A note from the Hime no Argh herself–
Here it is, the final chapter of Treasure of Shangri-La. ^^ The bonus section has also been uploaded. Thanks to everyone who read this story, I hope you enjoyed it. Final reviews will be greatly appreciated. Samurai Jack does not belong to me, but to the brilliant Genndy Tartakovsky (look, I spelled his name right!) and the folks at Cartoon Network. Thanks again!
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Chapter 6
Chisana's Wish
"Welcome, my master."
The words of the mahou seishin greeted Chisana as she walked through the doors into the final chamber, followed by Jack. Instantly the chamber was lit by a pale gold light, and in it, the treasure of Shangri-La was at last revealed.
It was the figure of a woman wrapped in silks of the palest gold, her skin shimmering with gold dust. Snow white hair tumbled to the floor in wild curls, and her eyes were the blackest of voids, seeing nothing, containing nothing. She stood barefoot on a plain stone pedestal in the middle of the chamber, shining brighter than the golden palace of Shangri-La. Her lips did not move, but they heard her voice nonetheless.
"I am your treasure, Empress of Shangri-La."
Chisana blinked several times, staring at the creature in amazement. "You...are the mahou seishin?" she said timidly at last.
"I am." The woman-creature bowed.
Chisana bowed, hesitantly, then asked as she straightened, "You can grant me my desires?"
"Any desire, master. I will grant you the three wishes of your innermost heart."
Chisana nodded. "That is good enough for me."
"And for me!" declared an all-too familiar voice.
Jack whirled around, drawing his sword. "Aku!"
The demon stood in the doorway of the chamber, his horns brushing the high ceiling, filling the width of the threshold and blocking any means of escape. His eyes gleamed as they gazed upon the mahou seishin, and even the light that shone from the creature's very soul could not touch the shadow that was Aku.
"So this is the treasure of Shangri-La," the demon said slowly.
"How did you get in here?" Chisana demanded angrily.
Aku grinned cruelly. "It was you who led me here, Empress Chisana. Or did you think that dragon outside would be enough to stop me?" Chisana flinched as he laughed, color draining from her face. The mahou seishin gazed impassively at Aku.
"Now, Chisana," Aku said, focusing on the small woman with terrible ferocity, "this is your last chance. Your father lies dead in the throne room above, dead by the hand of his own cursed daughter. Such a terrible sin you have committed–why, you are already halfway into darkness."
"Lies," Jack snapped, trying to draw Chisana's rigid attention away from Aku. "He will hypnotize you with his words, manipulate you with lies, and take what is rightfully yours."
"Yes, I will," Aku said, leering at Jack. "And the woman will willingly play into my hands. Already she doubts."
"Chisana-sama, do not listen to him!"
Chisana blinked and shook her head as if to clear it, but Aku spoke again, majestically. "You are the True Empress of Shangri-La. You are the sole master of Shangri-La's enormous treasure. Only you may decide this city's fate." Aku extended an enormous hand to Chisana. "Listen to me, Empress. You may have what you desire. Make two wishes of my choosing, and I will allow you to use the third in any manner you like. Do this, and in addition to your wish, you will have what I have promised you–eternal life and eternal reign in the splendor of Shangri-La. Refuse, and you and your city are doomed!" He withdrew his hand and waited, his smile patient and terrible.
"Chisana-sama," Jack said quickly, "you cannot–"
But Chisana held up a hand to silence him. "What are your wishes?" she said to Aku, very quietly.
"They are simple, Your Majesty. I wish to rule my domain with absolute power until the end of time, and..." The demon's smile widened. "I wish for the death of Samurai Jack."
Chisana gasped. Jack was silent, awaiting his fate.
"You cannot possibly expect me to kill this man!" Chisana cried.
Aku shrugged. "Then strip him of his power, so that he is no longer such an ache in my back. I care not what you do with him, as long as he never threatens Aku again." The demon bared his teeth at Jack, who narrowed his eyes, still silent and waiting.
Jack became aware that Chisana was also gazing at him, and turned to meet her eyes. An expression of great sorrow came over her face, and he knew then that her choice was made. Jack slid his sword back into its sheath, feeling that all was lost.
"Yes," Aku hissed.
Chisana turned her eyes from Jack's as if she could not bear to look a moment longer. "Forgive me," she whispered, and turned to the pedestal where the mahou seishin waited.
"How may I serve you, master?"
"I have decided on a wish," Chisana said softly, and the creature bowed.
"I will grant you anything, master."
"Good," Chisana said more softly still. She bowed her head for a moment, silent. Aku watched her with fully opened eyes, fists clenched in anticipation.
Then Chisana's head flew up, and her eyes were full of a fire that Jack had never before seen. "Treasure of Shangri-La," she cried fiercely, "I wish that you will destroy yourself!"
"NO!" Aku shrieked.
The mahou seishin spread her arms. "Your wish, master, is my command." Instantly her body was engulfed in golden flames, burning so brightly that even Aku was forced to look away. When at last the light faded and they all could open their eyes once more, an empty pedestal was all that awaited them.
For a moment, no one said or did anything. The only sign of movement was Aku's hands slowly clenching into fists, his eyes turning to Chisana. His rage swelled.
"You," he hissed.
Jack did not hesitate a moment longer. He yanked his sword from his sheath and lunged at Aku. "Your time ends here, demon!"
"I think not!" Aku bellowed, unleashing a furious wave of energy that threw Jack to the floor. His eyes burned crimson with rage as he looked upon Chisana.
"Damn you to the bowels of hell, Empress!" he shrieked. "You and your kingdom are doomed to obscurity! I wish you well of it!" He spiraled into the shadows and disappeared, leaving behind no trace but an echoing cry of rage.
Jack stood, sliding his sword into its sheath, and brushed dust from his gi. Then he looked around for Chisana and found her staring at the empty pedestal, her back to him. For a moment he watched her, unsure of what to say.
"I was so sure you had given in to Aku," Jack admitted at last.
"I know," she whispered.
"You could have had anything you wanted. Even your father's life."
"My father was dead from the moment he sold his soul to Aku," Chisana said flatly. Her head bowed and her voice lowered. "Why, Father? Did not you know he would betray you?"
Jack approached her hesitantly and placed his hands on her shoulders. He could feel her small body trembling, her shoulders shaking with repressed sobs. "I think I may have doomed the entire world," the empress whispered. "I should have sent you to the past."
"I think you did right," Jack said quietly. "The mahou seishin was dangerous. How fortunate it is that it fell into your hands. Who knows what catastrophe it could have wreaked in the hands of one less benevolent, less wise than you?"
"I am not wise!" Chisana cried, whirling and burying her face into the front of Jack's gi. "I am a silly fool playing at empress, and now I play it alone!"
She wept many bitter, overdue tears, and Jack simply held her, sensing that there was little more he could do.
* * *
It took some time for everything to be sorted out. The first thing Chisana did was call in a group of soldiers from the city and order a thorough search of the palace. A great number of people were found alive in their rooms, cowering from Aku's wrath–it seemed the demon had killed those in his path on the way to the throne room, but left the rest of the palace inhabitants alive. Chisana and Jack personally went to the oracle's hollow to see what had become of her, to find her lying in bed with her far-seeing eyes closed at last. She had passed on.
"She must have seen what occurred below in the chamber of the mahou seishin," Chisana said with a small, sad smile, gazing upon her grandmother's face. "See how peaceful and content she looks? She died happily."
Jack stayed in Shangri-La for three more days while the bodies of Hajime and the oracle were prepared, purified, and buried. Hajime was buried in a tomb with all of the emperors and empresses who had preceded him, but the oracle was buried in her own secluded hollow, and plans for a shrine were made.
On the third day since the destruction of the treasure, Chisana was officially crowned Empress of Shangri-La. She decided not to tell her people what had really occurred between her and Jack, Aku, and Hajime. Instead they were merely told that Aku had entered the city by Hajime's invitation and Chisana, with Jack's help, had banished him once more.
"And banished he shall remain," Chisana confided later to Jack. "My father opened the gates, but now that he is dead, the gates are closed to Aku again, and he may never return without another invitation." She grinned. "I am sure he would not have been in such a hurry to leave if he knew that!"
Once things had settled down at last, Jack's thoughts turned to leaving. Chisana was officially Empress, Aku was gone from Shangri-La forever, and the city was safe once more. There was nothing more for him to do here, as he told Chisana in a private conference.
Chisana seemed disappointed, but not at all surprised. "I thought you would be leaving us soon," she sighed. "That look in your eyes tells me so. How fortunate you are to be able tp pick up and leave whenever you choose."
"I am far less fortunate than you," Jack told her in all honesty. "You have a place to call your home and a role to fulfill here. I often wish I had such things."
"You can," Chisana pointed out, watching him closely. "You can stay in Shangri-La with me."
"No," Jack said firmly. "I must find a way to return to the past and defeat Aku. There is nothing keeping me here."
"Nothing at all?" Chisana said sadly.
Jack did not know what to say. The truth was that he cared about Chisana a great deal, though perhaps not in the same way she cared about him. In any case, there was little that could make him stay in any one place. Defeating Aku was too important.
Chisana sighed and waved a hand. "Never mind. I know already what you would say. People in this world do things every day that do not matter. But you...everything you do matters."
"Do you think so?" Jack said quietly. "Sometimes I am not so sure."
"I am," said Chisana stubbornly. "The next time you doubt, remember that the benevolent and wise Empress of Shangri-La is sure of you!"
That made Jack smile. "I will."
Chisana accompanied him outside the city gates when he was ready to leave, burdened only with his sword and the clothes on his back. "Please do take care of yourself," she said anxiously. "I wish the best for you."
"And I for you. I am sure you will make a wonderful Empress."
"One can only hope," Chisana said wryly. She gazed at him for a moment, her eyes solemn and a bit sad. "Sayonara, Jack-san."
"Sayonara, Chisana-sama." Jack leaned down hesitantly to kiss her on the cheek, but she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips instead, which was intensely embarrassing but also rather nice.
"My apologies," Chisana said sheepishly, blushing scarlet.
Jack smiled and shook his head. "I hope you will always remain as you are, Chisana." Chisana broke into a radiant smile, and she squeezed him around the middle and backed away toward the gate, waving frantically.
"Sayonara! Farewell, Jack-san!"
Jack waved once and headed away on the mountain trail, smiling to himself. A wind picked up, flapping through his gi and stirring some hair from his neat topknot. At the top of a cliff Jack turned back for one last look at the golden city, but an empty valley was all that met his eyes. The gates of Shangri-La were closed.
"Sayonara, Chisana-sama," Jack whispered. Then he turned to his path once more.
The End