Chapter 38: Kitsune
100 AD - The Enchanted Forest - Fairy Tale Realm
The Winter Warlock senses a trespasser on his mountain and goes to destroy them. He sees a young woman with fox ears and nine fox tail
"Who dares trespass on my land?!" the Winter Warlock exclaimed
"My name is Kitsune" the woman said
"Of course it is" the Winter Warlock grumbled "you will die for your crime"
"Oh, will I, Dark One?" Kitsune asked "or should I say, Frosty?"
"What?… How do you know who I am?" the Winter Warlock said "I've always kept to myself, I didn't think anyone in the Enchanted Forest knew what the Dark One was and certainly not my true name"
"I was born out of the hate of the Dark One's victims throughout the millennia" Kitsune said "all magic comes with a price, Dark One, and now it's your turn to pay"
"You cannot hurt me" the Winter Warlock said "I am immortal"
"Well then, this should be interesting" Kitsune said "because I may be as well"
"Trees, seize her" the Winter Warlock said and the trees restrain Kitsune
"Did you think it was going to be the easy, Frosty?" Kitsune said and she lit some foxfire that burned through the trees, freeing her
"Fire, can't hurt me anymore" the Winter Warlock said as he dodged a fireball from Kitsune
"Oh, it can't kill you, but I'm sure it can hurt you" Kitsune said and she made foxfire appear from within Frosty, causing him to somewhat melt
"No!" the Winter Warlock said as he tried to gather himself back up. Kitsune walks over to him and manages to grab the Dark One's Dagger from him
"Goodbye, Frosty" Kitsune said as she used foxfire to superheat the Dark One's Dagger as she plunges it into his chest. Frosty cries out in pain as Kitsune feels the Darkness begin enter her "No… no…!" and Frosty darkly chuckles
"You managed to find out more information about me than anyone in centuries has" Frosty said "even my greatest weakness, but you missed the most important piece of information of all… and now you are what you hated most" and Frosty melts away. Kitsune looks at the Dagger and no longer sees the Winter Warlock's name but rather her own
A tornado of Darkness comes out of the water that was Frosty and surrounds Kitsune and teleports her away
The Vault of the Dark One
Kitsune appears surrounded by Darkness. Unlike previous Dark One's, she doesn't see the darkest moments of her life, but rather every act of violence done by a former Dark One against the people whose hatred had created her.
She then emerges from the Vault in liquid Darkness. The Darkness falls away and reveals Kitsune.
"Oh, I hate these scales" Kitsune said to herself
"Yes, I always hated them too, but you get used to it" a voice said and she turns to see the first Dark One, Nimue
"You… do you know how many people you killed, how many lives you ruined?" Kitsune asked
"I lost count a long time ago" the Darkness said "traditionally, the previous Dark One appears to guide you, but Frosty was a rather poor Dark One, and I wanted to personally welcome the first female Dark One since myself. If you don't like how you look you can use a glamour spell to change your appearance, but it won't change who you truly are underneath…"
Hall of Legends
"Well, now we have a Dark One born out of the hatred of Dark Ones… this should be interesting" Simultaneous said
"This may be the Guardian we've been looking for" the Apprentice said "someone who actually wants to destroy the Darkness"
"I wouldn't be so sure, young Nicholas" Ursula said "such a strong hatred for one thing can easily be manipulated into hatred for something else… look how Nimue started out. People often become the very thing they swore to destroy"
"That is a fair point, Lady Ursula" Reul said "but I also agree with the Sorcerer's Apprentice that this may be the opportunity we need to stop the Darkness. If a part of Kitsune is actively resisting the Darkness… we may be able to use that to separate it from her and either destroy it or contain it until we find a way to destroy it"
The Underworld
Frosty wakes up
"Where am I?" Frosty asked "and how am I alive without the Darkness?"
"Welcome to the Underworld" Hades said, appearing in a swirl of blue fire "sorry about the fire, I know you're not a fan of it, but it's part of my magic, so what are you gonna do"
"The Underworld…" Frosty said "you mean I'm dead?"
"Yes" Hades said
"Wait… is Karen here?" Frosty asked
"Karen… there's been lots of Karens here" Hades said "oh, you mean the Karen that died shortly before you became the Dark One. Yeah, she's moved on. Don't worry, she's in a better place"
"How do I move on, how do I follow her?" Frosty asked
"You can't" Hades said "part of the price of being the Dark One, I'm afraid. You're stuck here, forever"
320 AD - The New Enchanted Forest - New Fairy Tale Realm
The Apprentice finds what he's been searching the Realms for many years for… an alternate version of Excalibur. No, this version was not forged from an alternate Holy Grail created by the Original Powers… but it does seem to have many similar properties to the original version and he can sense great magic coming from it. He approaches the sword in the stone. He knows that only someone worthy can take the sword, he knows that the original version is destined to be pulled from the stone by a man named Arthur… but this isn't the original, and his intents are pure. He grabs the sword and he does indeed pull it from the stone
Hall of Legends
"Trying a different version of Excalibur, eh, Nicky?" Simultaneous asked
"It should work" the Apprentice said
"You do know that if this backfires, things will not end well, right?" Simultaneous asked
"Yes, I know this could cost me my life" the Apprentice said
"Not to sound cold, but if that's all that goes wrong, that would be considered an acceptable loss" Simultaneous said "I'm more worried that the Darkness multiplies and wreaks havoc on multiple Realms simultaneously"
"I'll be careful" the Apprentice said "I've just got the sword today. It will take some time for me to develop a spell to actually channel through the sword. I'm going to go over every angle, every single thing that could go wrong, and make sure I have a countermeasure for all of them"
"Take it from a time traveler" Simultaneous said "you can't prepare for everything, even I can't. I'm not saying this won't work or you shouldn't try it… but be careful and remember the first lesson Merlin taught you… magic always comes with a price… ask yourself, what will the price be for this spell if it succeeds and are you willing to pay it…?"
321 AD - The Enchanted Forest - Fairy Tale Realm
A group of thieves who are down on their luck are waiting alongside the road for their latest victim, when a blue light glows and a fairy appears. The thieves immediately become afraid of what the fairy will do to them
"We're sorry, fairy, but we're just trying to steal enough to survive" one of the thieves said
"Fear not" the Blue Fairy said "I'm not here to punish you. Fairies don't normally approve of thievery, but I'm willing to make an exception this one time. Hold out your hand" and one of thieves does and a bottle appears in it
"What is this?" the thief asked
"Squid ink" the Blue Fairy said "it can immobilize the most magical of creatures for a short time. The next person coming down this path is a powerful sorceress. Use the ink on her, and take the kris dagger from her. Take the dagger to the old man who lives in cottage at the base of the mountain. He will give you enough for it to live like kings for the rest of your lives. All I ask in return is that you quit stealing"
"We won't have need to after this" a thief said "but wait… the squid ink will only immobilize her for a short time… what will happen once she can move again, won't she seek vengeance?"
"The old man can take care of himself" the Blue Fairy said
"I was talking about us" the thief said
"Fairies don't approve of killing" the Blue Fairy said "but I would understand if you were just preemptively trying to protect yourself… I'm not against self defense… just be sure not to kill her with the Dagger you take from her… the old man won't give you anything if you do that"
Later, the thieves wait at the road for the sorceress to come by. When she does, they toss the squid ink on her, freezing her in place
"Where did you boys get a vial of squid ink from?" Kitsune asked
"A little fairy" a thief said
"Interesting" Kitsune said as they go through her clothes and pull our the Dark One's Dagger "you know this won't hold me for long"
"Oh we know" the thief said "which is why you're not going to live long enough to do anything about it" and he pulls out a knife "sorry, this isn't personal, just business, goodbye" and he plunges the knife towards her chest when someone grabs the thief's arm and stops him "hey who are you?"
"Someone who's trying to save a life" the man said as he draws his sword "leave this poor woman alone"
"She's not some innocent woman" a thief said "she's a powerful sorceress"
"And you attack her while she's defenseless?" the man asked "you are cowards. If you want to kill her, you'll have to go through me" and a thief uses the Dark One's Dagger to slash at the man. The man manages to knock the Dagger out of the thieves hand and grabs it. One thief notices something
"Guys… she's starting to move again…" the thief said
"Let's get out of here" another thief said and they run off as the Squid Ink wears off
"Thank you" Kitsune said to the man
"I take it this is yours" the man said as he hands her the Dagger back
"Yes, thank you" Kitsune said and she puts it away "now if you excuse me, I have to go deal with those murderous thieves"
"Please don't" the man said
"What?!" Kitsune exclaimed
"What they tried to do was wrong" the man said "but don't seek vengeance on them. I saved your life, I'm asking that you spare theirs in return"
"He saved your life" the Darkness said to Kitsune "the debt is paid by you not killing him, he has no right to stop you from seeking your just vengeance"
"You want me to forgive them?" Kitsune asked the man, ignoring the Darkness
"Yes" the man said
"Would you forgive someone that tried to kill you?" Kitsune asked
"I just did" the man said "don't forget, they tried to kill me too" and Kitsune is at a loss for words… "do you need anything else, miss?"
"Would you mind a traveling companion?" Kitsune asked
"You want to travel with me, why?" the man asked
"I've always sought vengeance and hated those who wronged me" Kitsune said "some would say I was born of hatred. I've always thought that's the way people were, paying evil unto evil… but you're not like other people… I want to know more about you. Hatred has brought me nothing but pain and destruction… it's all I know… but maybe there's a better way"
"If you want to turn from your hatred, I'd be more to happy to help in any way possible" the man said "my name is Nakano"
Hall of Legends
"I didn't think you had it in you, Blue" Simultaneous said "setting up some thieves to murder the Dark One…"
"I just did what needed to be done" Reul said "if only that man hadn't intervened"
"It's a good thing he did" the Apprentice said "who knows what would have happened if they had succeeded. While yes, the death of a Dark One without the use of the Dagger may destroy the Darkness… it also could simply cause it to move to the nearest person, or cause it to multiply. The reason none of us have tried what you just tried is because we have no idea what would happen"
"I think we've all gotten tired on waiting for you or your master to do something about it" Reul said "so I took the initiative. You made such a big deal out of finding the alternate version of Excalibur but you still haven't done anything with it"
"Because I'm still developing the spell" the Apprentice said "believe it or not, I do consider the possible outcomes of my actions. I want to make sure I don't make things worse. Kitsune may be the once in lifetime chance, so to speak, of defeating the Darkness. She actively hates the Darkness, and is the first Dark One I've seen spare a life simply because she was asked to… she may be the key to ending this once and for all, and this Nakano may just keep her on the right path…"
322 AD - The Enchanted Forest - Fairy Tale Realm
Kitsune and Nakano are walking through the woods when someone jumps them. Nakano draws his sword while Kitsune just flicks her wrist and sends the thieves flying. Another thief jumps on Nakano and Kitsune begins to choke the thief with her magic
"Kitsune, enough" Nakano said "you saved me, now just knock them out so we can be on our way"
"He must die" Kitsune said
"That's just the Darkness talking, resist it" Nakano said "for me"
"Alright, for you" Kitsune said and she knocks out the thieves "I'm sorry"
"For what?" Nakano asked "you resisted"
"I shouldn't have to have you tell me to resist" Kitsune said
"I know it's not you, it's the Darkness in you" Nakano said
"I wish there was a way for me to get rid of the Darkness" Kitsune said
"Oh, but there is" a voice said and they turn to see the Apprentice
"Who are you?" Kitsune asked
"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" the Darkness said "kill him, if you don't he'll take away your power"
"At this point, that's just all the more reason for me to listen to him" Kitsune said "can you really destroy the Darkness"
"Yes" the Apprentice said "I believe I can, with this" and he pulls out Excalibur "but you have to truly want the Darkness to be gone. If you hold onto it, I don't think the spell will work"
"How soon can we destroy it?" Kitsune asked
"Right now" the Apprentice said and he turns to Nakano "young man, I will need to send you away for a bit, this spell is dangerous and I don't want you to get hurt in the process"
"Can he stay?" Kitsune asked "I don't know if I can do it without him… although if there's a chance he will get hurt, maybe it's best for him to leave…"
"I'm staying" Nakano said "I want to be here for Kitsune"
"Very well" the Apprentice said "but do at least stand back" and Nakano backs up a bit "are you ready, Kitsune?"
"I'm ready" Kitsune said and the Apprentice uses Excalibur to draw a spell seal around her and then he pulls out his wand
"My wand is charged with light and dark magic" the Apprentice said "I had the Original Powers charge it with light, please shoot as much dark magic as you can into it to charge the dark" and Kitsune unleashes all of her dark magic into the Apprentice's wand "now as I cast the spell, try and push out the Darkness, with both your hatred for it as well as for the love you have for those around you. Here we go"
The Apprentice channels the spell from his wand, through Excalibur, and into the spell seal around Kitsune. The Darkness then begins to burn away from Kitsune. The Apprentice then uses Excalibur to cut away the Darkness from Kitsune. However, the dark magic in the Apprentice's wand explodes, interrupting the spell. The explosion causes the Darkness to fragment into three pieces and causes two portals to open. Excalibur is knocked out of the Apprentice's hand and falls into a portal. The two smaller fragments of the Darkness flee into the portals, which then close. The larger fragment tries to return to Kitsune. As Kitsune feels the Darkness try to re-infect her, she tries to resist, but feels like she's being torn in two. The Darkness decides it won't last long in Kitsune, and knows that with all the Light Magic flying around it won't last long in the Apprentice either… but it does see one person that it can take control of… Nakano. It enters him and binds itself to him. Nakano tries to fight off the Darkness, but fails. He goes to check on Kitsune and notices there are now two people where Kitsune once was. One looks a lot like Kitsune, but is a bit older and only has eight tails rather than nine. He checks her pulse and realizes she's gone. As tears begin to form around his eyes, he looks at the other person, which looks like a young girl, maybe around twelve or so. This girl has fox ears and a single fox tail. He checks her pulse and realizes she's alive. He shakes her awake
"Kitsune, wake up" Nakano said "please, wake up" and the girl begins to get up
"What… what happened?" the girl asked
"Kitsune, you're alright" Nakano said
"While I am a kitsune, I have a name you know" the girl said "it's Senko"
"You don't remember anything about being a woman named Kitsune?" Nakano asked
"I don't remember much" Senko said "but I know my name's Senko. I have vague memories of you, I remember you took care of me when no else would. I'm sorry to say I don't remember your name"
"That's okay, it's Nakano" Nakano said
"Oh, then I guess this is yours" Senko said and she holds out the Dark One's Dagger, with Nakano's name written across it
"Why don't you hold onto that" Nakano said "I think it's safer in your hands then mine"
Hall of Legends
"Well, that went well" Simultaneous said
"I thought it would work" the Apprentice said
"Despite your best intentions, you managed to make things even worse" Zeus said
"That's not necessarily true" Merlin said as he appeared "while my Apprentice should've checked with me before trying such a dangerous spell"
"You didn't check with Merlin?!" Simultaneous said
"He may not have actually made things worse" Merlin said
"What do you mean?" Poseidon asked "the Darkness multiplied, we could have up to three Dark Ones now!"
"Not exactly" Merlin said "the Darkness split, it didn't multiply. The Darkness that possesses Nakano is a bit weaker than the Darkness that possessed the previous Dark Ones. Note how he didn't go to the Vault like the previous Dark Ones did. The Darkness will be easier for him to fight off. Also note, he didn't turn scaly like the previous Dark Ones, he hasn't embraced it fully. Those two things combined with the facts that Nakano is a compassionate, forgiving man, and that he saw what Kitsune struggled with, will make it very difficult for the Darkness to tempt him. And this Senko will be able to help him resist. And it seems that this whole ordeal has left the Darkness unstable… we may be able to alter the curse if not stop it, but that will take time to figure out what exactly can be done"
"What exactly happened to Kitsune?" Ninjor asked
"It looks like when the Darkness tried to re-possess her" Merlin said "that she resisted so hard it literally ripped her in two. The evil in her is the older woman who died and is now stuck in the Underworld with the past Dark Ones. The good in her is the girl Senko… although I still detect hints of the Darkness in her… not enough to corrupt her, but just enough to tie her to the Darkness"
"Someone should probably check on that" Simultaneous said
"I will do that" Sora said "kitsunes are primarily my domain"
"Very well" Zeus said "Merlin, what about the two smaller fragments of Darkness?"
"Those fragments are not powerful enough to create proper Dark Ones" Merlin said "they could either possess someone or attack on their own. Interestingly enough, it seems they will only be able to possess people who willing let it in, it's not powerful enough to corrupt someone who is determined to keep the Darkness out. The fragments cannot be controlled by the Dagger, but they can be destroyed… it will take a lot to destroy them, but they can be destroyed without requiring Excalibur. Despite everything that went wrong today, we may have actually came out ahead. Nakano will be the most tame Dark One yet and will contain the Darkness without letting it spread. With Senko's help, he should be able to keep it at bay until we can find a way to destroy it. Unfortunately, the alternate Excalibur was lost and because of it's unique nature, a locator spell will not work on it. We will need to find it if we are to destroy the Darkness…"
Japan - Land Without Humans
A portal opens in the sky and Excalibur fall out followed by a fragment of Darkness. The Darkness chases Excalibur, but is unable to get close to it, with it still being charged with Light Magic. The Serpent of Koshi swallows it. The Darkness finds a temple of priests and decides to possess their idol in order to get them to do its bidding…
Japan - TMNT2k3
A portal opens and a fragment of Darkness falls out. It transforms itself into a tengu and begins causing widespread destruction…