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** Chapter 12: Starlight Observatory's Secret**

Daniel closed the book after reading the last word, sighing quietly. Uraku shifted around, his body shifting from his humanoid frame to the white tiger. The two of them had more room in the cage now.

Uraku spoke with his mind, "Any trouble?" Uraku rubbed his whiskers against the bars of the cage, pacing back and forth against them. Daniel shook his head. "Aside from the corruption of the entire world, Jalhamut, Aveyi, and Nick seem to be doing fine. Well, it seems Nick was just abducted, but they're hard on his trail. I'm not concerned about Nick. He'll be fine." Daniel was certain of this. Lush wouldn't harm Nick. Given the description of the bat, Nick would probably just get lucky. He only worried about a rift emerging between the two wolves.

Uraku growled, throwing a paw against the cage door, the bars giving way and smashing against the back of the van they were held in. "I should be there...they need me...how much longer do we need to be here?" Daniel crawled out of the cage, standing up in the bumping van to stretch his legs, the tiger doing the same. "I don't know...but we'll find out soon enough. We've just come to a stop." Daniel felt the engine cease, the continuous vibrations ending now.

Daniel placed a hand on Uraku's head, kneeling down and looking him in the eyes. "Listen, Uraku. When those doors open, we must show that we are harmless. No matter how rough they are with me or you, do NOT attack them. They're curious more than angry right now." Daniel could hear the muffled sounds of many other vehicles approaching, men shouting loudly at one another. "They will hold you somewhere and keep you well fed. They'll think you're just a tiger like the one's in this world. Be tame, and follow their orders."

Uraku growled, "Why do I have to do all this, Daniel!? Why do I have to murder my own pride? What if something happens to you! You know we'll be seperated..." Uraku's mind was reeling with panic and foreboding. The tiger rubbed his head against Daniel's side affectionately. Daniel wrapped his arms around Uraku's neck, nosing his fur as he started to feel emotion overtake him.

"Uraku...please. Do this for me." He heard the door start to latch open, locks being undone. "When you hear the signal...let your fury go. Come find me then." He planted a kiss on the tiger's nose, sobbing a bit as he feared never seeing his love again. Uraku would never die here, but Daniel could...

"What's the signal, then?" Uraku asked, the voice in his mind full of sorrow. "You'll know" Daniel spoke quietly as the door swung open. Daniel looked out at the vastness of the hangar they had arrived in. In front of him, far off, was a giant door fit for a boeing to enter or exit. The granite colored floor below them was littered with military. Everything and everyone standing had a gun pointed at the two fugitives. Lights barraged Daniel's eyes as he was lit up from searchlights inside the hangar.

A moment later, a gunshot louder than anything he had ever heard rang throughout the hangar. He flinched to the sudden noise the was quickly followed by a sharp pain in his throat. He instinctively reached up to hold where the pain was. He feared he was shot, feeling for a bullet hole frantically. He felt the back end of a dart sticking out of him, pulling it and examining it. A tranq...that's much less worrisome.

He started to feel the numbness course through him, smiling a bit goofily as he felt a sensation of being put under laughing gas. He looked to his side, wanting to nod to Uraku to encourage him to keep to the plan, but what he saw sent a deathly chill through him.

Uraku's shoulder had a bullet hole the size of a human fist, blood pouring out from it. The tiger was motionless for a moment before men came to haul the limp tiger onto a flatbed. They were shouting something, grinning amusedly at each other as they took Uraku away. Daniel couldn't keep himself held up any longer, falling to the bed of the van and closing his eyes. As the tranquilizer finished him to put him to sleep, the last thing that went through Daniel's mind was the sight of Uraku as if he were dead. "Please...let it be an act..."

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Daniel awoke much later, feeling sore and cold. His arms and legs were stretched out against a cold wall. He flet clad in nothing but his boxers, only keeping the upper part of his thighs warm along with his groin. He looked around sleepily. He was in a bright white room, the four corners barely visible as it blended in with the perfectly lit box. The only contrasts to this room were himself, the four shackles he was mounted to the wall by, and the four black lines that made a rectangle in the shape of a door.

Shortly after he awoke, the door opened to reveal two men entering. One was bald and bulky, while the other was average in stature. They both wore sunglasses and a black suit, looking like the guys from Men in Black, except they were both white. The bulky man was holding a small knife, while the other was holding...his book! He had "Paws of Fire" in his hands.

Daniel grunted, looking at the smaller man as he stood in front. The other man was at Daniel's side, playing gently with the knife. "Well, you've finally awaken. It's been, what, one and a half days now?" The man smirked. "I've been told you've caused a lot of trouble, you and that tiger. You've slaughtered some of my greatest men as if they were just mice. Well, your tiger buddy did...but I'm told you tamed him." He walked a little closer to Daniel, looking up at him with his hands folded behind his back. "Let's get down to buisness, shall we?"

Daniel grunted, muttering to the man, "Don't you dare hurt him..." The man laughed, reaching up and patting Daniel on the shoulder. "Don't worry, he's being cared for, just like the other animals. We gave up trying to kill him after we fired a railgun straight into his heart. He's one tough cat. Regardless, he is staying calm." The man turned around, looking up at the ceiling after huffing some air. "It didn't take much to realize just what kind of power we're dealing with. You have obviously ordered your pet to be calm. This alone raises questions as to whether you really want to harm rather than hurt."

"I'd like to offer you the chance to help me develop a new heirarchy in this land. The U.S. is no more, except for those who fled down here. Your pet will make an excellent enforcer for those who dare try to break our laws. Help make this place a Utopia, and I'll make sure your crimes are pardoned."

Daniel's eyes grew wide. What was this man saying? "What do you mean, the U.S. is no more?" The smaller man nodded to his companion, the bulky man pressing the knife into each of Daniel's shackles and freeing him from the binds. He then walked out of the room, leaving Daniel and the smaller man alone. He sighed, taking off his sunglasses to reveal his dark brown eyes as he looked at Daniel with a sympathetic look. Daniel got to his feet, twisting his muscles around to get them out of their stiffness as he listened to the man's explanation.

"Daniel. Bombs have destroyed the western hemisphere almost entirely. Only those who took cover in vaults would have survived the atomic blasts. We were fortunate to find you too before the actual military did. They would have killed you already."

Daniel's jaw opened in horror. He had been out cold for one and a half days, so this man said. After an EMP, that would have provided enough time for someone to launch a nuclear strike. The man was so blunt with the news, he almost sounded as if he didn't care what had happened. Daniel didn't even cry. He was frozen with shock as he stared in one direction, eyes unmoving as visions of the one's he once knew being torn asunder by the blasts flashed through his mind.

"I apologize for any roughness my men have used earlier. I gave them strict orders not to bring harm to you or the tiger. I'm just glad your tiger friend is as strong as my men said he was." The man patted Daniel on the shoulder before turning, heading back to the door. The man turned his head to speak again after he opened the door. "I'll be back in a little bit with your clothing. I trust you won't bring unnecessary harm to my men. Is there anything else I can get for you?"

Daniel's gaze drifted over to the book still in the man's hand. Daniel held back his sorrow for a moment, asking politely, "Two things...where am I? And...could I have that book?" The man looked down at the book he was holding. "Ah, this was in your coat. I forgot I had it in my hand. I was going to give it to you anyway, in case you were bored while we held you in a cell for safety precautions." He laid the book on the ground gently. "And as for where we are...we're in a vault directly under the Starlight Observatory." The man smiled, saying once last thing before he left the room and closed the door. "I'll be back in about two hours. I must run some errands, and I want to be sure you are mentally capable of accepting this new reality. Your world was destroyed, and we must move on to a new one. I trust you'll be more than ready by the time I return."

The man was gone, not even leaving Daniel with a name to refer him by.

Daniel fell to his knees. His fists fell to the ground as he hunched over in despair. Alone, he cried out a burning rage, unheard by anyone other than himself. "Shah! You said my world would be saved!" He rose to his feet, rushing toward the book and picking it up, throwing it across the room with bitterness giving him power. The pages fluttered wildly through the air as the book slammed against the wall. The book fell open on the ground, not damaged at all by the human's effort. Daniel sat down, gasping in his rage. His mind started to calm, the desire to logically think the situation through starting to overtake him. The benefit of his fusion was emerging.

He thought about what the man said. It seemed he and Uraku had unintentionally reached their destination. Shah told them that Uraku would save his world, and they had to travel to the Starlight Observatory. "Shah...what aren't you telling me...?" Daniel felt the calmness take him completely. It almost felt wrong to be so relaxed after finding out his country was destroyed. Then again, he did just throw a tantrum...a very short one.

Daniel thought hard about the phoenix's words. Uraku had to still save the world...so the world was not gone. And it isn't! He's still here, on the planet Earth. The world was not gone...the U.S. was.

This new realization only brought another question. "If the world isn't going to be destroyed by nukes...then what will finish us?"

Daniel crawled over to the book, sitting back against the wall and opening it to the latest addition. He had two hours to spare, and was curious about how Bai'ji held up.