*Authors Notes*

I tried to be reasonably close to the original characters as I could while allowing the story to progress the way that I wanted; although the Inuyasha characters are very important to the plot, the main characters are the original "combo-platter" characters that my friends and I are able to transform into. I only watched the original Anime, never read the manga or saw the second Anime, so if some facts aren't as "straight" as some die hards would like, I apologize in advance. :)

Another note to make is that this upload is actually the most recent story that I wrote in this series (I foolishly copied over the previous stories to write my new ones to save space). :( I may upload the others later on, so if you get confused about some of the plot line, I apologize in advance, again. :)

I tend to write my stories more like a "script" than a story, so my formatting may seem wierd to some people.


Dream Quest:A Feudal Dream

After completing his journey in the Shadowlands, the young man called Matt gained the ability to transform into a creature of unspeakable power. As this creature, Brawn the Eternal Guardian, Matt continued to fight for justice on Earth. Brawn possessed the almost godly strength of 1.2 million men, extremely thick skin, and an all but indestructible adamantium skeleton. However, perhaps his greatest power of all, was the power to heal at speeds so fast, it seemed as if Matt wasn't injured at all! In addition, Matt was able to regenerate lost limbs with this ability. These were just the start of Brawn's power, however, as some of the powers could be used by Matt in his human state; some were in weaker states, but others, like the healing, were at full strength. Despite all of this power, it turned out that it was still possible for Matt to "mess with the wrong guy"...

Several years ago, while Matt was still Bowser McCloud, he'd managed to arrest a serial killer, Sampson Frost, who had been sentenced to 15 years in prison, after parole. This man held a serious grudge against Matt for his imprisonment. But, Matt had nothing to fear, since Frost didn't know how to find him; unfortunately, this wasn't the case. During their confrontation, Frost had shot Matt with a trackable bug, meant to kill its victim with a dose of cyanide. Unfortunately for Frost, the cyanide was neutralized by Matt's healing power. The bug itself, however, survived inside Matt's left arm for all of these years...

Upon his release, Frost used a tracking device on the bug in Matt's left arm, and traced him to his family's home. Frost waited patiently until no one was in the house, and planted several bombs within the house; each bomb was powerful enough to decimate the entire house by itself! After this was done, Frost waited patiently until Christmas Day, when everyone in Matt's family, who was able, convened at Matt's childhood home. After waiting for several minutes, Frost became sure that everyone who was coming was inside, then detonated the bombs!

The house exploded in a gigantic fireball; everything was completely annihilated. All the cars in the driveway, the trees in front yard, and all the people were vaporized in a flash! Everything, that is, except for Matt. From underneath the rubble, Matt emerged missing his left arm, and thus, missing the bug; this meant, that Frost could no longer track him. About the moment Matt's arm regenerated, he sighted Frost across the road, laughing manically. Frost:"You think that you're so high and mighty, stealing my freedom and joy. Well, 'hero', now the shoe is on the other foot! You stole my life, now I've stolen your's!" Unknown to Frost, the police were already on the way; a neighbor reported the disturbance.

With a single leap, Matt was across the street, pummeling Frost. Frost began to bleed profusely, as Matt had broken his nose. Just as Matt was about to deliver the death blow, something in his conscious stopped him. True, that most of his family and even a couple of friends had been killed, but Matt realized that they wouldn't approve of the murder. His code of ethics only served to strengthen this resolve. Frost:"Come on, big guy! Send me to Hell and I'll be seeing you!" Matt:"...No, Frost. I'm not like you. I'll let God be the one to send you to Hell. But, I do want to know one thing-why drag my family into this! They did nothing! It was me you wanted to kill, you soulless psychopath!" Frost just began to laugh evilly. Frost:"I'd say that it was you who brought them into this when you had me incarcerated!" Those words hit Matt like a kick to the nuts; he could endure his own pain with grace, but couldn't stand to see the sufferings of others, especially those he loved. He'd never expected to be found out, nor did he want to drag his family into harm's way; unfortunately, all of that changed in only a few seconds thanks to one disillusioned psycho!

A couple of minutes later, the police arrived to take Frost away for life. Cop:"Do you have any last things to say to this scum before we take him away, sir?" Matt:"You know, Frost, someday I might be able to forgive you. In the meantime, may God have mercy on that non-existent soul of your's. Get 'em outta here." After that, Matt went to the rubble that was once his childhood home. He dug his way to the garage and found a drainage pipe. He leaped down the tunnel to find that his "Super Truck" had escaped the blast completely unscathed. It was at that moment, that Matt developed a "Batman-Complex"-he swore to do all he could to prevent such tragedies as his own from happening to others across different worlds. Out of grief, Matt decided to travel from dimension to dimension, accomplishing this goal one dimension at a time.

Using the Super Truck's Dimensional Warp Capacity, Matt traveled to dimension 5, as he'd already saved Dimensions 2-4 from tyrants. After he'd programmed the Truck, he appeared in the 5th dimension about a minute later. He emerged from the Dimensional Warp in a huge, dense forest. With a push of a button on his key chain, the Truck went back to the underground bunker on Earth. With no other option, Matt began to wander through the forest. Matt began to use his sixth Soul Sense to track a near by soul, hoping it would lead him out of the forest and into civilization.

Matt wandered until he come upon the soul that he'd been tracking. He could see a village at the bottom of the hill he'd come to. As for the soul he'd been tracking, Matt got quite a surprise when he tried to talk to it... Suddenly, what Matt thought was a person, turned on him and took on an inhuman appearance! "Foolish mortal! I was going to devour that village below, but I'll start with you as an appetizer!" The demon that suddenly attacked had no idea what he was getting into. Matt quickly ducked and sent an iron uppercut back. The demon shrieked loudly with pain, attracting the attention of all the villagers below. After a few jabs, the demon was about to give up, but decided to make one last attack; a fatal mistake. Matt dodged the demon's strike and got it in a headlock. Then, with minimal effort, he snapped the demon's neck.

After he'd killed his assailant, Matt made is way down the mountain. At the same time, two people from the village came to investigate the demon's shrieks. The two people who went to investigate were a young couple of about twenty years old. This was no ordinary couple, though. The man was a legendary half-demon, named Inuyasha. The girl was his extreme love interest, called Kagome. Matt unknowingly warped into Inuyasha's dimension, except 5 years ahead of what he knew it to be. Unfortunately, Matt didn't know this, due to a mild amnesia brought on from the explosion. He'd retained knowledge of the other 4 dimensions because they were either his home or from the video games he'd played in his world. The rest were from Animes he watched in the past.

About an hour after they left, Inuyasha and Kagome found the demon that Matt killed. Inuyasha:"Well, this is the demon that got everybody's attention, but it's dead." Kagome:"Well, it doesn't look injured at all. What do you suppose killed it?" Inuyasha:"Well, it looks like someone or something broke its neck!" Kagome:"What? Are you sure?" Inuyasha:"Positive. But, most demons are pretty hard to kill. Anything that can break a demon's neck while it's in perfect condition has to be strong." Overhead, a full moon started to form. Kagome:"Hey, Inuyasha. It getting dark, so let's camp here for the night." Inuyasha was about to make a comment about how weak humans were compared to demons, but his heart melted as soon as he looked at her to speak. So, he agreed.

Meanwhile, Matt was able to get down the mountain after only half an hour. In another 15 minutes, he was in the village. He was getting a lot of stares, because he was dressed in only half a pair of jeans, while the villagers were all dressed in old fashioned, Japanese kimonos. The villagers didn't treat him harshly, but rather with bewilderment. So, Matt was directed to the village priestess. When he entered the cabin, she introduced herself as Lady Kaede. Upon hearing the name, Matt's memories of one of his favorite animes came back to him in a flood, returning all of his knowledge!

Matt did, however, play it off as if he didn't have an in depth knowledge of the world. Matt:"Wait! I've heard of you! While I was traveling towards this area I'd heard about one Lady Kaede and the legendary company she kept!" Kaede:"It seems that word has traveled rather quickly. This 'company' has only been around for but a few years!" From there, Matt stayed with Kaede, listening to her tales of Inuyasha's past exploits. He stayed and listened for about three hours. When Matt finally left Kaede's home, the full moon was out and the village was starting to shut down for the night.

After he left Kaede's place, Matt heard the distant cry of a wolf. At first, he thought nothing of it, until he heard two, three, then fifty wolves. Matt figured that forests were common places for wolves, but Kaede threw that theory right out the window; Kaede:"That's odd. Wolves haven't been seen around these parts for more than forty years." That's when Matt's Soul Sense kicked in. Matt:"Those aren't ordinary wolves!" With this statement, Matt started to run towards the forest at top speed. Kaede shouted after him, "What are you talking about!" Matt's distant reply was, "No time to explain, but anybody that's still in those woods is going to be in really deep trouble in only a matter of moments!" As soon as Matt was out of eye sight of the village, he transformed into Brawn and flew towards the forest.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha and Kagome had heard the wolf calls, but didn't think anything of them. After all, Inuyasha was more than powerful enough to handle an ordinary wolf. Unfortunately, these wolves weren't all that ordinary...the wolves that were currently on the prowl were werewolves, a previously unheard of creature in Inuyasha's world. The wolves had been following the scent of the demon that Matt had killed; Inuyasha and Kagome were cooking the dead demon, as its meat was considered a delicacy. Doing this, however, turned out to be a horrendous mistake!

Suddenly, a werewolf came into the clearing where Inuyasha and Kagome were camped up at. Inuyasha:"What the...?" Werewolf:"Mmmmm...fresh meat! We were going to eat that demon that you're cooking, but we prefer live prey above all and women taste the best! You're first, young lady!" Inuyasha:"Over my dead body!" Werewolf Army:"Excellent suggestion!" Inuyasha growled with immense irritation as he saw the remaining 49 wolves of the army come closer!

Inuyasha was powerful enough to take out three werewolves in a single stroke, but the wolves were much faster than even he was! Inuyasha unsheathed Tetsusaiga and attacked the werewolves. He slashed a bunch with a single swipe, killing them. However, as soon as he did, the others jumped him, slashing and crunching down repeatedly. Inuyasha was eventually thrown backwards with a multitude of wounds, easily enough to kill a human, but nothing for a half-demon like him.

Kagome shouted with worry. This only strengthened the wolves's hunger, and they dove right for her! Kagome tried to resist, firing Sacred Arrows at the wolves that attacked her. Unfortunately, even her spiritual arrows were useless against the werewolves! The only thing the arrows did was anger them, which resulted in them almost totally mutilating Kagome! Inuyasha:"KAGOME! Get offa her, you sons of bitches!" He slashed those four with fury, only to find that Kagome was bleeding all over and her clothes had been ripped to shreds!

Inuyasha was also bleeding at a fast rate, but his demonic powers enabled him to heal faster than normal humans. However, even this faster healing would eventually fail him in his fight with the 43 werewolves that remained! Inuyasha unleashed the Windscar, which was successful in killing 13 werewolves, but the other thirty were only mildly harmed. Inuyasha:"[Inner] Dammit! These are the toughest demons I've ever seen!" Inuyasha immediately took another terrible pummeling, so bad that even he could barely stand! He sheathed Tetsusaiga and started to shield Kagome's body with his own. Inuyasha:"[Coughs up blood] You want her...[cough] you'll have to get though me first!" The first five that charged were each killed with an Iron Reaver Soul Stealer, but the other 25 soon overwhelmed the mighty half-demon! All Inuyasha could do was shield Kagome's body; he was receiving almost countless wounds and was almost about to faint! Suddenly, everyone heard a battle cry coming from above them, and the wolves saw the massive body of Brawn falling from the sky. Matt crashed into the battlefield just in time, and was even able to smash a few of the werewolves when he landed!

Matt swatted the wolves away with a single swing. Due to the dark, and blood flowing into his eyes, all that Inuyasha could see of Matt's massive black body were the 4 glowing, golden eyes. Matt:"Can you move!" Inuyasha struggled to his feet, pushing himself to his limits. Inuyasha:"Y...yes." Matt:"Then get to the village below as fast as you're able! You'll be safer there!" Inuyasha picked up Kagome and ran as fast as his maimed body would let him, his only fuel love and adrenaline. A werewolf took off in pursuit, but Matt caught him using his Dragon Chains. Matt:"NO YOU DON'T!" As soon as he'd yanked the wolf back into the clear, Matt snapped the creature's neck with his four mighty arms! Inuyasha:"Hang in there, Kagome! I'll get you some help!" Kagome was still barely conscious; Kagome:"In...u...ya...sha..." This feeble word was followed by a cough of blood and she fell unconscious. At this horrifying sight, Inuyasha pushed himself even harder, and gave a colossal leap with all the strength he had left. He landed in front of Kaede's home and barged in. Upon doing so, he fainted from exhaustion, weakness, and loss of blood. Kaede:"Good Heavens! Get some bandages and medicine, now!"

Throughout Inuyasha's desperate journey, Matt stayed behind to battle with the werewolves. Werewolf:"I don't think you realize who you're dealing with, muscle-head! Werewolves can breed extremely fast; we're the spawn of Nathaniel Arkady, the most powerful werewolf ever born, second only to our uncle, William Arkady. Combined, the 50 of us were as strong as our father! You don't stand a chance!" Matt:"Nathaniel? Hahahahahaha! And when did Nathaniel have time to breed between all the people he killed! Oh, by the way, did your uncle ever tell you the name of the 'Hunter' who was able to defeat your dad?"

The werewolf children were stunned to meet a monster who knew of their father; "'Hero'," they answered Matt. Matt:"Your's truly!" Army:"YOU'RE 'HERO'! KILL HIM!" Matt knew that he'd done part of his job; by infuriating the enemy, they get sloppy, and Matt struck a big nerve in Nathaniel's cubs! With that, he extended his Adamantium Mace and prepared for battle! Just as when they'd bum-rushed Inuyasha, the first few werewolves were killed in a single slash, but the twenty that were left dog-piled on Matt's back. The wolves were slashing and biting the huge hero, shedding pints upon pints of Matt's black blood. Matt:"Urrgghhha!" With a titanic flex of his four arms, Matt sent the werewolves flying off of his body with bone-shattering force. The two wolves that remained attached were immediately stabbed and decapitated. As the other wolves were getting up, Matt fired a blast of Blood Fortress Blades, slicing through 15 werewolves. The remaining three started to run in the direction of the village while Matt paused to check if the rest were dead. After a short pause, Matt flew off at 300 mph in pursuit.

The wolves were following the scent of Inuyasha and Kagome's blood. Matt was easily able to catch up with the slowest of the wolves, and killed it before it knew what hit him. The last two were the alphas of the pack, and were capable of running at the speed of sound! Fortunately, they were taking the long winding mountain road; they couldn't pick up Inuyasha's scent after he made his desperate leap to the village, so the wolves had to use the scent trail left behind from when the twosome initially came up the mountain. Matt, on the other hand, was able to fly straight back to the village.

Despite the enormous speed disadvantage, Matt was able to reach the village at almost the same time as the werewolves! The villagers were stunned at the sight of the wolves. Werewolves:"Where is that mutt and the girl!" The villagers along with Kaede, grabbed bows and arrows and started to fire away. Unfortunately, the werewolves weren't harmed in the least, even from Kaede's Sacred Arrows. Werewolf:"You stupid mortals! Your old fashioned weapons can't hurt us!" One of the werewolves spotted Kaede, and shot over to her. He was so fast that he had her around the throat before she even knew it! Werewolf:"Mmm...even better tasting than a lady is a priest or priestess! Any last words?"

Before the werewolf could crunch down on Kaede's skull, a Dragon Chain crunched down on the wolf's wrist, forcing it to let go of Kaede. Then, with a heave, the Chain sent the werewolf stumbling backwards. Matt landed and put up his right arms in front of Kaede as a shield. Matt:"They might not be able to hurt you, but I can!" The werewolves growled with rage. The younger alpha charged at Matt, but he was ready. Matt gave a right and left hook with his upper arms, followed by a double-uppercut with his lower arms. Before Matt used his right arms to finish the wolf, he extended his Mace; he pierced the wolf's heart and head.

As a result, the werewolf went flying away several feet, dead. His brother charged at the speed of sound and slashed Matt several times. The final slash sent Matt sailing into the village quite a ways. With its enhanced senses, the werewolf was able to track the smell of blood emanating from Kaede's home. The wolf peeked his head into the house and smiled with sadistic glee. However, before he could enter, Matt flew back and tackled the werewolf, with his Mace extended; thus, Matt pierced the werewolf in four different places. After that, Matt flew the werewolf out of the village and crashed to the ground, pinning the werewolf. Matt:"For the record, it was the warden Degenhardt that killed your father. Your father repented and had his sins absolved when he tried to help us defeat the warden. I wouldn't be surprised if he's in Heaven. I don't know where you'll be going, but, if you happen to see him, give Nathaniel my best regards..." With that, Matt finished the werewolf off by stabbing it in the head, then twisting the Mace for good measure. The supernatural threat of the werewolves was now over.

Matt sheathed his Mace, then walked back into the village. The villagers still didn't know what Matt's motives were, but they were put at ease somewhat when he asked if they were all safe. Matt:"Lady Kaede, are the half-demon and his girlfriend in your home?" Kaede:"Yes. However, I fear the worst. Inuyasha is a half-demon, so he will recover from his wounds, given time. But, Kagome is wounded beyond help. I'm amazed she's lasted as long as she has. She has until morning at best, without a miracle...Inuyasha will be absolutely devastated with the news of Kagome's death. How sad..."

Matt:"Just call me a miracle worker..." So, Matt entered Kaede's home. Inside, he found the two lovebirds, wrapped up almost like mummies. They were unconscious, but Inuyasha was muttering in his sleep and clutching Kagome closely to him. Inuyasha:"Kagome, you were the best thing that ever happened to me! And now...now you're gone!" The mere sight of the twosome pulled at Matt's "heart-strings", but that took the cake! Lady Kaede wandered in. Matt:"Kaede, you might not want to see this. Their wounds are quite horrendous, and I can cure them, but you might not like the cure..." Kaede nodded and left. Matt used his lower arms to grab the opposite upper arm in a muscular part. Matt:"[Inner] Ok. 1...2... [Audible] Threeeee..aaaahhhhh!" Matt ripped off a portion of his arm, including an artery, causing blood to spurt all over the unconscious bodies. The clumps of flesh in Matt's hands turn to flames and his wounds healed in a couple of seconds.

Matt emerged from Kaede's home about a minute later. Kaede:"Well?" Matt:"Kagome is a strong girl; she would've held on to the bitter end as long as Inuyasha was with her. Nobody has to worry; they'll both be 100% when they wake up." Kaede:"Shall I tell them who saved them?" Matt:"I'm sure I'll see them again very soon. But, in the meantime, just tell them that Brawn the Eternal Guardian has removed the demonic wolves from the woods." With that, Matt flew off. Little did he know, though, this was just the beginning of his travels with Inuyasha and Kagome!

Very soon after Matt left the village, he used his key chain to summon the Super Truck, and returned to Dimension 1 for an extremely brief period of time. After Matt retrieved a complete set of clothing, his only objective, he returned to the Super Truck and warped back to Dimension 5.

The next morning, in Kaede's hut, Inuyasha woke with a start. Inuyasha:"KAGOME!" He looked around, sweating a cold sweat and breathing heavily. That's when he saw the virtual mummy lying next to him. With a loud gasp, he shook her unconscious body. After a little while, she opened her eyes with a slight moan. Kagome:"Hey...Inuyasha. Why am I all bandaged up?" It turned out that, despite the healing that Matt gave the two of them, Kagome still suffered from short term memory loss. Inuyasha had hoped he wouldn't have to tell her about what had happened the previous night, but he also felt that keeping it a secret wouldn't be best either. Inuyasha:"Well...we were attacked by several demons...that resembled wolves. Tougher than anything we've ever seen before. Before I was able to defeat them all...you were...nearly mauled to death. I...couldn't protect you, Kagome..." With that, he turned away from her in shame, then added, "I'm sorry."

Just then, Kaede walked in. Kaede:"I see that you two are awake and the miracle worker's trick worked." Kagome:"Miracle worker?" Kaede:"Yes. He was a massive black creature, with four golden eyes, and seemed to have a way to cure any wound, no matter how horrible. Both of you were near death; after he did what he needed, he left my home, said that the two of you would both by 100% when you woke up, and flew away." Kagome:"Who was this guy?" Kaede:"He called himself Brawn the Eternal Guardian. He said that he was sure the three of you would meet again soon, and that the woods were now safe. And, on a less catastrophic note, we've managed to sew a great deal of your clothing back together, Kagome."

Now that she was somewhat reassured that she wouldn't have to tell her family about this, Kagome went about her normal business and changed into her usual clothes. Kagome:"Come on, Inuyasha. We should probably go get the things that we left behind last night." Inuyasha:"Do you actually think that we can trust this 'Brawn' thing?" Kagome:"Well, I can't really explain it, but I have this odd feeling that we can. I mean, why would a complete stranger risk his life to protect us?" Inuyasha:"I...suppose you're right. I just don't want to have a repeat performance of last night."

With that they were off, taking the mountain road to their camping site. On the way up the mountain, Kagome noticed that Inuyasha was unusually tense; Inuyasha had been planning something for quite sometime, and decided that this was the best time to act on it. Soon, the twosome came to the campsite they'd set up the previous night. That's when Inuyasha placed his hands firmly on Kagome's shoulders and looked at her eyes. Inuyasha:"Kagome...there's...something I need to say." Kagome looked back at him curiously. Inuyasha:"Kagome, I realize that we've been through a lot together. But, there've been times when I couldn't protect you, and there've been times I've let you down. And, I know that I may never be able to completely forget about Kikyo, but..." Kagome started to cry, because she had an idea of what Inuyasha was getting at. Inuyasha:"...last night made me realize just how much I need you. What I'm trying to say is, I truly love you, Kagome. Will...you...marry me?" She immediately jumped at him and hugged him tightly. Kagome:"Yes! Yes, I will!" Inuyasha smiled widely. Inuyasha:"Thank you, Kagome. Thank you for being here with me..." The two of them stood, frozen in that hugging position, for a long time afterwards.

At about the same time, Matt returned from Dimension 1 and transformed. Matt happened to look at his hand and noticed that his Dragon's Soul, which usually was just a red seal on his gloves, had disappeared! Instead, his entire glove turned red, and Matt noticed a familiar golden glow around his body. To finish, his eyes changed from gold to green. His Dragon's Soul had changed into an aura of golden light around his body, which also surrounded his Mace and Dragon Chains. Simply put, his Chains could now be used to shield others; Matt's powers had evolved once again, peaking out at last! Matt:"[Inner] Hey! I almost forgot what it was like to have an aura around me. Now I don't need any external light to see. Hmm..." Up ahead, his Soul Sense picked up Inuyasha and Kagome, in addition to several other souls heading in their direction! Matt:"[Inner] Great...more trouble. At least Inuyasha can handle just about all of those things on his own." So, Matt went flying off at 300 mph in their direction.

Suddenly, Inuyasha and Kagome's passionate moment was spoiled by the arrival of 100 demons! Inuyasha:"Damn you bastards! You never give up! Windscar!" The blast did what it was designed to do; destroy 100 demons in a single stroke. However, one of them survived. This demon's skin was as hard as Osmium, the hardest known metal to Inuyasha's world! Demon:"Nice try, half-breed, but you can't kill me with such as weak attack!" Inuyasha powered up Tetsusaiga to the Dragon-Scale state, the strongest of all. Again, he unleashed the Windscar; at the same time, Kagome fired a Sacred Arrow at the demon. The concussive combination hit the Osmium Demon with explosive results. Unfortunately, when the smoke cleared, the demon remained, suffering only a deep gash! Demon:"I told you already, half-breed! That attack actually made be stagger, but it was barely enough to penetrate my Osmium-hard skin! Prepare t..." The demon was stopped short; quick as flash, Matt appeared and sliced the demon in half!"

Matt:"Osmium you may be, but adamantium am I!" Matt was standing in a shaded part of the woods, but the light his aura was giving off lit up his features for them to see. Inuyasha:"Now what!" Matt:"Relax. We're on the same side. On another note, it seems the 'Blood Trick' worked, as always." Kagome:"[Inner] Huh! What was that thing Kaede told us about? 'He was a massive black creature with four golden eyes.' Well, he has four eyes, but they're green, and Kaede didn't tell us the thing had an aura of light surrounding its body... [Audible] You...wouldn't happen to the this 'Brawn' creature that Kaede told us about, would you?" Matt:"So, Kaede already told you about what happened last night, did she? Well, to answer your question, yes, I am Brawn the Eternal Guardian." He stepped out of the shade and reached out his lower right arm to Kagome, and his upper right arm to Inuyasha. Matt:"It's an honor to finally make the acquaintance of Kaede's 'legendary company'."

Inuyasha immediately turned away with his arms crossed, refusing the hand shake; this came as little surprise to Matt. As for Kagome, she seemed to trust him a bit more than her boyfriend, but she also appeared to be trembling in fear. Matt:"[Inner] Hmm? Why is she so afraid? Hunting demons is life in this place. Perhaps it isn't fear, but reluctance; I don't look even remotely human in this form..." So, Matt shut his eyes, and a short, golden flash forced Kagome to shut her eyes. Matt:"There..." Both Kagome and Inuyasha were shocked to hear a different voice, and immediately looked back at him. Matt:"...perhaps I am less overwhelming now?"

Kagome:"You're...a half-demon?" Matt:"Yeah, 2/7 to be exact." Inuyasha:"How is it even possible to be 2/7 demon!" Matt:"You wouldn't believe my genetics, even if I told you. In the meantime, just please refer to me by my human name, 'Matt'. I almost hate it when people call me 'Brawn', even when I'm in my transformed state." He re-extended his right hand. Inuyasha still refused to shake it, but this time, Kagome shook it with no visible reluctance. Inuyasha:"So, 'Matt', what's so strange about your genetics?" Matt:"Hahahahaha...well, you asked for it. I'm 1 part Dragon, 2 parts alien, 2 parts demon, 1 part enhanced human, and 1 part normal human."

Inuyasha & Kagome:"How...?" Matt:"Did I get all that DNA? Well, I'm not sure why, but I was chosen by God to defend the Earth. So, he gave me the powers of a Dragon, and my powers continued to evolve, until the rest of the DNA came together. My powers have finally reached their peak: Brawn the Eternal Guardian. But, enough about me. How are you two holding up? The last I saw of you, both of you were nearly werewolf chow." Kagome:"Well, we're..." Inuyasha:"We're doing just fine, 'Mr. Guardian', so just back off and leave us alone! And what the hell do you mean by 'werewolf'!" Matt:"I'm in no way, shape, or form trying to steal her from you, Inuyasha, so you can stop being so overprotective. As for those wolves, I can't really explain how they came to your world. Perhaps, a dimensional gate was somehow opened from the Shadowlands when I came to your dimension. If that's the case, then all I can really say is 'sorry'. But, what I'm more worried about, if is werewolves managed to come through a dimensional gate, more supernatural threats could follow..."

Inuyasha:"Heh. I can take care of myself and Kagome just fine without any help from you!" For the first time in his life, Matt felt forced to be a devil's advocate; Matt:"Oh, you mean like you handled those wolves? Look, Inuyasha, you may be phenomenally strong, and you did take out your fair share of the werewolves, but if more were to come through a dimensional gate, you will die! Only a Hunter, someone who was given the power to vanquish the undead, like Brawn, is able to take on endless hordes of monsters! For a non-Hunter, taking out 1 werewolf is an accomplishment; but you killed 25, something even true Hunters have a hard time doing. For that, I commend you. But, whether you like it or not, if more than 20 or so of any other monster besides a demon shows up, odds are that you'll be in real trouble. You saw for yourself, probably, even Sacred Arrows couldn't stop those things! It might be different for others, but assuming more did come, and they had the same immunity, only another demon would be able to help you and I don't think that too many demons care much for human life around here! All I'm trying to say is, it might be beneficial for everyone if you let me come with you, at least until we can all be sure no more undead threats can come through any dimensional gates."

Inuyasha started to growl, both out of annoyance and because he knew that Matt was right. Regardless, he replied, "Heh! I don't take in strays!" Kagome:"Listen, Inuyasha. You know I'm on your side, right?" Inuyasha:"Of course I do." Kagome:"Well, I think that we should let him come with us, at least for a while. Besides, we agreed to meet Miroku and Sango in the next village over a while back. The forest near it is pitch black, even during the day. If for no other reason, his aura can light our way." Inuyasha:"...Fine. But this doesn't mean that I trust him. Come on, let's get back to the village." With that, they were off. Matt, on the other hand, stood back, not wanting to be where he wasn't wanted. Inuyasha:"Well, you coming or not, Matt?" Matt's face turned to big smile, and he quickly caught up to the twosome.

Once the group of two became a group of three, Kagome suggested that the three of them got to know each other a little better. Although somewhat reluctantly, Inuyasha was the first to speak; Inuyasha:"So, Matt, what family do you have? The only real family I have is my mother, but she died a long time ago. I've got a half-brother, but I don't see him much. Course, that's because we both sorta hate each other's guts." Kagome:"Yeah, get them in the same room, and the fists start flying!" Matt:"Hahahaha. Yeah, I used to have that kind of relationship with some of my relatives, but it was all in jest. Now, though, I can't see any of them anymore..." Kagome:"What do you mean?" Matt:"Well...I suppose I should tell someone, to get it off of my chest, before I implode. A serial killer murdered my entire family to get back at me for arresting him more than 15 years ago. Back in my dimension, it's Christmas time, so everyone was in my childhood home for the celebration. He planted bombs around the house and blew it to smithereens, along with everyone inside. Because of my Healing Factor, I alone survived, with only a lost left arm to show for it. Soon after, my arm regenerated and I almost killed that bastard with my bare hands; he was waiting across the street for me, as if he wanted me to kill him. But, my conscience stopped me. So, after that, I came here, in an effort to sooth my soul and to try to make sure that what happened to me didn't happen to anybody else. Soon after I arrived, I was attacked by a demon. I tried to let it live, but it persisted, so I was forced to kill it. Later, I reached your village and was taken to Kaede, who told me about you two and your past exploits. A few hours later, the werewolves attacked...and you both already know the rest..."

Inuyasha & Kagome:"That's a terrible story! [Kagome] Not that I'm not glad, but how did you know we were in trouble?" Matt:"Unlike most things, I have six senses. The five that everything has plus the power to sense souls. With it, I was able to sense your plight, so I rushed to the rescue. [Sighs] My Healing Factor doesn't heal emotional wounds, but perhaps I'll be able to find some peace here..." So, the threesome walked back to the village together; all the while, Inuyasha and Kagome were holding hands and smiling. Matt pretended not to notice, but thought, "That's one pair of lovebirds that deserves to be together!" With the first official meeting out of the way, all that remained for Inuyasha, Kagome, and Matt were the journeys ahead!


*Author's Note*

In case anybody didn't know, Nathanial Arkady is from the "Hunter the Reckoning" video game, released for Gamecube and X-Box.