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"You didn't call me last night," Jay said in a low tone, a frown on his muzzle.

Matt felt panic rising within him, and turned to Laura for help. The white wolf stared blankly back at the husky, her face tilted slightly to the right as she mouthed the word, "What?" The pair then looked back at Jay, who was standing beside their lunch table at the student center. The cougar had his arms crossed, and though he was short, Matt thought he looked very intimidating at the moment.

"Don't bother, it's all right," Jay said defensively, his ears twitching. "I just wish you had told me." He turned and walked down the hall to the lecture theatres, while the husky stood and watched, his muzzle slightly agape.

Laura raised a pale eyebrow at Matt. "Oops, huh?" she whispered softly, as she grabbed Matt's paw and squeezed it lightly.

The husky looked at his friend's soft blue eyes and shook his head. "Understatement of the year, Laura," he stated flatly. "I gotta get to class, I'll talk to you later." Matt extracted his paw from the wolf's grasp and stalked away.

Matt meandered his way to math, mulling over Jay's message. 'I should've called.' Someone bumped into the husky's shoulder, forcing him back into the stream of people heading in the same direction as he was moving. 'Why didn't I? It's not like it was hard to do.' Matt tripped on a stair in the science hall, which caused him to stumble. 'I suppose I was a bit distracted, finding out my dreams have consequences in real life.' The husky yelped as his shin hit a bench in the hallway. 'What was he referring to, "I wish you had told me"?' He reached the lecture theatre, and stood outside the door, staring at the room number. 'Was it about my narcolepsy, or something else?'

* * * * *

The grey-blue furred husky found himself standing in the warm sunlight. Looking around, he noticed he was, once again, in the Galdovian Plains, the vast field of prairie grasses that seemingly extended for eternity. The white-robed lion stood in front of Matt, smiling serenely and stroking his messy mane.

"Rhisanth." Matt stated flatly, his arms crossed over his blue leather tunic. The husky's ears were pulled halfway to his head.

The mage's friendly face was staring at the young husky intensely, the lion's black nose at the end of his short muzzle twitching in the wind. "Ah, Matthew, good to see you again," the lion said amiably as he woke from his trance.

"Why am I here this time?" Matt asked pointedly, his tail fur fluffing in frustration. The lion looked pained. "Last time I had to save a child from a demon. The time before was a test. What now?"

Rhisanth grimaced, his eyes misting up. Just as quickly as the emotion overtook him, the lion regained his composure. He shook his head, "I am sorry to hear that you dread these events, but they are necessary."

"For what?" Matt screamed as he clenched his paws and stomped the ground. "For saving the world? I'm no hero! I'm just some kid, who keeps screwing up!" Tears streamed down the husky's face, blurring his vision. "Why me?"

"The prophecy says it to be true, Matthew." Rhisanth was stone-faced at Matt's rage.

The husky turned away from the mage. "Fuck the prophecy!" he yelled as he stormed off in a random direction. 'Anything to get away!' The elderly lion did nothing to pursue him.

Matt walked through the endless fields of golden grass, feeling the wind and sun on his fur. He continued for what felt like hours, leaving the enigmatic and infuriating mage behind physically, but still very much on the husky's mind. Matt played the conversations over the past few days over and over again in his mind.

'Rhisanth makes me so mad! He wants me to do all this crap, and yet won't tell me a thing about the prophecy, or why it has to be me! What the hell is the prophecy anyway? And why does it have to ruin my real life? Is this also my real life? That demonfire left my fur singed on Earth too, so I guess this is real. I need to stop running away like that. Ran away from Kael, ran away from my hometown and my parents. Did I screw things up here with Rhisanth like I did with Jay and Kael? I wish I had told Jay everything. He might think I was crazy, but then I wouldn't have this damnable guilt on my mind. Though, telling Kael everything didn't exactly help, and he's more likely to believe me. We've known each other for years, and yet he thinks I've gone off the deep end. And the retest, that's later today too. Ugh, I hope this crazy Ameranth trip is over by then, I can't afford to miss it.'

Matt suddenly stopped, his muzzle a few inches away from a wooden wall with red paint peeling off it. Backing up, he noted the wall belonged to a dilapidated wooden house. More houses, some with shoddy paint jobs like this, others just plain wood, surrounded the husky. Some of the buildings had even collapsed.

'I walked right into a town and didn't even notice. This habit of mine has to stop, I can't just keep wandering into things like this. Wait a second,' Matt thought, his subconscious screaming at him. 'Oh no...I know this village. This is the same town that Rhisanth brought me to see the council! Which means...'

The young husky jumped away from the building just in time to see a grey wolf shamble towards him from around the corner. The creature's fur and skin were missing in chunks, and what was left on him had a tenuous hold on his skeleton. His eyes were white, devoid of emotion and vision. Matt stepped backwards as a wave of nausea rolled over him, whether from the stench of the decaying creature or the sight, the husky couldn't tell. As Matt turned to flee, his escape was cut off by another decaying creature, a black-furred fox missing an arm.

"Crap, crap, crap, what am I going to do?" Matt said aloud, trying to keep his mind moving. He pulled the blue gem from his pocket. "I don't think a bubble is going to help in this case."

The pair of zombies lunged at the husky from both sides, but Matt managed to duck beneath their swings. The husky pumped his legs, his tail waving behind him. He looked back to see the decaying creatures shuffle towards him, but he was clearly outrunning them to his immediate relief.

Before the husky had turned his head around, he felt something hit him in the chest and his legs pulled out from underneath him. Matt yelped in terror as he tumbled to the ground, his head jerking around to see another wolf zombie, this one with his arm out, having clotheslined the husky. The sapphire fell out of Matt's grasp and bounced off the flagstones in the town square. The husky watched as the gem bounced once, then bounced a second time before finally shattering into a few pieces on the stone walkway.

Matt bared his fangs and rumbled deep in his chest as he kicked the shambling creature in the leg, causing it to stumble backwards. The husky rolled out of the way and back onto his feet near the remains of the gem. He scooped a handful of the shards off the ground, piercing his paw pads in the process, and then ran again, trying to escape this village of the damned.

'You'd think an entire town of undead would gather the council's attention, especially since there's a portal of sorts here,' Matt complained to himself, panting as he dodged another pair of zombies. 'Where to now? I need to pay better attention to where I'm going!' More of the shuffling creatures approached him, and it became clear to Matt that he wouldn't escape without a fight.

"They're slowly surrounding me!" Matt wailed as he realized he was back in the town square, zombies moving through the alley he just escaped, and zombies already in the forum from his earlier flight. Matt's ears swept back as he growled at the horde. His paws curled into fists, causing pain in his right one. The husky stared at his appendage, and saw he still had the long shards of sapphire, which had wounded his paw when he gripped them.

'The gem!' Matt looked at the remains, willing an idea to form. 'They look like icicles...'

"That's it!" the husky shouted in glee. Holding the shards in the air on his palm, he yelled at the decaying furs. "Freeze!" Matt held his breath, but nothing happened. The zombies continued to advance, their stench beginning to overwhelm the husky. "C'mon, c'mon. Just stop moving, or die already!" Matt commanded, this time throwing the shards at the creatures. The slivers of sapphire emitted a blue light, then transformed into large icicles, as big as Matt's arm, and impaled a group of seven zombies, throwing them back. "Yes! Outta here!" The husky bolted past the fallen creatures, jumping over their twitching corpses.

"I'm already in the town square, maybe I can find a way out around the council portal near the fountain."

"I sincerely doubt it," a familiar voice hissed from behind the young husky, causing him to shiver.

Matt whirled around and snarled. "Kazar!" he spat. "This is your doing, isn't it?"

The black-cloaked mage just laughed that wheezy laugh of his. "Be careful what you wish for, pup." Matt scowled at the dark jaguar, but he continued to laugh. "I did not do this. In fact, I was sent here to cure this pestilence. Your presence is coincidental."

"Oh," Matt said, suddenly sullen, wondering how much more he could screw up this day.

"Take shelter in that house," Kazar growled as he pointed to the red house that Matt had almost run into at the beginning of this horror story. "I have no like or need for you, but I would be very sorry indeed if Rhisanth's 'pet' was injured." The husky ran into the house, but watched the black mage from the doorway.

Kazar raised his arms into the air and began to mumble. The sigils on his staff glowed in response to his words, and the sky began to darken. Clouds swirled above the village, and Matt could feel the temperature drop precipitously. The dark jaguar's voice rose, and Matt could pick out the last bit of the incantation: "Ice shards and hail stones rain; destroy those who feel no pain!"

A white ball of energy flew from the cat's upturned paw into the clouds, which blackened in response. After hitching up his black robe, Kazar beat a hasty retreat into the house as well, moving far quicker than Matt guessed he was capable of. The husky could scent sharp spices as the dark jaguar brushed pass him; cinnamon and something else he couldn't identify. His attention to the mage was broken when the sky boomed and large stones of ice began to rain. The massive hail stones shrieked as they streaked to the ground, each stone targeting the zombies specifically, each ball of ice hitting its mark directly. They exploded on impact and shredded nearby creatures with frozen shrapnel. The sounds of the storm rang in Matt's ears, and emptied his head of thoughts.

As quickly as it had started, the hail stopped. The clouds cleared away, and the remains of the unnatural ice storm melted in the heat of the sun. The smell of rotting corpses returned shortly after, mingling with the smell of spring: thawed mud and grass.

Matt stood in awe as Kazar stepped out of the building again. 'That was...incredible! That really was magic!'

"You can come out now," Kazar intoned. The husky followed closely, his ears piqued and muzzle agape. "I am loathe to admit it, but Rhisanth was correct about one thing: you have incredible potential," the black-robed mage said, looking directly at Matt. For the first time, Matt could see the jaguar's yellow eyes and vertical pupils. "I have seen none that have progressed as quickly as yourself when it comes to magic, or has been as versatile."

"Really?" Matt asked, his voice wondering, with just a hint of pride.

Kazar chuckled, "Don't let it go to your head, pup. You may have impressed me, but you have a long way to go still if you'll ever fulfill the prophecy. If it can be fulfilled, in any case."

"What exactly is the prophecy?"

"Rhisanth never told you?" the dark jaguar said incredulously. He paused for a moment, considering something, then shook his head slowly. "Then I cannot. You aren't mine to work with, you're his student."

"What if I said I wanted you to be my teacher?" Matt blurted out. He stared intently at Kazar, keeping his face as neutral as possible. His ears betrayed him, and flicked nervously.

Kazar stared back, his yellow eyes narrowed beneath his hood. He flicked his ears once, then shook his head again. "No, I will not be your teacher."

"Why?"

"You need not know that."

"Why is it that all you magi are so secretive about everything?" Matt asked, nearly whining.

"Because if it were only about magic, there would be more of us, would there not?" Kazar said, smiling slightly.

Matt's head began to get fuzzy as he felt himself slipping back into his own world. Kazar mumbled something as the clouds in the young husky's mind increased. Matt wondered in horror what Kazar meant by, "of course, there were more of you at one point..." Blackness engulfed Matt's vision.

* * * * *

The husky stretched his arms and legs, feeling paper crinkle underneath his limbs. He opened his eyes slowly and saw he was lying on the pale blue, paper-covered bench at the doctor's office in the student center. The vixen doctor who had first diagnosed him was puttering around the room, doing whatever doctors do with paperwork and tools. As Matt pushed himself into a sitting position on the bench, the doctor turned and smiled at him. "Ah, Matthew, good to see you're awake."

"Um, thanks, Doctor..." Matt let the word hang in the air, because he still couldn't remember the red-furred fox's name.

The doctor just smiled and brushed her wavy brown hair from her eyes. "Doctor Hannah. I didn't think you'd remember my name," she chuckled. Matt felt heat in his cheeks as he blushed a little. "Don't worry, most students don't remember much beyond their next major project or test."

"Yeah," Matt agreed, running his paw through his blue hair absently. "Oh, crap, my math test! Oh, Professor MacLearen will kill me..."

"The professor actually had one of your classmates - a big moose named Chris, I believe - bring you here. You had collapsed just outside the lecture hall."

"Oh, uh, I should thank him."

After a moment of silence, Doctor Hannah turned to Matt and began to point her pen-light at the Husky's face, checking his ears, eyes, and mouth. The vixen's narrow muzzle pursed a little as she asked Matt if he had been following the prescribed sleep patterns. When the husky shook his head sheepishly, she just sighed and began to fill out a piece of paper. "I'm sorry, Matthew, but I have to prescribe some medication for you." Matt grimaced, but didn't say anything. "This is a prescription for Modafinil. Take a pill in the morning when you wake up, and another at lunch time. Don't take it later in the day, or you could alter your sleep patterns negatively. You still have your appointment set up in a few weeks, correct? I'll reassess your medication at that time. Your prescription should last just that long."

Matt took the piece of paper from Doctor Hannah, the fox's chicken scrawl barely legible. "Thank you, Doctor Hannah." He hopped off the patient bed and began to head out the door when the Doctor called after him.

"And Matthew, you should take better care of yourself. Use some antibiotic cream on those nasty cuts on your paw there."

Matt stared at his right paw in shock. 'The shards!' There were cuts along his paw pads where the shards of the sapphire had dug in. The blood was dry, but unmistakable.

The husky quickly cut through kinesiology and ran up the stairs to his dorm room on the fourth floor. After fumbling with his key, he managed to unlock and open the door to his 'box.' Kael was nowhere to be found, which Matt was thankful for. 'He's a nice guy and my friend and all, but there's only so much holier-than-thou attitude I can take from him right now.'

Matt climbed onto his bed so he could reach the top of his closet, and stuffed the prescription drugs in a shoebox, with no intention of ever using them. 'If I'm being summoned to this alternate world, I doubt these drugs'll do a thing anyhow. Now what should I do?'

The husky sat at his desk and fired off an email to his professor, apologizing and asking to reschedule his test (again). After that, he stared at his cell phone for a moment, his legs swinging below his chair. 'I should call Jay, but what to say?'

"Why not just say sorry?" Matt said aloud. He nodded and hit dial with Jay's name selected.

The phone rang twice, but then Jay picked up. Matt's breath hitched when Jay just stated, "Yes?"

'Damn that call display,' Matt thought. Sighing, he screwed up his courage and resolve.

"I'm sorry, Jay. I should have told you about my narcolepsy." Matt could almost feel the tension melting away as Jay's breathing pattern changed slightly. Suddenly, the husky began to cry. "I know it was selfish of me not to tell you, and it put me in danger and was really unfair to you. My life's been crazy the past week with the diagnosis, and constantly passing out, and failing my test, and Kael's been a dick about things, but rightfully so, I've been a jerk. Again, I'm sorry. I should've told you, and I didn't, and I don't know why, and I didn't want to hurt you, but I did, and I'm sorry, and ..."

"Matt, Matt, it's alright. I understand," the cougar's voice was soft over the phone. "I just... after being so worried about you and thinking it through last night, I was upset that you never mentioned it. I'm sure narcolepsy isn't east to deal with, and I'm sorry for being so insensitive. I'm sure you would have told me eventually."

The husky's chest heaved jerkily as he suppressed his sobbing, his free paw smoothing down his fluffy tail. He sniffled a couple times as Jay asked if Matt wanted to hang out with him tomorrow after classes. Matt jumped at the second chance. "Good," Jay said a little more cheerfully. "See ya tomorrow, cutie!"

Matt heaved a sigh of relief as he hung up. He flopped back onto his bed and hugged his pillow tightly before pulling out his math textbook, and then began to study.