Hello Readers!
I know it's been a few years since I've last written anything on Fanfiction, and for that I do apologize. College and life in general have taken the majority of my life, and with all the things that've been taking priority over writing, I had lost track on one of the things I like doing, which was to provide you guys with a story you'd like to read.
I've had a discussion with Winddragon Eternal, and I got his permission and approval to write a continuation spin-off of his story, Let there be Light.
If you haven't read that yet, I really recommend that you do. Otherwise, you wouldn't understand where I'm starting this story from.
So without further ado, let's get this story started... and enjoy.
The rogue chipmunk lay sprawled on the ground, battered and bruised. But he would not appear broken before the smug she-wolf towering above him, a predator about to descend on its helpless prey. He bared his neck, hoping that she would at last kill him. He wanted it to be quick.
Then a halo of light began to surround the she-wolf, blinding everyone in the room before it dimmed down. In its place, there now stood a chipette, slightly taller than Maia, but still young and beautiful. Her eyes were still the same shade of violet, yet they glowered with a brilliance that was just as fierce as the she-wolf's.
To everyone's surprise, Maia had gotten down on one knee, her head bowed before this strange chipette. So had Soron, even on his bad knee.
"Who are you? And what are you doing in our house?" Bold as always, Alvin was the first to put up a brave front.
"I am the Matriarch of the Order of Light. But you may call me Serenity."
"Serenity?" repeated a nervous Alvin, who tightened his hold on Brittany as he gazed into the chipette's shimmering violet eyes. Maia, meanwhile, still kept her head low, bowing in respect to her mentor.
"S'sma, I'm sorry I could not finish the task you assigned to me." She spoke in a soft, apologetic tone. "But why come all this way? Have I failed you again?"
The Matriarch glared knives at her, causing the chipette to squeak and fall silent, before stepping up to the Rouge who groaned as he stood up, the wound on his chest glowing white as it closed.
"I see you still have the Broken Vow's immunity." She said coldly, her face unemotional as they looked at each other like warriors waiting to draw their weapons. Soron chuckled softly, putting a paw over his chest as he winked at her, his signature smirk etched on his face.
"Yep. No matter how the Order sees me, the Light is still with me." He replied with a boastful thrust of his chest. "Which is also why you have no rights to condemn me, especially now that Maia has condemned herself as well."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Soron?!" yelled a shocked Phelan, his eyes wide with fear and anger.
"I warned you before, Phelan," he replied, not even bothering to look him in the eye as he focused his gaze on Serenity. "I warned you that marking Maia would get her expelled from the Order, which is obviously why Serenity is here."
Soron then created an orb of light, letting it hover over his paw before it floated over to Maia. When Maia tried to catch it, it phased right through her, causing the chipette to gasp in fear and shock.
"W-what…?" She whimpered in soft panic, "w-why can I pick it up anymore?"
Both chipmunks looked at her with saddened eyes, Serenity herself resisting the urge to cry.
"Because, my child," She answered first, choking back a sob. "The Order had your powers removed."
Soron sighed softly as Maia collapsed to the floor, covering her face with her paws. Phelan immediately came to her side, pulling her into his arms, letting her sob on his chest, wiping her tears away with a few gentle wolf's kisses.
"You knew… you knew that Maia was going to lose her powers?" Phelan asked as he looked at Soron, fuming with rage and confusion. "Why do you have to keep making other people miserable?! Because of your own misery? Because of what the Darkness took from you?"
Soron wanted to shout back at him, even land a good smack in the jaw for good measure, but resisted every urge to do so. They were already both beaten to the dirt, the last thing they needed was another low blow.
"I did warn you, Phelan…" Soron repeated, holding his tongue as he tried to limit the venom in his voice. "But you were so blinded by your love for her that you didn't listen. If I hadn't helped you, you or Maia might've found some way of doing it yourselves, which may have concluded in something even worse that what is happening now. What you did may have been just painting a symbol to your soul mate, and you even made it a proposal ring to her…"
"But that's not the way things work with us and the Order." Serenity interjected, to which Soron shrugged off and putting his paws in his wrecked hoodie pockets. "Only a member of the Order can rightfully mark and claim another member. It is a very sacred tradition for us for a reason, and now you know that reason, I'm afraid."
Phelan didn't want to believe a word he was hearing. He loved Maia, and only wanted to make her happy. But it was his wanting to make her happy that now turned her into the wailing ball of tears in his arms. "Wait, then what about that time when Maia orbed us home? Or when she fought with Soron? Clearly the powers she used were hers, right Soron?" He asked with a panicking voice, looking at the both of them with pleading eyes. "You said it yourself; a marked member of the Order has their powers enhanced. So, that means Maia's powers didn't totally go away right? Right?"
Soron looked to Serenity, who shook her head slowly. The warrior munk looked to his brother with a serious face, his eyes burdened deep with regret.
"I'm sorry, Phelan. But Maia used up the last of the Light's powers that was in her body to fight me. The power she used to orb us home… that was mine, not hers. I just channeled my power through her, like I did with Alvin back in the gym on Halloween."
Soron and Serenity then both lifted their paws, and the bits and pieces of the shattered living room began forming back together, until it looked like nothing had ever happened. Serenity then sighed as she sat on a recliner.
"Whoa…" stated Jeanette in awe as she examined the repaired chandelier. "How much power do you two actually have?"
"And what's this 'Broken Vow immunity' you talked about?" Simon continued, who was now looking at Soron.
"Soron and I were considered the most powerful warriors in the Order," Serenity replied. "And because of our superiority over other warriors, the Council gave us a special exemption to the laws of the Broken Vow."
"The vow to never hurt another of your kind?" Phelan stated, remembering what Maia told him back in the forest.
"Yup. That's the one!" Soron replied, sitting on the edge of the couch, and gesturing for the others to do the same, save for Phelan and Maia, who were still sitting on the floor. "When two or more members of the Order engage in combat for reasons other than justice and peace-keeping, they are afflicted with the Broken Vow, a condition that prevents them from healing even the simplest of wounds with their powers. Serenity and I are the only exemptions to that, which is why we have the Broken Vow Immunity, per the order of the Council. As such, we were once tasked to be the Order's jailers and bounty hunters, sworn to hunt down traitors to the Order and deliver them back to stand trial."
"Much like the scenario you are in, Soron…" said Serenity with a dark growl.
"But you're not here for me, are you, Ser?" He fires back, glaring at her with his signature grin. "You're here to bring Maia back to the Order to stand trial for her betrayal, and for defiling a sacred tradition to the Order by making an outsider mark her. Correct?"
Maia suddenly looked up from Phelan's tear-stained chest, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"S-S-S'sma?" She stuttered, shaking her head in confusion. "Is this true?"
Serenity couldn't answer. She tightly clenched her paws into tight fists, finally letting loose the tears she's held in as she slowly nodded in reply. Soron sighed sadly, causing Serenity to look at him with her teary violet eyes.
"How could you do this to her?" She asked with gritted teeth.
"You put her in this mess, Ser." He replied softly, before looking at Maia. "She's your daughter too, and I feel as guilty as you are."
At that moment, everyone else gasped at his statement like time itself had frozen for a few moments.
"I- I… I'm your daughter…?" Maia asked, trembling with confusion, her jaw agape like everyone else in the room save for him and Serenity.
Soron then smirked, chuckling softly at her. "Of course you are, squirt. Serenity and I adopted you together…"
"B-but how?!" Phelan blurted as he got up to his feet, "If I recall correctly, I'm the older brother between us. How can you adopt someone who's hardly younger than you and call her your daughter?"
Soron snickered softly as he gestured for the last pair to sit on the couch.
"Hmm… I guess we should start from the very beginning?" Soron stated as he looked at Serenity, who blushed slightly, looking away from him with pursed lips. "Eh, fine, guess I'll be doing the telling then."
Soron shifted in his chair, getting himself comfortable before breathing a deep sigh, closing his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again, this time they were glowing bright silver. Everyone in the room then felt like they were being pulled into his gaze, the room disappearing around them, and a white, opaque fog loomed over their eyes.
Then, there was darkness… the smell of burning wood and leaves permeating the air.
Faint echoes of screaming fading away in the distance… and a single voice, crying out for help.
'Help…' he cries out, clutching on to the bleeding hole in his chest. A young Soron was lying helplessly on the forest floor, mortally wounded and bleeding, while a dark cackle erupted from a nearby tree house. A few screams from his tribesmen followed, then the feeling of blood dripping down to his face.
'Brother…' another whisper. He rolls his eyes to his left, seeing the black figure exiting a tree house, leaving the door open while a black plume of smoke spewed out, the tree itself burning from the inside out. Its paws were stained with blood, bright golden eyes reflecting the orange blaze that engulfed the entire village. The figure looks at him, and then grins wickedly, its bloodied wolf fangs shining in the embers. It turns away from him, disappearing with the darkness of the night, leaving him for dead, all alone amidst the burning corpses of his relatives and friends.
The smell of burning wood overtook the air he was breathing, as well as the scent of charred flesh and blood.
'…Phelan… why?'
His vision begins to grow blurry; and just before he loses consciousness, a warm bright light surrounds him, and he slips away into a deep, dreamless slumber.
And Cut! That'll be it for now. I'll try to post something every other week, since classes just started.
Look forward to the next one!
"Living it my way..."
~Periosha