InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Cross of Blades ❯ What Child is This? ( Chapter 15 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer: Yeah, I don’t own it. I’m telling you, it depresses the hell out of me too. I don’t know what to say.
Last time:...
“What is it?” Kagome asked as she stared in awe at the mechanical wonder. She turned to Sesshoumaru and found his face as impassive as ever except for his eyes, which shimmered with excitement as if they were standing in front of the Holy Grail. “Sesshoumaru?” she said as she tugged on his arm. He blinked once before glancing down at Kagome, her teal blue eyes wide in confusion as she waited for him to explain. “What’s going on? What is it?”
He smiled down at her, one of his rare, true smiles that left her slightly dazed, amazed, and slightly jealous that something so beautiful could come from a man.
“It’s another airship,” he replied evenly, his voice calm despite the obvious effect the discovery had on him. Kagome’s mind stuttered to a start as he waited for what he said to sink in. The first real ray of understanding finally shone in her eyes and before she could utter a word Sesshoumaru swooped her up and spun her around, the smile on his lips still in place as Kagome’s happy and excited laugh echoed throughout the hanger.
I
Sesshoumaru set her down as swiftly as he picked her up and quickly approached the airship, never bothering to turn around or stop as he left Kagome dizzy, confused and reeling. Kagome barely steadied herself in time, her shaky hand delicately placed over her fluttering heart while she waited for the room to stop spinning. Try as she might, she just couldn’t seem to forget the image of him smiling as he held her, how warm his arms were nor the certain something that sparked in her breast when he-
‘Oh no,’ Kagome growled at herself as she viciously shook away her thoughts and the turn they decided to take. ‘I’m not about to go down that road with Mr. Icicle and end up like those groupies of his.’ She brushed herself off and jogged to his side, all warm feelings for the taiyoukai vanishing while she struggled to catch up. She frowned her displeasure at being almost dumped onto the floor at him and wasn’t exactly surprised when she found him to be less than apologetic.
“What kept you?” he lazily drawled as they finally reached the airship’s cargo bay door.
“You tossing me down, that’s what,” Kagome snapped back angrily. “Next time, could you give a girl a little warning before your personalities change?” Sesshoumaru spared her a confused glance and a quirked brow before walking up the ramp through the cargo bay door. To Kagome’s surprise, the ship was a near duplicate of the Ragnarok with the only differences being the color of the two ships. This new ship was black and chrome where the Ragnarok was red and black, but the inside was exactly the same.
Kagome followed Sesshoumaru into the engine room and leaned against the doorframe while he did...well...whatever it was that he was doing. She relaxed while he inspected this and studied that with her head lulled against the cold metallic slab beside her. She was moments from falling asleep on her feet when Sesshoumaru gave a soft “Hnh” of disapproval.
“What is it?” she asked after a face-splitting yawn. “What’s the matter? Are the engines ok?”
“Yes,” Sesshoumaru nodded as he stood up and dusted off his hands. “However...” He sighed again and glared at a set of panels on either side of the narrow corridor. “There are...other problems.”
“Such as?” Kagome inquired. She inwardly grimaced at how formal she sounded, blaming her time with the stoic inu youkai for her subtle change in vocabulary as he walked toward her.
“It’s nothing,” he said as he walked past her and quit the room. “Let’s be going. We have the rest of the ship to explore.”
Kagome shrugged and followed after him, not once bothering to question why he felt the need to stay so far ahead of her as she quietly walked along. Her bare feet padded lightly along the black rubber of the cargo bay floor and the sheer snowy helm of her nightgown floated behind her like the gossamer wings of an angel. Teal blue eyes narrowed in mild disgust at the dust that had settled on everything around them and her hair swirled around her like a thick, dark cloud when she turned her head to sneeze.
Sesshoumaru watched her while she walked up the stairs to the catwalk, his eyes trained almost affectionately on her lithe form as her hand reached out for the thin metal handrail. Tiny clawless fingertips lightly skimmed along the cool reflective surface and the dark crown of her head were the only parts he could fully see until she looked up at him. Rosy pink lips tilted in a slight smile and the trust she didn’t know she exhibited (and he didn’t know she had) shone in her eyes. For once Sesshoumaru didn’t bother arguing when his inner youkai purred at the sight of her and managed to take step one in a long twelve step program.
‘She is quite beguiling...for a human.’
Sesshoumaru inwardly smirked when his inner youkai snorted in disgust, then turned and continued down the catwalk to the small hallway on the other side of the dual doors on the other end of the walkway. He had a brief flashback as he stepped through the doors and he remembered the blaring alarms, the smell of smoke and the stench of panic radiating off of his companion.
“Sesshoumaru?”
Sesshoumaru blinked, golden eyes momentarily secreted away before focusing on Kagome as she stared up at him. He brushed off his momentary daze and stepped onto the platform elevator. He politely extended his hand to Kagome, who ignored it for the safety rail, and stood back when she boosted herself up onto the elevator beside him. Kagome’s independent behavior didn’t bother him as much as it would have a few months prior to their current situation. Enough time spent in her presence left Sesshoumaru with a tolerance for her sudden spurts of self-determination and he left thoughts of her behind as the elevator finally stopped.
Sesshoumaru stepped off and audibly groaned at the mess of tangled wires that was the pilot’s console. The top of the console set on one side of the console booth while the pilot’s chair leaned against the navigation’s console. A clear plastic bag filled with various nuts and bolts protruded the chair’s cupholder. Multicolored wires spewed from the open console and a small glass orb the size of a tennis ball sat along the edge of the counter beside it. Sesshoumaru picked it up and inspected it, his critical eye searching for any cracks, dings or imperfections before pocketing it and moving on to the passengers’ deck.
“So,” Kagome began as she shattered the comfortable silence between them. “What’s the damage so far?”
Sesshoumaru released a set of wires he found hanging from a food processor console and turned to her, his eyes darkening seriously before he grasped one of the chairs and sat down. “For one, the laser eye door opener for the hanger needs replacing,” he stated nonchalantly while Kagome sat down across from him. “Then there’s the coolant and the environmental systems in the engine room. The coolant system is partially installed and the climate control isn’t installed at all.”
“Is it that important?” Kagome inquired. “I mean, do we really need the climate control system?”
“I suppose not,” Sesshoumaru determined as le leaned back in his chair and relaxed. “That is, if you do not mind being baked to a crisp by the engines.”
“I thought that was what the coolant was for,” Kagome replied in confusion. “So how would the engines affect the inside of the ship?”
“The coolant prevents the engines from overheating,” Sesshoumaru explained. “The climate control not only provides heat and air conditioning, it also wicks the heat from the engines away from the rest of the ship and keeps it confined to the coolant tubes.”
“Oh, ok then,” Kagome readily accepted. “What else?”
“There’s the pilot’s console, which apparently was completely dismantled before whatever it was happened to cause the lockdown,” Sesshoumaru pointed out. “That and the food processor in this room are the only things I find to be in disrepair.”
“So how long do you think it’ll take to fix everything?” was Kagome’s next question. Sesshoumaru mentally sighed and gently grasped the bridge of his nose to ward off a coming frustration headache. “I would say six, maybe seven weeks or more, especially since everything here is in Al Bhed. The climate control system alone is going to take at least six days to properly install. One can only hope that there are supplies on the first floor that can help fix everything.”
“Well I’ll help you read the labels and stuff,” Kagome quickly offered. “And I’m sure I can help fix someth-“
“I highly doubt that,” Sesshoumaru interrupted before rising to his feet and leaving the room. “You are more likely to hinder than help.”
“Just what is your problem?” Kagome hissed as she jumped up and walked out after him. “I’m only trying to help! Why are you being so pissy?”
“Little gunner, exactly what have you helped me with since we fell through this God forsaken hole?” Sesshoumaru growled from between clenched teeth. “One would think that you were on vacation while leaving this Sesshoumaru to do all the work.”
“Well you never said you needed any help!” Kagome snapped back just as quickly. “All you have to do is ask Sesshoumaru and I’m right there! And STOP calling me that!”
Sesshoumaru laughed when she veered off subject, then nodded and reached out to pat her bare shoulder. “Alright then,” he relented as he noticed how cool her skin was against the palm of his hand. “If you insist on helping, then we shall begin tomorrow. This will not hinder your training with myself and ART.”
“Yeah, I kinda figured I wouldn’t be able to escape that,” Kagome grumbled good-naturedly. “It didn’t even occur to me to try.”
They left the plane side by side, their sense of comradery strengthened as Sesshoumaru gave her a gentle push toward the elevator. “Then be off. You’re tired and you will need the rest.”
“Fine,” Kagome replied as she made her way to the elevator on the other side of the room. “But you should get some sleep too.”
“I’ve already had my sleep,” he replied with a brief nod of acknowledgment at her concern. “But I will keep your concern in mind.”
“OK then.” Kagome stepped into the waiting elevator and waved just as the doors closed. “Goodnight Sesshoumaru...”
Sesshoumaru waited for the elevator to begin it’s descent to sigh, his eyes briefly fluttering closed before opening them to gaze at the airship beside him. ‘Now what to call you...’ he wondered as he skimmed over the hull’s dark reflective side. He stopped at what looked to be silver calligraphy scrawled around the upper part of the front right leg.
“Black Dragon,” he read aloud and nodded in approval. ‘Yes, the name is fitting. Now let’s see if I can get you to work...’
II
Kagome stood knee deep in boxes in one of the supply rooms on the first floor, searching for a box of supplies that Sesshoumaru asked her to find.
“Now where are they,” she whispered to herself as she tossed aside a nearby box. “They should be here somewhere so-ah hah!” she cried out as she plucked free a small box filled with various replacement wires. “Now maybe he can quit being such a sour-puss and give me a break!”
Kagome had become Sesshoumaru’s errand girl over the course of a week and when she wasn’t ‘fetching’ boxes of nuts, bolts, screws and other bits and pieces of hardware she was standing by waiting for him to send her off for boxes of nuts, bolts, screws and other bits of hardware. What little free time she had was spent either sleeping or training with ART to which she again had to deal with Sesshoumaru’s insistent slave driving.
“Oh stop it Kagome,” she scolded herself as she dropped the box of wires onto a small trolley cart with a couple of other boxes. “It’s not like he’s asking you to bend over backwards or something. Besides, you wanted to help remember? (Sigh) But who knew he’d be such a stickler about things?” She sighed again and began to push the cart down the hallway to the elevator, but stopped when she found Sesshoumaru standing in the middle of one of the offices. He was staring at a small glowing orb nestled in his hands and he only looked up when Kagome cleared her throat.
“That isn’t necessary you know,” Sesshoumaru told her when she looked as if to do it again. “I know you are there.”
“Then how about a ‘hi’?” Kagome quipped snidely with her fists fastened to her sides. Sesshoumaru quirked a brow, unaware that his quiet little helper was considering shaving it off the next time he slept, and beckoned her to his side.
“What is this?” Sesshoumaru asked as he pointed toward the glowing ball in his hands. Kagome glanced at the orb the size of a small TV and smiled. “Wow,” she said as Sesshoumaru rolled the ball into her hands. “I haven’t seen one of these in a long time.” She peered into the ball and grinned at the image, then handed it back to Sesshoumaru. “It’s called a Sphere and it was the way people documented live video feed. It’s kinda like our DVDs and VHSs.”
“And what is he saying?” Sesshoumaru inquired before pointing toward a nearby computer console. “And what is that?”
“Um...” She turned away from Sesshoumaru and the sphere to lean over the computer’s keyboard. “This looks like an employee log for a medical research facility,” she said as she clicked on a couple of names. “Now let’s see here...oh! Here we go. According to this, there used to be a hospital or something like that above us. This underground part was for medical research and military applications.”
“What kind of military applications?” Sesshoumaru wondered with a mental groan. His main purpose for venturing into this room was to search for a control panel to lift the lockdown. The thought of having to deal with the ‘military applications’ this place may have left him feeling rather put out and annoyed. “Are we dealing with something dangerous?”
“I don’t know,” Kagome admitted. “Most of the records here are staff records. Everything’s divided by class too and what country they’re from. There are three people that stick out though.”
“Who are they?” Sesshoumaru asked as he sat the sphere back onto the desk and leaned closer to the screen. “And why exactly do they ‘stick out’?”
“It’s three doctors, Richard Gippal, Christopher Baralai and Joseph Nooj,” Kagome answered as she read off the console screen. “They stick out because of what they do-did and their positions here. All three were pretty much the leaders of the underground research facility and were in charge of all of the experiments and research performed here.
“Dr. Gippal was in charge of Machina Research, Dr. Baralai was in charge of Chemical Viral and Spiritual Applications, and Dr. Nooj was in charge of Military Weaponry with Alchemy Applications. That’s all it says about them other than where they’re from and,” at this she cast a wry glare in Sesshoumaru’s direction. “I seriously doubt you care where they’re from.”
“You’re right,” Sesshoumaru announced as he stood up and retrieved the sphere. “I don’t care. Now is it possible to translate this image?”
“Yeah sure,” Kagome said as she reached for the ball again. “Let me see it a sec.” Sesshoumaru held the ball still while Kagome connected a set of wires she pulled from the back of the computer’s harddrive. They both looked up when a bright light shone from a small hole behind them and watched as a fuzzy projection appeared on the empty white wall beside the door. A man’s face appeared a few seconds later and they watched as he adjusted the camera before taking a seat behind the desk and clearing his throat.
“That must be Dr. Nooj,” Kagome concluded as she gestured to the tall man with dark brown eyes, round framed glasses rimmed with a thin wire frame and chestnut hair sectioned in thick twisted locks. “We must be in his office.”
Sesshoumaru nodded once and turned back to the projection when Dr. Nooj glanced up at the camera.
“Today ended our three month trial for our Blackout virus,” Nooj drawled in a soft tenor that was as smooth as rum. “Unfortunately for us, and for our investors, the Blackout virus has proven to be a colossal failure. The project’s lack of success can be blamed on many factors but the most important one was time. Though the virus is effective on an offensive level, our vaccine is ineffective and our cure is nonexistent. The Board of Trustees has threatened to disband the Face-“
“What’s the Face?” Sesshoumaru asked Kagome. Kagome shrugged and leaned over the computer once again before answering. “I think that’s the name they gave this part of the research facility,” she said and nodded when the computer confirmed it. “The hospital part was sort of like a cover, so they called it the Mask. The center’s real purpose was down here on these floors, so they called it the Face.”
“I see,” Sesshoumaru mumbled thoughtfully. He returned his attention to Dr. Nooj as he continued his video diary.
“On a personal note,” Dr. Nooj said before reaching for a pen from a nearby container that was absent from Kagome and Sesshoumaru’s version of the room. “I wish to note that doctors Gippal and Baralai are not getting along as well as one would have hoped.”
“Well duh,” Kagome mumbled under her breath. “What did they expect when they put them together.”
“What do you mean?” Sesshoumaru asked. “Why would they not get along?”
“Well, Dr. Gippal’s an Al Bhed and Dr. Baralai’s New Yevon, that religious group ART was telling us about last week,” Kagome said while Dr. Nooj continued in the background. “At the time, the Al Bhed Machine Faction and Bevelle, the city where New Yevon was based in, were at war. According to ART, the Al Bhed couldn’t compete with the summoners on New Yevon’s side and that’s why this place was built. They must have disguised it as a hospital to keep New Yevon from destroying it. Dr. Baralai must have defected to the Al Bhed’s side. Oh, another journal entry is beginning,” Kagome pointed out when the projection fuzzed before showing another screen.
Dr. Nooj sat in the middle of this one as well but a look of genuine concern darkened his face as he stared grimly at the camera. “The Board of Trustees nearly shut us down today. It’s their belief that, since we have yet to produce something of benefit to the war, this facility is a waste of both time and money. Lord Endo stated that the waste of funds on our facility was both ‘gross and irresponsible’ and that our funding should be stripped immediately.
“Dr. Gippal, who had been absent for most of the meeting, announced that he had an idea for yet another project. He moved to state that his idea for a weapon almost guaranteed results and to make it work he would have to have the support of the board. He stated that our viral, weaponry, and machina were a waste of funds because of our enemy’s ability to predict them. He presented the idea of something that they wouldn’t be able to predict, something that would infiltrate the enemy’s defenses and destroy them from the inside out. The board immediately voted for Dr. Gippal’s idea and appointed him to be project leader.
“In all honesty, this worries me. Richard is a fine doctor but an insane light shines in his eyes. He seems dazed, sleep-depraved and I don’t believe he’s capable of running a facility as large as this or a project as important as the one we have now.” The screen fuzzed again before a tiny red light appeared on the lower left hand corner of the screen.
“Dr. Baralai has left the facility,” Nooj said from his place off camera. “No one knows where he has gone. The military believes that he’s returned to Bevelle, but I don’t. Something has happened to Christopher and I believe the same shall happen to me.”
The screen fuzzed again for the final time, then shrank down to a pinprick before the sphere in Sesshoumaru’s hand stopped glowing. “That’s all,” Kagome whispered as Sesshoumaru placed the sphere on the wooden desktop. “That was weird, don’t you think?”
“Perhaps,” Sesshoumaru commented before glancing out the door at Kagome’s trolley cart. “Are those my supplies?”
“Um, yeah. Hee-hee,” Kagome laughed sheepishly as she scratched the back of her head. “Sorry about that. I forgot I had them.”
“Well thank you for gathering them all the same,” Sesshoumaru said before he grasped the cart and began to push it toward the elevator. “Oh, and Kagome?”
“Yes Sesshoumaru?” Kagome called as she stuck her head into the hallway.
“Be sure to locate a set of wire cutters.”
“Yes Sesshoumaru,” Kagome drawled flatly as he stepped onto the elevator. “I’ll get right on it.” She growled when he finally disappeared and flopped bonelessly against the doorframe in her frustration. “Crud,” she groaned with dramatic hand over her eyes. “Doesn’t that youkai know when to slow down? Sheesh.” She glanced down at the sphere sitting on the table, her curiosity spiked as she began to wonder about the rest of the facility and the staff.
‘What would it hurt to find out more about them?’ Kagome asked herself as she left the office and made her way back to the supply closets. There’s got to be something, anything that could tell me what happened to the doctors. And what was the weapon Dr. Gippal came up with?’
III
ART waited patiently for Kagome to come out of the locker room, his hands clasped in front of him while he dutifully leaned against the wall between the two sets of locker room doors. He glanced at the door when he heard a slight grunt from inside and shook his head at Kagome’s muttered curse.
“Are you in need of assistance?” ART asked and laughed when she growled something obscene in his direction. “I was merely asking. I only wanted to help.”
“Yeah right,” Kagome grumbled as she stepped into the dojo. “Like I’m going to believe you. I swear, I never believed a computer program could be a pervert until I met you.”
“Why Kagome,” ART said, his hands clasped over his heart and a wounded look crossing his face as he walked backward toward the center of the floor. “You wound me.”
“Yeah, I’m sure I have,” Kagome retorted sarcastically. “And while I’m thinking about it, what’s with this get-up? Could this be any tighter or what?”
ART shrugged before checking out his handiwork. The long-sleeved white shirt and pants she wore were a little snug, but it showed off her curves in such a way that he honestly couldn’t find any fault with it. Her gunblade was slung around her waist, the shimmery silver belt set low on her hips as the blue metal shone inside it’s holster. “I’m not sure Kagome,” ART said when he began to circle around her. “I’m sure it could be tighter, but I didn’t think you would be comfortable.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Kagome laughed. “You and your jokes. So what are we learning today ART?”
“I thought I’d teach you a new way to move. If you would follow me.” Kagome complied easily enough and watched as ART dropped to a crouch before mimicking him. She frowned in confusion when he placed his hands in front of him but repeated his actions all the same before questioning him.
“Um, ART?” she began as she struggled to crawl about. “Only youkai move about like this comfortably. Why are you teaching it to me?”
“For one; youkai aren’t the only ones who can do this and two; you’ve got to learn how to move in any kind of way,” ART replied. “After you first learned how to swim, didn’t your ‘Garden’ teach you how to swim with your arm tied behind your back? Or maybe they tied your legs together? Either way, this is to teach you to adapt to a handicap such as a broken arm, broken leg or just low ceilings. The easier you can move, the better off you’ll be.”
“Oh alright fine,” Kagome huffed irritably. “But I still think this is dumb.”
“It is not dumb,” ART countered before placing his hand on her lower back. “Your backside is too high. Lower it some.”
“And just how would you know?” Kagome grunted as she adjusted herself. ART kept his hand in place as Kagome ambled about the room, her gait slow and clumsy at first but soon began to even out.
“Not bad,” Art said after fifteen minutes. “That’s pretty good for your first try. You’ll be a natural in about a week or so.”
“Ugh,” Kagome grunted painfully as she stood back up and stretched. “That really sucks ART. Are you sure about teaching me this?”
“I am. Now, let’s continue shall we.” Kagome stepped back when ART froze and his eyes rolled to the back of his head, but forgot him entirely when gears began to whirl around them. “What’s that?” she asked as she turned around to look at the rest of the room. “And why does it sound like it’s coming from the walls?”
“That’s because it is,” ART replied above the whirling gears. “It’s time for you to learn something else.” Black platforms began to protrude from the walls at different heights, some nearly parallel to the floor while others were inches from the ceiling.
“What’s that? How to fight from different heights?” Kagome joked and turned to him. She gasped when he glared at her, all traces of her normally jovial companion whisked away in favor of this menacing figure. Parts of the walls opened up to reveal more ARTs, with four more stepping into the room. They were dressed in the same beige, creams and whites of the dojo while her ART was still in his standard issue uniform. All five of them glanced at each other in approval before turning to her with wicked smiles.
“That’s part of your training,” the ARTs said as their right hands melded and reshaped themselves into large sickles. “But I think you should learn how to deal with multiple enemies at once.”
“ART, this is a bad ide-EEP!” Kagome shrieked as one of the ARTs attacked. She ducked his wide sweep and punched it in the stomach, but regretted it when her hand hit nothing but solid metal. “OW!” she howled in agony, her eyes rapidly blinking as she struggled not to cry. She cradled her injured hand against her side and scrambled to get away from him, then cried out again when another ART snuck up behind her and grabbed her by her ponytail. He spun her around quickly, kneed her in the stomach and dropped her to the ground as the other four encircled her. They watched as Kagome coughed and struggled to catch her breath, their mouths set in grim lines and their eyes narrowed in mild annoyance.
“You’re not trying hard enough,” the ARTs announced as one grabbed Kagome by her hair and dragged her toward him. “There’s so much power in you. Why are you afraid to use it?”
“I’m not afraid!” Kagome snarled through her clenched teeth. She raised her hand and cast one of her few remaining Fire spells. The ART clone quickly dropped her and she leapt over it’s prone form and sprinted toward the door. “You can’t avoid your training Kagome,” the original ART said as he and his clones chased after her. She skidded to a stop when the dojo doors closed in front of her and turned around, her eyes doe-like and frightened as the ARTs closed in on her.
Kagome jumped up and back at the last possible moment, the edge of her pants leg barely scraping past ART’s outstretched fingers as she leapt up and out of harm’s way. ART prepared to follow her when something suddenly seized him by the throat and jerked him forward. Flashes of light and what sounded like lightening were the only sounds he heard before he came face to face with furious crimson orbs.
“Now correct me if I’m wrong,” Sesshoumaru snarled in the simulation’s face, his poison dripping from his elongated fangs to pool on the floor in a soft hiss. “But I’ve already warned you about frightening her, correct?”
“I wasn’t planning to do her any harm,” ART smoothly replied in spite of the vice-like hold Sesshoumaru had on him. “We were merely training.”
“What I saw was not training,” Sesshoumaru growled with an added shake of his hand. “Do not try to fool me. This Sesshoumaru is not the imbecile you take me for.”
“I wasn’t going to hurt her, I swear,” ART explained. “I needed her to think that I would though, so I roughed her up a bit. It won’t happen again.”
“Yes, I’m sure it won’t,” Sesshoumaru agreed before unceremoniously dropping ART onto his backside. ART grunted slightly from the impact but made no further sound as Sesshoumaru attempted to calm himself. He planned on watching Kagome’s training from afar to assure himself that ART’s training was what he felt would be beneficial for her miko development. Imagine his surprise to find her surrounded by copies of ART, the stench of terror rolling off of her in tangible waves as one of the ARTs grabbed her hair and knocked the wind from her. He moved to help her when Kagome broke free and bolted like a scared colt toward himself and the door. He glanced behind him when the doors shut and turned back just in time to see Kagome jump out of the way.
‘We must calm down,’ Sesshoumaru’s inner youkai wisely advised. ‘The last thing we need is to turn around, frighten her and have her perceive us as the threat.’
‘I am well aware of this,’ Sesshoumaru growled as the last of the red faded from his eyes and his fangs shrank back into his mouth. ‘It is not my intention to become purified either.’ He turned around and looked up, his head tilted slightly in confusion as Kagome stared down at him. She sat crouched on all fours on the platform above him, her eyes wide, frightened and devoid of all traces of blue. The rims had yet to begin glowing so Sesshoumaru felt it was safe to approach her.
“Kagome,” he called out, his voice uncharacteristically low and mellow as he held up his arms to her. “Kagome, it’s alright. Come down.”
“No.”
‘At least she’s calm,’ Sesshoumaru quipped dryly. “Kagome, you can’t stay up there forever. ART regrets his actions, don’t you ART?”
ART looked up from the remains of one of the four clones, a slender piece of metal fragment grasped in his hands and his lavender eyes slightly dazed. “Hm?”
“Apologize.”
“Yes, of course.” ART stood up and stepped away from Sesshoumaru, his hands raised in surrender and his face the perfect picture of innocence. “I’m sorry Kagome. I went too far. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“There, you see,” Sesshoumaru said and gave ART a reminding glare before glancing back to Kagome. “Now come down. He’s not going to bother you.” Kagome sighed, her eyes closed and she seemed to be having a slight argument with herself before she shrugged and jumped down. “Good girl,” Sesshoumaru commented with a gentle pat to the top of her head. He ignored her annoyed growl, grasped her wrist and lead her out of the dojo. “Come on, you’re finished for the day,” Sesshoumaru told her as the doors opened ahead of them. “I require your assistance in the airship hanger. There are things I cannot translate.”
Kagome followed behind him without complaint, but mouthed a quick ‘I forgive you’ to ART before the doors finally closed between them. ART sighed, shook his head and set about picking up the mess they left behind.
VI
Various bumps and bangs came from the inside an open panel of the control desk and nothing but Sesshoumaru’s outstretched legs were visible as he tinkered around the inside of the desk. The control room on the first floor was easier to access than the one on the third but Sesshoumaru still couldn’t find the last remaining access panel to the shelter’s lockdown. Sesshoumaru growled in frustration, brushed his bang away from his face and set down his screwdriver before sliding out of the desk.
‘I don’t understand it,’ Sesshoumaru thought in frustration as he grabbed a set of needle nose pliers and slid back into the desk. ‘There must be some way to disengage the emergency shut down. This facility may have been built by humans, but even they aren’t foolish enough to create a procedure that one cannot deactivate.’ Sesshoumaru swatted at his hair once again and mentally wished he had braided his bangs back with the rest of his hair instead of giving in to his vanity...though he’d never admit to having such an affliction.
‘There’s no use in becoming irritated,’ Sesshoumaru determined as he pulled a pair of red coated wires toward him. ‘So I’ll just think about something else for the time being, like what could be happening at the Garden, or what else to train Kagome in-‘ His subconscious seemed to kick into high gear at the mention of the younger gunner. Picture after mental picture of Kagome flashed in his mind’s eye. His focus quickly began to wander and soon he found himself-
)SNIP!(
)POP!(
)ZAP!(
“ Crap!” Sesshoumaru barked between coughs. He glared at the gray smoke suddenly billowing from inside the console and used a weakened Aero spell to blow the area clear. He groaned in frustration at a pair of blue wires that were accidentally snipped due to his lack of concentration. ‘Blast that infernal woman,’ Sesshoumaru snarled as he waved away the last of the smoke. ‘Even in her absence she causes trouble.’
He slid from underneath the panel, returned his tools to his pouch and sat up to check the control panel display. He searched the panel for an abnormality and groaned when a single red light flashed on the console. ‘Great,’ he growled as he translated what he could of the label beside the light. ‘Just great...’
)-(
Kagome woke up groggily, her movements sluggish and weak as she opened her eyes. She blankly stared at the ceiling and counted the few blue marks along it’s pocked surface before she finally realized what was wrong.
‘I’m...hot...’
She sat up stiffly and cleared her throat before wiping the sweat from her brow. She retired early the night before and could remember asking ART (after having a long ‘discussion’ with him over his behavior in the dojo three days before) to leave the room a bit cooler than it’s normal temperature. Now she felt as if she were baking in a slow roasting oven and couldn’t seem to catch her bearings. She laid back down when a wave of dizziness hit her and she closed her eyes. She whimpered slightly and gazed up when a cool cloth was placed over her forehead, then gave ART a weak smile as he gazed down on her in concern.
“Are you alright Kagome?” ART asked as he gently wiped her face dry. “I’m reading a slight rise in your internal temperature.”
“I’m fine,” Kagome assured him. She placed a hand over hers and relished the cool metallic touch that the sensors attached to her temples prevented her from seeing. “I think I’m a little hot, that’s all.”
“That’s understandable,” ART said as he stood up from the edge of her bed. “The room is now 90 degrees and rising.”
“Man, that really, really sucks,” Kagome moaned miserably. ART smiled sympathetically and returned to her side. Kagome accepted the tumbler of water he offered her gratefully, taking a long drought from the frosty glass before pressing it to her forehead. “That feels so good,’ she purred happily. “It’s almost sinful.”
“I thought that would help you feel better. Now let’s get you into a shower. I bet that’ll help too.” ART picked her up before she could protest and carried her out of the room. He glanced down at her when she sighed and found her snuggled up against him with a contented smile on her face.
“You’re so cold ART,” Kagome smiled at his questioning stare. “It feels kinda good.”
“I’m glad your enjoying yourself,” ART said as he entered the dojo. He set Kagome in front of the locker room doors and shooed her inside, ignoring her slight protests and opening the women’s locker room door.
“Go on,” he urged and shook his head when she began to complain about having nothing to wear. “I’ll take care of that. You go on and take your shower.”
Kagome relented easily enough and quickly showered, this time managing to accidentally press the button for the cherry blossom shower gel instead of her usual unscented. ‘Great,’ Kagome complained as she dried off, wrapped the towel around herself and walked toward the locker room door. ‘Bad enough it’s so hot. Now I’m going to smell like a flower all day. Could be worse. Could smell like manure.’ She giggled at the thought and opened the door. ART shoved a brown package through the door before she could speak and closed the door again.
ART smiled to himself at the various slanderous things growled about his person and continued to wait. He frowned when the locker room went silent and moved to call out to her when a small purple ball of light materialized in front of him. He watched it sway from side to side almost drunkenly before careening toward him and knocking him off of his feet.
“Ow...” ART grumbled lightly. “What on ear-“ He glanced up and into Kagome’s furious eyes as she glared down at him with her fists planted firmly on her hips. “I take it you like your clothes.”
“Gee ART,” Kagome growled down at him, blue green eyes glowing furiously. “What do you think?”
ART grinned back innocently in response and Kagome huffed. She was dressed in a pair of sapphire blue cowboy boots that grazed her calves, an olive green miniskirt and a bright yellow bikini. The skirt sat low on her hips, revealing the spaghetti like strings of her bikini bottoms and the tiny heart charm sewn to the front of them. Long, thin white sleeves were tied onto her arms with wide white ribbons and the scarf around her neck faded from orange to a dull yellow with the multicolored tassels dangling by her feet. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and a blue headband held her bang away from her face.
“Personally, I think you look...how do you say it...hot?”
Kagome growled in frustration and quit the room, leaving the simulation and his laughter behind as she stormed down the hallway toward the elevator. To her, it seemed like the longer she dealt with ART, the less her clothes covered her. Bad enough that she was in a skirt but the bikini honestly was three pieces of fabric held together with little bits of string. She thought to use one of the strings to hang ART but figured it to be a waste of both time and effort seeing as how he wouldn’t suffer any by it.
She stepped off the elevator and strolled calmly into the cafeteria, her anger having smoldered to a light annoyance as she made her way across the floor toward the food processors. Sesshoumaru stood in front of the beverage processor drinking a glass of iced tea. Kagome stood in total awe as he stood there, his eyes closed and the tumbler raised to his thin lips. His bare chest shone with moisture and a thin bead of sweat slowly trickled from the base of his throat, down his chest and stomach, past his bellybutton and disappeared inside the waistband of his pan-
‘Eep!’ Kagome squeaked as she quickly turned away from him to hide her flaming cheeks. ‘He’s Inuyasha’s brother for cripe’s sake!’ she scolded herself while Sesshoumaru returned his glass to it’s processor and watched her. ‘Jeez, I’ve seen the guy with pink hair, acne and heard his voice crack! No WAY am I going to turn into another Miroku!’
Sesshoumaru drifted through the technical caverns of his mind, his thoughts rubbing and pushing against one another in an attempt to find a solution to his current climate control problem. So engrossed was he in his thoughts that he remained oblivious to Kagome’s presence until her timid little squeak reached his sensitive ears.
‘How long has she been standing there?’ he wondered to himself as Kagome finally turned around. ‘And just what was she doing?’
“Oh, hey Sesshoumaru,” Kagome nervously giggled in greeting, her right hand raising to give a half-hearted wave as the last of her blush disappeared from her cheeks. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing that you should concern yourself with,” Sesshoumaru assured her as he adjusted the belt holding his wide camel-toned pants in place. “All should be working in proper order soon.”
“Oh, um...ok then,” Kagome said while he walked past her. “Are you sure? Cause if you need help with something then I’m your girl.”
“No,” Sesshoumaru growled out testily. “I don’t need your help. Stay out of the way.”
‘Well,’ Kagome huffed, her fists planted firmly on her hips as she watched him walk away. ‘I know he’s got a lot on his plate but jeez, he didn’t have to bite my head off.’
‘Fine then,” she mumbled to herself as she turned around and continued on her way toward the processors. “Let him figure it out then. I didn’t want to help the stubborn little puppy anyways.” She froze as a chill shot its way along her spine, her limbs refusing to move as her eyes widened at the sudden change in the room’s atmosphere. Sweat trickled down her back and she began to nervously chew her lip while the miko senses she and ART were working so hard on alerted her to a dangerous force somewhere in the room. She turned slowly, her instincts warning her against making any sudden moves, and glanced over her shoulder into a furious pair of narrowed, frigid gold orbs.
“What was that?”
“Um...” Kagome muttered as she turned around to fully face him. “Eheh. I was just joking. I didn’t think you could hear me.” She audibly gulped when his eyes narrowed, a sudden frost chilling his already cool eyes before he took his first step toward her. “Um...eheh. I was just kidding Sesshoumaru,” Kagome said as she retreated away from him. “No need to get your boxers in a twist-oh man!” She slapped her forehead while she continued to back away from the pissed off taiyoukai. “Jeez Kagome,” she scolded herself softly. “Make him madder why don’t you!”
Kagome moved to speak again when her ankle rapped sharply against a nearby chair let. She cried out in pain and shock as she tripped and fell backward. She closed her eyes and braced herself for a painful meeting with the cold linoleum floor.
Sesshoumaru stood by and watched her fall, fully aware of the table that waited to greet her instead of the floor she expected. He honestly couldn’t explain his sudden fury toward her, though he was already irritated from the climate control problem from earlier that morning. Somehow it, her comment and his inner youkai’s constant insistence at his control caused hm to snap in a completely different direction. Kagome glanced back upon impact...
Unaware that her life became his the moment she turned away from him.
Kagome shrieked when something heavy pounced on her and a loud, deafening BOOM reverberating off the cafeteria’s walls. She cautiously opened on turquoise eye, then the other and gaped at the spider web cracks beside her head in the table’s once pristine surface. The fist embedded in the center of the crack rose slowly, little bits and pieces of hard plastic falling from it’s knuckles in movie-like slow motion. She followed the fist as it opened, long thin fingers ending in razor sharp extended claws that clicked together as if chimes in the wind. Sesshoumaru waited until she finally came to him, her pupils dilating wide in shock before sharpening to a tiny dark pinprick.
“Sesshoumaru, I-“ She winced when he growled, her mouth closing with an audible click as she waited for whatever he decided to do. Sesshoumaru slowly slid his free hand beneath her head and quickly jerked her toward him, her face suspended inches from his while he studied over her features with pink-tinged orbs. She was afraid, that much was certain by her eyes and scent, but that trust he held him in still shone above everything else.
To Sesshoumaru, she was nothing short of infuriating, a headache wrapped in an enigma but to his inner youkai she was like some sort of muse. She confused him and he hated to be confused. He couldn’t understand how or why things were the way they were but or how he lost control...but he knew it was him, not his inner youkai, that initiated the kiss. It started out rather brutally so her fright was understandable. Kagome laid frozen beneath him, her eyes wide emeralds as his lips smashed against hers. Her fright ebbed as the kiss softened and her eyes fluttered closed when his touch became feather soft.
She tasted of honey and warmth, a delicacy that melted against his lips like ice cream on a summer day. She relaxed and to his surprise hesitantly began to kiss him back. Kagome was nervously shy and it was obvious that he was the first to ever experience her in such a way. He pulled her hair free of it’s ponytail and ran gentle claws through the obsidian mass of curls and waves. He traced her bottom lip with his tongue then slipped it into her mouth when she sighed.
The kiss was better than anything Kagome could have possibly dreamed of. Years of imagining what it would be like to have such a moment with Inuyasha paled in comparison to what she was experiencing now with Sesshoumaru. Behind that cold, evasive mask lay a passion that burned like wildfire across her senses. A coil inside her tummy loosened, then curled in on itself as his tongue stroked hers in a sensual caress that blew her world apart. Her hands tangled themselves deep within the hair at the nape of his neck and some small part of her marveled at the smooth, fur like strands passing between her fingers.
Sesshoumaru and his inner youkai became of one mind when she began to participate, both sides of the youkai purring in satisfaction as clawed hands traveled the voluptuous curves of his companion’s landscape. He pulled away from her mouth to kiss her chin and smirked when she whimpered in mild protest. He reassured her with a soft ‘woof’ and continued to trace soft nips, licks and kisses along her jawline and down her neck. He lifted her high enough for his tail to wind around her before grasping the sides of her skirt and sliding her down the table. He sat down in a nearby chair seconds before pulling her into his lap. He stopped at the sound of a small click from somewhere nearby, his eyes open and his ears tuned in to his surroundings while Kagome rested her head against his collarbone.
“Wh-what?” she gasped out as she struggled to catch her breath. “Why’d you stop?”
“Did you not hear that?”
“Hear what?”
Sesshoumaru said nothing more, but stood up and moved the chair to the side, taking thought to move Kagome behind him as he stared down at a little red button that was hidden by the chair leg. He frowned thoughtfully and wondered to himself how he managed to miss this one potentially important object. His fingers touched the hard metallic surface of the button and sighed, his conclusion that their combined weights were what caused the button’s depression and the activation-or deactivation-of whatever it was that the button controlled.
“What is it?” Kagome inquired curiously, her hair spilling over his shoulder to suspend a few millimeters from the floor. “What did we do?”
“I don’t know.”
He looked up and Kagome gasped as the sound of moving heavy machinery came from outside the room. He unsheathed Shikyo and cautiously approached the door. He glanced back at Kagome once and found the rims of her eyes already glowing a bright, vivid green and the tips of her fingers dancing along Junsei’s handle. Sesshoumaru stepped out of the room slowly, only pausing to release Kagome from his tail’s boa constrictor hold before rounding the corner and stopping in his tracks.
“Oomph!” Kagome grunted when she ran into the back of him. “Jeez, care to give a girl a little warning next time? What’s so-woah,” Kagome drawled out. “Did we do that?”
Sesshoumaru mentally rolled his eyes and watched as the enormous white wall that ran around the opposite side of the hallway wrenched itself from the ceiling. It slowly collapsed in on itself, broad sheets of wall sliding into sleeves until nothing was left but the white painted rail and a wide abyss. Kagome gingerly leaned over the rail, glancing up first, then down before turning to Sesshoumaru.
“Everything but the second floor is open,” she said as Sesshoumaru glanced over the rail. “All of the floors, including the ones below us, seem to have lost their outer walls.” She frowned when Sesshoumaru remained silent, then “Eep!” ed and jumped backward when a bright pillar of light shot past her from the depths of the abyss. The light surged with an intense light, leaving Kagome and Sesshoumaru to shield their eyes before it finally shrank down to the very center of the circle.
“What was that?” Kagome exclaimed as she hesitantly looked over the rail again.
“That,” ART called out as he walked out of the dojo on the other side of the circle. “Is Synergy, the main computer, taking over.”
“Taking over? Does that mean the lockdown’s lifted?” Kagome asked and grinned when ART nodded. “Isn’t that great Sesshoumaru?”
“Yes, quite.”
‘Well,’ Kagome griped, then huffed and folded her arms underneath her breast. ‘There went that magical moment. Huh, how long did I think it would last anyway?’
“That also means,” ART said as he walked the circle ramp-way toward them. “That the shelter’s climate control system has been turned off and the main climate control on. There’s no need to replace that wire now Lord Sesshoumaru.”
“Then there is one good thing to come out of this,” Sesshoumaru commented dryly. He glanced over at Kagome and visibly twitched, the cease fire between himself and his inner youkai terminated as his other side practically jerked him toward the younger SeeD. ‘No,’ he snapped at his persistent other side. ‘There’s work to be done.’ He sighed when it whined, mentally shook his head and assured his inner youkai of another time...he just never said when.
“What’s down there?” Kagome asked ART next, completely unaware of Sesshoumaru’s inner ‘musings’ as she leaned over the railing once again.
“I’m not sure,” ART said as he too attempted to see the ramp to the floor below. “I can’t go on those floors.”
“Aren’t there surveillance cameras?” Kagome wondered and thoughtfully tapped her slightly swollen lower lip. “Then can’t you access them? You know, override the main computer program or something.”
“No can do,” ART replied with a mournful shake of his blonde head. “The Synergy program is much stronger than mine. I would need a massive harddrive upgrade for something like that.”
“Hmm...then I guess there’s only one way to find out what’s down there.” Kagome looked to the elevator on the far right side of the hallway and frowned, then looked down at the rail before a sly grin spread across her face. She grasped the rail and leapt over before either male had a chance to protest. Sesshoumaru blinked out of his stupor seconds before her hands disappeared from the last part of the railing and jumped down after her.
He landed silently on the dimly lit walkway. The flickering overhead lights bothered his vision terribly and he was certain Kagome had no visual of their surroundings whatsoever. A bright light burst to life a few feet to his right as Kagome’s Fire spell broke through the darkness. The bright orange ball burned in the palm of her right hand, setting her face aglow and giving her eyes an eerie yellow cast.
“Got anything to burn?”
“Excuse me,” Sesshoumaru asked as he returned to his senses. “What was that?”
“Do-you-have-anything-to-burn?” Kagome repeated slowly and sighed when he shook his head. “Great. Well, what do we do now?”
“For one, having a conversation about you jumping over railings is in order,” Sesshoumaru quipped. “I do believe you’ve forgotten your body’s limitations.”
“Nuh-uh,” Kagome disagreed as she walked past him down the walkway. “I wasn’t going to fall you know.”
“Perhaps, but what if you had?” Sesshoumaru commented. “You do know that a mere Float spell wouldn’t keep you in the air.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Kagome replied, her head tilting from side to side with each ‘yeah’. “I swear, I think you think you’re my father or something.” Sesshoumaru wrapped his tail around her waist and yanked her backward before she could utter a sound, successfully bringing them nose to nose as mischievous golden eyes shone back at her.
“One should hope not,” he half-whispered, half growled against her lips. “I definitely don’t want you to think of your father when you look at me.”
“You’re a pervert,” Kagome growled out before wacking his tail in a silent demand to be put down. He released her with a smirk and took a deep breath as she stormed off, her embarrassment and arousal permeating her lily scent before a sudden spike of shock and fear replaced them. He appeared beside her almost instantly, his fingertip glowing white in preparation of his lightening whip. The Fire spell in Kagome’s hands disappeared and she turned into him, her head buried against his chest and her fingers grasping the belt loops of his pants. She trembled violently, her eyes squeezed shut and her breathing erratic as she avoided whatever it was that frightened her like the plague.
Sesshoumaru draped a loose arm around her shoulders and waved his finger about the pathway. He caught sight of a large, rust colored stain by his feet. He followed the trail to a wall splattered with the same rust colored stain, his nose having caught the coppery scent of old blood and death long before he saw the skeleton slumped down beneath the bloodstain. The left side of it’s skull was crushed, the jaw fractured, and three of it’s ribs snapped in half.
“It’s not going to hurt you Kagome,” Sesshoumaru assured her as he gently pushed her away from him. “Don’t look if you feel you cannot, but it won’t harm you.”
“I know that!” she snapped in a shaky voice. “What do you think I think this is, a video game?”
Sesshoumaru quirked a brow at her logic but stooped down to further study the remains. He found nothing more than his first observings, so he brushed his hands off and stood between Kagome and the skeleton. “Whatever killed her is long gone,” he concluded as he sniffed about the hallway. “There is little trace of it’s scent on her remains.”
“How do you know it’s a she?” Kagome asked from her place by the railing. She shuddered violently, her hands tightening to a white-knuckle grip as she struggled to regain control of herself.
“Female skulls tend to be smaller than males.”
“Huh?” she said as she turned to him. “Say again?”
“Female skulls tend to be smaller than the males,” Sesshoumaru repeated before guiding her past the skeleton and further down the hallway. “I studied advanced biology before I graduated. It is the only reason I know.”
“Sure you didn’t look it up just for the heck of it?” Kagome joked weakly. She stood confused when he turned to her, his face somber and his eyes set before raising his palm to her face. She tried to turn away but couldn’t. Her entire body stood frozen on the spot but it ebbed away before she could panic, with blindness soon replacing it.
“Sesshoumaru?” she called out as she waved her hands around. “What’s going on? Why can’t I see?”
“I’ve cast a Blind spell on you,” he said from somewhere on Kagome’s left. “I will guide you until it wears off.”
“Why’d you cast it in the first place?” she demanded before the furry tip of his tail wound itself around her right hand. She grabbed it when it slithered across the palm of her hand and squeaked in surprise when the rest of it wound itself around her waist and lifted her off the ground. “Hey, are you going to answer me?” she called out when she felt them moving. “And why are you always carrying me? What do you think I am, a kite!”
“Kites are quieter,” Sesshoumaru remarked softly as he opened the first of three doors on the floor. He moved from room to room and found more skeletons among the lab equipment and supplies. Old blood was splattered onto nearly every surface and the scent of death choked the air from the rooms. He re-cast Kagome’s Blind spell and jumped down to the next floor, then the next, each floor a repeat of the first until he opened a door on the seventh floor.
Inside was well lit and clean with the occasional beeps and blips from the computer in the center of the room the only sound. The carnage that took precedent over the earlier rooms was nonexistent here and he settled Kagome onto one of the couches nearby before casting an Esuna spell to cure her blindness.
“Where are we?” Kagome asked as her vision began to clear. She watched as Sesshoumaru’s shadowy figure walked toward the center of the room and blinked, her eyes clearing slowly as the room came into focus. They were in some sort of luxury control room cast in comforting shades of white. Four control consoles were stationed in the center of the room. Together they encircled a gigantic sphere that fluctuated between hues of green, purple and blue. “What is that?” she asked as Sesshoumaru began to work on a nearby console.
“I was rather hoping you’d know,” he responded as he scrolled through the lists of commands on the console’s built in screen. He understood more Al Bhed than Kagome realized and he easily translated enough of the words to activate the console’s main programing. He stepped back when the sphere began to glow, the shifting of colors occurring at a breakneck pace as a holographic figure slowly took shape in the center of the whirlwind of colors.
The figure was another youkai, this time a female with a slender build and long violet hair. Her dress and eyes were the same hue and she closed her eyes briefly before raising her hands and addressing them.
“Welcome back Lord Endo,” she greeted in a deep alto designed for singing children to sleep. “You have been away for quite some time.”
Sesshoumaru opened his mouth to correct her when Kagome shook her head. She tapped her head and in seconds he was in her mind. She stood there dressed in a blue and white cheerleading uniform with a large banner that read ‘Play Along!’ in her hands. Sesshoumaru exited her mind and shook his head, making a mental note to question her on her choice of clothing before turning to the computer. “Who are you?”
“My lord, I am Synergy,” the hologram replied with a stiff bow. “I am the Face’s main operating system. Do you not remember?”
“Yes, of course,” Sesshoumaru commented coldly. Apparently nothing in this place respected him.
“What is that with you?” she asked as she turned to Kagome. “I do not recognize her DNA signature.”
“She’s my companion,” Sesshoumaru answered briefly. “Synergy,” he began as Synergy continued to stare at Kagome. “I require a status report of all projects here at this facility.”
“Of course Lord Endo,” Synergy complied. She swept her hand to the right of the sphere and a small lists of projects appeared by her right hip. Sesshoumaru and Kagome glanced over the list, both silently marking off things they felt would be of little interest to them until they came to an odd entry.
“What are Experiments One, Two, Three and Four?” Sesshoumaru asked as he tapped the entry. It moved from the list to open its own window in front of Synergy’s knees.
“The Experiments have been either sold or on lock down Lord Endo,” Synergy answered. “Experiment Four is currently under cryogenic suspension. Would you like to see Experiment Four?”
“Yes,” Sesshoumaru replied after a quick nod from Kagome. “On the main screen if possible.”
“Of course. Experiment Four is currently inside Laboratory Four under Dr. Gippal’s exclusive observation.”
“That means it’s locked,” Kagome quipped with a wink at Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru ignored her while Synergy stepped aside and a large screen opened up inside the sphere. The image fuzzed and crackled before showing a bird’s eye view of a nearby laboratory. Inside were a desk, a chair, an old computer and what appeared to be a small cryogenic chamber.
“It’s so small,” Kagome whispered as she cautiously touched the screen. “It must have been for a baby, don’t you think?”
Sesshoumaru nodded in agreement, the questions in his head mounting one by one as he returned his attention to Synergy. “Are there any visual documents of the experiments?”
“Starting from Four,” Synergy said as the laboratory surveillance faded away. Another image took its place, this time with a photo of a man holding a small infant.
“Who is the man in the picture?” Sesshoumaru inquired.
“That is Dr. Richard Gippal,” Synergy answered. “And Experiment Four.”
“They experimented on little kids?” Kagome gasped in disgust. “Gah, just what kind of people were they?”
Sesshoumaru wrinkled his nose in distaste and full agreement with Kagome, though he refrained from vocalizing it. He chose to study the photo instead. The background was obviously of the laboratory they just peered into, with Dr. Gippal in the foreground holding a little child wrapped in hospital blankets. The child’s face was turned away from the camera but the look on the doctor’s face was plain to see. The loving stare frozen in time wasn’t lost on Sesshoumaru, nor was it’s meaning as he looked away from the doctor’s bottle green eyes to glance one last time at the child. Hair as dark as blood from the heart curled from underneath the sage green blankets, tiny clawed fingers tightly held onto Dr. Gippal’s outstretched finger and a soft glow shone on a small area of the doctor’s forehead.
“They’re actually cute together,” Kagome sighed with a gentle smile. “I don’t think he experimented on the little thing at all.”
“What makes you so certain?” Sesshomaru inquired as Synergy moved on to a picture of Experiment Four. He frowned as yet another picture was devoid of the child’s face, not that it mattered if it were still asleep in the lab.
“It’s the way he looked at it,” Kagome smiled. “There’s no way someone with that much adoration in his eyes would allow any harm to come to that baby. Nope, no way at all.”
“It’s good to know you’re sure about it,” Sesshoumaru replied as yet another faceless picture moved into place. “I however, am not.”
“Experiment Three,” Synergy announced before beginning another slideshow. Sesshoumaru glanced at it briefly, then stopped and fully stared at the picture in front of him. Kagome watched as the closest thing to surprise briefly appeared on his face.
“What?” she asked as another picture flashed on the screen. She glanced at the screen and shrugged, unable to see what the big deal was about the creature. It looked like a large fiend with a mutated tiger youkai for a lower body and a dragon fused to it’s back for an upper body. It was jade green with darker forest green stripes along it’s flank and legs. “What is it?”
“Show visuals of Experiments One, Two and Three simultaneously,” Sesshoumaru commanded instead as he began typing on the console in front of him. Kagome stood by as two more pictures appeared to the left of the first, with all creatures alike except for the color.
“What do you remember of your World History class?” Sesshoumaru asked as he continued to type. “Anything about the second Sorceress War?”
“Um...a little bit,” Kagome admitted with a blush. “I didn’t exactly pay attention in that class.”
“No matter,” Sesshoumaru said with one last typed command. “I would not expect you to remember if you had. Two of those three creatures are what they called God Weapons in our history class.”
“Oh yeah, I remember them,” Kagome interrupted. “But what does that have to do with anything?”
“Our headmaster and his team encountered the first two, the Ultima-“ he pointed to the first fiend, this one a dark purple with what looked to be a gunblade in it’s hands. “And the Omega-“ he pointed to the creature in the middle, this one nearly white with light purple stripes. “The Omega they encountered during their last scrimmage against Sorceress Ultimecia. The Ultima they encountered in an abandoned deep sea deposit. In both encounters they barely escaped with their lives.”
“And why does that bother you?” Kagome laughed as she leaned against the console. “Aren’t you the one that’s all ‘Weak human’ this and ‘puny human’ that? What do you have to be afraid of?”
“I don’t fear these creatures,” Sesshoumaru barked angrily. He took a steady breath when she flinched, closed his eyes and rubbed between his eyes before turning to Synergy. “Where is Experiment Three?”
The screen changed again, this time displaying a holding pen and a small digital reading in flashing green characters. “Experiment Three is in Laboratory Three under emergency quarantine level 5.”
“That is not good,” Sesshoumaru concluded grimly.
“What?” Kagome angrily stomped her foot and followed him when he approached another console. “What’s so bad about that one experiment?”
Sesshoumaru huffed in annoyance and stopped typing to glare at her, his aura radiating frustration at her lack of understanding. “Kagome, according to this, they used to test out those creatures on the most powerful youkai in the land. The God Weapons are capable of slaughtering an entire village in a matter of minutes. Cities burn and the most powerful armies are completely wiped from the face of the world. According to this, each God Weapon was more powerful than the one before it, and it’s my belief that it is the cause of the lockdown.”
“Woah,” Kagome said once he returned to the console. “That’s major. But why are you so concerned? It’s not like it can get out or anything. It would have if it could, right?”
“You never question the power of these creatures,” Sesshoumaru quipped. “Just as you never underestimate your opponent.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” Kagome commented and turned to observe the creature the reports named the Gamma weapon. “It’s locked up tight. Nothing’s going to happen.”
“Never say that.”
She turned when Sesshoumaru rose from the console, her head curiously tipped to the side as he raised his palm once again.
“When we return, I want you to gather everything you deem necessary and load it onto the ship,” he said as her vision began to blur.
“We may have to leave this place quickly and I want nothing to be left behind.”
(End Chapter)
SF: Hey, I’ve got to tell you guys something!
Kagome: What?
SF: Come on, come on. Everybody gather ‘round. This is good stuff. (Inu cast sits around her and waits) Guess what? After this chapter, there are only eight more chapters to go!
Inu cast: WHOO-HOOO!
SF: (watches as the Inu cast celebrate) OK, ok. That’s enough. Oh, and not only that, but the next chapter is ART’s last chapter.
Kagome/ Sango: Awwww...
Inu-chan/ Sesshou/ Miroku: Hey!
SF: Yeah, I know. It’s sad but not to worry my pets. This won’t be the last time he’s mentioned. AS a matter of fact, I have a little something extra for our favorite simulation. The preview (plus the link to Kagome’s wonderful outfits) is below!
Kagome: Things are changing so fast. I don’t know what to consider Sesshoumaru now. Is he a friend, a comrade, or...more? Eh, there’s no need to stress about it now. There’s too much that needs to be done and a room that’s practically calling my name. Just what is inside that locked room on the seventh floor and why was Dr. Gippal hiding it? Sesshoumaru’s almost finished with the Black Dragon, but he’s been acting kinda scattered lately. I wonder if he’s getting any rest...
Next chapter: Chapter Sixteen: Even a Taiyoukai
(Links)
Kagome’s end costume: www (dot) rpgamer (dot) com (slash) games (slash) ff (slash) /ffx-2 (slash) art (slash) ffx-2035 (dot) jpg
Doctors (from the upper right) Baralai, Gippal and Nooj: www (dot) rpgamer (dot) com (slash) games (slash) ff (slash) ffx-2 (slash) art (slash) ffx-2035 (dot) jpg

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