"So..... you want me to get that mallet out?"
"Yes."
"Even after Kuriimu killed me once and might do it again?"
Lina cringes at Akane's implied accusation about Kuriimu. Walking down the caverns, they make their way towards the prison area in the mountain's middle.... until the sounds of fighting stop them.
"SHISHIHOUKOUDAN!"
*boom*
Akane's eyes widen and she gasps as she recognizes the voice.
Akane : "Ryouga!"
Lina looks at Akane as she drops Ranma to the floor and runs towards the source of the disturbance. Ranma hits the floor with a thud and groans softly. Lina blinks, then grabs Ranma by the pigtail and drags him bodily across the floor as she joins Akane.
Lina : <Weird girl. She drops one guy when she's meeting another, literally. Fickle one, she.>
At the fight off to one side, Akane watches as Ryouga takes on the Councillor. And is losing. Badly. Clutching a bloody and useless arm, Ryouga is staggering from fatigue, his vision blurring in and out constantly. He ignores the trickle of blood rolling down from his mouth as he tries to assess his position.
Ryouga : <He's still fresh, unscratched, and about to kick my butt. Not good.>
Gritting his teeth, Ryouga prepares himself for another charge while the Councillor simply stands there, waiting. The two don't notice Lina, Ranma or Akane standing there. Ryouga charges.
Ryouga : "KIYAAAAAAAA!"
The councillor watches as Ryouga charges blindly, his useless arm dangling behind him. Akane sucks in her breath as he calmly steps aside to reveal a hard stone wall behind him.
Akane : "RYOUGA!"
*SCREEEEEEEEEEE*
The two combatants suddenly turn their heads, and Ryouga's charge comes to a dead halt, throwing up a small cloud of dust as he brakes.
Ryouga : <Akane-san?>
The councillor looks at the interloper of their battle. He raises an eyebrow.
Councillor : "Hm? Who might you be, little succubus?"
Akane points a thumb to herself as she leans forwards and puts all the authority she can muster into her voice.
Akane : "I'm Tendou Akane, and I want you two to stop fighting!"
The councillor laughs, his mild voice a far cry from those Akane's heard so far.
Councillor : "And I don't see why I should. I'm having too much fun tormenting this little mortal here."
Voice : "When she says you stop, Councillor, I suggest you do so. She's under my protection."
The Councillor's eyes bulge open and his jaw slackens when he hears Lina's voice coming from behind Akane, seconds before Lina herself appears, helping a barely conscious Ranma on her shoulders.
Councillor : "L...L...ady... Lina?!"
Lina hands Ranma over to Akane before stepping up to the Councillor. Looking a little ways upwards at him, Lina gives him a dark glare.
Lina : "You would do well to stop fighting him now, councillor."
The councillor looks very reluctant, but after a second's consideration, he bows slightly and walks over to Ryouga, who's now on one knee and catching his breath. He offers Ryouga a cold, hard hand.
Councillor : "As the Lady Lina wishes. Do you require assistance?"
Lina : "Help carry him up. We don't have time to lose."
The councillor turns around, shocked. Akane would've laughed her lungs out at his face if she didn't have to help support Ranma.
Councillor : "But Milady! He's a mortal!"
Lina narrows her eyes to slits as the councillor tries to protest further, but only stutters. She raises a finger, and a small orb of silver light grows at the tip.
Lina : "Do it."
The Councillor blinks once, then nods and hefts the too-tired-to-protest Ryouga over his shoulders effortlessly. Lina smiles and nods to Akane and Ranma.
Lina : "There.... let's go now! Hurry!"
Akane looks at Ranma as Lina turns to leave. Ranma nods.
Ranma : "I'm all right, Akane. I think I can walk without help now...."
Akane : "If you say so, Ranma."
Staying close by Ranma's side nonetheless, the group makes its way towards the central prison area. As Akane nears the prison though, she can feel something in her head. A slight buzzing, a weak feeling. She notices Lina and the councillor shuddering as soon as she herself feels these emanations.
Akane : <What's up with them?>
Akane soon finds out though, as they near the prison cavern. The pressure in her head slowly increases as the emanations she feels get stronger and stronger with every passing inch, and the feelings become horrifyingly clear.
PAIN!
PAIN!
AGONY!
Suddenly, without warning, Akane's knees buckle from under her as she clutches her head painfully. Ranma reacts quickly enough to grab her and help her up again.
Ranma : "Akane, daijobu ka?"
Akane nods, although the pained expression on her face says otherwise.
Akane : "I...I'm alright, Ranma. But these feelings..... it's so horrible!"
Lina and the councillor pause for a moment as Ranma helps Akane up and gets her moving again. Lina nods sadly at Akane as they reach her.
Lina : "Now you know why I need that mallet removed. Lord Kuriimu is in great pain... I can't let him suffer!"
Akane nods weakly as a concerned Ranma looks around.
Ranma : "I can't feel a thing."
Lina looks at Ranma dryly, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
Lina : "That's because you're mortal."
Ranma looks at her face and decides not to argue. A little mallet in his head somehow tells him that.
Ranma : "Right, figures. Hey, you still ok, Akane?"
With one hand still clutching her head, Akane nods weakly and gently brushes Ranma's hand off her shoulder.
Akane : "Yeah... come on, the sooner I get that mallet out the better! I feel like I've got a ice-cream headache now!"
Lina : "I-scream? What's that?"
Akane and Ranma blink as a drop of bigsweat rolls down their heads.
Ranma & Akane : "Nevermind."
*rustle* *rustle*
Making their way through the undergrowth, Shampoo, Ukyo, Mousse and Cologne move quickly towards their target, the mountain where they were held prisoner nearly a month ago. Shampoo has a bandaged splint on her leg, made from what's left of her bonbori handles. Behind her, Cologne has Sekki tied up in some magically charmed rope which will not break no matter how much she struggles. After another brief bout of struggling, Cologne speaks behind her.
Cologne : "Don't waste your energy. That is the Dark-binding rope. No demon's been known to break that rope yet. You won't be the first either, so just come along quietly."
Sekki : ".........gr......."
Picking out a trail in the moonlit darkness, Shampoo tries to remember the route she took as she was escaping from the demons and finding her way back to the group that day.
Shampoo : <View sure is different from the ground and up here..... where is that path!?>
Shoving a large leafy plant away, Shampoo peers into the space behind it. Clear land stretches out before her, and a small distance into that distance stands a huge shadow, peaked and imposing. Shampoo snaps her fingers mentally.
Shampoo : <Toto! Or was that Bingo? Oh well.>
Excitedly hopping into the small clearing, Shampoo whispers to the rest of the group.
Shampoo : "Mountain here! Hurry!"
Ukyo : "Slow down girl, you aren't carrying the huge, vine attracting remains of my spatula around here you know."
Grumbling, Ukyo emerges from the bushes, followed by Mousse and Cologne leading Sekki. Sekki's eyes glint evilly as she sees the mountain in front of her as the home of her sister.
Sekki : <Time to pay you another visit, this time on your turf eh, sister?>
Shampoo quickly heads for the open, unguarded entrance to the mountain.
A large groups of demons have gathered around the five assembled before the mallet to watch Akane try her hand at pulling out the mallet she so handily put in. She has one foot planted against the wall, her hands holding the mallet by the handle, and her primary wings dug firmly into the ground for major support and leverage. She's not having much luck.
Akane : "Uuuungh!" *gasp*
Lina : "Try again... you were the one who put that mallet there! Besides, you're a succubus! You've got to be strong!"
Akane lets go of the mallet and steps back, wiping the sweat off her head. She shakes it disappointedly.
Akane : "No good. It's too firmly wedged in. I need some help.... any volunteers?"
*rustle* *rustle*
As the five (Ranma, Akane, Lina, the councillor and Ryouga) turn to look behind them, they notice that it's a very empty prison area all of a sudden. Lina bursts a few veins (that's where you see all those crosses) as her eyes darken and narrow into slits before Ranma and the rest see the small mushroom cloud going off from the top of her head. They back off. Lina takes a deep breath. The councillor indicates to the other three to cover their ears. He certainly does.
Lina : "WHEN SHE ASKS FOR VOLUNTEERS, I EXPECT VOLUNTEERS! NOW GET OUT HERE, DOUBLE TIME!"
Ranma is extremely glad he's a high-powered martial artist. Not after the way he could feel the air waves tremble around him and the almost-deafening shout nearly burst his eardrums.
Ranma : <Gawd, she's louder than Akane on her worst day!>
Akane is still trying to get the gongs out of her head as the demons hiding behind the pillars of the prison cavern all come out from their hiding places and shuffle forwards towards Lina. Lina smiles sweetly, a far cry from her horribly irritated expression earlier on.
Lina : "Good! About time I got some volunteers."
Turning to Akane, Lina sweeps her hand towards the group of demons behind her.
Lina : "Here are your volunteers, Akane!"
Akane smiles weakly as she tries to hide the hugesweat rolling down her head.
Akane : <That's called volunteering? I thought it was conscription?>"H..heh heh.... er... thanks, Lina."
Akane looks amongst the gathered group of demons. She passes each one on, shaking her head each time.
Akane : "No good... no good.... no good.... no good! They won't do, Lina! They don't have the hands for the job!"
Lina : ".............."
Lina blinks a few times amidst the collective sigh of relief from the
demons gathered around, and then notices there're a lot more demons among
the group of "volunteers" than before.
Looking forlorn, Akane looks at everyone in the cavern, from Ranma
to the crowd of demons to Ryouga, then to Lina.
She shrugs.
Akane : "Now what?"
Ryouga raises his hand.
Ryouga : "You think I should use my bakyusai-tenketsu on the stone wall?"
Lina immediately raises her hands in protest.
Lina : "NONONONONO! We can't have you turning Lord Kuriimu's head into finer pulp! We'll have to think of another way!"
Ryouga : "............"
Ranma looks indignantly at Akane.
Ranma : *ahem* "Aren't you forgetting someone?"
Akane : "Who?"
Ranma : ".........." <She's dense!> "Yours truly, of course!"
Akane : "You?"
Ranma : "Yeah, me."
Akane : "You're going to pull that out of the stone wall?"
Ranma : "I got an idea."
Minutes later, Akane, Ranma, Ryouga, a VERY reluctant councillor, Lina, and the entire group of demons tied with rope (thanks to Ryouga's bandannas) to the mallet's head are all pulling at the mallet.
Councillor : <Why do I have to do all this dirty work! I'm just a councillor! Sometimes I wished I'd just become that Jakou no Oni my mom wanted me to be.... *grumble* *grumble*>
Akane : "1....2....3... HEAVE!"
*GRRRRRRROOAAAAAAAANN*
*kerthunk*
*koongth*
*KAABOOOM*
[Cue children's nursery rhyme] *And they all fall down....*
The mallet goes sailing into the air over the heads of assorted demons and humans alike as it arcs gracefully across the cavern while everyone watches.
*DONK*
Someone at the back : "OUCH!"
Akane : "Gomen!"
*laughter from the crowd*
Peering into the cavernous hole in the wall, Ranma cringes and pinches his nose as a horrid smell reaches his nose.
Ranma : "PHEEEW! Smells like the time I had to look in the garbage dump for.... oh, nevermind."
Peering in herself, Akane sees a bloody, rotting mess inside. She feels sick all of a sudden as she sees the mashed remains of Kuriimu's skull inside.
Akane : <I'm gonna be sick.>
Turning around, Akane looks at Lina while pointing a thumb at the mess in the wall.
Akane : "You sure that's gonna regenerate?"
Lina peers in herself, and grimaces.
Lina : "Maybe......."
*thump* *thump* *thump*
Everyone : "???"
*kabrom* *kabrom* *kabrom*
Everyone : "!!!"
Someone in the back yells out in some sort of screeching bird-voice.
Someone in the back : "GAAAAAAAAAAAANGWAY! HEADLESS BODY COMING THROUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!"
A small dust cloud appears from the northern entrance of the cavern
and a similar cloud of flying demons follow soon after as the five in the
front watch. Ryouga blinks as he remembers the thumping sound of Kuriimu.....
(Intermission)
Ryouga : <Hold on a moment, Mr. Author... ain't he headless?>
Author : <Well, can't a body move to get a-head? WAAHAAHAAHAA!>
Ryouga : <BAD PUN! Go sit in a corner!>
Author : <................-_-U>
(Back to the story....)
Soon after, the headless body has reached the front of the crowd and is standing before the hole in the wall as Lina watches it tremble slightly. Suddenly, she can hear someone in her head.
Voice : <Lina? Is that you?>
Lina : <Kuriimu!? Are you alright!?>
Voice : <Yes.... I think. I've got one @*%#& of a headache though.>
Lina : <Your tormentors are here.>
Voice : <I know. I can sense them.>
Lina : <What do wish me to do with them....?>
Voice : <I don't know yet.>
Lina : <Didn't you want them dead?>
Voice : <Oh.... that. No, don't touch them. You know, this isn't the best way to talk. Mind getting my skull out?>
Lina : <Oops, forgot..... immediately, milord!>
Voice : <No need for the 'milord' stuff, kitten.>
Lina's eyes widen as she hears the last fading word from her head. All this while, everyone's been looking at Lina as she apparently went into a daze. Ranma waves a hand in front of Lina, then steps in front of her and pulls a few funny faces, then tries one on her and getting whacked by Akane's mallet for his efforts.
Ranma : "Yeowch! What'ja do that for!?"
Akane : "Baka. You know it's rude to do that to people!"
Ranma : "Can't test if she's awake without that, right?"
*donk*
Ranma : "....."
*blink* *blink*
The councillor looks gratified as Lina starts blinking again.
Councillor : "Lady Lina! Are you alright, milady?"
But Lina ignores the councillor and walks straight towards the hole in the wall and reaches a hand in. Pulling the fragmented skull out from it, she blows lightly on it and watches as the cracks disappear. She then softly walks over to the headless body and gently places the skull near the neck.
The results are instantaneous. Flesh erupts from the neck stump and envelope the skull in a wet *splooch* and Lina withdraws her hands quickly just as the regeneration of the head is made complete.
Ranma begins to tremble with 'neko'-phobia as soon as the feline face appears again. Akane wraps his eyes with one of her wings and sighs, although the exasperation in it is mixed with relief as the mental pressure in her head disappears.
The demons all get to their knees or equivalents as the resurrected Kuriimu rears himself to full height and looks around him.
Kuriimu : "I'm back......."
Lina smiles and nods at Kuriimu, a smile creeping into her face and a small tear appearing at the edges of her eyes.
Lina : "Yes, Kuriimu.... welcome back."