We're at the home stretch here, people. The journey has been...interesting. And I'm looking forward to that said journey to start anew.
I'll be honest, I was excited to put these ideas out in the open. They're something I've been wanting to try for a while. I think this is probably the most cruel treatment of a fictional character I can do. But that is as much as I'm going to say.
I must be hearing things. He really didn't say what I think he said. Did he? No. This is another trick. Another game on his part. Yet his way with words is so convincing, with hints of truth behind it. It is his edge. Not his tremendous power, but how the things he says leave you spellbound.
"What did you say?" I utter, just barely. Taken aback. Over my shoulder, Yo stands there with his mouth ajar, the color flushed out of his face.
Makai chuckles and makes his way towards me, leaning his face forward. "You have no idea, do you? He didn't tell you anything?" A finger of his is outstretched, pointing at my master, looking defeated. Earth Hand vanishes in glitters, leaving him without defenses. "Oh ho ho ho, what an interesting revelation. You should be ashamed of yourself, Yo, keeping little old Lupin in the dark all these years." The laughter continues, and I force them out of my ears; just because he's believable doesn't make him any less annoying.
Calling off my own weapon, I turn my eyes on Yo, but he merely looks at the distance blindly. For a panda, he is more white, more pale than anything. The toxicity of the Infernal Beast's words begin to surface. I don't see him defiantly fighting the claims off as we always do, so what Makai must be says has to be true. I have a family. My blood is, or was, someone else's blood. The blood of the mother I never knew, let alone met. And this information has been withheld from me since the beginning.
If that's the case, then why? I never hid anything from him. I always turned to him. I always had him to lean on to, as a guide. Someone who could open my eyes to what was right and wrong.
"Tell me what?" I ask, taking a single step forward. "What is he talking about?"
At his sides, Yin and Yang hold him by the shoulders, Snow Flower and Phoenix Wing respectively at the ready. They mirror his inanimate gaze – a combination of sadness and difficulty – and my infuriation grows. They know about this, too. The others, on the other hand, look puzzled; they're not in on this. Lady Mediator and Lord Governor, however, I cannot discern how they feel. But whatever their faces may be beneath those helmets, if they even have faces, it sure isn't one that would tell they have a secret to keep.
The rabbit twins and their panda father are quiet. Out of disbelief, my hand trembles, but I keep it under control and still it into a fist.
"You too? You know about this too?"
Wind whooshes from behind, and I look over my shoulder. A rip in the spatial fabric has just closed, and another one opens right beside me. Stepping out of it is Makai, milking as much amusement from this as he can. His fingers find themselves on my chin, rubbing me in a delicate manner, condescending. I glance at him, at his smile. His faux compassion.
"Aww. Lupin, Lupin, Lupin," says Makai, pulling his hand away. "This isn't fair for you. You deserve to be in the know." I can't help but agree, sarcasm or not. "Allow me to enlighten you, then. Brace yourself, puppy." I want them to do the explaining, not him. "You've heard of the Pioneers of Woo Foo, correct?"
The four warriors of old who defeated Makai, and in doing so reminded the world of the greatness that is the art of Woo Foo. Their prowess, exceptional. Their unity, impregnable. What does that have anything to do with this? With me knowing where I came from?
"They were the best of chums, and the bravest, most talented fighters I've had the pleasure of facing. Rivals worthy of my respect. I have the scars to prove it," says Makai, rolling the sleeves of his jacket to show marking along his arms. I am dumbfounded. Not by the scars, but by the fact that he respects his enemies, that he has the capacity for respect. "I take it you know of the battle at St. Brooke Peak?"
My answer to that is a simple "Yes".
Yo told this tale to me before. The second battle against the Infernal Beast. A battle fought by him and his fellow Pioneers. It took place at the highest mountain peak that overlooked everything within its reach – St. Brooke Peak. Where the Fog was at its densest at the time. It was a shorter battle than the first one; whereas the Black Brigade spanned years, this one lasted a mere day. A grueling struggle from start to finish, it ended with the Pioneers victorious and Makai on the verge of death.
I have heard this story in different forms, different accounts. On numerous occasions. My master told me this story before I went to bed, whenever I sat upon his lap and during my training. These retellings seemed like an ego boost for him. But with the way he is now, it doesn't look likely. Perhaps it never was the case, and he was just reminiscing the good old days. Still, it doesn't excuse what he did.
Makai circles me again, observing me, rubbing his chin. "That's good. That's exactly how I got these scars, y'know. Now let me tell you something that you probably didn't know about the Pioneers."
The announcement coaxes Yo into action, and he charges Makai, the Earth Hand gauntlets appearing around his arms again. He prepares a fist and lunges at us, eyes set on Makai.
"Don't you dare!"
A blackened canine paw rises from the earth and is animated by Makai with a backhand smack. Yo skids on the ground back to his original position.
"Dad!" Yin and Yang cry out as they tend to him, the latter about to advance himself, but wising up and stopping in his tracks.
Irritated, Makai rolls his eyes and groans. His eyes fall back on me, narrowing in fascination.
"Where was I, before I was so rudely interrupted?" he asks. Five seconds elapse before he traces where he left off. "Oh, yes. That little nugget of information about the Pioneers that you most likely have not heard of."
As it appears, it takes more than a backhanded slap to shut Yo up, to knock him down, because he picks himself back up and attempts to try another rush at Makai, only to be held back by his twin rabbit children. Screaming his lungs off is his only other choice, and he does so, boiling with anger. More than he ever has.
"Let me go! Let me at him! I'm gonna hurt him‼"
I can't believe him. Is he really this hellbent on hiding the truth away from me?
"Your dear teacher over here is not who you think he is," says Makai, sneering. "Y'know what? I think it'd be better to show you."
Snapping his fingers, Makai sends forth his magic, in the form of wispy tendrils. Clouding my vision, they seep into my head, and I feel light as a feather, drooping to my knees. The tension that encompasses my body is replaced by a euphoria. My senses of urgency and danger are buried deeper and deeper in me until I am completely relaxed. Before my very eyes, Yo still fights his way out of Yin and Yang's hold, shouting louder than ever. Except, he is inaudible. My voice and Makai's are the only sounds I can register.
Barring my line of sight is Makai, who levels himself with me and stretches his arms outwards. When he pulls them back, I see one of his hands holding on to my necklace. This time, I cannot retrieve it, try as I may.
Everything around me vanishes. I am inside a room. There is one bed inside, and its linen is disheveled. Books, scrolls and sheets of paper lay scattered on the floor, the text written in them indiscernible save for the word 'Fog'. Rubbing against the soles of my feet is the smoothness of tatami mats. This is the dojo I once called home.
I wander my head about to take in each nook and cranny. My eyes then land on Yo, who is as young as a teenager, seated on the floor. Lying on his lap is Maria, another one of the Pioneers, the brash and arrogant of the bunch. Her pride, warranted by her skill; she was the best of their group, in a group of Woo Foo students who already stood out amongst their peers on their own. She knew her Woo Foo, inside and out. Might and Magic. No one dared to issue her a challenge, and the ones foolish enough to do so were met with defeat and the humiliation that came with it.
This Maria, however, is not the Maria I have heard of. Here, she is removed of the bravado boasted by the stories Yo used to tell me. She has her face buried in his lap. She is in tears.
I go over to them to touch them, but I only pass through them. They start talking, but I don't hear them.
What I instead hear is Makai giving me an explanation on this reenactment. Before the Pioneers felled him that day, he imparted to them a warning. Though he may be gone, another shall take his place. There will be another wolf to assume the moniker of Infernal Beast and carry out his destructive will. And Maria was among one of many would-be successors. She could not shake his warning off, and it drove her into studying about the Beast. Her harnessing the Fog was an act of defiance on her part. She held a firm belief that the substance in its rawest can be used by anyone, lupine or otherwise, without consequence. In her eyes, she could have taken the power as her own without undergoing that dreadful transformation. She was accepting and subverting her fate.
This was months after the Second Brigade. Months after his second defeat. She tested her theory then, and it was proven wrong. Dead wrong. Makai tells me that I'm looking at the end result of her experiment. It was doomed to fail no matter the precautions she took. No matter how deeply she looked into it, how hard she worked.
He stops his talking there, and I hear Yo speaking in a comforting manner.
"I won't let anything happen to you, Mary. I swear it on my grave."
The vision ends with Yo drawing Maria close to him and embracing her, tilting his head forward.
"Let's move on," heralds Makai, who remains unseen.
At his announcement, the scene distorts and shifts into a new one. This one also takes place in the dojo, but in a different room. Compared to the one before it, it's organized. Instead of books and documents populating it, antique weaponry and picture frames hang on the walls. They show how close-knit their friendship is. All of them are happy, including Maria and especially Yo.
I dwell on these pictures briefly before returning to the matter at hand. Makai's voice takes precedence one more time.
"Strange, isn't it? Yo, falling in love? Who would have thought?"
I don't find the idea to be that strange.
The bed in the middle of the room nudges a little, and emerging from underneath the blanket is Maria, leaning over to kiss a slumbering Yo on the cheek. Her breath that follows immediately is one of utter satisfaction. Did they just…
The scenery changes again, and the shift is timed precisely that I don't get the time to consider the moment of intimacy that took place on that bed.
Another room. Except, I am no longer in the dojo. This place is drab. Everything about it is uninteresting, each article being here solely for the sake of being here. In the center is a curtain stretched in an arch, similar to those in a hospital. Considering the absence of color, this probably is a hospital.
I reach for the curtain to pull it open, but have forgotten my see-through state. Past the curtain, Maria lies on a foldable bed, hands clasped together and looking pained. Assembled around the bed are the other Pioneers: Miriam, Selene and Yo. They must be waiting for something. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so jittery and the two other girls wouldn't try to calm him down.
Yo places a hand on Maria's shoulder, sharing in her anticipation. They turn their heads to the door, which makes way for a doctor, bringing with him some kind of bundle. I shadow him, look past his shoulder and find that he is carrying an infant. A canine pup. Familiarity thrusts into me from out of nowhere as soon as we meet eyes, and it causes my head to ache. I feel like I recognize this, yet I don't. Whose memory is this? Is it their memory? Is it mine? Is it ours?
The doctor gives the baby over to Maria, and she and Yo start fawning over the thing. My head throbs, harder and harder.
On the other side of the bed, Makai looks over to me, paying no mind to my hurting head.
"They loved each other so much, their bond unbreakable. And that same love brought to them their child. A child named Lupin."
At the utterance of my name, I gasp and go wide-eyed, covering my mouth with my hand.
Pushing the tears away proves useless, so I allow them to descend from my eyes. I take a second to close my eyes and ensure that this isn't a dream. Opening them will determine if this is fantasy or reality. They open, and I am still in the hospital room, overlooking the Pioneers. My family… Another gasp out of my mouth. The reality sinks in, like a cinder block being dropped from up high.
"This is me?" I ask. The answer is obvious. I just need to be reaffirmed.
"That's right, dear boy. The blood that flows in you is that of Woo Foo Pioneer Yo and Woo Foo Pioneer Maria. The art was inscribed in you long before you were born."
I keep my eyes fixed on the scenery, letting Makai's words enter my ears. I see Maria—no, my mother—rocking me back and forth in her arms, silencing my wailing. Beaming at me, like I was the most beautiful thing she ever saw. Yo has that same smile on his face.
"Maria…and Yo," I say beneath my breath, kneeling down out of shock. My hands move from my mouth to my chest. "My…mother and father…"
Witnessing this very occurrence, I am both elated and confused. On one hand, I am ecstatic that I came from somewhere. Someone. And that my being in this world was not a mere accident. Yet, I didn't know about it. Everything seemed to come together logically, but I never once considered the plausibility of this.
On top of my confusion, watching my entry into the world, my being held in my mother's and father's arms, paves way for a whole new slew of questions. Like the ones before them, they beg for an answer. I am in need of answers, moreso than I ever have. But I won't have them ruin this for me. Right now, I want to dwell on the sweetness of this. I have a family. I have a family.
This volatile scene undergoes another transition. While the shift happens, Makai talks.
"You had such a happy life, being surrounded by those who loved you."
This time, instead of one scene, I witness many all at once. A bombardment of recollections from the past. They all depict the same thing: me and my family. One moment I am in a house, inside a room littered with baby toys and a crib that houses my infant self. The next moment, I see the three of us underneath a cherry blossom tree on a meadow, looking at a lake. Seeing my mother hold me in her arms sends another wave of tears streaming down. I thought I have cried myself dry already. But no.
Such beauty. Such purity.
My mother starts humming a melody and rocks the young me back and forth into sleep. The tune has that same effect on me, on the present me, drawing a smile along my lips. She touches the baby's delicate face, and I can just feel it. Like it's the real thing. Like she's here with me now, doing exactly that, except I'm more aware now.
Enthralled by the nectar that is my mother's voice, I near her and attempt to lay a hand on her shoulder. It passes her…
"From a renowned Woo Foo warrior to a mother," says Makai. His voice feels so close. I turn around and find him directly behind me. "Yes, nothing compares to the love and affection only a mother a give." He gives his typical sneer and turns his back on me, looking over his shoulder afterwards. He tilts his head downwards, and it removes me of my bliss. "But like all good things in this world, it was bound to come to an end. One way or another."
Another change. Shades of red assault my eyes from every angle. A sizzling sound, succeeded by a snapping and a crashing. Planks of wood engulfed in flames fall from the ceiling to the floor as the house I had been in not long ago is crumbling down. The change from something as peaceful as a meadow to this precarious scenario is so jarring my thoughts become jumbled up. I don't know how to respond.
Miriam emerges past the fallen debris and into the kitchen, where I am now, cradling me in her arms. Selene follows closely. The two of them roam their heads to and fro, caught in a frenzy. My mother and father are nowhere to be seen. My hand balls up by itself, out of tension.
There's a burst of light on my left. It repeats at an odd interval.
Selene runs to the source of the light. "Mary, come on!" she shouts, hands cupped around her mouth.
What was my mother doing?
"We have to go, girl. This place is coming down fast," shouts Miriam with urgency, freeing one hand and grabbing her comrade by one of her rabbit ears.
"Not without Mary. No way, no how," says Selene, yanking her ear away.
Holding out a hand, she channels her energy and condenses it all into a globe. She's about to fire, but almost gets caught by a plank falling overhead. She is saved barely by Miriam, who leaps at her to get her out of the way.
"Forget it, Selene," says Miriam, solemnity creeping in.
As the two of them get up, she sways her head to the side and almost breaks into tears. The clenching of her fist shows her restraint, her will to stay strong as they were losing their best friend. Selene does not exhibit that strength, however, evident in how her ears flop in defeat. There was no other choice, and they had to do what had to be done, despite the difficulty of it.
"We need to go," says Miriam in a broken, choking voice. "We have to get out of here and get Lupin somewhere safe."
And they take off through a cavity that Selene creates with an energy blast.
I notice that as this is going on, I am fast asleep.
Out of curiosity and fear, or perhaps a blind need to save my mother, I head for the doorway leading to the flashes of light. But Makai stops me, enforcing to me that this is just a memory. He twirls a claw in the air, which rewinds the scene to an earlier point.
Miriam, Selene and Maria are together in the living room. The house had just been set ablaze, the planks of wood only starting to fall. Still no sign of Yo anywhere.
Grief-stricken, my mother bundles me in a cloth. I hear myself crying and my mother attempting to quiet me into sleep. She waves a glowing hand over my face, and it puts me to rest. Hesitating, she gives me to Miriam, but not without first beaming me a tear-ridden smile.
"You two better go. Make sure you keep Lupin safe," orders Maria, each word a trial.
"What about Yo?" asks Selene, paws coming together. Her ears flop behind her head.
"I already told you what needs to be done. Trust me, it's as hard on me as it is on you," says Maria.
"But what about you?" asks Miriam, her voice dreadful. On the verge of tears, she embraces me until I am touching her chest. "You can still get out of this."
Maria exhales heavily, lowering her head. The words that leave her are the hardest yet.
"No. I've made my decision. I'll only prolong the inevitable if I keep on running. I'll make an opening for you, and the moment you see it, you run. Do you understand?"
Like the house, the scene itself goes up in flames. It burns into nothingness and is replaced by a new one. I am outside the house, which is now a stockpile of ash and smoke. Standing yards away from it are Miriam and Selene, eyes glazed over with shock. They snap from their trance and continue away from the house, every step taken saddled with despair. My mother and my father are nowhere to be seen. The last I saw of my mother was in that very house that is now destroyed. She gave her life to save mine, to save the lives of her two friends. And Yo was nowhere to be seen the whole time.
All the joy and happiness I had felt up to now has up and disappeared. Once again, I am on my knees, slouched forward, eyes wide open. The tears begin again. Just like the last wave, they flow out without resistance. An urge to scream swirls in my stomach. The urge ascends to my lungs, and I succumb to it, throwing my head as far back as I can.
"MOTHER‼"
The scream is the loudest I can muster and shoots to the skies. It costs me an ounce of strength, though, and I lean forward, on the palms of my hands and the tips of my knees, watching the tears fall to the ground. We return to reality, and I tilt my head up to see Yo, restrained by Yin and Yang. I can never look at them the same again. I can never look at him the same ever again.
I need someone to blame for what I had just seen. I want to blame someone. There are many in front of me whom I can point the finger to. And the one I blame is the most obvious, the most logical choice.
"You weren't there. You couldn't save her. You could have, but you didn't."
I utter these words in as cold an inflection as I can. I want him to know how much I hate him for what he did. For abandoning those he loved in their time of need. But I want my words to be a knife to his flesh. One that buries itself deeply and slowly and stays there so that the pain is drawn out, stretched out.
Makai may be cunning and underhanded, but if there's one thing I can be sure of, it's that the very words he says can and will have truth behind them. The truth in its purest, in its most difficult-to-accept.
"Come now, Lupin. No one is at fault. You can't blame Yo for something that was out of his control," says Makai, his tone soothing. "This was your mother's choice, and it wouldn't change either way."
She did say that she would only delay the inevitable. Her fate was at hand, and she accepted it with no regrets. I am alive because of her. Yo and I are alive because of her.
Hearing this leaves Yo broken, no longer fighting against his children's restraint, looking down to the earth.
"If there's someone to blame, though, you can blame the entire world around you," says Makai, who is sitting in front of me, lifting my head by the chin with two of his fingers. "You can blame society for taking your mother away from you."
Lifting my palms off the ground, I move back into a kneeling posture. I still don't want Makai touching me.
Makai stands up and sneers at me. I am frozen still, forced into hearing what he has to say next.
"Wolves were destined to be successors to the Infernal Beast. Your mother was no different. When word of it got out across town, the people didn't want to take any chances. They branded her a monster, and they wanted her put down. Have you ever wondered why the people have been treating you this way lately? Now you know why."
The horrifying visions resurface, just when I thought I have rid myself of them. Walls of fire tower and roar, engulfing everything in their path. People of different species run to and fro in panic, some bathed in flame and screaming in agony. Everything is tinged by a shade of red. Who these eyes belong to, the eyes that overlook this portrait, I now come to understand. These are my eyes. The eyes of a monster. The eyes of the Infernal Beast.
Or these eyes can belong to any other wolf besides myself. They can belong to a wolf living outside of civilization, or they can belong to my mother.
Again, I see truth in everything. I see all of this now as reality, and everything else is a smokescreen tailor-made for me, to prevent me from seeing things as they truly are. I have been denying this all my life. I have denied my heritage, my true heritage. And when I came face to face with it, I was defiant.
Now I know what I must do. I have to do what it is that my mother tried to avert. This will be for her. This will be how I will avenge her.
"I am…a monster," I say emptily, eyes shrunken and robbed of life.
Makai wraps one arm behind my neck, like a parent imparting his teachings to his child. I ignore how cold and clammy his touch is and derive solace from it.
"Not a monster. Perfection. The world is just so afraid of witnessing perfection before their eyes. You, your mother and all the wolves born in this world were meant for so much more. Now, it's time for you to strip off these superficial layers and accept your true self."
My…true self. Yes. I know what this 'true self' is.
Fuming with hatred, I clench my hands into fists and steel my face into a scowl. For the final time, I recount every moment of my life leading up to now. Yo discovering me as a pup on his doorstep and the years that would follow. Kitsune, Noah and I meeting for the very first time. The love I have shown to Kitsune. Taking Yang under my wing. Each one of them, and all others in between, I gather them before me, like a scrapbook being emptied of its contents.
All these memories, all the lies, are forced out of my mind.
This world must be purged. It is the only way.
Just a moment ago, I was restraining my father, keeping him from charging at Makai and doing something he would have regretted.
Now I am holding myself back. Thoughts of impaling Makai course in my head as I watch him do his bidding, having his way. Lupin is too deep in his trance for me to reach him, so that option is out the window. One of my hands slips out of my father's person and balls up into a fist, trembling in anger. Keeping myself in check proves to be too much in and of itself.
"Ella, would you be a dear and please fetch my things for me?" asks Makai. Through a snap of his fingers, a portal unravels.
Ella heeds the command and enters it, returning with a cylinder-shaped container of some sort. The darkened pane obscures its contents. It floats just above ground with her powers, and she sets it down easily beside Lupin.
Kitsune and Noah move in, the former firing an arrow at the Beast.
"Son of a bitch!" shouts Noah, gathering a cluster of his sharpened plumage and throwing them.
Makai catches them before they land. Annoyed, he glares at their direction and tosses the feathers and arrow at them.
Releasing my father from my hold, I thrust my arm out and open my paw. "Phoenix Wing!" The sword enters my grasp, and with it I deflect the projectiles just in time.
"How rude," Makai comments. Instead of retaliating, he carries on with whatever he has in store.
The lid atop the capsule spins open. Out of the capsule floats a suit of armor. It is made entirely of a black, metallic material that glistens with the shine of the sun. Its design bears features akin to a wolf, with paw-shaped gauntlets and sabatons and a helmet resembling a wolf's head.
A black veil enshrouds the suit as it levitates beside Makai. Even when separated, the pieces are covered by the mist.
"And now, the moment of truth," says Makai.
By his will, the armor flashes. Piece by piece, it fits into Lupin's entire frame, replacing his trench coat and pants. Securing itself so that it cannot be removed.
"It took me a while, but I finally did it," says Makai, feeling slightly dazed. "I've recreated Maria's greatest work, and with it, you Lupin shall fulfill the role that was meant for you."
Maria's greatest work?
The Grimoire in my possession hisses as a cloud of Fog wafts in the air, visible to our eyes. It swirls above Lupin's head and enter his system. Lupin does not show any pain, whereas when I was first adorned with the Grimoire, it was a matter of life and death. I am a rabbit, and my survival up to now was simply out of willpower. Since he is a wolf, Lupin is innately accommodated to the Fog.
Seeing Lupin take the Fog in ounce after ounce, I gasp out of horror as to what this suit of armor really is.
"Impossible. That thing is," I say, so wrought with shock that I leave the sentence unfinished.
"Precisely. And there's nothing you can do to stop it," adds Makai, speaking between breaths. A fragment of his arm disintegrates briefly until a swirl of Fog swarms in to fix it. His breathing is heavy; having a successor is a strain on him.
Snapping from his stupor, Dad runs for Lupin to save him. Separating them both is a barrier the shape of a globe. Dad does everything in his power to break the barrier, but all it does is fizzle whenever it is struck.
"Come on, Lupin. I know you can hear me," shouts Dad as he pounds with Earth Hand.
Slowly, Makai walks around Lupin and chuckles. "Give it up, you old fart. I told you, it's useless. Your son belongs to me now."
His sights set on Makai, Dad throws him a punch. Makai catches the fist and flings my father away from Lupin. But Dad turns the momentum to his favor and rolls safely, unharmed.
A new patch opens up on Makai's body. This time, his left ear is missing. It is repaired, but not completely; the tip of the ear is chipped.
The flow of Fog abates. Lupin, kneeling on one knee, gingerly opens his eyes, which glow a nerve-wracking scarlet, matched by a scowl of anger. A mask of resentment. Pointed fangs glisten in his mouth, lengthened.
Lupin rises on his feet, a soul who has fallen from grace. A vagabond whose faith in the world has been tested and rocked. In those very eyes, I see that faith breaking into shards. The wolf I once called my mentor had been set free. If what Makai had said not long ago is true - if this is Lupin's true self; who he really is, and that true self has been awakened – then I must not have really known him all this time.
Delighted, Makai laughs, although it is forced through coughing and labored breathing. The effects of Lupin's transformation has affected him to some degree. And these effects seem to be adverse.
"Looking good, Lupin. It seems you're all set," says Makai, ending with coughs and wheezes. "Now go and fulfill your purpose. Go and destroy the society that has so unjustly wronged you. Impose your judgment on this sinful world!"
Eyes set on the horizon, Lupin starts walking and proceeds towards a spatial rip to get to his destination. His departure must be out of his volition since he does not acknowledge Makai's command. No eye contact, not even a nod.
Frustration catching up on him, Dad watches on and eventually falls on both hands, punching the ground once.
"Damn!"
Yin consoles him, placing her hands on his back while staying vigilant for any more of Makai's underhanded methods.
Feeling useless, I wedge Phoenix Wing into the earth and slump against it, resting my head on the hilt, my own indignation beginning to swell. Like my father's, it is because I had witnessed the erasure of someone I hold dear and the dawn of a new Infernal Beast. Lupin may as well be past the point of no return. His transformation may be permanent, and I am to either fight him or watch him destroy everything. Neither of these choices will bode well. They boil down to delaying the inevitable or just letting it run its course.
If only there was some way to stop him. If only I had the strength and the knowledge to bring Lupin back to his senses.
"Isn't it glorious?" heaves Makai, groping his chest with his paw, the nails digging into his skin. "The follies of this world will come to an end. Everything will be brought back into nothingness."
I recount every act of evil Makai has ever committed. Of all of his atrocities, this is the the worst of them all. Turning me against those I cared about was one thing, but what he did now reminds me of my sworn duty as a Woo Foo warrior.
When Might and Magic work as one, a villain's plan can be undone.
I glare at Makai and concentrate. I discard the impurities that linger in every corner of my body. Every impure thought to have ever cropped up. I have to defeat the evil. I want to defeat the evil. But I also want to save Lupin. I cannot allow Makai to see my hatred for him and how tied I am to it. I can't let him use it against me. I must mold that hatred into something else. Something that is outside his comprehension.
I am split in two, divided between my desire to fight for what is right and my desire to hack away at him.
"What the hell's gotten into you?" asks Makai.
The right pocket of my pants starts shining. This radiance is invigorating. Overflowing. It resonates with my newfound clarity. I pull the cause of the glow out – the Crystal of Light. Crossing my arms, I stare coldly at Makai.
"Woo Foo AURA!" I shout. My aura appears, and I am amazed at the fact that I can call it at will, even without my sister's help. This is my strength. My power, fully realized. The power of Light. The aura is identical in color to my fur, a deep blue. Except there is a light in the middle that blinks.
"Yang?" asks my sister, approaching me.
I cast a glance at her, grin a little bit and look back at Makai. Spheres of light appear above my aura's palms, which are shot his way in a barrage. I advance him as slow as possible, throwing more and more orbs at him.
Makai deflects them with his sickles, standing his ground. "You're gonna have to do better than that, bunny," he says, smirking. He loses the smirk quickly when he feels one of the orbs scathing him. "Shit!" I never imagined that the Infernal Beast could feel pain. This is perfect. Without any Fog nearby, he is helpless. He is but a mere dog that has been defanged.
I draw Phoenix Wing out, and a larger imitation of it forms out of thin air for my aura to hold. One rev, and it is on fire. Two, and the flame intensifies. After five revs of the hilt, the flame burns its brightest and widest.
Thrusting my whole self forward, I hack away at the Beast, disarming him with the first slash and hurting him with the subsequent ones. His helplessness is satisfying to the eye, and his yelps of pain are a melody that rings in my ears. My hatred for him dictates the strength of my attacks, while my control over this overwhelming feeling dictates grace.
Finally, I impale him in his stomach, wedging the blade deeper and churning the hilt so fast that my vicinity is getting hotter. The flame changes in color, from orange to pure white. The same glow that the Crystal in my pocket is radiating. A connection, maybe?
"Haretsu‼" I shout, pulling on the lever.
An explosion sets off, propelling Makai far. Feet planted firmly, I skid along the ground and hear Makai screaming in the distance. I am winded from performing the art.
Breathing heavily, I take the time now to gather my thoughts. It all makes sense now. Light was meant for me. It was the power that sleeps within, the power that I have sought for. It never occurred to me until recently. Even then, I was unsure. I'm a boy, more prone to violence than my sister is. More combative, borderline unrestrained. But I am not the type to surrender. I fight to protect what I care about. Maybe that's why. A fighting spirit and an impregnable conviction justifies Light being my real strength.
I feel a hand touch the small of my back. Yin pats me on the shoulder, trying to make eye contact.
"Easy there, bro. I've got you," says Yin, grinning. "So you knew all along? That this is what we're meant for?"
"Not exactly," I say, huffing and standing upright. "You could call it a hypothesis." Phoenix Wing vanishes. I pull my Crystal from my pocket and stare at it. A hypothesis that turned out to be a fact.
"Really?" says Yin, who is about to trail the Crystal with her paw. It sizzles on contact, and she retracts her arm in pain. "Yeowch!" She puts her singed finger in her mouth and starts sucking away at it.
Chortling, I put the Crystal away. "Careful. It's a little…hot."
My sister frowns at me for not warning her in advance. She chortles as well. We could use a laugh to distract us, if only so briefly, from what just transpired and what's in store in the near future.
Dad and Yuck make their way towards us. The others remain where they are. Kitsune is on her knees, eyes and mouth ajar. Noah, being such an undyingly faithful friend to her and Lupin, is doing his best to comfort her. Weiss is also astonished, but doesn't seem so broken unlike her great grandmother. The Mediator and Governor stand there completely still, as unreadable as they always are. Makai's army, however, is nowhere to be seen.
My father looks as though he's about to fall apart. Actually, he already has and he's keeping up the pretense that he's not. But I see past him.
"Thank goodness you're alright," he says as he presses my cheeks together. "I wish I could say the same for Lupin." I wish he didn't mention him so soon. The laughter my sister and I had just now is officially for nothing.
"That's why you were so overprotective of him. You were afraid that this would happen," says Yin, wistful.
That same wistfulness finds its place in my father. "Pretty much. I was only protecting him." He folds his arms and lowers his head, an uneasy breath exiting his mouth. "I might have forgotten about my love for Maria, and I might have forgotten about my fellow Pioneers back then, but I don't forget what a wolf can be."
"Then you must also know how we can fix this. Please tell me you do," I say to him.
My father is silent for a while. Us three rabbits are waiting for an answer, leaning in close to his face in anticipation.
"Well, do you or don't you? Is there a way to stop Lupin from turning into the next Infernal Beast?" demands Yuck, grabbing my father by his chest with a pair of hands.
A voice from behind answers for us. "You guys are shit out of luck…" Makai is crawling on the ground. One arm secures his stomach, and the other drags him forward, leaving his legs with nothing to do or immobile.
Yin beckons Snow Flower and I quell her. I approach Makai. I pull the Crystal of Light from my pocket, and it begins to flare.
"If anyone's 'shit out of luck', it's you," I say through gritted teeth, holding the Crystal up high. I don't know what else it is capable of, but it keeps him in check. "Are you trying to tell me that we really can't get Lupin back?"
With disregard for the last few seconds he has left, Makai laughs. "What else…do you think I'm…trying to say, you…idiot?" His words slip between breaths. "It's irreversible. Once a wolf is far into his 'enlightenment'…" I squeeze his throat, but immediately let go to let him speak. He truly is disgusting if transforming a person into a monster is his definition of enlightenment. "You can't stop him. Best to sit back and enjoy the show, kid."
I release him and kick up a cloud of dust. There has to be something we can do to stop Lupin. I'm not ready to buy into Makai's claims.
My feet come across Lupin's necklace, lying down flat, its string split into two. I pick it up and gaze at it. This is my best bet. If there is anything that can revert him back to normal, it's the spirit of his mother. It has served him well before, so I put my trust in it. In this necklace.
Before I walk any further, I am stopped by Makai.
"Aren't you…gonna finish me off?"
I look over my shoulder and catch sight of him grimacing and wincing.
"No," I say in a low voice.
"What's the matter? Too chicken to claim a life?"
My left hand balls up and trembles.
"I'm just going to leave you there. It suits you. Feel free to die of your own accord."
Crawling towards me, Makai coughs and wheezes a few more times.
"I knew it. You are chicken."
One more cough and he blacks out. Gritting my teeth, I keep myself in check and move on.
"Shut up. Just shut up and lie there, you disgusting pile of garbage," I whisper. I pass by Yin, Dad and Yuck without looking at them once, expecting them to follow. "Let's get going. Time is not on our side."
As I reach the other half of our crew, Noah stares at me, specifically at the necklace in my hand.
"If you're really going after him, I'm coming with you," he says, caressing the necklace with one of his wings.
Kitsune is unmoving, staring vapidly at the emptiness. This is not the Kitsune that was dead set on saving her friend. I need everyone to cooperate, including her.
Before I get to her, Noah stops me and asks, "You seriously think this is going to save him?"
I nod. To be honest, I'm not concretely sure of the idea. It's the only one we have.
Then it occurs to me. Miriam. Unlike my father, her memory has not been tampered with. If anyone can give us a solution, it's her. I have to consult her.
I am about to tell them of my intent, but I stop myself dead on my tracks. Miriam asked me a favor, and I recall what it is upon setting my sights on my father.
Don't let him know. Once this is over, that's when I'll see him again.
I didn't question why she wanted to prolong their reunion. All I did was honor her request.
The sound of clattering metal rings.
"The Infernal Beast…" My ears catch the voice of the Governor, muffled underneath his helmet. Rolling down my spine is a chill that I cannot do away with.
The Mediator looks at him. Beneath her helm, she is confused. "Brother?"
His sword drawn, the Governor about-faces and walks away. I set my eyes on him and, through the snap of a finger, call forth Phoenix Wing. Spinning it by its hilt, I point it at him, take aim and shoot a fireball. The projectile narrowly misses him and instead explodes on a patch of pebbles to his left.
"Where do you think you're going?" I demand as I approach, my sword still aimed at him. I'm going to save Lupin, even if it means having to come to this…
Lord Governor's reply is delayed. "To fulfill my solemn duty: destroy the Infernal Beast. Your power may be equal to that of a Master or even a Grandmaster, but you are still a child. Do not stand in my way."
"And what if I do?" I ask, adjusting my posture.
Flexing his fingers, the Governor faces me, one foot forward and the other back. "Then you will have forced my hand."
Charging at him, I leap high as I can and bring my sword on him, clashing with his. He and I exchange blows. His strength is as terrifying as I remember. I had a taste of it once. A kick from his sabaton trips me, and he thrusts his sword down to my chest. But I deflect it and kick him on his breastplate, distancing myself afterwards with a somersault.
Four fireballs shoot from the tip of Phoenix Wing, but they are flies to his indomitable armor, swatted away or bouncing off. When that doesn't work, I advance again and attack, angling each slash so that one can catch him by surprise.
I can't let him win. I cannot.
Our fight having worn on, I pause to catch my breath.
"All who impede me impede justice. Thus they are my enemy," shouts the Governor. "There will be no mercy for the wicked!"
Rallying his strength, the Governor raises his arm and opens his palm. The earth beneath us rumbles, but I remain still. His sword lifted up, he advances. I bring my sword forward to guard against him, bracing myself and shutting my eyes. He connects, the earth quaking violently, but not with me.
I take a peek and loosen my body. I am inside a Foo Field. It is colored after the clear blue sky; it is not an ordinary Foo Field. The caster stands there with an arm outstretched, unflinching at the sight of the weapon intercepted by the barrier.
"That's enough, both of you!" declares Lady Mediator, eyes on her brother and then to me.
Subdued by his sister's words, the Governor withdraws and descends from the barrier. One of his fists clenches.
"Why?" he asks.
"This is madness, brother. Did you forget what we discussed?" shouts the Mediator.
"No, I have not." His words are cold, like they were uttered by a machine rather than a sentient creature. "But I do not remember agreeing to it. The Beast is on the loose, and like any other beast, it must be put down."
Drawing Artemis and an arrow from her quiver, Kitsune takes a step and prepares her weapon.
"That 'beast' happens to be my best friend," she says, enraged. I'm curious as to why she referred to Lupin as just a friend. "We can stop him without killing him. And if you ever lay a finger on him, you answer to me."
"The Governor answers to no one," says the Governor, insulted. "And there is no other way."
Fed up, the Mediator grabs him by his wrist. "What if there is? What if he can be saved? It's time you think less as a warrior and more as a person."
Struggling for a bit, the Governor eventually relents. Sighing in defeat, he wrenches his wrist free. But there is no face for me to read, so this can mean anything.
"If I may," Dad interjects, approaching on calmer terms. He stands squarely, paces apart from the red knight. "Lord Governor." Despite having his oath betrayed, he is still beseeching him. "I know Lupin has made many mistakes. He is not perfect. But I take responsibility for what he has become. As one of the Four Pioneers, as a master and as a father, I beg you."
Dad's face is pained and straining. On the verge of breaking down, he falls to his knees and hunches before the Governor's feet.
"Please give us time. Let us find an alternative. Let us think of something we can do to save him." Pausing, Dad drives the tears off as best as he can. "I have lost so much in the past because of my own weakness. I am not going to let it happen again. I don't want my son to die. So please… Give us a chance. Just one chance."
This is my father at his most earnest, his most desperate. I have never seen him this vulnerable. For once, he isn't taking his blessings for granted. Even so, I need him to stay strong. To not crumble. I want to reassure him, but all I have to rely on are speculations. Guesses that will turn out perfectly right or horribly wrong. As well as a favor to fulfill.
Metal pieces rattle again as the Governor folds his arms and sways his head to the right.
"Rise, Pioneer Yo," he says finally. "Very well. I will honor your wish. You may go and run your foolish errand. But remember that I will not shirk my responsibility. If you fail…" A short pause. "I will take matters into my own hands and slay Grandmaster Lupin."
Dread creeps in when I hear him refer to Lupin by his name and title and not by the monstrosity he will metamorphose into. He understands who he will be killing and makes no bones about it. This is the very credo he lives by. Destroy evil in every form it takes. Without bias and without hesitation.
Standing up, Dad nods in acknowledgement. His nod is solemn, also showing some dread. But his face is as inanimate as steel.
"Let's go," says Noah in an attempt to take the lead. Kitsune is right behind him, with Weiss next to her.
Opposed to the idea, I pull them by their wing and arm and shake my head. "No. I have a different idea."
"What?" asks Kitsune urgently.
I gesture to Yin, Dad and Yuck to come over to discuss.
"You guys are going to evacuate the townspeople." I point to Kitsune, Noah, Weiss and Yuck. Protecting innocent lives comes first. I then direct my attention to the Original Knights. "Same goes for the two of you. Get the townspeople somewhere that's as safe and away from the area as possible."
No one objects to the proposal. Except for Kitsune.
"What about Lupin?"
The necklace containing Maria's existence stays clutched in my hand. "Leave him to me."
"Me too," says my sister, and I do not object. She and I need each other now more than ever. Not just to aid me in battle, but to keep me in line.
"And me," my father adds. This, I do not agree with.
"I'm afraid not, Dad. I'm gonna need you to help with the evacuation." That isn't the only reason I'm not taking him with me. I'm careful that my wording does not give away Miriam's whereabouts. "Not only that, but someone needs to keep him in check." I point to the Governor, and this gets Dad to comply.
He nods and tells me, "Alright."
I lead my family away from the group. I'm trusting them the most. They can stay level-headed for the entirety of this situation. "And once you're done, you can catch up with us. Just you."
Again, Dad nods. The next second, though, he is at a loss. "To where? Where do you think Lupin is going to go?"
"Somewhere with a lot of Fog, maybe?" my sister guesses.
Where… Somewhere where the Fog is at its densest. A wellspring of the stuff. That place could be anywhere in the world. The closest source has to be…
A realization settling in my mind, I go wide-eyed. "You've been there before," I say to my father.
The location boils down to three words, which fall from my father's tongue.
"St. Brooke Peak."
Yin and I nod in agreement, more in sync with each other than ever before. More like-minded, more kindred, than in our past battles. With that, I am certain that I am forgiven for what I've done. For the sins I've committed against them.
Bringing a fist to my chest, I shut my eyes and exhale. I turn my hand into an open palm, put it close to where my heart is and grin lightly. Yin's eyes shift from my hand to my eyes and reflects my expression, as does Dad.
We put our hands out in the middle, one by one, mounting them atop the other. Yin on the left, Dad on the right and me in the middle.
"Yin!"
"Yang!"
"Yo!"
The three of us toss our hands to the air. "Let's GO‼"
The race against time begins. Our crew disperses to their designated tasks. Yin and I, as close-knit a brother and sister can be, stay close to each other at all times.
I fill her in on the way when the need to know arises in her. We have to find Miriam. We need to learn of a solution that will save Lupin. That will save my master. Our partial brother…
Before anyone asks...yes, I wanted to write YYY's signature battle cry. ;) I thought it'd be fascinating and a good demonstration of their synergy.