The gang had been traveling up stream for over an hour, there was no site of the forest Boton had spoken of. Nightmarish looking trees were all around them, many appeared to have faces..they reminded Cheza of something out of a horror film. Lightning had begun streaking the sky, and the luminous water was beginning to run black. "this place is creepy!" Kuwabara exclaimed.
"Hell yeah it is…" Yusuke retorted. Hiei's crimson orbs stared into the murky depths of the water, "theres something in the water" Cheza stared into the river..but it was so dark nothing could be seen. Yoko pulled a rose from his hair, he to sensed an ominous presence. Cheza nearly fell out of the boat as something rammed into them, Kuronue had grabbed onto her arm pulling her back before she fell though.
"What…was that?" Kuwabara asked uneasily. Something had bumped into the bottom of the boat.

Hiei placed his hand on the hilt of his katana. Kuronue pulled out his scythes, Kuwabara and Yusuke got into fighting stances. What sounded like finger nails scraping against a chalkboard echoed through out their ears, something was scraping against the bottom of the boat.

All eyes were now on the water. Cheza's heart began to pound as a giant yellow eye stared up at her, "umm…guys" Yoko walked over to Cheza and stared down at the water, nothing was there…

A load groan was heard..soon after 8 large tentacles shot out of the water. Hiei lunged at one of the arms, severing it with his katana. Yoko wrapped his rose whip around another, while Kuwabara cut through one with his sword. To everyones dismay..the boat tipped over, everyone fell into the water.

/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza had been dragged further upstream, the last thing she had seen was a giant octopus, its mouth wide open, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth. She had managed to make it to land after nearly drowning to death, there was no sign of the others.

Cheza panted heavily as she collapsed at the river's edge, she was beyond happy to be on solid ground.

After catching her breath she sat up and looked around her, a forest could be seen not too far away..she was almost certain it was the one Boton had been talking about. She decided to walk through it, she figured that's where the others would head (if they were still alive)…and even if she didn't run into them..she would hopefully find Boton.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cheza cautiously entered the forest, it was like entering an entirely different world. She soon realized she had passed through some type of barrier, there was now a full moon out. It had looked gloomy and dark out moments before..but there had been no full moon. Moss dripped from the ominous looking trees around her like decaying flesh. The wind sent chills down her spine, it sounded like it was whispering her name. The bottom of the forest floor was shrouded in mist, she was half expecting a werewolf to pop out of nowhere and attack her. The slightest sound made Cheza jump, she was beyond freaked out. She continued to walk deeper and deeper into the woods, she wasn't sure where to go..but she followed a path that someone had made at some point in time. Eventually she came across a swamp, she stared into it…she was afraid there would be alligators…or even worse some type of alligator demon thingy. She continued to walk only to trip over a root, she fell not to the ground…but onto something bumpy and cold. She quickly scrambled to her feet, meeting eyes with a crimson-eyed alligator. It hissed at her and went on the attack. She screamed and ran as fast as she could, she felt branches digging into her skin as she ran but she paid no attention. After running as long as she could she turned to make sure the alligator was no longer near her..thats when she bumped into someone..or something. Before she could scream a hand was placed over her mouth. "shh" the shadowy figure whispered. She struggled to get out of the shadowy figures grasp..but it was no use. "Kitten its me..be quiet..somethings been following me". Cheza quickly recognized the voice , it was Yoko. He removed his hand and turned her to face him, she embraced him in a death hug, refusing to let go. "are the others okay!" Cheza whispered. "I don't know" Yoko replied. A rustling from a tree above them caught Yoko's attention. He quickly pulled a rose from his hair and waited for whatever had been following him to strike. A shadowy figure jumped down from the tree, landing gracefully in front of them. A familiar pair of crimson eyes glared at them, "Hiei!".

Yoko let out a sigh of relief, "It was you that was following me". "I thought you could sense other demons that were around…"Cheza said. "There are a lot of demonic creatures as well as plants in this forest..I can sense demonic spirit energy in every direction.."

"do you know if the others are okay?" Cheza asked. "Hn! Who cares" Hiei responded. "Come on, we need to get moving..it isn't safe here" Yoko advised while taking Cheza's hand in his.

/\/\/\/\/\\

"what…was that!" Cheza asked uneasily. "What is it?" Yoko asked ,his ears twitching at the slightest sounds. Cheza stared up at the sky, "I saw….I saw something flying through the sky..something BIG" Yoko's golden orbs stared up at the moon-lit sky, he saw the shadowy figure of what looked like a giant bird flying around in circles. Yoko pulled a seed from his hair, creating a white rose..it was glowing so bright Cheza had to look way. "what are you doing! That thing is going to see that glowing and come down here and eat us!" Cheza exclaimed. She stared back up at the sky to see the shadowy figure heading straight for them. Cheza ran and hid behind Yoko just as the creature collided with the ground. "OUCH!" came an all too familiar voice. Cheza peeped out from behind Yoko to see Kuronue rubbing his head. "Are you alright?" Yoko asked while offering his hand to help him up. Kuronue stared at him for a moment before taking his hand, "Im fine".

"SPIRITGUN!" A loud explosion flooded their ears followed by a menacing roar. Cheza could see the outline of two figures running towards them…and..what looked like the outline of a lion. "A lion! Are you serious! Why didn't Boton mention this place is a death trap!" Cheza exclaimed.

"that is no lion…" Yoko pointed out. Yusuke and Kuwabara soon reached the others..and so did something else. Cheza stared wide-eyed as a lion-like creature approached, it had 2 heads…

One head was that of a goat..the other a lion….and its tail was that of a snake. "Why have you come here?" the creature questioned. "you…can talk!" Yusuke exclaimed.

"Abbas.." Yoko muttered.

"A friend of yours?" Hiei asked the fox, his hand lingering on the hilt of his katana. "No, but I have heard of him…" The chimera sat on its haunches, apparently feeling the group was of no threat. "he was once guardian of the River styx" Yoko informed. The mismatched creature nodded, "that was long ago..I have been asked to guard it once more..but I fear the creature that haunts the river…it killed my best friend..the most recent guardian of the river styx..I am no match for such a monstrosity.. my friend was much stronger than I..he was torn limb from limb.."

"And you want to use me as bait! No way!" Cheza proclaimed. "If you are wise you will leave this place..but if you persist I will show you the way out of here." The chimera announced. Everyone exchanged glances, "show us the way" Yoko replied.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"This is as far as I will go" the chimera stated. The gang had made it out of the forest, all that was left was for them to walk through the invisible barrier that surrounded the place. "farewell" the chimera commented before disappearing back into the underbrush of the forest. Everyone passed through the barrier, staring into the crimson river known as the river styx. "is..that blood!" Yusuke exclaimed. "There you guys are!" Boton appeared hovering in front of the gang. "Ya know you coulda warned us about that freakin octopus thing back there!" Yusuke scolded. "yeah! I thought you were keeping a lookout for us!" Kuwabara chimed in. "Err..I was…but then Koenma needed my help so I had to leave…I came back though…I've waited at least 20 minutes here for you guys! I was beginning to think something happened"

Hiei stared into the river, his reflection glaring back at him. Everyone watched as he dipped his finger into the water, after he pulled it out..he licked it. "the guardians blood…"

Kuwabara grimaced, "that's digusting half pint!" Hiei ignored his comment. Boton looked disturbed, "heh..no one has been brave enough to remove the guardians remains..so its blood continues to leak into the river". "well…that's disturbing.." Yusuke commented.

"soo…now that everyone's here…" Boton pulled out a suite case, she opened it and tossed diving masks to everyone..then she handed everyone a little blue pill. "what the hell is this for?" Yusuke asked. "Youre going to have to dive into the river…it doesn't look that deep..but it is… there is a hidden cave somewhere beneath…once you find the entrance you will find an underground cavern..we believe this is the creatures hideout… the blue pill I gave you will give you the ability to breathe under water for up to 5 hours"

"I thought..if we entered the water we would become immortal..or something like that" Cheza reminded. Boton nodded, "yes..normally this is true..but the water's effects are longer working because of the slain guardians blood…it did something to the water"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Everyone exchanged glances. The gang had stripped down to their boxers…Cheza kept her clothes on. "okay guys..on three" Yusuke said. Yoko took Cheza's hand, "2….three!" Everyone jumped into the river . Cheza instantly felt like she was an ice cube, she looked around..she couldn't really see all that well..but Yoko held onto her hand and guided her through the water. After swimming around for quite some time the gang surfaced after entering the notorious cave Boton had spoken of. They were all now standing in an underground cavern. Cheza took off her mask then looked around, it was to dark to really see anything so Yoko used the familiar white flower to light up their surroundings. Stalagmite occupied the ceiling , the place was pretty baron. "hey". Everyone turned to Kuronue who staring at a large severed arm of some kind of creature. "I think im gonna be sick!"Kuwabara exclaimed. "a severed limb of the guardian…we must be very cautious..whatever did this is probably nearby" Yoko warned. Cheza felt sick to her stomach, "lets get this over with and go home!". "this way" Hiei said glaring at the others.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

"I cant fit!" Kuwabara exclaimed. The gang had to go through tunnels, crevices..and such..some large..some narrow. they had finally reached another large room…but Kuwabara was to big to fit through the crevice that lead to it. "hn! Stay there and be quiet then". Kuwabara crossed his arms, "What if that creepy monster thing comes along wantin to eat me for lunch!". Hiei smirked, " then I wont have to hear your annoying voice anymore". "SHUT UP HIEI!". "This is no time to argue..I am sensing an energy signature..I am almost certain we have found our culprit" Kurama stated (He had changed back into his human form a few minutes before).

The gang continued on, leaving poor kuwabara by himself….