United in Battle

Epilogue

Tori stood in the gardens that were hidden in one of the towers of the Jedi Temple. Saesee Tiin would be returning them to their homes in the morning. Tori leaned back against the tree she had decided to settle against. Sessho-Maru and the others will be headed into battle with Naraku. Lily and the Marauders have the problems in their world. I'm the only one that really knows that she's not going home, per say. I'm going to be with my mate no matter what. Tori's fingers trailed over the flowers that were growing around the base of the tree.

"Thinking I see." Yoda hobbled across the gardens toward Tori.

"Yeah. Am I doing the right thing Master Yoda? You know, returning with Sessho-Maru?" Tori knew that the ancient Jedi would tell her the truth.

"Love him you do?" Yoda watched Tori nod once. "Follow your heart and fate will decide."

"I already told Chief Raider that I'm going to stay with my mate. He wasn't too happy with my decision." Tori ran a hand through her hair. "Then there's all the info that I asked Penn to get for me."

"You could get the information and still return with Sessho-Maru." Sango made her way through the gardens.

"That's true but I don't want ..." Tori heard Lily making her way through the gardens as well. "Never mind."

Sango nodded and watched Yoda move away from them. It's got to be something that has to do with Lily and the guys. She must have gotten someone from her time to find out about what's been happening in their time. Sango dropped onto the grass as Lily approached the small group.

"So are we lamenting about the return to Earth?" Lily dropped onto the grass next to Sango. "I know I am."

"You have a wedding to plan, Lily. I..." Tori looked across the garden paths and saw Saesee Tiin making his way toward them. "Master Tiin, what do we owe this honor?"

"I only wished to tell you ladies that we leave in the morning for your world." Saesee Tiin bowed to the three young women before turning and going back the way he had come.

Tori jumped to her feet and followed after him. "Master Tiin?"

Saesee Tiin stopped and looked down at the panting woman. "Yes, Lady Tori."

"I know I'm going to go with Sessho-Maru but I was wondering if we could stop in my time. A friend of mine looked up some information for me and I get and read through it." She worried her bottom lip waiting for him to tell her no.

"Of course. We will stop in 2000 first and then we will return Lady Lily and the 'Marauders' back to their time. Feudal Japan will be our final stop."

"Thank you." Tori stopped worrying her lip.

Saesee Tiin held out an arm. "Allow me to escort you to your quarters."

"I would be honored." Tori accepted his arm and they made their way down the corridors.

-----

Sessho-Maru knew that Tori was upset about returning to her time. She was remaining in their quarters until they landed. Saesee Tiin had told them that they would have an hour in each time to meet with friends and gather belongings before they must move to the next time. To tell the truth, he was also a bit nervous to meet the man that Tori's father had named as her guardian until her twenty-first birthday. Chief Raider had already said that it was a bad idea for Tori to return to the past with him but Tori was a strong minded woman who would fight tooth and nail to stay with his mate.

"Sessho-Maru?" Inu-Yasha wasn't quite used to being able to sneak up on his brother like this.

"Yes, little brother?"

"Surely you're not afraid of a human?"

Sessho-Maru barely glanced at Inu-Yasha. "I am not afraid of him. I am afraid that Tori will think he is right."

"He's not. He's nothing but a baka that thinks he can run her life." Inu-Yasha patted Sessho-Maru's shoulder. "I came to tell you that we're landing soon."

"I am coming." Sessho-Maru turned from the small window that he had been gazing out of for the last half-hour.

As he approached the hatch, Tori came toward them. She gave Sessho-Maru a small smile as Saesee Tiin began lowering the hatch. Sessho-Maru wrapped his arm around Tori and led her down the hatch. Chief Raider was standing at the bottom with three boxes as well as the rest of her CSI team. Stuart Grissom was grinning like a mad man while Jennifer Drake and Alicia Duncan were dabbing at their tears. Garry Penn stood behind the group. He was holding several very thick envelopes that looked like they were sealed shut.

"Hiya, Chief!" Tori smiled slightly as she slowly made her way down the ramp.

"Tori." Chief Raider barely glanced at Sessho-Maru. "Are you sure I can't talk you out of going to the Feudal Era?"

"Positive." Tori grinned. "Besides, Daddy would want me to be with my love."

Sessho-Maru tightened his arm slightly. "We must get your things so that we may return our packmates to their homes."

"Sure thing." Tori turned slightly and saw James and Sirius coming down the ramp with Saesee Tiin. "Could you guys take the boxes while I talk to Garry for a minute?"

"Of course, Tor." James picked up one of the boxes as Sirius and Saesee Tiin picked up the others.

Garry watched Tori and Sessho-Maru come towards him. "I got what you wanted, Tori."

"Thanks. I'll look at this after we get home." Tori took the envelopes from Garry.

"Just one thing before you go."

"What is that?"

"Be happy. We're all happy for you." Garry pulled Tori into a bear hug before turning to Sessho-Maru. "Take good care of her. I'll know if you don't."

"I swear upon my life that nothing will happen to her." Sessho-Maru pulled Tori back into his arms. "Come, we must go."

"Good luck, Tori!" Jennifer waved her hand.

"Have fun!" Alicia dabbed at the tears running down her cheeks.

"Take care of her, son, or my wife will kill you." Stuart smiled as he shook Sessho-Maru's hand.

"Be careful." Chief Raider stood back from the ramp as they started up it.

"See you in about 500 years, Chief." Tori's face disappeared behind the rising ramp.

"I guess." Chief Raider slowly made his way back to his car as the spaceship took off.

-----

Lily was getting anxious. She knew that she and Veronica had a lot to talk about when they finally touched down on Earth. Of course she and Remus were going to want to be alone for about a week. It seemed so strange for them to be returning home when a week ago they were having the adventure of a lifetime. James and Sirius both wanted to hurt Peter. They had told her what was discussed after Sessho-Maru had taken her to her and James's bed. She knew that if Veronica didn't trust Peter than they really shouldn't trust him. After all she was right about Severus. One of his relatives had forced him to get the Dark Mark but instead of being all bad he helped the light a bit. After all he was the one to warn them of the attack on Diagon Alley. They had managed to capture several Death Eaters but somehow they had gotten out of the charges. Maybe Severus really was working for the Dark. Lily shrugged as she felt the ship dip slightly. Saesee Tiin must be getting ready to land. I'd better go meet up with the guys.

James rounded the corner in time to see Lily zip their bag closed. "Ready, luv?"

"As I'll ever be." Lily started to lift the bag but James beat her to it. "Thanks."

"Not a problem." James wrapped an arm around Lily's waist as they made their way to the ramp. "You know I can't wait to see the look on Remus's face when Veronica sees him again."

"I know what you mean." Lily was amazed that James was happy to be going home. She thought that he enjoyed being considered the hero.

"Prongs, are you ready to face Lioness's wrath?" Sirius dropped his bag next to James and Lily.

"I suppose." James looked over his shoulder at Remus. "Do you think we could get Moony to kiss her senseless so that she doesn't realize that we're even there?"

Sirius rubbed his chin in thought. "If I didn't know him so well, I'd say that it would be possible. After all they haven't seen each other in something like a week."

Remus watched the ramp slowly lower to the ground to reveal the Black Lake and Hogwarts. He smiled when his eyes landed on Veronica's form standing at the foot of the ramp. Veronica swiped at the tears forming in her eyes before she met him halfway up the ramp. Their embrace made Tori look up at Sessho-Maru and smile softly. Veronica pressed her lips to Remus's as he pulled her flush with his body. Saesee Tiin nodded once before he moved back toward the cockpit to await the time that he could take off again.

Remus pulled away, panting, and looked down at Veronica's tear streaked face. "I missed you so much."

"I know." Veronica tightened her hold on him as she looked at James and Sirius pretending to gag behind her and Remus. "I suggest that the two of you knock it off before I hex you into next week."

"I knew I would like her." Tori and Sessho-Maru made their way down the ramp.

Veronica looked up at the blonde woman that she didn't recognize. "And you are?"

"Tori. I'm Lord Sessho-Maru's mate." Tori held out a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"And you." Veronica shook Tori's hand before turning to look at Lily. "Did they behave themselves?"

"Do they ever?" Lily grinned as Sango and Miroku joined them.

Sango and Tori looked at each other as Veronica and Lily started to giggle. "NEVER!"

"I'm glad to see that they're getting along." James rubbed his neck slightly. "I think this is a very bad thing."

"You never know, Prongs. They may never be together again." Sirius gulped slightly as Veronica's eyes narrowed. "Um...I think I'll...see you...later!" He took off like a shot.

Veronica smiled softly. "I always did like scaring him."

"I am glad to see that my pack will be kept safe." Sessho-Maru bowed to Veronica before he followed Miroku and Sango back onto the ship.

"Thanks for keeping them safe, Lord Sessho-Maru." Veronica gave him a soft smile as she watched the ramp close, leaving them in the swirling dust as the ship took off. "We'll miss you guys."

-----

Sango watched as Rin and Shippo chased each other around the room. They were excited to be heading home. If truth be told, so was she. It was going to be nice to be home once more. Maybe they wouldn't have any more strange adventures. She looked around and noticed that Tori seemed to be reading something and taking furious notes on one of the notebooks that had been packed in her boxes. She climbed to her feet and made her way over to Tori.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Sango sat at the table with Tori.

"Not unless you can figure out what the hell the Charmed Ones, Mystic Force, and the X-Men are?"

"The Charmed Ones? Mystic Force? The X-Men?"

"Yeah." Tori motioned to the papers scattered around her. Apparently they were with Remus and Veronica during the final battle." Tori tossed her pen on top of the scattered papers. "I think they helped train them but I can't find out how they arrived at the school."

Sango and Tori both felt the ship dip so they started to gather the papers. "You'll have five hundred years to figure it out."

"I know. Let's go home." Tori shoved the papers and notebook back into the open box.

They gathered the children and each of the men took a box so that they could head for the ramp. Tori took a deep breath as she watched the ramp slowly lower to the ground. Inu-Yasha and Koga managed to maneuver around Tori and Sango and down the ramp. The boxes were left forgotten on the ground as they each hugged their new mate. Tori smiled softly as Shippo ran down the ramp and jumped into Kagome's arms.

"Shippo!" Kagome hugged him tight as she watched new Lady of the West descended the ramp. "Is that Sessho-Maru's new mate?"

"Yep. She's really nice and pretty." Shippo grinned as Kagome noticed that Tori was in fact a human.

"A human mate? I always thought that you would take a demoness to be your mate." Kagome looked up at Sessho-Maru.

"No demoness has ever fired my blood to the point that I wanted to kiss her to shut her up." Sessho-Maru leaned down and kissed Tori. "It was a compliment, my love."

"I know but you make compliments come out like insults." Tori snuggled into his side as Saesee Tiin came down the ramp.

Saesee Tiin handed a small communicator to Tori. "If you should need the Jedi, do not hesitate to call. We will send help."

"Thank you for all your help, Master Jedi." Tori took the communicator and slid it into her pocket. "Have a safe trip home."

"May the Force be with you." Saesee Tiin disappeared back into the ship before it took off in a swirling cloud of dust.

Jaken hurried out of the forest. "My lord! You've returned!"

Sessho-Maru looked down at the imp. "Is my castle ready for my mate?"

"Yes, my lord. Where is she?" Jaken ignored Tori as she glared at him.

"Allow me." Tori laid a hand on Sessho-Maru's arm to keep him from killing the imp. She leaned over and jerked Jaken close to her. "I am his MATE, you stinking toad!"

"You're nothing but a stupid human." My lord would never mate a human!" Jaken was shaking with anger.

"Oh yeah." Tori pulled down the collar of her shirt and showed him the mating mark. "What the bloody hell do you think this is? A mosquito bite?"

"You forced him to mate you!" Jaken screamed as Tori slammed her fist into his face before she threw him into a tree.

"Never say that again unless you want me to really hurt you." Tori wiped her hands as if to clean them of dirt. She turned to look at the rest of the group who were trying not to laugh at the injured imp. "When do we eat? I'm starving."

Laughter filled the forest as the group made their way to the village before they were to return to their hunt for Naraku.