Dream: Hallo and welcome to chapter 18 of the story whose title I don't feel like saying!

Freckles: o.o;;;

Dream: *gets depressed* Before you read the story I'd like to say a few words… THANKSGIVING IS EVIL!!!!!! FREE THE TURKEYS!!!!!! HOW MANY MORE BIRDS HAVE TO DIE FOR THE SAKE OF THIS STUPID HOLIDAY??? I MEAN SURE THEY'RE STUPID BUT BIRDS HAVE FEELINGS TOO! FREEDOM TO THE TURKEYS!!!! *pants*

Freckles: Feel better now?

Dream: yes, yes I do.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Well, it's worth a shot." Yusuke shrugged. Dariken was already walking down that path. The others followed.

"These crystals are really annoying." Margaret said when the glowing crystals stopped glowing and started flashing on and off to match the group's pace.

"There has to be a way to make them stay on… Dariken, do you know how?" Thorn turned to the kitsune walking next to her.

"No." He replied flatly.

Thorn blinked, "You okay?"

"No."

"You wanna talk about what's bothering you?"

"No."

"Can you say anything else besides 'no'?" Thorn's eye twitched.

"No."

"That's it! I'VE HAD IT!" Thorn grabbed Dariken's collar and pushed him up against the wall, "What the hell is your problem???"

"My problem? What's your problem??? Leave me alone!"

"I want to know what you're so worried about!"

"Isn't it obvious? Autumn's alone in this mountain and for all we know she could be dead!"

"Why do you care so much about Autumn anyway? What does she mean to you???"

"I don't have to answer that." Dariken pushed Thorn away from him and turned to walk away.

Thorn's eyes flashed with anger as she charged at Dariken with her claws ready to strike. He sidestepped her charge and pushed her into the cave wall. She recovered and sent a ball of black lightening at him. Dariken countered her attack with a ball of golden foxfire. The two balls (stop thinking dirty) collided and exploded. Thorn and Dariken rushed at each other through the smoke and started punching and kicking each other. They were moving too fast for the humans too see and even Hiei, Jin, and Touya were having trouble watching.

They finally stopped and stood apart from each other. They were out of breath. Dariken had a few cuts and scrapes but for the most part wasn't injured. One of Thorn's wings was torn. She had many cuts and a gash on her left arm which she was holding tightly to stop the bleeding. She was having trouble focusing and looked like she was going to pass out.

Dariken looked at Thorn sadly, I didn't mean to hurt her that bad… he thought. He sighed, "You should've known better than to attack me."

"Shut up!" Thorn yelled with a shaky voice. She took a step toward him as if she would attack again.

Dariken's ear twitched in annoyance as he saw her walking shakily toward him. She stumbled and Dariken caught her. He picked her up and started walking down the hall again.

"HEY!!! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!?" Thorn yelled but didn't struggle to get away.

"Well that was…odd…" Arielle said before she and the others started to follow.

Thorn sighed happily and rested her head against Dariken's chest. He smiled, "Having fun?"

"I'm sorry I attacked you…It's just…I feel like there's something you're hiding from me…" Thorn whispered.

Dariken frowned, "There is, but you'll all find out soon enough. I'm sorry I hurt you Thorn…Thorn?" He looked down to see that Thorn had fallen asleep.

***

Autumn and Kurama were arguing about who should lead the way. Botan and Koenma had started talking about random things. Chuchu was talking to Freckles about something he didn't understand. The end of the hallway came into view. The room they stepped into was dark. Freckles and Chuchu hid behind Autumn fearfully. Kurama held the crystal up to look around.

They were standing on a ledge made of black crystal. The room's walls were black and there were no glowing crystals. There were two skinny crystal tracks coming from the ledge. Sitting on the tracks was a medium sized crystal thing. It was made of dark blue crystal. It had walls that were a few feet high and a thick bottom that the tracks went through. There was a door on one side of the car. In the center of it was a raised crystal platform with a hole in it.

"What is it?" Botan asked looking at the car.

"Maybe it's some sort of mine cart… Let's get on and see where it goes!" Koenma said.

"What if it eats us???" Chuchu whined.

"It won't eat us, it isn't alive!" Freckles pointed out.

"What do you think?" Kurama asked Autumn.

"Well what choice do we have?" She said before going over to the car.

Everyone got in the car and sat down. When the car didn't move, Chuchu looked around, "Why it not moving?"

"Kurama, give me the crystal." Autumn held out her hand. Kurama gave her the glowing crystal and she put it in the hole of the platform. The platform folded up around the crystal and grew taller. The crystal glowed brighter and the car began to move.

"How did you know that that was how to start the car?" Botan asked Autumn.

Autumn blinked, "Uhh…I didn't, I just guessed…"

Kurama smiled, "Well I guess now we just sit back and wait…"

Freckles plopped himself down next to Autumn and fell asleep. Chuchu curled up next to him and also fell asleep. Autumn smiled but then grew thoughtful, "I wonder how long we've been down here. My cell isn't working so I don't know what time it is…"

"It must have been at least a few hours…" Kurama said.

Autumn yawned, "Yeah." She failed miserably in her attempts to stay awake and was soon fast asleep with her head resting on Kurama's shoulder.

"Aww…how cute!" Botan cooed from behind them.

Kurama smiled and wrapped his arm around Autumn making Botan say more things about them being a cute couple.

~*~Autumn's Dream:

It was a bright spring afternoon. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. There were small demon beasts in love and seeking love all over the Makai forest. The whole forest had a happy feeling to it and it was making Phantom sick to her stomach.

What's the point of loving someone if you only wind up losing them in the end? Phantom thought. She had taken refuge under a tree near a river. She was watching the water and thinking, as she often did, of her sister, Melody.

Suddenly a loud explosion shattered the serenity of the forest. Phantom got up quickly and listened. She heard shouts and ran quietly to the spot where the sounds were coming from. A gang of demon bounty hunters were pointing off into the forest and yelling at each other. Phantom turned and ran in the direction they were pointing without them knowing that she had ever been there.

After running for a minute or so Phantom saw a figure walking shakily away holding its arm. She slowed her pace and watched the figure curiously. It was a tall male kitsune. He had silver hair, silver fox ears, and a silver tail. His white clothes were stained with the blood from the injury on his left arm. He had a bag tied around his waist that appeared to be full of gems.

Phantom was overcome with pity as she watched the stranger stumble and fall. He got back up again and continued walking. Phantom asked a flock of nearby demon birds to keep the bounty hunters away. She then went quietly over and started walking behind the stranger.

He became suddenly aware of her presence when she cleared her throat. He turned quickly to face her with untrusting golden eyes, "Who the hell are you?"

Phantom smiled but didn't answer. Instead she walked past him and said without turning around, "My house is just across the river, you can hide in it until those bounty hunters give up."

The stranger raised an eyebrow, "Who are you?"

"Does it matter who I am? I'm offering you shelter, that should be all that matters."

Phantom started walking away at a slow pace so that the injured stranger could keep up. They walked in silence until they reached the house. Once inside the stranger slumped down into a chair and sighed. Phantom went to fetch the bag where she kept her healing things. She came back and sat in a chair opposite from her guest while looking through the bag's contents.

"Why did you help me?" The stranger asked as he studied Phantom curiously.

Phantom's blue grey eyes lit up with amusement, "I wasn't aware that I needed a reason in order to help someone."

"Do you even know who I am?"

"No."

"You wouldn't have helped me if you knew who I am."

"And you wouldn't have trusted me if you knew who I am."

The stranger sighed, "Aren't you even going to ask why those bounty hunters were after me?"

"Should I?"

He sighed again, "You're not going to tell me who you are, are you?"

"No."

"Fine, I'll tell you who I am. I'm Youko Kurama, the legendary bandit."

Phantom put down her bag and looked at Youko, "So, I finally get to meet the guy who makes my brother so angry."

"You aren't afraid?"

"Should I be?"

Youko blinked, "I guess not…"

Phantom and Youko sat quiet for a moment looking at each other. Phantom smiled, "You really want to know who I am, don't you?"

Youko nodded. Phantom got up and walked into another room. She came back with two bowls of water and a rag. She put the stuff on the table between them and reached into her bag. She took out a golden glowing crystal and crushed it into the water of each bowl making sure that more was in the smaller bowl. She then soaked the rag in the water of the larger bowl and held it out to Youko.

"Wrap this around your wound."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Youko did as Phantom said and then looked at her questioningly. She held the smaller bowl out to him, "Drink this."

He looked down at the glowing water, "Will it kill me?"

"If I wanted to kill you, you would be dead by now." Phantom smiled at him.

Youko drank the sweet tasting water and looked back at Phantom who had returned to her seat. "So…who are you?" he asked.

Phantom sighed, "Well, if you really want to know… My name is Phantom Harmony a.k.a the Black Angel."

Youko's eyes grew wide in shock and fear. He grew tense, "Are you going to turn me in?"

Phantom shook her head, "Why would I? You've done nothing to harm me."

"There's a reward…"

"I don't care about such petty things."

Youko still was tense. Phantom sighed and stood up, "I knew you wouldn't trust me…" She then took the bowls out of the room to clean them.

Youko stared blankly at the hallway that Phantom had gone down. His arm didn't hurt anymore so he looked under the rag and was amazed to see that it was fully healed. There wasn't even a scar. He took off the rag and sat thinking for a moment.

Phantom was watching him through a shuttered window that connected the kitchen to the room he was in. I wonder if he'll run away… She thought.

He sat for a moment longer before getting up. He started walking down the hall to where Phantom was. He walked in to see her putting the bowls away.

"Do you live here alone?" He asked her.

"Yes."

"Isn't it kind of…big for one person?"

"Koenma insisted that I needed a place to live. I think the little brat has a crush on me." Phantom said with distaste as she turned to look at him.

"I can see why he would." Youko smiled at her.

Phantom blushed and turned away, "You hungry?"

"Yes."

The two drank some tea and had dinner. They talked the whole time.

"It's dark. There's a guest bedroom if you want to spend the night."

"What, I can't share your room?"

"Pervert."

Youko laughed as Phantom walked off down the hall.

When Phantom woke up the next morning there was a necklace that had a ruby pendant in the shape of a rose on the table next to her bed. When she got up to look around she discovered that Youko was gone.

~*~End Dream~*~

Autumn opened her eyes slowly and looked around. She was still on the crystal car thing. She had her head resting on Kurama's shoulder and she was shocked to realize that he had his arm around her.

"Did you sleep well?" Kurama asked softly and smiled down at her.

She smiled back, "Yeah."

She sat up and stretched. She then noticed that Koenma and Botan were sleeping in the back and Freckles and Chuchu were sleeping next to her. She smiled when she remembered her dream.

"What are you so happy about?" Kurama asked.

"I had a dream."

"About what?"

"The first time we met."

Kurama smiled, "So you remember?"

"Yup."

Kurama put his arm around her again, "I missed you my dear friend."

"Dear friend? We only knew each other for a few hours. Ah well, I missed you too."

They sat silent for a while until the car came to an abrupt stop at another ledge. The stop shook everyone awake. Koenma and Botan looked around curiously.

Freckles yawned, "Should we get off?"

"Yep." Autumn said before getting up and opening the door.

Kurama followed her out after taking the glowing crystal out of the platform. The hallway leading out had crimson colored walls. The glowing green crystals stopped glowing while they walked. The group walked in silence. Suddenly the echoes of a fight far away down the hall broke the silence.

"Do you hear that?" Autumn stopped walking to listen.

"Sounds like a fight…" Kurama said.

"Maybe it's the others…" Freckles said hopefully.

"Maybe." Autumn said. They continued to walk in silence as the sounds faded.

***

Dariken walked silently as he thought. Baby sister… Please be okay…

Margaret yawned, "Uh oh, I'm falling asleep… I know what to do!" She pulled a few pixie sticks out of her pocket and downed them quickly.

"NUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!" Mike yelled when he saw that Margaret was eating pixie sticks.

Margaret smiled, "Sugar is good for the soul, that it is."

"Kenshin's cool." Arielle said.

Margaret twitched before starting to laugh maniacally. Everyone stopped walking to look at her. Jin reached out a hand to her, "Are you okay…?"

"WAFFLES WILL RULE THE EARTH AND I WILL RULE THE WAFFLES!!!!!!!!!!" Margaret yelled before continuing to laugh maniacally.

Thorn stirred in Dariken's arms. He hissed at Margaret, "Be quiet human. You're disturbing Thorn's sleep."

Margaret blinked, "WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She started running in circles flapping her arms.

Yusuke sweat dropped, "Let's just keep walking and ignore her."

The others mumbled agreement as they started walking again. After walking for a while longer the crystals suddenly turned off and stayed off.

"It's dark!" Margaret said.

"No shit, Sherlock!" Arielle said.

"What's that light?" Kuwabara asked pointing down the hall ahead.

"What light, Kuwabara?" Yusuke asked.

"The light that I'm pointing at!"

Everyone agreed that Kuwabara's statement was too stupid to reply to. Instead they just sat in the dark and waited for something to happen.

"Hey! A light!" Tundra said as he looked ahead. The others turned and saw the light too. AS the light drew closer the group could see that there were four people and two animals.

"AUTUMN!!!!!!!" Margaret yelled happily as she glomped Autumn. The crystals started glowing again so that everyone could see each other.

Autumn pushed Margaret away and got up, "Lemme guess, you had pixie sticks in your pocket?"

"Yup!" Margaret smiled.

"Koenma? Botan? What are you two doing here?" Yusuke pointed at them.

"We got transported here somehow…" Botan answered.

"What happened to Thorn?" Autumn asked, concerned about her friend.

"Well, Thorn got angry at Dariken and they fought. Thorn lost." Mike answered.

Autumn glared at Dariken and then grinned evilly, "Well, they say you only hurt the ones you love."

Dariken blushed and grumbled. Mike grinned, "If that's true, then Margaret must really love Kuwabara."

Margaret whacked Mike in the head, "Gross! I'd never like it!!!"

Arielle walked over to Autumn, "How'd you get a light?"

Autumn blinked, "You mean to tell me that none of you thought to try taking the glow crystals out of the wall???"

Dariken laughed, "Forgive us, for we have not been blessed with your superior intellect."

Autumn sighed and shook her head. Thorn stirred and woke up. She looked around, "AUTUMN! You're safe!"

Autumn smiled, "You're not getting rid of me that easily!"

Thorn laughed, "I was worried about you… Did you and Kurama do anything while you were gone?"

Autumn blushed and glared at Thorn, "You can't be that hurt if you're still thinking perverted thoughts!"

Hiei walked over to stand near Kurama. "Do you know what happened that caused us to wind up here?" Hiei asked.

"Not yet." Kurama replied.

"I do! I do!" Chuchu jumped up and down.

"You do?" Kurama asked. Everyone stopped to look at her.

Chuchu smiled, "Mutant space cows teleported us here to feed us to their army of zombie weasels!"

Everyone sweat dropped. Freckles sighed, "There are no mutant space cows…"

"Oh yeah, then why are we here?" Chuchu narrowed her eyes.

"I don't know, but it has nothing to do with mutant space cows or zombie weasels."

"Lookie! Lookie! The wall's opening!" Margaret was pointing at the wall. An opening was forming in it. On the other side stairs made of jet led up to two doors made of golden crystal. There were two red glowing crystals on either side of the doors.

"Should we go up?" Yusuke asked.

"Of course we should! There's no other way!" Koenma yelled before taking a step toward the stairs. The others followed except for Autumn, Kurama, Dariken, Thorn, Freckles and Chuchu.

"Don't go up yet!" Dariken called before putting Thorn down. He took her wing and started to examine it.

Autumn took a water bottle full of the glowing water out of her bag. "Drink this, it'll heal you quickly."

"Thanks…What is it?" Thorn asked as she looked at it.

"It's water with crushed glow crystal in it." Autumn replied.

Thorn drank it and gave the bottle back to Autumn. Some of Thorn's minor cuts started to disappear. "Wow, this stuff really works!" Thorn said happily.

Autumn thought for a moment before saying low enough so that the others wouldn't hear, "Thorn, there's something I think you should know about me…"

"What's that?" Thorn asked a bit concerned.

Dariken looked shocked, "You can't mean…? But Kurama's here!"

"Kurama already knows. Now be quiet. This is my decision to make." Dariken crossed his arms and frowned. Autumn continued, "Thorn, you know how Dariken's been calling me 'little sister' and acting all brotherly toward me and stuff? Well that's because I really am his sister. I'm Phantom Harmony."

Thorn blinked for a moment as her words settled in, "NO WAY!!!!!!!" Autumn motioned for her to be quiet. Thorn continued more quietly, "Well that would explain a lot… I can't believe it! I'm finally meeting my hero! You're my hero! I always wanted to be just like you!" Thorn held out a piece of paper, "Can I have your autograph?"

"Stop making such a fuss! You'll attract attention!" Dariken hissed.

Thorn glared at him, "You knew all along! And you didn't tell me!!!"

"I couldn't. She asked me not to." Dariken pointed at Autumn.

"Yeah, I kinda didn't want anyone to find out, but then Kurama figured it out and I decided it couldn't hurt to tell you."

Dariken's ear twitched in annoyance, "I knew Kurama would figure it out."

Thorn blinked, "Something wrong, Dariken?"

"He hates Kurama." Autumn shrugged.

"You do? But I thought you wanted to help get Kurama and Autumn to go out?"

"I knew you were planning something!" Autumn pointed accusingly at Thorn.

"It doesn't matter how much I hate him. My baby sister fell in love with him and I want her to be happy."

"Aww how sweet!" Autumn smiled.

"By the way, I've been keeping that necklace safe for you like you wanted me to. I can get it for you if you want." Dariken rubbed the back of his head.

"Necklace?" Thorn asked.

"Long story." Autumn answered.

"Hey! Are you guys ready to go yet?" Yusuke called over at them.

"How's you wing?" Autumn asked Thorn.

"Completely healed." Thorn flexed her wing and smiled. They then walked over to join the rest of the group.

Yusuke led the way up the stairs to the doors. He reached out and pushed them both open. The room beyond had walls made of silver crystals. The floor was made of golden crystals. A large white glowing crystal was hanging from the center of the ceiling. In the center of the room was a large slab made of light blue crystal. It was standing upright on a base of light green crystal in the shape of a large bird. The slab had a hole carved in it. The hole was in the shape of a feather. In each corner of the room a waterfall flowed into a hand carved basin much like that of the room with the mist. This room also had mist that was covering the ground but it didn't have the same bewitching effect.

As soon as everyone had stepped into the room the doors slammed shut behind them. Touya and Jin tried to open the doors but they were locked tight. Laughter echoed throughout the room.

"You fools! You still don't realize that I've tricked you all into giving me just what I want!" A shadowy figure stepped out of the shadows. It was wearing a hooded robe but removed the hood to reveal her evil grin.

"Nuala???" Yusuke asked confused.

"Yes and now, thanks to Koenma's stupidity I will finally be able to plunge both the human world and the demon world into chaos!" Nuala started to laugh insanely.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dream: Wow that was really long.

Freckles: yeah

Dream: I liked it!

Freckles: Me too!

Dream: ^_^

Freckles: ^_^ can I have a carrot?

Dream: nope, you already had four.