Disclaimer: I do not own Inu Yasha
Chapter 14: Talis
Stepping out of the darkness with a feeling of relief, the first thing that struck the demon was that the colors were unnatural. He looked up into a sky with a sun that was blue. How could a sun be blue? Everything he saw was eerie and alien. The demon lord found himself unsettled. Pulling his eyes from the unearthly color of the sun, his gaze took in a landscape unlike anything he had ever seen. At first glance everything--the rocks, the ground, the trees, even the water—appeared almost black in color. Glancing around he began to realize that distance gave objects that dark color. Objects closer to him had color, though not like any he had ever seen. A pale blue mist hung above the water's surface. Trees rose with blue-gray trunks and blue-green leaves. Looking up one of the trees that surrounded them, he placed a hand against its trunk. It didn't feel like wood. It was smooth like a stone from the bottom of a riverbed, but he could feel energy pulsating under its cold surface, almost like the throbbing pulse of blood. At the queer feeling he pulled his hand away sharply, disconcerted by the unexpected sensation.
"You should be honored. You are one of the few who have traveled to Talis and arrived still living." Kephren said coming up to him.
Sesshomaru turned his attention to Kephren, and found himself staring. The peculiar blue light dramatically altered his appearance. The hair which had been so blindingly bright, was now a softly glowing silvery-blue. The eyes were now silvery-blue also, but the skin, which had been coal black, had a blue sheen where it reflected the unearthly blue light of the sun. Kephren, seeing his expression grinned widely, "I know I am pretty, but you can admire me later when there is more time."
The demon snorted in disgust and abruptly turned away, to find himself facing Thryss. Like Kephren, the light changed the way she looked. Her pale skin, now glowed a soft pale blue. The dark hair was now impossibly black. So black, it seemed to absorb light. She was quite beautiful in the alien light, Sesshomaru grudgingly admitted to himself. He had previously found her attractive, but in this light, she no longer looked so human, and somehow it suited her.
"They will probably have taken her to train with the young ones." Thryss said, drawing the demon out of his reverie. She nodded to the left, beyond the shining black lake. Sesshomaru turned his attention toward the direction that she had indicated.
Massive gleaming black structures towered over them. Their sheer size and bulk had mislead him to assume that they were part of a mountain. The incredible height shouldn't have even been possible. The structure was roughly rectangular, but the straight lines narrowed as they rose. Strange. No sign windows either. Sesshomaru found he was not feeling as sure of himself as he usually did.
"It must be overwhelming to see such grandeur for one such as you." came the irritating voice. Sesshomaru scowled at this creature who, to all appearances, lived to mock him. "If you have recovered from the understandable awe that our world inspires, we should get going." Kephren needled him, delighted with the murderous glare that the demon was aiming at him. The Talisian gestured toward the ominous dark edifice, his silvery-blue eyes gleaming as he waited for them to proceed.
Thryss fell in step beside Sesshomaru as they crossed what he supposed was grass, except that it was stiff and crunched under their feet. Who ever heard of brittle grass? The demon lord sighed to himself. When had he become so rash?
"What is this building we are heading for." he asked, pondering the purpose of the unusual structure.
"It is where the young are housed." she answered.
"What do you mean by young?" he asked.
"Age is calculated differently here, but it would be comparable to ages four to eight years."
"Children the age of four are on their own?" he inquired quietly.
"Do you find that odd?" she asked looking up at him, her face a pale blue as the light washed over it.
"Children that young are not prepared to fend for themselves. What happens if they need assistance?" Sesshomaru wasn't sure he wanted the answer. Thryss shrugged, explaining what was natural to her, "Then they learn how to survive by themselves, or they die."
Sesshomaru digested this cold, unpalatable answer. "How did you survive?" He wanted to know.
Thryss stared at him silently, "I am not weak. You do what must be done." she finally answered.
Sesshomaru looked away from her to the looming black building they were approaching. Despite his night vision being much better than a human's, he still looked forward to sunrise. Although he could see fairly well, the low illumination was another unsettling element in an unsettling world. Turning back to her, he asked, "How long till daybreak?"
"It is the middle of the day." she said looking at him oddly.
This was the middle of the day? What was the night like? The demon's unhappy thoughts, were soon forgotten as Kephren directed them to another building, a much smaller black shape. The Talisian walked up to one of the walls and waited for them.
Kephren eyes shined with an impish light as the demon stood staring at the blank wall. Suspecting that the annoying thing was somehow mocking him again, Sesshomaru scowled at it in displeasure. Grinning at the demon's discomfiture, Kephren moved to wall, and then walked through it. Sesshomaru blinked. Walking over he placed a hand against the smooth surface. It was solid. He was really starting to hate this place. He looked at Thryss with a raised eyebrow. She smiled slightly, "It is controlled by telekinesis." she informed him.
The demon lord was staring at her in incomprehension, when a black hand reached out and grabbed his arm, and yanked him through the wall. A most unpleasant coldness went through him as he passed though what had just been solid stone.
Kephren released the demon's arm as he exited the wall. Sesshomaru found himself in a small, sparsely furnished room. A faint blue light without any apparent source, illuminated the room.
Looking around curiously he noted ledges protruding out of the walls, forming a sort of low bench. In the middle of the floor was a slender black pedestal that stood about four feet tall and had the same rectangular shape as the outside of the building.
Thryss emerge from the wall behind him and walked over to Kephren, who was standing in front of the pedestal. Upon placing a dark hand above it, a blue light began to glowed softly, then gradually brightened until a solid beam of light stretched from the pedestal to the ceiling. Kephren stepped back, and came to stand beside them.
"What were you doing?" The demon finally asked, curiosity getting the best of him.
"Opening a gate into the children's training center." He replied.
Not understanding, the demon decided to wait and see what happened. It didn't take long. The column of light began to split apart, curving outward and widening as it extended from the pedestal until a long blue cone was formed. Sesshomaru took one look at the unnatural tunnel, and decided walking to the other building was an excellent idea. Only, how did he get out of this room? The wall was once again solid and there were no doors or windows.
"It is the quickest way." Thryss said, seeing his unease.
"How can this tunnel of light assist us?" He demanded.
It was Kephren who answered. "You walk into the light, your molecules are disassembled on this side, and reassembled on the other."
Sesshomaru frowned, "That does not sound wise."
Kephren smirked and walked into the light, sparing a backward glance for the demon. Daring him to follow.
"Come." Thryss said as she followed Kephren into the light.
The demon lord didn't like the command. He didn't like the strange tunnel, and he didn't like this bizarre world. Grumbling to himself, he followed them into the glowing blue gate. He felt energy crackle along his skin, like thousands of tiny needles; he felt himself being drawn toward the end of the tunnel, an odd stretching sensation, then confusion. He was unable to focus, his thoughts seemed scattered and fragmented. Just when it seemed like he couldn't stand anymore, he found himself being propelled out of the tunnel. Cold, shaking, and disoriented, he stumbled from the gate. Never, never again, would he willingly enter the blue cone of light, he swore to himself.
They stepped out into a long empty hallway. Everything was dark—the walls, floor and even the ceiling. Everything looked to be made of the same dark material. It looked something like marble, the smooth black surface gleaming with the pale blue light. The demon was a bit perturbed by light that had no origin. It just glowed all around them. In fact, is actually followed them as they made their way through a maze of identical halls brightening by degrees ahead of them and, he could see when he glanced back, fading behind them. Sesshomaru had always thought he had a good sense of direction. He found it inoperative here, and that knowledge did not make for a happy demon. He stayed close. If they got separated he did not relish the idea of having to track them in this eerie black maze.
Kephren finally stopped in front of one of the walls, and frowned. Come to think of it, it was the first time Sesshomaru had seen the creature exhibit any kind of uncertainty. The demon felt a surge of satisfaction. Kephren looked to Thryss, who was also studying the spot. "Something is wrong?" Sesshomaru inquired, his voice echoing loudly in the empty corridor.
"This indicates an intelligence-based training room." Thryss answered, confusion in her voice.
"Why would that be unusual?" The demon asked.
"It would mean the young are being engineered for certain qualities." She said still staring at the wall.
The demon walked closer to the area that held her attention, to get a look at what they were studying. Engraved in the wall, about a hands width from the ceiling was a strange symbol. If he had not been looking for it, he would not have seen it.
"It is time we ask some questions." Kephren decided, placing a hand under the symbol. The stone seemed to blur, thin and then become transparent. Motioning them to follow, he walked through the vaporous wall. Thryss and Sesshomaru followed him into a large room that was lighted with the same pale blue light, though this one was more brightly lit, the entire interior of the room evenly illuminated. In the room was a group of young children. They glanced up from whatever had their attention and looked toward them. Moving forward, Kephren stopped in the middle of the floor and said something to them in a language that was full of sounds like wind and turbulent air. The demon stood silently beside Thryss watching to see what the Talisian was up too. His golden eyes widened as the group of small children approached Kephren, forming a semi-circle in front of him. Sesshomaru noted that some of them were black, like Kephren, while others had silvery blue skin. They all, though, had the same hair color that the creature did. The children were slight, to the point of seeming fragile, and extremely beautiful. If he had not seen them move, he could have mistaken them for sculptures, so perfect were their features.
The children stood a bit back from the unfamiliar warrior who questioned them. Their cold eyes held none of the happiness or joy, that one would normally expect to see in children. Their stillness and silence was unnerving.
Kephren spoke to the group, although the demon could not understand the words. At first there was no answer. The children's eyes, hard and cold shifted to Thryss and the demon, watching them with a disturbing calculating expression. Sesshomaru felt Thryss stiffen as their gaze came to rest on her. Leaving his side, she walked up to the tallest of the group, who barely came to her shoulder, and lashed out at the child. The black armor slid over her hand and wrist like a glove. The force of the blow sending the small, fragile form flying into the wall. The child hit the wall with a loud crack and slid to the floor.
The demon was amazed that instead of whimpering or crying, the child got up and snarled menacingly, but did not challenge her. It was obvious that only self-preservation prevented the child from attacking her. Thryss spoke to child in the same language that Kephren had used. The child's answer did not appear to please either Thryss or Kephren. Turning away from the group, Kephren indicated they were to leave. Following silently, the demon pondered the odd children of this world. Thryss had spent her youth here, with these hard, emotionless youngsters, with eyes too old for ones so young. So different from Rin, who was like sunshine made human. The longer he was here, the more Sesshomaru disliked this cold, cruel world.
"She is not here." Thyrss said in frustration.
"What did they say?" Sesshomaru asked.
"They said there were rumors of one with my coloring, but she is not in any the regiments." she said frowning.
"This is odd?" He inquired.
"On our world, there is no division of regiments. This strongly indicates selective engineering." It was Kephren who answered.
"How does this effect where she might be?" The demon asked, not understanding.
"Selective engineering makes experimentation almost a certainty. It they are experimenting with the way we are engineered, the question is why, and where does Rin fit into this? They came for her intentionally. They knew she was on your world, and they were apparently waiting to retrieve her. Why?" Kephren's normally easy going demeanor vanished, and in its place stood the being that caused other races to quail in fear, that which they called A Creature of Nightmares.
Authors Note: Whew! This chapter was a challenge. I hope I did okay. Did you like it? Please let me know. Thanks for reviewing!