Disclaimer: Don't own Shadow Hearts, do own three children ^^.
**
Anne lay awake, staring up at the stones in the ceiling. She pinched herself hard on the arm whenever she felt sleepy, and sometimes she'd very quietly gotten up and listened at the door. She did so again. This time there were no noises and she figured that mom and dad and Uncle Keith and Aunt Margarete had finally gone to sleep. They didn't have to worry about Uncle Leon, as he had taken off somewhere again.
The door was opened very slowly, but it still creaked. Anne winced every time she heard the creak, worried it would wake someone up. She poked her head through. The hallway was dark and empty. All parents' bedrooms were closed. Good.
She tiptoed over to the room Locke and Isaiah shared. Isaiah was easily woken up, but Locke tended to sleep as deeply as his father. Finally, Anne resorted to covering his mouth and nose, taking away his air supply.
For a moment, nothing happened, although Locke's face did turn a pretty interesting shade of purple. Then he burst awake, swatting her hand away and gasping for breath. "Are you trying to kill me?"
"You were already sleeping like the dead," Anne retorted. "And come on. I think everyone's asleep now."
Locke nodded, still wiping his eyes. "The stuff's underneath."
Isaiah and Anne looked under the bed and pulled out the weapons and items. "I think that's everything," Isaiah whispered as he checked again. "Oh yeah! The lantern."
Locke rolled his eyes. "If we don't have the lantern, we'll be fighting in the dark."
After lighting the lantern, they slowly made their way outside the castle. "One last check. We've got everything?" Locke said, louder now since he didn't have to whisper.
Anne nodded. "Yep. Now all we have to do is find a wolf."
"A wolf?" Isaiah sounded surprised. "But they're dangerous."
"Of course they are. If they weren't dangerous, they wouldn't be called monsters," Anne said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Now come on, let's go."
But Isaiah wouldn't budge. "I'm not going," he said. "We're not supposed to do this."
"Fine," Locke said before Anne could reply. "We're going though, so you'll have to go back alone." He walked off a few paces, and then, like he just remembered something, turned and called, "Oh yeah, make sure you don't run into the ghost of that headless knight."
"Headless knight?" Isaiah repeated.
Locke nodded solemnly, although the others could barely see the gesture. "Don't you know? Castles are always haunted with loads of ghosts. Come on, Anne, let's find a wolf."
Anne ran to catch up with him and whispered, "But my mom said there aren't any more ghosts in there."
"I know," he replied, "Walk a little faster."
They both sped up and suddenly Isaiah yelled, "Wait for me!" He chased after them. He was much more willing to risk it with a wolf than with a ghost. A wolf you could see.
Anne watched as he joined them and wondered if Isaiah would believe that the item shop was full of the ghosts of customers. Maybe with a bit of embellishment…
The wolves in this forest had been growing fewer over the years, but there will still some left. After fifteen or twenty minutes, Anne said, "I think we're getting close."
"How do you know?" Locke asked.
They all heard a wolf howl and Anne smiled triumphantly. "There you go!" She ran towards the sound, closely followed by Locke and Isaiah. Locke actually got the first hit in by calling a swarm of bats that attacked the wolf. Caught off guard, the wolf got punched and kicked by Anne before it realized what was happening. It quickly righted itself though, and started approaching Anne, growling fiercely. Locke wildly slashed with his dagger. He didn't have much practice and it barely nicked the wolf's skin, but that was enough to grab its attention.
It changed its mind and focused on Locke, only to be confused when the boy seemingly disappeared. There was nothing but a squeaking bat over its head. Anne took advantage of its hesitation to attack again.
"Hey Isaiah! You help too. Come on, give it a try."
Her brother nervously took a step forward, setting down the lantern. The wolf almost pounced at him, but he took the book and hit the wolf with all his strength. He managed to hit the wolf's head and knock it out.
Anne was surprised. She hadn't expected Isaiah to finish the wolf. "Good job," she praised.
Locke appeared again, looking disgruntled. "How did he knock the wolf out?"
"I think it's the book," Anne said. "That's our mom's." She took the book from her brother and knocked on the cover. "Hear that? Metal. Plus it's a holy book."
"You took your mom's book?"
"Well, she's not going to notice it's missing," Anne said. "Although last month she almost did because of that exorcism."
The young Valentine pouted. "I want the book."
"Tough luck," Anne told him. "You wanted a sword. And…well, the best we could do is a dagger. I think they'd notice if we took a sword."
"I should've taken Tyrving," Locke grumbled.
Isaiah was grinning a little. That'd actually been kind of fun…even though it was really scary too. "We beat a wolf."
His sister frowned as she looked at it though. "It's a little small. I don't think it was full-grown." She sounded disappointed.
"So?" Locke said. "It's still a wolf. Besides, I think that looks like an adult." He took one of the Mana roots and held it up. "These are the ones for magic, right?" His friends nodded and he chewed on it, making a face. "Bleh. These don't taste good."
"They're not supposed to," Anne said. "Just swallow it." She went back to the wolf. "You know, I don't think wolves are really monsters, right? Aren't there any real monsters?"
"I think there're bats…wait, they're not monsters…"
Anne kicked at the dirt. "I want to fight a monster." She sighed, knowing she wouldn't get to. "At least we got to fight a wolf. Let's go back." She started walking back towards the castle, Locke keeping at her side and Isaiah behind, carrying the lantern. Then she came to a halt. "Locke?"
"What?"
"Aren't wolves in packs?"
There was silence for only a moment after she said this. Then there were more growls, at least three. Suddenly Isaiah screamed, the lantern crashing to the ground and its light dying as Locke and Anne whirled around.
"Isaiah?!"
"Help me!"
Locke quickly summoned the bats again, knowing that they'd be most useful in the dark. Anne stumbled forward. She called out for her brother, trying to find him in the pitch black. His yells were getting more and more terrified. There was the sound of clothes ripping, and he cried out in pain.
"Leave him alone!" Anne yelled. She moved closer to where he was but then was suddenly bowled over, claws digging into her chest. She yelled and tried to throw the wolf off, but it was much too heavy.
"Anne? Isaiah?"
"Locke, do something!" Anne was quickly getting frustrated and angry. The small girl kept trying to hit the wolf, but was becoming tired…if only she was stronger, just a little stronger and she could help her brother…if she was as strong as the wolves…and then she felt it. She was as strong as the wolves, no, even stronger…
Then, with all her might, she shoved the wolf off of her.
**
"Locke, do something!"
Dark…it was nighttime, in the forest…there was pressure on his chest and saliva dripping on his face…a wolf? He felt a surge of anger and wrath, mixed with power.
He pushed the wolf off and then--
Then Yuri woke up. That dream had felt so real, like it was actually happening to him. And he had fused, hadn't he? But looking down at himself, he was normal. Locke…that was Anne's voice. Wolves…?
He looked outside and saw it was still nighttime. Anne should be sleeping right now. Careful not to wake his wife, he left their room and walked down the hallway and pushed the door open.
Her room was empty. Yuri worried for a minute, and then thought that Anne was probably just going to the bathroom or something. To reassure himself, he checked in on the boys' room. It was empty as well.
Oh, shit.
**
Locke heard more growling noises, and the sound of a fight. Either Anne or Isaiah were hurting them, probably Isaiah with the bible. Then Isaiah's voice called out, "Anne? Locke?"
"Over here," Locke called. He was able to barely make out Isaiah approaching--he was holding his arm stiffly and crying. "Are you hurt?"
"Uh-huh."
Locke searched for the roots, found one and gave it to Isaiah. "This should help." After eating it, Isaiah stopped crying. "So your arm feels better?"
"No, but…I don't feel scared anymore. I feel very calm." Isaiah nodded slowly and mumbled to himself, "Very calm…"
It didn't take Locke long to figure out he'd given Isaiah a Pure root instead of a Thera. The Valentine searched again and found another root, giving it to Isaiah. Isaiah ate and swallowed. "Now?"
"It's much better now, thanks…"
"Then help me light the lantern!" Locke went back to the match box they'd brought. He tried striking the matches with shaking fingers. As the growling noises got louder, he became more frantic and started using some of the bad language he'd picked up from his uncle.
"Let me try." Isaiah took the match box and calmly striked.
"Hurry up!" Locke suddenly remembered that someone was missing. "Anne? Are you alright?" He heard no answer and felt even more panicked. "Anne!"
"Got it!" Isaiah lit the lantern. Locke turned to take the lantern so he could look for Anne--then froze. From behind Isaiah there was a wolf approaching, a wolf with red eyes. Three wolves lay behind it, bloody and torn. He couldn't see Anne.
The boy snatched up the lantern in his left hand, grabbed Isaiah's hand with his right, and bolted as fast as he could back towards the castle. Behind him the animal growled and he could hear its paws pounding on the ground as it started to give chase. Panicking, he summoned the bats on it. He wished he could change into a bat and fly away; the only thing that kept him from doing so was the struggling five-year-old.
"Come on, Isaiah!"
Isaiah stumbled along but he kept looking back. "What about Anne?"
"She's ahead of us," Locke lied. Anything to make the younger boy start running. The bats could only hold the wolf so long…
"Locke? Anne?"
"Mom!" Locke sprinted as fast as he could, breaking through bushes to get to his parents.
His mother turned as he approached, and yelled, "Locke Alexander Valentine, you are grounded!"
"Mom, Dad, there's a wolf!" Locke dropped the lantern and Isaiah's hand to run to Margarete and Keith. "I think--I think it ate Anne!"
"It what?!" Alice shouted, the ball of light she held flickering in her panic. She held the ball of light up high, staring in the direction the children had come from. The next second, the monster burst through, charging at both children and parents. "But that's…not a wolf…" Her eyes flew up, and she screamed, "Yuri, stop!"
Locke had no idea what happened next. One second, there was the growling monster; then the monster and a large bird, swooping down with its talons out to strike; then a bright flash of light blinded him; and then the monster on its side, with Anne's dad on his back a few feet away. Where had he come from?
"Does anyone have a Pure Leaf?" Alice asked suddenly. Seeing the confused expressions, she cried out, "Pure Leaf, Pure Root, anything--" She noticed the items Isaiah and Locke were carrying, and frantically grabbed and rummaged through them.
"What for?"
"Don't you recognize it? It's Raging Tiger! That's Anne!" Finding a Pure Root, she flung all the others down and rushed to Yuri. Yuri was still struggling with the fusion, trying to pin Anne down without hurting her. This proved unsuccessful when she lashed out at his cheek with one of her now abnormally long arms. Blood running down the side of his face, he pinned her down with more force the next time.
Alice knelt next to her husband. Pure Root in one hand, she forced the monster's mouth open and thrust the Pure Root. The tiger's fangs scraped her arm as she pulled it back out. Ignoring the pain, she held the mouth shut with her left hand and stroked its throat with her right, making the tiger swallow the root.
The tiger slowly began to calm down, not struggling as much. After a minute, it stopped completely, and both parents were sure Anne was in control now. But she didn't disembody.
"Anne, can you hear me?" Yuri asked. The tiger nodded. "Alright. Don't worry, you're fine now. Just picture yourself in front of a mirror. Think about how you look, and just concentrate on that."
The tiger's eyes closed, and a few seconds later, a soft glow covered her as she became Anne again. This time when she opened her eyes, they were full of tears as she started crying.
Yuri sighed and picked his daughter up. "You're fine, don't worry…" He noticed some blood on her. Alice saw it too. Taking Anne from him, she started whispering reassurances as she healed her. The young girl soon fell asleep, exhausted.
Now he turned to the two boys. "What the hell where you doing?"
"Yuri, let's go back first," Keith said. "I think the children have had enough of wolves for one night." And it might help the harmonixer calm down. Keith could see how upset he was, his hands balled into fists.
Yuri grunted and started walking back to the castle, ahead of everyone. Margarete stared at him, then shook her head and carried Locke, as the young vampire now desired to be as safe as possible. Alice continued carrying Anne as Isaiah walked in front, still perfectly calm. She wasn't sure why he was, but figured it was probably a good thing.
At the stairs into the castle, Yuri stopped and allowed the others to catch up to him. He seemed to have calmed down a bit.
"How is she?" he asked Alice.
"Fine. She had some bites and scratches, but nothing too serious." Anne stirred a bit in Alice's arms. "Are you awake Anne?"
She didn't answer but shook her head, her expression contorting. "No…" She curled up tightly, starting to tremble. "Stop…"
Alice frowned and shook her daughter lightly. "Anne? Anne, wake up." But no matter how hard she shook her, her daughter remained asleep.
Yuri suddenly swore and hastily took Anne, running into the castle.
"Hey, what's wrong?!" Margarete shouted to him.
"The assholes are having a Trial!"
"Daddy said a bad word," Isaiah remarked quietly as Yuri continued on.
**
Author's Note: It's been a while since I started writing this chapter, so if there's a change in style or voice somewhere in here, it's probably because of that.
**
Reviewers:
Ast: This was nowhere near soon. I blame this computer, which broke not once but TWICE on me. ::kicks the computer and sees it break again:: x.x
Araschid: I actually got two little brothers within two weeks of each other. Go figure that one out.
And being shy is kinda bad. : / Well, I guess I just think it's bad because I'm shy.
murray the moderately sober elf: You shouldn't have told me you stole it. I thought it was a creative name til I saw that part. Sorry this update wasn't quick.
MikoNoNyte: ^^; Is Yuri driving really that bad?
The Alice resurrecting Mr. Bear remark made me laugh. ::is picturing a teddy bear floating in front of Alice with head magically reattaching as Isaiah and Anne stare in amazement::
Hey, Keith did take it pretty well, considering that her intention was to scare him anyway. And he took it a lot better than Yuri. (Yes, he would jump between Alice and the fly. He'd also fuse into the Seraphic Radiance as an additional precaution.)
o.o I'm surprised as well you didn't die! Two stories…
No, I don't think Yuri made up the random kissing. I just imagine Yuri's first Christmas as a teenager: taking mistletoe, finding some way to keep it constantly over his head, and kissing every cute girl he sees. ^^
Actually, what you said about writers wanting their two characters to be madly in love…I am one of those people. Yuri and Alice should be madly, unconditionally, forever in love. But then someone had to ruin it within five minutes of meeting…::glares at Yuri in kim's room::
Loki: I dunno, two people in the coffin might be a tight fit…sorry, they didn't meet Death Emperor or Fox Face (who will never appear in this fanfic, and shoot me if he does), but the did meet Raging Tiger. And Seravi, if you're wondering what the large bird was.
::turns into a bunny with a POOF! and gnaws on carrots::
Alice: …
::hops around::
Do you have CARROT STICKS?
Leels: Trainspotting: scary. Grade 9: even scarier. No, they haven't met a tragic end. We're not at the 'end' yet. :p
Greyfriars: Maybe, but I still think they're older. Oh well.
Yes, Locke is cool. ^^
Nights Mistress: One Halley, coming right up! ::locks Halley up in a cage, wraps up the cage, and mails it:: Though I might need him back for the end :p
