I threw my arm over my eyes and when the flash of light cleared, I gazed in shock at the stone walls that had appeared around me. I looked to the side and discovered something worse…I was alone. I spun looking around, trying to see where everyone else was. Something light colored blew across my face and I grabbed it. I lifted it to my eyes and my jaw dropped. It was my hair, but it wasn't blood red anymore…it was the same dark blonde it had been before I mated with Mamoru. I grabbed my shoulder, the mark was still there I sighed in relief and then groaned in horror when I noticed my claws had disappeared.
I heard a laugh and looked up to see the green skin of Fascination a bit down the passage from me. "What's wrong? Don't you like our enchanted cave?"
"Where is everyone?" I asked clenching my fists. I may have been changed back into a human but I had been a handful when I was before and I certainly wasn't going to stop being tough now I wasn't a demon anymore.
The demon didn't look at me and I could see he was close to transparent. "I am not really in front of you. Every single one of you can see me so I can explain where you are. This is a cave created by my siblings and I. It changes everyone who enters but us into a normal human. Kagome you are no longer a priestess. Inuyasha, Mamoru, Dawn, and Shippo, you are human. Miroku you won't be able to use your wind tunnel. Kirara is an ordinary cat. And Sango you have lost your demon boomerang."
"What is the point of this?" I shouted.
"I heard that Dawn." The image of Fascination said grinning. "The point is torture. You have to get out of the cave as a human. No sense of smell, no sensing our auras more than any normal person can, and no mystic weapons. If you can get out, you can fight us. If you can't…you'll die." He laughed and began to fade. "Let the games begin!"
Inuyasha's point of view…
Damn! Where's Kagome? I screamed in my head. I had to find her. I looked both ways down the passage and felt something stir in me to my right. Don't know what the hell that is but nothing else to go by. I thought turning and running along the passage. I ran following the urges inside my chest. I heard a cry and recognized it as Kagome's. NO! I got to get to her! I darted around one last corner and saw Kagome curled on the floor sobbing. In front of her was Kikyo.
"…doesn't care for you. He never did." Kikyo said. As I got closer I could see that it wasn't really Kikyo. It was a shade of her.
I jumped in front of the shade and pulled Kagome into my arms. "Kagome!"
She opened tear filled eyes to me, "Inuyasha!"
I rested a hand gently on her cheek. "What happened?"
"Kikyo…she told me…you didn't care for me." Kagome whispered as she curled into my chest.
"Don't be stupid." I said and ran my hand over her hair. When she stopped crying I tilted her chin up to me and gazed in her eyes. I felt the same stirring in my chest that I had when I was searching for her and though I was confused, I smiled at her gently. "We need to get out of here." Kagome nodded and linked hands with me. We slowly made our way through the narrow passages and stumbled upon an unconscious Shippo and a bleeding Kirara. We picked them both up gently and continued on our way. Four more to go and my pack would be safe. The others are probably doing fine. As long as I have Kagome, I thought looking sideways at her head resting on my arm as we walked, I don't mind being human right now.
Sango's point of view…
I shook my head and pulled my katana from the ogre that had attacked me before turning and going back the way I had come. Dead ends with monsters huh? Wonder what else they have in here. I turned a corner and stopped in my tracks unable to breathe. Before me stood Kohaku holding Miroku to the wall with his own katana.
"Hello sister." Kohaku said turning a dead face to me.
Miroku's eyes turned to me and he seemed to relax a little. "Sango…" he murmured.
I gripped my sword and stepped forward. "Let him go Kohaku."
"When he's dead." Kohaku said turning his back to me.
I rushed forward as his sword drove the point down at Miroku. I hit it away just in time to keep Miroku from being impaled but the blade sliced into his arm as it flew. When the sword was gone Kohaku disappeared. I turned a horrified look to Miroku. "I'm sorry…" My brother…tried to kill…Miroku…
Miroku grabbed my arms and shook me before pulling me into his arms. "It isn't your fault. That wasn't even Kohaku."
My heart began to beat again. "Wasn't Kohaku?" I whispered praying it was true.
"It was a shade, this place is torture remember? It was supposed to make you hesitate to attack your brother so I died." Miroku said and I felt something sliding down my back.
"PERVERT!" I shouted slapping him as I leapt away.
Miroku just smiled happily and picked up his staff. "Come on." He said and began to head out. I shook my head exasperated. He'll never change. But a smile ran across my features. At least he cheered me up.
Mamoru's point of view…
I sat in the middle of the passage staring at my hands and smelling deeply. I was human. I had never been human before. I felt so weak, when I had punched the wall in anger, it had hurt me and done nothing to the wall. My knuckles were bleeding slightly and I had short nails on the end of my fingers. My hair was pulled forward and its now brown length was trailing down my chest. The worst part was I couldn't smell anything. I could see the moss five feet in front of me but I couldn't smell the soft scent I knew it had. How can Inuyasha deal with this on his human night? I thought clenching my weak human hands. How could Dawn live like this?
They had to. The fact that they simply had to, without choice, without knowing anything else, they simply had to. I stood slowly and started walking. If my mate and our pack leader could do it, I could too.
Dawn's point of view…
I had my black blade in my hand and ran as fast as I could. The passages were endless and each time I reached a place I needed to stop and turn around, something new jumped out at me. I reached a new passage and slowly came to a stop when I saw the cavern at the end. It was large with rocks breaking the evenness of the floor to form deadly points. Fear stood atop of one of the stones and watched me as I entered the cavern. Across from her Fascination sat playing with what looked like somebody's internal organs. "Do you know what these do?" He asked clawing through them gently. Behind both of them, leaning against the slick wall was Fury.
He sighed as he saw me and straightened. "You would be the first to come." He said walking to me.
"Why would I be the first to get here?" I asked. I didn't make any moves as he came closer and circled me out of reach. I sheathed the blade so Fury wouldn't try to knock it from my hand and stood straight.
"I feel a great affinity for you." Fury said. His white hair glowed in the soft unknown light that filled the caves and his skin seemed to suck in the darkness.
"Why is that?" I said trying hard not to move.
Fury grinned and suddenly he was at my back his breath caressing my neck. "Because of the fury in you." He whispered.
I stiffened but refused to rise to the bait of whirling around. "The fury in me?"
I almost gagged when he kissed the mate mark on my shoulder. "The rage that fills you." He moved away and stood before me. "The anger that refuses to be controlled. I can feel it pouring out of you at every pass." He looked over his shoulder. "Fear, Fascination, go check on our other guests. I can deal this one."
Inuyasha's Point of view…
Kagome and I passed an opening and stopped in shock when we heard our names called. A stranger darted down the passage towards us. I pushed Kagome behind me. "Who are you?" I growled.
The man stood ten feet away and gazed at us sadly. "Mamoru, Lord. I am Mamoru."
"Mamoru?" Kagome said, "How do we know?" Since she'd met with the Kikyo shade she was afraid that they'd reach more trying to hurt her.
Mamoru frowned. "I am Mamoru, mate to Dawn, who came from the future with you. We have twin children. Their first words were 'good luck'."
I smiled and held out a hand to him. He ran forward and gripped my arm tightly. "You'll be fine. But it's scary being human isn't it?"
Mamoru nodded. "I feel without senses. I feel weak."
I patted his back. "I know the feeling. Come on. We are still missing three." We headed down the passage and gazed in shock at the bodies littered at its end.
In the middle of the carnage, stood a demon in red clothes with his face turned from us. From beside me Kagome gasped and my eyes moved to what she was gazing at. The bodies on the ground were our friends. Miroku and Sango held onto each other in death. Dawn's corpse covered the dead twins, she had tried to save them before she died but they had died along with her. Mamoru was lying on the ground with a large piece of stone poking through his chest and Nozomi was crumpled beside him, her neck twisted in an impossible position. The demon who stood in the center of the carnage turned and we saw Kagome held in the air by her throat.
None of us moved. We knew it was an illusion because Kagome and Mamoru were standing here and alive but…it was still terrifying. The demon turned his face to us and Kagome grabbed my hand. It was my face but it had lightening stripes on his cheeks and red and blue eyes. "Is that me?" I whispered.
"NO!" Kagome said gripping me tighter. "It's your demon blood! But it is NOT you!"
I held her hand as if it was my only hold on life. I knew what this was: it was one of my greatest fears. Fear…I jumped and dropped Kagome's hand as I rushed into the illusion. The illusion shattered as I entered it.
Fear sat against a wall with her eyes closed but when her illusions fell she jumped to her feet and I grabbed her by the throat. Mamoru and Kagome came up behind me and we stared at her. "Hello Fear."
Miroku's Point of View…
It was nice that Sango was no longer caught up in worries of Kohaku but I wished she'd stop glaring at me. I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Oh Sango…I blinked as something wet hit my cheek. "Sango? Did you feel that?" I asked.
She looked at me and her eyes widened. "You're bleeding?"
I touched a finger to the wet drop and looked at it. "No I'm not." I whispered. Suddenly the ceiling started to rain blood. I grabbed Sango and pulled her back from the area that was bleeding and we watched as the floor began to puddle.
"How is it raining? Why is it blood?" Sango asked.
"I don't know." I reached out a hand. This isn't possible. I thought. I caught glimpse of green on the other side of the rain and darted through. "Fascination!" Sango chased behind me but slipped in the rising blood. She slammed into me and I fell as well. Only by chance did I successfully grab Fascination by the ankle and trip him. His head connected hard with the ground. I helped Sango to her feet and we stared down at the unconscious troll. "Well…we have one of them."
Kagome's Point of View…
I rubbed my temples as Fear screamed again. She hadn't stopped since Inuyasha had grabbed her and I was starting to get a headache. Finally I snapped and yelled. "SHUT UP!" I heard laughter and thumping coming from a side passage.
Mamoru chuckled as Miroku and Sango came out of the tunnel dragging Fascination by the arms. "Nice catch."
"I thought so." Sango said kicking Fascination in the side.
"He made it rain blood." Miroku said as he wrung out a sleeve.
Inuyasha shook Fear and growled at her. "Where…is…Dawn?"
"Wi…with Fury!" Fear gasped out.
Inuyasha held out a hand to me. "Give me your scarf." I handed the red scrap to him and he tied it tightly about Fears neck. "Take us there."
I stuck close to Inuyasha holding his hand. I was so happy when he let my hand go to wrap his arm around my shoulders. "She'll be okay." He said to both Mamoru, who followed closely behind us, and me.
Suddenly the whole place shook and shuddered almost throwing us from our feet. A rage-filled scream echoed down the corridor before the place shuddered again. "Fury." I whispered, my arms wrapped around Inuyasha for balance. The passage shook with silent explosions continuously and we managed to stumble down the passage as fast as we could.
Well what do you think of chapter 3 guys? Is the story going good?
To OddIsMyHomeBoy, Kia'sgirlfriend1234and angel61991: my faithful reviewers! Thanks for continuing to read this. (eyes tear)
My new reviewers:
babybanana616: at least you reviewed and thank you for that.
IcysmoothtwotailkittyfromINU: I'm glad you enjoy it. Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.
Star Sapphirex (thoughyou haven't gotten this far yet): Thanks for reading and reviewing I'm glad you like it, I really enjoy your stories too.