Hi. This chapter is kind of melancholy, so don't get too disillusioned by it. These next few chapters will not be happy ones, but I reiterate my assurances last chapter: I WILL NOT TURN THIS FIC INTO AN ANGST-FILLED ONE. I hate and despise those. So, keeping that in mind...THE STORY! In this installment, we find out QUITE a lot about Tobias's mysterious past.
Chapter 35: The Very Long Flashback
"Over ten thousand years ago, a kingdom ruled over part of Asia. It was fairly large, covering about half of what is in Kagome's time called Russia. It was called Alarion. It was so named because of the legend of how the kingdom was begun; that a holy knight named Alarion had slain the evil ranger Druga and formed the nation on their field of battle.
"It was a prosperous land. The people were happy, merchants set fair prices, slavery was banned. It was idyllic, rather. The line of kings ruled justly, and basically all was right with the land. This went on for about three millennia. Then it happened.
"King Antwelm the Seventh, the ruler at the time, had two sons. One was named Marcus, and he grew to be a powerful commander on the field of battle. His combat finesse was seconded only by one other, but I'll get to that later. The other...the other was me." Kagome's eyes widened. Just how old was he? Tobias continued.
"When he was seventeen, Marcus set off in search of a sword that the legends spoke of. Whoever wielded this sword, the sages claimed, would have power beyond that of mortal men. So of course, him being the oldest and next in line for the throne, he went off to get it and I stayed behind. I was nine years old at the time, so I was hardly suited for such a quest.
"Understand, I looked much different then than I do now. My hair was black, I was trim but not muscular, and I didn't have this armor either. Much of that was because I hadn't hit puberty yet, but there were other reasons for my drastic change of appearance between then and now.
"Ten years passed after Marcus left. I grew into a man. One day, Marcus returned. His appearance had altered. His hair, instead of brown, was now pure white; and he wore burnished golden armor. At his side, he carried the sword that he had been seeking for so long. We embraced and cried and told each other how much we missed each other. But he was powerful now, and he showed it. His sword granted him fantastic powers. He could run, and leap, and fight, like nothing I had ever seen before. Also, when a battle was turning against him, an emergency power activated and he could command lightning. It was the most powerful weapon I had ever seen. He confided in me that it stopped his aging, that he would live forever while in possession of it.
"The king had one other military leader, one whose tactics excelled even Marcus's. His name, I never knew and still don't. I only knew him as the General. We...we were friends, sort of. Well, as good friends as a kid and an adult can be. He was a brilliant strategist, the most brilliant I have ever met. But he would often get passed up for missions, in favor of the king's son, Marcus. This, understandably, made him upset. Also, Marcus, not being the nicest person in the world..." Tobias's eyes dropped a little. He seemed ashamed at saying things like that about his own brother. "He seemed to have a vendetta against the General, knowing that the other man was a superior strategist. So he would do whatever he could to humiliate the General in front of the king.
"Three years passed, and the tension between the General and Marcus heightened. When the General finally went on a campaign against our hated enemies, Mistaria, in the west, Marcus got the General's troops caught in an enemy ambush and massacred. He swept in and saved the day, and reported back to the king. This drove the General past the edge. In a fit of rage, he shouted at the king that he would no longer serve under a senile old fool who practiced flagrant nepotism. The king banished him, and he was more than happy to leave. He swore revenge on the king, his court, and the entire country for disgracing him so.
"Around the same time, I heard rumors of another legendary sword, the one that Alarion had used to kill Druga so many years ago, a sword of tremendous power. I immediately gathered up a phalanx of troops and went off in search of this sword. For two and a half years, my search was fruitless. Then, I went into the frozen north, what you call Siberia.
"There lay a labyrinth of ice; cruel tunnels, with monsters and demons and horrid creatures barring the way at every turn. We fought gallantly, but we were hopelessly lost and our numbers were dwindling. I thought that I was done for, that I would die in that forsaken wilderness, when we turned a corner and saw the center.
"It was stunningly anticlimactic. A rusty old stick, barely looking like a sword at all, stuck in a block of ice. My face fell. All those men had died, I had wasted years of my life...for this piece of junk?" Tobias paused in his narrative. "Actually..." he said slowly, "it looked rather like Tetsusaiga in its untransformed state." Inuyasha's eyebrows rose.
"There was nothing for it. I raised my hand to signal my men to leave...and yet...there was something about that sword. Something compelling me to go over and grasp it, to pull it out and claim it as my own. One of my men, I forget his name, went over before me and yanked on it. It did not budge. Shaking my head at the strange urge, I went over and tugged on it. It slid out smooth as glass.
"Suddenly, my entire world vanished, and I saw only bright light. My companions later swore that a transformation came over the sword and I. Before their eyes, I grew taller, larger, stronger; my hair changed from black to flaming red; black plate armor shimmered into existence, replacing my own feeble chain shirt; the sword went from a pitted piece of garbage to a magnificent, long, hard metal sword with a flame patterned on its surface. A burning heat enveloped me, and I cried out at the sensation. The heat grew, and grew, until I thought I would be roasted alive. I focused every particle of my mind into quenching this terrible fire.
"It vanished. Slowly my vision returned to me. The first things I saw were blurry forms of my men, gaping in wonder at me and at...something, I couldn't tell. Then, it was my turn to gape as I finally saw. The entire labyrinth of ice – indeed, the entire area – had melted. We stood on dry ground, something unheard of that far north. My companions looked at me like I was a terrible beast. Some were ready to flee. I sheathed the sword in a long scabbard that had also appeared at my side.
"Then I cracked a smile. 'Who's ready to go home?' I said good-naturedly. That broke the trance. They saw it was me, truly. As we traveled, I found my companions' pikes and halberds quickly became useless, next to the power that I held. I suffered great wounds in battle, that would have killed a man on the spot; and they barely slowed me down. My knowledge of my newfound abilities grew over the six months we spent traveling back home, back to Alarion. But there was no welcome waiting for me.
"I did not recognize my homeland when we arrived back at it. Death and destruction spread as far as the eye could see. Almost everyone lay dead; or worse, dying, begging for a merciful death, anything to end the pain. I encountered an old woman; who, miraculously, had been spared. 'What happened?!' I demanded. Alarion was the most powerful military force in the continent; what could have brought about this terror?
"'Him,' she whispered in a cracked, dry voice. 'The destroyer, the ravager. He has come back.' After much interrogation, I determined what had happened.
"The General had come back, and with a vengeance. He too had found a sword; one that granted him powers of ice. Fire, ice, and lightning; what I would learn to be the Three Swords of power. And yet..." His eyes rested on Inuyasha for an unnaturally long time before pulling away and resuming his tale. "The General's power far outstripped that of our army. Armed as they were with steel and wood and iron, he cut them down like lambs on the fold. I had arrived just in time to see Marcus spring to the battlefield, with what troops he had left. It had come to a challenge. He drew his sword, and the blade sparkled with electricity. The General stared him down.
"I could not watch. I tore to the palace, moving so fast I was but a blur to the few that still lived in the ruined citadel. Bursting through the doors to my parents' throne room, I was horrified to see their..." He swallowed what sounded like a sob. "Their bodies." Tears leaked from his eyes, and Sango put a comforting arm around his shoulder. After a few seconds, he regained enough composure to keep on.
"I ran back outside, to find Marcus facing down against the General in the courtyard. They spoke, and I remember what they said as if it had happened yesterday...
"'General!' shouted Marcus angrily. 'How could you do such a thing? To slaughter innocent civilians! To kill women and children! To betray the empire you once pledged your life to! How could you BE so-' The General cut him off with a gesture. 'Please,' he said dryly. 'You do not understand things from my point of view. Let us look at the facts. Every military campaign I entered, you showed me up in some way. Five score over the years you have taken from my grasp that I was more suited for. People spat at me in the streets, because I was the one who kept losing!' The General's face curled into a sneer, but quickly resolved into its normal, expressionless state. 'And then I found this sword, and it all became beautifully clear. Here was how I would win my campaigns. I would go into business by myself and take on whomever I fancied.' His voice dropped. 'I fancied Alarion first,' he almost whispered.
"With a roar, Marcus charged him and crashed his sword onto the General's. They began an epic duel, swords clashing as they flew through the air and around the area. I could barely keep up with them; they were going so fast. But one thing was obvious: Marcus was losing, and badly.
"At the time, I had no idea of how to activate my sword's powers of fire. So I was surprised to see it burning in my hand like a great torch. Before I could step in, they locked swords and again exchanged remarks.
"'How can you be so calm, in the midst of all this battle?!' groaned Marcus. He was bleeding badly, while the General only had a few scratches. 'You do not understand, do you,' said the General, almost pityingly. 'All of the Three Swords have contingencies which activate their powers. Yours happens to be when you are losing a battle. Mine, I gain strength from lack of emotion. So I am only helping myself along to more power. If the boy ever finds his,' a smirk appeared on his face, only to vanish just as quickly, 'then he will undoubtedly find out that rage empowers his.' Marcus leaped away and held his sword high. It glowed white, and clouds gathered overhead. 'Thunder Rage!' I heard him cry. The General took a mighty leap towards him, but a massive lightning bolt hit him in midair. It held him there, suspended, while six other bolts zap down to combine their powers.
"The General fell and did not move. For a minute, my breathing slowed. Had he been defeated? Had the General fallen forever? My question was not answered as Marcus crept up on him, slowly, keeping his sword out and in a defensive position in case it was a trap." Tobias paused again, and took a deep breath before continuing. "It was.
"The General leaped up – so fast I didn't even see him move, and I doubt Marcus did either -–and sliced Marcus's hands off at the wrists. Blood poured from his stumps as his sword clattered to the ground. He fell to one knee. The General advanced on him, held his sword high...and stopped. For the first time, his eye caught mine. He smiled slightly. Marcus slowly, painfully turned his head to see what the General was looking at. Just before he would have seen me, the General cut him to pieces, right before my eyes." Tobias began to cry again, and it was some minutes before he calmed himself down enough to keep talking.
"I had just found out how to activate my powers. Before that moment, I had never used my fire powers except when I first grasped the sword. I had no idea how to use them. Before that fateful moment, I felt nothing but shock and sorrow for the dead surrounding me. And as I saw my brother die at the hands of my once-friend, I knew the meaning of anger.
"I don't remember much after that; but from what I can remember, the skies turned black, the seas boiled, and the ground melted to lava under my feet. I leaped at the General with a roar and hit him with everything I had and more. He went flying through the air, smashed through several thick stone walls, and ended up inside the ruined walls of the palace. Not stopping for an instant, I crashed through the walls myself to face him. That one blow had done more damage than all of Marcus's attacks had. The Blade of Death, the Big Bang Blade, all the abilities I never knew existed leaped to my mind, as well-remembered as if I had practiced them every day for a hundred years. And I used all of them. I didn't care how I got hurt, how he sliced me and cut me and tossed chunks of ice at me, all that mattered was that I had to kill him or die trying. But neither happened.
"Even in this state of horrific rage and monstrous power, he still had more power than me. He beat me to within an inch of my life, until I could no longer move for the injuries. I had hurt him, a lot in fact, but it paled in comparison to the damage he did to me. I've never been closer to death, nor have I...nor have I ever craved death more, than in that moment. He said some things and left. I blacked out.
"A day or so later, I woke up and found I had enough strength to stand. I was stunned by the sight around me. Where the once-proud kingdom had stood...there was nothing." Tobias paused. "Not a single brick of a single building, not a hair of a person's head. It was as if I had lain in the middle of the wilderness; which, except for the lack of trees, I had. I looked around and saw no trace of Alarion, no sign it had ever existed.
"Why did I keep going? Why didn't I just cast aside the sword and let myself die in that forsaken land? ... I don't know. But, I searched around for the nearby city-state of Ahmsbrad. It was the same; as if it had been wiped off the earth. I went to the native village of Chinglechook...oblivion. I didn't even know where it had once stood. In a fit of desperation, I even went to Mistaria, the land of our hated enemies. Gone.
"Apparently, the General had gone to every colony he could find and wiped them off the map. Why did he do it? I still have no idea. I don't know why he does what he does, but I know that he's been doing it for about seven thousand years, now.
"I spent the next millennia traveling, despondently looking for the General so I could put an end to the rivalry that stood between us. But always, he eluded my grasp. I did what I could to eat, to get shelter. Often I could salvage my own. Remember, this was before many of the so-called 'early' civilizations were organized. Our nations came far before them, but the General destroyed them so cleanly and so efficiently that not a trace was left for archaeologists to find or for ancient people to build on. The kingdom of Alarion became less than a legend, less than a myth...it vanished completely from the minds of the world. Only the General and I knew it had ever existed."
Tobias shifted uncomfortably. "In the last few years, I've taken up residence in Tokyo and became an assassin. My powers are more than enough to compensate for such a job; and while it is not the noblest of professions, what else could I do? Do you think I could hold a job as the CEO of a major corporation? Not a chance." He turned to Inuyasha. "I told you once I was twenty-six, Inuyasha. And I am. I've been twenty-six for over seven thousand years." For the first time, he seemed to notice Kagome and her sobs. "Kagome? What's wrong?? What happened?"
Kagome tried to form some words, but only wailed loudly and buried her head into Inuyasha's fire-rat kimono. Inuyasha answered for her.
"We've kept this a secret, but during Kagome's heat...we mated." Tobias's eyes, which had been half-closed and droopy, snapped wide open and alert. "No! Not like that...I didn't...force myself on her. I had my mind. I rescued her from drowning in the river and...well..." He blushed a little, but continued.
"Because we mated during her heat, Kagome was most likely to whelp then, and she did. I could smell it. She had a pup. Our pup." Inuyasha's eyes darkened. "After the General took you out, Tobias, he was holding his sword to Kagome's throat. When he knew Kagome had a baby...he hit her so hard that she lost it." He finished quietly and stroked Kagome's hair as she let out a fresh outburst of sobs.
Tobias closed his eyes. Not a muscle moved on his face, but the others became aware that his sword was glowing in his scabbard. Thinking quickly, Inuyasha lashed out and dragged the humans away. (A/N: Good idea.) Little points of light beamed out from the hilt of the scabbard, the air around Tobias shimmered red, and the tree he was leaning against burst into flames.
It burned very quickly, turning into a blackened husk in seconds. Tobias, unburned, still leaned against the dead tree. Kagome, teary-eyed, lifted her head from Inuyasha's embrace.
"Wh...why?" she whimpered. "Why would...why would he...do something like that?"
"He's evil, Kagome," said Tobias in a voice that was shaking with suppressed rage. "He's evil and he's a heartless bastard and he kills just for the sake of killing. He knew he couldn't kill you, you're important, so he hit you where it would hurt the most. He's a cold, calculating bastard; and that's just the sort of thing he would do." He closed his eyes again and seemed to settle down. "I'm going to rest now. I'm still very weak."
Ooooh. His life sucks, doesn't it. But, it had to be told. I have an interesting challenge for you. Now that you know his mysterious history, go back and read the story again. See how most of the things Tobias says and does suddenly make so much more sense. Oh, and another thing? REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To shiro-okami – 1: She wasn't pregnant enough to be sick yet. 2: It might have, you have a point, but the bullet hit her too high on the torso to affect the baby. 3: I don't think they'll name the baby shiro-okami. Sorry. 4: This isn't going to be the happiest fic ever written, but it is not a generally depressing one. I HAVE stressed this.