Crossover With Non-anime Series Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The Wild Stallion and the Drow ❯ The Zauvirs and the Saotomes ( Chapter 6 )

Standard Disclaimer:  I'm tired of disclaiming see previous chapters for disclaimer

Wards had yet to be cast around the newest, and so far Earth's only, Shrine of the Dark Maiden to prevent scrying.  This lack of preparedness allowed a certain scorned mother to look in on her defiant daughter.  "So, Eilistraee's founded her newest shrine.  And she's in residence there, too.  Ohohohohohohohohohoho!"  Lolth grinned at her good fortune.  "Now to task her and her goody two shoes defender of the faith."  The vengeful goddess of the Drow began laying plans to disrupt her renegade daughter's life.

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Still sitting on the dock, listening to the haunting melody coming from Nabiki's harp (along with an occasional curse at a sour note), and aware of the nonbelligerent presence with his fiancée, Ranma continued his meditations (read: sleeping) blissfully unaware that another of Faerun's deities had taken an interest in him.  A pair of eyes surrounded by a blue-white eldritch fire watched the pigtailed martial artist.  *So much potential in this one; so much honor, and yet such sadness as well.*  The eyes faded into the night and back to their home plane of existence.

Stretching, he got up and walked into the house.  Nodding to Nabiki, he walked up the stairs, and into the changing room; he heard the two elven goddesses talking, but ignored them.  Stripping out of his clothes and laying them on the shelf, he gathered up his bathing supplies and walked into the bath.  Without batting an eye, Ranma said "Hi Hanali.  Haven't seen you in a few years."

The elven goddess of love and beauty ran her eyes up and down her half-sister's fiancé.  "My how you've grown, Ranma."  *Damn it,* she thought, *why couldn't Father engage me to him instead of Eilistraee.*  She cleared her head.  *Thoughts like that are unbecoming…*  Her train of thought was derailed when Ranma doused himself with cold water.

"Brr, that's cold.  I'll be happy when we get power and heat again."  Without hesitating, Ranma began washing her body and hair.

Hanali leaned over to Eilistraee.  "That's the curse you were talking about?"

Eilistraee snuck a quick look at her fiancée and smiled.  "He…She…"  She rolled her eyes trying to get the right pronoun, finally settling on: "Ranma thinks it a curse.  I think it's an advantage.  It gives my beloved the ability to see both sides of the coin."

Hanali smirked.  "Planning on dabbling in a little experimentation with both sides of that coin, sister?"

"That, dear sister, is a secret."  Eilistraee splashed her sister again.  "And none of your business." 

Ranma had sluiced off the soapy water, and with another bucketful from the catch basin filled with water from the lake, rinsed a second time before walking over to the furo, and sliding in, changing once again.  He slid over and wrapped his arms around his fiancée.  Eilistraee replied by kissing his cheek.  "So what are you and Hanali talking about?"

She snuggled deeper into his arms, suppressing a contented sigh.  "Life, the multiverse, you."  She gave Ranma on conspiratorial whisper.  "I think she's jealous that I've found someone, and she hasn't yet."

Hanali made a non-committal noise.  "Well, if you two are going to get all lovey-dovey, I'll take my leave."

"The door is always open, Hanali."  Ranma said, as his soon to be sister in law.  Hanali nodded, and disappeared.  "I think Hanali might be a bit jealous, my dear."

Eilistraee scoffed.  "Jealous of what?  The fact that Father engaged the two of us, and not you to her.  Hanali is an adult she-elf.  She can get over it."

Ranma nodded, and let his hands work some tension out of his fiancée's neck and shoulders.  Eilistraee purred in delight at his touch.  "So why are you so tense?"

"I don't know.  I felt another divine presence while I was talking with my sister."  She turned and smiled at her lover.  "Ranma, I think you may be attracting the attention of more gods than just my family."

"Great, just what I needed," his voice changed, as did his height in the tub, "more gods on my case."  The pigtailed redhead didn't even notice when the change occurred.

"Ranma, you have to remember, there's still my mother's side of the family that would like nothing better than to drag out your death over millennia.  Or resurrect you and kill you over and over now.  Now, let's see about getting you some hot water, and getting some sleep."

The gender-bending martial artist kissed her goddess of a fiancée before climbing out.  "Hai.  That sounds like a great idea.  I just wish the water in the furo had managed to stay hot longer."

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Ranma's eyes shot open, as he felt his danger sense began to sound mental alarm bells.  He quickly took stock of where he was.  *Ok, I'm lying on my bedroll, in our new home.  That comfortably warm weight on my arm is my only fiancée.  Its dark out, and the moon went down a few hours ago.  So, why do I feel like we're about to be…* His last thought was abruptly cut off as he heard the faintly muffled clink of adamantium armor and a guttural Drow curse that sounded like someone about to attack stubbing their toe.  He woke his fiancée, by nudging her, then placed his finger against his lips, shushing her.  "Someone's here," he whispered.  "And I don't think they're Jehovah's Witnesses."  The comment may not have been understood, but Eilistraee got the context.

"Drow raiding party.  Mom has apparently gotten involved now," the goddess whispered back.  "As far as I know, the drow didn't know where Earth was."  Ranma nodded, and retrieved his sword from hidden weapons space.  Eilistraee had already drawn her bastard sword.  "Nabiki has only been training for the past day with weapons, and her unarmed combat skills are rusty."

Ranma was already by the window. "Tell her to stay under cover, then," he said as he leapt out.

"Impetuous boy," she muttered, as she left their room.  Without so much as a preparatory knock, she opened the door to Nabiki's room.  "Stay here.  We're about to do battle, and I don't want you in the way."

"But my Lady," Nabiki started.

"No buts, young lady."  Already the two drow could hear the skirl of steel on steel.  "Close your eyes.  Quickly!"  The room, and night, filled with a deep blue light, as Ranma launched a Möko Takabisha.  The light faded, Eilistraee phased out of her priestess's room and joined the battle.

Ranma was in the midst of a battle for his life.  The Möko Takabisha he threw blinded his opponents, but the effects didn't last long enough to be useful.  Stances he had been taught while traveling with his father came back to him.  Some were successful, other's, like Bonetti's, almost cost the young martial artist his head.  The battle swirled around the pig-tailed boy, and he was having the time of his life.  He was letting some Amaguriken speeds into sword technique, and drow soldiers were dropping like flies.

A drow soldier was charging on the pigtailed boy, intent on impaling the interfering human on his spear when two arrows whizzed past Ranma and punched through the drow's adamantite armor.  Eilistraee's fiancé spun around when he heard an elven battle cry coming from the wood line, as a company sized formation-about a hundred or so elven warriors-advanced steadily under a rain of arrows.

The drow raiding party, reoriented on this new threat, and though their numbers had been reduced in their fights with Ranma and Eilistraee, charged towards their surface brethren with their own battle cry.  The two elven formations met with a clash of steel on steel.  Ranma winced at the imagined impact when the two companies of elves clashed, then watched as a plate mail clad warrior, mace smashing through the dark elven ranks, danced and weaved as he engaged in combat.

Bleeding from numerous small wounds that he'd barely blocked or dodged, Ranma rejoined the fight; the son of Genma not thinking of the consequences as he clashed with the drow.

Part of Eilistraee's consciousness noted her fiancé's lack of common sense and exceptional courage as he fought with a controlled recklessness that belied his name.  The Dark Maiden made a note to chastise her love, even as she engaged her mother's priestess that led the raiding party.  There were flashes of lightning as her sword impacted on the priestess's staff.  Both she-drow twisted and turned, locked in passionate combat, ignoring the battle around them.

The numbers the surface elves began to overwhelm the limited numbers of dark elves, as Eilistraee's bastard sword split her opponent's staff in two.  The dark energies contained within the staff erupted in a display of pyrotechnics that enveloped the drow priestess.  The drow goddess delivered the coup de grace against her opponent as her blade swung in a graceful arc, cleaving the priestess's head in two.

*          *          *

On the other side of the battle, Ranma found himself in one-on-one combat with the raiding party's swordmaster.  *This guy's definitely better than Kuno ever was,* the pigtailed martial artist thought.  The drow male sneered at his opponent, as Ranma was pushed to his limit and beyond.  The skirl of steel filled both opponents' ears as they fought a desperate battle.  The pigtailed warrior drove himself harder than he had before with any of his battles with any members of the Wrecking Crew, Herb or Saffron.  His muscle t-shirt was in tatters, showing off his muscular physique to all those present.  There were additional minor wounds that were oozing, the blood mingling with his sweat.  His defense was impeccable, but even the best defense has gaps in it.

"So, the pathetic surface dweller thinks he can outwit Nym Zauvir.  No surface dweller has ever outfought me."  The drow swordmaster said, as his scimitar clashed against Ranma's longsword.

"Yeah, well Ranma Saotome doesn't loose either.  I've fought the best martial artists Earth has to offer, and I've never lost against them."

"Impudent human.  Now you'll feel my wrath for your boasting."  Zauvir quickly changed his techniques, forcing Ranma back on the defensive.  The ground where the two warriors fought was wet with spilled blood and early morning dew.  Ranma's slippers were barely providing adequate traction as it was, so all it took was one slightly slick leaf hidden in the long grass.  Now add in soaked slippers and the best martial artist of his generation placing his foot wrong as he changed his stance to meet the drow weapons master's new assault.

Ranma hit the ground hard, knocking the wind from his lungs.  It was fortunate that he hit the ground when he did, because the drow's scimitar passed within micrometers of the pigtailed warrior's Adam's apple.  His confidence shaken by his brush with death, he fired off a severely weakened Möko Takabisha.

It was, however, just enough.  The blue ki blast hit the overconfident drow squarely in the chest, flinging Zauvir back…and on to the spear intended for Ranma earlier.  The wickedly barbed head punched through the weapons master of House Zauvir's armor slicing through his spine and vital organs.

Ranma wearily got up and staggered over to his dying opponent.  "I told ya once, and I'll tell ya again.  Ranma Saotome never loses.  And unlike Saffron, I doubt you'll be coming back from the dead.

"May the gods pity your soul, because your dark mistress won't," he said as he staggered off, his ki reserves dangerously depleted.

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As dawn crept above the mountains surrounding the shrine, the surviving surface elves began building a funeral pyre to burn the dark elven dead, to prevent their corruption from tainting this new world.

An elderly seeming elf, his plate armor spattered with blood and the mace dangling at his side covered with gore, went among the dead and dying surface elves, administering last rites to those unfortunates on their way to an early arrival at Arvandor.  He paused in his prayers to talk to Eilistraee, as respectful as a mortal would be to a deity.

Ranma sat wearily on the front porch, letting his ki build up.  Nabiki was out also, tending to the wounded, although several elves shied away from the drow priestess, and several others were amazed at this drow female out in the dawn, suffering no ill effects in the early morning light.  The pigtailed martial artist was amazed that Nabiki was this alert after being woken up early by the din of combat.  Usually, it took an extremely strong cup of tea or coffee to wake the middle Tendo up.  He shook his head at the changes wrought in the former information broker of Furinkan High.  One of the elven warriors offered the pigtailed teen a mug of tea, which he graciously took. 

Even as he sipped his tea, Ranma kept his senses alert.  Yes he was exhausted, but on the same note, it wouldn't pay for his foes to sneak up on them.  This was one of those times that his training with Fenmarel paid off.  The god of the green elves taught the pigtailed martial artist that there are other ways to extend one's senses beyond ki and chi.  And his training would have put Genma's to shame if it wasn't for the fact that Ranma actually enjoyed his training, and took the time as well to question his master as to why he was doing something.  Unfortunately for Ranma, that ability, learned while under his fiancée's teaching, was sealed when his memories of Arvandor were sealed by Corellon.

Eilistraee sat down wearily next to her fiancé.  "I seem to be out of practice.   Used to be a time when I could hold my own all day, and long into the night."  She took a damp cloth from bucket full of bloody water, and began wiping down her fiancé's wounds.

Ranma chuckled slightly, even as he winced at his fiancée's ministrations.  "I feel the same way.  Pops would keep awake for three days straight sparring.  That swordsman was good; really good."

"Of course, you were better."

"No.  I was lucky.  I'm good, but I've got ten years of not touching a sword to make up for.  So who's the old elf?"

"His name's Bereth Moon, and he's one of Father's priests."

"From what I saw, he must have been adventuring most of his life.  He was damn good with that mace."

Eilistraee chuckled.  "He was a craftsman before he found both his calling and his wanderlust.  He came late to adventuring."  She watched the old priest move with a spry step that belied his age.  "Once the utilities are restored, Ranma, we need to go into town and register for school."  Her fiancé rolled his eyes at that.  "I'll not have my fiancé be an uneducated martial artist.  There is a saying on multiple planes of existence.  'Knowledge is power.'  And you won't have your father or the insanity that is Nerima to keep you from your studies."

"Ok, ok, I concede.  You're right, I do need to finish school.  Especially if I want to open up a Dojo here."  It was Eilistraee's time to roll her eyes.  "Think about it, love.  If there's a dojo here, and we instruct armed and unarmed fighting techniques, think of how many potential non-elves you would have for worshipers…"

"Excuse me, but can you tell me which way the Tendo Dojo is?"

Ranma's eyes went wide when he heard that familiar voice.  "How the hell did he get here…oh wait, its Ryouga.  He has that annoying tendency."

The lost boy turned around when he heard Ranma's voice.  "For what you've done to Akane, Ranma, prepare to die!"

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