Chapter Nine: Yoshi's Assault

A powerful explosion ripped down the halls of the palace. Pieces of debris and ogres were sent flying from the blast, which tore a nasty hole in the palace wall. Most of the debris flew outwards from the palace rather than in, which suggested that the explosive had actually been planted from within. As the smoke settled, three figures could be seen stepping through the hole. Two of the guard ogres, with blood red eyes, stepped forward first. They had set the explosive, and were carrying in more. Trailing behind them was a third, but this one had ordinary, golden eyes. However, it walked with a strange gait to it, a flashy teenager's attitude that betrayed its true identity.

Botan could feel the hall shake from the power of the explosion. She struggled to keep her balance, thankful that she'd managed to stay on her feet. One of the guard ogres had fallen over, and the other was glaring cautiously down the hall. "What was that!" she exclaimed in a moment of worry, but before she could answer, the ogre that had not fallen had turned its attention to her.

The grabbed for Botan, his left arm shooting out to grasp her right and pull her to him. For the first time, she noticed the blood red eyes that lived in his face, and the sight sent a chill down her spine. But before she could react, she was free from the ogre, though his arm still clutched at hers. Hiei had brought his sword up between them, severing the ogre's limb, and without hesitation, had carried forward to impale the ogre through the neck. A killing blow.

"Stay out of this, demon!" the second ogre raged. "This is not your fight!" He grabbed for Hiei, but the demon was too fast, darting to the side and out of his reach before passing his blade through the back of the ogre's neck. Before the ogre's head had even hit the floor, Botan had erupted from her position. In a moment of adrenaline, a moment free from clear thinking, she had wrapped her arms around Hiei's neck, pulling herself off the floor and pressing her lips to his, embracing him passionately in a kiss.

The moment ended quickly, with Hiei shoving Botan back, gripping her by the shoulders. "What the hell are you...never mind, there's no time for this!" There was no longer any question as to why she was following him. He grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her down the hall, pulling her to her feet and forcing her to run. "Looks like the attack's started," he sent back to her.

"We have to get to Lord Koenma," Botan panicked. "If they're here, then they're probably going to be going after him. We need to get there before they do!"

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Ogres had already begun arming themselves, taking up weapons and going to fight the intruders. But civil war had broken out amongst their numbers, as those with the blood red eyes attacked the others, striking at them from within their own ranks. One unit of six ogres ran to face the intruders, but the two in the back struck without their notice. The first blood ogre impaled the ogre in front of him through the spine, shoving him against a second ogre while he thrust his blade through the neck of a second. The second blood ogre had struck simultaneously with the first, cutting through the neck in front of him and shoving the body forward into the fourth ogre, then driving his blade down through that ogre's chest.

"Lord Tsarakino," the first traitor approached. "We have done as you commanded. Our Agents have infiltrated the guard, and the way is open. There are two units guarding the Vault,"

"I can handle them," Yoshi responded without a moment's hesitation. "This is going to be fun."

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Civil war had erupted in the halls. Hiei shoved Botan quickly into one of the side rooms when he saw three ogres fighting in the hallway. Two blood ogres had converged on one normal, and the fight was going badly. None were armed in this fight, but the ogre was covered in slashes from the claws of the blood ogres. One had put his arm around the ogre's neck, about to snap it, but before he could strike, his head flew from his body. Hiei skidded across the ground on the other side and lunged before the other blood ogre even knew what had happened. Driving his blade into its chest, the demon forced him to the ground before removing his sword.

Botan peeked out through the door, watching the short assault. She watched Hiei fight, and she didn't even wonder why anymore. He was protecting this place, protecting her, and she could feel it resonating within her. But before she could really think about it, Hiei had yanked her back up to her feet by the wrist, and they were running for Koenma's office once more.

"Let...gah...let go!" She could hear Koenma struggling inside his office. Hiei let go of Botan's wrist and threw himself against the door, smashing it open despite one blood ogre's attempt at holding it closed. Koenma had been forced down against his desk by a second blood ogre, which was now rifling through the desk with its free hand, searching for something. Hiei didn't hesitate a moment, leaping up over the desk and bringing his blade down, cutting a line from the blood ogre's shoulder straight down to its waist, before withdrawing his blade.

"Lord Koenma!" Botan yelled as she raced into the room, but before she could say anything, she was cut off.

"The Vault!" Koenma practically shouted at her. "They're going for the Vault!"

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"Stand down," was all he heard. Yoshi Tsarakino, in the body of an ogre, had found his way to the Vault. He was met by a single unit of six, in which he did not identify even one blood ogre. This was to be expected, the Vault guard would have been infinitely more difficult to infiltrate, but it was no matter. He was Yoshi Tsarakino, and these poor fools would be much less than a match for him.

"Oh, come on," Yoshi taunted. "I've come all this way, you're not just going to give me a couple words, are you? C'mon, hit me with your best shot." His words stirred the captain, the front ogre, into attacking. The ogre thrust his fist forward, which Yoshi twisted his captured upper body to dodge, before driving his captive's elbow right into the ogre's stomach, following with a strike from his right fist up against the ogre's chin. This stirred the rest into action, and Yoshi laughed. It was time to have some real fun.

The second came from the left, and Yoshi drove his left leg right into its stomach, before he was grasped around the neck by the third ogre. The body's neck cracked with a twist of the ogre's arms, but the fourth ogre, behind him, suddenly gasped. A green glow emanated from his eyes for only a moment, and then he shoved the third forward into the second, knocking the both of them over. Swiping with his claws, the fourth slashed open the fifth's face, while the second and third struggled to get up. He turned too slow, however, and the sixth cracked him across, the face, then drove his fist into the fourth's stomach, causing him to cough up blood.

The fourth fell to the ground, motionless, but the green glow suddenly shone from the second's eyes for a few seconds. The second grasped the third as he had gotten up, cracking his neck quickly and shoving him against the sixth. He then turned on the fifth, who was on the ground with blood coming from the gashes in his face, and drove his foot right into his stomach, gutting him. Finally turning his attention back to the fourth, the second struck with his right, but the fourth was too fast for him. The fourth shoved the second's arm aside, then drove his first right into the second's face once, then twice, then a third time. The second gasped in freedom as he stumbled back, and that horrible green glow shone briefly from the fourth's eyes. A couple seconds later, the second was looking up in horror at the fourth, just before the fourth mercilessly executed him with its claws to his throat.

The fourth now stood proud over the bodies of the rest of the unit. Yoshi Tsarakino now inhabited its body, and with that ogre, he turned his attention now to the door. The heavy-duty steel door stood between him and the vault, the only remaining obstacle in his path.

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"Come on!" Botan screeched, for now it was her turn to yank Hiei by the wrist. She pulled him out the door and back into the hall, worried for the Vault. She could only hope that they would get there in time, and that Tsarakino's forces wouldn't be able to crack it.

Koenma sighed, returning to his place behind his desk. This whole thing was a mess, and his palace was turning into a circus. His own guard ogres were fighting amongst themselves, and Tsarakino was out there someplace. Not to mention that he had just had his neck saved by Hiei, of all people!

He laid his head down to rest on the desk. This was going horrible, and now Botan was out there in it. For a moment, he entertained a fantasy of himself, an older version of himself, the teenage form that he took on from time to time, scooping up Botan in his arms while the ogres fought each other in the background, and escaping from the burning palace, carrying her to safety, and pressing his lips to hers on a grassy hilltop, even while the palace burned in the background. A smile crossed the young prince's face when he pictured that moment.

Koenma shook the fantasy off. This was not the time for fantasizing about Botan. This was a state of emergency, and he needed to...needed to what? What, exactly, could he do about this emergency? Koenma let out another sigh, then returned his head to his desk. His men would handle it for him. He didn't need to do anything.

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Five ogres stood within the central chamber of the Vault. The massive doors were closed tight, and their captain was armed with a sword, which he held prepared. The other four were positioned in a circle around the captain, who never took his eyes off the door. "It's sealed tight," he muttered to himself. "There is no way they can get in here." He didn't even see as the eyes of the one standing behind him glowed green for a couple seconds, and by then, it was too late.

"Care to make a wager?" The ogre taunted as he struck from behind, but the captain was faster than him. The captain darted forward, away from the ogre's arms, and spun his blade under his shoulder to drive it back into the ogre's stomach.

"Have to do better than that," the captain grinned, just before a green glow emanated from his own eyes. He could feel Yoshi gnawing at his mind, grasping and taking control from him. He fought it, struggling against the invading force, fought with everything he had, but this was a mental struggle against a mental invasion, something he had little experience with. Yoshi beat him back in a matter of seconds.

"How's this?" Yoshi mocked the captain internally as he wrenched control of the body from his grasp. The captain found himself shoved back into a corner of his own mind, while Yoshi moved his body. He could feel every movement, every thrust, every blow, but could not actually move the body himself. Yoshi thrust the blade into the second ogre, surprising the remaining two, and kicked him off the blade before spinning and severing the head of the third. The last backed up for a moment, surprised and confused, before Yoshi hilted the sword inside the ogre's chest and shoved him back.

Victorious, Yoshi stepped deeper into the Vault. Two ogre units had fallen to his power, to their own power, and he couldn't help but laugh. He stopped, turning back to the face his enemies. "Damn, you guys SUCK!" he mocked the dying ogres, "I mean...is this the best you've got? C'mon, give me an army, give me some anger, some passionate threats about how I won't get away with this! You're boring me!" He laughed once more, then turned back away from them. "But I guess it's to be expected," he chuckled. "After all, I am the great Lord Tsarakino!"

Ignoring most of the weapons and mysterious artifacts that could be found within the Vault, Yoshi walked straight to the back, searching for something in particular. It took several minutes of searching, but finally, he came upon his prize, resting atop a pedestal in the back. There it was, inside a glass jar, with warning labels around it. The latest object that Koenma had put his people to work researching, and a very potent one.

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"Let me try to talk to him," Botan pleaded with Hiei as they approached the Vault. "We're dealing with a very dangerous man, and I don't know if there's a way to hurt him. I'm going to try talking to him."

"It's not going to work," Hiei chided, with a gruff tone to his voice. "It never does."

"Just stay here," Botan insisted. "If he sees you, he's not going to talk. Let me try, and if it doesn't work, then you can fight him."

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The doors opened slowly, Yoshi observed. A little too slow, but that was to be expected from doors this large and this heavy. Once they were open, he stepped out of the Vault with a grin, carrying with him the prize he had sought, still safe within its glass container. But the dead and unconscious ogres outside the doors were not the only sight that greeted him, and his eyes widened at the sight of Botan standing there, a firm, determined look on her face. "Botan, isn't it?" He shot her a smirk, one that had come to be associated with him.

"Yoshi," she started. "I don't know why you're here, but...I know you have a problem. I know what happened to you, Yoshi, and I want to help you. It must be terrible, I know, to lose the natural order, but–"

Botan's voice was cut off by laughter. "Wait," Yoshi interrupted, trying not to laugh too hard. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait...let me get this straight...you actually think I'm unhappy!" The grin on his face was more than enough to answer the question of whether he was or not.

"Well," Botan worried. "Aren't you?" She had been so fixated on the horrible circumstances that surrounded Yoshi's strange, unnatural existence that she hadn't taken the time to consider just what that unnatural existence granted him.

"Oh, come on!" Yoshi laughed. "I'm friggin' immortal, Botan! Look at me!" He gestured towards himself, with the guard captain's arm. "Look at what I can do! Never have to die, never feel any pain besides what my host feels, and that can easily be remedied by switching out. And sure, maybe I'm only as strong as the strongest person around, but y'know, somehow that doesn't really strike me as much of a weakness." Yoshi set the jar down on the ground, then kicked it over towards Botan. She wasn't sure why he was doing this, as she watched it skid across the ground. Was this what he had taken from the Vault? But, no, that can't be right...she saw inside the jar, and she knew it couldn't be right. Why would Koenma have a Jigan Eye in the Vault?

However, the reason he was delivering it to her became apparent soon enough. Yoshi took the guard captain's sword and drove it straight into his chest, before releasing the body. Incapacitating, killing the guard, so that he could take a more desirable form. Botan's eyes suddenly glowed with that familiar green light, and she could now feel him worming inside her, attacking her mind, taking control. "Y'know," he laughed as he fought her back into the corner of her mind, "you really are kinda cute. I think we could have some serious fun, you and I." Botan snarled internally, shoving back, trying to force his spirit out, but he had more time and more experience with internal conflicts, and she was now his.