Blood of the Father
Redemption (part II)
Grey looked out of the tree and she gazed over the entire forest, as an M'teras she never had this kind of view. The cold air ruffled her fur and she shivered as dark clouds covered the sky, rain pattered the roof and she sighed. Grey pulled her arms to her and her tail wrapped around her waist as she shivered again.
"Cold?" Her head turned and the M'teras walked up to her. His arms looped around her and he used a bit of his power to keep her warm. Grey felt this and she leaned back into him as he placed his muzzle on top of her head. Her ears flattened and she took his paw in hers as they looked out over the foliage. "So how is my apprentice today?"
"Thanks you to, I'm a bit warmer but I felt something coming with this rain. It troubles me." She said and the tiger rubbed her paw with his; lupines and tigers were quite different but the M'teras felt something that called to him from the lupine.
"Are you ready for some more training?"
"Yes, I am." White let her go and they walked into the room with four rope bridges in the Cardinal directions.
"Alright, let's see if you remember what I taught you last lesson." Grey said and she nodded. She stretched out her paw and she focused on a chair, Grey concentrated and the chair lifted off the wood flooring. She set it down and the M'teras saw that she was a bit strained. "Are you too tired?"
"No…I can continue."
"Ok now this is a bit more advanced power, I'm going to teach you how to build energy on your paws and release it gently." She nodded and he raised his paw. "Ok, focus and stretch out your paw." She did and he continued. "Now focus harder on your paw and imagine power building on your paw." His glowed almost automatically but after a few moments, hers glowed. "Alright, now release it, just imagine firing it."
"But, what if I hit you?"
"I'll catch it, don't worry." She nodded and Grey let it go, the bolt of energy shot toward the tiger and he effortlessly caught it as he crushed it in his paws. "Good, now try again." This time the energy came quicker and she shot another bolt, he caught it but added a flick to his wrist and it shot back at Grey. The lupine was taken by surprise and the bolt slammed into her chest. She shot out into space but the M'teras caught her and she hung in space. "Another lesson taught." He brought her in and she clung to him. "And what did you learn?"
"To always be aware. To not be taken by surprise."
"And I will always be there for you." She looked up at him and he smiled.
"Will you?" She asked and he nodded.
"Yes, I will always do my best to be there." She laid her head on his chest and he watched the rain fall. "Do you feel drained?"
"Yes…I am quite tired." He let her go and they walked to his bedroom. He lay down and she lay next to him. Grey wrapped her arms around him and she closed her eyes as he stroked her head.
"Rest and your energy will come back." She mumbled her answer and the tiger sensed that she had fallen asleep. He looked down on his student and she looked do peaceful in her sleep. He detangled himself from her and he walked to the ledge, rain just missed him and he saw movement in the tree. The M'teras frowned and he enhanced his vision, he was able to pick out southern Ripar warriors and he dropped to the ground lightly.
And so it begins… He thought and he energized his form, it would be about…fifteen to one but he could handle it. He walked to the forest edge and the movement in the trees stopped.
"There's no need to hide." He called out and lightning started to fly as the warriors dropped to the ground. They numbered about fifteen, the tiger could get the exact count in the darkness and they surrounded him. "Why have you come here?"
"We have come to take the M'teras, the White One. Tell us where he is or we will kill you." A figure said and the M'teras smiled, they didn't know who he was since his loincloth was still a plain one.
"I'll give you one chance to leave with your lives, I will not ask again." The figure, a tall husky, walked up to him and stuck his blade in the tiger's face.
"You're not in a position to make demands tiger." The husky replied and white merely moved the blade out of his face.
"This is your last chance, leave with your lives now." He said and the husky started to laugh.
"Very funny my tiger friend. Now, where is your M'teras?" He placed the blade on the tiger's chest and pushed, it drew a little blood and the crimson stained the pure white as the tiger gripped the blade with his paw. It did not cut him and the husky frowned.
"You found him." He let out a yell and thunder crashed as the sword went flying from the husky's paw. White slammed his paw into the animal's chest and he went flying into a tree as the group charged. The tiger merely leapt above them and he flipped out of danger. The M'teras held out his paw and all the weapons of the group flew above them as he smiled again. "I gave you a warning and you did not listen; now you must die." The weapons hummed and there was a voice.
"M'teras! Stop!" Fox ran through the rain and the tiger turned. "Don't kill them."
"And why not? They were about to take me to Black."
"Because if you killed them, it make you become the panther. You would have lost what you have become." The M'teras looked at Fox and he flicked his wrist, the weapons dissolved and he turned to the group.
"You are my prisoners thanks to my friend over here." They quickly nodded their thanks and the M'teras used his power again. Their limbs were instantly locked and he teleported them into a makeshift holding cell. "Fox, thank you for helping me." He looked up in the rain and a sigh escaped the M'teras. "You know, I have a feeling that Black is starting a war with us."
"That was my impression too." Fox said and the M'teras frowned.
"How did you know I was going to kill them?"
"This may sound odd but I felt it in my soul." The M'teras did look surprised and he crossed his arms.
"So you felt it…maybe when I was healing you a fraction of my energy went into your mind."
"A fraction? I was roused out of my sleep and I was immense pain; something was calling me to stop you." The M'teras looked concerned.
"More than that I see then." The M'teras felt a presence and he turned his head, Grey was there and she bowed to her Master.
"M'teras, I feel that Black is going to act and we need to stop her." She said and the tiger turned to Fox.
"You know this may be a crazy idea but we could go to the southern village and stop Black once and for all."
"Stop her?" Fox asked and he nodded.
"Yes, if we ever want to be safe again there has to be a stop to this. Are you able to handle this Grey?"
"Yes M'teras, I feel that I will try my best." She responded and Fox still looked wary.
"But this is Black, she is the one that took over me, she knows my weakness."
"Then stay here."
"But I want to help you." He said and the tiger touched his paw to Fox's chest.
"I feel that you aren't ready for this; there are still tendrils of her in your heart so I commanding you stay here."
"But what about my power that you gave me?" The M'teras sighed as he made his decision.
"That will only help you if you are not involved in this." He said and Fox looked disappointed. "I'm sorry. Technically I must do this on my own, so Grey you'll have to stay behind too." She merely nodded and walked to Fox. The tiger vanished and she looked at Fox.
"Do you think he'll be ok?"
Fox didn't have an answer.
The tiger walked through the forest and the lightning had stopped; only water sheeted down in torrents but the tiger was dry as he walked.
So it comes down to this…light against darkness. He thought and he adjusted his eyesight to see better in the dark. His vision went negative and all dark was light while all light was dark, if the panther tried to use darkness as a cloak she would be lit up light a flashbulb. He stopped and he gathered his energy inside of him, he would need a ton more than he had and he charged up his reserves.
Now, to find your village… He used a tiny amount of energy to rise above the foliage and he saw the giant tree looming to his left. He sank back into the forest and the tiger continued his way to the village.
Also in the forest, the panther walked; she gathered her energy and darkness flowed into her as she reveled in the power. The panther began reciting complicated syllables again and the ancient language gave her the darkness she required.
"Fill me, consume me, make me powerful…" She whispered and her paws glowed as she pressed them to her chest. Her entire body glowed and she let out a shrill yell as a bolt of energy lanced through her, it pierced the sky and she spread her paws as her head fell back. "YES!" She screamed and the energy faded as she shook. Her body eventually calmed down and she opened her eyes.
"Hello Black." He took the panther by surprise and her eyes blazed fire at him.
"White, my most hated enemy now stands before me." From an observer's point of view it looked like Black had a gigantic advantage over the tiger, her fur rippled with dark power and White looked small, dull, as he placed his paws behind his back. "You have won almost every battle that you and I have fought. How do you do it?" She asked and the tiger smiled.
"A friend once told me this; light will always triumph no matter what the odds." That made the panther angry and she growled as the M'teras braced for an attack. She spread her paws and tried an energy assault first. Her paws glowed but the tiger's also did and they let loose, energy crashed and formed into a beam as the darkness was lit up in the forest. Pulsating light and darkness intertwined as they beams surged from the two animal's paws.
"Give up! You have no hope!" She yelled and the darkness began to overpower the tiger. It crept up the white tube and it looked like for a moment that he was going to lose. She let out a yell and the tiger put out a foot paw behind him as he braced himself.
"You're wrong Black!" He yelled back and a massive attack of energy reinforced his beam, it pushed the darkness back and the panther was hit with pure light. She flew back and her back hit the ground as the rain started to fall even harder. Lightning played around the sky as the night raged on.
They had used up their vast stores of energy and both were panting hard, the thunder was almost deafening as it screamed above the warring pair. Both had sustained quite a number of wounds but it really showed on the tiger since his pure fur was now stained red, brown and black from landing hard on the forest floor. He presently had the panther on the ground and she was recovering from a blow to her jaw.
"We're both spent, panther. I don't want to fight you but you have to stop attacking my village." She sighed, the request was answered as the panther stood up and her chest heaved as she blew water from her muzzle.
"No, you can't change me. I will never…change for you." She placed her paws on her legs and recovered as he gathered his energy; the tiger was in a moral dilemma. She was unprepared for a strike and if he attacked, it would kill her. "Why don't you just kill me? You have the chance! Put me out of my misery, tiger!" She screamed at him.
He thought about it and then placed the energy back into his body as she looked at him.
"No, I will not do it. It would make you like you and that is everything that I have fought against." He replied and the panther stood up.
"What do you see in me? In me? That makes you hate me?" She asked and the panther fell to her knees.
"You aren't a Riparian; you were born outside this forest. Way farther south, your parents abandoned you when they saw you were a panther. Captured by raiders, you were raised among them. They spoke Ripar and that is where you learned the language. One night you killed your captor and escaped; you found solitude in this forest. That was where you learned from the dark powers here; your power grew in time and you found a village. You compelled them to take you in and then you became the M'teras." He finished the narrative and the panther was crying.
"You have seen my life…my despair, my inner darkness." She placed her head in her paws and the tears mingled with the rain that fell down her face. "I can never be drawn out of the pit I am in." The tiger felt her hurt and he took a step forward. He saw that she was wrapped in a cloak of pitch black and he reached out with a little light to see how she would respond to it.
"Listen, don't resist this." He said and it pushed aside a tiny bit of the darkness, the energy filtered in and she looked at him.
"What are you doing?"
"Don't resist it, it will heal you." She shook and the light started the purification process.
"Light…I haven't felt this before." She sat on the ground and she pulled her legs to her chest as the panther wrapped her arms around them. "Why…why are you helping me?"
"Because, I want this to end. I want this war to end between us, no more fighting, no more possessing of my people in their dreams, none of that." She lowered her head and more tears flowed as he gave her more light. He saw the hard shield of blackness begin to wear away as he walked up to her, the M'teras kneeled down and she had a fearful look on.
"Please, I know you are more powerful than me, don't kill me."
"I won't, I want you to not resist what I am going to do." He touched her forehead and she screamed as he shattered the shield. It fell from her and she whimpered as he moved his paw down to hers, he took her other paw and only then did he find out how in the dark she was. She screamed again and he removed the automatic barrier that she had erected around her heart. "Please, you're hurting me."
"I know, just hold on." He delved into her soul and the M'teras was transported into her mind.
The scenery was desolate, thunder and lightning constantly graced the lifeless sky and the white tiger looked around, a few miles away were a figure but he couldn't make it out. The white tiger began running in the direction of the figure and lightning increased as he ran toward it.
The M'teras saw a small panther kit and she was looking around, crying. The tiger ran up to her and the panther screamed as she fell back.
"Hey, calm down." He scooped her up and the little back fur ball in his paws cried against his shoulder. She was screaming for her parents. He looked around but there was no one as he comforted the kit with pure energy. "Shh, shh, it'll be ok. I got you now, you'll be fine." The thunder crashed but the panther felt comfort in his arms as her crying receded. She looked up at him and at once the kit turned into the Black M'teras. She fell out of his arms and onto the ground as she stood up.
"And now you know, thank you for your kindness, I never knew it." The storm above them receded and it was replaced with the night sky as she laid her head on his shoulder. The mindscape faded and the tiger felt himself being drawn out of her.
The rain had stopped, the thunder had receded and the night sky was clear as he saw the stars appear. The panther had her head on his shoulder and she was purring quietly. He looked down at her and she looked different; not physically but just different, more like a normal panther.
"Black, are you ok?" She looked up at him and her eyes did look different.
"Please don't call me that. When I was captured I was give the name Saris, call me that instead." He nodded and she let him go. Saris looked up at the night sky and she smiled. "It's so beautiful M'teras." He stretched out his paw and she took it. "Now that I see the light, it is…indescribable." They walked in the forest and the M'teras was careful, this could all be a façade. He looked into her mind but it was not, all traces of darkness were gone and light had begun to fill the void.
"Come on, I need to tell some animals of the news."
Fox walked out of the hut the next morning and he saw something that almost knocked his boots off, the panther and the tiger were together.
"What the Hell?" He whispered and he ran to them. "What is this?" The panther looked at him and he did see a change in her eyes.
"We fought and I have stopped this war. She has changed her name to Saris and is no longer called Black anymore."
"Fox, I am sorry about my actions." She lowered her head and he knew it was sincere. Kai walked up to them and she looked at the panther. "Kai, I am sorry if I had hurt you too." The feline looked at Fox and he smiled as she saw a change. "Our tribes will war no more and I will give up being an M'teras. I want Grey to lead my tribe instead."
"Grey is your apprentice right?" Fox asked and he nodded.
"Yes, she is ready to lead another tribe. She lost hers to a disease and I feel that she would make a fine leader."
"I will go tell her." Kai said and she ran off.
"Well Fox, are you going to repair your ship and leave us?" The M'teras asked and he sighed.
"I do not know." Andromeda came out and she interjected.
"I will help my merc fix his ship but we might be permanently grounded." Kai and Grey came back and she cringed when she saw Saris.
"Don't worry; there is no dark power in her at all." Fox said and the panther extended her paw.
"Go on, I can understand if you are afraid." Grey hesitantly took it and she used her power to see, it was true the panther was clean. "You will be the M'teras of my village since I am no loner able to be one. If I am still an M'teras, I will fall back."
"It would be an honor for me to take over for you." She nodded and Fox smiled, everything had come out right.
A few days later…
"Try it now Andromeda." Fox yelled and the ship started up.
"Kick ass!" He whispered and the craft started up. He rolled from under the craft and he dusted himself off. Kai walked up to him and she had a few things with her.
"Fox, I've made my decision, I want to come with you." He looked at her and the feline smiled.
"You're going to leave your home for me? What about Traa?"
"He'll stay here. Saris wanted a son to take care of and Traa wanted it too so she'll be taking care of him." Fox nodded and White was before him.
"Fox, take care of Kai. Come back anytime but keep our village a secret; we wouldn't want anyone settling our planet. No offense of course."
"I will keep this place here." He touched his heart and the M'teras nodded. They embraced for a minute and then he let Fox go. "Come on Kai, let's go. Andromeda, get us into orbit." She nodded and the hologram ran inside the craft.
"M'teras, I will be back to see you." Kai said and the tiger nodded. He walked down the path and she looked at Fox. "So, where are we going?"
"I need a vacation, I was thinking about a beach or something."
"A beach, what is a beach?"
"And I plan to introduce you to my world, but be prepared, it's a shock." They walked into the ship and it lifted off as the forest was left behind.
Author's Commentary: That's it; I have no more to write on this tale. Loved the ending? Hated it? Want to nail me to a wall? Write me a review or drop me a line at my email address, check my profile for it. I know I still have The System to work on so I guess I'll do that. Anything you want me to write about? Drop me a line. Later.
Silver
Meta
Dragon
Dedicated to all who have fought with an inner darkness
