Sorry, I was so psyched to be updating I forgot to thank all of my wonderful reviewers...you are the best...here they are so far...Inu's Girl08, The Evil Liar (sorry about the long pause in between updates between chapter five and six) and crazedcandie (I will try to keep up the good work and I am glad to be on vacation too)
BTW: When stuff is written like this: fjeiowfjiewo it means it is peeps talking mind to mind
Standard disclaimers apply
Chapter Eight
(Kuwabara)
"There will be three things you must beat," he informed us as he led us through the castle quickly. "I can get you past one of the three with the sleep dust my sister gave me, one we must fight, but the last is not something you fight with steel but with wit."
"So what's the first thing?" I demanded looking at the guy as he continued walking at a fast clip his eyes trained straight ahead.
"The first challenge is right around the corner, what it is is to defeat five dragons." He stopped at a door, "These beasts are mechanical, they feel nothing and care for nothing, the only way to defeat them is to destroy them, I would prepare yourselves." Destin shoved open the door to reveal the five dragons, they were huge; they were all identical except for their color, there was a black one, a blue one, a red one, a purple one and a pink one.
"I got the black one!" Yusuke called.
"I'll handle the pink," Orino pulled out a string.
"Blue is mine," Chai staked his claim.
"Kuwabara and I will have the red," Kurama announced, "Rose whip!"
"Guess you and I get the purple horror," Drake shrugged speaking to Destin. With that I summoned my Spirit Sword and rushed the large red dragon while I heard Yusuke yell out "Spirit Gun!" Kurama cracked his whip and observed the dragon's actions as I began hacking at the hunk of metal's leg.
"Kuwabara!" I looked at Kurama.
"Try and drive your sword through its head!" He shouted before wrapping his whip about the thing's leg and yanked, completely severing it from the body, which caused it to become unbalanced and topple. Jumping up I drove my sword through its head to be rewarded with a shower of sparks and a dead enemy. Peering through the smoke I watched Orino manipulate the string into one of the pink dragon's ears manipulating it so a few seconds later it collapsed at her feet. Chai threw his arms out and in between them a huge ball of black light formed and he released it towards his opponent totally disintegrating it with one blow. Yusuke was sitting on the remains of his while Drake froze his and Destin's in place allowing Destin to blow the suckers head off.
"That was easy!" Yusuke complained, "Please, give us a challenge!"
"The next one will be no problem because I can use the sleep powder on it, unlike these things the next challenge is not a machine." Destin brushed at his disgusting clothes a grim look on his face, "Follow me."
"You did well Kuwabara," Kurama informed me with a small smile.
"Thanks," I retained the energy from my sword as Kurama turned his whip back to a seed that went into his hair.
"Man, this guy has awful decorating taste," Yusuke criticized. "Someone should shoot his interior decorator!" I glanced around the hall and had to agree, there were grotesque looking statues all over the place, along with paintings that portrayed every type of torture and pain imaginable. The carpet on the floor was stained with what looked like blood but I wasn't too sure due to the poor lighting and there were bones all over the place. About every twenty feet there was a lit torch on the wall casting an eerie glow, this place defiantly gave me the heebie jeebies.
"Please stand back," Destin uttered as we reached a huge wooden door with ugly little creatures carved in it. "I must go first so I can put them to sleep do not come one step closer." With that he wrenched the door open, poured some powder onto his hand and blew it forward into the chamber beyond, the sound of bodies hitting the ground was distinct. Destin dumped more powder into his hand and blew it all away from himself again and I listened to more bodies hit the ground.
"Quickly!" Destin sent a blast of spirit energy in through the door and dashed into the room us following, there were unconscious bodies littering the floor. The things on the floor weren't human, demon or apparition; they were a gross mix of body parts from many different animals and beasts fused to make a mismatched being.
"What were those things?" I demanded once we were on the other side backs pressed against the door breathing hard.
"Those are nightmare beasts," Destin informed me. "The bastard upstairs made these up from his own 'dreams.'"
"Those things are awful!" I exclaimed.
"They are an inner reflection of himself," Kurama said softly. "That is what his soul looks like."
"Eww!" I wrinkled my nose.
"Come on, to the last obstacle." Destin began to walk again.
(Drake)
As we walked I calmed my mind to find the special bond my twin sister and I shared that would allow me to speak to her and find out what was going on.
Sayo? I called out through the mental link, Sayo, what is going on?
Drake? Her inner voice was small and quiet, Is something wrong?
No. I replied, I wanted to know how Akiko was.
She's stable but she isn't talking, it's like she's lost, no one can reach her. I listened to her and I knew that even though inside she was close to emotional collapse, on the outside she was calm and composed taking care of Oki and the others.
How is Leiko? I was worried about her.
I'm not with her, she opted to stay with Dun in Koenma's office to wait for you, and we're in the infirmary. Sayo conveyed showing me what she was seeing, Akiko laying on a bed, Oki holding her hand with the girl called Miyuki in the next bed, I've sent for Dai so he can comfort Oki, I'm not very good at that.
I have to go. I said, We have only one more challenge before we get to see the asshole himself.
May I stay with you? Sayo was desperate, she wasn't good with talking to anyone, I want to watch that guy get it and good.
Alright, but don't do anything stupid. I came back just as we reached another thick door and Destin shoved it open to reveal a hallway that was blocked by one of the inner reflections. It had a huge axe and didn't seem like it would be moving anytime soon.
"I am your final barrier, if you can answer my five riddles I will allow you to pass, if not I will kill you," it informed us, its voice was dark and gravelly
"Ok, let's hear your riddles," Kurama tilted his head to the side as he waited for the thing to speak.
"I eat and eat but when I drink I die, what am I?" The statue gave its first riddle, I knew this one, there was no way I couldn't my twin and I were of the essence of it.
"The answer is fire," I confidently spoke up.
"Correct, the next one is:
I never was, am always to be,
No one ever saw me, nor ever will.
And yet I am the confidence of all,
To live and breathe on this terrestrial ball." I thought hard, trying to puzzle it out but riddles were not my forte.
"Tomorrow is what it is," Kurama called out his green eyes knowing.
"Correct, number three:
All about, but cannot be seen,
Can be captured, cannot be held,
No throat, but can be heard." It sounded familiar, Dundrogo had gone through a period when all he would speak in was riddles, it had stopped abruptly when he discovered we couldn't solve riddles to save our lives. I had learned a few but not too many, now I was pondering this one.
"Wind," Yusuke said confidently. "It's got to be, sounds just like Jin don't you think?"
"Correct, now the fourth:
At the sound of me, men may dream
Or stamp their feet
At the sound of me, women may laugh
Or sometimes weep." I knew I should know this one; it was one Dun had repeated often, always in vain though. I heard Sayo muttering about how it was right on the tip of her fricking tongue!
"Music," Orino stated. "My cousin was a music freak."
"Correct, and last but not least:
With thieves I consort,
With the vilest in sort,
I'm quite at ease in depravity;
Yet all divines use me,
And savants can't lose me,
For I am the center of gravity."
We all stared at it, I was stumped, again, this one did not sound familiar and just seemed like pure nonsense to me, if I could solve one riddle it was pure luck. Sayo on the other hand was whispering in my mind again.
'For I am the center of gravity' she murmured, G-R-A-V-I-T-Y she spelled out and the letters appeared in my minds eye, Seven letters, g-r-a-V-i-t-y. It's the letter v! Because v is in thieves, vilest, depravity, divines, savants and it's in the middle of gravity! It's v! Say it Drake! Say it!
"Um…it's v!" I blurted and everyone looked at me.
"You are correct, now you may journey onward to my master," the beast stepped aside.
"Give me your axe," Destin held out his hand.
"Wha-no! It's mine!" The thing croaked in outrage.
"Give it here or I'll kill you for it," Destin wiggled his fingers and the thing reluctantly handed over his axe grumbling about uppity demons and apparitions.
Thank you and please review! I live for reviews! I need them! Plus you should feel sorry for me, I had to go the orthodontist today and he tightened my braces! The horror! RR
