Disclaimer: Saiyuki is not my work. All characters belong to the lovely and talented Kazuya Minekura. All original characters belong to...themselves. :) I'm making no profit in writing this fanfiction except for the pleasure of doing so.

A/N: I try very hard not to create Mary Sue-like characters. I rather despise such OC's, so you won't find them in my story. OC's are kept as realistic as I possibly can make them. If you are a reader from the original story and already know who the originals are modeled after, I would appreciate it if you'd let the new guys figure it out on their own ;) Constructive reviews are well-received. Flamers will more or less be ignored. All I can say is please, read more than just a few chapters before making a full-fledged opinion. Thanks!

Chapter Six: The Task

Tenkai, Present Day

Kanzeon Bosatsu held her gaze on the watching-pool long after the images from another world had faded. She usually perused the goings-on of Shangri'la in this fashion- particularly those concerning a certain quartet of unruly young men. However, this time the deity had hoped to get a pressing message across to four women located in another realm.

Averting indigo orbs from the clear water, Kanzeon resisted an urge to yank at her long, raven hair. She had just witnessed each twenty-something year old girl awaken from the most telling visions they would ever experience while sleeping and simply shrug them off as nothing. Just how dense were they?

While it pleased the Bodhisattva that the dreams had managed to infiltrate the land of Nod well enough, from a completely different world no less, she had also hoped that it would cause a bigger splash. Instead, the meaning seemed to crash-land into oblivion. The girls did not even appear to recall what they had seen behind their closed eyelids.

The Elemental Four, the Si Yaosu, could not fully awaken unless the hosts became aware of who they really were. The potential they bottled inside was filling up to the brim, and all they needed was the screw to pop the cork and let it all loose.

Their location didn't make matters any better. When the souls were split from their Elemental selves, they became destined to live hardship after hardship. The strange thing about souls was that they suddenly became impervious to what realms they crossed. Kanzeon spent a long while sifting through the traces of each soul's remnant trails before she managed to pinpoint the hosts all together again in a place called The United States. In a world totally separate from the one in which Shangri'la existed.

This place had a history of magic, but it had long since evaporated into the humdrum of industrialism and technology. The magic still existed, but on such a miniscule scale that nobody thought much of it- and those who did were considered a touch silly.

Kanzeon spent much of her time following the time-line of the other world, watching the girls grow up into young women, amazed at how they found one another without any outside help. While time in her own realm moved at a different pace, years passed by quickly in the other and the time came when the young women delved into a fandom for what they believed was a fictional story. The history of The Journey to the West had come to pass in that realm in a different matter, as things tended to do concerning parallel universes. The goddess found it more than entertaining, however, when the four began to play games which involved alter egos becoming involved in the land of Shangri'la.

When the Bodhisattva urged her looking-pool to fast forward in time, as she could sometimes manipulate it into doing, she became disappointed in learning the fate of the world in which the girls lived. It was more corrupt than Kanzeon first pictured. The events were near Apocalyptic. The population would fall to their own man-made devices, consumed in pollution, wrought with murder and chaos. The unbreathable air would suffocate all living creatures as water turned to sludge, and the earth would dry up, crumble, and burn.

It was all too reminiscent of the events that had once befallen this world centuries before. While all had been rebuilt, it took an extreme effort. The other world would not have the same luxury, as they had shunned their gods long ago. While most dismissed the idea of the gods in Shangri'la, the disastrous events had happened before that ever began to happen.

Kanzeon had to bring those souls back home before they were lost forever. The clarity of how much they were needed had never been so crucial before.

The supposed utopia of the Lower World was in danger of falling to such a calamity once more. The Minus Wave affecting weak-minded youkai created too much fear and violence between them and their human counterparts. The balance was tilting too far in an unfavorable manner, and in various places across the stretch of land which made up Shangri'la, the elements were becoming unstable. This world would surely collapse in on itself if something could not be done, and soon.

There was a certain risk in her attempt to push along the process of awakening the Si Yousu, but what Kanzeon couldn't admit aloud was that she was feeling a twinge of panic. It was why she expended the energy to cross realms in order to visit at least one of the hosts.

With the fortunate stroke of luck that the girls were aware of Shangri'la, even in a fictional sense, Kanzeon had approached the first she could find. Showing herself as an enigmatic stranger with a familiarity that the young woman hadn't been able to put her finger one had at least gotten the girls to begin speculating. Of course, if Jiroushin hadn't have gotten lost passing from their world to the next, the connection may have been made much faster. Kanzeon supposed she ought not complain- the plan had worked, to an extent.

The young woman caught in the rain had shared the occurrence with the other three. They laughed, yes, but they also dredged up the desire for their fantasy of plunging into that world. The Si Yousu would be ready to return relatively soon, but 'soon' was a subjective term. It could mean hours, days, or weeks.

The raven-haired goddess wouldn't dare stay in a mortal world in another realm for that long. Who knew what effects it would have on her abilities? If she could not return to Tenkai, then Shangri'la would most definitely be doomed.

Instead, she turned to her band of misfits to do the deed.

Naturally, Genjyo Sanzo- a high priest of a Buddhist order with an ill temper- was none too pleased with the idea of taking an unexpected detour. He had enough of them to date and didn't understand the necessity of making one on purpose. It would just be a "waste of time" and why couldn't she just bring them over herself without turning it into a "drawn out project"?

Not one to believe or put much faith into the gods, despite his title, Sanzo didn't hold very much interest in helping any return to a position of power.

Kanzeon had simply rolled her eyes. The attitude of her reincarnated nephew- once known as Konzen Douji- had not really changed much in the last five hundred years. Granted, Sanzo held more wisdom and maturity, he still was such a grump.

The situation was dire, she explained. While she already knew who the hosts were, it was pertinent that all Eight be reunited in the other realm. The language barrier and all magical properties would be removed, making it far easier to communicate efficiently. There was also the matter of reconnecting. They had shared a fate once, they must reacquaint themselves with one another. A time would come when working together to save Shangri'la would depend solely on their trust in each other.

That would be hard to achieve if the girls were plopped in the middle of a land they thought they knew, where they couldn't speak the language or even begin to defend themselves. Kanzeon's power, while extensive, was not all-encompassing. She could only help them so far.

Besides, she had reassured the Sanzo party that they would not miss very much. With the alteration of time, they were likely to return to a Shangri'la only a few days older than when they left.

In spite of the protests, Kanzeon sent the group on their way. No matter what happened, they were all about to embark on one wild ride.

Chicago Suburbs

"So I don't mean to be annoyin' guys, but where are we? Anybody figure that out yet?" The youthful voice of a chestnut haired youth piped up from the back seat of the slightly cramped Jeep.

Amber-gold eyes peered past spiky fringe and through the tinted windows as the vehicle passed by a row of store fronts.

"You're always annoying chimp." The lean twenty-two year old sharing the backseat replied. He nestled into his corner, tilting his chin toward his own window. A curtain of deep red hair blanketed the naturally tanned angles of his face. "If we knew where we were, we'd probably have stopped goin' in circles by now. Hakkai, I swear ya passed this place like ten minutes ago."

The addressed driver sighed, abruptly pressing the brakes for no good reason before accelerating again. A car behind the Jeep honked in protest before changing lanes to pass them up while flashing Hakkai a good view of his middle-finger.

"People here are certainly rude." The willowy chocolate-haired driver noted before replying to his companions. "I'm sorry Goku, Gojyo...but we weren't exactly given a map on the area."

"Or a place to sleep. My ass is numb from sitting so long, man." The redhead complained, trying to adjust his position once more.

Hakkai smiled thinly, emerald eyes glued to the road. "That seems to be a common complaint of yours, my friend. Perhaps you should have that checked out sometime."

Ignoring the snickering from the spiky haired boy across from him, Gojyo shook his head. "Whatever..." His crimson eyes settled on the blond man slumped forward in the passenger seat. He appeared to be asleep. "That's bullshit, how can he sleep at a time like this?"

"Who said I was asleep?" A gruff tone passed from the white-robed figure's lips. "I'm trying to tune out the whining, but it's hard to ignore your annoying voices."

Hakkai chuckled lightly, making a sharp right turn at the next intersection, jostling everybody to the left.

"Shit...Hakkai, are you having problems driving today, or are the roads just jumping out of the way and you're trying to catch them?"

"My apologies, Sanzo. There aren't streets like this at home. All of the signs are a bit confusing, I'm afraid, and the other vehicles around me are nerve-wracking. I'm not quite used to driving without Hakuryuu's help, either."

Frowning, Hakkai glanced at the dashboard to monitor his speed before easing up on the gas pedal. His white dragon companion usually regulated these things. With Hakuryuu's spirit lying basically dormant within the modernized machine, the appointed driver felt somewhat lost.

"Is Hakuryuu stuck like this?" Goku inquired, still watchful of the unfamiliar territory. "Can't he change back here?"

"While we're here, I'm afraid that Hakuryuu will remain as nothing but a means of transportation." Hakkai answered somewhat sadly.

Gojyo lifted his eyebrows. "As opposed to what? Isn't that what the bird does anyway? Besides eat and try to claw me to death..."

The brunette driver laughed softly then risked taking a hand off of the wheel to adjust the pair of glasses he wore. Apparently monocles were out of style in this realm, and glasses would draw less attention. He still carried it with him, however. The glasses really were not even necessary as his vision was nearly perfect. However, even the lack of magic in this world did not have any affect on the false eye wired into the right side socket. The lenses served as a means of protection more than anything else.

Absently, his fingers touched his left ear, running over the smooth skin before retracting back to the wheel before he lost control of the Jeep. The lack of three small silver ear cuffs had him on edge. They served as his power limiters- the means of keeping his youkai spirit in check. Even though Hakkai didn't feel anything within him on the verge of bursting into a ferocious rage, he couldn't help but feel nervous that there was nothing there to prevent it in the slim chance that it could happen.

As though reading the mind of their driver, Sanzo straightened in his seat and gave him a sidelong glance before calling the spiky haired youth.

"Goku. Do you feel alright without your limiter?" The monk's voice was almost uncharacteristically soft. The last thing they needed in a foreign world was the almighty demon of Son Goku unleashed upon an unsuspecting population.

Touching his forehead where a golden diadem usually rested, Goku pondered for a minute. Gojyo turned to look at him, knowing what the answer would be. It was the same for all of them who had any youkai blood pumping through their veins.

"I dunno. I'm fine, I think. It's kinda weird, though." Goku finally replied, facing the front and leaning back. "It's almost like somethin' is missing. Like I'm weaker, maybe. Is this kinda what bein' human is like, Sanzo?"

The monk snorted indignantly. "What kind of stupid question is that? How the hell would I know? I've got nothing to compare it to."

Laughter hissed through Gojyo's teeth as he bent forward and tugged on the edge of the cloth scriptures draped over the priest's shoulders.

"Is that right? What about this thing? That goddess told us magic doesn't work here. You tellin' us that the power of the scriptures of doom are still hangin' around?"

A milky hand slapped Gojyo's fingers away, then threatened his head with a large harisen all in the same fluid motion.

"Touch me again and see what happens, lech. My skill has nothing to do with the sutras."

Withdrawing, Gojyo smirked. "So they don't work, huh? I bet you're feelin' kinda useless yourself, aren't ya?"

The harisen found its way smack across the half-demon's forehead.

"Goddammit Sanzo! Those things are for hitting, not for throwing!" Gojyo picked the fan up and tossed it back up front, rubbing his face with his free hand. "Ya could've put my eye out- uh...no offense, Hakkai."

"Oh, none taken." Hakkai replied, swerving suddenly to avoid a parked vehicle. Honestly, who just left their cars on the side of the road like that? "I really do wish we could have had more direction on where to go."

"Or even money. Money woulda been nice." Gojyo muttered. "Who knew the gold card wouldn't work here?"

"Yeah, no kidding!" Goku chimed in, half whining. "We can't even get anythin' to eat. Isn't there somewhere we could go to find free food?"

"No." Sanzo retorted shortly. "This is waste of our damn time. Wandering aimlessly in some cluttered, polluted town is not the path I pictured this journey taking."

"Maybe we should have asked that girl yesterday to put us up for a night or two." Gojyo suggested, albeit too late. "All ya had to do was let me out t' talk to her. After seeing this-" he motioned a hand across his body, "- I doubt she'd have said no, heh."

"Stupid pervy water sprite!" Goku accused, kicking a heel into the taller man's calf. Then, rethinking what Gojyo had actually said, had a change of heart. "Would've been nice though...coulda got something to eat."

"No, it wouldn't have been nice." Sanzo grumbled, running a palm over his face. This was turning into a nightmare.

"C'mon Sanzo, ya gotta admit that we're pretty much out of options. If it'd have worked, would ya really have said no?" The red-eyed man chortled, lighting up a cigarette.

Hakkai took over answering the question. "While it would have been helpful, I am afraid this isn't the kind of place where it is so easy to be put up for a night by relying on the kindness of strangers. Home is literally an entirely different world. Even in towns where the villagers are on guard, Sanzo's title is what allows us the luxury of bunking in somebody's private residence if we're hard up for shelter."

Catching on, Goku nodded his head. "But nobody knows us or Sanzo in this world." His shoulders slumped at the realization of what that meant.

"Precisely, Goku."

"Tch, that's the only good thing about this place. I can't stand all the fake niceties." Sanzo scowled. Though, secretly, he knew that it was indeed his status as a high priest that gave him pull in Shangri'la. Here, he really was useless.

"So what do we do? Where are we supposed to find these people? The hosts, or whatever they're called." Gojyo searched outside, watching other cars go by and the random pedestrians on the sidewalks.

Nervously, Hakkai peeked at Sanzo, hoping that he would miraculously have some kind of knowledge on the subject.

Feeling the eyes on him, the blond monk shut his own in annoyance.

"Why are you looking at me? I don't know any more than the rest of you do, and that's whatever that hag told us. We come here, find these four hosts, and bring them back to Shangri'la where they can fulfill some crap destiny."

"Yeah- way for her t' keep out who they are. I get the feelin' this so-called Merciful Goddess was withholding some information there." Gojyo flicked his ashes outside. "There's gotta be thousands of people living here. It's gonna be impossible t' find four specific ones if we have no clue on who they are."

"Well," Hakkai began thoughtfully, "we do know that they are females. Whether it was intentional or not, Kanzeon let that much slip. I'm sure we will find them soon enough. We just need some kind of lead to follow."

"So how're we gonna get a lead?" Goku asked, clutching his growling stomach. "Coz I'm gonna starve to death if it doesn't happen soon!"

"I somehow doubt that." Sanzo shook his head, though realized they couldn't continue driving around aimlessly. "Hakkai...stop somewhere when you can. You three might as well start looking for a means for shelter and food, and see if you can't figure out some clues on where to find these girls."

"Of course." The driver agreed, glad to have a chance to stretch his legs for a while.

"Ahh, wait a minute!" Gojyo fussed. "Us three? What does your royal highness mean to do when we're out doin' all the work?"

Sanzo settled deep against the seat as the Jeep pulled into a supermarket parking lot.

"Try to get some sleep. What else?"