Early the next morning, Phoenix and Bucky woke up and got ready. Bucky got into the outfit he came to the planet in while the chimera grazed a bit. The day before, they spoke to Allianna and told her they were going to make the trip. They exited the den and spotted the Queen at the edge of the gathering place. The sun hadn't broken the horizon yet but Bucky could make out her features as if she were glowing. The two joined her and the three walked through the woods to the outside world. "Golgotha is that way, If you travel at a good pace, you should reach the hill by mid-day," Allianna instructed, looking in the direction they would be traveling. "I'm nervous. I haven't been that way before," Phoenix said. "Follow your heart. All animals in All World can find Golgotha if they decide to. With the loss of Sanctuary during the Cataclysm, it's now the place we can go to feel closer to the Weaver. Chimeras, too," the Queen assured her when she noticed the doubt on her daughter's face.
The Queen gave Bucky a blanket. He looked at Phoenix and she nodded her permission. Allianna watched with a smile as the White Wolf draped it over the chimera's back and then got on. Phoenix shifted her weight as she gave her mother an embarrassed look. Allianna just smiled and touched noses with her. "Remember: due south. Follow your instincts and you'll find it," she reminded them. "How will I know?" Phoenix asked. "Golgotha has that name for a reason. You'll know it when you see it," the Queen responded sagely. She pushed Phoenix's neck with her nose and turned her in the direction they needed to go. "That way. The Flats are true to their name so you shouldn't have any obstacles in your way outside the rivers that run through them. As long as you focus, you won't veer off course," she said. Phoenix looked in the direction she was facing. Bucky could feel her resolve steeling itself in how her body straightened up. She started walking, eyes focused on the horizon. Bucky waved to the Queen who nodded and headed back into the trees.
They traveled in silence for several hours before Bucky tapped her neck. "Want to take a break? I need to get off," he said. "Sure," Phoenix responded, coming to a halt. Bucky lifted his leg over her back and slid to the ground. He stretched out and walked around to work the kinks out. Phoenix remained in place, still aiming in the direction they were going. "Ya know, Kat pointed out something yesterday and I'm surprised I never noticed," Bucky said. "Oh?" the chimera asked, curious. "You and your mom look exactly alike. Stands to reason since she's your sole parent and you don't have any paternity," he said. Phoenix's ears twitched as she looked thoughtful. "I never noticed either, now that I think about it. Obviously, I've seen myself on reflective surfaces but never thought about how Mother and I share the same face," she said.
"To be fair, your differences probably had your attention more than anything else. You're silver. She's white. You have three horns. She has one. And so on. But yeah. I can't unsee how you look exactly like her in regards to your face in both forms. You're both so beautiful," Bucky said. He watched her eyes close as she smiled. He walked around for a couple of minutes more before getting back on and they continued on their way. The silence between them was companionable. Neither felt particularly chatty, given the mission they were on. The more the distance between them and their destination shrank over the next few hours, the more Phoenix heard a ringing in her soul that she had never felt before. Whenever they stopped for breaks so she could graze, she didn't feel as nervous about losing her way and wandered a little off course as she did.
The Flats' very geography was indeed true to their name once they left the moors behind. But that flatness made it just as easy to get lost as it was to get lost in, say, forests and mountains. The sun was approaching the midpoint in its journey across the sky so they couldn't use its position to keep them oriented. The ringing in her soul was always loudest in a certain direction so Phoenix was putting her faith in it as her guide. Bucky put all his trust in her and never questioned any move she made. They had good weather. It was a nice day. Not too hot, too cold, too windy, or not breezy enough. It felt to Bucky as if the weather of the world was always the most ideal and comfortable.
The only downside was the lack of shade. There were copses of trees dotting the landscape but they were few and far apart, mostly growing along the river they came across. The sun was a bit much after a while. Bucky eventually leaned along Phoenix's back to rest his eyes. The blanket on her back was a godsend. Her plate scales were smooth with no ridges but they were very hard and that made them uncomfortable. He had been on her back in short bursts and her scales were always noticed. They were armor in the most natural sense. The blanket wasn't particularly plush but it was enough to take the discomfort down a few notches.
"Bucky," came Phoenix's voice. The White Wolf shifted his head upward and sat up. The chimera had come to a halt and was looking at a ridge rising up on the horizon. They were still too far away to make out anything definitive but it had to be their destination. The two exchanged a glance. Bucky nodded and shifted a bit. Once he was settled, Phoenix started to pick up speed until she was at a dead gallop. For someone with no real experience riding at that speed, Bucky was pretty adaptable. The ridge started rising higher as they drew closer. The ringing in Phoenix's soul grew louder up until they reached it and it went silent. The chimera slowed to a stop. The ridge was about 60 meters tall, roughly the height of an 18-story building. It had a rocky face but the rest of the land around and on it was grassy. There was something about the area that made it seem greener than the rest of the Flats. Scattered around were various fruit trees and berry bushes.
"Nix, do you see what I see?" Bucky asked, placing a hand on her neck. The chimera looked intently at the rocky face of the ridge. When she saw it, she knew they had arrived. "A skull. We did it, Bucky. This is Golgotha," she said. Bucky got off and pulled the blanket off her back. "I wasn't expecting it to be so tall, not going to lie," he said, tossing it to the ground. Phoenix was quiet, ears pulled forward as she looked at the skull-like face in the rock. It wasn't immediately obvious to casual observation but really looking made it apparent. She looked around at the immediate area. She spotted very ancient ruins, mainly the weathered, mostly collapsed walls of about three or four human houses. At the base of the hill was a pool of water. "People used to live here?" Bucky spoke, breaking the silence. He had noticed the ruins.
"In ancient times. Late period First Epoch. Early period Second Epoch at the latest. By the time of the Faction Wars in the late period, the settlement here had long been abandoned. At least that's what I've read. In the waning days of the Faction Wars, there were more buildings here. One of the final holdouts for the Regional Independents decided it was a good idea to build his city-state here. It was probably the most blatant power play ever pulled. It's common knowledge in the whole Empire that Golgotha is considered holy ground. I'm not sure how much to share but let's just something equally wonderful and horrific happened at the top of the hill. So after that event, the High Kings sanctified the land and it's under their protection. The warlord building his city-state in this place was his way of telling the High Kings they had no power over him. Didn't work out for him. Seiryu was the last of the four to get involved and it took learning about this to spur him into action," Phoenix explained.
Bucky hummed. "Did he kill him?" he asked. "No. He didn't have to. I can't really describe it but the warlord was thoroughly reamed for disrespecting this place by building here. Seiryu commanded that the people destroy and remove everything before they relocated elsewhere. By that point, architecture had a different look compared to the ancient town so it was easy to know what was new at the time and what wasn't. Seiryu oversaw the entire operation to make sure the ruins weren't destroyed either out of spite or by accident. What we see today are all that's left of the ruins that used to sprawl out farther afield. It's the High Kings' belief that the Wilds should take them on its own terms," she responded. Indeed, upon closer inspection, Bucky could make out stonework and old foundations with the buildings long gone. The three or four homes with collapsing walls were the last ones standing. It reminded him of the Roman ruins that dotted Europe as far east as the British Isles.
Other than that, the area looked completely untouched by human hands. Bucky looked up at the hill. "So…what all can we do here? I want to show respect for the place since it's a big deal," he ventured. Phoenix moved off to the side. "Treat it the way you'd treat a monument back on Earth is my advice. This may be my first time here and I wasn't sure what I was going to find. But…I can feel it. The holiness of this place," she said. Her first statement was aimed at Bucky but everything after was more to herself. Bucky watched her walk off and followed. She circled the hill towards the back which rose from the Flats like a wave. Everything but the rocky face was covered in grass. Phoenix walked to the top and looked out over the area. She then looked at the ground under her hooves. "He shall strike at his heel and he shall crush his head…," she muttered to herself.
Bucky froze. That phrase sounded very familiar. "What was that?" he asked, quietly. Phoenix looked over her shoulder at him. "This is the way of my world, James. Remember when Mother said the Weaver isn't a question here but a fact? I'm not ignorant of things on Earth. I've been there too long and picked up a lot. Your planet has many belief systems and a whole class of them follow beliefs similar to the way things are here. Please…don't make me say it. I don't know where you stand and I don't want to know. I don't want the chaos of what you call religion to cause issues between us," she pleaded. Bucky's shoulders relaxed before he gave her a sign to shift. She did so reluctantly and he closed the distance to take her hands. "What is this place really, Nix?" he asked. Phoenix looked at their hands. "The past only matters to a point. It's what's coming in the unknowable future. I told you about the Triad Events. This is where Armageddon is meant to be fought. This is where the world ends," she responded. Bucky brushed some of her hair away but she kept her eyes down.
"Anything else that happened here? Aside from the future, that one ancient event, and the ending of the Faction Wars?" he asked. "The World Masters were crowned here. That's about all I know. Golgotha is a special place but as far as history goes, it's not mentioned or visited often because of how remote it is. The nearest town is at least three weeks away. This is also where the Unicorn Nation holds what is known as the Grand Summit. It's held every seven years where the Queen and the leaders of the herds across the Continent exchange news on a wider scale. The next Summit is in two years. Soon, the entire Nation will know that Tempest was given his new title," Phoenix explained.
Silence fell. Bucky could tell she was somewhere else mentally. She was being distant. He was fine, though. They were at a place she had only heard about and she was taking it in still. He placed a hand on her face. She looked up at him. "I'll give you some space. You need it," he said. Phoenix blinked in surprise but she smiled at him, resting a hand on his. Bucky leaned down. She met him and they kissed slowly. "I'll be down there wandering around, checking out the ruins and such. Stay up here as long as you want," the White Wolf said when they broke apart.
Phoenix watched as Bucky made his way down. She shifted back and lowered herself to the grass at the top. As she did, she felt as if all her worries, fears, sadness, and stress melted away. She had never felt this at peace before in her life and there had been times when she thought she did. It was almost unnatural or perhaps supernatural. Phoenix never doubted the Weaver's existence but her state of being often made it challenging to remember He was never against her or her kind just because of how they came to be. Perhaps He had always been pushing her to Golgotha throughout her life but she didn't listen or didn't know. She felt safe and she felt loved. The chimera felt her eyes start to sting and swim while her soft smile remained. Her violet eyes closed and she rolled onto her side. She started to move her head up and down, gouging a deep rut into the soil for the horn on that side to rest in. Her soul felt so free in this place.
Phoenix had only been relaxing at the top of the hill for about fifteen minutes when she sensed the presence of something. She smiled and rolled onto her belly before her head swung over to look behind her. A small white lamb was standing behind her. The only color to his white wool were five red spots. Four on each leg and a larger one on his left side. "Hello, little friend. It's been a long time," she greeted him. The lamb joined her and lay down as well. "You've finally made it here. I was beginning to wonder if you would," he said. Phoenix looked out over the land below, spying Bucky resting against a peach tree. Probably napping since they had woken up early and had spent a good chunk of the day traveling. "I hope you forgive me for bringing him here. Not just to Golgotha but to All World," the chimera sighed. "All are welcome here. Worry not," the lamb responded.
He looked up at the larger animal. "You know who I am now," he said simply. "I wasn't sure before when we first met. But I am now. Again, I ask for forgiveness. I don't feel worthy to call you by name and I'm struggling with the idea of even speaking to you," Phoenix admitted looking down at the grass. The lamb hummed before looking out over the land. "Two thousand years it's been since I was struck down here. It brings my heart joy to know a Creation of Man has found her way to this holy place," he said. "Creation of Man…as if I needed a reminder from a being beyond anything that walks the earth, swims in the sea, or flies through the air," Phoenix muttered, her ears pinning back as she looked away. "But I'm being ungrateful. My kind has been fortunate and blessed to simply live. We may suffer because of what we are but every breath we take has been as you willed it to be," she then conceded.
She looked down at the little ruminant and he met her gaze. "But is it truly okay for us to exist?" she asked, her sadness evident. "If I so chose, all of you would've been wiped from existence with merely a word, and the knowledge of the science that made you would be stripped from humanity. The mere fact you and your kind still walk my world and are still created is proof enough that my love isn't conditional. So long as your faith holds, the challenges of this life will not break you and you have earned your right to the Afterworld. This place was where humanity regained my favor. You had that favor by default like every creature that crawls, walks, swims, or flies. How you came to be means nothing to me. I care only that you walk the path of right action. You will stumble and you will fail. But that will not impact your standing with me. A good faith effort is all I desire," he assured her.
The lamb got to his hooves. "Walk with the light, Phoenix. Life is a gift I give freely, no matter how it comes to be. Your worth to me is beyond measure. Hold onto this truth and you will gain a strength you never had before," he then aside. The chimera looked at him. "I'll never see you again, will I?" she asked, her tone resigned. The lamb smiled before rubbing his head to her face. "Not on this side of eternity, no. However, I will always be with you even when you can't see me," he responded. The lamb looked down to where Bucky was. "Time to wake up, Phoenix. Your friend is going to have a surprise," he said.
A sudden snort and Phoenix rolled onto her belly. She looked around to see she was alone. "A dream?" she pondered. She got to her hooves and looked over the edge of the hill. She spotted something large and black ambling in Bucky's direction. "Is that who I think it is?" she wondered. She figured she better get down there. The black shape was moving at the speed of tortoise so she had time to get to Bucky before he was given a shock. Golgotha wasn't that steep but she still had to be careful when coming down. She trotted up to Bucky who was still dozing. "Hey, Bucky. Wake up. We're about to have a guest," she said, nudging him with a hoof. He jumped a bit and looked around before looking up. "What's happening?" he asked. "We're going to have a guest," she repeated.
Bucky was prevented from saying something when he heard something ambling through the tall grass. He scrambled to his feet and his eyes widened. A huge black tortoise who looked like a cross between an alligator snapping turtle and a Galapagos tortoise (and twice the size) stepped into view. What was even more bizarre was the huge brown reticulated python on his back. "My lord," Phoenix said, bowing her head in greeting. The tortoise gave them a once-over. "We were not expecting anyone here," he said, simply. He looked Bucky over. "So…you're the one Seiryu told us about," he noted with clinical interest. The White Wolf took note of the tortoise's speech patterns and his eyes slid over to Phoenix.
The chimera smiled. "This is Genbu, High King of the North. I've mentioned him before," she replied before looking at the reptile. "I'm surprised you're freely showing your true form to a human, Lord Genbu," she then said with interest. The High King ambled a bit closer. "Your human has nothing to gain from revealing the truth about us. We freely show ourselves to him for that reason. Plus, we've been in our human form for a long time so we decided to travel as we are," he responded. Bucky was confused and the two beasts knew it. Genbu looked up at him. "You wonder why we speak like this and you wonder what we have to hide," he noted. Bucky rubbed the back of his head with his metal hand. The only downside to interacting with animals this old was how they made him feel like a child by comparison.
"Well, yeah," Bucky responded sheepishly. Genbu, whose default facial expression in either form was showing no expression at all, cracked a bit of a smile. The python started to uncoil and that's when the White Wolf was shocked to see part of the snake was embedded directly into the shell of the tortoise. "We are Genbu. We exist as a single entity split between two creatures. We are a fusion being of our own choice. We kept our true form a secret ever since. You're one of the very few humans privileged to see us this way," the snake suddenly spoke. Bucky jumped. There was no distinction in the voice that set it apart from the tortoise. Genbu didn't react beyond recoiling his body onto his shell. "We still find it funny that the ancient artisans discovered this about us unknowingly," he then mused.
"What do you mean?" Bucky asked, curious. "He's talking about the Crossgates. They're stone archways that run along the four borders that separate the High Kings' Domains. The archways have four statues, two on each side. They would tell you which Domain you are in and which Domain you're entering. For example, we're in Byakko's West. If you went to the border up north, you would see a pair of Lord Genbu's statues at the Crossgates there on this side. If you come from that direction, the statues on his side would show Lord Byakko's. The Central Crossgates in the very center of the Continent is the largest. It's a four-way arch with the statues set up the same," Phoenix jumped in to explain.
"The statues in our image have our bodies fused similarly to how they are in life. We panicked a little, thinking our secret had been discovered, but Suzaku assured us that he was told it was a stylistic choice to make our statues easier to transport. Better in one piece than two that have to be put together," Genbu added. The fusion being looked at the two before he took a deep breath. "In any case, we will move along. We're on our way to Byakko's Castle and decided to make a stop here," he said before leveling his eyes with Phoenix's. "You've had an encounter. We can tell. Cherish it and know you are worthy," he said before he started to amble off into the tall grass. Bucky waited until the High King of the North was out of earshot before looking at the chimera. "What did he mean by that?" he inquired. Phoenix just shrugged. "Just a dream. Let's say Mother was right about this place and I'm feeling great now," she responded before she smiled at him. "I'm so happy, Bucky," she said before she leaned her head to his arm. Bucky smiled and stroked her fur.
Later that night…
Bucky was sitting on the blanket by the fire he had built. He and Phoenix spent most of the day apart after Genbu departed to parts unknown. The chimera spent a good chunk of time at the top of the hill, relaying to him that she felt the most at peace there and he was welcome to join her. Bucky declined, wanting to explore and he pointed out they were there for her benefit. He could already tell she was feeling lighter than she had in a long time. There was definitely something special about Golgotha that inspired someone to lay down their stresses and burdens. Bucky had his own issues but it was not knowing the full extent of Phoenix's own that made him feel she needed this place more than he did. The White Wolf never brought up the decades upon decades' worth of experience Phoenix never talked about.
Either her experiences were that traumatic or there wasn't anything to tell. He had a general idea of the time she lost her soul and she once mentioned that she wasn't always a shifter. She had a supernatural encounter that put her in touch with that part of her magic. That was about it. Bucky preferred to believe there was nothing to tell. There was that constant haunted look in her violet eyes whenever she was off in her own head but that could have any number of sources, going all the way back to her very birth.
The sound of hooves alerted him to Phoenix's approach. "Hey, Bucky, look up," the chimera said. The White Wolf did and he gaped. The stars were out in force and there wasn't a moon that night. "God," he muttered, standing up and turning in place. He didn't see any constellations he recognized. It hammered home that he was truly on an alien world. His eyes were drawn to a red one that had the same level of shine as Venus back home. "Is that a star or a planet?" he asked pointing at it. Phoenix looked up at it. "I'm not sure, truth be told. The one who could tell us left long ago. Genbu has mapped the entire night sky in each season and he's doubtless discovered other planets around our sun. We just call that the Red Star. It's the third brightest light in the sky after the sun and moon," she explained.
"So exactly like Venus," Bucky said. "Yep. Venus is a lovely planet. The Red Star is in good company," Phoenix agreed. She shifted into her false form and took his hand. The White Wolf met her eyes. His feelings for her swelled and he pulled her to him. Golgotha was getting to him now. The place had an even more powerful aura than even the Glade did. Tears stung his eyes as he allowed All World's clean energy to overcome him. "What's wrong?" Phoenix whispered when she saw his face twist. He just shook his head, unable to speak. Instead, he crashed his lips to hers. Phoenix met his need patiently, one of her hands cupping his cheek. They broke apart but their lips hovered close together. "I always thought Zemo was just being stupid...but it hit me just now that you truly are a princess, Nix," Bucky breathed.
"Not a princess," she whispered back. The White Wolf just held her tightly to him. Phoenix felt his stubble brush her neck and she felt goosebumps erupt on her skin. Bucky turned her around so her back was to him. Her knees went weak when he started kissing her neck. His arms were around her torso but once he found the sweet spot on Phoenix's neck, he latched on and one of his hands moved to cup her chest. Phoenix whimpered a little, her head falling back to his shoulder and eyes shut tight. Her one hand reached up to mesh in Bucky's hair while the other gripped the arm around her waist. The hand on her chest moved to grip her chin and Bucky turned his kiss into a bite. The arm he had around her waist tightened as the shifter lost all ability to stand on her own.
Once Bucky let go, Phoenix turned in his arms and looked him in the eyes. A couple of tears slipped from her eyes. "I love you," she choked out. "I know," Bucky said, putting his forehead to hers. "My princess…," he whispered before kissing her again. The shifter held him as close as she could before he bent his knees without breaking the kiss. He took her by the knees and lifted her off her feet. Phoenix wrapped her legs around his waist while he walked them back to the blanket by the fire. He laid them both down and rested his weight on her. Whether it was the influence of Golgotha or the ever-present reality of Phoenix's limitations, the furthest the two went was losing their shirts.
Lips smacking as they broke apart, Bucky looked down at Phoenix and she smiled gently. Her hands guided his head to her chest and he let himself relax. Her heartbeat was slightly elevated but the sound was soothing. After a moment, Bucky rolled off to the side and watched as she turned her back to him. Her large scar down her back was in full view. "You okay?" he asked. "Yeah…just tired," she responded, her voice sounding a bit weak. Bucky could tell her mood was fluctuating. She was happy but also sad. Ever since they became romantically involved, her moods were more prone to swings. Bucky had figured a while back that it had to do with them being different species. No matter how human Phoenix looked, she could never be fully human. The result of her trying to become something she couldn't be was there on her back.
Bucky sat up before leaning on his arm to look over her shoulder. "Nix…do you think we've gone as far as we can go?" he asked. "What do you mean?" came the response. "I guess I'm wondering that maybe the time has come that things end," he sighed. Phoenix looked up at him, her eyes wide. Bucky smiled and helped her sit up. "I'm not going to end things without a discussion. And we don't have to end things at all. I just want to make sure we're both on the same page and we're both happy," he assured her.
Phoenix's heart started pounding. Sensing it, Bucky held up his vibranium hand. She took it and felt herself calming down a bit. "I probably started this off badly. I'm sorry, Nix. I'm just worried about you," the White Wolf began. He spoke of how her emotions were erratic at times and he was worried his being a human was turning into an issue. The Phoenix he first met was guarded but emotionally in control and it seemed like she was losing herself because they were together. Phoenix just ran her hands over the smooth metal. She felt a bit calmer now that she had some context. "You don't need to worry about me, Bucky. I know my control has been eroding where my emotions are concerned. This is just the natural consequence of a shifter spending a lot of time with a human. But I promise you I'm okay. It's not so much sadness that drives my low moods. I'm not sure it's even sadness at all," she explained.
Looking at him, Phoenix lifted a hand to his face. "I don't want this to end. I don't know if this is good or bad…but I do know I made a promise and I intend to keep it," she said, indicating her ring. Bucky's flesh hand slipped to her waist before he pulled her to him where she was straddling his legs. "I love you, Nix. I want what's best for you. Promise me that you're not staying with me because you're afraid of being alone," he said. The shifter traced his face with a finger. "I promise you that isn't the case. I've been alone far longer than we've been together, either as friends or as lovers. I'm not afraid of being alone," she said. Bucky watched as she looked up towards the hill. The skull was shrouded in darkness that the fire and stars couldn't cut through. "I do have one fear, though," she said, quietly.
Bucky watched as Phoenix turned back to him. Her eyes were starting to well quickly and tears started falling. "I'm afraid of what will happen when you're not here anymore. On this side of eternity. I'm terrified of that inevitability. Even now…I'm losing you to the slow march of time. I…feel it," she heaved. The White Wolf pulled her into a tight hug, tight enough that she had slight difficulty breathing. "And there it is," he said. He reiterated what her mother had said once. That this was something everyone faced with those they cared about. The fact Phoenix was feeling the way she did was all the proof he needed that she loved him with everything in her. He also reiterated they knew what they were getting into. That what they had would end one way or another.
"I'm sorry, Bucky. I hate this keeps coming up when we've talked about it so many times," Phoenix said. The White Wolf pulled her down with him and laid out on the blanket, looking up at the stars. "I don't mind it. I think it's important to talk about it periodically. I have to know if you're feeling burdened by our circumstances so I can share the load. I'll say it again: I'm not going to be the one to initiate splitting up if it ever came to that. I need you with me, Nix. All that matters is if you need me the same. And if we decide to split up, I promise you that I will let you go with no hard feelings," he said, holding her close. Phoenix's hand around his waist tightened a bit. "You're not worried about the future?" she asked, quietly. "I spent too many years worried about the future, Nix. I'm making up for that by keeping my focus on the here and now," he responded.
Silence fell for a few minutes before Phoenix sat up to put her hands on either side of his body. Their eyes met and Bucky let a small lopsided grin crease his lips. Like usual, the shifter didn't care she was completely exposed from the waist up. There was a sense of intimacy there that Bucky relished. "I'll try to remember. I just…I just need you to be patient with me," she said. The White Wolf reached up to cup her cheek. "Always," he said. Laying down, Phoenix rested her upper body on him and closed her eyes. Bucky looked up at the stars, flesh hand running through her hair. He was still blown away by the celestial vista he was seeing. There were few places on Earth where this many stars could be seen. All World was truly blessed to have remained the way it had for thousands of years. His steel blue eyes found the Red Star and he was fairly certain it was a planet. It was basically Mars at the distance of Venus. "So beautiful," he thought.