Chapter Six-The Rescue Mission Begins

Hiei didn't emerge from his room until much later that night. When he went downstairs, only Kurama was in the living room. "Hey…how are holding up?"

Kurama jumped a mile. "Geez,Hiei!"

"Not very well I see. I believe I've found Marcella. You're not going to believe who has her." Hiei crossed the room to sit in front of his mate.

"Who?" Kurama asked, his eyes expressing great sorrow.

"Appearently, he's Gouki's brother."

Kurama's mouth dropped open now. "How's that possible?"

"Someone else wasn't happy about you betraying us." Hiei said softly. "It got his brother killed."

"Shouldn't he be taking his revenge out on Yusuke?" Kurama mused, standing up. The kitsune youkai paced slowly. "So, where is she?"

"The exact location isn't really clear,but it's somewhere in the mountains." Hiei stood up now, and touched Kurama's arm. "We'll get her back. I swear to you on my life, you will have Marcella again."

"That's a nice thought…but there are thousands of mountains around here, Hiei. How do we know which one they have her in?"

"It's simple, really. He's probably heading to his homeland. Gouki is from the westlands." Hiei concluded. "But it's going to take more than us to get her back. I think we'll need to ask Yusuke for help."

"Is that wise? He could barely take Gouki down, and he was the only one. We're talking about a whole village like him." Kurama looked around.

"I hate to admit it, but Yusuke might come in handy, as well as his foolish friend Kuwabara. "

"All right. I'll ask them. What are you going to do?" Kurama asked him.

"I'm going to relax, and work on some new techniques. "Hiei headed down to the basement dojo, while Kurama headed out of the main house to see Koenma. It would be up to him to spare his best spirit detective.

"I don't see why not. You've done a lot for Yusuke. I really hope you find her, Kurama." Koenma said. Kurama had explained the whole situation to the toddler ruler. "Is there any else I can help you with?"

"Perhaps. I was wondering if you had any devices that would speed our journey. Something that will tell us exactly where Marcella is being held."

"Let me see…" Koenma stood up on his desk, and pushed the intercom. "Botan, would you come here for a minute?"

"Yes, Koenma sir." Botan's ever-cheerful voice came back from the speaker.

When Botan appeared, Koenma gestured for her to sit. "Hiei found Marcella."

"That's wonderful!" Botan beamed at Kurama.

"There's a problem though. The only thing he could come up with was she was in the mountains." Koenma continued. "We need a device that will tell them exactly where Marcella is."

"Hmmm…." Botan thought for a long moment. "Well….we could do this a very simple way. We could use the Forlorn Hope for that. It is a glass…"

"Are you insane? My father would flip!" Koenma chided. "However. You did give a good idea. We can use a mirror to see her."

Kurama perked up. "That would relieve me of some sorrow. I'm so worried about her."

"As well you should be. Razul is much more dangerous than Gouki. Let's see how she's faring." Koenma waved a hand in front of his desk mirror. "There she is. Oh my, she is so little…."

Kurama took the mirror, and touched the glass surface, caressing Marcella's cheek gently. The child was being carried in a net. She was dirty, and crying. "Oh baby….Kurama's coming. Hang in there." He gave the mirror back to Koenma, wiping his own tears. "We've got to get her back! We just have to!"

"You're in luck. I know where that place is." Botan spoke up now. "Let me come with you boys as a guide."

"Very well. We have to alert Yusuke and Kuwabara. I'll go back to the mansion, and brief Hiei."

"All right. We'll meet there in twenty minutes. There's no time to lose." Botan left Koenma's palace to find Yusuke and Kuwabara.

Twenty minutes later, the whole team was assembled in front of the mansion. Each of them were eager for a piece of Gouki's brother. Botan had brought provisions, in case they were lost or had to camp. "All right, everyone. Follow me."

"I really hope she knows what she's doing." Hiei muttered to himself, as he walked with Kurama.

"Don't worry. I trust her." Kurama replied, even though he was aware Hiei hadn't been talking to anyone.

Hiei merely gave him one his mistrusting looks, and walked on.

"Hey, Botan. How far away is this place?" Yusuke asked suddenly.

"One hundred fifty miles. It will take approximately two weeks to get there."

"TWO WEEKS?! She could be dead by then!" Yusuke exploded now. "Isn't there another way?!"

"Well, yes, but it's most treacherous. It requires us to go through four different deadly swamps, and a rainforest. We'd get there in a week." Botan faced the group. "Well, which way are we going, then?"

They all exchanged nods. Then Kurama spoke up. "We'll take the swamps."

Botan nodded, and turned them all West. "Let's go get us a baby back."