Chapter 12 - Aftermath

We didn't have much time to prepare our plan, but my idea was simple: Combine one of my wind bullets with Shimmer's icicles in the hopes that the attack would be able to pierce right through the monster's flames and hit something vital. We were taking a bit of a gamble by doing this, but we needed to try something or we wouldn't be able to beat the regeneration the stupid thing had.

We had stopped running after putting some distance between us and the monster, and were waiting in different positions. I was in the open on the ground, hoping to draw the monster's attention while Shimmer hid. Then, when we had an opportunity, we would strike together as many times as we could before it had time to react or recover. I had volunteered to serve as the bait because I was faster, and I didn't want to put Shimmer in danger.

I watched as Shimmer shuffled anxiously in her perch not too far away from me. I could tell that she had never done anything like this before, and I was taking a big risk in assuming we could make it work. We needed solid timing and execution, which would be difficult to do while we were trying not to be burned alive or chomped to death, and nerves could easily cause a mistake. Shimmer watched me from above with an apprehensive frown on her face, and her eyes kept flicking back and forth through the trees as the flames drew closer.

I moved to get a better vantage point and fiddled with my sword in anticipation. I didn't have to wait long before the monster finally caught up to us and shoved aside a few more trees before barreling towards me. Flames were already licking at the inside of his maw and I could swear that it looked angrier than before. Apparently, getting your head frozen in a block of ice was a great way to piss you off. I retreated to the trees again, using my chakra to stick to the sides as I jumped from tree to tree to keep my distance. The Monster grew frustrated as I stayed out of reach, and began charging up another fireball. Before it was shot towards me, I gave Shimmer a quick wave and she flew into position behind the monster.

The beast fired and I didn't jump out of the way. Instead, I substituted myself with a log right before impact, and watched from my new vantage point as the log was blown apart. Shimmer was unnerved, despite knowing that I had switched, and flew nervously towards me.

"Did you have to do that?"

"Yes, I did, now hurry before it realizes what happened!"

The monster was currently celebrating its victory by letting out a blood curling howl, and it watched gleefully as the ashes from the log fell to the ground and disappeared.

"Ok, so, just like we talked about. I shoot my ice and then you do your wind, right?"

"Right, and we do a few in a row if we can, this may be our only chance."

She didn't reply, but there was a nervous look on her face that made me regret dragging her into this.

I was responsible for whatever was about to happen, and it worried me that I was putting her into so much danger. It was too late to stop though, and I quickly molded my chakra and waited for Shimmer to shoot her Icicle. As it formed and left her maw, I followed suit, firing a wind bullet in a path that would intersect her attack. The bullet and the icicle drew closer, but my timing must have been off because the wind bullet slammed into the back of the icicle, shattering it.

Below us, the flaming beast whirled around from the noise and howled in fury when it saw me and realized I was still alive. I felt like we still had time before it could reach us again, so I told Shimmer to try again.

"One more time! Hurry!"

We repeated the same process, only this time I shot the wind bullet slightly earlier. I silently cheered as the two attacks merged this time and spun at an ever faster pace towards the beast. It didn't seem fazed by the oncoming icicle and tried to meet it with a stream of fire, but when our icicle met the flames, it cut through them easily and sailed straight into the monster's left shoulder. It then shot through its body and exited out of its chest, leaving a large gaping hole behind that exposed fleshy organs that were still moving and wriggling.

The beast was stunned and for a moment I thought it wouldn't be able to recover from the attack. Shimmer cheered at our success and we were about to fire another when the wound on the monster began to close up. I watched in horror as the beast reared up on its hind legs, and then I cursed as it propelled itself forwards with jets of flame.

"How can it even move?! We ripped its chest apart!"

It twirled as it jumped, and wrapped its body in a cocoon of flames. The mass of fire and claws shot towards both of us in the form of a giant flaming spear and I jumped away before it reached us. Shimmer, however, wasn't able to get out of the way in time. I watched as she flapped her wings, jerked to the side and began forming a protective barrier of ice, but she was a second too slow.

The flaming whirlwind smashed into her with its claws, easily breaking through her half formed shield of ice. It left sizzling gashes across her chest and abdomen, and Shimmer screamed as she was flung through the air and into a tree. A loud crack echoed through the wood and she fell to the ground, crying in agony. She made an attempt to get up but couldn't quite manage it, and I immediately made a move towards her. I paled when the beast landed from its jump, whirled around and started its own mad dash towards Shimmer, who was now struggling to get up from her prone position.

"C'mon, move!"

It intended to finish her while she was vulnerable, and it was a step ahead of me as it closed in for the kill. I couldn't do anything as the beast opened its mouth for a final bite, and I felt dread seep into my heart as I saw Shimmer close her eyes in what I could only assume was acceptance. I couldn't do anything but watch, and I felt my heart sink down into my gut.

"No!"

It's jaws clamped down powerfully, and I expected a final scream, shout, or cry of defiance. Instead, there was a dreadful silence that was broken by an eruption of ice that shot out and engulfed the beast entirely. The air around me suddenly cooled, and I barely made out small flecks of snow that were falling to the ground all around me. With the beast stuck, I rushed over to where Shimmer was and saw that she was an epicenter for a massive amount of ice that had exploded outwards in all directions. She wasn't dead, but was crouching in place as she breathed out heavy plumes of cool air.

There was a visible blue aura surrounding her that was slowly fading away from view, but that didn't matter. She was still alive. I hurried the rest of the way to her as she slumped to the ground and the rest of the aura dissipated. I slid down to my knees for the last few feet so I could inspect the damage, and I felt a stab in my heart while she cried softly and whimpered in pain. Her face was twisted into a knot of torment, and the smell of burnt flesh overwhelmed me, but I didn't gag and quickly pulled out some of the red crystals that I had saved for myself and gave them to her. She slowly absorbed the energy from each one until they were gone, but I wasn't sure how effective they were because she still couldn't sit up on her own.

"Kiran… t-that really… hurt… H-how bad is it…?"

She tried to roll to her side but couldn't, so I gently propped her up so I could take a look. There were long gashes on her underbelly and foreleg that were shallow, but still serious. As I looked over her wounds, I realized that she was lucky that the beast was using fire, because it cauterized the wounds as soon as it hit her. If that wasn't the case, it was possible that she would have been in the process of bleeding out.

"Ok… ok, it's not too bad. She should be ok."

"I think you're fine now, but you'll need a doctor immediately. I need to get you out of here."

"N-no… I can't leave yet, I still have to help you kill that thing! We're a team!"

Based on that statement, I was worried that she was in shock and not thinking clearly. She needed help.

"We may be a team, but you're hurt. You can't fight anymore, Shimmer, and that makes you a liability. I need to take you back before that thing breaks out of the ice!"

"No, I can still help!"

She tried to get up, but only ended up groaning in pain as her body shook from the effort.

"See? You're done and we're leaving now."

The monster was already starting to melt through the ice it was encased in, and large chunks were beginning to fall off from the main section. I could see it wiggling it's limbs as it created more space for itself.

"We don't have time for this!"

I was relieved when Shimmer scowled at me but agreed.

"Fine, but... I think one of my wings broke when I hit the tree… and I'm not sure if I can walk."

I took one glance at her wing and knew she was right. It was bent out of shape and hung limply at her side.

"Then I'll have to carry you."

"N-no way, that's not happening! I'd rather be eaten by the stupid thing than be humiliated like that! I'm a dragon, I have pride!"

"Does pride really matter if you're dead?"

She was shaken by that and paled.

"Right, now hold still."

I knew that this was going to use up most of my chakra, but we were in a desperate situation. I made a single symbol with my fingers, and next to me air currents swirled together until an exact copy of me popped into existence. I felt the strain as over half of my chakra was leached out of me, and my shoulder burned as something heated up. What the hell was going on with it? I didn't have time to ponder as Shimmer pointed at my wind clone suspiciously.

"…why are there two of you now?"

My wind clone and I looked at each other and shrugged. We then replied at the exact same time.

"Ninja stuff."

Shimmer managed a facepalm with her tail and shook her head.

"Sure… whatever."

I managed a relieved smile, glad to know that she could still joke with me, until a loud crack behind us reminded me that I needed to hurry. Steam was beginning to fill the area as more and more of the ice melted, meaning we didn't have much time left.

"Okay, let's get you out of here."

It was really awkward picking her up because of her size and weight, but Shimmer rolled onto her back and curled up into a ball to make it easier for us. I put my hands under her shoulders, making sure not to get stabbed by one of the spikes that ran down her spine, while my clone grabbed her hips. As soon as we had her secure, we started to run and it didn't take us long to fall into a steady rhythm as we ran down the hill and back towards camp.

Shortly after we began our sprint, the sounds of crackling ice echoed throughout the forest, and soon enough I could hear and see the telltale signs of an angry monstrosity tearing through the woods. I began to panic, because at the rate the sounds were getting closer, we wouldn't make it to the bottom of the hill before it overtook us. I tried to think of anything that could buy us more time, but I came up empty. I would have tried to make a decoy, but I was almost out of chakra and I couldn't carry Shimmer alone. With a growing fear, I could only wait in trepidation as it grew closer with each step.

We had just barely reached the bottom of the hill, near the edge of the woods when the beast burst through the trees behind us and began to charge up another fireball. I slid to a stop and prepared to snuff it out with another air vacuum, but Strongfang silently appeared from the dark, jumping through the air with his double bladed axe held high above his head. He brought his axe down on the beast's skull with a loud crack, just as it released the fireball, causing it to jerk and shoot it directly at the ground. The beast roared as Strongfang removed his axe and swung again, and the two began to fight.

Realizing it was in trouble for the first time, it roared desperately as it fought. The smaller monsters that had been spectating decided that now would be a good time to join the fight. Further up the hill, a multitude of howls echoed through the woods, followed by the heavy thuds of paws as they began their charge towards us. My clone and I readied ourselves to defend Shimmer, but I ended up not having to. The guards that had been at the caravan charged through the brush behind me with war cries of their own and rushed forwards to meet the wave of beasts head on. The two groups met in a clash of flesh and steel and the forest was engulfed in chaos.

I took this chaos as an opportunity to slip Shimmer out of immediate danger. We carried her out of the woods and into the field where she began to wriggle her way out of my hands.

"Ok, ok, put me down!"

We let go of her and let her fall to the ground a bit too roughly. She squeaked out a harsh 'Ow!' and then glared daggers at me before weakly pushing me back towards the woods with her tail.

"Go help Strongfang, I'll be fine… I can make it the rest of the way, ok?"

I scoffed and shook my head no.

"Not happening, I'm supposed to be protecting you and the merchants right? That takes priority, and you can't even walk right now. My place is here right now."

Shimmer's tail came down hard on my head and I had to take a step back from the blow. I hissed loudly and held the spot where she had hit me.

"The hell was that for?!"

"Stop being an idiot, you've done enough for me already. I'll be fine, I promise!"

"No you won't!"

She raised her tail threateningly.

"I'm happy that you care, but I think they need your help more than I do right now."

"What do you mean?"

I turned around to see a forest that was ablaze. Thick black smoke rose up into the sky and the roar of flames was only matched by the cries and growls of those still fighting. It was impossible to know what was going on, aside from what the largest monster was doing. It was spraying fire everywhere in a blind rampage and a part of me started to worry about everyone still in the woods. As I stared, apes and the monsters began to flee the forest as flames consumed everything in their path.

"Ok, I'm going, but my clone stays with you."

She smiled and let out a sigh of relief that was shortly followed by a painful wince. I hesitated, but knew that the best way to keep her safe was to go help the others.

"Be safe, ok?"

"What?"

"Be safe Kiran, you have to come back in one piece so we can sort stuff out."

I gave her a quick thumbs up and ran back towards the flames, I yelled back to Shimmer before I got out of earshot.

"Don't do anything stupid, and find a doctor!"

I didn't quite catch what she said in response. I took a deep breath, drew my sword as I neared the fighting that was now occurring in the field, and began to focus in on targets. Small engagements were happening all over the place and I took the opportunity to strike at any monster that was distracted or not paying attention to me. I was easily able to kill several of them, helping to turn the tide of the battle to our favor as the number of them dwindled rapidly.

Apes that were previously fighting alone were suddenly being joined by one or two more, and as a team they were striking down the beasts left and right. It didn't take long for us to rout the rest by forming a tight semi-circle that trapped them between us and the burning trees. Without anywhere to go, the beasts found themselves packed together tightly enough that they couldn't effectively fight back. They fell quickly, and the few that ran back into the flames disappeared without a trace.

With the field secured, the apes made a line across the edge of the trees and formed a killing zone for any others that fled from the forest. A few more apes and monsters trickled out from the woods, but soon it became clear that only Strongfang and the alpha had yet to leave. The fires continued to burn as we waited for Strongfang to emerge, and the apes began to whisper amongst themselves, trying to decide what to do.

"We need to go in there and help him!"

"Are you insane?! We'll be burned alive if we go back!"

"Then what do we do?"

The question hung in the air, and I wasn't too sure myself. I could try to douse some of the flames… but I didn't have too much chakra left and any attempt to go back into the woods could be disastrous. A loud howl cried out from inside the forest, and all conversation stopped. We stood in silence, weapons at the ready and watched for signs of movement. Over the roar of the fire, I could hear the snapping of trees being pushed aside and shouted a warning to everyone else.

"It's coming! Get ready!"

The alpha flew out of the trees with an axe embedded into its back. Holding onto the handle of the axe was Strongfang, who was burnt and bleeding, but otherwise alive. The alpha ran straight through our line, tossing several apes aside as it tried to get the axe out of its back. Strongfang pulled hard, causing it to rear up, and as he struggled to remain on top of it, he barked orders at the soldiers who had scattered below.

"Form a circle and don't let it escape!"

Without hesitating, the apes did as they were told, and I joined in on the attempt to keep it from escaping. As Strongfang kept it controlled with his axe, archers began firing their arrows at various points across its body. The apes and I repeatedly jumped in for a quick strike whenever we were able, doing our best to avoid the streams of fire and claws as it thrashed around in fury. A few apes were slashed, trampled or burned, but we slowly made progress as the wounds began to pile on.

Eventually the beast couldn't hold itself up anymore and tumbled to the ground where it still tried to shake Strongfang off. Once that happened, everyone charged and hacked at any piece of flesh that they could reach. Blood and gore filled the air, accompanied by the pained bellows of the beast as it was struck. The beast tried to gather enough strength to expel more fire, but its wounds, combined with a lack of energy, only allotted for one last feeble puff that amounted to nothing.

Soon enough the wounds took their toll and the beast finally went still with one final whimper. The purple aura that was previously surrounding it faded away, leaving behind a mangled and bloody corpse. When we realized it was finally dead, apes dropped their weapons and breathed heavily, while others collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion. I wiped some of the sweat off of my brow with a shaky hand, and started to wipe some of the blood off of my sword and clothes. I was glad that it was finally over and almost sat down to rest, but I noticed that the body of the beast began to hiss and contort. Strongfang hopped off of the beast's back and immediately ordered everyone to run.

"Move! Get away!"

Everyone, including myself, backed away in a hurry as the body sizzled and then burst into flames. The intensity of the heat was insane, even from a distance, and the corpse was quickly reduced to nothing but a large, smoldering pile of ashes. It was silent for a few moments as we all stared in confusion, but someone decided to let out a cheer. The apes all joined in on that, and soon there was clapping, whooping, hand shaking and general celebrating. Strongfang let them do this for a few moments before clearing his throat and calling attention.

"Those who are able, assist the wounded back t' camp! We don't know if there are more of these monsters, so keep yerselves focused!"

The atmosphere grew heavy as everyone was brought back to reality, and Strongfang kept them focused with another command.

"You four-"

He pointed at four apes that looked unscathed.

"-Yer goin' t' serve as a temporary watch until we have a hold of the situation. If ya see anythin', warn me immediately, understood?"

There was a loud chorus of 'Yes sir!'.

"Good, let's move."

He picked up his axe, which was now covered in blood, shook it to get chunks of flesh off of it, and did his best to stay poised for the guards. I could tell that he was hurting though, if the slight limp in his leg and the stiff movements of his body were anything to go by, but he seemed determined to be an example for those around him. He caught me watching him and motioned for me to come closer.

"Kiran, is Shimmer alright?"

I sheathed my sword and walked over to him, scowling with shame.

"She was injured in the fight, but should be alright. I gave her some healing crystals that I think helped with the worst of her injuries.

His face was contorted in a worried and angry frown. I watched his eyes glance over the ashes and then the tree line before he responded to me.

"These monsters… somethin' isn't right. I've never seen anythin' like it before and my gut is tellin' me that this wasn't natural."

"What do you think it was then?

"I don't know... I don't know of anythin' that grows that large or uses elements like that. Not t' mention the lack of flesh on their faces… Somethin' isn't right, abominations like that shouldn't exist, and yet…"

He shook his head and sighed.

"Nevermind, we need t' focus on what's in front of us. Let's get back t' camp."

He sighed and joined the rest of the apes as they walked back to camp. I watched them for a moment before growling and running a hand through my hair. This entire situation was a mess and I had managed to almost get Shimmer killed through all of it. I was a failure as a guard and as a ninja, and she had to suffer for it.

I was angry with myself but decided to sulk later. Right now I had to think about the situation and what I knew. If these… things weren't native creatures, then that meant someone or something was causing problems. I rubbed my shoulder and a small part of me began to wonder if the sudden departure from my world was somehow related. I wasn't a native here either, and unusual circumstances always had a driving force behind them. Two events like this, so close together, combined with the pain in my shoulder… I agreed with Strongfang. Something was wrong and I wanted to know what was going on.

I looked back at the ashes of the alpha. My shoulder had reacted strongly when I first saw it, so maybe there was a connection here. I didn't want to dig through the ashes, so I made the necessary hand seals to create a small wind jutsu. I let out a light breath and slowly cleared the ashes, until a small glimmer in the ground caught my eye. I stopped, crouched down to dig around in the dirt and found a shard of a small black crystal. It crackled with energy, and my shoulder throbbed for a moment.

"It can't be… another crystal!"

I felt compelled to pick it up, and without thinking, I grabbed it. Energy shot up my arm and before I could scream, everything went dark. Then, all at once, brief visions shot through my mind, faster than I could comprehend.

I saw a large gray dragon, who was shocked as he stared directly at me. That faded and I found myself looking down at a large oval table that had several dragons, cheetahs and moles seated around it. There was a flash of purple scales next to me, but my vision shifted and I was looking at the same room from another perspective, albeit from a much lower height. I found myself looking up at a large purple dragon with golden horns that was saying words that I couldn't hear. There was a sharp pull, and I saw a few flashes of light and dark landscapes, with creatures that I had never seen before. Finally, slitted yellow eyes gazed at me from afar before my sight cut back to the gray dragon from before, who was surprised to see me again. He was yelling something at me, but I couldn't make out what he was saying.

As quickly as the visions started, they stopped, and I found myself on my knees as the crystal in my hand crumbled to dust. I gasped for air as the pain that I had been feeling in my shoulder slowly dissipated and I was left in silence.

"What the hell is going on?!"

I growled and threw the dust in my hands into the wind. I wanted answers, not… whatever the hell that was!

"I'm such an idiot, I know better than to mess with dark crystals! Why did I even pick it up?! And who were those people that I saw?"

Leah was absolutely right when she said these things caused nothing but trouble. I didn't know what I just witnessed, but it unnerved me that there was a dragon that had seen me during my… episode. Maybe he was the key to figuring out what was going on? But where was he? And what had he been trying to say?

With no way of knowing, I decided that I should keep it to myself for now. If what had happened tonight was somehow related to me, or if it was assumed it was, I didn't know how anyone would react. I didn't want to risk my chances of going home, so I would keep quiet and be on the lookout for now.

Without anything left to do here, I went back to camp. What I saw struck a chord inside of me and I felt bitter and homesick. There were wounded that were being treated near the center of camp, while others were picking up parts of wagons that had been blown apart. A lot of the merchants seemed dazed and were watching the proceedings without much to say, while a few groups gathered together and chatted amongst themselves as they glanced between the dark woods, the apes, the craters that were still sizzling in the ground. My ears also picked up a small band of cheetahs that were arguing with Strongfang as he tried to calm them down, and I eavesdropped on the conversation.

"The contract promised protection for ourselves and our goods! As you can see, we only have a few scraps to take back to Warfang, let alone anything worth trading! We expect to be fully reimbursed for the wares that we lost!"

I could tell that this was testing Strongfang's patience as his hands wrung tightly by his sides.

"We protected ya t' the best of our ability. I must remind ya that the contract also states that we are not liable for damages t' merchandise. Traveling is dangerous and ya agreed to that when ya signed on."

The cheetah that was arguing with Strongfang took out a piece of paper from his person and waved it in front of him angrily.

"This is an outrage! Not only do we have to deal with apes, but now we've lost everything! Since this is how you treat your charges, I'll make sure that word of this spreads so that you'll never have business again!"

With a flourish the cheetah threw the paper into the air and left, angrily mumbling to himself and the others that were with him. As they walked away, Strongfang hung his head heavily and for the first time I caught a weakness in his person. I tried to leave but scuffed my foot against the ground. Strongfang quickly composed himself, turning around with the same neutral expression that he always had.

"Did ya need somethin'?"

"Oh uh, no… sorry to have bothered you. Just passing by."

Strongfang grunted.

"Events like this tend t' bring out the worst in people. They lost quite a bit of money, so I understand their anger."

I flushed with embarrassment. He must have known I had eavesdropped, but I guess he didn't care because he shook his head and looked at the destruction in the camp.

"It was my job t' protect the people here, and I did that. The merchants lost money and can gripe all they want, but they're safe. That's what matters."

Although he claimed that, his eyes told me a different story. I assumed that he was thinking about the apes that had died during the attack, or about the scrutiny he would face in Warfang. Both of those were part of the job, and to let them bother you were a sign of weakness that ninja couldn't afford to have. I didn't feel like I had anything good to say to him, so I awkwardly said goodbye and we went our separate ways. He needed time to sort out his own thoughts.

I walked to the center of camp, and the adrenaline from the fight finally gave way and I was hit by a wave of exhaustion. Parts of me ached terribly from the fall, I had an assortment of small burns on my arms and legs, and my chakra reserves were pretty low from all the jutsu I had been using. My feet started to drag lightly on the ground and I started thinking about where and when I would sleep tonight.

"Kiran! You're ok!

Shimmer must have seen me, and before I could figure out where she was, she ran into me with a big hug and almost bowled me over. I had to fight to push her off, and when I was finally free from her claws I shot her an annoyed glare. My clone stood beside her and just shrugged when I looked at it accusingly.

"She's your problem now."

He dispelled himself in a small poof of air currents, and the experiences that he had lived through forced themselves into my brain. I felt a splitting headache coming as I tried to sift through all of it. I began to rub my temple in an attempt to alleviate the pain and frowned at Shimmer.

"Was that hug really necessary?"

"Of course it was, you didn't come back with everyone else, so I thought that something had happened to you. I'm glad to see that you're safe!"

Guilt wracked me as I remembered how injured she had been before. Her wounds were gone now, but my mistake still hung over me like a dark cloud and I wanted to be away from her.

"Sure. I'm not really in the mood to talk right now, so can you just leave me alone so I can sleep?"

Shimmer's eyes fell and she shook her head.

"You've got some burns and bruises, so you should handle them before you sleep. I have a few crystals left in my stash that you could use if you wanted. I was able to get all fixed up with the rest, check it out!"

She twirled in a quick circle to prove that her wounds were gone and then tried to usher me to her secret stash. I resisted though and pushed back against her until we were at a stalemate.

"Shimmer, I'll be fine. And don't push it, my head is starting to hurt and I'm not in the mood to argue."

She immediately responded with a pout and threatened to smack the ground with her tail, hovering it precariously by her side.

"If you don't take care of yourself now, you won't feel well later."

"Yeah, but you don't need to force me to do things I don't want to."

"Ugh, why are you so stubborn? This is a legitimate issue!"

"Why do you care so much?"

She lost a lot of her gusto when I asked that question and she looked at me with pity.

"Do you just not trust anyone? Is that why you're unwilling to accept help?"

I sighed, not wanting to deal with this right now.

"I know I said that we could talk, but can I wash up and sleep first? I'll even go get some crystals with you if you promise not to bug me.

She looked at me suspiciously at first, but then agreed with a smile.

"Sure, follow me!"

I let Shimmer drag me through the camp, glad that she had listened to me and looked forward to spending the next few hours getting some sleep and recovering. I was thankful that things had seemed to calm down and prayed that things wouldn't get any worse. I didn't know how much more of this world I could handle before I fell apart.

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter, but I'd love to hear what you think so feel free to leave me a review with your thoughts. I look forward to seeing you again next time! It's been a slow journey, but we'll finally be making it to Warfang next chapter! Whoo!