I was worried I wouldn't get any hits putting this story in the crossover section, but it's actually going decently for a fresh account. Thanks to all those that are taking the time to read this, as even though I thoroughly enjoy writing, it is always more rewarding when others enjoy it as well.
Just to update everyone, I'm going to try and keep up my posting speed, but I am keeping a solid two chapter buffer between writing and posting as I have found this story occasionally requires me to backtrack and make slight changes to keep the plot consistent and fix errors I hadn't noticed till I reference back to an event.
With this chapter the posted word count is pushed over 10k, so I hope to see a lot of new readers and some reviews from all you. Like it or hate it, or if you see mistakes I've made in my WoD canon please tell me, I may have the main plot outlined but a lot of major events still have leeway for me to change them, if you enjoy the story I love to hear, if you see something I can improve the same.
But enough for now, this chapter covers a lot of major history, I've worked hard to keep it easy to understand for those new to WoD, but not too boring to those that have heard these stories a hundred times over the years heh. So please enjoy...
Heroes and Victims
Long after her house had fallen far behind and was lost to the darkness Kim still stared back from the fast moving hovercraft. A fresh set of clothes and a quickly packed bag wedged behind her seat all she had left of her old life other then memories. Even her form was changed from before, Shego had promised that she would learn to shift at will soon enough and not to worry that she couldn't change back to her fully human form, it was normal for most new Garou to need time to learn to wear all their skins as easy as their birth forms.
After nearly an hour in the air Kim managed to tear her eyes away from the long gone sight of her home falling away and look ahead "Where are we going?" "There's a big Moot two days from now outside Denver." "Oh…what's a Moot?" Kim wasn't sure if constantly having to ask for clarification was getting on her nerves or fun, on one hand she felt dirt ignorant about what were obviously everyday words for Shego, but at the same time she had this feeling of a whole new culture opening up before her. She had never gotten much of a feeling of 'family history' from her mom and dad, both of whom were grounded in science and the future, so she always had a slight feeling like she was lacking in that area when she heard stories about family roots from Ron or Monique.
"Well, it's half a party half a meeting. All the local Garou that can come will show up, share information with the elders, tell stories, party, present grievances to the elders in attendance. Stuff like that. It's a big one so there should be enough elders to introduce you, we get a good mix near Denver since it's one of the large cities in the area but with plenty of wilderness near." Shego was smiling as she spoke about the Moot, looking excited about the prospect. "I'm hoping enough elders will already be there so we can start your introduction and be able to present you at the moot, hah, just wait till they hear that THE Kim Possible had the change, half the tribes are going to be drooling trying to get you to join them." Shego laughed loudly as she pictured the competition that was sure to break out for such a member.
"Tribes?" She was doing her best to keep up but Shego wasn't holding back like earlier and everything was so new, but it was just like on a mission, she could be dropped in the middle of a new culture on the other side of the world every other day. So Kim just took it like she did on a mission, listen, ask questions and absorb everything she heard and saw and it would probably save her life like it had done many times in the past. "Well, we are broken up into tribes, lots of new Garou join their parent's tribe after their first change, or sometimes a particular tribe will fit someone's personal views etc. How it works is we introduce you to the elders, they will ask you about your heritage and life, then we'll put out word and make sure there are elders from most of the tribes at the Moot, then you can talk to them all and petition the tribe you want to join."
"Seems like a really huge decision to make in such a short time." Kim said apprehensively. "You don't have to pick then and there, the moot just gives the elders a chance to meet you, and you can feel out what tribes you might be interested in." Kim mulled over the information for a bit in silence. "How many are there?" "Twelve remaining in the nation." Kim could see the twitch in Shego's expression as soon as those words came out of her mouth. "Remaining?" She asked hesitantly. For a few moments the woman didn't respond, scowling slightly and seeming to try and decide how to respond. "There used to be sixteen…but they were wiped out mostly." Shego said the last part quickly like she had changed her mind about explaining it, but Kim wasn't about to let this drop. "Wiped out how?" She asked seriously, it was like Shego was trying to hide something and she didn't like it one bit.
For a few moments the older woman obviously was arguing internally, trying to decide how much she should tell Kim about some of the darker parts of an already dark history of the Garou. Finally the words just came sliding from her lips, Kim deserved to know the full version in case some Elder decided they wanted to tell it with their own view slanting things. "Most recently, one of the tribes left, The Stargazers. They have separated from the rest of the Garou tribes, I've heard they joined the beast court in the far east, we don't have any real presence there so it's mostly rumors. Before that…well, the Bunyip were obliterated…by us…"
Shego swallowed hard and needed a moment to compose herself. "…they were a tribe that had been in Australia for millennia, when the other tribes 'discovered' Australia many tried to move there. But Australia is a strange place, it's one of the old places like the Amazon, old old spirits hold a lot of power in those places. So many of the Garou that went there just disappeared, someone eventually started saying that the Bunyip were responsible, claiming they were tainted by the Wyrm. And they, and their kinfolk, were slaughtered on mass for months. Then one day, all of a sudden, all the remaining Bunyip just disappeared, and something began to push out from deep in the continent, I heard you could feel it coming. All the ones who were too stupid or prideful to take the hints, well, they just disappeared also. No Garou with a sense of self preservation would dare go to Australia since then, some people say that when the Bunyip left, they left a hole in the Dreamtime and that any Garou that try to go near are pulled in as it tries to fix the hole the Bunyip are supposed to fill."
"I'm not surprised the Stargazers left sometimes, we have a lot of blood on our hands." Shego sounded pissed and guilty at the same time, it was a new side of the woman Kim had never seen. She was about to say something but Shego didn't give her a chance as she jumped back into her story. "Before that the Croatan sacrificed themselves. They were one of the tribes indigenous to North America along with the Wendigo, anyway, this was back in the late colonial era, when the Europeans came here they carried many diseases that devastated the Native Americans, I'm sure you've heard all this in history class. What you haven't heard is that all this disease along with starvation from a bad famine among some of the colonists was so great that an aspect of the Wyrm managed to physically manifest. Eater-Of-Souls, a creature that burned the land and spread blight just with it's presence, consuming everything in it's path, a spirit of it's power has hardly ever been able to manifest before, even in the old days."
"The Croatan were what the Garou should be, they knew that they were the only ones that could stop it, so the entire tribe gathered and drove it back beyond the gauntlet into the Umbra, the spirit world, but it took every one of them. To a one the Croatan died that day." There was great pride in her voice as Shego spoke of them, an admiration that Kim never thought the woman would show for anyone, let alone some long dead group that died hundreds of years before. In this short conversation she was seeing a new depth to the thief that somehow she had missed all these years she had known the woman. But Shego just stopped talking there, the look of pride fading from her eyes back to the earlier look of sorrow.
"What about the last one?" After a few minutes of the silence Kim tried to coax the rest out of her. "The last one…" She started, the controls in her grip groaning as she squeezed down and gritted her teeth at the memories. "…are The White Howlers…they were a tribe from northern Europe, it's said that their kinfolk were the Pict." "I've heard about them in history class, the Pict I mean, almost nothing is known about them just accounts of Romans about barbarians and such right? They were called the Pict because they would paint themselves blue before battles." Kim was elated to actually know something in the conversation. Her huge grin of satisfaction actually managed to drive some of the tenseness out of Shego who couldn't help but grin back a bit.
"Yea, same people. Anyway, The White Howlers were, if you believe nothing else, badass even for Garou. For their test to become a member the cubs would enter The Black Spiral…" The moment those words were spoken the smile disappeared from Kim's face as she went slightly pale at the memory. "Is that the same…?" She asked hesitantly. "Yea, the Black Spiral Dancers, they are all that is left of The White Howlers. Some say that the Howlers became tainted spending so much time fighting deep in the underworld, I like to think that they were too successful for their own good and ended up drawing attention on themselves. Minions of the Wyrm corrupted their kinfolk and over generations also many of the Howlers. It was very slow and careful, till one day the greatest of them suddenly realized they were surrounded by their own people. The few that were left untainted retreated to their greatest Caern in the middle of a huge lake and from there they tried to call for aid from the other tribes…"
"But they didn't get there in time. Not even close, when the sun rose the Howlers could see the shore lined with their own corrupted kinfolk and Garou along with hordes of other monsters. They fought non stop, the entire lake red with the blood of the minions of the wyrm, but it was all another trick, another tactic just like the subtle corruption of their own people. Once enough blood filled the lake it soaked into the Caern, and broke the protection it afforded. Deep in the lake a portal had opened into the very underworld, and through that portal great tentacles of black reached up and dragged every Howler on that island to the heart of the Black Spiral…" Something about the story struck a deep note in Kim, the telling was so sharp it was like she could see it happening in her mind as Shego spoke.
Her mouth dry as images of massive Garou fighting passed through her mind, great monsters with coats white as the snow surrounding them fought without fear or hesitation against those that were just days before were friends and family that were now trying to destroy them. And finally the last moments of the battle when something dark from before the world reached out and snatched them from the earth and pulled them into a dark hell they could not escape even in death. "…kim…KIM…KIM! Snap out of it!" She found a hand shaking her hard, pulling her out of the visions of carnage that had filled her mind. "How do we know?" She asked in a small voice, a voice that was searching for any small hope that it wasn't all real.
"Huh? God Kim you space out and freak me out…How do we know what?" Shego was a bit spooked, for someone that knew the history it was hard to think about, but to Kim this should just be a story. "How do we know how this all happened? You said all of them died or…that all of them died." It was a scary revelation for the girl, that there were much worse things then death out there. "Most people think a Corax must have been watching. A raven Fera…shapeshifter. Gaia made them to spread knowledge between all of the changing races."
"What?" Kim tried to picture a ravan shapeshifter but just came up with some twisted monster. "There are lots of races, don't worry, you'll pick it up. Actually, you might meet one at the moot, friend of mine shows up every few months to exchange information. If your lucky she'll be around this time." Shego said with a cryptic grin trying to entice the redhead away from the previous conversation. "So, the White Howlers...?" Kim started but was cut off by the older woman. "Kim, seriously, I don't mind you being inquisitive and asking questions, but that is like picking too much about the holocaust. It's a really dark part of our history and some people will pick a fight with you if you bring it up. So try and not mention it ok? At least not right now ok?" She almost pleaded with the girl, she didn't want her dropping that sort of stuff in the middle of the moot.
With a bit of a huffy snort Kim just nodded and looked back out into the night giving off a very strong pissed off aura for the rest of the flight. She wouldn't admit it aloud, but the story had hit some deep seated note with her and she had no clue why, so just kept up the huffy exterior and tried to sort all this stuff out internally...
Dawn was threatening when the craft began to descend towards a large patch of forest, the lights from Denver off to the north, barely visible in the predawn glow at their backs. "Here we go, now just stick close and we'll get this all sorted out Princess." It was a little creepy how supportive the woman was being, but Kim just wrote it off as a backlash of all that had happened that night. A clear area was filled with a mixture of vehicles, everything from expensive Mercedes to an old beater van that pretty much screamed 'hippy-mobile'. "Huh..." Kim stated absently as she looked about. "What?" The thief asked distractedly as she carefully landed the craft. "I would have expected more hybrid cars..." She stated offhandedly as she hopped out of the craft, slinging her pack across one shoulder. "Sort of like worrying about lead poisoning when someone is holding a gun to your head princess. Anyway, come on."
Kim followed as Shego wove through the parked cars seeming to know exactly where she was headed, so Kim just enjoyed the sounds and scents of the forest feeling a bit of a buzz from the flood of her senses that was overwhelming just a few hours ago. After a couple minutes walking Shego turned back to find the redhead had stopped and had a stupid grin on her face as she looked down at her feet. Earlier she, with as much frustration as she could muster in her shell-shocked state, had left her boots off as they didn't want to fit with her toes sporting nearly two inch razor sharp claws.
Now she was wiggling her toes in the dirt and pine needles on the ground looking halfway stoned as she enjoyed the experience like some little kid. Considering the emotional state Kim had been since earlier Shego just let her enjoy herself while she had the chance, and would NEVER tell the girl she had done the same thing when she was little. It actually took a few minutes for Kim to realize she was being observed, but without a word she just walked over to the thief with a grin on her face and kept walking in the same direction they had been earlier, the bemused woman following in her wake.
After a few minutes walking Shego reached out and stopped Kim with a hand on her arm. "This is close enough, don't want to appear rude." There was a smirk on her face like she was hiding something from the girl. Before Kim could respond Shego stepped forward and with a deep breath let out a sound no human throat should be able to produce, a long howl that brought images of far away fields and dark moonlit nights filled Kim's mind as it drew out slowly. A few moments later a call responded from the direction they had been traveling, even more drawn out and rattling as multiple calls mixed into on, not plaintive sounding at all, it was the sound that made you know the wilderness belonged to the wolves when you heard it and you were just a guest. "There we go." Shego just smirked again at Kim and kept walking.
"What was that?" The redhead asked "Only polite to announce ourselves, this isn't my tribes Caern and you just changed, so would be rude to come in without a greeting." "Didn't think invitations in were exactly high on your list miss supervillain thief." Kim just responded with a teasing grin but Shego surprisingly just rolled her eyes in response. "Ok Kim, you may not believe this, but all in all I've always been on the side of good. Maybe not the side of law and 'right' but on the side of good. Do you know what all of Dr. D's schemes do? They all fulfill a purpose I set out for. He absorbs resources, gets a piece of technology out of the hands of someone who shouldn't have it, destroys a facility that is doing something it shouldn't. If a plan of his is too dangerous or can't be twisted to my plans I shoot it down or sabotage it, otherwise Drakken is pretty much working for me. And guess what, he has saved the world more times then you with all his take over the world schemes."
Kim's eyes were just about bugging out at the long diatribe from the woman over how evil she or Drakken really were and it took a moment for her to realize that the green villain was walking again and jogged to catch back up. "You have got to be kidding me, Drakken is evil!" She tried to argue back. "Dr D. isn't evil, trust me Kim, real evil is far more subtle and dangerous. Now shush." The green thief made a silencing gesture as they got closer to a large clearing, the trees themselves seeming to break of their own accord to leave the expanse mostly clear except for a single massive tree that wrapped around a rise of broken stone from which a spring ran. Before she could examine the area more, two men stepped out from behind trees; one was in his Crinos form, covered in fur and over nine feet in height, glowering at Shego out of his one good eye, the other covered with a black patch sporting a sweeping glyph upon it that seemed to glow slightly. The other looked a more jovial type, smiling and in his human skin he just leaned back against a tree like he was listening to a great joke.
"So..." The one eyed one spoke in a grating voice. "...the rat loving pit spawn returns." His clawed fingers flexed like he wanted to attack the woman. "Watch it Yuri, or I'll pluck a second eye from you, and I don't think you have another to spare." Shego said with a fanged grin making a plucking gesture with two clawed fingers at the massive beast. "If we were anywhere else..." He started, leaning in the woman's face. "If we were anywhere else I would put you down without declaring a challenge you inbred idiot, now back off or I will issue that challenge and leave you blind..." She growled back, her whole body tensing and both hands shifting in size as the already impressive claws extended. For a few moments they stood there, to someone that didn't know the woman it would have looked humorous, not even six foot standing nose to nose just about with the massive war beast, Kim was just worried another fight would break out. Finally without a word the large creature snorted and turned his back on her, for a moment Kim could see Shego's eyes almost disappear as they narrowed in rage at the snub but held herself back.
Finally the man that had just been watching, obviously having known he would get a show, stepped up still smirking. "You always seem to show up when he is on watch Shego." He teased and held out a hand to the woman who after a moment glaring holes in the back of the other one finally turned and extended her own hand, grasping each other by the forearm instead of the hand he gentle pulled her away from the temptation of carving her initials into the broad back of the werewolf. "And you always seem to bring the most interesting individuals in tow." He added as he looked over Shego's shoulder at Kim who grinned nervously back, feeling oddly self conscious about not being able to change her form at will, even if he was unaware of this. "Keep your eyes to yourself Jerico, I brought her here to see the elders, how many we got here?" "Almost a full group, no Shadow Lord as usual, and the Silverfang wouldn't deign to send a representative to a Children of Gaea moot. Heard we will be getting a Glasswalker in this evening." Shego looked curiously at this. "A Redtalon?" She asked, her eyes narrowed slightly as he nodded in response. "Did something happen? We never have that many except for the fall..."
Looking a bit nervous he leaned in slightly. "I heard Luna spirits called all the elders to come on this day during the last full moon. Everyone is a little nervous, no one seems to know who sent them, some are even saying Luna herself sent them. Even had a Windego come in on a moon bridge, and you know how they are about traveling out of their territory." Shego wasn't sure what to hope for from this information; part of her knew this had something to do with Kim, but she hoped this was just some meeting called by a paranoid Shadow Lord that didn't want it to be known he was showing up, she was pulled out of her thoughts by him speaking again. "That's who I think it is...isn't it?" He asked trying to look over her shoulder without being too blatant about it, but found himself locking eyes with Kim and having trouble breaking the gaze of the curious girl and moving his eyes back to the thief. "Yea, something big is going on. Had a pack of Dancers show up minutes after her change, just about went down but she bagged a big one that had grabbed me." "Heck of a welcome to the family. Impressive though..." He was trying to school his expression of surprise at the news.
As she was trying to sort things out a large pale man in a black cloak walked past imperiously, not even bothering to give a greeting or deign to look at the guards. "Holy shit..." Jerico muttered as they watched the Silver Fang pass feeling Shego tense. "Someone knew Kim was going to change...call out some more guards, I'm taking Kim to the elders right now." She said quickly and broke the grip. Grabbing Kim she hustled off towards the Caern with her in tow. "What's going on?" She asked, easily keeping up with Shego as they almost jogged. "I think someone knew you were coming, we need to talk to the elders right now." Kim didn't respond, she was too engrossed in looking around now they had gotten close to the Caern, all around them were Garou of all ages from small cubs and children, to aged men and women, in all forms and looking relaxed together as they talked and laughed, played and sparred. Suddenly a short girl popped up in their path with what looked to be a permanent smirk on her features, but what caught Kim's attention were her long pointed ears, gelled pink mowhawk, and the long rat tail that swung behind her.
"Elo mint, no luv for your ol' mate Punk?" She said with a heavy English accent, showing off her sharp overbite as she grinned, which disappeared with a startled squeak as Shego picked the girl up by her ragged collar and carried her along. "No time to talk, we're heading for the elders circle and I need you there." She said by way of explanation as she slung the girl over her shoulder to carry her like a sack of potatoes. After the initial surprise the girl self identified as Punk seemed to take it in stride and just held out a small clawed hand to Kim "A pleasure to meet ya' luv, Punks the name, and ya' won't find a better Tunnel Runner thi' side of the deep umbra. And let me thank ya' for keepin' mint here fro' gettin' too full o' erself." She said with a wide grin at the redhead who took the hand with a certain amount of bemusement at the girls attitude.
WoD Dictionary
Fera - The various breeds of Gaia's servants each tasked with a particular task to perform for her.
Garou - Werewolves, the warriors of Gaia, originally a nation made up of sixteen tribes, now there are twelve left. Silver is anathema to the Garou, burning their flesh and weakening them with it's mere possession in all but the smallest amounts. The normally prodigious regeneration of the Garou is suppressed and wounds from silver will only heal when the Garou is in their birth form.
Ratkin - Wererats, reviled and misunderstood, their task was to cull the herds of the world, namely, humans. Far back before recorded human history the Ratkin were tasked to spread diseases , to keep the humans from growing to numerous and impact the Wyld. But this all changed thanks to the Garou and their rage, but rats are survivors, and as the world dims they are numerous, many seething with rage at all that surrounds them.
Corax - Wereravens. Tasked as the messengers of Gaia they fly upon the winds carrying news to all the corners of the globe. Creatures of the sun the Corax are susceptible to gold as a Garou is by silver.
Caern - A center of spiritual power, usually found in areas where the wyld is still strong and pure. Watched over by a powerful spirit it provides a place of rest and respite for Garou. Generally a home for a particular tribe, though among it's inhabitants and guests usually many tribes can be found. Non Fera generally have much less respectful views towards these centers of power, so they are guarded zealously but their inhabitants.
Moot - A meeting, usually announced ahead of time so local Garou can gather. Can be in size from a handful of Garou to hundreds gathered for special ceremonies or emergencies.