Hi again, everyone!

Sakura02: But I hate studying! There're so many more productive things I could be doing with my time…like writing :)

H-Dawg-luvs-anime: Nah, I thought it was kind of cute too picturing Hakuryuu trying to hold onto Meika.

Thank you: SinisisterGinny, i love athrun, CBarbie92, nsomniacartist, Rakuen91, DevilChile, Sakural7865, SaiyukiSucker, XxIAmPersonxX, and Princesa de la Luna for reviewing!

Meika groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. She sat up and looked around the small cell she was in with Gojyo, Hakkai, and Goku. "Where's ZoZo?" She asked Hakkai.

Hakkai smiled down at her. "I'm not quite sure." He sighed as Goku continued screaming. "Goku, I don't think that's going to help."

"But we've gotta find Sanzo!" Goku argued. "What if that youkai eats him?"

"ZoZo wouldn't let himself be eaten!" Meika whimpered out. Her lower lip was quivering and her eyes were beginning to swim with tears. While she was confident that Sanzo wouldn't be eaten, the thought of him dying truly upset her. "H-He'll be okay."

Gojyo took Meika from Hakkai and nuzzled his cheek with hers. "That's right. He's going to be okay so you don't need to worry about him. We'll figure out a way to get out of here."

Meika's ears perked up as she heard a strange skittering noise coming closer and closer. "What's that sound?"

Hakkai frowned. "I don't hear anything."

"I hear it too." Goku glanced down at the ground and his eyes widened. "Gojyo, don't put Meika down."

Curious as to the sudden panicked looks on everyone's faces, Meika looked down. She wished she hadn't. "Scorpions!" She shrieked. Her grip on Gojyo's neck tightened and her tears returned. She was deathly afraid of scorpions ever since she had been a baby. One had crawled into her crib one night at the temple and stung her repeatedly. She'd hated the ghastly creatures since then.

"We need to get out of here." Hakkai took Meika from Gojyo so that Gojyo and Goku could punch through the cell wall. He handed the still terrified child back to Gojyo. "This way!"

Meika clung tightly to Gojyo as they ran out of the cell room and far away from the scorpions. Once they were a good distance away, her grip on Gojyo loosened. "You can put me down now." She muttered. Even after Gojyo put her down, she held tightly to his hand, her own trembling. She couldn't help the tears that leaked out of her eyes and the whimper that escaped her throat.

Goku knelt in front of her and grinned. "Hey, it's okay, MeiMei. We got away. They won't hurt you." He blinked as Meika flung herself at him and began to cry.

"I hate scorpions!" She cried for a few moments before taking a shuddering breath and releasing Goku.

"I wouldn't have let any of them near you." Gojyo smiled at her as Meika took his hand again. His head whipped around with everyone else's when they heard a gunshot and a scream of pain.

The group ran down the hallway and finally came to a closed door. Goku yanked the door open and was shocked by what he saw. "What the hell are you doing, Sanzo!?"

Meika peered around Goku's legs. Her eyes widened at the sight before her. The youkai was lying helplessly at Sanzo's feet with multiple gunshot wounds littering his body. What caused her to tremble, however, was the sadistic smirk on Sanzo's face. "ZoZo…"

Gojyo stepped forward and yanked Sanzo back. "That's not like you to torture someone like that."

"Tell me, then, what is 'like me'?" Sanzo asked, the smirk never leaving his face.

Meika remained in the doorway, clutching the sides tightly and trembling. She had never seen Sanzo with such a cruel look on his face before. She blinked as Goku stepped forward and kicked Sanzo in the shins. He glared at Sanzo. "Hit me. Hit me with your stupid paper fan and call me a stupid monkey. That's what the Sanzo I know would do. The Sanzo I know wouldn't be so cruel and make Meika cry like that."

Sanzo glanced over and saw that Meika was indeed crying in the doorway. He frowned at how she flinched when he looked at her. He would deal with her in a moment. First, he turned his attention to the bleeding youkai on the floor. "Where did you put my Kyomon and the other Sanzo's?"

"The other Sanzo's is somewhere in this castle. Yours is behind that dresser." The youkai gasped out.

Sanzo turned his attention to the dresser. He looked back over at Meika and held his hand out to her. "Meika…"

Meika's eyes widened as the youkai's nails extended and impaled Sanzo. She faintly heard someone screaming and only realized it was herself a moment later. She couldn't see very well through the tears in her eyes as she rushed forward to where Sanzo had collapsed. "ZoZo! HaHa, make him better!"

"I need you to move, Meika." Hakkai said gently as he inspected Sanzo's wounds. His eyes widened. "This is…"

The youkai cackled from his spot on the ground. "My nails have the poison of scorpions on them. Of course, I injected him with a lethal dose."

Hatred flashed in Meika's eyes. "Bastard, fix him now!" She began sobbing as Hakkai held her back and Gojyo rushed forward to force the antidote from the youkai.

"He's already dead." Gojyo ground out.

"ZoZo…" Meika nuzzled against his side. She looked up when Goku began to cradle Sanzo in his arms. A brief flash of when they fought with Rikudo went through her mind and she worried he would lose control again. She refused to move from Sanzo's side, however, and simply snuggled closer to him.

Goku looked up at Hakkai with determined eyes. "How can we save Sanzo?"

Hakkai smiled, relieved that Goku wasn't going to go berserk. "Our main priority should be to reach the surface and return to the village. They may have a serum there." His head whipped around as a loud crashing sound reverberated through the underground castle.

"What was that!?" Meika whimpered out, instinctively covering Sanzo's body with her own.

Hakkai's eyes widened. "This is an underground base and we punched through a wall to get out of our cell…"

"What's the problem?" Gojyo asked.

"Well, if that wall were around a pivotal point of the underground castle, what do you think would happen?" He asked.

"Simple: it'll lose to the weight of the desert above and…" Gojyo trailed off as his own words sank in.

Meika screamed as a wave of sand suddenly rushed into the room. She was quickly scooped up into Gojyo's arms. "What're we going to do!?"

"Hold this, Meika." Hakkai handed her Sanzo's scroll. "Guard that with your life, understand? Sanzo will be angry with us if we lose it." He quickly spun around and muttered a spell to shield the group from the incoming sand. "I can only protect our heads so please mind your feet!"

Meika clung tightly to Gojyo and held the scroll firmly to her chest. "I'm scared, JoJo. Are we going to die down here?"

Gojyo's grip tightened on Meika as he made sure that not even the tips of her shoes touched the sand. "We're going to be okay, baby girl." He really wasn't sure if they would get out or not so he held her head against his neck so she couldn't see just how much sand was quickly filling the room.

A sudden gust of red wind spun through the air and dispersed the sand. Meika cautiously opened her eyes and winced at the bright light of the sun blinding her eyes. "What happened?"

"So you guys were here." Kougaiji stood above the group with Hakuryuu in his arms.

Meika's eyes lit up and she smiled at the youkai prince. "Kou-san!" She wriggled out of Gojyo's grip and scrambled up the embankment to the Kougaiji. She hugged him tightly. "Thank you for saving us!"

Kougaiji simply looked away and patted her head. "We just happened to be passing through."

The others crawled out of the hole. Hakkai was relieved when Hakuryuu flew over to him before he collapsed. Gojyo caught him and eased him to the ground.

"Hey, where's that Yaone girl?" Goku asked, desperation clear in his voice. "Sanzo's in trouble!"

Reality crashed back around Meika. She released Kougaiji and rushed back over to Sanzo's side. She looked pleadingly at Kougaiji. "Can you help him, Kou-san?"

Kougaiji stared at the group for a moment as Goku argued with Gojyo and Hakkai about whether he could carry Sanzo on his back all the way to the town. Meika was using her shirt sleeve to dab at the sweat beading on Sanzo's forehead with worried eyes. "We have a flying dragon that you can use to take him. However, you'll have to kill me if you want to take it. If I win, you will hand over Sanzo's Maten Kyomon."

Meika stared at Kougaiji in utter disbelief. "What's wrong with you, Kou-san!? You're acting weird!" She screamed as Kougaiji launched an attack directly at Goku, therefore putting not only Sanzo in the line of fire, but herself as well.

Goku held both her and Sanzo close to him. He glared up at Kougaiji as the youkai prince appeared at his side. "What's wrong with you!? You could've hurt MeiMei!"

Kougaiji frowned at him. "Do not forget; I am your enemy." He kicked Goku in his chin and sent him flying.

"GoGo!" Meika looked up at Kougaiji with terrified eyes. He seemed different, not the same kind prince that had saved her many times now. "Kou-san, please stop." She whimpered out.

Kougaiji glanced down at her and noticed she had the scroll in her hand. He took a step towards her. "Give me the scroll, Meika."

Meika shook her head and clutched the scroll tighter to herself. She sat beside Sanzo's body, her eyes never leaving Kougaiji's as he approached her. "I won't! I won't let you have ZoZo's scroll!"

"Get away from them!" Goku screamed as he rushed forward. He punched Kougaiji in the face and sent the youkai prince flying.

Hakkai stooped down beside Sanzo and Meika. "Goku, you focus on fighting him. I'll take care of Sanzo and Meika."

Goku stared at the unconscious Sanzo in Hakkai's arms and then to Meika's trembling form clutching the Maten Kyomon tightly. "Hakkai, will you stop me later?"

Hakkai's eyes widened. "You aren't seriously planning to…"

Goku's hand was already on the band around his head. "I can't kill him the way I am now. I cant lose though. I'll leave it to you."

Meika covered her ears as Goku began screaming in agony. She looked up once he stopped screaming and her eyes widened. Standing before her was Goku in his true form. She watched as a sadistic smirk played across his face. "GoGo…"

Well, you guys are going to have to wait until next time to see what happens! Review please!