Chapter 14

A New Search

"Dammit, it's been a day already!" Corey shouted, slipping on his jeans, "And I'm sick of waiting for him!"

After only four days of concentration and Kurama's help, Corey had made a complete recovery. His body was still a little sore, but he insisted that it was only because he hadn't been allowed to move in almost a week.

"Corey…you know that Derek can't be disturbed." Liz said quietly, with a bit of hesitation in her voice, "He'll be fine."

"That doesn't matter to me, Liz!" Corey retorted, throwing on his brown t-shirt and started slipping on his socks and shoes.

Liz frowned. "It does, Corey. Just let Derek be--"

"You're only saying that cause you're still pissed at him!" Corey yelled, glaring over at her.

"W-what?" Liz asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

Corey swung his arm in the air; a mix of rage and worry in his voice, "Don't play dumb with me, Liz! I know that you can't forgive Derek for killing John!"

A sudden hush filled the air as the two friends stared each other down. Neither could move an inch. Finally, a few tears rolled down Liz's cheeks.

"You're…you're right, Corey…" Liz said quietly, looking down at the ground, "I can't forgive him…not after all of that…"

Corey stared at her for awhile longer, but then finished dressing himself and stood up, and walked to stand beside her, but stared the opposite way, towards the door,

"Liz…can you blame him? The guy lost his wife to a madman…and with the dragon inside of him combined with his own emotions…"

"That isn't an excuse!" Liz shouted, clenching her fists.

"Didn't you react the same way, Liz?! If I remember right, you stabbed him in the back at the end of our fight!"

Another silence came, and lasted much longer this time as both of them let what was said sink in. Before Liz could have a chance to respond, Corey spoke again,

"Liz…the past is the past. Derek is trying to fix what problem he has by bettering himself. If we want to win this war, we have to believe in each other."

After that, Corey began to leave the room, but before he could, Liz touched his shoulder,

"What are you going to do now?"

Corey glanced back at her and smiled, "I'm going to find a way to better myself."

******

Ten minutes later, Corey was walking down the halls of the Spirit Palace, trying to find the room where Derek was doing his trial. He had learned where the room was from a few of the workers in Spirit World.

Once he found his way to the room, he also found himself face to face with Dia Jaganshi, arms crossed and leaning next to the door to Derek, a cigarette between his lips, half gone.

"Well, well…if it isn't the human." Dia commented nonchalantly.

Corey frowned. "I'm pretty sure there is no smoking around here."

Dia chuckled. "Who's going to care? I doubt the dearly departed can get lung cancer."

"Is Derek in there?"

"He is."

"Let me see him."

"Can't let you do that."

"Why not?"

"No humans allowed."

"Do you want me to kick your ass?"

The two were nearly nose to nose at this point. Corey was glaring, but Dia kept a smug look on his face, ashing his cigarette with a simple tap of his tongue.

Corey took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest, "Why do you care so much that Derek gets control over the Black Dragon?"

Dia smirked. "I don't in the slightest. I already told Maison that if he fails, I'll just have to go up against Darkine myself."

"Derek said that you lost the ability to use the Dragon of the Darkness Flame…what makes you think you stand any chance of beating Darkine without it?" Corey asked curiously.

Dia's smirk widened. "You believe me to be weak, Kartana? I am the son of both Hiei and Mukuro…do not think that I was not blessed with my mother's abilities as well as my father's. That is what I have been working on these past five years.

"When the time comes for you and Maison to fulfill your so-called 'prophecy,' I will be waiting for it to fail…and that is when I will face Darkine."

Corey watched Dia carefully, wondering if he was bluffing or not. Deciding it would be best not to start a fight with the supposed ally, he changed the subject,

"How long is this thing supposed to take?"

Dia shrugged. "Dunno…time moves differently in the Black Dragon's realm. For Maison, the battle could take weeks in it's world."

"I see…"

Without another word, Corey turned away from Dia and headed down the hallway once again, continuing his journey to Koenma's office, where he was hopefully going to get some answers. He didn't know how busy Koenma would be, but maybe he would have time to point Corey in the right direction to his new goal.

******

"Good afternoon, Corey. Feeling better?" Koenma asked, smiling and sipping at a cup of tea.

As expected, mounds of paperwork had cluttered the newly appointed king's desk. A few ogre's, workers in the Spirit World, were walking about, taking some and replacing the stacks with even more.

"Yeah, loads. Do you have a minute, Koenma? I have a few questions." Corey requested, watching the ogres walk back and forth.

Koenma smirked slightly. "Yes, I suppose I can spare a minute or so." Koenma stood up and walked to the back of the office, Corey following in his wake. After a few feet, they came upon a balcony looking over all of Spirit World and the River Styx.

"Nice view." Corey commented, letting out a low whistle.

Koenma nodded, "Yes. My father used to come out here to ponder things."

"You doing okay with that, sir?" Corey asked, a little concerned.

"Yes, I'll be fine. Now. What is it you wish to talk about, Corey?"

Corey nodded and cleared his throat, "Well, you know that Derek is undergoing a trial right now to gain complete control over the Dragon of the Darkness Flame, right?"

Koenma nodded, slightly urging Corey to continue.

"Well, I have to figure that, since we're going to be fighting Darkine soon, and considering the fact that Derek is training now--"

"--that you should find a new way to hone your own strengths?" Koenma asked, finishing Corey's statement.

"Yeah…" Corey said, rubbing the back of his neck, "Any ideas?"

Koenma smiled and looked at Corey straight in his eyes, "Corey, I am not a warrior. That is why I appoint Spirit Detectives like Derek, Liz, and yourself. I'm sorry, but I really can't help you with this problem."

Corey nodded slowly, looking a little disappointed, "Okay…I guess it was a long shot, but it was worth a shot, right?"

Koenma nodded and placed his hand on Corey's shoulder, "Corey, you are one of the strongest humans I have ever met or seen in action. Be proud of your strength."

Corey smirked a bit, "That means a lot, sir, but it doesn't help against Darkine."

"I understand. Here…" Koenma placed a hand in his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper, "Take this to the eighteenth floor, room number 34."

Corey blinked and took the slip of paper and stared at it, then back at Koenma, "Okay…and what is in that room?"

Koenma smiled, "That is the archive room. There you will find all the past documents of previous Spirit Detectives. Perhaps, with close study, you can find a way to develop a new ability."

"A new…ability? How can I do that?" Corey asked, bewildered.

Before Koenma had a chance to answer, a blue ogre came running up to the balcony,

"Koenma, sir! We need you to finish signing these documents! Your desk is getting overloaded!"

Koenma turned and glared, "Dammit, Jorge, can't you morons do anything without my help?" He sighed and looked back at Corey, "Back to work, I guess…I enjoyed our talk, Corey, and please take your time in looking through the archives."

And with that, the king of the Spirit World ran back inside, shouting out the blue ogre named Jorge as he did.

Corey blinked a bit and couldn't help but snicker, "Damn…I wouldn't wanna be in his shoes…" He looked down at the sheet of paper and shrugged,

"Guess it couldn't hurt."

******

Before Corey ventured into the archives of the Spirit World database, he realized that he hadn't gone and checked up on the troops once since they had taken back Spirit World.

I suppose being the top general, I should at least see how the troops are doing. That's the least I can do.

Corey exited Spirit World and walked down the long path towards where the Rebel Army was camped out. He felt a little bad that they had to stay outside of Spirit World, but it did make sense.

As he walked, he noticed a couple more spirits floating in from the Living World, and couldn't help but smile. They had finally done it. They made it so that the spirits of the lost could make their way into Spirit World and start their lives in the afterlife…or whatever.

He was just wondering if John or Jade had made it back when his answer floated up to him.

"Hello, Corey."

Corey's eyes widened as the ghostly figure of John Wolfe appeared in front of him, smiling softly towards him. He was wearing the same outfit he had worn a year ago on the night he died, and Corey could see the fatal wound that Derek had given him through his chest.

"John…" Corey finally managed to utter out, in a little bit of disbelief that he was standing in front of his deceased friend and ally.

"You look well, Corey. I'm glad to see that you, Liz and Derek managed to retake Spirit World." John said, still smiling.

Corey grinned lightly and scratched the back of his head, "Yeah…me too. I was hoping to get to see you off to, err…the other side…"

John laughed a bit. "Yes, we'll go with that. It also pleases me that you were able to snap Derek out of his…crisis."

Corey frowned lightly and looked down. "John…please don't blame Derek too much for what happened. I mean, he lost his wife and--" before he could continue, John raised a hand to stop him.

"I understand, Corey…and I feel no ill will towards Derek. I can't imagine what he went through all that time. What's done is done, right?"

Corey nodded and smiled slightly, "Yeah…I just wish Liz could understand that."

"I know you do…but I do know that Liz will figure that out in her own time." John replied, and reached his hand out.

Corey grinned and grabbed it, well, tried to. John was transparent, after all. Corey jumped a bit.

John laughed. "Couldn't resist."

Corey glared. "Bastard…" but smiled after a moment, "Take care of yourself, John."

The ghost smiled. "I will…and make sure to take care of Liz for me, alright?"

Corey nodded, and the ghost of his friend began to go past him, when Corey suddenly remembered something,

"John, wait!" Corey shouted, and the ghost stopped, "Is…is what Derek said true? Were you and Liz…you know…"

John didn't turn around, but replied very quietly. "Don't let her live in the past, Corey. It is the future you all need to worry about now. See you when I see you."

And John Wolfe left to find his afterlife, probably waiting for his friends to join him once it was their own time.

Corey smiled a bit, feeling a little choked up at the conversation he had just had. Although part of him wanted to see her, he almost was afraid to see Jade Maison. Afraid of what she might say.

Or if she really did blame him for her death.

She said she hadn't in her last words, but now…maybe. He just didn't want to face her. He could barely look at her when he saw her on top of Garrett's mountain.

Corey let his thoughts go as he continued walking towards the rebel camp, hands in his pockets and his eyes gazing down at the ground. It took him ten more minutes to reach the camp, and when he did he caught the attention of most of the rebels.

"General Kartana! How are you doing, sir?" Colonel Evan Ray, a friend of his from when he first came into this time, asked.

Corey smiled and shook the man's hand once he got close enough, "I'm alive, aren't I? How are things going here?"

Evan shrugged. "Fine, I suppose. Most of our troops are getting a little restless, but that's to be suspected, considering where we're going next."

"Yeah. Next up is Darkine." Corey responded, but grinned at his soldier to give support, "No worries, though. We'll take him down."

"I know you will,"

"What were the causalities like after our battle? I hate to admit it, but I've kinda been out of commission the past week." Corey asked, crossing his arms.

"We lost three hundred and thirty-eight soldiers. Not to sound cold, but we got lucky, considering what we were up against." Evan reported.

Corey nodded. "Yes, I agree. We could've been hit worse. I'm glad most of our men got out okay."

Evan agreed with his own nod. "Corey, do you know when we are going to be leaving?"

"Well," Corey thought for a moment, "Lord Koenma said that it would take three weeks to get everything in order for him and his men to start the search for Darkine, then anywhere between a day to a week to actually find it."

Evan nodded, "It's been a week already, so two to three weeks until we leave?"

"That's right. Evan, I want you to start running drills and run scenarios." Corey ordered, "It will be me, Derek, and Liz who will be going into Darkine's Keep and taking him on there, but I'm sure his fortress will be heavily guarded from the outside."

Evan saluted, "Yes, sir…but what about the other demon who appeared recently? Dia Jaganshi?"

Corey frowned a bit and crossed his arms over his chest. "Dia is an unknown party. I don't know if he will assist us or not, but I'm sure he'll be wanting to come into the keep, as well. Don't try to stop him."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Spread the word. In two or three weeks, we'll be fighting to end this war."

"Yes, sir!" With a final salute, Evan went off to relay Corey's orders, leaving Corey smiling slightly,

"I promise…we'll end this."

******

After spending a few more hours with the Rebel troops, Corey headed back to the Spirit Palace to search the archives as Koenma had suggested he do.

He passed the room where Derek was still in, with Dia still standing next to it, not allowing any visitors. The two merely glanced at one another, but did not acknowledge the other any more than that. Corey didn't trust Dia. He wasn't so much worried about his intentions with Derek and his new training, but the matter that Dia looked down on anyone who wasn't near his strength. He might end up getting to excited and kill some of the rebel troops while trying to get to Darkine.

Corey wouldn't let that happen.

He continued through the colossal palace, searching for the archive room. He hadn't seen Liz at all since their argument this morning, but he wasn't too worried. He did, however, wonder if she also saw John before he entered the afterlife. If she did, he hoped it wasn't too hard for her. Seeing a lost love must be tough for anyone. He only wished he could understand how that would be like…just like when Derek saw Jade on the mountain. He wondered if he would see his own parents before they crossed over.

Probably not… Corey thought to himself, It was mere chance that I got to see John. It's good enough for me knowing that they will be able to cross over now.

After a bit more searching, (another twenty minutes) Corey found the room he was looking for. On the door read "Archives" so Corey knew he had to be in the right place. He glanced around for a second and let himself in, gasping a bit when he entered.

The room itself had to be at least a hundred feet tall, with five levels and shelves filled with books and records scattered everywhere. The room seemed to stretch on for over five hundred feet.

"How…the hell…" Corey didn't even know what to say. He began to walk around, not knowing where to start his search.

"Hello?" Corey called out, hoping to find someone who could help him out.

"Yes?" Came a voice to Corey's side. He turned to see a short green ogre staring up at him with half oval glasses tipped on his nose and three horns on his forehead.

"Uh…hi. Koenma said I could browse through the old Spirit Detective archives." Corey said, really unsure as to what he should be asking.

The ogre nodded. "Yes. Lord Koenma sent a messenger over earlier saying you would be coming. You are Corey Kartana, are you not?"

Corey nodded. "Yes, sir. And you are?"

"My name is Hanson. A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kartana." The ogre said politely, extending his grubby hand out for Corey, who shook it softly.

"Just Corey will do."

"Very well, then. Please follow me."

Hanson led Corey through aisles of bookshelves, and up two flights of stairs until finally they reached where Corey figured they needed to be.

"This whole aisle is dedicated to past Spirit Detectives. It starts here," Hanson pointed where they were at now, "And ends with your first mission against the demon lord Shura, all the way at the end." He pointed to the very last shelf, over thirty shelves away.

Corey's eyes shot open. "Are you saying that there are that many records from past Spirit Detectives?! How many detectives have there been??"

"A total of seven, including yourself, Derek Maison, and Elizabeth Rain." Hanson replied calmly.

"There are that many shelves for just us and a few others?" Corey asked, bewildered.

"Indeed. We do thorough work when it comes to details from the videos that we see, and then archive the documents."

Corey blinked. "Videos? Can't I, you know, just watch those?"

"Impossible."

"Why's that?"

Hanson cleared his throat. "All the videos are reused for financial purposes."

Corey glared at the tiny ogre. "You have to be screwing with me."

Hanson chuckled. "Perhaps, perhaps not. Either way, you do not have access for the videos so I suggest you start skimming. Each log is marked accordingly, so you shouldn't have much trouble finding what you are after. Good luck, Corey Kartana."

And with that, the librarian ogre left to do whatever it was he had to do.

"Son of a--" Corey sighed and gave up. The only thing left to do now was to start reading. As he began to skim the log titles, he wondered how Derek was fairing against the Black Dragon.

Either way…it has to be better than looking through hundreds of freaking logs…