Sorry for the wait! I had to do some revisions on this one. I realized that I'm now into chapter 20, so I think I need to speed things up a bit. My bad, Sorry!

"Good morning, T.K." chirped Sonya happily. I woke groggily, groaning at the glaring sun.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Morning, 9:00 actually. It's time to wake up." Said Sonya with a smile.

I sat up and looked around the small apartment. The smell of cooking food filled the air.

"You making something?" I asked as I stretched.

"Perhaps." Sonya beamed as she went back to the kitchen. I was surprised how cheery she seemed this morning. She was in a very good mood, and she really showed it.

"You're in an awfully good mood." I stated.

"Of course. It's Saturday." She said, stirring the eggs.

"Well, yeah. Who doesn't like Saturday?" I said with a grin.

Sony set the food onto two plates and put them on the table.

"Thanks Sonya." I said and set down to eat.

She nodded as she sat down.

"So, how do you like it here?" I asked her.

"It's, different from what I grew up in. It's so busy here, the lights are always on in the city." She said with a smile.

"This really the first time you've been to a big city?" I asked.

She nodded at me with bright eyes.

"What did you do everyday at home since you didn't have classes?"

"I stayed and tended the sheep, worked at home with mother, and on Saturday I would go to the stones by the river. This has always been my day to look back and smile." She said.

"It is for everyone. Only we sit and play video games and watch movies." I laughed, as did she.

"I would pray to the Mother Spirit, and all of the other spirits that served beside her." Said Sonya, picking at her food.

I looked up.

"Mother Spirit?"

"The Spirit of the Earth. Everyone calls her Mother Nature." She said.

I suddenly thought back to Sheba.

"Huh, what did you say you were again?" I asked.

"Wicca." She looked up at me with her bright eyes.

"Ah." I nodded, looking back to my food.

People had always said that Wicca was a Satanic religion, but Sonya had never once shown any dark side. This made me believe that she didn't have a dark side.

"You understand?" she asked quietly.

I looked back at her.

"Understand?" I repeated.

She looked a little nervous. I figured she was talking about her religion.

"Of course. Why shouldn't I? You're my sister." I said with a smile. She brightened up immediately and continued eating her food. The phone rang right as I finished. I cleared my plate and went to answer.

"Hello, Takaishi residence." I answered.

"Would you stop that?" I heard Kari's voice say. I grinned.

"What do you want?" I asked playfully.

"I need to tell you something. Meet me at the park at 11:00?" she said.

"Yeah, sure. I'll see ya there." I said and we hung up.

"Huh. I wonder what's eating her?" I questioned.

"Hey Sonya, You wanna go to the park?" I asked, Sonya nodded.

"Alright, let me get dressed. We can go in an hour." I said and left to take a quick shower.

It took me ten minutes in the shower, and another ten minutes trying to gets my clothes on, mainly my socks. I figured that we should hit some shops and get clothes that actually fit me.

Sonya sat on the couch patiently with her hands in her lap and her back strait. She stared out the window in deep thought.

"Whatcha doing?" I asked. She jumped and looked at me.

"Thinking." She said.

"About what?"

She shook her head. "Nothing."

We left the apartment and headed out. Since we were early, I told her we could stop by a few shops if she wanted. She said she wanted to explore this side of town, seeing as we were in the area.

We looked through shop windows, deli's, supermarkets, and antique stores. Sonya really enjoyed walking through one of the antique shops. She looked carefully at the little glass and porcelain figures of dolls and the old rusty figures of clocks and bells. We left the stores and made our way to the park. We entered the grassy field and sat on a park table, waiting for Kari.

"What does she want to talk about?" asked Sonya.

I looked at her.

"huh?"

"Kari asked you to come here, right? What did she want to talk about?" Sonya pulled her knees up to her chest and looked at me curiously.

I was a little startled because I hadn't told her Kari asked me to come.

"Uh, I don't really know. It sounded urgent though." I said, watching for Kari. It was 10:54. It was still a little early.

Sonya and I sat in silence for several minutes, enjoying the warm late summer air and the colorful fields.

Sonya had her eyes closed to the sky, taking in the heat from the sun and beaming just as brightly.

I grinned at her enjoyment. In the two weeks she's been here, she and I have grown quite attached, nearly inseparable. We shared many interests and hobbies. I introduced her to a lot of things that apparently she's never seen or heard of before. I felt a pang of sadness for her. She had never gotten around, never really learned about the outside world.

I was so impressed as well! She was more intelligent than she let on. She understood even the hardest subjects in her advanced classes. She passed right through each lesson without hitting a rut. I was a little jealous of her intellect, but I was more proud than anything else.

Sadly, though, she has yet to make any friends other than us at the school. I looked at her and wondered if her smile was a fake one.

Suddenly, I felt something nudge at my leg. I looked down and saw a dog pawing at my pant leg. It looked like a German Shepard pup. It was dark coated and had clear green eyes. He barked at me lightly. Sonya snapped her head toward the dog in surprise.

The pup jumped and wagged his tail playfully. Sonya smiled widely and laughed.

"What a sweet thing!" She said excitedly. The puppy, in turn, ran in a circle and looked up at her with his bright eyes. Sonya's face brightened even more and she reached out and pet the pup.

It jumped on the bench and stood on her lap, wagging its tail as though asking to play.

Sonya looked at me.

"Why don't you go play with him?" I said.

She grinned and ran through the field with the puppy on her heels.

I laughed as she picked up a stick and taunted the little dog. He lowered and raised himself, pleading for the stick she held her hand out and said something, then threw the stick. The pup didn't go after it though. He stood there, watching it fly. Sonya knelt down by him and watched as it landed. She said something else, and then he darted to the stick happily. She stood and clapped her hands.

The puppy ran back and dropped the stick in front of her. She knelt and scratched it behind the ears and said "You're such a good boy! Yes you are! You're a smart little boy, aren't you?" she said playfully.

I smiled.

"She really is an innocent." I heard a voice beside me. I cried out and fell away from the sound, just to find it was Kari.

"Where did you come from?" I asked her; shocked she was sitting there without my noticing.

"I saw something." She said.

"Saw what?" I asked, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees.

"Karakin showed me. There were two puppets, one with brown hair and one with blond. They were being pulled by strings. The blond one fell." Said Kari, looking down.

I didn't answer her.

"I think the blond one was Sonya." She said, looking up at Sonya.

"The other one could be you then. What happened with yours?" I asked.

"Sonya's just, broke and fell. Lifeless. There's something going on with her, and it's going to get her killed." She said, not answering my question.

"Kari, what are you talking about?" I asked, more sternly.

"I don't know. We have to watch Sonya carefully. I think she may be in trouble."

"Nothing will happen to her. We're here to protect her." I said with the same sternness.

"What do you mean she showed you?" I asked. "Was it a dream?"

"No. It was something else. A vision, I think." She looked at me with pleading eyes. "What does it mean?"

The sternness left me and I looked into her eyes softly.

I thought for a moment and looked at the trees.

"The puppets could represent you and Sonya. The strings mean that you are being controlled by something." I said slowly, considering the scene.

"You sure it wasn't Leiko and Gayle playing puppet master?" I asked her.

She shook her head and glared at me.

"You know what I'm talking about." She said.

I raised my hands defensively.

Her eyes glinted the same red, only they were softer and more pleading. Her features were obviously tired; there were bags under her eyes from the lack of sleep. Her muscles were tense and she was fidgeting a little, her right arm twitched slightly now and again.

She was scared.

I felt bad for sounding cold before. Kari was truly afraid for Sonya, and herself no doubt.

"There were a number of strings holding my puppet, but she was resisting the strings. Sonya was held by one string. It was too weak and she fell to the ground." Said Kari with her head down. Her hair covered her delicate face.

I tried to resist, but I found myself pulling the hair back to look at her face. She looked at me as I did so. I couldn't bring myself to look away. I stayed staring at her, trying to find something to say to comfort her and make her feel that everything would be alright.

I couldn't find the words, though.

We held each others' gaze for a long time. From the corner of my eye, I could see Sonya look at us, then tell the pup to be quiet. She and the little Shepard moved away silently. I smiled a little at this. She was very considerate for others.

"What?" asked Kari, not breaking our gaze.

"Nothing." I answered. Right then, I noticed that we were a few inches closer. I was looking down at her, and she looked up at me with her fiery eyes. I saw something behind her eyes. It looked like a girl, fuming behind Kari's eyes. The image soon disappeared though as Kari broke our gaze and fell back on the table.

"I am so Tired! I couldn't get any sleep last night!" she complained. There was a twinge of disappointment in her voice, as though she didn't want to break the gaze. I was just as disappointed I want so bad to be close to her. I found myself lying back on the table beside her and looked at her face once more. She had her eyes closed and her head rolled to face me. I took the moment to study her face. Her soft, delicate features seemed to glow with the sun. Her long hair glinted in the light and fell all around her.

I gazed at her lovingly.

There was a bark and more laughter. Sonya was having a ball with that pup. I looked over at her and saw the two sitting in the grass under the shade of a tree. Sonya took the dog's paw in her hand and looked up to the sky with her eyes closed. She looked as though she were praying. The dog looked up at well. His tongue lolled out of his mouth in the warm air.

I looked back at Kari who was watching me.

"You two have gotten real close. I'm glad. You don't usually see sibling relationships like yours." She said with a smile.

Her face became even more radiant with the smile.

I couldn't resist the urge, I pulled her toward me and held her tightly.

She stiffened in my hold. I knew she was still shaky after what had happened to her those weeks ago, but I had to hold her like this. I had to feel her presence beside me. I expected her to pull away and leave, but instead she curled closer to my body.

She was warm to the touch, very warm actually.

I looked down at her. She looked up at me and pecked me on the lips.

I hadn't seen this coming and froze. Kari looked insecure then, but she covered it by burying her head in my chest.

I tightened my grip on her and kissed her head.

I felt the butterflies fly all around my body now. I didn't want to let her go, I loved her so much. For that moment, I felt that she loved me just as much.

I could feel her heart beating rapidly against mine. I held a strong hope that it was for me.

It took all of my strength to keep from kissing her right there.

"Kari, don't change." I whispered in her ear.

Her heart felt as though it quickened.

I wanted to stay like that forever.

We did, it seemed, but I had noticed something a little off.

It was silent.

Absolutely silent.

I looked over to Sonya. She was staring up at the sky with wide eyes and jaw slightly agape. She still held the pup's paw, the little Shepard had its head lowered a little with its ears back and was wining.

Kari looked up too. We stood and hurried over to her. Her eyes were filmed over and glassy. She seemed to be staring passed the sky into something else.

"Sonya? Sonya, wake up. Can you hear me?" I shook her. She shook in my grip, then snapped her head back down to me. Her eyes were suddenly normal and she had a look of confusion on her face.

"Of course, T.K. Why shouldn't I?" she asked me curiously.

The pup took its paw back and stretched out on the grass.

"What was that?" Asked Kari.

"What was what?" Sonya looked at us both.

"You were totally zoned out, you almost looked dead." I said, worried.

Sonya blinked at us.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said.

Kari and I looked at each other and decided not to pursue the question further.

The puppy stood and licked Sonya's face. She giggled and scratched it behind the ears.

I saw Kari shudder a little.

"What?" I asked.

"Dogs. I don't get how you can stand letting them lick your face like that." Said Kari, mainly to Sonya.

"They're so sweet! They only want to show love." Said Sonya.

"Not when they want to bite your throat." Kari countered.

"Everything has a reason for what they do. Say they're really sick, body or mind. That could drive someone to do some awful things. But that doesn't mean they will always attack you." Said Sonya lightly.

Kari raised an eyebrow.

"You're too trusting, you know?" she said.

Sonya ignored the comment.

Kari looked off somewhere for a moment, as though listening to someone speak.

"I have to go." She said.

"So soon? Why?" I asked.

"Just, stuff. See ya." She said and ran off into the trees.

"That girl's almost as weird as Gayle." I commented. Sonya looked after her with concern.

"Perhaps we should go as well?" she said.

"Do you want to go? So you know, we can't take the dog with us. No pets allowed at the apartments." I said. Sonya looked down at the puppy, then knelt.

"I've got to go now. You be a good boy and stay out of trouble. Okay?" She said with a smile. The puppy barked in return and padded away.

I watched, blinking.

"Let's go." Said Sonya cheerily.

We made our way through the crowds back to our apartment. There was a lot of traffic today. It was a little difficult to push through the large numbers of people on the street.

Sonya had that far away look again.

"Thinking again?" I asked with a grin.

She looked at me, then forward again and nodded.

"What about?"

"Kari." Said Sonya.

I looked at her questioningly.

"Okay. What about her?" I asked.

"She seems strange. She acts as though she's being pulled by a string." Said Sonya.

"What do you mean?"

Sonya looked up at me.

"Like someone is telling her what to do. She wasn't quite this distant before, was she?" asked Sonya.

I blinked at her and thought. She was right. Kari had been acting strange, and she had become more distant from me and the others.

"What makes you think that?" I asked.

Sonya looked forward again.

"A feeling I had." She said quietly, I almost couldn't hear her.

I watched her, wondering what she meant, but in the back of my mind agreeing with what she had said. I thought about this as we neared the apartment.

I felt a wave of exhaustion hit me suddenly when we reached the door.

"T.K, you look tired. Why don't you lay down?" said Sonya.

I didn't argue and lay on the couch tiredly. I saw Sonya's worried face above mine before everything went black.

Almost instantly, I fell into an unnatural sleep.

---

I stood on the lighted hill with the large white wolf, staring out at the mountains before us.

"You learned a little of Shadow?" asked Sheba, not looking at me.

"Yeah. I almost feel sorry for him." I said, staring at the dark mountains.

"Yes. The darkness has devoured his soul. I'm not sure if there is anything left." Sheba shook her head.

I looked down at her.

"What am I doing here?" I asked her.

"Learning, like children do." Sheba answered.

I looked at her questioningly.

"Sheba, you're not from the digital world, are you?" I asked.

"No. I am from the world of Tajrynok. The darkness that Shadow spread in my world had destroyed it. I fled here through the rift with the others."

"Others? You mean the Nightwalkers and Blood Harvesters?" I asked.

"No, with the other Guardians. The Guardians are the creatures and people who protect each element in their region." She answered.

"Who?"

"There were three animal Guardians, and two humanistic Guardians. There was me, Ragnorok the Tiger, and Adler the Eagle. Sadly, Shadow has dismantled them." She said sadly, looking down.

" Karakin, and Tojima are the other two." Sheba looked at me. "I'm overseeing Tojima's region until he's able to rule again."

"Tojima? I know him! I've been hearing his voice in my head." I said.

"I know." Said Sheba.

I looked at her and blinked.

"Yeah, isn't it cool?" said Tojima from behind me. I jumped at his sudden appearance.

"Where the hell did you come from?" I cried.

"You're deepest darkest imagination." Answered Tojima mysteriously.

I looked at him weird and he laughed.

"So, why is Sheba doing your job?" I asked him.

"I'm taking care of some other business right now. I'm aboutabout a quart-way finished, by the way." Tojima looked at Sheba.

"What do you mean? What's going on?" I asked.

"Maybe later." Tojima waved the question off. "So, you find out why Shadow's such a prick yet?" he then asked.

I blinked.

"Yeah. We talked to Hyperion just yesterday about it. He lost his famiy, home and life. That's what Hyperion said." I answered.

Tojima scratched his cheek like a dog, making the hair that framed his face shake liker fur.

"Well, you got part of the picture." He said with a grin. "There's more to learn though. Talk to the other Village leaders, they should provide you with what you need."

"What can they tell us?" I asked.

"Well, they can, or maybe on ly will, tell you a small part of what you need to know. One village will tell you his plans, one village can tell you his supposed locations, one village could tell you what you need in means of weaponry and defense against him, and the other could tell you his supposed weakness." Said Tojima with a low voice.

"You say supposed…." I trailed off.

"Because either they're not sure, or they're trying to deceive you. You gotta watch out for that. You lucked out when you reached the Koryn Village first. They're pretty merciful. There are other villages like that one, but there are others that will be ready to kill and skin you." Said Tojima.

"Which ones? Where are they, so we ca avoid them later?" I asked him.

"Pfft! Why would you want to avoid them? They have, what is quite possibly, the most important info on Shadow than the other villages! You need your defense, and you need to know his weakness." Tojima's grin grew wider.

"But what if they're trying to deceive us?" I questioned with narrow eyes.

"What if they aren't?" Tojima countered. I looked back at the mountains and thought about it.

What if they set out a trap? What if we were caught and taken strait to Shadow?

"Then you would meet him face to face." Said Tojima, reading my thoughts. IO looked at him.

"You have a long way to go." Tojima shook his head then disappeared.

Sheba and I stood in silence for a moment.

"Listen to him. He's right, you know."

"I suppose." I said warily.

"Come." She said and walked to the trees. I followed her in wonder. We trotted through the trees, ducking and dodging branches and roots.

I grew very tired, but kept up my pace. Looking at our surroundings as we went, I noticed we passed the forest into a field, past a village, through a thicket, another large field, and pass yet another village. We were sprinting by now. I watched the village stream by us as we ran. I noticed it was the Koryn village we had seen just yesterday. I realized then that Sheba had led me cross country to the plains. The dark mountains lay another great distance before us as though we haven't moved.

Sheba finally slowed down and stretched her limbs.

I bent and leaned on my knees, gasping for breath. I personally couldn't believe that I was able to keep up for so long.

"Why are we here?" I asked, still panting.

Sheba looked up at the moon with glittering eyes.

"Takeru, the time is coming. A war could break out any time, we need leaders, followers, allies." She said. I blinked at her, not understanding.

"It's time to choose sides." She said, sitting and looking at me. "Shadow builds his power over the planets, the worlds, life and light as we know it. He is sure to bring destruction to our worlds. Son, will you join me if a war is to ensue?" Sheba asked. Her golden eyes looked through mine wisely. I stood and walked up to her. I knelt to her eye level and smiled.

"Well, if you are what you say, then I owe you! Of course." I said. Sheba licked my face happily like a dog would.

I heard rustling all around us. I stood and looked around. The tall grass parted toward us slowly from the North, the South, the East, and the West. It then stopped and four figured rose tall among the grass.

I held back a cry of fright, for I saw that they were all Night Walkers. The Northern figure stood tall and strait with broad shoulders and carried a staff. The Eastern one stood hunched with silvery eyes glowed as though the moon shot through them. The Nightwalker standing to the South was old and bent in the moonlight. He seemed to be carrying a large hammer at his hip. To the West stood the larger wolf with a large body and massive head and paws. Each figure was barely visible through the night. The scene was more frightening than any horror film I'd ever seen. It may have been the fact that I was there, staring at the moon-shadowed figures standing a distance away, each one standing still in the swaying white field. I couldn't see below their hips. It gave me the sense of their unnatural speed and agility.

This frightened me even more.

"Fear not." Said Sheba, sensing my fear. "You have chosen to aid us in our fight against Shadow. They are of no harm to you."

I looked down at her and my shaking stopped. I just realized then, I had joined the Nightwalkers. I would have to fight beside them. For all I knew, they were mother killers and baby slaughterers. They might mutilate parents in front of their children and devour them right afterward. I was disgusted at this and almost spat at the wolf.

However, a wave of compassion washed over me. I felt for Sheba. I understood what she meant when she spoke about the worlds being in danger.

I also thought about what she had told me before.

She was my mother at one point. The one that cared for me and showed me love.

I looked down into the grass sadly, ashamed at my sudden feelings.

"Do not worry so. You are now under our protection, as we are under yours. Thank you." Said Sheba.

I saw the broad shouldered Nightwalker come toward me and was in front of me suddenly.

"Takeru, I am Nicoli of the North. You have joined a noble cause, and for that you have my Staff." He said. I saw more detail in this one. His voice was soft and smooth like water and his eyes were moonlight blue and full of wisdom. His fur was a light gray and white coloring, and he wore a long, blue and white loincloth on his hips. His staff was interesting, it was white oak that twisted at the top and carried a sapphire in the twisted handle.

"You also have me, lad. Ask, and I'll beat off anyone with my hammer!" crowed the old wolf from the south. I turned, shocked at the suddenness of his appearance. This one was old and leather skinned, but his muscles budged from his bony arms. He was missing an eye and had a scar run down the whole left of his face. He was scraggly, his Red main was tangled and untamed, and his body was covered in scars. He wore an old, torn, long loincloth on his hip similar to Nicoli's, but with black and gold.

I couldn't speak. I was still afraid of these creatures, but I also felt at ease with them. They said they would aid me. I said I would aid them

Maybe they could help us in our own fight against Shadow.

Then, the other two had joined us, forming a circle under the moon. I saw the hunched and the large Nightwalkers in better vision. The large wolf had a narrowing snout and his mane was large than the rest of his fur, like a lion. He was a black and grey color and had a set of arrows strapped around his shoulder. A Large Yew bow was strapped to his sip. His loincloth was the same as the other twos', but with a jet black color. His eyes showed a stormy grey.

The hunched wolf was the most intimidating, though. His appearance seemed the most frightening, even more than the burly wolf. This one had no middle, just the vertebrae that were covered by his thick grey skin. His arms were long with unnaturally long hands and fingers that brushed the ground. His legs were bent like a sitting dog, and his head seemed to be directly attached to his shoulders.

It was Tzadik, the Nightwalker that Gennai had told us about.

He stared at me with his glinting, silvery eyes. I saw no whites, not pupils, just silver.

They all looked at me.

"You have our alliance. And we have your Hope." Said Sheba as everything turned white.

The scary thing is Tzadik came from a dream I had... And that's what the scene looked like, only in a bombed out building.

Please reviews to meh! be greatly appreciated...Build self confidence you know...like, leave a nice little comment? Please?