Hiei and Kuwabara: The Saga of the Dark World

Chapter 22: Swords and Psyches

.o.o.o.

The energy shield split open and the group of rebels rushed through it.

"Stay close to us!" Kuwabara instructed Cassius. The other human nodded in response

They stopped at the entrance of the fortress. All eyes looked up at the massive doors that stood before them. The structure was massive and its walls and towers rose up into noxious clouds of fog.

"What now?" Garland remarked. "How do we get through these, I doubt they'll just open the doors and usher us on in.

"I think they'll do just that." Hiei remarked darkly. "They're expecting us, they know of everything we've done up to this point.

Then, as if on cue, the massive metal doors began to rubble and the sound of machinery could be heard as they slowly opened outwards.

Everyone stepped back as the huge doors swung open. Then, after a few moments, they took a few hesitant steps forward and peered into what seemed like pitch-blackness. "Enough of this!" Hiei snapped and rushed into the fortress.

"Show yourselves, you cowards!" He exclaimed as the others raced to catch up with him.

Once they were all inside the fortress the doors swung shut behind them. Rain turned around and cried out. "Is this a trap?"

"FOOLS!" Exclaimed a voice in the darkness.

Everyone stepped back towards one another, until they were all back-to-back and facing outwards.

"Did you actually believe that you would prevail over us?" The voice asked. "A thousand years of warfare has made us powerful beyond your most terrifying nightmares!"

"All you have achieved with this gesture is a death sentence!" The voice added. "Now, watch we will cast the light down upon you as you prepare to die!"

Everyone flinched as the room was suddenly flooded with light and shielded their eyes. Eventually, Kuwabara looked upwards and saw a massive chandelier high above them, adorned with thousands of candles- all emitting a faint red glow.

"Welcome gentlemen." Marth remarked as he appeared standing against the rails of a balcony, looking down on them. Two curving stairways fed out from the same wall.

"I see you came in force." He remarked as he looked down at them and laughed madly. He then snapped his finger.

Everyone looked around frantically as rows of doors on both side opened and soldiers flooded out of them; soon surrounding them.

"Fools, let's see how you like this!" He exclaimed.

.o.o.o.

Darkon watched the events unfolding before him in the looking glass. The fortress was being invaded and it looked like a war was going on- which, in many ways, there was.

"Hmm. . ." He thought as he sat in his massive throne

.o.o.o.

Marth watched the humans finding off wave after wave of demon soldiers. He knew that the soldier could not stop them and eventually, they'd all be wiped out. However, he had planned this- as it would serve to ware them down when he descended to finish them off.

"I don't need that fool, Thorn, any way!" He thought. "I'll kill them all myself!" He thought.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!"

He looked down and saw that the small demon was looking up at him. "And what do you want?" He asked mockingly.

"For you to die!" He yelled and fired off a blast of black energy- but it simply bounced off of something before him.

"A force field!" Hiei spoke.

Kuwabara threw another soldier away and walked over to where his comrade stood. "I'll take care of him." He informed the small fire demon.

Hiei nodded and stepped back.

By now, the soldiers were pulling out- having suffered hundred upon hundreds of casualties. But Marth just laughed.

"Human, what do you presume to do me that he could not?" He asked dangerously.

"THIS!" Kuwabara yelled. "Super Rei-Ken!" He yelled and threw his sword right at Marth.

Marth gasped as his passed through the shield and hit him, causing a massive explosion. "AHHHH." Came the scream through the smoke and ashes.

Kuwabara leapt through the air and onto the balcony. "I'm not done with you!" He exclaimed.

The others rushed up the stairs after him.

.o.o.o.

Kuwabara landed on his feet nimbly and looked up, forming another spirit sword in his hand. "Marth!" He called out.

Just then, the floor beneath him gave way as light shown up from below. Kuwabara plunged into the glow.

"Kuwabara!" Heie yelled, as he rushed up after him. But a sphere of light formed around him and he vanished.

"Where'd they go?" Garland exclaimed.

"To face their destiny." The Forest Elder replied. He then turned to the three humans. "I think it would be best if you remained here, while I go to do what I came here for."

The Elder then proceeded to depart from the scene.

The three humans simply stood there silently.

"Come on!" Garland then exclaimed.

.o.o.o.

Kuwabara landed in a cloud of dust in a dark area. He rolled over and eventually got back onto his feet. "W-where am I. . .?" He thought. Then, he felt a strange sensation and leapt to the side, just as s strange glowing blade passed by.

"So, you are a psychic after all." Marth remarked as he turned to face Kuwabara. "And to answer your question- we are in the catacombs of this fortress." Marth explained gingerly as he walked out into the open. "I think this is a rather fitting place for you to meet your final end."

"You are very confident about winning." Kuwabara replied. "But you shouldn't put so much trust in your own powers- I think you're not nearly as strong as you want other to believe."

Marth just laughed. "Don't put me in with those other two failures, they were the weakest of the four of us- I am leagues above them." He informed the human. "You haven't even begun to see the full extent of my true power."

Kuwabara threw off his jacket and stepped forward, forming his Reiken. "Well then, what do you say we put those words to the test, eh?"

Marth held up his hand and something unseen struck Kuwabara suddenly, sending him into the far wall. "Telekinesis!" He thought to himself as he tried to get back onto his feet, only to be sent flying when another blast hit the wall and sent him flying to the ground.

Marth grinned when he saw that Kuwabara was now standing out in the open. "So, you've accepted that you can't win, very wise, it will be much quicker now." He announced as he fired another psychic blast at him.

Kuwabara form his Reiken suddenly and swung it into the blast. Raw energy crackled around him as the two powers struggled for dominance. Then, Kuwabara sent it flying back at Marth.

The demon leapt out of the way in time to miss the blast, but as he turned to look back at where Kuwabara had been- he saw that he was no longer there. "What the, but he was—" He then looked up in time to see Kuwabara launch himself right into him.

The powerful tackle sent him crashing through a stone pillar. "Damn him!" He swore as he skidded across the ground momentarily and then leapt back up onto his feet. He saw that the human was charging him with his energy sword in hand.

Marth formed a sword of his own out of pure energy and deflected the attack. He had to move fast to avoid the second one, forming another sword to counter the humans duel spirit swords.

Kuwabara growled as the Demon just managed to counter every move he made at him. They were grid locked!

After a few minutes of sword play, Marth glided backwards, away from Kuwabara.

"Coward!" The human called out.

Marth dispensed with his swords. "I can see that it would be a waist of time to fight you like this, so I'll show you another one of my specialties." He offered to the enraged human.

Marth held up his hand and his form seemed to divide into countless doubles, till the encircled Kuwabara.

"What is this?" Kuwabara exclaimed as he looked around.

"I call this technique, the 'Façade of Despair', what do you think?" All of the forms asked, eerily speaking in unison. "Now, watch this next part, you'll love it!" They all exclaimed.

Kuwabara was then battered by round after round of energy blasts, till smoke and dust fill the vicinity.

But then, a spirit sword plunged into the chest of the one of the duplicates, then another was impaled by one, and then another.

The real Marth stumbled back as his doubles were being systematically killed off. He clutched his chest. Expanding his own energy to make the life-like duplicates had the downside of harming him to some small extent. He gasped as the remaining imposters faded away. "Gaghhh!" He cried out as he staggered back. He then looked up at the smoking, battered form of the human before him.

Kuwabara smiled and formed another sword in his hand. "You'll have to do better then that!"

Marth stood back up. "You filthy piece of human garbage, you dare to insult me!" He yelled. "I'll show you something better, alright, how about this!" He screamed as he held up both hands and unleashed bolts of pure dark energy."

"This is real power, demon-energy!" Marth said to him venomously.

Kuwabara was taken off-guard by the effect of this attack, it was much stronger and brutal then the other attacks. His spirit sword vanished as he was knocked back by the attack.

Kuwabara was forces to retreat for the moment and vanished into the darkness.

Marth stopped his attack; he became silently and focused his powers and finding where his enemy was. "I know you're here somewhere, you can't hide forever- I can feel your thoughts- I know everything that passes through that mind of yours." He announced as he walked about.

"I'm a psychic too, so you're shielding won't work on me- I will find you." He then paused. "But maybe I'd prefer it if you came to me." He remarked. He turned and faced the direction that Kuwabara had run.

"Human, do you know what we're going to do when we've defeated you and the rest of the rebels once and for all?" He asked. "I'll tell you, we're going to use the power of the Light Jump Stone to spread out across all the realities- and reign supreme!" He exclaimed. "But that doesn't seem to be enough to rile you, is it?" He asked.

Marth laughed. "You're very careless with your thoughts, I can reed you like a book- there's someone special to you- where your from, isn't there?" He asked with a smile. "A short girl with blue hair and red eyes, am I right?" He added.

Marth looked around; he could tell that he was getting to the human. He formed a different type of energy sword, this one made of a dark crackling power. "When I'm done with you, I'll make sure that something very bad happens to her, to your sweet little," He paused. "Ice Spirit!"

"YOU LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS!"

Marth leapt back as a massive towering blade of energy came crashing down before him, blasting the floor to rubble.

"What!" Marth gasped.

"Leave Yukina out of this, you asswhole!" Kuwabara screamed as he swung and Marth like a madman.

The demon stumbled back, trying to deflect blow after blow from the human. "How can he just keep getting stronger and stronger!" He thought as he narrowly avoided a decapitating blow- which cleaved straight through a pillar instead.

Kuwabara bolted over to where Marth stood and hammered his sword down against the demon's blade. The two weapons crackled and burst with pure energy as the two of them pressed forward.

Marth strained, putting more power into his attack, but the human now matched him perfectly. His muscles strained as his body began to ache and Kuwabara's sword was actually causing his own weapon to burn his hands.

Kuwabara strained agonizingly with his spirit sword as he battled against Marth, he was really putting everything he had into this fight, and even some power that he didn't even know he had. Sweat ran down his face as his muscles strained.

The demon hissed as the blades pushed towards him. "Damn you!" He screamed as he put more and more power into his attack, but Kuwabara simply matched him move for move.

Then, there was an explosion and the two fighters were sent backwards. Marth gasped, recoiling from having his own power turned on him.

"No, how can this be happening, my whole body feels like it's on fire!" He screamed. "What did you do me?" He gasped.

But then, an energy sword impaled him through the chest and drove him into the wall. He was now pinned against the wall by Kuwabara.

"Just go ahead and die now." Kuwabara exclaimed as he pressed the sword in deeper. The demon cried out and grabbed him by the shoulder. Blood ran down his jaw and torso. "Human. . ." He gasped.

Kuwabara looked up in surprise and then stumbled back and fell over. "I did it, I won." He thought out loud.

.o.o.o.

Hiei walked through the halls until he reached a large room where a strange figure sat in a throne.

The tall red-haired demon looked down at him and smiled. "Welcome, Hiei."

The small fire demon smiled back up at him.

(- End of Chapter 22 -)

.o.o.o.

Damn, that has to be the longest chapter I've posted in this epic story. At a little over 2300 words and almost 8 pages, it's huge by my standards. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this, especially KuwabaraLover. (Come on, review my story- please.)

Bojack727Ruling asped. recn explosion and the two fighters were sent backwards. st Marth, hge ed him move for move.o rubble.

its, but...8