A building that is surrounded by water and ruins of older buildings, inside was a man with long dark navy blue hair and a blue eye, the other hidden by an eye patch. He was standing in front of a woman with long blond hair, laying down in a bed.
"Lord Darcia, a wolf has appeared in the domed city to the north. They have not been seen since passing into legend two hundred years ago," a young woman said.
"Yes, you were but a child then. The Flower Maiden, has she awoken?" Darcia asked.
"So it would seem," the woman answered. Darcia stroked the blond woman's cheek.
"Hamona, very soon you will awaken as well, my love," he said looking at his lover.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Anything on the kirlian?" Cher asked.
"Spectral radiation unchanged," a female scientist answer.
"Any response to the tests?" The woman asked.
"None, just as we suspected," the scientist answered.
"So she's been awake this whole time," Cher mused.
"Yes, although she appears to be rather calm now, the data indicates she's still in a fairly excited state," the scientist told her.
"Dr. Degre, you've got a call," a male scientist said.
"Who is it?" Cher asked.
"It's your husband," the male scientist answered. This made Cher give a dirty look. "Gah, I mean your ex-husband," he corrected. Cher cleared her throat, still not liking it. "Uh, detective Lebowski is on line one," he finally corrected, putting the phone down. Cher picked the phone up.
"Yes, what is it?" She asked.
"Come on, Cher. Does it really matter what title they call me by?" Hubb asked a little annoyed.
"Just tell me what you want," Cher said a little more annoyed. Hubb sighed.
"There's something I need you to see," he said to her.
"So what did you catch this time? An elephant?" She asked sarcastically. Later one she went to the room where Kiba was once kept. There, Hubb showed a dead Gel. "Sorry, humans aren't really my specialty."
"He was one of the kids involved in the warehouse theft. He fell from the roof while trying to escape," Hubb told her. Cher looked at Gel's shoulder.
"Are these…tooth marks from a dog?" Cher asked.
"The wounds are still pretty fresh. What do you think?" He asked her.
"Are you trying to tell me the dog that escaped did this?" Cher asked, a hand on her hip.
"I don't know. I should have taken molds of its teeth when I had the chance," Hubb said.
"Hm, I wonder why it hasn't been found yet. With a dog that big running wild around the city, you'd think someone would have reported it," Cher mused.
"Maybe they are trying to deceive us," Hubb said thinking about when he talked with Quent.
"Huh?"
"No, forget it, it's impossible," Hubb shrugged.
"Oh Hubb…"
"Hm?"
"Am I down here just because you wanted to see me?" Cher asked him.
"Maybe just a little," Hubb admitted sheepishly.
"You never change, do you?" Cher asked him with a look. She looked at Gel's clothes and picked up some grey hair that was on it. She then looked at the cage.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
A young Mexican wolf with three bracelets on its right wrist was looking over at the crows that were by the garbage. He ran over only to be attacked by the crows making him whimper. He bumped into a cat that screech and hiss at him. He ran over to a box and hid, ears flat against the pup's head. He heard footsteps and looked over to see a man and a young girl. He saw a potato drop from her bag and went to go see it. He sniffed it until the girl ran up. He whimpered and ran back to his hiding spot. The girl looked over and saw him. She smiled, taking out three sausage links before looking back at him.
"Here, try some of these. They taste better," she told him. The wolf hid a little more. "Come on, you can have them. You're hungry aren't ya?" She asked him. The wolf came out and walked over cautiously. He sniffed it until he heard the crows. The girl glared at the crows before looking back at the wolf with a smile. "Don't be afraid," she said softly. The wolf sniffed it. "They're not poisoned or anything." She took a small bite and ate it. "See? It's fine." The wolf sniffed it before licking it. He took it out of her hand and ate it. "Where did you come from, little fella? If you wonder around here too long the dog catchers will get you for sure." The wolf, Toboe, started licking her hand before she started petting him. "You sure are warm, aren't you, boy?"
"Leara!" Her father called. She looked over to see her father wait by the truck.
"Bye now," Leara said patting Toboe's head before standing up. Toboe went to follow her. "No, stay. Sorry, boy, but even if you followed me home I couldn't keep you," she said to him. Toboe then sat down on his hunches. "Well, that's funny. It's almost like you can understand me. I'm sorry!" She said before running over to her father. Toboe just sat there and watched her leave.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
A young man was running until some officers grabbed him and pinned him down. Others were being loaded into trucks. Then there were two women gossiping.
"Did you hear? Someone saw a wolf in town. Can you believe it?" A woman asked.
"What is this world coming to? You don't suppose it was just a big dog do you?" Another woman asked. The first woman's dog hid behind her legs when he saw three wolves.
"From what I heard, no one's ever seen a dog that big before. Oh these are troubled times," she said as Kiba, Hige, and Unari walked pasts. Hige stopped by a hot dog stand and sniffed a little. Kiba and Unari looked at him as they kept walking. Hige then ran to an alley, Kiba and Unari following behind.
"See? What did I tell ya? Nobody notices us," Hige said.
"Yeah, yeah, just toss us some hot dogs," Unari said to him. Hige tossed one to Unari and another to Kiba as he sat down on the steps. Kiba was a little surprised while Hige and Unari started eating their food. Kiba sniffed it before taking a bite. He chew it before swallowing. His face contorting into disgust.
"This is awful," he muttered.
"It's the best you can get around here," Hige said to him.
"If I see a deer loping by I'll be sure to catch it for you," Unari said as she ate her hot dog. She and Hige finished theirs. Kiba took another bite of his before looking at the birds on the telephone pole.
"The Nobles are at it again. Seems like they pick up one idiot after another," Hige mused. The word 'Nobles' made Unari glare at the sky a little.
"Where do the troops take them after they're caught?" Kiba asked.
"Well, the same place they took you, I guess," Unari said looking at the building they were once in.
"That's perfect," Kiba murmured.
"Um, you lost me," Unari said quirking an eyebrow.
"I'll blend in and sneak inside," Kiba said to them.
"What? But we had to fool them just to get out of there," Hige said to him.
"Were you hit in the head or something when you fought silver back there?" Unari asked meaning Tsume.
"That hot dog fried your brain," Hige agreed.
"I'm going back in," Kiba said firmly.
"Now wait a second! What the hell happened to Paradise?" Hige asked with narrowed eyes.
"Look, the scent is coming from somewhere inside that building and as far as we can tell, the only way in is to get captured. You know what's there, don't you? What they're hiding behind those walls. The beacon that will lead us to Paradise," Kiba said to them. Unari scoffed and stuffed her hands into her leather jacket pockets.
"Well, forget it. You'll never get close to Cheza," Hige stated.
"Cheza?" Kiba and Unari asked him.
"The Flower Maiden that was created from lunar flowers. That's why they say anyway. Listen, it's useless. They've got that place locked down. Even I couldn't get as far as the lab," Hige said.
"So why did you try to sneak in there?" Unari asked with questioning crystal blue eyes.
"For a little excitement I guess," Hige shrugged.
"Hige, don't you believe in Paradise too?" Kiba asked him.
"I'm not going. No way," Hige said in a final tone.
"Unari?" Kiba asked. Unari sighed.
"I'm only going because someone needs to keep you from getting your ass handed to you…again," Unari said to him. Kiba gave a tiny glare of annoyance at that.
"Alright, see you around," Kiba said to Hige before walking off with the red and white wolf.
"Hey, Kiba! Unari!" Hige called. Unari and Kiba just kept walking. "Try to give a guy advice and what does it get ya? See if I care," Hige said leaning back on the steps, arms crossed behind his head. Unari kept her eyes ahead as she walked, Kiba was sneaking glances at her. He'll admit, she did look like a beautiful woman in her human disguise. But those blue eyes of hers…they hold so much pain. He looked at her back and stomach that wasn't covered by the brown corset or leather jacket. He saw some scars. Just what has this girl been through?
"Either somethings on your mind or you're just checking me out," Unari said looking at him over her shoulder. She had a light smirk on her lips. Kiba fought back a blush as he looked at her.
"Sorry," he said to her.
"No worries…you were looking at my scars, weren't you?" She asked making his eyes widen slightly. "Hey, you're not the first to see them. I'm not exactly shy in showing them. They're from years of survival on my own," she told him.
"What about your pack?" Kiba asked her. Unari frowned and avoided his gaze.
"Lost them all nine years ago when I was thirteen," she said to him. Kiba frowned hearing that. She has no one. He at least grew up on an Indian reservation, her…she didn't. "I would tell you more about my scars, but we have a building to get back into," she said to him as she saw the soldiers. She got an idea. "Push me," she said to him. Kiba blinked. "Just do it!" She rolled her eyes annoyed. Kiba gave a tiny glare before pushing her. She pushed him back. "Make it look like we're in a fight. They'll stop us and take us in," she told him. Kiba nodded and grabbed her. "Hey! Let go of me!" She said adding effect to it as she struggled. She got him off and pushed him again until they were grabbed by the police. 'I knew that would get them,' she thought to herself.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Tsume was sitting on one of the ledges as he thought to himself. He couldn't get Gel's face out of his head.
"They said the Nobles have put a bounty on every gang in the city," Chen said.
"Is that so?" Tsume asked.
"Yeah, they've already started to round people up and our stuffs been kinda high profile lately. We figure we're next. Maybe it's time we should move on. There's a freight train pulling out here at midnight. We can sneak on-," Sedo was cut off.
"Our next raid is gonna be tonight. Make the usual preparations," Tsume ordered.
"Why? So you can just sit back and watch? Gel's dead because of you. You let him die," Chen said. Tsume looked at him over his shoulder. "Sorry, pal, but I ain't working with you anymore. I wouldn't want to slow you down now would I?"
"Suit yourself," Tsume glared a little before looking ahead. He then stood up. "We'll meet up at midnight. Get the word out," he said before walking away. Chen just spit on the ground, showing his disrespect.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"We analyzed the dog hairs from inside the cage and they don't match the ones that were found on the corpse. There's also a third and fourth set of hairs still unidentified," Cher said over the phone as she looked at the data.
"A third and fourth set?" Hubb asked a little shocked.
"As far as we can tell, there were three types of hair around the cage," Cher told him.
"What the hell is going on? There isn't anywhere for them to hide," Hubb mused thinking about wolves.
"You okay?" Cher asked taking her glasses off. "You're not acting like yourself. No offense, but I thought you didn't like dogs. And to be honest, you're starting to sound a little obsessed," Cher said to him. Hubb smiled small.
"I'm not obsessed, Cher. Don't worry. I'm probably just looking for another excuse to see you," he said to her. Cher gave a deadpanned looked before hanging up. Hubb sighed and put his phone away. "It may be time to track down that guy."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Quent was sitting down and opened a bottle of liquor. Blue was sitting next to him, watching him take a drink of the alcoholic beverage. Quent looked at his dog.
"Listen up, Blue. I know you can understand me, you can't let them get away. Wolves are evil, they'll kill you if they get the chance. Right now they're laying low somewhere, breathing their fowl low demon's breath," he said to her. Blue's ears flatted against her head.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Leara was walking, carrying a bag of groceries when a boy with chin length auburn hair, gold eyes, and lightly tanned skin ran by. He wore a faded red zip up shirt with olive green cargo pants and military boots. He looked to be about thirteen. It was Toboe in his human disguise. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed behind his head and his eyes closed. Leara walked passed him. His eyes widened a little and he ran up to her.
"Uh, thanks a lot! For before!" He said to her.
"Huh?"
"For the sausages," Toboe clarified. This only confused Leara more. "Uh, remember back in the alley? Well, that was my dog you 'em to."
"That beautiful dog belongs to you?" Leara smiled at him as she stopped walking.
"That beautiful-uh, yeah! Yeah, he's mine," Toboe smiled at her, a little nervously.
"But how'd you know about it?" Leara asked curiously.
"Um, I…I heard him a lady at the store," he said crossing his arms behind his head.
"What's the name anyway?" She asked him.
"A name?" Toboe asked. He chuckled a little. "The name is Toboe."
"Toboe, what a weird name," Leara said with a tiny giggle.
"Yeah, think so? Yeah, I guess it is," Toboe said with a small chuckle.
"My name's Leara. What's yours?" She asked him.
"I just said its Toboe," Toboe smiled at her.
"I thought that was your dog's name," Leara pointed out to him.
"Uh, well, we're a lot alike, so I decided to name him after myself," Toboe lied.
"You're pretty weird alright," Leara smiled at him. Toboe laughed a little, nervously.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Tsume was walking down and alley, hands in his pockets. He suddenly heard a truck and hid behind a wall. He looked over and saw some people being loaded onto a truck. He tsk'ed when he saw the white wolf in his human disguise and some other wolf in a disguise. He then walked off, hearing the trucks drive by. Suddenly a boy was somewhat skipping and letting out small giggles. The boy, Toboe, accidentally bumped into him. He gasped and Tsume glared through his sunglasses.
"You're another one, just like me," Toboe said shocked.
"Move it, kid," Tsume said gruffly until he saw Blue. Toboe let out a small noise of nervousness as a man showed up next to the dog.
"Hm? You find something?" Quent asked Blue before looking over at the two disguised wolves. Tsume jumped up to the roof of one of the buildings. Quent lessened his grip on his liquor bottle making it fall to the ground. Quent then took out his gun while Toboe stood there shaking. Quent and his dog started making their way over to Toboe. "Boy? No, you're not a boy," Quent slurred. His vision was blurred as he looked at Toboe, switching from visions of the boy to his real identity. Quent aimed his gun at him and Toboe squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the shot. Tsume jumped down and smacking the gun away, avoiding being bit by Blue.
"Jump," Tsume ordered the pup.
"Huh?" Toboe looked at him surprised.
"Hurry up!" Tsume growled his demand.
"I was getting ready to!" Toboe excused before jumping up with Tsume. Quent watched them leave before looking at his injured hand that had four bleeding slashes on it.
"That was them, I finally found them," he mused.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Tsume was walking and Toboe ran up to keep up with the elder wolf.
"Who the heck was that?" Toboe asked him before looking over his shoulder. "And what's up with his dog?"
"I have no idea," Tsume muttered. Toboe smiled at him.
"Hey, you're Tsume, right? This is a first for me, I never met a wolf-I mean, other than myself. I heard rumors about you from the crows though. They said you make friends with human and run wild with them," Toboe said to him.
"You heard wrong. I don't have friends," Tsume stated.
"I'm Toboe. Thanks for the help back there," Toboe said to him. Tsume looked at him a little over his shoulder. Toboe crossed his arms behind his head. "You know what? I've been living with humans my whole life-"
"Just get lost, will ya? I'm getting pissed off," Tsume said to him, looking over his shoulder as they stopped walking. "And that only happens when I'm around idiots."
"But…can't I come with you?" Toboe asked frowning.
"No, you can't," Tsume simply answered before leaving the saddened pup. Tsume kept walking and looked over his shoulder a little to see Toboe gone.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Kiba and Unari were currently sitting in the cell with the rest of the humans. Kiba saw some guys looking at Unari in a perverted and sick way. He wrapped his arm around Unari's shoulders and brought her close as he glared at the other men. Unari ended up blushing and tried to cover it with her burgundy hair. The cell door opened and both the white and the red and white wolf looked over. Hige walked in with a smile.
"Yo," Hige greeted.
"Hige, what in the world are you doing here?" Kiba asked, a little shocked to see him. Hige sat down next to Unari.
"Come on, we're friends now, aren't we?" Hige asked, one eye closed as he smiled.
"Coming from you that sounds kinda fishy," Unari deadpanned making Kiba nod in agreement. Hige let out a small sheepish chuckle.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Leara was in the kitchen when she heard the sound of her bird. It flew up and landed on her shoulder, her and the bird being viewed from the kitchen window. Toboe was watching them from behind a tree and the bird flew off. Leara watched her bird fly away, leaving Leara. Toboe thought getting the bird would be a good idea so he ran after it. The bird landed on a rat and began eating it. Toboe reach the bird, scaring it into trying to fly away. Toboe was trying to get it to stay down as Leara was running over. Toboe went back into his disguise and smiled, carrying the bird over to her.
"Leara, here, it's your bird," he said handing it to her. Leara stared at the bird that wasn't moving as Toboe started to frown. He started poking the bird a little. "Hey, wake up," he said to it. He realized he accidentally killed it. "Leara…"
"You…he's dead. My bird's dead," Leara whispered in shock.
"But I…I didn't mean to kill him. I swear!" Toboe said saddened and desperate for her to forgive him. Leara took a step back and Toboe fell to his knees. "I knew he was yours and I just wanted to…I didn't think it would die," Toboe looked at her with tears in his eyes. He let out soft sobs as he turned into his real form. Leara's eyes widened at the sight of Toboe turning into a wolf. Tsume was walking close by the place when he heard a sorrowed howl. Toboe was howling right in front of Leara. Tsume's eyes widened a little and he ran over, grabbing Toboe by the scruff with his hand before running off with him, leaving a stunned Leara standing there. Tsume had taken then pup to his hideout and now Toboe was sitting against a wall, his knees to his chest. "I never meant to kill anything," he said softly. Tsume was sitting in the windowsill, looking straight ahead. "Granny, she…I was all alone at the entrance to the dome and…and she was so nice to me. She said I was so little, my eyes had barely opened. She gave these to me," he said showing the four bracelets on his right wrist. "And we lived together ever since."
"You mean she kept you as a pet. That human tamed you. You were nothing more than an obedient dog," Tsume retorted.
"I wasn't!" Toboe shouted. He rested his head on his knees. "I-I only…I wanted to protect her, but she still…"
"She still threw you out?" Tsume asked finishing the sentence.
"…She still died," Toboe murmured. He hid his face in his arms. "She died," he whimpered before letting out shaky breathes. "I-I let her die," he choked out. Tsume would never admit it out loud, but he kind of felt sorry for the pup. He heard footsteps and looked over at the door.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Quent opened the door and smirked a little. Outside the door stood Hubb.
"Well, look who it is. Detective Dandy," he mused.
"I need to ask you some questions," Hubb asked him seriously.
"And there's something you need to see," Quent stated. Hubb gave a curious look before he was let into the room.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Tsume was standing in the door way, looking at Sedo.
"Sedo," Tsume greeted, wondering where the others were.
"No one is gonna come," Sedo stated, getting straight to the point.
"Then why are you here?" Tsume asked him, curious.
"I'm leaving after this. Tsume, you're just too different from the rest of us," Sedo told him before walking off, leaving Tsume there. Tsume knew he was different, but he didn't trust those humans to tell them. He heard a certain type of ringing and looked up with a tiny gasp. He saw a Noble Ship.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Unari and Kiba woke up feeling something.
"Did you feel that?" Kiba asked his companions.
"Feel what?" Hige asked sleepily.
"I did," Unari answered Kiba.
"This isn't right, something's gonna happen," Kiba said to them. Hige started sniffing.
"I don't smell anything…except for the mildew," Hige told him.
"It's getting closer," Unari stated making Kiba give a hum of agreement.
"So you wanna break outta here?" Hige asked them.
"Yeah," both the white and red and white wolves answered. They all got up and Kiba went to the bars. He was going to pull the bars apart until Hige tapped his shoulder. Hige smiled, pulling a key out of his hair. Unari blinked a little at that.
"What do you know? You do come in handy for something," she teased making Hige give her a playful glare and Kiba chuckled a little.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Cher was asleep at her desk, her head on her arms. A male scientist walked up and gently shook her shoulder.
"Doctor. Doctor Degre," he said trying to wake her up. Cher woke up and looked at him, a little shocked to see she was still in the lab.
"Oh," she sighed. She looked at her wrist watch. "Is it that late already? Did something happen?" She asked the male scientist.
"No, ma'am. There's been no change for a while now, so I thought you might want to call it a night," he said to her. Cher moved some of her bangs from her face.
"I'm too pretty to look like this," she joked. Suddenly the lights shut off, only the emergency red lights turning on.
"What the hell?" The male scientist asked before Cher got up and started running to where they kept Cheza.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
A man walked in, dressed as a Noble, leaving the guards on the floor.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Hige, Unari, and Kiba were running through the halls, trying to find a way to the Flower Maiden. Unari looked over, hearing footsteps. She grabbed the vent cover and placed it on the ground before they all quickly crawled into it.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Cher and the male scientist ran into the room that Cheza was in. Once Cher saw Cheza, she sighed of relief.
"Everything's fine," she smiled a little. "The lab's power supply is independent from the main grid," she said looking things over.
"Yes, I know," a deep voice said making her blue eyes widen. She quickly turned to see a man dressed in dark colors and wearing a mask, the male scientist on the ground. "Cheza is not vital to you, is that correct?"
"Whoa are you?" Cher asked with narrowed eyes as she let her hand wonder for the alarm button. The man walked up to her.
"Everyone is resting now. You look exhausted as well. So tired…you should rest a while," he said as the girl let out shaky breaths. The man started removing his mask. His golden eye flashed and Cher collapsed to the ground, her eyes widened in fear. The man put his mask back on. "It's been a long time, Cheza," He said making Cheza open her eyes. "You can sense my presence, can't you? Though your eyes do not see me. There is nothing to fear. You are awake now, at last," he said bringing his own panel up. He started draining the water from the tank Cheza was in. "We can finally set out on our journey." Cheza coughed once the water was below her neck.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Hige kicked the vent cover off before he, Unari, and Kiba jumped out. Hige then looked at Unari and Kiba.
"This way," he said motioning for them to follow him. Both Kiba and Unari followed the light brown wolf as they ran to find the Flower Maiden. They stopped once they saw the Flower Maiden being carried out by a Noble. Unari looked at the man with narrowed eyes…what does he want with that girl?