DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shaman King. I only own my own OCs.

Two weeks D8 I kept you all waiting for two weeks. I feel terrible. And I've only written... a chapter-and-a-half since then...? D8 Blame school! I work hard; isn't it enough that I spend entire math classes coming up with what to write? But I thought that you guys, being such awesome people (seriously, how many of you have followed/favorited this story, even if you haven't reviewed? *coughcoughnudgenudge* xD But still, you all are AWESOME), deserved this chapter. Originally, I was just going to post a notice, but then I thought, "What the hey, it's Memorial Day weekend, might as well celebrate."

Anyways, here's the notice: School's nearly over for the year. Which means that I'll have finals soon. So, here's the deal: school first, writing second, family third. XD I mean, if I somehow just bombed my finals, chances are that my computer goes bye-bye. (T.T that would make me very sad.) And, if I have enough written by next week, I'll update another chapter, but if I don't, I'll try again for the next Friday. Right now I'm restricting myself to updating on Fridays ONLY (unless it's the 14th, meaning month-a-versary!), which will hopefully mean that I'll be able to write up everything and update without screwing up plot. Because, knowing me, I'd screw up big-time.

That was a bigger notice than I thought it'd be. Hm, what else've I been doing? Well, I downloaded all these awesome Shaman King image songs for some of the characters and right now I'm listening to them in slow-mo/sped up versions with my computer. Tres fun~! I also started reading... how do you spell it... Karakuradoji Ultimo (excuse me if it's spelled wrong). Anyways, it's Hiroyuki Takei's newish manga, written by Stan Lee, and I have to say that the artwork is amazing for Ultimo. In a color spread, Ultimo wore a green bear-claw necklace, and I freaked out XD I know I've asked this before, but is it bad that I'm so obsessed with Shaman King?

Anyways, you guys don't want to read all my ramblings. You want to read Tori's ramblings. Enjoy!

Fifty-Three: The Gate

It had been the longest time that I had ever been aware of nothing but pain. When I finally came to, Nix immediately united with me, and it took me a moment to remember what had happened last.

My chest heaved for breath, and I realized that all of my limbs were chained. My legs were bound together, and my arms were being pulled out to my sides, as if I were being crucified on a cross, but without the cross. A burst of panic went through me, as well as the thought "I don't want to die like this."

I could barely focus enough to identify anything specific. I squinted in an effort to try to keep from being overwhelmed by the furyoku level in the air; it only helped somewhat, but now I could make out many archangel oversouls that stood in a ring, appearing to guard the Iron Maiden. The girl's torture device was situated in the middle of a circle of glowing lines, and a line of electricity connected it and the dark, swirling clouds overhead.

"What exactly are you guys trying to do?"

Startled, I looked up. "Manta!" The boy was being held in a body cage, which was being dangled by chains that were being held up by an archangel. It was then that I realized that the same archangel had chains that were connected to me.

"Tori-kun!" Manta exclaimed, and I could hear the mixture of fear and relief in his voice.

"Well," said a voice, and I looked to see Marco on the ground, giving me a look that I couldn't read because of the light reflecting off his glasses. "Look who's finally up."

"Why did you bring us here?" Manta demanded.

"To ensure that we get Yoh-kun no matter what," Lyserg replied, bringing my attention to him for the first time. His back was to us; he was faced toward the iron maiden. "Yoh-kun will definitely come here to save you."

Fury burned in my veins. "What right do you have to call him '-kun'?" I spat raspingly; I was still trying to catch my breath.

Lyserg spun around, but Marco held out a hand to calm him. "Jeanne-sama still has to question her, and then Jeanne-sama will pass judgment on her."

"Judgment?" Manta repeated, echoing my shock.

Before anything else could happen, Jeanne's voice rang out - it was loud, but still both innocent and knowing at the same time. "I must waste no time, Tori, so please answer promptly. Are you on Hao's side?"

The loud voice didn't help my dizziness at the furyoku in the air. "Hell no." Such a word as "hell" might not have been the best word to use around these guys, actually…

"Are you of any use to him?"

"I have nothing to do with Hao!" I rasped. After that outburst, my chest expanded faster for air. Pressure was starting to gather around my lungs, and I remembered once again how people would suffocate this way when they were crucified because of the effect of gravity.

"Then why were you seen with him the other day?" Jeanne asked snippily.

Panic filled me. They must have seen me with Hao at Yoh's Fight. "I have no idea what you're talking about! Let Manta and me go!" I pleaded.

Jeanne ignored the request. "Why does Hao have a fascination with you?"

"I don't know!" I gasped, thrashing as best as I could in an attempt to somehow escape. There was no way it would ever work.

"Lyserg," Jeanne prompted, and barely a second passed before something whipped out and slashed my cheek. An involuntary gasp escaped me, and I felt blood begin to trickle down my neck.

"There is hidden furyoku in you," Jeanne said matter-of-factly. "What is it for?"

I didn't answer. I was terrified - what did the X-Laws want? Undoubtedly they were using us to lure Yoh here, but what was with the light? How did Jeanne know about me? Were her shamanic senses as strong as mine? In any case, there was no way I could let them know anything about me.

I was whipped again - this time it landed on the side of my upper thigh.

"What is it for?" Marco snapped harshly.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I nearly sobbed. Damn it.

"Stop it!" Manta demanded, sounding scared.

"Shut up!" Marco commanded. He turned toward the circle of light. "Jeanne-sama," he began in an entirely new tone, "if this girl is of use to Hao, it's far safer to just kill her."

"If all else fails, Marco," Jeanne soothed. "If we're going to purge Hao and Yoh with the Gate of Babylon, we need every bit of furyoku that we can get. We must collect hers if possible."

"Gate of Babylon?" Manta repeated, aghast and confused. "Collect?"

Marco turned to us and his glasses flashed. "The magic circle will bring forth the Gate of Babylon. When it opens, all nearby souls will be sucked into an empty world and disappear. Hao will finally be gone." His glasses flashed again, and then I was whipped once more - right across my mark, eliciting a scream.

"Tori-kun!" Manta yelled in the odd silence that followed.

I gasped for breath and felt blood soak the back of my shirt. Already I was drenched in both it and sweat. My arms felt like they were slowly being wrenched out of their sockets, and my body stung in the places I had been whipped. But even more so than this I felt a terrible sense of dread that things were bound to get a lot worse.

"Marco," Jeanne prompted after a moment that felt like forever, and the chain hit my mark again.

Even after the pain went away, my vision was blurred, and I belatedly realized that I was crying - I blinked until I could see clearly. I cringed when I heard chains rattle, but when I wasn't struck I looked up to make out Manta vainly struggling against his confines.

A metallic click caught my attention, and a giant sword suddenly appeared in front of my face held out by an archangel. Down on the ground, Marco was pointing his gun at me.

"Tell us how to get it." He didn't have to explain the "or else."

I looked at Marco, but I felt so weak that I had no idea if I was giving him a glare of not. I had never felt more contempt for this poor excuse of a man until then. Even when they killed innocent people, I never wanted to tear the X-Laws apart more. But what could I do here? I was chained up, and even now, the light from the furyoku circle was growing stronger - it wouldn't be long before the Gate opened. Helplessness overwhelmed my anger, and I didn't reply.

Marco scowled, but before he could do anything, something caught his attention, and he turned, his archangel turning slightly with him, although it kept its sword aimed at my neck. A moment later, I picked up the sound of footsteps, and the sudden hope that the Patch had come to rescue us rose within me. I looked, and immediately that hope was dashed, even though it really was a cavalry: Yoh, Ryu, Faust, Chocolove, HoroHoro, and Ren.

"They're here," I just barely heard Marco murmur.

The group came just close enough so that I could make out their faces. Yoh appeared calm, though I could see a glint of anger in his eyes. All the others, upon noticing first Manta and then me, widened their eyes in shock - especially HoroHoro. His mouth was agape, and his confession rang in my mind again - and it reminded me of Ren, or more specifically, what I had done to Ren. I looked to the Tao to see him frowning - no, scowling deeply, and his eyes were narrowed.

I suddenly remembered what Manta had told me: that HoroHoro had said I wasn't worth trusting. Did he still feel that way? Did any of them feel that way? Would they literally leave me hanging here?

"Quite the ransom note you left, Lyserg," Ren said; his voice was underlined with anger, but it was controlled. "Though it seemed implied that you wanted to do this peacefully."

HoroHoro appeared unable to hold himself any longer. "What did you do to her?"

Marco held out his arm to hold Lyserg back from doing anything stupid (far, far too late). He ignored HoroHoro's question and instead said, "Welcome to the Gate of Babylon, Asakura Yoh."

"Give us back Manta and Tori," Yoh demanded calmly.

"Very well," Marco replied, and his implied lie felt like a stab in the gut to me - there was no way he'd let me go. "Only if you swear to become Jeanne-sama's servant and cooperate with us."

"That's a lie!" Manta and I exclaimed together. Out of breath already, I heaved breaths while Manta kept trying to explain what was going on, but all Yoh said was:

"All right."

Instantly, all eyes were on Yoh. "So," he went on, "what do I have to do?"

Aghast, I could only watch as Marco gave instructions to Yoh to walk into the circle of furyoku and kneel before the Iron Maiden, whom was still inside her torture device. Obediently, Yoh dropped his katana and his antiquity before stuffing his hands into his pockets and walked slowly but steadily toward the circle.

"O-oi," Chocolove stammered, "Are you serious? What are you thinking?"

Suddenly finding my voice, I called, "Don't!" just ask Manta did. I thrashed again as if I could somehow physically stop him. "They're just going to kill us all!"

Yoh looked at the both of us calmly. "I'll be okay," he assured. "You two'll be out soon, and Faust can have a look at you, Tori. Don't worry about me."

"Don't, Yoh-kun!" Manta pleaded as Yoh neared the circle. "Stop!"

Manta kept screaming. I couldn't. There was nothing that would stop Yoh from his attempt at helping us. Yoh was just… His kindness was just… stupid here…

"Yoh-kun!" Manta screeched, and the volume alone brought my attention to him, but the sudden white light was what kept my eyes there. The metal cage around him broke, and the ghost of Mosuke appeared behind him, appearing out of Manta's glowing backpack - but just as quickly, the spirit disappeared. Manta began to fall, and I watched, transfixed, as Ryu's Yamata no Orochi oversoul managed to catch him before Lyserg's archangel could.

I managed to breathe a sigh of relief as Manta was pulled over to the others. Yoh, in his concern, had come away from the circle. But then it hit me: Manta may be free, but while I was still a captive, none of us were safe.

Marco brought this to their attention. "We still have this one, Asakura Yoh." He made a small movement, and his archangel brought its sword closer to my neck. The blade didn't touch me, but I was too afraid to make any sort of movement. If I wasn't so afraid that my telepathy would go haywire because of the stress and all the furyoku in the air, I would've told Yoh to book it and forget about me. Not that he would.

"Why do you have her, though?" Ren called. "Why did you torture her and not Manta? What makes her so special?"

Marco pushed his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose, probably contemplating the merits of telling the truth. "She's a pawn of Hao," he said finally. "We're going to use her first - unless you would like to trade."

The information seemed to spark through the others like electricity, from what I could see out of the corner of my eye.

"Didn't you say Ren was right about her?" Chocolove asked HoroHoro.

The Ainu was gaping. "Pawn…?"

Ren huffed and flicked his wrist, causing his sword to extend to its full length. "Unfortunately, this proves nothing. The X-Laws fed Lyserg lies; we have no way of knowing if they're telling the truth."

"I have not been lied to!" Lyserg retorted indignantly.

Marco held out a hand again to stop Lyserg. "Perhaps she's not willingly a pawn of Hao," he amended, "but Jeanne-sama senses a great furyoku in her. Best we use it and not let Hao have her. Asakura Yoh," he went on, "if you kneel before Jeanne-sama-"

"Stand back."

Jeanne's sudden voice silenced Marco, and all eyes turned toward the iron maiden. The door of the torture device opened, and out appeared the silver-haired, battle-clad girl. Her red eyes were slightly glassy, but they were determined.

"There is little time," she said quietly. "I will do it."

Marco started towards her in shock. "If you do it yourself, then-"

Jeanne cut him off. "Under the circumstances, we have no choice. We have no idea how to utilize Tori anyhow. We cannot delay any longer. As for them," she went on, turning her eyes toward Yoh and the others. "Shamash!"

The odd animal-like spirit suddenly appeared, and in a flash everyone was oversouled to prepare against it. However, before they could do anything, Jeanne called out the command of "Confinement," and Shamash's arms glowed yellow before they extended into a sort of cage-like contraption around everyone and their oversouls. I watched, wide-eyed, as the structure glowed a multitude of colors and shrunk until it was the size of a small room. When the light disappeared from it, it revealed it to be like a large canary cage, with the boys stuck inside it, obviously unable to oversoul. I could only watch, horrified, as the cage seemed to move of its own accord about fifty feet above the ground through the air into the circle, directly above the Iron Maiden. Inside, I could see one or two of the boys pounding on the golden bars.

We were all going to die here; and I would never get the chance to tell them…

"Everything is for the peace of the world," Jeanne said in her airy voice. "Evil must be banished. Marco, kill her."

I heard screams and yells of protest, and for a moment that was all I heard. Jeanne's words didn't sink in until I picked up the sound of a gun clicking, and Marco's archangel brought its arm back in preparation to stab me. Fear filled me in those milliseconds, and I clung to Nix with my thoughts as if he could somehow save me. Not only were the screams so loud, but the blood pounding in my ears nearly drowned out the sound of the gunshot.

In literally the blink of an eye, the archangel's sword was intercepted by a burst of fire.

"So tiny…"

I heard Marco let out a strangled gasp and Lyserg yelled, and when the fire in front of me faded, I saw its source in the circle of furyoku, holding Jeanne in its giant, clawed hand: Spirit of Fire. On its other hand sat Hao, and Hao's lackeys were perched on its shoulders.

"I suggest you don't make a move," Hao advised as Marco pointed his gun at him, taking the archangel's attention off of me. "I'm afraid Tori-chan isn't yours to kill," he went on calmly. A tense silence met his words as he continued, "Let her go, and I'll let your little Jeanne-sama go."

Marco hesitated, and then nodded to Lyserg, whom scowled before the chains holding me suddenly disappeared. For several feet, I free-fell.

'Oversoul, Catori!' Nix urged, exiting my body and nestling into my hand.

Very sloppily, I oversouled Nix and shakily glided a fair distance away from the archangel, following the curve of the circle so that I was still as close to the boys as I dared to be - for there were still the archangels of the other X-Laws to worry about. The urge to run and save myself nearly choked me, but I pushed it away. Unable to hold myself up any longer, I let go of oversoul and dropped the few feet left to the ground on my hands and knees, but the impact was still jarring.

"Let her go, Hao!" Marco demanded, and I looked up.

"In a moment," Hao stalled easily. He looked up at the cage. "You guys are so mean. What were you planning to do to my other half?"

"We only have one purpose," Jeanne spoke up from within the clutch of Spirit of Fire. "And that is to pass the judgment of justice on you!"

Hao huffed and then turned to give Jeanne an odd glare. "Big words for a little girl."

Instantly, Spirit of Fire's hand burst into flames, with Jeanne still there. I heard Lyserg scream, but I was so taken aback by something that really shouldn't have surprised me that I just stared.

For a full minute, Jeanne burned. I couldn't see her within the flames, but I could just barely sense her. If she was conscious, I could imagine her glaring at Hao, whom looked as if he were burning nothing but dirt. Finally, Spirit of Fire's hand opened, and immediately the iron maiden opened up, and vines extended to quickly wrap around Jeanne before they pulled her back into the torture device and slammed the iron doors shut.

The light in the air dissipated, but the lines of the circle still glowed on the ground. Hesitantly, I extended my shaky senses toward her, but I was met with a fierce, invisible bubble of protection just around the iron maiden. She was still alive; Hao must not have burned her at full blast. Not to mention the fact that the boys' cage was still intact.

"Now then," Hao began, "what are you guys going to do next? If Jeanne-sama is like that, you won't be able to use the Gate of Babylon like you hoped to do, right?"

Lyserg fell to his knees, unaware of Jeanne's actual fate. While the other X-Laws assured him, Marco's glare switched from the iron maiden, to Hao, to me, and then back again. Obviously, he was weighing the merits and consequences of killing me in revenge for Hao hurting Jeanne.

Hao seemed to get the gist of Marco's thoughts. "I wouldn't try that if I were you," he advised. "I don't like the way you meddled with her or my other half."

Immediately, Hao's lackeys oversouled and launched themselves at the X-Laws. One of them - Luchist, I think, who actually had a particularly evil-looking archangel - made an attempt to attack Jeanne inside the iron maiden, but Marco intercepted the attack with the chest of his oversoul.

"Protect Jeanne-sama!" Marco ordered. "And they want her, too!"

All archangels were circled around the iron maiden, facing outward; the closest one quickly aimed at me and shot a spiked iron ball out. I didn't even have time to be afraid before football-shaman dove past me and jumped into the air; upon contact with the iron ball, the weapon shattered, and football-shaman kept going to collide with the archangel, which began to tip backward. Football-shaman multiplied himself with his spirits, and the added weight caused the archangel and football-shaman to fall onto an X-Law.

The oversoul shattered, and I couldn't sense the X-Law anymore.

Shocked, I watched as two more X-Laws died at the hands of Hao's lackeys. I wanted to move, to get as far away from the carnage as possible, but I was frozen.

"Stop it!"

Yoh's voice rang out, and I looked up just in time to see Jeanne's cage wink out of existence, and the boys landed on the ground. Immediately, HoroHoro and Yoh rushed over to me while there was a temporary lull in the battle as the X-Laws thought that this meant Jeanne was dead.

"Tori!" HoroHoro reached me first and knelt beside me, while Yoh stood a little ways away and oversouled in case anyone came close.

'I'm so sorry,' I mentally whispered to the both of them.

Immediately, I saw Yoh glance back; his eyes were surprised, but despite his usual lazy appearance, he seemed to catch on quick and turned forward again.

"It's all r-" HoroHoro began before he realized that I hadn't moved my lips nor my hands. He stared at me, and in his black eyes I saw confusion and shock radiate. He almost looked as if he was going to say something, but before he could get a chance to, a sudden nearby explosion shook the ground and sent out a small shockwave. Instantly, HoroHoro's arms wrapped around my head and shoulders, and he shielded me close to his chest.

When the wind died down, he pulled away enough for us both to see Ren, Faust, Ryu, and Chocolove battling a handful of Hao's lackeys to protect the despairing X-Laws, whom had been knocked to the ground by the blast. Yoh wasn't where he had been before, and I looked around to see him a ways away, facing off against Hao and Spirit of Fire. Fear for them all filled me, and I turned back to HoroHoro.

'Go help them,' I urged, pushing against his chest.

Though he still appeared to be confused about my method of communication, he shook his head, although he did pull out his ikupasui and oversouled around it. "I'm not leaving you. You're hurt and can barely oversoul."

Frustration flared within me. 'Damn it, Horo, they need you!'

The Ainu glanced back at Ren and the others, and I noticed his hand tighten around his weapon. "They can take care of themselves." He looked back at me. "I left you before, and look what happened."

I was about to retort when a weird, inhuman groaning sound reverberated throughout the entire area. The amount of furyoku in the air spiked, and I squinted and looked up to see the clouds darkening as they swirled faster; bits of lightning flashed at random intervals.

HoroHoro stood up, and I followed suit, albeit more slowly. "What is this?" he asked, gawping at the sky.

Realization stabbed at me as light erupted from the iron maiden. The doors of the torture device opened, revealing Jeanne, who looked more alive than I had ever seen her.

"Let's begin!" she cried.

Instantly, the circle brightened. In fear, I grasped HoroHoro's arm. 'We have to get out of here!'

Before anything else could be said, the circle flashed, and a pillar of light reach up toward the swirling heavens. A tower of furyoku began to grow out of the ground, with Jeanne perched atop it with her iron maiden while the remaining X-Laws used their furyoku to create a force field around it to protect it against Hao's lackeys. The energy was nearly too much, and I felt so dizzy that I didn't know how I was standing.

"Idiots!" I heard Ren screech, and I offhandedly remembered that I never got the chance to figure out if I really did give him part of my aid. "If you release any more furyoku, you'll all die!"

"Stop it!" Yoh yelled.

The X-Laws didn't appear to care, because in the next moment the force field disappeared, the tower having finished its ascent. I squinted upwards to see the iron maiden float into the air to be transformed into Shamash holding a giant key.

"W-" HoroHoro stumbled with his words. "What is that?"

'I'm so sorry,' I murmured as a giant gate appeared in the sky; Shamash stuck the key inside it. 'For everything.'

I heard HoroHoro let out a sound of confusion, but at that moment the Gate of Babylon opened. For a millisecond, everything felt calm; my senses felt clear, as if there was no furyoku or anything to pick up on. It was so peaceful for that millisecond that it only heightened my fear, because I didn't really understand it.

The wind picked up next, and with belated interest I saw my hair ribbon go flying upwards into the abyss beyond the gate. And then, there was nothing.

()()()()()()

It felt like there was both nothing and everything right in front of me. I couldn't tell where I was or where I was going, but it felt like I was at someplace in time. I couldn't make out what was in front of me, but I could just barely hear a voice…


A/N Okie dokie, let's see how much I can get written between now and next Friday. If I can't update then, I'll aim for the Friday after that. While you're waiting... Hm, draw fanart, come up with epic shipping names for your favorite Muffled ship, reread Muffled... Or, you know, do what you had planned to do anyways. :P See you next time!