Chapter 23

Icelus

The five heroes were deposited in the Grecian countryside of a tiny island, armed with coffee and compacts. As insane as the situation was, they were even crazier, running headlong into dangers unimaginable and unstoppable. Fortunately, they were near a road, where an eighteen-wheeler truck was passing by. Leaping onto the bed of the truck, they were whisked off to their desired location. "According to the mirrors, we're heading straight toward a huge reading of dream energy, that must be where Mr. Sandman is hiding." Yusuke said. Because of the change in time zones, it was 11:32 p.m., six hours earlier than Japan.

"It's a good thing the unbearable biting chill of the wind is hitting us head on, or I might be tempted to fall asleep!" Kuwabara said sarcastically, rubbing his arms in the mountainous air. "I just had one of those 'what the hell are we doing?' feelings; we're facing unknown danger, riding on top of a truck, and our only defenses are latte-zilla and a Tinkerbell-Ghost-buster."

"While we're waiting," Yusuke began, "or until the road changes direction; would you mind filling me in on what's going on with you, Kurama?"

The red head looked up at the raven-haired boy, and then turned away again, "It's nothing you need to worry yourself with Yusuke," he said, "just some personal business." Yusuke stared at Kurama for a moment in thought, and then he stared at Gabriel, finding a connection between their attitude changes.

"There's something going on between you and Gabi, isn't there?" The blonde and the redhead looked at him with wide eyes. "NO!" they cried.

"Hah! A girl's face can never lie! Spill it!"

"If you think there is anything going on between Kurama and I that is anything other than platonic in context, you must have a rusty screwdriver rupturing your cerebrum. And if there was, as social beings we both are, you would have been informed about it from either party in this debate, whether or not it would be any of your fucking business." She spat coldly.

"Kurama and Gabi, sitting in a tree!" he sang.

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Kuwabara continued. She punched him out so fast the concussion in the air hurt their ears.

"Hey, baka, your idiocy is showing," Hiei said, smirking.

"Watch it, shrimp."

"Guys, the road is turning, this is our stop." Gabriel said, looking at her communication mirror. The five of them jumped of the top of the truck as it turned on the edge of a small valley; they landed in soft piles of pine needles and loam. "Hey, now I smell like an air freshener!" Yusuke said, brushing the needles out of his hair.

A forest enveloped them on all sides but the sky above. No clear path could be seen. Kurama turned his face to the wind and sniffed gingerly, "The smell of the ocean is strong; we must be near the coast. That direction is also where there is a stronger gathering of dream energy."

"I suppose that makes sense, with him being a water youkai to be closer to his element. Let's motor." Yusuke said and lead the way. As Gabriel passed Kurama, she tried to look into his eyes; he turned away from her sharply with his eyes stubbornly shut. He walked stiffly away, giving her a cold shoulder. Blushing red, she slowly followed him. 'Why won't he look at me? He must have been serious when he said I caused him pain. If he shuts me out of his life completely, I won't be able to explain to him who I-'

"You're lagging behind, onna," Hiei called from up ahead. Shaking her head, she ran to catch up.

After a half hour of sprinting through the woods, the trees opened up to a rocky cliff that hung out over the ocean. Fixed on top of the cliff was a white marble temple; an ancient building spared by urbanization and given its respected space away from any other dwelling. "He's got to be in there!" Yusuke said, pointing to the massive building, "Any body getting sleepy? Now may be our only chance to try some of this super-coffee."

"I'll pass," Hiei snorted, crossing his arms over the strap he was forced to wear.

"Not really," Kuwabara said. Gabriel and Kurama shook their heads. Nodding, Yusuke lead the way into the ancient temple. The statue of the temple's god or goddess had been smashed to pieces at the entrance. Huge columns reached several meters into the air, supporting the huge ceiling and all of the upper floors. The first floor was almost completely open, and empty, but for the stairs on the other side. They made a move to advance, but out of the flat shadows on the ground, a shape emerged. Torches lining the columns flared to life and revealed Icelus, dressed in his usual green.

"You!" Yusuke cried in shock, "You guys were crushed when that castle caved in! How the hell did you survive that?"

"The same way you did, we flew out. Or did you forget I am the master of animals?" he smirked, reaching into the air and pulling on invisible strands. They began to glow as he wove something out of dream energy. "Who will be the first to be slain by the great Icelus?"

Kuwabara stepped forward, "Let me take this guy. Man versus Animal."

"You sure, Kuwabara?" Gabriel asked; the carrot top nodded and faced his opponent. Instead of creating other animals for Kuwabara to face, he turned himself into a beast by wrapping the strands of dream energy around himself. In a sickening transformation, legs sprouted from his chest, his mass expanded, and his skin and clothes melted together to form a dull hard hide. Before Kuwabara stood a tarantula the size of a Clydesdale horse. "Oh man, I really hate bugs!" he whispered to himself.

"This is your worst nightmare, isn't it Kuwabara?" the towering arachnid said, moving is eight telephone-pole legs. "We are the handlers of dreams as well as nightmares, so we know what makes you squirm in your bed!"

"Don't let him psych you out, dude!" Yusuke shouted. "Squash that bug under your shoe!"

"His foot is as big as me, Urameshi!" Kuwabara cried back. One of the two-clawed legs slammed down on the marble floor right next to the quailing teen. He gave a yelp and leapt away. It was cat-and-mouse as Kuwabara ran around the temple, narrowly avoiding getting squashed. "I hate spiders, I hate spiders, I hate spiders!" Icelus was enjoying it with vicious amusement; he was cocky, half-focused…

"Quit running around and deck him already!" Yusuke said.

"I can't even get near him!" the carrot top shouted back. He skidded to a halt, "Wait, why go around something when you can go through it?" Forming his reiken, he easily cut off half of the next leg that smashed near him. He made short work of the rest of the legs and cornered the floundering body of the arachnid. "The itsby-bitsy spider ain't so tough now, huh?" he smirked. Kuwabara was smothering his personal fears in boldness and desperation.

The maimed spider shifted its form and split into thousands upon thousand of fist-sized creepy-crawlers. Kuwabara let out an uncharacteristically shrill cry. "Stand down fool, and let one of us handle this; you don't seem to have the stomach for so simple a foe." Hiei jested, long since having become bored.

Irked, Kuwabara pushed fear aside again, "Shuddup squirt! I ain't scared of a few little bugs. Sword, get longer!" he shouted and his reiken grew and grew and grew. He held it horizontally on the ground and slowly twisted his wrist, bowling over and destroying the many tiny spiders. "You'll have to do better than that!" he said proudly.

The remaining creatures melted together and formed a single body. A king cobra slithered along the floor at a rapid speed, rising up to look the teen in the eye. The reptile struck, baring his fangs, but the relentless training of beating up a crudely made Urameshi dummy had made Kuwabara just as fast. The snake could dodge the reiken, but Kuwabara could also dodge the poison-filled fangs Icelus was so keen on sinking into him.

Abandoning the snake form, he took on his own form and sprinted backwards from him. This was more difficult than Kuwabara thought; he wasn't supposed to be this strong, this fast… Icelus had to finish him quickly if he was to survive. If one animal could not slay him, then he would send many. His threads formed an infantry of predatory felines: lions and tigers and leopards…

"Oh my," Icelus crowed, "It seems you are out numbered, and just like always, they are quite real."

The proverbial king of the jungle stepped forward and prepared to strike. The others watched anxiously, fearfully.

Kuwabara didn't even bat an eyelash.

He smacked the beast on the skull with his weapon. "No! Bad kitty!" the lion shook his mane and eyed the teen. Years of owning cats, raising and training them for obedience gave him the unspoken authority he needed to command the creature; his very aura was shaped in a way the animal's sixth sense understood as 'master.' Kuwabara fearlessly petted the shaggy mane, murmuring to the feline, "Good boy, now, sic'em!"

The huge cat obeyed and charged his creator; the smell of fear and blood coming from him was much more enticing than a skinny human anyway…

Icelus moved his fingers rapidly to unweave the beast before the huge jaws closed over his throat. Unfortunately, for him, he had made the animals a little too real, and pack-instincts kicked in; the other animals followed the lion and attacked the man, knocking him down. He could not have unwoven all of them in time, and he was killed at the hand, or paw, of his own creations. As soon as he was completely dead, the animals vanished, leaving his carcass half-eaten on the ground.

Kuwabara dispelled his reiken with an air of satisfaction. "Hey guys, I think I just conquered my fear of spiders!" he said cheerfully, turning to see they were gone. "Uh, guys?"

"Over here, baka!" Hiei called. They had already gone past the battle scene and were ascending the stairs.

"Hey wait up!"