Chapter 29

Ká Boom

Yusuke slammed the door to the next room open, anger blazing in his eyes. Not a moment passed after he opened the door when a set of talons raked across his chest from out of the darkness. He struck blindly at his attacker, flinging her far back with a squawk. He charged into the dark room, firing his Shotgun blast. Daren, followed by the others, cast a spell to light up the room. Spheres of light flew from his palm and took their place in the corners of the room.

Yusuke devoted his full attention to the raven woman, singeing her feathers with his attack. She flew away to the back of the room. "Yusuke, look!" Gabriel whispered, pointing to the center of the rear wall, where the pyramid of shattered mirrors supported their true foe. "Greetings all," a deep voice stretched to fill every corner of the room; Morpheus stood tall in the light, revealing his true face. He was tall and pale; his skin was almost a bluish color. His black hair was cut short, below his ears, and swept back from his face; but even though his hair was pulled back, an unnatural shadow hung from his brow and hid his eyes from them. The water youkai was dressed in a dusty blue colored robe over his bare chest, and black hakama. (Just like Kenshin's! -) "You may trust that you nuisances have my full attention now; I have no intention of letting you leave here alive." He raised his arm, revealing one of the Rods, "I'm raising your power, Ká, you are at your full potential of strength and speed," he said to his pet, "Destroy him."

The raven attacked, faster than ever. Yusuke could only shield himself with his arms. "Plan B! Plan B!" he cried. Gabriel screwed up her face in panic.

"Okay! Um…plan B…um…" she was suddenly distracted by the mountain of mirrors; they began to shift from a pile of broken glass to a storm of glittering metal, amplifying the dream-waves. "Many shields…rush him!" They all poured their energy into a group charge, blindly forcing their way through barriers that would have dazzled their eyes.

From afar, an incredible explosion could be seen as the roof to an ancient Greek temple blew off. Flashes of all colors, a raging dragon-shaped cloud, and towering, thrashing tree limbs tore at the sky. Six tiny points of light shot away from the wreckage at top speed.

Yusuke and Gabriel each carried a Rod they had risked their skin for from the hurricane of glass shards, and were surrounded by the others as they ran away. "Where do we go?" Yusuke shouted to the others. Kurama checked his mirror, "Follow the other two sources of dream waves. Yusuke and Kuwabara, follow me; the rest of you, follow Gabriel, and at all costs, get the Rods to the Gates!" the group split; one half went east and the other west. Yusuke followed Kurama west with a Rod in his hands. "How much farther, Kurama?" he asked.

"One of the two Gates is on the other side of this island, about ten miles from here."

"Ten miles!"

"Don't worry, Yusuke; the other Gate isn't nearly as far, but I do have a plan as to how we may increase our velocity." The town, which the temple overlooked, was only one mile away; where Kurama's thief senses brought him to a bike shop. Abandoning stealth, he jumped through the front window and quickly hot-wired two Yamahas. "Kurama, have you ever ridden one of these before?"

"What's to know? Just like riding a bike, only no pedaling! Get on!" Yusuke gulped as he climbed on the motorcycle behind the redhead. The owner of the shop was nearly run over as the two vehicles sailed out through the front window. Kuwabara instinctively covered the rear to delay any followers. Yusuke, spitting out the long red hair that kept slapping him in the face, shouted in the wind, "How much farther? We still have to make sure Gabi and the others reach the other Gate in time."

"Eight more miles, and we're going the fastest these can go!"

Gabriel, Daren, and Hiei were sprinting down the coastline, hopping over the jagged rocks of the beach. Daren lead the way to the Gate, having seen its location before whilst serving Morpheus. "It's not that far away; only a mile or so from here. Without his henchmen, he should catch up with us slower."

"Wrong," a voice boomed through the roar of the sea. The water receded from the shore, piling up in a monstrously huge image of the water yokai's upper body. "You have only faced my minions; you haven't got an inkling of the depth of my power!" the water imitating Morpheus' body changed back into a tidal wave, bearing down on them. Gabriel screamed; Hiei snatched her and Daren up by the hand, and the sorcerer formed another shield around them similar to the one he had used to trap the Tantei. The sea crashed down on the invisible dome around them; both father and daughter could only cling to Hiei's hands for dear life. "There, turn into that cove!" Daren pointed ahead.

The water receded again and the shield was dissipated. From the crest of the waves, Morpheus' image took shape again and roared toward them. "Daren, take the Rod!" Gabriel cried, handing the winged key to the werewolf. "Hiei, when I give you the signal, take him to the Gate; it'll be faster with just two of you." The Koorime nodded as another tsunami bore down on them. Once again, Daren raised a shield, but the sheer force of the water against him was taking a toll on his strength.

As the foam washed away, Morpheus, riding the waves despite the absence of a surfboard, approached the single-surviving member of the group. Daren lay on the rocky ground, crumpled in a heap. The water-mage rode the wave to shore and seized the smaller figure by his shirt. "Did you think you could really stop me, hanyo? Give me the Rod!" he growled.

"Don't got it," a female voice said. The figure of Daren in his grasp rippled, with each wave of light, colors swirled around and shapes changed, until the werewolf was turned into the blonde shaman. She grinned mischievously, shoving her feet at his chest. Hurled backwards, he flipped to maintain his balance. "And one more thing, I'm not a hanyo!"

"You little witch! You don't have a snowflake's chance in the belly of a dragon to defeat me, let alone without your reiki. That's why I had the hanyo mutilated, so you would weaken yourself because of his state."

The sea breeze blasted her hair back from her face as realization filled her features. "You hurt him…?" her nails cut into her palms as she balled her fists. With a single blow to the head, she went down and he passed. He turned into the cove and faced Hiei.

"This is as far as you go," Hiei said warningly, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword. Morpheus moved fast, making a palm thrust to the smaller fighter's stomach. Hiei dodged and slashed at him. A fine tear spread across his robe, and a small cut across his chest followed. Frowning, the water mage waved his hand, unleashing a column of water that knocked Hiei off his feet. A ribbon of water picked the fallen Koorime off the ground and squeezed with rib-cracking force.

Morpheus held the other end of the water-rope; he made the water squeeze even harder. A series of cracks were heard. Hiei, who had been struggling not to scream, opened his mouth to cough up blood. With his free hand, Morpheus sent a smaller column of water into his mouth and down the Koorime's throat into his lungs. Hiei was completely helpless, drowning and bleeding internally. His eyes closed and his neck went slack.