1One more difficult chapter down! Thanks, Merc25, for the info – that's what I suspected, but I just wasn't sure if it still stood – now I know. Fortunately, it doesn't really matter in this story.
Well, you may have noticed (if you've been following the story) that I've changed the rating. I thought things got a little violent in this next part for what it was. Still, I tried not to get too gratuitous with it!
The Showdown…
"You…you…" Inuyasha choked on his words, unable to find anything vile enough to describe the monster in front of him. His lips pulled back in a horrendous snarl that could have daunted even Sesshomaru – almost.
The visage once owned by Taro Suzuki crinkled into a grotesquely inhuman leer, "Yes, it is I – better than ever now that I'm no longer enslaved inside this worthless knick-knack," the demon-man made to yank the rosary off his neck, however, the string refused to give. Snarling irritably, the newly made hanyou instead wrenched it over his head and slung it away with the relish of an escaped convict discarding his shackles.
Fathomless black eyes immediately took in the waxy face enfolded in the crook of Inuyasha's arm, with offhanded approval, "and to think, her soul was just the right size. She very promptly expired right at the end of her usefulness and not a moment sooner – such a considerate girl."
The dog demon was airborne before the last syllable dropped from Demon-Suzuki's mouth, Tetsusaiga arched back for annihilation. The attack was as swift as it was devastating; the modest building exploded like dynamite, sending terrified civilians within a half mile radius fleeing for cover.
Even before the wreckage completely cleared, Inuyasha knew he'd missed. The Demon-Suzuki was gone, but the sickening demonic aura told him it wasn't far as he grimly braced himself for an attack. He chanced a look over his shoulder, wanting complete certainty that Kagome's body hadn't been damaged.
To his sudden horror he found both she and Deadpool gone.
"Kag – huah," the silver-haired demon was suddenly blasted backward with such concussive force as to be hurled off the hillside toward the beach, hitting seemingly every jagged rock on the way down.
He hit the packed sand face first with a heavy slap. His whole body was paralyzed as before; Tetsusaiga – where was his sword? Inuyasha struggled with every fiber of his will to break the power over himself even as the unnatural Suzuki's shadow engulfed him. Immediately, he felt the area where it cast become deathly cold as he gasped for breath.
"Yes," sighed the monster as though answering an inquiry from Inuyasha, "having a physical body again – even if it belongs to a frail mortal whose life was already half over – is fifty times better than living inside those wretched beads! You'd have no idea unless you yourself had been exorcized and forced into a tiny prison to rot for a thousand years! But you see I finally did get my retribution on that priest through his pathetic descendant. They say that revenge is a dish best served cold; I doubt a more savory helping was ever dished out then."
Were he able to move, the dog demon would have shivered within the icy darkness enveloping him – as it were, his sharp eyes darted in every direction to locate where Tetsusaiga had slipped from his limp grasp.
Before he could even get a feel for his surroundings, however, a black loafer swiftly and forcefully connected with his face, sending the young man sprawling several feet away. Inuyasha growled in pain and rage, but could do nothing.
The abomination that loomed over him laughed shortly, "Well, no need to let all that untapped power go to waste; though youkai souls are exceptionally stubborn to harvest – a mere half-demon like you should go a bit more easily yet still provide a nice kick."
The silvery haired youth received a withering dose of what Kagome must have endured only minutes earlier – the thought alone hurled him into an inferno of rage and grief. He would kill this filthy demon if it took his final breath. Even as the power siphoned steadily out of him he struggled with all his might to rise.
"Resist harder," taunted the Creature, lifting its arms loftily over its head, "that only makes my work easier!"
The ghoulishly laughing Suzuki could taste victory. "Confucius say: never raise hand to angry hanyou; it leave groin exposed,"a familiar voice behind him sagely admonished.
Wheeling around, the fiend was assaulted with a spray of pebble-sized explosives before a katana slit its way assuredly from his crotch up to his collarbone in one deadly motion.
The clearing smoke exposed the merc poised with sword drawn, ready to take off Suzuki's head. Dodging, the demon man seized Wilson's throat from behind so swiftly that the other barely had time to register the action.
"Do you think you could actually make a mark on me unless I allowed it," sneered Suzuki's host, pressing hard enough to sever a normal man's wind pipe, "I can't be killed by your feeble weapons – the power of the beads have given me invulnerability; I'm immortal!"
"Is that peaches-n-cream-scented hand moisturizer you're wearing," Deadpool would have replied if his air passage had permitted. As it were, the mercenary found himself squirming helplessly in a death grip while growing more lightheaded by the second. Just when the blackness was about to take over, an inexplicable tremor shook the ground and ever so slightly loosened the hold on his jugular. The deep thrum continued to pulsate through the heavy atmosphere like the base from a gigantic car stereo.
Sensing the change, Demon-Suzuki glanced sharply in the direction of the fallen dog hanyou only to suck in with surprise. Not only was the wild-haired weakling standing, but something was elementally different about him – there was no trace of humanity left – just demon. The old man swore in annoyance, not in any mood to deal with this latest nuisance.
Without hesitation, the transformed Inuyasha charged madly at the possessed man – murder in his red eyes. He leapt high into the air, his claws leveled for annihilation.
The target warded off his assailant with relative ease by launching the unfortunate mercenary at his airborne foe.
"Inu – little buddy," cried Wade, braced for the rapidly impending collision. Deftly, he maneuvered himself and pushed off on the berserk demon's chest, landing nimbly on the ground. Dropping down immediately afterward, Inuyasha knocked his comrade aside with a savage swipe of his claws. The enraged youth again dashed at Suzuki as the latter quietly stood and watched.
"Nice one, dog-boy, you just better not have rabies," muttered Deadpool, examining his slashed gut, "what gives! You outta your ever-lovin', Alpo munchin', butt-licking, toilet bowl slurpin' mind?"
At the same moment, Inuyasha reached his intended prey only to have Suzuki's fist rammed clean through his middle and out the other side. Even more disturbing, however, was the white-haired demon's hysterical laughter as he heedlessly continued slashing the other's face.
"Uh-huh, strike that question," Wade looked on momentarily spellbound. Suzuki now had the boy by the hair and was busily attempting to snap his neck while Inuyasha clawed his throat – neither seemed affected by pain. The dog demon, on the other hand, looked, by far, the worse for wear. While the "man" healed almost as quickly as the other could rip into his flesh, the great majority of blood soaking the sand belonged to the former hanyou.
A realization suddenly hit Deadpool: where in the name of General Pao's ghost was Inu's ridiculously large sword? The Mercenary scanned the beach until a dull glint caught his attention. Wedged between two rocks, a tarnished and battered metal shaft jutted hilt up, looking (Wilson thought) rather like a poor man's Excalibur. Wade ran over to pull the artifact out and studied it dubiously.
"Lemme guess, it only transforms for you and He-Man – it figures; rassum frassum Masters of the Universe crap!" Deadpool charged toward the pair of demons currently shredding one another to pieces. "Hey Inu; fetch, girl!" He hurled the sword like a javelin the rest of the way, and it landed squarely by the young man's foot. The well-intended projectile went unnoticed by the crazed Inuyasha who either didn't recognize his father's blade or (more likely) didn't care.
"I think I've quite had enough of this," said Suzuki irritably. Pulling his forearm from his opponent's mid-section he placed a hand on either side of the boy's head preparing to wrench it off.
Before he had a chance, however, SKKLIKT!
Demonic-Suzuki gaped momentarily at the blood-jetting stumps where his hands had been so abruptly liberated from their wrists.
"I have the power!" Deadpool, with katana raised over his head in a power stance, roared at the top of his lungs. He suddenly paused as he regarded the immortal man's murderous expression, "Oops, I think I might have pissed him off. Tee-hee!"
"No really, ya think," Grumbled a still fully-demon Inuyasha from where he lay in a growing puddle of his own blood, too weak to stand.
"Now I've really had enough!" The monster raised his appendage-less arms over his head and blasted the merc full force. Wade was quick to dodge the shot; nevertheless, Suzuki's range was too large for Deadpool to avoid. The mercenary toppled unceremoniously on top of his gored companion.
"Shoulda taken the sword," muttered Wilson into Inuyasha's armpit.
Growling through his elongated fangs, the dog demon made a fist and, with his last ounce of strength, punched Deadpool in the temple.
"Since my powers are already at their full peak, and I'm so eager to be rid of you insects" the looming Demon-Suzuki informed them acridly, "I'm just going to kill you now instead of wasting time sucking out whatever minor potency you might have. I hope that's okay."
"No it isn't! Geez – is it me or are supervillians getting lazier? Now draw our deaths out for as long as possible like a good evil abomination!"
The possessed man smiled chillingly at the mercenary as energy crackled through him, "for you, I'll see what I can do."
Carl Fitzgibbon…
Fitzgibbon seized the familiar stones in his calloused fingers – he could scarcely believe what he was holding, certain he'd never see them again. His days as Goshie's Guru suddenly seemed like another lifetime. Things were different now; the supernatural force occupying the beads had departed, leaving only a dull strand of grayish rocks.
He could never have fathomed, less than ten hours ago, that he'd be whisked halfway around the world for a sole reason: to put a stop to the evil unleashed from his treasured rosary. Oddly enough, he felt quite calm and resigned to his situation.
"Okay, now what," his companion, a man led to him by providence, asked nervously.
The two stood amidst the charred remains of what must have once been a business. Signs of a struggle were apparent. Fitzgibbon's ally, meanwhile, loped to the edge of the steep drop-off and stared down in shock. He looked back pointing emphatically toward the beach, "Hey; th-there they are!"
Fitzgibbon joined the other at the precipice to descry the gory combat taking place on the shore below. Immediately Carl recognized the masked mercenary who'd robbed and brutalized him (fortunately he'd retained just enough residual strength from the prayer beads to heal fairly quickly). One glance at the lopsided struggle confirmed the worst: Suzuki's body was possessed. Moreover, the ex-swami had no idea how to defeat the now invulnerable monster.
"Well, you're the one with the cosmic insight; go help them before that old guy in the Armani suit annihilates them," his new friend yelped urgently.
Before Fitzgibbon could reply an angry protest was barked at them in Japanese. Several police officers approached from the other direction, quickly closing the gap.
Carl was at a loss; instinctively he sought the reassurance of his old rosary, clasping it to his chest as something within him stirred unexpectedly. In a flash, the teacher knew where to go. "Not here," he informed the first man, "take us to the other side of the island – there's a shrine we have to find."
"But," objected the other and then, noticing the officers' raised guns, hastily obliged. The pair was gone in a sharp crack before any of the law enforcers could so much as register what exactly they'd witnessed.
The Last Stand…
Mercenary and dog demon felt the close range blast like an open flame incinerating each one's flesh. Helplessly, the pair writhed under the agonizing infliction for what seemed an immeasurable amount of time. The inhuman man showed no signs of relenting as he leered down at his fallen adversaries, "I hope this is drawn out enough for you, Mr. Deadpool."
"I've had worse rope burns," the merc whimpered, "Besides, my dream has finally come true: I'm the world's largest slice of Canadian bacon!"
"I'll kill you," the red-eyed Inuyasha rasped vaguely from somewhere beneath Wade's substantial mass.
"Still haven't run out of jokes yet, then maybe I need to usher in the final stage," drawled the demon-man, "I'm growing bored of your twaddle very quickly."
"My what," blurted Wade, "That language isn't very lady-like, Suzy!"
The dog demon pinned under Deadpool, meanwhile, continued his crazed and largely unintelligible rant at both of them in turn.
Gathering enough strength to instantly vaporize the pathetic pair, Suzuki didn't immediately notice the appearance of three others behind him. A lean bespectacled man with dark, tousled hair clutched the much taller man at his side who, likewise, cradled a slight teenaged girl in one arm like a sleeping toddler. Only a moment passed, however, before realization dawned and the monster jerked around to face its newest victims. Mild surprise prevented his instant annihilation of the intruding mortals.
Two of them he instantly recognized: the hairy wilderness man whom he'd been forced to endure for over three years and the dead maiden who'd only just granted his long awaited freedom. Abruptly his attention was caught by a rather disturbing sight; the girl had on that damnable rosary!
"Stop," ordered Fitzgibbon, "no more killing – you don't belong in that body!"
The former Suzuki pulled a sneer too hideous to be human. "Too bad you weren't satisfied to stay at your pathetic ashram; now you're going to die!"
A jolt of energy shot from the demon at the spiritual leader so quickly as to be almost imperceptible. Fitzgibbon had no time to react as the missile exploded over him and Kagome. Astonishingly, the interlopers were unaffected (with the exception that the smaller of the two men looked ready to pass out). The lethal plasma had seemingly been absorbed into the stones round the lifeless girl's neck and its destructive impact neutralized.
The monstrosity gazed on stunned; the first burgeoning of fear dawned in its soulless eyes. Suddenly, as though somehow awakened by his emotions, the deceased teenager's own orbs unaccountably shot open to glare at him from Fitzgibbon's arm.
"You can't be alive," roared Suzuki, "I know I killed you! Those beads are worthless; there's no power left in them anymore!"
"Put me down," stated the girl simply, not taking her eyes from the ranting demon. The teacher promptly obeyed as he and his companion cautiously backed away a few paces.
At a loss for words, Suzuki looked on horror-stricken as his seemingly resurrected victim stepped forward; "but – but how," he finally managed.
An enigmatic smile pulled at her small mouth, "Don't you recognize me? You should, I was the one that foiled your plans for revenge centuries earlier. However, it seems you weren't satisfied until you literally claimed the life of Nibori's last living descendant."
Shock slowly changed to comprehension on the deceptively human face, and the old man chuckled deeply in spite of himself. "Isn't the irony delicious, though? He steals my life from me and I – in recompense – claim the body of his progeny: a fair enough tradeoff.
"As for you," the demon's expression immediately darkened again, " I don't know how you managed to survive since I took away all the power sustaining you when I moved into my new 'accommodations', but you made a grave mistake coming back here to face me. You and the absurd swami will regret your interference."
"Wrong! You do not have all the spiritual power from the rosary," corrected the young woman, "you missed a tiny part which is now intertwined with the last bit of this unfortunate girl's soul; Kagome and I are sustaining one another."
Now Suzuki laughed outright, "Stupid Guardian, you admit that you're barely alive! For a brief moment I actually thought you might pose some sort of threat to me – but in that case…"
Even as the contemptible creature spoke, a torrent of explosions lit the beach and rained over those assorted on the shore.
So there it is. I thought this would be the last chapter, but it just drew out too long, so I'm gonna say that the next will almost definitely wrap things up. Thanks again to everyone who's read and reviewed so far!