Inuyasha

Distant Thunderings

Disclaimer: Don't own Anime or any Inuyasha characters.

Roger, Natalie, Arius, Bastion, the Fallen, and that stuff is MINE! And Sanocles is too, I suppose.

I

Sanocles folded in his wings, floating before the orb. It was a brilliant cacophony of hues and action, a universe within an orb ensconced in the nothing-yet-something of the Æther, the substance which was not that made up the multiverse.

Not a spot of grey, the only color he never saw much of , was in the orb, which gave him some comfort, but the blackish purple that signaled the presence of corruption was very much present. Much more so then he would've expected. True, he was in the enemy territory, but the Fallen usually didn't infest the smaller Universes this much. I suppose it makes sense considering the circumstances.

Uneasily, he searched the space around him for sentries. But nothing could be seen, except for reddish clouds which thundered towards nothing and floated aimlessly. They were Æther given a somewhat solid form, and filled the spaces between universes.

This felt wrong, and he was nervous. The feeling of wrongness he felt now, the nausea, he had come to trust it. After a millennia of service, it had always been right. But orders were orders, no matter how he might feel or might not feel.

The old man began to fly once again, his wings beating in a regular, unhurried fashion. Panic nor speed would help him any. He might as well rest. He'd need the energy when he entered the universe orb.

His orders had been so specific, maybe that's why he was so bothered. Usually the orders given to lone Casters such as himself were simple and nebulous in nature, giving Casters more freedom then, say, seekers or Guardians, but not as much as the Sentinels.

Several weeks ago, as those in Bastion reckoned time, anyhow, a patrol of Guardians had found this universe, or, to be more precise, this universe shard. Of course when they found it, it was attached to another universe. While they watched, a huge pulse emanated from within the orb and ripped off a part of it. Knowing full well that this was impossible, they didn't even bother to finish the rest of the patrol, simply heading straight back home to Bastion. Back at the castle, it was decided to investigate this phenomena.

But unfortunately, the only choice was to send one person to investigate. And army or even a small team of guardians and a caster would be instantly set upon by the Fallen and not make it even halfway. All who knew of it, which was mostly just those in the Caster's ranks and the Commanders, were worried. After all, the universe in question had been in enemy territory and had just been ripped open. Could this be some kind of new Fallen weapon? Some among the Casters feared that the Fallen had found and scaled The Pinnacle, but others dismissed that. The seeker would indeed have to fight them inside the Pinnacle once he scaled it and ended it, but not yet.

The Master knows why, of course, but he knows everything. They do not tell a simple sophist such as myself the secrets of existence. That made him smile. He had not thought of himself as a philosopher in a long, long time.

A presence tugged at his awareness, and he whirled. It's close! Three Fallen fell at him from above, their ruined wings carrying them swiftly. And faster then me! Sanocles shot forward, making for the relative safety, if it could be called such, of the Universe shard. At least there he'd be harder to find.

Blast it all, I can't cast anything in this void of Æther! I'm defenseless. He felt the three Fallen change course and increase their speed, only flapping irregularly to keep them going, but so forcefully that they were propelled like a kamikaze-like single mindedness. Their ruined forms and wickedly shaped scimitars came closer.

"I just don't understand her, Shippo!" Inuyasha said suddenly, annoyed as he was quite often.

"I mean," he continued, "What so special about that stupid world of hers that she keeps going back to that well all the time? Though….that thing they called steak was nice…."

"I don't know," Shippo replied. "Sometimes I wish she wouldn't stay in the future so long. But when she stays for a few days, Kagome brings back all kinds of nice things! I wish I could go to her world once!"

Even more annoyed, Inuyasha smacked the little kitsune pup on the head and gave a short disgusted "Feh. Who asked you anyway?"

"You did!" Shippo said, rubbing his head.

"Oh, shut up," Inuyasha said, not paying attention. "Where are Sango and Miroku? They wandered off earlier and I forgot to ask them where they went."

"Miroku is in the village, exorcising demons from a house. Sango is there to keep him from getting in trouble…not that it'll help any."

Oh. Whatever," Inuyasha said, dismissing any thought of them. Kagome left five minutes ago and I already miss her. Stupid girl, she better show up on time!

Roger and Natalie were at the front, as usual, with Arius lagging behind slightly. They had been flying about six and a half hours, and the Universe Shard was finally in sight, a huge dark, multicolored blob against the reddish Æther.

"Arius, speed up and we'll form a reverse pyramid. You have point. I don't want to run into a patrol."

"Same here," Arius answered as he increased his speed, his wings beating at an irregular pace to catch up. Once they were arrayed, Roger looked around again for any signs of Fallen, noting nothing, much to his relief. He heard Natalie say something, and looked over at her. "Hm?"

"Oh, sorry, talking to myself," she said, and he shrugged as best he could while flying. After a few moments of silence, she spoke again. "It's just… what could rip apart and entire Universe like it was nothing, not even there? Whatever or- it's a horrible thought, I know- whoever did it would rival even the greatest Commanders in power, probably overpower them all easily. It's just an unnerving thought."

"Yeah, I know… I don't think it was any one person, and to be honest, I'm not quite sure that the Fallen were behind it."

"It was in their territory, so it seems feasible that they were involved," Arius offered from below.

"True, and it wouldn't surprise me," Roger consented, "but I don't think they were directly involved. Even if they were, then why would they stop at a simple test? The only explanation is that either they didn't do it directly, or they can't replicate it."

"Makes sense to me," Arius agreed. "What do you think, Nat?"

"Me?" she asked, shrugging, "I don't know. They pay me to fight, not think…("Not that I'm paid," he lamented) but whatever happened, I think they're trying to uncover a way to do it again, so they can use it as a weapon against us, probably assault Bastion."

Roger nodded without looking at her. She's right, it is an unnerving thought. The thought of Bastion ripped apart, it's not pleasant.

Lost in thought, he almost didn't hear Natalie when she reared back.

"What is that?!?"

"What is wha-?"

A huge pinkish beam shot out from the Universe Shard, heading straight towards them. Seeing that she was in the way, Roger grabbed Natalie's hand and pulled her towards him. Arius flew off to the side.

As it passed, they felt a massive force and were blown backwards. His field of vision was flooded with a purplish-pinkish aura which seemed to encompass everything, and then was gone.

Dazed, Roger floated. When his presence of mind returned, he opened his eyes. Natalie! He felt for her hand, and it wasn't there. Panicked he searched, finally yelling her name into the void.

"Natalie! Nat?!? Answer me, please!! NAT!?!"

Dread rushed though him. She's not answering. Did that thing get her? Please, no… He begged no one in particular. He flew through the Æther, screaming her name in despair, his voice shrinking in volume and becoming hoarse, but still he yelled, hoping he find some trace of her, somewhere.

Faintly, he heard an answering voice. His heart lifted and he frantically searched for the source of the voice. It was above him, He flew as fast as he could push himself to, his wings beating at the void with a furious energy.

But they stopped when he could hear what the voice was saying. "Natalie? It's Arius!! Where are you?!?"

Struggling to keep his voice from breaking, he answered. "It's Roger."

Arius, whom he could see now, was silent, pale. "I…I can't find her. I can't find…her…" he whispered, his eyes brimming with tears. "Where…what happened to her?!?! Where is she?"

"The beam… I tried to pull her out of the way, and I thought I had her… but when I came too, she was gone…I thought I had her…" His eyes were still wide in disbelief. "I'll… I'll kill them. I'll kill them all, every last one of them!" he yelled hoarsely, flying off at where the beam had originated. Arius paled. He had never seen Roger this angry before. He flew after him. For once in his life totally unable to think of anything.

She was gone.