Well 37

AN:   I apologize to everyone for not getting this out when I wanted, but I had a bit of an emotional bombshell dropped on me this weekend and I'm still in a state of shock.  As silly as it may sound, I found out on Friday that an actor I adored in high school killed himself.  For those of you who didn't hear, Jonathon Brandis committed suicide a week ago. 

Most of you are probably going "who?" and I don't doubt it, I'm sure a good number of you were still too young to remember when he hit his acting peak, but if you've ever seen seaQuest when it was still in reruns on Sci-Fi, he was the guy who played Lucas.  I never met the guy, and the only interaction I can claim is my autographed picture that I own, probably not even signed by him, but when a large figure in your life, no matter who suddenly disappears , it can really shake you. 

Think of your favorite celebrity, and then imagine that tomorrow you found out they were gone, not only that, they had killed themselves with no known motivation.  Yeah, that's what I've been feeling like.

On to happier notes…Wow everyone, I can't believe the response I've gotten for this last chapter.  You guys are the best!!  So many of you are catching on to my attempted subtle hints, and I'm so psyched.  Which ones?  I can't tell.  You just have to keep reading and find out.  Which by my outline *laugh* Yeah, when have I ever gone by an outline.  Anyway, that should be about 4-5 chapters left.  I'm so excited!!  I've been waiting to write this ending since about chapter 3. 

Special thanks to Emania, once again, a Renaissance woman in her own right, stuck in the middle of strenuous final studying and barely any time for herself between classes and homework, she miraculously still finds time to write her own amazing material AND read my mediocre ones *laugh*. 

Anyway, here's my comments for all of you!!

shorty40():  Because that's not her body, that's just her spirit in a physical form.  If there's one thing I've discovered from watching IY, is that even spirits can take on a physical form when most needed.  As for her price, I'm afraid you'll have to wait just one more chapter to see, but don't worry, I'm not so cruel as to kill off one of them, they're too dear to me.

shinkan neko85 :  I'm so glad you're enjoying this!! 

Inu Girl():  I hope all is well with you!!  And actually I did fall asleep once while writing, so ^_^

WhiteTigerLilly:  Thank you very much, I'm so glad you're enjoying my stories, and thank you for your heartfelt comment about my son.

chibi playing with fire :  I promise you, I'm updating as fast as I possibly can.  But I have 3 major projects coming up due and its almost time for finals.  I'm hoping to get Well out as soon as I can so that way I will be done before I'll defiantly have NO time to dedicate to it.

RavenShadow:  I hope you're happy with the battle.  I'm afraid I'm not very good with battle scenes, I'm not much for hand to hand combat, but I do the best I can.

Grizabella:  No, Francesca isn't pregnant.  That is something I have seen very overused in some fan fictions with Kagome or Sango, and while children are a very wonderful gift, it wouldn't work out with the plot I have planned.  Though you are right, she and Kei would have beautiful children, and oh those cute ears!! LOL

Funky Nassau:  Oh, I have a worshiper!! Wow, I'm honored!!

Vorsith():  I'm so glad you've enjoyed my story, it's always extremely flattering when someone tells me that my story isn't a normal Mary Jane, and now that I actually know what that means, LOL, I'm doubly flattered.  I do try to keep it as original as possible, and also as natural, after all, this story did start out as my dream about falling through the well myself.

Bunny-Butler:  *grins*  Yes, this will be a happy ending story, so don't' worry, no matter what may happen *wink*.  I'm so glad you caught that though.

pruningshears :  As for the questions and their penalty, that will come next chapter, I promise.  I think they have enough on their plate with this chapter, as you will see.  I'm glad you enjoyed the old woman, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to work out her character as well as I would have liked, but it seems she shined on her own, without having to be downplayed in any way.  Yes, Kirara is going to have kittens.  Now there's no precedent for fire-cat gestation so I'm gonna make up my own *laugh*.  Just so it works for me ^_^  I miss my cat too!  I live in a boarding house and no pets are the rule here too.  Don't they know that pets help you relax?

Tiranth():  Yes, Em does come up with the best comments!!  She is an excellent writer and I'm loving working with her on this new project.  Hopefully we'll have the first chapter of that up soon!  Poor thing is up to her eyebrows in studying for finals, so everyone keep your fingers crossed for her.  But if all goes well, and our muses cooperate, we'll have a start to it before Christmas!

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I stepped outside and it seemed as if the world stopped for us.  The harsh wind that had been howling only a short time before slowed , the snow setting like shimmering diamonds on the ground.  My breath fogged up before me and I felt refreshed by the cold clean air that entered my lungs

All would have been perfect and serene if not for the killing pain in my gut and the certain knowledge that something horrible was about to happen.  I glanced quickly at my friends and saw the hard look of determination painted on their faces.  I didn't need to see Kei, the bond we shared once more told me more than my eyes ever could.

He was determined to win for us, for our friends and family and for our future.  Decisively, I turned to look at them, the snow covered mountains sprawled out behind me.

"No matter what happens, " I started, " Know that I have faith in all of you: my brothers, my sisters… my mate," I said, feeling the pride radiate from Kei.  Then I bowed my head, so I would not have to see the look in their eyes.

"So, please have faith in me as I do this," I whispered and stepped backwards in the snow.  Everyone stared at me, as I stepped further away.  I exhaled, knowing it was time now to implement this scheme and so with each step, I dropped another layer of the natural barrier around me, letting my empathy leak out.  I saw Kei react first, but the old woman placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"She knows what she's doing," I saw her lips say, "Trust in her as she trusts in you."

I nodded my head once, feeling the wind beginning to pick up around me, but as cheesy as it sounded, the warmth of loyalty protected me, as .  I could feel the Sorrow circling around me, hungrily testing me.  Oh they knew I was no ordinary prey.  No, I was the caviar of all dishes, and they could barely contain themselves.

I dropped the last of my protective barriers and their hunger almost made me cower, but Kei gave me strength. I had a theory, and it also gave me strength, a rare hope that I had been thinking of for some time now.  Certain patterns that kept popping up in my head.

"The Sorrow had been able to support a tangible form only after feeding, they had only physically harmed anyone in order to feed. At this moment, they had no bodies, but if I gave them a taste, just enough, maybe it would give my friends something to swing at.

Idiot, if this doesn't work, everyone is dead, my conscious nagged at me, and I suppressed it.  I didn't need to be doubtful right now, I couldn't afford it.

I glared at the voids of emotion that I could see around me.  Seeing the Sorrow was much easier now. Allowing my normal senses to relax just enough so that my Empathy could work with them had become second nature.  I knew that in my state of amnesia something inside me had changed, or something inside had strengthened.  Now the black shapes before me shifted only slightly, as they studied me and waited.  They had learned I was a force to be reckoned with.   I watched as their number grew and grew, until all I saw was the shapes of black around me. 

"Come and get me boys," I whispered, a slight grin lighting on my lips as I quoted a line from one of my favorite movies.  I figured it wouldn't hurt, and if I were to die today, I might as well go out with some class.  My staff was clenched tightly in my hands; I could feel the smoothness of the wood against my palm, and it steadied me for what I needed to do.

Closing my eyes, I called up all my pain.  I called up James, I called up my family, I called up years of loneliness and self doubt.  I called up everything I could muster inside, until I was consumed by the pain… I called it all up.

I fell to my knees, the hot tears sliding down my cheeks as I felt the pressure build within my empathy, and then I released it, my hands catching my decent as I collapsed, sinking into the snow.  I felt the roar of hunger around me grow louder for a moment and then quiet.  I couldn't look up; I sobbed hot tears into the snow.  I couldn't stop crying.

Suddenly I felt Kei beside me, and he pulled me into his arms, "Shut it off Rose, before they come after you.  Please my love, remember me.  I'm here now. I'm always going to be here for you."

I clutched at his chest as I felt the Sorrow pull at my pain, sucking it in.  "Basta, basta, lasciatemi in pace!" Stop, stop, leave me in peace, I screamed , and pulled my barriers around myself as tightly as I could.  The attack stopped and I curled up in the warmth of Kei's embrace.

"Minna, look," I heard Aki whisper and I looked up.  The wind had begun to swirl harder, spreading the crystalline snow up into the air, and where all the voids of the Sorrow stood, I saw the snow brush around their shapes.  The snow reflected off them, they had a form.

"Thank goodness it worked," I exhaled in relief.

"What?!" Kaemon exclaimed.  "You did that and you didn't know if it would work," Kaemon screamed at me, and I glared up at him.

"Did you have a better idea?!"  I yelled back, and jumped to my feet, my hands firmly planted on my staff.  "I didn't think so, so just be grateful this did work!"

I heard the sound of metal scraping against material and I felt the tingle of power as Kei pulled Tetsusaiga from its sheath.  I turned my head to stare at him, hair blowing over his shoulder in the wind, and a fierce look of power and determination glowing from him.  In that moment, he was his father, fighting for a greater cause, fighting to protect the ones that he loved.  It was almost hard for me to keep the double vision from my eyes as I stepped forward, my hands tightly gripped on my staff.  I would fight by his side, just as I chose to live by his side, and if fate was willing, I would die by his side as well.

"Now, you bastards!" he yelled and brought down the sword at the nearest one.  I grinned and ran forward, bringing my staff around hard against another one.  Watching in amazement, I saw that both our attacks contacted with the form, and I felt the figure give a little, as if it were made from a gelatinous material, rather than a hard form, and then it was gone.  I couldn't keep the thrill of the fight from heating up my blood.  I ducked a swipe at my neck and swung my staff upwards, catching the creature hard.  I watched as it seem to double over and then vanish.  One small fragment of the anger I felt around us died away, and just as I was about to celebrate our victory, I felt the Sorrow's power grow stronger. 

What the? I blinked and turned my head in time to see the shape that Kaemon was facing shift in form.  It actually grew.

"Kaemon, watch out!" I heard and saw Aki wrap her arms around his waist, and use the momentum of her body to pull him out of harms way.  Then before he could react, she was on her feet again, swinging hard with her own staff, and the creature vanished.

Once again, the power of the rest grew.  I felt the blood rush from my face.  They didn't disappear; they couldn't be killed, not like this.  The destruction of one just added to the power of its comrades.  If they were to gain much more power I didn't know if we'd be able to handle them.  I turned my head slowly, and the scenes before me played out like a movie.  Naoko and Maeko stood back to back, she with her purifying arrows, clearing a path of purple with one shot, and he with his holy scrolls flying from his hand, clearing a few of the approaching Sorrow.  They seemed to be the only ones who were  having any effect on the Sorrow without adding to their power, but they couldn't keep up like this.

You know what to do, came the soft voice in my mind, and I turned my head towards the hut, where the spirit of the witch stood, You know how to defeat them, you know where your true power lies.

I bowed my head to her, and walked away from everyone else, down through the snow towards the village. 

It must end where it began, I thought to myself as I made my way down through the cold, letting it sink into my resolve.

~~*~~ Keitaro

I sliced at another one, my sword barely making contact with their body as I felt the substance there vanish beneath the blade.  'Another one down,' I thought, but how many more to go?  Still, it was exhilarating for me, to fight as my father had once fought.  I had grown up relishing every tale ever told of their adventures, and yearning one day for an adventure of my own.

"Rose," I called, turning to ask her a number but the thought faded like dew in the sun as I realized she was no longer by my side.  How had I failed to notice her disappearance?!  "Rose!" I called louder, and spun around, looking for her.  All I could see were our companions fighting with all they knew how.  Even Kirara and Mistero were there, snapping and lunging at the few shapes we could see.  I turned almost full circle, finally catching the sharp contrast of red billowing against folds of white and I focused through the bite of the wind to watch her walking down through the snow.

"Rose!" I screamed for her, and began to follow when something stopped me in my tracks.  I stared down at her, as she looked up at me, a hard look on her face. The wind whipped her free hair around her, the strands sparkling with the crystals of snow intertwined in the locks.  I realized how much she stood out in this world of pure white, the rust of her hair, against the white of her skin, the red of the miko outfit she borrowed from my sister, and the white of the kimono.  This woman of the past and the future, fighting for both with us today.

She almost seemed unearthly, a vengeful goddess come down to take her hand in this matter.   I had never seen that look before, not in all her memories.  It was the look of a final decision, and a look that wouldn't back down.  Her hand was upraised, palm facing me, and her eyes were tinged with cold.

I tried to press forward, but my body wouldn't move-- everything about me was frozen- in fear.  I blinked and stared at her, and for a moment I saw the look of pain in her eyes, I heard a whisper, asking for my forgiveness from her mind.

It's the only way, I felt touch my ears.  I glanced around, as my eyes were the only things I was still able to move.  Everyone else was standing perfectly still as well.

"What's going on?" I heard Aki whisper, her voice equally as frightened as her body.

"It's Francesca-sama," I heard Naoko reply, "She has tapped our fear, but why? She knows the Sorrow will be called to it and attack us."

"Not if the Sorrow have something else to feed on," Maeko answered, her voice shaking.  I darted my eyes back and forth.  The shapes within the wind blown snow were gone.

"Rose! NO!" I screamed with all my might, my heart aching against the bonds she had placed on me.  I watched as she stopped, the wind whipping her hair around her.  She glanced around slowly, as if unsure of where she was standing, and I saw her kneel in the snow, looking for something.  I saw the shapes in the wind, slowly approaching her, and I could feel the youkai in my blood roar in frustration.  Even that couldn't break the fear from my limbs.  I refused to simply stand there and watch her throw away her life.  Not after all we fought for… not after all we had survived. 

~~*~~ Francesca

My hand brushed the ice cold wetness of the burnt wood we had found earlier, like one would the face of an old friend, searching and gentle) This would be the key I needed.  I made sure that my pain followed me like a banner, leaving a trail for the Sorrow to follow.  I could feel Kei's anguish at not being able to come to my side, but I couldn't afford him getting hurt, I wouldn't allow it.

I felt them surround me, crowding around each other, trying to get closer to this feast that knelt before them.

Yeah, keep thinking that suckers, I thought angrily as I dug deeper in the snow, ignoring the numbness that invaded my fingertips.  There, at the base of the burnt timber, was the greenish brown of the earth.  I touched the frozen surface, and closed my eyes.

In my pain, and in my agony, I summoned up all the power in my soul and called out to the spirits of my loved ones, and the spirits of all those ever murdered in so cruel a fashion to rise up and judge those who spilled their blood, I heard the old woman's words in my head as I clenched my fingers in that frozen ground.

I pushed all my energy into my Empathy, and forced it through my hands, the hands that touched what was left of those spirits.  It touched the wood that had sheltered them, and the ground that drunk their spilt blood, and I called out for those same spirits, I called out to their joy, the peace they shared, the love they had known  I reached out for all the warmth I could hope to find in the land that they once loved.  I didn't know what I would find; I only hoped it was an answer, a glimmer of something that I could use to fight.

The Sorrow grabbed at me.  I could feel them trying to pull at the sorrow in my soul, but all they found was pity inside; pity for the dead who lay beneath my fingers now, pity for the spirit of the woman who had brought me here, and pity for all those who had suffered at the hands of the Sorrow.

They were all around me now, and there wasn't one that wasn't touching me, but I refused to give in, not until I had nothing left.  I felt hot tears slide down my cheek as touch after stinging touch grazed my skin.  They wanted me to feel pain, and sorrow and anger, but I couldn't.  I only felt the physical pain, but not the emotional.  I pushed deeper into the ground, deeper into the land around me, searching desperately now.  Just as I felt my reserves weakening, as I felt my body begin to fail me, a whisper responded.  A soft whisper, but it was enough.  I reached out and touched it… coaxed it.

Please, for the love you all once bore, fight with me now, I whispered and felt it surge upward in a show of power that stunned me.  I opened my eyes, and stared at the Sorrow.

~~*~~ Third Person

Keitaro struggled continuously against the invisible bonds holding him as he watched his beloved flinching from the attacks, the stripes of crimson appearing on the white of her cold skin.  He could smell her blood and it was driving him mad.    Something uncurled inside him, and fought against the bonds of fear, burning the fear away from his body, and heating his blood.  It was the love he shared for this strange woman, and his never-ending promise to protect her.  He knew with a burning certainty that it could overcome anything as it had proven countless times.  As soon as he felt the movement in his legs, he took off in a mad rush towards her.

Francesca stared past the Sorrow, and saw the blur of red racing towards her.  She knew she had to act now, before he was too close to avoid her attack.  With a look of love and faith, she whispered into the wind, "I love you Keitaro, forever."

Keitaro froze in his run, as he heard this.  It was not a statement, it was a goodbye. 

"No, Rose, don't do this!" he whispered in return, and was thrown backwards by an explosion of the purest light.  It did not burn at him, as the wave carried him through the air, but cushioned him, bringing him gently to land in the cold snow, as the light passed over him.

Everyone froze, as the light enveloped them, but instead of pain, all they could feel was joy, love, faith, and gratefulness.

"This is what it is like for her," Maeko whispered, her lips curving into a gentle smile as she relished the feeling washing over her skin "This must be what her Empathy feels like."  The sudden realization over all the soft smiles she had seen light up on her friends face made perfect sense.  Francesca could feel this warmth of love when she found Naoko and herself that day.  Maeko almost envied her friend, for the ability to find joy in the happiness of others.  At the same time, she pitied her, for if joy was this warm, then hate and anger and sorrow, all the things she had endured in their fight against the Sorrow, must have been a poison to her body.

The bonds that held them fast melted in that light, and they collapsed.  Kaemon reached forward to catch Aki and he cradled her gently as his eyes glanced down the hill where the snow had now melted.  Lying just beyond that, was Keitaro, his red robes blatant against the pure white snow.

The clouds that had been crowding the sky opened at that moment, and a stream of bright light shone down onto the patch of greenish brown ground, the ruins of what was once a hut piercing the shimmering mud. 

"Bara-sama!" Aki screamed and quickly turned her head burying her face in Kaemon's chest, sobbing.

"No," Maeko whispered and struggled to her feet, "No, she cannot die, not now," she whispered, as she began to run through the snow.  She fell at her brother's side, but only because her legs were too numb to continue.

Keitaro's long hair fell over his face, and his body was still.  For a moment Maeko was deathly afraid that he had somehow been injured, but then his eyes fell on the patch of mud.

"I failed her," he sobbed, as she gently placed her arms around her brother.

"Nii-san, you did all you could," she whispered, feeling his grief in her heart.  He pulled away harshly, standing.

"I need-" he started on a growl, but froze before he could continue.  Something had tickled his senses-- a light brush of warmth inside his heart; It was just a flutter, but he had felt it.

"Rose," he breathed and ran down to the mud, ignoring the cold water and dirt that splashed up on his robes.  Quickly he overturned piece after piece of lumber, his claws lashing at the mud.  She was here, and she was barely alive, but she was alive and…and he could feel her.

"Not this, don't you take her from me!" he screamed into the air.  Mistero dropped down beside him, his larger form begining to push at the larger pieces of lumber , helping in the search for his mistress. 

Kei yelled angrily as the last piece was overturned and yet, he could not see her.  Then, something caught his attention, a faint fragrance riding on the light wind.  Jasmine, light but definitely jasmine.  His whole body went rigidly alert, for the last time he had smelled jasmine was after Francesca's encounter with the Sorrow.  Mistero stepped forward, sniffing loudly and Kei growled at the fire cat.

"I smell it too, but where?!"

Mistero stepped forward into the snow, and began digging into a large drift.  Keitaro saw the flash of red as the snow began to move and ran forward, sinking his hands into the snow and digging as if his life depended on it.  His heart stopped as her beautiful face appeared before his eyes, as white as the snow that surrounded her.  She lay there peacefully, like she had the night before, with pure peace and joy in her features.  Snow covered her like a blanket, and it seemed to him that at any minute she would open her eyes and smile at him, and ask him why he looked so upset.

~~*~~ Keitaro

I felt tears slide down my cheeks, and splash against hers.  She didn't move, she didn't breathe.  I pressed my head down against her chest, and heard it, the very faint fluttering of her heart.  I pressed my lips to her forehead, feeling the ice of her skin there, and then down to her lips, kissing them in desperation.

"Breathe beloved, for us, please breath," I whispered into her lips and when I got no response I pulled her tighter against me, pressing my lips against hers again.  This time, I used a free hand to press her cheeks together, causing her lips to part.

I forced hot breath after breath down into her mouth, trying to breath for her.  I felt her limbs twitch slightly.

"Come on Rose, wake up and breathe," I whispered, giving her another deep breath.  I watched as her chest rose and fell, but did not rise again.

"Wench, listen to me Damnit!  You will fight this, you can fight this!  You won, you beat them, now open your goddamned eyes," I yelled at her, shaking her hard, but there was still no response.

I felt our bond, that connection between our hearts flare up, and I gave her another breath, "That's it, fight back!"

Everyone had gathered around me, the women tear stained and smelling of the salt, and their men stood behind them, arms on their shoulders.  I didn't care about them, all I cared about was the woman in my arms, the one who was clinging to life by a hair.

"If you die, Kohana will never forgive me!  She'll never speak to me again, and she'll never smile again.  Do you want that?  She's waiting for you now, you promised her you'd come back, you gave her your necklace.  You are a woman of your word, keep your promise!" I whispered against her cheek, and felt a faint tinge of warmth brush my lips.  Lifting my head, I stared down as the white of her face began to give way to a faint pink, and as if waking from the sleep she appeared to be in, she gave off a soft sigh and opened her eyes.

"Kei?"  she murmured before closing her eyes again.  She hadn't lost consciousness, but she was too tired to keep her eyes open.

"Did we really win?" she whispered weakly and I nodded.

"Yes my love, we won, you won.  They're gone!"

She opened her eyes again, and looked around slowly, first at our friends, which brought a smile to her lips.  Her eyes then traveled to the air around us, and I felt her skin shiver from the cold.  She seemed to relax a moment, and her eyes flew open.

"I can't feel anything," she whispered frightened and I gently ran my hand through her hair.

"Relax," I said soothingly but she shook her head, "No, you don't understand, I can't feel anything, what if they're out there?"

"They are not," came a soft voice and before us stood the spirit of the old woman.  She no longer looked so old and pained, but relieved, as if a great weight had been taken from her.

"Thank you Francesca from the far away land, you have done what I could not do.  It was your compassion and love that freed us all from the prison I created.  I owe you everything."  A look crossed her face, "but now I must give you sad news."

AN:  *runs and hides* No, don't hurt me, see…I broke it up, but I put both chapters up at the same time, see…see!!!