Summery: While I would have loved to make Wildfire and Layla-Ne pick up in the normal zone, that would give away a lot more spoilers to the graphic novel Chaotically Intertwined than I would like for it to, so that's why I chose an AU of sorts. This was the top voted FC/FC pairing of mine to do a story on, so here we go~. (Also, Metalico is a new OC feline I am working on). She's my Dark Egg Legion calico-koi. ~3

Description: Following the aftermath of the attack of the Dark Egg Legion on Layla-Ne's home village in the East, the now blind and orphaned geisha works on starting over again at another town that offers secret help to the Brotherhood of Guardians to stop the domination of the growing Legion. But when the village is suspected of their traitorous ways, one of their top assassins moves to the town, and forces the villagers to ask for Layla-Ne to overcome her past and weaken the raging Wildfire emotionally before he can be contained or slain. (Wildfire x Layla-Ne) (NC-17, will be edited here due to content)

Musical Inspiration: "Superstar" – S.H.E.

"Euphoria" – Loreen

"Moonlight Shadow" – Mike Oldfield

"Mizu No Madoromi" – (If I remember right, it was an ending to some anime…I forget which—it was dated)

Copywrite: Wildfire/ Layla-Ne/ Sasu-Ne / Cole / Stephan-Ne / Halania/ Lien-Hua / Moni-Fa / Metalico / Other nameless side characters: Oreana

Brotherhood of Guardians / Lien-Da/ Moritori Rex: Archie/ Penders

I still have nightmares about it. So hard it is to look back fondly on my childhood without that horrific imagery of the beheading of my father, or the sounds of my little sister screaming as our inn burned around her, and the last vision of my mother running in to save Stephan-Ne only to have the burning boards trap them both inside. It was years ago, and without my eyes, all I can seem to replay visually are those moments.

Layla-Ne could remember the sand beneath her feet as she played with a ball (almost bigger than she was at the age of five) that one of the performers from their inn had given her. Her laughter filled the cool, evening air as she tried to throw it up and catch it, only to fall backwards trying to grab the multicolored toy as it came back down towards her.

Hearing her daughter, Sasu-Ne walked towards her slowly as her kimono layered in different hues of purple appeared to glide across the beach's sand as she did so. When Layla-Ne's innocent, light-blue eyes caught her own, the pure white echidna woman smiled brightly to her daughter. "What do you have there, sweetheart?"

My mother was like an angel in my young eyes, though twice as beautiful and twice as kind. I always admired her, not only as a selfless and loving mother, but as a daring geisha.

She had gone against her parent's wishes to marry my father—a black echidna with light-blue markings who worked as an entertainer at the inn as well. A majority of my mother's bloodline was bred to be geisha performers and to maintain a pure white coloration in the process. Turning down the man she was betrothed to marry, she followed her heart to my father, Cole.

"A ball!" Layla-Ne answered with a playful giggle, grabbing back up the toy to hold it above her head.

Sasu-Ne lowered to her knees, the sunset around them painting the scenery in a kaleidoscope of vibrant colors as the sun beckoned to the coming night. "You best play with that ball back at the house, Layla-Ne, my dear," she whispered tenderly, opening her flared, sleeved arms to beckon her child to her. "It is getting late."

Keeping a hold on the ball, she scurried over to her mother, reaching for her with one free arm. Scooped up into her mother's embrace, Layla-Ne looked out at the setting sun over the horizon before turning her attention to the surrounding woods, which kept their village safe. It was a bit of a walk back to the inn, but there was always that single candle that was lit there at the windowsill, which belonged to her parent's bedroom.

It was always that light—that single candlelight—that made me know I was safe, and I was home whenever I was escorted to the inn, or I made my way back from my time about the surrounding woodlands when I was older. My parents would always light it whenever any of us would be out and about past six at night. It was like a beacon, and I do miss seeing its comforting glow…

Stepping into the view of the window, Cole smiled with relief at seeing his wife and daughter returning home. Grabbing up the candle, he removed it from the windowsill as he made it to the entrance to greet them both. "I was wondering when you two would be home. I was concerned you wouldn't make it for dinner," he teased, kissing his wife's cheek affectionately before kissing Layla-Ne's forehead with a warm, welcoming expression to her.

My father was a born storyteller. He wrote stories for my mother to act out with her dancing. As the two collaborated with each other, it was there that they began to fall for one another as they saw how well they worked with one another. I can still remember clearly the times my mother would try to get my father to dance and openly perform with her beyond being just a narrator to her own dancing. She would grab his hands and try to get him to dance with her, but he would always insist that he'd leave such things to my mother.

I miss hearing their laughter…and I miss the sound of my little sister, Stephan-Ne's, voice….

She was born when I was nine-years-old, on the coldest day of the year. Little Stephan-Ne favored our father with her mostly black fur and white markings. She was practically my shadow as I tried to learn being a geisha and performing tea ceremonies with my mother.

"Now," Layla-Ne remembered her mother saying to her years ago, "do you have everything in order to begin a tea ceremony?" Sasu-Ne was sitting on her knees across from Layla-Ne to make sure she performed the ceremony correctly. Still, her daughter had been messing up a few things, and she wanted to make sure Layla-Ne's teas were flawless before letting her loose to perform on her own.

Layla-Ne took a deep breath as she tried to relax when actively learning at the age of ten. "Okay…ummm…I have my chakin," she said, pointing at the small, rectangular cloth there on the tatami flooring. "I also have the tea bowls." Layla-Ne admittedly remembered almost fumbling with them, and seeing the startled expression of her mother was enough to make her tremble, as she knew breaking anymore would probably be upsetting for her mother. "There is the tea scoop and the tea whisk…" Her fingers touched each item respectfully before moving to the last object. "…And I have the tea caddy." Layla-Ne grabbed the lidded container, which was an apple red with soft, white designs etched into it.

"Good, good," Sasu-Ne praised, remaining still as she continued with the lesson. "Alright, so what do we do before we start a tea ceremony?"

"Oh! We greet our guests!" Without another word, Layla-Ne folded her hands, hiding them in her kimono sleeves, as she bowed respectfully to her mother as if she were a guest.

"Now, you may begin making the tea," Sasu-Ne instructed with a gesture of her hand after returning the bow.

Opening the tea caddy, which held the tea, Layla-Ne laughed nervously as she put the lid back on it. "Ummm…I don't know where the powdered tea is…" She had remembered she found the container empty, and the displeased look of her mother was easy to shrug off as it was a gentle disappointment at best. With her little sister nearby, Stephan-Ne gently grabbed onto Layla-Ne's hand to try and look into the empty bowl with a few cooing sounds of interesting.

"Don't worry, mom! I can find it!" Putting the tea caddy down, she picked up her little sister and ran to hunt down the powdered tea she knew she was carrying earlier. "Daddy! Have you seen my powdered tea!" Layla-Ne yelled, her bare feet beating against the tatami flooring.

Sasu-Ne couldn't help but sigh as she placed her head in her hand.

While my time with my family felt like any other out there, our village was responsible for holding runaways…and not just any runaways…Dark Egg Legion runaways.

Families that were torn apart, villages that were burned down in their name, Mobians that were forced to gain unnatural, robotic enhancements…we offered them an escape in our inn, as our home was a stopping point to where they could reach better salvation—salvation with the Brotherhood of Guardians.

The Guardians were faceless to me. I only knew one by name, and that was because he rescued me that night long ago.

The Dark Egg Legion was catching onto us, it seemed. Constantly, they would come to our inn and try to terrorize us and our guests in attempts to get us to speak of where the 'traitors' were being kept. Whenever my mother told Stephan-Ne and I to hide—that voice of worry, laced with hate—it would cause my white fur to stand on end as I hurried to my bedroom with my sister. I couldn't help but peek out my door to try and listen to the conversations that would be held.

It was always that same man's voice (as I was to believe he patrolled the area about where my village was). His voice was low and venomous. I don't think I found an ounce of humanity in it whenever a word escaped his lips. He would destroy furniture with whatever goons he brought with him, and the sound of the wood splintering was enough to make me retreat back into my bedroom with my sister in fear they would grab us and drag us into the argument.

"There is nothing for you here!" Sasu-Ne insisted angrily, narrowing her eyes at the Grandmaster. "You have no reason to be tearing up our inn!"

"I am not dumb, you witch, nor am I blind," the Grandmaster growled angrily, aiming his gun directly at Sasu-Ne and Cole. "If you continue to harbor traitors here, we will gladly burn this place to the ground with you inside of it."

Sasu-Ne and Cole refused to budge, figuring they had been good about being secretive, so the Dark Egg Legion's threats wouldn't shake them now. Stepping forwards, Sasu-Ne gestured to the door angrily. "Leave. Now! I will not have you in my family's inn another moment longer!"

Layla-Ne remembered hiding under the covers with her sister, relief washing over her at the slamming of the rice screen door. She wanted her heart to stop beating rapidly with worry, but she couldn't help but feel anxious whenever the Legionnaires were nearby—good or otherwise.

"Layla…?" Stephan-Ne's young voice called as she held her favorite teddy bear close to her chest.

Holding Stephan-Ne close to her chest, she kissed her upon her head. "Yes? What is it?"

Stephan-Ne nuzzled into her older sibling. "Do you wonder what it must be like—to have a metal arm and not a real one?"

Looking at the covers above her head, Layla-Ne narrowed her eyes in thought. "I guess…it just seems like it would be painful." She shrugged her shoulders while running her fingers through Stephan-Ne's white hair. "I know they do it for more strength and power but…I like myself the way I am."

With the sounds of the inn quieting down beyond the door, Stephan-Ne smiled as she looked up Layla-Ne. "I like you the way you are too."

However, we should have taken the Dark Egg Legion at their warning…Before I knew it, they attacked in the middle of the night when I was merely fifteen. The explosion, just outside of our home, shook the entire house and even sent me flying out of my bed.

The lights flickered violently before they went out completely from the electricity shorting out. Layla-Ne heard her bedroom door fly open soon after and her father's voice calling to her. "Layla!" he said quickly, hurrying to her to grab her up and help her stand. "We've got to go, sweetie! We've got to get out of here and head to Koika Village!"

Those who were in the inn were screaming and tried to evacuate, but the sudden burst of flames made it almost impossible for some. The rafters were letting out the most horrific cracking sounds compiled with the screams of the many poor souls who were trying to find a means to escape. Layla-Ne made the mistake of looking over at the main hall where the explosion had apparently happened. She instantly felt sick to her stomach at seeing the dead and the dying there underneath the broken rafters and other destroyed furniture items, which had apparently even pierced the bodies of some.

Cole was quick to cover her face with his flared sleeves. "Don't look, Layla-Ne!"

"What about mommy!" Layla-Ne exclaimed over the chaos that was happening around them. "What about Stephan-Ne!"

Unable to hear her words clearly, he made it out of the inn in one piece with Layla-Ne, relieved to see his wife soon following behind him. "S-Sasu-Ne…!" Cole panicked, looking around the clearing as he hunted for Stephan-Ne. "Where is Stephan-Ne!"

"I thought she was following you out…!" Sasu-Ne answered, worryingly in return. Turning her tearful gaze back at the burning inn, she saw that the entryway had yet to collapse, and the more she focused on the screaming and crying, the more she realized that it was her daughter crying for her. "Stephan-Ne!" she exclaimed hysterically, turning quickly on her heels and running back through the crumbling entryway.

"Sasu-Ne, wait!" Cole begged, but his words fell on deaf ears as the frantic mother was already back into the burning building to find her daughter.

Seeing the boards fall to block the only possible means to escape, Layla-Ne screamed tearfully. "Mommy! Stephan-Ne!"

Cole knew it would be too much to handle to watch the rest of the building burn, and to go in on a suicide mission when his daughter needed him was enough to make him turn away tearfully and run with Layla-Ne close to him. "We must go…!" he whispered, the words stinging in his throat as he spoke.

Layla-Ne looked up at her father, her tears blurring her vision, as she exclaimed, "But what about mom and Stephan-Ne!"

Before Cole could hope to answer, a shot rang out and struck him in the back. Releasing his daughter, his body contorted into absolute pain before falling to the harsh ground.

And there they were…five of them…all of them Dark Legionnaires, which glared at us as though we were the lowest life form to them. Seeing some of their robotic eyes sizing me up was enough to make me crawl to my father and bury my face into his shoulder in hopes I would just wake up to find it all some horrific nightmare.

However, the smell of his blood was enough to remind me otherwise.

After realizing that I had probably lost my little sister and my mother to the Legion, I was more than willing to just let them shoot me right then and there with my father. But…that was all too 'nice' a death, I am sure…

The legionnaires began to pull from each other to allow way for a decorative, Grandmaster with a flowing cape and a large, letter M across his chest to step forwards. His eyes narrowed angrily down at Cole and his daughter, causing Layla-Ne to cower close to her wounded father. "I warned you both what would happen if you didn't listen to us," the Grandmaster growled. "Now you will put the blood of your wife and your children on your hands!"

I recognized that voice. It was the very same man who had threatened my family to begin with. Even now, I don't think I'll ever forget it.

"M-My wife died…protecting the people you took pleasure in dismembering and making part of your n-numbers…!" Cole growled defiantly, narrowing his amber colored eyes at the Grandmaster. "Sh-She and I b-both knew what we were getting into…! B-But I will say…to s-slay my youngest daughter…and n-not even wince…" He clenched his fists while baring his teeth, tears rolling down his cheeks in the process. "That's just despicable!"

The brown furred echidna gazed still at Cole with an unimpressed raise of his brow. What followed happened so quickly. Without another word, the Grandmaster grabbed up one of the nearby legionnaire's swords and came down upon the entertainer's neck to sever his head from his body with a sickening sound of metal cutting bone.

Layla-Ne screamed, pulling back from her now deceased father. Her eyes wide in terror, she knew, for sure, that the sticky liquid that she could feel splatter on her face was of her father's. "Da…Da…Da…!" She couldn't even form the word properly as shock had gripped onto her tightly, like a hungry rattlesnake eager to suffocate its dinner.

"I had no use for him," the Grandmaster admitted, tossing the blooded sword back to the solider he had taken it from. His cold, hard eyes fell upon Layla-Ne, who was sitting there in an inconsolable look. "Now, for you."

As he kicked the body out of his way, Layla-Ne looked up at the Grandmaster with eyes that looked more dead than anything. She almost appeared not of herself as she sat there waiting to see what he would do. When he appeared to struggle with an idea, Layla-Ne folded her arms in front of her before lowering her head as if to bow before him in surrender.

I wanted him to kill me. My mother was gone…my sister was gone…my father had been slaughtered right there before me…I wanted that night to be over, but I made the mistake of verbally asking them to make it so…

"Kill me," Layla-Ne remembered begging tearfully. "I've done nothing to you…so I feel I deserve a quick death."

Grabbing her by her hair, the Grandmaster forced her to her knees again regardless of the screaming she did. "Your family has put me through hell, child. Do you honestly think you deserve a quick death? No. I am going to make you suffer as I have for failing to retrieve the traitors your family helped smuggle away from me." Here, he turned to the other legionnaires. "Hold her."

The cold metallic hands of the legionnaires grabbed Layla-Ne and forced her to be still as the nameless Grandmaster pulled out a vile of sorts. She didn't bother to struggle, but that was probably because she was trying to remind herself that she could eventually meet her parents in the afterlife.

I didn't care the pain…I just want to be with them…no matter how long their torture may last.

But, as the Grandmaster stepped forwards, he explained that he wanted me to live out my time as a legionnaire, and if he had to rip my heart from my body and hide it away into a protected chest to stop me from taking my life, he would do it—he would make me live a long life as nothing but metal that could only be repaired again and again and never find peace.

"First, we'll start with your eyes," he said with a sick grin as the legionnaires' grip on Layla-Ne tightened to prevent her from squirming away. "This poison should burn them right out—slowly, but surely."

Out of reflex, Layla-Ne closed her eyes quickly, but it mattered not what she did. The poison was able to find its way to its target, causing her to throw her head back and scream at the horrible burning sensation that took her over. Opening her eyes out of hope that the cold night air would stop the burning, it merely worsened it. Screaming even louder, she started to thrash about violently, covering her hands with her eyes as her sight worsened to the point that it became nonexistent.

My tears and agony were euphoric and pleasing to them, as I thrashed about on the ground. Throughout my screaming and crying, I hadn't realized that they were soon attacked, and the legionnaires scattered from whence they had stood.

I was blind…in horrific pain…heartbroken…

A touch, which reminded me so much of my mother's, soon held my wrists sweetly as a woman called out to me (over my pain) that I would be alright. I could feel her big, bushy tail attempt to give me a pillow as she worked on finding the problem with my eyes.

"Guardian Spectre!" the woman practically screamed, as she was eager to make sure Layla-Ne lived. "I need your help!"

Hurrying over towards the peach furred squirrel, the cloaked guardian did his best to try and save the geisha's eyes, as he worked on rinsing them out. "Can you open them?" he asked, wondering what damage had been done to her, as the others were having very little luck finding survivors back at the burning village. He didn't want to believe he had failed everyone.

Layla-Ne struggled to open her eyes, but upon doing so, the air gave them such a mighty sting that she closed them quickly and began heaving from her tears.

Spectre sighed, closing his red eyes in shame, but did his best to remind himself she was still very much alive. "Her sight is gone…but she can learn things over again with this…unfortunate development." He hated to sound so forward, but there was nothing left for her there.

I can live without my eyes, and I have for ten years since that day…but living without my family has become a constant struggle. I miss them so much. I can see their smiling faces and hear their laughter in the back of my mind, but it is fading the older I get.

Halania, the one who found me that night, helped me subdue the bitter and hateful beast inside of me as well as teach me where everything was back at Koika Village until it was easy for me to maneuver like it was nothing. I continued being a geisha, because that was a part of my mother that I never want to forget. The dancing—it is a mixture of pain and joy given everything it reminds me of.

I wake in the middle of the night, and I find myself still replaying that horrible event. My mind teases me into thinking I could have made a difference those many years ago.

But, now that I am safe here at the very village where the Guardians work in secret to bring down the Dark Egg Legion, all I feel is a subtle adrenaline for revenge. I will do what is asked of me to help take them down, but I will not rest—I will not die—until I find that man again with the dark, malice riddled tone, and end him.

~Layla-Ne