Hey guys! So sorry for taking so stinking long on updating, but oh well. It's out now, so enjoy! It's not as funny as the last chapter, but I hope it's good enough. Again, sorry for the long wait! Enjoy!

Chapter 2

Goku growled angrily. He'd been fighting off these bastards for hours! Seriously, these fucking angels or whatever they were, were starting to get on his nerves. Did they have a whole breeding system going on up there or were there really that many people willing to die on hand for something as ridiculous as this?

Goku saw a flash of white and gold, and wished with all of his heart that it was Sanzo, but he knew it wasn't. He'd made sure to have them all 'busy' for the day so he could fight these bastards in peace. Because really, all the other three would do would distract him. None of them were strong enough, not even Sanzo, to fight a heavenly army.

Distracted by his thoughts of his friends, a soldier snuck up behind him and chopped down on his neck with a simple wooden staff. Goku crumpled to the ground, unconscious, and the heavenly army cheered. 'Finally!' they thought, excited. "Finally that horrible beast is down and in our control!' Quick as could be, the soldiers picked up the saru and hurried back to heaven. The emperor would be so happy to have a heretic under his control again. The last time had ended in disaster.

…

Sanzo was pacing, frustrated. It was just like Goku to go and chain them all up with a million chains that had taken all day to undo. Sanzo had tried to use the Maten Sutra to break them all at once, but all it had done was break through one. So he'd used the holy scriptures to break a million chains one at a time. Oh¸ he was definitely going to kill that saru brat when he got back from whooping that fucking army's ass.

"Sit down, Sanzo," Hakkai said soothingly. Sanzo turned on his heel to glare at the smiling man, but then decided against it and sat down in front of the small fire they'd made while waiting for Goku. Gojyo looked like he was about to make fun of the priest for doing so, but one scathing look from Hakkai stopped any sound in his throat. To tell the truth, both the red head and the green-ette wished to hop up and chase after their youngest friend and traveling companion, but both were determined to show Goku their trust in his abilities to take down a single army.

That night, they all slept poorly, all thinking about Goku, and wishing they could be there fighting with him. Silently, they all agreed that in the morning they would find Goku and help him if he needed it, or stitch up whatever mess he came back in. With that in mind, they fell into a restless sleep, waiting for morning to come quicker so that they could be reunited with their friend once again.

What they found the next morning shocked them. There was a field of dead bodies, obviously left behind by their heavenly comrades. Almost all of them were dead except for a few who had barely survived. The three didn't bother saving any, but they tried to find out from them if Goku had been taken or not. What surprised them the most was a man who stood in the middle, too tall to be Goku, and had silver hair and what looked like fish scales on his cheeks. They cautiously approached him and he turned to them, an expectant look in his eyes.

"I've been waiting for you. Your…" he hesitated, a faraway look in his eyes, as if remembering something, "friend, was taken by the armies of heaven yesterday. He's been taken up to heaven to be used as the new killing puppet." A sad look crossed onto his face and he turned away from them. "You'd think those idiots up there would learn."

Hakkai took this as a chance to see if he could help them and asked quickly, "Do you know how we can get to heaven?" The man nodded and looked at Hakkai and Gojyo with an almost regretful look.

"Yes. I'm in charge of the Western Army." Again, he sent Hakkai and Gojyo a hesitant look, but said nothing to explain it. Continuing, he said, "I can transport us to heaven, but I'm unable to bring you back. There are other ways down of course." These words made him look at Sanzo with an unreadable look. The three traded suspicious looks, not sure what to think about this man who'd been suspiciously at the right place and time, but Hakkai and Gojyo nodded, seeming to agree that there was something about this man that they could trust. Sanzo wasn't as trusting, an acquired habit, but he felt something trustworthy about this man. He decided to trust this instinct, because it could be his only chance to get his saru back, and he would do anything for Goku.

"Take us," he commanded, and the general nodded, not perturbed by his harsh command, and told them to grab onto him and that a flash of light would occur and they would be in heaven. Sanzo reluctantly grabbed the man's arm, and waited for something to happen. Just as he was losing his patience and belief in this man, a light flashed and suddenly they were all in a large hallway. It was white, bright and all too heavenly for Sanzo's taste. He scowled at it all as the demon looking man glanced around before gesturing to the large courtyard to where dead bodies were strewn across every inch of the place.

In the middle of it all was a small figure, looking up sadly at the sakura blossoms. He had long brown hair, and broken shackles on his wrists. It was obviously Goku, and they wondered why he was just standing there instead of trying to find a way out. It seemed as if he was too entranced with the beauty of the sakura blossoms to do anything.

It didn't take Sanzo long to notice a few things. The first he noticed was the blood staining the saru's clothes, and then he noticed the missing diadem. But all of this paled in comparison to when he noticed the tears streaming down Goku's face. It make Sanzo wonder if maybe up here, in heaven, Goku could control the Seiten Taisei. It was the first time Sanzo could remember seeing emotion on the demon's face.

Sanzo suddenly couldn't move. His feet felt so heavy, as if they were weighed down. He wanted to move, to run at Goku and smack him on the head with the paper fan and tell him that he was a brat, and that he couldn't leave them ever again, but something about the raw emotions on the young child's face made him wonder if he could really help him. All he'd ever done before was yell at the saru, tell him how worthless he was despite the fact that Sanzo didn't mean a single word.

Two hands pushing against his back made him jump out of his depressing thoughts and look at his two companions questioningly. Hakkai just smiled in that motherly kind of way that looked so natural on his face and said softly, "Go to him. You're the only one who can help him. You've always been the one who could reach out to him." Sanzo felt a jolt of surprise run through him. Did Hakkai really mean that? But how could it be true? He'd never done anything for Goku except be a bastard to him, and yet Goku had always come back faithfully like a little puppy.

Gojyo added his bit in too, seeing that Sanzo wasn't convinced. "Hakkai's right, ya know. You're the only one that Goku ever listens to. If you can't help him, then I suppose he's a lost cause and we leave now. If you're going to give up now, then we have no point in staying." Sanzo's violet eyes widened in horror as he realized what they were saying, and looked back at the young boy who was crying under the sakura tree, looking as if he was all alone in the world.

It was with that thought in mind that Sanzo took out his revolver and held it out as if to shoot at Goku. He faintly heard Hakkai protesting and having Gojyo hold him back, but he was focused solely on Goku. At that moment, as if sensing danger, Goku looked over and saw the gun in Sanzo's hand, and a look of resignation took over his handsome features. Sanzo, seeing this, felt the gun slip out of his hands and opened his arms wide, inviting the shocked saru to come to him. To feel loved and not alone.

"Come here, Goku," Sanzo murmured with a welcoming smile as Goku stared at him in surprise. A beat of hesitance was the only thing between the blonde and brunette before Sanzo was thrown to the floor from the force that Goku had hurled himself at him, his skinny arms squeezing the life out of the blonde. Sanzo made a small sound of protest before a small smile made its way onto his face and he hugged the crying boy back.

It was then that sobs could be heard around the entire courtyard, the dead bodies seeming to fade away as the heartbreaking sounds were made heard for the first time in five hundred years. It sounded as if all of Goku's repressed feelings were making themselves known after being hidden for so long. Each gasp of sorrow and terror made Sanzo want to start crying too, but he refused to. It had nothing to do with his pride for once. He just knew that if he started to cry, he wouldn't stop and then Goku wouldn't have him for comfort.

After what seemed like eternity, Goku finally stopped crying and was just hiccupping loudly. He looked up at Sanzo with his large, innocent golden eyes and said, "I didn't want to come back here. It made me remember everything." Sanzo wasn't sure what he meant by remembering, but he assumed it had to do with the fact that Goku had been locked up for five hundred years. Goku went on, shaking his head blindly. "I remember that I was brought here, and—and then I met you, and Ten-chan, and Ken-nii-chan and—and there was Nataku and we were friends but then Nataku died, and then Ken-nii-chan died and then Ten-chan died and—" he looked up, looking directly into violet eyes, and tears started streaming down his face. "And you died. You—you were smashed in the gateway between heaven and earth, and all I could do was stare at the gate that had killed you. And the next thing I know, I'm in that cave, that prison! And you came again, but it took you so long and I didn't know anything about me, or you, or anything for so long!" He looked down and his shoulders started shaking.

In a quiet whisper, almost too quiet for Sanzo to hear, Goku asked, "Why did I have to remember? Why couldn't I have lived without that knowledge? Without those memories, I wouldn't have to have this guilt inside me." And with those words, the exhausted boy fell into a deep sleep that wasn't disturbed by Sanzo standing with him in his arms, the pistol tucked back in the folds of Sanzo's robes.

Turning to face Hakkai and Gojyo, he commanded, "We need to find a way back to earth, because the rest of the armies are going to come after us." Turning determined violet eyes to the silver haired man who had been watching the scene with a small smile, he asked, "Is there any way you could get us back down? Quickly?" The man's mouth straightened and he nodded, telling them to follow him as he turned around the way they'd come from. With plenty of suspicion, the three followed, Goku held securely in Sanzo's arms, and found themselves in a big room. Inside was a small group of men, all who looked completely unsurprised to see them.

One of the men closest to the door came forward, causing the three men to tense, but he just looked at their guide and said, "Commander Goujun, we have prepared an escape route, just as you ordered. It leads directly to the Gate between heaven and earth. Any other orders?" Commander Goujun shook his head and gave a small smile of pride and appreciation that made the other man's face brighten with happiness at the recognition.

"Good job, men. If you'll excuse me, I have some guests to escort out. Guard any entrances that could be reached by the rest of the army." All of the men nodded and immediately set out. About a minute after they'd all gone, sounds of pounding feet and yelling filled the air. It was obvious that they were headed this way, so the commander gestured for the three of them to follow him down a secret passage.

Things were going smoothly, but soon enough, something just had to go and prove that wrong. As soon as we got to an area where stairs rounded the walls, blackness taking over before the bottom could be seen, soldiers started streaming in. Once Sanzo and they were seen, they moved faster, wanting to catch the five of them before they could reach the bottom.

Gojyo, who was at the back of the group, turned to face the oncoming fight and yelled behind him, "Don't wait for me! I'll catch up once these guys hit the dust." Hakkai hesitated, as did Sanzo, but Sanzo knew that Gojyo was capable, and began running down the stairs again.

"Trust him, Hakkai. We don't have time for this. Goku needs to go back to earth now!" Hakkai hesitated a moment more before nodded, determined, and followed the blonde down the stairs. With only a small glance back, Hakkai could see Gojyo chopping heads off and pushing people off the stairs, and the green-ette smiled and focused on Goku again.

Hakkai, Sanzo, Goku and Goujun all made it to the bottom of the stairs easily enough, but when they reached a long corridor, they found that it was infested with soldiers. As soon as they were seen, the soldiers attacked, wildly swinging weapons and throwing punches without any good form or order, Sanzo noted mildly as he pulled out his gun and started shooting, bringing them down. He really wished that Goku was awake to fight too, but knew it was too much to ask for. It was a good thing that Hakkai and Goujun were there. There were too many enemies to fight alone, no matter what Sanzo's pride insisted.

As these thoughts ran through Sanzo's head, he didn't notice the blade headed for his back, and before he knew it, a piercing pain stabbed at his side. Holding back a cry of pain, he spun on his heel and shot the offender down.

Hakkai, noticing the blood running down Sanzo's white robes, knew that he had to end this and end it quickly. With a slow breath to calm him down, he closed his eyes and yelled, "Sanzo, Goujun-san, stand behind me!" Sanzo, knowing that he could trust Hakkai, instantly moved, carrying Goku securely against his chest. Goujun, not as trusting, hesitated before following the blonde. Once he knew they were safely behind him, he closed his eyes again and focused on projecting a barrier out in front of him, pushing it against the army. Only this shield had a special quality, one that he'd been experimenting with, but had never fully tested it. The added ability was that it made anyone who came in contact with it from the outside immediately started on fire, a fire that couldn't be put out with water.

As more and more people burst into flames, Sanzo ignored them and looked at Goku to make sure that he was alright. He saw some cuts that must've been made during the fight that Sanzo hadn't noticed in his adrenaline rush, but just as he saw them, they faded away into nothingness, and he remembered how Goku regenerated when in his Seiten Taisei form. Breathing a soft sigh of relief, Sanzo glanced up and saw that all of the people they'd been fighting were writhing on the ground in pain from their burns.

Turning to Hakkai, who was collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily, he said, "We'll go on ahead. You stay behind, make sure no one follows. Catch up when you can." Hakkai almost smiled at the not so subtle hint that he should catch his breath and recover first before attempting to follow. It was as close to a thank you that Sanzo would ever give.

"Got it," Hakkai said seriously, a hint of amusement in his eyes. Sanzo rolled his eyes and spun on his heel, gesturing for Goujun to lead the way. The commander sent one last look to Hakkai, making the green-ette wonder if he had known him before. He looked familiar, now that he thought about it.

"You're very comfortable with leaving your comrades behind," Goujun said once they were far enough away from Hakkai. Sanzo didn't even look at him. "You seem to want them to die."

At this, Sanzo's gaze shifted over to examine the scaly man before saying flatly, "I suppose you're one of those idiots that will never let his men fight without him being there, will never let them fight alone?" At Goujun's nod, he snorted. "You have no faith in your men then. I left them behind because I know that they can beat whatever comes their way. Nothing can kill them, trust me, I've tried." As soon as he said this, a bang was heard ahead of them, and the two rushed forward, Sanzo gripping Goku tighter against him, hoping that whatever that bang was for, that it would help bring his saru back to safety.

Of course, as soon as those words ran through his mind, he cursed himself for jinxing (yes, he knew exactly how stupid that sounded) the whole mission. Now everything that wouldn't have been a problem before would suddenly become ten times worse. He knew he should've chained Goku to Jeep yesterday when he'd first been acting weird.

A spear to the head soon snapped him out of his thoughts and he instantly pulled out his revolver, blasting a few of the heaven's soldiers' heads. He wasn't sure why they wanted Goku so badly, but he wanted him even more, and there was absolutely nothing these bastards could do about it.

"Come! This way!" the reptilian man yelled, pushing past his enemies and to a large door that looked way too heavy for him to open. It looked too heavy for Goku to open, even in his Seiten Taisei form, and that was saying something.

"That's the way out? Are you serious? There's no fucking way I could get those open!" Goujun just shook his head and pointed to a control panel (a/n: I don't actually know what it's called that they use to open the gates, sorry!) to the side and Sanzo understood. Goujun ran to it, yelling for Sanzo to hold off the multiple soldiers trying to kill him. With a bored breath, Sanzo nodded and turned to the heavenly army, shooting faster than ever before to keep them all back.

Two voices were heard above the roar of the fight, and Sanzo allowed himself a small smile as he listened to his two comrades talk calmly as they killed soldiers left and right.

"I told you to be careful, you idiot!" Hakkai said pleasantly, his words clashing with his tone as usual. A sharp bark of laughter was heard as Gojyo replied.

"No you didn't and you know it," he said, swinging Shakujo with ease, cutting off the arms of a soldier attacking Hakkai from behind. Hakkai returned the favor by blasting a ball of power at one of the five opponents ganging up on the red-head.

"It was implied," was all he said and Gojyo snorted.

"I was careful, just so you know. I just happened to want my arm to have a new scar. Ladies dig scars, y'know." With a lecherous smirk, he corrected himself, "Ladies and sexy, green-haired men, I mean. You like my scars, don'cha, 'Kai?" Hakkai laughed innocently.

"Whatever do you mean, Gojyo-san? I don't understand. Scars are bad, they could very easily get infected, you know." At this, Gojyo stepped up to the green-ette and grabbed his shirt, pulling him into a searing kiss. The heavenly soldiers thought of this as a great chance to attack them, but a strong shield was erected, holding them back as Gojyo thoroughly kissed Hakkai with everything he had. When they finally pulled apart, Hakkai was grinning from ear to ear, and pulled the red head back with more strength than Gojyo knew he had.

"I still don't understand," he purred, his lips centimeters away from Gojyo's, who was looking like a man in the desert, desperate for water. "Perhaps you could explain it to me better." Gojyo grinned and leaned in to kiss him again when Sanzo's annoyed voice broke the moment.

"Get your asses over here already, the gate's open and I want to get Goku away from this hell hole as fast as possible. Save the mushy crap for later." Hakkai and Gojyo became serious in an instant, immediately focusing in on the opened gate that would take them and their friends' home. Using up all of his power, Hakkai did the same shield as before, but it wasn't nearly as strong. It worked all the same, but just barely.

The two ran, following Sanzo to the brightness of the gate that even heaven couldn't match. Before they could leave it though, Goujun stopped Hakkai with a hand on his arm. The green-ette looked at him in wonder, but all he got in response was the scaly man leaning forward to press his lips against his own softly. The commander pulled away quickly—a good thing too, because Gojyo was looking murderous—and gave a small smile.

"Goodbye, Field Marshal Tenpou, it was nice seeing you again." With that said, he pushed the man to the gate and watched as the man he loved pulled his red headed lover behind him. The hole in his heart from so long ago finally healed, leaving him feeling better than ever before.

Hakkai had no idea what to think about the kiss, and decided that perhaps it was alright if he didn't get an answer as to why the dragon-like man would kiss him. Perhaps he imagined Hakkai was this Tenpou person. It didn't matter anyways. He had Gojyo and he didn't want anyone else. A kiss wouldn't change that.

Gojyo wished he could beat the hell outta the commander dude, but he knew they didn't have the time. Already, the sound of reinforcements were near, and they knew that if they didn't leave now, they'd never be able to escape, which is probably exactly what that damned snake wanted. Anyway, he shouldn't let it get to him. Gojyo looked surprised, but not pleased like he was whenever Gojyo kissed him. And the way he ran without hesitance was another good sign that the kiss and the commander meant nothing to him. Although it was slightly suspicious that Hakkai could take a random kiss in stride. Was there something Hakkai wasn't telling him?

Just as they passed through the gates, Goku reared his head back and screamed as if in excruciating pain. Sanzo almost dropped him in surprise, but instead pulled him close to his chest, holding him close as the Seiten Taisei thrashed in his arms. The screams soon became words as the gates closed behind them, and just as they closed, Goku threw himself at them, crying out names that the three recognized from earlier, all except one.

"Ken-nii-chan! Ten-chan! Konzen! No! Don't leave me again! Don't leave me here! Don't die!" Sanzo didn't know what to do with this. Who were these people that Goku wished to return to? Why did he want to go back?

It came to Hakkai first. "He's talking about us! Ten-chan is me! Commander Goujun called me Tenpou! What if we are the ones he's talking about?" he asked, looking at Gojyo for help. The red head nodded slowly.

"Right! When we first found Goku here, he said that he'd remembered meeting us there, how he met you, Sanzo, and then Ten-chan and Ken-nii-chan. I must be this Ken person!" At this revelation, Sanzo looked at Goku and made up his mind to at least try out this shaky theory of theirs.

"Fine. But if we're wrong, and we cause more damage to Goku, I'm going to kill you two." With that said, Sanzo reached forward and pulled the struggling Goku back to his chest. "Shh, Goku, we're here. We escaped and we're fine. Look at me, you damn saru." It didn't work. Not even the familiar nickname could snap Goku out of his blind pain. Sanzo knew what he had to do this time, though, and swallowed heavily in preparation. "Goku...I love you. Please, come back to me, and I promise I will never leave you again. I love you too much to ever let you go. Please, Goku." At these words the brown haired boy looked up, tears in his golden eyes and he finally recognized him.

"Sanzo? Do really mean that? Please say yes," he begged, and Sanzo nodded with a relieved smile, leaning down to press his lips against the younger boy's. Goku smiled brightly, the tears in his eyes and the distress he'd been feeling before disappeared. He looked around for his other two companions, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them standing together, relatively unharmed. "Where are we?" he asked, looking around. The other three looked as well, taking in their surroundings for the first time.

"Who cares?" Gojyo finally said, shrugging lazily. "We've escaped heaven, so we're obviously home again. Let's get back to Jeep and get going on our journey. I don't want to spend any more time with Sanzo than necessary." At this, the rest of the group relaxed and made their way out of the cave-ish area. They were free again, and they were going to stay that way.

…

Later that night, Sanzo pulled Goku closer to him as they lied in the hotel bed. They hadn't let go of each other all day, ignoring the jibes made by Gojyo about it—who hadn't let go Hakkai's hand throughout the day either—and bathed in the comfort the other gave them.

"Don't do that to me again, got it, stupid saru?" Sanzo growled softly, his hand stroking the boy's long brown hair gently, belying his true feelings at the moment. Goku snickered for a moment before nodding seriously.

"I won't Sanzo. I promise to tell you the whole truth next time. I won't let anything separate us ever again." Even as he said the words, Goku felt a sense of guilt spread through him. Despite his words, he still hadn't told Sanzo and the others about what he remembered about their past lives, and before he'd been chained to the cave. He didn't want to have to relive their deaths again. It was too painful, even if he wanted to be completely honest with Sanzo.

Sanzo could tell that Goku was holding something back, but he knew it wasn't important enough to bother the boy about. He kept secrets from his friends as well, why couldn't Goku? And anyway, the monkey would tell him at some point, if only to make the guilt he felt go away for lying to the blonde. It was just how Goku worked. And it was exactly what Sanzo loved most about him.

"I know," he said softly, leaning down and pressing his lips against Goku's. The boy immediately responded eagerly, putting all of his feelings into the kiss. Sanzo took this in stride, pulling him closer still to his body, letting his embrace say the things he couldn't.

Nothing could ever separate them again, not even half-truths.

So? Review and tell me what you think. I realize the writing style is a bit different from the first chapter, but I wasn't really sure how to incorporate the same humor into this chapter. There just didn't seem to be any possible way. Anyways, thanks for reading! Again, sorry for the incredibly long wait! Love you all! And yes, this is the end. No more waiting a ridiculous amount of time for me to update! Yay!