CHAPTER TEN

:She Who Strikes, Strikes Again:

Rosis woke in his bed an hour later, three Shadow Walkers by his side, along with his Hounds, who scratched at the walls impatiently.

"Ugh... What...?" He sat up and checked himself over. "The Shadow... It's gone."

"Yes, Master Rosis." The Walker that helped him make the spell nodded. There was a tall Walker and a short Walker next to him. "You are immune to the Shadow now. It cannot kill you anymore. But it could still take over, so be careful."

"Oh, yes!" The short Walker said. "Don't get too angry, or you may turn into a Shadow Raposa unexpectedly."

"Master Rosis..." The tall Walker looked down on him. "I have heard some news from the Raposa Village..."

"Go on..." He raised himself from the bed to pet Dover the Shadow Hound.

"...And it seems to be that the villagers have captured Circi."

Circi. She could end up being Rosis's worst enemy. If she told the village what he was up to, he and the Shadows would be doomed. But why would Mari or Jowee believe her? Circi was never faithful: neither to them nor Rosis. But if she managed to convince them... His plan would fail. Rosis had to do something... Fast.

He emerged from his bedroom in a hurry, three or four Shadow Bats screeching down the landing. Rosis leapt down the stairs andran through the kitchen, Wilfre's study and into the hallway. Beside him were two doors, one to the bathroom and the other to the storage cupboard. He raced out of the front door and looked up into the sky: it was grey and swirling with black clouds of Darkness. The trees were coated with Shadow and the ground was now dry and cracked.

Rosis ran on through the main path until. He remembered something: he hadn't been back to the village since he had helped to look for Circi... What if the villagers were looking for him? He sighed and decided to take a shortcut through the clouds of Darkness that hung low below the canopy of the tallest trees. He was glad the Darkness didn't effect him, and he knew no one would find him in there. While Rosis walked blindly down the misty paths, he saw a sight that was vaguely familiar...

There was a patch of grass up ahead, but it was a not dull green with Shadow covering it, it was pure white.

"What the...?" Rosis whispered to himself.

He ran his hand over the top of the bright grass, and the closer he got the more it became clear what had happened.

Before Rosis was old enough to understand, he was told that a dark Raposa spread something through the land. He now knew that it was Wilfre. But he was also told that the village went on an adventure through the open seas, on a quest to restore the colour to the world. Restoring the colour that Wilfre had taken...

Rosis suddenly realised something. This white grass had no colour because the Darkness was taking it away... Was he going to become the new Wilfre?

The Raposa jogged away from the colourless grass and closer to the main path. When he was very young, he was warned to never enter the colourless areas, as they were a danger to him and everybody else. But it wasn't everybody... He, Wilfre and Circi could enter the uncoloured zones and not be hurt. The villagers certainly could not... If the colour continued to strip away from his world, the Raposa Village could be in great danger.

This struck a thought through him. And it wasn't a good one. Was he really doing a good thing?

Further on, it was white on black: colourless trees and paths all around him. Rosis began to panic as a chunk of the uncoloured area spread along the ground slowly. If that reached the village...

He left the cover of the Darkness and got to the Raposa Village on the path. The sun was hiding behind a cloud as he walked through the main gates, which squeaked with rust. The village seemed to have gained a few years while he was gone.

"Mari...?" Rosis called out, his voice echoing through the streets. "Jowee...? Anyone...?"

But there came no answer. The Raposa Village was empty.

There was a shuffle. He spun to face its direction and discovered a small Rapoboy, Farmer Brown's son, standing at his feet.

"Hi, there..." Rosis said gently.

"Hello." He whispered. "I can't find Ma or Pa..."

"Listen, I'll help you find them." He replied. "As long as you tell me what happened here."

"Y'all help me?! Thanks," The Rapoboy tugged at the sleeve of his jumper. "Mari lead everyone out of the village when there was a Shadow attack."

"A Shadow attack...?" Rosis couldn't remember sending out a posse into the Raposa Village. "Who was behind it?"

"Well, we found that Circi hovering around. And we always thought it was her doing all this here Shadow business. And as soon as ma Pa brought her back here, the Shadows came here!"

"Oh..." He sighed. "Do you know where Mari took the villagers?"

He pointed out through the village gate. "Through that there gate. She took them up into the mountains, near the Snowfeilds. Apparently there be a village up there!"

"Come on, we'd best find the others there."

"But..." The Raposa looked up at him. "Y'all said you'd help find ma Pa..."

"Don't worry," Rosis lead him away. "I'm sure he's with the rest of the village."

The Raposa agreed and set off down the path. There Darkness was spreading, so was the uncoloured zones. The Rapoboy hi behind him.

"Oh no..." He whispered. "The uncoloured bits have come back. I remember when Wilfre did all this back when..."

There was a crack of a twig behind them.

"Ooh, Rosis!" Yelled a Raposa with glasses.

"Isaac!" Rosis ran over to him. "Are you alright?! What happened?"

Isaac's breath curled in the cold air. "Mari..." He huffed. "Took the villagers... Into... The mountains. There was an... Attack from the Shadows... Half of the group was separated..." He caught his breath and called behind him. "Come on, it's okay. It's only Rosis..."

Several Raposa appeared from the trees.

"Luckily, I found the others." Isaac continued.

Rosis scanned the bunch of Raposa carefully. Galileo, Count Choco, Cindi and a few other villagers were there.

"Hm," He said. "Any sign of Farmer Brown?"

"No, sorry." Isaac shook his head sadly. "He was with the other group. They're heading to the Snowy Village near Frostwind's cave."

"So I heard..."

"I'm taking it upon myself to lead these villagers there too."

Rosis narrowed his eyes. "How do you know its safe? If the Shadows got to the Raposa Village, what's stopping them from getting to the Snowy Village?"

He dived into his pocket and pulled out a long piece of paper. "It was tied to a bird."

"What is it?"

"A message. It's to say that their village is there if we need it, and that they saw Darkness headed our way. It wasn't ten minutes later that the Shadow attacked. We had no choice but to go there..."

Galileo looked around. "Well, I'd hate to be a rusher, but there is something quite large at stake here. Perhaps we should hurry it along...?"

"He's right." Isaac nodded. "Come on, you saw what the Darkness did to the village. We don't want that to happen to us."

Rosis stared down the path. "The Darkness did that to the village...?"

"Oh, yes..." He began to walk. "A few minutes after the Darkness had struck, the village began to fall apart. As if it was one-hundred-years-old... it's strange. The Darkness didn't do that last time, not when Wilfre struck. That's why I think it's not him doing all this..."

"Then who could it be...?"

"Anyone, Rosis, it could be anyone. Circi is Farmer Brown's idea but I'd go against it if I were you. She's been locked up for a while now and she's been monitored by Cricket. For the Shadow to progress do quickly, there'd have to have been someone controlling it... HAD to be, there's no other explanation." Isaac shrugged. "But about this Shadow again, I think it's a hybrid."

"Why?"

"Well, take a look at it." He pointed to the heaps of black goop. "Its not the same as the last, I'll give you that... Look, it seems to have a mind of its own, even the smaller stuff."

Rosis muttered under his breath. "Maybe it's because I created it this time, not Wilfre..."

"Hm?"

"Oh, nothing..." He smiled vaguely. "So what of Circi? Did she get separated from the group?"

"Circi?" Isaac shook his head, stumbling over a tree root. "Oh, no. She's still with the other group. We'll be having a meeting to discuss what to do with her at Snowy Village."

There rest of the journey was silent. The Raposa walked along the dirt path in twos, Isaac leading with his daughter by his side, then it was Rosis and Farmer Brown's son. The dirt turned to snow as they began to trudge up a steep hill. The rocks were getting pointier and sharper as they made their way onto the mountain path, and the trees were no longer thick and bushy with leaves, instead they were bare and thick with snow.

Rosis shivered and looked up to the sky. The clouds were thick and white, tiny prisms of ice falling from them.

"Gah..." He rubbed his shoulders. "How much further, Isaac?"

"Shouldn't be long now..." Isaac replied, wiping the lenses of his glasses. "The Snowy Village should be just over this hill."

The Raposa followed the path until the hill reached its summit and gasped at the view ahead of them.

"Told you so." He crossed his arms and lead them onward.

There was an entire village made of ice spread out before them. The roads, the houses, the streetlights, they were all made of ice.

Rosis skidded and slipped over as he set foot onto the main path. "Whoah?!" He snapped, grabbing onto the cuff of Isaac's trousers.

"Better be careful, Rosis, if you fall on a slope you might travel all the way to the bottom..." He laughed.

The Raposa made it into the village centre and looked around at the locals, who pointed and stared at their brightly coloured fur. The locals, you see, were not like the villagers, they had crystal white fur that was thick and bushy. They each wore warm furs made of animal skin and necklaces made of precious stones.

"What..." Rosis began, staring. "...What are they?"

"Raposa, like us." Isaac answered, leading them to a frozen wishing well in the village centre.

"Yeah, but I've never seen a Rapo like that before. Look at their fur, it's white..."

A Rapoman came up to them and shook Isaac and Rosis's hands. "Greetings, Raposa, and welcome to the Snowy Village." He was dressed in silver armour, a sword tucked away in its scabbard. "I am Teal, the head knight for the Snowy Village." Teal did a quick salute. "At your service, Sirs."

Isaac smiled. "Has there been any other Raposa arriving here, besides us?"

"Hm..." Teal pulled a note book from inside of his armour and began to flick through the pages. "Let me see... nope. There's been no more Rapos coming through this gate besides you."

"What?!" An oldrapo snapped from the back of the group. "Isaac, where do you think they are?"

Isaac huffed, hiding his worry. "It's okay, I'm sure they'll be around... somewhere..."

Rosis looked back the way they came and began to fiddle with the tip of his ears. "Teal... are you sure you haven't just missed them?"

"No, I've been on watch all day. No one gets through this gate without me knowing about it." he pointed to the icy path the villagers had come down.

"So," Isaac started to shake in the cold. "How come you're so tied up with the guarding and stuff...?"

Teal sighed. "Well, our lookout Raposa have spotted the Darkness headed our way. We have to make sure no Shadow Creatures get in or out of this village. After all, it's the only place to be free of the stuff besides Frostwind's caves... and trust me, we're gonna need protection when that ugly beast succumbs to the Shadow again."

Rosis shivered. "Hey, have you got any place for us to hold up while the others get here?"

"Sure," he pointed ahead. "The Main Hall, that's that great surly building up there."

The Raposa gazed at the statues that clung to its walls.

"It's right ugly , isn't it?" Teal laughed and began to walk along the ice path. "Come on, I shall escort you to it."

"Whoa...!" Isaac slipped around on the ice. He stared at Teal, who walked normally. "How can you walk like that?"

"Like this?" the knight walked in a circle normally and laughed. "Hah! You village Rapos ain't used to walking on ice, huh? Well, we Arctic Raposa are special. We have proper pads on our paws to help us grip on the ice and snow, and our fur is thick and white to help us blend in."

"Blend in?" Rosis put a hand on a frozen lamppost for balance. "What do you need to blend in for?"

Teal looked up and pointed to a cave in the mountains.