Disclaimer: I don't own either Slayers or Ranma 1/2. Oh, how I wish I did...
Okay, I've got to make this quick, cause school starts in a half hour. I'll skip the rant here and say "Enjoy this latest chapter of Anything Goes Dragon Slave!"
"..." normal speech
'...' thoughts
Spells/Attack names
Chinese dialect
Akane woke up behind bars, brain pounding against her skull. The last thing she could remember was drowning in the spring. Two men with wings at their backs pushed some food past the bars. She had reached through the opening, grabbing one of them into a headlock before the other jabbed her back with a bamboo pole. They soon left, leaving her to tackle the barred door. She eventually sunk to the ground, hands gripping the bars. She sighed, as all hope seemed lost. Her body shifted to a laying position, as the bars suddenly came loose. The guards were stunned and she took that moment to make her escape.
She made her way through the passages, ducking and dodging arrows from the bird-men behind her. She found herself in a large room, floor no longer visible. She continued running when a high, feminine voice called out. She slid to a halt, turning back to look at the voice's owner.
Her eyes lit up at the sight of Ranma-chan. "Ranma, I need help!" She nodded, leaping down onto the heads of Akane's pursuers. Their arms reached out, just barely touching.
Akane's shoulders were nearly ripped out of their sockets as two bird-men carried her off. She could see chains fly out of Mousse the duck's feathers. They latched onto one of her captors, releasing her from his grasp.
"Ranma! I'm falling!" Wind whipped her clothes around, until her fall was stopped by the hand in hers.
"Gotcha!" Ranma-chan yelled. There was a tug at the chain. She looked up, cursing. The bird-man was untangling himself. Determination burned in her eyes as they swung back and forth. Ranma-chan used the momentum to fling them to a tunnel just as the chain was removed.
"Come on! Let's aim for that-." Her directions were cut off as she slammed into the wall just above the tunnel. The shock of the impact caused her hand to let go of Akane. Rocks scrapped against her clothes, slowing her movements. She moved back over to the mouth of the tunnel.
The pig-tailed girl slid off the wall, swirls in her eyes. "No, Ranma!" she cried. Her form disappeared into the dark abyss, along with Mousse and P-chan.
Before she could question why P-chan was there, an arm wrapped itself around her waist and a hand clamped over her mouth. The figure behind her pulled Akane further into the tunnel. Her eyes went wide in fear as the opening slammed shut, casting a shroud of darkness over her. 'I can't believe this! Just as I finally found Ranma!'
Her martial arts training kicked in, washing the fear out of her body. She jabbed an elbow into the gut of her attacker, screaming "I've been kidnapped enough today!"
As expected, she was swiftly released. She raised her fists, ready to pummel him when the figure started waving his arms around.
"Aiya, honored guest please wait! Let me explain!"
She paused, mulling over his words. 'Honored guest...why does that sound familiar?' A light came to life, temporarily blinding her. She blinked the stars out of her eyes, allowing her a look at her captor.
"Oh, you're the Jusenkyo guide, aren't you?" He nodded quickly, not wishing to be hurt again.
"Hai. Does honored guest know where we are?" She shot him a confused look, shaking her head. "We are now in heart of Jusendo, source of Jusenkyo springs. I must tell young miss about worst crisis ever at Jusenkyo."
Time passed unnoticed, as the guide recounted his tale. From when the bird-men knocked down his door to the present, the farther along in his tale, the more Akane's face changed. By the time he finished speaking, her features were horror-stricken.
"You're saying all of the Jusenkyo springs have dried up? But, if that's the case, then Ranma and the others can't return to normal!"
He shook his head sadly. "Hai, is too, too sad. Come, we must hurry."
The sun peeked past the leaves, shining gently onto the ground. Amelia drifted back into consciousness, blinking sleep from her eyes. She surveyed her surroundings, momentarily confused.
'Ah, right. We were running from that creature and ended up here.' She sat upright in her leafy bed. The princess swept her gaze across the clearing, looking for her chimera companion. She found him not five feet away, sitting up against a tree with his head bowed. Amelia crept forward, hoping to get a closer look.
His sleeping face was peaceful, no creases due to stress and nothing boarding up his emotions. She raised a hand, hesitating slightly before pushing back his hair. 'If only I could see him like this all the time,' she thought absently. She ran her thumb lightly over his rocky skin.
His calm eyes began to flutter open, sending blood to her face and prompting her to move back several feet.
"G-good morning, Zelgadis-san," she stuttered. He uttered a "morning" as he stood. He began to stretch out his limbs, whereas Amelia couldn't seem to move from her spot.
"Amelia, are you okay?" he inquired. "If you aren't feeling well, we can stay put for a while."
She quickly shook her head, saying "No, no, I'm fine, Zelgadis-san. If we want to find the springs, the sooner we leave, the better, ne?"
"Alright, if you say so." He offered his hand to the princess, whose cheeks were no less red. She grasped his hand and hoisted herself up.
A deep bellow resounded through the woods. The pair looked at each other, knowing the other was thinking the same as them. Hands still clasped, Zel and Amelia began their run away from what they knew was the beast from yesterday.
Lina ignored the screaming protests of her blond companion as she walked down the gangplank, dragging him along by his hair.
She had woken soon after she hit the ground, waking to see Gourry's face right in front of her. Remembering what had taken place moments before, she swiftly decked him and marched out of the room.
"Come on, Lina! Let me go!" She rolled her eyes and continued walking. They soon arrived back to Jusenkyo, Gourry silently sulking. His hair slipped out of her grip, dropping his head on the ground.
"Ite, ite, what was that for?"
"Gourry, shut up and look," she said, while grabbing his head to turn his gaze. The wide, open area of enchanted pools came into his vision. Everything was the same as yesterday, except...
"Hey, Lina? How come the springs are all dried up?"
"I...I don't know, Gourry." She set her gaze toward a village not too far off. "Let's go find out. Grab on." His arms wrapped around her waist, creating a rush of blood to her features. No matter how many times they did this, a flush always managed to settle on her face. She forced herself to concentrate on the task at hand. She began muttering an incantation, too low for Gourry to hear.
"Here we go! Raywing!" she cried. A bubble of air formed around the two, lifting their bodies off the ground. Gourry yelped, gripping tighter to her mid-section. Lina resisted the urge to pummel him and directed the way to the village.
They made quick time, coming to the outer wall in under five minutes. Lina made a quick survey of the place before touching down just outside of the border. It looked as if most, if not all, of the population consisted of females, and everyone had some kind of weapon on their person.
'Oh, God, not another female-only town!' Lina griped. She touched ground silently, whereas Gourry let go too soon and met ground the hard way. The guards standing at the entrance, female of course, had shocked expressions of their faces.
"Oi, Gourry, stand up." Lina grabbed his collar and yanked him to his feet. They approached the entrance, the guards now coming over their surprise.
"Halt!" the first said in a strange dialect. "Intruders are not allowed here, especially males." When they showed no signs off stopping, the guards lifted their weapons, ready to defend.
This got their attention. "Hey Lina, do you know what they said?" Gourry asked.
"No clue." The four fell silent, staring at one another, waiting for one to make the first move. At this point, a diminutive, shriveled creature came over. It was dressed in blue robes, silver hair running down its back. It looked to the guards and started speaking in the same dialect, though in a hushed tone.
'That's-that's a human?' Lina thought incredulously. She had to grab onto Gourry to keep from falling over. The person turned to Lina and Gourry.
"What are two young people like you doing here?"
Lina composed herself, saying "Before we tell you, care to give your name? I'm Lina Inverse, and the jellyfish to my left is Gourry Gabriev. He's my protector." They looked over to him, skeptical, as his mouth hung wide open.
"Very well. My name is Shoa-Her. Now, please explain your reasons for being here before my warriors lose patience."
Before Lina could say anything, Gourry snapped out of his shock. "Um, I've got a question." Shoa-Her gave a nod, indicating him to go on. "What are you? You talk, but you don't look hu-"
He was cut off by a paper fan to the head. It wasn't, however, from Lina. Shoa-Her had crossed the space between them, pulled out a paper fan from nowhere, and smacked him upside the head, all in less than a second. Gourry was swiftly reintroduced with the ground, limbs sprawled out on the dirt.
Shoa-Her slipped the fan into the folds of her clothes. "Unless you want the same to happen to you, you will talk."
Lina gulped, a nervous sweat forming on her face. "We want to know what's happened to the springs of Jusenkyo. All the pools have dried and we want to know the cause of it."
The old woman mulled over her words, waiting for Gourry to stand before giving her answer. "There have been signs of strange activity at Jusendo, the source of the Jusenkyo springs. I would advise against looking into the matter, but that is your choice to make." She raised a bony finger, pointing towards their destination.
Lina grabbed onto Gourry once more. A few hushed words and they rose off the ground. "Thanks for the directions, Sho, Sui, um...Shower!" Lina called back as they raced to Jusendo. The guards gaped at the sight while an angry tick formed on Shower's forehead.
"Elder, why did you let the intruders go?" the first guard asked, the second nodding her head in agreement.
"Calm yourselves. They never set foot on our land, so we have no reason to go after them," she replied. She began her trek back into the village, thinking about the two travelers.
'There's no doubt about it. That magic, and the Sword of Souls. Those two come from the border world.'
There you have it. I know you're out there, so PLEASE REVIEW! If not, I shall send Amelia to recite her "Life Is Wonderful" speech non-stop. Thanks to DragonSword35d for his help so far and credit to Sean Malloy-1 for Shoa-Her's name. Ja ne!