Hello, it's Kitsune again. I just finished chapter 19, so I figured I'd start on chapter 20. I really hope Sora has fun in Florida, cuz that's where she is now. And Sahara, who's in Pensylvania, I hope you have fun, too. Spring break's almost here, people! That gives me more time to write over the break!
Disclaimer--Don't own it. Wish I did.
Chain Letter
Chapter 20: Breaking The Curse
Sora, Sahara, and Kitsune stood up and stretched. They'd been sitting on the ground for a while now. It was time they followed the Goddesses advice. If they were to get free, they had to help them out. And that meant destroying Nasuada, whose soul now resided inside Chelsey McCann's decomposing body, just like the Goddesses inhabited their own bodies. This was something the girls did not like.
"So... where do we start?" Sahara asked.
Kitsune stepped forward. The dark space that surrounded them lit, revealing thousands upon thousands of passageways and doors and staircases. It was a maze. A maze of the mind.
Kitsune questioned, "Why's there so many of them?"
"Well, since we're all here at the same time, I'm guessing that the Goddesses minds are connected. After all, they are the Trinity Sisters, right? So this must mean that ours are connected, too." Sora said. The other two girls nodded.
They walked forward. Sahara stopped. "Wait, how do we know which door we have to take?"
They thought about it for a moment. It was harder than they thought, they'd never been this deep inside their minds before. It was one thing to use your brain to think out a problem. It was another to discover the secrets of your own mind. One simple question would bring up a billion more.
Kitsune dug around in her pockets and took out a marker. "I have an idea. We check each door, and mark the ones that are false."
"Sounds good. But what exactly are we looking for?" Sahara asked.
"The Goddesses said our Spirit. Do you think they meant our Spirit Energy?"
"Maybe, but let's just check each door just in case."
They wandered around, checking each door. Some were booby-trapped, others were just empty. They marked at least four thousand doors already. Finally, they came to one door. It was made of iron, like all other doors, but this one had a different feel to it. It felt... powerful...
They all put their hand on the handle, and took a deep breath. They glanced from one to the other, then nodded. Releasing their breath, they turned the knob and pushed the door open.
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Yusuke sent a Spirit Gun blast towards Nasuada. The attack caught the sorceress off-guard, and she barely managed to put up a suitable defense in time. The blow took a great deal of energy to block, but she managed to pull it off. The blast subsided. Her barrier weakened considerably.
She looked angrily at the gang. "When will you pests die?" she asked. Yusuke smirked.
"We're not so easy to get rid of, y'know," he answered, smugly. He regained a fighting pose, then broke out in a run, raising his fist to punch her. She blocked with her Darkness Shield, and, as each blow hit, a small dent formed in the shadowy shield. Yusuke fell back in order to let Hiei have his turn.
Hiei swung at the Darkness Shield with his sword, barely scratching its surface. Nevertheless, his attacks were relentless. He kept up until his attacks came to an abrupt end. Kurama took his place, slashing with his rosewhip. This barrage of attacks continued for a good five minutes. Kurama was replaced with Kuwabara, then Hiei, then Yusuke, then Kuwabara ahain, and it continued like that.
Yusuke glanced at the Goddesses. They were standing around, meditating. 'Why aren't they helping us?' he thought to himself. His thoughts ended abruptly when Nasuada smashed her fist into his gut. He flew back and landed on his back. He jumped up and ran at her again, clenching his fist and gathering his energy. He ran in front of her, and she punched, but he disappeared. Confused, she turned around, coming face-to-face with Yusuke's fist. He released the energy.
"SHOT GUN!"
Nasuada was bombarded by a barrage of Spirit Gun bullets, with the same force as a speeding train. She flew back. Her shield was destroyed. That was a plus...
Finally, the Goddesses eyes snapped open, glowing pure white. They raised their arms to Nasuada, and sent out a blast of energy in her direction. Caught off-guard, she was caught in the blast. Her dark pendant glowed and her soul was sucked inside. Chelsey McCann staggered forward, her original features returning to her.
The pendant snapped off her neck and fell to her feet. The Goddesses stepped forward and claimed the pendant. "Thank you for your assistance. You've helped a great deal. We return you to your original battle." And they disappeared, returning the girls to their normal selves.
"Are we... free?" Sora asked. Kitsune stretched and yawned like a cat, then rubbed the back of her neck.
"It looks like it..." she said, glancing around. She spotted... "NOFACE!" Dashing over to the large spirit, she hugged him. She glanced at him when he winced, and looked down. He was holding his stomach. "You're hurt..." She pressed her hands to the large wound, pumping her energy into it. It immediately healed. She smiled at her handiwork.
"Why'd you transform?" Sahara asked. NoFace looked at her.
"The witch injured my heart, literally. I had to transform to heal it." he answered simply.
They finally turned back to the battle. Chelsey was herself again... her rotting, decomposing, smelly self. She turned her worm-infested sights back on the Urameshi team. "Well, now that that is over, we can get back to our battle." She drew her dark sword and lunged. Sahara immediately produced a barrier and repelled the evil spirit.
Kitsune sent a dark beam at Chelsey. "NIGHT SHADE!" Sora took out her ban-ryu and stuck it in the ground. Lightning travelled along a predetermined course, heading straight for the weakened spirit. The attacks caused an explosion.
"You got your full energy back? How?" Kuwabara asked.
"In return for aiding the Trinity Goddesses, they restored our strength and energy. We're ready to take her on again," Sora responded.
"Look, I'm not trying to spoil our fun, but we have a limited amount of time to live! The time is running out!" Yusuke said. Just as he finished the sentance, Kurama's eyes widened and he collapsed. "Kurama!" Yusuke picked the fox-boy up by the shirt-collar and shook. "Wake up, man! Kurama!"
His efforts were in vain. Kurama did not open his eyes. His skin began to turn ghastly white, and he began to take on a 'corpse-ish' look (think: Katie from the Ring). Sora and Kitsune covered their mouths.
Kitsune drew TetYokai and transformed it into Tenseiga, however, it was repelled. "I... I can't bring him back to life!"
"We have to do something before--" Yusuke stopped. His heart beat wildly, then slowed, slower, until it finally stopped and he, too, dropped next to Kurama.
"URAMESHI!"
"Come on!" NoFace said, lunging at Chelsey. He struck her, and knocked her to the ground. Sahara and Kitsune quickly climbed on top of her, and, while she thrashed wildly, subdued her with magical ropelike vines from Demon World. NoFace turned back into Kaonashi and took out a slip of paper. A talisman, or a ward.
"It took all of my energy to make this while I was NoFace. Hopefully, it'll be enough." he said, placing it on the corpse's forehead. "Find peace in the afterlife." He sent out a telekinetic wave, and Chelsey stopped thrashing and turned limp. Everything immediately turned to normal, and Yusuke and Kurama stood up, unharmed.
"Is that it? Did we kill her?" Sora asked, looking at the corpse. It did nothing.
They sighed, relieved.
"It's over."
Time returned to normal with a sudden jolt. The skies were no longer grey and cloudy, but now a calm and peaceful blue. Larks twittered above their heads, and the cracks in the ground healed before their eyes.
"So... what do we do with her?" Kuwabara asked, pointing to Chelsey. Kaonashi took the corpse in his arms, and walked to the well. The well that had somehow surfaced above the ground. Apparently, the labyrinth had closed up. The village was no longer there, and grass grew around the well. The cold stone well.
Kitsune and Sahara followed, and pushed the lid off the well together. Kaonashi stuck one had out over the well's entrance and gathered up the evil essence. Immediately after the essence was captured, the lid moved on its own accord and slammed itself over the entrance to the well. Kitsune and Sahara emmitted a small "meep!" at the surprise.
"I have a feeling we won't be bothered by Chelsey McCann for a long time," Kaonashi said, "Let's go back. We'll give Koenma these bones and everything will be back to normal."
They began to walk back. "Hey, guys," Yusuke said.
"Yeah?"
"Y'wanna come to the Kyofu Tournament with us, as the rest of our team? We have a week and a half to prepare."
"Sure!"
"Hey guys, wanna hear my Spanish speech for protecting the environment? I was working on it while I was trapped in my mind!"
"No, Kitsune!"
"Please, don't!"
"Nuestro medio ambiente es muy importante para vida de la Tierre. Esta llena de animales, plantas, flores, y gente diferencias. Algunos gente es bueno y amable, pero algunos gente es muy mal y tacano..."
"Kitsune!"
So it was settled. Koenma recieved Chelsey's bones and buried them in the Makai. Everyone went back to their normal lives until the world needed them again.
. . . But was it truly over?
DUN DUN DUN! There ya go! That's chapter 20. Chapter 21 is next! There's no spoiler for it because I want it to be a surprise! Review, please!