"This is it. We may or may not die today, but we have to try our hardest. We cannot fail this mission or the whole world may perish." the priestess said.

"You are right Kagome. This is our time and he won't escape this time." Sango agreed.

Inuyasha held his head down in contemplation. A look of guilt passed his features as he looked to Kagome.

"Kagome, I've wanted to say this for a long time. I can't go on like this. You must know the truth." Inuyasha said, his usual gruff tone unaccounted for. His golden eyes glowed with a sense of compassion and sorrow.

Kagome turned towards him with a look of expectance on her face. She knew what was coming. He was going to say those three words that would decide their fates forever. Her young heart skipped a beat.

"I can't be with you Kagome. I love Kikyou too much to give her up. When this is over, I am using the Shikon jewel to give her a body of her own, made of real flesh and bones." Inuyasha revealed with a sorrowful look in his normally bright golden eyes. As quick as Kagome's heart rose, it broke. She thought he was going to stay with her; but obviously not.

Kagome's eyes clouded over as she looked at him. "I know you love Kikyou and I knew this would happen sooner or later." she lied. "But, there is one thing I should tell you, though. I love you Inuyasha and although I don't see why you don't feel the same, I will always love and support you all the way. When this is over, I will take my leave and you will never have to see me again."

Inuyasha simply nodded as a single tear made its way down his face. Kagome shed no tears, but inside, her heart was shattered. When this was over, she would never again see the one she loved and never again see her friends of the past.

Sango and Kirara looked up. Something sinister was coming. Sango looked towards Kagome and Inuyasha. She noticed the grim emotions floating in both their auras and knew what had happened. Sango shook the depressing thoughts away, mentally preparing herself for the battle ahead.

"Inuyasha, Kagome, the battle is about to begin." Sango whispered in urgency. They nodded and prepared their weapons.

A fearsome roar was heard from the sky and the battle had begun.

Thousands of demons had flown down from the mountain and began to attack. Sango lept onto Kirara and they soared upwards. The female duo sliced and cut the demons heading for Kagome and the remaining shards of the jewel around her neck.

Down on the ground, Kagura had appeared with a downcast face. She didn't want to hurt these people, not because she liked them, but because Naraku told her to hate them. She hated Naraku more than anyone or anything, but he still held her heart. Inuyasha cut through her demon winds and slashed at her. Kagura attacked back.

Kagome shot her arrows at the larger and more powerful demons until she ran out of arrows. Pulling out her sword, she proceeded to cut down any demon that came near her.

Sango and Kirara had slaughtered most of the demons in the sky that were heading towards Kagome, limiting the ones who had actually made it. Kagura and Inuyasha were still battling. Both had lost their weapons of choice and were fighting hand-to-hand combat.

The female duo landed near Kagome. Most of the demons were dead or hiding, too cowardly to fight the supposed weak human girls.

"Naraku has not shown himself yet. Should we look for him?" Kagome asked her friend.

"I suppose so. There aren't any more demons to interfere with Inuyasha and Kagura fighting. I say we start climbing the mountain." Sango replied. Kirara growled in agreement.

Kagome nodded as she joined Sango on the giant fire cat and they soared upwards towards the dark mansion that haunted the mountaintop. As they landed in the courtyard of the elegant mansion, they felt an evil presence they knew only too well.

"Well ladies, I see you have come without your beloved Inuyasha to protect you. He must still be fighting Kagura. Oh well, I was hoping to kill him first, but since you insist I will kill his dear loved one first." Naraku cackled looking at Kagome.

"You are wrong Naraku. It will be us killing you! You have done too much to ever go unpunished." Sango declared with obvious loathe in her voice.

"And by the way, I am not Inuyasha's love." Kagome added.

With that Kagome and Sango drew their weapons. Sango lept into the air and hurled her giant boomerang at the evil hanyou.

"Die Naraku!" Sango screamed.

Running towards him while her weapon was still in the air, she drew her sword and slashed Naraku's throat. Kagome made a move and shot a purifying arrow while Sango made the distraction. Pulling as much power as she could, Kagome shot a second arrow right after the first. They both hit their mark, yet Naraku still stood!

Sango jumped and caught her hiraikotsu as it returned to her. Kagome appeared beside her.

"What a feeble attempt to destroy me. I had though you two would have thought a better plan than that to get me." Naraku laughed.

The girls were furious. Kagome suddenly lunged at Naraku and Sango followed suit. The girls would each slice at Naraku and he would easily dodge. Naraku then shoved them both to the side with little effort.

Walking towards Kagome, he picked her up by the neck and blew poisonous miasma into her receiving lungs. A look of dismay crossed her face as she fell to the ground unconscious.

"That's one out of the way. Two more to go."

Kirara suddenly repeated her mistake of long ago. She bit the evil hanyou's shoulder and was also poisoned by the black gas.

"No, Kagome, Kirara!" Sango screamed. Naraku had an amused look on his face as he pulled a dagger from his robes.

"Dear Sango. Do you wish for even more pain? You do? Then so be it!" Naraku hurled the poisoned dagger at the slayer, hitting her shoulder.

Sango screamed as nightmares began to cross her mind. Her worst fears were coming to life all around her. Kohaku dying, Kirara abandoning her, Kagome leaving and never coming back and worst of all, Miroku still alive and in a world of pain, spinning in the dark abyss of his cursed hand. She pushed it all aside and fought back, but for each lunge she made at Naraku, a new cut would appear on her body.

Finally, Sango had had enough. With each slice she made with her katana, more memories and nightmares came to haunt her. Her mother dying, her father being shot by arrows, Kohaku cutting her with his scyth and then being shot by arrows himself, seeing her village massacred, and then her brother seemingly alive and attacking her.

A light inside her began to grow as Naraku slashed her stomach.

"I cannot let him win. He has killed my family and my lover. No, I can't let him do this to anyone else. I won't let him win!" Sango yelled.

Flying back, she grabbed hold of the light letting it fill her entirely. She closed her eyes for one second and when she reopened them they glowed with a pure silver color. Standing from her crumpled position, her body hovered over the ground and light shown all around her.

Naraku stepped back in surprise. How was she doing this? Not admitting it, but he was terrified beyond belief. He could sense her great power growing. Where was it all coming from?

Suddenly, Kagome's eyes opened and were glowing with the same color silver as Sango's. She silently stood and light surrounded her as well as she joined Sango at her side. The light was blinding and demons were fleeing down the mountainside as the stubborn Naraku refused to budge.

Inuyasha had finally brought Kagura to her knees in death. Her last look pleaded for him to free her from her prison, but he held no sympathy for her. The only thing he wanted to do now was to defeat Naraku and be with Kikyou.

He saw a beautiful light shine from the mansion. All the black was disappearing and the miasma leaving. Hiding demons and guards flew from the house at alarming rates.

Inuyasha jumped up the mountainside to see what was happening. He hadn't even noticed when Kagome and Sango had left to fight Naraku. The hanyou had been too busy fighting the trapped wind sorceress.

'Please don't let them be dead. Please don't let them be dead.' he repeated over and over in his mind.

When he arrived he saw Kirara laying on the ground in her smaller form, unconscious. Naraku was edging back from the growing light Inuyasha saw on the ground.

'Sango, Kagome. Where are they? I don't see them with Kirara.' Inuyasha thought. Looking at the bright light, he saw two feminine figures in the middle. It looked like...like Kagome and Sango?! Were they the source of all the light, how could that be? Inuyasha was forced to shield his eyes as the light grew brighter.

Sango couldn't take it anymore. 'There is so much pain; I can't stand it! Why won't it go away?' Sango thought. She felt the power grow more and more inside her, begging to be released onto the one who caused it all. 'He will pay.'

'Why does it hurt so much? I have no love, it's all because of Naraku. He won't get away with this!' Kagome thought, mirroring Sango's thoughts. Kagome could feel Sango's power grow beside her and Kagome's rose to match. 'He will pay.'

Screams echoed out from within the light. Somehow, the figures changed. As Kagome and Sango looked towards the sky, their hearts rang out in unison. Beautiful silver wings sprung from their backs as they hovered even higher. They spoke in monotone voices.

"You have commited too much evil to ever go unpunished. The Shikon Jewel has become tainted in your hands and we will take it back. You have no right to ever live again and we will make sure of that." Sango and Kagome said to the bewildered Naraku. The evil hanyou was still backing away, his fear was growing every second.

A second set of screams were heard and a giant silver dragon formed from Sango and Kagome's glowing bodies. It sprung forth and flew towards every evil in the castle, namely that of Naraku. The evil hanyou looked on in terror as the dragon charged him. He didn't even have enough time to scream as his vision blacked out.

Sango felt the release of all her pain. Her heart felt so light now, but it didn't bring back those who were dead. The slayer looked around and realized she was in a strange white place that seemed to have no boundaries at all. She didn't know where she was until she saw a familiar face, Kagome.