Chapter Thirty-eight- Awakening

~*~

"Maaaan. Once again, it's a no show for me." Paul stretched his arms over his head as he walked down the corridor to his room with Raistlin in tow. "I mean, come on! What's with people ignoring me, huh?"

"I have no clue as to what you are referring, 'trainer' mine," Raistlin whispered.

The trainer paused to blink thoughtfully at that. "You know something, Raistlin? I don't have a clue either! That's one more thing we have in common!"

"...Fool."

The two went on into Paul's hotel room, where both stopped and stared at the mess all over the room. Paul blinked, and Raistlin sighed and once again took the coffeepot so he could brew his medicine in it.

"Excel...?"

"Haaaaai?" Excel bounded out of the bathroom, eyes wide and sparkly.

"Um, what did you do to this place?"

"Hmm? Oh, hi Paul trainer person! I just saw an Iilpallazo-sama in the street and I thought maybe he was the one we were going to meet after all this time, so I waved to him but he wouldn't look up, he looked like he was running for dear life. So then I grabbed the curtains and waved them and opened the window to shout at him, but
he kept going! Poor Iilpallazo-sama! I wonder what caused him to run for his life like that? But anyway so I tried waving the TV instead but I had closed the windows and sort of forgot to hold on to the TV and threw it onto the sidewalk, and I think I injured Hat-chan! Ahh, poor Hat-chan!"

From outside the window came a very weak, "Ow."

"Anyway, so by then Iilpallazo-sama was almost out of sight so I was looking in the bathroom for a microphone or something like that. You'd think the hotel people would put things where they're supposed to be, but they don't, how unfair it that?!." Excel ^_^ed.

Paul blinked again. He found it amazing that despite the fact that he could tell Excel had said a number of different sentences, she had still said all that in the space of two breaths. "Okay... Have you seen Abby?"

"Ah, the formerly blue, red, purple and pink-haired one who is currently known as the Almighty Green-Haired F.I.P.? No I have not seen her yet today I'd say she's on the lookout for Iilpallazo-sama for me. Though I thought I may have seen her chasing after Iilpallazo-sama shouting something like 'Come to me my love' while dragging some weird cop Bishie that I didn't know and with her Valgaav, the other Green-Haired One who is not
also an F.I.P. with her."

"Um... okay."

Paul looked around the utterly destroyed room, with the addition of the broken windows and a TV cord hanging from it, and ^^;ed. "It's not THAT bad," he decided, and flopped on the bed to read manga.

Raistlin watched this for a while. Then he turned away, brewing his medicine. He murmured, "I cannot believe that I'm saying this, but it was more sensible traveling around with my brother!"

~*~

Speaking of brothers, Caramon was busy chasing after Abby, who was chasing after some poor soul called "Iilpallazo-sama my LOVE". Though he was pretty certain that the last two words weren't really part of his name.

Finally, he caught up to his temporary trainer, who had immediately given up on Iilpallazo for a dark-haired Bishonen with odd, dark red eyes.

"Ah, Vincent my dearest! Though you are not my love, you ARE my dearest, therefor you are my Vincent!"

"...What...?" the Bishonen choked.

Caramon hung his head as an enraged trainer came with an alarmingly large purse swinging around at eye level. Then he walked over and began to drag Abby, with the Bishonen and all, back from whence they came (that is, the tournament, where they had a battle in about fifteen minutes).

"Noooo, VINCENT MY DEAREST DARLING! I SHALL NEVER LET YOU GO!"

"...Cannot.... Breathe..."

"GET BACK HERE WITH MY VINCENT OR I'LL SEND MY CLOUD AFTER YOU!"

Abby began to laugh at that. "Oh yeah? What'll you do, make him attack me with that oversized butterknife?"

"Ooh, you are SO asking for it! GIMME BACK MY VINCENT!"

"NEVAH!"

"...Why am I always stuck with weird people?" Caramon asked the sky.

~*~

Speaking of being stuck with people...

Jacky found herself slowly growing more and more concerned as neither Anya nor her Bishonen reappeared in their seats for the next hour and a half. The only reason she hadn't gone to look for them was because Inuyasha had threatened to sit on her if she moved or so much as talked for the rest of the matches.

"Damn it, I want to see what's going on down there!" were his words.

Now, while having Inuyasha sit on her wouldn't be a BAD thing, her Miroku had immediately gained a hurt look and accused her of not loving him.

"Why can Inuyasha sit on your lap if I can't?" he whined.

So, facing the thought of BOTH her favorite Bishonen AND a Bishonen obsessed with having a child sitting on her, Jacky remained silent and played with Shippy's tail.

Finally, however, she couldn't take it and stood up.

"Woman," Inuyasha said. "Sit down. The next battle's going to start."

"Shut up. I'm going to find Kimiko."

With that, she walked off.

"What's with trainers leaving their Bishonen alone these days" Miroku complained. "And what's with leaving poor ME tied to this chair? I'm thirsty, and hungry, and in need of serious attention and love!"

Inuyasha sweat-dropped and smacked his fellow Bishonen on the head. "Feh. Baka."

"All right, everyone! The next battle shall commence as of now!" a young man on the field declared. "I know you're all wondering where LSS-sama went, folks, and frankly so am I. But you can live with me for a while longer, can't you?" He smiled at a few cheers from the stands. "Heh, heh... thanks! Now, allow me to introduce our battlers... TARA VERSUS PIXIE!"

The crowd cheered again as both trainers marched out, waving more enthusiastically at the stands than they had before.

"You'll remember these two as having awesome battles with Gundam Wing Bishonen. Hopefully we'll get another chance to observe those Bishonen, as well as from other animes! After all, with two on two battles now, it's bound to be a great fight!"

Pixie was the first to pull out a Bish-ball, followed by Tara. The two watched each other for a long moment before releasing their Bishies. Pixie let out her Sesshomaru, while Tara released her Xellos.

"Aah! And a demon battle commences, with Sesshomaru fighting for Pixie, and a Xellos for Tara! Let's see who has mastered the most of their magical and fighting skills, shall we?"

Meanwhile, Jacky had run into Kimiko and MorTae, who were currently in a deep discussion about what kind of Bishonen they preferred.

"...magical ARE cool, but ya gotta get some fighters in there too, or you'll be really unprepared for some fights," Kimiko was saying. "That's why I have Bishies like Tasuki, ya know? Not only is he an awesome Bishonen in himself, but he has a magical tessen AND he can brawl with anyone any day and be perfectly happy to do so."

"Point taken. Though I think you need normal kinds too, or ones with speed on their side," MorTae was saying thoughtfully.

"Hey guys," Jacky said.

"Oh hey, Jacky! MorTae, this is Jacky. She's a friend."

MorTae blinked. "Wow, you look almost exactly like a Kagome!"

Jacky smiled, blushing slightly. "Thanks, I get that sometimes. Um, hey, Kimiko. Have you seen Anya or her Bishies around lately?"

"Eh? I thought Anya was wandering around with Abby or something. And if I know Abby, she's probably latched onto a Bishonen that's not hers at the moment," Kimiko said.

"Heh, I know that type of trainer all too well. Was one myself, ya know!" MorTae said, grinning. "But to preserve a Bishonen, you gotta cut down on glomping. You know, I heard that not glomping a Bishonen can give them a longer life span!"

"Um... they generally live longer than us ANYWAY, MorTae," Kimiko said.

"Well, yeah, but... never mind..." MorTae sulked. "No one understands..."

"I guess you're right about Abby," Jacky said, smiling. "And if Abby's out there chasing a Bishonen, Anya's probably chasing her and trying to save those poor Bishies! Maybe I'm just worrying about nothing..."

~*~

"The tracks are fresh, only about an hour old," Washu noted.

Professor Steve nodded and stood from where he'd been kneeling on the floor. "I still find it fascinating how you can pick up one pair of feet from the millions that walk this hallway."

"Well, how many people wander around in Meiji Era sandals?" Washu asked smugly. "It's all a matter of common sense, after all."

"True, true... very well. What still amazes me, however, is how on earth this Megumi manages to wander the halls without ever being seen, or how she can get in and out of the tournament like this. You ARE certain she's still not caught?"

"Please, Steve. If she was caught, the lucky trainer would probably be flaunting- oh, my." Washu's smug expression faded into one of mild interest and disgust as she saw something behind her trainer.

"What is it?" Steve turned to see what his Bishoujo found so interesting to look at.

A Sanosuke was staggering down the hallway, looking like he'd had one too many drinks. Each step made his knees wobble, as though he was ready to collapse and pass out at any time.

However, his eyes held a certain gleam that just didn't seem to fit the 'drunken state' description.

Washu blinked, then quickly typed something in to her laptop. "This is the Sanosuke that is with the trainer known as Anya. I believe we met the other day," Washu noted.

"I see. Yet I do not see his trainer. I wonder what she's doing, letting her Bishonen wander around like..."

Washu looked up at Sanosuke, taking a few steps closer to him. Sanosuke didn't seem to notice, continuing to take step after step down the hallway. She peered up into his eyes, then suddenly paled and took a step back away from him.

"What is it?" Steve asked.

"This Bishonen... is going insane."

"What?!"

"His trainer is nowhere nearby. This is the first stage of madness for a Bishonen."

"What kind of a trainer leaves a Bishonen behind?" Steve demanded. "I thought that Tokio-sama and LSS-sama got rid of those types of people immediately! Is there any way we could help?"

Washu shook her head. "Not unless we found his trainer..."

Sanosuke took another step, stumbled, and fell face first on the floor.

There was a long silence as Steve and Washu stared at him. Then, the Bishonen uttered a quiet, "Ow."

"Sanosuke!" came a voice from down the hall.

Washu looked up and blinked as a Heero and Thatz came down the hallway towards the Sanosuke. The Thatz roughly put Sanosuke back on his feet, while Heero took a moment to lean against a nearby wall for support.

The Bishoujo frowned. "These two are going through the same thing as this Sanosuke, only more slowly. I imagine they share the same trainer."

"Uh, yeah, we do. You know Anya?" Thatz asked, keeping Sano from falling over again.

"Your trainer met with us on one occasion, yes," Steve said. "Where IS your trainer?"

"Kidnapped. We're looking for LSS-sama. We need to talk to her right away," Thatz explained. "Sano... he's having a rough time of it."

"How long has it been?"

"About five hours. We would have asked someone sooner, but we somehow ended up getting lost in the basement of this place for most of that time, after wandering numerous hallways with no one in sight."

"Any idea who kidnapped your trainer?" Washu asked. "I can locate anyone on my computer, be it trainer or Bishie, or even an animal or plant. Doesn't matter if she has her Dex with her!"

Heero looked up and gave the Washu a suspicious glance. "Why would you help us?"

"Because I don't like having mad Bishonen in my hands, especially when there's no cure besides finding your trainer," Washu said. She plopped down on the floor and opened a program. "So who do you think kidnapped your trainer, and where do you think they may have gone?"

~*~

"Ugh..."

Anya slowly woke up and glanced around herself as she came back into consciousness. Rather, she tried to; it was hard to glance around when it was so dark she couldn't see her hand in front of her face. She couldn't feel much, either. There wasn't much moving air in, well, wherever she was. The only sure thing she could tell was that she was lying on a carpet of some sort.

Slowly, the area she was in began to lighten up. To Anya's great relief, it wasn't sudden. The lighting came on very slowly, bit by bit, as though whoever was controlling it knew how painful sudden light in a very dark area could be to a formerly unconscious person.

"Huh?"

As the light brightened, Anya found herself in a large, round room with very little in the way of furniture. There was the large, nondescript blue carpet she was lying on; there was a table on the far side of the room; and there was a familiar looking redhead lying nearby, looking as confused as she was...

"...Kara?"

The redhead turned to look at her, surprise etched upon her face. "Anya? What're you doing here?"

"What're YOU doing here? What'm I doing here?! Where am I?"

"How should I know? What's with this place?" Kara looked around. "Wow, talk about lack of furniture, eh? Must've spent all the money on the SPACE as opposed to FILLING the space."

Anya frowned, rubbing her head. For some reason, she had the beginnings of a headache coming on. Plus, something just didn't feel right; there was an unsettling feeling. That something was missing... "Cut the crap, Kara. I know that you're the person behind the kidnapping. What's going on and where the hell am I?"

Kara sighed and shrugged. "Jeez, just wanted to have a little friendly small talk before we got to business." She stood up and stretched. "Have a nice nap? Sorry Hiei knocked you out for so long, the guy doesn't know his own strength sometimes..."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Calm down. You're in my laboratory. In one of the little rooms that I have no real use for."

"I'm in a laboratory designed to force people to have half Bishies as kids, knowing I'm probably going to be used as one of said people, and you're asking me to calm down?!"

"Actually, you're not."

Anya blinked. "...Huh?"

"I don't want to use YOU as a mother. After all, we are friends." Kara smiled and gave a little peace sign. "All I want is for you to agree to let me use your Bishies as the... fathers... of these halflings."

"Kara, you know I won't."

"Do I?"

"Yes. Come on, Kara. Let's be realistic here. The Bishonen hate the half Bishies. The HUMANS don't really CARE about the half Bishies. Except of course when the halfling in charge is an insane one, then humans don't particularly like them. Now WHY would I agree to something my Bishonen would hate?"

"Because doing something you hate is better than going mad and dying, isn't it?"

"What?!"

Kara waved a hand. "Your Bishonen... ne, Hiei! Could you turn on a screen and hook it up to a satellite or something? I wanna see how her Bishonen are doing."

"What are you doing to them?"

"Me? I'm not doing a thing to them. You're the cause of their current suffering. Now, it's only been a few hours, so some aren't as bad as others... but I suggest you make a decision about whether you want to help them out or not."

Anya balled up one fist, then the other. "Okay, Kara. Here's my decision. #^$&@#)%!"

With that, the trainer threw a punch that even Sano would be proud of at Kara.

Kara took the blow full in the stomach, keeling over for a moment. Then she stood up, swallowing and looking like she couldn't breathe.

Hiei appeared as a screen nearby came on, and pulled Anya's arms behind her back so she couldn't use them.

"Damn it!"

The other trainer took in a deep breath as her air returned to her, then sighed. "I guess you need more time, huh? Very well. Oh, and don't try anything with your Bish-balls; that barrier could kill you if you don't watch it. Hiei! Make sure the screen shows ALL of her Bishonen. And how they're doing. Let's go."

"Sure, Kara." With that, Hiei released Anya, took a hold on his trainer, and the two disappeared.

"Why that...! What did she mean by Bish-balls?"

Anya looked around the room. Then her eyes fell on that table.

"There they are! Just lying there like that! She is such a baka..."

The trainer started her way over, then paused.

"But she said there's a barrier... Hell with it."

She took a few steps more. Nothing. Another step. That table was looking pretty good now. Another two steps. Still nothing. "Musta been a bluff," she mumbled. Then she took another-

"AIIIIIIYE!" She pulled back her arm, which she'd extended to reach for her belt (and the five balls sitting beside it, the ones that had been in her pocket a while back). Then she looked at her arm.

Nothing. There were no marks, no bruises, not even a cut of some sort.

"That HURT." She sat down where she was, cradling the throbbing arm, and looked up at the screen.

Her eyes widened.

"Sano? 'Chiri? Kenshin?"

~*~

Kenshin wasn't doing too badly, considering he had been away from his trainer for about six or seven hours now. Sure, he was starting to feel lightheaded, and maybe he did have trouble seeing now, but still! He didn't feel insane, and wasn't that the important part?

Besides, he was starting to feel hungry. Insane people didn't feel hungry, did they...?

"My family... I haven't seen them in so long, that I have not," he murmured. "I should go find Annie-dono, that I should. Demo, why not see my family while I search for a way back to her, de gozaru yo?"

He paused, then smiled faintly. "I suppose I'm growing faster than I thought, if I speak like my father," he said.

Suddenly, the Bishonen stumbled over a tree root, and he ended up looking up at the tree branches above, feeling mildly surprised at how he'd wound up on the ground like that. Then he tried to stand up...

And couldn't.

"Kami, this isn't good, that it is not," he said. Was it him, or were tree branches starting to multiply? Could trees do that? "Perhaps..."

His eyes flashed gold as he went from soft-spoken to Battousai mode. One hand searched for his sword, while the other assisted him in standing again.

"A Battousai is already insane," he said. "Perhaps, this will ease my descent for a time, that it may."

With that, he continued to wander off in search of his parents.

~*~