Alucard watched the living man descend the deck after Integra. He cared not to glance at Inuyasha or Kagome, for his mind was busy. Something tugged at his mind now that he had returned. This irritable itch inside his head could not be rid no matter how hard he mentally scratched. The problem was he didn't even know the source of this strange feeling. As he had watched Integra and Zohall sit and engage and a conversation like normal individuals it struck him as strange.
No, that wasn't right. He himself was an aberration of normality, so this couldn't be it. Perhaps he was nervous that this man was dangerous and letting her too close could endanger her- no… again not it.
He could not bring himself to even consider thinking that he was feeling a long forgotten human emotion- envy. But this train of thought was interrupted as another strange feeling hit him, this time more familiar. A stabbing pain deep inside his chest, inside his heart, throbbed. He twisted his neck slightly, ignoring the pain. It only grew as a voice inside his head begged.
Let me speak to him… let me try to understand if I was right about him, please, his familiar begged.
Once again, a mystery struck Alucard. Never in his many years as Nosferatu had he ever experienced a familiar who could openly speak to her master, or with others who were perfectly alive. Not until now. Only with Schrödinger had he ever had 'problems' with those he devoured, but even then he had the Blackscape Protocol to 'regurgitate' dangerous individuals. Yet… she could evade this scanning process. She could not resist her masters will, but avoid it temporarily.
Again his heart was stabbed by his terrible black magic playing tricks against him.
"Again you disrupt my balance… Mercer," Alucard muttered darkly as he stared up to the sky. And so he let himself go for a moment, the voice pushing away from his control, and into another realm.
It had taken Zohall Mercer longer than usual to fall asleep. With Alucard's return, he knew that the woman once again would reappear in his dreams. Or at least he worried she would. He was not afraid of anything she could do to him and yet he could not help but feel severely anxious when lying in his hammock, Shippo snoring feet from him and lowered voices of Leon telling stories from long ago. This dread was slowly overtaken by sleepiness, but even in his unconscious he felt tense.
But there was no white light flooding through. There was no blinding sensation that forced his eyes open. He was finally surrounded in darkness, able to close his eyes.
Finally, he thought to himself, shifting himself a little to get warmer, a sleep filled night.
Cold and wet hit his eyelid, like a droplet of water.
"Gah," he rubbed his eyes, annoyed with the ships leaky deck. "Fucking leak-" with his eyes opened he saw dark grey sky. Two walls blocked his view to his left and right, and he was suddenly much colder than he was on the ship. His back was now on cold dirt. Moving his head up, he was met with snowfall. "What the… This is new!" he shouted around as he stood up, brushing the snow off him. His words echoed around what appeared to be an alleyway between several old-fashioned buildings somewhere in Europe. The architecture was distinctive to central Europe, likely France or Germany. As he stood in the five inch tall snowfall at night, he waited for her to appear.
Voices called to him from the end of the alley. Shielding his eyes from the cold wind, he uprooted himself and carried on to the open street, where frozen signs and dimly lit oil lamps punctuated the streets. He could not make out the street signs from the ice and the strange language it read. Behind him was a tavern, where many voices jarred drunkenly.
"So what is it you want?" he asked again, trying the open streets in hope of now confronting her. A gust of wind shot up his ill-dressed shirt and he rushed past the tavern, unwilling to stand so exposed to the elements. Next to a pair of town homes he paused, rubbing his arms and legs. This was clearly different than anything he had experienced before. There were people here, none of which he recognized, interacting on his own. This didn't seem typical to his usual encounters inside this 'dreamscape' or sourcescaper or whatever she had called it. A couple, shuffling hurriedly down the street drew his attention.
"Hey," he waved, leaving the comfort of his retreat to speak to them. "Hey!" he shouted as they did not notice him. "HEY!" he screamed trying to shout over the wind and snow. He got a foot right in front of them; but just as he expected the man to trip over his leg, he passed clearly through him. "What… the hell…" he whispered. Was he a ghost? Did he somehow die on the ship- they crash from the winds and now he was in purgatory in some random place?
His troubled thoughts were distracted as a little girl sudden flew right through him, her long black hair tossing in the wind as she ran as fast as she could. Her bright blue dress had been torn at the bottom seams, as if someone had grabbed it too hard. "Hey!" he called, forgetting his ethereal predicament. Running after her seemed like a challenged despite his obvious speed and larger size. She turned again and again through alleyways and darker corridors beside buildings. And finally it seemed like she had lost him in one area with many bags of liquor bottles and trash when she re-appeared, back tracking her footsteps. Zohall only then realized he made none. Spinning in place he returned his gaze to her, and saw she was crying.
"So mean…" he girl whimpered in clear English, hinting at a German tongue," So… MEAN!" she turned and kicked a trash can causing a light metallic bang. Suddenly one of the bags jumped up shouting, causing both the girl and Zohall to scream like a little girl. The man who had jumped out of the snow, brandishing an old-fashioned but rather large musket pistol, too began to shout in fear.
"WHO! WHAT! WOAH!" He shouted as the girl tried running again, only to trip over the newly appeared man.
"Get away!" she cried as she struggled in the snow, her dress was caught on a broken pipe next to a building, keeping her in place. "Stay away from me!" she could have been only seven or eight, but had beautiful bright blue eyes with her light skin and dark hair. One particular strand of hair protruded from her forehead and curled outward in a gravity-defying style.
"Will you quiet down?" the man asked, brushing the snow off him which had covered him from head to toe.
"Yeah!" Zohall agreed, forgetting once again his non-existence. She finally stopped struggling after a minute of both men, one visible the other not, watching her with awe. Once again she started to sob. Zohall felt bad but annoyed for this girl. She had done such a good job at running away from whatever scared her only to just give up and cry.
"Eh… Hey," the once buried man started again easily, softly. "Look, easy… easy," he lifted her off her knees and hands, and removed the snagged piece of cloth from the pipe. He had a short beard of dark blond, and his wild hair passed his nose, color the same as his beard. He wore what appeared to be a cloak of perfect black that seemed like it should have stood out from the snow that had engulfed it. A breeze blew the cloak a bit back for Zohall to analyze the man better. His vest held man cuts and bullet holes, tearing the light green and dark brown leather up dramatically. His baggy cloth pants bore a type of sword, small enough to conceal, and a holster for his quite large musket pistol. Yet what caught his eye was not underneath the cloak, but what was poking out from behind it.
A grip to a blade, slightly curved, similar to that of a katana, poked awkwardly out from his back. This man was in possession of Gleam: Zohall's prized sword.
"No way…" he stepped closer as the snow-monster man, who seemed similar to Zohall's age, started brushing off the young girls shoulders, ridding her of the piles of snow. "I know I wasn't alive when this happened… so who in fucking hell are you?" The man finally brushed the rag of hair from his face and exposed two orbs of green. They shocked Zohall. He saw those eyes in the mirror all the time; his eyes, or his family's eyes.
"Are you okay?" the man asked softly.
"Y…yes," she answered through several shivers. "I am sorry. For waking you."
"What?" the man asked, turning to his former resting spot back to her. "Oh!" he laughed," that's okay. I needed to get up before it froze me solid anyway."
"Why would you sleep in the snow instead of your home?" she asked with an unexpected and friendly open attitude. He blinked.
"Well… I'm not from around. I don't live anywhere near here, and with all the 'money' problems," he simplified for her ears," that Germany has, no hotel would take me in. So I figured I would take a nap… before the snow… hit," he finished while scratching the back of his head. "Guess that didn't work out as well as I had planned." He walked past her and glanced out of the alley. "But why are you here? Shouldn't you be home at this hour? Or are you also a traveler?" he asked her jokingly. She sniffed and rubber her eyes after a moment and he was quick to catch on, panic getting to him for a split second. He then grinned broadly and he raced to her, swooped her up, and placed her on his shoulders. "No more crying, okay? I, like my apprentice, hate seeing children cry."
She, after gasping from the sudden movement, blushed and wrapped her arms around his forehead, holding onto him as he pulled the cloak's hood over his head. Zohall suddenly found the man harder to follow as he tracked them through the snow. The cloak seemed to wrap them in the darkness, keeping them out of sight. But he heard them converse and the very light footsteps allowed him to follow.
"Where did you say you live?"
"On main street," she answered quickly," with my father."
"Does he know you're out alone?" the Zohall-look alike asked. She paused, giving him a chance to guess. "Sorry. I'll talk to him before I drop you off, alright?"
"N-no!"
"It wont be bad. I've been told actually I can be a rather persuasive person," the man chuckled.
"But he would hurt you!" she cried in panic. "And what if he got angry with me talking with strangers!"
"Nah… it's okay. I promise it will work out. Okay?" he held a hand at his forehead, open for a hand shake. She stared at it, only to lightly shake it. "Hey… is that your dad?" he suddenly asked as he lowered his hand, spotting a group of men.
"I… I don't know," she asked, being let down by the man. As the hood was lowered, Zohall got a look at the man again. His eyes were stern, watching the group cautiously in a way he had only seen with Leon before. She started walking ahead of him. One inside the group tossed a man in the center against the wall and the girl shouted. "PAPA!" the group turned, even the slumping man suddenly watched his daughter run towards him.
"No! RIP, GET BACK!" he shouted. Before she had even got ten feet, the man in black was in front of her from nowhere, legs bent and arm outstretched in front of the girl. "You there, keep her away!" the drunken father shouted before receiving a knockout punch from one of the men while the others walked towards the other two. Zohall stared at the young Rip as she screamed in fear for her father.
"Well… we found his daughter then," the closest said, having seen the long black hair belonging to the girl. Zohall stood to the side, sure of what was about to happen.
"What business do you have with the girl?" the man with Zohall's eyes demanded in a commanding voice. The first chortled, but stopped in his tracks. The others lined up next to him as the first explained.
"None at all, but this bastard here hasn't paid his debts to us yet, and we're getting sick of waiting," he shook his fist, clearly still sore from socking the father in the face.
"And you see," one next to him started," it would be great insurance to us if we had his only remaining valuable," he pointed to the girl behind the man's hand," so we knew he could pay up."
"So, thank you for being such a gentleman," one started walking to the girl," and finding her for-"
Zohall couldn't believe the speed at which the man suddenly was in front of the approached. One moment he was kneeling down in front of Rip, the next standing tall before the debt collector henchman. His face was inches from the others, who backed up from shock.
"You won't touch her."
Those behind the first laughed harshly, taunting this figure, who even though Zohall felt no power from this man what so ever, had a strange bet on this person. He was powerful- very, very powerful.
"Or what?"
"Or I will have to force you all to leave… painfully," he warned darkly," young people like yourselves should be in bed at this hour." The five roared with laughter, unsure if the man was serious, messing around with them, or had serious mental problems.
"You? Against five of us?" The center laughed again.
"Better than the odds of my last scheduled fight," the man in the black cloak admitted," instead of a father who I can't harm but have to subdue… I have five idiots who I have free range over," he cracked his knuckles and reached for his sword, but halted. "On second thought… I'll go easy on you guys; Fists, and a few tricks only- no guns or swords. As long as you don't touch her," he reminded cracking his neck. The one in the center again laughed, pulled out an early twentieth century pistol, and shot at the man. Zohall gasped, sure he would have dodged it. Rip screamed, and fell back as the man stumbled. "Ow… I forgot how much that hurts."
"Shoot him again!" one cried in awe that the cloaked man hadn't fallen, and another gunshot hit the man in black. Rip watched as five bullets hit him in the chest. Only then did the cheap pistol run out of bullets. But now there were people in the windows watching, eager to watch action and scared to participate or stop it. The man in black still did not fall back, hunched over, his hands at his chest. Zohall noticed a faint, green light emanating past the cloak.
"I take it back," the Zohall look alike said," since you cheated, so will I."
His hands shot out, the five bullets tossed at the faces of the five watching him. They recoiled, but the man in black was already moving, seemingly uninjured. He slapped the palms of his hands on the ground, and two waves of earth rolled away, producing a ball of ground, like an earthquake, rocketing at the two on the sides off against buildings walls or into the street. Before they were tossed into the air by this sudden attack, the Zohall look alike was already on them. The very center one was ignored, only having his gun smashed out of his hand. And in the time he had brought his hand up, the cloaked man and smashed the two next to him clean in the face, flipped over the center, and thrown the two next to him far down the street, knocking them out. Just as the last turned, so did the man in the cloak. He held his open palmed hand quickly and placed it inches from his opponent's chest.
"Seeya." A blast of sound similar to scream catapulted the final fighter away and into a second story window across the street. Straightening himself up, Zohall counted the five gunshot holes, which clearly had drawn blood on the jacket, now healed.
It all happened so fast. Even for Zohall.
"What the hell are you?" Zohall corrected his earlier question. Almost as if he heard, the man in black turned to Zohall his eyes wide. Zohall blinked, watching the cloaked man come closer, staring at the exact spot where he was. He didn't pass through him, but instead watched, walking slightly to the side, keeping his eyes directly on where Zohall was. He glanced to where the fight had taken place, and then back to Zohall.
"Well I'll be… I wasn't crazy back then…" the Zohall look alike stated. Zohall was positive this man, like everyone else couldn't see him… but he acting like he had just noticed him. And what was more, what he said made no sense… what was this person? Zohall watched as the man scooped up the unconscious body of the father, placed him around his shoulder, and started for young Rip.
"Papa..?" she asked, near crying.
"Just asleep. You lead the way, and I'll get you home, okay?" they began their walk back to the street Zohall had woken next to, but he did not follow. His eyes caught a figure emerging from the alley across him, wearing a business suit and holding a very familiar yellow umbrella.
"This is a memory… isn't it?" Zohall finally guessed as he knew this person could see.
"This is one I have blocked out from my memory for so many years… along with many others, from my master as well," she stated. "This was something you- well… he taught me," she nodded, still in shadow, to the disappearing group. "Concealment and working in the 'scape."
"Who was that?" Zohall demanded. There was nothing in his mind that allowed him to believe that the man he had watched easily heal gunshot wounds, cause ripples in the ground, and blast people away with nothing but air, could be him. "Was he my father? Grandfather?"
"I once thought… He … was you."
And the world began to fall away. Literally, like the earth beneath the two suddenly gave away to endless black, the buildings and snow all began to shatter and fall into endless black like shards of glass. Zohall turned and watched Rip follow the three home, and before he lost sight of everything, he heard her cry.
"MISTER ZOHALL!" Shippo shouted as Zohall opened his eyes. He bounded off the hammock ungracefully and fell four feet onto the wooden deck, nearly crushing Shippo, who had leapt to the side off him. "Are you okay?"
"… yes," Zohall said as he stood back up, trying to regain air in his lungs. It was morning already. Rubbing his eyes, he turned to Shippo, who bounded on top of an empty barrel nearby. "I hate mornings- what's going on?"
"We're-"
A large wave tossed the boat slightly to one side. Zohall kept his balance, but the barrel Shippo stood on rolled over and on top of the young demon, squishing him numerous times as it rolled away.
"I take it we're here," Zohall answered for himself as he ran up on the deck, dressing frantically, forgetting his shirt for now. The dream was pushed aside in his head as he heard the thunder striking just outside. Once his foot stepped on the deck, he was hit with a splash of water and Seras, desperately avoiding the water. "DAMN!" he shouted as he was knocked over, slipping with the water. "Leon!" he shouted, spotting the older man hanging on the crisscross of ratlines. The agent turned, spotting Zohall and waving him. Struggling to get up as Seras rushed to Alcuards side, another wave smashed into the side of the boat, tossing him forward. "Jesus!"
"It's crazy isn't it!" Leon shouted above the wind and thunder. "But look at it!" Zohall did as told, and found himself looking at a miniature hurricane. He could only guess the island was inside this massive, swirling mass of cloud and mist, shooting bolts of lightning out at sea and the skies above. The sea thrashed terribly, rocking the boat and all its crew. "Boss had better find a way to stop this shit… soon," he groaned as he held tight to the lines," or I am going to need more rice for breakfast."
"Alucard!" Integra ran up to the deck, nearly slipping on the stairs to the steering wheel and captain's deck. Alucard was confidently navigating the ship around the larger waves as he traveled around the massive storm. "What on blazes are you doing!"
"Getting us to the island of course, or circling it until we can pass through that storm," he answered calmly, despite Seras gripping tightly to him for protection. Integra clenched her jaw slightly at the sight.
"Police girl, you can depend on your own. There is no need for such childish behavior," Integra reprimanded just before a massive wave splashed her off her feet, and Seras shrieked.
"She is right police girl," Alucard added as Seras crawled up a single rope to the masts. "So long as you don't fall into the sea you will be fine."
"I STILL DON'T WANT TO GET WET!" she shouted from above. It was Miroku's turn to run out on to the deck, and straight for Leon and Zohall.
"What is that?" he demanded as Inuyasha too arrived, followed by a confused and meek looking Shippo.
"That is where we are trying to get to," Leon shouted, then turning to Integra," RIGHT BOSS?" he shouted, catching her attention. "GETTING A WAY INSIDE THIS?"
"Right!" she shouted, leaping down from the captain's deck and rushing past Kagome, who seemed messily dressed more than usual and disheveled while supporting Sango.
"That took her a moment-" Zohall grumbled just before he noticed another wave about to hit the boat, both grabbing the side and ducking below to avoid the splash of salt water. All but Inuyasha ducked, who took it all in, unblinkingly. "Damn dude, that shit will fuck up your sight! Demon or otherwise."
"It smells…" he stated, his upper lip trembling in the same way an angered canine would when cornered. "like death here." Kagome finally reached the two, only then noticing how wet Inuyasha had become.
"Ew-" she put a hand to her nose. "Wet dog…"
"Can it!" the half demon growled," that's not nearly as bad as what I smell."
"Where is Kirara…?" Sango asked meekly.
"Below deck," Miroku answered, and took her from Kagome, who seemed bashful whenever looking at Inuyasha. "But where is Walter?"
"You needn't worry about me," he called from a mast hold far above Leon, balancing his two feet on the pole with the aid of only his hand on a rope. "I have recovered enough to handle myself."
"Awesome!" Zohall shouted, giving a grinning thumbs up to Walter. Shippo climbed up on Inuyashas back, watching the ocean with fear.
"We're… going in that?"
"Not looking like that we aren't," Leon reminded him. "Waiting on Integra."
"WAALTEER!" Integra cried from below deck. He leapt gracefully, slowing his fall with his micro-wires until he landed and raced below deck. Only a moment later did he return with an open crate in his arms, Integra close behind him with the alchemy book folded in her arms. She pointed to the group by starboard. "Get me a pitcher tied to a rope and get me some of that sea water, NOW!" Miroku and Kagome rushed to find a pitcher while Zohall stood atop the side of the deck, holding onto the same bouncing ropes Leon was rushing up. Inuyasha stared at him as he acted as a stand for Sango.
"What are you doing?" he asked Zohall with shock as Zohall began to stretch his arms.
"Leon!" Zohall shouted up to Leon as he nearly slid down the ropes, holding his loose rope.
"Nothing heroic," Leon stated, staring at Zohall with intent.
"You got it," Zohall pounded fist against Leon's, and grabbed Miroku's bucket, before jumping off the side.
"WAIT, YOU IDIOT, I'M NOT DONE TYING IT!" Leon shouted as he ran for the main mast, desperate to tie it down before Zohall had all the rope off the deck. Zohall ran down the side diagonally, and just in time felt the rope tighten. Thrusting the pitcher out, he gathered the sample, and started running back up, pulling himself as he did. Re-appearing on the mildly dry deck, he chucked the rope, accidentally tossing it into the face of Miroku before running off to join Integra and Walter.
"Salty water; check!" he shouted as he nearly ran over the crouched two.
"Give it here-" Integra ripped it from his hands, unplugged the vial of glowing liquid crafted by the apprentice, and dumped it all into the bucket. The sea water hissed steam and flashed bright yellow light as the two mixed and formed the key to defeating the demonic storm. Finally a dazzling bright version of sea water was stable, mimicking the color of shallow water near a coral reef, vibrant and lively. Without waiting for confirmation, she threw the pitcher with its contents over the side and into the sea.
"So much for that bucket," Zohall commented. Integra rushed past him and the others, her eyes glued to the water as she watched the reaction of the sea. The storm suddenly surged, the cloud and mist spinning faster, erratically increasing and decreasing in speed. The lightning too became more frequent- focusing in the area that the new water was dropped in. "Did… did we just piss of the storm?"
"We're killing it," Alucard commented, glancing to Inuyasha on the central deck, who was having a hard time watching the storm for some reason," so it is trying to fight back… and it is loosing."
The sea itself seemed to become lighter and lighter as that same quality of the potion began to spread through the waves, making an updraft in wind that cut into the swirling mist and clouds. And like a magic reality eraser, soon an entire tenth of the massive cloud was dissipating, effecting the rest as it all slowly became nothing but spent cloud and dying wind. The seas began to calm and the island was finally in sight.
"BlackwindIsland," Integra breathed, eyeing it up. Grey, cold sandy beaches lined the initial island, parted only by pieces of what seemed to be grey rocks; beyond that were ghostly forests with small patches of green, only to surround one, massive, seemingly dead, volcano. The mountain itself was barren, but many small holes as caves lined its sides, allowing entrances deep inside. "We're finally here."
I… I've seen those beaches before, Zohall thought to himself, It was in that dream with the girl who pissed me off… who said she wanted my power. She lives here? With…
"…Towers," Zohall said out loud. Leon turned to him, curious of his thoughts.
"He's got no where to run this time," Leon reminded him. "His only mode of survival has been to avoid us, and now we've got him were we need him."
"Naraku," Inuyasha growled," we're going to end this very, very soon."
"Everyone!" Integra called, on top of the captain's deck, just in front of Alucard and Walter. She waited for their full attention, and for Seras to climb down from the ropes. "We aren't going to waste anything. I want everything we brought with us, regardless of weight or practicality to come ashore with us. For all we know, we may become stranded on this Island if Towers plans on capsizing this ship while we are on land. Everything we need to be able to survive a prolonged stay… and to demolish a mountain if necessary, are coming with us. Any questions?" Zohall raised a hand and smiled.
"Yes, madam president," he asked in a sarcastic version of a reporter's voice," did you have sexual relations with that man?" he dropped the sarcastic tone as Leon groaned. "This isn't a fuckin' press conference! Let's go and kick that god damned freak back to hell, along with his buddies!" Integra at first held back her scolding, only then to smile herself. He was on her side now, even if he mocked her for remaining formal and in command, he was with her on this one.
"Let us, indeed," she replied, leaping down to help with lowering the smaller row boat out into sea.
Minutes later, and a packing of two coffins, all twelve of the group, and Seras's Harconnen, most were afraid that even with four rowers, the large rowboat would capsize. Even Alucard seemed somewhat unnerved with the close proximity to the water. Seras was glued to Leon, who was totally unsure of how to deal with her actions.
"Um," he asked a little too loudly, drawing nearly napping Zohall's stares," I think you'd be safer hanging onto Alucard-"
"NOPE," she replied instantly.
"…Well then," Leon nodded in surrender, pleading with Zohall, who shrugged. Seras was honestly scared out of her mind that existence as she knew it was about to end. All she had to do was tip a little to the side and everything she had worked so hard to become and stay alive for would be over. Zohall tried his 'deal with it, lucky man' grin and wink combo, topped with a shrug.
"The ocean isn't so bad, is it?" Zohall asked to the others, pleasantly awake and ready to test himself some more on land. As Inuyasha spoke back to him, he stared back at the Ship.
"Once it's not full of demonic storms-"
"Or demons themselves," Miroku added.
"-then it is… fine," Inuyasha added huffily, unable to really rain on Zohall's parade as there were no demons or demonic auras around to detect. Alucard instead went for it.
"As a vampire," Alucard began, getting Zohall's weary eye," an ocean is equivalent to an open hell. Each bit of sea water would be akin to an ember from hell's flames, reminding you of how close you are from eternal suffering."
"You're doing a good job of handling it," Zohall pointed out, that Alucard was sitting, perfectly relaxed as he watched Zohall, Miroku, Inuyasha, and Walter row.
"For one, I know perfectly well that this boat will not capsize… I have been steering it after all," Zohall noted the faint mist along the sides," and this has not been the first time I ever was surrounded by sea… or I doubt the last."
"Wait… really?" Leon asked, not sure if his suspicions were right about what he said, but deciding to keep them to himself, he shook his head and turned to Seras," hey, its safe… don't need to squeeze the life out of me." He never came across a creature quite like the vampire Seras Victoria. She was deadly and able to rip men in half, yet was fully human in heart and mind. Even now he could see himself torn in half if she so wanted… but she seemed so weak at the moment. How could there be things so strong and so terribly feeble at the same time?
"She's asleep," Integra stated, watching the shore grow closer, drawing a glance from Leon. He stared, and looked back to Seras, and smiled. She had passed out in the days light, her grip not letting go, but loosening enough to be comfortable. He could deal with it, he supposed. Another thirty minutes of navigating the calmer waters and they finally hit sand and reached a safe enough point for Alucard to disembark, and force Seras awake. Leon regretted it just a little.
What had once been thought to be weird formations of jagged rocks were decaying boats of various sizes. Most were slightly larger than the rowboat that they had used to arrive and oriental in designed, but one was the same size as the galley they had used to arrive in. Zohall could not stop staring. This place had been in his dreams day before. And even as he stared at those remains, he saw that same body in his memory, a silky, seductive voice asking him to lend his powers to him willingly or else she would take it in due time. But the fresh bodies had been replaced with skeletons, still gripping their own weapons, ranging from rapiers and cutlass to katanas and spears.
"This place is a bone yard," Walter summed easily, following Alucard. Inuyasha picked up a sword from one body and sniffed it. "Uh… Inuyasha, my lad?" The half demon turned to Walter, who had paused," would you kindly leave those be?"
"Why should I?" Inuyasha cockily asked," like this guy will do anything."
"Ironically," Alucard added from the front," dead such as this are known just to do that." Inuyasha tossed the skeleton absentmindedly, but quickly, aside. "These men and women were cursed upon death by the island."
"So the story about the witch and the emperor-king guy," Zohall said," was true?"
"So it would seem," Miroku answered," or at least grounded in something that really happened."
"Please, the beach is fascinating, but continue on," Integra ordered from the back. "We have a war to end in the center of his island I believe."
"Sure," Zohall replied huffily as they passed into the dead trees with massive roots that acted like hills and miniature ravines," what is the plan then, we just rush in and butcher demons and vampires and zombies until we get to Naraku and Towers… and then we end it?"
"It won't be that easy," Miroku quickly stated. "Naraku may be confident, but it is an act. He is cautious enough to lay traps for his enemies where ever he goes. And if he does not-"
"Then he usually is surrounded by allies and is powerful enough alone to make his stand," Sango finished. After the trip to the island, she, along with Kirara had recovered with help from Walter and the alchemy book with antidotes. "This hasn't been the first time we surrounded him inside a mountain. He escaped from that battle, stronger than ever."
"But he's a vampire," Leon added," he isn't going anywhere now that we can't follow him. And if he's half as smart as any other guy, he'll know it." Integra kept the long delayed answered to Zohall's retort to herself. It had been… never since she had been in the company of those capable of planning for such events with level headed attitudes such as her. Once again she was taken aback at the others thinking not only for, but with her in this takedown of the enemy. Alucard interrupted her thoughts, humming something loudly as he leapt gracefully from root to root.
"What on earth are you humming?" Integra interrogated him. He smiled and turned from a low branch.
"Der Freischütz," he answered simply as he shrugged the two coffins easily," an opera of sorts. It's quite the catchy opera tune in such a scenic location." Zohall couldn't help but feel like that tune too was familiar. He continued on though, again pushing that thought out of his head. For once in a while, they were all silent, planning personal battle strategies as they grew closer and closer to battle. Only Alucard seemed perfectly free as he hummed that same tune, unintentionally jarring Zohall with its familiarity. Through endless trees of grey they marched until they came across flat earth, like a barren field once present with grass, now dead and empty. A mile ahead was a small chasm dividing the plains and the mountain and within… was their target.
Before anyone could exclaim there was a single massive sound. Like a piece out of a longer sound clip of insects, or static. It resonated once, pausing all but Alucard.
"Interesting noises the wildlife make, don't they?" he joked, pressing on. Finally, emerging from the mountain was a bubble. A single enormous shockwave thundered out and onto the plains. The ground rumbled as it grew closer. The wind finally struck, knocking half of them onto their feet, and kicking up storms of dust. Alucard had finally paused, his hat blown off, and his long, untidy hair tossed about. He halted, allowing others to arise.
"The fu- frick," Zohall corrected himself as he realized Shippo was next to him, getting up from the ground.
"That was no gust of wind," Integra said.
"It looked like," Kagome pointed to the mountain," like it shot out in all directions… like an explosion."
"Maybe the volcano woke up," Leon suggested.
"More like they did something," Integra decided. Nothing evident had changed, but she felt something. There was certainly now reason to be cautious. They had changed something. Alucard gasped as he continued, and took a step back. "Alucard? What is it?" he turned to her, a look of amusement etched into his scary face, removing his glasses. He placed the coffins behind the others, and returned to his former spot. Slowly, while facing the others, he moved his hand closer to the mountain. At one invisible point, it began to evaporate the more that passed through, like it was being super heated, but only up to this invisible point. The rest of his body remained intact as he watched his hand slowly turn into nothing. After all that remained of his arm was his elbow, he pulled it back, and it miraculously healed.
"What he has created is a barrier," Alucard announced, turning to face the sightless wall, probably inches from his face. "I doubt anyone like myself could pass through it without… vanishing."
"Even… me?" Seras pondered. Inuyasha strode past her, and next to Alucard, pausing in consideration.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted as she realized what he was about to do. Without another word, he put his hand forward, past the so called line, scrunching his face in anticipation. Nothing happened. "Are… you feeling any different?" she asked.
"No..." he took several steps forward, and only after he passed through the line did he change. His long white hair grew dark until it hit a charcoal black, his ears vanished from sight into his head, his eyes became a dark brown, and those inhuman nail-claws coming out of his fingers fell off. He looked, and appeared to be, human. Frightened by the sudden change and appearance, he leapt back to the safety of outside the bubble, and all his features returned.
"Whaaat," Zohall asked, almost tempted to jump into this barrier himself. This new thing was fascinating to him… not to Integra. Her mind was rushing. Inuyasha couldn't go through this without appearing human, and Alucard couldn't go through at all without evaporating. This pointed to a kind of anti-evil spirit wall; or a spiritual barrier. But those hiding within were anything but non-spiritual. Ghouls, demons, vampires… they all should be destroyed with this.
"I don't understand this," Integra stated," How could they activate some sort of barrier like this if they themselves couldn't survive it?"
"Maybe there is a kind of bubble at the mountain that they can stay inside," Leon suggested," where its normal, without this sort of thing…"
"And what could have caused this?" she added.
"Allow me to explain, my dearest enemy," a drawling voice sounded from the distance. Appearing from one of the dust clouds was none other than the lab-coat clad vampire scientist, EdwardTowers. Behind him were hidden figures, each masked behind clouds of sand and dust. He alone walked forward, intact and seemingly well inside the barrier. "It is not a spiritual barrier, like your… monk would use," he motioned to Miroku," but a dampening field."
"What?" several asked at the same time.
"No…" Walter muttered in awe. Integra glared, listening to ever word he had to say. In his arrogance he would reveal much to them.
"You probably still wonder why I had to stop at that damned vampire dance shit fest," he started," they were holding various pieces of a device I made a year ago… and recently found a practical use for. I discovered long ago, that creatures such as vampires, or demons, give off certain signature energies… unique to themselves, and their siblings. I could filter the air around my device with charged particles that disrupted any of these energies… until someone suggested I try adding an element. And this is why I stand here, unharmed, while you all must watch from the outside. My dampener allows me to input a select resonance of energy to recognize; to ignore. If I put my own in… all those here that serve me here will be spared of this field."
"That's quite the accomplishment," Alucard stated, reaching inside his jacket. "But can it also detect the energy behind a bullet and stop it in its tracks?" The others stood next to Alucard drawing their weapons, only Seras staying behind to prepare her cannon frantically. It became a stand off. Towers stared at each one of his enemies, and finally to Integra, who stepped forward, drawing her blade. He did not retreat, but he motioned his head up, and the shadowy figures emerged, the closest being Kagura, Hakudoshi, and to the youngest of the group's surprise, the wolf-demon tribe.
"Koga!" Kagome shouted at the expressionless demon across from them. He gave no inclination of her being there, only staring blankly ahead.
"They work for me now," towers stated, as Kanna, the little girl with pale hair and a mirror stepped out from behind the dog demons," the girl back there worked her magic on them and are my dogs. Just like you are for her," he nodded to Integra, standing before the others," right, Integra?" he joked.
She stared at him, only to crack a smile.
"My dogs… are better than yours," she taunted, actually cocking her head to the side. Zohall burst out laughing with Leon as Towers stood rooted to the spot, unable to think of a comeback. "Alucard!" A flash and gunshot instantly woke the two Americans up from their laughing break, and the bullet shot up as a pink bubble appeared around Towers. Naraku stepped out from behind him, happy at his timing.
"Such… impudence," Towers growled at Integra.
"Edward Towers," Integra stated, her eyes glaring into his," you choose what ever walls you want to hide behind. That mountain?" she pointed to the earthly castle behind them," Very well. This… Dampening field? So be it. Naraku's own shield? SO BE IT!" she roared with growing energy," But know this- every wall you make, every fortress you construct, every person you throw between me and my forces will be destroyed until we get to you. I will break your so called mountain in half if I must… I will sink this island to the sea if it suits me, but I… Will… beat you." With that, she turned, and left the bubble of anti-vampire. The others, awed by her speech, followed. Towers and those with him watched as all but Zohall left.
"Hold up guys," he stated, staring at Towers. Slowly he drew Gleam, and held it in front of him.
"What are you-" Towers demanded. Naraku then grabbed the collar of his lab coat and threw him back just as Zohall roared and slammed the sword down into the ground. An arc of green light shot through the dampening field and into the pink bubble, which exploded with much more ferocity than ever before. Naraku remained behind the cloud of dust, but his shield was hurt. A triangle chunk had been taken out of his bubble, exactly where Zohalls attack had been. The man breathed heavily, and after a moment, pointed to Towers.
"I'm coming for you, you sick fuck," Zohall too turned and walked off. Even when giving almost all he had he couldn't break completely through Naraku's shield. But the last time he had he was going beyond all out. Alucard may have become stronger, but Zohall was sure if needed, he could take them on. He didn't know if he could win still, but alone, he could take Naraku.
"That was unnecessary, Naraku," Towers bitterly growled as he stood up and brushed off the dust from his jacket. Naraku began to walk past him, and those who had stood with Edward Towers followed suit. "I was rather hoping I could have the chance to show of Tsunami for once."
"If anything," Naraku stated, pausing in his walk," you will be in your research lab. I cannot have you exposed while the battle rages."
"… yes," Towers admitted unhappily," I suppose they will throw whatever they have now at me. Naraku," Towers added finally," it will be tonight. Prepare yourself." Naraku nodded, and continued his track, smiling in glee.
While the day would be peaceful, the night, much later that day, would become a battlefield. The island, Blackwind Isle, had become a warzone.