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They walked through the rubble slowly. Their boot-covered feet not making a sound even on the mud. Looking to their right they saw a collapsed hall covered in scorch marks. Humanoid remains could be seen protruding from under the heavy stones.
A sense of disbelief filled them as they studied the terrain carefully. All evidence led to the conclusion that a furious battle had taken place here a couple of months ago. A battle that somehow ended with catastrophic events.
As they made their way deeper into the now ruins, they could see the defenders had made their retreat all the way into the upper levels.
More silently than death they walked down a certain hall and one of them kicked down a door. Sighs of relief broke the unsettling silence in noticing that no dead bodies were found in the room. They turned and continued walking through the remains of what once was the home of a proud people.
They continued walking around for hours, taking in every detail. The ruins, though silent, spoke volumes of what happened.
Finally making their way to an open area they stopped. Gazing down the mountain in the direction of several voices approaching.
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"Are you sure we can find help here? The place is in ruins." A woman asked. She was carrying a baby on each arm, same as another six of her companions. The group was actually of about two dozen people, most of them armed with blood-stained weapons.
The members of the group, mostly female though there were four men, seemed to be exhausted. They had been running for longer than they wanted to remember. The babies were sleeping right now, their small bodies not being able to withstand the strain.
A tall woman with black hair answered the question. "Even if we don't we have to keep moving." She was covering the rear of the group, a six foot staff on her left hand. Her voice was strong with determination as her black eyes scanned the ruins.
The group continued advancing, not one of them noticing the eyes studying the worn out people. Fear was easily recognizable in their features even if they tried to hide it. Some of the women in the center of the formation were injured, though their injuries were taken care of they still moved more stiffly than the others.
The males were leading the party, their weapons drawn out and their eyes scanning everything in front of them in a nervous manner.
The silence was broken again by a female voice, though this time it didn't belong to the traveling group. "You shouldn't have escaped, healer."
Everyone turned around and eyes widened at seeing an Amazon hunting party. Six trained warriors eyed the small group with cold expressions on their faces. The leader once again took the word. "Why?"
The black-haired woman tightened her grip on her staff. "I should be asking you that question, but I guess it doesn't matter, Zin Dar."
Zin Dar smirked as she relaxed her stance. "You're right. The elders want your head after we return with the young ones for their initiation." The women carrying the babies were quickly covered by the others, weapons drawn.
"We won't hand over the children." The healer stated firmly as she assumed a defensive stance. Even if she was determined to fight to her last breath she was still shaking in fear. Her training as a healer, even if very extensive, didn't stand up to Zin Dar's own in the warrior ways.
"You don't have a choice." And with that she charged with her sword and axe, which seemed to have materialized in her hands. The others watched in amusement as the healer charged forward as well, making the fight take place before Zin Dar reached the group.
Zin Dar opened with a horizontal slash with her axe, her sword ready to block any kind of counter. Her axe was expertly blocked but no attack answered her offensive. She locked gazes with her opponent and understood. *She's only buying time for the others.* Without taking her attention from the fight she saw the four males and other six of the group charge at the reminder of the hunting party while the others ran away in an attempt to escape. "You've got guts, I'll give you that." She continued attacking carefully, testing her opponents defenses and expecting a counter aiming for a pressure point. "But your attempts are futile." She finished with a smirk as she managed to tag her opponent on her left forearm. It was only a matter of time.
Back on the other fight, the last of the males fell lifelessly to the ground. The Amazon warriors were systematically tearing their opponents apart without much trouble.
Not one minute later the only fight taking place was between the healer and Zin Dar. The former was bleeding from several deep cuts and was losing strength. Her staff sported many nicks and scratches from the short fight. The green-haired Amazon went on a final offensive that awarded her with the staff leaving her opponent's hands. The healer, bleeding profusely and fighting for breath, fell on her back and looked up to the smirking Zin Dar. "You fought well, sister. Too bad I have to kill you." And in so saying she lifted her sword and brought it down for the decapitating blow. She was actually being merciful due to the traitor being her sister. Her death would be painless.
The healer closed her eyes, waiting for the killing blow. The sound of steel against steel startled her and she opened her eyes to see Zin Dar eyeing someone behind her. *The owner of this sword.* She thought letting a small ray of hope enter her mind. She saw her sister's expression change from annoyed to shocked in a matter of seconds. The Amazon warrior jumped back in a ready stance, her eyes didn't hold much of the confidence from seconds before.
Zin Dar tensed as her sister was helped to her feet. She didn't dare attempt an attack, not at day. "You were lucky today, Linn." She said just before she jumped away and ran in the direction of the Amazon village. She was soon followed by three of her former five companions, who ran as if all the hounds of hell were on their heels.
When Linn recovered from the shock of seeing her unbeatable sister running away from a fight she turned around. The first thing she saw was what remained of her group. The seven women carrying the children were untouched while only three of the others remained standing, the others were on the floor bleeding.
She swallowed and turned her attention to whatever scared the Amazon hunting party. Her eyes caught sight of only two people. A tall Japanese man and a tall Phoenix woman. Both wearing the uniform of the Phoenix Guard.
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The room was illuminated by a small fire. Most of the occupants of the room were asleep or passed out from exhaustion. Linn sighed as she checked on the last of the wounded. Ten of the women made it with only some minor injuries at the most, two were seriously wounded, the rest was dead. She stood up and headed next to the fire where she sat cross-legged.
"You should get some sleep. You were seriously hurt and need rest." A female voice stated.
Linn smiled but shook her head. "I have to stay awake in case someone needs my help." She turned to one corner of the room, where the babies slept in the arms of the young Amazon mothers. Many didn't make it this far, and they wouldn't have survived today had it not been for the two people next to her. "I want to thank you both. You more than anyone have a right to be angry at us."
"It was nothing." The man waved it off.
They remained silent for a moment until the Phoenix woman spoke. "Do you know what happened here?"
Linn shook her head. "The elders kept most of us in the dark about the ongoing of the war. I found out about their plans because of my position as a healer. The wounded recovered too fast." She turned to look at the woman directly in the eyes. "And their chi wasn't their own anymore." She returned her gaze to the fire and asked. "So what do we do now?"
"We leave first thing tomorrow morning. The Amazons will send more of their warriors after us." The woman said.
"You're not facing them?" Linn asked in fake amusement. "I thought the great Ranma Saotome and Kima of Phoenix Mountain would be dying for the opportunity to spill Amazon blood." She sighed and muttered. "Not that I can blame you."
Ranma smirked. "I'm not running away from the fight. We want to make sure you guys are safe."
Kima nodded. "And we have to find out where our people escaped to."
Linn nodded, having come to the same conclusion at seeing the field of battle. The ruins of what once was the home to the Phoenix people was filled with corpses, both Musk and Phoenix, but not enough to seriously dwindle their numbers.
Sitting in silence, the Amazon healer studied her saviors. Even though they had returned to their home to find it destroyed, with corpses everywhere, they were incredibly calm about it. They even helped the small Amazon group against Zin Dar's hunting party. She couldn't understand them, and wasn't sure if she wanted to.
She remembered back to her fight with her sister. She knew she was outmatched even before the battle started, yet she managed to hold her own against one of the greatest warriors of Amazon history while injured. Of course, Zin Dar refrained from using any special techniques, which were considered her most important weapon.
And now what? She was sure that with Ranma and Kima helping the group would manage to escape, but then what? She hadn't really thought about that. Her entire being focused on not letting these babies suffer the same fate as the others. Her eyes moistened at remembering the determination with which the fallen mothers kept fighting for their children to be safe. The seven mothers had a child each. That meant the other seven children had lost their mothers during the escape. They came very close to losing even more than that. Those babies would all grow with loving families. The trauma had tightened the bonds between the mothers, who decided that the of the children were their own, regardless of blood.
*And where does that leave me?* She asked herself. Her Amazon husband was surely dead by now, if he didn't die with that arrow in his back. She didn't have any children of her own, nor any family aside from her sister. A feeling of loneliness filled her. Without a word she stood up and went to check on the others again. She needed to keep busy.
Ranma and Kima remained close to the fire and each other. Today's discoveries were worse than they had imagined when making their way back. Only the fact that they knew most of the Phoenix must have managed to escape kept them from heading directly to the Musk Citadel.
Kima unsheathed her sword and stared at the blade, distracting herself with the flames reflected on it.
Ranma placed an arm around his wife's shoulders and studied the people in the room. Linn was tending to the others, though she had done it just minutes ago. He supposed she wanted to keep her mind away from what happened. The women all had troubled expressions as they slept. He was sure they wouldn't be sleeping right now if it wasn't for the exhaustion of travelling all day. Then he turned his attention to the children.
Those babies were sleeping soundly in the arms of the women. They had all been breastfed before returning to sleep. Ranma was actually impressed none of the women seemed embarrassed by his presence when they fed the children, but then again the situation wasn't normal. He was sure they felt secure because of his presence and Kima's. He had expected scared looks after he dealt with two of the Amazon warriors, instead he found they actually shielded the children from the hunting party by standing behind him.
Ranma tightened his hold on his wife and whispered to her. "Get some sleep. I'll do first watch."
Kima nodded and sheathed her sword. She stood up and walked over to where the other women were sleeping. Ranma returned his attention to the small fire when his wife fell asleep.
The only sounds heard where the cracking of the fire and the breathing of people.
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Kima flapped her wings as she remained stationary over Phoenix Mountain. She turned all around and flew down next to the awaiting group of people. Landing softly she willed her wings away and lifted their backpack. "There's a small group of Amazons making their way towards us. I would say they're scouts."
Ranma nodded and turned to the woman on his back. "Are you ready?" Receiving a weak nod as an answer he started walking down and towards Jusenkyo. They needed supplies and information on what was happening. Hopefully the guide was still living.
The group walked in pretty much the same formation as yesterday. Ranma and Kima were in front while Linn covered the rear. One of the women woke up too weak to even stand, Ranma was carrying her so they could start moving.
They advanced pretty fast and entered the forest as soon as they could, making it more difficult for others to see where the group was. As an unspoken rule none dared utter a sound, the party moving so silently not even the birds noticed they were there.
As it was, they needed to stop several times for the wounded to rest. Ranma and Kima gave what meager supplies they had to the former Amazons so that they could keep their strength.
During the last part of the travel, Linn was starting to see dark spots in her vision. She willed herself to keep walking behind the others, but either way lagged behind. Breathing was becoming difficult for her as she had to squint to make out the terrain. She didn't notice the others stop and continued walking until she stumbled on someone. Before she could fall down she felt strong arms hold her body. That was the last thing she was aware of before darkness took her.
Kima sighed as she set the healer down. She had noticed Linn treated all injuries very carefully, except for her own. She also hadn't taken a single bite of food, instead making sure the others had enough to eat. Noble actions, but actions that hindered the progress of the party. She proceeded to take off the backpack and set it down. Without a sound the others helped Ranma hand over his passenger to Kima. He then shouldered the backpack and lifted Linn in his arms. They were on their way after less than three minutes.
Kima saw the look on the women's faces and knew she sported the same look. All mothers cared for their children and she was sure Karmine was still alive. Nodoka wouldn't let anything happen to her.
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Linn opened her eyes slowly and was surprised to see a ceiling. She took a deep breath and was greeted with the sight of one of her companions on the journey. "How long was I asleep?" She asked weakly.
The other woman smiled down at her and answered. "About eight hours." With that she helped the healer sit up and took a plate with some sliced fruit from a nearby table.
Linn ate in silence as she pondered what happened. *We must be at Jusenkyo.* She shuddered involuntarily at remembering what the Amazons used the valley of cursed springs for. Xian Pu had only been the latest example, and one of the most lucky. "Where are the others?" She asked with a little more strength. She was working with her chi to recover faster, an easier task when you were well rested and had something in your stomach.
"They are all outside with the children."
Linn was on her feet instantly and out the door before any protest could leave the other woman's lips. She had to blink back the brightness of the day before finally taking in the sight. The women were all sitting on the small porch, the babies were awake as well and sitting in between the happy mothers. They were all staring up and towards the springs. Linn followed their gazes and found the object of their attention. Ranma was performing some slow katas on the poles of the valley with his eyes closed. The grace with which he was performing was on par with the best warriors of the Amazon village.
It didn't take long for Linn to notice an absence. "Where's Lady Kima?" She asked. The married couple had made it quite clear that they didn't need their titles, yet the former Amazons still referred to them with the utmost respect.
This called the attention of everyone. They turned to face her, and Linn could tell from their expressions that fear was no longer the dominant feeling. One of them answered as she turned back to admiring Ranma's performance. "She said something about scouting ahead while we took some rest. Lord Ranma assured us that no one will come close without his noticing."
Up on the poles Ranma scowled and almost lost his foothold at hearing 'Lord Ranma.' He heard giggles next and couldn't help but smirk. *Guess I shouldn't be bothered by it. If they can still laugh then they'll recover from this.* He could still remember their faces when the hunting party surrounded them. The desperation they must have been feeling at seeing all their best efforts were useless. *And even then they fought to save the children, some of them to their last breath.* Ranma wished he could've arrived sooner, but dueling in the past wasn't his style. He was worried as hell about Karmine and his parents, but knew neither Genma nor Nodoka died in Phoenix Mountain. Some of the corpses he found were taken care of by the Saotome Forbidden techniques, both armed and unarmed. That meant his parents managed to escape, and so did his daughter.
Feeling someone approaching he quickly made his way next to the group, who was already warned thanks to Linn. Ranma was really beginning to be impressed with the Amazon healer. As he walked next to them they took the children and stood behind him. The ones capable of fighting prepared their weapons. "You should stand back. You're too weak to fight." Ranma warned as he cracked his knuckles.
Linn shook her head adamantly. "We need every fighter available. You can't protect us all at the same time."
Further arguments were silenced with the appearance of four women coming out of the forest. Ranma narrowed his eyes and prepared for battle. *Amazon warriors.*
"Linn!" One of them called out. "What are you doing? How dare you betray the village and escape with the children?" The leader demanded as she made her way towards the group. She stopped dead on her tracks upon noticing the male standing protectively in front of the rebels. She knew very well who he was.
"I know you." Ranma growled as he fell into an offensive stance. His eyes burning with the fire of determination upon seeing one of the Amazons that escaped that night down the cliffs.
The Amazon took a step back, remembering in almost photographic memory the way this male disemboweled elder Kom Be. Her knees started shaking at seeing his expression, just as fierce as it had been that night. She couldn't face him. Not now.
During their leader's hesitation the others grew restless. "Hand over the children!" One of them demanded, taking several menacing steps forward as she unsheathed her sword.
Linn stood her ground. "I won't let the elders touch them with their filthy claws."
"You don't have a choice in the matter, healer. We have orders to return with the children and your head." She then eyed the other women, making it perfectly clear to everyone the others were expendable.
Ranma turned his eyes from the now shaking Amazon and glared directly at the one closer to them. She made a point of ignoring him as she continued talking to Linn.
Linn came to a decision then and there. Even if the Amazon party had come for her head she didn't want them dead, which was the obvious outcome if Ranma fought them. They were the people she looked after since she could remember. Taking a deep breath she regarded the one with the unsheathed sword. "I challenge you."
"What?!" Everyone was understandably shocked by this.
Linn continued. "Since the elders want me executed for treason I'm no longer an Amazon but an outsider." She pointed her staff at the blade wielder. "As an Amazon warrior you have to accept my challenge or lose your honor."
"Linn..." Ranma silently said. He knew perfectly well the consequences of winning a challenge against an Amazon.
The healer turned to Ranma and whispered something only he could make out. "Lord Ranma, please make sure there's no interference." They locked gazes and came to an understanding. The man nodded with a serious expression on his face, respect shining in his blue-gray eyes.
"I accept your challenge, healer." The Amazon warrior sneered. "What are your terms?"
"If I win you never found us." She said to the Amazon party in general, they nodded their approval. "I don't think I need to state conditions for the case of your victory."
"No, you don't." The Amazon warrior said as she started taking off her light armor to move more freely.
Linn gave a few practice swings with her staff. "Linn, please don't do this." She turned to see the group of women she lead out of the Amazon village, they all were worried about her.
She smiled back at them. "Let me do this. I didn't come this far to let someone else be the hero." She tried to laugh at her attempt of a joke. She couldn't. The others nodded to her, trusting she would win.
After a few minutes more the combatants were ready. They met halfway across the parties and started circling each other. The world around them stopped existing as they concentrated on their opponent. This kind of fight was so different from the field of battle in a war. Here all depended on personal skill with no interference from the outside.
On the sidelines the others watched carefully. Even the less skilled of them was more than a match for a martial artist of the highest caliber, they all lived for the Art since before they could walk.
The stalemate was broken as Linn charged with her staff, it was actually the first time either of the present people saw the healer attack first in a match. Her gentle nature didn't allow her to become a warrior like her younger sister, even if she had the same potential. The fact that she attacked first told everyone that she was serious.
Linn opened with a thrust to her opponent's shoulder, her aim perfect. The Amazon dodged by turning sideways, her sword thrusting forward looking for an opening. The healer twirled her staff deflecting the sword and in the process starting another attack now for the head, which was ducked. Linn finished in a low stance with her staff held to her side pointing down, her eyes never leaving her opponent's.
The Amazon allowed herself some space and took to steps back. She knew she was a lot more experienced than the healer in fighting, but at the same time that was a disadvantage. No one aside from Zin Dar had ever seen Linn fight seriously before, so no one knew what she was capable of. The younger of the sisters was the best, but none here was as good as Zin Dar. All the Amazons knew was that Linn only needed one hit to finish the fight. Her knowledge of shiatsu was so extensive it even surpassed the one of most of the elders.
Linn closed the distance again, intent on finishing the fight in little time. Her arms and legs already started to ache even if the fight had only taken a couple of seconds. She felt the familiar warm sensation of blood flowing from some of her wounds, the bandages didn't hold up, and knew she would be fainting in mere minutes.
The others noticed Linn's clothing start to darken and knew what was happening. The Amazon currently fighting charged with wild thrusts that, while easily blocked, kept the healer busy trying to defend herself and, most importantly, constantly moving. Her weakened body wouldn't be able to keep up.
Ranma saw the fight progress with narrowed eyes. He had faith in the healer winning in the end, but what would be the cost of that victory? She obviously was straining beyond what was safe to keep up with her opponent.
Back to the fight, Linn was starting to set a pattern in the furious attacks. A pattern Ranma recognized instantly. She was leaving apparent openings in her defenses and blocking at the last moment possible, leaving more openings in strategic places. The final step in Linn's technique was when the Amazon thrust forward with her sword, aiming at the healer's heart.
The thrust was blocked and Linn twirled her staff crying out words that froze her opponent's blood. "HIRYU SHOTEN HA!" With the twirling staff as a conduct instead of a punch the hurricane was much more focused, and much more damaging on the receiver. Everyone saw in awe as a horizontal hurricane swallowed the Amazon warrior and smashed her against a tree more than fifty feet away. Needless to say she didn't get up.
The next thing to call their attention was the sound of Linn's staff falling to her weak fingers. She was fighting for every breath, blood flowing from her wounds and a thin line of the same liquid coming out of her open mouth. Her eyes glazed over as she fell on her back, her energy spent.
Two of the remaining Amazons took a step forward to follow the elders' orders. That's all they advanced before a bellow left Ranma's lips. "STAY BACK!" He emphasized his command by slashing the air in front of him with his right hand. The ground in front of the approaching Amazons instantly sported one-feet-deep gashes. They stopped dead on their tracks and looked at him in shock. "You agreed to the terms of the duel. Now leave." He turned to glare at the other Amazon, the one who knew who he was.
The three Amazons took their companion and left as fast as they could, not once looking back.
Ranma made sure they were gone before turning back to Linn. She was currently surrounded by the others, who were frantically trying to wake her. Making his way to her side he pressed several shiatsu, the very few he knew from watching Samando use them, and his expression softened a little at noticing her face recover some semblance of peace.
"She'll die if we don't do something!" One of the women said, almost pleading him to make it all better.
Ranma allowed himself to smile. "I'm not a healer." He turned to the horizon. "But she'll receive the attention she needs." The others followed his gaze and sighed in relief. They saw several winged shapes coming towards them. A certain silver-haired woman in front.
END PART 14
Author's notes: Happy New Year!!!
What can I say? Got another chapter done before returning to school. Hope you liked it. In the next chapter you'll all find out what happened to Phoenix Mountain.
Hope you guys have a great year! |
