Skyfall Chapter 12
Kato was supposed to be the strong one, the one I could depend on tonight. I realized now that I couldn't count on Misha for anything...I always went to Kato when I needed help. But now, he was the one in need of help. Honestly I wasn't sure if I was going to succeed in this, but Kato still couldn't use magic, he was barely conscious. Kato, Misha and I stood on the edge of the plateau overlooking the valley. The cold breeze fluttered through my fur as I looked down into the dark, still valley. Despite being up all night, I felt wide awake. This was most likely due to the fact that I was afraid Sheila would attack Misha and I tonight while Kato was still drained. Apparently, it was also my responsibility to ensure Sheila did not return from Eldon. I sighed. "I'll be able to contribute some energy. Follow my energy to the location; it will lead us where we need to go." Kato said, leaning on me. "Sorry about this..." "It's not your fault, Kato." I said. I closed my eyes and began to focus on calming my mind. "Are you two ready?" Misha nodded and reached his hand out. I reluctantly took his hand and wrapped my arm around Kato to support him. I felt Kato's energy channel into my body. My mind felt like a map was being etched into it. I furrowed my brows as I felt the lines of energy draw the location in my mind. Once I was able to grasp the location in my mind, I focused on taking in some of Misha's energy. I let his energy swirl up my arm and into my heart, where I had collected Kato's energy. At my core the energy combined and I began to feel my own energy join theirs. The familiar tingle of my energy breaking up into different pieces consumed me. I glanced over at Kato, who's form had completely vanished in a swirl of energy particles. My own form broke apart and began to shift into the realm that Kato was entering. Misha's form soon followed us. I couldn't see anything. My vision was blinded by swirling energy particles. I felt nonexistent in the sea of light, floating along with the tides. Suddenly a sharp pain entered my being. Every particle of me was slammed with the intense pain. Misha's energy surrounded me and caused me to feel trapped. I felt as if I were being strangled. My energy was hurled back into my physical form as I materialized at my destination. I shook and coughed violently. I clawed at the ground as I struggled against the pain. I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Decipher!" Caliber's voice boomed in my head, "Shit. Kato, are you alright?" "I'm fine. Get the crystal out of Decipher's bag." "I don't see it!" "Here it is." All the echoing voices made my head spin as I vomited blood. "Decipher, here!" Misha approached me. I snarled and jerked away from him, staring up at him with a horrified expression. His energy was repulsive. I would have run from him if I could have moved. "Get the fuck away from him, Misha!" I heard Kato yell. Sheila's laugh sounded in the distance. "You fools should've taken horses. Look what you've done to him!" She mocked. Kato crouched down next to me and placed the energy crystal near me. I shivered in fear and curled up. I couldn't control my body; I was terrified. I felt Kato place the crystal on my back. Soon the energy was travelling into my body, and I became still. "Give him space." I heard Kato say as he stood up and backed up. After a few awkward, silent moments, I was able to sit up. My chest was covered in blood. I coughed a few more times in attempt to rid my throat of the sticky substance. Kato reached out his hand, "Come on, we need to get you cleaned up..." Kato said as he pulled me up, "You're going to attract every predator in Skyfall." "The stream's right behind the shrubs there." Caliber said, helping Kato support me as I staggered forward. Misha stayed close by our sides. I could tell he was nervous. Sheila seemed either nervous or excited as well. She must have realized she was outnumbered, even if two of us were disabled at the moment. Caliber and Kato helped me strip off my clothing and clean the blood off of my fur. I looked up to the sky, realizing that the sun had already risen. It must have taken us hours to transport here... My heart ached, literally. Every beat sent a wave of pain through my chest. I held on to my chest as I rinsed the blood out of my fur. At least the painful energy had worn off, and I was no longer afraid of Misha. I glanced over at him. He was leaning against a tree and watching me with a concerned, pained look. His genuine concern made my heart settle a bit and the pain dulled. I could tell he desperately wanted to approach me. His eyes stared at me longingly. Part of me wanted to fulfill his desire and wrap my arms around him. I was trying to hide how much I missed him from myself. He looked so different in this setting, with his village clothing and sunlight flickering through the leaves down onto his face. I met his gaze briefly. "How are you feeling?" Caliber asked. I shook my head to rid my fur of the excess water and stepped away from the stream. "I feel much better." I said as I slipped my shirt back over my head. "Come on." Kato said, "You can ride on one of the horses for the next hour or so. You shouldn't be walking in this condition." I had completely forgotten about the horses. I hadn't even seen them yet. Kato led me out to an open area where three large horses were grazing. Two of them were a deep brown with black socks and white speckles on their backs, and one was painted with black and white splotches. The painted horse seemed to have a more delicate build. Her legs were lean and she looked as if she could run quite fast. They were beautiful creatures, but they still seemed dull when I thought of Asodar's star-speckled pelt and massive size. These horses were half the size of Asodar, if that. Caliber approached the painted horse with a lightweight saddle, placing it on the beast's back and strapping it on. I watched Sheila put our bags and supplies on the other two horses. "Climb on up." Caliber said, gesturing to the horse, "She's a good girl, don't worry." I nervously climbed onto the horse's back. Caliber fitted the horses head with a pair of reins and handed them to me. "She knows where she's going, and she's a good girl. But if she takes off, just pull back to stop." He said with a wink. "Come on." We began our trek into the pass. I could see the two massive mountains towering above us on either side. I shuddered with the eerie feeling the mountains carried. I perked up with the thought of Asodar. Skyfall holds every answer you have ever sought. I wanted to jump off the horse and explore, but my body refused to let me. I sighed. Perhaps on the way home I would be able to explore a bit. My horse led the other two and followed behind Kato and Sheila. Caliber and Misha walked farther back with the other horses. "Alright everyone." I heard Kato call out, "I don't want any shit. If you wander into some death trap made by a giant spider, that's your own damn fault and I'm not climbing down to get you. Be smart. Don't stray, or you will die." Kato stared right at me when he finished his statement. I swallowed hard. Caliber laughed, "Giant spiders? That's the least threatening thing I can think of." He said as he pulled out a longbow from one of the large packs the horses carried. He slung it over his back and grabbed a quiver loaded with arrows next. "Yeah." Sheila said, spinning her dagger in her hands, "We should be worried about slithurms. Nasty bastards are coming out of hibernation around this time." I suddenly wished I had completed my weapon. The blade on its own was rather useless to me. I sighed and sat back in the saddle. "And drakes! Fucking drakes are everywhere." Caliber shuddered, "Will we hit the Edge before nightfall?" "We better." Misha mumbled. "I'm not travelling past the Edge after dark." Kato said. I watched as the shadows of the mountains covered us. We were walking through the pass now. "Hey, at least we have a wolf with us!" Caliber said, slapping my thigh. "That should make us safe from those, right?" "I can speak wolf." I said. Misha turned to me, "Really?" I nodded. He didn't say anything else. "Good, so that means you can tell all the werewolves, wolves and whatever other canines we encounter, 'fuck off assholes, these are my bitches!' then?" Caliber said, elbowing my leg as he walked beside me. I smirked. Caliber was such an interesting guy to have around. His obnoxious humor was a nice touch today...I needed some obnoxious humor. "Sure, you can be my bitch." I said with a toothy grin. "Whoa!" He laughed. "Down, boy!" Misha glanced over at us. Was he glaring? He couldn't possibly be jealous of my joke. I was tempted to roll my eyes, but instead my eyes remained fixed on his. After a few moments, he finally looked away. We continued into the pass. As we explored deeper into the pass, things became more still and eerie, and the group was silenced as well. We walked in silence for what felt like hours. I began to see shadows moving out of the corner of my eyes. I had assumed it was my imagination, until I saw Caliber shoot an arrow at one of them. The shadow burst into a puff of black smoke and swirled away with a whizzing noise. "Hey!" I heard Kato shout, "Don't mess with the shades." "But they're so annoying!" Caliber complained as he retrieved his arrow. "Just wait until mommy shadow comes out." Sheila hissed, smacking the back of Caliber's head. "Seriously, Caliber." Kato said sternly, "No shit. Stay alert for real threats." "Fine." Caliber grumbled, slinging the bow across his back. The silence returned to the group shortly after, and the darkness of the shadows made me uncomfortable. We walked through certain areas that were extremely tight, barely enough room for the horses to walk through the cracks in the massive rocks that had fallen ages ago. The horses were all very calm and seemed to know exactly what they were doing, which made me feel better. As we continued on I began to feel more exhausted. My body felt completely drained of energy, and I had a difficult time sitting up. I leaned forward and rested on the horse's neck. The gentle rocking of the ride eased my mind and made me drowsy. I began to drift into what must have been a dream. The white mist flowed through my mind and carried me to a strange place. Everything was so blurry... I saw a brown jay fluttering in the white sky, dodging silky petals that floated down from the trees above. I was lying in a sea of white petals, they felt airy and soft. The white faded and the muted blue sky shined through the haze. Clink. My ears perked forward as I heard the chime. It echoed in my ears just once. One sharp, distant, Clink. There it was again! I sat up slowly, searching for the noise. My eyes scanned the field. All I could see was an endless sea of white petals and fields of silken grass. I stood up and walked through the petals, waving my hands to try and move them out of the way. I couldn't see anything. The clinking noise continued. I stepped onto a hard surface, hearing my claws tink against it. I looked down and saw a blue crystal stepping stone. As soon as I saw it, the entire landscape changed. The colors instantly became inverted. Everything was black now with shimmering blue highlights. I heard what sounded like a distorted lightning crack. The sound was fuzzy with static. The shrill, distorted cracking happened a few more times. I covered my ears and fell to the ground. I sank trough the black petals and hit a hard, crystal surface. I looked up to see a hole in the ceiling of petals. The floor you walk on is slick; there is no true ground for you to stand on. I shuddered as the voice crawled through my head. It begins with blood; walk past the wasteland of your life. The voice surrounded me, shaking my entire being. There were trees, yes, but they grew in the soil of lies. A massive wolf stood in front of me. Her shadow danced around me, carrying a life of its own. Her face was barely illuminated by the glow of her deep, violet eyes. You have taken my form. Do you deserve to wear it? I shook as her eyes probed me. I knew I couldn't hide anything from her. This was the Goddess... "I don't know what to do." I whispered, falling to my knees. The wolf's face twisted into a snarl, revealing shimmering, crystalline teeth. Very well. Continue your path of destruction, your destined path. The crystal surface I stood on shattered. The world around me broke into pieces and released a horrible sound. I screamed in pain and clutched my ears. With a gasp, I jumped awake. I panted heavily, clutching onto the painted horse's back. She whinnied and jumped at my sudden grab. "Thank god you're awake, Decipher!" Caliber said. "We're almost to Eldon." "Al...Already?" I asked, shaking as I slowly sat up. "You've been passed out for a long time." Caliber said. "We stopped and slept a night in an inn and everything!" "You're joking." I said as I rubbed my eyes. "He's not." Kato called back. "We couldn't get you to wake up. Misha said you had gone into a coma due to loss of energy. I'm glad you're awake! By the way, are you alright?" "Uh...Yeah, I'm okay now. I think." I said. I couldn't believe how much time had passed. I glanced around with a twitch of panic. Where was Misha?
I saw him walking behind one of the larger horses and sighed with relief. "Did you speak with Asodar again?" Caliber whispered. "I can tell you had some sort of experience..." I shook my head, "No actually...I- "Shh.." Caliber cut me off and jerked his head towards Sheila, who was walking ahead of Kato. "We'll talk later." Caliber didn't want to have a religious discussion around Sheila, it seemed. I nodded. Misha approached us, "Decipher! I'm so glad you woke up." He said. He reached his hand out to touch me, but awkwardly pulled away and scratched his head, "I was worried you would miss our arrival into town!" I glanced backwards. The mountains were far in the distance. The path in front of us was a wide, dirt road that snaked through a large meadow of tall grass. I could see a few small buildings in the distance. We approached the buildings quickly. They were simply built and rather small when compared to the lab. The cottages were sprinkled throughout the edge of the meadow. Eager to stretch my legs, I hopped off the horse I was on and began to trot down the path. It felt great to walk on the soft, warm dirt again. "Let's take the horses to the stables and then head to the inn." Kato said. We walked down the road, which turned into a brick path once we reached the outskirts of town. It was early afternoon when we entered town. We brought the horses to a stable at the edge of town and removed our packs from them. Caliber spent time petting the painted horse's nose and saying goodbye to her before we carried our packs out. "We'll be staying at the tavern across the way." Kato said, pointing towards the lively building across from us. We stepped inside the tavern. I looked around at all the people; the place was alive with music and friendly conversation. A few people looked at me with a puzzled expression, but then continued to mind their own business. My mind flooded with memories that were not my own. A man in the corner of the room was playing a lute, strumming wildly and filling the log building with a resonating, lively tune. I smiled. The business here was always good. The tavern sat on the outskirts of town, where people came to relax from the busy work and lifestyle of the town. This was one of the few places you could go and have a friendly conversation with just about anyone. The thought echoed in my mind as if it were my own. "There's five of us." I heard Kato say to a man behind the counter. "We've paid already. We'll be here a few nights." The man behind the counter tossed Kato a bottle of ale. "Good to see you again." He said, glancing at me, "Who's the fuzzy one?" Kato beckoned me forward. I nervously approached the counter. "This is Decipher. He's some sort of werewolf hybrid with amnesia." Kato said. "We think he's originally from here, though. Decipher, meet Nikolai." The bartender nodded, reaching out a large, strong hand. I reached out mine to shake it, but he grabbed my hand and shook me so much I jerked forward. "Call me Nik." He said with a grin. His face was square with blocky features, and would have been intimidating if he didn't have such a genuine smile. "Pleasure to meet you!" "Yes." I said as I gained my balance again, "You as well." Misha and Caliber had sat down at a table, and I didn't see Sheila anywhere. I joined them while Kato continued chatting with the Nikolai. "So, do you remember anything yet?" Caliber asked, leaning forward expectantly. "I...yeah actually." I said. "I remember there's a fountain at the center of town..." For some reason, the image stuck out in my mind. It was a beautiful with a sculpture of a sea serpent coiled around a shimmering crystal. The crystal that sat at the center acted as a battery for all the energy used to power the town. The image of the sparkling stone burned in my mind, it must have somehow been an important location to the werewolf who's DNA I had taken. "We should take you there! Official business doesn't start for me until tomorrow." Caliber nudged Misha, "How about you? What are you even doing here?" Misha shook his head, "No, I have business to attend to. Doctor Hale wants me to retrieve some more ingredients for various things. Some are found in the forest, and others I need to visit the local medicine woman for." I remembered my assignment and cringed, "Oh. I have to stay with Misha." I said. Misha and Caliber turned to me at the same time with similar expressions. Caliber was confused and had a raised eyebrow, while Misha looked confused but hopeful. "Am I allowed to talk about my assignment?" I asked, scratching my head nervously. Kato approached our table and sat down a tray of drinks. "That's right." Kato said, "You were telling me about that right after I got drugged. Did we ever talk about that?" "No." I said as I took one of the large mugs and lapped at the golden liquid. The fermented taste of the ale stung my throat, but a sweet aftertaste came with it. It was delicious. "How are you feeling, anyway?" "Very well rested." Kato said, taking a swig of his own drink. "And, being your trainer, I was informed of your assignment. Since it's your first official assignment, I'm supposed to stay out of it." I felt a bit nervous. I had assumed I would be on my own against Sheila, but knowing that Kato wasn't technically allowed to help me made me uneasy. "Where is Sheila?" I asked. "She bitched about her assignment before running off into the woods." Caliber said as he chugged half of his ale, "Gods, I am exhausted." Misha nodded, "I think I'll go up and sleep for a few hours before I head to the gardens." He said, "It's best to search for the herbs at night, anyway." Caliber sighed, "Yeah, I suppose I better rest up as well." He turned to me as he finished off his drink, "I'm sure you'll get to see the fountain, anyway." Kato tossed two rusty keys on the table and sat up in his chair, "We only have two rooms this time." He said, "I figured Decipher, Misha and I in one room, with Caliber and Sheila in the other." Misha took one of the keys and nodded at us, "See you upstairs." He said. "Don't make me room with her!" Caliber whined, "I already had an eight hour horse ride alone with her." "Don't complain, Caliber." Kato said sternly, which made Caliber sink down in his chair. "Sheila won't last us the whole trip, anyway. You're the only one she probably doesn't want to kill. We want to avoid as much drama as possible until it gets done." Caliber gave Kato a surprised look and then stared at me, "Oh. I get it." He mumbled, snatching Misha's unfinished drink, "Well in that case, I am going to drink until I pass out." He said, chugging the drink. Once he finished he turned to me, "Do you really think you can take her out?" He whispered. I nodded, "I think I can." I said with a shrug, "We'll find out soon enough, anyway." "Well," Caliber stretched with a yawn, "I'm going to sleep now." Caliber took the other key and headed up the narrow wooden staircase that led to the rooms. Once he was out of sight, I turned to Kato. "You're a phoenix." I said. I had been dying to bring this up to him since I had found out, but there wasn't a good opportunity. Kato shivered at the words, "So Misha told you my story?" "Well, you kind of exploded in a heat wave back in the lab." I said, "I demanded answers from Misha, yeah." Kato tossed his mug down on the table and rubbed his forehead. "Why are you bringing it up? Is there something else you want to know?" "I suppose I'm just curious...how did you become a combat trainer for Hale?" Kato sighed, "I enjoyed combat. I was good at it, and after Hale had let me out of my cage, I decided to pursue it. It was a good way to vent my anger." "What did they do to you?" I asked quietly. "I'd rather not talk about that." Kato said as he rubbed his wrist. "What does the mark mean?" My questions continued to pour out. "It's the mark they branded me with. I use magic to keep it hidden when I can." Kato sighed as he answered my onslaught of questions, "It means 'fallen phoenix', a reminder of what I am, and a warning to everyone else." "Why have you stayed with them...why don't you escape?" I asked. I felt so sorry for the phoenix. Kato met my eyes. His golden eyes were blazing much like I had seen before, and he hissed, "Why don't you?" I sat speechless. I did not have an answer for that question. Honestly, it was because I was too much of a coward to experience the rest of the world. My chest tightened as I spoke my next words. "Kato..." I began, my breathing uneven, "I am...not from here." I whispered. Kato raised an eyebrow, "We know that." He said, folding his arms, "Are you keeping secrets about your home?" He was irritated and wanted answers from me. Kato deserved answers. "I don't really have amnesia." I admitted, "I am not from this planet! I travelled from the stars, from a horrible place. I ran from my home after something terrible happened...I never expected to live. My craft crashed into the Skyfall mountains where I encountered a werewolf..." My confession spilled out, "I am able to mimic DNA structures in other living things...so that's what I did, but the werewolf was only halfway through it's morph. That's why I turned into this!" Kato stared at me with an astonished expression. He looked around to see if anyone had been listening. Luckily, the musician seemed to cover up all conversation unless you were right next to the person. My heart was pounding as I waited for Kato to respond. "You can never tell Misha the truth." He finally said. His dark tone sent a shiver up my spine. "Why?" "Misha studies genetics, Decipher!" Kato nearly yelled, "If you tell him, he will tell Doctor Hale, who will almost certainly order Misha to do terrible things to you. They already wanted to test some new drugs on you that had the potential to destroy your internal tissues!" I thought back to Kato's conversation with Misha in the showers that had happened many weeks ago...could this have been want they were talking about? "Do not tell Misha." Kato said. "We'll talk more later. Come on, I need to get some rest." I followed Kato up the creaking staircase. "Hey, Kato." He turned to me with no answer. "Maybe I can help you...be a phoenix again." I said. "I can help you transform again." He gave me a sad, small smile "Maybe, Decipher." He said. "You are too good to me, friend."