When Worlds Collide
Chapter 4: An Alliance is Formed
Gandalf cautiously lowered his staff when he sensed no immediate danger. Saruman must have left as soon as the three hunters vanished. He stepped off the rock he was standing on and proceeded to walk to the area Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli stood prior to disappearing. When he got within three feet of the area the air crackled in front of him. He immediately jumped back and brought his staff back up.
"What in the name of Valar…" he mumbled to himself. He walked closer and tentatively reached out a hand. His hand came in contact with an invisible wall of some sort which sent out sparks upon contact. His hand slightly burned Gandalf lowered it. He prodded the air with his staff and received the same response.
Gandalf circled the invisible wall, poking it at random intervals. He determined the area of the circle and found it to be approximately the size of the space the three hunters had previously stood in. His eyes scoured the ground until they landed on a rock. He picked it up and tossed it as high as he could in the direction of the wall. As he thought the rock hit an invisible barrier and with an accompaniment of sparks, fell back to earth.
He then went about murmuring several incantations. None of them were able to break through the wall. As much as he hated to admit it he was stuck. His friends were taken someplace and he could no nothing to help them. For all he knew they were now in Sauron's torture chambers.
"It is of no use," he said to himself. "I have no choice but to leave for now. Time is pressing me to get to Rohan and ready them for war against Saruman. Aragorn, please forgive me my friend, but I have to leave. I will come back as soon as possible and return you and your friends to your rightful place. But alas, my time is running short to warn Theoden."
With one last sigh and glance at the mysterious barrier Gandalf quickly strode out of the clearing.
Kaede was calmly strolling back to her hut after tending to one of the injured villagers when a blood-curdling howl shook the air. As Kaede attempted to calm her old, racing heart another howl pierced the air, but this one was a howl of pain with a little anger mixed in. This time Kaede was able to trace the howl to her hut. And her heart stopped. Once she got it going again she took off at a run for her hut. Which looked more like a lopsided shuffle. What, she desperately thought, are they up to this time?
When Kaede arrived at her hut she threw open the door and stepped inside. And her heart stopped yet again, but this time her jaw also hit the floor. Inuyasha was face down on the floor with some odd looking fat guy sitting on top of him while two other strange people looked on in amusement. All while Kagome, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo rolled on the ground with laughter. It looked like a circus had overrun her humble abode.
"What is going in here?" she demanded once she picked up her jaw and started up her heart again.
Inuyasha lifted his head; Kaede was his only hope of being rescued. "The stupid elf knocked me out so when I woke up I attempted to strangle him. The dirty human tripped me while I chased the elf and the dwarf sat on me!"
Gimli bonked Inuyasha on the head. "I told you, the only one who can strangle the elf is me!"
"How about you say that to my face," suggested Legolas, laughter dancing in his eyes.
Gimli looked from Inuyasha to Legolas. "Well that's quite all right. Inuyasha is actually quite comfortable."
"Get your fat ass off me!"
"Well if you say so," replied Gimli. He then raised himself about six inches and immediately plopped back down.
"Umph!"
"You never told me I had to stay off," chuckled Gimli.
"Everyone, just be quiet!" yelled Kaede. When she had her much wanted, and needed, silence she continued. "First, who are you people? Why is there a strange man, an elf, and a dwarf in my hut, especially since I never ever knew elves and dwarves existed. How or why do you know Inuyasha and Kagome? And finally, why has Inuyasha not killed you yet?"
At the last question Aragorn's eyes widened in surprise. She wants us dead? I thought Kagome said she was a kind, sweet old lady. Maybe she was wrong.
Kagome stood up and walked to Kaede. "Kaede, how about you sit down? Oh, sorry about that Inuyasha," she said sheepishly when a string of mumbled curses rose up from where Inuyasha's face met the floor.
Inuyasha simply cursed even louder than he had previously been. Now not only did he have the fat dwarf sitting on him but Kagome had to send his face plummeting to the ground. His day just kept getting better.
"I don't even know the whole story behind these three. So how about we get some food and let these three explain themselves to us?" continued Kagome.
Kaede dumbly nodded and allowed Kagome to lead her to an empty space on the floor between Miroku and Sango. When Kaede sat between them Miroku groaned in annoyance and glared at Kagome. Sango did the exact opposite; she gave her a huge smile and mouthed the words 'thank you'.
Once Kaede was sitting down Kagome faced the three newcomers. "So how about you let Inuyasha up and we try to figure out what is going on?"
"If I get up now Inuyasha will kill me," remarked Gimli in all honesty for he truly did believe the angry hanyou would come down on him in an uncontainable rage should he be freed.
"Damn straight I will," grumbled Inuyasha.
Kagome set Inuyasha a penetrating glare. "No, he will not. Besides, I don't even know why Inuyasha hasn't kicked you off him already. He's certainly strong enough to."
"No, he can't get up. Gimli is sitting on his waist in such a way he cannot maneuver his legs. And his arms are pinned under him. Quite ingenious actually. I didn't know the dwarf had it in him," replied Legolas with a smirk.
At this last comment Gimli stood up and stomped over to the elf. "What did you say you pretty elf boy?"
"Oh, so now you're deaf too?" jested Legolas.
Aragorn sighed at the behavior of his two companions. He seriously wondered what had possessed him to travel with the two at times. "Will you two please quit it for once? And Gimli, you have more pressing matters to attend to. Inuyasha has gotten up."
Gimli slowly turned around, his eyes going as big as saucers when he saw the fuming hanyou in front of him. He held up his hands in a placating manner. When Inuyasha started stalking towards him he turned to Kagome. "You must help me! Please use that spell of yours."
However, Kagome had no need to use the spell as Inuyasha decided that seeking revenge wouldn't be worth being sat a million times. He stalked over to Miroku and sat down beside him. He crossed his arms and glared at whoever dared to look his way.
And at that point Aragorn decided he needn't be concerned with the maturity levels of Legolas and Gimli. He didn't think they could possibly act as immature as Inuyasha. And since it looked like everyone was used to Inuyasha's behavior he wouldn't have to worry about being embarrassed with his friends' behavior.
"Well, now that we got all that figured out how about you guys si…down and while I make some ramen things can start being explained," suggested Kagome, the sole voice of reason in the mismatched group.
"Is ramen food?" asked Gimli. He fervently hoped it was. He was starving.
"Yup."
"Ok." Gimli found an empty space on the floor as far from Inuyasha as he could get and sat down like an obedient child. Aragorn rolled his eyes behind the dwarf's back and took a seat beside him. Legolas followed suit and sat down alongside Aragorn.
Kagome, finally happy to have everyone calm, rummaged through her backpack and pulled out all the ramen she had. As she set about preparing it Miroku took the initiative to start explaining his story.
Miroku cleared his throat. "So how about we get this lovely get-to-know-each-other started As you have already heard, I am Miroku. I am a monk…"
"A delinquent, perverted monk," grumbled Sango.
Miroku simply smiled and continued. "Yes, I am a monk who simply enjoys the female body. But that's besides the point." Miroku held up his right hand. "In this hand is the curse that was passed down to me from my father and his father before that. It is an air void, a black hole. If I take off the rosary beads covering it it would suck everything into the hole in my hand. As long as this curse is in my hand my days are numbered. The more I use the void the faster it grows. Slowly, but surely, it is consuming my hand. One day it will grow too big and I will lose control over the air void and it will pull me into it."
Lowering his hand and returning it to to rest in his lap, Miroku continued his story. "The curse was given to my grandfather by Naraku. Naraku is a hanyou who is the embodiment of evil. My grandfather fought Naraku. He lost and for losing he was cursed with the air void. He was cursed to die by the air void and also to pass it down to all males that would come in his line. The only way to destroy the curse before it destroys me is to kill Naraku." Miroku stopped talking and stared thoughtfully at his air void. It was amazing how he could talk about his death so easily. His eyes narrowed and he clenched his right hand. It was sickening how easily he was able to talk about his own death.
Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli stared at the monk with sympathy in their eyes. Here was a young man who could die in the near future simply because of a curse given to his fore bearers. Aragorn immediately thought of Isildur's weakness. His forefather cursed his line with a weakness towards the ring just the same way Miroku's forefather cursed his line with the air void. And yet here was Miroku, fighting to destroy Naraku and end the curse on his line. Miroku wasn't running from his fate. No, Miroku was meeting his fate head on. Aragorn lowered his eyes in shame. His weakness paled in comparison to Miroku's weakness.
Miroku slowly unclenched his fist and looked to Sango. "Sango, would you like to go next?"
Sango sighed and nodded her head. "May as well go now and get it over with. First, I am a demon exterminator. I was raised to be a fighter and I have been fighting demons or training to fight demons for practically my entire life. Naraku knew of my village, which consisted of all demon exterminators, and wished to destroy us all. So he tricked us into sending all of our strongest fighters, which included me, my brother Kohaku, and my father, to a village to exterminate a demon. When we reached the village the demon turned out to only be a spider demon which is not hard to kill. But while we were fighting Naraku took control of my brother. He forced my brother to kill everyone, including my father. And while we were gone Naraku had sent hordes of demons to my village and destroyed it and everyone there. Naraku still has my brother under his control. Anything Naraku wishes Kohaku will do, even attack me. My only desire is to kill Naraku and free my brother from his grasp." Sango finished speaking with her head down and her voice sounding like she was on the verge of crying. Talking about her brother brought back painful memories, memories she desperately wanted to forget, but then memories she never wanted to forget.
"I'm sorry my lady Sango. We didn't mean for you to bring up painful memories. Forgive us," said Aragorn softly.
Sango looked up, a sad smile on her face. "No, no, it's not your fault. There is nothing to forgive, you did nothing wrong. The only one at fault is Naraku. And please, just call me Sango."
"As you wish Sango."
Kagome looked up from stirring the ramen. "How about you go now Inuyasha."
"Feh. Naraku tricked me and Kikyo 50 years ago. He killed Kikyo. So I have to get revenge for Kikyo's death."
"Oh," came the reply from the three Middle Earthers, then, "how old are you?" from Gimli.
"Older than 50. Since I am a hanyou I have demon blood in me. I will live a lot longer than a human but not as long as a demon."
"Well my buddy Legolas here will live forever," replied Gimli.
"Good for him. I don't give a damn," growled Inuyasha.
"May I inquire as to who Kikyo is?" asked Aragorn politely trying to change the topic.
"No."
"Inuyasha…" warned Kagome.
"Fine. She was the woman I loved 50 years ago. Naraku held a grudge against the both of us because she loved me and not him. So he took our forms and caused us to betray each other. While in my form he inflicted a deadly wound on Kikyo. So you can see why I need to kill Naraku."
"I understand," responded Aragorn. "I am also very sorry for your loss."
"Whatever," growled Inuyasha. "I don't need or want your pity." Curse Kagome making him tell his story to three outsiders! She was forcing him to trust them with his deepest secrets and losses, secrets and losses he only shared with those he trusted. What right did these three outsiders have to know anything about his past? What right did Kagome have to force him to trust them? It wouldn't work. He could feign tolerance of them. But there was no way, no way, trust would be forced out of him. First they had to prove themselves worthy of his trust. Those he traveled with, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, even Shippo, had all proved themselves to him in various ways. The outsiders hadn't. He wouldn't trust them.
Kagome sighed. "Well, I guess I should go next. First thing you should know, I am not from this time. I am from the future. Over a year ago I fell into the well by my house. Instead of hitting the bottom I landed here, Feudal Japan. What I didn't realize was that the shikon jewel was in my body. A demon attacked me and ripped the jewel out of my side. Inuyasha then killed the demon and ever since we've been together. But during one of the first battles we fought I accidentally broke the shikon jewel. The shards scattered all across the land which is why we are now in the process of gathering them." When she finished she handed a bowl of ramen to Inuyasha. He took it greedily.
"Food!" said Gimli, his eyes lighting up when he received his bowl. Legolas smiled wryly at his dwarven friend and also took his bowl, albeit more gracefully. But before eating he turned to Kagome.
"Kagome, you never got around to telling us why Shippo, as a child, is living with you."
"My parents were killed by two evil demons that were searching for the shikon shards. Kagome saved me from them and I've been traveling with her and Inuyasha ever since," explained Shippo with the innocence of a child. True, he just casually spoke of his parent's deaths. But then children are known to be remarkably resilient to changes and catastrophes. Besides, he now had Kagome to look as a mother.
"It seems you guys live in as evil as a time as we do," remarked Gimli softly.
"Yeah, everyone seems to have lost someone important to them. But what kind of time are you three from?" asked Kagome.
"So who would like to explain?" asked Aragorn looking to his two companions.
"You are definitely the man for the job," answered Gimli promptly.
"And I most certainly agree with Gimli," said Legolas.
Aragorn sighed and got comfortable. "I should have known you two would have said that." He faced the Feudal Age crowd. "Well we are from a place called Middle Earth. If our time is before or after yours I cannot say. But both of our worlds seem to have much in common. Much like you are fighting Naraku we are fighting a dark lord by the name of Sauron. He is trying to cover the whole world in shadow and so he is trying to destroy all the forces of good; elves, men, and dwarves. We are fighting valiantly against him but our power weakens. While we grow weak he grows strong. And an ally we thought we had, the wizard Saruman, betrayed us and is now on the side of evil. But my companions were not fighting Sauron and Saruman. We were sent on a secret mission with six others to complete a task: destroy the one ring of power. Sauron's ring. Only by destroying the one ring can Sauron truly be defeated. The ring seems to be much like this shikon jewel you speak of. It gives the user unimaginable power and turns their heart dark."
"Where are your other companions?" asked Kagome.
"We were separated from them. Two, a man and a wizard, fell in battle. The other four were hobbits."
"Hobbits?" questioned Miroku.
"They are a peaceful race. They are all less than four feet tall and they look like children to most people. But one of the hobbits, Frodo, was the ring bearer. He was the most resilient to the ring's power; his heart was able to remain pure while carrying the ring. The other three hobbits were his friends and companions. Frodo and one of them, Sam, left on their own to destroy the ring. Our enemies took the other two, Merry and Pippin, captive. We were pursuing them when we were transported here." Aragorn finished with a deep breath. That took longer than he thought it would.
"I only hope those poor young hobbits are someplace safe," sighed Gimli.
"It's remarkable, isn't it," began Sango. At the confused looks of everyone she continued. "We are from completely different worlds and times. And yet our stories are the same. A dark tyrant trying to take over the world. The forces of good weakening. Strong leaders betraying their friends. And through it all you find a group of companions. You fight side by side with them, you trust them with you life. Through the madness of death and war your companion's friendship is the only thing keeping you going. You realize that if you were separated from them you would do anything to get them back. It's sad really, you would hope that other people and worlds wouldn't be going through the same thing you are. And yet wherever you go it will probably be the same."
Legolas looked thoughtfully at the young woman. She was so much younger than him and yet she had a wisdom in her eye that defied her age. He knew it was from her life being destroyed by Naraku. He knew how he felt when both Gandalf and Boromir died and they weren't even his family. He didn't know how he would handle it if his father or Aragorn, who was like a brother to him, died. He turned to Aragorn, determination filling his eyes.
Aragorn sighed when he saw Legolas with that look in his eyes. He had seen it too many times before. And many of the times it led one of them to near death.
"Aragorn, we need to help them."
Aragorn couldn't help but crack a smile. "Ah Legolas, I know you too well. I was waiting for you to say that."
"Do you disagree with me?" asked Legolas.
"Of course not. Besides, it looks like we'll be stuck here for awhile. May as well make ourselves useful."
Gimli looked at Kagome. "So what do you say? Will you have us?"
"No."
Gimli rolled his eyes and turned his gaze towards the grumpy hanyou. "That is precisely the reason why I didn't ask you."
Inuyasha growled at the dwarf and growled even louder when Kagome spoke.
"We'll be glad to have you," said Kagome, a bright smile lighting up her features.
"And while you are with us we will try our hardest to find out how to get you back to your world," added Miroku, Sango nodding in agreement.
"We thank you for your kindness. And we promise, we will do whatever it takes to aid you in your battle against Naraku," said Aragorn.
And so an alliance was formed between two unlikely groups of heroes. One group with a prince and a future king, every picture of real heroes. The other a group of mismatched people, all brought together by the evil they were fighting. They came from completely different worlds. And yet in the end it didn't matter. It all boiled down to one thing: saving the world, no matter what world it was, for the side of good.
Last revised: December 6, 2006