Chapter Seven: More Than Seven
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A/N: This will be the last chapter of Dawn of Fire and Spirits. Sorry for the really late update but I can't really help it. Note that there could be mistakes in here though.
Here's the continuation from the last cliffhanger and it will be even shorter than the last one. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Romeo and Juliet belong to Shakespeare and Saiyuki belongs to Minekura Kazuya. -_-
By: Yamamoto Kou
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Nataku looked around in wonder. Heaven had finished repairs from the last raid but everything seemed so... downcast. He looked around him. Everything seemed so grey, so... dead.
This only happened when the gods were deeply in despair.
Nataku: [What happened here?] *suddenly hides behind a nearby droopy bush*
He watched as two figures clad in black went past. They looked like those from the 'special unit'. But what were they doing here. Aren't they supposed to raid or something? Those figures than descended somewhere. Nataku can't attack them because he was drained and terribly exhausted.
That's when he noticed that the main Gate of Heaven was covered with scratch marks. No, not just scratch marks. When seen from a distance, it was a sign of some kind. He clutched at his own sign but found that all that was left of it was a small hulk of metal hanging feebly to the end of the string around his waist. He disposed of it since it could aid him no more.
Nataku felt his ankle throb. He had to get it treated soon. It could get infected. After all it had already been quite a while...... How long had he been down there?
Nataku: *thought for a while as he half walked, half dragged his leg over to the main central* [I think I've been down there for at least three hours or so. Didn't think everything would change so much in a long time. Why should they despair anyway? I haven't been gone THAT long.]
He paused at the double doors. They were slightly ajar. Nataku could see that there were others in there. They were huddled and they seemed to be discussing something. Nataku was wondering why they didn't destroy the ones that descended or go to the meeting room to discuss as he walked over to join them.
They turned around to face him when they heard the shuffling of his feet. To Nataku's surprise, they beamed and embraced him as if he had been lost for a few hundred years. They looked like they could do with some sleep too. The bags under their eyes were as black as coals.
They were all talking at the same time. Nataku could only catch words like "You're alive!" and "So long!" It took a while for him to calm them down. He wanted them to explain but they insisted on explaining while they healed his ankle.
Nataku followed them to the medical quarters of the palace. Every other healing facility had been destroyed and this is the only one available. Nataku was surprised to see three of the Sanzo-Ikkou, Kougaiji-Ikkou, Homura, Rinrei, Yosuki and just about all of Heaven's fighters everywhere. All of them seemed to be just hanging around. The place is crowded but there was not much conversations going around at first. But babble broke out among the people when they saw Nataku.
But God silenced them. Nataku was soon being treated. Besides the terrible state of his ankle, they also healed his burns and soothed his worn and blistered feet. All the while explaining.
It turns out that Nataku had been away for more than a month. Hell's forces struck fiercely a few hours after Nataku left. They would have been defeated sooner if it hadn't been for Haku. But just when they were on the verge of victory, a fierce wind blew up and a screen of dust clouded they're view and surrounded Haku. The wind died almost immediately after a flash of red and a muffled sound. Haku disappeared and the dust sank back to the ground. Without Haku, they lost. But instead of feeding on them, they seemed to just surround them, keeping them in. After a few days they were surprised to find that they were allowed to eat and rebuild most of their buildings but the healing facilities stayed demolished and the branching Gate's of Heaven lay destroyed and unoperational.
Soon Hell's forces descended. They thought that they had abandoned them but they were wrong. They were standing by in Under Heaven and killed anyone who descended. They seemed to have made camp right under the main Gate of Heaven; the only gate where everyone can descend and ascended under the circumstances. According to their recent gossips, the disease had claimed many lives and soon everyone down there will be dead. They thought that Nataku had longed died and they haven't heard a word about Haku.
Now he knew why they were so upset. But what can he do? What can they all do?
Kanzeon then stepped in. She was smiling as she brought the Ancient Heavenly Scrolls with her.
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Hakuruyu descended through the secret Gate first. After looking around a while, he gave the all-clear signal by puffing out some smoke. A while later, Homura, Sanzo, Kou and Nataku descended.
Kanzeon had looked through the Heavenly Scrolls and had found some useful facts that would be of use. Like the secret Gate they came through for example. She couldn't refer to them earlier because of the last raid and members of the special unit patrolling around. If the scrolls were found they would surely be destroyed.
It seems that they are in the East. Buildings stood silently on either side of the streets, most of them desolate. The air is thick with flies. Decay and despair hung heavily in the air and amazingly, there are still living beings thriving within this devastating atmosphere but then, the 'living beings' don't have much intelligence since they crawl around or buzz all day. The smell made all five dizzy and the urge to throw up is strong but each of them used up more or less of their fighting-reserved energies in their efforts to keep their belated lunches in their stomachs.
It was a sad sight all around. During one of the most promising eras in history, this had to happen. The citizens of Under Heaven were totally defenceless and their efforts and weapons were wasted. All they had to do now was to travel straight to the place where everybody descends to when they use the great Gate of Heaven.
Homura: Are you sure this plan will work?
Sanzo: *muttered* It had better work. Or else... *eyes Nataku warningly while feeling for his gun for assurance and for giving Nataku another death threat*
Kou: [Him and his death threats... *gulp*]
Nataku: - -; I thought we ended this argument already! For the 47th time Homura, yes I'm sure. And Sanzo, * sweat drops again at Sanzo's glare* have some faith will ya?
Kou: Can we get out of here already? This stinks.
Nataku: Fi-
Something fell on top of Nataku. To be more precise, it's someone called...
Lirin: *jumping up and down* Oniichan! I want to come too! ToT
Nataku: @-@
Lirin: Eh? You're not oniichan!
Kou: Lirin! What are you doing here?!
Lirin: I wanna fight too!
Kou: LI-
Nataku: She can come with us. *stood up and brushed the dust off his robes*
Others (except Lirin whose running around with joy): Nani?!
Nataku: She can help [as a distraction probably]. *teleports them to Hell's main camp* (I didn't say they can't teleport when they're in Under Heaven didn't I?)
They appeared shortly afterwards right behind an occupied tent. Muttering and grunting can be heard. It was a discussion of the patrols around the gates. Hell's forces were everywhere. They seem to just stand around doing nothing and seem to keep as far from the tent as possible. The background is less dramatic than before but hey; at least the place doesn't smell so bad. The intoxicating smell of rum and gin occasionally wafted through the air from some of the buildings in the distance. Now some mutters can be heard in the tent and the tent flap was closed shut. The walking spirits moved further away from the area.
They soon set their plan into action. They hurriedly put the bombs into place. Luckily, they managed without any major problems thanks to the rubble for cover and Hakuruyu to warn them (117 of Hell's Forces knocked out and hidden. If Sanzo chanted the Sutra, they'll attract the other like a magnet.). They teleported themselves to a safe range to watch the fun. Nataku them pushed the button. The special bombs then detonated. They were special because they were 'holy' bombs that were supposed to wipe out those that are evil. They chanted sutras quickly before detonating (Got the idea when one of my mates sang 'Halleluiah' before crushing some ants with his fists).
The place flared up in a fury of blazing white flames. They thought they had won but nothing that involves the dead is easy. Especially when they were, well, already dead. They rushed at them through the flames like the apocalypse on the rise. They're eerie calls summoned the others that had been hidden or were far away, instantly increasing in number. Their appearance was unnerving and soon they will be upon them to destroy them.
Soon they stepped out of their hiding places to fight since their cover was blown. But as the battle raged on, they were pushed further and further back. Their numbers seem to be endless. But they seemed a little distracted by the alcoholic smell.
Homura: I thought you said it would work! *burns some spirits that were approaching him from the side*
Kou: *muttered* Knew it wouldn't. *burns some other spirits with Engokuki as he was pushed farther away from the others*
Lirin: *considerably stronger and is still kicking butt like a hyper machine* Yahoo!
Sanzo: *managed to whack Nataku with his fan as he passed him while continuing to blast more dead*
Nataku: ¬ ¬ Okay. Maybe I did deserve that but that's not gonna
help us right now huh?
Sanzo was getting pretty frustrated at them and wanted to cause more damage. He was running out of bullets. His eye caught sight of a bottle full of gin. As quick as a flash he picked it up and...
... threw in into the air. (Thought he was gonna drink it huh? ^ ^) He shot it while it was over the spirits heads. The glass was shattered by the impact and highly flammable liquid flowed burning to the ground. To their surprise and amusement, it seemed to be more effective than Engokuki or Homura and Nataku's fire swords. A few drops instantly destroyed them. Soon everybody was picking up bottles of rum and gin and threw them into the air and with Sanzo's deadly accuracy, flaming liquid rained on the hideous army. Lirin experimentally sprayed rum onto one of the ones that survived. It cried out in agony while melting at a painfully slow pace.
Lirin: *looked closely at the bottle in her hand* Wow. This stuff must be strong. Oniichan! I want to drink some of this stuff!!!!
Kou: Later Lirin! *hurls more bottles into the air*
There was only a box of gin and rum left when they had got them all.
Nataku: *wanted to make a grab for one of the bottles to drink when a bullet whizzed past his hand*
Sanzo was now firing at Nataku and the poor guy 'danced' while he ran for fear of the bullets. Everyone was shocked when he turned his gun and made them start 'dancing' too. Lirin was the only one he didn't bother with.
Homura: Why us you bozo?! *still jumping to avoid bullets*
Sanzo: Because your plan didn't work *fired more at Nataku* and you guys *shooting at Kou and Homura* are stupid enough to believe him.
Kou: I thought you were running out of bullets!
Sanzo: These are specially reserved for you guys. *picked up a bottle, opened it and started drinking while shooting away at the others*
Lirin: *opened her bottle but was stopped by a warning shout from Kougaiji* Aw. *decides to jump on to baldy Sanzo's back instead* Ya ha!
Sanzo: *gives her the open bottle and continues to shoot at the rest*
Lirin: *gets off Sanzo and gulps the gin down happily*
Kougaiji: LIRIN!!!!! *'dancing' with a faster pace that before*
As Sanzo got on with his shooting frenzy and as Lirin got drunk for the first time in her life, the sun crept up in the horizon against the flaming background. It was dawn.
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And so that's how Heaven managed to get rid of the spirit that kept them up there and how they found their weakness. But now let's turn the clock back a little to witness another event shall we.......
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Haku: *opened his eyes slowly only to have them blinded by sand*
He shot up and quickly rubbed his eyes to get the sand out. What was he doing here? What happened as a matter of fact? His latest memories ran something like this: Kicking spirits behind, dust, red... DRAGON!!!! He remembered now. The dragon was the one that Kanzeon talked about earlier. Drawn to great sources of power... But it would've made sense if he had removed his control device. What could have driven the thing to drag him here?
Mastermind: So, you wake.
Haku: [That caressing voice!?] *turns around to face her* You *beep*!!! What are you doing here?
Gyakuman: Is that what you say to me after all those years? You don't even know me......
Haku: Oh I know you all right! You're the one who tried to revive Gyumao and made every other youkai go out of control. The sickening bit is that you used Kou to help you! *tried to grasp her neck*
Gyakuman: Tsk tsk. You're so impatient.
Haku: *struggling with the someone/something that's keeping his hands behind his back with considerable force*
Gyakuman: I am brilliant as well as beautiful am I?
Haku: You sickening viper! *struggling against the hands and now one hand is keeping his hands behind while another is keeping him in a headlock*
Gyakuman: *hissed* You'd better watch your tongue boy! I don't care if you did change you're name and no matter how smart you are, you're still that food-on-the-brain saru that had been one of ones who caused my downfall! Besides, *calming down a bit* you should know that it's not good to suppress your appetite.
Haku: *struggling but there was a hint of shock in his eyes* [How did she know?!]
Gyakuman: Now that you've lost you're tongue, I will tell you how this dragon *gestured to the dragon that flickered out of sight the instant Haku's eyes rested upon it* obeyed my whims. You would like to know would you? Of course you do. This pet loves a powerful source of energy. All I had to do is wait until my forces have destroyed most of Heaven's gates. The power that was in them will be released and with this handy device, *opens the palm of her hand to reveal a transparent sphere with a small fire burning inside* I drew them all together. It was powerful enough to bring the beast to my will.
Haku: I can't believe you thought of this. I thought your confounded contraptions all came from Ni or Huang.
Gyakuman: They did. But now that Ni and Huang are not here I'm going to have to be dependent, don't I?
Haku: *raised an eyebrow at this and is trying to flip the one grabbing him then felt a sudden burst of pain that ended as soon as it came but now he found that his hands were numb and immobilised so he struggled further to find out who was this guy*
Gyakuman: They decided to pursue a little dream of theirs but they all have gone their own way of course. And now I think it is time to take care of business.
Haku: *a cold breeze blew by him when he noticed that his captor had moved to Gyakuman's side*
Gyakuman: Meet Hisame. He's going finish the task of disposing of you. A little different is he?
Haku: *aware that the temperature had dropped dramatically and his eyes were fixed on Hisame* Cold isn't it?
Gyakuman: Of course. Evil doesn't always come in the form of fire you know. Hisame is an evil of ice and he will be more than enough for you.
Hisame had long bluish and almost white hair that's tied back. His skin was wan and his irises were like the openings to the ever freezing and endless caves of the North. He wears a short-sleeved white cotton shirt and navy blue pants. He was also barefoot. Ice crystals seem to form with each breath he takes. The thing about Hisame that kept Haku's gaze on his was that despite the descriptions mentioned above, he was almost exactly like Haku without the control device.
Gyakuman: All I have to do now is to wait patiently for my time to shine with you out of the way.
Hisame: *snarled*
Gyakuman: Shi ne!
That was her last word to him before she turned and descended back into her place. And the same instant, Hisame lunged.
Haku called on Nyoibo and Hisame swerved in time to keep himself from crashing head on against the staff. He switched to using his legs to try and knock Haku off his feet the moment his feet touched the ground. But before Hisame's legs can make contact with his target, he realized that his opponent had flipped himself upwards and is now attempting to crash Nyoibo onto his head from above. Hisame grabbed the end of the staff, swung it, and then threw the staff along with its yielder onto the ground. Haku managed a break fall. Half-crouched, he is now firing Nyoibo-gun. Hisame had managed to get away from the blasts with only a damaged thigh and waist. Hisame growled and a staff almost like Nyoibo appeared in his hand. With a deep thrust into the ground, the staff sent ice zigzagging towards Haku. Haku stepped aside to dodge it but the ice burst out of the ground and hit Haku full in the chest. He had the wind knocked out of him. Aside from that, the extreme cold gave him some serious frostbite on his upper torso.
Haku: Kuso! *fires an extremely large blast that got Hisame*
Hisame: *got one side of his back damaged*
Hisame roared before he heads for Haku with his staff and hopes the speed will allow the staff to skewer him. But when he got within a few miles of Haku, fire leapt up from the ground, engulfing both of them. The rapid heating caused by Haku managed to keep his frostbite from worsening even though it now hurts like crazy. Hisame managed to keep a cool head as he uses his own cold power to keep him from being burnt by the fire.
Haku had no other choice if he doesn't want to die. He removed his control device and he felt power flow through him. His eyes were like the ones when he had removed his control device twice before when he was against Li Touten and Gyumao. He did it just in time as Hisame managed to reach him. Soon they started fighting.
Hisame is having trouble with the fire disrupting him. He had been kicked, punched, hit, and almost run over if he hadn't got out of the way in time. He decided that he should concentrate on the fire for a while. Summing up some of his strength, he managed to make an ice dome that covered the fire. As the ice melted, the water put out the fire. Now at least he was free of one disadvantage. Now he will take care of the other. Hisame conjured a gigantic beam of concentrated cold. In appearance, it was dark and at the centre was a black spot, the core. He sent it straight for Haku. At the same time Haku had launched one of his mighty blasts.
The collision of the two forces was followed by sudden darkness. That was before the blasts blew them over to the edge, where the grey side of the world and the one they know meet. It was just Hisame's luck that the fall had dislocated his right arm as he skidded across raw hard ground. Haku got some damage himself when he fell face first and ended up with some sand in his eyes.
Each tried to recover as fast as the other. Soon the fighting started again. But then Haku managed to gain the upper hand when Hisame had bits of his guts spilling out from the slit in stomach Haku gave him earlier.
Hisame is on the edge now. Haku would finish him off him one punch soon. And yet...
Haku: *spat out blood and his punch was stopped in mid-flight*
Hisame had retorted to using a pair of tong-fas. Now that Haku was close enough, he began raining blows onto him, at the same time blocking everything the dazed Haku tried to throw at him since tong-fas were also meant for defence.
Because of the sudden attack, an age-old instinct in Haku kicked in. He practically exploded. Haku himself started to hit at Hisame with both fists despite the condition one of his arm's in. The punches were also charged with the remains of Haku's power. The tong-fa snapped in Hisame's hand and it disappeared as Hisame, the Cold of Evil Spirit, lost his grip on life.
When Haku managed to clam himself down a few seconds later, he heard something and turned to face it. Only to be rammed by the red dragon into the greyness.
And soon both disappeared.
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Back to the present.
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Gyakuman Koshu was only halfway in the corridors in the Palace in Hell.
Gyakuman: Yare yare. Gone so soon? They must be too easy. *continued to her room* [I have done what I had to do.]*opened the double doors* [The end of phase two.]*took out a black map marked with red* [What am I going to do now? My seal is not to be found until the next phase.] *teleported herself right in front of the pool *
With a chuckle, she flicked her wrist. The pool bubbled rapidly and the whole thing gushed up and disappeared. The fish thing exploded and took all of the underworld with it.
Gyakuman: [Humph! Dirty things those spirits. A new after world will come to take its place. Those things always come back. Filled with all those damned souls like always and all back to normal. There will probably be more of those pests anyway.]
She turned away from the spot and teleported down the mountains. She made her way further down by the grassy road.
Gyakuman: [If it weren't for him, I would've been dead, destroyed, a shadow of my own self. But he has given me the power, the very essence of immortals of gods. Emperor! Master! Your deed had been done and now there's only the waiting of your return. And I'll bet that Li Touten couldn't have acted this part more beautifully than I. I guess that's why I'm the Queen. I just can't wait to get my seal!]
With that, she headed towards the horizon, the sun scaling the sky once more.
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AFN: Arigatou to Black Death and everyone else who reviewed cause it's been a long time. Yup. That's it. Shorter than usual. Check out the sequel: "Begin From The End". I think this is turning into a series. More new characters, surprises, questions and a few answers. Hope you'll like it!
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A/N: This will be the last chapter of Dawn of Fire and Spirits. Sorry for the really late update but I can't really help it. Note that there could be mistakes in here though.
Here's the continuation from the last cliffhanger and it will be even shorter than the last one. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Romeo and Juliet belong to Shakespeare and Saiyuki belongs to Minekura Kazuya. -_-
By: Yamamoto Kou
===============================================================
Nataku looked around in wonder. Heaven had finished repairs from the last raid but everything seemed so... downcast. He looked around him. Everything seemed so grey, so... dead.
This only happened when the gods were deeply in despair.
Nataku: [What happened here?] *suddenly hides behind a nearby droopy bush*
He watched as two figures clad in black went past. They looked like those from the 'special unit'. But what were they doing here. Aren't they supposed to raid or something? Those figures than descended somewhere. Nataku can't attack them because he was drained and terribly exhausted.
That's when he noticed that the main Gate of Heaven was covered with scratch marks. No, not just scratch marks. When seen from a distance, it was a sign of some kind. He clutched at his own sign but found that all that was left of it was a small hulk of metal hanging feebly to the end of the string around his waist. He disposed of it since it could aid him no more.
Nataku felt his ankle throb. He had to get it treated soon. It could get infected. After all it had already been quite a while...... How long had he been down there?
Nataku: *thought for a while as he half walked, half dragged his leg over to the main central* [I think I've been down there for at least three hours or so. Didn't think everything would change so much in a long time. Why should they despair anyway? I haven't been gone THAT long.]
He paused at the double doors. They were slightly ajar. Nataku could see that there were others in there. They were huddled and they seemed to be discussing something. Nataku was wondering why they didn't destroy the ones that descended or go to the meeting room to discuss as he walked over to join them.
They turned around to face him when they heard the shuffling of his feet. To Nataku's surprise, they beamed and embraced him as if he had been lost for a few hundred years. They looked like they could do with some sleep too. The bags under their eyes were as black as coals.
They were all talking at the same time. Nataku could only catch words like "You're alive!" and "So long!" It took a while for him to calm them down. He wanted them to explain but they insisted on explaining while they healed his ankle.
Nataku followed them to the medical quarters of the palace. Every other healing facility had been destroyed and this is the only one available. Nataku was surprised to see three of the Sanzo-Ikkou, Kougaiji-Ikkou, Homura, Rinrei, Yosuki and just about all of Heaven's fighters everywhere. All of them seemed to be just hanging around. The place is crowded but there was not much conversations going around at first. But babble broke out among the people when they saw Nataku.
But God silenced them. Nataku was soon being treated. Besides the terrible state of his ankle, they also healed his burns and soothed his worn and blistered feet. All the while explaining.
It turns out that Nataku had been away for more than a month. Hell's forces struck fiercely a few hours after Nataku left. They would have been defeated sooner if it hadn't been for Haku. But just when they were on the verge of victory, a fierce wind blew up and a screen of dust clouded they're view and surrounded Haku. The wind died almost immediately after a flash of red and a muffled sound. Haku disappeared and the dust sank back to the ground. Without Haku, they lost. But instead of feeding on them, they seemed to just surround them, keeping them in. After a few days they were surprised to find that they were allowed to eat and rebuild most of their buildings but the healing facilities stayed demolished and the branching Gate's of Heaven lay destroyed and unoperational.
Soon Hell's forces descended. They thought that they had abandoned them but they were wrong. They were standing by in Under Heaven and killed anyone who descended. They seemed to have made camp right under the main Gate of Heaven; the only gate where everyone can descend and ascended under the circumstances. According to their recent gossips, the disease had claimed many lives and soon everyone down there will be dead. They thought that Nataku had longed died and they haven't heard a word about Haku.
Now he knew why they were so upset. But what can he do? What can they all do?
Kanzeon then stepped in. She was smiling as she brought the Ancient Heavenly Scrolls with her.
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Hakuruyu descended through the secret Gate first. After looking around a while, he gave the all-clear signal by puffing out some smoke. A while later, Homura, Sanzo, Kou and Nataku descended.
Kanzeon had looked through the Heavenly Scrolls and had found some useful facts that would be of use. Like the secret Gate they came through for example. She couldn't refer to them earlier because of the last raid and members of the special unit patrolling around. If the scrolls were found they would surely be destroyed.
It seems that they are in the East. Buildings stood silently on either side of the streets, most of them desolate. The air is thick with flies. Decay and despair hung heavily in the air and amazingly, there are still living beings thriving within this devastating atmosphere but then, the 'living beings' don't have much intelligence since they crawl around or buzz all day. The smell made all five dizzy and the urge to throw up is strong but each of them used up more or less of their fighting-reserved energies in their efforts to keep their belated lunches in their stomachs.
It was a sad sight all around. During one of the most promising eras in history, this had to happen. The citizens of Under Heaven were totally defenceless and their efforts and weapons were wasted. All they had to do now was to travel straight to the place where everybody descends to when they use the great Gate of Heaven.
Homura: Are you sure this plan will work?
Sanzo: *muttered* It had better work. Or else... *eyes Nataku warningly while feeling for his gun for assurance and for giving Nataku another death threat*
Kou: [Him and his death threats... *gulp*]
Nataku: - -; I thought we ended this argument already! For the 47th time Homura, yes I'm sure. And Sanzo, * sweat drops again at Sanzo's glare* have some faith will ya?
Kou: Can we get out of here already? This stinks.
Nataku: Fi-
Something fell on top of Nataku. To be more precise, it's someone called...
Lirin: *jumping up and down* Oniichan! I want to come too! ToT
Nataku: @-@
Lirin: Eh? You're not oniichan!
Kou: Lirin! What are you doing here?!
Lirin: I wanna fight too!
Kou: LI-
Nataku: She can come with us. *stood up and brushed the dust off his robes*
Others (except Lirin whose running around with joy): Nani?!
Nataku: She can help [as a distraction probably]. *teleports them to Hell's main camp* (I didn't say they can't teleport when they're in Under Heaven didn't I?)
They appeared shortly afterwards right behind an occupied tent. Muttering and grunting can be heard. It was a discussion of the patrols around the gates. Hell's forces were everywhere. They seem to just stand around doing nothing and seem to keep as far from the tent as possible. The background is less dramatic than before but hey; at least the place doesn't smell so bad. The intoxicating smell of rum and gin occasionally wafted through the air from some of the buildings in the distance. Now some mutters can be heard in the tent and the tent flap was closed shut. The walking spirits moved further away from the area.
They soon set their plan into action. They hurriedly put the bombs into place. Luckily, they managed without any major problems thanks to the rubble for cover and Hakuruyu to warn them (117 of Hell's Forces knocked out and hidden. If Sanzo chanted the Sutra, they'll attract the other like a magnet.). They teleported themselves to a safe range to watch the fun. Nataku them pushed the button. The special bombs then detonated. They were special because they were 'holy' bombs that were supposed to wipe out those that are evil. They chanted sutras quickly before detonating (Got the idea when one of my mates sang 'Halleluiah' before crushing some ants with his fists).
The place flared up in a fury of blazing white flames. They thought they had won but nothing that involves the dead is easy. Especially when they were, well, already dead. They rushed at them through the flames like the apocalypse on the rise. They're eerie calls summoned the others that had been hidden or were far away, instantly increasing in number. Their appearance was unnerving and soon they will be upon them to destroy them.
Soon they stepped out of their hiding places to fight since their cover was blown. But as the battle raged on, they were pushed further and further back. Their numbers seem to be endless. But they seemed a little distracted by the alcoholic smell.
Homura: I thought you said it would work! *burns some spirits that were approaching him from the side*
Kou: *muttered* Knew it wouldn't. *burns some other spirits with Engokuki as he was pushed farther away from the others*
Lirin: *considerably stronger and is still kicking butt like a hyper machine* Yahoo!
Sanzo: *managed to whack Nataku with his fan as he passed him while continuing to blast more dead*
Nataku: ¬ ¬ Okay. Maybe I did deserve that but that's not gonna
help us right now huh?
Sanzo was getting pretty frustrated at them and wanted to cause more damage. He was running out of bullets. His eye caught sight of a bottle full of gin. As quick as a flash he picked it up and...
... threw in into the air. (Thought he was gonna drink it huh? ^ ^) He shot it while it was over the spirits heads. The glass was shattered by the impact and highly flammable liquid flowed burning to the ground. To their surprise and amusement, it seemed to be more effective than Engokuki or Homura and Nataku's fire swords. A few drops instantly destroyed them. Soon everybody was picking up bottles of rum and gin and threw them into the air and with Sanzo's deadly accuracy, flaming liquid rained on the hideous army. Lirin experimentally sprayed rum onto one of the ones that survived. It cried out in agony while melting at a painfully slow pace.
Lirin: *looked closely at the bottle in her hand* Wow. This stuff must be strong. Oniichan! I want to drink some of this stuff!!!!
Kou: Later Lirin! *hurls more bottles into the air*
There was only a box of gin and rum left when they had got them all.
Nataku: *wanted to make a grab for one of the bottles to drink when a bullet whizzed past his hand*
Sanzo was now firing at Nataku and the poor guy 'danced' while he ran for fear of the bullets. Everyone was shocked when he turned his gun and made them start 'dancing' too. Lirin was the only one he didn't bother with.
Homura: Why us you bozo?! *still jumping to avoid bullets*
Sanzo: Because your plan didn't work *fired more at Nataku* and you guys *shooting at Kou and Homura* are stupid enough to believe him.
Kou: I thought you were running out of bullets!
Sanzo: These are specially reserved for you guys. *picked up a bottle, opened it and started drinking while shooting away at the others*
Lirin: *opened her bottle but was stopped by a warning shout from Kougaiji* Aw. *decides to jump on to baldy Sanzo's back instead* Ya ha!
Sanzo: *gives her the open bottle and continues to shoot at the rest*
Lirin: *gets off Sanzo and gulps the gin down happily*
Kougaiji: LIRIN!!!!! *'dancing' with a faster pace that before*
As Sanzo got on with his shooting frenzy and as Lirin got drunk for the first time in her life, the sun crept up in the horizon against the flaming background. It was dawn.
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And so that's how Heaven managed to get rid of the spirit that kept them up there and how they found their weakness. But now let's turn the clock back a little to witness another event shall we.......
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Haku: *opened his eyes slowly only to have them blinded by sand*
He shot up and quickly rubbed his eyes to get the sand out. What was he doing here? What happened as a matter of fact? His latest memories ran something like this: Kicking spirits behind, dust, red... DRAGON!!!! He remembered now. The dragon was the one that Kanzeon talked about earlier. Drawn to great sources of power... But it would've made sense if he had removed his control device. What could have driven the thing to drag him here?
Mastermind: So, you wake.
Haku: [That caressing voice!?] *turns around to face her* You *beep*!!! What are you doing here?
Gyakuman: Is that what you say to me after all those years? You don't even know me......
Haku: Oh I know you all right! You're the one who tried to revive Gyumao and made every other youkai go out of control. The sickening bit is that you used Kou to help you! *tried to grasp her neck*
Gyakuman: Tsk tsk. You're so impatient.
Haku: *struggling with the someone/something that's keeping his hands behind his back with considerable force*
Gyakuman: I am brilliant as well as beautiful am I?
Haku: You sickening viper! *struggling against the hands and now one hand is keeping his hands behind while another is keeping him in a headlock*
Gyakuman: *hissed* You'd better watch your tongue boy! I don't care if you did change you're name and no matter how smart you are, you're still that food-on-the-brain saru that had been one of ones who caused my downfall! Besides, *calming down a bit* you should know that it's not good to suppress your appetite.
Haku: *struggling but there was a hint of shock in his eyes* [How did she know?!]
Gyakuman: Now that you've lost you're tongue, I will tell you how this dragon *gestured to the dragon that flickered out of sight the instant Haku's eyes rested upon it* obeyed my whims. You would like to know would you? Of course you do. This pet loves a powerful source of energy. All I had to do is wait until my forces have destroyed most of Heaven's gates. The power that was in them will be released and with this handy device, *opens the palm of her hand to reveal a transparent sphere with a small fire burning inside* I drew them all together. It was powerful enough to bring the beast to my will.
Haku: I can't believe you thought of this. I thought your confounded contraptions all came from Ni or Huang.
Gyakuman: They did. But now that Ni and Huang are not here I'm going to have to be dependent, don't I?
Haku: *raised an eyebrow at this and is trying to flip the one grabbing him then felt a sudden burst of pain that ended as soon as it came but now he found that his hands were numb and immobilised so he struggled further to find out who was this guy*
Gyakuman: They decided to pursue a little dream of theirs but they all have gone their own way of course. And now I think it is time to take care of business.
Haku: *a cold breeze blew by him when he noticed that his captor had moved to Gyakuman's side*
Gyakuman: Meet Hisame. He's going finish the task of disposing of you. A little different is he?
Haku: *aware that the temperature had dropped dramatically and his eyes were fixed on Hisame* Cold isn't it?
Gyakuman: Of course. Evil doesn't always come in the form of fire you know. Hisame is an evil of ice and he will be more than enough for you.
Hisame had long bluish and almost white hair that's tied back. His skin was wan and his irises were like the openings to the ever freezing and endless caves of the North. He wears a short-sleeved white cotton shirt and navy blue pants. He was also barefoot. Ice crystals seem to form with each breath he takes. The thing about Hisame that kept Haku's gaze on his was that despite the descriptions mentioned above, he was almost exactly like Haku without the control device.
Gyakuman: All I have to do now is to wait patiently for my time to shine with you out of the way.
Hisame: *snarled*
Gyakuman: Shi ne!
That was her last word to him before she turned and descended back into her place. And the same instant, Hisame lunged.
Haku called on Nyoibo and Hisame swerved in time to keep himself from crashing head on against the staff. He switched to using his legs to try and knock Haku off his feet the moment his feet touched the ground. But before Hisame's legs can make contact with his target, he realized that his opponent had flipped himself upwards and is now attempting to crash Nyoibo onto his head from above. Hisame grabbed the end of the staff, swung it, and then threw the staff along with its yielder onto the ground. Haku managed a break fall. Half-crouched, he is now firing Nyoibo-gun. Hisame had managed to get away from the blasts with only a damaged thigh and waist. Hisame growled and a staff almost like Nyoibo appeared in his hand. With a deep thrust into the ground, the staff sent ice zigzagging towards Haku. Haku stepped aside to dodge it but the ice burst out of the ground and hit Haku full in the chest. He had the wind knocked out of him. Aside from that, the extreme cold gave him some serious frostbite on his upper torso.
Haku: Kuso! *fires an extremely large blast that got Hisame*
Hisame: *got one side of his back damaged*
Hisame roared before he heads for Haku with his staff and hopes the speed will allow the staff to skewer him. But when he got within a few miles of Haku, fire leapt up from the ground, engulfing both of them. The rapid heating caused by Haku managed to keep his frostbite from worsening even though it now hurts like crazy. Hisame managed to keep a cool head as he uses his own cold power to keep him from being burnt by the fire.
Haku had no other choice if he doesn't want to die. He removed his control device and he felt power flow through him. His eyes were like the ones when he had removed his control device twice before when he was against Li Touten and Gyumao. He did it just in time as Hisame managed to reach him. Soon they started fighting.
Hisame is having trouble with the fire disrupting him. He had been kicked, punched, hit, and almost run over if he hadn't got out of the way in time. He decided that he should concentrate on the fire for a while. Summing up some of his strength, he managed to make an ice dome that covered the fire. As the ice melted, the water put out the fire. Now at least he was free of one disadvantage. Now he will take care of the other. Hisame conjured a gigantic beam of concentrated cold. In appearance, it was dark and at the centre was a black spot, the core. He sent it straight for Haku. At the same time Haku had launched one of his mighty blasts.
The collision of the two forces was followed by sudden darkness. That was before the blasts blew them over to the edge, where the grey side of the world and the one they know meet. It was just Hisame's luck that the fall had dislocated his right arm as he skidded across raw hard ground. Haku got some damage himself when he fell face first and ended up with some sand in his eyes.
Each tried to recover as fast as the other. Soon the fighting started again. But then Haku managed to gain the upper hand when Hisame had bits of his guts spilling out from the slit in stomach Haku gave him earlier.
Hisame is on the edge now. Haku would finish him off him one punch soon. And yet...
Haku: *spat out blood and his punch was stopped in mid-flight*
Hisame had retorted to using a pair of tong-fas. Now that Haku was close enough, he began raining blows onto him, at the same time blocking everything the dazed Haku tried to throw at him since tong-fas were also meant for defence.
Because of the sudden attack, an age-old instinct in Haku kicked in. He practically exploded. Haku himself started to hit at Hisame with both fists despite the condition one of his arm's in. The punches were also charged with the remains of Haku's power. The tong-fa snapped in Hisame's hand and it disappeared as Hisame, the Cold of Evil Spirit, lost his grip on life.
When Haku managed to clam himself down a few seconds later, he heard something and turned to face it. Only to be rammed by the red dragon into the greyness.
And soon both disappeared.
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Back to the present.
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Gyakuman Koshu was only halfway in the corridors in the Palace in Hell.
Gyakuman: Yare yare. Gone so soon? They must be too easy. *continued to her room* [I have done what I had to do.]*opened the double doors* [The end of phase two.]*took out a black map marked with red* [What am I going to do now? My seal is not to be found until the next phase.] *teleported herself right in front of the pool *
With a chuckle, she flicked her wrist. The pool bubbled rapidly and the whole thing gushed up and disappeared. The fish thing exploded and took all of the underworld with it.
Gyakuman: [Humph! Dirty things those spirits. A new after world will come to take its place. Those things always come back. Filled with all those damned souls like always and all back to normal. There will probably be more of those pests anyway.]
She turned away from the spot and teleported down the mountains. She made her way further down by the grassy road.
Gyakuman: [If it weren't for him, I would've been dead, destroyed, a shadow of my own self. But he has given me the power, the very essence of immortals of gods. Emperor! Master! Your deed had been done and now there's only the waiting of your return. And I'll bet that Li Touten couldn't have acted this part more beautifully than I. I guess that's why I'm the Queen. I just can't wait to get my seal!]
With that, she headed towards the horizon, the sun scaling the sky once more.
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AFN: Arigatou to Black Death and everyone else who reviewed cause it's been a long time. Yup. That's it. Shorter than usual. Check out the sequel: "Begin From The End". I think this is turning into a series. More new characters, surprises, questions and a few answers. Hope you'll like it!