Yo everyone! This the last update for this story! I am DONE. Please ask any questions, that may come along and I might be able to write a bit into the chapter/update to make it more... understandable.
Hope ya all like,
-White Scribe
P.S if asked for, I might do a sequel.
As they started out of the warehouse a shrill sound as irritating as fly's buzzing caught Lord Sesshomaru's attention. He frowned down at the girl as he walked, locating the sound around her face somewhere.
He stopped and turned her head slightly with long delicate fingers, catching sight of a small black chip tucked near her ear. Rin stopped, looking up to see what was going on.
Sesshomaru ignored the child and took the chip, holding it up to his face for a few seconds in order to hear the shrill voice coming from
the miniature speaker.
"OH MY GOD! Panther! Pandora! Wake up- wake up! I'm calling the council, I swear it! I'll have someone there in a minute!" He blinked slowly at the chip and then crushed it.
Letting the small metal bits drop to the ground with a small dying trill from whoever was at the other end he stepped over it and continued out the door.
Rin looked down at it thoughtfully, cocking her head at the crackle of electricity it let off. "Come, Rin." Sesshomaru murmured very quietly and she looked up.
"Yes, Lord Sesshomaru!" She called running after him and skipping over the random bodies in the way out to the sunlight. A small humming started to come from her general direction and though Sesshomaru would never admit it... He found it rather relaxing.
She'd be all right. As for the other one. He looked down at the girl in his arms and frowned. /We shall see.../
Her mind woke before she was actually able to move. Science and the general laws of reality said she wasn't in any condition to open her eyes let alone sit up, despite her intense desire to do both.
So she lay there in the darkness, listening for all she was worth, but there was no sound at all, nothing but a soft breeze passing through cloth.
Slowly she began to work to open her eyes, as soon as she did she regretted it. Pain shot through her head as the light entered her sight and she winced, groaning softly and shutting her eyes tight again.
There was a small gasp from beside her and she tensed, rather abruptly opening her eyes despite logic saying otherwise.
Small footsteps ran around her and then there was the click of a door shutting before she could see anything other than white spots and feel anything other than the searing pain cutting through her head.
Grunting she shoved herself up, wincing as more pain added to the migrane feasting on her weak senses. "Oh...God..." she murmured, rubbing her face lightly for a moment.
Finally peeking through her fingers she froze, seeing the man from the warehouse standing at the foot of the bed, looking impassively at her.
She was in a very simple white room, but the blankets were comfortable, the pictures on the walls looked expensive and the furniture victorian...
She ignored that and held his stern gaze evenly, allowing herself a frown.
"You managed to wake." He stated, and for a moment she wondered if that meant he was somehow impressed... Or surprised.
/Idiot./
"Mhm." she said instead, realizing that her coat had been taken away, along with all her weapons... She felt bare for some reason and didn't like it at all. She looked back up at him, still frowning.
"You should have died. I'm curious to know how you managed not to." he said thinly, and she knew he intended that as an order. She sighed very quietly and leaned back as carelessly as only a Blader can after very nearly dying, eyes narrowing.
"...are you demanding an explanation?"
His eyes narrowed and she saw his fingers move ever so slightly. Those fingers could summon pure power to shatter air, or her flesh if he felt like it...
"You are in no condition to attempt to defy me." He replied, and his hand stopped moving. She let out a soft breath, feeling the irritation of fact thrown into her face.
"My body heals a lot faster than a humans, and it can take more damage and continue to function normally... The wounds I was inflicted with were not severe enough to endanger me too much." She replied very softly.
Anger however was dripping from every word. Sesshomaru stared at her a long moment, pondering why she seemed to think that she could keep on defying him so bluntly and get away with it for long.
She couldn't possibly be that powerful, she was too small...
It seemed she saw those thoughts flowing through his mind and pulled back a sleeve to show a round bit of scar on her arm... followed by several others.
"Bullets are a bit useless. I'm not as weak as you seem to think." She snapped, eyes furious.
He turned away indifferently and started out the door. "We shall talk about this later." he muttered. She stared, blinking rapidly.
/Later/
"I'm leaving." she retorted, starting to stand. He turned sharply and with a simple flick of his wrist she found herself gasping with searing pain as the golden whip wrapped around her arms and torso, binding her with the burning energy.
"Do not think that I have endless patience." He snapped. "You will stay here. Your Council has defied me. I have every right to keep you."
She froze. "Keep me? For what?" she snapped, eyes narowing. She felt blood begin to drip down her sides, soaking throug her clothing. /Damned whip.../
"That is for me to know." and without anotehr word he stepped out the door, flicking his hand and letting her go.
Burning with anger she pulled off the seared sleeves of her shirt and looked at the wounds on her arms. The whip had cut and then burned... those would leave scars. She growled. He would pay for that...
It was only five minutes later that a soft knock on the door made her look up, green eyes glittering with so much irritation most people would have stepped away.
"Lady?" A mini voice said and she blinked rapidly, trying to clear her angry thoughts. "May I come in?"
She frowned, staring at the door.
It opened just a bit and a small face peeked into the room, not much taller than where the door knob was. "Lady...?"
It was the girl... Pandora stared at her a moment, a bit surprised. "What are you-"
"You're awake!" the child cried, running in and very roughly throwing herself onto the bed with a thump.
Pandora steadied herself by putting a hand on the nightstand beside the bed and stared at her wide eyed... then at the door which she had left open.
"I'm so glad you're okay! Lord Sesshomaru and I thought you were dead! Then you breathed and I asked him to bring you and so you're here and he says you prolly will be for a while!" she cried, bouncing up and down, her black hair moving along with each bounce..
For a moment Pandora considered telling her to shut up but seeing her huge glittering eyes she stopped.
/She's... crying./
Rin stopped bouncing and said very quietly while looking at her hands with tearful eyes. "I didnt want you to die... You saved me, and I dont like people dying..."
Some part of Pandora's mind said she should get up and run out the door... the other said to stay...
She stared at the girl for a very long moment, undecided. However it seemed the girl needed no decision from her at all. Rather happily she took her hands and bounced again. "You're getting better so fast! But guess what- Lord Sesshomaru had to help you a bit- cuz I think he needs your help too- but he doesn't want me to tell you, so be real quiet okie?"
At this Pandora pulled her hands from the girls grip (attempting to be a bit gentle, though she felt like she was being burned by her touch) and said. "Helped me- help him- He- what!" she snapped, frowning, and Rin cocked her head.
"Your body stopped healing after a while- he said it was from that wound." and she pointed at her chest. Pandora started and pulled down the collar of her shirt to reveal a huge scar to the right on her shoulder. Her eyes widened.
/My processing chip- no.../ (A/N: Processing chips help Bladers to control and use their abilities to the maximum, it's like a tuner for an instrument, makes sure it's working in tip top shape. It's also their identity code and pass to all their hidden cities and so on.)
Her voice and face however betrayed nothing. "I see." she murmured.
"Mhm! He had to break one of those little black things you had though." she admitted, nodding. Pandora flinched at that.
"But guess what! He did bring your sword! It's a nice sword... but I like his better." Rin continued, climbing off the bed and heading to a dresser across the room. "Look! New shirt!" she tossed a black shirt over her shoulder at the girl.
"Here. You change- I go to get some food then you can come down. Lord Sesshomaru doesn't eat.. much, so you and I will eat alone." Rin added and slammed the door closed. Pandora started and then groaned.
/Idiot...the door./ She sighed and rubbed her face roughly again, wanting to crush something... instead she took a deep breath and snatched the clean clothes off the bed.
After getting changed quickly, Pandora examined the window and located the reflection of a ship hidden in between the boards that made the sill on the glass. She frowned and touched it the glass to see the chip light up slightly and then fade as her hand left the material.
She was being watched. Her eyes scanned the room but she saw no cameras, however the door had a lack of door knob on the inside, and apperantly if she so much as opened the door or tried to shatter it, that chip would do something the prevent her from getting very far.
She sighed and slumped on the bed, tempted to just destroy the door and walk out of the building, which she could do... Unless Sesshomaru decided to come after her... Letting out a breath of frustration she fell back against the bed and stared up at the ceiling with narrowed eyes.
This was unbelieveably unfair.
The girl came to take her downstairs, and Pandora found as soon as she was outside that escaping would be rather difficult. The house had cameras everywhere, and as she watched them turn and turn she noted there was no blind spots anywhere. The door had a heat sensor, touching it, destroying it would let someone out there know what was going on, and the burns on her arms were reason enough not to try.
The windows also had heat sensors, anyone climbing out of them was easily detected, outside she could see a small courtyard and a large fence with men on either side.
No, getting out in her condition was not going to happen.
She followed the girl (who she now knew as RIn) down the hall to a foyer made virtually of glass and into a dinning area.
Rin plopped down happily on the nearest seat and said. "Eat!" and grabbed a piece of bread from the table.
Pandora stared at the food a moment, hesitating to sit. The last time she had eaten actual food... She sighed, feeling her body yearning to actually chew something rather than swallow a pill as usual
She sat down and took an apple from the center.
"Lord Sesshomaru wants to see you when you're done. He says to hurry up- so quick!" Rin cried, taking several things and putting them on the girl's plate.
Pandora stared at it with a cocked eyebrow. She'd never ever eat all of that. It'd been a year since she'd last had an actual meal. Her stomach was so small the apple might be too much...
Ignoring the child she began to slowly eat the food, a bit startled by the dusty memory of an apple in her mouth. Rin on the other hand ate quite a bit, talking all the while, laughing at random things, and when pandora said nothing to her questions she would humm for a while and then start talking all over again.
15 minutes later, Pandora stood. She had taken longer than neccesarry... unintended of course. Rin jumped up.
"Come on! This way!" and she led her out the door to another hall and then stopped at a double door room. "He's in there. Good luck!" Rin said and then skipped down the hall, humming.
Pandora stared after her, blinking repeatedly before sighing and knocking.
There was no answer. She was not surprised. She opened the door quietly and slipped inside. Sesshomaru was standing with his back to her, looking out the window.
"Sit." he said, and though she bristled with annoyance she did so... He turned slowly and she realized his sword was not by his side, and he too had shed the long coat from earlier.
"You Council is rather willing to negotiate a way to get you back." he said.
Pandora looked at him calmly, not surprised but not pleased. "I wasn't aware you were their most valued fighter."
"I'm not." she replied, frowning. "I owe the council a favour, I do jobs for them as payment."
"Your Council owes me a favour, for ignoring my earlier demands." Sesshomaru stated.
"What does that have anything to do with me?"
"I am not native to this area of the world, therefore I do not know how it is that it works. You however seem fully aware, therefore I've told them that under the condition that you help me with a task I will give you back to them."
She frowned. Something gave her the impression it was not often he asked for help. He was manipulating the Council...
"...What task?"
"Do you know anything about who tried to kidnap the girl?" he asked, and she started. "Rin? No... I wasn't given information. I was just supposed to make sure it didn't happen." She replied, starting to get a sinking feeling that the Council hadn't told because it might make her hesitate to get involved...
"What were your specific orders?"
"To make sure that the girl wasn't taken."
"You could have killed her?" Sesshomaru enquired, eyes narrowing. Pandora held his gaze evenly, clenching her jaw a moment. "Yes."
Sesshomaru looked deadly, but instead of attacking he said quietly.
"Rin is the target of one of my...enemies. He has been around for a very long time, but mainly he has dealt outside of your Blader laws therefore your people have ignored him. However now he seems to pose a threat to your Council."
/they aren't 'my' council.../
"They gave you orders to make sure he didn't get Rin because it would have made him... stronger.'
Pandora sat silently a moment, her mind adding up what she could, putting variables where she had no answers.
THrough Rin someone could control him. And considering how he had the Council in the palm of his hand he was a threat.
"I see."
"I need you to help me track him down." Sesshomaru stated.
"All right..." This was interesting. She hadn't had a good challange in a while...
"Good." He turned a laptop on the desk over to face her. "Inform your people you're all right and that you've taken the job... and then go to sleep. I need you to actually be capable of walking by tomorrow."
She frowned at him. The laptop was wired, he'd be watching what she said. She knew that... and he still seemed to think he was stronger even if she was fully recovered, for he didn't fear her turning around and just killing him off...
She sighed. "Fine." and turned to the laptop. He slipped out the door, closing it quietly.
Night came faster than she had expected, silence was heavy over the mansion like estate in which she had found herself trapped.
She lay there and stared up at the ceiling, feeling her body slowly closing all wounds, regaining strength she had lost...
Though, wihtou the processor she wouldn't be the same...
Something moved by the window, she frowned and sat up sharply.
A shadow, passing by, made large by the light of the moon against the white curtains. Pandora slid off the bed and to the floor, pressing her back to the wall as she moved to crouch under the window sill, listening.
The traspasser flicked the latch on the window and it slid open letting in a slow breeze.
They hesitated a moment, looking around and then a woman jumped into the room. Pandora stood sharply and slammed a hand over her mouth, her other hand knocking away what she had been holding.
/A fan- what the-/
The woman struggled a moment, fighting against her grip. Slowly Pandora forced her to the ground pushing her knees from under her and then locking her in place there.
Carefully she puulled her hand from the woman's face, breathing with more ease than the woman, who was panting from their struggle.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" she murmured slowly. The woman stiffened, hearing the slithering cold tone in her attackers voice.
"Let me go, insolent wench-" she hissed in reply.
Pandora dug her knee into her back, hearing with satisfaction a groan of pain escape her opponents lips. "Answer."
"I am... Wind Sorceress Kagura..." she whimpered. Pandora threw her down and away, straightening slightly. "Wind Sorceress." she murmured, her hand glittering faintly with energy.
"What is your business here?"
KAgura stood and snatched her fan. "Silence." A flick of her wrist and a vertcal burst of power flashed in Pandora's direction.
Unable to think as fast as before, her body automatically threw up a shield, the connection however was loud, people were shouting in the hall, footsteps were loudly heading in their direction. Pandora crouched under the window sill breathless. The stupid shield had used up raw energy.
"Idiot." she mumbled, flashing out of sight.
Kagura started in surprise and was thrown heavily to the ground by a blow that came from nowhere. Pandora knelt beside her fallen form, her hand tight around the woman's neck, pressing her against the floor. She had kicked the fan out of reach.
People were coming down the hall, she could hear them. "Damnit..."
The door burst open and in walked Sesshomaru, looking as irritated as ever. Kagura gasped softly and threw her elbow back as if to hit Pandora, who blocked it with one hand, eyes flicking to the witch's fingers as they wrapped around a feather stuck in her hair.
/Oh no-/
With a swirl of air the feather exploded and enlarged.
Pandora fell back, growling some colorful words as the woman jumped on the feather and giving Sesshomaru a look she vanished out the window.
The Panther sat there, musing that she had in fact seen something... that look... Ignoring it she pushed herself to her feet and walked to the window, followed by Sesshomaru.
The woman hovered in the air, and shouted at someone the roof. "Hurry up, Kohaku!"
A scream and both the fighters standing by the window looked up sharply. Rin was in the arms of a boy a bit older than her, wearing all black with a sword at his side. He jumped off the roof and onto the feather beside Kagura, who nodded simply at Sesshomaru and Pandora and then began to drift.
Sesshomaru's gaze grew furious. "Come." he snapped at Pandora, who glanced at him and caught only a flash as he jumped out the window and to the ground.
Without much thought she jumped onto the sill and then down, landing with more force than he did, shattering the brick below and then shoving herself up to run after him.
Rin's cries were fading. Pandora stared at it. "I can get there." she said, panting as she ran along Sesshomaru. "I can get there in a moment, but I dont know what help that'd be." He shook his head.
Rin's cries were fading. Pandora stared at it. "I can get there." she said, panting as she ran along Sesshomaru. "I can get there in a moment, but I dont know what help that'd be." He shook his head.
"I need Kagura to lead."
Pandora frowned. "You think your enemies don't know you, Sesshomaru." He turned sharply to look at her. That was the first time she had bothered to say his name.
They glared at each other a moment and then the sharp cry of Rin drew their combined anger towards the sky.
Kagura's form vanished and they stopped jsut as sudenly as they had started to run. She cursed softly. Sesshomaru turned to look at her then, suddenly intrigued. How had she known that Kagura would vanish...?
"You knew." he stated. She glared. "OF course I knew. It's what I would do." she snapped, turning around.
"Where do you think you're going?" He snapped, irritated by her sudden superior tone.
"I'm going to find her. You wanted my help, you'd better start accepting it." she replied without looking over her shoulder at him. He stayed very silent for a very long time, and then followed.
"And how do you plan to find them?"
"I'm going to need your computer." she replied, glancing at him.
He said nothing and led her into the mansion place, ignoring the surprised looks of all his household staff. They went into the study and he pulled the laptop out of his desk handing it to her with a narrowed look.
"This had better help."
She held the laptop for a moment. "Trust me." she snapped, pulling it from his grip.
Without much ado she flipped it open and went on to the net, her eyes scanning the page silently, well aware of him hovering behind her.
Her fingers skipped over all the keys, and then the screen turned back, letters and codes in numbers and symbols that he did not understand popped up onto the screen.
"What is that?" he asked very quietly, feeling suddenly irritated by his lack of knowledge.
"Computer information, the internet in code. I jsut need to find the right file... Blader Server should have a location on this Naraku you're after. We can go there first. If they're not there, I can probably find Ray and tell him to find them through a satellite feed..." she murmured, frowning at the sc
"... I don't see how." he murmured, his eyes trying to follow the code as it moved down the screen rapidly. Pandora was typing but it looked as though nothing was coming up, though somehow she seemed to be following.
"You don't have to, I'm doing it." she muttered, grinding her teeth as she ripped apart barriers and firewalls.
A clock popped up in the corner of the screen. Two minute coundown
She hissed softly and her typing grew faster. "stupid file..." she murmured, flicking through the keys. /Hurry up, hurry up.../
A file popped up on the screen with a picture. Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. "That's him."
"Good." she murmured, pressing a quick key on the keyboard. and then turning the computer off swiftly. He blinked. "...what-"
"The countdown was a warning. two minutes before Ray found me in his server and totally obliterated your computer." she muttered, starting it up again.
"however, i got the file."
While the computer started up again she turned to look at him wearing a frown. "Why is Rin so important then? As far as I'm aware she's just a little girl."
"Just is a very delicate word in this world. I would have presumed that you would know that." He replied thinly, walking around to the cupboard behind his desk and opening it.
Pandora ignored his authorative tone, for the sake of both their health, and said in an over controlled manner. "You're not going to tell me."
He said nothing and took out a familiar kind of cloth from the cupboard. It was her coat. She resisted thes udden urge to jump up and snatch it from him, turning forcefully away to type something into the black screen of the computer.
In a moment the file that had flashed on the screen popped up and Sesshomaru walked over to read it over her shoulder.
"Location: Ackton City." She murmured softly, frowning.
Ackton wasn't far from the Blader Capital. It was no wonder they had realized there was something going on. "I would presume they'd go there..." she murmured.
Sesshomaru said nothing, waiting for her to move.
She didn't. Still typing into the screen she said thinly.
"I want my coat back."
"I took the things from it."
"You destroyed them." she stated, turning to look at him with a look that Ray had felt before... and had hoped he'd never feel again.
They glared at each other a long moment and then Pandora said very quietly. "If you want my helpt be at all effective, then you'd better start trusting the way I do things." She stood abruptly, pressing a key sharply and watching as the printed version of the document on the computer printed out.
Sesshomaru bristled at her tone of voice but did not reply, and watched as she took her coat and slipped it on.
"Let's go." she mumbled, turning to leave.
"And how exactly do you plan on getting to Ackton City from here. It's several hours flight." he said, not moving. She opened the door and stood there impatiently. "You're not the only billionaire in this country."
An hour later Sesshomaru found himself in yet another unknown enviroment.
The cafe was dark, it smelled so strongly of coffee and spirits that he felt he had a bit of a headache just entering.
There were men and women sitting around, their weapons (and there were many) out and in the open, some where even playing idly with bullets.
"This is Blader territory." Pandora began quietly.
"Do not start a fight." she added, looking over her shoulder at him, and her eyes said quite plainly how that was a bad idea. "You may be stronger than most of the people in this room, or even our kind, but you cannot stand against us all." she stated.
He frowned. "I do not fear your kind."
"We don't care for fear." She stated, glaring. "Most people don't last long enough to know to fear."
He smirked just slightly but said nothing in return. She turned indifferently to the girl on the other side of the counter. "I need to get inside."
"Code and scan here please." she muttered, and then Pandora remembered she didn't have her chip anymore...
"I can't. My chip was... damaged." she muttered, glancing at Sesshomaru with piercing green eyes. He looked back at her calmly, daring her to say anything.
"I can't let you in then." she girl said uncertainly, blinking. Pandora turned to look at her. "The code name is Panther. At least put me through to Ray."
"Panther..." The girl blinked at her. "THE Panther... you're a bit small, aren't you?"
Pandora sighed soflty and closed her eyes. /Do not kill her, don't kill her/
Her hand lashed out before the girl had a chance to gasp and tighened around her throat. She brought her roughly towards her until they were looking eye to eye. "Open the doors." she murmured. THe girl choked slightly, her hands begging to glow with her own power. Pandora grabbed her wrist sharply with her free hand.
"Do not test me." she snapped. The girl stared at her, shocked. Murmurs were beginning around the others. Some were standing.
"Hey... what's going-"
"Fine- okay." the girl choked and Pandora threw her back. She crashed into the back counter and landed at a crouch, eyes glittering with anger.
Sesshomaru stared at her a moment, intrigued. These people... their weakness... it was their temper.
With a dirty look in Pandora's direction the girl shoved a book out of the way and pressed a button on the panel that had been hiding behind it.
"Ray, two going down." she murmured. Ray's voice came through. "Right." and the communication terminated.
A wooden door to the right made a soft beep sound and clicked open. Pandora walked towards it, ignoring the quizzical looks from the others in the cafe.
She opened the door and nodded at Sesshomaru to go in. He hesitated. "Get in." Pandora stated very quietly. He did so, glancing backwards at the men and women standing.
The girl at the counter was glaring death in her direction, a faint glitter of power in her palms. "I do suggest you hold that and keep it there." Pandora murmured, turning away from the door towards her.
The girl growled a curse. "If you 'are' the Pantehr you're violating a million codes." she hissed. "I've ever right."
"But do you have the capablities?" pandora replied, sounding very calm
Sesshomaru listenend, waiting patiently. Something told him she wasn't calm at all...
The girl growled. "Do not think I'm not able-"
Pandora smirked and turned to enter through the door. "I know you aren't."
That was it, even though the Panther had known her efforts at a calm passing had been rather pointless, she had hopes nothing would break out...
The wall shattered as a sphere of power crashed into it, right beside Pandora. She turned around, eyes narrowing. Other Bladers were standing, looking around uneasily. This was not their fight, however... this was against general code...
"Put the other one down and I might not kill you." Pandora snapped, feeling tension tightening her body. The girl was panting already...
"You had no right!" The girl snapped. Letting out an angry breath Pandora vanished, flickering to life beside the girl. She took her arm and swiftly brought her bent elbow down hard into the girl's fore arm, hearing as the bone shattered and the girl cried out.
Without thinking of it she twisted it behind her back, took her other arm and did the same, kicking her knees from under her.
The girl fell, gasping to the floor and Pandora's hands glowed for a moment as she lifted them up to the girl's face.
One blast... and she wouldn't have enough energy to stand ever again let alone heal...
The bladers watching didn't move. Protocol said they were to stay out of it...
PAndora let out a sigh and lowered her hand, the power dying away. "Do not fight those stronger than you."
Without a word more she turned and slipped into the other room, closing the door behind her and facing Sesshomaru, her eyes still glittering with the angry emotions riding within her. He stared at her. "Your control is lacking."
"Wait until you meet those who really lack it." she snapped, starting down the glass hallway.
The walls were made of mirrors, the floor of silver metal, the roof of white metal. Pads where you were to put your hand and be scanned were on the wall every few feet and that was the only thing that let you know there was a door there.
She turned tot he right at an intersection and stopped at what looked like a dead end. "Come." she murmured, not noting that she sounded much like him.
She put her hand on the pad and the thing scanned it, clicking the door open after confirmation. She stepped into what looked to be a domed white room. It was square, but perhaps the size of several school gyms, and tall as any cathedral. In the middle was a complicated looking computer with gel scanners and keys in odd symbols, but she ignored it and walked by over to another door on the other side.
From there they stepped into a darkened room full of cables that covered the ground like snakes, screens and computers were all over, but in the middle of the mess was a complicated looking station with a single seat and screens all around it up to the ceiling. There were many keyboards all over the place, and the young man that sat upon the chair seemed unaware of them being there at all.
The floor below his elevated chair was littered with junk, papers, pizza boxes, chocolate bar wrappings and mechanical gadgets made piles on top of the already thick carpet of cables. The screens were the only source of light at that moment.
The screens were flickering with sattelite footage, the image of the internet uncoded and video footage from other cameras watching bladers at work. He had a mic and headphones on and was talking rapidly into it.
"Get out of there right now, Apka. The Celts are heading that way, I got them on sattelite." He said quickly, typing swiftly, eyes flickering over the screens.
Pandora sighed very softly. "Apka is my subsitute then... The Council needs help." she muttered, walking quietly over to Ray's side. AS her shadow fell over the the keyboard he frowned and looked p sharply, eyes widneing as he saw her.
"...Oh my GOD. I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!" he cried, too shocked to stand. Pandora kept looking at him impassively.
"Amanda- Where the HELL have you been!" he shouted, finally shoving himself to his feet, ripping the headphones off in teh process.
Pandora sighed. "Do 'not' call me Amanda, Ray. How many times must I tell you this?' she asked quietly, cocking her head to the side slightly. he froze. "Oh... wait- I swear- it just slipped out- I didn't- Hey... who the heck is that?" He cried, noticing teh man behind her. Pandora threw her arm back and then punched him hard enough to knock him off the elevated chair and to the floor.
He lay there a moment, moaning with his hand over his now bleeding and more than likely broken nose. "His name is Sesshomaru." she replied calmly, stepping off elevated part of the room and back to the carpet of cables.
Ray grumbled and shoved himself to his feet, wiping his bloody nose on his shirt. "Honestly, Panther... the only one that breaks my nose every time is you." he snapped, glaring.
She cocked an eyebrow at him slightly. "Then you'd better learn to keep your mouth shut. Now, I need passes to get into the Weapon Gallery, and I need you to search Ackton City for the location of Naraku and or Kagura, knowns as a Wind Sorceress."
Ray froze. "Naraku... um... that's classified-"
"Do it." Sesshomaru snapped suddenly. Ray glanced over at him and then said very quietly. "The passes are hanging by the door..." and he climbed back into his chair, muttering about patience and lack there of.
Pandora sighed and walked back the way they'd come, snatching a palm sized chip hanging by the door. "I'm guessing you're fine with the weapons you have." she muttered, leading him down the mirrored hall. He nodded once as she passed the chip over a near by scanner and opened the door to reveal a room the size of a gym with simple metal racks piles high with weapons from every age in history...
"Don't touch anything, it might kill you.' she muttered, and she meant it as well.
She walked silently down an isle, picking several small guns and a holster from the end of the rack, and then seh turned and grabbed yet another sword, this one smaller than her old one. She stuffed it into the sheat made specifically into her coat and then turned. "Let's go. He's probably got the location already
As they entered Ray's room they found him once more typing, his nose had healed, however his shirt was still a bloody mess, as was his face, but he it and kept typing, telling Apka where to go and what to do.
"The location is right there." he said, sparing a moment to glance at them and point at a rack holding a pieces of paper.
"Sorry i can't give ya help on this one, Apka is having trouble dealing wiht your jobs for tonight and tomorrow, Panther." he muttered, typing rapidly.
Sesshomaru finally asked the question he'd been musing over for a time. "Are you so powerful among your people?"
Ray laughed before pandora could even open her mouth to say anything.
"You can say she's the self exiled hero of our kind." Ray muttered, glancing at him for a moment. "The Council has a grip on her only because she refuses to give up on an oath she made a long time ago." he smirked.
"Otherwise she'd kill them all, and take over the world, wouldn't you now, PAnther." he smirked.
Pandora glared at him. "If it resulted in you dead, Ray. Perhaps I would."
he laughed and went back to typing. "have fun catching Naraku, PAnther." he muttered. Growling she turned away and snatched the paper, starting out the door. Sesshomaru followed quietly, unbelieving that this uncontrolable little being could hold any such honor...
Monsters in the dark, shadows...
/You cannot be serious.../
There was a castle in the sky, hovering on dark clouds made not of vapour but smoke and poison... This was unknown in this side of the world. she glared at it, standing below it, looking up. Sesshomaru stood beside her, looking up as well, eyes just as narrowed as hers.
Humans could not see it, there was no way. It was made virtually of all power from a single mind. pandora was having trouble understanding it herself, though her eyes saw it. A blader couldn't do that... no way. she could see it because it had the aura of one man...
"How..." she began slowly. Sesshomaru made an irritable sound and she stopped.
"I don't need your help any further." he said, starting towards it. Pandora watched him for a moment, a thoughtful expression on her face.
No he didn't need her help any longer... the deal had been for her to get him there, now he was there. The child was inside... She frowned, looking up at the castle again. She should just go back...
She bit the inside of her cheek, clenching and unclenching her hands by her sides. Decisions were genereally easy for her...
Then Rin's voice came to mind, and her face grinning at her and piling things on her plate at the supposed dinner. She sighed, and blinked repeatedly to clear the image, turning to walk away.
She was perhaps half a block away when she stopped, hands clenching and unclenching again. Sesshomaru couldn't even locate him... the man had made a castle out of pure thought for pity's sake.
She glanced over her shoulder at the darkness of it. She could see Sesshomaru standing right under it. A flicker of light and he was gone.
She turned, clenching her jaw.
Logic said to go back..She had no idea what it was that was telling her to stay, to go and help.
"Bother." she sighed, hearing Claire, Devon and Avery. if they so much as found out that she had walked away...
With another tired sigh she started back, eyes looking for a way for her to reach it without completely depleting her energy levels...
A flicker caught her eye from the side of the castle and she stopped, looking up. "Wind Sorceress." she mumured as Kagura landed lightly on the street in front of her.
"You again." Kagura sighed, sounding bored. Pandora shifted her weight slightly, blinking slightly at her.
"Who are you then, woman? And why are you suddenly at the side of Lord Sesshomaru?"
Pandora blinked at her again, pulling her sword out slowly. "I'm not a threat to your obsession with him if that's what you're worried about." she said calmly, looking at her steadily.
kagura started. "What- are you talking about?"
The Panther smirked but said nothing. "Let me by.'
"...I cannot." kagura muttered, sounding strained.
Pandora flicked the sword. "i didn't think so..."
"Indeed.." Kagura murmured, throwing her arm back and waving the fan in one sharp motion. Pandora watched as miniature tornados ripped the pavement to shreds, heading her way.
She frowned. "Oh... great. Mystic." A shield flashed to life around her, a black dome of energy that appered as each tornado crashed in her direction.
KAgura started. "You didn't-" she began and then stopped herself. She frowned, launching herself powerfully at Pandora who had barely enough time to bring up her sword to block the lash of the energy blasts heding in her direction rapidly. /How is she doing- the fan.../
As she neared Pandora she reached behind her back and pulled out a sword of her own, thin and double edged.
With a grunt they clashed, Pandora's ears buzzing with the sound of the twisters dancing around them, ripping a hole into the road.
"You can't beat Naraku..." Kagura hissed, pushing against the girl. Pandora held her there, though she wasn't trying... "I don't intend to." she replied.
Her eyes flickered to the right where a twister was getting dangerously close.
"Then why do you-" Kagura began, eyes widening. "You took the girl." Pandora replied, eyes turning to the sorceress stonily.
With a grunt she pulled out from the stand still and sunk down to the ground. She kicked Kagura's feet from under her and lifted a hand quickly.
A blast of energy sent Kagura crashing into the pavement a few feet away, shattering it with the force. Pandora shoved herself to her feet and ran forward, just as the twisters were dying away and the sorceress was pulling herself to her feet, her hand waved.
Gasping, Pandora blocked one of the blows with the sword and then gasped, feeling one slice her shoulder open. Growling she flipped backwards, watching as the rest of the energy blasts shatered the pavement where she had been standing.
"Enough."
She dropped the sword and lifted a hand that was glitteirng with a glass sphere containing a flame within.
She pulled her arm back and threw it. Kagura hissed loudly and waved her fan sharply, but the sphere crashed into the ground and the flames exploded, taking hold of the twisters and bursting into flame among the air. Pandora sighed and picked up her sword vanishing as she stuffed it into her sheath.
She appeared under the castle, looking up at the concentrated cloud of poison and smoke that was it's stabalizing structure.
Sighing she concnetrated... it was possible, that she could get there... even though it wasnt actually a real place...
her image seemed to flicker a moment, and then she finally vanished.
She appeared in a courtyard of stone that looked a lot like a medieval japanese palace. She looked around slowly, noting nothing alive was in the courtyard. Stone, dead wood, and brick. She frowned. The doors were wide open at the entrance however leading to a long hall of marble and jade. Rin was laying on the ground in the middle of the floor, a pale white haired child holding a mirror was there
Beside the white child was the boy she had seen before then, Kohaku.
"... Rin." she murmured, running up the steps and stopping just outside the door. The pale child and the boy looked up at her with cold expressionless eyes. She looked around slowly. They weren't attacking, something wasn't-
"Look out!"Rin's scream, eyes flickering to the still image of the child on the floor she started.
She spun around by not fast enough to dodge the massive claw that wrapped around her tightly, pinning her arms to her sides. She looked in sudden disgust at the creature that held her, seeing no face at all in the mass of moving shifting flesh.
"What in the hell-" she gasped, struggling. She looked back to see the image of the girl on the ground flicker and disappear. /Illusion.../
"What have we here...?" a soft voice murmured and she finally saw something that looked simular to a humanoid in the mass of moving flesh. A man's torso pushed out from within it and smirked widely at her. "My my, how did you manage to enter my domain, mortal..." he mused. Pandora stiffened at his tone of voice, feeling it crawl over her skin like acid.
"Let go of me." she hissed, struggling. Out of the corner of her eye she saw something familiar and started in shock at Rin's limp form in one of his many claws. She had screamed and for that he had knocked her out-
Her eyes glowed angrily. /You heartless bastard.../
"Why ever would I do that?" he said softly, pulling her closer to get a better look. "You reek of blood not human at all..." he mused. "...not quite demon either..."
She started in shock, her mind feeling stunned. /How did he-/
A flash of enegy made them both look away to a pile of withering flesh that was ripped apart from within. naraku growled. "How you vex me, Sesshomaru!" he hissed, dropping Pandora like a hot coal.
She hit the and rolled out of the way of one of his moving legs that decided that at that moment to stomp heavily on the piece of floor she had chosen to land on.
Pushing herself out of the way, she pulled her sword from her back and sliced off another attacking piece of his enermous body, grimacing as the bits of it landed all over, moving at their own will.
"You are a fool to think absorbing me would be possible let alone easy." Sesshomaru murmured very quietly, his voice sounding so deadly that Pandora looked up quickly.
The two demons faced each other, their energies beginning to grow heavy in the air. Pandora could see the glow of both their powers, glittering dark blue for Sesshomaru and blood red for Naraku.
Her eyes flickered to Rin, and then back at Kohaku and the pale girl within the palace. She started in surprise, seeing only girl.
The sound of a chain ran behind her and she spun around, bringing her sword up sharply to block the flicker of a blade that was thrown her way.
Grunting softly she threw the blade away and watched as the boy pulled it back skillyfully, swinging it over his head.
"idiot child." she muttered, blocking another blow. She twisted her sword and wrapped the chain around it sharply,giving a sharp tug and pulling it from his grip.
With a quick wave of her hand and a soft mumur of 'sleep' she turned around, hearing him crash to the ground behind her.
"Rin..." she murmured, and ran hard towards the direction of Rin's limp body. Legs and claws reached out from Naraku's body trying to snatch at her as she went, but a quick flick of her blade and they fell almost lifelessly to the ground. Jumping skillfully she hacked at the claw that held the girl, hearing a loud 'what!' from Naraku as he was distracted from his more important battle with Sesshomar.
Rin fell and pushing hard Pandora ran under her, catching the child carefully. She looked up quickly towrds Sesshomaru and saw him give her a quick nod.
Without another word she ran hard towards the edge of the cloud, dodging Naraku's claws and claws.
Sesshomaru stepped in the way sharply, facing Naraku with anger clear in his face. "Did you think you would always escape me?" he hissed, lifting his blade.
Naraku gave a growl and thena cry as Sesshomaru's blade began to rip his body apart, flesh flying in every direction.
"No." he hissed, "We shall finish this later." he growled, as gas exploded around him. Sesshomaru jumped back, eyes narrowing flickering red for a moment. "Come back, coward." he snapped,but the anger made it sound so very loud...
Pandora glanced over her shoulder once to see the castle beginning to disappear.
"Oh hell..." she whispered, stopping abruptly. Kagura came up behind her, her clothing a bit sooty and her sleeve looking burned. Without giving a care to attacking from behind she flicked her fan and watche din satisfaction as the woman fell to her knees, blood spilling from her back.
Pain burst to life in her head as she fell to her knees, holding Rin close in hopes of concealing the fact that seh was there at all. she looked over her shoulder, panting at Kagura who smirked wickedly at her. "Die in agony, woman." she hissed, beginning to drift away.
Pandora watched her, swallowing heavily as the blood continued to pump out of her body, watching with dislike as the floor began to disappear, the slowly disintegrating pieces of it heading in their direction. Naraku was drifting away in a swirl of black smoke, Kohaku and the pale child from the hall were with him...
She closed her eyes a moment, feeling irritated. The second time in two days that she had lost enough blood to pass out... this could not be happening.
She felt herself slip slightly, her cheek suddenly feeling the cold of the stone floor in which she now lay. How had that happened...
Suddenly the floor gave way beneath her but she could do nothing. she hadnt fully healed from the first time she had passed out, her magic, her power...
Darkness took over for a time as she fell, not caring for a moment. It didnt matter.
Sesshomaru turned sharply in time to see Kagura slash Pandora across her back. Blood splashed over the stone floor and the girl fell with Rin in her arms to the ground. His eyes flickered to Naraku, drifting away, then he turned around and like a streak of light went towards Rin.
The woman however had passed out, she was leaving a long trail of blood as she fell, holding Rin still. He caught them, and landed on the ground lightly, straightening and looking down at the two completely passed out. Rin's face was dirty, splashed with blood dirt and mud, as was Pandora's. He sighed, and for a moment he looked irritated... but it passed and without another word, he began to walk
She wasnt at all sure she wanted to even bother opening her eyes that time... Whatever for, last time had brought hell. And a conscience for goodness sake...
She was on her stomach, and she was frighteningly aware of wearing a lack of shirt... though she 'was' wearing something...
"Lady Pandora?" A voice asked quietly and she sighed, opening one eye. She blinked at Rin who was so close they were practically touching noses.
"Rin... personal space." she said thinly, and the girl pulled back, smiling weakly.
"Oh...sorry." she smiled. And then she bounced. "You're awake!" Pandora sighed, but said nothing about not wanting to be awake.
She sat up and realized that what she was wearing... was bandages, a lot of them.
"Oh Lord." she muttered, burying her face in the pillow. Rin laughed, as if she had said something rather funny.
"It's been three days." she said brightly, bouncing from one foot to another. "Lord Sesshomaru made sure you were okay, I help of course, cuz of the shirt and stuff." She smiled as Pandora turned to look at her again.
"but you're okay!"
"So it would seem." Pandora sighed, blinking at her. Claire's voice said in her head 'ask her if she's okay'
"Are you all right?"
"Of course!" Rin smiled brightly. The door opened and Pandora snatched the covers to hide under for a moment.
Sesshomaru came in, and then stopped near the door, realizing she was awake, however he did not leave.
"You finally woke."
"Hm." she growled thoughtfully feeling extremely out of sorts.
"Are you all right?"
"I would be better if you left..."
Rin laughed, and Sesshomaru left, deciding to be merciful to both their pride's...
Rin smiled. "Get dressed! We're having dinner soon!" and without another word she left.
Pandora lay there a while, looking past her arm at the window before sighing and forcing herself to sit up...
Dinner actually sounded pretty good...