FSE

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"Stay in the room, you two," the police officer commanded, the lynx's silver and brown fur upright. His tail lashed as he checked his holster. "It's safer in there. I'm going to locate the intruders." He stalked off towards the elevators, listening to his radio.

"Fuck that noise," Kael uttered under his breath, his tail thumping against the door frame. "Laura? Find out what's going on. Chris and I are going to work on getting Matt out of here. I have a really bad feeling about this."

The white wolf nodded, and ran after the officer, her long legs carrying her quickly. Kael pushed into the room, where Chris stood protectively over the comatose husky, staring down the brown-furred 'roo.

"Help me out, dude. We're bailing." Kael rushed over to the machines and started pulling monitors off of Matt. The steady beat turned to a high pitched whine until the kangaroo snarled and unplugged the noisy machine.

Crossing his arms, the massive moose stood impassively. "Why are we leaving?"

Kael eyed the IV drip for a moment, following the tube filled with liquid to the husky's arm. He found the place the needle was inserted in Matt's arm, where the nurse had shaven a patch of his grey-blue fur off. After carefully peeling off the tape, he pulled the needle out.

"Listen, dude. Did you watch the news at all over the past couple days?"

After patting the husky's arm carefully to make sure he didn't leave anything behind, Kael pulled off the white sheet. The kangaroo felt a twinge of regret when he sighed with relief. He saw that the husky was wearing the lower half of a hospital gown, almost like a kilt, covering him from the waist down.

Chris piped up, "Uh, yeah, that's why I'm here. I heard Matt was in the hospital because of some attack."

'Where the hell are the dude's parents if even Chris figured this out?' Kael shook his head, checking Matt over once more for any extra tubes or wires that might be sticking out. He moved to roll Matt onto his side, but Chris stepped in and pushed the husky gently. "Yeah, well, the news reports are a little low on details. This is going to sound crazy, but Matt was injured because of a demon, something from another world."

The moose snorted, holding the husky firmly on his side as Kael tied up the back of his light green hospital gown over his bushy, curled tail. "Yeah, that's crazy."

"Guys," Laura shouted as she came careening around the corner. She jumped through the door and slammed it shut behind her. "Kael's instincts were right. We need to get out. Now."

"Damn right we need to get out," Kael grunted as he leaned over, intending to put Matt in a fireman's carry. Chris, however, once again pushed the kangaroo away and hoisted the husky himself, carefully depositing Matt on his shoulder. "Thanks, dude."

"I'm used to carrying him. Where are we going? And what's going on?"

"There's a bunch of small demon creatures roaming the building, setting fire to pretty much everything they can. According to that lynx's radio, they've counted somewhere between ten and twenty. The security guards have tried to shoot them, but they're too quick." Laura rushed over to the bed where her bag was sitting. "The guards have given up on guns and are using their nightsticks to club the creatures when they can."

"Tiny fire demons? Hm, Matt mentioned he's faced a creature like that before, really early on. Even magic couldn't douse the house fire it caused," Kael mused for a second before heading to the door and popping his muzzle out to take a quick look.

Chris' head bounced between the pair as they talked, trying to catch up to the conversation. Laura, on the other hand, had reached into her bag and pulled out a coil of leather, keeping one end - a solid handle just over half a foot long - in one paw.

"Um, what the hell, Laura? Why do you have a whip?" the kangaroo sputtered when he turned and saw the white wolf letting the leather unfurl, nearly four feet in length. "Wait, this isn't for your super-secret job, is it?"

"We don't have time, Kael. I know how to use it and I don't see you with a weapon. You stick with Chris and get Matt out of here. I'll scout ahead and try to protect you guys." She flicked her wrist lazily a couple times, letting the leather length lightly loop. "Just make sure you stay a good five or six feet behind me. I need some room to maneuver, and I don't want you getting caught."

"Demons? Magic? Whips? What the fuck is going on?" Chris demanded loudly as Laura pushed past Kael and went into the hallway. He readjusted the husky on his shoulder before following Kael and Laura into the white hallways of the hospital.

Kael kept his voice low as he kept an eye behind them while Laura pushed up the desolate hallway following signs towards an emergency exit. "Matt's narcolepsy? It's really a trip into a magical world, and there he can use magic. Except all of that is bleeding into our world. Matt can use magic here now, and demons are apparently invading, too."

As if to emphasize the rotund kangaroo's point, a small creature - about a foot tall, with red leathery skin and a menacing toothy grin - bounced down the hallway towards them, its hand burning with fire. Laura wasted no time and swung the whip back, then forward at an angle, trying not to hit the walls as she flicked her wrist, causing the leather strip to snap at the creature. Unfortunately, she wasn't anywhere near close enough to actually hit the small imp. The noise of the crack rang in the furs' ears.

The white wolf ducked as a small ball of fire flew past her head and splashed against a corkboard on the wall. As the board caught fire Kael ripped it off the wall and threw it to the ground, stomping on it with his long feet to put it out.

"Damn thing won't sit still! I've never had to use this as an actual weapon before!" Laura exclaimed, bouncing back to her feet as she took another swing with the leather coil, snapping it a mere foot from the imp this time.

"Holy shit!" Chris exclaimed as another imp hopped out of a room behind them, trapping the trio. The moose gingerly put Matt down on the floor and glanced at Kael, nodding at the Kangaroo before turning and facing the tiny fire-throwing demon. Putting his forearms up in front of him, Chris moved lightly on his hooves towards the red creature, zigzagging down the hall.

The kangaroo watched helplessly, crouching low to the ground beside his roommate. 'Laura on one side, Chris on the other. None of us with magic.'

His big ears twitched when he heard another whip crack, and the sound of something metal crashing to the floor. Glancing over, he saw the voluptuous white wolf had knocked a fire extinguisher from the wall.

'Matt, why are you asleep? What's going on in Ameranth?'

Chris bellowed, a low yet loud sound that echoed through the hallway. Kael swiveled his head just in time to see the moose kicking a hoof at the small red creature, but missing and getting slammed in the chest with a ball of flame. Chris rolled his muscular frame on the ground, putting out the fire on his fur and dodging another fireball in the process.

Groaning in response, Kael shook his friend lightly. "Damn it, Matthew Lancaster, wake the fuck up! We need you, dude!" Anger flooded his mind as he shook the husky harder.

"He won't wake up. At least, not as he is right now." A voice rang through Kael's head: clear and radiant as a bell. "His body is fine and his mind is sound, but his soul is wounded; scared."

The kangaroo whipped his head about, trying to find the source of the voice, but he couldn't find the owner of the worrisome words. Laura, Chris, and the imps, however, were stopped in mid-motion. Laura's whip hung in the air as if it were suspended in ice; Chris was springing to his feet from his back, his bulky body horizontal to the ground while he was in mid-jump.

"What the?"

"Matthew Lancaster is scared for his friends. He believes that he cannot protect you yet, that he is not strong enough. That doubt is tethering him to what he believes is the safer of the two realms for training."

Kael looked down at his friend and shook his head sadly. Eyes shut, the husky seemed to be oblivious to the world around him. "Who are you? How do you know so much about Matt?"

The voice hesitated for just a moment. "You and Matthew are the only beings in this realm that know about and believe in my existence, and therefore the only beings I may contact."

The kangaroo choked on his own saliva. "No freakin' way, man," he whispered in awe, his green eyes still scanning the room, looking for the fur behind the curtain.

"No parlor tricks here, I'm afraid, Kael Walker. You know me as the deity Dias"

'A deity, a real god. No, just a powerful creature that claims to be a god. But still,' Kael thought quickly, trying to process what was happening. "Then help us! Help Matt!" he replied through gritted teeth. It galled him to ask the self-proclaimed god for aid, but there wasn't much he could do about the situation. Especially given the supposed deity on Earth didn't help his father when he needed it the most.

"I cannot help Matthew on my own, but I can do so through you, Kael Walker."

The 'roo stopped. The only thing he could feel was his heart beating in his chest, as if it were about to burst. "You want me to be your conduit."

"A crude but effective description, yes. You could channel my power to help your friend. Faith cannot bring back the dead, Kael Walker, but it can inspire confidence, accelerate healing, and soothe the soul. I can amplify that faith, that willpower, into concrete effects on the world around you." The voice was deadpan, making Kael shudder in apprehension. There was no mercy or warmth in that speech. Just business.

Kael looked at his friends again. Matt's muzzle was serene in his sleep, but Laura's was twisted in a grimace of frustration and fear. Chris' face, upside down in his acrobatic stunt, was controlled, concentrating. "What do you want in return? There's gotta be a catch, dude; a price."

"Indeed. The premise is simple. You are to be my eyes and ears: my presence on Earth. Matthew may be the first Earthly mage, but the price is that you are to be the first Earthly avatar: my window into this world. Apollyon has a head start on his demonic invasion of your realm, and you are to be my weapon against that."

Kael ground his teeth as he thought. For all he knew, this interaction was either taking place in a split second or time was stopped, but he didn't think he'd have an eternity to think about it. "Furs have done some terrible things in the name of god, or gods. Or their religions. Furs die because of the fear of blasphemy, or furs who are different. Am I any better if I take up the mantle of a god from a different world?"

"And many beings have done much good in the name of their deity. The weak and helpless protected; the lands preserved; and souls saved. I am the patron deity of good and life, Kael Walker, but even my followers have performed terrible acts in my name. And followers of Apollyon have performed great and merciful acts. We cannot control the minds of beings, we can only hope to guide them. Power is morality agnostic. It's up to you if you use it for good, for evil, or for something in between."

"Fuck you!" The 'roo yelled, clenching his fists so hard that his claws were drawing blood from his paw pads. "You weren't here when those...those furs beat my dad to death! Small town fucking mentality and my dad wanted to get divorced from my mother because he was living a lie. He loved her, but couldn't love her like she wanted. Not when he wanted a husband instead, and those god damned bastards beat him and threw rocks at him in the church parking lot until he died. Where was his god? Where were you?" The kangaroo screamed, shutting his eyes to stop the stream of tears.

"I cannot answer for any deity on Earth, but I am truly sorry I could not help you or your father." The first hint of emotion crept into the disembodied voice, soothing Kael slightly. "As I mentioned, until Matthew brought knowledge of us back to Earth, we did not even know this realm existed. Faith works both ways. But I am here now, and I can help you and your friend Matthew."

Kael heaved a sigh, letting a final sob escape. Wiping away tears, he reasoned, "If I had the chance to save my dad, if I had the power to save my dad, I would've taken it in a heartbeat." The 'roo nodded once, setting his jaw. "And now that power is offered to me to save Matt, Laura and Chris. I..." He hesitated, taking a deep breath. "I have to take it. I'd never be able to forgive myself if I let my friends get hurt because I sat around."

"So we have a deal, then, Kael Walker?"

"Yeah, dude. Time to save Matt's sorry ass and get him to save ours."

'I just hope this deal isn't some terrible mistake.'

The snap of Laura's whip told Kael that time had started again. The imp that she was facing had rolled to the side, evading the noisy weapon yet again. Chris' hooves hit the floor hard as he stood, and he immediately danced to the side, avoiding a third fireball.

"Matt, uh, I don't know how to say this, but I'm praying for you, dude. You think you're not strong enough, but I know you are. You can help us. We're in trouble, man, and you can fix it. Dias, please, tell him this." Kael had bowed his head, placing his paws on Matt's bandaged chest gently. "You're not in this alone, we'll help, but we need your help, too."

"Yah!" Laura shouted as she snapped her whip again, this time nailing red leathery creature in the chest. The whip cracked and punched a hole in its chest, causing it to scream and disintegrate before her eyes. "Yes! Got him. Kael! What're you doing?"

Chris was still engaged with his imp when he yelped in fear. Laura cursed loudly when two more of the creatures came running down the hallway from where the trio had walked from. The white wolf ran past Kael to stand beside the massive moose, her head coming up to his shoulder.

"Chris, I can't use my whip with the two of us here."

"I know. I don't know what else we can do."

Kael rested his forehead on Matt's, his muzzle resting near the husky's cheek, and just whispered the husky's name. "Matt!"

* * * * *

Matt woke up to a scraping noise in the hallway outside of his room at the inn. The husky quickly climbed out of bed and threw on his red coat over the breeches and shirt he never bothered to take off. 'Not like I have a change of clothes here, anyhow.'

Moonlight fell in from the open window, illuminating the room with an eerie blue glow. The husky guessed that it was somewhere around midnight, but without a watch or more knowledge of the cycles of Ameranth's moon, he couldn't be remotely precise.

Grabbing his staff and padding softly to the door, he put a triangular ear to it and listened for a moment. After hearing nothing, he cracked the door open and peered through. To his surprise he saw Jason in his white robe hiding behind a bench against the wooden banister. The cream-colored cougar glanced at Matt and put a finger to his mouth, warning the husky to hush.

Matt peered past Jason into the tavern below and saw a black-robed mage weaving through the tables towards the stairs, with four small red leathery demons in tow. 'Dark Order, and demons. This can't be good,' he grimaced to himself as he motioned for Jason to scoot into his room. The cougar gratefully accepted, crawling over and through the opening. Matt pushed the door shut again as softly as he could muster, with just a small click of the latch catching.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know!" Jason hissed, his ears flat against his head while his tail lashed about. "I was in the tavern late when someone rushed in and warned us about a demon attack. Everyone ran off, but I knew you were here and wanted to come warn you. By the time I had gotten your room number and up the stairs, that mage arrived."

'He knew I was here?' Matt shook his head. "Those demons are clearly bad news. What can we do to fight them off?"

Jason shrugged again, looking defeated. "I'm terrible at anything that isn't wind, pretty much. So I can knock them around a bit, maybe."

"If you can keep that mage busy with the wind, I can pick off the demons?"

"It's a plan. We could just go out the window, you know."

Matt shook his head. "They're likely either after me, or they're going to torch the building. Either way I should make a stand to keep the furs here from getting hurt."

Jason's soft brown eyes found Matt's blue ones in the eerie moonlight, and the husky gave him a grin. Matt leaned in suddenly and pressed his muzzle against Jason's short one, making the cat's tail puff in shock. The kiss lasted just a second, but when Matt pulled away it had felt like minutes to Jason.

"I...I..." the cat stammered, taking a step back. His eyes were wide, but his ears were upright, cupped in Matt's direction.

"Sorry, Jason. You...remind me of someone very important to me. You look pretty much identical. It was kinda instinct." Matt felt the blood rush to his ears, and the husky was grateful it was likely too dark to see the blush.

The door creaked as it opened, with a red creature peeking its small, angular head into the room. Turning to the sound, the husky gripped the sapphire on his staff and shot a shard of ice that exploded in the creature's face. As it disintegrated into nothingness, Jason stood and pushed his paws out in front of him, as if he was shoving a large block. Air rushed past Matt, causing his jacket to flap wildly around him. The door slammed shut then bowed outward before flying off of its hinges. The husky caught a glimpse of black fabric rippling on the edge of the door as it flew beyond the banister towards the tables below.

Both magi moved out into the hallway after the door, with the cougar still pushing forwards with large gusts of wind. Matt pointed at the tavern below, where the door had landed and collapsed a pair of wooden tables. A flash of dark fabric burst from below the slab of lumber, launching itself into the air.

"Jason, the mage! I got the demons! Stick to the plan!" Matt barked as he switched positions with the cougar. Grabbing the sapphire again, the husky threw up a watery bubble to protect himself, just as the three remaining demons began to launch fireballs down the hallway. They popped and sizzled against the watery barrier.

The Dark Order mage stood suspended above the tavern, his robes whipping about him as he began his own fight with the wind. Pushing harder, Jason tried to buffet the attacker from the air, but he was having trouble getting the hold of the slippery winds that he needed to do something so precise. Rather, he felt himself being pushed back by the black-robed attacker's zephyr.

Popping another imp with a blast of frost, Matt dodged back and forth down the hall. The remaining two creatures backpedalled as they realized that this mage wasn't an easy target. More fireballs sputtered as they were absorbed by the bubble, and in response husky formed a chunk of frozen water in the air above the two imps, letting it crush the creatures below its weight. He waved a paw, clearing the shattered ice away revealing that those imps had been returned to Under Eden as well.

'Four of those demons in short order, I'm definitely getting better!' The husky's tail wagged slightly at the thought. Further thoughts of victory were cut off when he heard Jason yowl. Glancing back at the cat, he saw that Jason had been thrown back into the wall, and he was now laying limply on the floor. The Dark Order mage barked out a laugh and turned the wailing winds on Matt, throwing the husky back against the wall as well. The bubble absorbed much of the impact, slowing down the dog's flight as he approached the solid wood.

'Ugh, okay, combat against another mage. This might be an issue,' the husky groaned inwardly as he raised his staff in front of him.

"Matt, uh, I don't know how to say this, but I'm praying for you, dude. You think you're not strong enough, but I know you are. You can help us. We're in trouble, man, and you can fix it. You're not in this alone, we'll help, but we need your help, too." Kael's deep voice resounded inside Matt's mind.

After getting over the startling realization his best friend was communicating with him in Ameranth, the husky realized that there was a link in that voice, a way back home if he chose. A gentle tug at the back of his mind. He knew if he followed that thought, it would whisk him away back to Earth, and he would be safe from the black-robed mage.

Jason was counting on him, but he couldn't just leave Kael either.