Sigh No one reviewed and my crickets abandoned me. But the whole point of posting this story was to force myself to actually complete one, so here we go.

Gate World - Solaris

Burning... her body felt as if it were on fire. The searing heat pierced through her body to her very bones. Groaning Kagome slowly rose from the ground. She felt the hard, dry sand shift beneath her causing her to collapse back onto the earth. Sand flew into her mouth and nose irritating her and causing her to sneeze loudly. Beside her she heard another groan and felt something next to her shift...

Trying to muffle a groan Hiei rose slowly from the shifting sand. Blinking rapidly he tried to clear his sight as the bright suns blinded him. 'Suns!' he thought. Staring hard at the sky he noticed four yellow suns positioned throughout his vision. He could feel the waves of heat lapping at his body through his clothes. Shaking his head to try and clear it he stood and eyed the desert around him. A stifled gasp beside him caused him to whip out his blade and aim it at the person beside him.

Shippo nose twitch as a bit of sand flew into it. The burning sensation in his nose caused him to wake quickly as he stifled a sneeze. Climbing to his feet Shippo fought the urge to faint as the heat surrounded him. Waiting for the his vision to clear Shippo wondered where Kagome was. A stifled gasp alerted him to her presence. Turning around Shippo watch in horror as a man in black aimed a Katana at his mother. "Momma, look out!" he cried. Thinking quickly he called, "Foxfire!" and aimed it at the man's chest. The flame struck the man throwing him several feet away and into another man laying in the sand...

Kurama was beginning to stir when he felt another body impact with his. Reacting swiftly he pushed the body off and jumped to his feet. Kurama felt as if he was within an inferno and fell to his knees. With a soft moan he waited for his head to clear, and looked down to discover that the one who had flown into him was none other than Hiei.

Jumping up swiftly Hiei raised his katana and disappeared before their eyes only to reappear right in front of Shippo. Acting silently Hiei swung his sword aiming for Shippo's head. "No!" cried Kagome as she saw Hiei preparing to attack Shippo. It felt as if the whole world slowed down in that instant. She could see every agonizing instant as the katana arced towards Shippo's head. Calling on all the power she knew rested within her she concentrated on her palm. It had taken her two long years to learn to concentrate her miko energy into almost any solid object. Now she had less than a second to concentrate her energy into the very air itself. She recalled how sweet Shippo had looked as he blushed when he asked to call her momma, and how her heart had filled with such joy at the request. With her hardened resolve she promised herself, 'I will do whatever necessary to protect Shippo'. A wavering pink ball appeared before her hand. It was not very strong, but she only to distract him long enough for Shippo to get away. With a final push of her powers she sent the ball of purification flying through the air and straight into Hiei's back.

Kurama watched in horror as a bright pink ball of energy struck Hiei in the back. With a cry Hiei dropped his katana into the sand and fell to his knees before passing out. Kurama pulled the rose from his hair, "Rose whip!" and quickly jumped to Hiei's side to protect him.

Shippo gasped as a sword suddenly materialized inches from his head. The man before him cried out in pain before harmlessly dropping his sword and falling unconscious. A red head standing behind Kagome materialized a whip from a rose and moved towards his fallen friend. Shippo quickly ran before his mother who was only half way off the ground. He spread his arms out before Kagome and cried, "I won't let you hurt my momma!"

Kagome heard Shippo's shout a whipped her head towards the red head. "Shippo, no!" She cried as she pulled her legs beneath her. Her arms flashed out as she grabbed Shippo around the waist and wrapped her arms around him. She warily watched the man with the whip as a look of astonishment? crossed his features. "You four have been chosen..." she mumbled.

Kurama watched the scene play out before him in shock. First the obviously youkai child rushed out to save the miko, and then the miko tries to protect the child. How could a miko have a fox youkai child? Weren't they supposed to kill all demons! Kurama was so lost in his surprise that he almost missed her whispered words. "You four have been chosen..." With a sudden shock Kurama realized that these were the other two the strange girl had chosen to retrieve the Shikon Orb. Lowering his whip Kurama changed it back into a rose and placed it behind his ear. "Forgive me for the misunderstandings, but I believe we are supposed to be on the same team."

Kagome slightly loosened her grip on Shippo as she watched the read-head attempt to pacify them. Biting her lip nervously, she decided that nothing could be gained in gained in distrust. She took a deep breath and said, "My name is Kagome and this is my son Shippo. I take that you two saw the apparition as well?"

Kurama placed a restraining hand on Hiei as he began to stir. "Hiei," he said, "This is Kagome and Shippo. They are to be our allies." "Hn." Hiei replied angry that he had been so easily beaten so easily by a mere ningen. Still holding Shippo close Kagome said, "So does anyone have any clue which direction were supposed to head in?" Hiei and Kurama exchanged a look. "The apparition didn't tell you?" Kurama asked. "Momma, couldn't you try to sense it like you do the shards?" Shippo whispered. Hiei's eyes widened in surprise. 'Momma?' He thought 'but he's a full blooded Youkai! It's not possible.' 'Shards? Shards of what?' Kurama wondered. Kagome unaware that Hiei and Kurama had heard chewed her lip thoughtfully. 'It can't hurt to try' she thought. Taking a deep breathe she expanded her senses as far as she could.

Her eyes shut and her forehead wrinkled in concentration. She didn't realize that her body had began to give off slight waves of pink energy as she put more and more effort into it. Further and further Kagome tried to search until finally she could do no more. Her eyes snapped open and she sank to her knees on the sand. "Kagome?" Kurama asked worried. "Are you okay?" "There's nothing. For at least the next twelve days of walking there's nothing. No water, no life, just sand..." she whispered. "But it's strange. I kept feeling something flicker below us..." "But Momma!" whispered Shippo, "It's too hot here. We can't survive twelve days!" "Hn. Weak ningen." Hiei smirked. Even though he could feel the heat getting to him already. Honestly he wasn't sure how the ningen and youkai child had ever managed to regain consciousness as it was. Glaring at Hiei Kagome replied softly to Shippo, "It's okay Shippo. I won't let anything happen to you. We'll find something, you'll see." 'She's a good mother...' Youko whispered in an almost reverent fashion in Kurama's mind. 'Youko?' Kurama tried to prod Youko for information, but it seemed the fox was not in the mood to explain.

With a sigh Kurama said, "Since it seems that we will be traveling awhile I suggest we get started. The sooner we can escape this heat the better." Kagome nodded and climbed to her feet. Still carrying Shippo she just started walking forward going past Kurama and Hiei. "Arrogant ningen. Who made her the leader?" Hiei snarled. "Calm down Hiei. She is a miko, perhaps she senses something we cannot." Kurama replied gently. "Hn" Hiei responded, but regardless he began to walk as well.

The suns beat down them and none could figure out how long they had been walking. They had stopped several times "for Kagome" but they couldn't tell if it had been several days or hours. The suns just seemed to rest in the same position all the time. What they didn't realize was that the suns were positioned so that it only became dark once every 2 months. They had been walking for four days already. Shippo had long ago lapsed into a constant state of sleep to deal with the heat and Kagome focused on just setting one foot in front of the other. Privately Hiei and Kurama were surprised at her resilience. Never once had she complained about the heat or all the walking. Certainly in the beginning even Kurama had wanted to silence Shippo.

---Flashback

"Momma, how long have we been walking? Why is it so hot? Why do you think Inuyasha's so stupid. Do you suppose Sango's killed Miroku yet. Shouldn't it be night already? How hot is it? When will we rest? Shouldn't there be water somewhere?" And on and on he went. Shippo never stopped talking and Kagome always replied with patience and kindness, "Shhh, Shippo. I don't know why. I'm sure Miroku is fine. Just rest Shippo. I'll let you know when we reach water or a town." Finally the kit quieted down and spent the days napping on and off. During this entire time Hiei's hand had strayed to his Katana, but Kurama's restraining arm kept him from doing anything. Even so after several hours of the endless questions even Kurama's fingers itched to grab his rose. But no, he couldn't do it.

---End flashback

'She handled the kit well.' Youko whispered in Kurama's mind. 'Normally a kit can talk for days on end.' Kurama shivered at the thought. He wasn't sure he would have been able to restrain himself or Hiei for that long. 'Youko?' Kurama questioned again. The fox was being unusually quiet, but once again Youko had retreated.

Several days later. Kagome could barely see anymore. The heat was so intense and carrying Shippo hadn't made it any easier on the young miko. Swaying on her feet Kagome collapsed. Kurama and Hiei stared in shock for a minute before going up to the fallen girl. "Kagome." Kurama called softly. He could kick himself for being so stupid. He should have seen how tired she was becoming. Come to think of it he had seen her wavering steps, but he had been too wrapped up in his own little world to really notice. With a sigh Kurama began to pick up the unresponsive girl when Hiei stopped him. "Hn" was his only response to Kurama's questioning look as he pulled Kagome on his back and handed Kurama the kit. Honestly Hiei was worried for his friend. Being part fire demon the heat affected him the least of their little group. He didn't want Kurama collapsing as well. "If you collapse, there's no way I'm carrying you." He replied at last. Kurama just smiled as he held the kit. He knew that Hiei was really worried.

Hiei unconsciously began to slowly relax and enjoy the scent that surrounded him. It smelled like jasmine and sakura blossoms. Suddenly Kagome began to stir against him. "The ground, "she moaned, "Watch out for the ground!" before slipping back into oblivion. Hiei and Kurama traded a look that said, "What was that?" When the ground beneath them began to shake an rattle. A huge rift began to open in the ground as a waterfall of sand fell into it. Caught off guard Hiei and Kurama were pulled under and fell choking on sand into the rift in the earth. They found themselves suddenly free falling in a dark abyss until the cold stone floor of the cavern stopped them. Kurama was unconscious from the fall and the impact onto the stone floor. The kit was curled protectively in his arms and Kurama had landed on his back so the Shippo wouldn't be hurt. Hiei had managed to land on his feet but the shock of the land paralyzed him for a moment. Red eyes began to appear all around them and Hiei felt a sudden pain on the back of his head. Turning as he fell he saw glowing red eyes and white hair before the darkness claimed him as well.

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