"Hey Kags?" Kagome looked up form her yellow backpack, which was now sporting several patches and duct taped spots, and sent a raised eyebrow towards Alyssa as she lay propped up on the bed.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think this is just some kind of sick joke?" Alyssa's words made her stop with her hands halfway in her bag, and she once more looked up at the other girl.

Her eyes were dulled and a fine layer of perspiration glittered across her face in the light of the setting sun. Once they'd finally reached the house early in the evening, Kagome had immediately pulled the other girl's hair into a braid to help cool her. Ever since the transformation, Alyssa's temperature had spiked and was continuing to boil higher. Her face was paler than ever, and her breaths were erratic even though she'd barely moved.

So when Alyssa's quiet question reached her ears, Kagome became worried.

"Alyssa, what..."

"Why does this shit always happen to me Kags? First when I got arrested, then Alex, and now this." Kagome was silent for a moment before something clicked and she raised an eyebrow.

"You were arrested?" Alyssa laughed quietly, so quiet that it was little more than a loud exhale.

"Yeah...long story...I got angry, and therefore, I also got a lead foot. But man, you should have seen the damage I did to that patrol car." Again, she laughed and Kagome couldn't help but laugh with her when she saw a shed of light in the other girl's eyes.

"Wow, remind me to never get in a car with you while you're in the driver's seat."

"Oi, I'm not that bad. I'm just a little...hot-headed." Kagome sighed and got up from her seat on the ground before reaching out and touching Alyssa's scorching forehead.

"Well, I'd have to say you're more than a little hot-headed. You're boiling."

"Not to mention the weird stretching feeling coming from my gut. Kami, it's worse than gas."

"Eww! Alyssa!" Alyssa laughed much more heartily than before at Kagome's mortification, and Kagome herself had to admire the other girl.

Even with the fact that she may not make it out of this as more than a memory, she still joked and laughed. In a way, she was like Yuki, who was currently downstairs making dinner and packed lunches for their trip and humming while she did so. Honestly, Kagome envied them both.

"Oi wenches! Hurry up! We need to leave before dark!"

"Oi jackass, in case you haven't noticed, I can't do shit!" Inuyasha snorted as he crouched in the window, his ears twitching just enough to fix Alyssa's attention on them.

Kami she wanted to touch them!

"Inuyasha, why are you in such a rush? We could be able to sense Suki coming if..."

"Keh, did you forget what tonight is?" Kagome blinked innocently up at him as she placed her first aid kit on the top of everything else in the bag.

"Wait...is tonight supposed to be something..."

"Damn it wench! There's no moon tonight!" Feeling quite put down, Kagome lowered her head. How could she forget about tonight! Jeeze, she was starting to get as bad as her grandfather.

"Wait...I'm missing something, aren't I?" Alyssa's unfocused eyes were quite confused, and her expression so quizzical that under normal circumstances, Kagome would have been on her back in laughter. Instead, she sighed and closed her pack.

"Tonight, Inuyasha's youkai half disappears and he's a ningen for the whole night. As soon as the sun rises, he's a hanyou again." Still looking very quizzical, Alyssa turned her head in a slow, lazy fashion to study Inuyasha as he scowled at her.

"A hanyou huh? That's...awesome." Again, under normal circumstances, Alyssa would have been quite loud when making this statement.

"Awesome?" Kagome rolled her eyes when both Alyssa and Inuyasha turned to her with a silent question.

"Kami you two, you're too much alike to be possible. To answer your question Inuyasha, 'awesome' is a compliment." At this, Inuyasha blinked curiously before shrugging and relaxing in the window.

"So...is someone gonna explain to me where we're going?" Kagome glanced up Inuyasha before answering, but she didn't get a simple glance.

"Well, I have a theory and Inuyasha shares it. Besides, if we're right, you'll be a lot safer where we're going." She looked at Alyssa as she stood and smiled lightly. "Besides, it would be rather odd to see you walking around right now in this place."

At this, Alyssa let a goofy grin cross her features as she glanced over at a small mirror across the room, seeing her new reflection staring with a dazed grin at her.

"Yeah, I think I'd turn heads for once." The statement was both humorous and dark, making Kagome frown at the sudden haunting look in Alyssa's eyes. Sure, she'd been rather dark today and had a perfect reason. But the haunted look she held now was the one from days ago, the same one that had shone up on her face when Alex had been mentioned.

To this day, Kagome still had no idea what had happened with him.

"Keh, quit your gabbin' and start packing more!" Had she'd possessed the energy, Alyssa would have stuck her tongue out at him. Instead, she chose to level him with a slight glare.

"You know, for being a hanyou with adorable ears, you're annoying." She was slightly surprised to hear him growl at her, but before Alyssa could fire back again, Kagome interrupted.

"I'm done Inuyasha. I already had mama grab some things for Alyssa. So now all that's left to do is get Alyssa in suitable clothes." At this, Alyssa quirked an eyebrow and opened her mouth to protest as Kagome helped her stand.

"Keh, don't argue wench. Where we're going, you're gonna need the right clothes. That wench is finally learning that." Kagome glared daggers at him when he pointedly stared at her, causing Alyssa to laugh quietly at the way the two interacted.

Honestly, just like an old married couple. But considering the fact she felt horrid already, Alyssa didn't dare voice such a thing. Leaning against the lean form of her friend as they moved, Alyssa felt the weight of her desperate situation weigh heavily on her once more.

She felt so tired, like every cell in her body had been drained of its energy. Her temperature made it seem as though someone had thrown her into the heart of a fire to die. Ironically, she vaguely remembered blue flames during her transformation.

The transformation.

She frowned as they finally made it into the hall. The transformation itself was confusing. Her body had changed, that much was obvious. But Aleeria had said that she was powerless still, and the thought of that brought back the young girl's words of it being even more painful to receive the powers. But then how did she manage to feel power earlier in the guest house? Was there actually some power in her already, or was Aleeria channeling her own powers from her place in between worlds?

Just thinking about it made her head hurt, and Alyssa winced as Kagome turned on the switch to the bathroom.

"Alyssa, do you think you can stand at all?" She winced as a particularly nasty throb of pain ran down her spine, but she held off a pained hiss and nodded.

"Yeah. I'll just lean against the counter for now." Kagome nodded before walking out of the room and shutting the door. By herself, the weight of the situation slammed harder upon Alyssa and nearly suffocated her.

Just her thoughts alone made her chest constrict. The thoughts of how her life had ended up. In fact, it wasn't even her life. She was just a poor copy to keep the body warm and safe. It was all so hard to take in. Everything she'd ever done, ever felt, wasn't real. Did that mean her family was fake too? Her grandparents and brothers. Did that mean that her feelings for Alex, however dark they may have been now, were also fake?

If so, then what made her heart shatter every time she saw his number on her phone? An illusion?

She laughed at this, a dark, hallow laugh that echoed in the plain bathroom. Her laughter subsided as she looked up at her reflection, seeing the onyx-haired stranger before her. She wasn't even herself in appearance anymore. The very structure of her face had even changed it seemed. A scar that had been below her eye since childhood was gone, leaving behind flawless skin. But as she looked at her reflection, it suddenly seemed to melt away with the rest of the bathroom.

She was instead standing upright on wobbly legs in the middle of an open field. Although the wind rustled the leaves and tall grasses around her, she realized just how eerily quiet it was in this place. But the silence was suddenly shattered by a loud shriek to her right, making her turn on legs that nearly collapsed beneath her.

It was an army. A dark army of such frightening creatures that she suddenly felt as though she was in a childhood nightmare or a ghastly horror film. Some looked like the youkai she'd in paintings Kagome's grandfather had always shoved in their faces. Others looked to be something else. Their skin seemed be shedding off their bodies in rotting clumps of flesh and she could suddenly smell them as well. But it was their leader which made her pause.

He was a man of power, it seemed to ooze from his being in the very way he held himself as he rode an almost skeletal horse, who's coat was the darkest black she'd ever seen. He must have been at least six and a half feet tall, and his hair would have been long enough to make a small rope. Surely, it must have reached his ankles when he stood, in thick locks of emerald green. But his eyes, such piercing gray eyes, made her shudder. Insanity, hatred, rage, and many other things clouded this man's eyes and she couldn't make herself look away until a load roar made her turn to her left.

Another army met her eyes, and she felt a heart-warming feeling when she saw their pristine armor and clothes. They all had faces that appeared ningen, but like her, they possessed markings. Were these what true youkai looked like? So beautiful the Kami's themselves had labeled them as the dark creatures many knew them as? For they looked nothing of darkness as she watched them march closer in their efficient ranks. Again, the army's leader caught her attention.

This one much more than the one before.

He wore clothes of pristine white, splashes of crimson across his shoulder and the bottoms of his sleeves. His armor seemed to shine in the dying sunlight, the set of spikes going over his left shoulder looking more menacing than the man himself. A pelt of such soft fur lay over his right shoulder that she had to restrain herself from running to him and touching it. Again, this man was tall even when atop his two-headed dragon. He may have been taller than the other man, and he was for sure much fairer in complection. Long silver hair danced around him in the wind like liquid silver, and when she truly studied his face, Alyssa realized something.

This man, or youkai rather, was familiar to her. How, she didn't know. Perhaps he'd been in one of the visions Aleeria had shown her. Yes, that was probably it. But if so, then which one? And why did she feel as though she had to know him? But suddenly she gasped when she realized something else.

This man showed no emotion. His face was a marble mask, unfazed by all around him, and his eyes were empty pools of golden ice. For such warmly colored, beautiful eyes, they were so utterly cold as he stared down his opponents.

'What is this?'

The future.

Turning, Alyssa was shocked to find no one else with her. The voice was not the childlike one she knew, but a combination of many voices that echoed within her mind. Turning back to the army she'd been studying, she realized something else.

There were several familiar faces to the left and right of the silver-haired man.

One was definitely Inuyasha, a smug grin on his face and a gigantic blade slung over his shoulder. Next to him was a face she knew also. But Kagome was different. Her once solid onyx hair was now streaked with navy blue, and instead of reaching mid-back, it reached her knees in glorious waves. Her face was the same, except for a lone marking in the shape of a tear drop under her right eye. She wore an outfit of white, splashes of navy color on the bottom of her sleeves and also the chest plate of her simple, light armor.

But something very distinctive caught her eyes. Kagome now had wings. Large wings that were folded against her back and were the same navy blue of her hair.

Finally, the third familiar face caught her attention.

It was her own. She rode atop a horse of stark white color, and was the closest to the silver-haired man. Naturally, it was strange to study one's self, but Alyssa was curious. Especially since her appearance had changed once more. Her skin looked to be nearly white in the rays of the setting sun, and her hair so platinum blonde that it was nearly silver. The blue streak still remained though, and had in fact spread so that one large chunk of her hair hung over her shoulder in the bright blue color. It was then she noticed that her face was much more mature, with an air of sorrow to it even as she turned and smiled at Kagome, who smiled back in a similar fashion.

She also realized at this time that even if they were smirking, most people in the ranks held a deep sorrow and foreboding in their eyes. Was their fight in vain?

But Alyssa never found out, for as her other self let out a yell of anger and leapt from her horse, the real Alyssa screamed as an intense heat over took her body. For what seemed to be ages, she could only see a bright, blinding light and hear nothing. But then, the light faded.

Once again, she saw herself. This time, from behind as her other self kneeled before shadowed figures in a plain white room. This time, her pristine clothes were ripped and bloodied with many strange stains and slashes. Her head was bent, and she was surprised to see shackles and chains attached to her other self. Then, for the first time, she heard a voice that was actually part of this strange dream.

"Do you know why you are here girl?"

The other Alyssa didn't move, but answered in a voice so pained with regret and sorrow that the real Alyssa nearly cried.

"Yes, I do."

"Then you realize there are two options. Either you are sentenced to the punishment we chose, or your taiyoukai dies."

The voice was a man's deep and unforgiving as he looked down upon the chained girl from his shadowed face. Then, to her shock, the other Alyssa slowly looked up and locked eyes with the man, a sad smile upon her face as tears raced down her filthy face.

"I would rather die all over again than have him killed. Torture me and punish me all you want, I will still love him!"

Loud hisses and snorts of distaste were plainly heard throughout the room, and Alyssa saw her other self scream in pain as the chains cracked with an almost electric charge.

"Hold your tongue girl. Such disgusting displays will be punished, mark my words."

'What the hell? What is that old fart going on about!' But she forced her thoughts to cease as her dream self laughed darkly and raised her head once more.

"Consider them marked. At any rate, I can't die from your punishment if I'm already dead."

Alyssa gasped as another round of electricity went through her dream self. But once again, it all faded away in a bright light.

This time though, she found herself back in the bathroom and on her knees. Her whole body was shaking and when she heard a slight clinking sound, she looked up to see that the large mirror over the sink was shattered. But what was strange was that the cracks didn't spider out from any spot like they normally would have if someone had hit the mirror.

"Okay Alyssa, I grabbed your favorite pair of jeans and...Alyssa!" Kagome dropped the clothes on the counter before lifting the other girl up as she continued to shake. "Alyssa what happened!"

Alyssa shook her head, finding that her vision was blurring off and on. But she managed to answer Kagome at any rate as Inuyasha appeared in the doorway.

"I don't really know. I think...I saw the future...and you two were in it..." Kagome glanced up at Inuyasha, who's eyes narrowed in a blatant look of irritation. "There was another man..."

At this Kagome looked back down at Alyssa with curious eyes.

"Alyssa? Did you know him?" Alyssa blinked a few times as if she was trying to get rid of dizziness before answering.

"I...I don't know...he seemed familiar...I think Aleeria knew him...and you know what? I think...I think him and Inuyasha look alike." Kagome's eyes widened and she looked back up at Inuyasha who was frowning heavily now. They stayed still for a few moments like that, silent as death except for Alyssa's heavy breathing. It was Inuyasha who finally broke the silence with wide eyes.

"Kuso, I can't smell right anymore. We have to go, now." Kagome nodded before getting Alyssa on her feet and simply grabbing the change of clothes off the counter.

They'd never tried to pass through the well with Inuyasha on the night of the new moon, and with the dangers lingering here in the present, neither of them were willing to take any chances.

"Inuyasha, take Alyssa down to the well house and go on ahead. I'll meet you on the other side!" Inuyasha looked apprehensive at first, but nodded and lifted Alyssa bridal style before walking through Kagome's room, out onto the roof outside her window, and then leapt gracefully to the ground below before bounding off towards the well house.

"Damn, you two are confusing. There's gonna be a lot of explaining here pretty soon dog breath." To further push her point, Alyssa weakly reached up and grabbed one of the hanyou's furry ears, successfully making him growl as they reached the well house and he slammed the door open.

Several things happened at once. First, a strange tingle erupted across Alyssa's skin. Second, Inuyasha began to growl as a powerful youki clashed with his own.

Third, the old well began to glow a bright sapphire blue.

"What the hell..." They said it in unison, but something seemed to click in Inuyasha's mind, and that combined with the rapidly setting sun was enough to make him begin moving towards the well again.

"Wait! Shouldn't we try to find out what's going on first!" Inuyasha snorted and tightened his grip on her slightly.

"Nope." With that, he simply jumped into the well, causing Alyssa to shriek in fear.

But her shriek died away when she realized they hadn't hit the ground. Instead, she opened her eyes and discovered they were floating in some sort of vortex of blue light that was neither threatening or welcoming. It just simply was.

"Woah...has this well always done this?"

"Keh, ever since Kagome was fifteen from what she says." As they spoke, the light faded and Alyssa gasped to find that when she looked up, there was no wooden roof of the well house above them. Only a starry sky with the barest hint of light left in it. "Hang on."

Alyssa let out another shriek as he suddenly leapt up and out of the well, landing in a clearing that was obviously not Tokyo. Trees were everywhere, and all around them as a forest that looked untouched by time. Flowers were abundant in the clearing, and had she'd discovered this place when she was younger, she would have picked as many as possible.

At any rate, she found herself in awe of the scenery around her.

"Kuso..." Alyssa blinked before looking up at Inuyasha in shock. His once silver, white hair was a solid onyx, and his fuzzy triangle ears were gone, replaced by normal ningen ears. His eyes were a soft violet, and Alyssa thought them to be just as nice as his golden ones. "I guess we got here just in time."

Letting her curiosity get the best of her, Alyssa opened her mouth and asked the first question on her mind.

"Where exactly is 'here' cause no one's given me any sort of.."But a loud thump caught their attention and Inuyasha turned them so that they could see Kagome's giant of a backpack laying next to the well. Soon enough, Kagome herself popped out of the top and sat on the edge for a moment before standing.

"Welcome to the Sengoku Jidai Alyssa!" Alyssa blinked several times, her mouth partially opened.

Quite a funny expression really. But suddenly her mind seemed to clear itself of fuzz and all her strength was thrown into one word.

"NANI!"

A/N

Pretty blah chap except for the "vision". I admit, I'm trying to throw in filler chaps cause the last version of this story moved much too fast for my tastes. Also, I'm looking for someone to make some CG pics for this story because I'm still trying to get used to using Photoshop with a mouse .

So if you're interested in helping me out, cause this will help with my website too, please let me know and send me a sample of your work. Arigato!

I wasn't really planning on posting this chap anytime soon. I told myself I'd only do it if someone actually showed an interest in the story. So basically, this is dedicated to my single reviewer for the last two chaps! THANK YOU!

-Blue