Fear is a powerful thing. Every time I experience a greater level, I think I've conquered it, and that I'll never again let it take charge of my actions. But every time I swear that, I find a newer, even more powerful fear. At least I used to. Then it came. I may care too much, I might cry too much, and I might not be the bravest person amongst us, but I will never be controlled like that again. I will be strong. I will do what I have to, to survive, and to protect the others. I'd rather die than be imprisoned in that cell again. And I'd rather be imprisoned in that cell than to be ever experience what that THING did to me again. I will be strong. I will. I have to be. .... Judou... where are you? - = - Wings of Fate Chapter 33: Know She Stands By ColdFury Created by Ardweden and John Evans - = - "We have to split up." Akari stopped in the middle of yet another fork in the passageways of the seemingly haunted complex. "No." Shuukou's stance was firm as she stopped next to her friend. Heard the determination in Shuukou's tone, but her eyes gave a hint of hesitation. They were uncertain, Akari knew, because Akari was right. "We have no choice." Akari shook her head at Shuukou. "And you know it. We have to find Soshi, Judou, & Kenchi. The two of us can find them much quicker apart than together." "I won't leave you." Shuukou's eyebrows furrowed quickly. "I left you once already and--" "I can take care of myself." Akari cut Shuukou off quickly. "Find everyone you can, and we can try to meet up back here in an hour." Shuukou didn't move, despite her surprise at Akari's sudden boldness. "Shuukou... please..." Eyes softening, Akari put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "I said I can take care of myself, and I mean it." The two quietly stood in the silent hallway for what seemed like a minor eternity. "Forty Five minutes. Be back here, Akari." Shuukou responded quietly. "Thank you." And with that, they both split off down the hallways quickly. 'I have to find him. Kenchi might be hurt, but... I need to find Judou. He'll know what to do... what's going on.' Akari's eyes softened from their determination. "Judou..." As she continued the search for her missing friends, her thoughts began to wander... - = - I remember the silence... the first time Judou returned after I was feeling somewhat myself again. I still had the nightmares, I still have the nightmares, but I was able to act and think as I would have before most of the time by then. At least when I was with others. When I was alone, it was... different. But Judou had finally come back, and I should've been happy. Happy to see him, alive and well. Happy to see him walking with me in the park by ourselves. Happy to be alive and to be with him. All I felt was guilt. "Akari..." He stopped by the big fountain in the park, and gazed off at the shooting water. "I--" He stopped again, as if he wasn't sure where to go. I stood up next to him and watched the water as well, trying to maintain my calm. How could I stand here next to him, after I'd just tried to kill him a few short weeks ago? More importantly... how could he? "I'm sorry, Akari. I failed you." His unexpected admission caught me off guard, and my train of self pity was interrupted. I looked into his face to see his eyes full of water themselves, threatening to pour with the same ferocity as the fountain beside us. "I should've kept an eye on you... I should've known. If I'd..." I burst first. Tears flowed from my eyes, and I curled up against Judou, burying myself in his shirt. "Judou! I'm so sorry! Hate me! Please! I hate myself for what I did to you! I... I..." "Akari, its not your fault! The demon possessed you, and there was NOTHING you could do about it." Judou looked me in the eyes now, holding onto my arms with his hands to push me back a little so I would look at him. "Its not your fault." "If I'm not to blame, how can you be? You had less control over it than I did..." I sniffled once, but I felt a sudden surge of strength I hadn't felt in a long while. "Judou... I won't blame you if you don't blame me." "No one blames you, Akari.." "I know they don't... but I didn't try to--" "I don't blame you, either." I cried again. And I leapt forward and hugged Judou, just briefly. As suddenly as they had started, the hug and the tears had stopped. Tears of joy never last as long as tears of guilt, I've found. But they hold so much more power... - = - In the dark corner of an undiscovered cell, the door lay open. Yet the figure inside didn't stir from his bed. Flat on his back, huddled desperately underneath the blanket, his eyes pointed toward the ceiling, but that was not what they saw. Men in armor, in a battle strewn far over a long grassy field. A cold winter with a family that seemed familiar, yet unknown. An experiment with four friends that went horribly wrong. A flight over Great Lakes of North America. Past loves, past hates, past deaths. All rolled before the eyes of the young man who looked to the sky for answers, yet only found more questions. The man once known as Judou... wasn't sure who he was now, or what he was. Sarin? Maduk? So many names... so many lives... so many different paths. Where was he on the path? What was supposed to happen next? His eyes traced the ceiling, yet it did not reveal the answers. "Who... am I?" Judou shivered under the bare blanket to his cot. "Who....?" - = - Soshi quickly moved forward to free the doctor from Morrigan's grasp. "I don't know what you've done with Macha, but this man is under my protect--" Freezing mid-stride, Soshi suddenly found two very red eyes peering straight at him. Slowly, the figure emerged from behind the cell door. Taller than a normal human, around six and a half feet, and covered in long, black, crow like feathers. They weren't as elegant as Judou & his clan, they were longer, darker, and more ruffled. Her arms were just that, arms, and not the wings one associated with a normal Tengu. Long and gangly, it seemed impossibly that her fist was slowly choking the life out of Ichida as she held him above the ground. Morrigan smiled at Soshi. "My knight, you came for me." "M... Macha?" Soshi stammered out... his sudden fear holding him in place momentarily. "No, pet. Morrigan. Macha is merely a shell of my true form, and this is only a step." Soshi took a step forward and narrowed his eyes while he pushed down his newfound fear. "Put him down." Her eyes never left his, as if she was taking his measure. When he didn't back down, she tilted her bird like head back and laughed. "HAHAHAHAH. You put up an impressive facade, young Soshi. But you can feel it can't you? My power? All around you, making your meager abilities pale in comparison?" Soshi said nothing, and Morrigan laughed again. "Very well, you want me to put this man down? You amuse me, Soshi. Tell me why this man's life is valuable." "I gave him my word that he would see his family again." Soshi said quietly, trying to ignore the panicked look in Ichida's face, even as his limbs began to droop and cease their struggle, the life being sucked from his body due to lack of oxygen. Silence followed Soshi's statement for moments that stretched on into eternity, as Morrigan considered his statement. "Then you have promised more than you can guarantee, young knight. Consider this a lesson in humility." Morrigan swung Ichida back, and then forward, releasing him in a throw at an amazing speed. The poor doctor hit the wall hard and with a sickening snapping sound. Soshi whirled as Ichida flew past him, trying to throw his hands up as if to cast some sort of conjuring field up to protect him, but was too late. Running to the fallen form of his interrogator, Soshi knelt beside him as the final traces of life left his body. Morrigan stood behind him, a sneer painted across her face. "You can feel it, can't you? The life dripping from his body? You are all about 'boundaries', young pet. Can you feel this one? His life force seeping past the boundaries of his flesh?" If her words were registering, Soshi made no indication of such. He simply bowed his head, muttered an old prayer that he had learned long ago, and apologized to the man he had failed. Her sneer changed to a scowl, and she quickly lifted Soshi to his feet. Twisting him around to face her, she leaned directly into his line of sight, and held him in place before her. "So, PET, are you still with me? The time is right for me to extract my revenge, and my payment for services rendered to you.." His eyes narrowed, and he said nothing in response. "Well?" "I am with you.... Mistress." "Good. Now we go to rid myself of the thing that has been tying me to this infernal quest for far too long... rid myself once and for all of that infernal Judou!" Soshi again said nothing, as Morrigan turned and headed down a passageway. "Come, pet. 'Judou' will be awake soon." - = - When she saw the open door, her heart nearly stopped momentarily. For a moment she thought it had, and she briefly wondered if her powers would work well enough on herself to restart it. But it began once more, and she rushed toward the door. 'It is the same type of door that was in my & Shuukou's cells... but whose is it? It could be Kenchi, Soshi, or even... Macha. Please.....' Quickly turning the door, Akari's heart stopped once more, this time out of joy. "JUDOU!" She moved so fast she nearly seemed to fly across the room, hugging Judou tightly as he was curled in his bed. "We're gonna be all right Judou! The cells are released, and everyone seems to be gone! Shuukou will probably find the others, and then we can get out of here!" When a shivering body was her only response, Akari examined her friend more closely. He seemed to be sweat profusely, but was wrapped tightly in his blanket. His eyes seemed to be staring off but not focusing on anything in particular. His pulse was frantic, and he was trembling rapidly. "Judou?" Her first response was to place her palm on his arm and try to lightly send out healing energy to rid his system of any drugs they might have pumped into it. After a few moments of nothing happening, her concerned look turned into a frown. "I... I don't sense anything wrong. Judou? Judou!" No response. He just shivered and stared at the ceiling. "Who am I?" "Judou?" She blinked as he spoke for the first time since her arrival. "J-Judou? I... I'm not Judou. Maybe I'm Sanchi. Or... or.... Yoshi. Or am I Nakato? I... too many! Too many!" He curled up into the blanket even tighter and rocked back and forth in place. "Who am I? Who am I?" Her eyes watered, but she refused to let them tear. He needed her. All this time he had supported her, and lead her to what needed to be done... this time she would help him, and lead him out of whatever they'd done to him. - = - "You're both insane." Kenchi slammed his fist on the table. "You want us to LET them capture us?" "I believe it would be an opportune way to find out who our captors are." Soshi replied calmly. "We cannot hide like this forever. Even if they are not looking for us, I doubt any of us want to live the rest of our lives looking behind our shoulders in case they've happened to find us." Judou nodded. "My father has agreed to assist us. On the fifth day, he will break us out, and we'll use our knowledge to plan a next step..." "Your father is talking to you again?" Shuukou raised her eyebrow. "Well... no. We went off to try to find out why I've felt... different since I returned my debt to Macha. But one day I woke up... and he was gone. He hasn't spoken to me since." I could sense the sorrow in his voice. He felt his father was ashamed of him, or worse. He had told me as much earlier, in private. Kenchi raised an eyebrow, "What's this about paying a debt to Macha?" Judou rubbed his nose before answering. "For helping us previously... she called upon that debt, and I helped her 'retrieve' some sort of artifact. Apparently she was mystically bound from entering it's resting place. It was really rather easy... except when I walked out from the cave with medallion, I passed out." "And that was when she did something to you." Shuukou leveled. "Possibly. I'm not sure if it was her, our foes, or the medallion... I don't know." But maybe his father does. The unspoken words, the fear, hung behind his words. Maybe I was the only one to hear them... "Don't worry about it, Judou." Kenchi's voice had softened. "We'll work it out, when we need to, together, okay?" Okay, so I wasn't. Kenchi was good like that. Judou nodded. "Thanks... but I still stand by this plan. Soshi talked with my father for me." Shuukou eyed Judou suspiciously. "You want Macha to come with us, don't you?" My eyes widened, and I accidentally said "Macha?!" before I could stop myself. Grimacing at my outburst, Judou nodded slowly. "We... could use her power. And I'd rather have her in there with us, than in a position to somehow stop my father." Kenchi snorted, "Like she would--" "She agreed already. Indeed... she seemed quite eager." Soshi noted. "... well, I guess there's a first time for everything." Shuukou looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded. "You're right, Soshi, Judou. I'm in." I stood up and nodded too. "Me too. It's all or nothing with this one." All eyes turned to Kenchi. "I still think you're all insane. I reserve the right to leave at any time if anything unexpected pops up." Judou nodded. "Agreed. So it's settled. I think an invisible wall suddenly blocking passageway through a local shopping center would provide enough attention?" Soshi almost smiled at the request. "Quite doable." Judou looked at all of us, and stopped when his eyes met mine. "We'll find out about our pursuers... and then we'll find a way to stop them." - = - 'He had seemed so strong then...' Akari thought sadly. 'I have to make it up to him. I've been too weak for too long.' "I will help you, Judou. I will." "N-not Judou. Maybe Sanchez..." - = - When she found him, he was leaning up against the walls, slowly edging forward on shaky legs. Now he was leaning up against her, slowly edging forward on shaky legs and a powerful smile. "I knew you'd be too stubborn to let a beating put you down for too long," Shuukou dryly noted. "Can't keep... a good man... down." Kenchi huffed out. "Well good, I'm glad that Judou is all right then." A smile teased the edges of Shuukou's mouth as she observed Kenchi's mock-offended reaction. "I'll have you know... that many a woman... has told me... what a good man I am." Kenchi responded. "Did you make them say that?" "Only the ones that didn't sleep with me willingly." "Pfft. You wish." "You know." "....cease prattling, Kenchi. You need to conserve your strength." Shuukou blushed slightly at Kenchi's blunt response. "Sorry, severe beatings seem to blunt my common sense..." Kenchi paused in his moving to cough severely, a trickle of blood emerging out of his mouth. Shuukou eyed him nervously, then urged him forward. "Come on.. let's get you to Akari now..." - = - "He's sick isn't he?" Akari whirled at the voice from the doorway, "Who--?" Amano walked in slowly, his hands up. "Your captors were better than I thought, I couldn't manage to free you easily. I managed to help Kenchi escape, but after he returned to finish off that demon, all my avenues for a jailbreak seemed block. I apologize." Relaxing her stance at the familiar face, she turned back to Judou. "Can you help him?" Amano stood beside her and looked down on his helpless son. "No." Akari sighed, "Do you know what's wrong?" Amano paused, and nodded. "It's... complicated." "I'm a smart girl, sir. Maybe if you tell me I can figure out a way we can..." "It's a Tengu matter, Akari. And not even all of the Tengu know of what is currently plaguing my son..." Amano shook his head slowly. "I cannot share this secret with an outsider." "He IS an outsider now... and if you don't tell me, we'll never find a way to help him." Akari glared at Amano. "If you care about him at ALL you'd do anything possible! He's right about you! You do hate him! Why? Why did you abandon him during all this?" Amano seemed to shrink under Akari's accusations. "I... I sensed what Macha did. She placed an enchantment on him while he was unconscious that unleashed... the barriers between lives." Akari blinked. "H-huh? Between lives?" "Yes. Tengu live many different lives... you've heard of reincarnation, yes? That is, essentially, what happens to the Tengu when they die. Their Tengu nature is not always evident, in fact some Tengu live dozens of lives without ever having access to their mystical side...." Her eyes narrowed as she processed this information. "Judou's feelings of being a 'city Tengu', and his difficulty transforming..." Amano nodded. "Judou has not had many lives as a Tengu in shape. One of his prior lives, he was an unfortunate soldier who managed to seriously injure Macha. Once she found out who he was... she vowed revenge." Akari narrowed her eyes, "How do you know all this?" "Stories handed down from leadership to leadership. Judou wounding Macha was a major event of the time, for the more mystically inclined. His true nature was discovered, and the story was handed down throughout the generations. As soon as I saw the way she looked at him, with such hatred, even more than her usual disgust for our people... I knew... he was the one." "So what did you mean 'she broke down the barriers...'?" Taking a deep breath, Amano paused, as if considering what to say, or what not to say. "All lives we have lived are still with in us, but are hidden until such time that we die our final death... but somehow... she cast a spell upon him which caused the erosion of those barriers. I did not abandon my son because of my supposed 'hatred' of him... I could not face telling him I could do nothing to stop what was to come." His voice cracked. "I failed his mother, just as I've failed him." He knelt before his son's form. "I'm sorry Judou... I'm sorry." "You always were a failure... Amano." The roof of the building suddenly tore asunder, as a dozen shadowy forms lifted into the air, and tossed it aside like harmless rubbish. A human form in a beige suit floated in midair above them. "Rukeo..." Akari gasped, "You know him?" "He was my friend. I too, once lived with the humans. I learned their education, and their ways. I met Rukeo at the university. We became fast friends, and I revealed my secret to him. He was intrigued, and eventually I gave him access to the same Tengu secrets that Judou gave you access to. In his own way, he took advantage of them... by performing a ritual that involved a sacrifice of a creature with abundant magical energy." Amano snarled. "Thus transferring all the mystical energy of the creature's life-force to me, so long as I do my masters' bidding." Rukeo smiled. "Shame about your wife though, Amano, she always did make the best pies..." "Rukeo... this time you won't escape!" Amano's form shifted into a full Tengu form, and he leapt into the air, with a beelining path toward Rukeo. "You old fool... haven't you learned anything?" Rukeo didn't even have to move, the Man in Beige simply floated their as a half dozen shadow figures slammed into Amano, driving him into the ground with their claws and fists. Amano struggled briefly against their overpowering might, only to be rescued by Akari as she ran forward with her hands extended toward him, and channeled her healing energy in the directions of the creatures assaulting him. They screamed silently as they were eradicated from existence. Standing shakily, Amano leapt once more to combat Rukeo. "You will not harm my son." "I'm not here to harm your son, I'm here to take your son." Rukeo's hands crackled with black magic, but quickly stopped as Amano kicked his foot directly into the man in beige's stomach. "NEVER! Madman! I'll--" "Father? H-help me!" Judou stared up at Amano from the ground below. Amano whirled to see his son, "Judou? Judou, is that you?" "Mistake, old friend." Rukeo had quickly regained his breath and flew forward with his right hands crackling with dark magic. He reached forward and put the hand on the base of Amano's back. The resulting explosion seemed to pass by Rukeo harmlessly, but sent Amano cratering to the floor. "Amano!" Akari ran forward and kneeled beside him, her magic already attempting to heal him... only to find that something blocked it. "That won't work this time girl. I used a very potent spell to cause ongoing damage to his body... eventually it will kill him... and due to the nature of it, it has immunity to your white magic." Rukeo laughed. "Of course, you won't have long to try to save him.." Akari stood in front of both the cowering Judou and the unmoving Amano, and held her arms out stretched in front of her. "I won't let you hurt them!" "Of course not. But who will stop me after I've killed you?" Rukeo's smile chilled Akari to the bone. "Say good bye to your little friend!" One of Rukeo's shadow lunged at Akari, and she hesitated for only the smallest of moments, then she held her arms out and *caught* the beast. Ignoring the pain scorching through her hands at the contact with the foul creature, she closed her eyes and did what she know how... she tried to 'heal' it. With a terrified scream, the demon melted out of existence while within her very grasp. Akari shuddered slightly, but was glad to see that, upon opening her eyes, the other demons were now hesitating. "Go you cowards! She hasn't the strength to kill you all!" Rukeo gestured with sudden anger. "Follow my commands or find death by my hand instead of hers!" The demons quickly rushed forward again, and Akari flinched once more. Her hands outstretched and glowing of her own white magic... They never reached her. The demons bounced off a dark barrier that appeared before her outstretched hands. "No offense intended, Akari..." Soshi's voice sounded strained from the large effort he was partaking. "But I do not wish to see you exhaust your stamina battling needlessly, if we can avoid it." Akari whirled to see Soshi standing beside her suddenly, his habit of silent movement once again catching her off-guard. Sweat trickled down his forehead, and his eyes were twisted shut, as he held his hands in an arcane gesture that empowered the barrier around them. "Soshi!! I--" She started to thank him, but then she sensed DARKNESS entering from behind her. It screamed at every bit of her being that something was wrong, that it was going to overwhelm her. Then she looked to see what it was. She gasped. "Ma--" "No child, I am Morrigan now. Thanks to Judou's inherent stupidity, I am more than I was before. And with time, I shall grow to be even greater." She eyed Judou with an amused tint in her eyes. "Not much is left of your friend, is there? One would say he's no longer even Judou any more..." "N-not Judou..." Judou agreed from beside Akari, still huddled under the blanket of his cot. "Excellent. Have no fear, Akari... I will not harm you or the others. I gave Judou my word, and my word is my bond. But this... 'thing'...." Morrigan gestured into the barrier where Judou lay. "He is not Judou, and is not among those I agreed to spare from harm." "You... you..." Akari's hands clenched even tighter as she searched for the words to convey her anger. "Amano's son is MINE to kill!" Rukeo angrily pointed at Morrigan. "I have no desire to entangle myself with you if you do not wish it! Leave now, and forget the five interlopers, and you will not die this day." Morrigan cocked her head back and laughed. "Ohoho. The day that I am defeated by a posturing imitator such as you... will be the day I gladly leave this mortal plane." "Do not toy with me, beast! This is none of your--" Rukeo's voice rose in anger. "This IS my business. Must we fight to see who kills the boy? Fine then. Meet your death." Morrigan flew at Rukeo, sweeping past the shadow demons before they could react, and her fingers swiped across Rukeo's chest like talons. The man in beige was knocked back from the blow, and his chest started to pour black blood from his wounds. "Impressive!" The shadow demons below quickly charged Morrigan, as Rukeo hung back and observed their motions. Now entangled in close quarters aerial combat, Morrigan started slicing and kicking at the various demons, even as they landed their own scathing blows on her. Soshi relaxed his barrier slightly and observed the fight. "They are... evenly matched. We have some time to try to come up with a plan." "Planning? Good thing I'm here.... *cough* that's my specialty!" Kenchi nodded to Soshi as Shuukou helped him through the doorway to the cell. "Shuukou! Kenchi! How--" Akari helped them into the barrier as Soshi maid a small opening in the rear for them. "We heard the destruction. Kenchi decided Soshi was involved somehow." Shuukou answered quickly. Soshi closed the barrier once more. "We need to plan an escape." "Agreed. But first..." Akari stepped forward to Kenchi, and placed her hands on opposite sides of his head. A white light emitted from them, and Kenchi's bruises and abrasions faded quite a bit, and his stance improved greatly, longer leaning on Shuukou for support. "Wow." Kenchi stepped back a moment. "You.. have improved." Nodding, Akari took a breath to steady herself after the effort. "I.. I would've healed you completely... but I need my strength to try something." "What do you have in mind?" Shuukou asked her friend. "You have something in mind to help Judou, correct?" Soshi cocked his head to Akari. "Yes, and I'll need your help, and Kenchi's." Akari started. "Judou's mind... has been altered. I need Kenchi's help to get inside his mind. I need Soshi's aid to help rebuild the barriers that have been taken down. And I'll use my power to try to heal *him*." "Barriers? What do you--" Kenchi started to ask. "There's no time! Morrigan is winning!" Akari gestured above them, through the lack of ceiling to the darkened sky beyond. Slowly, the shadow demons were being torn asunder, and as a result, evaporating into the mist from which they were formed. Morrigan had been hit a few times, but showed little signs of slowing down as her demonic mockery of a Tengu form tore through yet another Demon's being. "Agreed. But I must warn you... we've combined our abilities in the past but... this will be a major feat for us. Also, the barrier will cease to exist since I will be so... involved." Soshi noted. "And I won't be much help." Shuukou added. "There's nothing... alive... in this dimension. The only things sucked from the living world to this were quite simply us. I cannot contact nature to try to gain its support, as there is none here." Kenchi shrugged. "So it'll be a gamble to try to help Judou." He grabbed the gun that was secured under Soshi's belt. "Just use this, if it looks like you need it." "Here is the optimum situation. Akari, your power will be the most instrumental in this, so you stand directly in front of Judou and look into his eyes. We will hold him up with one arm each and put the other arm on your shoulder, and both look into Judou's eyes. The chain should allow us to join our powers." Soshi looked thoughtful. "That would be my best.. guess." "HA!" Kenchi laughed. "Now I know this is a bad idea. Soshi's *guessing*. Ah well, who wants to live forever? Let's get this over with." Soshi hauled the incoherent Judou to his feet, and they each assumed their positions. Akari stared into Judou's eyes, and after a moment's thought, put her hands on both sides of his head. "Judou..." "Not Judou. Not Judou." Judou answered. "Alright folks, here we go..." Kenchi started focusing on bringing his powers to bear, and the others did their best to concentrate on relaxing to it's tug. - = - Akari felt odd for a moment, then suddenly... she was in two places at once. Soshi was beside her in both realities, one where she stood next to him and Kenchi before Judou, and the other where they were both standing in Judou's brain. And they weren't alone. Hundreds of others, some looking like Judou, other's completely dissimilar to him, were mingling around inside Judou's brain. "So many different people... so many lives.. so many memories." Akari whispered. "No wonder Judou can't control it." "I will begin trying to sort through them now." Soshi concentrated, and Akari noted that in the other realm, the barrier previously surrounding them vanished. In this realm, a few of the various personas inside Judou's head began to fade out, and lose their color. Looking as if they were from a black and white televisions how, the others mingled about with the other beings still in color. "There's still too many... I can't find Judou!" Akari began pushing her way through the people, leaving Soshi behind. "Akari.. be careful... you could lose yourself--" Soshi began. "Never again." Akari cut him off. "Judou! Judou! Where are you?!" She ventured further into the crowed, pushing the graying and dulling personas out of the way. She seemed to reach a corner of a room, even though previously she wouldn't have said they were in any tangible room at all. Most of the personas were transparent and black and white, and only one was still a normal color, and he was huddled in the corner on the floor, before Akari. "Judou?" The figure looked up. "Akari?" "Judou!" She hugged him tight to her. "Akari... it's... you." Judou seemed stiff, and tears poured down his face. "What.. what's wrong?" Akari backed off a moment, afraid she was upsetting him. "Not... not you. Pain. Too much... pain. Hard... to think." Judou shuddered. "Too... too many.... memories." "I'm going to help you! Soshi! If you can hear me, I'm going to try now! Start trying to help rebuild the natural barriers in his mind!" Akari hugged Judou once more, and stroked the back of his head. "Don't talk... just relax... I'm going to take care of you this time." With everything she had left, she poured it on. A white aura of magic flared around her as the healing energy exploded from her and focused itself onto Judou. She poured it on, as hard as she could, for moments that seemed like hours instead of mere seconds. Soon, her power began to diminish, and her strength began to fade. "Akari!" Kenchi's voice was all around her and inside her head, all at once. "It's.. working! But keep it up! He's... not back... yet!" For a moment, her heart filled with despair. She was running out of power... she was exhausted. There was nothing she could do, and she knew it. She pulled back from Judou momentarily, and looked at his pained eyes. "A-Akari?" His eyes cleared momentarily, but clouded again as the pain increased. She had failed him. She wasn't good enough to save him. He and the others had saved her, but she couldn't save him. She had never told him that she... And with a single thought, Akari's magic flared out brighter than before. This time the aura of magic was visible in both the real world, and in the other plane in which she was involved. "I love you, Judou. And if it kills me... I'll bring you back." Every fiber of her being tore at her, screaming that she was done, that she had nothing left, to rest, try again later. But her heart wouldn't let her. She helped people. It was what she did, and it was what she was. She was going to help him. She leaned forward, and kissed Judou as she held him tight against her. Healing magic poured from every pour of her body and seeped into his. White light seemed to fill the entire area, and if Akari had been paying attention, she would have seen the nearby personas fading the rest of the way into nothingness. - = - She found herself back in the real world, the sounds of Morrigan's duel with the shadow demons above her, and the feeling of Judou's heartbeat against her chest as she leaned into him. She felt the feel of his lips against hers, and his hands coming up on her arms as he returned the kiss with greater and greater voice. Suddenly she realized she was feeling all of this, and jumped four feet back instantly. Wide eyed, she noticed everyone staring at her, including a surprised but looking unexpectedly sane AND healthy Judou. Akari felt a wave of dizziness as her efforts finally took their toll on her, and only Shuukou's sudden support kept her from falling down outright. Kenchi spoke first. "Well, that took you guys long enough." Flustered and still fighting exhaustion, Akari stumbled verbally. "It was difficult to find the true him, and then it took time to--" "That's not what I meant." Kenchi eyed Judou, who had the decency to have a faint reddish tint on his cheeks, but his eyes still were locked on Akari. "Oh." Akari looked down, and a deep red tint spread over her cheeks. "I guess my body reacted to what I was doing inside of Judou's brain... and... uh.." Judou stepped toward her slowly. "Akari... I--" "THIS ENDS NOW!" With a triumphant thrust, Morrigan's foot impaled the last of the shadow demon's chest, causing it to exploded into a dark cloud of nothing. Panting only slightly, she eyed Rukeo triumphantly. "Your power is not match for mine." That was when everyone noticed two things. One was that Rukeo wasn't bleeding any more. Secondly, he was chanting. Before Morrigan could move to interrupt him, he opened his eyes. "I agree with you on one of those things, this IS OVER!" His hands outstretched, and an arc of black lightening struck out towards Morrigan. She threw her hands up on instinct, but the energy struck her in the abdomen and proceeded THROUGH her. Gasping, Morrigan looked down to see a large hold in her body. Rukeo laughed. "I told you... you were no match for URRK!" His victory taunt was interrupted by Morrigan's talons slicing through his stomach. Blood poured out through the gashes, even as Morrigan lost the rest of her strength and slowly fell to the ground. Buckling over, trying to get his hands to cover the wounds, Rukeo grimaced. "You... demonic... bitch!" Wordlessly, Morrigan collapsed to the ground near the others. A loud and bloody cough escaped from Rukeo. "Your demise has merely been rescheduled.. I... will return!" With that, he faded from the landscape slowly, while making a gesture with his hand and muttering something quietly to himself. Soshi's eyes watched Rukeo's exit carefully, and after the Man in Beige (and Red!) was gone, he carefully took the gun from Shuukou and walked over to Morrigan. Judou and Akari knelt by her already, inspecting the wound. "I... I can't heal this, Judou. I'm completely burnt out." Akari held her hands near the wound, but nothing seemed to be happening. "Well, she is a rather tough one to kill, perhaps she'll..." Judou began. "Survive to come back and try to kill you? That's what her purpose was here. She isn't interested in us at all, merely your death." Soshi pointed the gun at Morrigan's head, and cocked the hammer back on the pistol. "Morrigan, if you can hear me, know that I made sure to add a special enchantment to these bullets before I met with Ichida. His death and many others are on your hands." Soshi's voice lowered, but he continued. "I will never... be subjugated by you or anyone else. Like you, I was merely waiting for the right opportunity." Soshi's finger tightened on the trigger. The world seemed to shudder around them without warning. "Wha--" Judou looked around frantically. "Rukeo's spell is fading! We're--" Shuukou stumbled as the world seemed to heave one last large time, and they were returned to the real world. "HERE! Where the roof was suddenly destroyed! They're all in here, but they have one more with them!" Their heads swiveled at the voice, and the sight they saw was not a welcome one. A half dozen guards, each with various assault weaponry, were visible through the doorway, charging down the hallway toward them. - = - Author Notes: Wow... what a ride. I started this week ago, and then couldn't finish in time. But I told Ria if they ever needed me to fill in a skip, I could probably whip something up real quick based on this, When Storyteller had to bow out, Ria contacted me. Real life foiled my 'real quick' up some, but I think it is worth the wait. ... I hope. Meep. I'm gonna miss WoF, but it has been a fun ride! Can't wait for the ending! Special thanks to Ard, Lawson, Ria, and Guido all for various things including idea bouncing, and second chances. Now to go help Ultra, Party, & Tuxedo America end! Muahahah! I'm the John Evans for the 21st century! -ColdFury 10/26/01 2:20am - = - OMAKE!!! "Judou!" She hugged him tight to her. "Akari... it's... you." Judou seemed stiff, and tears poured down his face. "What.. what's wrong?" Akari backed off a moment, afraid she was upsetting him. "Not... not you. Pain. Too much... pain. Hard... to think." Judou shuddered. "Too... too many.... memories." Akari gasped. "You're not Judou! You're Captain Kirk!" Kirk smiled suavely. "Gimme... some sugah... baby." Akari moaned. "I feel strangely... pulled toward... your sexual suaveness." Kirk and Akari kissed, and before Kirk was done, she forget that Judou even existed. - = - "THIS ENDS NOW!" With a triumphant thrust, Morrigan's foot impaled the last of the shadow demon's chest, causing it to exploded into a dark cloud of nothing. Panting only slightly, she eyed Rukeo triumphantly. "Your power is not match for mine." Rukeo snarled. "Damn, I knew I shouldn't have used Lord Zedd's black putty patrol!" Judou blinked. "Master Zedd? Where?" - = - v1.0