by ElysianKiss
Low Pressure Miasma
Rogue rubbed her forehead as she awoke. Her
green eyes took in the room she was in. It was dark and poorly lit
with sporadic candles. She kneeled on the futon she had been lying
on, and pushed back a stray strand of platinum hair. The room was
somewhat damp and it sent chills up her spine. The futon was covered
in soft cotton sheets that were dyed a deep scarlet, like blood.
It was then she remembered what had happened. She had absorbed Miroku's
power and succumbed to the poison of the insects. The question now
was, where was she?
Naraku watched the girl from the shadows of the
room. The candles he lit were placed in a way to let her see, but
enough to create shadows large enough to hide in. He slid out smoothly
from a shadow behind Rogue. He watched as her head whipped around
and she faced him, her emerald eyes widened in shock and surprise.
She quickly stood into a fighting stance.
"What do ya want with me?!"
she demanded to know.
"Your power is unlike any
I have seen," Naraku responded smoothly, "You will join with me."
"I don't think so, ya psycho!
And if ya know so much about my power, then ya know that you can't touch
me."
"That is true, but if you
knew anything of my power then you would know that it wouldn't matter.
I can absorb you into my being."
Rogue narrowed her eyes.
"You're crazy! Do
you have any idea how stupid it is to do this? You already have enough
power. Believe me, trying to control more than you can handle isn't
a piece of cake!"
Naraku scoffed at her.
"It would only make sense
that a weak human like you wouldn't be able to control her own powers,"
he replied.
"I can control my powers...,"
she began.
"If that was true, why give
me such a warning?" Naraku cut her off.
Rogue growled and took a step toward him.
"Fine then. You're
so sure of yourself, then just try it. We'll see what happens," she
said.
Naraku smirked, enjoying the fire of challenge in
her eyes. He immediately took his cue. His flesh burst toward
her, intent on drawing her into his body. However, Rogue removed
her gloves and managed to hold onto a tentacle. They both screamed
as she absorbed part of his mind and abilities. Naraku pulled back
from her, holding a hand over his rapidly beating demon heart. Rogue's
knees went weak and she fell to the futon, out of breath.
She groaned and screamed as Naraku's absorbed psyche
struggled to take control of her from her mind. Naraku smirked and
advanced on her while she was otherwise occupied. He shook his head
and took a hold of her chin, forcing her to look up at him and at the same
time, take in more of him. A thick cloud of miasma surrounded the
two, making it difficult for Rogue to breathe.
"No. I won't absorb
you, woman. I have decided to give you the honor of being by my side
instead, as my mate," he said maliciously.
Both were in obvious pain, as Rogue continued to absorb Naraku due
to his touch.
"You bastard," she whispered.
"Bitch," he growled as he
forcefully kissed her and then pushed her head to the side.
His canines lengthened to fangs and he pierced the flesh of her neck.
Rogue screamed out in pain, trying desperately to push him off of her.
As his tongue lapped up the crimson blood, she found her mind assaulted
by Naraku's memories. It soon went fuzzy and black.
Naraku held the unconscious Rogue in his arms, having
also experienced a flood of her memories. He took out a tainted shard
and pressed it into one of the piercings on her neck.
"You will be the perfect
mate, Rogue," he said, "The shard will ensure that you do exactly what
I say. And my bond with you will help you gain the power that professor
of yours tried to lock away."
Naraku fell to his knees as his own exhaustion caught up to him.
He laughed in triumph, however, as he touched Rogue's cheek with no consequence.
"My bond with you makes
me immune to your power," he whispered into her ear with an evil smirk,
"I will be the only man to ever touch you."
Rogue whimpered in her state of unconsciousness. The shard in
her neck glowed crimson, the glow overtaking her body.
Kanna walked in the forest, giving Naraku and his
new mate some privacy he probably didn't care to have in the first place.
She held her mirror at her side, her deathly white pallor in sharp contrast
to the dusk of the day. She heard a shuffling to her right and recognized
the tall man as Chronos. She said nothing as Mesmero also appeared
before her. She made a move to use her mirror against them, but Mesmero
delved into her mind before she could succeed. She dropped her mirror
and it cracked as it hit the hard packed earth.
"Retrieve the Shikkon shards,"
Mesmero commanded and watched as she turned to do such.
Chronos rubbed his head in slight pain. Something
about his situation here felt wrong. A light scratching of some memories
began to surface. Mesmero turned to look at him and suddenly the
pain flared before dying out, the ghost memories completely gone.
Chronos shook his head.
"Must have been my imagination,"
he thought.
"His prolonged presence
by my side is making it difficult for me to control him," Mesmero thought.
Kanna slowly walked into Naraku's castle and toward
his room. She slipped in quietly, thankful that he was still busy
with his new mate. She picked up the shard fragment she had left
for him and just as quietly left the castle. Naraku, meanwhile, sat
next to Rogue. He concentrated his power into forcing the link between
their minds wide open. He probed in her thoughts and mind, causing
her pain. He didn't care. He found what he had been looking
for, the psyches and powers of the others she had absorbed. One by
one, he released those other personas. He pinned her down as she
writhed in pain before him.
"Relax and accept them as
a part of you," Naraku commanded, "That is the only way to control them
all, Rogue."
Rogue heard him, even in the dark prison of her
mind where she hid from him. He must know what he's talking about,
right? She forced herself to relax and felt as the personalities,
the powers, merged with her being. It felt like a hot rush.
Her emerald eyes opened and she looked straight into his ruby orbs.
Fleeting memories of people she once knew became ghosts in her mind.
All she knew was her mate, Naraku, and her duty to help him gain the full
Shikkon jewel.
Kanna walked back toward Mesmero and placed the
large jewel fragment in his palm. Mesmero smiled and nodded.
He mentally commanded her to return to the castle and not leave it until
he was gone. He would keep his hold on her until he and Chronos were
far enough away. He added the fragment to the other shards he had
gained and smirked as he realized he only had a handful of shards remaining
to complete the jewel.
Kagome sat on the porch of Kaede's hut, the next
afternoon. She was thinking about Kikyo again. She felt sorry
for the woman now, no longer angry at her for wanting to take InuYasha
to hell. She was so caught up in Kikyo's memories that she failed
to notice when Kagura sat next to her. It wasn't until Kagura touched
her shoulder that Kagome came out of her daze.
"Oh, Kagura-chan!
I'm sorry, I must have been out of it," she smiled.
"It's all right, Kagome-sama,"
Kagura replied, "I...I just wanted to warn you. Naraku has done something
evil to Rogue. It feels as if...he thinks he's victorious."
"Whatever it is, Kagura,
I'm sure we'll win," Kagome smiled.
"Be careful, Kagome," Kagura
said before standing up and leaving.
"I will. Hey, Kagura-chan?"
"Yes?"
"I was thinking of going
to the hot springs not too far from here. Do you want to join me?"
Kagura smiled, she'd never had a real friend.
"I would like that."
"Oh, and you're going without
me?" Sango asked from behind the two, Kirara at her side.
"Of course not, Sango-chan!"
Kagome replied, spotting the approaching Storm, "Let's all go!"
"A nice hot bath does sound
tempting," Storm said with a smile.
Inside the hut, Miroku thought he was in heaven;
four beautiful maidens for him to spy on. Someone must be smiling
on him. Unfortunately, someone was also glaring at him, InuYasha.
"Take one step out of this
hut, monk, and I'll rip off your reason for being a man," he threatened.
Miroku gulped and raised his hands in an appeasing gesture, sweat dropping.
"Of course not, InuYasha!
What do you take me for?"
"An idiot," InuYasha answered.
Shippo laughed and continued to draw on the paper and crayons that
Kagome had provided him with earlier.
Logan was missing from the little group, having
gone out into the forest to think and perhaps try to regain some of his
lost memories, even one from his past life would be welcome. He was
the first to note the approach of a foul smell that he recognized to come
from the one called Naraku. Beside that smell was the Rogue's, intermingled
with blood. His eyes widened and he ran back to the village, realizing
what this meant. That bastard Naraku would pay for hurting the kid,
that he promised himself.
He burst into the hut to find only InuYasha, Miroku,
and Shippo. He snarled and InuYasha was quickly on guard.
"What happened?" InuYasha
asked.
"It's Naraku. He's
coming and he has Rogue," Logan replied.
Miroku quickly stood, his lips a thin line.
"We must go to the springs
and tell the girls to get ready for another battle," Miroku said.
"Hey, kid," Logan said,
referring to Shippo, "Go tell the girls what's going on."
"Right!" Shippo replied,
running off to the springs.
"I don't trust you for one
second, Miroku," Logan said.
Miroku sweat dropped and laughed nervously.
InuYasha, Logan, and Miroku left the hut and ran
toward the forest, hoping to head Naraku off. Meanwhile, Shippo ran
as fast as his little legs could carry him. He burst into the clearing
where the hot spring was, panting.
"Kagome! Naraku...coming....Rogue!
Hurry!" he panted.
Kagome quickly flew out of the water using winds to help dry herself
and the other quickly. The women's teeth chattered in cold at the
rapid form of drying, but none complained as they quickly dressed.
Kagura was told to head back to the village with Shippo and stay safe.
Kagome, Storm, and Sango headed out to battle. Storm and Deluge (Kagome)
flew toward the men as Sango rode Kirara.
The men skidded to a halt as Naraku emerged from
the forest, Rogue at his side. They were all shocked, particularly
Logan, when they beheld her. She wore a black kimono with green borders
that was rather large for her frame, showing ample cleavage and pallid
skin. Her lips seemed like polished onyx and her lavender rimmed,
emerald orbs had a tinge of red fire. Her hair was pulled back in
a style similar to Kagura's, the platinum locks forming a stripe down the
middle. Her ears were adorned with an onyx and garnet rendition of
Kagura's turquoise earrings. Her feet wore black sandals with green
straps, revealing her toenails that were painted the same as her finger
nails, an almost black red. What was most startling, was her lack
of recognition and obvious hatred of them.
Naraku smirked in triumph at seeing their shocked
faces. He wrapped an arm around his mate's waist and she molded willingly
to his side, shocking them more. It was then that the women arrived,
receiving much the same shock as the men.
"Rogue!" Storm called out.
Rogue looked at the silver haired woman that called her name.
She didn't recognize her and yet the woman dared to call her by name?
Red lasers shot out from Rogue's eyes at Storm, who was pushed out of the
way by Wolverine. They recognized what had occurred. Somehow,
Naraku had released all the psyche's in Rogue's mind and she no longer
knew who she really was.
"That bastard released all
the minds she absorbed," Wolverine growled.
"This isn't good," Deluge
replied.
"You're telling me," Wolverine
said, "Rogue, kid, snap out of it!"
"I don't know who you are,
but you will address me with respect," Rogue replied, "I am Lady Rogue,
mate to Lord Naraku."
"Mate?" InuYasha gasped,
seeing the bite mark on her neck, "That bastard...he did take her!"
Wolverine narrowed his eyes at the mark and growled
like a feral animal. Some part of him had always seen Rogue as his.
He always found himself so protective of her and to see her "claimed" by
someone else was quickly making him angry, perhaps jealous. But he
knew it was more anger, since she obviously had no choice in what had occurred.
InuYasha gave Wolverine a quick side glance when
he heard the growling. He could tell this wouldn't be pretty.
His golden gaze fell upon the transformed Rogue as she stood beside Naraku,
like she belonged there. When he heard Deluge gasp, he turned to
her instead.
"She has a jewel shard,"
Deluge whispered, "In the bite on her neck."
"So that's how he's controlling
her," Miroku surmised.
"Very good, monk," Naraku
replied, "But she follows me of her own accord."
"No one controls me," Rogue
added, pulling away from Naraku.
"But you are being controlled,"
Deluge pleaded, "Naraku is using the jewel shard and his bond with you!
I can sense it!"
"No! Naraku is my
mate! I am loyal to him and only him!! Die!!" Rogue screamed
as she sent a powerful bolt of lightening at Deluge.
"Kagome!" InuYasha called.
Deluge countered the lightening with her own purified bolt. Rogue's
lightening did not reach Deluge, but Deluge's purified lightening did hit
Rogue and sent her flying back in pain. For a moment, some of Rogue's
memories started to come back.
"Kagome?" she asked in a
whisper.
However, Naraku's eyes flashed red and they were gone as quickly as
they appeared.
"She's still in there,"
Sango said, "Kagome, your purification powers seem to be the key in helping
Rogue. We'll distract Naraku and Rogue, you concentrate on purifying
her!"
"Right!" Deluge replied.
Wolverine also noticed that fact and heard the plan.
He nodded and popped his claws out, charging at Naraku with a battle cry.
However, Rogue blocked his way, using Jean's telekinetic powers to keep
him in the air and squeeze him. He growled in pain. InuYasha
came in as backup, sending an Iron Reamer Soul Stealer attack at Rogue.
It hit it's mark, effectively causing her to lose concentration and drop
Wolverine.
Rogue stumbled back, but healed quickly from the
attack, thanks to Logan's healing abilities. She screamed in outrage
and winds picked up in a cyclone around her. Her kimono fluttered
in the strong winds as they picked her up in the air. Lightening
and thunder rumbled as rains poured over the earth. Rogue's eyes
glowed white and she threw bolts of lightening and optic blasts at the
group that dared to oppose her and her mate. The group was forced
to dodge and retaliate as best as they could.
Naraku watched as his mate took on his enemies for
him. He would have taken the opportunity to steal the remaining shards
from the reincarnated priestess, however, she now had powers and was impossible
to reach. He contented himself with the pleasure of seeing the group
fight off a close friend. The look of helplessness and sorrow that
crossed their faces from time to time greatly amused him.
Storm flew into the air and threw her own bolts
of lightening at Rogue, who countered them more powerfully. The weather
witch screamed and fell to the earth, to be caught by Miroku. InuYasha
felt trapped, he couldn't use the Kaze no Kizu or he'd risk killing Rogue,
but there wasn't much else he could do against her power. Wolverine
felt much the same way, it seemed as if her powers were increased; he could
bet it was because of the Shikkon shard in her neck.
Mesmero watched from the distance. He couldn't
have picked a better distraction. He and Chronos headed to the village
where the shards of the jewel they had were leading them strongly.
Somehow, Mesmero knew this meant that they had left their shards in the
village. Soon the jewel would be complete and he would be able to
free Apocalypse from his prison. Then the Age of Apocalypse would
begin and the world would bow before his master.