EvilMonkey: I'm alive. I'm currently living in the states and am plagued with four advanced courses and settling into my new home. I've kicked up my own xanga now, under the name of EvilMonkeyINC. Neko and Moogle have both made appearances there too. After many months of reading and re-reading the current chapters of Jade Princess, I've admitted that the whole thing has flat-lined.

I needed inspiration.

And I've just got finished with my seventh screening of 'V for Vendetta.'

Now I set on the task of re-starting the story still known as JADE PRINCESS.

EvilGazzelle: Been a while? Yes, we all had a lot on our own plates. As EvilMonkey scribbles in her notebook (I know she is even though I'm 2000 miles away) I guess I'll say a few words.

Some changes have been made. Kikimo has a new name. The hyperactive girl is now known as Mika. I don't know. EvilMonkey needed a birthday present. Mariette still retains her name, though their appearances may be changed.

I hope EvilMonkey will stop watching 'V for Vendetta.' It's getting to her.

EvilMonkey: Now that everyone who was present (namely me and EvilGazzelle) has had their words, ON WITH THE CHAPTER!

((Which is owned by Evil Monkey INC. Inuyasha, however, is owned by Rumiko Takahashi-sama.))

:Chapter 0- Twist of Fate:

That was how it was. Drawn by the white-hot promises –lies- they told her, she was caught.

Like a bird in a cage.

Kaede of the White Palace was no fool. She knew exactly where the girl was, but she did nothing. She knew better than to mess with fate.

Anyway, cheating when you've been dealt a good hand is pointless.

Falling onto the ground –the cold, unforgiving, concrete floor- she stifled the urge to cry out. Today –or tonight, maybe- they had stripped her bare and tied her hands to a line through the ceiling. Then they sprayed her with scalding water, freezing water, and then more scalding water for what seemed like hours upon end. She knew now that screaming would've made things worse.

As she watched the new ones arrive through the hole in her wall, watching their tearstained faces being beat into submission, she wanted to hold them, to stroke their hair, to tell them it was okay. It didn't matter if it was a grown woman or a small boy. She just wanted human contact.

But she was different. She, being what she was, was 'special.' If they had seen her, she would be an object of fear and the catalyst for the loss of what little hope there was.

She destroyed everything she touched.

As she curled into a small ball for protection –from what she could not answer- a silent, lone tear fell onto the unforgiving floor.

She stumbled down the empty halls, running a hand over the burnt walls, picking up pieces of broken artwork and expensive pieces of pottery. She came across the room that was stained with the stench of death. She couldn't bear to go in there and look at them. Their memories where even too much for her; much less the sight of them. She felt as if they were always there, watching her back, hiding from her.

And then the door creaked open. A small, scarred hand slowly latched onto the doorframe, pearly white skin stained by blood.

It was her own hand that stopped her from screaming. A reaction that was burned into her mind, into her soul. Something that she would do every time that she found herself in the trashed hallways, something that she would never forget, even if every piece of them was taken away from her.

Her prison's door creaked open, and she couldn't stop herself from inhaling sharply. Her own dream flashed through her panicking mind, and for a second she thought that her twisted, vehement emotions would break free from their own prisons deep within her mind.

No one entered her room. The door, as if ghostly hands were pulling at it, slowly slid open fully. As the shaking teenager stood, she felt a rush of cool air wash over her. Her limbs were all frail and weak, and she walked as if she stood on the edge of a knife. And yet she somehow made it to the exit without any problems.

Her head held up high, Kagome Higurashi stumbled into the darkness, with nothing but a tattered, oversized shirt and a new flicker of hope.

And so it begins! Review please!!! We'll have more as soon as possible! ((We think...))

...we hope...

don't keep reading!!! We'll replace the next chapters ASAP!