Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ In Omnia Paratus ❯ Oh, Look, An Action Sequence ( Chapter 13 )

Anonymous / Mediaminer Reviewer(s):

 

kahuffstix: Thanks for your review! I updated as soon as I could, but…well, those who have read my fics know what a slow writer I am. It's a problem…but it's not your problem, so…I'll just go and write the chapter now.

 

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After Dean's icy-calm declaration, a tense silence fell over the room. Everyone just sort of sat there and avoided Dean's gaze, disconcerted by what they'd heard. Yusuke remained on the phone, making strained small talk with Kurama, the only person who would say anything to him—or anyone at all, actually.

 

As for Dean…he seemed to have reached his limit, and now he was the quietest of them all. He had returned to his seat in the chair, where he assumed a brooding expression and stared intently at his brother as if expecting Sam to just snap out of it and be…Sam…again.

 

At last, at long last, Koenma returned to the phone and reported that yes, the body count had gone up in the last possession. So apparently there was a connection, which was easy enough to figure out without the data, but whatever.

 

“So basically, we have a guy with huge power he can't control who is being controlled by one seriously ticked off demon who wants nothing but destruction, murder, and mayhem, and we have quite a bit less that twenty-four hours to stop the whole thing or it's doom, doom, doom for all of you good old Americans, plus a couple of our own guys. Am I missing anything?”

 

“No, I think that sums it up, Yusuke,” Kurama replied. “Now…an actual plan might be helpful.”

 

“Well,” Yusuke said, seeming undaunted by the tone. “I think, first of all, that Kuwabara and I should come there. Like right now. You could use all the help you can—”

 

“No,” Koenma interrupted.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“I have another assignment for you and Kuwabara.”

 

Yusuke groaned. “Please, please, please tell me it has something to do with this whole thing and isn't some random job. Because if it is, forget it.”

 

“No, it's related to this problem. I want you to go to Makai. It's possible that the possession could be happening over distance and through dimensions. I want you to find out if there are any demons in Makai who work that way.”

 

“But that'll take way more time than we have,” Yusuke protested.

 

“Not necessarily. I find that since the new king came to power in Makai, interrogations have gotten quite a bit easier. If you leave now you should be back by morning—or evening where you are, Kurama.”

 

“And if the demon doesn't have a physical form or is located somewhere other than…Makai, isn't it?…that would be where we come in, correct?” Giles asked. He didn't wait for a reply. “Well, then, we need to plan anyway, because I doubt our friend has a physical form. I mean, I don't deny that it bears investigating, but…I don't think you're going to find anything.”

 

“You may be right,” Koenma conceded. “But then, you may be very wrong, which is why I'm doing this.”

 

“Okay, fine, we'll do it. We'll leave right now,” Yusuke agreed reluctantly. “Well, just as soon as I wake Kuwabara up. But Koenma, if we don't find anything, I'm heading straight for California.”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Okay, then. And Kurama, Hiei, Dean…and whoever else is listening—all of you, be careful.”

 

And then the line disconnected, and the thinking resumed.

 

XXX

 

The sky was fully light when Dean suddenly spoke. “Okay, it's official. Sam was right. I'm an idiot.” His voice held none of the coldness from earlier, which was a relief. But he wasn't making sense, which wasn't quite so good.

 

Without another word, Dean strode over to the coffee table and picked up his exorcism book again. This time, though, he actually looked closely at it, checking each page. He obviously hadn't used whatever he was looking for as often as he'd used the exorcism.

 

“So he either has an idea or he finally went over the edge,” Cordelia whispered to Angel.

 

“I haven't cracked,” Dean said distractedly. “I think I have an idea…ah! Binding spell!”

 

“What?”

 

“A binding spell! That's how we'll deal with the demon!”

 

And suddenly they all looked very interested—and some a little confused.

 

“Look, you've used binding circles before, haven't you?” Dean asked patiently.

 

“Well, of course I…we…have,” Giles replied. “I find they work quite well for the lower and middle class demons, but for something of this caliber…”

 

“Trust me, it'll work if we do it right,” Dean assured the room at large. “See, I've only used this spell once, but that was enough to know that it's really effective if there's enough manpower around. And…uh…” He looked around the packed room. “I don't think that's gonna be much of a problem as it might've been.”

 

“Would you please explain this clearly?” Anya burst out, tired of waiting.

 

“Anya, honey, be patient,” Xander said quietly.

 

“The circle has to be drawn with…well, Giles, how do you pronounce that?” He held the book out to show it to Giles.

 

“Oh, I have one of these,” Giles said promptly.

 

“Good,” Dean said, taking the book back. “We're gonna need one and mine is…um…in my car at the airport in L.A. Anyways, the thing is cast with salt, holy water, your basic repellents…and magic. Well, not magic, actually, `cause anyone can use it…”

 

“Ki,” Kurama supplied. “Energy,” he added in response to the blank stares. “The personal, unique energy that all living things have. But not everyone is aware of it, so they can't use it.”

 

“And how do we, um, use it?” Tara asked.

 

Kurama shrugged. “The same way you and Willow use your magic. And Buffy, the same way you use your power when you slay. You must have used it as well, Giles, if you've ever done a spell.”

 

“Well, what about Anya and me and Angel and Cordy?” Xander asked. “We've never…”

 

“I'll teach you. It's a matter of about five minutes of instruction,” Kurama replied.

 

“And the more energy we put into it, the stronger it will be,” Dean said.

 

“So we know how to hold it, but how do we kill it?” Buffy asked.

 

“Without hurting my brother,” Dean added, with careful emphasis on each word. “Yeah, that's…that could be a bit more of a problem.”

 

It was Hiei who spoke now, for the first time since the phone call. “Maybe not.”

 

“Why? What do you have up your sleeve, shrimp?”

 

“Don't…call…me…that,” Hiei said through clenched teeth.

 

“Fine, megashrimp, then.” A low grown rumbled in Hiei's throat. “Okay, okay, sorry. What's your idea?”

 

“Well…Kurama, couldn't you use one of your plants?”

 

Kurama sighed and ducked his head. “Dean, I think I may have just beaten you on the idiocy scale.”

 

“Plants?” Dean scoffed. “As in roses and daffodils?”

 

Kurama smiled slightly. “Roses, yes, most frequently. No daffodils.”

 

“And how will your penchant for gardening help us?”

 

“You don't need to be so harsh,” Giles chided gently, even as Hiei's hand clenched into a fist.

 

“Don't worry about it,” Kurama said cheerfully, reaching up into his hair. “It does sound a but odd, I suppose.” Still smiling, he withdrew his hand from his hair and opened it to reveal a single rose petal in his palm.

 

“You just had that in your hair?” Xander asked. “That is just…genius!”

 

“And…what's the point you're trying to make with that?” Dean asked.

 

Kurama just looked at him, and held up his left hand. Slowly, deliberately, he touched the petal to his palm and drew it across, the flower barely touching the skin. To the shock of all watching—except Hiei, who just looked highly annoyed—the soft, harmless-looking petal opened Kurama's hand and drew blood.

 

“What the…”

 

Kurama closed his hand, and when he opened it again only the wound remained. “Each petal I use is as sharp as a razor blade,” he explained. “I can make a weapon out of most any plant. And, of course, I use Makai plants, which have their own powers.”

 

“…Cool trick…” Tara said.

 

“Do you need a bandage or anything?” Buffy asked.

 

Kurama shook his head. “I've had much worse. I heal quickly.”

 

“That's good, that's good…so how does this talent of yours help us?” Dean asked.

 

“Good you asked. It just so happens that I have a plant that cold solve our little dilemma. Well, it's a seed, at the moment, but it could be a plant in an instant.”

 

“And what does it do?” Dean asked patiently.

 

“It…kills demons,” Kurama said.

 

“And after the totally called for `duh' let me ask what that would do to Sam.”

 

“Absolutely nothing, if handled properly.”

 

“Come again?”

 

“I could persuade it to attack only what I tell it to. And it's most difficult to defend against.”

 

“Well, I'm suddenly really liking this plan.”

 

“I think we can all say that,” Giles agreed. “Now…all we're missing is defense. This thing is sure to lash out at us. We need a way to guard against that.”

 

“Oh, finally, something I can do,” Hiei said, getting as close to a smile as most had ever seen him get. “I can take care of shielding each of you.”

 

“Are you sure…?” Giles began.

 

“I can handle it,” Hiei snapped, the almost-smile disappearing.

 

“But this demon is powerful,” Giles protested. “Forgive me, but…it may be stronger than you seem to be.”

 

Hiei smirked, without a spark of humor. “Trust me. I'm small. That's true. And it's also true that you have no idea what I'm capable of. I hope you won't ever have to find out.”

 

XXX

 

The rest of the day passed agonizingly slowly. Waiting is always hard, even when you're waiting for something horrible that you'd really never see at all.

 

Some of them had things to do. Giles sent Tara to the Magic Box for the supplies they would need for the spell. Giles himself spent most of the day lecturing them each in turn on how much energy they would need to put into the circle and how much to keep in case of a fight. When he wasn't doing that he was instructing Willow, who would be doing the actual spell work, since Giles felt he was better off staying around Sam. Buffy went outside—for a workout, she said, although she seemed rather distracted. Kurama, Xander, Anya, Angel and Cordelia went to the kitchen so that Kurama could teach them what they'd need to know that night. Hiei and Dean stayed in the living room, separated by most of the furniture.

 

Hiei now seemed more mellowed than he had been since he and Dean met. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, hands resting on his knees, sitting so still that Dean momentarily wondered if he was breathing.

 

Dean spent the time pacing and weapon-checking, and wondering if he should bring up some sort of conversation with Hiei and deciding against it. Sometimes he glanced at Sam, secretly harboring a crazy hope that his brother's eyes would hold personality again, that Sam would just come back. But it was always the same—Sam wasn't part of his own body anymore.

 

While pacing, Dean also had time to go over all the potential problems with tonight's plan, What he came up with…was way too many things for his liking. And most of those problems involved people screwing up.

 

Dean wasn't used to trusting people. He trusted his father, and his brother, and a few members of the Clergy. And he trusted himself. No one else. But now, he was placing all his faith, and his brother's life, on the ability of a bunch of people he barely knew. He was depending on others and he didn't like it. But the really odd thing was that even if he didn't like that he had no choice but to rely on them, at the same time…sharing the burden…

 

It felt nice.

 

“It's done.”

 

Dean dragged himself out of his reverie, and looked at Hiei, who was suddenly on his feet. “What?”

 

“It's done. The wards are up.”

 

“Really?” Dean asked. “I didn't feel anything.”

 

“You won't. Not until they're called upon to protect you. Then the shields will automatically begin drawing on my strength, and I will have to concentrate on maintaining them.” Hiei sighed. “If it were just me and Kurama…but it isn't. I'm out of this fight, I'm afraid.” And quite suddenly he smiled. Dean barely managed to hide his surprise. “Sad. I have some good techniques.”

 

“Like what?” Dean asked curiously.

 

Hiei didn't answer. He just looked away.

 

“What's wrong?”

 

Hiei shook his head. “I can't tell you.”

 

“You can't tell me what you can do?” Hiei nodded. “Okay…why?”

 

“I just can't. If I did there would be fighting and hurting and…”

 

“And you're a fire-demon,” Dean said, the truth suddenly striking him. “Damn. Why didn't I see that before?” he murmured, so many thoughts chasing through his mind that he couldn't even start to sort them out, let alone do something about what he now knew.

 

“You had no way to guess. I wasn't planning on you ever finding out—”

 

“Did you kill my mother?” Dean interrupted quietly.

 

Hiei leveled his gaze at Dean. “No.”

 

“And Jessica?”

 

“No.”

 

“Do I have any reason to believe you?”

 

“Not that I can see. But I swear, I didn't do it. I've done horrible things in my life, but…never this.”

 

“…Okay.”

 

Hiei just kept looking expectantly at him for a moment. Then he said, “That's it?”

 

“Yeah, well, I have to trust you for now. You're helping protect my brother. I don't have a choice, do I?” Hiei just nodded, and gave that rare—but rather charismatic—smile, and for a few moments they were silent, before Dean said, “Just so it's clear…we didn't just have any kind of…you know…moment. This was just a business conversation between two hunters.”

 

“Agreed.”

 

“Doesn't mean I like you or want to be friends or anything.”

 

“Agreed.”

 

XXX

 

Sam groaned softly as he reached up to rub his head. The pain had been growing steadily worse. And more importantly, it had started to trickle down to the rest of his body. His muscles were stiffening quickly—which really didn't make any sense, since he had been pacing without rest since he'd been landed here.

 

With another sigh, he looked around at the endless gray of his surroundings. He was so tired of gray…it seemed like every time he fell asleep now, it was gray, and he didn't know where he was or how long he had been there.

 

Sam didn't remember falling asleep, but he supposed he must have, to end up here. The last thing he remembered was pain. A lot of pain. He also remembered Dean's yells. But nothing else. And while that kind of thing always worried him, this time…it was worse, for some reason. He felt that something was very, very wrong, and that if he could just get through the must and wake up, all the problems would be solved.

 

“I hate to break it to you, kid, but that might be difficult.”

 

This time, Sam didn't jump or show any sign of surprise. “Why do you like doing that so much?” he asked instead, turning to face the older, much shorter man.

 

“Well, this place is freakin' boring. And you usually have a much funnier reaction.”

 

“It's Doyle, right?” Sam asked.

 

“That's right. You forgot that last time.”

 

“I had a lot on my mind!”

 

“Hey, no one's judging here,” Doyle replied, holding up one hand in defense.

 

“Why're you here, anyway?” Sam asked.

 

“Wow, not feelin' the love here.”

 

“I don't know you. There is no love. What're you doing, man?”

 

Doyle shrugged. “Watching you.”

 

“Uh…I was kinda hoping for a little more than that.”

 

Doyle gave a half-smile. “Ah. You want the why. Well, I can't give you that.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“It's not in my job description. And in my line of work…you don't go outside the job description.”

 

And something in his voice said clearly that pressing him would prove fruitless. “Fine. Can you at least tell me what's going on here?”

 

“That's why I'm here, actually. See, you're not asleep, or even unconscious.”

 

Sam couldn't hide his surprise this time. “Seriously? But then…how…”

 

“A demon did this. It took your physical form under its control and sent your spirit to a different plane…that is to say, here.” Doyle delivered this news calmly, simply, as if it wouldn't totally crush the man in front of him.

 

Sam suddenly found it difficult to stay on his feet. “I'm…possessed?”

 

“Mm-hmm. Well, in a manner of speaking. It's different from the last time you were possessed.”

 

Sam jerked in surprise. “You know about that?”

 

“I know a lot of things.”

 

“Great, a regular Miyagi,” Sam said, rolling his eyes. “So…um…I haven't…done anything, have I?”

 

“You mean have you gone into an insane rage and shot your brother in the chest? No.”

 

Sam let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

 

“Actually, you're not doing anything. You never even got your eyes closed. You're just sitting there staring at the ceiling. You haven't even blinked in hours. Sorta disturbin', actually. Back in Sunnydale, they're all looking for a way to save you.”

 

“And how…how's Dean?” Sam asked, somehow knowing he didn't have to explain who Dean was.

 

Doyle shrugged. “As well as can be expected. He's angry. And…”

 

“Don't say scared,” Sam said firmly. “Dean is never scared.”

 

“Fine, concerned, then. He's concerned.”

 

Sam nodded. “Okay. So…so why did this demon possess me?”

 

“That's another thing I really shouldn't tell you,” Doyle replied, and Sam sighed in exasperation. “Don't worry. One day it'll be clear. It may not be tomorrow, or the next day, or for a long time yet. But…one day.”

 

“Anyone ever tell you you're like a freakin' fortune cookie?”

 

“I get that, yeah.”

 

Sam chuckled, but the sound was hollow, unreal. “Doyle?”

 

“Yeah, kid?”

 

“If they don't save me…what will happen?”

 

XXX

 

“Hey, does anyone know where Spike is?” Buffy asked, coming back into the house after two hours of “working out.”

 

“Nope. Not our turn to baby-sit him,” Xander replied, and Dean thought he picked up a trace of animosity in the tone. At Buffy's glare, he sighed. “What's wrong?”

 

“I just haven't seen him in a few days. He's usually around when I'm patrolling, but…” She shrugged. “Well, I haven't been patrolling.”

 

“Who's Spike?” Dean asked. “Boyfriend?”

 

Willow rolled her eyes. “God only knows.”

 

Dean couldn't help but grin. “Oh, one of those `friends with benefits' things, is it? Wow, that's a bad look.”

 

And it was. If looks could kill the one Buffy was giving Dean definitely would have sent him straight to Heaven or Hell and skip the morgue.

 

“Can we please forget I just said that?”

 

Buffy snorted. “Whatever. The point is, I can't find him, I don't know where he is, and it's bugging me.”

 

“Don't worry, he'll turn up,” Anya said. “He always finds his way back. Like that dog on TV.”

 

“Uh-huh…so…are we ready for action?” Buffy asked.

 

“As ready as we can be. Just waiting for Sam to…do something,” Dean replied.

 

“Right. Well, it's almost sunset, so we only have a few minutes to wait,” Giles said. “Now this is what we need to do…”

 

XXX

 

Ten minutes later, half the group was headed for the cemetery, armed to the teeth and ready for combat, while the other half—including Giles, Kurama, Dean, Angel and Cordelia—remained at Buffy's house with Sam.

 

“Now remember, when he gets up, don't try to stop him,” Giles cautioned. “Don't even get near him. He'd knock you across the room in an instant. Just follow, at a distance, silently. Don't fight until we get to the circle—Willow has the spell to activate it. Trust me, there will be plenty to do then.”

 

XXX

 

Tara finished tracing the insignia in the earth and sheathed Giles' dagger. “Okay, salt next.”

 

Xander came forward with a canister. “Where are they?” he muttered as he started to trace the circle with salt. “Sun's almost set. They should be here by now…”

 

“Well, we need all the time we can get,” Buffy pointed out reasonably as she came forward with a bottle of holy water to complete the circle. “Willow, you ready?”

 

Willow gave a thumbs-up from where she stood with an open book in her arms. “And waiting.”

 

“Well, you're not gonna be waiting for long because Sam's heading this way,” Anya reported, pointing down the street to where a tall figure was headed toward them, about fifteen feet ahead of six others.

 

“Are you ready, Hiei?” Tara called, glancing up at the small demon who was standing calmly on a high tree branch above their heads, hands clasped behind his back and feet slightly spread.

 

“Yes,” he said. “Just block any hits as often as possible. My power has limits.”

 

“Oh, God, I hate fighting…” Willow sighed.

 

“Me, too, honey. But hey, maybe they'll be able to do most of it without us,” Tara said hopefully. “Besides, we have a couple spells we could use, right?”

 

“Oh, sure, we can float things at the evil demon,” Willow said, rolling her eyes. “Now if it was just vamps, we have some fire spells and stuff, but…no such luck.”

 

“Okay, I hate to interrupt, but they're here,” Xander said.

Willow turned her attention back to the book.

 

“Showtime.”

 

XXX

 

Hiei watched as Willow finished the first part of the spell. No visible change came to the circle, but that didn't matter—it was ready.

 

And just in time, too. Sam came striding through the gate three seconds later. He didn't even seem to notice any of them, or the circle he was in. He just stood there, and they all watched, puzzled, waiting for him to do something. Willow forgot about the spell for a moment.

 

The sun set fully, and still they waited. Not once did Sam so much as glance at the people surrounding him. But on the plus side, he wasn't trying to brutally main and kill any of them—yet.

 

Hiei had barely completed the thought when Sam suddenly threw his head back and let out a strangled yell of pain. For a split second, his eyes showed personality again—and the most profound agony. Hiei saw Dean jump forward, and Giles grabbed his arm and jerked him back just before he entered the circle. “Now, Willow!”

 

Sam stopped screaming as Giles yelled this, and his eyes were no longer empty—they were jet black and filled with hate. A slow, evil smile curved across his face as he looked around at them, and when he spoke, a deep voice, colder than the ninth level of Hell, issued from his lips. “Oh, good, we're all here.”

 

“In omnia paratus…”

 

Sam—or the thing inside Sam—jerked his head toward Willow, rage twisting the handsome features.

 

“In omnia paratus…”

 

“No!” the demon yelled, trying to step outside the circle. He leapt back with a snarl as an electrical sort of pop sounded—his body was now trapped. Growling still, he clapped his hands.

 

Willow groaned and drop to her knees as a horrible crack cut through the relative silence. Her right arm hung useless at her side.

 

So his magic was apparently quite free even if his body wasn't.

 

Giles was headed for the book—Tara was already supporting Willow, helping her stand again—as the demon waved his hand again. Willow screamed and doubled over in pain as her arm made another cracking sound, but only for a moment. Then she suddenly stood up straight without any help. Her injured hand came up to grip the book and she looked at the demon, her eyes now as black as his. The demon kept attacking her, but she didn't go down.

 

“You're not going to do this,” Willow said softly, before her voice changed to a bellow. “IN OMNIA PARATUS!”

 

A wall of white light sprang up momentarily around the circle, and when it was gone Willow was collapsed on the ground, the book lying next to her.

 

And the demon was still smiling, though less so that before.

 

“What's it so happy about?” Hiei heard Buffy ask.

 

Just before the ground opened up around them.

 

 

XXX

 

Well, this is gonna suck, Dean thought, watching as Hiei lifted the unconscious Willow and jumped effortlessly back into his tree without even being noticed by the demon. He got her up just as the earth on every grave in sight began to shift and move and finally erupt to bring forth either zombies or vampires.

 

This is really gonna suck.

 

XXX

 

Hiei leaned Willow against the trunk of the tree, keeping one arm braced around her so she wouldn't fall. Himself he wasn't much worried about—he'd been living in trees practically since he was born, after all.

 

Once he was sure the redhead was safe, he turned his attention to what was about to become a major battlefield. The members of the group still on the ground were now spread out, armed with wooden stakes, swords, and crossbows, and shifting into combat position.

 

“Looks like you're gonna get your wish, Wil,” Hiei heard Xander say to himself.

 

Too bad she can't enjoy it, Hiei thought, looking down at Willow, who was still out. I'll give you the play-by-play later, as you humans say.

 

Then the two sides met, the shields immediately came up to guard them, and there was no more time for thoughts.

 

XXX

 

Tara watched in satisfaction as Hiei's shields deflected every attack thrown at her friends, who were meanwhile fighting with everyone they had. On the sidelines, Tara cast her fire spells with great discretion, pouring most of her energy into the circle binding the demon.

 

Meanwhile, Sam/Demon was fighting to get out of the circle. No visible effort was made, but Tara could sense the black magic, thick in the air. She closed her eyes and prayed that the spell would hold…at least long enough for Kurama to strike.

 

XXX

 

Hiei usually found it easy to follow fights with his eyes, but this time there were too many to keep track of, on both sides. So he just settled for controlling the shields and keeping Willow in the tree and watching over Kurama and waiting for the bandit to make his move.

 

He was beginning to think that would never happen when Kurama wrapped his rose whip around the next of two vampires at once and cut off both their heads—he'd gotten the hang of “vamp-fighting” extremely quickly—and stepped quickly out of the way of the battle. He put away the thorned whip and reached into his hair again, pulling out another seed.

 

Hiei smirked. If things went the way they were supposed to…he was about to see something deeply sexy.

 

XXX

 

Keep me safe, love, Kurama thought, sparing a glance for Hiei before he began feeding his ki into the seed. Hiei was watching him intently, every part of him screaming for Kurama to hurry up and put an end to this. The fox smiled reassuringly at Hiei, and then resolutely blocked out the rest of the world, focusing solely on the seed in front of him.

 

For a second, he didn't seem to be making any difference. Then the seed began to sprout. It grew a head, and then a couple of limbs, and the next thing Kurama knew, the thing was a good twelve feet tall with three heads and countless limbs and waving roots, and it had captured the attention of the entire battlefield. Of course, the plant wasn't the only captivating thing on the field…

 

For a moment, the feelings of bloodlust and hunger and fury overwhelmed Kurama, and he couldn't move. Then he remembered that it was he had to do, and what was resting on his shoulders. He took a deep breath and began to arduous task of bringing the plant under control.

 

XXX

 

When Willow woke up, her first thought was to scream, for multiple reasons. One: her arm hurt. God, it hurt. Two: she was in a tree, High in a tree. Three: there was a battle raging below, and all her friends were in huge danger. Four: there was a twelve-foot…thing…way too close for comfort.

 

“Oh, God, we're dead. We're dead, aren't we?”

 

“No,” Hiei replied without looking at her. His eyes were trained on something below them. “We're probably saved, actually. Don't move—you'll jostle your arm.” Willow noticed then that his arm was holding her up, and she felt a pang of relief. At least, she didn't have to worry about falling—Hiei seemed quite at home in this tree. “I'm sorry my shield didn't protect you,” Hiei went on. “I can't think of why, but…”

 

“No, it's okay. So that's Kurama's…um…plant?” she asked.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Help me sit up.”

 

“What?”

 

“I want to see. Help me sit up.”

 

So Hiei put his other arm around her and lifted her, gently enough that she didn't feel too much more pain. Leaning against the tree trunk, she looked down.

 

Fifteen feet below, the fight was on—Willow knew at a glance that it was hopeless to try and keep track. Sam was still bound in the circle, so that had worked, thank God. At least I didn't break my arm for nothing. But it couldn't hold him indefinitely, that much she knew.

 

“It won't have to hold much longer,” Hiei said, as if in response to her thoughts. “Kurama's plant will take care of it.”

 

Willow looked at the base of the gigantic, disturbing, sinister plant, and her mouth dropped open. “Who is that?” she breathed, staring at the seven-foot, silver-haired, eared, and tailed wonder below. “He's…beautiful.”

 

“Put your eyes back in. He's taken,” Hiei replied.

 

Willow looked from the vision on the ground to Hiei and the meaning of the warning hit her. “That's Kurama?!”

 

“It is. In his strongest form. He doesn't like to change into it, but to control this plant, I guess he had no choice.”

 

“So what's he—”

 

“Just watch.”

 

XXX

 

The demon had never known fear, not in countless years of living. And he didn't really feel fear now. Looking at the plant that was out for blood and heart and soul—all the demon felt was a slight trepidation that came mostly from being enclosed.

 

The plant's movement was almost comical as it moved one of its three heads closer to the circle holding the demon. The demon began to use his power with increasing force as the plant moved closer. The barrier…it was so close to coming down. And the second it did…

 

All will die.

 

XXX

 

“Break the circle!” Kurama shouted. “It's time! Break it now!”

 

He couldn't see any visible change in the fighting, but a moment later their ki dropped away from the barrier. In seconds the spell would be deactivated and the demon would be free. The time had come. Kurama looked up at his plant, and if anyone had been watching they would have been chilled to the bone by his smile.

 

Feed.

 

XXX

 

Now he felt the fear, Well, the demon thought it was fear, anyway. Then came a much more familiar sensation—pain. And then…the demon felt the life begin to drain from him too fast to be stopped. He roared in anger, fought to hold on to the human, to force it to do more of his bidding.

 

But the thing's power was out of control now. The human was getting stronger as the demon got weaker. With a grown and a superhuman effort, the demon took control one more time.

 

If I am to leave this world…I will not go alone.

 

XXX

 

Almost…just a little more… Hiei thought, feeling as the demon in Sam began to die. Kurama was tiring—on the brink of exhaustion, in fact. Just another moment, fox…and then we can rest. Just another—

 

He never finished the thought. There was a scream of pure rage, explosion of malevolent power. It smashed full force into all of Hiei's shields at once, cracking them. Hiei threw everything he had left into maintaining them, ignoring the lashes of energy unleashed on him. He held on past pain and sense and thought and feeling.

 

He felt himself begin to die, along with Kurama and everyone else.

 

“NO! LEAVE THEM ALONE!”

 

Hiei just had time to wonder who yelled the words, before all the power attacking them vanished.

 

Hiei fell.

 

XXX

 

“Sam? SAMMY!” Dean called, trying not to show how frantic he was as he combed through the hundreds of zombie corpses for his brother. Around him, the others were sitting among the bodies, most too exhausted to move. Kurama was holding a barely-conscious Hiei in his arms and a few feet away Willow was lying on the ground, Tara sitting next to her. She had been caught by Hiei just before they both hit the ground. They would both be fine. He hadn't checked on anyone else yet—he had to find Sam.

 

He didn't notice Angel until the vampire touched his shoulder. He jumped, and turned.

 

Angel smiled a little. “Go sit.”

 

“I have to find my brother.”

 

“You're exhausted. You don't realize it yet, because of the adrenaline, but you need to rest.”

 

“Then you can help me. But I'm not stopping until I find my brother.”

 

XXX

 

It was Angel who found Sam, not five minutes later. Dean heard him shout, and he arrived just in time to see Angel lay his brother down on the ground.

 

Sam's eyes were closed, and his entire body was limp. He was as pale as the vampire. And worst of all, there was no sign of life at all.

 

“His heart is beating, faintly,” Angel reported. “He's breathing a little. He's still alive. Barely.” Angel looked around at the rest of the group, at the bodies that hadn't turned to dust or something. “We need to get out of the cemetery. And then we need an ambulance.”

 

XXX

 

Dean looked at the clock on the wall during what felt like his millionth lap around the hospital waiting room. Midnight. They'd been here for a little over five hours and still no word on Sam.

 

Willow had been taken down to X-ray. It was determined that her arm was broken in two places, so the doctors plastered it up and put her in a sling. Hiei, of course, hadn't allowed anyone to check him out, and most of the others, miraculously, had only suffered minor injuries—a few stitches here and there, some bandaging, and most of them were good to go.

 

None of them did. Instead, they all packed into the waiting room, and…waited. No one spoke. Dean paced. Time passed.

 

It was nearly one in the morning before a doctor finally came into the waiting room and called for those with Sam Winchester.

 

Dean knew instantly that it was bad. No doctor could have that expression when about to give good news.

 

Okay, so…he's fine. It'll just take a while to make him better. That's okay…we have time…

 

“I'm sorry, Mr. Winchester. We did everything we could, but…your brother is brain-dead.”

 

- - - - - - - - - -

 

AN: Okay, so the only reason for this note is for me to apologize if the constant changing of points of view confused or annoyed anyone. It's the only way I know how to do battle scenes. That's a weak point of mine—writing the fights. So if it was bad, I'm sorry, and the next chapter should make up for it…I hope.

 

Review, please! Nice long chapter! It'd be a shame for that to go to waste!

 

- - - - - - - - - - -

 

“War determines not who is right, but who is left.” -Unknown

 

“It hurts sometimes, more than we can bear. If we could live without passion, maybe we'd know some kind of peace, but we would be hollow; empty rooms, shuttered and dank. Without passion, we'd be truly dead.” -Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

 

“If this is to be our end, then I would have them make such an end as to be worthy of remembrance.” -King Théoden, Lord of the Rings

 

“Skin breaks so easily, it makes me wonder if we were meant to hurt.” -wild wolf free17