Author's Note: No, I am not dead.  Yes, it has been months since the last time I posted a chapter, but other duties called first.  Finals for school, for one, and they were horrible this year; between art, Japanese, and Economics I was swamped.  Then I was working non-stop on my portfolio for Fanime, so that was several hours of drawing a day.  I had to work on getting my driver's license (which I got, thank god) and looking for a job.  On top of all that, I finally got a break in my original novel, and when I start working on that, everything goes on hiatus.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The Wormhole

Defeat was looking inevitable.

Miyu just barely ducked out of the way as a rock only a few feet away from her exploded into a million pieces of razor-sharp shrapnel, making her throw her arms up around her face to shield herself from the deadly rain.  The bits of rocket bit into her skin, leaving dozens of new burning wounds to the countless multitude that already marred her pale skin and blood stained yukata. 

"Damn it!"  Ichirou shouted over the din of thunder that roared overhead in one never-ending peal.  "What the hell are we gonna do?  If they keep this attack up, we're not going to last very much longer!"

"It's pointless to attack without a plan!" Ranka exclaimed.  "There must be some way we can sneak in!"

"Is it just me, or is that what we've been doing for the last bloody hour?" Ryuko snapped, skipping out of the way as a lightning bolt struck the patch of rock he had just been standing on.  "Think of a better plan, Ranka!"

Ichirou was right.  If they didn't do something, then they maybe had ten minutes before they were too exhausted to move.  The barrier between the second and third Layer that was keeping Caial from progressing any further was weakening, and was slowly beginning to collapse in on itself.  Once that fell, there would be nothing impeding them from making their way to the Fifth Layer, and if they could not hold of Caial as a group, then any other Shinma would not stand a chance.  It was now or never.  Miyu moved so she was back-to-back with Ranka, allowing her to talk to her while still keeping their guard up.

"Miyu…" Ranka said before Miyu could say anything.  "If the Quarl get to the Heart of the Darkness, then the Japanese Shinma Realm is doomed.  It is the pillar of this world…it's what they've been after all along."

"Skip the history lesson, Ranka, and tell me what needs to be done."  Miyu hissed through clenched teeth, her fangs bared, but she had already heard what Ranka had said.  A distraction…they needed a distraction… and Miyu could only think of one thing that the Queen of the Quarl would want that would be enough to take her attention away from the battlefield.  It may have been stupid and risky – very risky – but it was the only chance they had.  "Ranka!  Cover me, I'm going in!"

Ranka gave a start, making her temporarily forget what was going on around them.  Did she really hear what she thought Miyu just said?  "Miyu?  That's ridiculous!  You'll never make it!"

Although Miyu knew this, she was not phased by Ranka's words.  What was she always told a vampire's sole duty was?  To defend this realm with her life.  If she was going down, then she sure as hell was not going to go out without a fight.  "This all started because of my lack of foresight!  So I'm the one who has to take care of it!"

"Miyu, where did Larva go, exactly?"  Ranka questioned, her last attempt to get this foolish suicide mission out of Miyu's mind.

"I don't know! But he said he'd be back soon…"

"We should wait for him them!  There must be a reason why he left, correct?"  Miyu did not have time to respond, because a second later, the raging battlefield was suddenly plunged into a dead-silence and eerie calm.  The only thing that moved around them was the icy cold wind, as everyone was stunned to silence, to surprised to so much as blink.  What in the seven hells was happening?

"It stopped?"  Senju wondered softly, his voice awkwardly loud in the quiet air.

"What's going on?" A Chinese Shinma asked to no one in particular.

A thin, merciless laugh reached their ears; Caial was apparently amused by their moment of confusion.  "Playtime is over…" She said softly, her voice like a sleek steel blade that had been freshly sharpened.  "I will put these foolish games to an end now!"  Caial raised her hands slowly to the heavens, chanting heavily under her breath, and the world began to tremble.  It was a slow rumble at first, but it quickly gained in strength and speed as the rocks and stone beneath their feet began to shatter in fine lines, deepening quickly to harsh cracks and opening wide to large, gaping wounds in the earth.  "I want to get you hoodlums out of my sight once and for all.  And once I finish off the lower tier, the entire Japanese Shinma Realm will disappear!"

The rumbling of the earth swelled quickly into a massive earthquake unlike any of them had ever seen before.  The ground under their feet bucked and writhed, seemed to be groaning and bellowing like a wounded creature, thrashing this way and that so violently that it seemed as if the world was about to rip apart at the seams.  Deep ravines tore through the rock and stone, so deep that they could not see where they lead to, but they might as well have fallen to the other side of the world.  Miyu wove a spell around herself quickly to maintain her balance, but even then it was not an easy task.  Behind them, the magical shield that was standing between Caial and the lower levels flickered, failing for a moment before reappearing, but only a mere ghost of its former strength.  At this point, even if it was still up, Caial could tear it down with no problems.

This was it.  It was now or never.

"I'm going!" Miyu shouted over her shoulder, and ignoring Ranka's cries for her to stop, she jumped cat-like from boulder to crumbling boulder, closing in on the Queen of the Quarls. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Caial saw a flash of white and red, and the young vampire hurtling her way.  A sinister smile crossed her lips.  "Are you really that stupid?" She called out to Miyu.  "I can defeat you in one shot!  That's it, come closer…"  Caial, however, never had a chance to carry through what she had intended for the little vampire.  The air thickened and became saturated with the weaving of a very powerful energy spell, the type of spell that was constructed for one purpose; to be used as a weapon against another.  And it felt like it was coming from…

With a sickening thud that sounded like a mallet hitting a watermelon, the spell hit Caial full-force in her back before she had a chance to defend herself, tearing through flesh and bone as it cut through her body like a super-heated, giant sword.  Caial was stunned speechless as her blood poured out of her like a waterfall, thick and black, the putrid odor of Quarl blood staining the air and making the closer of the Shinma's eyes water.  Everyone else was just as stunned as the witch was; none of them had thrown that blow, they had all been too weak to conjure something of that strength.  Miyu looked desperately for their savior like the others, hardly noticing when she was wrenched off her feet when someone grabbed her under her arms from behind.

"Just what the hell were you thinking, Miyu?"  Spartoi scolded her angrily, pulling her back away from Caial in case the witch came to her senses and attacked Miyu in retaliation, but Miyu was not paying attention.  Her face had split into a wide, happy smile as she saw just who it was who had delivered that fatal blow to Caial. 

"Larva!"  She called out, feeling more relief flood her veins than in the last few days.  It was as if seeing him restored what hope they had lost, which made them feel better than they had in what felt like a very, very long time.  Larva, however, did not seem to be sharing their enthusiasm, and through their bond, Miyu felt the utmost feelings of sadness, despair, and guilt.  Something horrible had happened to him in his absence, and she knew that it was only their dire crisis that made him return.  Larva?  What happened to…

                Miyu…he sent back through their bond, and it was then that she noticed that there was something clenched in his hand.  This is Caial's weakness!  He held the object at arm's length, and Miyu could see a fist-sized stone in his hand, which was slightly wet with that horribly looked like blood. 

"That stone…?"  Miyu questioned slowly, wondering what the hey it had to do with the battle.  The other Shinma looked just about as confused as she felt.

In the moment of their confusion, Cait Sith had run to his injured mother's side, a look of utmost panic and sorrow on his face.  Had he not been their mortal enemy, the other Shinma might have felt sorry for him.  "Mama… What happened?"

Caial coughed, sending up another wave of thick black blood.  "That lightning…" She wheezed through a gathering mouthful of blood.  "And in Larva's hand right now is…a part of me!"

Rage and hate flashed simultaneously in Cait Sith's eyes as he glared up at the blue-haired man standing above them, the same emotions reflecting in those red orbs as he glared back down at the fallen Quarls.  "Larva!  How dare you…"

"Pa…zusu…" Caial choked out.  "When he tried to destroy my monument, he must have sealed part of it inside his body!  Damn you, Pazusu…"

"Pazusu did this for Larva?" Cait Sith asked, as if he was unable to grasp the reality of what was happening.  "That thing…is enough to kill my Mama…" Trembling in rage, Cait Sith clenched his fist hard enough so his long, claw-like nails bit painfully into his flesh, but he took no notice.  The pain of realizing that his mother could die again was enough to drown out all physical ache.  "Pazusu…damn you…"  He snapped his head up, red eyes blazing with pure, cold hatred.  "Larva!"  Before Caial could do anything to stop him, Cait Sith had launched himself off where he was sitting, hurtling towards Larva with the unstoppable force of a bullet train.  "GIVE ME THAT, LARVA!"

The sight of Cait Sith rushing at him did not even cause Larva to flinch as he glared back down at the man, the same venomous expression on his face.  Eyes narrowed, Larva held the stone high above his head and with a surge of energy, crushed it to dust between his fingers.

Cait Sith screamed, a howl that could have well come from a badly wounded animal as his mother cringed, falling hard to her hands as blood poured out of her even more quickly now, taking her life force with it.  "I won't forgive you for this, you bastard!" Cait Sith screamed before charging Larva like an out-of-control animal, claws and teeth bared. 

Larva met Cait Sith's insane eyes in a remarkable cool and collected manner, but his eyes still blazed with a raging inferno.  "That was my line, Cait Sith."  He hissed softly to the Quarl, hardly daring the blink as the dark-skinned man unleashed an unstoppable wave of cat-headed wraiths at Larva.  The attack, in Cait Sith's blind fit of rage, was uncollected and sloppy, allowing Larva to easily dodge each screaming apparition as he leapt from his stony perch, rushing to meet Cait Sith head-on…

Their paths crossed, and Larva had the upper hand…quite literally.  He drove his inch-long claws straight into Cait Sith's gut, sending up a thick wave of black blood that splattered to the ground below.  With a look of utmost shock on his face, unable to comprehend what happened as he fell back down to the earth.  Caial's screams to her son were like nails being raked across a slate. 

"Now's our chance!"  Miyu called out to the others, shaking herself free from Spartoi's grasp.  "Everyone, let's get her!"  Their weakened state made it more difficult to gather a lot of energy, fast, to deliver the final blow, and it was this wearing themselves down to near-exhaustion that proved to be their one huge, fatal mistake.

Caial glared daggers at the Shinma standing around her, the heat of rage radiating from her body like a bonfire.  Despite her wounds, she slowly pulled herself to her feet, blood still slashing in great drops at her feet.  "You fools…" she hissed, sounding like a venomous snake ready to strike.  "Do you honestly think that you will be able to defeat me so easily?"  The world began to darken, as if a sheet was lain across the sun as the wind picked up violently, whipping hair and clothing around at a frightening speed.  It was almost enough to nearly knock some of the smaller Shinma off of their feet, tumbling loose rocks and boulders around them as if they were mere pebbles.  Then it looked as if the very realm split open behind the Quarl queen; a rip in the time-space continuum, a portal that served as a pathway between dimensions. 

"No!"  Ranka cried in anguish.  "She's going to jump dimensions!  They're going to get away!  Stop them, now!"  What followed next was a flurry of spells of just about every shape and size, thrown at the devil queen with the remaining strength that their casters could manage, but it all went for naught as they were just reflected back at them.  Miyu felt a sense of utter dread take hold of her soul; Caial was escaping, but escaping where?  From what she heard from the others, there were hundreds, thousands of other worlds, they would never find her again…

"This isn't over yet, Vampire!  We will finish this another time!"

The world around them exploded into an inferno of rock and fire that knocked them all off their feet, pummeling them with shards of razor-sharp shrapnel, heaving up huge chunks of earth that knocked them clean off their feet…  Miyu was unable to see anything but the fire that erupted before her very eyes, only barely aware of the strong arms that wrapped around her body to protect her from the deadly rain.  The very air seemed to howl as the earth below them writhed like a wounded animal, thrashing and groaning in pain, and for a few horrible moments it seemed as if all hope was lost before everything once again became still and deathly silent.  She was hesitant to look out beyond the black cloak that, afraid of seeing the amount of damage that the final blow had inflicted upon the Japanese Shinma realm.

The land around them was almost unrecognizable by the time Caial's final spell had died out.  What was once a golden field on the edge of a great green forest was now completely desolate of any type of flora or fauna and replaced by charred black boulders, smoldering as if they had been on fire.  The other Shinma were looking just as bad as the land around them, and Miyu felt as bad as they looked.  They were all cut and bleeding from numerous wounds on their body.  Night Gia was clutching his arm, grimacing in pain and the membranes of one of Yoshi's wings hung in bloody tatters.  Clothing was black and singed, and the feathers on Kia's wings were crumpled and stuck up at odd angels.  They were all leaning on each other for support, and all of them wore the same look on their faces; they all looked totally and hopelessly defeated.  Caial and Cait Sith were completely gone, disappeared into the dimensional wormhole, with only pools of black blood suggesting that they were there at all.

Miyu pulled away from Larva, unable to take her eyes away from the scenery that spread out below her.  It looked, for a lack of better words, like the Finger of God had come down from the sky and smudged them into the earth.  And worse of all, Caial had gotten away.  She had failed in her duty to protect the realm, as she was always told to do.  She could not remember the last time she had felt this horrible.  Then she realized, if not in a very numb sense, that the horrible feeling was not all her own, and she remembered the emotions that flooded between the bond between her and Larva when he returned.

"Larva…?"  Miyu began timorously, fearing she already knew the answer to her question.  "Are…are you okay?"

Larva hesitated before his answer, but she could see in his eyes that he was anxious to tell her what it was that was bothering him, and it was only the dire situation that had just taken place that made him wait this long before saying anything now.  "…no.  I'm sorry I took so long, Miyu, but it was my fa…  It was Pazusu."  His attempt to hide the word "father" from her was a feeble attempt, and his voice shook with emotion.  Miyu clutched his sleeve, urging him to continue.  "He's dying, Miyu.  The stone that was used against Caial…was sealed inside his body, and so for us to use it, he had to…"

Fear seized Miyu's heart when the full realization of what he was saying crashed into her.  Whatever it was he had to do to get that stone, Pazusu was paying for it with his life.  Even through the torment, the pain that they caused her in the past few days, Miyu's conscience screamed at her that she had to do something to help, if it was not too late already.  The bond between her guardian and the older Western Shinma went beyond the boundaries of colleges, or of student and master…it was painful obvious to her that they had a father-to-son relationship, and no one knew better than her the pain of loosing the only parent you had.

"How long can he hold out?"  Miyu asked in a stern voice, ignoring the blood that was trickling down her temple and creeping into her eye. 

"Not much longer, if he's made it to now…"  Larva said quietly, not looking her in the face.  "He's a strong man, Pazusu, but with a wound like that…"

"Then what are we waiting for?"  Miyu all but exploded, the building frustration and weariness inside of her finally just giving way to plain irritation.  He tone was enough to make Larva look up at her in mild shock, as if he was not expecting her sudden enthusiasm to help her former enemy.  "There's obviously nothing more we can do here, so now the only option left to us is to go back and see if there's anything we can do to help him!  We can ask Mori; if anyone knows, it will be her!  Where is he?"

"In…in the Fourth Layer…"

Miyu turned her back to him, and called out to the others; "Everyone!  We have an emergency situation on our hands!  Report to the Fourth Layer, immediately!"

"'Emergency situation?'" Amy squawked back at her, an expression of disbelief clearly visible under the blood and dust that covered him head to foot.  "And what was that we just got done with, a warm up?"

"Don't ask questions, just go!"  Miyu yelled back, and before any of them had a chance to respond, not even Larva, she was gone, Gated back to the Fourth Layer of the Japanese Shinma realm before any of them had a chance to blink.

*                                                                             *                                                                                            *

Through the haze of pain and fever Pazusu was just barely able to make out the shadowy forms of several Shinma standing over him.  They were talking, but he could not understand what they were saying.  How long had to been since Larva left to rejoin the battle? It seemed like such a long time ago, and he could not hold out much longer…

"This is bad."  Ranka said as she bent low to inspect Pazusu's wound.  His head was resting on Carlua's lap, and the blonde's face was tear-streaked, her eyes red from crying.  Yoto was near by, his cape torn into strips that he used to try to stop the bleeding.  "A weaker soul would have died long ago, but he is fading fast.  I am sorry, but even in my healing experience, there is nothing I can do." 

It was looking bad for the older man.  His face was chalk-white, drenched with sweat and his entire middle was drenched in dark blood, even through the wrappings that Yoto applied.  Kia took one look at the wound, moaned softly and turned quickly away from the group, her brother not far behind her.  Somewhere in the trees, Miyu could hear a faint retching sound.  The other Western Shinma standing around looked panic-stricken, all white as sheet and unwilling to accept that their once proud and strong master was now dying before their very eyes.

THE VERY ESSENSE OF THE QUARL'S BODY IS A POWERFUL POISON.  Mori said silently as she stepped from the shadows.  No one knew that she was there, nor how long she had been listening.  Her voice was calm despite the situation, as if she could care less whether Pazusu died or not.  IT BURNS ITS WAY DEEP DOWN INTO THE SOUL, PROLONGING DEATH AND MAKING IT A VERY PAINFUL PROCESS.  THERE IS VERY LITTLE THAT CAN BE DONE.

"Mori!"  Miyu exclaimed in an almost scolding tone, then casting a quick glance over her shoulder, approached the Elder so she could speak to her a little more privately.  "Is there nothing we can do?  If he dies, then the Western Shinma are as good as stranded here, and Larva…he's like a father to Larva, we have to at least try!"

MIYU, YOU DO NOT YET UNDERSTAND THE WAY OF THE QUARLS.  NORMAL POTIONS AND HEALING MAGIC WILL DO NOTHING FOR THE POISON AND THE TAINT THAT IT LEAVES BEHIND.  THERE IS NOTHING IN THE POWER OF YOU OR YOUR FRIENDS THAN CAN SAVE THIS MAN. 

"No, maybe we can't, but you're different than us!"  Miyu said desperately, almost willing to beg to get the information that they needed from the Elder.  "You know more about the ways of the Shinma than all of us put together!  Please Mori, you know how we can help him!  Remember, if it wasn't for him, then the Quarls would have destroyed this realm during the first Shinma Wars, and he just now helped weaken Caial!  If it wasn't for him, she would be in the Fifth Layer by now!  And I need to do this for Larva, I can't just sit back and let his father die!  Please, for the honor of debt, please tell us how we can help!"

Mori closed her golden eyes for a moment, and Miyu could almost see the internal conflict that was surly taking place inside her mind.  If Pazusu died, then it was one less Western Shinma in the world.  However, Miyu was right; he was the one who had warned them of Caial's coming in the first Shinma Wars, and it was he who gave them the stone that proved to be Caial's weakness.  To let him die after that would be cowardly and dishonorable.  Finally, after what felt like long hours of waiting, she opened her eyes again, golden orbs boring straight into golden orbs as she looked Miyu straight in the eye.

THERE IS A WAY.

-------

To be continued…

------

Author's Note: I know it was a short chapter, but it's better than nothing, right?  I'll try not to take so long on the next part (which is the last chapter for part one), but no promises.  As stated before, this story will be finished, I'm just not the fastest at doing it.  I also have a shit-load of other fanfics and original stories that have to be written and started, so time has to be divided accordingly.  If I had the discipline, I would type a page on each a day, but unfortunately, I don't have that.  On that note, as much as you guys like it, Final Fantasy: Sole Summoning has hit such a block that, as of now, it's on hold, so don't be expecting any new chapters out any time soon.  I am, however, starting a new one entitled Rebirth Flame, so keep your eyes peeled for that.  It's another AU fantasy version of Miyu (I will write a good one someday, dammit), and once I get the beginning worked out a little more that'll go to work.

Last note:  No, Caial does not get away in the original manga.  From here on out, I have broken away from the original manga, and part two is entirely about the search for the Quarls.  I know that those were fatal wounds they both had, but Quarls are tough little buggers, and they won't die so easily.  And I know that Miyu was out of character in that last part, so don't flame me for it.  I know she's not the real pleading type, but it's not exactly something that you can take calmly, you know?

Until next time.