A/N: I liked the last chappie, and I see that you did too. Thank you reviewers, and please, leave me long rants...they're enjoyable. Okay, well here we go again...

Merging

It was late in the cavern, the rebellious folk sitting and conversing as Sanosuke still laid sprawled and thinking. He would have to get up sometime and do this. And as the moments ticked by he tried to configure when he sent the letter to Kenshin, that being the time that he left for the cavern, and he also tried to figure in the elasped time it would take for Kenshin to make it to Eviary. But, he wasn't what you would call being good at math. He picked up the sake' bottle and sipped down the last of it. Megumi gave him a look that meant he'd better do it while he had the motivation. He rose slowly and gazed around at tall the faces trying a hard to know what he wanted to say. As he compacted it, he stepped over to an elevated rock that would make for a good platform.

" People!" he said, resisting the urge to look at his hands as he spoke. He had done it as a child when he had to speak in front of the court, as his father was teaching him. His sister had inherited that trait, and most of the time she was right when she spoke and she was true. She always knew what to put first.

" We have gathered here in secret, and whether it be to get away from the fighting ot get involved is not my thing to guess. " He began. the faces were staring at him now.

" But, whatever the reason, we are down here and hold a common bond. Down here we have farmers; warrior; royals," he said thinking of himself. " But, down here it doesn't matter what we are...whether we are pauper or wealth, we are here for a second purpose...Enishi Yukishiro!" he yelled. He may not get others in, but he was surely getting himself into this.

" This man, for whatever reason has started this war. And a princess gave away her chances to marry and bethroated herself to this man..,no this demon to save us." Sanosuke lowered his head. It was a terrible thing to think about. " He has deifed that treaty and attacked our borders; destroyed our homes, our lives. Our famillies. He's kill for his chances; he's raped, he's stolen. Yet, he sits in his palace deciding the last thing he needs to do is get on the battlefield." Sanosuke felt beads of sweat form on his forehead and he lowered it again.

He caught the eye of Megumi who seemed overwhelmed by his speech. " We have forces gathering near his palace as we speak. The dreaded Battosai, enemy of Enishi, is on his way as well. Tonight, we will fight for our countries before he can take over Crest, over the Gsen area. Tonight, we will kill Enishi as he sleeps."

He threw his head up with force. " And tomorrow, we'll feast on his breakfast. The dreaded Enishi will fall! " Sanosuke had to think of a way to end it.

" This is the final battle of the war. Our last chance to take back what is ours. Who is with me?!" he threw his fist in the air and the rebels rose with their voices loud and faces tough. Sanosuke knew he could do it. He stepped form the platform and began to a second tunnel that lead toward Eviary.

The dark-haired doctress walked at the side of the emperor, but he was right. He was no longer and emperor, he was just a man on a mission.

" So, how far do you suppose we are from the capital?" he asked her. Other than the fact that Megumi was a medicine woman, she was also a very good navigator. These tunnels were the ones that she knew, and she knew every route on them. They were the reason she could pop up randomly and treat the injured.

" We will be on Camill Road when you see the roots," she told him. That was all that he needed to know. At the moment, he was seeing sand of the desert they were under slipping through the cracks of the rocks. He just kept his eye out for the tree roots.

For the while, there was hardly any conversing, nothing that was important. When they were dead silent, the wheels in the lady doctor's head began turning. She lowered her chin to her chest practically, she knew things about the war that the emperor next to her didn't. And, she might not have thought that she knew when Kenshin was rambling in his drugged state, but thought to it and it all made sense.

Kenshin, like Kaoru was in the treaty with Eviary. He was to wed the princess Tomoe. And he did, and they lived very peacefully like hermits in the forest. But, one day he got a message that there wa an uprising, and by Hiko's command, he was to destroy it. He was more than willing to of course and he bid his wife good-bye as he strode into battle. But Tomoe wasn't the taking chances type and she followed her husband to the sight seeing the bloody massacre before her eyes. Somewhere along the line though, she was caught in the middle. She, several months pregnant with her and Kenshin's first child, was slashed in the back under whatever circumastance.

Megumi was nearby and watched the red-headed warrior place his bloody wife on the bed that night. She was pushed away by her master when the curtain was pulled as she was only an apprentice. But, she still didn't understand why Kenshin was so guilty about that happening. It seemed like such a sheer mistake that he had nothing to do with. But, whatever the reason, Megumi did know why he was gone for so long. His disappearing. His mourning for his wife an unborn child.

Megumi drew her head up when she heard,

" Megistune." Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sanosuke looking at her worried. She turned her head with a smile on her lips as she saod,

" Hai?"

" You alright?" he began," you were thinking pretty hard."

" Iie, I'm just a little worried about all of this."

Sanosuke shrugged. " I guess it makes sense."

" Do you have anything to fight with Sano?"

" Just these." He answered holding out his fists. Megumi nodded. Sanosuke, is anything, had a lot of stamina and a lot of power in him. His fists could be lethal weapons if he needed to. And he was even more a force to be reckoned with when he had his zanbato. He didn't though because it would have been too conspicious to come to the cavern.

As they drew on, Sanosuke placed his hand on the caverns walls for support while his legs cramped minorly. He rubbed them out of it and pressed on. The only thing on his mind was seeing Enishi's blood splattered over his throne room. He smiled, almost evilly, as he thought about it, but turned it to a scowl forcing himself to keep at a steady pace.

Up ahead he saw something that would block his path. The bridge that connected people into the Eviarian capital was crushed in the middle. However, he looked back at those following him as they stopped and asked for a rope more than gladly being handed it. He looped it around at a stalagtite on the roof and tugged with all his might to be sure that it wouldn't cave in. He swung across, Tarzan-like, and motioned for Megumi to followed. She checked to make sure her medicines were medicines in her box were locked before she threw it over to Sanosuke. She swung across like it was nothing new.

Everyone else followed ina matter of minutes and Sanosuke coaxed them onward, they complied. And the reason he really wanted them to keep going was he knew that he was close. His pace even began to pick up and he knew he was almost directly under until...

" Oh hell no..."

--

Magdaria ran as she could out of those doors and what had to be then three times around the grounds after seeing the same training group for the third time. She stopped and took a breath. She knew that she needed to find Kenshin, and she knew that she was not going to be able to get there on her feet in her condition. Her coughing would weigh her down. She also knew there were stables, but the last thing she wanted to do was steal a horse.

Then, her mind started thinking about what she heard when she ran out. The harsh scream that came from those doors and the two thoughts that crossed her mind, neither pretty. She first thought about her brother slithering near the evil Akira with his dagger in hand. She imagined that he would stab the man through the heart and kill him. But she knew that if that were the cause then Shougo would have came out to help her. Then, there was the chance that Akira was able to strike Shougo. Magdaria knew that her brother wasn't invincible, but she knew that he was certainly near that.

She stopped thinking about what had goen on there, not wanting to imagine possbilities. There was too much blood in either.

From afar, a spikey-haired boy caught sight of the brown-haired maiden and saw she was in a serious pardicament. He walked over and asked,

" Are you looking for something?"

" I need to get to Himura." She said fast. Yahiko, the boy, nodded at that and turned.

" Come on, we'll get a horse from the stable then ..."

" I will not steal..."
" You won't be stealing." Yahiko assured the the woman. She looked at him odd, but followed him to the stables and to the back of them to get to a chesnut colored horse that looked rather old. She whinnied at Yahiko as he petted her nose.

" This is Bessie. She's usually used for beginner riders with their weapons. But, I'm sure that Hiko won't mind that you go on her. She's rarely used anymore." Yahiko explained. Magdaria eyed the boy for a moment and then carefully pet the horse as he began saddling it. She looked in it's black eyes for a moment wondering what she would do. He was offering so it wouldn't be stealing. As he finished she, in one fluid motion, put her foot on the stirrup and got herself on.Yahiko looked at her impressed as she trotted out of the stable with her head held high. She looked back to Yahiko halting the horse.

" Are you coming with me?" she asked strongly. Yahiko lowered his bokken from his shoulder and sheathed it on his back. He brought himself up on the horse with Magdaria's help. She, with her head forward said: " Hold tight to me. I'll be going as fast as Bessie will let me." She informed. Yahiko was reluctant to put his hands around her waist, her being a woman. She pushed the horse to a gallop and turned at the beginning of the Warrior's Pass.

' This is for you Shougo. '

--

Inside, the battle that had ensued between Akira and Shougo had stopped when Shougo struck Akira with the dagger. He smiled at his accomplishment, only to have Akira whip around and smack him in the face. Shougo stumbled back with drunken like stepped and coughed up more blood. His wounds only grew worse as the time elapsed. Akira growled and hissed at his knew wound in his side. He felt the dagger slip from his side and clatter on the ground. He wanted to duble over in pain, but he knew he had to deal with Shougo first.

He kneeled to the man and took him by the collar again. " You know...you're one lucky bastard, I'm not going to kill you...not yet. You'll prove a helpful asset to me. My little hostage. " He picked up Shougo and brought him to his room bounding his wrists and ankles. He also tied a gag in Shougo's mouth sitting the wounded peacemaker on the wall. Blood had already stained the white strip in his mouth.

" You're persistant, maybe you're worth more than Himura. And don't think I don't know about little Sayo..."

Shougo tried yelling at the man to not call Magdaria by her original name, but it was impossible.

" As I was saying..." he continued cleaning his wounds carefully. " I know you sent her to look for Himura. He he, good luck with that. She's a flower, it's beautiful, but powerless." He laughed as he wrapped the wound in his chest and his thigh.

Shougo growled beneath the gag and lowered his head as blood continued to soak into it. It was obvious that Akira was trying to choke him with his own blood. He gazed up, his vision blurry. He hardly saw Akira correctly, but enough to see that he was dressing and constantly staring back to his captive in a paranoid fashion. Shougo acted as weak as he could, dropping his head like he was passing out a few times. When Akira had desposed of his bloody clothes, he stepped over to Shougo with the dagger in his hand.

" You know what this is, trash?"

Shougo was scared as it got closer to him with the curved point. It touched his left cheek real lightly, as it did, it knicked hairs off. " I'm sure you do. And it has my blood on it...right?" Shougo felt it skim down his face easy enough that it wouldn't cut him. " Now, what part of you should be opened first?" he asked with that satanic grin. Shougo didn't show any fear, but inside he was terrified as the knife slipped to his throat. " This is a fine place to start I think, but then I have to keep you alive, and this would hurt your jugular."

He smiled, " Oh well, we can't all keep our promises now can we?"

As it started to skin in there was a knock at the door and Akira pulled the blade away. Shougo hid his sigh of relief as the brown-headed warrior stabbed it into the wall.

" Be thankful for these precious moments trash..." he sneered and put ona smile as he creeked the door open just enough that you couldn't see anything.

" Yes?"

" C'mon Akira, the general is telling battle plans, you'll be gutted if you don't know what you're doing..." Akira nodded and looked back at Shougo with scowl as he departed.

Sitting against that wall Shougo thought that there was nothing more that he could do but be able to wait for God to take him to Heaven, but he looked up in the blood loss haze to see the red smeared blade extending like a handle from the wall. He started pushing his feet on the wooden floor, slipping in the little pool below him. But, somehow he manaage to be able to stand and start to carve the rope around his hands. It snapped after a few moments and his hands dropped to his sides as well as his butt to the floor. He took out the blood soaked gag coughing as he undid the rope on his ankles.

There was only one thing that he needed to do at that was alert Hiko of everything that had just happened. He grabbed his sword lying against the bunk and putting it in his obi. While so, he used the cloth that Akria had gagged him with to tie up his injured arm.

He slugged his way through the barracks, each step becoming more deseparate to continue. The exit seemed to be getting further and further away from him, but he managed to get to the stairs and started toward the elaborate door at the end of the marbled hall. There was no one in sight, and he was both thankful and hateful, glad that they didn't rush him to an infirmary before Hiko did something he would regret, and hateful that there was no one around to help him.

He touched the door and pulled on the handle revealing the dimmed office. Hiko stood in the window with his long white cape on preapred to fight. He turned to look at Shougo with surprise.

" Don't...send and army..." he tried saying..." Akira's a traitor...Eviary will expect it," but before anything else could fall out of his mouth, his body made a ' thump' to the carpet. Hiko couldn't respond.

--

The heaviness of the forest was starting to fade, at least on the unknown trail that the red-head had taken. The princess was asleep peacefully on his back and her guards were like monkeys jumping from above. He pulled her hand back on his shoulder as it slippe doff and he looked forward as they merged with the Camill Road and seeing the wall to the palace in sight. Kenshin swallowed, and Misao and Aoshi came from the trees to stop the rider.

Misao looked over her shoulder with her fingers to her lips. He nodded as Aoshi crept his way to the palace walls very inconspicuously.

" Dismount Himura." Misao commanded. He did so, waking Kaoru in the process as he tied the horse to a tree. Kaoru held his hand as they walked forward. A small light went from a high tower in the palace and Misao pushed them back waiting for it to stop in one position. She heard a call from Aoshi that signalled it was okay and they began to run.

" We'll use a servants entrance," Misao said as they got close. Her hands ran along the same paved wall and she knocked until she heard something hollow. She beamed and opened the wall, all four of them walked into the quarters, Aoshi lighting a small match from his cloak. Misao motioned them more forward and straight. She saw everything in this light and alerted the other, hence Kenshin and Kaoru, to the cobwebs and other uneven things that could cause noise. Her hands touched something, and the illumination made out a wooden ladder.

" Come on."

She pushed up a block in the floor as Aoshi put out the match. They all climbed up, Kaoru being led by Kenshin. She smiled and thanked him. Kaoru then took them through evrey hall. They wanted to go to the throne room. The darkenss of the palace, and the emptiness of the corridors gave her a chilling feeling about everything.

They reached the throne room that seemed equally empty until she heard a laughter echo from the walls.

" My little princess has returned to me, and she has become a common whore yes?" Kaoru cringed behind Kenshin in fear of the demonic voice. A clap came on the walls and two large lamps of fire above the thrones came on. In the room was more than Enishi. There were two sets of armored and armed warriors.

" Let the games begin..."

A/N: I wrote the first part of this, and it got deleted from the computer. Luckily, I remembered most of it. I hope you enjoyed. Again, thank you reviewers. Till next time KenSan out!