Thanks to everyone who's read up to this part! Usual disclaimer, not mine, don't sue….here's the end…

V. Let it be done.

Goku was happy; seriously, extremely, ridiculously happy. This latest dream had been the most exciting thing to happen to him sense Sanzo had come and pulled him from that cave! He was getting his memories back! The best he could figure was that along with getting around the seal on his power, he was also able to get around the seal on his memories, and this idea was so awesomely great! He loved Sanzo, and Gojyo, and Hakkai, and Jeepu as a family, and nothing would change that, but there always was a part of him that couldn't ignore the gaping hole in his past. He wanted to know who he had been before being locked away, who he had known, what they had been like……and what he had done to deserve such a punishment.

That part scared him more than a little bit. He knew that he might not like the person he had been, but the dream of Nataku gave him hope. The brief memory didn't feel bad; in fact, it had felt really good! He had just been a normal kid hanging out with another normal kid. If he had friends, then he couldn't have been too bad a person, right? There had to be something more going on, and the only way for him to figure out what that was would be to remember everything, so that was what he would do. He was sure he could take whatever the past held, because he had the present to ground him. No problem.

Goku lay on Sanzo's old bedroll after dinner completely content. Sure he had been kinda pissed when Sanzo kept the new one for himself, but deep down, Goku really didn't mind. This bedroll was still strong with Sanzo's scent and even a little bit of his life energy. Goku was please with that last bit the most. Even though the process had taken a lot out of him, Goku could tell that he was indeed getting stronger. He had begun to notice little things like a keener sense of the other's power and life energy around him. There were others things too that he couldn't really describe; all he knew was that he felt stronger, and that was a very good thing.

As he lay drifting off into sleep, he found himself again focusing on the place within him that acted as a barrier between himself and the last of his true power. The barrier seemed different somehow tonight. He couldn't really place what was different, but he had an odd feeling about it. It didn't matter though, after a few more sessions, the barrier would be useless and probably completely disappear. It was probably just a sign that he was getting close.

Ignoring the strange warning he felt, Goku focused on being near his power and waited for the next sip to come….but it didn't. Usually he only needed to wait a few moments for the next piece, but he had been waiting far longer, and still nothing. He was getting concerned. What could be causing this sudden change? May be he needed to be nearer to the barrier. Slowly, he focused his consciousness on having a greater presence near the barrier, and the effect was immediate. Instead of the usual sips of power, a sudden surge of energy burst past the barrier, shattering it and engulfing his conscious mind. The last piece had fallen; memories were flooding his mind, and as all was revealed to him, he felt his mind slip. He had been wrong. He thought that he could handle the past, but he had been wrong. As his conscious mind was consumed by events that had occurred long ago, his last thoughts lie in the hope that Sanzo could stop him before he hurt anyone too badly.

---500 years ago---

It was another perfect day in Tenkai…not that a day in Tenkai could be anything but perfect, but that was beside the point. Today, Konzen was taking Goku to visit with Ten-chan and Ken-nii chan. Ken-nii had gotten into some trouble with the higher kami, and Ten-chan had asked them over to visit, and Goku was really excited to get to come and play with everyone! He and Konzen were walking through a garden full of blooms on the way, and Goku got the idea to get some flowers for Ken-nii. Flowers would definitely make him feel better! Konzen kept walking as the chibi stopped to pick his favorite ones, but it was ok. Goku knew the rest of the way. He'd meet everyone there and surprise them all!

It only took a couple of minutes for the child to gather what he wanted and he was soon skipping merrily to the residential area where Tenpou lived. He paused as he saw that the door to Ten-chan's home was standing open and wondered at that for a brief moment. Usually the grown-ups wouldn't leave the door open when they were inside; Konzen had said something about other people listening in on them when Goku had asked him about it. Goku shrugged off the thought. They were probably just waiting for him to hurry up.

Not wanting Konzen to get annoyed with him, the youth hurried forward to the open door and stopped in horror before crossing the threshold. Both Ten-chan and Ken-nii lay just beyond the entryway, clothes slowly soaking through with a crimson liquid. Goku heard the sound of struggle further inside, then a voice cried out in pain. He recognized the voice, but he didn't want to believe. He didn't want to see, but he knew he had to; if he could help Konzen…

The world suddenly narrowed. Ignoring the bodies that lay unmoving and still bleeding before him, the child rushed forward. The only thing that mattered in that moment was making sure that Konzen was alright. He had to be! He was Goku's entire world; the sun around which his universe revolved!

He had not gone far when he was met with a waking nightmare. Konzen stood clutching his stomach where blood flowed freely from a large gash there. He stood between Goku and his assailant, so the child was unable to so who was tearing his world apart, but in the next moment, a blade fell slashing across the kami's chest and splashing his blood across the room. A spray of the warm liquid spattered the little one's body as his guardian fell, twisting from the strength of the blow.

Goku couldn't look away. The sun was falling from the sky, and darkness was taking over. In the moment that Konzen hit the floor, Goku was there screaming his name. Goku locked eyes with his sun as the last light of life faded from them, and the world was suddenly very cold. He looked up with accusing eyes to the one who had done this, and felt his heart rip for the third time in the past few moments. Standing over him, covered in blood, bearing a sword stained with the blood of every thing dear to him, was Nataku. He would have been the only light left in Goku's world. He had been his friend. How could he do this? How?

Goku became very suddenly aware of the scent of blood. It permeated the entire room, sickly…sweet…metallic…it was the smell of death. It soaked into him as it radiated from the other boy standing before him. He knew that he would never forget the horrible stench. Nataku had not moved, but stared down at Goku in a sort of horrified shock.

"Why?" Goku had not realized that he was going to speak until the words had come out of his mouth, and once they had, a flood gate opened. Every emotion that he had shoved aside for the past few minutes hit him full on and he was screaming and crying and yelling at the other boy.

"WHY? WHY! WHY! WHY?" Goku felt horrible pain all through his body suddenly, but it didn't matter. They were all dead! Nothing mattered anymore! He felt his limiter shatter, then the world faded into a golden haze that graciously offered respite from the agony of reality.

When he was pulled roughly back into the world, he found himself being held painfully by three very large guards, and Nataku looked as though he had been attacked by a wild animal. A kami he recognized as Nataku's father was speaking to the other boy, but Goku didn't care. He was too tired to care. He hurt too much to care. He heard the words and knew that they should spark an emotion of some kind in him, but all he could think of over and over were the chill lifeless bodies of his family that lay somewhere near-by.

"You've seen what the creature has done here! It is an abomination, not to be trusted!" The man was saying to a group of higher kami who had responded to the incident. "It's destroyed without remorse those who were meant to protect him. My son tried to befriend the creature, but see how it repays friendship." Goku was numb to the accusations and lies. Part of him knew that he should be protesting the words, telling the others what had really happened, but it was easier not to think.

Nataku had been ordered to kill him, but the other boy had walked away eyes glazed. He didn't seem to hear any of the voices that called after him. Goku felt a small stab of resentment at that; he would have welcomed the chance to join Konzen and the others in death. Nataku had taken that chance from him too. No kami other than the War Prince was allowed to kill, and without Nataku, the best the other kami could come up with was to lock him away in a sealed cave atop some mountain. Goku didn't care though. They would also be sealing his memories, but Goku was okay with that as well. They could have them for all he cared…he didn't want to remember…

o--o--o--o

It was Sanzo's watch. The fire had burned down to smoldering embers, and aside from the occasional cricket's chirp or buzz of insect wings, the clearing was completely silent. As much as the monk hated to admit it, the scene was a bit unnerving. Hakkai lay curled up with Jeepu, Gojyo lay curled up with his pillow, and Goku lay completely still atop his bed roll…no snoring, no sleep talking, no flailing acts of contortionism, hell, not even a "kyuu" from the damn dragon! This was getting ridiculous! Half the time he was pissed at the ape for being an idiot and even attempting this while the other half he was hoping the saru would be successful; not that he'd ever admit that.

He could tell that Goku was getting very close to his goal. The only question was would he be able to hold out to the end. There really was no turning back for the idiot, but if anyone could pull this stunt off, he was sure that Goku could; for some reason he had a way of getting away with the impossible. In reality, as best he could figure at least, this problem should never have existed to begin with. Goku wouldn't have been born with power he couldn't control. He probably would have grown into that strength as he grew older if the damn gods hadn't put that stupid limiter on him. Now he was allowing himself to have the control he should have had to begin with; it shouldn't be a problem. So why the hell were the others riding his ass about talking to the idiot to make sure he was alright. If there was really a problem, the saru would come to him like he always did. Despite his many failings, Goku could usually take care of himself just fine.

Sanzo scoffed at himself for spending so much time thinking about idiots when he heard a very slight sound and noticed out of the corner of his eye a slight movement where Goku lay. He stood and moved closer to the saru, foreboding clutching at his gut. He stood over the youth and looked down at him where he lay, hair falling freely around his face. His limiter had split cleanly in half and lay in pieces on either side of his head. That must've been the movement he saw.

"Shit." He swore quietly and kneeled to replace the diadem. He heard motion behind him as Hakkai and Gojyo crawled from their sleeping places. They, like him, were extremely light sleepers, especially in light of recent events. They had probably heard him swear.

"What is it?" Hakkai asked coming up beside him.

"Limiter." Sanzo said shortly, hesitating with his hand just above the saru's head. On sudden inspiration, he moved his hand to the youth's shoulder and shook him roughly.

"What the hell are you doing?" Gojyo exclaimed at the action. "If he's not all there, we're saru food!."

"Shut-up," was Sanzo's reply as he shook the ape again. He wasn't responding and that was actually causing him some concern. Suddenly, gold eyes shot open locking with Sanzo's for a moment. The monk felt a moment of relief. The eyes were not all together focused, but they definitely were lacking in the malice that represented Goku's other half; that was definitely a good sign. At least that's what he thought before he found himself hurling across the clearing to land roughly in the grass.

"NO! NO! WHY?" Tears were streaming from the saru's eyes as he kicked out viciously at everything around him, backing against a tree and huddling low to the ground. He was visibly shaking even from the distance away Sanzo was. This was better that the blood thirsty beast, but not by much. What the hell was going on? Goku was staring at the ground apparently horrified by visions that only he could see. They had to get through to him somehow, but how were they going to do that if they couldn't even get close to him? This was the end; Sanzo could tell. The shattered limiter meant that Goku was now privy to his full strength. The last part would be up to them pulling the dumbass out of his own head before his mind shattered under the stress.

o--o--o--o

The events on the surface did not go unobserved. As Goku lashed out at his friends while attempting to master his thoughts and memories, Li Touten had requested an audience with the ruler of Tenkai and had been presenting a case against the creature. The events as they transpired at the moment were completely corroborating his arguments. That damnable Kenren's reincarnation had just tried to approach the beast and was welcomed with a panicked kick from the heretic. Li Touten smiled.

"I've seen enough," the king sighed closing the view of the world below. "It would seem that your claims hold true, Li Touten. The information I have received until this time has presented the creature as being under control by the High Priest Genjo Sanzo. This is obviously not the case." The last word were directed at Kanzeon Bosatsu who stood amongst the others shaking in barely controlled rage.

"What would your suggestion be in handling the situation, Li Touten." The king turned his eyes back to the speaker who had the floor.

"The creature is a menace to all it is around. It should be locked away where it can do no harm." After conferring with his advisors for a moment, the king turned to Li Touten again. "We are inclined to agree with you." He said. "Let it be done." And with that, the decision was made. Li Touten turned a smug grin to Kanzeon Bosatsu who was being restrained by her aid. She shot him a glare that promised that she would be exacting deadly revenge. The kami did not care however; let Kanzeon fume as much as she wanted. Soon, no one would be able to touch him. All was playing out in accordance to his design now.

o--o--o--o

They had been playing this game of touch and go for a while, and Hakkai could tell that Sanzo was getting annoyed. Goku was not making any progress. At this rate…he didn't even want to finish the thought; Goku would be fine. A sudden gunshot rang out through the night and Sanzo was suddenly yelling at Goku and approaching him with no regard for the youth's current condition. Hakkai shot a glance toward Gojyo who shrugged at him in return. They would let Sanzo handle this. He was the best person to handle trouble with Goku after all.

The shot had blown very close to Goku's head and had definitely caught his attention. He was now staring up at Sanzo confusion and pain plain in his weeping eyes.

"Are you gonna stay like that all night, baka!" Sanzo was yelling at him. "Get your ass up so that we can get back on the road." Goku continued staring up at the man coherence finally beginning to wake in his eyes again.

"Konzen?" Hakkai's attention was immediately caught by the name. He had heard it once before, the night that Kanzeon Bosatsu had saved Sanzo's life, she had called him by the same name, but Sanzo didn't know that. A paper fan was produced and succinctly wacked Goku in the head.

"Wrong, try again." The monk spoke in a bored voice, but the intense look he was giving Goku betrayed his true feelings. He was just as concerned as the rest of them. Goku was rubbing his head where he had been struck, but the blow more than anything else seemed to finally be grounding him.

"Sanzo?" The youth looked up with eyes that finally seemed clear and Hakkai and Gojyo both hazarded a few steps closer.

"Who else would it be, bakasaru?" Sanzo looked down at the youth and cracked a rare almost-smile. That had done it. Goku was back with them and completely in control of his full power. "Now get up from there so that we can get out of here." Sanzo reached his hand out to his young charge. Goku looked up at him, full understanding dawning on his face. He knew that he had been successful; all the work that he had done, all that he had been through…it had all been worth it for that moment. A genuine smile formed on Hakkai's lips as he and Gojyo moved forward to help Goku up, but as he reached up a hand to take Sanzo's proffered one, a shackle suddenly appeared at his wrist. The look of joy on Goku's face changed to horror as another shackle formed on his other wrist. He had time enough to lock eyes with Sanzo in a last terrified moment before a final chain clamped around his neck and he vanished completely.

They all stood in shocked silence trying to figure out what had just happened. It had occurred so quickly that Hakkai was having trouble keeping up. Goku hadn't even had a chance to speak before he was gone. What had just happened!

"What the fuck!" Gojyo did a fine job of expressing the group sentiment at that moment. Hakkai knew that only one person in the clearing would be able to offer an explanation of any kind, and he turned to Sanzo looking for answers.

"Sanzo, what just happened?" The monk was still staring in shock at the place where Goku had been moments before. It would not do for him to clam up on them now; it would not be allowed. "SANZO!" Hakkai tried more forcibly. The monk pulled out a cigarette and moved to turn from the other two. Hakkai noticed the slightest tremor in his hand. Gojyo was not willing to accept this behavior and rushed the monk. Before Hakkai fully understood his intent, he had thrown a punch which caught Sanzo square in the jaw and sent him stumbling. His cigarette lay broken on the ground.

"You're gonna tell us what you know, you godless bastard, if I have to beat it out of you!"

Sanzo looked down at the fallen tobacco rubbing his jaw. When he looked up, his eyes were hard and intent on Gojyo.

"You're free to try." He said moving towards the hanyou, and it didn't take a genius to figure out his intent. Before an all out brawl began, Hakkai erected shields in front of each of them keeping them apart.

"Rather than standing here fighting, shouldn't we be figuring out where Goku has gone and how to get him back." He grounded out doing his best to keep his temper in check.

"You want him back? Good luck." Sanzo said, voice dark with some strange emotion. "They've taken him back. The gods were apparently not happy with their plaything cutting his strings so they've taken him back. You want to get him back? Good luck getting to heaven."

With that, the monk stalked off into the woods not glancing back or speaking another word. Hakkai dropped the shields and watched him go. He held Gojyo back as he seemed ready to chase the man down for a true fight. Hakkai was pretty sure that he had placed that foreign emotion from Sanzo's voice. There had been rage to be sure, but just beneath that there was a certain amount of fear and also the smallest hint of loss. It seemed that for once, Genjo Sanzo truly didn't know what to do.

o--o--o--o

This wasn't right. This wasn't how it was supposed to go! He'd done it! He'd mastered his power, he'd gotten stronger, he'd regained his memories, he was no longer a danger…so WHY! Why was he taken away again? Why had they let him be set free in the first place if they were just going to snatch him away from everything he cared about! Where they just toying with him? Was this some kind of twisted joke?

Blind rage consumed the youth even as tears were streaming down his face. It wasn't fair…it wasn't right. This time they had buried him so deep that there was no hope of anyone stumbling across him. He was either surrounded by darkness or his vision had been sealed because he could see nothing of his surroundings, but he knew by feel that there was nothing familiar here. He was definitely not back in his cave prison from before.

Reality finally came crashing in on him like a physical blow and he found himself gasping for air. He wouldn't survive another 500 years of this, he'd go mad, and everything he'd done would have been for nothing. Consumed by rage and terror, Goku curled down onto the floor and wept in earnest. If the god's had put him here, there was no hope of the others coming to set him free. This really was the end.

Author's Notes:

Ok ok…put the pitch forks and torches down. There's more coming. The second half of this story however has a very different mood to it than this one….gets way darker and stuff with more swearing and probably more violence, so yeah…I decided to do this in two separate stories. The next part is already in the works so sit tight. I promise to get it out ASAP…Keep reviewing tho…it's my motivation for writing and when I don't see reviews I sometimes forget to make the time for writing.

Thank you to all of you who have been reviewing! You provide the motivation that keeps me writing and since I love to write, you all are helping me tons! THANX! You ROCK!