Part 4...... 5/16/10
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The pale-yellow wolf ran right out of Freeze City, stopping behind an old car to remove the flower and place it into the container full of a strange, green liquid.
"Don't worry, Maiden. I wont let you die." the wolf screwed the top back on and tilted his head at the flower, wondering where he should take it. "What now, flower?" he asked.
This one must be taken to the frozen oceans...came the flower's quiet, gentle response inside the wolf's head. this one must take root in the cavern above the water.
"But it would be easily if you were human, right?" asked the wolf, remembering about the past legends, where a Maiden named Cheza had be re-created part-human.
It is not necessary for this one to be human. Said the Flower. This one has Chosen you, Shita, because this one knew you are wise at heart. This one will open Paradise any form.
The pale-yellow wolf, Shita, nodded, and said, "Then I want you to be like a human." The flower said nothing, and so he took the container in his jaws once more, and ran towards Jaguara's castles– hundreds of miles away.
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Groaning, Hige sat up.
"Are you all right?" was Kiba's instant question as he picked his head up from the other wolf's back.
Blinking slowly, Hife nodded. He sat down and looked around himself. "I smell blood, death, and Nobles...the flower scent is there as well, but it's very faint. I think someone has taken it."
Kiba stood and walked over to the edge of the roof. "We have to find them."
"Yeah, I know.." Hige walked and stood beside the white wolf.
They jumped off the roof and started running.
Only a minute into their run, they sw Jaguara, floating over.
The wolves ran all the faster, baring their teeth, snarling suddenly.
Jaguara stopped walking and drew her sword.
As the two wolves jumped at the woman, she brought her sword up under their chests, ripping them deeply, the blood raining down onto her from above.
When they landed, the wolves jumped to opposite sides and ran in a wide circle, slowly getting closer to the woman, blood dripping from their jaws.
Jaguara smiled behind her mask. I can kill them...my armor is protecting me, but nothing protects them from my blade but their fur. She took a step forward, and limped slightly on her wounded leg. She put more weight on the good leg before taking her sword stance, sword out in front of her.
Hige was the first to attack. He leaped, claws slicing the air, thick breath gushing out hotly.
Jaguara threw up her right arm, hitting the wolf with the sword, reaching up with her left to grab and hold Hige by his neck. She acted as if she was going to plunge her captured prey with her sword, right through the neck, but– the wolf was heavier than she expected, and she dropped him, swinging her sword immediately down to break his back.
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When Tsume reached the alley where the flower had been, he could not smell it's scent. He could only taste the blood in the air, and the overwhelming sense of death.Throwing himself off of the roof, Tsume landed as his human illusion, and he saw Toboe, headless, and defeated. "T-Toboe... " gasped Tsume. He walked over and bent down. His illusion faded as he began to lick the headless wolf's wounds, whining as he did so. Toboe...he thought sadly. I failed after all...
The gray wolf turned, and began to run back to the others, knowing there was nothing he could do to bring Toboe back.
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The Nobles surrounding the two castles began blowing eachother up until no one was left. Just as the last Noble hit took down the other, he was struck by a heat missel that had been fired a moment before it exploded.
Everyone was dead; falling in great flames to the ground, the ships spun and burst, throwing out bodies and large sheets of metal.
All around the land was bloodied snow and black oil, and as the ships began to cool off, the only sound that was heard was the soft laughter of fire as it smoldered the corpeses. The war was over.
It was a tie.
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Kiba got in the way, blocking the attack as he, wincing, took on a grievous wound on his shoulder. Hige ran out of the way, then circled back and threw himself on Jaguara's back. She threw him off easily, the armor shooting pains in the wolf's teeth. Kiba jumped back, and the wolves stood side by side again, both panting hard.
Hige looked at Kiba gratefully.
Kiba only stared at his opponent, his lips curled upwards.
Jaguara waited, sneering at her attackers.
Kiba noticed the woman's leg wound and ran at it, Hige following his lead. Biting for her leg, Kiba bounced from side to side, making Jaguara suspenseful. He didn't find an opening to striek, so he ran between her legs, nearly getting his tail chopped off as Jaguara swung her sword.
Hige found his chance, and he threw himself against her leg, sinking his teeth into the wound, thrashing his head violently, spurting up blood.
Screaming, Jaguara stumbled back, then swung her sword down to behead the brown wolf.
"Hige!" cried Kiba.
A gunshot broke out, followed by another.
Hige, tail tucked, snuck away from Jaguara as she stood stunned by the impact of a bullet.
No...way...she thought. This cant be...how it ends...I cant lose like this!
Kiba and Hige looked and watched as Quent and Cher came over– Cher carrying Blue.
"Blue..!" whined Hige.
"Hige, focus!" snapped Kiba, glaring at Jaguara.
"Go, wolves!" shouted Quent. "All of you– get that flower and save the world!"
Hige looked at Quent, tilting his head. Does that mean he's remembered? He wondered.
Jaguara turned in place, thinking wildly. Damn it... I must get ...back...I cant allow this man to kill me...! But fear held her back. She remembered dying last time, and she did not want to die again.
Kiba looked at Quent, eyes blazing and nodded.
"Hige, let's go!" he said, running.
"Wait! What about Toboe, Tsume..?"
"We don't have time t–" Kiba broke off, hearing a low howl. He looked and saw Tsume, running towards them.
"Tsume!" shouted Kiba and Hige.
"Get up to that ship, damn it!" yelled Quent, stalking Jaguara as she started running away. "But, Quent–" started Cher.
"GO!" he shouted, and ran down a street corner.
They knew it would be the last time they saw him.
They obeyed, leaping up onto the roof while Cher had to go inside and find the stairs.
"Where's Toboe?" asked Hige.
Tsume looked away. "He didn't make it."
They said no more. The wolves waited for Cher to arrive, and when she did, she hastily laid Blue down and ran to the ship, pressing buttons on the door.
Hige sniffed Blue, whining. "That's twice I've had to lose you.." he said quietly, hanging his head.
Tsume stood, unstable; his feet were shaking.
Kiba looked at the gray wolf, stepping forward. He asked gently, "Tsume..what happened back there?"
Tsume snapped the air between them, his teeth clamping hard like metal, warning Kiba to stay away.
Kiba growled low, but then looked away.
Cher got the door opened, and started to up Blue.
Hige stepped forward, saying, "no..just leave her here. It's okay."
Cher blinked, then nodded, laying the wolf back down. Turning, Cher ran inside the ship. She screamed.
The wolves ran inside after her.
"Cher, what's wrong?" cried Hige.
They saw a man laying on the ground, not moving aside from crying.
Cher pointed at him, confused.
"Don't worry. He can't move." said Kiba. "He was struck by a specialized sword of darkness."
"Does any of you know how to work this damn thing?" snapped Tsume, clicking random buttons, his human illusion up.
"Let's use him." said Hige, nodding to the crying man in the floor."He was one of the men who attacked Kiba and I. If we get him to snap out of it, we can make him fly the ship."
Kiba nodded. He bent down, lowering his head, sniffing the man, searching for a way to ease his paralyzation.
But Cher had other plans. She walked over and kicked the man in the mouth. "For fuck's sake, get up and do your job!"
The man yelped, and scooted against a wall, looking up at Cher with huge, miserable eyes. "P-please...please kill me!" he begged.
"We will when we're through with ya." promised Hige, smiling evilly.
"Wh-what do I h-have to do?" he stammered, eagerly.
Cher looked at Kiba. "Where are we going?" she asked.
"The pale-yellow wolf has the flower," said Kiba. "He will probably take her to Jaguara's castle and turn her into a Maiden."
Cher blinked. Don't these wolves realize how long that takes? She wondered. Regardless, she turned to the man. Cher pointed to the sky. "Bring us to Jaguara's Castle!"
The man stood up hastily began clicking the correct buttons and pulling switches, checking dials and pushing in a few screws. After about four minutes, the ship was in the air, blazing forth over Freeze City, leaving the dead behind.
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The sun rose swiftly into the sky, glowing in shades of red, orange, then purple, mixing with yellows as it slowly made up it's mind to pain the sky blue.
The Noble ship glided across this sky, the lights dimmed by the rising sun.
The time was 7am
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Quent was tired of chasing the woman. He was tired of running around the City like a maze rat. He wanted to sit down at a nice bar, talk about the good days when there wasn't a thing called wolves in the world. He wanted to forget the bad and remember the good. He wanted to see Blue again, and maybe play fetch a few times before the afternoon sun got too hot.
Tears filled the old man's eyes, and he wiped them away roughly, his dirty fingernails cutting his skin.
"Come out, you bitch!" shouted Quent, looking around him as he saw blood drops leading one way, and then another.
Then she came out of hiding, screaming as she swung her sword around.
Quent fired his gun– it hit the blade and ricocheted back at him, striking him in the chest. At that moment, the woman swung again, slicing Quent's arm upwards, sliding across his bone from the elbow up to his shoulder. A large, meaty piece of his arm fell off, already crimson, his wound pouring all over himself, clotting in his system.
Quent, mind hazed from losing so much blood so quickly, stared up mutely at his assassin, and took aim one last time, his face grave.
The trigger was pulled just as Jaguara plunged her sword into the old man's neck. Jaguara's body fell sideways onto the ground, a hole blown through her face, while Quent fell backwards, the sword clattering on the ground through his neck.
Somewhere in the sky, a crow began to caw, signaling his friends that it was time to eat.
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As Cher made sure their captured man was working the ship properly, the wolves sat in a small circle, talking quietly underneath a window.
"It's strange.." said Hige slowly as he stared up at the sky. "Just yesterday morning, we didn't know who each other was...and...It's as if...our minds had been reset. And we were...I don't know...reincarnated or something."
The ship hummed loudly, bringing the wolves closer together so they could hear.
"Reborn." said Kiba. "We were reset, and reborn...the Flower awakened our spirit of the wolf."
No one questioned the white wolf; the explanation seemed believable enough.
Hige smiled, and leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes thoughtfully.
"Did you guys ever notice," began Tsume. "That in our alternate lives, everything was in disorder– practically the end of the world?"
"It was the end of the world." replied Kiba.
"So what changed it?" asked Hige.
"The wolves...we were not there to send the world into a panic." Kiba explained slowly. "It was just a story, not a legend in history...with us in the picture, the humans became violent against each other, eventually killing off the world because they couldn't figure out whose religion was right, and whose would send them to hell...when we were missing, no one had any reason to disagree; it was as if the wolves had never walked the earth..."
"What?" demanded Hige.
"Ever since I was struck by that sword, I have been...putting pieces together in my head." he turned to the others. "I believe I have it figured out."
"So we're the bad guys, huh?" said Tsume.
Kiba nodded.
"That's not true!" cried Hige. "We're good! We're saving the world!"
"No.." said Kiba. "We were destroying it, all along."
Tsume looked down, leaning against the wall with a sigh.
Cher glanced over at the wolves, but said nothing.
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Nearing Freeze City, Darcia noticed a speck of yellow on the ground below, and he slowed his ship to stare.
It was a wolf. And it looked up now, seeming frightened.
Frowning, Darcia checked his radar. The flower was right below him.
That wolf! He thought. Is he the Chosen One? Darica ran to the window and stared down at the wolf began to run for his life, though Darcia had not started to chase him yet. How did he get past Jaguara...? he wondered. He closed his eyes briefly, and decided to capture the wolf. He may be the very key to Paradise...he thought. His lips pulled into a relaxed smile. If that wolf really did kill Jaguara, then I have nothing in my way now...
He lowered the ship dangerously low to the ground, and sent it flying across the terrian after the pale-yellow wolf.
Shita groaned, darting back and forth like a rabbit. Oh crap! He thought. What if he catches me? What if– "Ahhhite!" the wolf yelped, rolling around in the snow, a red net enclosing him from above.
Darcia approached the struggling wolf as it gnawed at the ropes, it's golden eyes blazing.
"You are not any wolf I have seen," said Darcia slowly. "And you are very young– and weak. How strange that the Flower chose you..."
"Let me go, and I will share Paradise with you!" said Shita, almost angrily.
Darcia stared at the wolf with a blank expression, before reaching down and pulling the glass container from the net. The wolf growled and snapped, trying to break free.
"Give that back!" he shouted.
Darcia walked back into his ship, and closed the door.
A moment later, the net rose into the sky, tightening around the wolf, and carrying him over the world. Terrified, the young wolf passed out.
Inside his ship, Darcia placed the container on a shelf, and gazed at it. "You are in my possession now, Flower." he told it gently. "I promise you, no harm will come to you."
"Shita...Shita..." cried the Flower quietly.
"Shita cannot save you now." said Darcia, placing a hand on the glass, as if trying to comfort the flower. "I will take you to my castle, and make you a proper lady....you will bloom. And I will open the true Paradise, and save my beloved Hamona."
The flower said nothing, so Darcia turned and programmed the system to head for his castle.
Behind him, the flower began to cry.
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It wasn't long before Cher spotted the other Noble ship.
She pointed, stating, "There's another ship of the Nobles. What do we do?" she asked, looking at Kiba who came to stand beside her in his human illusion.
Kiba stared out for a moment, before answering, "I think we should try and go around it." As he spoke, Tsume and Hige came and looked out as well. Kiba continued, "There's no telling who is aboard there, or whose side they're on."
"What's that hanging from the bottom?" Hige asked, pointing.
Leaning close to the window, the noticed the red net underneath.
"Is something it there...?" asked Hige.
"It's a wolf." said Tsume.
"...The Chosen wolf." added Kiba.
"Are you sure?" asked Tsume.
Kiba nodded. "Hige, can you smell the flower?"
Hige sniffed the air. "Yeah. I can smell it. That's differently them."
Tsume sighed. "So what now? Cant just blow them up, or we'd kill the Flower."
Cher looked around, digging through shelves, digging through drawers, finally deciding to ask their captured man instead. "What kind of weapon do you have that can stop that ship?"
"W-we...don't have anything like that." said the man. "P-pplease...c-can you please kill me now?"
Cher looked at the wolves.
Hige shrugged.
Tsume nodded.
Kiba shook his head.
Cher hit the man up-side the head, and he collapsed. "He's useless..." she spat.
"Cher..." Kiba said quietly. "What ever happened to Hubb?"
"Hubb...?" Cher's eyes widened, and a look of horror washed over her pretty face. "I... I tried to call him..I...don't know where he is, or what he's doing...I–"
"It's fine." said Kiba quickly. "I'm sure he's safe."
Cher looked back out the window, nervously. How could I have ever forgotten you, Hubb? She thought sadly. I shouldn't have ever left work and gone to my appointment... I should have gone straight to you....I should have–
Look out!" shouted Hige.
Tsume ran over and grabbed the main steering control and jerked the ship to the left, but it was too late. A missel shot out from the other Noble ship, hitting their ship hard on the right end. The ship was violently jerked, nearly flipped upside-down. The wolves skidded along the floor, digging their nails into it's glossy surface.
The passed out man, during the explosion, had been swung around, and hit his neck brutally against a desk. He was killed instantly. Glancing down at him, they all silently agreed he was dead by his limp demeanor.
"What do we do!" Shouted Hige.
"We return fire!" yelled Cher over the sounding alarms. She ran over and grabbed a lever, thumping open the cap to reveal the button.
"Cher, wait!" cried Kiba.
But she had already made up her mind to press it.
Tsume threw himself on top of her, pinning her to the ground. "Will you just calm down!" the gray wolf barked in her face, his ears flat against his head, lips quivering.
Cher's face paled, and she began to shake.
"Tch.!" Tsume hopped off and stood beside Kiba, both appearing human now. "What do we do?" asked Tsume, repeating Hige's question.
Hige stood up, groaning as blood began to leak out of his lips. "We..should race them to Jaguara's...then fight Darcia when he lands."
Kiba gave the wolf a faint smile. "That's a good idea, Hige." he said.
"I like the sound of that." agreed Tsume.
Cher stood up slowly, leaning against a wall, grabbing on to a steady pole just in case something were to happen.
Kiba grabbed the lever and pulled it away from him, making the ship gain speed. Tsume watched, then looked up out the window.
Hige looked over at Cher. "Are you...?" but he didn't finish. She was very pale, and she looked more terrorized than a cornered rabbit. He went over, tail tucked, and stood with the others, illusion up.
The passed the other Noble ship easily, zooming by it at an amazing rate. Hige almost laughed at the simplicity of it all. "By crazy weirdo!" he said, waving through the back window.
Kiba and Tsume glanced over at him.
"Hige, settle down." said Kiba.
Tsume looked ahead to their destination. Damn this ship moves fast. He thought. "We're almost there." he told them. "That castle's either Darcia's or Jaguara's...think it's Darcia's."
Kiba walked over and looked. He nodded. "Jaguara's isn't much farther." he said.
"Are you sure he's going to land other there and not here?" asked Hige, turning from the window.
Kiba turned and looked at the other wolf. But at seeing what was coming, he couldn't speak.
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Darcia watched as the twin-missals were fired ahead of him, spinning through the air like fairies. "...and then there was none." Darcia said quietly.
The missals struck the ship on both sides, and it blew up from the inside out, bellowing up in a great rolling wave of orange flames. Black smoke began to climb into the clouds while the ship began to fall, twisting, out of the sky and to the ground below.
In the net, Shita awoke from the smell of machinery smoke, and began to howl in fear. "Flower, Flower!" he cried. "Are you still there?"
"Shita..." the flower said in his mind. "This one is afraid...this one does not think we will live..."
Deciding to land, Darcia lowered his ship to the ground, and stepped out of his ship. Gazing around his dark, depressing castle, Darcia's heart beated rapidly when he thought of the great Paradise that awaited him. He left the wolf in the net, unattended, and walked calmly inside, closing the doors behind him in a lordly manner.
Shita growled, and chewed the ropes, the remaining of his puppy-teeth sharp enough to cut metal. But these ropes were laced with dark magic that prevented the wolf from breaking the bond. "Damn it!" he swore, his teeth beginning to bleed. He looked over at the ship beside him. "Flower, what do we do?"
"Be quiet, wolf...this one will sing to you and put your heart at ease...it is a song only this one and the others like this one know..."
Whining, the wolf laid down, and listened, perking his ears up.
The Flower began to sing:
"Shailoh Shailoh, yatreet ka.....Shailoh shna.. otvit ka.......
Hahla Hahla.. ahlah hah........Shailoh washnee, fortee ney.....
Shailoh Shailoh, yatreet ka.......Omen nio hah...."
She repeated her song at least three times in a soft, melodious voice, by the time Darcia had returned. He opened the doors with his foot, and stepped out.
Shita woke up abruptly when the flower stopped singing, and he looked over at the castle.
Walking down towards his ship, Darcia carried Hamona in his arms, with a blanket over one shoulder. He went into his ship, ignoring the pale-yellow wolf as he started to bark and snarl. Laying his love in the bed he had prepared, he folded the blanket neatly into a pillow, and rested her head on it. She did not smile, nor did she acknowledge his presence. With a quiet frown, Darcia gazed at her a moment longer before turning back to the ship door and closing it.
A moment later, Shita was lifted up into the air, and the ship started off towards the frozen oceans.
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"D...damn..it..." groaned Kiba, crawling along the snow, dragging his two broken legs behind him, trailing blood. His mouth quivered angrily, pained and desperate. He looked back behind him at the ruined ship, at the smoldering fires. He followed the smoke up into the sky, tilting his head back. He started choking, and looked away.
"Hige!"
Kiba blinked, opening his eyes. He didn't remember closing them. Sliding his head on the snow, he faced back to the ship and watched as a bloodied gray wolf hopped around on three legs, the back left leg twisted up against his chest.
"T...su...me..?" whispered Kiba.
"Hige!" shouted Tsume, clawing at a pile of rubble. Blinking back clots of ash from his eyes, Tsume stared down and tried to focus n the piece of shrapnel he was trying to move. His paws raked across a small gap, and he tried to pull it open over and over, crying out his friend's name that he smelled. Right between the gap, Hige's nose was just barely shown, lightened only by the sunlight above. Tsume growled. One of his nails were torn off in his struggle, immediately beginning to bleed. Snarling, the wolf kept clawing, scraping, beating the tiny gap with his feet. He lost another nail, it tearing off crookedly to expose the hot, pink flesh underneath. Howling out in anger, Tsume leaped over to the other piece that was in the way, and tried moving it.
"Tsume..." repeated Kiba, trembling. He could not feel his legs.
The other piece of metal slid and snapped shut, Tsume falling, rolling off onto the ground as a long, agonized howl broke from underneath the metal.
"Hige!" cried Tsume.
Kiba blinked at the gray wolf, not knowing what to do. He felt sick, but at the same time, happy. If wolves were the evil ones, then it was good that they were dying...wasn't it?
Tsume finally noticed the white wolf. Both of his back legs were completely flat, only blood and fur remained. There was no sign of Cher– not even her scent. And now –Tsume glanced back at the gap that he had shut– it was possible he had just crushed the remaining life out of Hige.
"Tsume.." whispered Kiba weakly.
He looked, his face broken.
"It's...okay. We're...going...to Paradise." Kiba tried to smile, but failed.
Tsume sat down, and said nothing, looking back at the place where blood began to spill out into the snow.
Kiba rolled over onto his side, pressing the left side of his face into the snow. He opened his mouth and let out a low, strained howl.
Tsume took up the call.
The two wolves called back and forth, until one of them died. The one left alone turned from the wreckage, and followed the fading scent of the flower, walking slowly, pained, with only sorrow in his heart.
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The sun blazed down on Shita as he dozed in and out of sleep, rocked gently by the net. He looked down and noticed that they were at the frozen ocean; the place the flower told him the gate would be to Paradise.
Darcia landed the ship a few yards away from the Gate, where a tiny clear pool of water stretched out as the only thing not frozen. He glanced over at Hamona, asleep in her bed. "We are here, my love." he told her quietly. "You wont have to wait much longer." The man turned and took the flower off the shelf, holding the container close to his face. "I'm sorry I could not change you into something more..durable. You will just have to open the Gateway as you are."
The flower said nothing.
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Shita watched as the man exit the ship, walking over to him. The pale-yellow wolf pretended to be dead, thinking maybe the man might toss him out. But he didn't. Once the net was off, Darcia grabbed the wolf by the back of his neck and drug him across the snow, walking towards the small pool.
"There!" Darcia hatefully said, throwing the wolf ahead of him, Shita's nose just touching the water's surface. Whimpering, the wolf backed away. Darcia opened the container, placing the flower on the ground in a small crack. He watered it with the green liquid, then stepped back.
Blinking, Shita felt like he was supposed to do something, so he went over to the flower and nudged it.
"Don't touch it!" snapped Darcia, drawing out his sword.
Shita backed away. Damn it, what do I do? He thought. Flower? Flower? What do I do?
The flower began to grow. It grew upwards and out, it's white petals spreading into a dozen full, arm-like wings. The center of the flower changed into a soft pink, with a blood-red dot in the center. The roots of the flower traveled through the crack, then above it, snaking it's way to the water. Darcia watched this display with a face of contentment; he knew everything was working out for the best, and that this Chosen wolf had no idea what he was doing.
Once the root touched the surface, Darcia walked over to the awe-struck Shita and grabbed his by the neck again. He dropped the wolf in front of the water, and the Gate, sensing the Chosen, opened. Seeming to float on the surface of the water, was an opening that lead into a green, flowing, bright world of beauty and freedom. Trees grew with lush, golden fruits, flowers of all kinds flourished in patches beneath giant, leafy plants. In the sky, the sun was a gentle glow of yellow. It was perfection. It was Paradise.
Shita leaned forward, sniffing, smelling the new world that laid before him.
"Get away from there!" yelled Darcia. He grabbed Shita by the back this time, and slung him across the frozen terrain.
Yelping, Shita was surprised to realize he had been bitten. Examining Darcia closer, he saw past his illusion and saw the black wolf that he really was.
Darcia stepped over to the pale-yellow wolf, and stabbed his sword into his back before the wolf had the chance to move, the blade sinking past the bones, cutting into organs, tearing important sacks, and ate into the frozen earth. It stopped moving, became stuck– unable to be pulled out.
The man walked over to the flower, and said quietly, "Thank you." then he turned and walked over to his ship. He had no grudge against the little flower. He came out of the ship with Hamona in his arms once more. "Hamona, my love...do you feel it?" he asked her quietly, stepping carefully through the snow. "Paradise...I have brought you to Paradise."
In his arms, Hamona stirred, muttering quietly in her honey-sweet voice. Darcia did not ask for her to repeat herself. He knew that, once inside Paradise, they would have all the time in the world to talk in peace.
Shita watched the wolf carry the woman on his back, the illusion broken from his mind. Hamona's long, golden hair trailed the snow behind them, gathering bits of dirt and wolf's blood.
Darcia did not notice.
Standing in front of the Gate, Darcia gave the flower one last look before making up his mind to never look back again.
"Darcia...?" whispered Hamona quietly.
He looked down at her, his eyes wide with excitement.
A smile spread faintly across her pale, yet beautiful face. "I see it...I see Paradise..."
Darcia could only nod, too lost for words.
"Darcia...I love you...I...feel like...dancing..."
The man looked up at the Gate of Paradise, and said, "Then let us dance in Paradise, forever, my love." He took a step forward.
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While leaving the remains of the Noble ship, Tsume had caught Cher's scent at last, so he ran to find it. But he did not find what he expected.
On the ground was only her left arm, torn from her body that was still missing. He figured she must have been blown up, along with the ship– and this would be all that is left of her. Sighing, the gray wolf continued his trek towards the blooming scent of the flower, though he knew in his heart he would never each it in time.
Something caught his eye, and he turned around.
Down Cher's blackish, swollen arm, on one of her fingers of her hand, was a wedding ring. Tilting his head, he saw an inscription:
'My Beloved Wife, I Give My Soul To Thee- Hubb.'
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When Darcia stepped into Paradise, it vanished like a soap-bubble. He scooted his foot back from the water, and stared in black horror at the black fire that appeared in front of him. A second later, he and Hamona lit up in this darkness, their bodies turning an inner red light, their skin melting off of their mussels; mussels and tissues drying up, sticking to the bones, which then began to shrink–– all the while the lovers were screaming, holding on to each other as they tried to make the pain stop by will-power–– until there was nothing left but ash.
Breathless, Shita struggled against the sword that pierced inside him, whining. "Flower?" he said. "Flower, are you okay?"
But the flower fell over, withering quickly since it had no will to live.
Shita gave a long, loud howl of pain and sadness, his lungs drinking in blood the longer he kept his note. His song ended abruptly as he choked, and died.
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Tsume howled back to the wolf he heard, so far away. He did not know who he was, but he took comfort in the fact that another wolf knew what pain he was feeling. But when the wolf did not return his song, he knew that that wolf had died.
Without knowing what else to do, Tsume ran across the snowy land, seeking the lunar flower, smelling it as blood began to build in his nose. Tsume lost his vision for a split-second, and he fell on top of himself, his twisted, mangled leg ripping even further.
Damn it...what kind of world is this? He wondered. Was Kiba really right? Are we really the bad guys here? He closed his eyes. If we're bad because we aim to protect what is ours and keep order by instinct, then I guess humans are good because they steal and murder each other without cause... a smile twitched on his lips. How ironic...he thought quietly.
As the life faded from his painfully beating heart, Tsume wondered if bad dogs go to hell.
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The clock struck 12 in the afternoon. Children ran on the streets with smiles on their faces, while parents busily chased them down, warning them not to run out in front of cars. They were hyped up since yesterday's Fair, and seemed oblivious to their good parents rules. Only ten minutes later, one of the children would be struck by a car, and die.
Excited young girls stopped by the kitten seller, who had gotten rid of his sign, and told the girls, quite bluntly, that they were free. The little white kitten was the first to go.
The police were busy with locating several missing people and, on top of that, had to make time to visit a funeral arrangement center since an old lady, known by the local children as 'Granny,' had a heart attack last night.
But the children would never listen to their parents.
The kitten would never be happy with the girls.
And the missing people would never be found: Only the crows knew where the bodies had vanished to.
They lick their beaks in remembrance, always cawing, cawing loudly to their fellow birds when some one knew comes into town.
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