The ruler of the Shadow Realm Na'aj looked down at her captive with satisfaction. "I guess you're here to save your precious Akane, are you not? Well, I may not be Akane... but I can offer you so much more... How about it? Join me, and I'll make you king after conquering the miserable country of Ja'an."
Ranma snarled at her. "You might look like Akane, but you're nothing but a selfish tomboy... and, and did I forget to tell you you're uncute?"
For a moment, it seemed like Ekana's face would turn into a grimace of anger. But then, she smiled. "Nice try, Ranma... But I'm not like Akane, you know? There is not much you can do to catch me off-guard. After all, I know you..."
"How would you know me?" Ranma snapped. "We've never met before!"
Ekana grinned. "Oh, didn't sweet Kasu tell you? Ja'an and Na'aj... those two countries are nothing but results of poor Akane's psyche. She needed a place to stay after suffering from her usual days... and the back of her mind created Ja'an, a beautiful and peaceful country full of life... and the people living there would resemble those she knew in her real life, only would they be like she imagines them deep within her conscience."
Ekana leaned back in her throne. "Oh, but you know what? A human can only stand so much days of peace until his or her mind begins to develop doubts. With doubt comes insecurity... with insecurity comes sadness... with sadness comes fear... and with fear comes anger. The perfect way to create a dark mirror image of her peaceful haven, right?"
"You want to tell me that everything here... The dark forest, those black knights, Yokot and even yourself... are just results of Akane's own fears and doubts?"
"I'm afraid it is true," the dark mistress said. "And ever since I came into existence, I wanted to have someone at my side... someone like you... to rule next to me." She stood up. "And now you've come..."
She started walking down the steps of her throne, when suddenly, Ranma jumped back and went into his battle stance. "Stand back!" he shouted. "One more move and I'll knock you out!"
Ekana just laughed. "Get him!" she commanded Koan and the other knights in the room.
Ranma turned around to face them and cupped his hands. He concentrated and...
"MOKO TAKABISHA!"
But nothing happened.
Ranma blinked as he stared at his outstretched hands. What happened? Why didn't his powerful ki attack work? What was wrong with him?
He tried fighting back as the powerful knights grabbed him, but while they seemed to flinch under his kicks and punches, they obviously lacked the true power they should have.
When the knights had secured Ranma and pulled him in front of their mistress, she smiled down at him. "Poor Ranma.... My, what happened to your precious ki?" She chuckled. "You fool... Na'aj, as well as Ja'an, is a spiritual realm. While everything you see and feel here seems to have a corporeal form, you cannot affect it like you can back in your world. Remember? You left your body back there. And with it, the ki that you need to perform your infamous attacks... Oh, you could become a powerful fighter if you learn to train your mind... but until then, you won't stand a chance against my knights."
She raised a black wand that was tipped with multiple spines and a ruby. "Watch closely, Ranma... THIS is the force that rules our world. Not ki... but magic!" And she thrusted her wand forward, shooting out a bolt of black lightning that flew over Ranma's body, making him scream in pain.
Ekana walked back to her throne and sat down. "Threw him into the dungeon... We will continue our little conversation later, Ranma. And I hope for your sake that you are a little more reasonable then... for your and Akane's sake!" She gestured to the door with her wand. "Take him away!"
----
Ranma was sitting on the cold floor within his cell, curling his body into a ball. Now what should he do? Why didn't Kasu tell him about this? If he wasn't able to control his ki, and his strength here was only equal to his mental abilities... how would he be able to save Akane?
He didn't know for how long he had been sitting there, in the dark, cold cell of Yokot's dungeon... Without any window or source of light... only the thin, flickering light coming through the tiny slit in the massive iron door of his cell.
After an hour or so - or was it five hours? - the door was opened, and the bulky form of a black knight was standing in front of him.
"Come," he just said. "Our lady has requested your presence!"
Not feeling able to fight back, Ranma followed the metal-clad man through the corridors and up the stairs of the fortress... until he was being lead out on a balcony that was rising high above the barren plains of Na'aj.
Ekana was standing there, clutching her wand, and welcomed him with an evil grin. She raised her wand and gestured towards the plains. "Take a look at this, Ranma... this is my realm of darkness! No sunlight will ever shine down here, no birds are singing, and no children's laughter will ever fill the air..." Her face took on a dreamy expression. "Isn't it wonderful?"
"Just what kind of wicked witch are you?" Ranma grumbled weakly.
Ekana turned around to face him. "Remember... while I and my men look like humans, we are creatures of the darkness... We flourish where normal humans would wither away."
She circled him with slow steps. "You know, Ranma... all of this had once been a green, lush country... Thriving with life! In fact, all of Na'aj had once been a part of Ja'an. But when little Akane started to develop doubts, this was the result... And once I've defeated the forces of good, all of Ja'an will look like this."
"I know you want me to help you reach that goal," Ranma replied. "But why should I help you?"
"Simple," Akane's evil counterpart grinned. "We have your fiancee..."
Ranma threw her a dark glance, and Ekana laughed evilly. "Come, I will take you to your little sweetheart... and don't worry, we didn't actually harm her..."
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(Posted Tue, 31 Oct 2006 10:57)
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