A/n: Oh my goodness. Over 200 reviews. I never imagined that this little thing could spawn such a huge positive response! I can't believe it! And I definitely cannot express my thanks and gratitude to you guys! I mean, I probably would've abandoned this story. But because you guys kept asking for more, I kept writing, and actually started to fall in love with the story. It's backwards, usually a author loves their story, but this was kinda the odd ball.
Anyways, here we are! chapter ten posted in about a week. Can you believe it? The lady, who usually takes several months between updates, updates within a week. Awesome, no? And do you want to know what's even more Awesome. I HAVE CHAPTER ELEVEN DONE! Yes sir, I do! Now here comes the big question. Do you want chapter eleven now, or say sometime in June/July to tide you over while I'm busy with Ob/peds/Gero? I'll wait another week to see what everyone thinks! If more people say 'I want it now!' then I'll post it. If you don't want it now, tell me when you would like it! In two weeks, three? In mid June, early July? Mid July? Tell me what you want! I don't care when I post it, I just want you people to be happy!
More about this chapter: I initially had no plans for this first scene. No plans at all, and then, corny as it sounds, I dreamed something similar. Now, I'm a cautious person when using dreams as inspiration for stories unless it's pure crack. But I thought about it, toyed with the idea and concept and the implications it would bring, and Minerva demanded that she make a cameo in this story. Now we have a completely new twist to the tale, and I have to fight the urge of pairing Minerva and Genesis together like I usually do. They make such a star-crossed cute couple.
But, like I said, I'm writing this story for you guys. I want to hear your opinions. Do you like the twist? Or do you think I should yank it? When should chapter eleven be posted? I did kinda leave this on another cliff hanger. I'm pretty bad about that lately! Bad . Bad girl.
BTW; kaminariyoru you were reviewer 200! *Hands out cookies and plushies*
~(Chapter Ten)~
"You are going to die."
Kagome was disoriented. The last thing she remembered was fighting the monster for the Shikon jewel in the cramped science department, but now she stood in a field of flowers- no monster or Sephiroth in sight. What happened? Had she jumped into yet another world….
Wait, what?
"Who said that!" she called out, wishing she had any kind of weapon with her. Her bow and Materia had disappeared with everything else.
"I did." Kagome turned, and saw a strangely dressed woman standing behind her. She had long blond hair and blue eyes, dressed in what looked like an old-fashioned white Greek dress with a crown of gold and sapphire partially hidden behind her long bangs. "I am Minerva, Goddess and Voice of Gaia. And you will die if you do not leave our world."
Kagome looked around in what could possibly match a definition of heaven and remembered that she should have deep gashes in her back, but there wasn't even a slight ache where just seconds ago there had been agonizing pain. "I'm… not already dead?"
Minerva shook he head. "No, I'm communicating to you through the Holy Materia. Only a few seconds will past in the real world before your consciousness returns."
Kagome cracked a wry smile despite the circumstances, "No offense, but it wasn't exactly a good time." She had learned in her fights against yokai that a few seconds could make the difference between victory and defeat.
Minerva paused before letting a small smile spread across her lips. "Maybe not, but since you first appeared on Gaia I have needed to speak with you. This is possibly the only chance I had to warn you that you must return to Earth quickly."
"I want to go home!" Kagome defended, "I didn't mean to travel here! I wanted to go to the Feudal era!"
The goddess shrugged her shoulders lightly, and waved her hand carelessly. "It does not matter why or how you came to our world. All that matters is that you return to your planet. Your spirit is dwindling and being replaced by our energy. The Kagome of Earth will soon cease to be if you do not return to your home."
Kagome hugged herself, her stomach twisting. Cease to be? "W-what does that mean?"
Minerva sighed heavily, "Your spirit is not of this planet. The Lifestream sees it as wrong, and every time you use Materia, it changes a little bit more of your energy to that of Gaia's spirit. The only way to do this is to use that of the greatest concentration of Lifestream energy. Myself."
"That's why it hurts why I use it…" Then, when she used her own spiritual powers, her Miko spirit was trying to put it right.
"Exactly. If you continue to use the Materia, or even stay on this planet for very long, you will lose Earth's spirit and become something akin to the Cetra."
"And that'll kill me?" Kagome guessed.
"As I said, you will fundamentally change. You will no longer wield powers of Earth, but of Gaia."
Even after hearing that, Kagome relaxed a bit. "It won't kill me though, right? Won't it reverse when I get home?"
Minerva frowned, "There is a strong possibility not. It may be because you are on Gaia, but Gaia's spirit is far stronger than the spirit you currently possess. If you return home after your spirit is converted, your soul will be lost, unable to return to your planet, and unable to return to the Lifestream. Leaving both planets forever weakened, and the spirit you posses to die."
( )
"Curaga!" Kagome gasped at the sensation of her skin mending back together, quickly easing the pain that had resonated from her back. Before her mind could comprehend the change in scenery, Sephiroth had grabbed her by the arms and pulled her to her feet.
"What happened?" she whispered, her mind reeling from the sudden change. However, when she saw the bubbling mass of flesh in front of them emitting a dark light and green-black ooze flowing slowly from it, she knew what had happened. She had lost the Shikon Jewel to the monster.
"I was about to ask you the same thing," Sephiroth said. "What was necklace made of?"
"The Shikon jewel…" she moaned. "This is so not good." Maybe she could purify the monster before the transformation was complete…
She removed Sephiroth's hand from her arm, and attempted to approach the beast but the green-black ooze emanated a fine dark mist that burned her throat and skin wherever it touched. She quickly stepped back to Sephiroth's side, coughing harshly until another cure spell lifted the burn.
"What's the Shikon jewel?" He touched her face, making her look up at his eyes. Like he had suspected, there was a hint of green to whites of her eyes. He searched his deep pockets and handed her an antidote. "Drink this."
Frowning, she drank the contents of the small bottle without a question. She about gagged from the taste, which was worse than some of the medicinal remedies Hojo had brought for her multiple faux illnesses. "Gah, what was that?"
"Antidote, the monster is poisonous." He frowned as he drew his eyes away from Kagome. "It should be dead though, why is it still creating poisonous fumes?"
"It's not dead, it's changing," Kagome answered. "The Shikon jewel can grant yokai, and I guess monsters, incredible strength and powers. I have to get the jewel back and purify it."
Sephiroth looked between her and the very unappealing bubbling mass of flesh. When he had planned an invasion of the Shinra tower, this was not one of the possibilities he had planned for. Of course, every plan he had made concerning Kagome seemed to fly out the window ever since she was found in the fields of Wutai. "Once everything settles, we are having a conversation and you are telling me everything," he said, looking over at Kagome sternly.
"I told you the truth before," she said, crossing her arms defiantly.
"Yes, but I thought you were insane before," he admitted, smirking lightly as surprise crossed her face. The surprise melted into a smile as she realized that he was finally convinced that she had been telling the truth. However, the moment was short lived as the flesh started to writhe, and a form started to take shape.
Suddenly an arm shot out of the beast as its form settled. It looked a lot like it had before, but three times bigger with a fine green poisonous mist seeping out of its pores. Sephiroth quickly blocked the long skinny arm that had lunged towards them, and quickly twisted the Masamune so the thin blade sliced through its flesh. The severed appendage spasm and flopped on the floor.
Kagome made the mistake of assuming it was harmless, and pulled back on the string of her bow, wrapping the arrow tightly in power. But before she could let it fly the arm twitched to life and lunged toward Kagome. Her bow and arrow dropped to the floor as the hand wrapped tightly around her neck, gripping her throat with enough force to close her airway. She fell to her knees, her hands wrapped around the arm, trying her best to pry away from her throat.
Sephiroth had been sparring with the thick arm, which was near impossible to slice, the Masamune was only able to create shallow wounds that healed as quickly as they were inflicted. However, when Kagome's bow clattered to the floor, he paused to look back at the Miko and froze when he saw her struggling with the creature's arm. A strong wave of rage and the urge to protect her washed over him, giving him an even stronger determination and rush of strength to tear Hojo's creation asunder. He cast a strong blizzard spell on the beast, not waiting to watch the ice encase it before rushing towards Kagome's side.
Kagome didn't notice the SOLDIER's display of power, her vision was darkening as he lungs burned for air and her mind became cloudy. She closed her eyes and forced herself to focus despite the encroaching threat of unconsciousness. This thing was virtually another yokai empowered by the Shikon Jewel. If she could defeat Naraku, then she could defeat this thing and take back her jewel easily!
She focused her spiritual powers into her hands, imagining it seeping into the monster as she had been taught. The tight grip loosened as the pink glow gave way to a sea green color as the arm dissolved into the air. She gasped greedily for air, taking in deep breaths to sooth away the burn and clear the fog of her mind. It wasn't until a few seconds had passed before she noticed she had been staring at the hem of Sephiroth's black leather coat only a few inches away from her. The SOLDIER was on the defensive, blocking each attempted strike by the monster, and the minions it had summoned sometime while she was struggling with its detached arm.
Which, to her dismay, had grown back.
Guilt and embarrassment ate at her as Sephiroth continued to defend her. She had done this to help, yet all she had done it seemed was make things worse. Not only was almost killed by the monster twice, but because she hadn't guarded the Shikon jewel close enough, had revived it and made it ten times stronger. She had to prove to Sephiroth that she was stronger than this. That he hadn't made the wrong decision in letting her come along.
"Step back!" she warned Sephiroth, who quickly took a few steps away from the monster before she summoned power from the Materia, despite Minerva's warning ringing in her ears. Kagome put her whole strength in casting the fire spell, causing a wide pillar of fire erupted from the floor beneath the monster, consuming it completely. She changed from the fire Materia to the blizzard Materia, letting the fire die down before a large block of ice formed above it. The pain in her chest welled up, worse than ever, but she pushed through it, too determined to prove herself.
The monster stumbled from the spell, and fell to the floor. Kagome dashed out from behind Sephiroth, dodging his arm that reached out to grab her. Channeling her Miko powers through her arrows was not enough. The spiritual power was refreshing but yet draining as she pulled it from her soul and into her hands. She didn't flinch as she encountered the poison mist, but placed her hands directly on the monster.
The monster screamed in pain from the holy power flooding through it. Just like its arm before it, the power ripped the monster apart, pink power turning green as it disappeared, leaving a darkened Shikon jewel resting innocently on the floor.
( )
"For Gaia's sake, Genesis! Does the word overkill mean anything to you?" Angeal was on the verge of yelling as he looked at the gaping hole left by the golden dragon summon. The entire north wall had been demolished for at least two stories, and he didn't want to think about what that meant for the structural integrity of the building. On a possibly good note, there was absolutely no sign of their adversaries.
"It means fun, my friend," Genesis had a lazy smile on his face as he admired his handy work.
"Fun? Fun?" Angeal had to close his eyes and count to ten several times. He had often wondered how mentally stable his best two friends were. Sanity was always questionable with Genesis since he was a young boy, but he thought Sephiroth had been mentally stable, if not emotionally stunted. Yet, on his command, they had all but destroyed the majority of the MP and Infantrymen troops, and had convinced a good portion of SOLDIER to desert their post.
"When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end, the goddess descends from the sky. Wings of light and dark spread afar she guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting," Genesis quoted with a delighted sigh. "Do you think Kagome could be a harbinger of the Goddess? The war continues on with no end in sight, and now Shinra will be crippled."
"All three of you are insane," Angeal griped, still fighting back the ensuing headache. "You're insane. Sephiroth's insane. And Kagome's more than likely insane."
Genesis chuckled slightly, "Then you must be insane yourself, my friend."
"Probably." The black haired SOLDIER sighed. Well, at least they had nothing to stop them from helping out their comrades…
And he was in good company, after all.
He regretted his previous thought as a low-pitched groan reverberated through the lobby. The whole place shook, the glass shattering as the whole Shinra building started to lean towards the north wall. "Retreat!" He yelled to the other SOLDIERs, who quickly followed his orders. Except Genesis, of course. The two friends shared a look, Angeal's frown conveying a message that was answered as Genesis lifted his sword, the red summon Materia glinting from an inner light.
"Even if the morrow is barren of promise, nothing shall forestall my return." The quote sent a subtle smirk to Angeal's lips before he rushed after the SOLDIERs. Genesis smiled as well as he caressed his sword, the ancient runes flaring to his call.
Now it was his turn to be the hero.