Since the Internet is being an evil bastard, I think I'll work on Chapter 14 now. It IS chapter 14, right? My, how those chapters fly!

Shishiwakamaru: Shut up and write, already.

Kia: *brandishes pen* WHO'S the authoress here? You or me? (Shishiwakamaru is silent.) Well?

Shishiwakamaru: You are.

Kia: Darn right. But let me get to work, Mr. Overbearing Bastard.

Touya: Now, now, Kia...

Kia: He started it. ANYWAY, let's see here. In our last chapter, the girls returned to Ningenkai...only to find Kurama, Jin, Yusuke, Suzuki, Shishiwakamaru, and Kuwabara missing! (actually, it turns out that Kuwabara was home the entire time, so is perfectly safe.) Hiei and Touya (who were in pretty bad shape) gave them the 411 on what had happened, and so Kelsey and Kia went off to Netami's place, leaving Mikage and Zyoshi to guard the fort. (Shishiwakamaru snorts.) What NOW?

Shishiwakamaru: You left two girls behind to "guard the fort".

Kia: Yes, I did. Got a problem with that? Want me to call out the Pug?

Shishiwakamaru: Shit. No, not that little evil dog...

Kia: *whistles* Here, pug! (adorable little pug puppy ambles up.) See Shishi? (points to Shishiwakamaru) Shishi is BAD. You know what to do with BAD people.

Pug: snort snort snort...*sprays snot into the samurai's eye*

Shishiwakamaru: It BURNS! IT BUUUUURNNSSSS....

Kia (helpfully): Like acid-washed jeans?

Touya: *gives Kia a very strange look*...

Kia: Obviously you've never felt that burn. It's not nice.

Touya: ...I see.

Kia: But back to the story, while we try to disinfect Shishi's eye! Remember, Kelsey, try not to be too mad at me for attacking your saiai. He started it. ^^ Welcome back to DAY-san, and to one of my reviewers who asked about the "river" thing...I hope this helps. And to mstheatre...don't worry, Z's butt-kicking scene will show up next chapter, I think.

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"'Over the river and through the woods', he says," Kelsey grumbled as she and Kia slogged through the muddy ground, kicking up sprays of water every so often. "I don't see any river."

"If this rain keeps up, you're sure to see a lot," the other girl replied.

The blonde girl suddenly stopped. "This is stupid. We're almost out of the woods and there's no damn river anywhere!"

"Yeah, you're right..." Kia looked around. "I didn't see a river, I didn't hear a river...but, then again, it's kind of hard to hear a river in this downpour." She frowned, vexed. "But Hiei said there was a river...and he doesn't lie. Often. Especially not at a time like this."

"It could be enchanted," Kelsey suggested.

"Enchanted?" Kia blinked at her friend. "You mean like it's invisible...?"

"Exactly." Kelsey glared at the ground. "So we should make it visible!"

Kia regarded her with amusement. "And we do that how?"

"By..." Kelsey snapped her fingers, something Kia had never been able to do. "The Mirror halves!" She gestured impatiently at her blank-faced friend. "Mirrors always tell the truth! You can't hide anything from them!"

"Ah..." Kia's confused stare cleared...somewhat. "So what now? Just ask the Mirror to reveal..." She swept out her arms extravagantly, "The river?" The waving arms caused her to go off balance and she windmilled frantically, trying to stay upright. Kelsey caught the hood of her rain slicker (yes, they at least had the sense to put them on before they left) before her friend went over.

"Arigato..." Kia gasped, regaining her sense of balance.

"You're welcome. I guess your eloquent words did the trick."

For a moment, her friend stared at her, then looked down. A lazy, meandering river flowed to their lift, winding through the trees. "That defies all logic," she remarked calmly.

"I know."

"But then...all of this stuff defies all logic." Kia rolled her eyes at the hopelessness of it all. "I give up on logic."

Kelsey smirked. "Smart girl. I wonder how far this river goes..."

"One moment...I'll check." The winds were strong enough anyway, so Kia didn't have to summon them. They came willingly and lifted the girl high above the trees. Through the rain, the silver ribbon glinted all the way to the distant horizon. With a sigh, she returned to earth. "It's pretty far..."

"How far?"

"It'll take us about...three days if we run."

Kelsey grimaced. "That's no good. Netami could have taken over the world by then. We need transportation."

Kia frowned as well. "Maybe...but I don't think we can depend on the Mirror halves for this one...after all, mirrors can't fly."

*No, you're right. But WE can!* A warm voice echoed in her head, and before either girl could react, there were twin bursts of white light. When the light faded, Kelsey and Kia found themselves facing two very beautiful creatures.

The larger one turned out to be a dragon. Smaller than Tsukai, with a black hide, his golden eyes studied the two. Huge, bat-like wings unfolded and extended, hitting trees on either side. The smaller one was a horse, ebon like its draconic companion. Soft dark eyes were also focused on them, and its feathery black wings were folded neatly, shuddering slightly in the rain. Its glossy black tail swished, and both creatures remained silent, as if waiting for the girls to act first.

"Um..." Kia finally whispered. Her voice was barely heard over the pounding of the rain and the restless rustling of the trees, but the horse's ears perked up. It had heard. "Who...are you...?"

The dragon shifted. *I am Nasei. He is Meikyou.* He jabbed at the horse with his spiky tail, careful not to actually hit him. *We are the Creatures that reside in the Mirror Halves. I believe you needed our help?*

"Hai..." Kelsey agreed cautiously. "But how long have you been in there? Ashita never told us about you."

Meikyou snorted, pawing the damp ground with his left forehoof. *How long, little one? Ever since the Mirror was first created. We resided in it as one creature...but, since it has fractured, we have split as well. But now is not the time for that.* He knelt in front of Kia, who stared up at him wonderingly. *Hop on, skydancer. We will take you to Netami.*

"'Sky dancer'?" Kia muttered, as she obediently scrambled onto Meikyou's back. "I guess it's better than 'Cookie Sheet'."

NASA rumbled and extended his tail to Kelsey. *Going up?*

"This is weird," the blonde mumbled, but stepped onto the tail. The dragon lifted it carefully and turned it to deposit her on his back, between two ridged spikes. She settled down, then glanced at Kia.

"Tally-ho," the brunette said dryly, as Meikyou spread his wings and launched into the air, soon followed by Nasei, who took the lead once they were above the forest. Kelsey clung to the spiky ridge in front of her to keep from falling off. Travel was indeed much faster, and it only took them about twenty minutes to arrive in front of a grim-looking castle that looked as if it had risen from the festering ground.

Kia slid off Meikyou's back, patting the horse affectionately and stroking his elegant muzzle. "Are you going to disappear?"

*No. We will wait outside for you. Hurry up...Nasei is rather impatient.*

Kelsey laughed, as she slid down the dragon's tail to the ground. "At least SOME people believe in us." She grinned up at her "steed". "Arigatou, Nasei. Take care."

*You too.*

The two girls exchanged glances then started across the moat. Kia was looking puzzledly at the murky water, which was bubbling. "Odd place to put a hot tub..."

Something small and white suddenly shot up from the depths of the muck and fastened its teeth on her finger. With a yelp, Kia shook her hand frantically, trying to dislodge it. It let go with a tiny snarl and flew back into the water.

"What...was...that?" Kelsey asked slowly, examining her friend's finger, which was now bleeding.

More of the little critters (perhaps smelling blood) came flying towards them. Kia flung out her arm, knocking most of them back, but managed to capture one. She and Kelsey peered at it, and the brown-haired girl gave a choked laugh. "I don't believe it."

It was a sea monkey.

"Well, there you go," Kelsey informed Kia as the girl tossed the creature back into the water. "Sea monkeys CAN be evil." They hurried across the bridge, but soon found yet another "roadblock". A short guard that vaguely reminded them of a green-skinned midget Kuwabara--minus the red hair.

"Welcome to Netami's castle," the guard said dully. "Admission is a dollar or your free-" He broke off, staring at them. "Wait, you're females..."

"You noticed," Kia said, rolling her eyes.

"Then gimme a dollar." The guard stuck out his chin.

"Get your own dollar!" Kelsey retorted. "Some of us WORK for our money!"

"And some of us just bum it off others or find it under the sofa cushions," Kia mumbled under her breath. Kelsey glared at her, and she grinned back weakly. "Not to name any names, of course."

"Of course," her pen pal echoed, then turned back to the guard. "Let us in or I swear I'll break every bone in your body." She pointed to Nasei, who chose that moment to yawn mightily, showing his rather dangerous-looking teeth. "Or he will."

"B...but Netami will KILL me!" the goblin protested, taking a step back and raising his axe defensively. "I'm only supposed to let the Mirror Holders in."

"WE'RE the Mirror Holders!" Kia snapped, losing her patience. "I'm Satsukiame, she's Kelsey, we possess the Mirror halves, so let us in already!"

The guard shrank back slightly. "All right, all right...if you are who you say you are...then go in. But I want some verification."

The girls grinned at each other. Then the ground shook and the half of the bridge that they weren't standing on crumbled and fell into the water, where the sea monkeys attacked it hungrily, and had soon demolished it completely. Tiny burps were heard. A gust of wind swept down on the guard and lifted him up, then dropped him in the water with a sucking plop.

"Sayonara!" They chorused, as they pushed the wooden door open and disappeared, leaving the grumbling guard to fend off the snapping sea monkeys. "Verified..." he muttered.

Once inside, Kelsey looked at Kia. "Any idea where to go?" They stood in the main entrance, shivering. This castle, clearly, did not have a heating system.

Kia observed her surroundings, slowly turning in a circle. She frowned, then pointed to a door to the left. "Down there...I can sense their energy..."

Kelsey grasped the frigid doorknob, then turned and opened it with some difficulty. It swung open to reveal a set of stairs descending into darkness. "Oh, goody!" she said with false cheer. "Now we can skip merrily down the stairs without a light and maybe even trip, fall, and break something vital! What fun!"

Her friend slowly shook her head. "Sometimes, you frighten me. Like now." She started cautiously down the stairs. "We'll just be careful and watch our step-"

As Kelsey started to follow, something shoved her from behind. With a startled yelp, she fell, smacking into Kia. The brunette tipped over, and the two crashed down the stairs, one or the other letting out a pained cry every step or so. Finally, they ended up in a groaning pile at the foot of the stairs.

"'Watch our step', eh?" Kelsey remarked, disentangling herself and slowly standing. "How can we watch them if we can't even see the damn stairs?"

"You tell me," the other girl responded, wincing.

"That was quite a tumble."

At the sound of the voice, the two turned. Suzuki smiled at them, strapped to a long metal table. Yusuke was unconscious on the one next to him.

"Suzuki!" Kia finally scrambled to her feet and rushed over to him. "What happened? Why are you strapped to a gurney? What the hell is going on? Is Yusuke all right? Where is everyone else?"

"Slow down!" the youkai told her, slightly amused, even in his current predicament. "To answer your questions, in order..." He sighed. "Netami drugged and kidnapped us, she's planning on controlling Yusuke and me in a moment, but the guard was called away to bring Kurama here and to deal with some newcomers..." Kelsey, who had joined them, and Kia exchanged somewhat-guilty looks. Somewhat. "What's going on is that we're about to be controlled and you two just came flying down the stairs; it's a wonder no one heard you, what with all the racket you were making. Yusuke is fine, he just hasn't woken up yet from the drug, and everyone else is still in the dungeon, awaiting the same fate as Shishiwakamaru and Jin."

Kia gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "You mean she..."

"Hai. They are under her control now. Mikage told you about Netami's ability, remember?"

"Shimatta." Kelsey savagely punched her fist into her other hand. "This is just great."

"So what do we do?" Kia bit her lip, trying to unstrap Suzuki from his table...and not succeeding. "If we don't do something, Suzuki and Yusuke are next!"

"Pretend none of this ever happened and go back to the U.S.A.?" Kelsey suggested. Both Suzuki and Kia gave her reproachful looks. "I'm KIDDING!"

Kia opened her mouth to ask another question, when a quiet voice spoke up from behind her. "Well, well, well. Netami was right. You DID come."

"You sound so surprised." Kelsey said dryly, turning around. "I wouldn't expect any less from a puppet."

Kia turned also. Shishiwakamaru stood there, sword unsheathed and in a fighting stance. His eyes didn't seem to focus and they were empty of any light or intelligence. "Restrain your cynical comments, Warrior. You and the Healer die here and now."

*OOC*

Uh-oh! It looks like the girls are in trouble...they're about to be "shishi"kabobbed! (Ignore my attempts at humor.) What'll they do now? And what about the others? Stay tuned for chapter fifteen, as this story slowly draws to a close...unless I get more requests for a sequel. ^^ Ideas are perfectly welcome!

Next chapter...

* Shishiwakamaru attacks! Can Kelsey hold him off until Kia reaches Netami?

* Mikage and Z are attacked! It's time for these girls to kick some youkai ass!

* Jin confronts Kia. Believe me, people, it's gonna get ugly...

* Can a person get "half-brainwashed"? Apparently, Kurama can!

Please review! I enjoy them very much!