Well...umm...not much to say here. I did all the introduction stuff in the last intro. For those of you just joining us, I had several "Author's Note" chapters cluttering up the chapter select bar. So I put two chapters into one slot in a vain attempt to restore harmony to the universe. Literally, just a few days ago (and I never noticed, silly silly me) FanFiction.Net, in a stroke of brilliance, gives us the ability to delete chapters. So I did. But then, there was no need for two chapters in one slot. So I've broken it back into two again, and for once since Chapter 4 (way back last April, I think) the chapter select bar is in sync with the chapter numbers. So. For review responses, inane babble, and the like...go to last chapter. For now, STORY!

(Hang about, I just realized I never titled Chapter 47. Good thing I had one in reserve, for just such an occasion.)

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Chapter 47: The Great Escape

Kagome had only just finished getting ready when the General opened the door. There was someone behind him, but she could not immediately tell who it was.

"She is the last capable miko I have been able to find," said the General. "So please, try to ensure she stays around. I rationalized that if the former guardian of the Shikon no Tama was not available, the next best thing..." The person behind the General stepped into the room.

"Is her sister," the General finished. Kaede stood in front of the General. She did not look afraid, merely calm. The General pulled a small leather pouch from his pocket and put it on the table in front of Kagome.

"The shards," he said. "Do hurry up, I would like to make a wish soon." He swept out and shut the door behind him.

Kagome rushed forward and hugged Kaede.

"What happened? How did he find you?" Kagome gasped. Kaede pulled away from Kagome and looked at her with a steady eye.

"I came willingly, child," she said in her gravelly voice. Kagome gaped.

"Willingly?! But-"

"Calm yourself, Kagome. Allow me to explain." Kagome sat down rather heavily. "The General came to my village. I saw him coming before he encountered the townsfolk. I had heard of what he did to innocent villagers, so I left to meet him before he came." She took a deep breath. "He told me what he had come to do. I agreed to come with him, on the condition that he would not harm any of the people in the village. He promised, so I came. However, his reason for my coming and my reason for my coming are very different indeed."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that he meant me to come to help ye unite the jewel shards." Kaede smiled. "I came to help ye escape. I knew of your predicament, and even Inuyasha could not save ye from this."

"But how will you?" Kagome blurted. "How could you get me out of here?"

Kaede remained calm. "Child, do ye not understand how it is the General teleports?" Kagome shook her head. "He cannot do it naturally. He is using the shards."

"The shards? How??"

"The shards of the sacred jewel may be used for more than gaining strength and speed, Kagome," said Kaede evenly. "If one has enough power, one may manipulate them to create powerfully magical effects. The General uses the shards to help himself teleport. He teleported both himself and me back to his castle, here. As soon as I experienced it, I knew it was the shards' power."

"But...what does that have to do with me?" Kagome said faintly.

"Are ye not listening, child? The shards can be used for magical purposes – if one has the power to manipulate them so. I do not. Nor do you." Kaede smiled again. "But if we were to combine our powers..."

"Are you saying..." Kagome was beginning to understand. "That I would be able to teleport away?" Kaede nodded. "And the General?"

"He would not be able to teleport after ye. Ye would bring the shards with ye on the teleportation journey. Ye would have the shards, and ye would be far away from the General." Kaede glanced at the door. "But we must act with haste. The General will know when you leave, and will be here shortly after."

"Wait..." Kagome just realized something. "When I leave? What about you?"

"I do not think we have the strength between us to teleport more than one person, and it would be useless to teleport me away." Kagome's eyes widened, and her eyebrows went up.

"But...but...when the General finds out you've helped me escape, he'll..."

"I know, Kagome. But we all must make sacrifices to protect that which we hold most dear." Kaede walked close to Kagome and smiled slightly. "If the General keeps ye here much longer, he may kill ye. And I cannot allow that to happen. It is partly my duty to protect the guardian of the Shikon no Tama. If he gets the jewel, a great darkness will envelop the earth. Ye are more important than me."

Kagome's eyes glossed over with tears, and she hugged Kaede tightly. "There, there, child," Kaede said soothingly. "It will be all right." Kaede released Kagome and stepped back a little.

"Now," she said, turning more businesslike, "I need your help. We have only a small amount of time before the General comes back. I will show you what to do." Kaede closed her eyes and became perfectly still. The pouch on the table began to glow, then it burst asunder. The shards floated in midair.

"Ye must concentrate, child," Kaede said. "Focus on the shards. Feel their power. Let it flow through you. I will take care of the rest." Kagome began to focus on the aura of the shards. She could feel their power, but this time it was different. It was as if their energy was washing over her like a wave of warm water. Through her nearly-closed eyes, she saw her body beginning to glow.

The room grew hazy and indistinct. She could barely hear Kaede's voice saying, "I will bring ye to Inuyasha, for he alone can protect ye." A blinding flash passed in front of her eyes, and then everything went black.

The General looked up. The demon with whom he had been talking stopped, and stared at him. I most definitely felt something just now...like a surge of energy. It was coming from Kagome's room. He began to walk over, ignoring the demon. He passed through the hallways and walked into his room. Opening the metal door, he entered the room to find...

Kaede, and only Kaede. Her eyes were closed. Kagome was nowhere to be seen. The shards were missing. The General narrowed his eyes, walking into the room and shutting the door behind him.

"Where is Kagome?" he said. His voice was as calm as ever, but Kaede was already reading his aura and searching his thoughts. She knew that he was alarmed at her disappearance.

"She is beyond your reach now, General. And the shards are with her." The General's eyes widened. This is very bad, he thought. I have been using the shards to locate Kagome, and to teleport...without the shards, I have no way of finding Kagome, Inuyasha...or the boy. Kaede smiled.

She put her hand up to her temple. It glowed faint yellow, and a tiny ball of yellow energy appeared in her palm. Kaede lifted her hand, and the ball of energy began to float away. The General made a grab for it, but it floated straight through his hand and the window, to fly away into the forest.

"What was that?" the General demanded.

"Your thoughts, General," said Kaede, still smiling. The General grimaced. "Now Kagome knows ye cannot find her." The General drew his sword with a flourish and advanced on Kaede. "Kill me if ye wish, General. I have served my purpose."

Faster than anyone could see, the General's sword flashed in his hands.

The General strode into a room. The witch was mixing some herbs and turned around to meet the General.

"Grizelda, there has been a bit of a problem. Kagome has escaped with the shards." The witch upset her bowl of herbs, turning around so quickly to face the General.

"WHAT? How? This is certainly going to gum up the works..." Her ugly face squinched up in thought. The General wiped his blade on a rag and sheathed it.

"Also, Lady Kaede is no longer with us." The witch seemed about to ask, but comprehension dawned. She glanced at his sword. The General nodded.

Kagome awoke. She had been unconscious for no more than a few seconds, she knew that much. She was dizzy, but in one piece and hopefully where she needed to be. She was back in the forest. Looking around, Kagome tried to get a bearing on her surroundings.

Kagome heard a noise, all of a sudden. Listening carefully, she realized it was Inuyasha grumbling. Inuyasha...INUYASHA! Her heart sang with joy as she picked herself up and sprinted in the direction of his voice.

Inuyasha was brooding, standing in the middle of a clearing. He had finally rejoined his companions, but they were making sure to keep their distance from him. Tobias was the only one who felt safe getting near him. The others were currently resting on the opposite side of the clearing.

He meant all of what he had said to Kikyo, but some of her words still rang in his head. "Alive or dead, Kagome is beyond your reach." The awful truth of it was, she was right. There was absolutely nothing Inuyasha could do to get Kagome back, and he knew it.

A twig snapping caught his attention, and he looked up.

Kagome stood on the edge of the clearing he was in.

Inuyasha swore the entire world disappeared around him, except for the sight of Kagome running toward him. Time seemed to go in slow motion as he stood, stock-still, watching her. It's a dream, he thought frantically. She couldn't have escaped. I'll blink or I'll wake up and then she'll be gone. This can't be real.

Then Kagome reached him, and hugged him, and buried her face in his kimono and sobbed. And in that instant, he knew it was real.

His arms flew around her, crushing her to him. No words were spoken. No words were needed. Inuyasha kissed Kagome on the neck, softly, making her shiver. She lifted her head from his shoulder and kissed him on the lips. He groaned as her mouth opened, and he slipped his tongue inside.

Every instinct in his body – demon and human – was roaring at him to reaffirm his claim, to bond with his mate, to hold her to him forever. Kagome was feeling the same, the terrible urging need to feel him again. She could almost sense his instincts and his desire flowing through him, like they were one body sharing the same soul.

One of her hands delved into his hakama to feel his bare skin underneath. They were holding each other so tightly, Inuyasha thought they might be permanently fused together. Which, thought Inuyasha, moments before his last scrap of conscious thought was lost to desire; might not be such a bad thing after all.

Tobias looked up. Inuyasha had finally stopped muttering to himself. That was new...he'd been grumbling and growling for a week straight. What had happened? Tobias looked over at Inuyasha. He was locked in a deep and passionate embrace with...Kagome!

"Kagome?" Tobias said. The others looked up. Indeed, it was Kagome!

"KAGOME!" cried Shippo. He leaped forward towards her. "Kagomeeeeeee-oof!" For just as he had left the ground, Sango's arm shot out and grabbed him by the tail, and he collapsed to the floor.

Tobias began to move towards them, but was stopped by Sango. "Let's just go," she whispered, motioning into the trees.

"But I-" Tobias didn't get very far before Sango dragged him and Shippo off. Miroku followed, although not without sneaking a peek backwards once or twice. Once they were in the foliage, Sango stopped.

"You still don't understand their connection, do you?" she whispered. "They haven't seen each other for over a week, and each thought the other was lost forever. That may not seem like much to you, Tobias, but understand that their connection runs deeper than you can fathom. We'd better not disturb them."

"Disturb them? Doing what?" Tobias obviously didn't get it. He turned back to the clearing. "What's to disturb them fro – Okay..." he said, quickly turning back around, face red, "...let's just stay here for a while." He sat down and rubbed his eyes.

Much later, the group was still in the same spot. They had lit a fire, and were sitting moodily around it. Tobias checked his watch, and looked up at the sky. The sun was setting.

"Well...this is awkward," he said. Miroku gave him a dour look.

"That's the fifth time you've said that, Tobias," he said.

"Well, pardon me for being five times awkward." Tobias said dryly. He glanced back at the clearing. "Are they done yet?"

"I don't know," said Sango. She was absently stroking Kirara. "But we'd better check...I mean, what if something attacked them now? They wouldn't even notice. If they're asleep – which I don't doubt they will be after they're through – then they're extremely vulnerable."

"Well," said Miroku, standing up, "I must then take it upon myself to go-"

"No," said Sango, Tobias, and Shippo simultaneously. Sango stood up. "I should check," she said quietly. "Kagome's my friend. She would understand."

"I'll go," said Tobias. The others looked at him. "The way I see it, I'm the only one tough enough to survive the beating Inuyasha would give me if he caught any of us looking." Sango looked at Miroku, who looked back at Sango, who nodded.

Tobias crept out of the brush. Three seconds later, he returned, his face flaming red. "Well..." he said, uncomfortably. "They're...certainly...flexible." Everyone sweatdropped.

"I don't think we needed to know that, Tobias," said Miroku.

"Got a lot of stamina, those two," Tobias said dryly. "I wouldn't think a human like Kagome..."

"Well, she IS a miko, and mated with a demon," said Sango. "Besides..." She blushed as she spoke. "Inuyasha is doing most of the...work."

Tobias lit a cigarette. "I'm running out of these damn things," he said to himself. "Oh well. They'll kill me anyway." He chuckled.

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Not much to say. Inu & Kag are getting quite a workout, aren't they? REVIEW!