Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters within this fic. They are all owned by the talented manga artist Rumiko Takahashi. I am nothing but a poor writer scribbling down what has come into my head. Do not sue. It's a waste of time. You won't get much.

Prologue

The sun had yet to commence its journey up from the horizon when the phone rang on the end table beside his bed. He, of course, knew who would be on the other end. He had been waiting for this moment ever since he had first heard about the jewel nearly fifty years ago. Then, the jewel was a pearl of iridescent white, pure like the priestess who possessed it. It was not the baleful dark orb that he could see now flickering within the bosom of the reclining figure beside him. He smiled.

"You are my greatest conquest," he whispered into her ear, "but I am far from done."

He finally reached over to pick up the receiver. A woman's voice awaited his on the other end.

"My lord," she said solemnly, "The preparations are complete. We wait only for your arrival."

"Excellent, Captain" he replied, "We shall be there shortly."

He hung up the phone, adrenalin pumping through his veins. By this time tomorrow, he would be a God.

The phone call having ended, the captain clumsily hung up the receiver. She could feel the panic beginning to take hold. No, she scolded herself, she must not show any fear. Any sense of apprehension could be her undoing. Nothing could be left to chance. There was too much at stake. Should she fail and he succeed today, there would be no hope left to stop him. The universe would be his and she would be his underling for eternity doomed never to taste freedom.

Freedom, there were no words that could describe how she longed for it. Even the lowliest dog had it but she who commanded the very wind itself did not even know it. She heaved a heavy sigh, drawing the unsolicited attention of the chief scientist working on the project. From her appearance, no one would have ever surmised her to be anything more than a small six-year-old child. Her face was completely devoid of the color of life and her hair was as white as a burial shroud. She had an aura about her that put anyone she encountered immediately into unease. This was a common reaction to be experienced when one first encounters an android but with this particular one, it was a sentiment that lingered on long after. This feeling was so intensely felt by all who worked with her that she began to take on the nickname of "The Void". The captain felt it most of all. Throughout the project, the robot seemed to be scrutinizing every move she made. It was almost as if the android knew that behind the exterior of the loyal soldier beat a traitor's heart.

"That's ridiculous," the captain reprimanded herself; "There is no way anyone could possibly know."

The captain shifted her focus to other parts of the room, trying desperately to evade the girl's gaze and to see if she could catch a glimpse of her hired hands in place. She did not actually expect to see them. Their reputation for stealth and precision was well known throughout the Empire as well as the human colonies. Nevertheless, she could not help wishing to catch sight of them to know that she was not alone in her fight.

She laughed to think of what he would say if he knew what she was about to do. She had no doubt it would have been some kind of snide comment. She had come to him long before her master had become Emperor seeking his aid. However, rather than lending her his hand, the proud lord looked her coldly in the eye and said with a sneer, "If you are unable to defeat him on your own then do not even think of betraying him."

From that moment on, she was even more determined to free herself from her shackles even if it meant using a terrorist group to do it. She could not afford to have such things as pride, honor, or even morality as long as she could not even have freedom. At that moment, her master and mistress entered the chamber stirring her from her reverie. He was dressed in his usual regalia; a helmet shaped like a baboon's head obscured the top portion of his face allowing his long dark hair just to poke out through the back. His woman, on the other hand, wore a crimson body suit with the Empire's spider insignia on her shoulder. Her jet-black hair was left unbound giving her face a somewhat wild and cruel appearance. Her listless eyes briefly scanned the room before finally coming to rest upon the captain.

"There is a traitor among us," she said emotionless.

The captain nearly choked on her own saliva. Was this it? Was this really the end of her hopes and dreams of becoming free? Was it all about to come crashing down upon her when this witch revealed her as a conspirator? The scientists and the twenty or so troops in the room looked suspiciously at one another. The captain had to end this farce somehow before doubts could be cast upon her.

"Who among us here has the treacherous heart to betray our Emperor?" she asked of the group assembled.

No one offered up an answer. They just stood there, paralyzed in their own fear. The captain unhooked the white fan hanging off the belt around her waist. She gestured it towards the company of soldiers under her command.

"Speak! The Empire has no use for cowards any more than for traitors."

More Silence followed. They were guiltless of course. She was the true traitor. Nonetheless, someone was going to have to take the blame. She scanned the ranks.

"You"

"Me, ma'am?" the young soldier at the end of her gaze stammered.

His comrades immediately took a step back. In that instant, he had become a leper to be shunned by the rest of society.

"Yes, you," she continued, "Are you the one who would betray our Lord?"

"No, I would never…"

"There is but one punishment for those who commit treason and it is death."

"Please, ma'am I swear I haven't…" he blubbered.

It was all to no avail. The captain had found her scapegoat. She waved her fan high into the air.

"Dance of Blades!"

With that, a gust of wind tore through the soldier's body like a thousand razor sharp knives. He let out one last piteous shriek before finally dropping dead on the pavement before her. She glanced back at her master. He remained silent. The baboon helmet barred her from even determining his mood by way of facial expression.

"Come," he said taking his mistress's hand.

The five assassins moved soundlessly into their positions about the room, the female assassin and her little brother taking up residence in the air duct above. From this vantage point, the two could view the entire room and the people contained therein. In the very center of the room, there stood a large glass tube with cables branching off it on all sides. These cables ran their course away from the cylinder to the opposite side of the room where a staircase led up to a closed doorway. The doorway, the female assassin knew, was no ordinary entrance. This doorway was to be the very gateway into another world. She turned back to look at her brother. He was trembling.

"Look there, that's her," she said to him, pointing out the Captain of the Youkai Empire's esteemed Guard.

The 11-year-old boy peered down through the vent to see a dark haired woman dressed in a black uniform. The woman had a sharp, forbidding look to her face; the most hostile part of her appearance was her eyes. They seem to smolder a hellish red. How could this fearsome woman be on their side? He could not fathom it. He turned to his sister. She did not show even the slightest trace of fear. She was so calm in spite of the fact that there they were crouched in a duct above a room full of belligerent Youkai in the very heart of the Empire.

The truth was she was not at all calm. The future of the human race was resting on her shoulders and she was beginning to feel the weight. They had to be successful today. The Emperor had to die in order for mankind to continue its existence. But did their small little band really stand a chance? Her little brother's eyes shone with the fear she felt deep inside.

"Sister, do Youkai breathe fire and toxins like they say?"

"Sometimes. What's wrong? Are you scared?"

"No," he blurted out in indignation, "I never said I was scared!"

"You know it's ok to be scared. All of us are just a little afraid of fighting Youkai," she replied.

"Even you?"

"Yup, and not just me…Father and the others, too," she said reassuringly, "But we do not fight alone. We fight together side by side with our family and friends. No matter what happens I will always be at your side."

A/N: As you have probably noticed, I have omitted the characters' first names although I am sure you can figure out who is who. This, of course, will not be the case for further chapters. I just wanted to introduce anew the Inuyasha characters we know so well. I wanted to give them a bit of foreignness because although they are the same characters they live in a world completely different from the one we are used to seeing.