A/N: Bet you weren't expecting that to happen were you? In case anyone was wondering, I don't hate Kikyo. It's not her fault she got brought back to life in a clay body that needed Kagome's soul. I do not, however, like Inuyasha (I don't really hate him either). He isn't the nicest person around, especially to Kagome. But now that he has been effectively put in his place it doesn't really matter. Look for a possible future appearance by him. Kikyo will be seen again as she has become slightly more important. Moving on, look out for what Kagome was cooking in that sarcophagus, who Kagome was talking to (the voice, not Kikyo) and the final battle.
Disclaimer: Drizzt and Co. belong to R.A.S. Kagome belongs to Rumiko Takahashi as do anyone else from Inuyasha. I have no intention to steal them. Anyone else is most likely mine unless otherwise claimed. The rock I just found on my desk is mine too. Thank you, have a lovely day/afternoon/evening.
Warning: Violence, blood and gore, slash, foul language and spelling errors.
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Chapter Twenty-five: When The Swords Glow White
The amulet was glowing again. From what Jarlaxle and Kimmuriel had been able to learn about the thing, there was a teleportation spell in it that could be used multiple times to get to Kagome or somewhere safe. Upon learning about the spell, Drizzt had demanded that they use it to go to her. The others, a little frightened by his anger told him that they would of course be going to get her. They just had to find out how to use the amulet itself.
Drizzt knew that the others were right, they couldn't get to Kagome if they didn't know how to use the amulet. He remembered that she said in her letter that she had left it so they could find her. Obviously she knew more about the thing than any of the companions did, but she had written it like she assumed they knew. Or maybe, the ranger thought, she knew they would know and they weren't going about it the right way. Drizzt turned to Kimmuriel who was currently staring at the amulet. "Have you tried talking to it?" he asked. Kimmuriel looked up at him with an irritated look. "I mean it. Have you asked it with your powers to show you how to use it?" he continued. The psionicist still was glaring at him. Apparently he had not.
"Why would I do that?" he finally asked in answer.
"It's Kagome." Drizzt stated as though it should be obvious. "If she knew we wouldn't know how to use it, she would not have left it for us. She would have made it very simple for us to use because she knows we would have asked her about it."
Kimmuriel sighed in defeat. "I suppose it is worth a try. We haven't discovered anything yet, what's the worst it could do?" He closed his eyes and focused on aligning his energies with that of the amulet. It was not long before a little voice asked 'Can I help you?' Kimmuriel did as Drizzt had suggested and asked the voice if it could tell him the proper way to use the amulet. "Oh sure! What do you want to use?' was its happy reply. Trust Kagome to have something so eager to help, he thought and then asked it how to use the teleportation spell. "Oh that's easy! All you have to do is say the command word. It's 'Niret'. Just make sure if there's more than one person going that they're all touching so no one gets left behind. Kimmuriel thanked the voice and withdrew his energy wondering why he hadn't thought of doing what he had just done before. He had contemplated it briefly but had figured that its power would be too much for him to get past in such a way. In any case, now he knew how to use the teleportation spell.
"I know how to use it." Kimmuriel stated as he opened his eyes. The others gave him their immediate attention. "All we have to do is say the command word. Get in a circle around me and one of you put your hand on my shoulder." The others did exactly as he said, Jarlaxle took his place behind the psionicist and lightly put a hand on his shoulder. When they were all ready Kimmuriel said the command word and they all vanished from the temple.
Within the next few moments they had landed deep in a forest somewhere. They had no idea where exactly it was but saw a castle some distance away. No doubt it belonged to the demon. Something else they noticed instantly, was that Kagome was no where in sight. They had wanted the amulet to bring them directly to Kagome, and she wasn't there.
"Now what?" Entreri asked no one in particular.
Drizzt stepped off a few feet and began looking around. "She's been here." He said to the others without looking up. "These tracks are only a few hours old. They head off into the woods and probably lead to that castle. If we go now we may be able to catch up with her."
The others hastily agreed and followed Drizzt into the woods. The figure in the cave watched them passively. She knew that they would get to Kagome. Inside she could hear the kiln, it was going to be ready soon. Kagome would be back in time and if she wasn't, Kikyo was certain she knew what to do. She had been brought back the same way after all, just with a different intent. Her admiration for Kagome had only grown when she learned what the young woman was planning to do with the kiln. She was only doing it out of pure necessity and the desire to protect her friends. She also knew from experience that it would be only a minor thing or Kagome to bring the body back to true life. The spirit was already waiting. But Kagome had taken the spirit with her. Kikyo did not need to be told what was about to happen. She looked forlornly at the ring in the center of Kagome's circle, it was glowing now, it knew its purpose.
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Getting through the forest had been easy. At first she had been compelled to walk through it knowing that there was only minor reason to rush. She could have waited until the next day to go when the body in the kiln was done. Then she sensed that the others were on there way to her. She had decided to run. Kagome knew that they would lose her tracks after she had began to run, she had been moving so fast her feet had barely been touching the ground. Now she stood in one of the hallways of Zakhra's castle. The corridor itself was not long, the depth of the darkness would beg to differ but Kagome knew better. She had been here before. Her steps were completely silent as she made her way down. Zakhra was somewhere in the bowls of the castle she could sense him somewhere below her.
Kagome wasn't the slightest bit worried about confronting him. If she died, then no matter how much she really didn't want to, she died. She was ready and there would be no fighting death if it came. The prospect was not pleasant but she had to accept it. A small sound caused her to freeze in place. she waited a few minutes before she realized that it was just a harmless stone falling from the ceiling of the corridor. Kagome almost laughed despite herself. She was being paranoid. While it was a good idea to be cautious, she realized that she was over doing it. Her instincts told here that there was nothing remotely threatening nearby, save for the demon below her somewhere in the castle.
Kagome made it to the set of double doors that would teleport her down. Before opening them she took out Radiant Death and the Charon's Claw. Both swords pulsed eagerly. They knew that a battle approached, they wanted it. "It's time now." Kagome whispered though there was no one around. "I'm ready to die, you understand that. I need your help now, I can't do this without you. You will help me, wont you? I can imagine you want him gone just as much as I do, probably more. After what he did to you I'm not surprised. You've already done a lot for me, I'll understand if you want to leave now and wait for your body to be done. I'm sure Kikyo knows what to do."
A gentle breeze caressed her face. The voice from before whispered back to her. 'I will not leave you little one. Do not be afraid. Let us join form, we will face him together.'
"Yes." Kagome replied. "That's what we should do. Are you ready?"
'I am ready whenever you are little one.'
Kagome closed her eyes and opened herself to the voice. The spirit entered her body easily, they were already much alike and held many of the same principals. The spirit had no desire to harm her, this was proven by the newly warm feeling circulating throughout Kagome's flesh. The young woman was the stronger of the two but the spirit was fairly close. "Let's go." Kagome whispered and she pushed open the doors and was instantly teleported to the chamber of the demon lord.
Zakhra was caught by surprise, he had not even considered the possibility of her being able to find him. And now here she was. He was barely able to get his sword up to block her charging attack. She did not look too concerned that he had, there was something different about her somehow but he did not have time to think about it as she launched another fast attack. For a moment Zakhra thought he had pinned her sword down, she looked like she was about to drop it but instead brought it up in a wild arc and knocked his sword back. Radiant Death came up right behind it in a short stab and barely managed to slice through the side of his armor. The demon thrust his sword at her in a poor attempt at disarming her. Kagome was much too fast for something like that and she easily side stepped to the left causing his thrust to miss her completely. She threw herself back in, the Charon's Claw bared forward in a straight-line thrust at the demons belly. Again the changed the angle of her attack and sliced the other side of his armor. She spun the blades wildly in front of herself scoring a few more minor injuries, she wasn't doing any obvious damage but she didn't have to. Kagome had something else in mind.
"You seem to be losing your touch " Zakhra mocked as he dodged a hit . Unknown to him it was just a feint. Kagome's face remained completely blank as if she could not hear him. Radiant Death came up in an arc again and landed a deep slash to his shoulder. Zakhra growled in pain as he began to figure out that there had to be more to her actions than he had thought of. He bared his fangs and pivoted back not realizing that this was exactly what she wanted. He had given her enough room to lunge forward with both swords swinging down to cross and leave a wide X in his armor. What was she doing?
Zakhra managed to regain enough movement to thrust his sword at her again, he scored a hit on her arm but she didn't even flinch. She came on harder, sparks literally flying from their weapons. She commanded Charon's Claw to make the wall of ash as she had seen Artemis do At first the sword wanted to refuse but it knew that its master would not be happy and might discard it if it failed her. It did as she commanded and the thick wall of ash appeared before the demon causing him to once again jump back. Like the many who Artemis had fought before using the same method, he dove through the wall of ash only to find that the girl was gone. He looked up in time to she her jumping down on him her sword poised to kill. He was not fast enough to completely dodge the attack and a deep gash spread its way down his back. He howled with the impact. How that sword burned! But which one was it? They were now both equally painful to him. He cursed the swords even more as she cut another line on his cheek with Radiant Death.
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They lost her tracks only a few hundred feet into the forest. Drizzt cried in irritation. Now where had she gone? They were saved by Nira who quickly found her scent and took the lead. Nira felt something warning him in his mind. They had to go faster if they wanted to get to Kagome in time. He told the others to hang onto him, he was going to run. Artemis decided to try out his own speed and told his father that he would run alongside him. When he offered to carry some of the others, Nira told him to take Drizzt and he would carry the others.
They ran together as fast as they could. To them the weight of the others was only a small thing. They reached the castle shortly thereafter. The doors were sealed shut but that was not about to stop Nira who gathered his energy in a large orb before him and threw it into the doors. They cracked but did not break. Nira launched another booming attack then threw himself into the doors as hard as he could. They still held
"What are we going to do if you can't break those doors?" Jarlaxle inquired, causing Nira to stop his next attack. Nira looked at him incredulously.
"If I can't break the doors like this then I'll transform and see what that does. If I can't do it that way, we will find another way." Nira ended his response by once again gathering his energy, this time he brought it into his fist as he slammed into the door. This time it shattered upon impact. wood splinters flew everywhere and the companions had to duck for cover lest they get hit. When the shower ended they raced through the hallways once again led by Nira who followed Kagome's scent.
The breaking of the doors alerted the denizens of the castle to their presence. Nira hacked through most of them easily. the ones that he missed were brought down by the singing blades of the companions who were better off fighting demons now that they knew how to. To their surprise, many of their attackers were human. They chose not to think about this as they cut them down. All they cared about was getting to Kagome. From the sounds emanating from the castle, there was an intense battle going on somewhere within. The energy in the air around them sparked with a familiar presence. Kagome had found the demon and was fighting him. They had to get to her. The companions were momentarily baffled by the doors at the end of the corridor. Not caring where they went they pushed through and were teleported like Kagome before them into the demon's chamber.
They arrived in time to witness Zakhra land a deadly blow to Kagome.
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It hurt but she didn't care. This was what she had been waiting for. Kagome heard someone scream her name. Several people her mind registered. But she didn't care. She knew what she had to do. She landed with a hard thud on the stone floor. Zakhra's wicked laughter filled her ears and completely drowned out anything her friends were trying to say to her. She felt someone get near her, a warm hand on her face. She heard the ring of steel and a surprised gasp from one of her friends. Nira was yelling now she realized. He had taken a sword from Artemis who had not been expecting the action. Nira was holding Zakhra off now but he wouldn't be able to for long.
'Are you ready to come out now?' she asked the spirit inside her.
'I am ready little one.'
Drizzt backed off as Kagome's body began to glow. Amazed he watched her get back to her feet. Everyone in the room froze as she stood up straight. The light from her body flowed into Radiant Death and the Charon's Claw. The swords shone pure white and she opened her eyes. "You're dead." she promised Zakhra and leapt back into battle with him. Nira started to help her but backed off when he saw the deadly look in her eyes. that look was familiar to him and not quite Kagome.
Kagome herself wasn't quite ready to win. The Sacred Jewel lay silently around her neck, she had to use it now. She made her wish. "Someone help me protect them!" she cried in Japanese. Something thundered in the room. Her body changed form and the spirit inside her swelled. Kagome felt herself going to sleep, but it was nothing. The spirit was going to take over now ad the swords were still glowing. She knew that Zakhra had no chance of winning this battle now.
The pink light from the jewel disappeared. Instead of Kagome, a woman slightly taller with long, dark brown hair and lightly cinnamon skin stood in her place. Her grey eyes were darker than Kagome's but were matched perfectly with Artemis. The Charon's Claw and Radiant Death were switched in her hands, she favored the straight blade and it was hers after all. "You had to know that it was only a matter of time." she stated calmly to Zakhra who's face was an expression of the purest horror. "Tell me." she continued with the same deadly tone. "Do you know what happens when these swords glow white?"
Zakhra was held in a paralyzing spell. He was done and he knew it. She gracefully stepped forward, both swords held out to her sides. "Do you know what happens?" she asked again even though he could do nothing to answer. He would not even be able to scream. "You die." she answered her own question, emphasizing her point by planting both swords through his chest. The light from the Charon's Claw turned red and he was set aflame. Radiant Death remained white and flared. The look of horror never left his face as both swords devoured and destroyed him completely.
She easily pulled the swords out of the stone floor and turned to the others without placing them back in their sheaths. "We have to go now, the battle is not over and the castle is going to fall."
Nira's eyes were still as wide as they were when she had first appeared. "Shanali?" he gasped
She smiled softly. "Yes Nira. But we don't have time for this now. We have to go." She replaced Radiant Death in its sheath and nudged him forward with her now free hand. "Someone else is waiting for us. He is clearing the way but he does not have long."
"Who is it?" Nira asked. Shanali turned to Drizzt and told him that it was someone he had missed. She reiterated that they did not have much time and they followed her through the castle without further debate. Only a few enemies leapt out at them. They were quickly silenced by the Charon's Claw. The sword seemed to be overjoyed with the return of its mistress.
A large demon was thrown into the wall ahead of him. Everyone but Shanali tensed. A dark figure came around the corner and wiped his swords on his fallen foe before turning to smile at them. "It has been a while." he greeted. "What? No hug?" he feigned disappointment as he looked to Drizzt who wore a dumbfounded look. The ranger briefly wondered what was with himself and why he had been so emotional and easily confused over the last few months. Then he gave up on those thoughts and slung his arms around the person he had indeed been missing for a long time.
"How are you here?" he asked.
"Your friend brought me back for this battle." Zaknafien replied. "I believe her words were 'Someone please help me protect them.' So now I am here protecting you. But Shanali is right, we must move. The way out is clear."
They resumed their wild run and made it out the smashed doors just as the castle fell. Nira and Shanali carried them all to safety and landed in the same clearing where they arrived hoping to meet Kagome earlier that day.
"Right, now how are you two back?" Nira gasped.
"Kagome brought us back." Shanali replied. "Zaknafien does not have much more time, he is back solely on the power of the jewel. She called my spirit back and we are sharing a form."
"Is Kagome-" Drizzt started to ask.
"No." Shanali intercepted him. "She is here she's just sleeping. Actually, she wanted to talk to you Nira. She has something to show you." She turned her attention back to Drizzt. "I would advise you to go spend some time with your father. I do not know how long he has." The ranger nodded and he and Zak walked off into the woods. "Now then, Artemis why don't you give your mother a hug?" The latter bit his lip and nodded, throwing himself into his mothers arms for the first time in about thirty years. He buried his face into her but did not cry, he never cried. Shanali knew the front for what it was and gently ran her fingers through his hair. "There's my baby." she whispered. They stayed in the tight embrace for a few minutes before Shanali informed them that Kagome would like to speak to them.
Artemis watched wide-eyed as his mothers form shrunk back down to her host's size and her skin became much paler. Their positions were switched, Artemis was now holding Kagome. She smiled up at him uneasily and got to her feet and faced Nira. "Please don't get mad at me." she said. She showed them the cave and unsealed it. Upon seeing her Kikyo let out a sigh of relief and asked her if it was time. The kiln was ready to be opened. Kagome stood in her circle and levitated the sarcophagus out of it, she used the fire enchantment in the ring to break it and then it vanished.
Inside the sarcophagus lay the naked form of the one who moments ago stood in front of them, arms crossed over her bare breasts. Her eyes were closed and she was made of clay. "It's only temporary." Kagome told Nira. "I'm bringing her back. I can bring her back like I did with Kikyo."
"Did she agree to this?" he replied, he voice shook from the sight of the clay imitation of his mate. Kagome nodded. "Then be on with it." he said and he looked away.
Kagome began her chant once more. The spirit of Shanali erupted out of her body and into the new one. As the spirit entered the clay form Kagome used the same spell she had on Kikyo months before. Shanali sat up grinning and completely alive.
"Do you think I can have my clothes now?" she asked playfully. Kagome promptly handed them to her and the demoness put them on. Shanali stretched, reaching for the ceiling of the cave. "Let's go outside now. I want to see it as myself." She ran out of the cave childishly, tugging on Nira as she passed. Once out of the cave she tackled him to the ground and touched her mate mark on his neck. He touched his on her in return. "I missed you." she said to him as she rubbed her nose against his.
Drizzt returned to the clearing alone, he was not upset at all. He was at peace right now. His father had returned to the spirit world and he had Kagome back. He was happy that Artemis now had both parents. Artemis wrapped his arms around him and then pushed him over to Kagome. Not needing the prompting he ran over to her and captured her in a tight embrace. She looked up at him and smiled, "Let's go home."