He remembered completely the place Yamato had informed him about their origins years ago. Ban parked his car in front of a forest entrance and got out. He was ready for this. He would save Himiko from the curse no matter how dangerous it may be. He again jammed his hands into his pockets and walked casually towards the arched-door formed by the tall trees. As he walked through the threshold of branches, perfect darkness was laid before him. Fortunately, he could see a tiny hole of light ahead of the tunnel. After a few minutes of strolling towards the end, he finally reached his destination.

Unpredictably, sharp and glinting spears were poking at him from all sides. Men wearing brown cloths that only covered their lower regions and tattoos indicated that they lived a primitive and barbaric life in this new world of technology. They were also sort of snarling and bearing their teeth at him, and it gave Ban the shivers.

Just when he was about to ask one of them if they could lead him to their medicine woman, an old, ragged, and ugly woman approached him from the crowd. She was wearing a brown robe. Her face looked as if it was made from a wrinkled, rotten pickle, as well as the color of her complexion. But the most eye-catching object that directed his eyes to it was her staff. At the top of it held a red orb that was about the size of his clenched fist. It wasn't a perfect round shape, but he was fascinated and wary about it. It's light was menacing and carried a distinct malevolence that made him grow colder by the second.

"What are you doing here, intruder?" She inquired with a harsh voice.

"I've come here to save one of the Last Children." Ban replied. He didn't want to say more because he was disgusted by the ambiance encircling him.

Silence. Five seconds. Ten. Fifteen. The silence was killing him but he stayed cool as always.

"Follow me." The old woman's face seemed to have aged faster since he said those words to her. As he followed her, Ban sensed that everyone around him was looking threateningly at him.

Ban tailed her into a tent that was located near a platform that was created for sacrifice, he presumed. It had the usual stuff for sacrifice: an altar for the victim, two fire posts at both sides of the center, an ax leaning on the side of the altar, a stand that held a book of magical writings, and a guard standing cautiously next to one of the posts.

He went into the tent and was hit by the scent of putrid aromas. Though he felt like vomiting, he still retained his level-headedness. He saw various kinds of sickening and bizarre things. On a shelf to his left, it contained bottles of small, wide-eyed creatures such as lizards, snakes, rodents, birds, etc. Others had body parts of animals, but some of it also looked that of a human being. It could be both, and that realization made him dizzier by the moment. Nevertheless, he concealed his queasiness. He wanted to get the hell out of the place. Just have to get the antidote, run like hell to the car, and give Himiko the cure. As easy as that. Ban smirked at the thought. I'll bet my life that these bunch of superstitious, crazed, and barbaric folks are nothing compared to the tougher people I've dealt with. But of course, I'm still the best.

In the center of the tent though, was an empty, black cauldron. While on his right side were occupied by two shelves filled with ancient and voluminous books. Must be another set of weird witch stuff.

She rested her staff on the side of the shelf next to her.

As the Get Backer was taking in all of the bizarre happenings of the day, the aged woman suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

"So, you've come to save the last of the Voodoo Children. Hmph! I bet the Kudo brother told you everything, huh? What a blabbermouth." She then uttered something inaudible. Right at that moment, Ban just wanted to get out of this totally strange area.

"Look, I'm not here to talk about Yamato or your feelings for him, but I'm here to save Himiko, okay? So can we get started now?"

"Fine." She glanced at him vehemently. Ban did just the same. "Give me your hand." Ban extended his left hand to her.

"Not that, the other one."

"Why does it matter?" Ban snapped at her.

The woman snorted. "Apparently, the dead boy didn't tell you everything. There are only two reasons why you're the only one who can save the Voodoo Child's life. One, you love her. Second, you have some extraordinary powers. Specifically, you're right hand contains more power. No wonder Kudo chose you as his close friend. Must have used you."

"Well, I don't buy your crap 'bout my friendship with Yamato. The only thing that matters to me right now is to save Himiko. So just tell me what to do in order to save her, thus I can get out of your hair at once."

She snorted again. "It's not going to be that easy, boy. You'll have to finish all of the ob…."

"Obstacles and retrieve the remedy. Blah blah blah. Yeah, yeah I get it already." Annoyed by her pointless talk, he abruptly cut her off.

He then gave her his right hand. Still pouting, she pulled him nearer to center of the room, in front of the cauldron, and took out a sharp knife. She slashed his palm and squeezed it to let lots of blood flowing. Ban winced at the pain, but he didn't mind.

After that, she dropped his hand and walked towards the bottles of disgusting specimens. She took out copious jars and briskly walked back to the cauldron.

"Stay there. I don't want you anywhere near me. You'll disturb my concentration." She pointed at the far end corner of the cramped room.

Concentration my ass. All you have to do is pour in the ingredients and mix it all together. Nevertheless, Ban obeyed. He stood in the corner but kept a close watch on her.

"Having fun?"

"Huh?" Ban turned but found no one. But he recognized the voice.

"I'm talking to you telepathically. It was tough at first, but I reckon you must be real lonely." Yamato's voice soothed Ban a bit. "Just talk to me through your mind…"

"I know, I know." Ban replied to his friend. "I'm not stupid, okay?" Ban was quite annoyed.

"How ya holdin' up, by the way?"

"Oh, I'm having a ball. Just a few hours ago, I had to lie to your sister. I bet she's confused right now. Not to mention that this place stinks. Thanks a lot, Yamato."

"You're welcome."

"Hey, how do I know that she's concocting the right cure? What if it's bogus? She might try to bring out Himiko's curse or something."

"Well, she can't do that. She'll have to wait until the curse surfaces. That's the Voodoo rule. Besides, just like you, she's having a great time making the potion. She just keeps talking to herself that there's no way you're able to get pass her obstacles and so on. She's really having fun, Ban."

"Whatever. Just make sure she does it right."

After a few minutes of waiting, the hag turned around and was holding a vile containing blue fluid. Ban walked towards her and asked, "What's next?"

"Follow me." Vile still in hand, she walked out of the tent. She led him into the open and instructed him to stand in the center of their village; he stood in front of the platform where they apparently held their rituals, between rows of various houses made of wood. He was getting the uncanny feeling that the old witch might use her magic on him.

The witch put the vile in her robe and shouted an order to a certain follower of hers. "Koji, get my staff now!"

A small man, wearing a brown robe, hurriedly ran to her tent. Thirty seconds later, he was at her side and handed over the magic staff. His eyes met Ban's; he narrowed his eyes as if Ban radiated an irritating light from his body. Ban too did the same. He inspected Koji from head to toe; he had yellow eyes, a hawkish nose, dark complexion, and unruly hair.

"Get outta here!" The old witch barked at her short follower. Koji jumped but soon ran off.

"You ready for the first round?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Ban retorted.

Just at that moment, an eagle was scanning the woods from above. It hesitated when it seemingly saw something on the ground. As soon as it identified something familiar, the bird flew away.

To be continued….

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