CHAPTER 13
The Shaman
Bunnie ran a good two miles before finally stopping to take a breather. Sally woke finally with the poison beginning to wear off. It wasn't strong enough to put her down for more than a little while. Her eyes fluttered opened, looking up to her hero in shining armor who saved her. Her heart gave a tiny flutter, blushing, almost thinking of her as Sonic for a moment.
" Unnnh...w-where...? "
" Hey sugah. We've gotten ourselves into quite a heap o trouble now!"
" Unh..we're in the woods? "
" Ah decided after that little TLC treatment they gave us we had to split. "
" Well...I guess their going to come after us but I suppose it couldn't be helped either way. We should try and get out as quickly as possible from this place " Sally said getting to her feet.
The forest was withered and half dead from the blood rain that would fall. The ground was stained pink from it. As they walked further and further they began to hear things rustle in the bushes at the corner of their eyes and gleaming yellow eyes appear and disappear.
" Ah sure do hope that none of those yankee tree things followed us " said Bunnie in a annoyed tone.
Her question was answered by a haunting howl. Sally shivered when she heard it. She walked closer to Bunnie eying the bushes around them. Suddenly the bushes snapped behind them and as they turned they saw something big and black dart across the trail.
" What was that? " said Sally grabbing her beating heart.
Bunnie changed her vision to infra red and scanned but she did not pick up anything. " Couldn't have been anything nasty ah guess " she said shrugging it off. Then they heard the same howling except much closer followed by the howling of many other voices uniting. Bunnie called upon Beelzebub for help. The sword lazily opened its eyes and rustled its jaw a bit.
" Oh what is it now?! " it moaned. " I was sleeping. "
" Think we got company, Harvy " said Bunnie.
" Hey! I told you NOT to call me that! You know I do not like that name. "
They walked slower until they approached a wide break in the tree's and stopped. The ground was fresh with tracks. Most as big as their bodies. Before them was a great and twisted looking old tree. It was a white tree that twisted up on a crooked angle and up some more with two fat tree limbs. It looked like some kind of tortured soul trying to reach out for help. It was creepy.
Then in a flash, a force flew out of the bush and sent Bunnie flying. Sally gasped and stepped back and was now standing before a female wolf. She was around her height, looking roughly in her late 20's. She wore no clothes except for a left single arm sleeve that hung quite nicely tied together under with rope at the end. Her body was covered in either war paint or tattoo's. It was hard to tell in the dimness. She was beautiful though. Her silver gray fur sparkled and her long wolf tail danced to her moves. Her hair at front was shaped like a drooping mohawk that extended back into long dark gray wavy hair down her back. On her right arm there were three yellow bands that resembled power rings. She carried around a great melee hammer that looked extremely heavy. She had long eyelashes but her eyes were pure white and fierce but somehow, they seemed gentle too.
" You dare trespass on our sacred grounds .What were you going to do? Destroy our holy tree! " she said angry.
Bunnie picked herself up nursing her jaw. " Ya'll pack quite a punch sugah, but you just crossed the line and now your in for a whopping. "
She eyed her demon sword and intrigue hit her. " Before I send you to an early grave, I wish to know your name...so I may carve it on your tombstone. "
" Bunnie. Names Bunnie, sugah. "
If their was one thing that was annoying to a wolf was rabbits. As animals the rabbit would always be weaker but the wolf would never be able to catch the rabbit no matter how fast it got. This tension obviously applied with her as well.
" Might ah know your name before we have our little brawl? " asked Bunnie, crunching her knuckles together.
" I admire your strength to survive my direct punch and your courage to stand and fight so I will tell you. I am Lupe the lost princess; leader of the Werewolves. "
Sally's eyes bulged. " Lupe! "
The two tough belles charged at each other with the thrill of the fight running through their veins. Bunnie leaped over Lupe and came down to slash but Lupe was naturally flexible and twisted out of the way of the blades path and knocked the sword out of her hand. Harvey cried out in pain.
" That sword...is alive? " she said, bewildered.
Bunnie came down and took both her feet and clamped down on her face and slammed her face first into the dirt. She pulled herself out and with a sudden blast of speed she brought her hammer down on Bunnies head. She collapsed to the ground and she sent another hit to her back. Bunnie screamed in pain and then called her sword back. All she had to do was think to guide its path trajectory as it came swirling at her. Lupe leaped out of the way but just as she touched ground Bunnie sent a violent metal punch to her jaw. Her assault continued, ramming away on her gut and with one final move pulling a powerful roundhouse kick to her neck sending her to the floor. Slowly she picked herself up wiping away the blood from her lip.
" Never have I lost my own blood before in a fight. Now you will never leave these woods alive you metallic freak! " she spat.
She moved on the offensive but Bunnie hammered the earth as hard as she could splitting open the ground underneath Lupe cutting her speed in half. Bunnie took her sword again and came down upon Lupe who struck back with her hammer both hitting head on. Lupe's tail wrapped around Bunnie's leg, tripping her and then taking the initiative to strike and end it. Sally intervened and grabbed her trying to hold her back.
" Wait Lupe! Please listen! We didn't come to fight or do any harm. "
" You trespass on our sacred grounds and that means death " she said coldly throwing Sally off her.
Bunnie angrily took another swing of the sword this time striking the hit of her hammer knocking it out of her hand. Bunnie seized her neck and tightened her iron grip lifting Lupe off the ground.
" Ah could do it easily, sugah. You need to learn some manners when in the prescence of a lady...specially a princess! "
Sally got up again brushing the dirt off. " Please. Let her go " she asked her with compassion in her voice. Bunnie sighed and released Lupe gasping for air. She glared at her.
" If you are not here to fight what do you want from us? "
How would Sally put this. That she was a freedom fighter from another dimension and they were both friends and if she could come along with her to find the rest of her friends.
" Well... " she started. " We've come a long way and we were hoping to find a certain someone and...maybe someone like you would help us to guide us through here " she said putting on her best smile. She tucked aside a loose hair.
" You want me...to guide you through this country? "
" Yes. "
She sighed and almost laughed. " We are in the middle of a war zone, princess. I have no time to play guide to outsiders unlucky enough to end up here. The vampire armies are my first priority in keeping from expanding beyond the borders, and my bloodthirsty kin in line. "
" But there are things bigger than the vampires! Bigger than all of this! " said Sally in protest.
" Bigger? "
" Yes! Robotnik is the real enemy of Mobius. "
She growled. " Because of the werewolves and I, we have kept Draconia at bay for thousands of years so his infectious evil never spread past these mountain ranges. How dare you disregard the sacrifices they have made for your little bantering of this ' Robotnik ' you speak of. "
Bunnie stepped in between them and met nose to nose with Lupe. " Ah suggest that you listen to what she says or else your going to end up like everyone else outside those mountain ranges! "
" Oh really? If this Robotnik is as you say then he would have conquered us by now. Your problems are not my own. Begone! "
" C'mon, Sal lets go" she said angrily. " Obviously she ain't gonna listen to us."
" I told you to enter this sanctuary means death did I not? " she said.
Suddenly from out of the bushes came the werewolves she spoke of. They were not the furry men from films but savage giants. They were as tall as trees. Taller! Their fur was black and gray with great white manes on their chests. Tall ears perking up like horns. Battered and beaten faces filled with scratches, age, and scars. Two yellow lanterns for eyes. Each all clad in bloodstained armor that had been stolen from the dead enemy forces, ripped up and refitted to fit their large frames. They drooled and flashed their teeth, eager to protect their area.
" They will kill upon my commands. You have one more try to convince me not to kill you since you are not vampires."
Sally sighed, finally out of options. " Look, I know this is gonna sound strange. "
" Try me. "
" Lupe, I know you. I know you quite well.I..I come from another world. A different kind of Mobius. Don't ask me how or why I ended up here, still trying to figure that out. We were all fighting for a cause and that was not for justice or revenge but for freedom! We all fought against Robotnik for taking away everyone we ever cared about. Their was only a handful of us but what I say is all true wither you believe me or not and if your the Lupe I knew you won't kill us! "
There was a long silence as they all stood there looking blankly at her. Then the werewolves erupted into roaring laughter. Sally bowed her head failing to convince her. She jumped down from the tree she was perched on and came over to her looking at her with those white eyes of hers.
" Did you say...a different Mobius? " she asked.
" Yes I did " said Sally.
Lupe studied Sally's face. She let her hand run along her soft cheek and her hair and took in the scent of her aroma through her nose.
" You are telling the truth. "
The werewolves stopped laughing and looked at her with surprise and outrage.
" I have heard taller tales. I can also smell when someone lies. She is not lying about this. One of my many abilities. "
" You mean, like magic? " asked Sally.
" I consider myself a Shaman. My job is to help others in any way I can either curing sickness and wounds or exorcism or guiding lost ones to their right path. Although, I do know a variety of powerful spells for defense that one could call magic " she said with a shrug.
Bunnie and Sally looked at Lupe dumbfounded. " I thought shamans and sorcerers were just things made up! "
" We are real, but sadly I am the last of my family lineage of magic users. "
She looked at them again with no longer bitterness but with compassion.
" What do you two really want? "
" We want you to come with us and find our friends " said Sally being honest to the heart.
She smiled. " Sounds interesting...but I cannot go. I must stay here and win this war against the vampires. Only then will I be free to do what I choose. I owe it to them for saving me as a newborn pup and raising me to be their guide. "
The werewolves smugly grinned.
" I want to taste their flesh! " one shouted.
" I'll pop their skulls like grapes in my jaws! " another shouted.
They all were fired up in a raving blood lust. Lupe outstretched her hand. " No, they will not be touched. "
" Are you insane!? How could you for a second believe any of what they say to be true. They are spies of the vampires! They are drenched with their stink. "
" If they were with the vampires they would not have been merciful. "
Her pack went quiet and were quite upset they were denied to taste foreign meat.
" Go back to the camps now " ordered Lupe.
Hesitantly, they turned and disappeared into the bushes. She sighed and looked upward at the twisted tree with the starlight bathing over the vixen making her more seductive looking as she gazed with sad eyes. Slowly tears began to fall from her face.
" What's wrong? " Sally asked.
" It is so hard to hear her voice anymore " Lupe said.
" Who? "
" The mother. The caretaker of all living some call her."
" Nature? " Bunnie asked.
" Yes, mother nature used to whisper to me all the time. She taught me everything I know since I was born over 300 year ago but now her voice is faint. I can barely hear her song. For a long time I used to lie awake and listen to her scream in agony and I could feel the pain of the planet through my very being. I would often ask what is doing her this harm but she would never respond to me. Only cry louder and louder until her cries stopped...everything stopped. All I hear now is the sounds of metal clanging against metal far far away. "
" ...What does that mean? "
Lupe turned and looked at Sally with her eyes filled with tears. " It means someone is killing the very heart and soul of the planet. "
Sally and Bunnie were stunned by this and for a long moment could not speak but could only comprehend on what she said. Finally Sally spoke up.
" Mobius will never die. Not while their are still those willing to fight for it. Not while we still live for it. "
She looked at her eyes and saw the fires of determination in them. She nodded and rose.
" You are a interesting one, Sally " she said.
She smiled.
" I do not know what is happening to her, but I do know this...whatever is causing this is not the vampires as I have suspected. No, it has been too long since I left this country and too long since I tasted un purified air and rain. I have been sick for far too long. "
" Well...things aren't that pretty outside but there are still people and forests " Sally said.
Lupe took from her side pouch some fresh soil and said some strange words and threw it down on the ground and the soil exploded into a pink mist that smelled like sweet roses.
" What are you doing? "
Lupe did not respond. She seemed to be in some kind of trance. The light from the stars seemed to bend and wrap around her voluptuous body exploring every was like an ancient ballet from long ago. The markings on her body began to shine and glow until she finally stopped and turned and faced the twisted tree and bowed.
" I have payed my respects, a soul has just passed through the tree into the hereafter. "
" Oh, so thats why your so protective of it " said Sally.
" Yes, it may seem ugly but it is important. "
As they walked along the path she began to notice faces and bodys in the trees. The branches were becoming arms and they began to hear moans in the wind.
" This is the forest of Suicide " said Lupe. " When those who end there lives by their own hands they are cast down from their bliss and become entangled in this dark forest and become sucked in thus becoming what you see. "
" How morbid. " said Sally. " Is that really true? "
Lupe shrugged. " Perhaps. Stories passed on to me. "
They remained silent until she led them to her hut. It was atop a great half dead tree taller than the others covered in moss. It was strong but like everything, was dying. Her hut was covered by a blanket of moss perfectly camouflaged. Inside the walls were made out of thick bamboo strung together. Pieces of smooth stones and bags of spices were tossed into the corner. She didn't have much for possessions since she really didn't need any except for a few weapons and some herbs and that was it. She sat down cross legged and gave Sally cooked meat on a bone. Sally didn't want to offend her and so she ate it. Lupe smiled.
" Thank you for coming here. I feel...lifted a bit. "
Sally smiled." No problem. "
Lupe got up and began to dance about the fire twisting and curving her shape across the fire as the flames light danced upon her body. She exhaled deeply letting her hair sag down and then whipped her head back up and thus began to sing. Her song was of an old language Sally and Bunnie did not know, but the lyrics were pleasant.
She finished and then humbly sat down. Sally and Bunnie cheered applauding her beautiful voice and her dance. The awkwardness between them seem to have been broken by that song and were now closer than ever. That night they slept on beds made of straw and grass while Lupe as always kept one ear open for trouble.
When Sally's eye opened she had suddenly found herself in a black void. All of reality had slipped away. She tried to breathe but couldn't. She only felt a cold sharp stabbing of a thousand pointy needles at her lungs. She was cold. So very cold. Then a bone chilling voice echoed from the nothingness. It was loud and booming and sounded like it was from underwater with a metallic echo to it.
" Princess Sally uoy ot gnimoc era ew. "
She choked out. " Who are you? "
It answered back.
" Princess Sally resolc gnitteg era ew. "
Her body stiffened up and she no longer felt the cold as her body began to go numb and frost formed around her eyes.
" Please...I don't want to die. "
Two red eyes beamed out from the darkness and it watched her as she looked spoke no more but just watched her in the dark with those eyes. Then suddenly in a flash a steel claw ripped from the darkness and wrapped around her neck and clamped down to crush. Sally suddenly awoke screaming her head off waking hurried over to Sally and noticed she was shaking all over with tears running down her face. Her body was ice cold to the point of hypothermia and was in shock. Their was even flicks of frost falling off her eyelashes. Bunnie cried out for Lupe's help but she was nowhere to be found. The bed Sally was in would not be warm enough to raise her body temperature. Bunnie did what instinctively came to mind and embraced Sally to attempt to warm her up with the heat her metallic body generated on will for when having to face cold climates so she wouldn't freeze. As she rose her body temperature life began to slowly restore itself in Sally's eyes.
" Sugah Sal! What the hoo ha happened to you! "
She was still shaking and looked at Bunnie terror stricken still shaking with tears streaming down her face heavily. She tried to find words to describe what she saw but couldn't. Bunnie was now extremely worried. It wasn't near cold enough in temperature to do this. She must have caught some kind of cold she assumed. When she layed Sally down into her bed after her breathing relaxed and she passed out again Bunnie felt a shiver go up her back. Something didn't seem right. Felt like she was being watched. When she left she saw heavy smoke rising from the far end of the twisted forest and could hear the sounds of battle. No doubt Lupe was down there fighting but she stayed with Sally.
Lupe was leading the front assault against the vampire fortress. The vampires had been anticipating their arrival and had set up traps before hand such as acid pits and silver tip spike traps. A great brute-like vampire was leading as the general. He wore a helmet with four faces giving off a divine asthetic. The silver armor he wore was already dyed red in the werewolves blood. The first line of werewolves were destroyed by them walking into a mine trap the vampires had planted down. But the werewolves had the advantage in close range combat since the vampires dwarfed their size. One grabbed a rotting tree and slammed it into the pouring legions crushing five soldiers at once. One other got a hold of one of the vampire foot soldiers and tore him in half in its jaws. Lupe despised death but felt that in war mercy was something not be cast around. The sky was filled with silver tip arrows from the bowmen at the top gates. Lupe had one pierce through her shoulder but she endured and pressed on. The the great general confronted her, giving a great hearty laugh.
" Hah! No female can kill me " he said confident.
Lupe did not reply but merely leapt into the air with her knife in hand to strike his neck. He didn't even reach for his sword but merely back fisted her to the side like she was a child. She rolled to the ground hard, the wind knocked from her lungs. She got up wiping the blood off her mouth and dodged his attacks effortlessly. He moved fast but was top heavy. His fighting style was speed and brute force, like a boxer. She gained the upper hand in his attempt at bravado and domination, taking to his knees and legs. Tripping him and using her hammer to chip away at his armor it seemed like this seasoned warrior would fall just like the rest before her. Frustrated, he pulled out his sword and swung away at her.
" Wearing armor has its drawbacks. It can restrict your movements and slow you down! " she said, noticing his heavy armor making his reaction time slow. He obviously wasn't much on dodging attacks as he was blocking them or simply charging through them. She found the weak spots in his defense as she jammed her knife into an unprotected gap in his wrist locking up the bones making him drop his weapon. She grabbed a sharp stick and slammed it through his throat. He smiled and pulled out the knife, showing a gaping hole where it seemed to be healing itself immediately.
" Nice try, but not deep enough to finish me! "
But as he finished speaking his words she took out her great hammer and swung, knocking the generals head clean off his body which rolled aways. The werewolves were beginning to press the vampires back but as soon as the tides changed like a flash of lightning they turned once again. Large gigantic armada battle ships announced themselves into the fray by carpet bombing the battlefield. The werewolves were helpless with nowhere to hide, their forces being squashed. Lupe ordered a withdrawal before everything was lost.
" Success lord Draconia! We have won against those wretched werewolves! " said one of his high priests to his master.
He merely glared at the fight projected through a gigantic crystal ball. " Don't be a fool, Shnip. This is merely the beginning. By the end of this new day I promise everything in this country shall fall and then the world will be ours to move out and conquer! "
The dark priest cackled. " You truly are great my lord! "
Lupe was back at the forest and had the werewolves split up to regroup at some point later on. She dashed to her hut to quickly check on her friends. When she got there Bunnie was still with Sally.
" Whats happened? " asked Lupe.
" Ah dunno! She seems to be real sick! Sugah Sal woke up really really cold screaming. Ah managed to warm her up but she seems real weak. "
Lupe shoved her aside and examined her. " I sense she has been touched by the presence of something very evil and it is trying to drain away her life force. Stand back! "
She lit some candles and placed 3 perfectly round white stones on Sally's body. One on her forehead, one on her chest, and one on her torso. She spread some sand along her in a circle and then began to chant off a spell in a language native to theirs. A breeze blew in and some whispers were heard and then it was done. She turned to Bunnie.
" She has a strong will...if she didn't have such a will to live I would have not have been able to help her. She was touched by a powerful evil. "
" Well...I guess we all owe ya, Lupe " said Bunnie.
" Don't worry, this is my job. To help when those are in need but right now I must depart once again. "
" Hey wait a sec! " she said grabbing Lupe s arm.
Lupe paused and looked at her. " I must rally up the werewolves for the second assault. I don't think you have realized that you are in the middle of a war and my prescience is needed."
" This is nuts...isn't there some way for co operation? "
" Co operation? " she paused. " No. They would rather put us on the pikes and leave us for the crows. Draconia's army is ruthless and we must stop them before they spread farther outwards. "
" Did you ever think what will happen to you when this war is over? Ya'll think they'll let you walk away after? "
Lupe went silent as Bunnie's words struck a chord. She couldn't find anything to say but jerked herself out of her grip and made off. Bunnie's eyes narrowed. She had a bad feeling that Lupe was in trouble. But, all she could do right now was was just look after her friend and protect her and hope Lupe would take care of herself.
As Bunnie watched on the horizon of the withered forest all she could hear was thunderous explosions and a wall of fire. She couldn't tell who was winning but at the moment she didn't want to be part of either side. As Sally slept she was still surprised about her story. Although it might make sense. She has never met someone so nice yet so fragile and innocent to the harshness of this world she has endured and lived with for all these years. She still hadn't remembered how she became robotic. Perhaps she was some kind of android who got hit on the head or something. She only hoped with the path she was on now that it would lead her to the truth and that tall man with the long nose seemed to be her only chance to make her normal.
Sally slowly awoke and came to. " Unh...Bunnie...? What happened to me. "
" Ya'll scared the bejeebus outta me, Sally girl! Ya'll went all cold and sickly for awhile."
" I remember having some kind of dream...don't remember what...oh well, its not important." She got to her feet but stumbled about and almost fell over not letting the blood go back into her legs fast enough.
Back on the battlefield Lupe's warriors were still tiredly battling the vampires. The swordsmen had pulled back letting the artillery fighters take front with their silver tipped bullet rounds. The werewolves had very tough hides to soak up bullet damage, but against many they were still outmatched, their progress stalled. But then a great dark shadow loomed over the battlefield.
Everyone paused and looked up and saw Draconia's mighty flagship, The Satanic. Along the flanks it was armed with hundreds of cannons all manned. Its lower hull below contained tanks filled with hot bubbling lead and acid waiting to be dumped on the battlefield below. The flying battleship currently housed over eight thousand soldiers with enough supplies to last for a long campaign before running low on anything. The ships bow was shaped like a skull opening its mouth to scream. There were many many sails on it all huge and flapping in the wind like a pumped up pirate ship. The horn blew from the ship which was a horrible high pitched shrieking noise that dropped to a earthshaking growl mixed with the sound of a foghorn.
" It's Draconia! " Lupe stated.
She picked up a large spear and with great athletic force hurled it into the air at the ship. Draconia was standing ontop of the observation deck and shouted out onto the battlefield. He saw the spear pierce the thick glass mere inches from his face. He gave a chortle, stroking his mustache.
" Hear this. The day of the Wolf Clan are over. The House of Draconia will lay waste to all below!
With that Draconia waved his hand and a wave of hellfire erupted from the ship. A wall of fire blanketed the battlefield wiping out the werewolves along with numerous vampire casualties. Lupe barely escaped the fire choking on the fumes with the smell of rotting flesh and fur strangling her nostrils.
" Damn him! "
The werewolves were retreating once again but Lupe this time did not back down. She rolled on the ground covering herself in fresh spilled blood and leaped through the fires grabbing a broken sword throwing into the face of one of the vampire soldiers. She leaped on top of him and propelled herself upward into the air towards the gigantic ship. The bottom side opened up dropping gallons of acid down on her. She bit down on her lip and the markings on her body began to glow with a white hot fire that surrounded her entire body protecting her. She grabbed onto the spear she stuck in there and blasted her way inside.
" Your madness will stop today, Draconia! "
