{"sf1_id":568127,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Skyfall Chapter 15","author":"Abyssa","words":6893,"posted_at":"2013-07-25T23:57:00.000Z","tags":["Alien","Anthro","Canine","Human","Hybrid","Laboratory","Magic","Male","Werewolf","Wolf"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/568127-skyfall-chapter-15","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/568127","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=568127\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"15\n \nWe ended up sitting at the fountain chatting until dinner time. We\nstopped at a small restaurant and ate some food before returning to the tavern\nto rest for the night. Everyone seemed pretty exhausted and eager to be back in\nthe rooms resting. \n  Kato had said he would be\nmoving to Caliber's room, which meant Misha and I would be alone tonight. I\ndidn't feel as nervous as I had when we first arrived, so I agreed. \n  When we made it back to\nthe tavern, Kato looked as if he was going to pass out. I offered my hand to\nhim as we climbed the stairs, but he refused and said \"It's fine, I'm just\nexhausted.\" while Misha watched us carefully.\n  Misha and I entered our\nroom and I sat on the edge of the bed we had shared the first day we had\narrived...how long had I been here, anyway?\n  Misha locked the door and\nstripped his clothing off, \"I'm going to shower.\" He said before disappearing\ninto the bathroom. I sat stunned. I hadn't expected Misha to leave so quickly\nafter undressing...usually he tried something.\n   I took my own clothes off, mostly because they\nwere uncomfortable, and I curled up in the bed while I waited for Misha to come\nout. I laid back in the bed and stared at the wooden panels in the ceiling.\nPerhaps Misha wanted to be clean before he was physical with me. \n  Soon, the water shut off\nand Misha appeared with a towel wrapped around his waist. My eyes couldn't help\nbut wander across the smooth lines of his body. He stepped over to the bed and\nlooked down at me. \n  \"How are you?\" He asked\nas he sat down on the side of the bed. \"I feel like it's been a long time since\nwe've spoken.\"\n  I sighed. This moment was\ncalming, and it had indeed been a long time. \"I'm doing okay.\" I said as I\nlooked up into Misha's eyes and stroked his neck with my fingers. \"I'm sorry\nyou had to see that, and I'm sorry you got hurt.\" My fingers brushed the scar\non his shoulder that Kato had mostly healed up.\n   Misha swung himself over me and laid down\non my chest, \"No, Decipher, don't be sorry.\" He whispered. \"I should be sorry.\nYou're the one that saved me.\"\n   What he said was true, yet I still felt a\ntinge of guilt. I looked away from him.\n  \"You...changed out there.\"\nMisha said, staring into my eyes with a curious expression, \"I know you're\nkeeping things from me, and that's okay...because fuck, I've kept so many things\nfrom you.\" He said as his fingers combed the thick fur on my neck, \"But Decipher,\nyou can tell me the truth.\"\n  Kato's warning tugged at\nmy mind. I bit my lip and tilted my head upwards, away from Misha. I had to\ntell him the truth; it was begging to be told. My heart began to race. So many\nwarnings...I wasn't sure which one to listen to. \n  I stared at my white fur\nthat was stained with dirt and blood. I no longer felt like this form was a\ndisguise; I truly felt like it was me. It wasn't, though. This form was nothing\nmore than a poorly planned lie...a fabricated shape, representing a hope to\nbecome something greater than I was. My entire existence here was nothing more\nthan a fabrication. I needed to change that.\n  I glanced up at Misha,\nwho was still combing through the thick fur on my neck. He seemed to be letting\nme consider whether or not I would confess the truth to him. What would Misha\nthink, if he saw the real me? I could hardly even grasp an image of who I once\nwas. It was difficult to even imagine transforming back into that form after\neverything that had happened, and I wasn't sure that I would be able to if I\ntried. \n  Misha placed his hand\nover my heart. \"What's wrong?\" His soft voice asked as his other hand caressed\nmy face.\n  I grabbed his hand and\nrolled over him, pinning him down gently. He smiled softly as I looked down at\nhim with a conflicted expression. I towered over him as he gazed into my eyes. I\nslid my padded hand across his soft skin, tracing the lines of his abdomen. As I\ngazed upon his soft body with a look of shame, he stared back up at me with his\ndark, hopeful eyes. I took a deep breath and relished the last moments of my\nfabricated existence. It was time to confess the truth.\n  \"I'm not...\" I began,\nsqueezing my eyes shut, \"I'm not what you think I am.\" \n  Misha's expression\nremained calm but became confused. \n  \"Misha.\" I said, taking\nhis hand, \"Remember when you said you wanted to become something other than\nhuman, and that's why you study genetics?\" \n  He nodded. \"Yeah.\" He\nsaid. He had no idea where I was going with this; how could he? I squeezed my eyes\nshut again. \n  \"Was that true?\" I asked.\n  He nodded again and\nstroked my chest. \"Of course.\"\n  \"I can help you, Misha.\"\nI said, finally meeting his gaze again. \"You see...where I come from, I kind of\nstudied genetics as well. I can transform into anything I have acquired DNA\nof...That's how I became what I am right now. I accidentally acquired a\nwerewolf's DNA while he was transforming, and I changed into this.\"\n  Misha looked taken aback.\nHe sat up and I moved off of him. \"What? Where did you come from? Are you a\nhuman? How?\" He asked so many questions, \"Is it through magic?\"\n  \"No.\" I said, unsure of\nhow to explain. \"No, Misha...I...I'm from another planet. My space craft crashed\nnear where your guards found me. I destroyed my craft and then passed out while\ntransforming. By the time I realized a creature like me didn't exist, it was\ntoo late to transform into a human...You had all seen me like this, so I just\nstuck with it.\" My confession poured out before I could stop myself. \n  His expression changed\nfrom surprised to terrified. I reached out to him as he stood up and moved\naway, \"It's okay!\" I said, \"I don't want to hurt anyone here... I ran away from\nmy people. They were horrible, so I ran away. I was just looking for a new\nhome! I had no idea where I was when I woke up.\" I stuttered. \"I was able to\ngather some information from the werewolf, but he knew nothing about the lab,\nso it really felt like I had amnesia.\" \n   He was shaking as he stared at me with a\nconflicted expression. His mind seemed to be piecing everything together, and I\nhad to wonder if he was thinking of my DNA. I wondered how much he had studied\nthe blood he had taken from me, and if that's what he was thinking about. \n  \"My amnesia was the only\nlie, Misha, I swear.\" I said, my heart pounding against my ribcage, \"I never\nlied about any of my feelings for you, or anyone for that matter. I honestly do\ncare about the people I've met here...You, Kato, Caliber, you're all dear friends\nto me. You've all taught me so much.\"\n  \"Who else knows about\nthis?\" Misha said with a shaky breath. \n  I swallowed hard. \"No\none.\" I lied. Shit, another lie already...but I wasn't sure if I could trust\nMisha. I didn't know what he was going to do now that he knew, and I didn't\nwant Kato to get into trouble. \n  After a few tense\nmoments, Misha moved back towards me. \"I don't think you were lying about how\nyou felt.\" He said, sliding into my arms. \"Please just...don't tell anyone else,\nDecipher.\" \n  \"I wanted to be honest\nwith you. I want to be honest with everyone.\" I whispered. \"I hate all the\nlies. Why can't I tell anyone else?\"\n  \"It's just a bad idea.\"\nHe said, wrapping his thin arms around my torso. I wondered if that was the\ntrue reason he didn't want me to tell anyone else. He was always so secretive.\nPerhaps he was afraid Doctor Hale would find out? Maybe Kato had been wrong,\nafter all.\n   \"So...You're not afraid?\" I asked\nsoftly. \n  \"I am a little afraid,\"\nMisha confessed, \"but I appreciate the honesty, and I trust you.\"  \n  I sighed and wrapped\nmyself around Misha's small figure. I decided to just enjoy the moment rather\nthan worry. He seemed to take it well, and he still trusted me. That was good\nenough for me. Besides, I couldn't change anything now. My secret was out in\nthe open.\n  \"Why did you run?\" He\nasked me after a few minutes.\n   I whimpered, \"I can't really talk\nabout that, Misha. I hope you'll forgive me, but some memories are too painful\nto explore right now.\" I said as I pressed my forehead into his, wanting to\nhide myself from the world. My hand clutched at the jagged scar on my forearm.\n  \"No worries.\" He said,\nstroking my scar, \"We'll talk about it when you're ready.\"\n  \"How long do we stay in\nEldon?\" I asked him, hoping that it would be a long time. I was hesitant to go\nback to the lab, especially after Kato's warning. \n  \"We depart tomorrow.\"\nMisha sighed as he rubbed my stomach, \"Caliber finished his assignment this\nafternoon, and he should be telling Kato the plan for tomorrow.\"\n  \"What was Caliber's\nassignment?\" I asked, realizing I had no idea what Caliber had been doing here.\n  \"I don't know. His\nmission was top secret.\" Misha said with a yawn.\n  I was surprised Misha\nhadn't tried to do anything physical. He seemed to be behaving himself. He kept\nhis hands above my groin, and spent more time gently caressing my arms and\nface. I felt both relieved and disappointed. For once, my body was craving his\ntouch. I would have given into his demands had he tried anything tonight, but\nit seemed he was very tired. Perhaps he was starting to respect me more. Either\nway, I was probably too exhausted to be very physical anyways. \n  Misha cuddled into me and\nquickly drifted off into a light sleep. I wrapped the blanket around us and\nclosed my eyes as I took in the scent of his hair. I sat awake for most of the\nnight in fear of returning to the lab, but eventually I drifted off into an\nuneasy rest. \n \nIt had all seemed too easy, confessing the truth. The memory of Misha's\nreaction, or lack of reaction, swam around in my mind as I became conscious.\nPerhaps Misha was too exhausted to care. Maybe he would freak out later, or\nmaybe he was actually okay with it. \n  Misha seemed very\ndifferent last night. He didn't force himself on me, and he actually seemed to\nlisten to me. I would have been suspicious of all his out-of-character behavior\nhad he not requested I keep my origins a secret. I was probably overthinking\nit, considering the fact that I had told him to back off before we came to\nEldon. Most likely he was just happy to be getting some attention from me and\ndidn't want to press his luck. I took this as a good sign; things seemed to be\nimproving between us.\n  I woke up to a knock at\nthe door. Misha was nestled in my arms, and stirred softly. The warm light of\nthe morning penetrated the windows and drapes, showering his face with gold.\n  Carefully, I removed my\narms from Misha. I stood up slowly and slipped on some pants before opening the\ndoor. Kato was standing on the other side. He was fully dressed and looked like\nhe had been awake for quite some time.\n  \"Morning.\" He said.\n\"Caliber and I have already loaded the horses. We decided to let you and Misha\nsleep in.\"\n   I looked back at Misha, who was\nsitting up groggily now. He waved at Kato. \"We'll be ready to go in a few\nminutes.\" He said as he stretched his arm. \n  Kato nodded, \"Alright.\nI've ordered some breakfast for the four of us.\" He said as he turned to walk\naway, \"Meet us downstairs.\"\n  I looked around and found\none last clean shirt. I tossed what was left of my bloodied clothing I had been\nwearing when Sheila attacked in a trash bin. I looked down at my fur as I\nslipped the clean shirt over my chest; it was still tinted brown from the\nfight. \n  Misha dressed and\nproceeded to collect the random herbs that had been scattered around the room.\nHe picked up a vial filled with a golden powder and dumped it into the trash\nbin. My ears tilted foreword. That must\nbe what was left of Kato's antidote. I realized. But why isn't he saving it? Surely there would be some use for that...he\nmust be afraid someone will find out what he did...I bet Hale would punish him\nfor that.   Misha stepped into\nthe bathroom and shut the door. I ran to the trash bin and focused on the\ngolden powder. I closed my eyes and attempted to use magic energy to draw it\nout towards me. Some of Kato's energy remained in me, and the golden powder\nseemed to gravitate towards that energy like it was a magnet. \n  I sent the powder back\ninto the vial and shoved it in my supply bag just as I heard the toilet flush.\nI stood up quickly and moved away from the trash. Perhaps later I would study\nthe powder and figure out how it was made...I wanted to help Kato, but I felt\nguilty knowing I would have to hide it from Misha.\n  \"You ready?\" Misha asked.\nI nodded, and we left out the door. \n  We met Kato and Caliber\nin the tavern and began to eat the hot plates of food that were waiting for us.\n\n  \"I hope you slept well.\"\nCaliber said with a smirk, \"Because I'm riding the horse home.\"\n  \"There's three horses.\"\nMisha said, \"I'm sure you'll get to ride one.\"\n  \"I don't trust the supply\nhorses.\" Caliber huffed, \"They buck, and rear, and bite!\"\n  \"Those were Sheila's\nfavorites.\" Kato laughed. \"I wouldn't trust them, either.\"\n  I stayed quiet as\neveryone chatted. I was confused and nervous to be heading back to the lab, but\nI was also excited to walk through Skyfall Pass. Asodar had told me to look\ninto Skyfall, that it would show me what I was looking for. It was very\npossible Asodar was foretelling the vision I had experienced in Skyfall, but I\nfelt like there was something more to it. Even if Skyfall held no spiritual\nimpotence, I was still curious as to what the path was like. \n  \"Then let's head out!\"\nCaliber exclaimed, shaking me out of my thoughts.\n  Caliber hopped up and\ndashed outside while Misha shook his head with a smirk. I wondered what they\nhad been talking about.\n  \"You alright?\" Kato asked\nme quietly. \n  I nodded, \"Yeah. Just\nlost in thought.\" I said as I ate the last few bites on my plate and drank my\nglass of water. \n  Misha stood up and pulled\nthe water skin out of his bag. \"I'll go refill these.\" He said. I nodded and\nhanded him mine before he went to the counter and asked Nikolai for some water.\nKato turned to stare at me after Misha walked away.\n  \"I can tell something's\nup.\" Kato said softly, \"Are you sure you're okay? Did Misha do anything last\nnight?\"\n   \"No. I promise.\" I said, feeling a little\nembarrassed that Kato was worried about me in that sense. \"I was just thinking\nabout Skyfall. I'm just nervous to travel through the pass and back to the lab.\"\n   \"You'll be fine. We hardly ran into any\nissues on the way here, a few giant spiders but that was it. I'm excited to\nshow you the Edge. It's beautiful around this time of year.\" Kato said as he\nstood up. \"Come on, let's get going.\" He said as he began to walk outside. After\na few steps, he stopped dead and looked back at me. \"Nervous to go back to the\nlab?\" He asked, glaring into my eyes. \"You didn't...\"\n   I remained silent as Misha came up\nbehind me. \"Are we ready to go?\" He asked.\n  I became tense as I\nnodded and Kato looked away and walked back over to the counter to thank\nNikolai for his service and hospitality. Misha handed me my water skin and I\nloaded it into my satchel. \n  I tried to focus on\nother things instead of Kato's warning. Kato had mentioned the Edge. I wasn't\nsure what it was, but it sounded interesting, and if Kato was excited to show\nme, I'm sure it was something spectacular. Kato glanced over at me with a\npained look as we stepped outside the tavern. I swallowed hard at his fearful\nglance. \n   We all went outside to find Caliber atop\nthe painted horse, which was pawing at the ground impatiently. \"Come oooon.\" Caliber\nwhined jokingly while the horse let out a snort.\n  \"Someone's in a hurry.\"\nKato mumbled. \"Come on everyone, time to head home.\"\n  I turned to take one\nlast look at the town of Eldon. I would miss it, and I wasn't sure when I'd be\nback. I hoped it would be soon, but I realized it was unlikely. \n  We headed down the brick\npath, which quickly turned back into the dirt road that snaked between the\nmountains. \n  Clouds shrouded the\nearly morning sky as the sun began to rise. When we eventually made it into the\npath, the sky had barely cleared up, and it was dark in the shadows of the\ngiant boulders and mountains surrounding us. \n  My ears twitched at the\nsounds of whizzing air that dashed past me. I kept an eye out for the creatures\nthat were flying around me, but never saw anything but puffs of light. I\nassumed they were fairies. The lights reminded me of the shapes of skittish\nfairies. \n  The supply horses were\njittery. They kept hopping up and breathing out heavily with discomfort. I\nwatched them carefully as we made our way into the path. If the horses\nsuspected trouble, I trusted their instincts. The painted horse that Caliber\nrode seemed to be calm, but her ears twitched and she would look around\nnervously on occasion. I hoped it was just due to the nature of Skyfall Pass\nand not because some terrifying monster was lurking in the rocks.\n  We continued to walk and\nthe clouds continued to shroud us in shadows. The path was eerie and dark\ntoday, but it looked like the clouds would pass soon. \n   \"Kato.\" I heard Caliber's solemn voice from\nthe back of the group.\n  Kato stopped and turned\naround as Caliber hopped off his horse. Caliber crouched down and pointed to a\nblack liquid that stained the ground. \"Shadow blood?\" He asked.\n  Kato cursed under his\nbreath and came over to where Caliber was. Misha and I waited a safe distance\naway. \n  \"What does that mean?\" I\nasked Misha quietly.\n  \"It means we might have\nto keep an eye on our shadows.\" Misha said.\n  \"They could have jumped\nour shadows as soon as we set into the path! The cloud shadows make a perfect\ncover.\" Caliber groaned, \"What do you want to do?\"\n  \"Just stay alert.\" Kato\nsaid. He seemed annoyed. \"Everyone, watch each other's shadows. If it moves\nwhen it shouldn't, attack it.\"\n  I glanced down at my\nshadow, which was barely visible against the dark shadows of the clouds and the\nmountains. I became uneasy as we began walking again. Misha walked closer to me\nnow, and Caliber mounted his horse again.\n   I remembered my weapon inside my satchel and\nwondered if I should have it ready. I had taken the effort to make it, I might\nas well attempt to use it. I doubted that I would use it, but I took out my\ndagger anyways. I decided to take my mind off of things by practicing some\nmagic.\n  I focused on drawing a\nflame around the dagger. I could feel the energy in the violet stone pulsating.\nAfter a few moments, a blue flame ignited and traced itself along the\nsparkling, cerulean veins in the dagger. I spent some time playing with the\nflame and watching the energy from the blade mix with the fire. I had never\nseen a flame so blue before, it seemed alive with energy. Considering asking\nKato about it, I looked up ahead. He seemed to be focusing hard on the path\nahead, so I decided not to bother him.\n  Misha had been watching\nme, and he seemed curious. \"I've never seen fire like this.\" He said as he leaned\nin for a closer look.\n  \"Neither have I.\" I\nsaid. \"I think it must be because of the type of stone...Don't some stones carry\ncertain kinds of energy better?\"\n  Misha nodded, \"That's\nthe idea of many magic-forged blades, anyway.\" He said. \"Looks like you created\ndark fire.\" \n  Dark fire...what a strange oxymoron. I thought. \"This stone...it's\nrare, right? Can you tell me about it?\" I asked Misha. \n  \"I don't know must about\nit.\" He admitted with a shrug.\n  Caliber's horse trot up\nalongside us and he looked down at us. \"That's the stone that symbolizes the\nDark Goddess.\" Caliber said. \"Seems you have an affinity for the dark.\"\n  I looked up at him with\na puzzled expression. I felt like this Dark Goddess was someone I should get to\nknow better. It seemed she had already gotten to know me. My dagger blade\nglistened as I put out the last of the blue flame. \n  \"You seem to know a lot\nabout her, Caliber.\" I said.\n   He nodded stared ahead. \"Yeah. I\nstudied symbolism.\" He repeated, as if it were a rehearsed response.\n  I knew there was\nsomething more to it, but I didn't press the issue. \"How about you, Misha?\" I\nasked, \"What's your opinion of the Gods?\"\n  Misha grunted in\nannoyance, \"I don't have one.\" He mumbled.\n  \"Come on.\" I pressed,\n\"What's your issue with them?\"\n  Caliber snorted and\nsteered his horse away from us. He clearly did not want to be involved in this\nconversation.\n  \"It's not them I have an\nissue with.\" He said. \"I just don't feel like I belong here. Part of it comes\nfrom the...condition I've told you about, my inability to be anything besides\nhuman.\"\n  I had to wonder if his\n\"condition\" was some sort of punishment for something he had done, but it\nseemed if it was, Misha took no responsibility. Kato had told me some of the lab\nemployees are there because they think they can defy the Goddesses...The thought\nworried me, so I remained quiet.\n  Misha glanced at me as\nhe waited for a response, but I didn't give him one. \"Decipher?\" He asked.\n  My ears lay flat against\nmy skull as thoughts of the lab clouded my mind. How many of the employees were\nslaves like Kato? How many of them were there because they refused to live by\nthe rules? The contrast was interesting. You were either a prisoner of the lab,\nmade to follow a set of confining rules that they created, or you agreed with\ntheir set of rules, wanted to make your own...and defy the Goddesses' wishes. I\nstared at Misha's dark eyes. Was his research there worth it? \n  The sound of Caliber's\nbow firing snapped my attention back to the shadows below us. I looked around\nfor what he had shot.\n  \"Kato! The horses!\" I\nheard Caliber shout. The painted horse reared up and let out a pained whinny as\nI saw her shadow peel away from her figure. The supply horses were next. Their\nshadows ripped themselves away from their figures and materialized in front of\nus, charging right at us.\n  Caliber shot as many\narrows as he could into the painted horse's shadow while the supply horses\ncharged at Misha and I. Kato slammed into the side of one of them and used\nflame energy to burn it from the inside out, and I ignited the flame on my\ndagger. I tossed the dagger into the shadow of the massive supply horse. It\nstuck inside the shadow's side and sparked with a flame. I attempted to ignite\nthe flame, but the dark energy of the shadow smothered it. \n  I shoved Misha out of the\nway as the shadow reared up and came down at us. It slammed a hoof into me and\nknocked me over; it's weight and solidity surprised me.\n  \"Don't use dark fire!\"\nCaliber shouted. \"Light!\" \n  I looked up at the clouds\nand shot a blast of wind upwards, hoping to clear out enough of them to create\nsome light. I wasn't very good at creating light energy without the sun, so\nthis was my only hope. \n   The supply horse's shadow reared\nup again and came crashing back down. I ripped my dagger from the side of it\nand continued to slash at the beast while I waited for the clouds to clear out.\nOnce I saw a ray of sunlight penetrate the clouds, I ignited a bright orange\nflame and shot it into the shadow's heart. The shadow crumbled apart like it\nwas made of ashes, and floated away. Once my fight was done, I glanced over to\nKato, who was now fighting a shadow version of himself as a phoenix. Caliber\nwas still struggling with the painted horse, who now had a shadow rider.\n  I felt an arm wrap itself\naround my throat and slam me against the side of a giant boulder. I looked back\nto see Misha's shadow choking me, and when I looked over to Misha, he was\nwrestling a shadow me. Confused, I struggled to get the scrawny shadow off of\nme. I slammed up against the rock to crush it, but it simply sank into the rock\nand I ended up smashing myself against the hard surface. \n  I growled and flipped\naround to look at the shadow. The sight was terrifying. A shadow version of\nMisha's face glared at me with glowing white eyes that cast silver highlights\nonto his features. He grinned with pointed, white teeth. The shadow took it's\nclawed hand and pushed me backwards, sitting on top of me as it ran it's\npointed, shadow fingers across my body. I felt the familiar weight of the bonds\non my arms as I struggled to get up, and suddenly the shadow's face looked more\nlike Misha. I knew I was hallucinating, but still I sat frozen in fear as the\ncreature moved it's hands all over me. It grabbed at my groin briefly and made\nme whimper with fear.\n  I heard a wolf whimper\nthat sounded like me and turned to see Caliber stabbing shadow me through the\nheart with an arrow. When I looked back at shadow Misha, he was reaching his\nhand inside of my chest. I yelled out in pain as I felt the hand grasp at my\nheart. His white eyes locked with mine, and he brought his face close to mine.\n  It was about to speak\nwhen I saw Kato crash into it, causing it to let go of my heart and rip itself\nout of me. I gasped in pain as I rolled over with the force of Kato's impact. I\nquickly sat up as I watched Kato struggling with shadow Misha. The shadow\ntwisted itself around Kato's neck and began to suffocate him as well. \n  I snatched my dagger off\nthe ground and charged at them. I focused on the glistening surface of the\nblade, trying to condense the light of the reflection. When I reached the\nshadow and Kato, I shoved Kato aside and plunged the blade into the shadow's\nskull. The shadow let out a horrible shrieking noise and burst into a cloud of\nash like the horse had done. I sat panting, ready for the next threat.\n  Kato slowly stood up,\n\"Are you okay?\" He asked me.\n  I jerked and snarled at\nhim, still afraid. \n  \"Calm down.\" Kato said\ngently, \"It's over now.\"\n  I turned to see Misha and\nCaliber collecting the horses and calming them down. Misha had a few scratches and\nbruises but seemed fine, and Caliber had blood leaking from the side of his\nhead. I turned to Kato, who seemed to be the most injured. His eye was\nblackened with a dark bruise and the side of his face looked like it had been\nburned. Blood dripped from some deep gashes in his chest. It was upsetting to\nme that he was unable to transform into a phoenix to fight his shadow phoenix. \n  My body ached,\nparticularly my chest, but other than that I felt fine. I had a few scratches\nthat dampened my white fur with red blotches, but nothing bad.\n   \"I'm sorry.\" I sighed. \"Are you okay,\nKato?\"\n   Kato nodded and placed a hand on my shoulder,\n\"I'm fine.\" He said, turning to Caliber and Misha, \"I don't think anyone has\nany serious injuries, and the horses were not wounded. This shouldn't slow us\ndown too much, but let's take a few minutes to rest and calm down.\"\n   Caliber nodded and sat down next to the\npainted horse, which was breathing heavily and pawing at the ground nervously.\n\"Easy, girl.\" He said drowsily. \n  I sank down and put my\ndagger back inside my bag, at least I had used it. I had successfully used fire\nmagic with it, but more importantly, figured out a way to combine the use of\nthe dark blade with light energy. \n  Kato sat down next to me,\n\"How are you holding up?\" He asked.\n  \"I'm fine...I think.\" I\nsighed, \"But why did Misha and I fight each other's shadows?\"\n   \"Shadows represent the darkest parts of us.\nUsually our shadows are good. They follow us and protect us in darkness.\" Kato\nexplained, \"but there are creatures that use our shadows against us. They feed\noff our fears, pain, and past experiences and use it all to destroy us. Because\nthere has been drama between you and Misha, it was easy for them to take\nadvantage of it. Shadows use truth to hurt us, that's what makes them so scary.\"\nKato's  dull eyes bore into mine as he\nspoke. \n  I sighed as I looked\naround and saw splotches of black ash and red blood. Misha approached us\ncautiously. \n  \"How is everyone?\" He\nasked.\n  \"Fine.\" Kato and I\ngrumbled at the same time. We both seemed to be frustrated. I wondered what was\nbothering him. \n  \"Shadow Decipher is\nscary.\" Misha said with a smirk as he sat down with us.\n  \"You should have seen\nshadow Misha.\" I said without a hint of humor.\n  Misha didn't reply, and\nwe all sat in strained silence. \n  Kato eventually sighed\nand broke the silence. \"Caliber,\" He called out, \"What do you think about\ntravelling faster?\"\n  Caliber groaned, \"What,\nyou mean skipping the inn?\"\n  Kato nodded, \"I want to\nbe back as soon as possible, considering none of us will be travelling back\nusing magic.\"\n  Caliber sighed, \"Alright,\nlet's get moving then.\" He said as he mounted his horse once more. \"Why don't\nyou guys ride the supply horses until we reach the Edge?\"\n  Kato nodded, \"I suppose\nwe'll have to.\" \n  Misha and Kato stood and\ntook out some saddles from the supply horse's packs. They worked to saddle up\nthe large horses. I was a bit nervous to ride them, but I figured Misha would\nride with me, and for some reason that made me feel a bit better.\n  \"Come on, Decipher.\"\nMisha said as he hopped up onto the massive horse. I nodded and mounted the\nhorse behind him. The saddle was large enough for us both, but we still sat very\nclose. I was still a bit shaken from the shadow experience, but I didn't say\nanything. Kato mounted his horse and we took off into a gallop. \n  Galloping for more than a\nfew minutes was quite uncomfortable. Kato and Caliber seemed to do fine, but\nMisha and I kept adjusting and squirming in the saddle. Misha held the reins\nand I kept my hands on the sides of the horse's neck as I leaned into Misha. I\nblamed our discomfort on the fact that the saddle wasn't quite built for two\npeople.\n \n   As we rode, the clouds began to\ndissipate and eventually the sun began to shine down into the cracks of the\nboulders. I was glad to have the warm sunlight on my body.\n  Just as I felt my\nbackside couldn't take anymore riding, Kato ordered us to slow the horses. The\nhorses slowed to a walk, breathing heavily. Caliber's horse seemed to be happy\nfor the exercise and remained perked up while the supply horses heaved and\nseemed drained. \n  \"We'll let the horses\nrest while we look at the Edge.\" Kato said as he dismounted his horse. \"Let's\nwalk them to the stream.\"\n  I jumped off the horse as\nsoon as Misha stopped it, nearly tipping over when I hit the ground. My legs\nand back ached from the jarring ride, and my muscles burned from continuous\nuse. I stretched them out as I took a few steps. \n  \"Misha and I will take\nthe horses to rest, why don't you go show Decipher the Edge?\" Caliber said as\nhe took the reins of Kato's horse. He nodded and motioned me to follow him. \"Bring\nyour pack, Decipher, and drink some water.\"  \n  I grabbed my satchel and\nwe walked in the opposite direction of Caliber and Misha. Kato turned to me\nwith an angry expression. \"You need to leave, Decipher.\"\n  I continued to walk next\nto Kato, but a knot worked its way into my stomach. \"I can't, Kato.\"\n  \"I know what will happen\nto you if you return to the lab.\" Kato said as he led me into the side of the\nmountain. There was a small trail that was carved into the rock, creating a\ntunnel that led deep inside the mountain. \"I don't want to watch it happen.\" \n  \"Would you come with me?\"\nI asked as he took me farther into the darkness.\n  \"No. They have ways of\ntracking me.\" Kato said. \"Once we reach the Edge there is a trail that\ncontinues on, follow it into Skyfall.\"\n  \"I can't survive in\nSkyfall!\" I shouted, sending an echo through the tunnel. \n  \"Yes, you can.\" Kato\nsaid. \n  The tunnel was dark, but\nI saw a faint light up ahead. It looked like it opened up farther in. \"I won't\nleave without you.\" I mumbled quietly. \n  Kato turned and slammed\nme up against the side of the tunnel. His face was faintly illuminated by the\nglow up ahead. I could see the pain in his golden eyes, was he crying? \"Get the\nfuck out of here, Decipher!\" He shouted at me as he slammed me against the wall\nharder. \"Don't you dare come back to the lab.\"\n  I felt afraid and sad. I\ncouldn't leave knowing that he would be trapped there. I didn't want to do that\nto him. I no longer cared what happened to me. I knew the risk of telling Misha\nthe truth. \n  \"You had your chance to\nrun.\" I whispered to Kato. \"What was your excuse?\" I remembered what he had\nsaid...he said he didn't want to leave me alone there. I didn't want to leave\nKato alone, either. I felt like I owed it to him to help him, and I wanted him\nto be free. I couldn't escape knowing he was imprisoned.  \n   Kato loosened his grip and stepped away from\nme. \"I can't watch this happen to you.\" He said, breathing heavily. \"I can't\nhandle it.\"\n  \"Kato.\" I swallowed hard.\n\"I knew the risk of telling the truth. I told Misha nobody else knows, though.\nIf it turns out Misha is going to betray me and hand me to Doctor Hale, then so\nbe it. I will accept my punishment for not listening to the countless warnings\nI have been given. Don't blame yourself when it happens, Kato. It is my fault,\nand mine alone. Please just lie low. I don't want you getting into trouble.\"\n  Kato fell back and\ngrabbed his head. \"Decipher.\" He sighed, \"You're a stronger man than I.\"  \n  I felt strong in the\nmoment, and I embraced Kato in a hug. \"Whatever happens, I will survive.\" I\nsaid. \"I promise. There will come a time when I will escape, and I will take\nyou with me.\" \n  I reached into my satchel\nand pulled out the vial of golden powder. \"I saved this. Keep it hidden, keep\nit somewhere safe...When the time comes, we will escape.\"\n  Kato was shaking, but he\ntook the vial and nodded. I began to walk forward. I still wanted to see the\nEdge. \n  He followed close behind\nme. \"Caliber knows about you, too.\" He said quietly as he recovered from the\nshock of the situation.\n  \"How does Caliber know?\"\nI asked in disbelief, \"Did you tell him?\"\n  \"No.\" Kato sighed, \"Caliber\nis a messenger for the Goddess. He didn't just 'study symbolism'. The Goddess sent\nhim to the lab to be a guard, sort of a double agent. Nobody knows this except\nfor me.\" Kato said, \"So keep it quiet. The Goddesses do not usually interfere\nwith humanity's stupidity, but sometimes they get in the way of grand plans.\nThe Goddesses do not allow this, and that's where Caliber comes into play. He's\nsaved a few people, and he knows all about you from her. I think he's known\nsince day one.\"\n   I nodded. We were close to the end of the\ntunnel now. That made a lot of sense. Caliber seemed to be indirectly trying to\nwarn me this entire time. He had encouraged me to look into the Goddess, and\ntold me what the vision meant while still leaving enough for me to sort out. He\nhad even encouraged me to forge my own blade, which had led me to explore the\nvalley. I sighed as I realized my mistakes.\n  We reached the end of the\ntunnel, which opened up into a cavern that had a large hole cut out of the side\nof the mountain. I looked down to see a giant fissure in the ground that had\nlight shining upwards. When I looked more carefully, I saw that the light was\ncoming from the sunlight reflecting off of it. \n  \"This is the Edge. Below\nthe earth there is a massive energy crystal that acts as a battery for many of\nthe reptilian creatures that live near here.\" Kato explained. \"They sleep here\nduring the day and soak in the rays from the sun, while still remaining hidden\nand safe. We can collect some of the energy as well.\" \n  I peered down to see the\nsilhouette of a giant snake, easily five times my size, coiled around a jagged\nspire on the clear crystal. It was sleeping peacefully. I glanced across the\nfissure and saw the path Kato spoke up continuing into the mountain. Kato sat\ndown for a few moments and seemed to focus on the energy in the crystal. I\nstood close to him and did the same. The energy was warm and made me feel alive,\nbut the circumstances of the situation weighed heavily on my mind. \n  \"This is your last\nchance.\" Kato whispered as he stood up. \"Please just go.\"\n  I closed my eyes and\nshook my head, \"I can't, Kato.\"  \n   His eyes glistened with tears, and he turned\naway from me. \"Fine.\" He sighed, \"Let's continue back to hell, then.\"\n   Kato was convinced Misha would betray me, and\nat this point it seemed fairly likely. I didn't have much more time to prepare\nmyself. I wondered what the chances of escape would be once we were back in the\nlab and Kato was drugged again. If Kato wouldn't come with me, I would face my\npunishment and return with him. I wouldn't escape without him. \n","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/566234-skyfall-chapter-14.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/571800-skyfall-chapter-16.json"}