I do not own Dragonball Z, Death Note, Batman Beyond, Justice League, Teen Titans, X-Men Evolution, Bleach, Yu Yu Hakusho, Ghost in the Shell, Fairy Tail, or Darker than Black

Chapter 22: The Offensive

With a gasp and a cough, Koenma was pulled backwards and free of the wall as if being pulled from thick paste. He hit the ground hard on his back as the black ghostly hands released him and vanished. He scrambled to his feet, his red scarf loosening around his neck and draping haphazardly over his shoulders. Idly, Koenma knew how undignified he must look as Lord of Other World but what his eyes settled in on in the center of the room banished any sort of unimportant thoughts out his mind.

An enormous dark textured sphere hung in the center of the room, emitting a diffuse light that seemed to brighten up the room to a reasonable degree but somehow kept the sphere itself shadowed. Whether the sphere was rotating or the textured surface was simply flowing and changing, Koenma could not tell but the presence he could perceive from it, the ancient heir about it kept his eyes riveted to it and unwilling to approach.

Light seemed to waft off the sphere in a completely different way than how it was lighting the room, a visible rippling of light expanding in tendrils before the sphere bleated at him, long, deep, and resonant. Koenma jumped, putting his hands and back against the wall, the sucking on his pacifier rapid and uncontrolled in a show of fear that only Yusuke had ever actually seen from him. The sphere seemed to pause, as if waiting for a response before it bleated at him again. Koenma was ready for it that time and took a cautious step forward.

"Who, or what, are you?" he asked, his tone steady and in control, much to his surprise. He grimaced to himself slightly as he realized that as ancient as this thing was, it was not likely to understand any current Earth language.

"Who are you?" he asked again, switching to the native language of Other World, something he had not used in a very long time.

The wafting light changed subtly as if noting the change in language. All around him, the black ghostly hands faded into existence again like lifeless flowers revitalized from where they had been unseen on in the floor. Koenma tensed, looking around nervously but the hands did not move in his direction at all. Instead, they lifted together and merged, creating symbols in the air that Koenma was shocked to see he recognized. It was the first language, Other Worlds native and ancient form that spawned the outward form of the language that he had just used. Once again, Koenma found himself wishing he had paid better attention to his schooling.

-DO YOU SEE THIS, EMISARY?- the words formed.

Koenma blinked, the sucking on his pacifier now halted completely. "Yes, I see and understand," Koenma said. "I am somewhat rusty but I recognize enough to be able to manage, I would expect."

The sphere and the hands seemed to pause as if digesting that and then the hands began to move again. -LIMITED- It wrote. -THE OTHER ATTEMPTS RESURRECTION.-

"Who is the Other?" Koenma asked. "And what is that to you?"

-THE CALAMETY- it wrote back. -FALSE GOD-

Koenma shook his head, working very hard to not name One Above All directly, less give this being or whatever it was unnecessary information about his own motivations. "We have seen many of those in our tenure of rule. Many claiming rights to rule themselves."

The light tendrils began rippling faster. Irritation?

-It was a guardian- the hands wrote. -Betrayed and assumed.-

"It assumed what?" Koenma asked. "And whom did it betray?"

-One Above All,- it said, and Koenma finally took a deep breath.

-One Above All is a false God?" Koenma confirmed.

-Yes-

"Then I believe we have grounds to continue talking," Koenma said. "As his Celestials are trying to free it."

The sphere seemed to digest that for a long few minutes. -Information limited,- it said at last.

"Ours too," Koenma said with a nervous sounding laugh. "Tell me who you are, please."

The sphere bleated at him.

"Ok," Koenma said. "I do not think that I am able to pronounce that. Can you help stop One Above All?"

The lazily drifting tendrils of light came to a halt, hanging in mid air. -Yes,- it said. -Purpose.-

Koenma nodded. "Alright," he said, stepping forward once again. "Tell me everything."

Shayera Hol-Stewart sat back on the couch and listened intently as L described several of his former cases on his world to her. As a detective at one point on Thanagar herself, she listened with a professional interest at the tactics and triumphs that he had managed to accomplish in his life. While she had not yet been able to wiggle out of him the full story of how he himself had died yet, time not allowing for the long version of it at the moment, she had to say that she was incredibly impressed and once again assured of his competence and capability despite some of his more eccentric deficiencies.

"So, in any event," L said around a mouth full of ice cream, "I knew that he had to have an inside source in the department directly. Once I was able to track that down, which wasn't hard knowing that there was a leak, finding the ones responsible was easy as cake."

"I have to say, L," Shayera said, "you truly are something else. Back on Thanagar, I would never have been able to track that down."

"It takes a certain kind of mind," L said, taking another bite of ice cream. "And a certain level of distrust."

"I guess so," she said, shaking her head. "Certainly impressive."

She stood and stretched her back before making her way over to the hovering displays and eyeing them. "They have been so quiet."

"Makes sense," Kurama said. "They have now lost two Celestials, and to groups separate from Caliwone who had proven to be able to match one on his own. The fact that there are now several different groups that can defeat them means they may have prioritized the finding of these monoliths over their directive to judge civilizations."

"Our early successes may be a hindrance to us later," L said. "They are adapting to our tactics, if not our abilities yet."

"What about Aizen's search algorithm?" Shayera asked, crossing her arms over her chest and turning back to the others. "Are we not able to track them?"

"We are still finding the frequencies of each of the other Celestials," L said, spinning back around his chair to focus on his main computers. "The method he used is easily enough copied but he must have had some additional insight that we have not managed to puzzle out yet."

"So, get him back in here," Shayera said, her tone sounding surprised that they hadn't already tried such an obvious thing. "If he has the insight-"

"It doesn't matter," Koenma said, the doors sliding open and his royal self striding in with a sense of command that none in the group had yet seen from the young ruler. "I have new information but for now, finding the pillars are the immediate and urgent priority."

L blinked over at him for a moment before his eyes narrowing. "Koenma, we have all available resources split between finding the Celestials and the pillars. It's not like we are only doing one of those."

"Then pull resources off of the Celestials to expand the search on the pillars," Koenma said, stopping next to L and looking down at him. "They need to be found."

"Alright," L said, scratching his chin. "Kurama?"

"Orders sent," Kurama said, typing away madly for a moment and the screens hovering in the air all changed as the orders were beginning to be implemented. "All but one survey group are now under the direction of the intelligence group."

"Good." Turning, L looked back at Koenma. "Now, please explain."

Koenma nodded. "Where is Caliwone? He will need to hear this."

"I am here," Caliwone said as he and Helena both walked off the teleporter. "Kurama informed me you attempting to take charge."

"That's not quite what I-" Kurama started to say, shooting Koenma a quick look.

"I have information that is vital," Koenma said, beginning to pace and not showing any sign that he had even heard Caliwone's words. "Caliwone, do you remember when Shunsui found you hiding in the cave out in the Spirit Wilds and the ghosts that attacked you?"

"Yes," Caliwone answered, crossing his arms. "I take it you managed to learn something about them?"

"Quite a bit." Koenma ran a hand through his already disheveled hair. "You are not aware of this but Shunsui and I have been working on finding out more about that since the moment you accepted your new role within Spirit World."

"Get to the meat of this, Koenma," Caliwone said. "It was quite obvious to all of us that you were working something else. You would not leave me in such control and unwatched in my new position if you did not have something of great importance going on elsewhere."

Koenma blinked. "How very astute," he said, feeling a little shameful. "In any event, I believed I was on the trail of the Antecedents, the civilization that existed long before the current known existence. I believed that you had stumbled upon one of the fabled tombs of the Antecedents unknowingly; the ghost being a failing protector of sorts."

"And?" Helena prompted, crossing her arms in the same fashion as Caliwone.

"It turns out that we might have a had things backwards," Koenma continued, bringing his pacing to a halt and turning to face his team. "The black hands that tried to grab you managed to do so to me and I was able to communicate with the being inside."

"If this being was an Antecedent," Shayera spoke up, sounding immediately suspicious, "how exactly did you manage to do that?"

"Sign language," Koenma answered. "Of a sort."

"Continue," L said, cutting off the several open mouths that about to question him further.

"Long story short," Koenma said, "the being was trapped inside a prison created by the being known as One Above All and his Celestials. The ghost that tried to stop you," Koenma continued, holding up a hand and looking at Caliwone, "was the failing guardian of that seal."

"How awfully convenient," Helena said, rolling her eyes. "Sounds exactly like the sort of story that a prisoner would create."

"Believe it or not, Noventa, I am not a naïve as I can sometimes appear," Koenma said coolly. "I placed several traps among our conversation and did not volunteer any information about our current threat for it to lead off of. In the end, I am convinced that the key to releasing this being lies in the activations of all six pillars."

All remained silent for a long few moments.

"If I understand what you are saying, Koenma," Kurama said, his sharp fox eyes boring into young ruler, "this reverses everything we thought we knew about them."

"The Celestials are coming to destroy the pillars, not activate them," L said. He leaned back in his chair and rubbed one thumb under his bottom lip as his brilliant mind raced through the possibilities.

"So, what you are suggesting," Shayera asked, glancing over at Caliwone, "is that once we find these other pillars, we should activate them?"

"Correct," Koenma said. "Have we had any progress locating the them?"

"No," L said slowly, not moving from his previous thoughtful position. "Something isn't right. There is something that we are missing here. If the Celestials became aware of a threat when you activated the first monolith, they wouldn't have slowed their pace to destroy them by following their other directive to judge planets. They would have leaped straight to them."

"They have already shown their ability to move vast distances with unknown limits as well as whatever ability they are using now to hide from us," Kurama said, nodding. "I agree with L."

"Not to mention that if all they needed to do to destroy whatever this being is was to destroy the monoliths in the first place," Helena added, "they would have done it eons ago, not waited for a threat to appear on their doorstep."

L nodded, glancing over at Helena. "Yes, I believe you are right."

"You were not there," Koenma said. "This Antecedent holds the key to eliminating this threat."

"You are showing your young age, lord Koenma," Aizen said from the back part of the room where he sat in his typical chair. Almost everyone in the room jumped and spun around at the sound of his voice.

"Where did you come from?" Helena snarled, her hand instinctually moving to where Mangetsuken would rest on her back.

Aizen raised his hands idly to both sides. "I have been here the entire time. I would be surprised that you did not notice me in all of this time but there were pressing matters. In either case, I too agree that this being is not the magic bullet you are hoping that it is."

"And what makes you say that?" Caliwone asked, his eyes narrowed.

"Simple," Aizen said, resting his head on his propped hand. "As stated earlier by our colleague, if this was a prison created by the Celestials themselves with the pillars being the key to locking or unlocking the prison, they would have known the location of the pillars ahead of time. On the same note, I do not believe that being is One Above All, either. This is some kind of third party in this game that I, as of yet, do not understand."

"So, not an Antecedent, you mean?" Kurama asked.

"I thought I had made that clear," Aizen said, making Kurama stiffen slightly. "Weren't you listening?"

"Aizen," Caliwone said, warning him with a look. "So, if we have an independent third party here, it is a simple matter of protecting the pillars while not activating them. Seems simple enough."

Aizen eyed him with an amused smile. "I can tell you are very much a cut-to-the-chase kind of person, aren't you? I like that about you. Still, the Celestials have managed to hide from me as much as L and Kurama, despite their best efforts to copy my search patterns."

"I agree," Shayera said, nodding slightly. "For now, I say we need to keep the search at a split ration on finding them and the monoliths. Right now, each are equally important."

"Incorrect," L said, cutting in quickly before Aizen could speak. "The majority of our resources should go to locating the Monoliths as that does still appear to be their main objective, for whatever reason."

"We find the monoliths," Kurama said, "the Celestials will eventually get there, too."

Aizen smirked slightly and stood up from his throne. "You all seem to have this well in hand, then. I will take my leave for now. Perhaps I will explore the limited places I am allowed." With an overly smarmy nod, Aizen left the room.

"L," Caliwone said, eyeing the door as it slid shut. "I want eyes on Aizen at all times. I do not trust him."

"Yes," L said, also staring after the departed Shinigami. "There is something about him that isn't right."

"Helena?" Caliwone asked, "did you notice him in the room when we arrived?"

"No," Helena said, frowning. "And his energy isn't exactly hard to notice."

"I suggest we resolve this ordeal as quickly as we can so we can return him to his imprisonment," L said. "I am tempted to suggest that we do so now, however he may still be an edge in the search that we need."

"I agree," Caliwone said. "As much as I hate to say it. The safeguards on him are still in place?"

"Yes," Kurama said. "Functioning correctly."

"Then there is little he can do while confined here," Caliwone said. "Let us use him for everything we can before we discard him back to his prison."

"Hello," Koenma said, his eye brows raised. "Are you all forgetting that I am the ultimate authority here? I did not come down here to necessarily ask you opinion on the matter-"

"Then why did you come, Koenma?" Caliwone asked, sharply. "You were quite eager to tell us about this fantastic news that would solve all of our problems. Why not move forward with your plan if you did not want our thoughts?"

"Because I need to know where the other pillars are," Koenma answered hotly. "I believe that was my first question when I came in."

"You have some of the smartest people in potentially all of Other World sitting in one room and they all found at least two major flaws in your big plan," Caliwone said. "Be smart, Koenma. You had to know it was too good to be true."

"And just how did can you explain that it stated directly to me that the Celestials is what it was built to defeat?" Koenma asked, his temper beginning to rise.

"Have you ever heard of telepathy?" Helena shot back, her own temper beginning to rise. "If you haven't, there is a master of it here on our team. She can give you a lesson on it."

"Have a care how you speak to me, Noventa," Koenma warned. "Remember that it was I who made the call to allow you into Other World."

"Pardon me," Kurama said, stepping quietly into the middle of the sudden volcano. "May I suggest that some of us are feeling a little on edge about Aizen and are letting their emotions flare?"

"Kurama," Caliwone started to say.

"And may I also suggest," Kurama continued, cutting off Caliwone's words, "that, King or not, he would do well to listen to his advisors and take another look at his decisions?"

Koenma glared at Kurama for a long moment before taking a deep breath and taking a step back. "Your point is taken, Kurama," Koenma said. "Perhaps I was getting a little carried away in my excitement."

"Hn," said Caliwone and turned his back to Koenma. "We can defeat the Celestials on our own. We do not need an unknown savior to risk it all. Let us handle one crisis at a time."

"Agreed," L said. "Lord Koenma?"

With a sigh, Koenma inclined his head. "Fine. Let us put an end to this soon."

"That's the plan," Caliwone said. "L, find us those monoliths."

Urameshi Yusuke laid back on the bunk in his Other World room, his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling in deep thought. Or, at the very least, as deep as Yusuke ever really got. Right now, his thoughts were on his family back down on Earth. He had spent a lot of time away from them during his time with Caliwone's team, as recently as a couple of days ago and his visits back with them had always seemed far too short. Having seen the threat they all faced when Eson the Searcher had shown up on Earth had renewed the combination of worry and understanding from Keiko, but he looked forward to being able to go back home to them for the long haul.

Yusuke shook his head slightly, his mind seeming to slide from the picture of his family to trading blows with Caliwone. He loved his family more than anything else but what he was doing was dangerous for him. The thrill of the fight, of pushing his body and his mind to their limits, the risk they all faced; yeah, he was an alcoholic at a beer tasting festival. And it was too late to stop now.

Red lights flashed throughout his nostalgic juvenile detention setup he had his room configured to and he was out of bed faster than a fox. He threw his door open and sprinted down to the command room, surprised to see he was one of the first outside of the original group to make it. Koenma stood there looking calmer than the last time he had seen his former boss striding out of the command room a week back, his hands squeezing tightly on the back of L's chair as he looked over him at the monitors.

"What's going on?" Yusuke asked, stepping up next to Koenma.

"Your reflexes are starting to shape up," Caliwone said, giving him a slight nod of approval then returning his attention to the monitors. "Look for yourself."

Yusuke did and felt his jaw drop open. Four Celestials stood like statues on a lush green planet, three in front with Eson the Searcher prominent and centered among them. The fourth stood behind and was the size of a mountain. That was not an exaggeration. It dwarfed the three other Celestials the way Mt Everest dwarfed other mountains.

"What in the hell?" Yusuke managed.

"No kidding," Shayera said, her jaw tight and her hand clenched hard on her mace. "How are we supposed to fight that?"

"The same way we fight the others," Caliwone said. "We are beyond size differences here."

"Maybe you are," Shayera snapped. "What do you expect me or team two to do about something like that?"

"Nothing," Caliwone said. "You and they will not be needed."

"Let us wait until everyone is assembled," L said. "They appear to be just standing there. Not judging or destroying anything at the moment."

"That is because this is a challenge," Caliwone said, a predatory grin starting to creep across his face. "They know they cannot beat us alone."

"Be careful with that kind of reasoning, Caliwone," Kurama warned. "This may also very well be a trap."

Behind them all, the doors slide open and one after another, the rest of the team entered, each lead by their captain. Aizen walked in last, allowing for a gap between him and the rest of the team as if to distance himself from them.

"About time," Apale said, shouldering her way up to the front. "What's the emergen- Holy Hell!"

"Calm down," Caliwone said. "It would seem the final four Celestials are looking to make a final stand."

"And stand that one does," Carol said, even her eyes were wide and disbelieving. "Exactly how big is that one?"

"Approximately twenty thousand feet," L said softly. "Roughly one third the size of Everest."

"Caliwone has identified them from his connection with Eson back on Earth," Kurama said. "Oneg the Prober, Arishem the Judge, Eson the Searcher, of course and the big one is called Exitar the Exterminator."

"Boss," Onino said, stepping forward. "What do we do?"

"Simple," Caliwone said. "L and Kurama were able to locate 3 more monoliths. Teams one and two along with the Incursion team will each be assigned one to defend. Apale, your squad will be assigned the next but until then you are will be general reinforcements if needed. The Gotei 13 will be filling in on the fifth one once it is found. In the meantime, Helena and I will deal with these and hopefully their deaths will bring an end to this particular threat."

"Just the two of you?" Natsu asked, aghast. "Come on, man. This is no time for showing off."

"There is nothing to it," Caliwone said. "They want to create an offensive, then we will show them how it's done right."

To be continued…

Four Celestials in one place waiting for Caliwone and team? That does not bode well. But, Caliwone is a Super Saiyan God and Helena a Super Saiyan 4. I wonder if it will be enough to defeat four powerful Celestials…

The threat is real but progress is being made in the galactic tyrant arc. Hopefully they will be able to keep One Above All contained and out of the way.

As always, find out next time on Dragon Sagas Series Two Book Two!

The Dark Prince