Revelations

Chapter 11: The Journeys Beyond

“Sango!!”…”Sango!!”

Cries echoed through the forest, desperate confused cries. Inuyasha, Miroku and Kirara swept across the forest around the time tree, all in search of people who weren’t there.

“I told you guys Sango’s not there!!”

“What do you mean she’s not there how can she just disappear like that?” Inuyasha questioned.

“Use you nose Inuyasha, her scent will end at the tree, she went through some kind of portal.”

“What do you mean by a portal Kagome-sama? Did she go alone?” Even the monk was having trouble remaining calm.

“Well, there was this red light and…I don’t know, she just kind of jumped through it.”

Even Kagome was considerably shaken.

“And no, she didn’t go alone Miroku, I’m quite sure she went with Valcos.”

Kagome thought that this news would help pacify the situation…she was wrong. Miroku’s eyes went wide. Even Inuyasha spun around, displeasure written all over his body.

“She went with that psycho!! What was she mad!?”

“Come on Inuyasha, Valcos isn’t that bad. I’m quite sure that wherever they went, Valcos just wanted to save Kohaku.”

Miroku was getting paler by the second.

“Though you’re judgment is always sound Kagome-sama, we must remember that it was Valcos who almost killed her.”

Kagome had forgotten this, even Kirara gave a small meow in agreement, but her retort came to her soon after.

“I don’t know what you guys have against him, if you remember he was also the one who brought her back, he could have just left her…but he chose to help us.”

This time it was Miroku and Inuyasha who were silent. Kirara transformed into her…larger self and continued searching the nearby area.

“You may be right Kagome-sama, but I still fell uncomfortable with the thought…Valcos is fairly unstable and that can spell danger at any moment. Urm…do you know where they went.”

Kagome shrugged, sleep still haunted her clouded thoughts, in truth, she had no idea where they had gone.

“So what are we gonna do? We can’t just leave her wherever she is!!”

Inuyasha was right, to a great extent…but what on earth could they do. A heated argument ensued where Inuyasha found himself fighting for a lost cause; Miroku simply watched the whole affair from the sidelines. Finally it was Kagome who gave the only plausible course of action that could be taken.

“Look Inuyasha, Vash said he’d be back to see us for something, it’s been almost five days now so he should be here any time. I bet he’ll know what to do and how to find Sango.”

On hearing no complaints Kagome went of to have a bath alone for the first time in a long time. The dinner came, unsteady and slow and there was no Vash to be seen. Everyone was deathly silent. On losing arguably the group’s least talkative member the group itself seemed to have lost its will for discourse.

The night gave little rest to the troubled heart and Miroku’s was as troubled as they got.

With the morning came the sun, with the morning came the birds, with the morning came more silence…it seemed Vash missed his morning cue. Hunger came but all that came with it was lunch. Looking up into the climbing sun Miroku wondered where Sango was, her face dominating his thoughts all day.

Suddenly it was the sound of hoofs that came to govern the modest shrine. Looking up expectantly they saw a black steed coming along the path. Oddly enough, there was no one riding it. Without warning the horse charged on straight towards all of them.

“KYAAAAAAAA!!!”

Shippo was sent screaming as he dived out of the way of the charging animal. It continued to gallop straight through the temporary campsite until it rammed head first into a completely bemused Inuyasha. Among a stream of never ending, agreeably blasphemous profanities uttered by Inuyasha the stallion went on to eat the cup of ramen once in the hanyo’s hands…cup and all.


Laughter came like rain in the desert, quenching parched temperaments, so much so that all ignored the figure coming up in the animal’s wake…

“Stupid beast, I said I’d feed you when we got there, who in god’s name told you to scoot off like that. I-uh oh hello.”

Vash trudged towards them as he brushed the dirt of his now ruined white robes. Finally after all the waiting it was a hungry horse and a cup of ramen that did the trick…

**

He was concerned; if her eyes went any wider they’d pop out of her skull. He was also rather annoyed; he’d have to recalculate a lot of things now that there were two people.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

Valcos intended to be polite but his irritation was getting the better of him. Sango didn’t reply, she still seemed rather…upset.

“W-we are in h-hell”

Valcos raised an eyebrow.

“Yes we are in hell, now…why are you here, what were you thinking. You saw a pretty red light and thought ‘well now this might be fun’. I me-”

“You’re here to save Kohaku right?”

The look on her face put him off.

“Y-yes, I…we are here to save you brother. And yes you can tag along.”

Sango looked thankful for a second, then she immediately hardened and got to her feet.


“Then come on what are you waiting for, lets go.”

Valcos once again found himself slightly disarmed by the girl’s actions.

“Now just wait a second we can’t just march into the seat of evil just like that. Be patient.”

With that Valcos went back to drawing odd symbols on the black dirt below. The light was dim…one could barely see anything. The sky, or what ever it was, was a dark gray giving very little to vision.

Ensuring that Sango didn’t wander of anywhere, Valcos completed the first set of glyphs. Standing in the center of a large circular mark Valcos uttered a few words of old…

Immediately he was engulfed with an odd dull glow which lingered for a few seconds only to vanish completely afterwards.

“Ahh like a cold shower on a summers day.”

“W-what was that?”

Some of her earlier Ben Hur-seque confidence lulling, Sango was confused as to whether Valcos was his usual self or whether he’d gone mad…or whether they were one and the same.

“My lady Sango, you think me bizarre no doubt. This was a ritual of salvation. It helps increase our resistance to the malevolence of the shadow. Come, you too must partake in it…if you are to enter such blackened domain.”

Unsure of what she was doing, Sango slowly stepped onto the circular markings as Valcos indicated. Stepping in them she heard Valcos mutter a few words.

Immediately she felt like someone was pouring ice-cold water on her head. The sensation slowly permeated down to her ankles leaving her shivering for a few seconds.

“There we go, now we must open the gates.”

“Huh”

Sango was sure Valcos had finally lost his head. Valcos in turn only smiled.

“Well look around you…where do you plan to go?”

Sango looking around for the first time saw her twisted surroundings. The ground seemed to run off indefinitely in every direction she saw. The scene was chillingly ominous, gray skies above and endless earth below…and two souls to stand between them.

“You see, we are at the border.”

“The border between the two worlds?”

Valcos hesitated a moment.

“Maybe, not quite sure that you and I mean the same thing. The dimension of hell like all others is floating in the expanse of the universe. To enter the dimension of hell one must first pass through this gate.”

“S-so how do we pass through the gate.”

Valcos smiled, standing up he placed himself square in the center of the newly etched pentagram on the floor. He spoke words in a tongue then that put a chill in the bone, as he finished the ground seemed to shake and rumble…yet no gate was to be seen.

As the rumblings stopped Valcos looked at Sango with a pleased smile on his face. Sango was of course confused. What was going on? Where was the gate? Slowly she turned in the direction Valcos was facing…her mouth fell open.

There before them towered a mighty arch, one, which definitely had not been there in the beginning. It was about as wide as a castle…yes a castle, so high that its apex was hidden from sight.

“Behold the blood gate…or Grish doraz.”

Sango felt pain in the back of her neck as she tried to see the top of the entire structure.

“Now I can understand if you’re slightly nervous about stepping over that threshold and let me just say that I feel-from the warmest place in my heart-absolutely no compassion what so ever of you’re dilemma, I never planned to bring anyone else alo- hey where are you going?”

Valcos rushed after Sango who-without a word-had already begun walking. Confidently, she walked over the threshold and walked into what she had been told was hell.

Valcos sulked along after her. Wasn’t he in charge of this whole thing…
Looking forward he had to admit Sango was doing well, she walked with a sort of unseen determination in every step. Then, without warning she fell.

Sango hit the ground hard; as she fell she let out a low moan…clearly in pain. Valcos did nothing. He walked up to her twitching form and pretended to look out into the lands beyond.

“You just don’t want to listen do you? I know you’re one of those strong independent types…but just spar-”

Sango let out another cry of pain. This time Valcos could not ignore, whether it was for his own safety or her well-being unknown, Valcos picked her up and slowly dragged her of the main path.

Her eyes were forced closed, tears leaking from them silently. Sango’s entire form seemed to shake as some unseen for tormented her will…well hell had a way of greeting newcomers especially such annoyingly ignorant ones. Calmly Valcos put both hands on her face and began massaging her temples…he’d experienced the same thing the first time he came here.

“Listen to my words. You must think of happy thoughts, feel them and force them inro your mind. Think of all your friends, think off…just think happy things.”

Not knowing what to do Valcos broke into a song…barely whispering the words he saw them taking effect. The old elvish song calmed Sango’s worried mind. Slowly, her body stilled, her tears stopped. Slowly and steadily her eyes opened. Dazed, she stared into Valcos’ indifferent eyes.

“There you go, now just remember what I t-”

SMACK

Valcos felt like a tree had hit him. Slowly his hands slipped away from Sango’s face and Valcos slid to the ground. Sango looked up and around as if nothing had happened.

“So, this is hell huh. Ok then, lets stop wasting time and get to wherever we have to. I don’t want to worry my friends. We should try to get back in about two days all right.”

Valcos barley moved…she had no idea.

**

“She went where?!”

Miroku was usually the calm one, but on hearing Vash’s words he went berserk. Vash tried desperately to calm the monk down but there was nothing doing. There were just some things that you didn’t want to hear.

“Look, monk…Valcos told me about what he was planning the night he came back. I tried to dissuade him but, well he had his mind made up.”

“Ha! So you do know Valcos!” Kagome yelled…slightly at the wrong time thus garnering her some rather annoyed looks from Inuyasha and Miroku.

Vash to seemed to shift uneasily,

“Well, erm…yes we do go back a while. What’s more important right now is that, that he planned to go alone.”

Vash was by any means, not enjoying the interrogation; anyway…he had far worse news to deliver.

“You’re saying what!! So what is Sango doing with him them you bastard!!”

It was Inuyasha who now joined in but was ‘sat’ almost instantly by Kagome.

“Inuyasha! Use you’re head, Sango went on her own accord. There was no fault of Valcos’ in that matter.”

Vash curtly bowed,

“Thank you my lady. We…we must understand something. From here on out, there is nothing we can do to reach Valcos and this Sango woman you speak of.”

Miroku blanched,

“N-nothing, but surely that’s…I mean why don’t we follow them.”

Vash shook his head.

“Impossible, yes Valcos used a shadow stone to open the way to hell but, well that’s as far as we can go.”

Before anyone could say anything Vash continued.

“Look, capture in hell is the worst fate any creature must suffer. Valcos is well aware of that. He will ensure that both he and the woman are so completely hidden that none can find him. Neither foe…nor friend.”

Vash allowed time to let the fact become understood. After some time Miroku spoke, his voice bearing a heavy load.

“S-so, what can we d-do?”

Vash knew his ultimate goal was coming closer…in his mind he tried to draw links, somehow use these developments to help convince them.

“Like I said there is nothing we can do. We just have to wait.”

Miroku looked on into the setting sun, emotions stirring deep within him. Vash looked at him and smiled…it was a very warm smile to be precise.

“Ahh, this makes things a little clearer. Don’t worry, she is with Valcos…I trust him, he sometimes is a child true but…well, he’s still alive isn’t he and usually the people that stick around him end up living to…well as long as they are on the right side of his sword that is. Trust me She’ll be fine.”

Everyone just stared, they knew hardly anything about Valcos, just that he was mentally unstable and he was a good fighter, what more was there to him?? Then it was Vash who broke the silence.

“Ah well now that that little thing is out of the way its time we got ready, I say we should meet back at the well in about two days. Then we can go.”

They all looked at him as he had some sort of disease, as if he were mad. Slowly they inched away from the pale figure.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Inuyasha screamed.

Well it was worth a try. Sighing heavily Vash looked Kagome dead in the eye.

“My lady, do you know why you were referred to as the balance.”

It was as if his disease had vanished, all of a sudden all of them were giving him their full attention. Kagome looked rather unsure of what was coming.

“Everything that has occurred, everything that will occur, it all begins and ends with balance…with you. I know there is a great weight on you’re shoulders but please, you are entitled to the truth.”

Kagome for some reason did no want to hear what the man had to say.

“This is knowledge that I attained very recently. I must remind you that you are who you are and always have been, this just…well this augments things.”

The others listened intently to what the man was saying, each chancing a glance at Kagome every now and then.

“You are the resurrection of the priestess Kikiyo are you not?”

Kagome slowly nodded.

“Now you might not have heard the term before, but you are the perfect resurrection of Kikiyo.”

Kagome had heard the term briefly once before, it was at Arias’ mansion, but she didn’t quite understand what it meant.

Vash looked on into the reasonably dumbfounded eyes of his audience; clearly they didn’t know what was going on.

“Erm well, this is a fairly hard thing to explain…Ok lets give it a shot. I presume you all still remember what Valcos told you about the energies of the universe.”

Sighing in relief at their nods, Vash went on.

“Suppose the universal energy is an ocean. And suppose that a soul is a goblet of water. A perfect resurrection would be if you through the water in the goblet back into the ocean…and then when you refilled the goblet you’d get the exact same water-mind you not the same amount-but literally the same water that you through in.”

“But that’s impossible.” Said the monk.

Vash nodded smiling.

“Thus you see how improbable it is. Now there is more. The other world was created without balance that you know. Due to that, well there is no magic in that world.”

So far so good…but the real goods were yet to come.

“That belief is wrong. The other world does have magic. A small amount of it. The only thing is that since it was created out of balance the souls of that world are unable to harness it. They can’t use magic.”

Kagome felt walls close in; she sensed that she knew where this was going.

“Kikiyo’s soul was able to use magic. Thus when it crossed over as a perfect resurrection it was the only soul capable of harnessing magic. Thus all the magic in that world was thrown into…you. You are the balance, you have trapped within you the power of a demigod.”

**

“Where are we going?”

Valcos seemed to be moving in no direction in general. More importantly he seemed to be ignoring Sango completely.

Once again, after getting over her mild shock at entering hell for the first time, Sango felt the creeps sinking under her skin. The land around her was desolate, endless. A plain that stretched out for miles as far as the eye could see, every now and then small lights could be seen, fires of campsites perhaps, roads to were identified, and they to had lit torches beside them. The sky above was dark, endless clouds seemed to press down far above. All around a darkness lingered, not a darkness of an empty space, the darkness of shadow…it seemed that great beasts lingered just beyond…yet some how this was not what she imagined hell to be…where were the screams where was the torment…where was all the good stuff?

“W-where are we going.”

Valcos slowly turned around, his cheek still slightly red.

“There is no we, I am going to get someone’s soul back.”

Sango twitched.

“Look I’m sorry, you were just really closer you know…and well experience have taught me to defend my self.” Sango for some reason felt her self go bright red.

“Anyway, you’re going to save Kohaku. There is now way in hell I’m allowing you to do that alone.”

Valcos looked at her for a moment…then burst out laughing. His hysterics lasted for quite a while…to the point that he was on the floor laughing.

Not amused by his antics Sango walked on,

“Ha…huh…oh wow…no way in hell she says…that wa- hey wait a minute, where are you going.”

Sango this time didn’t respond.

“Ok I…I’m sorry, you just have to hold on to every happy moment you find. This place tries to take all you’ve got from you. Just stop all ready, I’ll tell you where we are going.”

Sango stopped and turned around. Arms crossed she awaited Valcos’ words.

“Ok, right now we are in the part of hell known as the plains of despair, this place is relatively undefended, only the lesser demons reside here. All those little lights are campsites. That’s all there is here.”

Sango nodded.

“We have to go to the plague lands. That’s where all the souls go. That’s through the city of the dammed. That’s where the real hell begins. That’s where you’ll find the major fortifications and citadels. From there its an easy portal straight to the plague lands.”

Sango saw a major problem there.

“Won’t the entrance to this city be heavily guarded.”

Valcos nodded.

“Look there.”

He pointed in the direction in which they were going.

“Wh-”

“Just look.”

So she did. The land seemed to go on endlessly into the suffocating darkness. Nothing was vi-

Suddenly, as her eyes readjusted to her surroundings she saw it. There in the distance the sky turned a deep, barley noticeable red. Silhouetted against them were massive mountains.

On seeing the recognition spread across Sango’s face Valcos went on.

“Those are the mountains of despair, that range links up with another range, the damned mountains, these form some of the walls of the city take it like a natural defense. Places where the range wanes they have massive walls. So that’s were we are headed.”

Sango’s face dropped a little.

“Uh Valcos, those look really far, we won’t make them in a day or two will we.”

Valcos tried to laugh but it seemed beyond him this time.

“M-my lady Sango…this journey will last us at least…five months.”

**

The sky was growing dark, the village preparing to sleep, but not Kagome and the others. Tidal wave over tidal wave, the shock just kept hitting them…Kagome, a demigod. Inuyasha looked at Kagome’s troubled face, he was unsure of what to do, what to…say.

“Of course my lady Kagome, you still can’t use this power completely. You’re body simply is not ready to deal with such power.”

The entire group interrupted Vash unanimously and suddenly. Miroku and Inuyasha each in turn told Vash of how Kagome had indeed shown such feats of power…once against the angel Galadriel and once against the illusion weaver. The news left Vash rubbing his chin.

“I guess that you’re body taps into you’re powers when you sense great danger. Much like when Inuyasha here is threatened, if he does not have the tessaiga, then he goes berserk, his demon blood takes over, I guess its much the same thing.”

They all simply accepted the fact. Too much information had been piled on them of late. Kagome though was still able to find a chink in Vash’s armor once again.

“Wait a minute, how do you know about Inuyasha’s relationship with tessaiga??”

Vash froze, his pearly eyes darting left and right.

“W-ww-what are you talking about?”

“Yea” said Miroku slowly catching on

“Even when we first met, you recognized me, something about my grandfather, who are you?”

Beads of sweat were now seen on Vash’s white brow.

“B-me I just…wait there is another time for this little chat!! I have more important news.”

Vash outburst caused several birds to take flight from nearby trees, composing himself he went on.

“News of you being the Balance, and more importantly, what it means to be the balance has spread.”

Kagome raised an eyebrow…why wasn’t any of this affecting her.

“You must understand. There is a great war about to take place, a war…please you must understand…you are essential to our success, you, you all I you wish may come, but lady Kagome must come with us. This is going to be…well you must come my lady.”

Vash’s tone was almost pleading, begging. Kagome almost felt sad for his cause.

“Look, I…this is not my war. I cant be part of some prophecy, I am just…just Kagome.”

The others seemed to agree only in blank stares; the monks mind clearly on the girl, the hanyo’s mind clearly on the…other girl. Vash smiled quietly to himself.

“I don’t know what you have been reading my lady Kagome…but there is no prophecy to speak off. You’re obligations sadly are not so…binding.”

Kagome was not sure what he meant. Even Inuyasha came and sat down right beside her, an odd sense of protective curiosity about him.

“You see my lady, there in truth is no such obligation on you’re part. You need not come on this journey that will cost many a life in its wake. You could just stay here and live out the rest of you’re time here.”

“Of course we’re gonna stay here, we have to kill Naraku, we have to find Sango. There is too much to do.”

Vash’s shoulders dropped the slightest at the hanyo’s words.

“Sango will be gone for a long time.”

“How long?”This time it was the monk who spoke.

“Hmm, well *mumbling* there’s the despair, the mountains, hmm…I’d say around five to six months.”

Miroku felt like a tree had fallen on him. Slowly he made his decision.

“W-”

“Who do you think we are, we’ll go after her, and if we can’t do that we’ll wait right here for her.”

Miroku smiled at Inuyasha; sometimes that mutt said just the right things.

Vash’s shoulders fell even more.

“Naraku has fled north, he understands the signs, you shall not find him with ease.”

“Hah!” snorted Inuyasha “We’ve heard that before, and we have found him none the less.”

“Very well” Vash was running out of options. “Gaugan might send some rather…rash individuals to, persuade you to come.”

“Keh, we have handled ourselves in situations like this before. We’ll do fine. Come on I’m hungry, I want dinner.”

“We should get back, Shippo will be worried sick and I don’t know where Kirara is. I’m sorry but this place is our home. I have a life in my world as well, I just can’t disappear can I?”

Apologizing for wasting time Vash watched as the others slowly made their way back to Kaede’s hut, but he wasn’t quite giving up yet.

Sitting there eating their modest dinner Kagome felt pangs of guilt hit her every now and then. Everyone else-save Shippo who was curious of their absence-sat quietly and ate their meal.

After eating Kagome went to the forest edge to wash her hands as she did she sensed a figure in the trees. Looking up she saw Vash’s form.

“The sadow my lady…bound by no prophecies…they come to take us, no home will remain, no love shall blossom. We fail and the world will fall…you my lady…you are not salvation…you are hope…”

**
**

sorry for the delay I have three words for you

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION!!!!!

Wow what an anime…really so far one of the best I’ve seen in the ‘uber serious’ genre yes I know anime can get a lot more serious but this is amazing…and FUCKED UP wow. I mean shit that anime is deep. Its also kinda like Inuyasha and the common anime formula…

1. It has the love hate relationship between shinji (protagonist) and Asuka (eva pilot)

2. it has your young school girl(s)

3. It has ‘sociably attractive’ girl in really really tight suit!!

4. It has your really strong independent -ill fuck you’re case if you touch me- girl

TRUMP!!

ITS GOT BIG ASS ROBOTS!!! That’s so classic Jap O I mean somebody call Godzilla.

GINNY

Well it seems I have another way of contacting you apart from the end of each chapter, cool. I’m really having trouble getting inspiration. I know I promised the chapter a while ago but man…I’ve been hooked by NGE its so cool. And soo deep….soo deep. And of course it has giant robots…which in truth I always hated…BUT NOT ANY MORE. Its really well done…oh right INUYAHSA KICKS ASS!!!

Ps Sesshomaru will still be my all time favorite. He could kick eva ones ass with one arm tied-wait no that wouldn’t work

Peace.