|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Part Six: Vengeance for the Fallen | ||||||||||||||||
| By Richard LeBlanc | ||||||||||||||||
| By early the next day - police and emergency crews were frantically doing what they could to find survivors and prevent the disaster from spreading. Every news station was covering this disaster that had rocked the relatively quiet part of the city. | ||||||||||||||||
| But - none of that mattered. Not to the small gathering that was assembled to mourn the loss of a daughter - a sister - and a friend - in Kasumi. | ||||||||||||||||
| Akane listened as others spoke. It was as though she wasn't physically there - it was all too unreal. Of all the perils that she and the others had faced - of all the insanity that had surrounded all of their lives - only Kasumi seemed to be the calming factor. She wasn't supposed to die. It was then that Ranma made her way over to where Akane was sitting. | ||||||||||||||||
| "Hey - are - you going to be okay?" she hesitantly asked. Akane blinked. As she focused on the girl that was talking. "You want me to get Doctor Tofu?" she asked. | ||||||||||||||||
| "I'll be okay," Akane reassured passively. It was then that Ranma and Akane noticed Ukyo and Ryoga standing by the doorway. | ||||||||||||||||
| "Akane - when I saw what had happened on the news - I hurried here as fast as I could," Ryoga began as he looked over at Ukyo. "Lucky for me - I ran into Ukyo," he added as he lowered his eyes. | ||||||||||||||||
| "Are you going to be okay Akane?" Ukyo asked seriously as they walked over to where the youngest Tendo daughter was. | ||||||||||||||||
| "I - I'm still having a hard time believing she is gone. All of this is like some crazy dream," Akane said - her voice distant. Ranma sighed as she walked over to where Genma and Soun were. | ||||||||||||||||
| "When do we go after this Talon worm?" Ranma asked - doing her best to contain her rage. Soun put his hand on her shoulder. | ||||||||||||||||
| "We have to think this through. If we just charge in - he will win. Look at what he has caused. He is not like any foe we have ever faced," Soun stated. It was then that Cologne limped into the room. | ||||||||||||||||
| "Talon - is a foe - unlike anything - anyone has faced," she stated as she made her way over to where Soun was. "He must be taken down at all costs," she added seriously. | ||||||||||||||||
| "The cost is already too high," Soun began - looking over at a picture of Kasumi. | ||||||||||||||||
| "Talon has barely begun. This - is but the beginning,' she pointed out as she looked over to where a disturbingly calm looking Happosai was. "Why do I get the impression - that you had some hand in this?" she asked seriously. | ||||||||||||||||
| "It is all my fault," Happosai muttered. | ||||||||||||||||
| "As much as I would love placing all the blame on your bald head - there is too much to balance. Who is this Talon person?" Ranma asked seriously. Cologne made her way over to where Happosai was and sat down beside him. | ||||||||||||||||
| "It was written in the history of my people - that Talon - was the greatest of all the martial artists and that many of the schools that exist - trace their way back to his halls," Cologne began. | ||||||||||||||||
| "That was what led me to find him. I was - hungry and ambitious in my youth when I found his place. I was too young at the time to know what he was. I spent ten years under his guidance - and in that ten - I learned more than a normal student would have learned in ten times that," he began. | ||||||||||||||||
| "Around that time was when a certain underwear thief started plaguing the village. It was then that one of the elders followed the panty-thief deep into the forbidden mountains. What she saw - was carved into her memory. She found his city. The place was tightly sealed - and the sounds of conflict echoed from the huge structure. When the doors were mysteriously blown from their hinges - she hurried in to investigate," Cologne continued. | ||||||||||||||||
| "What she found was Talon - weakened and stunned. She then cast a spell on the weakened master - and sealed him within his fallen city. To this day I sincerely believed him to be dead," Happosai continued. | ||||||||||||||||
| "How did you know of this?" Cologne asked. | ||||||||||||||||
| "He spoke to me in a dream - taunting me - telling me how he was coming," he replied. | ||||||||||||||||
| "This is bad - very bad," Cologne replied. | ||||||||||||||||
| "You mean to say it wasn't until now?" Akane blurted out. | ||||||||||||||||
| "Child - I know that you are hurting for you loss - but I too am hurting. That monster cut a path of terror and destruction through my village to get here. Of them all - only me my great granddaughter and Mousse remain,' she pointed out. | ||||||||||||||||
| "Why did it come here? It couldn't be because of the pervert," Ranma asked. Cologne closed her eyes. | ||||||||||||||||
| "Its reason for being here is far more serious that a rebellious student - even one such as Happy. His purpose is far darker. He came here seeking the ground his fallen temple once stood on. He will seek to raise it - and from it - raise an army of dead and living souls. All of which will possess his skills in combat. Talon seeks to reclaim the world that rebelled against him so many thousands of years ago," she began. "And - all that stands between him - and the completion of his dark quest - is us," she stated seriously. | ||||||||||||||||
| "If he is as all powerful as you are implying - how exactly are we supposed to stop him?" Ranma asked hesitantly. | ||||||||||||||||
| "It is said - that the soul of the living and the dead - will be able to defeat him. But for the better part of my life - none of the elders nor myself have been able to determine what that means," she replied seriously. | ||||||||||||||||
| "If it is a quest you speak of - and you are in need of felling of some foul creature responsible for this tragedy - I Tatewaki Kuno offer my services," Kuno called out from the door. | ||||||||||||||||
| "I believe for once - he speaks for all of us," Ryoga remarked. Genma and Soun looked around the room and saw their friends nodding. | ||||||||||||||||
| * * * | ||||||||||||||||
| At that moment - outside - Akane could hear the others talking - but again - they sounded so distant - even though they were close. She closed her eyes and could see Kasumi - hear her talking to her supportively - acting like the mother she had lost when she was young. | ||||||||||||||||
| "First mother - now this," she muttered as she could feel a hate taking control of her. She looked back into the room where the others were still talking and shook her head. She couldn't hear them anymore - all she could hear was her sister. Her calling out for help - and how she had been knocked out. Had she not been such a klutz - had she been more prepared and taken everything more seriously - she had no doubt in her mind that Kasumi would still be alive and with her. "And do not know who you are Talon - or why you chose to do this to my family - but I swear I will not rest until you are dealt with!" she hissed as she raced away. | ||||||||||||||||
| * * * | ||||||||||||||||
| A short while later - Ranma tensed up. | ||||||||||||||||
| "Problem son-in-law?" Cologne asked. Ranma's eyes darted around the room in a mild panic. All color drained from her face when she realized what was wrong. | ||||||||||||||||
| "Akane!" Ranma called out as she hurried out and looked around. She looked down at the ground and saw her tracks and the direction that they led. | ||||||||||||||||
| "Please tell me my sister did not run off to deal with that thing on her own," Nabiki hesitantly requested. | ||||||||||||||||
| Without saying a word - Ranma raced along the trail Akane had unwittingly left behind - a trail that led directly towards the canyon and where Talon was. | ||||||||||||||||
| Akane you dummy! If anything happens to you. Ranma thought but stopped the train of thought - forcing herself to remain focused on one thing only - saving Akane! | ||||||||||||||||
| To Be Continued... | ||||||||||||||||