Hi again. I've battled through my bout with depression, and am now more self-confident now. I seem to be in a bit of a writing slump, though, but I'm getting better by the hour. I really like this part, but you'll absolutely HATE me for the ending of this chapter. Oh well. Story off the starboard bow!

Chapter 26: Finally, The Battle

Kagome shrieked as they plummeted. Tobias seemed concerned but not at all panicked.

"Are you insane?" she screamed. "Why did you do that?"

"Would you rather be back up there with them?" he countered. "They can't follow us down here..."

"Yeah, but we're not going to live to see them again!" shouted Kagome. "Do you really think you can survive falling this far?"

"I've done it before..." Tobias grabbed Kagome. He pressed her back to his chest and maneuvered himself so that he would take the impact. He expected to have to struggle to keep down his instincts, but there, oddly enough, was no urge.

"I just realized," he yelled, "In this wind, I can't smell your heat anymore! Which means I can actually think and come up with a plan." He thought.

Kagome was suddenly struck by an irrational thought. "You're powered up, right? Can you fly?"

"No..." Kagome's face fell. "But I can do the next best thing," Tobias shouted. With one arm, he held his sword out above them. It glowed red, bright enough to make Kagome turn her head and squint her eyes. The air around them began to glow red too.

"What are you doing?" she yelled.

"Hot air rises," shouted Tobias. Sure enough, their descent was slowing significantly. Good thing, too, as the ground was rapidly approaching. As they fell some more (A/N: TOLD you this was a tall cliff), however; it became increasingly apparent that while they were slowing down, they were not even close to stopping.

"It's not working!" shrieked Kagome.

"All right. Get ready for impact!" Tobias concentrated, they slowed some more but the ground was so close...

*WHAM!!!!!!!*

The incredible force at which they hit the ground opened up a crater in the loosely packed earth. Tobias had taken the fall, Kagome was shaken but unhurt. She freed herself from Tobias's grip and stood up, to survey the damage. Tobias did not move.

"Tobias?" she said anxiously. "Tobias, are you all right?" He stirred. He got up, wincing in pain. He coughed up a bit of blood and spat it to the side.

"I've been better," he said weakly. "That only bought us about a minute's lead time on those three, so let's not waste all that effort." He hoisted Kagome onto his back again, grimacing at the fresh onslaught of her tempting scent. "Let's move!" He began running again.

Demons leaped from the trees and the brush, snarling and howling. Kagome cried out as one of them raked her shoulder with its claws.

"Don't worry about it, Kagome," Tobias panted. "Those are small fries next to the last three. They won't get you." He easily outpaced all of the lesser demons and continued running. Behind him, he could hear the baying of three demons, one wolf and two dog. They were gaining.

Kagome saw something ahead. A large stone structure...a cave! "Tobias!" she shouted. "There's a cave up ahead!" Tobias ran to where she was pointing.

Inside, the pungent stench of mildew sent Kagome into a fit of coughing and normally would have done the same to Tobias. But with the potent scent coming from Kagome, he couldn't even smell it. He gently laid Kagome down, and bent close to her to say something. Tobias clamped his eyes shut and fought against the urge to take her, even as he spoke.

"This is the best defensive position I can find. I'll stay out here and hold them off. If I'm lucky, I can incapacitate them long enough for us to think of a better plan." He lowered his voice. "Don't leave this cave. I can't protect you if you leave." He was gone with a whirling of his cape.

Koga, Inuyasha, and Sesshomaru were hot on the trail of Kagome's delicious scent. Inuyasha growled to the others and pointed. They ran, but almost immediately encountered a host of lesser demons who were also following. The weak demons squealed and gibbered as the three powerful ones tossed them aside or just plain killed them on the spot. The three came upon a cave, Kagome was clearly inside. Inuyasha attempted to get in, but they all stopped at what was blocking the entrance.

Tobias stood, sword out, standing in front of the entrance to the cave. The wind rustled his hair and fluttered his cape. His sword glowed faintly red. He did look very impressive. They could just see Kagome cowering inside.

"You are not in your right minds," he said calmly. "Leave now, and I promise that no harm will come to you." Sesshomaru and Koga looked puzzled, but Inuyasha laughed. He extended a hand.

"Give up girl," he snarled, in a deep voice quite unlike his own. "Or die."

"So it has come to a fight?" responded Tobias. "Very well then." He struck a fighting pose.

"Bring it on," he whispered. All three demons leapt at him, but Inuyasha was first with Tetsusaiga.

Time seemed to slow down as the two swordsmen brought their blades against each other. They connected with a clang and a clash. Tobias threw Inuyasha off him. Sesshomaru came in from behind; Tobias did a roundhouse kick and knocked him off his feet. Koga popped up and raked his claws across Tobias's armor with a useless shiiiiing. Tobias slammed his fist into Koga's face.

Inuyasha rammed into Tobias, catching him off guard. Tobias stumbled, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha both slashed him in his face. He cried out in pain as he stagger-stepped backwards and swung his sword at both of them, missing widely. After a second, he regained his footing and struck back with a vengeance.

While Tobias was occupied with Sesshomaru and Inuyasha, Koga snuck behind Tobias and made his way to the cave. Most unfortunately, Tobias spotted him. He broke free of his youkai attackers and charged Koga. Picking him up bodily, Tobias threw him into Sesshomaru, knocking them both off their feet. Inuyasha blew past Tobias and ran into the cave.

"SIT!!" Inuyasha was pounded into the ground with magical force. Growling and cursing, he struggled against the spell. It faded, but the second he leaped up Tobias was there. He sliced a path across Inuyasha's chest with his sword and sent him flying outside with the other two. Tobias ran out to meet them.

He entered with a flying kick that knocked Sesshomaru senseless. Inuyasha and Koga approached from both sides; Tobias swung his sword and slashed them both in one stroke. They both fell back even as Sesshomaru leaped at Tobias. With an angry roar, the demon toppled Tobias to the ground, slashing at his unarmored flesh. Tobias managed to throw him off, then sent the sword through his arm. His claw marks sizzled and burned with poison, but Tobias chose to ignore the pain for other pressing matters.

Koga landed on Tobias's head with a roar and began scratching and biting him. Tobias, staggered by the ferocity of the attack, ran backwards and rammed Koga into the wall of the cave, before kicking him into Sesshomaru.

Inuyasha charged, a feral glint in his eyes as he brought Tetsusaiga down across Tobias's back. Tobias grimaced and returned the favor with a strike across the ribs. A furious swordfight ensued. Inuyasha seems to be doing the best in this battle, thought Tobias grimly. Maybe his human side is lending him intelligence without giving up any conscience. Great. Just what I need.

Suddenly, Inuyasha backed away with a wicked gleam in his eyes. Sesshomaru and Koga tried to break past him to get to Kagome, but he stopped them.

"Girl must wait," he said, in that horrible deep voice he had gotten. "Focus on sword-man first. Once he gone, then girl." He gestured. "He gone soon." Tobias looked in the direction Inuyasha had indicated.

Tobias suddenly had a horrible sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Hundreds, if not thousands, of humanoid youkai were stampeding towards the small cave, each hell-bent on claiming Kagome while her arousing fragrance lingered. Tobias swallowed, stood in front of the cave, and raised his sword.

"Swordplay and fisticuffs won't kill all those youkai," he muttered to himself. "Time to turn up the heat." His sword, which had been glowing, began glowing even brighter than before. When Tobias spoke, it was with a voice that they had never heard him use before. It was hollow, soft yet echoing around them, and seemed to penetrate their hearts rather than their ears. It was the verbal equivalent of looking into an abyss, and all other noises were simply pebbles pitched down, to see how deep it truly was.

"Blade..." He gripped his sword tightly, with two hands. The youkai were approaching...

"Of..." Inuyasha grabbed Sesshomaru and Koga and pulled them out of the way. The sword glowed, brightly as a shining star, in Tobias's hands. He pulled it behind him, then swung it as one would a baseball bat.

"DEATH!!!" A huge, fiery red, ethereal blade emerged from the end of Tobias's and went straight through the ranks of demons. The attack hit with such force that they were blasted to pieces by the sheer might of it. The massive blade continued for a short distance past them, then dissipated.

Not a single youkai had been left alive. Of the hordes, all that was left was a path of destruction and a few body parts. Tobias lowered his sword, breathing very heavily. Did I get the other three in there too?

His question was soon answered. Inuyasha charged in. Drained, weakened as Tobias was by the power of that attack, he could barely respond. Inuyasha kicked his hands savagely. The sword went flying from Tobias's grip, sailed through the air, and planted itself firmly in the ground. Immediately Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, and Koga were standing in front of it, blocking Tobias from running to it.

A look of absolute fear and anger swept over Tobias's features. What could he do? The demons snickered as they closed in.

Yup, you guessed it. That's the end. "NOOOOOOO..." is the cry I can hear out in Readerland. Don't worry yourselves about it. I'll update before the end of this week. Don't you just love a good cliffhanger?

"NO!!!"

Apparently not. Oh well. Toodles.

REVIEW!!!

Jamie's poem. Want to know more? Go back to an earlier chapter. I've run out of clever ways to introduce it.

Lasako: WHERE ARE YOU? I need that email address...and your feedback means much to me.

And a big shout-out goes to Kai19, who has reviewed lots of chapters and ALWAYS has useful feedback. Big hand for Kai and Lasako, readers!