Her Life - Chapter 36 - "Love Is More Than I Can Give"

So far as I know, I am the only one of my kind. A kind that for the longest of times was known to strike fear and dread into the hearts of thousands, perhaps even millions of people, but now...

Now there is another, one that is far more devious and scheming than any other of my brothers in arms than I have ever known. At first we thought this newest member of our brotherhood would be of benefit to us, giving just enough push to overthrow that which has been fighting us for centuries upon centuries.

But...we were wrong...

The plan was that he become our leader and we his followers since, of course, he had the most experience with their adversary, and, it had been that way in the beginning. Over time however their army was going down in ranks and none knew why. None of them could escape so it wasn't like they just walked away...

Soon the truth was discovered and a war of a different kind started, only this was one of pure survival.

Several joined the other side, teaming up with the one they'd fought with for so long in order to escape that which they were now trying to survive. It was only by chance that one of them saw what truly happened to those who were "brought up in rank" within the service of their leader that a decision was made. And what was seen, told, and described was sworn to never be spoken of again; only being agreed upon that all of it had to stop.

However something happened to most if not all of them over time after joining the side of their "enemy"; they began remembering what it felt to feel, to have an emotion other than anger, to feel what could almost be called contentment. At times some even felt happiness though such times were rare and treasured greatly. Most, if not all, had begun to feel regret for what they'd done so many years ago in what they now deemed "another life" and this feeling, to them, was thanks to their new "general", as they liked called her.

As time passed (was this world garnered by hours, days, or weeks?) the entire army had come to care for this woman, so much so that many had even died for her; which was of no consequence since none of us could technically "die" on this plane anyway. That fact, however, was decidedly different for their general.
She'd been stabbed and had broken bones, but, instead of being rejuvenated as the rest of them had she was forced to wait and let herself heal. And even then she would continue to fight, because it was her fight, fate had deemed it that way.

The worst injury came to her on what should have been a most joyous of days for the rest of them. She'd been working on something for quite some time now with a lot of meditation and testing of certain enchantments. None of us knew what she was doing but decided to trust her; she only lead them to bigger and better things before so what could be any different now? When she had them all gather one day and revealed her plan the response was...awe inspiring.

"Today, my brothers, is the first day of the rest of your lives." A powder was revealed in the palm of her hand. "A special event is happening today which has made the wall between this reality and the outside world thin, which has given us an awesome opportunity. Well, at least for all of you."

She smiled at their questioning looks and threw the powder out in front of her and to the side. Almost silently she uttered an incantation which made the powder fly by itself in a circular motion, solidifying to a point that an area of a place that was not their camp appeared before them.

"What is that place?"

Even though their camp was in the woods a great difference between theirs and the one before them was the background. Tall foreign buildings encompassed the landscape while a giant bird of the purest white filled the sky. But it was unlike any demon they had ever seen.

"My soldiers, you have done so much for me and your brothers that when this opportunity arose I could not pass on the chance to repay you for all of your kindness."

"How exactly will a picture of something we don't know repay us?!" One of them scoffed.

"Oh you've seen it before my brothers," she bent and grasped a small pebble. "And this isn't just some ordinary picture...it is the real world."

Gasps of disbelief let out through the crowd. Many wondered how such a marvelous thing could possibly be while some couldn't understand why their forests had changed but most of all the group wanted to know how exactly this...thing...could "repay" them.

"The walls between our world and what is real are thin today and for that reason alone this opportunity is possible." Two steps taken closer to the soldiers, "I offer you a proposition my brothers, or as it could be more precisely called, an escape." Silence encompassed them.

"Y...yo...y...you m...mean wu...wu...we could go h...ho...home?" One of the youngest stuttered out.

"Yes. Now it wouldn't be exactly like home for the world has changed but I am sure it wouldn't be a problem for you. The forest you see is completely and utterly yours; both in ownership and protection, for I have surrounded it with an impeccable barrier."

The demon who was considered second in command, under their general, came up to inspect the supposed mirage a bit more closely. He attempted to touch it, biting back a growl when his hand went through and into what he believed was the real world. It astounded him that not only was he able to pull his hand back into his world but he could also smell the lingering scent of pine; a scent which did not exist in their current world.

Most everyone present took in the lingering scent like it was the most treasured aphrodisiac known to man.

"It is yours my brothers!" She smiled and rose his arms, as if encompassing the mass of men. "I leave the decision to you; go out into the real world and escape this living hell or stay here and continue to dream of escape. I fear however that an opportunity such as this will not make itself happen again."

Breaths were held tight as all considered their options. Did they truly want to leave this place or were they all just blowing smoke? Could they make it in the real world even though it has changed so drastically? (From what the mirage showed them) Should they go anyway so this opportunity doesn't just pass by and leave them trapped?

"I'm going." One of them whispered, then looked up into the semi-shocked faces of those surrounding him. "I've seen and heard the horrors that go on here and I for one would rather take the chance of dying in a place unknown with and experience the sense of long forgotten freedom than wait here and fight every day until the end of eternity." Murmurs of agreement soon filled the crowd and a morale that hadn't seen the light of day in centuries spread quickly through their hearts. They couldn't move fast enough to collect what little items they had to their names and gather before the portal, some even shaking in excitement.

The second in command stood off to the side, sending his most trustworthy official through the portal and then watching to make sure the rest of the men made it through safely. He was quite sure that no one would cause trouble in the real world because they'd be too overwhelmed but there were a few that needed watched for safety. Most of them were reformed from their ways yet there was always a sour apple in the bunch. Finally the last man was through and all that were left were himself and the general. He looked back at his leader, nodded once in acknowledgement, picked up his pack, and entered the outside world himself.

As soon as he stepped through the portal everything assaulted him. The smell was different, the sun rays were different, the ground felt odd beneath their feet, hell, even the air surrounding them felt lighter and cleaner than any had felt in years. All of them, including himself, were taking in deep, almost gasping like breaths. None could get enough no matter how hard they tried; some even rolled along the ground in attempts to cover themselves in this fresh, clean scent. This place was literally the epitome of all their dreams of freedom, combined.

Many stopped and looked back to the portal, finding it so odd yet exciting that only moments ago they had all been trapped in a living hell with no hope of escape. Within the mirror they see the smiling face of their general, who they supposed was glad to see them so ecstatic after being locked away for so long. Several soldiers were even happy that she too would soon be out of that hell hole, but, that feeling did not last for long. Right before they were going to call out to her to join them the scene within the motto grew dark and malicious-like. They saw the red eyes that haunted them in every waking moment and within every dream. Panicked, the called out desperately, attempting to motivate the last of their group to step through the portal and join them. Something was terribly wrong, they now realized, and for some reason, they hoped for everything in the world that this awful feeling was wrong.

"Quickly!" He stuck out his hand, trying to grasp his leader and force her through the portal to safety, but, when his attempts we stopped by a barrier everyone got up in arms. Nothing could pass through from this new world to the old one. "What is this maliciousness?! Pass! Before he gets you!"

The look upon his general's face was one that would never be forgotten; it was one of lost hope, of settling for whatever was about to be dished out, and one of finality.

"This opportunity, my brothers, was meant for all of us," Hopeless eyes fluttered shut, "but one." The red eyes took on the shape of a figure, one that was quickly gaining substance.

"Then I will switch with you!" Declared the second. He would lay down his very life for the person who released them from hell.

"No. You know of the bargain, of the pact. I can never be free of this place." Slowly the sword at her hip was drawn, preparing to begin again the never ending battle. The figure behind her took on coloring; drawing a weapon of its own.

More panic swept through them as the portal began closing.

"I wish you all long and happy lives, my brothers! And I shall send a prayer up to the heavens, one that I hope with all my heart to be granted, for I do not wish any of you to travel this path called life alone."

The second was furious. If she knew of this happening then why did she set them all free? There was no way she could stand up to that evil alone and survive! Besides that he knew of her fears; knows how this would affect her in the long run. Why would she do that to herself?

"I leave you in charge of our brothers, my second," The portal grew ever smaller. "Lead them swiftly in the coming days. Be sound, be strong. And remember," She began to turn around, facing her foe head on. "I care for you all deeply, with all of my heart."

The portal was almost closed when it happened. They saw it slither along the ground and pass her without notice and it was too late to warn her. Out of habit the lot of them were already to arms when they heard her scream but when her blood spattered them through the portal they knew that this wound would be worse than any others she had ever received.

They knew the hard truth of everything when a thump brought their attention to the last thing to come through the portal. Rage tore through them, for before them was the bloodied stump of their general's forearm, complete with her hand still grasping the hilt of her sword.

And she, still facing her foe, heard the final word she would ever hear from her brothers...

"KAGOME!"

A/N – 2,141 PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS/COMMENTS - WELCOME NEW READERS!

The next chapter will have an explanation for a couple things people have asked me about that will hopefully explain everything. I am hoping from now on to update at least once a month.

I would like to apologize for my absence these past three months. I'd almost had this chapter done when another tragedy hit our family. My Great Aunt Tiny had a heart attack on October 1 and while they did get her to the hospital in time her body had already started shutting down. We were fortunate enough to see her before she passed but it was still very hard. She always said she'd die at 92 (and she did) but the thing that really bothered me was that she collapsed 6 months to the day that my dad collapsed (He went down on April 1) and she was buried on October 7 – which was 6 months to the day that we took dad off life support and the day he died. It didn't help that she died in the same hospital ward literally directly across from his room either. This really struck a chord with me and quite frankly scared me. Too many connections and too many coincidences….plus it was ruff because she was my Grandma's last living sibling… The last images I shall forever have of my dad and aunt are of them struggling to breathe…. Too many dark thoughts to begin the holidays…

I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and may all of you be blessed in the upcoming year.

If you like STAR TREK check out my new one shot "Illogical Suffering" available here on FF!

Loves, hugs, and kisses! ~ Daphne