[Disclaimer is on the first chapter. Yadda yadda yadda. Well, good ending is 3 ahead of multiple. This is going to be the last chapter before the last one. I need your votes. The cross over has 3 votes over on not to do it. I refuse to post anything that is permanent and that will confuse readers that read this story after it is completed. Please enjoy this chapter and VOTE.]
Torment
The girls each stood in shock and horror of what they saw in front of them. The burning Hinata sou was right out of an old nightmare. The fogged over area of Keitarous' mind was just off to their right. They each acknowledged it but could only continue to stare at the building.
"Kami, what have we done." Said Motoko loosely while staring at the nightmarish vision.
"Keitarou," this time Naru taking a step closer. "We have to get moving or else we won't save him in time." The others slowly came out of their shock and nodded. "We'll cover more ground if we split up, I'll take the second level."
"I'll take the living area and the hot springs." Volunteered Kitsune.
"I'll take the third level." Chimed in Su.
"The third level deck and the basement for me." Motoko added in.
"I'll get the kitchen and the first level rooms." Volunteered Shinobu.
"Okay then, let's go get out manager back." Cheered Naru.
The others cheered with her and broke up while running into the building.
********
Shinobu ran through the flames into the kitchen. After checking it over and finding no Keitarou she decided to go check out the rooms instead. Running through the main living area where Kitsune was currently struggling to get one of the fragments away from the nightmarish place. She first entered Kitsunes room, Keitarou, or at least on of the fragments of his mind was strapped to the table and Kitsune or one of the many in this reality was whipping him hard. The room was different in that is carried several torture instruments, the furniture was also rearranged a bit. The nightmare Kitsune raised up her whip to strike Keitarou again.
"No, leave Sempai alone." Shinobu ran foreword and knocked Kitsune over, Falling on the ground herself she quickly recovered and began un-strapping him from the table. Half way through the nightmare Kitsune stood up and gave Shinobu a good lash across the face with her whip.
"How dare you interfere with my fun you little brat." It stepped a bit closer and Shinobu backed up closer to the wall. Just then the real Kitsune hit the double and sent her flying into the wall. Shinobu then had some help in un-strapping Keitarou before the other one recovered and then they strapped the nightmare one down.
"Go, take this one and the one I have outside and get them to the safe spot, we'll handle the rest." Shouted Kitsune.
Shinobu nodded and quickly replied grabbing the fragments by their hands and guiding them outside.
********
Kitsune had ran into the living area right off the back. She ran right into a nightmare version of herself who was having on of the fragments of Keitarous' mind clean the living area. Jumping her she began to fight with her other self. About the time she started to have the upper hand Shinobu ran past to go check the rooms on the first floor. Grabbing a near by sake bottle she broke it and jabbed it into her other selves face.
"How dare you interfere with my fun brat" It came from her room, or the room that would be hers if this was really the Hinata sou.
Kitsune took off and saw that yet another nightmare version of her was getting ready to whip Shinobu. Charging foreword she knocked it into the wall and helped Shinobu un-strapped Keitarou and strap the other version to the table.
"Go, take this one and the one I have outside and get them to the safe spot, we'll handle the rest." She shouted at Shinobu who promptly complied.
Kitsune then ran to the hot springs area covering her face, the flames and heat was almost too real to bare. Sounds filtered through the loud roar of the blaze indicating that the others had found what they were looking for. Running into the hot springs area Kitsune found yet another one of the fragments. Cleaning the Hot spring, or what would have been the hot spring.
The water was a flaming hot fluid, obviously magma and sitting in it was yet another version of her nightmare self. This time it recognized her and reached to drag Keitarou in. Kitsune leapt and grabbed hold of the fragment that was struggling against the grip of the nightmare Kitsune.
"Come, let big sister show you how warm and relaxing the water is." Said the nightmarish version of her.
Kitsune couldn't hit her at all, she just kept hold of Keitarou, after a short time Keitarou was being pulled under, Kitsune redoubled her efforts to pull the fragment out but it had already been halfway submerged. Finally though she was able to pull it out. Mot much was left to the fragment but it would have to do. Lifting what was left of it over her shoulder she quickly carried it out of the inn.
********
Su had checked the location of her room first, she saw Keitarou laying on a table strapped down. A drill was inching ever so close to him as well as a scalpel. Both being held in the hands of, herself. Su ignored it knowing that she needed a weapon of some sort to fight this version of herself. Picking up the ion ray in the corner of her room she began blasting the other versions of herself.
After a short fight Su kept her ion ray and released Keitarou who was obviously being dissected. After gather what she could of him up she led the fragment over to Motokos' room. Inside she saw Keitarou tied to the ceiling and another nightmare version of the girls. Motoko this time, who was slowly using her samurai weapons on him to slowly peel his body away layers at a time, Su jumped into the room and shot her with the Ion ray a few times as well. It jumped around dodging her ray then began to strike back. Su was on the defensive now and had to think fast. Suddenly she jumped and latched onto the nightmares back giving it her best crushing bear hug that she could. After a while Motoko fell over and Su was able to get the other fragment of Keitarou, she then guided them out of the inn.
********
Motoko was on the third level deck facing yet another version of herself. The basement had a fragment in it but the whole thing went up in a giant ball of flame and she couldn't locate any remnants of the fragment. Along her way up to the balcony she had seen at least three other versions of herself, one in her own room the other two finished with destroying the other fragments and fading into nonexistence. The balcony held three other fragments and another version of herself.
She took it by surprise and got it's sword away from it. Taking the sword out of it's sheath she then began to strike at the nightmarish version of herself. After a short while Motoko could no longer tell if it was herself or her other self that she was attacking. Hearing a slight grinding sound behind her she turned and saw her other self leaping into the air.
"Oh no you don't. Zan ku sen, Ni, no-tachi." Letting loose the most powerful attack in her schools history, an attack she still had yet to master, it hit her other self who was then knocked over the railing, but not before it grabbed one of the fragments by the shirt.
Motoko ran over to save the fragment only to see the other version of herself still clinging onto it. It's body was being dissolved by her attack but it was still determined to take Keitarou with it.
'You may have won, but you will not save them all.' It then used the last of it's strength to push off the balcony taking the fragment with it.
She watched as her other self grinned evilly at her as it dissolved and helplessly watched the fragment hit the hot springs below, which were filled with magma. Grabbing the other two she made a mad dash out of the inn, tears streaming down her face.
********
Naru had checked Shinobus' room first, it wasn't pretty, the room had been destroyed and was threatening to collapse. Other than that it was empty. Rushing to her room she noticed two fragments inside one was studying at the table while the other was currently being beaten by her other self and on occasion it was flung at the other. Rushing foreword Naru gave the other self that was doing this a swift uppercut but her arm was caught and she was flipped over.
After she landed on her back her other self made a dash for on of the Keitarous' and kicked it hard enough to be sent flying into Shinobus' room which then collapsed on top of the fragment. Resolving to save the other one Naru gave the nightmarish version of herself a quick punch to the back which launched it in the same way the fragment went. It caught with the last bit of room as it fell in and was drug down with it. She then turned her attention to the remaining fragment.
"I will not loose you, Keitarou. I refuse to loose you." She said as she began to walk down the hall way with it, reaching where the stairs had been she noticed they were gone, remembering the hole in the floor she went back to her room and entered Keitarous' room. Inside were five other fragments and three other versions of herself.
One of the fragments flew past her and into the wall destroying it as it flew into another part of the collapsing inn. Naru let go of her fragment and struck the closest of her alternate selves, it hit another and they both were destroyed by flying into Kitsunes room and were destroyed along with a version of Kitsune that was strapped to the table when the roof collapsed, the other one just grinned at her.
"Nice shot but it was on the wrong person." It said grinning at her.
"What do you mean? I'm here to save Keitarou." IT just laughed at her.
"Save him? Why would you want to save him?" the door slid open and the nightmare turned to face the others as well. "I take it you're here for the same reason as well. Your nothing but a bunch of hypocrites. Don't you know that you're the ones to put him here in the first place, you didn't even give a second thought to it."
"That's not true." Shouted Kitsune.
"Oh, is it? You're the one that emptied his account time and time again. Just so that you could buy yourself some liquor." It turned to Motoko. "And you, not one of the versions you have seen did anything more than what you would have done. In fact I think they were a bit more kind to them." Looking at Su now. "Missiles lasers, drills scalpels what's the difference." Again back to Naru. "Tell me that the how you really treated him is no different than how he is treated here, this place is built on everything you have ever done to him. You built it to destroy him and now it will. You have no hope of savin..."
"Enough" yelled Motoko. "I've had it with your lies, Zan ku sen, Ni no-tachi." Her technique failed to be released.
"Lies? If I'm the liar then why did your technique refuse to work for you?" the roof above their heads began to moan and crack some. "You're too late to undo what you have done. It was too late when you destroyed his body. We have done nothing that you haven't done and if you doubt my word look into your memories yourselves."
"No, it's not true." Yelled Naru collapsing to the ground in tears. "It's not true, we only did those things because we thought seeing him the way he was better than a movie. We all regret what we have done." Naru was sobbing heavily now. "If I had know this would happen I wouldn't have treated him this way, I care for Keitarou, I love him, we all do, that is the difference between us and this world, is we all love him."
"If you do love him, then why did you treat him so badly? Why is he deaf? Blind? Mute? Why did you all cause him to become these things, do you know what, secretly he wanted it, he wanted it to drive out the pain."
"Quiet." Muttered Motoko.
"Just like he wants to die, it's the only way he can escape from your torture. Because if he tries to run away, you'll just drag him back to it and if he tries anything else it won't succeed."
"Silence" Motoko again, yelling angrily at the Nightmare Naru.
"You call what you did love? If that's love than I'd like to see what your hatred looks like."
"Enough," they all yelled. "Keitarou is ours, not yours. We will not let him die like this."
"Then what, back to the daily beating? We are all you, we are all…" It was cur off as they each ganged up on her and struck the nightmarish vision in their own ways.
Shinobu used a frying pan across it's chin hitting it as hard as she could, Su used her ion ray hitting the nightmare in the chest, Motoko swung her sword down again using all of the Ki she could summon into a single attack. Kitsune used a bottle of Sake and completely destroyed it hitting the nightmare over the head with it then she stabbed it in the gut giving the bottle a twist as it sunk in. Naru however was the one that delivered the final blow hitting it and ending it flying high through the burning roof and into the sky.
They all stood there after destroying the last nightmare. The roof then began to collapse.
"Oh no, quick every one, grab on of the fragments in this room and lets get out of here." Yelled Naru the other nodded and took on of the fragments each.
The world outside of the hellish Hinata sou was quickly vanishing, they carried the fragments to the edge of the safe zone and barely made it into it before the other world faded from view. The fragments also vanished.
Looking around they soon stumbled on the playground near the Hinata sou. A young boy was playing in the sand box with a much younger girls in a white kimono, the girl looked some what anemic.
"Keitarou," the young boy looked up. "This girls mom will be working at our inn, will you play with her?" It was Granny Hina.
"Yes I will." The girl stepped out from behind Hina. She was wearing a red dress and a stripped shirt. Holding a Liddo-kun doll behind her back. The other girl pointed to it.
"Ahh, Liddo-kun." The other girl that looked allot like Mutsumi then held it out and gave the plush doll a squeeze. The memory faded.
"You see that?" asked Kitsune to the others. "That girl in the white kimono must have been you Naru." Naru just nodded as the image came back into view.
Keitarou and Mutsumi were playing in the sand box making a large dome.
"I heard that if two people go to toudai they will be together." She then gave Keitarou a kiss on the cheek. "Lets go to Toudai together. Kei-kun." The boy blushed and nodded his head.
"Uh, Hai." The girl giggled and handed him her Liddo-kun.
"I know you like her, here give this to her and promise her to meet at toudai with us."
Keitarou walked over to the little girl in the white Kimono and gave her the Liddo-kun.
"Lets go to toudai together and live in happiness." The little girl looked up from the Liddo-kun doll to him.
"Toudai?" The memory faded again.
"No wonder why this part of his mind is so stable, it holds the most precious memories Urashima has had his entire life." said Motoko who was hushed by the others.
It came back in a truck crossing a bridge with the girl in the red dress leaning out the window, Keitarou was chasing it.
"Kei-kun, Bye Bye, when we get older lets meat up at Toudai." Keitarou tripped and then looked up.
"I promise, when we get older we will meet at Toudai."
The memory faded off and the Virtual Kun gave them the signal that it was shutting off, they all waited patiently in the fogy are of Keitarous' mind until their screens became blank.
[Votes people Votes, good ending, bad ending, middle ending, or multiple ending. If I do multiple I'll post the good one first. Well I hope you enjoyed it, review if you want, and I still have steak for any flames. And don't forget to VOTE on the ending and on the cross over.]