Anything

Chapter 11: To keep you by my side

Well I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind

I left my body lying somewhere in the sands of time

But I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon

I fear there's nothing I could do

Yeah

I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon

After all I knew it had to be something to do with you

I really don't mind what happens now and then

As long as you'll be my friend at the end

Crimson eyes as fierce as a summer sun and as haughty as freshly spilt blood followed Kagome's every twitch. Phoenix was just as unnerving in appearance as he was in name and Kagome had yet to see past his pale neck. "What do you want with me," she growled softly, her eyes flashing in anger and fear.

He smiled at her, a sickly twisted sort of grin, "What I want from you what I want from all human's that wander into my Temple, but you appear claimed my fiery beauty. Tell me, what is that studded decoration you wear about your neck?"

Delicate fingers brushed over the small jewels imbedded in her collar before Kagome grasped the teal crescent charm dangling in the center. "I am claimed, you have no right to me Novo," Kagome tried to sound brave, spitting out the last word with disgust just as Sheridan had done.

If anything, the man before her looked pleased at her tone. "You appear to have met an acquaintance of mine. I didn't realize he consorted with otherworlders like your self. Of course any proper soul of the bird would be interested in two strangers that suddenly obtain Animi," Phoenix commented with the same soulless smile.

"Soul of the bird? Are you talking about the markings, the tattoos?" Kagome questioned, a little confused with what the man was talking about.

"Yes I speak of the tattoos that all humans have been marked with to show their place among the temples. Even if you had been born here however you would have been hard to mark, canine Animui are quiet rare," he answered with scientific sort of tone before he began approaching her. "I saw your little pet run off and yet you seem perfectly fine, most feel the pain of separation," he commented with the same tone.

Kagome found she did not like the look in his eyes and began stepping back. Each step brought her closer and closer to one of the massive tubes against the wall until she found the cool glass pressing against her back. "You still haven't said what you want," Kagome asked quickly, grasping at straws to save time. She could feel Licens getting closer.

"Nothing much my dear, nothing much at all," he answered before moving forward with such sped that all she saw was a flash of red before she was falling, falling back into tube that was suddenly pulling her in and sucking her under the thick goop. No amount of struggling, however, could remove her from the substance or the container, and with each pound of her fist she found more air being stripped from her lungs until everything faded into darkness.

In the vast hallways of Phoenix Temple the winged wolf Animus named Licens desperately led Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands towards her master. As more and more time past, however, the brave creature could feel itself being pulled forcibly back to Kagome. The magic being used to draw her back was so strong that it caused the large wolf to shrink back into its weaker pup form.

Sesshomaru watched with concealed shock and perhaps a bit of concern as the pup seemed to shrivel in on itself. The voice in his mind, that had become a sudden reminder of Kagome, faded away into nothingness. "Licens," Sesshomaru growled both verbally and in his mind but no answer heeded his call. The pup was gone.

A painful howl from Conway echoed in his thoughts before it broke into a loud growl. 'How dare they,' he snapped as the little two-toned pup leapt from his shoulder and morphed. The little creature transformed into a mighty inu. Conway in his larger form was just as impressive as Sesshomaru in his true state. His coloring wasn't altered but his pelt grew thicker and his canines lengthened until the stuck a few centimeters from his lips. His eyes were a fiery gold with a hint of green, giving him a demonic appearance. 'Time to kill,' Conway howled, and for once Sesshomaru fully agreed.

The two inus rushed down the hallways in a blur, following the sweet scent of Kagome that was tinged in fear and pain. The halls were a mess a large maze made just to trick anyone who did not know their way. Sesshomaru was ready to start cursing when suddenly the floor beneath the two of them dropped; leaving them falling further and further away from Kagome's endangered form.

The bottom of the pyramid melted away to leave them to their deaths if Sesshomaru had not stopped his fall with his jaki cloud. He snarled as he pushed himself forward, Conway flying at his side. A large invisible force stopped him dead in his tracks as he slamming against what felt like a brick wall. The force would not give even as he struck against it with his poison.

Damn that blasted bird, Conway cursed as he flung his larger form against the force field. Nothing even dented it.

This Sesshomaru believes it is time to find that boy, he remarked calmly in his mind but rage was rolling off of him in fiery rage. Together the duo made their descent back into the city while Conway reverted to his smaller pup form.

No one noticed their landing, but this time the streets were crowded with people. Each was dressed even worse than the last with torn rags and sometimes nothing at all in face of the biting cold. Each human had an animus of some type with them ranging from birds to lizards to larger animals like lion. They also all possessed a tattoo that simplified their type of animus into categories like bird, reptile, or cat. Each tattoo was always very large and in a noticeable area that would be hard to hide in such shabby clothing.

It will be hard to find Sheridan in all of these people and horrible scents. It smells like death warmed over then thrown up in a litter box, Conway grumbled from his perch on Sesshomaru's shoulder.

Each human seemed to be more in a daze then the last but some of the younger ones would turn to gaze at the two of them, looking both curious and frightened. They only stayed still for a moment, but Sesshomaru began to realize that each animus was very important to determining the personalities of people. He wasn't quite sure how to interpret all of the colors, but it was obvious that humans with the cat animus looked at him more than someone with a meek animal like a rabbit or a guinea pig.

Can you sense Aleron? Sesshomaru asked as he looked around, he wasn't really certain how to sense an animus, their forms were as hard to recognize as a puff of smoke.

His inner voice is rather distinct, I should be able to find him, Conway's answered and soon Sesshomaru felt as if Conway was suddenly getting further and further away even as he felt his warm weight on his shoulder. I found some very strong minds near by. I think he's there, Conway spoke up some time later.

Sesshomaru could barely hide his smirk as he closely followed the animus's detailed instructions. He soon found himself in the middle of no where. The thick wires that seemed to grow from the walls were the thickest here and made moving almost impossible. Soon the wires were so thick and strong that Sesshomaru had to cut them away with his claws. It took a few minutes for him to make it to another clearing and he was almost surprised at what was there. Four humans sat on freezing metal boxes in a squiggly circle. One of the humans was Sheridan and Aleron was resting comfortably on his shoulder.

The man closest to Sheridan smelled horribly of grease and his entire body seemed to be slicked up with the slime. His hair was a muddy green that stuck up in all directions and has an unnatural shine to it with black blobs clinging to strands at odd intervals. His forehead was covered in a pair of thick tinted goggles that would occasionally fall into his face while he was talking. He had dark brown eyes like dirt that had a certain mischievous glint about them. He had a bit of stubble growing from his chin but a good bit of it was hidden by another black blob that had taken up residence on his body. His animus sat comfortably on his broad shoulders and curled around his neck. By all appearances in looked like his inner soul was a large, olive green python.

The man next to the ball of grease was significantly more put together. He had light brown hair with flakes of grey. He was obviously old and his doe eyes shown with wisdom, but there was something strong about him. He had a confidence to him that squared his shoulders and set his jaw against all the other shy droopy humans the world seemed to possess. His animus towered behind him with the same confidence and strength, a mighty stag with a full eight-point set.

The last man smelled heavily of fish and the heavy salt scent the sea carried with it. He held the closest thing to a tan compared to the deathly pale of the others. His eyes were as sharp and cunning as any seasoned fighter. He looked as relaxed as his green haired companion but his muscles seemed to bunch under his skin as if he were ready for a fight any second. His animus, like the rest of them, was a good show to his personality. For swishing lazily in the air around him was a medium sized great white shark.

Sesshomaru's stoic expression never wavered but inwardly he was surprised by the creature. He had never seen anything like the shark before and despite its unusual design he could sense it had a power of its own. He eyed the creature for a moment before focusing on Sheridan.

"I thought you would come back, but where is that Kai boy?" Sheridan asked as he stood and brushed a few metal flakes from his pants.

Sesshomaru growled low in throat before spitting out," How do you get past the barrier?"

Sheridan's eyes widened instantly in understanding before narrowing in anger, "There is a way but we will have to hurry. Lord Phoenix will destroy Kai if we wait to long. "He paced for a moment before turning to his three companions," I'm going to need your help with this and the Freedom."

"Interesting that you would be involved in an unknown that looks like a Novo himself," the human with the stag animus remarked calmly as he stood.

"Sesshomaru and his companion do not belong in this word, and I don't want them studying him," Sheridan answered as he gestured at the dog demon.

"Good point," the grease man almost hissed as he slid up to a standing position and slinked over to the two of them.

"I don't have time for this," Sesshomaru growled in warning.

"Settle down now, this is us hurrying," the man with the shark animus laughed as he walked over to his companions even as he narrowed his eyes in warning at the demon.

They whispered amongst themselves for what seemed like hours before Sheridan turned and pointed to the grease man. "This is palus; he will be working the machine that will break the barrier."

"Hey man," Palus greeted with a tilted of his head that made his goggles slip.

Sheridan pointed to the man with the stag animus next and remarked," Ingosus is our sort of strategic advisor." His finger moved again to point to the sharp eyed man as Sheridan introduced him," and last but not least our navigator, Insula."

Sesshomaru raised a brow, wondering about the odd names and why they needed people for such things.

"We're about ta show ya how ta really take a fortress eh," Palus as he slithered past Sesshomaru. The man was so short he hardly reached his bellybutton. "Now come, come, I'll show ya the way," he grinned, revealing a great lack of teeth and the few that were there were pointed like fangs.

Sesshomaru glared at the man's small back, irritated by his attitude. If the situation was different his claws would already have ripped his vocal cords out, but he understood the need of allies in this strange planet he did not understand. His father had once told him that though allies could be a weakness at times they could also be your greatest help in unfamiliar territory. With this in mind he followed after the reptilian like man.

Palus navigated through the pipes so easily that even Sesshomaru had a hard time keeping up. The pipes became ridiculously thick in some places were only Palus's small form could fit through the tiny openings. Sesshomaru had to use his claws to shred through the pipes, but even then he could only tear through them enough to fit his body through before the wires would collapse and fill up the space he created. It was tedious work and his anger was starting to build after about fifteen minutes, but finally the mass of metal pipes cleared up and Sesshomaru found himself in the middle of a hanger.

It was a closed up room with only one massive garage door leading out and the way they had come. Those same annoying pipes clung to the ceiling and hung down like webs. Small jolts of electricity jumped from all the metal in the room including a large rectangular ship in the middle of the hanger. It had a square front where people could pilot it from and a large truck bed attached to the front covered in a heavy black tarp.

"Meet our Trojan horse," a voice spoke to his right and Sesshomaru turned to find the brown haired man and his stag Animus standing there. "I am Ingosus of the mountain regions of this accursed city."

"We will leave for the Phoenix Temple immediately," Sheridan remarked by Ingosus's side.

Sesshomaru nodded his head in agreement and watched as Palus climbed into the front of the ship and started clicking away until the ship whirled up and the sparks the had been jolting around suddenly collected at the bottom of the ship and lifted it off the ground. "Time to go guys, lets start a war," Palus laughed as he stuck his head out from the doorway with a grin.

"Sounds like fun," Insula commented as he jumped into the other side of the ship. "Sesshomaru, You will ride in the back with Sheridan and I," Ingosus," suggested as he lifted up the tarp. Sheridan jumped easily into the darkness and Sesshomaru followed without saying anything. The back of the truck was completely dark even to his sharp demon eyes when Ingosus closed the tarp with the three of them inside. It smelt like metal and wet fabric, reminding Sesshomaru of the barracks back home.

He could hear the clicking of hooves as the stag went to the back of the truck bed and lay down. Sesshomaru also heard the rustling of feathers as Aleron settled against Sheridan's side and the faint movement of air as the great white curled around Insula. He could even feel the comfortable warmth as Conway snuggled into his lap, but as he sniffed the air none of these creatures had a scent. If it wasn't for the noise he could almost swear that there were only four bodies underneath the tarp. It was an interesting discovery that he decided to look into further after Kagome was safely with in his arms.

The machine lurched as it sped out of the hanger and took to the sky. The light outside made the area under the blackness a dark grey that allowed Sesshomaru's sensitive eyes to absorb all the light and develop a clearer image of where he was. He still could not see outside and could only use his senses to tell what was happening. The ship was moving along swiftly and rising higher in the air as they went. Only once did the truck ever stop and it was only for a nervous second before sped along again.

Sheridan breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly Conway was in his mind again. 'Aleron says that we just passed through the barrier and will be entering the loading dock soon,' Conway spoke his voice a mixture of relief and nervousness. 'I'm going to stay beside Sheridan and pretend to be his animus while Aleron flies above, you just act like your high and mighty self,' he added with a mental smirk.

Soon the craft pulled to a halt and lowered with a thud to the ground as all the electricity was released from the coils on the ships underbelly. The moment the tarp was lifted, Aleron shot out in a flash of white as Conway scrambled onto Sheridan's shoulder. Insula, Ingosus, and Sheridan jumped out quickly with Sesshomaru following closely behind. They were in a large docking station with many more of the transporters zipping in and out of the stations. Some carried large metal canisters while others held groups of shivering whimpering humans. While other trucks had a back full of upright standing lizards with two sets of eyes one in the normal place and the other set on their temples. They looked sinister with sharp fangs sticking from their drooling mouths along with a forked tongue.

The humans barely glanced about but the sight of the lizards sent a shiver through all of them as they moved behind Sesshomaru. Only Sheridan stayed relatively close to his side. 'They want you to lead, like a novo. I'll relay the directions,' Conway spoke in his mind before he started to give short barked out commands from Sheridan.

Kagome tore at the burning pain in her chest. It felt liked she was being ripped in two as she struggled in the thick water, kicking against the glass surrounding her. 'Licens, Licens its hurts,' she cried out and through the water and glass she saw another container next to her. Licens was curled around herself in the container, shivering as feathers from her wings floated to the bottom of the tube. It was then that Kagome released that they were sharing pain.

"This is what it feels like to have your soul separated from your body, your canine type is very strong and you might be the first to survive the separation," Phoenix commented as he crossed in front of her prison. "Of course if you did die like the rest I would have fun experimenting with the leftovers," he added with a smirk.

Slowly the novo began undoing the ties on his cloak until it fell to a black heap on the floor. Finally his entire altered form was revealed. His pale skin was barely covered by his fire red tunic and red shorts. It was if he picked the clothes to show off as much of his alterations as possible. His legs were covered in white scales that matched his skin while his bare feet had turned into those of a bird with only three toes in the front and one long claw coming from his heel. His toe nails were pitch black and long and sharp like claws. Blood red feathers were attached to the side of his arm in three rows up to his elbow where a long spine emerged from his skin. His hands were relatively normal except for his sharp black claws. More scales covered his neck and arms while more feathers attached down from the back of his knee to his ankle.

Kagome shivered both from pain and fear at the sight of him. "Seisho," she cried softly as she curled her knees to her chest. "Seisho," she repeated as she rocked softly the was a cold darkness settling in her heart as the machines around her kicked to life and something was pulling Licens further and further away even though they were only a few feet away. As she glanced over at her soul Kagome realized that the small fox/wolf hybrid was slowly becoming corrupted with black. First her feathers turned and the inky darkness spread further.

Phoenix smirked as he pushed his face close to the glass and tapped it with his claw, "It won't be long now, soon you will either live through losing your soul or you will DIE."

Sorry this took so ridiculously long, but I hope you like it. Sesshomaru and Kagome will be heading home soon, then the real fun will begin.