"Chihiro, I'm going to tell you the whole story about your sister. Don't for one minute interrupt me, because you're going to need to hear the whole thing out," the winged brute snapped at the dragon.

Rather than argue with someone that ultimately controlled whether she could see her mortal family again or not, Chihiro sat on the strange gray grass, pointing both ears respectfully towards the pegicorn.

"Everyone is born with a soul.

Now, there are literally two types of souls. The first are called mortal souls. These are the souls of individuals who are born to live only in the mortal world and when their bodies die, either go to heaven or hell.

The second types of souls are called immortal souls, or spirits. Beings like these are typically born in the spirit world, but some are born in the mortal realm. They too have bodies that can die, but where they go depends on what type of being they were. Some go to heaven, some go to hell, but most are reborn in the spirit world or mortal world. In general, these reborn spirits have no memory of their past lives; they simply "start over".

Every mortal and immortal soul goes to an "in-between" realm when they are first created or, if they are immortal, are waiting for another body, or is a soul waiting to be placed in either heaven or hell. This place, often referred to as Limbo, is rarely remembered.

Kira was originally a very powerful immortal soul. Her first form was as a dragoness. She controlled the entire dark half of the moon, which gave her very privileged rights and a nearly invincible body. The being who controlled the light half of the moon and was her mate was a clever white dragon named Raider.

Where Raider was patient and peaceful, Kira was restless and rash. The two symbolized the popular Ying-Yang symbol and were actually its original inspiration.

While Kira wasn't necessary an evil spirit, her restlessness grew over the centuries. She loved Raider, but was devastated when she realized that for a reason unknown to any spirit, that she could not have any pups. Many powerful spirits wrote down or still remember the day that the dragoness attacked the sun spirits.

Spirits typically control a portion of the spirit world if they are powerful or live in a territory under the control of another spirit. When a spirit dies, this territory is transferred to an heir or is fought over. Few fights typically occur over territories, most spirits aren't powerful enough to control an entire territory. However, sometimes spirits take over more than one territory, if they think they would be better suited to rule.

Kira, more out of greed for power than anything else, decided to try to conquer the sun. She told her plans to Raider and although he didn't agree that the sun spirits weren't doing their jobs, she convinced him that it would be better for them to rule rather than a dormant spirit and a bunch of weak underlings. They waited until high sun in both the spirit world and mortal world times and launched their attack.

Each realm experienced the first solar eclipse known to any being. While it lasted only over an hour, the panic in each realm was enormous. Fights broke out, spirits committed suicide, and there was sheer terror among the weaker spirits.

In that time frame, the two dragons of the moon fought with the dragons of the sun. Kira and Raider managed to utterly destroy or dominate every dragon of the sun, using both their dragon forms and magic in their human forms. However, just when the pair thought they had won, they awoke a very ancient immortal.

The true lord of the sun rests literally inside the star, needing help from other immortal spirits to do his tasks. To dominate the sun would mean to dominate the spirit.

The pair was burned to death before they had a chance to retaliate.

Both Raider and Kira stayed in Limbo for several hundred centuries, asleep.

It was determined, by the spirit Axel, a dragon who guides where souls are to be placed, that Kira would be reborn in the mortal realm as a human and Raider was to be reborn as an ogre wolf in the spirit world. Well, Kira was furious when she discovered her "punishment" and decided to cut her time short in the mortal realm. She committed suicide in her fury, tearing her mother's womb and dying before she was even born.

Raider was permitted to learn of everything, as he was mated to Kira, and begged Axel to erase her memory. Raider knew that if Kira didn't carry the burdens of the past, she could start anew, and with a new body, eventually have the pups she so desired. The only catch was with no memory of Raider, she was no longer his mate.

Well, Kira was brought back to life in a body almost identical to the one she died in, but restored. That way, her dragon body was mature, and didn't take two hundred years to develop. She was stranded in the spirit world with no memory, but had the knowledge of what she was and that she was the ruler of the entire moon.

Raider could only watch Kira, swearing never to approach her. However, I hadn't been sworn to secrecy. It is an unwritten law that immortals without a memory cannot be told of their former lives, but I had been Raider and Kira's best friend. I spilled everything and even told the dragoness about her human brother and sister, you and Bade.

Axel wasn't pleased.

Soon after, I was burned with a black fire, turning me from a once angelic pegicorn into this demon form and has sentenced me to guard the gates between the realms all alone.

As for Kira, she found Raider in the spirit world after I told her, and suspiciously enough, in her own territory.

"Raider," the dragoness began as she walked up to the wolf-like creature sitting inside a cave at the edge of her island.

"Please Kira; don't make this any harder than it already is for me. You don't really remember me."

"No, and I want you to know that you are free from me. Don't wait around for a spirit that may not be reborn again. After all, I plan on dying quite soon."

The beast padded out of the cave, his head tilted in a questioning manner.

"I'm going to help my sister, Chihiro. You've heard the story about that river dragon, Haku and how much she loves him. There's only one way a human and spirit can be together."

"If you do this, give her your dragon form, you'll die and she may only live in this world for as long as that body lasts! No dragon who has committed such a sacrifice has ever come back!"

"And yet, I owe it to her."

Raider growled angrily and turned away from her, "you don't even know if this is what she wants!"

The dragoness transformed into her human shape and walked up to the ogre wolf. She kneeled before the enormous monster, rubbing just under his chin. "I may have lost my memories, but I've never completely forgotten you. I have a feeling that I'm not going to be coming back this time, so I want you to move on without me. I'm sure there's a reason you weren't reborn as a dragon and I'm taking that as a sign."

The girl rubbed the glossy horn at the end of his muzzle before kissing the top of his head.

"Goodbye, Raider."

That was the first night Kira went to visit you, Chihiro.

And she was right, a few weeks later, she did die. She sacrificed herself for you.

But, rather than move on, she is currently sitting in limbo," he finished on a somber note.

"I, I…." Chihiro sputtered, turning into her human form.

Dairy, for his part, recognized the sadness the girl. Stepping forward, he wrapped his tattered wings around her, "I'm sorry I held a grudge against you. I just wish Kira could come back."

Chihiro looked up at the tattered beast, placing a hand just below his horn. "I'm sorry you had to suffer for Kira's death. But, the reason Axel punished you wasn't for telling Kira about her past."

The pegicorn was in a state of shock.

Wiping tears from her cheeks, she buried her face in Dairy's neck.

"You let your sorrow eat at you until it poisoned you heart. It's just like Haku, but yours has already torn you apart. He has the black patches and I think it has to do with his mother. At least, that is what something in me says"

"Chihiro, that's Kira helping you out. You know, you can still save him."

The girl looked up from his neck to look at him sideways. Dairy was quivering and slowly dropping to the ground.

"No! I already caused Kira's death! Please don't go Dairy…" she cried but finished with a whisper.

"I'm tired Chihiro. I've done what I'm supposed to do; I told you what you needed to know. I understand why I was so bitter now and would like to see Kira again."

"Wait!" she begged. "Can't you just turn back like before?"

"No, once the bitterness engulfs you, it destroys your heart. The only thing that was keeping me alive was my bitterness. I should've died awhile ago."

She let the horse-like beast lay on his side, but hugged him again.

"You've got to make sure Haku is at peace with Mara, even if she won't return his love. What she did was wrong, and you may always need to fight her, but he cannot continue to hate her like he does now."

"Does he?"

"If he had his way, she would be long dead."

Dairy was quiet as the girl gently pet his head, tracing his long horn.

"Dairy?"

"Yea?" he breathed with a sigh.

"Tell Kira to come back if she can, I know Raider misses her."

"I'll see what I can do."

"And Dairy?"

"….yea?" he took a little longer to answer.

"You come back to."

"You know, I'll see what I can do."

The pegicorn only breathed in and out slowly, before he stilled and faded away.

When Chihiro looked up, the world was again engulfed in the rich colors of a red dawn. She was in her backyard.


( Slightly Haunted ): For some unknown reason, I really like this chapter (hey, I think this is my longest chapter ever!). I think it should answer the many questions revolving around what the heck is going on!

Replies:

Animeangel290: I like to keep things spiced up, eh?

Usagi the Mage: Oh, I'll be sure to tell him, I may start a fan club, j/k ;)

Rogue Robin: The whole Yubaba thing with deodorant is just a joke, albiet poor. Hmm, I'm wondering what question I answered, because I had about ten thousand different ones floating in my brain...

Tai'sGirl345: It's always great to hear from you. Yea, I do get writers block, but that's when I go off on something else to write about, however crazy it may sound.