"Down With the Sickness"

This chapter was too short originally, so I fused this one with the would-be chapter 8.

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

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

Chapter 7: Bound by Destiny's Chains

I don't know where I am. I'm cold and tired, my muscles are aching, and I'm slowly going numb. My spirits are falling downwards in an inescapable spiral of despair. I don't know how long I've been walking, how long I've been running. The forest had ended quite some time ago, and a frozen tundra, void of all sorts of life, took its place. Climates were extreme on this planet. The south is hot and growing hotter everyday, and the north is frozen and growing colder every day. Storms on the planet aren't often, but they're fierce and deadly. Hail is almost guaranteed with thunderstorms. The officials of Agata were talking about building a dome around the city to protect it, as if the city was the heart of the world. Agata isn't the heart of the planet, but it is the heart of the human's world. Even if the humans were wiped out of existance, the world would go on. It would finally be able to seal its deadly wounds.

The snow kept on falling. Some flakes would melt and the water would make its way onto my skin, making me shiver from the sheer coldness of it. I haven't felt the water as much now; I'm almost as numb as a rock. My body feels heavy, even my paws seem to weigh fifty pounds. I'm sure the crimson blood has washed off of my fur by now from the melting snow. The wounds still remain, but that's the good thing about being numb. I can't feel them anyway.

I kept walking. And walking. And walking. My feet wouldn't stop walking. There was no reason to stop, no reason to go on. If I stopped, I'd die. If I went on, I'd die. My waist began to shrink as time passed, my stomach moving closer and closer to my now visible ribs. I was tired constantly, but never took a break. I collapsed more and more often. Every passing moment made it easier for me to give up and lay there in the snow. It was harder and harder to get up when I fell.

But this time, I couldn't get up at all.

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I awoke after the blizzard had finally passed. Everything was clear now; there was nothing to obstruct my view of the tundra, except for some oddly colored objects. They were close, but I couldn't make out what they were. My instincts told me it was danger, but my brain told me that warmth and food lay by those objects. Weakly, I pushed myself off of the frozen ground, several inches of snow tumbling off of my bony body as I did so.

As the sun rose the next morning, warming my body, I finally arrived at the objects. I was extremely confused by them. They seemed to be covered in straw from top to bottom, with a little blanket covering a section of the front of the object. As I sat, pondering what it was, I saw something step out of the blanket. It was...a human?

I was puzzled and confused. I didn't know that humans could live this far north and face this tough weather and come out alive. She was a pretty young woman, with shiny black hair reaching her waist. Her eyes, as green as the leaves on the trees on Oyashima, held kindness deep in their depths. Her slender legs were covered by fur pants, and a long fur coat covered the rest of her, save for her head and neck. As she held out something to me, I could see that gloves covered her hands.

The snow crunched under her boots as she walked closer to me. Confused and slightly scared, I became submissive. I laid on the ground, ears down to my head. I looked at her, analyzing her. She said something in an odd language I didn't understand, and then held out a piece of meat to me. Cautiously, I took the meat from her hand, always watching her. She smiled kindly at her, and I felt my tail begin to wag like a dog's would.

She clapped her hands and I found myself suddenly standing by her, as if I was controlled by some magical spell. She began to walk towards a large object in the back of the village, and I followed her obediently. Once there, she moved the blanket out of the way, showing me the inside of the object. She smiled at me, and feeling a bit braver now, I walked in. Inside of the object lay an old man.

As I walked in, my claws made a little tapping noise because of the wooden flooring. The old man, hearing the sound, awoke. He nodded at the young woman, and she departed, probably back to her home. The old man walked over the entrance of the object slowly, as if every step was causing him pain, and fastened the blanket nice and tight so nothing could escape from this object. He looked at me and smiled, wrinkles deepening as he did so.

"Ah...white wolf...we have been expecting you for some time."

I looked at him, confused. I must have had an unsure expression on my face.

"White wolves are never born in this world. They're very special."
I'm sure that I had a confused expression on my face.
"The planet's dying," he said as a frown suddenly replaced his smile. "A white wolf only comes when the world's about to die. The ones down south in the large city don't remember the legends of the white wolf, of how he bravely defeated the demons and saved the world. You've encountered a young man with crimson eyes, haven't you?"
I was confused once again. How did these people know exactly who I was and what I've seen?
"I'm certain you have. He's from the large city down south. He's vengeful at wolves and tries to kill them. I'm certain he gave you those wounds that cover your body. As for why he's so vengeful, I'm not certain. Perhaps the wolves caused him to lose things that were dear to him."

The old man was suddenly on his knees before me.

"Please, white wolf. You must defeat him and save our planet. If you don't defeat him, the cycle will repeat again."

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The air around me seemed to be thick with tension. There was a sense of impending doom surrounding me, and I felt it clearly. I was a good couple miles away from the village, sitting on the snow and taking one last breather before continuing my journey. I was nervous, and why, I didn't know. Something felt so off here, but I didn't know what.

I sat watching the village of Shinku for some time. My ears twitched as a new sound hit my eardrums. It sounded like a gummi ship, like one of the models Cid was working on before I left to kill Sephiroth. The earth seemed to vibrate as the ship approached. I didn't know why a ship would come this far north.

The black gummi ships were flying towards the village, gradually slowing down as they neared it. My eyes widened as I realized what was going to happen. As I got onto my feet, ready to sprint towards the village, despite knowing how worthless my attempts to stop it would be, the gummi ships began to fire lasers onto the village. I watched in horror and shock as the villager's screams and cries for help reached my ears. Flames shot up from the village as more lasers were fired. The elderly man's words echoed inside my head as I watched the destruction, powerless to prevent more damage from being done.

I couldn't do anything for this village now. The flames died down slowly, revealing that no part of the village survived. It was destroyed, and the citizens were dead. The humans, whoever they were, were murderers. What was going on in Agata?

I didn't bother to hesitate for a single second longer. Questions appeared in my head. Did the leaders of Agata know about the towns up north? What were they planning? Were they trying to destroy anyone that would oppose them, even if those people were peace-loving and friendly? Humans are disgusting creatures.

A peculiar scent entered my nostrils - the scent of...Aerith? No, I would never forget that scent. Why would I smell it this far north, in this dead land? Why would the scent follow me past the forest? I didn't know. I had no choice but to follow it. Sprinting as fast as I could, I headed south, to the forest of Kojiki.

It didn't take me long to get to the forest. The blizzard I had encountered before must have really slowed down my progress. In fact, the forest and the village seemed to be very close. Enough of the past. Enough of what I want. If the rulers of Agata destroyed a helpless village, a peaceful village that protested their ways, what would they do to Aerith?

As I entered the dark forest's grasp, the path ahead of me erupted in white flowers. I didn't hesitate. I didn't stop. I kept running, feeling the soft petals underneath my paws. I didn't care about why flowers would bloom so suddenly in this dark and gloomy of a place. It didn't matter. I need to protect her, protect Aerith.

As I headed deeper, into the heart of the forest, I saw three figures in front of me. They were my height and stood on four legs. Graceful wild animals with a frame made of muscle. They were my pack.

"We ran back to Agata," Riku said, approaching me. "We went to get Aerith."
"It's what our hearts told us to do," Kairi said while nuzzling my face, showing me that she missed me and was worried for my safety.

Seifer approached me and my lips exposed my teeth. He didn't show any signs of submission, except for one. "Aw, how cute, everyone's back together again."
"Yeah," I said, looking into his eyes. We had finally met an agreement on something.

"The path's turning white because of Aerith," Riku explained. "We'd best follow it."

We ran, and ran, and ran some more. The path was guiding us somewhere special, but where, I didn't know. The forest began to thin out slowly, almost unnoticiably, unless you were looking for it. Moonlight, from the full moon shining brilliantly above, began to seep through the holes left by the branches. Kojiki Forest ended abruptly, leaving us in a field.

And here, I knew, is where the journey would become so much more difficult.

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Okay, I decided to update early. Next chapter is the final chapter. Originally, there were supposed to be 9 chapters, but chapter 7 was way too short for my liking. The final chapter will be long, and most of your questions will be answered at the end. I'd appreciate it if you clicked that little button down in the corner that says "Submit Review".