Disclaimer: Look, I don't own any characters other then Ren herself and Ziden. AUP (Arie Under Pressure) owns Liz and well, she owns her mom, but I thought up about how the mom acts... Uh, it's kind of confusing... hehe...
AUP, thanks for being my beta reader! It's always a blast with you around...
AND! Happy Birthday to me! This is my birthday gift to myself... hehe. Tell me if you like the story or not, k, peeps? Right now, nothing much happens, but if you review, the next chapter is full of action!
A Journey Without An End
Chapter One
It Starts With A Demon
She sat in her room, flipping through channels on her television. "No, no, no, boring…" She finally tossed the remote onto the bed, growling in frustration, "This SUCKS! There is nothing on the nine hundred channels that we have to watch! And there is nothing to do outside too! I'm bored!"
A female wolf demon tilted her head to the right, sniffing the air around her. A smirk came to her lips as she caught the scent of her prey. "Come out, come out, wherever you are, Ziden! Hide and Seek doesn't last long with me, you know that! And it just fuels me!" Her lime green wolf ears swooped forward as something rustled to her right. As she quickly spun, her forest green hair spun with her, masking her face greatly.
"You wouldn't hurt the village, cub, I know you. You would take out your lust for blood in the woods that you so diligently hunt in," An older man's voice hit her ears. As the wolf demon quickly spun once again, an old man was standing in front of her, holding a cane for support. He chuckled, shaking his head as he hobbled his way over to the wolf demon, "You, my dear, are destined for greatness in the cosmos of living creatures, never forget that."
She sighed, shaking her head, "I don't want to be something special, Ziden! I just want to be a normal wolf demon and not do anything but what my instincts tell me to do!" She then rolled her eyes, "Besides, I was shunned by my clan for what I am and who I resemble!"
"Your father did great things, cub, remember that," Ziden, the old man, shook his head. His black eyes narrowed slightly. "We might have raised you slightly, but you can only find those that you belong to."
The wolf demon's ears drooped as her head fell slightly, "But where do I belong? Not in the village with you and your family, not with my clan for looking like my father, not even in these woods. I do not belong anywhere, Ziden."
He chuckled slightly, tapping her head with his cane, "Time will tell you where you belong, cub, time will tell…"
"Stupid dragon and your riddles!" The wolf demon growled slightly, pulling away from him. "You always say something along those lines, and I never understand you!"
"Time will tell," he chuckled once more, shaking his head. He then turned back towards the village where he came from, "I must go attend to family matters, cub. Remember, do not return until nightfall, understand me?" The wolf demon nodded, her crimson eyes piercing Ziden slightly.
She grabbed a glass from the cupboard, filling it with orange juice, "Life is dull, that is for sure. When am I going to have some action?"
As she closed the door to her room, music hit her ears. A small smile came to her face, "Ah, Jak II, one of the only forms of entertainment in this world that I live!" With that, she took a sip of her juice before setting it down and grabbing a wireless controller. She quickly un-paused her game and started playing it.
The wolf demon sniffed the air around her, holding out her hand and flexing it. The smell of crackling and burning energy filled her nostrils as the image of a bow appeared in her hand, lime green. It was crackling and sparking, as if still in progress.
She grit her teeth. She had been working on it for a couple of days, wanting a weapon that she could have at her beckon call. Her hand started smoking, and she closed her eyes in concentration. The energy level of the bow dimmed slightly, and her hand stopped burning.
This was one of the reasons her clan had exiled her. She was too much like her father for even her mother to overlook. To demons, her father was an enemy. To humans, he was a savior in the dark. But he had disappeared many years ago, when she was still a small pup. After her mother and clan had kicked her out of their society, Ziden and his family had taken her in.
She quickly pulled back the energy string, an arrow of pure lime green energy appearing there. She raised the bow up towards the sky, growling slightly at the strain that it was taking on her body to keep the energy encased in her hands. As she took in a breath, she let the arrow fly in the air.
Upon clearing the trees around her, the energy crackled and exploded. Sparks crackled around her as the energy left over floated down towards the ground. She held out her hand, and at once, the excess energy sucked into the outstretched appendage, coiling around her arm.
Something to her right wavered, and she quickly spun towards it, tilting her head into the air and sniffing. The bow disappeared from her hand as she found herself walking towards the area where her nose was taking her. Her eyes couldn't be working right, they just couldn't be!
Straight in front of her, the forest seemed to waver and shimmer, as if it was just an illusion. Upon reaching the area, the wolf demon placed her hand up to it, only to tilt her head to the right. It was as if there was a mirror there, but she didn't see herself at all… no wait… her hand started to sink through it. It wasn't hard, it was like water. Before she could stop herself, she fell right through.
A scream filled her ears, and she suddenly felt something slamming into her continuously. She snarled, swiping out with her hands, which were now like claws. "Oh god! Oh god! It's alive!"
She looked up, only to see a young human woman looking scared as hell.
She was playing her game, minding her own business, when something slammed down in front of her. She screamed and beat it with her pillow, only to have the thing swipe what looked like claws at her.
"Oh god! Oh god! It's alive!" She yelled, backing away quickly. The creature looked up at her, and she blinked, flattening her back against the wall. To her, the creature sort of looked like Inuyasha, except that it was a female and had lime green wolf ears. The hair was a deep forest green, telling her that it definitely wasn't Inuyasha.
"Uh, hello?" She tried.
The creature snarled at her, jumping to her feet, "Sha ish ta na!"
"AHH!" She yelled, holding her hands up.
"Sha ish ta na!" The creature snarled once again.
"I don't know what you're saying!" She yelled to her. She pointed at herself, "My name is Liz." She then pointed to the creature, "You are?"
The creature's ears swooped forward, her crimson eyes inquisitive. "Noi se yo traze?"
"Can't you speak English?" Liz asked, wiping the black hair out of her face.
"Asa kwell shet ris!" The creature snarled, baring her teeth. She then started sniffing the air, as if smelling something.
Liz held up her hands in peace, "Easy! Easy! How about I go and get you something to eat, alright? You look kind of hungry, and I really don't want you taking any of your hunger out on me." With that, she quickly ran out of the room, running towards the kitchen.
The wolf demon tilted her head to the right, examining the room she had fallen into. She curled her lip. Where was she? She wasn't in the woods anymore that was on the edge of Ziden's village. And… what the hell was all of this stuff around her?
It had been quite funny to see the girl that occupied the room run in fear. Of course she understood the language the girl was speaking, but that didn't mean she liked the language of the mortal. She was four thousand years old, still a pup in Ziden's wizen eyes, and she knew twenty of the twenty-five demon languages along with almost all of the mortal's languages. She had been around for quite a while.
As she heard footsteps, she quickly jumped up on what seemed like a desk, growling slightly. The girl came back into the room, holding something that smelled actually appetizing to her.
"I didn't know what you would eat, so I just made some hotdogs." The girl responded, setting the plate down in the middle of the room. As the demon jumped down and put her face towards the plate, the girl sighed, sitting down away from her, "Man, mom's gonna kill me when she comes home…"
The wolf demon looked up at her, tilting her head to the right and speaking in Ziden's demon language, "Where am I human?"
"What?" the girl once again asked. "I can't understand you… Are you sure you can't speak English?"
The wolf demon smirked, grabbing one of the 'hotdogs' and biting into it, chewing quickly. Her eyes filled with delight and she quickly devoured the rest of them that were on the plate. She then licked her lips as she looked up at the girl. "More?"
The girl smiled slightly, "What? What are you trying to say?" She carefully pulled the plate away from her, "You want more?"
(((-)))
It had been three hours, and Liz's mother had come home. Liz had done wonderfully keeping her mother out of her room, and come nightfall, Liz was going to take the wolf demon out of the house and out to her secret grove that she had.
As she finished with the dishes, she heard laughter coming from her room, and quickly wiped her hands off, afraid that the demon would make too much of a ruckus for her mother to hear. Upon opening her door, she found her mother sitting on her bed, laughing slightly as the wolf demon touched the television with interest.
"Mom?" She asked, causing her mother to turn towards her.
"Oh, Liz, why didn't you tell me you had company? And why didn't you tell me you had such an interesting friend such as Ren?"
"What?" Liz asked, slightly speechless.
"Ren," her mother repeated, nodding to the wolf demon.
"You can understand her?" Liz asked, curious now.
"Of course, silly!" Her mother laughed once again as the wolf demon turned to look at them, a small smirk on her face.
"But she was talking in such a weird language! I had never heard it before!" Liz almost yelled.
"Don't be silly!" Her mother laughed, standing. "And why haven't you offered your friend anything to eat? She seems hungry, so I'll go make something. Would you like anything, Ren?"
"Hotdogs?" The wolf demon asked, tilting her head innocently to the right.
Her mother laughed, nodding and exiting the room. Liz turned to the wolf demon, glaring at her, "So you tricked me into thinking that you couldn't understand me!"
"I only did what I needed to," Ren shrugged, her crimson eyes narrowing. "I have no clue as to where I am, and had to assess the situation. I needed to see if you were an assassin demon sent by my clan to kill me!"
"Great, I've got a wolf demon in my house, and to top it all off, she's a criminal!" Liz threw her hands up in the air.
"By no means am I a criminal, human!" Ren growled, baring her teeth slightly. "I've saved humans like you for centuries, just as my father did!" She then seemed to settle, looking around her, "Now, where am I, and why have I never seen any of this in the village?"
"Village?" Liz asked, blinking her eyes. "Uh, we stopped using that term a long time ago, puppy…" Ren growled, and Liz knew she had found a great nickname for the mutt. "What time are you from, and where?"
"The year is 1389. I am from Ziden's village. Where am I?" Ren mumbled.
"You're in the United States, puppy," Liz giggled, loving how Ren clenched her fists and seemed to become angry at that.
"Never heard of it," Ren growled through clenched teeth.
"Then I guess you aren't from Earth…"
"Earth?" Ren tilted her head to the left. "I'm from Hastia. That's my world."
"There's your problem!" Liz shook her head. She then sighed, putting her hand to her forehead, "So I'm guessing this means that I'm going to have to teach you everything, aren't I, pup…"
"You call me puppy one more time, and I will make sure you don't survive to finish the word!" Ren snarled.
Liz held up her hands in defense, "Alright, alright! Then what do you want me to call you?"
"You may either call me Ren or Shockwave, got it memorized?" Ren growled once again.
Liz laughed, "Oh man, you sound like Axel from Kingdom Hearts II!" As Ren tilted her head to the left, Liz sighed, turning on her PS2 and starting it up. "This is Kingdom Hearts II… Shockwave." She nodded, "Yeah, I actually think that suits you pretty well, if I say so myself. How did you come up with it?"
Ren leaned towards the television blinking her eyes as the game started up, "I didn't. My father passed his name down to me before he disappeared…"
"You're a half-breed?" Liz asked, picking her controller up and starting her game again.
Ren didn't turn from looking at the television, but her voice was filled with hatred, "No, half-bloods are killed on sight by any, including humans. They are a disgrace to all races. I am pure wolf demon, down to my soul. My father just took the route of aiding the humans with his special gifts, much like I do." She then pointed to the television, "What is this?"
"It's called a T.V." Liz laughed slightly. As Ren tapped her PS2, she sighed, "That's my PS2. It let's me play video games." She then held up her wireless controller, "And this is the controller that makes the game work."
Ren turned to look at her, lightly touching the controller before pulling away. Liz smiled, "So, you're a demon, huh?" Ren nodded, and Liz asked the almighty question that had been bubbling in her mind, "Can you transform into a huge wolf or something like Sesshoumaru can in Inuyasha?"
Ren frowned, shaking herself quickly. Her ears flattened against her head as she answered the curious Liz, "In certain times I can transform into my animal side, but I do not like to most times."
"Well, I guess you can stay here with me. We have another room right beside mine for guests. I could tell my mom that you're staying here for the summer and I forgot to tell her. She shouldn't mind."
(((-)))
Ren watched the T.V. closely, watching as Liz played Jak II. "I hate this game!" Liz finally yelled, throwing her controller across the room, only to have Ren quickly catch it in her outstretched hand. "I can't get past this thing at all! It's STUPID and fucking impossible!"
Ren tilted her head to the right, "I don't understand… It says you die, but then it asks if you want to continue… if you die, shouldn't Liz be dead?"
Liz laughed, shaking her head, "Remember, Shockwave, it's a game, not real life!"
Ren sniffed the air as the T.V. wavered much as the woods had. Liz walked over to her, blinking at the T.V., "Man, what's with this thing?"
As she placed her hand on it, Ren quickly jumped to her feet, yelping out, "No! Don't!"
It was too late, Liz quickly fell through, only to pull Ren with her as Ren grabbed Liz's ankle. As Liz landed on her back, moaning, Ren had learned from experience. She landed skillfully on all fours, her hands growing into claws.
Loud noises all around her made her jump and spin, snarling and holding up her claws for defense. Liz was still trying to get her senses back, and Ren, since she was a protector of humans, was bound and determined to protect her.
That was when Ren noticed that the humans around her were not humans, but elves much like the elves of Hastia. Liz finally sat up, holding her head, "You could have warned me ahead of time that would happen…"
"I didn't know!" Ren growled, her teeth elongating.
Liz went wide eyed as she saw red armored elves running towards the two of them, guns and tazers in their hands. "Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" She screamed, jumping to her feet. "We gotta go!"
Ren snarled as she lunged towards the armored figures, not knowing any better, "Fine, we'll go this way!"
"No! No! Shockwave, don't!" Liz yelled out, only to have Ren quickly spin around, looking at her. "They're too dangerous! I know somewhere where we can go to keep safe, but we gotta go this way!" With that, she pointed in the opposite direction.
Ren quickly rushed back towards her, grabbing her and tossing Liz on her back, "Grab on tight and don't let go, got it! Tell me which way to go and we'll loose them in no time!"
Liz looked around, trying to find something that was familiar to her. "We're in Jak II…" She then pointed to the right, "Turn here! Now!" Ren quickly did as she was told, picking up speed. Liz bit her lip as she tried to think about where they were going. "Left!"…
After twenty minutes of running and directions, they finally made it to their destination. Liz jumped from Ren's back, jumping down into the little area and running towards the door. "Come on, this will take us out of the city into the outercity! We'll be safe from the KG there!"
Ren quickly followed her, growling as the doors opened and allowed them to exit into the untamed city limits. "This place reeks!"
"Sorry, I forgot about your senses," Liz smiled sheepishly. "Oh, and before I forget, we're going to have to watch out for any monsters and metal heads that are here…"
"Like demons?" Ren asked, tilting her head to the right.
"Like mean and nasty demons that want everything dead," Liz nodded. She then pointed to Samos' old hut, "Come on, we'll be safe if we get into that building, alright?"
Ren started walking forward cautiously, flexing her claws, "Stay behind me for protection, got it?"
"Man, you really do protect humans, don't you?" Liz asked.
As Ren blinked at her, Liz spun back around. Ren finally got a good look at her, and she took a step back, her eyes going wide. "What?" Liz asked.
Ren's ears flattened against her head, "You're no longer human…"
"What?" Liz screamed.
"Your ears," Ren shrugged.
Liz at once felt her ears, almost screaming once again. They were long, incredibly long, much like Jak's were in the game. "I'm a… I'm a… I'm an elf! I'm a fucking Elf! Why me?"
Ren smirked, licking her lips, "But you were a human a little while ago, so that means you are still under my jurisdiction… and…" She shrugged, "You fed me. Those that feed me gain my ultimate respect. I protect them with my life!"
Liz seemed to settle a little at that, "Really?"
"If you do not believe me then you should ask Ziden. He is the only other to feed me, and I protect his village first and foremost." Ren licked her lips, looking around.
(((-)))
There we go, chappy 1 done. So send me those reviews and I'll have chappy 2 along soon. It gets better, I promise!