In the Belly of the Beast
No one had noticed it, but Rin disappeared into the night. Everyone knew that Naraku was behind her disappearance.
The next afternoon, Kagome finally returned after attending her graduation ceremony. "Inuyasha, everyone," she called to her friends. "Thanks for waiting."
Looking in the sky, everyone saw an ominous force and demons were gathering towards it. "Did Naraku use the Sacred Jewel?" Yugi asked Inuyasha.
"He must've," the half-breed answered.
The evil force was very overwhelming for Emily. "It's worse than that. He's combining the power of the Sacred Jewel with his Cobalt Star shard."
"That means there's no turning back now," said Kaiba.
Yugi agreed. "This fight will decide not only our fates, but the fate of this world."
"This isn't going to be like any other battle we've ever faced," Sango warned.
"We have to work together," said Emily. "It's our only hope."
Shippo jumped on Joey's shoulder. "That's right."
Inuyasha lifted the boy and set him down on the ground. "Forget it. It's too dangerous for a little kid."
"What do you mean!?" Shippo cried.
Sango wanted her brother to stay behind as well. She didn't want to risk losing his again after finally recovering him.
"Why," Shippo sobbed. "After being together all this time, aren't I a member of this group?"
Joey ruffled his head. "Of course you are, little buddy," he answered cheerfully.
"Look, if we don't come back, you'll have to take over for us. Understand, Shippo?" Inuyasha asked.
"Don't say that," Joey snapped. "We're gonna get through this!"
Nonetheless, Shippo was left behind with Kaede and Kohaku. Inuyasha and the rest of the heroes followed the horde of demons. Upon reaching their destination, they saw a gargantuan black spider. They also saw Byakuya and Max and Sesshomaru.
"A spider," Kaiba wondered. "Is that Naraku?"
Emily gulped and replied, "There's no mistaking it. He used the Sacred Jewel to change his body once again." She was still terribly afraid of spiders, but now wasn't the time to fret about such a petty fear. She learned her lesson back in the Xiaolin world and realized that this shouldn't be any different; not when the stakes are beyond high.
The mouth of the spider opened and Sesshomaru and Max immediately went inside. "My, they didn't even hesitate to go in after the little girl," said Byakuya.
"Rin's inside!?" gasped Emily.
"We've got to help rescue her," said Yugi.
"You do realize you might get eaten if you do, don't you," Byakuya asked. Emily whimpered.
"Don't let him get to ya, Em," said Joey.
Kaiba agreed. "We have to be strong now. We know Naraku can use our fears to his advantage and use them to distract us. If we give in to that, then he's already won."
The blonde girl knew that her friends were right. She had to keep it together. "Let's defeat Naraku," she said boldly, "once and for all." Her friends agreed. "But first, I think a little magic might come in handy." And she began using a spell called Moon Energy. Because it was daytime, the spell wouldn't be strong, but it would still boost everyone's energy and even protect them from Naraku's miasma.
It was stifling. The whole area reeked of corpses and miasma and the place looked like one giant spider's nest. "You finally made it inside," Naraku's voice echoed. "I've been waiting for you." Everyone stopped and rested their feet on the floor. "Will you destroy me from the inside?" Naraku asked. "Start where you like. Everything around you is me!"
"Damn you, Naraku," Joey growled, shooting his arrow at the moving flesh he saw. When his arrow pierced the flesh, miasma was sprayed.
"Don't tell me you haven't even noticed," Naraku tormented. "Your bodies have been exposed to my miasma ever since you entered. Yet curiously, none of you have died."
"I was afraid something like that would happen, so I gave myself and my friends a little power boost before we entered," said Emily. "My Moon Energy raises strength and stamina and purifies foul substances that surround us."
Naraku grinned. "Very clever, young princess. Perhaps I underestimated you. Still, I must say, you turned out to be more trouble for me than I would have ever thought possible."
"You ought to be surprised," said Emily. "People change every day, Naraku. I won't deny that you've been observing me and my friends through your Cobalt Star shard, but that doesn't mean you have any advantage over us. In either case, you're still a whole new opponent for me."
"Likewise," Naraku said in agreement. "But it matters not. You cannot change the fate of the Sacred Jewel nor can you escape from this battle. Remember, Princess, we are bound by the Great Goddess and the Dark Lord, meaning we must abide by the laws of the ancient ways. If by some miracle, you and your friends can defeat me, I will yield my shard of the Cobalt Star and you will be free to go. But if you should lose, I will have the Sacred Jewel claim your souls."
"Our souls," Yugi echoed.
"Yes, Yugi," Naraku answered. "The Sacred Jewel desires your souls; your very hatred towards me."
"In that case, we'll have to destroy the Sacred Jewel as well," said Kaiba.
"Fight me," Naraku commanded the heroes. "We have nothing but time. You have an eternity to fight me here." He created creatures from his flesh with armor-like bodies. Inuyasha struck them with his Adamant Barrage, but as the adamant spears went through the creatures and struck Naraku's body, demonic tentacles emerged. Inuyasha was about to try and use his Meido Zangetsuha, but the tentacles projected an image of Rin walking. Inuyahsa wanted to pass it as an illusion, but based on Naraku's encouragement of striking her, he was convinced that it was her.
To Naraku, this was perfect. With the heroes forced to hesitate, he would have the advantage and be free to attack.
It was faint, but Kagome could sense the Sacred Jewel. This meant that Naraku hadn't absorbed it completely. If that was the case, then the Cobalt Star shard had to be somewhere inside Naraku's body as well. Emily tried sensing it, but had a hard time. The evil presence that filled the area made it hard for her to detect the shard.
Naraku wasn't going to give them the opportunity. He cut everyone off from each other. Yugi and Emily were paired with Inuyasha and Kagome while Joey and Kaiba were paired with Sango and Miroku.
"Come on," Inuyasha told his friends. "Right now, we're better off looking for the Jewel than trying to regroup with the others." He suddenly stopped walking as he felt a disturbing presence. Suddenly, to the horror of his friends, his demonic nature began to take control.
"Don't look so surprised," said Naraku. "You should know what happens when he gets too close to the Sacred Jewel after it's been defiled. Inuyasha is merely a half-demon. It seems that his spirit has been consumed by the Jewel's poison."
"Inuyasha, snap out of it!" Yugi cried. But he didn't hear him. The half-breed snarled and scratched Kagome's arm.
"What's wrong?" Naraku taunted. "All you have to do is calm him down and purify him. Then again, Princess Emily, using your magic on him may do him more harm than good. Millennia's power is harmful to demons."
"Only if they're exposed to the Millennium Star," she reminded him. Still, he's right, she thought to herself. What if I try to use my magic to calm his demonic nature and he ends up being purified? He could lose his demon nature for good. Other than that, Kagome's spiritual power is still being sealed by Magatsuhi. So in either way, we're still at a disadvantage. She spoke up and alerted Kagome and Yugi to retreat. Her friends agreed and began following her.
"You cannot escape," Naraku told them. "The demon form of Inuyasha will not rest until he has ripped your body to shreds."
Emily stopped and regained her composure. "That's just like you, isn't it, Naraku," she asked, grinning. "You plan every attack and strategize every battle, yet rather than sully your own hands, you let others do your dirty work for you. However, that's not how it's supposed to work in a battle like this. The Dark Lord would not be pleased."
Naraku knew as much and replied, "Oh, don't worry, young princess. I won't have Inuyasha kill you for me. I'm well aware that I must kill you myself according to the laws of the ancient ways. Do not forget that this applies to you as well. You can't keep relying on your friends all the time. And while we are permitted to use the powers of the Gods, we must still rely on our own power as well. But you have no idea how to do that, now do you?"
That was when Emily began thinking about what Inuyasha told her, how he figured that she had been relying on Millennia's power too often to realize her own power. But what can she do? Well, she'll have to find the answer to that fast before it's too late.
