Note: Toward the end of this chapter, turn on Geronimo by Sheppard. Also, one more chapter after this, so it's not quite over… I've been waiting for this chapter so long it's not even funny…
…..
There is something wet on the back of my neck and my fur is matted from the scruff all the way down my back. Ash tickles my nose and I sneeze, groaning. Everything is sore as I stretch, yawning wide enough to crack my jaw.
The wet patch on my back shifts, and I remember. No, I sense her. I have never been so deeply aware of another creature's presence like this before, not even with Arthur. She is also confused, but less alarmed, and her calm in turn soothes my worry. This is strange, on this we silently agree, but it can be learned and adjusted to.
"Perhaps because I am your anchor as much as you are mine?" I wonder aloud.
"We have been bound to objects and people," she agrees, "but it was never a mutual binding."
"What you did was very foolish." I feel the need to inform her, now that she is herself again, of what I think of her actions. "Did you even think of the consequences when you took on my darkness?"
"I told you I did, I knew what would happen to me. Not all of it, but I gathered enough. But you were hurting." Small wet hands comb through my fur. "All the hurting and sadness from what you'd done, and you would never be free of it. I hoped you and the others would find a way to help me. I took the chance. I'm not sorry."
I lie there a few moments longer, before murmuring, "Thank you."
"Thank you," she repeats back to me.
I open one eye. It is dark, but the sky is light along the horizon and I don't know how long I have slept. Merlin sits cross-legged in front of my nose, listening. Of course.
Behind me, I hear soft whimpers and whines. I sigh, rubbing my snout with a foreleg. The last thing in the world I want to do is teach a couple dozen kitsunes how to fare for themselves when I already have my paws full trying to keep my small pack of humans safe.
The wet patch crawls up the back of my neck and perches on top of my head. "You are well, Merlin?"
"Still tired, I will need much more rest before I'm at full strength again, but I'm capable of looking after myself." He gives her a weary smile.
"So you will be leaving," she notes, a touch of sorrow in her tone.
He unfolds his legs, struggling to his feet and reaching up to caress her face. "Now that I'm not flowering every spring, I'll be able to come find you. You will see me on occasion."
The whines behind me increase. They must be hungry.
"Merlin, I don't want you to go alone." Callie's tone is firm, leaving no room for dissent. Merlin raises an eyebrow, glancing at me. I assume by his reaction this is a rare tone for Callie. "Take the pack with you. They need someone to teach them, and you need protection until you are strong again."
My ears perk up. "There are probably towns and villages all over this country still plagued by dark spirits, teach them to be village guards. Spread rumors that the black and white foxes are good luck." My tails wag as I pick up Callie's excitement at the idea.
"I suppose I can do that." He pulls Callie into his arms, and she wraps herself around him tightly. "It is so good to see you happy again."
"Be safe, Merlin," she whispers, before returning to the back of my neck.
"Take care of her, Mystery." He lays a hand on my nose, his eyes twinkling. "You've come quite a long ways from the monster you used to be. Don't look back now."
"I don't think I can," I snort, rising to my paws. "Shall I bear your farewells to Arthur?"
"And Vivi." Merlin nodded. "My best wishes to the remnants of the King's line. But it is time for me to leave, and for you to rejoin them."
"Goodbye Merlin." We speak as one as he walks past us to the pack, calling softly to them in the high speech.
"To Arthur?" she asks, anticipation building in her.
I see her plan unfolding in my mind, and my mouth opens in a wide, gaping grin. "To… to Arthur at once!"
….
A wide, wet tongue knocked Arthur halfway across the room, and he flitted to the ceiling of the tower without thinking. He stared down, collecting himself out of the memories he'd been cycling through, and realized he was looking down at Mystery.
And on his back-
"Callie!" He zoomed down, grabbing her and spinning her around. "You're okay! You're… you're better than okay! It worked!"
"It worked," she affirmed, gleefully spinning with him. "And I'm free of the sword. Mystery is my anchor now."
"And she is mine." Mystery nudged Lewis and Vivi to their feet, both rubbing their eyes as they tried to focus.
"What's that? Mystery!" Arthur stopped spinning, smirking down at the Kitsune. "I thought you said no spirit would ever be stupid enough to willingly bind themselves."
Mystery grimaced, rolling his eyes. "Yes. Well. Circumstances." He glanced around. "Where is Lancelot? We passed him on the way in."
Arthur peered around, but couldn't see the ghost. "He was waiting for you to come back, keeping us safe until then. I guess he moved on." Arthur smiled. "Looks like they're all at rest finally."
Callie pulled Arthur back down to the ground next to Lewis. Mystery nosed Vivi aside, carefully herding her a safe distance away.
"Wait Mystery, wait a second." Lewis crossed over to Vivi, wrapping his arm around her.
"Hey, you'll be fine, you'll get to hug me after this too."
"Yeah…" Lewis swallowed. "I just… yeah." He ran his fingers through her hair for a moment, before returning slowly to Arthur's side.
"You sure, Lew?" Arthur whispered.
"Shut up Arthur. Already told you." Lewis glanced worriedly at Callie. "You're really… okay now, right?"
Her smile faded. "I apologize for trying to harm you before. It will not happen again." She turned to Vivi. "I apologize to you as well."
Vivi smiled, waving a hand. "Nah, we're good, Callie. Get on with it."
"Yeah, well, if you're better, it's alright." Lewis brushed his shirt off nervously.
"One more question before I begin." Callie turned to Arthur and took his hands in hers. "Arthur, you did for me what your ancestor was unable to do. You kept your promise to me, and you did not cast me aside. I will put you back in your body, but will you let me complete the healing this time?"
Arthur tilted his head, puzzled. "Complete the healing?"
"She means your arm, genius," Lewis muttered.
Arthur stared over at his body's missing arm, eyes wide. "I…" He shifted.
"Why not?" Lewis glanced at him. "And if you say it has to do with me, I swear I'll put you in a three day headlock when you're back in your body."
Arthur rubbed his left arm, eyes glued to the floor.
Mystery nudged him gingerly. "Why not, Arthur?"
"No reason, I suppose," he answered slowly. "Not anymore." He raised his eyes to Callie. "Okay."
"Lewis, lie down please." Callie gestured to the floor, and Lewis laid himself back down. She took Arthur's spirit and settled it carefully back inside his body. Her hands sank into the chest and began to move, working to weave Arthur back into his body and loose Lewis from it.
"Don't forget the damage to his soul," Mystery reminded her. She nodded, her arms moving back and forth as she hummed softly.
After what seemed like an eternity, she withdrew her arms, slowly, pulling out a familiar form. She lifted Lewis free of Arthur's body, then released him, turning her attention back to Arthur.
He groaned, wincing as he tried to sit up. "Gah… Lew… everything's sore, what gives?"
"Yeah well somebody had to try and get your anchor back from the angry god. They didn't like that very much." Lewis picked up the broken prosthetic. "He's totally free of this, right?" He asked Callie. At her nod, he tossed it to the side.
Arthur touched the stub of his arm carefully. He sighed. "Healing didn't take, I guess?"
"I haven't begun that healing yet. Arthur, will you trust me?" Callie hovered in front of his face, ripples travelling up and down her body, the ends of her arms curling and uncurling. "Will you please trust me to do something?"
Arthur blinked. "Sure, Callie, of course I trust youuuUUUUUU!"
Callie hardly waited for him to finish. She seized him by the shoulders and flipped him into the air. He twisted, coming down to land on her back.
"Meet you back home, Mystery!" she trumpeted, soaring out the window. Mystery's barking laughter followed them out as they soared skyward into the light of the rising sun.
"WHAT'S GOING ON MYSTERYYYY?" Arthur shouted, but the guard tower was already shrinking to a dot below. He clung to Callie with one arm, holding tight with his knees.
From this height, he could see a great deal of the country, from the barren, ashy plain to the woods. Castle ruins dotted the landscape, and he could make out the edges of a city in the distance, but that was not where they were headed. He could see Callie's direction, as she steered toward a large river that carved through the landscape ahead.
"Callie!" He squeaked, clinging tighter.
"Trust me, Arthur!" she sang. "Trust me!"
They soared over the river and she banked, following the flow. She hovered in place for a few seconds, then plunged down, breaking the surface and submerging.
Arthur held his breath, bracing for the shock, but it never came. He was underwater, but all around him was a thin layer of air, protecting him from the cold and allowing him to breathe.
Callie slipped out of his grasp, spinning and twirling through the river ahead of him. The current carried him right behind her, diverting him from boulders and underwater branches without jarring him. He passed fish lipping at the surface for a meal, startling them as they flipped their tails and fled. Below him coins reflected short flashes, and he could see bits and pieces of old, forgotten things lodged between the rocks and debris of the riverbed. Moss-covered traps and bits of fishing net, dozens upon dozens of lures and here and there a broken rod. Light played with the water, coloring everything murky and strange toward the bottom, and a clear, gentle blue toward the top.
He was pushed to the surface as Callie spun out of the water, her laugh ringing loud and joyous as she turned and plunged under again, bringing him with her. He could hardly process everything that was happening, but as he submerged again, the thought crossed his mind that Callie was playing with him.
She veered left, and the current guided him right, then circled him around her as she, in turn, spiraled with him around and around. Strike that, she was dancing with him, dancing underwater, as she must have done at the beginning. Only she was allowing someone to be a part of it. Had she danced like this with Merlin?
The sound of a dull roar vied for his attention, and the current jerked slightly harder.
"Do you trust me, Arthur?" Callie sang again, her voice carrying perfectly through the river.
The water boiled just ahead, a great white wall obscuring his vision of anything that lay beyond, and they were headed directly for it.
But Callie had not hurt him yet. With a nervous grin, he shouted, "I trust you!"
He burst through the boiling white wall into empty air. He hung for a moment, just a few feet past the edge of a waterfall, before plummeting down. As he fell, he twisted around, catching sight of Callie exiting just above him. He grinned, reaching up to her with both arms-
He gasped as Callie grabbed both his hands, beaming at him with unrestrained ecstasy, and twirled him mid-air, landing him on her back again. He stared at his left arm. It was hairless, and several shades lighter than his right arm, but it was there. He could feel Callie's watery body under that hand. The fingers curled and flexed on command. It was real.
"Homeward bound, Arthur!" she called, soaring ahead. "I've a bet with Mystery that I can get you home before he can get Vivi and Lewis home, and I will not lose, not today!"