Disclaimer: Inuyasha is sooo not mine!
Chapter 17
As soon as the bride and groom emerged from the house, Kagome excused herself from Kouga and went over to Hiro, who was speaking with Yuki. "Hiro," she called out, "may speak with you a moment?"
The brothers looked at each other and Yuki moved discreetly away. "Sure, Kagome. What's up?" Hiro asked, his face reddening slightly.
She decided to ignore his flushing face for the moment. "Something occurred to me just now. How did you know that being in your world wouldn't affect me? Was it really just a guess? Or did you know something that I didn't?" She gave him a rueful smile. "I don't know why I should ask that, because you usually tend to be privy to information before the rest of us. I envy your gift of foresight, Hiro."
Hiro shot her a quick, gracious smile, but quickly averted his gaze. "As I said before, it was really nothing more than a theory. You see, I knew that Naraku was Thanos and I knew that he could change from one to the other easily. I figured that was only possible because Naraku knew absolutely that he was Thanos. That explained why Sesshoumaru, even with the help of Inuyasha, couldn't defeat Naraku. It wasn't merely because he was really powerful, either. It was just that they had no idea that he was a god and therefore, an unbeatable adversary. However, in your case it was obvious that even though you had memories of being Niobe, you were not fully aware that you actually were. I figured that you were like Naraku in that he could switch to his god persona and back again. All you needed was to awaken the part of you that was Niobe. But it seemed that she was already wide awake, since you were unaffected by my family. Only a very powerful being could withstand both my grandfather's and my aunt's cursed faces and lived to tell about it."
"So that's why you gave me that fake potion. You knew it wouldn't affect me."
"Well, not exactly. I didn't know for certain, but I had to see if my guess was correct and thankfully, it was. All that was needed was for you to be able to physically become her, which was why I had my great-grandfather present. I knew he possessed enough power to… uh… help you along." Hiro shifted his gaze down to his feet, which had begun to shift nervously.
"What's the matter?" she asked curiously.
"N-nothing," was his stammered reply. His face had turned red again, even more brightly than before.
Kagome put a hand on his arm. "Are you still embarrassed? I mean, about before? When you saw me naked?"
Horrified, Hiro lifted his head and stared wildly at her. "Shhh! Don't say that out loud! For heaven's sake, do you want to get me killed?" He glanced fearfully about them, hoping that no one had overheard her words. The last thing he wanted was to piss off Kouga and both of his brothers, but the memory of seeing her lying in her arms was firmly embedded in his brain. He had never seen such perfection in one person before. During the moment when he had stared at her nude body – just after it had registered in his startled brain that she was, in fact, nude — he had recalled thinking that if there was a blueprint for building the body of the perfect woman, hers would be the one used as the model. And in the back of his mind, he had realized part of the reason why Thanos desired her so greatly. To have such a lovely creature on his arm or in his bed, to have a woman like her by his side always—
Such a thing would make any man delirious with happiness. Hiro could now understand why Thanos behaved as he did. A woman such as Niobe would drive a man to madness. So naturally he would do all he could to protect what he thought to be his. In some ways, Hiro could not completely blame Thanos for his actions. If he were in the god's shoes, he might very well do the same thing.
"Hiro?" Kagome gazed up at her friend, her eyes dark with worry.
For a moment, Hiro could not bring himself to utter a word. Then he said, "I am glad you are taken, Kagome. I must confess that when I saw you as Niobe, I knew why Thanos acted the way he did with you." She opened her mouth to speak, but he shook his head. "No, let me finish. We have been close friends for several years and I feel that I should be open with you about this. When I saw you—when I held you to me just after you fell—I must admit that I got a good look at you. A very good look, as a matter of fact, and for the first ever, I finally got to see what your husband and my brothers see whenever they look at you."
Kagome took a quick step backwards and Hiro chuckled softly. "No, I'm not about to make a declaration of eternal love or anything like that. I would not betray Kouga like that. To be quite honest, I have only ever thought you were a sweet, pretty young woman who just so happened to be one of my closest friends. But that was all. Now that I have been shown a side of you that only, well, Thanos has seen of you, I have to admit that I was extremely turned on." He grinned shamefacedly at her. "Forgive me, Kagome. If I had resisted the urge to look at you—well, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I guess I'm no better than Yuki."
She returned his grin with one of her own. "No, it's okay. You are a heterosexual male who accidentally got a good look at a naked female form. It's perfectly understandable."
"You're awesome, you know that? Any other woman probably would have slapped my face and stormed off, but not my little Kagome." With a flourish, Hiro swept Kagome into his arms and gave her a sound smack on the lips.
"What was that for?" Kagome laughed.
"That was for being so understanding of my plight." The smile on his face faltered, vanished and that was when Kagome could see a strange light burning in Hiro's gentle brown eyes.
"Hiro?" she asked meekly.
"And now, I'm about to claim my kiss from the bride," he told her, his voice little more than a whisper. He bent his head and kissed her.
On the receiving end, Kagome was stunned. Hiro had never once shown an interest in her, at least in a romantic sense, so naturally she would feel somewhat overwhelmed at his actions. His arms went around her, but then suddenly he retracted them and lifted his head.
"I seem to be allowing my common sense to go on holiday. Again, I humbly beg your forgiveness, my lady." He presented her with a neat, elegantly executed bow, one that he had obviously performed many times before. When he straightened, he took her hand and led her back to her husband.
ooo
Kouga watched with some consternation as Hiro, the more sensible and level-headed of the Yamadera brothers, took his beautiful wife in his arms and gave her a deep kiss. He very nearly stormed over to the pair to break up the tender little scene, but he realized that the kiss Hiro was giving Kagome was a rather chaste one; there was no tongue involved as far as he could tell.
It lasted for a no more than a few seconds before the elf pulled away and gave her a bow. Kouga was extremely relieved. He did not want to have to argue with Hiro as he had with his brothers. It was with much relief that Hiro led his wife back to him, where the elf placed her hands in the hands of her husband.
"Take care of her, Kouga," Hiro told the youkai solemnly. "She is very much treasured by me and my brothers."
Kouga nodded at the brown-haired elf. "I will," he vowed. "And thank you."
They all took their seats at the lunch tables and the food was served.
ooooooooooooooooo
Sometime later, after lunch was over, the sound of his master's voice brought Xander to his feet. He gazed off in the direction of the forest at the edge of the property. He was there. He was calling to him.
Xander took a look back over his shoulder. The wedding party was in full swing. Music was blaring and the bridal couple were dancing slowly together and staring deeply into each other's eyes. The intimate moment angered Xander. He hated the fact that the man she was gazing adoringly up at was not him.
"Come, Xander. I am waiting. Your master has need of you."
With a mutinous scowl on his face, Xander turned and left the party, heading off in the direction of the forest.
ooooooooooooooooooo
With a silent laugh, Kagome dashed through the twisting paths of the maze. Hide and seek with her husband sounded like such fun. Of course Kouga would have no trouble finding her; he could just sniff her out. But in this version of the game, he had to stick a clothespin on his nose, thereby giving him a disadvantage. Also, he had to count to one hundred in the house, so he couldn't hear which way she had gone. By sheer luck, she found her way to the center of the maze and found a marble bench, where she laid down upon the cool stone and gazed up at the sky while she waited for her husband to find her.
Then out of the blue, sleep began to weigh heavy on her. Odd, for she had not been the least bit sleepy a moment ago. Even so, she thought that it would be alright to shut her eyes— perhaps just for a moment—
It was a particularly lovely night. So lovely, in fact, that she had asked her handmaidens to quickly bathe her so that she might savor the remainder of the evening out on her balcony. She wanted to fall asleep while watching the stars.
She went to her bathing chamber and allowed her maids to disrobe her. Once naked, she slid into the bathing pool and swam about a bit, savoring the warm, floral-scented water. The youngest of her maids entered her bathing chamber with a tray laden with wine and fruit, which she set down within easy reach of her hand.
"Thank you, Annis."
The maid curtseyed. "You are quite welcome, my lady."
She smiled up at Annis, who was the latest addition to her small group of servants. Annis returned the smile with a shy one of her own and poured her lady a goblet full of wine.
Taking the goblet from the maid, Niobe drank deeply and shut her eyes blissfully. "Such a lovely flavor," she murmured appreciatively after finishing off the heady, deep purple liquid. "Dionysus always has the best wine. Thank you again, Annis."
Annis nodded and curtseyed once more before leaving her presence.
Heaving a contented sigh, Niobe poured herself another glass and downed half of it before returning to her bathing. She finished and got out of her bathing pool where large towels were waiting for her. Putting out her hand to grab one, her sight blurred and she stumbled on the little steps that led out of the pool.
"What the--" she began, putting her hands to her eyes. The next minute she pitched forward on the steps, landing hard on her knees. Panic set in. Her head swam horribly.
With painstaking slowness, she managed to crawl out of the pool and pull herself up on a nearby divan, where she collapsed in a panting, disoriented heap. She gazed up at the ceiling, wondering what had happened to her to make her feel like this—
"I did just as you bade me do, my lord."
Niobe frowned. That was Annis' voice, wasn't it?
"Thank you, Annis. I am eternally grateful for your assistance."
Hearing the latter voice, Niobe made a determined effort to sit up. That deep male voice undoubtedly belonged to her treacherous twin.
As if on cue, Thanos strode into the room with a very obedient-looking Annis right behind him. He paused in his stride and handed the girl a small purse, which made a clinking sound. The sound of coins, Niobe thought with a sharp pang of betrayal in her chest. Her brother had paid off her maidservant to drug her.
Thanos waved the girl away, who departed immediately. "Hello, my sweet sister. How are you feeling?"
"You know how I'm feeling!" she screamed at him. When his grin widened, Niobe's eyes widened with horror. No sound had come from her throat. As he approached her, Niobe came to the terrible realization that she had not the voice with which to cry for help.
At last he came to stand before her and then dropped down onto one knee at her feet. "I am truly sorry that I had to proceed this way, beloved. But you see, you left me no choice. As you no doubt have already deduced, I had your new maid drug the wine that she brought in to you. Of course, I had to make certain that you would drink it, so I ensured that it was from one of Uncle Dionysus' kegs. He really does make the best wine." Thanos grinned and reached for her.
'No, stop!' Niobe cried silently at him as he scooped her up in his arms. Whatever drug had been given to her, it not only affected her voice, but her entire body as well. She was unable to move, let alone struggle.
Carefully, he laid her down on her large bed, and then lay down beside her. Propping his head up with one hand, he used the other one to gently arrange her hair so that it splayed around her head. "You are so beautiful," he whispered to her, an awe-struck look on his face. "Infinitely so. It's no wonder that Hermes wanted to ask you if he could seek a place in your heart as well as your bed. But that is not going to happen. Ever." His smile wavered and he blinked rapidly a few times, as though to fight back his anger. "I suppose you had no idea that he was aware of you in that fashion, did you? Well, he does and the bastard even told Mother of his interest in you at Zeus's party last night. I just so happened to overhear them talk about you and our Mother was actually agreeable to his courting you! Naturally I had to make my move before he could. But that doesn't make a difference now. After tonight, he will have to look elsewhere for a woman."
He stared down at her for a few minutes more and then he leaned over. His lips brushed hers in the gentlest of kisses. "I have to protect my sister from any unsuitable males."
'Every male is considered unsuitable by your standards, you idiot!' she yelled at him in her head. 'And stop touching me!' But in reality, not a sound issued from her lips.
Thanos pressed a kiss on her chin, then he got to his feet just as his hands reached for his tunic. After removing his clothing, he called out, "Are you there? We're ready."
Niobe thought that her mortification could not grow any more than it already had… until she saw who glided noiselessly into her bed chamber. It was none other than Aphrodite herself, followed by a young man with a sweet, cherubic expression. The fair-haired youth was her son, Eros. The god looked very uncomfortable and ill at ease. Niobe's heart sank when Eros' gaze met hers for a moment and then slid guiltily away, as though he could not bear to look at her.
"I'm ready, but I believe the question here is, are you?" Aphrodite eyed Thanos' groin with cool appraisal. A moment of silenced passed before she turned her cold eyes on Niobe. "After this, you better control this girl, Thanos. I want her away from him for good. Got it?"
With a curt nod, Thanos glared at the fair-haired goddess. "Yeah, yeah, I got it. Quick stalling, you old bitch, and get on with it already."
Aphrodite's eyes narrowed, darkening with malice. "Look here you little prick! How dare you speak to me that way! If you want to go through with this ritual, keep your big mouth shut. Remember, I'm not doing this for you."
Thanos' upper lip curled back into a sneer. "Yeah, I know. It's for that little bastard you weren't woman enough to raise."
The fair goddess' face went from scarlet to a pinched white. "How dare you," she hissed at Thanos. "And how dare you speak about something that you know nothing about! You have no clue at all what I have gone through! None at all!" Her blue eyes filled with angry tears. "Don't think I won't tell your father how cruel you have been to me, Thanos. He won't be happy with you."
"Yeah, you tell him, woman. You tell him everything. Since you're in a secret spilling mood, then I will tell him everything too. You remember that night don't you, Aphrodite? Then allow me to refresh your memory. Father had gone away on one of his wars and it was the night you got so shit-faced that you tried to have sex with me because you were lonely. You said it was because I looked so much like Father that you always wanted to know if I was as good in bed as he was."
"That is a filthy lie!" Aphrodite shrieked with outrage, her face growing pale.
"Is it?" Thanos lowered his voice to a near growl. "Who do you think Father would believe if I told him such a thing? His son or his whore?"
On the bed, Niobe could only watch in stunned silence as her brother and Aphrodite flung cheap insults at each other. When she couldn't stand looking at them any longer, she turned her attention to Eros, who stood like a statue behind his mother. The young god caught Niobe staring at him with pleading eyes and his face instantly grew scarlet. He gave her an imperceptible shake of his head and mouthed at her, "I'm sorry. I can't."
Tears spilled down Niobe's face but Eros remained unmoved. Instead, he seemed to strengthen his resolve and tapped his mother on the shoulder. "Are you going to do this ceremony or not? You need to finish it before the drug wears off."
"Drug?" Aphrodite immediately turned her attention to the naked female on the bed. She leaned over and gazed into Niobe's unfocused eyes before turning to Thanos. With an icy glare, she pulled him mercilessly out of the room. "You drugged her?" she asked him incredulously, her temper growing.
He shrugged in response. "Yeah, so? What difference does that make?"
The irate goddess straightened. "It makes all the difference, you fool!" she snapped.
"Who in Hades cares?!" Thanos yelled back at her. "Just do it!"
"I can't just do it!" Aphrodite cried. "This is supposed to be a marriage ceremony. The couple in question must be in love with each other or it doesn't work!"
Shoving her away, Thanos stormed back over to Niobe's bed, where grabbed her limp and unresisting wrists and forced them over her head. With a grunt, he spread her thighs with his knee and entered her brutally. "We are in love," he snarled. "Now get on with it!"
Aphrodite's hand itched to slap the boy on the head. "Dear gods," she muttered, "your mother was right. You are an idiot."
"What do you mean?" Thanos looked quizzically up at her. "Why aren't you doing the ceremony?"
"Didn't you hear a word I just said?" But Thanos ignored her, so she grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head back. "Listen to me, you bloody idiot!"
"Hey!" he howled in pain. "Okay, okay, I'm listening! Ow! Let go of me, bitch!"
But she only tightened her hold on his hair and whispered angrily in his ear, "What I said was that the couple in question must be in love with each other." She paused. "Do you now get why the ceremony will not work in this case?"
Black eyes glared hatefully up at her. "What is your problem? Niobe loves me as much as I love her," he retorted.
Impatience filled Aphrodite's immortal soul. If Niobe had been a stronger woman, she would have sent her moronic brother on his way a long time ago. But in the girl's defense, with a man like Thanos who was all brawn and almost no brain, getting rid of him would be a nearly impossible task.
"I hate to tell you this," she began slowly in a low voice so as he could not mistake her meaning, "but Niobe doesn't love you the way you love her, Thanos. And the way you can know that for certain is that if you must resort to drugging your intended bride into marrying you, she does not love you."
"No! Shut up!" he cried, thrusting himself hard into his captive, whose blank gaze was aimed upwards at the canopy of her bed.
Releasing his hair, Aphrodite dragged Thanos away from the bed by his ear and back into the next room, this time with Eros on her heels. Once out of Niobe's earshot she whispered, "If you go through with this, the chances of the union dissolving will be very great. She may even dissolve the bonds between you herself if she wished."
"But it's supposed to be forever," he muttered petulantly. "You said she would be mine for all eternity."
"Not once did I make that promise to you," Aphrodite hissed at him. "That is the way it is supposed to be—for couples in love, at least. But in this instance, it's different. Face it. This is a one-sided love, Thanos. If she does not love you back, the marriage will not hold and there is nothing I can do to save it."
As her words at last began to sink in, Thanos stared in disbelief at the golden-haired woman and he started to panic. His broad, naked chest heaved as he began to lose his self-control. The very thought that Niobe could escape him was beginning to drive him insane. "Let me make one thing very clear to you, Aphrodite. I will not lose her. Do you understand? I cannot lose her, especially not to him. I would do anything to keep her away from him."
Silence reigned between the three of them for a long moment before Thanos spoke again. "Have him shoot her," he said, looking at Eros.
Aphrodite and her son glanced sharply at each other. "What?" Eros gaped at the dark-haired male. "Shoot her?"
Thanos scowled at Eros. "Don't pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about here. I'm not that big of a fool." The naked male jabbed a long finger at Eros' chest. "You can make people fall in love with each other. So do it. Shoot Niobe so that she falls in love with me."
Eros opened his mouth to speak, but his mother broke in before he could say a word. "That is not a good idea," she said, rubbing her temples tiredly.
"Why not? If she gets hit with one of his special arrows, she'll fall in love with me and we can be married."
Again Eros attempted to speak up, but he was again interrupted by his mother.
"You're really dense, you know that?" the goddess sniped peevishly. "I don't know how you survived to adulthood. Really, I don't." With a snarl, she whacked the side of Thanos' head. "Listen up, you wretched buffoon. One of my son's arrows will make her fall in love with you, yes. But what you have to keep in mind is that she is not a mortal, thus, the magic of the arrow is only temporary. She will love you for a short while before it wears off and when that happens, she will be able to dissolve the bond of marriage between you. Do you get it now?"
"I get it." Thanos stared blankly off into space. "But that doesn't mean I won't take that chance." His gaze settled unwaveringly on Aphrodite's face. "Marry us. I will do anything to keep Niobe by my side."
Mother and son glanced uncertainly at each other. "I will do whatever you say, Mother," Eros said with a bow to his maternal parent.
The goddess shut her magnificent eyes and heaved a weary sigh. "This is going against my better judgment," she declared at last. "But I will only do this if you swear to keep her under your thumb, Thanos. If I hear the slightest rumor that she is carrying on with him, I will exact my revenge against you. And you know that I will do it too."
The three gods returned to Niobe's bedchamber, where they found her still on her back, gazing vacantly up at the ceiling. Thanos resumed his spot between his sister's legs, while Aphrodite moved to stand at on the opposite side of the bed, facing the copulating pair. As the fair goddess began to chant softly, her son dashed from the room to retrieve his bow and arrows. When he returned, his mother had the rings ready.
After he slung the quiver across his body, he grabbed an arrow and fitted it in his bow. With a hand steady from experience, Eros lifted the bow and took aim at the unmoving figure on the bed. Just as his arm pulled back, Niobe's head turned and her dark eyes met his.
It was very difficult to keep from lowering his bow. The agonized look in her tear-filled, pleading eyes wrenched at his heart but he knew his mother wanted him to do this. He had no choice.
Squeezing his eyes shut so that he wouldn't have gaze into sweetly innocent yet tortured face, he released his arrow and quickly turned around so that his face would not be the first one she would see.
Aphrodite's voice rose, telling Eros that she was about to place the rings on the wedding couple. Deeming it safe to turn around, he saw his mother place two small bands of metal around Thanos' wrists and a larger one around his throat. As Thanos began to climax, the gold bands shifted and lengthened, stretching to wrap themselves around Niobe.
Thanos came with a roar just as the snaking gold metal finished encircling Niobe's own wrists and neck. He fell, panting, on top of her. Aphrodite finished the ceremony and stepped away from the bed just as Thanos rolled over and promptly fell asleep. Niobe remained motionless.
"Did it work?" Eros asked his mother softly, coming to stand beside her.
The goddess shrugged. "I don't know. I think she fainted."
Eros made as though to check and see, but Aphrodite quickly pulled him back. "No, don't."
"Why not?"
Aphrodite was still staring at Niobe's still, pale face. "As soon as you shot her, she closed her eyes. She never even looked at his face." The two of them stood for a few minutes more, watching to see if Niobe would open her eyes. But the girl never did and they quietly took their departure.
Once Aphrodite and Eros had gone, Niobe opened her eyes. Careful to not look at her sleeping brother's face, she slid off the bed and escaped out onto the balcony. There, by the light of the moon, she glanced down at her arms. Two slender bands of gold encircled her wrists. When she tried to remove them, she began to sob. They would not come off. She tried to slip the one around her neck off her head, but with the same results.
Sinking to her knees on the cold marble, Niobe wept bitterly. She knew she had finally been caught by her twin. He would never let her go now.
Oooooooooooooooooooo
Kagome's eyes flew open and sat up straight on the stone bench, her hands flying to her throat. She breathed a sigh of relief. Dear heavens, it was only a dream, she thought, chuckling to herself. She brought her hands up to her eyes and rubbed them.
In front of her face came the sound of clinking. Frowning, Kagome pulled her hands away from her face and looked at her wrists.
Two slender gold bands were wrapped around her wrists, as though they had always been there.
Her breath came out in choppy, panicky pants as she felt around her throat. She whimpered when her fingers came in contact with a cool circle of metal—
"Ha! There you are," crowed Kouga with a triumphant grin and made his way over to his bride's side. "You thought you could hide from me, huh?" He nuzzled her throat, but pulled back when he realized that Kagome was unresponsive. "Sweetheart? What's wrong?"
He glanced down at her throat and the hands which were gripping a circle of highly polished gold. "Hey, that's nice. Where did you get that necklace? Oh, you have matching bracelets too?"
The air around them grew dark and heavy. Kagome, whose face was a horrible, ghostly white, stared wildly up at Kouga's confused countenance. "Go," she urged him. "Please go, Kouga. Go now!" As she spoke, a terrible, familiar figure appeared suddenly out of the maze. Her eyes flew open. Terror gripped her.
Kouga, seeing the expression on his mate's face alter so dramatically, felt his belly turn to ice cold lead inside him. The end he had feared so greatly for so long now had finally arrived. He knew that without a doubt and right now, he had never felt so frightened in his life.
Without turning around he whispered to her, "I won't leave you, Kagome."
Tears welled up in her eyes. "Please baby," she begged him frantically. "Get out of here! I don't want you in the middle of this!"
But he shook his head and kissed her tenderly. "I won't leave you," he told her again. "If something happens to me, remember that I love you. I love you more than anything in this world."
"Stop this!" she sobbed. "Get out of here! Get out, damn it!"
He narrowed his eyes. "I can't, Kagome. You know I can't do that. My mate and my cub are in danger. There is no way I can just up and leave the two of you unprotected. It isn't in my nature to desert my family." He kissed her when she opened her mouth to protest. She began to cry and he cradled her head in his hands. "I will find you again, my love. No matter what, in my next life I will find you." Pressing a last kiss on her trembling lips, Kouga rose and turned around.
"Leave my mate alone," he said to the unwelcome newcomer.
Thanos merely tilted his head to the side and glanced curiously at the tall male before him. "Stand aside, youkai," he commanded imperiously.
"Fuck you," Kouga growled and lunged forward.
The tentacles seemed to come from nowhere and everything seemed to happen in slow motion. One particularly large one knocked Kouga backwards; another slammed into his chest, ripping out his heart. Kagome let loose a horrified, bloodcurdling scream as she watched her beloved husband drop to the ground like a stone.
Falling to her knees she crawled, screaming and sobbing, over to where her mate's body lay, face down on the ground. Just as she reached him, Thanos reached down and grabbed Kouga by the neck, then picked him up and tossed him away from her. In shocked silence, Kagome watched as Kouga's body was flung away from her, as though he were nothing more than piece of garbage—
"You know," Thanos began with a reproachful sigh, "this is your entire fault. If you wouldn't go about screwing around with other men, I wouldn't have to kill them." He dropped down on his haunches before her. "You made me do this, Niobe. You made me kill him and you have no one to blame but yourself."
The cold, heartless words that fell from his lips were a harsh slap to her face, deepening her already severely intense pain. He had just murdered the man she loved—the father of her child—and he was blaming her for it. How could he be so cruel and unfeeling?
He continued to stare at her as she knelt on the ground, puzzled as to what to do. She wanted to cry out, rip his face off with her bare hands. She wanted take his sword and slice him to ribbons. She wanted to rush past him and go to the body of her beloved Kouga. But even in her stunned, grief-stricken state, she knew that she was powerless against him. Feeling suddenly and utterly helpless, she let loose a heart-wrenching sob and collapsed forward, balling herself into a fetal position and allowed the great waves of desolation and despair wash over her.
With a gentle, cooing sound, Thanos slid his arms loving around her and held her close to him. "I have every right to be jealous, beloved. After all, you are my wife. Ah, I see you have remembered that fact at last." He took one of her hands and entwined their fingers. In doing so, their matching bracelets clinked against each other. "Now that I have my wife back in my arms, we shall return home where I will take my rightful place as the king of heaven. And you, my delectable goddess, will sit at my right hand as queen."
In his arms, Kagome remained unmoving. All she could feel was an overwhelming sense of grief, which right now, was all she wanted to feel. She wanted to drown in a sea of tears and sorrow and never come up for air. How could she ever be happy again? Even with his child, how could the sun ever shine down on her and brighten her world?
Kouga—
He was her world, her sunshine. He was the one man she could ever see herself spending her life with. But now—now he was gone and she would never be able to grow old with him or watch their child grow up together.
His handsome face flashed before her eyes. She saw his wolfish, sexy smile and those big brilliant blue eyes dancing with mischief. Oh gods! Her chest squeezed painfully and she began to sob again. His loss was so heavy, so terrible. How could she survive? How could she possibly go on without him?
Thanos frowned. Niobe was not paying attention to him while he was speaking to her. Even more upsetting, as her sobs began to subside she seemed to not even want to listen to him. Her face held a faraway look that disturbed him greatly.
As he attempted to bring her out of her trance, a group of people appeared in the center of the maze. To his dismay, Thanos recognized who they were immediately and got to his feet. "Oh, it's you," he said, glaring hatefully at them.
Upon seeing Kagome lying motionless at Thanos' feet, Yuki stepped forward but was stopped by Sesshoumaru's grip on his shoulder. "Kagome, are you alright?" he demanded loudly, but his eyes were fixed on the menacing figure of Thanos.
That was when Sesshoumaru noticed Kouga laying a little ways off from where Thanos and Kagome were. With a sniff, he whipped around to glare at Thanos. "What—what have you done?! Damn you, Naraku! What have you done to Kouga?!"
At his side, Miranda began to cry. "Oh no, please no," she sobbed inconsolably, seeing the wolf youkai's lifeless and bloody body spread-eagled on the grass. "Cover him up, Sess, for god's sake!"
Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha made a move towards their deceased friend when Thanos rose slowly. "I don't think so, youkai. Remain standing where you are if you please. You will be able to retrieve his body after my sister and I depart."
"Where the hell are you taking her?" Yuki barked.
The black haired male stared coldly at the elf. "Niobe will return home where she belongs, with her true and rightful husband."
"And who would that be? You?" asked the taiyoukai. Sesshoumaru was extremely worried for Kagome, who lay motionless on the ground, her sightless eyes staring off into space. He sincerely hoped that she had not witnessed her mate's death, but seeing her in this condition, he suspected that she had been present when Kouga met his end.
"Yes of course, it would be me," Thanos replied in his usual annoying, blasé fashion.
"Oh really." Yuki ignored his aunt's persistent tugging on his arm. "I don't recall her ever telling me or my brothers that she was married before, least of all to a brainless, misogynistic fuck like you. Kagome has far more class than that."
At the sound of Kagome's name, Thanos rolled his eyes impatiently. "Stop it! Stop it, I say! Damn it all to Hades, why do you continue to call her Kagome? Her name is Niobe."
Yuki was really getting tired of this arrogant guy. "No, it's Kagome. In this life, that is her name."
Leveling an icy gaze on the brazen elf, Thanos spoke. "Listen here, elf, you do not speak so to one such as me. Do you not recognize your master?"
"I have no master." Now thoroughly irritated, Yuki clenched his fists. He could feel his temper burn its fiery way up his spine and the familiar feeling of searing heat licking at his palms. Yuki itched to see that condescending prick's head blazing merrily away. "And I don't give a shit who the fuck you are. You are nothing."
The deafening silence that followed Yuki's words brought Kagome out of her dazed state. She glanced sharply at Thanos, who was trying his best to swallow his anger. "Leave him alone!" she pleaded frantically. "Do nothing to any of them, I beg of you. Please don't kill anyone else!"
"Silence, Niobe!" When his sister fell silent, Thanos turned his wrathful gaze on the little band of youkai and elves. "Pay attention, all of you. My people begat your kind long ago and it is only right that you should treat me as your lord and master. Therefore, when I return to heaven, there will be changes made. Those of you who wish to serve me and my queen will be allowed to return or remain in heaven with us. Any of you who do not, you will remain here on this mortal plain." He paused for a moment then added in a voice as cool as ice, "Those of you who grow defiant and attempt to rebel against me—I shall kill you."
"What?" Kagome clutched at her chest.
"I believe the elves have an emperor governing them. He will no longer be necessary, but if he wishes to become my loyal servant then I have no objection to him remaining in heaven." Thanos looked from one stunned face to another with narrowed, suspicious eyes. "Already I sense the beginnings of a revolt and I have not yet even taken my throne. Let me make this quite plain then. You are either with me or you are against me. Those that are against me, I shall slaughter."
Kagome turned to look at her friends' faces. Each of them stared at Thanos with hesitation in their eyes, and not a little fear. How could they, as powerful as they were in their own right, possibly go against a being as powerful as Thanos? They couldn't. They wouldn't stand a chance against a god.
Glancing at her beloved's corpse again, Kagome somehow gained the strength to stand on her own two feet. Holding her head high, she moved between Thanos and her friends as though to shield them from his sight. As she did so, she felt Kagome slip away.
"You will not harm them, Thanos. I will not allow it." Niobe glared at her brother.
His face broken into a grin and he laughed. "Niobe! There you are! I was waiting for you to appear at last. Darling, you are as lovely as ever."
"Flattery will get you nowhere. Did you not hear my words, brother? I said I shall not allow you to harm my friends."
"I heard you, but it makes no difference. Ah, Niobe, how often must I teach you this lesson?" Thanos went over to Niobe and gripped her arms. "Women are beneath men. So how can you, a lowly woman, protect anyone?" He smiled patronizingly at her and kissed her forehead. "Be silent and let me deal with them as I will. I cannot allow rebellious behavior to go on during my reign. Grandfather--"
Affronted by his words, Niobe shoved him away from her. "Yes, Grandfather. He was great king, Thanos. Despotism was not in his nature."
"Despotism?" Thanos glanced upwards a moment, as though he were trying to recall something. When it hit him, his eyebrows snapped downwards. "What are you saying? That I am a tyrant?"
Niobe rolled her eyes. Damn, he was slow. "You are certainly on the right track. Grandfather was a good man, kind and just and merciful. But what you want is take everyone who does not agree with you and kill them. Is that what you truly want?"
"Yes," was his curt reply.
"Then," Niobe said, taking a step back, "I will be in that number."
He froze, his black eyes staring fixedly at her. "You—are against me, Niobe?"
The people behind Niobe held their breath and waited for her reply. Yuki felt angry tears of frustration slide down his cheeks as Hiro and Miranda gripped each of his arms.
"Yes, Thanos. I am against you," came her softly uttered reply.
"Kagome, no!" Yuki burst out, unable to hold his tongue.
The black haired god nodded slowly. "Are you certain of this, Niobe? That you would die with your friends?"
Niobe nodded. "I would die for them, Thanos."
"That is very noble of you, my dear sister, but you are still my wife. I cannot allow you to get away from me so easily." Thanos turned his head and called out, "Xander, come. Please restrain my wife while I take care of the others."
All heads turned to see who Thanos was speaking to. Miranda gasped out loud, then began to cry.
Akira, who had been lurking in the bushes, paused near Kouga's body. He bowed to Thanos. "As you wish, my lord," he murmured and the next moment he was behind Niobe, his hand on the back of her neck. "Forgive me, my lady," he whispered to her as her body went limp.
"No!" Niobe screamed as Thanos advanced on the elves and youkai. "Thanos, no!" She could see nothing as Xander, her brother's friend, picked her up and carried away. "Please release me," she begged piteously.
But Xander said nothing for a minute as he sped through the maze. "I can't, my lady. Not until I get you away from here." He glanced down at her for an instant, and seeing her staring up at him, quickly looked away.
"Where are you taking me?" she demanded.
Xander kept his eyes trained on the twisting path ahead. "Away. Away from here." A little more quietly he said, "Away from him."
At his words, Niobe's dark eyes widened in surprise. "What are you saying, Xander? Stop running this minute! I order you to tell me what you are talking about!"
Heaving a sigh, Xander came to a stop. "I have always desired you, Niobe. There is no secret about that. But I must confess something to you; something you will not like. In fact, you may hate me for it. I will not blame you if you do." Releasing her from his mental grip, he set her down on her feet. "Your brother wanted to get rid of Timeus--"
Niobe glared up at him. "Yes, yes, I know all that. Tell me something I know nothing of, Xander."
"Well," Xander went on timidly, "there were times when he asked me to play the part of Timeus."
"What do you mean?"
Xander sighed again. "Sometimes I would be him in order to spy on you. Or your brother asked me to follow you and Timeus and report back to him on your activities. But it was after you caught him and that girl together that I committed a grave sin. At least, it was a sin to Thanos. You see, I fell in love with you--"
Niobe put up a hand. "Hold on. How could you possibly be someone you were not?"
"Your brother was very generous to this lowly mortal. He bestowed upon me a great gift; a gift that allowed me to manipulate things using merely my thoughts. I am afraid that I used that gift against you." Bowing his head in shame, Xander continued. "So good was I at deceiving you, my lady, that on several occasions I fooled you into thinking I was Timeus and—well—I made love to you." He shot Niobe a timid peek then flinched when she moved suddenly away from him.
"No." Niobe shook her head adamantly. "No, I don't believe it. Xander, you had better cease lying to me so brazenly!"
"But I'm not lying to you! I swear it!" He moved forward and very cautiously, laid a hand against the outside of her left breast. "You have a small, star-shaped birthmark right here," he told her quietly.
"That is nothing," she retorted, slapping his hand away. "You might have seen me bathe once, or Thanos told you about it."
Determined that she should believe him, he went on, "Very well then. You loved it when I sucked on your nipples, especially the right one." Gently, he cupped her right breast in his hand. "You said it was more sensitive than the other one."
Niobe stared hard at him for a long moment. Then knitting her brows, she struck him hard across the face. "How dare you! To think that I fell for your disgusting charade is—is detestable to me!" Appalled, she backed away from him. "What about my brother? What did that reprobate have to say for himself? Did he ever find out what you had done to me? Or did he allow you to have your way with me?"
"He found out, alright. Of course he was furious, my lady. As a punishment, he forced me into a state of limbo. I know not how long I was kept there, but after which he dropped me into the middle of a vast forest and left me. As if that weren't bad enough, he altered my appearance, so that I would look like Timeus for the remainder of my days. It angered me, but what could I do? Anyway, I wandered about for awhile and then, just when I thought could go on no longer, I stumbled into a small encampment."
His words struck a chord in the back of her mind. Her memory stirred. "You," she breathed, "you were the one that the elves called Cho."
Again, Xander bowed his head. "Yes, my lady. Before I died, I had asked the young elven boy to grant me one wish."
"Which was?"
The curly haired male standing before Niobe took her hands in his and kissed them. "To reborn as one of them and use my longevity to search for you, the woman I so desperately love."
With a snort, Niobe ripped her hands away from his. "You will cease speaking to me like this," she said warningly. "I have no feelings, romantic or otherwise for you, so stop it at once. And now if you will excuse me, I must get back to my friends. For your sake, I hope they still live." She turned on her heel and began making her way back through the labyrinth.
Xander stood and watched her as she tried to remember the way they had come. The anger he had felt towards the one called Kouga still coursed through him. Would he ever be given the opportunity to make her his woman?
"You could never love another as long as he existed," he said to her retreating back. "Not once could you see love in another man's eyes as long as he lived. Do you have any idea how frustrating that is?"
The bitterness of his voice forced Niobe to turn around. "What are you talking about?"
For a moment he stood stock still, inwardly debating whether or not he should say anything more, but in the end he gave in and the words tumbled from his lips.
"So many men have loved you, yet you see none save one." He strode forward and grabbed her arms tightly, so that she whimpered in pain. "What is it about him? Why are you able to love only him? Why?" Xander began to tremble but he did not release her. "I hate him, Niobe! Do you hear me? I absolutely loathe and despise him! What does he have that I do not?" he roared, giving her a shake.
"Let go of me! Stop it, Xander!" cried Niobe.
"I can't let you go," continued Xander angrily, "even though your heart belongs to him. But you know what? I'm glad! I'm glad he's dead! I savored the sight of watching him die. He never even had a chance. Funny how history repeats itself, isn't it?"
Dead? Niobe's gaze turned sharply up to Xander's furious countenance, her heart pounding painfully in her breast. "Dead? Who? What are you speaking of?"
This time, Xander graced her with a ghastly smile. "Oh, didn't you know? I guess not. But you know," he murmured thoughtfully, "I wondered why I hated him so much at first glance. Then again, he was on top of you--"
He watched as Niobe's face drained of blood, eyes growing wide as realization dawned on her. With a chuckle he said, "You just now figured it out, didn't you?"
A sob wrenched from her lips as she turned and ran back through the maze, as hot tears blinded her. She made her way unerringly back to the center and straight through the battle that was raging hotly between her friends and her brother.
"Niobe!" cried Thanos and reached out to take her in his arms. But in her soul-racking grief, she shoved him away from her. With an anguished cry, she flung herself on top of Kouga's body, not caring if she lived or died. Nothing mattered anymore.
"Why? Oh god, Thanos, why?" she howled, burying her face against his neck. There was no warmth there for her; not any longer. The pain in her was so great, so unbearable, so completely excruciating that her body shook violently. Squeezing her eyes shut, tears were sent cascading down her face and dropped onto his cool skin. "How could you take him from me twice?" Wrapping her arms around him, she kissed his face, his sweet, lovely, dead face and the pain tore at her afresh. "I love you, my darling. Oh Timeus, my darling, my most beloved, I love you."