Hey, people!
Please excuse the delay (and for the one soon to come), but I wanted to be sure I got this chapter right.
If you haven't already guessed, this will be the last guest installment of Bill Cipher the dream demon (Look back to chapter 53 for the disclaimer).
After this, we will not see him again, other than possible name referencing in future pieces for this story.
Anyway, enjoy, review, and be ready for the aftermath chapter coming after this one!
Chapter 88 (Special): Croft & Cipher - A Deal's Pay-up
"Coraline...Cor!"
"Hm?"
"Are you okay? You've been actin' a bit, antsy, these last two days..."
"For the fifth time, bro, I'm fine. Now can we please just focus on getting back to the village?"
Come the second day after Naraku mysteriously 'up and vanished' from his castle, we find our group making their way down a worn dirt path over the rolling green back to the Goshinboku Village, taking things a bit slower as to not overexert themselves anymore than they did during the multiple battles the night before last...
But while most have relaxed slightly if not extremely suspicious of the despicable half-demon's disappearance, Coraline was all the more tensed, the fault being that of another demon that was neither friend nor foe: Bill Cipher, a dream demon to which she had formed a pact with to rid herself of a guilty weight off her Soul (figuratively and literally), and to help protect someone she's come to hold dear in her heart...
The problem she was currently faced with, is finding a way to meet with the demon and not arouse suspicion from her friends:
...What the hell am I gonna do?
There's no telling yet just how far I'm gonna have to travel to meet with Bill, not to mention how I'll slip past the watchful eyes of my friends and siblings...
Inuyasha will be the hardest to dodge: He was so close to discovering me with the second crystal back in Onigumo's Cave.
...Damn, I've really dug my grave, haven't I?
As she was in thought, Besa glances his eyes over his shoulder and up and down her form, noticing how nerved and frustrated she looked, and how she was walking slower than everyone else, like she was trying to distance herself from the group. He turns to Freeman and asks in a whisper,
"Hey, bro?"
"What?"
"Is it just me, or does Coraline seem a bit more, paranoid?"
"...Yeah, I've been noticin' too."
"What're you guys talkin' about?"
They look up at Shippo, who was sitting on Miroku's shoulder, and Freeman replies with a small frown,
"Coraline: Something's wrong with her, we just know it."
"Like what?"
"Haven't you noticed she's been, distancing herself from all of us as of late?"
Shippo looks back at Coraline, and sees that there was a few feet of space between her and the rest of the group:
"Oh yeah..."
"Not only that, but, she's been spacin' out, like she's here but not here, you know what I mean?"
By this time, Miroku and Sango were into the conversation, and decided to voice their thoughts:
"Yes, I've been noticing that as well. Something is clearly plaguing her thoughts..."
"Hm...She's acted like this before, but not this strongly."
Inuyasha just kept walking ahead, but his ears had picked up on the words, and was also wondering about Coraline's change of mood:
...What's goin' on with you now, Coraline?
What are you not telling everyone?
His pondering would soon be interrupted, when his eyes catch the strangest sight over the next hill:
"Huh?"
He stops, and everyone else pauses, with Miroku asking as he notes the surprise in the dog demon's features,
"...What is it, Inuyasha?"
"(Point) Down there. That tree, look."
Everyone follows his point, and would also widen their eyes, when they see the following: Just near the bottom of the hill, was a young beech tree, except unlike most species, this one was shaped like a figure-eight with yellow polka dots decorating the bark, and its leaves were purple!
"What the...?"
"That's the weirdest-looking tree I've ever seen!"
"Is it a demon tree?"
"Can't be..."
As soon as Coraline caught sight of it, she immediately felt a shiver go down her spine:
...Oh no: Don't tell me that's-
"Owaaaah! Look up there!"
She snaps out of her mini panic attack at Shippo's yelp, and looks to the sky to see...skinny bales of wheat and giant, rainbow-coloured flowers, flying through the air, each with their own fluffy white wings!
Besa exclaims,
"What the hell?!" Freeman mutters with a dumbfounded frown,
"Looks like somethin' you see when you're really high...(Rubs his eyes) We haven't smoked somethin' without knowing it, right?"
Attention would then be directed at Kilala, when everyone hears her growling at something:
"Huh?" "What's up, Kilala?"
Looking down about a third of way to the bottom of the hill, we see the little cat demon, fur standing on end, glaring at...some long grass? The group walks off the dirt road and over to where Kilala was, with Sango kneeling by her partner with a confused frown:
"...Is there something wrong with this grass, Kilala?"
She then reaches her hand towards the tall blades...only to snap her wrist back fast, when the grass suddenly opens a mouth full of sharp teeth and tries to bite her!
"Uh!"
Kilala hops back with a growl, also dodging the bite, while Miroku places his staff in front of the slayer protectively:
"Gh! Are you alright, Sango?"
She blushes slightly from the monk's protective gesture, before replying,
"I'm fine. I pulled back just in time...What in the world is going on here?"
"I don't know...I would say this is Naraku's doing, but...this seems too strange to be his activity."
Inuyasha nods in agreement:
"Yeah, and I'm not pickin' up the bastard's scent...Still, doesn't mean a demon isn't responsible."
"Hey, guys! Come check this out!"
They turn their heads to the bottom of the path leading into the forest cover, and on the left side, stood Freeman, who was waving his hand down while his other pointed at a giant boulder sitting behind him. Everyone else comes walking down, and Inuyasha asks,
"What now?"
"This rock...Look what's plastered all over the surface."
"Huh?"
Everyone looks up, and sees the following: Multiple, golden impressions of an Egyptian-styled eye sitting in the middle of a triangle, looking like they've been branded into the stone!
Coraline would recognize the symbol instantly:
(Gasp) Bill! So this is his doing!
...Little Do~ll...
"Rgh..."
She then grips the side of her head, feeling a pounding in her skull, as the said dream demon's voice began crooning in her mind:
Li~ttle Dooollll...
(Grit) B-Bill...!
(Laugh) You like the little spout of chaos I created? I did it just, to get, your attention...But I'm sure you know why already, don'tcha?
Please...S-Stop...!
Time to pay up, kiddo! Why don't we meet up now?
I-It's not a good time! The others; they-
Excuses, excuses...Hmm...Maybe you need to be better-persuaded?
Wait, no-!
A finger-snap echoed through her ears, one only she could hear...before she felt a worse pain corrode through her head, as Bill's laughter rang through her ears:
"Aaagh!"
The others would turn their heads from the stone at her cry, and widen their eyes, when they see Coraline kneeling on the ground with her lands covering her ears, her face set in a grimace of pain:
"Coraline?" "Coraline, what's wrong?!"
"Are you okay?"
She could barely hear them, as the echoes got louder, with Inuyasha, Kikyō and Naraku's voices joining the mix, causing small tears to form in the corners of her eyes:
I...c-can't...take, it!
Inuyasha then takes her shoulders and shakes them, trying to snap her out of it:
"Coraline! Coraline, what's going on? Say something, dammit!"
"I-Inu...yash-Uuuuhhhh..."
But the mental pressure became too great, and Coraline would pass out, with Inuyasha's concerned shout of her name being the last thing she heard...
Mindscape, Coraline's POV
"Mmm...rgh-h-huh?"
It must've been not even a minute after I fell unconscious, before I awoke again...Only problem was, I wasn't 'awake awake', rather that my consciousness awoke within my mindscape, which was being invaded by the presence of Bill. How do I know this?
Because I was sitting in an endless seas of wheat, sky as wide as I can see, but with no colours other than white and gray.
"Oh great..."
I move to a stand, and peer around, seeing nothing for miles and miles, before deciding to call out the one responsible:
"...Where are you, Cipher?! Come out and face me!"
...Nothing happens for a few minutes, causing me to groan in frustration. But then, I hear the crescendo of laughter I've grown to hate, before a ball of blue fire shoots out from the sky, landing a couple feet in front of me! I cringe back from the heat, covering my face with my arm, before looking up to see the blue fire surrounding me in a large ring.
"...Hey there, Little Doll! Been a while, hasn't it?"
"Uh!"
I whirl around to the right side, and standing in front of me, was that little triangle-shaped menace, 'smirking' at me:
"So~, what'd ya think of the masterpiece I created in the real world? Really somethin', huh? And that's just a taste of what I can really do!"
I narrow my eyes at him and ask,
"Why, though? What was the point of doing that and making everyone's hair stand on end?"
He replies as if it was the most obvious thing in the world,
"Uuuh, because I can? Duh! Plus I might've wanted to test out their detection skills on whether they could sense a demon from the Nightmare Realm, and guess what? Big Fat F! Red Sword couldn't even detect my scent!"
"They still know it was a demon responsible!"
I take a deep breath, trying not to blow up anymore than I was, before asking a touch more calmly,
"Look: I know you want to wrap up our deal, and so do I. But weren't you the one who said we're better off keeping this 'hush-hush'?"
"Chill-lax, Little Doll, I getcha! I was just celebratin' that Spider finally am-scrayin' so I wouldn't have another demon botherin' me."
I furrow my eyebrows:
"Spider?...Wait: You mean, Naraku? You've known about him?"
"Well of course! I already told ya, I'm practically omniscient!"
Curious of his knowledge, I then ask,
"...Does that mean, you know where he is now?"
"Ah-ah-ah~! Nice try, kid, but that info will cost ya another fee, and I've already been lenient enough with the first extension of our deal!"
Something in the way he said that struck some more anger in me:
"...Lenient? You call giving me nightmares for weeks, making your voice boom so loud in my skull that I wind up shouting at ya and prompting my friends to look at me like I'm going bat-crap crazy lenient?!"
He brushes off my outburst with a wave of my hand and replies casually,
"It is for a dream demon like me...Now then, let's move onto talking about the meeting location!"
He snaps his fingers, and ground starts quaking, while the wheat around me extending to the edges of the blue flame circle dries and dies out, the barren dirt sinking, leaving me standing inside a crater of sorts:
"What, the...?"
I look up at Bill confused, and he explains:
"Somewhere in the woods leaving that certain village is an area that looks like this. That's where I'll be waitin' for ya! And before you ask me for more details, your senses will pick up on my energies, and your mark will start to glow brighter the closer you are to the area. Once you arrive, we'll start goin' over the details of the ritual...Got it?"
"I...guess so..."
He obviously sensed the uncertainty that was rising in my being, and he floats down to wrap a skinny black arm around my shoulder, causing me to flinch, before he asks,
"Aww, what's wrong, Little Doll? Don't tell me you're havin' second thoughts again!"
"N-No, of course not! I just..."
"You're worried about your friends discoverin' our little secret? (Laugh) Don't get jittery on my account: I'm sure you'll find a way to dodge 'em long enough for you to come runnin' to me."
"(Shudder) Could you not say it like that? It sounds wrong." He lets out another chuckle and replies,
"Of course it sounds like that! All of this is wrong! But it's so wrong, it's right, the best kind-a wrong there is!"
I wasn't sure if I could believe him, but I couldn't make any sorts of protest if I wanted to, for I was too far in to just walk away...
Suddenly, the landscape started to fade away, and I feel Bill's arm leave my shoulder:
"I'll leave ya to it, then. Good luck's all I can say! See you so~on, Little Do~ll!"
Reality
(Jolt)
"Uh!"
My eyes snap open, and I immediately shot up into a sitting position, my right hand grasping where my erratically-beating heart was. My body shook as I took in some deep breaths, trying to calm down, reminding myself I wasn't in the mindscape anymore:
"(Pant, pant) I'm okay...I'm awake...I'm alright..."
"Are ye sure about that, child?"
"Gh!"
I snap my eyes over to the left side of my body, and found myself staring at Kaede, she stirring something in a pot over a roaring hearth. She must've sensed my distress, for she gently chided,
"Easy now. Ye are back in the village now, inside my home..."
I slowly looked around, my mind still a bit rattled, but remembering where this was:
Right...I'm safe, inside Kaede's Hut.
"...Where is everyone?"
"Right here."
"Huh?"
I turn towards the doorway, and watch as everyone else comes walking inside, starting with Sango and Kilala, then Miroku, my brothers with Shippo on Besa's shoulder, the last being Inuyasha, who was looking at me with a mix of suspicion and worry...
Once they were all seated, Shippo, who was sitting near my hip with Kilala (she rubbing her head affectionately on the back of my hand with a mew), places a hand on my arm before asking cautiously,
"Are you okay, Coraline? You look a bit pale..."
I swallow dryly, forcing a lump of anxiety down my throat before replying softly,
"I...I think so. Just, had a bit of a nightmare, is all."
Which is unfortunately more real than they realize...
I then ask after taking in another breath,
"How long was I unconscious?" Miroku replies,
"Not too long, thankfully. We arrived in the village only a few hours ago..."
"Ah...I see."
I then hear a low growl roll through the room, and look over to see Inuyasha giving me a scowl...I look away, trying not to form a guilty look on my face:
Thanks alot, Bill. Now he definitely knows something's wrong.
"What happened back there, Cor? You looked like you were havin' a fit or something."
My eyes turn to Freeman, who was giving me a serious expression that matched Besa's, and I scramble to come up with a viable excuse that wouldn't be so far from the truth that they'd realize:
"Um...I'm, not exactly sure. That, strange symbol we saw burned all over the rock. As soon as my eyes caught it, I felt this, pulsing in my skull, followed by a really loud blaring. It was so loud, I couldn't take the pressure, and...well, you all know the rest."
"...That's it?"
I turn to Inuyasha and answer back,
"Isn't that enough?"
His eyes widen a touch at my response, taken aback slightly by my attitude, yet chose not to comment...but Sango did:
"Coraline...is there something that you haven't been telling us of late?"
My muscles stiffen, and I side-glance the slayer before replying,
"Uh...no, I don't think so."
"Are you sure? It's just...we've all been noticing a change in your demeanor."
Miroku speaks up and adds,
"You've been more quiet than usual, and, have been carrying an expression that suggests an appending fear."
I smile nervously, thinking just how close they are to knowing what's going on, yet so far:
"I'm okay, you guys, really...I guess I'm just a bit worn down from the recent Naraku activity and, his disappearance has left me a bit worried for what could come next. The thoughts probably caused a mild anxiety attack...That's all."
...None of my friends seemed overly convinced by what I said, but seemed to sense my apprehensiveness to speak, and chose to change the subject. So for the next while, we'd be explaining to Kaede what had happened recently regarding the spider-scarred half-demon...Or rather, the others would speak, while I snuck over to where my satchel was propped against the wall, and checked inside to see that my two Seven Light Crystals I gathered were inside and hidden in their pieces of cloth.
(Sigh) Good. Still here...Now...how am I gonna get outta here to meet with Bill?
Thanks to my fainting spell, now I've got eyes burning into the back of my head...the strongest being Inuyasha's.
...God, this sucks. Just how much longer can I keep lying?
I then feel a light burning pain in my left wrist, and look down to see my covenant mark showing itself like an evil tattoo, like it was taunting me with its existence and mocking me for my deal. I curse quietly under my breath, before letting out a sharp exhale, deciding I needed some fresh air.
"...Huh? Where ya headin', sis?"
I pause about halfway out the door, satchel over my shoulder and my knife strapped to my thigh, before replying quietly,
"...Just to the river. I, need to go clear my head in the open air. I shouldn't be long."
Before anyone could protest me leaving, I continued on my way, finding myself jogging all the way to the clear, blue water sitting in a strip outside the village...Once I reached the stony shores, I plopped to the ground with a huff, and reached into my bag to pull out, the bottle of whiskey and shot glass:
Hard to believe I still have any of this stuff left...
With no hesitation whatsoever, I poured myself a full glass, before stuffing the bottle back into the bottom of my bag to cloak any temptations of having more than intended, and then downing the shot in one gulp:
"(Grit) Hoh! Ah...Well, that helps...but not by much."
I stare out into the distance for a little while, not trusting myself to speak, my fingers gripping the shot glass tight, as I fought the urge to throw it into the river...
"Okay, what the hell's goin' on with you?"
"Hn!"
I snap out of my daze with a slight jump, and whirl my torso around to see Inuyasha, who was walking towards me with the look of an interrogation officer:
Oh, fuck, he couldn't be comin' here at a worse time if he tried.
Shaking my head, I turn back to the river, not wanting him to see the pain and conflict that was tearing me from the inside out...But knowing him, he wasn't gonna take my silence lightly, and he would crouch down on my left side, his stare piercing right through me:
"Somethin's obviously eatin' at you, and I'm willing to bet it has something to do with that craziness from earlier before you passed out."
I tried not to flinch, but was unsuccessful, and he hms in confirmation:
"So I am right...Coraline, what's going on?"
"...I...I don't know what you mean."
"Aw, don't give me that bullcrap! You suck at lying about these things and you know it, so stop tryin' to beat around the bush and start talkin'!"
I grimaced from his angry tone, knowing he was right about my track record about lying...for the most part:
Tch, he thinks I'm a terrible liar, huh? It's been months and he hasn't once found out about Bill...
Nor does Inuyasha know, about how much I've grown to love him.
I guess I must've been too quiet for too long, for I hear another growl rumble from the back of Inyasha's throat, before he grabs me by my shoulders and turns me to face him eye-to-eye:
"Uh!"
"Coraline, I won't ask you again: Start, talking! What the hell have you've been hiding?!"
Just before I could respond...I hear a chorus of very familiar and annoying laughter:
Oh god, not again...!
The sound was coming from in front of us, and I turn to the river...before gasping when I see multiple copies of Bill's eye looking at us from in the clear blue!
"Huh? Coraline?"
I ignored Inuyasha, my glaring eyes focused on the irises of that damned demon:
You...You, bastard!
"Screw off!"
I shove my friend's hands off me, before taking out my knife, and proceeded to slash and stab at the water, trying to erase all traces of the reflections and drown out the laughter:
"Stop, taunting me, you, three-sided freak!"
I was so concentrated on eliminating the eyes and stopping Cipher's chortling, I almost didn't feel Inuyasha seize me around my middle to drag me out of the water:
"Coraline, what the heck are you doin'?! Stop! Calm down!"
My arm kept swinging my knife through the air blindly, as my eyes clouded over with tears of stress I could no longer keep bottled up:
"Damn, you...Damn, you, to hell, you bastard dream demon!"
I felt Inuyasha stiffen, and mutter,
"...Dream demon?"
"...What's going on down here?" "Coraline?!"
"Inuyasha!"
By this time, the laughter finally stopped, and I fall limp in Inuyasha's arms, watching the eyes fade away from the water, one of them winking at me intently, while my ears pick up on the frantic footsteps and shouts of the others running down from the village to see what was the matter:
"What happened?"
"Was there an attack?"
"What the heck is goin' on?"
...Hearing their concern, made me shake to the core, and the tears fell faster from the corners of my eyes, prompting multiple sets of eyes to fall onto my form. I feel Inuyasha set me to my feet, but he didn't relinquish his hold on me, not that I really cared at the moment. Miroku then asks in a serious tone,
"Inuyasha, what happened?"
"Honestly, I don't have a clue: She just suddenly leaped from the ground and started hacking at the water, screaming at something that wasn't there...or was it?"
I feel his irises direct to me, before he asks a bit more calmly then before,
"Coraline...please, tell us what's going on. Who's hurting you?"
I struggle to bite back a sob, before replying in a quiet, hoarse voice,
"...I can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"Because then you'll try to stop me from doing something extremely crazy."
"I don't understand."
I sigh, before gently moving his arms off me, and turning to face Inuyasha with a troubled expression, my voice coming out a bit stronger:
"Inuyasha...I've, done something bad, really bad, back during the day, I asked you if I could stay with you here in this era."
He widens his eyes at me, before narrowing them in a serious manner:
"What sort of bad thing? What did you do?"
"I...made a deal with someone, a terrible deal...in order to right a wrong I've dealt since my first steps here."
Or I at least consider it a wrong in my eyes...
Everyone forms worried and confused expressions at my cryptic words:
"Huh?" "What're you talkin' about, sis?"
"Right a wrong?" "What?"
I take in a shaky breath, and add with a calmer but somewhat dead voice,
"I've finished my tasks required for this deal...so now I have to go meet with them, or this is going to tear my sanity to pieces. I know you'll likely try to stop me from doing this...which is why...you'll have to forgive me for what I'm about to do next."
Before Inuyasha could reply, I form a determined frown, before gripping his shoulders, and releasing my Aura energies from my body to his:
(Sheen, pow)
"Guh!"
His body is wrapped in a light ring of the ice blue glow, he now temporarily frozen. I then turn to the direction of the others, eyes still shining, before sending a similar wave of power at them, freezing their bodies as well:
(Pow)
"Uh!" "Owah!"
"Guh!" "Coraline!" "Cor!"
"(Mewl)"
With that done, I cancel out my Aura, and move to grab my satchel from the gravel shore, before walking back to send the following message into Inuyasha's ear:
"...Kikyō's not the only one with the power to stop interference."
He makes a sound of shock from my words, and I lightly peck his cheek, before stepping away, a sad and guilty expression on my face:
"...I'm sorry."
I then take off in a run from the area, ignoring the sounds of my friends calling my name, my instincts telling me to head for the forest in the Southeast:
Alright, Bill...Let's get this done.
Inuyasha's POV
What, the hell, just happened?!
As soon as Coraline was gone from the area, I immediately tried to break free from this, spell or whatever it was, but was unsuccessful:
"(Struggle) I, can't, move! Dammit! Can any, of you?!"
Sango replies in a strain,
"N-No, we're just as stuck, as you are!" Shippo exclaims,
"What's, happening?! Are we, stuck like this forever?!"
"Not, if I, can help it."
"Huh?"
My eyes dart over to where Freeman was standing, and I watch, as he sideglances his brother before saying,
"Besa...Can you reach, m-my wrist?"
"I'll, try! No, guarantees, though..."
He then starts to very slowly and forcefully stretch his fingers towards Freeman's wrist...I then realize which wrists they were:
Their Seven Light Shards! Wait...can they use them to break this control?
I keep watching, mentally crossing my fingers that they would pull it off:
"Rgh, c-come on..."
"Almost, th-there...!"
After about ten more painstakingly slow minutes, Besa finally reaches his hand to Freeman's:
"Got it!"
"Okay...now, focus!"
They each take a matching breath in, closing their eyes in concentration...before:
(...Sheen) (...Sheen)
The crystal shards glow, and we're all bathed in that rainbow-coloured light, the power canceling out the energy that was holding us in place:
(Shatter)
"Uh!"
We all fall down on our sides and knees from the sudden release, breathing heavily from the wave of power that hit us. Shippo says to the twins,
"(Pant, pant) Great job, you guys! We're free!"
They give him matching smiles and thumbs-up, a bit too winded to speak. I then stood up straight, my face set in irritation and anger for what had happened:
"(Growl) Just wait 'til I get my hands on her...! Damn it, Coraline, where did you go?!"
"More importantly, what sort of deal did she convey and with who?"
I whirl back to Miroku, but then remember what Coraline was doing before she used her Aura powers on us:
"That's right...she was cursing at someone, attacking the water like someone was there...She also mentioned, 'three-sided freak' and 'bastard dream demon'."
Everyone tenses up at my words:
"Dream demon?!"
Shippo fearfully stutters,
"Y-Y-You don't think that, N-N-Naraku could have something to do with this, could he?"
"No...this isn't his doing. If it were, we would've figured it out by now, and she said that this deal she made has been goin' on for a long while."
Sango nods in agreement with me, and concludes,
"Then this must be the work of another demon, who's clearly been torturing Coraline's mentality if she's this badly on edge...They must also be quite powerful if they've gone this long without being detected."
Miroku adds,
"And this also means that spout of, 'Weirdness', from before was their doing."
Freeman then says,
"Then what the heck are we still standing around for? We need to track down Cora and fast!"
We all nod firmly, and I start leading the charge to where Coraline ran off to, following her scent to the treeline of the deeper forest grounds:
Coraline...I dunno what the hell you think you're doin', but I'm not about to let you get away with keeping a secret like this!
I'm gettin' answers, one way or another!
Small Time Skip, No POV
At the same time Inuyasha and company had broken free from the Aura Energy that binded them to the spot temporarily, Coraline had reached the deepest parts of the southeastern forest, where the trees grew immensely tall and thick, roots sprouting from the moss-covered grounds, and large, thorny bushes scattered the landscape like a bad rash:
"(Pant, pant) Ouch!"
Coraline winces through her teeth as another thorny branch scratches her arm, but she did not deter her pace:
Gotta keep moving...Where to now?
She uses her Aura Sight to seek out any signs of demonic activity...and saw,
"(Gasp) Up ahead...A barrier!"
And it feels similar to Bill's Aura...This has to be it!
Coraline then feels a twitch of pain in her wrist, and looks down to see her covenant mark glowing brighter:
Oh yeah. I'm definitely heading in the right direction.
After several more minutes of frantic running, she reaches the end of the thicket, and comes across an area similar to what she saw in her dreams: A ginormous, deep crater, with smooth, red-brown dirt at the bottom, a couple boulders scattering the area's inside, and floating in the middle was,
"...Bill!"
The three-sided entity, currently surrounded by a pyramid-shaped, yellow barrier, looks up from his fingers, and 'smiles' when he sees Coraline standing on the edge of the crater:
"Aah, right on time, Little Doll! I knew you'd make it! So, not that I really need to ask, but do you got the goods?"
Coraline slides down to the crater floor, and walks over to the demon while replying with a straight face,
"Yes. I have them."
She puts her satchel down, and reaches inside to grab out two objects wrapped in their own cloths, one light pink, the other a mint green:
"Two Seven Light Crystals, as promised."
She unwraps the heart-shaped crystals, and holds them up in one hand each towards Bill, who lightly gasps before complimenting on the redhead's efforts:
"Nice~ work, kid!"
He then snaps his fingers, canceling the barrier, before floating up to Coraline to take the crystals into his own hands:
"Rea~lly nice work...Maybe you humans aren't so useless in getting things done. (Laugh) Though I did give you the instructions, so I gotta tip my own hat to me too!"
His 'smile' then shifts into a 'smirk':
"Now then..."
Using his powers, he causes one crystal to float out of his hand wrapped in a yellow light, and under his hat:
"I'll be saving this one for my own personal use...This other one will be used for the ritual."
"Yeah, you said something about a ritual when you came to me in the mindscape...What on earth are you plannin' on making me do?"
"Mmm, nothin' too strenuous...But are you familiar with the phrase, 'An eye for an eye'?"
Coraline stiffens a bit, and gulps while nodding warily...
Meanwhile, Inuyasha and others had just entered the forest at around the time Bill took down his barrier, which allowed the dog demon to finally pick up on the dream demon's scent:
"Huh?"
He skids to stop in the mossy grass, prompting the others to stop as well:
"What is it, Inuyasha?"
"What's wrong, dude?"
He sniffs the air...before answering Miroku and Freeman's questions with a growl:
"There's a demon not too far ahead...but, I've never smelled one like this before."
Shippo and Kilala decide to use their noses too...and found themselves on edge:
"(Growl)"
"Y-Yeah! This scent is way different from other demons! It's like...they're not from here at all."
Sango narrows her eyes in thought:
"Hm...In that case, we better be on our guard. Aside from what we've seen already, there's no telling what sort of power this demon may have."
Miroku nods in agreement, while Inuyasha scoffs,
"Tuh, I don't care how strong this demon is. The longer we stand here, the longer Coraline's alone with them, so let's keep moving!"
With that, he starts leaping off again, with Sango and Shippo boarding Kilala in her full demon form, and Miroku and the twins rushing right or close behind Inuyasha, all worried for Coraline's safety and wondering what could've possessed her to convey a deal with such a creature...
And they would not be the only ones closing in on Bill: Somewhere over the next mountain over, at the bottom pool of a waterfall spilling fresh water from inside the old rock, was Kikyō, walking in the direction of the crater with her shinidamachū at her side.
...This demonic aura...It is unlike anything I have ever felt before.
I sense, darkness...but the motive behind it is murky...unclear...
She pauses, narrowing her eyes in thought, before continuing forward:
I must see the being behind such an aura.
If they are anything like that loathsome half-demon...they cannot be allowed to linger here.
Coraline's POV
I'm now standing a few feet back from the middle of the crater, as per Bill's instructions, watching as he used his finger like a laser to trace out a large ritual circle into the dirt, using twenty-six of the strangest symbols I've ever seen, including one that looked like a really dumbed-down drawing of an umbrella:
"Huh? What, on earth is that language? It looks like what would happen if you squashed down the Rosetta Stone..."
Note: If you want a better visual to the mystery language mentioned, go to the Bill Cipher Wiki page, and scroll all the way down to an image in the trivia section. It's not hard to miss. Also, I do not own any references to Wikipedia or its sibling sites.
Back to the story!
Bill lets out a loud laugh at my description and replies,
"That's a good one! But no, this isn't even close to Hieroglyphs, Demotic or Greek. This one actually originated in my dimension."
"The Nightmare Realm?"
"No, the Crab Nebula; of course the Nightmare Realm! But your race's ancestors found out about it when I came strolling in one day a couple hundred-thousand years ago, ya know, to cause some chaos, (Laugh). Oh, and just to clarify, I mean a different earth, not this one. No one of this dimension will have even heard of me...'til today!"
I furrow my eyebrows in confusion...until it dawned on me:
"Wait...are you implying that the Multi-Verse Theory is true?!"
"Smart girl! Right on the dot! Can't tell ya how many different universes there are, though, 'cause even I don't know. And not only can I enter different spaces, I can also visit different times of said space, or at least I can now do the second one since my screw-up in that sleepy town..."
"You mean, that 'Weirdmageddon' event, right?"
"Right!"
"...What exactly was your goal with that, anyway?"
"Achieve universal domination, create a world where time's meaningless and chaos rules over reason, and a bunch of other things that could make your head spin! Unfortunately, my buddies and I were still stuck in the Falls 'cause of some odd barrier, and then I got tricked by Six Fingers into being eliminated in his brother's mindscape! What a rip-off!"
I found myself smiling wryly and joke,
"So you wound up getting conned by humans. Wow, that must've stung your ego, huh?"
"Watch it, kid."
I hold my hands up in a defensive gesture, but then grip the side of my head from an oncoming headache:
"Good lord. Multi-worlds, time being overcome, chaos trumping reason? That's alot of information to take in..."
Bill scoffs and replies,
"Well duh it's confusing to you. You're only human. You crazy meatsacks are only good for one thing: Sparking insanity from the most sane concepts."
"Oh? Give me an example."
"War."
...I had no comeback to use against him, because when you think about it, he's not wrong:
Humanity does seem to follow a trend of fighting for reasons that could just as easily be solved with talking about it like it is.
He must've read my mind again, for the dream demon replies to my pondering as if I said it aloud,
"Exactly! I mean sure, some of your wars are pretty hilarious to watch, but others are just plain stupid! Like fighting over which religion's the best? Pfff, yeah, that's re~al smart..."
By this time, he had finished 'drawing' the symbols for the ritual circle, before turning to me while waving his hand in a 'come here' gesture:
"But never mind Philosophy, back to business: Come stand in the middle here in front of me."
I obediently do as he asks, and move to stand in the inner circle of the entire structure, before looking up at the demon:
"Okay...what now?"
Bill makes the heart-shaped crystal in his hand hover between us, before explaining the next part:
"Now comes the 'eye for an eye' part: In order to use this Seven Light Crystal for the ritual, it will need the blood of the Soul-to-be-extracted to be dripped on it."
"S-Seriously?!"
"Couldn't make this up if I wanted to, and hey, could be way worse: At least you're not giving up a limb or your freedom."
He looks down at where my knife was and adds,
"Just use your knife to make a cut in your hand, plain and simple!"
...Oh god, what the hell did I just sign up for?
But even with my nerves rising a bit...I still reached down to pull my weapon out of its holster. I look up at Bill with a serious stare covering my worries and ask,
"You're sure this is necessary?"
"Yep!"
I gulp nervously, before lifting my right hand up in front of me, and readying my knife in the left...
Just as the sharp end of the blade barely even touches my skin:
"Coraline!"
"Uh!"
I freeze, when I hear the voice of a familiar dog demon:
Inuyasha! Oh crap, he's tracked me down already?!
I whirl around back to where the forest began, and gasp when I see him leap out of the trees, landing on the edge of the crater! The others would follow fast behind him, with Sango and Shippo aboard Kilala, while Miroku and my brothers came running over on foot:
"Coraline!" "Cora!"
I began to shake, knowing there was no way out now:
"...Damn...!"
"Don't worry, Little Doll."
"Hn?"
I look back at Bill, who was 'smirking', which meant,
"...You knew they'd come right now, didn't you?"
He nods, and I look back to the others while thinking,
Ooooh, this is gonna get bad really fast!
No POV
As soon as the rest of the Inuyasha gang reached the giant crater, they would look up in shock at the sight of Bill:
"Uh!" "What the-?!"
"Whuh?!" "What the hell?!"
"Owaaaah! What the heck kind-of demon is that?!"
Bill just lets out a laugh at their expressions, before floating up a little above and beside Coraline to address the new arrivals:
"Well well well, look who's finally arrived! Nice to finally see you in person, Red Sword!"
Noticing that the triangle-shaped demon was looking at him, Inuyasha growls on the defense while brandishing out Tessaiga:
"And how the hell do you know who I am?"
"Oh, let's just say a little bird told me, or rather, her memories did..."
Bill bends down and wraps one of his thin, black-skinned arms around Coraline's shoulder, causing her to stiffen a little:
"Mph..."
"Gotta say, she's been real entertaining in messin' with during our deal, haven't you, Little Doll?"
She says nothing, looking down in shame, while the others look in confusion at the familiarity:
"Huh?"
"She's not shrugging him off."
"Could it be...?"
"Yeah! This must be the demon she was talking about back at the river!"
Shippo calls from the top of Kilala's head, not wanting to believe this was happening,
"Coraline, please tell us he's lying!"
"She can't, Trick Bag."
"Huh?"
Bill looks up at the spectators and 'grins' with his eye before jeering,
"It's funny how dumb you all are, not seeing this sooner! Then again, she did do a good job hiding our deal, going behind your backs to gather the items needed to pay me."
He uses his other hand to stretch back behind himself and Coraline, before bringing it back to show off the first Seven Light Crystal, causing the twins to gasp at the same time when they recognized the make:
"That's...!"
"A full Seven Light Crystal?!"
"Right on the dot, Geminis!"
They form funny looks from the nicknames, but shrug them off when Bill continues:
"There's this beauty, plus another one tucked under here, (tips his hat), for my own personal use. Little Doll did a real good job finding them, too, thanks to guidance from yours truly!"
Inuyasha lets out a loud growl, before barking,
"Stop calling her that, ya arrowhead weirdo! I've heard all I need to: You've obviously been manipulating her somehow, and I'm putting a stop to it right now!"
"Oooh, I wouldn't do that if I were you, Red Sword. You might be swinging at more than you can chop!"
That taunt would be all Inuyasha needed for motivation to leap up and try to strike down the dream demon with his blade:
"Tessaiga!"
Coraline gasps, and makes a move to scramble away, but Bill holds her in place with a hand on her upper arm:
"Ah-ah, hang on a second..."
"What're you-?!"
"Just watch."
...And as soon as Inuyasha came within a couple feet of the demon and Coraline's proximity:
(Finger snap)
(Whoom)
The same yellow, pyramid-shaped barrier appeared, only this time, it was large enough to surround the area of the ritual circle created by Bill!
(Clang, pow)
"Aaaagh!"
Inuyasha would be thrown back by the power of the shield, and land face-up on the ground above the crater!
"Inuyasha!"
As Miroku moves to help the dog demon up, Bill lets out another chorus of laughter and exclaims in mirth,
"Oh man, that was a riot! Sorry, Red Sword, but it's gonna take alot more than some dog fang to cut down on my power, and that includes your recent power upgrade from those flying rats that were once the demon bat tribe!"
Inuyasha's eyes bug out in surprise, and Miroku asks,
"How do you know about that?"
"Oh I know lotsa things, Black Hole! I'm the closest you're ever gonna meet to an omniscient being! I know you're sportin' a hand cursed to act like the world's most powerful vacuum cleaner, (Points to Sango) that Boomerang lost her people in a gnarly demon horde attack while her mini me brother's currently playing 'I know nothing', (Points to Inuyasha) and that ever since Red Sword got screwed over by Fushia Arrow, it's been one disaster after another just to stay alive!"
Said monk and demon slayer flinch back upon being reminded of their misfortunes, while Inuyasha furrowed his eyebrows in confusion:
Fushia Arrow? Who's that suppose-
(Gasp) Wait...
(Flash)
"Inuyasha!"
(Twok, TOK)
(Flash)
...Kikyō.
"(Growl) Just what the hell kind-of demon are you?!"
"He's a dream demon."
"Huh?"
Focus turns to Coraline, who looks up with dulled irises, her face set stoic yet guilt-ridden:
"And he's not from around here, believe it or not. He's from a place known as the Nightmare Realm, a dimensional space outside our world...He hasn't been manipulating me, either."
"Guh! Y-You mean...!"
"Yes...I made this deal willingly."
Coraline holds up her left wrist...and the covenant mark reveals itself, causing a collective gasp to befall the others, with the twins shouting,
"The Faustian Covenant!?"
Miroku turns to them and asks,
"You know what that is?" Freeman replies,
"Yeah. Came across it once in an old book when we snuck into the restricted section of the library in our old town. Long story short, it's a type of contract between a demon and a human, where the demon grants a wish to the human...in exchange for their Soul."
Everyone grimaces at the thought, until Bill comments dismissively,
"Tch, that's just the standard deal most demons make with humans!"
"Huh?"
Eyes turn to him, who looks at his fingers with a bored expression while musing,
"That type has been done to death so many times over the last hundred centuries in alot of different dimensions I've visited, it's become a clique! Or at least I think it is; you live as long as I have, you get bored real quickly. Plus, my taste for Human Souls has fleeted since the Black Plague. (Shudder) Worst time for demons to go hunting for a meal, but it was good entertainment to watch those humans dropping like flies while having no real clue what started the disease."
He then 'smirks' and adds,
"I've since moved into a system of, 'help me to help you' deals: I do a job, and then they have to one for me in return. In the case of Little Doll, I grant her not one, but two favours, and all she had to do was gather the tools for me. (Laugh) 'Course, the poor thing also had to deal with me poppin' into her mindscape every now and then and endure some nightmare torture, or just annoying her to keep me amused!"
The group standing on the edge of the crater gapes in shock from Bill's nonchalant (and somewhat sadistic) humour, before Sango asks Coraline,
"...Is this true?"
"...Yes."
She then looks down at her combat knife, then over at Inuyasha, before forming a firm frown:
"And I'm not backing out now. Not while I've come this far."
Next thing everyone knew:
(Slash)
"Aagh!"
Coraline makes an incision into her palm!
"Coraline!" "What the hell?!"
"Why did she-?!"
Grinding her teeth, the redhead drops her knife, before turning her eyes to the Seven Light Crystal hovering above Bill's hand. She squeezes her hand into a fist, forcing her cut to release more of her blood..and then stretches it over the clear, heart-shaped gem:
(Drip, drip, drip...Gleam)
The crystal then glows a blackened red, before shattering into thirteen individual pieces, and moving to hover between two of each of the twenty-six symbols. Bill lets out a chuckle at the action and chimes,
"You see? This is all her doing, her choice! And ya wanna know the funniest part? She's done all of this, just to protect two lives she's come to hold in her heart so dear."
Coraline grits in pain from her self-inflicted injury, before muttering,
"Bill...please, don't-"
"Why not? It's not like you can deny it anymore after all they've seen! It was your selfless heart that got ya into this mess in the first place!"
That shuts the redhead up real quick, and she turns her head to the side, avoiding his eye...
"What's he talkin' about, Coraline?"
"Gh!"
She darts up to meet the amber irises of Inuyasha, who was looking at her with a mix of betrayal, confusion, and worry:
"Why did you do this? Why?"
"...I...I-I..."
Just before she could form some sort of reply, she picks up on a familiar Aura:
"Uh!"
...She's here.
"Ah, Fushia Arrow, right on schedule!"
She whirls around behind her, and looks over to the far corner where the forest meets the mountain pass...to see several of the shinidamachū float out from the trees, followed by the wandering priestess. Most of the group gasps, while Inuyasha stood frozen, his eyes on the women caught between life and death:
"...K-Kikyō."
She looks over in his direction, her blank face masking her surprise at seeing him in the area as well:
Inuyasha?
...Were he and his friends lured here by the demon aura as well?
Kikyō focuses down at the crater, her eyes narrowing as she gazed at the triangle-shaped entity:
Such an oddly-formed demon...He is no doubt the cause of this clouded darkness.
...I also sense a powerful barrier surrounding him and...Coraline.
Why does she stand by the demon?
"Nice of ya to finally join us, Fushia Arrow!"
She darts her eyes up with a frown at Bill, as he 'smiles' and adds,
"Now that everyone's here, the real fun can begin!"
The priestess readies an arrow on her bow, and asks in a stern voice,
"Who are you, demon? What is the meaning of your presence?"
"Whoa, easy there, hotshot. If your hostility's got anything to do with that annoying half-spawn Spider, you can count me out of his playbook!"
While Coraline watches Kikyō with a careful eye, the others mutter confusingly,
"Spider?"
"Who's he talkin' about now?"
It then dawned on Besa:
"(Gasp) Naraku!"
"Bingo, Gemini One!" Taking a brave step forward, the twin asks,
"Are you saying you have no affiliations with him?"
"Right again! I was actually waiting until he started another round of Hide and Seek before I emerged here out of the mindscape so I wouldn't have to run into him and deal with his shit. And why would I? I mean, come on, a half-demon, wanna-be evil having to scramble around for pieces of a shiny rock to help power up his chaos? Talk about pathetic!"
Sango narrows her eyes at Bill and says to everyone else in a lower tone,
"He seems to be telling the truth." Miroku agrees, if still rather suspicious:
"Yes, and yet his motives don't seem to be rationally clear..."
Shippo shivers on top of a growling Kilala and stutters,
"U-U-Uh, he's giving me the willies. I don't trust this guy, Naraku or no Naraku."
"(Chuckle) Probably the right way to go, Trick Bag."
The fox demon jumps from Bill's address, and the latter adds,
"I've got powers that could turn this entire world upside down with just a flip of my hat, and enough energy to kill a hundred priests and priestesses with just the snap of a finger!"
He turns his eye to Kikyō:
"Which is why you're better off not firing that bit of stone and wood, hun. I'm no ordinary demon that can be taken down by a silly little Sacred Arrow! In fact, if not for Little Doll here, I could just as easily steer your powers right back at ya, destroying that ceramic decoration you're currently calling a body, and eliminate any chances of you avenging your death!"
The priestess gasps at Bill's deductions...before very reluctantly lowering her bow.
"Ha, thought so."
"That's enough, Bill!"
"Hm?"
He looks down at Coraline, who glares at him while saying,
"She...she doesn't deserve to be belittled like that. Not after, all the pain she's had to endure."
Kikyō looks at Coraline with surprise for the defense, and Bill laughs before chiming,
"Ah, that's right: You want to put and end to the pain, don't you? Give her back something you've been holding hostage in your body for the longest time."
Coraline nods numbly, and Inuyasha asks himself,
Give something back to Kikyō?
...Wait...No!
"Guh! You don't mean-"
"Huh, looks like you're smarter than I thought, Red Sword! That's right: Little Doll wants to return that extra piece of another inside her body to the original source!"
Bill lets another chortle ring as he slaps a palm onto his forehead:
"Oh man, you gotta love the selfless hearts! Those humans are the most fun to watch, burying themselves in guilt and the need to make things right, even at the cost of their lives!"
...The grounds fall silent, aside from Bill's laughter, as the group stares down at Coraline in disbelief, while she turned away from their eyes, biting her tongue to force herself not to break down in tears again:
This...This is even worse, then those nightmares of falling through the Well to never return to this time again.
"Alright, Little Doll: Time for the final step."
She snaps out of her thoughts, as Bill makes his cane appear, and uses it to 'write' out something in blue, flaming letters:
"All you gotta do now, is say this incantation, and I'll take care of the rest...'Course, since you've given me alot of good laughs in our time together, I'm willing to give you this last chance to back out if you want to."
"What?"
"I'm serious. You can just walk away; I've got all I need with the second Seven Light Crystal you got for me! But, if you do go forward, just know that once you recite the incantation...there's no turning back."
Coraline gapes at the dream demon in shock, before forming a straight line with her lips, and turns to look at the ignited letters in the air:
...What do I do now?
Do I still, go forward...or should I exit while I still have the opportunity?
...Why is he offering a way out, anyway? That seems too generous of Bill to do that...
Unless...he must sense my doubt. He knew this is how it would turn out.
She mutters a curse, before turning her eyes to look at Inuyasha's form...then at Kikyō's...before looking down at herself, concluding her morals:
...No. I can't stop.
This may not have turned out the way I wanted it to, or, maybe it did, I dunno...but-
"...I didn't come this far, just to wuss out. I want...I want them to be at peace with themselves, even if this costs me my own."
Inuyasha doesn't miss a word with his sensitive ears, and mutters Coraline's name in shock, before calling over from the top of the crater,
"Wait, don't-"
"I'm sorry, Inuyasha...but you will not deter me from my goals."
She looks over at Kikyō, and adds mentally,
Nor will I allow her, to continue wandering the earth as only half of what she once was.
The redhead takes a deep breath, before moving to the exact center of the ritual circle, and turns to face and read aloud the blue-flamed words, sealing her fate:
"Videntis ominum. Magister mentium et anima mea..."
The circle outline glows a mix of yellow and black-red, and her eyes begin glowing yellow, her voice raising in volume:
"Magnesium ad hominem. Magnum opus!..."
Her friends, minus Inuyasha, who's brain had froze from dumbfounded shock, call over the sound of charging energies,
"Coraline, stop!"
"Don't do this!" "Coraline!"
But she does not heed them, already too far into the incantation to pause:
"Habeus corpus! Inceptus Nolanus overatus! Magister mentium, Magister mentium, MAGISTER ANIMA MEA!"
(SHEEN)
The entire circle and its symbols glow a blinding swirl of white-yellow mixed with crimson red, forcing the spectators to shield their eyes from the light, while Bill lets out a booming cackle, and Coraline is hit square in her chest by thirteen lines of power from the crystal shards:
(Pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow)
"UH!"
Her body is suspended into mid-air, before she is zoomed in on by the dream demon, who reaches into her torso, creating a warp wave to avoid any actual tissue damage, and yanks out her Soul!
"GUH!"
(Heartbeat...)
...Coraline's eyes roll into the back of her skull, her mouth open in a frozen gape, before her body is wrapped in a transparent barrier similar to the one that was surrounding the ritual circle, only this one also had black chains wrapped around it...
The area falls silent, voices caught in individual throats. Even Kikyō was frozen to the spot by what she just witnessed:
...Did...Did she just...?!
Why...why on earth would she-?!
Inuyasha finally dislodges his and croaks in a shout,
"C...CORALINE!"
"Chill-lax, Red Sword. She's not dead."
"H-Huh?"
He darts his eyes up to Bill, who was currently holding an orb in his hands, ice blue with splashes of fushia pink:
"Or at least she isn't so long as her body remains in the suspension animation chamber. Meanwhile, her Soul is right here in my very hands! I could very well do whatever I wish with it...but, a deal's a deal."
The three-sided demon scrutinizes his eye on the orb...forcing it to shift its colours so it shone as a half and half scheme. He then sits it a few feet in front of him, before saying more to himself,
"Now here comes the more delicate part..."
(...Shing)
One of his hands then morphs into a very thin but very sharp black-shaded blade, prompting a heavier wave of concern to pass through Coraline's friends:
"Wh-What's he doing now?!"
"Could he be-?!"
"I think, he is...!" "He wouldn't!"
And before anyone could call a protest:
(Swing, SLICE)
Bill brings the blade down on the orb, splitting it into two equal halves!
"Whoo! Right down the middle, perfect cut! Next,"
(GRIP)
"We squee~ze each part until they feel like spheres again...!"
Inuyasha became horrified by what he was seeing, and screamed,
"Stop it! Stop hurting her Soul, you bastard!"
"Shut up, Red Sword. I know what I'm doing, and if ya keep trying to interrupt me, (Eye glows red) that's when things are gonna go real awry for Little Doll, so unless you wanna say goodbye to her for good, zip it!"
The dog demon lets out a feral growl of rage at Bill, but knew in his heart that there was nothing he could do now, and slumped his shoulders in defeat:
Fuck...Coraline...please...don't, die.
(...Glow)
Suddenly, the spaces between Bill's clenched fists start to glow in their own lights of ice blue and fushia pink respectively, which signaled that his work was done:
"Aaaand, ta-da!"
He opens his palms...revealing two orbs, the pink one only half the size of the blue. Miroku eyes the orbs and asks in bated whisper,
"Are, those suppose to be...?" Bill answers his question:
"Just like that, we now have two Souls, or rather, one full Soul and one half of another! Hmm...now where was the half suppose to go again? Oh, right!"
He spins around to Kikyō's direction:
"Hey, Fushia Arrow...Catch!"
The demon tosses the smaller pink orb straight at the priestess, hitting her square in the chest:
(Pow)
"Uh!"
Inuyasha momentarily focuses away from Coraline's body, concerned for the other woman's life:
"Kikyō!"
The priestess's body floats a few feet off the ground, bathed in a softer fushia-coloured light, as the orb enters inside her, and fuses with a dark pink orb:
(Pulse...pulse...pulse...)
What...What is this?
I...I feel...like my spirit is being, rejuvenated.
How can this be?
"And this is just the tip of the re-fusion! Check out this next part!"
(...Crack...Crack)
Suddenly, Kikyō's skin begins to crack like pottery clay, as pointed out by Shippo:
"Look: Her skin is cracking! What's happening to her?!"
"Simply this, Trick Bag..."
(...CRACK)
"It's not just Fushia Arrow's Soul that's being restored: I've also decided to include a new body just for the heck of it. Ha! How's that for a twist?"
"(Collective) What?!"
Indeed, what Bill said was no lie: Much like what happens when you place a clear jar of water into a freezer, we watch now, as pieces of the graveyard soil pottery fall from the priestess, revealing a new body of true flesh, bone and blood for Kikyō!
As she settles back onto the grass again, Kikyō holds her hands up to her face, touching her new skin with eyes as wide as saucers:
"Uh...U-Uh...!"
I...I am in living flesh again!
"But this doesn't change your fate completely, I'm afraid."
"Huh?"
Everyone focuses back on Bill, who alliterates,
"Technically, you're still a part of the walking dead category, and will have to continue relying on the energy of other Souls to stay on this dirt, but now that number's been cut down in half, at best. But hey, two out of three's not bad, right?"
He then turns to the barrier-enclosed body:
"Alright, all that's left is putting this other Soul back. (Chuckle) This is the easiest step."
Bill snaps his fingers, breaking the chains around the barrier, before it dissipates as well, leaving behind a suspended body for all to see. He floats overtop the torso area, before flipping his hand over that carried Coraline's Soul:
"Back ya go, Little Doll!"
The orb gently drops downward, before reentering its source, causing a wave of ice blue energy to billow through Coraline's body:
(Wobble...)
...The body then floats down to rest on the red-brown dirt, the ritual circle fading away from existence...before we see soft rises and drops around her chest, indicating that Coraline was alive!
Bill shrinks the shield back, just as everyone comes running down into the crater (minus Kikyō, who was still in shock from her transformation) to see if the demon was true to his word:
"Coraline!" "Cor!"
Inuyasha reaches her side first, and crouches to get a closer look at her face, seeing no signs of injury nor smelling anything off:
...She's alive...She's okay.
He lets out a big breath of relief, his own body shaking a little from the events...
"Inuyasha...is she...?"
He looks over at Shippo, who was standing near him on his right, and whispers,
"...Yeah. She's okay. Coraline's okay."
Shippo lets out his own sigh of relief, with the others following shortly after:
"Thank Buddha..." "I'm so relieved..."
"Sis..." "Thank you, god..."
Even Kilala mews in happiness learning that Coraline was gonna be alright, before Bill breaks in with a light scoff of amusement,
"Well duh she's okay! I don't make it a habit to let my charges die, least not anymore...Oh, before I forget."
He zooms in on Inuyasha, who jumps to stand on the defense, the others just as wary, before the dream demon holds out the shrunken pyramid shield:
"Gotta fulfill the other bargain. This is for you."
The barrier breaks down into a dust-like light, and floats into Inuyasha's body, his body emitting a similar glow...before fading away as quickly as it came.
"Huh? What was that?"
"Mm, call it an extra protection for your Soul."
Inuyasha looks up at Bill in confusion, and the other explains:
"You see, this whole thing started with Little Doll just wanting to make things right between hers and Fushia Arrow's spiritual fates, but then after witnessing your episodes of your demon ego calling shots, she got real scared for your life. It was then I decided to be nice and offer an extension to our deal: I'd grant a barrier around your Soul to prevent your egos from going into cage matches, in exchange for another Seven Light Crystal. Of course, this barrier doesn't offer too much of a guarantee: Your demon ego still has the chance of taking over your consciousness, but not so much to the point where you'll be consumed by it."
"...Are, you saying...that I won't become a full beast now, if my demon 'ego' tries to take over me?"
"That's all up to you, Red Sword. All depends on how strong your will is when you're stuck in a corner and death comes pounding at the door."
Inuyasha nods, swallowing a lump in his throat, doing his best to take this information in. He then looks over at the unconscious girl and asks with a slight wobble in his voice,
"And...Coraline did, a-all of this...just to help, Kikyō and I?"
"That's right...She pretty much walked through Hell for the two of ya kids."
Bill turns his eye over at the girl and adds,
"Pretty crazy what selfless humans like her will do for others, without once considering their own lives. By the way, it'll be at least four, five days before she wakes up."
Sango hesitantly asks,
"Why, is that?"
"Because, Boomerang, her body needs to readjust to having just the one Soul and not a Soul and a half. She'll be relying on her own strengths from this point on, and not the combined strength she once held with help from Fushia Arrow's power."
Bill looks at Coraline's form once more, before deciding it was time to take his leave:
"Well, I've had my fun here in this dimension, but now it's time to move onto the next!"
He takes off his hat, before flattening it into a big, black two-dimensional circle, and placing it on the edge of one end of the crater...Come a few seconds later, it would be filled with a swirl of rainbow colours, changing into a gateway out of this world!
The demon would pull out his hat from behind his back again (like it never left to begin with), sits it on his pointed head, before floating over to the wormhole:
"See ya, strangers! Tell Little Doll I said bye for me, 'kay?"
"Wait!"
"Hm?"
He pauses halfway, and turns to look over his shoulder at Miroku, who stood up from beside Sango before asking,
"Why did you do this? I find it hard to believe an individual such as yourself would have done this simply for just one working Seven Light Crystal...What is your other motive?"
Bill rolls his eye and mumbles,
"Always the paranoid ones, humans...If you must know, Black Hole, I've been workin' on trying to clean up my karma since a 'certain disaster' a long while back. Little Doll's actually my first success story!"
"Success?"
"Yep. Most of the other humans I've formed a deal with wound up either dead or their covenants ended too quickly because of the usual selfish reasons like Greed and Revenge. But her...she's the first human with the right amount of selflessness that's both entertaining...and just slightly admirable, which made her the perfect candidate for my next deal."
"And, the crystal?"
"Souvenir, mostly...But I might use its power for my next project if and where I come across it. But not to worry! I don't plan on coming back to this dimension anytime soon! You poor Souls already have your hands full with that busted rock and the ones coming after its pieces. If I threw my hat into the ring, (Chuckle) I'd more than likely destroy you all and the ground you stand on, including that blatant excuse of a demon, Spider!"
Everyone cringes defensively, and Shippo stutters in a low tone,
"C-Could he really be that s-strong?"
Freeman whispers back,
"Hard to say, kiddo...but based on what we've all seen already...I'm almost ready to believe it."
Inuyasha mutters with narrowed eyes,
"Tch, I don't care how strong he boasts to be...As long as he leaves, that's all that matters."
His clawed hand reaches down, and grips Coraline's, as he adds,
"I don't want him anywhere near Coraline then he already has been..."
Bill catches the gesture, and chuckles to himself mentally:
Looks like things are gonna be just fine, like I knew it would...Once again, Little Doll, good luck...with everything.
"Anyway, I've stalled long enough for ya people! I'm outta here! (Waves his hand) See ya never!"
With that, Bill dives into the rainbow wormhole, before it shrinks into nothing, the dream demon leaving the dimension for good...