Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, I do not claim any rights to any of the characters or

concepts created or owned by Viz Video or Rumiko Takahashi. This is just the work of one fan to the others. The only characters or concepts that I claim are the ones I created or introduced. That said, I bring you:

The Annals of the Heroine Akane, and the Dreaded Demon King. A Tale of the Mirrorverse.

Chapter 20: A bloody stand.

When dawn broke at last, the small group of defenders could start a wary rest, at last. Another wave had hit them shortly before dawn, clearly meant to just see how alert they were, and to keep them on edge for as long as possible. They all knew that there would be a repeat each night as long as their pursuers had enough spare bodies, at least until the main force arrived. From the number of dead, Akane and Nabiki expected it would be mostly harassment, meant to keep them on edge and see if they could create an opening without wasting too much of their forces.

Ranko had to agree with them, even if she could not say so, much less why. She knew how many should be in the group, and had a good idea of how long the others would take to get there. Time was not on their side, and it would only get more dire by the day. She should just abandon them, take her two companions and regroup with those that she knew were loyal to Ranma, the Demon King.

Yet, that was not what she had chosen to do. Instead, she helped them repair the barricades, and stockpile what weapons were usable. She could try and persuade herself in any way she wanted, but she was all too aware of the truth of the matter. She had started to care about the fate of the one person who should be her most mortal of enemies, the chosen divine blade meant to remove her head from her shoulders.

The latest foil thrown in the way by that damnable Goddess of Light.

Her mother and father would have surely found this amusing and ironic.

Once the barricades were repaired, they once again set a rotating watch, and did their best to prepare the next line of defences for when they had to start to fall back ever deeper into the remnants of the keep.

Nabiki let the others work at it, even though traps were more of her speciality. She had a hunch to follow, and she trusted her intuition now like she had always. She took the best bow they had, and a handful of the truest arrows and made her way to the highest point that was still safe. As she went, she pulled a small vial from where she kept it hidden and carefully dipped two arrows in the fluid contained within.

She noticed that she once again had a shadow, the cat that had become her usual companion since they had started to travel together. She shook her head and waved a finger at the little feline terror. "You stay out of the way, you little terror. Nabiki has to do something, and I can't worry about you." Nabiki could almost imagine the indignant sniff from the cat, but it fell back a little. She shook her head again, and made her way to the spot she had chosen. She could watch the approach from where they had figured the enemy's camp should be. Even though the goblins were almost useless during the day, the same could not be said about orcs. From how organized they seemed, she had to figure they had at least a couple of the more competent and organized race with them.

And there was almost no way they were not watching them.

Nabiki settled into her chosen niche and knocked the first of the two poisoned arrows after she stashed the other where she could easily reach it without having to worry about either of them getting nicked by the poisoned edge. She scanned the edge of the woods, and let slip an amused smile as the cat seemed to be doing the same. It was amazing how attached she had gotten to the little furball, especially with how it seemed to remind her of the other feline that had taken to tormenting her, and drawing a side out of her that she was still unsure how to deal with.

As much as she hated to admit it, she could stand having the demon here right now. She seemed to have a beef with the group that was chasing them, so perhaps she would have lent a helping hand, or claw.

With a shake of her head Nabiki dispelled those thoughts as she watched the teeline intently once more. After a short while, her patience and diligence were rewarded when she saw a bush move, then slowly a dark hand with sharp nails pushed aside a tree branch. Nabiki held her breath as she started to draw her bow. When the head of the orc appeared briefly to look about, then drew back into the cover of the trees she held her fire. She had a feeling, and trusted her gut instincts.

After waiting for a bit longer with the bow partially drawn, the orc once more slowly peered out, his head swiveling as he looked over the keep. His eyes swept up, and for a moment their gazes met, then his head rocked back before he collapsed. Nabiki nodded in satisfaction as she grabbed the other arrow and prepared herself again. She wasn't sure if he had a friend nearby. If so, he would not be returning to them, not with her arrow sticking out of his eye socket.

She watched for a bit longer,then glanced at the sun and nodded to herself. She left the poisoned arrow where it was, it might come in handy later and it was currently too dangerous to store. That task taken care of, she slung the bow and picked up the cat and carried her down with her and back into the keep proper. If she was lucky, she could get a few hours of sleep before that evening.

She was sure she would need it.

True to predictions, that night and the two that followed were harassment. Goblins sneaked up under cover of the darkness to hurl objects in the doorway and the windows, to pry at the outer barricades from out of easy line of sight. To chant dark praise to their Goddess, and dire promises in their broken form of Common.

Nabiki had no more luck during the day with hunting any that might be observing them, so she looks for other ways out, and in. Hoping to find some secret bolt-hole the previous residents might have left.

So far, her search had proved fruitless

Everything changed the third night, as an Orc flanked by two goblins bearing human-sized shields awkwardly to ward their master made a proclamation.

"Humans! Traitors! Know that our master comes for you! Tomorrow will be the last time you see the sun! Kill yourselves now, if you wish to die without suffering!" He yelled at them, then retreated back into the safety of the woods.

While Nabiki and Akane discussed what that meant, and what to expect, Kasumi looked at Ranko and saw the look of guilt and sorrow on her face and knew without a doubt that it was not Akane and her sisters that they had come for. No, their concern was not the Heroine and her party

Kasumi looked at Ryouga, and could easily read his feelings in how his heavy head hung and the sad look in his eyes as he glanced at her, then away again. She had been right. They had been swept up into a fight amongst the forces of the Goddess of Darkness

Kasumi gave Ryouga her best and brightest smile as she knelt down and gently stroked his head. "We aren't going anywhere. I promise."

Ryouga looked at her with his beady eyes, then nodded his heavy head once.

The rest of the night passed with no more attacks, but the chanting continued until almost dawn, when a loud roar rang out, then silence as a heavy, rhythmic beat of a drum sounded. They could see movement at the edges of the woods, as the pursuing force spread out and started to prepare themselves for the assault that would surely come the next night. Just before dawn a loud shout of rage and challenge echoed through the clearing where the remains of the keep sat huddled, followed by a loud voice bellowing. "Prepare yourself! I am coming for your head! I brought something just for you! So please, show your true self and come out! It will make killing you so much easier!:

The challenge issued, it seemed that their leader retreated to the security of the camp that had rapidly started to encircle the keep.

Inside of the ruined kep, Nabiki looked to Akane as she stood tall and resolute before what they both assumed was a challenge to her. Kasumi, Xian Pu and Ryouga looked at Ranko, who had her hands clenched so tight that her nails drew bright blood from her palms.

The Heroine and Demon King spoke in low, dangerous voices together as they both looked towards where the enemy leader had issued his challenge. "Come and get me, if you dare."

Once day had broken, the group started to go over their defenses the best they could from within the walls. They could no longer risk being out in the open, not while surrounded on all sides. While Nabiki was checking over a deadfall set to block the oath up the one good set of stairs to the second level, she looked around and pursed her lips. Ranko had volunteered to help, and looked at her in confusion.

"Is something wrong, Nabiki?" Ranko asked as she looked around again.

Nabiki sighed and shook her head. "No, I just can't seem to find that annoying cat of yours…." Nabiki said a bit pensively.

Ranko grinned and shook her head. "Oh, I'm sure she is just skulking about somewhere. Probably hunting a rat or something."

Nabiki nodded as she peered through a window at the encirclement. "I hope so."

Xian Pu returned close to evening, a bit scuffed and with an urgent look in her eyes. Ranko took her retainer and moved to a corner of the hall that they had sheltered in to listen to her report.

Xian Pu said softly in the tongue of the Demons. "Master, they have one of the Slivers of the Dark Heart! I don't know how or why… But they do."

Ranko paused at that and scowled. The Slivers were a potent relic of the Church, a 'gift' as it were from their dark Goddess. Each of them was an obsidian dagger that turned the victims own power against them. They were meant to slay demons, and the more powerful they were, the more potent the weapon became. They had been used in the past to slay Demon Kings who had failed their Dark Mistress. The fact that this group meant that at least someone in the Church had decided that Ranma had to die, and had entrusted one of the relics to them to see that it was done. Ranko could not safely resume her true form and just lay waste to the horde, not without risking the relic being brought against her in its full power.

"Thank you, Xian Pu. Get some rest, we might need your abilities and talents before the night is through. I don't see them letting us have any more time than they have allowed so far." Ranko said, then placed her feline retainer on the ground. She watched with an odd expression on her face as Xian Pu made a beeline for Nabiki, and demanded attention. She didn't settle down until she had been placed in the human woman's lap, and closed her eyes with an audible sigh of contentment. Ranko shook her head and muttered under her breath. "Furry little traitor." in a fond tone of voice.

Evening approached with dreadful speed, and those within the shattered walls of the ruined keep tensed as the sun slowly slid out of sight. No sooner had the last rays vanished and the world descended into the dimness of approaching night did the sound of drums begin. The moving of many bodies through the woods as they began their approach filled the clearing, and the dark praises of She Who Ruled the Night filled the air.

The assault had begun.

The goblins rushed towards the barricades, and threw themselves against them with fanatic zeal. Theri beedy eyes were bright with madness, and they seemed to ignore the losses they suffered from the bows of those that hid within. As they started to make their way inside, Akane moved to block the first of the switchbacks that they had put together out of rubble. Those that fought within the hall knew that it was only a matter of time until they had to fall back to the next line of defenses, the main hall before the one stairway that led up to the second level. It was there that they had arranged a deadfall to block the stairs, at least for some time. A second line of barricades to allow them to buy at least a little more time.

Akane moved with fluid grace, but the supernatural power and stamina that the Goddess of Light had bestowed on her to face the Demon King was not there. She was merely a skilled human woman, not an instrument of divine wrath. She held back the tide as long as she could, with Nabiki and Ranko providing what cover they could before she fell back, and signalled to Kasumi. Kasumi nodded and rose to stand, tall and gleaming a pristine white. She had warned Ryouga about what was to come, and hoped that he had made sure to tell the others that might be affected to not look at her as she lifted her holy symbol high and called out her praise of the Goddess of Light, She who carried the Sun in her arms.

Holy Light, as radiant and blinding as the sun on a clear summer's day streamed out from her and drove all traces of night and shadow before it. The horde of Goblins, and the few orcs that had advanced behind them cried out in pain and terror as they were left blinded for a few moments, time that the beleaguered group used to fall back to their next line of defense. The last to fall back was the bloodied warrior herself. Akane warded the others, and held the line against the few that tried to stop them.

The defenders knew that this position would not last long, they had expended much of their ranged weapons in the early part of the assault, and the enemy would be able to gather in a greater mass before they made their push into the larger hall. All they could do was huddle behind the first line of barricades, and hope that they could bottle them up in the doorway for a while.

That line fell as well, as the assault continued. Kasumi was forced to once again use her Gift, and knew that she would not be able to cast much more before the night was over. She had not fully recovered all of her strength from the ordeal that had brought them to this haven, and the effects would not be dispelled with a few days of scant rest. She had one, two major blessings left in her, at most. Maybe more if she didn't have to keep some of her power back to heal the wounds that were almost certain to begin to add up.

They fell back to their last line before the stairway as they fought a battle to hold until the sun brought them some reprieve. They made sure that they eliminated any of the Orcs that they could, knowing that not only were the larger creatures more formidable, but better able to function in the light of day.

Still, they could not hold out from the tide forever, and the time soon came when they would have to fall back once more. It was better to fall back to the second level sooner rather than later, so that they could make sure that the other two stairwells, ruined and broken as they were, did not quickly become additional points of assault.

As they started to fall back through the entrance to the stair, the horde shouted out and pushed harder. The last one through was to be Akane, and she would trip the pile of rubble that would seal the stairway, at least for a while. They knew that it was a risky gamble, and that Akane would be hard pressed as she made her retreat. What they hadn't counted on was the actions of one of their own. As Akane pressed back, Ryouga rushed into the fray and hit the front lines with the full mass of his body. Akane had no choice but to fall back, as the rocks started to fall. Kasumi cried out, and threw herself through the closing breach as she looked back at her sisters.

"Go ahead! We will catch up to you!" Kasumi cried out, then faced the horde and called out. "Mother! Giver of Light! Shield us, the weak, the devout, the hopeless! Give us your blessed protection! I call upon your sanctuary!" She stood firm as a wave of blessed light rolled out, and created a field of light that sheltered her, and as she had thought, Ryouga. It would not last long, she didn't have the strength left to hold it until dawn came, but it would help for a while. As the last of the stones fell into place, she could hear her sister's cries of dismay.

Ryouga cast a look back at her as he shifted into his true form. "Why did you come, Priestess? You could have escaped while I held them. Now, you will die here with me." He said sadly.

"Because I know that together, we will make it back to the others. Because I trust you, Ryouga." Kasumi said as she readied her staff, and prepared herself to fight.

"I will keep you safe for as long as I can, Kasumi." Ryouga said grimly.

"I know you will. Just like I will for you." Kasumi said as the pair engaged the enemy.

On the other side of the pile of broken rock and masonry, Akane beat against the fall and cried until Nabiki gently pulled her back.

"We have to go. We can't let her act of bravery be wasted. If anyone can make it out of there, it's Kasumi. She has always been one of the Goddess's favorites. We need to hurry. They will be trying to come up through the other stairwells, and unless we hurry… Her act will be in vain. We have to make it, or how else will we be able to save her?" Nabiki said as she stared forlornly at the pile of rock as well.

Akane nodded as she wiped at her eyes, and grabbed Ranko's hand as she climbed the stairs, a broken, lost look in her eyes.