A Place to Belong...

By Ryoga's best friend

A/N- back again with the last repost, this was originally 4 and 5 but my beta/editor put them together. It covers the whole battle with pre and post stuff…

The next few days went by quickly at the thieves' fort and the day for Miluda's trip had arrived. Ranma hadn't talked to any of the death corps members about the offer and they had left him alone about it. Ranma slowly made his way up the hall from his temporary room to Miluda's at the end of the hall. "It couldn't hurt to get out right?" he said to himself about to open the door when he heard a whistle. He turned to see something hurled toward him. His hand quickly shot up and caught it; it was a pouch full of coins. He looked down the hall to see Andy smirking.

"Consider it your allowance, just don't spend it all in one place." He said with a light chuckle at the martial artists puzzled expression.

"But...how did you know I was gonna..."

"Heh, you reminded me a lot of myself when I was younger. I figured you'd like to see what was out there and meet our leader Weigraf," he said looking fondly down at the coin in his hand. "He saved me you know... back then. I was an orphan of the fifty-year war; I had to make my living stealing just to survive. One day he found me, crying in an alleyway in Garland. I hadn't eaten in days and my last attempt to steal had gotten me beaten severely by a shop owner. He kneeled next to me and smiled... he said 'Let's get something to eat.'" the archer began to smile fondly. "He brought me to a nice marketplace and treated me to whatever I wanted, all the upper-class citizens in the place were staring at us but he didn't care. He just talked to me, not like an orphan, but as an equal. After that he gave me this... it's a coin on an older era of kings, he'd found it during the war. It's worth a lot of money. He said I could use it to buy a better future until he could create one... I was so shocked I started to follow him, I haven't thought twice about selling this since then. It's my proof that good people exist in this world... people will to do what's right." he said softly clenching the coin. Ranma was silent for a moment and gained a small smile.

"He sounds like a very honorable man..."

"Yes... yes he is." Andy replied with a smile of his own. "So please go with Miluda and see him," he said softly pocking the coin. Ranma nodded and knocked on the door, there was a soft 'come in' to which he complied. He opened the door and walked in pausing at in the doorway. Miluda stood by her window, back to him.

"Miluda..." Ranma said after a moment causing her to turn a little surprised.

"Ranma, what brings you by? I'm going to be leaving in a few moments, was there something you wanted to ask me?"

"Yeah, I was wonderin' if I could come along." Ranma said simply.

"Really now? What brought this on?" she said taking a seat on the windowsill. Ranma scratched the back of his head, a nervous habit he was never able to get rid of.

"Well, I figured I could get out a bit since I'm feelin' better. Maybe meet this brother of yours everyone's been talkin' about. It couldn't hurt," he said with a smile, she returned with a small smile of her own. It seemed the otherworldly warrior was willing to give the death corps a chance and that was defiantly good news.

"I don't see why not. I'm sure the two of you would get along just fine," she said getting up and heading toward her bag on her bed. "We can stop and grab you some supplies from the storeroom and we can head out in a little bit."

"Sounds like a plan." the martial artist replied with a smirk. Though before anything else could be said a call came out from outside.

"The Hokuten! The Hokuten are coming!" Came the cry of the current lookout; Miluda's face went cold immediately alerting Ranma to the seriousness of the situation.

"Damn so soon..." she cursed running to her closet and opening it revealing her armor. She turned to Ranma as she grabbed the chest plate. "There's going to be a battle... if you still wish to remain neutral you'd best hide yourself." the pigtailed boy went into the hall snorting.

"Ranma Saotome doesn't hide," he said softly to himself before he headed down the hall and downstairs. The soldiers of the base were running this way and that, some armed, some not. As he neared the entrance to the ramp someone grabbed his arm. He turned to see Madeline armed with a wooden staff.

"Ranma you can't go fight, you're still injured," she said softly tugging him away. Ranma glanced out the opening; it looked like the fight was about to begin...

"Surrender outlaws. Lay down your weapons and we'll spare your lives." Called out a blond boy in a blue tunic, apparently the lead of this group. At his sides was a burly tanned boy with dark hair and another blond of clearly noble decent. A few others stood out from the crowd as well. One was a robed figure, though gender wasn't discernable from a distance as a large hat shadowed the face. Another was an armored man nearly a foot taller then his leader with a calm powerful demeanor. The last was the only female that stood out, dressed in loose casual clothes with a dagger at her side; it was obvious this girl was built for speed over strength.

"Surrender? That was never an option. For all we did for this country we could never bow to you." Miluda said boldly as her somewhat disheartened allies began to roar with approval. Her cool confidence spread out to her troops. Andrew stood not far off, a crossbow leaning on his shoulder with a smirk, Madeline waited at the bottom of the ramp with Ranma reluctantly watching on. The other blond snorted and drew his weapons.

"Honestly Ramza you didn't expect these barbarians to listen to you, the only thing they understand is force." he said locking eyes with Miluda. 'Ramza' sighed and drew his sword.

"It was worth it to at least try, I would prefer to settle this without bloodshed if I could Algus." The individual voices died down to a mass of shouted and cries as both sides engaged. Miluda met head on with 'Algus' and striking out testing his defense well he did the same to her. Andrew brought his steady eyes to bear and with his first shot took down on of the warriors, though it took almost no time for the girl to pass the distance between them and engage him in close combat. The shrouded figure was launching powerful spells as the death corps soldiers, sending fire and lightning crashing down upon them. While weakened, the large warrior, and dark hair boy sped in and finished them off. The leader of the assault was quite skilled with his weapon and was more than a match for the death corps soldiers. Things definitely seemed to be going downhill for the rebels.

Miluda and Algus locked blades glaring each other down. "Who do you think you are? We're not animals! We're human, just like you!" She shouted pushing him back as she struck out forcing him on the defensive. "There's no difference among us other then our families! You ever been hungry? Only soup to eat for months? Why do we have to suffer? Because you nobles deprive us of the right to live!" She growled with a powerful downward strike but Algus blocked and kicked her back.

"Human? Hmph, ridiculous!" he snorted as he started back on her, she used her shield as best she could, but his assault was unrelenting. "From the minute you were born you had to obey us! From the second you were born you were our animals!" the noble shot back raining blow down on her shield.

On the other side of battle Andrew desperately rolled away as he tried to load his crossbow. "Damn you're a fast one aren't you," He commented as he was forced to duck again as she slashed out.

"And your pretty mobile for an archer." she commented with a smirk.

"Flattery will get you everywhere," he said with a smirk of his own weapon loaded and firing quite fast. She rolled aside as the bolt whizzed past. As he was reloading she charged forward knocking him back with a shoulder tackle. Andy righted himself slowly as she smirked. "Hmph, lucky shot. But don't go smiling it'll take more then a little push to get rid of me."

"What a strange coin," the girl commented holding HIS special coin.

Andrew paled as he checked his pocket and found it empty. His eyes narrowed dangerously, his calm playfulness gone in place of a hard glare. "Give that back," he said coldly.

"Nah I think I'll keep this one." she said flipping it and catching once, she barely moved as a crossbow bolt skimmed her cheek and he drew a dagger charging her. "Now he gets serious," she grumbled rolling away from the first strike and up to her feet. The two exchanged strikes, metal clashed as they blocked and parried with their daggers. The girl took a misstep and the archer's blade caught her shoulder. "Shit." she cursed reaching into her pocket. "Fine, take the damn thing!" She said tossing it toward him. He immediately reached up and caught it. There was a meaty thump and his eyes went wide in shock. The girl was right in front of him, her dagger buried in his chest. He looked at her and she just frowned. "What an idiot." she said pulling the dagger out as a flower of blood blossomed across his tunic. She left him on the wooden deck in a pool of his own blood before moving on.

"Andy! I have to get to him!" Madeline screamed from her hidden position, Ranma's eyes widened as well. Even with all of his battles... no one had every received a mortal wound. The healer that had been holding him back was now running out into the fray, it didn't take long for the pigtail boy to follow. Just outside the door the large armored man stood, he swung down at Madeline who moved to block with her staff only to have it cut in two like it wasn't there. Ranma didn't slow.

"Outta the way!" Ranma growled jumping kicking him in the helmet with both legs. The man was knocked backward to the ground, his helmet flying off into the surrounding swamp. Ranma landed lightly and helped Madeline up. He looked up and frowned, there was several melees between them and Andrew. "Come on Madeline we're taking the quick route."

"Quick route? Bu- Ahhh!" before the healer could gather her thoughts Ranma had picker her up and jumped straight up. Pausing momentarily against the wall of the base he pushed out leaping well over the fighting masses, the knight watched this as he stood, his messy red hair now seen.

"That kid is quite strong," he said rubbing his jaw. Ranma landed awkwardly near their fallen friend. His body proving it was indeed still healing as his muscles screamed. Though he did his best to hide the pain as he let Madeline down who immediately ran to the Archers side. Ranma approached cautiously as Madeline turned Andy over, his whole front was soaked with blood.

"Andy! It's okay, I'll fix you up..." she said somewhat panicked as she began looking over him. His breathing was shallow and his skin was pale. Suddenly Madeline's voice cut the ding of the battle "Ranma, I need you to apply pressure to the wound until I can prepare my spell." She said in an uncharacteristically cool tone. The look she sent him was serious and focused; it spoke quiet confidence that she knew what she was doing. Ranma deftly caught the rag she tossed his way.

"Right." Ranma nodded, and knelt down to hold the rag over the wound with enough pressure to slow the bleeding.

"Good." she replied simply as she began focusing her magic gaining a slight bluish green aura. Andy coughed up some blood catching his attention, the archer was looking up to him with half glazed eyes.

"I see you joined the battle kid," he croaked weakly. Ranma forced a smile.

"Well I never can seem to avoid a fight." he replied.

"You should work on that. Too much fighting could get you killed," Andrew's face belied the pain that hid under his sarcasm.

The comment discomfited Ranma, "Don't talk like that."

"Don't sweat it kid. I know when it's my time," he coughed.

"Shut up." Madeline's eyes were closed in deep concentration. "You're not going to die. I won't let you, jerk." The glow increased and moved to her hands.

"Stubborn as always." he smiled thinly, slowly reaching into his pocket to pull out the coin, admiring it. "I got it back..."

"Fool," Madeline said tears welling in the corner of her eyes. "You had to go after that coin," she feigned annoyance.

"I like this coin," he replied simply before coughs racked his chest.

"Stop talking, you'll only do more damage to yourself," she said focusing her power into Andrew. The wound closed slightly, but it wasn't going to be enough. "Why isn't it working, it has to work!" Her calm exterior started slipping.

The archer reached over slowly putting a hand on hers. "It's okay, you tried," He gasped out between breaths. He turned back to Ranma who was starting feel numb, this couldn't be happening. "Hey kid." Andrew moved the boy's hands from the wound. "Hold on to this for me." He placed the coin in Ranma's bloodied hands. "Maybe you can buy yourself a better future." The words faltered, "Sorry I couldn't, create one..." He started to fade his cough growing more violent. Madeline started to shake as she still tried to focus healing energy into him.

"No, you're not going to die! I won't let you!" she screamed trying to focus more but he stopped moving, he just lay there looking up to the sky with a calm smile on his face. "Andy! You can't die on me! You can't!" she screamed opening her eyes. "Wake Up Andy! You have to wake up!" she lost focus and fell sobbing to his chest. "Please wake up," she begged faintly, but received no response. Ranma sat frozen, looking at the coin in his bloody hands, slowly clenching it. He stood up in one quick motion. He looked to the battle with tear-blurred eyes. It ceased to matter, who was right, and who was wrong. None of it mattered anymore. All he knew was his friend was dead, and someone was going to pay.

Elsewhere in the battle, Miluda was breathing hard as her opponent continued to strike relentless. Fed up, Miluda pushed the blade aside and stabbed out forcing Algus to back off.

"Animals."

The comment made Miluda's blood boil. "Says who! That's nonsense! Who decided all this?" She growled, while Algus continued to look smug.

"It's the Will of Heaven!" He said simply, causing Miluda to clutch her sword ever tighter.

"Heaven? God would never say such things! In his eyes, all are equal! He'd never let this happen! Never!" she shouted back.

Algus just laughed and sneered at her, "Animals have no God!" His conviction goaded his opponent, her face flushing an angry scarlet. She was beyond words. Charging the noble, Miluda lashed out with powerful blows that put Algus back on the defense.

Nearby, back-to-back, Delita and Ramza fought off several Death Corps rogues. The large boy glanced to his friend after overhearing the heated exchange.

"Ramza, is she really our enemy?" he asked softly. The Beouvle was silent for a moment.

"I really don't know..." he replied honestly.

And so the battle continued onward, steadily turning in favor of the attackers, several of the death corps already surrendering. Ramza looked up as he dispatched a death corps soldier, it was one of his archers, holding one of his arms limp at his side. "What's wrong?" he asked immediately concerned.

"On the west side of the base, one of the death corps have gone berserk, he's not human!" the boy said in a panic. Ramza exchanged a glance with his childhood friend.

"We'll look into it. You get yourself to a healer." he said firmly getting a nod from the boy before her ran off to the healers. "What do you think?"

"We have gotten many wounded from that area," Delita said in a grim tone. "You remember what the academy said about berserkers..."

"That they're blind to pain, believing they're invincible. Strike out senselessly like a beast." Ramza said calmly looking to the area in question. "Let's go." not even need to looked he took off knowing his friend had his back. They came to a scene that held them in awe. One boy, not much older then themselves, stood circled by nearly twenty soldiers that were keeping their distance. In side this circle he hovered protectively over the body of an older man and a terrified girl in a peasant dress... The six other bodies were of Hokuten soldiers, it was hard to tell who was dead and who wasn't... but the boy's hands were soaked in blood and there was blood on his clothes and face as well. Ramza and Delita made the rest of the way up approaching the circle. "Report" the noble asked calmly. One of the soldiers nodded and began his report...

Ranma slowly put the old coin into his pocket with all the care of a piece of china. He slowly looked up, pure fury in his eyes. He stalked over to the nearest duel, ignoring the green clad soldier and punching the Hokuten soldier right in the face with no warning. He stumbled back in surprised, his momentary daze giving Ranma all the time he needed to grab his arm and flip him over his shoulder to the ground, he casually broke said arm and just as the man started to scream he gave him a hard kick to the face leaving him bloodied and silenced. Another Hokuten, seeing this, charged the boy, striking out with his sword. The blow flowed aside and gave him three vicious shots to the neck for his trouble. As he gasped for breath, the boy kicked him in the stomach, sending a spray of blood from the man's mouth. He brought the same leg around with a brutal axe kick to the back of the head. Dropping him like a stone.

"No, Let go!" Came Madeline's shout, which immediately directed his gaze back to Andrew's corpse. Three men were dragging off the healer. His wild eyes focused and he charged back the way he came, ignoring the call of his still aching limbs. With an animalistic growl he dived across the gap and tackled the three to the ground, getting on the first man he could he started punching the man repeatedly in the face, the wet thwack of his bloodied hand against the man's face, even after he'd lost consciousness. A sword stabbing his shoulder finally took him away from his target. He turned swiftly a hand gripping the man's throat, with a quick gesture snapping his neck. The man limp, falling like a puppet without strings. He turned to the last man, who had a shaky hold on the healer. He let her go and started to run but Ranma was on him swiftly He took him down with one swift elbow to the base of his spine. He fell with a scream of pain, trying to reach back and find out what had been done to him but was unable to. He looked to Madeline who was watching him with a mixture of awe and fear... though before he could think much of it an arrow hit him in the leg turning his attention to his opponents. Several soldiers rushed him at once and he fell back, instinctively lashing out in all directions, while trying to avoid the onslaught of attack. It was all a blur as he felt something snap with in him, the breaking of a spear that hit his side the brief pain of his fist hitting metal, the dull snap of a mans bones. It all blurred together until they backed away. The martial artist was bleeding from several places but stood as if he felt nothing. The Hokuten backed off, dragging their wounded, fearing the boy's wrath; mutters of 'Demon,' and 'Monster' could be heard from the soldiers as the boy's eyes darted about wildly seeming almostferal.

The Hokuten warriors began to gather around Ranma, who paced about like caged beast, not straying far from Madeline and Andrew. The circle wasn't tight though if he strayed to close they'd back away. Not wanting to risk attacking but not wanting to let him go for what he had done...

"And that's all sir." the Soldier said a little nervous. He was fresh out of the academy and was unsure when his superior was only a year older then him. Ramza and Delita looked to where Ranma paced and then exchanged a glance.

"Very well, we'll keep him contained, go fetch Aley." the Beouvle said firmly getting the immediate response as the soldier rushed off to find her. "If we can keep him where he is Aley should be able to handle this..."

"YOU!" came a raspy shout from the Bloodied boy catching the pair's attention as the martial artist rushed forward and grabbed someone from the crowd. Before anyone could react a female was thrown into toward the center and Ranma stalked around the dazed girl like a hunting cat. Ramza recognized the slight build and masculine clothes as someone from his group in the academy.

"He has Iris," he said in a grim tone causing Delita to look and gasp.

"We have to get her out of there!" the larger boy said.

"I'll hold him off, and you get her back." Ramza said drawing his sword and pushing through the crowd.

"Ramza wait!" Delita soon followed. The girl in question swallowed and tried to scramble back but the boy pounced and pinned her down. Her eyes were wide with fear as he brought a hand in striking distance over her, so close she could see a dull glow about them.

"You, you killed him," The boy choked out, starting to fall from his beastly presence. "Why? And damn it, you better give me a good reason!" he growled tears falling from his eyes and onto her shaking form. She couldn't speak; she just mouthed words that couldn't be linked together. "Answer me!" he screamed causing her to flinch.

"Let her go." Ranma turned sharply to see one of the boys he'd noticed at the beginning, blond hair in a royal blue tunic, his blue eyes meeting his own with a determined gaze. "If you need someone to fight it should be me. She's just acting under orders..." Ramza said firmly long sword held in front of him in attack position. The martial artist slowly stood.

"Acting under orders huh," he said his emotion barely held back. He locked eyes with the other boy. "Your orders," he snarled barely holding back his rage.

Ramza remained cool under the fiery gaze. "I guess you could say that," he said like it didn't matter at all. He was trying to goad the boy into attacking him so Delita could get Iris away, and it was working. At those words Ranma charged forward, the noble ducked and dodged the first three attacks only to have the fourth catch him in the stomach. He was surprised to see what looked like claw marks where he had been hit, the bleeding cuts staining his tunic. Focusing through his pain he eyed his opponent with new caution, "His hands strike like a beast's claw. Looks like I can't hold back," he whispered to himself as the boy charged again.

This time instead of trying to dodge, he blocked the attack with his blade. It sparked as if hit by another sword, as did the next series of attacks which Ramza parried skillfully. The moment the boy backed off he paused, his own attack striking out as Ranma weaved, flowing around it. Once Ranma ducked low he was greeted with a foot to the face that sent him rolling backward and back to his feet. Both boys were breathing hard as they eyed each other waiting for signs of movement. Ramza's gaze briefly wandered to Iris, who Delita was carrying to safety. He smiled, only to find Ranma right in his face the moment his attention wandered. In one swift motion he was disarmed and knocked backward with a palm strike to the chest.

Ranma stalked forward. "This is for Andy," his voice dropped to a harsh whisper as he approached.

"Damn, I shouldn't have let my eye off him," Ramza cursed looking to where his sword had fallen. If he reached for it the boy would catch him with those claws of his for sure. But, without it, he wouldn't be able to fend off the strikes. "I'll have to risk it," he decided.

"Swirling bolts, gather and strike with power!" A voice called out just before a massive tendril of lightning snaked down and hit the berserk boy squarely. Ranma screamed in pain and fell to his knees, smoking and charred. His wild eyes dimmed and he fell forward, lying motionless on the ground.

"Ranma!" A girl screamed, scrambling over to him. The knight moved to stop her but Ramza motioned for them not to interfere. The healer cried as she held on to the unconscious boy, begging him not to die too.

Delita stepped forward and gave his friend a hand up. "You know I worry about you when you pulled stunts like that," he said with a grin, getting a light chuckle in return, which turned into a slight groan as he held the wound on his chest. Then turning to his now nicked up blade, had the boy really been unarmed?

"Sorry..." Ramza said with a nervous smile that left him when he glanced to his opponent. "He was fighting like that because he lost his friend... I really can't blame him I guess." he said softly. A figure approached the two, bundled in robes wearing an oversized straw hat. "Thank you Aley. I am truly grateful for the save." The only visible features of 'Aley' were the eyes that curved upward implying a smile.

"Just happy I could help sir," came a chipper female voice.

"I'll be sure to get you an outfit that fits you before our next battle." Ramza said with a slight smile, getting a laugh from the robed girl.

"That would be nice. Oh, I also came to report that Algus has apprehended the thief's leader. The survivors are already beginning to surrender," she said excitedly.

A cheer rose up from the surrounding knight and the young Nobles gave a sigh of relief. "Very good everyone. Job well done."

"Gather the prisoners to the front of the building," Delita bellowed and the soldier moved out to comply. "Let's have a talk with this, leader." Ramza nodded and the pair moved off to find Algus.

Not much later, the young Beouvle stood with his trusted friends at his side looking over the defeated. Most of the prisoners were rounded up and taken away, but Miluda had refused to think surrender if she couldn't see Ranma, the Berserker, and Madeline, the healer he was protecting. The enemy commander was glaring up at him defiantly from her knees. She was moderately wounded, but her spirit was unbroken. "Go ahead, kill us then. We're just animals, kill us!" she held her head back, exposing her throat.

Ramza was a little shocked at this, unsure what to do. "You hate us that much," he said softly. Algus glared at Miluda before moving up next to his new friend. His tunic was ripped in several places with a few minor wounds, seems he took plenty from the death knight before he managed to win.

"Ramza, kill her, now! She's your enemy! An enemy of the Beoulves! Understand? Your enemy! She's a loser, who's lost sight of life! Losers cannot remain alive! If we don't kill her, she'll kill us! We can't coexist! Kill her, Ramza! With your own hands!" he ranted eyes wild. Ramza merely looked over to Algus unsure what to think of this sudden bloodlust.

"I don't see why she's our enemy," Delita said plainly, catching the noble's attention.

"What did you say? Are you mad Delita?" he asked firmly.

Delita turned away a bit. "She's not an animal. She's human just like us," he said softly. Algus couldn't believe his ears.

"Are you betraying us too," Algus was incredulous.

Ramza looked between his two companions while Miluda snorted and slowly got back to her feet.

"Oh, sympathy, is it? Despicable creatures. You're my enemy as long as you belong to the Beoulves. Don't forget it." She glared Ramza down before motioning to Madeline. Between the two of them they managed to shoulder the unconscious Ranma and start off. A few soldiers moved to stop them but Ramza shook his head and made them stand down.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Iris asked from a little ways back as she eyed the trio's exit. The young noble sighed and shook his head.

"I don't know. Delita, we are," he looked to his good friend for advice but the brown haired boy was equally unsure and merely shook his head.

Algus crossed his arms and looked away. "Geez, what's wrong with you," he muttered annoyed. The sun set on the long battle, a battle that would be the turning point of a young man's life. For better, or worse, had yet to be seen.

To be continued...

A/N- yay, all finished with the reposts. I really do love this story and I have such a grand plan for it it's just so hard getting around to writing it at times. I little hint of what to come. Ranma arrives at death corps HQ and meets up with Weigraf, There's a deeper look into Madeline's life and past, promises are made and Ranma finally gets a chance to heal up before the main assault. Also in a couple of chapters I'm going to start a side story taking place in the normal universe as Akane tries to find out what the hell happened to Ranma which will be a crossover of another suit entirely. smirk

Anyway I thank you for reading my story and I'll try to get the next part out ASAP. Je ne!