Goddess: Sorry this is so long in coming. I've been super busy for some strange reason. There is more to come, I should be putting at least one more chapter up tomorrow.

Disclaimer: We don't own squat, so don't sue... I already owe my first born to the college as it is.

From there, it got really weird. It sounded like she was barking and whining, just like them, almost as if they were talking. Myers sat there, a confused look on his face. He didn't seem to want to move, and looked tired. The girl wasn't moving at all very fast, and I was sure that she was going into shock from the head wound. If we didn't treat her right away she could get seriously hurt. I moved forward to pick her up, only to see three sets of teeth being bared at me. And the girl's teeth were surprisingly sharp looking. They hadn't been a moment ago however.

"Red, I suggest that you let me handle this one. I'm not sure they'll really understand my words, but I can send them something else, so they know we're here to help her." Abe said.

I nodded, watching as he worked with the wolves, and the wild girl. She appeared about Myers's age, maybe younger. I couldn't really remember how old he was really. It was kind of embarrassing; the guy took care of me for the most part, making sure that I had my meals, and someone to talk to when I needed it. Ever since that Kroenen guy had injured Clay, Myers was all alone. Father wanted him to take over for Clay, but not so soon. He did a good job.

I wanted to get over there and help John out, but he was still sort of holding the wild girl, and the wolves weren't going to let me touch her. Abe seemed to be deep in thought, but I knew what he was doing, and was praying that it was working. Having both John and the girl pass out wasn't going to be a thrill, since we were trying to get the wolves to trust us.

"They don't trust humans. But I think I am convincing the mother to let her come with us." Abe said.

"Mother? And I don't blame them for not trusting humans." I said.

"She is the mother of the Moon wolf, and the Shadow wolf. I think Shadow is the young woman however. She took her in, when she was… spoken to, by someone of great importance. She is very old. Older than you are monkey." Abe said.

"That's not possible." I growled.

"Oh yes it is. She was granted long life to take care of Shadow. Moon has inherited her longevity as well." Abe said.

"Something's not right. She's younger than Myers, and you're telling me the wolf was given long life, long enough to be older than me, to care for her? That's impossible!" I said, clenching my teeth.

"Not if the girl is part demon. She's just like you Red… only, she's less than half. She appears mostly human, except for her eyes and tail." Abe said.

"You've got to be kidding me." I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"Careful Red. No sudden moves John. I've almost got their trust. Crescent is trying to urge Shadow to join us." Abe said.

After a moment the one that Abe referred to as Crescent, the one with the shape on her shoulder, looked at John, and seemed to nod. He got the idea, and picked the girl up. He looked like he was going to fall over, but he looked determined to stay on his feet. I went to help him out by taking 'Shadow' from him, but Abe stopped me.

"Don't ruin it now Red. Crescent trusts John. She may not trust humans in general, but she knows that he saved her life. She's only letting him touch her until she is better. Moon is also coming with. I want to help him too, but she spoke to him, on a level I couldn't even reach. There's more to John than meets the eye." Abe said.

"The guy is about to pitch over from exhaustion!" I all but shouted.

"Quiet Hellboy. She doesn't trust you, or Abe. She knows nothing about you two. She saw what you did for Moon, and that Abe drew Shadow from the water, but it's me she trusts right now, she said there was something in me she saw. Something that told her that she could trust me. I'm the only human she trusts." John said.

"Your father once told him that he had a pure heart, and that is what we needed then. I think we'll always need it. There's a purity about John that nothing will be able to tarnish. He has a good heart, you know that Red, you've seen it too." Abe said.

"Yeah. He's a good man. Crescent is right to trust him. He's probably the only human on earth with a pure heart." I said.

I remembered, not so long ago. It was a battle to save the world, and the one I loved. Liz was dying, dead… Rasputin had taken her soul so that I would open the door to the seven gods of chaos. I almost did. It was John who stopped me. John who told me that I had a choice, that father had given me a choice. It was John who saw past the monster I had become that night, to something deeper, something human. He only smiled and told me that the circumstances of ones birth does not decide who you become, only you can do that. That what makes a man is not his origins, but the choices he makes. I owed John a lot, and now was that time to let him know that I believed in him.

"Let's get to our crates brother blue." I said.

Shadow's POV

I didn't know what was happening. Suddenly I felt like I was going to be ill. Water came from my mouth as if I were a river. Soon mother and Moon were there. The others were in the jungle behind the red monkey man, and his fish companion. Next to me was a man, human. I felt mother nuzzle me worriedly, and Moon was not long after. I was not happy to be so close to a human, but I knew he had saved my life.

Mother tried to speak with the fish man. It wasn't as hard as trying to speak with the humans, but hard enough. He sent harsh pictures at us, telling us what happened. Mother let him know our position on the humans, and him and his monkey friend. He began to tell the red one what we were speaking about, and then mother turned to the human next to me.

: I know you can hear me human, just not the way you are used to. I will allow you to take my daughters with you to be cared for. Under one condition only. You are the one solely to care for Shadow and Moon, and no one else. : Mother said to him.

: I understand, Great Mother. I will not disobey your wishes, but can I know the reasoning behind them. And please, call me John. : The human replied.

: All will be revealed to you, little by little, in time, John. Shadow is a special child, you know this. She has been my cub for over sixty human years. As has Moon. The Lord of the Jungle granted me long life, and Moon received this gift as well, and became bonded to Shadow. Now the time has come that I may finally die, in peace. : Mother said, closing her eyes, looking so tired.

"Mother! Please, you can't be serious! You can't die!" I whimpered. Moon whined beside me.

"I am too old by far, my young ones. You have a long life ahead of you, both of you. You will do great good for us all, for both the humans, and the jungle kind." Mother said softly.

"No! I refuse to help the humans! Look what they have done to our kind, our home!" I growled.

"Shadow, you cannot understand right now, I don't expect either of you to. It will all come in time." She said.

: Mother Wolf, please, tell me what you wish me to know. : The human said.

: I have, John. It is what you wish to know that I will pass to you and you alone. Given time, you will know what to do with the words I give you, and the wisdom we all share, deep within. Shadow, Moon. You must trust him. He saved your life Shadow, and has a pure heart. : Mother said to him. She closed her eyes, and the human jolted almost unnoticeably.

"Shadow, John has a pure heart. You must trust him, and in the course of time, you must trust others as well. Do not trust so easily as to get hurt, but do not close your heart, do not close it to John, or to Moon. Stay like you are, loving, faithful, kind, and pure at heart. Know that I love the both of you. Now go. I must return to the pack, so that I can prepare to meet the Lord of the Jungle once more." Mother said, and looked to the Human once more, giving him permission.

I felt myself being lifted. Moon trotted behind the human, making sure that my mother's orders were followed. He seemed to feel as weak as I did. That wasn't very reassuring to the one being carried, I can say. He was bringing me to a large metal cage. I began to panic, not wishing this on my litter sister or myself. I began to weaken him more, and was about to make a break for it when I heard his voice in my head.

: Shadow, do not be afraid. It is no cage. It will take us some place safe, as your mother wishes. See, your sister is in there already. :

: Silence human. You know nothing of fear until you see the faces of those hunting you, taking you to loose what freedoms you have as a human. : I growled at him.

He looked at me and bared his teeth. : You are right; I don't know anything of fear. I was almost killed by two working for evil, and their evil God. I've seen monsters most humans only see in their dreams. : He said. Conflicting motions.

"Just listen to him Shadow. Mother trusts him, and she doesn't give out trust easily. You know that as well as I do." Moon yipped.

"You were always the noser of the litter." I growled back.

Moon was right. Mother did not do such things lightly. It must have been dire for her to hand over my care, and the care of my sister to a human. We weren't pups by any means, but you did not get rid of two pack members so lightly, even if one was mutated into human semblance. Our pack was small, and needed its members. She was protecting Moon and I from the poachers coming back, that much I knew, but there was more beneath that, and I didn't know what it was.

Soon we had been placed in the cage, the human next to us. Moments later there were two wooden cages brought in as well. They were large, and soon opened to reveal the fish and red monkey. They took one look at me, then the human next to me and shook their heads. Much human gibberish was passed among them, and soon the cage began to move. I growled and Moon started to howl.

: Shadow, Moon, it's all right. You're not going to get hurt. Please stop howling. You're going to get more humans to find us, if you don't be quiet. : the human sent to us.

Moon stopped howling, and lay down with her ears flat. I kept my gaze on the human, waiting for him to make some sort of mistake. He had said things would be all right, and I was sure they wouldn't be. Soon the movement became softer, and made me tired. I didn't know what was happening until I was awakened on a different metal cage, this one even bigger.

Moon and I had the run of the cage, and did just that. We chased one another back and forth along the cage, and wondered if we would be here for the rest of our lives. Such a cage was terrifying and interesting at the same time. The red monkey was sitting at a table talking to a human female, and John, the human male, was watching us play. His teeth were bared, but I felt no malice from him. I remembered seeing many humans do such things as I passed them in the streets; perhaps it wasn't a challenge, but something else to them.

I leaped about, bounding off the metal walls of the giant cage, panting along with my sister. There was a giant shake and then I fell into something that splashed. As opposed to having the same thing happen to me now as it did in the jungle, I was quick enough to call forth the gills. I swam about in the cool water, and swam towards my sister, thinking I would swim out of the water into land, that's what it looked like for me anyway.

I hit something really hard, and paddled around for a moment trying to figure out what had stopped me. Moon came up to where the sea and land separated, and nuzzled against something. I saw she couldn't pass the barrier. I was curious as to what may have caused the water to freeze like that, only there and no where else. The fish swam up to me, and I lashed out, but he was too quick. He held his hand out; trying to appear submissive, and then seemed to knock on the ice. He was trying to communicate with me somehow.

: It's glass Shadow. It's like ice, but it doesn't melt right away. It doesn't break as easily either. : The human said.

: A very strange river you have. : I thought out.

: It's not a river, it's a tank. Abe needs water to survive, like a fish. Sometimes he comes out on land like us, but he has to keep his skin wet, and uses a respirator to breathe water. Now, please come out of there. I can't keep an eye on you through the water, and you're not in the best of shape for swimming Shadow. : He sent to me.

: Come litter sister. He's right. You do not look well. The strike to your head is ill news for you. I do not want to see him rescue you again. There are only so many ways you can owe this human your life. : Moon sent to me.

The human came to the edge of the tank, as he called it. I swam up, feeling tired. He was bigger than me, by a half-length, but found it hard to help me out. He managed it, calling upon strength within himself that I couldn't have seen before now. He had surprised even himself. He and I were wet, him mostly from me sloshing water on him. He wrapped a fur around me to help rub the water off.