Ch 9 Pt 2. Zhulak and the Scimitar of the Undead. Okay, another long chapter, sorry about this, I wanted to finish it up. Read and review, it's pretty good if I say so myself.

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"Master…"

"Yes slave… I know… let's sit back and watch what they're up to…"

--

"Whoa… I don't really think I like teleporting…" Chris said on the other side when they were in Zhulak's domain.

"You get used to it… I'm sensing no brainwave patterns inside… looks like we hit the right spot"

"It's really creepy here," Setsuka said gripping Chris's sleeve looking around. They were in a forest but it was not a normal forest… it seemed unusually misty, it was daytime yet no birds or animals made a noise. Only the wind rustled the leaves… the forest seemed as if it was encroaching on them, it seemed to whisper to them… telling them to lose themselves in it forever…

"We cannot stay here longer… the forest is alive, it's trying to consume our spirits." Kurama said hastily, leading the way away from the forest's edge, and to a mysterious building.

"Ok, Patty and Kurama you're up, let's see what you can do." Botan said.

"Right." They said together, they both stood together in stance… both meditating hard, Kurama glowed white and his aura consumed him, whereas Patty glowed bright blue hers doing the same. Their forms flickered until their auras subsided. Kurama had turned into a half-fox half-human form, Yoko-Kurama; his hair was radiant silver white, his human ears had been replaced with fox ears, his eyes went from gentle green to fierce golden red.

"OH KURAMA YOU'RE SO SEXY LIKE THAT! You should stay in that form all the time!" Patty squealed after she had transformed herself into a decaying corpse.

"You know that I'm still getting the hang of this new body, I can't hold Yoko for more than a couple hours." Kurama explained

"I know honey but you're so SEXY LIKE THIS!" she exclaimed

"Ok, now that we have that down… Patty, you go in, Johnny will be in constant contact with you, tell him your situation, same with you Kurama, after Patty infiltrates the base, I want you to raise a ruckus inside, causing a distraction while Patty disarms the energy field." Botan explained. "Everyone else, come with me, we'll stake out until Patty and Kurama are done.

--

"Wow, this forest is weird… there's not an animal in sight." Sam said leading the three through the forest towards where the others were.

"Do you hear that? Is it just me or is anyone else hearing weird voices?" Michelle asked slightly alarmed.

"Ok… I'm getting a little anxious… I want to get out now!" Meaghan said anxiously, she started running away from the forest,

"Hey wait up!" Michelle and Sam said in unison, the three ran through the mysterious forest. They came across the clearing and Meaghan ran up and grasped onto Hiei's arm.

"It's really scary in there!" she whimpered.

"Talking to you three… is like talking to a brick wall isn't it? Does anything get through those thick skulls? ANYTHING AT ALL? Did I not just say fifteen minutes ago that we were going into the spirit world and it would be DANGEROUS? WHY DON'T YOU LISTEN! I'M SERIOUS WHEN I SAY IT'S DANGEROUS! UGH! You three are going to cause me to have a heart attack… oh well... since you're here now you have to come along." Botan said giving up on them.

"As long as it's away from there I'm happy," Michelle said, pointing at the still looming forest.

"Ok I changed my mind." Michelle said when they had gotten into the base… they were on a catwalk above a large room, below them were hoards and hoards of undead slaves, the stench was overwhelming. Patty was one of them Johnny informed them, and Kurama was in position to start attacking, Botan gave him the go ahead and a large explosion destroyed a wall of the building. A large plantlike creature erupted from outside, its unholy screech tearing at their eardrums. At the base of the creature Chris could clearly make out Kurama, who seemed to be directing the plant. The zombies immediately started hoarding towards the plant who in turn started batting the zombies away with it's massive leaves.

"Okay, Patty's in," Johnny informed the group quietly,

"She is? Ok good, has she disarmed the field?" Botan asked

"No, not yet… she's going for it but there's some resistance, oh great, her cover's blown" he said. Almost immediately the zombie hoard shifted its focus, they limped over into another room completely ignoring the huge plant. Kurama dismissed the plant which quickly withered, he ran with superhuman speed to the other room with his whip drawn.

"come on!" Setsuka said anxiously running across the catwalk into the next room. When the group was in the next room they watched in horror as two figures were being closed in on by hundreds and hundreds of decaying corpses. One of the figures stepped back as the other threw their rose at the group. The rose swiftly separated making thousands of rose petals blow around, the zombies tried advancing but the ones who did were swiftly cut to ribbons.

"Kurama's using petals and thorns, they won't be able to get any closer for now… Johnny, tell Patty to get going on that field." Hiei said

"Right… ok she says that it's down… let's get going everyone, into the portal." They jumped through the portal into the inner sanctum.

--

"uughah…" Patty said trying to fit in "damn this is hard, I forgot how hard it is to cloak Kurama's scent on me… and his mark too, and I hope I can keep it up…"

KABOOM! "Oh it looks like Kurama's plant is here. Good it's taking their attention, now to find that barrier projector…" she lumbered past a couple of zombies when her nose caught their scent, it was so putrid she almost lost control of her transformation "OH MY GOD THAT'S FOUL! How could dead humans cause such a stench!" She almost gave up and got her whip out, but she gazed up and saw the others crouched on the catwalk "what I do for the good of humankind… hmm… it should be up here somewhere." She walked past a few more zombies when she spotted a faint glow. "Aha! There it is!" she dashed as well as she could for the form she was currently in to the small orb that emanated with the energy sign of the field. "oh no… there are protective spells around it… damn I cant do this without leaving my form… maybe…" she quickly looked back… "it looks like Kurama still has them under control… maybe I can shift out and in quickly… well it's worth a shot…" she let go of her transformation, her form changed from that of a decaying corpse to a nineteen year old girl. "ah much better. And it looks like no one noticed… now lets see… oh I can bypass this easily………… Done… Johnny I'm done! Get the others into the sanctum" she thought, sending a message to Johnny who was up on the catwalk. "right, I'll teleport the others; Botan says that she wants you to kill the zombie army okay?" His voice rang in her head

"Right… ok... right" she thought as she heard her instructions. She cloaked herself again and started lumbering back towards Kurama, but… the zombies just turned on her and started advancing. "Oh… SHIT! I forgot to cloak my mark!" she thought in horror as the zombies started staring at a small silver fox in the middle of a rose appeared on her collarbone… "KURAMA!" she yelled. He dashed as fast as he could to her aid. "Kurama I'm so glad you're here, try using petals and thorns!" Patty said ditching her disguise and pulling off her earrings, which swiftly turned into a longsword.

"Okay," he said simply as he unleashed the attack

"Honey, this might be it, this might be our last hurrah." Kurama said exhausted after his attack had cut down about a hundred zombies.

"Don't say that, we're going to get out of this. I promise. I've got an idea, summon a demon plant, I'll help fortify it." Patty replied

"YAAAH!"

--

"Welcome… I've been expecting you…"

"Zhulak! You're under arrest!" Chris said boldly to the small figure on the makeshift throne.

"No, you see, I don't think my friend would like that…." He said mischievously pointing a gnarled finger at the still figure next to him. "Show him what we do to party crashers slave…"

"Yes master…" said the macabre figure, his palm already glowing.

"Watch it!" Botan yelled. Lisa jumped in front of the blast bracing herself. She took it in, recoiled a bit, then threw it back full force at Yusuke,

"Ooh that's gunna do some damage!" Chris said as he watched it close in on Yusuke. And it seemed it would until Yusuke effortlessly hit it away, the blast flying straight up and breaking clear through the ceiling.

"Good lord… he just batted it away…" Lisa panted after the blast had been redirected "and that took up so much of my energy…"

"Stick to the plan! Lisa, Chris you're up!"

"Right!" Chris said charging up a blast of fire, he threw it at Lisa who absorbed it with much more ease than Yusuke's blast. She stood a second or two, and then unleashed a devastating blast of fire at the waiting corpse.

"That has to do it..." Botan said quietly to no one in particular

Yusuke threw up a barrier quickly which threw the flames to the sides, "you underestimate me…" he said in his lifeless tone of voice. It had failed… but not completely useless…

"Is it? Yes it is! Guys! His hands are singed. It looks like the heat from the fire started melting his already decaying skin." Johnny said

"Eww… that's really gross…" Meaghan said disgusted

"Yea… but its effective." Sam said a little less repulsed

"Hahaha… you don't think I would let my slave take all the fun did you? COME MY MINIONS!"

"More zombies? Easy!" Setsuka said

"No, not zombies…" Botan said horrified as she pointed to the looming figures that appeared behind Zhulak. Two hulking figures bathed in eternal flame rushed the group… along with Yusuke they were a devastating team, the team did what they could but were scattered by the demons' attacks and Yusuke's rei gun.

"Take THIS!" Johnny yelled as a portal sucked one of the hulking figures in, banishing it to another realm to wander endlessly evermore.

"Well you found one effective way to get rid of these menaces." Setsuka said smashing a tennis ball at the other demon's eye blinding it. While it flailed around clenching its face, Hiei stabbed it with his sword, ending its life.

"There! We took care of your bodyguards! Now come quietly!" Johnny said

"Come now, you think the party is over? Au contraire my friends… it hasn't even begun…" Zhulak croaked out pointing behind him, where at least another two dozen demons stood, grinning menacingly at the group.

"Good…lord… we're gunna need a bigger gun…" Chris said in disbelief

"Allow me to provide for that for you..." Hiei said pushing everyone else back

"Is it? It is… Hiei is using the legendary Dragon of the Darkness Flame…" Lisa murmured

"Dragon of the Darkness Flame? So it's a dragon made of fire and darkness?" Sam asked

"Yes… but Hiei doesn't create it, it's a living demon, Hiei just summons it…" Lisa replied

"Cool…" she replied awestruck as Hiei charged up and unleashed a huge black dragon it coiled around on Hiei's command, striking the various demons killing them instantly when it started turning on Yusuke, but suddenly it roared. Its eyes burned with anger and it turned on its commander, it roared again and rushed at the group.

"What? No! Attack him!" Hiei yelled and pointed at Yusuke.

"Didn't you get time to learn how to control that dragon Hiei!" Botan asked while ducking from the dragon's sharp claws.

"Yes! I did but something must have angered him… I cannot control the dragon if it's angry or upset."

"Sorry, that was me, I was curious as to how its thought patterns occurred." Johnny said apologetically.

"YOU FOOL! I can't control it now! It could kill all of us!" Hiei yelled

"I…" Johnny started but the dragon blindsided him.

"AIIEEE!" Meaghan screamed as the dragon caught her full force, pierced her through and continued to rampage...

"! YOU WORTHLESS, BUMBLING, IDIOT! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU DID?" Hiei roared at Johnny "Meaghan… if he hadn't done that… you would still be alright…"

"Sam what are you doing?" Botan asked

"Trust me…" she said in a dazed sort of way.

"Calm down now… calm down… that's it…" she cooed to the dragon who calmed down and snorted happily as she stroked it's nose.

"Sam… did you just do what I think you did?" Michelle asked awestruck

"I think so; she seems to have a bond with it…" Lisa said

"No, not just it, all dragons, ever since I was little, I felt a connection to them."

"Ok well that solves one problem what about Meaghan?" Setsuka asked concernedly

"Meaghan… I… I'm sorry… I couldn't protect you… I failed you… all I can give is my sorrow…" Hiei told the almost lifeless body he held.

"Hiei, it's not your fault… just know… I love you... and this… is in my mind… the best way to die…" she said happily "just… please…leave me with a gift before I go on…"

"Of course…" he said sadly getting closer, their lips touched gently and the two felt nothing but bliss.

"Awww… how touching… unfortunately I must cause this moment to end. SLAVE! Enough fooling around kill them." Zhulak said coldly.

"Yes master."

"NO! You won't cause them more distress! I won't let you!" Setsuka said, blocking Hiei and Meaghan from Yusuke

"We won't let you." Chris said standing by her side

"Us too," said Johnny and Lisa also blocking Hiei and Meaghan.

"Mmhmm" said Michelle, Sam, and Botan.

"Friendship is worth nothing…" Yusuke said blankly as he shot a charge right at them, Lisa jumped in front of everyone and braced for the blow, she took it but was injured in the process.

"Agh! That hurt!"

"You don't know pain until you've died…" Yusuke said throwing numerous blasts at Lisa who absorbed them but became increasingly fatigued and pained.

"I… I can't hold this up any longer… I'm sorry but… I'm spent…" Lisa said collapsing on the ground.

"Goood… now slave FINISH HER!"

"Yes…" Yusuke charged up a strong spirit blast and fired it at Lisa who was still unconscious, and it closed in on her and… Suddenly a large blast of flame came from nowhere and deflected the blast.

"I… won't let… you hurt… my friends…" a voice said angrily from behind the wall.

"Meaghan!" Chris gasped "how did you… but… I can't even do that!"

"Stay away from them you horrible little creature!" she yelled at Yusuke and Zhulak, flame shooting from her palms, Yusuke blocked them but with difficulty, the heat eating away at his already putrefying flesh

"It works but… it's taking too long… it'll be long after Meaghan is dead of fatigue that this will start to really affect him, we need to amplify this tenfold somehow…" Botan said

"Wait… I've got an idea…" Michelle said

"GREAT PLAN MICHELLE! Everyone! Come here! We have a plan! Hiei, you're the strongest here currently, keep Yusuke busy!"

"My pleasure, I've been waiting for that rematch for a long, long time..." he said cracking his knuckles. He ran in for some hand to hand combat with Yusuke, keeping him from using spirit energy.

"… Okay so does everyone have that?"

"Yea." Everyone said. Then got into position, Chris and Meaghan both made as much fire as they could; Johnny manipulated the fire into a small sphere, condensing it as much as he could. While Meaghan and Chris kept adding fire, the now awake Lisa, took as much of the fire she could and amplified it as best as she could which resulted in her fainting again. Johnny continued condensing the ball until it was the size of a ping-pong ball. Setsuka took the ball and bounced it on her enforced racket, looking for the right moment, Hiei jumped away and Setsuka smashed the ball of fire as hard as she could at Yusuke's chest. He tried to repel it but he did it one second too late. The ball hit true, in the center of his chest, the flame unleashing on Yusuke engulfing him in spiritually enforced fire, before he completely disintegrated, he uttered one word to the opposition,

"Thanks…" he said, smiled then reduced to ash, slightly smoldering.

"Anytime Urameshi…" Hiei said quietly "now, what to do with you…" he said turning to Zhulak.

"You may kill me, but my army will devour you before you can get out!'

"No, we have better plans for you…"Botan said with a grin. She summoned her paddle, encased Zhulak in a small cell, grabbed the Scimitar from his hands and started to fly away but left this message "I trust you can take care of the zombies and get away from here alive? Good, now then…" she then flew away into the spirit world.

"I wonder how Patty and Kurama are doing…" Chris said

"I don't know but we better get over there!" Setsuka said running out of the room, everyone following her.

--

"I…I can't hold it anymore… Patty…Patricia… the days I spent with you… were the happiest in my life…" Kurama said, after losing his transformation and the plant that had been protecting them.

"Kurama, don't say that, we'll get through… somehow…"

BOOM! "wha!" Patty said stunned as the wall behind her exploded.

"Hmm… glad we got here in time…" Hiei said calmly

"Patty! Kurama! Are you okay? Here let me heal you!" Setsuka said in concern, rushing over and tending to their wounds.

"Hmm… normal zombies… should be a lot easier to kill, anyone up for some target practice?" Chris asked, his palm already flaming

"Oh yea… this is gonna be fun…" Johnny said, cracking his knuckles. Each of them chose their weapon of choice and started attacking, except for Patty, Lisa, Kurama, Sam, Michelle and Setsuka who was healing the three injured. Left and right zombies died, from all sorts of attacks, Chris started fire, thunder, ice, and his newly found darkness, Meaghan used her flames, Hiei used his Jagan eye, his swiftness and his powers over darkness and Johnny used telekinesis and his banishment . But no matter how many they killed the zombies never ceased advancing, two taking the place of the one that was just killed. They carried on for what seemed like hours, when finally there was one left.

"Okay, one left, who gets the honor?" Chris asked slightly exhausted.

"Meaghan?" Hiei asked

"No Hiei, you do it." She replied

"How about all at once?" Chris asked.

"Yea… that'll work" Meaghan said. And so they all struck the zombie at once, electricity, flame, mind power, and darkness, tearing the corpse asunder,

"Ah… finally, it's over… lets get home… I wanna go to bed…" Setsuka said, exhausted from the day of work.

"Okay, everyone through the portal… let's go home…" Johnny said leading the way to the deserted stadium.

"Ah… that's much better… Meaghan said, lying on the grass "I thought I was dead for a second there…"

"Speaking of which, how did you survive?"

"I can explain I think, Hiei you see is a fire demon, and Meaghan always had the spirit locked in, I think when Hiei and Meaghan kissed, it unlocked the flames that roared in her soul, so in short, the kiss saved her life. I also think that she can only use fire but use it very adeptly, unlike Chris who can control different elements at a lesser power," Johnny explained.

"Nice… I didn't know a kiss could be that powerful," Chris said

"A kiss can mean the entire world to someone who you share it with…" Patty said, looking at Kurama who smiled in turn.

"Yes I suppose it can," Setsuka said also looking at her loved one.

" So, I see you also have a connection with dragons… I can teach you to summon one… not one as powerful as mine though," Hiei said to Sam

"Yea! That would be great!" she replied happily

"Aww that's no fun… I don't have anything special I can do…" Michelle said sadly.

"Maybe you do, you just haven't found it yet…" Chris said

"It still sucks," she pouted.

"Well, we have to get going, we have a long flight tomorrow, come on Kurama, lets go" Patty said,

"We should go as well, Lisa, are you well enough to travel?" Johnny asked Lisa, who in turn nodded.

"Come on Michelle, we'll walk you home," Chris said "Meaghan you want to come too?"

"No, I think I want to stay here for a while." Meaghan replied

"I thought you might, come on Michelle" Chris said

"Yea okay…" Michelle said still pouting.

"I'm sorry too Meaghan, but I have business I must attend to, I'll come over to visit you tomorrow." Hiei said apologetically

"Okay, I'll be fine, if anyone tries anything, ill burn them to a crisp." She said simply

"okay, goodbye Meaghan, I… I… love you…" he strained out

"I love you too Hiei" she replied. As he disappeared, leaving her sitting in the center of the football field.

"Yes… I do love him… but… I can't stop thinking about Danny… why can't I get him out of my head! It's so frustrating!" she thought, so deeply in fact that she didn't hear someone walk up to her. She looked up as he tapped her on the shoulder.

"Danny! What are you doing here?"

"I… I just wanted to say… I'm sorry for what I said before, I… just don't understand what they can do, and so I got a little afraid… I realized though how much I value you Meaghan… I figured you went to wherever those… people… went to fight that demon thing. So I waited here for you…" he said

"You waited! We must have been gone for three or four hours!"

"Actually it was four and a half… but that's besides the point, I love you Meaghan, and I can't stand to lose you, so please… please… disassociate yourself from them, and come back to me…"

"If you truly loved me, you wouldn't care what my friends were like, and me too… I discovered something while I was there, look" she said as she conjured fire. "do you still love me?"

"AH! Y…yes I still… do… but… if you were to stop that … we could probably ignore your problem…"

"No Danny you just don't see… this isn't a problem, this is a gift, a gift from God, you don't understand… you need to work on your prejudice, until you have that under control… we cant be friends anymore. I'm sorry Danny but I need to get going." And with that, she walked away from the still figure and into the night.