[Bastard][Fanfic] Decisions

[kchan0]

Based loosely on a story from Legend of the Five Rings that I read on
the net.

LeeKing Works Proudly Presents:
A BASTARD! Fanfic
DECISIONS
by Kelvin "Lynch" Lee

 Lady Yohko, daughter of Geo, of the nation of Metallicana, was angry.
No, angry would be too simple a word to use.
She was furious.
That fool, Dark Schneider, had left again, without telling anyone, and
he had even managed to elude all of the royal house guard who had been
assigned to watch over him. Usually it wouldn't matter much and Yohko
wouldn't care less about that pervert, but the fate of the kingdom
rested on him, on the Exploder Wizard called Dark Schneider.
Now she was stuck having to look for that idiot in the region of the
Kingdom which bordered the territory of the Lords of Havoc, who did not
look kindly upon trespassers. That had been the last place that the
guards assigned to Dark Schneider had seen him, before they were forced
to turn back when they lost track of him.
Both the King and Yohko's father had despaired when they heard that
Dark Schneider had ran off, Dark Schneider was vital to the defense of
their nation, he was the most powerful wizard in the land, some say in
the entire world. Others say that in all of history, and they needed
him for the survival of Metallicana and to protect the final Seal.
Yohko still found it hard to believe that the ministers of the court
advised the King to send her out to find Dark Schneider due to their
special "relationship."
It wasn't her fault that they had bonded thanks to that spell she had
to cast. I mean, they needed someone pure right? Well, Yohko was the
only one pure at the time. They didn't have a choice! But that didn't
mean that she had to go around looking for the idiot now! Heck, Luche
was a pain in the butt sometimes, because of his shy ways, but when he
becomes Dark Schneider, he was so insufferable! He was such a… a….
bastard!
At the back of her mind though, thoughts of: "How could he leave
without telling me? That stupid idiot! Now I have to go to the trouble
of looking for him!" were running around, stroking the flames of her
already red-hot anger.
When she finally catches up with Luche-kun, also known as Dark
Schneider, it wouldn't be a pretty sight.
Yohko and her escorts, hardened veteran knights, rode quickly on their
steeds, fast stallions bred and trained for speed and power. The strong
muscles of the horses moved efficiently, their nostrils flaring from
the strain of their pace. The group blazed through the forest towards
their destination.
The path through the forest was ending, they were coming out of the
maze now, and if Yohko remembered her geography lessons and if the
faint smell of peasants was any indication, the village of Kira should
be just past the forest.
Leaving the greenery of the forest, they caught site of the village in
the distance. Oddly enough, it did not seem to have any of the business
nor the hustle and bustle of a peasant community at this day and age.
The village was quiet, which was not normal at this time of the day.
Silence reigned. Total silence. There were no birds chirping, singing
in the sun, no sheep bleating or cows mooing or dogs barking or cats
meowing. There was nothing. Nothing at all.
As Yohko and the others neared the village, she noticed that there was
another smell present in the village, aside from the normal peasant
smells. She couldn't quite place the smell, but the Knights with her
did.
The leader, Sir Bonjovina, reigned in his horse and signaled the others
to do the same.
Yohko reigned in her horse too, a frown on her face. "What's wrong Sir
Bonjovina?"
"We should be careful from here on in, Milady."
Yohko looked at the grizzled old warrior, a questioning look on her
face, before the smell, the stench coming from the village wafted to
her nostrils. She crinkled her nose in disgust.
"What in the name of the Goddess is that smell?"
The Knights wouldn't meet her gaze, most scanned the surroundings, ever
alert and vigilant for threats against their charge. Finally, Sir
Bonjovina answered her.
"It is the smell of death."
Yohko shuddered at this pronouncement.
"It would be better if we dismount here then, Milady."
Yohko merely nodded at this, the fact that the knights were dismounting
barely registering in her mind. Sir Bonjovina had to nudge her gently
to get her attention. Visibly surprised, she recovered and dismounted.
Leaving a single knight to tend the horses, the party made their way
towards the center of the village. The knight were wary, their hands
near their weapons. Sir Bonjovina sticking closely to Yohko.
None of the knights had drawn their weapons yet, but they were all
tense and on the verge of doing so at the slightest squeak.
There was no one visible within the village. None of the thatched huts
nor any of the fields of Kira seemed to have any people. The stench of
death was even stronger here so that it was almost unbearable.
Here and there were signs that people once lived in this place; a
farmer's hoe left on the ground, curtains billowing slightly in the
wind, the table set for dinner, a broken doll on the floor of one of
the huts.
Yohko looked at the doll with sadness in her heart, thinking of the
little girl who would be wanting her doll. It still struck her as odd
that there were no people.
The village seemed to be devoid of life.
Until the wailing started.
As if that was the signal for them, all the Knights drew their weapons.
Several swords were unsheathed from their places and held in ready
positions. As one, all the Knights formed a protective circle around
the Lady Yohko. No harm would come to her while any of them were alive.
"I knew you would come."
The party whirled towards the voice; they saw the Exploder Wizard,
dressed in clothes as black as night, as dark as his namesake. His
clothes were tight at some places, and loose in others, as if his
apparel were not designed for him in mind. Despite that though, the
clothes still showed off most of his …. assets. His huge biceps, his
bulky chest which seemed to be straining the material of his clothes,
his muscular legs and even his toothy, yet sinister grin.
He was striding towards them, coming from behind one of the huts where
he had been hidden, with him was a young child five years of age.
Perhaps younger, it was hard to tell from all the dirt and smudges on
her body. The child was holding on to Dark Schneider's hand.
Yohko was a bit surprised at this sight. So that was why Luche-kun had
left? To help out some kids? Hhmmm…. Maybe he wasn't really such a bad
guy after all, and somehow, seeing a child near him seemed to fit him.
He would be a good father for our children…
ACK! Where did that come from? Yohko blushed a deep red at that stray
thought, but inwardly, she was glad that Luche-kun had not left
Metallicana for good. She was glad that they had found him, for if they
hadn't she would never have been able to see this side of his
personality, a side she hadn't known existed.
He cared, he actually cared.
That was good.
But all thoughts concerning the wizard disappeared when Dark Schneider
confronted Yohko with the little girl, who had black scabs all over her
body, dripping pus and green slime. The girl was also peppered with
bright red rashes, and had bloodshot eyes. These were all symptoms of
the Shadow Plague.
"Oh My Goddess." Gasped Yohko as the realization struck her.
The Knights beside her backed away from the pair in front of them,
bringing Yohko with them, in an effort to shield her from the disease.
Dark Schneider ignored them and led the girl towards one of the houses
and entered it. The house, Yohko noted, with the broken doll on the
floor. Sure enough, a few moments later, the child and Dark Schneider
emerged, the child clutching the doll to her breast fiercely, as if
afraid that, it too, would leave her.
Dark Schneider just looked at Yohko, their eyes locked, Dark
Schneider's bright green eyes mocking Yohko.
Wailing and howling could still be heard within the village.
Dark Schneider turned to the girl. "Go to your sister, child. Do you
hear that? She calls for you. I shall be along in a moment."
The girl smiled at Dark Schneider, took a quick look at the newcomers
and ran off.
Dark Schneider turned once more to Yohko.
Yohko moved forward, shaking off the grasp of the Knights around her.
"Luche-kun, I never knew…"
"The Shadow plague has them in the last stages." Interrupted Dark
Schneider, "There is no cure."
Yohko was startled at this.
"Do not interrupt the Lady Yohko!" The knight to Yohko's left shouted
angrily.
Dark Schneider ignored him and continued to just look at Yohko with
that unwavering stare of his.
"The girl and several other children over there," Said Dark Schneider
as he pointed towards what was left of the once lively village. "are
the last of this village, all the others are dead, evidently, the
plague kills adults more quickly than children."
"Milady, we should leave now, the plague is contagious and very lethal,
we have to get you out of here!" Said one of the Knights. Yohko turned
towards him, only to turn back towards Dark Schneider who spoke to her.
"What will you do about this Yohko?" Asked Dark Schneider, his arms
indicating the village.
"I… I will ask the King to send the best healers of the Kingdom,
including my own father," replied Yohko with startling conviction.
"They can heal anything."
"Except the shadow plague. Didn't you hear me tell you that a few
minutes ago? And besides, we can't leave them here, the plague would
spread again, killing everyone it infects, it could wipe out your
entire Kingdom, even the whole world if it isn't stopped now."
"Then, what do we do?" Yohko asked Dark Schneider.
"Simple, we burn the village."
"What! Including the children?"
"You demon! How dare you condone murder!" shouted a knight.
"Yohko-san, if you don't tell your guards there to shut up, I will kill
them."
"Why you… I will…." Said one of the younger Knights as he waved his
sword at Dark Schneider menacingly.
"Stop! We don't have time for this." Said Yohko in exasperation and
confusion. Her sense of duty and pity were warring with her now. She
knew that Dark Schneider was right and the village must be burned, but
….
"Luche-kun, they're only children!"
Dark Schneider just shook his head slowly.
"Yohko, you have a lot to learn about life. Sometimes, you just have to
make decisions that you don't want to."
With that, Dark Schneider clasped his hands together, causing the
Knights to surround Yohko in a protective circle again, for fear of an
attack from the Exploder Wizard.
But it wasn't an attack. Magical energies began to flow around the
sorcerer, his cape, hair and loose clothing billowing with the slight
breeze it generated. With a shout of "Raven!" the energies formed a
strong wind which propelled him into the air, in what Yohko now
recognized as the spell of flight.
Once in the air, high above the village, Dark Schneider began to chant
in a loud clear voice, "Brain, Brain dead, come from the edge of Space,
fulfill the earth's pledge…" Magical energies once again began to form,
this time coalescing into a huge pillar of fire in front of him as he
chanted.
Yohko also recognized this spell with horror.
"Luche-kun! No! There must be another way! Don't…"
"Milady, we have to go!" Said the Bonjovina as he grabbed her and
brought her to the horses. The other Knights were already on their
respective horses and were only waiting for her now.
It took only a few moments for the party to get to a site which would
be relatively safe, a knowledge which had been gained from previous
experience with the Wizard's spells. It had been a lesson taught to
them the hard way.
Yohko kept looking at the Exploder Wizard, unable to believe what he
was about to do.
"Genjala Explosion, burn everything….." Dark Schneider paused and
looked down, and his eyes caught Yohko's.
Her eyes were imploring him not to do it.
Dark Schneider's face tightened.
"Exodus!" finished Dark Schneider as he thrust his hands towards the
village.
The pillar of flame shot down, striking the village with a gigantic
explosion that tore the earth apart, the spell literally burning the
entire area. Howls of anguish ran through the air.
Dark Schneider floated down to where Yohko and the others were,
allowing the Flight spell to dissipate.
The Knights were still watching him warily, not about to trust Dark
Schneider for a second.
Yohko was looking at the burning village, she could imagine the voices,
the screams of pain, of agony crying out desperately for salvation.
Yohko whirled towards Dark Schneider.
"Why!?" She demanded.
Dark Schneider shrugged.
"Because it had to be done."
Yohko slapped him. Hard.
Despite the strength of the blow, it didn't seem to faze Dark
Schneider. He just turned his back to Yohko, ignoring the red handprint
on his cheek, and walked away.
"We have to go back to the palace soon." Said Dark Schneider, as if he
just hadn't killed over a dozen children.
"You could have waited, we could have found another way! Why didn't
you?"
Dark Schneider stopped walking, and just stood there for a few minutes.
Then he turned, his cloak swirling behind him due to the sudden
movement.
Looking straight at Yohko he replied:
"Because I'm a Bastard."
******************
Author's notes: This was almost a spamfic, thanks to that last line.
Anyway, like I said above, the fic was based on a story I read in the
Legend of the five rings website. Truth be told, this was suppossed to
be a sidestory in a future bastard/Ranma fusion fic series that we were
planning to make that would have been entitled Half a Bitch. Inspired
after one such discussion with Kingkiller concerning that series, I sat
down and wrote this, but not with these characters in mind. Plans fell
through for that fic series though, as we are both low in time and high
in stress. Something had to give I guess. The Half a Bitch series has
been shelved, but you never know, we might find time again one of these
days. ^_^  Thanks to Lord Talon who suggested the change in the
characters, thanks to him, I would never have thought of using the
Bastard characters for this. That's it for this one folks. Stay safe
and God Bless.

        kelvin