Chapter 11: All in the Head

Disclaimer: Fushigi. Not mine. Okay?

a/n: for those of you confused on the shifting POV thing, to make it easier for you, Akire doesn't have her own POV in this chapter, so if someone talks in first person, that would be Tasuki. The other parts would just be narratives. And, I know, guns weren't invented back then, so it's kinda weird to use the phrase "son-of-a-gun", but it sounds so cool I had to include it. It's so...Tasuki-like :)

Tasuki's POV

Okay, dude, just, just recap what happened for the past hour. We were fighting Ikegai and his clones, and then Akire and I are pulled into Ikegai's mind. So now, they're fightin' tooth and nail, and I see this white light eating its way towards us from afar. Why can't I have a normal day? Just one measly day, that's all I'm askin'!

Akire seems to be doin' okay on her own, so I gotta leave and check out what's happenin' somewhere else. Hate to leave her with a maniac like that, but I got this really sinkin' feelin' about that white mass movin' towards us.

Wonder if I can run faster than I can in the real world. Boy, if I run really fast over there, how fast am I now? WHOAH! I barely put my foot forward and I'm already here, starin' directly at the creepy, white mass swallowin' everythin' in its path. Tendrils o' light snaked through the ground.

How do I stop it? Akire said I didn't need my tessen to summon fire anymore. Should I burn this thing? I look at my hand, and I see this freaky glow comin' from it. "This is so messed up!" I yelled. I really, really wanna get out of this nightmare. I won't stop whinin' till I –AAARRRRGH!

Way to go, kid, you just got yourself swallowed by the damn white thing, an' now, you're gonna be torn apart by whatever it is that's got you. "I'M NOT GOIN' DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT, Y'HEAR!" With that, I let all hell break loose on the white sucker and started burnin', burnin', burnin' what I see (or don't see).

How, how long have I been, been fightin' this thing? It's gettin' hard, hard to, to breathe. Out of the corner of my blurry eye, I see the jets of flame comin' from my hand fade, till I ain't lettin' out any more heat. Just when I thought this was really the end, I hear voices. Voices. Shouting. Shouting my name. First, the voices seem distant, echoing like they came from some faraway mountain. Then, the voices grew louder, till it seemed like they were shoutin' at my ear. Wait. There's a different chorus of voices, aw, forget it. Passing out now, I guess. This sucks. I'm gonna faint again! I-DON'T-WANT-TO...

...to...

...faint? Well, got my wish. I didn't faint. I just suddenly found myself lyin' on the cavern floor in the real world. Where's everybody?

"BOO!"

"YAAAAAARRRGH!"

"Made you look!"

Sheesh. Just when I thought I was gonna get some peace, Nuriko pops into view and startles me. He pinches my nose and says, "Are you really alive? That's too bad! Chichiri shouldn't have tried to save you when we saw your limp, icy body slowly reappearing inches from death!"

"Well, Ib sho showy ta tisaboint ya," I muttered, as I spat on his hand. Heh, needless to say he let go of my nose pretty quick.

"EWW! Rabies! I don't wanna end up like that big, bad orange wolf!" he said, wipin' his hand on my sleeve. "You know," he said, "when that implosion happened and you two disappeared, we had this crazy thought you got trapped inside Ikegai, so we kept shouting like crazy right before you reappeared." Shouting? So it was THEM that I heard back there.

I said, "I guess we have to wait for Akire to come back, since I really didn't know how I was sent there in the first place." Tama-baka showed his face and said, "Ooh, someone's waitin' for a girl!" I lost no time in spittin' on his face, too, the doof. He wiped it off and hissed, "I'm gonna get your hidden wine reserve for this, I swear!"

I grinned as wide as I can ('cause I know he ain't never gonna find it), and sat up, only to cringe in pain again. I looked at my hands and saw dried blood, my blood, on them. "Aww, crud!" I said, remembering what Akire said about my body returning to its normal state when I'm sent back to reality.

I was gonna call Mitsukake to check my wounds, when I felt this almighty wallop on my back! All the wind got knocked outta me, and I crouched down on the ground, gasping. "IKEGAI! LOOK AT IKEGAI!" Chichiri shouted. I whirled around to see Ikegai's limp body (well, ain't limp any more, anyway) thrash around, his mouth frothin' like some crazy horse. It, or he, or, aw heck, Ikegai started fightin' and boxin' the air. Boy, wonder what's goin' on back there inside his head. Yeah,

Akire, give him hell!

Inside Ikegai's mind (duh...)

Akire leaped away as Ikegai's arm slashed through the air. She nimbly landed on a nearby hill and saw Tasuki disappear in the blink of an eye. "TASUKI, DON'T!" she shouted, but he was out of earshot. Thinking the worst, she averted her eyes from the ground (which had a burnt trail, thanks to Tasuki traveling at the speed of thought) and finally saw the white mass enveloping everything it comes across. "And Tasuki ran off to face certain doom. Poor idiot!"

Unfortunately, Ikegai took advantage of the momentary distraction and immediately kicked her on the stomach. This being fought inside his psyche, his and everyone else's powers and abilities are increased dramatically, hence sending Akire crashing through a wall of solid rock (And no, I do not know how to enter someone's mind, so don't ask. And don't try it at home, either).

Cringing in pain, Akire grasped a part of the shattered rock and tried standing, pulling herself upright. "Like I have said before, I have the upper hand. I am so surprised that of all the sensible people I have known, you were a fool enough to try and stop me here," Ikegai said, taking his sweet time, as he walked over to where she was standing.

Her teeth clenched and body shaking from the strain, she managed to stand and said, "And like I said, it remains to be seen." Ikegai frowned, and was about to knock her out but Akire gripped the rock with all her might, and threw it as hard as she could at Ikegai. This time, it was HIS turn to go hurtling away, and with no obstructions to stop him, he went crashing down into the ground, blasting away a portion of it. He lay still in the center of the still smoking crater, seemingly unconscious.

Akire's legs buckled under the strain, and she collapsed, breathing heavily. Spotting Ikegai motionless, she sighed. "It looks like the worst is over," she remarked, as she rested for awhile, and then managed to hobble over to the crater. "Well, you bloody devil, you gave us quite a run for our money there. But now that you're 'unconscious', your mind is now mine to command. Any minute now, I'll be given control over you, so I can seal off your powers and we can blow this joint. Of course, we'll be sent back to Amria, with you in chains. Or a pine box. Just kidding."

A precious few seconds passed, and Akire's brow furrowed with worry. "Odd," she thought, "Our surroundings should've been altered by now. I should've been able to take control and get out of here by now. Unless..." she glanced at the center of the crater, and sure enough, Ikegai was gone. "Still conscious. Probably going to ambush me. When will this ever...stop...?" Her words grew to a faint whisper. In fact, no words were needed to express the sudden shock and fear she felt, as she stared directly into the gluttonous creeping tendrils of the white mass. (...and the Pulitzer goes to...)

Back to Tasuki

"DO something!" Nuriko shouted at me, as I wearily evaded Ikegai's advances. "He, he probably thinks I'm Akire. Maybe whatever happens to him inside his head, that's what's he doin'...waitaminute! Why DO I have to DO anything?" Nuriko shrugged. "Because you're the only one 'round here who's been in his loco brain?"

I wanted to point out that it wasn't an excuse, when Ikegai stopped short right in front of me, then suddenly ricocheted off! "WHAT IN HELL?!" I shouted, as he landed forcefully into the rocky cavern floor, creatin' a crater 'round him. I scratched my head and said, "Weird. It's like he got slammed with a big boulder or sumthin', sumthin' nasty."

As if that ain't the end of my problems, a pebble dropped from above and hit my head. "Owwwwwch! Uhhhh-ooooh," I muttered out loud, as I looked up to see this crack snaking its way across the cavern ceiling, joined by a sickening, rumbling sound. Boy, Ikegai landed with so much force, he's gonna bring down this cave with him!

We held our breath, stood really still and made no sound, as the rumbling sound mercifully grew quieter, and the crack stopped growing larger. "Whew! We better hightail our butts outta here," Tamahome whispered. We were about to do just that, when Miaka spotted Ikegai and shouted, "HEY! What do we do with him? He's twitching again!" No 'ffense to her, but now the crack just went on cracklin' and everythin' started to rumble again. This time, ain't no puny pebbles tumblin' down. We're talkin' about the whole...damnable...roof.

"EVERYBODY OUT, NOW!" Hotohori shouted. Dude, no need to tell me twice. "Last one out's a rotten corpse!" I said gleefully. I entered the dozens of tunnels leading away from this stinkin' place, and just when I was about to sprint away to freedom, I suddenly realized, "HEY! HEEEEY! IKEGAI! IF HE DIES, AKIRE DIES!"

Nuriko grabbed me by the neck and knocked on my skull. "Hello! Nice of you to bring that up just now! Anyway, we're trying to restrain Ikegai so we'd be able to get him out, but it's no use! It's as if he really doesn't want to go!" I frowned, nodding quickly, and said, "Alright already! Now put me down!" Nuriko shrugged, then let go. I coughed, breathing in the dust that the tremors are stirrin' up. "B-bad, enough t-that I've lost a lot o' blood, then you d-do this to m-me, you damn drag queen!" I sputtered in between coughs.

We ran back to where Ikegai was (dodging some big pieces of rock that broke off from the cavern) and saw him, or his body anyway, wriggling like a snake, kicking everyone who tries to get closer to him. "Akire isn't here yet," I kept on muttering, my eyes darting from the ceiling to Ikegai. I was really gonna ask if there's any other way to drag that whacko to the exit, I mean, with Nuriko's strength, and all our powers, there's gotta be a way.

"Nuriko, you're the strong one, restrain him!" I yelled ducking as chunks and chunks of rock fell down. Already, a big hunk's half-blocked the exit, and fissures are startin' to crack open beneath our feet. I'm gonna be buried alive. Perfect. Saves funeral costs. I whipped out my tessen and blasted away a particularly large boulder. Unfortunately, it exploded to a million pieces that ricocheted into everyone else's direction, much to their annoyance.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Nuriko grabbing the writhing Ikegai by the arms, but he just can't. "Stay still you uncontrollable worm!" she screamed. "I don't know why, not even my magic can do anything. For someone who isn't 'conscious', he sure is strong!" Chichiri remarked. Boo, freakin' hoo. This guy's gonna take us all to the grave.

Where is Akire? Of course, still inside that nutso's head. The tunnel's all blocked now. Everything's goin' darker already. I kept on pourin' out fire power, but we're all dead if we don't do somethin' real soon. Too bad Akire's still inside his head, she's gonna miss all this life-threatenin' action. Wait a minute.

"Ch-chichiri! CHICHIRI!" Man, the air's so thick with, with dust we're all chokin' in it. Either that, or the fallin' rocks are blockin' up the air in here.

"I'm here! I can get us all out of here, except Ikegai! He's just resisting so much!" Chichiri yelled back.

"I need you to send the others back, then send ME back into Ikegai's mind!" I said. Chichiri replied, "I'll try, Tasuki. But if something bad happens to your physical body, you're gonna know. Don't stay in there too long." With that, he does that magic mumbo-whatsis of his. First, he got everyone else out of this hell-hole, and then it was just him, me and Icky (bet they won't be all too happy about being suddenly whisked away). And don't forget the ever-collapsing cavern.

Chichiri hollered, "Okay, Tasuki, I need you to shield us from the rocks while I do the transfer!" I grabbed my handy-dandy tessen and said, "No problemo." Yeah, right. This HUGE rock fell right in front of me, and I tripped tryin' to avoid it. Now, another rock fell down and pinned my leg! Great. And the fan got knocked out of my hand, too!

Biting my lip from the pain, I tried and reached for my tessen, but it's too far! "I'm...beginning...to, to complete the...transfer!" Chichiri said through the strain. No need to tell me, pal, I'm blackin' out. What's worse, I see more rocks fallin' in Chichiri's direction, and I really, really don't wanna know what happens if my brain got stuck between my body and Ikegai's. If-I-could-just-reach-

-that-

-TESSEN! "LEKka Shien!" As I see the fire blast away the rock, as I see Chichiri complete the transfer and getting plunked on the head with a rock afterwards, as I see everything goin' darker and darker inside the cave, and the air getting' hotter and my breathin' getting' shorter and shorter, I feel myself bein' pulled into Ikegai's mind again.

Akire's eyes widened as she stared into the white void. At that same instant, Tasuki's astral form materialized some distance away. "Oh, no. AKIRE, MOVE! MOVE!" Tasuki yelled, but Akire was rooted to the spot. He was about to speed to her rescue, when Ikegai jumped out from a bush and head locked him. "If I can't have her, NO ONE WILL!" Ikegai cackled, as he bashed Tasuki's head on a rock.

Tasuki grunted, saying, "Bad enough I'm injured in the physical world, I get bloody here too! By the same guy! On the same day! Or night!" With that, he gritted his teeth and kicked Ikegai on the knees. Howling with pain, Ikegai failed to stop Tasuki from rushing to help Akire at hyper-speed.

He raced faster than a speeding bullet, eh, I mean, he raced towards Akire and carried her away nanoseconds before she was enveloped in the thing. Her mind registering the events a few seconds slower, it was only this time that she shrieked in his ear.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEKK!"

"AAOOOWWCH!" Tasuki let her down with a thud, before vigorously rubbing his ear. "Why'd you have to do that, woman!"

Akire pouted, then said, "Aww, I hurt the wittle fang boy! His wittle ear is hurting! Let your big sister Akire give it a kiss!" Tasuki grimaced and waved his hands wildly at her. "Getcher cooties off me! Gross! Disgusting! Don't want your saliva on my ear!"

Akire laughed, and then hugged him tight. Tasuki was about to get that uncomfortable, awkward feeling again, when Akire suddenly pinched his ear. "What took you so long, you bonehead! I was getting massacred in here!" Tasuki stuck out his tongue and said, "Well, excuse me, but I can very well see with my own two peepers that you're still alive and kickin'!"

And that's when he felt that burning sensation in his stomach. That feeling grew more intense by the second, and spread all over his body. Akire gasped, and pointed at him. "What? What?" he badgered, his throat growing dry. "Look at your hands!" she said, a look of shock on her face. He held his hands out for him to see, and stared at them with disbelief. "I-I'm, f-fading! I CAN SEE THE DAMN GROUND THROUGH MY HANDS!"

"And it's just as well. Your physical body's going through some kind of torment. I know, I feel it too," Ikegai said. "Nobody's talking to you!" Akire snapped, before noticing that Ikegai's image, too, is fading. "I'm the only one who isn't fading, since my physical body's not in the real world, but if Ikegai dies, he's taking us all down with him," Akire said.

"ARRRGGHH!" Tasuki clenched his teeth; every inch of his body feels as if it was burning. Akire immediately rushed to his side. She murmured, "C'mon, pal, you're dying! Let's just get out of here and-"

"-no! You're not backing out on this! Look at him! He's as weak as I am! Now's your chance! Look, Akire, while he's weak, wrap this up quick, and then get us both the hell outta here, okay?" Akire growled in frustration, and then decided to take on Ikegai.

She paused in front of his shaking figure. "Well, looks like I'm winning, but I really didn't want things to end this way, even though you drive me nuts. Sorry." She raised her fist to deliver the final blow, but it immediately fell like a stone back at her side. "My, my head, feels like its...burning!" she said, clutching her head. It didn't take long before she joined Tasuki and crouched down on the ground in agony. Ikegai let out a raspy, weak laugh.

"I, I told y-you, that if I c-can't have you, n-no one will! Normally, m-my body and mind w-will fight for its life, b-but at this instance, I'm s-surrendering to the external forces that are killing me! If I die, y-you all die with me! Even n-now, some crushing force is d-driving the life out of me t-twice as f-fast! And you are a-all s-so weak, y-you can't transport out o-of h-here!" he said, shaking violently.

Tasuki smiled, the smile of a man sentenced to death, a man with nothing to loose. "R-really n-now? I guess, y-you crazy s-son o-of a g-gun, that if we're all g-gonna die, we m-might as well fight it out!" he said, standing up despite the pain. Akire seemingly gave up hope and lay motionless on the ground, groaning.

He stepped closer to Ikegai, who too stands at the ready. He raised his hand, focusing his remaining energy into releasing probably the last bursts of flame he'll ever see. "Y-you and I b-both know t-that your energy's almost spent," Ikegai remarked. "I don't c-care, damn y-you," Tasuki said, and was about to torch Ikegai when he noticed his hand. "My hand, it's...not fading! It's gone back to normal!"

Ikegai took advantage of this delay and rushed at him. Tasuki raised his hand in defense, but it seemed too late, if not for Akire's hand that suddenly darted out of her side and grabbed Tasuki's foot. It sent him crashing down, thus saving him for whatever attack Ikegai tried to pull off.

"Sorry," she said with all the strength she could muster, "b-but looks like you've still got your life ahead of you, while I'm decaying along with Ikegai's bodily functions. I'm sending you back to the real world. Bye, pal, it's been real. Don't worry, I bet you're in good hands." Before he could object, she placed her hand on his brow, channeling her ring's power. It didn't take long for the transfer to begin. But is Tasuki gonna take this sitting down? No, indeed!

The transfer was almost done, when Ikegai lunged at Akire from behind. Spotting him, Tasuki immediately waved Akire's hand away, and sent a burst of flame at Ikegai's direction. But at that instant, time seemed to freeze, and all that could be heard was Akire's high-pitched scream. For with all the commotion, all three seemed to forget about the enigmatic white mass of disintegrating nothingness, and for their carelessness, they are being engulfed within its burning void. Akire's scream reverberated all the while, as it seemed to be the very last sound all three of them will hear...