The Dragon and the Ghost Part 17 Reunion. ++++++++++++ "We're almost there," said Ranma with a light smirk on his face as he turned towards Akane. She had her arms folded across her chest and was glaring at him distastefully as they walked. "Good, then I can kill you." "You can try at any rate," replied the boy with a small chuckle. "I doubt if you're dumb enough to try, especially with the others around. If you aren't careful, I'm afraid I'll have to tie you up again." Akane growled and turned her head away. "There's a good girl," said Ranma cheerfully as he continued walking. A few moments later they came upon a worn looking cabin deep in the woods. A column of smoke rose from the rickety looking chimney. Ranma grinned back at Akane for a moment and walked up to the front door. He began to bang on it harshly. "Open up in the name of the Emperor! Come out now! You'll not escape!" Akane stared at him in shock for a moment as he tried not to giggle at the noises that started to come from inside the cabin. Finally, he kicked the door in and waltzed inside confidently. "Where is the Kajakan!?" Akane blinked as a blast of white light came from inside the cabin. Ranma sailed back out the door, and landed on his back in the dirt a few yards away from her. "Dolt." Ranma sat up, his body was smoking and he had a dazed look in his eyes. "Whoa. Kinda forgot about that damn spear." "Ranchan? Are you all right?" said Ukyo as she peered out the door of the cabin cautiously. A moment later, both she and Shampoo rushed out to his side. "Wow, you almost got yourself killed. That was pretty funny though," said Shampoo cheerfully as she grabbed his arm. "You jackass! What the hell were you thinking?" snapped Ukyo as she belted him over the head with the spear. "I could have killed you!" She promptly grabbed his other arm. "Ouch, my head," muttered Ranma. "Hey! What are you doing! Let my Ranchan go!" said Ukyo as she looked up at the elf girl opposite her. "I don't see a brand on him," replied Shampoo curtly as she cuddled his arm a little harder. "Look you hussy!" said Ukyo angrily. "Will you two knock it off?" said Ryu lazily as he emerged from the cabin with a long wrapped bundle over his shoulder. Akane snapped to life in an instant. "There it is!" "Huh?" muttered Ryu dumbly, everyone else turned and watched the girl as she charged him angrily. "Give that back to me you thief!" roared the girl. Ryu merely smirked and spread his feet apart for a moment. "Don't move!" The black knight staggered for a moment in surprise. "Huh?" It was all Ryu needed, he jumped forward, slamming into her with his attack. Akane was thrown across the yard of the home, and came down rather roughly near a pile of firewood. "What an idiot." "I warned her," commented Ranma from beside Ryu. Shampoo and Ukyo blinked in surprise as they looked at their empty hands. Ranma had used the distraction to escape, leaving them sitting alone dumbly. Akane staggered to her feet and glared at the pair bitterly. "Do we really need to tie you up again?" said Ranma calmly as he watched her. "If you try for the Kajakan again before we're done with it, I will." Akane snorted and turned her head away once again, she stood silently for a long moment before simply sitting down in the dust. "We'll head back tomorrow," said Ranma calmly as he walked towards the cabin. "The two of us have had a hard journey, we need to rest before we go on." ++++++++++++ "Kiima," said Saffron as he sat on his throne in the great hall of the palace. Hundreds of dignitaries sat around him, silently. "Yes my lord?" said the woman as she appeared before him and bowed deeply. "How are the plans going?" The bird woman smirked at him. "Perfectly." "Heh, Lord Herb is unaware?" "Of course not," said the woman with a slight bow of her head. "Excellent," said Saffron with a slight chuckle. "You may leave me now." Kiima bowed and vanished from in front of him. +++++++++++++ In the shadows nearby, a lone figure stood hidden away from view. The long black cloak hid away all of her features. The bottom of her face was all that was visible, lit by a nearby torch that hung from the wall. She smiled lightly, her lips painted with a dark purple lipstick. "Most interesting," she commented just before she melted away into the darkness. ++++++++++ Late the next day, the party finally stood overlooking the forest. "It's over," said Ranma with a heavy sigh as he looked out over the treetops. Akane frowned and looked down at the forest for a moment. She said nothing, but her thoughts were much darker. "No, it has only begun." "Come on, let's get this over with," said Ryu as he started forward. Ryoga grunted dwarfishly in agreement and started to follow after the group, or so he thought. "Eh! Where'd ya go?" Ranma pulled on his hear as he dumped a flask of water over his head, changing instantly. She then shook off the water and forced the dwarf in the right direction. Ukyo frowned as she looked over at Akane for a moment. "What are you planning Ranchan?" she muttered under her breath. The boy had made no attempt to hide where they were going. He had practically led the Emperor to the elven village personally if she was allowed to live now. Suddenly Ranma stopped cold and looked at the forest silently for a long moment. Ryu moved up beside him with a scowl on his face. "What is it?" asked Shampoo in confusion. She looked over at the forest in confusion. A huge flock of birds soared into the sky above from the treetops. "Wow," said the elf girl in wonder as she watched them sail over her head, many passed almost close enough for her to touch. "Ryu..." said Ranma quietly. "You too, huh?" muttered the boy in answer. "Yeah. I've got a bad feeling about this," said the redhead quietly as she glanced back at the group. "Let go o' me ear!" snapped Ryoga from beside Ranma, completely ruining the serious moment. "Oops, I forgot," said Ranma cheerfully. "Let's get going," said Ryu to the whole group. +++++++++++ The village was silent, it was early evening, and the sun was slowly sinking below the horizon. The group walked through the empty streets and wandered towards the palace. "Is it always this quiet?" muttered Akane to herself as she eyed the area cautiously. "It's dinner time," said Shampoo with a shrug. "Let's just get this over with," said Ranma coolly as she stepped towards the palace. "I'd like to get paid and forget about this job." "Long overdue," agreed Ryu with a small nod. The group walked into the great tree that served as the palace. Shampoo moved into the lead position as they walked up to the throne room. Ryu handed her the Kajakan and nodded grimly. "See you guys later," muttered Ranma as she vanished into thin air. "What?" stammered Ryoga. "Come back coward!" "Shut up," said Ryu as he smacked the dwarf on the back of his head. The group opened the great doors that would lead them to Cologne's throne and walked into the room slowly. "Welcome," said the cold sounding voice. "What?" stammered Akane in shock as she stepped forward. Herb was sitting in the throne, lounging rather lazily as he watched them enter the room. "I believe you are bringing something to me?" He put out his hand and opened his palm as he stared at Shampoo calmly. "What? Who are you? What are you doing here?" said the elf girl in shock. "You must be the princess Shampoo, my, but you'll fetch a fine price," said Herb as he leaned forward and stared her dead in the eyes. "What have you done with the elves?" she snarled angrily. "Captured, dead, or run away. It doesn't really matter does it?" said Herb with a small chuckle. "Come now. You've been beaten. Give the Kajakan to the Ghost, and have him bring it to me." "The Ghost?" said Ryoga as he turned to look back at the doors. "Yes, I am the Spirit of the Dragon. I will take the sacred staff from the Ghost, and destroy the Emperor," said Herb with a mad looking grin forming on his face. "I will have my revenge at last, and the evil child will be destroyed at last. I will become emperor, and we'll all live better lives. Isn't that nice?" "Humph, traitor," Akane stepped forward with a dark look in her eyes. "I'll have your head for this." "You won't be leaving here alive I'm afraid. Take them," Herb waved his hand and several armor-clad figures walked out from behind the great wooden pillars that lined the room on both sides. The heavy wooden doors closed them into the room. "Thus the trap is shut. Now, lady Akane, you and your friends will die." Herb turned towards the black knights and smirked. "Kill them, but leave the human male. I need him alive." Herb paused, none of the men were moving. He turned slowly and saw a strange white glow surrounding the elf girl. "Shampoo, now," whispered Ukyo from behind the elf. The purple haired elf stepped aside, and Herb's eyes went wide as he found himself staring down the knight's spear, and the ball of white energy that was collecting on its tip. "You talk too much," said Ukyo as she finally released the power on him. "No!" whispered the man as he stepped back. The energy slammed into him, creating a blinding flash of light. The throne was vaporized in an instant, along with any portion of the wall and floor that the blast had touched. A huge pile of ash was all that remained when the light faded away. Akane was in motion before the blast struck home. She rushed towards the nearest knight, slamming into him with a side kick that dented his armor inward as she grabbed at the sword that hung from his side. In an instant she was standing at the ready with her blade. "Now, which among you wishes to challenge my authority as Lady of the Black Knights?" The men stepped back away from her, giving her a wide area of clearance. She slowly turned and smiled grimly at the small party. "Well? We'd best leave before he wakes up." "What?" said Ryoga in surprise. "These cowards are not my knights," said Akane as she looked at the armor clad men, who were still standing around in shock. "They would turn on me in an instant. I'm smart enough to realize my position is still unfavorable at the moment." "What do you mean wakes up? I vaporized that bastard!" snarled Ukyo. At that moment, the smoking pile of ash began to rise from the floor slowly as something began to grow from within it. Two glowing red eyes appeared as a head became clearly visible, rows of small horns began to push out from around the face, as the ash began to pour away from the thing. It was clearly inhuman and very pissed off. It grew larger and larger with each passing moment, until it was easily thirty meter's long. "No way!" said Ukyo as she stepped back. "Shit," muttered Ryu. "He was a beast-man," said Ryoga as he began to back away as well. "No..." said Shampoo in horror. The dragon roared, rearing its head back to reveal the golden scales under its belly. It's roar was cut short as a figure appeared out of nowhere and slammed into the thing's head, sending it crashing into the floor. "Took you long enough damn it!" snapped Ryu as he started running towards the doors after Ranma. The elf girl had landed in a sprint, and was already charging towards the dumbstruck knights who were in front of them. "You looked like you were handling it!" snapped the redhead in retort as she took out the two men who were directly in their path. Ryu simply charged forward, slamming the doors open easily despite their size and weight. "Now what?" cried Ukyo as she stopped just behind them as they paused for a moment in the hall. "We run," said Ranma as she looked back and saw the dragon was slowly regaining its senses. Shampoo rushed up to them, dragging Ryoga at her side. "Follow me!" she said as she turned down the hall. "That's not the way out!" snarled Akane as she backed out of the throne room. Herb was looking directly at her now, and she had her sword held at the ready. "We can't go the way we came. He'd have hidden guards in every elven home, just in case we escaped," said Ranma as she started after Shampoo. The entire group moved after Shampoo as she led them up the stairs. "Where are we going?" snapped Akane as an angry roar sounded a short distance behind them. "Secret passage," said Shampoo as she tugged Ryoga's arm violently. The dwarf was running too hard too speak at the moment, in order to prevent Shampoo from lifting him off the ground and pulling him through the air. "Great," muttered Ryu as he followed. "What if they found it all ready?" "We're screwed," said the elf calmly as she turned up a stairwell. "Where is this passage?" said Ranma with a strange calmness on her face. "At the top of the palace," said Shampoo. "Um, guys?" cried Ukyo as she ran. "That's about fifteen floors from here," said Ranma with a small nod. "Faster guys," said Ukyo as she pushed herself a little harder. "Right," agreed Shampoo. "Move it!" screamed Ukyo. The wall below them seemed to explode as the dragon rushed up the stairs at an insane rate of speed. It roared angrily as it charged, carving up sections of wall as its bulky form scraped against the narrow passageway. Tables and tapestries that dotted the stairway on each floor were shattered as it barreled after them, slowing it slightly. "Shit!" snorted Ranma as she rushed forward, leading the group at a much faster pace. Herb snarled angrily as it slammed into another table behind them, he stumbled for a moment and shook his head before charging forward again. Ash still dirtied his sliver and gold skin, and his eyes seemed to burn brighter with his anger as he slithered down the passageway after them. His huge wings tore through the wall as if it was paper as he flexed them angrily. "He's slowing down!" said Shampoo. "Then run faster!" cried Ukyo as she shoved at the girl's back, forcing her to move a little more. "What?" said Shampoo. Her protest were quickly silenced as a golden light tore through the stairwell and through it, blasting a hole through the building and into the air outside. Herb closed his mouth and glared up at the still retreating party. He snorted in disgust and continued to move up the stairs after them. "There's the top floor!" cried Ranma as he pushed himself through the last door at the top of the stairs. "Get your ass up here Shampoo!" "Coming!" snapped the elf as she rushed by, followed by the rest of the group. Herb's head appeared behind them, snapping angrily and barely missing them. The beast's head pulled back out of the room for a moment as Ranma ducked into the next room with the others. "Here!" said Shampoo as she opened the floor in the middle of the room. "This isn't a passage! It's a hole!" snapped Ukyo as she peered into the endless void that stared back at her. "Jump or die! It's your choice!" snapped the elf as she vanished into the darkness below. "Go!" snapped Ranma as she appeared in the room. Akane was the next to jump, she scowled at them for a moment before Ryu shoved her in all the way, and followed after her. "I'm gettin to old for this," muttered Ryoga as he looked at the pair for a moment. He then vanished as well. "Go!" snapped Ranma. "But..." said Ukyo with terror in her eyes. "Do it!" snapped Ranma. "Oh shit!" gasped Ukyo as she glanced behind the redhead. Walking up to them with a slowly quickening pace, was the ugliest creature she had ever seen. It was a scaled man, with the head of a dragon. A small crown of horns lined his face and he glared at them, drool dripped from his chin as he worked his jaws open and closed. His claws worked as he stared at them angrily, and his body began to glow. "Die!" it cried as it stopped in the doorway and raised its claws into the sky. "No!" screamed Ukyo as she found herself shoved into the hole. Then, there was a flash of light. She screamed as the golden energy threatened to overtake her, even as she fell. Finally, there was only blackness. +++++++++++ Nabiki Tendo frowned as she looked into the mirror. "What is he doing?" she muttered. The image shifted, and the top of the largest tree in the forest suddenly became nothing more than a golden flash of light. It vanished slowly, revealing nothing but a single figure floating in the air where the center of the blast had originated. "That idiot killed them," snorted the girl irritably. She waved her hand for a moment over the surface of the mirror and seemed to relax slightly. "No, he failed. At least a few of them are still alive." She watched the beast-man change back into the dragon once again as it began to circle the area in frustration. "Well, it seems you've lost them again darling." She smirked and watched him search for a moment. "Too bad, I never expected that...heh." +++++++++++++ "Where am I?" Ukyo Kuonji slowly opened her eyes and sat up. There was a thin sheet covering her body and every part of her seemed to ache. She was lying on some kind of wooden bed, and was alone in the darkness. "Ouch. What happened to us? Ranchan?" She glanced around, searching for her beloved for a moment. "You're awake," said a voice to her gently. Ukyo turned and saw the most shriveled looking creature she had ever seen staring back at her. "Gah! A troll!" she cried as she pulled the sheet up to cover herself. Somewhere along the line, her armor had been removed, along with her clothes. Cologne, the elder of the elves, promptly hit her over the head with her staff. "I told you you'd scare her," said a familiar voice in the darkness. Shampoo walked up and sat down next to the table. "Relax Kuonji, we're all ladies here." "Huh? Wha? Where am I? What's going on?" said the knight in confusion. "This is the secret escape route of our tribe," said Shampoo with a small shrug. "It was an old dwarven mine, but we drove the creatures off many centuries ago, and saved our forest from them. We now use the caverns as a shelter in time of need." Ukyo nodded and hung her head. "Ranchan? Where is he?" "You mean that Kumon boy?" said Cologne with a small chuckle. "Ryu?" said Ukyo with a look of disgust on her face. "Surely you don't mean that disgusting little dwarf?" said Cologne in shock. Ukyo went completely pale. "No!" Shampoo shook her head and put her finger to her lips with a scowl on her face for a moment from behind the old woman's back. "Never mind," muttered Ukyo as she gave Shampoo a distrusting frown. "Very well, I shall leave you to rest now," said Cologne as she noticed the silent battle of wills between the two girls. She hopped away, leaving the pair in silence. "Where is Ranma?" "Right over there," said Shampoo as she raised her hand. A ball of light formed and rose into the air, giving the room a soft glow. The red-haired elf was lying on a table a few yards away, still sleeping. Ukyo stood up to go to her, throwing the sheet aside despite her nudity. She paused as a hand fell on her shoulder. "There is time for that later, he needs rest first," Shampoo smiled at her and nodded gently. Both girls froze as a new figure entered the room, taking Shampoo into his arms. "Shampoo! You have returned to me at last!" Ukyo froze, staring at the newcomer in shocked horror. "Oh my darling Shampoo! I heard about your return, and had to come see you at once! At last we can be together!" "Mousse, what the hell are you doing here?" said Shampoo in shock. "Visiting you, of course!" replied the boy cheerfully. He turned and adjusted his glasses as he noticed Ukyo standing there beside him. "Oh, hello. Who are you?" Ukyo screamed, punching him dead in the face and grabbing the sheet to cover herself at the same time. Mousse sailed through the air, coming down hard just outside the doorway. Shampoo smirked and looked at Ukyo for a moment. "Nice distance." "Pervert!" screeched Ukyo as she continued to glare at the confused looking boy who was lying on his back just outside the room. Shampoo walked over to the door and frowned at him. "Stay out you idiot. This room is girls only, you pervert." Mousse blinked as she slammed the door in his face. He glanced around, and found himself alone in the hallway again. He stood up and dusted himself off. He removed his glasses and tucked them inside his sleeve, as he calmly walked away with a strange smirk on his face. ++++++++++++ "So, now what?" said Ryu as he sat across from Ryoga calmly. The pair was waiting in a small room with a fireplace. The room itself was rather well furnished, books lined the walls, and there was a small table in the corner. The both of them were sitting in the lounge chairs, with drinks in their hands just in front of the fireplace. "We still haven't been paid," snorted the dwarf impatiently. "That will come in time," said an unfamiliar voice. The pair turned and found an old woman balancing precariously on the end of her staff. "Once your partner wakes up, we have business to discuss." "Right," agreed Ryu with a small frown. "Well, here's to a job well done," said Ryoga with a chuckle. "Indeed," said Cologne with a small frown. "Not as well as I would have liked, but we've completed the terms of the contract," said Ryu with a small frown. "We'll take the money and leave, the Kajakan, and all it's problems are yours now old woman." "Indeed," agreed Cologne as she watched him for a moment cautiously. "It makes one wonder how they found out though?" "Shampoo, Ranma, and myself were the only ones who knew our final destination," said Ryu calmly. "Not even the knights knew." "Interesting, how did they find out?" said Cologne as she hopped up and poked at the fire for a moment. "A witch most likely," said Ryu with a shrug of his shoulders. "I had heard you were immune to such power," said the old woman as she glanced over at him. "We are, but you're not," said Ryu with a small chuckle. "In any case, it's no longer our problem." He sipped at his drink lazily and smirked at her. "Indeed," said Cologne with a small frown as she hopped away. "I'll leave you for now. Have Shampoo summon me once your partner wakes up." +++++++++++ Akane Tendo sat quietly, staring at the bars in front of her coldly. Two guards stood on either side of her cell, watching her silently. She eyed them for a moment, causing them to shift uncomfortably as they watched her. She chuckled and shook her head for a moment, turning towards the wall again. +++++++++ TBC... Next time: The Wrath of Herb! Previous parts can be found at Http://www.fanfiction.net and R&C Books International Fanfic Company at Http://www.rcbooks.org Ja!