A/N: Hope everyone is safe and healthy. I hope this chapter can relieve some of your boredom. Now onward to Chapter 13!

Chapter 13: Cahnneva

An odd silence fills the area, Orion's words sinking into the group. Sanzo spares a glance at Serafina, wondering how she felt about the revelation. Not a trace of surprise shows on her stern face, indicating she had known the whole time, but felt it was "unnecessary" to tell him.

"Cahnneva...A Fallen God," Sanzo repeats. Why did that name sound so familiar?

"She is one of the four gods that were instrumental in the creation of the two worlds that our bloodline originated from," Raven says. "Zareb created Gaerath and Cahnneva constructed Naerite."

"No offense, but I can't picture that little kid as being some kind of goddess," Gojyo says in disbelief.

"She's actually Cahnneva's reincarnation," Serafina states. "She doesn't remember anything about her previous life."

"Wait a minute," Hakkai says raising his hand. "Isn't she the one who caused the Separation that you mentioned before?"

"Yes, two thousand years ago, she was the one who killed Eslanla and led to Daycarthro death, which caused the Dimensional Gates to go wild and scattering our ancestors across the universe." Raven answers. "The Controller of Life sealed away their powers and allowed them to be reborn, and Zareb imprisoned Cahnneva into a void. A few years ago, the four gods clashed again, but this time Cahnneva had become unstable from being sealed away for so long. When she was defeated again, the Controller of Life hoped that starting her life anew she would repair her shattered sanity."

"Unless someone unseals her," Sanzo adds. "If she's so dangerous, you should have dealt with it immediately."

"The Controller of Life is fickle and usually doesn't intervene. If she's killed, anyone with a trace of her people's blood may cease to exist. The lives of billions of people could be lost, that includes us as well." Raven motions to his companions. "It's not a risk that any of us are willing to take."

"My, my, that's quite the dilemma," Hakkai laughs.

"What do you plan to do?" Sanzo asks, looking at Raven then Serafina.

"As soon as Daycarthro arrives with the others, we'll confront Eclipse and get Cahnneva back," Raven says. "Even if Cassandra, Warner and Daycarthro are with us, I would feel better if you assisted us."

"Che, doesn't sound like we have much of a choice," Sanzo crosses his arms, glancing at his comrades, who don't seem to have any complaints about helping out.

"We'll head out when Daycarthro arrives with Cassandra and Warner," Raven says.

"Malay should head back," Orion says, glancing at Serafina.

"And why should I?" Serafina asks, her eyes lowering.

"Do you really want me to say it in front of everyone?" Orion replies.

Serafina glares at Orion, daring him to open his mouth. She suddenly stands up, not a trace of fear in her eyes.

"Regardless of how you feel, it's my decision to stay or not." Without another word, she disappears into the night air.

"Malay," Orion calls, following behind her.

"You're not going, Sanzo," Gojyo clicks his tongue, earning an annoyed glare from the already grumpy monk.

"It's none of my business what she does."

"And that's why you are never going to get laid," Gojyo mutters.

"What was that?" Sanzo asks, cocking his gun.

"Hehe," Gojyo laughs sheepishly, holding his hands up in surrender. "I said 'It's getting late.'" Gojyo taps Goku on the shoulder. "It's bedtime, bakasaru."

"I'm going to stay up for a bit." Goku glances at the back of the cave where Evan is resting.

"Don't stay up too late, looks like we will have a busy day tomorrow." Hakkai smiles brightly, causing his companions to groan. "Raven, is there anything I can do to help Evan?"

"His essence still feels very weak, unfortunately, he's the only healer in my group." Raven stretches his arms, cracking his neck. "I'll take whatever help you can offer."

Hakkai nods his head, following Raven to where Evan is but stops when he notices Sanzo hasn't moved. Usually, he's the first one to turn in. Instead, he has taken residence next to the campfire, a lit cigarette perched in his lips. Hakkai smiles at his old friend.

"Make sure you get some rest."

Sanzo nods his head, listlessly looking into the campfire.

XxxxxXxxxxX

The night air nips at Serafina face as she walks along the unpaved path. The gentle sound of crunching snow follows closely behind her. One of Orion's strong points is he is very persistent, so persistent that it is also one of his faults. When they had first met, he was determined to become the strongest in the academy, a spot that she held at the time. He was constantly challenging her. If she won, he would challenge her again. If he won, he claimed that she didn't try hard enough. After years of this back and forth, she began enjoying his company and when she left to join Raven, she had to admit, it felt lonely without him. Unfortunately, at the moment, she wished he had stayed in his world.

This bastard… she thought darkly. It was bad enough that he had to stick his nose between them, but he had most likely bruised Sanzo quite a bit. If she hadn't intervened, she was sure Orion had planned to break a few of Sanzo's ribs and possibly rearranged his face. What if Sanzo thought that she was behind the misunderstanding? Things were starting to settle down between them.

Now Orion had the audacity to follow her around and with the way he was acting, she knew a lecture was on its way. She already felt bad enough that she had lost Cayla to Eclipse, she didn't need to be reminded of how she could have acted differently or how she shouldn't have come here in the first place.

"Stop following me!" Serafina snaps, quickening her pace.

"Malay, just listen to me for a moment," Orion says, trying to close the distance between them.

"You shouldn't have come here."

Orion grabs her arm, stopping her from moving forward.

"Daycarthro shouldn't have sent you here in the first place." He tilts his head down to get a better look at her face. "Look at the mess you've become."

"Daycarthro didn't send me anywhere. I heard about what had happened and I volunteered."

"Volunteered to be an assassin?" he motions to her clothing. "This is not the way a Royal Guard behaves. Our duty is to protect…not needlessly spill blood. How many people have you killed since you've been here?"

"I did what I had to protect Cayla."

"To protect the Fallen One? She's a monster who tried to destroy the people that she helped create."

"Are you saying it's better to let her die?"

"Daycarthro and Eslanla both died and we are still here. If she wakens, she'll try to continue her plans to wipe us out."

"You say a Royal Guard's duty is to protect, but you would rather have me idly stand by and let a child be used for who knows what." She looks at the hand still clutching her arm. "Let go…"

"You're letting her outward appearance cloud your judgment. She is not a real child!" He keeps his gaze steady.

"Orion, I'm not in the mood to argue with you. Let go."

He released her, not wanting to escalate their argument any further. When he arrived in this world, he was looking forward to seeing her. But now that he has been reunited with her, all he can feel is an annoyance. If Evan hadn't appeared back then, she would have been in the Royal Guard with him and not on this insane mission to protect a goddess who could potentially destroy them all.

"Daycarthro sealed her away to give her a second chance and I'll be damned if I let that go to waste. If you want to go home, you can go. But I'm staying here."

"And what about Gabriel?" Orion shoots back.

Serafina freezes at the mention of the demon's name.

"You hid it well about him being here. It's better if you stay far away from him before he starts getting weird ideas again."

"Then I'll stay as far away from him as I can. I'm not going to leave Sanzo to clean up my mess. It's bad enough that he got dragged into this to begin with, if something happens to him, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

Orion feels like the ground just dropped beneath him. Why was she trying to protect that man who showed her so much disrespect? It took Orion months to get close to her, now this other guy spends less than a month with her and it was enough to gain her respect. He was at a loss for words. First, it was Evan, now this guy.

"Do what you want," Orion mutters, turning on his heel. "But if it becomes a choice between you or them, you know who I'm going to choose. Don't hold it against me." He walks off, knowing any further discussion was pointless.

XxxxxXxxxxX

The campfire crackles and sways as a gust of wind sweeps past the entrance to the cave. Goku pulls the blanket closer to his shoulders to ward off the cold.

Two thousand years…Goku thinks to himself. Raven had said Cayla was imprisoned in a void. Didn't that mean she would have been surrounded by nothing? He had been confined for five-hundred years for a crime he couldn't remember. He couldn't even remember what his life was like before his confinement. Five-hundred years of looking at the world through thick bars that he couldn't break through. Watching the sun rise and fall, feeling its warm touch from the rays of light that managed to seep through the gaps of the bars.

How would he felt if he couldn't have seen the changing of seasons or the warm touch of sunlight? What if he had nothing to comfort him? Not a sound or even a speck of light? What if Sanzo had never found him? Would the isolation have driven him insane as it did to Cayla? There were times he felt he was going to go insane in his isolation and if he had been locked away for two-thousand years as she had, he probably would have.

He hugs his legs closer to his body, his eyes darkening as he stares into the bright flame. It wasn't fair. She got a second chance and now someone was trying to take it away.

"If you keep thinking so hard, you're going to break your brain." Sanzo's voice breaks him from his thoughts. He was so deep in thought he didn't notice the concerned looks of his two companions.

"Heh, can't break what's already broken," Gojyo smirks. "Only thing he could be thinking about is which is better, pork buns or chicken buns."

"Eh, everyone knows it's BBQ pork buns," Goku says confidently. "Ah, speaking of buns I'm a little—"

"Hungry?" Gojyo laughs.

"How did you know?" Goku asks in awe.

"Cause you're a one-trick pony," Gojyo laughs as he sits between them, shuffling a deck of cards in his hands. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm up for a game if you are."

"I don't know, you tend to cheat," Goku says, eyeing Gojyo suspiciously.

"I don't need to cheat when I have skills."

"Hmph, quit acting like you are the best player here," Sanzo says.

"With Hakkai too busy to play, I am the best player."

"Che, quit talking and start dealing." The monk glares at the red-head.

"Oh, you must be itching to lose some money."

"Pride is more important than money. It'll do you some good to lose some of it."

"I guess you are due to win some pride back since you lost some of it to Sera's boy-toy," Gojyo grins.

"Shut up and deal," Sanzo shoots a glare at him.

"Hai, hai, Sanzo-sama," Gojyo nods his head, glad that the sober atmosphere is gone.

XxxxxXxxxxX

The fire begins to die down to half the size of what it originally was. Serafina stops at the fire, adding a few pieces of wood to keep the flame going. She looks at the three men who have fallen asleep, cards scattered around, having dozed off in the middle of their game. She shakes her head, gathering the cards. She grabs a couple of blankets for Sanzo and Gojyo not wanting them to freeze during the night. She drapes one over Gojyo, turning her attention to Sanzo.

She stops in front of the monk, noticing that he has a partially lit cigarette perched in his fingers. She carefully takes the cigarette, flicking it into the fire. She gently places the blanket around Sanzo's thin frame. She examines his face, noticing the bruise on the right side of his forehead has turned a light purple. A feeling of guilt passes through her, knowing he received that bruise because of her. She retrieves the ointment from her pouch, gently applying it to the discolored skin, careful not to wake him.

Why did he have to get caught up in all this? When did it all start to come apart? Would it have changed anything if she were upfront with him to begin with? He had enough on his plate as it was without having her adding her problems to it. And now she was adding a side of Gabriel onto it as well. She was grateful the two had just missed each other.

I'm sorry…

Her body freezes when a set of fingers brush her hair away from her face. She turns her head, finding violet eyes gazing at her.

Too close…Serafina thinks, about to pull back but he suddenly grabs her wrist. Like a deer in the headlights, she is frozen by his gaze. He pries the cream from her hand, opening the bottle. She is about to protest, but his eyes lower as he glances at Gojyo and Goku. Instead, she sits back, letting him apply the ointment to her bruises. When he finishes, without uttering a word he lays back down, pulling the blanket over his head as he goes back to sleep.

A smile curves her lips as she crosses her arms across her chest as she warms herself by the fire. The guilt she had prior melting away along with the cold.

XxxxxXxxxxX

A black haze surrounds Evan as he finds his mind drifting back to consciousness. Who the hell is spooning me? Evan thinks in annoyance as he realizes there is someone curled around him. His hand clenches into a fist about to punch Orion for having the nerve to hug him in his sleep. He sits up about to punch the offender when he notices the person has black hair. Raven… Evan thinks in awe, wondering when Raven had met up with them. He slowly gets up so he doesn't wake his brother. His eyes dart to his side when he realizes someone else is next to them.

Hakkai…? Ah, no wonder I feel better. He stretches his tense muscles, wondering how long he had been out. If Hakkai's here then that means… Evan creeps towards the entrance, careful not to make a sound.

Sure enough, near the entrance he finds Goku snoring loudly as well as a sleeping Gojyo. His eyes drift to Sanzo, who's eyes suddenly open, sensing the danger he's in.

"Sanzo!" Evan races towards the blond. The monk fails to move as Evan had predicted, he was actually staying in place. Did he want the demon to knock him down? The confusion subsides when he sees a menacing look enter Sanzo's eyes. He barely has enough time to slow down when a paper fan slams down on his head.

"Son of a…" Evan curses, hitting the ground face first.

"Oh, you're finally awake," Sanzo smirks, returning his fan to his sleeve.

"Damn, that really hurt..."

"Did it hurt as much as getting punched by the peanut-brained giant?" Sanzo asks, tilting his head towards Orion, who is guarding the entrance.

Confusion clouds Evan's eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Evan asks, rubbing his head.

"Quit acting stupid. What exactly did you tell him about me?" Sanzo asks, his face darkening.

Did I say something insulting about the monk to Orion? Evan wonders, as he crosses his arms, recalling his previous conversations with Orion regarding Sanzo.

"That you looked like a cross between a demon and a Waeruock," Evan replies.

"Hm?"

"Blond hair and violet eyes. He was excited about meeting you without me going into great detail about what you looked like." Evan continues to be confused. Was it really insulting to describe someone by the color of their eyes and hair? Sanzo did seem a little sensitive being compared to a demon, even though it should be considered a compliment since they had a reputation of being attractive.

"He must be someone with a godly physique, handsome features and an unmatched sense of morals. A true specimen of the male gender," Orion had said.

Did he know who I was from the start? The monk finds his eyes wandering to Orion. Maybe those words came from Sera? His eyes lower into a glare. Unlikely, she always refers to me as short and scrawny. He never thought of himself as being particular short, but compared to that giant he felt like a dwarf. How could his chest and arms be the twice the size as his? This sasquatch was the reason that Serafina kept insulting him about his height.

"Oh, I get it! You're jealous of Orion. I told you he was a good-looking man, a lot more manly than you. But it's ok, I'm sure you can find someone who will be able to appreciate your effeminate—" The words die on his lips when Sanzo slams his booted foot on Evan's backside.

"Son of a—Since when do you start wearing steeled-toed boots!" Evan cries, rubbing his bottom.

Evan's sudden cry catches Orion's attention.

"You two are lively," Orion notes. "I wouldn't overdo it. We would be at a disadvantage if one of our allies was injured before we rescue Cahnneva."

"I could say the same about you," Sanzo retorts.

"Ah," he suddenly laughs. "I must have gotten over-excited yesterday. I'm sorry if I may have hurt you."

"Che," Sanzo responds, feeling a wave of rage beginning to boil within him. This bastard was actually two-faced.

"Don't worry about it," Evan says. "He might look like a normal human, but he can actually take a beating."

"I'm sure it's a necessity when you are surrounded by so many capable people," Orion replies with a warm smile.

"Capable?" Sanzo snorts. "I'm usually the one cleaning up after them."

"What we perceive isn't always the truth," Orion replies, turning away from him.

"Wow, what did I sleep through?" Evan says out loud. "Don't worry, he's not fond of me either."

"I wonder why?"

"Putting that all aside, I guess Sera failed in securing Cahnneva. I knew we shouldn't have let her go on her own. Did we at least figure out who took her?"

"It was Eclipse," Sanzo says.

"Oh, is he here?" Evan asks, surprised by the name.

"You know him?"

"He was an apprentice I acquired before I got stuck in this form."

"He's one of yours."

"Sort of." Evan laughs sheepishly. "I was killed shortly after I took him in. I didn't get the chance to really train him. He couldn't even control his demon abilities."

"He snatched the kid away from Sera."

"Is she ok?" Evan asks, looking for her. "He didn't take Sera too, did he?"

Sanzo's eyes widen, not liking what the boy was implying. Why would he abduct Serafina too? Who the hell is this asshole? Before he can ask, Evan's eyes suddenly light up.

"Sera!" Evan racing towards the woman who looks like she had just returned from bathing. "Gah, what happened to your face?!" he asks, checking her bruises.

She steps back, no liking him fawning over her after he just recovered.

"Save your energy for later," she says, stepping passed him.

Goku suddenly sits up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He perks up when he notices Evan is awake.

"Shit…" Evan mutters, not liking the sparkle in Goku's eyes. Before he can run for it, Goku's already upon him.

"Evan!" Goku yells, picking up the boy in a bear hug. "I missed you!"

"Go…ku…can't…breathe…" the boy gasps.

"Sorry!" Goku says, suddenly dropping the demon child.

"One of these days you going to bust one of my ribs…" Evan frowns. "It's good to see you," Evan suddenly smiles, ruffling Goku's unruly hair.

"Aw damn, the brat's awake," Gojyo sighs, woken by the commotion.

"Oh, it's Warner's boyfriend…" Evan grumbles.

"What the hell?!"

"Girlfriend?"

"I'm not even going to acknowledge your insane assumption. I thought maybe my memory was hazy about you, but you really are a pain in the ass."

"Interesting, no denial," Evan notes.

"I like women...women!"

"Now a strong denial. You have nothing to be ashamed about. I mean if I swung that way, I might consider him, but then you reach a certain age where you want something with a little more substance."

"Definitely worse than what I remember. It's going to be a long day," Gojyo groans, using his pillow to cover his ears.

Everyone stops when they sense Daycarthro has arrived with the others. The time has finally come for them to rescue the Fallen One…

XxxxxXxxxxX

A/N: That's it for now. I'm working on the next chapter so hopefully I will have that out soon. As always, till next time!