A/N: What? Finally another chapter after how many months? It's been so long that you probably don't even remember what's going on. I know, I took way too long, but I got a new job, with messed up hours plus bad writer's block equals delayed chapters. I apologize to all the people who were eagerly waiting for this chapter, so I hope this installment will be worth the wait.

As always, I do not own Saiyuki, but all other characters belong to me. Now onward to the long awaited chapter 26!

XXXXXXXXX

Chapter 26: Still time?

The youkai girl scratches her nose as she tries to figure out where exactly she is going. Two hours have already past since she decided to look for her brother on her own. As far as she knows, no one has noticed her missing, and probably won't until morning.

Hmph, if Evan can run off on his own, why can't I? Lirin thinks, slamming her fist against the palm of her other hand. If the Lamya is after me, then she should show up any minute, and when she does, I'll make her give oniichan back. A devilish grin crosses her features, imaging herself beating Lamya to a pulp before the demon begs to do anything Lirin wants. It never dawns on her that Lamya might beat her or what trouble she'll be in if she is caught.

"Now what do we have here?" A woman greets, blood covering the front of her shirt as well as the hand clutching the wound on her chest. Lirin whirls around, coming face to face with the demon she was looking for.

"Ack! There you are!" She points her index finger at Lamya, as if they have been playing a game of hide-and-seek. "You better give oniichan back right now, or I'm going to kick your ass."

"It's funny how the people who usually underestimate me are the ones who can't afford to," Lamya notes, her voice sounding dazed.

"You think you're stronger than me?" Lirin asks, a sly grin spreading across her lips.

"I know I am. I can tell by the way you hold yourself and the innocence in your eyes. You're just some child completely naïve when it comes to real combat." Just like Evan was when we first met…

"I'm not afraid of you."

"Fear has nothing to do with it." Her lavender eyes focus on her green ones. "You have something to lose, while I don't give a damn about anything, not even my own death." What do I have to live for now that he's dead?

"If you don't care about living, then you should just let me beat you." Lirin cracks her knuckles, confident in her fighting abilities

"Because I have no intention of dying such a pitiful death!" Lamya snaps, every pore of her being filled with hate—hate for the person who fell so easily and hate for the annoyance in front of her that won't shut up. "What a waste my life would have been if I let some youkai-child get the best of me." If I'm going to die, it won't be at the hands of someone this weak.

"I'm not a—" Her words are cut off when Lamya's knee slams into her side, knocking the breath out of her.

"Only a child would be so easily caught off guard." She swings her other leg around, but the youkai ducks in the knick of time. The orange-haired girl throws her fist forward, but to her surprise the demon catches her hand before it can connect. "Petty tricks won't work on me." Lamya clenches her fist, applying pressure to the fragile bones.

Lirin falls onto her knees, her teeth gritting as she tries to endure the pain. Her green eyes catch the sight of blood on Lamya's chest—the wound still vulnerable. She brings her other fist up, striking Lamya's wound. The demon's grip loosens, giving Lirin the chance to escape from her hold, while Lamya heels over, coughing up blood.

"Like I said, petty tricks won't work on me," Lamya whispers, wiping the blood from the side of her lips. "But if you are so inclined to fight me, then I should show you no mercy." She suddenly vanishes from sight, only to appear right at Lirin's side. Before Lirin even knows what is happening, she finds her face meeting the ground. She quickly gets up, but instead Lamya's foot connects with the bottom of her chin. Her back hits the trunk of a tree, knocking the air out of her once again. She slumps forward, but the demon appears in front of her, slamming her fist against her abdomen with enough force the break the trunk of the tree in half.

H-how…could…this…happen… Lirin thinks as she loses consciousness.

Lamya slumps to the ground, clenching her wound. I live to serve my prince and nothing else. But she knows that isn't the truth. At the beginning that's what she had devoted her life to, but that was until she met Evan. She was just floating through life after the first time she killed him and when she discovered that he was still alive, she found a new mission in life—to get back at him for everything he put her through.

But once again he is gone. She still loved him after all these years, but could never forgive him for betraying her. Now that he is gone, she sees no point in living. A part of her wants to just allow her body to bleed to death and put an end to her pitiful existence. A grim smile crosses her features as she begins to heal the wound.

Finish this mission, then you can die any way you want, she promises herself, for the moment her mind at ease, knowing that the end is near. And she is the key to everything, Lamya thinks as she focuses on Lirin's unconscious form. This is where everything begins to come to an end…

xXx

The cool jewel rolls along Serafina's palm as she quietly walks over to Evan's room. The jewel is practically worthless, considering her guardian replaced the jewel on her talisman with a stronger one. Inside the sphere lies all the energy it has absorbed, but for some reason she knows Evan might find some use for it. Perhaps he can harness its power, just like the essence-balls he is so fond of creating. But in this case, the jewel will probably be a lot stronger with all the energy it has managed to store since she started using it.

She is rather surprised that he isn't sleeping in Raven's room, considering the Demon Child has a tendency to not like sleeping in his own room. Her knuckles lightly rap against the door to Evan's room, waiting for an answer, but no one responds. Slowly, she pushes the door open, peeking inside, but the bed remains neatly made, indicating no one has slept in it for quite a while.

At this point she can tell that something is seriously wrong as she makes her way downstairs. Last night he should have reverted back into his child-form, making him vulnerable. It would have been foolish of him to remain out in the open when he is like that, so he would have returned home.

Unless the idiot decided to pay Lamya back for what she did to Raven, and last night he would have been in his true form, the perfect state for picking a fight with Lamya. A long sigh escapes her lips, knowing that's exactly what he did. Guess I'm going to have to look for him and make sure he's not lying half dead in some ditch…

xXx

A light haze of smoke fills the kitchen as a certain monk listlessly reads over the morning paper. Most of the words on the page are lost to him as he finds his mind occupied with other matters.

Unresolved issues, is what he has decided to call the situation with Serafina. It is almost like being sucker punched, then the person fleeing before you can do anything or even find out why. Why else would he constantly be thinking about it?

The memory of that night still remains fresh in his mind, which is odd, considering how much alcohol he had consumed. That night when she almost…

Stupid woman. The words have almost become a mantra to him with his constant uttering of them. It's all her fault. It's her fault he hasn't been sleeping well, her fault he has been in such a bad mood and probably her fault it rained last night.

She is so dead the next time he sees her and he will be happy because he'll rid himself of the nuisance with the unpredictable actions and her annoying ability to plague his mind with her stupidity.

The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs catch his attention as he peers over the top of his newspaper. For a moment his eyes widen a fraction when he finds himself looking upon the woman he was just thinking about.

"Hi," she finally says, before walking past him. With that one word his eyes begin to twitch. After disappearing without saying a word after she tried to k—Damn her!

"You're starting to make a habit out of running away," he absently notes, snuffing out the end of his cigarette.

"I don't have time for this," she replies, not even bothering to face him. He recalls what Evan said about her liking someone else. Was she really using him as some kind of replacement for the person she really likes?

"But you had time for me the other night," he reminds her, hoping to set her off so they can finally have it out in the open and put an end to the whole fiasco. "As I recall, you seemed to enjoy my company a little too much."

"I really don't care what you have to say, so quit wasting your breath and get out of my way." To her, he is an obstacle, someone keeping her away from her goal, and therefore she can employ any means necessary to get rid of the nuisance.

"I don't recall ever taking orders from you." He glares at her and she returns the look. Neither of them notice the rapid footsteps approaching them as Hakkai nearly runs down the stairs.

"Sanzo!" Hakkai calls, bursting into the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" Serafina asks, forgetting about the argument she was about to have with Sanzo when she sees how upset the usually cheerful young man is.

"Lirin's gone. Miss Yaone can't find her anywhere."

"How could they have gotten inside with all the wards surrounding the area?" Serafina demands, her feeling of security shattered.

"The idiot probably went looking for her brother," Sanzo replies nonchalantly folding up the newspaper and pushing himself out of his chair.

"We have to find her before Lamya does," Serafina announces. No one bothers to say what the consequences are if Lirin is captured, but they all know them. Kougaiji will do anything for his sister and Lamya knows that.

"Perhaps we could use the talisman Raven used to find Yaone, or maybe Evan can be of some assistance," Hakkai suggests.

"Evan's gone," Serafina whispers. "I was just about to look for him."

"Do you know where he went?" Hakkai asks, not believing the bad luck they are having. She shakes her head.

"He was supposed to have reverted back to his child-form last night, there's no way he wouldn't have return home unless something happened to him."

"So you were going to run off on your own, with no idea of where you were going?" Sanzo asks. "I knew you were stupid, but I didn't think you were that dumb." Her hands slam on the table, unable to keep her anger in check any longer.

"And what else can I do!" Serafina snaps. "He could be seriously hurt or even dead. How can I sit around and wait!"

"Yeah, yeah, keep it down," Warner grumbles, rubbing his temple to try to ease his hangover as he enters the kitchen with Gojyo. "So Evan ran off, nothing new there."

"Maybe she's got a crush on him," Gojyo yawns, oblivious to the situation. "Poor Sanzo, he never even stood a—" His words are cut off when a bullet nearly grazes his cheek.

"Stop screwing around. Lirin and Evan are missing. Let's go!"

"What we're going?" Gojyo gawks. "Whatever happened to the, 'We're not defenders of justice,' speech."

"I'm not doing this for Evan or Lirin. Those demons just piss me off. It's about time someone put them in their place."

"Look at Sanzo, already showing off to his girl—" Gojyo stops and suddenly ducks as a bullet hits the spot he once stood. "You damn corrupt monk!"

"Like I said, stop fooling around and find Cassandra so we can get the hell out of here." With that everyone scatters to prepare the battle that is bound to happen.

xXx

"We're here," Cassandra finally says, parking the car on the side of the road. She knows the place all too well—the same place Raven and Evan once fought Lamya. The second she steps out of the car, her senses are weighed down by a strong amount of energy.

"Evan…" Serafina whispers, catching everyone's attention. "He was here. His essence is saturating the area."

"There's no way Lirin could have gotten all the way out here on her own," Sanzo notes, placing a cigarette in his mouth. "And I doubt Evan would take the brat with him."

"You don't think that…" Yaone begins, not wanting to think that Lirin might have already been found by the demons.

"Yeah, this doesn't seem suspicious, not at all," Warner says sarcastically.

"Trap?" Gojyo sighs. "Nothing like a fight to the death in some spooky woods."

"Now, now Gojyo, don't tell me you're scared," Hakkai laughs.

"As if I would be afraid of some third-rate demon," Gojyo scoffs, crossing his arms.

"She's far from a third-rate demon," Cassandra whispers, remembering the times she has fought her.

"Third-rate or not I still have to pay them for what happened last time," Sanzo replies, snapping shut his Smith & Wesson. "Along with some interest."

"Lamya's here," Serafina growls, her voice filling with hate. Sanzo steals a glance at her, wondering if she is going to be able to control herself.

"How perceptive of you, Little Sera," Lamya announces, looking down at the group of people from her perch on a tree branch. "But as always, you're a little too late."

"Where's Lirin?" Yaone asks, already knowing the answer.

"It's a secret," Lamya replies, a sly grin crossing her features. "Have you come here in some pathetic attempt to rescue her…or are you looking for Evan." The smile fades from her features as quickly as it appeared. "As far as I know, he's dead."

"You're lying," Warner whispers, not believing that the hyperactive demon has already fallen.

"If you don't believe me then you can dig his corpse out of the ravine he was buried in." A bullet whizzes past her, obviously a warning shot.

"Your voice is annoying," Sanzo grits out, aiming his gun straight at her heart. "Are you going to shut up and fight, or is this some kind of lame attempt to ruffle our feathers? For one thing, I'm not scared of you one bit, and second, it's his own damn fault for running off on his own." Her eyes darken as she glares at the defiant monk.

"That mouth of yours really pisses me off," the demon hisses, disappearing from sight.

"Sanzo!" Goku yells, diving in front of him and stopping Lamya's kick. She jumps back landing gracefully on her feet. "Bastard…" Goku growls, charging at the demon. Her arm quickly rises, blocking his nyoibou.

"So now you want to fight me too?" Lamya asks, hatred burning in her eyes. "Hopefully you can keep up with me." She takes a run for it, Goku racing after her.

"Goku!" Hakkai yells, running after him along with Gojyo, Yaone and Warner.

"Damn it all," Serafina mutters, not knowing if she should follow them when she might know where Evan is. No matter how much she hates Lamya, she can't throw away Evan's life for the sake of revenge. Without warning, she takes off as well, but in the opposite direction as the others.

"Serafina! Wait!" Cassandra warns, following her. She pauses for a second when she sees someone running beside her. "Aren't you going after the others?" she asks, surprised that Sanzo is tagging along with her.

"Che, they can take care of themselves," Sanzo says, referring to Goku, Hakkai, Warner and Gojyo. "And knowing that stupid woman, she's probably headed straight for trouble."

"Either way, thank you," Cassandra smiles, glad for his help, even though he would never admit to it. Already she has a bad feeling about where they are heading, but if there is a small chance that they might find Evan, none of that matters.

xXx

"Where the hell did they go?" Gojyo asks, his red eyes wildly searching the area for any signs of the hyperactive youkai. "That stupid monkey, always running off on his own like that. I swear, whenever a good opponent comes along, his I.Q. plummets."

"You know what they say, monkeys act on instinct," Hakkai lightly laughs, trying to mask his worry over the safety of the youngest in their group. The four of them stop when they hear the sound of cracking leaves and twigs, informing them that they are no longer alone.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Gojyo calls, cupping his hands in front of his mouth.

"We can't let you pass," a voice announces, stepping out of the shadows, while a large sword rests on his shoulders. The sight of the person makes Gojyo's blood run cold.

"Dokugakuji!" Yaone calls. She is about to say something else, when the words die in her throat. His eyes seem darker than usual, and he doesn't have the usual smirk he gets when he sees his half-brother. Beside him is a woman dressed in black, quietly watching the scene that is about to unfold. "W-why are you with them?" Yaone asks. "They're after Lirin and they took you hostage."

"They already have Lirin," Dokugakuji whispers, his right fist trembling. "If we don't stop them, Lamya is going to kill her!"

It's all my fault! Yaone takes a staggering step back, not believing what she is hearing. If I had only taken better care of Lirin, then none of this would be happening. I failed Kougaiji-sama.

"Lamya's right." Everyone looks up when they hear the all too familiar voice. Standing above Doku and Miriam is the one demon that they have grown to hate. "All you need to do is find the right motivation and people will do just about anything—even turn on family," Zev says, looking down at the new arrivals. "Unfortunately, we are missing a few people."

Hakkai, Warner and Gojyo finally notice the absence of Sanzo, Cassandra and Serafina, wondering when they were separated from them.

"Divide and conqueror," Zev states. "Isn't that right, smiley?" He twirls his dagger, before flinging it at Hakkai, the blade hits the tree behind him, while a fine line of blood runs down his cheek. Hakkai's eyes remain cold and unflinching. "It's very rude to keep me waiting. Perhaps I should go pay them a visit." He takes off, eager to pay the monk back for injuring his body and pride.

"Wait!" Hakkai calls, but he pulls back when he finds himself staring at Yaone's spear, which is now positioned at his throat.

"I'm sorry, Hakkai, but I can't allow you to go any further." I have to do this for Lirin.

"Yaone…" Hakkai whispers, not liking the direction their conversation is heading.

"Please die," Yaone says, shoving the blade forward, he pulls back just in time, avoiding what could have been a fatal attack. "I'm sorry, but I can't betray Kougaiji-sama."

"What should we do?" Warner asks, keeping his hand on the hilt of his rapier as he keeps a weary eye on the woman in black.

"What other choice do we have?" Gojyo replies, summoning his shakujou and falling into his fighting stance. "How come we're stuck with these people, while Sanzo's off gallivanting with Cassandra and Serafina? Since when does Sanzo get all the chicks?" He charges forward, the shaft of his shakujou colliding with Doku's sword.

"Good thing I'm looking forward to a rematch," Warner grins, drawing his sword and pointing it at Miriam. "Just to let you know, I'm a lot stronger than I was the last time we met." She doesn't reply, instead she places her hand on the hilt of one of her swords.

"Words mean nothing," she finally says, springing forward, drawing her sword with one fluid motion.

The clashing of metal echoes throughout the forest, as both groups begin a battle between life and death.

xXx

Sanzo, Serafina and Cassandra come to a stop, trying to regain their bearings. Serafina walks towards a fallen tree, her fingers lingering on the blacken bark, knowing it is a trace from Evan. How long ago was he here? Judging from the energy radiating from it, probably from the previous night.

"We're on the right track," Serafina states, pointing to the mark. "There's a ravine about a mile from here that must be the place Lamya was talking about."

"It could be a trap," Sanzo says, gazing at the area.

"Either way, all we need to do is follow the path of destruction. We can't afford to assume he's already dead."

"Someone's here," Cassandra announces, preparing herself for whoever it is. The person comes to a stop, just as he reaches them. Strands of auburn hair whip in the wind, while purple eyes survey the three. Sanzo recognizes the person right away as being the youkai prince, the one he has butted heads with on several occasions.

"Let me guess, you want the sutra," Sanzo says dryly. He dives out of the way when Kougaiji comes at him, his fist colliding with the ground and sending chunks of rock flying in every direction.

"No more playing games," Kougaiji replies, straightening his body, while his eyes remain trained on the monk, who has his gun aimed at him.

"We don't have time for this," Serafina mutters, releasing her hand blade, but Cassandra places her hand on her shoulder, preventing her from moving forward.

"Can you find Evan?" Cassandra asks, keeping her gaze on Kougaiji.

"I have some idea where he's at, if what Lamya was saying is the truth." Serafina looks at Cassandra, noting the determined look on her face and knowing no matter what she says, she won't be able to talk the sorceress out of it. Her blade retracts, going against her better judgment. "I'll find him," with that she takes off, hoping the two will be okay on their own.

"Sanzo, go on ahead without me." Cassandra doesn't even glance at him, as she transforms her necklace into a staff with a star-like blade. "I'll hold him off as long as I can." He doesn't like the idea of leaving her alone, but out of all of them, she probably stands a better chance at keeping the youkai prince at bay.

"Idiots," Sanzo growls, taking off after Serafina. Kougaiji is about to follow them, when the ground explodes a few feet in front of him and a wall of fire rising around them.

"The only way this barrier is going to fall is if you defeat me."

"That can be easily arranged." He suddenly appears in front of her, slamming his fist into her mid-section and throwing her off her feet. Her body slides across the ground, before coming to complete stop.

She rolls out of the way as he comes at her again. She slams her fist against the ground, triggering an earth spell. He shields his face as pieces of rock slice his flesh. He wipes the blood from the side of his face, surprised by her ability to cast spells. But he prevents himself from finding any amusement in their fight, not when Lirin's life hangs on the line.

"You're not the only one who can use spells," he replies, before chanting one of his incantations. She plants her feet firmly on the ground, ready for whatever he throws at her. I can't lose, Kougaiji swears as fire swirls around him.

"Please find Evan," Cassandra whispers, beginning an incantation of her own. I swear Raven, I won't let you lose anyone else…

xXx

A/N: Thanks to curiouzkatt, narmire, rook, Kurtain, and Sumitra. Once again I apologize for taking so long to update. And a quick couple of responses for a few of the reviews.

Curiouzkatt—I did base the story Samsara on the actual Buddhist term, but I just borrowed the part about reincarnation and the name. Oh, and don't worry about Evan, the little brat has the luck of the devil himself.

Sumitra—Hm, Evan and Lamya hooking up again? I'm really not sure, they do have a lot of issues to work out like her killing him and such. I'm glad you like the fight between Lamya and Evan, and I'm happy with the responses I got. And happy belated birthday. I really wanted to write a special for your and Evan's birthday, but I really didn't have the time.

Next chapter, the Sanzo-ikko and Raven-tachi have an all out fight against the demons and Kougaiji-tachi. Will Sanzo and Serafina find Evan in time, or is it all ready too late? Find out in the next chapter.

Before I forget, I was wondering which fights you want me to focus on more. One of those will already be Goku vs. Lamya. So if there are any others you would really like me to focus on, just say so in your review and I'll do my best to accommodate your requests. As always thanks for taking your time to read my fic and I hope I don't let any of you down. Till next time!