Ni-hao! I'm back! This is "Where Eternity Dwells."

Feral begins to wonder what a Knight really is, and what he should do to become one.
Steele's desire to be 'above' the Council causes him to lose his grip with reality. Will he be able
to fulfill his promise to Callie?

Author's note: Same as before.

I hate to say it, but I'm kinda stuck on the other stories. Any help or thoughts on them,
please shoot them my way. I'll appreciate it.

As always, send any comments or questions to AkaneKitty@aol.com. Or, drop me a line
in my review section at Fanfiction.net. Enjoy!

Ja ne,
AkaneKitty

**********************
Epsilon:
Where Eternity Dwells...
**********************

Someday, I want to go to that castle floating in the sky... Something eternal dwells inside
it...

**********************************************************

It was now nearing the end of the semester at Epsilon.

It was also wet, rainy and cold.

Everyone was turning their thoughts to the year end tests and certifications . . . and to the
special holiday that was coming up.

Ulysses Feral stands under an archway, getting some fresh air while keeping out of the
steady rain. Some officers run past him.

"I hear there's a duel going on!"

"Are Mifurr and Steele at it again?"

Feral looks after them. "...A Duel?"

****************************************************

"First Strike wins!"

"Get him, Commander-sama!"

"Please win, Steele!"

"Quiet! The duel's about to start!"

The Executive Council's Kendo room grows silent, tension filling the air. A group had
gathered to watch the duel, Feral included.

Alisa Mifurr and Steele are in a stand off. Alisa holds her slender sword firmly in her
paws. Steele does the same.

Alisa closes her eyes.

"Yah!"

Steele charges at Mifurr. His sword ends up above the Commander's head . . . while hers
ends up pointed at Steele's mid section.

Alisa wins.

"*Hmm . . . Not bad. *" Feral leans against the door frame. "*I guess Alisa has a lot
more to her than being just a playkat. *"

Alisa relaxes her stance. "Come, come. Don't be so glum, Steele."

"Shut up!" Steele points his sword at Alisa. "I won't be looked down on by the Council .
. . and especially not by you."

"How crass of you. You really think that the Council looks down on you?"

Steele says nothing, turning to leave. Feral takes it as his clue to leave as well.

*********************************************************

"Wow...I don't like the look of those clouds. Maybe I should seek some shelter."

"Hey, you."

"Sir?"

"Have you seen a little she-kat around here?"

"Why?"

"The kitten lost her grandmother today. She's run away from her mother."

"Well... I haven't seen her. But, I'll be on the look out for her."

"Thank you."

"Hmm... a lost kitten, eh?"

*********************************************************

Later that day...

The rain looked like it was never going to stop. The grounds were soggy and muddy.

Epsilon's common area was basically deserted...

...Except for the greenhouse.

Callie tends to her roses, silently watering each one. For some reason, the white and
black roses seemed to flourish a bit more than the other colors.

P-chan sits outside, looking at a doodle bug that was crossing his path.

"Buu." P-chan pokes it with a stick. The bug rolls into a ball. "Buu!"

The bug unrolls itself, and resumes moving. Happily, P-chan pokes it with a stick. It rolls
up again. "Buubuu!"

"Kerokero."

A frog comes up and lashes out with his tongue, swallowing the doodle bug in one gulp.

"Buu!"

A bit later Steele comes up to the greenhouse, soaked to the bone. No umbrella to be
found. He watches the scene inside...and outside.

"Buubuu!" P-chan fights with the frog as best he could. Steele frowns.

"Why? Why must you always come between Calico and me?"

"Look who's talking! It's not my problem. It's yours Steele!"

Steele turns around to see Feral, who was shielding himself from the rain with a huge
umbrella. "Oh, it's you Feral. You just wait...I will defeat you in the next Duel and take Calico
back!"

Feral smirks a bit. "Oh? You'll beat me? You couldn't defeat Mifurr."

"You saw that?" Steele asks. "Don't get so confident. She won with luck...not skill."

Feral shrugs, joining Steele as he watches Callie through the glass. "Do you love
Calico?"

"Of course."

"Then why do you want to win her in a Duel? You just want to possess her...just like
everyone else."

Steele cringes. "Only by winning her in a Duel can I defeat them."

"Them?"

"The Executive Council...all of them...look down on me. They all live in a world I can't
imagine."

Feral looks at him. "Are you saying the only reason you want to win Calico is so you
could get back at the Executive Council? What nonsense."

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you." Steele continues to look at Callie. "With
Calico by my side, I will gain something eternal."

"Eternal?"

"Calico told me once that she, too, desires something eternal." Steele says. "And, I will
have it. She and I will go to that castle together."

"I won't lose to them."

"Whatever."

Steele watches as Feral picks up P-chan(slightly bruised from the fighting) and insures
that Calico is completely under the umbrella. The three of them then walk away, leaving Steele
to his own devices.

***********************************************************

"Phew. Good thing I took shelter. The rain is really coming down."

"But... I wish it hadn't been the church. This is just plain creepy..."

"...Eh?"

"Do I hear crying?"

**********************************************************

Atop the south tower, an informal meeting of the Council starts. They were inside this
time, due to the rain. They discuss the usual, until Chance chimes in.

"By the way, Feral told me that the reason he wears his rose ring is to meet his Queen?"

Jake looks at him. "His Queen?"

"Yeah. Apparently she gave it to him so he could find her again."

Alisa sits back in her chair. "That kat's a closet romancist."

"I suppose."

"A Queen, huh?" Alisa looks up and smiles. "I see..."

Jake clicks his pen.

************************************************************

Nighttime.

The rain had steadily gotten worse, pounding the ground with fervor. The sky was
rumbling, and the flashes of lightening made P-chan hide under the bed.

"I hate thunder and lightening." Calico says quietly as she fixes Feral an icemilk.

Feral glances up at her from the reports he was reading. "Really? Why?"

Callie is silent for a moment. "It reminds me of that time..."

"That time?"

"The time I..."

"Hmm?"

Callie blinks and suddenly smiles at him. She places the icemilk in front of Feral. "It's
nothing. Here you are."

"Wait a moment!"

"I'll be going to bed now. Good night, Uly-sama." Callie bows, and then bounds upstairs
to their room.

"Great. She was just about to open up." Feral sighs. "Then she reverted to being the Rose
Bride."

Feral picks up his spoon, but places it back down. "But, she's not just the Rose Bride.
She's Callie! She should have to decide who she has to be."

"But...how do I feel?"

"She reminds me so much..."

"...of her..."

**************************************************

"Hey...you're that kitten everyone is looking for."

"..."

"Why are you hiding here?"

"...Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why must our loved one be taken away from us?

"Uh..."

"I loved my grandmother very much...and now she's gone. I have no one now."

"What about your mother? I'm sure she cares."

"...My grandmother told me to believe in Knights. Through them, I will find eternity."

"Eternity?"

"But, there are no such things as Knights!"

"...is there?"

"Then I'll be your Knight! I'll give you eternity"

"Really? But, you're so small..."

"A Knight is a Knight... And, I'll be your Knight."

"...Brave One, never forget your nobility..."

************************************************************

"...For that will lead you to me, someday..."

A crack of thunder is heard, and Feral sits straight up in his bed. Rain begins to pound
against the windows. He places a paw to his head.

"What more can I do?" Feral sighs, breathing deeply. "She said to never forget my
nobility...But, am I truly a Knight?"

"Maybe...in order to be a Knight to my Queen, I must be a Knight to others..." Feral takes
a quick glance at the bed on the other side of the room. "...Like to Calico..."


********************************************************

The next day...

Feral sits at his usual spot above the commons, looking through some paperwork. He
looks towards the sky above the forest, but glint of his ring catches his attention. Feral stares at
it.

"I'll meet you again...won't I?"

Something cold touches his neck, and he jumps up, causing him to drop his papers.

"That's cold! What's the big idea...huh?"

A can is tossed in Feral direction. He catches it. Alisa emerges from some shadows
holding her own can.

"You seemed so lonely." Alisa comments.

"What's it to you?"

"So, why are you hanging around here?" Alisa replies with a question of her own. "It's
not the most picturesque spot on campus."

Feral looks at the can Alisa had tossed him. It was milk. "Do you know anything about
that castle?"

"Castle?"

"You know. The Castle that appears above the Dueling Arena... I wonder what it really
is..."

"Oh, *that* castle!" Alisa laughs. "That's the Castle where you're supposed to meet your
Queen."

Feral narrows his eyes. "Who told you that?"

Alisa says nothing, smiling as she suddenly slips her arms around Feral's neck.

"Was your Queen...someone like me?"

"St-Stop it! Don't jerk me around!" Feral breaks free from Alisa's grasp. "This isn't a
joke!"

Feral turns on heel and walks away, pausing only to get the scattered papers.

Alisa looks after him, still smiling as she takes a sip of milk.

************************************************************

"I'm tired..."

Steele steps into his dorm room, letting his personal affects drop to the floor. He was
ready to head for bed, but he catches a familiar emblem on a letter sitting on a table. He
scrambles to get it.

"A letter...from World's End." Steele eagerly tears into the letter. He reads it, a smile
silently forming on his face.

"Finally..."

*************************************************************

Later that day...

"Calico! Dinner time!"

Feral sticks his head into the living room, where Callie usually was at this particular
time. She wasn't.

"That's odd...she's usually here."

Feral walks up to their room, and looks in. He spots P-chan chewing on some leftover
Pocki sticks.

"Hey, P-chan?"

"Buu?"

"Have you seen Calico around here?" Feral asks.

"Buubuu." P-chan shakes his head, and continues to eat the Pocki sticks.

"This isn't like her. I don't like this." Feral scratches his head as the phone suddenly
rings. He has to scramble to get it.

"Commander Feral...Hello?"

"I thought you'd like to know...Calico Briggs will be spirited away tonight." The voice
says, muffled.

Feral could believe what he was hearing. "What?"

"Go to the Dueling Arena...quickly."

The line goes dead, and Feral stares at the phone.

*****************************************************

"Stop it please, Steele-san! You're hurting me! If I don't get back soon, Uly-sama will be
worried!"

Steele drags Callie by her wrists, pulling her towards the forest. In his other paw was his
dueling sword.

"I don't care about 'Uly-sama'." Steele says, determined. " I'm keeping my promise to
you."

"Promise?" Steele suddenly lets go of Callie, and she falls to the ground in front of the
massive gate.

"Yes. Tonight we will be able to receive eternity."

Steele goes for the handle, but Callie grabs his paw. "You mustn't! It is forbidden for me
go to the Arena without my fiancé, especially when there's no Duel scheduled!"

Steele smiles, staring into Callie's eyes. "World's End told me that the Castle will finally
come down."

Steele slaps Callie, who falls back to the ground, clutching her check.

"I won't let anyone else have you!" Steele shouts, mostly to himself. "The one to gain
eternity with you..."

"...IS ME!"

Steele grabs the handle.

***************************************************************

Feral runs towards the forest, only pausing to catch his breath. The area around the forest,
making it hard to Feral to see. He continues forward.

"Hmm...Ow!" Feral trips over something. He looks at it. "What the... Steele?"

Feral pulls up the limp body of Steele from one the pools that surround the forest. He
punches him.

"Steele, snap out of it!"

Steele stirs a little. "Feral?"

"Just what the hell your problem?" Feral shouts at him. "You can't get Callie back
without beating me in a Duel...and you know that!"

Steele looks at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I was told to come here because Callie would be spirited away."

"Spirited away?!" Steele suddenly grabs Feral. "Where is she?"

"For goodness sakes, that's what I'm asking you!"

Steele looks around, suddenly noticing that the path to the Dueling Arena was open. "Did
you open it?"

"It was me."

"It can't be..." Steele gets up with his sword and runs towards the stairs.

"Hey, wait!"

***********************************************************

After awhile, both Feral and Steele make it the Arena. They couldn't believe their eyes.

"What's this?"

Callie, unusually in her Rose Bride gown, was lying in an upright coffin. She looked to
be asleep.

"Callie!" Feral begins to run towards her.

Steele begins to run too, but a rumbling overhead catches his attention. He look up. The
castle was shaking.

"The castle..." Steele mulls, but begins to laugh. "I'm waiting for you, World's End!
Fulfill your promise to me! Grant me eternity!"

The castle rumbles and darkens. Then suddenly, it begins to break apart. Pieces begin to
fall to the ground.

"What?"

Steele blinks, and the castle returns to its original form, spinning on its axis.

"What's...What's going on?" Steele falls to his knees. "What just happened? The Castle
won't fall?"

"Calico? Callie? Please, wake up!"

Steele looks up, seeing Feral cradle Callie in his arms. He had somehow gotten out of the
coffin.

"Not like this..." Steele snarls. "I was supposed to take her there."

Steele slowly stands up, extracting his sword from the hilt. "The Castle...the power to
bring revolution to the world....it was all going to be mine!"

"The one Calico is going to the Castle with is me!"

***********************************************************

"Callie? Callie!"

Callie finally stirs, opening her eyes. "Uly-sama..."

"Thank goodness." Feral sighs. "Do you know what happened to you?"

"I don't know, Uly-sama..."

The sound of metal hitting the ground is heard.

"Uly-sama!"

"Huh?"

Feral turns around to Steele above him, sword ready to strike. The sword starts to come
down, but a shot is heard. The sword falls harmlessly to the ground.

Reacting, Steele reaches for his sidearm and fires. A grunt is heard, and a gun drops to
the ground.

"Who was that..." Steele looks. "A-Alisa?"

Alisa stands there, holding her paw to her shoulder. "I guess a Queen would have better
aim, eh?"

Feral says nothing, still holding on to Callie. Steele finally drops his gun and slumps to
the ground in shock.

****************************************************************

Alisa sits in her room, her shoulder bandaged. The telephone rings, and she answers it.

"Hello? ... Oh, it's you. No, it's only a flesh wound. Steele always had bad aim..."

Alisa smiles. "Yes, I sent the letter to Steele in your name...and he will be expelled from
Epsilon. No...they don't expect a thing...They will be meeting you soon."

"Of course not!"

"Anyone that believes that they have friends in this game is a fool."


To be continued...