Dances with Wolves

Dances with Wolves

Author's Notes: I'm running out of things with 'Wolf' in the title.


The four heroes stared at the unconscious red-head for several seconds before Double D spoke. As usual, his was the voice of obsessive-compulsive reason.

"Unbelievable… the spell that took us from our home placed Sarah just several miles away from where we arrived." The sock-head's eyes widened in an excited glee. "What does this mean? Perhaps the spell started dropping us off somewhere far away and travelled from place to place until it reached our desti—"

"Jeez!" Eddy exclaimed. "I thought you were bad with science and germs and crap! You're even worse about magic!"

Edd smiled nervously. "Yes, well… this proves that we all made it here safely, at least. Perhaps we'll run into the others along the way?"

Kevin shook his head calmly. "Weren't you listening earlier today?" He pointed at the bandage on Sarah's arm. "She got attacked by a werewolf, dork. That hardly seems 'okay' to me."

Kevin's words hit the two-and-a-half-Ed's (Ed only heard the words 'she' and 'werewolf') at the same time that Father Urban shoved Double D aside. He wore a suit of bronze armor over the traditional garb of an Yybell Cleric. A silver-bladed dagger was in his right hand.

"What are you doing?" Eddy asked slowly. Mute John walked in behind the Father. "Erm… Father Urban is going to eliminate the lycan spy." He explained un-mutely. "You may want to stand back; this tends to… well, get bloody."

"Eliminate?!" Double D repeated in horror. "She can't be a spy, though; we know her!"

Urban held the dagger over his head. "Once someone's blood has been infected by lycan genes, my son, you don't know them. It is the full moon; the Furred-Ones will begin their attack on the town tonight. We must kill the spy before any information can be given to its masters."

Ed looked from the blade to his sister, having one of his oh-so-rare moments of thought. "But… she's my sister."

Urban shook his head calmly. "I have proof that she has been a traitor since she came to our temple." He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a piece of metal—the same kind Lamar had worn when he had attacked the town. "When we brought her to the infirmary, we found this piece of moon-rock in her pocket."

Double D stared at the metal hesitantly. "But… w-why would the lycan attack—"

"She looks very much like Lady Jenell!" Urban pointed out. "He obviously mistook her for his true target. I have given you full proof that she is a spy! Now let me kill her!"

Urban raised the knife even higher and muttered something unintelligible. He closed his eyes as tight as he could and brought the knife down.

CLANG!

The sound of knife meeting knife rung through the infirmary and Urban's blade was knocked out of his hands. Eddy smiled cockily. "You called that hunk of metal a moon-rock."

"Yes." Urban agreed. "That is its name."

"When we came here the other day, you told us you had no idea what that stuff was." Eddy sheathed his knife cheerfully. "How'd you find out what it is so soon?"

Urban stared at Eddy for several seconds. "Well… t-the wizards here helped us identify the fragment we had—" "You mean the one that was stolen?" Kevin asked.

Urban pointed at Sarah's sleeping body accusingly. "S-she's the spy! She has to be! Whenever we'd use Dynian Mint in our ceremonies, she would faint! Just like a werewolf would!"

"Sir—" Mute John whispered.

"She's probably allergic, just like Ed!" Double D exclaimed. "He fainted after he ate some of that Dynian Mint!"

"Sir—"

"Nobody can be allergic to Dynian Mint!" Urban yelled. "It's a damned holy plant! Everyone here uses it, even Mute J—"

"SIR!" Mute John yelled with a scream that could (and probably just did) wake the dead. "Sir, y-you've never touched Dynian Mint in the four months you've been here."

There was a long silence. The light of the full moon fell in through the temple's windows. Urban sighed as fur began growing from his skin. "Very well… I'll have to kill you all, then."

The armor and robes on Urban burst off as thick, coarse, brown fur covered his body and he began increasing in size. His hands and feet lengthened into thick, padded paws with long claws coming out of each finger and toe. His face contorted and stretched into that of a bear's, but with eyes like a person's.

"It's really nothing personal, you understand. Just common sense." The werebear turned its head, cracking the bones in its neck. "I can't have you going and blabbing. And, honestly, your sister will be better off dead."

Urban pulled back his paw and swung, knocking down Ed, Edd, Eddy, and Kevin all in one blow. The four heroes were knocked to the other side of the room, slamming into the wall and sick patients in beds.

The creature then turned around and grabbed Mute John, pulling him up in the air by an arm and a leg. "Quite frankly, John, I thought we got along quite well. Still, you're a human, and I can't say I really support that." Urban pulled on the opposite ends of Mute John, who screamed until he actually became mute.

There was a sickening ripping sound, and Urban tossed both of Mute John away.

"It feels so good to be me again." Urban growled as he turned around and looked at the four heroes. "Your human skin is uncomfortable and tight; when you're an animal, you have true freedom. No selfish wants or desires; you simply know what you must do and you do it. A bit like ants, really."

Kevin stood up and drew his sword. He charged at Urban, who merely swatted his weapon aside and grabbed Kevin's arm.

"Ugh… you reek of over-indulgence!" The creature growled in his face. "I suppose you're one of those new-fangled types that worships Cabai. Sick." He tossed Kevin onto one of the sick-beds (Already occupied).

Ed was next. He stood got up on all fours calmly. "Okay! Check this out, bear-man!" He launched himself forward with his arms, his hands in a striking position as he flew at Urban.

"Mid-Air Strike!"

The no-chinned wonder's hand flew into the werebear's gut, knocking him into the wall behind him. Ed landed on his feet and stood up triumphantly. "I have defeated the—"

This sentence has been interrupted due to a paw-strike to the head and sudden loss of consciousness. Urban stepped over Ed calmly. "Only two are left; a thief and a mage. In my experience, those are the ones to watch out for."

Double D hesitated. He wasn't ready for this! He didn't even have his staff with him!

"Hey… you've got a plan, right?" Eddy asked as he tossed his knife from hand to hand. The werebear watched them mockingly, as if he was sure that they couldn't hurt them.

"Well… I only have a few spells memorized, and even then I'd need my staff." Double D whispered.

"Why can't you make that dog thing appear again?" "That was an accident, Eddy. And even then, I'm pretty sure it was just a one-time thing." "Stupid, otherworldly dogs! Never there when you need them."

"If you don't come prepared, you can never succeed." Urban mocked as he stepped forward. "You're the worst wizard I've ever seen! Well, maybe second-worst; the first worst would have to be Rice—"

Urban stopped suddenly. The pointed of a silver-tipped knife was just visible coming out of his heart. The monster collapsed on the ground, motionless.

Sarah breathlessly pulled the knife out of the fallen werebear. "You idiots… had better tell me why I've spent that last three months in Germany… or I'm telling mom!"


SPATZBURG MANOR:

"Sir, we can't find her anywhere." The guard said to the worrying Baron Gilbert. The baron sat in his study, alone as always. "We can't find anyone strange in the building, either; your daughter is most-likely in the woods."

Gilbert sighed as he drank from a glass of brandy. Despite his previous experience and a pounding headache, he needed it. "Tell Urban to send as many of his Slayers into the woods as he can. I don't want anything to happen to my daughter!"

The guard bowed and ran out of the study as quickly as he could. The Baron held his head in his hand worryingly. What would he do if they hurt his daughter? His wife was already dead, his brother murdered—what would he possibly do?

"I see you haven't lost your taste for brandy." A familiar voice said. "Sorry about knocking you out the other night, but… well, you know. Force of habit."

Gilbert got out of his chair and turned around. He found himself facing an exact duplicate of himself. "So you are a doppelganger." The baron said.

"Am I? I hadn't noticed." The other baron replied. "Seems Spatzburg is in a bit of trouble. Werecreatures running around, the Legion der Reinheit; I thought I'd stick around to see if I could help."

Gilbert sighed. "I doubt you'll be much help. I've got Sir Bruce here and so far he hasn't done much."

Mr. Y chuckled through the baron's mouth. "If you want a job done then you need to get a real hero; someone like Hammersong or maybe Reaper. Instead, you've got a fake knight and his sorcerer friend."

Gilbert growled angrily. "Get out of my house."


"BAD FOR ED! BAD FOR ED!" "Sarah, stop pulling his hair like that!" "We should've let the bear thing kill her!" "No! Eddy! She'll attack you next!"

Sarah growled angrily as she stopped pulling her brother's hair. She stepped off of the martial artist's back and glared at the three other adventurers. "What took you idiots so long to find me?! Do you know what I've had to put up with?!"

Double D smiled nervously. It was important to be as polite as possible whenever Sarah was involved. "W-We've had our fair amount of trouble as well, Sarah." "Trouble?! Kevin's wearing a suit of armor!"

Kevin looked at his plate-mail ashamedly.

"Sarah, we have been attacked by Night Elves, two hideous Nazis, and I may be sick." Double D defended. Eddy stared at him in shock. He was starting to sound like a parent.

Double D continued. "I realize you've most-likely had a hard time over the past few months, but that is no reason to yell at us."

Ed stood up and watched Sarah calm down a little. How come this never happened when Ed talked to her? When he tried to think of a reason, a picture of Eddy in a chicken suit popped up. Part of him realized this was the answer.

Sarah scratched at her bandaged arm. "So where's everyone else?" "No idea." Kevin answered. "We got lucky, finding you." Eddy scoffed but Kevin ignored him. "But here's a question for you; how'd you end up as one of these Yybell guys?"

The red-haired girl's cheeks turned pink. "Oh… well, I woke up here a few months ago…"


3 MONTHS AGO:

The world was so dark. There wasn't any noise or any light; just pure darkness, stretching on for eternity. It was impossible to tell if your eyes were open or closed. Nothing could be seen; not even one's own self.

The darkness was suddenly filled with a room. It was a small bedroom with only one bed, a chest at the foot of the bed, and a door to the left. Sarah found herself lying on the bed.

"It's good to see you're awake."

Sarah jumped at the presence of the female voice. She turned her head and saw a dark-skinned girl with long hair. She wore a strange suit with an eye symbol on it.

"My name is Donna." The girl introduced with a smile. "I found you outside the temple." Her voice suddenly trailed away from her. "I like your shirt. It's pink, like flowers."

For once, Sarah was too shocked to be angry. She had just been in the school library… hadn't she? Her brain was too fogged up for her to remember what had happened. Finally, the fog cleared and she was able to ask a question.

"Where am I?"

Donna grinned as she sat down on the foot of the bed. "This is the temple of Yybell in the hamlet of Spatzburg. I suppose you didn't come here intentionally if you don't know where you are. Hmm… I wonder how I'd look with red hair…"

The older girl stared off into space for a few seconds before returning her full attention to Sarah. "I'm sorry about that; it happens."

"Um… was there anyone else with me? A tall, stupid-looking guy or a boy with a retainer?" "What's a retainer?" "Oh… I'm starting to get it now."

Sarah sighed sadly. This couldn't be a dream; her head was pounding in pain. She looked down at her trembling hands in realization that, wherever she was, it wasn't her home. So was she in another country?

Donna saw the look of fear and uncertainty on Sarah's face and gave her a comforting smile. "If you need a place to stay, I'm sure Father Urban will let you join as a cleric of Yybell."

Sarah looked back at Donna and realized she had no choice. She returned the smile and nodded slightly. Her new friend took her hand and led her to her new life.

At first it was difficult; Sarah had a hard time adjusting. Training with the crossbow and knife was the hardest part; sure, she was decent in a fist-fight, but she wasn't as good with actual weapons.

She picked up on the religion well-enough. The stories in the Book of Yybell weren't very believable, but… the more you heard them, the more true they seemed. Something else that was strange was… it started making sense to Sarah. The philosophies matched Sarah's almost hand-in-hand.

Finally, after three months, Sarah was as skilled as most of the other clerics in the temple. She knew all of the basics about the religion of Yybell—creatures of the night are bad, learn the healing practices of any plants you find—and could even wield her crossbow with some proficiency.

She was enjoying herself until the werewolf attack.


SPATZBURG:

Sarah sighed as she finished her story. It hadn't exactly been thrilling, but at least it got the Four's attention. Kevin was the first to speak: "So… you worship this Yybell guy now?"

The red-head shrugged. "More or less. I mean, I don't go off and prey to him every day like some of the others do." Kevin tried not to turn red with embarrassment. "Well… that's stupid. Why are you getting sucked into one of this world's religions? I-I wouldn't. Nope."

"Um… excuse me."

It was then that the group remembered they were still in an infirmary filled with sick people. One of them, a man with Mad Goblin Disease, raised his fingerless hand. "Should we be panicking?"

Eddy groaned. He hated sick people. You couldn't legally scam sick people. "You can all go back to dying now; the threat's been taken care of." "Eddy!" Double D glared.

"What happened here?"

Everyone in the room who could turn their head turned their head to the entrance. The same dark-skinned girl who had spoken to 'Father' Urban before the moon-rock was stolen and helped Sarah become a cleric stood in the doorway. It was Donna.

Donna looked first at the remains of Mute John and then at Urban's. "A lycanthrope attacked? Was it the spy?"

Sarah nodded. "It was Urban. Urban was the spy all along, Donna!"

Donna sighed as she walked up to the group. She smiled at them all playfully before pulling a knife out of her belt. "I'm afraid I can't allow anyone to know about this." She said. "You see, Urban wasn't the only spy."

The words hit Sarah like a missile. "Wait… you…"

"They call me Rattrap, you see." Donna explained. Fur began growing out of every pore of her skin. "I was the second spy."


GUIDE TO THE WORLD AROUND YOU:

RELIGIONS

The Church of Yybell has existed since before the Great Mage Wars, making it one of the five oldest human religions. Its founder, Marcus Wilhelm, claimed that Yybell, the God of the Night, appeared to him in a dream and told him to spread the Gospel of the Twilight. Wilhelm also claimed that Yybell impregnated him.

While running into opposition at first due to Wilhelm's unpopularity in the world, it finally gained momentum in the Saint Michal Mental Hospital. The inmates were amazed by Wilhelm's stories of Yybell's accomplishments. The religion soon spread to the guards, those who visited the inmates and even a plate that Wilhelm had conversations with.

The first hero that worshipped Yybell was Hornet, Slayer of Vampires. Hornet reached legendary status during the Great Mage War, when he single-handedly defeated an entire platoon of vampires with his famed blade, the Stinger. Unfortunately, after the end of the Great Mage War, Hornet was imprisoned for tax evasion. Ironically, the count who imprisoned him was a vampire.

The Commandments of Yybell are as follows: "Thou shall not let the foul creatures of the night—vampires, undead, werewolves and their ilk—walk in the darkness. They shalt be slain before they can harm the innocent. Also, seek out those who doth worship mine half-brother, Nevoo, and slay them with no mercy. Seriously, thou should feel free to just hack them into tiny bits."

The commandments go on for several more lines, but those are about the most important parts. Yybell himself is the son of Daeva, the human god of creation. He was one of the first children and, for this reason, holds some of the most power. He and his half-brother, Nevoo, the good of undeath, have waged an eternal battle ever since Yybell stole Nevoo's girlfriend when they were younger. However, in a recent turn of events, it turns out that the girlfriend might have actually been Yybell's long-lost sister! Can you believe that? And the other day, I saw Nevoo talking to Vulpynne! Vulpynne! They never get along! And I hear that the god of war knocked up an elf god! Imagine the scandal!


Next Time: Battle of Wolves