disclaimer: we don't own any of the characters used in this story...unfortunatly.
Chapter 1: The portals
The Feudal Era
"SIT, BOY!!!! SIT!! SIT!! SIT!!!" Kagome bellowed at the silver-haired hanyou lying face-down at her feet. Her cheeks glowed a furious red, her hands fisted by her sides. Inuyasha attempted to protest, but his words were muffled by the large clump of grass in his mouth. Kagome stomped over to her bicycle and, grabbing it in one furious swing she mounted it. Pushing down on the peddles she rode swiftly down the road, her black, silky hair flowing behind her.
"You deserved it this time Inuyasha." Miroku, lifting rice to his mouth, said without even looking at him. Inuyasha's furious face lifted from the ground. "What did I do this time Monk?! All I said was that her cooking abilities had disintegrated!! I was only telling the truth!!"
"Exactly. You know Kagome tries very hard. And the food wasn't that bad." Sango reasoned from her position under the cherry blossom tree.
"You should go after her." Shippo stated while sucking on a lollypop. Inuyasha opened his mouth to protest, but realising it was his fault, he pushed himself up and followed her, grumbling under his breath. The last thing they heard from him was; "Stupid wench. Who does she think she is?!"
"Milord!! Wait for us!!" Lord Sesshomaru continued walking, his silver hair billowing majestically behind him. Suddenly he stopped, and lifted his head as if listening to something only he could catch. He felt a small bump at the bottom of his leg, followed by the consistent ramblings of Yaken. "Lord! I am so sorry! Please forgive my stupidity!! It's just that you stopped so abruptly! Oh, I mean….you stopped perfectly... I just wasn't paying a-" he was cut off by Sesshomaru's slightly irritated voice. "Yaken." Yaken could hear the underlining threat and shut up immediately.
The wind picked up drastically. Sesshomaru's head whipped up. "Hmm… something has happened." He muttered under his breath. "Yaken, stay here and look after Rin." He said, raising his voice. "Where are you going Master Sesshomaru?" Rin asked.
"I just have to take care of something." Sesshomaru answered, already walking away, his face its usual impassive mask. "But Milord-" Yaken protested, but was silenced by a look. Lord Sesshomaru continued walking, his form slowly enveloped by the forest.
Koga stood in his usual position, legs apart and hands on hips. He glared down at Hakaku and Ginta who had just fallen asleep on watch duty. Suddenly he caught the sent of Kagome and rushed towards it. Kagome looked up from her position on the ground to see a whirlwind quickly approaching. Koga immediately stopped running and stood in front of her. "Kagome, what's wrong? Don't tell me that stupid Mutt-face insulted you again!" Kagome nodded and stared down at her legs crossed beneath her.
Koga, noticing her distress, took the chance to comfort her without the annoyance of the stupid half-demon. He sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Kagome, I don't know what you see in him, he's inconsiderate of your feelings, arrogant, selfish, STUPID and ignorant of your…talents." Taking her hand in his free one, he looked deep into her eyes and said pleadingly; "Kagome, leave Inuyasha and come with me, the real man in this situation." Kagome looked at him stunned, but made no move to disentangle her fingers from his grip. "Koga, I err…..don't know what to say…but-"
"KOGA!!! I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR FUCKING ASS FROM HERE TO KAGOME'S TIME!!! PUT HER DOWN AND FACE ME LIKE THE MAN YOU SAID YOU WERE!!!!" Inuyasha stood towering above them both, his face contorted with anger and Tetsusaiga held high above his head. "Kagome, get out the way." Was the last thing he said before he lowered the Tetsusaiga.
Final Fantasy
Madain Sari
Zidane looked down from the cliff overlooking the large galleon that, after months of preparation, was finally finished. Sighing he thought back to the last time he had been with his friends. It was a tough ten months since the moment he fought Kuja at the Lifa Tree. The last moment he had been with Garnet. For him it was a tough choice. Caught between the decisions of going with the woman he loves, with the new friends he had found, or do the heroic thing and save his brother.
In the end he chose his brother. Although Kuja committed a life time of evil acts, he was merely a pawn in Garland's cruel game. Garland's Angel Of Death.
Kuja, although showing no emotions whatsoever, used his last bit of energy in an attempt to save Zidane, transporting him to the cold, desolate lands of the formidable continent. Here he was left for a life of solitude.
This was where he ended up. At the Black Mage Village. He asked for help, describing his story and they, already in his dept, agreed to help him. They provided him with a ship to fly him back to Alexandria. But the materials they needed took awhile to acquire, and to give the ship its power to fly without mist was their hardest mission yet. The only other person who was able to do this was Regent Cid who built the Hilde Garde. But right now he wasn't accessible.
Zidane sighed again and asked the nearest Black Mage; "How long until it's finished?" "Another day I think." He replied. Zidane rolled his eyes. Sitting down, he placed his chin upon his palm, his tail swishing behind him. He resigned himself to waiting it out for a few more days.
Alexandria
Garnet looked anxiously out her window as if she was expecting Zidane to appear, even though she knew he was a whole other continent away. Beatrix and Steiner had both tried to persuade her that Zidane wasn't coming back, that there was no possibility that he could return. But she stayed strong in her hope that one day he'd return. He promised he would. And she held that promise close to her heart.
A knock interrupted her from her reminiscence and she whispered for them to enter, just audible enough for them to her. Vivi entered the room looking nervous at disturbing her.
Vivi over the last few months had become Garnets closest friend. Both of them never gave up hope for Zidane's return. "Is… is everything ok?" Vivi asked. Garnet smiled. Vivi had always been checking up on her, to make sure she was ok. "Yes… Vivi… I'm fine." He walked over to her and embraced her. His large yellow eyes never glowed as brightly anymore since the moment Zidane left them. "Everything will be ok Vivi… I promise." Together they stared out the window… waiting…
Midgar
Cloud woke sweating, his hair plastered to his face. For the past week he'd been having these recurring dreams of a silver- haired demon with immense power, but who was missing a left arm. There was another man, another demon with silver hair. To Cloud, they resembled brothers though one was clad completely in red while the other white. The second demon had dog-ears sitting on top of his head, both had golden eyes. Continuously these men fought, trying to defeat the other. But the first brother, who looked older and seemed more powerful, always tended to have the upper hand, and for the most part left the battle unscathed, while the other demon came out with slightly more serious wounds. What did these dreams mean? Why did they keep occurring?
Cloud got out of bed, letting his body cool down. After a few painstakingly slow minutes of trying to get back to sleep he decided to abort the idea. Getting dressed he grabbed his Booster Sword and left the room. The night was cold and had an ominous feeling about it. He knew something was going to happen. Something connected to those dreams. But what? And when?
Somewhere
Sephiroth awoke, the feeling of life coursing through his veins. "What?" He said confusedly, his voice hoarse. He looked up but saw nothing but darkness. He moved his hand towards his face, looking at it for awhile, then smiled "It's time again." he muttered under his breath.
Everywhere
Zidane opened his eyes. He wasn't sure what had awoken him, but he sure as hell was going to find out. He climbed out of bed, remembering that earlier that day the Galleon had finally been finished. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a purple glow illuminating the room. He turned towards it slowly, not knowing what to expect. "What the f-" he started, but was cut off when the portal started pulsing. Zidane started walking cautiously towards it, grabbing his clothes and weapons at the same time. Suddenly he felt a pull, and before he new what was happening he felt himself being hurled into the strange glowing light.
Garnet turned her head as she heard the distinctive steps of Freya approaching. She got up to meet her at the door, but as she walked towards it, she noticed something peculiar. In front of her lay a pulsing purple portal. "Err…that wasn't there before." Garnet began to back away, but found that she was slightly incapacitated. She was being slowly dragged towards the light. "Princess!" Vivi yelled, running towards her, a spell already forming in his hand. But before he had a chance to cast it, he himself was flung into the portal after her. A few minutes later the door opened, a befuddled looking Freya standing at the doorway. "Where'd everybody go?!"
Cloud continued walking until he saw a dark figure merging in front of him. "Vincent." "Do you feel it?" Vincent asked him softly. Cloud opened his mouth to reply, but turned quickly at the sound of footsteps resounding around them. Tifa, Cid and Red XIII where running towards them. "Cloud! Vincent! Look out! Behind you!" They turned around again to see a purple portal emitting a strange light. Suddenly the three behind them were flung into the air, and sent crashing into the two in front. "AAGGHH!!" Tifa yelled. "WHAT THE FUCK!" Bellowed Cid. "…." Was all Vincent thought. "Huh?" Cloud muttered, choosing not to raise his voice, having already had the experience with Cid right next to him. They all disappeared from sight as the portal closed.
The darkness surrounding Sephiroth dissipated as a purple glow illuminated the area, whatever it was. Sephiroth thought about going through, but as he had nothing better to do, he stepped smoothly into the entrance, and laughed manically to himself as he felt his body travel through the portal.
