I am now actively in the process of revising this story. True, this story isn't even halfway complete. But I didn't like how some of my earlier chapters played out, and I especially didn't like the OOC of some of my characters. Therefore, before I get too much farther into this story I am going to go back and do some seriously revising on most of these chapters. Adding scenes, deleting scenes, tweaking scenes, it's all going to happen. I will still try and update this story even while revising as I know how I'm going to change things around in these earlier chapters, but we'll see how it goes.
And for those who are new to this story, I continue to go by what I said with the first posting of this chapter, and that is:
This will NOT be a Kag/Legolas story. No no no. That is evil. In my eyes Legolas will always be single. No one can change that for me. So please read my story, but realize that it will in no shape or form ever come to be a Kagome/Legolas story. There are plenty of other Kag/Legs stories out there to read if you want one. Mine will not be one. Legolas shall forever be a bachelor. It makes me happy that way. And a happy me is a…well…a happy me.
And while I'm at it I'll put in my disclaimer now:
I in no shape or form own anything from Lord of the Rings or Inuyasha. The LOTR movie verse belongs to Peter Jackson and Co. The characters, plots, and worlds of LOTR belong to JRR Tolkien. And the Inuyasha universe belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.
Ok, now that I got both of those out of the way let's get on to the story. Ladies and gentlmen, I bring you:
When Worlds CollideChapter 1: Mishap in Fangorn
"Do not let him speak, he will put a spell on us," Aragorn quietly said to his two companions while grabbing the hilt of his sword.
Legolas glanced at his friend to let him know he understood. In fact, all of Fangorn Forest seemed to understand. The entirety of the forest was eerily quiet; if a pin dropped it would have been heard. Legolas shifted his weight uneasily. Something bad is about to happen. I can feel it. But Legolas quickly shook off his uneasiness, grabbed an arrow, and with deft fingers fitted it onto his bow. He brushed his fingers over the feathers nervously, oddly soothed by the familiar feel of his arrow. He awaited the signal from Aragorn to attack.
Gimli was all too happy to grab one of his throwing axes. Let him come! No wizard shall get the best of this dwarf! Especially one as evil as Saruman.
When Aragorn saw both of his friends were ready to attack he looked back at them one more time. "We must be quick," he said softly before barely nodding his head. As one the three companions turned to confront the wizard. Legolas quickly let his arrow fly at the white wizard in front of them. He was dismayed to see the arrow easily deflected. The same happened to Gimli's axe. Aragorn's sword turned red with heat and he was about to drop it when the figure suddenly glowed brighter. A lightheaded feeling overtook Aragorn and he lowered his sword with a dazed expression on his face. He saw both Legolas and Gimli looking as confused as he felt. All three were taken by surprise when the forest started shifting around them.
Legolas was completely baffled. Never in his long life had he seen something as odd as what was now occurring. The world was swirling around him in a mass of green, blue, and yellow. He could no longer tell where he was. It would make sense he would still be in Fangorn Forest, but after witnessing something like this he wouldn't be surprised if they suddenly appeared in front of the Black Gate surrounded by orcs. He moved closer to Aragorn and soon Gimli joined them.
"What is this?" Gimli asked, voicing the question that was on all of their minds. He looked at Legolas expectantly; figuring that if anyone knew it would be the elf.
Legolas shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "I do not know. I have never heard of or witnessed anything like this."
"Well let us wait it out. It must be one of Saruman's spells," Aragorn replied, looking around for an escape. He didn't find one, but was taken aback when he saw darkness overtaking the swirling mass of colors. Aragorn promptly grabbed both Legolas's and Gimli's shoulders.
"Aragorn what is the matter?" asked Gimli nervously. Under any normal circumstances he would not have been nervous. But he figured if both Aragorn and Legolas looked worried than it would be a good indication to be worried as well.
"I do not know. But darkness is coming. I do not wish to lose my friends in the black void."
Legolas promptly looked around and saw what Aragorn was talking about. His eyes widened in astonishment when he saw the blackness creeping ever closer. He followed Aragorn's lead and grabbed his friend's shoulders. Gimli followed suit and soon the three friends were standing in a circle, waiting for the darkness to envelope them.
Gandalf let the glow from his body die down, prepared to surprise his friends with his appearance. His face fell when he saw no one standing in front of him.
"Aragorn? Legolas? Gimli? Where are you? Come out now, it is safe. Is anyone out there?"
Gandalf grew a little worried when he heard no response. He went back into his mind, trying to remember what spell he used to create the shining shield around his body. He was positive it was harmless being as it was a defensive spell. And he had never had a problem with people disappearing before. Something is most definitely wrong here. There is no reason why they should have disappeared. And they would not have run off. So all logical reasoning leads back to they should be in front of me right now. Which they aren't. Someone had to have interfered with my spell. And there's only one who would be able to.
Gandalf held his staff in front of him and placed his other hand on the hilt of his sword. "Saruman," he growled under his breath, "where are you?"
When Saruman saw the three companions disappear he quickly left the area before Gandalf came to his senses. He let a satisfied smirk settle on his face as he returned to Orthanc. Gandalf's meddlesome trio were conveniently gone. He had sent his spell at the three companions in hopes of injuring or even killing them. What he didn't expect was for Gandalf to suddenly strengthen his own spell. But it didn't matter. The two spells reacted with one another. And simply swallowed the three up. Saruman was immensely pleased with this reaction. Not only were three strong fighters who could have easily ridden to Theoden's aide out of the picture, but now Gandalf was confused as well. Gandalf would be preoccupied trying to find the three. Rohan is ready to fall. And now with Gandalf's three companions gone all help Rohan could have received is gone. And that interfering Gandalf is also busy. The world is mine for the taking.
Kagome ran into Inuyasha's back when he suddenly stopped in front of her. She had been appreciating the beautiful forest that one did not find in modern Japan when her friend had suddenly come to a halt.
"Oomph! Inuyasha, why did you stop?" she complained while rubbing her nose.
"I smell something…weird. It's not demon but not human either."
"Hanyou?" suggested Kagome.
Inuyasha gave Kagome a look of pure exasperation. "I know what they smell like. It's something completely new to me." Inuyasha motioned to his back. "Get on, we're going to see what it is."
Kagome climbed obliging onto his back and as soon as he knew she was secure he took off. He ran for about ten minutes before sliding to a halt. Kagome slid off his back and walked around him to see what he was looking at. She gasped when she saw three people lying unconscious on the ground. She moved forward to investigate.
When Kagome got closer she realized only one of them was human. The human was wearing black pants and a dark red shirt. He had a black leather vest on, a black trenchcoat over that, and a dark green cloak over his shoulders. The cloak was bound at his neck by a green leaf with gold trimming. He also had black boots, and all of his clothes were ragged and dirty. His shoulder length brown, wavy hair was matted and in desperate need of a good washing. His appearance was completed by a bow and arrow thrown over his back and a sword lying by his side. Kagome wrinkled her nose at the dirty man lying on the ground and moved on to the next person.
Kagome was happy to see that he appeared to take better care of himself. He had long, shiny blonde hair that had two small braids plaited along the sides of his head and a thicker braid running down the middle. He had delicately pointed ears which clued Kagome in to the fact that he wasn't human. The other thing that clued her in that he wasn't human was the unearthly glow that surrounded him. He wore dark green leggings and a lighter green tunic. He also had a green cloak and a green leaf matching the man's over his shoulders. His boots were made of a soft leather and came to a stopp just below his knees. He had a quiver of arrows on his back with two white handles poking out the top. Kagome assumed they were some kind of dagger. He also had a beautiful bow clenched in his left hand that Kagome longed to run her hands over. The bow looked like it was made by a master craftsman. With one last glance at the bow Kagome moved onto the final person.
He was also obviously not a human. He was a stout man, and his attire only made him look even shorter. His boots were big and clunky and his helmet was boxy looking with intricate symbols engraved into it. And like the other two he had a green cloak bound at the neck by a gold trimmed green leaf. His red hair was very thick and was just as messy as the man's. He also had a very thick beard that had a couple braids intertwined within it. His look was completed by a variety of axes as his weapons.
Out of the corner of her eye Kagome saw the man with the dark hair begin to stir. She moved to assist him. When she knelt down and touched his shoulder gently his eyes flew open and there was suddenly a dagger she didn't know existed pressed against her throat.
Inuyasha cursed loudly for his carelessness. Kagome was now in danger because he allowed her to get too close. He was just about to attack the man when the dagger was lowered.
Aragorn realized that the person he was threatening was a young girl so he quickly put his dagger down. He lowered his eyes in shame. "Forgive me m'am. You startled me. I hope I didn't frighten you." Aragorn then took a closer look at the girl and his eyes flew open. Her legs were showing! Where was he where they allowed women to dress like this young girl? As he pondered that thought he realized the girl was trying to talk to him.
Kagome smiled at the flustered man. "It's quite all right. I know I must have surprised you. But who are you? I've never seen someone like you before." And it was true. Nothing this man wore showed any hints of coming from Feudal Japan. And his two friends were an even bigger mystery.
Inuyasha, still not fully trusting the man that looked like a spy, continued his low growling. He moved closer to Kagome so that he would be able to react faster if the man tried anything. His hand itched to unleash tetsusaiga and kill the man who dared to threaten Kagome, but he knew to do so would cause severe sitting to take place.
Smiling at the girl, Aragorn said, "Thank you for understanding. My name is…Strider." Aragorn decided to be safe and not use his real name. There was still no telling where he was. "I am a ranger from the north."
Kagome looked quizzically at Aragorn. "A ranger? What's that?"
Now it was Aragorn's turn to look confused. "You don't know what a ranger is?"
"Um, no."
Before Aragorn could attempt an explanation Legolas began to stir. He mentally slapped himself when he realized he had forgotten about his friends. He hastily moved to Legolas's side and waited for the elf to wake up.
As Legolas's eyes fluttered open he saw Aragorn's worried face hovering over him. Oh wonderful, now he's going to mother me, groaned Legolas in his mind. He hated mothering rangers. As the fog slowly cleared from his mind he sat up and took in his surroundings. He was startled to find himself in a strange forest, surrounded by even stranger people. The girl was showing way too much skin and the man had…dog ears? Legolas blinked and looked at the man's head again. Yes, they were dog ears. And he also had long, flowing white hair. And he was wearing bright red clothing. Apparently this man doesn't know what camouflage and blending into your surroundings means.
Now after the already puzzling mass of colors that surrounded him and his friends Legolas was in no mood for even more confusion. So he just came out and said it. "May I ask who you are?"
Aragorn softly groaned. One would never think that this was actually a prince of Mirkwood who had just asked that question. One would think that a prince would have better communication skills than that. But then again, Legolas was also an abnormal elf as his best friend was a human.
Inuyasha didn't respond too well to Legolas's question. He hated the unknown, and when one part of the unknown had already threatened Kagome he had even less patience. He clenched his fists and increased his growling. He stalked over to the blonde guy and grabbed the front of his clothes in his fists and lifted him to his feet. "I'm the one who will be asking the questions. Answer my questions fast and correctly and I may let you life. Answer them wrong and I won't be so nice."
Quick as a flash Legolas brought a fist down on one of the arms that was grabbing him. When Inuyasha released that arm Legolas twisted out of the grip of the other hand. Before Inuyasha could react he came face to face with an arrow. "No one threatens me," said Legolas coldy, his eyes narrowed with anger.
Aragorn and Kagome rushed to intervene before blood could be shed. Aragorn lowered Legolas's bow with one hand and Kagome stood between Inuyasha and Legolas. Kagome glared at Inuyasha, her hands planted sternly on her hips.
"Inuyasha, don't be rude," she commanded.
Inuyasha grunted in reply and crossed his arms. He then returned the icy glare Legolas was sending him.
"Hmph, he was the one who was pointing an arrow at my head."
Kagome rolled her eyes. "That was because you were threatening to kill him. Maybe you should try being nice instead of demanding answers with the use of death threats. Many times people respond to you better." Before Inuyasha could continue the argument Kagome turned her back on him and faced the other two. She looked at the blonde man who still looked angry at the hanyou. "I'm sorry for my friend's reaction to you. He can be a little hotheaded and rude at times. Well anyways, my name is Kagome and this is Inuyasha."
Aragorn, seeing that the girl was being friendly, decided that she would be their best chance for help. "This is my friend Legolas, he is an elf. And the one who is still unconscious is Gimli, he is a dwarf. Do you happen to know where Rohan is in relation to this location?"
Kagome raised her eyebrows in confusion. "Rohan? What's that? I've never heard of it. Have you Inuyasha?"
"Feh," came the response which Kagome translated to a no.
"I'm sorry Strider, but we don't know what that place is."
Aragorn looked a little shaken by this news. "Then may I inquire as to where we are?"
"No," said Inuyasha hotly. Kagome immediately slapped him on the arm.
"Ignore him. We are in Feudal Japan."
"Feudal…Japan? I have never heard of this name."
"Great, so I don't know where you're from and you don't know where you are right now," replied Kagome with a roll of her eyes. Figures all the strange stuff just always had to happen to her.
"Feh, Kagome we should leave them. They are just trouble. And I don't like the elf." Inuyasha said, turning to walk away.
"Sit."
And Aragorn and Legolas watched in amazement as the weird, rude man fell face first into the ground.
Kagome attempted to drill holes in the back of Inuyasha's head. "These people obviously need our help Inuyasha. I refuse to leave them here when some demon could come and attack them," she fumed.
"Demon? You mean like a balrog?" questioned Aragorn. Now balrog's he knew of. But he sure hoped they didn't have rampant balrog's all over the place. He already lost one dear friend to one of those dark demons, he had no wish to face another.
"A balrog? Never heard of it. There are many demons here but never heard of a balrog." said Kagome.
"Are your's like an orc or goblin?" asked Aragorn. He hated acting so naïve, but he had no idea what was going on. He had no choice but to trust this girl and hope that she would help them.
Deciding to keep it simple Kagome nodded. "Yeah. They're like that." She walked around Aragorn to come face to face with the still glaring Legolas. "Hey, I'm sorry Inuyasha threatened you and all, but you can stop glaring at him. He won't hurt you."
From the still plastered Inuyasha came some mumbled words that sounded suspiciously like 'wanna bet.' Kagome chose to ignore him.
Legolas stared at the girl. She thinks that man could hurt me? From what he saw of Inuyasha he saw nothing more than an arrogant young man who liked to talk. "It's all right," he said.
"Good, now I guess we'll head back to the village so that we can figure out what's happening." Kagome turned her head to look at Gimli. "Um, is he ever going to get up?"
Aragorn grinned and went up to the dwarf. He nudged him with his foot. Gimli groaned and slowly sat up.
"Huh? Aragorn? Where are we? And who are these strange people?"
Aragorn once again groaned under his breath. Gimli had just given out his real name which would cause more questions to be asked. And he had just called Inuyasha strange. Here we go again.
Sure enough Inuyasha leapt to his feet and stalked over to Gimli. "Hey! Who are you calling strange?" he yelled, his face turning red with anger.
Kagome slapped Inuyasha on the back of his head. "You dummy, I thought we went through this already. These guys are good; therefore we are going to help them. Must I use the s-word again to get that through your thick skull?"
Inuyasha waved his hands in front of him almost as if trying to ward off any incoming sit spells. "NO! Fine, we'll take them to Kaede's village. Maybe that old hag will know what's happening."
Pleased with this response Kagome once again faced the trio. "Um, you said Aragorn. Who is that?" she asked.
Gimli climbed to his feet and slapped Aragorn on the back. "This one right here. Was he actually so rude as to not tell you his name?" Gimli glanced up at Aragorn, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.
Confusion rose up in Kagome's eyes. "Aragorn? He said his name was Strider."
Aragorn sighed and rubbed his eyes. "No, Gimli's right. Aragorn is my real name. Strider is an alias I go by at times. I use it until I know if the person is to be trusted. I am sorry for not telling you before."
"See Kagome? He can't be trusted. He wouldn't even give us his real name!" griped Inuyasha, still intent on getting rid of the group of outsiders. Especially that infuriating elf.
Kagome once again chose to ignore him. "No problem. I really don't blame you either. It would be hard to trust someone like Inuyasha right away." Kagome grinned at the 'hey!' that rose up from behind her.
Aragorn smiled his thanks once again. "You are too kind my lady," he said.
Kagome blushed brightly. "Please, just call me Kagome."
"As you wish…Kagome," said Aragorn. At the slight 'ahem' that came from his side he quickly introduced Gimli. "Forgive me Gimli. This is Kagome and Inuyasha. Somehow we were transported to this place and they have graciously decided to help us."
Inuyasha snorted and Kagome smiled at this.
Gimli nodded his head. He couldn't see why Aragorn would want to receive help from them. The lady seemed nice and very willing to help but she was the companion of the man. And Gimli didn't like him one bit. And with the way Legolas shot glares his way at regular intervals made it even harder for Gimli to trust him. Because of the way the man called Inuyasha was acting Gimli found it hard to trust either. He looked at Aragorn questionably. "Are you sure Aragorn? The man obviously hates us. And the girl could just be playing along, making us feel secure and safe before attacking us. I don't think they are to be trusted.
Aragorn sighed. Leave it to the distrust of the dwarves to dig their hole even deeper than it already was. He was not surprised when Inuyasha flew into a raging fit. He was however surprised at what Inuyasha was angry about.
As soon as the words left Gimli's mouth Inuyasha's eyes filled with hate and he stalked over to the dwarf. He bent down to Gimli's level and growled in a low, menacing voice, "Distrust me all you like, hell, I distrust you as well. But don't ever think of saying Kagome is not to be trusted. She would never attack you without you giving her a reason to. Say something like that again and I won't care what Kagome does to me, you will pay." For added emphasis Inuyasha cracked his knuckles in Gimli's face. Gimli nodded dumbly. Inuyasha stiffly nodded and walked back to Kagome before she could sit him.
Aragorn stared at Inuyasha with a newfound respect for the man. As rude as he was he obviously cared for the girl and protected her. I guess Inuyasha really isn't as bad as he first seemed. If he cares that strongly for Kagome's image he has to have a good heart no matter what he tries to portray to the outside world.
Kagome, thankful Inuyasha had turned around before a fight broke out, broke the uncomfortable silence. "Well should we get going?" she asked, bringing everyone back to attention.
"Feh."
"Ok, let's go!" Kagome perkily said. She started walking away but then abruptly stopped.
"Hey wench, what's wrong?" asked Inuyasha.
And Aragorn once again found himself staring at Inuyasha in shock. One minute he was defending Kagome's honor, the next he was calling her a wench. And Kagome didn't even seem to notice.
Kagome turned around to look at Inuyasha and her new companions. "A shikon shard is coming this way."
Last revised: April 12, 2006