Chapter Ninteen: Cruel Twist of Fate

The sense of war, the extraordinary bravery of the Allied armies, the numbers, the losses, the real suffering that disappears in time and commemorative oratory, are not marked out in any red guidebook of the emotions, but they are present if you look.

-John Vinocur

There was a strange sensation of free-falling and the air around her in the small tunnel of the well changed to stars. It was beautiful and strangely familiar, her feet touching down a moment later on dirt. She could see open sky above, it was the only thing that kept Kagome from commenting that it hadn't worked. She blinked a moment later when Ghaelon tugged her away from a spot where Sephiroth had landed.

"Um…thanks." She said sheepishly. Though her companions didn't seem to have the intention of waiting and she found herself floating up a moment later into a forest that wasn't very healthy looking. It was mostly brown or going that color, with only a few hints of green here and there. It made her frown slightly. "What on earth?"

"There." Sephiroth pointed to a single tree that still looked healthy in the distance rising above the others. Starting to walk that way when a strange large bee thing dove at the warrior only to be sliced neatly, he was impossibly quick with the long sword. Though there was a large swarm of them coming up out of the trees. "It seems we were expected."

"I doubt they were expecting us specifically." Ghaeleon stated smoothly, raising his hands in a series of gestures as the sky started to darken. Lezard was doing the same.

"Curl across the land and cut open the skies. Tornado!" Ghaeloen called out.

Lezard wasn't far behind. "The sapphire light burns deep in hell. Witness their sins and call forth the day of judgment. Pale Flare!"

Between the raging tornado and the burst of blue fire curling across the insects very few got close, and those unfortunate enough to do so were sliced down by swift strikes of the silver haired warrior's blade.

Her skin was crawling, her hair on end with the electricity in the air caused by the spells going off around her. She could only watch as the destructive magic cut down the monstrous insects. By the time the wind and sparks finished she couldn't see any but a few of the creatures flying away from them.

"Well, whatever they were expecting, it likely wasn't us." Sephiroth commented with a grin. "Perhaps you lot are more useful than I was expecting."

"I'd take that as a compliment if it wasn't coming from a thug." Lezard quipped before Ghaelon gestured at them both with a shushing sound.

Another figure landed nearby, a beautiful young man with silver hair like many of her companions. He had a strange boa like object over his right shoulder and a kimono with armor over it. He had two swords settled in his sash and was eyeing the group, looking past Sephiroth and his sword despite the fact he'd turned to face him with the sword drawn.

"Priestess." Sesshomaru's deep voice gave her a series of bizarre images in her mind. Though they were jumbled and she couldn't grasp any single one. "You are late, there are things here that have changed that even the gods cannot undo. You have quite a harem here."

"Care to…" Lezard stopped when Ghaelon put a hand on his shoulder.

"Look, I just want whatever went wrong fixed." Kagome said with a sigh. "I'm not sure how much longer I can handle this curse."

"I do not have Ah Un, but if we fly we'll arrive more quickly." Sesshomaru replied, looking at the rest. "You are magic users can you follow?"

"Yes." Ghaelon replied, raising a brow at the strange creature that had come to help. He recognized him by the description Jade had given, and as he'd been the one to inform them as to this whole issue. Though he didn't trust him he finally nodded after a moment and gestured around them, muttering lightly, at least he lifted himself, Sephiroth and Kagome. He let Lezard cast his own spell, which the young man was fine with and before long they were on their way.

Kagome was eyeing the ground uncomfortably and holding her skirt down, Ghaleon was controlling her movement as opposed to her doing it and that was fairly nerve-wracking. Though she occasionally saw one of those insects, usually it was about the time one of the others were overkilling it with a spell. She had to admit, the pair of wizards were quite useful, even if she very much didn't like free-floating toward their destination when anyone on the ground could look up her skirt.

Eventually they touched down at a flattened pleataue on the side of a mountainous area and she noticed there was a shrine there and a lovely woman leaning back eating grapes at one of the seats. The feeling around her made her realize after a moment that this woman must be holy. She was left gaping at the first Kami she'd ever seen, and it left her not knowing what to say.

"Sesshomaru." The woman sneered, and her tone of voice made it obvious she didn't like Kagome for some reason. "This is the girl. Why do you care about her? I heard you were against humans."

"Removing the curse will bother Naraku. Though the damage to Inuyasha was done already, I would prefer to see him dead…as I imagine many here will before much longer."

"I can't just remove the spell, you know that. It would take away my abilities…I can augment it to allow her to remember though it is a cruel thing you ask for." The woman replied.

"Perhaps Kagome should be asked." Sephiroth interjected, making her smile slightly given the slight glare the woman offered him. He didn't even flinch.

"Well then girl, what do you want?" the Kami asked. "Quick with it now."

"If there's something wrong with me or my past I'd rather know or remember." Kagome said honestly. Though she wasn't too sure she wouldn't end up regretting the decision.
It was fortunate for the attendant that her goddess still didn't know what she had done. Or she'd of been punished for certain. If she could fix it with them remaining none the wiser, that would be for the best. She wasn't certain she could simply silence Sesshomaru.

""Kagome Higurashi, the lady priestess and reincarnation of the Priestess Kikyo. Let me touch your soul and spin the threads of your fate." The Kami intoned, making Kagome freeze and the men with her eye the Kami like they wanted to chop her apart, though they stayed. "What once was lost now you'll find, return to you a piece of mind. Through clearer sight now you must decide, into which heart your faith shall reside. Let the thoughts now intertwined, grow easy with maid's decline."

Kagome got quiet and then threw her hands up to her head as it felt suddenly warm and then as if it was exploding, information rushing back in glimpses of images and the memories of her life in the feudal era returning to banish false happenings. She also got a general view of the original spell, and her mind grasped the fact that this 'curse' in the shape of a love spell would last until she picked one of her many suitors…

Though looking around at the three concerned expressions she immediately knew that was an impossible thing for her to do right now. Then, as the memories hit her and she matched them up with today she felt tears filling her eyes and she glanced to Sesshomaru.

"Your brother…Inuyasha…Naraku killed him?" Kagome asked shakily. "What about Miroku, Sango, Shippou?"

"As far as I know the rest of your ban survived." Sesshomaru replied with his usual lack of concern. "What you do now is up to you."

"Wait…" Kagome took a step toward him, she could still feel the tears stinging her eyes, they'd started to fall along her cheeks but she wanted to ask. "Did you help me because of Inuyasha? You want to avenge him?"

"Do not insult me with such insinuations priestess. I wanted Naraku to have another thorn." Sesshomaru paused long enough to glance over the rest of the group with her. "Or thorns, in his side."

Then he'd vanished in a ball of light, speeding off again. The Kami gestured to them with the departure of the demon lord. "Be off with you then."

"Kagome…are you all right?" Ghaelon asked, ignoring the creature shooing them. "What happened?"

"Let's just talk somewhere else?" She asked, it was hard enough not to burst into sobs, she wasn't sure how much longer she would make it.

"Of course." Ghaelon reached out, murmuring.

"Ghaelon don't you…" Was all Lezard managed to mutter before both Ghaelon and Kagome vanished from sight. "Damn wizard…well, come on ninja boy, they're probably back by the well already. I didn't know he was a teleporter. More clever than I would have given him credit for."

Elsewhere in the Sky…

Ghaelon whisked Kagome away in an instant, and as she recovered from her dizziness she realized again that she was floating, that there was a puffy white thing beneath her that looked at first like a overstuffed blanket but then after a few moments of disorientation she realized that they were just incredibly high.

"You are welcome to cry if you need to Kagome…you just seemed not to want to near everyone else." Ghaleon whispered, his tone with a gentle understanding that reminded her that she did indeed need to cry.

She threw her arms around him a moment later, relieved at the chance to sob while someone held her. Even if some of her tears were the fault of her having betrayed the idea of wanting to be with Inuyasha and having forgotten about him. She couldn't help but think that if her memories had been fine that somehow she could have saved the half-demon she for now could remember being so close to.

Choosing someone else to love? That seemed an impossibility right then, even if she was very fond of many of the others she had met, even if she'd been acting unlike herself in the way she was attracted to them, that wasn't love. Her heart was much too broken for her to even think about starting to end this stupid curse. And somehow, it seemed like a very very poor idea to choose someone she was uncertain of.

Ghaelon just patted her back, let her sob for a long while, and offered her handkerchief when she leaned back. She had to smile lightly, even if it was a spell pushing his actions to be kind to her, she still appreciated it.

"Thanks." She murmured before blowing her nose and wiping it off, trying to calm a bit…she couldn't cry forever.

"Do you want us to fell this Naraku person?" Ghaelon asked, which made her look up surprised at him.

"It's…Naraku's not that easy to find or to fell." Kagome commented. "Besides, I don't want you all to put yourselves in danger for my sake. You are only here cause of a spell…some weird cruel twist of fate I guess. I couldn't forgive myself if I used that. As it is I'm not sure what I think about…"

She drifted off as he took both her cheeks. She stared back into his crimson gaze, his elf like face softer than she was used to seeing it. She could feel his breath on her neck when he spoke. "Kagome, whatever this is, I know what I feel now, and if this person has harmed you, it would be more insulting to me if you were to refuse me the chance to defend you than it would be for you to push away my aid. I care about you. Spell or otherwise, I'd like to think we'll always at least be friends. You would let friends defend you just as you defend them yes?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes…but, I just worry when this ends you will only be bitter with me."

"Regardless of what happens, I know that you were not responsible, even if I am sad or negative, I am logical enough to know the real source of those issues." Ghaleon said with a light shrug, stroking her cheek gently. "This creature caused all this pain did it not? It's the one that got me involved. It is our business as much as yours now."

"You're right." Kagome sighed. Even if she felt like it was somehow her fault, Naraku had involved all of them, they had as much of a right as she did to want to see him dead. "So should we find the rest and bring them back here?"

"Someone will have to stay on the other side to keep the gate stable." Ghaelon replied with a single shake of his head. "Though we can send a message across asking if they'd like to send anyone else to aid things I figure between the three of us we can handle it. Would you really want them to send Albel?"

"No." Kagome replied immediately then repeated more slowly. "No. I just am concerned, I've seen Naraku do horrible things. I don't want anyone else hurt."

"Then best to destroy him before he hurts anyone else yes?" Ghaelon asked, making her laugh and earning a curious expression.

"Sorry…just…you always have such a logical explanation." She smiled at him. "I think you're right. Though won't the other two be worried?"

"I told them both if we got split up to return to our point of origin in this realm." Ghaelon answered, holding a hand out too her. "I doubt they'll be back yet but we can return and I can contact Professor Curtiss if you wish."

"Sure." Kagome nodded, blushing lightly when she took his offered hand. This time when she was paying closer attention she noticed the transfer process – while dizzying, was also comfortably warm. His magic still had a edge to it that made her nervous but not as much as Lezard's often did. He made her feel safe, and that also made her uncomfortable.

They returned and she was left while he cast his spell to look around, frowning at how much the forest had died compared to when she'd first discovered this place and released Inuyasha. Her eyes stung at the reminder of her lost first love, but she had already cried so much that she was able to resist starting up again, she still had Ghaelon's handkerchief in her hand, but she folded it and put it in a pocket. Being taken by surprise when a small ball of fur slammed into her side; clinging onto her.

"Kagome!" Shippou was near tears himself, the fox relieved and sad to see his friend returned. "We thought Naraku must have gotten you too!"

"Kagome." Miroku and Sango followed the fox in smothering her with hugs. Making her laugh and hug them back, almost ready to cry all over again at seeing them from relief alone.

"Guys…There's…a lot of things I need to tell you about." She said, glancing back to Ghaelon at the well. "Good news is: We have some new allies against Naraku."

She tugged them over to the well, knowing she would need to explain as quickly as possible, it was likely Sephiroth and Lezard wouldn't be far off and who knew what back up would be coming soon. She sighed, wishing she had Tylenol as she started trying to explain all that had happened as best she could.

End Chapter

Whee, so, a bit of an augment at least to her spell though not canceling it out just making her more aware of other things. Poor girl, remembering who and what she felt for Inuyasha after learning he was dead.

-Aura

To my reviewers:

Sailorjennifer – Other people will return sometime. Sesshomaru is pretty much almost done or done at this point in the story. There will be things with Naraku to finish and then Kagome will return to her time with all the usual suspects back.

Vampiric Insticts – Aw well I'm glad you like them all even if you don't know them really.

Black Firelight – Took a while but I got it!

Geniusly-Unique – I don't look at sex as something that makes you impure. I know a lot of people do but maybe it's cause I'm older and just don't look at sex as something bad? I dunno. Either way no, her powers wouldn't poof. Also – no SessKag for this story at least cause I have a lot of stories with them as the main pair.

GintsukiKyu – Hope you enjoy it.

MizukixTsukiyomi – It's very possible I'll throw in new people or not upon her return from the feudal era. Just depends on what strikes my fancy really.

DreamBeamz – Hope you like this one too!