Going On

" Damn that Storm!" Golgiroth bellowed. " He's going to ruin everything!"

He whirled to Crin. " Take our guards and go after them. Take as many as you can and bring them here. I don't care who you capture just make sure you have hostages. I didn't want to do this and I was dreading the fact that I might have to, but we need them to get here! If Storm manages to win her, she'll never come!"

" Wait!" someone cried from the crowd of on looking dragons. A little girl with bright green hair stood up. " Grandsire Golgiroth, Saysuku have something to say." She said. He nodded. " Speak, Saysuku."

" Grandsire Golgiroth, how can gou do this? Demon still sleeps, but is becoming, fitful. Sehchomaroo want wake up! Sehchomaroo sense Saeka nearby. He want wake up to meet her."

" Saysuku, your English is improving, but in any case, I cannot allow Sesshomaru to awaken. Not until the time is right. A stronger gem has been placed on him to quiet his restless soul."

" NO! Gou must allow Sehchomaroo to wake! Sehchomaroo become angry! Saysuku sense it! He become vengeful!"

" Enough, Saysuku. He will remain asleep until Saeka arrives."

" Then what?"

" Pardon?" he asked.

" Then what? What if Lady Saeka no want join us? What if she turn away? Then what would gou do? Gou would have failed. Lady Saeka no like how Sehchomaroo been treated. She think he dead when she comes."

Golgiroth sighed. " She won't think he's dead. He'll be wide awake by the time she walks in this chamber."

" No! He wake up now! He sent me dream! He say to Saysuku that he very angry! Sehchomaroo destroy gou when he wakes. We in danger!"

" You little liar. Crin, take her." Golgiroth commanded. Saysuku backed away as the dragons approached.

" No! Stay away!" she cried. She turned and ran toward the cave, even though she would be trapped. She squeezed through the entrance just as they reached her and ran to the demon's other side, clutching his hand desperately.

" Sehchomaroo! Sehchomaroo! Saysuku in danger! Saysuku need help! Sehchomaroo!"

When his hand started to grow warm, Saysuku continued to plead for him to wake up.

" Sehchomaroo! Sehchomaroo! Wake! Please! Wake! Sehchomaroo!"

His hand grew warmer than it had ever been while he was asleep. Saysuku tightened her grip as the dragons tried to get to her inside. They had to be careful not to touch Sesshomaru's body, and getting to her would be difficult. If she kept holding onto his hand, they'd have to touch him to release her hold without dragging him out with her.

" Please!" Saysuku cried, tears beginning to run down her face. " Saysuku sorry! Please! Sehchomaroo! Sehchomaroo! SEHCHOMAROO!!"

Sesshomaru groaned in his sleep and his eyes moved slowly beneath the lids. Saysuku noticed, but didn't stop calling out to him.

It was working.

" Further! Almost there!" Saysuku encouraged. " Further! Come, Sehchomaroo! Return! Return!"

Suddenly, Storm started to writhe and screech on the ground waking everyone up in the process. Saeka's head bolted up. She was back in her humanoid form. She watched in horror as Storm almost tied himself in a knot in pain from something.

" Stop!" he yelled. " No! No! NO!"

Sesshomaru opened his eyes. " What?" he whispered. He sat up weakly, his hand to his aching head. Saysuku screamed and threw her arms around his neck. " Sehchomaroo! Gou has returned! Please! Help Saysuku!"

" Saysuku?" he said, puzzled for a moment. Then, it all came flooding back to him. Anger began to well up within him as he remembered her potion.

" Please!" Saysuku cried. " Saysuku forced to do it! Saysuku no want Sehchomaroo to sleep! Saysuku want Sehchomaroo to live!"

The dragons snarling furiously at the cave entrance brought his attention back. He released Saysuku's hold on him and turned.

" Hold it!" a voice from behind them cried. Saysuku gasped sharply.

" No! Yukoto don't!" she wailed. But it was too late. Sesshomaru yelled and doubled over, shaking furiously. " No." he mumbled, gritting his teeth together. He shook his head. " NO! What's happening to me?"

" Fight!" Saysuku cried. " Gou will go back to sleep if gou does not fight!"

" No." Sesshomaru growled, his fangs elongating. " No!"

" Now!" Yukoto cried from somewhere in the crowd of dragons. Sesshomaru moaned and collapsed onto his side, eyes shutting once more, his body relaxing and letting sleep take hold. Saysuku buried her face in her hands bitterly. " No! So close! So close! So close!" she kept repeating. She never even noticed as Crin reached in with his tail, wrapping it about her tiny waist and dragging her outside. Now, she noticed and struggled furiously. " Let Saysuku go! Let Saysuku go!" she screamed.

" What should we do with her?" he asked.

" Place her here with him. If she's asleep, she'll only give The White Messenger that much power. He needs all that he can get now." Yukoto explained.

Saysuku watched, trembling as Yukoto began to chant a sleeping charter over her.

The last thing she saw was a magnificent sapphire being tied around her neck.

Storm lay gasping on the ground, Saeka and everyone gathered around him anxiously. Saeka was gently shaking him. " Storm, what happened? Please!"

His breath came in ragged gasps, as though he were searching for air while beneath water.

" I…don't know." He rasped. " I suddenly felt…as though something were shredding me from the inside."

He coughed dryly. " I'm fine, just dazed." He mumbled. I can take you to the gate soon."

" Are you sure?" Saeka asked. Storm looked up at her. He had been right. Even in human form, she still seemed to be the most beautiful creature on the face of the earth.

" Yes. I'm quite sure." He said. He shut his eyes wearily.

" All right." Saeka said. She sat down beside him, stroking his mane. She felt a gentle rumble vibrate into her fingers and she realized that he seemed to be purring. She smiled and snuggled her chin into her cloak, closing her eyes.

Everyone else gathered beside the fire. It was still dark. Naraku and Saaya had come back to the group. Naraku was still weak, but he'd managed to get back with Saaya's help. Although the venom was gone from his wound, he still said that it felt as though he were on fire. Before returning, he'd slowly and painfully dressed his kimono over the bandage, being careful not to aggravate the wound.

Now, as he sat staring into the fire and leaning against a large rock, Saaya rested herself against him, eyes half closed in the flickering light of the flames.

InuYasha, sitting up and gripping his Tetsuaiga, glared at him.

" You two certainly were gone awhile." He stated. Naraku glanced at him passively. " Yep." Was all he said.

" Quite a long time." InuYasha mumbled, getting up and going over. He lowered to Naraku's level and looked him square in the eye. " So." He said.

" So, what?"

" Just what were you doing?"

" Say what?"

" You heard me!" InuYasha yelled. " Why the hell were you gone for so long!?"

" I don't understand what you're saying."

" Don't play stupid! What were you doing to Saaya?!"

" I don't think I like what you're insinuating." Naraku growled. " I do wish you'd accept the fact that I'm different now. I'm not stupid, InuYasha."

" Answer my question! What were you doing to Saaya?!"

" What the heck are you talking about? Nothing!"

By now, everyone was watching the argument except for Saaya herself, who was somehow still asleep through all this.

" Damn it, Naraku, if you did anything to her, I'll kill you!" InuYasha yelled, whipping out the Tetsuaiga, fully-transformed. Naraku didn't flinch.

" InuYasha, do you really want to wake her up? She's very tired." He said.

" Why?"

" What do you mean, 'why'? She's been keeping an eye on me while I recovered."

" Hah! Like I'm gonna believe that!"

Kagome, sitting over by Sango, sighed, handed Sakura to Miroku and got to her feet. She walked up beside InuYasha folded her arms and muttered, " Sit, boy."

Thud!

" Ahh-ah. Kagome, what was that for?" InuYasha yelled, leaping to his feet. Kagome gave him the casual eye. " InuYasha, I don't like what you're insinuating either. Just because they were gone for a long time, doesn't mean anything rash. You tend to jump to hasty conclusions."

" I don't trust him, all right?"

" So because of this, you find any available reason to chastise him? Am I right?"

" Uh, no. But you know I don't like it when he's around her. This is Naraku, remember?"

" I know who he is, InuYasha. We've known him for almost a decade now. So he's changed. That's all that matters."

InuYasha folded his arms defiantly. " Humph. I'll believe that when I see it." He grumbled.

" You're blind as a bat, you know that? He's been proving it for almost a month now! He's proving it just by being with us!"

She sighed exasperatedly and stomped off to her place beside Sango. Miroku let Sakura toddle over to her and she scooped her up moodily. InuYasha sighed and turned to Naraku, who was watching him placidly.

" You do anything to her and you'll pay." InuYasha hissed. He stalked off, grumbling to himself. Naraku rolled his eyes, shaking his head in empathy. He focused his gaze on Saaya, still asleep beside him.

Crin dejectedly placed Saysuku inside the cave beside the sleeping demon. The sapphire around her neck was extremely powerful and induced sleep in her small body very quickly. She was frozen in her human form until both jewels were removed from the two of them. He hadn't wanted to do this, even though the way that Saysuku was behaving would eventually lead to it. But it had to be done. She was probably the only one who could awaken Sesshomaru.

Storm awakened the group just after dawn, being extremely careful with Saeka. She woke up immediately however and soon began to help in arousing everyone else. It turns out that Naraku had stayed awake the entire night watching Saaya. For some reason, unknown even to him, she was dead tired and couldn't be awoken. So he offered to carry her the rest of the way. InuYasha disagreed with this severely and ended up snatching her from him. Unfortunately, this jarring movement awoke her and she flew into a rage at him, thinking him to be an attacker. It took them another full ten minutes to calm her and prevent InuYasha from killing Naraku. InuYasha thought that this was his fault, as usual. And, like always, Naraku just brushed it off and talked with Saaya until her temper calmed.

" The gate is close." Storm announced.

After what seemed like forever, they had finally reached the gate and could pass through.

As Storm prepared to open it, it suddenly opened by itself, revealing two white dragons identical to Storm, only with golden manes instead of white. Storm greeted them cautiously. " Good morning." He said. The two eyed him suspiciously. " You have The Dragon Girl?" one of them asked. Storm nodded.

" Yes. Did Crin send you?"

" No. Golgiroth did."

Not a moment after those words were said, the larger dragon suddenly lunged at Storm, sinking his fangs into his neck. Storm bellowed rage and pain and forcefully threw his attacker away. He whirled to the others while he still had time.

" Run! Get away from here! They only want Saeka and Saaya!" he yelled.

" They won't get us." Saeka growled. Her eyes went blank and her body began to glow. Within seconds, she was a dragon once more. She ran to Storm's side and bared her teeth at the golden maned dragons. Storm glanced worriedly at her. " What about your youngling?" he asked in a hushed tone.

" As long as I'm not injured in that area." She said reassuringly. " I'm less vulnerable in this form."

InuYasha stepped up, his Tetsuaiga drawn. " Heh, this'll be a snap." He smirked. Back a ways, Naraku stepped in front of Saaya, his eyes flickering purple.

The larger guard dragon stood up, tail lashing. " Hold it. I think you'll agree with us when we say this, you don't want to fight."

" And why not? We're here to rescue someone." Saeka said. " I believe I am the dragon you seek. Saeka."

The golden dragon's eyes narrowed. " You are to come with us. Your companions, however…"

His eyes suddenly turned bright green. Saeka watched in horror as Kagome, Sakura, InuYasha, Sango, Kirara and Miroku all started to turn to solid stone. Kagome screamed and tried to drop Sakura, but her arms became fixated around the little girl. As she reached for InuYasha, her arm froze and she cried out one final time, " InuYa—" before her whole body became stone. InuYasha had jammed his sword into the ground and was frozen before he even got moving.

" No!" Saeka cried in despair as all of her companions except her daughter and Naraku became statues before her eyes. Saeka snarled furiously and whirled to the dragons. " How could you?" she hissed. She bowed her head and silently transformed back, collapsing on the ground. Storm lowered his head to her and gently nuzzled the side of her face. With a sob, she threw her arms around his neck. Storm glared at them. " Petrifying her friends was uncalled for." He growled. The golden dragon closest to him bared his fangs and rumbled. " Not all of them were petrified. That man and her daughter survived."

Saeka looked up to see that he was correct: Naraku and Saaya were okay. They were inspecting the others with a horror-filled curiosity.

" Sango? InuYasha?" Saaya murmured. They didn't move. Naraku just shook his head. " This is unbelievable." He muttered. Saaya covered her eyes.

Saeka turned back to them. " Why did they survive?" she demanded.

" Naraku must have been in contact with Saaya when it happened." Storm said gravely. " Since it was meant for anyone not blood-related to you, the spell must have thought him to be the same as Saaya."

" It does not matter." The golden dragon nearest them said gruffly. " You will follow us to our leader."

" I won't leave them behind." Saeka declared, standing to her full height.

" Nothing will harm them. The minute you accept Golgiroth's proposal, they will return to normal. Until then, there is nothing you can do for them."

Saeka's eyes fell to the ground in sorrow. She pulled her cloak closer and placed a hand on Storm's neck. " Very well. I shall see Golgiroth." She whispered. The near dragon nodded and turned, beckoning them to follow.

Storm looked back and motioned discreetly for Naraku and Saaya to come along. With one single glance back at their frozen companions, Saaya and Naraku followed slowly behind.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. was down for the longest time and I was hit by a Tsunami of emails and reviews and junk from the site. I hate it when that happens. Oh, also, you remember Kinkatia! You'd better!! Grr! She updated two stories! Healing Scars and the Sequel to Sesshomaru's Son! Hurry and read them, they are SOOOO good!!!!