Sounds Like Armageddon

Joey Sharkbait

2020

[Soundtrack: "Jonestown Tea" by Otep]

Run, rabbit, run…

Wet leaves and thin, whip-like tree branches hit my face as I chased after Kagura, desperately searching for a hole in the barrier's edge within the forest. We appropriately mourned the death of the fire demon until the grief was shelved as the panic switch flipped on when it fully sunk in that we were still in Naraku's captivity. Kagura nearly knocked herself out attempting to ram through the barrier in the sky on her feather. No such luck. We then charged into the forest, fan and dagger drawn, covered in grave soil, mud, and crimson. The rain did not wash away the filth; it only turned it into a vile mixture caked to our clothing and skin.

I had never seen Kagura run like this; I had never seen her so terrified. The urgent curses and cries of frustration she let out as she ran against the barrier's edge echoed in my mind. I could barely keep up with her; almost always glancing over my shoulder, awaiting the inevitable pursuit by our captor. My lungs burned with breathlessness; my throat and mouth were dry with anxiety and dehydration. I followed Kagura back to the courtyard through the woods and across the bridge over the koi pond. She collapsed in the middle of it all, almost close to Rouge's grave.

"WHY?!" The wind sorceress' pained cry echoed through the courtyard; I was sure her agony reached the heavens.

I crouched down beside her, shaking. I put my arms around my friend, who only turned toward me with the last bit of her strength and buried her face in my shoulder.

I swear the ground shook in a microscopic quake.

I held Kagura a little tighter and I felt her do the same. We sat terrified, waiting on an earthquake.

"Sango," breathed Kagura. She sniffed and cleared her throat. I could tell she was desperately trying to hide her tears and convey strength. "No matter what happens, I will not leave your side. We'll get out of here. We have to… I'll get you out of here…" The wind demon took my hands in hers and held them tightly.

Past Kagura, I saw the grand doors designating the castle's main entrance from the courtyard open. My anxiety heightened further; my nerves were already shot.

The apocalypse did not come for us in this moment; only Kanna, like a tiny ghost of all our past mistakes. She came as a herald to prophesize our greatest failure yet. The small void yokai walked silently toward us, mirror held in hand as always. Always there, always empty, never changing.

"Kanna…" greeted Kagura. She slowly released my hands; I created just enough distance between us.

"Kagura…" began the girl in her high, empty voice. "Do you realize what you have done?"

"I have no regrets," Kagura stated boldly.

"He can no longer protect you, Kagura," said Kanna.

"Protect?" cried Kagura. "The only protection I've ever needed was from him!"

"He used the last of his strength to keep you here, where you belong…" I hated the way Kanna was describing Naraku as a low-level martyr. There was no nobility in his actions and there never would be.

"I don't belong here!" Kagura angrily stood up, fists clenched and shaking. "I have my heart! I am supposed to be free! Free as the wind in the image I was created from!"

Kanna's mirror glowed for a moment. I also rose to my feet and rested my hand on my dagger.

"Your freedom will come with a price, Kagura," continued Kanna.

Kagura growled and reached for her fan. "Ok… me, I can understand…" She looked to me, concern in her ruby irises. "But why her? Why wasn't she allowed to go?"

"Master Naraku has his reasons…" I shuddered and felt faint. "She aided in your attempted rescue. Both of you shall be punished accordingly. You have cost Naraku greatly. I am sorry." Her apology rang empty, just like the essence of her existence.

Kagura held up her fan. "Kanna… I never wished to harm you, ever… But you leave me no other choice…"

Before Kagura could wave her fan in defense, Kanna's mirror flashed and a deafening white noise pervaded the area; the sound felt as if it was literally going in one ear and out the other, filling my skull with unnecessary static in the process. I put my hands over my ears and fell to the ground. Kagura landed beside me.

I finally pushed myself up and opened my eyes. I couldn't see. Panic set in; I opened my mouth to speak, to cry out, to scream, anything… I could not form words. My limbs quickly grew weak and I collapsed to the ground once more, literally powerless. Unconsciousness soon consumed me; my dreams—or lack of—were as dark as my general experience.

A headache throbbed within my skull; the pain came in waves. Shockwaves that bounced around within me. A high-pitched ringing was still present in my ears—the familiar sound of tinnitus.

I could see now, at least. My eyes adjusted to the darkness within minutes. I was in a cell. A dirty, filthy cell. I soon recognized it to the be the same one that once imprisoned Rouge. I sat up, feeling my bones cracking and popping as I did so. My back and neck were so stiff.

I was no longer in my slayer armor. I was once again dressed in a plain gray kimono. I felt relatively clean; someone had washed the disgusting afterbirth of the battlefield from my fatigued body. I cringed at the thought; I would have preferred to just stay in filth if it meant retaining any ounce of dignity I could pretend I had left. I examined my surroundings further as my eyes fully adjusted to the low lighting.

I was alone in my own cell. Kagura was in a cell across from mine, although she was chained to the wall by shackles on her wrists. She was at least unconscious. I stood up and gripped the bars of my prison, shaking them violently and to no avail.

"Kagura!" The wind demon slowly shook her head, literally in for a rude awakening. A minute sense of relief hit me, knowing that she was alive and breathing.

"…What… the hell…?" Kagura mumbled as she looked around. She growled and pulled at her chains; it was no use.

"GOD DAMMIT! WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK?!"

It was painful to watch Kagura pulling aimlessly at her bondage. I could see no blood from where I was forced to watch, helplessly; I knew she was hurting herself in the process. I had never heard such anguish and agony in her voice before as she cursed and screamed and carried on, trying in vain to free herself.

I wish I could find comfort in the fact that I was not chained to the wall as well. It was unnerving, instead.

"Kagura… how did we get here?" I asked, even though I had a vague answer. One I did not like.

Kagura shook her head, pausing her struggle. "Probably Kanna… I hope… either way… fucking bastards!" She pulled once more at the chains and withdrew a deep, pained breath in her failure. "FUCK!"

I fumbled with the lock on my cell and shook each bar, praying for a loose foundation or mechanical failure. Anything that may result in my escape. I had to focus on something, after all; I did not even want to imagine what cruelty was in store for Kagura and myself. I began to shake at the mere thought of it, willing myself not to cry.

"Kagura…" I reached for her through the bars of my cell. She was my only comfort. Terror was setting in; full-blown anticipatory panic was slowly beginning to course through my veins, setting my nerve endings on fire.

"I'm scared." My confession was little more than a whisper. The admission of defeat left a bitter taste in my mouth; I felt as if those two words betrayed the very essence of my soul and all that I should have been.

Our eyes locked, in a trade of fearful topaz for wide-eyed, corrupted ruby.

"Sango," Kagura made her voice sound strong (for me…), "whatever happens… we won't go down without a fight…"

I could hear footsteps coming down the hall. The timing and apparent weight was too great to be that of Kanna. Alarms went off in my head and my insides tightened. Anxiety flooded throughout my body, bursting through the poorly constructed dam in my mind. I ran to the corner of my cell and wanted to be sick. Dry heaving racked my shoulders; I was only able to spit up trace amounts of bile. I could not remember the last time I had anything to eat or drink.

"Sango…" I closed my eyes and tried so hard not to shake as the monster said my name. I couldn't turn around to face him.

"Kagura…" I could tell he turned toward her by the way his voice resonated nearby.

"Do either of you have any comprehension at all of the consequences of your actions?"

We were silent. We owed him no explanation. I already knew we had royally fucked up.

We did not plan on getting caught.

We were supposed to be far away from here by now…

"Do you know what your treachery has cost me? I direct this question at you in particular, Kagura." I hated the way he said her name. She had proudly offered the greatest insult to him, the greatest betrayal. Kagura said nothing.

"Well?!"

I glanced over my shoulder. Naraku gripped the bars of Kagura's cell tightly, his face pressed against the door. Kagura merely glared at him, the purest shade of hatred in her beautiful red eyes.

"Why keep us here? We are of no use to you!" spat Kagura. "And you no longer have power over me!"

A dark purple energy pulsed around Naraku for a moment. He grabbed the bars of the cell door and with a malicious cry of anger, he ripped the door off the hinges and cast it down the hall. Kagura's eyes widened and my heart rate increased.

"You may have your wretched heart, you traitorous bitch, but you still must pay for your misdeeds!" Naraku entered her cell, hastily reaching into his pocket. He produced a whip, glowing red. "You have displayed the greatest disregard for all I have done for you!" He pulled his hand back, tightly gripping the handle of the whip. "I gave you your life, Kagura! And this is how you repay me!" With a crack, he brought the whip to her body. Kagura did not make a sound; I cringed at the sight.

"You cost me not only your own wasted employment but also that of Kohaku and Rouge! I have lost two of my strongest warriors to your treachery! One walks a free man and the other died a wasted, painful death!" Naraku whipped again. "You left me no other choice!" Crack!

Naraku leaned into her and roughly took her face in his hands. "I can no longer threaten and torture you with your damned disloyal heart, but I can inflict the most severe horrors onto you with good old-fashioned violence." Naraku released her, only to ball up his fist and swing it hard into the side of her head. He stepped back and resumed whipping the wind demon.

I finally found my voice almost at the same time Naraku's whipping began to shred Kagura's kimonos, leaving most of her skin vulnerable to the ravage and punishment. She finally cried out in pain, her once flawless fair skin blistered and bloodied.

"Stop it! Leave her alone!" I covered my eyes, unable to turn away but unable to stomach the sight before me.

Naraku delivered a final slash of the whip to Kagura, hitting her in the face and leaving a thin, bloody cut diagonally from her right eye to the left corner of her mouth. The demon slowly turned around to face me. He cracked his neck and stepped to the edge of Kagura's cell. There was a madness in his eyes that I had never seen before; he appeared to be almost out of breath.

A deep fear nestled in my chest, freezing my movements and seeming to stop time itself. I swallowed hard and backed up against the wall, never taking my eyes off the dangerous man across the walkway.

"Sango…" he said my name, coolly, calmly. The tone was more frightening than if he would have just screamed at me. Naraku evenly walked to my cell door. Not taking his eyes off me, he grabbed the bars and jerked the door off the hinges. He nonchalantly dropped it in the hall and stepped inside. I felt like my heart would burst out of my chest.

Do something… a tiny voice echoed inside my mind. Don't give up…

I managed to shake the fear and charged at Naraku, fist drawn back. He went to counter my punch and I surprised him with a hard kick to the shin. To my surprise, he toppled to the ground. I summoned my adrenaline-induced strength and managed to lift the cell door. I half threw, half dropped it on Naraku and took off down the hall.

I stopped at the crumbled door from Kagura's cell and checked to see if any of the bars could be removed. Luck was in my favor, it seemed. I pulled a bar loose and held it up in defense. Naraku snarled and began his approach in my direction. I cried out and charged at him, my makeshift weapon raised. As I passed, I was able to hit him in the face with the metal bar. Naraku cursed me and held his face in his hands.

I made it into Kagura's cell while Naraku was distracted. I fumbled with the shackles around her wrists, trying to pry them loose.

"Sango, what the fuck are you doing?!" asked Kagura. "Get out of here! Forget about me!"

"No!" I yelled at her, switching my focus to the chains attached to the wall. "We made an oath! I absolutely refuse to leave here without you!"

"Sango!" Kagura's warning was too late. Naraku entered the cell. I was quick to dodge out of the way and grab my weapon once more.

On my way out, I felt Naraku's clawed hands around my waist. I screamed and twisted, managing to hit him in the face with my weapon. He cursed and grabbed it, pulling it from my hands and shoving me to the ground. I skinned my knee and my palms when I fell but did not let that stop me. I would fight until the end. I covered my head with my hands as I scrambled away, expecting Naraku to swing at me with the cell bar.

Instead I heard the weapon come into contact with a body, followed by Kagura's cry of pain. "Kagura!" I stood up and ran back into the cell, launching myself at Naraku. I landed on his back and locked my arms around his neck. The metal fell from his grasp and landed loudly on the floor. Naraku tripped as we left the cell; we fell to the floor in a scuffle, with him on top.

I kneed him in the chest and punched him in the neck; it was enough to buy me time to escape. Naraku let out an angry roar and pulled back. I rolled away and tried to stand. I soon felt Naraku's hand strongly gripping my ankle. I tried to shake him loose and he pulled me down. His wild crimson eyes met mine. His body pulsed with dark energy once more; a sick smirk pulled at his lips.

I was frozen. I couldn't move and I could feel my energy being drained. I screamed in pain, feeling an unexpected jolt of electricity course through my body, rendering me briefly paralyzed. The ringing in my ears returned at full volume, waning in and out of my broken attention.

Naraku laughed evilly. He towered over me. He looked worse for wear up close, like he was losing or had lost weight. His hair and skin looked fragile and worn.

"I think it will prove worth it to use the last of my energy reserves on you, Sango… you never know when to quit." His foot collided with my side. I yelped in pain, coughing a little. He kicked me a few more times; I could feel some of my ribs rebreaking from before. I was slowly able to move again, but the pain was too great.

"Naraku! Leave her alone! She had nothing to do with the attack or the escape! It was all me!" Kagura cried out from behind us.

Naraku stepped over me. "Shut up, wench!" I heard a limb collide with her body. I couldn't move enough to do anything but I had enough of a view to witness Naraku's relentless beating of Kagura. I laid my head back down and closed my eyes, feeling sick at the sounds entering my ears. I could tell at some point, Naraku had picked up the broken cell bar again and hit her with it more than a few times.

"Kagura… I'm sorry…" I breathed. I tried to get up again; breathing hurt. Naraku picked me up and tossed me into my cell.

"I don't know what attachment you have to my dishonorable offspring," said Naraku "but you will be punished for it. You are, after all, the one who actually freed her. And Kohaku, and Rouge… you cost me three henchmen, my dear…"

I managed to sit up and leaned my head against the wall. My vision was blurring in and out. Naraku approached me. I craned my neck to see Kagura in the background. She wasn't moving. She hung limply from her chains. Tears welled in my eyes.

Kagura had likely been killed. And I was next. I wished for a quick death and hurriedly made peace with my mortality. My brother was free from Naraku. If my death meant his freedom, then so be it.

Naraku roughly grabbed me by my shoulders and held me up.

"Why do you cry for a dead demon, Sango?" Naraku pushed his body against mine, pinning me to the wall. He mockingly wiped my tears with the back of his hand. I pushed against him, his very being smothering my senses and bringing sickness to my stomach and the forefront of my mind.

He unexpectedly stepped back, causing me to fall forward. I fell on my face, the hard stone foundation scraping my nose and my cheek. Naraku laughed at my accident, sparking a small amount of humiliation in my heart. He grabbed my shoulder and I jerked away on impulse. His grip did not let up, instead sliding down my arm.

"Let me go!" I cried out, trying to pull away. Naraku smirked at me, his grip tightening.

"No, Sango; I'll never let you go," stated Naraku. I whimpered as I felt the bones in my forearm cracking. He threw me into the wall, pressing his body against my back. He rested his chin on my shoulder, placing one hand on the back of my head, holding my face against the wall. "You're mine, my dear…" Naraku whispered into my ear. I could not control the shakes that riddled my body at his words; the sentence shook me to my very core, fear filling my breaking heart.

"I will not forget breaking your first of me," I could feel his warm breath against my neck. His alluded words brought back the terrible memory I kept locked away inside my mind, the first time he stole from me what was mine and only mine to give; something I would never dream of willingly giving him, not in this lifetime or the next. "I think of that night often, Sango… I considered marking you—" He grabbed my hair and pulled my head back. His fangs grazed my exposed neck; I swear my heart stopped for a moment. Naraku did not bite, opting instead to nip and suck at my skin, leaving an equally unwanted bruise.

"These temporary marks are enough, though," continued Naraku. "Never forget that I am the one who made a woman out of you. That secret of ours will be safe, I can promise. I like it better that way." He pushed his knee between my legs and I felt his hands relocate to my hips. "I can smell your fear, Sango… it excites me."

"I—I'm not afraid-!" I tried with all my might to sound defiant and brave; my words caught in my throat and my voice broke.

Naraku delivered a quick blow to the back of my head. "Do not lie to me, girl!" He pushed against me again, his hands exploring my shivering body. My head hurt so bad; the pain was now migrating down my neck and my spine, adding to the afflictions of my fractured arm and broken ribs. Naraku's hands stopped at the obi of my kimono. He began untying it; I struggled weakly, willing desperately for him not to abuse me like that again. I moved my arms to stop his actions but he quickly grabbed my wrists. He applied enough pressure to my left arm to turn the fracture into a clean break. I cried out in pain, holding the injury to my abdomen.

The demon removed his hands from me for a moment; I could not tell what he was doing. Moments later, I almost threw up as I realized the truth of his actions. When he returned his attention to me, he roughly pulled my kimono off; the softness of the fabric even sent seething daggers of pain as it brushed the skin on my broken arm.

Naraku then removed his own clothing. He spun me around and violently pinned my hands above my head. He soon transferred my wrists from his rough grip to the cool shackles against the wall. I felt his hardened member pushing against my thigh and whimpered in fear, closing my eyes. I was openly crying now; I had nothing more to hide. I have nothing more to give.

"Warriors don't cry, Sango," Naraku kissed me, biting my lip and drawing blood as he pulled away. He wiped away my tears. His hand moved slowly from my face; he drug his clawed index finger from my clavicle down the middle of my chest and stomach, resting just above my waistband. He ripped away my last layer of clothing, leaving me completely vulnerable and exposed.

Naraku dug his claws into my back, just above my hips. He forced himself between my legs. My entire body tensed as I felt his tip brush against my entrance. I kept my eyes tightly closed, tears staining my cheeks. I screamed as he thrust into me with his entire length. The pain never lessened, no matter how many times he had used me before. Naraku groaned and leaned against me. "But you're no warrior, are you?" he breathed those harsh words into my ear and began his violent assault of my body and soul.

His actions were far more brutal than ever before, this time. I had never known such pain until now. I tried to go somewhere else in my mind, the whole time this was happening. My mental escape proved to be difficult. In my mind, I tried so hard to think of anything, anyone, anywhere else… Though, his actions stopped sooner than I'd anticipated. I was able to go somewhere else in my mind finally but was brought painfully back to the present by a forceful slap to the face.

"Do I not bring you pleasure, my dear?" asked Naraku. He did not deserve an answer. He never would. The only thing that could involve him and spark any type of pleasure for me would be his death—a well-deserved death in a fashion so violent that I could not even fathom it.

The demon approached me, grabbing my arms. I flinched at his touch, pain shooting from my left arm down to my shoulder. My hands were nearly numb from the shackles. Naraku's hands brushed down my arms and rested on my chest. He grabbed my breasts, squeezing them painfully. I shook my head and squirmed, wishing for him to let go of me. I couldn't form words, only pained whimpers.

"What's the matter-you don't like it when I touch you like that?" mocked Naraku. He pinched each of my nipples and delivered a bruising kiss to my lips. His tongue forced its way into my mouth and I uselessly struggled against him. His hands continued their exploration of my body, dragging his claws down my sides.

"I've been so selfish to you," Naraku pulled away from me. He grabbed my ass and pulled me close. "I've focused only on my own desire. I have yet to hear my name escape you."

"…Never…" I managed, my voice raspy and raw from screaming and crying.

Naraku laughed, moving a hand from my side to my hip, then my thigh. His thumb brushed against my sex. I tensed and held my breath at the contact. I didn't want him to touch me, at all. A wave of fresh tears threatened my eyes.

"Please don't… Just leave me alone…" I begged.

He pushed his hand between my legs, providing much unwanted attention. I gasped, feeling a clawed finger enter me. A low, dark laugh escaped his lips as he lightly drug his claw along my inner walls. I cried out in both pain and fear, tears falling freely again.

"You don't like that? What do you like, then, my dear?" He removed his finger, instead beginning to rub his hand against me.

"Stop, please…" I pleaded for him to leave me in my broken misery. My words were in vain and I tried to compartmentalize my experience, wishing so badly that I was elsewhere. Anywhere else… Kagura was the only person I ever trusted enough to touch me like this… Her touch was like heaven… the opposite of whatever this was… I wish I was back in her arms, safe, by the waterfall…

My body began to betray me as Naraku continued his actions. I felt a tightness increase between my legs and an ache growing in my lower belly as he continued to rub and stroke my privates. I hated what he was doing to me; my attention was swinging dangerously between desperate daydreams of escaping this place and the building, traitorous pleasure and pressure in my lower body.

"You're so wet…" Naraku commented. I wanted to be sick; sick from his words, his horrific attention to me, and the way I was having trouble containing my impending, completely unwanted and unwarranted orgasm. "Say my name…"

"…never…"

Naraku grabbed me, hard. I cried out, breathing heavily. He quickened his pace and I bit my lip, shameful heat filling up my cheeks. I don't want this… I don't want this… I don't want this…

I stifled a cry as my body shook and convulsed against my will. Tears fell freely down my face and the only thing to escape my lips was a very quiet moan. Naraku kept going; uninvited pleasure quickly turned to pain. He soon released me and kissed me once more.

"Was that so hard, Sango?" asked Naraku. My head was such a mess of emotions, dominated by fear and shame. A migraine throbbed in my skull, tinnitus still ringing in my ears. My unwanted orgasm added a groggy, lightheaded, gross feeling to my mind. I opened my eyes, vision thankfully blurring. Past Naraku's malicious grin, in the background, I could see Kagura barely moving.

Naraku hit me once more, blackness encroaching in the frame of my vision.

[Kagura's point of view.]

I dreamed of darkness and screams. Maybe it was no dream… Maybe I was finally sent to hell, where I probably belonged.

Every bone in my body ached and I swear a possibility existed that I was breathing blood. My eyes slowly opened—one eye, at least. My left was swollen shut. Even the small amount of light in my prison was enough to ignite a violent headache that entered through my pupil. I closed my eye again and exhaled deeply, feeling my lungs rattle in the slow and painful process.

My slow drift into the sweet, ironic refuge of hell was interrupted by a pained scream. I shook my head, trying to open my one good eye and focus long enough to figure out what was going on. I knew that voice…

The last thing I remembered before darkness consumed me was being beaten. By Naraku… a metal bar in his hand aided his offense. My face was swollen, my left eye socket broken, as a result. Along with more than a few ribs and what felt like a fractured collarbone.

I heard that scream again.

I opened my eye and was met with the sight of Naraku in the cell across from mine. He had Sango pinned to the wall; no, chained to the wall. And he was fucking her. And she was crying; crying for him to stop.

I tried so hard to move. I was still imprisoned myself, like a chained animal. I tried to open my mouth to make a sound, anything. Even if it meant my own suffering, I just wanted him to leave her alone…

I was so angry… The numbness was fading from my limbs as the blood flow and feeling returned. I pulled desperately on my chains, feeling the shackles digging into my wrists. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth. Sango's screams plagued my ears. I still could not make a sound; my mouth was dry and my lungs nearly useless. I had never felt an anger like this before. This was a pure, maliciously-intended, protective hatred that consumed me.

It felt like hours before I had control of my voice once more. I pulled at my chains again… I felt the slightest slack and heard the smallest break... Hours, though… Hours of hearing and briefly seeing and trying to look away from Sango's torment. He whipped and beat her relentlessly in between violently having his way with her. And I was powerless to stop it. I swear she made eye contact with me once.

I blamed myself.

I promised her I would get her out of here.

That promise was as broken as my own body. As broken as Sango's. As broken as her spirit.

Naraku still didn't know I was conscious. I tugged at my chains once more.

I glimpsed him messing with Sango's shackles. With a few clicks, she was released. The taijiya fell to the floor; I could not tell if she was still conscious or not. Naraku delivered a few final blows to her broken form before dressing himself as if nothing had happened.

Once clothed, Naraku turned and left her cell. He stopped in the walkway to stare at me.

"Did you enjoy the show, Kagura?" he asked.

"Fuck you!" I rasped out, a small spray of blood leaving my lips alongside my curse.

Naraku laughed evilly. "Never forget me, Kagura… Never forget what I'm capable of."

He began to walk away, heading down the hall toward the stairs.

"Never forget where you came from."

With that said, he was gone, leaving me seething in rage and guilt. I spent the remainder of the night (or day? I no longer knew… or cared…) fighting against the chains. The only things holding me back.

I'll kill him if I ever get out of here. I swear it.