attention to the speech of their leader, a surprisingly good-looking guy who called himself "Lord Belladonis". Normally, by now was the point where she would have busted loose and, with the aid of her friends, turned the place into a pit of ruin. However, this wasn't happening for several various reasons.
Firstly, she was still somewhat groggy from both the knockout gas and whatever drugs they'd slipped down her throat prior to bringing her here. This probably tied into her second reason; all the garbage Belladonis was spouting was actually making sense! She was actually interested in his offer to join his gang! And she apparently wasn't the only one who was actually considering his propositions.
"So, what do you say? Will you join us in our mission of conquest?"
He looked into Lina's eyes, his own vivid blue orbs seeming to glow with an inner light. How could she refuse his request? How could she deny his wishes? She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a sudden and literal explosion of noise from outside, a vaguely scream-like projection of sound focused into a beam of destructive sonic force that smashed the door at the far end of the chamber (as well as the wall it was set in) into fragments and hurled roughly half a dozen bandits to the floor. Lina shook her head like a dog with water in its ears, her thoughts clearing and her mind returning to normal.
"Not a chance!"
She struggled furiously with her bonds, an eye turning towards the disturbance to find out who precisely had restored her senses. She blinked to see that it was Ranma, currently taking on the entire gang barehanded as though it was the easiest thing in the world to do. Then again, seeing as how the unfamiliar spells he was tossing around were decimating the gang's ranks, maybe it was for him. Within seconds, he was standing by the tied-up group, those bandits who hadn't fled and were still conscious forming a wary circle around them. Ranma didn't even pay them the least attention, focussing his gaze directly upon Belladonis.
"And who might you be?"
"I am Lord Belladonis, leader of the Poison Flower Gang. Why have you attacked us? Surely there is no need to fight?"
His voice sounded so soft, so reasonable, so agreeable that Ryoga and the Slayers, even Zelgadis, found themselves nodding in agreement. Ranma simply shook his head once, quickly, and then fixed Belladonis with a stern gaze.
"I'm not so wet behind the ears I'll fall to the charms of some second-rate Ermordenung! So how did you get out here anyway? I thought your kind abhorred the wilds. Did your own brew-mates get tired of you? Or were you too incompetent to blend in?"
Belladonis' appearance of calm and decorum vanished in a split-second, he hissed like a viper, his canines elongating and his fingers curving into twisting claws, something that startled his followers as much as it did the Slayers. Lina partially turned her face towards Ranma; ensuring one eye remained on Belladonis, as she continued trying to free herself.
"What's an Ermordenung?"
Ranma didn't bother to look at her as he replied; his attention was still firmly fixed on Belladonis.
"An Ermordenung is a creature created by dark alchemical rituals, designed to be the ultimate assassin. In appearance they uniformly appear as gorgeous men and women, but that attractive exterior conceals their venomous soul. Ermordenungs are infused to the very core of their beings with incredibly potent toxins; the slightest contact with their bare flesh is deadly, their kiss is instant death. Coupled with an innate ability to compel the minds of others, and you can see why they are so effective."
"Not that it matters to you any longer…"
Belladonis slammed his fist down on the handrail of his chair, creating a sound like glass shattering as a massive cloud of putrid-green mists exploded into being all around, rushing in towards the still bound Slayers. At the exact instant, Ranma made a hand-gesture, a gale-force blast of wind gusting out from him to form a whirling vortex around him, Ryoga and the Slayers, keeping the mists at bay until they dissipated about a minute later, revealing that Belladonis was long gone. Lina finally struggled free of her bonds and turned towards Ranma.
"Nice going; you couldn't have prevented him from doing that? Or gone after him?"
"I could have, but that would have left you to share their fate."
He pointed mildly at where Belladonis' gang members had been standing. Lina followed his gesture and grimaced; all of the bandits were now lying on the floor dead, blood flowing sluggishly from their mouths. Ranma shrugged as he sped off, calling over his shoulder.
"Ermordenungs are immune to all forms of poison bar their own touch. Now that he had no further use for them, they were expendable. You free the others, I'm going after him."
Lina's pride wrestled with her common sense for a few seconds but, for once, her common sense won. She quickly freed the others and they set off after him. Apparently Ranma had managed to catch up to him, as they were able to follow them by listening for the sounds of battle. As they got closer, they could make out what the two were saying.
"It's no matter now; my master already has what he sent me to acquire."
"Surrender, tell me where I can find your master, and I will spare your life."
"Never! I would rather die than betray my lord!"
"If that is your wish… Magna Blast!"
The Slayers heard the electrical humming as the unknown spell hurtled from Ranma's hands to engulf the bandit leader. Seconds later they heard Belladonis scoff.
"Pah! You call that an attack? That didn't even tickle!"
"The Magna Blast deals no damage directly. But have you noticed we're in the armoury?"
As the Slayers approached the door, they heard a series of metallic clanking. Belladonis had time to voice a single despairing scream before it was drowned by a massive CRUNCH! They flung open the door to reveal Ranma standing before a mass of armour and weapons. Streamers of hissing greenish fluid were oozing from the pile, which itself was beginning to melt together into a single corroded mass. Ranma's eye flicked in their direction as they stared from the doorway. Without saying a word or expressing any emotion, he turned and began walking towards them.
"There's nothing more we can do here. Come on, let's go."
They had just left the bandit's camp when Lina recognized something.
"STOP! We gotta go back! We forgot the loot!"
"No point going after it; he sent everything to his 'master', whoever that may be. Speaking of which, now where do we go? I personally want to get that Nullstone back –those damn Mazoku made me look like an idiot- but how do we find them."
"I think I might be able to help you on that."
And that was when Xellos made an appearance. Being used to it, no one paid him much attention. Except Ranma, as he expected Xellos to reveal his secret any moment. Sensing Ranma's scrutiny, Xellos half-turned to him, saying, "that's our little secret" with his body language. Reassured, Ranma nodded secretly to him.
"Follow me, and I'll lead you right to them."
"Why would you help us?"
"Are you forgetting that these Mazoku are rogues? They're a threat to our goals and plans. My master has charged me with hunting them down and eliminating them, and our goals happen to coincide in this case. Quite good fortune, yes?"
The Slayers didn't answer that. Without waiting for any confirmations or denials on their behalf, Xellos walked off, Ranma and Ryoga trailing behind him. The Slayers stayed where they were for a minute, and then chased after the trio. When they caught up, Lina turned to Ranma.
"By the way, those are some pretty good spells you have. What would you say to a trade?"
"Trade?"
"If you'll teach me some of those spells of yours, I'll teach you black magic. So? What do you say?"
"I'll… think about it."
Looking somewhat insulted, Lina stalked to the front of the party, at which Ryoga dropped back until he and Ranma were bringing up the rear of the party.
"What gives? You wouldn't hesitate to learn any martial arts technique, so why wouldn't you want to learn her magic?"
"Why? I'll tell you; Amelia and I had a talk about magic when we first met. From what she says, it's extremely doubtful any of the spells native to this world will work outside of this dimension."
"What do you mean?"
"All spells require magical energy –mana- for power. The Elementalism I learned in Otherworld uses magical energy to affect a multiversal presence; the weather. The spells of this dimension work by utilising magical energy in conjunction with either the Astral Plane of this dimension or by drawing upon the energies of certain powerful entities. This means that if the entity being drawn upon is slain, that spell is no longer usable. Outside this dimension, magic-users such as Lina would most likely be cut off from the sources of their spells, which means their spells would not work. The White and Shamanism spells might, but Black and Holy simply will not function. And what's the point of learning something that's only usable here?"
Ryoga nodded in agreement as Ranma walked off to speak to Xellos.
Okay, Ranma's memory is back. I personally think this chapter stinks, but I think that about every chapter. Now, I have an idea for something to happen during the last of this "arc", but I thought I'd run it by you first and see if it's any good. Essentially, after Ranma, Ryoga and the Slayers beat "the master", they encounter a very strange someone; a Ranma from a parallel universe, one where he chose Charnel instead of Stratos. This "Necro-Ranma" happens to be in contact with the other Parallel Mage-Ranmas (Mystic-Ranma, Geo-Ranma and Sorc-Ranma) and asks this story's Ranma if he wants to attend a "get-together" of Mage-Ranmas. Should I use this idea or not? If so, I have a few questions:
Should this happen during or after the "Slayers in Nerima" storyline?
Should it take place in Necro-Ranma's castle, or Element-Ranma's Nerima?
Finally, who should the Parallel Ranmas be paired with in their dimension? I have Nabiki & Shampoo for Necro-Ranma, and Kasumi for Mystic-Ranma, but what about Geo-Ranma and Sorc-Ranma?
On a final note; 10 virtual bonus points to anyone who can tell me either which two names I merged to name the bandit leader or who can tell me where the name for his species came from (here's a hint; it's a Gothic Horror campaign setting for a certain famous RPG). 50 virtual points if you can get them both.