A/N: This chapter will be jumping around a bit so please bear with me. Sorry about the wait, but I couldn't make up my mind about how I wanted to end this one. I think I have a decent enough ending to lead into my sequel. Also, I will be redoing a lot of my old chapters sometime when I get a chance, nothing too major, just filling in some small plot holes that were brought to my attention earlier. Thank you for your time, and enjoy the conclusion of this story.

Chapter 13

"Chain her to the table and put a damn sock in her mouth, the constant 'threats' are beginning to wear on my nerves. Our time has finally come, and I don't want to be nagged to death before then." Declared Techbu as he entered the sacrificial chamber followed by a very nervous looking Deus and a tied up Kagome.

"Yes, my Lord," Came the response as Deus proceeded to chain her down by the wrists and feet to a cracked stone table covered in dried blood. The stench itself was enough to cause a stomach to do flip-flops.

"Earlier I was informed by my scouts that three warriors are heading towards our castle, we must prepare for their attack. If I am to perish then it is up to you to kill the girl and prolong my people's race." Deus nodded and Techbu continued on with his work, testing different objects and items for their durability, finally deciding to fight the half demon with his own weapon which he had stolen from the museum during their first encounter.

Deus had never enjoyed serving under the man; he could only hope he should die so he may be free of his grasp. The only true question left was whether he really would kill the young girl. Only time itself would tell.

((((Next Segment))))

"You know, we may not make it out of here alive today. So how about you finally admit those feelings you have for me. Just in case…" Miroku winked before getting slapped upside the head.

"You're such a stereotypical male, the only thing that ever registers in your head is sex."

He was about to reply with a witty comment before Inuyasha cut him off. "We're less than a mile from the castle; can you two PLEASE shut up until then? We'll be fighting hordes of unknown creatures so maybe you should be reflecting on some sort of strategy?"

"Since when did you become the planning sort of person, usually with you it's all run in and kill anything that moves." Sango commented.

"Since I grew up, maybe you should try it." She chose to ignore the comment for now, being that they were only a few minutes away from their destination.

((((Next Segment))))

The group came upon the castle, completely stunned by its shear size and beauty as it cast a shadow over the land to the south that seemed to stretch for miles on end. One would think that it was night while traveling through it. They were lucky to have come from the other direction.

But as they approached the entrance Miroku became increasingly uneasy. He sensed something was amiss, but did not know what. "We should be on the look out, something doesn't seem right here."

"What do you mean?" Questioned the young half demon, he could not detect the presence of anything youkan related, for reasons he had yet to figure out.

"I sense that others are nearby, though they are not humans…Except for one, coming from inside that small room to the left of the castle, it could be Kagome." Inuyasha nodded his head in agreement and proceeded to kick the wooden door in revealing a spiraling staircase leading down into the earth. The passage lit with only a few stray torches.

A strong forceful gust of wind shot out of the staircase and threw them back outside, almost immediately being surrounded by Techbu's soul guards. Deus had spent an entire damn day creating those men, so they had better be good.

The three drew there weapons with their backs against each other as the countless number of spirits closed in. "Inuyasha, go and get Kagome, Sango and I will hold off these things as long as we can."

"The hell I will Miroku, I'm not leaving you guys behind!"

The monk looked at the hanyou seriously, concern gleaming in his eyes. "You'll die if you stay here, our only goal is to save Kagome, so do it already."

With a slight moment of hesitation, Inuyasha grudgingly took off in the direction of the stairs, slicing through two guards as they attempted to block off his path. Nothing would stop him now; he only hoped that it was not too late.

((((May 24, 2005))))

Two U.S. Navy Seals could be seen through the misty shroud of night heading up the stairs leading into a now hopefully abandoned shrine. Gripping their automatic MP5's as if they were their only lifeline. "Captain, do you think we'll be stopping anytime soon?"

The man turned around to face his comrade, "If we can secure the perimeter to this place, then yes, we can get some damn rest finally." The lieutenant's head dropped slowly signifying his doubt. "Look Luis, I know that we haven't slept or even eaten in three days now. But those things are still out there, staying still is a death wish. Now come on, we don't have all day."

The two climbed to the top of the stairs and stopped outside the front door. "Luis, go scope out the area surrounding this shrine. I'll do a sweep of the interior, when you're finished meet me inside. Call if you're in need of assistance."

"I'll see ya inside Michael," With that the young lieutenant left to go around the back. Gripping his MK5 he slowly bumped the front door open with his shoulder before running in and scanning the entire place. Michael saw nothing and relaxed a bit.

Suddenly a giant blur flew across the field of vision slicing through his left shoulder, causing him to drop his gun. The figure landed about ten feet in front of him, red eyes piercing his skull with a glare that was directed towards the young captain. The demon looked extremely young, with short, unruly, and slick jet black hair.

"So what brings an American to my land?"

Michael's right hand slowly edged closer and closer to the sword that hung from his back. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'd watch that hand of yours if you wish not to lose it. Accidents do happen you know."

"You never answered my question."

The demon kept a cool façade, "My name is of no importance to you, seeing as you won't be alive for too much longer. Though I am the one who ordered the attack on your team when you landed, such a pity that they had to die. They could have made good test subjects."

"Test subjects, what the hell are you talking about?" The captain's annoyance and temper seemed to grow with each passing moment.

The demon scoffed, "Why should I tell you? Besides, it would ruin all the fun I have in store for my other 'guest.'"

Michael's interest peaked, "What other guest, who are you talking about?"

"Enough of this, you bore me. Draw your weapon so we can finish this."

By this point in time, the Seals left arm had lost a substantial amount of blood. Not to mention the fact that it left a sickly looking gash that appeared to be quite deep. He would need to clean it soon if he wished to avoid infection, and that was something he could not afford to happen right now.

Ignoring the pain, he drew his weapon with the only workable arm that he still had. The demon smirked and drew his own blade, which appeared to be just an ordinary samurai sword that had been recently sharpened.

Michael knew he would be no match in his condition, but then again, what other choice did he have besides fighting? He became lost in thought and failed to recognize that his opponent had grown restless and was charging in.

Coming back to his senses, he quickly rolled to the right evading the oncoming attack. Getting to his feet, he ran in taking a couple of high swings attempting to cut off the demon's head only to have them blocked easily.

Michael's opponent swung his sword aiming to take off the Seal's bleeding arm. He managed to deflect the attack with the tip of his sword, but was sent sliding back on the floor several feet. 'Damn,' he thought to himself, 'how am I supposed to beat him when the guy is twenty times stronger than me?'

The demon took full advantage of this and began to attack relentlessly, though he managed to block all of them he kept being sent farther and farther back, the captain was nearing the wall and would need a plan if he wished to get out of this alive.

His stamina was wearing; the demon knew this and his power increased with each swing. Suddenly he stopped and stood there focusing, appearing to try and gather his energy for one final attack, Michael was far too tired to even move, he just stood there waiting for the inevitable.

Soon the demon charged forward and delivered the blow, the human raised his sword in a feeble attempt to block it. The two met with a thunderous clash, and the youkai was thrown back against the wall opposite of his opponent. Michael collapsed on the ground, staring at the sword that had just shattered into a million pieces. His last real defense was gone, and now he would need a miracle to get out of this one.

The demon rose and strode over to the fallen man, he smirked, "Any last words, human?"

Michael scanned the room in a vain attempt to spot any sort of an object that he could use to defend himself with. The only thing he saw was an old dusty mechanical device, it was shaped like a hallow circle and was emitting a humming noise. It seemed of no particular use.

Closing his eyes, he waited for the sound of metal cutting through flesh, but it never came. Instead something attune to a shrill banshee cry pierced the chilled night air. Opening his eyes to investigate, he noticed that that thing had somehow activated. A swirling blue pool filled the hollow center of the device; Michael became captivated by its shear beauty, and magnificence. He of course was not the only one distracted; his opponent joined him in staring at it, wondering as to why it had activated.

For several minutes they just stood there, waiting for their question to be answered, yet nothing came. The demon turned back to the man and raised his weapon to deliver the final blow. But a sharp blur flew across his field of vision, and a large cut materialized on the demon's face, who stumbled back from the unexpected attack. Green puss dripped from the wound, which he wiped away with his hand.

That's when Michael realized there was a sword stuck in the wall inches away from his face. There were green snakes that ran down the sides of the blade, he'd never seen this kind of design before, interesting indeed…Though he had bigger issues to deal with at the moment.

Unbarring the sword from the wall he quickly sprang to his feet and slashed the demon, (who was currently distracted by the overwhelming pain the cut on his face was causing) across the stomach. The very same green puss oozed out as the thing shrieked in pain, while retreating to one of the slits in the wall caused by the decaying buildings foundation.

"You fucking bastard, don't you know how much that hurts?"

The Seal glanced at his arm, then back at the wounded demon. "Nah, must be pretty painful, huh?"

"Arrogant worm, you'll pay for this with your life! I'll let you off the hook this time, but don't think I'll be so generous next time!"

"Good, maybe then I'll only lose a finger." A death glare was sent his before the figure disappeared into the night from whence it came.

Relieved, Michael collapsed in a heap onto the floor, the stress of the situation overwhelming his system. After a few moments of lying there the front door opened to reveal his comrade Luis. "Where the hell have you been Lieutenant?"

The said man rushed forward to aid his captain when he noticed the condition Michael was in. "Sorry sir, I spotted a man in black a few meters away from the shrine, I took chase but lost him almost immediately. It was like he had just vanished in midair."

It was the last thing he heard before his body overpowered his mind, and he fell into a deep unconsciousness.

((((Next Segment))))

A man watched through the shade of his black sunglasses the events that were unfolding before his eyes, seemingly displeased with the Seals resiliency. He was clad in a black suit that matched the turtleneck sweater he wore underneath it. His coal colored hair was slicked back, and his black shoes and leather gloves shone in the moonlight.

His pale skin was only visible on his face, though it held no expression. He kept a cool façade that could break a man's will if looked upon for too long. His chiseled abs and chest could be easily made out through his clothes.

The battle had now ended and the demon was retreating, but not before sparing a glance over to the man with the sunglasses. A chilling glare was sent towards the demon as it ran off into the night.

"Pathetic creatures, so unreliable…" He muttered to himself.

He stood there watching the injured Seal through one of the cracks, when he picked up the acute sound of footsteps coming his way. It looked to be the soldier's partner. He let out a frustrated sigh while a small frown appeared on his face. 'Damn nuisances,' he thought to himself as the soldier started yelling at him. 'I'll deal with him later; I have more important matters to attend to right now.' And with that, he turned around and ran off into the night, seemingly disappearing altogether, while leaving a very stunned and confused Luis behind.

((((Feudal Era))))

Sango and Miroku had their backs to each other, as the sentries continued to surround them. It seemed all but hopeless, but they had to keep these things distracted so that Inuyasha would have enough time to get Kagome out of here.

"Any bright ideas," Asked the monk.

"Isn't it times like these that you wish you still had that Wind Tunnel?"

"No…" Granted there were times that he wished he'd had it, but the damn thing would have killed him if he hadn't gotten rid of it.

"Do you have to think about yourself all the time?" Sango half-joked as she pulled out her Hiraikotsu and blocked an oncoming attack by one of the soldiers before throwing it through the crowd slicing up a bunch of the sentries.

Miroku was using his shakujou to block multiple attacks in between tossing out sutras that expelled the spirits on contact. "Damn, there are just too many of them!"

Sango failed to see the sentry on her right and was cut across the arm. She screamed out in pain and fell to the ground, Miroku turned to block that blow that was heading for her head. He twirled his staff above his head before ripping it through two of the guard's stomachs.

Sango recovered and they were back up fighting side-by-side, even though their energy was draining quickly. Miroku turned to the left in time to dodge a sword sweeping across his field of vision attempting to decapitate the young monk. Another sword came from behind him which he failed to block, this one causing warm blood to ooze out of his leg. He dropped down to one knee, and his attacker raised his blade to finish the deed.

The sword came down swiftly, but stopped only centimeters above his head. He kneeled there for a brief moment stunned before pushing the weapon away while getting back up to his feet. The sentries all simultaneously clattered to the ground and the souls were released, to finally rest in peace in eternal bliss.

"What happened to them all?" Sango asked, completely stunned by what had just happened.

"I don't know, but I believe our answer lies with whatever is beyond those steps. We shouldn't be wasting anymore of our time up here, Inuyasha could be in trouble."

Sango nodded her head, "You're right, let's get going."

The two then proceeded to race down the spiraling staircase that their friend had traveled down not too long ago, hoping that he and Kagome were okay.

((((Next Segment))))

Inuyasha emerged from the stairwell to find a dark room, filled with the stench of death and rotting flesh. The only light came from a few candles that hung from the sides of the walls. The place was completely empty, with the exception of some circular device made of metal under a giant golden cavern that seemed to protrude from the wall above it.

His eyes came to rest upon a table; the silhouette of a woman's body could be faintly made out through the dim lighting. He rushed over to find her; the one he had started this entire journey over…Kagome. He pulled the dirty sock from her mouth and peered into her eyes. 'Too long, it's been far too long,' he thought to himself.

"Bravo little one, I had my doubts that you would even make it this far." Inuyasha turned round in time to see his enemy emerge from the depths of the shadows.

"You bastard, I'll kill you," He withdrew his faithful sword transforming it in the process.

Techbu just laughed, "You really think you're going to win? Just give up and leave, no matter what the outcome is you're going to lose in someway."

Inuyasha dropped his guard slightly, "What do mean?"

He sighed, "Do you always have to be so thickheaded? I mean either you and your love will die, or you will permanently change the future…For better or worse."

The young hanyou had no idea what to believe, but then again what choice did he have? He could care less about whether or not the future was affected, besides, this was his enemy here, and he couldn't trust anything that came out of his mouth.

"But then again, I doubt you came all this way just to talk. Or maybe you did." Techbu withdrew the Tetsusaiga, chanted a short prayer, and the blade transformed.

"Least you're not as dumb as you look, Techbu."

The youkan scoffed, "I could say the very same thing about you, but I would be lying."

"Feh," Inuyasha picked up his blade and hoisted it up onto his shoulder and began charging in. Techbu jumped out of the way seconds before the blade made contact with the ground, leaving a giant hole in its wake.

He countered with a series of swift attacks as he easily maneuvered the blade with one hand. The hanyou dodged them all until blocking the last one while sending a kick into the gut of the youkan, sending flying back into the wall.

Techbu got up and sent a powerful wave of energy known to most as the wind scar towards a very surprised Inuyasha, who sent one right back at him. They canceled each other out, and Techbu threw a dagger at the hanyou which landed in his left arm.

He pulled it out and tossed it aside, "You'll have to do better than that if you want to kill me."

"You were trying?" Came the cocky reply.

Inuyasha just glared before readying himself for another attack. Jumping into the air, he sent a lash of energy out striking the youkan across the chest before gracefully landing beside him and slashing off his newly grown arm.

Techbu shrieked out in pain before slicing him across the belly and sending Inuyasha into the wall with his mind.

((((Next Segment))))

Deus watched the battle intently, silently cheering on the half breed, though he soon realized that it was time for him to act. Pulling out a sword from the rack located on the left of the portal, he rushed forward and began chopping off the chains that held Kagome.

He finished quickly and pulled her up, "You're coming with me."

"W-What?" Was all the exhausted girl could stammer out.

Now all he had to do was wait for the outcome of the battle.

((((Next Segment))))

Inuyasha slowly picked himself up, and examined his body. His energy was wearing quickly thanks to some of the wounds he had taken, though he wouldn't give up until all life was sucked from him.

Techbu charged toward him with his blade raised, Inuyasha rolled to the right narrowly missing it. Using the recoil to his advantage he quickly spun around and cut through the youkan's back. Blood spurted from the wound; Techbu turned around, dropped the sword, and grabbed the hanyou by the neck, suspending him in the air.

Inuyasha couldn't breath, his head was beginning to spin as he felt like his neck was going snap under the pressure. Running out of time and money, he raised his sword in a last ditch effort and plunged it into Techbu's stomach. His grip loosened a bit, and Inuyasha began to spin the blade in his gut, rupturing important arteries and organs.

The youkan dropped him and fell to one knee, the half demon back up a bit, still ready to finish him if he made a move. "Very well…Very well…You have now doomed everyone to a life of death and terror. Congratulations." Techbu spat out some blood onto the floor, while holding his stomach with one hand in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding.

"What do you mean, what will happen?"

"They will take over, soon after life will cease to exist. All thanks to you." He picked up the blade next to his feet and used it to support himself, his time was nearing.

"Who, who will take over?"

Techbu laughed, "You will find out soon enough, my friend. Though I can guarantee you that this will not be the last time you see me. Maybe not as an enemy, but nevertheless, you will see me again. Now finish me and turn around, to meet your betrayer."

Inuyasha hesitated slightly before letting lose his wind scar, vaporizing Techbu into nothingness. "See ya around."

He turned around to free Kagome only to notice that she was not there. He scanned the room to find the meaning of Techbu's words. "Deus, release her now!"

The said man and Kagome were standing next to the portal, Deus held a sword to the girl's throat. He pushed a few buttons on a keypad located next to the thing and it activated, a blue swirling light filling up the void in the middle. "I don't think so,"

Inuyasha noticed the worried look on Kagome's face; he slowly stepped closer to them. "Why are you doing this?"

"Simple, because I can," he stepped behind Kagome, both hands on the blade.

Miroku and Sango could be seen running in from the back of the room yelling Kagome's name.

"You want her?" Deus asked Inuyasha.

"Yes, I do." He replied in a soft and caring tone.

"Then here, have her." Deus brought the gleaming sword across Kagome's neck, blood poured out. He pushed her toward the hanyou and raced forward breaking the keypad with his sword and dived into the portal, disappearing instantly.

Inuyasha and the others ran over to Kagome, the half demon checked her pulse, he couldn't believe it, she was dead. He had failed to protect her, all of this for nothing…What if what Techbu had said was true, had he doomed the world for nothing?

The portal was becoming more and more unstable, as it grew with power; the twin snake sword pulsed with energy. It began shaking, and when Inuyasha attempted to grab it, the sword burned his hand. He jumped in surprise and the sword flew out of its sheath and into the portal, vanishing.

Suddenly, the earth itself began to tremble as boulders and rocks began to fall from the ceiling. "Inuyasha, come on, we have to get out of here!" Sango screamed through the noise.

Inuyasha lost all will to live as he stared into Kagome's dead eyes; unable to bare it he closed the eyelids in sorrow. For a moment he just sat there, unable to determine what to do next, an image of Deus flashed across his eyes, and his blood began to boil. He did this, and Inuyasha would have his revenge before this was over.

He picked up the dead girl and began to race up the shaking fleet of stairs with Sango and Miroku. Dodging falling rocks and other things, they made it out before the entire building collapsed into itself.

Inuyasha glanced up and noticed dark storm clouds had gathered above. "Come on, let's bury her and get back to the village." Miroku softly said.

((((Next Segment))))

They buried her and Miroku performed the necessary rituals. The trek back to Kaede's old village was done in complete silence, everyone too sad about losing one of their close friends to try and act cheery or even talk.

When they got back, Inuyasha said his goodbyes and set out to the well, he planned on finding out what Techbu was talking about. Miroku and Sango planned on staying in the village until he got back.

He jumped into it and emerged on the other side, the building was old, dusty, and falling apart. He could hear the rain coming down from outside. Inuyasha walked out the front door and was submerged into a world he never deemed possible. He gazed upon the city of Tokyo, now in ruins. It seemed as if civilization itself had collapsed, he wondered what had happened here.

Footsteps were heard behind him, turning around he spotted a couple of men walking up the stairs. They were dressed strangely, and one had a bandage over his left arm. He approached the two only to have guns pointed at his head, when they realized he wasn't a hostile, they dropped their guard.

"So who are you two?" Inuyasha asked them.

They saw no harm in answering, any friend they could gain would be a great asset right now. "The name's Luis Mendez and this is my captain Michael James Zimmerman. He pointed to the one with the bandaged arm.

"What happened to this place?" Inuyasha asked.

((((The End))))

A/N: Again, sorry for the long wait, but my school's baseball season has just started and I'm on the team. It takes up a lot of my time so please bare with me. Hope you liked the conclusion of 'Within the Shadows.' The sequel will start coming out in about a month or so, I want to work out the entire plot before I start, while also prewriting some of it. I'm afraid my story might lose some of its Inuyasha feel, but I guarantee it will still be good and worth reading, if not for just closure. And yes, Kagome had to die; she would have been a nuisance in the long run. If you have any questions regarding the story, then please just e-mail me them, and I will be glad to answer them for you. So have a great month, and remember to stay on the lookout for my sequel, whose title I'm still working on.