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Chapter 7.0: The Sixth Amendment

?????

Death, apparently, isn't peaceful.

"This is all your_fault, Tiamat! You should_ never_have let that bastard coyote live!"_

"Do not_blame this on me. Were you not so slow in your machinations, we would have_ Realmbreaker_in our grasps by now."_

"Truly... a pity...Hmmm... So... close_... Hmmm... Fortune... does not... smile... upon us... this... day...Hmmm..."_

"God, honestly Abaddon, countless_fucking_worlds die before you ever finish a fucking_sentence. Why are we even keeping him around anymore? Let's just dump his_ goddamn_body back in that hospital and be done with it. Let him rot away in a never-ending coma while his family decays away around him, clinging onto the dear hope that he will awaken."_

Four distinct voices... Each one with a different tune, a different accent and a different mannerism behind each one. Two male, two female.

The Gods...?

Were they deliberating what to do with me now that I was finally dead...?

"Bah!" a deep, rumbling voice exclaimed. The first voice. His words echoed in my chest and were loud. Not loud enough to actually deafen me but it seemed like every soundwave he emitted gripped my heart in an icy vice and shook it wildly."I say we slay that coyote and transform him into a form of life support for this whelp. We'll have him semi-conscious so that he will constantly scream in agony as this boy uses the dwindling embers of his life to fuel his strength until our plans are complete. Maybe even wrack this idiot_with guilt so that he'll follow Destiny for once!"_

_"Your sadism knows no ends,"_the second voice, a calm, collected female replied. In contrast to the gut-wrenching voice of power, hers was strong in a different way. It spoke of hidden power that struck more fear in my heart than the first.

Fear...

I wasn't quite dead yet...

_"Perhaps... all... is not... lost...Hmmm..."_the third began. There were long pauses between each word. There was no airy rasp of one who suffered from severe lung problems or had some form of speech impediment. It seemed... like he merely considered every word closely before speaking them. His constant addition of 'Hmmm' at the end of every sentence furthered my assumption.

I tried to open my eyes but I felt resistance against my eyelids.

I think... I think I was alive... Barely.

Limbo maybe?

"There is... still... a chance...Hmmm... We could... revive him... Hmmm..."

"I'll be damned if I spent these last twenty-two Mortaelian years babysitting_this asshole only for him to roll over and die!"_ the first barked. "I say we bring him back!"

"You're an idiot as ever," the fourth and last voice answered, a high-pitched, shrill whine that reminded me of claws down a chalkboard. Every word she spoke felt like she had dug sharp nails into my ears and were slowly screwing them into my brain. "We touch him, he becomes corrupt. How can we go ahead with our plans if he's corrupt!?"

"Perhaps... he will not_... become... corrupt... Hmmm... I sense... negativity... boiling... within him... but... our... interference... should not... tip... the balance... Hmmm..."_

"Can someone get this guy a fucking_keyboard!? I bet he types faster than he speaks!"_

"He has a point, however,"_the first female voice began. _"Our interference may not corrupt him... It is up to him to seize the power we grant and should he become consumed by it... then we shall just have to alter out plans accordingly. I am unwilling to wait another twenty-two years for the end."

"No!"_the first voice boomed. _"It was a goddamn_mistake to have let_ any_of you become corrupt._ I_was here first! I was chosen by Destiny first and not any of you! We made the mistake_ three times_to try and see if we can save you from your own idiocy through our direct interference and now I have to contend with all of you!"_

Wow... They don't seem like a very happy family...

Speaking of families...

I wondered what happened to mine...

I guess I was already half-dead... I wondered if what they said was right. Was my mom crying herself to sleep every night beside my bed as I lie comatose? Was my dad pulling all-nighters to find a way to wake me up? Was Dev - my brother - holding my paw and begging me to wake up.

And... where was Chad...?

"If we're going to revive him,"_the first voice shouted,"we revive him using the power and soul of someone from_ his_world. If not that bastard of a coyote, let's take a shard of each of those that love him. It'll be small enough that it'll make no difference."_

"Fool...Hmmm..."_the third whispered. _"... Can... you not... see... Hmmm? You... underestimate... the mortal's... will -"

"To live, we know, we know!"_the fourth voice screeched. _"Yes, we can all_see that he's fighting to survive. His brain is completely shot but his soul is hanging in there. I swear, if we didn't need him, I'd crush that puny flame right now. It pisses me off. Futile is what it is."_

Yarf...

Just who was around me?

I tried to move my muzzle... but it was glued shut. Rather, I just didn't have the strength to move it. Or perhaps I did have the strength. It just so happens that my nerves weren't connected so I couldn't actually move anything. I don't think I could actually even more my eyelids. Heck, the darkness I was seeing... it was probably caused from the lack of living nerves connected to my retinas.

Then... how could I hear?

"So we seem to be at an impasse," the second voice said softly. "Two for him to live. Two for him to die. So what shall we do? Shall we call Destiny?"

There was a strained silence and even I could sense the fear that quaked within them.

"Hello."

That voice... It was unlike any of the others.

It seemed... normal... and familiar. I just couldn't quite put my finger on it...

_"You!"_the four voices exclaimed in unison, probably the only time that they ever did anything together.

"What?" the new voice asked, his tone casual and even playful. "Is that any way to greet me? Wait! Was it my entrance? Oh! I know!"

A loud fanfare of trumpets exploded into my ears and for some reason, I just imagined confetti and streams flying everywhere.

"It is I!" the new voice announced in a deep, exaggerated tone. "The Sixth!"

_"You -"_began one of the others but I didn't get time to figure out who it was.

"No good, huh?" the Sixth asked, his voice full of thought. "Oh! I know! How about this?"

BOOOM!

A wave of heat washed over me, sizzling my fur slightly just as the ground shook... or whatever I was lying on. I occurred to me that I could feel the flames... but I couldn't move... My other senses were likewise disabled...

Maybe the bullet just went through certain parts of my brain?

"Behold!" the Sixth boomed, his voice much deeper and more menacing. "I am the Sixth Chaos Lord! Kneel before the Queen of Realmbreaker!"

...

"Do... you not... mean... 'king'...?"

"Do I?" the Sixth responded, his voice seemingly innocent but I could detect the mocking edge to his words. His spirits were still high however. "Come on! What's all the frowning faces for?" There was a pause. "Oh... I see... Dead body. Hmmm... Perhaps not so dead... Let me guess, deliberating whether you guys will rape him or dump his body in front of a moving truck? May I suggest an old lady knitting group? You might get more than one death that way."

"What are you doing here, meddler?" the first voice snarled. "You have no business here."

"Who says this isn't visit for pleasure?"

"Get off me, ingrate!"

There was a loud, metallic smack.

I think someone just got punched.

"Awww, come on! That's no way to treat one of your own! Just because I don't mess with the fabric of reality using Seals. I feel left out..." He let out an odd sounding whine. Then there was a loud, metallic click. I think he clicked his fingers. "That ends today though! Check it out! I got my own Seal!"

"Arf!"

...

I think something just barked.

Did he hold up a puppy?

Why would he call a puppy a 'Seal'?

Better question... What kind of Seal barked...?

Oh...

"That is not_the 'Seal' we had in mind,"_ the second voice muttered softly.

There was a pause. "So sue me! His entire universe is populated by feral and anthropomorphic animals. It's easy to get them confused!"

"No... It isn't..."

"Well... Whatever." I think he threw the seal away because I heard it yelp and cry out in fear. "So let's see what we got here... Oh! So his body is broken but his soul is hanging in there, huh? I like souls. They taste like watermelon."

He eats souls...?

"Get out of here, Sixth. We don't want you anywhere near_him."_

"With all due respect, Lilith..." There was a pause and a sudden drop in temperature. The Sixth's voice was sudden very grave, still playful but frighteningly threatening. "What can you do to stop me?"

There was no reply.

"Well, it seems to me that the answer is very simple," the Sixths began. "Just give him some power. His abilities allow him to regenerate after all. He already had enough strength from threatening that charming husky friend of his to at least keep his soul intact but he just needs a little more... oomph before he's back up and running."

"And how, pray tell, are we going to explain his miraculous recovery, fuckwit?"_the fourth voice demanded. _"Seriously! He just got shot in the head!"

"Is that truly your worry? I'm sure all those who care for him will contrive some lie that will make up for his miraculous recovery. In a world full of superheroes, villains and constant divine intervention, is it truly that hard to believe that perhaps a certain individual managed to survive a headshot. Normally, I'd call hax but hey, I make a living from turning worlds upside down."

"He... has a... point..."

"So what do you propose then? Just miraculously give him life again? Make a sob story out of it? Just as the family and lovers are meant to give up, you give him life and he wakes up?"

"Well, for one thing, he kind of just a floating soul right now. We'll need to repair his body..."

So that's why I couldn't 'see' anything... I had no eyes. I probably heard them because... well... I'm not sure how I heard them... or how I felt the environment around me. Maybe it was their 'aura'?

He clicked his fingers again. "Ah! I know! I'll just go ahead and make him a pseudo body. One exactly like his own. Once he gets used to it, I'll transport him back to his previous body and merge the two together. That way, he'll have extra power to rebuild his body!"

"Is that not needlessly complicated?"_the second voice intoned. _ "Can you not simply reforge his body?"

"I probably could... but after the way you guys treated me, you really think I'd just go about this the easy way? Besides, it's going to take time for me to come up with a convincing story... I mean, I can't just 'poof' him into existence with some questions being asked. How about I put him in a coma for a decade?"

A decade!?

My balls would've burst by then!

"What? Your plans won't allow for that sort of timeframe? Five years? No? A year? Fine. A month. He'll be in a coma for a month and will wake up due to his own 'sheer will to live'."

"And what shall we do with him for a month?"

"We're bloody Chaos Lords. We can alter the very fabric of space and time at a whim. Two seconds here can be a month for his reality if we so wish." The odd, cheery voice side. "Geez... For people who pride themselves in the raping, pillaging, mutilating and destroying of realities, you guys sure are narrow minded."

Clap.

I think the voice clapped his paws together. It sounded like he was wearing metal gloves or something. A gauntlet?

"Okay! So time for a good old fixer-roo! And... boom! New body!"

Does that mean I can open my eyes now?

I dared to open my eyes a little...

"So now, we just have to drop him through a door and he'll be back to his own reality!"

Whatever was supporting my back suddenly dropped away and the sensation of falling cut through my curiosity.

"Whoops! Wrong door!"

Eerie blackness surrounded me only broken by the white and gold armour draped in a cloak of stars. There was a flash of blue somewhere in an all-consuming helm.

I couldn't see where the other voices were coming from. The darkness was peeling away from me, framed by a brilliant, white door gilded with gold made of a material I couldn't quite describe. It looked like marble only the specks and grains constantly moved and fluctuated.

Nerves connected as my brain quickly processed I had just been thrown through midair and was falling to my death! I tried to grasp for edges of that dark word but momentum stole me away from safety.

"Remember to stop, duck and roll!"

"Don't you mean 'tuck and roll'?"

The armoured figure turned to someone beyond the door's frame. "Do I?"

Slowly, the door shut and grew smaller with every metre that I fell to my doom. At the very last moment, just in that tiny crack before those two halves shut, the armoured figure turned his gaze towards me.

Sapphire-blue eyes...

... and pupils shaped like eight-pointed stars.

For a second... I was mesmerised by that gaze... Then the doors shut and just like that, the portal was gone...

And I remembered I was plummeting to my death.

I prayed wherever I was the laws of physics applied... or at least the laws of physics I was used to.

I focused on -

"Spectre!"

'Spectre'...?

For some reason, that name just wiped all the worry from my system and threw self-preservation into the wind. Memories of a white, armoured winged wolf came to mind...

Oh no...

I spun in the air...

And I saw them...

A bigger, taller, more muscular version of me dressed in clothes of intricate designs that would make a fashion designer faint because they were actually being used practically. My doppelganger rode was massive, feral wolf with a pair of black wings made perfectly for flying. Heavy armour plated the wolf's chest, back and shoulders.

"I see him!" the bigger Jacob shouted, his voice much deeper than mine, more testosterone-poisoned and commanding.

The big winged wolf - Spectre - dove...

And I realised that we were on a collision course!

"Look out below!" I cried.

Jacob - me - locked gazes with Jacob - the other one.

WHAM!

If ever I wanted to test that theory about inter-dimensional parallel entities touching one another and causing an apocalypse, then this was it. Our heads banged right into each other, forehead to forehead, and I swear if we swapped personalities there and then, would waltz right up to that bastard 'Sixth Chaos Lord' and crown his queen-sized ass.

My head spun from the impact but I shook it off quickly.

Black, inky water came up and -

SPLASH!

My body instantly sprang awake. Frigid water sucked all the warmth from my body and there was every temptation to just curl up there and then to die. A temptation that I fought. Uncurling my limbs - joints feeling like rusty hinges - I paddled to the surface and -

Whoosh!

Broke the surface of the black river. Smoke and the smell of burning wood hit my nostrils. In contrast to the freezing waters, the inferno that burned on the surface almost blistered my skin beyond my fur. It made my neck surprisingly comfortable though. Freezing feet, boiling heads, warm neck.

"Sam!?"

Huh?

My memory quickly caught up with me.

Here... I was 'Sam Wolfe'.

"You!?" the winged wolf exclaimed. Even from where he stood on the shore, I could tell from his deep, blue gaze that he was fearful.

I gave them both a weary grin. Something caught in my eye and it must've looked like I was winking.

"Hi."

Chapter 7.1: Who would win between Ice and Fire?

Graesham

"Glad you came back."

I gulped loudly, paddling away from the Alpha Male Jacob Reaper. I swear, he was built like Dev! I know I've always wanted to have a body like that but not when I can see firsthand just how scary it can be. In the faint firelight from a vast, burning town, red light flickered of his features, casting shadows over a menacing grin as the flames were reflected against his sharp fangs. His blue eyes matched mine but somehow, framed by his damp, golden hair, he seemed so much more menacing.

"You are...?" I asked, trying to fight the fear from my voice. I failed. I failed bad.

"Oh yeah. As I recall, I still get to rape your ass."

I jerked away from him. "What!?" What was he talking about!? What entitled him to that!? I was mated to two wonderful men! I was not going to let anyone have my ass. Not even my inter-dimensional twin!

Oh wait...

I recalled my first foray into this world... and a competition I had with my burly dimensional brother. As I recall, it started with me waking up on the roof of a speeding train before being attacking by spinning, aerial turtles. That was quickly followed with combat against an enormous serpent with arms and massive, wicked-looking blades.

"No way!" I snapped back. "I killed more of those freaky green things than you!"

"But I killed the biggest freaky green thing," he retorted, a cock smirk on his face.

Well... That was an accomplishment. Defeating a multi-armed, blade-wielding, twenty-foot snake would certainly be an accomplishment worthy of a superhero in my world. Either he was a superhero in this world or that was pretty commonplace.

"That still counts as one!"

Big Jacob seemed pleased with himself. I couldn't help but stare at his nicely shaped ass as he pulled that massive mound of muscle out of the water. I was filled with longing for Dev. This Jacob reminded me so much of him... My view was interrupted by a splash of water from his flicking tail.

For some reason, this Jacob's cocky attitude was grinding my gears and already I wasn't feeling very hospitable. After all, I did just get shot in the head, abducted by... I really don't know what they were and then dumped into an unknown reality from height that could be considered halfway up to space!

And that flick... The last straw.

I seized his tail, brining a yelp from him and pulled myself out of the murky waters using his fluffy appendage as leverage. I took grim satisfaction from that sculpted ass landing hard on the ground. To add further insult to injury, I shook the water from my fur, drizzling him hard.

His eyes screamed, 'I hate you'.

"Care to tell me how the hell you just dropped out of the sky?" he rumbled, rising to his feet.

Cooperation was at the bottom of my priorities. I needed to get back. No way in hell was I going to spend a month here while my parents and mates worried about me. How did I get back last time...?

"After that welcome?" I retorted as I mused. "Don't count on it."

Big Jacob's form suddenly blocked my vision. I was confronted by his enormous, broad chest and those chiselled abs protruding through his wet shirt that just poked out of the black and white coat he wore. "Wolves don't fly," he growled, jabbing a finger against my chest. "So you better explain."

"Wolves don't fly, huh?" I smirked at him and hiked a thumb at his flying, lupine mount. "So what's he then?"

"An elaborately dressed penguin."

Spectre - the winged wolf - scowled. "Hey!"

Heh, that was pretty funny. He sort of did look like a penguin being all white and black. Plus he had wings so -

"... Rea... Reaper..."

Don't reply! Don't reply!

It's 'Sam' here.

I'm Sam.

The source of the voice...?

"Gabriel..." Jacob whispered.

'Gabriel' didn't look to well. One hand clutched at his chest and the tall ram used the other towards us, begging us for help with his jerky movements. There didn't seem to be any wounds... I could tell from where I stood that the injuries were something... unnatural. Sweat rolled off the ram's muzzle. The white wool covering his body was marred with soot and his green eyes were distant, somewhat unfocused.

"You know the guy?" I asked. Thank the gods the 'Sixth' had deemed it necessary to arm me.

There was a flash from big Jacob's palms and for the first time, I noticed that his gloves had odd little discs on the palm area. Two blades appeared in his paws. One was broad, silvery and shaped like a massive combat knife. He gripped it in his left in a reverse style. The other was a beautiful, light-blue crystal weapon with a metallic core that he held in a forward style in his right.

"Wish I didn't. He's an over-zealous idiot who takes the word of his corrupt priest as law."

Remember how I said I wasn't feeling very nice?

Well... One of my greatest pet-peeves... Religion.

"One of those types, huh?" I scowled. "I bet he's a bigoted ass who thinks gays are unholy and that if you even think about the same sex the wrong way, you deserve eternity in Hell! Listen here, Mr. No-Go-Homo, we're people too!" I barked at Gabriel. "Just because we don't conform to what you think, doesn't make us less deserving of paradise! Hell, with all your hatred, you're the ones that are gonna end up in Hell while we laugh and rain cum on your burning corpses!"

I think I scared big Jacob. "You do realise that being religious isn't the same thing as being homophobic, right?"

I snapped a penetrating gaze at him. "That's bullshit! Of course it is! Guys like him" - I jerked a gun towards Gabriel - "can't stand the fact that we're happy and enjoying our lives and are more likely to get into heaven than they are with all their suffering and piousness!"

An odd... serene smile crossed my counterparts features. A distant look like he was contemplating something. His eyes lit up and shone and that smile was complemented by a gentle nod.

"And it's guys like you who just keep thinking everyone is against them and pigeonhole everyone who isn't gay as an enemy that can't sort through the allies and the foes," he answered calmly. Much to my surprise, he lowered his blades and began approaching Gabriel. "It's good to be proud about who you are... but when you lift yourself up too high, you won't be able to see anything beyond your own two feet."

Feh... What did he know about pride? I bet he's never once gone to a rally. Or had his best friend betray him and throw rotten vegetables because he was just standing up for what he believed in.

He stopped in front of Gabriel, blades completely down and utterly defenceless. I didn't like it. That ram looked crazy. Not hobo-crazy. 'I'm going to eat your flesh and feed my excrement to your children' crazy.

And yet... the Jacob Reaper from this world seemed so calm...

"Reaper..." Gabriel moaned, his entire body shaking. "Rea...per..."

I don't know what my counterpart saw but he suddenly flicked up his blades. Gabriel suddenly threw back his head and let out a pained cry, clutching the sides of his head.

"Kill me!"

Huh?

A flurry of flames erupted from all around Gabriel, surging outwards in a typhoon of flickering fire. Big Jacob scowled and leapt back, staggering to stand in line with myself and Spectre.

"Still think this guy's a saint!?" I shouted over the roar of fire.

They took a life of its own. Like thousands of serpents from hell, fiery tendrils curled around Gabriel's form and seeped into his woollen coat. Molten magma flooded into his veins, pressing against his flesh and glowing with a volcanic red. His body twitched abruptly, the strength of the flames flooding into his muscles and causing them to bulge and grow right before my eyes. A body hidden beneath priestly vestments shattered and ripped as his form bubbled, pulsated and exploded into a tremendous size. He towered over us, emitting a piercing scream of agony echoed by the fiery explosions that rang out around him.

In terms of muscle growth... that's pretty hot but it looked damn painful.

Heh... Hot.

Get it? Because he's on fire?

Damnit! I'm joking to myself again!

A large mass of white fur and black feathers suddenly jumped in front of both of us. "Get on!" Spectre shouted.

Needing no further encouragement, Big Jacob leapt onto Spectre and mildly shook his left paw. His blade vanished in a flurry of light. That massive paw snapped out, seized the collar of my shirt and yanked me onto the winged wolf. Spectre surged into the sky just as Gabriel let out a pained roar. A dark silhouette appeared against the burning flames that had cocooned the ram, many times bigger than Gabriel's original size.

The heat was intense. What little water remained in my fur dried up immediately. My eyeballs felt like a blow-dryer was being held up right to my face and slowly sucking out the moisture from my sockets. The edges of my fur were on the verge of bursting into flames.

"What's happening to him!?" I shouted, barely grabbing onto big Jacob's shoulders.

"He's turning into an Unsealed!" Spectre answered grimly, circling the transforming Gabriel.

A what...?

Was an Unsealed similar to those things that we fought last time we met?

I didn't miss the link with the word 'Seal' either. During one of my more recent adventures, I had watched as one of my dearest friends had become consumed by a Seal he possessed, turning into a frightful monster that sought to indoctrinate me into his reality or end my existence.

Could it be that an Unsealed was this world's version of that creature?

Maybe this world had a deeper understanding of Seals than mine did...

"No..." Spectre murmured softly. "Remember... Unsealed are formed in one of three ways. People are infected, Unsealed are manufactured by MODD or... however Puritans are made."

Where did that come from...?

Wait... Did my counterpart and this winged wolf have some sort of telepathic connection? I remember them working in sync with one another... I think they shared a mental conversation at one point too.

A huge arm thrust out of the flames. A thunderous roar ripped through the skies as another arm surged out of the dome of flames right beside the first. The two appendages peeled back the curtain of flames and -

Boom!

A monstrous, Gabriel stepped out of the flames, eyes burning an eerie green and with the wool all over his body gaining the consistency of fire. Once, dark horns that had curled around the base of his scalp had risen over his head to become twisted and almost demonic in appearance, tongues of flame burning at their tips. His mass towered over many of the homes that surrounded him and large, crystal growths jutted from his back, each one seemingly containing flames within their glass-like surfaces. From a distance, the growths appeared like a pair of flaming wings.

Oh yeah... Definitely reminiscent of the 'Unsealed' in my world.

"Maybe he's a new kind..." Spectre murmured. "Wait... is that...!"

Gabriel threw back his head, showing elongated fangs. The flames around him all coalesced around a single point, forming the burning shape of rod of seething flames. The mutated ram seized it, instantly dissipating the flames to reveal a huge red and black hammer.

"A Seal Weapon...?" Big Jacob whispered, eyes narrowed. "That can't be..."

Wow... They use the word 'Seal' a lot here...

"Excuse me!" I exclaimed, waving a paw in front of my counterpart's face. "Are you two having some sort of mental conversation or something!?"

The stare I got from Jacob did_not_ bring imagery of puppies and double rainbows. "We were until you interrupted."

That answered that question...

I gathered my courage and gave him my fiercest stare."Yeah? Well it's rude to exclude people from conversation, you know! Especially when their life is at risk!"

A vein twitched under his left eye.

I just knew he was thinking something particularly evil.

"My mistake."

Wham!

That sensation of falling returned. I was a little too shocked to actually snap back at my counterpart or grab onto Spectre. I briefly contemplated shooting big Jacob right between the eyes for some poetic justice but first... I had to save myself.

I seized the gravitational forces around me and instantly stopped my descent.

Good thing my powers were still working.

My senses suddenly screamed. I let myself drop a good couple of metres just as -

Whoosh!

A massive, flaming hammer flung through the air above me.

Yarf!

WHAM!

Big Jacob slammed hard into Gabriel, driving his foot right into the back of the ram's skull while he drove those twin blades deep into the creature's head.

Boy am I glad he didn't shoot me.

My skin began to prickle from the heat and I immediately dropped to the ground. I checked my handguns for ammunition. Nice, full magazine... A magazine of bullets with blue streaks around their rims.

Cryo-bullets...

Flames came to life from Gabriel's body. A loud rumbling rose from the ram's chest. My twin yanked his blades from Gabriel's skull and jumped off, landing right next to a stunned me. I snapped my guns shut.

"What the hell was that for!?" I roared at big Jacob.

"I needed a distraction."

A grin crossed his features and he looked a little distant. Not a time to be losing focus!

I jabbed his shoulder with one of my gun barrels. "Are you having a mental conversation with your pet again?"

I was brushed away. "Just shut up and help me kill this thing will you?"

Mirroring his smirk, I clasped my two handguns together. A hidden mechanism between the guns unlocked, allowing me to combine the two into a single weapon. The two grips formed a sturdy pommel. The barrels pulled away from one another to form a gold and black hilt. There was a buzz of energy as a blade of ethereal blue energy erupted from the gap the barrels made.

"Fine," I answered, swinging my blade to test its weight. It was exactly like the one I held back home. "But in exchange, you suck by dick."

I took my counterpart's tail fluffing out as a sign that I had unnerved him somewhat. I couldn't help but grin a little. All big men are always so wary about being emasculated. I'm sure there were some subby, big guys out there but a tough-guy like this Jacob? Nah, easily a top. Hell, if I was in his position, I'd be on top as much as possible.

"Fine!" he retorted. "But I still get your ass!"

I shrugged. "Fair enough."

"Jacob!"

Spectre circled above us. An ominous boom-boom-boom filled my ears. Gabriel began lumbering towards us, each step unleashing a ring of fire across the already scorched earth. With each gargantuan step he took towards us, my skin prickled and not just from the heat. There was just something so... unnatural about him.

BAM!

A tremendous beam of light erupted from Spetre's jaws and slammed straight into Gabriel's chest. The ram roared in frustration and swung his enormous hammer at Spectre. The winged wolf was too fast, ducking the blow and unleashing another blast that shook Gabriel's form.

"Follow my lead!" the other Jacob barked, bolting ahead of me.

Instincts took over and I shot after him. Despite his side, my doppelganger was much faster than I was. Why are all the big guys I know always faster than I am? Knowing I couldn't keep up, I lifted my blade towards the monstrous ram.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

I saw my father's cryo-bullets at work first hand. Sharp puncture wounds appeared along Gabriel's calves. There was no time to bleed as a thick coating of ice began crawling out from the holes, spreading quickly from inside the ram's muscles. The skin actually broke before it froze over, revealing the torn, bloody muscles beneath.

"Cryo-Bullets!" I exclaimed proudly, more to myself than anyone else. "Just what we needed, huh?"

BOOOM!

Flames melted my little ice coffin away.

I need a lot more cryo-bullets.

"You_do_ realise fire melts ice, right?" Jacob answered.

That irked me. "I don't see you coming up with any brilliant ideas!"

There, the other Jacob grinned as he increased his speed, pulling away from me. In my defence, after my failed attempt at 'coolness', I slowed down and eventually stopped to watch him.

Gabriel saw my counterpart. I was about to yell for him to get away and stop being stupid...

BOOM!

That hammer slammed into the earth... but nowhere near Jacob.

The ram was way too slow.

The huge wolf's feet landed deftly on the hammer's length with a soft thud. Gabriel took a breath... and by then it was too late. Big Jacob bolted up the length of the weapon at lightning-fast speeds, shooting up Gabriel's arm. Even as the ram tried to sweep him away, my counterpart easily reached his forearm and kicked off with enough force to send Gabriel staggered back. He somersaulted in midair, soaring over Gabriel's head.

Not sure what he did... but suddenly, there were hundreds, no... Thousands of blades made entirely of light hovering around the ram.

"Who wants lamb chops!?"

Instant pincushion.

The blades jabbed into Gabriel's body, the enormous Unsealed roaring in agony and pain as they bit into his flesh, ripping into bone and tearing nerves. The ram staggered. But that was all he did. With a rumbling grunt, Gabriel seized a handful of the light blades and threw them aside.

I didn't get to see where my counterpart landed. I needed to come up with a plan! I gripped the golden key that hung around my neck and knew that I could easily escape this place, return to my world. Maybe the whole 'month in a coma' might not apply to me if I escaped quickly enough from here. Then again, how could I leave someone who is essentially me?

BOOOM!

A pillar of pure lava shot out of the ground, rising to a tremendous geyser.

"Spectre!"

At least the other Jacob was safe.

Spectre plucked a black and white form out of midair and zoomed away from the molten rock. Spouts of magma surged out of the earth, setting fire to deserted houses and filling the sky with a haunting, red glow.

Okay! Time to fight back!

I lifted my gun-sword.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

My bullets disappeared into the folds of molten rock before the rock itself lost its eerie, reddish glow, blackened and froze completely over. I threw myself at the frozen pillar, defying gravity - and my common senses - and ran up its slippery side.

Movement caught my eye just beyond the pillar. I threw a crystal overhead and flashed to it -

SMASH!

Gabriel's enormous hammer tore right through my icy pillar.

Gotcha.

I flipped myself upside down in the air, aiming my blade straight down.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A rain of cryo-bullets peppered Gabriel from above. I managed to freeze a bit of his left shoulder before that hammer left Gabriel's hands with a mighty throw came swinging back straight at me. My other paw threw a crystal off to my left.

Fwash!

I was crashed to the ground, tucking and rolling. When I came to a halt, my cheek felt grazed but the sensation was quickly fading as my regeneration kicked in.

The hammer came circling back towards Gabriel

WHAM!

... but was stopped when the other Jacob slammed hard into it, pinning it to the ground.

Another frustrated roar escaped Gabriel. The ram lowered his flaming horns and charged straight at my counterpart. My instincts made me move long before I could even think. I threw a crystal and the instant it was right in front of Jacob -

Fwash!

I was in front of him, gun-blade levelled at Gabriel's face.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Two right between the eyes and then one for each eye. The other bullets scattered all over the ram's body and I was pulling the triggers like crazy, hoping that every shot would somehow make him slow down! The ram's entire body was caked in a thick sheet of ice but he was still charging towards me!

Four seconds to impact!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three...

Crap! I should move!

Two

My legs wouldn't.

One...

Booom!

Gabriel crashed down in front of me, his nose actually just brushing my knee. I was shaking but I quickly froze my limbs like I had hit myself with one of my cryo-bullets. For some reason, I didn't want to show weakness in front of the other Jacob Reaper.

"That was close," I sighed, trying to act nonchalant about the whole affair. I kept my limbs moving, striking a casual pose and pretending to check my magazines. I didn't want him to see just how badly scared I was. "Good thing too... I've only got about six shots left."

"Don't suppose you're going to tell me where you're from, are you?" Jacob asked.

As if I didn't need anything else scaring the shit out of me.

What do I tell him?

Was this world even Mortaelis?

Aw heck... Why not? I mean, after you share a life-or-death situation with a guy, some sense of camaraderie has to form... right?

"Mortaelis," I answer softly.

I thought of three things to say if he decided to beat the crap out of me.

One: Please don't squish me.

Two: Please don't squish me.

And three: That's now how you get cream out of me, if that helps?

"I don't suppose you're going to tell me you live in Rillotia too and breathe oxygen like the rest of us, are you?" he muttered sarcastically.

Wait... Really?

This place had a 'Rillotia'?

Was this Mortaelis too or was that just a weird naming coincidence?

I mean... What are the chances that there are two people named 'Jacob Reaper' in the entire cosmos who look almost exactly the same?

"Honestly," Jacob muttered, running a paw through his hair. It was much longer than mine. It still had the spiky feature to it but it had more body to it. "You call me rude for having a mental conversation with my best friend and you're the one being elusive while attempting to rape me. I wonder what's worse, me being an international criminal or the fact you're basically showing all the signs of a serial rapist."

My heart clenched at that. He was a criminal? How dare he call me rapist!? I'm an internationally respected author! "I am not a rapist!" I roared. I took a deep breath, calming my agitation. Okay, I was pissed but that was no reason to take it out on him. We worked together to bring down a monster after all. "Hang on... You're an international criminal?"

The smirk he gave me was even less encouraging than when he pushed me off Spectre. "I don't know... Maybe..."

Ouch... How's that for payback...?

My fur began prickling again. I spun around, bringing my blade up to the read.

Gabriel's eyes were glowing behind the sheet of ice.

A thick paw seized my arm and pulled it down. "Save your ammo," Big Jacob said, eyes narrowed. He pulled me away from my melting ice sculpture.

BOOOM!

A wave of flames erupted from Gabriel's form, speeding straight towards us. I snarled and swept my blade to the right. I seized the gravitational forces around the flames. Nothing could escape gravity. Not even fire or light. I hurled the flames way from us, leaving us unharmed.

Gabriel let out a tremendous roar.

For some reason, staring at his uvula gave me a crazy idea.

I summoned a crystal in my free paw and deposited it in my counterpart's paw. "Hold this for me."

"What are you -?"

Gabriel roared again.

"He really likes roaring, doesn't he?" I answered with a smirk. "Make him roar."

I heard a grunt of some effort behind me. From the periphery of my vision, I saw Gabriel's discarded hammer rise up, supported by the supernatural strength of my counterpart. Wow... He is a superhero.

"Whatever you're gonna do, make it good," he said. "I took away this hammer for a reason."

I glanced over my shoulder at him. Yeah, there was some form of camaraderie there. Great, just what I needed, right? Another person to spill my guts to. One of the things I didn't look forward to was going back to my Mortaelis and facing Chad's wrath. I fought to keep a cocky smile on my features as I said, "Hey, I'm a world-famous author. Everything I do is good."

"Oh! I get it!" Jacob chuckled. "You're a porn author, aren't you?"

Yarf!?

I twisted his neck slowly towards my counterpart, my left eye twitching in agitation.

"I... am not a PORN AUTHOR!!!!"

Yes, some of my works are sexually suggestive but I've never written porn.

...

Correction: I've never published porn.

I think I was ignored.

WHAM!

That massive hammer came crashing down, slamming hard onto Gabriel's skull and pinning the massive ram to the ground. I spun just as the ram's hands seized the hammer.

I didn't have time to mess around!

"If you're going to do something, do it now!" this world's Jacob shouted.

Gabriel yanked the hammer free of the other Jacob's paws and rose to his feet, letting out a tremendous roar.

Now!

I threw a crystal...

... and it slipped down his throat.

I was so going to hate this...

I flashed...

And suddenly found myself encased in darkness... The smell of sulphur hung around and the heat was absolutely blistering. I actually felt myself being cooked! Slick, sticky juices dripped all over me, burning my flesh and eating away at my fur. I fought down the scream. My gasps of breath were hard and heavy, the air was simply thick with that sulphuric odour and it hung heavily in the air, making every breath more of the odour and less of oxygen. The juices just seemed to bypass my clothes and go directly for my skin! It was just like being inside a microwave oven that was dripping acid all over me!

Before my flesh began to peel off, I swung my blade, firing off the last of my cryo-bullets around me.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

And one more for good measure.

BANG!

God I hope the other Jacob didn't still have the crystal in his pants.

Fwash!

I dropped to the ground, coughing and gasping for breath. "I am never going to do that again..." I muttered, relieved to get some fresh air.

Amazing what five cryo-bullets could do from the insides of a gargantuan foe. Gabriel looked like he was in some real pain as the ice crawled all over his body, spreading from his chest and freezing everything that it touched. He struck an almost poetic pose as his entire body became encased in ice, a final roar dying in his throat as a fading gurgle.

Crrrack!

The ice around Gabriel's head began to splinter.

You've got to be kidding me...

"How many more shots do you have left?" Jacob asked.

I checked my magazines... "Just the one..."

"Follow me lead!" Big Jacob shouted, bringing out his two blades. Before I could even get a word in, he was bolting straight towards Gabriel. I gotta give him props. He is either really brave... or just stupid.

What did it say about me when I charged after him without hesitating?

SMASH!

Gabriel burst out of his icy confines -

Big Jacob dove forward, sliding between the ram's legs! He swung both his blades out, slashing the muscle and bone. Blood exploded from Gabriel's calves, causing the Unsealed to stagger. I took that as a cue and leapt up against the monster's chest, feeling my feet slam against rock-hard, corded pecs. I put all my effort into running up his torso, slicing at the flesh between me with my icy-blue blade. Where my blade cut, ice encased the wound.

Gabriel reared back for a roar -

SMACK!

And I drive my sword into his skull.

Still gripping the blade, I threw myself over the ram's head, putting all my weight into the movement. I heard a sickening splat. Brains, blood and bits of skull splattered against my back.

My counterpart suddenly crossed his blades in front of him as I hurtled towards him. I planted my feet against the makeshift platform. We exchanged glances for the briefest of seconds... and there was an... understanding there. Then, I was being hurled through the air at tremendous speeds, flying right over Gabriel.

Big Jacob was suddenly beside me...

... and so was Spectre.

"You two boys ready for this?" the winged wolf asked.

I exchanged glances with my twin again.

"Bring it on!" I shouted.

"Let's do this."

The ram staggered to his feet -

Just Spectre drew back his head and shot a blistering beam of light from his muzzle!

WHAM!

Gabriel was knocked back to the ground. I clenched my paw, gathering the remnants of my will into my palm. When I sprang my finger open, there was a nice, big crystal hovering there. I hurled it downwards. It immediately shattered and surrounded the pinned Gabriel. As Spectre took a breath, ending his barrage, I flashed to one of the crystals and shot bolted straight at Gabriel, slicing through the ram's shoulder!

Gotcha!

I didn't stop.

I flashed over and over and over again, dicing up the ram and leaving trails of ice all over his body.

Jacob took his cue as soon as I used up my last crystal. He bolted downwards at high speeds, bringing both his blades overhead and drawing light from all around him. The manifested light focused around his swords, extending the edges of both weapons to over ten metres long! He slammed both swords -

BOOOM!

... right into Gabriel, bifurcating the Unsealed.

Blinding light spilled out of the impact... spreading all over the battlefield.

I had to shut my eyes.

Even then, some of the light tore through my eyelids.

Yarf...

Crrrunch!

A shout of pain...

Jacob's...

The light faded...

I dared to open my eyes...

No way!

There he was... Gabriel Stone but not as the enormous ram that he had been. He looked normal. Like how he appeared before he transformed though he had a regal posture, a calm, composed smile on his features and moved with a fluidity that contradicted his earlier, jerky movements and heavy, bulky stomps.

The ram bend down and picked up Jacob's crystal blade. "It's funny..." He twisted the blade in his hands as he examined it closely. "I've always thought of these blades as weapons covered in blood... Tools of pointless and bloody massacre... But now... As I look at you, Reaper..."

His eyes were black now.

Black eyes aren't good.

Black eyes from green normally mean evil.

"... I realise that the blood that is on your hands... are those of people who truly deserve it."

What...?

Infinite sadness filled Gabriel's eyes as he reversed the blade as if he was aiming to hand it back to Jacob. Strangely... he was holding it in both his hands...

But that wasn't what he was planning to do...

No... He was planning to -

"Gabriel!" Big Jacob shouted.

Regret marred the smile he gave my counterpart. "I have become something reviled and hated. An Unsealed over all other Unsealed."

A what...?

"A Puritan?" Spectre exclaimed, staggering forward. "You've become a Puritan Unsealed!?"

I voiced my earlier mental question. "A what?"

Gabriel nodded slowly, lowering Big Jacob's sword slightly. "Honestly... I can't imagine how Soot does it..." he chuckled bitterly. "How is he capable of living in this world as himself when he truly isn't himself...?"

Jacob looked more sad than confused. "How did...?"

Gabriel lowered the sword in his hands, threw his head back and let out a cold, bitter laugh. There was a faint twinkle on his cheek. He was crying. Suddenly, I felt sad for him too... though I had no idea why...

"Do you want to know where 'Father' Belford obtained his Seal, Reaper?" he laughed. He was nearing hysterics.

Gabriel's shoulders began to shake slightly, soft whimpers bridging the gap between each of his words. "You know my story, right Reaper? How Belford apparently found me with no recollection of who I was... an empty vessel? That because he implanted me with Rose's original seal, I was slowly having my identity filled in as I was consumed by the Seal?"

I poked Jacob's shoulder. "If you don't mind me asking... What the hell is he talking about?"

I was silenced by a firm 'Ssssh!' from both Reaper and Spectre.

Gabriel's sharp laugh brought all attention back to him. "He never gave a solid reason why I was like that... And to think... I loved him..."

What...?

He's...?

Suddenly... I felt my reality shatter.

Was this guy...? Jacob called him a zealot... and yet... There was so much here I didn't know and it was unwise to go jumping to conclusions but... I was just exposed to a whole new world. Maybe... Maybe Jacob was right... Maybe 'religious' wasn't synonymous with 'homophobia'. Maybe Gabriel was part of a religious sect that actually revelled in homosexual acts.

... and here I was discriminating against him and automatically assuming he was a homophobe for being religious.

My perceptions of him were warped... Twisted by my opinions... Opinions that weren't even well-grounded and based on assumptions.

"That's right..." Gabriel laughed lifting his hands to his sides, exposing his breast and giving Jacob a grin caught between insanity and unending sorrow. "I was Randall Belford's lover!"

I don't think there was any mistaking that Randall Belford was a male.

Or Gabriel was male for that matter.

Big Jacob's jaw seemed to unhinge, dropping low as he staggered back in horror.

"He told me he loved me..." Gabriel giggled, contrary tears flowing from his eyes and that insane grin on his features. "I was ten years old when Belford took me in. One month later... He took me into his bed and showed me things... Things I liked... It hurt at first... but when I saw just how happy I made him... I couldn't deny him his joy..."

Gabriel threw his head back, uttering a maniacal laugh. "I hadn't even hit puberty at that point... But from what he told me... what I had heard... what I felt... I loved him... He was more than just my 'father'. He was my everything. Plucked me from the ruins of a homeless shelter, gave me a home... and gave me what I thought was 'love'."

"Ten!?" I exclaimed, horrified. No matter what religion they practised, that was not right. "I know that sounds hot as hell but seriously... Ten years old!?"

But then again... Who was I to judge?

I'm dimension hopping. What is wrong in one world could be 'right' in another... and I wasn't sure if that sort of practice was acceptable here. In fact, I wasn't sure how my world would react to that...

I guess it all relied on how people perceived these 'sins'... Because I sin might just be a good deed wrapped in the constraints of society and common belief.

The ram laughed once more, stopping midway to choke. "The ironic thing is, he didn't actually love me back. He was just using me for his experiments."

Experiments...?

"He orchestrated my feelings for him..." Gabriel sniggered. "He fucked me day in, day out and made me feel special for three years just so that I could develop those feelings for him. Then, when I was 'ripe for the picking', he took everything from me and made it into his Seal!"

Whoa!

People here make Seals!?

Another revelation... What if... What if someone from this world who had access to my world was transferring Seals over? By the use of the term 'Seal' here and the fact that these 'Unsealed' were so numerous, I could guess that whoever had ruled, ruled through the Seals.

What better way to extend that rule than to cross over to other worlds?

I felt something grow hot against my chest.

When I looked down, I found the Celestial Key - a golden key that hung on a silver chain around my neck - began to glow.

"How do you know this?" Spectre demanded. "What gave you this sudden spark of knowledge!? You shouldn't even remember all this if that's what happened!"

"Because..." the ram answered, his grin faded into a dark smile. "Belford had no further use for the Seal I had given him. He tore out Rose's Seal from me... and returned to me the Seal he had made from who I was... My memories returned to me as he absorbed all the memories and faith of the people who had devoted themselves to him... He made a new Seal... One that he has been building for the past ten years..."

I think it was time for me to go...

Gabriel lifted my twin's blade again, levelling it at his heart. "Belford was behind it all, Jacob Reaper. He manipulated both Conway into acting the way that they did. He was the one that actually showed Conway how to create the Fossilisation Plague and he was the one that spread it using his techniques in the church. Those people he 'cured'? They became carriers for the Plague. While they were cured for that year, anyone they touched would become infected.

"That only increased the people's faith in him and the more people gravitated towards him, the stronger his Seal became. His Seal of Memories..."

Gabriel sighed heavily and gripped the hilt of that sword tightly. "Stop him for me, Reaper... If not for me... then everyone else. Belford is the true monster here..."

He lifted the blade.

"Wait!"

Gabriel froze.

Jacob froze as well.

Hell, even I froze.

The Celestial Key burned in my paw but I fought off the temptation to activate it, waiting for my counterpart to say something... momentous. Something inspiring. When I looked at him... I didn't see an international criminal.

I saw a hero.

Someone I aspired to be.

Jacob lowered his arm...

"You and me... Even Rocky... We're all the same..." he whispered softly. "We've lived to a certain point... then we were taking from the paths we had chosen and put on another path that was so alien to us... We made do with what we could..." A small smile crawled onto his features. "Rocky used her talents and became a top ranked MODD official... I became a notorious criminal... and you turned to your faith.

"But no matter who you were in the past... who you are now..." He glared at Gabriel, his stare enough to force the ram to lower his sword even further. "It doesn't decide who you will be in the future!"

Gabriel's eyes widened for a brief second.

"If this experience has taught us anything," Jacob shouted, "it's that we can start again if we want to. We won't be able to escape our pasts. That's impossible. It'll eventually catch up with us." His glare intensified. "But when it does, we've got to make the decision whether or not to let who we were define who we will be or to stick with who we are!"

Huh... To start again...

The heroic Jacob jammed a thumb against his chest. "I know my past has yet to come crashing down against me but I've decided that if and when it does, I'm sticking with who I am!" A grin crossed his features but his stare didn't lessen in intensity. "After all, I like being a badass criminal that can screw around with people and be used to scare little children all over the world as a cautionary tale against naughty children! You wouldn't believe all the freebies I get just for mentioning my name!"

His words reached me...

I know I'm part of something big here... I know that somewhere out there, there are at least six deities with a plot for me. Something that I know I wasn't going to like.

But whatever happens... I wasn't going to stray from who I am.

But that doesn't excuse all those times I've already strayed...

"Don't think that you're going to get away from what you've done to help that asshole, Gabriel!" Hero Jacob shouted. "What you did was as you not as who you were! The past affects us all in different ways. We can choose to move on, go back to who we were or just start anew! It's up to you but there is no way in hell that you'll get away by just killing yourself!"

...

Gabriel smiled gently... and then nodded slowly. "I see..." A smile crossed his features... one filled with contentment... and oddly peaceful. "I think... With those thoughts..." His eyes closed... One last tear rolled down his cheeks. "I truly believe I can go in peace."

"Gabriel!"

Schlick!

I knew that was coming.

Hero Jacob looked horrified but by the look on Gabriel's face... I knew he was at peace.

That lifted my spirits.

Gabriel ripped open his chest with the sword_._ With his free hand, Gabriel reached into his chest... and took out a large, greenish-blue crystal shaped like a delicately crafted jewel. Contained within the jewel itself was a Seal... one that glowed an eerie white and with the three rings of runes rotating slowly.

A Seal...

"This is the one way to kill a Puritan Unsealed," Gabriel said calmly. Eerie wisps of light were streaming away from the crystal in his hand and filing back into the wound in his chest. "Puritans are people who have been completely and utterly consumed by their Seals... but more than that. You've heard how Seals with incredibly low synch-rates consume their hosts, correct?"

I forgot about the Celestial Key... This was important. What about Seals? What about Puritans?

"There are two ways to make a Puritan. The first is if a person gives themselves entirely to the Seal that they posses. That is how Soot became one. The second is if their synch-rate with their Seal is so low that they become monstrous Unsealed... like I was. But given enough time and damage... they too will become Puritans. No other type of Unsealed can become a Puritan in this way as the person consumed by the Seal become nothing more than an empty husk. Those who continue to struggle even as they are consumed become Puritans of the second method."

But that didn't apply to the Seals from my world.

The 'Puritans' that I met, they controlled their Seals. They didn't give themselves completely to their Seals. They consumed their Seals and become one with them...

"The Seals of Puritans crystallize," Gabriel continued, lifting his crystal high for them to see. "They become an inexhaustible source of power and regeneration. You can kill us as many times as you want but as long as our Seal remains intact... we are invulnerable." A smile crossed his features as he dropped Big Jacob's and tapped the side of his head. "I don't know how... I don't know why... but we all gain this knowledge... like it's always been there from the very beginning even as we were mortal but only when we become Puritans is it unlocked..."

Gabriel's eyes hardened. "And with this knowledge... come our only weakness... The only way to destroy a Puritan," Gabriel announced proudly, "is to destroy their Seal!"

SMASH!

Gabriel crushed his crystal in his hands -

WHOOOSH!

A pair of enormous, blue-green, feathered wings suddenly erupted from Gabriel's back and the Puritan was lifted into the air. The light from his wings was almost blinding, their span rising far into the skies and even looking to rival the nearby mountain range! A gust of wind blasted us back as the light from his wings became almost blinding.

"It's funny..." Gabriel chuckled softly. Slowly, the feathers from Gabriel's wings began to peel away... drifting upwards into the sky and vanishing into the night. "It's funny that the most horrible demon mortals perceive in this world is actually the closest thing to God that they will ever meet..."

There's that word again... 'perceive'...

Gabriel's entire form dissolved into nothingness before me. The hauntingly beautiful aquamarine feathers floated into the heavens, seemingly vanishing into the atmosphere. Gabriel's form dissolved into a billion tiny, like-coloured stars. Gabriel's tears had dried up and he gave Jacob a smile somewhere between apologetic and grateful.

In a matter of moments... Gabriel was gone...

... and we were all left both speechless and breathless.

I shook myself from my revere and clutched the Celestial Key tightly. I took a few steps back, away from both Jacob and Spectre. The winged wolf caught my gaze. I froze for the briefest of moments... then he gave me a nod.

I spun around, activated the Key and a brilliant, gold and black door opened before me.

Without looking back, I immediately jumped through.

Chapter 7.2: If that Mockingbird won't sing...

Shellington Hospital

Beep... beep... beep...

"Please Jake..."

Beep... beep... beep...

"... Open your eyes... Please open your eyes..."

Beep... beep...

"Come on, Dev... It's time to go..."

Dev!

I fought.

With all my strength, I fought.

"Jake... I know I've said this a thousand times..."

Slowly, I pushed open my eyelids, feeling like they were on rusty iron hinges that just did not want to open. Blinding light filtered in through shaky blinds, piercing my retinas. I felt a chilling, winter breeze come in from the open window, blowing Dev's thick odour towards me.

"Marry me... Please... Open your eyes... I want you to marry me..."

I wish I could've taken a picture.

There was Dev, kneeling beside my bed, both paws clasping mine tightly. Above him, stood Chad with a thick, black scarf around his neck. I noticed that his sleeves were rolled up despite the weather and there was a tattoo marked on his right shoulder.

It said 'Reaper' and was encased in a heart.

My mom was slumped on a couch at the corner of the room while my father sat beside her on a plastic chair. He was the only one who was staring directly at me. My mother was asleep, Dev had his forehead pressed against the side of my bed while Chad had his head bowed, eyes closed in solemn prayer.

My father, Isaac Reaper, gave me a firm nod.

I nodded back.

Somehow, I managed to muster up some strength to -

Smack!

Dev instantly sprang up, eyes bloodshot and wide.

"Proposing to a dead guy," I rasped, my throat dry and in much need of water. "That's sick..."

Chad's eyes widened in shock. His muzzle broke open into a smile of pure joy. As the seconds ticked by, the sun seemed to glow brighter around him, catching him a glorious halo of light that just seemed to cloak him in golden rays.

My mom had to be elbowed awake and she first gave my father a slap for the interruption before she realised I had my eyes open. She was halfway out of her seat when my father pulled her back down. Good thing too. If he hadn't, I'm sure she would've put me back into a coma.

"Jacob..." she whispered, awed and grateful at the same time.

"Jake..." Dev gasped, his icy-blue eyes filled with so much emotion and relief. He was the only one not smiling in the room. His lips were quivering as tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.

Without a word, he flung his arms around me, catching me in a tight embrace. I gagged, suddenly unused to his weight. Even with my dry throat, I laughed and hugged him back. I fought past the need for liquid nourishment and just held him against me... just... just so happy to be back.

"We didn't think you'd ever wake up..." Dev sobbed. "The doctors said you were coming back fine but..."

I gently pushed him away as feeling began returning to the rest of my body. My chest tingled from where his hot body touched it. My shoulders felt like they had metal screws embedded in them and even moving them slightly would grind those screws against my bones.

"How long was I out?" I sounded so hoarse.

"A month," Chad answered, smiling gently. I could smell his cologne. I could smell Devlin's body odour. I could smell my mom's perfume and I could smell a distinct odour of burnt fur that I knew came from my dad.

A month though...

Just like the Sixth said...

"Jacob... My baby boy..." My mom gripped my right paw, holding it tightly and smiling down at me. Tears were in her eyes and for once, she was speechless.

"Welcome back, Jake," my father greeted.

I smiled at them both.

"Jake..." Devlin sobbed, unable to come up with more words. He looked so torn up. It was both adorable and heartbreaking.

I reached up to wipe his tears away with my free paw...

... and froze.

There was something odd about my left paw.

As my nerves reconnected... I realised that 'odd' was more than that. It was real.

A cold, metal grasp gripped my ring finger... and the light danced against the diamond that lay firmly against the golden band.

An engagement ring.

No way...

"Dev made us a promise," Chad said, chuckling softly. "The instant you woke up, he'd ask you to marry him. Hope he wasn't too forward." For emphasis, he lifted his own left paw. A matching ring shone there.

My father beamed brightly.

"Hey, it's not necrophilia if you're alive."

...

Yarf.