"Down With the Sickness"

There are probably a few of you wondering if Sora died. Nope, Sora's alive but he has no role in the story from here on out. Leon actually found Sora and Aerith's taking care of him. One last note, when the wolves are talking with each other, it will look like 'put the words here' rather than "put the words here". See the difference?

Once you get done reading, be sure to click the little purple button at the left hand corner of your screen. Maybe it does something cool.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the plot.

Warnings for the entire story: Violence, language, blood, possible disturbing images

Chapter 3: The Human Tribe of Redemption

I don't remember how long I have been running. It's hard to continue on. My brain is telling my body to turn back, to see Aerith and the others again, despite the danger present. My instincts say that isn't worth the risk, and that Vincent's still there, waiting to kill me. My muscles don't know which side to take, so they keep on pushing through the wasteland. It's driving me insane, this land. It's barren. It's polluted. The humans destroyed it. The land can't recover anymore. No plants can grow. No animal can live here. There's no water, no rain. There's no clouds in the sky, just the sun beating down upon my body, trying to cause it to overheat. I can't die here. I need to become human again to help them - Aerith and the others. I need to show them how much they're damaging the planet.

When I stop running after I don't know how long, I turn around and look at the distance I covered. I can't even see the town of Agata, where every human on the planet probably lived. I doubt there's a village up north. I don't know the geography of the world very well, but I do know that the rest of the planet is uninhabitable, like this little piece of land. How anyone, anything, could live here is well beyond my comprehension.

I almost feel claustrophobic here. Even though there's nothing around for miles and miles and miles, it seems almost as if the emptiness is trying to close in on me and drive me insane. I'm beginning to think that it's working. It's insane, how so much space can close in on you and make you feel like an insect. Except the emptiness has no such thing as mercy. But then again, neither do humans. Emptiness...humans...they're so alike that it's not funny. They both destroy and confuse the mind. I want to see this emptiness become a forest or a grassland, however. I don't like the feel of sand beneath my paws. It's gritty and gets stuck between the pads, causing them to itch persistantly. It clings to my coat and around my eyes when the wind blows, causing my body to absorb more heat and my vision to blur slightly. I can't get the sand out of my eyes due to lack of fingers, so I have to push on.

I must be going insane. Why else would I hear the pounding of horse's hooves on the dry sand? I hear shouting; it sounds like men's voices. The noises seem to be coming closer and closer to me. I want to move, but I can't. I just stare ahead of me, at the sources of the noise. The horses are a deep chocolate brown or black in color; the men are tanned from being exposed to the sun. I smell dog's scents on them. Are they exiles, or are they thieves? Are they trying to capture me to sell me to the black market, which I heard is famous for selling all sorts of exotic animals? Regardless of these thoughts, my legs are tired, refusing to run.

"A white one?" I heard a man's voice ask. I looked at them curiously. They seemed to be just as curious about me as I about them. I hardly noticed them come up to me.
"There's been an abundance of wolves lately," another man said. I crouched towards the ground, as if the submissive posture would prevent them from killing me.

"Yes, there have been. But it's a good sign from Mother Earth," an elderly man said, smiling gently at me. "Let's take this one home and let him see the others. Come here, Kisei."

How did he know my name? Regardless, my instincts told me to follow him.

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He and the pack of humans had led me to another larger pack of humans. There were women and children running around. The women stopped their chores when they saw me, and gasped and covered their mouths with tanned, thin hands. Some children cowered behind their mothers, but most stood and stared at me with awe in their little eyes. The genetics seemed rather limited; nearly everyone had black hair and brown eyes with tan skin. Their clothes were made by hand just for this kind of weather. Sandals were worn by nearly everyone, save the children. They ran barefoot in the sand, developing tough skin on their foot from the little pebbles and stones. Sandals weren't very good for sprinting, after all. If I ever become human again, I'll be going barefoot for quite a while. Shoes seem more like a nuisance now.

I walked with the human pack leader, the elder. I held myself in a submissive pose as I walked. My tail was low and my ears were flattened towards my head. I didn't know what was going on, but I need to be ready just in case something occurs that isn't favorable for my survival. I was feeling dizzy by the sheer amount of humans. I didn't think that there were humans outside Agata. I was still curious about the origins of these humans though. Maybe that's why I kept following the elderly man, despite his slow walking gait. Eventually, I was led to three dogs. The elder left me here with them. My instincts told me to investigate the dogs, which I did carefully.

The first wolf was sitting on the ground. He was licking his paw, probably cleaning it, until he saw me. His eyes narrowed at me as he observed my body language and appearance. His fur was dark gray, almost silver, in color. His underbelly was a odd combination of white mixed with the dark gray, causing it to appear silver. The tips of his ears seemed to be painted ebony. His scent was faintly like Sora's - a sea breeze, as if the wolf lived on a beach for his whole life.

The second wolf was much smaller than the first. She was laying down with her head on her paws. Her fur didn't hide the sand well, as the fur was a mix between red and brown. Neither color proved to be predominant - it was almost an even balance. She had an even fur color the entire way around her body. Her tail was wagging happily as she saw me. Like the first wolf, she smelled like an ocean. She looked almost happy to see someone new. I hope she's not in heat.

The third wolf was larger than both the second and first wolves. His body was mostly made up of muscle, but it looked like he lacked brains. I saw his black lips bare his pearly white teeth as he looked at me. He was standing up and seemed to be glaring at me with hatred and anger. If he were human, I'd say that he was mentally unstable. His fur was golden as the sun itself, but lightened up near his belly. There was a slash that came between his two eyes and over the bridge of his nose. It was opposite of what Leon's had been. He smelled as if he lived in a city before coming here, but he didn't smell like Agata. It was a much cleaner smell.

'What are you doing here?' the third wolf growled, the fur on his back bristling.

'I don't know,' I answered dumbly. But I don't even know where I am, other than it's a wasteland.

'We don't want outsiders in our pack,' the wolf said, taking a step towards me.

'Seifer, stop it!' the red-brown wolf shouted, stepping between him and I. 'I'm sorry that Seifer's like this -'

'Don't apologize, Kairi,' the first wolf said, looking annoyed at Seifer's actions. 'My name's Riku.'

I looked at the group. Kairi, Riku and Seifer. The names sounded familiar, as if we had run across the world together before. Seifer's fur began to lie down again and his lips covered his teeth. Defeated, he sat down on the ground. He refused to look me in the eye. Riku, satisifed, laid down where he sat. He hadn't moved during the ordeal, but I could tell he was ready in case Seifer went berzerk. Kairi walked up to me and we touched noses. She sniffed around my nose, as if she was figuring out where I had been before. 'So...' she started, done sniffing my face, 'What's your name? You came from that city with all the people.'

'My name -'

'Just hurry up and say it,' Seifer taunted, causing Riku to growl at him.

'- is Kisei.'

Kairi's tail started wagging happily again. 'That's such a cute name!'

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The hours passed as the full moon rose into the sky.

'I love the full moon...' Kairi said, causing me and everyone else to stare at the large object in the sky. 'It's really pretty when you're on a beach...do you remember what it's like, Riku?'

'Yeah...' he said thoughtfully. 'We used to sit together with Sora -'

'You know Sora?' Seifer and I exclaimed at the same time. Seifer said it with a shocked tone while mine was emotionless.

'Yeah, we do,' Riku answered. 'We used to live together on the Destiny Islands.'

'There was a freak hurricane,' Kairi said. 'No one could've predicted it. Everyone was caught off-guard. I woke up here, with these people. And so did Riku.'

'You sound like you know Sora,' Riku said, directing the statement at Seifer. 'How?'

'He came waltzing in one day,' was the simple reply. There was silence for a few minutes until Seifer spoke again. 'Then when he left, weird things started happening. Fuu, Rai and I were attacked in an alley. Fuu and Rai escaped, but I don't know how I got here. I just kind of woke up here.'

'What about you?' Kairi asked, still staring at the moon.

'I fought a battle with my darkness,' I said. Riku seemed to understand while Kairi and Seifer were confused. 'He used an evil curse to turn me into a wolf. I'm looking for a cure. But I can't find one.'

'You'll find one,' Kairi said comfortingly. 'We all will.'

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I remained with the pack of humans and wolves for a few days. For some reason, the full moon still arose in the sky every night. There should be a cycle, and the moon should be on a different stage, but it's not. I followed the elder closely, observing him. There was something about him that bugged me, but I didn't know what. It wasn't the elderly smell. It wasn't the fact that he had wolves living with him as if they were both equals. I couldn't put my paw on it. He was disturbing, but I didn't know how. Until he confronted me one night.

"You look troubled," he told me, sitting down with me at the edge of all the commotion, or the tribe of humans, whatever you want to call it. "I can read it in your eyes...you're not supposed to be a wolf."

I looked at him curiously, like a little puppy observes small insects.
"Neither are they. The form doesn't fit them very well. But it was all predestined to happen."
He trailed off. I nudged him with my paw in an effort to make him continue.

"Ah, yes. There is an old legend at the center of human culture on this world. There's two different cultures. Us and them. We are peace-loving and environment-respecting. We do not care about using technology, as it's polluting our planet. They...they are destroying the planet. They keep on striving to invent more things without making the things they have efficient. This land on which we sit now was once a large forest, part of Kojiki Forest to the north. They came here, cutting down the trees and trying to find oil in the land. The land was being poisoned until it could sustain no more life."

"So everyone moved up north to the area that is today called Agata. The area was rich in nutrients for farming and had many clean rivers. When people began farming, the rivers became polluted. They didn't replace the nutrients in the soil, so crops were less bountiful and more-often-than-not worse tasting. Unsatisfied, they began looking for a way to invent more things so the crop issue would be solved."

"And this is where the split occured. Agata was ruled by a terrible king who resided in the castle with the black emblem. The king was solely interested in inventing new things without making the other things efficient. He killed any of those who disagreed with his opinions. The people that disagreed with him are our tribes ancestors. Many of our ancestors were forced to fled the city when the king sent out soldiers to track them down. In short, they were exiled by unofficial means."

"Our ancestors watched as Agata fell into flames. The king was killed, but the passion for inventing had become ingrained within the Agata psyche. Instead of helping the planet, they invented many more things. Things that we, here in the wastelands, would never be able to dream of. Our ancestors passed down their beliefs to us through the generations. We believe what they believe and are ready to fight for them. Where was I? Oh, yes, the legend. I'm afraid I've gotten sidetracked."

"Long ago, wolves reigned over the land. Alongside of wolves were the humans. The humans respected the wolves, and wished to live as they did. There were a group of humans that wanted to rebel against the wolves. And so, a great battle took place between the wolves and the humans. After the battle, the few wolves remaining stook alongside the human race. Some wolves could even go between wolf and human forms. The rebelling humans made it the top priority to kill the wolves. The remaining wolves ran towards the southern islands, driven away by the humans. Anyone that wanted to live like a wolf was killed in the cruelest way possible. And so, the humans began to have a need for inventing new things.

"Eventually, the humans began to turn corrupt with power. Kings became dictators. The dictators trained massive amounts of people to invent things that would be able to kill anyone who opposed them. Eventually, the dictators were overthrown, but the new kings had the urge to invent. And invent they did. The planet began to die, and the wolves could tell. There were four wolves that would be able to save the world, but they came from different worlds with different points of view. Eventually, the wolves fought their way past the discrimination and hatred with the help of peace-loving humans. The wolves traveled to Lover's Peak, the mountain in the center of our world. All wolves died on the way except for one. The wolf was as white and brilliant as the snow itself, and his name was Kisei. There was no white wolves recorded before him. He was one of a kind and seemed to be the savior of the world.

"At the top of the mountain lay in wait a cruel human. The human despised Kisei for what Kisei and the other wolves had been doing. The human only wanted to push further into technology and forget the past. But with any more technology created would come a price. The world would slowly begin to die.

"Kisei and the human fought on top of the mountain. Blood coated the snow in the crater at the very tip of the mountain. When all seemed lost, a guiding light was sent from the heavens. A wall of white began to move across the world. After the light faded, there was nothing left but the snow falling from the heavens.

"Wolves were once again created alongside the humans. And so, the legend repeats endlessly."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence. The elderly man spoke again. "You should head down south to the island of Oyashima. Take the other wolves with you. You might be able to find a cure. And doubtless, those humans of the other group have already seen you. Wolves are not liked much these days. Take the others with you and run before another exterminator appears."

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The next day was when I took the other wolves to where the old man and I were sitting the other night. I told them that we had to leave for an island called Oyashima that was deep in the south. As we were debating the topic, the humans appeared to us again.
"We came to see you off," a woman said to me, smiling. My tail started wagging in response.

'We're not far from the shore,' said Riku. 'It's within a day's walk.'

We all headed down to the shore as one huge group. The sun was setting again, causing the sunset to be one of the best that I've ever seen before. The shades of color were brilliant next to the waves lapping at the shore. I was interrupted from my thoughts when the elderly man talked to me again.

"Oyashima lies across this narrow bridge of land," he said, pointing at something narrow.

That was all we needed. I looked at everyone in my wolf pack. They seemed to be staring at me with a sort of admiration in their eyes. I understood the signal - I was pack leader now. It was my job to lead them, and their job to follow. I won't fail, because if I do, I'll never see Aerith again. I'll never be human again. I've come so far that I'm not going to give up again.

We, the group of four wolves, sprinted to the narrow strip of land connecting Oyashima with the mainland. As we went on, grass began to grow beneath our paws...

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