"Cheza!" a young woman in a lab coat cried as she ran towards the girl lying in a pile of flowers. The girl struggled to open her eyes, and when she did her rose colored eyes made contact with the woman's blue eyes. She moved her mouth in an attempt to say something, the young woman leaned in to listen.

"Yes...yes I saw it too. No... it wasn't real...Yes they'll come." The woman broke into tears and hugged the girl, the girl smiled weakly. They were interrupted by Jaguara screaming at Darcia.

"Why do you love her and not me?!" she demanded as she took her sword out and ran at Darcia. The two clashed swords, but Jaguara was clearly overpowering Darcia.

"I love you..." she whispered as Darcia staggered on his feet. "It's alright...come to Paradise."

"Stop it!" Darcia shouted as he dropped his sword and fell to his knee. Jaguara snickered.

"That's right...it's poison. Now you will belong to me..." Jaguara said as Darcia fell onto the floor, unconscious. A blur of brown fur ran across and jumped at her, trying to bite at her neck but she dodged it. Hige ran at her again, leaping at her face but she easily sidestepped it.

"Don't get in the way!" Jaguara screamed as she threw her sword at Hige. The sword sunk into Hige's shoulder and he let out a whine of pain, his blood splattered across the grey floor. Cheza, hurt by the sight of wolf's blood focused on the figure that was standing at the doorway behind Jaguara.

"Kiba..." Cheza whispered. All eyes turned towards where Cheza was looking at, to see the white wolf standing. Wounded and exhausted, but still alive.

"What are you doing here?" hissed Jaguara. "Get out!"

"Paradise is ours" said Kiba. "We're taking it back!" And with that, he leaped at Jaguara.

Tsume and Toboe were busy taking the sword out of Hige's body.

"I have to..." whispered Hige as he struggled to stand up, blood dripping from the wound and splattering onto the floor.

"Don't try to move" Toboe said, his voice breaking.

"I promised...to make things right!"

"Hige!" cried Toboe

"That's enough!" Tsume shouted at him.

"I gave...my word!" he said resolutely.

Meanwhile, Kiba was still fighting with Jaguara and when he leaped at her, she waited until he hit the floor. Then when he readied to run at her, she casted an energy circle around him.

"I'll take all of your strength this time!" she screamed. Kiba felt his strength draining, but he stood his ground, trying to walk through the circle.

"How...? That's impossible!" cried Jaguara.

"My my..." a voice said across the room. Jaguara and Kiba's eyes instantly went to the speaker. "If you're going to create an energy circle, at least do it right." All of the sudden, energy circles appeared under all of the wolves in the room. Hige and Toboe dropped to the floor instantly, snarling. Tsume who was desperately struggling to stay standing didn't last long, and he fell to the floor. Kurai stepped into the room with his red eyes flashing. He looked at Kiba and grinned a sadistic smile.

"Looks like one circle won't hold you down," he said. Another circle appeared under Kiba, and despite Kiba's valiant effort, he collapsed onto the floor gasping for air.

"Kurai..." Jaguara said, smiling. "I am glad you decided to join us."

"Shut your mouth, noble" snarled Kurai. "You should have handled this easily, I didn't teach you this spell for it to go to waste." Jaguara flinched at his harsh words, but she was content with him being here. If he hadn't shown up...they might have been able to kill her.

"Now... what shall we do with these poor puppies" Kurai said as he gazed upon the struggling wolves. "I think we should kill their leader to demoralize them" he said as he approached Kiba. who was lying on his side on the ground, panting for breath.

"Leave him alone!" Toboe cried from where he was. Tsume growled at him, but Kurai only laughed. He gripped Kiba's neck with his fangs, preparing to sink his teeth in and rip his throat open. Cheza closed her eyes and streams of tears fell from her face, she was too weak to help him.

"That's enough, brother" came a warning snarl from the other side of the doorway. Kiba opened one eye and saw Shiroi standing with his eyes glowing with rage, along with his markings. He growled at Kurai to get away from the white wolf.

"Hikaru..." Toboe said. "You...can talk?" Shiroi looked at the young pup and smiled his wolfish smile.

"Looks like you've broken my curse, Shiroi" he sneered. "And it took all of my love to give it to you too..." Shiroi didn't replay to his taunt. Instead his eyes laid upon the wolves who were trapped in the energy circles, and he concentrated on them.

All of the energy circles shattered at once, leaving the wolves on the floor panting.

"You're insane" shouted Shiroi. "How can you even think of killing your own kind?"

"My own kind? No, we're of different species than them, brother. We're superior, we're gods!" he shouted. "The strong may kill the weak, that is how life works."

"You're delusional!" snarled Shiroi. "I won't let you kill anymore. I'll stop you right now." With that, he lunged towards Kurai and the two wolves engaged in a vicious fight, snapping their teeths at each other and clawing their flanks. They rolled around the ground, and it seems like Shiroi was coming out on top. Shiroi kicked with his hind legs, separating the two of them and allowing him to breathe.

"You can't beat me, Kurai" hissed Shiroi warningly. "Give up now."

Kurai chuckled before setting his gaze on Shiroi. "It's true I can't beat you, how can I? The moon obviously favors you more. But did you notice the room that you're in right now?" Shiroi stared at Kurai, puzzled.

"Hikaru get away from there!" screamed Kiba. Kurai threw his head back and howled, and suddenly the giant doors in the room slammed closed, locking all the wolves( and humans) inside. The walls of the room began glowing a purple-ish color. Shiroi felt his strength leaving him as his legs trembled with he effort to stay standing. His markings and eyes began to dim, and he began to pant.

"This whole room was designed for you, Shiroi" he explained. "This will be your grave, you won't get out of here alive."

"Cursed Moonstones..." whispered Shiroi weakly. "How...did you...?" Then Shiroi glanced at Jaguara and knew exactly what happened. Kiba telling him that this whole place might be a trap...his premonition was correct.

"You devious bastard..." Shiroi hissed as he lunged at Kurai. Despite the Moonstones affecting him, he wasn't going to just give up like this. Even if the odds are stacked against him, he'll push on. That's how he lived his life. That's how (they) survived for so long. A flurry of blows were exchanged, and even with Shiroi's strength being sapped, he was still able to land bites and scratches on Kurai. But Shiroi was also wounded.

Shiroi stood panting with blood dripping down one of the gashes that Kurai gave him. He glared at Kurai as he watched his brother's eyes glow red. Suddenly, the wounds that Shiroi inflicted on him were gone. He healed them back up.

"Resorting to cheap tricks now, huh" Shiroi shook his head in shame. "I thought our parents taught you better than that." Even if Shiroi falls, he wasn't going to let his brother have the satisfaction that he did when he tortured him in Darcia's keep.

Kurai's eyes blazed red. "Don't you ever talk of our parents ever again!" he screamed as he lunged at Shiroi, sinking his fangs into Shiroi's flank. Shiroi yelped in pain and tried to bite Kurai back, but the black wolf was just too strong. Kurai hurled Shiroi into the wall, and Shiroi hit the wall with a sickening crunch. He fell to the floor, blood dripping from his jaws. He was panting heavily now, the Cursed Moonstones were doing their job of draining his energy. His body convulsed and he started coughing up blood.

"Hikaru!" cried Toboe as he struggled to stand up and come to Shiroi's aid. Hige was wounded, Kiba basically had all his energy sapped, only Tsume and Toboe were struggling to get up. Toboe stood up and sprinted to Shiroi's side, snarling warningly at Kurai as he approached.

"No..." whispered Shiroi hoarsely. "Move, he doesn't want you...he wants me."

"Never! I'll never abandon a packmate" Toboe said as he stood his ground and looked at Kurai, who only smiled at him.

"So the young pup wants to die first. I will grant you that wish" Kurai laughed, his eyes glowing red as he approached the quivering pup.

"Please..." begged Shiroi. "Don't..."

"I told you I would kill them, brother. I warned you" hissed Kurai. "I'll start with this one" he opened his mouth, revealing his fangs to Toboe. Tsume growled from where he was trying to stand up.

"Stop!" a girl's voice cried from across the room. Shiroi weakly lifted his head and saw the young girl who smelled of Lunar Flowers staggering over to them. "Please stop..."

Kurai's eyes clouded with confusion for a second. He looked at her defiantly. "Who the hell are you?" he snarled into her face. "If you don't get out of the way, wolves aren't the only thing I'm going to kill."

"Kurai..." she whispered his name. He froze. "Don't you remember me...? Shiroi, do you...remember me?" she said while looking down at Shiroi, then to Kurai.

"Yes..." Shiroi said quietly before coughing up another mouthful of blood. Kurai stared at her in fury. "I don't remember you, and even if I did...I won't stop now!"

"Kurai...it's me..." Cheza whispered. "Please remember. Please remember the past. Remember the adventure with this one. Remember Paradise."

Kurai stood shaking, whether from anger or confusion, Shiroi didn't know.

"How..? I saw you die...I saw it with my own eyes" Kurai's voice was barely audible. Shiroi then noticed a change in Kurai's eyes. His eyes were no longer red, but they have returned to their normal shade of blue. Tears were on his face as he tried to keep his breathing under control.

"This one has been reborn" she said while reaching up with her hand to touch Kurai's head. But he jerked away.

"NO! Don't touch me!" he cried as he turned away from her, leaving her in shock. "I've done so many evil deeds...To get revenge on my brother. But my revenge was based on sheer rage... I tortured my brother and I killed countless people..." Kurai was trembling uncontrollably now. He looked at Shiroi with sad eyes. "I'm sorry Shiroi. I..." He never finished his sentence, but instead he walked away with his tail tucked between his legs in defeat. "There's nowhere left for me to go. I have to continue down this path..."

"Kurai!" Shiroi cried desperately, but his screaming made his wounds worst, as he violently began to shake and convulse. "You don't...have to go down...this road..." Shiroi said weakly, but Kurai didn't hear him. As Kurai walked away from the group, Shiroi saw Jaguara watching him with hateful eyes. She raised her sword and ran at him, intending to catch the black wolf off guard.

"If you're not going to help me, then you're of no use to me!" she screamed as she charged at him. Kurai was totally unprepared for this surprise assault, and as he turned around to face his doom, a blur of white wolf rammed into him and pushed him aside. Shiroi used the last of his strength to push Kurai away from danger. Jaguara's sword pierced right through his body, and Shiroi fell to the floor on his side with blood flowing down his jaws. Kiba then leaped up and bit Jaguara's neck, but the wound wasn't enough to kill her. She stumbled back until her back made contact with Darcia. She turned around.

"Darcia..." she said, smiling at him. He stabbed her right through her body with a sword, and she fell to the floor with a shocked expression on her face. Darcia then turned to Kiba and revealed a black orb object in his hand before walking away.

"Shiroi...SHIROI!" Kurai cried his brother's name out. "Please, no..." Shiroi opened his eyes halfway, but his vision was blurred and he couldn't really tell who the figures were standing beside him.

"Why...why would you do that. Especially after I made you suffer...and tried to kill you. Why Shiroi?" he demanded. Tears streamed down his eyes.

"It's a big brother's duty...to protect his little brother..." Shiroi said, chuckling. His body then convulsed and he coughed more blood up. His body was trembling now. Kiba and Tsume pulled the sword out of Shiroi's body, Shiroi's eyes grimaced in pain and he let out a whine while they did it. Cheza knelt beside him and put her hands on Shiroi's body. She tried healing him, but she was already too weak.

"That's...enough" Shiroi said, pawing Cheza's hands away from him. "I...just need...to rest a while..." and his eyes started to close.

"Hikaru!" Kiba and Toboe shouted. Tsume looked away, trying not to show his despair. Hige was still unconscious on the floor.

"We need to get him out of here" Kurai said. "This place is filled with Cursed Moonstones." He looked around, guilty. "It's interfering with his healing." Kurai then walked over to Hige, and gently touched his nose with Hige's wound, healing it instantly. As he looked around to Shiroi, he noticed a young man carrying him, while talking to the female with the lab coat on. The young wrapped his jacket around Shiroi, trying to keep him warm as Kiba helped Hige to his feet. Kurai followed them in silence.

Once they left the castle, they noticed that the moon was brimming. They gently laid Shiroi on the floor and stepped back, waiting to see what happened. Nothing happened at first.

"Is he...still alive?" asked the young man. "The wound looks really deep...and he already lost a lot of blood while on the way..."

"Hubb, please..." said the woman. Toboe looked at Shiroi worriedly, whining and leaning in to lick his face. Suddenly, Shiroi's markings started to glow and the hole that the sword left started to mend itself back together. It didn't fully heal, the hole was still there but smaller. Kiba leaned in to listen to his breathing.

"He's still alive...barely. We need to get him to a safer place." Kurai looked at his unconscious brother. 300 years ago he reveled in seeing his brother suffer, and the worst part was, he was the one causing the suffering. How could he enjoy the sight of seeing his own brother tortured before his eyes? How could he enjoy the fact that he was the one doing the torturing? He leaned in and whispered in Shiroi's ear.

"I'm so sorry" he said, his voice filled with really meant it this time. Back when they were cubs, he would say sorry without really meaning it. But this time, he was truly sorry. He let his anger and need to vengeance overwhelm him, but yet Shiroi still accepted him. Shiroi never intended to kill him, but Kurai always fought with the intention of ending his life. He looked at the other wolves.

"I... don't know what to say," he whispered to them. Right now, the biggest threat to his brother's safety was himself. "I'm sorry. I...really am." he said to the wolves. They didn't respond, only simply stare at him. There really was no where left for him to go. He would leave this path of vengeance and hate, but what is he going to do after? He began walking away from the group.

"When he wakes up" Kurai said. "Tell him I'll step away from this path. Tell him that please" he said while turning back to look at the wolves. None of them said anything to him, or made eye contact with him. He couldn't blame them, he nearly killed one of their packmates and almost killed them all. But the young pup stood up and said, "I'll tell him." Kurai nodded his gratitude, sparing a glance at his brother's figure on the floor. He walked over, licked him affectionately on the ear before stepping back and walking away. Shiroi's wounds disappeared.

I guess this is goodbye he thought. I won't come near you again, brother. I have caused you too much suffering already. I'll walk this mortal plain myself. It's my penance.

As he walked away, he glanced up at the moon. Instead of the moon being the blue,luminous moon he once knew, it was red.