Tobias the immortal wolf rose from behind a crate in which he was hiding. His unusually bright yellow eyes flared as he calmly strode the deck of the flying Sharpclaw ship. Cold rain from the dark swirling clouds above hurled itself upon Tobias's form, dripping from the gray fur of his muzzle to the large dark brown coat he donned. The icy water traveled all the way down his navy blue pant legs and to his brown boots, and then finally stopping at the wooden deck of the ship.
His goal was the cabin inside the ship. And in that cabin was a vial. A vial that contained the medicine needed to heal a close friend. Nothing was going to stop him from getting it. Not even the Sharpclaw guard who jumped in his path, brandishing a large spiked club.
"Who r' you? Intruder! We have intruder n' ship! Int-" Tobias silenced him with a blow to the head. As the Sharpclaw fell, the wolf grabbed the club, and faced a mob of alerted dinosaurs that were attracted by their comrade's cries.
Tobias gestured to the small wall of enemies before him. "Sharpclaw. I know you are a rugged band of thieves and thugs. I know you are lost without some form of leadership-regardless of who your leader is. I know you are carrying out orders to protect that vial. So I am giving you the chance to back off, and let me grab the vial without confrontation. And then I will leave. Otherwise, I will put up a fight. Either way, I am getting that vial."
One Sharpclaw cocked his head, as if considering. Then, "Kill 'em." At once the mob rushed at Tobias who stood his ground. A flash of lighting illuminated his face as he barred his teeth and snarled. He was going to save his friend...no matter what. The mob actually composed of a handful of the Sharpclaw crew-the rest were guarding the vial that was inside a room in the cabin.
Tobias eliminated the first few Sharpclaws with three simple strikes with the spiked weapon. They dropped to the deck, their blank eyes staring into the chaos of the sky. A clap of thunder roared along with a flash of lightning simultaneously with bash to another Sharpclaw's head. Tobias roared and leaped in the air, bringing the club down on the final Sharpclaw, crushing his skull.
Three Sharpclaw guards stood in cabin, their backs to the door in which the vial lay behind. The cabin doors swung open, revealing Tobias standing in the doorway, dripping with rain and determination. There was a soft thud as the dead Sharpclaw in front of Tobias fell at the three other guards' feet. For a moment, no body stirred. Then a guard grabbed his comrade. "Go get Krugg!" The Sharpclaw who was commanded to do this order was slightly hefty, and suddenly dashed at Tobias knocking him aside, and ran out the cabin door and out onto the rainy deck.
Tobias turned his head and watched the guard run as he regained his balance. The two remaining guards took the opportunity of Tobias's distraction to lunge at him. The wolf swung around just in time to parry a death blow to his head. The immortal had his enemy's weapon locked above their heads. He kicked him in the chest, sending him sprawling into the door of the room. The doors swung open, revealing a stand that held a small glass vial that contained a bright purple liquid.
Tobias's brief view was obstructed by the last guards ugly dinosaur features. The Sharpclaw took a swing with its claw at Tobias's face. The wolf blocked it, but yelled in pain as the enemy's sharp claw stuck itself in his leg. Tobias, in a rush of adrenaline, threw the guard against the bulkhead in rage. He grabbed the scaly tan neck of his foe, and twisted. The Sharpclaw slumped into a sitting position against the bulkhead, dead. Tobias rushed into the room, grabbed the vial, and ran back out to the stormy deck of the flying ship.
Krugg was an orange colored beast armed with throwing axes. He was way larger than any of his fellow Sharpclaw, and the most intelligent. Both traits resulting him captain of the ship, and leader to the entire remaining Sharpclaw tribe. He stood on the bow of the huge flying craft, operating the wheel that steered it. He watched with squinted eyes as he peered through the storm and at the action that took place in front of the cabin. A gray wolf was fighting and defeating the crew, most likely heading for the vial.
A Sharpclaw guard rushed up the steps of the deck to the wheel. "Krugg, sir-"
"I know. Operate the wheel." Krugg walked down the steps onto the main deck. As he walked past the outside of the cabin, he heard sounds of fighting coming from right outside the vial's room. By the time he got to the entrance, the gray wolf was running out the cabin and across the deck. He was heading for a lifeboat. The lifeboat was a simple long craft that had a large air sail on top of it that made it capable of flying.
The thief had one leg in the boat when he turned and saw Krugg approaching. He had intensely yellow eyes that stared into Krugg's. Before the wolf could react, Krugg drew an ax and hurled it at him. The blade buried itself deep into the intruder's chest, sending him toppling over the edge of the ship and down to the equally stormy bottom layer of clouds below.
Krugg smirked, pleased with the wolf's failure. But then his attitude disappeared when he realized the unknown canine had still had the vial in his hand when he fell.
Tobias still had enough life in him to see that the dark swirling torrent of the atmosphere was swirling all around him, as his body did a full out free fall through the chaotic void of the sky. Everything around him was cold and empty, save for the grayish blue drops of rain that clung to his soaked form. The immortal wolf knew he was about to die, but not for long. He would regain consciousness a few moments after he died. Yet he still disliked falling, for it scared him deeply. Regardless of whether he was immortal or not. He could only hope he would land on the ground somewhere on the surface of Dinosaur planet, and not an ocean. If he fell into the middle of the ocean he would be stuck there for a long time. His thoughts clouded into dreams, and he let temporary death take over and let go of his rag doll-like body.
---
Mirelle watched as the young Earthwalker King run passed, stopping suddenly after chasing a butterfly.
"And this is where Fox and Krystal go-"
"-married. yeah yeah, I know Tricky," she sighed.
They sat in front of the palace in the Walled City. Tricky, to relieve Mirelle's recent wave of boredom, had taken her on a tour to see where the StarFox team had ever been. Of course, Mirelle got bored often, so she had been on this tour too many times for her to count.
"C'mon Tricky, let's go to Cape Claw!" Mirelle said, standing on a high rock. "We can visit your mother on the way."
"Alright!" Tricky replied enthusiastically. Mirelle jumped down from her perch, quickly flipping before landing on her feet. Tricky knelt down so she could sit on his back.
As they neared the Thorntail Hollow, Mirelle looked up. "You know Tricky...it's been four years since I've been here..."
"Really?!" Tricky cried, stopping suddenly.
"Trix, you've been king ever since I've been here!" she yelled at him. She sighed, and slid off his back.
"Anyway, looks like your mom's expecting us." she pointed towards the opposite end of the hollow. Tricky's mother was walking towards them.
"Hey Mom!" he called out, rushing forward. Mirelle waved with one hand as she walked after him.
"Hello Tricky, Mirelle." the queen said.
"Hey, how's the hollow doing?" Mirelle asked.
The two chatted while Tricky wandered about near them, often returning to his mother.
"Haha, yeah, those damned birds sure are a pain in the-oh!" Mirelle jumped, her ears perked up and her tail stiff. Tricky whined.
"Aw, not now!" he cried.
"It's not MY fault I was pushed into the Warp Stone's hands and got transported to Krazoa Palace!" Mirelle shot at him, her eyes going from their normal brown to a purple. Tricky quickly ducked behind his mother.
"...some king...See ya later." Mirelle waved, heading off to the Warp stone.
"Hey!" she called.
"Hey lass, what can I do you for?" the Warp stone asked loudly.
"Same stop, Krazoa Palace please." Mirelle replied, standing on an elevated platform.
"Sure thing!" the warp stone replied.
"Thanks, and I'll bring some of that rock candy you like next time." she said, stepping onto his hand.
A familiar sensation of weightlessness filled her, and she appeared on the outer edge of the Krazoa Palace. The rain immediately began to soak her fur and clothes. She walked along, enjoying the lighting and thunder. She proceeded to the top of the palace, where the wind and rain were the worst. In the middle of a large courtyard was what seemed to be an alter, and a large purple crystal suspended in mid air. Surrounding it were the six Krazoa spirits. Mirelle sat crossed legged on the ground in front of the them, closing her eyes.
"Let us begin." the all said.
---
Tobias inhaled softly and opened his eyes. His senses all came back to him, but touch was the one feeling he wished to be numbed. He was shivering cold, and still felt a great pain in his chest, his whole body for that matter, for he lay in a small crater in which he created from his great fall. He looked down and saw the ax still in his chest. Yanking it free, Tobias reluctantly sat up. He looked around. He was in a large palace, a mellow surrounding that gave everything a slightly blue tint. He lay in a hall that was covered with a bright red carpet. He then realized he was in Krazoa Palace.
The rainy storm flurried just a few feet past him. He had somehow ended up under the roof that hovered way far above him. "How did I get inside?" he groaned to himself.
Then he noticed a large hole in another pillar that stood outside the hall. His body had fallen at an angle, that caused him to bounce off the pillar outside and inside the hall. He was still traveling fast enough after he deflected off the pillar to create enough force that formed the slight crater that was the shape of his body.
He chuckled to himself. "That has got to be the highest anyone has fallen, ever." His senses suddenly alerted him of something. Someone was coming from down the hall. He barley had enough time to dash behind one the large pillars in the hall before the unknown had walked into the area. Who was it?
---
Mirelle sighed as she stood once again aware of the rain and wind. After cracking her back free from any stiffness, she stood up, bowed, and left. "That was slightly harder today...oh well, that was pretty fun..." Mirelle said, heading to the room with the giant fans. As she went to the edge of the platform, Mirelle spotted a tail whip past a pillar.
"Who's there?!" she called out, on foot hovering over the edge. Her fur stood on end as her eyes went to their purple color. Curiosity enveloped her and she decided to investigate. She had never seen anyone other than the Krazoa and the occasional EarthWalker solider patrol there, and they didn't have furry tails.
"Hello? Who's out there?" she called out.
No answer. After juggling options, she decided to follow, slouching over to hide as she went in the opposite direction of the mysterious entity. After going full circle, she didn't find anyone.
"…what the…? I coulda swor-" Mirelle stopped as she saw a small sort of passage way start to disappear. She sprinted in, stopping before she tripped on a root.
"…how the hell did I end up in a forest??" she questioned. A small movement caught her eyes, and she quickly pursued.
Mirelle spotted the intruder climbing a large rock face, a very unstable one at that. And noticed the intruder was a timber wolf. Not wanting to be caught, she hid behind foliage, opting to climb soon when he got towards the top. She watched the timber wolf climb up the ledge, with his long, gray coat flapping in the cool wind. He was about three-quarters the way to the top, when suddenly he stopped, as if sensing something behind him. He swiveled his head behind his shoulder and scanned the Saurian terrain behind him. Mirelle quickly ducked behind a bush. She didn't want him to see her. She still had no idea who he was or even if he was hostile or not.
After a few moments, he seemed to drop his guard, so he continued the rest of the way to the top. The stealthy cat quickly but silently ran over to ledge the wolf was climbing. She began to scale it as quickly and as noiselessly as she possibly could. The wolf had been taking his time it seemed, so she was able to climb it in about half the time it took for him to do the task. She was right about to peek over the top when she suddenly noticed the wolf standing on a rock that jutted out from the cliff next to her. She just stared, wide-eyed. How did he know?
He crouched a bit, smiling. "I thought there was someone behind me. You are very sneaky, I'll tell you that." He outstretched a hand towards her. "I doubt you want to hang there on that cliff all day. Unless you like really high heights-" He stopped for the rock he was standing on wasn't well supported. A large crack suddenly appeared from where the rock jutted out from the cliff. Before the wolf could react, the rock broke off, sending him gravitating to the ground far below.
Mirelle froze, staring. Her thoughts were screaming "catch him dammit!" but shock wouldn't let her arms reach out. When she heard the thump of body hitting ground, she quickly descended down, giving up hope he was alive, but going down just to go down before she fell off as well. As soon as her feet touched the ground, her eyes immediately glanced over to the wolf...and double took as she saw some movement. Mirelle watched awe-struck as the presumably dead timber wolf groaned and stood up. He rubbed his neck, facing away from her, not knowing she was there.
"Ugh. That never feels good. It stupid of me to think that thing could support my weight. And would if I took her with me..." His senses seemed to tingle again, causing him to whirl around. He took a few steps toward her. "Are you all right? I'm sorry. Oh no, you should not have seen that happen."
"Who...who are you? How are you still alive? That fall..."
The timber seemed to be having some sort of conflict inside. Tobias, you must tell her. She has seen you rise from a mortal's death. You are now in her service.
"No..." His deep yellow eyes stared hard at the ground. His knees went limp and he fell down into a sitting position on the sandy ground, the waterfall crashing behind him. "No, no, no. Thousands of years I have remained unnoticed...but this is what finally ends it?" He let himself fall backwards onto the sand, staring up at the sun shining through the waterfall's silver mist.
Mirelle was still deeply confused. "What are you talking about?"
He limply outstretched his arms into the air. He emphasized his sentence with movements of his arms. "My name is Tobias, and I am an immortal. From here on out, I must aid you in whatever it is you need." He shuffled up a bit and leaned on his elbows. "I am bound by duty to be forever in your service."